South Africa: Traditional leadership urged to stand firm against abuse of culture President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on the institution of traditional leadership to stand firm against the abuse of culture. In his opening address at the Sixth National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders (NHTKL) at the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) Chambers in the Old Assembly, President Ramaphosa singled out the importance of culture in society, saying the NHTKL is regarded as the custodian of the countrys culture. The President told the traditional and Khoi-San leaders that he hopes the House will continue to advance the empowerment of women and the achievement of gender equality within this institution. Culture does not discriminate, whether you are a person with a disability or not, whether you are a person with albinism or not. Culture does not kill, whether you choose to undergo customary initiation or not. Culture does not humiliate, whether you are part of the LGBTQI+ community or not. Culture does not promote unlawfulness. It certainly does not promote the abduction of young girls in the name of ukuthwala. Culture does not violate human rights, just because you are a woman in a traditional community. The institution of traditional leadership must stand firm against the abuse of culture, he said. At the same time, the President petitioned the institution of traditional leadership to promote and safeguard the cultural practices and traditions that have held people together over many centuries. As we look to our future, let us remain firmly tethered to all that is noble and worthy in our past. Let us draw on our rich history and enduring heritage as we focus on what must be done: building a better future for South Africa and for all its people, the President said. Addressing social ills The President told the House that it takes office at a time when the country is facing many challenges. He said the challenges include poverty, unemployment, inequality, the rising cost of living, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and devastating floods, and the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide. While these challenges may at times appear insurmountable and overwhelming, we must take to heart the Guinean proverb which says: No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow'. We see this House as an important platform to address these challenges, now and into the future. We pledge to work with you and support you in leading national recovery and reconstruction, and to build a South Africa that leaves no-one behind, the President said. Over the years, President Ramaphosa said he has greatly appreciated and benefited from the wise counsel of the House. He pleaded with traditional leaders to play their part in fighting the scourge of gender-based violence and femicide, which shows no signs of abating. As leaders, as people of standing in our communities, we have to play our part. We should make it impossible for perpetrators to live, work and socialise amongst us. We must shape the way boys and girls relate with each other. Let us nurture young men and women who see each other as equals and as partners in development and growth. Those of us who are men ought to be found at the forefront of this fight, as we confront toxic masculinity and patriarchal practices that seek to oppress and supress women, he said. The President took the opportunity to recognise the valuable contributions of progressive men and women. These include the National Mens Parliament programme, of which the House is a partner, alongside Parliament and the SANAC Mens Sector. He further called for the support of programmes of this nature to drive collective action against patriarchy and all that is represents. Death of initiates President Ramaphosa told the House that the deaths of initiates is another issue that is slowly reaching epidemic proportions. The Customary Initiation Act came into effect in 2021, as part of efforts to address this issue. The Act aims to protect lives, set norms and standards, and ensure that initiation takes place in a controlled and safe environment. President Ramaphosa noted the 2022 summer initiation season has just concluded in some of the provinces that practice summer initiation. Based on preliminary information, the challenges of illegal initiation schools and initiation casualties are still a big problem. Nonetheless, there are thousands of initiates who underwent this customary rite of passage successfully and safely. Indeed, it is possible to have safe initiation practices. We congratulate the parents, initiation school principals, guardians and provinces that made this possible, President Ramaphosa said. He further congratulated provinces that took decisive action to close illegal initiation schools. It is through such action and partnerships with parents and communities that we will achieve safe initiation practices and the realisation of the rallying call of 'Mabaye bephila, babuye bephila' (let them come back home alive). AmaKhosi should continue to ensure the effective implementation of the Act. Those found to be on the wrong side of the law should be prosecuted and we should not be lenient on this. The lives of our sons and brothers depend on this, he said. Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act The President said government has made good progress in creating a sound legal basis for the institution of traditional and Khoi-San leadership to function. He told the House that the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act has now been signed into law. To give effect to this provision, government has appointed a Commission on Khoi-San Matters, and the Commission is currently receiving applications for recognition. On 2 February 2022, the President took a decision to establish an Inter-Ministerial Task Team, led by Deputy President David Mabuza, to resolve all matters raised by traditional and Khoi-San leaders. It is pleasing to note that the Inter-Ministerial Task Team is gaining momentum, particularly on issues relating to communal land policy, and that there has been collaboration with Communal Property Associations. The workstreams have been attending to matters around heritage promotion, and the Spatial Planning, Land Utilisation and Management Act, known as SPLUMA. Proposals on the provision of administration grants to Traditional Councils and the recognition of headmen and headwomen are also under serious consideration. I wish to thank Deputy President David Mabuza for leading this process, the President said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2023-02-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. ASEAN secretary-general calls for elevating ASEAN-China partnership to new high Xinhua) 09:05, February 23, 2023 Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (L) shakes hands with ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn during their meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Qin) JAKARTA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn on Wednesday called for joint efforts to push forward the ASEAN-China comprehensive strategic partnership to a new high. At a meeting with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, he appreciated the longstanding, utmost importance China has attached to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its valuable support for ASEAN integration, saying that China is the first major country to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, and is also a vital strategic partner of ASEAN. The relationship between the two sides has been strategically upgraded, and cooperation has been deepened with growing mutual trust, said the secretary-general. Qin said during the meeting that ASEAN is one of the most successful regional cooperation organizations, and its position has become even more important against the background of profound changes on the global and regional landscape. The China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership is developing at a sound momentum, he said, noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future and the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. The Chinese foreign minister said China is willing to continue to promote the construction of the "five homes" with ASEAN, constantly enrich the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides, and keep supporting the ASEAN Secretariat in jointly promoting new achievements in China-ASEAN cooperation and East Asia cooperation. As the world economic recovery is lackluster and the crisis in Ukraine has dragged on with growing geopolitical competition, the Asia-Pacific region faces a choice between peace and confrontation, cooperation and division, Qin noted. China firmly supports maintaining the ASEAN centrality, he said, adding that the Chinese side is willing to join hands with ASEAN to face up to challenges, and reject "decoupling" and "erecting walls". Both sides will accelerate the resumption of personnel exchanges in an orderly manner and promote closer people-to-people ties between China and ASEAN. The two sides will work together to push for new progress in the consultation on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, so as to provide institutional safeguards for maintaining peace and stability in the sea. At a meeting between Qin and members of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN on Wedensday, the two sides believe that China-ASEAN cooperation is mutually beneficial and dynamic, benefiting 2 billion people in 11 countries on both sides. Such cooperation will also strengthen the synergy of regional sustainable development with the Global Development Initiative, expand cooperation in various fields such as tourism and transportation, digital economy, disaster response, clean energy, health care and capacity building, promote regional connectivity, and enhance the resilience of supply chains. Qin stressed that China will continue to regard ASEAN as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy, firmly support ASEAN unity and the bloc's community building, and consolidate the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry broke out a commentary on the statements made by the Armenian and Luxembourg Foreign Ministers at a press conference the day before. "The Armenian Foreign Minister is distorting the discussions and negotiations on the peace process and is engaged in manipulation. With his statement, the Armenian side once again demonstrates that it is not interested in peace in the region," Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry comments. The Foreign Ministry stated that "the refusal of the Armenian side to offer a border checkpoint to stop the illegal use of the Lachin road, designed only for humanitarian purposes, once again shows that the intention of the Armenian side is to continue using the road for illegal purposes contrary to the Trilateral Statement of 10 November 2020, repeating the statements that the protests led to a "blockade" and "tense humanitarian situation." The Foreign Ministry noted that, in fact, the claims that the Lachin Road actions have created a "tense humanitarian situation" have no basis, Armenia is using it for its own political purposes." "As for the international mechanism regarding the rights and security of the Armenian population living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and Armenia's claims in the issue of dialogue with Armenian residents, it should be noted that, as clearly stated at the Munich talks, the rights and security of residents of Armenian origin living in the region will be provided in accordance with the Constitution and legislative acts of Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani side also stated that it is ready to conduct a dialogue with those who have the right to represent the Armenian population, and not with those who arrived in the Karabakh region from outside and call themselves representatives of the Armenian residents. In accordance with the norms and principles of international law, as well as the Prague and Sochi agreements, in which countries mutually recognize the territorial integrity and sovereignty of each other, Armenia should not interfere in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan and renounce its territorial claims," the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said. The statement of the Foreign Ministry also says: "The position of the Luxembourg Minister is absolutely biased, without knowledge of the situation in the region and totally contradicts the relevant principles of international law. It seems that the Luxembourg side has not given up the practice of using theses which reflect the false propaganda of the Armenian side. We reiterate that such provocative and biased statements cannot be an obstacle for the future development and progress of the region based on the principles of international law." The order of functioning of the Lachin corridor is fixed in the statement of November 9, 2020. Thus, the Azerbaijani authorities confirm the course of rejection of the agreements and the attempt to achieve their revision by force. The Danish ambassador was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry: Ankara has made a demand Bloomberg: New pandemic possible in coming decade 44-year-old man found hanging from a tree Yerevan Metro Police detain armed young man Poland receives Bayraktar from Turkey 4.2 magnitude earthquake in Turkish Adana Ukraine preparing a counteroffensive Azerbaijani Armed Forces open fire at Sotk Gold Mine Sudanese army blocks presidential palace entrances in Khartoum No safety threat to Azerbaijani athletes nor could there ever be Dozens of Tegh families in difficult social situation 12 patients transported from Artsakh to Armenia, 8 back in Artsakh Azerbaijan and Iran FMs announce possible continuation of negotiations Tigran Abrahamyan: Citizens of Artsakh remain alone in their worries Azerbaijani athletes to leave EWF Championships Suspect of Wakayama incident arrested Macron signs pension reform bill Aram Nikolyan: My only desire is to ensure that Azerbaijan's flag doesn't fly in Yerevan IMF and World Bank unable to reach agreement on communique Biden demands stricter protection of secret information 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 Which Armenia company is put on US sanctions list? Premier: Armenia ready for reopening of transport links, delimitation of borders Pashinyan: We are ready to withdraw troops to safe distance along Armenia-Azerbaijan 1991 border Armenia to have trade attache in Germany Azerbaijan MFA accuses France foreign ministry of smear campaign and unfair position Armenia PM: It failed to deploy border guards without escalation of tension Newly elected Armenia ombudsperson announces her priority objective in this capacity Armenia deputy PM, US Deputy Secretary of Treasury acknowledge high level of cooperation between both countries Newspaper: Karabakh soldiers who showed necessary resistance to Azerbaijan military are rewarded Armenia FM, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office tete-a-tete kicks off (PHOTOS) Armenia deputy PM, USAID official discuss opportunities for deepening cooperation Mher Grigoryan, Todd Robinson exchange views on ongoing democratic reforms in Armenia Armenia FM to Derek Hogan: Provocation near Tegh village was another manifestation of Azerbaijan aggressive policy shamshyan.com: Murder in Armenias Syunik Province, 6 gunshot wounds found on body of security guard, 57 US State Department on Armenias Tegh village incident: Use of force to resolve disputes is unacceptable MFA: France deeply concerned about violence that took place near Tegh village of Armenia Legal entity from Armenia on list of those subject to US export restrictions Russia MOD: 4 ceasefire violations recorded in Karabakh EU monitoring mission in Armenia not present in the area when Azerbaijan attacked Armenia National Security Service Border Guard Troops commander dismissed Armenia MOD: Tegh village incident that led to undesirable consequences was due to deployment adjustment On February 23, President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan chaired a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers. The Head of the State presented the military political and socio-economic situation developed in the republic as a result of the blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan, as well as the measures taken by the authorities aimed at the solution of the emerging issues. During the meeting, President Harutyunyan also publicized the decree on the dismissal of Ruben Vardanyan from the position of State Minister. He highly appreciated Vardanyan's efforts both in raising international awareness of Artsakh and solving numerous domestic problems during the blockade. "Ruben Vardanyan and I have been together during this whole time, following the events and developments happening both in Artsakh and in the outer world on a daily basis, we have constantly exchanged ideas about finding solutions to the current situation. I am grateful to Mr. Vardanyan for his eagerness to always share the responsibility with me to the maximum extent in both friendly and partnership relations and did not try to put it on me referring to the constitutional norms. But on the other hand, he approached with awareness and understanding to the scope and extent of my personal responsibility for the situation created in Artsakh and all future problems," the Head of the State highlighted. Arayik Harutyunyan noted that he proposed Prosecutor General Gurgen Nersisyan to assume the responsibilities of the State Minister, taking into account his professional and human qualities, professionalism, fairness, principled stance and statehood-orientedness. The President informed that all executive bodies will be in the sphere of coordination of the new state minister, except for the law enforcement agencies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Talking about the settlement of the long conflict between Azerbaijan and Artsakh and related issues, he noted: "We are ready for dialogue and conflict settlement with Azerbaijan, but we have clear principles and red lines that derive from the fundamental rights, vital interests and demands of the people of Artsakh." According to him, it is necessary to realize that the Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora trinity should be cherished and strengthened, 'because it is in our national interests, and it is unacceptable to treat any of these three as a completely separate or disturbing entity.' "Yes, Artsakh is of exceptional importance for the Armenian people, based on objective reality, Artsakh strives to act independently in solving its own problems and raise the level of international subjectivity, but without the constant support and accompaniment of Armenia and the Diaspora, Artsakh cannot succeed. And Artsakh also takes responsibility for its part in the protection of national interests," he said. When asked what is being done to ensure security, the presiden said: "Considerable work has been done and is being done to increase the efficiency of the own security system, but considering the highly sensitive issues on this topic, it is preferable to talk less about them and work more." "Everyone living in Artsakh has the right to life, from which is born the right of universal self-defense to protect that right from attacks and harassment. This right will inextricably accompany us as long as there is a threat to the life and health of our citizens. However, given the extent of our vulnerability, it is important to recognize that external safeguards for our security will continue to play a critical role for us for a long time to come." "Therefore, we are making efforts to improve the level of effectiveness of the Russian peacekeeping mission, as well as discussing the possibilities of applying other international political guarantees. "Although the conflict with Azerbaijan is our main challenge, which negatively affects all spheres of life of the people of Artsakh, our internal issues are also important in building a stronger and more developed future. Moreover, they also directly affect the effectiveness of efforts to solve security and foreign policy issues," the President added. "First of all, it should be noted that in terms of the future of Artsakh, there is a unified position in the entire society, including the political system. However, it is problematic that under the influence of various speculations and rumors, false and groundless divisions are being provoked in the society on this topic, and it is unfortunate that this is done not only by the Azerbaijani side, but also sometimes by the Armenian circles. "Mutual respect and tolerance is very important inside. Everyone should realize that we have no enemies inside, we have chosen the dignified way to live and fight in our homeland, and we are all in the same line and position of the struggle. Therefore, I expect and demand that we all behave with the logic of fierce struggle, being united around our goals and values, not about individuals, including me, because the main reason for our internal divisions is usually in personalized approaches. "After November 9, 2020, one of the most important imperatives facing the Republic of Artsakh was ensuring internal solidarity and unity in order to overcome the problems facing the country in a dignified manner. Nevertheless, the dissatisfaction formed among the public and the atmosphere of mistrust towards each other still continues to be preserved, which forces the authorities to take additional steps to ensure the stability and lasting peace of life in Artsakh," he noted. "There is a lot that depends on each of us in building a better future for Artsakh, and the mentality of helplessness and indifference spread by the enemy is highly unacceptable and dangerous. The main factor influencing the future of Artsakh remains the will and behavior of the people of Artsakh, which the Azerbaijani side is working to break as much as possible, using a criminal and wide toolkit of physical and psychological pressure. "Every citizen has at least two clear things to do for the future of Artsakh, that is to live in Artsakh and to do daily compassionate, proactive and continuously improving work in his position, from soldier to teacher, from farmer to public servant. No matter how difficult the struggle may seem, there are solutions, and running away from it is running away from one's values and responsibility. And the state, more than ever, will stand next to every citizen, sharing the honorable burden of struggle and responsibility. "Therefore, we continue our struggle for an Armenian, independent and safe Artsakh, living resolutely and acting compassionately in Artsakh," he concluded. Artsakh President Araik Harutyunyan explained the reasons for Ruben Vardanyan's resignation from the post of State Minister. As previously reported, the president announced his decision, speaking in the parliament of the republic. Harutyunyan said that just a few days after Vardanyan's appointment as State Minister, Azerbaijan began a blockade of the Republic, blocking the Lachin corridor. "All this time Ruben Vardanyan and I have been together, following events, developments both in Artsakh and in the outside world on a daily basis, constantly exchanging views on solutions to the situation," Harutyunyan noted, thanking Vadanyan for his desire to share responsibility. "All this time I was constantly discussing, assessing and analyzing all the problems that existed and were additionally formed after the blockade of Artsakh, I followed the latest geopolitical developments around Artsakh and the South Caucasus, I held a number of consultations and also informed Ruben Vardanyan about them, we had joint discussions. Though each of us may have our own version of what we are going to do and how we are going to do it, Ruben Vardanyan was sympathetic to my position, admitting that in any case I am proficient in the situation, being fully aware of it due to my position, and I can provide comprehensive and insightful assessments of the information more fully," Harutyunyan said. On the reasons for Ruben Vardanyan's resignation, the president spoke without disclosing brackets, but mentioned the need to "confront the challenges" and "not exhaust the resilience." "Since I myself appointed Mr. Vardanian to the position of Minister of State almost four months ago, I must emphasize that the situation then and now are very different both externally and internally. Nevertheless, I highly appreciate Mr. Vadanyan's efforts during that period, both in raising international awareness of Artsakh and for the resolution of numerous internal problems during the blockade," Harutyunyan assured. Without commenting on the various rumors, speculations and publications on the issue, Harutyunyan noted that "no one can feel more pain from this decision than I do." "I will also say that I do not discuss and do not coordinate my steps and decisions with anyone except the people of Artsakh and state bodies. I appointed Ruben Vardanyan to the post of state minister by my decision and made a proposal on my initiative, it was approved by the people of Artsakh, when making such a decision I was aware of the probability and possibility of problems in Azerbaijan and other places, but no one prevented me and could not prevent me from making such a decision," Harutyunyan said. He expressed confidence that Vardanian will remain in Artsakh and increase his efforts aimed at Artsakh's prosperity through his active public activities. "Regarding the speculations about the differences between me and Ruben Vardanyan on the foreign policy course, I would like to note that the strategic goal of both of us is the Armenian, independent and secure future of Artsakh, we both have the same perception of the vital interests and red lines of the people of Artsakh. Nevertheless, our short-term approaches have certain tactical differences, which are based on the differences in our perception of certain factors, including the highly unpredictable instability in the world and the region, methods of protecting red lines, the efficiency of using Armenian resources and leverage, and the influence of geopolitical actors' interests and leverage," Harutyunyan stated. Ruben Vardanyan, who was dismissed from the post of Artsakh State Minister, at a meeting of the Artsakh government, spoke about contradictions with Artsakh President. I will work here, I will stay by your side. Thank you, Mr. President, for everything. Even though we do have contradictions in different approaches, but the general idea is that we have "red lines" that no one should cross. These red lines are very important for our dignity, in order to keep Artsakh Armenian, independent and dignified. I am confident that we will overcome this way together, he said. "First of all, I thank you for the way we have passed together and for Mr. President's faith in me. It was a great experience for me. You know that I have been coming to Artsakh for decades, I had great connections, but at the beginning of September I stated that I had come because I felt that we were standing on the edge of a precipice, not fully aware of the situation. For me it was Sardarapat. When I say Sardarapat, I understand the crisis, a different agenda, and I perceive myself as a soldier doing whatever it takes to save our homeland. So when I received this invitation, it was unexpected for me, because I had given myself my word that I would not go into government work, but I realized that if I am a man of my word, going to defend my homeland, there can be no "want, don't want, can, can't." If it has to be done, then it has to be done. It was, of course, a difficult decision for me. On the other hand it was easy, because I decided for myself that I was here, I would stay, I would not go anywhere, and if I was needed in this direction, then I would work in this direction, if I could be useful to my homeland in another direction, I would work in another direction. From this point of view, it may be easier for me to both accept the position and surrender it. We are at war, and had to struggle in that direction, I hope that my struggle has somehow helped us all to overcome these difficulties together. I must respond to a few talking points. First, why I did not resign. I want to be clear: I thought I was a soldier - I cannot resign. If necessary, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief should relieve me of my job. Secondly, I'm sure we did a very important job in a very difficult period, and I want to thank all the people who worked in this difficult crisis, from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m., without light and gas, showing that as a team they are ready for anything. It was a very important experience for me, for which I am very grateful. Third, there was really a lot of pressure from the outside. Mr. President has more information, and he understands the situation. But we have an outside world and an inside world. It seemed to me that pressure from the outside doesn't help us internally to have a situation so that we feel that we are able to fight that pressure harder. I presented to Mr. President the work of the Government in 110 days, and I'm ready to present it to the public in more detail. To do the work, you first have to draw up a plan, have a sketch, lay the foundation, build the interior walls. We took steps in various directions, which, of course, in crisis conditions were difficult, but we are happy to pass the results of the work done to Mr. Nersisyan and hope that he will continue to work on these directions. I know that there is some pressure on me to stay in Artsakh, but I would like to note that not only I won't leave, but I can't imagine myself outside Artsakh. I'm happy to continue the work that I did before. Our foundation, the agency "We Are Our Mountains" has already done a lot of projects. I would like to say that it was a very important example of cooperation between the state and the private sector, Armenia, the Diaspora and Armenian and non-Armenian NGOs. I think it is very important because if we are talking about the future, it is very important that this cooperation continues. We will continue our efforts and will do a great job so that as many Armenians as possible come to Artsakh, so that not only Artsakh Armenians don't feel lonely but also those who left Artsakh in different times, during this crisis, come back and strengthen our Motherland even more. As I have already mentioned, we have financial and managerial problems, as well as the problem of preparing for the next winter. During this period we have gained quite a lot of experience, we have understood our shortcomings, and we have recorded the shortcomings in which areas of work have been carried out. It is very important to learn lessons from all this and do everything so that these shortcomings are not repeated either in terms of food, or fuel, or in terms of other problems. We have a much better idea of the situation now than we did before the blockade. More important than financial, managerial and other issues was the fact that Azerbaijan, which hoped to bring us to our knees, to break us, was cruelly mistaken. Azerbaijan saw that we have become more united, and even the indifference has disappeared. In fact, it was very encouraging to hear people in different communities saying: we are ready to endure without gas and light, just don't betray us and let's keep fighting. Indeed, your responsibility as president, who was elected four months before the war, is very heavy, you are in a very difficult position, having carried this burden for so long. I say with confidence that in order to succeed, the approach has to be systemic. If we don't build a system, if we don't put in transparent, consistently created mechanisms, it's very difficult to achieve success. The topic of discussion is also that no individual is more important than our homeland. Trust is also very important; I hope our word, indeed, has not lost its value. I reviewed your speeches before the war: they were very brilliant, profound speeches, Mr. President. I am sure that you will subscribe to your words even now. I just wish you would turn your words into deeds. It's very important that people don't lose faith in these words. I'm sorry, but sometimes we really can't say what we want to say, or we have to resort to allegories. Nevertheless, people must believe our words and deeds. As someone who didn't work in the government system until these 112 days, I realized that the majority in Artsakh are dedicated civil servants. In any case, the challenges that exist cannot be overcome by the efforts of the Government alone. The problems that we have in the financial, security, and identity spheres require very serious cooperation, so I hope we will understand the importance of that when we try to use the potential of the Diaspora. The political field has its own laws and it is possible that if we were not in a blockade, we would look at all this differently. The most difficult thing for me is that I failed to prove and explain two things: that this is not a normal situation, and that crisis has its own laws. This was probably one of my biggest omissions. The other difficulty was that I failed to explain that struggle means that we have to understand every day what our weaknesses and strengths are, how we need to strengthen our position, how we need to be able to use our limited resources. Our struggle is both in the economy and in the information field. These 112 days brought changes, which inevitably showed a new situation, a new Artsakh. On the one hand, we were all in the same boat, and that boat united us all. But on the other hand, we saw the unacceptable examples I was talking about, that some people do not have this understanding of the unacceptable, when, for example, in a crisis situation you send fruits and vegetables to high-ranking officials, being a high-ranking official yourself... The question is not that it is bad. The issue is that out of those few dozen people, only a few people sent it back, finding the phenomenon itself unacceptable. I'm sorry that bringing pineapples or roses during a blockade is considered normal, but of course I know that the number of these people is small. It's not what they did that bothers me much more, it's what we think is normal. Second, there was no mechanism to punish. Mr. Nersisian and I have discussed this issue extensively: what in this situation should be punished and what should not. My approach may have been very harsh, but I don't regret it. I recently read Nzhdeh's book - it was interesting to see that 100 years ago Nzhdeh was writing about the same thing. I would like to read a small excerpt from his memoirs: "The fate of the Armenians would have been different if their leaders, instead of devouring each other, had declared war on their shortcomings." I myself know that I was not a perfect leader, I made mistakes, but I was sincere, I was a patriot, I demanded more from myself than from others. Mr. President, I want to say we are happy here because we have a fantastic nation. This nation has shown that it can endure anything, it is ready to fight, ready to follow us and it is indeed a great honor that I had the opportunity and from communicating with these people I understood how strong Artsakhis are, I understood the difference between Artsakhis and Armenians living in other places. This is very inspiring. I am confident that we can overcome the "salami" strategy applied by Azerbaijan, which is very dangerous. I am sure that not just one person, or the Security Council, or a few hundred people should have the right to choose the way, but the whole people should make a very hard and responsible decision, which we talked about before the blockade, during the blockade, and during the rally. We are all human beings who have our faults. I hope that if I have offended someone without realizing it, I will be forgiven, if I have not done something or done something, I am ready to listen to both criticism and advice, because I have always learned from others." Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The press service of the Armenian government informed Armenian News-NEWS.am. The interlocutors touched upon the humanitarian, environmental and energy crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor. The Prime Minister noted the importance of necessary steps taken by Russia to overcome it. At the same time, the Prime Minister stressed the fact of the decision of the International Court of Justice regarding the unblocking of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan. Issues of implementation of the agreements reflected in the trilateral statements of the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan on 9 November 2020, 11 January and 26 November 2021 were discussed. Views were exchanged on the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. Bangladesh Prime Minister and Awami League President Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday called upon her country's people to boycott the parties formed illegally by military dictators and remain vigilant against them. "It is impossible to assume power by lobbying foreigners. It seems like someone coming from outside will take the BNP (Bangladesh Nationalist Party) to power.... It (BNP) has been dreaming so. Once upon a time, they could make it happen by acting as a broker (of foreigners). But there is no scope left in Bangladesh to come to power through the acts of an agent," she said, presiding over a meeting organised by the AL at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre here to mark the Shaheed Divas and International Mother Language Day. The Prime Minister said that the people of the country have now become much more aware and they know better about the country, its history and the target of the Awami League government. She accused the the BNP leaders of "going to their local and foreign masters and lodging complaints against the Awami League government" despite the fact that her party did nothing to them in comparison to their misdeeds with her party when it was in the opposition. At the outset of the meeting, a minute's silence was observed to pay homage to the martyrs of the Language Movement, Liberation War, August 15, 1975 carnage and all the democratic and progressive movements. The premier said that BNP, while in power, never allowed AL to take to the street and unleashed inhuman torture to their leaders and activists, referring to the BNP's nationwide movement without any interference of the government. The day is also being observed around the world as UNESCO recognised the International Mother Language Day on November 17, 1999. Bangladesh missions abroad also observed the day in a befitting manner. --IANS sumi/vd ( 323 Words) 2023-02-22-23:26:02 (IANS) During the meeting, President Malpass commended India on maintaining solid growth during the global slowdown and encouraged further progress to improve the business-enabling environment and advance the energy transition. Malpass is in India to attend a meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and the governors of the central bank. Prime Minister Modi and Malpass discussed India in terms of "Amrit Kaal" and the goal to achieve and sustain 8 per cent growth as India approaches the 100th anniversary of its Independence in 2047. President Malpass noted the importance of increasing private sector investment and commercial credit growth as India builds competitiveness in global value chains. Malpass encouraged the expansion of capital markets and more pathways to de-listing of companies as steps to attracting large new inflows of foreign direct investment. Malpass and Prime Minister Modi also discussed the role and cost of various subsidies and the importance of targeted support for small farmers and vulnerable sectors. WB President Malpass welcomed the government's new budget and the recent stability of the rupee, which are both key steps to fast and sustainable growth. He expressed the World Bank Group's support for increased female labour force participation, expanded infrastructure, green finance, sustainable agriculture, and renewable energy. WB President and Prime Minister Modi also discussed agricultural policies that could increase efficiency and crop yields while better utilising scarce water and electricity resources, and the LiFE initiative for environmental awareness around the world. Looking ahead to the G20 summit hosted by the government of India, President Malpass, and Prime Minister Modi discussed India's priorities, action on debt for low-income countries and vulnerable middle-income countries, and the role and evolution of international finance institutions. (ANI) New Delhi [India], February 23 (ANI/BusinessWire India): WBR Corp (WBR Corp (c)) is a leading advisory and consulting firm headquartered in London, UK. WBR Corp provides expert guidance and solutions to individuals and businesses. WBR Corp provides various corporate services that include cutting-edge business consulting, advisory services, customized branding solutions, online marketing, social media management, PR and other media relations services. WBR Corp is also a pioneer in taking initiatives to create awareness on various social issues by organizing sport events, conferences and seminars in and outside India. WBR Corp has clients from diverse industry sectors ranging from large to MSME organizations. WBR Corp organized the tenth edition of National Excellence Awards in New Delhi on February 17, 2023, at Hotel Radisson Blu Dwarka. This ceremony was organized with the aim to recognize the efforts made by organizations, entrepreneurs, and professionals from the Service, Education, Healthcare, Beauty, Technology, Wellness, Real Estate and Construction sectors. Versatile Actor and model Ishita Dutta graced the ceremony as the chief guest and felicitated all the award winners. The award ceremony celebrated achievements of organizations and professionals from all over India on the basis of their product & service quality, pricing, marketing strategies and leadership position in the industry/market segment/geography, dedication to customer satisfaction, entrepreneur initiatives, exemplary business practices, business growth etc. According to Ishita Dutta, "Entrepreneurs, professionals, education and real estate institutions and small and medium enterprises are playing an important role in employment generation and overall growth and development of the country." Some of the key winners at the ceremony included names like: Jayoti Vidyapeeth Women's University, D K Soni, Dr B D Verma, Kidderpore Child's World School, SS Auditors and Tax Consultants, The Godbarber Salon, Anil Singh (Lakshya Flexitubes & Profile Pvt. Ltd.), Alpesh Lodha (Suman Manglam Advertisers), Dr Girdhar Lal Sharma, M D International School, Dr Gaurav Ralhan (Health on Top), Global Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, SS Royal Events, The Cambridge School and Vivek Chawla Studio "Winning an award is extremely motivating for the organizations as well as its employees and forces them to do even better as they have a reputation to live up to, effectively enabling them at rise to match the international standards," said Shilpa Gupta, director of WBR Corp. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India) The first of the Air India aircraft with GE engines are expected to be service ready in 2023 itself, Vikram Rai - Country Head, South Asia and Indonesia of GE Aerospace said on Thursday. Air India, part of Tata group, had signed an order for 40 GE engines, plus a multi-year engine services agreement. "The first of the new aircraft will enter service in late-2023, with the bulk to arrive beginning mid-2025," Rai said in an exclusive interview with ANI. "Air India already has started taking delivery of 36 leased B777 and A320 aircraft to accelerate its fleet and network expansion." Terming Air India's engine order as a "big opportunity" for the jet engines and systems suppliers company, he said it reflects continued confidence in GE Aerospace technology --which has been powering Air India's carriers for more than 40 years. Earlier this month, Air India, in a historic deal, announced it will buy 250 aircraft from Airbus and has also selected Boeing for the purchase of up to 290 planes as part of its growth strategy. Air India was looking for a mix of aircraft to boost their domestic and international network through recent orders. Soon after the divestment of the airline, the airline indicated it was going for a historic order. "This order further deepens that relationship," Rai added. When asked how GE sees Indian aviation space becoming a key player in the coming years with multiple stakeholders or companies looking to expand its base, he said the majority of the aircraft that domestic carriers have on order right now are expected to be powered by engines from GE Aerospace and CFM (a joint venture between GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines). "Approximately 1,100 of the 1,200 aircraft that are currently on order will be powered by GE or CFM." India is the third-largest civil aviation market and it has the potential to expand exponentially with increasing number of flyers and the country's economic growth story. "There are currently more people in the middle class--around 440 million--than the entire population of the US. But India has only 700 commercial aircraft, compared to the US's over 5000 aircraft. The potential to grow the commercial aviation market is huge. We are happy to help local airlines and also partner with airframers to bring the best of our technology to this market," he said. In the same breath, he said India is not just a market for GE Aerospace as it is also where it innovates on aerospace technology at its engineering centre in Bengaluru, in partnership with industry and academia. "We also source engine parts from 13 Indian manufacturers and from our own factory in Pune for our global supply chain," Rai added. India aims to develop itself as a Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) hub for defence equipment and systems. "GE helped set up Air India's MRO facility that includes GE90 testing capabilities in Nagpur in 2018-19. We are keen to help our partners set up service and maintenance capabilities locally," he told ANI. On a question posed what is GE's medium and long-term plan for Indian aviation space and also has it been in touch with any other Indian carriers for similar deals, he, without getting into specifics, said, GE engages with various Indian carriers from time to time. "Other than this historic Air India order some of our notable previous orders for GE and our joint venture partner CFM includes: Akasa Air with CFM for its LEAP-1B in 2021; IndiGo LEAP-1A order for 310 Airbus A320neo family aircraft in 2021; IndiGo for LEAP-1A to power 280 Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft in 2019; Vistara order for GEnx-1B engines for six Boeing 787 aircraft in 2018," he added. (ANI) Bangalore (Karnataka) [India], February 23 (ANI/PRNewswire): Sonata Software, a leading Modernization and Digital Engineering company, has announced that Sonata Software North America Inc., (SSNA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Sonata Software Limited (SSL), has signed a definitive agreement with the Shareholders of Quant Systems INC., a Texas (USA) based IT Solutions and Software company, to acquire 100 per cent stake. This acquisition is in line with Sonata's strategy to accelerate the growth curve and build scale. It will accelerate Sonata's capabilities in Enterprise Data Analytics, Cloud modernization, Cyber security, Salesforce, Data Privacy, Adobe, and Digital & Mobile App solutions, including differentiated IPs for Salesforce (workbox.io) and Chatbot (LISA) technologies. It will expand Sonata's domain expertise in Banking and Financial Services, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Consumer/Retail and others. Its strong leadership team has rich experience and a successful track record in client services, and technology innovation in the areas of Digital transformation, Enterprise Data, Salesforce, Data Privacy, Snowflake and Adobe "We aim to be the fastest-growing next-gen Digital firm delivering Modernization & Digital outcomes for enterprises through our Platformation Framework. To achieve this vision, we have outlined some key strategic drivers to build scale through service offering expansion in Modernization, invest in BFSI and Healthcare & Life Sciences verticals, and build global centres. Quant Systems aligns to our strategic drivers and will enable us to win larger deals in our focus-verticals and adds two large clients to our top 5 clients list," said Samir Dhir, MD & CEO, Sonata Software Limited. Founded in 2008, Quant Systems has shown tremendous growth year-on-year. It has a team of over 300 Engineers in delivery centres across India (Hyderabad) and Costa Rica along with Onshore presence in North America to deliver high-quality client service. Quant boasts of marquee logos in BFSI, Healthcare & Life Sciences and Consumer & Retail. It has built a strong partner ecosystem of industry-leading players including, AWS, Adobe, Salesforce, Snowflake, and Google Cloud. Quant's innovative IPs - Workbox.io and LISA Chatbot - broadens Sonata Software's offerings as part of its Platformation strategy. LISA enables true Omni-channel experience by integrating Enterprise systems, Contact Centre and support system solutions, while Workbox simplifies Digital Document Management. "We are proud of our growth and the results we have delivered over the past 15 years for which we are thankful to our clients. Joining the Sonata family will enable us to take our innovative IPs and deep expertise to a broader clientele to solve complex cloud and data management challenges. This will also open up more growth avenues for our people and deepen the bench of valuable skills," said Srini Veeravelli, CEO, Quant Systems Inc. Sonata Software For more information, press only: Nandita Venkatesh,Sonata Software LimitedCIN- L72200MH1994PLC082110A.P.S. Trust Building,Bull Temple Road, N.R. ColonyBangalore 560004, IndiaTel:+91806778199 Nandita.v@sonata-software.com This story is provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PRNewswire) New Delhi [India], February 23 (ANI/NewsVoir): Underscoring the imperative need to green the energy and resource-intensive shipping sector, Sarbananda Sonowal, Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, speaking at the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS) in New Delhi on Thursday, said that multiple pollution mitigation measures are being put in place in major ports to enable the reduction of Greenhouse Gas emissions in the Indian shipping sector by 30 per cent by 2030. Among the measures adopted are mechanised mode of dry bulk handling and conversion of diesel RTGs to electric hybrid RTGs, the Minister added. "About 99 per cent of the energy demand from coastal shipping sector is presently met by fossil fuels. According to the International Maritime Organization, any unchecked measures will take emissions associated with shipping sector to anywhere between 50 per cent and 250 per cent by 2050 in comparison to 2008 emission levels," said the Minister at the session on 'Instruments and Leadership for Inclusive Green Growth.' He noted that initiatives such as the National Centre of Excellence in Green Port and Shipping, a collaboration between the Ministry for Ports, Shipping and Waterways and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), will play a transformational role in meeting the 2030 targets. Sonowal emphasized the need to develop a roadmap for greening the shipping sector in India, as well as to reduce pollution intensity and evolve strategies to introduce renewable energy and green hydrogen in the shipping sector. Giving a perspective from Norway, Gina Lund, Governor, Agder County, highlighted the practical challenges of putting sustainable development into practice, especially when the universally accepted goals and the legitimate local and individual interests are in conflict. "Sustainability is most impactful at the local level. In our country, the lack of political coherence and conflicts between local and national interests is a major challenge. One of my main responsibilities is to ensure municipalities comply with national politics and legislations set by Norwegian government and Parliament," said Lund. She observed that Norway's surplus renewable energy capabilities are attracting space intensive businesses, but it, in turn, is also putting a heavy burden on the country's natural areas as well as the housing sector. "We have developed several tools to bring a balance between growth and the protection of the environment," she said. Elaborating on the initiatives taken by Finland to make growth inclusive and green, Terhi Lehtonen, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Environment for Finland, said, "In Finland we have set in legislation a target to be climate neutral by 2035 and carbon negative soon thereafter. Our electricity generation is already 85 per cent CO2 emission free and this year should rise to about 95 per cent." Lehtonen asserted that greening the energy sector alone will not be enough, but a commitment to circular economy is essential. "Redesigning consumption and production require rethinking both policy and business models," she added. Helen Clarkson, CEO, The Climate Group, focussed on the need to bring in state and regional governments into the emission reduction discourse. "One of the networks we bring together is the Under2 Coalition which involves state and regional governments from around the world. It is the coalition with the greatest potential for emissions reduction." Identifying finance as the key barrier faced by state and regional governments, Clarkson added, "Facilitating climate finance and diversifying fiscal base for green growth should absolutely be a top priority. Capacity building should be top of the agenda to deliver the transformational change needed." She added that both the national and sub-national finance ministries need to increase their capacity with instruments such as green budgeting, and carbon tax and pricing. Observing the need to bring social inclusion back into the heart of climate finance, Kartikeya Desai, Founder, Desai & Associates, said, "It is absolutely possible to tackle adaptation financing by leveraging the principles of social finance. India is the country best positioned to do so." Drawing attention to the need for financial models to enable green transitions, Kathleen McGinty, Vice President and Chief Sustainability Government and Regulatory Affairs Officer, Johnson Control, said, "We have never been better situated to figure out how we mobilise the financial resources but the question is what are the best models, what are the best ideas for this." Suggesting measures that could be part of the Green Development Pact, Jagjeet Singh Sareen, Principal, Dalberg Advisors observed that the pact should bring G20 members together on a climate competitiveness framework or principles. "Our recommendations on climate finance would be to expand the scope of climate finance and make climate smart transition of the financial sector overall. Also, let's build infrastructure which enhances our resilience rather than enhancing the resilience of the infrastructure we have already built," said Sareen. Taking part in the session, Abhinav Singh, Director, Amazon India said, "Addressing climate change requires a virtuous cycle. It starts with a bold commitment, goes on to investment, and then deliberate actions. It is required not just by the organisation or the government, but all levels of society." The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), based in India, is an independent, multi-dimensional research organization with capabilities in policy research, technology development, and implementation. An innovator and agent of change in the energy, environment, climate change and sustainability space, TERI has pioneered conversations and action in these areas for nearly five decades. Headquartered in New Delhi, it has centres in six Indian cities, and is supported by a multi-disciplinary team of scientists, sociologists, economists, engineers, administrative professional and state-of-the-art infrastructure. This story has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsVoir) Nearly a month after announcing her little one's arrival, Paris Hilton shared the name of her baby boy on her podcast show. And it is...Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum! Paris will further discuss her baby boy's name in her upcoming book, Paris: The Memoir, set for release March 14, reported E News! Paris introduced her son to the world on January 24, posting a picture of his hand wrapped in hers to Instagram with a caption, "You are already loved beyond words." According to People, Paris and her husband Carter Reum welcomed the child via surrogacy. "It's always been my dream to be a mother and I'm so happy that Carter and I found each other," she told the outlet. "We are so excited to start our family together and our hearts are exploding with love for our baby boy." Before announcing the baby news, Paris and Carter had kept plans to expand their family private. "My entire life has been so public," the reality star told Harper's Bazaar for its March 2023 cover story. "I've never had anything for myself. We decided that we wanted to have this whole experience to ourselves." Following more than a year of dating, Hilton and Reum got engaged in February 2021. They later wed in a three-day ceremony in November of that same year. Reum, a native of Chicago and a longtime friend of the Hiltons, is an author, business owner, and the founder of the venture capital firm M13. (ANI) Woah! SS Rajamouli's 'RRR' shows no sign of slowing down. After bagging a nomination at the 95th Academy Awards, the film has now been nominated in the Critics Choice Super Awards in the Best Action Movie category, along with Top Gun: Maverick and Bullet Train. Also, Ram Charan and Jr NTR are competing with Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt in the Best Actor category. The nominees were announced on Critics Choice Awards' site on February 23. The winners will be announced on March 16. Last month in January, the team RRR bagged an award under the Best Original Song category at Golden Globes Awards 2023. Meanwhile, Ram Charan recently appeared on the Good Morning America show, where he opened up about RRR's mega success. "It (RRR) is about friendship, great brotherhood, camaraderie, and the relationship between these two characters. And I think it is one of the finest writings of my director Rajamouli, he is known as the Steven Spielberg of India," he said. On the show, Ram Charan also hinted that Rajamouli is up for directing an international project. The actor said, "Everybody calls him that, and I hope he's going to make his way to the global cinema very soon, with the next film." (ANI) The students' wing of the Democratic Students' Association (DSA) in Visva Bharati University in West Bengal's Birbhum district announced that they will screen the controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the campus on Thursday to coincide with arrival of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh for the university's convocation ceremony. The Defence Minister and Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar are scheduled to arrive at Bolpur-Santiniketan late Thursday evening and attend the convocation ceremony scheduled on Friday morning. According to DSA spokesman Subho Nath, the BBC documentary will be screened at Nimtala Ground at the Ratanpalli area at 6 p.m. on Thursday. BJP's Birbhum district unit has already criticised the move. BJP's Birbhum district President Dhoruba Saha said that a member of a students' wing "with Maoist affiliation" had deliberately planned this screening at the time of the Defence Minister's visit just to insult him. "These fake leftists tried to create a similar ruckus within Jawaharlal Nehru University at New Delhi over this documentary. However, the people of India do not trust them and they are totally isolated from the people," he claimed. However, the DSA spokesman said that the timing of the screening coinciding with the visit of the Defence Minister is totally coincidental. "We have nothing against Rajnath Singh. The BBC documentary has been screened in several universities in the state already. At the same time the venue of the screening is quite at a distance from the venue of the convocation ceremony," he said. --IANS src/vd ( 269 Words) 2023-02-22-20:20:02 (IANS) Till recently, a buzz of possible changes in Madhya Pradesh BJP was taking new twists and turns almost every day, and speculation was rife of a major reshuffle ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled later this year. However, all those murmurs are now gradually disappearing from the political circles of the state. The speculation about possible changes in BJP leadership was so much that whenever Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan or Home Minister Narottam Mishra or state BJP chief V.D. Sharma visited Delhi to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah or party President J.P. Nadda, whispers about possible changes in state BJP escalated in Madhya Pradesh. The buzz only grew when the BJP's two-day national executive meeting was held in January. It was believed that the central leadership of the BJP will introduce a new face as state BJP chief replacing Sharma. However, as the Assembly elections get closer, it seems Chouhan and Sharma are likely to continue to lead the party until the polls. Sahmra's tenure as state BJP chief ends this month, and it is believed that he will be given an extension. Sharma, a first-time MP from Khajuraho, took charge as state BJP chief on February 15, 2020, just a month before the BJP returned to power in the state as the Kamal Nath-led Congress government collapsed after Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with over 20 party MLAs, switched to the BJP. Notably, a buzz about replacing Sharma grew strong during the two-day state working committee meeting held in Bhopal in January. When all the state BJP leaders, including Union ministers and Rajya Sabha MPs, were in Bhopal for the meeting, a tribal BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Sumer Singh Solanki, who was considered a front-runner for the post of state BJP chief, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on the same day. His meeting with Modi further strengthened the speculation of a possible change in state BJP leadership. A senior state BJP functionary told IANS, "There is a strong possibility that Sharma's tenure as state BJP President will be extended. Though an official announcement in this regard is yet to come from the party's Central leadership, a signal has already been given about the extension of Sharma's tenure." Political observers also claimed that there are little chances that the party would replace Sharma, especially when the elections are just a few months away. "While politics is full of uncertainty, given the situation, there are reasons to believe that Sharma will get an extension," said a political observer. --IANS pd/arm ( 446 Words) 2023-02-22-20:20:03 (IANS) Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that the BJP was like a "class bully" that respects no one and the party, along with the RSS, captured every single institution of the country. Adressing his first election rally in Malki Ground here, ahead of the February 27 Meghalaya Assembly polls, he alleged that the BJP and RSS have captured the Parliament, media, bureaucracy, judiciary and these are under pressure and attacked by the ideology of the two organisations. Gandhi said that the BJP and the RSS refused to accept that India has multiple ideas, not a single idea, community, religion and language. "The BJP-RSS thinks that they know everything, understands everything and have no respect for anybody else. We have to fight them collectively to defeat them." Referring to the traditional Meghalaya jacket he was wearing, Gandhi told the gathering that he was wearing it as a sign of respect for the state's culture and tradition. "But if I wore the jacket and attacked your religion, culture, history and language, I would be insulting you. Saying that ideology of BJP and RSS is trying to destroy the culture, religion, and language tradition of the country, Gandhi said that the Congress would not allow them to do so. He said that BJP has been attacking every single state and they are trying to impose one idea in each state of the country including Meghalaya. Alleging "many corruption cases in Meghalaya", the Congress leader said that as part of the corruption, the dome of the Meghalaya Assembly building collapsed earlier so that it can be rebuilt. "During Covid pandemic, the party leaders in Meghalaya government were busy stealing money leading to the death of many people. In the massive rice scam, one lakh bags of rice meant for the PDS in Meghalaya found in neighbouring Assam. Over 13 lakh ton coal illegally mined and Rs 650 crore taken away," he claimed. Urging the people to vote for the Congress candidates, Gandhi said that the to make the party youthful, 47 of the 60 Congress candidates are first timers and 10 of them are women. He said that the Congress gave five major pre-poll commitments to fulfil if the party comes to power. These include, empowerment of women, one job in each household, uninterrupted power supply, to make Meghalaya a drug free state and a corruption free Meghalaya. Gandhi. criticising the Trinamool Congress, said that people know the history of the party which has been always creating violence in Bengal and scores of its leaders are involved in chit fund scams. "They (Trinamool) went to Goa, spent huge money to hide the misgovernance of the BJP. The TMC came to Meghalaya to ensure BJP came to power," he alleged. Referring to his Bharat Jodo Yatra, Gandhi said that the over 4,000 km Yatra from Kanyakumari to Srinagar in slightly more than four months, was learning, listening to people and telling the country that it is not the place of hateful and hatred. --IANS sc/vd ( 516 Words) 2023-02-22-20:22:03 (IANS) The CBI has alleged that the assets were acquired by them between 2015 and 2019, when Shukla was serving on the bench. In 2019, a case was lodged against Shukla and retired judge of the Chhattisgarh High Court, I.M. Quddusi for getting bribe for a court order which was in favour of a medical college based in Lucknow. In 2019, then Chief Justice of India, Dipak Misra had recommended impeachment of Shukla after a Supreme Court's in-house probe came against Shukla. However, Shukla wasn't impeached at that time. Next Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi also favoured the impeachment of Shukla. Now, the CBI has lodged a fresh disproportionate assets case against Shukla and his wife, and in the coming days, can issue summons to him to join the investigation. --IANS atk/vd ( 188 Words) 2023-02-22-20:32:02 (IANS) Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri during his Tuesday's visit to Barmer in Rajasthan met the family members of former Union minister Jaswant Singh, triggering speculations in political circles about the reforming of old equations. Jaswant Singh was the senior cabinet minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government. However, his relations with the BJP turned sour when he was denied ticket by the party in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. In 2014, he contested from Barmer constituency as an independent candidate and lost the election. Soon after the polls, the former Union minister met with an accident in August 2014 and had remained unwell since then. Later, he passed away in 2020 after a prolonged illness. Jaswant Singh was expelled from the BJP in 2009 when his book 'Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence' was published, in which he reportedly praised the founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah. He and his family have strong hold in their home state Rajasthan, specifically in Jodhpur, Barmer and Jaisalmer. The 82-year-old leader had a political career that lasted for more than three decades in which he held several porfolios, including Defence and External Affairs among others. His son Manvendra Singh joined the Congress in 2018 as his relations with the saffron party continued to remain sour. However, in between, discussions of his 'Ghar Wapasi' to BJP continued making rounds. Sources say that the current state BJP leadership has good relations with Jaswant Singh's family. But, the Congress settled things by giving Manvendra a political appointment. Now, after Puri's meeting with Jaswant Singh's family, speculations are again making rounds. "Puri is one of loyalists of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and if he visit Jaswant Singh's family, it means that the old stalwart of the saffron party is being missed," a party worker said. While on the other hand, another worker claimed that Puri had cordial relations with Jaswant Singh and "so it was like old family friends meeting". Amidst all the theories, political factors could not be ruled out completely as the state set to go for the Assembly polls this year and Manvendra has a significant hold in western part of the state. Sharing a photo of his family with Puri, Manvendra tweeted: "Today, Honourable Union Housing and Urban Affairs and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Shri Hardeep Singh Puri ji came to Jodhpur farm house and inquired about their (family's) well-being and met the family." "Today you came, the memories of love and relationships of so many years got refreshed. With the grace of Maa Bhagwati, the love should always remain like this," he said tagging Puri. --IANS arc/sha ( 450 Words) 2023-02-22-21:56:02 (IANS) Former Nagaland Chief Minister and Naga People's Front (NPF) chief Shurhozelie Liezietsu on Wednesday said that the option for a post-poll alliance is still open, but it's not confirmed which party will they support. Talking exclusively to ANI, Liezietus said, "The upcoming elections are very special. Earlier only 3-4 parties used to fight, but this time there are 12 political parties. But, ours is the only regional party, the rest are national parties". Talking about the BJP-NDPP alliance, he said, "The relation between BJP and NDPP is not very smooth. Both of them are declaring that they will make the government on their own, but I don't think they will be able to do so." He said that NPF had faced difficulties in this election, and they are only fielding 22 out of 60 candidates. "To be frank, we have faced difficulties in this election. Earlier, we used to field all 60 candidates, but this time, at the eleventh hour, many of our candidates defected to other parties. I didn't get much time to reorganise the party and was able to field only 22 candidates. But, I am sure that all 22 pose a winning chance. We are expecting only 12-15 seats," he said. Regarding any post-poll alliance, he said, "The scenario of the post-poll alliance is open, but it is too early to comment on whose side we will go". On being asked about Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statement that Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) will be withdrawn from Nagaland in 3-4 years, he said that the situation in Nagaland is already peaceful. "The situation in Nagaland is peaceful, and there has not been any violence in the last 6-7 years. Some incidents have happened in neighbouring states, but not here. I don't know how many years, they want to wait for removing AFSPA, but the situation here is normal," he said. Talking about the Assam-Nagaland border issue, he added, "The neighbouring states should live in peace, and should not fight for a few piece of land." On being asked about the Eastern Nagaland People's Organisation (ENPO) issue and Naga problem, the former CM said that the Naga people want peace. "I will not comment anything on the ENPO issue, but regarding the Naga problem, I would say that the people of Nagaland are not children. In 2018, BJP promised that they will solve the Naga problem, and they are again promising the same now. The Naga people want peace and the government should talk with them like man to man," he said. Liezietus added saying, "The central government is not serious. They made a framework agreement with NSCN (I-M) group in 2015, and then with another group NNPG in 2017. Why were two agreements formed, there should only be one agreement. We want to bring the two groups together and form a common front to have a dialogue with the government." Talking about the party manifesto, he said, "We have prepared a long manifesto. We want to do away with corruption, and extortion and provide an able government to the people of Nagaland." He further said that NPF is the only party that represents the aspirations and identity of the Naga people. "NPF is the only political party, protecting the rights of the Naga people, their cultures and tradition. We are the only solution, as we represent the identity and aspirations of the Naga people. Naga people need real development, not just on the paper," he added. Nagaland goes to polls for its 60-member Assembly on February 27 and counting of votes is scheduled on March 2. (ANI) In a shocking case of fear of the COVID-19 pandemic, a woman in Gurugram, locked herself and her son in an apartment for three years due to the fear of the virus, both of whom have been rescued, informed the police on Wednesday. Talking to the media, Child Welfare Committee Member, Gurugram, Usha Solanki said, "A resident of Chakkarpur, Gurugram informed the police that his wife and child are locked in a flat for the last 3 years. His wife neither lets him enter the apartment nor sends their son outside." She said that the woman had asked her husband to get another flat for work. "The Police were instructed to file a complaint and teams were sent to the flat. The woman locked herself and her son due to the fear of covid. She asked the husband to get another flat as he went outside for work. He used to send her the money and got them groceries," she further said. Usha Solanki also said that the women's mental condition would also be examined "Both the woman and her son have been rescued and taken to the hospital. Her son is now 11 years old. The woman's mental condition will also be examined," she added. Further investigation is underway in the case. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the 41st edition of PRAGATI and reviewed nine key infrastructure projects spread across 13 states having cumulative worth of over Rs 41,500 crore. The Prime Minister advised the concerned ministries and state governments to use the PM GatiShakti portal for planning of infrastructure projects. He insisted on expeditious resolution of land acquisition, utility shifting and other issues for timely completion of projects. The Prime Minister also emphasised on ensuring proper coordination between the Central government ministries and the state governments. At the meeting, nine key infrastructure projects were reviewed. Among the nine projects, three projects are of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, two of the Ministry of Railways and one project each of the Ministry of Power, Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. These nine projects have a cumulative cost of over Rs 41,50 crore and relate to 13 states, including Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh. PRAGATI is the ICT based multi-modal platform for pro-active governance and timely implementation, involving the Centre and state governments. During the interaction, the Prime Minister also reviewed 'Mission Amrit Sarovar', and undertook real-time view of Amrit Sarovar sites through drones in Kishanganj, Bihar, and Botad, Gujarat. Modi advised all the concerned ministries and state governments to complete Amrit Sarovar work in mission mode before the onset of monsoon. The Prime Minister also emphasised on block level monitoring for timely completion of the target of 50,000 Amrit Sarovars under the scheme. The idea of Mission Amrit Sarovar is working to rejuvenate water bodies all across the country, which will help conserve water for the future. Once the mission is complete, the expected increase in water holding capacity is going to be around 50 crore cubic metre, the estimated carbon sequestration will be about 32,000 tonnes per year and expected increase in ground water recharge will be over 22 million cubic metre. --IANS kvm/arm ( 355 Words) 2023-02-22-23:00:02 (IANS) A 75-year-old man was found dead at his south Delhi house and it was found that he was killed by two men who had come to whitewash his house a week ago, officials said on Wednesday. The deceased has been identified as Satish Kumar Bhardwaj, a resident of Freedom Fighter Enclave, Neb Sarai. The official said that they have arrested the accused, Ravi (28) and Dharmender (26), both residents of Paryavaran Complex, who had come to whitewash the house a week ago. According to police, the Neb Sarai police station received a PCR call at around 8.15 a.m. on Tuesday about the man not opening his door, following which a team was immediately rushed to the spot. "The team found Bhardwaj lying in a pool of blood with a head injury. Rooms in the house were ransacked," said an official. The victim lived alone in the house and his two sons lived out of Delhi. "During the investigation, exhibits were collected from the crime spot and CCTV cameras installed in and around the vicinity were analysed to ascertain the entry and exit of the accused persons," Joint Commissioner of Police, South, Meenu Choudhary said. "The neighbours and family members of the deceased were examined in detail. With the sincere efforts of the team, it was revealed that some persons were engaged in whitewashing the house only one week ago," she said. The photos of the both men were collected from footage of one of the CCTVs installed in the area. "Local sources were deployed and human intelligence was collected and the suspects were identified as Ravi Kumar and Dharmender. Through surveillance and technical analysis, location of the suspects was zeroed down," said the Joint CP. A raid was conducted by the police team and both men were arrested. On interrogation, the accused confessed to killing Bhardwaj and said that they had hit him on the head with a pair of pliers. "Upon their instance, some stolen items and two hammers/cutters used in commission of crime were recovered," the Joint CP said. --IANS ssh/vd ( 360 Words) 2023-02-22-23:02:02 (IANS) Goa Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte on Wednesday announced a Rs 50,000 reward for the state police for solving the case of Japanese tourist looted on a beach late last year by three men impersonating police officers. The Goa Police on Tuesday have arrested three persons for allegedly robbing the Japanese tourist. The BJP government in Goa had came under attack from the opposition after the Consulate General of Japan in Mumbai recently issued an advisory to tourists from the country, saying that there have been incidents of fraud and robbery in which Japanese tourists were victims near the Anjuna beach, and asked their nationals to be careful. Khaunte said that this Japanese tourist had not complained to Anjuna police when the advisory was issued. "However, our police acted on his tweets and solved the case. Goa is a tourist spot and we need to give good experiences to tourists by giving safety. I am happy that the police have acted. I compliment police for ensuring speedy justice to Japanese tourists and hence I announce a reward of Rs 50,000 to them," he said. "These accused persons are not from Goa, they are from north India. Police have handled this case well," he said, adding a reward is announced to motivate police to act in such cases. The arrested individuals have been identified as Raju a.k.a. Wasim Khan, 25, Romy a.k.a. Chandbabu, 33, from Jaipur and Tahir, also from Rajasthan. The police had received a complaint through e-mail and tweets from Japanese tourist Tatsuki Teramoto, who mentioned that on December 28, 2022, some unknown persons impersonating police officers restrained him and stole his credit cards, debit cards, iPhone, Indian currency of Rs 30,000 and Japanese currency of 1,50,000 Yen. The accused further used the credit cards and debit cards at various stores, causing a loss of Rs 9,43,000 to the complainant. --IANS sbk/vd ( 328 Words) 2023-02-22-23:06:03 (IANS) Kameshwar Ojha (82), a retired RPF SI, was sleeping when a gang of four-five thieves broke into his house in the wee hours of Wednesday. Hearing the noise, Ojha woke up and tried to resist the robbers who mercilessly beat him, leading to his death. "We suspect that four to five thieves committed the crime. They entered the house with the motive of robbery, but failed due to the stiff resistance from Ojha," said Krishna Kumar, SHO of Gaurichak police station. --IANS ajk/arm ( 115 Words) 2023-02-22-23:10:01 (IANS) He will visit Karnataka on February 23, Madhya Pradesh on February 24, and Bihar on February 25. In Karnataka on Thursday, Shah will address a public meeting in Bellary as well as address a programme in Bengaluru in the late evening. He will visit Sharda Mata in Maihar, and after that, reach Madhya Pradesh's Satna on Friday to attend the Kol Jati Mahakumbh and Mata Sabari Jayanti programme, where he will address more than one lakh tribal community people. He will then meet state BJP leaders. In Bihar on Saturday, Shah will address a big rally at Sahujan Maidan in Lauria, Balmiki Nagar, then leave for adjoining Nandangarh, where he will visit the Buddhist stupa, marking the spot from where Prince Siddhartha shed his royal robes and set out in search of knowledge and enlightenment. In the afternoon, Shah will attend the Kisan Mazdoor function, organised on the occasion of Swami Sahajanand Saraswati Jayanti, in Patna, and will hold a meeting with Bihar BJP leaders in the late evening. There is also speculations that during his Bihar visit he may also meet Upendra Kushwaha, who quit the JD-U and announced formation of a new party. --IANS dr/vd ( 227 Words) 2023-02-22-23:14:04 (IANS) In the first case, Customs officials at Chennai airport said that they have arrested a man and recovered 250 MDMA tablets and 75 LSD stamps from his possession. In the second case, Customs officials at Mumbai airport, in coordination with CISF, seized $10 lakh (Rs 8.36 crore) from an Indian origin US national. An official said that the foreign currency was meticulously concealed in a handbag. --IANS atk/arm ( 107 Words) 2023-02-22-23:16:02 (IANS) PM Modi on Wednesday took to Twitter to express his pleasure. He retweeted and quoted the earlier tweet of the Ministry of Railways. "To further Indian Railways' progress towards #Mission100PercentElectrification, Broad Gauge rail network in Uttar Pradesh has now been 100% electrified" says the Ministry of Railways tweet. In response to this tweet by the Ministry of Railways about 100 per cent electrification of the Broad Gauge rail network in UP, the Prime Minister tweeted; "Very good!". (ANI) Padma Shri award winner weaver from Nagaland, Neihunuo Sorhie, known for her original artworks is on a mission to teach disappearing art to the next generation. On January 25, the weaver (linen loom) from Nagaland, Neihunuo Sorhie was awarded the prestigious Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award for her contribution to the field of arts. Neihunuo Sorhie is a renowned personality in the field of indigenous handicrafts for his original art motifs and meticulous details and patterns in traditional weaving. Born in 1963, Sorhie belongs to the Angami community living in the Kohima district. She learned the art of weaving from her mother just at the age of four, and by the age of six, she could weave clothes which was a very significant achievement. Talking to ANI, she said that this art is slowly disappearing and today's generation is not much interested in it, and because of this she is on a mission to teach the next generation about the skills she learned as a young girl. The 60-year-old weaver has several awards to her credit, including the National Handloom Award in 2007. She has participated in over 120 exhibitions, trade fairs and melas across India and foreign countries as a representative of India. Sorhie lives with her family in Kohima. She has mentored and trained over 300 young Naga women in the art form. She is a recipient of the National Handloom Awards twice in 2007 and 2022 for her artworks (handicrafts), the Sant Kabir Award in 2018; the Balipara Foundation Naturenomics Assam Award, 2014 and the State Awards to Mastercraftsmen from the Government of Nagaland in 2001. Sorhie also represented India at an exhibition on Naga Weaving Works in Paris where she demonstrated the art of loin-loom weaving. She also got the opportunity to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi twice. During a five-week demonstration of look skills at leBHV Marais, a leading luxury store in Paris, she met PM Modi, who also lauded her for taking local Indian handicrafts to the global stage. "I was very happy when I was awarded Padma Shri. I am very grateful to the government. I also met PM Modi and talked with him in Hindi. He also appreciated my work. I also like his 'Vocal for Local' campaign," she added. (ANI) IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri has sent a notice to IPS officer D Roopa for allegedly making "false and defamatory posts" against her and warned of criminal proceedings if she does not issue an unconditional apology in writing within 24 hours. This comes after IPS officer D Roopa accused the IAS officer of corruption. Roopa also posted Sindhuri's pictures on Facebook alleging that she had shared them with three IAS officers in 2021 and 2022. Roopa had claimed that Sindhuri had violated the rules of service conduct by sending her pictures to male IAS officers. Following the accusations, the IAS officer sent a notice through advocate CV Nagesh and demanded an unconditional apology stating that the "serious allegation" against her touches her "character". "As things stood, while my client was discharging her duties under her current position she has come across a Facebook post dated February 18, 2023, which incidentally your Facebook page bearing the name "D Roopa Moudgil" wherein you have alleged that no IAS Officer would go for a settlement with an MLA or Politician regarding their official work/ service and that for the first time you heard about such an incident and has cast aspersions on our client that she has done so and has alleged/questioned why our client went for a settlement with Sri. Sa Ra Mahesh, an MLA and implying that our client is trying to cover-up something with respect to either her service or corruption," the notice said. "Presumably not having received the desired media attention to such per se false and defamatory posts, you have indulged in uploading photos of our client and projecting the same to be explicit photos by imputing a meaning that the said photos ought to be seen in "context" with a malafide intention of colouring the photos with meanings that the same are explicit by falsely alleging that they were sent to "three lAS Ofticers". You have made such serious allegation against our client which touches her character and conduct knowing fully well that the same are false and far from truth," it further read. The notice further said that the posts and allegations were made with the objective of "tarnishing the professional, personal and social image" of Sindhuri. The IAS officer sought compensation of Rs 1 crore for the same. "From the course of your conduct in making the per-se defamatory comments/statements/allegations, knowing and having reason to believe that the said comments/statements/allegations are false and far from truth, you have committed a serious offence which is made penal under Section 500 of the Indian penal Code," the notice said. "Under the circumstances stated above, we have been instructed to demand of you which we hereby do, that you should within 24 Hours of the receipt of this notice, tender to our client an unconditional apology in writing for having made the said per se defamatory comments/statements/allegations," it added. She further warned of criminal proceedings if the IPS officer failed to comply to the demands. "If you fail to comply with the above demands, our client would be constrained to institute appropriate Criminal proceedings against you by filing an appropriate compliant before the jurisdictional Magistrate for an offence which is made penal under section 500 of Indian Penal Code," the notice said. (ANI) The accused persons were identified as Ravi Kumar and Dharmender who were booked under sections 302/394/397/380/449/457 of the IPC. Describing the incident, the police said that upon reaching the spot of crime, the floor was drenched in a pool of blood while the 75-year-old, identified as Satish Kumar Bhardwaj, had a head injury. The police registered the case and constituted a team to nab the culprits. During the investigation, the CCTV footage was analyzed to ascertain the entry and exit of the accused persons. It was revealed that some persons were engaged in whitewashing the house only one week ago. "Hence, the photos of both persons were collected/developed from one of the CCTV footage and accordingly the local sources were deployed and human intelligence was collected," the police said. The suspects were zeroed down through surveillance and technical analysis and a raid was conducted in which both the accused were arrested. "Upon their instance, 1 silver kada (deceased), 1 small silver khadau, Coins, 2 hammers/cutters (weapon of offense) were recovered. Both have been arrested," the police said. Further investigation into the matter is underway. (ANI) Ex-serviceman Colonel BB Pandian (retired) was booked for making controversial remarks during the BJP's hunger strike organised in Chennai to condemn the death of a serving jawan following an assault allegedly by a group of people, including a DMK councillor. "Chennai Police have registered a case against BJP National Executive Committee member and ex-serviceman Colonel BB Pandian," the police said on Wednesday. Col B Pandian (retd), who now serves as a functionary of the BJP ex-servicemen wing in Tamil Nadu, during the strike said, "I am warning the Tamil Nadu government. The Indian Army is the second-largest army in the world and the most disciplined. If you provoke Army jawans, it is not good for the state, nor for the government," Pandian had said. "If you attempt to test us, the law and order in the state will not be maintained if that happens," he further said, adding that he was making all these remarks in a very "kind manner". While delivering his speech, Pandian warned the DMK government that "ex-servicemen were well-trained in using bombs and guns and that the government should not push the veterans into using them." "We know all these things but we don't want to do them. I request the state government not to make us do these things. This is a warning," he said following a case against him under the sections of causing conflict between the two premiers and disturbing public peace for his speech at the Tiruvallikeni police station. The ex-serviceman made the controversial remarks during a protest organised by the state unit of BJP in Chennai over the killing of an Army jawan in Krishnagiri district allegedly by a DMK councillor on Tuesday. However, Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party chief K Annamalai on Wednesday said that the party will "intensify" the protests against the state government over a soldier's murder allegedly by a DMK councilor.He said that the state's progress has been stalled under the DMK government and added that the BJP will continue to attack Chief Minister MK Stalin. His remarks came after the Tamil Nadu Police registered a case against 3,500 BJP leaders and cadres for conducting candle light march allegedly without proper permission. The BJP leaders on Tuesday carried out a candlelight march for the army soldier Lance Naik Prabhu who was hacked to death allegedly by a DMK Councillor in Krishnagiri. The police claimed that the BJP leaders did not seek permission for the march and registered a case against the BJP leaders. According to the police, the DMK Councillor had an argument with the 33-year-old Armyman Prabhu over washing clothes at a water tank near the victim's house on February 8. The brawl escalated to an extent that the DMK Councillor along with nine persons allegedly attacked the victim Prabhu, and his brother, Prabhakaran later that day. Prabhu who was undergoing treatment in a private hospital at Hossur and later succumbed to his injuries. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Police arrested the main accused DMK Councillor Chinnasamy and nine others including his son Rajapandi in the jawan's death case. (ANI) Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Thursday invited a total of 16 political parties to come together with Congress as the "captain" for a "Progressive India" ahead of the 2024 general elections. The Congress MP stated that Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Janata Dal (United) (JDU), SS U, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), NC, Kerala Congress (KC), and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) will work together to defeat Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). "Team for Progressive India. Congress (captain). DMK RJD NCP JDU SS U JMM IUML MDMK RSP VCK PDP NC KC MNM (16 parties). We respect each other and work together to defeat RSS and want a Progressive India. We welcome new friends who believe in the good for India," Congress MP Manickam Tagore tweeted. Notably, DMK, VCK, MDMK, RJD, NCP, and IUML faced the 2019 General Elections in alliance with Congress. Earlier this week, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal, while reflecting on the need for Opposition unity, said that Congress "alone cannot fight" the Narendra Modi government in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. He emphasized that to minimize the chances of splitting of anti-BJP votes, the unity of the opposition parties is a must criteria. Speaking to ANI, the Congress General Secretary said, "Congress is equally concerned about the Opposition unity. Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge have rightly pointed out on several occasions that in the present situation, Congress alone cannot fight this government. Congress will fight at any cost, but we need Oppostion unity to fight against this anti-democratic, dictator government. There is a need for Opposition unity to fight against these forces." "Congress is very keen on that. The last Parliament session was an example. Kharge took the initiative and called the Opposition meet to have a single voice in the Parliament on the Adani issue. Broadly we are thinking that we should go against the BJP. We should not give a chance to split the anti-BJP votes," he added. The Congress leader said that Congress has taken up the "biggest task" of fighting against the "dictatorial government" alleging that there is an "emergency-like situation" in the country."Everybody knows the situation in the country today. The government of the day is doing total dictatorship. There is an undeclared emergency-like situation in the country. Fighting against this dictatorial government is the biggest task for the Opposition, especially for the Congress party," he said while alleging that the BJP government is indulging in dictatorial policies. Mentioning that Bharat Jodo Yatra has infused energy and zeal among the party workers, he said that the cadre got fresh energy due to Bharat Jodo Yatra and are charged, "The immediate charge is the 2024 Parliament elections. We will formulate our ideas and policies accordingly to fight against the Modi government and to throw them out of power." (ANI) According to police, the deceased man has been identified as Dharamraj Sonani. "The prime accused identified as Bali Jaal along with two others allegedly stabbed Dharmaraj Sonani to death under inebriated condition. The accused persons along with Dharmaraj and a friend Vickky boozed together," said Durg Superintendent of Police (SP) Dr Abhishek Pallava. The murder took place near Ruabandha Panthi Chowk under Bhilai Nagar police station on Tuesday night, the SP added. The SP further informed that the accused Bali Jaal had spent jail term in connection with the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) case and he suspected Dharmaraj and Vickky of being police informers. "The accused also believed that the information passed by Dharmaraj and Vickky to police has led to his arrest. To settle scores with Dharmaraj and Vickky, the accused persons hatched a conspiracy," the SP added. "Somehow, Vickky managed to escape while Dharmaraj fell into the trap. Police have traced Vickky and action is being done as per his statement, the SP said. The police have recovered the weapon used in the crime and have registered a case against the accused. "Police have arrested the accused trio and also recovered the weapon used in the crime. An offence in connection with the case has been registered and the arrested accused persons were produced in a local court," the SP said. (ANI) Achole police of Palghar district on Thursday arrested one person and sent him to jail for allegedly kidnapping a one-year-old girl from Padkhalpada in the Nalasopara area. An officer of Achole police station said the security guard was arrested from his village in Bihar. The girl was rescued and handed over to the family, he informed further. Further, the officer said, "The girl was playing outside the house at Achole Dongri, Padkhalpada, in the Nalasopara area on February 15 when the accused, Sumendrakumar Sukaldas Mandal, abducted her." "Searching frantically for the girl outside their house and not finding her, they reached the police station. A case was registered and we started examining the CCTV footage, which showed the security guard taking the girl away. A case under section 363 of the IPC was registered in the matter," the officer added. Sharing details of the probe, another investigating officer said, "Footage of more than 100 CCTVs were scanned for leads in the case. The accused worked in a housing society in Nalasopara(East) for seven to eight years and was known to the child's parents. We made copies of photographs of the accused and the victim and sent them to all police stations." "Considering the seriousness of the incident, the police commissioner (Madhukar Pandey) gave a strict order to the MBVV police to ensure the safe rescue and return of the girl at the earliest. Multiple investigating teams were put together under the guidance of the additional commissioner of police. With the help of the Crime Branch, we went over footage of CCTVs from more than 100 places in connection with this case," the official added. The officer added, "On the basis of technical analysis of the CCTV footage, it was ascertained that the accused was heading towards Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. He was changing trains every time, making it difficult for us to catch him. However, on the basis of technical analysis, it was found that the accused had gone to Tilak Maji in the Bhagalpur district of Bihar. He was eventually arrested from there". "The reason or motive behind the kidnapping is not yet clear. Further investigation is underway" the officer added. (ANI) During the operation, the police recovered arms and ammunition including AK 47 rifle, hand grenade among others. The police said that in the recee conducted yesterday, there were five suspected insurgents who were spotted. "The nefarious activities of ENNG as an insurgent group has been on the radar of the APP for a few months now. To counter the threat posed by them, a strategy was evolved for necessary action. On the recee conducted yesterday, 5 suspected insurgents were spotted. Thus, in today's operation, a controlled offensive in the camp was mounted. As a result, the UGs were forced to abandon the camp and retreat," the police said. "The recoveries include one AK 47 rifle, M-16 Rifle, and a hand grenade each, 104 nos of AK 47 7.62 mm rounds, 23 nos of 5.56 mm rounds, 4 nos. of AK 47 7.62 mm ammo magazines and 20 Lighters and other weapons. Furthermore, the camp was burned down and destroyed by the team," the police added. (ANI) The Central Government on Thursday notified the elevation of four advocates as Additional Judges of Allahabad High Coury and Madras High Court. Taking to Twitter, the Minister of Law and Justice Kiren Rijiju on Thursday also wished newly appointed Judges, saying, "As per relevant provisions under the Constitution of India, the following Advocates have been appointed as Additional Judges of Allahabad High Court and Madras High Court. I extend my best wishes to all of them." Recently the Supreme Court Collegium in its meeting held on 17th January 2023 had approved the proposal for the elevation of the nine Advocates as Judges in the Allahabad High Court. Out of nine recommended names the Centre has notified the appointment of three Advocates Prashant Kumar, Manjive Shukla and Arun Kumar Singh Deshwal as the Additional Judges of Allahabad High Court. The Supreme Court Collegium in its meeting held on January 17, 2023, had approved the proposal for the elevation of the Advocate Venkatachari Lakshminarayanan as the Judges for Madras High Court. Recently, during the Parliament session, Law and Justice Minister Kiren Rijiju told Parliament that Government is committed to filling up of vacant posts expeditiously in a time-bound manner. He also informed the Parliament that while filling up vacancies in the High Courts is a continuous, integrated and collaborative process requiring consultation and approval from various constitutional authorities, vacancies keep arising on account of retirement, resignation or elevation of Judges. Rijiju further informed that to increase the judge strength of a High Court, the concurrence of the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court, as well as the State Government, is required since the Chief Justice of that High Court is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the court and the State Government has to provide for infrastructural facilities, salaries of Judges etc. The sanctioned strength of Judges of the High Court has increased from 906 in (2014) to 1108 in (2022). (ANI) Nainital bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has issued a contempt notice to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Secretary Leena Nandan on the issue of deputation of Uttarakhand cadre IFS officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi into Institution of Lokpal. The notice was issued on a contempt petition filed by the officer in which he had alleged wilful disobedience of the order of September 1 last year passed by the Tribunal. A division bench of Justice Om Prakash and Administrative Member, Mohan Pyare reserved the judgment on February 20 while hearing the petition, which was later pronounced on Wednesday. "From a perusal of the judgement of September 1, 2022, it is evident that this Tribunal had directed the respondent to decide the representation of the applicant but the respondent has not passed any order whereas the order of October 3, 2022, has been passed by the Director (IFS), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change," it said. The tribunal further directed Leena Nandan to file a 'compliance report within a period of four weeks' and directed the matter to be listed on March 23. In this matter, Sanjiv Chaturvedi had applied for deputation into Lokpal in Central Government in 2019 which the Government of Uttarakhand forwarded with their No Objection Certificate (NOC) and recommendation on December 23, 2019, to Nandan. However, no decision was taken on the matter and the officer filed a petition before CAT in February 2020, for issuing directions to the Secretary. In September 2022, Tribunal gave eight weeks' time to Nandan to take a decision in the matter or forward the case of the officer to Lokpal if they are of the view that the decision in the matter lies with the office of Lokpal. However, on October 3 last year, instead of Secretary, Director (IFS) passed the order returning the case of the officer even after noting that, 'as per section 10(iii) of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, the appointment of officers and other staff shall be made by the Chairperson, Lokpal.' Against this order, the officer had filed a contempt petition before Tribunal in December 2022 which came up for hearing in February 2022. Sanjiv Chaturvedi, an officer of the 2002 batch of the Indian Forest Service (IFS), had applied for Central Deputation in the organization of Lokpal in 2019 which was forwarded by the Uttarakhand government, with no objection certificate or recommendations on December 23, 2019, and since then the application was pending with Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF & CC). Chaturvedi had earlier worked in the Government of Haryana and then as Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) at AIIMS, Delhi where he exposed many corruption cases. He was also given Ramon Magsaysay Award in July 2015 for his fight against corruption. (ANI) Tibetans gathered to offer prayers for the long life of their 14th spiritual leader Dalai Lama at Lhagyari Temple in Dharamshala on Thursday on the third day of Losar. Losar is a festival celebrated each year to mark the beginning of the Tibetan New Year. Celebrated by Tibetans and Tibetan Buddhists worldwide, it falls on different dates according to the Tibetan lunar calendar and the celebrations last for up to 15 days, with the first three days being the most important. Tibetans also tied colourful holy spiritual flags around this monastery and offered prayers on the occasion. The event concluded with a group dance where people of all age groups danced together. Tibetans offer special Sang-Sol prayers on the 3rd Day of Losar, the Tibetan new year. Sang means incense and sol means to wake up. They also call it an incense-burning offering or fire pooja. On this day, the exiled Tibetans offer prayers for the long life of the Dalai Lama and for the cause of Tibet. "This is the third day of Losar today and we are having special prayers in the Lha Gyari temple here. It's also called as SangSol or incense burning. We are also praying for the long life of the Dalai Lama and peace in Tibet. I am feeling very happy to be a part of this event but at the same time I am sad to think about our brothers and sisters who are inside Tibet," Pema Tashi, a Tibetan woman said. Kelsang Youdon, a Tibetan woman said, "it's a very important day for all of us. We are enjoying and dancing all together here to celebrate the 3rd day of Losar, the Tibetan new year." During this time, Tibetans visit monasteries, perform traditional dances and rituals, and exchange gifts. Families also gather to make special dishes and drinks, such as changkol (a sweet, milky tea) and kapse (fried dough balls). Losar is a time of renewal and hope. Tibetans believe that the new year's events will be determined by the actions taken during the first three days of Losar. As such, they strive to make the most of this time and set a positive tone for the year ahead. (ANI) Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea relating to the arrest of Congress leader Pawan Khera in the national capital on Thursday. The SC will hear the plea at 3 o'clock today. Senior Advocate AM Singhvi mentioned a plea apprising the court about the arrest of Pawan Khera. Singhvi seeks interim relief for Khera and consolidation of FIR since several are being registered across the country. Congress leader Pawan Khera on Thursday said that he is "ready to fight the long battle" soon after Assam Police arrested him in the national capital. Khera will be presented in a Delhi court and will be taken to Assam on transit remand. "We will see (in which case they are taking me). It's a long battle and I'm ready to fight," said Khera as Delhi Police took him after he was deboarded from an aircraft at Delhi airport. Delhi Police said that a request was received from Assam Police for assistance in the arrest of accused Pawan Khera in case FIR No. 19/2023, PS Dima Hasao, District Haflong, Assam. "Based upon the same, requisite local assistance was provided and upon the requisition of Assam Police, accused Shri Pawan Khera was detained from Terminal 1 of IGI Airport and has been subsequently arrested by the IO concerned of Assam Police," a Delhi Police official told ANI. "Necessary legal action shall follow," they added. It is pertinent to mention that earlier today Pawan Khera was stopped from boarding a plane at Delhi airport after a request was received from the Assam Police to stop him," Delhi Police said on Thursday. Earlier, the Assam Police registered a case against the Congress leader in the Dima Hasao district. The Congress leaders protested after Khera was stopped by Delhi Police from boarding the plane at the airport. In a video shared on Congress's Twitter handle, Pawan Khera said that he does not know why was he deboarded. "I don't know. I was told that your baggage has to be checked. I said I do not have any luggage except a handbag. When I came down, I was told that I cannot go, a DCP would come. We are waiting for the DCP for the last 20 minutes. I don't know why I am being stopped," he said. Congress leader Supriya Shrinate alleged that the Congress leaders were en route to Chhattisgarh's Raipur to attend the party's 85th Plenary Session when Khera was asked to deboard. She accused the BJP government of "dictatorship". "We were going from Delhi to Raipur by Indigo flight 6E-204. Pawan Khera, KC Venugopal, Randeep Surjewala was also with us. We were heading to Raipur for the Congress Plenary Session. Pawar Khera was taken away stating that his bag has been exchanged but he was not carrying check-in baggage. He was then told that he had been deplaned and a DSP of CISF would come and serve him notice. If this is not a dictatorship, then what is it? Would you stop people from boarding the flight? The dictator got ED raids done before the session and now the government has come down to this kind of act," she said in a video tweeted by the Congress party. She further asked the sections under which action was being taken against Khera and said that they would not board the flight to Raipur until the Congress leader is allowed to board along with others. "What wrong has he done that this action is being taken? The action is being taken under which sections, they will have to tell. We will keep standing here until the flight departs along with all of us including Pawan Khera," she said. KC Venugopal who was also accompanying the group, tweeted, "Modi govt is acting like a bunch of goons by deplaning @Pawankhera ji from the Delhi-Raipur flight and preventing him from joining the AICC Plenary. Using a flimsy FIR to restrict his movement & silence him is a shameful, unacceptable act. The entire party stands with Pawan ji." "Today we were going for the Congress Plenary Sessoin to Raipur, and our colleague Pawan Khera was told that he left his luggage but he was not carrying any luggage. Then the Police came and said Assam Police has registered an FIR," Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said. "We asked them to show an arrest warrant but they did not show any order. It is completely illegal Assam and Delhi Police have stopped our flight forcefully," Surjewala added. (ANI) Gangster Mukhtar Ansari's son Abbas Ansari, who is in jail in connection with the Prevention of money laundering case, was summoned by the Anti-corruption Court, Lucknow, on Tuesday for illegally meeting his wife at the Chitrakoot jail. Meanwhile, Ansari has been summoned in the case registered in Chitrakoot. Earlier on 21 February, Police arrested Samajwadi Party leader Faraz Khan allegedly for helping gangster Mukhtar Ansari's son Abbas Ansari and his wife Nikhat Ansari in criminal activities in jail, officials said. The development came days after jailed MLA Abbas Ansari's wife Nikhat Bano was arrested with two cellphones when she visited the prison for allegedly providing "undue help" to her husband. However, the police said that Ansari would be strictly monitored in jail and for this, body-worn cameras and drones have been sent to Kasganj jail. "Five bodyworn cameras and one drone camera were given to Kasganj jail. Prison personnel stationed around Abbas's barrack will wear body-worn cameras. Aerial surveillance of Kasganj jail will be carried out with a drone camera," DG Jail Anand Kumar said. He further said that the jail personnel stationed around Abbas will be changed every month."The staff deployed in Kasganj jail will be reviewed on one month's roster," he added. Abbas Ansari is the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) MLA from Mau Sadar seat.On February 10, Nikhat Ansari and her driver, Riyaz, were arrested for allegedly meeting her husband by "improper means".Mukhtar Ansari's son and Mau Sadar MLA Abbas Ansari is accused in a fraud case of transfer of arms licence and an arrest warrant was issued by Lucknow Court following it. Earlier on August 18, the Enforcement Directorate conducted multiple raids at the premises of former Bahujan Samaj Party's MP Mukhtar Ansari in Lucknow and Ghazipur in connection with an alleged Prevention of money laundering case. Earlier, a local court in Uttar Pradesh rejected the anticipatory bail application of Abbas Ansari. The court had issued a non-bailable warrant against him in the case registered at the Mahanagar police station in Lucknow in October 2019. (ANI) Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday lashed out at the Centre over the arrest of Congress leader Pawan Khera alleging that the situation in the country is "worse than Emergency". He said that there is an "Emergency-like situation" in the country without declaration. "Today the situation in the country is worse than the Emergency. There is an emergency-like situation in the country without declaring it. His arrest has defamed our country all over the world. Nothing can be more unfortunate than this, that is why we say democracy is in danger and the Constitution is being torn to shreds. This pride of theirs will not work, the public will destroy their pride," he said. Earlier today, Congress leader Pawan Khera said that he is "ready to fight the long battle" soon after Assam Police arrested him in the national capital. Khera will be presented in a Delhi court and will be taken to Assam on transit remand. "We will see (in which case they are taking me). It's a long battle and I'm ready to fight," said Khera as Delhi Police took him after he was deboarded from an aircraft at Delhi airport. It is pertinent to mention that earlier today Pawan Khera was stopped from boarding a plane at Delhi airport after a request was received from the Assam Police to stop him," Delhi Police said on Thursday. Earlier, the Assam Police registered a case against the Congress leader in the Dima Hasao district. The Congress leaders protested after Khera was stopped by Delhi Police from boarding the plane at the airport. In a video shared on Congress's Twitter handle, Pawan Khera said that he does not know why was he deboarded. "I don't know. I was told that your baggage has to be checked. I said I do not have any luggage except a handbag. When I came down, I was told that I cannot go, a DCP would come. We are waiting for the DCP for the last 20 minutes. I don't know why I am being stopped," he said. Congress leader Supriya Shrinate alleged that the Congress leaders were en route to Chhattisgarh's Raipur to attend the party's 85th Plenary Session when Khera was asked to deboard. She accused the BJP government of "dictatorship". "We were going from Delhi to Raipur by Indigo flight 6E-204. Pawan Khera, KC Venugopal, Randeep Surjewala was also with us. We were heading to Raipur for the Congress Plenary Session. Pawar Khera was taken away stating that his bag has been exchanged but he was not carrying check-in baggage. He was then told that he had been deplaned and a DSP of CISF would come and serve him notice. If this is not a dictatorship, then what is it? Would you stop people from boarding the flight? The dictator got ED raids done before the session and now the government has come down to this kind of act," she said in a video tweeted by the Congress party. She further asked the sections under which action was being taken against Khera and said that they would not board the flight to Raipur until the Congress leader is allowed to board along with others. "What wrong has he done that this action is being taken? The action is being taken under which sections, they will have to tell. We will keep standing here until the flight departs along with all of us including Pawan Khera," she said. KC Venugopal who was also accompanying the group, tweeted, "Modi govt is acting like a bunch of goons by deplaning @Pawankhera ji from the Delhi-Raipur flight and preventing him from joining the AICC Plenary. Using a flimsy FIR to restrict his movement & silence him is a shameful, unacceptable act. The entire party stands with Pawan ji." "Today we were going for the Congress Plenary Sessoin to Raipur, and our colleague Pawan Khera was told that he left his luggage but he was not carrying any luggage. Then the Police came and said Assam Police has registered an FIR," Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said. "We asked them to show an arrest warrant but they did not show any order. It is completely illegal Assam and Delhi Police have stopped our flight forcefully," Surjewala added. (ANI) Union Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday said it is critical to develop a roadmap for greening the shipping sector in India, reduce pollution intensity and evolve strategies to introduce renewable energy and green hydrogen in the shipping sector. Addressing the session on Instruments and Leadership for Inclusive Green Growth at World Sustainable Development Summit 2023 in New Delhi today, Sonowal said, "With 'green growth' being a priority area in the Union Budget presented in Parliament a few days ago, the focus is firmly on meeting the decarbonization targets for 2030 as well as the net-zero goals for 2070." "This is applicable to the shipping sector as well. The Budget had also put forth the need to promote coastal shipping as an energy-efficient and lower-cost mode of transport, both for passengers and freight, through PPP mode with viability gap funding," he added. The Union Minister further stated that with India taking over the G20 Presidency this year and working groups deliberating on clean energy and green transitions, the government is re-emphasizing the significance of inclusive green growth as our development strategy. He said, "To enable this growth we need to pay particular attention to technology transfer which is absolutely essential for green transitions. There is also a need to mainstream green transition policies as well as carry out proper assessments of emerging energy and fuel choices." The Union Minister said that it was a matter of great pleasure for him to be part of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) annual flagship event - the World Sustainable Development Summit. "As a research institution working steadfastly to find solutions that will make the planet more sustainable, not only through their work on policy but also through technology interventions that will enable green transitions, TERI holds a vital place in the green growth ecosystem, Sonowal said. "The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways(MoPSW) recently joined hands with TERI to set up the country's first National Centre of Excellence in Green Port and Shipping at the institution's field station at Gwal Pahari," he added. According to the Union Minister the National Centre of Excellence brings together the expertise of the Deendayal Port Authority, Paradip Port Authority, VO Chidambaranar Port Authority and Cochin Shipyard Limited and TERI, and will play a key role in developing a regulatory framework and alternate technology adoption roadmap for green shipping in India. Sonowal said, "As inclusive green growth increasingly becomes the foundation on which future development has to take place, it is imperative to bring in policies, frameworks and systems in place that will enable this transition." "The shipping sector is both energy and resource intensive and needs an implementation roadmap to achieve energy and resource neutrality," he added. The Union Minister said that initiatives such as the NCoEGPS will provide decision-makers at a national and sub-national level with methodology and framework to implement carbon neutrality measures, and to meet the obligations under the Paris Accord. Sonowal said, "At present, about 99 per cent of the energy demand from the coastal shipping sector is met by fossil fuels, with fuel oil and marine gas oil (MGO). As per IMO, an unchecked measure may take GHG emissions associated with the shipping sector to anywhere between 50 per cent and 250 per cent by 2050 in comparison to 2008 emission levels. The IMO overall vision, adopted in 2018 is to phase out greenhouse gas emissions from the industry as soon as possible in this century. In line with the IMO's objective, the MoPSW has set a target to reduce GHG emissions in the Indian shipping sector to 30 per cent by 2030." "Major air pollutants generated by port activities include carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), and particulate matter (PM). Various pollution mitigation measures are under place by the major Indian ports such as the adoption of a mechanised mode of dry bulk handling, increasing green belt coverage, conversion of diesel RTGCs to E/ hybrid RTGCs and several others. Further, the role of NCoEGPS will be transformational in achieving Vision 2030 pollution mitigation targets," he added. Sarbananda Sonowal further said that a green shipping sector is pivotal in evolving a sustainable blue economy. He said, "A thriving blue economy needs a shipping sector that cuts back on emissions and opts for green fuels. With our multiple initiatives, the Ministry is looking forth to decarbonize the sectors so that the 2030 and 2070 targets are achieved." (ANI) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday came down heavily on the BJP government at the Centre after party leader Pawan Khera was arrested in Delhi, and alleged that the Narendra Modi government has turned "India's democracy into a Hitlershahi". "Notice is given if the opposition raises issues in Parliament. ED raids are conducted on our leaders of Chhattisgarh before the plenary session. Today the media chairman was forcibly taken off the plane and arrested. The Modi government has turned India's democracy into a Hitlership. We strongly condemn this dictatorship," Kharge tweeted in Hindi. This comes after Khera was arrested by Assam Police on Thursday in Delhi. He was earlier deboarded from a flight while en route to Raipur to attend Congress Plenary Session. Congress leader Pawan Khera on Thursday said that he is "ready to fight the long battle" soon after Assam Police arrested him. Khera will be taken to Assam on transit remand. "We will see (in which case they are taking me). It's a long battle and I'm ready to fight," said Khera as Delhi Police took him after he was deboarded from an aircraft at Delhi airport. Delhi Police said that a request was received from Assam Police for assistance in the arrest of accused Pawan Khera in case FIR No. 19/2023, PS Dima Hasao, District Haflong, Assam. "Based upon the same, requisite local assistance was provided and upon the requisition of Assam Police, accused Shri Pawan Khera was detained from Terminal 1 of IGI Airport and has been subsequently arrested by the IO concerned of Assam Police," a Delhi Police official told ANI. "Necessary legal action shall follow," they added. It is pertinent to mention that earlier today Pawan Khera was stopped from boarding a plane at Delhi airport after a request was received from the Assam Police to stop him," Delhi Police said on Thursday. Earlier, the Assam Police registered a case against the Congress leader in the Dima Hasao district. The Congress leaders protested after Khera was stopped by Delhi Police from boarding the plane at the airport. In a video shared on Congress's Twitter handle, Pawan Khera said that he does not know why was he deboarded. "I don't know. I was told that your baggage has to be checked. I said I do not have any luggage except a handbag. When I came down, I was told that I cannot go, a DCP would come. We are waiting for the DCP for the last 20 minutes. I don't know why I am being stopped," he said. Congress leader Supriya Shrinate alleged that the Congress leaders were en route to Chhattisgarh's Raipur to attend the party's 85th Plenary Session when Khera was asked to deboard. She accused the BJP government of "dictatorship". "We were going from Delhi to Raipur by Indigo flight 6E-204. Pawan Khera, KC Venugopal, Randeep Surjewala was also with us. We were heading to Raipur for the Congress Plenary Session. Pawar Khera was taken away stating that his bag has been exchanged but he was not carrying check-in baggage. He was then told that he had been deplaned and a DSP of CISF would come and serve him notice. If this is not a dictatorship, then what is it? Would you stop people from boarding the flight? The dictator got ED raids done before the session and now the government has come down to this kind of act," she said in a video tweeted by the Congress party. She further asked the sections under which action was being taken against Khera and said that they would not board the flight to Raipur until the Congress leader is allowed to board along with others. "What wrong has he done that this action is being taken? The action is being taken under which sections, they will have to tell. We will keep standing here until the flight departs along with all of us including Pawan Khera," she said. KC Venugopal who was also accompanying the group, tweeted, "Modi govt is acting like a bunch of goons by deplaning @Pawankhera ji from the Delhi-Raipur flight and preventing him from joining the AICC Plenary. Using a flimsy FIR to restrict his movement & silence him is a shameful, unacceptable act. The entire party stands with Pawan ji." "Today we were going for the Congress Plenary Sessoin to Raipur, and our colleague Pawan Khera was told that he left his luggage but he was not carrying any luggage. Then the Police came and said Assam Police has registered an FIR," Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said. "We asked them to show an arrest warrant but they did not show any order. It is completely illegal Assam and Delhi Police have stopped our flight forcefully," Surjewala added. (ANI) The supporters holding swords and guns in their hands broke through police barricades erected outside Ajnala Police Station. Heavy police force has been deployed in the area, and efforts to control the protesters are on. Further details are awaited. Amritpal Singh is the head of 'Waris Punjab De', a group founded by activist Deep Sidhu, who died in a road accident in February last year. (ANI) "People in Madhya Pradesh have rejected 'Mama'. I don't think BJP will again come to power in Madhya Pradesh because they have stolen democracy. Such a situation is not possible in Chhattisgarh," Baghel said while talking to the ANI. He further accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "misusing" the central agencies. "Whenever they fail, they either take support of religion or misuse central agencies. They are using both things as weapons but they will not succeed." Baghel, while speaking about the new Governor of the state Biswa Bhusan Harichandan who took oath as the ninth governor of Chhattisgarh, said, "I believe that he will take decisions in the interest of Chhattisgarh and pass the pending Reservation Bill." Harichandan took oath as the ninth governor of Chhattisgarh at a function in the Raj Bhawan in the capital Raipur on Thursday. Chhattisgarh High Court Chief Justice Arup Kumar Goswami administered the oath of office and secrecy to Harichandan. He has succeeded Anusuiya Uikey, who was recently appointed the governor of Manipur. Earlier on Wednesday also, Baghel said that the Enforcement Directorate has been tarnishing its own image through its actions. "Earlier sensation prevailed when ED, IT, and CBI conducted raids. You (BJP) have destroyed that environment. Now the central agencies are being used as a weapon for vendetta politics," Chhattisgarh CM said. (ANI) Sounding poll bugle in Karnataka which goes to Assembly polls later this year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah urged the people to give a chance to former chief minister BS Yediyurappa for forming a corruption-free government. He said that Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) are dynastic parties and such parties can never work for the welfare of the people. Addressing a "Vijay Sankalp Samavesh" in Karnataka's Bellary, the Home Minister said, "BJP is fighting for a complete majority in Karnataka. The people of Karnataka are resolved to make lotus bloom again. On one side it's Modi Ji's BJP and on other side, it's Rahul Baba's tukde tukde gang Congress." Shah at 'Vijay Sankalp Samavesh' said that Congress and JDS will never be able to benefit common people and work for the upliftment of those in poverty. "Give a chance to Yediyurappa and we will give you a corruption-free government. Congress and JDS are dynastic parties and such parties can never work for the welfare of the people. Every vote polled for JDS will benefit the Congress party, and every vote polled for Congress will benefit Siddaramaiah and his ATM government in Delhi," he said. He took potshots at the internal fight and differences in Congress. Shah said, "There is only one position of CM. Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar are fighting each other for it. This fighting will not help the people of the state. If the welfare of Karnataka is to be done, then only the BJP government has to be formed in the state, only then the state will develop." Slamming the Opposition who said that abrogation of Article 370 will lead to a bloodbath, the Home Minister said, "Rahul Gandhi claimed, on abrogation of Article 370, that it could lead to a bloodbath. However, no one dared to even pelt a stone." He further said that the Modi government banned the Popular Front of India (PFI). "However, when Congress ruled, 1,700 cases against the PFI were withdrawn," he added. The Karnataka elections are likely to be held in April-May 2023. (ANI) Communist Party of India (CPI) Rajya Sabha MP Binoy Viswam on Thursday raised an objection to Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar referring the alleged "breach of privilege" against 12 MPs to the privilege committee and said that it is against the "democratic heritage" of Parliament. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar has given his consent for the privilege committee to examine the conduct of 12 MPs from the opposition. He further urged Vice President Dhankhar to withdraw the reference and convene a meeting of the leaders of all opposition parties. According to a Rajya Sabha bulletin, nine of the MPs are from the Congress and three from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). "I write this letter to raise my reservation on you referring to the question of alleged 'breach of privilege' under rule 203 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business against 12 Members of the Parliament. I strongly believe this move is in violation of the cherished ideals of our country and the democratic heritage of the parliament," the Rajya Sabha MP said in his letter. He said that the Rajya Sabha Rules of Procedure provides rule 267, which is of similar nature that of the Adjournment Motion under the Chapter IX of the Lok Sabha Rules. "It serves as an important means for the opposition to raise issues that concern the interest of the general public; however, the current dispensation has failed to conduct a single discussion under this rule. This is a severe cause for concern as it indicates a trend of the declining willingness of the government to debate and discuss in parliament, the very purpose this institution exists for. The above-mentioned act of referring a question of privilege by the Rajya Sabha Chairman is unheard of and that too for raising a notice under Rule 267," he said in a letter. The Rajya Sabha MP said that he fails to understand as to how parliamentary privilege is being violated when a Member of Parliament is exercising their right and puts forward a notice as per the rule book which regulates them. "I further remind you of the words of your revered former Colleague, Arun Jaitley ji, 'Parliament's job is to conduct discussions. But many a time, Parliament is used to ignore issues, and, in such situations, obstruction of Parliament is in favour of democracy. Therefore, parliamentary obstruction is not undemocratic'." The CPI MP said. The MP urged to Rajya Sabha Chairman to withdraw his referral immediately and convene a meeting of Senior Members from all parties in order to find ways to resolve the issue. "Considering the above, I urge you to withdraw your referral and immediately convene a meeting of Senior Members from all parties in order to get past this deadlock with regard to Rule 267 in the interest of democratic discourse," he added. Notably, continuing the action against unruly MPs in the Rajya Sabha following the suspension of Congress MP Rajni Patil for the entire Budget Session, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar has given his consent for the privilege committee to examine the conduct of 12 MPs from the opposition. The names of the Rajya Sabha MPs include those from the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in particular. These 12 MPs are Sanjay Singh, Shaktisinh Gohil, Sushil Kumar Gupta, Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Naranbhai J Rathwa, Syed Nasir Hussain, Kumar Ketkar, Imran Pratapgarhi, L Hanumanthaiah, Phulo Devi Netam, Jebi Mather Hisham and Ranjeet Ranjan. In addition to this, there has been another privilege notice against AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh for repeatedly submitting a notice for suspension of the Zero Hour in Parliament to discuss the Adani stock issue. In fact, during the first part of the session, the Rajya Sabha chairman had pulled up Sanjay Singh for giving identical notices. With the opposition parties demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the Adani stock matter, the Upper House of Parliament witnessed a massive ruckus in the recently concluded first half of the Budget Session. Ruckus and sloganeering took place in the middle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech for the Reply to the Motion of Thanks to the President address. After repeated warnings to the opposition members, the Rajya Sabha chairman had suspended Congress MP Rajni Patil for recording mobile videos of the ruckus. After the recess, the second part of the Budget Session will resume on March 13 and will continue till April 6. (ANI) As part of its ongoing mission to make the rural population 'self-reliant', Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued strict directives for speedy and transparent implementation of the SVAMITVA scheme, as per an official release. For this, the CM has instructed the senior officials to complete the drone survey under the scheme before the stipulated time. It said that the state government, which is committed to benefiting the people of the state the most from the central schemes, is at the forefront in implementing the Pradhan Mantri SVAMITVA scheme. Commissioner and Secretary, Revenue Department Manisha Trighatia informed that the work under the SVAMITVA scheme is progressing on a war footing. He informed that till now drone survey has been completed in 90,900 villages of almost all the districts of the state. Along with this, the 'gharaunis' of 34,193 villages have been prepared. "Thus, so far a total of 50,58,229 'gharaunis' have been prepared, out of which 34,69,879 'gharaunis' were distributed till June 25, 2022. At the same time, after June 25, 15,88,350 new 'gharaunis' have been prepared. He further said that by June, the drone survey will be completed in all the villages," he said. Pradhan Mantri SVAMITVA scheme was started by the Central Government in April, 2020. The objective of the scheme is to make rural India economically strong and self-reliant. Through this scheme, the government wants to empower villagers by using technology. Thus, the Pradhan Mantri SVAMITVA scheme is no less than a boon for the people living in rural areas. Through this, those people of the village are getting the ownership rights of their land, whose land is not registered in any government data. (ANI) The National Health Authority (NHA) under its flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) introduced the Scan and Share service for faster OPD registrations in October 2022, as per an official release from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Within five months of its launch, the service has been adopted by 365 hospitals. The QR-code based instant registration service has helped over 5 lakh patients save time by drastically reducing the wait times in the Out Patient Department (OPD) registration areas of the participating hospitals. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya hailed the quick and queue less OPD registration under Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. "The participating hospitals (Government of private) display their unique QR codes in patient registration areas. The patients can scan the QR code using any health application of their choice (such as ABHA App, Aarogya Setu App, EkaCare, DRiefcase, Bajaj Health, PayTM) and share their ABHA profile (demographic information like name, age, gender, and ABHA number) with the Health Management Information system (HMIS) of the hospital. This enables paper-less registration and thereby instant token generation. The patient saves time and the health facility is able to optimize the need of resources deployed for registration. The patient's health records also get digitally linked to their ABHA (Ayushman Bharat Health Account) which they can manage and access from their phone anytime anywhere," it read. Speaking on the vision behind this service innovation, CEO, NHA said, "The Scan and share service is a typical example of how technology can be leveraged to provide better services to patients and to improve the system efficiency. With increased adoption, patient registrations can be made effortless, seamless and accurate. Our focus is to work closely with the stakeholders to maximize the impact of ABDM-enabled digital health services." It read that the real-time benefits of Scan and Share service are being leveraged by patients across the country. Apart from Government hospitals, several private hospitals are also enabling the ABHA-based registrations for their patients. As per an official press release, the service is currently live in 125 districts across 25 States/ UTs in the country. Karnataka (2.5 lakh tokens), Uttar Pradesh (1.1 lakh users) and Delhi (72 thousand users) are the leading states in the adoption of this Scan & Share service for better patient experience. As per an official release, earlier this week, NHA has also achieved the milestone of registering 2 lakh health facilities like hospitals, clinics, diagnostic laboratories and imaging centres, pharmacies etc. in the Health Facility Registry (HFR). The HFR is a core building block of ABDM that aims to serve as a single source of truth for verified information on health facilities across the country. "The patients can get credible information about the facilities from https://facility.abdm.gov.in/. Among the verified facilities, around 75 per cent belongs to the government sector. Karnataka (46,179), Uttar Pradesh (31,417), Maharashtra (13,789) and Andhra Pradesh (13,345) top the list of health facilities on HFR," it read. (ANI) Shortly after being granted interim bail by the Dwarka court on Thursday, Congress leader Pawan Khera alleged that he was deboarded from the aircraft and arrested by Assam Police in an illegal manner. He was arrested at the Delhi Airport by the Assam Police in a case related to an alleged remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Without furnishing a copy of FIR and notice, I was deboarded from the aircraft and arrested by Assam Police in an illegal manner. I have complete trust in the judicial system which protected my freedom of expression today," said Pawan Khera. Khera said that he would strengthen the efforts of his leader Rahul Gandhi to protect this nation and protect constitutional values. "Our struggle to protect this nation, protect constitutional values - my leader Rahul Gandhi is carrying on his struggle fearlessly, I will strengthen his efforts," he said. When asked about his next step for the ongoing 85th plenary session of Congress, Khera said that he would be going there now. Meanwhile, counsel for Pawan Khera, Aadil Singh Boparai said that the main contention is that he was arrested arbitrarily and has been a breach of the Supreme Court's direction. "The only contention is that he was arrested arbitrarily and has been a breach of the Supreme Court's direction. He was not served any notice and till 4 pm we were not given the FIR copy. We will exercise all our legal remedies," said Aadil Singh Boparai. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Archana Beniwal granted interim bail to Khera on furnishing a bond of Rs 30,000. The court while granting the relief also imposed some conditions. The court granted the relief after considering the order passed by the Supreme Court earlier in the day. It was received through email at around 6 PM. The court granted the relief after hearing the submissions made by Randeep Surjewala and the Assam police. Assam police sought the transit remand of Pawan Khera. Randeep Surjewala submitted to the court that Assam police have not complied with the guidelines of the Arnesh Kumar case. He submitted that the grounds of arrest have not been provided and communicated. He also said, "I am the 'pairokar' of the person being detained by the police. The matter was taken up today by the Chief Justice of India (CJI). CJI passed an order stating that the person be released on interim bail. CJI was very gracious to pass the order." (ANI) Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge lashed out at the BJP government for allegedly "harassing" Congress leader Pawan Khera and said that the Supreme Court order is a tight slap on the government's face. He further said that BJP is trying to eliminate freedom of speech adding that democracy is under threat. "The BJP government tried to harass Pawan Khera. I am happy with SC's order, it's a tight slap on their face. I condemn this action by BJP. In Parliament also, we were stopped from raising issues. They are trying to eliminate freedom of speech. Democracy is under threat," said Kharge. The Congress chief alleged that BJP wants to stop the plenary session from happening but the people of Chhattisgarh along with the government here are working towards conducting this session. "When Congress plenary session is happening in Chhattisgarh, our leaders are being raided by ED and I-T. They (BJP) want to stop this session from happening but the people of Chhattisgarh along with the government here are working towards conducting this session," he added. Kharge alleged that the Modi government has turned "India's democracy into a 'Hitlershahi'". "Notice is given if the opposition raises issues in Parliament. ED raids are conducted on our leaders of Chhattisgarh before the plenary session. Today the media chairman was forcibly taken off the plane and arrested. The Modi government has turned India's democracy into a 'Hitlershahi'. We strongly condemn this dictatorship," Kharge tweeted in Hindi. Khera was arrested by Assam Police on Thursday in Delhi. The Dwarka court on Thursday granted interim bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera following the order passed by the Supreme Court. Supreme Court said, "Till the next date of hearing, the petitioner will be released on interim bail by Dwarka court." SC directed the Dwarka court to grant interim relief to Pawan Khera. Earlier today, Khera said that he is "ready to fight the long battle" soon after Assam Police arrested him in the national capital. It is pertinent to mention that earlier today Pawan Khera was stopped from boarding a plane at Delhi airport after a request was received from the Assam Police to stop him," Delhi Police said on Thursday. Earlier, the Assam Police registered a case against the Congress leader in the Dima Hasao district. The Congress leaders protested after Khera was stopped by Delhi Police from boarding the plane at the airport. Delhi Police said that a request was received from Assam Police for assistance in the arrest of accused Pawan Khera in case FIR No. 19/2023, PS Dima Hasao, District Haflong, Assam. "Based upon the same, requisite local assistance was provided and upon the requisition of Assam Police, accused Shri Pawan Khera was detained from Terminal 1 of IGI Airport and has been subsequently arrested by the IO concerned of Assam Police," a Delhi Police official told ANI. "Necessary legal action shall follow," they added. In a video shared on Congress's Twitter handle, Pawan Khera said that he does not know why was he deboarded. "I don't know. I was told that your baggage has to be checked. I said I do not have any luggage except a handbag. When I came down, I was told that I cannot go, a DCP would come. We are waiting for the DCP for the last 20 minutes. I don't know why I am being stopped," he said. (ANI) The Regiment has been equipped with MRSAM Weapon System indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). "The MRSAM weapon system which is also called the 'Abhra' Weapon System is a state of the art medium range air defence weapon system and is a joint venture of DRDO and Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) with active participation from Indian public and private defence industry partners including MSMEs," stated an official release. Lt Gen RP Kalita, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, GOC-in-C, Eastern Command during the first visit to MRSAM Regiment highlighted that with such giant leap towards indigenisation in defence sector, India will soon become self-reliant in defence manufacturing in line with the national aim of "Atmanirbhar Bharat." As per an official release, the first Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) Regiment is raised in the Eastern Command. The Regiment has been equipped with MRSAM Weapon System indigenously developed by DRDO. (ANI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended "casteism, dynastic rule, appeasement" in the country adding that the earlier policies were made on the basis of caste and opportunities were handed out on dynastic considerations and budget allocations were made to appease. Addressing a gathering in Bengaluru discussing 'Indian Polity-65 years Scenario & Paradigm Shift Under Modi Ji' organised by Samvada, the Home Minister said, "Socio-economic spectrum led to the crumbling of the age-old vices of casteism, appeasement and dynastic rule. This is one of the biggest achievements India made in the last nine years. Earlier policies were made on the basis of caste, opportunities were handed out on dynastic considerations and budget allocations were made to appease." "Prime Minister Modi ended these vices and this was a big paradigm shift for India. We never took decisions to please people but we did take decisions that were good for people," he added. He urged people to vote after considering both the party and its leader. "If you vote for an individual you are likely to make mistake in choosing your leader. But if you take both the party and its leader into consideration you are likely to select the right government," he said. Shah said that the leaders of the parties are actually not individuals rather they are institutions that are anchored to the ideology of the party to which they belong. He also appealed to the people to compare the performance of all the political parties in the last 75 years. "Be it the Congress, the communists, the socialists or the BJP-all of these parties have ruled India in turns for pretty long periods. Every data related to the performance of these parties are available in the public domain. As aware citizens of this nation, you all should compare all the parties on the basis of their performances," he said. The Home Minister said with immense conviction that the BJP has given the best performance among all the parties and in every aspect of the polity. "Pick up any aspect of our polity and compare us with other parties and I can say with complete belief that you will find that we have given the best performance," he said. He evoked the issue of BIMARU states (sick states) and said that Congress got the opportunity to rule Bihar, undivided Uttar Pradesh, undivided Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. But after a long Congress in the seventies, the Planning Commission named them BIMARU because of their horrible economic and human development indices adding that once the BJP ruled these states, they were all pulled out of their BIMARU status. (ANI) Speaking to ANI, Ashwani Kumar said, "Developments in Amritsar today are a threat to peace and political stability in the state. The disturbing developments are reminiscent of the days when anti-national elements and religious fundamentalists posed an open threat to the unity and sovereignty of the Indian State." "However, the evolving delicate law and order situation in the State should be handled with restraint and maturity to prevent its escalation" he added Ashwani Kumar further said that the central and state governments should act in tandem to defuse the situation. "It is imperative not to politicise the situation to score political points. Any misstep at this stage could make the situation explosive. However, the State Govt. should show prudent and purposive resolve to ensure that no one disturbs the hard-won peace in the state," he added 'Waris Punjab De' Chief Amritpal Singh's supporters broke through police barricades with swords and guns outside Ajnala PS in Amritsar. They gathered outside the PS in order to protest against the arrest of his (Amritpal Singh) close aide Lovepreet Toofan. Amritpal Singh is a self-proclaimed Khalistani leader and chief of 'Waris Punjab De'. He and his five aides are facing arrest after being charged with kidnapping, theft, rioting, causing injury and unlawful assembly. (ANI) Referring to India's trajectory and the paradigm shift attained in the last nine years, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that there was a systemic shift from privilege to potential in the political culture during the Modi government's rule. Shah was addressing a session on 'Indian Polity-65 years Scenario and Paradigm Shift Under PM Modi' in Bengaluru. "Earlier your status was decided by your birth and not by your potential. You will become a leader only if you are born into a power-driven certain family. But during BJP's rule, this tradition was upturned and political space was opened ajar for everyone. This paved the way for India's journey from potential to power," he said. Shah said that the Modi style of governance adopted the bottom-to-top approach in which the last person in the lowest strata of the economic hierarchy is taken into consideration while formulating policies. "BJP believes in the philosophy of integral humanism or Antyodaya. This philosophy forms the core of the BJP's policies. Could you imagine the pain of girls and women in more than 10 crore families that did not have toilets? It was PM Narendra Modi who thought of protecting their dignity and built toilets in every household," he said. Shah also cited the examples of providing gas cylinders to 10 crore women who bore the pain of cooking food for their families in firewood at the cost of their health. He further added that the emergence of new political leadership from across the socio-economic spectrum led to the crumbling of the age-old vices of casteism, appeasement, and dynastic rule. "This is one of the biggest achievements India made in the last nine years," he said. He added that earlier policies were made on the basis of caste, opportunities were handed out on dynastic considerations and budget allocations were made to appease. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended these vices and this was a big paradigm shift for India. We never took decisions to please people but we did take decisions that were good for people," he said. "If you vote for an individual you are likely to make mistake in choosing your leader. But if you take both the party and its leader into consideration you are likely to select the right government," Shah further said. He also added that the leaders of the parties are actually not individuals. Rather they are institutions that are anchored to the ideology of the party to which they belong. He also appealed to the people to compare the performance of all the political parties in the last 75 years. "Be it the Congress, the communists, the socialists or the BJP - all of these parties have ruled India in turns for pretty long periods. Every data related to the performance of these parties are available in the public domain. As aware citizens of this nation, you all should compare all the parties on the basis of their performances," he appealed. He also said with immense conviction that the BJP has given the best performance among all the parties and in every aspect of the polity. "Pick up any aspect of our polity and compare us with other parties and I can say with complete belief that you will find that we have given the best performance," he said. He evoked the issue of BIMARU states and said that Congress got the opportunity to rule Bihar, undivided Uttar Pradesh, undivided Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. But after long Congress rule in the seventies, the Planning Commission named them BIMARU because of their horrible economic and human development indices. He also added that after the BJP came to power in these states, they were all pulled out of their BIMARU status. (ANI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has adopted the bottom-to-top approach while formulating policies as he has empathy with the conditions of the poor and is dedicated towards serving the last person of the nation. "The Modi style of governance adopted the bottom-to-top approach in which the last person in the lowest strata of the economic hierarchy is taken into consideration while formulating policies. BJP believes in the philosophy of integral humanism or Antyodaya. This philosophy forms the core of the BJP's policies. Could you imagine the pain of girls and women in more than 10 crore families that did not have toilets? It was Narendra Modi who thought of protecting their dignity and built toilets in every household," he said while delivering the keynote address at the interactive session on "Indian Polity 65 years Scenario & Paradigm Shift Under Modi Ji" organised by Samvada. Shah gave examples of providing gas cylinders to the 10 crore women who bore the pain of cooking food for their families in firewood at the cost of their health. Another revolutionary change he pointed out in the Modi government was the systemic shift from privilege to potential in political culture. "Earlier your status was decided by your birth and not by your potential. You will become a leader only if you are born into a power-driven certain family. But during BJP's rule, this tradition was upturned and political space was opened azar for everyone. This paved the way for India's journey from potential to power," he said. He further added that the emergence of new political leadership from across the socio-economic spectrum led to the crumbling of the age-old vices of casteism, appeasement and dynastic rule. "This is one of the biggest achievements India made in the last nine years," he said. He added that earlier policies were made on the basis of caste, opportunities were handed out on dynastic considerations and budget allocations were made to appease. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi ended these vices and this was a big paradigm shift for India," he said. He said the BJP government never took decisions to please people but we did take decisions that were good for people. "If you vote for an individual you are likely to make mistake in choosing your leader. But if you take both the party and its leader into consideration you are likely to select the right government," he said. He also added that the leaders of the parties are actually not individuals. Rather they are institutions that are anchored to the ideology of the party to which they belong. The Minister appealed to the people to compare the performance of all the political parties in the last 75 years. (ANI) Terming the arrest of party leader Pawan Khera as "shocking and outrageous", Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday said that there is no law in India that people can't make jokes about the prime minister. The Congress leader further said that he is glad that the Supreme Court has granted him bail. "That was shocking and outrageous. Nothing Pawan (Khera) did or said warranted deplaning, arrest, or detention. Glad SC has given him bail. There is no reason to jail someone for a joke. We don't have a law here that you can't make jokes about the PM," said Tharoor, who reached Raipur to attend the 85th Plenary session of Congress. Khera was arrested by Assam Police on Thursday in Delhi. The Dwarka court granted interim bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera following the order passed by the Supreme Court. Earlier, Supreme Court directed the Dwarka Court to grant interim bail to the Congress leader and issued notice to Assam Police and Uttar Pradesh Police on Khera's plea seeking clubbing of FIRs. Supreme Court said, "Till the next date of hearing, the petitioner will be released on interim bail by Dwarka court." Earlier today, Khera said that he is "ready to fight the long battle" soon after Assam Police arrested him in the national capital. It is pertinent to mention that earlier today Pawan Khera was stopped from boarding a plane at Delhi airport after a request was received from the Assam Police to stop him," Delhi Police said on Thursday. Earlier, the Assam Police registered a case against the Congress leader in the Dima Hasao district. The Congress leaders protested after Khera was stopped by Delhi Police from boarding the plane at the airport. Delhi Police said that a request was received from Assam Police for assistance in the arrest of accused Pawan Khera in case FIR No. 19/2023, PS Dima Hasao, District Haflong, Assam. "Based upon the same, requisite local assistance was provided and upon the requisition of Assam Police, accused Shri Pawan Khera was detained from Terminal 1 of IGI Airport and has been subsequently arrested by the IO concerned of Assam Police," a Delhi Police official told ANI. "Necessary legal action shall follow," they added. In a video shared on Congress's Twitter handle, Pawan Khera said that he does not know why was he deboarded. "I don't know. I was told that your baggage has to be checked. I said I do not have any luggage except a handbag. When I came down, I was told that I cannot go, a DCP would come. We are waiting for the DCP for the last 20 minutes. I don't know why I am being stopped," he said. (ANI) Terming Congress as a special purpose vehicle for Independence, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that the party neither had any cultural ideology nor any ideology related to the economy and formation of the nation. Addressing a gathering in Bengaluru discussing 'Indian Polity-65 years Scenario & Paradigm Shift Under Modi Ji' organised by Samvada, the Home Minister said, "Today we are celebrating the 'Amrit Mahotsav' of independence. It is time to look at our journey from 1947 to 2022, in which time we have achieved a lot and many more are yet to be achieved." He said that the people of India proudly say that we have the largest democracy and democratic system in the world but "we must remember that we are not the largest democracy in the world, we are the Mother of Democracy." He said that Congress, made a huge contribution to the country's independence, but today it is engulfed in the complete dynast system. "The internal democracy of the Congress party has ended. All the socialist parties gradually turned into casteist parties and then became dynastic," he added. Shah said that Congress didn't take birth with any ideology and it was an organisation constituting of intellectuals. "I don't deny its contribution in the independence of the nation, but it neither had any cultural ideology nor any ideology related to the economy and formation of the nation. Congress was just a platform, and everyone dreaming and desiring of the nation's independence joined it. Congress could be better termed as a special purpose vehicle for Independence," he said. Comparing BJP from other opposition parties, Shah said Congress was immersed in 'parivaarvad', CPI(M) had narrow thoughts about the economy but BJP followed its ideology throughout and faced a lot of struggle to become the party it is today. "Congress has become 'parivaarvadi' party, there is no internal democracy. Samajwadi Party first became a caste-based party and then a familial party. CPI(M) had narrow thoughts about the economy, and they were wiped out from most parts of the world. BJP followed its ideology throughout and faced a lot of struggle to become the party it is today. Congress was immersed in 'parivaarvad' but not us. We conduct elections. In BJP, the speaker's father won't become speaker," he said. He said that the main objective of Congress was to free India from colonial rule and it did not have any clear policy and ideology for something else than that very purpose. "This was the reason for Gandhiji's call to dissolve the Congress after India attained independence," he added. He said that BJP freed the country from casteism, dynastic rule and appeasement. Slamming Congress for not doing development in the country, Shah said, "Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar were ruled by Congress in these states for a long time and Congress ran such a rule that these states had to be declared sick. But the BJP government came in all four states, today these states are not sick states." He said that not a single new policy was formulated during 2004 to 2014 adding that "If Sonia Gandhi calls MNREGA program a policy, then I feel sorry for her understanding of policy, because MNREGA is a program and not a policy." The Home Minister said the government will analyse the scenario in India dividing it into two parts- "A period of 65 years since independence, and about 10 years of the Modi government." Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking India forward in the world, Shah said, "Fight against terrorism, fight for climate change, setting up a system for disaster management, celebrating Yoga Day and war against Corona. In every field, India has taken forward leadership in the world." "We must know that it's just the beginning of India's story! The making of a truly great India is certain in 2047, certain like the existence of the sun and the moon!" he added. He further said that ensuring oxygen availability during the extremely challenging times of COVID concludes that if you have a leader of high sensitivity and vision, your nation can turn even the disaster into an opportunity. "Modi Ji had been a Chai seller, someone who comes from a humble background. This is the reason he has zero confusion in the making of the policies. He has the utmost empathy about the conditions of the poor and has been very much dedicated towards serving the last person of the nation. The reforms and development in the country have been ensured in a true sense since Modi Ji came to power. The Health Sector has been strengthened implicitly through the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan," said Shah. Highlighting the achievement of the BJP government, the Home Minister said, "Jute, milk, and pulses are products produced on a large scale in India. Our policy is to include the poor in every scheme. We have developed the health sector. We have introduced campaigns like Fit India and Khelo India." "Medicines at cheap rates are being provided. Widows have been provided benefits. PM brought all students stuck in Ukraine. Terrorism and Naxal activities have been reduced. We have banned PFI. The defence sector has been developed," Shah added. The Home Minister said that be it about GST or the government's fight against corruption, every such thing invites resistance, and it hurts the vote-bank, but we never cared about it and continued to walk ahead for the good of the people, for the good of the nation adding that "This is the reason there came a Paradigm Shift under Modi Ji!". Shah said the Modi government has not endeavoured to take decisions which People think are good but has taken decisions which are good for People. "The primary and significant pillar of the ideology of the Bharatiya Janata Party is cultural nationalism. Uniquely enough, ours is a Geo-Cultural Country. I have seen Krishna in Manipuri dance, have seen Krishna in Garba of Gujarat, have listened to Krishna's stories in the Bharatnatyam. Such is the beauty of our nation, our geo-cultural nation," he added. "We all have to make sure that by 2047, India becomes number one in the world in every aspect, it becomes the global leader," he said. "The time has come to revisit the nation's journey since 1947 till now. Every government in the independent history of India has worked for taking the country forward. But as the country completes 75 years of her independence, we need to objectively analyse our great democratic values and the developments therein," he added. (ANI) Taking a step further to provide global exposure to all in-service teachers and aspiring teachers across the national capital, the Delhi government's Delhi Teachers University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UK's University of Birmingham - for curriculum development, research and exchange programs on Thursday. The MoU was signed in the presence of the Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia, the Chancellor of the University of Birmingham Lord Karan Bilimoria, and the Vice Chancellor of Delhi Teachers University Dhananjay Joshi. While discussing the future plans with the University of Birmingham, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that the MoU signed today is a testament of the Kejriwal Government's firm commitment to provide India with world-class educators of the future. "It is our firm belief that to become the best, we must constantly strive to learn from the best. I am certain that by collaborating with the University of Birmingham - recognised as one of the finest universities across the world, we will be able to take education in India to the greatest heights of excellence, and make teaching a prestigious, sought-after profession that youngsters across the country aspire for." Sisodia said. He added, "This MoU marks the beginning of a long, collaborative association across many programs for teacher training between Delhi & Birmingham, and will serve as an opportunity for both the universities to learn and grow immensely." "The Memorandum of Understanding between the Delhi Government and the University outlines activities that shall be undertaken by the University of Birmingham to support the development of the Delhi Teachers University in the long run. The identified avenues for collaboration include designing teacher education programs (primarily B.Ed. Special Education, M.Ed. Special Education, and certifications), co-creation of research projects on teacher and educational leader education and development by banking on each other's expertise whilst expanding research networks in India and the UK. Furthermore, the universities will explore opportunities to enable the exchange of students, faculty and researchers and shall find ways to deliver dual-degree programmes," a release said. Sharing his views on the MoU, Lord Karan Bilimoria, Chancellor of the University of Birmingham said that there are several reasons for this MoU to come to fruition so swiftly after their first engagement just months ago with the Delhi Government. "The University of Birmingham is really excited and looking forward to the opportunity to work with the Delhi Government, whose education model has been lauded by leaders and organisations from the world over. We believe that the vision and ethos of our university are aligned with the Delhi Teachers University, and the MoU will help us transform teacher education in both cities through research and exchange. Teaching is the cornerstone of quality education, and working with the Delhi Government on one of their flagship programs for teacher education will help us both to expand our knowledge network," he said. (ANI) The seizure made on February 20 this year came to light on Thursday. Acting on a tip-off, an Indian-origin-US national was intercepted at Mumbai airport on February 20. The identity of the accused was not revealed till the filing of the report. "During the search, foreign currency worth 10 lakh valued at Rs 8. 36 crores were recovered from his possession concealed in a handbag," the official informed. The Customs department seized gold and foreign currency worth crores from different passengers at the Mumbai airport, on February 10, the officials said. According to the Customs officials, the department seized 2.8-kilogram gold worth Rs 1.44 crore from the possession of three passengers coming from Sharjah, Bahrain and Dubai. In January, Custom officials seized altogether six kg of heroin and cocaine worth over Rs 47 crore were seized in two separate cases at the Mumbai airport. The officials said that the Heroin was concealed in documents folder covers whereas cocaine was in clothes buttons. The Mumbai Airport Customs seized 1.3 kgs of cocaine valued at Rs 13 crore at the Mumbai International Airport in September 2022. The police arrested one passenger from Ghana who was intercepted on August 28. According to the information received from the police, the accused had concealed cocaine drugs inside his stomach. The accused was taken to the hospital and 87 capsules were recovered from his stomach. In March 2022, an African national was arrested at Mumbai airport after the customs department seized from her 8 kg of heroin worth Rs 56 crore in the international market, an official said. The woman was found carrying some white powder, which when examined turned out to be heroin. (ANI) On Wednesday, in a money laundering case connected to the suspected coal levy scam in the state of Chhattisgarh, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted a raid on three department offices. While talking to the mediapersons, Raut said, "They wanted to make big news, so they arrested Pawan Khera. Also, 24 hours before the Congress session in Chhattisgarh, CM's close aides and Cong leaders were raided by ED and CBI. They're choking the opposition parties. This is an emergency only." On Thursday Raut praised poet-lyricist Javed Akhtar and said that President Droupadi Murmu and PM Narendra Modi should felicitate him. Akhtar slammed Pakistan for the 26/11 terror attacks at the Faiz Festival in Lahore. Raut said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister, Defence Minister, RSS chief, and President should felicitate Javed Akhtar for taking this bold step. Akhtar has shown his patriotism and everyone should support him." "Our party greets Javed Akhtar with open hearts and appreciates his courage for speaking against Pakistan in Pakistan itself. Bharatiya Janata Party, Prime Minister Modi, and Home Minister Amit Shah say 'Hum Ghus kar marenge' (It's our principle to hit enemies inside their territory) that is good and we should do that but this time Javed Akhtar sahab has hit the enemies inside their territory," Raut said. Earlier a video of the poet-lyricist went viral on social media where he is purportedly heard speaking about "bitterness" in the hearts of Indians over the 26/11 attacks. (ANI) The Delhi High Court on Thursday expressed its displeasure over the operations of police of other States in the national capital without informing the local police. The High Court said it is necessary to obviate the repeated incidents where police from other states come to Delhi and conduct their operations here without informing the Delhi police. The High court was hearing a plea of a newly wedded couple who sought protection from the family of the girl. The couple was taken away from Delhi to Modi Nagar by the UP police. Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani also perused the CCTV footage in and around the premises where the couple has been residing in Delhi to ascertain the identity of UP cops who conducted the operation. After perusing the CCTV footage, the bench said the faces of those who conducted the operation were not visible to the bare eye. The footage appears to be "truncated", it added. "I propose to take it further as far as I can take it. These things sometimes come as roadblocks. But this footage is incomplete. It is truncated," Justice Bhambhani said. The bench was informed by the counsel for the couple that a similar incident also took place in October 2021. The high court had taken a very serious view and said that it won't go in Delhi, it is not UP. After hearing the submission justice Bhambhani observed, "Evidently, history keeps repeating itself. It is necessary to delve deeper into the matter to obviate the repetition of episodes such as this of police from outside states coming into Delhi and conducting operations without intimating the local police." The bench also issued a notice to the Deputy Commissioner of Police of CyPAD (Cyber Prevention Awareness Detection), Special Cell of Delhi Police. The high court asked him to examine the CCTV footage to obtain facial shots of persons in the video and to remain present in the court or be represented on the next date of hearing. The matter has been listed on March 9. The Delhi High on February 18, took a serious view of a midnight operation allegedly done by the UP police and taking away a young couple to Ghaziabad last week without informing Delhi police. The High court called for CCTV footage in order to identify the cops who were part of the UP police team. This incident pertains to the night of February 16 in the Anand Parbat area of Delhi. The couple was granted protection by the High court. Justice Bhambhani on February 18 directed a sub-inspector of Delhi police to collect the CCTV footage in and around the premises of the couple. The court directed to produce the footage in the court. "Let the footage collected be placed on record, " Justice Bhambhani directed. This matter pertains to a young couple who approached the high court seeking protection from the family of the girl who lives in Modinagar. The couple had solemnised their marriage in an Arya Samaj Temple on February 13 in Delhi. The age of girl is 19 years whereas the boy is 21. While hearing their plea on February 16, the high court directed the SHO of police Station Anand Parbat to ensure the safety and security of the couple. He was directed to provide his and the concerned beat Constable's number. However, on the same night, the couple was detained and taken away to a police station in Modi Nagar where the boy was made to spend the whole night in the lock-up. The next day the girl was taken to the court and the police got her statement recorded there. Thereafter, they were allowed to leave. The couple joined the proceedings and informed the court. They also said that they called the SHO on the night of February 16 but the calls went unanswered. Delhi police also filed a status report stating that no information was received at the police station about the arrival and departure of UP police on the night of February 16. The high court directed the couple to remain present in the court on Thursday. (ANI) Prime Minister will also address the gathering on occasion, a release said. "In line with the Prime Minister's vision of 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat', 'Barisu Kannada Dim Dimava' cultural festival is being organized to celebrate Karnataka's culture, traditions and history," the statement informed. The festival, being held under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, will provide an opportunity to hundreds of artists to showcase Karnataka cultural heritage through dance, music, drama, poetry etc. (ANI) Congress on Thursday attacked the Modi government over the arrest of party leader Pawan Khera, saying he was held on "totally baseless" charges and was detained "without providing any copy of the FIR, an arrest warrant, or a production warrant from the concerned magistrate". In a strongly worded statement, party general secretary KC Venugopal said Khera's arrest was "arbitrary and dictatorial and yet another cowardly attempt" to derail the 85th AICC Plenary being held in Raipur. Khera was granted interim bail by a Dwarka court and the Congress thanked Supreme Court for being the voice of reason "in these testing times". Venugopal said a group of INC leaders were travelling on a flight and Pawan Khera was deplaned and informed that the Assam Police will be arresting him. "He was arrested on totally baseless charges, which were only trumped up because Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scared of being questioned on his relationship with Gautam Adani," Venugopal said. "This charade is not going to deter us from raising questions about the manner in which the Modi government has systematically favoured the Adani group and is conspicuously silent on allegations of stock rigging, over valuation and benami money being pushed through a web of shell companies against the Adani Group of companies," he added. Venugopal said the Enforcement Directorate had earlier raided Congress leaders in Chhattisgarh, "clearly timed to intimidate our Chhattisgarh unit during the crucial planning stage of the plenary". "The BJP is totally misguided if it believes that such laughable intimidation tactics are going to dissuade us from exposing its corruption and misgovernance. Pawan Khera is one of the most articulate voices of our party, who has consistently opposed and questioned the flawed policies and divisive agenda of the Modi government," he said. Venugopal said the party stands with Khera and "strongly denounce the high handedness of the government". The Congress said that 'Haath Se Haath Jodo AICC Plenary' will give a new vision to the country "and start the countdown for the end of BJP's misrule at the Centre". "We are all geared up for this historic occasion, and no force can stop us from our mission." Shortly after being granted interim bail by the Dwarka court, Khera alleged that he was deboarded from the aircraft and arrested by Assam Police in an illegal manner. "Without furnishing a copy of FIR and notice, I was deboarded from the aircraft and arrested by Assam Police in an illegal manner. I have complete trust in the judicial system which protected my freedom of expression today," said Pawan Khera. Khera said that he would strengthen the efforts of his leader Rahul Gandhi to protect this nation and protect constitutional values. "Our struggle to protect this nation, protect constitutional values - my leader Rahul Gandhi is carrying on his struggle fearlessly, I will strengthen his efforts," he said. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Archana Beniwal granted interim bail to Khera on furnishing a bond of Rs 30,000. The court while granting the relief also imposed some conditions. The court granted the relief after hearing the submissions made by Randeep Surjewala and the Assam police. Assam police sought the transit remand of Pawan Khera. Randeep Surjewala submitted to the court that Assam police have not complied with the guidelines of the Arnesh Kumar case. He submitted that the grounds of arrest have not been provided and communicated. "I am the 'pairokar' of the person being detained by the police. The matter was taken up today by the Chief Justice of India (CJI). CJI passed an order stating that the person be released on interim bail. CJI was very gracious to pass the order," he said. (ANI) The Supreme Court has upheld the life term sentence handed down to a woman from Tamil Nadu for murdering her five-year-old female child, as she was forced to live with her mother-in-law at the matrimonial home for better education and upbringing of the kid. A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Bela M. Trivedi said: "In an overall comprehension of the material on record and the findings recorded by the trial court and the high court, in our view, no case for interference with the concurrent findings of fact is made out." The bench noted that the case was based on circumstantial evidence and even though the prosecution story presented a somewhat difficult proposition, it cannot be ruled out. In a 43-page judgment, the bench said: "In the facts of the present case, when the prosecution evidence categorically established the fact that the victim child was last seen alive with the appellant only; she was required to explain the circumstances leading to the demise of the child." "Upon her failure to do so and failure to give the explanation with regard to the circumstances under which death may have taken place, burden of Section 106 of the Evidence Act operates heavily against the appellant." The woman was convicted for the murder of her five-year-old child in the house of her mother-in-law at Perambalur in the morning of June 21, 2007. According to the prosecution case, the appellant's husband was living abroad for earning livelihood and the appellant was mostly living with her father at Kolakkudi. However, on being forced to live with her mother-in-law for the purpose of upbringing and education of the child, she found the child to be an obstacle in her desire to live separately and hence, strangulated the child to death when her mother-in-law had gone out of the house. The woman's counsel argued that the case does not fall under Section 302 IPC, but could only be of culpable homicide not amounting to murder as there was a quarrel between the accused and mother-in-law on the date of the incident because she wanted to go to her father's place. To this, the bench said: "Even if it be taken that there was a quarrel of the appellant with her mother-in-law in the morning of the date of incident because the appellant wanted to go the place of her father, it cannot be said that such a quarrel would make it a case of grave and sudden provocation." It noted that the circumstances as proved on record, and the manner of commission of crime, make it clear that the present case cannot be brought under any of the exceptions of Section 300 IPC; and conviction and sentencing of the appellant under Section 302 IPC cannot be faulted. Vahitha was convicted of the offence of murder of her five-year-old child and according to the prosecution case, her husband was living abroad for earning livelihood and the appellant was mostly living with her father, Jamal Mohammed at Kolakkudi. The trial court had relied upon the last seen evidence and convicted her, disregarding her plea for alibi that she was at her father's place at Kolakkudi. Vahitha moved the apex court challenging Madras High Court judgment, which dismissed her appeal against the judgment of conviction and order of sentence passed on October 15, 2009. --IANS ss/vd ( 572 Words) 2023-02-23-19:14:03 (IANS) Punjab-based self-styled gun-trotting Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who just came to the limelight after returning from Dubai for criminal and social connect, is the head of the religious organisation Waris Punjab De. Singh, who has his own army carrying licenced weapons, and his sea of supporters on Thursday, carrying swords and arms, clashed with the police and forcefully laid a siege on a police station, which led to a scuffle and injuries to several police personnel in Amritsar district. Six policemen were injured amid the protests and were admitted to a hospital. They were staging a demonstration in Ajnala town against the arrest of Amritpal Singh's aide Lovepreet Toofan. To diffuse the tension, Police Commissioner Jaskaran Singh told the media they have given enough proof that Lovepreet Toofan is innocent. "The SIT (Special Investigation Team) has taken note of it. These people will peacefully disperse now, and the law will take its course," he said. Who is Amritpal Singh? Police records say Amritpal, who got married this month, has been involved in scores of disputes, kidnappings and issuing threats. Recently, he issued a threat to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying he will meet the same fate as that of former prime minister Indira Gandhi. His organisation, Waris Punjab De, is an organisation of radicals founded by activist Deep Sidhu, who died in a road accident in February last year. Responding to Thursday's developments, former Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh expressed grave concern over the incident. "This is not only a complete collapse of the law and order situation in Punjab, it is more serious than that," Capt Amarinder said in a statement, while pointing out this incident has serious security implications for the state and the country. The senior BJP leader drew the Central government's attention towards this incident, warning that there was a particular pattern in these incidents which does not bode well for the national security. "Particularly when Pakistan is there to encourage and exploit such a situation," he observed, while raising questions over the competence of the state government in dealing with such a situation. Amarinder Singh also questioned the motive behind carrying the holy Guru Granth Sahib to the protest site, which he said was unacceptable. The former Chief Minister appreciated the restraint exercised by the police in dealing with those who laid siege to the police station. "While the situation needs to be handled with care, at the same time, the rule of law must prevail," he added. --IANS vg/pgh ( 428 Words) 2023-02-23-20:04:02 (IANS) The deceased officer has been identified as Shyam Vargade (48 years). He was associated with the Taddeo Local Arm Unit-2, and was posted at Byculla jail. As per the police, the constable shot himself after which he was rushed to Nair Hospital for treatment, but was declared dead by the hospital. The police have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) in the matter and have started probing the reason behind the incident. (ANI) The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court here on Thursday awarded different jail terms to a Pakistani spy and two of his associates, also Pak nationals, who came to India at the behest of ISI to send confidential information about the Indian Army from Jaisalmer to Pakistan. All the three accused -- Gaurishankar, Premchand and Nandlal -- were awarded seven-year rigorous imprisonment each after being found guilty under the relevant sections of the Official Secrets Act. They were also found guilty under the relevant sections of the Foreigners Act, for which the court sentenced Gaurishankar and Premchand to rigorous imprisonment for one year, while Nandlal was awarded two-year rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 10,000. Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence), S. Sengathir, said that Nandlal alias Nandu Maharaj, a resident of Khipro in Pakistan's Sanghar district, had come to Jodhpur on a valid passport and visa at the behest of ISI. After reaching Jaisalmer, he was collecting confidential information about the Indian Army and sending them to Pakistan. Sengathir said that on August 20, 2016, a team of CID intelligence had arrested Nandlal. During investigation, two other Pakistani nationals -- Gaurishankar and Premchand, who are brothers -- were arrested for helping Nandlal in espionage. The ADG said that Gaurishankar and Premchand are also residents of Khipro in Pakistan. After coming to India on long-term visa, both were living in different houses in Jodhpur. Sengathir said that after investigation, a charge-sheet was submitted by the CID against the three accused persons before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Jaipur on November 16, 2016. --IANS arc/arm ( 276 Words) 2023-02-23-21:04:02 (IANS) The ruling BJP and the opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday were engaged in a war of words over the new excise policy of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government, with former Chief Minister Kamal Nath saying the BJP has changed the "peaceful state into Madira Pradesh". As per the new liquor policy, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has decided to close all 'ahatas' and 'bar shops'. In Madhya Pradesh, ahata refers to a covered area located adjacent to 'desi' liquor shops where people generally sit and consume liquor. Ahatas have been seen in the state for the last several years. While Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the step has been taken to motivate people towards liquor de-addiction, the Opposition has criticised the government, accusing it of "doubling the liquor shops in the state". Former Chief Minister and Madhya Pradesh unit Congress head Kamal Nath on Thursday said the BJP government has almost doubled the number of liquor shops in Madhya Pradesh by opening a joint shop of country liquor and foreign liquor. "Your policy is clear... expensive rations and cheap liquor. Apologise to the people of Madhya Pradesh for your policy of door-to-door delivery of liquor," Kamal Nath said, adding: "The BJP has changed this peaceful Madhya Pradesh into 'madira pradesh." Kamal Nath's remarks have drawn criticism from CM Chouhan, state BJP chief V.D. Sharma and many other party leaders. The BJP leaders have accused Kamal Nath of 'insulting the people of Madhya Pradesh and its culture'. Responding to the 'madira' remarks, Chouhan said his predecessor is not familiar with Madhya Pradesh's culture. "Kamal Nath is insulting 8.5 crore citizens and our culture, tradition and values by calling Madhya Pradesh 'Madira Pradesh'," Chouhan said on Thursday. In a counter-attack, the Congress posted an old statement of CM Chouhan, in which he had used the same word - 'madira pradesh'. Kamal Nath's media advisor Piyush Bable posted a screenshot of CM Chouhan's tweet of January 2020, in which he had accused the then Congress government of making Madhya Pradesh a liquor state. --IANS pd/pgh ( 360 Words) 2023-02-23-21:38:03 (IANS) In a huge setback to rival party leader O. Paneerselvam (OPS) in the long-drawn-out tussle over the AIADMK's leadership, the Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed the Madras High Court decision allowing former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami (EPS) to continue as the party's interim General Secretary. A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Hrishikesh Roy said it has upheld the Madras High Court division bench order passed on September 2, 2022, and made its earlier interim order permanent. The apex court dismissed Panneerselvam's challenge and allowed Palaniswami to continue as interim general secretary of the party. The top court observed that the division bench of the High Court has rightly observed that as a general rule, it cannot be laid down that the requisitionists have no option but only to go to the court if the meeting is not convened. In its 80-page judgment, the bench noted that it has also been pointed out that in the past, when the interim General Secretary could not act in 2017, the office bearers stepped in and convened the meeting based on a requisition received. "The present situation too, where the position as occupied earlier by the General Secretary was assigned to the Co-ordinator and the Joint Co-ordinator in their jointness and it remains beyond a shadow of doubt that Co-ordinator and the Joint Co-ordinator do not stand in jointness and cannot act jointly, is akin to the situation when the apex position holder was not in a position to act," it added. Justice Maheshwari, who authored the judgment on behalf of the bench, said: "Obviously, a workable solution was to be found; and when the solution as found and applied, does not otherwise appear offending the spirit of byelaws as also the norms of functioning of an association or a party, it cannot be said that declaration of the Presidium Chairman for the meeting of the General Council on July 11, 2022 and the follow-up notice by the Office Bearers at the party headquarters had been wholly unauthorised." The apex court also made absolute its July 6, 2022 interim order which had stayed the high court order, which restrained the passing of resolutions in AIADMK general council meeting and executive councils in connection with the single leadership of the party. "In the present case, when the General Council is shown to be the apex body of the party, taking any exception to the meeting of the General Council could have neither been countenanced nor interfered with by way of temporary injunction," said the bench. The top court clarified that it has not dealt with the matter of resolutions before the party that were being heard by the single judge's bench. "We have not found it necessary to deal with any of the impleadment applications moved in these matters and we would leave it open for all such applicants also to take recourse to appropriate remedy in accordance with law, in case of any legal grievance existing with a right to seek relief in the appropriate forum," said the bench. --IANS ss/vd ( 529 Words) 2023-02-23-21:46:02 (IANS) The arrested persons are identified as Haladhar Dash (a retired employee of BMC), Subadha Kumar Parida and Mamata Parida. They were arrested on a case registered based on the written complaint of Lipika Das, who is the bonafide owner of the land which was fraudulently sold to someone. According to the EOW, Mamata impersonating as Lipika before the sub-registrar, Khandagiri, managed to sell away a plot measuring 2,000 sq. ft. in Malipada Mouza, Khordha, to Haladhar by executing a fraudulent sale deed without the knowledge of the actual owner (Lipika). Mamata had allegedly used a fake Aadhaar card putting the Aadhaar number of actual owner Lipika, and by affixing her own photograph in the sale deed. The role of some other persons including one Muhorir is also being probed, the officials said. --IANS bbm/pgh ( 176 Words) 2023-02-23-21:50:03 (IANS) After tightening security along the over 200-km-long unfenced India-Myanmar border in Nagaland, the state's borders with Assam, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh would be sealed on Saturday ahead of the February 27 Assembly polls. Nagaland's Additional Director General of Police, Law & Order, Sandeep M Tamgadge on Thursday said that the state has requested neighbouring Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur authorities to ensure that two days before the February 27 election, the borders are sealed to prevent unauthoried cross border movements between the states. He also said that there has been marked improvement in the law and order situation in Nagaland in this year's election as compared to the previous elections. The ADGP that the state has received 305 companies of Central Armed Police Forces and they have been deployed in different parts of the state depending on the vulnerability of the areas. The Election Commission earlier asked the central and state agencies to further tighten the vigil on borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar in view of the Assembly elections in the three northeastern states of Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland. The EC's Special Observers, while visiting the three states, held meetings with top officials of the Central and state security agencies to sensitise them to take a more vigilant approach considering the assembly elections in three northeastern states. The Border Security Force (BSF) guards the India-Bangladesh borders, and the Assam Rifles posted along the Myanmar borders. While polling in Tripura was held on February 16, Meghalaya will go to elections along with Nagaland on February 27. --IANS sc/vd ( 269 Words) 2023-02-23-22:02:02 (IANS) Pakistani police arrested Balochistan Minister for Construction and Communication Sardar Abdul Rehman Khetran in his alleged connection with the murder of three people, whose bodies were found in the well in the Barkhan district. ARY News reported. Police took Khetran in custody as he was accused of murdering those three people, Spokesperson said as the protesters continued their sit-in for the second consecutive day in Quetta demanding justice. Responding to the Barkhan triple murder incident, Provincial Minister stated that baseless propaganda is being hatched against him, he has been in Quetta for the past 10 days and was challenged to find a private jail or a cell in his area, according to vernacular media Urdu Point. The protesters, who have staged a sit-in along with the three bodies at the Fayyaz Sumbal Chowk, have demanded a case be registered against Khetran, he should be removed from the ministry, and the five people in captivity be recovered. Muhammad Marri, the man whose three family members were murdered, has accused Khetran of keeping his five other family members in a "private jail". In the latest development of the Barkhan case, the post-mortem examination of a girl, whose bullet-ridden body was found in a well, was conducted and it was found that she was killed after being sexually assaulted. Police surgeon Dr Ayesha Faiz revealed that a girl, aged 17 or 18, was sexually assaulted and tortured. She further said that three bullets were shot into the head of the girl, adding that acid was thrown on the face and neck to hide the identity. Earlier, on Tuesday, the Pakistani police raided the houses of the Provincial Minister for Construction and Communications. As per the police, the police searched all parts of the house including the guest room. The police spokesperson also said that the roads leading to Khetran's house in Quetta's Patel Bagh had been sealed, adding that the raid was carried out to recover Khan Muhammad Marri's five children. "These are the bodies of my wife and two sons who were kept in a private jail in Haji Kot for the last four years," Marri said, identifying them as his 40-year-old wife Granaz, and sons Muhammad Anwar (22) and Abdul Qadir (15). On the other hand, Balochistan Bar Council boycotted court proceedings today as a protest against the murders. A member of the bar council, Rahib Buledi, said that the lawyers will not appear in the courts today. Moreover, a tribal council has been convened to discuss the Barkhan incident today at 5 pm by Senator Prince Agha Umar Ahmedzai at the Aiwan-e-Qalat in Quetta. A spokesperson of the Aiwan-e-Qalat said that the heads of Baloch and Pashtun tribes would participate in the council, according to Geo News. (ANI) Ukrainian Member of Parliament Vadym Halaichuk quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks, "This is not an era of war," regarding the Russia-Ukraine war. Earlier, on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Samarkand on September 16, PM Modi said "today's era isn't of war" while emphasising the need to find ways to address the problems of food, fuel security and fertilizers. In an interview with ANI on Wednesday, Halaichuk said, "We are grateful to the phrase of PM Modi 'This is not an era of war'. Given the weight and capabilities of India economically, politically and militarily, we are absolutely sure that Russia would have to listen to that message." "Unfortunately, they (Russians) didn't show any understanding, so we hope that message will be repeated that it becomes obvious to Russians that they don't have any support to continue the war," he added. This remark came as the Russia-Ukraine war is soon to complete one year and still, both countries are facing tremendous problems. Halaichuk recalled the February 24, 2022 time when Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine and said that when he woke up on that day, the bombs started falling all over the country. Bombs were dropped on civilian infrastructure as Russia believed it to scare everybody in Ukraine and beat the civilians but that wasn't achieved, he said adding, "Ukraine is stronger now." "With the help of the international community, we've to fight the aggressor. We don't believe Russia has shown any seriousness in ceasing the attack. No negotiations right now about ceasefire as we don't see any desire on the Russian part for serious negotiation," a Ukrainian MP said. Referring to the Russian President's recent speech in Moscow's federal assembly, Halaichuk said that Putin's recent speech demonstrated that Kremlin doesn't have any intentions to de-escalate and start negotiations and it is threatening the world with Russia abandoning the nuclear arms restriction which is a wrong way to respond to what's going on. Meanwhile on Monday, in Ukraine, Head of the Office of the Ukrainian President Andriy Yermak, and National Security Advisor to the Indian Prime Minister Ajit Kumar Doval discussed the Ukrainian Peace Plan, a ten-point Peace Formula that provides comprehensive answers to the question of what needs to be done to end the war in a sustainable and just manner. According to Yermak, Ukraine continues to fight on the battlefield, but at the same time has proposed a peace plan. The draft resolution on support for the principles of the UN Charter, which form the basis of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, will be considered by the UN General Assembly on February 23, according to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy's official website. (ANI) Without any formal orders by the Pakistan government or the provincial governments, officers of the Balochistan government have found a fifty per cent cut in their salaries this month on the grounds that they are required to contribute to the Turkey relief aid, as per the report by the Asian Lite. This comes at a time when the Pakistan government is witnessing a severe economic crisis amid allegations of corruption and coercion of being rampant in the country. The Asia Lite reported that Grade 19 to 21 officers in Balochistan have protested the unilateral salary cut, saying that they were already facing problems feeding their families, faced by a 33 per cent rise in prices of essential commodities. These salaries were their only source of income. They could not be deprived of their legitimate earnings without any consultation. A Daily Intekhab report has said the officers have asked if other officers of other grades and provinces were also asked to contribute, or if this was a Balochistan Government diktat. They plan to appeal to the federal government with the suggestion that they could pay one or two days' salaries, and be spared from the steep 50 per cent salary cut. Despite severe economic stress, the Shehbaz Sharif Government is trying hard to return the gesture Turkey had made last year when Pakistan experienced nationwide floods. Nine aircraft sorties have been undertaken and 16 containers carrying 162 tonnes of relief material have been rushed so far. This gesture is not without its political sting, which shows Pakistan in poor light, the Pakistan-based publication reported. Despite severe economic stress, the Shehbaz Sharif Government is trying hard to return the gesture Turkey made last year when Pakistan experienced nationwide floods. Nine aircraft sorties have been undertaken and 16 containers carrying 162 tonnes of relief material have been rushed so far, the Asian Lite reported. Prime Minister Sharif had announced plans to fly to Ankara and express solidarity with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan when Turkey is mourning thousands of deaths. However, the Turkish Government requested that he postpone his visit since Ankara was very busy dealing with the calamity and the relief operations as per the media reports. Some media reports have termed this as a 'snub' to Sharif who should not be wasting time, money and effort to show goodwill gestures when his own government is fighting a crisis. While Sharif's effort may be ill-timed or misplaced, there is no effort at all on the part of his principal critic, former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Imran Khan had admitted to keeping or buying over at concessional rates, expensive gifts he received from foreign hosts and guests when he was Pakistan's prime minister. These gifts included an expensive wristwatch gifted by Saudi Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. A case is before the court arguing that as per government rules, he should have deposited those gifts to toshakhana, the government's depository since he received them in his official position. Khan's wife Bushra Bibi has been caught on secretly recorded audio clips asking a close aide of Khan to dispose of those gifts, and the latter did so in Dubai. The diamond-studded watch was sold for USD two million. (ANI) NASA renews launch date for SpaceX sixth crew to space station Xinhua) 09:05, February 23, 2023 LOS ANGELES, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- NASA has updated its launch date for the SpaceX Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station, from Sunday, Feb. 26, to Monday, Feb. 27. The liftoff is slated for Monday at 1:45 a.m. Eastern Time from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida, according to NASA. Managers from NASA and SpaceX, along with international partners, met on Tuesday as part of the mission's Flight Readiness Review (FRR) in preparation for the sixth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to the microgravity laboratory. The FRR focused on the preparedness of SpaceX's crew transportation system, the space station, and its international partners to support the flight, as well as the certification of flight readiness, according to NASA. The Crew-6 launch will carry NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, as well as United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev to the space station for a science expedition mission. Crew-6 will spend up to six months at the space station before returning to Earth, according to NASA. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) At least 11 Palestinians were killed and more than 100 were injured during a rare daytime raid by Israeli military forces in the West Bank on Wednesday, as reported by CNN. Israeli authorities said that Wednesday's operation in Nablus targeted three suspects that were planning attacks on Israel. The three were neutralized, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Israel Security Agency said in a joint statement. The Islamic Jihad militant group said two of its commanders were killed in the clashes with Israeli troops, CNN reported. The Lion's Den militant group also confirmed its members were involved in the fighting but did not say if any of their members were killed. One of the dead targeted in the Nablus raid was a Hamas member, the Palestinian militant group said. Hamas claimed Hussam Salim as a member and a martyr. The IDF said one was shot while fleeing and the other two were killed in an exchange of fire with the military, CNN reported. The IDF named him as one of their targets, accusing him of carrying out "shooting and explosive device attacks" and dispatching the killers of IDF soldier Ido Baruch last year. The IDF identified Salim as a senior operative of Lion's Den, which claimed responsibility for the killing of Baruch in October of last year. Israeli authorities said that suspects threw rocks, Molotov cocktails, and explosive devices at Israeli forces. At least 102 people are injured, according to the official Palestinian News & Information Agency (WAFA) citing the Palestinian health ministry. Seven of the injured are in critical condition, WAFA reported. Six of the dead were men in their 20s, the Palestinian health ministry said. One was 16, one was 33, one was 61 and one was 72. All were men, the ministry list of dead shows. The raid brings the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces to 61 this year, the Palestinian health ministry said. That number includes people shot as they attacked Israelis, militants being targeted in raids, people clashing with Israeli forces during raids, and bystanders, CNN reported. CNN reported that the Israeli military's daytime raid began at around 10:15 am when everyone is out shopping in the open market of the old city. As per the reports, most of the injured and dead are shot in the head, shoulders, and back. Locals said there was a drone dropping tear gas and firing live ammunition, which the IDF denied. "Israel did not operate drones that fired live ammunition in the West Bank," Maj. Nir Dinar, an IDF spokesman, said as quoted by CNN. The IDF's Dinar said that he hoped it was not true that Israeli troops had prevented medics from reaching the wounded: "I am not familiar with such behaviour and I hope it did not happen. If they have evidence, let us know and we will take it to the commanders." Briefing journalists about the raid, the main IDF international spokesman, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said that Israeli Security Agency and Border Police Special Forces had approached the house where they believed the suspects were located and told them to surrender. "They didn't surrender, they confined themselves into the house and opened extensive fire on our forces," he said. One of the suspects tried to leave the house and was shot, he said, while the other two continued exchanging fire with the Israelis. Eleven Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks this year: seven in a shooting near a synagogue, three in a car ramming attack, and a border police officer who was stabbed by a teenager and then shot by friendly fire from a civilian security guard. IDF raids into the West Bank usually occur overnight; the last time the military conducted a daylight operation, they said it was because of an immediate threat. An Israeli raid in the city of Jenin in January caused the deadliest day for Palestinians in the West Bank in over a year, according to CNN records, with at least 10 Palestinians killed on the day and one dying later of his wounds. One day later, at least seven civilians died in a shooting near a synagogue in Jerusalem - which Israel deemed one of its worst terror attacks in recent years. This comes as Netanyahu leads a cabinet that has been described as the most far-right and religious in the country's history. (ANI) Members of the Sindh Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution demanding national language status for the Sindhi language, Dawn reported. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Heer Soho tabled the resolution and said that mother tongues should be made a mandatory part of the curriculum and all languages spoken in the country should be declared as national languages. Heer Soho stated that a bill was pending in the National Assembly regarding the matter and stressed that it should be approved, as per the news report. She said that the Sindhi Language was not spoken in the city's schools and stressed the need to introduce the language in the educational institutions. Speaking on the resolution, the Opposition and treasury lawmakers demanded that the major languages spoken in the provinces of Pakistan must be given the status of national languages. Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Muhammad Hussain stated that each person is proud of their mother tongue as children get their first lesson from it. "Just as people want respect for their own language, so the language of others should also be respected," Dawn quoted Muhammad Hussain as saying. Nand Kumar of the Grand Democratic Alliance said, "As many languages are spoken in the country, they should be given the status of national languages," according to Dawn. PPP leader Marvi Faseeh said the Sindhi language is 5,000 years old. Faseeh stressed that many languages had been given the status of national language in Pakistan's neighbouring country. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Sanjay Ghangwani called for passing the language bill in the National Assembly. PPP leader Kulsoom Chandio said that teachers were unable to teach the Sindhi language to the students at schools. Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal leader Syed Abdur Rahseed said the progress of the developed and developing countries should be seen, as per the Dawn report. He said, "If you look at their literacy rate, it is their mother tongue behind the success." Syed Abdur Rahseed emphasised that Urdu has not been made the official language of Pakistan even after 75 years. He said that professional education needs to be introduced in Urdu and Sindhi. In his address, Provincial Minister of Sindh for Agriculture, Ismail Rahoo said every language should be granted the status of national language and added that there were currently 60 languages in Pakistan, as per the news report. He called on the Pakistan government to pass the language Bill immediately, the report stated further. (ANI) A B777 flight has departed from Mumbai to bring back passengers of Delhi-bound Air India International flight AI-106, which was diverted to Sweden's Stockholm Airport after the plane detected technical glitches. The B777 flight will reach Stockholm at 11 pm (local time) and take off from there at 1 am. The flight carrying passengers from Sweden Stockholm Airport will reach Delhi at 8 am on Saturday. The Air India flight AI 106 carrying 300 passengers from Newark to Delhi developed a technical snag and was diverted to Sweden. In a statement, Air India on Wednesday said, "The flight AI 106 from Newark to Delhi faced a technical issue and was diverted to Stockholm early this morning with 284 pax and 8 infants on board." It further stated that the flight landed safely at Stockholm airport. Air India put out a statement saying that the passengers have been given lounge access and meals. The aircraft was thoroughly checked to address the technical issue while Air India arranged hotel accommodations for the passengers. There was panic among passengers after the cockpit crew announced that the flight was being diverted to an airport in Sweden due to a technical glitch. However, all the passengers landed safely. Air India is in sustained talks with the Swedish authorities to seek approval for immediate immigration clearance for some of the guests who are still at the airport. Air India, in its statement, said, "Several guests have cleared immigration and checked in, and we are in discussion with the Swedish authorities to seek approval for immigration clearance for some of our guests who are still at the airport. All guests at the airport are being offered meals and refreshments." It further stated that some of the guests have come out of the airport and checked in at the hotels reserved for them. Air India does not have any operation at Stockholm. However, Air India officials from other places have been rushed to Stockholm to try and resolve issues and extend all possible support to passengers. In the statement, Air India said, "We are also exploring other options of bringing back our guests from Stockholm at the earliest." Meanwhile, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said the Air India flight reported an oil leak from the engine. "Air India flight Newark to Delhi flight diverted to Sweden's Stockholm due to an oil leak from the aircraft engine," the DGCA said. (ANI) US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday said the US would like to see strong condemnation of the war of the impact it had on Ukraine and on the global economic outlook. Tomorrow marks the invasion of the Russian military in Ukraine. During the press conference after her speech at the 2023 G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Ministerial in Bengaluru, the secretary said, "It is one of the most significant factors that is reducing growth and causing very negative spillovers in low-income countries. We would like to see the IMF (International Monetary Fund) negotiate an agreement to lend to Ukraine." The secretary said International Monetary Fund's managing director is being clear that it is the goal she has to negotiate a full programme by the end of March. "It is something we will emphasise in our discussions," she said. Today, Janet Yellen had met with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman before her speech at the event. Secretary Yellen stressed the United States' support for India's G20 presidency and thanked Minister Sitharaman for her hospitality. The Secretary discussed cooperation on the evolution of multilateral development banks, encouraged strengthened health-finance coordination, and thanked India for taking a leadership role in promoting sovereign debt restructuring, while encouraging faster G20 efforts on existing debt restructuring cases. During her speech at the G20 event, she discussed the Ukraine war and the impact it had on global economies. The secretary said, "When Russian President Putin launched his brutal attack on Ukraine last year, some believed Russia would secure a quick and decisive victory over Kyiv." However, she added one year later, the Putin war is a strategic failure for the Kremlin. She said Ukraine still stands and "NATO in our global coalition stand united behind it". Ukraine dismounted a heroic resistance. "We have seen the bravery of the Ukrainian military on the battlefield. We have seen the steady hands of Ukraine and its economic and finance officials who fought to preserve the financial and economic stability of Ukraine under extraordinary circumstances," Yellen said. On the strength of the Ukrainian people, Yellen said, "They are standing strong amid the war. The United States and their allies are proud to support the Ukrainian people's fight for freedom. The US provided over USD 46 billion in securities, economic and humanitarian support to Ukraine." In the coming months, she said, "We promise to give 10 billion dollars in addition for support for Ukraine." Estimates indicated that nearly a million Russians might have left Ukraine last year, she said, adding, "Our military support includes key defensive systems that Ukraine had asked for." "Since the early days of the war, we have partnered with a multilateral coalition of over 30 countries to impose severe cause on Russia for its assault," Yellen said, adding, "Our twin goals are to degrade Russian military-industrial complex and reduce the revenues to fund its wars. We are seeing the impacts of these actions. The Russian military is struggling to replace over 9,000 pieces of heavy military equipment lost since March 2022. Further, Russia's economy is becoming isolated." (ANI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday called India's G20 Presidency an "extraordinary opportunity" for the world to see the "full diversity" of India as about 200 meetings will take place in every state of the country during the process. He said this while addressing the G20 Festival of Thinkers Summit at Symbiosis International University in Pune here. "The G20 process involves about 200 meetings, and these 200 meetings will be taking place in every state of India. We want to spread it across different regions so that this is an opportunity, really, it's an extraordinary opportunity for actually the world to see India, the full diversity of India, because the impressions of the world very often are limited to the very sharp images of India," Jaishankar said. He added, "When the world often thinks India, they actually think Delhi, or maybe a little bit beyond Delhi. So, how do we get the world to appreciate this enormous diversity that we have, the great heritage, the natural wonders that we have? So the whole idea is really, do the meetings across the country, different cities, different towns, and not just for the world to see." Jaishankar stated, "It's also a way today, when every state multiple, there are about 55-56 cities and towns which will be hosting G20, it's also a way of getting India to be more and Indians to be more aware of the world." External Affairs Minister said, "We are gathered here today because India got the G20 presidency. G20 is a gathering of the 20 biggest economies of the World. It's not just a collection of 20 nations. G20 presidency is a very special responsibility at a difficult moment." In his remarks at the G20 Festival of Thinkers Summit at Symbiosis International University in Pune, Jaishankar stated that India looks at G20 as an opportunity for people, especially the youth to develop an awareness of the world. He said, "We look at the G 20 not just as an event, not just as a program. We see it as an opportunity that our people, our citizens, and especially our youth today develop an awareness of the world, enhance an awareness, increase their interest, and for the world to have a better understanding of India at the same time." He stressed that the mandate of G20 is to promote economic development and growth. Jaishankar spoke about International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Krystalina Georgieva's remarks regarding India's growth. He stated that Georgieva has said that 15 per cent of the world's total growth this year is coming from India. Jaishankar said, "I would encourage you to read a set of remarks by the managing director of the IMF, Krystalina Georgieva. She has pointed out that in what is otherwise, frankly, a fairly gloomy global economic scenario, to have a country like India with this GDP base growing at seven per cent and likely to continue, if not actually increase it in the coming decade, that is something about which the world has great expectations." "And, if I were to give it to you, you know, in India, I would say that, you know, we are growing at 7 per cent. Everybody feels okay. Good. I want you to see how the world looks like. Krystalina Georgieva tells us 15 per cent of the world's growth this year is going to come from India. So we are 15 per cent singly, 15 per cent of the solution that the G20 is looking for in terms of economic growth and development," he added. In his remarks at the G20 Festival of Thinkers Summit, Jaishankar emphasised the importance of Aadhar card. He stated, "The Aadhar number has become like a magic number. It is the backbone on which the daily existence of millions depends. Our digital image is growing. Countries including Japan, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, and Portugal are coming to us for our talent." (ANI) According to a tweet posted by the official handle of the finance ministry, the ministers exchanged views on priorities under the G20 FinanceTrack 2023. "Both ministers looked forward to close cooperation between Japan as G7 Presidency and India as G20 Presidency on strengthening of multilateral development banks (MDBs), debt-related issues, financing cities of tomorrow and coordinated policy for crypto assets," the finance ministry said in a tweet. The Japanese Minister also assured his whole-hearted support to India during the G20 India's Presidency. The second Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting under India's G20 Presidency is underway in Bengaluru. The meeting began on Wednesday. The deputies' meet will be followed by the first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors two-day meeting, scheduled from tomorrow in the same city. The meeting will be jointly chaired by Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. The meeting will be spread over three sessions, covering issues such as strengthening multilateral development banks to address shared global challenges of the 21st century, financing for resilient, inclusive, and sustainable 'cities of tomorrow', leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for advancing financial inclusion and productivity gains, an official release said earlier. The sessions will also cover issues related to the global economy, global health, and international taxation, and discussions in the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting are intended to provide a clear mandate for the various workstreams of the G20 Finance Track in 2023. (ANI) Olaf Scholz's visit to India is the first standalone one by any German Chancellor since the commencement of the Inter-Governmental Consultation (IGC) mechanism between the two countries in 2011. His visit coincides with the completion of one year of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and comes after the recent Chinese spy balloon episode that has created ripples in world geopolitics. Many things, including economic cooperation, the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP) and Indo-Pacific are on the agenda when he meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi this weekend. The IGC is a whole-of-government mechanism which brings together ministers and officials from both sides, who hold discussions in their domain areas and then report on the discussions during a plenary session chaired by PM Modi and Chancellor Scholz. The Chancellor's visit comes after a year of renewed engagement between India and Germany. PM Modi and Chancellor Scholz met on three occasions in 2022: For the 6th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (May 2, 2022) when PM visited Berlin, with his delegation (Finance Minister, EAM, NSA, MOS (I/C) DST and Secretary DPIIT); Chancellor invited PM for the G7 Summit held under German Presidency in June 2022 in Schloss Elmau, Bavaria, for which India was a partner country and the two leaders interacted on the sidelines of the G20 Summit held in Bali in November 2022. India and Germany share a strong economic partnership. Germany is India's largest trade partner in the European Union and has consistently been among India's top 10 global trade partners. It is also one of the largest foreign direct investors in India. As a symbol of close economic ties and the strong potential for enhanced cooperation, Chancellor Scholz will be accompanied by a high-powered business delegation. During the visit, PM Modi and Chancellor Scholz will also address a Business Roundtable, comprising top industry leaders from both sides. The visit will see the conclusion of B2B agreements. India and Germany launched the GSDP during the PM's visit to Berlin for the 6th IGC. The GSDP is an umbrella partnership that provides political guidance and steers to robust ties in climate action and SDGs. Under this, Germany will also place 10 billion euros in new and additional commitments under their development cooperation portfolio in India. Around 983 million euros of new commitments were finalized during the Annual Negotiation Meeting (ANM) held on November 28, 2022, in Delhi. During the IGC, India and Germany also agreed to cooperate on Green Hydrogen. The Indo-German Green Hydrogen Task Force was constituted in September 2022 and an Action Plan is close to finalization. During the 6th IGC, India and Germany agreed to work on development projects in third countries under the framework of Triangular Development Cooperation. The four projects announced in May 2022 are now in different stages of implementation - a) Cameroon: Potato Seed Production through Rooted Apical Cuttings (RAC) Technology b) Malawi: Agri-Business Incubator Models for Women in Agriculture & Food Systems c) Ghana: Developing Bamboo-Based Enterprises for Sustainable Livelihood and Income Generation in Ghana d) Peru: Development of a geospatial portal prototype for planning, monitoring, and evaluation of Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion of Peru (MIDIS) interventions and social programs Meanwhile, Germany has boarded the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI). German naval frigate Bayern was on a 7-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific from August 2021 and made a port call in Mumbai on January 21, 2022. Scholz's visit in 2023 will imbue fresh momentum to the bilateral relations, which saw renewed engagement and focus in 2022. Apart from PM Modi's meetings with Chancellor, the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited India on 05-06 December 2022. There have been several Parliamentary delegations from Germany, including the India-Germany Parliamentary Friendship Group (January 29-February 4, 2023) and the Budget Committee of the German Parliament (February 13-17, 2023). (ANI) The US will continue to impose further sanctions on Russia and is working with allies to continue to degrade its ability to fight the "unjust war" with Ukraine, said US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on the sidelines of G20 Meetings here on Thursday. Yellen said that their sanctions have had a very significant negative effect on Russia so far. "While by some measures the Russian economy has held up better than might initially have been expected, Russia is now running a significant budget deficit," US Treasury Secretary said, responding to a question over Russia sanctions. "It's finding it extremely difficult because of our sanctions in our export controls to obtain the material that it needs to replenish its munitions of over 9,000 tanks that have been destroyed because of the war," Yellen said. He claimed that sanctions had led to an exodus of some of the most qualified scientists and entrepreneurs in the Russian economy, also an exodus of foreign investment. "Russia is running down its holdings in its sovereign wealth fund." Yellen said that the price cap we have put on Russian oil is substantially reducing Russia's revenues. "Russia's revenues are down in January almost 50 per cent from where they were a year ago. So, Russia is suffering in terms of its Budget and its ability to acquire what it needs," Yellen said, adding, "We will continue to impose further sanctions, working with our allies to continue to degrade Russia's ability to fight this unjust war." Responding to a query with regards to the Russian invasion of Ukraine on how negotiations are taking a stronger position at the G20 meetings against the war, she said that is still under negotiation. The G20 communique that was issued in Bali contained strong language on this and the leaders' communique contained equally strong language. On the sanctions, Yellen said, "We have ongoing work on sanctions, working with our partners. We are seeking to strengthen sanctions and to make sure that we address violations of sanctions." Yellen said Russia could obtain the materials that are critical for their defence. "They are looking clearly to backfill to obtain that, and that's a particular focus that we have in mind, both with respect to enforcement and perhaps with respect to further sanctions," she added. (ANI) Czech Republic Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky will visit India from February 26 to March 1. During his visit, Lipavsky will attend the inaugural session of the India-EU Business and Sustainability Conclave on February 28. During his visit to India, Jan Lipavsky will be accompanied by Czech Republic's Members of the Parliament, the Deputy Minister for Science, Research and Innovation and a high-level official and business delegation, the Ministry of External Affairs said in the press release. During his visit, Lipavsky will hold a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues. "During the visit, Foreign Minister Lipavsky will hold bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar where the two leaders are expected to discuss the entire range of bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest," the Ministry of External Affairs said in the press release. It further said, "Foreign Minister Lipavsky will also be attending the inaugural session of the India-EU Business and Sustainability Conclave organized by CII on 28 February 2023. He will then travel to Mumbai on the same day and will depart on 01 March 2023 from Mumbai." Lipavsky's visit to India is expected to provide further momentum to India's bilateral ties with the Czech Republic. The MEA noted, "India and Czech Republic have historically enjoyed warm and friendly relations which have been strengthened in the last several years through high level exchanges and enhanced cooperation across sectors." The visit of Lipavsky to India follows the visit of EAM S Jaishankar's visit to the Czech Republic in June 2022 where they held delegation-level talks. In January this year, the two leaders held a meeting in Vienna during Jaishankar's visit to Austria. Sharing details regarding his meeting, Jaishankar tweeted, "Glad to meet FM Jan Lipavsky of Czech Republic on sidelines of the Slavkov meeting today afternoon. Discussed further intensification of our bilateral partnership and expanding multilateral cooperation." (ANI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday visited the Regional Passport Office, Pune and appreciated citizen-centric public delivery service. "Visited the Regional Passport Office, Pune today morning. Appreciate the service-focused and citizen-centric public delivery of the team. Regular feedback is essential to keep improving our services," tweeted Jaishankar. Notably, in the latest Henley Passport Index released in January, India was placed at 85th, two places ahead of last year's 87th spot. According to the index, an Indian passport holder now has visa-free access to 59 countries, compared to 60 last year while Iraq and Afghanistan are on the last spot. A strong passport can make it easier for individuals to travel internationally for business, tourism, and study. It can also provide greater access to foreign markets and economies, which can benefit individuals and businesses. Starting January 1, 2023, Indian passport holders are required to apply for a visa to enter the country, unlike in the past when visa-free travel to the country for 90 days was allowed. Indian passport holders can travel visa-free to 59 destinations such as Bhutan, Indonesia, Macao, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Kenya, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Iran, and Qatar. Some countries require visa-on-arrival. The Henley Passport Index is prepared by London-based Henley and Partners, a global citizenship and residence advisory firm. The index claims to be the "original ranking of all the world's passports", and is updated quarterly according to countries' visa policy changes. It gathers data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which manages inter-airline cooperation globally. The index covers 227 destinations and 199 passports, and compares the visa-free access of 199 different passports to 227 travel destinations. If no visa is required, then a score with value = 1 is created for that passport. The same applies if you can obtain a visa on arrival, a visitor's permit, or an electronic travel authority (ETA) when entering the destination. Earlier, Jaishankar spoke at Symbiosis International, Pune on India and the G20 and said, "Our G20 Presidency comes as a special responsibility at a challenging time for the world." He further stated," New India is a solution provider for contemporary and emerging global problems. We have a strong resolve today to stand up to defend our national interest while having the independence to becoming the voice of Global South." Terming India as a civilisational state, he said, "We are a civilisational state leading a resurgence to an era in which diversity is respected. A nation, whose energy, enthusiasm and creativity is rising and one whose future the world has a great interest in." (ANI) As February 24 marks one-year of the Russia-Ukraine war, UN chief Antonio Guterres on Wednesday (local time) urged Russia to end the war in Ukraine saying, "War is not the solution, war is the problem." In a remark to the General Assembly Emergency Special Session on Ukraine, he said, "War is not the solution. War is the problem. People in Ukraine are suffering enormously. Ukrainians, Russians and people far beyond need peace. While prospects may look bleak today, we must all work knowing that genuine, lasting peace must be based on the United Nations Charter and international law. The longer the fighting continues, the more difficult this work will be. We don't have a moment to lose." The UN Secretary-General said that the one-year mark of Russia's invasion of Ukraine stands as a grim milestone -- for the people of Ukraine and for the international community. "That invasion is an affront to our collective conscience. It is a violation of the United Nations Charter and international law. It is having dramatic humanitarian and human rights consequences. And the impact is being felt far beyond Ukraine," he added. Guterres said that Russia's attack on Ukraine challenges the cornerstone principles and values of the multilateral system. The United Nations Charter is unambiguous, he said, "All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations." The UN chief said that General Assembly addressed, in the clearest terms, the attempt by the Russian Federation to illegally annex four regions of Ukraine -- Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk. In doing so, the Assembly reaffirmed the longstanding principles of international law in its landmark Friendly Relations Declaration of 1970. Namely, "the territory of a State shall not be the object of acquisition by another State resulting from the threat or use of force", and "no territorial acquisition resulting from the threat or use of force shall be recognized as legal". He said that the position of the United Nations is unequivocal. " "We are committed to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders," added the UN chief. Guterres further stated that 40 per cent of Ukrainians are in need of humanitarian assistance. "Vital infrastructure has been targeted -- water, energy and heating systems have been destroyed in the dead of winter. United Nations agencies have also been cooperating with host countries that received more than 8 million Ukrainians -- the largest refugee crisis since the Second World War," he said. Notably, last week, the United Nations launched a USD 5.6 billion humanitarian appeal for the people of Ukraine. "I urge your full support. I have visited Ukraine twice since the start of the war where I heard testimonies of severe violations of international humanitarian and human rights laws. In this conflict as elsewhere, the United Nations is committed to ensuring justice and accountability," said Guterres. Speaking on the Black Sea Grain Initiative to advance global food security -- with the support of the Government of Turkey and the United Nations, he said, "Despite ongoing challenges, the initiative to ship grain and other foodstuffs from Ukraine is making a difference. We are working hard to remove all the remaining obstacles to implementing the Memorandum of Understanding between the Secretariat of the United Nations and the Russian Federation to facilitate exports of Russian food and fertilizers to global markets. This is also an important contribution to addressing global food insecurity." Talking about the grave threat related to Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant -- the largest nuclear facility in Europe, Guterres said, "I commend the International Atomic Energy Agency for engaging the sides to ensure that the area remains safe. The security and safety of all Ukrainian nuclear power plants must be guaranteed. The war is also fanning regional instability and fuelling global tensions and divisions while diverting attention and resources from other crises and pressing global issues. Meanwhile, we have heard implicit threats to use nuclear weapons. The so-called tactical use of nuclear weapons is utterly unacceptable." (ANI) US President Joe Biden on Thursday (local time) nominated former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank. "Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history. He has spent more than three decades building and managing successful, global companies that create jobs and bring investment to developing economies, and guiding organizations through periods of fundamental change. He has a proven track record managing people and systems, and partnering with global leaders around the world to deliver results," read Biden's statement. Banga, a business leader with extensive experience leading successful organizations in developing countries and forging public-private partnerships to address financial inclusion and climate change, is to be President of the World Bank. "He also has critical experience mobilizing public-private resources to tackle the most urgent challenges of our time, including climate change. Raised in India, Ajay has a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing developing countries and how the World Bank can deliver on its ambitious agenda to reduce poverty and expand prosperity," read the statement. The decision comes after World Bank's President David Malpass earlier said that he will step down almost a year early from his position. Malpass' exit comes months after calls grew for him to step down after he declined to acknowledge the scientific consensus that fossil fuels were warming the planet. Malpass faced criticism from climate activists in September after he refused to confirm during a climate panel whether he accepted the scientific consensus that burning fossil fuels were dangerously warming the planet, reported CNN. Banga currently serves as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. Previously, he was President and CEO of Mastercard, leading the company through a strategic, technological and cultural transformation. Over the course of his career, he has become a global leader in technology, data, financial services and innovating for inclusion. He is the Honorary Chairman of the International Chamber of Commerce, serving as Chairman from 2020-2022. He is also Chairman of Exor and Independent Director at Temasek. He became an advisor to General Atlantic's climate-focused fund, BeyondNetZero, at its inception in 2021. He previously served on the Boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc. Banga has worked closely with Vice President Harris as the Co-Chair of the Partnership for Central America. He is a member of the Trilateral Commission, a founding trustee of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, a former member of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, and Chairman Emeritus of the American India Foundation. He is a co-founder of The Cyber Readiness Institute, Vice Chair of the Economic Club of New York and served as a member of President Obama's Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. He is a past member of the US President's Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. Banga was awarded the Foreign Policy Association Medal in 2012, the Padma Shri by the President of India in 2016, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the Business Council for International Understanding's Global Leadership Award in 2019, and the Distinguished Friends of Singapore Public Service Star in 2021. The World Bank, a group of 187 nations, lends money to developing countries to help reduce poverty. Former US President Donald Trump appointed Malpass as World Bank chief in 2019 for a five-year period. As the largest shareholder, the United States traditionally appoints its president. (ANI) Russia's invasion of Ukraine is not especially a matter for the host country (India), rather it is a matter for the entire international community, said German Finance Minister Christian Lindner after the G7 meeting held here today. Responding to a question on how Germany is engaging with India on the Russia-Ukraine issue, the German Finance Minister said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is not especially a matter of the host (India) country, it is a matter of the international community. Lindner said that we have sanctions and all conventions of sanctions have to be accounted and European Union will make further efforts. "Tomorrow there will be a sanction package and we invite all members of G20 countries and the international community to be very clear on Russia's aggression against Ukraine this includes sanctions and for example the oil price cap and other measures we have introduced so far," he added. Lindberg said that we have to avoid the convention of sanctions, adding, "We need to keep pressure on Russia. The global economy has shown its resilience. Now we have to make further efforts to completely isolate Russia from the international markets, to reduce the capability of Russia, to continue this war against Ukraine." Lindner said that G20 in India is the symbol of cooperation on multilateralism, especially these days when we witness this terrible war in Ukraine. "It is of utmost importance that the rule-based international order is maintained and high responsibility for our host India as president of G20 to underline that we have to maintain international rule-based order and multilateralism that we won't allow others to hurt the international order," he added. Earlier on Thursday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a press conference said that the US would like to see strong condemnation of the war due to the impact it had on Ukraine and on the global economic outlook. During the press conference after her speech at the 2023 G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Ministerial in Bengaluru, the secretary said, "It is one of the most significant factors that is reducing growth and causing very negative spillovers in low-income countries. We would like to see the IMF negotiate an agreement to lend to Ukraine." The Secretary said International Monetary Fund's managing director is being clear that it is the goal she has to negotiate a full programme by the end of March. "It is something we will emphasise in our discussions," she said. (ANI) Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday met his Guyana counterpart Bharrat Jagdeo and both leaders agreed to continue to work on strengthening the bilateral partnership in various sectors including petroleum and natural gas, agriculture, agro-processing, education and healthcare, according to an official statement. "Bharrat Jagdeo is in India on an official visit from 20-25 February 2023 at the invitation of the Vice President of India. He is accompanied by Ashni Singh, Senior Minister within the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, and a high-level official and business delegations from Guyana," read the Ministry of External Affairs press statement. On Thursday, Jagdeo met the Vice President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar. The two leaders appreciated the close and cordial relations shared by India and Guyana based on strong people-to-people ties, economic linkages and commonalities of approach on multilateral issues. "Hon'ble Vice President, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar met H.E. Dr Bharrat Jagdeo, Vice President of Guyana in New Delhi today. Both leaders acknowledged the age-old strong bilateral ties between the countries and reiterated their commitment to further strengthen India-Guyana relations," tweeted the Vice President of India. Both leaders agreed to continue to work on strengthening the bilateral partnership in various sectors including petroleum and natural gas, agriculture, agro-processing, education, healthcare, capacity building, ICT, renewable energy and climate change, the release added. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar called on Jagdeo. The visiting Vice President is also expected to call on the President of India, Droupadi Murmu tomorrow, to meet the Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Chemicals and Fertilizers, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya and the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and, Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri. In addition, Jagdeo will also be attending the World Sustainable Development Summit being organized by TERI (The Energy Research Institute) in New Delhi from February 22-24, added the release. The visit of Jagdeo follows that of President Dr Irfaan Ali, who was in India in January 2023 as the Chief Guest of the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. High-level exchanges between India and Guyana reflect new energy and momentum in bilateral relations, added the release. (ANI) The threats from China extend beyond spy balloons and TikTok; the country is now targeting your credit cards. For anyone who thought the threat from China was waning, the events of the last month have brought them back to the reality that there is a real national security threat across the Pacific, wrote Jianli Yang in The Washington Times. China continues to expand its surveillance operations beyond its borders. First, it was TikTok and Huawei. Now, it's floating balloons to spy on Americans in full view. Since the Dodd-Frank financial reform law was passed in 2010, an under-the-radar company called UnionPay has been processing debit card transactions in the US thanks to a provision in the bill referred to as "the Durbin Amendment." UnionPay was created by China's central bank in 2002 and is funded by the government. The 2010 law required banks to include alternative networks, including UnionPay, as options for merchants to process debit card transactions. Now, despite the wave of spy balloons being shot down by the American military, the same people pushing the debit card policy want to do the same thing to the credit card market, said Jianli. Giant corporations including Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot. Target and Kroger have teamed up with some US lawmakers to push legislation allowing UnionPay to process your credit card transactions. This is highly concerning. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed concern that the social media app TikTok is collecting users' personal data and information on China's behalf. Yet the same lawmakers are not batting an eye at the thought of millions of credit card users' personal financial information being sent to a Chinese government-owned payment processing firm under orders from the US government, reported The Washington Times. UnionPay was founded when the State Council created a national payment system for mainland China. If TikTok, a supposed "private" company, is spying on Americans, is there any doubt that a state-owned entity is doing the same for the Chinese Communist Party's benefit? It shouldn't be a shock that the same multinational corporations pushing this law have a deep relationship with China and a vested interest in policies that benefit our strategic competitor. For example, Walmart has been in China for nearly 30 years and has operated hundreds of stores there," said Jianli. (ANI) Maldivian Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer on Thursday lauded Indian assistance in developmental projects carried out in Maldives. In his remarks at the inaugural session of the Asia Economic Dialogue 2023 here, he said that developmental projects in Maldives carried out by Indian assistance is geared towards future growth. "India and Maldives share a unique bond based on mutual respect, trust and understanding that goes beyond simple geographical, historical and cultural ties. And as the honourable minister Dr Jaishankar mentioned that there is a fundamental difference between the developmental projects that we are carrying with the Indian assistance. "I believe that is that the developmental projects that we are carrying with the Indian assistance is mainly geared towards future growth which is very important," he added. Ameer stated that the development projects include Greater Male connectivity project which will transform Maldivian economy. He said that Maldives is also developing two airports, one in the North and one in the South. According to Ibrahim Ameer, Hanimaadhoo International Airport will have a capacity of 1.8 to 2.1 million tourists a year. He said that South Gan International Airport being developed with the assistance of a line of credit facility from Exim will have a capacity of 1.8 million. "Now we are a six billion dollar economy. But, when we do these international airports in the north and in the south in a few years time, let's say in 5-10 years, we are looking at not a six billion dollar economy. I believe we are looking at let's say 15-20 billion dollar economy and also we have very important basic infrastructure, sanitation projects," Ameer said. "When we came into the government in the end of 2018, we had only around 30 per cent of our country had proper water and sanitation projects but now with the assistance of Indian Exim, we currently have water and sanitation projects in all of the other 70 per cent of the islands," he added. In his remarks at the inaugural session of the Asia Economic Dialogue, he said that three things that bother him are climate change, external shocks which he stressed are the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia Ukraine war and developmental efforts. He further said, "how do we make sure there is a continuation of our developmental projects." Notably, the inaugural Session of the Dialogue was a conversation between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Bhutan Finance Minister Lyonpo Namgay Tshering and Ibrahim Ameer. The Asia Economic Dialogue (AED) is the Ministry of External Affairs' annual flagship event on Geoeconomics, co-hosted in collaboration with Pune International Centre. The 7th edition of the Asia Economic Dialogue is being held from 23-25 February 2023 in Pune. (ANI) Labour supporters have complained to the party about British Sikh MP Preet Kaur Gill after she sent a series of WhatsApp messages on a group undermining allegations of sexual abuse within gurdwaras. According to the messages seen by The Guardian, Gill says those calling Sikh temples unsafe are using "very dangerous language" and urges them to tender written apology to gurdwaras. "I was very surprised by her comments, as there are genuine concerns with safeguarding at UK gurdwaras," Nav Johal, a Labour councillor who was on the group to which Gill sent the messages, told The Guardian. "Her messages were even more surprising given Gill (a former social worker) comes from a child protection background," Johal added. The flare-up over the WhatsApp messages happened after UK charity and victim support service Sikh Women's Aid (SWA), which surveyed 839 Sikh women in Britain, found that close to two-thirds of them had experienced domestic abuse. Some of the respondents said that they had been abused by faith leaders as the report went on to warn about the lack of protection offered by gurdwaras, The Guardian said. The SWA had said in its report that it "has advocated for several cases where sexual abuse and misconduct were alleged to have taken place or exacerbated in Gurdwara and faith settings". After the publication of the report, an angry Gill posted a series of messages on the WhatsApp group, Sikhs in Labour. "Where is your Evidence guru ghars (Gurdwaras) are not safe??? This is outrageous you should apologise to the sikh community," she wrote in one of the messages shared by The Guardian. "Calling guru ghars unsafe is very dangerous language. Please submit a written apology to guru ghars," she added. Gill also said in one of her messages that alleged victims of rape at one particular gurdwara had been in consensual relationships with their accused attacker. --IANS mi/vd ( 328 Words) 2023-02-23-20:34:02 (IANS) A 12-year-old was critically injured Wednesday evening in a northeast Dallas shooting, police said. Police responded to the 8400 block of Ellery Drive in the Hamilton Park neighborhood shortly before 8 p.m., according to Star-Telegram media partner WFAA-TV. They found a 12-year-old with a gunshot wound. The victim was taken to a hospital in critical condition, according to WFAA, and there were no updates available on the childs condition Thursday morning. Police havent said how the 12-year-old was shot, WFAA reported. A 15-year-old boy was fatally shot after a group of friends gathered to play video games on a snow day in Washington, police said. Authorities responded to a shooting at about 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, to a home in Reardan, the police department said in a news conference live-streamed by the Lincoln County Record-Times. A group of friends had met up to play video games after Reardan-Edwall School District called off school that day due to snow, Reardan Police Chief Andy Manke said in the news conference. The teens ranged in ages from 14 to 17 years old, Manke said, and no adults were home at the time of the shooting. At one point, one teen, who didnt live in the home, pulled out a handgun, he said. Somehow, during those kids interaction, the handgun went off, and we havent determined how yet or the circumstances behind that, Manke said. A 15-year-old boy was struck by a bullet, he said. An officer got to the home within a couple of minutes and performed CPR, but the boy died, Manke said. The teen was identified by police as Shadrach Hall-Turner. Manke called the shooting a tragedy because all five boys were friends. There was no animosity. It wasnt a crime of hate or of violence, he said. The 16-year-old accused in the shooting has been arrested and booked into jail on charges of first-degree manslaughter and unlawful possession of handgun, police said. The school district said there were no immediate threats to the school. It delayed the school start time by two hours on Thursday, Feb. 23, and made attendance optional, according to an email Superintendent Eric Sobotta sent to families and students. Our hearts are genuinely with the students family, and with all in the school and community we share, Sobotta said in the email. As fellow community members, we are called now more perhaps than ever to come together to support the family and all the students and families in our school district. Reardan is about 25 miles west of Spokane. Story continues 14-year-old found dead in kitchen after drive-by shooter fires into home, SC cops say Cop fires gun into elementary school floor in swatting incident, Colorado police say Teen posing with prop gun says he cant wait for high school to blow up, IL cops say Two Sandalwood High School students were arrested Thursday in connection to a robbery and attack on another student, according to communication from the schools principal. A message sent to Sandalwood parents and families from Principal Saryn Hatcher said one student attacked another in one of the schools bathrooms. The school went on a Code Yellow lockdown as a result. Hatcher said school police were able to immediately identify and arrest two students in connection with this incident. The school is also in direct contact with the family of the victim who was able to receive medical care and assistance this morning, Hatcher said. Hatcher said he was very disappointed about the incident and called it absolutely unacceptable. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Here is the full message from Hatcher: Good morning Saints families, this is Principal Hatcher. I apologize for interrupting your morning, but unfortunately, I have very disappointing news to share with you regarding an isolated incident that took place on our campus this morning. We placed the school on a Code Yellow as school police investigated a report that one of our students had been attacked and robbed by another student in one of the schools restrooms. Through their investigation, school police were able to immediately identify and arrest two students in connection with this incident. We are in direct contact with the family of the victim who was able to receive medical care and assistance this morning. Again, I am very disappointed to share this information with you. What happened today was absolutely unacceptable, and it is troubling when young people make decisions that lead to these outcomes. I do want to thank our school police and security teams for their work this morning in identifying the suspects and placing them in custody. Thank you for taking the time to listen to this message and for your partnership. Have a good rest of your day. Goodbye. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] 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. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Police in southeast Alaska arrested three people and confiscated more than $1 million in methamphetamine and the deadly opioid fentanyl, according to court documents and an Alaskan radio station. A duffel bag with 20 pounds of meth rolled inside tortillas like a burrito was seized when the MV Columbia docked in Ketchikan, KRBD-FM reported Monday, Feb. 20. Columbia is one of several ferries that run the waters of the Inside Passage to Bellingham and back as part of the Alaska Marine Highway system. An Oregon man boarded the Columbia in Bellingham, and was arrested in Ketchikan, where a police officer and a detective stayed with the bag until the ferry docked in Juneau, KRBD reported. There, two more people were arrested and police found another half-pound of meth, 150 pills of suspected fentanyl, and nine firearms, KRBD-FM reported. Monroe County deputies have arrested two people they say were on the run after 50 animals were rescued from a Georgia home. The sheriffs office said Tony Adside, 38, of Macon turned himself in to the Monroe County Jail. Nicole Woodard, 33, of Forsyth, and Lisa Stanzek, 56, of Forsyth surrendered late Thursday. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] On Saturday, the Monroe County Sheriffs Office was called to the 2300 block of Smith Road. When deputies arrived, they reportedly found multiple malnourished dogs tied to trees. Officials said they were without shelter, food, and water. While officials were checking the poor living conditions, they allegedly heard barking and scratching sounds come from a van that was at the home. Authorities say deputies found two dogs living inside the van. The van was reportedly covered in feces and urine, not ventilated and no food or water was inside it. TRENDING STORIES: Deputies tried knocking on the door but no one answered, officials, said. According to the release, when deputies went inside the home which was also covered in feces and urine, they found several more dogs in poor living conditions. Monroe County officials say they found three dead dogs along with multiple other dogs inside wire crate kennels together. Deputies reportedly found a dead bearded dragon, a cat, and a gecko. The Monroe County Animal Control removed a total of 51 animals from the home, including five dead dogs. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: urbazon / iStock.com There are few words in the English language more likely to produce an involuntary wince than "audit." That's because having the IRS into every little detail of your tax return can mean having to search for buried documentation, potentially pay additional taxes or worse. However, the good news is the ins and out of how to avoid a tax audit aren't actually as grim as you might fear. Audits are extremely rare, and even rarer if you're aware of IRS audit triggers so you can steer clear of potential red flags that could result in closer scrutiny from the tax collector. Read: Ways You Can Lose Your Social Security Benefits More: 3 Ways Smart People Save Money When Filing Their Taxes Here's a closer look at how to prepare your taxes so you can avoid an IRS audit. Shutterstock.com 1. Enter Your Information Correctly Although it sounds obvious, make sure you do the simple things correctly. Making a mistake when you enter your Social Security number or misspelling your name can result in the IRS rejecting your return or worse, having to learn the answer to the question, "What is auditing?" the hard way. If you make this kind of mistake you'll have to refile, which will delay how quickly you receive a refund. Kittipong Udomsom / Shutterstock.com 2. Provide Accurate Numbers The income amounts you enter on your return must match the information the IRS receives through W-2 and 1099 forms. If they don't, you're asking for trouble. "The IRS computers cross-check the information reported to them on your tax return with the information that is received from businesses filing informational returns," said Crystal Stranger, an El Paso, Texas-based enrolled agent, National Tax Practice Institute fellow and chief operating officer at GBS Tax & Bookkeeping. "If this information is not a match, you are nearly guaranteed to receive a computer-generated audit letter." Take Our Poll: How Big of a Sign-Up Bonus Would It Take for You To Change Banks? Casper1774 Studio / Shutterstock.com 3. Report All Income You need to report the earnings on your tax return if you make any money outside of your regular job, said David M. Hryck, a partner at Duane Morris. "If the person or company that is paying you reports the business, you would definitely be raising a red flag," he said. For example, if you do freelance photography for a company that reports your payment as a business expense, the IRS expects to see the same amount listed as income on your return. Story continues emmgunn / iStock.com 4. Avoid Claiming Too Many Deductions The IRS selects some returns for audit based on how different your return is from the statistical norms for similar tax returns. If you are entitled to a deduction, you should claim it. But be prepared to back it up if the IRS inquiries. Oat_Phawat / Getty Images/iStockphoto 5. Minimize Year-to-Year Differences The IRS identifies returns to audit based on comparisons with your tax returns from previous years. "If there is a large differential of an amount from one year to another, it would increase your chances of being examined," said Craig Smalley, an enrolled agent and founder and CEO of CWSEAPA, an accounting and financial services firm with offices in Delaware, Florida and Nevada. For example, your risk of an IRS audit might rise if you claim $2,000 of mortgage interest one year and $25,000 the next. aldarinho / Shutterstock.com 6. Report All Foreign Income You must report all income on your U.S. tax return, regardless of where you earned it. "People need to understand that just because they're saving or earning money outside of the U.S., it does not mean the money is free money," Hryck said. Fail to declare this cash and not only are you at risk of an audit, you might be guilty of a crime if you are hiding offshore income. ET1972 / Shutterstock.com 7. Avoid Claiming Excessive Mileage Deductions The IRS will compare the number of business miles you claim with what is standard in your occupation, said Dave Du Val, Vice President of Customer Advocacy at TaxAudit.com, which provides audit expertise. "We see a lot of returns that report thousands of miles driven for business, but they have an occupation listed that doesn't typically require travel," he said. "And when you think it through, their reporting would have them driving all day every day of the year -- which of course doesn't make sense." Pressmaster / Shutterstock.com 8. Claim the American Opportunity Credit Only If You Qualify The American Opportunity Tax Credit offers money back on your taxes for higher education costs. You can claim it for up to four years of higher education as long as you're seeking a degree or other recognized credential, enrolled at least half-time and meet other requirements. This credit, however, is receiving additional IRS scrutiny, Smalley said. Don't claim it unless you're entitled to it. Oksana Kuzmina / Shutterstock.com 9. Don't Falsely Claim Dependents Each dependent you claim lowers your taxable income. But you cannot claim dependents on your return if they are being claimed on another return. "One of the more simple mistakes includes claiming an exemption for a dependent on a parent's tax return, where the same exemption is unwittingly claimed on the dependent's separate tax filing, or where the same exemption for a dependent is claimed by both married persons filing separately," said Nathan Smith, a director at the National Tax Office of CBIZ MHM in Atlanta. StudioThreeDots / iStock.com 10. Be Conservative With Deductions If You Earn a High Income Making more money during the year increases your IRS audit risk, said Smith. "Tax returns that report more than $200,000 of income are audited more frequently than those below that threshold," he said. Tax audit activity is even higher for returns reporting income in excess of $1 million, said Smith. Pavel_D / Shutterstock.com 11. Report Your Foreign Accounts Having a foreign account is not illegal -- you might work or live abroad. You must, however, file Form 8939 if your foreign financial assets exceed the thresholds for your filing status. For 2017 returns, single U.S. residents must file Form 8939 if their foreign assets exceed $75,000 at any time during the year or $50,000 as of the end of the year. If you file jointly, those thresholds are doubled. Correctly reporting all of your accounts reduces your odds of IRS scrutiny. dobok / Getty Images/iStockphoto 12. Avoid Early Retirement Withdrawals If you withdraw early from a retirement plan like a 401(k) or IRA, it can trigger heightened scrutiny of your return, according to Hryck. "Typically, the IRS is under the assumption that people who are withdrawing early tend to make mistakes on their tax returns," he said. deeAuvil / iStock.com 13. Don't Claim the Earned-Income Tax Credit Unless You Qualify The earned-income tax credit offers refunds to people who have earned income below certain limits and who typically have at least one qualifying child and meet other requirements. "(The EITC was) a big thing (in 2017)," Smalley said. The IRS had said that all refunds would be delayed because they were verifying numbers, said Smalley. Of course, if you're entitled to the credit, you should claim it. Juanmonino / iStock.com 14. Don't Claim Political Contributions as Charitable Contributions Although you might think you're doing your part by making contributions to your favorite politician, you aren't allowed to include those amounts as part of your charitable contributions deduction. "The IRS is more than likely to review returns claiming large charitable contributions, as political donations are not tax deductible," said James Oliveri, registered tax return preparer and owner of NYCTaxguys in New York. sturti / iStock.com 15. Keep Your Business and Personal Accounts Separate If you own a business, don't use the company accounts as your personal piggy bank. "Be careful how you categorize monies being put into your business and monies being taken from your business," said Oliveri. "The IRS could come back and classify some of the money taken as a taxable event," said Oliveri. If you have a sizable business, it might be worth preparing an internal audit report to make sure you're deducting all your expenses and nothing more. Andrey_Popov / Shutterstock.com 16. Choose a Reputable Tax Preparer The IRS has instituted an oversight program to flag returns prepared by tax preparers who have been criminally charged for tax fraud. It has also had unqualified tax preparers on its list of tax scams since 2015. If you are one of the 60% of taxpayers who uses a tax preparer, according to the IRS, choose carefully. If you don't, you could find yourself needing tax audit help. Halfpoint / Shutterstock.com 17. Don't Claim the Additional Child Tax Credit If You Don't Qualify If you have a qualifying child, you can reduce your tax levy by claiming the additional child tax credit. This credit is for people who get less than the full amount of the child tax credit. Qualifying children include your kids, foster children and even siblings. They must, however, be under 17 at the end of the year and can't provide more than half of their own financial support. The additional child tax credit is another credit the IRS watches closely. If you know you're eligible, don't let that deter you from claiming the credit. Just make sure you enter all your information correctly. Rawpixel.com / Shutterstock.com 18. Report All Investment Income Your income includes wages as well as gains from stocks, bonds and interest. If you're in a rush to get a refund, you might accidentally forget about those types of income. "I had a client who had stock sales of $50,000," said Oliveri. "She never reported it on her return and, lo and behold, the IRS wants $10,000 in taxes." Stasique / Shutterstock.com 19. Reconcile Health Insurance Premium Tax Credit Advances If you got an advance payment on your health insurance premium tax credit, you must do extra work to make sure you were eligible to receive it. "Taxpayers receiving such advance payments must reconcile them on Form 8962 to determine ultimate eligibility for the credits, which are reported to the taxpayer on Form 1095-A.2," said Smith. Sean Locke Photography / Shutterstock.com 20. Don't Claim To Be a Real Estate Agent To Get a Tax Break If you have rental properties that generate a tax loss, you usually can't use the loss to offset other income because the IRS classifies the event as a "passive activity loss." Instead, you must carry the loss forward until you get rid of the property or have taxable gains. If you do participate in the real estate management you can take the loss that year. Some people falsely claim to be "real estate agents" so they can claim such a loss. Typically, "material participation" requires working in the business for more than 500 hours. The IRS looks closely at taxpayers who claim "real estate professional" status to avoid the passive activity loss limitation, said Du Val. Stuart Jenner / Shutterstock.com 21. Consult With a Qualified Tax Preparer The tax code can be difficult to read and understand, so consider consulting with a tax professional. And don't look for a cheap tax preparer just so you can save money. Some return preparers are actually scammers who will steal your refund or identity, according to the IRS. STUDIO M / Shutterstock.com 22. Don't Make Frivolous Tax Arguments You've probably heard of people who claim they are exempt from paying taxes because they are sovereign citizens. Other people say paying taxes is really just "optional." The IRS and the U.S. Tax Court have found these and other similar arguments to be frivolous. The IRS warns taxpayers that the penalty for filing a fraudulent return is $10,000 -- and that it can audit a fraudulently filed return at any time in the future. Rawpixel.com / Shutterstock.com 23. Get Receipts for Charitable Cash Contributions The IRS can disallow a charitable deduction if you don't have proof of the donation. If you gave less than $250 you can use a canceled check, credit card statement or bank statement as proof. If you gave $250 or more you need a written statement from the charity with information including: How much you gave What, if anything, you received in return for your contribution The value of what you received InnerVisionPRO / Shutterstock.com 24. Document Charitable Goods Donations If you donate goods to a charity, you're eligible to deduct the fair market value if you have the right documentation. If you don't have that documentation, the IRS can disallow your deduction. If you gave less than $250, you need a receipt that shows the name of the charity, the date and the charity's location and a reasonably detailed description of what you gave. If you dropped off the goods at an unmanned location -- such as putting clothes in a charity's drop box -- you can claim the deduction without a receipt. If you gave more than $250 worth of goods, you always need a receipt. Cyber Kristiyan / Shutterstock.com 25. Maintain Records for Employee Expenses Employee expenses are targets for IRS inquiries. If you're claiming the deduction, you must have your company's reimbursement policy in writing, said Stranger. To deduct expenses you paid for your job, have proof that your company's policy is not to reimburse you for those expenses and that it did not -- and that incurring the expenses was required for you to do your job, she said. RoJo Images / Shutterstock.com 26. Keep a Trip Log for Car-Related Deductions If you claim car-related deductions -- like business or charity mileage expenses -- keep written proof of your business and total mileage for the year, said Stranger. Log the information in a book or keep it in a phone or computer app that creates a professional record of auto expenses. RomanR / Shutterstock.com 27. Substantiate HSA Distributions With Receipts A health savings account allows you to put pre-tax dollars into the account, then take out the money tax-free as long as you spend it on qualified medical costs. You aren't required to include your receipts for the medical expenses when you file your return, but you must keep them in case you are audited. Andrey_Popov / Shutterstock.com 28. Substantiate Why Your Costs Qualify Document why the costs listed on receipts qualify for particular deductions. For example, the IRS requires that you provide a written statement that explains most business expenses. For example, if you have plane tickets to Hawaii, you need additional information to support the business purpose. If all you have are plane tickets when the IRS audits your return, you're going to have a hard time proving your deduction was legitimate. stickasa / Shutterstock.com 29. Maintain Records Until the IRS Can't Challenge Anymore The IRS typically has three years to audit your return. There are, however, certain times the tax audit limit period can be extended. For example, if you underreport your income by more than 25% the IRS has six years to audit you. If you have unfiled tax returns, or you file a fraudulent return, the IRS can audit your taxes for that year at any time in the future. More From GOBankingRates Joel Anderson contributed to the reporting for this article. This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 30 Ways To Prevent a Tax Audit Aiden Fucci, 16, is walked through a St. Johns County courtroom to meet with his attorneys before the start of his pre-sentencing hearing Thursday. On Feb. 6, Fucci pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the killing of 13-year-old Tristyn Bailey in 2021. Gone were the necktie and dark blazer that Aiden Fucci wore when he changed his plea moments before trial, and back were the shackles and red jail jumpsuit. The 16-year-old returned to court Thursday to learn his fate will tentatively be decided the week of March 20. Fucci pleaded guilty on Feb. 6 to first-degree murder in the 2021 stabbing death of his Patriot Oaks Academy classmate Tristyn Bailey. She was 13 and Fucci was 14 at the time. They had been at a friend's home in their Dubrin Crossing neighborhood in St. Johns County and were last seen walking together after 1 a.m. on May 9, 2021, the Sheriff's Office said. Bailey was stabbed over a hundred times, according to the medical examiner. Aiden Fucci trial: Questions and answers in the St. Johns County teen's murder case Before Aiden Fucci: These juveniles were charged as adults in high-profile Jacksonville-area cases Memorial: Tristyn Bailey remembered as someone who brought 'life to everyone around her' Fucci's friends would later tell investigators he had talked about wanting to kill someone, even taking them into the woods and stabbing them. But why Bailey is still unclear. He did express sorrow to both Bailey's family and his own in a brief statement during his plea. Thursday's hearing at the St. Johns County Courthouse was short. Judge R. Lee Smith scheduled March 21 and 22 for the sentencing, with the opportunity to start a day earlier or later if needed, and another status hearing on March 8. Smith said he intends to decide on a sentence the same week. I'm not going to drag this out any longer than necessary," he said in court, according to First Coast News. "I dont want to go through a sentencing hearing and then say, 'All right, now I'm going to take three more weeks." Forrest and Stacy Bailey, parents of Tristyn Bailey, sit in the courtroom as they watch Aiden Fucci's pre-sentencing hearing Thursday. Fucci, now 16, pleaded guilty to killing 13-year-old Tristyn in 2021 in St. Johns County. Bailey's family also was in attendance. What prison sentence does Aiden Fucci face? As a juvenile, Fucci is not eligible for the death penalty. He faces a minimum of 40 years and up to life in prison. The judge will have to weigh mitigating factors such as the circumstances of the crime, his mental capacity, upbringing and history, potential for rehabilitation and the impact on the victims family. Story continues If sentenced to a life term, the judge can review the possibility of a lighter sentence after serving 25 years, according to Florida law. Bailey During the sentencing phase, the judge can hear victim impact statements as well as from Fucci's family and expert witnesses who for instance can address the teen's mental health. Both the prosecution and defense submitted lists of about 20 potential witnesses who could be called to testify. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Aiden Fucci will be sentenced in March for Tristyn Bailey's death The National Transportation Security Board (NTSB) issued its first preliminary report Thursday on the Feb. 3 derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio. While the report seemingly faults an overheated bearing for the derailment, the NTSB investigation is ongoing, and a number of questions remain. Here are five remaining questions about the train derailment: 1. Did the tank car design contribute? In the preliminary report, the NTSB said it has decontaminated the train cars that contained hazardous material, which included vinyl chloride. Exposure to the substance, which is used for production of plastics, has been linked to higher rates of liver and lung cancer. NTSB officials said they have removed and examined the top fittings from the cars that contained the substance, and those fittings will be sent to Texas for further testing. 2. What was the role of rail regulations or lack thereof? Public safety advocates have frequently pointed to the Trump administrations delay of a 2015 rule, vocally opposed by railroad companies, that would require the use of more modern electronically-controlled pneumatic brakes. Although the Transportation Department has said the rule would not have prevented the East Palestine disaster, both Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and President Biden have pointed the finger at the railroad lobby for deregulation and its potential role in the accident. 3. Are there still environmental hazards? The NTSB noted in its report that it is not involved in air monitoring, testing of water quality, environmental remediation, or evacuation orders relating to the disaster. Much of this falls under the purview of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which has taken over the response. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said last week that the agency will require Norfolk Southern, which operates the railroad, to assume financial responsibility for all cleanup efforts. While the EPA and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) have said water in the area tested as safe to drink, they recommended drinking bottled water, and state officials have reported at least 3,500 fish have died in surrounding waterways. Story continues 4. Was the controlled burn the right move? DeWine ordered an evacuation of the area days after the derailment. Shortly after, concerned about a potential explosion due to the presence of flammable compounds, first responders conducted a controlled burn. In its preliminary report, the NTSB listed venting and burning of the vinyl chloride as an ongoing subject of investigation. A number of lawsuits have been filed in the meantime alleging the controlled burn exacerbated hazards, including a complaint by local injury firm Morgan & Morgan claiming it has contributed to locals health problems. 5. How long will it take to determine the exact danger? Many of the potential risks associated with environmental disasters from cancer to developmental issues can take months or years to become apparent and will require ongoing investigations by both the NTSB and the EPA. Regan and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) have urged residents to continue testing their homes air quality, and Brown has also said he is working to ensure Norfolk Southern does not manipulate residents into waiving their right to sue. Another unknown is any possible risk to the surrounding areas, not just other parts of Ohio but the other side of the state line as well. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) told NPR this week that Norfolk Southerns response has given the middle finger to the good people of Pennsylvania and Ohio and that testing of western Pennsylvania water is ongoing as well. Weve seen no concerning readings yet, but were going to continue to test for months and months and months, if not years, he said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The courtroom was nearly empty as William "Billy" Rulli was sentenced for the murder of Stanley Golinsky. No family or friends of either man watched the proceedings, which came after Rulli pleaded guilty last week to second-degree murder in the decade-old slaying. Among those who did attend Wednesday's hearing were two Des Moines police officers who worked on the case, 10 years apart. From 2021:Prisoner faces first-degree murder charge after confessing to 2012 homicide in downtown Des Moines Rulli, 36, was sentenced to 50 years in prison and must serve at least 35 before becoming eligible for parole. At the request of both the defense and prosecution, Judge Robert Hanson ordered that sentence to run concurrently with a 35-year sentence Rulli is already serving in a 2015 home invasion case. In addition, Rulli must pay restitution of $150,000 to Golinsky's estate, as required by Iowa law. As part of Rulli's plea deal, Assistant Polk County Attorney Nan Horvat noted, the state agreed not to pursue other charges against Rulli in a second suspicious death dating to 2013, one year after Golinsky was found with his skull crushed and his body badly burnt beneath a bridge in downtown Des Moines. More:Jodi Huisentruit went missing in 1995. Friend hopes a $25K reward uncovers her remains Who was Stanley Golinsky? Golinsky, who was known as "Mike," was 56 when he died. He was a fixture among the local homeless community, according to Des Moines police Lt. Timothy Peak, who investigated Golinsky's death as a detective in the homicide unit. "He was well-regarded, as far as I could tell, by other homeless people," Peak said in an interview. "He was never an issue for law enforcement or the community." On Oct. 24, 2012, according to court filings, police responded to a report of a body with "severe trauma and extensive fire damage" being found beneath the railroad bridge in the 100 block of Water St. The death was determined to be a homicide, and the investigation began. Story continues A suspect, but no hard proof Rulli, who at the time was living with family members, has substantial mental health issues and "borderline intellectual functioning," according to his attorneys. Like Golinsky, he also had a reputation in the homeless community, according to Peak, but not a positive one. Before Golinsky's murder, Peak said, Rulli already was the primary suspect in the beating of a woman living under another bridge. No charges were filed in that case, and Michael Jones, on of Rulli's attorneys, said Rulli's legal team had no knowledge of that allegation. According to court filings, Rulli was identified as a person of interest early in the Golinsky investigation. In his interview, Peak said police had reports that Rulli had told family members he was to blame but weren't able to find witnesses willing to speak with investigators. More:From John Wayne Gacy to the 'I-65 Killer,' how these 11 serial killers are connected to Iowa Without those witnesses, and with no physical evidence tying Rulli to the crime, police didn't bring charges, and when Peak eventually was promoted, his unsolved investigations were filed as cold cases. Investigators kept one ace up their sleeve, though: details of the crime scene and Golinsky's death never released to the public, that only they, and the killer, would know. Confession ends decade-old cold case Rulli eventually was arrested for forcing his way into an elderly man's home, badly beating him and stealing his phone and other possessions in 2015. Rulli was sentenced to 35 years in prison, although without a mandatory minimum to serve before becoming eligible for parole. In September 2021, now in prison, Rulli approached a guard and said he wanted to speak with detectives about Golinsky's death. Peak and Des Moines police Detective Brad Youngblut traveled to the Anamosa penitentiary to hear Rulli confess to the crime. "I'm a lieutenant, so I was planning a budget at the time and Brad, the senior detective, said, 'You want the chance to solve this?'" Peak recalled. Police said Rulli not only admitted to the killing, sharing details from the crime scene never publicized, but implicated himself in another man's death from 2013. The medical examiner in that case had not at the time classified it as a homicide. As part of Rulli's plea deal, prosecutors agreed not to bring charges in the second killing. Peak said Rulli told the officers his motivation to kill Golinsky was fear: He'd met Golinsky for a sexual encounter but Golinsky had complained he'd been too rough. "He killed him out of fear Stanley was going to go across the river (to the police station) and file a report against him," Peak said. More:Seven of Iowa's most infamous true crime, cold case mysteries Tying up loose ends Golinsky's only surviving family, two older brothers now in their 70s, live on the East Coast and chose not to travel to the hearing, although Peak said they were "pretty emotional" and were glad to have closure when told their brother's case had finally been solved. Rulli's father, with whom he primarily lived, and brothers have died, Peak said. For Peak, Wednesday's sentencing settled not only the crimes he suspected Rulli of committing but his own tenure on the homicide unit. He worked that beat from 2008 to 2015 and said he left the unit with a near-perfect record of homicide investigations. "It was one (unsolved), Stanley Golinsky," he said. "Now I'm at 100% as a lead detective in a case." 'He knows this is the best place for him' At his sentencing Wednesday, Rulli told the judge he wanted to apologize. "Id like to change, and will do a lot better and work through the prison system and take classes or whatever I need to do to do better," he said. Peak said he asked Rulli in their first interview why he decided to confess. Rulli told him his family had either died or no longer wanted anything to do with him, his former home had been torn down, and he didn't want to leave the prison, Peak said. "He said that here he can live and reign in the prison system, and now he doesn't have to be nice to anybody," Peak said. After Wednesday's hearing, according to Horvat, Rulli "thanked everybody up and down for sending him to prison," and Youngblut said a lengthy prison sentence, in this case, was right for everybody. "This is the best place for him, given his circumstances and his own admissions," he said. "He knows that that's the best place for him, and that's why he came forward and got this off his chest." 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: Des Moines cold-case homicide from 2012 ends in 50-year sentence More than two years after converging on what they dubbed a "murder mill," eight people have been indicted on federal charges for allegedly blocking access to a Sterling Heights abortion clinic in 2020 an incident they promoted on social media and then livestreamed for the world to see. "We're in Sterling Heights, outside of the murder mill, to save children," one of the defendants livestreamed to a social media account on Aug. 27, 2020. Another 30 months would pass before a federal grand jury handed up an indictment charging the demonstrators, five of whom are from Michigan, in the 2020 incident. The indictment came eight months after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a historic ruling that nixed national abortion rights and left the divisive and emotional issue up to the states to decide. Anti-abortion activist Linda Nealing, of Ypsilanti Township waves at traffic on I-94 next to a banner that says "Abortion takes a human life" to celebrates the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade from the Platt Road overpass in Ann Arbor on Friday, June 24, 2022. 'Pray for the fruit of repentance to manifest' Two of the defendants one a Michigan woman also were charged with attempting to block access to a Saginaw abortion clinic in 2021. According to the Feb. 15 indictment, which was unsealed this week, the group engaged in a conspiracy to violate civil rights a crime that carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence and violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, which carries a maximum six-month prison sentence. No attorneys of record have yet been listed in federal court documents for the accused. According to court records, here is what landed the group on the federal government's radar: In August 2020, the anti-abortion activists set their sights on the Northland Family Planning clinic in Sterling Heights. They planned to block women from entering the facility and publicized their plan on social media. More:Opinion: She had abortion in Detroit warehouse. It inspired 50 years of service. "Heading to an important activity scheduled for tomorrow in Michigan. Look for the feeds in the morning and prepare to join us. Pray for the fruit of repentance to manifest," one man posted. Story continues Group blocked doors: 'We're not letting anybody in' The group met at a location near the clinic and waited for the doors to open. On the morning of Aug. 27, 2020, came another social media post: "Rescue NOW Progress in Michigan." An unnamed co-conspirator who recorded the incident announced: "This is a very serious situation ... (the group is) going over to stand in front of the door and stand in between the hands of an abortionist that wants to murder these children and the life of these babies." More:Michigan lawmakers to tackle taxes, abortion, civil rights and more this session More:Michigan Supreme Court ends abortion lawsuit at Gov. Whitmer's request When the doors opened to the clinic, the group stood and sat in front of the doors. As the group blocked the entrance, a woman tried to enter. She was there for birth control, but the demonstrators wouldn't move. "We're not letting anybody in," one man said. Protesters didn't move after the police came Employees tried to intervene and guided the woman to the employee entrance. But demonstrators were planted there, too, and wouldn't budge. The cops were summoned. Sterling Heights police told the activists to move, but they refused. Instead, they struck up a conversation with the officers to delay others from getting in. More:'Test driving while Black': Ferndale Ford didn't trust us with Porsche, lawsuit says More:New details emerge about missing child found in Port Huron closet "The longer they take with us, the better the opportunity we have to see women and children rescued," one of the activists posted to social media. The police warned the group to leave, or they would be arrested. Still, they wouldn't budge. "You can arrest us. You can do whatever you want," a South Carolina woman named Eva Edl told the officers. "But I will be back, when there is another clinic open." Edl kept her promise. Eight months later, on April 16, 2021, police say Edl and a Michigan woman showed up at the Saginaw location of the Womens Center of Flint and Saginaw and tried to block access to the building. Federal charges followed. Michigan woman charged for third time complains of 'vindictiveness' For Heather Idoni, a 58-year-old bookstore owner from Linden, the federal charges against her and others came as no surprise: It was her third time getting indicted in recent years. "Although this indictment ... rings of vindictiveness and overreach from the DOJ, I am not surprised," Idoni wrote to the Free Press Thursday. "I had a heads-up this was coming and it was obvious they have been investigating further back in time to prosecute myself and other peaceful, non-violent Christians to the fullest." Despite her legal troubles, Idoni who three decades ago spent brief stints in jail for anti-abortion activities said she has no regrets about her actions in Sterling Heights three years ago. Idoni has not yet been arraigned on the federal charges in Michigan, though her legal troubles will keep her busy in the next year. In August, she is going on trial in Washington, D.C., on charges that she engaged in anti-abortion activities there. And next January, she is headed for another trial in Tennessee on charges involving similar activities. Meanwhile, Idoni's lifelong passion to end abortion will also cost her her livelihood. Idoni, who has run a bookstore called Beloved Books for 20 years, said that she will be shuttering her business in June because of her summer trial in Washington. Why, despite her legal troubles, does she continue to protest abortion activities? "Well, first, we really aren't protesters," she said. "As a friend of mine told me once, 'Does a firefighter run to the fire to protest the fire? No, we follow historical Christian doctrine of interposition,'" Idoni said. "We are there to interpose our own bodies to save as many lives as we can." Idoni explained that she and other like-minded individuals "take literally the scripture in Proverbs 24:10-12. We are obeying the command to rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; do not stand back and let them die." Then she offered an analogy: Someone may choose not to swim in pool if there were a "no trespassing" sign. But if "we heard the sounds of a child drowning we would jump that fence in a heartbeat." Charged in the indictment are: Calvin Zastrow of Michigan Chester Gallagher of Tennessee Idoni of Michigan Caroline Davis of Georgia Joel Curry of Michigan Justin Phillips of Michigan Edl of South Carolina Eva Zastrow of Michigan Contact Tresa Baldas: tbaldas@freepress.com This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Feds indict 8 for blockading Northland Family Planning The Ukrainian military continues to maintain defense along the entire front line The vast majority of respondents consider territorial concessions unacceptable, a press release about the survey issued on Feb. 23 reads. At the same time, only 9% were prepared to consider giving up some territories to achieve peace and preserve Ukraines independence. In December 2022, a total of 85% of Ukrainians considered concessions to be unacceptable, but the difference with the current indicator is within statistical error, i.e. no changes have actually occurred. The survey was conducted from Feb. 14 to Feb. 22. Some 2,002 people were interviewed by phone in all regions of Ukraine, with the exception of the occupied territories of Donbas and Crimea. Those who went abroad after Feb. 24 were also not interviewed. The statistical error does not exceed 2.4%. Read also: Sociologists say 95% of Ukrainians believe in victory poll Russia attacked Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Invading Russian forces initially tried to advance from the north, east and south, attacking peaceful cities throughout Ukraine. Civilian targets across Ukrainian cities remain under sporadic Russian air strikes, while settlements along the Russian border are regularly shelled. Since October, Russia has also been hitting Ukrainian cities with Iranian-made kamikaze drones. During this time, the Kremlin has changed the war goals in Ukraine several times. After the failed operation to seize Kyiv, Russian troops retreated from Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy oblasts to concentrate on fighting for the parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts that were under Ukrainian control before the full-scale invasion. Currently, Russian invasion forces have seized parts of Zaporizhzhya, Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk, Mykolaiv, and Kharkiv oblasts. Read also: For the first time in 30 years: What Ukrainians think about the future of Ukraine The Ukrainian Armed Forces launched counter-offensives in the south and east of Ukraine, striking at Russian ammunition depots and manpower clusters. Story continues Shortly after the beginning of the Kherson counter-offensive in the south, the Ukrainian army launched another counter-offensive in Kharkiv Oblast in the northeast of the country. Most of the oblast was liberated from Russian occupation in just a few days. On Nov. 11, the Ukrainian military also liberated the city Kherson and drove the occupying troops from the part of Kherson Oblast on the west bank of the Dnipro River. After Russian troops fled Kherson, there was an upsurge in fighting in Donetsk Oblast, in particular, near the towns of Bakhmut and Vuhledar. The Ukrainian army is preparing for a new counter-offensive to liberate more Russian-occupied territories. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Getty Images Primary care doctors routinely use a 9-question survey to screen for depression. It was designed by a Zoloft marketing guy who worked for Pfizer in the 90s. Studies suggest the tool has made it easy to over-prescribe antidepressants. If your doctor suspects you might have depression, there's a go-to questionnaire they might pull out with nine questions to answer about how you've been feeling over the past two weeks. The questions touch on a range of potential issues, from sleep disturbances, to appetite changes, concentration issues, and your general enjoyment of life. Many experts say this tool, called the PHQ-9, was never meant to be a definitive diagnostic test aimed at diagnosing mental health issues. It was designed as a first-ditch screening tool; a conversation starter between doctor and patient. But for primary care physicians strapped for time in the exam room, it is often used as a stand-in for a more in-depth clinical evaluation a go-to prescribing tool for antidepressants. Critics say the issue is that it this tool was developed by Pfizer, shortly after Zoloft came on the market. "These forms have a very low criteria for anxiety and depression," UK-based psychotherapist James Davies, co-founder of the Council for Evidence-based Psychiatry, told the Telegraph in 2017. "It's about getting people in and out of the door in 10 minutes," often, with a prescription in hand. As reporter Olivia Goldhill details in a wide-ranging Stat report out this week, the marketer who first dreamed up the idea for what later became the PHQ-9 the quick tool that ultimately made many primary care doctors more comfortable prescribing antidepressants from exam rooms worldwide was a "marketing man" working for Pfizer. Howard Kroplick convinced the company to invest in the pricey research required to develop the now-ubiquitous questionnaire. The PHQ-9 Developed by Drs. Robert Spitzer, Janet Williams, Kurt Kroenke and colleagues, with an educational grant from Pfizer Inc. No permission required to reproduce, translate, display or distribute. "It wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for me," a now-retired Kroplick told Stat, in his first public conversation about how the tool he lobbied for was originally designed and conceived. Story continues The PHQ-9 had to fit neatly into the confines of a 15-minute doctor's visit Spending more than 8 minutes screening patients for depression is out of the question for most primary care physicians. Getty Images Studies suggest the PHQ-9 vastly over-counts who's depressed. The tool wasn't poorly designed: the licensed professionals hired by Pfizer to build this test say it was never meant to diagnose depression in a vacuum. Pfizer isn't the only drug-maker that developed such quick-draw screening tools in conjunction with researchers and clinicians, either. Eli Lily, the first company to get an SSRI on the market in the US, worked with researchers who made similar tools. The goal of all these prompts wasn't inherently malicious. Physicians and psychiatrists who developed them say they truly hoped these questions might help solve a real problem providing an unmet need for more mental health treatment to patients via routine doctor's visits. But this kind of screening, in order to be done thoughtfully, doesn't realistically fit into the timeframe of a typical doctor's visit. It must be followed up with a more robust clinical evaluation than a 15-minute exam can offer, and a differential diagnosis that excludes other similar and often intertwined conditions, like anxiety, alcoholism, eating disorders, ADHD, and trauma. "Their marketing strategy, which worked brilliantly, they wanted to move prescriptions out of psychiatry, which is a small specialty, and into primary care," psychologist Jonathan Shedler, who consulted for Eli Lilly in the 1990s, told Stat. "No one had incentive to say it looks like depression, but it's a symptom of trauma or depression secondary to substance abuse." The rise of questionnaires like PHQ-9 has led to more antidepressant prescriptions, for better and for worse Prozac is a common antidepressant that primary care physicians can prescribe. Thomson Reuters Study after study shows it's impossible to simplify depression into a simple one-page questionnaire. Recent research suggests depressed men often don't even register on such screenings, because their depression manifests more like anger than sadness or withdrawal. And the mental health of teenagers, especially teen girls, has been in a freefall for the past decade, even though antidepressants are more prescribed than ever, in both teens and adults. While antidepressants work well for some people some of the time, taken in isolation, they're not great for most patients. Drugs can work to ease depression symptoms, but so can other interventions, like psychotherapy, physical exercise, or mindfulness. Irving Kirsch, a psychologist and lecturer at Harvard who's studied antidepressants for decades, said that often "when you go to your doctor, the first thing they suggest is an antidepressant." In part, the issue comes down to access, simplicity, and the cost of different treatment options. Generic antidepressant pills are generally much easier, faster, and cheaper to dispense than things like therapy, or even group meditation. "I tend to think about depression as often being a normal reaction to a bad state of affairs," Kirsch previously told Insider. "That doesn't mean it's not serious. It's very serious! A normal reaction to falling off a high ladder is to break your bones. But the cause is something that doesn't indicate there's something that was wrong with you." Read the original article on Insider [Source] A24 is putting everything from everywhere on the block all at once, including fanny packs and butt plugs, for its upcoming Everything Everything All at Once prop auctions. The independent production powerhouse is hosting three distinct auctions themed after different aspects of its award-winning film. Proceeds from these auctions will go to three different charities. The In Another Life auction is all about expression, featuring many of the most striking costumes from across the multiverse in support of the Transgender Law Center, which advocates for the autonomy and freedom of those who identify as transgender or gender non-conforming. Some pieces to spice up your wardrobe include Jobu Tupakis rhinestone-studded Elvis jumpsuit worn by Stephanie Hsu and Evelyns sleek cream-colored kung fu training outfit worn by Michelle Yeoh. More from NextShark: History is made as Vancouver elects its first-ever Asian mayor The Mementos from the Multiverse auction will include an eclectic collection of the films most iconic props. Available props range from hi-tech Alphaverse innovations like Gong Gongs souped-up wheelchair and Evelyns headset to iconic characters like the googly-eye stone from the Rockverse and Raccacoonie. Fans can also try snagging the Auditor of the Month butt plug trophy and a gently used ball gag and tickler. Purchasing these zany knick-knacks will support the Asian Mental Health Project, which seeks to make mental health resources more accessible to Pan-Asian communities. More from NextShark: Masa Takumi becomes first Japanese artist to win Grammy for Best Global Music Album Finally, the Laundry and Taxes auction supports the Laundry Workers Center, which champions the rights of workers in various service industries. The collection focuses on more grounded everyday items from the Wang familys daily life, such as Evelyns unfiled divorce papers and the full-sized Laundry Delivery RV, which the auction notes is currently not street legal. Story continues Tasteful items from the Hot Dog universe will also be up for grabs, including hot dog finger gloves and a catalog cover of Feets Magazine. More from NextShark: First kimchi factory in the US to open in Los Angeles Everything Everywhere All at Once continues to make waves this awards season and is currently in contention for 11 Oscars at this years Academy Awards. If you want to snag an item from one of the hottest films of the year, all three auctions open on Feb. 23 at 11 a.m. Central Time and will run until March 2. More from NextShark: 'Torrance Karen' Freed on $1 Bail After Being Arrested on Battery Charge After a wave of "street takeovers" in Austin over the weekend that left one officer injured, Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Thursday the formation of a statewide street takeover task force. Housed in the Texas Department of Public Safety, the new task force is charged with conducting statewide investigations into the "organized crime aspect" of street takeovers which involve crowds and vehicles blocking street intersections and drivers doing doughnuts on the road along with seizing assets, such as vehicles and weapons, and making arrests. The announcement comes after four "sideshow" incidents across Austin overnight Saturday into early Sunday as well as recent similar street takeovers in Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. Gov. Greg Abbott has announced a statewide task force to tackle the problem of "street takeovers." "We must send a clear message that these reckless, coordinated criminal events will not be tolerated in Texas," Abbott said in a statement Thursday. "This statewide task force will work closely with local officials and law enforcement to investigate, prosecute, and prevent these dangerous street takeovers. Working together, we can ensure Texans in communities large and small remain safe." In January, Grapevine and Dallas officers arrested 22-year-old Juan Carlos Rodriguez in connection to a New Year's Eve street takeover near the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. In San Antonio, a takeover last month resulted in gunshots and a four-vehicle accident near Interstate 10. Police did not announce any arrests at the time, saying that no witnesses stayed to help with the investigation as officers arrived. So far, police have made seven arrests related to the street incidents in North, South and East Austin over the weekend. These street takeovers put the lives of Texans and Texas law enforcement officers at risk, said DPS Director Steven McCraw in the statement. We are seeing fireworks fired at officers in crowds, lasers pointed at aircraft, drivers driving upwards of 130 miles per hour with no lights on in the dark of night all of it is reckless, and it needs to be stopped. Story continues The task force includes members of the DPS Criminal Investigations Division, Texas Highway Patrol, Aviation Operations Division, and Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division, which will work alongside local police. In 2021, the Legislature boosted the penalty for "engaging in a reckless driving exhibition" from a Class B misdemeanor to Class A, and felony charges are also possible. Austin street takeovers response, 911 backlogs On Tuesday, Austin Police Chief Joe Chacon held a news conference to address his officers' response to the street takeovers that saw hostile crowds shooting fireworks at police vehicles, shattering car windows and injuring one officer, who was taken to and later released from the hospital. A 911 call describing vehicles blocking the intersection of South Lamar Boulevard and Barton Springs Road in South Austin and doing doughnuts first came in at 9:01 p.m. Saturday. A patrol vehicle responded to the first takeover-related call at 9:23 p.m., which had a crowd of hundreds of people breaking up about 20 minutes later when a total of 41 patrol units had arrived, Chacon said. There were 266 calls to 911 between 9 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, compared with 65 calls during that same half-hour the week before, he said. Due to staffing shortages at Austin's Emergency Communications Center, only 12 call takers were working instead of the standard 16 operators. More:Chaotic Austin 'street racing incidents' Saturday night fuel local policing discourse Additionally, Austin City Council Member Alison Alter, who unknowingly found herself in one of the street takeovers, called 911 to report what was happening at Barton Springs Road and South Lamar Boulevard and waited on hold for 28 minutes, she said Sunday. Alter, who has worked over the last 18 months to increase the number of 911 operators, has since taken up the call taker shortage with interim City Manager Jesus Garza, who started working in his temporary position just over a week ago. "This is obviously unacceptable," Chacon said Tuesday. "We have made strides and been getting more applications, but it takes time to hire them and train them." More:Austin 911 in crisis due to call taker shortage, long wait times Calls to the Police Department began ringing again at 10:27 p.m. Saturday as reports of another street takeover at Interstate 35 and East Anderson Lane were being fielded, and officers arrived to disperse the crowd shortly after. A third incident was reported at 12:52 a.m. Sunday at Berkman Drive and Barbara Jordan Boulevard in East Austin. Officers arrived at 12:58 a.m. and had dispersed the crowd by 1:07 a.m., Chacon said. Chaos at Barton Springs and Lamar in #Austin. Rioters after a bunch of drifting push back police and throw fireworks at them @KXAN_News pic.twitter.com/FVMlK2S3eH Aaron Crews (@aaroncrews) February 19, 2023 The fourth street takeover happened around 1:35 am. Sunday when multiple 911 callers said a fire had started at Metric Boulevard and Braker Lane in North Austin. When police arrived, the crowd smashed patrol car windows, ripped equipment off of the cars and threw rocks and bottles at officers, Chacon said. One officer was injured and taken to a hospital, where he was treated and released, Chacon said. Prior to the first street takeover Saturday, Chacon said his department had received a "vague" tip from San Antonio police about the possibility of takeovers in Austin on Saturday. Chacon said Austin police were unable to act on the tip due to a lack of details. More:Officials: 7 arrested in weekend 'street takeovers'; Austin police say 'vague' tip unhelpful "There was no information about who was involved or where it would take place or what time," he said. "The tip was passed to patrol, but due to the vague nature of the tip, not much could be done to staff up or deploy." Austin police have arrested Lewis Uris Martinez, 31; Joseph Springs, 41; Brian Serrano Benitez, 19; Ali Nouredenne, 19; Riley Wright, 19; and Stefan Regalado, 17, in relation to the street takeovers. No hometowns were listed for any of the six. The DPS arrested 22-year-old Jerry Antonio Gore in connection to one of the events. According to an arrest affidavit, troopers found a loaded firearm and a short-barrel rifle in Gore's vehicle, and he was charged with evading arrest and theft of a firearm. He told officials he was "only in town for the street takeover event and was visiting from Dallas where he currently lived," according to the affidavit. Additional arrests are expected, and the department stands ready to handle street takeovers in the future, Chacon said Tuesday. "Our officers will be there, well be ready, the plans are in place to disrupt this type of activity," he said. In September 2020, Austin police arrested 22 people and impounded 25 cars in connection with illegal street racing at a movie theater parking lot in North Austin as underground car meetups surged amid pandemic. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas creates task force to combat street takeovers after many events Janelle James and Sheryl Lee Ralph. Invision / Jordan Strauss / Invision / AP Janelle James says she was drunk when she interrupted Sheryl Lee Ralph onstage at the Golden Globes. A relative Hollywood newcomer, James was previously a fixture on the stand-up comedy circuit. James decided to try out for "Abbott Elementary" after reading the script for the pilot. There's a good reason "Abbott Elementary" star Janelle James interrupted Sheryl Lee Ralph during the cast's acceptance speech at the Golden Globes in January. As the actor explained recently on "The Jennifer Hudson Show," she was drunk. "First of all, I was drunk," she told Hudson. "Oh, you had a good time!" Hudson responded. "I mean, what else?" James said. "Free drinks! I had been texting with my mom, so I was like, 'I'm going to talk to my mom.' Not to be disrespectful to Miss Sheryl Lee Ralph." James interrupted Ralph while Quinta Brunson and members of the "Abbott Elementary" cast accepted the Golden Globe for best comedy series. "I love you, Mom!" James said into the microphone as Ralph began to thank viewers for their support. "We all saw Sheryl was gearing up," James said through laughs. While James said she was "new to Hollywood," having mostly voiced several characters in the Apple TV+ series "Central Park" and making appearances in shows like "Black Monday" and "Crashing" before "Abbott Elementary" came along, James had been a fixture on the stand-up comedy circuit since 2009. She eventually toured with Chris Rock as an opening act on his Total Blackout tour, as well as Amy Schumer's "Growing" tour. After reading the script for the pilot of "Abbott Elementary," she messaged Quinta Brunson about auditioning. "I DMed Quinta, who I had only met one time before and I was like, 'I read your pilot, it's really good, I think I'm going to try to audition,'" James recalled. "And she was like, 'I didn't know you act!' and I was like, 'I don't know if I do either, but I'm gonna try!'" Since the premiere of "Abbott Elementary" in December 2021, James has made a huge impression on viewers and earned Emmy, Golden Globes, and SAG Award nominations for her hilarious portrayal of Ava Coleman, the school's principal. Read the original article on Insider Sheryl Lee Ralph plays Barbara Howard and Janelle James (right) plays Ava Coleman on "Abbott Elementary." ABC/Christopher Willard, Sheryl Lee Ralph won a best supporting Emmy for playing Barbara on "Abbott Elementary." The star originally wanted to play Ava Coleman. Ralph told Insider even though she won an Emmy for her role, she thinks she would've nailed it as Ava. "Abbott Elementary" star Sheryl Lee Ralph may have won a best supporting Emmy for her role as kindergarten teacher Barbara Howard on the series, but she told Insider she still would've loved a chance to play another character on ABC's hit show: principal Ava Coleman. "Oh hell yes I could've seen myself as a principal," Ralph told Insider recently while promoting a partnership with Microban 24. "It would've been a wonderful departure from what people saw from me." In September, Ralph told Variety when she first read creator and star Quinta Brunson's script for "Abbott Elementary," which follows the lives of teachers at an underfunded school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, she knew she wanted to play the self-interested, and sometimes inappropriate, principal, Ava Coleman. But that wasn't the role Brunson, who also plays Janine on the series, envisioned for Ralph. "Sometimes we must be thankful for where God places us because when I asked Quinta to give me a shot at Ava, she said, 'Absolutely not,'" Ralph told Insider, adding that Brunson told her of Barbara, "'We need a queen for this show. And you are that queen.'" Barbara Howard (Sheryl Lee Ralph) and Ava Coleman (Janelle James) couldn't be more opposite on "Abbott Elementary." ABC/Bonnie Osborne Barbara, a no-nonsense, religious woman, is the complete opposite of Ava. The role of Ava, meanwhile, wound up going to comedian Janelle James ("Tuca & Bertie") who also earned an Emmy nod for her role. Ralph told Insider everything turned out the way it was supposed to in the end. "I am so thankful that I didn't think twice about it, that I listened to her," Ralph said of Brunson's instincts. "Look where it has landed me. I'm so thankful." "Abbott Elementary" is currently in its second season on ABC. New episodes air Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET. Read the original article on Insider Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) announced a statewide task force to address street takeovers, which are instances when people block off intersections so that vehicles can perform stunts including doughnuts and drifting. Despite the foolish attempts by some local officials to defund and demoralize our brave law enforcement officers, Texas is and remains a law-and-order state, Abbott said in a statement on Thursday. We must send a clear message that these reckless, coordinated criminal events will not be tolerated in Texas. Abbott also said that these incidents of street takeovers have resulted in law enforcement injuries and have endangered the public and are becoming increasingly violent and more frequent. According to the statement, the task force will focus on state-level investigations that target the organized crime aspect of the street takeovers, adding that the task forces goal is to make arrests and seize assets, including vehicles and weapons. This statewide task force will work closely with local officials and law enforcement to investigate, prosecute, and prevent these dangerous street takeovers, he continued. Working together, we can ensure Texans in communities large and small remain safe. The task force will include members of the states Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division, Texas Highway Patrol, Aviation Operations Division and the Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division, who will work with local law enforcement agencies. Reports of street takeovers in Texas and cities like Los Angeles and Chicago have been increasing over the last year. Seven people in the Austin-area were arrested in relation to a street takeover over the weekend, the Austin-based station KVUE reported. In January, people blocked off a portion of Interstate 10 near San Antonio so that drivers could do doughnuts, and San Antonio-area station KENS 5 reported that a gun was fired at the scene and that the takeover resulted in a four-car crash. Story continues These street takeovers put the lives of Texans and Texas law enforcement officers at risk, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said in a statement. We are seeing fireworks fired at officers in crowds, lasers pointed at aircraft, drivers driving upwards of 130 miles per hour with no lights on in the dark of night all of it is reckless, and it needs to be stopped. The Los Angeles Times reported that at least six people died in connection with illegal street takeovers from November 2021 to August 2022. In October, three people were killed in a shootout that took place during a street takeover in Chicago, The Chicago Sun-Times reported. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Abu Dhabi's state gas company expects to raise up to $2 billion by selling 4% of its shares in an initial public offering, the company said Thursday. It said the price range for the previously announced sale of over 3 billion shares has been set at 2.25 to 2.34 Emirati dirhams, valuing the company at up to $50.8 billion. The subscription period begins Thursday, with the final offer price expected to be announced March 3. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has access to 95% of the UAEs natural gas reserves, the worlds seventh largest. Its gas division, known as ADNOC Gas, supplies more than 60% of the local market and exports to more than 20 countries. The gas company had a net income of $4.2 billion in the first 10 months of 2022, up from $3.6 billion in all of 2021. A similar IPO by Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil giant Aramco in 2019 raised some $30 billion. Sultan al-Jaber, the CEO of ADNOC, who also oversees renewable energy projects in the United Arab Emirates, was selected to chair this year's COP28 U.N. climate talks, angering climate change activists. Oil and gas have powered the UAEs rapid transformation into a high-tech global business hub home to the futuristic cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as the worlds busiest airport for international flights. Analysts believe the Emirates is trying to maximize its profits as the world increasingly turns to renewables. The Emirates says it has invested more than $50 billion in renewable energy projects across 70 countries and plans to invest $50 billion more in the next decade. It has also vowed to become carbon neutral by 2050, though its unclear how it would reach that target. Will Smiths infamous slap of Chris Rock at last years Oscars has led the awards shows sponsor to build a crisis team for anything it may not anticipate ahead of this years ceremony in March. Bill Kramer, CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, revealed to Time magazine that the organization has created a whole crisis team for the ceremony after the 2022 shows debacle. Smith resigned from the academy after his outburst and was banned from Academy Awards attendance for a decade. We have a whole crisis team, something weve never had before, and many plans in place, Kramer said. Weve run many scenarios. So it is our hope that we will be prepared for anything that we may not anticipate right now but that were planning for just in case it does happen. The slap, Kramer continued, opened academy leaders to consider what could occur during the Oscars and how they will react. But these crisis plans the crisis communication teams and structures we have in place allow us to say this is the group that we have to gather very quickly. This is how we all come together. This is the spokesperson. This will be the statement, he said. And obviously depending on the specifics of the crisis, and lets hope something doesnt happen and we never have to use these, but we already have frameworks in place that we can modify. Academy President Janet Yang recently described the organizations response to the slap as inadequate. We learned from this that the academy must be fully transparent and accountable in our actions, and particularly in times of crisis you must act swiftly, compassionately and decisively for ourselves and for our industry, Yang said. You should and can expect no less from us going forward. Will Smith slaps Chris Rock onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022. Will Smith slaps Chris Rock onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022. Jimmy Kimmel is set to host this years post-slap ceremony on March 12. Story continues Kramer, in his interview with Time, described Kimmel as knowing how to deal with live TV and a live audience. Thats why you want someone like Jimmy on stage who is used to dealing with live TV: Things dont always go as planned. So you have a host in place who can really pivot and manage those moments, Kramer said. Smith, who has struggled to atone for his attack on Rock, is finally making light of the moment on TikTok. Watch Smiths TikTok below. Related... (Bloomberg) -- Progressive groups that have long advocated for a change in the leadership of the World Bank decried the Biden administrations nomination of a former Wall Street and corporate executive as more of the same at the anti-poverty lender. Most Read from Bloomberg Washingtons selection of former Mastercard Inc. Chief Executive Officer Ajay Banga to be the World Banks president was being condemned as a forfeited opportunity to tap a candidate with deep public-sector experience combating economic inequality and climate change. The World Bank needs a leader who will prioritize the urgency of the climate crisis, not another big business executive, said Collin Rees, US program co-manager at Oil Change International, a group that pushes a pivot away from fossil fuels. Bangas long career at predatory banks and corporations does not inspire confidence that he would transform the World Bank into an institution that can work for people and the planet. To be sure, Bangas selection drew praise from supporters who said the 63-year-old raised in India brings a different perspective to an institution whose leaders typically have been deeply embedded in the US. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday said Bangas track record forging partnerships between the public sector, private sector and nonprofits uniquely equips him to help mobilize the private capital and press for the reforms needed to meet our shared ambitions. And John Kerry, the US special presidential envoy for climate, hailed Banga as the right choice, casting his corporate experience as an asset. Banga has proven his ability as a manager of large institutions and understands investment and the mobilization of capital to power the green transition, Kerry said. Story continues But climate activists and progressive groups said Banga still hews too closely to the typical mold of male World Bank presidents with deep ties to Wall Street and corporate America, including its current head, David Malpass, who previously was a chief economist at Bear Stearns Cos. Banga, now vice chairman at US investment firm General Atlantic LP., has previously worked for Nestle SA, PepsiCo Inc., and Citigroup Inc. Nothing in Bangas resume inspires confidence that he will turn the World Bank away from a path of neocolonialism and predation by Global North corporations upon Global South countries, said Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, a not-for-profit group that fights corporate influence in Washington. Hauser called on President Joe Biden and Yellen to retract the nomination. Despite an abundance of highly accomplished figures committed to the public interest, he said, the administrations choice seems rooted in an assumption those who govern best are those who have profited the most from deregulation, economic predation and the shrinking of the public sphere. A Treasury spokesperson pointed to support from former financial and government leaders, including former Vice President Al Gore and former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney. Michael Schlein, the chief executive officer of Accion, a global microfinance and impact investment nonprofit, said Banga brings a deep knowledge of the challenges and keen insights into the solutions to tackle some of the worlds most urgent problems. The next World Bank leader will take over at a pivotal time, amid a growing clamor for reform of multilateral development banks and international financial institutions to unlock more climate finance in the developing world. Yellen is pushing the World Bank to evolve from its traditional focus on country-specific lending and shift to broader, global goods, such as fighting climate change. The departing president, Malpass, came under fire after appearing to dodge questions on whether he accepted the scientific consensus that climate change is driven by the burning of fossil fuels and the resulting man-made greenhouse gas emissions. We dont need another World Bank president who will further corporate interests like fossil fuels and industrial agriculture, said Kate DeAngelis, international finance program manager for the environmental group Friends of the Earth. Traditionally, the US nominates the president of the World Bank; as the institutions largest shareholder, the countrys voice usually carries the biggest weight. However, some progressives were goading other countries to advance credible challengers for the post. The rest of the worlds governments still have the opportunity to step in, said Bronwen Tucker, co-manager of the public-finance campaign at Oil Change International. They can and should nominate their own candidates, vote freely and demand a fair process. (Updates with additional comments from ninth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Antisemitic protesters who shouted at theatergoers attending the Broadway revival of a musical about a Jewish man wrongfully accused of raping and killing a girl drew immediate criticism this week from the shows producers and star Ben Platt. Platt plays Leo Frank, a pencil factory worker who was charged with raping and murdering a 13-year-old girl in 1913 in Georgia. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. In 1915, a mob dragged him from his prison cell and lynched him. About six members of the National Socialist Movement, which activist groups classify as a neo-Nazi organization, gathered outside the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Tuesday night, shouting at theatergoers. Opening night curtain call for Youre paying 300 bucks to go f------ worship a pedophile! a person shouted. Written by Alfred Uhry, with music composed by Jason Robert Brown, Parade tackles the real- life story of Frank, who was posthumously pardoned in 1986 by the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles. The musical debuted on Broadway in 1998. For those who dont know, there were a few neo-Nazi protesters from a really disgusting group outside of the theater, bothering some of our patrons on their way in and saying antisemitic things about Leo Frank, who the shows about, and just spreading antisemitic rhetoric that led to this whole story in the first place, Platt said on Instagram. Ben Platt at New York City Center's annual gala presentation of Platt and Allison Padilla-Goodman, the vice president of the Southern division of the Anti-Defamation League, said that although the protest was a distraction, it could end up serving a greater purpose by shining a light on antisemitism, which is on the rise in the U.S. I think its a story that signifies that if we dont catch hate in its moment, if we dont address the kind of climate of antisemitism and hatred and discrimination, hate crimes happen, and hate can erupt onto streets, Padilla-Goodman said. Platt said it showed why reviving the musical in 2023 was important. It was definitely very ugly and scary but a wonderful reminder of why were telling this particular story and how special and powerful art and particularly theater can be, and just made me feel extra, extra grateful to be the one that gets to tell this particular story and to carry on this legacy of Leo, Platt said on Instagram. The show's producers said in a statement: If there is any remaining doubt out there about the urgency of telling this story in this moment in history, the vileness on display last night should put it to rest. We stand by the valiant Broadway cast that brings this vital story to life each night. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Addison Rae, one of the biggest names in social media, has joined the cast of Eli Roths horror movie Thanksgiving. Spyglass is behind the slasher, which is based on the faux trailer that Roth made 16 years ago for the Quentin Tarantino-Robert Rodriguez double bill Grindhouse. Production is due to commence in Toronto in March. More from The Hollywood Reporter Plot details are on the thin side, although it concerns a slasher who comes to a small Massachusetts town with the intention of creating a Thanksgiving carving board out of the towns inhabitants, per sources. Character details for Raes role are being kept stuffed in the turkey. Patrick Dempsey of Greys Anatomy fame is among those in talks to join the cast, which is said to be looking to cast numerous up-and-comers. Roth is directing and producing with Electromagnetic Productions Roger Birnbaum. Rae is a massive star on TikTok, with more than 88.9 million followers. She has also been named its highest earner, per Forbes. She has parlayed that into a singing career and an acting career. For the latter, she made her feature debut with Hes All That, a gender-swapped remake of 1999s Shes All That. She is repped by WME, Ocean Avenue, and Nixon Peabody. Click here to read the full article. Affordable health care will be the topic of a meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, hosted by the Anderson County Democratic Womens Club. The club will host a soup dinner at the Clinton Community Center, 101 S. Hicks St. Roitman Judy Roitman, executive director of the Tennessee Health Care Campaign (THCC), will be the guest speaker. Focusing on the need for Medicaid expansion, she will speak on Policy Solutions to Cover the Uninsured, Protect Tennessee Hospitals and Reduce Medical Debt. Roitman recently was part of a panel at a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge and other organizations, speaking on the need for Medicaid expansion in Tennessee. The state legislature has rejected more than $1 billion in federal funds for Medicaid expansion, leaving more than 300,000 low-income residents without health insurance and leading to the closing of several rural hospitals. The nonprofit THCC advocates for policies and programs that improve the health and well-being of Tennesseans, saying Tennesseans deserve access to affordable, high-quality, and equitable health care. Roitmans career has included nonprofit management and health care advocacy. She first came to Tennessee to organize health care workers with Service Employees International Union. Since then, she has worked to improve womens health, erase HIV stigma, increase vaccination rates, promote organ donation and connect people to the resources and insurance they need. The Democratic Womens Club board will provide soups and bread for the meeting. Cost is $10 per person. For more information, email Democratic Womens Club President Ann Mostoller at amostoller@msw-law.com. This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Affordable health care is topic for Anderson County club Months after parents first began agitating for legislative action, a Maryland State Senate committee is considering a work group to address ongoing problems with a state education financing agency and held a hearing to discuss related legislation, one day after the state treasurer said he would support efforts to bring the agency under the control of his office. Parents with accounts in the Maryland Prepaid College Trust have accused its parent agency, Maryland 529, of withholding access to interest earnings and reneging on a contract clause entitling them to a 6% compounded monthly interest rate for accounts opened before Nov. 1, 2021. The result is the loss of thousands of dollars in anticipated earnings, according to parents who for months have agitated lawmakers to take action. Anthony Savia, Maryland 529s executive director, said the problem might affect all 28,000 prepaid trust account holders, which includes 4,000 people who are currently accessing benefits to pay for their childrens college education. Maryland 529 first publicly acknowledged last fall that it had suspended interest earnings and attributed it to a calculation error that it discovered during the transition to a new program manager. The state agency is named for the federal tax code section that allows parents to invest money for educational purposes and withdraw it tax-free. Dozens of parents attended an emotional Wednesday hearing with the Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee and an additional 30 submitted remote testimony in favor of a bill that would establish a work group made up of parents, Maryland 529 staff, Office of Legislative Services staff and two lawmakers to investigate and propose policies to fix the earnings problem. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Kathy Klausmeier, a Democrat from Baltimore County, and is supported by 15 senators from both parties. The work group would be required to give recommendations and produce a report by June 1, 2024, though several people asked to amend the bill to speed up that timeline. Story continues Parents wore matching red T-shirts with FREE OUR EARNINGS NOW! emblazed on them to voice their frustrations as they spoke, after waiting six hours to testify, of having to take on loans and turn to other means to pay their kids tuition and school fees. Several choked up as they spoke about facing financial challenges and having to scramble for alternatives as tuition bills came due. Heather Boley, a single mother of three who lives in Calvert County, said that after the agency suspended access to her interest earnings, her family had to borrow money so her daughter could continue attending the University of Pittsburgh. We are now part of the student debt crisis, which she could be saddled with for the next 20 years, Boley said. Others expressed frustration that Maryland 529 has not agreed to use its $355.6 million surplus to repay them, and that the agency appeared to violate a contract agreement to do no harm by retroactively applying new terms and using a new formula to recalculate their account balances. The trust is backed by a legislative guarantee that mandates the state to pay out all obligated benefits in case of a funding shortfall. We have been assured that we will not lose money on this deal because of the legislative guarantee, said parent Natasha Varnovitsky. The legislature now needs to do its job, step in and restore the value of our accounts. State Treasurer Dereck Davis said Tuesday during his reelection speech that he would support a forthcoming bill to move the agency into his offices control. As an independent agency, Maryland 529 currently operates outside direct supervision. A 12-person board oversees it, and includes several officials, such as Davis and Comptroller Brooke Lierman, as ex officio members. In addition to legislative testimony, one parent paid to air a minutelong radio announcement on 18 Baltimore-area stations after he said he lost $75,000 in anticipated earnings from his prepaid trust account. Kirk Litton, a broadcast media owner who also testified Wednesday, said the ad would air Friday. If you are one of the 27,000 Maryland prepaid college trust policyholders, its time to act, the ad says. Earnings calculations have been changed and your policy is likely worth much less than reported. The Maryland 529 board will meet Thursday morning to elect a new board chair and discuss the status of the trust, according to the meeting agenda. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Alabama standout freshman Brandon Miller was in the starting lineup and had a career-high scoring game in a win over South Carolina on Wednesday night one day after police said he delivered a gun ahead of a fatal shooting that took place near campus in mid-January, and hours after the university said he'd remain an active member of the No. 2-ranked Crimson Tide and is not considered a suspect. Alabama's support for Miller, one of college basketball's top players, made little difference to Gamecock fans at Colonial Life Arena, who focused on the 6-foot-9 forward even before the Southeastern Conference game started. The crowd booed each time Miller touched the ball. Members of the student section chanted, Lock him up," and Guilty! several times as Miller played. Miller, who finished with 41 points, scored the decisive basket with 0.9 seconds left in OT as SEC-leading Alabama beat South Carolina 78-76. The game capped an eventful few days for Miller, who authorities say is allegedly connected to the shooting death of 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris last month. Tuscaloosa Police investigator Brandon Culpepper testified this week that Miller brought a gun to now-former teammate Darius Miles on the night of the shooting after Miles texted him and asked him to do so. Earlier Wednesday, an attorney for Miller said his client never handled the gun officials say was involved. Based on all the information that we have received, Brandon Miller is not considered a suspect in this case, only a cooperative witness, the university said in a statement released before Wednesdays game. Todays statement from Brandons lawyer adds additional context that the University considered as part of its review of the facts. Based on all the facts that we have gathered, Brandon remains an active member of the team Alabama coach Nate Oats acknowledged that some of his players may have let the past few days affect their game against South Carolina. But not Miller. Story continues He's one of the most mentally tough kids I've ever coached, Oats said. Neither Miller nor other players were made available to the media after the game. Miller was on the court about 80 minutes before tipoff, warming up with teammates before fans were allowed in the building. Once the doors opened, students filled several areas around the court and focused on Miller, who didn't react while continuing his pregame drills. He started the game slowly, missing two wide-open 3-pointers, and the Crimson Tide found themselves in a battle against the Gamecocks, trailing 35-31 at the half. Miller warmed up near the end of the half, scoring on a 3-pointer and a pair of high-flying jams and accounting for almost half of his teams points. He finished the half with a team-high 15 points, three rebounds, a block and a turnover. It was a highly charged atmosphere and at least two fans were led out of the arena by police as the South Carolina crowd cheered. Millers attorney, Jim Standridge, said his client never handled the gun owned by Miles, who prosecutors say is accused of providing his gun to Michael Davis, who fired it and killed Harris. Brandon never touched the gun, was not involved in its exchange to Mr. Davis in any way, and never knew that illegal activity involving the gun would occur, Standridge said in a statement. Miller's alleged involvement in the death of Harris was detailed Tuesday at a preliminary hearing for Miles and Davis, who both face capital murder charges in Harris' death. Culpepper testified that Miles texted Miller to bring him his handgun. Oats has said the team was aware Miller allegedly brought the gun to Miles. Standridge said in the statement that Miles asked Miller for a ride to a club. Standridge said Miles brought his legal handgun and left it in the backseat of Brandons vehicle. Brandon never saw the handgun nor handled it. Miles later texted Miller to bring him the gun. Miller never got out of his vehicle, was not part of the exchange with Davis and did not interact with anyone in Harris party, according to Standridge. Miller quickly drove off when gunfire took place, Standridge said. When Miller was told someone was hurt and police wanted to speak to him, he has fully cooperated with law enforcements investigation, Standridge said. Standridge said the events of the shooting were captured on video. There is no dispute about Brandons activities during this evening, Standridge said. Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne, on the ESPN College GameDay podcast, said the school learned new information in the case this week that it used to make its decision to let Miller play. He said Oats did not have all facts when he first addressed the media on Tuesday Oats described Miller's situation as Wrong spot at the wrong time" and didn't handle things in the best way. We've addressed that with him, Byrne said. Miller leads the Crimson Tide, averaging 18.7 points and eight rebounds per game entering Wednesday's action. He's considered a possible lottery pick in June's NBA draft. ___ 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 A Republican lawmaker found himself in hot water this week after he made comments about fatal cases of child abuse and neglect that shocked and disgusted his fellow lawmakers. The scene unfolded in Alaskas state House of Representatives, where lawmakers met this week to discuss child abuse and the broad effects that the death of a child at the hands of their own parent or parents has on a wider society. One lawmaker sparked the comments by noting the disproportionate effects that the murder of a child has on a society or family unit, including (but not limited to) severe, life-altering trauma that can cost thousands to manage over a lifetime. Representative David Eastman then waded into the conversation with a bizarre remark about how such cases could actually be seen as a best-case scenario, given that fatal cases of child abuse do not result in the dead victims being eligible for aid from taxpayer-funded state agencies. "It can be argued, periodically, that it's actually a cost savings because that child is not going to need any of those government services that they might otherwise be entitled to receive and need based on growing up in this type of environment, he said, according to the Anchorage Daily News. It was a remark that instantly drew a condemnation from witnesses in the room, according to the Anchorage Daily News, as well as one Democratic lawmaker who said she was disgusted by the comment. A Republican lawmaker who chairs the Alaska state House Judiciary Committee also called Mr Eastmans comment insensitive. "I wished that he asked questions with a little bit more sensitivity to the listeners and how they're perceived, and I can have that conversation, Sarah Vance told the newspaper. This is far from the only controversy that Dan Easman has found himself in since launching his political career. The ex-military politician is a member of the right-wing Oathkeepers militia; leaders of that organisation have been charged with seditious conspiracy in the wake of the attempt by Donald Trumps supporters to attack the US Capitol and prevent the certification of the 2020 election. Activists in Alaska attempted to file a suit barring Mr Eastman from office for that reason, but their efforts failed. Evan Agostini / AP Alec Baldwin pleaded not guilty Thursday to the involuntary manslaughter charges he's facing for accidentally shooting and killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust. Baldwin was due to appear in court on the charges on Friday, but instead waived that appearance and entered his not guilty plea via documents filed in Santa Fe County court. Judge Marlowe Sommer on Thursday also issued an order setting the conditions of Baldwin's release, though neither the actor nor the film's armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who is facing the same charges, were ever arrested. Under the order, Baldwin is prohibited from possessing any firearms or dangerous weapons and barred from consuming alcohol. Sommer also ordered him not to discuss the Oct. 21, 2021, shooting "or the substance of his or the witnesses' potential testimony." An aerial photo taken on Oct. 23, 2021, shows the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, where Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun on the set of a Western film, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Jae C. Hong / AP Prosecutors in New Mexico formally charged Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed last month with two counts of involuntary manslaughter following an investigation into the tragedy. Earlier this week, New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies dropped a gun enhancement that would have extended the possible prison time the two faced if convicted. As a result of the decision, Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are facing a maximum sentence of 18 months. Jason Bowles, an attorney for Gutierrez-Reed, told BuzzFeed News that his client will be entering a plea of not guilty. Prosecutors say Baldwin ignored "the first rule of gun safety" when he pointed the revolver at Hutchins, killing her and injuring director Joel Souza. They've argued that had he followed proper gun safety protocols, including performing safety checks with Gutierrez-Reed, Hutchins would not have been killed. Baldwin's lawyer has said they will fight the charges, arguing that the actor relied on assurances from the crew that the gun did not contain live ammunition. More on this In an throughly unsurprising move, Alec Baldwin has officially entered a plea of not guilty today to charges arising out of the fatal shooting cinematographer Haylna Hutchins on the Rust set in 2021. Facing involuntary manslaughter charges in the criminal case, the plea by the multiple Emmy winning actor comes one day before what was supposed to be the first hearing in the matter. With the plea entry, Baldwin has waived his right to that hearing and New Mexico Judge Mary Marlow Sommer has canceled the February 24 session. More from Deadline After a detailed and FBI-assisted investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriffs office was released late last year, Baldwin and Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were formally charged by D.A. Mary Carmack-Altwies with two counts of involuntary manslaughter on January 31 over the October 21, 2021, death of Hutchins at Bonanza Creek Ranch. Rust director Joel Souza was wounded in that shooting. Baldwin is now facing a maximum of 18 months behind bars and some fines if found guilty in the upcoming trial unless a deal is work out beforehand. I hereby certify that I have explained to Mr. Baldwin his right to personally appear before the District Cou11 to enter a plea of Not Guilty and to have his rights explained to him by the judge and I am satisfied that Mr. Baldwin understands the waiver of these rights, Baldwins lead lawyer Luke Nikas said in paperwork submitted in court in the Land of Enchantment Thursday (read it here). As part of the conditions imposed by Judge Sommer today, Baldwin is not to hold a gun, drink or speak with potential or probable witnesses in the criminal case unless it is in connection with completing the Rust movie and other related and unrelated business matters (read it here.) Story continues Baldwin was to appear virtually at tomorrows now axed hearing. A preliminary hearing is set to occur with two months of the defendants entering a plea. Accused of criminal negligence by the D.A. for firing the 1880s prop gun that killed Hutchins, the Rust star/producer is expected to be in person at that upcoming hearing. Reed will still be making a virtual appearance at the February 24 hearing for herself, the crew members lawyer Jason Bowles tells Deadline. Reed has not yet entered a plea and is not required to do so tomorrow. When Baldwin and Reed were first formally charged, the second count had a potential sentence of five years in state prison attached, but that was removed on February 20 by First Judicial D.A. Carmack-Altwies, likely with some reluctance. In what can only be characterized as a big win for the defense, Baldwin and Reeds lawyers successfully objected to the enhancement charge as unconstitutional because it had become a state statute in mid-2022, months after the tragic shooting on the set of the indie Western. Under New Mexico law, the first charge is a fourth-degree felony, with sentencing of up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine. The second charge, involuntary manslaughter in the commission of a lawful act was also was a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in jail and up to a $5000 fine. However, the second charge also carried a firearm enhancement, which transformed the offense to a mandatory five years in state prison if found guilty. As allowed under New Mexico law, the D.A. intended to let jurors decided which charge they wished to pursue in deliberations. With a resurrected and Baldwin-starring Rust supposedly going into production in Montana this spring, according to producers, the actor and his NYC-based legal team are still trying to have special prosecutor Andrea Reeb removed from the case because of her dual role as an elected GOP New Mexico legislator. After reaching a settlement with Rust producers in his wrongful death suit last October, widower Matthew Hutchins in still on paper set to be an EP on the resuming Rust as well as a documentary about his last wife. However, as well as throwing some shade on Baldwin and team when the D.A. introduced charges, Matthew Hutchins is also on the witness list for the prosecution in the case. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. (Reuters) -Actor Alec Baldwin entered a not guilty plea on Thursday to a charge of involuntary manslaughter over the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of the Western film "Rust" in 2021, court documents show. Baldwin made the plea while waiving a Feb. 24 court appearance that was set to be his first in the case on how live ammunition got mixed with dummy rounds on a Santa Fe film set, then went undetected. New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies in January charged Baldwin and the movie's set armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for alleged "reckless" disregard for safety prior to Hutchins' death. Prosecutors last week downgraded charges against Gutierrez-Reed and Baldwin, reducing the possible prison time for the actor who fired a live round that killed Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza while rehearsing a scene in front of the camera. Baldwin's defense team argued that he had been charged retroactively with a New Mexico firearms law that was passed after the shooting took place on Oct. 21, 2021. The "30-Rock" actor has said he is not responsible for Hutchins' death, arguing that Gutierrez-Reed failed to check rounds she loaded into his revolver and assistant director Dave Halls falsely told him it was a "cold gun" - an industry term meaning it was unloaded or contained only dummy rounds. Gutierrez-Reed will make a first court appearance on Friday via video link, her lawyer Jason Bowles said. She has blamed the shooting on potential sabotage, Baldwin's lack of firearms training and a failure by Halls and Baldwin to call her onto set for extra firearm checks. Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, the lead investigator on the case, and prosecutors have yet to present evidence on the source of six live long Colt .45-caliber rounds found on the set, including the bullet that killed Hutchins. Story continues Halls also pleaded not guilty in a Thursday court filing in which he waived a Feb. 24 first court appearance. He has entered a plea deal for misdemeanor charges and been called as a witness by prosecutors should the case reach trial. Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed now face a maximum of 18 months in prison if convicted. Before the prosecutor dropped the alternative charge they risked a minimum five-years in jail. (Reporting by Costas Pitas and Dan Whitcomb; additional reporting by Andrew Hay; Editing by Leslie Adler, Aurora Ellis and Bill Berkrot) The filming of Rust will be concluded a year and a half after the death of its cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, producers announced on Wednesday (22 February). Hutchins was killed on the set after a prop gun held by the films producer and star Alec Baldwin discharged a real bullet, which struck the cinematographer. Baldwin and the films armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed currently face involuntary manslaughter charges for the incident, however, the 30 Rock star will be among the cast and crew returning to production. News of the films restart comes days after Baldwin was handed a major legal victory when a New Mexico district attorney dropped gun enhancement charges against the embattled actor. Baldwins attorneys had blasted the decision to slap the enhancement charge on the actor because the law had been passed after the October 2021 shooting. It means Baldwin now faces a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison if found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, rather than a five-year minimum under the enhancement charge. Alec Baldwin filming Rust (Santa Fe County Sheriffs Office/PA) Filming will now take place at the Yellowstone Film Ranch in Montana with Matthew Hutchins, Halynas widower, as an executive producer on the movie. The ranchs founders, Richard Gray, Carter Boehm and Colin Davis, said in a statement via The Hollywood Reporter issued: The dedication and passion of the entire Rust production team to honour Halynas vision has deeply moved us. Weve learned so much about Halyna as a friend and colleague, the depth of her artistry, and the lasting impact she had on so many. We are honoured to play a role in the realization of her vision and to carry forward her inspiring legacy through championing this film. Director Joel Souza, who was also injured in the on-set incident, added: I am deeply grateful to Richie, Carter, and Colin for the invitation to the Yellowstone Film Ranch in Montana. Their unwavering friendship, support, and now partnership in completing Rust and honouring Halyna means the world to me and our entire production team. Story continues Halyna Hutchins (Getty Images) The beauty of Montana surpasses words, and the warm hospitality and kindness extended by everyone Ive met has been both humbling and inspiring. It is a privilege to work with such great partners as we see this through on Halynas behalf. The Hollywood Reporter previously reported that the new Rust set would feature enhanced on-set safety protocols, including a prohibition against any working weapons or ammunition. Bianca Cline (Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, American Horror Story) is set to take Hutchins place as the movies cinematographer. In a motion filed Monday (20 February), Baldwins lawyers called for the special prosecutor on the Rust shooting investigation to be disqualified from the case as she is too distracted as a state legislator. A spokesperson for the district attorney did not respond to a request from The Independent for comment. Meanwhile, first assistant director David Halls has agreed to plead guilty to the charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon. Arraignments for Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are scheduled for Friday. Richard Alex Murdaugh, the disgraced South Carolina attorney found guilty of killing his wife and youngest son, has been in the spotlight, along with his well-connected legal family from South Carolinas low country. The former attorney, descended from generations of attorneys, made headlines in July 2022 when he was charged with the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, his wife and youngest son. Authorities said the double murder set off a chain of events, including a botched murder-for-hire plot that Murdaugh, 54, intended for his surviving son, Buster, 25, to collect on his life insurance payout, and an investigation that led to dozens of charges alleging he committed financial crimes at his law firm. Murdaugh has since been disbarred and has been accused of stealing nearly $8.5 million from his clients at his law firm, according to the South Carolina Attorney Generals Office. In addition to facing over 100 criminal charges, including two counts of murder, Murdaugh is now the subject of the Netflix documentary, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal," which explores his stunning downfall since the deaths of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh in June 2021. Image: Alex Murdaugh (Grace Beahm Alford / AP) Was Alex Murdaugh involved in the deaths of his wife and son, Maggie and Paul Murdaugh? From left, Paul, Margaret and Alex Murdaugh. (via Facebook) Murdaugh called 911 at 10:07 p.m. to report he found his wife Maggie and youngest son Paul Murdaugh shot dead near dog kennels on their family property about 65 miles south of Charleston, South Carolina. I need the police and an ambulance immediately, Murdaugh told the 911 operator, per audio released by the South Carolinas State Law Enforcement Division and published by a Savannah, Georgia news station. My wife and son were just shot badly. Prosecutor Creighton Waters revealed in his opening statement on Jan. 26 Paul Murdaugh, 22, was shot in the chest, shoulder and head with buckshot loads from a 12-gauge shotgun, causing devastating damage to his body. Story continues Maggie Murdaugh, 52, was shot with a rifle and had gunshot wounds to her leg, abdomen and head, Waters said. He added the two did not have any defensive wounds, as if they didnt see a threat coming from their attacker. Their killings went unsolved for more than a year until a grand jury indicted Murdaugh on two counts of murder and two counts of weapons possession charges on July 14, 2022, per NBC. Murdaugh pleaded not guilty to the charges in July 2022, per NBC affiliate WCSC. How was Paul Murdaugh involved in a boat accident? Paul Murdaugh, Alex Murdaughs youngest son who was found shot dead along with his mother in June 2021, had legal troubles of his own before his death, which became the subject of a 2022 Dateline episode. On Feb. 23, 2019, Paul Murdaugh, 19, took his familys boat out for a night of partying on the Beaufort River, as shown in the first episode of Murdaugh Murders. The boat crashed and resulted in the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach, who was on the boat. Paul Murdaugh was charged with three felony counts of boating under the influence, and had pleaded not guilty to the charges, NBC affiliate WSAV reported. At the time of his death, Paul Murdaugh was out on bail but he would never face trial for the charges, as he was killed on June 7, 2021. The charges against him were dropped in August 2021 after the South Carolina Attorney Generals Office received his death certificate, NBC affiliate WSAV reported. Beachs mother filed a legal claim against the estates of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh on Jan. 24, 2022 to get money they believe they are owed as a result of the accident, per NBC. A settlement was reached between Beach's parents and other survivors of the crash and two of Murdaugh's family members in January 2023, per court documents published by WTOC. Did Alex Murdaugh hire a man to murder him? Murdaugh made headlines on Sept. 4, 2021, just months after the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, when he was found with a gunshot wound to the head in Hampton County, South Carolina, per NBC. Jim Griffin, one of Murdaughs attorneys, told news outlets Murdaugh had pulled over after his vehicle got a flat tire when a person inside a pickup truck passed by and opened fire. Authorities described Murdaughs injury as a superficial head wound on Sept. 5 per NBC, and the following day Murdaugh announced his resignation from his familys law firm to seek treatment at a rehab facility. By Sept. 14, authorities alleged Murdaugh arranged for his former client, Curtis Edward Smith, to kill him so that his surviving son, Buster Murdaugh, could collect on his $10 million life insurance policy, per NBC. Smith was arrested on Sept. 14 on charges of assisted suicide, assault and battery of a high aggravated nature, pointing and presenting a firearm, insurance fraud and conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, per local news station WTOC. Smith admitted his involvement to authorities, per WTOC. Murdaugh turned himself in to authorities on Sept. 16 after he was charged with insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and filing a false police report, per NBC, and was released on bond. Murdaughs defense attorney, Dick Harpootlian, agreed to the authorities allegations that Murdaugh had hired someone to execute him. His attorneys blamed Murdaughs addiction to opioids for his actions in a statement given to NBC. He was in a dark, dark dark place and wanted to help his son, the remaining son, Buster, in any way he could, and he thought this was the only way he could leave him with anything, Murdaughs attorney, Dick Harpootlian, said on TODAY in September 2021. The attorney for Curtis Smith said, during an appearance on TODAY in September 2021, that his client was being set up by Murdaugh. Smith denied shooting Murdaughon TODAY. Was Alex Murdaugh involved in housekeeper Gloria Satterfield's fall? South Carolina authorities announced a criminal investigation into the death of Gloria Satterfield, the Murdaugh familys housekeeper, on Sept. 15, 2021, per NBC. Satterfield died in February 2018 at the Murdaugh familys home in what was described during a 911 call as a fall. Hampton County Coroner Angela Topper said the death was not reported to the coroner, and an autopsy was never performed, per WLTX. Murdaugh agreed to a $4.3 million wrongful death settlement for Satterfields family, and admitted "liability to the (Satterfields) for the claims asserted against him" in a confession of judgement filed in June 2022, according to court documents obtained by NBC affiliate WCBD. The decision to open the investigation came after questions arose regarding why her manner of death was ruled as natural on her death certificate, which a coroner has said was inconsistent with injuries sustained in an accident, per a letter written by Hampton County Coroner Angela Topper in September 2021. Authorities arrested Murdaugh on Oct. 14, 2021 as he was leaving a rehab facility in Florida, NBC News reported, on two felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses after millions of dollars from Satterfield's wrongful death settlement went missing, the South Carolina Attorney General's Office said. Attorneys for the Satterfield family released documents, per NBC officiate WCBD, that claimed to prove Murdaugh had defrauded Sattferfields sons out of a wrongful death settlement. Murdaugh admitted he owed the Satterfield family $4.3 million in June 2022, and asked the court to uphold a judgement ordering him to pay the amount in restitution, according to court documents reviewed by WCBD. On June 3, 2022, South Carolina authorities said they had permission from Satterfield's family to exhume her body as part of the investigation into her death. What are Murdaugh's financial crime charges? The same day Murdaugh announced he was resigning from his law firm, the firm, Peters, Murdaugh, Parker, Eltzroth & Detrickhe, released its own statement alleging Murdaugh had misappropriated company funds. South Carolina authorities opened their own investigation into the allegations, and announced on Nov. 19, 2021 multiple indictments against him totaling 27 counts including charges of breach of trust with fraudulent intent, obtaining signature or property by false pretenses, money laundering, computer crimes and forgery. "Altogether, Murdaugh is charged with respect to alleged schemes to defraud victims and thereafter launder" nearly $4.9 million, the state attorney general's office said. By June 28, 2022, the state attorney general's office had charged Murdaugh with more than 80 criminal counts, alleging he had stolen nearly $8.5 million over the course of about 11 years. The South Carolina Supreme Court formally disbarred Murdaugh on July 13, 2022, one day before he was charged with the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, per NBC. On Dec. 19, 2022, a grand jury indicted Murdaugh on nine counts of tax evasion, bringing his total financial-related charges to 99. Murdaugh has not entered any pleas on the financial crimes charges, South Carolina Attorney General's Office Communications Director Robert Kittle told TODAY.com, citing the Clerk of Court of the State Grand Jury. Where is Alex Murdaugh now? Murdaugh stood trial, in which he was accused of killing his wife and youngest son on June 7, 2021. In a shocking twist, Murdaugh took the stand in his own defense on Feb. 23, telling jurors he did not kill Maggie or Paul Murdaugh. "I did not shoot my wife or son, any time, ever," Murdaugh testified. During his testimony, he admitted to lying to law enforcement about his whereabouts on the night of the shootings. Earlier in the trial, prosecutors introduced video evidence that appeared to show Murdaugh at the family property just before the time of the killings. He apologized to his family for lying to investigators. "What a tangled web we weave, he said on the stand. Once I told a lie then I told my family I had to keep lying." But Murdaugh insisted that he would never hurt his family. "I would never intentionally do anything to hurt either one of them ever," he told jurors. He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Grace Beahm Alford/AP/Shutterstock After almost two years of speculation and a stunning fall from grace as a once-prominent South Carolina lawyer, Alex Murdaugh finally took the stand Thursday to provide a jaw-dropping testimony in his double murder trial, including admitting to stealing from clients and conceding that hed lied about his whereabouts on the night of the murders because of drug-induced paranoia. I did lie to them, Murdaugh told a packed Colleton County courtroom, four weeks into the trial. As my addiction evolved over time, I would get into these situations or circumstances where I would get paranoid thinking. Breaking down several times on the stand, Murdaugh insisted he did not murder his 52-year-old wife, Maggie, and his 22-year-old son, Paul, at the dog kennels of the familys hunting estate on June 7, 2021. I did not shoot my wife or my son anytime. Ever, he declared almost immediately after taking the stand. But in order to finally tell his side of the story, he also had to admit that he was at the kennels with his wife and son minutes before they were murdered, even though he previously told investigators that he was asleep at the main house at the time of the slayings. Prosecutors previously showed jurors a video filmed by Paul at the kennels minutes before the murders, in which Alex and Maggies voices could be heard in the background. Murdaugh said that he initially lied about being at the dog kennels because of his years-long addiction to opioids, which he said made him paranoid. He said that paranoia set in during the first police interview in a squad car after he called 911. (He later said the addiction began in the early 2000s after he had knee surgery for an old football injury.) On June 7, I wasnt thinking clearly. I dont think I was capable of reason. And I lied about being down there. And Im so sorry that I did, Murdaugh said, before apologizing to his family. I would never do anything intentionally to hurt them, ever. Story continues His only surviving son, Buster, leaned forward and put his hands over his mouth as he watched his father, who began to cry on the stand. Several other members of the family sat alongside Buster, including Murdaughs two brothers, and often looked down during the damning testimony. Oh what a tangled web we weave. Once I told the lie, and I told my family, I had to keep lying, Murdaugh said. Murdaugh, 54, is facing four charges in connection with the June 2021 slayings. Prosecutors allege the brutal slayings were part of a desperate attempt to garner sympathy and evade questions over years of stealing from his law firm and clients. The decision for Murdaugh to take the stand in what has been deemed the trial of the century in South Carolina is highly risky. While Murdaugh is on trial for murder, he is separately facing upwards of 80 criminal charges for a slew of financial misdeeds, drug trafficking, and money laundering. He is also facing a separate case in connection to a September 2021 fake assisted suicide scheme that would yield a $10 million insurance payout to his only surviving son, Buster. Judge Clifton Newman said Thursday that prosecutors are within their rights to ask questions about his other crimes because jurors have heard evidence about them in court. Murdaugh briefly described the roadside shooting, telling jurors that he asked his drug dealer to shoot him that day. He confirmed he had two life insurance policies on himself totaling $12 million. I meant for him to shoot me so Id be gone, Murdaugh said. I knew all of this was coming to a head. I knew how humiliating it was going to be for my son. During cross-examination on Thursday, prosecutor Creighton Waters had Murdaugh reiterate that he stole from his clients and law firmand that his family had a prominent legacy in the Lowcountry. Waters also had Murdaugh explain his role in the community, including that he was a volunteer assistant solicitor and that he had a badge he kept in the front seat of his car in case he was pulled over. I admit candidly in all of these cases that I took money that was not mine, and I shouldnt have done it. I hate the fact that I did it. Im embarrassed by it. Im embarrassed for my son. Im embarrassed for my family. I dont dispute it, Murdaugh said, before criticizing Waters for asking so many questions about his financial crimes during a murder trial. I misled them. I did them wrong, and I stole their money. Paul, Maggie and Alex Murdaugh. Faceboook South Carolina trial attorney Scott Evans, who has been following the case, told The Daily Beast that Murdaughs decision to testify gives him the best shot of solidifying his defense teams key theme for the jurythat possessing the ability to commit financial crimes is entirely different from possessing the ability and the lack of conscience necessary to massacre your wife and child. Throughout the trial, dozens of prosecution witnesses have detailed how Maggie and Paul were murdered with two different guns near the dog kennelsand how Murdaugh allegedly took steps to cover up the crime. But without the murder weapons, or any DNA evidence tying Murdaugh to the scene, prosecutors have relied on cell phone data and ballistic evidence to make their case. They have been able to poke holes in Murdaugh's alibi with the video Paul took shortly before the murders. On Thursday, Murdaughs defense attorney asked him to walk jurors through his movements on the day of the murders. Confirming prior testimony, Murdaugh said that hed asked his wife to come back to the familys hunting estate that day after she had a doctors appointment in Charleston. I always, always asked Maggie to come back home and stay with me, Murdaugh said. Alex Murdaugh sobbed on the stand on Thursday. Law and Crime via Twitter Murdaugh said that before dinner, he and his son spent time together on the property, running around in Busters black pickup truck. Jurors previously saw a Snapchat video that showed Murdaugh and his son trying to stand up a tree drooping with its own weight. What you see me doing is fooling with a fruit tree, Murdaugh said of the Snapchat clip, which was filmed around 7:38 p.m. He then broke down on the stand again as he said, You could not be around Paul, you could not be around him and not having a good time. Murdaugh said that after riding around with Paul, he went back to the main house and took a shower. He said that Maggie arrived soon after they ate dinner in the den while watching TV. After dinner, he said, his wife wanted to go down to the dog kennels to see the family labradors. He said he didnt want to go down to the kennels because he had just showered and it was hot. But eventually, he told jurors, he took a golf cart down to the kennels to meet his wife. It was a little bit of chaos. It was clear to me that Mags just let the dogs out. The two dogs that were out were really her pet dogs, Murdaugh said. Maggie loved Bubba. She loved Grady too, but she had a special place for Bubba. How the Murdaugh Saga UnfoldedFrom a Boat Crash to Murder Murdaugh admitted that he was still in the kennels when Paul filmed the 8:45 p.m. video, in which he can be heard trying to get a chicken out of Bubbas mouth. I got out of there, he said, noting that he went back to the main house to the air conditioner before he dozed off on the couch in front of the TV. Prosecutors say Paul and Maggie were fatally shot with two different guns at around 8:50 p.m. Murdaugh said he was unaware of the grisly crime when he eventually got off the couch to visit his mom, who has late-stage Alzheimers. He said he didnt go see his wife and son before leaving because there wasnt a reason to go by the kennels at that point. He said he texted and called Maggie during the trip to his mom's house but she didnt respond. At that time it didnt concern me at all. For one, she was with Paul. Number two, its not unusual not to be able to get to somebody all the time, he said. (Prosecutors have argued he texted and called several people during this trip in an attempt to create an alibi.) When he returned home, Murdaugh said he spent several minutes inside before realizing that Maggie and Paul werent there. He wept on the stand as he said he drove down to the kennels to find their bodies. Asked what he saw, Murdaugh looked down and sobbed. I saw what yall have seen pictures of...so bad, he said. I think I jumped out of my car. Im not sure exactly what I did, Murdaugh said, adding that he ran back to his car and called the police before returning to check on his wife and son. Paul was so bad. At some point, I know I tried to check him for a pulse. I know I tried to turn him over, Murdaugh said. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know why I tried to turn him over. He was laying face down, and hes done the way hes done. His head was the way his head was. I could see his brain laying on the sidewalk. I didnt know what to do. Prosecutors previously noted that body-camera footage showed Murdaugh wearing a clean white T-shirt when officers arrived at the scene. Experts testified that there were no traces of blood found on the shirt despite his claims he tended to the bloodied bodies. Murdaugh walked jurors through the moments after he called 911, testifying about how he grabbed a gun out of the main house for his own safety and got blood on his fingertips after touching Maggie and Paul. He said that he also told investigators that night to check his SUV and cellphone dataevidence he said would prove he wasnt with his wife and son when they were murdered. After the murders, Murdaugh said that he stayed glued to his surviving son, Buster. He also denied every trying to dispose of a rainjacket covered in gunshot residue at his mothers house, as prosecutors have alleged. Never seen it before. Never touched it. Dont know anything about it, he added. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Alex Murdaugh took the stand in his own defense on Thursday in a shocking twist to the trial where he is accused of killing his wife and son, telling jurors he did not kill either of them. Defense attorneys began their examination by asking Murdaugh if he used a gun to "blow your sons brain out," or to shoot his wife on the night the two died in June 2021. "I did not shoot my wife or son, any time, ever," Murdaugh testified. Paul, Maggie and Alex Murdaugh. (Facebook) Murdaugh, 54, was charged with two counts of murder in July 2022, about a year after the night he called 911 to report that his wife and son had been shot dead on their family property outside of Charleston, South Carolina. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. In Murdaugh's testimony, he admitted to lying to law enforcement about his whereabouts on the night of the shootings. Earlier in the trial, the prosecution presented video evidence of Murdaugh at the family property shortly before the time of the killings. "As my addiction evolved over time, I would get in these situations or circumstances where I would get paranoid," Murdaugh said, seeking to explain his reasoning for lying to investigators. Murdaugh entered a drug rehab facility in September 2021 for opioid addiction, just days after authorities alleged Murdaugh hired a man to kill him so his surviving son, Buster Murdaugh, could collect on his $10 million life insurance policy. Murdaugh used his testimony to apologize to his family for lying to investigators. "What a tangled web we weave," he said on the stand. "Once I told a lie then I told my family I had to keep lying." But Murdaugh insisted that he would never hurt his family. "I would never intentionally do anything to hurt either one of them ever," he said. The former lawyer began to break down when he was describing his relationship with his youngest son, Paul, who was 22. "You couldn't be around Paul Paul and not have a good time," Murdaugh said, using a nickname for his son. (It was unclear if he was saying "Paul Paul" or "Paw Paw.") Story continues Holding back tears, Murdaugh continued: "You couldn't be any closer than Paul Paul and I, and Buster and I." Buster Murdaugh is the elder and only surviving son of Alex Murdaugh. He testified in the trial on Feb. 22. "I love doing anything with Paul Paul, Alex Murdaugh said. "It was an absolute delight." Later in Murdaugh's testimony, he began to cry again when defense attorneys asked him about finding the dead bodies of his wife and son near the dog kennels on their family property. "Paul was so he was so bad," Murdaugh said through sobs. He said he checked for a pulse and then attempted to turn his son's body over. "I dont know why I tried to turn him," Murdaugh testified. "My boys laying facedown. Hes done the way hes done. His head was the way his head was. I could see his brain laying on the sidewalk. I didnt know what to do." Murdaugh told jurors he got blood on his fingers when he was trying to tend to Maggie and Paul Murdaugh's bodies, but said he was "nowhere near" his wife and son when they were shot. "Theres no way that I had high-velocity blood spatter on me," Murdaugh testified. Defense attorneys played a recording of Murdaugh's 911 call, where he is heard saying, "I should have known." Murdaugh told jurors he was referring to "vile" threats his son Paul Murdaugh had been receiving on social media, which he said the family disregarded because they were "so over the top." At the time of his death, Paul Murdaugh was out on bail after he was charged with three felony counts of boating under the influence, stemming from a February 2019 boat crash that left one of his friends on board, 19-year-old Mallory Beach, dead. It is unclear if the threats Murdaugh was referring to in his testimony were related to the crash. Authorities dropped the charges against Paul Murdaugh after the South Carolina Attorney General's Office received his official death certificate, according to NBC affiliate WSAV. Murdaugh also addressed comments he made on the same 911 call from the night of the killings, where he told the operator he planned to go into his home and get a gun. When asked why decided to get a gun, he responded, "I don't know," before getting emotional. Murdaugh told jurors he did pick up a 12-gauge shotgun from his home, but loaded it with 16-gauge shells. "Thats not a mistake I would have made under any circumstances other than that night," he said. He also addressed Google searches and FaceTime calls he made after finding Maggie and Paul Murdaugh's bodies. Prosecutors have said he searched for a local seafood restaurant and checked group messages while their bodies were on the ground. Murdaugh said they were accidental as he frantically tried to contact family and friends about the murders. "Obviously, theyre unintentional," he said. "I mean, Im doing something with my phone trying to call people, but Im not trying to call those people, Im not doing a Google search for any Whaleys Restaurant and Im certainly not reading any texts." Before the court recessed for lunch, Murdaugh revealed he had not spent a single night at the family's property since the murders. When a defense attorney asked why, Murdaugh shook his head and said: "I couldn't." This article was originally published on TODAY.com Alex Murdaugh listens to testimony during his double murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in South Carolina - Grace Beahm Alford/Pool The Post And Courier A former star lawyer accused of killing his wife and son has admitted lying to police about where he was at the time of the double murder, at the climax of a trial that has gripped America. Richard Alex Murdaugh took to the stand in his own defence on Thursday in a stunning twist to a case involving family power and privilege that has already been filled with a string of revelations. Mr Murdaugh, 54, sobbed as he addressed the courtroom on the brutal killing of his wife, Maggie, 52, who was shot five times with a rifle, and their 22-year-old son Paul, who died from two shotgun blasts on June, 2021, at the family hunting estate in South Carolina. The once-prominent state attorney had told police that he was visiting his ailing mother in another town and not near his isolated Colleton County home in the hours before the killings. However, several witnesses have testified during the month-long trial that they believed they heard Mr Murdaughs voice along with his son and wife on mobile phone video taken at some dog kennels about five minutes before the shootings. Mr Murdaugh, who adamantly denied any involvement in the incident, sought to blame his addiction to opioids for clouding his thinking and creating a distrust of law enforcement as he dealt with officers in the aftermath. "On June 7, I wasn't thinking clearly. I don't think that I was capable of reason," he said. With tears streaming down his face, Mr Murdaugh testified that once he started lying, he felt he had to continue: Oh, what a tangled web we weave. Once I told a lie - I told my family - I had to keep lying. He had been at home with his wife and son earlier on the day that they died, but phone records indicate that he left to visit his mother around 9pm. He has said that he then returned home and found the bodies. Prosecutors have said that he killed Maggie and Paul before leaving, and then tried to create an alibi. Alex Murdaugh listens during his trial - Jeff Blake/Pool The State In audio of his call to 911, which he placed just after 10pm, a seemingly distraught Mr Murdaugh said he had arrived home and found their bodies on the ground. Story continues "I saw what y'all have seen pictures of," he said, describing Paul's condition in graphic detail. "I could see his brain laying on the sidewalk. I didn't know what to do." Several witnesses, including Maggie Murdaugh's sister, have testified that Mr Murdaugh did not appear scared for the safety of himself or his surviving son Buster in the weeks after the killings despite the brutality of the shootings and no apparent leads from police. On the stand, Mr Murdaugh was questioned by his attorney Jim Griffin on whether he shot Paul. Did you take this gun or any gun like it and blow your sons brains out on June 7, or any day, or any time? Mr Griffin asked. No, I did not, Mr Murdaugh replied: I didnt shoot my wife or my son anytime. Ever. Prosecutors have said Mr Murdaugh killed his wife and son to generate sympathy and distract from an array of nearly 100 other crimes for which he is also facing charges. The Murdaughs were once one of South Carolinas most prominent legal families. But the 2019 death of teenager Mallory Beach in a drunken boating accident began the unravelling of their legacy. His son, Paul, was allegedly driving his familys boat intoxicated when it crashed. Questions were raised at the time as to whether Paul was given favourable treatment because of his familys influence. That same year he was involved in a messy lawsuit over the death of Gloria Satterfield, who had worked as a nanny and housekeeper for Mr Murdaugh and his family for more than 20 years before falling at their home and dying from her injuries several weeks later. Mr Murdaugh had tears in his eyes at some points while testifying - Grace Beahm Alford/Pool The Post And Courier Police arrested Mr Murdaugh, who at this time was receiving treatment from a drug detox centre in Florida, on charges stemming from a missing settlement fund. Mr Murdaugh admitted that he owed Ms Satterfields sons the full settlement plus lawyers fees, $4.3 million in all. Fast forward to the days after the 2021 murders, prosecutors say Mr Murdaugh cashed a cheque to his personal account that had been made out to his legal firm - which was founded by his great-grandfather more than a century ago. That finding led the company to investigate further and, when they discovered evidence of financial wrongdoing, to ask for Mr Murdaughs resignation, which he gave. In another bizarre twist, he then attempted to stage his own murder the following day, hiring a friend to shoot him in the head. However, he survived and police began to question parts of his account. Mr Murdaughs lawyers said he had come up with a plan to make his suicide look like a murder because he believed it would help his older son, Buster, collect on his life insurance policy as the family began struggling financially. Mr Murdaugh would then turn himself in to the police and was charged with insurance fraud, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud and filing a false police report. In the months that followed the family faced a slew of investigations involving several murders, corruption, and other alleged crimes, including insurance fraud, defrauding clients, theft of insurance payouts, and drug-related charges. In the courtroom on Thursday, Mr Murdaugh faced a grilling from both his own legal team and prosecutors as to what happened the day of the murders. After law enforcement officers arrived, Mr Murdaugh told them that his son Paul had been getting threats because of the fatal boat wreck he had been involved in a few years earlier. Prosecutors contend that Mr Murdaugh killed his wife and son because he wanted sympathy to buy time to cover up his financial crimes that were about to be discovered. Mr Murdaugh's lawyers have argued the motive does not make sense. It is not unheard of for defendants in murder trials to testify, but it is a high-risk move that opens them up to a barrage of cross-examination from prosecutors. A Netflix series about the case premiered on Wednesday night. The trial continues. (Bloomberg) -- Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is pushing aggressive cost-cutting to boost profit as growth in its domestic China market remains anemic, a conservative shift for a tech giant that once spent aggressively to dominate wide swaths of the economy. Most Read from Bloomberg The online retailer reported net income rose a better-than-anticipated 69% to 46.8 billion yuan ($6.8 billion), but revenue rose just 2.1% to 247.76 billion yuan in the December quarter, slightly ahead of projections. Alibabas shares closed down slightly after climbing 6% in early New York trading. The anemic sales growth underscores tricky economic conditions after China abolished Covid restrictions in December. Its core Chinese commerce business slid 1% in the quarter the third straight decline for the unit that underpins the broader empire. Cloud computing revenue, typically one of the companys fastest-growing divisions, inched up a disappointing 3% to 20.2 billion yuan. Beijing has cracked down on the countrys tech giants over the last two years, forcing fundamental changes in the business models of companies including Alibaba. The e-commerce pioneer is also navigating increasingly tough competition from arch-rival JD.com Inc. as well as up-and-comers such as PDD Holdings Inc. and ByteDance Ltd. Persistent declines in business on Alibabas commerce platforms raises the risk that Alibaba will struggle to retain shoppers and merchants if rivals such as JD.com and ByteDances Douyin offer them more subsidies in the next 10 months, Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Catherine Lim and Tiffany Tam wrote after the results. Some investors worry that a sustained recovery in consumer spending may take time, and any rebound might be slow. At the same time, Chinese internet firms from JD to Meituan and PDD are revving up efforts to outdo each other since Beijing began to wind back a bruising crackdown on the tech sector. Thats spooked investors worried about a resurgence in the margin-eroding price wars of years past. Story continues Executives brushed off concerns Alibaba will join in a market-share grab, arguing instead that fundamental technological changes such as demand for high-performance computing for AI will prop up its bottom line. Executives reiterated they were working on integrating generative AI the ChatGPT-like technology thats caught global attention into various services. Price subsidies are nothing new every couple of days, somebody out there comes up with a bright idea to win more opportunities, Chief Executive Officer Daniel Zhang told analysts on a conference call. But if you take a clear-eyed look at history, no player has managed to achieve that kind of turnaround by relying on subsidies. What it takes is technology innovation. Once the most valuable company in China, Alibaba is now at risk of looking more like a utility after Beijing launched its sweeping crackdown on the tech industry about two years ago. The government forced Alibabas finance affiliate, Ant Group Co., to call off what would have been the worlds largest initial public offering in 2020, and then launched reforms that have undercut Alibabas business model. Though Beijing has begun to unshackle the tech sector, granting Tencent Holdings Ltd. a clutch of game titles and allowing ride-hailing giant Didi Global Inc. to resume signing up new users, an Ant IPO is still up in the air and Alibabas plan to move its primary listing to Hong Kong was delayed. Ant contributed 1 billion yuan to Alibabas earnings, Thursdays filing showed. As Chinas largest e-commerce company, Alibaba remains a barometer for consumer demand in the country. Its shares have gained more than 10% in 2023 as Chinas Covid policy u-turn is expected to galvanize the economy, overall. Nationwide online retail sales rose 7.6% year-on-year in the fourth quarter. What Bloomberg Intelligence Says: Alibabas steeper-than-expected reduction of international commerce losses, which shrank nearly 75% in fiscal 3Q, raises the likelihood that the segment can break even in the year ending March 2024, assuming Trendyols operations in Turkey resume normal operations by September. The scale of such overseas savings can offset hikes in marketing and promotional spending in mainland China as the company seeks to uphold local market share and lift overall margins into 2024, we calculate. -Catherine Lim and Trini Tan, analysts Click here for the research. Read more: Jack Ma-Backed Ant Profit Falls 83% After Regulatory Clampdowns For now, Alibaba is likely to continue to focus on cost reduction and profitability rather than new business expansions. To achieve what its called high-quality growth, the company reduced its workforce by about 19,000 employees last year. The Hangzhou-based firm faces fierce competition in its home market from JD.com and up-and-coming short video and live streaming platforms such as ByteDance Ltd.s Douyin and Kuaishou Technology, which have stepped efforts to lure customers and woo merchants. Overseas, the tech giant is curtailing its global ambitions. Alibaba sold off the last of its shares in Indian fintech giant Paytm this month, accelerating a withdrawal from the worlds fastest-growing mobile and internet arena. Cost curbs particularly at its domestic consumer services and international commerce are set to support Alibabas margins in the near term. But longer term, it still has to come up with an answer to the intensifying competition. With its user growth approaching a ceiling, the company is increasingly focusing on areas such as cloud computing services. After cloud sales once the companys biggest driver notched its slowest-ever pace of growth in the September quarter, Zhang took on the role of acting president of Alibaba Cloud Intelligence and enterprise communications app DingTalk. Cloud computing is one of Alibabas core strategies for the future, Zhang said in prepared remarks on the call. This is a critical period for technological breakthrough and development in this nexus of cloud computing and AI. --With assistance from Sarah Zheng, Zheping Huang, Vlad Savov, Lulu Yilun Chen and Peter Elstrom. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. The man accused of fatally shooting a popular Southern California bishop said the slain priest owed him money, but investigators rejected the claim Wednesday. Carlos Medina, 61, was formally charged with murder in the death of Bishop David OConnell, 69, and could face 35 years to life in prison, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon said. Medina, the husband of O'Connell's housekeeper, has told investigators he confronted the bishop over money he alleged was owed to him, authorities have said. But Los Angeles County Sheriffs Lt. Michael Modica said Wednesday that investigators don't believe that to be the case. "When he was interviewed he spoke, he said several different reasons" for wanting to kill O'Connell, Modica told reporters. "And none of them made any sense to the investigators. So we dont believe theres any validity to the owed money" claim. Modica and Gascon left the brief meeting with reporters without answering any other questions about a potential motive. It wasnt immediately clear Wednesday afternoon whether Medina had a lawyer to speak on his behalf. O'Connell was found fatally shot multiple times in his suburban Los Angeles home in Hacienda Heights on Saturday. There was no forced entry, leading investigators to believe Medina had access to a key, having worked at O'Connell's home in the past, Gascon said. A deacon found the body but thought O'Connell had died of natural causes, Gascon said. "But the sheriff's department responded very quickly, and then the paramedics came in, and it became obvious that it was not a natural death, that it was a crime," he said. Medina was arrested at his home in Torrance on Monday. O'Connell was well-known to Southern California Catholics and authorities for his work with the poor, immigrants and gang members. "His loss is one that will be felt deeply for years to come," said Gascon, a progressive prosecutor who survived a recall effort last year and is up for re-election in 2024. This was a brutal act of violence against a person who dedicated a life to making our neighborhoods safer, healthier and always serving with life and compassion," he said. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Consequences of a Russian missile attack on a residential high-rise building in Dnipro on January 14 Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov, Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, added that Russian forces also conducted almost 1,100 strikes using attack drones. The Ukrainian Armed Forces shoot down most of the Russian missiles and regularly destroy enemy aircraft close to the front line. Read also: Russian drone downed in Kyiv Oblast, Air Force Command says Almost exactly a year ago, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Invading Russian forces initially tried to advance from the north, east and south, attacking peaceful cities throughout Ukraine. Civilian targets in Ukrainian cities remain under sporadic Russian missile attack, while settlements along the Russian border are regularly shelled. Since October, Russia has also been hitting Ukrainian cities with Iranian-made kamikaze drones. During this time, the Kremlin has changed its war goals in Ukraine several times. After the failed operation to seize Kyiv, Russian troops retreated from Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy oblasts to concentrate on fighting for the parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts that were under Ukrainian control before the full-scale invasion. Currently, Russian invasion forces have seized parts of Zaporizhzhya, Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk, Mykolaiv, and Kharkiv oblasts. Read also: No massive attack by hundreds of planes expected on Feb. 24, says Air Force In September 2022, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a counter-offensive in the south and east of the country, striking at Russian ammunition depots and enemy manpower clusters, and managed to liberate almost the entirety of Kharkiv Oblast. In November, the Ukrainian military also liberated the city of Kherson and drove the invaders out of the part of Kherson Oblast lying on the west bank of the Dnipro River. After the Russian troops fled Kherson, the most the fiercest fighting continued in Donetsk Oblast, particularly in the area of Bakhmut and Vuhledar. Story continues The Ukrainian army is preparing for a new counter-offensive and the liberation of more Ukrainian territories from Russian occupation. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine When a child vanishes, families expect authorities to use every resource to find them. That expectation often includes an Amber Alert, lighting up smartphones for miles around with details about the missing. But Amber Alerts are extremely rare and, even when they are used, its unclear how much they help bring children home safely, a USA TODAY analysis of the alerts shows. And even though Black children receive Amber Alerts at about the same rate they are reported missing, reporters found the alerts are far less likely to play a part in finding them. Delays and confusion are common. Authorities often spend crucial hours trying to meet strict requirements for an Amber Alert to be issued. Families facing the terrifying disappearance of a child are left baffled about why they did not get one or whether broadcasting their childrens information more quickly over phones, radio, television, social media and highway signs would have brought them home sooner or at all. King Walker disappeared in Gary, Indiana on July 25, 2015. He was two years old. Eugene Bynum Jr.'s toddler grandson, King Walker, disappeared in Gary, Indiana, in 2015 and is still missing. Records show the state turned down a local police request for an Amber Alert in the case because it didnt meet criteria. Bynum said police told him they needed a license plate number. I thought an Amber Alert was like: OK, someones missing, lets find this person. Lets get this face out there, he said. Thats what I thought an Amber Alert was. More: What you should know about Amber Alerts for missing children Since last spring, as part of its ongoing project to examine disparities in how cases of missing children are handled, USA TODAY has been analyzing detailed data on Amber Alerts. For this story, reporters reviewed records of alerts going back to 2017. For six months last year, they followed up with police on every alert issued across the nation to gauge the outcome. They also interviewed families, police and experts. Amber Alerts are issued for just a tiny fraction of missing-child cases in the United States. In 2021, there were 254 Amber Alerts compared with the more than 337,000 missing-child reports local police agencies logged with the FBI less than one alert for every 1,000 children. Story continues From 2017 through the end of 2021, Black children made up 37% of missing-child reports and nearly 37% of Amber Alerts, USA TODAY found, indicating the alerts are issued proportionately. Most children who receive Amber Alerts are found safe, police told USA TODAY, but the alert itself was credited in just 1 in 4 Amber Alerts across the country over six months last year. The alerts worked best for white and Hispanic children, helping in about 1 in 3 cases, compared with 1 in 7 involving Black children. Experts were not sure why. Gaetane Borders, president of Peas in Their Pods, which has advocated for missing children of color since 2007, speculated that bias and fear may play a role. Even when an Amber Alert goes out, news outlets might pay less attention to alerts about children of color, she said. And alerts for Black children could be delayed if police dont take them seriously or Black families hesitate to report a missing child out of distrust for law enforcement. People who receive the Amber Alerts also could be more likely to see white children, especially girls, as victims, Borders said, and scroll by images of Black children. There are so many pieces to this, she said, but what we do know is that it's not working well. What does it take for parents to get an Amber Alert? The first Amber Alert program started in 1996 in response to the case of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who had been abducted and killed in Arlington, Texas earlier that year. The first Amber Alert program started in 1996, when Dallas-Fort Worth radio and television stations banded together to use the federal Emergency Alert System to quickly broadcast news of child abductions. That effort came in response to the case of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, who had been abducted and killed in Arlington, Texas, earlier that year. Amber, for America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response, quickly became part of federal and state laws. In almost every state, Amber Alerts can be issued only by regional or state coordinators, usually within a state police force, following guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice and individual state laws when local police request them. Most guidelines allow alerts for endangered, abducted children 17 or younger only when there is enough information to help the public find the child. That rules out missing children considered runaways, the designation in most missing-child cases. Unless there is a clear danger to the child, some states also will not issue alerts for abductions stemming from child custody disputes the cause of most abductions. Its time to revisit Amber Alert criteria to remove the prohibition on children who run away, said Derrica Wilson, a former police officer and co-founder of Black and Missing, which helps families find missing children of color. The criteria should focus on danger to the child, she said, and the classification of runaway should be eliminated. These children are missing, she said. When local police have a missing-child case they believe could warrant an Amber Alert, they contact a state or regional coordinator. The coordinator runs through a list of criteria with the requesting officer before deciding whether to send out the alert. The coordinator also can ask officers to gather more information. When we put that Amber Alert out, we want to be very, very clear that there is genuinely a child in danger, said First Lt. Jay Poupard, statewide Amber Alert coordinator for Michigan State Police. We know that child was threatened. We know the type of vehicle and the license plate of the vehicle. We know their direction of travel. Issuing alerts too often, or with too little information, Poupard said, risks public fatigue, causing people to ignore them instead of keeping their eyes peeled for a missing child. What delayed the Amber Alert for abducted Ohio twins? Hours ticked by into the night after the abduction of 5-month-old twin boys in Columbus, Ohio, in December. The twins' family called the Ohio State Highway Patrol three times demanding to know why an Amber Alert had not yet gone out, according to a highway patrol timeline. Both Columbus police and highway patrol officials acknowledged delays in issuing the alert. Not ideal, was how Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant summed up the timing, according to The Columbus Dispatch. I understand you want to get as many details as you can, but when (Amber Alerts) fail, its because they didnt go out in a timely fashion and they were dealing with details, said DaVante Goins, a Columbus-based journalist who has been acting as a spokesman for the Thomas family. The boys parents hope their case will spur changes in the system, he said, to get alerts out quickly and remove barriers to helping other families recover their missing kids. At 9:45 p.m. on Dec. 19, the twins mother, Wilhelmina Barnett, was inside a Columbus pizzeria picking up a DoorDash order for delivery when a woman stole her car. It was unlocked and idling, with Kason and Kyair Thomas in the back seat. The restaurant called Columbus police, who arrived by 9:52 p.m. Starting at 10:17 p.m., more than 50 Columbus police officers searched for the car, and a police helicopter joined in. Neighboring police agencies joined the search. Nearly two hours after the abduction, a Columbus police sergeant first called to request an Amber Alert at 11:41 p.m., according to the highway patrol. He was concerned one could not be issued because of the lack of vehicle information, no license plate and no confirmed suspect, a highway patrol report said. LaFonda Thomas, left, grandmother of abducted twins Ky'air and Kason Thomas talks to reporters as the search for Kason continues on Dec. 22. Ky'air had been found two days earlier. At 12:16 a.m., another Columbus police sergeant and the watch desk determined the incident met the Amber Alert criteria and an alert would be activated statewide. The Amber Alert eventually described the car as a black 2010 Honda Accord missing its front bumper. Columbus police were supposed to enter a code in the statewide law enforcement database that would notify federal, state and local officials of the alert. The highway patrol watch desk commander continued to take steps toward activating the alert, said Capt. Ronald Raines. When the code still had not been entered at 1:08 a.m., the commander got permission from his supervisor to activate the Amber Alert on smartphones. At 1:18 a.m., the watch desk sent a script for the alert to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which had to activate the alert because Ohios system wasnt working. But it was too long, more than the 90-character limit. For the next 20 minutes, the watch desk and the National Center traded edits of the script. Finally, at 1:38 a.m., nearly four hours after the report of the twins abduction, the alert lit up phones across the state. Wilhelmina Barnett, right, smiles as she talks with family, friends and media with her reunited twins, Kyair Thomas, left, and Kason Thomas. The 5-month-old boys had been the subject of an Amber Alert after a woman abducted them in Columbus, Ohio in December. Kyair Thomas was found early that morning in his car seat about 70 miles away in a parking lot at the Dayton airport. His brother, Kason, would remain missing for nearly three days, found only after two women in Indianapolis recognized the accused kidnapper in a Facebook post about the Amber Alert. Tragically, Kyair died about a month later, on Jan. 28. His family called 911 to report he was not breathing. Columbus Police are investigating the death, and autopsy results are pending. How effective are Amber Alerts? USA TODAY contacted police and sheriffs departments involved in 96 Amber Alerts across the country from April 3 through Oct. 1 last year and asked whether the alert directly had helped locate the missing child. In a quarter of the 80 cases in which police answered, they said the child was found either because someone saw the alert and called in a tip or because an abductor saw the alert and contacted police. Thats a slightly higher rate than shown in statistics kept by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which identified such success stories in about one-fifth of alerts from 2017 to 2021. Timothy Griffin, an associate criminal justice professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, has studied Amber Alerts for nearly two decades. He has called them crime-control theater. His take: Amber Alerts usually dont work, and most children will be found safe with or without one. Griffins study of nearly 500 Amber Alerts from 2012 to 2015 found that whether the childs abductor was an acquaintance or a stranger was a far more important factor in safe recovery than whether the Amber Alert generated a helpful tip. This in turn suggests successful Amber Alerts are not likely rescuing children from imminent harm, he wrote in a 2021 paper. In cases where harm is imminent, Griffin told USA TODAY, authorities almost never issue an Amber Alert fast enough to prevent a tragedy. He points to FBI research in 2011 that showed nearly 75% of children murdered by an abductor were killed within the first three hours of their disappearance. In 2021, fewer than a third of Amber Alerts were activated within three hours, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. That makes Amber Alerts and most any other efforts all but useless to prevent murder, Griffin said. In the cases where the abductor is motivated to do the worst, he said, there is virtually never enough time for anything law enforcement or the public can do to intervene to prevent it. How often do children sought in Amber Alerts die? Nalani Johnson was one of 29 children who were found dead after an Amber Alert was issued for them between 2017 and 2021, according to records USA TODAY reviewed. Thats out of more than 1,100 children for whom an outcome could be determined. Nalani Johnson was one of 12 children who were abducted and found dead after an Amber Alert was activated, according to media reports about their cases. When a woman drove off with Nalani in 2019, two weeks before the toddlers second birthday, her father called 911 and gave the Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, police department the information needed for an Amber Alert, according to Nalanis grandmother, Taji Walsh. The alert went out more than two hours later. In my heart, I believe that had this information gone out sooner, Nalani would still be here with us, Walsh said. But Shawn Kofluk, who was Pennsylvanias Amber Alert coordinator at the time, said even though his office had to spend time asking local investigators for more information, Nalanis alert went out faster than most. Police caught Nalanis abductor within 20 minutes of the alert, Kofluk said. Three days later, the toddlers body was found in a park nearly 40 miles outside Penn Hills. The Indiana County Coroners Office determined her death was a homicide. Sharena Nancy, who police said was in a romantic relationship with Nalanis father, would plead guilty to third-degree murder and kidnapping in Nalanis death. After her granddaughters death, Walsh pushed to change Pennsylvania law to require police to immediately issue Amber Alerts in abductions involving young children if a family member reports the child was abducted by a person outside the family. A petition for the bill, dubbed the Nalani Johnson Rule, garnered more than 22,000 signatures, but Walsh said the legislation stalled after the October death of its initial sponsor, state Rep. Anthony DeLuca, a Democrat. Among the children found dead after an alert, Nalani was one of a dozen who had been abducted, according to media reports about their cases. In 13 other cases, the childs killer usually a parent lied to authorities about an abduction or disappearance, and the child was already dead when the alert was issued. In three cases, the child wandered off and was ruled to have accidentally drowned, and in one a 10-year-old Wisconsin girl walked away from her home. Her death was ruled a suicide. How often are requests for Amber Alerts denied? For more than 12 months, from June 2019 through June 2020, Michigan State Police denied every request for an Amber Alert. Records show local police asked for 12 alerts during that time, most of them classified as either runaways or family abductions. That was an extreme, but records USA TODAY gathered from Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio listing every local request to state authorities seeking an Amber Alert also showed alert coordinators often turned down requests. No national data exists. In Indiana, state police approved 52% of requests for Amber Alerts over about five years. The most common reason for rejection there was Located prior to activation. Others were marked Did not meet criteria. Wisconsin approved 28% of requests. In Ohio, it was 61%. Help USA TODAY investigate disparities in missing children cases. If you know of missing children of color in your community or have experienced these disparities firsthand as a parent, friend or law enforcement officer, we want to hear from you. Tell us your story In Michigan, from January 2017 through June 2022, local police called in 86 requests for Amber Alerts. The state coordinator approved 19, just 22%. Poupard, Michigans statewide Amber Alerts coordinator, said the Michigan State Police were able to offer resources to help find missing children in lieu of an Amber Alert. These can include tracking dogs, aircraft or other kinds of alerts that notify the media and police. Most agencies when theyre calling us, theyre not calling and asking our permission, Poupard said. Theyre calling to ask us for guidance about whether an Amber Alert meets the criteria to be issued. Michigan, for instance, has Endangered Missing Advisories that go to the news media and police. In Indiana, Silver Alerts take on that role. Ohio has Endangered Missing Child Alerts. Some departments are routinely turned down for Amber Alerts. In Flint, Michigan all five requests were turned down from 2017 through June of last year. In Lansing, it was five out of six. But officers appeared to take it in stride, saying issuing too many alerts could cause people to start ignoring them. Jordan Gulkis, a spokeswoman for the Lansing Police Department, also noted that the state police have other tools. They do offer other resources, she said. What can happen when an Amber Alert is turned down? King Walker and Diamond Bynums family woke from a nap late on a Saturday morning in July to find a door standing open and the pair missing. Family members started their own search and called the police in Gary, Indiana. They told officers that Bynum, 21, had serious intellectual disabilities that made it impossible for her to care for King, her 2-year-old nephew. That day, July 25, 2015, Gary police requested an Amber Alert, according to Indiana State Police records, but it was turned down. Does not meet criteria, the entry says. Nearly eight years later, both the boy and Bynum remain missing. I dont understand why the state police would deny it when we have a 2-year-old and a special needs person, said La Shann Walker, who is Bynums mother and Kings grandmother. Even though shes 21, hes basically taking care of himself. Indianas criteria for issuing an Amber Alert say the missing child must be under 18 years of age, law enforcement must confirm the child has been abducted and officers must believe the child is in danger of harm or death. The criteria also call for enough descriptive information to believe that the broadcast will help. Angela Meachum, who took charge of Indianas Amber Alert program in 2019, four years after King and Bynum disappeared, referred USA TODAY to Gary police. My educated guess is that it wasnt considered an abduction, and there was no law broken, she said. Gary police did not respond to requests for comment, and the citys law department denied a public records request for documents, saying the case is still under investigation. King Walker and Dimond Bynum disappeared in 2015. Today, King would be 9 years old and Diamond 28. Eugene Bynum, Kings grandfather, said Gary police told him they could not get an Amber Alert because there was no license plate number associated with the disappearance. Nothing in the states criteria requires a license-plate number or a car description, but experts say having those details helps a request meet the standard of available descriptive information. To this day, La Shann Walker believes an early Amber Alert could have made all the difference. I think if we would have gotten an Amber Alert, everybody would have known about it, Walker said. And I believe if they were close at that particular time, they wouldnt have gone this far, and I believe we would have found them by now. Contributing: Gina Barton; Ashley Luthern, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Sarah Nelson, Indianapolis Star This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Amber Alerts find few missing children our data analysis shows. An American Airlines flight from Jacksonville, Florida, to Washington, D.C., was forced to divert to Raleigh, North Carolina, due to a passenger that apparently tried to breach the cockpit. American Eagle flight 3444 was diverted "due to a security concern involving an unruly customer," the airline said in a statement. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg tweeted Wednesday night that he had been briefed on the "flight diversion due to a Level 4 disruption on board." According to Federal Aviation Administration documents, a Level 4 disruption constitutes "attempted or actual breach of the flight deck." The FAA noted in a tweet that it is working to finalize a rule that would "require new planes to have a second barrier to the flight deck." The passenger was removed from the flight by local law enforcement at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the airline said. According to the airport, the Embraer E170 landed at around 3:40 p.m. ET. After the passenger was taken into custody, the plane was cleared to continue its flight to Washington, D.C. The FBI's Charlotte field office responded to the incident, the bureau said in a statement. "The FBI is currently conducting interviews to gather the facts and will consult with the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Eastern District of North Carolina to determine if federal charges will be filed," the FBI said. The FAA said it was also investigating the incident. Katie Krupnik and Jeff Pegues contributed reporting. Republicans divided over further aid to Ukraine Juicy Body Goddess founder Summer Lucille on inspiring curvy women to feel confident Karol G talks new album, rise to fame American military personnel pictured with Saudi-linked forces in Al-Mahra province, Yemen, in February 2022. American military personnel pictured with Saudi-linked forces in Al-Mahra province, Yemen, in February 2022. NISHTUN, Yemen Saudi Arabias brutal military campaign in Yemen has killed thousands of civilians, fueled mass starvation among Yemenis and horrified officials and human rights watchdogs around the world. But another part of the Saudi intervention in the country has received far less attention: a Saudi takeover of strategic transport facilities in Yemens eastern Al-Mahra province, and the establishment of a string of Saudi military bases there.The land rush has the potential, many locals and experts fear, to sow the seeds of future instability and anger with Saudi allies like the U.S. in one of Yemens few relatively peaceful regions. Saudi officials say their moves in Al-Mahra are designed to support Yemen by preventing weapons smuggling, improving infrastructure and providing humanitarian aid. Yet their efforts also support a longstanding Saudi goal: using Al-Mahra to access valuable trade routes. Now, local frustration about Saudi dominance in the region is boiling over, and U.S. officials and national security experts are becoming worried the Saudis will use Western help to turn the region into a chaotic proxy state. On Feb. 6, two U.S. military personnel traveled across the province to meet with local forces who answer to the Saudis, according to two sources involved with their trip and photographs shared with HuffPost. One source said their conversation focused on counter-smuggling efforts and the situation in southern Yemen, which is far from the frontlines of the fight the U.S. publicly says it is helping Saudi Arabia wage against Iran-backed militants in northern Yemen. Yemenis inspect the damage following overnight air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition targeting the Huthi rebel-held capital Sanaa, on Jan. 18, 2022. Yemenis inspect the damage following overnight air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition targeting the Huthi rebel-held capital Sanaa, on Jan. 18, 2022. Last fall, two American experts visited the province to consult on the Saudi construction plans, per a Yemeni government document about their trip seen by HuffPost and a regional official who organized transport for the Americans. Story continues Neither visit has been previously reported in U.S. media. The Defense Departments Central Command which oversees most American forces in the Middle East told HuffPost it had no operational reporting about U.S personnel visiting Al-Mahra. The office of the Secretary of Defense and a spokesperson for the Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment. The Saudi project in Al-Mahra is directly linked to the yearslong concern in Washington about Americas role in the Yemen war. Lawmakers from both parties have questioned American arms shipments and logistical support for Saudi operations in Yemen, staging high-profile votes to try to block the weaponry, and the Biden administration has repeatedly said it wants to end the conflict. Legislators and national security analysts believe the risk of continued meddling is twofold: even more violations of international law, and dangerous resistance to the Saudis and their foreign friends. The fact that American service members have been traveling around Al-Mahra should prompt more scrutiny of the situation there on Capitol Hill, a senior congressional aide told HuffPost. We need clarity on the scope and size of the U.S. militarys non-public advisory role with [pro-Saudi Yemeni] forces, especially to what degree such efforts expand beyond simply existing counter-[Al Qaeda] operations, the aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. Members of Congress should be asking the administration about the extent of such operations, their legal basis, and ultimate goals. A State Department spokesperson declined to comment on the U.S. military personnels trip or Saudi influence operations in Al-Mahra. The spokesperson said via email: The U.S. is committed to peace and stability for the people of not only southern but all of Yemen, as part of President Bidens commitment to achieving a lasting peace and settlement of the conflict. To observers who closely follow developments in Yemen, the Saudis intentions in Al-Mahra are clear: creating a way to export Saudi oil through Yemen. Why else would they be there? What is the utility of moving around other than to access a port? the congressional aide said. Al-Mahra residents known as Mahris have been challenging encroachment by the Saudis and their ally the United Arab Emirates for nearly a decade, experts on the region say. While their tactics have largely been peaceful, like sit-ins and demonstrations, they have become more willing to speak of violence against what they see as a slow-roll occupation. Ali Salem Al-Huraizi, a local leader who has spent years organizing Mahri pushback, told HuffPost late last year that he had directed his forces to shoot at Saudi installations as a warning. We are not against Saudi interests in Yemen ... but this should be done officially with an agreement between the Yemeni government and Saudi Arabia that would guarantee our right as Yemenis and our countrys sovereignty. We wont have any issue if that is surely happening, said Al-Huraizi, a former deputy governor of the province. But if the Saudis still want to do that their own way ... then our answer will always be no. Mission Creep Saudi Arabia has seen Al-Mahra as a prize for decades. The appeal of the province is its long coastline on the Indian Ocean. Shipments through its ports would bypass the two chokepoints where Saudi oil exports and crucial imports are otherwise vulnerable, one to the north in the Strait of Hormuz, near Saudi nemesis Iran, and the other to the south at Bab el-Mandeb, south of Yemen and adjacent to pro-Iran forces and the turbulent Horn of Africa. More than a decade ago, the Saudis negotiated with Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemens longtime president, to develop an oil pipeline running from Saudi territory through Al-Mahra to one of the regions ports, but failed to reach a deal, according to well-informed Yemenis and analysts. Then Saudi Arabia began military operations in Yemen in 2015, using American help and troops from the UAE and other Arab states to fight a pro-Iran militia called the Houthis that had captured the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. Al-Mahra is far from the battle lines between Saudi-led forces and the Houthis. But the players in the intervention saw an opportunity. First, the UAE tried to organize Mahris into a proxy force then they gave up and Saudi Arabia began its bid. Saleh Al-Jabwani, who was the transport minister in Yemens internationally recognized government between 2017 and 2020, told HuffPost he recalled traveling to Al-Mahra in 2018 with the Saudi ambassador to Yemen. The diplomat promised Saudi investment in 10 projects, including developing a port and an airport, as long as Saudi troops could be in the area, said Al-Jabwani. They pressured the fishermen not to fish and they fought back. The Saudis also began granting Saudi citizenship to Mahris along the provinces border with Saudi Arabia in a step on the way to take Al-Mahra, he added, and began monthly payments to local tribal leaders that independent researchers say have undermined Mahri unity. Al-Jabwani lost his post after criticizing the UAE and the Saudis. The Saudis and Emiratis have their own interests and for that they want to break Yemen into mini-states, he argued in a January interview. Former Yemeni transport minister Saleh Al-Jabwani told HuffPost that Yemenis would never accept Saudi control over their country's territory. Former Yemeni transport ministerSaleh Al-Jabwani told HuffPost that Yemenis would never accept Saudi control over their country's territory. The Saudi presence in Al-Mahra has swelled. Throughout the province, the Saudi military has more than a dozen military bases ... estimates range from 5,000 to 15,000 Saudi troops, said Asher Orkaby, a research associate at Harvard Universitys Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies. The upshot: Angry Mahris formed a sense of identity by looking at Saudi Arabia as the other, as somebodys whos coming in to challenge our autonomy, Orkaby said. Mahri sit-ins against Saudi installations and anti-Saudi commentary on Mahri social media quickly mushroomed. Leaders like Al-Huraizi have staged demonstrations with civilians and armed men. In 2018, Al Jazeera and Yemeni outlets published a document purportedly laying out Saudi plans to build and run an oil port in the area. Al-Huraizi said he gathered 3,000 fighters to destroy initial Saudi footings for a pipeline to the Al-Mahra coast. Pro-Saudi media outlets have accused Al-Huraizi of being a tool of the Houthis, the Muslim Brotherhood movement and Oman, Yemens eastern neighbor. In an echo of the kingdoms autocratic approach to its own population, Saudi Arabia has deployed harsh measures to preserve and expand its grip. The Saudis appointed new tribal chiefs to replace those who criticized their growing power, forced Yemens government to dismiss Al-Mahras governor and then arrested him when he visited Saudi Arabia and expelled Yemeni soldiers and employees from the regions only airport, according to researcher Abdulkareem Ghanem of the Sanaa Center think tank. Saudi forces and associated Yemenis have also detained, tortured and disappeared Al-Mahra residents for months, Human Rights Watch reported in 2020, accusing the kingdom of serious abuses that represent another horror to add to the list of the Saudi-led coalitions unlawful conduct in Yemen. By the summer of 2021, it became clear that the situation could spark an all-out conflict: Mahri fighters publicly issued a statement saying they would use force to expel foreign influence. Undercutting Peace Efforts Yemens painful civil war may finally end soon. The Saudi-led bloc and the Houthis have largely maintained a nine-month truce and are reportedly making progress in back-channel talks. The U.S. sees a unique opportunity for peace, Richard Mills, the deputy American ambassador to the United Nations, said last month. For Al-Mahras residents, however, a deal could mean increased danger if it overlooks Saudi encroachment. A bargain could allow the kingdom to fully focus on its project in the region selling Saudi gains there as a benefit of an intervention that has otherwise been costly for Saudi Arabias reputation and military. Mahris told HuffPost they are anxious about their future, with many highlighting the risk of an oil spill. People here depend on the sea ... for their main income, said Zakarya Ahmed Saleh, a 30-year-old resident of the coastal district of Hasween. Accidents cause big worries to our society. Awad Saad Mohammed Ba Al-Faqiah, a 56-year-old fisherman, recalled the pain of past oil accidents: people stopped eating fish for fear of getting sick, depriving fishermen of an income, and many fish washed up dead on local beaches. The lack of transparency about strategic points like the port of Nishtun is especially frustrating, and suggests Al-Mahra could face complex new challenges, Saleh said, while hindering the provinces hopes of developing on its own path. Saudi ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Said Al-Jaber (center) arrives in the southern Yemeni port of Aden to oversee an aid delivery of fuel from Saudi Arabia on October 29, 2018. Saudi ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Said Al-Jaber (center) arrives in the southern Yemeni port of Aden to oversee an aid delivery of fuel from Saudi Arabia on October 29, 2018. We dont understand whats going on in the port, what kind of materials they bring in. Citizens are not allowed to come inside, which creates big concerns for us, Saleh continued. We know that oil is the most demanded thing in the world, so this pipeline may make our place exposed to many regional and international conflicts. Those concerns may matter little for Riyadhs calculus. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are eager to get some advantage out of the expensive quagmire they jumped into in 2015, Bruce Reidel, a former CIA analyst now at the Brookings Institution, wrote of the situation surrounding Al-Mahra. Territorial acquisition of strategic terrain may be the only gain possible. The Emiratis have already consolidated control over Al-Mahras neighboring region of Socotra with sizable facilities that suggest they are unlikely to ever relinquish control. Even if they claim theyre not, they are conducting themselves in a way that any normal country with a functioning government would say, Youre violating our sovereignty, the congressional aide said. And UAE-aligned militias run much of the other part of Yemens Indian Ocean coastline, giving Al-Mahra added value to the Saudis, according to Eleonora Ardemagni of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies. But the U.S. might influence the Saudis thinking if Washington sees how a mess in Al-Mahra harms its interests. For one, the appearance of approving a land grab by a friend could hurt Americas attempts to rally international support for Ukraine and hem in Chinese expansionism by casting the U.S. as a hypocrite on the principle of national sovereignty. Any time China coughs or runs a fishing vessel on a coral reef in the East or South China Sea, we get very concerned about it, the congressional aide noted. Eventually, Al-Mahra could pose a national security headache. The region could become vital to global trade routes which the U.S. is committed to protecting without becoming stable. And it could serve as a rallying point for anti-American groups, or simply Yemenis who see America as complicit in a historic crime. Yemenis will never give up land, said Al-Jabwani, the former minister, arguing that this nation will ultimately even end the well-established UAE occupation in Socotra. We want the United States to come to Yemenis directly not through proxies, Saudi Arabia or the UAE. Talk to us. Related... [Source] Pfizer reportedly amended its criteria for a coveted fellowship program accused of discriminating against Asian and white applicants. The quiet change, which was reported by Do No Harm this week, comes as the Virginia-based nonprofit moves to appeal a federal courts rejection of its lawsuit against the pharmaceutical giant. Composed of medical professionals, Do No Harm sued Pfizer in September for allegedly discriminating against Asian and white applicants in its Breakthrough Fellowship Program. The nine-year commitment begins with a 10-week internship for college seniors and culminates in employment with the company after a fully funded masters degree. The program previously stated that applicants must meet the programs goals of increasing the pipeline for Black/African American, Latino/Hispanic and Native Americans. More from NextShark: My Hero Academia theme song creator arrested for assaulting girlfriend This led to Do No Harms suit, which cited two unidentified Ivy League students who supposedly met the fellowships academic requirements but ultimately failed to apply due to their race. With this, Do No Harm claimed that Pfizer has violated several federal and state laws. These include the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which prohibits racial discrimination in contracting; Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination among entities that receive federal funding; Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in healthcare programs that receive federal funding; and human rights laws in New York State and New York City, which prohibit racial discrimination in internships, training programs and employment. However, U.S. District Judge Jennifer Rochon in Manhattan ruled in December that Do No Harm failed to demonstrate a legal standing against Pfizer as it would not identify the two student plaintiffs. Even if they were identified, the nonprofit submitted little to no details about their career and educational goals, employment history, or interests. Story continues More from NextShark: Pastor Suggests Genital Mutilation on Asian Women Who Are Bitter Towards White Men Do No Harm subsequently filed an appeal. Pfizers wording change followed, according to the nonprofit, with an FAQ section now stating: You are eligible to apply for the Breakthrough Fellowship Program regardless of whether you are of Black/African American, Latino/Hispanic, or Native American descent. Do No Harm Chairman Stanley Goldfarm, MD, said in a statement that the nonprofit welcomes the change. However, its suit will move forward to ensure that Pfizer does not continue or resume its racial discrimination that has no place in society. More from NextShark: Sheng Thao makes history as first Hmong American mayor of Oakland Do No Harm is pleased that Pfizer recognizes its blatant racial discrimination is unlawful and immoral. It is important to recognize that this significant change was made only after Do No Harms lawsuit, and only because Pfizer knows its fellowship is in jeopardy on appeal. Pfizer has not expressly confirmed the change, which online search archives show as having occurred sometime this month, according to TND. However, the company released a statement maintaining its commitment to a pipeline of diverse talent. TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) Tunisian authorities on Thursday said they have arrested dozens of migrants near the Algerian border, two days after Tunisia's increasingly authoritarian leader claimed there's a plot to erase his country's identity by bringing in sub-Saharan Africans. President Kais Saied said Tuesday that urgent measures were needed to address the entry of irregular immigrants from sub-Saharan countries, with their lot of violence, crimes and unacceptable practices. He ordered a rapid response via diplomatic, security, military fronts and strict application of the law on foreigners. Saied's comments at a National Security Council meeting raised a storm on social media and condemnations from nongovernmental organizations. Tunisia, once lauded as the only budding democracy in the Arab world, has recently also seen a crackdown on opposition politicians and activists. In a statement Thursday, the Tunisia-Africa Business Council denounced racist practices ... spreading panic among sub-Saharan students in Tunisian universities. It said a strong message should be sent to reassure African students, and clear instructions given to security forces to ensure security ... including the rights of foreigners. Also Thursday, authorities in Kasserine, near Tunisias western border with Algeria, said security forces have arrested 69 migrants of various nationalities in the past 48 hours for illegal entry. There are no official data on the number of sub-Saharan migrants in Tunisia, but a 2021 count estimated them at 21,000. Migrants mainly enter from Algeria and Libya, and usually want to continue their journey to Europe. Presidential aide Walid Hajjem said Wednesday that planned measures for sub-Saharan migrants will not breach their human rights or hurt relations with African countries. Tunisia is not against the presence ... of foreigners of sub-Saharan nationalities, he told Attessia TV, adding that students, tourists and others are welcome but must respect the law. Story continues Even before Saieds comments on immigration, he had provoked concern with a crackdown on dissent. People arrested included the head of Radio Mosaique FM, Noureddine Bouttar, earlier this month, followed last weekend by the expulsion of Esther Lynch, head of the European Trade Union Confederation, who was accused of interfering with Tunisian internal affairs after addressing a protest rally against the president. On Wednesday, police arrested the head of the Republican Party, Issam Chebbi, and activist Chaima Issa. ___ Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed. ___ Follow APs global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration Craig Branco owns an olive orchard and a rental home outside Visalia, where two wells went dry in 2021. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) In 2014, California adopted a landmark law aimed at combating excessive groundwater pumping, especially in farming areas of the San Joaquin Valley where many families were seeing their wells sputter and run dry. More than eight years later, many local agencies are still working on long-term groundwater sustainability plans. Water levels have continued to decline, and in many areas household wells have continued to dry up including some that have failed since torrential rains soaked the state in January. Now, with more wells at risk of running dry, activists are urging the state to intervene in five Central Valley areas where they say plans are inadequate to combat chronic overpumping. At this point, we just don't believe that the locals will actually take into consideration drinking water needs, said Nataly Escobedo Garcia, a policy coordinator with the environmental justice group Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability. Wells are still continuing to go dry, Escobedo Garcia said. We ask that the state treats this as the crisis it is and acts in urgency. The push for stronger regulation comes as state lawmakers consider a bill that aims to clamp down on the frenzy of agricultural well-drilling in areas where groundwater supplies are considered to be in critical overdraft. The bill, introduced by Assemblymember Steve Bennett (D-Ventura), would require so-called groundwater sustainability agencies, which were established under the 2014 law, to weigh in on well permit applications. There is a loophole in our system, Bennett said, explaining that local groundwater agencies which are responsible for managing their basins and reaching sustainable pumping levels by 2040 currently do not have the authority to decide whether permits for new wells fit with their plans. Counties have traditionally signed off on permits without public input, a system Bennett called over the counter permits. In recent years, while local agencies have prepared groundwater plans, thousands of new wells have been drilled on farmlands in the Central Valley. Story continues It's essential that somebody has not just the authority but the responsibility to say these new wells are appropriate and consistent to go in, Bennett said. The bill, AB 1563, would make permanent requirements similar to those Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted as temporary drought measures in an executive order last year. The governor directed counties and cities to obtain written verification from a groundwater sustainability agency that issuing a well-drilling permit would be consistent with the local plan and wouldn't "decrease the likelihood of achieving a sustainability goal for the basin." The order also requires that before issuing a permit, the local agency must determine that the proposed well would be unlikely to interfere with nearby wells or cause sinking ground that would damage infrastructure. Under Bennett's legislation, those applying to put in small domestic wells would be exempt from the requirements. A permit for drilling a replacement well would be exempt if the original well is being shut down and the new well would pump the same amount of water. The calls for more stringent measures have surfaced while state regulators are reviewing plans submitted by local agencies one of the initial steps under the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. The law requires local agencies in 21 critically overdrafted basins to achieve their sustainability goals by 2040. Activists have called for state intervention in some of the 12 basins where the California Department of Water Resources has said submitted plans were incomplete and had deficiencies that needed to be corrected. State water officials are expected to announce in the coming weeks whether they will accept plans developed for these 12 basins, require additional revisions, or deem them inadequate a step that would trigger intervention by the State Water Resources Control Board. Groundwater levels have declined across the Central Valley during the past three years of severe drought as supplies from rivers have diminished and as agriculture has depended more heavily on water pumped from wells. More than 1,400 dry household wells were reported in 2022, the highest number since the state started tracking reports of well failures in 2013. So far this year, 68 dry wells have been reported to the state. Escobedo Garcia and other environmental justice advocates have recently raised concerns about plans in five areas of the San Joaquin Valley the Kaweah, Kings, Merced, Tule and Westside subbasins. In letters to the Department of Water Resources, they said that current plans fail to address chronic lowering of groundwater levels and the associated problems including degradation of water quality and sinking ground. They also argued that low-income communities and people of color have not been included in decision-making, and that their needs have not been prioritized. When plans fail to protect residents' drinking water, the activists said, the department should deem them inadequate and refer them to the State Water Board to be designated as probationary basins. Under the law, the board has the authority to declare a groundwater basin probationary and to develop an interim plan for an area if the local agency fails to remedy an identified deficiency. Escobedo Garcia told members of the State Water Board at a Feb. 7 meeting that despite the recent heavy rains, the storm runoff isnt nearly enough to recoup losses in aquifers that have been declining for decades. This is unlikely to happen given the extreme shifts between dry and wet conditions we are experiencing due to climate change, Escobedo Garcia told the board. To make matters worse, the agriculture industry continues to drill new wells and overpump our limited groundwater, which leads to dry wells, water contamination, land subsidence and other harmful impacts. SGMA requires that local agencies consider domestic well owners and disadvantaged communities, she noted. We must ensure our basins are truly on a path to sustainability that protects all groundwater users, Escobedo Garcia said. As plans are currently written, we do not believe they will put us on that path. She cited an estimate that if overpumping is allowed to continue drawing down groundwater in the San Joaquin Valley, 20% to 49% of domestic wells could be partially or fully dewatered affecting the drinking water supplies of up to 127,000 people. The plans need to be revised, and domestic wells cannot be sacrificed for agricultural use, said Tien Tran, a policy advocate for the Community Water Center. State officials plan to announce decisions by March 30 on whether they approve the plans with recommended corrective actions or declare them inadequate and ask the State Water Board to intervene, said Paul Gosselin, deputy director of the Department of Water Resources' sustainable groundwater management office. Gosselin said the board would have discretion in how to address inadequate plans. Under the law, he said, the aim is to get the basin back to local control as quickly as possible. Gosselin said even in areas where the plans have flaws, local officials have been making enormous progress, with some starting to implement water allocations and pumping limits, as well as projects focused on replenishing groundwater. It's real difficult, challenging work, Gosselin said. We might have been the last state in the West to have a statewide groundwater law in place, but I think what we're finding is we have probably the best structured law in the country. Gosselin said its concerning that wells have continued running dry despite the recent wet weather, but he said it takes time for groundwater levels to rebound, and the basins have a long way to go to recover. To address overpumping in some areas, the Department of Water Resources recently started a program called LandFlex, which will provide $25 million in grants to local groundwater agencies for farmers who agree to limit water use. The program focuses on reducing pumping where nearby drinking water wells otherwise could be affected. The program will provide financial incentives to farmers for each acre they enroll, and includes rules intended to ensure the participation of small and mid-sized farms. A state website describing the program says limiting overpumping will mean more water left in the ground and available for drinking water wells in Californias most vulnerable communities. Farmlands in the San Joaquin Valley produce a wide variety of fruits, nuts and cattle-feed crops. In the coming years, the requirements of the groundwater law are expected to force landowners to leave large portions of the valleys farmland dry and fallow. Researchers with the Public Policy Institute of California estimated in a recent report that by 2040, the average annual water supplies for agriculture could decrease by 20% largely because of limits under the groundwater law but also because of climate change and other factors. They estimated that in a worst-case scenario, nearly 900,000 acres of farmland would be fallowed and about 50,000 jobs would be lost. In some areas, they projected, more than half the irrigated farmland may eventually need to be left dry. They said various measures could help soften the economic blow, including investments in boosting water supplies, localized buying and selling of water, and improvements in agricultural productivity. The valley can still thrive with less water, said Alvar Escriva-Bou, a senior fellow at the institute. The researchers said planning will be key in transitioning some farmland to other purposes, such as solar farms, crops that consume less water or restored habitat areas. There's a lot of land that's going to go out of production, Escriva-Bou said. If we want to do that in a careful way, to avoid more problems, we need to provide the right incentives. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. By Martin Quin Pollard BEIJING (Reuters) -China's effort to cast itself as a peacemaker on Ukraine reflects an aim to burnish its image rather than a change of stance, Western diplomats and analysts said, as it seeks to establish itself as a leader of a new multipolar world order. A year after Russia invaded its southwestern neighbour, its "no limits" partner China is offering to broker peace. It says it will issue a "position paper" on Ukraine and President Xi Jinping is expected to give a "peace speech" this week, Italy's foreign minister said. But analysts say China's affirmation of its "rock solid" relationship with Russia and the backing of Russia's line on the war undermines its posture of neutrality, as does a U.S. assertion that China was considering providing weapons to Russia, which China denies. Beijing's peace overture suggests an attempt to repair ties with some Western countries, particularly in Europe, rather than a major policy shift, European diplomats said, while staking out the rhetorical high ground is an effort to challenge the U.S.-led world order. It is also likely aimed at building a narrative at home of Xi as a global problem-solver as he begins his third leadership term and China looks to revive an economy battered by three years of COVID-19 curbs. "At the moment Chinas peace effort will stay at the rhetorical level," said Li Mingjiang, associate professor of international relations at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. "It's difficult to imagine China taking actual action to mediate between Russia and Ukraine any time soon ... this is Chinas small posture change, not any substantive policy adjustment on the war," he said. To be sure, any serious move by China to resolve Europe's bloodiest land war since World War Two would be widely welcomed, but many diplomats and China-watchers say that when push comes to shove, China will stick by Russia. Story continues That scepticism was reinforced by a pledge by top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi on Wednesday in Moscow that China wished to "deepen" ties, and Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement that Xi would soon visit Moscow. Since the war began weeks after Beijing and Moscow announced a "no limits" partnership, Xi has spoken regularly with Putin but not once with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy. In 2022, China's imports of Russian commodities jumped while trade with Ukraine withered. Still, China is unlikely to provide Russia with military aid any time soon, at least not overtly, experts and diplomats said. "If Western military support to Ukraine increases the likelihood of Russia's defeat, then the international community should expect stronger efforts from China to prevent that outcome," said Tong Zhao a U.S.-based nuclear expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "China's calculations are influenced by America's effort to draw a brighter red line for China," Zhao said, referring to a U.S. warning on weapons. "Beijing is seeking to strike a balance between stabilizing its relations with Washington and preventing Moscow's defeat." 'INDIVISIBLE SECURITY' China's diplomatic flurry included the release on Tuesday of a paper on the Global Security Initiative, Xi's flagship security proposal that aims to uphold the principle of "indivisible security", a concept endorsed by Russia under which no country can strengthen its security at the expense of others. Experts and several Western diplomats said the initiative looked like a further effort by China to position itself as a peace-seeking nation while establishing an alternative global framework to the one dominated by the United States. "The biggest contribution China could make would be to remove its support for Russia, ask Russia to withdraw its troops, get out of Ukraine and for China to support Ukraine financially," said a European diplomat, declining to be identified because he is not permitted to speak to media. "But thats not realistic now." While China supports peace in principle, analysts and diplomats say it does not want an end to the Ukraine war that endangers Putin or his regime, given the risk of instability in a country with which it shares a more than 4,000 km border. "For Beijing, the key question isnt whether the war should end; its how it should end," said Benjamin Herscovitch, research fellow at Australian National University. "China still sees Russia as a central element of its overarching strategy to weaken U.S. power and influence and build a multipolar world," he said. (Editing by Daniel Wallis) Political activist Angela Davis has been a truth seeker for her entire career. In a Feb. 21 episode of "Finding Your Roots," Davis learns the truth about some of her familys lingering mysteries. The author and symbol of the Black Power movement presents the show's host, Henry Louis Gates Jr., with two questions about her ancestry during the episode. To start, the 79-year-old asks Gates' team to research the true identity of her maternal grandparents since her mother, Sallye Bell, grew up in a foster home and never met them. Finding Davis maternal grandmother proves to be a challenge, and the team was unable to learn her name. But her father's identity was traceable: Davis' mother's father was a white Alabama lawyer named John Austin Darden. Looking at a photo of Darden, Davis says that the family resemblance is undeniable. "He has my mother's lips. It's so funny, I can see her in him," she notes. The "Finding Your Roots" team put a photo of Bell next to Darden to underline their resemblance. Bell's biological mother was Black. "I can't get used to the fact that this is her father. I know it, but ... it's really amazing," she says. The "Finding Your Roots" team was unable to discern how Bell's mother met John Austin Darden, but was able to look into Darden's past. Darden was an Alabama legislator and a prominent, very wealthy member of his community. Davis took in learning about her ancestor's identity. I didnt think wed ever have a name. I always imagined him as an anonymous figure, she says. Davis also learns that she has more Alabama relatives: Historical records show that Darden was survived by four sons and two daughters. Davis feels mixed emotions upon hearing about her mother's half siblings. "I guess I'm both glad but I'm also really angry ... my mother may not have been the only one. She may have siblings who are half Black. So this actually opens up so many other questions," she explains. Story continues The "Finding Your Roots" team follows the paper trail back to Davis' fourth great-grandfather, Stephen Darden, who was born in colonial Virginia and served in the Revolutionary War (and played the drums). The news astounds Davis, as she connects her ancestor's time in the war with her own activism. "I'm going off the top of my head! You just threw information at me," she says, laughing. She continues, Im remembering that so many people have called those of us who tried to fight against racism and who have visions of a more radical democracy as 'un-American.' Ive always insisted that the best way to pay tribute to this country is to try to change it, she says. Davis then grapples with learning Stephen Darden became a slave owner after moving to Georgia. I always imagined my ancestors as the people who were enslaved. My mind and my heart are swirling with all of these contradictory emotions," she says. "I'm glad on the one hand that we've begun to solve this mystery. We have something that we didn't have before. But at the same time I think it makes me even more connected to struggling for a better world," she says. Davis guesses what her mom would've made of this: "It's good to know my genetic background. it's good to know my ancestry. But those are not necessarily my people. My people are those who fought for me, who supported me." Later in the episode, Davis learns the identity of her paternal grandfather. Gates explains that her father, Benjamin Frank Davis, grew up in a small town in Alabama with his mother Mollie Spencer. Spencer was once married to a man named Edward Davis but Edward Davis was not Frank Davis' father. The couple separated long before Frank Davis and many of his siblings were born. Frank Davis' sister told Davis stories of his white father. Turns out Mollie Spencer lived near a white man named Murphy Jones. With the help of DNA evidence, the "Finding Your Roots" team discovers that Murphy Jones was, in fact, Frank Davis's biological father. At the time of their relationship, interracial sex was illegal across the South. Spencer and Jones seemed to have had as many as four kids together. Jones even sold Spencer 200 acres of land at one point, suggesting they may have been close. Davis then learns that Spencer's father, Davis' great-grandfather, Isom Spencer, was an enslaved person. Davis gets emotional over the discovery. "I assume that my ancestors lived on plantations as slaves. But of course I didn't now who they were. I didn't know who the slave owners were. I just feel so sad that these are my people who had to live under those conditions. It makes me realize what a miracle it is that were here now, she says. At the end of the Civil War, Isom Spencer was freed, but his former owner retained some of his nephews as slaves. Isom Spencer decided to fight back and took the matter to court. "This, I am so happy to see," Davis says. Isom Spencer won the battle eventually. His nephews were freed and turned over to their family. When Gates asks her if she feels a connection to her ancestors in this moment, Davis says "absolutely." "I'm happy to find that there's a motif of resistance (in my family tree) because that is what I feel like I've been trying to do since I was a teenager," she says. At the end of the episode, Davis also learns she's descended from William Brewster, one of the 101 people who came to the colonies aboard the Mayflower. Do you know what youre looking at? That is a list of the passengers on the Mayflower. Our researchers discovered #AngelaDaviss ancestors traveled to the US on the Mayflower and here is her reaction. #FindingYourRoots pic.twitter.com/G2HhA9BSrT Henry Louis Gates Jr (@HenryLouisGates) February 22, 2023 "No. I can't believe this. No, my ancestors did not come here on the Mayflower," Davis says, laughing. Davis, who fought against structural racism in the U.S., says she "never" expected to learn that she was descended from one of the nation's white settlers. "That's a little too much to deal with right now," she says. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Life imitated art on Tuesday, in the ugliest possible way, when the Broadway musical "Parade," about a notorious antisemitic incident of 1915, provoked antisemitic demonstrations outside the theater where the show was having its first preview. Theatergoers making their way into the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre to see a show about Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager in Georgia who was lynched for supposedly raping a 13-year-old girl, were greeted by neo-Nazis from the "National Socialist Movement" who shouted that Frank was "a Jewish pedophile." "Learn the truth about what you're going to see tonight!" one of them shouted. "Romanticizing pedophiles wow!" "They were basically harassing everybody in line," said Katie Crawford, a Brooklyn theatergoer who was in the queue around 7:30 p.m. when she encountered the demonstrators. "There were officers and security kind of preventing them from getting onto the sidewalk. But somebody did get up there, and he was handing out flyers some sort of antisemitic flyers with a link to some kind of website. I did not personally receive one of them." Ben Platt as Leo Frank and Micaela Diamond as Lucille Frank in "Parade" at New York City Center. The production will open on Broadway on March 16. There were a handful of demonstrators, between five and 10, she said and they had stretched out a banner along the sidewalk saying the NSM "stands against Pedophilia." Most of the people in line, Crawford added, chose not to engage with the demonstrators (the one handing out the flyers was wearing a ski mask). "I felt pretty pissed that they had the audacity to do that," she said. "I thought it was disgusting behavior. I didn't feel scared, but it was a little jarring. I felt uneasy." She felt more so at intermission when she checked for information on her iPhone and discovered that the protesters were a neo-Nazi group. "When I came out of the theater, I was more nervous," she said. "And I felt nervous for the cast. I hoped those individuals were safe." More:'We have your backs': Gov. Phil Murphy visits Bloomfield temple targeted in arson attack Story continues The star of the show, Ben Platt, issued a statement on Instagram calling the demonstrators "disgusting." "It was very ugly and scary, but a wonderful reminder of why we're telling this particular story," he said. Indeed, the incident was a disturbing reminder of the continuing relevance of the show "Parade" and, more broadly, a reminder of the state of the union in 2023. "It's sad, but it's not surprising," said Rabbi Brian Beal, of Temple Beth Tikvah in Wayne. "Antisemitism and racism have been part of the human condition forever. What's different now is that people feel emboldened to act on that. We have Molotov cocktails thrown in a synagogue in Bloomfield. People like our former president and others are helping to unleash people to speak and act in a way that is scary and reprehensible." The story behind the story These days, many people have never heard of Leo Frank. But his story looms in the consciousness of many Jews, much as the 1963 Birmingham bombings are a horror of horrors to many African Americans. As a student at Emory University in Atlanta the city at the center of the episode Beal found that the tragedy was seared into the collective memory of locals. Indeed, a 1937 movie dramatizing the case it marked Lana Turner's breakout role, in form-fitting clothes, as Hollywood's "sweater girl" was called "They Won't Forget." "The community that's affected always knows more of the details," Beal said. "So I'll tell you that the Jews in Atlanta absolutely knew more about the Leo Frank case than even Jews in this part of the world. It's part of Southern lore the history of Southern racism and antisemitism." The writer of the 1998 musical "Parade," Alfred Uhry (he wrote the book; Jason Robert Brown wrote the score; both of them won Tonys), also had a personal connection to the case. His great-uncle owned Leo Frank's factory. Leo Frank Frank, in 1913, had been accused of raping and murdering Mary Phagan, 13, one of his employees. Frank was sentenced to death after a trial that became a media circus and a lightning rod for antisemitism. When the departing governor of Georgia, citing irregularities in the case, commuted his sentence in 1915 to life imprisonment, a lynching party abducted Frank from the jail in Milledgeville, Ga., and hanged him from an oak tree. Among other things, the case led to the formation in 1913 of the Anti-Defamation League as the protesters on Tuesday were quick to remind their captive audience. "Wanna learn the truth about the ADL?" asked the guy handing out pamphlets. More than 100 years later, some details about the case are still murky. But the evidence, overwhelmingly, points to Frank's innocence, according to most historians. In 1986, the state of Georgia granted him a sort-of pardon not exactly exonerating him, but granting him a pardon on the grounds that the state failed to protect him. The larger issue of the Frank case is the appalling racial hatred it unleashed. And that, alas, is still news. That's why shows like "Parade" are important, said the Broadway League. On Wednesday, in response to the incident the previous night, it released a statement deploring "antisemitism and all forms of harassment." "Now more than ever, the arts play a powerful role in creating community and bringing people together," the league said. "Parade" will open Thursday, March 16. This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Broadway: Antisemitic demonstration proves relevance of 'Parade' CEO of Iwaya Giken Keisuke Iwaya (left) with senior managing executive officer Takayuki Hanasaka. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko Iwaya Giken, a Japanese startup, unveiled its commercial spacecraft expected to launch this year. It claims the capsule can rise up to 15 miles in the sky with a helium balloon, offering views of space and earth. Flights start at $180,000, but CEO Keisuke Iwaya wants to reduce the price to tens and thousands. Going to space may eventually be a viable experience even if you're not a millionaire or billionaire thanks to a Japanese startup. Staffers at a Japanese startup carry a prototype of its spacecraft on stage during a press conference. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko Source: AP News Iwaya Giken, a space tech startup based in Sapporo, unveiled this week its plans to launch its helium space-viewing balloon. CEO of Iwaya Giken Keisuke Iwaya (left) with senior managing executive officer Takayuki Hanasaka. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko Source: AP News Keisuke Iwaya, the CEO of Iwaya Giken, said he has "loved science and space" since he was a kid and was inspired by Dr. Emmet Brown from "Back to the Future." CEO Iwaya unveiling his company's spacecraft. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko Source: TEDx Talks As a college engineering student, Iwaya developed and successfully launched balloons with cameras attached to them, capturing photos of the earth from 18 miles above. Since then, he has conducted at least 80 similar launches and has licensed space photography for businesses. A screenshot of some of Iwatani's space photos for sale. Amana Images Source: TEDx Talks, AmanaImages Iwaya now wants to take space exploration to the next level. He said his goal is to make commercial space travel which could be worth millions of dollars more accessible. Japanese space programs have lagged behind American ones like SpaceX and Blue Origin. Iwaya Giken employees carrying the aircraft on stage during the unveiling. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko Source: AP News The spacecraft a work-in-progress since 2012 includes a 4.9-foot wide airtight cabin with two seats: one for the pilot and the other for a passenger. It is lifted by a helium-powered balloon that the company says can rise up to 15 miles into the sky, which is the middle of the stratosphere. The 4.9-foot wide spacecraft includes a two-seater cabin. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko Source: AP News At that altitude higher than a jet plane can fly passengers will be able to see the curve of the earth with nothing blocking the view. Passengers of the spacecraft can see the curve of the earth. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko Source: AP News The cabin includes multiple large windows for passengers to observe space from above and earth from below. Built with plastic, the cabin will be resistant to temperature and air pressure changes. Story continues A journalist stepping into spacecraft. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko Source: AP News, NHK World News Taking off from a balloon port in Hokkaido, the spacecraft will ascend for two hours, hover above the earth for another hour, and complete its hour-long descent back to earth. Raita Naka, head of public relations for a Japanese startup company, sitting in the spacecraft. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko Source: AP News The helium used to lift the spacecraft will be reusable, the company said. The spacecraft is restricted to flying over Japanese land and airspace. Japanese actress Arisa Kuroda inside the cabin. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko Source: AP News As part of his plan to "democratize space," CEO Iwaya said riders don't need billions in their bank account to fly. Extensive training and technical language skills also aren't required, he said. CEO Keisuke Iwaya unveiled the helium spacecraft on stage during a press conference. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko Source: AP News "It's safe, economical and gentle for people," Iwaya said. "The idea is to make space tourism for everyone." Keisuke Iwaya, CEO of Iwaya Giken. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko Source: AP News When the spacecraft is launched later this year, a flight will cost roughly $180,000, though it will eventually be reduced to tens of thousands of dollars, Iwaya said. A Iwaya Giken employee cleaning the spacecraft. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko Source: AP News Interested riders have until the end of August to apply to fly in the spacecraft. The initial five passengers will be announced in October, each flight a week apart from one other if the weather permits. A prototype of the spacecraft in the dark. AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko Source: AP News Read the original article on Business Insider Hughes Memorial Auditorium at Asbury University. Smith Collection /Gado / Contributor / Getty Images. The religious revival at Asbury University in Kentucky is moving off campus, after two weeks of large crowds and "continuous prayer" upended the small town in which the school is located, People reports. Here's everything you need to know: What is Asbury University? Asbury University is a small, private Christian university of about 1,639 students located in Wilmore, Kentucky. Though technically non-denominational, the school is "grounded in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition," which emphasizes personal holiness and purports that followers can achieve full sanctification in their lifetime thanks to the second sealing of the Holy Spirit. What was happening there? What started as a standard chapel service on Feb. 8 quickly ballooned into something much larger than anyone could have anticipated. "The first day we had a very ordinary service, I would call it unremarkable," university President Dr. Kevin Brown told NBC News. But by nightfall, students began returning to the auditorium, joining the group of those that stuck around after the initial mass. More followed, and more, and more, until the chapel was overflowing with students eager to join their peers in prayer. For the next 12 days, the ever-growing congregation worshipped around the clock, as word of the movement meanwhile spread like wildfire on social media, encouraging thousands of pious hopefuls to trek to Asbury and join what many participants had dubbed a "revival." "We just had some people arrive from Finland, from the Netherlands, they have been coming from all over the country," Asbury Communications Director Abby Laud told local station WKYT on Feb. 18. The set up inside the sanctuary was "simple," NBC News wrote on Feb. 15: "No projector screens or high-tech integrations, just wooden sanctuary chairs filled with people, and an open altar call with an invitation to prayer ." In social media videos of the event, "some people are seen crying to worship music, with hands extended high, while others group up and place hands on those seeking prayer." Story continues Given the movement's traction online, school officials made a conscious choice to abstain from overly publicizing what was happening. "The university made an intentional decision not to publicize this because we wanted to place an abundance of respect towards the experience of our students," Brown said. Why was it moved? Well, the influx of visitors was more than the tiny university and tiny town could handle. "Our town's institutions here and our town's infrastructure, I just want to be clear, is just not in a place to absorb at this moment, the influx of the blessed guests that we have had come to Wilmore," said Brown, the university's president, per the Louisville Courier-Journal. The school designated Monday, Feb. 20, as the "concluding public worship service" at its auditorium, though it will continue to hold services for students through Thursday, Feb. 23. But beginning Friday, Feb. 24, "no further public Outpouring services will be held on Asbury's campus." The university is speaking with other venues in the area to discuss further public-facing events, per Insider. "I have been asked if Asbury is 'stopping' this outpouring of God's Spirit and the stirring of human hearts," Brown, the university's president, wrote in a Feb. 21 statement. "I have responded by pointing out that we cannot stop something we did not start. This was never planned. Over the last few weeks, we have been honored to steward and host services and the guests who have traveled far and wide to attend them." What did attendees have to say? "It was the first time where I could relax, and I felt at peace," Gracie Turner, a senior at Asbury, told the Herald-Leader. "It kind of felt like God was telling me, 'This is what you've been missing.'" Nick Hall, an evangelist who traveled to Kentucky from Minnesota, was equally as impressed by what he experienced, though he was particularly struck by the simplicity of the movement: "In an age of sensationalized encounters, what's happening at the Hughes Auditorium is incredibly simple, humble, and ordinary," he wrote in a Fox News column published Feb. 17. "I can't say for certain if this is revival. What I can say with full confidence is that God is inviting us to turn to Him now ... and He's no more present in Kentucky than He is wherever you are reading this." Tom McCall, a theology professor at the Asbury Theological Seminary across from the university, was in agreement with Hall. "Some are calling this a revival, and I know that in recent years that term has become associated with political activism and Christian nationalism. But let me be clear: no one at Asbury has that agenda," he wrote in a Feb. 13 opinion piece for Christianity Today. "There is no pressure or hype. There is no manipulation. There is no high-pitched emotional fervor. I cannot analyze or even adequately describe all that is happening, but there is no doubt in my mind that God is present and active." So what exactly is a revival? In the Christian faith, a revival typically refers to a movement to revitalize and energize a church's congregation, ideally while converting new followers. "Some see them as reactions to major social upheavals revivals occur when we're rattled and want quick fixes for our uncertainties," Paul Prather writes for the Lexington Herald-Leader. Others "see them as merciful visitations from God, who cares about people and occasionally shows up in especially dramatic ways to let us know it." But there is plenty of side-eyeing to be had, as well. Indeed, as Prather notes, critics often interpret revivals as "manifestations of superstition, hysteria, and social contagion," rather than something born of genuine religious fervor. Skeptics also might also scrutinize such events which experts say occur "when people feel things have gone awry or there is need for hope," per The Washington Post as exclusionary of certain identities and an overall "dangerous practice that can conflate religious and political aims," AJ Willingham notes for CNN. Has Asbury experienced a revival before? Believe it or not, "revivalism is baked into Asbury's DNA," Prather writes. As far back as 1905 and as recently as 2006, students at the university have found themselves sporadically and spontaneously called to worship for days at a time. You may also like Why U.S. teens aren't getting their driver's licenses A beginner's guide to passive income Is America headed for a 'national divorce'? For starters, ask your local barista what beans they are using for drip coffee, or which are in the hopper for espresso. Above, roaster Amy Krauser inspects beans in a vintage Probat UG15 at Cognoscenti Coffee downtown. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) With more than 100 local roasters and countless coffee shops in Los Angeles, there are seemingly endless choices when it comes to buying fresh coffee beans. Walk into your local shop to pick up beans for your morning coffee habit, and the selection you find might reflect varying roasting styles, origin countries, growing regions, process methods, farming practices and more. The options can be a lot to parse. When your goal is to identify your own ideal brew, L.A.s coffee professionals are here to help guide you. For many L.A. roasters, the light to medium level is the sweet spot; but from the lightest, fruitiest coffees to dark and espresso roasts, the story of coffee in L.A. is reflected in the roasted beans. While Picaresca in Boyle Heights features coffees from Mexico with beans from Chiapas and Oaxaca, Caffe Luxxe might be blending favorites from Brazil and Guatemala for espresso drinks, and Go Get Em Tiger could be highlighting the Yukro region of Ethiopia as a single origin for pour-overs. L.A.s coffee community showcases geography, culture and creativity. Leonardo Abularach, left, co-owner of Picaresca, which highlights coffee from Mexico, prepares beans for roasting with Pablo Peres Meza. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Many of L.A.s coffee companies roast aiming for sweetness. No longer relying solely on the designation of light, medium, dark and espresso, many tell stories about listening to the beans during the roasting process. They rely on sample batches to tweak the recipe and bring out the best flavors in the beans without over-toasting. When we get a coffee, whether its from Guatemala, Colombia, Ethiopia or Indonesia, were looking at that coffee and were saying, OK, at what level are we getting the most sweetness out of this cup? said Andrew Sinclair of Mad Lab Coffee. We want to achieve the best form of pleasant acidity with the best mouthfeel and juiciness. Ask for recommendations. Knowledgeable baristas can guide you, much like a sommelier. Above, Elisa Hoyos, co-owner of Picaresca Coffee. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Dont be shy about asking for recommendations. Knowledgeable baristas can help guide you much like a sommelier. Often they will ask how you make coffee at home and recommend the best bean for your desired roast level and brew method. Story continues Jaymie Lao began working as a barista in 2008, became the director of cafe experience for GGET, and now is an independent cafe consultant. Ask the barista questions! We want to answer any that will help you pick a coffee youll actually like, Lao said. Ask what beans they are making the drip coffee with or which are in the hopper for espresso. Taste what they are excited about, and gauge whether that flavor profile fits what you are looking for. They can tell you about the farm or co-op where the beans were grown. Many of L.A.'s coffee companies roast aiming for sweetness no longer relying solely on the designation of light, medium, dark and espresso. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Consumers are knowledgeable about where their food comes from, so it has been easy for a lot of roasters to take that same simple, ingredient-based approach where you are trying to highlight the individuality of seasonal agricultural products and give people an opportunity to experience and be excited about them, said Saadat Awan of Woodcat in Echo Park. Bags of coffee beans can offer a lot of information if you know what youre looking for; lets break it down. Country of origin There are coffee growing regions throughout the world. Though California leads our nation in agricultural production on 25.6 million acres, it does not grow significant amounts of coffee. So this is a crop we need to import. Single origin Coffee beans are sold as single origin, meaning one variety of coffee sourced from one crop or region, or as blends, in which the roaster has combined beans to achieve a desired flavor profile. Cognoscenti owner Yeekai Lim, left, pictured with roaster Amy Krauser, bought a vintage Probat UG15 roaster and lets other coffee companies use it for their own beans. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Elevation Coffee region information helps give geographical background, such as elevation. The elevation of the farm might be included to indicate that the beans were grown in an ideal setting, as coffee grown at higher elevations offers optimal quality and flavor. Species Most coffees you will encounter are arabica beans. Robusta beans, historically considered lower caliber, are gaining attention in the U.S. In Anaheim, Vince Nguyen sources high-quality robusta beans from a family farm on Langbiang Mountain in the Da Lat region of Vietnam for his Nam Coffee to make traditional and modern Vietnamese coffee drinks. Inspecting coffee beans during the roasting process at Cognoscenti. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Process This term refers to how each coffee has been processed after being harvested at the farm. Layers of the coffee cherry (fruit) are removed to expose the bean in preparation for drying and roasting. Look for the terms: natural, washed, honey. In the natural method, also known as dry process, beans ferment inside of the coffee cherries. For the washed process, the seed is first taken out of the cherry and cleaned completely. Honey process lies somewhere in between, while in anaerobic or oxygen-free processing, a newer method gaining popularity, the beans are fermented in sealed tanks. Fair trade, direct trade or organic Some labels will say whether the coffee is fair trade, a general certification that indicates the importer or roaster pays a premium above base commodity prices. Direct trade indicates that the coffee company has purchased directly from the farm. Some might be labeled organic. But its worth noting that in specialty coffee, many farms employ organic practices outside of any system to certify the organic label. Canyon Coffee in Echo Park has recently acquired the first Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) coffee, meeting the standards of the Regenerative Organic Alliance for soil health, animal welfare, equitable farm work practices and other requisites. So far, only one farm in Nicaragua has achieved this certification, said co-founder Casey Wojtalewicz. Currently Canyon, Groundwork, Heirloom and Equator have purchased these beans, with more ROC coffees becoming available this year. After roasting coffee, Pablo Peres Meza, barista/roaster, holds a bag of Picaresca at Cognoscenti Coffee. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Tasting notes Roasters also often offer tasting notes. Have you ever read a bag of coffee and wondered if you were being sold a fruit salad or dessert? These taste profile descriptors help communicate some of the natural flavors detected in that particular coffee. A current offering at Post Era for its Mayan Harvest, from a women-owned coffee farm in Mexico: A sweet combo of notes of chocolate, caramel and candied orange. Frank La of Be Bright the cafe on Melrose he opened with his wife, Michelle La has developed a system to streamline the communication about roast profile and tasting notes. They created four categories for Be Bright beans Dark & Bold, Rich & Smooth, Bright & Lively, Unique & Surprising to simplify the coffee-buying process for their customers. Our four categories should cover at least 95% of the consumer market, La said, and they help our staff guide customers toward what they might like. Leonardo Abularach, left, and Elisa Hoyos, co-owners of Picaresca, flank barista/roaster Pablo Peres Meza at Cognoscenti. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Your local roaster The diversity of options in Southern California offers consumers the ability to buy coffee with as much agency and care as they would exercise with their food choices. The ultimate buying decision might be whether to support local companies and help this business sector survive and thrive. More cafes have begun roasting their own beans and sell coffees from other local roasters. Mo Maravilla of Kindness & Mischief is roasting in the same Long Beach facility as Rose Park and Seven Syllables. She also carries their coffees in her own Highland Park cafe. At Cognoscentis cafe and roastery, owner Yeekai Lim has been part of the L.A. coffee community for more than 12 years. While he was transitioning from serving a curated list of roasters to his own coffees, he bought a vintage Probat UG15 roaster. The focus for us is to source the best coffee and to be as ethical and sustainable as possible, said Lim. Along the way, Lim has made room for other coffee companies to share time on his roaster. Currently, Max Gualtieri of Joules and Watts, Sinclair of MadLab, Alex Huerta of Post Era and Leo Abularach and Pablo Peres of Picaresca all roast there. "Roasting at Cognoscenti has built a sense of community for us," says Abularach. "Access to Yeekai and the other roasters has been helpful, and we want to be there for each other." Los Angeles coffee tends to be roasted in light to medium styles, highlighting acidity and sweetness. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney dropped all charges against Jarrett Hobbs who was beaten by police in Camden County Detention Center. The charges dropped include assault, battery and obstruction. Hobbs attorneys, Harry Daniels and Bakari Sellers reached a settlement with CCSO to resolve the civil claims coming out of the incident. Daniels released the following statement: Lets be clear: no one deserves to be beaten like that, Daniels said of the September 3 beating. This settlement doesnt make up for that, not by a long shot. But, at the end of the day, Mr. Hobbs charges were dropped , the officers who beat him have been charged and this settlement gives him and his family a new way forward. Thats something we can all be proud of. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested Braxton Massey, Mason Garrick and Ryan Biegel, three officers involved in the beating, and charged all three with battery of an inmate and violating the oath of office. Hobbs-Jarrett Warrant Dismissal by ActionNewsJax on Scribd [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Read: Camden County Sheriffs Office investigating after video surfaces of inmate being beaten in jail Read: GBI to investigate after video shows inmate being beaten in Camden County Jail Read: NAACP, inmates attorneys to hold rally after leaked video of beating in Camden County Jail [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. The parents of a seven-year-old girl allegedly killed by a FedEx contractor have filed a lawsuit against the company for negligence in hiring. Maitlyn Gandy, the mother of Athena Strand, joined an existing wrongful death lawsuit against the American multinational company, the contents of which were published on 17 February by Varghese Summersett, the law firm employed by the family. The seven-year-olds body was found near a country road about six miles away from her home, two days after she was reported missing on 30 November 2022. Police had said delivery driver Tanner Horner confessed to accidentally hitting Athena with his van, leaving her injured and then strangling her after she threatened to tell her father. The lawsuit has named the driver, his employer Big Topspin, a subcontractor of FedEx, and the courier company as well. The lawsuit filed in December 2022 accused the companies of negligence in hiring, training and supervising the accused, claiming they recklessly employed him and failed to properly investigate his criminal and employment history. The driver also faces four charges of sexual assault stemming from alleged incidents from 2013, unrelated to Athenas case. Ms Gandys attorneys wrote that they sought to effect change at FedEx to prevent such incidents from happening. It is about implementing better hiring, training, and supervising practices to prevent vicious killers from arriving at our doorsteps bearing an insignia that has been cultivated to instill trust, said the lawsuit. It is about preventing billion-dollar organisations from insulating themselves from liability by using fly-by-night contractors instead of acknowledging the responsibility they bear when we trust them to come on our property, to our doorsteps, and even inside our homes. The emotional appeal said when parents across the US read and heard about Athenas case, they wondered how FedEx became the deliverer of death. Mr Horner was indicted on murder and kidnapping charges on 16 February and is being held on bonds totalling more than $1,5m, according to booking records. The family is seeking more than $1m in relief. 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. Two burglary suspects ran from a Ford F-150 pickup truck after Cass County Sheriff deputies used a grappling device to stop the truck during a chase, a spokesman for the department said in a news release Thursday. Deputies found an ATM and a handgun at the scene and were searching the area for the suspects, said Lt. Jess Claibourn, assistant public information officer for the Cass County Sheriffs Department. A complete description of the suspects was not available. The Cass County Sheriffs Office responded to an alarm call about 4 a.m. Thursday from a gas station in Archie, Missouri. Deputies spotted a vehicle and pursued the pickup north on Interstate 49. Just south of Route J highway near Peculiar, Missouri, deputies used a grappling device that uses a heavy-duty nylon net to disable the truck. Traffic on I-49 in the area was significantly backed up while deputies searched the area for the suspects, Claibourn said. Attempted homicide charges were dropped against four teens accused of shooting an unconscious man with a BB gun who later died. The decision came two days before the Allegheny County Medical Examiners Office announced the man died of an accidental overdose. The teens Karmelo Harshey, 18, Desmond Robinson, 15, and Isaiah Johnson, 16, and Lee Wilson, 16 still face charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and possessing an instrument of crime. RELATED COVERAGE: 4 teens charged in connection to death of man assaulted with BB gun downtown The man, Christopher Gaylor, 50, of Cadiz, Ohio, died Dec. 1 from combined drug poisoning of fentanyl, cocaine, ketamine and hyrdromorphone, according to a report from the medical examiner. The manner of death was ruled accidental. Gaylor was found unconscious in a downtown alley and taken to a hospital, where healthcare professionals found metal BBs lodged in his head. RELATED COVERAGE: Victim dies after being assaulted with BB gun in Pittsburgh Video surveillance in the area revealed four people allegedly the teens charged firing BBs at him at close range. TRENDING NOW: Married couple dead after murder-suicide in Monroeville Police officer shot overnight in exchange of gunfire with suspect in Duquesne Pittsburgh Fish Fry List 2023 VIDEO: Plan to consolidate middle schools in Hempfield Area School District moves forward DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts CANBERRA, Australia (AP) An Australian pleaded guilty on Thursday to manslaughter in the death 35 years ago of an American who fell from a Sydney clifftop that was known as a gay meeting place, with the victims family welcoming the turning point in their long campaign for justice. Scott Whites admission in the New South Wales state Supreme Court came three months after he had his conviction on charges of murdering Scott Johnson overturned by an appeals court. The family of Los Angeles-born Johnson had fought for years to overturn an initial finding that the 27-year-old mathematician had taken his own life in 1988. Johnsons Boston-based older brother, Steve Johnson, told reporters that the proceedings Thursday might be the most emotional moment yet. He watched the Sydney court hearing online from the United States. Breakthrough evidence came last October when police intercepted a prison phone call between White and a niece in which he confessed to striking his victim at the clifftop, Johnson said. In that phone call to the niece, he corroborated evidence that they (police) had previously gathered, and that brought his defense team to the table to negotiate a guilty plea, Johnson told The Associated Press. The police work that continued during the appeal and after the appeal to get that one last piece of evidence that brought him to the table ... so that we could negotiate this, Im incredibly thankful, he said. Johnson said he has read the facts of the crime agreed between prosecutors and defense lawyers as part of a plea deal that will be presented to a judge when White returns to court on June 6 to be sentenced. Steve Johnson (right) with his sisters, Terry (left), and Rebecca and his wife Rosemarie, second right, arrive at the Supreme Court in Sydney on May 2, 2022. Steve Johnson (right) with his sisters, Terry (left), and Rebecca and his wife Rosemarie, second right, arrive at the Supreme Court in Sydney on May 2, 2022. Reading the black and white of his confession, in which he states that he threw the first punch, which I imagine was the only punch and my brother must have been very close to the cliff ... makes me pretty angry, Johnson said. Story continues A coroner ruled in 2017 that Scott Johnson fell from the clifftop as a result of actual or threatened violence by unknown assailants who attacked him because they perceived him to be homosexual. The coroner also found that gangs of men roamed various Sydney locations in search of gay men to assault, resulting in the deaths of some victims. Some people were also robbed. It was the third inquest into the tragedy following pressure from the family. A coroner had initially ruled in 1989 that the openly gay man had taken his own life, while a second coroner in 2012 could not explain how he died. Steve Johnson described the police investigation since the third inquest as spectacular. But he said his brothers homicide could have been solved easily by police when he died. In fact, many of us believe that it was the police indifference to these killings and bashings of gay men back in the 80s that helped cause them. The perpetrators always knew they would not get into trouble, Johnson said. A New South Wales government inquiry began hearing evidence in November of unsolved deaths resulting from gay hate crimes over four decades in Australias most populous state, where police were notoriously indifferent to such violence. Violence against gay men in Sydney was particularly prevalent from the mid-1980s until the early 1990s due to increased hostility and fear stemming from the AIDS epidemic, an HIV support group, ACON, told the inquiry. Steve Johnson, a wealthy entrepreneur, offered a 1 million Australian dollar ($704,000) reward in 2020 for information about his brothers death, matching a reward already offered by police. Steve Johnson hugs his wife Rosemarie. Steve Johnson hugs his wife Rosemarie. White, 52, was arrested in Sydney that year and pleaded not guilty to the murder of Johnson, who was an Australian National University Ph.D. student living in the capital, Canberra, when he died. Police have suggested the reward led to the arrest, saying they expected it would be collected after Whites conviction. White took his lawyers by surprise in January last year by pleading guilty to murder during a pretrial hearing. About 20 minutes later, White signed a statement saying that he had been confused when he pleaded guilty, had not caused Johnsons death and wanted to plead not guilty. But the judge recorded the guilty plea and White was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison. In sentencing White, the judge said she did not find beyond reasonable doubt that the murder was a gay hate crime, which would have led to a longer prison term. In November, three judges of the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal ruled that White should have been allowed to reverse his guilty plea, quashing his conviction and sentence. White on Thursday pleaded not guilty to murder and guilty to manslaughter. Prosecutors had earlier agreed with Whites lawyers to accept the plea. Police Deputy Chief Inspector Peter Yeomans told reporters outside the court that the conviction vindicated the Johnson familys long fight for justice. Look, a very emotional day for everyone, especially the Johnson family, whove been through a very traumatic time over the past 34 years and today really vindicates that family, what theyve done over many, many years, Yeomans said. The Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ Hate Crimes in New South Wales will report on June 30. CANBERRA, Australia (AP) An Australian pleaded guilty on Thursday to manslaughter in the death 35 years ago of an American who fell from a Sydney clifftop that was known as a gay meeting place, with the victims family welcoming the turning point in their long campaign for justice. Scott Whites admission in the New South Wales state Supreme Court came three months after he had his conviction on charges of murdering Scott Johnson overturned by an appeals court. The family of Los Angeles-born Johnson had fought for years to overturn an initial finding that the 27-year-old mathematician had taken his own life in 1988. Johnsons Boston-based older brother, Steve Johnson, told reporters that the proceedings Thursday might be the most emotional moment yet. He watched the Sydney court hearing online from the United States. Breakthrough evidence came last October when police intercepted a prison phone call between White and a niece in which he confessed to striking his victim at the clifftop, Johnson said. In that phone call to the niece, he corroborated evidence that they (police) had previously gathered, and that brought his defense team to the table to negotiate a guilty plea, Johnson told The Associated Press. The police work that continued during the appeal and after the appeal to get that one last piece of evidence that brought him to the table ... so that we could negotiate this, Im incredibly thankful, he said. Johnson said he has read the facts of the crime agreed between prosecutors and defense lawyers as part of a plea deal that will be presented to a judge when White returns to court on June 6 to be sentenced. Reading the black and white of his confession, in which he states that he threw the first punch, which I imagine was the only punch and my brother must have been very close to the cliff ... makes me pretty angry, Johnson said. A coroner ruled in 2017 that Scott Johnson fell from the clifftop as a result of actual or threatened violence by unknown assailants who attacked him because they perceived him to be homosexual. Story continues The coroner also found that gangs of men roamed various Sydney locations in search of gay men to assault, resulting in the deaths of some victims. Some people were also robbed. It was the third inquest into the tragedy following pressure from the family. A coroner had initially ruled in 1989 that the openly gay man had taken his own life, while a second coroner in 2012 could not explain how he died. Steve Johnson described the police investigation since the third inquest as spectacular. But he said his brothers homicide could have been solved easily by police when he died. In fact, many of us believe that it was the police indifference to these killings and bashings of gay men back in the 80s that helped cause them. The perpetrators always knew they would not get into trouble, Johnson said. A New South Wales government inquiry began hearing evidence in November of unsolved deaths resulting from gay hate crimes over four decades in Australias most populous state, where police were notoriously indifferent to such violence. Violence against gay men in Sydney was particularly prevalent from the mid-1980s until the early 1990s due to increased hostility and fear stemming from the AIDS epidemic, an HIV support group, ACON, told the inquiry. Steve Johnson, a wealthy entrepreneur, offered a 1 million Australian dollar ($704,000) reward in 2020 for information about his brother's death, matching a reward already offered by police. White, 52, was arrested in Sydney that year and pleaded not guilty to the murder of Johnson, who was an Australian National University Ph.D. student living in the capital, Canberra, when he died. Police have suggested the reward led to the arrest, saying they expected it would be collected after Whites conviction. White took his lawyers by surprise in January last year by pleading guilty to murder during a pretrial hearing. About 20 minutes later, White signed a statement saying that he had been confused when he pleaded guilty, had not caused Johnsons death and wanted to plead not guilty. But the judge recorded the guilty plea and White was sentenced to 12 years and seven months in prison. In sentencing White, the judge said she did not find beyond reasonable doubt that the murder was a gay hate crime, which would have led to a longer prison term. In November, three judges of the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal ruled that White should have been allowed to reverse his guilty plea, quashing his conviction and sentence. White on Thursday pleaded not guilty to murder and guilty to manslaughter. Prosecutors had earlier agreed with Whites lawyers to accept the plea. Police Deputy Chief Inspector Peter Yeomans told reporters outside the court that the conviction vindicated the Johnson familys long fight for justice. Look, a very emotional day for everyone, especially the Johnson family, whove been through a very traumatic time over the past 34 years and today really vindicates that family, what theyve done over many, many years, Yeomans said. The Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ Hate Crimes in New South Wales will report on June 30. A central Florida television journalist and a little girl were fatally shot Wednesday afternoon near the scene of a fatal shooting from earlier in the day, authorities said. Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a news conference that theyve detained Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who they believe is responsible for both shootings in the Orlando-area neighborhood. Besides the Spectrum News 13 journalist and the 9-year-old girl, a TV crewmember and the girls mother were wounded during the second shooting. They were in critical condition at a local hospital. I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners, Mina told a room full of reporters. I work closely with all of you and know many of you and know the very difficult job that you do and also the very important job that you do for our community and for law enforcement. No one in our community not a mother, not a 9-year-old and certainly not news professionals should become the victim of gun violence in our community. Mina said they dont immediately have a motive for any of the shootings. So, the suspect is not saying much right now, Mina said. It is unclear if he knew they were news media or not. Were still trying to work all that out. Mina said the News 13 vehicle did not look like a typical news van with TV station markings. Deputies had initially responded to the Pine Hills area, just northwest of Orlando, on Wednesday morning following reports of a woman in her 20s being shot. Moses "was an acquaintance of the woman this morning, but as far as we know, had no connection to the reporters and no connection to the mother and the 9-year-old, Mina said. According to witnesses, a man approached the news vehicle later Wednesday and opened fire, hitting the two reporters. The man then walked to a nearby home and shot the mother and daughter. WFTV crews, who were also reporting on the morning shooting, tried to give medical aid to the Spectrum 13 journalists. Story continues Mina said Moses is already facing a murder charge for the initial victim, and charges are expected soon for the other four victims. Moses criminal history includes gun charges, as well as aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft offenses, the sheriff said. Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Twitter. Spectrum News 13 was not identifying the crew members who were involved in the shooting, according to a story on the TV stations website. Please, please, say a prayer tonight for our co-worker who is in critical condition. And while youre at it, please say a prayer for every victim of gun violence in this country, Spectrum 13 journalist Celeste Springer said during her live on-air report. Worldwide 40 journalists were reported killed last year, plus another two this year before Wednesday, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Only one of those was in the United States. Jeff German, who covered politics and corruption for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, was found dead outside of his home in September after being stabbed multiple times. Former Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles, who had been a frequent subject of Germans reporting, has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge. In 2015, Virginia reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were shot and killed during their live TV broadcast for CBS affiliate WDBJ7. The suspect, a former reporter for the TV station, died by suicide during the law enforcement search for him. ___ Associated Press writer Stefanie Dazio in Los Angeles contributed to this report. Nestled in a cozy storefront in East Harlem, New York, there's a bakery called Janie's Life-Changing Baked Goods. The bakery is known for its pie crust cookies, created by Janie Deegan. Really, though, the most interesting thing about the bakery is how it changed Deegan's life. Just a few short years ago, she was homeless and recovering from an addiction. "When I was getting sober, I found that my life was so out of control, but baking was... just this beautiful, meditative, very controlled, artistic outlet for me," Deegan told CBS News. "And I was 25 and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, but I just found that baking helped me reconnect with people." At first, Deegan was just baking as a hobby but her friends showed her she could do more with it. "The baked good that changed my life was for a friend and she asked me to make a cake. She wanted to pay me to make a cake for a big event she was having," Deegan said. "And I look back at pictures of that cake like, oh it was so not professional." After that experience, Janie decided to start selling her baked goods in 2015. She wanted to open a bakery, but she had gaps in her resume and admittedly, didn't know where to start. "I remember looking up the word 'entrepreneur,'" she said. "I was like, 'I really don't know what that is.'" Janie Deegan opened Janie's Life-Changing Baked Goods in New York City after baking helped her as she recovered from addiction. / Credit: CBS News "I just had this impression that you had to have money to be a business owner, you had to be a man to be a business owner, you had to have business experience to be a business owner," she said. Still, she decided to take a leap of faith or "ride the wave," as she says and opened her first bakery on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She doesn't just spread sweetness with her pie crust cookies, she helps others who may be struggling to find a job just like she once was. Janie helps out in the kitchen of her East Harlem bakery. She currently has two locations and 15 employees. / Credit: CBS News "We have an open door policy, which means that if you're ready, willing, able and enthusiastic about coming to work, we're not going to look at sort of your past situations or gaps on your resume or if you're homeless or if you've been to prison," she said. "The person you show up as in the interview is the person we're looking at." Story continues Deegan now has 15 employees across two locations and is looking to open a third. Nearly all of her employees are new to the baking business, but Janie and trained staff members teach them everything they need to know. "I really get to see people grow, they come in timid...and I get to see people flower," she said. "I think that the people who do come here really value the fact that you don't have to have all these credentials or a background of any sort to be invited and welcomed in and come work with us," she said. Through baking, Janie and her employees have gotten a second chance at life. "I wake up every day and get to be like, 'We sell joy.' I get to wake up and be at work 100 percent me. I don't have to hide my past, I don't have to have shame anymore and it is sweet. " Kherson Under Fire | Sunday on 60 Minutes Ukrainian soldier reflects on pivotal battle at Hostomel Airfield Giant Ukrainian flag painted in front of Russian embassy in London BALTIMORE (AP) Using $2 million in federal grant funding, Baltimore officials will start developing a plan to reconnect Black neighborhoods by potentially demolishing a stretch of thoroughfare that displaced hundreds of families amid a failed highway construction project decades ago. The citys so-called Highway to Nowhere was designed to connect the downtown business district to interstates surrounding Baltimore, and officials used eminent domain to demolish nearly 1,000 homes in the 1960s and 70s, cutting a wide swath through predominantly middle class neighborhoods in majority-Black west Baltimore. But construction of the thoroughfare was never finished partly because residents in whiter, more affluent communities successfully campaigned against it and the endeavor became largely pointless. The project has received renewed attention in recent years as Baltimore leaders seek to address longstanding sources of inequity that have helped shape the city, which remains heavily segregated along racial and economic lines. I remember the once vibrant and connected communities that existed before the Highway to Nowhere, U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, a Baltimore Democrat, said in a statement announcing the grant award earlier this week. Its never too late to undo the wrongs of the past if we have a clear and renewed vision for the future. The money will allow city transportation officials to create a plan for redeveloping the site, which could include demolishing the 1.4-mile stretch of expressway and replacing it with parkland or other public space. In addition to transforming the area, the plan will focus on strengthening the surrounding community through improved access to jobs and quality housing, officials wrote in a 2022 grant application. They said its time for catalytic investment in impacted communities, calling the expressway both a physical and symbolic barrier to progress. The funding comes as part of a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill that Congress passed in November 2021. The package included a grant program aimed at revitalizing areas harmed by highway construction, an issue members of Marylands congressional delegation had been working on for years with Baltimores failed highway project in mind. Story continues With the incoming grant money, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said the city can finally begin to heal. For over 50 years, this callous and discriminatory structure has caused generational damage to our community displacing 1,500 residents, shuttering businesses and destroying homes and this is a substantial step in starting that healing process, Scott said in a statement Thursday. At a public listening session last week, west Baltimore residents also demanded tangible improvements to help rebuild nearby communities suffering from deepening cycles of poverty, disinvestment, blight and crime. In Poppleton, one of the affected neighborhoods, residents are currently fighting an ongoing urban renewal project they often compare to the failed expressway. They filed a complaint last week asking federal officials to investigate whether Baltimores redevelopment policies are perpetuating racial segregation and violating fair housing laws by disproportionately displacing Black and low-income residents, often using eminent domain to seize private property for public use. (Bloomberg) -- Sam Bankman-Fried, one of the largest donors in the 2022 election cycle, used money from FTX customer funds to illegally contribute to political campaigns and directed other company executives to give on his behalf, according to a new indictment. Most Read from Bloomberg The campaign cash from Bankman-Fried and other top FTX executives has the potential to be the biggest infusion of illegal money into US politics in decades. The FTX founder used misappropriated funds to finance political campaigns which involved flooding the political system with tens of millions of dollars in illegal contributions to both Democrats and Republicans made in the names of others in order to obscure the true source of the money and evade federal election law, according to the charges, which include four new criminal counts, unsealed Thursday. Read More: Bankman-Fried Charged With 4 New Counts in FTX Criminal Case The allegations in the revised indictment are the latest legal trouble for Bankman-Fried, 30, who was criminally charged after his crypto empire imploded last year. The claims are also problematic and potentially damaging to the reputations of dozens of candidates and political committees that received tens of millions of dollars from Bankman-Fried and other FTX executives. FTX user accounts have been frozen for months, leaving many customers wondering if they will ever be able to recoup the money in the now-bankrupt crypto exchange. A spokesman for Bankman-Fried declined to comment. Read the revised indictment here. Straw Donations The money Bankman-Fried, also known as SBF, used for political donations originated from bank accounts tied to his hedge fund Alameda Research and included FTX customer deposits, according to the charges. He also directed two FTX straw donors to give to candidates and groups to avoid donating in his own name, the document said. Story continues The indictment lists two co-conspirators, but doesnt disclose their identities. Two executives who were big political donors at FTX were former engineering director Nishad Singh and former FTX Digital Markets co-CEO Ryan Salame. Singh has made $9.3 million in political donations since 2020 according to Federal Election Commission records, all to Democrats. Salame gave $24 million, with almost all of it supporting Republicans. The indictment gives some hints as to the identities of the unnamed co-conspirators. In one instance, SBF directed an unnamed individual to give a $107,000 donation to the New York State Democratic Committee. Singh was the only donor to give that amount to that group last election cycle. The charges also outline that Bankman-Fried and his advisers agreed that someone should give at least $1 million to a super-PAC that appeared to be aligned with pro-LGBTQ issues. The unnamed executive who donated to Democrats was tapped to make the donation. An unnamed political adviser to Bankman-Fried told the executive he would be giving to a lot of woke [expletive] for transactional purposes, the indictment says. Singh donated $1.1 million to LGBTQ Victory Fund Federal PAC in July 2022, according to Federal Election Commission filings. The other co-conspirator gave to Republicans, according to the filing. Competitive Races The charges could pull in a wide swath of Democrats and Republicans, super-PACS and other fundraising groups into complicated legal proceedings and force them to pay back money plus interest just as they are seeking to raise funds for the 2024 presidential election cycle. The straw donations would have had Bankman-Fried playing both sides in some of the most competitive 2022 midterm races. In Senate races, FTX executives supported both Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto and Republican Adam Laxalt in Nevada, Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, and both Tim Ryan and JD Vance in Ohio. Among the candidates Salame supported was George Santos a then little-known Long Island Republican who has since become a household name for lying about key parts of his background. Salame, who was romantically involved with Republican congressional candidate Michelle Bond, also helped introduce donors to Santos including his parents and other FTX executives. The indictment alleges that donations were paid for with wire transfers from Alameda and labeled as loans or expenses. Unlike other loans made by Alameda, there was no documentation for the loans, including their purpose, interest rate or repayment terms. A separate spreadsheet maintained by Alameda listed over $100 million in political contributions, though FEC records show the company made no donations in the 2022 election cycle. Past US bankruptcy court filings showed that Bankman-Fried, Singh and Salame received large loans from Alameda $1 billion, $543 million, and $55 million, respectively. Beginning around March 2022, Bankman-Fried and others began coordinating political contributions made using FTX and Alameda funds through an encrypted, auto-deleting Signal chat called Donation Processing, the indictment said. Bankman-Fried was charged in December with eight criminal counts, including conspiracy and wire fraud, for allegedly misusing billions of dollars in customers funds before the spectacular collapse of his cryptocurrency empire. The pressure on Bankman-Fried has mounted as members of his former inner circle flip against him. Two, Caroline Ellison and Gary Wang, have pleaded guilty to fraud charges and are cooperating with US authorities. A third, Singh, is also expected to plead guilty and could offer prosecutors crucial insight into the alleged campaign finance violations. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. The front of the Buncombe County Courthouse on Jan. 31, 2023. ASHEVILLE - A local man pleaded guilty Feb. 20 in Buncombe County Superior Court to voluntary manslaughter for a stabbing death, according to Buncombe County District Attorney Todd Williams office. The Buncombe County Sheriffs Office charged Charles David Jackson, 40, of Barnardsville, with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of 37-year-old Jason Hartzell in April 2020, the Citizen Times previously reported. Jackson will be imprisoned 57-81 months, Williams office said in a tweet. Victim Jason Hartzell was stabbed and killed while engaging in mutual combat with Jackson following a months long dispute, the tweet said. Court news:New County Clerk named; says Buncombe could move to electronic court filings in 2023 In Henderson County:'Why didn't Chris Hensley make national news?' Fletcher death similar to Tyre Nichols' The twos dispute was a story as old as Chaucer, Jacksons defense attorney, Sean Devereux, told the Citizen Times. Hartzell and Jackson, who were neighbors in a small Barnardsville trailer park, were arguing over a woman, Devereux said. I think it was a fair resolution, the attorney said of the plea. Ryan Oehrli covers public safety, breaking news, courts and other beats for the Citizen Times. Comments? Questions? Tips? Send them to coehrli@citizentimes.com or 252-944-6816. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times. This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Barnardsville man pleads guilty to voluntary manslaughter in stabbing Theres something special about the unique bond hunters have with their dogs. When it comes to rabbit hunting, theres nothing better than hearing an excited beagle baying on a fresh trail. Travis Lau takes a break from rabbit hunting Feb. 20 with his dogs Betty and Rose at his side. His third beagle, Eddie, wandered off camera. Lau enjoys the companship and hunting memories his beagles have made over the years. In my younger years, I was fortunate to have two different beagles that would circle rabbits and pheasants for me. But its been more than a decade since I owned one of these gentle hounds. On Monday, those memories quickly came back as I spent the day with Travis Lau and his three beagles in Fulton County. Lau of Hanover is the Pennsylvania Game Commissions communications director and an avid rabbit hunter. With the small game season coming to a close Feb. 27, he was willing to work with me on a story about this fun pastime. We met on State Game Lands No. 53 next to Meadow Grounds Lake, a public property neither of us hunted before. His beagles, Rose, Betty and Eddie, were eager to get started as soon as they hopped off the truck. Rose, a beagle, takes a break from scent trailing rabbits Feb. 20 in Fulton County. Their noses scanned the dry leaf-covered ground and brush piles for the scent of elusive wild cottontails. As soon as they found a hot trail, they would sound off to let the others know they found one. The melodic harmony of beagles slowly working a scent is music to the ears of anyone who enjoys canines. Listen to them in the video in this story, as Lau talked. They were in their glory. Throughout the day they would crawl over and under brush piles reminiscent of the courses for athletes on the American Ninja Warrior television show. They dont give up even after walking 8 to 13 miles. Travis Lau walks along a path on State Game Lands 53 Feb. 20 in Fulton County while rabbit hunting with his three beagles, including Rose here at his feet. The dogs work with the hunters. The rabbits bolt out from the dense brush and can stay 20 to 50 vards or more ahead of the slow moving hounds that work from scent, not the sight of the rabbits. With the rabbits mostly staying in thick cover, it can be difficult for a hunter to get a shot. One scent the dogs trailed for close to an hour as the bunny circled around us several times. Lau was fortunate that the rabbit tried to sneak by him too close and he was able to make a clean shot with his .410 gauge pistol shotgun. Story continues Those beagle chases are quite exciting, especially when they go for a while he said. (The rabbit) had his bags of tricks out there, he reversed directions a couple of times, he was running out about 200 yards and cutting back through. He prefers the short firearm over a traditional shotgun as its lightweight and he can keep safely stored in a holster until its needed. He walks with a long stick as he works brush piles to find rabbits and having his short gun in a holster keeps his hands free. Its been a good season for Lau and his four-legged posse. The rabbit was his 30th of the year, and he still has through Monday to add to his tally. Over the past nine years, he said this season was one of the better ones for finding small game. One year he bagged 37. Lau has GPS collars on each of his dogs that help him monitor their locations at all times. If a dog strays too far, he can see on his screen where it is and give commands the dog understands to return toward him. Travis Lau watches his beagles work around a brush pile Feb. 20 on State Game Lands 53 in Fulton County. Rabbit hunting I think anymore is probably my favorite. I was brought up a deer hunter, I got my first bow when I was 13 and was a bowhunter all those years. I still love to hunt deer and big game in general. The difference between big game and small game, he said, is the dogs. They are the best hunting partners I have. Late season rabbit hunting is also a fun way to exercise in winter. Just the excitement with it, it is so much fun. Its a good way to get out and relax if you dont mind being shredded to pieces by briars, Lau said with a smile. I agree. Rabbit hunting is a great way to connect with nature and bond with your dogs while getting the exercise we all need this time of year. Good luck hunting. Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on this website's homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors ,Twitter @whipkeyoutdoors and Instagram at whipkeyoutdoors. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Hunting rabbits with beagles in Pennsylvania. Small game hunting China has reportedly clamped down on access to ChatGPT. SOPA/Getty Images China has reportedly clamped down on access to ChatGPT by its citizens, Nikkei Asia reported. The bot is not officially available in China but some have found ways to use it. Regulators have instructed major Chinese tech firms to cut off such access, per Nikkei Asia. Beijing has started to clamp down on access to ChatGPT in China, according to reports. OpenAI's chatbot is not officially available in China, but some people have reportedly found ways to access it via VPNs or "mini programs" released by third-party developers. Beijing uses its "Great Firewall" to block many foreign websites and applications, including the full version of Google Search. According to the Japanese publication Nikkei Asia, Chinese regulators have told major Chinese tech firms, including Tencent, WeChat's parent company, to cut access to programs that provide access to the bot. Tech companies in China that want to develop their own AI chatbots must also report to regulators before any launch, the outlet reported citing unnamed sources. The move comes amid growing alarm in China about some of ChatGPT's uncensored responses to users' questions. Earlier this week, China Daily, a state-controlled media outlet, released a video called "How the US uses AI to spread disinformation," according to Forbes. In the video, the presenter calls ChatGPT's answers about Xinjiang that include the reports of human rights abuse against the region's Uyghur Muslims, a "perfectly typed answer in line with US government talking points." China has repeatedly rejected any allegations of human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims. OpenAI and Tencent did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside normal working hours. Read the original article on Business Insider Ben Stein, seen in 2007, has sparked outrage on Twitter. (Bebeto Matthews / Associated Press) Ferris Buellers economics teacher is getting slammed on social media for his rant about Americas corporate culture ... and pancake syrup. On Monday night, Ben Stein, the "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" actor known for his monotone voice, posted a bizarre video to his Truth Social account in which he displayed a bottle of Aunt Jemima syrup while blaming the "inherent racism of America's corporate culture" for making the syrup less suited to his preferences. "I am about to do something which I sometimes do, which is to make breakfast for dinner," he opened the video. "Aunt Jemima, yummy, pancake syrup. Now this used to show a large African American woman chef, but because of the inherent racism of America's corporate culture, they decided to make it a white person," he said glancing at the bottle and then realizing there's actually no white person on the label. "Or maybe no person at all. "But I preferred it when it was a Black person showing their incredible skill at making pancakes," Stein, 78, added. In 2021 PepsiCo Inc. rebranded its Aunt Jemima pancake-and-syrup line as Pearl Milling Company in an effort to eliminate its ties to racist tropes. Stein's video appears to have been a promo for "The World According to Ben Stein" podcast episode that aired Tuesday. In the episode's description, Stein said he sat down with co-host Judah Friedman and Trump EPA chief of staff Mandy Gunasekara "to discuss the effects of woke corporate culture in society and the ongoing war against Aunt Jemimah [sic] as well [sic] other corporate icons." "Is erasure the path for progress?" the description reads. "We dont think so either. Plus we discuss the consequences of weak leadership from the White House and the destabilizing effects that is having on our security interests both here and abroad." Twitter did its thing and now Stein is being slammed for his syrup complaint. Harvard Kennedy School professor Cornell William Brooks tweeted, "Dont pancakes taste as good without stereotypes? Uncle Ben why do you need Aunt Jemima? PS Your name is Ben Stein, hers was Mrs. Nancy Green. Respect." Story continues "Is anyone surprised that Ben Stein is a racist. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?" tweeted @BobHille. Actor and stuntman D. Russo chimed in, writing, "'I like MY pancake syrup served out of a bottle that is a LITERAL RACIST TROPE.'-Ben Stein." "Aunt Jemima is based on the common 'Mammy' archetype, a plump black woman wearing a headscarf who is a devoted and submissive servant. Her skin is dark and dewy, with a pearly white smile, but please, Ben go on about equality," tweeted @travis_rexrode. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A recent bombshell story of significant concern is a leaked report from Canadas Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) documenting how Chinese government officials and their agents interfered in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian federal elections. A quote from the National Post summarizes the concern. According to CSIS documents obtained by the Globe and Mail, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) operatives orchestrated cash donations to political campaigns, had business owners hire volunteers for specific election campaigns and boasted that its easy to influence Chinese immigrants to agree with the Peoples Republic of China's (PRC) stance, What was the goal of those efforts? To install a minority Liberal government. According to the documents, support for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party of Canada was due to the Chinese government viewing the Liberals as more pro-China in contrast to what a potential Conservative government would have been. The second goal was a minority Parliament because, it was said Beijing likes it when the parties in Parliament are fighting with each other, whereas if there is a majority, the party in power can easily implement policies that do not favour the PRC. Was this clandestine campaign successful in interfering in our Canadian democratic process? Chinas former Consul General stationed in Vancouver stated she helped defeat two Conservative candidates in 2021. The Conservative Party of Canada believes that number is significantly higher and may have contributed to it losing eight or nine electoral districts. What is the Canadian government doing about this? So far, basically nothing, aside from attempting to downplay the situation and express concern around the leaking of the documents. I am not suggesting that Chinese government agents stole the election, as I believe Canadian voters ultimately decided the outcome of the last election. However, I am deeply concerned about reports of a foreign government manipulating our democratic process. If a single electoral district can be manipulated in an election due to foreign interference, we should all be concerned and the government of the day has a responsibility to Canadians to ensure the proper authorities, such as the Commissioner of Elections (who investigates violations) and the RCMP have the evidence they need to prosecute any violations. As some may have diplomatic immunity, our government should expel any suspects at the very least. How else can we prevent future violations? The leader of the official Opposition, (the Conservative Partys) Pierre Poilievre, supports following the lead of Australia and the United States in creating a foreign agent registry. That would be similar to the domestic lobbyist registry Canada uses but would apply to individuals in Canada who foreign governments pay to influence our political processes. For whatever reason, Trudeau has refused to substantially answer questions from journalists and the opposition on this matter and whether he will immediately implement such a registry here in Canada. Two questions this week: Are you concerned about potential foreign influence in our elections? Do you support creating a foreign agent registry? I can be reached at [email protected] or call toll-free 1-800-665-8711. Dan Albas is the Conservative MP for Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola. This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. AP Photo/Josh Reynolds Sen. Bernie Sanders is the new head of a key Senate panel on labor issues. He is pushing a four-day workweek, worker-owned businesses, and taxing robots that replace workers. It's part of his plan to improve worker satisfaction and empowerment after the "great resignation." The new chairman of a key Senate committee on labor wants to make work less laborious. Sen. Bernie Sanders is pushing for a four-day workweek, worker-owned businesses, and taxing robots that replace workers. It's part of his plan to improve worker satisfaction and empowerment after the frustrations that he believes led to the "great resignation," starting in 2021. "If you're working 40 hours a week now and you have technology that makes you more productive maybe you should be working 30 hours a week and receive the same pay," the self-described democratic socialist told me during a phone interview on Tuesday. Rallying for workers' rights and railing against billionaires have been a part of Sanders' agenda through two presidential campaigns and more than 40 years in public life. Now he's pitching his alternative workplace ideas from his new platform as Senate Health, Education, and Labor Committee chairman and as the author of a new book, "It's OK To Be Angry About Capitalism," described as a "progressive takedown of the uber-capitalist status quo." Sanders told Insider he plans to hold at least one hearing on the future of work, exploring how workers can benefit from a revolution in technology. To coordinate research, investments, and policy decisions, he thinks there should be a new cabinet-level agency focusing on the future of work. He wants to hold President Joe Biden accountable on labor issues. He said the president has "made it very clear that he is pro-union" but he needs to be "more aggressive in taking on union busting activity that we are seeing." And he wants to stick it to CEOs like Moderna's Stephane Bancel, who is set to testify, and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, who Sanders says hasn't complied with federal labor laws. Sanders hasn't given up "not at all" on bringing Schultz before the committee, even though he declined an invitation to testify. Story continues "It is an outrage that you have a billionaire like Howard Schultz engaging in vicious anti-union activity and I think he has got to explain his illegal behavior to the Senate," Sanders told me. "I am going to do everything that I can to make that happen." Sanders, 81, hasn't said whether he'll run for reelection to the Senate in 2024. He has ruled out challenging Biden again if he announces he's running for reelection. He's also apparently ruled out achieving his dream of fundamentally transforming America's healthcare system. "Am I gonna accomplish Medicare for All? No, I will not," he told New York Magazine. But he hasn't given up on lowering the cost of prescription drugs or ensuring technology is used to benefit workers rather than just corporations issues that fall within his jurisdiction as chairman. Sanders says he learned about worker empowerment in 1963 while picking grapefruit on an Israeli kibbutz. Many of the workers on that small commune were socialist, and they owned their production and elected their bosses. "If you are making decisions and benefiting from those decisions, you have a very different attitude toward work than if you're simply a cog in a machine and you get paid and nobody gives a damn about your point of view," he said. During our phone conversation, Sanders, indeed, sounded very angry at uber capitalism. He surprised me with a quick chuckle when I invited him to discuss this over a game of Monopoly, offering to even let him play the hat token. "Alright, not in the immediate future," he said. Note to his communications director: I did not hear him say, "No." His book at times seems to shout at the reader, starting with an introduction that describes the country's "uber-capitalist economic system" in recent years as "propelled by uncontrollable greed and contempt for human decency" and "not merely unjust" but "grossly immoral." Sanders said he wrote the book to focus on issues rarely discussed in corporate media. He's convinced that "millions of people" don't like their jobs and work only for a paycheck or health insurance. He also worries about the impact of robotics and artificial intelligence on the workforce in the future, potentially replacing more jobs than they create. Among the ideas he's touting is a move toward the type of worker-owned businesses that he says have led to high worker satisfaction in Vermont. He also wants to promote workers sitting on the boards of directors of large corporations. He points to results of a recent pilot program, testing a four-day workweek in the United Kingdom, that showed workers felt better, resignations dropped and revenues increased, compared to previous years. Most companies decided to keep the program. "If you are producing 50 percent more, you should benefit from that," he said. "You should be able to work reduced hours." "As technology increases worker productivity, we want to look at a shorter workweek," he said. Read the original article on Business Insider The share price of Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE:BBY) has recovered somewhat since last October, but is still low enough to offer a 4.27% dividend yield. Additionally, it remains an undervalued stock. As the following price chart shows, shareholders of the electronics retailer have been on quite a ride since early 2020. Best Buy Now Offering a Dividend Over 4% Because of its continued earnings growth, I expect the companys yield to be sustainable in the short and long term. About Best Buy The companys blue and yellow signs will be familiar to anyone who travels to shopping malls in North America. It is best known as a computer and mobile phone seller, but also carries consumer electronics, appliances and gaming hardware, software and even drones. There is also a services operation that provides consulting, installation, repairs and more. It even has a section called Other that sells such items as baby products, food and beverages and outdoor living products. At the end of fiscal third-quarter 2023 (fiscal years wind up at the end of January), it had 1,139 stores in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Based in Richfield, Minnesota, Best Buy has a market cap of $19.24 billion and trailing 12-month sales of $47.59 billion. Competition Best Buy reported in its 10-K filing for fiscal 2022 that its competitors are mainly multi-channel retailers, e-commerce businesses and technology service providers. It believes it has competitive advantages, starting with efficient operations and economies of scale. In addition, it said: We believe our dedicated and knowledgeable people, our integrated online, retail and in-home assets, our broad and curated product assortment, our strong vendor partnerships, our service and support offerings designed to solve real customer needs, our unique ability to showcase technology in distinct store formats and our supply chain are important ways in which we maintain our competitive advantage. Story continues Both the company and the S&P Retailing Group outperform the S&P 500: Best Buy Now Offering a Dividend Over 4% Its margins are about average for the retail- cyclical industry. Financial strength Best Buy carries some debt, but with an interest coverage ratio of 71.28, we know it is relatively insignificant, at least in the context of operating income. Backing that up is an Altman Z-Score of 4.22, which is well into the safe zone and indicates it is in good standing. It is also a value creator, which we see in the weighted average cost of capital versus return on invested capital chart: Best Buy Now Offering a Dividend Over 4% Profitability The retailer's margins are unexceptional, with gross, operating and net margins roughly in line with the industry. However, it has an exceptional return on equity of 48.59%. It has also been profitable for nine of the past 10 years. Growth As noted earlier, the company reported that one of its competitive advantages is its efficient operations. That is backstopped by a look at its growth rates: Three-year revenue growth rate: 10.9% Three-year Ebitda growth rate: 17.4% Three-year earnings per share without non-recurring items growth rate: 21.3% The company has been able to turn revenue growth into even higher profit growth, the mark of an effective and efficient operation. Add to that an impressive free cash flow growth rate, with an average of 11.19% per year over the past 10 years and a three-year average of 21.3%. Dividends and share buybacks At the close of trading on Feb. 22, Best Buy was offering a dividend of 4.27%: Best Buy Now Offering a Dividend Over 4% The yield is relatively high, more than twice the S&P 500 average of 1.87%, partly because the price slumped so far in recent months. But it is also because the company has consistently and significantly increased the dividend payout, at an average of 19.13% per year over the past five years. Even so, the dividend payout ratio is only 0.50, so it has room for more increases. In addition, there have been aggressive share repurchases. Over the past decade, the number of shares outstanding has dropped by an average of 3.98% per year and by 5.02% per year over the past five years. Shareholders have been well rewarded. Investors who have held the stock for the past 10 years have earned an annualized return of 17.18%. However, those who have owned for only the past five years will have earned just 3.12% on average. Valuation GuruFocus gives Best Buy a full 10 out of 10 ranking for valuation. Best Buy Now Offering a Dividend Over 4% That is based on the price-to-GF Value ratio, which sees the share price, $83.02 at the close on Feb.22, divided by the GF Value estimate of its intrinsic value of $113.33. Best Buy Now Offering a Dividend Over 4% That makes the stock modestly undervalued and boasting a 36.52% margin of safety. Its price-earnings ratio is 12.30, which is well below the industry median of 15.98. And its PEG ratio comes in at 0.85, which is slightly less than the fair value mark of 1. Because Best Buy has a predictability ranking of only one out of five stars, we ignore the discounted cash flow valuations. Gurus At the end of 2022, 13F filings show seven gurus had ownership stakes. The T Rowe Price Equity Income Fund (Trades, Portfolio) had 940,000 shares, representing 0.42% of Best Buys shares outstanding and 0.45% of the funds assets under management. Jeremy Grantham (Trades, Portfolio) of GMO LLC had 496,088 shares, while Jim Simons (Trades, Portfolio)' Renaissance Technologies had 112,800 shares. Institutional investors are heavily invested; they own 89.57% of shares outstanding and insiders own 2.3%. Among the insiders, CEO Corie Barry has the largest stake with 316,631 shares as of July 11, 2022. Investors should be aware that 13F filings do not give a complete picture of a firms holdings as the reports only include its positions in U.S. stocks and American depository receipts, but they can still provide valuable information. Further, the reports only reflect trades and holdings as of the most-recent portfolio filing date, which may or may not be held by the reporting firm today or even when this article was published. Conclusion Thanks to a combination of rising dividend payments and a struggling share price, Best Buy has a dividend yield of more than 4%. And it should be sustainable because it has the earnings and free cash flow power to keep those increases coming. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images Flu showed up early this year and hit kids hard. Flu shots worked better than usual, cutting people's risk of a bad case in half. Experts say this year's flu shot was well-matched to the circulating viruses. What a shot. The 2022-2023 flu shot did a far better-than-usual job at keeping people healthy, alive, and out of the hospital, according to new data released from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday. According to studies conducted at several hospitals across the state of Wisconsin, this year's flu shot cut people's risk of needing to go see a doctor roughly in half. For kids, the shot performed even better, reducing the odds of a symptomatic flu case by 71%, even at home. "I think we really can take those and say, 'This is a good indication that the vaccines were working against the viruses that circulated there, and all over the US,'" Brendan Flannery, the CDC's lead investigator for flu vaccine effectiveness, told Insider. The flu shot wasn't just a blockbuster in the Midwest, either. Data the CDC shared during a vaccine meeting on Wednesday showed flu shots performing well across hundreds of medical centers nationwide. "The breadth of protection across hospitalizations and doctor's visits is the highest that we've seen in a decade," Flannery said. Older adults, whose immune systems are generally weaker and more susceptible to a bad case of the flu, were 35% less likely to have a flu-related hospitalization than people their age who didn't get vaccinated. Adults under 65 were 51% less likely to have a flu-related hospitalization than their unvaccinated peers. The last time that an annual jab performed this well against hospital visits was in 2012, when flu shot effectiveness was estimated at 52%. "The vaccine this year protected very, very well against what was out there," Flannery said. The flu shot was even better at protecting kids during a bad pediatric flu season Kids who were vaccinated were 68% less likely than their peers to be hospitalized, and 42% less likely to visit an ER with the flu making this year's shot a vital piece of protection for young people weathering a flu season that had a lot of early, severe illness among children, and many deaths. Story continues So far, 111 children have died from the flu this year. Almost all of them were unvaccinated. CDC More than 110 children died from the flu this year, making this the deadliest flu season kids have experienced since 2019-2020. Almost all of those children were unvaccinated. Studies suggest flu vaccines cut the risk a child may catch a life-threatening case of the flu by 75%. Early treatment with antiviral drugs like oseltamivir (Tamiflu) can make the virus less life-threatening too. A big part of the reason why flu shots performed better than average this year is because the specific subtypes of viruses the shot was designed to fight against were the same viruses that people actually caught, which isn't always the case. Last year, the flu vaccine was only about 16% effective at keeping people out of doctor's offices. Even in years when the flu shot isn't providing great protection, it's still worth getting, because it can help make a case of the flu milder if you do get it. "You can't go backwards and say, 'I wish I had been vaccinated,'" Flannery said. "The clear evidence over time is that there's benefit almost every year that we can demonstrate. And some years it's even more than others, like this year." Though the worst of this flu season appears to be behind us, it isn't too late to roll up your sleeve if you haven't gotten a flu shot yet. Flu season can last into May or even June, so there is still plenty of time for the virus to spread. Read the original article on Insider President Biden on Wednesday said theres no evidence Russia is changing its nuclear posture despite Moscows move to suspend its major nuclear arms treaty with the U.S. In an interview with ABC News anchor David Muir, Biden called the suspension of the New START nuclear arms treaty a big mistake but said theres no indication Russia is moving to use intercontinental ballistic missiles or other nuclear weapons. Its a big mistake to do that. Not very responsible. And but I dont read into that that hes thinking of using nuclear weapons or anything like that, Biden said. I think were less safe when we walk away from arms control agreements that are very much in both parties interests and the worlds interest. But Ive not seen anything, weve not seen anything that where theres a change in his posture and what theyre doing, the president continued. The idea that somehow this means theyre thinking of using nuclear weapons intercontinental ballistic missiles, theres no evidence of that. The president also said that hes confident well be able to work it out. Biden was in Poland on Wednesday morning following a surprise trip to Ukraine, just days ahead of the one-year mark since the start of Russias invasion. The president gave remarks from both Kyiv and Warsaw underscoring U.S. support for the embattled Ukraine. Biden spoke outside the Polish Presidential Palace in Warsaw on Tuesday, the same day Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a speech announcing the suspension of the nuclear treaty. Putin has sparked international concern about the potential use of nuclear weapons throughout the tense conflict. Worries also loom over the possibility of an accident occurring at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine as the war continues. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. By Andrea Shalal, Valerie Volcovici and David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden nominated former Mastercard Inc CEO Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank, betting the India-born executive's ties to the private sector and emerging markets will jump-start the 77-year-old institution's overhaul to better address climate change. Biden's nomination on Thursday of Banga, 63, now a U.S. citizen, all but assures he will assume a job that oversees billions of dollars of funding, as it races to help developing countries address climate change. The World Bank (WB) on Wednesday said it expects to select a new president by early May to replace David Malpass, who announced his resignation last week after months of controversy sparked by his initial refusal to say if he accepted the scientific consensus on climate change, and pressure by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen for him to adopt "bolder" reforms. "I think the speed of the nomination, less than 48 hours after the WB board launched the process, reflects a desire to discourage any challengers and wrap it up quickly," said Scott Morris, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development and a former U.S. Treasury official. Biden noted Banga's decades of experience building global companies and public-private partnerships to fund responses to climate change and migration and said he had a proven track record working with global leaders. "Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history," Biden said in a statement, hailing the business executive's Indian roots and knowledge of the challenges facing developing countries and ability to mobilize private capital to tackle big problems. Banga's work in India and other emerging markets, his "obsession" with expanding financial inclusion, and his deep knowledge of new technologies could help bridge the divide between rich countries and emerging markets, said Luis Alberto Moreno, who worked closely with Banga while serving as president of the Inter-American Development Bank. Story continues "He can really be a force for change," Moreno said, noting that Banga enjoyed the trust of financial markets. India was expected to support Banga's candidacy, according to Krishnamurthy Subramanian, the former top economic adviser to the Indian government who now serves as India's executive director at the International Monetary Fund. "It's an elegant solution." DIVERSITY The bank has historically been headed by someone from the United States, its largest shareholder, while a European heads the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but developing countries and emerging markets have pushed to widen those choices. Banga's nomination is the first to be made public, but the bank will accept nominations from other member countries through March 29. Germany, another major shareholder, this week said the job should go to a woman since the bank has never been headed by a woman. A senior U.S. administration official said they did not know if other countries would nominate candidates for the post. Asked about Washington's decision not to nominate a woman, the official said Banga had "a personal conviction and excellent track record promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the work that he does" and would bring that view to the bank. But Jeff Hauser, who heads the progressive Revolving Door Project, demanded Biden retract the nomination of a top official from a "rapacious international private equity firm" who had previously worked only in private sector firms. "Neither private equity, nor MasterCard, nor Citigroup, nor PepsiCo, nor Nestle, nor Dow promote shared prosperity. They all do vastly more to exacerbate inequality than to fight it," he said in a statement. Oxfam International said the next bank president should be chosen through a transparent global process. "The World Bank is not a U.S. bank, a commercial bank, or a private equity firm. For a job of this stature, we need more than a tap on the shoulder from President Biden." Banga is vice chair of General Atlantic, a U.S. private equity firm that administration officials said has invested over $800 million in EV charging solutions, solar power and sustainable farming. He retired in December 2021 after 12 years at the helm of Mastercard, where administration officials noted that he helped 500 million unbanked people join the digital economy, averted layoffs of the bank's 19,000 employees during the COVID-19 pandemic, and led work on climate, gender and sustainable agriculture. Vice President Kamala Harris said Banga brought "great insight, energy and persistence" to his role as co-chair of the Partnership for Central America, which has mobilized $4.2 billion in public, private and nonprofit funds to advance economic opportunity in northern Central America. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal in WashingtonAdditional reporting by David Lawder in Bengaluru and Valerie Volcovici in Washington;Editing by Dan Burns, Nick Zieminski and Matthew Lewis) The Biden administration unveiled new details Thursday of how it will seek to get the most bang for the billions it has at its disposal to spur the semiconductor sector in the U.S. The centerpiece of the plans, which Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo laid out during a speech, is the creation of at least two semiconductor manufacturing and research hubs in the U.S. These sitesshe hopeswill create new U.S. manufacturing and research capabilities and supply chains that will generate momentum for the sector even after the government money runs out. "I want to talk about the vision," Raimondo began her speech, comparing the effort to major moments in U.S. history. "The CHIPS and Science Act presents us with an opportunity to make investments that are similarly consequential for our nations future. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo speaks about semiconductors at the White House in September. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque) Raimondo spoke at Georgetown University as she moved on to the next phase of the heady task of handing out about $50 billion in government funds to spur semiconductor manufacturing and research in the years ahead. The money was approved in 2022 when President Biden signed the CHIPs and Science Act into law. The speech comes after months of intense lobbying from the semiconductor sector. Companies like Intel (INTC); Micron (MU), IBM (IBM) and even the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) have scored visits from President Biden to tout plans for new U.S. plants in the works and they appear well positioned to take large pieces of the coming windfall. Meanwhile, Raimondo and other officials promise that the funds will be spread across the industry among a range of companies of all sizes. "Everyone is going to want to know, how much money is Intel getting, how much money is Samsung getting," she said during her remarks, promising answers in the weeks ahead. The Commerce Secretary focused her remarks instead on Americas national security imperatives and what the semiconductor fabrication plants and research facilities will look like. Story continues Intel's Vice President of U.S. Government Relations Allen Thompson praised the rollout and this week's focus on building semiconductor ecosystems in a statement to Yahoo Finance calling the law "the most significant competition policy in our generation." He also noted added that his company has already announced $43.5 billion of investments in their U.S. sites since the law's passage. The overall ambition is for the U.S. to supplant places like Taiwan, South Korea, and China to become the premier destination in the world for the sector, Raimondo said. She added during a briefing with reporters that every chip company will need to be in the United States of America long after the subsidy runs out because they will have to and want to be here because we will have built that ecosystem. 'That's a vulnerability that's unsustainable' The Biden administrations challenge: reverse what expert call a downward spiral for the industry in the U.S. in recent decades. American semiconductor manufacturing has fallen from nearly 40% in 1990 to only 12% in recent years, according to a recent report from the Semiconductor Industry Association. The situation is even worse with the worlds most advanced semiconductors, 100% of which were manufactured overseas in 2019. But the recent the announcements from companies like Intel for new U.S. plants could grow U.S. manufacturing in the years ahead. Raimondo noted that, at the moment, the U.S. relies on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company for 92% of our advanced chips. "That's a vulnerability that's unsustainable," she said. President Joe Biden signs into law the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 in August. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images) Raimondo also reached out to semiconductor companies focused on chip design like Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Qualcomm (QCOM) and Nvidia (NVDA) who had been worried about being left out of the government windfall as the bill was being negotiated. Our success will be short-lived" if we focus only on manufacturing Raimondo said Thursday, adding that R&D is what will make it a longer term success. "It's one thing to get companies here, we need them to stay here," she said. In a statement to Yahoo Finance, Dario Gil, a senior vice president at IBM, congratulated the administration on the unveiling and added "as a global leader in semiconductor research and development, IBM stands ready to work with our academic and manufacturing partners to implement new technologies and rapidly scale industrial innovation." The new law has $39 billion earmarked for semiconductor manufacturers with an additional $11 billion to go to companies as well as universities and others for chip research and design purposes. In addition, the law includes an investment tax credit of up to 25 percent towards a manufacturers capital expenditures. Return on investment? National security. Raimondo compared the effort to President Lincolns creation of the land-grant university system, nuclear security in the 1940s, and John F. Kennedys famous call to put a man on the moon. She noted that the 1960s saw an explosion of PhDs in the science and engineering fields to back up Kennedys 1961 calland she is hoping for something similar in the years ahead in universities and high schools to create a bigger semiconductor industry workforce. The next step in the administrations plan will come next Tuesday when Raimondos department unveils the formal application that manufacturing companies will need to access the money. It's going to be a very comprehensive application, which will be crystal clear about the specific criteria that we'll be looking for and the information we need from companies, Raimondo told reporters. The speech also nodded to concerns that the billions, once they are signed over, could end going to things like stock buybacks. During her speech, Raimondo promised to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars and said she would will demand transparency from companies. A recent letter from prominent lawmakers like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called on the administration to be vigilant on the buyback issue, saying it could undermine the national security goals of the program. "I expect to be held accountable," Raimondo said. Meanwhile, the race for the money remains well underway with places like Arizona making a play to be one of the manufacturing hubs. Raimondo said she hopes the $50 billion in government funds will lead to somewhere in the neighborhood of $500 billion in private investment. "Get in the boat, row with us to achieve this mission," she said during the speech in a comment directed towards private investors around the country. "I don't want to spend a dime that I don't have to." This post has been updated. Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance. Click here for politics news related to business and money Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Download the Yahoo Finance app for Apple or Android Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and YouTube The Biden administration unveiled a new policy for transferring or selling arms to foreign countries that puts more weight on protecting human rights, in theory setting a lower bar for denying sales. The Conventional Arms Transfer Policy was last updated in 2018 under the Trump administration, and it placed an explicit emphasis on the economic benefits of selling more military equipment overseas. At issue is whether the U.S. thinks the customer nation will use the weapons on its own population. Under the old standard, the U.S. had to have actual knowledge that a government would use the weapons to harm civilians. Now, if the U.S. determines a country would more likely than not harm its population, a sale could be denied, a senior State Department official told reporters. The decades-old rule that the U.S. would not use countries past behavior against them when deciding to sell has also been abandoned. It's not that we will only decide against arms transfers if they meet that new lower bar of more likely than not, said the official, who asked not to be named in order to discuss the policy ahead of its release. We are going to be looking at and making risk assessments on every arms transfer on a case-by-case basis. The official declined to go into details when asked about specific countries, including whether those with long histories of human rights abuses such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Nigeria would be in jeopardy. The Biden administration had already tweaked its arms sales policy by refusing to sell Saudi Arabia offensive missiles and bombs after the regime used U.S. weapons to strike civilian targets in its war in Yemen. Sales of defense weapons to Riyadh continue, however, including air defense and air-to-air missiles. The new strategy also lays out several areas including competitive financing, exportability, technology security and working with the defense industry to sell equipment not used by the U.S. military. Story continues The government wants to ensure that even if the United States military is not procuring a certain system, that we can be able to identify the needs of our partners and work with industry to be able to act, the official said. If you can use a country's past behavior as an indicator for future behavior, that's a win because the Trump administration said you couldn't do that, said Rachel Stohl, director of the Conventional Defense Program at the Stimson Center. Yet a strategy paper isnt an end in itself, Stohl added. The actual implementation of this is going to be a real test, not what's on the piece of paper, she said. Germany phases out COVID-19 tests for travelers from China Xinhua) 09:07, February 23, 2023 BERLIN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Germany no longer requires that people arriving in the country from China take a COVID-19 test, the government said on Wednesday. After the European Union (EU) agreed to end the requirement by late February, countries across Europe are now gradually dropping the test requirement for travelers from China. As of Feb. 22, China is "no longer classified as an 'area of variants of concern in which a variant of particular concern threatens to emerge,'" Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said in a statement. Since the EU's member states could not agree on binding COVID-19 rules for passenger air traffic from China, the requirements varied by country. The EU's recommendations were also criticized as outdated. China has just resumed outbound group travel for tourists to 20 countries, including Thailand, the Maldives, the United Arab Emirates and Hungary and Switzerland in Europe. Germany is not yet among the destinations. According to the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI), the number of outbound trips is to increase from 170 million in 2019 to 228 million in 2030. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Photo: Derek Heyes Abbotsford International Airshow witnessed an Op Noble Eagle demonstration of NORAD aircraft on Aug. 26, 2022 National Defence Minister Anita Anand says Canada is significantly building up its Arctic defence capabilities as increasing numbers of possible surveillance objects enter Canadian jurisdictions. Speaking after touring shipbuilder Seaspan ULC's North Vancouver facility, Anand says the goal is to have a modernized Norad and improved continental defence "over the next number of years." Anand says Ottawa has already committed almost $40 billion towards that end, and the result will be "a new northern-approach surveillance system" that will detect threats farther and farther north to protect Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic. Anand's comments come after the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces confirmed today they are aware of recent Chinese efforts to monitor movements in Canadian airspace and waters through surveillance operations. The Globe and Mail newspaper reported earlier that the Canadian military had detected Chinese monitoring buoys in the Arctic last fall. Anand says this type of activity is "not new" and the Canadian government will "challenge China where we ought to" and "co-operate where we need to." Seeking shelter and asylum on the US-Mexico border. AP Photo/Gregory Bull) Anticipating a potential surge of migrants at the southern border, the Biden administration on Feb. 21, 2023, announced a crackdown on those seeking asylum after unlawfully entering the U.S. The proposed rule change which would see the rapid deportation of anyone who had not first applied for asylum en route to the U.S. has been condemned by immigration rights groups, which claim it runs counter to the humane immigration system that Joe Biden promised while campaigning for the White House. The Conversation asked Karen Musalo, an expert on refugee law at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, to explain what the new rule entails, what its impact will be and why it is so controversial. What is the new policy? The Biden administrations new rule which is set to come into force on May 11 will bar from asylum all non-Mexican migrants who arrive at the southern U.S. border without having first sought and been denied asylum in at least one of the countries they passed through on their journey. The only migrants exempted from this rule are those who use a U.S. government app, CBP One, to make an appointment to apply for asylum at an official port of entry. All others will be subject to a presumption of ineligibility unless they can demonstrate exceptionally compelling circumstances, such as a medical emergency which they will have to prove during a rapid screening process in a border holding cell. The policy which immigrant rights advocates, congressional leaders and faith groups are calling an asylum ban or transit ban is almost identical to one implemented by the Trump administration in 2019. The Trump-era rule was later struck down by the courts as unlawful. Why is the new rule being proposed now? The Biden administration is concerned that the expiration of a pandemic-era rule will lead to greater numbers of immigrants at the southern border. In March 2020, the Trump administration totally closed the border to asylum seekers in a policy referred to as Title 42. It justified the closure as necessary to protect public health during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, these health concerns were just a pretext; it has been well documented that high-level officials in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were opposed to the policy and acceded only under intense White House pressure. Story continues Turning away all asylum seekers in this way was totally unprecedented, and inconsistent with U.S. domestic and international legal obligations. Biden campaigned on promises to restore a humane asylum system. But on assuming the presidency he continued Title 42 and even expanded it to include individuals from additional countries. Immigration rights advocates brought successful legal challenges to terminate the policy, while attorneys general of Republican-led states sued to keep it in place. Finally, in January 2023, the Biden administration announced that on May 11 it would end the coronavirus health emergency, which had provided the legal authority for the border closure. This means Title 42 also comes to an end on May 11. Unwilling to restore access to asylum as had existed for 40 years before former President Donald Trumps border closure, the Biden administration proposed the new rule. Is the policy legal? In 2019, the Trump administration proposed a rule very similar to that put forth by Biden, prohibiting asylum for migrants who did not first apply in countries of transit. The courts struck down the policy for violating the 1980 Refugee Act, which guarantees the right of all migrants who reach the United States to apply for asylum. A bipartisan Congress passed the Refugee Act to bring the U.S. into compliance with its international obligations under the U.N.s 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, which prohibit returning refugees to any country where their lives or freedom would be threatened. In striking down the Trump-era rule, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals pointed out that the Refugee Act is very specific about the circumstances under which the government can deny asylum for failure to apply in a transit country. Under the acts safe third country provision, that can happen only if the transit country is safe and has both a robust asylum system and a formal treaty with the United States agreeing to safe third-country status. The court found the Trump administration lacked all three conditions for imposing such a ban. The Biden rule is somewhat different from Trumps. It does not apply to individuals who schedule an asylum appointment at ports of entry through the CBP One app. But this does not make the policy lawful. The Refugee Act expressly permits asylum seekers to access protection anywhere along the border not just at ports of entry. And it does not require appointments to be made in advance. In addition, CBP One has been plagued with significant technical problems, preventing many from even making appointments, and has raised serious equity and privacy concerns. And more importantly, there is no getting around the fact that most countries of transit neither are safe for migrants nor have functioning asylum systems. Migrants wade across the Rio Grande from Texas to Mexico to avoid deportation. AP Photo/Felix Marquez Asylum seekers arriving at the U.S. southern border pass through Mexico, which is notoriously dangerous for migrants, and countries such as Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, which are similarly unsafe and do not have anything approaching functioning asylum systems. Costa Rica, the one transit country in the region with an admirable human rights record and an established asylum system, is currently receiving 10 times the number of asylum seekers as the United States on a per capita basis, and its system is completely overwhelmed. To expect Costa Rica to do more, and take in the refugees the U.S. turns away, is not reasonable or fair. What will be the policys impact? This rule will deny thousands of migrants fleeing persecution their right to seek asylum at the United States southern border. They will be returned to Mexico, where human rights organizations have documented high levels of violence and exploitation of migrants, or deported to their home countries. Beyond the individual human impact, the implementation of this rule will send the wrong signal to other countries that have like the United States ratified international refugee treaties and passed laws committing to protect those fleeing persecution. The message is that flouting legal obligations is acceptable, as is the outsourcing of refugee protection to smaller countries with far less resources. The exodus of refugees from Ukraine and U.S. efforts to encourage European countries to accept those fleeing the conflict underscore the importance of encouraging nations to take in refugees. Leading by bad example will only undermine that principle. This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. If you found it interesting, you could subscribe to our weekly newsletter. It was written by: Karen Musalo, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. Read more: Karen Musalo receives funding from National Science Foundation in the past. I am a full-time law professor and director of the law school's Center for Gender & Refugee Studies. Tyler Le/Insider ChatGPT could become a larger part of work as organizations look at how to deploy the technology. Workers with better familiarity with the technology may find a competitive advantage, insiders say. Even though some school districts banned ChatGPT, educators encourage students to play with AI. Whether you love or hate generative AI like the viral success of ChatGPT, the technology is officially out in the wild, and Pandora's Box has been opened. For as much excitement as ChatGPT has stirred, there's been an equally-strong backlash: School districts in cities like New York and Los Angeles have temporarily banned the use of ChatGPT for their students, while companies including Amazon and Goldman Sachs have reprimanded employees for using it with company data. However, there's an increasing consensus from industry leaders like Bill Gates to professors at schools like Columbia Business School that while it will take some time to figure out how best exactly to use it, the future belongs to those who build proficiency with using ChatGPT and systems like it. In the same way that knowing how to use a web browser, word processing software, and email became standard office skills in the 90s and 2000s, some within the industry expect knowing how to get the best results out of ChatGPT to be table stakes for the next generation. Experts say that today's students have a chance to get a head start. "The rate of change is happening faster today that regardless of what generation you're in, everyone is trying to learn ChatGPT because it's going to be a competitive advantage, and not using it is to your detriment," said Neil Sahota, a consultant at Ackius Advisory. ChatGPT presents a teaching moment When ChatGPT went viral, schools began to ban it over fears students will use the app to cheat on tests and write papers on their behalf. That concern was somewhat validated after ChatGPT managed to pass certain exams on its own. But some in the education sector see the intrinsic value of ChatGPT, believing that a familiarity with AI will be an essential skill in the future. Story continues "I encourage all my students to use ChatGPT to do their homework. I have one requirement: they just tell me that they use it, and specifically how they use it," Columbia Business School professor Dan Wang told Insider. Wang said he's already noticed a difference in how students use the app. The students began to ask ChatGPT more complicated questions that showed they were using AI not to do the work for them, but rather to generate and explore different ideas. Wang is not the only educator requiring students to try out ChatGPT. Wharton School of Business professor Ethan Mollick said the tool has been useful in the classroom and even helped non-English speaking students with their schoolwork. Mira Murati, chief technology of ChatGPT creator OpenAI, said the company believes the app can improve education and said it could personalize learning for students. But, just like the internet in the 2000s, people will need to learn to interact with AI to do their jobs. The potential for ChatGPT in education is there New York City and Los Angeles were two of the largest public school systems that banned ChatGPT. But even though the app has been blocked from school computers, officials still understand there might be a need to introduce AI to students after some careful study. Jenna Lyle, deputy press secretary for the New York City Department of Education, told Insider that the ban is temporary as administrators evaluate the application. "We want our students to be exposed to the latest technologies and our schools to be at the forefront of innovation. It is essential, however, that we are thoughtful about phasing in these technologies in our educational settings and supporting students and educators around their use," Lyle said. She added the department is working with teachers, students, and "the tech community to look at how we can best leverage the strengths and innovation of these technologies to support our students' futures." Ultimately, ChatGPT and AI will not go away, so you might as well learn how to use it to get a head start on others. Read the original article on Business Insider Owner of the Engrained Brewing Company restaurant Brent Schwoerer speaks during a press conference at the state Capitol Feb. 22, 2023 in favor of legislation prohibiting styrofoam packaging. With the backing of environmental groups, state lawmakers introduced bills on Wednesday that would require Illinois restaurants to do away with single-use foodware. Brent Schwoerer, the owner of Engrained Brewing Company in Springfield, said during a press conference at the state Capitol, his restaurant already uses reusable straws and to-go food containers at its Lincolnshire Boulevard location. "Sustainability has been something important to me ever since I was a kid," he said. "It makes complete sense that we should eliminate single-use plastics." Legislators have filed three near-identical bills in the 103rd Illinois General Assembly - Senate Bill 100 and House Bills 2376 and 3865 - that would set deadlines for when the polystyrene plastic ban is effective. Exemptions have been set for food pantries, soup kitchens, not-for-profits, and restaurants with a gross income less than $500,000 per year. HB 3865 from state Rep. Kevin Olickal, D-Chicago would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, whereas SB 100 and HB 2376 would go into effect starting in 2025. State Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, is a co-sponsor of SB 100 from state Sen. Laura Fine, D-Glenview. Environmental groups such as the Coalition for Plastic Reduction back the legislation saying it would reduce the amounts of foam found in waterways. Of the 22 million pounds of plastics entering the Great Lakes each year, approximately half of it ends up in Lake Michigan said director of Illinois Public Interest Research Group Abe Scarr. Manager of the Engrained Brewing Company restaurant Steve Margold holds up a to go box made of paper instead of styrofoam Feb. 22, 2023 that the restaurant uses. "We cannot recycle our way out of the problem," he said. "That's why we need to stop it at the source." None of the bills, as currently written, include any specific punishment for restaurants that continue to use single-use polystyrene which is less expensive than reusable alternatives such as aluminum. The goal behind the legislation, proponents say, will cause more businesses to use reusables and thus draw down the cost. Still, research from the University of Michigan indicates that reusables might not always be the most energy-efficient. The July 2021 study found, due to the energy and water expended to clean for its reuse, what was saved by reusable products never broke even with what was used. Story continues State Rep. Mike Coffey, R-Springfield, has continued his ownership of Saputo's early in his appointed term in the 95th House District. His Monroe Street Italian restaurant uses polystyrene, cardboard, and tinfoil for carry-out. State Rep. Mike Coffey, R-Springfield, speaks at the Sangamon County Republican Headquarter after being voted in to replace Tim Butler Thursday Jan. 5, 2023. Most restaurant owners, he said, are willing to use more eco-friendly options but it often comes down to what the product allows. Coffey said styrofoam cups insulate heat better than other products, which is often what the customer wants. "As far as mandating things to small businesses, I'm not really in for mandating," he said. "Do I think it's a good thing to eliminate styrofoam? Sure, it's better for the landfills and things of that nature." Related:Springfield businessman named as new 95th House District representative Democrats have tried to ban polystyrene products in prior legislative sessions, most recently with House Bill 3067 which never made it to a vote. Gov. JB Pritzker did however sign Senate Bill 1915 in June to prohibit state parks and natural areas from using single-use plastic foodware. The law, effective as of Jan. 1, does not apply to the Illinois State Fair or vendors contracted by the state until 2024. Contact Patrick Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter. This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Styrofoam foodware could be banned in Illinois under new legislation USA-DAVIS-JUSTICE-TRIAL Angela Davis arriving at the court for her trial in San Jose, Calif. in April 1972. Davis was acquitted on charges of murder, kidnapping ,and conspiracy arising from the Aug. 7, 1970 shooting in the same courthouse, in which a judge and three other people were killed. Credit - AFPGetty Images The Black Power movement never escaped the outrage that birthed it. Even now, decades after its heyday has passed, Black Power is remembered for its anger. The iconic photos of the movement are often severe: urban unrest, Black Panthers in berets and leather jackets, fists clenched and mouths open in protest. Angela Davis, the Black Power activist launched to prominence during her two years as a political prisoner, has said that images of her from that time period show her either as a conspiratorial and monstrous Communist (i.e., anti-American) whose unruly natural hairdo symbolized black militancy (i.e., anti-whiteness) or as a charismatic and raucous revolutionary ready to lead the masses into battle. Images of Davis as either a danger or a hero accentuated her militancy. Both sets of images, she wrote in a 1994 essay Afro Images: Politics, Fashion, and Nostalgia, left her wanting: violated on the first account, and deficient on the second. Rather than outrage, however, the emotion most befitting Black Power is love. Certainly, Black Power marked a more radical approach to the freedom pursuit than what many civil rights activists demanded. Emerging out of the work left undone by the civil rights movement, Black Power asserted the centrality of shifting the terms of orderof changing who had power and how power was expressed. An ambitious blend of sacrifice and determination, love was the key dimension allowing Black Power activists to struggle against powerful interests that opposed them. Beginning in the 1960s and lasting until at least the 1980s, Black Power was both a paradigm and a movement. It focused on transforming the nature of power in the United States precisely because it began where the civil rights movement stalled: after the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts had been signed but when racism still defined U.S. institutions of housing, education, healthcare, and law. Black Power advocated self-determination and solidarity, encompassing everything from food cooperatives to prison rebellion, labor organizing, and reproductive justice. Across these divergent issues pulsed a beating heart of love for Black people and for the possibility of change. Story continues Read More: With Free Medical Clinics and Patient Advocacy, the Black Panthers Created a Legacy in Community Health That Still Exists Amid COVID-19 Love has long been associated with Christian pacifist tradition, an unquestionably large influence on the Southern civil rights movement that Black Power is often said to have displaced. But the love I speak of here is not turn-the-other-cheek endurance. I refer instead to the love that characterizes Black politics. The late political scientist Cedric Robinson observed that from slavery to the present, the history of Black radicalism has been characterized by the absence of mass violence. Even the more militant outbursts19th century slave rebellions, 20th century urban uprisingsdid not utilize indiscriminate violence. The philosopher Cornel West has said that justice is what love looks like in public. Feminist bell hooks wrote a trilogy about love, and spoke of it often as the foundation of pedagogy and ethics. While some proponents wished to tether Black Power to indignation, it was a love of freedom that most animated the Black Power movement. Angela Davis offers one telling example. In 1970 at age 26, Davis found herself on the FBIs Ten Most Wanted List and facing a possible death penalty. The reason was that Jonathan Jackson, the 17-year-old brother of a California prisoner named George Jackson (who Davis had first befriended and then betrothed), had used guns registered to Davis in an ill-fated attempt to free three San Quentin prisoners from a Marin County courtroom. The younger Jackson, who had served as Daviss bodyguard following a rash of death threats against her, and two of the prisoners were killed along with a judge when police opened fire on the group as they attempted to escape. The prosecution alleged that Daviss love for the charismatic George Jackson led her to plan a deadly raid that sacrificed Jacksons brother and several others. While Davis objected to having her love deemed a criminal conspiracy, she never denied her love for George Jackson. She embraced it as proof of the legal systems illegitimacy. In a dazzling legal display, her attorneys turned a love letter between the two paramours into a poem to underscore how love, not violence, bound them. She was acquitted on June 4, 1972. Beyond the trial, the global campaign to Free Angela Davis and All Political Prisoners demonstrated love in the form of solidarity. Millions of people who did not know Davis personally, shared their love for her and what she representeda free Black woman in America. That same spirit could be found across Black Powers foreign policy, where love allowed activists to extend themselves in service of people theyve never met, in lands theyve never visited. Far more than the civil rights movement, Black Power identified itself as part of a global phenomenon. Inspired by a long history of transnational Pan-Africanism, Black Power activists placed the condition of African Americans alongside that of the worlds nonwhite majority. By the time the civil rights group Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) committed itself to Black Power, the organization had issued a strong statement against the Vietnam War and began developing a Black anti-draft network. Its anti-war activism helped push Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to issue his own condemnation of the war. Three weeks later, champion boxer Muhammad Ali refused induction into the military. He also refused the idea that he had two choices either I go to jail or go to the Army. There is another alternative, the athlete said, and that alternative is justice. While Dr. King and Ali were following their separate consciences, SNCCs work created a pivotal convergence and context for their actions. Read More: How The Black Panther Party Inspired a New Generation of Activists Justice, then, was love not only in public but across borders. The Black Power movement expressed its solidarity with the effort to rid the world of racial violence. The war in Vietnam was a potent spark lit alongside the rise of Black Power in the mid-1960s. But global solidarity was an enduring flame throughout the Black Power era. Events in southern Africafrom the Soweto Uprising against apartheid in South Africa to revolutions and civil wars throughout the regionburned brightest in the Black radical consciousness throughout the 1970s and 1980s. U.S. political and economic support enabled South Africas apartheid regime, while Cold War prerogatives routinely positioned the U.S. in opposition to self-determination in neighboring countries. Black Power organizers led campaigns encouraging U.S., companies, non-profits, and universities to divest from South Africa. Black Americans recognized in the anti-apartheid movement something of their own effort to eradicate white supremacy. The 1978 Southern Africa Summer, which brought high school and college students to Philadelphia for an immersive training in anti-apartheid campaigning, took inspiration from the Mississippi Freedom Summer effort that proved critical in toppling Jim Crow. The Black Power movement was based on love because it had to survive so much heartbreak. As factories fled cities and politicians targeted the social safety net, Black urbanites were fed into the maw of unemployment, police brutality, and mass incarceration. The combination left a stiff body count. George Jackson, 29 people incarcerated at Attica plus ten guards, and too many others were killed in jails and prisons around the country at the exact moment when Americas incarceration rate began its meteoric rise. Bunchy Carter, Fred Hampton, and two dozen other Panthers were killedmost by policewhile dozens more were incarcerated for years, decades, or lifetimes. Some activists died under mysterious circumstances, like Ralph Featherstone and William Che Payne, two SNCC activists who perished when a bomb exploded in their car. In a two-year period beginning in 1979, 28 Black children and adolescents were kidnapped and killed in Atlanta while an unknown assailant murdered 11 Black women in Boston. New York police killed 10-year-old Clifford Glover, 66-year-old Eleanor Bumpurs, and many more in between. Yet the lack of accountability for police only worsened. Under Philadelphias first Black mayor, the police dropped a bomb on a house occupied by an idiosyncratic radical group called MOVE and let the fire destroy a square block in a Black neighborhood in West Philadelphia. The only person incarcerated for the incident was Ramona Africa, the lone adult MOVE member who survived the bombing. And yet, Black Powers foot soldiers remained focused on a better future. Jamal Joseph was just 16 years old when he joined the Black Panther Party in New York City after Martin Luther Kings assassination. Expecting to be given a gun and ammunition and sent to battle the police, Joseph was surprised to be handed spatula and diapers and sent to care for children utilizing the Black Panthers community programs. Black Power provided the auspices through which people worked to better the world as well as their own lives. Black radicals in the U.S. were not just rushing to aid disenfranchised people in the Third World but eager to learn alongside them about transformation, survival, and perseverance. And what else but love can describe the generosity of spirit displayed in fighting for and alongside people youve never met? Lovefor people, for struggle, for the possibility of transformationis where we seek to unify what we believe with what we do, to bring our best selves in service of another. Love can be a source of hardship and exhaustion, of pain and loss, of sacrifice and redress; nevertheless, it regenerates. It is the impulse to keep going. Black Power is a love storynot just between people in a romantic sense, but among people who unite in pursuit of an evolving and expansive sense of freedom. Like any social movement, Black Power was made by masses of people whose names have largely not been recorded by history but who, dissatisfied with injustice and alive to the possibility of freedom, chose to act and learn and keep acting still. And in doing so, they choose love. By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The dinosaur group called theropods included the largest land meat-eaters ever on Earth - up to the size of a school bus. But there also were theropods the size of a tabby cat and others of various dimensions, including beaked and toothless fruit eaters and some bizarre long-clawed species that redefine weird. Scientists had long believed that these dinosaurs followed a uniform pattern in determining the body size of a species, whether gigantic or diminutive, with the rate of growth being the deciding factor - faster meaning bigger and slower meaning smaller. A new study adds to the evidence overturning that idea. Researchers said on Thursday they examined rings called cortical growth marks laid down annually inside the bones as these animals grew - akin to growth rings inside tree trunks - of three dozen theropod species. Widely spaced rings indicate a speedier growth rate. Closely spaced rings indicate slower growth. They found no common pattern underpinning body size. Some huge theropods grew quickly and stopped growing and some grew gradually over a longer period of time to reach the same size. Some small theropods grew rapidly and others slowly. "Our paper overturns an axiom about dinosaur growth, suggesting that other groups should be studied systematically as well to see if our conclusions apply to other animals," said paleontologist Mike D'Emic of Adelphi University in New York, lead author of the study published in the journal Science. "It's equally likely that an animal evolved larger body size by growing at the same rate for longer, rather than just growing faster. It is surprising and important to know that animals are just as likely to evolve to gigantic sizes at slow rates. That means they are smaller for longer - and are thus susceptible to predators for longer - and have longer lifespans," D'Emic added. Tyrannosaurus, topping 40 feet (12 meters) long, was an example of a big and fast-growing theropod, with a large growth spurt in its teenage years - in some years quadrupling its body mass. Acrocanthosaurus, a bit smaller than T. rex, was an example of a big but slow-growing theropod. Story continues Coelophysis, about 7 feet (2 meters) long, was a fast-growing smaller theropod. Xixianykus, one of the tiniest dinosaurs at 20 inches (50 cm) long, was a small and slow-growing theropod. Spinosaurus, an immense semi-aquatic theropod up to 50 feet (15 meters) long, grew much more slowly than Tyrannosaurus. Mapusaurus, which reached about 38 feet (11.5 meters), grew even more quickly than Tyrannosaurus, while its similarly sized cousin Tyrannotitan had a growth rate like that of Spinosaurus. "This is the first study to consider developmental mechanisms related to bone growth and body size variation in a large sample of predatory dinosaurs," said Ohio University evolutionary biologist and study co-author Patrick O'Connor. "Although focused on theropod dinosaurs, the implications of this work should extend to most groups of land-living animals, allowing scientists to better constrain the interplay among genetics, development and environmental factors that ultimately give rise to the diversity of life around us," O'Connor added. Theropods are known for their bipedal stance and a set of shared anatomical traits. The earliest theropods may have lived as long as 230 million years ago during the Triassic Period in South America. The group spread worldwide and lasted to the end of the age of dinosaurs when an asteroid strike triggered a mass extinction 66 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. Birds evolved from small feathered theropods during the Jurassic Period and are considered part of the theropod group, though they were not included in this study. "Large birds grow very quickly, for example an ostrich can grow to a couple hundred pounds in a year or two," D'Emic said. "Crocodiles and alligators grow very slowly, taking several years to reach that same weight." (Reporting by Will Dunham, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) Boris Johnson believes the best way forward is to press ahead with the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill - Carl Court/Getty Images Boris Johnson has refused to back Rishi Sunaks Brexit deal in a major blow to Downing Streets hopes of avoiding a eurosceptic Tory rebellion. The former prime minister said the best way forward was to instead press ahead with a law that would rip up the existing Irish border agreement with the EU. In an interview, Mr Johnson insisted that passing the Protocol Bill would fix all the problems faced by people and businesses in Northern Ireland. His remarks will dent Number 10s hopes of winning round Conservative MPs and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), who have expressed concern over the contents of Mr Sunaks deal. Downing Street had been braced for Mr Johnsons opposition, with Mr Sunaks allies arguing that he is motivated by a wish to return to power. The former prime minister was asked twice during an interview with Sky News whether he could commit to supporting an agreement with the EU. I think that its important we wait to see what there may be, but I think the best way forward is the Northern Ireland Bill, he told the broadcaster. It fixes all the problems. It solves the problems that we have in the Irish Sea, it solves the problems of paperwork, VAT and so on. Its an excellent Bill and doesnt set up any other problems in the economy of the whole island of Ireland, so Id go with that one. Boris Johnson casts doubt on Rishi Sunak's Northern Ireland Protocol talks saying the 'best way forward' is the bill he agreed. The former prime minister refused to say he would back any deal negotiated by his successor Read more: https://t.co/WUnquWwffN pic.twitter.com/7FTYGSiLxa Sky News (@SkyNews) February 23, 2023 His intervention comes amid fears in Brussels and European capitals that the backlash against the proposed deal in Westminster is spiralling out of control. Story continues EU officials and diplomats voiced fears that Mr Sunak will be unable to secure the backing of the DUP or the European Research Group (ERG) of Tory MPs. Im starting to wonder whether a deal is possible at all, one source told The Telegraph. An EU diplomat added: It seems like things are spiralling out of control for Number 10, so we might soon find out. Sunaks been waiting for the moment to jump and get this done politically. The question is whether hes waited too long. The UK and EU have been engaged in intensive negotiations in the hope of finalising a deal to end the two-year stand-off over the protocol. It prevents a hard border with Ireland by moving checks to the Irish Sea, but Unionists argue that it has created barriers between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Mr Sunak has opened talks with Unionists and Brexiteers to start selling the reformed deal he has all but agreed with Brussels. The Prime Minister has argued that the pact delivers on the demands set out by the DUP and ERG without making the finer details of it public, but they appear unconvinced. Both the EU and UK had planned to close the deal by the end of the month, which now looks increasingly unlikely. Once a deal is agreed, it will be finalised at a meeting between Mr Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, in London. The apparent breakdown has left some eurocrats pondering whether they could have forced Mr Sunaks hand by pushing a quick and dirty deal through under the radar last month. I think there was merit in us coming out swiftly and randomly, but it is too late now, said a source. Some negotiators blame the fact that the Prime Minister kept the DUP and ERG in the dark for too long over his planned deal, which retains powers for European judges in Northern Ireland. Others believe Number 10 has failed in its sales pitch by refusing to reveal details that suggest Brussels went further with its concessions than planned to get the deal over the line. Meanwhile, the prospect of Mr Sunak winning over the DUP appeared to shrink further, as Baroness Foster, a former leader of the party, warned the Prime Minister that the party has a mandate from Northern Irish voters for its tough stance. She said the Prime Ministers decision not to consult Unionists before sewing up the deal was bizarre and reminiscent of Theresa Mays approach. It is amazing that the tactics that have failed in the past should be used again and that they dont expect the same outcome, she told The Telegraph. I wouldve thought working with the leadership of the party was the way to try and find a solution. This whole thing about them not wanting a deal is wrong. She warned Mr Sunak that signing off on any agreement that does not have DUP support achieves nothing and actually makes things worse, adding: If hes determined to go ahead, it will not bring back devolution in Northern Ireland and he will have to bear the responsibility for that along with the EU. Tory MPs have sympathy with Mr Sunak, who they said was doing his best but some said the politics of the situation had been handled appallingly by Downing Street. The truth is theyve had a bit of a shock because they thought they had a cunning plan, one eurosceptic backbencher said of the delay to announcing a deal. They thought it was going to go swimmingly, and now theyve realised that certain people have got certain concerns and theyve got to address that. Bertie Ahern, a former Irish prime minister, suggested that the EU would be willing to hold on and sign the deal with Sir Keir Starmer if it is blocked by Tory MPs. If its not sorted in the next few weeks, we will have to wait until the next British government, which looks like it will be a Labour government, he said. In a speech on Thursday, Sir Keir pledged to forge closer ties with Europe, which would include improving the current trade deal. We have to have a closer trading relationship, not just fixing the protocol in Northern Ireland, but more generally, he said. Penny Mordaunt, the Commons Leader, said any agreement would alleviate friction facing businesses and address the democratic deficit for the people of Northern Ireland. She said the Protocol Bill, which would give ministers the power to rip up border checks in the absence of a deal, is quite helpful in focusing minds to get the right result. Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that he will run for the post of Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance. Source: Johnson on a 24/7 Ukrainian newscast, as reported by European Pravda Quote: "Heading NATO? That's a great idea. You know, it is a very good idea. I want to emphasise, dear friends, that I have this idea, and let no one forget that there is a candidate [for NATO Secretary General] on the line. This time, I think I will be lucky," Johnson said. Details: He recalled that former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi suggested that a representative of the European Union should be appointed as the next NATO Secretary General. "I completely disagree with him. I think there are other candidates outside the European Union. It doesn't have to be the EU. I certainly consider myself a candidate. It is a good and important position," the former British prime minister added. Johnson stressed that NATO is "stronger than ever" and will soon be joined by new members Sweden and Finland. "And we see quite clearly that Ukrainian membership is a prospect. It has to happen, it is obvious. Putin has debunked all the arguments against Ukraine's accession to NATO. Now they are gone," he summarised. Jens Stoltenberg, incumbent NATO Secretary General, who has been in office since 1 October 2014, was supposed to resign last year and planned to head the central bank in his native Norway, but due to Russia's attack on Ukraine, it was decided to extend his term until 30 September 2023. At present, most of the allies would also prefer not to change the head of the Alliance and have unofficially agreed to extend Stoltenberg's term until April 2024. However, Jens Stoltenberg himself would like to leave office this autumn. According to Euractiv, there is no consensus between the countries on the candidate for Stoltenberg's successor. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Photo: The Canadian Press A traveller makes their way through Pearson International Airport in Toronto Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. Airlines are warning that travel to and from Central Canada may be affected by a winter storm sweeping in from the west. The blizzard conditions may cause delays to flights into and out of airports in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal on Wednesday and Thursday, Air Canada and WestJet said. Air Canada had delayed or cancelled more than 160 of its flights for the day or about 26 per cent by late Wednesday afternoon, according to tracking service FlightAware. WestJet said it cancelled 37 flights at the Toronto, London, and Kitchener-Waterloo airports on Wednesday and Thursday due to the extreme weather. More than 130 of its Wednesday flights, or 29 per cent, were delayed, according to FlightAware. The tracker said carriers have already cancelled nearly 2,500 flights in the United States as of early Wednesday afternoon, threatening to snarl trips and connecting flights for Canadians as well. Environment Canada warns heavy snow will hit a swath of southern Ontario starting in the late afternoon, followed by ice pellets and freezing rain overnight. It forecasts snowfall will total 10 to 15 centimetres with winds gusting at 50 to 70 kilometres per hour as the low-pressure system advances from the American southwest. "We are monitoring the weather and we have made some schedule adjustments in anticipation of the storm, and this is ongoing as the situation evolves," Air Canada spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick said in an email, noting that customers will be rebooked or can opt for a refund. Jazz Aviation, which operates regional flights for Air Canada Express, has also cancelled 75 of its Wednesday flights, or 16 per cent, according to FlightAware. WestJet said in an email all guests would be rebooked on the first available flight within 48 hours. Ten years after a woman was sexually assaulted while waiting alone at a train station, a man has been arrested, Massachusetts prosecutors said. Genetic genealogy testing and evidence, including a bottle of Fireball, gathered at a crash site nearly 10 years later helped confirm Christopher Aldrich, 28, of Lunenburg, as a suspect in the 2013 rape in Acton, the Middlesex District Attorneys Office said in a Feb. 21 news release. We do not give up on these cases, District Attorney Marian Ryan said in the release. We are committed to using every tool available to us not just advances in technology but creative diligent investigative work to bring these cases to resolution. Decade-old sexual assault On June 18, 2013, a 22-year-old woman was on a phone call waiting at the South Acton Commuter Rail Station, prosecutors said. When she got off the call, a man approached her. He displayed a knife, threatened to hurt her with it and raped her at knifepoint, the district attorneys office said. After the assault, the man made the woman toss her phone, then he ran off, prosecutors said. The woman found her phone and called 911, prosecutors said. Police arrived within minutes but did not find a suspect. There were no surveillance cameras in the area, the district attorneys office said. Despite getting a detailed DNA profile from an examination following the 2013 attack, a suspect was not identified after comparing the profile with state and national offender databases, prosecutors said. Genetic genealogy and Fireball bottle leads to suspect In 2021, the district attorneys office and police contacted a lab for forensic genetic genealogy testing, prosecutors said. Aldrich was identified as a potential suspect. Genetic genealogy uses DNA testing coupled with traditional genealogical methods to create family history profiles, according to the Library of Congress. With genealogical DNA testing, researchers can determine if and how people are biologically related. Story continues Aldrich was in a single-car collision in November 2022, and he crashed his Ford Crown Victoria into a utility pole in Acton, prosecutors said. After arriving, Acton police lawfully took a number of items from Aldrichs car, including an open bottle of the alcohol, Fireball, prosecutors said. The gathered evidence was sent to a crime laboratory to develop a DNA profile, prosecutors said. The DNA profile matched the profile from the 2013 sexual assault, according to the district attorneys office. Aldrich was arrested and charged with aggravated rape, the district attorneys office said. He is being held without bail and is expected to appear in court March 22. Acton is about 25 miles northwest of Boston. Two young women were killed in 1981, California officials say. Now, theres an arrest 38 years later, NC man charged with rape and attempted murder of Missouri teen California cops solve 1988 slaying with DNA collected from 79-year-old victims fingernails Joel Rosario rides Knicks Go to victory during the Breeders' Cup Classic on Nov. 6, 2021, at Del Mar. (Gregory Bull / Associated Press) The Breeders Cup will be held in Southern California for the second straight time next year when the two-day event returns to Del Mar on Nov. 1-2. The announcement was made by the Breeders Cup on Thursday. It will be held this year at Santa Anita on Nov. 3-4. The move was not a surprise as the group has fallen into a cycle of Santa Anita, Del Mar, Churchill Downs and Keeneland alternating in various orders. Santa Anita has hosted the event 10 times and Del Mar twice. The first time it was held at Del Mar was 2017 and its success allowed the event to return in 2021. One mitigating factor about Del Mar is its slightly smaller size compared to the cavernous Santa Anita. But as racetracks have become smaller, in many cases driven by casino play being the primary business, the options to hold the Breeders Cup have dwindled. With the upcoming renovation of Belmont Park, it is expected that the Breeders Cup would eventually return to the New York track for the first time since 2005. But that could take up to five years. Breeders Cup has always been a strong supporter of California racing and we look forward to showcasing the wonderful venue once again to our horsemen and fans from around the world, said Drew Fleming, president and chief executive of the group. The Breeders Cup is made up of 14 Grade 1 races, all worth at least $1 million. The purses are built from nominations of horses and stallions from the day a horse is foaled. The business model of horse racing is such that breeding has become more important, and lucrative, than racing horses. Last years Breeders Cup Classic winner, the Santa Anita-based Flightline, was retired after only six races over two years because of his value as a stallion. Of the eight horses that ran in the $6-million Classic, the richest race in the United States, six have been retired to stallion duty. Only Taiba, who runs Saturday in the Saudi Cup, and Rich Strike, winner of last years Kentucky Derby, are still racing. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A bride and groom say they missed out on their wedding reception because they got stuck in an elevator. Newlyweds Victoria and Panav Jha reflected on their big day during a recent interview with WBTV, a television station in Charlotte, North Carolina. While at the Grand Bohemian Hotel earlier this month, the couple finished their wedding ceremony and were making their way to the 16th floor for the reception. Their plans came to a halt when the hotels elevator got stuck. We go up maybe five feet and then just stopped, Panav recalled. The door was slightly ajar, so I was like: Hmm, thats not normal. Along with the bride and groom, four other people who were a part of the wedding party were also in the elevator. In order to get the group out of the space, the Charlotte Fire Department was contacted, but firefighter David Budd told the outlet that getting the wedding party out of the elevator was a bit tricky. We went through all of the normal troubleshooting that you do on an elevator call and none of that was working, so thats when we realised we were going to elevate it to what it ended up being, what was a rope rescue, he said. Another firefighter at the hotel, Michael Claycomb, also described how they helped each of the six people out. We put them in whats called a hasty seat, its just a simple seat that hooks around them and we hook them up to our rope rigging system, he said. They get raised up from there and its a simple process for them at least, for us its a little complex. Panav said the group was in there for close to two and a half hours, before adding: I would say, the rest is an experience. As a result of the elevator getting stuck between the lobby and first floor, the newlyweds ended up missing out on their wedding after-party. They also didnt get to say their farewells to all of their guests, some of whom travelled from out of town for the nuptials. We were not able to celebrate or do the last kisses or goodbyes. And thats what put the damper on everything, Victoria told Queen City News. Thats how the wedding night had to end. Story continues Despite the downsides of the experience, Victoria did share that there were some good things about the event too. Its kind of like a blessing in disguise. Id like to say I cant imagine if this was me alone or him alone, at least we got to spend it together, so thats what mattered, she told WBTV. Panav echoed his wifes sentiment about the situation, adding: Its going to be one we remember forever. Im going to tell my kids your mom was so beautiful, the fire department had to come. Following the wedding partys rescue, the Charlotte Fire Department shared a photo of its firefighters with the newlyweds on its social media accounts. The department celebrated the nuptials in the caption, writing: Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Jha on your wedding day. Although Charlotte Fire wasnt formally invited, we werent exactly wedding crashers either. The post continued to reflect on the rescue: After the first person was rescued, she said: Please get my sister out next, shes the one in the wedding dress. All [six people] who were pulled to safety were part of the Jha wedding party. Thankfully, no one required medical attention. Brightline is sharing new details on the progress toward opening a new train service between Orlando and Miami. Channel 9 was invited out to Brightlines train station just south of Orlando International Airports Terminal C to see whats left to check off the list before trains can finally run between Miami and Orlando. The locomotive for Bright Orange 2 is the fifth and final train ordered for Brightlines Orlando extension. However, the train is now in the commissioning process where crews are checking everything. Watch: Whats next for Brightline, SunRails proposed Sunshine Corridor Crews are making sure it is ready to run, testing the breaks, and gassing it up. The trains hold 2,200 gallons of fuel and that fueling process happens just outside the vehicle maintenance facility. Some of the trains ordered for the Orlando extension already went through the commissioning process. Watch: EXCLUSIVE: Brightline on track to bring passengers to Orlando 2023 More than 175 workers will service trains. Brightline officials said it is targeting the second quarter of this year to start service. However, theres a lot that has to happen before then. Watch: Its phenomenal: 1st Brightline train arrives at Orlando As Brightline prepares the high-speed testing in Central Florida, the company is reminding people to stay focused and stay off the tracks. The company is meeting with law enforcement agencies and school districts to get its safety message across. See more in the video above. Taking the life of another human being is the most serious act imaginable, whether its a murderer taking the life of a victim or the state taking a life. A bill was introduced Wednesday morning to bring back the firing squad as a back-up method of execution in Idaho. Thats because Idaho is having a difficult time procuring the drugs necessary for execution by lethal injection. Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, introduced the bill to the House Ways & Means Committee, which agreed to print the bill. After a history of executions by hanging, firing squad, gas chamber and electric chair, the method of lethal injection might seem a more humane approach, perhaps more palatable to folks on the fence or squeamish about the death penalty. Lethal injection opponents argue that the paralytic element of the drug cocktail prevents the accused from expressing pain. In other words, weve tried to evolve the death penalty so that we cant observe what were doing; we dont want to see the consequences of our actions. In reality, a growing rate of mistakes have led to cruel and unusual punishment for some who found themselves at the sharp end of the needle. A National Public Radio analysis in 2020 of more than 200 autopsies of death-row prisoners executed by lethal injection found that 84% of those executed showed evidence of pulmonary edema, a condition in which a persons lungs fill with fluid that creates the feeling of suffocation or drowning, something that experts have likened to waterboarding, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Several studies have shown that lethal injection is the most botched method of execution, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. While lethal injection had a botched rate of 7%, according to one study, the 34 executions by firing squad had a botched rate of exactly zero. Still, despite its relative effective rate, death by firing squad might turn some people off to the concept of the death penalty. Story continues Pulling the trigger is a much more violent act than pushing a plunger on a syringe. To most reasonable people, a firing squad would be considered barbaric and antiquated. Perhaps knowing that a firing squad would be the final demise of a person could prove to be a deterrent for some juries and possibly even some prosecutors to pursue capital punishment. Wouldnt knowledge of a firing squad also be a deterrent to would-be killers? Not so, according to the ACLU, which reports that studies have shown no deterrent effect of the death penalty, regardless of the method. If passed, Idaho would join four other states Oklahoma, Utah, Mississippi and South Carolina where use of a firing squad is an approved backup method of execution, according to previous reporting by the Idaho Statesman. The firing squad remained on the books in Idaho until 2009, and the Idaho Department of Correction considered asking lawmakers to reinstate the firing squad as recently as 2014, but the concept didnt move forward, according to the Spokesman-Review. The most immediate case at hand in Idaho is that of Gerald Pizzuto, who murdered two victims in a particularly brutal manner at a cabin near McCall in 1985, using a hammer to bludgeon them to death. The gruesome and apparent callous nature of the killings stretches the patience of even the most strident death penalty opponent. But there is something to the old saying that two wrongs dont make a right. And there are extenuating circumstances in Pizzutos case. Pizzuto has a diminished intellectual capacity and had a horrific childhood that included torture and sexual abuse. Further, Pizzuto appears to be at the end of his natural life and has been in hospice care for more than a year. Its worth noting, as well, that the government sometimes gets it wrong in death penalty cases. Charles Fain was wrongfully convicted for the 1982 sexual assault and murder of a Nampa child. He spent 18 years on death row before he was released from prison in 2001, after a DNA analysis excluded Fain as a suspect in the killing. Donald Paradis was wrongfully convicted of a 1981 murder in Kootenai County and released after 20 years on death row. Even though the state parole board ruled in favor of clemency for Pizzuto, Idaho Gov. Brad Little ordered the death of Pizzuto anyway, an order upheld by the Idaho Supreme Court. His execution was delayed, though, because the state was unable to procure the drugs needed for the execution. Which leaves us where we are now. After Pizzuto, there are still seven more prisoners on Idahos death row, so the issue isnt going away. But perhaps the thought of pulling a trigger and putting a bullet through someones heart will be enough to turn some people against the death penalty altogether. That might be a good thing. By Sachin Ravikumar LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will scrap the requirement for around 12,000 asylum seekers to undergo face-to-face interviews and instead ask them to fill out a questionnaire, the government said on Thursday, in an attempt to clear record levels of backlogs. The interior ministry, or Home Office, said all asylum seekers would still be subject to mandatory security checks and those who fail to respond to the questionnaire could see their claims withdrawn. "We are working to speed up asylum processing so that people do not wait months or years in the backlog, at vast expense to the taxpayer, and to remove everyone who doesnt have a legitimate reason to be here," a Home Office spokesperson said. The 12,000 asylum seekers belong to countries from which a high proportion of individuals are typically granted asylum Syria, Eritrea, Yemen, Libya and Afghanistan - the Home Office said. Official data on Thursday showed a record 160,919 asylum seekers were awaiting an initial decision on their claim at the end of 2022 over three times the figure three years ago. "To ensure our processes remain robust and all claims are properly considered, we have recruited hundreds of case workers to crack through cases," the Home Office spokesperson added. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made curbing illegal migration a priority, promising new legislation to prevent migrants who cross the English Channel from remaining in the country and vowing to clear the backlog of asylum cases by the end of this year. The questionnaire contains 50 questions that must be answered in English, and claimants would have 20 working days to complete it, according to a report in The Guardian newspaper. Refugee campaign groups criticised the changes as unfair, arguing it made complicated demands of people who know little to no English and have just fled war or persecution. The British Red Cross said speeding up the asylum process for people from nations with the highest grant rates was a "common sense decision" that was long overdue but that the reported 20-day time limit could have "devastating impacts" and create more work for the Home Office. (Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; Editing by Bernadette Baum) Bryan Kohberger, who is accused of killing four University of Idaho students in November during a hearing in Latah County District Court, in Moscow, Idaho, on January 5, 2023. Ted S. Warren/Pool via Reuters TPX Images of the Day Idaho killings suspect Bryan Kohberger had photos of one of the victims on his phone, a source told People. The source told People the images were found on Kohberger's phone after his arrest. "It was clear that he was paying attention to her," the source told the magazine of Kohberger. University of Idaho killings suspect Bryan Kohberger reportedly had several photos of one of the slain women on his cell phone, an unnamed source familiar with the investigation into the November stabbing deaths of four college students told People magazine. The source told People that authorities discovered the images on Kohberger's phone that was seized after his arrest. "He had more than one picture of her," the source told People in a report published on Wednesday. "It was clear that he was paying attention to her." It is unclear whether the photos mentioned by the source were taken of one of the victims or whether they were downloaded from social media. Kohberger's attorney, Anne Taylor, did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Insider on Thursday. The Idaho judge in the case has previously issued a gag order prohibiting those involved, including lawyers, from discussing the case. Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Madison Mogen, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20, and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin, 20, were stabbed to death in their beds inside a Moscow, Idaho, off-campus rental home shared by the women in the early morning hours of November 13. Kohberger, 28, was a Ph.D. student in the criminal justice program at Washington State University at the time he was charged late last year with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony burglary in connection to the killings. A lawyer for Goncalves' family previously told Insider that the slain college students had no prior connection to Kohberger. "No one knew of this guy at all," attorney Shanon Gray said. Additionally, an investigator familiar with the case told People in a January report that Kohberger slid into the direct messages of one of the four victims on Instagram in the weeks before the slayings. Story continues "He slid into one of the girls' DMs several times but she didn't respond," the anonymous source told People at the time. "Basically, it was just him saying, 'Hey, how are you?' But he did it again and again." Authorities identified Kohberger as a suspect in the high-profile case through DNA discovered at the crime scene, cell phone records, and a car, according to a previously released affidavit. According to the affidavit, cell phone records obtained by police showed that Kohberger's phone was near the three-story home where the victims lived with roommates at least a dozen times between June and before the early morning killings. Read the original article on Insider Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Thursday called on former President Trump to support the Biden administration in reversing Trump-era deregulations in the wake of the derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals in Ohio. One thing he can do is express support for reversing the deregulation that happened on his watch. I heard him say he had nothing to do with it, even though it was in his administration. So, if he had nothing to do with it and they did it in his administration against his will, maybe he can come out and say that he supports us moving in a different direction, Buttigieg said during a visit to East Palestine. The White House has blamed Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration for lax railway and environmental regulations in the aftermath of the derailment. The White House has pointed to a 2021 letter from Republican senators to the Federal Railroad Administration, urging the agency to expand the use of automated track inspection, and pointed to a Republican Study Committee proposal to cut to government funding to address chemical spills. Additionally, Politico reported that the Trump administration rolled back several safety measures for railways, including regular safety audits and an Obama-era rule that required faster brakes on trains carrying flammable materials. Were not afraid to own our policies when it comes to raising the bar on regulation, Buttigieg said on Thursday. He further targeted Trump, saying the former president should back the Biden administrations policies around the situation if he thinks the events in Ohio are something all Americans should care about. Ive got to think that him indicating that this is something that everybody, no matter how much you disagree on politics and presidential campaigns, can get behind higher fines, tougher regulations on safety, Congress untying our hands on breaking rules, all the other things that go with that that would be a nice thing for him to do, Buttigieg said. Story continues Buttigieg went to East Palestine a day after former President Trump visited the town and as the Biden administration has faced criticism for not heading to eastern Ohio sooner. Trump, ahead of his visit, suggested that the town had been abandoned by the Biden administration. The White House has not yet said if President Biden, who just returned from a trip to Ukraine and Poland, will visit. The Transportation Department has defended the timing of the trip, saying it aligns with when the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued its initial findings from their investigators on the ground. The preliminary report tentatively corroborated reports that a wheel bearing severely overheated ahead of the accident. NTSB said investigators have examined the first car to derail, the 23rd overall, as well as local surveillance footage, which seemingly shows a wheel bearing in late-stage overheat failure immediately ahead of the accident. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Photo: The Canadian Press Orange County Sheriff John Mina addresses the media during a press conference about multiple shootings, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, in Orlando, Fla. A central Florida television journalist and a little girl were fatally shot Wednesday afternoon near the scene of a fatal shooting from earlier in the day, authorities said. Mina said that theyve detained Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who they believe is responsible for both shootings in the Orlando-area neighborhood. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/Orlando Sentinel via AP) A central Florida television journalist and a little girl were fatally shot Wednesday afternoon near the scene of a fatal shooting from earlier in the day, authorities said. Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a news conference Wednesday evening that theyve detained Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who they believe is responsible for both shootings in the Orlando-area neighborhood. Besides the Spectrum News 13 journalist and the 9-year-old girl, a TV crewmember and the girls mother were wounded during the second shooting. They were in critical condition at a local hospital. I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners, Mina told a room full of reporters. I work closely with all of you and know many of you and know the the very difficult job that you do and also the very important job that you do for our community and for law enforcement. No one in our community not a mother, not a 9-year-old and certainly not news professionals should become the victim of gun violence in our community. Mina said they dont immediately have a motive for any of the shootings. So, the suspect is not saying much right now, Mina said. It is unclear if he knew they were news media or not. Were still trying to work all that out. Mina said the News 13 vehicle did not look like a typical news van with TV station markings. Deputies had initially responded to the Pine Hills area, just northwest of Orlando, on Wednesday morning following reports of a woman in her 20s being shot. Moses "was an acquaintance of the woman this morning, but as far as we know, had no connection to the reporters and no connection to the mother and the 9-year-old, Mina said. According to witnesses, a man approached the news vehicle later Wednesday and opened fire, hitting the two reporters. The man then walked to a nearby home and shot the mother and daughter. WFTV crews, who were also reporting on the morning shooting, tried to give medical aid to the Spectrum 13 journalists. Mina said Moses is already facing a murder charge for the initial victim, and charges are expected soon for the other four victims. Moses criminal history includes gun charges, as well as aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft offenses, the sheriff said. Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Twitter. Spectrum News 13 was not identifying the crew members who were involved in the shooting, according to a story on the TV stations website. Please, please, say a prayer tonight for our co-worker who is in critical condition. And while youre at it, please say a prayer for every victim of gun violence in this country, Spectrum 13 journalist Celeste Springer said during her live on-air report. Worldwide 40 journalists were reported killed last year, plus another two this year before Wednesday, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Only one of those was in the United States. Jeff German, who covered politics and corruption for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, was found dead outside his home with multiple stab wounds in September. Former Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles has been charged with murder in the slaying. In 2015, Virginia reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were shot and killed during their live TV broadcast for CBS affiliate WDBJ7. The suspect, a former reporter for the TV station, died by suicide during the law enforcement search for him. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is visiting on Thursday the Ohio city that is dealing with the fallout of a train derailment earlier this month that spilled hazardous chemicals. This morning Im in East Palestine, Ohio, to see the site of the Norfolk Southern derailment, hear updates from investigators, and meet first responders. USDOT will continue its work to ensure safety and accountability, the secretary said on Twitter. Buttigieg came to East Palestine a day after former President Trump visited the town and as the Biden administration has faced criticism for not heading to eastern Ohio sooner. The White House has not yet said if President Biden, who just returned from a trip to Ukraine and Poland, will visit. Meanwhile, the White House has blamed Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration for lax railway and environmental regulations in the aftermath of the derailment. The Transportation Department defended the timing of the secretarys trip, saying in a statement on Wednesday that Buttigieg wanted to go when it is appropriate and wouldnt detract from the emergency response efforts. Buttigieg was set to meet with community members affected by the derailment, receive an update on the National Transportation Safety Boards (NTSB) investigation and hear from investigators on the ground, according to the Transportation Department. The NTSB is expected to issue its initial findings from the investigation into the derailment later Thursday. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) The crew operating a freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, didn't get much warning before dozens of cars went off the tracks, and there is no indication that crew members did anything wrong, federal investigators said Thursday as they released a preliminary report into the fiery wreck that prompted a toxic chemical release and an evacuation. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made his first visit to the crash site and took shots at former President Donald Trump, who had visited the day before and criticized the federal response to the train derailment. Their back-and-forth was the latest sign that the East Palestine wreck has become a hot-button political issue, prompting a rebuke from the head of the National Transportation Safety Board. Enough with the politics. I dont understand why this has gotten so political, safety board Chair Jennifer Homendy, clearly exasperated, said at a briefing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. This is a community that is suffering. This is not about politics. This is about addressing their needs, their concerns. The NTSB report, which laid out the facts that investigators have gathered to date, said crew members had no indication the train was in trouble until an alarm sounded just before it went off the tracks. An engineer slowed and stopped the train after getting a critical audible alarm message" that signaled an overheated axle, according to the report. The three-person crew then saw fire and smoke and alerted dispatch, the report said. We have no evidence that the crew did anything wrong, said Homendy, who announced a rare investigatory field hearing to be conducted in East Palestine this spring as officials seek to get to the bottom of the derailment's cause and build consensus on how to prevent similar wrecks. Investigators said the temperature of the failed wheel bearing increased by 215 degrees in a span of 30 miles (48 kilometers), but did not reach the temperature threshold that railroad company Norfolk Southern had set for an alarm to go off until just before the wreck. Story continues The train was going about 47 mph (75 kph), under the speed limit of 50 mph (80 kph), according to investigators. Outside experts who looked at the report said the system appeared to work as designed, from the spacing of the hot bearing detectors along the tracks to the operation of the sensors. Theres nothing in the NTSB report that surprises me at all, said Dave Clarke, the former director of the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Tennessee. I cant see anything to really criticize about what happened or how the response was made. Christopher Barkan, director of the Rail Transportation and Engineering Center at the University of Illinois, said the spacing of the sensors that recorded the temperatures of the Norfolk Southern train 10 and 20 miles (16 to 32 kilometers) apart is common in the industry. He said the detectors would not have notified the train crew of elevated bearing temperatures unless they met the threshold for action. I dont see anything wrong here, but we just dont know, Barkan said. Homendy said investigators would look at whether industry safety standards including high-temperature alarm thresholds and sensor spacing will need to change to prevent similar derailments. Norfolk Southern said the NTSB report showed the heat detectors worked as intended and the train crew operated within the company's rules." Nevertheless, the company said it would need to learn as much as we can from this event and develop practices and invest in technologies that could help prevent an incident like this in the future. The freight cars that derailed on the East Palestine outskirts, near the Pennsylvania state line, included 11 carrying hazardous materials. Villagers evacuated as fears grew about a potential explosion of smoldering wreckage. Officials seeking to avoid an uncontrolled blast intentionally released and burned toxic vinyl chloride from five rail cars, sending flames and black smoke into the sky. That left people questioning the potential health effects even as authorities maintained they were doing their best to protect people. In another sign of the environmental impact, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources said Thursday it now estimates spilled contaminants affecting several miles of streams killed nearly 44,000 fish, mostly small ones such as minnows. Its initial estimate was 3,500. As NTSB released its preliminary findings, Buttigieg who had been criticized for not coming to East Palestine earlier went on a tour of the crash site and defended the Biden administration's response to the Feb. 3 derailment, which Trump had portrayed as indifferent and a betrayal." Buttigieg told reporters that if the former president and current Republican presidential candidate felt strongly about increased rail safety efforts, one thing he could do is express support for reversing the deregulation that happened on his watch. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre excoriated political stunts that were seeing from the other side but did not say whether a trip by Democratic President Joe Biden was in the works. Another Biden administration official, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan, has been to East Palestine multiple times, most recently Tuesday as the EPA ordered Norfolk Southern to pay for the cleanup. With heavy equipment rumbling behind him, Buttigieg slammed Norfolk Southern and other freight rail companies for fighting regulations he said would hold them accountable and the other railroad companies accountable for their safety record." He pressed Congress to act. Heather Bable, who lives two blocks from the derailment site, said shes relieved the governments top brass is finally showing up. We need that attention because we werent getting it. They should have been here all along, said Bable. After throngs of residents lined the streets in pouring rain to welcome Trump on Wednesday, the reception for Buttigieg was decidedly more muted, with little fanfare around the village of just under 5,000 residents. Trump won nearly 72% of the vote in this heavily Republican region in 2020. Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, whose Pennsylvania district borders the derailment site, asked Norfolk Southern to expand the boundaries of the geographic zone in which it is providing financial assistance and testing. He asserted the current zone excludes many affected Pennsylvania residents and businesses, and said the company should commit to cleaning up soil and water up to 30 miles (48 kilometers) beyond it. Norfolk Southern is failing to show any commitment to rebuilding lost trust in our community, Deluzio wrote in a letter to Norfolk Southern's CEO. Providing additional resources would help your company restore the sense of security that the Norfolk Southern train derailment and its aftermath destroyed. ___ Rubinkam reported from northeastern Pennsylvania and Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Associated Press reporters Julie Carr Smyth and Patrick Orsagos in Columbus, Ohio, and Chris Megerian and Hope Yen in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report. Key Insights Brighton Pier Group's estimated fair value is UK0.50 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity With UK0.58 share price, Brighton Pier Group appears to be trading close to its estimated fair value Brighton Pier Group's peers seem to be trading at a higher premium to fair value based onthe industry average of -58% Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of The Brighton Pier Group PLC (LON:PIER) as an investment opportunity by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Believe it or not, it's not too difficult to follow, as you'll see from our example! We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model. View our latest analysis for Brighton Pier Group Is Brighton Pier Group Fairly Valued? We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate: Story continues 10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (, Millions) UK2.90m UK2.58m UK2.39m UK2.28m UK2.21m UK2.17m UK2.15m UK2.15m UK2.15m UK2.16m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Est @ -10.93% Est @ -7.31% Est @ -4.77% Est @ -2.99% Est @ -1.75% Est @ -0.88% Est @ -0.27% Est @ 0.16% Est @ 0.45% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 13% UK2.6 UK2.0 UK1.7 UK1.4 UK1.2 UK1.1 UK0.9 UK0.8 UK0.7 UK0.6 ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St) Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = UK13m We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (1.2%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 13%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032 (1 + g) (r g) = UK2.2m (1 + 1.2%) (13% 1.2%) = UK19m Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= UK19m ( 1 + 13%)10= UK5.6m 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 UK19m. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of UK0.6, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out. dcf Important 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 Brighton Pier Group as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 13%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.668. 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. 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. Preferably you'd apply different cases and assumptions and see how they would impact the company's valuation. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For Brighton Pier Group, we've put together three additional items you should look at: Risks: Be aware that Brighton Pier Group is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those makes us a bit uncomfortable... Future Earnings: How does PIER's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered! PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every British stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Join A Paid User Research Session Youll receive a US$30 Amazon Gift card for 1 hour of your time while helping us build better investing tools for the individual investors like yourself. Sign up here Key Insights Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, KUB Malaysia Berhad fair value estimate is RM0.52 Current share price of RM0.54 suggests KUB Malaysia Berhad is potentially trading close to its fair value When compared to theindustry average discount of -355%, KUB Malaysia Berhad's competitors seem to be trading at a greater premium to fair value In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of KUB Malaysia Berhad (KLSE:KUB) by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. One way to achieve this is by employing the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward. Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model. See our latest analysis for KUB Malaysia Berhad The Method We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. 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. A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, and so the sum of these future cash flows is then discounted to today's value: 10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM16.9m RM20.8m RM24.3m RM27.4m RM30.1m RM32.6m RM34.8m RM36.8m RM38.7m RM40.5m Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ 30.71% Est @ 22.57% Est @ 16.87% Est @ 12.88% Est @ 10.09% Est @ 8.13% Est @ 6.76% Est @ 5.81% Est @ 5.13% Est @ 4.67% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 13% RM15.0 RM16.3 RM16.9 RM16.9 RM16.5 RM15.8 RM14.9 RM14.0 RM13.0 RM12.1 ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St) Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM151m Story continues 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 13%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032 (1 + g) (r g) = RM41m (1 + 3.6%) (13% 3.6%) = RM453m Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM453m ( 1 + 13%)10= RM135m The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is RM287m. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of RM0.5, the company appears around fair value at the time of writing. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out. dcf 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. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at KUB Malaysia Berhad as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 13%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.157. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. Looking Ahead: Whilst important, the DCF calculation ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For KUB Malaysia Berhad, we've compiled three relevant elements you should consider: Risks: To that end, you should be aware of the 3 warning signs we've spotted with KUB Malaysia Berhad . 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! 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 The California attorney general has launched an investigation into whether Riverside County Sheriff's Department practices have violated civil rights, citing a sharp and "disturbing" rise in deaths in the county's jails, as well as allegations of excessive force and other misconduct. Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Thursday that his investigators will probe whether Sheriff Chad Bianco's department has taken part in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional conduct in violation of state or federal law. "All Californians deserve fairness and respect from the institutions that serve them," Bonta said in a statement. "When some communities dont see or feel they are being treated equitably by law enforcement, it contributes to distrust and hurts public safety. Unfortunately, it is clear that amid concerning levels of in-custody deaths and allegations of misconduct too many families and communities in Riverside County are hurting and looking for answers. "As part of my offices ongoing efforts to support constitutional policing, the California Department of Justice is opening a civil rights investigation into the Riverside County Sheriffs Office. Whether you have a loved one in jail or are worried about crime in your neighborhood, we all benefit when there is action to ensure the integrity of policing in our state." In a statement he sent to The Desert Sun, Bianco said the investigation came as a "shock" and described it as politically motivated. "This investigation is based on nothing but false, misleading statements, and straight-out lies from activists, including their attorneys," Bianco said. "This will prove to be a complete waste of time and resources." Later in the statement, he said, "We have absolutely nothing to hide and will be more than cooperative and accommodating with this investigation. ... We will be completely open, honest, and share everything we can with our community throughout this investigation because we have serious concerns that Bontas DOJ will not." Story continues County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries said he is concerned by the jail deaths, including those from drug overdoses, and hopes the attorney general's investigation will find solutions. He added that he thinks county jails around the state are overloaded with inmates and being asked to hold people longer than local jails were designed to, due to decisions by state prisons. In a statement through a spokesperson, county CEO Jeff Van Wagenen, who reports to the board of supervisors, said: "The county will fully cooperate and provide any information that is available. We look forward to the conclusion of this inquiry. In the meantime, we will continue our work with elected leaders, the sheriffs department and other partners to identify system improvements." Rising death toll in jails Bonta clarified that a pattern or practice investigation is different from a criminal investigation of a particular incident or person, but is meant to identify wrongdoing and compel the correction of systemic constitutional violations. He added that his department has not made any determination and said the investigation will be impartial. A photograph of Richard Matus Jr. who died in a Riverside County jail, is worn by his 13-year-old daughter outside the Banning Justice Center on August 19, 2022. Sources with knowledge of the department's history said it's the first-ever pattern or practice investigation of the Riverside County sheriff by the attorney general. The announcement comes as 20 inmates have died in the county's jails since January 2022, often with the sheriff's department releasing scant information about the individuals and virtually no public discussion of how to stop further loss of life. The 18 deaths in 2022 are the most the county has recorded in more than a decade, according to public records that are readily available going back to 2005. That's the same number that triggered an investigation by the California State Auditor of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department in 2021, which found that a county oversight board was lacking and, in part, recommended the attorney general's office expand its role there. More:ACLU joins calls for outside investigation of deaths in Riverside County jails More:Riverside sheriff failed to report inmate deaths to state on time; names of dead made public The county's death toll is outpacing other California counties. Neighboring Orange and San Bernardino counties have not reported more than 13 and 15 deaths in a year, respectively. And Riverside County's rate of jail deaths has increased in recent years. Its approximately 3,500 inmates are dwarfed by San Bernardino's 5,000 and just shy of Orange County's 3,700. In Orange County, 3 in every 1,000 inmates died in jail in 2020, and in San Bernardino County, about 2 in every 1,000 inmates died. That year, Riverside County had a rate of 3 in every 1,000 die. In 2022, 5 in every 1,000 inmates died in Riverside County jails. And public calls for more information about the increased rate of death have been met with virtual silence from the sheriff's department and county officials. It's these kinds of statistics, not any one incident, Bonta said Thursday, that lay the foundation for his pattern or practice investigation. He told reporters that his office has been tracking deaths in jail, use of deadly force and other statistics in Riverside County for some time. "The metrics are increasing," he added during a press conference in Los Angeles, "and it's not a trend line you want to see. It's disturbing." Calls for outside review The Desert Sun found last year that Bianco's department broke the law when it failed to report some inmates' deaths to the state Department of Justice within 10 days. And when it did, it reported inaccurate information, most often that the inmate had been sentenced at the time of their death when, in fact, they had not. Most people being held in the county's five jails are awaiting trial. Lisa Matus marches to demand answers about the 13 jail deaths that have plagued the county this year, in downtown Riverside on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022. Several among the relatives of the 20 who have died have shared similar experiences of being told of the death days or weeks after it occurred. Lisa Matus heard about her son's death from her other son, who was also in custody. It took weeks for her to retrieve his belongings from the jail and more than a month to see his body. Kathy Nigro's son Michael Vasquez, 20, died mere days after being arrested. Nigro told The Desert Sun that she doesn't trust the sheriff's department to do an impartial investigation of his death. During Thursday's press conference, Bonta expressed his condolences to those who have lost loved ones in the county's jails. Those who have asked the sheriff's department for details about the deaths and what was done to prevent them have often been told that lengthy investigations, sometimes extending to more than a year, prevented the rapid release of autopsy reports or other vital information. Bianco administers both the sheriff's department's Corrections Operations and its Coroner's Bureau, which conducts the in-custody death investigations. The attorney general is responsible for police oversight in California. Bonta noted he assumed an investigation of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and accountability actions in connection with the Torrance and Bakersfield police departments. He similarly announced a pattern and practice investigation of the Santa Clara Sheriff's Office in January 2022, citing concerns about its management of county jails. He noted that the supervisors in that county had opened several investigations into the conduct of the sheriff and conditions in the county's jails, even before the attorney general got involved. Former Santa Clara Sheriff Laurie Smith was convicted in a civil corruption trial in November for providing concealed carry weapons permits in exchange for political donations or other favors. That investigation is ongoing. The Riverside County families and advocates, meanwhile, have demanded outside investigations of the deaths and more transparency from the sheriff's department, which has not responded. Most recently, several families, and advocacy groups, including the ACLU of Southern California and Starting Over Inc. sent a letter to the California Board of State and Community Corrections, the agency that inspects local jails. The letter detailed their requests for more oversight of the sheriff's department and the deaths in the jails. They have not received a formal response to those requests. In September, the group also sent a letter to the attorney general and the county's board of supervisors asking for outside investigations of the deaths and to create a separate coroner's office to investigate them in the future. "The attorney general's announcement affirms what families impacted by sheriff's violence have long demanded," said Luis Nolasco, senior policy advocate with the ACLU. "We hope that this will lead to meaningful accountability and oversight over a department rife with in-custody deaths of county residents." The sheriff's department and the county's board of supervisors have not responded to the letters or discussed such oversight actions publicly. Thursday was the attorney general's first acknowledgement that an investigation is underway. Christopher Damien covers public safety and the criminal justice system. He can be reached at christopher.damien@desertsun.com or follow him at @chris_a_damien. This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: California AG Bonta probing Riverside County Sheriff's Department LOS ANGELES (AP) The California attorney general on Thursday opened a civil rights investigation into the Riverside County Sheriff's Office, one of the largest law enforcement agencies in Southern California, after deaths in county jails hit a two-decade high last year and other allegations of excessive use of force surfaced. Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the investigation in Los Angeles following what he called deeply concerning allegations of misconduct within the sheriff's office and confinement conditions at the sheriff's jails. He did not give examples. While Bonta said no specific incidents were a tipping point to prompt the civil rights investigation, there have been patterns in data including disparate impacts on communities of color that, in his words, have been "disturbing for some time. Exact figures on in-custody deaths, use of force incidents and misconduct allegations were not immediately available from his office Tuesday. It is time for us to shine a light on the Riverside County Sheriffs Office and its practices, he said during a news conference. Bonta called the status of the trust between the department and the public in peril" and alluded to the recent line-of-duty deaths of two Riverside deputies in shootings that rocked the county. Ensuring public trust and keeping our communities and officers safe is not mutually exclusive, Bonta said. Sheriff Chad Bianco, in a video response posted online, called the investigation a political stunt and said Bonta, a Democrat, was bowing to anti-law enforcement activists' demands. This will prove to be a complete waste of time and resources, said Bianco, a Republican. In 2021, the Southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to the attorney general's office urging the state to investigate the Riverside department for what it called its racist policing practices, rampant patrol and jail deaths, and its refusal to comply" with court orders. The attorney general has the power to open civil investigations to determine whether a law enforcement agency has engaged in a pattern or practice of violating state or federal law. These cases are not criminal in nature and are meant to identify potential problems and then work with the agency to correct the issues, which are typically systemic violations of a community's constitutional rights. The state agency has similar cases open into the Santa Clara County Sheriffs Office and the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. Those probes are ongoing. A motorist fills up at a Mobile gas station in Huntington Beach on Feb. 16. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Nearly five months after Gavin Newsom initially called for a penalty on excessive oil company profits, the governor and lawmakers in Sacramento appear no closer to deciding how to prevent the kind of gasoline price spikes that Californians experienced last year. At the first legislative hearing on the governor's proposal at the state Capitol on Wednesday, lawmakers shared concerns about potential unintended consequences of his desire to cap the industry's earnings. Some oil market experts said Newsom's idea to limit oil refinery profits wouldn't solve the problem and one called it a "tax gimmick." Other economists agreed with the Newsom administration about demanding more transparency from oil refiners on pricing, maintenance, supply contracts and inventory. "I know that legislators do not want the answer, 'We need more investigation,' but the fact is shooting first and then finding out if it's the right solution is going to likely be just as detrimental as helpful," Severin Borenstein, director of the Energy Institute at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, told lawmakers. Lawmakers and many experts who testified Wednesday agreed with Newsom that something should be done to prevent oil companies from charging Californians more than drivers in other states, a differential that peaked in October when in-state prices were $2.60 above the national average, while the corporations reap billions in profits. Polls conducted by advocates for Newsom's policy found that 6 in 10 Californians support a price-gouging penalty on oil refiners when gas prices reach abnormally high levels. But the hearing underscored the challenge Newsom has faced since he began publicly talking about penalizing the industry before he had a detailed plan to execute it: Solving the problem is even more complicated than it seems. Newsom's push for a cap on oil industry profits comes as the governor engages in a high-profile battle with the industry, which he has accused of intentionally price gouging Californians as retribution for the state's effort to curb the use of fossil fuels. The petroleum industry argues the consequences of those policies and the states dependence on a small number of oil refineries drives up gasoline costs. Story continues Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president and chief executive of the Western States Petroleum Assn., described the governor's plan as a misguided policy that "focuses on profits, rather than the root cause of price spikes, which is a lack of supply." "These supply constraints, coupled with demand driven by the world's fourth-largest economy and 35 million internal combustion engine vehicles even as we adopt more [electric vehicles], are the primary drivers of fuel costs in the state," Reheis-Boyd said. Newsom called for swift passage of a penalty on oil company profits to alleviate financial pressures on working families when he announced the special session in October. At the time, prices topped $6 per gallon. Now, prices have declined to $4.74 per gallon, while steep increases in home heating bills are a growing concern, showing the difficulties the Legislature faces in quickly addressing top-of-mind issues for Californians. The governor did not attend the informational hearing Wednesday and instead traveled to Palo Alto, where he joined Elon Musk as the Tesla CEO announced that his company would open a new global engineering headquarters in California. Newsom made no mention of the hearing, special session or his proposal for a penalty on oil companies in a video of the event Musk shared on social media. Newsom's predecessor, Gov. Jerry Brown, on rare occasion testified before the Legislature in support of proposals he championed, such as pension reform in 2011, and the gas tax and the extension of the cap-and-trade program in 2017. Often described as a policy wonk, Newsom has not participated in a legislative hearing since taking office in 2019. When asked last week, Newsom said imposing a limit on the profits of oil refiners is challenging, in part, because it's largely uncharted territory in California and the rest of the nation. "No other state in history has done it," Newsom said. The Democratic governor also highlighted the lack of transparency from oil refiners. The state's largest oil refining companies declined to participate in a prior hearing on gas prices held by the California Energy Commission. Newsom said the state would "fight like hell to see to it that information is provided so they can't game the system." "And once we figure that out, and we're in the process of doing that, we're going to be able to fill in those blanks on what apparently everybody wants to see," Newsom said. Officials from his administration shared the same concerns to lawmakers Wednesday. "We're at a point where I think we need to move beyond sort of the voluntary sharing of information and start using the state's authority to get the information that you all need to make informed policy decisions," Nicolas Maduros, director of the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, said at the hearing. State Sen. Dave Min (D-Costa Mesa) said he has concerns about the governor's proposal and didn't see any "smoking guns" at the hearing. But he also said the state's petroleum market is broken if the industry is able to earn record profits while Californians pay "ridiculously high" gas prices. "We have to fix it and I do think we need answers and accountability here because I don't know where the blame lies," Min said. Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, agreed that more investigation should be done to detail unexplained surcharges, largely at the retail end of the supply chain, but argued that lawmakers should not pass up the opportunity to also cap the profits of oil refiners. "This is the first time the Legislature has ever focused on why Californians are paying so much more money for our gas and what tangibility can be done about it with a penalty for doing it," Court said in an interview. "Any legislation that doesnt have a penalty and a windfall profits cap would be a failure." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Almond milk and other plant-based alternatives can be labeled "milk," the Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday. AP Almond milk and other plant-based drinks can be labeled "milk," the Food and Drug Administration said. But the products' labels should specify how their nutritional profile is different from cow's milk. The draft guidance follows years of contention between plant-based companies and the dairy industry. Oat milk, soy milk, macadamia-nut milk. Food companies can call it all "milk" on their labels under proposed guidance that the US Food and Drug Administration released on Wednesday. But if they do, they should explain the nutritional differences between their plant-based milk and cow's milk, the FDA said. The number of brands and kinds of plant-based milks have proliferated over the last several years. Many of these products call themselves "milk" on their carton or bottle. That choice has drawn complaints from the US dairy industry, which argues that the term should only apply to animal milks. The FDA's draft guidance acknowledges that consumers understand that plant-based options aren't the same as animal milk, the Agency said in a press release. The FDA wrote the guidance after reviewing public comments that it started gathering in 2018. It also recommends that plant-based milk makers include a statement on their label clarifying the differences between their product and cow's milk. "For example, the label could say, 'Contains lower amounts of Vitamin D and calcium than milk,'" the FDA said. The proposed rules are not final, and companies do not have to follow them, though many food companies follow FDA guidelines closely. The FDA will accept comments on the rules until April 23. "We applaud FDA's recognition that consumers understand the difference between plant-based milk and cow's milk and that shoppers choose to purchase plant-based milk specifically because it is not cow's milk," Madeline Cohen, senior regulatory attorney at the Good Food Institute, which advocates for plant-based brands, said in a statement. But the Institute pushed back on the FDA's suggestion that companies should compare the nutritional value of their products with cow's milk. "The guidance is premised on the idea that consumers are somehow confused by plant-based milks' nutrition, despite the fact that FDA already requires key nutrients to be included on the Nutrition Facts panel," Cohen said. Story continues The National Milk Producers Federation, which represents the US animal milk industry, said the proposed guidance would allow plant-based companies "to continue inappropriately using dairy terminology." On Twitter, former FDA Comissioner Scott Gottlieb said that the proposed guidance "strikes careful balance" between plant-based and animal milks. "Even though almonds don't lactate, almond milk can still be called milk," he wrote. Milk was the largest plant-based food category in 2021, with sales totaling $2.6 billion, according to the Plant Based Foods Association. Meat came in second at $1.4 billion. Brands like Oatly, Chobani, Planet Oat, and Silk have introduced new products and grown sales in recent years. Read the original article on Business Insider Presidential candidate in waiting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis broke from the culture wars to address Ukraine this week. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) For years Joe Biden has told audiences, This is not your fathers Republican Party. Hes right. And perhaps nothing better illustrates the shift than the partys eroding support for Americas global role as leader of the free world and its embrace of Vladimir Putins Russia. Russias year-old war on Ukraine is the crucible that will test which strain could come to define the 21st century Republican Party: its traditional internationalism or America First isolationism. Lets hope its the former, for the sake of the nation and the international order. When Democrats controlled the White House and Congress, Republicans mostly could stay on the sidelines of the Ukraine debate. But now they're forced on two fronts to take a stand: The Republican controlled House will have to act on Bidens all-but-certain requests for more Ukraine aid. And in the emerging contest for a 2024 presidential standard-bearer, voters will likely face a choice between isolationists and the alternatives. So far, were seeing a mix of Republican messages that suggest an intense debate ahead. The loudest voices lately have been those of retreat from the global stage, even as Biden made his risky surprise trip to Kyiv this week to underscore U.S. support for Ukraine. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia. Never! the president said in a speech at Polands royal castle the next day. But as Biden walked a Kyiv street with President Volodymyr Zelensky, with air-raid sirens screaming, former president and current candidate Donald Trump sent out a fundraising email headlined, Biden puts Ukraine before America. Hoping to pick the pockets of small donors in his America First corner, Trump charged that it was Biden who was fleecing them: He loves sending your dollars to secure other countries borders, help other countries citizens. Yet a competing message has come from a newly declared rival for the Republican nomination, former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley. She told NBC the U.S. should give [Zelensky] what he needs to win. At a campaign appearance she said, Its not a war about Ukraine; this is about a war on freedom. Story continues When Haleys NBC inquisitor noted that she differed with Trump on that, Haley reflexively said her only difference was with Biden. Like too many Republicans, she doesnt want to poke the boorish bear that is Trump. I dont kick sideways, she said, meaning at other Republicans. But this is a debate that Republicans must have. Even Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, presidential candidate in waiting, was compelled to break from his obsession with the culture wars to address the real war in Ukraine. On Fox & Friends, he mostly echoed Trumps America First themes and Biden-blaming. And while DeSantis didnt expressly oppose continued help for Ukraine, he did seem to play down the stakes: Its important to point out the fear of Russia going into NATO countries is not even coming close to happening. Yes, well, thats because Russia has been bogged down in Ukraine, thanks to the brave nations forces and Western help. Back in 2014 DeSantis, then a hawkish, far-right congressman, assailed then-President Obama for not doing more to arm Ukraine after Russia seized Crimea. When Putin sees he can gain an inch, hes apt to take a mile, DeSantis said. If DeSantis joins the 2024 race, won't he have to make the same arguments directly to Putins favorite former U.S. president? We'll be watching. A parallel intra-party battle will also play out in Congress. Biden, ever optimistic to the point of delusion? said in Poland, For all the disagreement we have in our Congress on some issues, there is significant agreement on support for Ukraine. Hes not wrong exactly. Most Republicans in Congress still do support Ukraine. To reassure allies of that, dozens attended the annual international security conference in Munich in recent days, and a small group led by the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee peeled off to Kyiv to meet Tuesday with Zelensky. Yet numbers dont necessarily predict the future in the House. Given Republicans narrow majority, the lawmakers of the pro-MAGA, America First persuasion hold inordinate sway. All week theyve posted on social media and ranted on Russia-friendly Fox News that Biden is "an embarrassment on the world stage, that he should have visited the southern border or East Palestine, Ohio, instead of Kyiv. Eleven Republicans sponsored a Ukraine Fatigue resolution calling for an end to assistance. Fatigue is even more widespread among the partys voters a fact that wont be lost on waffling lawmakers and presidential wannabes. In a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, half of Republicans said the U.S. is doing too much for Ukraine, up from 18% who said so early in the war. Ironically, such evidence of skepticism of U.S. internationalism is the fault of old-guard Republicans, those who mostly support Ukraine. Strains of isolationism have long run through America, especially in rural areas and small towns where the Republican Party is now strongest. They grew significantly stronger post 9/11, when President George W. Bush's decision to invade and rebuild Iraq resulted in two decades of lost American blood and treasure. Now its up to some of the same Republicans who backed that war to make the case for the much more legitimate one in Ukraine, which really does matter to our national security. Let the debate begin. @jackiekcalmes This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Photo: Photo by Citizen staff. Prince George RCMP deal with the aftermath of a high-stakes arrest in the area of Winnipeg and Fourth Avenue on August 22, 2023. One of the men facing charges from a wild pursuit and arrest last summer has filed a lawsuit alleging mistreatment at the hands of the arresting Prince George RCMP officers. In a notice of claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court, a lawyer representing Dilmeet Singh Chahal claims he was Tazered twice, including once in the face, and, once in handcuffs "physically thrown into the back of an RCMP vehicle" then "physically assaulted and threatened" by police following the apprehension. The lawsuit stems from an incident in which, according to Prince George RCMP, police vehicles were rammed and shots were fired in the lead up to the arrests of Chahal and two other people during the afternoon of Aug. 21, 2022. Police have said the incident began shortly after 2 p.m. when RCMP attempted to pull over a suspicious vehicle. The driver did not stop and instead fled the area and when a second RCMP officer attempted to stop the suspect vehicle around the area of 10th Avenue and Carney Street, the driver rammed the Mountie's vehicle and fled from police a second time. RCMP flooded the area and tracked the vehicle down to the vicinity of Ross Crescent and Fifth Avenue where it collided with a second police vehicle. Three people fled the area on foot and they were apprehended in the vicnity of Fourth Avenue and Winnipeg Street following a brief pursuit but not before shots were fired by police. Chahal and co-accused Zakaria Benjamin Athaya were both subsequently charged with resisting arrest and two firearms-related counts - possession of a prohibited or restricted firearm with ammunition and unauthorized possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle. As well, Chahal was charged with dangerous driving and fleeing police. In the claim, Chahal's lawyer alleges that while in the RCMP vehicle, he was "immediately punched in the face" by one of the officers after acknowledging he understood why he had been arrested. The Tazer prongs were still attached to his face and his arms were handcuffed behind his back, rendering him "defenceless," according to the claim. Chahal alleges he began to plead "yes, sir, yes sir" to avoid further assaults and one of the officers responded with an expletive and then went on to say Chahal is no longer in Surrey, he's in Prince George and that RCMP in this city "dump losers" like him. Chahal took the comment to be a threat that the officers were going to kill him. A few minutes later, an officer allegedly asked Chahal if he "liked being shocked." When Chahal replied that he did not, one of the officers replied that he could get shot. "Shot? Over what?," Chahal replied according to the claim. "F--k around and find out my man," an officer allegedly replied. "Because this isn't f---king Surrey you idiot, we play different up here," another officer is alleged to have added. Chahal alleges he was then grabbed by the head and slammed face first into the seat in front of him. According to the claim, at all material times Chahal's hands were handcuffed behind his back and was not a threat such that "no violence or threat" against him was necessary. "All violence and threats from the RCMP were gratuitous, excessive, demeaning and intended to make the Plaintiff have immediate fear for his life," the claim goes on to state. Chahal claims he suffered injuries to his head and face, as well as psychological injuries including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress and is seeking general and punitive damages. The Prince George RCMP and three officers are named as defendants as are the City of Prince George, the Attorney General of Canada and the B.C. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. A spokesperson for Independent Investigations Office confirmed Wednesday that the civilian-based police watchdog was notified of the incident shortly after it occurred "but an investigation was not commenced as the injuries did not meet the threshold for serious harm as defined by the Police Act." None of the allegations put forward on Chahal's behalf have been tested in court and none of the defendants have yet filed responses. BC RCMP spokesperson Staff Sgt. Kris Clark said RCMP are aware of the claim "but, as we are subject to it and the court process, it would be inappropriate for us to comment. Once served, the Department of Justice will review and a statement of defence for the RCMP will be issued through the appropriate court process." By Ismail Shakil OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada's federal government on Thursday agreed with Ontario and the Atlantic provinces to provide some of the new healthcare spending unveiled earlier this month to help "modernize" the system, including reducing surgical wait times and improving mental health services. The separate bilateral deals reached with Ontario and the four Atlantic provinces - Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia - include 10-year federal funding plans as well as one-time payments to address urgent healthcare needs, the federal government said in a statement. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met provincial and territorial leaders earlier this month and offered them C$46.2 billion ($34.1 billion) in new health funding over a decade. About half of that new spending was earmarked to be disbursed only after each province agreed to restrictions. Ottawa wants provinces to target priority areas such as primary care and mental health. The federal government also asked the provinces to commit to better data gathering and sharing. The bilateral deals will "modernize our healthcare system, improve access to family health services and mental health services, reduce surgical backlogs and support health workers," Canada's Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said in the statement. The deal with Ontario, Canada's most populous province, includes a 10-year, C$8.4 billion funding plan as well as a one-time C$776 million payment. The Atlantic provinces, which have smaller populations, have agreed to funding ranging from around C$290 million to about C$1 billion. The regional governments, which are responsible for healthcare delivery, had for years been asking Ottawa to increase its spending contribution to Canada's public healthcare system, which has been under strain due to the COVID-19 pandemic and staffing shortages. (Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Richard Chang and Bill Berkrot) By Kanishka Singh (Reuters) - The Canadian government on Thursday announced support for Iranian temporary residents in Canada looking to extend their stay, citing the Iranian government's crackdown on recent protests. "Effective March 1, 2023, these measures will make it easier for Iranians who wish to extend their temporary status in Canada and to move between temporary streams, allowing Iranians to continue studying, working or visiting family by applying for a new permit from inside Canada," the Canadian government said in a statement on Thursday. Nationwide protests erupted in Iran last fall after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in police custody on Sept. 16 last year. Amini was arrested in Tehran by the morality police for flouting the hijab rules, which require women to entirely cover their hair and bodies, and died in custody. Anti-government demonstrations over her death have damaged the Iranian clerical establishment's legitimacy at home and abroad. Many Western states, including Canada, have imposed sanctions following a harsh state crackdown on protests. The Canadian government said an open work permit pathway will be made available for Iranians already in Canada, adding that applications from Iranians in Canada will also be processed on a priority basis. Canada also said it was waiving certain processing fees for Iranians who wish to extend their stay in Canada, and will also waive passport and permanent resident travel document fees for citizens and permanent residents of Canada in Iran who wish to leave. "Canada will not stand idly by in the face of these aggressions as the Iranian regime continues its ongoing human rights violations," Canadian Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said on Thursday. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Sandra Maler) Canada's Privacy Commissioner and three provincial privacy watchdogs are launching an investigation into TikTok's use and disclosure of personal information. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File) Canada's Privacy Commissioner and three provincial privacy watchdogs are launching an investigation into TikTok. The investigation into the Chinese-owned video streaming app was launched "in the wake of now settled, class action lawsuits in the United States and Canada, as well as numerous media reports related to TikToks collection, use and disclosure of personal information," according to a statement released by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada on Thursday. The joint investigation will be conducted by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, the Commission d'acces a l'information du Quebec, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for B.C., and the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta. "The four privacy regulators will examine whether the organizations practices are in compliance with Canadian privacy legislation and in particular, whether valid and meaningful consent is being obtained for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information," the press release said, adding that the investigation will specifically focus on younger users, who are "an important proportion of TikTok users." "Given the importance of protecting childrens privacy, the joint investigation will have a particular focus on TikToks privacy practices as they relate to younger users, including whether the company obtained valid and meaningful consent from these users for the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information." On Thursday, the European Commission banned TikTok from its employees' corporate phones over cybersecurity concerns. The European Union's council followed suit and said it will also ban TikTok on staff phones. With files from Reuters Alicja Siekierska is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow her on Twitter @alicjawithaj. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. "Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou, Romeo?" "In the living room, memorizing my lines." The second line obviously is not from the Shakespeare classic. But, well, it speaks to Abilene Community Theatre's latest production Romeo is Mitchell Bradford. Juliet is Rebecca Bradford They are husband and wife in real life, and now star-crossed lovers in ACT's "Romeo and Juliet," which opens Friday. Director Ginger Vinson messaged Mitchell Bradford, an Abilene Christian University graduate, asking if he was interested in auditioning for the role. He had been in ACT's "Othello," with Vinson directing. Mitchell Bradford was Iago in the ACT's 2018 production of "Othello." He asked Vinson if his wife, who studied theater at California Baptist, could, too. They were in Oregon at the time, and sent an audition video back to Texas to Vinson. "We didn't hear anything for three days and then she said, 'Do you guys want to be Romeo and Juliet?'" he said, laughing. "That worked out. Amazing." Said Rebecca, "I wanted to audition, too, but Ginger only knew of Mitchell." While this drama is set in Verona, Italy, this couple met in, not in Abilene, but in Slovenia. Italy and Slovenia are adjoining countries. Through ACU, he was doing an internship with a mission organization in Slovenia and met her parents, who are missionaries there. "I loved it so much, I went back a second summer," he said. That's when he met her. Rebecca had grown up in that Eastern European country. Juliet (Rebecca Bradford) kisses her beloved Romeo (Mitchell Bradford), finding him dead in the classic Shakespeare drama. Rebecca and Mitchell is real life after husband and wife, heading toward their second anniversary in June. "Romeo and Juliet" is on stage this weekend and next at Abilene Community Theatre. Feb. 20 2023 They spent only one day together but vowed to stay in touch. They shared passions for theater and mission work. And talk about a long-distance relationship. He was in Abilene, she was in Riverside, Calif. And then came the pandemic. That ironically brought them together. She came to Abilene during the summer of 2020 to meet his parents. When California Baptist turned to online study, she stayed here. "We were long distance most of our relationship," she said. "But while I was visiting Mitchell and his family, I had no place to go back to. I realized that I had just moved to Texas. Story continues Was their romance to be, or not to be? "That expedited our relationship," Mitchell said. Now, these "strangers" were "seeing each other for hours at a time every single day," he said. Unlike the fateful ending of "Romeo and Juliet," they wed. When they visited her parents in Slovenia that winter, he proposed. "Six months later, we got married," he said. Vinson has set her take on R&J in an asylum This is totally her idea, she said, not borrowed from elsewhere. To be in love as a teenager is crazy, she said. "So what better place to be crazy in love?" she asked. To those who love or hate Shakespeare, Vinson believes her less than two-hour version of "Romeo and Juliet" will play well. You are: Mitchell: On Monday, he started a new job. He's back at ACU as a dorm director. He is a 2020 graduate with a degree in theater. Last summer, he earned a master's degree in global service. On the ACU stage, he was in such shows as "Bright Star," "Beauty and the Beast" and "Cats." Rebecca: Well, for one thing, she's living in a dorm again. As she did in California and when Mitchell was getting his master's degree. "I work from home," she said. "I handle the administrative process of selling promotional products." Like pens with a company's name on the side. She also got her undergraduate degree in theater, doing such shows as "Babette's Feast" and "Pride and Prejudice." Roles in "Romeo and Juliet": Mitchell: He is Romeo, the son of one Italian family feuding with another. He has fallen for their daughter, Juliet. "I never pictured myself as a Romeo," he said, his curly locks shaking as he laughed. "I think every lad's dream when they are in high school and read for Romeo in freshman English goes, 'Oh, I totally can be Romeo. Then you grow up and it's 'There's no way I'm a Romeo." But in taking this role, he returned to this "young, shy, hopeless romantic in every young dude. It has been fun to find that 14-year-old, 15-year-old Mitchell ... granted, we are playing this around our age ... but when I read it in context, it's this 15-year-old guy who falls in love with this girl. And doesn't really know what love is but kind of gets a feeling of what it's like." It's about "feeling feelings deeply," he said. "It has been fun to play with emotions I haven't really felt since high school. Other than falling deeply in love with Rebecca." Rebecca: She is Juliet, who, like Romeo, is confined to a mental institution. "She checked herself in and is now on suicide watch," Rebecca said. "Which lends itself to how the story ends." Romeo is bi-polar and manic depressive. That, both actors agreed, provide a tension in their lives and relationship. She spends a lot of the play in tears, she said. What you've learned about yourself playing this character: Rebecca: "I feel like my acting has sort of been this artist who writes a song or poem to their lover. and I'm doing that with Mitchell. I sort of am luxuriating in the love we have, and using that to tell a completely other story. We've invited friends from our church to come watch it and it's like inviting them to our wedding. Come and watch us be in love for two hours. There is a lot more work that is going into our characters, but it is just a lot of love. The Shakespeare classes that I've taken and what I've learned about Shakespeare, all of things they tell theater kids to tone it down, Shakespeare is like, 'No!' He's as dramatic as possible in the way he luxuriates in the language and emotions. It's just really decadent to do Shakespeare." Mitchell: "Rebecca is so good in luxuriating in those things and I'm not. Rebecca has pulled the luxuriating out of me through this process. It's something I'm learning about myself. That's really challenging for me to do as an actor. Not only as an actor but as a person sometimes. Luxuriate in the things that are vulnerable, such as love. And not just love, but pain. I consider myself to be an optimistic person." He said that each night in reviewing his part, he finds things he is missing. "There is something more that Romeo is feeling that I'm not quite expressing," he said. "I am excited that with each performance, I keep digging into that." What the audience will get out of this production: Rebecca: "Something that I hope they get from this is that there is beauty in things we don't consider beautiful, simply because they are part of the human experience." Can suffering be something that is beautiful? "This story of star-crossed lovers with great misfortune ... are they going to do this as a comedy? No, still very sad. Sad things and very grotesque things can be very beautiful." And even in an asylum, "there still is space for a story to be told." Mitchell: He said he and friends drove into the area of last year's Mesquite Heat wildfire and while they observed the damage, they found beauty in the gnarled, burned trees. "Not in the traditional way we think of beauty," he said. "I couldn't help but feeling this is so cool, but also very sad." What's next for you: Rebecca: "This is ultimately the dream," she said of returning to theater. "It's something that has been dormant for a while" because of the pandemic, getting married, etc. "We fell in love together while talking about theater, so this is exciting." Mitchell: "It's our first show together," he said. He was in ACT's comedy "It's Only a Play" in the fall, but she was not. "It has been really fun to discover each other in this world." He admitted they often work on their parts at home. Greg Jaklewicz is editor of the Abilene Reporter-News and general columnist. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com. If You Go What: "Romeo and Juliet," directed by Ginger Vinson When: 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Again March 3-5 Where: ACT mainstage, 809 Barrow St. Tickets: $18 general admission and $15 for students, military and seniors (55+) online. Tickets at the door will be $20 and $17.. Go to abilenecommunitytheatre.org or call 325-673-6271 for information. This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Centerstage with: Husband and wife as ACT's 'Romeo and Juliet' StatePoliceSedan cover art DINWIDDIEA small charter bus carrying 10 passengers and one driver was overturned while traveling south on the I-85 in Dinwiddie. It ran off the road and overturned at the 42-mile marker, and Virginia State Police responded to the incident at 11:18 a.m. today. The Virginia State Police Richmond, Division Crash Reconstruction Team, was also on the scene to assist with the ongoing crash investigation. All ten passengers and the driver were transported to nearby hospitals for treatment of injuries sustained in the crash. At least two were flown due to serious injuries. There are no confirmed fatalities so far, and no other vehicles were affected in the accident. Southbound I-85 is closed to through traffic at this time. Motorists are advised to check VDOT's 511 for detour information. This is all the information VSP has to release on the crash at this time. We will continue to provide updates as they become available. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Bus overturned on I-85 in Dinwiddie; passengers transported to hospital Some of the best artistic talent in the state is hiding in Topeka-area classrooms, but now all of eastern Kansas will know it. Several Topeka-area high school students took home many, many awards this semester through the Eastern Kansas Region Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, winning nearly 100 of the organization's 428 honors. Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards recognize and reward some of the best teen artistic talent in the country. The competition is split into regions, from which Gold Key recipients may advance onto national competition. Topeka-area students compete in the Eastern Kansas Region. The competition awards students for work that demonstrates originality, technical skills and the emergence of personal voice or vision, and it's a huge honor for students to receive even an honorable mention, said Brad LeDuc, an art teacher at Washburn Rural High School. "Receiving an award at our regional show is the equivalent to a high school athlete placing at state in an individual event in terms of accomplishment and level of difficulty," LeDuc said. "Regional art students invest countless hours mastering their craft and developing their voice as an artist. We are delighted when they are recognized for their efforts at Scholastic a pinnacle moment for our students." Topeka community has had strong support for student art development The nearly 100 awards received by Topeka-area high school students include 26 Gold Keys, 29 Silver Keys and 39 Honorable Mentions. Additionally, Jefferson West High School sophomore Misha Coleman was selected as an American Visions Nominee for her print "Gaze." The nomination, given to only five students in the regional competition, recognizes work with an original and authentic vision, considering factors like talent, use of medium, viewpoint and background. "Topeka art students have consistently had a strong presence at Scholastic, and I believe this is because of three key factors in our community," said Avery Ayers-Berry, a veteran art teacher at Shawnee Heights High School. "The first is community support in promoting young artists including but not limited to, Youth Art Month, Kansas as Talented as You Think, The Topeka Art Guild, and The Topeka Performing Arts Young Artists Awards." Story continues Topeka's teaching corps has also played a huge role in promoting and developing teens' artistic talent, with award-winning educators like LeDuc, a national Milken Educator Award recipient, and Ayers-Berry, a 2023 Kansas Teacher of the Year nominee. The students' Gold and Silver Key pieces are on display through March 25 at the Mark Arts Gallery in Wichita. Admission is free, with an award ceremony on March 25. See a full list of Topeka-area winners and some examples of the students' work online at cjonline.com. Rafael Garcia is an education reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached at rgarcia@cjonline.com or by phone at 785-289-5325. Follow him on Twitter at @byRafaelGarcia. This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka teens sweep at Eastern Kansas Scholastic Art Awards Sunak Rishi Sunak is facing renewed calls to ban Government officials from using TikTok after EU staff were told to delete the Chinese-owned app because of security fears. All staff at the EUs executive arm were ordered to delete the video app from their phones on Thursday morning. EU Commission workers must also remove TikTok from their personal devices if any work related apps are installed on them. The EU said the ban was to protect the Commission against cybersecurity threats and actions which may be exploited for cyberattacks. It follows a similar ban in the US, where President Joe Biden ordered TikTok to be wiped from phones and other federal devices in December. Alicia Kearns, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, called for Mr Sunak to follow suit and ban the app from British Government devices. She said: Weve now seen both the EU and the US take action on TikTok over security concerns: the acquisition of our personal data by a hostile state. The Government needs to review its policies and look to ban government officials and parliamentary staff from installing the app on any mobile phones utilised for work, if not any device. The Houses of Parliament stopped using an official TikTok account last year after a backlash from MPs, including senior Tory backbencher Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who has been sanctioned by China. MPs - Elenia Courea/Twitter A Downing Street street account set up while former Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in office has also fallen dormant since his departure from Number 10. However, some senior politicians remain on the app, including Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps. Officials in the US and EU have blocked TikTok because of growing concerns about its handling of data. Chinese-company ByteDance, which owns TikTok, is able to harvest data on its users via the app. National security laws require all Chinese businesses to cooperate with the countrys intelligence services if asked. ByteDance chief executive Shou Zi Chew admitted last July that staff in China were able to remotely access US user data, though the company now insists that access has been shut off. Story continues TikTok has insisted it is not working with Beijing. A TikTok spokesman said of the EUs ban: We are disappointed with this decision, which we believe to be misguided and based on fundamental misconceptions. We're continuing to enhance our approach to data security, including by establishing three data centres in Europe to store user data locally; further reducing employee access to data; and minimising data flows outside of Europe. TikTok has grown rapidly in recent years, with over 1 billion users globally. It has expanded faster than every other major social media platform including arch-rival Instagram. Growth has been fuelled by the apps powerful recommendation algorithm, which serves up a steady stream of short videos. Former president Donald Trump signed an executive order in 2020 that would have banned TikTok from the US entirely unless its Chinese owners sold the local business to American owners. Bargaining by executives has helped to keep the app operating as normal for now. More recently, the app was involved in a censorship row after moderators deleted a video of The Telegraph journalists discussing potential side-effects of Covid-19 vaccines. However, some senior politicians remain on the app, including Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said it was up to "individual ministers and departments to choose which social media platforms they utilise to communicate with the public." Jens Stoltenberg "We haven't seen any supplies of lethal aid from China to Russia, but we have seen signs that they are considering and may be planning for that," Stoltenberg said. Read also: EU urges China not to supply Russia with weapons He added that the United States and other allies warned China against the move. Stoltenberg stressed that Beijing shouldnt support Russia's illegal war. He recalled that China is a member of the UN Security Council and that Russia's war against Ukraine violates the UN Charter. "The basic principle of that charter is to respect the integrity of other nations and not to march in and invade another country with hundreds of thousands of troops," he said. Read also: China continues to supply Russia with non-lethal military goods, US believes "Of course, China should not be part of that." China refrains from criticizing the full-scale war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine and claims that it takes an objective and fair position. Read also: Difficult for Ukraine to utilize fighter jets effectively, Blinken says On Feb. 19, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Beijing was considering providing lethal aid to Russia, including weapons and ammunition. He warned China against this, adding that it would bring "serious consequences". Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine China and India affirmed their progress in disengaging troops in a disputed section of their shared border and committed to working to further stabilise the situation. Hong Liang, director general of the Chinese foreign ministry's boundary and oceanic affairs department, met an Indian delegation led by Shilpak Ambule, joint secretary of India's external affairs minister's office, in Beijing on Wednesday. Other representatives of foreign affairs, national defence and immigration affairs agencies also attended. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. The meeting, known as the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on China-India Border Affairs, was the 26th of its kind and the first in-person reunion since July 2019. The WMCC last convened on October 14. The two sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), a notional demarcation line separating Indian-controlled and Chinese-controlled territories, and discussed proposals for disengagement in the remaining areas. The Chinese and Indian officials "reviewed the positive progress" of previous agreements and "exchanged in-depth views" on the next phase of discussions, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry. "The two sides agreed to actively implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, and promote the further stabilisation of the border situation," the statement read, adding that the parties would "work jointly to safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border areas". China and India signed an agreement in 1996 to ban firearms and explosives near the de facto border between the countries. Photo: AFP alt=China and India signed an agreement in 1996 to ban firearms and explosives near the de facto border between the countries. Photo: AFP> Story continues Chinese and Indian troops first disengaged in September, following a two-year stand-off triggered by a 2020 clash in the Galwan Valley that killed at least four Chinese and 20 Indian soldiers. In the deadly skirmishes, soldiers from both sides attacked each other with bare fists and spiked clubs, marking the first fatalities along the LAC in 45 years. Beijing and New Delhi signed an agreement in 1996 that sought to reduce aggression by banning firearms and explosives within 2km (1.24 miles) of the LAC. China said both sides hoped to "speed up" the resolution of issues along the western part of their shared border and "reach a mutually acceptable solution at an early date". A similarly worded statement from the Indian external affairs ministry stated that the two sides "discussed proposals for disengagement in the remaining areas in an open and constructive manner". The Indian statement added that disengagement would help restore peace along the LAC's western sector and create conditions for the "restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations". Also on Wednesday, Ambule met Chinese assistant foreign minister Hua Chunying to discuss bilateral ties and the situation at the border. Senior military commanders from the two sides have held 17 rounds of talks since the clash in June 2020, with the last round held on December 20. It was agreed in the meeting that the next round would be held soon and discussions would continue through military and diplomatic channels. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2023. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Photo: File photo Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government has signed health-care agreements in principle with all four Atlantic provinces and Ontario. He made the announcement as he spoke with students in Halifax today, pre-empting a news conference scheduled for later in the day with Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc. Earlier this month, Trudeau offered the premiers $46 billion in new money for health care over the next decade. As part of the deal, the federal government promised to negotiate bilateral agreements with each premier to target specific priority areas such as primary care, mental-health care and data sharing. The federal government has released details of the deals with Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King. The Ontario deal is worth $74 billion, including $8.4 billion through a bilateral agreement, while P.E.I.'s deal is worth $996 million, including $288 million in a one-on-one agreement. Dai Bing, China's Deputy Ambassador to the UN, has said at the UN General Assembly that a year after the war in Ukraine started, "the brutal facts offer ample proof that sending weapons will not bring peace". Source: The Guardian Details: Speaking during the UN debate on a draft resolution calling on Russia to leave Ukraine, Dai said that China's position on Ukraine has been "consistent and clear." He said that "top priority [for Beijing] is to facilitate ceasefire and cessation of hostilities without delay". Dai stressed that China is ready to "continue playing a constructive role" in resolving the crisis in Ukraine. Regarding nuclear war, Dai stated that "all parties should strictly abide by nuclear conventions" and not use nuclear weapons. "Nuclear weapons cannot be used, nuclear war cannot be fought," said China's representative at the UN. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! A ball is seen on a beach in Hamamatsu, Japan earlier this month - REUTERS The Canadian military has discovered Chinese spy buoys in the Arctic which are monitoring US submarines and melting ice sheets. Such "activity is not new, Canadian defence minister Anita Anand said in televised remarks, implying that China has been engaging in surveillance efforts in the region for some time. Officials described the objects as dual-purpose technologies but they have been reported in Canadian media as buoys used for spying. It is unclear whether the Chinese buoys floated into Canadian waters or were purposefully anchored into the waters. Monitoring buoys can follow environmental and weather conditions, the salinity of water, and track fish. Earlier this week, a giant mystery ball washed ashore in Japan, later found to be a buoy, though no owner has laid claim. Daniel Le Bouthillier, from the Department of National Defence said the Canadian military found and retrieved the monitoring devices but gave no further information about the operation. China has long been interested in building a presence in the Arctic which will allow it to secure a shorter trade route to Europe as glaciers melt. But as China's presence expands globally, so have concerns over undue influence, surveillance and espionage. Canadas foreign minister Melanie Joly said that China is an increasingly disruptive power, in an interview with CNN. When it comes to China, we will challenge China when we ought to, and we will cooperate with China when we need to, she said. When it comes to issues over the Arctic within our maritime borders, or any form of foreign interference, we will be clear, and thats how we will address this issue. Earlier this month a suspected Chinese spy balloon flew over Canadian airspace into the US, before the American military shot it down into the Atlantic Ocean. Beijing has denied that the balloon served any surveillance purposes, saying instead that it was a weather research airship. The Canadian parliament is also currently investigating allegations of Chinese election interference. BERLIN (Reuters) -Russia is in talks with a Chinese manufacturer about buying 100 drones, with a delivery date of April, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Thursday, without citing specific sources. In recent days, the United States, Germany and other Western countries have warned China not to sell weapons to Russia for its war against Ukraine, saying that any such move would have severe consequences. Russia, hemmed in by severe Western sanctions imposed in response to its attack on Ukraine, is believed to have bought weaponry from Iran and North Korea, including drones from the former, but China has so far stood aside. Der Spiegel said Chinese drone manufacturer Xian Bingo Intelligent Aviation Technology had said it was prepared to make 100 prototypes of its ZT-180 drone, which the magazine said could carry a 35-50kg warhead. "I have told China's representatives that it cannot be accepted," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told ZDF public television earlier on Thursday when asked about less specific reports that China might help Russia. White House spokesman John Kirby, asked about general Chinese consideration of arms, said Washington has publicly and privately noted its concerns. "While there are indications that China may be considering the provision of lethal capabilities to Russia, we have not seen them make that decision, we have not seen them move in that direction," Kirby told reporters in a briefing on Friday. "Frankly, China should not want to become tangibly involved in that." Der Spiegel said the drone was similar to Iran's Shaheed-136, with which Russia has launched countless attacks on Ukraine, claiming hundreds of lives and damaging civilian infrastructure. The magazine also said Bingo had plans to help establish a production site for the drone in Russia, where up to 100 aircraft could be made a month. It added that there had been earlier plans for a company controlled by the Chinese army to send Russia spare parts for its SU-27 warplane. Story continues Bingo did not respond to an emailed request for comment. The company was founded in 2017 by Ma Jingdong, a graduate of China's Northwestern Polytechnical University and its drones have been used by the likes of China's electricity network operator State Grid to carry out environmental monitoring work, according to posts on its official WeChat account. In November 2018, Bingo said it had signed a strategic cooperation agreement with an online platform established by Poly Technology Defense Investment, a unit of state-owned China Poly Group which aims to support military trade and research into military equipment. A procurement document published by the government of China's far western Xinjiang region in August 2021 said drones developed by Bingo had been used in military exercises and described their technical strength as "first class." (Reporting by Thomas Escritt in Berlin, Brenda Goh in Shanghai and Eduardo Baptista in Beijing, and Steve Holland, Andrea Shalal and Susan Heavey in WashingtonEditing by Kim Coghill and Matthew Lewis) A Chinese resident got access to OpenAI's ChatGPT and used it to generate a fake government notice that many residents thought was real. Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Chinese residents were shocked to learn that ChatGPT wrote a viral notice, per Sixth Tone. OpenAI's ChatGPT is banned in China, but Chinese residents have been able to find workarounds. An OpenAI employee said it's unclear how ChatGPT can respond in languages other than English. OpenAI has banned the use of ChatGPT in China. But some Chinese residents have gotten access to the chatbot even using it to spread misinformation. Chinese residents across social media were shocked to learn that a notice they thought was published by the city of Hangzhou's municipal government was actually generated by ChatGPT, Sixth Tone, a Chinese media outlet, reported. The fake notice which went viral on Chinese social media late last week announced that the city of Hangzhou would end its road space rationing policy starting March 1st, according to Sixth Tone. The policy prevents cars with specific license plate numbers from accessing certain roads. The notice reportedly included a list of three in-depth reasons for why the city is ending the policy. Per Sixth Tone, it said the policy caused a "public inconvenience," even though it has reduced road congestion. When the post went viral, many Chinese residents thought it was real. After all, the city lifted traffic restrictions last December and enforced them again in February, per Sixth Tone. But a day later, a local Chinese radio station reported that the release was made by a Hangzhou resident and that changes hadn't been made to the policy, per Sixth Tone. Sixth Tone reported that the resident, according to the station, prompted ChatGPT to generate a "news report" about ending the road policy, took a screenshot of its responses, then shared them to a group in WeChat, a popular Chinese social media app. He has apologized to the group since the reveal. OpenAI did not respond to Insider's immediate request for comment before publication. The incident spooked many Chinese residents, some of whom went to Weibo a Chinese social media platform to express their concerns. One user called the news "outrageous." Another said that the chatbot's ability to write like a human is "really scary," according to Sixth Tone, and it has also lead to a police investigation. Story continues But Chinese residents aren't the only ones scratching their heads. Jan Lieke, OpenAI's Alignment Team lead, expressed his confusion in a tweet on why ChatGPT which he said is "exclusively trained on English" is able to follow instructions that are written in other languages. "We still don't know why," Lieke said. "I wish someone would figure this out." Like the Hangzhou resident, many people in China have been able to bypass the ChatGPT firewall that OpenAI has put in place by purchasing OpenAI accounts through e-commerce platforms for a few bucks, The Wall Street Journal reported. Virtual private networks are also being used, per the Journal. Chinese users who have played with ChatGPT found that it can write social media posts in the style of influencers, emulate the editorial voice of particular writers, and generate lyrics of Chinese meme songs from scratch, the MIT Technology Review reported. But earlier this week, the Chinese government reportedly started cracking down on ChatGPT usage. Big Chinese companies like search engine Baidu are working on their own versions of the chatbot for those living in the country, CNBC reported. Read the original article on Business Insider Legislation that passed in North Carolinas House on Wednesday would make clear that longer-term hotel guests cannot receive the stronger legal protections usually reserved for home and apartment renters until theyve stayed for three months. The measure, approved 84-31, seeks to respond to concerns from hotel and motel operators about guests who have been difficult to remove despite breaking hotel rules or the law, said the bill sponsor, Republican Rep. John Bradford of Mecklenburg County. The bill states transient occupancies that arent subject to landlord-tenant rules apply when a person has stayed at a locale for fewer than 90 days. ALSO READ: Man accused of holding woman against her will, sexually assaulting her at Uptown hotel Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a similar bill in 2021, saying it wasnt the right way to provide safety in hotels. An identical bill passed the Senate earlier this month. One of the versions would have to be approved by both chambers for the legislation to head to Coopers desk. Opponents of the measure contend that people often living for weeks in hotels have nowhere else to go due to economic circumstances or the dearth of affordable housing and need more protections. Bradford said he was listening to concerns from advocates for the poor and that adjustments were possible. VIDEO: Man accused of holding woman against her will, sexually assaulting her at Uptown hotel Winter storm warnings are stretching from California to the East Coast. A television journalist and a 9-year-old girl have been fatally shot in central Florida. Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have been subpoenaed in the investigation into election interference by former President Donald Trump, according to media reports. It's Jane Onyanga-Omara and Steve Coogan, Daily Briefing authors. Who let the dogs out? This Florida bill would ban pups from sticking their heads out car windows. Now, here's Thursday's news Treacherous winter storm spreads from coast to coast Winter storm warnings continued to stretch from California to the East Coast on Thursday, with blizzard conditions and other treacherous winter weather slamming swaths of the country. Some regions in the West and Midwest that have faced brutal, frigid conditions this week could see winter storm, wind chill and other advisories lift on Thursday after days of dangerous weather. Snow and ice are expected to hit parts of New York and New England on Thursday, bringing a foot of accumulation in some areas. And yes, wintry weather and rainfall is even in the forecast for southern California. Read more Ayden Ereth brushes snow from his vehicle in downtown Bismarck, N.D., on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. A monster winter storm took aim at the Upper Midwest on Tuesday, threatening to bring blizzard conditions, bitterly cold temperatures, and 2 feet of snow in a three-day onslaught that could affect more than 40 million Americans. What's the weather up to in your neck of the woods? Check your local forecast here. 3 dead, including TV journalist and 9-year-old, in central Florida shootings A Florida television journalist from Spectrum News 13 and a 9-year-old girl were fatally shot Wednesday near the scene of a deadly shooting from earlier in the day, officials said. Deputies initially responded to the Pine Hills area, northwest of Orlando Wednesday morning following reports of a woman in her 20s being shot. According to witnesses, a man approached the news vehicle later Wednesday and opened fire, and then walked to a nearby home and shot the mother and daughter. Besides the journalist and the girl, a TV crewmember and the girls mother were wounded during the second shooting. They were in critical condition at a local hospital. Authorities arrested Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who was formally charged with murder from the first incident. Authorities expect to charge Moses for the additional shooting of the four people. Read more Story continues US mass killing events in January: Monterey Park, Half Moon Bay killings make 2023's first month one of most violent on record. Mass killing database: Revealing trends, details and anguish of every US event since 2006. Orange County, Florida, Sheriff John Mina addresses the media during a press conference about multiple shootings on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, in Orlando, Florida. Mina said they detained a 19-year-old man who they believe is responsible for the shootings. What do you want to know about crime and the criminal justice system? USA TODAY reporter Grace Hauck focuses on this topic and she wants to hear from you. What questions do you have? What kinds of stories do you want to see? Email her at ghauck@usatoday.com. Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner subpoenaed in DOJ special counsel probe, reports say Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have been subpoenaed by the Justice Department's special counsel investigating the former president's efforts to block the transfer of power following the 2020 election, according to media reports. The move represents the latest effort by federal authorities to secure the testimony from Trump's inner circle in an ongoing criminal investigation. The Justice Department declined to comment on the law enforcement action, first reported by the New York Times. The couple's legal representatives could not be reached for comment. A spokesperson for the former president also did not respond to inquiries, including whether he would seek to block the testimony. Read more More news to know now White House blames Trump administration and GOP for Ohio train derailment spill The White House is firing back at Republicans following the toxic East Palestine, Ohio train derailment, blaming the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress for undoing Obama-era rail safety measures designed to avert such disasters. The aggressive rebuttal came as former President Donald Trump visited East Palestine on Wednesday and Republicans increasingly attack the Biden administration, especially Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, for its response to the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern freight train derailment that unleashed toxic chemicals. Republicans have accused President Joe Biden of ignoring East Palestine, which Trump carried by 40 percentage points in the 2020 election, decrying how the president visited Ukraine and Poland this week instead of Ohio. Read more Just how dangerous is the Ohio derailment disaster? Why it's confusing. Column: Toxins don't play politics. After derailment, East Palestine deserves answers, not games. Former President Donald Trump shakes hands with guests after he spoke at the East Palestine Fire Department in East Palestine, Ohio, on February 22, 2023. Just for subscribers: These articles are for USA TODAY subscribers. You can sign up here. Did you know we have newsletters available exclusively for subscribers? Take advantage of our Presidents Day sale for unlimited access to nationwide news and more. Don Lemon apologizes again for Nikki Haley comments before returning to CNN Don Lemon apologized again early Wednesday for his comments last week about presidential hopeful and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley before returning to his seat on CNN "This Morning." "To my network, my colleagues and our incredible audience I'm sorry. I've heard you, I'm learning from you ..." he tweeted. The TV host, 56, appeared Wednesday for the first time since saying Haley was not "in her prime" during last Thursday's episode. In his return, he made no mention of the controversy and stuck to the news with stories like President Joe Biden's trip to Ukraine, the Ohio train derailment and winter weather. Read more The Don Lemon-Nikki Haley controversy explained: What the CNN host said about the presidential hopeful USA TODAY Opinion column: CNN's Don Lemon still gets it wrong. His non-apology for sexist comments is what not to do. From columnist Rex Huppke: Fox News' election lies vs. sexism from CNN's Don Lemon. The difference? Accountability. CNN's Don Lemon has apologized after saying Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is not "in her prime." Photo of the day: Winter storm blows bitter cold and snow across the US A brutal winter storm that has stretched 2,600 miles coast to coast battered states from the West to the East Coast on Wednesday, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands of households, shuttering highways and prompting hundreds of flight cancellations. A youngster walks home from school in Minneapolis as snow falls from a winter storm hitting the Twin Cities, Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. A monster winter storm took aim at the Upper Midwest on Tuesday, threatening to bring blizzard conditions, bitterly cold temperatures, and 2 feet of snow in a three-day onslaught that could affect more than 40 million Americans. Click here to see photos of the storm making its mark across the nation. One more thing Austin Butler ("Elvis"), left, and Tom Cruise ("Top Gun: Maverick") mingle at the Oscar nominees luncheon. Support journalism like this subscribe to USA TODAY here. Associated Press contributed reporting. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Daily Briefing: Coast to coast winter blitz A still from Cocaine Bear Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection When the trailer for Cocaine Bear dropped two months ago; it predictably went viral based on its single, outlandish premise: A BEAR DID COCAINE! screams one character. Premiering nationwide tomorrow, Cocaine Bear is much like its trailer advertises: a fast-paced, ridiculous, excessively gory comedy-thriller based very loosely on real events that feels like a much-needed shot of adrenaline. Its too campy and self-deprecating to be an indelible work of cinema, but thats not the point: Its original, and its a very good time. Heres the plot: Its 1985 and a drug runner dumps bags of cocaine off a plane into the woods in Georgia; a 500-pound bear finds it, consumes a terrifying amount of drugs, immediately develops an addiction, and goes on a murderous rampage in search of its next hit. An innocent young girl and her friend (played by Brooklynn Prince and Christian Convery) find themselves in the bears path, and their only hope is that her mom (Keri Russell), who goes out searching for her, finds them before Cocaine Bear does. Meanwhile, a group of criminals (the late Ray Liotta , OShea Jackson Jr., and Alden Ehrenreich) are hell-bent on reclaiming the valuable haul from the forest. Directed by Elizabeth Banks and written by Jimmy Warden, this high-octane, predatorprey thriller thrives on absurdity. You squeal every time the bear does more cocaine(!) recharging its bloodlust and comes across another measly human who quickly realizes that theyre screwed. They scream, they run, they climb, they drive away from Cocaine Bear. Its a thrill, and it gets your heart racing. If youve felt at turns paralyzed, numbed out, and extremely uptight amid the worlds many big problems lately, Cocaine Bear will make you feel awake, all right like a refreshing second-hand high even if that pleasure is being supplied by things onscreen that are so deeply wrong. The sound, lighting, and script manage to keep the film light and colorful, even as characters find themselves in the bears deadly paws. Fans of films like Alien, Predator, and Jurassic Park might find the suspense of being hunted especially satisfying. Story continues Keri Russell (left) in a still from Cocaine Bear Pat Redmond / Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection There are a couple of things youd have to ignore about the film to fully enjoy it like animal cruelty, for starters. The real-life 175-pound bear that inspired the film was found dead with 35 pounds of cocaine in its stomach, after experiencing cerebral hemorrhaging, hyperthermia, respiratory failure, renal failure, and heart failure, according to production notes from the films publicists. Thats not how things play out in the film, which used a CGI bear and which Banks called its revenge story, but it does make light of the real misfortune of animals that fall victim to human folly. Then theres the fact that the tweens in the film do some cocaine as well . Banks, who directed the film, said because the characters are still so young, the scene was about their innocence being tested (she also said she has never used cocaine herself). The filmmakers sprinkle in some obligatory Just Say No messaging. On top of that, the film is incredibly, unnecessarily gory, which can detract from the fun if, like me, you find that kind of stuff hard to stomach. (One shocking violent scene involving a gun seems like a tacit indictment of gun use.) Others in the theater thought it was hilarious. Cocaine Bear can feel wrong, but it asks its more socially conscious viewers to lie back and loosen up for an hour and 35 minutes and just surrender to pure id. Its a welcome invitation when survival through the early days of COVID relied on meticulous self-control, caution, and restraint. Things are different these days, but our bodies still carry the memory of being so fiercely and tightly wound in order to shut out danger, and inadvertently shut out so much pleasure at the same time. Thats why Cocaine Bear feels so good, and why millions of people have already watched the ludicrous trailer. It gives audiences a temporary and manic euphoria before they button back up against a sedate but still menacing world. To get a roundup of TechCrunchs biggest and most important crypto stories delivered to your inbox every Thursday at 12 p.m. PT, subscribe here. Welcome back to Chain Reaction. This week big news rolled out in the layer-2 blockchain space as Coinbase, the second largest crypto exchange by trading volume, launched Base, an Ethereum-focused layer-2 blockchain. In the past, Coinbase has homed in on the trading and exchange side of its business, but this blockchain is switching up the script for the company as it moves into the decentralized ecosystem. In an effort to expand further into the developer space, Coinbase is building Base to make it dead easy for developers to build dApps and for users to access those dApps through Coinbase products, Jesse Pollak, lead for Base and head of protocols at Coinbase, told TechCrunch. Our goal is to bring about phase 4 of Coinbases master plan: to bring a billion users into the crypto economy, Pollak added. And the new blockchain is hitting the ground running as a number of crypto organizations like Chainlink, Magic Eden, Animoca Brands, The Graph, have committed to building on its platform. This news comes just two days after Coinbase announced its fourth-quarter earnings for 2022, which beat Wall Streets revenue expectations of $581.2 million. Although the company generated $605 million in total revenue, it was down sharply from $2.49 billion in the year-ago quarter. This week in web3 Sam Bankman-Fried faces new criminal charges for unlawful political contributions According to a new filing from the Southern District of New York attorneys office, former FTX co-founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) now faces four additional counts of fraud, bringing his total to 12 charges. With these new charges, the former crypto wunderkind has been accused of defrauding the Federal Elections Committee (FEC), along with additional counts related to wire fraud and money laundering. Digging into Coinbases better-than-expected Q4 results (TC+) Story continues Coinbases fourth-quarter earning results show alternative revenue sources may be a key factor for exchanges as the exchange saw trading volumes fall but other nontrading areas rise. TechCrunch dove into a number of questions we wanted to answer, including queries relating to the companys revenue mix, consumer activity and ability to defend its fee take rate during the present-day crypto downturn. Google Cloud partners with Tezos blockchain to bring web3 technology to its customers Through Tezos corporate baking program, new and existing Google Cloud customers will be able to build web3 applications as well as deploy nodes and indexers on Tezos protocol. This means companies and developers alike can leverage Tezos blockchain technology alongside Google Clouds infrastructure. In general, Google Cloud plans to continue partnering with key players in the web3 ecosystem to keep growing innovation for open source technologies, James Tromans, engineering director for web3 at Google Cloud, said to TechCrunch. NBA Top Shot creator to face lawsuit around securities status Dapper Labs, the company behind many popular NFT collectible projects, will face a lawsuit accusing it of selling unregistered securities. A class-action lawsuit was first filed against Dapper Labs in 2021. The company filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit before trial. And yet, as Coindesk spotted, U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero denied the request, which means that the case will go forward. SEC charges Terraform Labs and founder Do Kwon with defrauding investors The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has charged the collapsed blockchain firm and stablecoin operator Terraform Labs and its founder Do Kwon with defrauding U.S. investors who purchased the digital assets Terra USD and Luna. The SEC accused Kwon and the Singapore-based crypto firm of offering and selling an inter-connected suite of crypto asset securities, many in unregistered transactions from April 2018 to May 2022, among other things. The latest pod For this weeks episode, Jacquelyn interviewed Alex Adelman, the co-founder and CEO of Lolli. Founded in 2018, Lolli is a bitcoin rewards app that lets people earn bitcoin or cash back when they shop online or in-person at over 10,000 stores like McDonald's, Starbucks, Dunkin', CVS, Costco and so on. Adelman previously was on the team that built commerce gateway Cosmic that was acquired by PopSugar in 2015, then Ebates and Rakuten in 2017. And similar to Jacquelyn, Adelman also went to UNC-Chapel Hill -- go Tar Heels! Lolli has grown significantly over the past few years, from partnering with fewer than 1,000 stores to more than 10,000 stores, to date. Adelman dived into the rewards system in the crypto ecosystem and how it has evolved over the years -- and what the future holds for Lolli. We also dived deep into the topic of Bitcoin NFTs and Ordinals, which is the latest craze for the community. We discussed whether Bitcoin NFTs are good for the ecosystem, how the technology can grow long term and possibilities for these digital inscriptions to potentially fit into Lollis business model. Subscribe to Chain Reaction on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favorite pod platform to keep up with the latest episodes, and please leave us a review if you like what you hear! Follow the money AI-powered crypto search engine Kaito raised $5.3 million to improve browsing with AI, ChatGPT Chain Reaction (not associated with TechCrunchs podcast) raised $70 million to launch chips designed to compute encrypted data Ethereum-based blockchain game Worldwide Webb raised $10 million in a round led by Pantera Capital Multi-signature wallet provider Den raised $2.8 million in a seed round Galaxy Digital and PayPal co-led a $20 million round for on-chain security system Chaos Labs This list was compiled with information from Messari as well as TechCrunchs own reporting. Florida college students are livid with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, accusing him of targeting the civil rights of LGBTQ students and people of color by pushing to ban diversity, equity and inclusion, limiting discussion of racism and privilege in schools, and his threats to do more. Sort of. A small number of protesters walked out of their college classes Thursday during a planned statewide protest of DeSantis and his policies. One man at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville carried a "Keep Surveillance Out of Education!" sign and a Pride flag. Others at Florida International University waved signs that read "Trans Rights = Human Rights." In a similar scene at the University of Florida, about 100 people on a campus of more than 55,000 students held signs advocating for transgender health care and said the state is restricting free thought and expression. The Florida College Democrats and Dream Defenders organized Thursday's "Stand for Freedom" movement and walkout to challenge DeSantis' education-related policies. They are calling on the DeSantis administration to restore diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in colleges and universities, according to the "Stand for Freedom" pledge. "We are Floridas students and citizens. It is our education that is being tarnished and our schools being discredited," the pledge says. "This is our fight for freedom." 'This is our fight for freedom': Florida college students plan statewide walkout against Gov. DeSantis. Last month, DeSantis' announced plans to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in previous years across Florida campuses. His legislative proposal would ban colleges and universities from spending money, regardless of its source, on support for initiatives related to diversity, equity and inclusion, critical race theory or "other discriminatory initiatives." Story continues In response to a question about the protests, a DeSantis spokesperson referred to an earlier statement. In Florida, we will build off of our higher education reforms by aligning core curriculum to the values of liberty and the Western tradition, eliminating politicized bureaucracies like DEI, increasing the amount of research dollars for programs that will feed key industries with talented Florida students, and empowering presidents and boards of trustees to recruit and hire new faculty, including by dedicating record resources for faculty salaries, DeSantis said on Jan. 31. Rev. Al Sharpton, Black leaders: DeSantis is 'wrong to mess with Black history' What do the Florida student protesters say? Protesters at the University of Florida said DeSantis is abusing his political power by overreaching into the education system, including K-12 schools, and dictating what can be taught in classrooms. About 100 University of Florida students gathered at Turlington Hall on Thursday afternoon, part of a statewide walkout in protest of recent education-related efforts by Gov. Ron DeSantis, including his policies targeting LGBTQ+ and people of color. Sabrina Briceno, a member University of Floridas College Democrats and Stand For Freedom Florida, said students want to "accurately learn our history, and that includes history that he might not agree with." On the Florida State University campus, Ava Anderson said she doesn't agree with any of the policies DeSantis has introduced. Personally, I feel like were going in a factious direction," the 21-year-old sociology and psychology major said. "Im Jewish, so it does scare me to see how hes criticizing peoples identities. And in Sarasota at New College of Florida, which has been a focus of DeSantis' efforts to create a more conservative education model, professor Debarati Biswas said she fully supports the students. "We value academic freedom at New College ... the students are choosing what they want to learn," Biswas said. "They are creating their own curriculum, and that brings with it growth and critical thinking." 'Black history is not inferior': Black leaders object to Florida's 'culture war against African Americans' University of Florida student Madigan Wilford, center, came out in support of the trans population during a planned a statewide walkout in protest of recent education-related efforts by Gov. Ron DeSantis. A protest at Florida State University's campus in Tallahassee earlier this month drew about 50 people rallying against DeSantis' initiatives. A political activism group called Students for a Democratic Society led that rally against his efforts to remove DEI from college curricula across the state, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. Board shake-ups, threats to tenure: How conservatives are reshaping colleges How is DeSantis shaping education in Florida? DeSantis' announcement is just his latest action on academia. Earlier this year, he replaced several members of the board of trustees with conservative appointees at New College of Florida, attributing low student enrollment and other financial challenges to the colleges skewed focus and impractical course offerings. The board quickly fired the progressive public institution's president. New College of Florida has been completely captured by a political ideology that puts trendy, truth-relative concepts above learning, Bryan Griffin, DeSantis press secretary, told USA TODAY earlier. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis addresses the crowd before publicly signing the Stop WOKE Act in April 2022. DeSantis' Stop W.O.K.E. Act, legislation intended to limit discussion of racism and privilege in schools and workplace training, became law in 2022. A federal judge last year partially blocked the law from being applied to public universities. In the 2022 elections, DeSantis endorsed and helped finance conservative school board candidates in several districts, most of whom won their races. This week, DeSantis shared a list of 14 school board members he hopes to help oust in 2024 because they "do not protect parental rights and have failed to protect students from woke ideologies." He rejected the College Board's new AP African American Studies course, saying it violates Florida law and lacks educational value. Why are colleges offering up more DEI degrees? Demand for diversity expertise is growing. DeSantis signed another bill last year, the Parental Rights in Education Act, which opponents have dubbed the "Don't Say Gay" law. The measure bans instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. DeSantis' administration asked 12 state universities for information about how many people were diagnosed with gender dysphoria or received treatment in campus clinics across Florida. It's not clear what will be done with the data. CRT and DEI: What do those terms really mean? Contributing: Tarah Jean, Tallahassee Democrat; Samantha Gholar, Sarasota Herald-Tribune; and Alan Festo, Gainesville Sun Contact Kayla Jimenez at kjimenez@usatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter at @kaylajjimenez. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Students walk out to protest DeSantis' education efforts in Florida (Bloomberg) -- Colombia last month entirely halted the eradication of coca, the raw material for cocaine, as the government of President Gustavo Petro calls for a new approach in the war on drugs. Most Read from Bloomberg The nation had already stopped aerial spraying with herbicides in 2015 over fears that they cause cancer, but had continued to send in teams to dig coca shrubs up by hand. Read more: The Golden Age of Cocaine Is Happening Right Now Petro, who took office last August, has called the decades of US-backed eradication efforts a failure, which have fueled violence while failing to cut consumption. He is hoping to achieve total peace by negotiating with the armed groups that control cocaine-producing regions, and favors giving farmers financial incentives to grow legal crops. National Police chief General Henry Sanabria told reporters this week that eradication was paused in January while the authorities prepare contracts for the teams of eradicators. More than 400 hectares of coca have been eradicated in February so far, Sanabria said. Satellite images show that the amount of land in Colombia planted with coca rose to a record of more than 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) in 2021, enough to produce about 1,400 tons of cocaine. Colombia produces more of the drug than the rest of the world combined. Petros government has said it will focus on intercepting cocaine shipments and pursuing assets acquired by criminals, rather than going after the poorest coca farmers. However, farmers who dont agree to voluntarily eradicate coca will have their crops dug up by force, the Defense Ministry said in a reply to written questions. Story continues Authorities seized 40 tons of cocaine last month, according to the ministry, down 31% from a year earlier. They also destroyed 607 laboratories used to process the drug, which is up 11% from the same period in 2022. The US must be disappointed that the government is not complying with its eradication schedule, said Sergio Guzman, a political analyst at Colombia Risk. For the US, the priority of the relationship with Colombia will continue to be drugs. Since 1996, Colombia has received more than $10 billion in US aid to fight drug production. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Photo: The Canadian Press Police vehicles at Calgary Police Service headquarters in Calgary. Police say a 36-year-old man is facing assault charges after an alleged hate-motivated attack earlier this year at a Calgary bus shelter. They say a woman was standing at the bus shelter on Jan. 13 when a man slapped her phone out of her grasp before biting her hand and yelling racist slurs at her. They say three bystanders helped the woman to safety and called police. Once on scene, police say officers found a suspect and took him into custody. Police say in a news release that the case is being treated as hate motivated. They say hate motivation does not result in additional charges, but any evidence of it is considered by the courts after a person is found guilty. "If the judge decides during sentencing that hate was a motivation for the offence, it is an aggravating factor that can add to the convicted persons sentence," Calgary police said in a news release Thursday. Const. Matt Messenger from the police service's Hate Crimes Prevention Unit said such crimes are under reported. "Everyone has the right to feel safe in their community. There is no place for hate in our city and we want to thank the bystanders for coming to the aid of the victim," he said in the release. "(We) want to remind all Calgarians to report these (types of) incidents so they can be thoroughly investigated and those responsible can be held accountable." Mark Zuckerbergs virtual reality division may be losing moneybut one country is finding the tech useful: Colombia last week became one of the first countries in the world to host a court hearing in Metas metaverse. Lawmakers in the South American nation held a two-hour hearing using Horizon Workrooms, a Meta platform that allows teams to get together via a virtual workspace. Colombian lawyers put on virtual headsets to take part, and the meeting was live-streamed on YouTube. Those attending appeared in the meeting as computer-generated avatars. And the hearingwhich saw a complainant trying to sue the policewas a success, according to those in the virtual meeting. The use of information technology in the development of judicial proceedings has the essential purpose of facilitating and expediting these processes [of executing justice], said Maria Victoria Quinones Triana, magistrate of the Magdalena court. Though not all those tuned into the streaming thought it was a good idea: some commented that seeing cartoon-like figures was ridiculous. I feel it takes away from the seriousness [of the case], remarked one viewer. If I want to see myself in a dinosaur character, is that also acceptable? It was the first time Colombias lawmakers held a full virtual hearingbut elsewhere in the world, hearings using Metas tech have taken place: local media reported that last September, a Chinese court held a virtual meeting. Virtual court hearingsand meetings generallybecame the norm in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. With governments imposing lockdowns worldwide, professionals switched to the video conferencing Zoom platform to meet, pumping the company's stock and sending its market cap through the roof. Getting Started with the Metaverse The sudden overreliance on the technology meant some weird and wacky situations: a Texas lawyer seemingly unaccustomed to using the platform got stuck as a kitten when he couldnt change a video filter. Story continues But an entire meeting held with everyone as cartoonish digital characters is a different story. A Colombian Court held a hearing on the Metaverse on February 15, 2023, allowing the parties to appear over VR or video and using avatars or characters. The court resolved that using technologies such as the Metaverse does not entail a violation of the due process and instead: https://t.co/NhsrYhLJTA Eli.eth (Eliana) (@eliana_esq) February 22, 2023 Meta, previously known as Facebook, has poured billions into metaverse technology but it hasnt been a financial successyet: Its metaverse Reality Labs lost a whopping $4.28 billion in 2022 Q4. Despite this, Meta CEO Zuckerberg has pledged more investment into the space. The two major technological waves driving our roadmap are AI today, and, over the longer term, the metaverse, he said last month. Colorado Early Colleges Fort Collins High School is pictured in Fort Collins on March 11, 2021. Colorado Early Colleges has fired the principals at its Fort Collins middle and high schools for staff violations" of its Employee Code of Conduct, a lawyer representing the schools confirmed in an email Wednesday evening. After several staff complaints, related to staff violations of the Employee Code of Conduct, Jeb Holt and Collin Turbert were placed on administrative leave and, following an investigation, subsequently terminated, Amber DiCarli of the Charter School Law Group wrote in an email to the Coloradoan. Holt was the principal of CEC Fort Collins Middle School, while Turbert had been principal of CEC Fort Collins High School. Colorado Early Colleges is a network of tuition-free public charter schools, authorized by the Colorado Department of Education rather than individual school districts. CEC operates high schools in Fort Collins, Aurora, Castle Rock, Englewood (Inverness) and Parker, combined middle-high schools in Windsor and Colorado Springs, a middle school in Fort Collins and college-direct opportunities for high school students to take college courses through its accredited partners. CEC also offers part-time enrollment opportunities for home-school and nonpublic school students, according to its website. Sandi Brown, the chief executive administrator of all Colorado Early Colleges schools, retains oversight and control over all of its campuses, DiCarli wrote in her email. In letters sent to families of students at both Fort Collins schools, Brown wrote, CEC received several concerns from staff regarding behavior directed at staff that was not in alignment with CECs Employee Code of Conduct. She went on to note that none of the allegations or subsequent investigation included staff members conduct with students and that the investigation revealed only code of conduct violations against staff. Brown referred questions emailed to her by the Coloradoan to DiCarli, who shared the letters sent to families of students at both schools. CEC leadership declined to expand on the nature of the conduct violations that led to the principals' termination. Story continues Karisa Hocke, the academic dean at CEC Fort Collins High School, will serve as interim head of school for both the Fort Collins middle and high schools. Rick Knable, the campus culture and facilities coordinator at CEC Fort Collins Middle School, will serve as the interim building manager at the middle school, Brown wrote in her letter to families. Rachel Page will be the point of contact for the teaching staff. CEC is obligated and committed to investigating all concerns brought forward and strongly believes that a healthy workplace culture leads to a better learning environment for CEC students, DiCarlis email read. Reporter Kelly Lyell covers education, breaking news, some sports and other topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, twitter.com/KellyLyell or facebook.com/KellyLyell.news. This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado Early Colleges fires principals of its Fort Collins schools Alain Libondo (17) left, and Nsinku Zihindula (25), hammering at solid rock to find cassiterite and coltan at Szibira, South Kivu. Photo by Tom Stoddart via Getty Images The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is rich in natural resources its untapped deposits of minerals are estimated to be worth US trillion. Gold, diamonds, cobalt and zinc are among them. Another strategic mineral mined in the DRC is coltan a name derived from columbite-tantalite. In 2021, the DRCs coltan production amounted to an estimated 700 tonnes, making the Central African country the worlds largest coltan producer by far. Coltan is indispensable to the manufacture of all modern technological devices. The mineral is refined to tantalum powder, which is used to make heat-resistant capacitors in laptops, cellphones, and other high-end electronic devices. The global coltan market was valued at US ,504.81 million in 2019. It is expected to reach US ,933.92 million by the end of 2026, growing at a rate of 5.58% a year between 2021 and 2026. But activists, journalists and scholars have found a relationship between coltan exploitation and large-scale environmental degradation, human rights abuses, violence and death. This can be seen in violation of environmental laws, child labour on mining sites, and complicity of mining companies in the abuses of populations at risk. In my new study, I asked two research questions: what harms do coltan mining and trading cause to the environment and local people in north-eastern DRC? And what can the DRC government and private sector do to ensure responsible sourcing of coltan? Coltan exploitation is destroying ecosystems and affecting wildlife habitats. Animals are being displaced from their natural habitat, leaving them vulnerable to poachers. The chemicals used in washing coltan are polluting water bodies and are harmful to people and animals. My study raises awareness of the implications of this illicit mining and suggests multi-stakeholder interventions to halt environmental crime. Environmental crime The information for my analysis came from a qualitative field survey, legislation and UN reports on extractive conflicts in the DRC. Story continues Data also came from interviews with officials of the Certification, Expertise and Evaluation Centre, the Ministry of Mines, civil society coalitions, the Congolese Environment Agency and nongovernmental organisations in North and South Kivu. My study conceives environmental crime as activities that breach environmental legislation and cause significant harm or risk to the environment, human health, or both. Coltan is mined through a fairly primitive process. Miners work together digging large craters in streambeds, scraping away soil from the surface to get to the coltan underground. The indiscriminate exploitation of coltan is dramatically affecting environmental biodiversity and disrupting ecosystems around mining sites. According to data available on the Global Forest Watch platform managed by the World Resources Institute, the DRC has lost 8.6% of its tree cover since 2000. One of the major causes of deforestation in the DRC is mining. Observers I spoke to note that environmental impact assessments are seldom carried out prior to coltan mining. Artisanal miners and foreign companies even violate sites of historical heritage such as Kahuzi Biega National Park. The first impact of coltan mining is when miners remove vegetation and topsoil. This increases the rate of erosion. Most of the artisanal coltan miners work on sites where there is no state control. They take as much coltan as they can without any regulation. For instance, while the Ministry of Mining recommends that miners should dig no deeper than 30 metres below the surface, they sometimes dig as deep as 200 metres. Environmental activists in Bukavu confirm that coltan exploitation has led to loss of trees. That is known to destroy ecosystems, decrease the carbon stock, disrupt the photosynthesis process and affect air quality. It is also affecting wildlife habitats. For instance, North and South Kivu provinces contain most of the DRCs coltan. Kahuzi Biega National Park, one of the last sanctuaries for the critically endangered eastern lowland gorilla, spans both provinces. Coltan mining has destroyed much of the gorillas natural habitat, leaving them vulnerable to poachers. The population of eastern lowland gorillas in the park plummeted from 8,000 in 1991, when coltan mining started there, to about 40 in 2005. The present population is now estimated at 250. The process of mineral separation, sieving and sorting is done manually through washing at streams and rivers. The chemicals used are polluting water bodies and are harmful to aquatic creatures. The chemicals are also known to produce radioactive substances that are detrimental to human health. Human harms The activities of the coltan miners and the associated businesses are exploitative and impoverish communities. Observers note that coltan mining businesses rarely compensate affected communities by implementing development programmes, which is a statutory requirement in terms of the mining laws. At Mwenga in Shabunda, 50 artisanal miners died in September 2020 as a result of coltan mining-related activities. Holes dug by artisanal miners are rarely covered after mining activities have ceased. And landslides have trapped miners underground. Conflicts between members of an artisanal miners cooperative called Cooperamma and the coltan mining company SMB led to violence that claimed lives on the mining site at Rubaya in North Kivu. Child labour The DRCs mining code was reformed in 2017 to penalise the use of child labour or the sale of ore mined by children. Yet much of the countrys coltan is extracted through the labour of over 40,000 child miners. They work in dangerous conditions as washers and diggers. Doing adults work in a hazardous environment, child miners face the risks of ill health, harassment and abuse. They may either drop out of school or never have the opportunity to attend. The quantity of coltan mined through child labour remains unaccounted for, uncertified and untraceable. It is traded in the underground economy and funnelled into the coltan global supply chain through smuggling, counterfeiting and collusion. Recommendations The approach to extractive reform in the DRC is currently inadequate to deal with the human and environmental harms associated with coltan mining. My study provides specific recommendations to address the identified challenges. The government must reform the Congolese Environment Agency to enforce environmental impact assessments and implementation of environmental management plans. Civil society organisations should train and equip observatory groups at the local level to monitor and report on coltan mining sites. This will provide a shadow report to compare with audits carried out by state agents. In line with global best practices the upstream companies that mine and refine coltan are advised to mitigate environmental risks associated with their operations. The full report was first published by the ENACT project, a partnership between the Institute for Security Studies, Interpol and the Global Initiative against Transnational Crime, funded by the EU. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. Like this article? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter. It was written by: Oluwole Ojewale, Institute for Security Studies. Read more: Oluwole Ojewale 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. Democratic presidential nominee Jimmy Carter greets fans in 1976 in Los Angeles. (Images Press/Getty Images) My name is Jimmy Carter, and Im running for president. And hed grin. Always that friendly, down-home grin. Thats how the Georgia peanut farmer and former governor began every campaign speech I heard during the unique election year of 1976. And I heard many of them while covering Carter for The Times from early January through the Democratic convention in mid-July. After that, I covered Carters November opponent, Republican President Gerald Ford, whom the sure-footed Washington outsider narrowly defeated. Ive thought a lot about 1976 since the announcement last weekend that the 98-year-old former president had entered hospice care at home and decided to forgo additional medical intervention. Carter was a terrific presidential candidate in 1976 politically, the right person at the right time. Its not likely well find such a candidate or experience such a time in the foreseeable future, if ever. A Jimmy Carter probably wouldnt be accepted by voters today. Theyd see his smile as a sign of weakness. But he meshed perfectly with the cynical mood in 1976. It was a decidedly anti-Washington time after disgraced President Nixons Watergate scandal and years of protests against the Vietnam War. The country also was weary from a decade of fighting over civil rights. People were looking for a calm, straight-shooting, honest leader and thought theyd found him in Carter. As it turned out, the intense, idealistic, perhaps naive Democrat from tiny Plains, Ga., was not a good fit for the sharp elbows in Washington and was walloped in 1980 by another former governor, California Republican Ronald Reagan. Afterward, Carter arguably became Americas greatest ex-president with his humanitarian and diplomatic contributions. And thats how hell be remembered by most Americans. But back in 1976, during the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, Carter needed to identify himself because hardly anyone outside Georgia had heard much about the guy. He began the campaign with only 4% national support in a Gallup poll. But within the next two months, he would outdistance a crowded field including California Gov. Jerry Brown and become the partys front-runner. Story continues Even after attaining a high name ID, the grinning Carter kept identifying himself at the start of every speech including his nomination acceptance speech because that became his trademark opener. And it reminded people of how swiftly he had climbed the steep political ladder. Then he would immediately follow with this: My wife, Rosalynn, and I have been married 29 years. She is the only woman I have ever pause loved. I thought the my only love bit was a little weird, frankly. Was it really necessary to tell voters he had loved only one woman? But voters must have eaten it up. He won contest after contest in states against more established rivals. Another essential part of Carters stock speech was this solemn declaration: I want a government as full of compassion and decency and openness and honesty and brotherhood and love as are the American people. A Sunday school teacher, he might also toss in some biblical quotations. And hed always promise, in another trademark line this one spoken without grinning: I will never mislead you; I will never tell you a lie. OK, but truthfully, he left a lot of people confused about where he exactly stood on many issues, including such hot topics as abortion and busing to integrate public schools. In Des Moines after Carter won the Iowa caucuses, the state Democratic chairman who was neutral in the race was asked whether he thought a lot of Iowans misunderstood the Georgians abortion position. Misunderstood it, misunderstood it? Carter has three different positions on it, the party leader replied. Campaigning in the Wisconsin primary in Milwaukee one morning, I heard Carter outline a stance on school busing that seemed to please a predominately Black church congregation. Then at noon, speaking to white voters at a bowling alley, he got nods of approval by asserting that busing should be voluntary and locally controlled. Carters winning campaign was built on the thesis that voters, especially in 1976, were not real concerned about how specific presidential candidates were on the issues. What the voters are looking for, he said in a TV interview, is someone who can run the government competently, who understands their problems and will tell the truth. Were not dealing in ideologies this year. I found Carter easy and exciting to cover. Unlike many politicians then and especially today, he was very accessible and not afraid to banter with reporters. In the early campaign days, hed travel many miles to be interviewed by a small-town Iowa newspaper reporter. Later, hed routinely set up news conferences on downtown sidewalks. He realized thats how a candidate could connect with the public. Carter was a farm boy at heart, but showed in the Illinois primary he could also deal with machine bosses namely Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley. Elsewhere, Carter attacked political pros. But in Chicago, he and Daley developed a strong political alliance. At the opposite end of the world, there was charming and comfy Plains, population 683. One fascinating day I covered Carter in his hometown. Town folks gathered around a loading dock to watch reporters sitting in swings and rocking chairs query the future president. A freight train interrupted. Well have to wait until the train goes by. Its not a frequent occurrence, Carter said. But its the custom in Plains to watch the train go by. Ill remember Carter in 1976 for his energy and self-confidence a small-town peanut farmer who knew he could compete against the big boys. And Ill always visualize that perpetual, welcoming grin. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. YinYang / Getty Images There are several benefits customers receive when they bank at financial institutions. What is less discussed, however, are unbanked Americans. According to Michael Pugh, president and CEO of Carver Federal Savings Bank, 5.4% of all U.S. households are unbanked. See the List: GOBankingRates Best Banks of 2023 Experts: Heres How Much You Should Have in Your Checking Account Banks that are willing to evaluate new customers as applicants, especially those who may not exhibit traditional creditworthiness on paper, can help change this narrative. One type of bank working to shift the unbanked into banking customers is a community bank. Pugh joins GOBankingRates to share more about community banks and their benefits. Heres why its worth considering banking with a community bank. Whats a Community Bank? A community bank takes a holistic approach to banking, Pugh said. Rather than focus solely on credit scores and quantitative data, a community bank looks at the value an individual or small business will bring to its surrounding community with the right access to capital. This helps better inform lending decisions. Pugh said it also allows community banks to offer a personalized experience to banking customers. The staff at a community bank gets to know the people they serve, often spanning multiple generations. Take Our Poll: What Are Your Financial Priorities in 2023? What Kinds of Services Do Community Banks Offer? Many of the services offered by community banks are like those provided by large financial institutions. These include depository accounts, mortgages, personal loans and small-business loans. The differentiating factor, Pugh said, is a community banks ability to accommodate sole proprietors and small businesses that require smaller loan amounts, more flexible terms and more personalized criteria and consideration. What Other Benefits Do Community Banks Offer Customers? Community is key in community banks. Customers who bank with a community bank have the benefit of working with financial partners who know them, the community where they live and have a vested interest in helping this community flourish, Pugh said. A community bank branch is a place where everybody knows your name. Story continues In times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Pugh said these personal relationships become critical in assisting customers and helping preserve local economies. Some community banks also provide customers with financial literacy classes so they may better learn how to budget and grow their savings over time. Why Consider a Community Bank? If you are unbanked, Pugh said community banks offer the opportunity to be introduced to the banking system. A banking professional who knows you and is invested in your success will be there to guide you every step of the way. Those who were previously unbanked will come into the banking system with a low or nonexistent credit score. At a larger financial institution, this would automatically deny them access to loans and other services. At community banks, Pugh said bad or no credit isnt an indication of a bad investment. Rather, it is someone who has not had the opportunity to interact with the financial and credit system in positive ways. In GOBankingRates 2023 best banks survey polling 1,000 Americans, 80% of overall respondents are satisfied with the services offered by their current bank or financial institution. This is likely to be true of new banking customers at community banks. Once a previously unbanked customer establishes a relationship with their community bank, chances are high that they continue banking with the institution and get into good financial health. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: What Is a Community Bank and Why Consider One? (ES Composte) For decades, influence over large company decision making was dominated by a handful of institutional investors. But this has been changing in recent years. The amount of everyday people who trade for themselves in small quantities so-called retail investors - has been steadily growing. Fuelled by the availability of DIY investing apps, the percentage of UK shares owned by individual retail investors has swelled to 13.5%, a 30% rise since 2010. Whilst an individual retail investor might not hold a significant proportion of the UKs total shares compared to institutions, their collective voice is louder than ever. It is moving from a rumble to a roar as they gain better access to that most important of investor event the AGM. Pre-pandemic, the promise of a prawn sandwich at 11am in a central London venue did little to offset the pain of a three-hour train journey for many retail investors to attend an AGM. Most simply stayed away. But the pandemic democratised access to AGMs, as we saw most companies move to virtual or hybrid formats. This flexibility meant more retail investors were able to attend meetings and play a constructive role in discussion and decisions around important issues ranging from climate change to pay or diversity. This is a good thing, and progressive companies have generally welcomed this important contribution to their governance. Despite pandemic restrictions ending, in 2022 many countries - such as Canada, Australia and South Africa - continued to embrace the hybrid format. As a result, engagement and attendance flourished. In fact, our data shows shareholder attendance and engagement at AGMs reached a global high in 2022 for the second year running. However, there is some evidence that in the UK specifically, some of the gains made in the last few years are heading into reverse. Whilst many UK companies kept their AGMs hybrid in 2022, some reverted to in-person only. This is perhaps why the UK experienced a dip in shareholder attendance. The same was true in Belgium and the Netherlands. Story continues Whilst it might be tempting to revert to the old ways of doing things, this will stifle shareholder voice at a time when demand among retail shareholders to attend is growing. In contrast, the UK is seeing positive progress in other areas, as intermediaries work to tear down other barriers which prevent retail investors from playing a role in AGMs. For example, weve seen the likes of Hargreaves Lansdown, Interactive Investor and BlackRock take important steps to unravel the complicated red tape that previously made the task of getting into an AGM more like breaking into Fort Knox for retail investors. This matters, since many retail investors purchase their shares through these kinds of intermediaries and therefore arent directly registered as shareholders. Its now becoming easier to exercise your right to vote on AGM resolutions in proxy, though the huge issue still lies as many barriers still exist to actually attending and participating fully. Ignoring retail investors is a short-sighted strategy. This fast-growing segment of investors tends to feature much younger people (62% are under 35), and we can expect their numbers to continue to grow quickly in the coming years. Companies would be wise to fully include them in their AGMs and wider governance by letting them pull up a virtual seat in 2023 Lumi is the AGM provider of 5,000 global organisations including almost all the FTSE100. A company that the Labor Department says used more than 100 children to clean slaughterhouses hired the same child twice under different names, an internal company document shows. A June 2021 disciplinary report reviewed by NBC News shows that Packers Sanitation Services Inc. disciplined an employee who hired the same known minor twice in six months under two different identities. The employee who did the hiring was demoted and suspended for three days and required to undergo a hiring policy review, according to the document. The employee did not respond to a request for comment. PSSI spokesperson Gina Swenson said the employee has been on a leave for personal reasons and is not currently actively working for the company. Wisconsin-based PSSI, which is owned by the investment management company Blackstone, was cited by the U.S. Labor Department on Friday for systemic child labor violations that indicated a corporate-wide failure stretching across 13 locations in eight states. Photo taken by Department of Labor investigator of a child who worked for Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI). cleaning a slaughterhouse in Grand Island, Nebraska. (U.S. Department of Labor) The Department of Homeland Securitys Homeland Security Investigations division continues to investigate whether the children, largely undocumented migrants, were part of a human trafficking scheme, DHS officials said. PSSI is not a target of that investigation and has not been accused of wrongdoing by DHS. A former manager for PSSI, who asked that NBC News not disclose their identity, said seeing children working for the company made them sick. They said that they were not surprised by the Labor Departments findings they were surprised only that it took the Labor Department so long to discover the underage workers. There are things happening in the plant that adults arent comfortable seeing, they said. You cant walk through [the plant] without getting animal parts on you or blood all over you. Shannon Rebolledo, a 17-year veteran of the Labor Department who led the investigation into PSSIs use of child labor, said that she had never seen child labor violations to this extent and that the employees in a Grand Island, Nebraska, plant tried to hide evidence by deleting digital messages during the investigation. Story continues Just the sheer number of kids that were working Ive never had an employer or their representative impede my investigation like this just so brazenly, Rebolledo said. In a statement, PSSI said the company cooperated with the Labor Department investigation. PSSI cooperated with the DOLs inquiry contrary to any false assertions to the contrary including facilitating multiple site visits, employee interviews, and producing more than 100 million pages of documents and fully shares DOLs objective of ensuring no one under 18 works for PSSI, said Swenson, the PSSI spokesperson. We also terminated two local managers cited in DOLs filing as allegedly impeding their investigation further illustrating that commitment. In a statement, Blackstone said, "We are pleased that PSSI has resolved this matter with the Department of Labor. PSSI has an absolute zero-tolerance policy against employing anyone under the age of 18 and is fully committed to ensuring it is enforced at all local plants. PSSI has continued to enhance its already extensive procedures to prevent identity theft including recent steps to conduct multiple additional audits and trainings, and hire further third-party compliance experts." False identities Michael Lazzeri, the Labor Departments wage and hour regional administrator, said, Our investigation found Packers Sanitation Services systems flagged some young workers as minors but the company ignored the flags. After the Labor Department announced it had found 50 children working for PSSI in December, the company signed a consent decree saying it would abide by child labor laws. Swenson said in an email: Our company has a strong corporate commitment to our zero-tolerance policy against employing anyone under the age of 18, and fully shares the DOLs objective of ensuring full compliance at all locations. As parents and citizens, we dont want a single person under 18 working for PSSI, period and take extensive steps to prevent individuals at the local level from circumventing our wide-ranging procedures. The former manager said the company did not undertake enough scrutiny of identifying documentation when staff members were hired, and that the company hired many undocumented immigrants who used false identities to pass the E-Verify government compliance system. In this industry you have a lot of people who are undocumented workers. A lot of times its because theyre not going to pay well enough to hire people in America who want to do it, the former manager said. The former manager said that while some employees presenting false documents were turned away, it was common for workers who presented obviously false IDs to get hired as long as the documents stated they were legal and of age. You can look at the ID and tell the person on the ID is not even close to the person standing in front of you. Swenson told NBC News in response: This is categorically false period. We have been crystal clear that we do not want a single person under the age of 18 working for the company. We have trained and retrained our hiring employees on how to actively spot identity theft as part of our extensive efforts to enforce this absolute prohibition against employing anyone under the age of 18. Swenson said the company uses the government E-Verify system for new hires, as well as multiple audits and biometrics to verify identities. Swenson maintained that if an underage employee is able to circumvent E-Verify, it is through deliberate identity theft and/or fraud for a hire at a local plant. 'Common knowledge' Allegations of child labor by PSSI at a slaughterhouse in Grand Island date to 2016, according to a local police report obtained by NBC News. The report said an officer was called to the local middle school because a 14-year-old girl had injuries to her hands. The document shows that the allegations were investigated as child abuse." A Grand Island police spokesperson said the injuries were from the childs work at PSSI. Police determined they were from the girls work through a conversation with the child and her guardian. The matter was referred to the local prosecutor, and the childs guardian was investigated but not charged, according to a local police official. Local school officials told Labor Department investigators that it was common knowledge that children worked overnight shifts at the local meatpacking plant and that they would often fall asleep in class, according to court documents. Audrey Lutz, a former executive director of a local Nebraska nonprofit group that has been helping the child workers in Grand Island, said the Guatemalan child workers she met were clearly children: They are young. They are naive. They are short in stature. They are looking for a better life. And you can see that in their eyes. Lutz said the children were too afraid to speak to NBC News and unaware that they were forbidden from doing the work. These children are coming from countries where its very common for youth as young as 12 or even younger to support their families, Lutz said. But in this country, we reserve dangerous work like cleaning meatpacking plants for people who are adults who can make choices for themselves about the dangers and risks involved. The company paid a fine of $1.5 million to the Labor Department $15,138 for each child who was illegally employed. Labor Department officials say that is the maximum penalty according to federal law. Lutz said she thinks more accountability is warranted beyond the fine. The federal government needs to hold the people with the purse strings accountable. Who made money off the backs of children cleaning a meatpacking plant? She added that she wants to see a criminal investigation. I think the Department of Justice should come in and do a full investigation and figure out who is responsible for employing this many children, not only in Grand Island, Nebraska, but across the country. Labor Department officials say what department investigators found at PSSI is part of a growing national concern. They point to agency data that shows a 69% increase across the country in minors employed in violation of child labor laws from 2018 to 2022. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com If you have ever fancied yourself an explorer, now's your chance to give it a try. Aurora Expeditions will sail a new itinerary to Greenland's northern tip this summer, a destination not frequented by expedition cruises, according to the company. During the nearly two-week East Greenland Explorer cruise, travelers can take in massive icebergs, deep fjords and wildlife in the water and on land. "We invite you to join us and be part of a trailblazing 'exploratory voyage,' where the itinerary is driven by nature and Auroras genuine spirit of exploration," Hayley Peacock-Gower, Aurora's chief marketing officer, said in a news release. "Aurora Expeditions continues to focus on increasing awareness of the thought-provoking and inspiring regions it visits through immersive and educational experiences to create life-long advocates of our planet." Cruise ship overboard detection systems: What are they and why doesn't every ship have them? 'Antiques Roadshow' cruise: This river cruise includes the chance to appear on the show When is the East Greenland Explorer cruise? The sailing is Aug. 15 to 28 on the company's ship Greg Mortimer. The vessel has nearly 80 cabins and can accommodate an average of 132 passengers, according to the company's website. The sailing will take place on Aurora's Greg Mortimer ship. Where will the East Greenland Explorer cruise sail? The cruise will sail round-trip from Reykjavik, Iceland, cross to Greenland via the Denmark Strait and aim for the northernmost part of Greenland. "If successful, the North of Greenland, wild and untouched, offers breathtaking landscapes and a completely unique experience," the company said on its website. The exact itinerary will depend on the weather and ice conditions, with the expedition team designing the trip day by day, but Aurora plans to take passengers to Germania Land, Crown Prince Christian Land and other destinations. Guests can explore by Zodiac boat, go hiking, and spot whales, arctic foxes and more. Story continues How much does the East Greenland Explorer cruise cost? The voyage starts at $13,795 per person based on double occupancy and includes a hotel stay before the cruise; all meals; drinks like tea and coffee; soft drinks, beer and wine with dinner; gratuities; all shore excursions and more. Aurora also is offering a 10% discount if guests book and make a deposit by Feb. 28. Round-trip flights from New York to Reykjavik start at $629 for economy and $1,872 for business class, according to Google Flights. Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cruise to Greenland's northern tip with Aurora Expeditions Re. David Bucknas letter Poilievre stokes anger, fear (Castanet, Feb. 21) David Buckna is correct in stating (Public Order Emergency Commissioner) Justice Paul Rouleau said, in part, "After careful reflection, I have concluded that the very high threshold for the invocation of the Act was met". However, what Buckna fails to mention is the following from the justice: "I do not come to this conclusion easily, as I do not consider the factual basis for it to be overwhelming. Reasonable and informed people could reach a different conclusion than the one I have arrived at. I also reach this conclusion reluctantly." Anyone reading Buckna's comments would be led to believe there was no question the threshold for the invocation of the Act was met. However, reading all the facts would certainly lead to the opposite being true. He also refers to (Conservative leader Pierre) Poilievre and his supporters as "far-right" and Poilievre as a "fear-mongering far-right politician". This is how a typical Liberal elitist attacks anyone who does not buy into the Liberal dogma. He criticizes anyone who supports Poilievre as believing everything Poilievre says, yet has immersed himself so deep in the Justin Trudeau Liberal kool-aid he is not able to acknowledge and listen to an opposing view. That is cancel culture at its finest and reflects Trudeau's disdain for anyone with "unacceptable views, being those not aligned with his view of the world. Buckna suggests similarities between Poilievre and (former U.S. president) Donald Trump. In my opinion, the similarities are between Trump and Trudeau. Trump has serious ethical and integrity issues, as does Trudeau. The (federal) ethics commissioner, Mario Dion, outlined a number of ethical breaches by members of the Liberal government, including three by Trudeau. He was clearly frustrated by this and commented, the act has been there for 17 years for God's sake". More prominent recent violations include one involving Liberal MP and parliamentary secretary Greg Fergus when he petitioned the CRTC on behalf of an acquaintance to grant a small television station a broadcasting license in Quebec. Another involves International Trade Minister Mary Ng, who handed her friend contracts worth $20,000 for media training. Ngs excuse was that no one in her office flagged this. Dion's comment was, "There is simply no excuse for contracting with a friend's company". There were 100 staffers in Ngs office that do media work. No one who breached ethical rules has resigned. Trudeau's response to the ethics breach was that "it sucks". That from a politician who has been in breach of ethics rules three times. No wonder nobody in the Liberal government pays attention to ethics. Bev Oda, was a cabinet minister in (former Conservative prime minister Stephen) Harper's government and resigned in 2012 over $1,000 of expenses, including a $16 glass of orange juice. She paid back the expenses. Someone in the government delegation at the Queen's funeral spent between $6,000 and $7,000 per night for a hotel room and the Liberals won't tell us who it was. A perfect example of Liberal elitist behaviour. Buckna quotes Gary Mason, a columnist for the Globe and Mail. Mason wrote a column in the Globe and Mail on Feb. 21 titled "Justin Trudeau's Liberals have entitlement problems. Big Ones." The column says, "The lack of respect they routinely demonstrate toward a public whose trust they promised not to betray is beyond disappointing." Here are some examples of Justin Trudeau's statements. "Our platform will be fully costed, fiscally responsible and a balanced budget." (April 2015), Ive committed to running balanced budgets...Liberals balance budgets." (July 2015) and in August 2015, he talked about "modest deficits" followed by a balanced budget in 2019. On Sept. 17, 2015 he said "I am looking straight at Canadians and being honest the way I always have. We will balance that budget in 2019." The federal debt facts: 2015$628.91 billion 2016$634.44 billion, 2017$651.54 billion 2018$671.25 billion 2019$685.45 billion 2020$721.36 billion The total federal debt (as of fiscal 2022) is $1.134 Trillion. Federal debt interest payments will cripple us and future generations. Then there was the SNC Lavalin affair. When it first broke in the pages of the Globe and Mail on Feb. 7, 2019, Trudeau stated: "The allegations in the Globe story this morning are false". On Aug. 14, 2019, Dion found Trudeau improperly pressured former justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould to reach a deferred prosecution agreement with SNC-Lavalin. After the report was released, Trudeau wouldn't apologize for what the Dion ruled to be improper political influence in the SNC Lavalin scandal because he was trying to protect Canadian jobs. The number of jobs potentially at risk was minuscule and the company would easily manage a ban on federal projects. It was a pathetic attempt to buy votes in Quebec. Buckna suggests that perhaps a website called PPW (Pierre Poilievre Watch) is required to fact check what Poilievre says. One isn't needed for Trudeau because we already know not to trust anything that comes out of his mouth. Canada is broken and Trudeau is the reason why. Mark S. Bragagnolo HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) Connecticut is poised to pay $12 million to settle a case involving a neglected 14-month-old boy who was placed by the states child welfare agency in 2015 with a relative who had allegations of abuse. The boy ended up severely malnourished and physically abused. The proposed legal settlement comes a year after the Connecticut Department of Children of Families was finally released from three decades of federal oversight. Michael Williams, deputy commissioner of operations at the agency, tried to assure members of the General Assemblys Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that the placement of Baby Dylan, who is now eight years old and suffers from complex medical and developmental issues, does not reflect the agencys policies then or now. Were totally embarrassed by the practice that occurred on this case. It does not in any way, shape or form represent the standard of practice that we had adhered to then and adhere to now, said Williams, who said the staff involved in the case chose to cut corners and that decision led to the boy being harmed. Williams referred to the situation as a dump and run, not representing anything close to the agencys standards for placing a child in so-called kinship foster care, a program that aims to keep at-risk children with family members rather than strangers. The agency, represented by the Connecticut Attorney Generals Office, is seeking legislative approval of the settlement reached with lawyers for boys adoptive parents. While Judiciary Committee members on Wednesday approved identical House and Senate bills authorizing the settlement, sending them to both chambers for final action, they made it clear they are not happy with the agency or the prospect of paying out such a large legal settlement. On the one hand, we as a state have to step up and take responsibility for what one of our state agencies did not do and that is to perform their job without clear negligence, said Sen. John Kissel, a Republican from Enfield. On the other hand, as a member of this committee, one of my jobs is to make sure taxpayers dollars are used wisely. Story continues Eileen Meskill, deputy attorney general, told lawmakers that while the state rarely admits liability, it became clear through investigations that this case was particularly egregious, and the state could be liable for as much as $20 million. Department of Children of Families officials had removed the boy from his parents care because of neglect issues and placed him with the cousin of the boys mother, without seeking information about the womans background, which included a criminal history and past allegations of neglect, Meskill said. The woman also had widespread warning signs, including failing to complete Department of Children of Families foster licensing requirements or agree to drug testing. She also contacted police about the boys inconsolable crying and complained to Department of Children of Families workers that she was overwhelmed. Ultimately, the boy was removed five months later and placed with another relative, who brought the child to the emergency room where he was found to have multiple healed scars and wounds to his feet, untreated broken bones in both arms and a retinal hemorrhage, Meskill said. The boy was also unable to talk or feed himself, suffered from severe malnutrition and showed evidence of a traumatic brain injury. The cousin was ultimately arrested and pleaded guilty to risk of injury to a minor. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW Police are searching for the driver who ran over and killed a 71-year-old woman before fleeing the scene early Thursday morning in Miami. The crash happened around 5:45 a.m. in the area of Southwest 27th Avenue and Southwest 22nd Terrace, Orlando Rodriguez, Miami police spokesman, told the Miami Herald. The victim, police said, was a pedestrian. This developing story will be updated as more information is available. By Jack Queen (Reuters) - Media interviews given by the foreperson of the Georgia grand jury that investigated former President Donald Trump's attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state present a public relations problem for prosecutors but need not stop them from bringing charges if warranted, according to legal experts. The foreperson, Emily Kohrs, was interviewed by a variety of U.S. news outlets this week and offered a rare window into the secretive process in which members of the grand jury weigh evidence and make recommendations to prosecutors on possible criminal charges. Kohrs, 30, offered hints as to what the grand jury recommended in its report, most of which remains sealed, after it wrapped up its work in January. Kohrs told CNN that "the big name that everyone keeps asking me about - I don't think you will be shocked." That appeared to be a reference to Trump, though Kohrs did make that clear. She did not respond to requests for further comment. Legal experts said the various remarks made by Kohrs likely would not be enough to undo any charges. "In my 26 years of prosecution experience, I have never seen a grand jury indictment quashed because of grand jury misconduct," said Georgia lawyer David Cooke, the former district attorney in Georgia's Macon County who also served as a prosecutor in the Fulton County district attorney's office that is now handling the election inquiry. Trump, who lost in Georgia and nationally to Democrat Joe Biden and has made false claims of widespread voting fraud, lashed out at the news, saying without offering evidence that the interviews showed that the grand jury process was unfair. In a social media post, Trump described the case as "ridiculous" and "strictly political." Trump, who in November launched a bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, took a similarly combative tone toward the various investigations including two impeachment trials that he faced during his four years in office and since. Story continues Trump's lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. The Georgia investigation could lead to the first-ever criminal charges against a former U.S. president. As such, prosecutors may proceed with an abundance of caution, particularly if Kohrs divulges more sensitive details. "If that (further revelations from Kohrs) occurs, then the question will be, do they have to start the grand jury process from scratch? Because the result might be tainted by her talking about the deliberative process," said Michael Weinstein, a former U.S. Justice Department prosecutor who now specializes in white collar criminal defense. 'BAD OPTICS' The interviews by Kohrs could create public relations headaches for prosecutors already navigating a politically polarizing investigation. "It's bad optics," said legal expert Clark Neily of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington. "It makes the process look unfair to targets of the grand jury, even though it doesn't provide grounds for quashing an indictment." The special grand jury heard testimony behind closed doors including from Trump allies such as Republican U.S. Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and attorney Rudy Giuliani. Excerpts of its findings released on Feb. 16 showed that the panel concluded that some witnesses may have lied under oath. But the grand jury lacked indictment powers. Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney steering the investigation, must decide whether to bring the panel's charging recommendations to a regular grand jury. That extra step would further insulate prosecutors from any accusations of grand juror misconduct based on the Kohrs interviews, legal experts said. "There still has to be an independent assessment by the district attorney and a subsequent grand jury who hands up the indictment," Weinstein said. A spokesperson for Willis' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is rare for judges to dismiss indictments based on breaches of grand jury protocols, which require proof that panelists were prejudiced or engaged in egregious misconduct that would make a fair trial impossible, experts said. Cooke, whose time in the Fulton County DA's office overlapped with Willis's service as a prosecutor before she became district attorney, expressed confidence in the fairness of the process. "Any grand jury in Fulton County is going to have a huge diversity of viewpoints, politics and backgrounds," Cooke said. "You're going to have a group of well-minded citizens trying to do the right thing." (Reporting by Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Will Dunham and Scott Malone) The court seized the property of the wife of Viktor Medvedchuk [a pro-Russian politician whose daughter's godfather is Russian President Vladimir Putin ed.], Oksana Marchenko, with a total value of more than UAH 5.6 billion [equiv. USD 154,413.520]. Marchenko is suspected of financing Russian occupation groups. Source: press service of the Security Service of Ukraine, Ivano-Frankivsk Prosecutor's Office Details: According to the Security Service of Ukraine, the court decision concerns packages of 14% of shares in two oblast energy companies and more than 4% in the third, which Marchenko owns through five offshore companies. Also, two plots of land, four residential buildings in the city of Kyiv and Crimea, and ten cars belonging to the defendant were seized. In addition, Marchenko's assets in 18 investment, agro-industrial, telecommunications and other enterprises were seized. Among them are the Kyiv companies Terra-Invest, Ukrcapital and Sport-Tour, which Medvedchuk's wife used to carry out subversive activities against Ukraine. They were the ones to found the company under the laws of the Russian Federation, through which Marchenko transferred millions to the accounts of the Russian National Guard and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation in the occupied Crimea, as well as paid "taxes" to the Russian budget, the special service emphasises. Previously: The investigators of the Security Service informed Oksana Marchenko and the head of an affiliated Crimean firm of suspicion of financing actions committed with the aim of violently changing or overthrowing the constitutional order, or seizing state power, or changing the state border of Ukraine. Currently, the top manager of the Ukrcapital and Sport-Tur companies has been informed of suspicion under the same article. The perpetrator was arrested and remanded in custody. Reference: The crime in which Marchenko and the managers of the involved companies are suspected is punishable by imprisonment with confiscation of property. Seizure of assets will ensure the possibility of their confiscation by court decision and will protect the property from re-registration to other persons. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Oksana Marchenko The total value of the seized assets exceeds UAH 5.6 billion ($152 million), the SBU said. Read also: Medvedchuk's superyacht to be sold at auction, money to go to Ukraine The security service said the court's decision concerns stakes of 14% in two regional power distribution companies and more than 4% in a third, which Marchenko owns through five offshore companies. Two land plots, four residential buildings in Kyiv and Crimea, and 10 cars belonging to the suspect were also seized. In addition, Marchenko's assets in 18 investments in agricultural, telecommunications and other companies were sequestered. Read also: Medvedchuks lawyers file appeal to return his Rada mandate Arakhamia The SBU noted that among them are the Kyiv-based companies Terra-Invest, UkrCapital and Sport-Tour, which the security service said Medvedchuk's wife used to conduct subversive activities against Ukraine. "It was they who founded the company under the laws of the Russian Federation, through which Marchenko transferred millions of dollars to the accounts of Russias National Guard and the Russian Interior Ministry in (Russian-) occupied Crimea, as well as paying taxes to the Russian budget," the statement said. Earlier, SBU investigators pressed charges against Marchenko and the head of the affiliated Crimean company under Part 3 of Article 110-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (financing actions committed with the aim of violent change or overthrow of the constitutional order or seizure of state power, change of the boundaries of the territory or state border of Ukraine). Currently, a top manager of UkrCapital and Sport-Tour has been charged under the same article. He has been detained and custody was imposed as a pre-trial restriction. The crime of which Marchenko and the managers of the companies involved are suspected carries a penalty of imprisonment with confiscation of property. The seizure of assets will ensure the possibility of their expropriation by court order and protect the property from being re-registered to other persons. Story continues Investigations are ongoing to bring to justice all persons involved in the criminal schemes, the SBU said. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine School choice laws and policies are enjoying a marked surge in interest and approval, reports Education Week, particularly in Republican-led states, as parents and politicians express frustration with school systems, fractured pandemic responses, and incendiary culture war battles. The #schoolchoice movement is gaining traction in some states. #Economics Professor @douglasharris99 explains the difference between education savings accounts and vouchers and what those differences mean at the state level in this @educationweek article: https://t.co/grqCQ8wfR2. Tulane School of Liberal Arts (@TulaneSLA) January 31, 2023 In recent weeks, at least seven states have advanced discussions or legislation around school choice measures like charter school expansions and the establishment of Education Savings Accounts, which allow families to use state education funds towards attendance at private schools. Largely modeled on previous school choice efforts in Florida and Arizona, among others, states like Nebraska, Iowa, Utah, and Arkansas are forging ahead with their efforts to allow use of education funds outside of traditional public school systems. Looking beyond parental choice, here are ten other updates from across the country about how states and school systems are confronting the challenges posed by COVID-19 and its variants and working to preserve student progress amid the pandemic: CONNECTICUT A State Program to Reduce Chronic Absenteeism Is Working A new report by an Education Research Collaborative between the Connecticut Education Department and prominent state research institutions including Yale University, the University of Connecticut, and Wesleyan University demonstrated remarkable success for a pandemic program implemented in some 15 Connecticut school districts. The program called the Learning Engagement and Attendance Program or LEAP was fueled by federal recovery dollars and leveraged trained family support staff to conduct home visits to families of students deemed chronically absent. Since 2021, home visitors have helped hundreds of families navigate distinct challenges like employment, housing, mental and physical healthcare, substance abuse, and the immigration system to ensure students attend school regularly and on-time. The study found an average improvement in chronic absenteeism rates of 15 percentage points, with some districts like Hartford Public Schools experiencing gains nearly twice that size. Story continues A new report released this week by an Education Research Collaborative between @EducateCT and prominent state research institutions demonstrated remarkable success for a home visiting program implemented in 15 CT school districts.#EduRecoveryHub https://t.co/ITRVn59cGJ Collaborative for Student Success (@StudentSuccess) January 23, 2023 INDIANA State Doles Out $2.2 Million in STEM Grant Funding The Indiana Department of Education recently announced that 48 school districts and charter schools across the state will receive close to $2.2 million in STEM Integration Grant funding. The STEM Integration Grant seeks to increase access and support for schools to offer more learning opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math. ILLINOIS State Superintendent Proposes $516 Million More for Education Illinois lawmakers are considering a budget request from outgoing State Superintendent Carmen Ayala to raise K-12 spending from $9.8 billion to about $10.3 billion, or a 5.3% increase. The request includes roughly $350 million more for K-12 schools, $60 million more for pre-K programs, and additional increases for transportation, special education, and free meals, according to Chalkbeat. NEW YORK Mayor Eric Adams Promises Mental Telehealth Support for all NYC High School Students Amid spiraling concern about student wellbeing in the nations largest school district, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that all the citys high school-aged students would soon have free access to mental health resources via a telehealth program. Framed as the biggest student mental health program in the nation, the announcement was met with cautious optimism from school and health professionals in the city. It raises lots of procedural questions which maybe they will fill in later, but its hard for me not to focus on those right away, said Kevin Dahill-Fuchel, the executive director of Counseling in Schools. Great, I love the fact that leaders are recognizing the need, but where are the mental health professionals going to come from? NYC promises telehealth for all high school students struggling with mental health https://t.co/aI6eInk09C joshuapstarr (@JoshuaPStarr) January 27, 2023 PENNSYLVANIA High Schools Could Start Offering Students K-12 Education Training Next School Year To expose students to careers in education and further develop and diversify the teacher pipeline, the Pennsylvania Department of Education will begin offering K-12 education as a new career and technical education (CTE) program starting next school year. Schools can choose to offer the program informally or with department approval: the latter will make schools eligible for state and federal funding, according to Pennsylvanias CTE director, Lee Burket. TENNESSEE State Schools Need $9 Billion of Infrastructure Investment, Report Says According to a new state report, Tennessee needs to invest more than $9 billion in its K-12 education infrastructure to tackle needs for renovations and technology improvements, as well as to build additions and new schools. The state received over $4 billion in federal relief funds, but under direction from Gov. Bill Lee, districts were encouraged to put at least half of their portions toward education recovery programs and resources. The report cites research that indicates investments in K-12 infrastructure can improve learning, health, and behavior, while noting local and state officials struggle to determine how to cover these costs. MICHIGAN Whitmers Fifth State of the State Prioritizes Expanded Preschool, Tutoring Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmers fifth State of the State address included multiple nods to expanded education programming in the state, including a push for universal preschool for all 4-year-olds and large-scale tutoring to middle- and high-school students. Whitmers plans are expected to be thoroughly debated, even as she enjoys a Democratic majority in the state legislature and a state budget surplus, as advocates call attention to sharp staffing challenges and increasing clamor for expanded school choice policies. Michigan school leaders say universal preschool and expanded tutoring could benefit students, but concerns about staffing and implementation remain. https://t.co/TmCzETojPD The Sault News (@SooEveningNews) February 4, 2023 NEBRASKA Teacher Shortage Worsening Across Nebraska, State Report Says The number of unfilled teaching positions in Nebraska is up 60% over the last year, according to a district survey conducted by the state department of education. Though the unfilled positions represent just under 3% of total positions in the state, officials say the increases reflect a shrinking applicant pool that is posing particular challenges for hard-to-staff subjects, like special education, career programs, and language arts. HAWAII State Outlines Plan for 465 More Pre-K Classrooms by 2032 Education leaders goal of providing pre-K opportunities for all children in Hawaii within the next decade is kicking off with the planned construction or refurbishment of 80 classrooms by August 2024. The $200 million plan will see 50 additional pre-K classrooms added every year through 2032 and places Hawaii amongst a small group of states that have approved large-scale expansions of pre-K programs. MINNESOTA Governor Proposes Child Tax Credits, Universal Free Lunch, Boost in K-12 Education Funding Gov. Tim Walz has proposed a substantial K-12 education package which details an expansive education and childcare plan that includes efforts to increase affordable childcare, universal free meals for Minnesota students, and a child tax credit for low income families. This budget will tackle and eliminate child poverty, put money into families pockets and fund our schools, said Gov. Walz. Walz was met with criticism from lawmakers across the aisle, who argue the proposed budget would send funds to schools that are failing to address low test scores and large achievement gaps. #Minnesotas @GovTimWalz proposed additional child tax credits, universal free lunch, and a funding boost for k-12 schools as part of his plan to make the state the best place to raise children. Learn more in this @MNReformer piece: https://t.co/omu8mKmwLa TCWF (@TaxCreditsWF) January 30, 2023 This update on pandemic recovery in education collects and shares news updates from the district, state, and national levels as all stakeholders continue to work on developing safe, innovative plans to resume schooling and address learning loss. Its an offshoot of the Collaborative for Student Success QuickSheet newsletter, which you can sign up for here. TUNIS (Reuters) -Tunisian police on Thursday arrested Ezzedine Hazgui, a fierce critic of President Kais Saied, but he later said on Facebook that he had been released after his house was searched. Hazgui is the father of another prominent dissident, Jawher Ben Mbarek, whose home was surrounded by police on Wednesday but whose current whereabouts are not known. The arrest comes amid a crackdown on dissent this month that has targeted prominent critics of Saied including opposition politicians, activists, protest organisers and media figures as well as an influential business leader and two judges. The United States has voiced deep concern at the arrests and rights groups have urged Saied to reverse course. The president shut down parliament and seized most powers in 2021, moving to rule by decree and writing a new constitution that he passed through a referendum with a low turnout last year. His critics, including most of the major political parties that were in the parliament he dissolved, accuse him of a coup that has unpicked the democracy created after Tunisia's 2011 revolution that triggered the Arab spring. Saied says his actions were legal and necessary to save Tunisia from chaos, and has accused his opponents of being traitors and criminals. (Writing by Angus McDowallEditing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Nick Zieminski) Photo: Contributed Toronto's city clerk says a mayoral byelection to replace John Tory is planned for June 26. John D. Elvidge says the date is subject to council declaring the mayor's office vacant and passing a bylaw requiring a byelection at its meeting next month. The city says nominations for mayor would open on April 3 and close on May 12, with advance voting taking place from June 8 to 13. It says while the city clerk would not normally fix dates ahead of council passing a bylaw, in this case it was considered to be in the best interests of the city to announce the dates as early as possible. The search for Toronto's new mayor comes after Tory resigned last week following an admission to having an "inappropriate relationship" with someone who used to work in his office. Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie, who assumed some of Tory's powers in the interim, has said she has no plans to run for the city's top job. Top U.S. regulators including the Federal Reserve, as well as the International Monetary Fund, on Thursday issued new warnings and recommendations on various cryptocurrency-related policies and risks. The U.S. regulators the Federal Reserve, the FDIC and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a statement Thursday morning encouraging banks that use funding from crypto firms to monitor liquidity and maintain strong risk management practices to prevent runs. They warned that deposits the banks host from crypto firms can be impacted by periods of stress in markets, volatility, and outside factors over which crypto firms have no control. The agencies encouraged banks to use existing risk management tools to guard against runs, but they stopped short of creating and requiring new risk management rules. Among the recommendations: Understand what could impact deposits from crypto firms and how susceptible those deposits are to volatility. Assess interconnectedness across deposits from crypto assets and liquidity risks Build a contingency plan and stress testing liquidity Monitor crypto deposit accounts at banks regularly The statement came as Atlanta Fed President Rafael Bostic on Thursday said he hopes crypto doesnt replace the proven components of the traditional payment and banking systems. In conversation with former Kansas City Fed President Esther George at the Atlanta Fed, Bostic said he agreed with Georges comments that she does not see cryptocurrencies supplanting some of these more tired and true rails at this point. I hope that's true, because there's a lot of volatility. And that volatility to the extent it gets into the asset base of institutions I think it becomes really hard to manage, and we'll just have to think about that and how we deal with that in the future, Bostic said. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic participates in a panel discussion at the American Economic Association/Allied Social Science Association (ASSA) 2019 meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., January 4, 2019. REUTERS/Christopher Aluka Berry The 'right step' JPMorgan analyst Steven Alexopoulos said the joint statement from the Fed and others indicates increased regulatory concerns around the risks of serving the crypto industry and will likely limit banks usage of these deposits in terms of deploying into loans and held-to-maturity securities. Story continues Instead, these deposits are likely to be kept very liquid in cash and available for sale securities, which limits the attractiveness of these deposits, Alexopoulos wrote in a note to clients. The regulators actions come after a sharp decline in crypto-related deposits following a crisis of confidence from digital asset customers at Silvergate Capital, draining its liquidity. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, which held a hearing last week on the FTX crash, called the agencies' statement and actions the "right step" to offer banks clarity and protect investors as lawmakers consider new regulations for crypto. "As we continue to learn the full extent of the fallout from the crypto industrys collapse, its important that we use our existing financial safeguards to protect consumers and our economy from cryptos risks," Brown said. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund released a paper Thursday encouraging member countries not to grant crypto assets official currency or legal tender status. The recommendation is part of a long list that offers guidance to IMF member countries on policies to govern crypto assets and implications for monetary and fiscal policies. The IMF also suggests establishing clear-cut guidelines for tax treatment of crypto, developing and enforcing rules requirements applicable to all crypto market actors, establishing a framework to allow domestic agencies to collaborate in overseeing crypto, putting in place international agreements for crypto oversight and monitoring the impact of crypto assets on the stability of the international financial system. A former Chelsea School Committee member pleaded guilty to raping a 12-year-old boy in 2021 after offering the child a ride in his car, according to the Suffolk District Attorneys office. Henry Wilson, 57, is facing five years behind bars after pleading guilty to charges of rape and abuse of a child, enticement, and posing a child in sexual conduct on Thursday. Prosecutors say the male victim was walking in the area of Broadway in Chelsea in June 2021 when Wilson offered him a ride in his car. Wilson then allegedly drive the victim to a parking lot where he committed the sexual assault. Portions of the sexual assault were recorded on a cell phone camera, according to prosecutors. The victims family became aware of the assault several days after the fact and contacted Chelsea police. Wilson was then interviewed, identified and arrested. Judge Michael Ricciuti ordered Wilson to stay away from the victim, wear a GPS device with an exclusion zone around the victims home and school and have no unsupervised contact with children under 18, have no employment involving contact with children under 18, undergo sex offender treatment and register as a sex offender. This case involves multiple levels of abuse, including Mr. Wilson abusing his status as an adult and his status as a person of authority, particularly a person of authority over school children. But more than anything else it involves the abuse of an innocent child, and Mr. Wilson now knows the consequences of such conduct. The courage of the victim and the victims family was crucial in moving this case forward, Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden said in a statement. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW A former Seabrook, New Hampshire pastor who faced multiple counts of child rape returned to court on Thursday to change his plea to guilty. Russell Davis, 70, who was first accused in 2018, pleaded guilty to raping two boys and a young man he met through the United Methodist Church in Newburyport, according to Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker. Davis acknowledged committing three types of felonies including rape of a child under age 16. Davis offered to mentor his victims and then sexually assaulted them sometimes offering them gifts and cash afterward, according to DA Tucker. Davis was sentenced to three to four years in state prison, followed by three years of probation. Also, he was ordered to register as a sex offender, receive sex offender treatment, have no contact with children under age 18, and have no contact with any of the victims or witnesses in the case. The charges date back to the early 2000s when Davis was a licensed Methodist pastor serving in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine churches. His license was discontinued by the church for unrelated reasons. 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 Police shot and killed a dad of five in his backyard while officers were searching a neighboring yard, according to California authorities and local media reports. Officers were at a home in Hemet investigating a theft on Tuesday, Feb. 21, shortly after 10 a.m. when they found an armed man in a nearby yard, the Hemet Police Department said in a news release. An officer shot the man, police said. No officers were injured. The man was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to police. Christian Dryes family called his death a senseless act of violence in a GoFundMe. This is a good man, a family man, a working man. He did not deserve this, Shameka Monique Drye, the mans wife, told The Press Enterprise. Shameka Drye told NBC Los Angeles that prior to the shooting, police knocked on their door, asking to search their backyard, as they believed a theft suspect may be present. Christian Drye, however, refused and told police he would check his yard with his legally purchased firearm, the outlet reported. They knew he was going back there because they said OK, Shameka Drye told The Press Enterprise. They killed my husband in cold blood. The officer was placed on administrative leave, police said. An investigation by the Riverside County Sheriffs Office and Riverside County District Attorneys Office is ongoing, according to police. Christian Dryes wife remembered him as kindhearted in a post on Facebook. He loved his children very much and would buy them the world if he could, Shameka Drye wrote. Christian Drye leaves behind five children, ages 1 to 11, according to The Press Enterprise. We are all heartbroken and devastated by this tragic loss, especially for his wife and young children, a GoFundMe for the family said. Hemet is about 85 miles southeast of Los Angeles. He needed help not death. Dad with mental illness shot in back by cops, CA suit says Deputy yanks man from car and fatally shoots him outside middle school, lawsuit says Man grossly disfigured by K-9 wins $1.35 million, lawyers say. This isnt justice Danniella Westbrook said her children are bullied over her former drug abuse. (PA Images/Alamy) Danniella Westbrook said she "probably wouldn't of made it" without her son Kai as she told how both her children are bullied over her past drug problems. The former EastEnders star, 49, has been open about her former cocaine abuse, which left her suffering damage to her nasal septum. Opening up on Instagram, she said both her son and her daughter Jodie had been "trolled and bullied" as a result. Read more: Danniella Westbrook in A&E after having panic attacks when she was stuck in London with no money Sharing a snap of Kai who at 26 is the oldest of her two children she wrote: "I know in my heart he was sent to me for a reason. "Being his mum has saved my life, blessed me and broken my heart. It broke my heart for all the pain, worry and embarrassment my selfish actions in addiction caused him. "To this day and probably for ever more both Kai and Jodie will get trolled and bullied because I was a cocaine addict." She went on: "This boy whos now a man has always been the most loyal, loving and brutally honest person in my life. His (sic) shown me love and sometimes such tough love that no other in my life has cared that much to do. Danniella Westbrook also has a daughter. (Getty) "Everyday I wake up I thank God for my kids and their love. And I can say without hesitation if I didnt have Kai I probably wouldnt of made it." The actor, who found fame as Sam Mitchell on the BBC soap, said God "blesses us when he makes us parents". "Today I count those blessings and dont intend to let anything or anyone take me off the path to rebuilding trust bonds and bridges that my addiction broke," Westbrook said. "Thats why Im constantly aware of my triggers and temptations today and I will never take for granted again just how cunning and devious my illness is. The day I think Im cured is the day I am in danger." Story continues Danniella Westbrook found fame in EastEnders. (PA Images/Alamy) She added: "And my dangerous Danniella days are behind me." Read more: Danniella Westbrook says it's 'about time' as she prepares for facial surgery Westbrook has previously said using cocaine "ruined" her life and she has spent time in rehab in the past. Watch: David Attenborough gives a first look at UK nature documentary Wild Isles Sir David Attenborough's new UK based nature documentary Wild Isles is set to show off some hidden gems on our doorsteps with incredible scenes featured in the first trailer. The naturalist has spent decades travelling to far-flung locations to bring viewers footage of wildlife and nature on other continents, but his new series will showcase some of the overlooked areas close to home. Read more: Stacey Solomon praised as 'wonderful human' in most emotional Sort Your Life Out yet BBC One's Wild Isles will cover the forests, coasts and mountains of the UK, and its trailer shows creatures every bit as fascinating as those featured in any of his other documentaries. Sir David Attenborough will present a new nature series about the UK. (BBC) In the trailer's voiceover, Attenborough says: "Welcome to a place that is astonishing. "Nature in these islands, if you know where to look, can be extraordinary, dramatic and beautiful. "It rivals anything I've seen elsewhere. It's not far...it's home." Read more: Ben Stiller makes 'no apologies' for Tropic Thunder Scenes featured include jellyfish, porpoises, birds of prey, horses, badgers and red squirrels, as well as sweeping views of dense forests and snow-covered mountain ranges. Attenborough can be seen sitting on some rocks, inches away from puffins who are catching fish. A puffin at Skomer Island off the Pembrokeshire coast in Wales. (BBC) Speaking to The Daily Telegraph magazine recently about Wild Isles, Attenborough recalled how early on in his career he made an agreement with the BBC to focus on global wildlife while the corporations Natural History Unit, founded in Bristol in 1957, would produce stories on Britain. He said: There was a chap trying to establish Bristol then as a centre of natural history. He knew which strings to pull and I could see things coming to a head. Viewers will see the nature on their doorsteps. (BBC) Eventually we had a meeting and it was agreed I wouldnt look at British natural history at all. Instead, I would go to Africa, South America and so on, and (they) could deal with natural history in Britain. I stuck to that until very recently. Reflecting on that agreement, he admitted: If there is one thing I regret, and to be honest there isnt a lot, it would be that I spent so much time doing overseas natural history. RAIFORD Donald Dillbeck didnt mince words in the minutes before the state executed him Thursday night. I know I hurt people when I was young. I really messed up, Dillbeck, 59, said, strapped to a gurney in the Florida State Prison death chamber. But I know (Florida Gov.) Ron DeSantis has done a lot worse. Hes taken a lot from a lot of people. I speak for all men, women and children. Hes put his foot on our necks. Then, at 6:02 p.m., Florida Department of Corrections workers began to administer the first of three drugs to sedate him, paralyze him and stop his heart. He was pronounced dead 11 minutes later, at 6:13 p.m. In the witness gallery, family members of Faye Lamb Vann, who Dillbeck stabbed to death in 1990, looked on with stony expressions. They opted not to speak to reporters afterward, but prison system spokeswoman Michelle Glady distributed a written statement from two of Vanns children. Here's the latest:Donald Dillbeck execution will move forward after Supreme Court rejects stay. Dillbeck's last words:Donald Dillbeck used his last words to criticize and insult Ron DeSantis 11,932 days ago Donald Dillbeck brutally killed our mother, Tony and Laura Vann wrote. We were robbed of years of memories with her and it has been very painful ever since. However, the execution has given us some closure. They added that they were grateful to DeSantis for carrying out the sentence. In the minutes after the lethal injection procedure began, Dillbeck, covered with a sheet up to his armpits, clenched his jaw and puffed up his cheeks several times. His chest and left arm twitched. At 6:05 p.m., prison workers tapped his eyelashes and grabbed his shoulders, saying Hey Dillbeck. He didnt react. As 6:06 turned to 6:07, his mouth fell open, and his body became still. By 6:10, his face grew ashen. A physician checked his eyes and put a stethoscope to his chest before pronouncing him dead. Death penalty in Florida: Heres what to know about executions, death row Story continues It had been 32 years since Dillbeck was sentenced to death, and Lamb wasnt his only victim. At the time of her murder, Dillbeck had escaped from a work-release catering job in Gadsden County, where he was serving a life sentence for killing Lee County Deputy Dwight Lynn Hall, 31. Dillbeck trudged in the woods along Highway 90 to Tallahassee and tried to carjack a vehicle, according to court documents. Vann, who was sitting in the car while her sons and grandchild returned clothing inside, resisted. Dillbeck stabbed her to death and slit her throat with a paring knife. Along with Vanns family, two men who said they worked with Hall at the Lee County Sheriffs Office made the trip to the prison. While they couldnt witness the execution, they waited in the grass across the street. This has been 44 years of waiting, said Bill Rogers, 70. Were the old guys now. Rogers and Tony Vetter, 67, both of Fort Myers, said they were on duty the night Dillbeck killed Hall. Dillbeck, 15 at the time, was on the run from Indiana authorities who wanted him for a carjacking. Hall approached the car Dillbeck was sleeping in, and the teen ran away. Hall caught up and, as he tackled Dillbeck, his gun came out of the holster. Dillbeck shot and killed him. One persons bad enough. But he did two, and he did the second brutal, Rogers said of Dillbecks victims. Nobody should ever be ecstatic about somebody being put to death, but there had to be consequences. On his last day in prison, Dillbeck awoke early and went through his normal routine, Glady told reporters Thursday afternoon. He visited with his spiritual adviser, she said. At 9:45 a.m., he had his last meal: fried shrimp, mushrooms, onion rings, butter pecan ice cream, pecan pie and a chocolate bar. His execution was Floridas first in more than three years, and the 100th since the Supreme Court allowed the practice to resume in 1975. The Supreme Court on Wednesday night rejected a last-minute appeal by Dillbecks attorneys, who argued the neurological impact of his biological mothers heavy drinking during her pregnancy, and abuse after he was born, should be reason for the justices to spare his life. DeSantis signed Dillbecks death warrant exactly a month ago, on Jan. 23. When asked why Dillbeck, a spokesman pointed to the details of the crime. The COVID-19 pandemic and state emergencies, like hurricanes, contributed to the years-long gap in executions, the spokesman said. With the signing of Mr. Dillbecks warrant, spokesman Jeremy Redfern said, the process has resumed. However, opponents of the death penalty believe politics, and DeSantis widely expected run for president, also played a role. The same day DeSantis signed Dillbecks warrant, he floated the idea to lower the jury threshold to recommend a death sentence from unanimity, which is required by current state law, to 8-4. About a week later, Republican lawmakers filed a pair of bills that would make that change and also allow a judge to override a jurys recommendation for life in prison and sentence death instead. The jury in Dillbecks case had the same breakdown: eight for death and four for life. Seminole Rep. Berny Jacques, who sponsored the House version of the bill, pointed to his frustration at the result of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High massacre. In that case, jurors, split 9-3, spared the life of the shooter, outraging the governor, state lawmakers and some family members of the 17 victims. Its whether or not a small number can basically derail the true administration of justice, and we think that it shouldnt be left to a small amount, Jacques said. Death penalty experts said the proposed legislation is almost identical to a prior version of Floridas capital sentencing scheme that was struck down in 2016. While Jacques said he feels comfortable it will pass constitutional muster, critics of the law are concerned the courts would strike it down again and that it would ultimately move Florida backwards while other states have trended away from using the ultimate punishment. There will not be finality, said Maria DeLiberato, executive director of Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, of the disservice such a constitutional challenge would have for crime victims. There will be instability and unreliability in the system and years of litigation in court over the constitutionality of this system. Following the execution, DeLiberato issued a statement emphasizing Dillbecks history of childhood trauama and abuse in the adult prison system after he was sentenced in Halls murder. The death penalty does not keep our communities safer, she said. Protecting vulnerable children, and making sure the abused and traumatized and mentally ill have access to mental health care thats how we keep our community safer. Thats how we end the cycle of violence. We are better than this. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida execution: Donald Dillbeck saves last words for Gov. DeSantis By Kate Lamb JAKARTA (Reuters) - Egianus Kogoya, the dreadlocked rebel behind the kidnapping of a New Zealand pilot this month in the highlands of Indonesias Papua region, is at the vanguard of an increasingly dangerous and media-savvy insurgency for independence. Separatist rebels kidnapped New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens, 37, after he landed his small plane in the remote Papuan highlands on Feb 7. Sitting in the cockpit of the plane, Kogoya, wearing a denim jacket, bone necklace and mirror shades, with a hand draped over a rifle, appeared to relish posing as his men documented their most high-profile kidnapping to date. In a series of videos, Kogoya demanded the resource-rich region's independence in return for Mehrtens' release. Fighters in the Indonesian, western half of New Guinea island have for decades waged a low-level battle for independence, but Kogoya and his gang have emerged as especially dangerous and unpredictable. "What we are seeing is younger, new leadership among local rebel groups that is more aggressive and not necessarily strategic in the long term," said Deka Anwar, from the Jakarta-based think tank, the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC). The security ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the separatists but military spokesperson Kisdiyanto said attacks against Indonesian sovereignty by "a few" separatists were being handled. The military has said it is preparing for a "law enforcement operation" but only as a last resort if negotiations to free Mehrtens fail. Separatists say their fight is legitimate because former colonial power the Netherlands promised the region it could become independent before it was annexed by Indonesia in 1963. Indonesia says Papua is its territory after a 1969 vote supervised by the United Nations, in which 1,025 handpicked people unanimously backed its integration. More than a half a century later, rebels are still fighting the Indonesian republic. Story continues An estimated 500 fighters identify as members of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB), the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement (OPM). Loosely organised and geographically fractured, the TPNPB lacks cohesion and a central leadership and command. Instead, units in different areas operate under individual commanders, like Kogoya, who hails from a family with rebel connections - some relatives were behind the kidnapping of several foreign researchers in 1996. For years, the separatists mounted small attacks with minimal casualties but Kogoya and his group opened a bloody new chapter in 2018 when they attacked a road-construction project killing 21 workers. Indonesia launched a security crackdown in response, vowing to wipe out the rebels with hundreds of extra troops. The violence forced thousands of villagers to flee, triggering a humanitarian crisis in which more than 160 people died of sickness and starvation. But in the rugged Papuan highlands, the security forces failed to track down Kogoya and his men. SOCIAL MEDIA TOOL Rebels who once brandished bows and arrows are now increasingly carrying guns, including automatic rifles seized in raids on the security forces or bought on the black market, and conducting more frequent and more lethal attacks, the IPAC said in a July report. Fifty-two members of the security forces and 34 fighters were killed between 2018 and 2021, it said. The rebels are also taking advantage of modern communications. Cahyo Pamungkas, a researcher from the National Research and Innovation Agency, said the separatists are using social media to get their message out. "Social media is a tool of resistance to deliver the stories from Papua because national media is mainly dominated by perspectives from Jakarta," he said. "They are really media savvy," said IPAC's Anwar, "They want to show they are not a rag tag rebel group but have some structure, at least at the local level." TPNPB spokesperson Sebby Sambom said the New Zealand pilot was being well looked after and treated as "family". "This was his idea but we are responsible for controlling the situation," Sambom said by telephone, referring to Kogoya's seizure of the pilot. Sambom vowed more violence unless the separatists' demands were met, saying the TPNPB planned a "total revolution" by 2025 with widespread destruction and bloodshed. The government did not respond to requests for comment on the rebel threat of escalation. Some rights activists criticise the government's response to the insurgency. A project to get satellite coverage over the area that would help the security forces pinpoint Kogoya's location has become embroiled in graft, a lawmaker with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on the condition of anonymity. There are also questions about overall responsibility for policy with the government flagging a "softer approach" while the military has tended to deploy more troops in response to attacks. "It's not quite under the control of the civilian government there," said Marzuki Darusman, a former attorney general turned human rights campaigner. "It's become military turf and that doesn't help." (This story has been corrected to fix the name to Sebby Sambom, not Sebby Sambon, in paragraphs 24-26) (Additional reporting by Ananda Teresia; Editing by Robert Birsel) The Illinois Department of Labor is investigating after leaders of Gurnee-based Akorn Operating Co. shocked 400 workers Wednesday with news that the drug company was shuttering and they would be laid off within 24 hours. Akorn CEO Douglas Boothe told employees Wednesday about the layoffs in a video obtained by and posted online by the Decatur Herald & Review. In the video, he said that the company planned to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy this week after its leaders failed to find a buyer for Akorn. Advertisement He said the company did not receive an appropriate bid that would address outstanding liabilities, including outstanding debt. He said effective Thursday, all the companys sites would be closed and all employees would be laid off. Advertisement This was not expected, he said in the video. Akorns Illinois locations include its corporate headquarters and a distribution center in Gurnee, as well as a manufacturing facility in Decatur and a research and development facility in Vernon Hills, according to the companys website. Boothe instructed all employees to spend the rest of Wednesday gathering their belongings, returning company equipment and securing files, as they would not be allowed back into the buildings Thursday. I realize this is a tremendous shock and it will take time to absorb the news and what it means to you, your colleagues and your families, he said. Boothe told workers they would be paid through Thursday as well as for any accrued and unused vacation time. He said health insurance benefits would last through the end of this month, but there would be no severance or extended COBRA health insurance coverage. Attempts to reach the privately held company for further comment were unsuccessful Thursday. The company also has locations New Jersey, New York and Switzerland. The Illinois Department of Labor is investigating the situation, spokesman Paul Cicchini said Thursday. Under Illinois law, employers with 75 or more full-time workers are supposed to give 60 days notice of mass layoffs or plant closures. But Akorn did not file a WARN notice with the state until Wednesday evening. Advertisement Not only did the company fail to submit a WARN notice to the state prior to laying off employees, it gave its hardworking employees only 24 hours notice of permanent layoffs, which is inconsistent with industry best-practices and lacks basic consideration for their employees, the department said in a statement. If the department finds violations, Akorn could face civil penalties. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity is now deploying rapid response resources to support impacted workers, according to the statement. In the video, Boothe also said Akorn notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of its closure. The FDA is reviewing all drugs affected by this closure and is working with the other manufacturers to understand the supply nationwide, said FDA spokesman James McKinney, in an email. If the approved manufacturers cannot meet market demand, the FDA will add those affected medicines to our Drug Shortage webpage and continue working to resolve or lessen the impact of those shortages using all the tools we have available. Akorn also filed for bankruptcy in 2020, but that was a Chapter 11 bankruptcy which allowed the company to restructure. Akorn, which was once a public company, became a private one. That previous bankruptcy came after a deal fell through that would have seen German health care company Fresenius Kabi buy Akorn for $4.75 billion. Fresenius Kabi walked away from that deal in 2018, citing Akorns alleged problems meeting regulatory requirements. Advertisement The company also received warning letters from the FDA in 2019 about manufacturing practices at its Decatur and New Jersey manufacturing plants. More recently, in September, Akorn agreed to pay $7.9 million to resolve allegations that it caused Medicare to pay for three Akorn generic drugs that no longer qualified for Medicare coverage because they should have been sold over-the-counter, rather than as prescription drugs. ANKARA, Turkey (AP) The death toll from the massive earthquake that hit parts of Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6 continues to rise as more bodies are retrieved from the rubble of demolished buildings. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck the already battered province of Hatay this week damaged or demolished more buildings, compounding the devastation. Heres a look at the key developments Thursday from the aftermath of the earthquake. DEATH TOLL TOPS 47,000 Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu has raised the number of fatalities in Turkey from the magnitude 7.8 earthquake to 43,556. The combined death toll in Turkey and Syria now stands at 47,244. In an interview with state broadcaster TRT late on Wednesday, Soylu said teams were sifting through two buildings in hard-hit Hatay province in search of further bodies. Search operations elsewhere have come to an end, he said. Meanwhile, at least 164,000 buildings have either collapsed or are so damaged that they need to be demolished, said Murat Kurum, Turkeys minister for the environment and urbanization. SYRIANS SHELTER IN TENTS AND CARS The local civil defense in northwestern Syria, known locally as The White Helmets, said Thursday that thousands of children and tens of thousands of families have taken shelter in cars and tents fearing they would face a repeat of the earthquake. In government-held Syria, a first plane from Bahrain loaded with aid landed in Damascus. The Gulf monarchy is among many Arab countries that in recent years have tried to thaw relations with President Bashar Assad, after shunning him in 2011 for his brutal crackdown on protesters. Saudi Arabia and Egypt, two key U.S. allies in the region, have also delivered aid. (Getty Images) We are living through an era of political attacks on LGTBQ+ youth. As The Independent has reported, a historically bad slate of proposals impacting LGTBQ+ childrens access to core needs like healthcare and inclusive education are working their way through Republican-controlled state legislatures. Whats up for debate is how this era should be covered by The New York Times, long considered the paper of record for the US. Critics have long argued that theTimes is falling short in its LGTBQ+ coverage, particularly of trans kids, but the debate around the publications standards exploded into public view last week. Thousands of Times contributors signed onto an open letter, organized by the Freelance Solidarity Project and delivered to leadership on 15 February, which voiced serious concerns about editorial bias in the newspapers reporting on transgender, nona -a binary, and gender nonconforming people. The letter accused the storied paper of violating its own ethical standards around neutrality by treating gender diversity with an eerily familiar mix of pseudoscience and euphemistic, charged language, while publishing reporting on trans children that omits relevant information about its sources. The letter pointed to a recent article referring to a person seeking gender-affirming healthcare with the term patient zero, and another instance where a sources affiliation with an anti-trans hate groups wasnt mentioned. The document noted with dismay that coverage by The New York Times has been cited by various GOP officials who are waging attacks on trans youth in court and in legislatures across the country; it argued that the Times was fueling a similar media-political feedback loop that saw previous generations demonise those with HIV/Aids and those who were gay. You no doubt recall a time in more recent history when it was ordinary to speak of homosexuality as a disease at the American family dinner tablea norm fostered in part by the New York Times track record of demonizing queers through the ostensible reporting of science, the letter added. Story continues (Separately, the advocacy organisation GLAAD sent leaders at the Times a letter on the same day, accusing the paper of irresponsible, biased coverage of transgender people.) The New York Times has defended its coverage of LGTBQ+ issues Critic Jo Livingstone, who helped organise the letter, told Hellgate NYC of the effort: I think one of the really key points that I want people to feel hits home is that there is no real separation between the way we use language and the idea of neutrally covering a subject. To suggest that there is no relationship between the way that we are using language at the newspaper to discuss peoples lives, people who are also being debated in court, is to really be willfully ignorant of what it is that we do as journalists. Outside critics cheered on the open letter as highlighting a troubling trend at the paper. This is pretty obviouslyand yet not obviously enougha plain old-fashioned newspaper crusade, Tom Scocca wrote in Popula. Month after month, story after story, the Times is pouring its attention and resources into the message that there is something seriously concerning about the way young people who identify as trans are receiving care. Like the premise that the Clintons had to have been guilty of something serious, or that Saddam Hussein must have had a weapons program worth invading Iraq over, the notion that trans youth present a looming problem is demonstrated to the reader by the sheer volume of coverage. If its not a problem, why else would it be in the paper? Critics accuse Times coverage of adding fuel to GOP policies targetting trans youth (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) In the wake of the backlash, the Times has defended its coverage. As a news organization, we pursue independent reporting on transgender issues that include profiling groundbreakers in the movement, challenges and prejudice faced by the community, and how society is grappling with debates about care, Charlie Stadtlander, the papers director external communications, said in a statement at the time of the original open letter. The very news stories criticized in their letter reported deeply and empathetically on issues of care and well-being for trans teens and adults. Our journalism strives to explore, interrogate and reflect the experiences, ideas and debates in society to help readers understand them. Our reporting did exactly that and were proud of it. Internally, executive editor Joe Kahn and opinion editor Kathleen Kingsbury chastised those who participated in the open letter. We do not welcome, and will not tolerate, participation by Times journalists in protests organized by advocacy groups or attacks on colleagues on social media and other public forums, they wrote to staffers, Vanity Fair reports, arguing participation in such a campaign is against the letter and spirit of our ethics policy. The day after the open letter went public, the Times opinion section published a lengthy column defending Harry Potter author JK Rowling against the longstanding accusations that she is transphobic. The controversy didnt end there. Later that week, Susan DeCarava, president of the NewsGuild of New York, which represents some Times staffers, posted a public letter of her own declaring employees are protected in collectively raising concerns that conditions of their employment constitute a hostile working environment. This was the concern explicitly raised in the letter at issue here, she added. A recent New York Times column defended JK Rowling, who has been accused of transphobia (AFP via Getty Images) This too set off debate, as Semafor has reported, with some union members arguing she had overstepped. Criticism of workplace conditions does not include attacking the journalism of other members, reporter Stephanie Saul wrote in a Times union Slack chat, according to Semafor. I strongly object to this letter and I would hope other members of the unit agree with me. The back and forth continued into this week, when another group of Times journalists, including high-profile reporters like Peter Baker and Charlie Savage sent a letter to Ms DeCarava, according to Vanity Fair. The letter suggested she was mistakenly arguing for a workplace in which any opinion or disagreement about Times coverage can be recast as a matter of workplace conditions. We are journalists, not activists. That line should be clear. The union told the magazine in response that the Guild is committed to representing every member equally and fairly, regardless of reporting assignment. We take no position on the subject matter of editorial coverage and fight hard for every members right to work in a healthy and safe environment, free of harassment and discrimination. These are principles that are at the core of trade unionism and are central to our mission, the organisation said. The trans coverage controversy is hardly the first high-profile, internal blow-up at TheNew York Times. In 2020, opinion editor and writer Bari Weiss resigned from the paper, arguing the outlet had created a hostile environment for her because her views werent sufficiently liberal. In 2020, an op-ed from Senator Tom Cotton calling for the US to use the military to quell protests generated a heated newsroom dialogue that led to multiple resignations (Getty Images) That controversy began when the paper published an op-ed earlier that year from Senator Tom Cotton, which argued that the US military should be sent to quell the racial protests happening across the country. Times staffers argued the piece was factually erroneous and put Black people in danger. The paper later said the piece fell short of our standards and should not have been published. The op-ed generated a heated debate inside the Times newsroom, which Ms Weiss described on her Twitter as a civil war inside the paper between the (mostly young) wokes the (mostly 40+) liberals. Her fellow writers took issue with this characterisation, and how she called out specific reporters in a Twitter thread that followed. They argued that one of the papers most high-profile stars was using social media to criticise them, but that the Times social media policies meant they may not have been able to defend themselves. In the row over the aforementioned op-ed, another opinion editor, James Bennet, also resigned. There are currently more than 300 pieces of legislation in state capitols across the US targeting LGBTQ+ kids, following an explosive, unprecedented year of state-level measures fuelled by influential conservative Christian legal groups and a parental rights agenda dominating Republican campaigns. It feels like my legislators want everyone to believe that kids like me dont exist, Libby Gonzales, a 12-year-old transgender student from Texas, recently told The Independent. How the paper will report on trans people in the future remains to be seen, but its clear that outside the newsroom, legislators have already made up their minds about this vulnerable population in ways that worry advocates for children and LGTBQ+ people. Man in Donald Trump mask wearing prison jumpsuit Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images The Fulton County grand jury tasked with investigating former President Donald Trump's efforts to subvert Georga's 2020 election results has submitted its final recommendations to District Attorney Fani Willis, and forewoman Emily Kohrs wasted little time making the rounds to share what she could about her and her colleagues' work. And while Kohrs' interviews with major news outlets such as The New York Times, NBC, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution have indeed offered hints both cryptic and tantalizing as to whether Trump and his allies will face criminal charges and for what ("You're not going to be shocked. It's not rocket science," she told the Times) a growing chorus of pundits and legal observers have begun questioning whether Kohrs' expansive media blitz is causing more harm than good. These interviews were wildly inappropriate Kohrs' interviews are "an insult to the witnesses who have done their duty & come forward to get accountability," according to The View co-host and former Trump administration official Alyssa Farah Griffin, who described the forewoman's behavior as "unprofessional, unserious, and clearly biased." "This person is coming off as someone seeking their 15 minutes of fame," quipped conservative legal commentator AG Hamilton, who framed Kohrs' NBC interview in particular as "insanely irresponsible." Other observers mused about Kohrs' conspicuously upbeat demeanor during her various media appearances, in which "she's clearly enjoying herself," prompting CNN's Anderson Cooper to admit he "was wincing just watching her eagerness to like, hint at stuff." The hints could have potential legal ramifications Already CBS News has reported that a number of attorneys for witnesses called by the Fulton County grand jury during their investigation have begun preparing to fight any forthcoming indictments based on Kohrs' being a "reckless idiot," as former Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Bromwich stressed on Twitter. Indeed, even before CBS' report, CNN Chief Legal Analyst Elie Honig predicted that "prosecutors are wincing" at Kohrs' "horrible idea" to publicly discuss her work with such apparent glibness. "She's potentially crossing a line here," Honig said. "It's gonna be a real problem for prosecutors." Story continues The issue is not so much that Kohrs isn't allowed to speak about her time on the grand jury, legal analyst Bradley P. Moss noted (she's just barred from discussing the deliberations themselves) It's that her comments could be construed as "tainting the trial jury pool" and giving Trump's attorneys further cause to move any potential criminal case "out of Fulton County." The interviews may even "carry legal risk for her," beyond providing "Trump and others with arguments to challenge the indictments," former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti predicted. Her media blitz shows the investigation was tainted from the start At least according to former President Trump. "You have an extremely energetic young woman, the (get this!) 'foreperson' of the Racist D.A.'s Special Grand Jury, going around and doing a Media Tour revealing, incredibly, the Grand Jury's inner workings & thoughts," Trump fumed on his Truth Social platform. "This is not JUSTICE, this is an illegal Kangaroo Court." A few questionable interviews don't negate the jury's conclusions "I don't think this is worth freaking out about," MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin stressed in a lengthy Twitter thread. While acknowledging that Kohrs' interviews were potentially bad optics, "given that GA special grand juries are investigative, not charging, bodies & that GA law, unlike federal law, favors public disclosure of grand jury proceedings," Rubin expected that any motions to quash forthcoming charges based on the media appearances would "likely fail." Ultimately, Rubin concluded, Kohrs' willingness to admit she'd been starstruck by witnesses like Lindsey Graham and Rudy Giuliani "revealed she is no Democratic partisan hack." Longtime Republican Trump critic George Conway, husband of former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, agreed on Twitter and in a separate panel interview with MSNBC, admitting that although the interviews likely weren't "helpful," they didn't change the basic facts of a case in which "the evidence is the evidence." You may also like Americans applying for controversial 'golden passports' more than any other nationality, report says Why U.S. teens aren't getting their driver's licenses Housekeeper's husband arrested in slaying of Los Angeles Catholic Bishop David O'Connell The Lubbock County Courthouse. A jury in the 137th District Court continued a second day of deliberations Thursday for a 24-year-old man who admitted to the deadly shooting of a Texas Tech University police officer five years ago. Hollis Reid Daniels faced life in prison without parole or the death penalty for the Oct. 9, 2017 shooting death of Officer Floyd East Jr. at the Texas Tech Police headquarters. Parents recall Hollis Daniels' struggles with depression before deadly shooting of Tech police officer Before jurors heard testimony and opening statements on Feb. 6 Daniels entered an open plea of guilty to a count of capital murder of a police officer. However, since Daniels' plea did not arise from a negotiation with the Lubbock County District Attorney, he faced the full range of punishment. From then on the trial focused on what Daniels, who testified in his trial, deserved for his actions the night he shot killed East. Before deliberating jurors heard about four hours of closing arguments from prosecutors and Daniels' defense attorneys. Prosecutors argued that the evidence in the three-weeks of testimony portrayed the defendant as a cold, manipulative and deceitful killer, who fooled everyone in his life to keep living a drug-fueled, criminal lifestyle. They said Daniels executed East because the officer was on the wrong side of his moral world view. They said Daniels actions the night he shot East clearly showed he posed a future danger and that any change he's represented in the five years of his incarceration at the Lubbock County Detention Center was just another form of manipulation to escape the death penalty. However defense attorneys argued that Daniels killed the officer in the fog of a 30-hour mental health crisis stemming from drug abuse, unaddressed mental health issues and grief from the loss of a family member the summer before the shooting. They argued to jurors that their client's clean disciplinary record in his five-years at the jail showed that Daniels does not pose a threat to the prison community in which he will spend the rest of his life. Story continues To find Daniels deserved the death penalty, jurors had to answer two questions: Whether the evidence showed a probability that Daniels would commit criminal acts of violence that constituted a continuing threat to the prison population in which he will spend the rest of his life and whether there was proof of mitigating circumstances that should spare him the death sentence. For Daniels to get a life sentence without parole, at least 10 jurors would have to agree that he wasn't a future danger and 10 had to agree that there was sufficient mitigating circumstances to spare him the death sentence. However, all 12 jurors had be unanimous to sentence Daniels to death. Jurors began deliberating about 2:40 p.m. Wednesday. District Judge John McClendon sent jurors home about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. They resumed deliberations Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. and worked through the lunch hour before being sent home about 4:30 p.m. As jurors deliberated, they asked the court through notes to review evidence presented in the trial including body camera videos, witness testimony and phone records. Deliberations will continue for a third day at 8:30 a.m. Friday. This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Deliberations continue in Hollis Daniels capital murder case Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will boycott media appearances on NBC News and MSNBC shows, according to his press team, until one of the networks star reporters apologizes for a question she posed about the governors education policies. There will be no consideration of anything related to NBC Universal or its affiliates until and at least Andrea Mitchell corrects the blatant lie she made about the governor, DeSantiss press secretary, Bryan Griffin, said in an email to the network that he posted on Twitter. The lie that the DeSantis camp is protesting is a question Mitchell put to Vice President Harris last week, in which she asked: What does Governor Ron DeSantis not know about Black history and the Black experience when he says that slavery and the aftermath of slavery should not be taught to Florida schoolchildren? Mitchell later said her questioning was imprecise but did not explicitly apologize. The Hill has reached out to NBC for further comment. Griffin said NBC and its affiliates must display a consistent track record of truthful reporting before DeSantis, who has had an often acrimonious relationship with the mainstream media, agrees to future appearances. Last year, DeSantis signed into law the Stop WOKE Act, which prohibited the teaching of Critical Race Theory in Florida schools, as well as lessons 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. Critics say the measure unfairly limits the teaching of subjects such as the Civil War and the Jim Crow era. DeSantis garnered further outrage from Democrats and activists after his administration earlier this year rejected the new Advanced Placement (AP) African American studies course launched by the College Board, criticizing the course as lacking educational value. DeSantis sparks outrage with rejection of African American studies class The DeSantis administration objected to topics including Black queer studies, intersectionality, the reparations movement, the Black Lives Matter movement, Black feminist literary thought and the Black struggle in the 21st century. Story continues The College Board later released changes to the AP course that aligned with many of DeSantiss criticisms, but claimed that the changes were not due to the governors influence. DeSantis has yet to say if the state will accept the course as amended. DeSantis defends rejection of African American studies class The changes have also sparked an intense backlash to the College Board itself from advocates and educators. Updated at 4:39 p.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. WASHINGTON Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is poised to jump into the fundraising race lead among Republicans seeking the 2024 presidential nomination, with the ability to transfer $75 million and growing from his state political committee to a friendly super PAC. DeSantis, who is expected to announce his candidacy following the end of the states legislative session in May, is already leading in some polls of GOP primary voters and has drawn the ire of coup-attempting former President Donald Trump, who had once believed he would coast to the nomination. The amount DeSantis could transfer is $14 million more than the total that Trump had available at the start of 2023 from his campaign, his fundraising committee and a super PAC controlled by a former aide. Trump had an additional $18 million in a leadership PAC, but that money cannot legally be used to benefit his campaign for the presidency, and he may wind up burning through most of it paying for his various criminal defense lawyers. DeSantis, because of a loophole effectively codified by the Federal Election Commission last May, will be able to convert money raised to help him get reelected governor into money that can air ads on his behalf, help turn out voters, or any of the other things super PACs can do for candidates. Neither DeSantis nor Trumps staff responded to HuffPost queries. An aide to another potential GOP candidate said that the dollar figure would absolutely provide DeSantis with an edge. Theres no doubt its an advantage, the aide said on condition of anonymity, but added that how DeSantis holds up under national scrutiny and whether actual voters find him likable will matter more. Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speak at midterm election rallies, in Dayton, Ohio, on Nov. 7, 2022, and Tampa, Florida, on Nov. 8, 2022, in a combination of file photos. Former U.S. President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speak at midterm election rallies, in Dayton, Ohio, on Nov. 7, 2022, and Tampa, Florida, on Nov. 8, 2022, in a combination of file photos. The $74,832,648 total is the cash that Friends of Ron DeSantis had available on Friday, according to reports the committee posts on its website combined with Florida Division of Elections data. It includes recent donations of $1 million each from Jude and Christopher Reyes, billionaire brothers and co-chairs of Reyes Holdings, a food distribution company, as well as $2.5 million from Jeff Yass, the billionaire investor and co-founder of Susquehanna International Group. Story continues That figure is dramatically more than others seeking or likely to seek the nomination. Former South Carolina governor and UN ambassador Nikki Haley, for example, had just over $2 million in her leadership PAC at the start of the year. (The first filing from her recently announced presidential campaign is not due until the end of March.) And former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo began the year with $1.2 million in CAVPAC, a super PAC supporting him. DeSantis cannot use money raised by a state committee for a federal race. However, thanks to a ruling in a case brought against fellow Floridian and Republican Byron Donalds, he effectively has the green light to cut his ties to the state committee and then have it transfer its remaining cash to a federal super PAC that supports him. Donalds, a onetime Florida legislator who in 2020 ran for Congress, resigned from a state political committee three days before filing his candidacy. The committee shortly thereafter gave $107,456 to a federal super PAC supporting Donalds, helping him win a crowded GOP primary and then the general election. The Campaign Legal Center watchdog group filed a complaint against Donalds in August 2020, accusing him of illegally using money raised for state elections in a federal race. But last spring, the three Republican commissioners voted not to pursue the case, resulting in a 3-3 tie. The resolution was unfortunately a deadlock, which so often happens with the FEC, said Saurav Ghosh, the groups director for federal campaign finance reform. Thats basically the playbook that DeSantis is going to use. Donalds is not the only Florida politician to take advantage of this arrangement. HuffPost found that former state legislator-turned-current congressman Aaron Bean did the same thing in 2022, when his Florida Conservative Alliance disbanded on May 27, six days before Bean filed his candidacy for Congress. Four days after that, his former state committee transferred its remaining $1,148,618 to Keep Florida Red PAC, which then spent $963,867 helping Bean get elected. Trump, of course, used a similar trick to convert tens of millions of small-dollar donations he collected supposedly to help Republicans win two Georgia Senate seats in the January 2021 runoff elections and then to help Republicans win back Congress in 2022 into money for his own super PAC. Of the $73 million collected by the pro-Trump Make America Great Again Inc. last year, $60 million came from his Save America leadership PAC and $8.9 million from an existing pro-Trump superPAC. Trump, 76, is under criminal investigation by Georgia prosecutors and the Department of Justice for his attempted coup to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election. The DOJ is also investigating his refusal to hand over top secret documents he had at his Palm Beach, Florida, social club, in defiance of a subpoena. Related... Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to supporters at a campaign stop on the Keep Florida Free Tour at the Horsepower Ranch in Geneva. DeSantis faces former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist for the general election for Florida Governor in November. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images DeSantis is accelerating his clamp down against undocumented immigrants in Florida. Last year DeSantis orchestrated flights carrying migrants from San Antonio to Martha's Vineyard. The actions come as DeSantis is widely expected to be pursuing a presidential run. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida rolled out a series of proposals on Thursday that would impose major restrictions on career and educational opportunities for undocumented immigrants in the state. The governor wants state legislators to repeal a state law that allows children of undocumented immigrants to get in-state college tuition rates. The sweeping changes would also ban localities from issuing IDs to undocumented immigrants, increase criminal penalties for human smuggling, and require all employers to use e-verify a system that checks prospective workers' residency status. Under the proposal, hospitals would be required to collect data on how much they spend providing healthcare to undocumented immigrants. DeSantis framed his latest plan as a direct response to President Joe Biden's immigration policies. A historic number of people have crossed the border during Biden's presidency, many of whom are seeking asylum from violence in their home countries. Last year Border Patrol arrested almost 2 million people who were crossing the border illegally, and an estimated 11 million people are living in the US while undocumented. "We need to do everything in our power to protect the people of Florida from what's going on at the border and the border crisis," DeSantis said at a press conference in Jacksonville, Florida, standing behind a lectern that read "Biden's Border Crisis." The sign featured Biden's 2020 presidential campaign logo. It's unclear how the policies will be received by residents in certain parts of Florida, such as Miami, that have a Latino majority population. The law on college tuition the governor wants to repeal was originally introduced by his lieutenant governor, Jeanette Nunez, when she was a state lawmaker representing Miami. Sen. Rick Scott, DeSantis' predecessor in the governor's mansion, signed the bill into law. Scott told reporters on Thursday that it would be "unfair" to take away in-state tution for undocumented immigrants. Story continues "They didn't come here on their own volition," Scott said in Tampa, according to Politico. "It's a bill that I was proud to sign. It's a bill I would sign again today." DeSantis wants the legislature to write the bill and send it to his desk following Florida's session that begins March 7. The governor has a GOP supermajority in the legislature and lawmakers are expected to be deferential to his requests, particularly given the spotlight on the governor as he appears to be revving up for a 2024 race for the White House. A presidential run would pit DeSantis against former President Donald Trump, whose hard line, anti-immigration rhetoric and actions whipped up his base and led to numerous lawsuits and public backlash. The bipartisan American Business Immigration Coalition Action denounced the DeSantis proposal in a statement on Thursday, saying it would "not only sow widespread fear among the state's immigrants and their employers but would be so repressive and restrictive as to devastate critical business industries across the state that rely daily on immigrant labor." DeSantis' latest immigration announcements come after controversial actions last year, when the governor authorized sending two planes filled with Venezuelan and Colombian migrants to Martha's Vineyard, the vacation island in Massachusetts, as part of a political stunt aimed at opposing Biden's border policy. Last week DeSantis signed a bill into law that will expand the state's ability to move migrants to Democratic-led states and "sanctuary cities." These cities limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities by refusing to report or hand over certain undocumented immigrants for deportation. Under the new law, Florida officials could move migrants from any state and keep the details of the transportation companies secret. DeSantis' Martha's Vineyard move was viewed by critics, including the Biden administration, as a cruel stunt that misled vulnerable migrants. Defenders of the transport programs have said that the considerable costs of supporting migrants with food, shelter, and medical care should be borne not just by states along the US-Mexico border. Biden announced a crack down on illegal immigration in January, saying the federal government would deny entry to people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela if they bypass official ports into the US from Mexico. February 24, 2023: This story has been updated to include a response from the American Business Immigration Coalition Action and Sen. Rick Scott. Read the original article on Business Insider Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is heaping praise on former President Trump for helping boost his name recognition ahead of his 2018 bid to become governor, lauding the former president for his star power in the governors upcoming book. I knew that a Trump endorsement would provide me with the exposure to GOP primary voters across the State of Florida, and I was confident that many would see me as a good candidate once they learned about my record, DeSantis wrote, according to The Guardian, which obtained the new book before its publication. I had developed a good relationship with the president largely because I supported his initiatives in Congress and opposed the Russia collusion conspiracy theory. The praise for Trump from DeSantis in his upcoming The Courage to Be Free book comes as the two men seem poised to cross paths in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Trump has already launched his campaign and DeSantis, while not yet officially declared, is widely expected to announce a White House bid in the coming months. DeSantis is seen as one of the main challengers to the former president to claim the partys nomination, which has prompted Trump to launch some recent attacks against his former ally. Trump has labeled the Florida governor as Ron DeSanctimonious and has blasted his record as governor. Florida was doing GREAT long before Ron DeSanctus got there, Trump said in a post on his Truth Social site on Tuesday. People are fleeing from New York to Florida (and other places) because of high TAXES and out of control CRIME, not because of Governor (thank you President Trump!) DeSanctimonious. But DeSantis has steered clear of Trumps antagonism, instead applauding Trumps 2016 outsider campaign to become president in his new book. Trump also brought a unique star power to the race, DeSantis writes. If someone had asked me, as a kid growing up in the eighties and nineties, to name someone who was rich, I and probably nearly all my friends would have responded by naming Donald Trump. The praise from DeSantis, and his unwillingness thus far to spar with the former president, reflects a decision to seemingly avoid a showdown with Trump that other Republican presidential hopefuls, such as former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, have also made. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. By Rod Nickel KHERSON, Ukraine (Reuters) - Vladyslav Antoniuk felt euphoric three months ago when he returned to his home city Kherson, the day Ukrainian troops rolled back in and jubilant residents waved blue and yellow flags in the main square to celebrate. The recapture of the only regional capital Russia had seized during its invasion was the biggest triumph of Ukraine's counter-offensive in the second half of last year, lifting hopes across the country and bringing displaced residents flooding home. But three months later, Ukraine's advances have halted and grim reality has set in. Russian soldiers, who retreated just across the Dnipro River, have not been pushed back further and are pummelling the city daily with artillery. Many residents have now left for a second time, with the encouragement of the region's leaders. Not Antoniuk, 46, who says he's going nowhere: "It's my city. People help each other in their own way," he said. But Vasyl Nezgoda isn't so sure. Two weeks ago, a Russian Grad rocket slammed into his apartment building roof. He moved to a friend's house and is staying in the city for now. "But if the situation gets worse I will leave." Residents endured eight months of what many describe as a brutal Russian occupation. Ukrainian authorities are investigating hundreds of disappearances and cases of physical or sexual abuse of detainees by the former occupiers. But high hopes that the city's return to Ukrainian control would bring normalcy have not materialized. These days, the central square is deserted. On Wednesday, Russian shells hit a bus stop in the city centre, killing six people and wounding a dozen. Officials estimate just 50,000 people remain of a pre-war population of 279,000, and they are now advising the rest to leave, as long as the city remains within range of Russia's guns across the river. "Until we have a distance of 30-40 kilometres to the enemy, it is better for people to leave, to save their lives and health," said Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, a position akin under martial law to governor. Story continues He spoke to Reuters outside Kherson's stately administration building, missing several windows after nearby blasts shattered their glass. He said his administration evacuates about 100 people from the city daily on trains and buses on a voluntary basis. Many don't go far. While Kherson city's population is shrinking, other Ukrainian-held areas further from the front line in surrounding Kherson region, known as Ukraine's fruit basket, are receiving more people. Prokudin, 39, has only been on the job since Feb. 7, after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy fired a slew of public officials, saying he needed to clean up internal problems. Prokudin previously led Kherson region's National Police department. He faces a hard sell urging some holdouts to leave. "We will stand here," said Ihor Vlasenko, 60, who works for a heating company. "I am not thinking about leaving." (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Kherson, Ukraine; Editing by Peter Graff) After years of focusing much of its attention on the West Loop and the Fulton Market district, the Boka Restaurant Group is ready to open not one, but three concepts on the busy Southport Corridor in Lakeview. You might already know about two of them: Stephanie Izards Little Goat Diner is relocating from the West Loop, while GGs Chicken Shop, a fried chicken sandwich concept from chef Lee Wolen, will finally get a permanent home after launching virtually during the pandemic. Advertisement The third project is brand-new. Gene Kato, the chef at Momotaro, is behind Itoko, a sushi and robata restaurant set to open March 1. Itoko means cousin in Japanese, Kato said. It has a lot of the DNA of Momotaro in it, including the quality of the product and the high standards. Advertisement But Kato is quick to add there will be big differences, with only about 20% of the dishes brought over from Momotaro. Once we took the neighborhood into consideration, along with input from the chef team, the style of the restaurant became something very unique, he said. In particular, Kato hopes the restaurant connects with the people who call the neighborhood home. Its such a young family neighborhood, with a lot of foot traffic, Kato said. The goal is to have an option that has a little bit of a Fulton Market vibe, but is just five to 10 minutes from where they live. To appeal to the kids, hes also offering a few bento boxes. Me being a parent, a lot of the time going out to restaurants, the options for the kids are generic, Kato said. I wanted the parents to feel good about the food that their kids are eating. Fans of Kato might also notice some intriguing connections to his now-closed Sumi Robata Grill in River North. In fact, it even has the same robata grill. When Sumi shut down in 2017, Kato sold the grill, which was custom-made in Japan, to Nick Kokonas for use at Next Restaurant. Fortunately, he was able to buy it back, and hell be putting it to good use with a menu full of precisely grilled meat, seafood and vegetables. Youll also find a lot of sushi. Kato explained that along with classic nigiri and maki options, hes going to serve some crazier rolls that should appeal to the neighborhood. Hes most excited about serving hand rolls (temaki), a style where the fish is wrapped up in crisp seaweed and eaten as quickly as possible. We cant do that at Momotaro, because its such a large space, Kato said. The seaweed would be soft by the time it got to the table. Itoko is a much smaller space, so it allows us to offer that. The restaurant will also feature a full bar program. Kato described it as a condensed collection of sake, wine, spirits and cocktails that youd find at Momotaro. Unlike the boisterous and glitzy Momotaro, Itoko will be bright and cozy, with a design by Brand Bureau that draws inspiration from Japandi, a style that combines Scandinavian and Japanese design elements. Advertisement All three of Bokas concepts will be housed in the space formerly occupied by Southport Lanes, a bowling alley that closed last year after operating for nearly 100 years. Though connected in the back, each will have its own entrance. Along with the two other Boka projects in the same building, Kato said hes thrilled to be close to all the other great restaurants along Southport Avenue, including Coda di Volpe across the street. Theres a lot of exciting energy in this intersection, Kato said. Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy > Itoko will open Wednesday. 3325 N. Southport Ave., itokochicago.com More notable new restaurants, listed in alphabetical order: Atelier Borrowing from the French term for an artists workshop, Atelier opened in the former Elizabeth restaurant space Feb. 22 with a $190 tasting menu focused on seasonal produce from Midwest farms, debuting with pastrami-spiced short rib with a root vegetable giardiniera, mushroom pierogi accented with tart cranberry, and an ice cream sandwich with toasted rice and ginger for dessert. Executive chef Christian Hunter comes to Chicago after his time helming Connecticuts Community Table garnered him a James Beard nod as a semifinalist for best chef in the northeast. 4835 N. Western Ave., 773-681-0651, atelier-chicago.com Boonies Filipino Restaurant After making an impressive splash at Revival Food Hall amid a wave of Filipino restaurants in Chicago, chef Joseph Fontelera has expanded into his own North Center restaurant. Some Boonie Foods favorites have carried over into the new space, including bagnet, a crispy pork belly dish. Youll also find tangy beef short rib bistek with citrusy calamansi onion, and sinigang soup with steelhead trout and burned tomato broth. 4337 N. Western Ave., 708-990-8886, booniefoods.com [ Filipino restaurants are thriving in Chicago: So many people of different colors are coming in. ] Chkn-Box Get your wings served in a shoe box at this electric-green fast-food stop in the Loop. From WGCIs DJ Mike P, the shoe-box lunches at this fast-casual spot include chicken tenders drizzled with barbecue sauce, while diners can quench their thirst with a bottle of Peezy Limeade. Other classic wing flavors such as Chicago Mild, hot honey, buffalo, ranch and lemon pepper are available, as well as a flight where you can try each flavor with a side of fries and limeade included. And, with shoe boxes as the main vehicle for the food, its fitting the shop offers a monthly sneaker raffle for customers. 400 S. Financial Place, chknbox.com Advertisement Le Select The French revolution charges on in Chicago with the latest addition, a brasserie in River North with a Chicago native running the show. Le Select opened at the end of January as a venture between Boka Restaurant Group (Girl & the Goat, GT Prime, Alla Vita) and chef Daniel Rose, who returns home after helming Michelin-starred and James Beard award recipient Le Coucou in New York City (not to mention his own restaurant in France, La Bourse et la Vie). Find all the classic French fare, from French onion soup to duck a lOrange and steak au poivre, done to the exacting standards of a chef with Parisian credentials and Midwest heart. 504 N. Wells St., 312-896-4504, leselectchicago.com Lost Reef Lounge Embrace your inner mermaid at this Lakeview cocktail bar from CPG Restaurant Group, the owners behind Cheesies Pub. Enjoy aquatic-themed drinks and bites such as ahi tuna tartare and mezcal-cured salmon under the soft blue glow of eight saltwater fish tanks courtesy of Tank It Easy. The cocktail menu by mixologist Michael Abood also features zero-proof beverages and a bourbon-based drink served in a treasure chest sales of which will benefit the Coral Restoration Foundation. 964 W. Belmont Ave., 773-360-1961, lostreef.com nkindelsperger@chicagotribune.com Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell One of numerous high-profile investigations headed up by John Caldwell was the murder of PSNI officer Ronan Kerr in the same town where the senior detective was gunned down. The killing of Constable Kerr was blamed on dissident republicans styling themselves as the New IRA - the same group police suspect of shooting Detective Chief Inspector Caldwell on Wednesday night. Mr Kerr, a 25-year-old recently graduated police recruit, died when a booby trap bomb detonated under his car outside his home in Omagh in April 2011. Making an appeal for information on the 10th anniversary of the murder in 2021, Mr Caldwell's words now assume a chilling poignancy given what happened to him in the same Co Tyrone town. "His job was to protect the community," he said. "Despicably, people living in his own community planned and plotted to kill him simply because he was a police officer bravely going out every day to protect people and make communities safer places to live and work." DCI Caldwell speaking to the press - Colm Lenaghan/Pacemaker Given the ever-present security risk, the PSNI strive to protect the identities of the majority of their officers in the public sphere. However, high-ranking officers do have more of a public profile and they often front media appeals related to major investigations. Mr Caldwell is a familiar face on the TV news in Northern Ireland and is accustomed to giving press conferences and interviews. In December he was involved in the investigation following the murder of expectant mother Natalie McNally. Ms McNally, 32, who was 15 weeks pregnant, was stabbed at her home in Silverwood Green, Lurgan, Co Armagh. A number of the murder investigations he has been involved in have also been linked to organised drug gangs. Earlier in December, Mr Caldwell took on the case of Mark Lovell. Natalie McNally The 58-year-old was shot a number of times at close range while in his car outside his home in Newry. A month later, the DCI assumed the role of senior investigating officer when Shane Whitla, a 39-year-old father-of-four, was shot dead in Lurgan, Co Armagh. Story continues In October 2022, he headed the probe into the murder of Ryan McNab in Co Antrim. Mr McNab, 31, from north Belfast, was killed in an attack in the Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey. In January of that year, Mr Caldwell fronted public appeals following the fatal stabbing of Martin Gavin, 47, in Belfast. The previous year, Mr Caldwell led the probe into the murder of Katie Brankin, who was murdered by her partner at a glamping site in Limavady, Co Derry. YouTube Pro-Trump cartoonist Scott Adams pulled the mask all the way off this week, declaring on his podcast that white people should get the hell away from Black people while labeling African-Americans as a hate group. Adams, who has written the satirical office comic strip Dilbert for more than three decades, said during his Coffee with Scott Adams online video program that current polling proves that there is no fixing the current racial tension in America and that whites should live in largely segregated neighborhoods. Citing a recent Rasmussen survey showing 53 percent of Black people agree with the phrase Its okay to be white, which the Anti-Defamation League has deemed a hate slogan, Adams said on Wednesday that this was the first political poll that ever changed my activities while launching into an overtly racist rant. Ive been identifying as Black for a while because I like to be on the winning team, the right-wing culture warrior sarcastically noted. And I like to help. I always thought if you help the Black community, thats sort of the biggest lever, you could find the biggest benefit. He added: But it turns out that nearly half of that team doesnt think Im okay to be white. Which is why I identified as Black so I could be on the winning team for a while. This real or deep fake? pic.twitter.com/coDrYJcHEo Ryan Dawson (@RyLiberty) February 23, 2023 Turning back to the poll results, Adams said hes now going to re-identify as white because he doesnt want to be a member of a hate group, which he claimed he had accidentally joined with his trollish Black identification. If nearly half of all Blacks are not okay with white peopleaccording to this poll, not according to me, according to this pollthats a hate group, Adams proclaimed. From there, Adams urged white viewers to completely segregate themselves from Black Americans. Story continues I would say, based on the current way things are going, the best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from Black people, the 65-year-old author exclaimed. Just get the fuck away. Wherever you have to go, just get away. Because theres no fixing this. This cant be fixed. Reiterating that whites need to escape, Adams said that he had already done so by moving to an area with a very low Black population. He then cited Black CNN anchor Don Lemon to justify his assertion that theres a correlation between a mostly Black neighborhood and a bunch of problems he didnt see in majority-white areas. So I dont think it makes any sense as a white citizen of America to try to help Black citizens anymore, Adams huffed. It doesnt make sense. Theres no longer a rational impulse. So Im going to back off on being helpful to Black America because it doesnt seem like it pays off. He continued: The only outcome is I get called a racist. Thats the only outcome. It makes no sense to help Black Americans if youre white. Its over. Dont even think its worth trying. Later in the program, he again said you just need to get away from them, especially those who dont want to focus on education. Adams followed that up by saying hes really sick of seeing video after video of Black Americans beating up non-Black citizens, insisting that its every damn day he sees a clip of some Black person beating the shit out of some white person. The Dilbert creator has seemingly embraced more radical positions since first comparing former President Donald Trump to Jesus in late 2015. Since then, hes openly courted controversy while dipping his toes into far-right culture war battles. Outside of peddling debunked COVID-19 cures, Adams also ludicrously predicted that if Joe Biden won the presidential election, there was a good chance Republicans would be hunted down and dead within a year. Last year, Adams introduced a Black character for the first time in his strips 33-year existence, though it seemed it was largely to poke fun at woke culture and the LGBTQ community. The characters plotline revolved around his identifying as white, only for management to ask if he could also identify as gay. Amid the incorporation of the anti-woke plot lines, Dilbert was dropped last September from 77 newspapers by publisher Lee Enterprises. Adams, for his part, claimed the move was part of a larger overhaul of comic syndication. At the same time, however, he also said its possible the strip was pulled for other reasons. Do you think they flipped coins to decide what to keep and what to delete? It wasn't about popularity or cost. (That I know.), Adams said at the time. The cartoonist has also previously claimed that his short-lived television series was canceled from UPN because hes white. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. More than 1,000 health care providers across North Carolina have signed a letter urging lawmakers to oppose any additional abortion restrictions beyond the current 20-week limit, which some say already restricts their ability to care for patients. While Republicans in the General Assembly have not yet filed legislation this year to further restrict abortion access, the GOP legislative leaders have repeatedly signaled their intention to do so. Several physicians who wrote and signed the letter spoke Wednesday about how the existing ban already interferes with their work and puts patients at risk. Outside the Legislative Building in Raleigh, they called on Democrats to stand united against any new restrictions that Republicans who hold a supermajority in the state Senate and are one seat shy of similar control in the House might propose. ALSO READ: S. Carolina House passes abortion ban; no sign of budging Dr. Alison Stuebe, a maternal-fetal medicine physician who specializes in high-risk pregnancies, described checking one patients lab results for several days before she became sick enough for an emergency abortion. While the current law allows some leeway for urgent medical emergencies that threaten the patients life or create serious risk of substantial and irreversible physical impairment, it does not grant exceptions in cases of rape or incest. GOP leaders have said that they would consider expanding the exceptions. I want you to understand that when we ban abortion at any point in time, Dr. Stuebe said, we cause fear for clinicians and take us away from our fiduciary responsibility to do what is best for the patient in front of us. VIDEO: South Carolina House passes abortion ban; no sign of budging Donald Trump Jr joined the chorus of left and right voices criticising Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg after a major train derailment, but unlike others found himself fixated on the secretarys sexuality. During a Newsmax interview this week the son of the twice-impeached former president went on a tirade against Mr Buttigieg and insisted that the former South Bend mayor was named to his position as a diversity hire. A video of Mr Trump Jr making the remarks was viewed hundreds of thousands of times. Journalist Aaron Rupar said it was an example of unvarnished homophobia from the former presidents son, though other conservatives including Mr Trumps former ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, defended him. "He's the gay guy, so we gotta give him something, let's make him Transportation Secretary" -- unvarnished homophobia from Donald Trump Jr on Newsmax pic.twitter.com/L4VuGQANi8 Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 23, 2023 People that get their job from nepotism assume everybody does Ken Bach (@bach_kenneth) February 23, 2023 They gave him the job BECAUSE hes gay! Everyone knows this. They announced his sexuality as they named him - which is so demeaning and exploitative. Don, Jr isnt remotely homophobic. But you are so straightphobic! https://t.co/3SVhif3M37 Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) February 23, 2023 The eldest son of former President Donald Trump was active, as was much of Trumpworld, in generating hype for Mr Trumps visit on Wednesday to East Palestine, Ohio. The town was the site of a devastating train crash in early February, and many residents have raised concerns about health issues potentially resulting from the crash and the dangerous chemical contents of the train. The visit was as much a campaign stop for the former president in a state he won twice as it was a visit of mercy; he savaged the Biden administration as volunteers handed out pallets of water he bragged were Trump water. A request for an estimate from the Trump campaign of the total amount of goods the former president donated was not returned. Local residents have accused the federal government, which has said it will hold train operator Norfolk Southern responsible for the cleanup, of being slow to react to the chaos. Biden administration figures dispute this, noting that federal authorities were on the ground within hours of the crash, even though President Joe Biden and other senior administration figures were not. Trust between locals and state/federal authorities remains frayed in East Palestine and the surrounding communities thanks to insistences from state officials that residents who have raised concerns about the safety of their drinking water are mistaken, while the arrest of a journalist covering the scene also drew accusations of a coverup. A study has suggested that soda consumption may increase testosterone levels and testicle size in men. The study, conducted by researchers at the Northwest Minzu University in China and published in the scientific journal Acta Endocrinol, set out to determine the impact carbonated beverages such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi had on fertility. As noted by the study authors, previous studies have linked soda consumption to harm to reproductive functions, reduced sperm quantity and reduced sperm motility. The researchers, who relied on animal testing to conduct the study, found the opposite was true when it came to testosterone, the male hormone produced mainly in the testes, and testicle size. To test their hypothesis, the researchers studied groups of male mice. The first group drank only water, while the remaining groups drank varying levels of Coca-Cola and Pepsi, respectively. Over the 15-day period, the scientists performed tests on the mice to analyse the effects of the carbonated beverage consumption, which included blood tests and weight and diameter measurements of the testis. The study found that the testes of the mice that just drank Pepsi or Coca-Cola were significantly increased on day 15. The outcome demonstrated a high dose of Pepsi or Coca-Cola could promote testis growth and development, the study authors wrote. In addition to increased testicle size, researchers also found that the concentrations of serum testosterone in all mice were enhanced after the Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola treatment, which indicated that high doses of Pepsi and Coca-Cola could improve testosterone secretion of male mice. In conclusion, drinking Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola could promote testis development, enhance testosterone secretion, increase serum EGF concentrations . Our findings provided the scientific basis for fully understanding [carbonated beverages] effects and their mechanism on development and reproduction functions of humans, but also benefit to prevent prostate dysfunction and cancer, the study authors wrote. Story continues Although the study suggested that males may experience increased testicle size and testosterone production as a result of soda consumption, the researchers reiterated that the findings contradict previous studies. One such previous study includes a survey of 2,500 men that suggested sperm quantity was reduced by 30 per cent when a one-litre carbonated beverage was consumed every day. The researchers also noted that previous studies have suggested links between soda consumption and fertility. One study found that carbonated beverages are associated with alterations in hormones that affect ovulation. The researchers claimed that, so far, there has been little documentation regarding correlation between carbonated beverage consumption and reproduction function and fertility in humans and animals. Although the researchers said more research needs to be conducted on the link between soda and fertility, the study acknowledges that carbonated beverage consumption may lead to obesity, cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes, and that previous studies have indicated health damage effects of carbonated beverages on adolescents and children were serious. The recent study comes after a previous study found that massive consumption of coffee or caffeine increased testosterone production. As for whether you should consume soda, health experts recommend against consuming the beverages due to the sugar content. According to the Cleveland Clinic, one can of soda can have as much as 39 grams of sugar, while the American Heart Association recommends no more than 25 grams of sugar per day for women and 36 grams of sugar per day for men. A Ukrainian soldier uses a commercial drone to monitor the front line in eastern Ukraine. Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Over the past year, images from Ukraine have often portrayed a war resembling other conflicts from the past half-century. Russian forces deploy tanks, fighter planes, warships, amphibious vehicles and attack helicopters. Ukrainians fight back with anti-tank weapons, grenade launchers and anti-aircraft missiles. This is how much of the war appears on the ground. But theres another side to the conflict a hypermodern battleground where drones play a crucial role in surveillance, reconnaissance and combat missions. These technologies may foreshadow a world in which armed conflicts are conducted largely by remote control and perhaps someday, by artificial intelligence. What lessons does the drone war in Ukraine hold for the future? Commercial and portable drones One lesson is that drones have been democratized, accessible to anyone with a few hundred dollars and a bit of technical knowledge. In Ukraine, DIY hobbyists have modified and weaponized small, inexpensive commercial drones by outfitting them with high-resolution cameras and explosives. Ukraines Aerorozvidka air reconnaissance unit made headlines early in the war when its drones helped stop a Russian convoy headed for Kyiv. Aerorozvidka personnel use spiderlike hexacopters, octocopters and other remote-controlled devices as weapons. These gadgets typically fly at low altitudes less than 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers) and limited distances less than 19 miles (31 kilometers). Russias fighter jets arent designed to prevent attacks from such small drones. Suicide drones Both sides in the war have also unleashed loitering munitions sometimes called suicide drones. These self-destructing devices can circle around targets for hours before attacking. Ukraines arsenal includes U.S.-made Switchblade and Phoenix Ghost models, while Russian forces use domestically manufactured Lancet-3 drones. Some of these weapons are small enough to fit in a backpack. Ukrainian forces have also fashioned DIY loitering munitions by attaching explosives to off-the-shelf quadcopters. Story continues Russian troops have also used Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones, which recently terrorized Kyiv. At about 11 feet (3.5 meters) long, these fixed wing drones resemble a small plane. Loitering munitions typically cost US$10,000-$20,000 each, and have a longer range 932 miles (1,500 kilometers) or more than cheap commercial drones. Most have swarming capability, which allows multiple drones to attack a target and inflict greater damage. An Iranian-made Shahed-136 suicide drone seconds before it hit buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 17, 2022. AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky In the Ukraine war, its much more expensive to intercept loitering munitions than to deploy them. Using MiG-29 jet fighters, C-300 cruise missiles and other Cold War-era weapons to stop these drones far exceeds the cost of the disposable robots. New high-tech battles of attrition could become a regular feature of future conflicts, with each side attempting to exhaust its enemys resources. Loitering munitions hold another lesson. When used against civilians, low-altitude drones can unnerve an entire city. Russias October 2022 drone attacks on Kyiv not only killed four people, but they terrorized thousands more. A Stanford-NYU research project on the long-term impact of Americas drone war in Pakistan reveals that it has deeply traumatized civilian populations. Remotely piloted aircraft Another class of drones includes those capable of flying longer distances 124 miles (200 kilometers) or more and at higher altitudes 2.5 to 5 miles (4 to 8 kilometers) than those mentioned above. They can also be armed with laser-guided missiles, boosting their lethality. In the Ukraine war, these drones essentially remotely piloted fighter planes include the Turkish-produced Bayraktar TB2. The Ukrainian military has acquired several dozen, at a cost of about $5 million each. Some call it the Toyota Corolla of drones because of its affordability and reliability. Among other things, the Bayraktar TB2 inspired a Ukrainian rap song that went viral, pointing to the potential propaganda value of new technologies. Ukrainian forces have made extensive use of the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone. Birol Bebek/AFP via Getty Images Russian forces have used comparable drones, most notably the domestically produced Orion series. Other drones in this class (none of which have been used in Ukraine) include the Israeli Hermes 450, the American-made MQ-1C Gray Eagle, Chinas recently unveiled Wing Loong 3 and dozens more. China now surpasses Israel as the worlds biggest drone exporter. Drone proliferation is likely to accelerate their battlefield presence. High-end military drones High-end drones arent likely to be used in Ukraine anytime soon. Its hard to imagine that the Rolls-Royce of drones, the U.S.-made RQ-4 Global Hawk, will ever be deployed in Ukraine, given its high cost. (The $200 million behemoth is, in fact, powered by a Rolls-Royce AE 3700 turbofan engine). But its plausible that one day, the U.S. government might provide Ukraine with RQ-9 Reapers, which cost about $50 million apiece. And although China has so far been reluctant to send weapons to Russian forces, its state-of-the-art CH-5 Rainbow strike drones could dramatically alter the course of the war. This advanced aircraft would provide Russian troops with far greater firepower, endurance and range than its current drones. How drones are changing war Over the past 20 years, researchers have observed that drone warfare simultaneously stretches and compresses the battlefield. It does so both physically and psychologically by increasing the geographic distance between targeter and targeted. When American forces launch drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Yemen, the attacks are secret, targeted assassinations, more like a form of hunting than airstrikes on military targets. But the ways in which drones are being used in Ukraine are strikingly different from how the U.S. has deployed them in the war on terror. In Ukraine, both sides use drones as a tactical technology for a range of missions, including battlefield surveillance, artillery spotting and attacking armored vehicles and missile launchers. One year on, missiles and drones dominate the air war over Ukraine, raising the question: Where are the pilots? Future wars may incorporate yet more advanced drones and counter-drone systems for jamming command or GPS signals, or intercepting drones before they strike. Russias failure to adequately use such systems gave Ukrainian forces an edge in the early months of the war. Flying killer robots Perhaps the most troubling prospect is the possibility of a new global arms race in which the U.S., China, Russia, Iran, Israel, the European Union and others rush to develop fully autonomous drones. The U.S. Air Force is already testing an AI-controlled fighter jet. Several factors are driving this process. As GPS and control signal jammers become more sophisticated, drones are likely to become less reliant on remote control and more autonomous, using systems that incorporate AI, such as simultaneous location and mapping, LiDAR technology and celestial navigation. Another factor propelling the long-term adoption of autonomous weapons is the psychological impact of remote-controlled warfare on drone pilots, many of whom suffer from serious mental illnesses like post-traumatic stress disorder after killing targeted people. To some observers, autonomous drones might seem to offer a way of eliminating the psychological trauma of killing remotely. Yet many rank-and-file soldiers and pilots are reluctant to use autonomous weapons because they dont trust them, something confirmed by my own research. Finally, there are ethical concerns: Autonomous weapons tend to absolve humans of any responsibility for life-and-death decisions. Who will be held accountable when an autonomous drone kills civilian noncombatants? As the Ukraine war drags on and as autonomous weapons research surges forward the possibility of a robot war looms on the horizon. This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. The Conversation is trustworthy news from experts, from an independent nonprofit. Try our free newsletters. It was written by: Roberto J. Gonzalez, San Jose State University. Read more: Roberto J. Gonzalez 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. John Schneider's wife, Alicia Allain Schneider, has died, the actor announced in a Facebook post Feb. 22. She was 53. "My beautiful smile is pain free, living in her new body alongside Jesus," he wrote in the post. John Schneider with his wife, Alicia Allain Schneider. (John Schneider via Facebook) "The Dukes of Hazzard" actor did not disclose her date of death or the cause. An online obituary states that she died at home Feb. 21 surrounded by family. "Please respect our privacy during this time of grief. Please do not ask any questions," the widower said in his post. Instead, he asked people to share memories of his wife, who he married in 2019, according to People. If you have any pictures of us and our obvious love and adoration for each other, please post them below," he wrote. "Lastly hug those you love tight and let them know how you feel. We always did. The obituary describes Alicia Allain Schneider, who was a filmmaker and music producer, as "a proud mom and smile to her husband," his nickname for her. She was a native of Brusly, Louisiana, and resided in Holden. Her husband survives her, as well as her daughter, Jessica Ann Dollard, her parents, Michael and Linda Marino Allain, and her brother, Brandy Michael Allain. John Schneider said in another Facebook post that "this is a time of unimaginable sorrow." "Alicia was the fuel that ran my biggest dreams," he wrote. "The inspiration behind every creative thought. The very fabric of my soul. The glue that held me together." John Schneider and Alicia Allain attend He said losing her is indescribable. "I miss her more than any words could possibly describe," he wrote. "Pain is too small a word. Grief is too small a word. Love itself is too small a word." He asked for people to respect his privacy. "Should you see me out there somewhere on the stage or in line at a coffee shop, please dont ask me how I am," he said. "The answer is 'broken' and its currently too difficult for me (to) fathom and certainly to painful to verbalize." John Schneider said people can help by sharing memories of his wife. Story continues "Thank you for your thoughts, concerns and prayers," he said. "Continue to post the glorious photos you captured of my Smile and I changing our world and sometimes yours, one kiss at a time because those images help." He also asked for prayers for his family. "Continue to pray for the strength of myself and my beautiful family to endure these most trying of times," he wrote. He said his wife loved their fans and community and asked for grace. "She loved you all and spoke of how dedicated and loyal you have been all these years and I love you right along with her," he said. "Bare with me down this rutted and treacherous road I never dreamed Id have to travel. Be patient with my unimaginable process." In closing, he said that he is thankful for the time he did have with his wife. "Thank you Lord for sharing the gift of Alicia with me. Ill never be the same and I know that, somehow, we are still and will always be the Team To Beat.'" This article was originally published on TODAY.com Volunteers Larry Culler and Ed Byard load water into a car after the derailment of a train carrying hazardous waste in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb 23. (Alan Freed/Reuters) In an effort to reassure the residents of East Palestine, Ohio, who are still concerned about their health in the aftermath of the toxic chemical release from a train derailment there on Feb. 3, officials have turned to an old tactic: drinking the local water to show its safe. While government agencies have repeatedly stated that tests have shown that the municipal water supply and air quality are safe, locals have reported such symptoms as dizziness, headaches and rashes, after tankers of chemicals were burned off in the days following the crash. On Feb. 8, two days after an evacuation order was issued in the area, residents were urged to return home, despite the lingering smell in the air. Gov. Mike DeWine later admitted that he would be nervous about returning if he lived there. Look, I think that I would be drinking the bottle of water, and I would be continuing to find out what the tests were showing, as far as the air, DeWine said at a Feb. 14 press conference. I would be alert and concerned, but I think I would probably be back in my house. Related: How dangerous train derailments affect communities like East Palestine A week later, DeWine was among the officials attempting to prove the water was safe, by drinking it. Along with DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, and EPA Administrator Michael Regan all made a point of drinking the water in front of cameras, with Regan noting, Thats good. (Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, also posted a video of himself drinking the water in East Palestine on Feb. 16, even though he represents a district near Houston.) In a video posted by Husted, a number of officials, including the mayor as well as the police and fire chiefs, offer a toast before drinking the water. #EastPalestine Fire Chief Chief Keith Drabick, Police Chief James Brown, and Mayor Trent Conaway have a message for their fellow community members The water is safe and they are working around the clock to keep it that way. pic.twitter.com/U0btfmFKVa Lt. Governor Jon Husted (@LtGovHusted) February 17, 2023 Experts say that taste tests of this kind also tend to gloss over the fact that in many instances, drinking one glass of contaminated water may not have any adverse effects, by comparison with the risks to permanent residents of prolonged exposure to the water. One of the chemicals involved in the spill and burnoff, vinyl chloride, is a known carcinogen. Story continues A single small exposure from which a person recovers quickly is unlikely to cause delayed or long-term effects, states the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Exposure to vinyl chloride over many years can affect the liver, nervous system, and skin. Long-term exposure can cause a rare form of liver cancer. There is no formal term for this act of political stagecraft, but the Trillbilly Workers Party a leftist political podcast based in Kentucky floated the term The Devils Milkshake during a February 2020 episode. One of the hosts, Terrence Ray, defined it to Yahoo News as when an environmental disaster occurs, and the people living around it or impacted by it get angry. And the public officials come out, and they either drink or eat a piece of the supposedly poisoned material in question. Many in the East Palestine area used private wells rather than the municipal water system, so experts have advised continuous testing of water, soil and air on their property. It is unclear how much of this volatile chemical escaped into the air or burned before entering surface waters and soil, but vinyl chloride is highly mobile in soils and water and can persist for years in groundwater, wrote Murray McBride, a professor at Cornell, earlier this month. It is advisable that farmers and other residents in this area test their wells, over the next few months at least, for the presence of the spilled chemicals including vinyl chloride, in order to protect the health of humans and livestock. After other disasters, the EPA has been known to dub stricken areas safe prematurely. When New Yorkers were told by the agency that the air in downtown Manhattan was safe in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, testing later found that to be inaccurate. Then-Director Christine Todd Whitman admitted 15 years later that she had been wrong. More than 4,600 first responders and survivors enrolled in the World Trade Center Health program have died, and those in the program have seen increased rates of cancer. President Barack Obama holds up a glass of filtered water from Flint, Mich., a city struggling with the effects of drinking water contaminated with lead, in a speech there on May 4, 2016. (Carlos Barria/Reuters) Perhaps the most famous example of the Devils Milkshake occurred in 2016, when then-President Barack Obama visited Flint, Mich., where the water was polluted with high levels of lead. While speaking in Flint, Obama twice drank filtered water, saying he didnt usually participate in stunts, but wanted to make a point that the water was safe. This used a filter, Obama said. The water around this table was Flint water, and it just confirms what we know scientifically, which is, if youre using a filter, if youre installing it, then Flint water at this point is drinkable. The moment was captured in Michael Moores 2018 documentary 11/9, which included criticism from residents and side angles showing Obama briefly touching the glass to his lips. Obamas stunt was a stripped-down version of then-Gov. Rick Snyders pledge a month prior that he would drink Flint water for 30 days. Snyder, a Republican, was charged in 2021 for his role in the poisoning of the majority-Black city. I do think that maybe the Flint thing was a misguided attempt at showing solidarity, Ray said of Obamas visit. I really think that he probably thought, Hey, this will be my way of showing them that I care, which is, you know, just another way of showing how detached and disconnected a lot of these leaders are from what's going on on the ground. That's probably the best way to understand the Devil's Milkshake: It's like a measurement of the distance between public leaders and their constituents or impacted residents or anyone impacted by environmental pollution, industrial disaster or anything like that. Other examples include when Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., drank fracking liquid to demonstrate how safe he said it was when he was serving as governor, or another instance that has stuck with Ray: Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe eating rice from the area around the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Expanding on the concept in a piece published Thursday in The Baffler, Ray has found what is potentially the first example of a Devils Milkshake, in 1850s New York City, where an alderman defended dairy companies amid a swill milk scandal that killed thousands of infants nationwide. Ray also noted Britain's agriculture minister trying to feed his daughter a hamburger in order to undercut concerns over "mad cow disease" in 1990, and Peruvian officials attempting to prove that the spread of cholera in raw fish had been overhyped, by eating it live on television a year later. Petroleum-based chemicals float on top of the water in Leslie Run creek on Feb. 20 in East Palestine, after being swirled up from sediment on the bottom. (Michael Swensen/Getty Images) Ray says that living in Kentucky, hes seen Devils Milkshakes consumed in person, including in Martin County, where the water was so contaminated it smelled like diesel fuel. When he was attending a town hall there, he recalled, A public official kind of ran to the front of the room and demanded a glass of water to demonstrate," probably, he said, to show that no changes needed to be made and to tamp down public opposition. I think part of the reason why this is such an interesting issue for me, and why I wanted to pick a name for this in the first place, was because I live in eastern Kentucky, and for a long time, I was involved in efforts around mountaintop removal, like getting coal miners to stop polluting rivers and water supplies, Ray said. And so there's always this question of, is the public water supply safe? Ray noted that its difficult to track the history of the Devils Milkshake, because without a formal term to describe the phenomenon in common currency, it's not easy to do research on previous instances. He concedes that there is no quantitative data to prove this, but said he believes they have become more frequent. This might be because it is so much easier now to spread videos on social media, because of a sense that disasters are occurring more regularly, or simply because people have so little trust in institutions today that politicians feel they must do something. There are probably a lot of reasons, probably the foremost of which is that environmental disaster just seems like it's becoming more frequent, Ray said. Whether that's true or not doesn't really matter: I think people perceive that that's the truth. And so I think that politicians, in turn, perceive that they have to be seen as doing something about it. Japan says U.S. mistakenly issues G7 statement on Russia Xinhua) 09:11, February 23, 2023 TOKYO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese foreign ministry on Wednesday denied a Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers' joint statement condemning Russia issued by the U.S. State Department, local media reported. Japan did not issue such a statement and the ministry has communicated the apparent error to the U.S. State Department, said the ministry. According to the ministry, the U.S. State Department mistakenly sent a G7 foreign ministers' statement, presumably from October 2022, to the press. Multiple local media, including Kyodo News, retracted articles based on the erroneous statement on Wednesday evening. Japan is the rotating chair of G7 this year and the G7 summit will be held in Hiroshima in May. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) The Mel Brooks sequel History of the World: Part II premieres on Hulu March 6, but theres room for more than one amateur sociologist / historian / gagmeister on the planet. To wit: the British mockumentary series Cunk on Earth, now on Netflix. Its the funniest thing Ive seen in months, and not just on Netflix. Some context. For a decade now, the character of oblivious television personality Philomena Cunk, finessed with indelible deadpan idiocracy by Diane Morgan, has been an increasingly popular TV phenom in Britain. She made her first appearance on the Daily Show-esque satirical news program Weekly Wipe, created by Charlie Brooker, who went on to do Black Mirror. Advertisement From those early appearances, longer BBC 2 specials were born Cunk on Shakespeare, Cunk on Britain, Cunk on Christmas in addition to book spinoffs. Cunk on Earth presents five half-hour segments purporting to survey the whole of human history, inventions, accomplishments and follies. It adds up to an alternate-reality, fact-optional version of David Attenboroughs scenic, slightly gassy chin-strokers, a la A Life on Our Planet. The episodes carry titles such as Faith/Off (in which Cunk sets out to determine whats better, the Bible or the Koran) and The Renaissance Will Not Be Televised. Later episodes address, among other topics, the American Civil War, and what Cunk calls the World War franchise, which ended, we learn, with World War Cold. (The Berlin Wall, she explains, was a sort of divorce made of bricks.) Advertisement Theres a prankumentary component to this mockumentary. Morgan-as-Cunk interviews a variety of history, sociology and cultural anthropology scholars who, as opposed to the guinea pigs duped into participation by Sacha Baron Cohens Ali G or Borat, were told in advance about the nature of the project and were asked to play it as straight as possible. Somehow this works. One after the other, the educators on view explain, patiently, to their questioner that she means Russian peasants, not Russian pheasants, for example. This is mainly due to the stunning, straight-faced confidence Morgan brings to a character she knows outside in by now. Sample inquiry: Why are pyramids that shape? Is it to stop homeless people from sleeping on them? Or: The Rolling Stones were huge in the 1960s. Would it be fair to say they were the Beatles of their day? There are two other reasons Cunk on Earth works for newcomers (like me) to Morgans signature creation. One is the sheer volume and impressive hit-to-miss ratio of the jokes, never forced or underlined by Morgan or director Christian Watt. The other is making Cunk a flexible, sneakily insightful kind of dolt. One minute shes mislabeling Karl Marxs seminal work as The Commonest Man in Festo; the next, shes discussing art and culture and how for decades, pioneering Black artists had steadily built on each others work to develop an exciting new musical form for white people to pass off as their own. But she starts further back. Ancient Greece, she notes to camera, gave us many things we still have today, like medicine and olives, and lots of things that have died out, like democracy and pillars. Large-scale tragic death comes out slightly skewed here, with Cunk describing the Titanic as the worlds first single-use submarine. Less violently, Henry Fords assembly line is characterized as a key 20th century revolution in workplace tedium and human meaninglessness. Goofing on history, and the way middle-highbrow popular culture repackages that history for delicious comic leftovers, predates Stan Frebergs United States of America Volume One: The Early Years (1961) by a century or more. But those way, way back examples were literary, and Cunk has no time for books. Nor for cave paintings, or the theater, the latter of which comes in for a brilliant needling in the grim context of Lincolns assassination. Film, at least, she says at one point in Cunk on Earth, has this in its favor: It spelled the end of the written words centuries-long era of tyranny. Thats a good stupid jest. Cunk has good smart ones in her arsenal as well. Take the iPhone, she says so complex, yet so simple a child can make one. Cunk on Earth 3.5 stars (out of 4) Advertisement Content rating: TV-MA (language, some nudity) Running time: 5 episodes, approximately 2.5 hours total How to watch: Now streaming on Netflix. Michael Phillips is a Tribune critic. mjphillips@chicagotribune.com Twitter @phillipstribune Two convicted members of an El Paso human smuggling group recently were sentenced in a hostage-taking case in which a butcher knife was used to threaten to kill migrants if their families didn't pay for their release, officials said. Enrique "Kike" Quiroz Jr., 50, of El Paso, and Carlos "Negro" Villa Miranda, 42, of Juarez, were each sentenced in U.S. District Court in El Paso last week on charges of bringing-and-harboring undocumented migrants, according to court documents. Quiroz was sentenced to 16 years plus eight months in federal prison, while Villa Miranda was given 12 years in prison, documents stated. "These sentences show the grave consequences human smugglers face when they exploit people in such a ruthless way," said Special Agent in Charge Francisco B. Burrola of the U.S. Homeland Security Investigations El Paso Division. Hostages in the Lower Valley On Dec. 2, 2020, Homeland Security Investigations was contacted by two callers who said that their family members were being held against their will at unknown locations in El Paso and Las Cruces. The migrants' relatives had "received phone calls informing their family members would be murdered if they did not provide money in exchange for their release," a criminal complaint stated. HSI agents that night traced the phone signals in the extortion calls to an apartment on Emerson Street in the North Loop area of El Paso's Lower Valley, the complaint stated. In the apartment, HSI agents found Quiroz and eight undocumented migrants locked inside a bedroom. The migrants were from undisclosed Latin American countries, documents stated. Immigration:New Biden administration proposal seeks to limit access for asylum seekers at southern border Quiroz allegedly told HSI agents that he was getting paid to hide, feed and detain the migrants in his apartment before they could be smuggled to other parts of the United States. Investigators learned that Quiroz worked in a smuggling group with a man named "Carlos" (Villa Miranda), also known as "Negro," who would stash migrants at a trailer home in Las Cruces and also would transport migrants to Quiroz's home, documents stated. Story continues A U.S. Department of Homeland Security officer observes migrants on the bank of the Rio Grande as hundreds of migrants crossed hoping to seek asylum last December in El Paso. Villa Miranda was later arrested after he fled during an inspection at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 10 near Las Cruces, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas said in a statement. On at least one occasion, Villa Miranda brandished a butcher knife and threatened to kill the migrants if their families didn't pay, prosecutors said. More:FBI rescues migrants held hostage, arrests El Paso kidnapping suspects in Sunset Heights After getting paid to cross migrants over the U.S. border, smugglers will then sometimes hold migrants hostage and demand greater amounts of money from the migrants' families, border law enforcement officials have said. "These human smuggling organizations are incredibly dangerous and prove that they value their pursuit of money and power through unlawful means far more than the lives of their trafficking victims," said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas. "The agents with the Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) did an outstanding job tracking down these two criminals and putting a stop to their roles as human smugglers," Esparza said in a statement. Others sentenced in smuggling case Federal court documents show that at least three others were convicted and sentenced in connection with the case last year. Martha Fielding and Antonia Martinez were each sentenced in September on federal charges of ransom and bringing-and-harboring undocumented migrants. Fielding was given more than six years in prison. Martinez received a prison sentence of more than three years. Angel Gabriel Garcia-De Leon, alias 24, was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of bringing-and-harboring migrants and smuggling of goods, records stated. More:Under emergency declaration, El Paso issued $1.5 million migrant shelter contract to criticized provider This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso, Juarez migrant smugglers sentenced after hostages rescued Elizabeth Banks says shes worried about her mother seeing Cocaine Bear when it opens on Friday (24 February). The movie, which Banks directed, follows a black bear in Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia, that goes on a rampage after consuming vast quantities of lost cocaine. In an interview with Variety, Banks said no one knows what to make of [the movie when I tell them about it. My poor mother is the least informed, the actor- turned-director added. Shes going to go with my aunts and theyre going to lose their minds. I told her shes going to be mad. She will laugh and shes going to love Margo Martindale and Isiah Whitlock Jr and the dog. Not enough people talk about the dog, Rosette. Shell love those parts, but shell close her eyes for a lot of it. Cocaine Bear stars Keri Russell of The Americans, as well an ensemble cast that includes her husband Matthew Rhys, Margo Martindale, OShea Jackson Jr, Alden Ehrenreich and Jesse Tyler Ferguson. It also features one of the final ever movie performances of Goodfellas actor Ray Liotta, who died while filming the movie Dangerous Waters in the Dominican Republic in May last year. Read more about the true story behind the movie here. ( 2022 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.) Earlier this month, Banks discussed a controversial scene in the movie where two children, played by Brooklynn Prince and Christian Convery, try cocaine. It was definitely controversial, Banks told Variety. There were conversations about, should we age up these characters? We all kind of held hands and we were like, Guys, theyve got to be 12. Its their innocence being tested, she said. Thats what was interesting to me about that scene. Producer Christopher Miller added: Its the naivete of the kids that makes it okay. Its what makes it so tense and funny. It doesnt work if theyre teenagers. It has to be that age where you dont know anything, but you want to pretend like you do. Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson was arrested on Thursday. Noam Galai/Getty Images Ozy Media CEO Carlos Watson was arrested on Thursday. Watson is facing conspiracy charges in New York federal court. A New York Times report in 2021 said Ozy's other cofounder masqueraded as a YouTube executive on a call. Carlos Watson, the head of embattled media company Ozy, was arrested on Thursday after scandal-plagued years that saw the brand's other cofounder Samir Rao exposed for pretending to be a YouTube executive, and tumultuous back-and-forths on whether it would close down. Watson was arrested and is facing criminal charges in New York federal court, The Wall Street Journal first reported. An attorney for Watson did not immediately return Insider's emailed request for comment on Thursday morning. "We are really disappointed," a lawyer for Watson, Lanny Breuer, told the Journal. "We have been acting in good faith and believe we had a constructive dialogue with the government and are shocked by the actions this morning." Rao, who was also Ozy's chief operating officer, has himself privately pleaded guilty to charges including fraud, which relate to allegations that he exaggerated the company's finances to investors, according to the WSJ. The fateful call involving Rao reportedly took place in February 2021, according to The New York Times' investigation, and involved discussions with Goldman Sachs for a $40 million deal. After the scandal broke later that year, current and former Ozy employees told Insider that their work culture was grueling and that there were doubts about the actual size of the company's audience. Watson announced the company shut down in 2021, but has since said it was opening for business, with new hires. Earlier in February, he appeared on stage at ad agency IPG's Equity Upfront, and pitched advertisers on a return of its flagship event, Ozy Fest, in Miami in the summer. Prosecutors allege 'serious and years-long deceptions' Watson is expected to appear before a federal court in Brooklyn on Thursday, for an initial hearing where issues like bail can be discussed. Story continues Meanwhile, prosecutors argued in a filing that the court should consider Watson's "serious and years-long deceptions" in determining any conditions of his release while the case unfolds. Criminal defendants can be released on bail, under certain conditions, while they await trial. In their filing, prosecutors painted Watson as a serial liar, alleging that he lied about Ozy's finances, about its investors, and potential deals, all to portray it as a successful enterprise and to obscure its money troubles. They alleged, for instance, that he had falsely stated that a tech company had offered $600 million for an acquisition deal, which prosecutors said wasn't true. They also alleged that Watson sought to interfere with the government's investigation into the scandals at Ozy, saying that he and the company tried to "retaliate against witnesses perceived to be cooperating with the government's investigation, including by cutting off funding for their legal defense." "Watson's commission of a years-long fraudulent scheme suggests that he does not have a truthful or reliable character," prosecutors said in their filing on Thursday. "In addition, his sole employment for the last decade has been at a company he operated by means of the charged fraudulent scheme, and which has been charged alongside him." Read the original article on Business Insider Criminal cases are advancing against two people charged in a daytime shooting that wounded a 14-year-old boy in a west Erie neighborhood earlier this month as city police continue to search for other suspects in the incident. Erie police accuse Shmad Page, 15, and Orguna L. Sanders Jr., 20, of firing gunshots during an altercation with the occupants of a stolen sport-utility vehicle in the area of West 29th and Cherry streets on Feb. 8. At least one occupant of the SUV reportedly fired the first gunshots, and the two are accused of returning fire, investigators reported. On Thursday, Page and Sanders appeared in court for their preliminary hearings and waived charges to court. More:Erie police search for more suspects in shooting that wounded 14-year-old on Cherry Street Page, who is charged as an adult in the case, waived to court felony counts of aggravated assault, carrying a firearm without a license and criminal mischief and misdemeanor counts of possession of a weapon and recklessly endangering another person. Prosecutors withdrew a third-degree felony count of discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure that he also faced in the case. At 5 p.m. on Feb. 2, 2023, Erie police officers enter a house at Cherry Street and Stafford Avenue, near West 29th Street, to investigate a shooting. Sanders waived to court a felony count of carrying a firearm without a license. He is expected to plead guilty to the charge at later date, Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Lightner said. Erie police are still working to identify the suspects who were in the stolen SUV, a Kia Sorento, that was involved in the incident and fled the area after the shooting. Police found the vehicle unoccupied on the city's east side on Feb. 9. The shooting happened shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 8. According to police, gunfire was exchanged and a 14-year-old boy was shot in the neck. The boy underwent treatment at a Pittsburgh hospital and has since been released, according to investigators. Page and Sanders were taken into custody from the neighborhood as Erie police searched houses and looked for other evidence in the area. Two guns were recovered, police reported. Story continues More:Erie teen charged as adult in house shooting police say related to Cherry Street incident Erie police said on Wednesday that they believe a shooting that occurred on Feb. 6 at West Third and Poplar streets, two days before the Cherry Street shooting, is connected to the Cherry Street shootout. Police on Tuesday charged 18-year-old Kremeer K. Thompson, who was 17 at the time, with firing gunshots at the intersection that struck an occupied house in the 300 block of Poplar Street. The house is the residence of one of the two people charged in the Cherry Street shooting, according to information in Thompson's criminal complaint. Thompson faces charges including felony counts of aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit discharge of a firearm into an occupied structure. Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie man, teen waive charges in Cherry Street shootout that hurt boy MADISON, Wisc. (AP) Connor Essegian scored 17 points and Tyler Wahl had a double-double and Wisconsin beat Iowa 64-52 on Wednesday night. Though Wisconsin (16-11, 8-9) is still a game behind Iowa (17-11, 9-8) in the Big Ten standings, the Badgers would win the tiebreaker in the event of an even conference finish due to the season sweep. Wahl scored 11 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and Chucky Hepburn scored 12. Essegian's 2-for-7 effort from 3-point range pulled him into a tie with Brad Davison for the freshman school record for made 3s (60) in a season. Essegian's second 3 with 10:26 left gave Wisconsin the lead for good at 43-41 and it steadily pulled away from there. Despite Wisconsin's 4-for-18 shooting performance from 3-point range and 10-for-18 foul shooting, the Badgers were 25-of-48 (52.1%) shooting overall. Tony Perkins and Filip Rebraca each scored 13 points for Iowa and reserve Payton Sandfort scored 10. Iowa was 20-for-62 shooting (32.3%) and 3 of 28 (10.7%) behind the arc. It was the second consecutive game in which the Hawkeyes missed 15 of their first 17 3s. They finished 3 of 24 from distance in Sunday's 80-60 loss to Northwestern. Entering Wednesday among the Power 5 schools, Iowa owned the largest disparity between points scored at home (89.2) and on the road (69.7). Iowa hosts Michigan State on Saturday. Wisconsin plays at Michigan on Sunday. ___ More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 Permanent representatives of the European Union in Brussels have failed to agree on the tenth package of sanctions against Russia a day before the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Source: Rikard Jozwiak, a Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe correspondent, on Twitter, as reported by European Pravda Quote: "EU ambassadors didn't manage to agree on a new sanctions package on Russia today either. Meeting to resume tomorrow at 10 am." Earlier, Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security, expressed confidence that the 10th package of sanctions against Russia would be adopted by 24 February, i.e., the anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As EUobserver states, the new EU sanctions package includes restrictions on more than 60 Russian officials and politicians, some of whom are believed to be involved in a campaign to forcefully transfer Ukrainian children to Russia. At the same time, Victoria Nuland, US Deputy Secretary of State, announced that a new package of sanctions against Russia would be announced by the United States on 24 February. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! TikTok logo - AFP/Getty The European Commission has banned officials from using the TikTok video-sharing app amid fears over Chinese snooping. Staff were told they would lose access to their email accounts and video conferencing systems if they do not delete the Chinese-owned social media platform by March 15. To protect the Commissions data and increase its cybersecurity, the EC [European Commission] Corporate Management Board has decided to suspend the TikTok application on corporate devices and personal devices enrolled in the Commission mobile device services, bosses told staff in an email message. Experts believe TikTok is designed to collect more personal information than any other social media app or messaging service. Potential security risk The platform has twice as many trackers built into it than the industry average, according to Internet 2.0, a cybersecurity firm. This has sparked fears within Western governments that TikTok poses a potential security risk because of concerns over its Chinese parent companys close relationship with Beijing. The EU ban will also apply to its staffs personal phones if they have work-related applications installed on them. It follows a decision by the US Congress to restrict TikTok usage on federal government devices. The Dutch intelligence agency has also launched a probe into the risks posed by government workers with the app installed on their mobile phones. Time for UK Government ban? But as it stands, no European government has followed the US lead in officially banning the app. Last year, TikTok admitted that the personal data of their users could be accessed in the Chinese headquarters. At the time, Forbes reported the application was being used to spy on journalists covering its parent company ByteDance. On Thursday, TikTok said that a decision by the European Commission to ban the video-sharing app on its staff's official devices was based on mistaken ideas about its platform. "We are disappointed with this decision, which we believe to be misguided and based on fundamental misconceptions," a spokesperson for the Chinese-owned company said, after the Commission cited data protection concerns. (Getty Images) The European Commission has banned TikTok from official devices, according to multiple reports. It is just the latest official organisation to demand that staff remove the app, amid fears it could be used to spy on its users. TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company Bytedance, has repeatedly denied claims that its app is being used for surveillance. But officials in the US and Europe have repeatedly raised alarms about the fact that it could be dangerous. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, left, and Tristan Brown, deputy administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, crouch down to look at part of a burned traincar, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, in East Palestine, Ohio, at the site of a Norfolk Southern train derailment. (Allie Vugrincic/AP) EAST PALESTINE, Ohio The crew operating a freight train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, didnt get much warning before dozens of cars went off the tracks, and there is no indication that crew members did anything wrong, federal investigators said Thursday as they released a preliminary report into the fiery wreck that prompted a toxic chemical release and an evacuation. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made his first visit to the crash site and took shots at former President Donald Trump, who had visited the day before and criticized the federal response to the train derailment. Their back-and-forth was the latest sign that the East Palestine wreck has become a hot-button political issue, prompting a rebuke from the head of the National Transportation Safety Board. Advertisement Enough with the politics. I dont understand why this has gotten so political, safety board Chair Jennifer Homendy, clearly exasperated, said at a briefing in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. This is a community that is suffering. This is not about politics. This is about addressing their needs, their concerns. The NTSB report, which laid out the facts that investigators have gathered to date, said crew members had no indication the train was in trouble until an alarm sounded just before it went off the tracks. Advertisement An engineer slowed and stopped the train after getting a critical audible alarm message that signaled an overheated axle, according to the report. The three-person crew then saw fire and smoke and alerted dispatch, the report said. We have no evidence that the crew did anything wrong, said Homendy, who announced a rare investigatory field hearing to be conducted in East Palestine this spring as officials seek to get to the bottom of the derailments cause and build consensus on how to prevent similar wrecks. Investigators said the temperature of the failed wheel bearing increased by 215 degrees in a span of 30 miles, but did not reach the temperature threshold that railroad company Norfolk Southern had set for an alarm to go off until just before the wreck. The train was going about 47 mph, under the speed limit of 50 mph, according to investigators. Outside experts who looked at the report said the system appeared to work as designed, from the spacing of the hot bearing detectors along the tracks to the operation of the sensors. Theres nothing in the NTSB report that surprises me at all, said Dave Clarke, the former director of the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Tennessee. I cant see anything to really criticize about what happened or how the response was made. Christopher Barkan, director of the Rail Transportation and Engineering Center at the University of Illinois, said the spacing of the sensors that recorded the temperatures of the Norfolk Southern train 10 and 20 miles apart is common in the industry. He said the detectors would not have notified the train crew of elevated bearing temperatures unless they met the threshold for action. Advertisement I dont see anything wrong here, but we just dont know, Barkan said. Homendy said investigators would look at whether industry safety standards including high-temperature alarm thresholds and sensor spacing will need to change to prevent similar derailments. Norfolk Southern did not immediately comment on the report. The freight cars that derailed on the East Palestine outskirts, near they Pennsylvania state line, included 11 carrying hazardous materials. Villagers evacuated as fears grew about a potential explosion of smoldering wreckage. Officials seeking to avoid an uncontrolled blast intentionally released and burned toxic vinyl chloride from five rail cars, sending flames and black smoke high into the sky. That left people questioning the potential health effects even as authorities maintained they were doing their best to protect people. As NTSB released its preliminary findings, Buttigieg who had been criticized for not coming to East Palestine earlier went on a tour of the crash site and defended the Biden administrations response to the Feb. 3 derailment, which Trump had portrayed as indifferent and a betrayal. Advertisement Buttigieg told reporters that if the former president and current Republican presidential candidate felt strongly about increased rail safety efforts, one thing he could do is express support for reversing the deregulation that happened on his watch. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre excoriated political stunts that were seeing from the other side but did not say whether a trip by Biden was in the works. Another Biden administration official, EPA Administrator Michael Regan, has been to East Palestine multiple times, most recently Tuesday as the EPA ordered Norfolk Southern to pay for the cleanup. With heavy equipment rumbling behind him, Buttigieg slammed Norfolk Southern and other freight rail companies for fighting regulations he said would hold them accountable and the other railroad companies accountable for their safety record. He pressed Congress to act. Heather Bable, who lives two blocks from the derailment site, said shes relieved the governments top brass is finally showing up. We need that attention because we werent getting it. They should have been here all along, said Bable. Advertisement After throngs of residents lined the streets in pouring rain to welcome Trump on Wednesday, the reception for Buttigieg was decidedly more muted, with little fanfare around the village of just under 5,000 residents. Trump won nearly 72% of the vote in this heavily Republican region in 2020. Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Deluzio, whose Pennsylvania district borders the derailment site, asked Norfolk Southern to expand the boundaries of the geographic zone in which it is providing financial assistance and testing. He asserted the current zone excludes many affected Pennsylvania residents and businesses, and said the company should commit to cleaning up soil and water up to 30 miles beyond it. Norfolk Southern is failing to show any commitment to rebuilding lost trust in our community, Deluzio wrote in a letter to Norfolk Southerns CEO. Providing additional resources would help your company restore the sense of security that the Norfolk Southern train derailment and its aftermath destroyed. Rubinkam reported from northeastern Pennsylvania and Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Associated Press writers Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, and Chris Megerian and Hope Yen in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report. Everett police posted a warning about a phone scam going around, on their Facebook Wednesday. Financial crime detectives have said they are getting an increase in reports from people who have fallen victim to another phone scam. People are receiving phone calls from scammers posing as employees from their bank. The fake employee asks for their personal information and multi-factor authentication codes to help them over the phone. Victims have lost thousands of dollars falling for this scam, please be aware and dont let you or your family members be next!! police said. Police also advised that if someone receives an unexpected call from their bank, to hang up and call them back using a verified bank phone number. Do not call the number provided by the caller to verify whether or not there is a problem with your account. The FCC gave tips for scam calls when MV Realitys robocall scam was going around. The FCC advises people who receive suspicious calls to: By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Harvey Weinstein, the onetime Hollywood titan who came to epitomize a culture of pervasive sexual misconduct by powerful men that ignited the #MeToo movement, was sentenced on Thursday to 16 years in prison for the 2013 rape of an actress in Los Angeles. The sentence, to run consecutively to the 23-year prison term that Weinstein, 70, already is serving for a sexual misconduct conviction in New York, made it all the more likely the Oscar-winning ex-producer will spend the rest of his life incarcerated. Weinstein, seated in a wheelchair in brown jail garb, professed his innocence and implored the judge, "I beg your mercy," moments before she pronounced his sentence. The two-hour proceeding unfolded in the same Los Angeles courtroom where a jury in December found Weinstein guilty of rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object. The charges stemmed from an assault on a former model and actress, identified in court as Jane Doe 1, at a Los Angeles hotel in February 2013. Addressing the court through tears and a trembling voice near the end of Thursday's hearing, the woman said she had been a "very happy and confident woman" until Weinstein raped her. Then, "I lost my identity. I thought for sure that no one could love me. I was heartbroken, empty and alone," she added, choking back sobs. The 16-year prison term handed down by Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench was more lenient than the maximum 24 years recommended by prosecutors but far more stiff than the sentence sought by Weinstein's lawyers. Defense counsel Mark Werksman asked that Weinstein get no more than three years for each of the three counts on which he was convicted, to be served concurrent to one another, arguing the charges stemmed from "one continuing sexual assault" that occurred in "one frenzied 10- to 15-minute ordeal," rather than as three separate criminal acts. Story continues It was a rare courtroom admission of guilt by defense lawyers, even as Weinstein himself continued to deny any wrongdoing. In his statement to the court, Weinstein insisted he did not know Jane Doe 1 and argued that she had fabricated her account for money. "This is a made-up story. Jane Doe 1 is an actress. She can turn the tears on," Weinstein told the judge. "Please don't sentence me to life in prison." The defense also asked the judge to take into account Weinstein's age and deteriorating health, including coronary artery disease and severe spinal issues. FALL FROM HOLLYWOOD GRACE It marked the latest low point in a remarkable fall from grace for the co-founder of Miramax Films, the wildly successful U.S. movie production and distribution house that produced such films as "Shakespeare in Love" and "Pulp Fiction." Weinstein won an Oscar in 1999 as producer of "Shakespeare in Love," that year's Academy Award winner for best picture. Mounting sexual misconduct allegations against Weinstein helped fuel the #MeToo movement, which has encouraged women to speak out about sexual harassment and abuse by powerful men in media, politics and other endeavors. The movement, which went viral on social media in 2017, seeks to break a culture of silence that has long allowed such conduct to go unchallenged. Weinstein has said all of his sexual encounters were consensual. Dave Ring, an attorney for Jane Doe 1, said Thursday's sentencing provided his client "with closure and relief, knowing Weinstein will spend the rest of his life in prison where he belongs." The Los Angeles jury acquitted Weinstein of charges relating to a second alleged victim and failed to reach a unanimous verdict on charges arising from two other accusers. One of them, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, now the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, had disclosed she was the alleged rape victim referred to in court records as Jane Doe 4. Lench declared a mistrial on the deadlocked charges, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office has yet to decide whether to seek to retry Weinstein on those counts. Defense attorneys argued that the women willingly had sex with Weinstein because they believed he would advance their careers, part of what they said was a widespread "casting couch" culture in the film industry. In two of the cases, they said the alleged sexual contact was fabricated. Before pronouncing sentence, the judge denied a defense motion to throw out Weinstein's conviction and grant him a new trial. Weinstein was found guilty of sexual misconduct in New York in February 2020, and is appealing the New York conviction and prison sentence. He was extradited from New York to California in July 2021 to face trial in Los Angeles. (Reporting by Steve Gorman; Writing by Lisa Richwine; Editing by William Mallard and Aurora Ellis) Yuriy Lutsenko By the order of the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine of Feb. 20, 2023, Captain Yu. V. Lutsenko was appointed the commander of an attack drone platoon of military unit No. ... of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, she said. Read also: Lawmaker explains why intel chief can't be appointed as defense minister On Feb. 8, Lutsenko announced that he had been promoted to the rank of captain. Read also: Vasyl Malyuk and Ihor Klymenko: what you should know about the newly-appointed head of the SBU and Minister of Internal Affairs Today, we turned from a territorial defense unit into a full-fledged brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lutsenko told the Priamyi television channel on Feb. 22. And Im just a captain, a platoon commander from today. My career is finally going right (after) 30 years. In an interview with the Ukrainian news outlet Babel in late December 2022, Lutsenko said that he had joined the territorial defense forces at the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine and served in the 206th battalion until August. To date, he said, he is serving in an air reconnaissance platoon in the town of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine HAMPTON A former school bookkeeper has agreed to plead guilty to embezzling more than $130,000 from both the Barnstead and Hampton School Districts. Amy Burley, 47, of Barnstead entered the guilty pleas Thursday in federal court to two counts of embezzlement from an organization receiving federal funds. According to court documents and statements made in court, Burley used the school funds to pay off student loans, credit cards and personal expenses. Burley worked as a bookkeeper for the Barnstead School District from 2011 to 2019 and later with the Hampton School District from September 2019 to Jan. 27, 2021. Amy Burley Burley was arrested Jan. 27, 2021, by Barnstead police on charges of fraudulent use of a credit card, attempted theft by unauthorized taking and seven counts of theft by unauthorized taking. Barnstead Police Chief Paul Poirier said the investigation started after SAU 86 discovered several unusual discrepancies regarding the appropriations of school funds. "It was discovered through the investigation that School District funds were used by Burley to pay off personal debt as well as to make personal purchases on Amazon," stated Poirier. More:Woman shares story of assault by Portsmouth ER doctor charged with domestic violence According to court records, a newly elected school treasurer discovered the discrepancies in July 2019, when he noticed Burley's paycheck appeared to be high, with gross pay for two pay periods in September 2018 equivalent to an annual salary of more than $70,000. Burley's annual salary at the time was just under $46,000. "The treasurer then looked at more recent payroll manifest reports and again found the defendant's pay to be higher than the amount approved for her pay," prosecutors outlined in the plea deal. "In one of the defendant's paychecks, her net pay was greater than her gross pay." Amy Burley has agreed to plead guilty to embezzling more than $130,000 from both the Barnstead and Hampton School Districts. A review of the previous year showed Burley was paid $8,000 more than what was stated in her contract. Burley, who was the only person responsible for payroll and had the ability to make manual inputs required to change her pay, was terminated from her position in 2019. Story continues 'Gregulars' rejoice:Greg's Bistro in Hampton reveals next move for pizza bar after crash The school district, according to police, hired a forensic accounting firm to conduct a complete audit of the school's finances. The audit, according to court records, showed additional payroll anomalies related to Burley's pay, payments made to Burley's personal creditors and a previously unknown Amazon account that appeared to be controlled by Burley and charged to the school district. After her termination, Burley went to work as a bookkeeper at the Hampton School District. She worked there until her arrest. Prosecutors said after Burley was arrested, the Hampton School District conducted its own forensic audit, where they uncovered five transactions made with school district funds to pay student loans or credit cards belonging to Burley or her family. Burley was accused of embezzling $110,295.26 from the Barnstead School District from 2014 to 2019 and $20,966.52 from the Hampton School District from August 2020 to September 2020. "Following her arrest on the state charges, (Burley) spoke with investigators and admitted to using school district funds for her personal expenses," stated prosecutors in the plea agreement. The federal charges were a result of both school districts receiving federal funds in the form of grants from the United States Department of Education. The state charges were dropped after the federal government got involved in the case. Lawsuit:Stratham takes legal action against owner of ex-technical college site. This is why. Burley faced up to 10 years in prison If the case went to trial, Burley faced a maximum prison term of 10 years and a maximum fine of $250,000. Under the terms of the plea deal, prosecutors are recommending Burley receive a sentence of not less than two years of probation, to include six months of home confinement, and not more than 12 months and one-day of imprisonment. Burley will also have to pay $131,261.78 in restitution. Burley is scheduled to be sentenced on June 1, 2023. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Education Office of the Inspector General, and the Barnstead Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Kennedy. This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Ex-bookkeeper pleads guilty to embezzling $130,000 from Barnstead, Hampton schools By Caleb Davis (Reuters) - China's top diplomat Wang Yi held talks with President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials in Moscow this week amid speculation that the two sides would discuss a Chinese plan to bring about peace in Ukraine after almost a year of war. Moscow has denied that Wang and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed a specific proposal but both sides said they touched on political ways to end the conflict, with Russia welcoming what it called China's "balanced position". Beijing has accused the United States and the West of fanning the flames of conflict in Ukraine, but it has refused to explicitly endorse Russia's invasion. WHAT IS CHINA'S PEACE PROPOSAL? China has said it will set out its position on how to settle the Ukraine conflict through political means in an upcoming paper, which Russian state media say will be published on the one-year anniversary of Russia's "special military operation". Wang said at last week's Munich Security Conference that the document would reference principles from the United Nations' founding charter and take into account territorial integrity, sovereignty and security concerns. "I suggest that everybody starts to think calmly, especially friends in Europe, about what kind of efforts we can make to stop this war," Wang said on Saturday. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to deliver a "peace speech" on the Feb. 24 anniversary of the invasion, although analysts have cast doubt on whether Beijing's efforts to act as peacemaker will go beyond rhetoric. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday warned China against supplying weapons to Russia. "We haven't seen any supplies of lethal aid from China to Russia, but we have seen signs that they are considering and may be planning for that," he told Reuters. WHAT HAS UKRAINE SAID? Ukraine said it was looking forward to hearing China's proposal but that it would need to examine it closely before reaching any conclusions, adding that President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had his own plan for peace. Story continues "(Wang Yi) shared with me key elements of the Chinese peace plan," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday. "Once we receive the paper we will thoroughly examine it and come with our own conclusions," he said. Zelenskiy last year proposed his own 10-point peace plan, which calls on Russia to withdraw all its troops from Ukraine and to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity. Russia still controls nearly a fifth of Ukraine, despite losing swathes of land in major battlefield setbacks last year. WHAT HAS RUSSIA SAID? Russia said on Wednesday that it welcomed China taking a more active role in efforts to resolve the conflict. "When it comes to addressing hot international issues, we and China share much of the same vision," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. Weeks before the invasion, Putin and Xi agreed to a "no limits" partnership, as the two countries seek to counter-balance what they see as attempts by the United States to dominate global affairs. Meeting Putin on Wednesday, Wang said China was willing to play a "constructive role" to end the Ukraine conflict. "The Chinese side will, as in the past, firmly adhere to an objective and impartial position and play a constructive role in the political settlement of the crisis," Wang was quoted in Russian state media as saying. Putin said Russia's relations with China were "developing" and said Xi would visit Moscow. WHAT HAS THE WEST SAID? Beijing's attempts to reach a peace deal and Wang's visit to Moscow have been met with a mixed reaction in the West, which believes Russia's increasing reliance on China make it one of the few countries able to truly influence Moscow. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said China had an obligation to use that influence to seek peace in Ukraine. "China, as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, is obligated to use its influence to secure world peace," said Baerbock, who also met Wang at last week's security conference. The United States was sceptical, warning that Wang's visit to Russia on the eve of the war's first anniversary was more evidence of Beijing's growing alignment with Moscow. "China is trying to have it both ways," said U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price. "China is trying to broadcast and disguise itself in this veneer of neutrality, even as it deepens its engagement with Russia in key ways politically, diplomatically, economically, and potentially in the security realm as well," he said. Xi has stood by Putin during the conflict in Ukraine, resisting Western pressure to isolate Moscow. Trade between the two countries has soared since the invasion, and China is Russia's biggest buyer of oil, a key source of revenue for Moscow. (Reporting by Caleb Davis; Editing by Nick Macfie) By Stephanie van den Berg and Anthony Deutsch THE HAGUE (Reuters) -The International Criminal Court's arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday is just one strand in a complex web of international and national legal moves over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. More than 74,500 such atrocities have been reported in Ukraine since Russia invaded, according to the prosecutor general's office in Kyiv. Bringing those to trial is no simple task. Ukrainian and Western authorities say there is evidence of murders and executions, shelling of civilian infrastructure, forced deportations, child abductions, torture, sexual violence and illegal detention. But Russia has repeatedly denied that its forces have committed atrocities or attacked civilians. A successful war crimes prosecution requires a high standard of proof, in a situation where access to suspects and crime scenes is often restricted and there is overlapping jurisdiction between national and international courts. THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT'S ROLE The Hague-based tribunal has led the most high-profile investigations into the most prominent suspects, looking into war crimes as well as broader crimes against humanity and genocide. Since his investigation was launched a year ago, ICC prosecutor Karim Khan has visited Ukraine four times. He has visited the Kyiv region, where civilians were massacred in Bucha, and the Kharkiv region, home to residential neighbourhoods in the town of Borodianka devastated by shelling, as well as a home for children in southern Ukraine. The arrest warrants for Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's Commissioner for Children's Rights, theoretically mark the first step towards an eventual trial - though under current conditions, the capture and arraignment of Russia's president is almost inconceivable. Even if that did happen, previous ICC cases have shown it is hard to convict the most senior officials. In more than 20 years, the court has only issued five convictions for core crimes, and none were top officials. Story continues But the ICC investigations into international figures are not the only option. War crimes can also be prosecuted in Ukraine's own courts, as well as a growing number of countries conducting their own investigations. There are also plans to create a new tribunal to prosecute the Russian invasion - which Moscow calls a "special military operation" - as a the crime of aggression. The ICC cannot bring such a charge due to legal constraints. WHO IS INVESTIGATING WAR CRIMES ON THE GROUND? Ukrainian war crimes prosecutors are working with mobile justice teams supported by international legal experts and forensic teams. They have been investigating alleged violations of international law since shortly after the invasion started on Feb. 24, 2022, mainly in the south and east, where land has been recaptured from Russian forces. Domestic courts are focusing on "direct perpetrator" crimes, and at least 26 war crime suspects have been tried and convicted of rape and murder, shelling of residential infrastructure, cruel treatment and pillaging, according to Ukrainian prosecutors. But trying to hold Russian leaders and commanders accountable for actions committed on their orders will most likely take years. "The more difficult job of trying to build complex aggregate cases which establish the responsibility of those in the higher political and military leadership is a task which still remains to be done," said Wayne Jordash, leader of the mobile justice teams deployed to support Ukraine's investigations. Evidence is being amassed, however. "What's clear from the prosecution's investigations over the last year is that there is a criminal plan and the Russian military operation is inherently criminal, in the sense that you cannot seek to extinguish Ukrainian identity without the massive commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity and possibly genocide," Jordash said. WHAT OTHER AVENUES ARE AVAILABLE? The European Union recently announced the creation of an international centre for the prosecution of "aggression" in Ukraine, which is under the European prosecuting authority Eurojust, also in The Hague. This could eventually form the basis of a new tribunal - see below. War crimes can be defined under customary international law or national law. Ukraine's war crime definitions are narrower than those of the ICC, for example. A number of mostly European states have universal jurisdiction laws that would also allow them to prosecute Ukrainian war crimes. The ICC has joined a Joint Investigative Team with Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia, Romania and Ukraine itself to support possible trials inside or outside Ukraine. In addition, a United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry for Ukraine is collecting and documenting violations of international humanitarian law, to feed into the evidence being collected and shared at Eurojust. This could also could also support cases taken on by the ICC. WHAT IS THE CRIME OF AGGRESSION? The crime of aggression is broadly defined as the invasion of, or attempt to gain political and military control over, another sovereign state. While the ICC is the world's permanent war crimes court, it cannot prosecute aggression. "War is a crime, but not a war crime," said Astrid Reisinger Coracini, international law lecturer at the University of Vienna and expert on the crime of aggression. To bridge this "impunity gap", Ukraine and several backers, including the United States and the European Union, are pushing for an ad-hoc tribunal for aggression. Under customary international law, heads of state, heads of government and foreign ministers are immune from prosecution before national courts, Reisinger Coracini said. A tribunal that could prosecute Russian President Vladimir Putin for aggression would therefore have to be a new international one, founded on a source of international law through a multilateral treaty. (Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg and Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Andrew Heavens) An American Airlines flight from Jacksonville, bound for Washington D.C, ended up being diverted to RaleighDurham International (RDU) Airport Wednesday due to an "unruly passenger." The FAA says the traveler was removed from the flight by police upon arrival by airport security. "Envoy Air Flight 3444 diverted and landed safely at RaleighDurham International Airport in North Carolina around 3:40 p.m. local time Wednesday, Feb. 22," due to a passenger disturbance, says the FAA in a statement. "The Embraer E170 was flying from Jacksonville International Airport in Florida to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. In 2017:American Airlines flight diverted to Jacksonville after soda spill In 2009:Flight from Jacksonville diverted because of unruly passenger An unruly passenger diverted a DC-bound American Airlines flight Wednesday. The plane landed in Raleigh and the passenger was arrested, TSA said. Heres what the airline says happened https://t.co/joZaHNtZWo pic.twitter.com/MGwz1TidNf 7News DC (@7NewsDC) February 23, 2023 The FAA will investigate. Please contact the airline for additional information and for the number of passengers and crew on board." A Jacksonville woman says her daughter was onboard the flight and that the situation escalated over a woman's demand for free drinks. Kelly Trice tells First Coast News that her daughter was heading to New York for a business conference. Her daughter told Trice that a woman in first class was initially complaining about the size of the overhead bin. The situation got hostile when the woman "made a fuss" about not getting the free drinks she was entitled to in first class. Trices' daughter reported that everyone had to deplane at RDU and get on a different flight. This story first appeared on First Coast News. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: American Airlines flight from Jacksonville diverted after disturbance SOPA Images/Getty Images Facebook will now remove posts and explain why up to seven times before suspending or banning users. The new policy is the result of analysis and feedback from Meta's independent Oversight Board. More severe violations still could mean immediate penalties like posting bans or account removals. Facebook soon will provide more explanation to users who have posts removed before throwing them in "Facebook jail," parent company Meta announced Thursday. "Facebook jail," a term minted by Facebook users and used on other social media, refers to a suspension or ban for posting about controversial topics, or violating platform rules. Following feedback from Meta's Oversight Board, an independent group formed in 2019 that advises Meta, Facebook will now explain to users multiple times why their posts were removed before leveling harsher penalties like suspending their ability to post. The goal is to prevent users from innocently making the same mistake repeatedly. Under the prior system a single mistake could have gotten them suspended with little to no explanation. "Our analysis has found that nearly 80% of users with a low number of strikes do not go on to violate our policies again in the next 60 days," Monika Bickert, vice president of content policy, wrote in the announcement. "This means that most people respond well to a warning and explanation since they don't want to violate our policies." The new policy will allow up to seven less severe strikes before more serious penalties against the user. Bickert wrote that this system will stop relatively innocent posts from immediately leading to 30-day posting bans, which the Oversight Board said has unfairly impacted many users. While the bulk of the new policy will affect users who break rules accidentally, the announcement also covers how the company will handle more severe violations. Posts that include content like "terrorism, child exploitation, human trafficking, suicide promotion, sexual exploitation, the sale of non-medical drugs or the promotion of dangerous individuals and organizations" still will lead to harsh consequences, including suspensions and account bans. Story continues The Oversight Board wrote in a response that it welcomed the changes, but still believes Meta could do more to improve policies. The Board said that journalists and activists can be hit mistakenly by the severe consequences when discussing sensitive topics, largely without explanation from Facebook. "That's why the Oversight Board has asked for greater transparency on 'severe strikes' and will continue to do so," the statement reads. "The Board also believes users should be able to explain the context of their post when appealing to Meta, and that context should be taken into account by content reviewers where possible." Read the original article on Business Insider When the foreperson of a Georgia grand jury investigating allegations of election interference by former President Donald Trump and his advisers gave a series of highly public and highly unusual interviews this week, she suggested that the case might soon be headed toward indictment. Three other criminal inquiries involving Trump have also been progressing relatively quickly if not quite as fast in recent months, with the Justice Department pressing forward in Washington and a local prosecutor moving ahead in New York. Advertisement No former president has ever confronted the barrage of legal threats that Trump now faces, all of which appear to be heading toward decision points by authorities in coming months. Heightening the stakes, the inquiries have intensified just as Trump has started ramping up his third campaign for the White House. Beyond the Georgia case, Trump is under investigation by a special counsel in Washington for his role in seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election and for his potential mishandling of classified documents. At the same time, local authorities in New York are looking into whether Trump authorized and was involved in falsely accounting for hush money payments to a pornographic film actress who said she had an affair with him. Advertisement Even though much about the inquiries seems straightforward Its not rocket science, the foreperson in Georgia, Emily Kohrs, told The New York Times each of the cases is layered with its own array of legal complexities that make predicting an outcome difficult. And that is to say nothing about the potential complications of bringing charges in the midst of a presidential campaign against a pugnacious figure like Trump, who has long assailed attempts by authorities to hold him accountable as hoaxes and politically motivated witchhunts. Here is a look at the status of each of the criminal investigations confronting Trump. Georgia: Election interference The Georgia investigation presents two areas of exposure for Trump. One is his direct involvement in recruiting a slate of alternate presidential electors, even after Georgias results were recertified by the states Republican leadership. We definitely talked about the alternate electors a fair amount, Kohrs said. The other centers on phone calls Trump made to pressure state officials after the election, including one in which he told Brad Raffensperger, Georgias secretary of state, that he needed to find 11,780 votes one more than Joe Bidens margin of victory in the state. The decision about whether to charge Trump will ultimately be made by Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis, who has been investigating the case for the past two years. Willis office has said it is considering everything from conspiracy and racketeering to narrower charges, such as criminal solicitation to commit election fraud. The special grand jury that Kohrs served on produced a report last month after hearing testimony since last June, but most of the report has been kept secret. In an interview this week, Kohrs said the grand jurors had recommended that several people be indicted on a range of charges, but declined to provide names before the full report was released. In the small portion of the report that was released, jurors said they saw potential evidence of perjury by one or more witnesses. But Kohrs said the jurors appended eight pages of criminal code citations to their report, hinting at its breadth. Advertisement A number of legal experts have said Trump faces significant jeopardy in the Georgia inquiry. His risk of being charged was already substantial even before the grand jury report excerpts, said Norman Eisen, a lawyer who served as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during Trumps first impeachment trial. The forepersons comments make that virtually certain. Special counsel: Overturning the election The Justice Department has been asking questions for more than a year about Trumps sprawling efforts to overturn the election and whether he committed crimes in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The investigation one of two inherited in November by the special counsel, Jack Smith has used a variety of methods and has gathered an enormous amount of information. Federal agents have seized cellphones and other devices from pro-Trump lawyers including John Eastman and Jeffrey Clark as well as from one of Trumps chief congressional allies, Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa. Prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to several state Republican officials and to dozens of Trump administration lawyers and officials. Those include Mark Meadows, Trumps onetime chief of staff, and former Vice President Mike Pence, who presumably would have knowledge of the former presidents thoughts and behavior in weeks before Jan. 6. In the most recent sign the investigation is continuing apace, Smith has issued subpoenas to Trumps daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Investigators have also been poring over thousands of pages of interviews conducted by the House select committee investigating Jan. 6, which recommended that Trump be prosecuted for crimes including inciting insurrection, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and obstruction of a proceeding before Congress. Advertisement One of the chief strands of the inquiry has focused on the plan to create false slates of pro-Trump electors in swing states actually won by Biden, mirroring one element of the Georgia investigation. Federal investigators have also been scrutinizing broad claims by Trump and his allies that the election was marred by fraud, and a series of payments made by Save America PAC, Trumps chief postelection fundraising vehicle. Smiths office has been tight-lipped about his plans, although several people familiar with the investigation have said that prosecutors could complete their work by spring or early summer. The process has often been slowed by time-consuming litigation as witnesses such as Pence have sought to avoid or limit their grand jury testimony with various legal arguments. It remains unclear if Smith will ultimately indict Trump. But several legal experts including Timothy J. Heaphy, a former U.S. attorney who led the Houses Jan. 6 investigation have said that the key to bringing charges is obtaining clear-cut evidence that Trump intended to break the law. When we started to see intentional conduct, specific steps that appear to be designed to disrupt the joint session of Congress, thats where it starts to sound criminal, Heaphy told the Times this week. The whole key for the special counsel is intent. Special counsel: Classified documents The investigation into Trumps handling of classified documents began in earnest last May with a subpoena. It sought the return of any classified material still in his possession, after he had voluntarily handed over an initial batch of records that turned out to include almost 200 classified documents. Within a month, a lawyer for Trump, M. Evan Corcoran, gave investigators more than 30 additional documents in response to the subpoena. Around the same time, another lawyer, Christina Bobb, asserted that a diligent search had been conducted at Mar-a-Lago, Trumps private club and residence in Florida, assuring prosecutors there were no more documents with classification markings. Advertisement But the inquiry took a dramatic turn in August when acting on a search warrant, the FBI descended on Mar-a-Lago and discovered more than 100 additional classified documents. The affidavit submitted by the Justice Department in seeking the search warrant said that investigators had probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction would be discovered. Pence and Biden have also faced scrutiny for having classified materials in their possession in Bidens case, a separate special counsel investigation is underway. In the case of Trump, prosecutors have focused on a few key questions: Did Trump knowingly remove the sensitive records from the White House and did he willfully hold on to them in violation of the Espionage Act? Moreover, did he try to hinder investigators from figuring out why or where he kept them? To answer those questions, prosecutors have interviewed several junior aides to Trump and compelled grand jury testimony from more senior aides such as Kash Patel. They have also sought to force Corcoran to testify fully in front of the grand jury. Corcoran tried to avoid answering questions by asserting attorney-client privilege on behalf of Trump. But prosecutors have sought to pierce that privilege with the so-called crime-fraud exception, which can be invoked when there is evidence that legal advice or services have been used in furthering a crime. It remains unclear whether Smith will bring charges in this inquiry either. While no evidence exists at this point that Biden or Pence have sought to obstruct investigations into their own handling of documents both brought their possession of the documents to the attention of the Justice Department the parallel probes have complicated the political landscape and could give Trump a reason to cry foul if he is charged and the others are not. Manhattan district attorney: Stormy Daniels The investigation into Trumps role in paying hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels has spanned five years, two Manhattan district attorneys and multiple grand juries. Advertisement But recently, prosecutors under the current district attorney, Alvin Bragg, appear to have moved closer than ever to indicting the former president. Last month, they began presenting evidence to a newly seated grand jury, which has heard from several witnesses as the office lays the groundwork for potential charges against Trump. The case would likely center on whether Trump and his company falsified business records to hide the payments to Daniels in the days before the 2016 election. But an indictment let alone a conviction is hardly assured. Any prosecution of the case would rely on testimony from Michael Cohen, Trumps former personal lawyer, who made the payment to Daniels and who pleaded guilty himself in 2018 to federal charges. Trump reimbursed Cohen for the $130,000 he paid out, and according to court papers in Cohens case, Trumps company falsely identified the reimbursements as legal expenses. In New York, it is a misdemeanor to falsify business records. To make it a felony, prosecutors would need to show that Trump falsified the records to help commit or conceal a second crime in this case, violating New York state election law, a legal theory that has not been tested. Trump has denied all wrongdoing and lashed out at prosecutors for leading what he calls a partisan witchhunt against him. He has also denied having an affair with Daniels. Advertisement Under Braggs predecessor, Cyrus Vance, the district attorneys office had begun presenting evidence to an earlier grand jury about a far broader case focused on Trumps business practices, including whether he fraudulently inflated the value of his assets by billions of dollars to secure favorable loans and other benefits. But in the early weeks of his tenure last year, Bragg developed concerns about the strength of that case and halted the grand jury presentation, prompting the resignations of two senior prosecutors leading the investigation. c.2023 The New York Times Company By Praveen Menon (Reuters) -Australia's government plans to hold a referendum between August and December this year on recognising the nation's Indigenous people in its constitution. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, who represent about 3.2% of Australia's population, are currently not mentioned in the constitution. Here are five things to know about the referendum: PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has proposed adding these three sentences to the constitution: * There shall be a body, to be called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. * The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice may make representations to Parliament and the Executive Government on matters relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. * The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws with respect to the composition, functions, powers and procedures of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. WHAT IS THE PROPOSED REFERENDUM QUESTION? Albanese has said the referendum question to be put to Australians should be as simple and clear as: "Do you support an alteration to the Constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice?" The question has not been finalised and more clarity on this is expected in the coming months. HOW DOES THE REFERENDUM WORK? The government will introduce a bill in parliament in March outlining the proposed changes to the constitution. This will be scrutinised by a parliamentary committee. Once approved in parliament, it will be sent to the Governor General, the local representative of the British monarch, who issues a writ for a referendum. HOW MANY VOTES ARE NEEDED? To change the constitution, the government must secure what is known as a double majority in the referendum. That means more than 50% voters must vote in favour nationally, plus a majority of voters in a majority of the states must back the change. Story continues Votes of people living in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), the Northern Territory regions, and any of Australia's external territories, count towards the national majority only. Poll turnout will be high as voting is compulsory. HOW HAVE PAST REFERENDUMS FARED? There have been 44 proposals for constitutional change in 19 referendums, and only 8 of these proposals have been approved. In the last referendum in 1999, Australians voted against changing the constitution to establish the Commonwealth of Australia as a republic with the British monarch and Governor-General being replaced by a President appointed by a two-thirds majority of members of parliament. (Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Himani Sarkar) LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's ruling party candidate and former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu was ahead in the vote count from Saturday's presidential election, a Reuters tally of provisional results in 12 out of 36 states showed. There are 18 candidates on the ballot, but only three are considered top contenders. Peter Obi, a third-party candidate of the smaller Labour Party, is challenging veteran politicians Tinubu, from President Muhammadu Buhari's ruling party, and former vice president Atiku Abubakar from the main opposition. Here are some details on the candidates. BOLA TINUBU Tinubu is the flagbearer of the ruling All Progressives Congress, a party he helped form with Buhari in 2013. A Lagos governor between 1999 and 2007, the 70-year-old is an influential figure in the southwest, earning the nickname "Godfather of Lagos." Over the years the wealthy businessman has been followed by allegations of corruption, which he rejects. He forged his political career opposing military rule in the early 1990s. This is Tinubu's first presidential election run, which comes after years of forming political, ethnic and religious alliances across Nigeria. He is an ethnic Yoruba and a Muslim. He aims to continue Buhari-era policies including building public infrastructure and greater central bank intervention in the economy, but end a costly fuel subsidy and channel the money to agricultural and social welfare programmes while expanding the military. Tinubu's running mate, Kashim Shettima, is a Muslim from northeastern Borno state, where he was governor at the height of an Islamist insurgency. The choice of Shettima was a departure from the established norm where presidential candidates choose a running mate from another religion. ATIKU ABUBAKAR Atiku is running on the ticket of the main opposition People's Democratic Party, the party of Olusegun Obasanjo which was ousted from power in 2015. The 76-year-old former vice president is running for the third time after his loss to Buhari in 2019. Atiku, like Tinubu, has been dogged by allegations of corruption, which he has dismissed as baseless. Story continues He plans to privatise the state oil company, ensure a greater role for the private sector in the economy, liberalise the exchange rate and provide more equipment to the military. A northern Muslim from the Fulani ethnic group, Atiku has businesses in port logistics among several ventures. His running mate is Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa, a Christian governor from oil-producing Delta state. The choice of Okowa points to a strategy by Atiku to generate support in the largely Christian south. PETER OBI Obi has generated substantial buzz among young voters and is looking to harness Nigerians' anger with the status quo to drive his third-party presidential bid. The 61-year-old bespectacled former governor and banker was Atiku's running mate in 2019. He says he is happy to stand on his record as governor of Anambra state, which posted a rare budget surplus in 2014. He promises to triple power generation, dismantle a multiple-rate naira exchange rate regime, gradually wean the economy off its reliance on oil by ramping up agriculture output and exports, and better fund the military. Obi says he made money from importing and trading consumer goods before venturing into banking. He has appeared in Pandora Papers leaks, which said he operated companies in tax haven countries. But he said the Pandora Papers accounts were part of legal and legitimate asset management. Obi is a Christian from the Igbo tribe in the volatile southeast, where some members are agitating to secede from Nigeria. His running mate, Yusuf Baba-Ahmed, is an economist and former senator from northern Kaduna state, who is also the founder of Baze University in Abuja. (Writing by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by James Macharia Chege, Hugh Lawson, Raissa Kasolowsky and Nick Macfie) By MacDonald Dzirutwe and Sofia Christensen ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigerians are set to vote in presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday that are seen as the most wide open since Africa's most populous nation switched from military rule to democracy in 1999. Of the 18 candidates vying to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari, three stand a chance: former Lagos Governor Bola Tinubu, 70, the ruling party candidate; former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, 76, the main opposition candidate; Peter Obi, 61, a challenger popular among young voters. Here are key facts about the logistics of the election, Africa's largest democratic contest: WHEN IS IT? Voting takes place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (0700 GMT to 1300 GMT) on Feb. 25. Voters who join a polling station queue on time will be allowed to cast their ballots after closing time. HOW BIG IS IT? More than 93 million people are registered to vote. There will be about 176,600 polling stations across the country, including in camps for people displaced by conflict between Islamist insurgents and federal troops in the northeast. WILL IT BE CLEAN? The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has taken measures to ensure this election will be free and fair - a major concern in a nation with a long history of electoral fraud and violence. Voters will present their voting cards and be identified by a Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) that uses fingerprints and facial recognition. This is aimed at reducing the risk of fraudsters voting several times. On voting day, results from individual polling stations will be pasted outside for citizens to view, and sent through BVAS to an INEC portal. The results will be displayed on the portal in real time and accessible by the public, INEC says. It is hoped this will reduce the risk of the figures being manipulated along the way. INEC says that citizens wishing to witness the sorting and counting of ballot papers at polling stations should do so from a distance of 300 metres. In the past, one of the forms of vote-rigging seen in Nigeria was the intimidation of electoral officials by thugs paid by politicians. Story continues WHAT DO CANDIDATES NEED TO WIN? A presidential candidate must receive the largest number of votes cast nationwide and at least a quarter of the vote in no fewer than 24 of Nigeria's 36 states. If no one clears both hurdles, the top two candidates will compete in a run-off. The constitution says the run-off must take place within 21 days of the announcement of the result. No run-off has been necessary since the transition to democracy in 1999. For the parliamentary poll, candidates for a seat in the House of Representatives or the Senate must win a simple majority of votes in the constituency or senatorial district they are contesting in order to win. WHEN WILL RESULTS BE ANNOUNCED? The counting and collating process is expected to take several days. While INEC has not said exactly when it would declare official results, this is expected to take place in the first half of next week. (Editing by Estelle Shirbon and Alex Richardson) Athena Strand court records The parents of a 7-year-old who was allegedly killed by a FedEx contractor have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company. Maitlyn Gandy on Friday joined a wrongful death lawsuit filed in the death of her daughter, Athena Strand , which was originally filed in December 2022 by Athenas father, Jacob Strand. Athenas body was found near a country road about 6 miles from her home two days after she was reported missing on Nov. 30, 2022. Police said delivery driver Tanner Horner confessed to accidentally hitting Athena with his van, which left her injured, and then strangling her after she said she was going to tell her father. The lawsuit named Horner, along with his employer Big Topspin, a subcontractor of FedEx. Gandy and Strand accused the companies of negligence in hiring, training, and supervising Horner, claiming they recklessly employed him and failed to properly investigate his criminal and employment history. In the court filing for Gandy to join the lawsuit, her attorneys wrote that they were seeking to effect change at FedEx, noting that consumers trust the company and its drivers. It is about implementing better hiring, training, and supervising practices to prevent vicious killers from arriving at our doorsteps bearing an insignia that has been cultivated to instill trust, they wrote. It is about preventing billion-dollar organizations from insulating themselves from liability by using fly-by-night contractors instead of acknowledging the responsibility they bear when we trust them to come on our property, to our doorsteps, and even inside our homes. Horner was indicted on murder and kidnapping charges on Feb. 16 and is being held on bonds totaling more than $1,500,000, according to booking records. Horner is also facing four charges of sexual assault of a child in a case unrelated to Strands. The family is seeking more than $1 million in relief. In a statement, a spokesperson for FedEx told BuzzFeed News that they are aware of the complaint filed. "Our thoughts remain with the family of Athena Strand in the wake of this tragedy," the spokesperson said. More on this [Source] Family members and community protesters are demanding criminal charges against the St. Paul police officer who shot and killed Yia Xiong, a 65-year-old Hmong war hero. On Feb. 11, Saint Paul Police Department (SPPD) officers responded to a call regarding a man threatening residents with a knife at an apartment complex in the 100 block of Western Avenue in the West Seventh neighborhood. In footage recorded by body cameras worn by officers Noushue Cha and Abdirahman Dahir, police can be seen entering the St. Paul apartment building. When officers find Xiong wielding a 16-inch knife, the officers can be heard yelling at the man to drop the knife and get on the ground. However, Xiong, whose daughter said he spoke limited English and was hard of hearing, disregards the officers commands and enters an apartment. More from NextShark: Australian Woman Caught on Video Harassing Elderly Asian, Indian Photographer Officer Cha can then be seen kicking the apartment door open before Xiong steps out. He comes forward with the knife in-hand as Officer Dahir fires his rifle and Officer Cha deploys his taser. Warning: The following video contains graphic content that some viewers may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised. According to Xiongs family, he lost his hearing five decades ago while fighting for the U.S. in the U.S. Secret War in Laos. More from NextShark: Mans Face is Broken in Hate Attack Near Sacramento Xiong reportedly fought for the CIA and climbed the ranks of the Royal Lao Army before being left in a refugee camp for years after exile in May 1975. Xiongs younger brother, Wallor, said that the 65-year-old could not hear anything unless someone was close by and yelling at him. He added that Xiong was in the process of getting hearing aids. He cannot hear anyone, he doesnt speak English and they opened the door and just shot him, Wallor Xiong told St. Paul Pioneer Press. They just shot him like an animal, and it just broke my heart. Story continues More from NextShark: Asian Woman Hit in the Face in Random Attack on Easter in Philadelphia Xiong was a husband and a devoted father to his three children. The grieving family said that he had worked hard to support them after moving to America despite not speaking English. My dad is a very kind person, Xiongs daughter Mai Tong told CBS News. He adored everybody. Words cannot describe the pain we are going through. More from NextShark: Chinese Woman Who Lived on 29 Cents Per Day Dies of Malnutrition Complications The family said that police should have acted with more patience, noting that the apartment building was for the elderly and people with disabilities. Cops are trained to be in high-stress situations, Xiongs son-in-law Lasalu Yang said. He didn't have to shoot my father-in-law. The Twin Cities metro area is home to the largest urban population of Hmongs in the U.S. Many of the first Hmong who arrived in Minnesota were participants in the CIAs Secret War. The war, which took place from 1959 to 1975, reportedly left a total of about 50,000 Hmong civilians and 40,000 Hmong soldiers dead. Following Xiongs death, seven officers involved in the case, including Dahir and Cha, were placed on paid administrative leave while the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension completes its ongoing investigation. At a press conference on Feb. 17, Saint Paul Chief of Police Axel Henry expressed his condolences to the friends and family of Xiong and noted that the SPPD will stand together to support the community. Any loss of life is tragic, and were keeping the family and friends of Mr. Xiong in our thoughts as they grieve and look for answers. We know there arent words to alleviate their pain, but we hope the release of these videos will help them begin to understand what happened. At the same time, we are thinking about our community members and officers who are also affected. We are a tight-knit city, and what affects one of us affects all of us. Thats why were going to stand together and do everything we can to support one another while the BCA completes its investigation. Over the weekend, community members and family of Xiong gathered at the Hmong 18 Council headquarters in St. Paul and outside of SPPDs Western District to mourn Xiongs death and demand justice in the police shooting. We want the officer to be fired and to face justice in court, Hmong community organizer Snowdon Herr told CBS News. We want justice for him, Mai Tong told St. Paul Pioneer Press. We dont want the same thing to happen to another family. We want our voices to be heard. Protesters and activists who attended questioned why Dahir had a gun when the other officer had a taser. They also believe that the police had put themselves in danger by getting close to Xiong and keeping the apartment door open. They set themselves up for this killing by putting themselves in peril and then using it as justification for murder. Its unjustified, Michelle Gross, the president and co-founder of Communities United against Police Brutality, reportedly said. Xiongs family has created an online fundraiser on GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses and legal fees. "We will always remember Yias kind and caring nature, his unwavering love for his family and his dedication to serving his country. He was an amazing husband and father, and we will forever cherish the memories we shared with him," the GoFundMe's description reads in part. A public Facebook group page called Justice for Yia Xiong was also created for supporters to come together and demand justice for the Hmong war hero. There was a predisposition within the FBI to view Black political activism as violent, journalist Trevor Aaronson told theGrio. A newly released investigative podcast revealed that the FBI paid a felon to infiltrate Denvers Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest in 2020 following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old man killed by law enforcement in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Journalist Trevor Aaronson produced the podcast Alphabet Boys, which details how the FBI allegedly used Michael Adam Windecker II to target Black activists and coerce them into joining a plot to assassinate Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. Alphabet Boys podcast graphic. (Photo: Courtesy of Alphabet Boys podcast) According to the podcast, Windecker tried to recruit activist Zebbodios Zebb Hall to participate in the assassination plan. Hall said he refused and that Windecker, an ex-felon, coerced him to purchase a gun on his behalf. Hall told theGrio, I had to get this guy this gun because if I dont get this guy this gun, hes got my information. Hes got my familys information. Aaronson told theGrio that Hall was frightened of what Windecker would do if he refused to conspire. Everyone I talked to described how they were deathly afraid of [Windecker]. He had pictures of dead ISIS fighters on his phone, he claimed. He added, Windecker spoke of having killed people. He had a criminal history that was violent. And so, people that got close to him were afraid to back away from him, in part because they were fearing physical harm from him. Aaronson believes that Hall should not have faced any consequences for his actions. This crime was wholly manufactured and would not have taken place were it not for the FBI, he argued. Zab used FBI money to purchase a gun to give to an FBI informant who then gives that gun to the FBI. So, this was an entirely victimless client crime, and it was a crime that would not have happened were it not for the FBI pushing them to do this. Despite Aaronsons analysis, FBI agents arrested Hall and charged him with a felony firearms violation. He pleaded guilty and was given a three-year probation sentence. Story continues Michael Adam Windecker II, FBI Informant. (Photo: YouTube/Michael Windecker) After the release of Alphabet Boys, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon publicly condemned the FBIs actions against BLM activists. In statements provided to The Guardian by Wydens office, he said, If the allegations in Mr. Aaronsons podcast are true, the FBIs use of an informant to spy on First Amendment-protected activity and stoke violence at peaceful protests is an outrageous abuse of law-enforcement resources and authority. He added, The FBI owes the public a full accounting of its actions, including how anyone responsible for attempting to entrap and discredit racial justice activists will be held accountable. Many are comparing the Denver ordeal to the FBIs 1956 Counterintelligence Program known as COINTELPRO. During that time, FBI agents infiltrated Black organizations like the Black Panther Party and violated the First Amendment rights of Black activists. Aaronson told theGrio that the FBI used tactics that were intrusive and saw BLM as a terrorist group. There was a predisposition within the FBI to view Black political activism as violenteven though on its face the overwhelming majority of racial justice demonstrations that summer were peaceful, he said. He continued, While COINTELPRO no longer exists, you can see very clearly in this case and in the summer of 2020 that many of these methods that were used to a devastating effect against the civil rights movement in the 1960s were used against the racial justice movement in 2020. Hall told theGrio that Windecker used an old FBI technique called snitch-jacketing and would accuse real activists of being FBI informants whenever people suspected he could be one. A Denver Broncos player holds a sign while joining thousands of people protesting the death of George Floyd on June 6, 2020 in Denver, Colorado. This is the 12th day of protests since George Floyd died in Minneapolis police custody on May 25. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images) Aaronson said the informant did that to sow chaos similar to what FBI informants did in the 60s. The COINTELPRO investigations of the 60s showed that the informants were encouraging violence, encouraging activists to commit crimes, but they were also accusing real activists and real leaders of these movements of being informants themselves, he said. Hall believes the FBI has a history of infiltrating Black organizations because the government fears how resilient Black Americans can be. Look what happened in 2020. Look at all those people out there. You had Black, brown, white, yellow, red, LGBT you had everything. Thats what Black power is. They fear that. They see that through our perseverance, everything that we go through [threatens] their power, he said. Aaronson told theGrio, The FBI has an enormous amount of power thats received very little Congressional oversight. He noted that, following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the FBI was granted a substantial amount of power. A lot of its practices such as sting operations and the use of informants were more tolerated by the American public, he asserted. He added, Then you fast forward to 2020 and the racial justice demonstrations, and I think given this new power that it had been given in the post-9/11 era, the FBI kind of slipped back and returned to many of its ways during COINTELPRO. In this Aug. 13, 1971 photo, Bobby Seale, chairman of the Black Panther Party, addresses a rally outside the party headquarters in Oakland, California, urging members to boycott certain liquor stores. (Photo: AP) Hall told theGrio that he hopes his story will empower people to start talking. He continued, Look how many brothers and sisters have been locked up since the 60s. Look how many Panthers are still locked up because people wont talk. Spill the beans. I mean, you cant say youre about that life or are a revolutionary or anything if you aint willing to talk. Aaronson told theGrio that, despite the findings depicted in his podcast, he hopes people continue to protest. I think youre allowing these tactics to win if ultimately youre choosing not to exercise your First Amendment rights for fear of government infiltration, he said. TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today! The post FBI paid informant to sow discord during 2020 Black Lives Matter protests appeared first on TheGrio. (Hanna Barczyk / For The Times) Faced with high levels of worker stress, anxiety and burnout as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies pledged that employee mental health would become a top priority. Firms promised manager training to ensure bosses were more empathetic toward employee struggles. Some offered more mental health benefits, such as improved insurance coverage and employee assistance programs that offer free therapy sessions. Despite the increased attention, however, the stigma of mental illness persists, preventing many with bipolar disorder, clinical depression and other maladies from feeling safe enough to be open with employers about their diagnoses and seek out workplace supports that they're legally allowed. The vast majority of the corporations, the businesses that are saying, Oh, we care, mental health is important, I just don't believe it, said Claudia Sahm, a 46-year-old former Federal Reserve economist who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2011 and advocates for healthy workplace environments. Because until you actually put [in] the money and the resources and the training, it's just words." Wendy Ascione-Juska is among the many workers who say they have learned that not all health conditions are treated equally in the workplace. In her current job at the University of Michigan, when she experienced symptoms of mania or depression, she felt safe asking her boss for time off or to extend a deadline. The focus was on getting me healthy, Ascione-Juska, 44, said. That's in stark contrast to an earlier job in 2006, when she was newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder and experiencing a manic episode. She didn't know she had legal protections and could ask for help. Instead, her employer told her not to bring her "personal life" to work, she said, adding that she was soon fired. I needed to have a compassionate supervisor that could say, 'Alright, you're going through a difficult time. What can we do?' she said. Mood disorders are fairly common. An estimated 21.4% of adults in the U.S. have experienced depression, bipolar disorder or other similar conditions, according to a Harvard Medical School survey. Story continues But frequency hasn't translated into acceptance in the workplace, and finding sustainable employment can be challenging for those with mood disorders and other serious mental illnesses. Of the 14.2 million adults with serious mental illness in the U.S., about 1 million are unemployed, according to a 2020 survey conducted by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration a 7% unemployment rate, which is significantly higher than the national average. Those who have found work are often paid less. People with serious mental illness make an estimated $16,000 less per year than those without a serious mental illness. More research is needed, however, to understand whether discrimination is at play, and whether individual employment programs could help, according to a widely cited 2008 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry. "These are conditions, just like other serious health conditions like diabetes or cancer, in which when people get effective treatment, when they're identified early with these conditions and receive treatment early, they can live fairly normal lives, just like anyone does living with a health or mental health condition," said Darcy Gruttadaro, chief innovation officer at the nonprofit National Alliance on Mental Illness. In some cases, a person might show signs of bipolar disorder that are sometimes missed in a fast-paced work environment. That was the case for Natasha Bowman, a lawyer, published author and sought-after human resources speaker. When the pandemic initially restricted travel and her work, Bowman found herself having unusual thoughts. As her hectic work schedule slowed, she wanted to run away from her family and eventually found herself in "a very, very dark place." Her therapist couldn't identify what was happening and attributed the symptoms to the stress of the pandemic. In 2021, Bowman attempted suicide. She was involuntarily hospitalized and diagnosed with bipolar disorder. As she learned more about her condition, her working style made more sense. She used to work for hours without sleep, all the while remaining highly creative and productive. "I felt for some reason I had some sort of superpowers, but I knew that it wasn't usual for people to work at the capacity that I did," Bowman, 44, said. "I realized that I pretty much operated in a bipolar manic state for most of the time." Bowman now takes medication to treat her bipolar disorder and said her diagnosis led her to start a nonprofit focused on workplace equity and mental wellness. Many people with mood disorders don't feel they can be that open. Some still fear the stigma associated with mental health conditions. A 2015 Rand Corp. study found that 69% of survey respondents said they would "definitely or probably" hide a mental health problem from their co-workers or classmates. "The lack of safety or comfort with disclosure raises concerns about the degree to which individuals are able to obtain sufficient support in school or in the workplace," the study said. Making a workplace safe for people with mood disorders starts with a company ensuring its managers and HR professionals are trained on how to help employees and connect them with support. Experts said managers should avoid asking employees directly about their diagnoses or playing armchair psychologist in an attempt to guess what diagnosis an employee has and should keep the discussions to performance. Managers should also create an environment of compassion where they can offer support. The workplace is probably the greatest opportunity to enact change because so many of us between the ages of 20 and 65 or 70 years old, we go to work," Rich Mattingly, founder of the Luv U Project, which advocates for mental health, said during a recent National Press Foundation panel on the topic. "We spend our waking hours in the workplace. And what we could do at work, if we paid attention, would not only improve the workplace, but it would also improve home lives. Supporting employees with mood disorders goes beyond just a moral obligation and improved productivity. Employers can be on the hook legally if they are found to have violated federal or state disability protection laws. I've definitely noticed, personally, an uptick in the number of questions that I'm getting about mental health, said Aaron Konapsky, senior attorney with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He cited lawsuits filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2022 alleging that employers violated the rights of workers with psychiatric disabilities. In one case, a management company in Georgia settled for $250,000 over the termination of an employee with severe depression. After taking medical leave per their doctors recommendation, the plaintiff tried to return to work only to be told by the chief executive that they couldnt be trusted to do their duties. In 2008, Congress redefined the term disability under the Americans With Disabilities Act to include major life events that can impair any aspect of a person's life. Mental disabilities, when disclosed to an employer, are protected from discrimination. Employers "aren't entitled to your whole medical file or notes about your therapy sessions, Konapsky said, recognizing that employees may fear how their bosses could misuse information about mental health. But not disclosing could mean not getting the help a person needs. Under the law, employers are obligated to provide reasonable accommodations that allow a worker to perform essential functions of the job so long as doing so doesnt create an undue burden for the employer. For people with mood disorders, these can include quiet work environments, altered breaks and work schedules or changes in supervisor interactions. Employers need to provide the same compassion for mood disorders that they provide for other serious illnesses, said Sahm, the economist. You wouldnt fire someone who had cancer because they were grumpy, and every day wasn't a good day," Sahm said. "But with mental health, it's a lot harder for someone to recognize and give that same kind of understanding. Sahm has been open about her bipolar disorder for years, largely to try to reduce the condition's stigma and to help others feel like they weren't alone. Too many employers just kick you to the curb," she said. "People with mental health conditions are not worthless, theyre just sick. And they can get better. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Reuters/FEC Pay Dirt is a weekly foray into the pigpen of political funding. Subscribe here to get it in your inbox every Thursday. It wasnt enough that Herschel Walkers ill-fated Senate campaign in Georgia had a rough run. Now the feds want to know more about financial moves the campaign made after Walker lostincluding tens of thousands of dollars stashed in a recount fund long after Walker had conceded defeat. Last week, the Federal Election Commission sent the Walker campaign committee (Team Herschel) a notice flagging a number of apparent violations. Some were fairly common clerical issues. Other items were more eye-catching, like the recount fund, which one campaign finance expert said looked like a dumping ground for excess contributions. The Daily Beasts independent review of Team Herschels end-game fundraising and spending turned up other oddities. They included hefty sums hauled in after the election, an in-kind private flight donation for the recount from Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), as well as a mysterious six-figure payout two weeks after the election to a family friend whom the campaign had previously described as a dedicated volunteer. Not least of the puzzles is the campaigns $5 million cash on handa sizable chunk of change for a candidate that, by all appearances, would have needed to burn every available dollar to keep pace with his deep-pocketed opponent, Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA). (Warnock, who outraised Walker by more than $100 million, also ended 2022 with less than $6 million on hand.) Walker also got air support from outside GOP groups like the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which ended the cycle millions of dollars in debt. Christian Walker Takes Aim at Father Herschel After Georgia Senate Loss Brendan Fischer, deputy executive director of the watchdog group Documented, who reviewed The Daily Beasts data, said the recount account appeared to be a dumping ground for excess cash that the campaign did not want to give back to donors. Story continues It looks like the Walker campaign largely treated its recount fund as a dumping ground for excess contributions, Fischer said. It does not appear that Walker expressly fundraised for a recount or spent any recount funds seriously exploring a potential election challenge. Instead, the Walker campaign just allocated excess contributions to a recount fund. The FECs letter, which focused on Team Herschels post-runoff report, opened with a paragraph that none of the campaign finance experts interviewed for this article had ever seen beforeasking about tens of thousands of dollars in contributions that the campaign had shuffled over to a recount account, some as late as 11 days after Walker conceded the Dec. 6 runoff. But as the letter notes, It appears neither a recount was held nor did the committee disburse these funds for recount activities. The notice, addressed to Walker campaign treasurer Sal Purpurra, added that if the campaign didnt participate in a recount or recount activities, then those donations must be refunded or redesignated within 60 days from the date it becomes known that a recount will not occur. All subsequent reports should disclose the refund or redesignation of any recount donations, the letter said, adding that failure to remedy these donation[s] may result in impermissible contributions. Saurav Ghosh, director of federal reform at Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit that advocates for greater transparency in elections, called the notice striking. I dont think Ive seen anything like that, Ghosh, a former attorney with the FECs enforcement decision, told The Daily Beast. Its almost like they read our blog or the recent press reports talking about the issue of recount funds not getting enough scrutiny and potentially being used for things other than a recount, he said. Maybe were pushing the needle in the right direction. Those reports include former President Donald Trumps reported post-White House recount spending on document production related to a subpoena from the congressional COVID subcommittee, as well as the 2020 recount committee devised by Rep. George Santos (R-NY)whose talents for lying about basic facts of his life have prompted comparisons to Walker and Trump. She Had an Abortion With Herschel Walker. She Also Had a Child With Him. While Team Herschels recount money appears to have come through different channels, filings suggest the decision to push money into the recount fund came from within the campaign itself. Some of the transfers appear to have been pre-designated from the 2022 Georgia Victory Committee, a joint fundraising vehicle created for the runoff that split donations between the campaign, the Georgia GOP, the NRSC, and the Republican National Committee. During the runoff, this committee transferred money to the Walker campaign on three different days, according to FEC records. Each day, there were two transfersone in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a smaller one, in the tens of thousands of dollars. Each time, the campaign designated the smaller totals for the recount, for a combined total of around $70,000, according to FEC filings. Of that amount, around $29,000 came 10 days after the election, records show. The 2022 Georgia Victory Committee also lists Purpurra as its treasurer. The committee terminated last month. In other cases, the campaign appears to have redesignated some of its own donor funds to the recountwell after the election. Given the labyrinthine paper trail in modern joint fundraising arrangements, along with the tens of thousands of individual donations the Walker campaign processed at the time, its difficult to isolate individual contributions that the campaign itself consciously moved to the recount fund. But The Daily Beast identified some. One Palm Beach donor, for instance, directly gave the campaign $5,000 on Dec. 6runoff daywhich would have exceeded the $2,900 contribution limit. On Dec. 13, the campaign shifted those funds to the recount account, and refunded the $2,100 overage. An Austin-based donor also gave $3,000 on Dec. 6, with the campaign later redesignating the excess $100 to the recount 11 days later. Moves like those are what caught Fischers eye, leading him to view the account as an apparent dumping ground. Recount funds have been abused for far too long, and the FEC may finally be finally drawing some hard lines, Fischer told The Daily Beast. Fischer pointed to another recount item that would appear to defy beliefand gravity. One of the most egregious examples pertains to a set of trips on Rick Scotts private jet, Fischer said. Rep. George Santos Hasn't Been Allowed To Fundraise for Two Weeks Scott, the chair of the NRSC at the time, reported in-kind contributions to the Walker campaign during the runoff period in the form of private air travel, with flights taking place on Nov. 14 and Dec. 2, according to Team Herschels filings. But because those trips totaled $3,269.73, they would have put Scott over the runoff maximum donation limit of $2,900. Team Herschel, however, split the Dec. 2 flight into two separate contributions, sending one to the recount in the convenient amount of $369.73the exact amount over the $2,900 limit. Im struggling to see how a fraction of a single pre-election plane trip can relate to a post-election recount, Fischer said. The Daily Beast sent detailed questions to Purpurra. He wrote back, All questions asked of Team Herschel in the recent FEC Request for Additional Information letter for the 30 Day Post Run-Off report, will be directly replied to the FEC based on the timeline they have given us. This reply will take place thru their (Form 99) response letter system and will include any required amendment(s) as we have done in the past. These items are due to be filed with the FEC by March 23rd and will be part of the public record at that time. Purpurras response also noted that Team Herschel has no comment as to any additional questions you have raised that are not included in the official FEC letter. Those questions included inquiries about whether the campaign planned to refund the recount money to donors, or pass those fundsalong with the approximately $415,000 the campaign claims to have hauled in after the electionto another committee. Possible recipients included the NRSC, which shelled out during the runoff and ended the year millions of dollars in debt, or seed money for a possible Walker-sponsored leadership PAC. The FEC also pointed out that Team Herschel used its runoff account to refund large individual donations that had apparently never been designated for the runoff. It also asked about two anonymous $250 donations received via the GOP online fundraising platform WinRed. The donations came from people named None Required and Not Disclosed, respectively listing addresses at 123 Main Street in San Antonio and 123 Fourfivesixseven Lane, in Everyplace, Ohio. (Zip code 00000.) Whoever submitted that is just thumbing their nose at campaign finance laws and the idea of transparency, Ghosh said. Team Herschels year-end report also raises a few questions. For instance, the campaign reported owing the same amount of debt to the same two entities on its post-runoff and year-end reports$231,497.90, which the campaign could easily cover with its $5 million on hand. Herschel Walkers Campaign Knows Hes a Liar and They Don't Care That debt is split between two campaign vendorsabout $158,000 to Texas-based Scott Howell for media production, and around $74,000 to a Georgia company called Battleground Connect for text message services. Battleground Connect is owned by Walkers campaign manager, Scott Paradise, and is one of a handful of vendors tapped for text messaging over the course of the campaign. But while Walker still appears to owe its media vendor and campaign manager, he appears to have handsomely rewarded a volunteer. Two weeks after the runoff, Team Herschel made three same-day payments totaling $127,500 for logistics consulting to a family friend of Walker and his wife Julie Blanchard. That friend, Michelle Beagle, does not appear to have drawn a campaign salary or received any consulting payments during the campaign. In a Dec. 10 Daily Beast article, several Walker staffers blasted Beagleno one knows where she came from, one saidfor what they saw as her continual and unhelpful meddling in critical strategic matters. Spokesperson Timmy Teepell described Beagle in that article as a loyal friend to Herschel and Julie, and a dedicated volunteer and supporter of the campaign. Its unclear why Beagle, as a volunteer, received that $127,500 for logistics consulting two weeks after the race was over. But she may have made one beneficial logistical call. According to campaign staffers, Beagle was the person who advised Walker to whip out his honorary deputy badge on the debate stage, The Daily Beast reported in December. While the moment may have been a bonanza for late-night comedians, and for Warnock himself, it also created a temporary distraction from a damaging news cyclea womans allegation that Walker had urged her to have an abortion, reimbursed her for it, and then urged her to have another one two years later. She made a different choice the second time, and now raises a son that Walker has not seen in person for seven years. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. A feral bull is seen along the Gila River in southwestern New Mexico in 2020. A legal battle is playing out over a federal plan to kill feral cattle in the Gila Wilderness, which officials say have become a threat to public safety and natural resources. (Robin Silver / Center for Biological Diversity) In the skies above the New Mexico wilderness, federal agents in helicopters this week plan to shoot and kill dozens of feral cattle, which officials say threaten protected lands and the publics safety. For the second year in a row, a last-ditch lawsuit by ranchers aims to halt the aerial extermination effort. The New Mexico Cattle Growers Assn. and the Humane Farming Assn. are seeking a preliminary injunction against the federal government to stop the shootings, saying the practice is cruel and inhumane and runs afoul of state and federal laws. Gila National Forest Supervisor Camille Howes called the decision to shoot the cattle difficult but necessary to protect public safety, threatened and endangered species' habitats, water quality, and the natural character of the Gila Wilderness. The feral cattle in the Gila Wilderness have been aggressive towards wilderness visitors, graze year-round, and trample stream banks and springs, causing erosion and sedimentation, Howes said in a statement. From Thursday through Sunday, according to the U.S. Forest Service, agents from the Department of Agriculture will shoot about 150 heads of feral cattle roaming the Gila Wildnerness. Feral cattle are those without tags, brands or signs of ownership, according to the Forest Service. It is the second year in which officials have issued kill orders for the unbranded cattle. Last year, the Forest Service said it took out 65 feral cattle. Ranchers also worry their branded cattle could have strayed into the wilderness thanks to damaged fences after a strong monsoon season, according to the U.S. Forest Service, which said it would work with ranchers to find and remove their cattle from areas where they are not permitted. The lethal removal of feral cattle has drawn intense debate among federal agencies, legislators, environmentalists and ranchers. Though most agree the animals are a nuisance, there is widespread disagreement over how to get rid of them. Story continues Last year, according to the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Assn., many of the cattle that were shot by federal agents "were not killed instantly but wandered off, bled out and then died." A settlement reached after last year's operation requires the U.S. Forest Service to give 75 days notice of any helicopter sniper operations, which it can carry out only if it "satisfies the procedural and substantive requirements to justify such an action, according to the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Assn. This week's planned aerial shootings neglect the terms of the deal, the ranchers groups said, alleging that the Forest Service is breaking New Mexico animal cruelty laws and the National Environmental Protection Act by carrying out the shootings. Unfortunately, after a year of abiding by our settlement agreement we are now back to square one, Loren Patterson, president of the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Assn., said in a statement. Throughout the past year, we offered real solutions to the Forest Service for the Gila estray problem. Those solutions would address the immediate issue, provide long-term resolution and would be humane. A hearing in the request for a preliminary injunction was scheduled for Wednesday. The Gila National Forest spreads across more than 3 million acres of southwestern New Mexico, and the Gila Wilderness, the worlds first designated wilderness, is home to an extensive trail network. Feral cattle have roamed the area since the 1970s, according to the Forest Service. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Demonstrators gather for a Bigger Than Roe rally after participating in a womens march for abortion rights, at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison on Jan. 22, 2023. (Jamie Kelter Davis/The New York Times) MILWAUKEE The general election for the swing seat on Wisconsins Supreme Court, a momentous contest that will determine whether Republicans maintain or lose their iron grip on the states politics, will feature a liberal Milwaukee County judge against a conservative former justice of the states high court. Janet Protasiewicz, a liberal from the Milwaukee suburbs, and Daniel Kelly, a former Supreme Court justice who lost his seat in a 2020 election, advanced in a Tuesday primary to the April 4 general election, according to The Associated Press. The winner of the race, the most consequential American election on the 2023 calendar, will serve a 10-year term. Advertisement While Protasiewicz sailed to a first-place finish in the officially nonpartisan primary, Kelly placed second, ahead of Jennifer Dorow, a Waukesha County judge known for presiding over the trial last fall of a man who killed six people by driving through a 2021 Christmas parade. Late Tuesday, Protasiewicz had about 46% of the vote, Kelly had 24% and Dorow had 22%. If Protasiewicz prevails in six weeks, it will tip the balance of the states seven-member Supreme Court, which has been controlled by conservatives since 2008. Advertisement The court would have a four-member liberal majority that would be likely to overturn the states 1849 law forbidding abortion in nearly all cases, redraw Wisconsins heavily gerrymandered legislative and congressional maps, and influence how the states 10 electoral votes are awarded after the 2024 presidential election. Everything we care about is going to be determined by who wins this election, Protasiewicz told supporters in a victory speech Tuesday night. Judge Janet Protasiewicz and her husband Randy Nass appear at her election night party as she advances as a candidate in the April 4 election for Wisconsin Supreme Court, Feb. 21, 2023, in Milwaukee. (Ebony Cox/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) Daniel Kelly, a conservative former state Supreme Court justice who lost his seat in a 2020 election, speaks to supporters at an election night gathering in Okauchee Lake, Wisconsin, Feb. 21, 2023. (Jamie Kelter Davis/The New York Times) If Kelly wins, abortion is certain to remain illegal in nearly all cases. He also said in an interview on Monday that he had no intention to revisit the maps adopted by Republican legislators. When a map gets challenged in court, the responsibility of the court is to fix the legal defects, not the political defects, he said in Sheboygan. Our courts are not built to decide political issues, just legal issues. Kelly has condemned Protasiewicz for telegraphing how she would rule in key cases expected to come before the court on abortion and gerrymandering. But he has hardly been shy about signaling his own politics. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported last week that Kelly had since 2020 been on the payroll of the Republican National Committee to work on election integrity issues. During his victory remarks Tuesday, Kelly said Protasiewicz represented an assault on our Constitution and our liberties. If she wins, he said, we will lose the rule of law and find ourselves with the rule of Janet. Influential Democrats in Wisconsin coalesced long ago behind Protasiewicz, who has endorsements from a range of top party officials and de facto support from many others. The other liberal candidate in the race, Everett Mitchell, a judge in Dane County, which includes Madison, lagged far behind the other three major candidates in fundraising. Republicans split between Kelly, who lost a 2020 election for a full term after being appointed in 2016 by Gov. Scott Walker, and Dorow, whom Walker appointed to the Waukesha court. Advertisement The fight for conservative votes grew increasingly bitter in the closing days before Tuesdays primary election. Kelly said in interviews on conservative talk radio and at campaign stops that he would not commit to endorsing Dorow if she advanced to the general election, while Dorows supporters argued that Kelly was unelectable based on his performance in 2020, when he lost by 10 percentage points. About two-tenths of a mile separated the election night parties for Kelly and Dorow in Waukesha County. At the Smoke on the Water tavern, Kelly mingled with supporters starting well before polls closed, shaking hands, exchanging hugs and looking relaxed as snow fell on Okauchee Lake, visible out the window. Dorow briefly appeared at her campaign party after polls closed, then disappeared from view before returning to deliver a concession speech. I came up a little short, she told supporters. Im disappointed but Im really happy that I get to support a conservative candidate going forward. The race is all but certain to become the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history, topping the $15 million spent on a 2004 race for the Illinois Supreme Court. Already, more than $8.7 million has been spent on television and digital advertising in the Wisconsin contest, according to AdImpact, a media-tracking firm. Advertisement Officials in both parties expect tens of millions more to be spent by each side during the six-week general election. Kelly, whose campaign did not spend any money on television advertising during the primary campaign, has used his deep-pocketed supporters as a reason to vote for him. He told conservatives gathered at a Republican Party dinner this month in Sawyer County that they should back him because he had the support of the billionaire Uihlein family, whose super PAC has spent $2.8 million to back him so far and pledged to spend millions more on his behalf. The states Democrats and Protasiewiczs campaign believed Dorow would be a stronger opponent in the general election. A Better Wisconsin Together, a Democratic super PAC, spent more than $2 million on television ads before the primary attacking Dorow. The Uihleins super PAC, Fair Courts America, spent $2.7 million backing Kelly and attacking Protasiewicz. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. PANAMA CITY After more than four years of waiting, construction of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center is right around the corner. According to Randy Plank, project manager for Panama City, construction on the new center should break ground in about September and take at least 18 months to complete. The facility will be built in the same footprint as the previous center, which was destroyed in October 2018 by Category 5 Hurricane Michael. A rendering of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center that will be built in Panama City. Officials hope for construction to begin in about September. "It has been a long time, and the neighborhoods and the community have been patient," Plank said. "It's very gratifying that we're finally at this point." Rebuilding after Michael: 'It is just state of the art': Panama City OKs master plan for new MLK Recreation Center Other local improvements:Panama City to quickly breathe new life into defunct Glenwood gym Plank also said one hurdle that has delayed the project's construction is a required environmental planning and historic preservation test by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This is necessary because FEMA agreed to give the city about $15 million to help cover the more than $18 million project. Officials announced at a City Commission meeting on Feb. 14 that the test should be complete by the end of March, allowing the city to hopefully advertise for construction bids in April. They originally did not expect for the test to be complete until later this year. Panama City in 2021 awarded CCR Architecture & Interiors, an architecture firm based Birmingham, Alabama, the contract to design the new center. Plank said designs are basically complete and the city was waiting for FEMA to give it the green light. "We now have a really nice design for an improved version of the old recreation center, which was a very important neighborhood (and) community center for gatherings and many kinds of different events and activities," he said. Highlights of the new MLK Jr. Recreation Center include: Multipurpose room. Science, technology and math lab. Arts and crafts room. Recording and editing studio. Teaching kitchen. Fitness center. Reading and study rooms. First aid room. Concession stand . Lounge and games area. Martin Luther King Jr. art mural. "By late August, we (plan to) be ready to make a recommendation to the City Commission to award a contract," Plank said. "Early September, we would kick off construction. We are estimating 18 months minimum for construction, and that would put project completion in March of 2025." This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City could begin construction of MLK Rec Center in September (Bloomberg) -- South Africas finance minister said the government will resist pressure to implement politically popular but unaffordable policies, including the introduction of a basic income grant, before next years elections. Most Read from Bloomberg While the governing African National Congress has mostly avoided pre-vote spending sprees, its facing its toughest election battle since taking power in the countrys first multiracial election in 1994. Opinion polls show the party risks losing its national majority, and investors and analysts have raised concern that it may seek to boost state expenditure to shore up its support. I dont want to be part of a government that collapses because of fiscal populism, Enoch Godongwana, who is also a senior ANC leader, said in an interview Wednesday. He reaffirmed the National Treasurys commitment to reducing budget deficits and reining in debt. An unemployment crisis and deepening poverty in one of the worlds most unequal nations have fueled calls for an income grant, which would be the biggest of its kind globally. Last month, the ANC resolved that the government should continue welfare payments first introduced in 2020 to cushion the poor against the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, while investigating modalities and affordability of the basic income grant. Social Wage Almost half of South Africas population receives some form of aid and the so-called social wage, which includes spending on social protection, health and education, is set to account for 60.2% of non-interest spending on average over the next three years. Expanding the welfare net will require trade-offs, the minister said. Story continues All other grants must die for the basic income grant to survive, Godongwana said. Alternatively, government spending must be reprioritized and taxes increased to fund a more comprehensive social security system, he said. The Treasury, which has sought to stabilize public finances by reallocating funds rather than by increasing spending, found that recent tax increases generated less revenue than expected and warned they can negatively affect economic growth. Its ability to earmark more money for welfare payments has been constrained because it has had to bail out several indebted state companies, including power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., which has been subjecting the nation to rolling blackouts since 2008. Eskom Bailout In his budget speech on Wednesday, Godongwana announced a 254 billion-rand ($13.9 billion) debt-relief plan for Eskom to help it improve electricity supply and steady its finances. A turnaround will hinge on the implementation of politically unpopular electricity-tariff hikes approved by the nations energy regulator last month. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is expected to lead the ANC in next years election, has appealed to the power utility to suspend the price increases of as much as 18.7%. Godongwana said he explained to the president and his cabinet that delaying the tariff increases will deprive Eskom of as much as 7 billion rand in revenue and have serious consequences for public finances. Eskom has survived on government bailouts since 2008. The latest plan will see the Treasury enforce strict conditions on the company and its executives to cut its reliance on the state after the three-year debt-relief period, according to the minister. Eskom announced late Wednesday that Andre de Ruyter, its chief executive officer, will leave the company with immediate effect, more than a month earlier than hed planned after resigning in December. A new head is likely to be appointed at the end of April, meaning Eskoms board will oversee the start of the debt-relief program, Godongwana said before the announcement. The government is also considering writing off debt of 56.3 billion rand owed to Eskom by municipalities, provided they agree to meet all future payments as it seeks to tackle a culture of non-payment a consideration thats practical rather than populist, he said. If I dont sort out this debt problem and it continues to accumulate, Eskom is going to come back to the fiscus for support, Godongwana said. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. The first charity auction, ART CAN HELP. Contemporary, organised by Ukrainska Pravda and supported by the Come Back Alive charity foundation, has started. It will take place at the GOLDENS auction house in Kyiv from 23 to 28 February. All the money raised at the auction will be used to cover the needs of the 10th Naval Aviation Brigade named after Ihor Bedzai. These include specialised vehicles, communications equipment, drones, Starlink and aviation headset sets. Among the auction lots are works by Ukrainian artists, provided personally by the authors. Most of the works were created during 2022, so the main theme of these works is the artists' reflection on Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, their own observations and personal feelings. Kadan Mykyta. Arm Ukraine from series Repeating speech (2022) Among the top lots in the collection are: the sculptural object Palianytsia by Zhanna Kadyrova, which was previously presented at the Venice Biennale; graphic works by Mykyta Kadan from The Pit Sings series; two works from the new News series by Oleksii Sai and a large-scale work from his popular Excel-art series; as well as Unknown by Yurii Bolsa, created from the rubble of a building that was hit by a Russian missile during the attack on Kyiv on 26 June 2022. Zhanna Kadyrova. Sculptural object "Palianytsia" (2022) Other well-known names of the auction include artists of the famous R.E.P. group: Lada Nakonechna, Ksenia Hnylytska, and Volodymyr Kuznetsov; by Taras Kovach, Serhii Sabakar, Alevtina Kakhidze and Yevhen Korshunov; a work by Vladyslav Krasnoshchok, the famous Kharkiv photographer and member of the Shilo group, and others. Bolsa Yurii. "War music" (2022) From 23 to 28 February, the auction will be held online on the auction house's website. It is possible to register for the auction in the online auction catalogue, also available on the GOLDENS website. During the auction, all the works presented can be viewed live in the hall of the auction house at 4 Leonid Pervomaiskyi St., Kyiv. It is possible to place bids on the selected lots directly in the exhibition hall. Story continues Sai Oleksii. From series "News" (2022) The 10th Naval Aviation Brigade, named after the Hero of Ukraine, Colonel Ihor Bedzai, conducted a unique operation in 2014. On the order of Colonel Bedzai, the brigade's deputy commander for flight training, the unit evacuated its aircraft from Crimea, which had already been besieged by Russians. On 7 May 2022, Colonel Bedzai took off for another complex search and rescue operation near the mouth of the Danube River. The officer's crew accomplished the task, but their Mi-14 helicopter was hit by a Russian guided missile. The colonel and five other Ukrainian servicemen on board were killed. Today, the one-of-a-kind unit of the Ukrainian Navy named after Bedzai not only dreams of coming back to its native Crimea but also avenges its friend and commander with every operation. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! The Sparty statue surrounded by flowers in honor of the victims of the Monday, Feb. 13, 2023 mass shooting at Michigan State University on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, in East Lansing. EAST LANSING A Michigan State University student, one of five who was critically wounded during a Feb. 13 shooting on campus, has been discharged from the hospital, officials confirmed Thursday. It was not immediately clear whether the student was discharged Wednesday night or Thursday morning. In an update tweeted just before noon Thursday, MSU Public Safety announced the student had been discharged, and Sparrow Hospital spokesperson Corey Alexander confirmed the person's release. Three students were killed and five wounded Feb. 13 when a lone gunman entered Berkey Hall and the MSU Union and shot at people. The gunman, Anthony McRae, later took his own life after leaving campus. One of the five students who was wounded remains in critical condition, two students have been upgraded to serious, but stable condition, while another is in fair condition, according to Alexander. All students initially were listed in critical condition after the shooting. Police and hospital officials have said they will not identify the wounded students. Friends and family have confirmed the names of three of the students: Guadalupe Huapilla-Perez, John Hao and Nathan Statly. Huapilla-Perezs sister, Selena Huapilla-Perez, said Guadalupe was making "slow and steady progress in an online post on Monday. She suffered two gunshot wounds and doctors have removed her spleen, Huapilla-Perez said. Hao suffered a severed spinal cord, but is no longer intubated, according to a GoFundMe post by Argent Qian, a spokesperson for Hao and his family. Statly's brother, Josh, in a GoFundMe request said his brother remained in critical condition this week. Brian Fraser, 20, of Grosse Pointe, Alexandria Verner, 20, of Clawson and Arielle Anderson, 19, of Harper Woods, who were all MSU students, were killed during the shooting. Contact Mark Johnson at majohnson2@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ByMarkJohnson. Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ. This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State student wounded in shooting discharged from hospital The TikToker has over 400,000 followers. Screenshot/TikTok - markusfit A fitness influencer went viral with a video claiming he was kicked out of a gym in San Diego for unjust reasons. He said an employee became irate after he didn't re-rack weights properly, prompting an argument. In a follow-up video, he said the gym's owners temporarily banned him from using the gym. A TikTok fitness influencer said he was temporarily banned from his local gym over a misunderstanding about re-racking weights, which incited the rage of an employee. His videos about the incident have now sparked so much anger among his fanbase that they're spamming and trolling the gym's Google and Yelp reviews. Mark Hunter Jr.'s video describing the incident went viral earlier this week, amassing over 19 million views. In the clip, he explained that he hadn't seen extra weights on the half-squat machine that he was using, which caused an employee to snap at him while he was working out. After Hunter Jr. asked the employee why he was being so rude, he apparently said to the influencer, "If you wanna keep running your fucking mouth, you can fucking get out." @markusfit Hot date tomorrow at tomorrow with Cole at TG San Diego / Pacific Beach original sound - Markusfit According to the influencer, the employee proceeded to void the influencer's membership and promptly told him to leave the facility. The incident happened at a popular facility called The Gym in San Diego. Hunter Jr. said his issue isn't so much about the weights, but how Cole conducted himself. "Whether you're a gym owner, a member, a customer, or an employee, you need to show people a certain level of respect, especially if you're going to confront someone or accuse someone of doing something wrong," he said in his video. "I have worked at a gym and had to re-rack people's weights, so I know the frustration that he had. He probably had a bad day ... but being professional, you cannot do that," he said of the employee in-question. In a follow-up video, Hunter Jr. said he returned to the gym shortly after and talked to the owners about the situation. He said he'd heard from other gym members after his TikTok went viral who had similar experiences with the employee's short fuse. Story continues Hunter Jr. said the owners apologized to him on the employee's behalf but refused to reprimand him or terminate his employment. He also said they told him not to return to the gym for a few months. "It did not go as I hoped," he said of the conversation with the owners. He said he wouldn't return to the gym again even after his probably period ended. The influencer's fans were so disappointed to hear about the incident and the lack of accountability that they're trying to take matters into their own hands. People have begun flooding the gym's Google and Yelp pages with negative reviews. At one point, The Gym's ratings fell to 1.3 stars, according to a screenshot the influencer shared in his second video, although the current rating has bounced back up to 4.4 as of Thursday. The gym's profile on Yelp currently sits at 2.5 stars, and there has been a rapid flurry of 1-star ratings from Hunter Jr.'s fans in the last few days. Some reviews were even comical, with many making obviously satirical claims about negative experiences they've had with the employee. One reviewer said the employee threw dumbbells at his grandmother while she was doing cardio; Another person said the employee bothered them by making pig noises. Insider has reached out to Hunter Jr. The Gym did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Read the original article on Insider DNA evidence from a cigarette butt solved a cold-case murder that stumped Burlington detectives for 52 years. At a Tuesday press conference, the Burlington Police Department announced that they have finally identified the perpetrator of 24-year-old Rita Curran's sexual assault and murder in her apartment in July 1971. DNA technology and genetic genealogy identified William DeRoos, another tenant in the building that lived two floors above her, as the killer. But DeRoos died of acute morphine poisoning at a San Francisco hotel in 1986, according to Police Chief John Murad. RELATED: 1989 Jane Doe ID'd As Missing California Woman Whose Infant Daughters Remain Missing "He would be 83 today, but there is not a cop in this building who would not happily put handcuffs on him," Murad said. "We're all confident that William DeRoos is responsible for the aggravated murder of Rita Curran," echoed Lieutenant J.T. Trieb. "Because he died in a hotel room of a drug overdose, he will not be held accountable for his actions, but the case will be closed." Using forensic genealogy, detectives linked a cigarette dropped by Curran's body to her long-dead killer. The LARK-brand cigarette butt was carefully collected and preserved by detectives at the time in the hopes that DNA technology would improve in the future, said at the press conference. A police handout of cold case victim Rita Curran Rita Curran Photo: Burlington Police "It hadn't been crushed or put out," he recalled. "It had been dropped there." Forensic genealogy firm Parabon was able to match the DNA profile generated from the discarded cigarette to existing genetic data available on an open-source ancestry website, Trieb said, absolving the department's existing 13 suspects in the case. Police tracked down DeRoos' half-brother in Alabama to confirm their findings, according to WCAX. Further DNA from the housecoat Curran was wearing was tested at another lab in Florida, after which it was confirmed that DeRoos was the culprit, according to reporting by USA Today. Story continues Detectives questioned DeRoos and his wife, Michelle DeRoos, shortly after Curran's strangled body was discovered by her roommates. The couple told police that they had been in the apartment together at the time of the killing, but Michelle has since changed her story. According to investigators, the wife later said that DeRoos left their apartment on the evening of July 19, 1971 to take a "cool-down walk" after the couple got into an argument. During this period, police said, he let himself into Curran's apartment through an unlocked door while her three roommates were out drinking at a nearby bar. A police handout of Chester Weger He returned home after his wife had gone to bed for the evening, she told police five decades later, and asked her to tell police that he had been with her that night when police came knocking the next day. DeRoo did not know Curran personally according to WCAX, the second-grade teacher had just moved into the Brookes Avenue apartment from her parents' house several weeks earlier. Murad said on Tuesday that she maintained that story even after her marriage dissolved and DeRoos fled to Thailand, where he became a Buddhist monk. Police Corporal Tom Chenette said he believes she was coerced into providing an alibi. Ultimately, DeRoos moved to San Francisco and remarried in 1974. There, police said, his violent tendencies continued he was arrested for strangling his second wife Sarah Hepting, they said, and later stabbed a female friend without provocation. When Hepting asked why he had stabbed the woman, Hepting told police that he replied, "I thought I was stabbing you." Former Senator Patrick Leahy, the county prosecutor at the time of the murder, said that although he saw his share of violent crime scenes, Rita Curran's killing stuck with him. He was proud to finally have answers for the woman's family. Oxy App "They weren't going to bring Rita Curran back but they could at least bring closure," he said of detectives' efforts. "And after 50 years, they did." Curran's younger sister, Mary Curran Campbell, told WCAX that their family was "numb." Fifty-one-and-a-half years and its the guy upstairs," she said. The years rolled into decades... Even though we might not ever give up hope, we really felt at this point the person was probably dead. Wed never know who did it. The sister said her close-knit family carried her through the long years of uncertainty. I had only 22 years and its been 50. My children never knew her. My grandchildren never knew her, Curran Campbell said. Theyre the ones. And people say, Howd you get through it? How did you get through it? I got a lot of rocks holding me up. Ted Bundy was thought to be Curran's killer at one point, according to the Burlington Free Press, because he may have been in the area at the time of her killing. There is currently no evidence that links DeRoos to other unsolved Vermont murders, but his DNA is now stored in a national database. Florida TV Crew Attack The pop-up memorial for slain Spectrum News 13 journalist Dylan Lyons is shown at the University of Central Florida Nicholson School of Communications in Orlando, Fla., Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. Lyons, a graduate of UCF, was shot and killed while covering a homicide in Orlando on Wednesday. Credit - Joe BurbankOrlando Sentinel/AP At least one journalist for local news channel Spectrum News 13 has died in central Florida after being shot on Wednesday afternoon while reporting on the scene of an earlier homicide, authorities said. The shooter also injured a second News 13 crew member and allegedly separately killed a nine-year-old girl and injured her mother. Orange County Sheriff John Mina said in a Wednesday evening briefing that the suspect, identified as 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, who police believe is responsible for the multiple shootings, has been detained. Mina added that Moses had a lengthy criminal history, including weapon and drug charges as well as alleged assault and battery, and he appeared to be an acquaintance of the victim of the earlier crime. On Thursday morning, the Sheriffs Office revealed the names of those killed: 24-year-old News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons, nine-year-old TYonna Major, and 38-year-old Nathacha Augustin. Among the two surviving victims was News 13 photographer Jesse Walden, who was critically injured but has since been able to communicate with colleagues, the network reported. Police have not named the mother of the girl who was slain, but NBC News identified her as Brandi Major. She was shot in the arm and released from hospital late Wednesday, a relative told NBC News. Sheriff Mina explained that deputies had responded to a shooting that happened on Hialeah Street in Pine Hills at around 11 a.m., Wednesday morning, where they found Augustin had been killed. That scene was still under investigation, according to the sheriff, when, at 4:05 p.m., police received calls of two more shootings, one in the same area and another in a nearby location. Story continues Authorities then found Lyons and Walden, who were there to cover the scene of the morning murder, shot in or near their vehicle. At Harrington Drive, a nearby road in junction with Hialeah Street, the Majors were found inside their home also having been shot. Moses motive for the later shootings remains under investigation. It is unclear if he knew they were news media or not. Were still trying to work all that out, the sheriff said. Mina also said theyre not yet sure why the mother and daughter were targeted. TYonna Majors family described her as extremely smart and an amazing gymnast, according to NBC News. Senseless violence has taken the life of my little girl, TYonnas father, Tokiyo, wrote in a GoFundMe post for the family. In a statement, Charter Communications, the parent company of Spectrum News 13, said: We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today. Our thoughts are with our employees family, friends and co-workers during this very difficult time. We remain hopeful that our other colleague who was injured makes a full recovery. This is a terrible tragedy for the Orlando community. The Spectrum newsroom continued to report on the incident through the night. I mean weve all covered stories, been out in the community, doing what our colleagues were doing, reporter Curtis McCloud said later on-air, responding and doing a story, putting out information into the community, like we do: gather facts and report it to individuals or people in the community. It was some of our competitors who rushed to the aid of our colleagues, said anchor Tammie Fields. When danger was happening, they could have run the other way, but apparently they ran right over to our crews and helped. This is every reporters worst nightmare, said WESH journalist Luana Munoz, who knew Lyons and said she had just embraced his fiance, through tears. We are standing in solidarity tonight as one of our own has just passed. Florida Republican Senator Rick Scott said he and his team are closely monitoring the situation. This is absolutely horrible, Scott tweeted Wednesday night. News of the shooting reached Washington, where White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre expressed her condolences on Twitter: Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team. Our hearts are also with the other shooting victims today, their families, and the entire community. Too many lives are being ripped apart by gun violence. Data from the Committee to Protect Journalists show that at least 13 journalists have been killed in the U.S. between 1992 and 2022. The Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting to include at least four victims not including the shooter, has already recorded more than 80 such incidents in the U.S. since the start of 2023. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Florida college students are planning a statewide walkout Thursday in protest of recent education-related efforts by Gov. Ron DeSantis, including his policies targeting LGBTQ+ and people of color. Organized by the Florida College Democrats and Dream Defenders, "Stand for Freedom" is a statewide movement and walkout scheduled for noon on Thursday across Florida college campuses. Participants in the movement and walkout are calling on the DeSantis administration to restore diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in colleges and universities, according to the "Stand for Freedom" pledge. The demonstration will demand bringing an end to what organizers say is "the DeSantis administration's attacks on LGBTQ+ and BIPOC students, faculty and staff." The protest follows DeSantis' announcement last month to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion efforts made in previous years across Florida campuses. DeSantis' announcement is only the latest in his initiatives to scrutinize academic freedom. "We are Floridas students and citizens. It is our education that is being tarnished and our schools being discredited," the movement's pledge states. "This is our fight for freedom." 'YOU'RE WRONG TO MESS WITH BLACK HISTORY': Rev. Al Sharpton, Black leaders rally against Florida Gov. DeSantis FLORIDA REJECTS AP COURSE: African American Studies AP course 'lacks educational value,' Florida education officials say 'Stand for Freedom' movement, walkout As the walkout is being planned on college campuses such as Florida State University, the University of Central Florida, and the University of South Florida, participants are being encouraged to wear all-black clothing and to bring posters and pride flags. "We are asking that you walk out of your classes, jobs, and other obligations to meet at your campus student center," the host organizations said on Instagram. Story continues According to the organizations, as of Saturday, more than 1,000 students across Florida have signed up to walk out on Thursday. The organizations also wrote on the movement's pledge that they have received significant signees from lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost and Florida state Reps. Michelle Rayner, Anna Eskamani, and Angie Nixon. The demonstration comes after a protest held on Florida State University's campus on Feb. 8, where 50 people rallied against DeSantis' initiatives. BACK STORY: Florida universities were told to prioritize diversity plans. Now, DeSantis aims to gut them DeSantis' 'attacks' on campus diversity programs In addition to DeSantis' plans to cut funding from diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across public universities and colleges in Florida, DeSantis previously signed a bill to ban critical race theory to be taught in schools in 2022. He also vowed to block the College Board's Advanced Placement African American Studies class from being taught in Florida high schools. The class had been in development for more than a decade, according to College Board's website. But the class was rejected by the state's Department of Education, citing on Jan. 12 that the class is "inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value." Contributing: Ana Goni-Lessan, Douglas Soule, and Kathryn Varn, USA TODAY Network This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Florida college students plan statewide walkout against Gov. DeSantis Ald. Harry Osterman, 48th, speaks during a City Council meeting on Nov. 26, 2019. He told CPD officials that many Chicagoans will struggle to have faith in the police force if the department doesnt more strongly confront its links with white supremacist or far-right groups. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) City Council members expected clarity on the Chicago Police Departments stance on extremism within its ranks, but instead were left frustrated and confused after a hearing Wednesday about how the department has handled investigations into officers links with hate groups. The Committee on Public Safety hearing stretched over two hours and sometimes grew tense as aldermen lobbed tough questions at police officials. Their frustration grew as CPD and city officials answered questions sometimes contradictory about the departments decision to not fire Officer Robert Bakker, who allegedly had ties to the far-right group the Proud Boys and then was reported by CPD to have made false and contradictory statements to the FBI and the department during the investigation. Advertisement He was suspended for 120 days, but not fired, and could return to active police duty March 1. CPD leaders previously said the suspension was initially set to be much shorter because of a lack of evidence, but was made longer at Bakkers suggestion. [ Chicago police superintendent defends 120-day suspension for officer accused of Proud Boy ties ] Im exasperated like everyone else, Ald. Andre Vasquez, 40th, said near the end of the hearing. It is a joke that we are spending this much time and money to have this conversation when everyone who hears this case knows that officer should not be in the force. It is a joke! Advertisement Several aldermen said they felt the city isnt doing enough to address reported ties that some officers have to far-right extremist groups. Ald. Harry Osterman, 48th, told CPD officials that many Chicagoans will struggle to have faith in the police force if the department doesnt more strongly confront its links with white supremacist or far-right groups. I worry about the trust that were trying to build in every community in the city if were not addressing these issues with the diligence they need, Osterman said during the meeting. Tina Skahill, CPDs director of policing and reform, said the department is working to broaden the policies that govern officers associations with groups to include organizations that are the antithesis of the mission and policies. Bakker is alleged to have associated with members of the white nationalist organization and posted messages in a group chat, including about meeting at a pub having a patriot barbecue with members. City Inspector General Deborah Witzburg recommended that police Superintendent David Brown review the suspension after the CPDs bureau of internal affairs first reached the 120-day punishment in mediation with Bakker. She told City Council members Wednesday that Brown has previously said officers who make false statements should be fired because documented lies can inhibit officers ability to perform police duties by hurting their credibility in court. CPD officials suggested during the hearing that the department did not have enough evidence to prove Bakker had made false statements, despite the bureau of internal affairs finding that he had. Advertisement Witzburg and Andrea Kersten, the chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, urged CPD representatives to enforce the rules already in place even as the department seeks to update its policies. CPD Deputy Chief Traci Walker opened her statements by saying hate and extremism in any form have no place in the Chicago Police Department. But later, the bureau of internal affairs representative conceded during the hearing that the department didnt aggressively investigate allegations made in a 2021 NPR article that said 13 CPD officers were active members of another far-right group, the Oath Keepers. I really want you all to go back to the drawing board, said Ald. Chris Taliaferro, 29th, the committees chair. Theres still stones left unturned. Walker said CPD runs background checks of new officers and would not hire any who are members of hate groups, but acknowledged that the rules governing officers already in the force are different because Chicagos police union contract grants certain due process rights. At another point in the hearing, she asserted that the Oath Keepers organization wasnt what it is today in the early 2010s, when a CPD officer was a member of the organization for several years. Several other speakers and City Council members pushed back, noting that members of the organization participated in a widely publicized armed standoff with federal authorities at the Bundy ranch in Oregon at around the same time. I am heartbroken right now, Ald. Rossana Rodriguez, 33rd, said toward the end of the hearing. We came into this hearing trying to get clarity on what their logic was for these officers still being in the force after being clear that they were members of a hate group, and we are even more confused. Advertisement After the hearing, Ald. Matt Martin, 47th, said he left having a lot more questions than answers. Ald. Samantha Nugent, 39th, told the Tribune she sensed a discrepancy between what the inspector generals office and Police Department reported in their investigations. The hearing didnt give her a clear sense of how CPD will handle officers possible extremist group affiliations going forward, she added. Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy > And I find that deeply concerning, Nugent said. I didnt feel like all of my questions were answered today. Vasquez reiterated his call for CPD to fire Bakker, though CPD representatives said earlier that they would be unable to further punish the officer unless new information and allegations come to light. It really speaks to the fact that CPD is not as accountable as we believe, Vasquez said. The superintendent should not be able to say out loud that there is zero tolerance, because clearly there is some level of tolerance that keeps those folks who are a part of far right groups on the police force. The many officers who arent a part of hate groups are put in dangerous situations when officers who are in such groups erode the trust people have in police, he added. Advertisement Not all aldermen present left the hearing frustrated with CPD. Ald. Nick Sposato, 38th, declined to say whether the departments rules on hate groups should change or if he thought the department reached an appropriate decision in its investigation of Bakker and instead said he thought the hearing was a waste of time. The City Council becoming involved in specific cases of police discipline presents a dangerous precedent, he argued. I dont think we should be having any say about this stuff, Sposato said. Its none of our business. People need to handle the letter of the law in their department. Calm weekend ahead? Did we all read the Marine Weather Forecast correctly? You bet we did. Seas less than 2 feet. All. Weekend. Long. You know what that means. It's open season on your favorite fishing targets. As the boys of summer begin their spring games in Port St. Lucie, Jupiter and West Palm Beach, many anglers will be making alternate plans to seek out cobia, mahi mahi, snapper and mackerel; pompano, whiting and Spanish mackerel; Snook, tripletail and tarpon, flounder, sheepshead, speckled perch and bass. It's game on for fishing the next few days so fuel up the boat, break out the rods and get the fryers and grills ready. It's going to be busy at the fish cleaning tables. Good luck. U-Pick strawberries?Countryside Family Farms offers only U-pick strawberry patch on the Treasure Coast. Bridge work a go:Coast Guard OKs three-week closing of St. Lucie River bridge while Brightline makes repairs Whale freed:Dramatic video shows dangerous rescue of right whale entangled in lobster pots off Georgia Sheepshead like this one caught Jan. 30, 2023 in Stuart have been biting for Chaos Fishing Charters customers. Closures & regulations changes in effect: Anglers are reminded about these fishery harvest closures currently underway and ones about to begin and end. Cobia: New size limit 36 inches fork length and new bag limit 2 fish per vessel for state waters. Snook: Harvest is open until May 31. One fish per day bag limit, 28-32 inches with snook stamp. Grouper: Harvest closed from Jan. 1, 2023, through April 30, 2023. Includes gag grouper, red grouper, black grouper, scamp, yellowfin grouper, yellowmouth, coney, graysby, red hind & rock hind. Harvest reopens May 1, 2023. For complete fishing regulations in Florida go to MyFWC.com. Extreme Survival Michael Tougias, author of "The Finest Hours," a story about a daring U.S. Coast Guard rescue in 1952, will be speaking about his latest book, "Extreme Survival: Lessons From Those Who Have Triumphed Against All Odds" four times in March: March 6, 2 p.m. North County Library, 1001 Sebastian Blvd., Sebastian March 7, 7 p.m., Emerson Center, 1590 27th Ave., Vero Beach March 16, noon, FAU Jupiter Campus, 5353 Parkside Dr., Jupiter March 16, 7 p.m., Apollo School, 9141 S.E. Apollo St., Hobe Sound Story continues Indian River County Offshore: Kingfish have been on the reefs in 40-60 feet of water along with mutton snapper and lane snapper. Schools of spinner sharks and blacktip sharks are a few hundred yards off the beaches south of Sebastian Inlet for anyone interested in tossing topwater plugs at them for fast fun action. Mangrove snapper, vermilion snapper and triggerfish have been on the reefs in 70-90 feet of water. Inshore: Pompano have been caught along the channel edges and from the low bridge at Wabasso Causeway on Doc's Goofy Jigs in pink or chartreuse. Snook fishing has been good along the mangroves south of Vero Beach, around the Barber Bridge and at Sebastian Inlet. Freshwater: Bass fishing has been excellent at Headwaters Lake and Garcia Reservoir. Use stick worms or lipless crank baits to work over the beds where many of the fish have been spawning. St. Lucie County Offshore: The first rule of cobia season is to not talk about cobia season. Seriously, the brown bombers have been roaming around in schools of seven or eight at a time without manta rays, without sharks, just free swimming. Use 2-ounce pink, chartreuse or white jigs with or without the trailing grub. Cast in front of the fish to get a curious look from them. Remember, the cobia regulations changed July 1, 2022 so do NOT gaff one unless you are absolutely certain is larger than 36 inches at the fork. Bag limit also changed to two fish per vessel instead of six. Inshore: Snook are the apex predator of the Indian River Lagoon estuary. They are ambush feeders, so remember these fish will be lying on the bottom in most locations. Popular spots during the moving tides will be the Turning Basin, the South Bridge, Taylor Creek docks, St. Lucie Village docks and the spoil islands across from the city marina. Surf: Pompano should soon begin their migration back north along area beaches. On March 18-19, the Indian RiverKeeper is hosting its third annual Sand Spike Shootout to raise funds for the program. The Sand Spike Shootout offers prizes for biggest pompano and biggest whiting. Entry fee is $50 per person. To register, go to Indian Riverkeeper Sand Spike Shootout. Martin County Offshore: Capt. Rocky Carbia of the Safari I partyboat out of Pirates Cove Resort and Marina in Port Salerno said the snapper fishing has been steady on reefs in 60-70 feet of water. Mutton snapper, mangrove snapper, lane snapper and vermilion snapper can be caught. Cobia are also possible on any trip. Mahi mahi and wahoo are being caught by trolling in 200 to 300 feet of water. Inshore: Goliath grouper season will open March 1. Anglers need to remember you can not harvest one unless you possess a permit, the only allowable keepers are 24 to 36 inches, and Martin County is off limits, too. So it's strictly catch and release in these waters. There are a few giants at Bull Shark Barge for those who need to know. Snook seem to be everywhere and they are chewing. Lake Okeechobee Two leading bass tours have descended upon the great lake in recent weeks and shown it's possible to put together a ag limit weighing 27 pounds. That's more than 5 pounds per fish. Plenty of 2-3 pound fish being caught, too, which makes for a great fishing day. Try topwater frogs, spinnerbaits and crank baits or wild shiners. Speck fishing is still pretty good, too, according to S & K Fisheries out of Fort Pierce. Ed Killer is an outdoors columnist with TCPalm.com See more of his content here. Email your fishing reports to ed.killer@tcpalm.com. This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Florida fishing: Spring features mahi mahi, sheepshead and snook A Florida journalist killed near Orlando on Wednesday was identified as 24-year-old Dylan Lyons. Related: Journalist and child killed near scene of fatal Florida shooting earlier in day Lyons, a reporter for Spectrum News 13, was fatally shot on Wednesday afternoon while at the scene of a murder. Officials said Keith Melvin Moses, 19, shot Lyons and a colleague before walking into a nearby home and shooting a woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The girl died. Lyons colleague, Jesse Walden, a photographer, was in critical condition but able to speak with investigators, according to Greg Angel, a station news anchor. John Mina, the Orange county sheriff, said Moses ambushed Lyons and Walden as they were at the scene of a murder Moses is accused of committing. It was not clear if Moses knew Lyons and Walden were members of the media. Lyons joined Spectrum News in 2022 as a multimedia journalist, according to his biography on the station website. Born in Philadelphia, he attended the University of Central Florida, where he earned a degree in journalism and political science and anchored the student-run news station. He worked for a local news station in Gainesville and in 2020 won a best politics/elections series award from the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists, for his coverage of a congressional race. In 2021, he was a finalist for investigative reporting for a story about a woman abusing dogs. One of the most impactful stories Dylan had the opportunity to cover was about the murder of a 13-year-old girl, his biography says. The story was especially moving for Dylan because it illustrated the importance of ensuring proper protections for the most vulnerable in our society. Lyons family posted a GoFundMe page to raise money for his funeral. As of Thursday morning, it had raised a little over $5,500. He was an acting father to his niece and nephew who he loved so much, the page said. He loved his fiance and and was a devoted son to his mother and father. Dylan would have been 25 years old in March. He was a happy soul and wonderful person in life. My brother was our baby. He was taken too early from us. Story continues Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, offered condolences on Twitter. Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange county, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team, she wrote. Our hearts are also with the other shooting victims today, their families, and the entire community. Too many lives are being ripped apart by gun violence. At least 67 journalists were killed around the world in 2022, according to the Committee to Project Journalists. One was Jeff German, an investigative reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal who was stabbed outside his home. Keith Melvin Moses, 19, was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the shootings - Orange County Sheriff's Office/Handout via REUTERS A man suspected of killing a woman on Wednesday in Florida returned to the scene of the crime hours later and gunned down a television reporter and a nine-year-old girl, authorities said. Orange County Sheriff John Mina said that a 19-year-old man, Keith Melvin Moses, had been taken into custody and was believed responsible for the shootings. The attacks occurred in Pine Hills, a suburb west of Orlando in central Florida. A 20-year-old woman was slain there at around 11am, the sheriff's department said Wednesday. A team from Spectrum News 13 arrived hours later to cover the murder, Mr Mina said at an evening news conference. Shortly after 4pm, Mr Moses arrived and opened fire on a Spectrum camera operator and a reporter as they stood near their vehicle, killing the reporter and wounding the camera operator, the sheriff added. The gunman then entered a nearby home and shot a woman and her nine-year-old daughter. The victims were all taken to the hospital, but the girl and the Spectrum News 13 reporter died, Mr Mina said. John Mina, the sheriff for Orange County, said officers do not have a motive for the shootings - AP "We have detained the person believed to be responsible for the murder this morning, as well as the shootings this afternoon," Mr Mina said. He added that the suspect had a "lengthy criminal history" that included "gun charges, aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft charges." The detainee, who knew the woman killed in the morning, had no ties to the other victims, the sheriff said. None of those shot were immediately identified. Mr Mina said the suspect was armed with a pistol when taken into custody and has a lengthy criminal record that included arrests on charges of firearms offences, aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft. According to the sheriff, no motive had been determined for any of Wednesday's shootings, but Mr Moses was believed to have been an acquaintance of the first victim, who was shot while sitting in a car with the suspected gunman and another person. Story continues The sheriff said he did not know whether the two newsmen were targeted because they were journalists, adding that their automobile lacked the logos and markings typically seen on a news vehicle. They were in or near their vehicle when shot. "As far as we know, he had no connection to the reporters and no connection to the mother or the 9-year old, and we dont know why he entered their home," the sheriff said. He said both the mother and the surviving cameraman were in hospital in critical condition. "This is another tragic reminder that journalism is a dangerous business and that criminals and those that are the subject of reporting can become violent toward reporters who are doing their jobs," said the National Press Club. The organisation urged all reporters in the field to take extra precautions and redouble efforts to work safely. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre posted a message of condolence on Twitter. "Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team," she said. A central Florida television journalist and a little girl were fatally shot Wednesday afternoon near the scene of a fatal shooting from earlier in the day, authorities said. Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a news conference that theyve detained Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who they believe is responsible for both shootings in the Orlando-area neighborhood. Besides the Spectrum News 13 journalist and the 9-year-old girl, a TV crewmember and the girls mother were wounded during the second shooting. They were in critical condition at a local hospital. I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners, Mina told a room full of reporters. I work closely with all of you and know many of you and know the very difficult job that you do and also the very important job that you do for our community and for law enforcement. No one in our community not a mother, not a 9-year-old and certainly not news professionals should become the victim of gun violence in our community. Mina said they dont immediately have a motive for any of the shootings. So, the suspect is not saying much right now, Mina said. It is unclear if he knew they were news media or not. Were still trying to work all that out. Mina said the News 13 vehicle did not look like a typical news van with TV station markings. Deputies had initially responded to the Pine Hills area, just northwest of Orlando, on Wednesday morning following reports of a woman in her 20s being shot. Moses was an acquaintance of the woman this morning, but as far as we know, had no connection to the reporters and no connection to the mother and the 9-year-old, Mina said. According to witnesses, a man approached the news vehicle later Wednesday and opened fire, hitting the two reporters. The man then walked to a nearby home and shot the mother and daughter. WFTV crews, who were also reporting on the morning shooting, tried to give medical aid to the Spectrum 13 journalists. Story continues Mina said Moses is already facing a murder charge for the initial victim, and charges are expected soon for the other four victims. Moses criminal history includes gun charges, as well as aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft offenses, the sheriff said. Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Twitter. Spectrum News 13 was not identifying the crew members who were involved in the shooting, according to a story on the TV stations website. Please, please, say a prayer tonight for our co-worker who is in critical condition. And while youre at it, please say a prayer for every victim of gun violence in this country, Spectrum 13 journalist Celeste Springer said during her live on-air report. Worldwide 40 journalists were reported killed last year, plus another two this year before Wednesday, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Only one of those was in the United States. Jeff German, who covered politics and corruption for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, was found dead outside of his home in September after being stabbed multiple times. Former Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles, who had been a frequent subject of Germans reporting, has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge. In 2015, Virginia reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were shot and killed during their live TV broadcast for CBS affiliate WDBJ7. The suspect, a former reporter for the TV station, died by suicide during the law enforcement search for him. Florida carried out its first execution since 2019 when convicted murderer Donald David Dillbeck was put to death Thursday. It was the first execution in Florida since Gary Ray Bowles was put to death by lethal injection in August 2019 for a murder in Jacksonville. And it was Florida's 100th execution since 1976 when the death penalty was reinstated. Dillbeck didnt mince words in the minutes before the state executed him. I know I hurt people when I was young. I really messed up, Dillbeck, 59, said, strapped to a gurney in the Florida State Prison death chamber. But I know (Florida Gov.) Ron DeSantis has done a lot worse. Hes taken a lot from a lot of people. I speak for all men, women and children. Hes put his foot on our necks. Then, at 6:02 p.m., Florida Department of Corrections workers began to administer the first of three drugs to sedate him, paralyze him and stop his heart. He was pronounced dead 11 minutes later, at 6:13 p.m. Gannett - Florida Network reporter Kathryn Varn covered Dillbeck's execution. Her detailed story can be found here. Three journalists who covered Florida executions explain how they felt Three South Florida journalists who covered four executions in Florida wrote first-person accounts of their experiences for The Palm Beach Post. Here are their stories. Watching Aileen "Monster" Wuornos and UF coed killer Danny Rollin put to death Michael Mayo covered the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in 2002 and Gainesville coed killer Danny Rolling in 2006 for the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel. Mike remembers Rolling singing to the Lord. He recalled Wuornos, played by actress Charlize Theron in the movie Monster, vowed she would return from the dead. "I'll be back," she said. To read that story, go here (for subscribers) "I was just numb," after watching the execution of William Van Poyck Jane Musgrave, then with The Palm Beach Post, witnessed the execution of William Van Poyck in 2013. Poyck was sentenced to die for the 1987 murder of a Glades prison guard. As Jane described it, after Poyck was put to death, "the world didn't seem safer. I was just numb." To read that story, go here (for subscribers). Story continues William Van Poyck after his arrest in 1987. Flames erupted from Jesse Tafero after being put to death in electric chair Larry Keller, then with the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, witnessed cop-killer Jesse Tafero put to death in the electric chair in 1990. Tafero killed Florida trooper Phillip A. Black and his friend, Donald Robert Irwin. Tafero's was a botched execution as flames shot up from his head. To read that story, go here (for subscribers). Florida's 100th execution since 1976:Strapped to a gurney, death row inmate Donald Dillbeck saves his last words for DeSantis Jesse Tafero More:Florida history: A brief review of Floridas death row More:Nikolas Cruz would have been the youngest, most destructive inmate on Florida's death row More:'Burn in hell': Survivors, parents confront gunman during Nikolas Cruz sentencing hearing Donald David Dillbeck raises his eyebrows toward his lawyer just after being sentenced to death. Dillbeck got life for a fatal shooting, but escaped and killed another person, in Tallahassee Dillbeck, now 59, was initially sentenced to life in prison in the 1979 shooting death of Lee County sheriffs Deputy Dwight Lynn Hall when Dillbeck was 15. But in 1990, he walked away from a catering function in Quincy where he and other inmates were working. Dillbeck went to Tallahassee, got a knife and tried to carjack a vehicle, according to court documents. Faye Vann, who was sitting in the car, resisted and was fatally stabbed, with Dillbeck then arrested after crashing the car. He was convicted in 1991 of first-degree murder, armed robbery and armed burglary, Department of Corrections records show. The News Service of Florida contributed to this report. More:As Florida execution looms, Gov. DeSantis wants to make it easier to send people to death row This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Convicted killer Donald David Dillbeck was executed in Florida TALLAHASSEE, Fla. The Florida Department of Healths inspector general last fall investigated Joseph Ladapo, the states surgeon general, after the agency received an anonymous complaint alleging he falsified a report focusing on the safety of Covid-19 vaccines for young men. Among other things, the complainant alleged Ladapo committed scientific fraud and manipulated data in a report that Ladapo later used to claim that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines could increase the risk of cardiac death among young men, according to the complaint. Both brands use mRNA technology, which Ladapo contends was rushed to the market by the urgency of the pandemic without the proper testing. The analysis performed in DOH did not find this, the individual wrote without providing evidence, according to the complaint. He manipulated the final draft of the analysis. Ladapos report was used as evidence in vaccine guidance he released in October that came under heavy criticism from the medical community, which said the surgeon generals stance that the vaccine posed a health risk in healthy young men was flawed and went against Covid-vaccine recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics. The guidance even prompted Twitter to temporarily block a social media post from the surgeon general promoting the analysis, though the company later restored it. The inspector generals office opened the investigation in November after it received the complaint and later closed it at an undisclosed date after the complainant didnt respond to follow-up questions regarding the accusations, according to state documents that include a copy of the original complaint. Nothing is known about the complainant, and anyone can submit a grievance with the Department of Healths inspector general. But the individual appeared to have detailed knowledge of state health agencies, according to the documents the Florida Department of Health provided to POLITICO. Story continues Ladapo on Wednesday called the accusations against him untrue and said the report in question was completed by a team of staffers at the Florida Department of Health. Its factually false, Ladapo said in an interview with POLITICO. I trust the team they used our Florida data, they performed the analysis, and were an accredited public health organization. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis hand-picked Ladapo, a Harvard-educated medical doctor, to be his top health official in 2021. Ladapo has long questioned the safety of Covid-19 vaccines and at one point joined a petition to urge the FDA against quickly authorizing the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Ladapo found a national audience early in the pandemic by writing opinion pieces in The Wall Street Journal and USA Today that criticized community lockdowns and the use of facemasks. The November complaint against Ladapo asked the inspector general to speak with employees at the state Department of Health Communicable Disease Division, who helped write earlier drafts of the report that was eventually released. Emails were kept to a minimum, the complainant wrote, and notes were hand-delivered. You may not find these documents by email, as they get transmitted by hand, the complainant stated, according to state documents. But they have been seen by several individuals. Lots of people know about this, the individual stated. Ladapo, however, stood by his Covid guidance and defended his stance on vaccines. Between my scientific experience, and training and the fact that I am only comfortable saying the truth and speaking the truth, I felt completely fine with that announcement, Ladapo said. Thats what the data show. Ladapo said experts who have rejected his ideas are unwilling to face what he called honesty in modern medical care. It really strains credulity to try and write this off as being anything but related to the safety of these mRNA Covid vaccines, Ladapo said. I think people should know that its OK to believe what their eyes are showing them. A woman receives an influenza vaccine A medical worker gives an elderly woman an influenza vaccine in the Netherlands on Oct. 27, 2020. Credit - Niels Wenstedt/BSR AgencyGetty Images The influenza vaccine has worked fairly well this season, preventing serious flu cases and hospitalizations across age groups, according to preliminary data released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Flu shot efficacy varies from year to year, since different strains of the virus circulate each flu season. Experts do their best to tailor the shots to the strains expected to spread, but its not always a perfect fit. In some years, flu shot efficacy doesnt break 30%. So far, however, this seasons flu shots have been 71% effective at preventing symptomatic illness among children and 54% effective at preventing cases resulting in medical care among people younger than 65, according to a CDC report published Feb. 23 and based on data from Wisconsin. While those data are state-specific and based on a fairly small patient sample, the report notes that influenza strains circulating in Wisconsin tracked with those seen nationally. Read More: COVID-19 Rebound Can Happen Even Without Paxlovid The numbers also align with several preliminary national estimates released by the CDC on Feb. 22. Those datadrawn from three different flu-monitoring networks, which include research sites across the countrysuggest this seasons shots have been roughly 50% and 70% effective at preventing influenza-related hospitalizations among adults younger than 65 and kids, respectively. Protection has been a bit lower among older adults and people who are immunocompromised, but still around 40% by some of the estimates. The current influenza season started early, with cases beginning to tick up in October and peaking in December. According to the CDC, this seasons circulating strains were a good match for those included in the annual flu shot, contributing to relatively high vaccine efficacy. As with COVID-19 vaccines, flu shots dont entirely prevent people from getting sick with influenza. But, compared to those who are unvaccinated, vaccinated people who get infected typically experience milder symptoms and have lower risks of developing cases that require medical care or hospitalizationwhich is why public-health officials recommend annual flu shots for almost everyone in the U.S., regardless of exactly how well that seasons shot goes on to work. Kroger is hoping food courts in the grocery stores will attract more business. Its Mix Food Hall concept arrived at stores in Carmel and Fishers this week with national restaurant brands on the menu, including Firehouse Subs selling hot sandwiches; Nathans Famous, known for hotdogs; Nekter Juice Bar selling smoothies and acai bowls; Saladworks with its greens and paninis; and Wow Bao offering boa, pot stickers, dumplings and rice bowls. The food counters are at 1217 S. Rangeline Road, in Carmel, and 9799 E. 116th St., in Fishers, and are run by California-based ghost kitchen operator Kitchen United. Folks can shop across multiple brands in one bill and order ahead for pickup. They also have the option to dine with seating near the deli sections. The Mix Food Hall at Kroger at 9799 E. 116th St., in Fishers, allows customers to order across multiple restaurant brands in a single order. While these are Kitchen United's first operations in Indiana, it also runs 15 kitchens in Arizona, California, Illinois, New York, Texas and Ohio, where it has setups in three Krogers. The Mix Food Halls are designed to appeal to area residents and workers who want to pop in for quick meals, as well as those who want to pre-order meals while on grocery shopping trips. This new partnership with Kitchen United is extremely exciting because it combines the comfort of the traditional grocery store experience with the convenience of also offering a restaurant-quality meal ready for dinner that night, Colleen Juergensen, president of Kroger Central Division, said in a statement announcing the openings. Both the Carmel and Fishers stores, along with one in Dublin, Ohio, had tested the waters with similar setups through Krogers partnership with Indianapolis-based ClusterTruck, a ghost kitchen concept that delivers food at no charge. ClusterTruck operated pickup and delivery, from the Krogers, allowing the grocers customers to order from its menu of sandwiches, pastas, wings, pad Thai, tacos and salmon. But that partnership dissolved in 2022, as ClusterTruck wanted to focus on delivery, not the in-store order service that Kroger desired, ClusterTruck co-founder and CEO Chris Baggott told IndyStar. Story continues At the time, Cincinnati, Ohio-headquartered Kroger said the partnership fit with the stores ramping-up of prepared fresh foods, digital ordering, pick-up and delivery. ClusterTruck still offers traditional delivery from its kitchens in downtown Indianapolis, Broad Ripple and Castleton; Columbus, Ohio and Kansas City, Missouri. The Carmel and Fishers Mix Food Hall locations are open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Diners can order at on-site digital kiosks or online at MixFoodHall.com. Delivery will be offered via Uber Eats, Grubhub, and DoorDash. 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: Food hall concept replaces ClusterTruck at Hamilton County Krogers The procession for slain Chicago police Officer Ella French travels along West 77th Street after her funeral Mass on Aug. 19, 2021. (Vashon Jordan Jr. / Chicago Tribune) A man who is facing weapons charges and other felonies in connection with the on-duty killing of Chicago police Officer Ella French in August 2021 is asking a judge to release him on bail while he awaits trial, arguing that ordering him held without bond is excessive in light of his charges. Eric Morgan, 24, is charged with 11 felonies, including gun charges and a count of obstruction of justice, but he is not charged with murder or accused of firing the shots that killed French and injured her partner. His brother, Emonte Morgan, is facing charges of first-degree murder and other felonies. Advertisement Mourners attend a prayer service for Chicago police Officer Ella French on Sept. 3, 2021. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) French, 29, was shot and killed during a traffic stop in the West Englewood neighborhood while Carlos Yanez Jr. was seriously injured, and needed to use a wheelchair after the attack. A judge initially held both brothers without bail. Eric Morgans petition before Cook County Judge Ursula Walowski asks her to set a reasonable bond, arguing that he cant afford an exorbitant bail. Advertisement The petition, filed Thursday by Morgans attorney Roger Brown, argues that Eric Morgan is only 24 and doesnt have a history of violating bail. Prosecutors have alleged that Emonte Morgan fired multiple shots at the officers after French and two fellow officers stopped a gray SUV driven by Eric Morgan near West 63rd Street and South Bell Avenue on Aug. 7, 2021. Emonte Morgan was also shot during the confrontation. French and her two fellow officers pulled over the SUV for expired plates, while Eric Morgan was driving his brother and a female passenger, prosecutors have said. Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy > Eric Morgan handed over the keys when asked, prosecutors said at the 2021 bail hearing, but Emonte Morgan refused to put down a drink and a cellphone he was holding, leading to a scuffle. Eric Morgan ran away, while Emonte Morgan fired shots at the officers during the scuffle, prosecutors alleged. French and her partner fell to the ground between the car and the curb, prosecutors said, with both their guns still holstered. The third officer had been chasing Eric Morgan. Chicago police work the scene where Officers Ella French and Carlos Yanez Jr. were shot near West 63rd Street and South Bell Avenue in Chicago on Aug. 7, 2021. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune) The third officer returned and was fired upon by Emonte Morgan, prosecutors said. He returned fire and hit Morgan. Walowski will hear arguments on the bail matter on April 24. Advertisement Attorneys for Emonte Morgan will also argue a motion on the same day that alleges police made an illegal arrest and asks the judge to suppress evidence stemming from it. mabuckley@chicagotribune.com Many people have reported seeing empty fruit and vegetable shelves across the country. (PA) The government has been accused of "turning a blind eye" to the food shortages impacting supermarkets across the UK. In recent days several supermarket chains including Tesco and Morrisons have restricted the sale of tomatoes, cucumbers and some other fruit and vegetables. Speaking in the House of Commons on Thursday, Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse said: "The government seems content in turning a blind eye to the urgency of the issue altogether." She joined her party in calls for a Cobra [the government's civil contingencies committee] meeting on the issue. Liberal Democrat spokesperson Christine Jardine said: "People are rightly alarmed about the chronic shortage of fruit and vegetables in our shops, but it seems the government has no urgent plan to fix it. "This government has created chaos in the economy, an NHS on its knees, now theyre responsible for worsening food shortages through their failure to back British farming. Read more: Food shortages: Fruit and veg industry 'hurt horribly by Brexit', ex-supermarket chief warns Food shortages present a grave national emergency, but the Secretary of State does not recognise it. In fact, the Government seems content in turning a blind eye to the urgency of the issue altogether. How to dodge a question 101 by Therese Coffey. pic.twitter.com/48G3iFIeW9 Wera Hobhouse MP (@Wera_Hobhouse) February 23, 2023 "We need an urgent Cobra meeting, together with food experts, supermarkets and farmers, to hammer out an urgent solution to this crisis." Environment secretary Therese Coffey defended the government in the Commons, and said she had been informed by industry experts that it was a temporary issue that should be resolved in two to four weeks. Coffey blamed the unseasonal weather in Spain and north Africa, where much of Europe's tomatoes are grown over winter, for the crisis. Story continues Responding to an urgent question, Coffey said: "I am led to believe by my officials, after discussion with industry and retailers, we anticipate the situation will last about another two to four weeks." Empty tomato trays at a Tesco Express. (PA) Coffey said other European countries had been facing similar issues, but MPs in the Commons contested this. SNP MP Amy Callaghan said: "There are no reported shortages of food in France, Germany and other European net-food importers. "Isnt this a problem created by inward-looking little England, and this British government?" Coexphal, an association of Spanish fruit and vegetable companies, told the Guardian tomato production was down 22% year on year, with cucumber production down 21%. Therese Coffey said on Thursday she believed the food shortages would be a temporary issue. (PA) They said a recent cold snap, along with higher production costs and viruses had impacted production. But other farmers have said they have not seen a decline in production and said the UK's issues were more to do with logistics and transport than a lack of supply. A representative of another Spanish farming association, Asaja, told the paper: "Things are normal so far this season so I dont know if its more a problem of UK logistics since the Brexit regulations came into effect. "Theres enough produce to supply the market and the vegetable season is happening pretty normally. Some analysts based in the UK have pointed to Brexit as the problem, with images shared on social media showing supermarkets on the content full of fresh produce. The BBC reported that Ireland, which is in the EU, is also having problems. Ariana DeBose on stage during the BAFTA Film Awards 2023. Kate Green/BAFTA/Getty Images for BAFTA A video of Ariana DeBose rehearsing her BAFTAs rap has been shared on TikTok by Benjamin Rauhala. Rauhala helped DeBose create the BAFTAs performance that went viral on social media this week. Rauhala captioned the post: "Thank you for the love, and the hilarious memes." A Broadway music director has shared behind-the-scene videos of Ariana DeBose rehearsing her BAFTAs performance on social media, and it's even better than the actual performance. On Sunday, DeBose took to the stage at the British film awards ceremony to celebrate all the women who had been nominated that evening. At one point, the Oscar-winning actor performed a rap naming the likes of Cate Blanchett and Viola Davis, and declared that "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" star Angela Bassett "did the thing." The performance instantly went viral on Twitter, with people poking fun at the rap and turning it into a meme, especially the line about Bassett. Music director Benjamin Rauhala, who helped DeBose create the song, shared a video on TikTok Wednesday showing DeBose practicing the rap and her dance moves backstage at Sunday's awards. The text in the video reads: "Backstage with Ariana getting ready to... do the thing. It was an honor to give love to all of these iconic women and to get the party started! We are giggling at everyone who has our campy little number stuck in their head! Thank you for the love, and the hilarious memes. We had the BEST time putting this together for our friends at the BAFTAs. What a moment! She did the thing." Earlier this week, Nick Bullen, who produced the 2023 BAFTAs, told Variety that he thought the social media response to DeBose's performance was "incredibly unfair, to be frank." "We wanted to open the show with some energy, some fun, and also lay out straight away that this was hopefully going to feel like a different night, but with a familiarity as well, and what Ariana did was exactly that," Bullen said. "Everybody I've spoken to who was in the room absolutely loved it. She's a huge star, she was amazing." Read the original article on Insider PHOENIX (AP) Arizona's former attorney general suppressed findings by his investigators who concluded there was no basis for allegations that the 2020 election was marred by widespread fraud, according to documents released Wednesday by his successor. Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes, who took office last month, said the records show the 2020 election was conducted fairly and accurately by election officials. Previous Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, never released a March 2022 summary of investigative findings, which ruled out most of the fraud claims spread by allies and supporters of former President Donald Trump. Yet a month later, he released an interim report" that claimed his investigation revealed serious vulnerabilities that must be addressed and raises questions about the 2020 election in Arizona." He released his April report despite pushback from his investigators who said some of its claims were refuted by their probe. Brnovich was at the time in the midst of a Republican Party primary for U.S. Senate and facing fierce criticism from Trump, who claimed he wasn't doing enough to prosecute election fraud. Brnovich, whose primary bid was unsuccessful, also did not release a September memo that systematically refuted a bevy of election conspiracies that have taken root on the right, including allegations of dead or duplicate voters, pre-marked ballots flown in from Asia, election servers connected to the internet and even manipulation by satellites controlled by the Italian military. In each instance and in each matter, the aforementioned parties did not provide any evidence to support their allegations, the September memo read. The information that was provided was speculative in many instances and when investigated by our agents and support staff, was found to be inaccurate. The September memo, which was among the documents released Wednesday, describes an all-encompassing probe that became the top priority for the attorney general's investigators, who spent more than 10,000 hours looking into 638 complaints. They opened 430 investigations and referred 22 cases for prosecution. President Joe Biden won Arizona by a little over 10,000 votes. Story continues Mayes said the fraud claims were a waste. The ten thousand plus hours spent diligently investigating every conspiracy theory under the sun distracted this office from its core mission of protecting the people of Arizona from real crime and fraud," Mayes said in a statement. Attempts to reach Brnovich for comment were unsuccessful. Brnovich's interim report claimed that election officials worked too quickly in verifying voter signatures and pointed to a drop in the number of ballots with rejected signatures between 2016 and 2018 and again in 2020. He also claimed that Maricopa County was slow in responding to requests for information. He made those claims even after investigators who reviewed a draft pushed back, publishing his report largely unchanged following their feedback. The investigative staff concluded that the county recorder's office followed its policy/procedures as they relate to signature verification; we did not uncover any criminality or fraud having been committed in this area during the 2020 general election," investigators wrote. They also said they found the county was cooperative and responsive to our requests. Arizona became the epicenter of efforts by Trump allies to cast doubt on Biden's victory. Republican leaders of the state Senate subpoenaed election records and equipment and hired a Florida firm led by a Trump supporter, Cyber Ninjas Inc., to conduct an unprecedented review of the election in Maricopa County. The Cyber Ninjas review gave Biden more votes than the official count but claimed that their work raised serious questions about the conduct of the election in Maricopa County, home to metro Phoenix and the majority of Arizona's voters. The investigation by the attorney general's office found the allegations did not stand up to scrutiny. Our comprehensive review of CNIs audit showed they did not provide any evidence to support their allegations of widespread fraud or ballot manipulation, Brnovich's investigators wrote. Thursday's release is the latest confirmation that there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election and that Biden won the presidency legitimately. Trump continues to repeat his lie that the election was stolen from him as he mounts his third bid for the White House, despite reviews and audits saying otherwise in the battleground states he contested and his own administration officials debunking his claims. Officials in Maricopa County, where nearly all the officials overseeing elections are Republicans, say they endured death threats and verbal abuse due to the suggestions of malfeasance in the Cyber Ninjas review and Brnovich's interim report." This was a gross misuse of his elected office and an appalling waste of taxpayer dollars, as well as a waste of the time and effort of professional investigators, Clint Hickman, the Republican chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors said in a statement. Brnovich's investigators did conclude that Maricopa County officials did not uniformly follow state election procedures when filling out forms to document the pickup and transport of mail ballots. But they said the errors were procedural and that investigators did not find anything that would (have) compromised the integrity of the ballots or the final ballot count. Investigators interviewed two Republican state lawmakers who publicly claimed they knew of fraud in the election, but wrote that neither Rep. Mark Finchem nor Sen. Sonny Borrelli repeated their claims to investigators when they could have been subject to criminal charges for false reporting to law enforcement. The investigators said a third lawmaker, Republican state Sen. Wendy Rogers, declined to speak with them. Disbarred South Carolina attorney Richard "Alex" Murdaugh denied killing his wife and son but admitted to lying to investigators Thursday as he testified in his own defense in his double murder trial. Murdaugh, 54, is charged with murder in connection with the 2021 shootings of 52-year-old Maggie Murdaugh and 22-year-old Paul Murdaugh. He has pleaded not guilty. At the outset of his testimony, Murdaugh vehemently denied shooting Maggie and Paul on June 7, 2021, at the family's property in Colleton County. "I didn't shoot my wife or my son anytime, ever," he said under questioning by his defense team. "I would never intentionally do anything to hurt either one of them. Ever. Ever." On Wednesday, defense attorney Jim Griffin asked Judge Clifton Newman if Murdaugh would be able to use his Fifth Amendment protection against incriminating himself in the nearly 100 other financial crimes he is accused of, including stealing from clients, money laundering, tax evasion and insurance fraud. Newman said prosecutors generally get wide latitude in cross examination. The South Carolina Attorney General's Office is seeking life in prison if Murdaugh is convicted. Murdaugh admits to lying to investigators Murdaugh admitted that his voice could be heard on a cellphone video taken at the kennels where Maggie and Paul were killed about five minutes before the shootings and that he repeatedly lied to South Carolina Law Enforcement Division investigators about that last time he saw his wife and son, whom he referred to by nicknames "Mags" and Pau-Pau" on the stand. Murdaugh, appearing at times emotional and at a loss for words, told defense attorney Jim Griffin that he lied to agents about his whereabouts the night of the murders because of his distrust for the agency and paranoia induced by drug addiction. Murdaugh was treated after the murders for oxycodone dependence. "I did lie to them," he said. "I don't think I was capable of reason and I lied about being down there and I'm so sorry that I did." Story continues Murdaugh testifies about the day of the murders Murdaugh recounted the day of the killings, saying he met with Paul after work to spend time together on their property. He addressed a Snapchat video taken by his son that shows Murdaugh wearing different clothes from those in which he was later seen by responding officers. Murdaugh said he showered and changed clothes after getting sweaty from moving around the property and taking drugs. After spending time with the family's dogs in the kennels, Murdaugh said, he went to visit his ailing mother. Murdaugh said stopped briefly in her driveway before driving home and denied using that time to dispose of a murder weapon or bloody clothes. Murdaugh broke down as he recounted discovering the bodies of his wife and son. He testified that he called 911 as he tried to "tend" to Maggie and Paul. "Paul was so he was so bad," Murdaugh said. "I know I tried to check him for a pulse. I know I tried to turn him over." Murdaugh said he could not remember exactly where he touched his wife's body. Witnesses who saw Murdaugh in the minutes and hours after the shooting said they didnt see any blood on him. Murdaugh testified that he did get blood on him after touching the bodies, but said "there's no way I had high velocity blood splatter on me." "I was nowhere near Paul and Maggie when they got shot," he said. Murdaugh explains his actions, comments in the aftermath of the murders Griffin played the 911 call Murdaugh made after finding the bodies, and Murdaugh explained what he was doing while talking to the dispatcher. Murdaugh repeatedly said he didn't know why he went back to the main house get a gun and ammunition then indicated he thought the killer might be at large. "I didn't know if somebody was still out there," he said. Murdaugh could be heard on the 911 call saying "I should have known." He explained the family disregarded a number of "vile" threats against Paul related to a deadly 2019 boating accident in which he was implicated because they were "so over the top." Murdaugh also offered an explanation for suspicious phone activity presented by the prosecution that showed he searched for a restaurant and called a wedding photographer in the moments after the murder. In the rush to call family members, Murdaugh said they must have been an accident. Murdaugh denied taking a blue tarp or raincoat to his parent's home during that time in the days after the murders. The family's caregiver Mushelle Smith previously testified that roughly a week after the killings, she observed Murdaugh carrying a blue, vinyl object into his mothers home. SLED Investigators later seized a blue tarp and blue raincoat from that home and the raincoat had significant amounts of gunshot primer residue inside and out. "Never seen it before, never touched it, and don't know anything about it," Murdaugh said. Murdaugh admits to stealing money, orchestrating assisted suicide plot Prosecutors allege Murdaugh killed his wife and son to gain sympathy and buy time to cover up his financial crimes that were about to be discovered. Murdaugh admitted to stealing client's funds, but testified that a confrontation with the former CFO of his law firm about his theft the day of the murders "wasn't a very big concern." "Did you believe that your financial house of cards was about to crumble on June 7?" Griffin asked. "Absolutely not," Murdaugh said. Murdaugh said he's "not quite sure" how he got into this financial situation but said he was "spending so much money on pills." He described how his addiction to opioids began after a knee injury and a series of surgeries and tried multiple times to kick the habit. Murdaugh said he has been sober for 535 days and is very proud of that. Before entering detox September 2021, Murdaugh said he asked a friend, Curtis Edward Smith, to kill him. Police said Murdaugh arranged the botched shooting so his surviving son would get a multimillion dollar life insurance payment. But Murdaugh testified that Maggie was the beneficiary for his policy and he "meant for him to shoot me so I'd be gone." When asked about his wife, Murdaugh lovingly described her as a wonderful woman whose laugh would light up a room and insisted he would never hurt her. Murdaugh described his son Paul as a good man, who had been misrepresented in the media. Murdaugh faces tense cross examination Lead prosecutor Creighton Waters began his sometimes combative cross examination questioning Murdaugh about his family's legal legacy in South Carolina, his work as a lawyer and his relationship with law enforcement. For three generations, Murdaugh's family developed legal and political power as back-to-back solicitors of the 14th Judicial Circuit. Waters questioned Murdaugh about a photo of him wearing a badge at the hospital after the 2019 boat crash involving Paul that took the life of Mallory Beach. Murdaugh admitted he would put his badge in a visible place when talking with law enforcement but said he wasn't sure why he was visibly wearing the badge. He denied asking anyone not to cooperate with law enforcement during the investigation into the crash. When asked about his financial misconduct, Murdaugh said he's not sure when he began stealing money from his clients and appeared to grow frustrated as Waters questioned him about a case from 12 years ago. You have charged me with murdering my wife and my son and Ive sat here all these weeks listening to all this financial stuff that I did wrong that Im embarrassed by," he said. "I cannot specifically remember sitting down, the details you're asking me for." Waters repeatedly asked Murdaugh about other clients he stole money from, and Murdaugh insisted what did was wrong but he couldn't remember all the details. "Do you have any independent recollection of a time when you sat down and looked at a person in the eye and you are lying to them and convincing them that everything was okay and stole their money?" Waters asked. "I'm sure I did," Murdaugh replied. Cross-examination is expected to continue Friday. Contributing: Michael Dewitt, Jr., Greenville News; The Associated Press Contact Breaking News Reporter N'dea Yancey-Bragg at nyanceybra@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @NdeaYanceyBragg This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alex Murdaugh trial live updates: Murdaugh to testify in own defense (Bloomberg) -- France plans to clamp down harder on tax evasion and social security fraud, after recovering a record 14.6 billion ($15.5 billion) from fiscal irregularities last year, Budget Minister Gabriel Attal said Thursday. Most Read from Bloomberg The government collected 9 billion from companies in 2022, with the most egregious cases stemming from firms that underreported tax benefits or revenues, Attal said in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper. This is an urgent and major issue, and we want to go further, Attal said, speaking on Franceinfo radio Thursday. Tax evasion not only creates a shortage of public funds, its also discouraging to millions of French people who work every day and follow the rules. France recouped 790 million from social contributions fraud, which included illegal employment, and identified 316 million of fraud related to health care reimbursements. Attal also told Franceinfo radio that the government had investigated hundreds of pharmacies for potentially filing false reimbursement requests for antigen tests during the height of the pandemic. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Fresh off his reelection, supporters of South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster are setting up a nonprofit that organizers say will assist the Republican in promoting his legislative priorities over his final term in office. The McMaster Leadership Fund will support the governors legislative agenda through political and grassroots advocacy and engagement, according to information provided Thursday to The Associated Press. According to organizers, the 501c(4) nonprofit will focus at first on issues including economic development, education reform, public safety, tax cuts and preserving the cultural and environmental heritage of South Carolina" all issues for which McMaster has advocated as the state's chief executive. I am honored to continue to have the support of leaders who believe, as I do, that our best days lie ahead, McMaster told the AP. Working together, the founders of the McMaster Leadership Fund will ensure ... that the issues the people of South Carolina demonstrated in November that they care about are the issues all of us remain focused on in Columbia. McMaster, 75, defeated Democrat Joe Cunningham in November, winning reelection by more than 17 percentage points the largest margin of victory a South Carolina gubernatorial election has seen in over three decades. Democrats last won the states top office in 1998 and have held no statewide elected offices since 2010. Having finished the two remaining years of Nikki Haleys second term following her appointment as U.N. ambassador and winning election to two four-year terms, McMaster is on track to be South Carolinas longest-serving governor. Previous governors have set up similar entities in the interest of advocating for their core issues. In 2006, as then-Gov. Mark Sanford angled for a potential future presidential bid, his supporters formed ReformSC, which was aimed at working toward government accountability and restructuring. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush headlined several fundraisers for the group in 2007, raising about $200,000. Story continues The McMaster Leadership Fund counts among its founding board members some of the governor's top supporters. It's chaired by Bill Stern, a Columbia real estate developer who organized both of McMaster's inaugural ceremonies, as well as Sanford's second inaugural, in 2007. As the governor reminds us, South Carolina is on the cusp of a new era of unprecedented prosperity, Stern told AP, echoing McMaster's forward-looking messaging. All we have to do is build on the momentum he and Team South Carolina have generated. Other members include former AT&T president Pamela Lackey and Henry Swink, owner of McCall Farms. Longtime McMaster advisor and fundraiser Marisa Crawford is leading fundraising. ___ Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP Federal prosecutors accused FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried of making illegal political donations worth tens of millions of dollars to acquire influence in Washington, D.C., according to a new indictment unsealed on Thursday. The superseding indictment comprises four counts of fraud and eight conspiracy charges, along with new allegations about Bankman-Frieds extensive political donations. Prosecutors accused Bankman-Fried of making more than 300 illegal contributions in the names of two other FTX executives and using FTX customer funds and assets from Alameda Research, Bankman-Frieds hedge fund, to fund the donations. Prosecutors previously charged Bankman-Fried on counts related to his political donations, but Thursdays filing adds new detail to the operations of one the most prominent political donors in the last campaign cycle. Bankman-Fried caused substantial contributions to be made in support of candidates of both major political parties and across the political spectrum, the indictment states. [Bankman-Fried], however, did not want to be known as a left-leaning partisan, or to have his name publicly attached to Republican candidates. In those instances when he wanted to obscure his association with certain contributions, [Bankman-Fried] and others conspired to and did have those contributions made in the names of two other FTX officials, who were not named in the indictment. Bankman-Fried was arrested in December in the Bahamas, and he was later extradited to the United States to face charges in federal court. FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November as Bankman-Fried departed the company. Prosecutors have alleged that the collapse came after Bankman-Fried used funds from FTX customers for his own purposes to fund investments at Alameda, buy real estate and make political donations. Bankman-Frieds attorney declined to comment. In the new indictment, prosecutors alleged that Bankman-Fried made one of FTX executives the face of his left-leaning contributions, and that executive then became one of the largest Democratic donors in the midterm elections. Story continues At Bankman-Frieds direction, the executive donated to an unnamed super PAC that supported a congressional candidate and appeared to be affiliated with pro-LGBTQ issues, according to the indictment. Bankman-Fried allegedly told that FTX executive in general, you being the center left face of our spending will mean you giving to a lot of woke shit for transactional purposes, the indictment states. The executive allegedly expressed discomfort with making the contribution in his name, but agreed there was not anyone trusted at FTX [who was] bi/gay in a position to make the contribution to the LGBTQ super PAC. The indictment goes on to allege that the other FTX executive made contributions to Republican candidates at Bankman-Frieds direction because Bankman-Fried wanted to keep his contributions to Republicans dark. The money used to make these political donations originated from Alameda bank accounts, and included funds that had been deposited by FTX customers, prosecutors wrote in the filing. The new indictment is the latest legal blow to Bankman-Fried, who is already facing charges of wire fraud, securities fraud and commodity fraud. He pleaded not guilty to all charges against him in January and is awaiting trial. Two former FTX executivesformer Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison and FT co-founder Gary Wangpleaded guilty in December to charges involving their leadership of the massive cryptocurrency network. Updated at 11:48 a.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Mayor Gavin Newsom marries Erin Carder (left) and Kerri McCoy at City Hall in San Francisco, California, on Oct. 10, 2008. Mayor Gavin Newsom marries Erin Carder (left) and Kerri McCoy at City Hall in San Francisco, California, on Oct. 10, 2008. Nineteen years ago, then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom sanctioned same-sex marriages. As mayor of San Francisco both a city and a county he had the authority to perform marriages, though not same-sex ones. That didnt matter. We didnt have the formal authority, he once told me in an interview several years ago, but I felt we had a moral authority to challenge the law. Back then, same-sex marriage was illegal across the country except in Massachusetts. It would become legal in California that June. Newsoms move ignited legal challenges, ballot propositions and a national debate intended to settle the issue once and for all. Many criticized Newsom both for the marriages he sanctioned in San Francisco and for his brazen 2008 prediction that same-sex marriage was gonna happen, whether ya like it or not. His actions galvanized opponents and became an effective fear-mongering tic for Proposition 8, Californias anti-gay marriage initiative. But in the end, Newsom was right: same-sex marriage won, eventually becoming legal in all 50 states. And conservatives were wrong. Unlike Newsom, their spasmodic predictions never came to pass. Traditional marriage survived, and continues to thrive. Society didnt collapse into Roman Empire-like debauchery. No one started marrying farm animals. Sadly, no one ever tracks down the naysayers to ask why their fear-mongering predictions failed to materialize. But then, fear-mongering is often the last bastion for those with no facts to back up their claims. Consider the marriage arguments: Its unnatural. Its contrary to Gods will. Its about illicit sex, not committed relationships. The majority of Americans oppose such marriages. Sound familiar? They should. They were the arguments posited in 1948 when Andrea Perez, a Mexican American woman, and Sylvester Davis, an African American man, challenged Californias interracial marriage ban in the state Supreme Court. The arguments reappeared when miscegenation went to the U.S. Supreme Court 19 years later in Loving v. Virginia. Story continues In each case, the plaintiffs won, just as same-sex marriage eventually won. This pattern repeats throughout American history: Cultural shifts emerge that expand individual freedoms, conservatives vigorously and even violently oppose such changes, but their opposition ultimately fails. Their intemperate arguments prove wrong, their melodramatic fears are unwarranted, and their panic-laden predictions are downright laughable. The Virginia trial judge who upheld the 1958 conviction of Richard and Mildred Loving wrote that their interracial marriage, a violation of Virginia state law, was also a violation of Gods law. Almighty God created the races, he wrote, and he placed them on separate continents ... The fact that he separated the races shows that he did not intend for the races to mix. Talk about a facepalm moment. The arc of American history has always gravitated toward liberalism. Not in the political sense, but in the broader moral code that has always stood for expanding individual rights, social equity and equality under the law. Conservatives fought the legalization of same-sex marriage much as they did interracial marriage, as seen in the legal battles of Mildred and Richard Loving, above. Conservatives fought the legalization of same-sex marriage much as they did interracial marriage, as seen in the legal battles of Mildred and Richard Loving, above. Pick the conflict. Abolition, suffrage, desegregation, immigrant hoards from Europe reviled by nativists, workers rights, womens rights, equal rights, interracial marriage and gay marriage. The walls to all of them have crumbled over time or will completely crumble in due time. GOP pollster Jan van Lohuizen perfectly illustrated the futility of conservative resistance with a prescient warning to Republicans in a 2012 memo: Evolve on same-sex marriage or risk marginalizing into irrelevance. Its a lesson conservatives seem unwilling to learn, let alone admit, despite how many times it has happened. They defended the institution of slavery, ignited a Civil War, opposed Reconstruction, founded the Ku Klux Klan, imposed segregation and Jim Crow laws, and assailed the advancement of civil rights in the 1950s and 60s. This needs some clarification. Youll often hear todays Republicans and conservatives claim it was the Democratic Party advocating such policies and practices. That is correct. Democrats of the 19th century did indeed defend slavery, secession, the Civil War and so forth. But what todays Republicans, conservativepundits, and even some historians fail to point out is that the Democrats of that period were the conservatives of the day. So dont be fooled by titles. Their label mightve said Democrats, but their political ideology was conservative, and those conservatives were on the wrong side of history. By contrast, the Republicans of the Civil War era were the liberals of their day, which explains why they opposed slavery and segregation and supported Reconstruction. They wrote, passed, and ratified the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments that abolished slavery, granted black men citizenship, and gave them the right to vote. Liberals did that. They just happened to be called Republicans at the time. Conservatives did not do that. They just happened to be called Democrats back then. The Southern Manifesto of 1956 was a full-throated outburst against the civil rights legislation of the 1950s and 60s. Over 100 members of Congress, all from states that had once comprised the Confederacy, signed the document. All save one were Democrats, but all were ideological conservatives and, as you might have guessed, proponents of segregation. They lashed out at the Supreme Courts 1954 landmark decision Brown v. Board of Education, which declared that segregated schools were inherently unequal. The Manifesto attacked Brown as an abuse of judicial power and a violation of states rights. It called upon Southerners to exhaust all lawful means to resist the chaos and confusion that school desegregation would cause. Sound familiar? Take out segregation and replace it with same-sex marriage, or today, gender identity, and the conservative pearl-clutching sounds exactly the same. Know what else is familiar? The conservatives lost. They might not have lost, however, if the legislation hadnt the backing of so-called Rockefeller Republicans. Those Republicans, which included figures like Dwight Eisenhower and George Romney (Mitt Romneys father), held moderate-to-liberal views on social policies. They supported a social safety net and FDRs New Deal programs (though they sought to run those programs more efficiently than Democrats). Again, what mattered was their ideology, not the name they went under. So, what happened to all those conservatives who called themselves Democrats? Salvation! When Barry Goldwater, the GOP presidential nominee in 1964, came out against the Civil Rights Act, Democratic segregationists realized the Republican Party could be their new home. A safe space, even. The Southern Strategy of Richard Nixon, which won him the presidency in 1968, moved the GOP immutably to the right. After Ronald Reagans presidential victory in 1980, there was no going back. The party continued down a path toward the divisive conservative extremism we see today. This is a salient point. Conservatism isnt the problem, but we no longer have conservatism. What we have now is conservative extremism. In the past, that visceral extremism would rear up against changes in social and cultural norms. Now, its 24/7 outrage. Like those faux celebrities famous for being famous, now its angry for being angry. It taints all forms of reasonable, relevant conservatism whose denizens now, sheepishly, shamelessly, show no backbone to stand up to the lunatic fringe. (Liz Cheney, a notable exception.) Any philosophy or ideology taken to an extreme simply is not useful, whether liberal or conservative. Society works best when the liberal drive toward progress needs to be tempered by conservative caution. Rather than obstinate and ultimately fractious opposition, its more like tapping the brakes. That conservatism is far different from the hateful intransigence of conservatives who have collapsed into apoplexy throughout Americas history of social and cultural paradigm shifts, and who now dominate the Republican Party. You can trace the thread from the Civil War through the civil rights movement to the explosion of the Tea Party reacting to Barack Obamas election as the nations first Black president. Each faux-outrage was an attack on egalitarianism in defense of privilege and hierarchy. Some have argued that conservative outbursts are a reaction to liberal passions moving too fast. Critics viewed Newsoms past actions as too much too soon, boldness in the worst sense of the liberal imperative for social change. Often, though, matters of equity have to be challenged in the courts or with civil disobedience to begin the long grind toward legal resolution. Think of the Black college students who sat at that Woolworth lunch counter, or Rosa Parks sitting in the front of a bus. They were breaking segregation laws and local ordinances. People could, and probably did, use the same argument: Why are these people pushing this on us? But Newsom was right, and we look back now, wondering what all the fuss was about while laughing at the ones who made all the fuss. Future generations will probably wonder the same thing when looking back at todays shrill, shrieking Republican hyperbolists, and the current convulsions over wokeness, transgender people and public school curriculum will be just another chapter of also-rans in the lens of history. The increasingly common experience of living in a world of previously marginalized and denigrated people eventually outweighed the fear-mongering, and will do so again and again. In such matters, familiarity breeds acceptance, not contempt, whether ya like it or not. And if you dont like it, history wont care. It will move along just fine without you. Protesters hold an 'End The Gender Pay Gap' banner during a demonstration in 2021. Photo: Vuk Valcic/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty A woman will work for free for nearly two months of the year compared to the average man in paid employment as the gender pay gap continues to lay bare the disparities in the work place. The pay gap means that working women must wait 54 days nearly eight weeks, or two months for Womens Pay Day, when they stop working for free, according to analysis published by the TUC. Womens Pay Day in 2023 is Thursday 23 February, the date when women start earning relative to men in the UK. The gender pay gap for all employees currently stands at 14.9%. But the gender pay gap is widest for older women, so they have to wait longer for their Womens Pay Day. Women aged between 50 and 59 have the highest pay gap at 20.8% and will work the equivalent of 76 days for free, until Thursday 16 March 2023. Read more: FTSE firms given diversity target of 40% women on boards Women aged 60 and over have a gender pay gap of 18.4%. They work 67 days of the year for free before they stop working for free on Wednesday 8 March 2023. TUC general secretary, Paul Nowak, said: Working women deserve equal pay. But at current rates of progress, it will take more than 20 years to close the gender pay gap. That's just not good enough. We cant consign yet another generation of women to pay inequality. Its clear that just publishing gender pay gaps isnt working. Companies must be required to publish action plans to explain what steps theyll take to close their pay gaps. And bosses who dont comply with the law should be fined. In some industries the pay gap is bigger, even in jobs that tend to be dominated by female workers like education and healthcare. In education the gender pay gap is 22.2%, so the average woman effectively works for free for more than a fifth of the year 81 days until Wednesday 22 March 2023. In health care and social work jobs, where the gender pay gap is 14%, the average woman works for free for 51 days until Monday 20 February 2023. Story continues The longest wait for Womens Pay Day comes in finance and insurance. The gender pay gap in this industry stands at 31.2% and is the equivalent of 114 days, meaning women work for free for nearly a third of the year until Sunday 23 April 2023. Read more: Best country to work in for women revealed Nowak added: The pandemic highlighted that we can do more to help women balance their caring responsibilities and work. Flexible working is key to keeping mums in jobs and is our best way of closing the gender pay gap. We should change the law so that all jobs are advertised with all the possible flexible options clearly stated. And all workers must have the legal right to work flexibly from their first day in a job. Regionally, the gender pay gap is largest in the South East of England at 17.9%. Women in this region work 65 days for free until Monday 6 March 2023. Women in the East of England, where the pay gap is 17.5%, and the East Midlands, with 16.6%, also work for free until next month, until Saturday 4 March and Wednesday 1 March respectively. Watch: Why do we still have a gender pay gap? Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. A $76.3 million investment will bring new and upgraded surveillance cameras to around 330 schools over the next three years, Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez announced Wednesday. Installed in indoor and outdoor locations, primarily at elementary schools, Martinez said the cameras will give security staff greater visibility across all areas of our campuses throughout the school day and prove valuable in deterring crime and resolving criminal acts that take place around our schools. Advertisement But while surveillance cameras do have their security benefits, they can contribute to adverse impacts on students, said Odis Johnson Jr., executive director of Johns Hopkins Universitys Center for Safe and Healthy Schools. An education and public health professor, Johnson and research partner Jason Jabbari analyzed U.S. Department of Education data from around 750 U.S. high schools to understand the effects of surveillance on students. They found students in high-surveillance schools are less likely to enroll and persist in college than their peers in schools with low levels of surveillance. Suspensions are also more likely to be doled out among highly surveilled students regardless of the frequency of student misbehavior at the school. Students at low-surveillance schools also perform better on tests, according to the research, which controlled for a range of demographic, economic, school, household and community characteristics. Advertisement Schools that were in the top third of all U.S. schools in their reliance on surveillance actually had lower academic outcomes in college-going rates compared to those schools that relied on surveillance the least, Johnson said in an interview with the Tribune. And this is after making sure that we were comparing apples to apples, that there werent any differences in the average student background characteristics, or the average school characteristics, or even the average neighborhood characteristics that kids come from. We wanted to take all of that into consideration to say: Comparing these two approaches to safety, this is what the cost is in terms of learning and college-going. And in regards to student privacy, both Johnson and Edwin Yohnka, director of communications and public policy for the Illinois American Civil Liberties Union said at a minimum, parents deserve transparency on details of the districts plans. Unlike other contracts in the CPS procurement database, the $76.3 million contract is not publicly navigable. In order to protect student and staff safety, CPS does not release the specific details of our school safety and security plans, a district spokesperson said, adding that CPS cameras do not have facial recognition or audio and do not collect biometric data, unlike school cameras that have sparked controversy in other states. The purchase of school cameras with facial recognition technology prompted new state legislation in New York, which placed a moratorium on the use of facial recognition software in schools, pending further study. Montana legislators also recently met with a school district which adopted the technology that civil rights experts say is prone to errors and biased against people of color. Senior security officer Joseph Ramirez looks over several camera angles from inside and outside Eli Whitney Elementary School in Chicago, Feb. 22, 2023. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) At the very least, parents should know that the introduction of surveillance cameras in public schools regardless of whether facial recognition is used will be tracking their childs activities. Parents also need to know that there is no evidence that the use of surveillance in schools will make students or schools safer or feel safer; to the contrary, the use of cameras in classrooms have been found to increase feelings of anxiety and uncertainty among students, Yohnka said. Parents should also be engaged in broader discussions involving alternatives, Johnson said. How else can schools be safer with a $76 million investment in technology? During a Chicago Board of Education meeting Wednesday that followed a CPS news conference about the new cameras, board member Elizabeth Todd-Breland questioned Martinez along similar lines, citing a lack of prior discussion regarding the contract. Today is the first that Im hearing about these security camera investments, she said, asking Martinez to elaborate on the evidence supporting what she called a big bet on technologies of surveillance. What keeps us safe is relationships ... there is a strong evidence base around that. Advertisement Afternoon Briefing Daily Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox each afternoon. By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy > Johnson told the Tribune that plentiful evidence shows, the best way to prevent school violence is to have greater social cohesion, greater or stronger relationships between teachers, parents, and students. Martinez said principals raised the need for cameras and challenges regarding a small number of security staff to tackle the large footprint of school buildings. We have security personnel and they work very hard, Martinez said. Its either one thing or the other. Do we double, triple, quadruple the number of security personnel or do we find ways to better optimize these amazing, dedicated individuals? At Eli Whitney Elementary School, where new cameras have been in place since December, Martinez said, Students understand that this is a deterrent. Its a way to protect them. Its a way to make sure that if any suspicious activity outside the school maybe finds its way into the school, its a way for us to capture that. Principal Evelia Diaz said, in a CPS press release, since installing the cameras, Our school community has felt an increased peace of mind in knowing that we have another tool to keep students and staff safe. But Johnson said the research implies otherwise. When schools double down on surveillance, that doesnt necessarily communicate safety to students, he said. We may think as adults that Youre safer. We will be able to respond to any violence more quickly. Were protecting you. But at the same time to kids who are in a system where they come in through the metal detectors ... and then there are cameras everywhere, really what it might communicate to them is: Schools arent safe. And he added, Being treated like suspects instead of students really undermines the trust that we hope will prevent violence within school contexts. All schools need some surveillance and Johnson considers cameras a standard way of securing an environment. But if they are not implemented along with a concerted effort to make those kids feel safe, protected, affirmed, trusted ... youre really setting those security measures up for failure. Advertisement The $76.3 million camera investment is in addition to an annual $8 million budgeted for safety technology equipment. According to a CPS news release, the district spends $3.3 million per year on proactive safety resources such as restorative justice and school climate coordinators. Other student support investments the district announced Wednesday include $5 million in new funding toward social emotional learning curriculum that includes bullying prevention and other key tactics, $5 million in additional funding for social workers, $6 million to fund additional school counselors and $13 million toward providing mentorship and mental health supports to students in partnership with the Center for Childhood Resilience at Lurie Childrens Hospital, DePaul University and others. Ive been a terrible liar. These are the words that Rep. George Santos (R-NY) uttered, reflecting a vast understatement of the scandals following him since before he took his seat in Congress in January. After a New York Times report revealed many aspects of his life story were false, exaggerated or unverified, Santos has faced constant revelations of new lies, frauds, racist allusions, sexual assault allegations and more. Yet, appearing on British TV host Piers Morgans show to address the scandals, Santos seemed to take some responsibility only to double down on his statements and positions. The post George Santos Admits To Being A Terrible Liar And Doubles Down On Jewish Claims In New Interview appeared first on Blavity. Santos sat down for a 40-minute interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored. Throughout the interview, Morgan moved back and forth between expressing sympathy for Santos and grilling him about specific statements. Throughout the interview, Santos vacillated between admitting some of his lies and defending other claims while claiming his intentions were innocent. But Morgan pushed Santos to reveal all the lies youve told and admit, Ive been a terrible liar. Santos repeated Morgans language, saying, Ive been a terrible liar, but then claimed, this wasnt about tricking anybody. Even as Morgan interjected, Yes, it was; the whole thing was about tricking people, Santos continued to excuse his actions, claiming that he fabricated parts of his resume to get accepted by the local Republican Party. George Santos claims he was forced to fabricate his background to gain the acceptance of local GOP party officials: Ive been a terrible liar .. I made mistakes of allowing the pressures of what I thought needed to be done in order to this wasnt about tricking anybody. pic.twitter.com/eEUAQTyTK9 Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 20, 2023 During the interview, Morgan turned toward one of the more outrageous stories that Santos has told: his repeated claim to be Jewish. Santos downplayed his many past claims of Jewish heritage, dismissing his claims as a party favor joke and repeating that he never said he was Jewish but only claimed to be Jew-ish based on his background. Story continues Shortly after the interview aired, CNN published a fact-checking article showing that Santos claimed many times to be Jewish. He deceived us and misrepresented his heritage, said a representative of the Republican Jewish Coalition, one of the groups to which Santos made his claims of Jewish heritage. In one curious moment, Santos said that the media questioning him were looking for a pound of flesh from him. The expression comes from the Shakespeare play The Merchant of Venice, which many people have criticized as antisemitic. The phrase a pound of flesh literally comes from Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice, in which a greedy Jewish moneylender hypocritically complains about antisemitic bigotry but then demands a literal pound of flesh be cut out of a Christian who defaulted on a loan. Alexander (@purplechrain) February 21, 2023 CNNs fact-checking demonstrated that Santos told new lies in [the] interview about his old lies. For example, Santos again claimed that he attended the prestigious Horace Mann School and may have been enrolled under a variation of his full name, George Anthony Devolder Santos. However, Morgan pointed out that the school and CNN had checked for all variations and found no records of him ever attending the school; CNN also notes Santos had changed his story about when he allegedly went to the school and for how long. In addition, Santos admitted that he lied about graduating from Baruch College and gaining a masters degree in business from New York University when he did not obtain a college degree from any school. Santos called the decision to lie stupid. He hedged his admission, however, claiming that he was not the person who distributed his resume, which included a high school for the GMAT business exam that he never took and other lies. Santos also denied that he stole money from a GoFundMe campaign he set up for a homeless veterans sick dog, despite the crowdfunding site removing him from the site when it could not verify he had given the money to the dog owner. Overall, Santos interview with Morgan is unlikely to put to rest the idea that the congressman is a habitual liar. Instead, it demonstrated that Santos intends to stick with many of his stories while deflecting blame for his lies. In the most honest part of the interview, Santos explained why he made many outrageous claims about himself during his 2022 congressional campaign. I ran for the same exact seat in 2020, and I got away with it then, Santos told Morgan. Unfortunately, this interview shows that Santos thinks he is still getting away with it. Emily Kohrs (NBC News) Emily Kohrs raised more than a few eyebrows with a surprise media tour in the wake of her service on Fulton Countys grand jury investigating Donald Trumps election interference in the state. Ms Kohrs found herself the subject of surprising criticism this week after she gave a series of interviews to journalists at major media outlets around the country, all regarding her service as foreperson on the grand jury hearing evidence in the case of Mr Trumps effort to overturn his 2020 defeat in Georgia. Some of her comments in particular described the grand jurys deliberations, including whether they found some witnesses who appeared before them to be credible. She also explained the grand jurys decision not to seek testimony from Mr Trump himself, though she was careful to not address any direct prompts to name witnesses or targets of the probe who were recommended for criminal charges. She did, however, laugh when asked about Mr Trumps comments that the grand jury exonerated him. Much of the most vocal criticism came from two figures on CNN, Anderson Cooper and legal analyst Elie Honig, who trashed the 30-year-old for her remarks to one of their colleagues just hours after the interview took place. This is a horrible idea, said Mr Honig of her multiple interviews. And I guarantee you that prosecutors are wincing, watching her go on this. Mr Honig went on to accuse Ms Kohrs of not taking the process seriously. Cooper chimed in, adding: Theres no reason for her to be out talking. No. Its a prosecutors nightmare. Mark my words, Donald Trumps team is going to make a motion if theres an indictment to dismiss that indictment based on grand jury impropriety, Mr Honig concluded. And the former president was quick to weigh in too, deriding Ms Kohrss speaking style as energetic and referring to the grand jury as a Kangaroo Court (despite it not being a trial). This Georgia case is ridiculous, a strictly political continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time. Now you have an extremely energetic young woman, the (get this!) foreperson of the Racist D.A.s Special Grand Jury, going around and doing a Media Tour revealing, incredibly, the Grand Jurys inner workings & thoughts. This is not JUSTICE, this is an illegal Kangaroo Court, he insisted. Story continues But in conversations with The Independent on Wednesday, two experts with litigation experience, including criminal prosecution, said that these fears were overblown. Steve Plafker, a retired deputy district attorney for the county of Los Angeles, said that Ms Kohrs remarks would be a drop in the bucket compared to the entirety of the public speculation that has taken place around this case, and noted that her remarks did not even occur as a trial was underway. Finding jurors who were unfamiliar with her remarks would merely be part of the jury selection process should that would take place, he asserted. In light of the publicity Mr Trump, or any politician for that matter, attracts generally, this woman's statements are a drop in the bucket, actually the ocean, Mr Plafker explained. I do not see any chance of prejudice arising from them. He added that there was little chance of Mr Honigs fears of Mr Trumps attorneys filing successfully for potential charges to be dismissed. Even if I am wrong, there is no chance of their leading to a mistrial. Any danger of prejudice resulting from pre-trial publicity is handled at the time of jury selection. Mistrials result from problems arising during trial, Mr Plafker went on. If this woman had been exercising good judgment, she would have gone home and kept her mouth shut, but I doubt that anything she said would make a prosecutor's job any more difficult than it already is. Norm Eisen, who served as a litigator for the high-powered DC law firm Zuckerman Spaeder LLP as well as White House special counsel concurred. The only real danger arising from Ms Kohrss comments, he asserted, could come in the form of an opportunity for Mr Trumps team to file pointless motions as a delay tactic. Theres now a media circus around Ms Kohrs comments, Mr Eisen explained. I think itd be better for her on the whole to be a little more restrained. Her media tour is a bit of a distraction from the underlying substantive questions of guilt or innocence. Moreover, it creates an opportunity for a prospective efendant known for filing frivolous legal motions to make more. But, he added: Donald Trump may very well attempt to file some kind of a motion about the forepersons statements. But legally, theyre not significant. As the judge noted at the hearing, grand jurors do have some secrecy leeway under Georgia law and practice, he said. Ms Kohrs has been very openly trying to operate within the parameters that the judge apparently gave on what is and is not allowed, and so far I dont think shes exceeded them. A decision by Fulton Countys district attorney, Fani Willis, is expected imminently in the case against Mr Trump and his legal team. A partial release of the grand jurys final report indicated that at least some of the recommended indictments stem from instances in which the grand jurys members believed that one or more witnesses were untruthful in their testimony; Donald Trump did not testify. When the foreperson of the Georgia grand jury investigating election interference by Donald Trump in the 2020 election went public, she immediately found an eager and receptive audience. Emily Kohrs, in a series of media interviews, offered up provocative details about key witnesses and charging recommendations potentially involving a dozen or so people. Asked whether that list contained the name of the former president, Kohrs told NBC News: Potentially. It might. While the special grand jury, which completed an eight-month inquiry in December, has no authority to issue indictments, Kohrs public comments in multiple interviews pierced a veil of secrecy that traditionally guards such investigations. And these were not just any deliberations. The inquiry could determine whether criminal charges are ultimately leveled against a former president for the first time in history. USA TODAY made multiple attempts to reach Kohrs. What Kohrs said: Foreperson says Georgia grand jury recommended multiple indictments in Trump investigation, report says Emily Kohrs' media comments not helpful to prosecutors, legal experts say Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, right, talks with a member of her team during proceedings to seat a special purpose grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, on May 2, to look into the actions of former President Donald Trump and his supporters who tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The hearing took place in Atlanta. Atlanta-area District Attorney Fani Willis will make the final charging decisions, but legal analysts said Kohrs public comments were at a minimum highly unusual for any grand jury inquiry and, at most, not particularly helpful to any potential case the district attorney may bring. Im not aware of any other case in Georgia in which a grand juror has spoken with the media about witnesses appearing before the grand jury, said Clark Cunningham, a Georgia State University law professor who has closely followed the investigation. While there was nothing illegal about the forepersons conduct, Cunningham said the frenzy of public attention risks undermining public confidence in the process. Thats the downside, he said. GA grand jury recommends perjury: Georgia grand jury recommends perjury charges for unnamed witnesses in Trump investigation Story continues Lying suspicions in Trump grand jury investigations: Witnesses in Georgia Trump probe suspected of lying, raising more questions in closely watched inquiry A secret investigation goes public: The Lewis R. Slaton Courthouse is seen on February 16, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Fulton County released some of its eagerly awaited grand jury investigation into possible election interference on Thursday as a result of a lawsuit brought by numerous media outlets. Until Kohrs' public comments, details about the Fulton County investigation had largely remained under wraps, except for last week's partial disclosure of the grand jury's report delivered to the district attorney in December. The partial release, approved by Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, revealed that the panel had found no evidence of fraud as repeatedly claimed by Trump and his allies. The grand jury also recommended the district attorney pursue perjury charges against one or more witnesses suspected of lying under oath. Trump seized on the grand juror's comments on Wednesday, calling the inquiry "ridiculous." They cost millions and last years: The U.S. now has 3 of them. Kohrs 'walked right up to the line' in interviews Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the South Carolina Statehouse on Jan. 28 in Columbia, South Carolina. Kohrs, who first spoke with the Associated Press, did not divulge the panel's central conclusions on what laws beyond perjury may have been broken nor did she attach names to any of the dozen or so people who the panel recommended for possible charges in the case. But David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor, said the foreperson "walked right up to the line" on what could be disclosed. "She didn't name any names," Weinstein said. "To me, she sounded like she may have been motivated to speak by those who may have been interpreting the grand jury's work based solely on last week's partial release." Following the partial disclosure, Trump claimed "total exoneration." Weinstein said the foreperson's comments Tuesday likely posed no lasting problem for the district attorney, apart from the possibility that the final charging decision may not match the recommendations contained in the grand jury's final report. "At the same time, I don't think the district attorney should be a rubber stamp for the special grand jury," Weinstein said. Georgia Trump investigation heats up: Charging decisions on Trump now loom large in Georgia after grand jury completes its work Kohrs' comments don't hold legal implications Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney Since the special grand jury has no charging authority, legal analysts said Kohrs' public comments, while striking, had no real legal implications. Norm Eisen, who served as counsel to the first Democratic House impeachment of Trump, said the foreperson's remarks were only "incrementally" different from the judge's order that resulted in the grand jury report's partial disclosure. In that order, Judge McBurney referred to the report's "roster of who should (or should not) be indicted." The order also revealed the panel's concerns that some witnesses may have lied under oath. "It would have been better for her to be a little more restrained in her comments," Eisen said, referring to Kohrs. "It creates an opportunity for some potential defendants, already known for making frivolous (claims), to make more of them." Hunter Biden probe latest: House GOP asks Hunter Biden business associate for testimony, documents about links to Chinese execs Trump responds to Kohrs' remarks For his part, Trump responded quickly, casting the Georgia inquiry as he has done in the past: "a strictly political continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time." "Now you have an extremely energetic young woman ... going around and doing a Media Tour revealing, incredibly, the Grand Jurys inner workings & thoughts," Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social. On Thursday, Trump's Atlanta lawyers also fired back, calling Kohrs' disclosures as "emblematic of the deeply flawed process that took place over the last seven months." "The lens now provided by this foreperson into the lack of seriousness and respect for this process that existed behind the grand jury walls is truly shocking to the legal conscience," attorneys Drew Findling, Marissa Goldberg and Jennifer Little said. "What we have seen over the past 48-hours proves that whatever conclusions were drawn were not the result of an analytical, trustworthy, or credible investigation as one would expect in a matter of historic proportion such as this." Trump, Biden, East Palestine: White House blames Trump administration and Republicans over East Palestine, Ohio spill Her comments could raise questions about objectivity Cunningham said Kohrs commentary about the grand jurys decision not to seek Trumps testimony could raise questions about the objectivity of the grand jurors deliberations, opening up the argument that the jurors thought they already knew what the former president would say. Kohrs, according to the Associated Press, said the grand jury wanted to hear from the former president but didnt have any real expectation that he would offer meaningful testimony. Trump was not a battle we picked to fight, she told the AP. She (Kohrs) didnt break any law, but it probably would have been better if she had not spoken publicly, Cunningham said. Biden Archives pick to face senators: Senate committee schedules hearing for Biden's National Archivist nominee Colleen Shogan This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia Trump investigation: Foreperson media tour highly unusual Shekinah Akbar, a Georgia mother who beat her 5-year-old daughter to death after claiming that she had evil spirits, is now sentenced to life in prison. Akbar received her sentence on Tuesday after pleading guilty but mentally ill to felony murder and cruelty to children, RollingOut reports. The post Georgia Mother Gets Life In Prison After Killing Her Daughter To Cast Out Evil Spirits appeared first on Blavity. After beating her five-year-old daughter to death on Feb. 10, 2020, Akbar called 911 and blamed the crime on her neighbors, the district attorneys office stated in a press release. Akbar, according to the statement, said her neighbors tortured her and her daughter and then locked them in the bathroom for hours. DA Broady announces that on February 20, 2023, Shekinah Akbar, age 33, pled guilty to the murder of her five-year-old daughter. pic.twitter.com/RPTngrPOOi Cobb County District Attorney (@CobbCountyDA) February 22, 2023 The 33-year-old mother told 911 that her daughter was no longer alive, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. Firefighters arrived at the scene and found the child unresponsive in the bedroom with her tracheotomy tube removed. When speaking to investigators, Akbar said her daughter, who had a medical condition that required a tracheotomy tube, also had evil spirits. The Georgia woman said she was performing an exorcism on the child to cast out evil spirits. The 5-year-old, who was pronounced dead at the hospital, had visible injuries and bruising over her entire body, Akbars arrest warrant stated. The report also revealed that the girl had injuries on her neck that resembled strangulation, as well as bite marks on her face, ear, chest, arms, legs and hands. This beautiful little girl was brutally tortured, bitten and abused for upwards of 12 hours by the one person in the world who is supposed to love her unconditionally and protect her at all costs, Senior Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Green said during the plea hearing according to the AJC. It is unfathomable the betrayal she mustve felt. Boris Pistorius, who has been serving as the German Federal Minister of Defence since 19 January 2023, "has broken Berlins resistance" to supplying weapons to Ukraine. Source: Andrii Melnyk, Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine and former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda Quote from Melnyk: "Mr Pistorius is totally different from Ms Lambrecht [his predecessor]. I think he wants to be remembered in history as someone who has broken Berlins resistance [to supplying weapons to Ukraine]. And we can see that thanks to his leadership position within the government, this ice is beginning to melt. This appointment [of Defence Minister] is not just fortunate, but extremely so. Just in the first couple of weeks since he assumed office he has managed to become the most popular politician in Germany (even though three months ago he didnt even appear in those ratings), thanks to the decisions he helped clear. Background: Boris Pistorius, who is a member of the Social Democratic Party, was appointed the German Federal Minister of Defence in January 2023. His predecessor, Christine Lambrecht, resigned in the wake of criticism of her actions with regard to the modernisation of the German army and the supply of weapons to Ukraine. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Scientists have unearthed a giant fish species with deadly fangs in South Africa that lived about 360 million years ago and may have preyed on human ancestors. Researchers, including those from Rhodes University in South Africa, say the ancient fish, identified from a fossil assemblage from Waterloo Farm in South Africa, may have grown to over 2.5m long. The study, published on Wednesday in the journal PLOS, pieced together the fossil remains of the ancient bony fish comprising mostly of the skull, lower jaw, gill cover, and shoulder girdle. Fossils suggest the fish Hyneria udlezinye was likely a vicious predator species of a type of ancient bony fish called tristichopterids. They say the giant predator likely had exceptionally large fangs on the lower jaw and may have fed on four-legged creatures called tetrapods a group of four-legged animals from which the human lineage evolved. The mouth contained rows of small teeth, but also pairs of large fangs which could probably reach 5cm [2in] in the largest individuals, Per Ahlberg, a co-author of the study from Uppsala University in Sweden, told Live Science. While earlier research has identified another species of the same genus H lindae at a site in Pennsylvania in the US, the fossils from the Waterloo Farm are the first to find evidence that a fish from this genus lived in the Gondwana supercontinent during the Late Devonian period about 383 million to 359 million years ago. With much of Gondwana being poorly sampled for Late Devonian vertebrates, researchers say the new findings have important implications for understanding the distribution and habitat preferences of Late Devonian tristichopterids. Although Gondwana was the largest landmass during the Devonian, extending from tropical to polar regions, investigation of Late Devonian early vertebrate faunas has largely been restricted to Australia and palaeo-adjacent portions of Antarctica, scientists wrote. Peleontologists say the tristichopterids were wiped off the planet in a mass extinction event at the end of the Devonian period about 359 million years ago that led to major changes in the kinds of fish populating the ancient seas and lakes. DALLAS (NewsNation) Law enforcement across the country is working to stop a disturbing, rising trend where criminals are using small, illegal devices to alter the ability of a handgun, turning it into a fully automatic weapon. The small devices, about the size of a nickel, are called Machinegun Conversion Devices (MCDs) or switches, and they fit right into the 9 mm Glock handgun to allow the weapon to fire off an entire magazine in just seconds. They are gun accessories that convert semiautomatic pistols to fire automatically, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Under the National Firearms Act, MCDs are defined as machine guns even when not installed, NewsNation affiliate WXIN reported. Bryan Kohberger had photos of one victim on his phone: report The device is illegal under federal law, with convictions carrying a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, NewsNation affiliate WOOD reported. According to ATF, the number of guns with switches seized has increased more than five times from about 300 in 2020 to 1,500 in 2021. Switches are becoming more popular for a few reasons: People can buy them online from China and Russia and they can be made on 3D printers. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, law enforcement seized 775 Glock switches last year, according to Dallas Police Department Chief Eddie Garcia. About 650 of those were seized over the course of one investigation in Fort Worth, where one alleged dealer was printing them himself, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham said in a press release on the suspects arrest. In another case last month, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton announced the arrest of a dealer in Dallas who was accused of selling the conversion devices on Instagram. Pregnant Florida inmate seeks release, says baby didnt commit crime Law enforcement agencies are working to shut down those websites, putting dealers behind bars to stop the flow of these devices on the street. Story continues A former ATF agent demonstrated just how powerful and dangerous this alteration can be. These weapons are very hard to control, they fire so quickly that its literally spraying bullets unless you are very well trained in a machine gun, Former ATF agent Scott Sweetow said. So often innocent people get hit. Its not just a gang drive-by shooting and hitting their one target, which is bad enough, its hitting innocent people, and that is exactly what is happening in shooting incidents across America. NewsNation reached out to Glock for comment, even though the company has nothing to do with the manufacturing of the devices, asking if it can do anything to change the model or frame of the guns so switches cannot be attached. The company did not immediately respond. NewsNations Devan Markham contributed to this report. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Following President Joe Biden's surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on Monday, senior members of his administration detailed the security discussions that led up to the decision to go on the trip and the content of the meetings Biden had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the course of his roughly five hours in the city. And while the officials remained tight-lipped about the precise security details required to manage the trip, including Biden's mode of transportation in and out of the war-torn country, they did say that the U.S. informed Russia of the visit shortly before Biden left for Ukraine. "We did notify the Russians that President Biden would be traveling to Kyiv. We did so some hours before his departure for deconfliction purposes," Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser to the president, told reporters on Monday morning in a press briefing. MORE: 'Nonstop shelling': Former US Marine fighting in Bakhmut says fighting is 'chaotic' "Because of the sensitive nature of those communications, I won't get into how they responded or what the precise nature of our message was. But I can confirm that we provided that notification," Sullivan said. The planning for the trip was incredibly delicate, said John Finer, the U.S. deputy national security adviser, and began months prior. "Only a handful of people" from offices across Washington were involved, including the White House chief of staff's office, the National Security Council, the White House Military Office, the Pentagon, the Secret Service and the intelligence community, Finer said. PHOTO: Russia's President Vladimir Putin takes part in an event marking Gazprom's 30th anniversary, via video link at a residence outside Moscow, Russia, Feb. 17, 2023. (Sputnik via Reuters) "The president was fully briefed on each stage of the plan and any potential contingencies and then made the final go- or no-go decision after a huddle in the Oval Office and by phone with some key members of his national security cabinet on Friday," Finer said. Among the challenges around such a visit was the limited U.S. military and embassy presence in Ukraine, compared to other war zones that presidents have visited, administration officials said. Story continues "Unlike previous visits ... like Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. obviously does not have a military presence on the ground in Ukraine which made a visit from a sitting president all the more challenging. But this was a risk that Joe Biden wanted to take," White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said. MORE: Russia-Ukraine live updates: Officials urge Bakhmut civilians to evacuate The administration officials emphasized that the risk was strategic -- intended to show Russian President Vladimir Putin that the U.S. stands strong with Ukraine and is confident enough in Ukraine's military prowess to visit the capital city in a time of war, one year after Russia first invaded. "What he [Biden] wanted to do in Kyiv was to send a clear, unmistakable message of enduring American support for Ukraine," Sullivan said. "And also to be able to stand there next to President Zelenskyy in a free Kyiv to not just tell, but to show the world through a powerful demonstration that Ukraine is successfully resisting Russian aggression and Russia is suffering strategic failure in Ukraine," Sullivan said. PHOTO: President Joe Biden walks down a train corridor to his cabin after a surprise visit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Kyiv on Feb. 20, 2023. Biden took a nearly 10-hour train ride from Poland into Kyiv. (Evan Vucci/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) PHOTO: People walk past light installations at Zaryadie park in front of the Spasskaya tower of the Kremlin and the Saint Basil cathedral, in Moscow on Feb. 19, 2023. (Yuri Kadobnov/AFP via Getty Images) Asked whether there were security concerns from the Pentagon or other officials, Sullivan declined to share the planning conversations but said that Biden made the decision based on presentations from his security team. "The president proceeded with the confidence that his security team was able to bring risks to a manageable level," Sullivan said. "That was what ultimately led him to make the call to go." "I am not going to get into specifics of who said what to him in the Oval, particularly on things as sensitive as his security. I will just say that he got a full presentation of a very good and very effective operational security plan. He heard that presentation. He was satisfied that the risk was manageable," Sullivan said. While in Kyiv, Biden met with Zelenskyy and Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska at Mariinsky Palace, visited St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral in central Kyiv and laid a wreath at the Wall of Remembrance for those slain in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, just as air raid sirens sounded. Biden also announced another $500 million in aid, which he's expected to further detail in a speech on Tuesday night from Poland. PHOTO: President Joe Biden walks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral during an unannounced visit, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 20, 2023. (Evan Vucci/AP) During the visit, which lasted from around 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time, Zelenskyy and Biden had an extended conversation about "all aspects of the ongoing war," according to Sullivan, including the battlefield, humanitarian aid, energy infrastructure and economic support. Biden was also briefed by members of Zelenskyy's team to understand what would be needed to sustain Ukraine's efforts "and then some." Regarding whether F-16 fighter jets were discussed -- which Zelenskyy has long sought -- Sullivan would not get into the specifics of the discussion, though Biden and Zelenskyy noted in their public remarks from Kyiv that the U.S. wasn't sending any new ammunition that Ukraine hasn't received before. "What I will say is that there was a good discussion on the subject. I think the two presidents both laid out their perspectives on a number of different capabilities that have been thrown around in the press both recently and over the course of several months. And I will leave it at that," Sullivan said. PHOTO: President Joe Biden sits on a train with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan as he goes over his speech marking the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine after a surprise visit with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy, Feb. 20, 2023, in Kyiv. (Evan Vucci/Pool via REUTERS) Behind-the scenes trip details released Upon Biden's return to Poland, the pool reporter with the president shared some details of his secret journey from the White House to Europe. Air Force One departed in the pre-dawn darkness on Sunday for Germany, where it refueled at Ramstein Air Base for a little over an hour. From there, Biden flew to Rzeszow-Jasionka Airport in Poland before boarding a train for a 10-hour journey. Most of the train's eight cars were occupied by a heavy security presence before arriving in Kyiv around 8 a.m. local time. After visiting with Zelenskyy, Biden took a similar train ride back to Poland, returning to NATO territory. ABC News' Tal Axelrod contributed to this report. US alerted Russia of Biden's surprise trip to Ukraine hours before he arrived, officials say originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Google has launched tests that block access to news content for some users in Canada in response to the Canadian government's online news bill. Bill C-18, or the Online News Act, would require platforms like Facebook and Google to negotiate deals that would pay news publishers for their content. The bill is currently before the Canadian Senate for debate. The company told TechCrunch that the tests impact "a small percentage" of Canadian users. The tests limit the visibility of Canadian and international news, and affect all types of news content. Were briefly testing potential product responses to Bill C-18 that impact a very small percentage of Canadian users," a spokesperson for the company told TechCrunch in an email. We run thousands of tests each year to assess any potential changes to Search. Weve been fully transparent about our concern that C-18 is overly broad and, if unchanged, could impact products Canadians use and rely on every day. We remain committed to supporting a sustainable future for news in Canada and offering solutions that fix Bill C-18. Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said on Twitter that Canadians won't be intimidated by the tests and that tech giants need to be more transparent and accountable. Its disappointing to hear that Google is trying to block access to news sites. Canadians wont be intimidated. At the end of the day, all were asking the tech giants to do is compensate journalists when they use their work. (1/2) https://t.co/11iRMA9jpL Pablo Rodriguez (@pablorodriguez) February 23, 2023 "Its disappointing to hear that Google is trying to block access to news sites," Rodriguez said in a tweet. "Canadians wont be intimidated. At the end of the day, all were asking the tech giants to do is compensate journalists when they use their work. Thats why we introduced the Online News Act. Tech giants need to be more transparent and accountable to Canadians." Last year, Facebook threatened to block the sharing of Canadian news content unless the government amended legislation that would force digital platforms to pay news publishers. In 2021, Facebook briefly restricted users in Australia from sharing or viewing news links on the platform due to similar legislation. Google is now borrowing from the Meta-owned company's playbook. The move from Google doesn't mark the first time that the company has opposed Canadian legislation. Last year, Google expressed concerns with Bill C-11, or the Online Streaming Act. The bill would force platforms like Google-owned YouTube to more prominently feature Canadian content. Google argued that the bill would negatively affect creators and viewers, and limit content discoverability. The Canadian Senate recently passed the bill with dozens of amendments, and it will be reviewed by the House of Commons. A few months ago, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai issued a statement noting that the online news and streaming bills discriminate against American businesses. The U.S. government has also raised concerns about the trade implications of the bills. (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc's Google is rolling out tests that block access to news content for some Canadian users, the company confirmed on Wednesday, in what it says is a test run of a potential response to the government's online news bill. The "Online News Act," or House of Commons bill C-18, introduced in April by Justin Trudeau's Liberal government, laid out rules to force platforms like Meta's Facebook and Google to negotiate commercial deals and pay news publishers for their content. "We're briefly testing potential product responses to Bill C-18 that impact a very small percentage of Canadian users. We run thousands of tests each year to assess any potential changes to Search," a Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement to Reuters. The tech-giant confirmed that the time-limited tests, which impact a random sampling of less than 4% of the users in Canada, "limit the visibility of Canadian and international news to varying degrees." A spokeswoman for Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said Canadians will not be intimidated and called it disappointing that Google is borrowing from Meta's playbook. "Canadians need to have access to quality, fact-based news at the local and national levels, and thats why we introduced the Online News Act. Tech giants need to be more transparent and accountable to Canadians," the spokeswoman said. Last year, Facebook warned that it might block sharing of news content on its platform in Canada over concerns about legislation that would compel digital platforms to pay news publishers. A similar Australian law, which took effect in March 2021 after talks with the big tech firms led to a brief shutdown of Facebook news feeds in the country, has largely worked, a government report had said. Canada's news media industry has pressed against Facebook and asked the government for more regulation of tech companies, to allow the industry to recoup financial losses it has suffered in the years that Facebook and Google have been steadily gaining greater market share of advertising. More than 450 news outlets in Canada have closed since 2008, including 64 closures in the last two years. (Reporting by Rhea Binoy in Bengaluru; Editing by Leslie Adler) A vehicle riddled with bullet holes sits in the perimeter of a fatal shooting scene in the 3100 block of West Lake Street in Chicago's Garfield Park neighborhood on March 19, 2021. A 24-year-old man was dead at the scene. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune) The term Chi-Raq, or the idea that the violence in Chicagos most afflicted areas is comparable to that of the Iraq War, was coined almost a decade ago. When Spike Lee directed a movie by that name in 2015, it became a cinematic trope. The claim, however, had never been empirically examined. To put the nations current epidemic of gun violence into context, we did the math, comparing the risk of firearm-related homicide faced by military-age men living in the most violent parts of four major American cities Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles with the risks of combat death faced by soldiers deployed to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Advertisement Our analysis was published recently in JAMA Network Open, the public access journal of the American Medical Association. The results were stark, and Chicago fared the worst. If its most troubled ZIP codes posed fatality risks equal to war, they would be less dangerous than they are now. If you were a young man between the ages of 20 and 29 living in Garfield Park in 2020 or 2021, you faced a risk of firearm homicide more than three times greater than the risk of combat death faced by soldiers who were deployed to Afghanistan and almost four times greater than the risk of combat death in Iraq. Advertisement In the citys top 10% most violent ZIP codes, living in Chicago remained more than twice as risky for young men, not only greatly exceeding the average risk faced by all soldiers deployed to war, but also those in one of the Armys most heavily engaged combat brigades fighting at the height of Iraqs surge. Such risks are extraordinarily high by any contemporary measure. In Garfield Park, from 2020 to 2021, a young mans annual risk of being shot was 5.8%. These risks also accumulate: Military deployments last about 12 months, but young men living in these neighborhoods face the risks of fatal violence year after year. Despite the unprecedented 30% increase in gun violence in the United States in 2020, most people living in most U.S. cities are still comparably safe from gun violence. In the most violent areas of New York and Los Angeles, we found that young men faced up to an 84% lower risk of violent death than soldiers who had been deployed to our recent wars. The idea that extreme violence has become an intractable part of urban life isnt backed by the evidence. Yet, there are pockets of intense gun violence that we cant ignore if we intend to take seriously a commitment to equity. Indeed, the warlike toll of exposure to gun violence is shouldered almost entirely by young Black and Hispanic men, who constituted 96% of the victims in the neighborhoods we examined. When veterans come home from the risks of war, we acknowledge that the violence they have endured places them at greater risk for depression, anxiety, homelessness, drug use, alcoholism and suicide. Some veterans spend years in a state of hypervigilance and elevated stress that strains relationships and harms their health. The effects inevitably extend to family members, loved ones and the community at large. Lethal violence is permanently scarring generations of young men, and the trauma-informed approach we take toward veterans should guide our response. Is it any wonder men who grow up in these neighborhoods have a hard time adjusting to stable work and family lives? The overall homicide rates in Baltimore, St. Louis, Cleveland, New Orleans, Detroit and several other cities suggest there may be many other neighborhoods in the U.S. that are riskier than war zones for the young men growing up in them. We should cross political divides in acknowledging that gun violence is yet another terrible inequity for young men of color. At the same time, the experience of cities such as New York and Los Angeles, and the extraordinary variation in U.S. homicide rates over time, suggest that warlike risks of violence are not inevitable or permanent. We are not a nation on the brink of urban anarchy, but we do have an acute crisis of gun violence that demands action today. Advertisement The fatal risks of war shouldnt be something a person shoulders simply for being born in a certain American neighborhood. Violence has many causes, and there are things that can be done now to make dangerous places safer. Law enforcement targeted toward the small number of people and places that drive an outsize share of the violence should always be a core part of a public safety strategy. But research also shows that meaningful and sustained investments in social programs such as expanding summer jobs for at-risk youths, cognitive behavioral therapy and social services more generally can also be highly effective in reducing violence. There is likewise strong evidence in favor of investments in increasing trees and green space, restoring vacant lots and enhancing the effectiveness of street lighting. The best crime reduction efforts strike a fair and effective balance between law enforcement and community investment. A true commitment to equity in America means addressing root causes while supporting policies that will reduce violence now. Time is of the essence. We are a nation with communities of young men who would have faced fewer fatal risks if they had fought in our most recent foreign wars. For them, Chi-Raq isnt a trope. Its their home. Brandon del Pozo is an assistant professor of medicine and public health at Brown University. He spent 19 years as a police officer in New York City and four as the chief of police in Burlington, Vermont. Aaron Chalfin is an associate professor of criminology at the University of Pennsylvania. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com. Google TV may now be easier to use when you're sitting down to watch shows with your kids. Google is adding four new pages to the interface that include a Family section, where you'll find suggested content rated PG or lower. While this isn't a completely novel concept (Netflix has a dedicated Kids profile, for example), it should help you find titles that are safe for everyone to watch. The expansion also includes an Espanol page that, as the name implies, recommends Spanish-language content like movies, shows and live TV. Other changes apply more universally. The Movies and Shows tabs have been turned into pages. You'll also find a few navigation tweaks that include a quick settings button and more convenient locations for profile and search functions. The new pages are currently available in the US. The navigation updates are rolling out worldwide as of today. All the changes will be visible on devices that support Google TV, including Google's own Chromecast hardware as well as TVs from companies like Hisense and Sony. The revamp doesn't come as a surprise. Google is competing with other platforms where child-safe content is either already walled off or dominates, such as Disney+ and Netflix. An update like this may make Google TV more compelling to young families, and creates more consistency with Google's own YouTube Kids. Gorillaz have always been an apocalypse party of an act, but now, theyre laughing again (Gorillaz) Im on one per cent, but Im there with you, croons 2D on Gorillaz most enjoyable album since 2005s Demon Days. Its a sentiment that reflects the records commitment to finding collective fun in the face of isolating fatigue. Gorillaz have always been an apocalypse party of an act, but now, theyre laughing again. Theres a loose-limbed elation to the indie-funk grooves they find, with guests ranging from Fleetwood Macs Stevie Nicks to Australian psych-rockers Tame Impala and LA bass-bouncer Thundercat. And a sleepy solidarity in the more melancholy moments, which include a tender acoustic duet with Beck. Britains first virtual band was created in 2001 by Damon Albarn and Tank Girl artist Jamie Hewlett in response to what the earnest indie purists saw as the manufactured state of chart music. But over the next two decades, the project has given the Blur frontman an excuse to dial up an eclectic circus cast of dream collaborators, throwing pop A-listers into the ring with rappers, experimental knob-twiddlers and vintage soul stars, and spicing the sound with world music to create a new genre of backpacker hip-hop. Their eighth record imagines Albarns eccentric quartet of manga monkeys bassist Murdoc, drummer Russel, and guitarist Noodle leaving London for California and starting a cult. Disciples are instructed to follow the rhythm not the algorithm. In a recent interview, Albarn said he was playing with the many ideas associated with the word cracker: madness, dry biscuits, explosive Christmas gifts, and the US slang for white people. Cracker Island, he said, would be like an echo chamber for the alt-right. The album opens with the gritty cyberfunk of its title track. Albarn has always done a brilliant job of channelling his inner bored-bolshy teen as 2D. Here, he drawls out a laconic-snarky lament about a world in which the truth was auto tuned. Meanwhile, Thundercat chants forever cult in smooth, high, pleasing tones behind him. The Californians distinctive bass technique slaps a tendon-twanging elasticity into the ennui. Story continues The momentum is maintained on Oil, which is low on melody but rich in (enjoyably inscrutable) poetic imagery. Seasoned with the dirty honey of Stevie Nicks backing vocals, lines about fairy light companions to the dark maths sparkle through the mix. Theres a loping Eighties marimba gait to The Tired Influencer and a sorrow in its melodic camber that lightly recalls the final Blur single, Under the Westway. Lyrically, its a US version of that elegy to suburban hipster life beneath the elevated stretch of Londons A40. Now, Albarn describes a cracked screen world scented by Los Angelean blooms and glowing freeways. Blur memories also bubble up on the slo-mo churn of Baby Queen. Back in 1997, the princess of Thailand was seated on a throne in front of the mixing desk at a Blur concert. On hearing Song 2 (wooo-hooo!), the diminutive royal climbed onto her seat and stage-dived into the armed guards surrounding the platform. She takes flight/ Yeh the kids alright, affirms Albarn as 2D, reflecting that around that time he took a similar dive into the vanity/ The mirrored nights/ of my dreams/ All blown up/ Baby Queen. Signs that Cracker Island is designed to be a summer album sizzle though the heat-haze synths of Silent Running (featuring soulful contributions from Adeleye Omotayo) and the hip-sloshing dancefloor pulse of New Gold (feat Tame Impala and Bootie Brown). Tarantula is a triumph of a bittersweet banger, set on the polymer dunes, and Tormenta (feat Bad Bunny) gives a dreamy Latin lilt to the plastic paradise. The Puerta Rican Reggaeton rappers punchy syllables balance for 2Ds plaintive poesy. Its a joy to hear Albarn really let rip on Skinny Ape, which evolves from a pretty, pad-drum mope into a riotous rave. You can already see the soles of the festival crowds Converse pogoing from the squashed grass as they bawl along: Ape, ape, ape, APE! Listeners drift away from Cracker Island to the music-box melody of Possession Island, on which Beck wraps a vocal arm around 2Ds shoulder as they sing that were all in this together til the end. A warm trumpet plays an elevating last post. It sounds like the 21st-century version of the quartet on the Titanic. Brothers, beautifully and bravely doomed. Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (AMEX:GTE) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript February 22, 2023 Operator: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Gran Tierra Energy's Conference Call for Fourth Quarter and Year End 2022 results. My name is Andrea and I will be your coordinator for today. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Following the initial remarks, we will conduct a question-and-answer session for securities analysts and institution. Instruction will be provided at that time for you to queue up for questions. I would like to remind everyone that this conference call is being webcast and recorded today, Wednesday, February 22nd, 2023, at 11 A.M. Eastern Time. Today's discussion may include certain forward-looking information, oil and gas information, and non-GAAP financial measures. Please refer to the earnings and operational update press release we issued yesterday for important advisories and disclaimers with regard to this information and for reconciliations of any non-GAAP measures discussed on today's call. Finally, this earnings call is the property of Gran Tierra Energy, Inc. Any copying or rebroadcasting of this call is expressly forbidden without the written consent of Gran Tierra Energy. I will now like to turn the conference call over to Gary Guidry, President and Chief Executive Officer of Gran Tierra. Mr. Guidry, please go ahead. Gary Guidry: Thank you, Andrea. Good morning and welcome to Gran Tierra's fourth quarter and year end 2022 results conference call. My name is Gary Guidry, Gran Tierra's President and Chief Executive Officer. And with me today are Ryan Ellson, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Rob Will, our Vice President of Asset Management. Yesterday, we issued a press release that included detailed information on our fourth quarter and year end 2022 results. In addition, Gran Tierra's 2022 annual report on Form 10-K has been filed on EDGAR and is available on our website. Ryan and Rob will make a few brief comments, and then we will open the line for questions. Ryan, please go ahead. Ryan Ellson: Thanks Gary. Good morning everyone. We are very pleased to announce that Gran Tierra achieved several company financial records in 2022. Our excellent performance in 2022 was driven by our successful development and exploration drilling, water flooding programs, field performance, and disciplined cost management, combined with strong oil prices. Our many achievements during the year resulted in year-over-year production growth of 16%, strong reserves replacement ratio well above 100%, and the highest annual figure in the company's history for net income, funds flow from operations, and free cash flow. After reduced exploration activity during 2020 and 2021, the company made several key exploration discoveries during 2022, which provide confidence in our geological understanding of the basins. Through our successful results from development and exploration drilling, waterflooding programs, and fuel performance, we're able to increase reserves in 1P, 2P, and 3P categories, which Rob will describe. During 2022, our net income was $139 million, the highest on record as a result in our earnings per share on both the basic and diluted basis coming in at $0.38 per share. Our adjusted EBITDA was $490 million and was $1.34 on a basic per share basis. Funds flow from operations were $366 million, resulting in free cash flow of $129 million, both of which were also records for the company. Funds flow from operations for the year was $1 on a basic per share basis. Gran Tierra's on budget capital spend totaled $237 million for the year and was balanced between exploration and development activities, which resulted in reserves and profitable production growth year-on-year. Oil, Gas, Industry Photo by Chris LeBoutillier on Unsplash In 2022, Gran Tierra continued its commitment to reduce debt resulting in a reduction of $88 million in debt and $173 million in net debt. The company finished the year with $127 million in cash and net debt to adjusted EBITDA of 0.9 times. The company also achieved a return on average capital employed of 27% during 2022. Gran Tierra's strong operating netback of $48.43 per barrel for the year, was up 43% from $33.75 in 2021. Before I hand it over to Rob, I want to mention some of our Beyond Compliance initiatives, where Gran Tierra identifies significant opportunities and benefits in environment communities. We voluntarily strive to go beyond what is legally required to protect the environment and provide social benefits because it's the right thing to do. We're very proud of the company's track record in all aspects of our environmental, social, and governance stewardship. In 2022, Gran Tierra in partnership with the World Women's Corporation, carried out an anti-personnel demining investigation across approximately 4,300 hectares of land situated within four indigenous communities in several municipalities in the Putumayo Basin of Colombia. As part of the company's commitment, the United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights, 95 human rights training sessions were held in Colombia and Ecuador in 2022, which include almost 500 employees, contractors, and suppliers. Gran Tierra strives to maximize local employment and development opportunities, which meet or exceed government requirements for local employment. Since 2015, Gran Tierra has created approximately 26,000 labor opportunities in Colombia. The company also created roughly 470 labor opportunities in Ecuador in 2022. Gran Tierra has also committed to work with the Colombian, Ecuadorian national and local governments and local communities to further their peace-building efforts. In 2022, the company invested over $4.6 million locally in projects in Colombia and Ecuador identified by the communities themselves to meet their needs. The projects include the improvement of agriculture production capabilities, entrepreneurship support, community strengthening programs, and infrastructure improvements to schools, homes, and community centers. These are just some of the initiatives we completed in 2022, and I highly recommend that you take a look at our 2022 Sustainability Report, which will be available on our website in the second quarter of this year. I'll now turn the call over to Rob Will to discuss some of the highlights of our current operations. Rob Will: Thanks Ryan. Good morning everyone. I'll briefly cover a few operational highlights from yesterday's press release, as well as our recent press release regarding 2022 year-end reserves. Operationally, we are building off a successful year in 2022 to start off 2023. Down in the Putumayo Basin of Colombia and the Chaza Block, we have commenced our Moqueta drilling campaign with the first well being drilled in late 2022, which was the first well drilled in the field since 2016. Moqueta-25, the second development well in the 2022-2023 Moqueta drilling campaign reached its planned total depth on January 15th, 2023. This well has been completed and was put on production on February 1st. Producing on jet pump, the well has averaged 383 barrels of oil per day unstimulated. We plan to stimulate the well during Q2 of this year. The third Moqueta development well, Moqueta-26, was spud on February 9th, 2023 and is expected to reach its planned total depth before the end of February. In addition to Moqueta-25 and 26, the company plans to drill and complete one to two more development wells in Moqueta over the next four to five months. Also, in the Chaza Block, the first well, the Costayaco six-well 2023 development drilling program was spud on January 25th, 2023 and reached its planned total depth on February 2nd. Reservoir quality was as expected in this planned down-dip water injection well. The second well was spud on February 7th, 2023 and reached its planned total depth. All wells in the Costayaco drilling program are expected to be drilled by late second quarter 2023 and completed -- and put on production or injection before the end of third quarter 2023. In the south of the Putumayo Basin, the Suroriente Block's production averaged approximately 8,620 barrels of oil per day growth in January 2023, marking the second highest monthly production average since the second quarter of 2015. This was achieved despite the fact that we've not drilled a well in Suroriente since the first quarter of 2018. Up in the Middle Magdalena Valley Basin of Colombia, the first well, the Acordionero's 10 to 12 well 2023 development drilling program, Acordionero-111 was spud on January 27th, 2023 and reached its planned total depth on January 30th. Well logs indicate that the reservoir pay zone came in as expected. The company plans to complete this well and put on production before the end of February 2023. The second well, a planned injector was spud on February 5th and has reached its total depth. The third well was spud on February 12th. All the planned wells in this year's Acordionero development program are expected to have been drilled, completed, and placed on production or injection by the end of second quarter 2023. Finally, we also plan to continue to focus on the appraisal of new discoveries and new exploration drilling during 2023, all while generating free cash flow to strengthen our balance sheet and return capital to shareholders through potential share buybacks. As for our 2022 year-end oil reserves, the company achieved significant growth in its 2022 year-end 1P NPV10 before tax, which increased by 26% compared to 2021 year-end. As well, we achieved significant growth in our 2022 year-end 2P NPV10 before tax, which increased by 25% compared to year-on-year. These increases were driven by the company's successful development and exploration programs and a strong recovery in oil prices. After reduced exploration activity during 2020 and 2021, the company made several key exploration discoveries during 2022, which helped the company achieve excellent reserve replacement ratios. The ratios are as follows. 126% 1P with 1P reserve additions of 14 million BOE; 148% 2P with 2P reserve additions of 17 million BOE; 280% 3P with 3P reserve additions of 31 million BOE. The material 1P reserve additions were largely driven by success with development drilling and water flooding results at Acordionero and Costayaco in addition to several exploration discoveries. Material 2P and 3P reserve additions were a large measure due to the success of the company's 2022 exploration program, which made several independent discoveries. By continuing to focus on a combination of reductions in combination of reductions in depth and per well capital costs, maintaining low operating costs, and completing share buybacks, Gran Tierra was able to achieve net asset values per share before tax of $4.62 for 1P, up 77% from 2021 and $7.36 for 2P, up 56% from 2021. With the significant growth in our net asset values per share in 2022, we believe Gran Tierra is well-positioned to offer exceptional long-term stakeholder value. We believe our success on multiple fronts during 2022 demonstrates Gran Tierra's ability to be a full-cycle oil and gas exploration, development, and production company, focused on value creation for all our stakeholders. I will now turn the call back to the operator, and Gary, Ryan, and I will be happy to take questions. Operator, please go ahead. See also 12 Biggest Industrial Software Companies in the World and 21 Best Dating Apps of 2023. To continue reading the Q&A session, please click here. Customers line up outside Gun World in Burbank on March 17, 2020. (Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times) The Florida Legislature has started hearings on Senate Bill 214, a measure that would ban flagging unusual gun purchases made with credit cards. But before I tell you why you should care about that bill, let me tell you about this photograph some friends took of me on vacation. Its become somewhat of a running joke because they say I look like Im for hire. In the photo, Im smiling, sweaty and shirtless, next to an ATM in Mexico. The truth is I was there waiting for the bank to reactivate my card. I had forgotten to inform my financial institution of my travel plans, and so my transactions abroad were flagged and my card frozen. Im sure some of you must have experienced something similar you go out with friends to a new bar or you make a string of unusual purchases, and the next thing you know youre chatting with your banks fraud department. Its annoying, but the Patriot Act doesnt care. Financial institutions are required by law to notice if customers do something out of the norm, and sometimes to report those aberrations to the authorities. The governments goal is to spot terrorist activity and money laundering. Banks get a side benefit by detecting fraud quickly and minimizing losses. Whatever the goal, in order to tell when were doing something out of the norm, banks are required by law to know what our norm is. Its a standard called know your customer, and yes, it feels a bit creepy. Yet the reality is that as a society we accepted surveillance as a part of commerce long before know your customer. How else would we receive reward points or frequent flier miles if not for someone else keeping tabs on our spending? While the Patriot Act was testing the boundaries of national security with that monitoring requirement back in 2001, the next development came from the Internal Revenue Service. In 2004 the IRS mandated that credit and debit card transactions be tagged with merchant category codes, which could be used to flag whether a given transaction needed to be reported to the government as potentially taxable income. The codes are four-digit numbers assigned by financial institutions using a system maintained by the International Organization for Standardization and updated every five years. Story continues Last fall, after years of pressure from Democrats and gun control advocates, the International Organization for Standardization created a merchant code specifically for gun retailers. Predictably, Republicans didnt like that this new code existed. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) immediately called the decision unconstitutional, and conservative lawmakers in at least four states introduced legislation to ban use of the code Oklahoma, Mississippi, West Virginia and the Sunshine State. That Florida would join this crowd is particularly disappointing. Had a gun merchant code existed in 2016, credit card companies could have flagged Omar Mateen, the Pulse nightclub shooter, who used his cards to purchase nearly $20,000 worth of weaponry in less than two weeks before the shooting. Mateen even searched Google for credit card unusual spending two days before the Orlando attack, seemingly expecting to be flagged for suspicious activity. As he should have been. Now, with a code to identify retail gun sales, perhaps the next would-be mass shooter will be flagged. The Patriot Act requires banks to tell the authorities if someone might be sending money to a terrorist group, but financial companies would have to decide to report that a mass shooting might be brewing. The National Rifle Assn. objected preemptively, saying the decision was nothing more than a capitulation to anti-gun politicians and activists bent on eroding the rights of law-abiding Americans one transaction at a time. Its important to remember that merchant codes show the type of business at which a purchase was made, not what was purchased. So rhetoric about merchant codes becoming a national gun registry is hyperbolic. And in any case, not every transaction is of interest. Since financial institutions are required to monitor us anyway, surely we can all agree that some transactions really do warrant a second look not just to stop fraud but also to save lives. In a 2018 analysis of credit card usage in mass shootings, the New York Times reported that there have been 13 shootings that killed 10 or more people in the last decade, and in at least eight of them, the killers financed their attacks using credit cards. Some used credit to acquire firearms they could not otherwise have afforded. Those eight shootings killed 217 people. Those numbers need to be part of Floridas deliberations about SB 214 as well. There is a misunderstanding that the financial services industry will somehow change support of legal gun purchases, and we dont have the ability or industry to do so, said Priscilla Sims Brown, president and chief executive of Amalgamated Bank. It is Browns financial institution that requested the standards organization for a merchant category code to identify gun sellers. For her efforts, Brown received a spirited letter from House Republicans last fall accusing Amalgamated Bank of trying to force a divisive, progressive policy onto the entire American financial system. The letter also accused the standards organization of caving to immense far-left political pressure and asked Brown a series of questions, including some that could be answered by reading Section 326 of the Patriot Act. The question I have is how did an industry as large and as profitable and as omnipresent as gun retail manage not to receive a code until now. Feels purposeful. Im sure thats probably just me. There are thousands of codes, Brown said. Its not an unusual thing. Its not a radical thing. No one has been concerned about merchant codes. No one put up a fight for merchant codes being set up for libraries or media entities or other forms of organizations where rights are protected. In fact, if gun and ammo purchases are a normal part of your life, the bank is already aware of that and the know your customer standard doesnt kick in. But when Stephen Paddock used credit cards to buy close to $100,000 worth of firearms and weaponry before he killed 60 people in Las Vegas in 2017, that was out of character. If there had been a merchant code for gun retailers then, financial companies could have seen just how worrying that spending spree was. Those numbers also need to be part of the discussion about SB 214, because those numbers are the real reason were even having this conversation. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascon (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press) A man accused of gunning down his 16-year-old girlfriend and her sister before setting their Westchester apartment on fire when he was a teenager in 2018 will not be tried as an adult, bringing an end to one of the most controversial cases of the early part of Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascons time in office. L.A. County Superior Court Judge J. Christopher Smith ruled Wednesday that prosecutors failed to prove the suspect whose identity The Times is withholding since he has been remanded to juvenile court could not be rehabilitated within the juvenile justice system. Prosecutors sought to try the defendant who was 17 years and 11 months old at the time of the killings as an adult in the deaths of 16-year-old Sierra Brown and her sister Uniek Atkins. Prosecutors initially sought to charge the defendant as an adult when he was arrested by Los Angeles police in 2018, but a transfer motion was not heard before then-Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey was ousted by Gascon in the 2020 election cycle. On his first day in office, Gascon issued a blanket order banning the practice of trying juveniles as adults, regardless of the crime. The policy was one of many that drew swift backlash against the reform-minded prosecutor. Gascon told The Times in 2021 that he had lost sleep over the killings of Sierra and Uniek and considered making an exception to his policy. Ultimately, Gascon ordered his prosecutors to withdraw their transfer motion in the case. Facing mounting pressure over his offices handling of the controversial Hannah Tubbs case last year, Gascon created a committee that could approve prosecutors requests to seek to try juveniles in adult court in extreme cases. The case involving the killing of Sierra and Uniek was the first to be approved by the committee. As of late 2022, the committee had approved three total cases for transfer hearings, though the one involving the sisters killings is the only one to take place so far, according to documents the district attorneys office provided in response to a public records request. Story continues Late last month, L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. Courtney Dyer argued that the suspects criminal conduct in the killings showed sophistication, noting he may have used a pillow as a silencer during the assault and set a fire to try to hide evidence. The defendant also arrived at the scene of the fire hours later and pretended to mourn the victims, the prosecutor said. He even gave false leads to detectives, she said. Dyer said the suspect had remained stagnant and showed no improvement in his behavior in the four years he had spent in the custody of the Los Angeles County Probation Department, and she argued that the gravity of the crime committed was incalculable. Three parents have lost their daughters. Three children have lost their mothers, Dyer said last month. There is a 5-year-old who said she wanted to go to heaven to be with her mother. Defense attorney Janet Roh said the suspect had shown improvement in custody, noting he was reading at a fourth-grade level at the time of his arrest and had been smoking marijuana daily since age 12. In custody, she said, the suspect had responded well to services and education. Life in juvenile hall has been a drastically improved experience, Roh said, adding that the defendants father physically abused him at a young age. An Assembly bill passed in 2022 made it much tougher to transfer juveniles to adult court. The bill requires prosecutors to prove by clear and convincing evidence that the juvenile would not be amenable to rehabilitation in juvenile custody. Gascon filed a letter in support of the bill last year, which was written by Assemblywoman Mia Bonta (D-Alameda), the wife of California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta. Prosecutors must meet five criteria to win a transfer motion hearing, and Smith ruled that the district attorneys office had failed to meet three. Chiding prosecutors that their repeated allusions to the gruesome nature of the crime were not enough to meet the standards of the law, the judge said prosecutors had failed to put forth any evidence of what the suspects rehabilitative needs were. Smith also noted that the suspect had cognitive abnormalities in his frontal lobe and an IQ low enough to raise questions about his intellectual function when he was taken into custody. Although a probation officer wrote a report suggest-ing the teen should be tried as an adult, the judge noted the officer ignored the suspects cognitive issues and alleged history of abuse in that report. Under the current state of the law, a minor should only be transferred under the rarest of circumstances. This is in line with a series of legislative changes which aims to treat children like children. The change in the law obviously increased the burden for us, said Tiffiny Blacknell, the chief spokeswoman for the district attorneys office. We presented evidence that we believed met that burden, she said. The court weighed the evidence and disagreed. We respect the courts decision. An attorney for the victims families did not respond to a request for comment after the hearing. Two dozen of the slain sisters loved ones packed the tiny Inglewood courtroom where Smith delivered his ruling Wednesday. They teared up as he recounted the brutal nature of their deaths. Several left in frustration as it became apparent Smith would reject the prosecutions motion to transfer. Wednesday marked the end of a frustrating trip through the court system for the families, who first believed the case was over in 2021 when Gascons initial policy order led prosecutors to revoke their transfer motion. As they exited, a man looked a Sheriffs Department deputy in the eye and said the ruling was bull. Outside the courthouse, others commiserated with frustrated deputies. This was a waste of time and effort, a teary-eyed relative said in court. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. On the eve of the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, hackers have broadcast "threats" from the head of Ukrainian intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, on Russian propagandist radio stations in occupied Crimea. Source: RIA Novosti quoting the Sputnik v Krymu (Satellite in Crimea) radio station and the so-called "Ministry of Internal Policy, Information and Communications of Crimea". Quote: "On 23 February, an address by Kyrylo Budanov, the Chief of Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, and the national anthem of Ukraine were broadcast on the airwaves of Sputnik v Krymu radio and Vera (Faith) radio, in a number of districts on the peninsula Alushta, Bilohirsk, Dzhankoi and Sudak." Details: Both radio stations are part of Gazprom-Media Radio, and the first is also part of the Rossiya Segodnya (Russia Today) media group. Russian media did not elaborate on what exactly Budanov said on the air, but said the address contained "threats". The radio broadcast was interrupted, but it has now been restored. The occupiers claim that the broadcast in Simferopol and Sevastopol was not hacked. The problem reportedly affected the equipment that prepares the signal for transmission on FM frequencies. Update: A video has been posted on anonymous Telegram channels that purports to be a recording of Budanov's address on the air of Sputnik v Krymu radio: "Crimea, Donbas and the entire South of Ukraine will return home forever. We will find every traitor to Ukraine, wherever they are hiding. To all patriots: the time to act has come. Wait. We're on our way to you." Background: On Wednesday, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations reported a "false air-raid warning" that was broadcast by radio stations in Voronezh, Belgorod and Kurgan oblasts, Russia, reportedly as a result of a hacker attack. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty Harvey Weinstein, the former Hollywood titan turned twice-convicted rapist, was sentenced on Thursday to 16 years in prison, effectively putting him behind bars for the rest of his life. Weinstein, 70, was convicted in December of forcible oral copulation, sexual penetration by a foreign object, and forcible rape for sexually assaulting an Italian model at a Los Angeles hotel in February 2013. The Los Angeles Superior Court jury, however, could not decide on three other charges against Weinstein after 10 days of deliberationand acquitted him of sexual battery by restraint. Ten years later, the effects of this rape are still raw and difficult to discuss. I have been carrying this weight, this trauma. This irrational belief that it was my fault, the model, identified in court as Jane Doe 1, told the Los Angeles Superior courtroom at his sentencing. There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage. I hope that you give him the maximum sentence allowable. Weinstein also spoke at the hearing, begging the judge to go easy him and calling it all a setup. This is about money and coming after me, he insisted. Please dont sentence me to life in prison. I dont deserve it. Thursdays sentencing marks the second time Weinstein had been handed a prison sentence in connection with a sex-crimes trialand affirms that he will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars. While the nearly blind, disgraced producer was sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape in the third degree and a criminal sex act in the first degree in his New York case, an appeals court in August has allowed him to appeal his conviction there. The defense had asked for a shorter sentence in the L.A. case, noting the amount of time that Weinstein faces in New York and his declining health. Weinstein will serve the Los Angeles sentence consecutively at the end of his stint behind bars in New York. Harvey Weinstein Just Got Convicted of Rape All Over Again Story continues The L.A. sentencing also marks the latest legal win for the dozens of women who have come out against Weinstein since the #MeToo movement gained massive momentum in 2017, helping spur a global reckoning against sexual predators of all stripes. There is a heaviness in my heart and a deep sadness. But there is also a feeling of vindication. The sentencing makes it real, all of it, Caitlin Dulany, an actress who accused Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault in the mid-1990s and was not part of the L.A. trial, told The Daily Beast prior to Thursdays hearing. The crimes, the years of silence and the speaking out. With the sentencing, we can experience some measure of justice for what we all endured, as victims and as survivors. Throughout Weinsteins Los Angeles trial, prosecutors alleged that he engaged in a pattern of predatory behavior, using his power in Hollywood to sexually assault four women between 2003 and 2014. Among them was Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who testified she was raped in 2005. Siebel Newsom was one of eight women who took the stand for the prosecution, all describing how Weinstein lured them into private rooms under the pretense of career development before assaulting them. Afterward, they explained to jurors, they stayed silent for years out of fear of Weinstein ruining their budding professions in Hollywood. Today justice has been served," Elizabeth Fegan, the attorney who represented Siebel Newsom and another witness in the trial, said in a statement after the sentencing. In delivering a 16-year sentence, Judge Lisa Lench has ensured that Harvey Weinstein will spend the rest of his life behind bars. It cant erase the trauma theyve endured, but it can serve as catalyst for change and provide hope to other survivors. To prove Weinsteins pattern of behavior, prosecutors asked several women to describe Weinsteins genitalia to the jury; a 1999 surgery left the producer with severe scarring, and jurors were shown several photographs of Weinsteins genitals. Prior to Thursdays sentencing, Judge Lisa Lench ordered that only Jane Doe 1 would be allowed to give a victim impact statement because she is the only one whose allegations yielded convictions. Prosecutors fought the decision, urging Lench to at least allow attorney Gloria Allredwho is representing three Weinstein accusersto speak in court as they argued for a minimum 18-year prison sentence. Louisette Geiss, who testified as a supporting witness for Siebel Newsom during the trial and has separately accused Weinstein of sexual assault, told The Daily Beast that she had a very uneasy feeling, a guttural nervousness ahead of Thursdays sentencing in a case that has taken up five years of her life. I pray the judge does the right thing and sentences Harvey Weinstein to enough time that he lives his last breath behind bars, Geiss said. I think its beyond fair that he gets sentenced harshly as he put all of us in an emotional prison for years. We finally broke free so we could protect other women and men and see justice served. You f-ed with the wrong girls and women, Weinstein. This I know for sure. In the end, the jurors could not come to a conclusion about the charges related to Siebel Newsoms allegations, prompting the judge to declare a mistrial for those two counts. The jurors also deadlocked on a charge related to an actress who said Weinstein sexually assaulted her in a bathroom in 2013. Since the verdict, Weinsteins defense team has filed a motion asking for a new trial, alleging that evidence was withheld during the trial and that the L.A. jury was improperly instructed before deliberations. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 16 years in prison, two months after a jury convicted him on rape and sexual assault charges in Los Angeles. The hearing was scheduled to start at 9:30amPT/12:30pmET in front of Superior Court Judge Lisa B Lench. Weinstein faced up to 18 years in prison following his conviction. His defense team had filed a motion to grant him a new trial, but Judge Lench moved to sentence him. Jurors in the LA case convicted Weinstein in December of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault against an Italian model and actor during a 2013 film festival in the run-up to that year's Academy Awards. The jury acquitted him of the sexual battery of a massage therapist and failed to reach verdicts on counts involving two other women. Weinsteins Los Angeles trial marked the second time the former Hollywood producer faced criminal prosecution for alleged sex crimes. In early 2020, Weinstein was convicted of third-degree rape and a criminal sex act in New York. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison in the New York case, and was serving that sentence when he was extradicted to Los Angeles for his second trial. The 16-year Los Angeles sentence comes in addition to the previous New York sentence. The Associated Press contributed to this report 20:27 , Clemence Michallon Weinstein directly appealed to Judge Lench during Thursdays hearing. I maintain that I'm innocent. I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe 1, he said according to The Associated Press, refering to the woman whose testimony led to his conviction. The woman who Weinstein was convicted of raping sobbed in the courtroom as he spoke. Moments earlier she had told the judge about the pain she felt after being attacked by Weinstein. Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman. I valued myself and the relationship I had with God, the woman, who was identified in court only as Jane Doe 1, said. I was excited about my future. Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me. There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage. Story continues (AP) 19:31 , Clemence Michallon Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 16 years in prison in the Los Angeles case. 17:53 , Clemence Michallon Eleven journalists are being allowed inside the courtroom for Weinsteins hearing, according to journalist Meghann Cuniff, who also reports that at least one juror from the trial is in attendance. Harvey Weinstein is scheduled to be sentenced today in Los Angeles. I managed to snag the first of 11 passes for reporters and will be in the courtroom for the 9:30 hearing. Heres what to expect: https://t.co/5jpujfiWld Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) February 23, 2023 At at least one juror from Weinstein's trial is here and was speaking with one of Weinstein's attorneys a few moments ago. Weinstein's motion for new trial says two jurors say they wouldn't have convicted on Jane Doe 1 if they knew of her intimate relationship w/ another witness. Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) February 23, 2023 17:20 , Clemence Michallon Legal uncertainties will remain on both coasts for Weinstein, regardless of how todays hearing goes, per The Associated Press. New Yorks highest court has agreed to hear his appeal in his rape and sexual assault convictions there. And prosecutors in Los Angeles have yet to say whether they will retry Weinstein on counts they were unable to reach a verdict on. It is not yet clear where Weinstein will serve his time while these issues are decided.His New York sentence would be served before a California prison term, though a retrial or other issues could keep him from being sent back there soon. Weinstein is eligible for parole in New York in 2039. (AP) 16:50 , Clemence Michallon Todays hearing will take place at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, a courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. Here are views of the building in September 2022, during earlier stages of Weinsteins LA trial: A general view of Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center during the arraignment of former film producer Harvey Weinstein on sex-related charges on 20 September 2021 in Los Angeles, California (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) A general view of Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center during the arraignment of former film producer Harvey Weinstein on sex-related charges on 20 September 2021 in Los Angeles, California (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) The media is seen outside the courthouse during the arraignment of former film producer Harvey Weinstein on sex-related charges at Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center on 20 September 2021 in Los Angeles, California (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) 16:21 , Clemence Michallon Per The Associated Press, Weinsteins lawyers have argued that Judge Lenchs rejection of evidence they wanted to use at trial was prejudicial to him.The law gives Lench the singular responsibility of setting right those prejudicial errors which often become apparent only with the benefit of hindsight, the lawyers wrote in the motion.Lench has said she will move forward with the sentencing immediately if she rejects the defense motion.(AP) 16:20 , Clemence Michallon On October 24th in a Los Angeles courtroom, Mark Werksman, Harvey Weinsteins lawyer, was delivering his opening statement. The LA case marked the second time Weinstein faced prosecution; the first ended with his conviction, in early 2020, on charges of third-degree rape and a criminal sexual act. Shes made herself a prominent victim in the MeToo movement, Werkman said. Otherwise, shed be just another bimbo who slept with Harvey Weinstein to get ahead in Hollywood. He was talking about Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker whose husband is the current governor of California, Gavin Newsom, and one of four women whose allegations made up the charges against Weinstein. Without naming her, Werksman made it clear who he was referring to when he described her as a very prominent citizen of California. Siebel Newsoms attorney denounced the comments as despicable, desperate and dishonest to The Associated Press, adding: The defense is callously engaging in misogynistic name-calling and victim-shaming. Even by the acrimonious standards of the American courtroom, Werksmans words seemed brazen: openly contemptuous of not only Siebel Newsom, but other women who have alleged Weinstein assaulted them. In 2022, the unbearable cruelty of the American courtroom was laid bare. From Weinsteins court cases to the federal appeal of former cult leader Keith Raniere to the controversial Peacock documentary about Casey Anthony, US jury trials have come under particular scrutiny and justifiably. From Weinstein to Casey Anthony: The unbearable cruelty of the American courtroom 15:37 , Clemence Michallon Todays hearing will begin with Weinsteins defense team delivering arguments over a motion to have the verdict reduced, or to give Weinstein a new trial. Also during the hearing, the victim whose testimony relates to the guilty counts against Weinstein will deliver a statement about the impact of Weinsteins action on her. Other women are not expected to speak at the hearing. Judge Lench last week rejected a request from Gloria Allred, an attorney for some of the women who testified at trial, to allow others to make statements in court. Im not going to make this an open forum on Mr Weinsteins conduct, Lench said, according to The Associated Press. (AP) 15:05 , Clemence Michallon Harvey Weinsteins sentencing hearing will take place today at a downtown Los Angeles court. He faces up to 18 years in prison after being convicted in December of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault. Judge Lisa B Lench could also grant a defense motion for a new trial. One year into Russias assault on Ukraine, a few things are clear. Ukraine remains highly motivated, punching well above its weight against a far bigger and more experienced foe. The Russian military, meanwhile, has underperformed to nearly the same degree, though it continues to muster bodies and ammunition to throw at the front. It is also clear that the U.S. role has been essential in giving Ukraine a fighting chance. Thanks to a successful American campaign to become the indispensable nation, we are the only ones capable of leading that charge. Advertisement Absent massive financial, military and political support from the United States, this war would likely have ended soon after it began, and not with Ukrainian victory. Even the support from other countries (which trails far behind) owes much to U.S. pressure and persuasion. President Volodymyr Zelenskyys face revealed as much as he embraced President Joe Biden in his historic trip to Kyiv this week. No other nations leader has been met with such emotion. Advertisement I share this with a measure of pride. Im grateful my country has stood up so meaningfully for what is right, helping a free people defend themselves against naked aggression. But it also gives me pause, for the United States is hardly a bulwark of reliability these days. Have we really built a world in which the fate of the liberal international order rests on a single nations fickle politics? Why must the United States bear such an outsized proportion of this burden? It isnt just American politics that makes reliance on America a risky bet either. That bet depends on Ukraines fate continuing to outweigh other U.S. national security interests. After all, the war in Ukraine threatens the American-led international order and democracy in Europe, but it doesnt threaten U.S. security directly. We should remember that the administrations carefully calibrated response to the war has been driven by U.S. interests. Americas ultimate national security priorities in Europe are to ensure this war doesnt spill over into a direct conflict with the United States or escalate to nuclear engagement. Ukraines ultimate victory could benefit those goals, since there is merit in the deterrent effect of an aggressor being stopped in its tracks. But in direct conflict between core U.S. security interests and Ukraine, the latter will lose out. Ukraines dependence on the United States isnt unique. Rather, it is the inevitable outcome of Americas decadeslong effort to become the essential nation. We have only ourselves to blame. The entire NATO alliance has hung its hat under Americas security umbrella. This is why Europe, which stands to lose much more if Ukraine is defeated, remains a secondary actor to the United States in its defense. Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has allowed its NATO allies to slash defense spending for peace dividends that Americans didnt enjoy, while we subsidized their security. Advertisement As a result, none of our allies today is prepared to bear the brunt of what should be, first and foremost, a European burden. The risk this poses to Europe today is now clear. NATO allies are trying to ramp up military aid to Kyiv but are running out of ammunition and supplies to share. At a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels earlier this month, several countries signed new defense industry cooperation agreements, but it could be years before they deliver. The United States has failed, too, to muster support from other partner nations, particularly in the southern hemisphere, which understandably trends skeptical anytime the United States leads a charge in defense of freedom and democracy. Even with democratic champion Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva now in power, Brazil has stayed on the fence, laying some of the blame for Russias aggression on NATO expansion. Other important countries like India, South Africa and Indonesia have also played both sides, afraid to alienate important Western trade partners but not interested in provoking Russia or China either. Chinas role is about as consequential as the United States in the wars continuation, since its ongoing trade has enabled Russia to weather the storm of Western sanctions. Though China gains little from a bigger war, it also doesnt want an ideological win by the United States. If China saw this as a truly global coalition against Russias clear violation of another states sovereignty the most fundamental violation of the international order rather than another U.S.-led democracy initiative, China might approach this conflict differently, and that could be decisive. This is why Ukraine, Europe and the rest of the world would be better off today if the United States had used its influence to build a world order where the burden of defending the international system was more equally shared and distributed instead of one built on American primacy. Advertisement Its not too late to seek that world order, but it will require changing attitudes about what role the United States really plays within it, not just in other countries around the world but at home, too. Elizabeth Shackelford is a senior fellow on U.S. foreign policy with the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. She was previously a U.S. diplomat and is the author of The Dissent Channel: American Diplomacy in a Dishonest Age. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com. Harvey Weinstein appears in a Los Angeles courtroom during his trial in October 2022. (Etienne Laurent / Associated Press) Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison Thursday for raping a woman in a Beverly Hills hotel in 2013, all but ensuring that the disgraced Hollywood kingmaker will spend the rest of his life behind bars. Weinstein, who is 70 and in poor health, is already serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York, where he was convicted in 2020 of sexually assaulting other women. In handing down Weinsteins punishment, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench ruled he cannot serve the two sentences concurrently. Instead, Weinstein will return to New York to serve out the rest of his sentence there, according to his attorney, Mark Werksman. Combined, the sentences ensure Weinstein will not be eligible for release until at least the 2050s. Following a nearly two-month trial, Weinstein was convicted last month of raping an Italian model and actor after he barged into her hotel room. A jury deliberated for 10 days before convicting him of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration with a foreign object in connection with the assault of the woman, who was not named during the trial. The woman, identified as Jane Doe 1, trembled and cried while speaking in court Thursday and asked Lench to hand down the most severe punishment possible. Weinsteins behavior, she said, robbed her of control of her life and has left her to endure flashbacks of the assault to this day. There is no prison sentence long enough to erase the damage. ... He deserves to experience the same shame, humiliation and fear as I did, she said. Weinstein faced a maximum sentence of 24 years in prison. Prosecutors asked Lench to hand down the maximum sentence. Werksman asked that Lench sentence Weinstein to just three years in prison, to be served concurrent with his New York sentence, because all of the counts related to one sexual act that happened in a frenzied 15-minute span. He also requested leniency because of Weinsteins myriad health issues, including spinal stenosis and diabetes. Story continues Lench, however, ruled that each count was a distinct crime and sentenced him to eight, six and two years in prison for each count, respectively. Weinstein spoke for the first time since his trial began in October, maintaining his innocence and asking Lench not to hand down what was effectively a life sentence. I did not rape this woman. I did not see this woman. I wasnt at the hotel, Weinstein said. He claimed his accuser, as a former actor, knew how to turn the tears on and said the womans allegation was the result of a cottage industry of lawyers who have made careers out of suing him. Jane Doe 1 filed a civil suit against Weinstein shortly after he was convicted. Weinstein initially faced more than 11 counts of sexual assault stemming from allegations he raped and groped multiple women in hotel rooms in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills from 2004 to 2013. Jurors deadlocked on charges based on his alleged attacks on three other women, including Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who is married to Gov. Gavin Newsom. And prosecutors dropped counts related to allegations made by a fourth woman, who did not appear in court to testify. Siebel Newsom released a video statement after the hearing. In it, she recounted other incidents of abuse she said she had suffered and the trauma of losing her sister as a young child, but said what Harvey Weinstein did to me was the worst. His assault was excruciatingly traumatic. And for years, he walked away unfettered while I spent years nursing my wounds. Dist. Atty. George Gascons office has not said whether it will seek to retry Weinstein on the counts for which the jury could not reach a verdict. The mogul has denied all wrongdoing and is appealing his New York conviction, though an earlier attempt to do so failed. While he spoke at his sentencing hearing in New York, Weinstein did not testify in his own defense at either trial. Thursdays hearing was another, and possibly final, turn in Weinsteins complete fall from Hollywoods highest echelon. The onetime film producer who was the force behind beloved films such as The English Patient and Good Will Hunting is now a pariah in the industry he once ruled. Weinsteins career unraveled in 2017, after investigations by the New York Times and the New Yorker revealed he had used his status in the industry to get access to actors and models, many of whom said he abused and in some cases raped. In all, dozens of women have accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct. Prosecutors focused on that dynamic throughout the trial, painting Weinstein as a predator who used Hollywood as his hunting ground and specifically targeted women whom he could use his influence to silence. For this predator, hotels were his trap. Confined within those walls, victims were not able to run from his hulking mass. People were not able to hear their scream, L.A. County Deputy Dist. Atty. Marlene Martinez said during her closing argument last month. Weinsteins defense team aggressively attacked each womans credibility, arguing that some of the accusers had fabricated their encounters with Weinstein and that others had engaged in consensual sexual relationships with him in exchange for job opportunities. Defense attorney Alan Jackson pleaded with jurors to focus on what he said were inconsistencies in the womens claims, as opposed to their emotional testimony. I dont know how to say it more gentle than this, but fury does not make fact, he said. Tears do not make truth. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 16 years in prison in his Los Angeles case. The sentence was announced during a hearing on Thursday (23 February), two months after he was convicted in LA of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault. Weinsteins defense team had made a motion for him to be granted a new trial, but Superior Court Judge Lisa B Lench rejected it and moved to sentence the former movie producer. He had faced up to 18 years in prison. Weinstein was convicted in Los Angeles in December of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault against an Italian model and actor during a 2013 film festival in the run-up to that years Academy Awards. The jury acquitted him of the sexual battery of a massage therapist and failed to reach verdicts on counts involving two other women. The Los Angeles trial was the second time Weinstein faced criminal charges for alleged sex crimes. His first criminal trial took place in New York City in early 2020. Weinsteins New York trial ended with his conviction on charges of third-degree rape and a criminal sex act. He was sentenced to 23 years in that case, and was serving that sentence when he was extradited to California to face more charges. During Thursdays hearing, Weinstein told Judge Lench: I maintain that Im innocent. I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe 1, in reference to the woman whose testimony led to his conviction, according to The Associated Press. The woman sobbed as he spoke. Before Weinstein addressed the judge, the woman made a statement to the court, describing the toll Weinsteins actions took on her. Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman. I valued myself and the relationship I had with God, she saud. I was excited about my future. Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me. There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage. Legal uncertainties will remain on both coasts for Weinstein. New Yorks highest court has agreed to hear his appeal in his rape and sexual assault convictions there. And prosecutors in Los Angeles have yet to say whether they will retry Weinstein on counts they were unable to reach a verdict on. Story continues It is not yet clear where he will serve his time while these issues are decided.His New York sentence would be served before a California prison term, though a retrial or other issues could keep him from being sent back there soon. Weinstein will become eligible for parole in New York in 2039. The Associated Press contributed to this report A judge sentenced Harvey Weinstein to 16 years in prison in his Los Angeles criminal trial Thursday, adding on to the 23 years he is already serving as he continues to face repercussions from sexual assault allegations that kickstarted the #MeToo movement. The jury in December found Weinstein guilty of rape and sexual assault in his second criminal trial. The 70-year-old former movie mogul is already nearly three years into his 23-year sentence for a rape and sexual assault conviction in New York. For his Los Angeles trial, Weinstein faced up to 18 additional years in prison. Weinstein directly appealed to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench, saying: "I maintain that Im innocent. I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe 1." The woman who Weinstein was convicted of raping sobbed in the courtroom as he spoke. Moments earlier she told the judge about the pain she felt after being attacked by Weinstein. "Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman. I valued myself and the relationship I had with God," said the woman, who was identified in court only as Jane Doe 1. "I was excited about my future. Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me. There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage." Lench handed down the sentence Thursday after rejecting a motion by Weinsteins lawyers for a new trial. Lench sentenced Weinstein to eight years for a forcible rape count, six years for forcible oral copulation and two years for forcible penetration with a foreign object, for a combined 16 years. Here's everything you need to know about the disgraced film producer's latest legal issue. Read all the biggest revelations from Harvey Weinstein's Los Angeles trial Weinstein says he doesn't deserve 'life in prison' sentence Weinstein's attorneys requested that Judge Lench sentence him to three years for each count and have the sentences run simultaneously. Story continues Mr. Weinstein did a lot of good for a lot of people in a 50 year career, Weinstein lawyer Mark Werksman told the judge. He was a man that many famous movie stars would thank in their Oscar speeches. Werksman cited Weinstein's age and very poor health, suggesting a long sentence would make it unlikely he would ever see his five children outside of prison. Jane Doe 1 could be heard crying in court throughout Werksman and Weinstein's remarks to the judge. This is a made up story. Jane Doe 1 is an actress. She can turn the tears on, said Weinstein, who insisted he had never met the woman. Please dont sentence me to life in prison. I dont deserve it. There are so many things wrong with this case. Weinstein found guilty of rape and sexual assault in Los Angeles In LA, Weinstein was found guilty Dec. 19 of three of seven counts: rape, forced oral copulation and another sexual misconduct count involving Jane Doe 1. The jury hung on several counts, notably charges involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The jury reported it was unable to reach verdicts in her allegations and the allegations of another woman. A mistrial was declared on those counts. Weinstein was acquitted of a sexual battery allegation made by another woman. As the initial guilty counts were read, Weinstein looked down at the table and appeared to put his face in his hands. He looked forward as the rest of the verdict was read. Prosecutors and defense attorneys had no immediate comment on the verdict. In this file photo taken on Oct. 4, 2022, Harvey Weinstein appears in court at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles. The jury failed to reach a verdict on whether he planned his assault on a model-actor in 2013, which meant Weinstein faced up to 18 years in prison. Lench declared a mistrial on the issue the following day after the panel reported it couldn't agree on special allegations that Weinstein planned his attack on the woman, and whether she was particularly vulnerable. If the jury had found that either circumstance applied, Weinstein would've faced an enhanced maximum term of 24 years at his sentencing. Harvey Weinstein will never be able to rape another woman. He will spend the rest of his life behind bars where he belongs, Jennifer Siebel Newsom said in a statement. Throughout the trial, Weinsteins lawyers used sexism, misogyny, and bullying tactics to intimidate, demean, and ridicule us survivors. The trial was a stark reminder that we as a society have work to do. What happened at Weinstein's second sex crimes trial? Over the course of the more than monthlong trial, prosecutors called 44 witnesses to the stand, including four women who Weinstein was charged with raping or sexually assaulting as they alleged experiences of facing sexual assault and rape at the hands of Weinstein, and the pain, shock and shame felt in the aftermath. Newsom screamed through tears from the witness stand in November when she told the court Weinstein raped her in a hotel room and spoke of the devastating effect it had on her in the 17 years since. Newsom described how nervous she was after being directed to his hotel suite. Asked by Deputy District Attorney Marlene Martinez why she didnt walk away, she said: Because you dont say no to Harvey Weinstein. He could make or ruin your career. In this courtroom sketch, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker and the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, takes the stand at the trial of Harvey Weinstein in Los Angeles on Nov. 14, 2022. Lauren Young the only accuser to testify in both New York and Los Angeles trials took the stand and said Weinstein sexually assaulted her in a Beverly Hills hotel bathroom in 2013 while she repeatedly told him "no." Young, who is going by Jane Doe in court, said she was paralyzed by fear when Weinstein blocked her from leaving the bathroom, masturbated in front of her and groped her breasts. When Young testified in New York in February 2020, she was not one of the accusers whose stories would lead to Weinstein's conviction for rape and sexual assault and a 23-year prison sentence because her alleged encounter with Weinstein took place in California, not New York. Prosecutors called on her at that time as a "prior bad acts" witness to testify to establish an alleged pattern of Weinstein preying on women. Kelly Sipherd testified that Weinstein sexually assaulted her in a hotel room during the Toronto International Film Festival in 1991 when she was 24 and an aspiring actor, then did it again when she went to confront him in the same hotel during the same festival 17 years later. During closing arguments, Weinstein's attorney Alan Jackson argued that two of the women were entirely lying about their encounters, while the other two took part in transactional sex for the sake of career advancement that was 100% consensual. But after the #MeToo explosion around Weinstein with stories in the New York Times and the New Yorker which Jackson called a dogpile on his client the women became regretful. Regret is not rape, Jackson told jurors several times. Prosecutors concluded their arguments by urging jurors to complete Weinsteins takedown by convicting him in California. It is time for the defendants reign of terror to end, Martinez said. It is time for the kingmaker to be brought to justice. Weinstein lawyers argue for overlooked evidence In arguments, Weinstein's lawyers said Judge Lench was wrong to exclude from evidence messages showing that Jane Doe 1 had a sexual relationship with the director of the film festival she was visiting during the attack. At the trials opening in October, the woman gave a dramatic and emotional account of Weinstein arriving uninvited at her hotel room during a 2013 film festival in the run-up to the Oscars, talking his way in and assaulting her. Jackson said rape shield laws excluding the sexual history of a victim were not relevant here because the defense would have used the messages to show that the woman perjured herself and damaged her credibility when she testified that she and the festival director, Pascal Vicedomini, were merely friends and colleagues. If the jury had known that Jane Doe 1 and Pascal were intimately involved, they never would have bought the story that was told, Jackson said. We know they wouldnt have bought it. Because some of them have said so. Jackson argued that the messages would also have bolstered defense arguments that the woman was not even in her hotel room, where she testified the attack occurred, but was with Vicedomini. The defense had given the judge affidavits from jurors, two of whom were in the audience for the sentencing, that the evidence might have made them decide differently. Lench called the juror statements speculation about how the evidence would have played out that were not relevant under the law. The issue is likely to be at the forefront of Weinstein's upcoming appeal. Weinstein was already convicted of sex crimes Weinstein's 2020 New York sex crimes case resulted in his conviction on charges of sexual assault and third-degree rape, though in August he was granted a bid to appeal those charges. He was initially sent to Rikers Island in New York, but was extradited in 2021 to a California county jail as he faced the West Coast charge. Weinsteins New York conviction survived an initial appeal, but the case is set to be heard by the states highest court later this year. The California conviction, also likely to be appealed, means he will not walk free even if the East Coast conviction is thrown out. Contributing: Elise Brisco, Naledi Ushe, Maria Puente, USA TODAY; Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Harvey Weinstein sentencing: LA rape case adds 16 years to prison time Harvey Weinstein appears in court in Los Angeles on Oct. 4, 2022. Etienne Laurent / AP Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to an additional 16 years in prison on Thursday for his rape and sexual assault conviction in Los Angeles. In December, a jury found Weinstein guilty of one count of forcible oral copulation, one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object, and one count of forcible rape, all involving Jane Doe 1. He was acquitted of one count of sexual battery by restraint related to another Jane Doe, while a mistrial was declared on charges involving two other women, including Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the filmmaker and wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The former movie mogul is already serving a 23-year sentence after being found guilty of rape and sexual assault in New York in 2020. For his Los Angeles conviction, Weinstein was facing up to 18 years in prison on top of that time. Before Weinstein learned his fate, Jane Doe 1, the former model and actor who testified that the former producer raped her in February 2013, told the court that the effects of the sexual assault are still "raw and difficult to discuss" 10 years after it occurred. "I have been carrying this weight, this trauma. This irrational belief that it was my fault," Jane Doe 1 told the court on Thursday. "His selfish, disgusting actions have greatly impacted my life. Before that night, I was a very happy and confident woman. I valued myself and the relationship I had with God. I was excited about my future. Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me." "I thought I did something wrong because he chose me that night. I thought I did something wrong for him to do that to me," she continued. "I soon became invisible to myself and to the world. I lost my identity. I was heartbroken, empty, and alone." "There is no prison sentence long enough to erase the damage. I'm still learning every day how to live with this," she said. "By coming forward, I raised my voice," Jane Doe 1 added. "Im no longer invisible." Story continues In his own statement to the court on Thursday, Weinstein maintained his innocence and accused Jane Doe 1 of lying, calling her account a "made up story." He said, "I maintain that Im innocent. I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe 1. I never knew this woman, and the fact is she doesnt know me. This is about money." The Los Angeles verdict came five years after the New York Times and the New Yorker first reported on the accusations that Weinstein had a history of sexually assaulting, sexually harassing, and raping women in the industry. Those stories prompted a reckoning within Hollywood and contributed to the explosion of the #MeToo movement. Since then, more than 90 women have publicly accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct. "Today, justice has been served," Elizabeth Fegan, the attorney who represented Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Ashley Matthau in the Los Angeles trial, said in a statement to BuzzFeed News after Weinstein's sentence was announced on Thursday. "In delivering a 16-year sentence, Judge Lisa Lench has ensured that Harvey Weinstein will spend the rest of his life behind bars. "The verdict and the sentence were possible because eight very courageous women stepped forward to confront this serial rapist," Fegan added. In a statement to BuzzFeed News, Weinstein's spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer, called the sentence "cruel" due to his age and health and said that Jane Doe 1 lied about her accusation. "Its not justice, but a pile on for a man many people just decided should be cast off and discarded regardless of facts. It will be appealed," Engelmayer said. Also on Thursday, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench denied Weinstein's motion for a new trial. In the motion, his attorneys said they wanted to set right "prejudicial errors" and alleged that they had evidence that would impact the credibility of Jane Doe 1's testimony. Prosecutors refuted his attorneys claims and argued that a new trial would not result in a different verdict. During the monthslong trial in Los Angeles, the jury, made up of eight men and four women, heard from more than 50 witnesses, including the four alleged victims. Siebel Newsom, who first shared her experience with Weinstein in an op-ed published by HuffPost in 2017, testified that he had raped her in a hotel room during what she thought would be a business meeting in 2005 when she was a young actor in the industry. "Harvey Weinstein will never be able to rape another woman," Siebel Newsom said in a statement after the verdict was announced. "He will spend the rest of his life behind bars where he belongs." Throughout both criminal cases in New York and Los Angeles, Weinstein, 70, maintained his innocence and pleaded not guilty. After the Los Angeles verdict was announced, his representative told BuzzFeed News that Weinstein was "determined to continue his legal challenges in ultimately proving his innocence." Weinstein is currently appealing his New York conviction. His lawyers are arguing that the womens testimony led the New York jury to focus on the history and pattern of allegations rather than on specific charges relevant to the case, among other issues. More on this [Source] An 18-year-old high school student from Hawaii brought the "American Idol" judges to tears during the shows Season 21 premiere on Sunday. Kahuku native Iam Tongi performed a captivating rendition of James Blunts Monsters that left both Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan wiping away tears by the end. Tongi dedicated the song to his late father, Rodney, who passed away just a few months prior after being diagnosed with stage 4 kidney disease. More from NextShark: Got7 makes highly anticipated comeback after JYP exit with music video for 'Nanana' Tongis talent shone through, despite the heartbreaking circumstances surrounding his performance. Deeply moved by Tongi's delivery, Richie highlighted its impact on the judges: I was not worried about whether you were going to make it through the song. I was worried about whether we were going to make it through the song. Your daddys very proud ... Let me just tell you something. The story is one thing. But the delivery of your story was phenomenal. Young man, you take this into the world, and youre going to fracture some souls. More from NextShark: Lea Salonga covers Jose Mari Chan Christmas classic in new Pentatonix collab Meanwhile, Bryan said he could relate to Tongis loss as the guardian of his nephew, who also lost a father. I cannot handle your heartbreaking about your dad because my nephew lost his dad, and he came to live with me ... and to see you missing your dad just sucks. And gosh, man, you got a great voice, you got a great voice. You just did everything perfectly, and I love ya. I want to see you have fun in this whole thing, man. Its just awesome. It's awesome what you just did to me, and you're 18 years old. Katy Perry was equally impressed and praised the young contestants delivery of the song. More from NextShark: Grammy Winning Canadian Singer Blames Virus Making Greedy Bastards For Cancelled Shows What a fantastic song to pick [and] I feel like you couldve written this song. I mean, you sang it. You delivered it, and youre making these grown men cry. You hit a nerve, and thats what great storytellers do. Thats what great artists do, and your voice is just so magnificent. Story continues All three judges unanimously voted Tongi through to Hollywood for the next round. Commenters on the video of his performance on the "American Idol" YouTube channel expressed admiration for the contestant's voice and talent, while others shared similar experiences. More from NextShark: Comedian Jason Cheny addresses Asian American 'arrogance' when asked where theyre from "Thanks for sharing your gift with us and sharing this song Iam," a commenter wrote. "In 2020, the hardest most painful words I ever had to say to my father, suffering from cancer, 'Dad, you can rest now.' The next morning he passed. Here's to all the fathers that 'chased the monsters away.'" "I lost my father a few months back, and my cousin who was basically my brother a few days ago," shared another. "As a man, it's hard to let yourself break down, but not being able to say goodbye to those you love is a pain you won't forget. I will always regret not being able to see them off. Listening to this brought all those emotions to the surface. Hug and tell them you love them while you can. Trust me you never know when it might be there time to go." "I instantly started sobbing uncontrollably as soon as he started singing," another user wrote. "My husband who lost his father a year ago was standing in front of the tv in tears he couldnt even sit down. The only sound that filled our living room was this mans beautiful voice and our sniffles. Truly captivated us and the room we were in through the tv. Thats insanely powerful. The gift you have is indescribable." Tongis social media accounts received a significant spike in followers after his audition went viral. His Instagram (@wtongi) and TikTok (@wtongi) accounts, in which he shares both covers and original songs, have now amassed over 300,000 followers combined. View this post on Instagram A post shared by William Tongi (@wtongi) Carlos Watson records a TV debate for Take On America With OZY at The Bently Reserve on October 29, 2018 in San Francisco, California. (Getty Images) The chief executive of troubled digital media company Ozy Media was arrested at a New York hotel and charged with fraud, according to court documents. Carlos Watson was accused in a federal indictment of having engaged in a scheme to defraud Ozys investors, potential investors, potential acquirers, lenders and potential lenders, reported CNN. Prosecutors claim that Mr Watson allegedly misled investors about everything from the companys revenue, business projections, and audience numbers to the identities of other investors. The complaint states that Mr Watson and other Ozy Media executives started to mislead investors in 2018, claiming that the company had doubled its revenue from 2016 to 2017. Prosecutors say that in fact, the revenue had barely changed from $6m in 2016 to the following year. Court papers state that Mr Watson and other executives told investors that the company would be able to reach $22m in revenue in 2018, even after it became clear that Ozy could not achieve that result. As alleged, Carlos Watson is a con man whose business strategy was based on outright deceit and fraud he ran Ozy as a criminal organization rather than as a reputable media company, stated Breon Peace, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Mr Watson, a former host and commentator on channels such as CNBC, CNN and MSNBC, was arrested by FBI agents at Manhattans Hotel NH Collection on Thursday morning, sources told CNN. If convicted he faces a minimum of two years in prison and a maximum sentence of 37 years behind bars. Mr Watsons lawyer, Lenny Breuer, told NBC News that he was deeply disappointed by the events of today. We were engaged in a good faith and constructive dialogue with the government, Mr Breuer said. Given the departments claims of promoting such dialogue, I do not understand the dramatic decision to arrest Carlos today. Heathrow expects 2023 to be one of 'renewal' after three years of disruption caused by the COVID pandemic. Photo: Hannah McKay/Reuters Heathrow airport halved its losses last year as a trebling of passenger numbers helped recovery. The group reported underlying pre-tax losses of 684m ($823m) for last year, against losses of 1.3bn in 2021. Passenger numbers trebled to 61.6 million, up by 42.2 million on a COVID-hit 2021, which it claimed was the biggest increase of any major global airport. That figure, however, remains 25% down on the pre-pandemic year of 2019. Heathrow said it expects passenger numbers to rise to 67.2 million for 2023, thanks to stronger demand for travel and despite the cost of living pressures facing households. Read more: Revealed: UK's least favourite airlines However, its forecasts for 2023 mean it would only be hitting 83% of 2019 passenger levels. The airport was forced to introduce a cap on passenger numbers to control disruption as the industry suffered from staff shortages last summer. The border closures and loss of skills deeply scarred the global aviation sector and it will take some time to fully recover, the airport said. John Holland-Kaye, the outgoing chief executive of Heathrow, said that 2022 may have been a year of recovery, but 2023 is shaping up to be a year of renewal for Heathrow. He added: Our teams have already delivered a successful Christmas and half-term getaway, and with a great investment plan in place, we are determined to once again rank in the top 10 airports for service. Holland-Kaye announced plans earlier this month to step down later this year after nine years in the role. He will remain in post until a successor is appointed. Read more: Holiday prices to popular destinations jump by hundreds of pounds The West London airport also took aim at Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulated charges in its results, branding tariff plans for the next three years as not deliverable due to errors in the CAAs forecasts. The CAA controls Heathrows maximum airport charge and has brought in an interim tariff until it makes a final decision on charges for the next period to the end of 2026. Story continues Heathrow, which is owned by Spanish group Ferrovial, the Qatar Investment Authority and other investors, said no dividends were paid in 2022 and none were planned for 2023 as its financing remained "conservative". Watch: Heathrow annual losses halve to 684m as pandemic recovery gathers speed Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. Heidi Klum and husband Tom Kaulitz recently celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary. The German model marked the occasion with a carousel post on Instagram, including a video of Klum and Kaulitz sharing a kiss and a naked mirror selfie, on Wednesday (22 February). She captioned it love of my life along with a heart emoji, Klum, 49, married the Tokio Hotel guitarist, 33, in a secret ceremony in February 2019. Later that year, the couple hosted their friends for a second ceremony in Capri. Klum and Kaulitz exchanged vows on-board the Christina O, the yacht belonging to Jackie Kennedy Onassiss second husband, Aristotle Onassis. On Wednesday, Klum also shared a video of her with Kaulitz in their car, with Tokio Hotels Chateau playing over it, on her Instagram Stories. The accompanying lyrics read: And baby, I dont mind/As long as its you and I. Baby no, I dont mind/If we wanna dance tonight then/People gonna talk/Let them talk, let them talk, let them talk about it. Earlier this month, Klum opened up about starting a family with Kaulitz. The mother of four told Jennifer Hudson: I mean its a lot. Ive done it four times. And I breastfed eight months each time and then I was pregnant again. Three times in a row. However, she added, she wasnt opposed to the idea of having another baby. No, I waited a long time, so maybe yeah, Klum told Hudson. Klum welcomed her daughter, Leni, in 2004 shortly after she broke up with her childs biological father, the Italian businessman Flavio Briatore. Her ex-husband Seal adopted Leni in 2009, before the former couple had three more children: Henry, 17, Johan, 16, and Lou, 13. (Netflix) On 23 February 2019, 19-year-old Mallory Beach attended an oyster roast on an island in Beaufort County, South Carolina. She, her boyfriend, and a group of friends, arrived by boat on the Beaufort River. Among them was Paul Murdaugh, the 19-year-old heir of a prominent local family. The group left the party a few hours later, around midnight. Paul decided to stop at a bar on the way back, according to surviving members of the group interviewed in a new documentary. He ended up drunk, but insisted on driving the boat back himself. The way Paul was driving was honestly terrifying, Morgan Doughty, Pauls then-girlfriend, says in Netflixs Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, a three-part documentary premiering on Netflix on 22 February. On board with Paul were Morgan, Mallory, Mallorys boyfriend Anthony Cook, Anthonys cousin Connor Cook, and Connors girlfriend Miley Altman. When the boat crashed, only five people could be located: Paul, Morgan, Anthony, Connor, and Miley. Mallory was missing. She was found dead a week later, leaving her parents, her boyfriend, her friends, and other loved ones devastated. My world crumbled, her father Phillip Beach says in the Netflix documentary. He and Mallorys mother Renee Beach retained an attorney. Paul was eventually charged with multiple felonies in relation to the boat crash and Mallorys death, to which he pleaded not guilty. He was still awaiting trial when he and his mother Maggie Murdaugh were found shot to death in Islandton, South Carolina, at the familys hunting property, on 7 June 2021. Alex Murdaugh, Pauls father and Maggies husband, was charged with both murders on 14 July 2022. His trial which is currently ongoing has become one of the highest-profile legal cases of the year, generating daily headlines. While Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal is airing during these proceedings, it isnt a retelling of the case as told in court filings. Instead, the documentary takes one of the leading true-crime sagas of our time and strips it down to reveal a deeper, much more gripping story of human loss and suffering. Story continues Alexs trial has consumed so much oxygen that, in recent tellings of the saga, Mallorys death has become almost a prologue to the wider story of the Murdaugh family. Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal brings the focus back to Mallory in a significant manner; almost half of the three-part series centres around her death. We hear from her parents, as well as all five surviving passengers of the boat crash that killed her. Alex Murdaugh is mentioned, but doesnt become the focus of the show until much later. I think we always knew that Mallorys story was the springboard for this narrative, Jenner Furst, who co-directed the documentary with Julia Willoughby Nason, says in a phone call with The Independent ahead of its release. If you dont have that accident, and you dont have the way the community responded to that accident, and the way it ripped the community apart [then] you dont have a double homicide. Furst says Mallorys death led to increased scrutiny on the Murdaugh family and their alleged dealings, which in turn created a pressure cooker of a situation. By the time Alex Murdaugh was charged with Paul and Maggies murders, he was already facing a litany of other fraud and financial counts. The way that you see it transpire in our series is the way it was told to us by anyone who knew anything about this story: that if it wasnt for this boat accident, you wouldnt even have the double homicides, Furst says. Mallorys death is treated as more than an inciting incident in the series. The chaos and distress of that night comes through in interviews with her loved ones, audio tapes of phone calls placed after the boat crash, archive video footage, and effective reenactments. The true crime space focuses a lot on the criminal, Nason says in the same phone call. We wanted to understand who the victims are here, and the heart of their stories. In a true crime, theres so much detective work, but at the end of the day, these are real people whose lives were overturned. Their whole small community was infiltrated with news cameras, and their privacy disappeared overnight. I feel very grateful that they trusted us to film with them in that landscape. Mallory Beach (left) and Morgan Doughty (right) (Courtesy of Netflix) A memorial in tribute to Mallory Beach (Courtesy of Netflix) Morgan Doughty in Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal' (Courtesy of Netflix) The timing of the documentary also explains its focus on Mallorys death, and on allegations that predate Paul and Maggies deaths. Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal wrapped after Alex was charged with his son and wifes murders, but before his trial began. Nason and Furst did not know the show would air at the same time the proceedings would take place, nor did they know Alexs trial would air live on television. We spent about a year in the community, and it was incredible to see this non-stop barrage of additional criminal charges, more news, more insights, more rumors, more gossip, and ultimately this impending story of justice that is unfolding now, Furst tells The Independent. You couldnt have asked for timing like this. To have the trial itself be a live televised event happening right as the series comes out, its one of the most fortuitous moments you could ever ask for as a documentary filmmaker. When Nason and Furst discuss the documentarys participants, they do so with empathy and a sense of responsibility. Theyve both been in this line of work for around two decades, but sitting down with people and asking them to share some of the most traumatic, defining moments of their lives is still new, Nason says. Every time I sit down with a subject, I get nervous, she says. ... But its a chemistry between us, me and the subjects, that makes them feel comfortable and [gives them] the space to air out their answers to these questions and relive some things. A lot of times, subjects put things together in real time that they havent thought about. Interviews with Morgan, Anthony, Miley, Connor, and their parents bring into focus the waves of disruption and trauma experienced by the community. As Alexs trial keeps making headlines, they are often stuck between the need for answers and the need to keep existing. Morgans testimony, especially, offers an element of catharsis as she unpacks the story of her relationship with Paul, and of her life following his and Mallorys deaths. In Beaufort County, Morgan can easily be seen as an outsider. Her parents, Bill and Diane Doughty, are from Long Island, meaning shes sometimes not considered a full Southerner, according to Furst. Diane works as a nurse in a prison, Bill as a landscape architect and designer. We keep to ourselves, Diane says in the documentary. We all work and just do our thing. Morgans vantage point as the girlfriend, as the outsider seemed new to Furst and Nason. There was a feeling while we were doing the interview with Morgan, that this whole story was unfolding in front of us, Furst says. Miley Altman (left) and Mallory Beach (right) (Courtesy of Netflix) Connor Cook (left) and Miley Altman (right) in Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal (Courtesy of Netflix) Anthony Cook in Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal (Courtesy of Netflix) Both documentarians would consider giving the show a second season given the breadth of what theyve gathered. We have more than enough now with the trial itself and what is unfolding in the community as we speak, Furst says. For now, they hope the series compels viewers to look at the individual stories of upended lives that make up the truth of every true crime saga. What I hope viewers can take from this documentary is that behind the adrenaline-junkie aspect of true crime in this case, there are people who have an intimate and nuanced perspective about community, about growing up, about dreams that were lost, Nason says. Furst is uplifted by the idea that even in a story as painful as this one, people persevere. People continue to live, they try to live their best life in a community thats been turned upside down. He points to Mals Palz, an animal shelter founded in Mallorys memory, to reflect her love for animals. As silly as some people may think it is, we find great importance in these small things, Furst says. If thousands of animals could one day be saved in an organisation called Mals Palz, we want to be part of that, because theres no better way to honour Mallory. She was an incredibly benevolent, loving, charismatic person. She loved animals, she loved people, and its up to us to keep her alive. Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal streams on Netflix from 22 February in the US and in the UK People in downtown Lviv, Ukraine, on Feb. 11, 2023. As the country's leaders lay postwar plans, companies from around the world are jockeying for advantage in what could be a multibillion-dollar effort, although one loaded with risk. (Maciek Nabrdalik/The New York Times) The anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been marked by increased fighting but little hope for Russia to stop its futile and bloody aggression. After major successes in autumn, Kyiv is waiting for a fresh influx of Western weapons to turn the tide against a Russia that is becoming increasingly desperate. However, while the supply of the Ukrainian military may now be in the hands of others, the Ukrainian government has several weapons in its arsenal to strengthen an economy that has been battered by a year of full-scale invasion. Indeed, in the postwar era, Ukraine will succeed as a viable sovereign nation, capable of standing up to Russia, only if it swiftly implements the economic reforms it has eschewed for too long. Advertisement Ukraines economic transformation, unlike its neighbors to the west, has been slow to develop and, until 2014, was in line with Russias form of development: state-owned industries dominating the landscape, business success dependent on ties to politicians, and economic rights for the powerful but not the average Ukrainian. The first Russian invasion finally pushed Kyiv toward a reform-oriented path, including ensuring macroeconomic stability and, more importantly, moving toward European integration and signing an Association Agreement with the European Union. Along with the agreement, the most successful reform the country undertook was decentralization, allowing municipalities and regions far more responsibility for self-governance. The success of decentralization has been proved during the Russian invasion, as mobile and self-organizing military units have inflicted great losses on the Russian invaders without any centralized direction from Kyiv. Advertisement While Ukraine has taken steps to build a society that can withstand a Russian assault, it has not yet built an economy that can do the same. The losses to the Ukrainian economy after a year of bloody warfare are staggering: The International Monetary Fund estimated in December that Ukraines economy would contract by a third over the 10 months of war, while protracted fighting and continued targeting of civilians and infrastructure by Russia could increase that figure even higher. Budget shortfalls have been projected at approximately $38 billion and rising for 2023. Despite having stabilized after the first Russian invasion in 2014, with growth levels averaging 3%, the Ukrainian economy remains in need of reform to reach the heights it is capable of. Luckily, this is an area that Ukraine can undertake itself. While the Biden administration just recently pledged more substantial military assistance to Ukraine, it is still far too slow with delivering this assistance and Germany has only reluctantly agreed to send Leopard tanks. However, Ukraines economic reforms need no push from the outside. The blueprint is there already from its neighboring countries on both what and what not to do. Workers, including seamstress Iryna Seh, sew together Ukrainian military jackets at a factory owned by Ukrvyisktorg, a Ukrainian company that specializes in military clothing, on Feb. 21, 2023, in Lviv. (Sean Gallup / Getty Images) Most importantly, and as the decentralization reforms have shown, Ukrainians are natural entrepreneurs, and they should be encouraged to open businesses, take risks and jump-start the economy. This will necessitate a large rollback of the state and elimination of much of the regulatory apparatus that exists, removing burdens from firms and improving the business environment. This move will also help with the scourge of corruption: Rather than waste donor money on a parallel institutional structure to fight corruption, it must be attacked at its roots by eliminating opportunities for corruption. Corruption also must be tackled via a concerted reform of the judiciary, and it is here that the example of Estonia is instructive. In the early 1990s, the reform-minded Estonian government of then-Prime Minister Mart Laar invited all judicial appointees to reapply for their jobs. In this manner, the vast majority of judges were kept, but the most problematic judges were removed, allowing for a fresh start. More importantly, the dedicated effort that the Estonian government put into judicial reform drew support from the populace, allowing for legitimacy of the new judiciary. Ukraine would do well to start the postwar era with an entirely new judicial structure, and it is highly likely that Ukrainians would support this wholeheartedly. A legitimate judicial system is harder to corrupt and better for encouraging commerce. Other opportunities exist to roll back the role of the state, including in finally rationalizing the health sector and the social safety net. The lingering Soviet social welfare system means, like in many post-Soviet countries, a system that attempts to do too much and thus does nothing at a high level. Similarly, land market reforms have moved too slowly, and government-owned land should be privatized, including opening the land market to foreigners. All of these issues can be fast-tracked for a postwar reconstruction plan and set in motion by various ministries today. Advertisement To be sure, Ukraines economy and especially the postwar reconstruction will require massive infusions of international aid to help bridge the roughest times ahead. But the reforms themselves remain in the hands of the Ukrainian government and no one else. The extraordinary opportunities presented by postwar reconstruction should be used to push them forward. The only way for Ukraine to become a strong and independent market economy is for it to leave its Russian-occupied past behind. Ukrainians have already expressed this desire in their turn toward the EU. It is now time for them to see it implemented in their economy. Christopher Hartwell is professor of international business policy at ZHAW School of Management and Law in Switzerland and professor of international management at Kozminski University in Poland. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com. PIERRE While blizzard conditions set in at the state Capitol Wednesday, House and Senate members gathered to cast votes on bills to get them out of their house of origin and into the other body. And although Crossover Day has lasted into the late evening hours in past years, the House recessed before 6 p.m., while the Senate ended the day much earlier. Throughout the afternoon and into the early evening, the debates ranged on a number of items such as education, funding long-term health care providers, providing a tax cut to South Dakotans and establishing a taskforce for Native American children. Not all bills passed like SB 201, which would have brought down the felony penalty on ingestion or HB 1070, to create a Center for American Exceptionalism at Black Hills State University. More:Effort to create Center for American Exceptionalism at BHSU failed two-thirds vote in House At the end of the day, House members congratulated themselves on a job well done and celebrated with birthday cake, since it was House Speaker Hugh Bartels's 70th trip around the sun. Here's a non-exhaustive list of some of the debates the Argus Leader watched unfold throughout the day: Passed the House, 67-3: Lowering the overall state sales tax to 4.2% Should HB 1137 survive the Senate, this session will be known as the one where lawmakers passed the largest tax cut in state history. Rep. Chris Karr's bill, which would lower the overall sales tax rate and eliminate the albatross around the Legislature's neck known as the Partridge Amendment, passed out of House Appropriations Tuesday 8-1, over Gov. Kristi Noem's proposal to cut the overall state sales tax on grocery. The bill sailed through the House, 67-3. Karr, R-Sioux Falls, who provided data to the House to show the Legislature could indeed afford the cut, which would return $104 million to tax payers, said the state could lower the tax rate and continue to pay for its obligations. S.D. Representatives Chris Karr and Jim Mehlhaff chat during the first day of legislative session on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. "There's still organic growth. We can sit in debate about that and economists love to do that, but there is that growth," Karr said. "We know that South Dakota has one strongest economies... It's a broad tax cut that will minimize the market disruption." Story continues Rep. Linda Duba, D-Sioux Falls, who voted against the bill in committee and again in the House, said the bill accounts for $2.23 a week for each South Dakotan. "I will tell you, it's hard for me to say this, but I think it needs to be said: We need to fund the government," she said, adding it might be too soon to vote on the cut before the state budget is set. More:Gov. Kristi Noem's proposal to cut sales tax on groceries dies in House committee Passed the House, 44-25: Fully funding long-term care facilities In possibly the most emotional debate on the House floor Wednesday afternoon, members debated the state's obligation to fund health care providers, and among them long-term care facilities for those who cannot take care of themselves. Long-term care providers set their rate based on Medicaid methodology, and it's up to the state how much they'll reimburse based off that rate. "Now is the time to be a voice for the vulnerable of our state," Rep. Brian Mulder, R-Sioux Falls, said. "Funding these agencies at anything less [than 100%] will continue to lead to facility and service reduction despite the growing need." More:South Dakota lawmakers introduce bill to create Medicaid expansion fund While Karr and Mulder talked about the importance of fully funding these facilities, some of which have been "underfunded for decades," according to Karr, Rep. Marty Overweg, R-New Holland, drew from personal experience. Overweg, whose brother was autistic and whose grandchild is also autistic, reminded legislators they had a constitutional duty to disabled South Dakotans. "There's challenges out there for these families," he said. "They're looking to us." Overweg implored legislators to talk to parents of developmentally disabled children, who when they turn 21, age out of certain facilities and can't be placed at others, because of capacity issues. "It is our responsibility to take care of these handicapped people just like we would I hate the word normal but just like we would any other person or kid in in a regular school," he said. More:Live updates: Sioux Falls schools closed Thursday as blizzard continues Rep. Tony Venhuizen, R-Sioux Falls, had concerns about putting the 100% funding into state law, saying it could create a precedence for other state-funded entities. "Before lon,g we've tied ourselves in knots and we don't have enough money to do anything," he said. "This is why we have a budget process. This is why we have a Legislature." Failed in Senate, 17-18: Changing the felony penalty for ingestion Sen. Michael Rohl's bill, SB 201, would have brought the felony penalty for ingestion down to a misdemeanor and required those charged with ingestion to get addiction counseling. Only if a person had been charged three times or more with ingestion would they have been penalized with a class six felony, according to the bill's language. "I think it's important that we tackle these obstacles in a way that is promoting an outcome that ends with these people getting off of the drug," Rohl, R-Aberdeen, said. He added a majority of people in prison had felony ingestion charges. South Dakota is the only state in the nation to have a felony penalty for drug ingestion. S.D. Senators gather for the first day of legislative session on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. However, the bill was roundly criticized by senators who said it had been hoghoused and opposition was unable to testify in committee. "The only testimony was from those who had advanced knowledge and that was the marijuana lobbyists and the defense lobbyists to support this change in law," Sen. Helene Duhamel, R-Rapid City, said, after she read aloud a statement from the Attorney General's office, which opposed the bill. Rohl said there was a 12-hour window between the time the hoghouse amendment published online and the bill had its hearing in committee. Passed in Senate, 22-12: Creating a taskforce to examine the wellbeing of Native American children Sen. Red Dawn Foster's, D-Pine Ridge, bill would create a two-year, 17-member taskforce to examine the wellbeing of Indigenous children in South Dakota's foster care system. "This issue deserves another look. This is an opportunity for South Dakota to be on the forefront in standing for the protection of family values," Foster said. Currently, nearly 60% of children in South Dakota's foster care system are Indigenous. More:SD lawmakers push to actively reunite Indigenous children with families after abuse cases While opponents of the bill said the taskforce could impede work already being done by the Department of Social Services on the issue of foster care and that the scope was too broad, Sen. Shawn Bordeaux, D-Mission, applauded Foster for forcing the Senate to have a difficult conversation. "We've got to wrap the framework around this, so that we can't keep kicking the ball down the road for somebody else to do. We've done that too long," Bordeaux said. "It's probably the most important thing that I could ask you that we do here." House bills will now head over to the Senate for debate, while Senate bills will be heard in the House during the last three weeks of the 2023 Legislative session. This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Crossover Day ends with legislative wins and losses across the board The United States Postal Service is holding four job fairs in Seattle and SeaTac over the next few days. Job seekers will be able to meet current employees to find out what working for the Postal Service is like. There is an urgent need for mail carriers, clerks and mail handlers. USPS is hoping to hire up to 1,000 new employees across Washington over the next few months. No appointment is needed. The job fairs are being held at these locations: Date: Thursday, Feb. 23 Location: Seattle Carrier Annex, 2420 4th Ave S., Seattle, WA 98134 Time: Noon to 3 p.m. Date: Thursday, Feb. 23 Location: Seattle Center The Armory, 305 Harrison St, Seattle, WA 98109 Time: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Date: Friday, Feb. 24 Location: Westwood Post Office, 2721 SW Trenton St, Seattle, WA 98126 Time: Noon to 3 p.m. Date: Tuesday, Feb. 28 Location: Riverton Heights Post Office, 15250 32nd Ave S, SeaTac, WA 98188 Time: Noon to 3 p.m. USPS human resources employees will be on site to help attendees with benefits, qualifications, and application questions. Employees will help find jobs across the state for potential applicants as needed, and laptops will be available for job seekers to submit their applications. Starting pay varies depending on the position, but starting pay for mail carriers ranges between $19 and $20 an hour, paid bi-weekly. You must be 18 years old to apply and be able to pass drug screening and a criminal background check. In some instances, candidates can also be 16 with a high school diploma. Applicants must be able to work weekends and holidays, depending on the position. If you cant make it to a job fair or need more information about open positions, visit www.usps.com/careers. Jobs are uploaded every other Tuesday until filled. One of the two professed hit men in New Jersey's bizarre murder-for-hire case of a Jersey City political operative was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison by U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez in federal court in Newark. Bruce Koffsky defense attorney for Bomani Africa and Lee Cortes executive assistant US attorney leave the Federal Courthouse in Newark after Africa was sentenced to 20 years for being one of two hitmen in a murder for hire case. The sentenced was handed down in the US District Court in Newark , NJ on February 23, 2023. Paterson native Bomani Africa, 62, also known as Baxter Keys, is the first of three men to face punishment for the murder of Michael Galdieri, who was found dead in his home office on May 22, 2014 with multiple stab wounds to his neck, head and torso. His second-floor Jersey City apartment had been set aflame. More:Bomani Africa, hitman in NJ murder-for-hire case, writes of his gang life in Paterson Galdieris friend and business associate, Sean Caddle, 45, pleaded guilty in federal court in January 2022 to conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and is on home confinement with an ankle monitor, awaiting sentencing in March. Judge Vazquez, reading through the facts of the case, revealed for the first time the motive behind the murder. He said Caddle was angry that Galdieri had been stealing money from him. Vazquez, who described the murder as "depraved, debased, vile," expressed skepticism that Africa was truly remorseful, and said it appeared to him Africa only cooperated out of "self-protection" because he was "dimed out" by the other hit man in the plot, George Bratsenis, who first told the government about the murder. Vazquez questioned why Africa did not confess to the murder as he was cooperating with federal officials on the bank robbery case, and only admitted to it after being confronted. "It seems like two criminals trying to work the system and it not working out for either of them," Vazquez said. "It seemed like he was playing chicken with Mr. Bratsenis ... It was mutually assured destruction." Africa told the judge he regretted his crimes, and understood how his victims felt because he felt the fear that he was going to die for three days after contracting COVID-19, and he still experiences shortness of breath and heart flutters. He said he had never been a cooperator before, and didn't know he could also give information about Galdieri's murder. Story continues Lee Cortes executive assistant US attorney leaves the Federal Courthouse in Newark after Bomani Africa was sentenced to 20 years for being one of two hitmen in a murder for hire case. The sentenced was handed down in the US District Court in Newark , NJ on February 23, 2023. Africa's wrists were shacked in front of him with a chain that also wrapped around his waist. He wore a lemon yellow jumpsuit. The two U.S. Marshals who escorted him in sat a few feet away. "Every day I sit back and I replay that incident," Africa said. "Would I have made different choices? Yes. I'm not the same person I was." In addition to the 20-year sentence, Vazquez also sentenced Africa to five years supervised release. He waived the fine, and said that the court reached out to Galdieri's family about restitution, but did not hear back. Bomani Africa, a Paterson native and one of the two professed hitmen in New Jersey's bizarre murder-for-hire case of a Jersey City political operative and candidate was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez in federal court in Newark. According to the U.S. Attorneys Office, Caddle, a political consultant, hired Bratsenis to kill Galdieri, offering him $15,000 and paying him $2,000 to $4,000 up front for the crime. Bratsenis, who served prison time for masterminding a string of jewelry thefts in North Jersey, recruited Africa, his accomplice from Philadelphia whom he had previously met in prison. Bruce Koffsky defense attorney for Bomani Africa leaves the Federal Courthouse in Newark after Africa was sentenced to 20 years for being one of two hitmen in a murder for hire case. The sentenced was handed down in the US District Court in Newark , NJ on February 23, 2023. On May 22, 2014, Galdieri let the two men into his house and they stabbed him to death, prosecutors said. Bratsenis doused the apartment in gasoline from a red plastic gas can and set the apartment on fire. More:Complete coverage, timeline for murder-for-hire case that has NJ political world abuzz More:'This is so bizarre': Why this NJ political murder-for-hire scandal may just be starting The next day, Caddle met with Bratsenis in the parking lot of an Elizabeth diner and paid him thousands of dollars for the job, which he split with Africa. Caddle had to go to an ATM because he did not have all the cash on hand, Vazquez said. Africa, who pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme in early 2022, faced up to life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Prosecutors had recommended 15 to 18 years imprisonment. Africa has been incarcerated at the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island, for seven years after pleading guilty to one count of armed bank robbery in December 2015. Last Thursday, Africa was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and three years supervised release, and ordered to pay nearly $30,000 in restitution, for a string of bank robberies he committed with Bratsenis in Connecticut in 2014. The murder-for-hire sentence will run concurrently. Galdieri's murder "remained a cold case until two separate armed bank robberies in Connecticut set into motion an investigation that led to the discovery of the murder for hire scheme, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo for Africa. "Without Africa's substantial assistance, I don't think we'd be standing here," said Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Cortes. Vazquez had wanted to issue Africa a sentence of 25 to 26 years for the murder-for-hire plot, but reduced it to 20 to take into account the time Africa spent cooperating in the investigation. Bratsenis was sentenced to eight years in federal prison for the bank robberies, and has not yet been sentenced for his role in the murder-for-hire case. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 29. Caddle is scheduled to be sentenced on March 22. Africas attorney, Bruce Koffsky, signed a plea agreement on Africas behalf relating to Galdieris murder in December 2020. Bratsenis signed a plea agreement eight months later in August, followed by Caddle in November 2021. Africa was first convicted of robbery when he was 18 and has had six robbery convictions, not including the 2014 Connecticut case, prosecutors wrote in court filings for the Connecticut robberies. He had a difficult childhood in an abusive household, joined a gang young, and started using hard drugs, according to a handwritten autobiography Africa wrote in an exhibit to his sentencing memorandum. "His early childhood was a toxic stew," Koffsky said. Caddles attorney said in court that his client is cooperating with the federal government on an investigation, but the topic and subject is unknown. Caddles name appears in court documents in another case, involving Tony Teixeira, the former chief of staff to New Jersey Senate President Nicholas Scutari. Teixeira pleaded guilty in federal court to tax evasion and wire fraud charges in November. More:NJ operative offered hit men $15K for murder-for-hire. What we learned from new court docs According to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, Teixeira conspired with Caddle to overcharge various campaigns, political action committees and nonprofits for work done by Caddles consulting firm, defrauding the groups many affiliated with former state Sen. Ray Lesniak out of a combined $107,800. Teixeira and Caddle then split the difference, and Teixeira never reported the earnings to the IRS, according to Sellinger. The earliest public connection between the hit men, Caddle and Galdieri appear in a January 2019 federal search warrant obtained by NorthJersey.com. More:FBI raided home of political operative for info on murder-for-hire and dark money, docs show Federal agents raided Caddles house, searching for records linking Caddle to Galdieri, Africa and Bratsenis such as emails, texts, notes, diary logs, call logs or other notes as well as records for more than 50 super PACs, political parties, unions and corporations that pumped millions of dollars into elections throughout the state. Have a tip about the murder-for-hire case or Caddle's cooperation? Email Ashley Balcerzak at balcerzaka@northjersey.com. This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Hit man in NJ political murder-for-hire sentenced to 20 years Upcoming regulatory changes in Hong Kong for cryptocurrency-related service providers could attract businesses and talent back to the city, as it seeks to regain its international crypto hub position, industry experts told Forkast. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) on Monday published draft rules for virtual asset trading platforms and sought public feedback. As part of the new licensing regime set to take effect in June, the SFC plans to require cryptocurrency exchanges to apply for licenses that would allow retail investors to trade certain large-capitalization tokens. Just last month, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the citys de facto central bank, said in a consultation document that it plans to introduce a mandatory licensing regime for stablecoin issuers as early as this year, and will not allow algorithmic stablecoins China banned cryptocurrency transactions in 2021, but Hong Kong has set up a new licensing regime that may eventually extend to retail crypto trading. Current regulations in Hong Kong, a special administrative region, allow only institutions and professional investors with portfolios of US$1 million or more to trade digital assets. Like many of its global counterparts, including Singapore, the SFC is attempting to thread the needle between digital asset innovation and investor protection in a post-FTX world, said Angela Ang, senior policy advisor at California-based blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs and a former regulator at the Monetary Authority of Singapore. To fuel the citys Web 3.0 industry development, Hong Kongs Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on Wednesday that the government is setting aside HK$50 million (US$6.37 million) to develop the Web3 sector, which has brought a golden opportunity to lead innovative development. Hong Kong beckons As Hong Kong continues taking a crypto-friendly regulatory approach after it announced its pro-crypto stance in October, the industry may see more Web3 businesses setting up shop in the city, experts said. Story continues Crypto exchange Huobi Global, for example, is applying for a crypto trading license in Hong Kong, said Justin Sun, an advisor to the exchange, in a Monday tweet. Sun also told Nikkei Asia that Huobi is looking to relocate its Asia headquarters from Singapore to Hong Kong. I believe more crypto exchanges, market makers and hedge funds will probably follow suit returning to Hong Kong, Youwei Yang, chief economist of New York-based BIT Mining and an adjunct professor teaching blockchain courses at Chinas Xiamen University, told Forkast. Adrian Wang, chief executive of Hong Kong-headquartered digital asset management platform Metalpha, said that the latest SFC consultation paper reflects its intention to welcome retail investors to get into the digital asset space. The proposed policy went into more detail on anti-money laundering and know-your-customer with new requirements such as conflict of interest also included. Overall, this is good for the industry safeguarding the rights of retail investors, Wang said. More exchanges are likely to expand their businesses to Hong Kong if the city continues its crypto-friendly stance. Im very bullish on (Hong Kong), Henry Liu, CEO of BTSE, a crypto exchange based in British Virgin Islands with half of its operations in Taiwan, told Forkast. If we get to be compliant ourselves, we will go in, and as a company, if we need to find a local partner and we can support them in any way, were happy to do that as well. Non-fungible token (NFT) firms have also shown interest in expanding in Hong Kong. ShucangCN, a Chinese NFT platform that launched in January 2022 in China that quickly became one of the largest players in the country, told Forkast last month that it has set up NFT China in Hong Kong to build NFT platforms in the city. Stablecoin regime In the January stablecoin consultation paper, the HKMA clarified its intention to give regulatory priority to stablecoins, global fintech law firm Linklaters wrote in a February research report. The authoritys move to prioritize stablecoin regulation makes sense, as stablecoins are used as an on- and off-ramp tool to buy or sell native crypto assets, Kelvin Low, a law professor at National University of Singapore, told Forkast. Stablecoins are a good choke point to regulate access to the larger crypto markets, said Low. They are also important to regulate because they are more readily sold as safe assets when in truth they are not. The importance of stablecoins has become increasingly prominent, and if a regulator gets to master stablecoin regulation, they would pretty much get hold of the development trend of crypto asset markets, said Jason Jiang, a senior researcher of OKG Research Institute, a unit of Beijing-headquartered blockchain firm OKG. Hong Kong, which has the worlds largest offshore yuan market and has served as an important offshore yuan business hub, is an ideal testing ground for the development of crypto assets, Jiang added. While the stablecoin proposal is a step in the right direction, technological advancements may happen faster than the regulator can keep up with, said Joanna Cheng, associate general counsel of product and regulatory (APAC) at crypto custody firm Fireblocks. By the time the legislation takes effect in late-2023 or early-2024, the issues around stablecoin may have changed so this remains to be seen, Cheng said. No algorithmic stablecoin allowed Another major takeaway from the HKMAs January document was that the authority had made it clear they would not allow algorithmic stablecoins. Algorithmic stablecoins just dont work, so the HKMA is correct to exclude them from licensing, Low said. The theory of algorithmic stablecoins relies on assumptions that do not hold in the real world so they are always in danger of collapse. One of the problems with many crypto companies, Low added, is that they misuse game theory to design tokenomics to constrain human behavior, but if you consult actual games theorists, you will find that their usefulness in this respect is highly controversial. Jonathan Cheong, head of legal, risk and compliance at Singapore-based cyrpto exchange Bybit told Forkast that the new regulations will likely target a long-standing issue of stablecoins redemption value. The proposed regulations will have a great focus on control processes of redemption at par and to achieve this, issuers of stablecoins will need to have control processes on price stabilization and capital adequacies, Cheong said. The new regime has also sparked interest from some blockchain firms in Hong Kong that accommodate stablecoin payment. For example, BSN Spartan Network, a Chinese blockchain available only outside the Chinese mainland, may expand its Hong Kong business to the stablecoin sector, according to Tim Bailey, vice president of global sales at Red Date Technology, the developer of BSN. We are actively engaged in monitoring and studying the stablecoin space and, depending on the regime rules when they are released, would consider applying for a license for an official BSN Spartan Stablecoin, Bailey, told Forkast. BSN Spartan currently accepts USDC as one of its payment methods. The licensing of payment-related stablecoins will make payments and settlements much more efficient, Bailey added. 120m grading 0.5% CuEq* incl. 38m grading 1.0% CuEq Perth, Australia --News Direct-- Hot Chili Limited LCD0001 (56m depth) grading 1.0% Cu, 0.7g/t Au, 4.6g/t Ag. Tonalitic porphyry with sericite-chlorite alteration and 2% A-B porphyry vein abundance. Confirmation drill hole across new fourth porphyry at Cortadera Highlights First assay results returned from stage-one drilling across the recently consolidated western extension to the Companys Cortadera copper-gold porphyry resource in Chile New assay results confirm a fourth porphyry at Cortadera, returning a wide diamond drill intersection from shallow depth, similar in tenor to historical twin drill hole results recorded by Antofagasta Minerals SA in 2005 (see announcement dated 26th November 2022): o 120m grading 0.5% CuEq* (0.4% Cu, 0.2g/t Au) from 22m depth down-hole to end of hole; including 38m grading 1.0% CuEq* (0.8% Cu, 0.4g/t Au) from 22m depth; or including 18m grading 1.3% CuEq* (1.0% Cu, 0.5g/t Au) from 32m depth Wide intercept of mineralised porphyry intersected below Cortaderas Cuerpo 1 porphyry confirming significant resource expansion potential; assay results pending Drill programme expanded to test five new targets across Cortaderas larger porphyry cluster footprint with ten drill holes complete and a further fifteen drill holes remaining in stage-one Fully funded with cash balance of approximately A$10 million * Copper Equivalent (CuEq) reported for the drillhole intersections were calculated using the following formula: CuEq% = ((Cu% Cu price 1% per tonne Cu_recovery) + (Mo ppm Mo price per g/t Mo_recovery) + (Au ppm Au price per g/t Au_recovery) + (Ag ppm Ag price per g/t Ag_recovery)) / (Cu price 1% per tonne Cu_recovery). The Metal Prices applied in the calculation were: Cu=3.00 USD/lb, Au=1,700 USD/oz, Mo=14 USD/lb, and Ag=20 USD/oz. The entirety of the intersection is assumed as fresh. The recovery and copper equivalent formula for Cortadera Recoveries of 83% Cu, 56% Au, 83% Mo and 37% Ag. CuEq(%) = Cu(%) + 0.56 x Au(g/t) + 0.00046 x Mo(ppm) + 0.0043 x Ag(g/t) Hot Chili Limited (ASX: HCH) (TSXV:HCH) (OTCQX: HHLKF) (Hot Chili or Company) is pleased to announce first drill results from the recently secured western extension to the Cortadera copper-gold resource, the centrepiece of the Companys low-altitude, Costa Fuego copper-gold project in Chile. New assay results have recorded a significant drill intersection of shallow copper-gold porphyry mineralisation, confirming the presence of a fourth porphyry (Cuerpo 4) at Cortadera. Diamond drill hole LD0001 was drilled as a confirmatory twin hole to historical1 AMSA drill hole COR-03 that intersected 128m grading 0.5% CuEq* (0.4% Cu & 0.1g/t Au) from 28m downhole depth, including 16m grading 1.3% CuEq* (1% Cu & 0.5g/t Au) from 28m depth (as announced on 28th November 2022). LCD0001 has successfully returned a similar result to AMSAs hole, intersecting 120m grading 0.5% CuEq* (0.4% Cu, 0.2g/t Au from 22m depth down-hole to end of hole. Importantly, the wide intersection also included 38m grading 1.0% CuEq* (0.8% Cu, 0.4g/t Au) from 22m depth, or 18m grading 1.3% CuEq* (1.0% Cu, 0.5g/t Au) from 32m depth. Sulphide mineralisation (chalcopyrite-pyrite) is primarily hosted within an early and intra-mineral stage tonalitic porphyry with sericite-chlorite-biotite alteration and 2 to 7% A-B porphyry vein abundance (typical of higher grade sulphide porphyry mineralisation at the Cortadera resource). Results for a further eight Reverse Circulation (RC) drill holes at Cuerpo 4 are pending. The Company is also pleased to confirm potential for a significant depth extension to the current Mineral Resource (resource) below Cuerpo 1 at Cortadera. Cuerpo 1 Resource Growth Potential Expanding Diamond drill hole CORMET001 was completed to a depth of 350m in April 2022 and confirmed significant mineralisation below the defined limits of the Cuerpo 1 resource, with the hole ending in 6m grading 0.6% copper in mineralised porphyry (as announced 29th April 2022). CORMET001 has now been extended to 611m depth and has recorded a 70m intersection of visually identified sulphides in mineralised porphyry between 350m and 420m depth down hole. Visually identified sulphide mineralisation comprised 1 to 3% chalcopyrite as disseminations and in association with pyrite and 2 to 10% A-B porphyry veining within early-stage and intra-mineral host porphyry. Assay results are pending for CORMET001 and a further four drill holes have been added to drill test below the highest grade sulphide zone of Cuerpo 1, which remains open at depth for resource expansion. First-Pass Drill Programme Expanded and Advancing Five new porphyry targets are being tested as part of Hot Chilis first-pass 6,000m drill programme for 2023 following the inclusion of additional targets at Cortadera North and Cuerpo 1. These additional targets are located within Hot Chilis 100% landholdings and add to Cortaderas larger porphyry cluster potential. Since drilling commenced on 11th January, a total of 10 drill holes for 3,300m have been completed and a further 15 drill holes for 2,700m remain. A second-pass 4,000m drill programme is planned to commence following review of the first-pass programme drill results. The current status of the drill programme is outlined on the below figures and as follows: 1. Cuerpo 4 (AMSA Option Agreement for 100% ownership) 9 drill holes complete (results pending for 8 drill holes), 2 drill holes planned 2. Target 2 (AMSA Option Agreement for 100% ownership) 1 drill hole planned 3. Target 3 (AMSA Option Agreement for 100% ownership) 3 drill holes planned 4. Cuerpo 1 Depth Extension (100% Hot Chili ownership) 1 drill hole complete (assay results pending), 4 drill holes planned (2 holes underway) 5. Cortadera North (100% Hot Chili ownership) 5 drill holes planned Further assay results are expected over the coming weeks. The Directors look forward to an exciting period of results from drilling activities at Cortadera this year. Notes: Significant intercepts are calculated above a nominal cut-off grade of 0.1% Cu. Where appropriate, significant intersections may contain up to 30m down-hole distance of internal dilution (less than 0.1% Cu). Significant intersections are separated where internal dilution is greater than 30m down-hole distance. The selection of 0.1% Cu for intersection cut-off grade above is selected on the basis of exploration significance and is not meant to represent potential marginal economic cut-off grade for bulk tonnage polymetallic copper deposits of similar grade in Chile and elsewhere in the world. Down-hole significant intercept widths are estimated to be at or around true-widths of mineralisation. CORMET001 has now been extended to 611m depth (from 350m depth) and has recorded a 70m intersection of visual sulphides in mineralised porphyry between 350m and 420m depth down hole. Visual sulphide mineralisation comprised 1 to 3% chalcopyrite as disseminations and in association with pyrite and 2 to 10% A-B veining within early-stage and intra-mineral host porphyry. * Copper Equivalent (CuEq) reported for the drillhole intersections were calculated using the following formula: CuEq% = ((Cu% Cu price 1% per tonne Cu_recovery) + (Mo ppm Mo price per g/t Mo_recovery) + (Au ppm Au price per g/t Au_recovery) + (Ag ppm Ag price per g/t Ag_recovery)) / (Cu price 1% per tonne Cu_recovery). The Metal Prices applied in the calculation were: Cu=3.00 USD/lb, Au=1,700 USD/oz, Mo=14 USD/lb, and Ag=20 USD/oz. The entirety of the intersection is assumed as fresh. The recovery and copper equivalent formula for Cortadera is: Recoveries of 83% Cu, 56% Au, 83% Mo and 37% Ag. CuEq(%) = Cu(%) + 0.56 x Au(g/t) + 0.00046 x Mo(ppm) + 0.0043 x Ag(g/t) 1 Historical Data related to CORE-03 was qualified in the Companys announcement dated 28th November 2022: This news release includes historical information that has been reviewed by Hot Chilis qualified person (QP). Hot Chilis review of the historical records and information reasonably substantiate the validity of the information presented in this news release; however, Hot Chili cannot directly verify the accuracy of the historical data, including (but not limited to) the procedures used for sample collection and analysis. Therefore, any conclusions or interpretations borne from use of this data should be considered too speculative to suggest that additional exploration will result in mineral resource delineation. Hot Chili encourages readers to exercise appropriate caution when evaluating these data and/or results. Figure 1. Location of Cortadera, Productora, San Antonio and nearby coastal range infrastructure of Hot Chilis combined Costa Fuego copper-gold project, located 600km north of Santiago in Chile. Notes: Refer to ASX Announcement Hot Chili Delivers Next Level of Growth (31st March 2022) for JORC Code Table 1 information related to the Costa Fuego JORC-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) by Competent Person Elizabeth Haren, constituting the MREs of Cortadera, Productora and San Antonio (which combine to form Costa Fuego). * Copper Equivalent (CuEq) reported for the resource were calculated using the following formula: CuEq% = ((Cu% Cu price 1% per tonne Cu_recovery)+(Mo ppm Mo price per g/t Mo_recovery)+(Au ppm Au price per g/t Au_recovery)+ (Ag ppm Ag price per g/t Ag_recovery)) / (Cu price 1% per tonne Cu_recovery). The Metal Prices applied in the CuEq calculation were: Cu=3.00 USD/lb, Au=1,700 USD/oz, Mo=14 USD/lb, and Ag=20 USD/oz. Metallurgical recovery averages for each deposit consider Indicated + Inferred material and are weighted to combine sulphide flotation and oxide leaching performance. The recovery and copper equivalent formula for each deposit is: Cortadera and San Antonio Weighted recoveries of 82% Cu, 55% Au, 82% Mo and 37% Ag. CuEq(%) = Cu(%) + 0.56 x Au(g/t) + 0.00046 x Mo(ppm) + 0.0043 x Ag(g/t) Productora Weighted recoveries of 84% Cu, 47% Au, 47% Mo and 0% Ag (not reported). CuEq(%) = Cu(%) + 0.46 x Au(g/t) + 0.00026 x Mo(ppm) Costa Fuego Recoveries of 83% Cu, 53% Au, 69% Mo and 23% Ag. CuEq(%) = Cu(%) + 0.52 x Au(g/t) + 0.00039 x Mo(ppm) + 0.0027 x Ag(g/t) ** Reported on a 100% Basis - combining Mineral Resource estimates for the Cortadera, Productora and San Antonio deposits. Figures are rounded, reported to appropriate significant figures, and reported in accordance with the JORC Code, CIM and NI 43-101. Metal rounded to nearest thousand or, if less, to the nearest hundred. Total Mineral Resource reported at +0.21% CuEq for open pit and +0.30% CuEq for underground. For disclosure of the resources by category, please see Qualifying Statements below. Figure 2. Location of Cuerpo 4 and other immediate porphyry targets within the AMSA landholding and new landholding acquired through public auction, lying immediately west of the Cortadera resource. A 6,000m first-pass drill programme is underway targeting Cuerpo 4, Target 2, Target 3, Cuerpo 1 Depth target and Cortadera North. A second-pass 4,000m programme is also planned to follow. See announcement Further Consolidation of Cortadera dated 30th Nov 2022 for Table 1 details relating to this figure. Figure 3. Location of Cuerpo 4 and other immediate porphyry targets within the AMSA landholding and new landholding acquired through public auction, lying immediately west of the Cortadera resource. Note the location of new results from diamond hole LCD0001 which recorded a significant intersection in mineralised porphyry, confirming earlier historical results recorded in AMSA drill hole COR-03. Figure 4. Location of Cuerpo 1 and Target 3 porphyry targets. Note the location of diamond hole CORMET001 which has been extended from 350m to 611m depth. The area outlined in red at Cuerpo 1 depth target is open at depth. Results are pending for CORMET001 extension and a further four holes are planned (two currently underway) Figure 5. Location of the Cortadera North porphyry target. Note the location of the large surface geochemical Cu:Zn ratio anomaly. A first-pass programme of five deep RC drill holes is planned. Notes: Refer to ASX Announcement Hot Chili Delivers Next Level of Growth (31st March 2022) for JORC Code Table 1 information related to the Costa Fuego JORC-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) by Competent Person Elizabeth Haren, constituting the MREs of Cortadera, Productora and San Antonio (which combine to form Costa Fuego). * Copper Equivalent (CuEq) reported for the resource were calculated using the following formula: CuEq% = ((Cu% Cu price 1% per tonne Cu_recovery) + (Mo ppm Mo price per g/t Mo_recovery) + (Au ppm Au price per g/t Au_recovery) + (Ag ppm Ag price per g/t Ag_recovery)) / (Cu price 1% per tonne Cu_recovery). The Metal Prices applied in the CuEq calculation were: Cu=3.00 USD/lb, Au=1,700 USD/oz, Mo=14 USD/lb, and Ag=20 USD/oz. Metallurgical recovery averages for each deposit consider Indicated + Inferred material and are weighted to combine sulphide flotation and oxide leaching performance. The recovery and copper equivalent formula for each deposit is: Cortadera and San Antonio Weighted recoveries of 82% Cu, 55% Au, 82% Mo and 37% Ag. CuEq(%) = Cu(%) + 0.56 x Au(g/t) + 0.00046 x Mo(ppm) + 0.0043 x Ag(g/t) Productora Weighted recoveries of 84% Cu, 47% Au, 47% Mo and 0% Ag (not reported) CuEq(%) = Cu(%) + 0.46 x Au(g/t) + 0.00026 x Mo(ppm) Costa Fuego Weighted recoveries of 83% Cu, 53% Au, 69% Mo and 23% Ag CuEq(%) = Cu(%) + 0.52 x Au(g/t) + 0.00039 x Mo(ppm) + 0.0027 x Ag(g/t) ** Reported on a 100% Basis - combining Mineral Resource Estimates for the Cortadera, Productora and San Antonio deposits. Figures are rounded, reported to appropriate significant figures, and reported in accordance with the JORC Code, CIM and NI 43-101. Metal rounded to nearest thousand, or if less, to the nearest hundred. Total Resource reported at +0.21% CuEq for open pit and +0.30% CuEq for underground. ** Note: Silver (Ag) is only present within the Cortadera Mineral Resource estimate Competent Persons Statement - Exploration Results Exploration information in this Announcement is based upon work compiled by Mr Christian Easterday, the Managing Director and a full-time employee of Hot Chili Limited whom is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG). Mr Easterday has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code). Mr Easterday consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears. Competent Persons Statement Costa Fuego Mineral Resources The information in this report that relates to Mineral Resources for Cortadera, Productora and San Antonio which constitute the combined Costa Fuego Project is based on information compiled by Ms Elizabeth Haren, a Competent Person who is a Member and Chartered Professional of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists. Ms Haren is a full-time employee of Haren Consulting Pty Ltd and an independent consultant to Hot Chili. Ms Haren has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style of mineralization and types of deposits under consideration and to the activities undertaken, to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code of Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves and is a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Ms Haren consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on her information in the form and context in which it appears. For further information on the Costa Fuego Project, refer to the technical report titled NI 43-101 Resource Report for the Costa Fuego Copper Project Located in Atacama, Chile, dated May 13, 2022 with an effective date of March 31, 2022, which is available for review on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) under Hot Chilis issuer profile. Scientific and Technical Information The scientific and technical information contained in this document was reviewed and approved by Ms Kirsty Sheerin, a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, Hot Chilis Resource Development Manager and a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Ms Sheerin has undertaken extensive data verification and is satisfied with the exploration, sampling, security, and QA/QC procedures employed by Hot Chili for Costa Fuego and that their results are sufficient to produce data suitable for the purposes described in the technical report titled NI 43-101 Resource Report for the Costa Fuego Copper Project Located in Atacama, Chile, dated May 13, 2022 with an effective date of March 31, 2022, as well as for public reporting purposes subsequent to the technical report. About Hot Chili Hot Chili Ltd (ASX/TSXV: HCH, OTCQX: HHLKF) aims to build shareholder value through the acquisition, exploration and development of high-quality copper assets in a low elevation and accessible region of northern Chile. With substantial mineral resources already defined, the Companys Costa Fuego Copper Hub is well positioned to benefit from the looming structural shortfall in copper production due to its size, quality and low economic hurdle location with an indicated resource of 2.8Mt Cu, 2.6Moz Au and 67kt of Mo (in 725Mt) and inferred resource of 0.6 Mt Cu, 1.2 Moz Au and 13kt Mo (in 202Mt). Costa Fuego is rated by S&P Global Market Intelligence one of the top 10 low risk undeveloped copper projects globally. Hot Chili has materially de-risked the potential future development of Costa Fuego, securing seawater extraction rights, surface rights for mining activities, easement corridors for water and power pipelines, and electrical connection to the national power grid as well as entering into a LOI with the nearby port of Las Losas. Costa Fuego has exceptional ESG credentials due to the abundance of existing infrastructure, amenability of ore processing using seawater, potential to operate Costa Fuego on a 100% renewable power mix, minimal community impact and ability to drive growth in an economically deprived area. Hot Chilis growth trajectory continues with the recent announcement of further consolidation contiguous with the bulk of its resources. This new, low-cost, acquisition contains near surface copper-gold porphyry mineralization intersected in historic drilling that has yet to be followed up. The Company commenced an initial 10,000m drill program in January 2023 to test highly prospective copper-gold porphyry targets along strike of the existing porphyry cluster. Hot Chili recently obtained secondary listings on the TSXV and OTCQX to better align with the exchanges of its global copper peer group. The Company aims to narrow the relative valuation gap with its North American listed peers, particularly as the general market starts to appreciate the medium term structural deficit in copper the critical commodity and the copper price required to incentivize new production. Certain statements contained in this news release, including information as to the future financial or operating performance of Hot Chili and its projects may include statements that are "forwardlooking statements" which may include, amongst other things, statements regarding targets, estimates and assumptions in respect of mineral reserves and mineral resources and anticipated grades and recovery rates, production and prices, recovery costs and results, and capital expenditures and are or may be based on assumptions and estimates related to future technical, economic, market, political, social and other conditions.These forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Hot Chili, are inherently subject to significant technical, business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results reflected in such forwardlooking statements. Hot Chili disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly or release any revisions to any forwardlooking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, circumstances or results or otherwise after the date of this news release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, other than as may be required by law. The words "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "indicate", "contemplate", "target", "plan", "intends", "continue", "budget", "estimate", "may", "will", "schedule" and similar expressions identify forwardlooking statements. All forwardlooking statements made in this news release are qualified by the foregoing cautionary statements. Investors are cautioned that forwardlooking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forwardlooking statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Contact Details Investor Relations Graham Farrell +1 416-842-9003 Graham.Farrell@harbor-access.com Investor Relations Jonathan Paterson +1 475-477-9401 Jonathan.Paterson@harbor-access.com Managing Director Christian Easterday admin@hotchili.net.au Company Website https://www.hotchili.net.au/investors/ View source version on newsdirect.com: https://newsdirect.com/news/hot-chili-confirms-fourth-porphyry-at-cortadera-325478300 Ukrainian service members look for and collect unexploded shells after a fighting with Russian raiding group in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. Getty Images) What's happening? As the world marks the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, president Vladimir Putin has talked up his country's nuclear arsenal. Following a series of recent tub-thumping speeches, Putin announced plans to deploy new Sarmat multi-warhead intercontinental ballistic missiles this year. It comes after he suspended Russia's participation in the START nuclear arms control treaty earlier this week The war is showing no signs of ending any time soon. The last few weeks have seen Russia mount infantry assaults across frozen ground in battles described by both sides as the bloodiest to date. Russia is in the midst of a renewed offensive in eastern Ukraine and launched 90 attacks in the past 24 hours, and Kyiv believes the Kremlin is trying to use its vast advantage in troop numbers to exhaust its forces. One year on, one clear legacy of the conflict is the enormous death toll and destruction wrought throughout Ukraine. How many Russians have been killed in Ukraine? Fatalities in the Russia-Ukraine war have been notoriously difficult to estimate as Moscow is thought to routinely play down the deaths and injuries of its own troops. On the other side, Kyiv has sometimes been accused of inflating the number of enemy losses, making it very hard to paint an objective picture. According to recent Ukrainian data, 824 Russian soldiers have been dying per day in February more than at any time since the first week of the invasion. While the figure can't be verified, the UK Ministry of Defence highlighted it in one of its regular updates on the war and said the number is "likely accurate". Dmitry Menshikov, a mercenary for the private Russian military company Wagner Group, is buried in St Petersburg. (Reuters) The MoD recently put the number of Russian troops killed or wounded in battle since the invasion at 200,000 - similar to Washington's estimates. Last month authorities in Ukraine put the number at 140,000. However, the Conflict Investigation Team, an independent investigative team originating from Russia, believes the figure could be closer to a staggering 270,000. Meanwhile, figures shared by Norway's army chief in late January put the number at 180,000. Story continues How many Ukrainians have been killed? Figures on Ukrainian deaths are not 100% reliable either, due to the difficulty of collecting data and the potential for exaggeration on either side. On Thursday, the countrys leading war crimes prosecutor claimed more than 100,000 Ukrainian civilians could have been killed. The Norwegian military estimated in January that Ukraine had suffered 30,000 civilian deaths and 100,000 military casualties since the invasion began, but added that the number "could be both lower or even higher". In terms of troop deaths, it's a significantly higher estimate than Kyiv's, with Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak saying in November that up to 13,000 troops had died. In mid-February, UK intelligence said more than 16,000 civilians may have been killed since the start of the invasion, which has seen indiscriminate shelling of hospitals and schools. Ukrainian servicemen bury their brother-in-arms Volodymyr Androshchuk, who died defending Bakhmut. (Reuters) In November, General Mark Milley, the US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, put the number of civilian deaths at 40,000, and estimated more than 100,000 troops on each side had been killed or wounded. According to the data released on 13 February by the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR), at least 8,000 non-combatants have been confirmed as killed in Ukraine, on top of 13,300 injured. However, the UN said these numbers are just "tip of the iceberg", claiming the true death toll is likely to be far higher. UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk said civilians have been killed in their homes and while simply trying to meet their essential needs, such as collecting water and buying food. Casualties have been especially high in Mariupol, with Ukrainian authorities claiming more than 20,000 people had been killed during the siege of the southern port city, which was captured in late May. More reporting on Russia: The health insurer Humana will stop providing employer-sponsored commercial coverage as it focuses on bigger parts of its business, like Medicare Advantage. The insurer said Thursday it will leave the business over the next 18 to 24 months. It includes medical coverage provided through private companies and for federal government employees. Human will still provide insurance through its military service business. It covers active duty service members, their families and retirees and totals nearly 6 million people. It also will still provide employer-sponsored specialty coverage like vision and dental benefits. Employer-sponsored health insurance is one of the more common ways for Americans to get coverage. But at nearly a million people, it amounts to a small part of Humanas enrollment of more than 13 million. Humana's business largely centers on the military and Medicare Advantage plans. Those are privately run versions of the federal governments Medicare program for people age 65 and older. Humana also runs Medicaid coverage in several states. CEO Bruce Broussard said in a prepared statement that the exit from employer-sponsored coverage lets Humana focus on its greatest opportunities for growth. The company also said its employer-sponsored business was no longer positioned to sustainably meet the needs of commercial members over the long term or support the companys long-term strategic plans. Employer-sponsored enrollment growth has largely slowed for insurers, including market leaders like UnitedHealthcare. Companies have turned more to government-backed coverage like Medicare Advantage or Medicaid for growth. They also have pushed deeper into managing prescription drug plans and providing care in order to control health care costs. Humana does not expect the change to affect adjusted profit this year, which the company projects to be at least $28 per share. Analysts forecast $28.06 per share, according to FactSet. Shares of Humana Inc., based in Louisville, Kentucky, climbed more than $4 to $507.91 Thursday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Hungary is preparing the visit of Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary, to Kyiv. Source: Peter Szijjarto, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, in an interview for the Index media outlet, as reported by European Pravda Szijjarto reported about this when answering the question why Orban still has not visited Kyiv. Quote: "When the time for the visit comes, the Prime Minister of Hugary will go to Kyiv as well, the Foreign Affairs Ministry is preparing the visit at the moment," stated Szijjarto. He added that he personally received no invitations to visit the Ukrainian capital. "If I receive an invitation and we are able to agree on the agenda and the date of the visit in advance, I will go with great pleasure, but I have not received such an invitation yet," he said. Bertalan Havasi, press secretary of Orban, confirmed earlier that during the meeting within the framework of the EU Summit in Brussels, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited Orban to visit Ukraine. Background: The day before, Szijjarto called for an immediate cease of fire in Ukraine and direct negotiations between the Presidents of the US and Russia with the aim of ending the war. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Kyrylo Budanov called on Crimeans to prepare for the liberation of the peninsula Having gained access to the airwaves of the Kremlin propagandists, Ukrainian cyberexperts forced the residents of Crimea to listen to the head of Ukrainian intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov. Read also: Ukrainian army may enter Crimea before liberating newly occupied parts of Ukraine, says military historian Citizens of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov is addressing you, he said in his address, prepared for the Russian Day of the Defender of the Fatherland. Ukraine is returning all captured territories, Budanov went on. The Donbas, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the entire south of Ukraine will return home forever. We will find every traitor who betrayed Ukraine, no matter where they are hiding. All of them will be eliminated. Read also: Russia wont use nuclear weapons even if Crimea is liberated, Dutch PM says To all patriots: The time to act has come. Wait for us, were coming. Glory to Ukraine. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Interview: Chinese Juncao technology helps Rwandan farmers alleviate poverty Xinhua) 09:18, February 23, 2023 KIGALI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Juncao mushroom technology has significantly enabled Rwandan farmers to alleviate poverty and improve household nutrition, Permanent Secretary in the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources Olivier Kamana has said. "The Juncao technology has considerably improved our farmers' lives. It brings mushrooms that are edible in our households, helping us alleviate poverty and improve household nutrition," Kamana told Xinhua on the sidelines of an African regional workshop on applications of Juncao technology, in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, on Tuesday. He said several small and medium-sized enterprises are involved in the cultivation of mushrooms using Juncao technology which has boosted household income. Poor families that are engaged in the cultivation of mushrooms using Juncao technology are able to generate income from mushroom sales, which has enabled them to pay school fees for their children and access household medical care, Kamana noted. "The technology is environmentally friendly, it helps protect our environment and it can be practiced on a small plot of land or even indoors. It is not complicated and this makes it highly beneficial to our communities," Kamana added. Mediatrice Hatungimana, a scientist in the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board, highly praised Juncao technology as an innovation that improves household nutrition and income generation among Rwandan farmers who cultivate mushrooms using the technology. "The technology plays a very big role in nutrition and economic purposes. In Rwanda, we are focusing on reducing malnutrition levels. Mushroom farming is key to reducing malnutrition," she told Xinhua. "Through this technology, people can increase mushroom yield, take surplus to markets and get income for their household needs. People can become rich from this type of farming technology," she emphasized. Hatungimana said that Rwandan farmers who are engaged in Juncao mushroom technology farming appreciate the governments of Rwanda and China for introducing the technology in Rwanda and the bilateral cooperation existing between the two countries. The four-day workshop has brought together over 100 participants including officials, experts in Juncao technology, farmers' representatives, representatives from the UN, civil society organizations, and the private sector, among others. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to a crowd of about 200 at the Knights of Columbus in Elmhurst on Feb. 20, 2023. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune) Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who could become a presidential candidate in 2028, if not 2024, went on the offensive against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a possible rival for the highest office in the land. Pritzkers comments were made in reference to DeSantis appearance Monday before the Fraternal Order of Police in Elmhurst. The speaking engagement was part of a short, targeted DeSantis road show on Presidents Day, designed mostly to establish his bona fides as a law-and-order figure while tweaking Democratic governors dealing with crime. Advertisement Interestingly, DeSantis appeared before friendly law enforcement audiences in suburbs ringing three major cities. He also showed up Monday in Staten Island in New York City and Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, just outside Philadelphia. He was hardly playing to stadium-sized crowds, although the panic his appearances caused was demonstrative of just how much he scares politically ambitious Democrats. Ron DeSantis dangerous and hateful agenda has no place in Illinois. Banning books, playing politics with peoples lives, and censoring history are antithetical to who we are, Pritzker wrote on Twitter. Every candidate hoping to hold public office in the Land of Lincoln should condemn this event. Advertisement The first part of that statement is fair enough. Pritzker is entitled to define and attack his rivals politically, especially on his home turf. He can call DeSantis dangerous and hateful all he wants. Its red meat to the Democratic primary crowd. But the second part of that tweet goes much too far: Why should every candidate hoping to hold public office be obliged to condemn a speaking appearance by the democratically elected governor of Florida? Does Illinois only permit speeches by those with whom the governor agrees? Dont Illinois Republicans and Democrats have the right to go and hear one of their elected officials, especially one who commands large amounts of support in his home state, even if they dont agree with everything about him? Sure they do. And attending a speech by DeSantis does not mean you are a hateful person deserving of condemnation. Lets be clear: DeSantis has every right to appear in Elmhurst at a private event without undue governmental hindrance, to invite who he wants to invite, and say what he wants to say, just as surely as the people protesting the appearance across the street also had the right to hold their signs, chant their chants and make their opposition to DeSantis views loudly known. Pritzker has declared himself a champion of free speech. If that is true, he should refrain from even the implication that those he opposes politically should not speak, or that their modest events should be condemned in advance, especially since we doubt that Pritzker was afforded an advance copy of DeSantis remarks. All this does is worsen the harmful divides in this country and make the governor look smaller and more partisan. That notorious deplorables remark about political rivals did not work out so well for Hillary Clinton, a previous Democratic presidential candidate. Pritzker should be wary of not falling, and dragging America, into that same trap. Join the discussion on Twitter @chitribopinions and on Facebook. Advertisement Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com. (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Governor J.B. Pritzker vaulted Illinois into a higher tier of credit ratings for the first time since 2016 after working to improve the states beleaguered finances. Most Read from Bloomberg On Thursday, S&P Global Ratings raised Illinois general-obligation debt by one notch to A-, shedding its position as the only US state without an A-level rating. The outlook on the bonds is stable after the upgrade, which impacts about $26.5 billion of general-obligation debt, according to S&P. The move builds on the states ratings revival over the past two years. During an interview at Bloombergs Chicago office, Governor J.B. Pritzker touted the steps his administration has taken to alleviate the fiscal woes: eliminating the bill backlog, paying down pension debt and passing budgets on time. In Illinois, we have to diligently work every year to make sure that our reputation improves but it only improves if youre actually making progress, Pritzker said. You have to do it on crime, and you got to do it on pensions and you got to do it on a budget. The rating lift comes about a week after the Democratic governor proposed a $49.6 billion spending plan for the year that starts July 1. His proposed budget pays $138 million into the states rainy-day fund and contributes about $9.8 billion to the states massively underfunded pension funds. Read more: Illinois Governor Proposes $49.6 Billion Budget for Fiscal 2024 In 2019, the year Pritzker took office, Illinois had $8 billion of unpaid bills and about $60,000 in its rainy day fund, according to documents from the governors office. The states credit ratings were only one level above junk. Story continues Our No. 1 priority is balancing the budget, paying down debt, Pritzker said during an interview on Bloomberg Television. Weve invested in paying down our debt and thats something we will continue to do. Pritzker said he has no plan to raise taxes, and that hes making investments to help residents and keep people from leaving the state. The comments came after some of Chicagos top CEOs proposed a personal income surcharge of 0.5% and a comparable increase in corporate taxes for 10 years to help accelerate pensions funding, a move they say would boost tax revenues by $2.9 billion a year. Youve got to think about where we started, where we are and where were intending to go, Pritzker said. And just recognize that fixing the fiscal ship has gotten us to a place where we can address these problems. And its my intention to make sure that when we do all that, as we are, have fixed the fiscal ship, that we also lower taxes. The spread on Illinoiss 10-year bonds is about 1.5 percentage points above the AAA benchmark, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The ratings upgrade, that affirms what the market has recognized, that the states political leadership has shown a willingness to address the accumulated financial problems, said Patrick Luby, a CreditSights strategist. However, the future is not without challenges, and Illinois composite rating remains the lowest among all of the states. Investors should rightly continue to expect spreads for the states GOs to be wider than its peers. Thursdays S&P lift follows a series of rating hikes for Illinois. Moodys Investors Service and S&P both raised the state in 2021 for the first time in two decades. Fitch Ratings raised Illinoiss rating last year. Revenue growth, rebuilding reserves and more payments toward unfunded liabilities including pensions have bolstered the states credit. The upgrade reflects our view that Illinois commitment and execution to strengthen its budgetary flexibility and stability, supported by accelerating repayment of its liabilities, rebuilding its budget stabilization fund to decade highs; and a slowing of statutory pension funding growth, will likely continue during the outlook period, Geoff Buswick, an S&P credit analyst, said in a statement. Illinoiss rating is still the lowest among its peers when looking at multiple rating companies, largely because of its pension debt. The states four retirement systems have nearly $140 billion of unfunded liabilities. Pritzker acknowledged that there is more to be done. We have work to do, Pritzker said. You have to work at it every year though. This isnt a one silver bullet is going to solve all the problems. That does not happen. --With assistance from Martin Z. Braun, Skylar Woodhouse, Maxwell Adler and Romaine Bostick. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast On Monday, as Amazons corporate employees were griping about an abrupt change to its remote-work policies, a company vice president sent an email to their team in an effort to tamp down the uprising. The email acknowledged the workers frustration, a person familiar with its contents said. Then it took a bizarre turn. The vice president instructed an artificial-intelligence-powered chatbot called ChatGPT to create an imaginary story about important and organic learnings in the work place, in an apparent attempt at inspiration. The chatbot spat out a fairy tale of sorts, which began, painfully, with, There was once a small software development team The story and its protagonist, a project manager named Jane, did not ease the employees discontent. If youre trying to put a human face on a thing and say, We understand what youre going through, maybe dont ask a robot, one current employee told The Daily Beast, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal events. Thousands Petition Amazon Thousands of Amazon staffers are resisting the return-to-office mandate, which was announced Friday and is set to go into effect on May 1. As of early Wednesday afternoon, more than 20,000 people had joined a Slack channel to discuss the change, while roughly 10,000 people had signed a petition calling for CEO Andy Jassy to reverse course. The new policy caught everyone by surprise, another current employee said. Just days earlier, Amazon held an all-hands meeting but made no mention of the shift. When Jassy finally announced the new policy, he did so by quietly posting a memo to the company intranet, according to multiple workers. They just snuck it on, said one employee, who found out about the memo because someone on my team just happened to look at it. (An Amazon spokesperson said a push notification was sent out when the letter was posted.) Comments on the memo were also disabled, multiple staffers added, and even some high-level managers seemingly didnt know about the new policy in advance. Story continues New York Sues Amazon Over Alleged Discrimination Against Pregnant and Disabled Once news spread, an employee recalled, immediately all of our internal slacks just started blowing up, like, No, were not going back. While some workers were excited to have more face-to-face encounters, many were angry, having seized on Amazons previously relaxed policies to make major life choices, according to four current employees. People had to make decisions, and the decisions were like, fuck it, were buying houses. Were putting our kids in school, one of them said. Some staffers, the employee claimed, were recruited during the pandemic with the understanding that they would have minimal required days in the office. New York Sues Amazon Over Alleged Discrimination Against Pregnant and Disabled In a statement, a spokesperson for Amazon said, We believe being in the office together reinforces our culture, fosters collaboration and invention, creates learning opportunities, and builds more connected teams. As a company with hundreds of thousands of corporate employees, we know any decision we make around how and where we work will invite differing opinions and we respect the right of employees to share those opinions with one another and with leadership. In October 2021Jassys most recent update to staff about remote workhe announced that the company planned to leave decisions about office attendance to individual teams, rather than enacting a blanket policy. Last September, he publicly stated that Amazon did not have a plan to require people to come back, though he said the company planned to proceed adaptively as we learn. While Jassys latest update acknowledged that implementation wont be perfect at first, and left room for a small minority of exceptions, to some staffers it marked a stark reversaland betrayal. Everyones just like, how do we trust these people anymore? one employee said. The emotional reaction I have, which is a feeling of frustration and anger, is weve all been through so much over the last three years, the person continued. We also fundamentally restructured how we work, and we prioritized different things And I think in many ways there was a bit of a workers revolution. The employee questioned whether Amazons new approach will be enforceable: What are they going to do, come pick me up at my house and make me come to work? Another staffer suspected that lenient managers may refuse to mark their workers absent if they dont show up three times in a week. Amid the frustration, another theory is brewing among some disgruntled workers: that the new mandate was designedor at least motivatedby a desire to encourage more employees to quit, thereby reducing overhead without needing to pay severance. Workers have already endured two major rounds of layoffs since the fall. This is how theyre going to get rid of another 10 or 20,000 people, an employee told The Daily Beast. (An Amazon spokesperson said that any suggestion that this guidance is intended to drive attrition is simply not true.) Either way, the speculation signals depleted employee morale, and brewing distrust against Amazons leadership. It kind of feels like the Hunger Games, one weary staffer said. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. An investigation found Adams County sheriff's deputies miscounted money seized from rapper Afroman's home and returned the correct amount to him. Adams County sheriffs deputies miscounted money seized from rapper Afroman's home last year, investigators have concluded. Deputies said they seized $5,031 in cash from Afroman's Winchester, Adams County, home during an August raid because they believed it was connected to drug trafficking. No charges were filed against the "Because I Got High" rapper, whose real name is Joseph Foreman, and that money was returned to him in late November, minus $400. At the time, Adams County Sheriff Kimmy Rogers told The Enquirer the missing cash was "rare, and all kinds of things can happen." Rogers referred the issue to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. However, the agency declined to oversee a probe because of a conflict of interest, BCI press secretary Steve Irwin told The Enquirer. Instead, the investigation was handled by the Clermont County Sheriff's Office, according to an investigative report acquired by Enquirer media partner Fox 19. Police:Afroman gets back money seized in sheriff's office raid of Ohio home, $400 missing Afroman:Artist releases music videos with clips from sheriff's raid of his Ohio home The investigation, led by detective Mike Robinson, found that Adams County sheriff's deputies miscounted the money seized from Afroman's home and that the correct amount was actually returned to him. According to the audit, cash seized in the raid was placed in two evidence bags. The deputies' money count was recorded by body cameras and Robinson's report said he saw "what appeared to be a miscount of the monies." When the cameras didn't have a clear view of the cash, the detective relied on the video's audio, the report said. Robinson concluded that the first bag, which had been recorded as containing $4,390, actually only contained $4,000. As for the remaining missing $10, a miscount of the second bag of cash could not be determined based on bodycam footage. However, since a miscount had already happened with the first bag, Robinson said he believes a miscount happened with the second bag, too. The report also said Afroman's lawyer miscounted the money when it was being returned to him. Story continues The audit also found that seven of the 66 evidence bags containing cash held by the Adams County Sheriff's Office had been miscounted. However, the largest discrepancy was just $5. On Instagram, Afroman accused deputies of stealing the $400. He also reiterated that he's running for president in 2024, to "stop criminals operating in law-enforcement like the ones who work at the Adams county sheriffs department." The "Colt 45" rapper previously said he intends to sue the department. Sheriff Rogers did not respond to The Enquirer's request for comment. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Afroman not missing money from Ohio home raid, investigators say Key Insights Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, RTL Group fair value estimate is 83.37 Current share price of 45.62 suggests RTL Group is potentially 45% undervalued Our fair value estimate is 46% lower than RTL Group's analyst price target of 45.38 How far off is RTL Group S.A. (ETR:RRTL) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Models like these may appear beyond the comprehension of a lay person, but they're fairly easy to follow. Remember though, that there are many ways to estimate a company's value, and a DCF is just one method. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you. Check out our latest analysis for RTL Group The Method We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate: 10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (, Millions) 693.3m 769.8m 680.0m 675.9m 673.4m 672.0m 671.3m 671.1m 671.4m 671.8m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x4 Analyst x4 Analyst x1 Est @ -0.60% Est @ -0.37% Est @ -0.21% Est @ -0.10% Est @ -0.02% Est @ 0.03% Est @ 0.07% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 5.4% 658 694 581 549 519 491 466 442 420 399 ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St) Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = 5.2b Story continues We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (0.2%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 5.4%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032 (1 + g) (r g) = 672m (1 + 0.2%) (5.4% 0.2%) = 13b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= 13b ( 1 + 5.4%)10= 7.7b The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is 13b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of 45.6, the company appears quite undervalued at a 45% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out. dcf The Assumptions The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at RTL Group as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 5.4%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.875. 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 RTL Group Strength Debt is not viewed as a risk. Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows. Dividend is in the top 25% of dividend payers in the market. Weakness Earnings declined over the past year. Opportunity Annual revenue is forecast to grow faster than the German market. Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value. Threat Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the German market. Looking Ahead: Whilst important, the DCF calculation 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. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. Can we work out why the company is trading at a discount to intrinsic value? For RTL Group, there are three important factors you should look at: Risks: As an example, we've found 2 warning signs for RTL Group that you need to consider before investing here. Future Earnings: How does RRTL's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered! PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the XTRA 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 The state of Iowa is rolling back COVID-19 reporting. The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday that effective April 1, the state will no longer require that positive COVID-19 tests be reported to public health officials. Iowa's top health officials have required since March 2020 that any COVID-19 test processed in a clinical lab be reported to the state. But in recent months, officials said, this type of monitoring "no longer accurately reflects the prevalence of the virus in the state" due to the widespread availability of rapid at-home tests. The results of those tests do not have to be reported to the state. Iowa's weekly COVID-19 reports, which have served as the predominant source of information about the spread of coronavirus in the state, also will end. Beginning April 1, new COVID-19 data will instead be incorporated into respiratory virus surveillance reports published each week by HHS officials, aligning coronavirus monitoring with the standard for other respiratory viruses. More: Polk County needs more hospital workers. Supervisors have a $1M plan to help fill the gap State public health officials noted there are no reporting mandates for illnesses such as influenza and RSV. Its important for Iowans to know that the Public Health Division will monitor the virus, just as we do for other respiratory illnesses, State Medical Director Dr. Robert Kruse said in a statement. The Public Health Division will continue to work collaboratively with our local health departments, healthcare partners in the state, and partners at the federal level. As of Wednesday, nearly 2,300 Iowans had tested positive for the coronavirus in the past week, an increase in new weekly cases since a month ago, according to data from the state. In total, 10,671 Iowans have died as a result of the virus since it reached Iowa in March 2020. U.S. public health emergency over COVID-19 also coming to an end in 2023 The announcement on reporting requirements comes as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services plans to end the federal public health emergency for COVID-19. The proclamation which has been in place since the pandemic began in the United States three years ago is set to expire May 11. Story continues Gov. Kim Reynolds ended Iowa's public health disaster proclamation about a year ago, discontinuing requirements that hospitals report COVID-19 patient counts and that nursing homes report outbreaks. It also pulled the plug on the state website dedicated to reporting COVID data, but the state continued to provide weekly updates on positive tests, deaths and cases by county. More: U.S. Supreme Court dismisses Tyson Foods' petition in COVID-19 death cases Michaela Ramm covers health care for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached at mramm@registermedia.com, at (319) 339-7354 or on Twitter at @Michaela_Ramm. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa's weekly COVID reports will shut down with mandatory reporting DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Iran on Thursday directly acknowledged an accusation attributed to international inspectors that it enriched uranium to 84% purity for the first time, which would put the Islamic Republic closer than ever to weapons-grade material. The acknowledgement by a news website linked to the highest reaches of Iran's theocracy renews pressure on the West to address Tehran's program, which had been contained by the 2015 nuclear deal from which America unilaterally withdrew in 2018. Years of attacks across the Middle East have followed. Already Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently regained his country's premiership, is threatening to take military action similar to when Israel previously bombed nuclear programs in Iraq and Syria. But while those attacks saw no war erupt, Iran has an arsenal of ballistic missiles, drones and other weaponry it and its allies already have used in the region. The acknowledgment came from Nour News, a website linked to Iran's Supreme National Security Council, overseen by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Nour News separately is sanctioned by Canada for having participated in gross and systematic human rights violations and perpetuated disinformation activities to justify the Iranian regimes repression and persecution of its citizens" amid nationwide protests there. The comments by Nour News follow days of muddled comments by Iran not directly acknowledging the accusation by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran had enriched up to 84%. Bloomberg first reported Sunday that inspectors had detected uranium particles enriched up to 84%. The IAEA, a United Nations agency based in Vienna, has not denied the report, saying only that the IAEA is discussing with Iran the results of recent agency verification activities. In its comments Thursday, Nour News urged the IAEA to not fall prey to the seduction of Western countries and declare that Iran's nuclear program was completely peaceful. Story continues It will be clear soon that the IAEA surprising report of discovering 84% enriched uranium particles in Irans enrichment facilities was an inspectors error or was a deliberate action to create political atmospheres against Iran on the eve of the meeting of" its board, Nour News said on Twitter. The board, a group of nations that oversees the IAEA, will meet beginning March 6 in Vienna. The IAEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday over Nour News' remarks. It wasn't immediately clear where the 84% enrichment allegedly took place, though the IAEA has said it found two cascades of advanced IR-6 centrifuges at Iran's underground Fordo facility interconnected in a way that was substantially different from the mode of operation declared by Iran to the agency in November last year. Iran is known to have been enriching uranium at Fordo up to 60% purity at level which nonproliferation experts already say has no civilian use for Tehran. Iran also enriches uranium at its Natanz nuclear site. Weapons-grade uranium is enriched up to 90%. While the IAEA's director-general has warned Iran now has enough uranium to produce several nuclear bombs if it chooses, it likely would take months more to build a weapon and potentially miniaturize it to put on a missile. The new tensions over Iran's program also take place against the backdrop of a shadow war between Iran and Israel that has spilled out across the wider Middle East. Netanyahu, who long has advocated military action against Iran, mentioned it again in a talk this week. How do you stop a rogue nation from acquiring nuclear weapons? Netanyahu rhetorically asked. You had one thats called Saddam Husseins Iraq. It was stopped by military force, ours. You had a second one that is called Syria that tried to develop nuclear weapons. And it was stopped by a military action, ours. He added: A necessary condition, and an often sufficient condition, is credible military action. The longer you wait, the harder that becomes. Weve waited very long. Late Thursday night, online videos showed explosions and anti-aircraft fire in Karaj, a city about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran. Tracer rounds lit up the night sky, with the thud of blasts heard in the videos. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency later attributed the activity to an unannounced drill at a base for the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. In 2021, a suspected Israeli strike drone damaged a centrifuge assembly facility in Karaj. ___ Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twiter.com/jongambrellAP. Less than two weeks before the federal ComEd Four bribery conspiracy trial, prosecutors revealed in a court filing that a confidant of former Speaker Michael Madigan was interviewed twice by federal authorities before the probe became public about his use of code words to refer to the longtime House leader. The first interview of Michael McClain, the speakers friend and ComEd lobbyist, came in August 2014, the same month that Madigan was secretly recorded by an FBI informant at his law firm discussing a desire to secure property tax business with a Chinatown developer, the filing shows. Advertisement The other interview, in April 2016, occurred shortly before federal authorities secured the cooperation of then-Ald. Daniel Solis, who later recorded numerous conversations about a Chinatown land deal that was a centerpiece in the bombshell indictment separately filed against Madigan and McClain. In both interviews, which were revealed for the first time in the filing late Tuesday, McClain was asked about his use of codes for Madigan such as our friend, a friend and friend, a nickname the Tribune first reported in 2019 that McClain used when sending secret fundraising requests to close allies. In those emails, McClain also referred to Madigan as Himself and the prospective donors as most trusted of the trusted. Advertisement In the 2014 interview, prosecutors wrote, McClain admitted he referred to Madigan as our friend because people might be listening to or reading McClains conversations. In the other interview nearly two years later, McClain admitted he referred to Madigan as our friend in conversations and over email because he never knows whos listening, the prosecution filing stated. The revelation that McClain was twice confronted by the FBI with questions involving Madigan comes less than two weeks before McClain is set to go on trial March 6 along with three others on bribery conspiracy charges related to ComEds alleged attempts to illegally influence the then-powerful House speaker. Also charged are former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, longtime top ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and lobbyist Jay Doherty, who resigned as head of the City Club of Chicago during the federal probe. Its not clear in the prosecution filing what else, if anything, federal investigators asked McClain in the newly disclosed interviews. But its the first indication that McClain and likely Madigan were on notice that the feds were looking into them nearly five years before the investigation went overt with a series of raids in May 2019, including on McClains home in downstate Quincy and at the City Club offices. Prosecutors contend McClains admissions about the use of coded language clearly show that McClain did not want any eavesdroppers to know the true subject of his communications and are therefore wholly consistent with the indictment and the governments evidence at trial: our Friends and a friend of ours were terms designed to conceal Madigans identity. McClains attorneys have argued he couldnt have been using the term to conceal anything because hed already readily admitted to investigators he was talking about Madigan. The issue also could be used by the defense to push the idea that they were confident they were staying within the boundaries of legal behavior. McClains attorney could not be reached for comment. The 65-page filing by prosecutors also revealed several other new details they want to present to the jury to show the depth of the friendship between Madigan and McClain. Advertisement Among them: how McClain allegedly orchestrated a group of utility lobbyists to send payments to a longtime Madigan aide, Kevin Quinn, after the speaker ousted him in a 2018 sexual harassment scandal. Quinn, the brother of Madigans hand-picked 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn, has not been charged in the case. But the Tribune reported that McClain rounded up several lobbyists to send more than $30,000 worth of contracts to Kevin Quinn after Madigan booted him from the speakers state and political operations. The feds also want to show jurors that they intercepted a call in which Madigan asked McClain to help secure a job for an unidentified state representatives wife. In the July 2, 2018, phone call, Madigan allegedly said the representative came to me and same story, he needs money, and he had the thought that maybe I could help his wife on something, according to the filing. Prosecutors also want to use a McClain call in which he described himself as sort of Madigans agent as he worked with a lawmaker to guide him through oversight of bills dealing with ComEd and gambling. Advertisement Madigan and McClain also face an overarching case in which both ComEd and the Illinois affiliate of AT&T have reached deferred prosecution agreements in which they have acknowledged they sought to give favors to Madigan in hopes of his help on their legislative agendas in Springfield. The agreements included having ComEd pay a $200 million fine and AT&T pay a $23 million fine. Prosecutors have agreed to drop bribery charges against the companies if they cooperate in the investigation. Both Madigan and McClain have pleaded not guilty in the case, which is slated for trial in April 2024. Further, the government in its filing disclosed it planned to show that Madigan arranged for two of his allies to get part-time state positions, including former Ald. Frank Olivo, who received a position with the Illinois Motor Vehicle Review Board and received about $20,000 a year for more than two decades. It is the latest disclosure as prosecutors fight to allow for compensation of defendants to be included in the trial, including Pramaggiore making as much as $2.8 million. The defense has maintained the various disclosures could be prejudicial and seek to keep them away from the jury. Israel launched rockets on targets in the Gaza Strip on Thursday in what it said was a response to strikes by Hamas, an escalation after daytime raids by Israeli military forces in the occupied West Bank killed 11 Palestinians. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed on Thursday that it is currently striking in Gaza. The IDF hit a weapons manufacturing site and a military compound owned by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs Gaza, it said. Hours before the strikes, Israels air defences said six rockets were fired from Gaza toward Israeli territory, out of which five were intercepted and one fell into an open area. The heavy bombardment early on Thursday sent a pillar of black smoke rising over the north of Gaza city and people woke up to the sound of sirens triggered by a rocket launched from the Gaza strip in the Israeli cities of Sderot and Ashkelon. The Israeli military said they struck a Hamas military compound which was located adjacent to a mosque, medical clinic, hotel, police station and school, calling it an example of the groups exploitation of the civilian population by placing weaponry near civilian areas. There were no immediate reports of injuries in Israel or Gaza from the exchanges. The escalation came after a rare daytime raid by Israeli forces on the West Bank city of Nablus killed 11 people and injured 102, according to a toll provided by the Palestinian News & Information Agency (WAFA) citing the Palestinian health ministry. The operation by Israeli forces was aimed at targeting members of the Palestinian militant group. The raid ran to a four-hour operation which left a broad swath of damage in a centuries-old marketplace in Nablus, a city known as a Hamas stronghold. Palestinians carry the bodies of 10 men killed in clashes with Israel troops in the West Bank city of Nablus (AP) The operation targeted those planning attacks in the immediate future and they neutralised three militants, the IDF and Israel Security Agency said in a joint statement. It was one of the bloodiest incidents in nearly a year in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, raising the likelihood of further bloodshed. Israeli forces were on high alert following the raids as any violence in the West Bank often sets off an immediate response from militants in Gaza. Story continues The Gaza-based Islamic Jihad militant group condemned the Israeli militarys raid in Nablus on Wednesday, calling it a major crime and one that resistance must respond to. Spokesperson Abu Obeida issued a warning, saying the resistance in Gaza is observing the enemys escalating crimes against our people in the occupied West Bank and their patience is running out. Palestinians clash with Israeli security forces during a raid in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus (AFP via Getty Images) Among the dead in Nablus were elderly men aged 72, 66 and 61, and a 16-year-old boy, according to health officials. Among those wounded, some 82 were hit by live ammunition. In one emotional scene, an overwhelmed medic pronounced a person dead, only to notice the lifeless patient was his father. His colleague who helped him extract the bullet from a 61-year-old mans heart said they realised he was his father after removing the bullet and seeing his face. He said the moment will haunt him forever. On Thursday, Palestinian territories observed a general strike in protest against the raid and bodies were paraded through crowds on stretchers for funerals. Thousands of people packed the streets, chanting in support of Hamas. In the scenes from the Old City of Nablus, shops were riddled with bullets, parked cars were damaged and blood stained the cement ruins. A large home was turned into rubble and furniture from the destroyed home was scattered among mounds of debris. The death toll from the raid surpassed that of an Israeli attack last month in the city of Jenin, further north, where 10 Palestinians were killed. A day after the raid, a Palestinian shot and killed seven people outside a synagogue in east Jerusalem. It comes less than two months after Israels far-right prime minister Benjamin Netanyahus new hard-line government took office. He promised to take a tough line against Palestinians and pledged to ramp up settlement construction on lands Palestinians seek for their future state. About 60 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Additional reporting by agencies TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) Israel's foreign minister said Thursday that the Gulf Arab state of Oman has decided to allow Israeli planes to fly through its airspace. The announcement was another sign of closer ties between Israel and some Arab countries. Oman's Civil Aviation Authority tweeted that it affirms that the Sultanates airspace is open for all carriers that meet the requirements of the Authority for overflying, without directly mentioning Israel. The move comes on the heels last year of a similar step by Saudi Arabia, and would shorten the flying distance between Israel and Asia. This is a significant and historic decision for the Israeli economy and Israeli travelers, said Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who said there had been American involvement in the decision. In Washington, Adrienne Watson, the National Security spokesperson, welcomed Oman's decision, calling it a historic step'" that completes a process begun last year, during President Joe Bidens visit to the region when Saudi Arabia similarly opened its airspace to all civilian planes. The United States was pleased to support these efforts through months of quiet diplomatic engagement, she said. Oman and Israel have had secretive ties for years, which were spotlighted in 2018 when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a surprise visit to the country, the first trip of its kind in over 20 years. Still, Oman was not among the four countries to sign normalization deals with Israel in 2020 under U.S-brokered agreements known as the Abraham Accords. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as Morocco and Sudan, all agreed to normalize ties with Israel as part of the deals. The sultanate has long had a low-key role in fostering negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians. Oman, which sits on the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, with Saudi Arabia to its north and Iran to its east, also has a long record of being a quiet broker in the region, opting to stay on the sidelines of the rivalry between the two regional powerhouses. Oman has also served as a mediator between the United States and Israels arch-rival Iran. Oman hosted the secret talks that eventually led to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement and has facilitated the release of prisoners and hostages held by armed groups. Earlier this week, Oman welcomed Syrian President Bashar Assad on his first visit outside Syria since the earthquake there earlier this month. By Dan Williams JERUSALEM (Reuters) -A far-right Israeli cabinet minister formally gained responsibilities over Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank on Thursday that he said included bringing their legal status closer to that of communities within Israel. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich wields a supervisory role for settlers in the Defence Ministry as part of his coalition deal with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, prompting increased U.S. focus on Israel's West Bank policies. A 14-point statement issued by Smotrich after he agreed on a division of roles with Defence Minister Yoav Gallant included the assertion that "legislation on all (settlement) civilian matters will be brought into line with Israeli law". Asked to elaborate, a Smotrich spokesperson said: "Equal application of relevant laws - on labour, the environment, et cetera - that are legislated in Lesser Israel." "Lesser Israel" is a term used by ultranationalists like Smotrich - himself a settler - who seek annexation of the West Bank, a biblical and strategic area captured in a 1967 war. "All settlement is illegal and any attempt by Israel to legalise or annex these settlements is rejected and is a violation of international resolutions," said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The United States has reiterated its decades-old calls for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians and called for restraint after a surge in violence in the West Bank, which the Palestinians want as the core of a future state. Washington has also urged Israel not to expand settlements, which most world powers deem illegal. Smotrich said he would now also have "total responsibility" over zoning, surveys and sales of West Bank lands for settlers, who number around a half-million among 3.1 million Palestinians. Confirming the Smotrich-Gallant agreement, Netanyahu said it was pursuant to the coalition deals. Story continues Netanyahu said in 2019 that he would annex West Bank settlements - alarming the West and prompting the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to forge ties with Israel a year later in exchange for the prime minister shelving the territorial plan. The platform of Smotrich's Religious Zionism party calls for advancing West Bank settlement in the face of "a complex U.S. administration" by focusing dialogue on "the extent of sovereignty Israel will assert and the scale of construction and retroactive authorisation (of unsanctioned settler outposts)". If formal annexation is not possible due to U.S. opposition, it adds, "de facto assertion of sovereignty should be pursued". (Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta; Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Nick Macfie and Mark Potter) JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's forces conducted strikes in the Gaza Strip on Thursday after rockets were fired from the area, the military said, a day after a raid in the flashpoint city of Nablus sparked clashes in which 11 Palestinians were killed and over 100 wounded. Earlier the military said six rockets had been fired from the Gaza Strip, five of which were intercepted by air defence systems while one fell in an open area. (Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) Ivanka Trump, the daughter of former President Donald Trump, and her husband Jared Kushner have been subpoenaed by special counsel Jack Smith, ABC News has learned. The subpoena for the couple is specifically related to the special counsel's probe of Jan. 6 and the activities leading up to that day by the former president and his allies regarding efforts to overturn the 2020 election, sources told ABC News. Ivanka Trump and Kushner worked as senior White House advisers to President Trump during his four years in office. PHOTO: Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are seen out for a walk, Dec. 10, 2022, in Miami. (Mega/GC Images/Getty Images) A spokesperson for Ivanka Trump and Kushner did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News. News of the subpoena was first reported by The New York Times. Smith was appointed in November to oversee the investigation into Trump's potential mishandling of classified documents after leaving the presidency and his alleged obstruction of the government's efforts to retrieve them, as well as efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the election. MORE: Former Vice President Mike Pence expected to fight special counsel subpoena in Trump probe: Sources The appointment of the special counsel was triggered by Trump's announcement in November that he is running for president for a third time, which created a conflict of interest, according to the DOJ special counsel guidelines. Former Vice President Mike Pence was subpoenaed by the special counsel earlier this month, but is expected to fight the subpoena, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News last week. Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner subpoenaed by special counsel investigating efforts to overturn election: Sources originally appeared on abcnews.go.com A Texas man who called to assassinate Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) was sentenced to more than three years in prison on Wednesday for actions he took during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Garret Miller, 36, was sentenced to 38 months in prison over his actions on Jan. 6, including assaulting a police officer, an interstate threat to injure or kidnap, three counts of interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder and entering restricted grounds. He pleaded guilty to all of the counts in December 2022, and was also sentenced to 36 months of supervised release. Texas man charged for alleged role in Capitol riots, online death threats to Ocasio-Cortez He traveled to D.C. to stop the certification of the 2020 election results and brought rope, a grappling hook, a mouth guard and a bump cap to the Capitol, according to the Justice Departments press release. The department said that during the breach of the Capitol, Miller was so disruptive on the East Front of the building that he was twice detained, the second time resulting in him being put in handcuffs. After he was released, he stayed at the riot and pushed his way into the Rotunda, where law enforcement was trying to remove rioters. He then assaulted a police officer and got into physical altercations with at least six others before leaving the building after 5 p.m. that day, according to the Justice Department. Miller also used social media to threaten officials and public officials, including Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, according to the release. Miller responded to a post Ocasio-Cortez made on social media that read Impeach with his own message, Assassinate AOC, on the evening of Jan. 6, 2021. According to the Justice Departments press release announcing his sentencing, he openly expressed a desire to start assassinating and boasted about how he terrified [c]ongress after the riots on Jan. 6 up until his arrest on Jan. 20, 2021. Story continues The release also stated that when he was arrested, he was wearing a shirt that said I was there, Washington, D.C., January 6, 2021, with a photo of former President Trump on it. Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested in almost all 50 states for being involved in the Jan. 6 attacks on the Capitol, and about 319 of them have been charged for assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to the release. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A man who looked forward to combating soft people in Washington DC on 6 January, 2021 and called to assassinate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been sentenced to three years in prison for charges connected to the attack on the US Capitol. Garret Miller of Richardson, Texas, was sentenced to 38 months in prison on 22 February after pleading guilty in December to nine counts, including assaulting a police officer, three counts of interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder, and making an interstate threat to injure or kidnap. Miller who was obsessed with bogus 2020 presidential election conspiracy theories brought a rope, a grappling hook and other materials he called riot gear when he traveled to Washington, according to the US Department of Justice. He posted threats to multiple people on his social media accounts targeting US Senator Chuck Schumer, Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg and now-former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, according to court documents. During the riots, Miller was detained by US Capitol Police officers at least twice, including once in handcuffs, and vowed to leave, but he forced his way back into the halls of Congress each time. That night, responding to a post from the New York congresswoman, he wrote: Assassinate AOC. He was arrested two weeks later wearing a shirt with a picture of Donald Trump and the words I was there, Washington, DC, January 6, 2021. Garret Miller was sentenced to three years in prison on charges connected to the Capitol riot, including threats to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. (US Department of Justice) Miller was at the forefront of every barrier overturned, police line overrun, and entryway breached within his proximity that day, according to prosecutors. After being released and vowing to leave, Miller instead stayed at the riot, initially recording himself talking about a revolution. He assaulted a Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department sergeant and engaged in a physical altercation with no fewer than six officers, prosecutors said. Miller also threatened the US Capitol Police officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt, according to court documents, which reported him saying that he wanted to hug his neck with a nice rope. Story continues Following his arrest, Miller said he was ashamed of his comments and claimed that he was following the instructions of former President Trump and he was my president and the commander-in-chief. His statements also had me believing the election was stolen from him, Mr Miller said in a statement. Nevertheless, I fully recognize Joe Biden is now the President of the United States and that the election is over. Just wanted to incriminate myself a little Well, you did! https://t.co/Y0MbtHwsUr Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 22, 2021 Miller said his comments were unnecessary, barbaric, and disrespectful and that he was proud, arrogant, and acted in anger. I needed to be humbled, he added. My social media posts were disgusting and a complete embarrassment. Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested in connection with the Capitol riot, including more than 300 people facing charges of assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to the Justice Department. A Jan. 6 rioter who threatened Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on social media after having participated in the attack on the Capitol was sentenced Wednesday to 38 months in prison. Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of 48 months in prison for Garret Miller, an unemployed Texan who, they noted, was wearing a T-shirt bearing President Donald Trump's picture and the words I was there, Washington, D.C., January 6, 2021" when he was arrested weeks after the attack. Garret Miller. (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia) Miller's defense lawyer had asked for a sentence of 30 months, which would essentially be time served, because he has been locked up since his arrest in late January 2021. The feds said the higher sentence was warranted, in part because of his threat to Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. Ocasio-Cortez had tweeted the word "impeach" after the riot, to which Miller responded, "assassinate AOC." In addition to the prison time, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols ordered 36 months of supervised release, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, D.C. Millers lawyer, Clint Broden, praised the judge for his careful consideration of the case and noted the sentence was significantly less than the sentence sought by the government. He said his client has expressed his sincere remorse. It should be always be remembered that, although Garret is fully responsible for his individual actions that day, his actions and the actions of many others were a product of rhetoric from a cult leader that has yet to be brought to justice, Broden said. Miller, of Richardson, Texas, pleaded guilty to 11 counts, including "assaulting, resisting or impeding" officers during the riot, "interstate threat to injure or kidnap" for his Ocasio-Cortez threat and "entering or remaining in a restricted building" the Capitol. "Despite an otherwise law-abiding life, on January 6, 2021, Miller had no respect for the law. He went to the Capitol to take over the building, stop the certification, and terrorize both lawmakers and the law enforcement officers protecting them," prosecutors said in their sentencing memo to the judge. "He threatened the life of a Congresswoman. And then he went home [and] bragged about his attack on the Capitol." Story continues In addition, Miller "openly discussed his desire to doxx the officer" who shot fellow rioter Ashli Babbitt and hug his neck with a nice rope, the filing said. Broden countered in court filings that while his client "did make the tweet responding to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and engaged in the vile private messenger chat regarding the Capitol Police Officer he believed killed a protestor, there is no indication that he made any effort whatsoever to actually harm anybody (in fact, every indication is to the contrary)." Garret Miller at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia) In a letter to the judge, Miller apologized for his role in the riot and the threatening posts. "It was unnecessary, barbaric, and disrespectful. I was proud, arrogant, and acted in anger. I needed to be humbled. My social media posts were disgusting and a complete embarrassment," he wrote. Broden said his client was remorseful and had fallen victim to the "various election conspiracy claims that spread on the internet like a plague while he was unemployed." Prosecutors questioned his level of remorse and noted that while he did eventually plead guilty to the five felony and six misdemeanor counts, he pleaded to some of the charges on the eve of his trial in December and to the remaining charges after the trial started. Garret Miller at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia) They also noted he signed a letter in September along with other Jan. 6 detainees complaining they were "Political Prisoners on American soil who have been unjustly and unfairly incarcerated." "It is clear he has no remorse and does not believe he committed any crimes," their filing said. Broden argued his client had suffered enough. "As a result of his actions, Mr. Miller has already served approximately 25 months confinement most of it under very difficult conditions and will forever be a felon," he wrote. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com [Source] Japanese Emperor Naruhito gave his first public birthday address since ascending the throne over four years ago. On Thursday, Naruhito celebrated his 63rd birthday and spoke from a palace balcony to a large crowd of citizens below waving Japanese flags. He thanked those in attendance, saying, "It's my first time to receive birthday wishes from everyone like this, and I am very happy." During the speech, Naruhito acknowledged the hardships citizens experienced due to the extremely cold weather this past winter. "I would like to express my heartfelt sympathy to those affected, he said. He also expressed optimism for the coming spring and said, I am praying for everyone's health and happiness. More from NextShark: Andrew Yang is Joining CNN as Political Commentator At an Imperial Palace news conference held hours before the public address, Naruhito spoke about the ongoing difficulties that many Japanese citizens are facing these days: Many people are having difficulties in their daily life amid the pandemic and rising prices. My heart feels pain when I think about people in vulnerable positions, who are aged, who have disabilities, who are in need of support, and people in poverty and their children. But it is encouraging and I am thankful to know that there are many people who support these people in vulnerable positions. Naruhito also expressed deep sorrow for people around the world embroiled in war and other conflicts. More from NextShark: Uncultured White Lady Spreads Ignorance On Twitter Over Korean Delicacy I strongly feel the importance for every country to think not only about itself but to engage in dialogue to overcome differences and cooperate in solving problems, the emperor said. We face a question of what each of us can do to achieve a peaceful world. Public birthday addresses made by the emperor are an annual custom in Japan, but public appearances have remained suspended since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Naruhito spoke in front of the public for the first time in three years in his New Years address last month. Story continues More from NextShark: LA Chinese Restaurant Tests Customers for Fever Over Coronavirus Threat Although the palace appears to be slowly resuming its traditions, as they stood on the palace balcony on Thursday, Naruhito, his wife Empress Masako, and their daughter Princess Aiko were shown wearing masks. More from NextShark: Man arrested for pistol-whipping, robbing Asian couple of $60K Rolex at 99 Ranch in Rowland Heights The new 36th Ward is arguably the most gerrymandered in Chicago. Stretching diagonally from West Town to the Far Northwest Side, it runs slender in the middle and expands out at each end. It resembles a playground seesaw, while others have described it as a pool noodle or a waterslide. How it came to be shaped this way has never been fully explained, though it shouldnt be a surprise there might have been some political retribution at play. The wards incumbent alderman, Gilbert Villegas, chaired the City Councils Latino Caucus that opposed the map, which was favored by most of the councils Black Caucus. Advertisement Regardless, the result is a contentious race in the newly drawn ward in which three residents are challenging Villegas and accusing the two-term alderman of not being familiar with the new wards neighborhoods and not working well with law enforcement to cut down on crime. Villegas is facing challenges from Jacqueline Jackie Baez, financial consultant David Herrera and Chicago Public Schools teacher Leonor Lori Torres Whitt. Chicagos new ward map Not sure which ward you live in? Type your address into the search box below. Advertisement Source: City of Chicago Nearly a year after he lost a bid to be elected to Congress, Villegas says he deserves a third term, even if it is to represent new neighborhoods. He said he has eight years on the council and a vision for the ward. This campaign is going to be an indication of whether or not people want experience, leadership, proven leadership, or they want to have on-the-job training, Villegas said. I can tell you that right now. The city is at a crossroads. And we cant afford on-the-job training. [ Search to find out what Chicago neighborhood, community area and ward you live in ] The Feb. 28 election is the first since each of the citys 50 wards were remapped as part of the once-per-decade redrawing of political boundaries following a federal census. Although every ward changed somewhat, the redrawing of the 36th appears to be the most radical, other than possibly the moving of the 34th Ward from the Far South Side to the downtown and Near West Side area. In that case, Ald. Carrie Austin, 34th, isnt running for reelection following her federal criminal indictment. The result for the 36th Ward is that about half of the current constituents of the ward are being redistricted to neighboring wards. Villegas said he is still hopeful he can avoid a runoff. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote in the Feb. 28 election, the top two vote-getters will compete in a runoff on April 4. After the new ward boundaries were released, Villegas opened up what he called a satellite office in West Town, one of the new 36th Ward neighborhoods. He said he opened the office to help residents with city services so neighborhood residents didnt feel disenfranchised or disconnected. [ Insane. Obviously wrong. Not a good thing. The new 36th Ward would stretch from the Far Northwest Side to West Town, baffling its future residents. ] Map of 36th Ward. (Courtesy of Latino Caucus) But some of Villegas opponents say the move to open the office was made more for political reasons since many of the residents in West Town dont know anything about Villegas even though his name will be on the ballot in less than a week. Why doesnt he open up on office on the South Side? He can be the alderman for all, Herrera said. The city should give all candidates the same resources to level the playing field. Advertisement Villegas defended having the office outside of his current ward, saying theres nothing wrong with helping people out. Herrera, a native of West Town, said that the new map favors a 36th Ward candidate from West Town because there is a larger constituency in that neighborhood than the Montclare neighborhood that is Villegas base. The thing is, the incumbent lives 8 miles away, Herrera said. So I would almost call this an open seat. It just has an incumbents name attached to it. And, hands down, I know this area better than any of the competition. Financial consultant David Herrera is running for alderman in the 36th Ward. (Arthur Siegel / HANDOUT) When West Town was in the 26th Ward in 2019, Herrera ran for the seat but came in last, a loss he attributed to being drowned out by better-funded candidates. Fundraising is differentiating the candidates in this race as well. Villegas had more than $79,000 on hand to start the year and raised more than $100,000 since. Torres Whitt, who is backed by the Chicago Teachers Union, had nearly $60,000 on hand at the start of the year but hasnt raised as much as Villegas since. Baez hasnt raised much at all while Herreras campaign is mostly self-funded. Advertisement Still, Herrera said he thinks it will help that hes been involved with neighborhood groups such as the Ukrainian Village Neighborhood Association and the East Village Association, as well as attending CAPS meetings for the 12th and 14th police districts. As it has in many aldermanic races, crime has become a focal point in the 36th Ward. Carjackings and robberies in the wards new boundaries have been on the rise since 2019. To address that, Herrera wants to hire more police and reopen the former 13th police district in West Town. The district was consolidated with the 12th police district in 2012 when Mayor Rahm Emanuel closed it and two other districts to save money. Herrera also has proposed hiring private security, an-often controversial practice. I hate to say it, (private security is) going to have to start patrolling the neighborhood. Herrera said while acknowledging the idea might not be so popular. Its not the number one option, but at the end of the day, public safety is part of the job description. Villegas said he is working on having a referendum question on the ballot in 2024 to let voters determine if they want to reopen the 13th police district. He said he is doing it to put pressure on the mayors office to have a police district in West Town. Advertisement Torres Whitt has a different take on addressing crime. She said she wants to see an investment in the mental health institutions that were shut down during Mayor Emanuels tenure. Youre hearing mayoral candidates, and even some of my opponents, say that they want to hire (more police). But we have to recognize the conditions in which we really started, she said. CPS teacher Leonor "Lori" Torres Whitt is running for alderman in the 36th Ward. (Lori Torres Whitt campaign) Torres Whitt said she plans to use her seat on the City Council to create a moral document that can allocate money to mental health, public transportation and get quicker city services to constituents. Torres Whitt said her 23-year career as a teacher, the last 18 at James Monroe Elementary School, is what shaped her into the candidate she is today. The reality is that, in my teaching, I became an advocate. I became an advocate for students and their families. And that advocacy led me to community work. Im a community advocate, community activist, she said. As candidates have debated crime, Villegas relationship with law enforcement also has become an issue. Several of his opponents criticized Villegas response to unrest that occurred in the city following the murder of George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis, at the hands of a white police officer. Advertisement On the Northwest Side, looting occurred around the Brickyard Mall and amid the violence a man punched a police officer. Also, a woman who was visiting the mall was dragged from her car by police. The woman and companions later received a $1.7 million settlement from the city. Jacqueline "Jackie" Baez is running for alderman in the 36th Ward (Jacqueline Baez) Baez said Villegas was too quick to condemn the police because he requested investigations by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability about the Brickyard incidents. But Villegas defended his relationship with the police, saying he has the endorsement of the Chicago Police Sergeants Association. The Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, which is Chicagos largest police union and backing Paul Vallas for mayor, has not endorsed any candidate in the 36th Ward race. The bickering between Villegas and Baez has been consistent throughout the campaign. Baez said she supported Villegas campaign in 2015 and spoke to him about getting a cultural center opened for young people but that he never kept his promises. Villegas said he never committed to building the center. Villegas also has discussed troubles Baez has had in the past, including a dispute she got involved in when she was head of the Puerto Rican Cultural Association of Chicago in 2017. The organization was sued by a Carol Stream tent company, which claimed in a lawsuit that Baez wrote a bad check after the company provided equipment for the associations festival. Earlier this week, Baez was arrested by Chicago Police on a warrant from DuPage County stemming from the lawsuit, a spokesperson with the Chicago Police Department said Wednesday. Advertisement Baez previously told the Tribune she wrote a check to the tent company but then canceled it after the associations board voted not to pay the firm because the tent company did not keep up with the festivals schedule. Torres Whitt, meanwhile, has tried to present herself as the progressive alternative to Villegas. She has been endorsed by Cook County Commissioner and mayoral challenger Brandon Johnson, who also is backed by CTU, as well as U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, who defeated Villegas last year for Congress. Torres Whitt also is backed by the progressive organization United Working Families, which is closely aligned with CTU. Villegas said he still sees himself as a progressive in the race. He noted that last year he introduced an ordinance that would set up a Basic Income pilot program. His proposal was not passed, but a similar one did under Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who had named Villegas her floor leader in 2019. He resigned the post in 2021. The reality is that you just got to take a look at my track record and you can see that Ive done the most progressive things in the City Council, so they can label whatever, however they want, Villegas said. rrequena@chicagotribune.com Advertisement TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Emperor Naruhito on Thursday gave his first public birthday address since ascending the throne almost four years ago, after delays due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and urged support for people struggling with inflation and the pandemic. "Many people are having difficulties in their daily life amid the pandemic and rising prices," Naruhito said, according to a transcript of a news conference released on his birthday, hours before he stood on a palace balcony to accept cheers and well-wishes from thousands of citizens assembled on the grounds below. "My heart feels pain when I think about people in vulnerable positions, who are aged, who have disabilities, who are in need of support, and people in poverty and their children. "But it is encouraging and I am thankful to know that there are many people who support these people in vulnerable positions." Naruhito, who turned 63, was crowned emperor on May 1, 2019, after his father Akihito became the first emperor to abdicate in two centuries. Public birthday appearances by the emperor are an annual tradition but the event had been suspended from 2020 due to the pandemic. Last month, Naruhito also resumed the emperor's traditional New Year's address for the first time since the COVID outbreak as the country eases restrictions and returns to normal practices. Naruhito was joined by his wife, Empress Masako, his daughter Aiko, 21, and his brother Crown Prince Akishino and his wife and daughter, all of whom wore white masks. Public attendees were limited to fewer than 5,000 individuals chosen from more than 60,000 applicants, according to the Imperial Household Agency, which manages the imperial family's lives. Before the pandemic, the appearances were open to anybody. "I feel very happy to have my birthday celebrated before the public for the first time," Naruhito said at the palace. At the press conference, he also expressed deep appreciation to Masako for spending more than half of her life with him. (This story has been corrected to fix when and where Naruhito remarks were made) (Reporting by Elaine Lies and Junko Fujita in Tokyo; Editing by Edmund Klamann) Jean Smart attends the Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 10 at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo: Matt Winkelmeyer/FilmMagic) Award-winning actress Jean Smart revealed Thursday that she's recovering from a heart procedure. "February is American Heart Month a time when the nation spotlights heart health, so it feels important to share with all of you that I am recovering from a recent, successful heart procedure," the 71-year-old wrote on social media Thursday. "I am fortunate to have excellent professional care and support from family and friends while I continue to recuperate. Please listen to your body and talk to your doctor I'm very glad I did!" Smart did not disclose details of her procedure. On the same day, Hacks' production company, Universal Television, and HBO Max issued a statement: "We are so happy that our beloved Jean Smart's heart procedure was successful and she's on the mend. HBO Max and UTV send their well wishes." The acclaimed show is currently on a scheduled hiatus. However, production on next season began last month, and that's been paused for some departments. According to Deadline, production is scheduled to resume "on or around March 13." Smart is a beloved TV veteran who's won five Emmys for her work two for guest roles on Frasier, one for her work on Samantha Who? and two for playing her current character, veteran comic Deborah Vance. (Surprisingly, she never won one for her funny and sweet portrayal of Charlene on Designing Women!) She's also appeared on Dirty John; Arrested Development; Fargo; 24; Watchmen; Mare of Easttown; and many more series over the decades. Movies on her resume include last year's Babylon, Sweet Home Alabama in 2003 and, in 2009, Youth in Revolt. "Hacks" stars Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart attend the HBO Max after-party for the second season premiere on May 9 in Los Angeles. (Photo: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic for HBO) Smart has faced challenges while filming Hacks before. She revealed in June 2021 that her husband of nearly 34 years, actor Richard Gilliland, died suddenly of a heart condition at age 71. Story continues "I feel like I just should say something about my husband, because he passed away very unexpectedly," Smart told the New Yorker. "I still had a week of Hacks left to do. It was hard. I had to do a funeral scene." Smart said she was "a wreck" while filming the scene, which was part of the first season finale, but "it actually turned out to be very funny." The actress had met Gilliland on Designing Women, when he played J.D., the boyfriend of Annie Potts's character, Mary Jo. First lady Jill Biden on Thursday said the U.S. and Namibia face similar challenges, pointing to climate change, economic inequality and strengthening democracy, as she spoke at an event on the second day of her trip to Africa. Biden attended a luncheon at the Namibian state house, along with Namibian President Hage Geingob, Namibian first lady Monica Geingos and Sustjie Mbumba, the spouse of the vice president. We face many of the same challenges, from climate change to economic inequality to strengthening democracy, which is why the U.S. African Leaders Summit was held in Washington D.C., in December, because it was so important to him, she said, referring to President Biden. And its why Im proud to be standing here, standing with a strong democracy, Biden added. The president announced at the end of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in December that he will travel to sub-Saharan Africa in 2023. He said at the time that there will also be visits to Africa from other officials, including his wife. The first lady on Thursday called Namibia a leader in gender equality, saying, Mr. President, you and your government, which is full of strong women are setting an example for the world. Biden said she was talking to her husband about her trip, and he said the countrys struggle against apartheid inspired him to speak out as a senator. Namibia was previously under the rule of South Africas former apartheid system until 1990. He understood then as he does now that our futures are intertwined, Biden said. She added that the U.S. and Namibia share the same vision, which is a world that is free. The trip will be her sixth overall visit to the continent, and include her first visit to Namibia and third visit to Kenya. She is the first senior White House official to visit Namibia since former Vice President Al Gore went in 1996. Biden said at the luncheon that she chose to visit Namibia after meeting the first lady during the summit in December. Story continues Sometimes you meet someone, and you instantly know that youll be friends and thats how I felt about Monica, Biden said. The conversation and the laugher came so easily, and I could hear your passion when you talked about your work. After the luncheon, Biden visited to Hope Initiatives Southern Africa-Namibia, which is located in the town of Katutura. The organization works to lift families out of poverty and curb gender-based violence. She was joined by U.S. Ambassador to Namibia Randy Berry and the two meet with a Peace Corps volunteer who lives and works there. After the visit, the first lady and granddaughter Naomi Biden handed out boxes of White House M&Ms to a group of about 40 children standing outside in Katutura. Hello, how are you? Candy from the White House! the first lady said. When she ran out of candy and a little boy came up to her, she gave him the tote bag the candy came in. The first lady, who will be in Africa until Sunday, is the third U.S. official to visit Africa this year after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Her next stop is in Kenya, where she will look at the impacts of drought on families and communities hardest hit, officials said on Tuesday. In both Namibia and Kenya, the first lady will participate in engagements about womens and youth empowerment, gender-based violence, as well as about sexual and reproductive health programs and HIV support. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The dedication ceremony for solar panels installed on the roof of the West Wing on June 20, 1979. Billy Shaddix/Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum/NARA In 1979, President Jimmy Carter installed solar panels on the roof of the White House. Amid an energy crisis, Carter hoped to reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil. President Ronald Reagan removed the solar panels in 1986. In the 1970s, the US was in an energy crisis. A gas station in 1973. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images In 1973, Arab countries that were part of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) imposed an oil embargo on the United States in retaliation for their military support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War. As a result, gas prices skyrocketed and shortages caused long lines at gas stations. While the embargo ended in 1974, it exposed the vulnerabilities of US reliance on foreign oil. President Jimmy Carter pushed for renewable energy sources to reduce pollution and America's dependence on fossil fuels. Jimmy Carter signs the National Energy Bills circa 9 November 1978. HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images In response to the 1973 energy crisis, Carter created the Department of Energy in 1977. He implemented tax credits for homeowners who installed solar panels, and he passed the National Energy Act into law in 1978, moving to reduce oil imports and promote energy conservation, The New York Times reported. As part of his efforts, he installed 32 solar panels on the roof of the West Wing in 1979. The dedication ceremony for solar panels installed on the roof of the West Wing on June 20, 1979. Billy Shaddix/Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum/NARA In his speech, Carter emphasized the importance of "harnessing the power of the sun to enrich our lives as we move away from our crippling dependence on foreign oil." At the dedication ceremony, Carter expressed his administration's goal of the US running on 20% renewable energy by 2000. President Jimmy Carter speaks against a backdrop of solar panels at the White House in 1979. Harvey Georges/AP "Today, in directly harnessing the power of the sun, we're taking the energy that God gave us, the most renewable energy that we will ever see, and using it to replace our dwindling supplies of fossil fuels," Carter said in his speech. In 1980, Carter lost the general election to Ronald Reagan, who didn't share his vision for renewable energy. Republican President-elect Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan standing with President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter outside the White House in 1980. Diana Walker/Getty Images Reagan moved to fulfill his campaign promise to abolish the Department of Energy in 1981, but he walked back his effort in 1985 due to insufficient support in Congress. He allowed Carter's solar-panel tax credits to expire in 1985, instead championing nuclear-power initiatives. Story continues He also believed in allowing free-market capitalism to dictate the production and use of fossil fuels rather than government regulations, a policy that became known as "Reganomics." In 1986, Reagan had the solar panels removed during repairs to the roof of the White House. President Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office. Diana Walker/Getty Images Carter's solar panels were removed during repairs to the White House roof and were not reinstalled. "Putting them back up would be very unwise, based on cost," Reagan's White House press secretary Dale Petroskey told the Associated Press at the time, according to Yale Climate Connections. The White House remained without solar panels until 2002, when the National Park Service installed three solar energy systems that provided hot water for grounds maintenance staff and the White House pool, according to the White House Historical Association. Carter continued advocating for renewable energy after his time in the White House. Former president Jimmy Carter, right, sits with his grandson Jason Carter during a ribbon cutting ceremony for a solar panel project on farmland he owns in his hometown of Plains Georgia, in 2017. David Goldman/AP In 2017, Carter leased 10 acres of his farmland in Plains, Georgia, to the solar energy company SolAmerica Energy, The New York Times reported. The company built 3,852 solar panels, enough to provide more than half of the power for the 683-person town. "It's very special to me because I was so disappointed when the panels came off of the White House, and now to see them in Plains is just terrific," former first lady Rosalynn Carter told The New York Times. Read the original article on Business Insider Getty Images Jimmy Carter is widely considered to have one of the greatest post-presidencies in United States history. So when he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his lifetime of work advancing human rights and world peace efforts, it was a great honor but not a particular surprise. In fact, Carter had been nominated for the Nobel Prize at least five other times before winning it, according to Douglas Brinkleys book The Unfinished Presidency. He nearly won it in 1978 for his role in the Camp David Accords, and many expected him to win in 1994 for his diplomatic efforts in Haiti, for which U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan said he deserved five Nobel Prizes alone. Nevertheless, its hardly common for an American President to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Only four have ever received the honor, including Theodore Roosevelt , Woodrow Wilson , and Barack Obama . Carter is the only one to win it after leaving office. Theodore Roosevelt Getty Images The larger-than-life 26th president of the United States became the first statesman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906, in recognition of his efforts to broker a peaceful end to the Russo-Japanese War. Like so much in Roosevelts life, the decision was controversial. The award was criticized by leftists who condemned the president as a military mad imperialist responsible for the American takeover of the Philippines. Swedish newspapers at the time wrote that Alfred Nobel was turning in his grave over the decision, according to the Nobel Foundation . For his part, Roosevelt used his Nobel acceptance speech to advocate for the formation of an international body for world peace. Roosevelt said : It would be a master stroke if those great powers honestly bent on peace would form a league of peace, not only to keep the peace among themselves, but to prevent, by force if necessary, its being broken by others. Woodrow Wilson Getty Images The type of organization Roosevelt envisioned would later become a reality with the foundation of the League of Nations. Woodrow Wilson, the 38th president of the United States, was one of the primary architects of the international organization, and it was for that reason he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919. Story continues Wilson also received the recognition for his role in helping end World War I , a conflict he sought to keep the United States out of in the first place. Wilsons Fourteen Points statement of principles for peacewhich addressed territorial issues, arms reduction, and trade conditions, among other factorshelped inform the peace negotiations. As with Roosevelt, Wilsons Nobel Prize was considered controversial. The World War I peace negotiations were difficult and contentious, and the League of Nations was significantly weakened when the United States refused to join it. For this reason, some on the Nobel Committee disagreed with the decision to give Wilson the award. Jimmy Carter Getty Images Twenty-one years after leaving the White House, Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development, according to the Nobel Foundation . Carter was particularly praised for creating The Carter Center with his wife, Rosalynn, in 1982. The nonprofit organization seeks to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health.Obviously, Im very grateful to the Nobel Committee for choosing me, Carter said after the decision was announced. I think theyve announced very clearly that the work of The Carter Center has been a wonderful contribution to the world for the last 20 years. Nobel officials also publicly admitted that honoring Carter was an implicit criticism of then-President George W. Bush s initiation of the Iraq War, according to CNN . Barack Obama Getty Images Barack Obama was only nine months into his first term when it was announced in October 2009 that he had won the Nobel Peace Prize. The decision sparked mixed reactions from both sides of the political aisle , with even Obama himself appearing dubious as he addressed the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated during his acceptance speech . Perhaps the most profound issue surrounding my receipt of this prize is the fact that I am the Commander-in-Chief of the military of a nation in the midst of two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama said. I come here with an acute sense of the costs of armed conflictfilled with difficult questions about the relationship between war and peace and our effort to replace one with the other. Joe Biden appeared to stumble making his way up the stairs to Air Force One as the president embarked on a return flight back from his surprise visit to Ukraine and Poland. In footage of the incident, the president appeared to trip about halfway up the steps, before regaining his balance and waving then getting inside the plane At the age of 80, Mr Biden is the oldest US president. White House doctors examined the president last week for a physical, with White House physician Kevin OConnor writing that Mr Biden has a stiff gait as the result of significant spinal arthritis, mild post-fracture foot arthritis and a mild sensory peripheral neuropathy of the feet, the New York Post reports. Earlier this month, a large group of congressional Republicans called on Mr Biden to take a cognitive fitness test, echoing similar demands Democrats made of Donald Trump. Its not the first time Mr Biden has had a fall in public. In 2021, he fell repeatedly walking onto the presidential jet, which aides said occurred because of gusts of wind. It was very windy. I almost fell coming up the steps myself. He is doing 100 percent, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at the time. Hes doing fine. Hes preparing for the trip just fine. The following year, Mr Biden was filmed falling off his bike in Delaware, though he got up quickly, apparently unharmed, and answered questions from the press. The topic of age and fitness has been especially present in Washington in recent months. Earliest this month, senator Dianne Feinstein of California, 89, announced she wouldnt seek re-election. Ms Feinstein is the oldest senator and longest-serving Democrat in the upper chamber. As The Independent has reported, she has faced numerous media reports about her mental acuity. Meanwhile, CNN anchor Don Lemon inspired a heated debate on gender, age, and politics, when he claimed 2024 GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley was no longer in her prime age. His remarks, for which he later apologised, were in response to Ms Haleys calls for older politicians to take cognitive function tests. Jordan Godfrey was sentenced to two years and six months for attempted robbery. (SWNS) A 14-year-old schoolgirl is among the string of lone females that were targeted on the street by two men. Jordan Godfrey, 30, and Brett Parker, 28, drove around in a stolen Ford Focus stopping random women in quick succession and asked them for directions in a bid to snatch them off the street. The pair targeted two women and a child in the space of one morning then crashed into a parked car and threatened two witnesses who started filming the accident. Godfrey then dragged one of the women to the floor by the neck before they fled and their vehicle was found abandoned nearby. Their crime spree began at around 8am on 6 November, 2018, when they pulled alongside a woman walking in Swanley, Kent, and offered her a lift. Minutes later, they pulled up next to a teenage girl and asked her to get into the car to give them directions. When she refused they followed her and only drove away after she pretended to make a phone call, then fled to a nearby supermarket and called her mother. Brett Parker was jailed for three years and nine months, to be served concurrently with another prison sentence for an unrelated crime. (SWNS) Around half an hour later, a 24-year-old woman was heading towards the town's train station when the car was used to block the footpath in front of her. Father-of-two Parker, who had been taking drugs and drinking earlier that day, opened the back door and told her to get in. When she refused, he then grabbed her arm and tried to force her inside, but the victim fought back and managed to make her way to safety. Two victims who tried to film the pair were threatened before they drove off and abandoned the stolen car around 20 miles away near Tunbridge Wells, Kent. During a trial at Maidstone Crown Court, the 24-year-old victim told how she was left traumatised by the ordeal. She said: "I couldn't even think about walking down that road again. I've been having nightmares, dreaming about what happened over and over and what could have happened if he managed to get me in that car. Prosecutors during the trial told the jury the crimes were sexually motivated. Story continues Brett Parker and Jordan Godfrey were jailed following a trial at Maidstone Crown Court. (PA/Alamy) Parker, of Dagenham, east London, denied the attempted robbery and attempted kidnap but was found guilty and jailed for three years and nine months, to be served concurrently with another prison sentence for an unrelated crime. Godfrey, of Colchester, Essex, also denied the allegations but was convicted of attempted robbery and sentenced to two years and six months in prison. Judge Philip Statman told the defendants as he handed down the sentence: "This court has to ensure that young women are able to walk the streets without being bundled into a car. Following the sentencing, detective constable Hayley Campbell, of West Kent CID, said: "The intentions of Godfrey and Parker in trying to encourage and force females into their car remain unclear. "However, there can be no doubt that their actions will have caused panic and genuine fear to each and every person who they targeted and approached. "Everyone should be able to go about their everyday lives without fear of harassment or assault. As thousands of Chicagoans took to the streets during 2020s nationwide racial reckoning on policing, one word captured the fury of that summer: Defund. Following the murder of George Floyd, a Black man who gasped I cant breathe as a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck, the rallying cry was shouted by activists and scribbled on cardboard signs across Chicago. Though it was largely rebuffed by the bulk of the citys political class, including Mayor Lori Lightfoot, at least one sympathizer in local government emerged: Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, who is vying to unseat her in the Feb. 28 election. Advertisement Less than a month after Floyds death, the county commissioner from the West Side introduced a nonbinding resolution calling for the county to redirect funds from policing and incarceration to public services not administered by law enforcement. The Justice for Black Lives resolution was symbolic, but it overwhelmingly passed that July. A hundred years from now the question will be, did we do everything in our power to stand up to systemic racism? Or did we flinch? Johnson said as he addressed fellow commissioners before the vote. This will give the county commissioners a road map for taking millions of waste spent on incarceration and policing and reinvesting it. Advertisement But two years later, as Johnson declared his candidacy for Chicago mayor and his campaign has surged in recent weeks, the 46-year-old who is championed by many progressives has sounded less strident on the issue of defunding the police. That shift comes amid a much different political climate, where the momentum for change has coincided with fears over a recent surge in crime. [ Whats the full cost of the Chicago Police Department? CPD budget doesnt give the whole picture, former city analyst says ] Asked at a Monday campaign stop if he would reduce the $1.94 billion Chicago Police Department budget, Johnson did not say. Nor would he address his past comments on the defund movement. Instead, he implored reporters to ask better questions, such as what actually makes communities safer. What Im saying is that were going to spend our money smart, Johnson said. Thats what Im saying, all right. Look, I know the narrative out there about me and our movement. I get it. I do. People want to reduce our pain to a hashtag. Lightfoot: I will never support defunding the police One of the earliest comments Lightfoot made about the protests targeting police budgets was to dismiss the calls as a hashtag and a mere slogan. I will never support defunding the police, Lightfoot said in the documentary City So Real, which aired in the fall of 2020, following the summer wave of protests. I dont think its a binary choice. Its not either: fund the police, or fund resources. We have to do both. The mayor argued that, given the concentration of violence in Chicagos poorest communities, siphoning police funds from them would send a message that public safety is only a commodity thats available for the wealthy. In those communities that are most plagued by violence, Im not hearing them talk about defund the police, Lightfoot said. They want more police resources. The goal of those who support defunding police is to divest from law enforcement budgets and reallocate those funds to nonpolicing community investments aimed at addressing crimes root causes. Advertisement There is no one consensus among the largely decentralized network of defund activists on how or how much police budgets should be reinvested. Some organizers want to scale back funds as a precursor to abolishing the institution of policing entirely. Other approaches include more modest cuts or strategically removing certain duties from the scope of policing, such as responding to mental health crises. Black-led groups lead a rally to defund police across from the Chicago Police Department's Homan Square facility, July 24, 2020. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) Chicago was the largest American city to not take up a proposal to reallocate law enforcement funding in the wake of Floyds death, though Lightfoot still weathered accusations that she did just that because her 2021 budget included a 3.6% cut to the Police Department. However, that reduction was attributed to a massive fiscal deficit stemming from the pandemic, and the funding was more than restored the next year. Some of the no votes came from progressive aldermen who would not budge on demands to defund the police. Johnson added to the censure. In a December 2020 appearance on WCPT 820s The Santita Jackson Show, he criticized the mayor as well as former President Barack Obama, for his recent characterization of the defund movement as a snappy slogan. I dont look at it as a slogan, Johnson said. Its an actual real political goal. The Lightfoot campaign recently repurposed that segment for an ad, to which Johnsons team hit back in a statement that Lightfoot is desperately on the attack with old clips and that Brandon Johnsons plan for public safety includes new investments to make our city safer and stronger not cuts to the CPD. That was Johnsons first public commitment to maintain the Police Department budget a departure from his 2020 ambitions. Advertisement It was 87% that say, Yeah, defund, Johnson said in October 2020, citing a city budget survey that showed 87% of 38,000 respondents supported reallocating Chicago police funds. Look, shes on the wrong side of history. And the other side of the building has to come to their own reckoning. Johnsons campaign on Wednesday issued a statement renewing his commitment to not cut Chicago police spending. Brandons plan for public safety is a comprehensive, wide-ranging policy that gets smart on crime by maintaining the current CPD budget while making the department more efficient and providing new investments in additional public safety initiatives outside of the police department, including new teams of non-personnel first responders for mental health crisis calls, spokesman Ronnie Reese wrote. As for the rest of the mayoral candidates, all but community activist JaMal Green have opposed reducing Chicago Police Department spending at this point. Could have been much bolder The Cook County Board does not control municipal police budgets such as Chicagos only the purse strings of the Cook County sheriffs office, which runs the county jail, one of the largest correctional facilities in the U.S., as well as a police force of about 500. That sheriffs budget was deemed a target of Johnson and grassroots organizers in support of defunding when Cook County began budget negotiations in the fall of 2020, but he did not detail how much funding he wanted diverted or how. Instead, he broadly said at the time, Reducing the sheriffs budget is a case that I believe that we want, adding: There is no number big enough. Advertisement The sheriffs office ended up seeing a cut of 4.1%, its first reduction after multiple consecutive years of increases. But whether that was the result of an intentional move to defund or a response to massive budget woes brought on by the pandemic depends on who you ask. Sheriff Tom Dart has surmised it was a little of both, while Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle insisted any fluctuation in the sheriffs budget was unrelated. Whatever the reason, the sheriffs budget more than recouped its 2021 cut the next year and now has a record-high $675 million allocation. Johnson voted for both of the last two budgets. During debate on this years budget, Johnson did take issue with setting aside $11.4 million to lease a helicopter and associated equipment for the sheriff and voted against sending the sheriff $275,000 to embed two social workers in Cook Countys 911 dispatch center for mental health call responses, saying he was having a tough time supporting a measure that used a system his constituents didnt really trust. Johnson also has acknowledged that the county could have been much bolder and stronger in that moment after the Tribune reported in 2021 that most of the countys COVID-19 stimulus funds was spent on the sheriffs office. But he also blamed Lightfoot and Chicago police Superintendent David Brown because their approach to arrest people and to incarcerate jacked up the jail population and, thus, the sheriffs labor expenditures. Of course that impacts our budget, Johnson said in February 2021. If the vast majority of detainees are coming from the city of Chicago, and you have an administration in the city of Chicago that is committed to a failed, racist system of incarceration, that infrastructure is really reflecting the poor policies that are being pushed. Where does Johnson stand now? Perhaps the most debated aspect of defund the police is its name. Starting in 2020, Republican candidates sought to weaponize the word against Democratic opponents, regardless of their actual positions on police spending. Eventually, defund became a catchall term among conservatives seeking to evoke an image of radical lawlessness. Advertisement In Chicagos 2023 municipal election, Democrats running for mayor, alderman and other positions also are raising the specter of defund in the hopes of painting progressive rivals as soft on crime. Simon Balto, an assistant history professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the phrase has always been obvious red meat for the law and order crowd, but that liberals have grown scared of it as well. People in the mayoral race right now are just throwing (defund) back and forth at each other, said Balto, who has studied race and policing in Chicago. Theyre doing that because they made a political calculation that being associated with that slogan is sort of political suicide. Indeed, Johnson has not uttered the word defund during the last stretch before the February election. He has instead opted to center themes associated with the movement while stopping short of endorsing or rejecting the approach. That makes Johnsons desired size for the total Chicago Police Department budget hard to pin down. Chicago mayoral candidate Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson greets morning commuters while campaigning at the California CTA Blue Line station, Feb. 15, 2023. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune) In a September progressive candidates forum, Johnson was quick to say absolutely yes when asked if he will commit to not raising Chicago police funds any further. But his statement last week in response to Lightfoots ad against him said his safety plan includes new investments not cuts to the CPD. Advertisement Asked this week to clarify if he would adjust the Police Departments $1.94 billion allocation, Johnson evaded the question. He instead pointed out that his safety plan calls for ensuring $150 million in police funds would be reallocated by streamlining the amount of department supervisors. He did not answer whether that money would be reinvested within the department or taken out of its budget, but his campaign confirmed Wednesday the plan reinvests (the $150 million) within the CPD. Were reallocating the resources, Johnson said. Thats the same position that I said with the Justice for Black Lives resolution. Its the same thing. Also, when asked how as mayor he would handle the 1,500 police officer vacancies, Johnson has not committed to filling them with new officers or eliminating the line items from the budget. But he said rivals who want to fill those openings to combat crime are going to fail at attracting enough recruits, and he chastised those opponents, saying: When it comes to public safety, they have two words: more cops. As for the activists on the ground, Johnson has remained their guy. Multiple Chicago organizers who spoke with the Tribune expressed confidence that should he become mayor, Johnson will embrace the movement to reallocate police funding. We can do more with getting Brandon into office than we can with him not being in office, and I understand that also politics is a tactical game, April Friendly, a police abolitionist who is the organizing director of Southeast Environmental Task Force, said. If he uses some other language to communicate it, Im not worried about that. ayin@chicagotribune.com Former Franklin County Sheriff's SWAT deputy Jason Meade, right, appeared Thursday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court with his defense attorney, Mark Collins. A Franklin County Common Pleas Court judge Thursday denied a request by attorneys for former county Sheriff's Office SWAT deputy Jason Meade to change the venue for his murder trial in the shooting death of Casey Goodson Jr. Meade, whose legal first name is Michael but who goes by Jason, is facing charges of murder and reckless homicide for fatally shooting 23-year-old Goodson on Dec. 4, 2020 as he was entering his grandmother's Northland home. Meade shot Goodson six times, five in the back, an autopsy showed. Attorneys for Meade and special prosecutors on the case argued several motions related to Meade's case during a status conference Thursday afternoon. A new trial date has not been set since it was postponed in December. Past coverage:Judge rules Jason Meade must face state murder charges in death of Casey Goodson Jr. Meade's attorneys asked Franklin County Common Pleas Judge David C. Young to move the trial to a different part of the state, saying it's necessary for Meade to receive a fair trial due to prejudicial media coverage of the case in Columbus. Former Franklin County SWAT deputy Jason Meade, right, appeared Thursday afternoon in county Common Pleas Court for a motion hearing with his defense team. At left is defense attorney Mark Collins, and in the middle is associate defense attorney Kaitlyn Stephens. Kaitlyn Stephens, one of Meade's attorneys, cited as an example a Jan. 4 guest opinion column written by Columbus attorney Sean Walton Jr. and published on The Dispatch's Opinion page headlined "County empowering future 'Jason Meades." Walton was identified at the end of the opinion column as a civil rights attorney and leader of the Columbus Police Accountability Project, but not as a lawyer representing Goodson's family in a federal civil rights lawsuit against Meade and Franklin County. A motion by Meade's legal team cited a plethora of other coverage by local media, including a special report by The Dispatch on Meade previously using his faith to justify law enforcement's use of force. Young said Thursday he will not grant a change of venue at this time. Changes of venue are rarely granted, and Mark Collins, one of Meade's defense attorneys, said they expected this answer. Story continues More:Deputy who killed Casey Goodson has used faith to justify use of force before Tamala Payne, Goodsons mother, and Walton said after the hearing they are glad the trial will stay in Columbus. Jason Meade murdered Casey here in Franklin County in front of his family and he should have to face a jury in Franklin County in front of Caseys family, Payne said. Payne and Walton also said it's been frustrating how long this case has taken to get to trial. Judge grants jury view, withholds judgment on use of word 'victim' Young approved a request by defense attorneys and the special prosecutors to allow the jury to be taken to view scenes relevant to the case, which would include the Northland home owned by Goodson's grandmother and where he resided with other family. Meade's attorneys also asked Young to prohibit prosecutors from referring to Goodson as a victim during jury selection, a request which Young did not rule on yet. "I dont think theres any question in this case that Casey Goodson was the victim of a shooting," said Tim Merkle, who, along with Gary Shroyer, are the two special prosecutors appointed by the Franklin County Prosecutor's Office to handle Meade's case. The question being argued at trial is whether a crime occurred, Merkle said. To us, it necessarily prejudices the jury if (the prosecutors are) allowed to freely use the term victim, said Steve Nolder, another one of Meades attorneys. The 2020 shooting Casey Goodson Jr., Photo provided by family Meade has said, through Collins, that he saw Goodson point a firearm at another driver and Meade's unmarked vehicle. So Meade, who was working part of a U.S. Marshal's task force that failed to find a suspect in an unrelated matter, followed Goodson to his grandmother's home. According to Collins, Meade shouted repeatedly for Goodson to show his hands and drop a handgun, but Goodson allegedly instead pointed it at Meade. Goodson's family has said Goodson was legally licensed to conceal carry the handgun, but was holding Subway sandwiches and keys in his hands not the gun and was wearing earbuds when he was shot. A firearm was recovered at the scene, according to police. But information about where that firearm was found has not been released. Unlike other shootings by law enforcement officers, no footage of the incident is available because the Franklin County Sheriff's Office did not have body cameras at the time. Sheriff Dallas Baldwin's office only began phasing in body cameras last year, and after much public criticism. Meade was placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting. He took disability retirement in July 2021 before he was indicted by a Franklin County grand jury. The Goodson family's federal civil rights lawsuit against Meade and the county will only go forward after the criminal case is resolved. Related:Multiple fatal shootings by officers among notable Columbus cases set for 2023 More:Donovan Lewis' family files lawsuit against Columbus officers in fatal police shooting jlaird@dispatch.com @LairdWrites This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: No change of venue for ex-deputy Jason Meade in Casey Goodson killing TALLAHASSEE - A Leon County circuit judge Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed after Gov. Ron DeSantis administration sparked a controversy in September by flying about 50 migrants from Texas to Marthas Vineyard in Massachusetts. DeSantis administration attorneys argued that the lawsuit, filed by state Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Hollywood, became moot when the Legislature this month passed a law aimed at bolstering efforts to transport migrants to sanctuary areas of the country. During a late-afternoon hearing Wednesday, Circuit Judge John Cooper dismissed the lawsuit after Pizzos attorney, Mark Herron, acknowledged that it should end. Related:Inside the records, inconsistencies of DeSantis' Martha's Vineyard migrant relocation plan Lawsuit:Revisiting DeSantis, Martha's Vineyard, and the migrant flight controversy The lawsuit contended that a section of the state budget used to pay for the September flights was unconstitutional because it created a new program and changed laws about issues such as contracting. The law passed this month took a series of steps to address the legal issues raised by Pizzo. Pizzo, an attorney, briefly addressed the judge Wednesday and said he achieved what he sought in the lawsuit, at least in part because it spurred the Legislature to make changes. We got what we asked for, he said. Cooper said the dismissal should not be construed as a decision on the constitutional issues in the case. He said the dismissal stemmed from the legislative changes. Each side can take what they wish, Cooper said. The lawsuit dealt with the interplay of the state budget and substantive laws. Broadly, issues in the annual budget are not supposed to change more-permanent laws. Related:Florida Gov. DeSantis wants to add more money to controversial migrant relocation program The Republican-controlled Legislature last year included $12 million in the budget for the Department of Transportation to carry out a program to facilitate the transport of unauthorized aliens from this state. Story continues The DeSantis administration used $615,000 of that money to pay Vertol Systems Company, Inc. to fly the migrants Sept. 14 from San Antonio, Texas, to Marthas Vineyard in Massachusetts, with a brief stop in the Northwest Florida community of Crestview. Also, four additional Vertol purchase orders of $950,000 each are listed on a state contracting website for relocation services. Legislative staff analyses said $1.565 million had been spent as of Jan. 31, leaving a balance of $10.435 million from the original $12 million. With Pizzos constitutional challenge pending, the Legislature on Feb. 10 passed a law that effectively sought to neutralize the legal arguments. In part, the law repealed the part of the budget that was used as a basis for the flights and created the Unauthorized Alien Transport Program in state law. Also, the bill funneled remaining money provided in the budget section back to state coffers, and allocated $10 million to the newly created program effectively swapping out money. After DeSantis signed the bill last week, administration attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the case because of mootness. Here, it is indisputable that SB 6-B repeals (the section of the budget), the motion to dismiss said. Moreover, by repealing (the section) the Legislature effectively gave plaintiff (Pizzo) precisely what he requested. It eliminated the challenged appropriation, which allegedly amended substantive law, thereby ensuring it cannot be used to transfer unauthorized aliens. DeSantis, who is a potential 2024 presidential candidate, frequently criticizes Democratic President Joe Biden on border and immigration issues. Pizzo said after Wednesdays hearing that DeSantis is trying to use the newly passed program for political purposes and to set up a showdown. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Lawsuit challenging DeSantis migrant flights dismissed by judge Pence Executive Privilege (ASSOCIATED PRESS) The Department of Justice has asked a federal court to compel former vice president Mike Pence to give evidence before a grand jury that is investigating former president Donald Trumps attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden and keep himself in office against the will of American voters. In sealed proceedings before Judge Beryl Howell, the chief judge of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, federal prosecutors have sought to pierce assertions of executive privilege claimed by attorneys representing Mr Trump, who have intervened in hopes of blocking the former vice president from testifying in the criminal probe that is being overseen by Special Counsel Jack Smith. The secret proceedings before Chief Judge Howell, which were first reported by the New York Times and CBS News, come as Mr Pence has stated publicly that he would seek to block any attempt to compel his testimony about conversations he had with Mr Trump in the period leading up to 6 January 2021, the day the quadrennial joint session of Congress at which lawmakers certified his and Mr Trumps 2020 election defeat was interrupted by a riotous mob that was summoned to the American capital by the outgoing president. Mr Pence has claimed his testimony cannot be compelled because he was acting in his role as president of the Senate that day, which in his view would mean his actions are shielded by a section of the US Constitution which grants immunity to members of each legislative chamber. Speaking Iowa last week, Mr Pence told reporters: "On the day of Jan. 6, I was acting as president of the Senate, presiding over a joint session described in the Constitution itself. So, I believe that that Speech and Debate clause of the Constitution actually prohibits the executive branch from compelling me to appear in a court, as the Constitution says, or in any other place. The novel defence, which has never been vetted by a court of law, has been questioned by legal and constitutional experts who have said the so-called speech and debate immunity only extends to elected members of the House and Senate. Story continues But Mr Pences invocation of that alleged immunity is widely seen as a last-ditch attempt to prevent him from being viewed as a witness against Mr Trump by the Republican voters who may be called on to decide if the former vice president is worthy of the GOP presidential nomination, as Mr Pence is expected to mount a campaign for the presidency in next years election. Citing sources familiar with the matter, CBS News reported that the Justice Department documents ask Judge Howell to enforce a grand jury subpoena that was served on Mr Pence several weeks ago. The departments latest attempt to compel Mr Pence to give evidence is a sign that Mr Smith, a former war crimes prosecutor who returned to the US from The Hague after Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed him to oversee probes into Mr Trumps actions after the 2020 election and his alleged unlawful retention of classified documents at his Palm Beach, Florida residence, is moving quickly to put evidence of Mr Trumps actions before a grand jury that could eventually asked to issue an unprecedented criminal indictment against the twice-impeached ex-president. Several of Mr Pences former White House aides, including his ex-chief of staff Marc Short and his former top White House lawyer, Greg Jacob, have already given evidence before the grand jury being supervised by Mr Smith. Comedian and presenter Katherine Ryan appears to have criticised the age gap between The Only Way is Essex star James Argent and his girlfriend, Stella Turian. Argent, 34, has been dating the 18-year-old actor and singer for eight months. The couple met while Argent was attending a friends wedding in Mykonos, Greece, last summer. He then flew out to Italy to see her in September. The second we saw each other that day we realised there was an amazing link between us and that we would like to be more than friends, and its just grown, he told The Sun. He added that the relationship remains long-distance as Turian is super busy with her work in Italy while he is working between London and Essex. After their relationship went public, much was made of the age gap between the two. Posting to her Instagram Stories, Ryan filmed herself cuddling her baby daughter, Fenna Grace, while looking sternly at the camera. She then zoomed in so viewers could see she was unimpressed. Me a mother finding out a 34-year-old Towie star has an 18-year-old girlfriend, she wrote in the caption. The Independent has contacted Argents representative for comment. Katherine Ryan took a swipe at James Argent (Getty) Ryan has previously hit out at the age gaps between Leonardo DiCaprio and his girlfriends. The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star has never publicly dated anyone over the age of 25 and broke up with his last girlfriend, model Camila Morrone, just months after her 25th birthday. Responding to a rumour that DiCaprio was dating 19-year-old model Eden Polani, Ryan said the subject was literally all Ive talked about for SEVEN YEARS. When a follower asked her what the crime was, Ryan replied: No crime, just a creepy pattern. She also wrote that Titanic, which was released in 1997, was too old for Leonardo DiCaprio to be in it. A source debunked the dating rumours to People: Leo and Eden just so happened to have been seated next to each other at the party, and were hanging in the same group. Trump supporters storm Capitol building in Washington Police intervenes in US President Donald Trumps supporters who breached security and attempt to enter the Capitol building in Washington D.C., United States on January 06, 2021. Pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol as lawmakers were set to sign off Wednesday on President-elect Joe Biden's electoral victory in what was supposed to be a routine process headed to Inauguration Day. Credit - Mostafa Bassim-Anadolu Agency Before he was Speaker, Kevin McCarthy refused to cooperate with the Jan. 6 committees investigation of the 2021 Capitol riot. Now that hes in control of the House, he has joined forces with those trying to discredit the panels findings. The California Republican has reportedly handed over more than 40,000 hours of U.S. Capitol surveillance footage exclusively to Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who has devoted hours of his prime time show to downplaying the deadly Capitol attack as a false flag operation or mere vandalism. Some of our smartest producers have been looking at this stuff and trying to figure out what it means and how it contradicts or not the story weve been told for more than two years, Carlson told his viewers Monday night. We think already in some ways that it does contradict that story. Carlson said that he and his producers would spend a week reviewing the footage before airing selected parts next week. Democrats and some Republicans say they fear Carlson will use the raw footage to sow doubt about the Jan. 6 committees findings. The bipartisan panel, whose hearings garnered more than 20 million viewers, concluded its investigation by saying that former President Donald Trump was morally and likely criminally responsible for the deadly assault on the Capitol as part of his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Ahead of Carlsons expected release of parts of the footage, heres what to know. How long has Carlson had the footage? According to Axios, Carlsons producers went to Capitol Hill last week to begin collecting and reviewing the trove of footage. Story continues Is there a security risk in granting Carlson access to the footage? Democrats and former Republican members of the Jan. 6 committee say that by releasing the footage to Carlson, McCarthy could divulge security methods used by law enforcement to defend the Capitol complex. In both the public hearings and the final report, the House panel deliberately tried to obscure any details that could compromise lawmakers safety. The apparent transfer of video footage represents an egregious security breach that endangers the hardworking women and men of the United States Capitol Police, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, wrote Tuesday in a letter to the rest of his caucus. He added that there was no indication that McCarthy upheld the protocols in place to protect legislators, Congressional staff, and Capitol Hill law enforcement. What are Trump supporters saying? Some of the former presidents loudest supporters are already touting the release of the footage. For all of you that doubted we would release the tapes. Here you go! Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted on Monday. Im very happy to be right again in my support for Kevin McCarthy as our Speaker. Americans deserve to see the truth, not a one sided narrative and unfair two tiered justice system. How have Democrats responded? Jeffries, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and other Democratic leaders denounced McCarthys move as an attempt to minimize the severity of the Jan. 6 attack, at least in the eyes of Carlsons right-wing audience. The footages release comes as the 2024 presidential contest is already gaining steam, with Trump off to a slow start to campaigning, and his former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, having entered the race to challenge him. Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi who chaired the Jan. 6 committee, hosted a presentation on Wednesday at a virtual meeting of the Democratic conference, warning of the security risks. Its hard to overstate the potential security risks if this material were to be used irresponsibly, Thompson said in a statement. Children under the age of 16 worked in violation of child labor laws at a pair of Ohio restaurants, while also being denied overtime pay, federal officials say. The two Cincinnati-area locations of Mios Pizza were fined a total of $30,000, the U.S. Department of Labor announced on Wednesday, Feb. 22. At the two restaurants one in Cincinnati and one in the suburb of Milford 21 minors operated hazardous kitchenware that federal guidelines prohibited them from using. (The workers were) illegally allowed to use manual fryers, operate gas ovens with an open flame, move pizza in and out of a broiler/conveyor oven and use a mechanical dough puller and sheeter, the Department of Labor said. By law, workers must be at least 16 to operate such equipment. The restaurant also assigned 36 minors to shifts that violated guidelines for how many hours child employees can legally work, according to the news release. The law states 14- and 15-year-olds can work three hours on a school day and no more than 18 hours per week when school is in session. Managers at both restaurants denied the workers overtime pay, indicating their weekly salary of $584 would exempt them from earning extra money. By law, employers may only claim an exemption from overtime for managers when they meet several duties tests and are paid weekly salaries of more than $684 a week, officials said. The violations occurred when Dan and Leslie Igo owned the pizzerias. The couple no longer own the Milford restaurant, according to the Department of Labor. The Department of Labor said it fined the restaurant $30,000 and recovered $11,950 in back overtime wages. Mios Pizza has a responsibility to understand the federal overtime exemption for managers and ensure that employees receive the wages they have earned, said Matthew Utley, the Department of Labors wage and hour district director in Columbus. 9 teen workers were assigned to use McDonalds deep fryers, feds say. Franchisee fined Kids as young as 13 got chemical burns working at sanitation business, officials say Teen Dunkin employee complained of over 10-hour shifts, official says. Owners to pay A Caldwell man who robbed and killed a 41-year-old man in 2021 was sentenced to at least seven years in prison Wednesday but could serve up to 15. Jacob Neely, 30, was originally charged with first-degree murder and felony robbery after police determined that he and not his girlfriend at the time fatally shot Bradley Griffin Jacobs on a remote property southwest of Caldwell. He pleaded not guilty to those charges in July 2021, but court records showed that last December, he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter as part of a plea deal. Third District Judge Gene Petty sentenced Neely to seven years fixed and eight years indeterminate on manslaughter and robbery counts, meaning he could be eligible for parole after serving seven. Canyon County spokesperson Joe Decker told the Idaho Statesman in an email that Neely also was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and a $5,000 civil penalty. In April 2021, Neely and his 21-year-old girlfriend at the time, Jennika Berry, had planned to meet at a property on Wagner Road. Court records indicated that Berry picked up Jacobs from his home while Neely awaited their arrival at the property. Neely, then 28, pointed a pistol at Jacobs, telling him to get out of the car and empty his pockets, according to the records, and then killed him. Police found Jacobs later that day. He was shot once in the lower right chest with a 9 mm firearm, according to a Canyon County Sheriffs Office affidavit obtained by the Statesman. Detectives with the Canyon County Sheriffs Office said in an affidavit of probable cause that Neely and Berry had intentionally planned to rob and kill Jacobs. Berry was charged with second-degree murder in 2021 after telling police that she was alone with the victim and shot him. Police investigators determined that not to be the case and eventually arrested Neely. Charges against Berry were amended to felony robbery, and she pleaded guilty in April 2022. She is scheduled to be sentenced on March 1. By Brendan O'Brien CHICAGO (Reuters) -A monster U.S. winter storm pounded the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest on Thursday, killing a firefighter, knocking out power to more than 900,000 people and canceling or delaying thousands of flights. A broad swath of the northern United States from Washington state to New England remained under winter weather advisories with another 18 inches (46 cm) of snow, winds up to 50 miles per hour (80 kilometers per hour) and wind chills equivalent to minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 40 Celsius) possible throughout the day, the National Weather Service said. A volunteer firefighter was killed in suburban Grand Rapids, Michigan, after coming in contact with a live power line knocked downed by ice, local officials said on Twitter. Some 900,000 homes and businesses were left without power in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New York and Wisconsin on Thursday morning, according to Poweroutage.us. More than 2,000 flights were canceled and another 15,000 delayed due to the heavy weather, according to flight-tracking website Flightware.com. Many roads were left impassable or treacherous to drivers. "Travel on the roads can be dangerous with just a trace of ice. But we're seeing ice caking from a quarter to half inch (6 mm to 1.3 cm)," said Richard Bann, of the weather service's Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland. "That can be practically impossible." Snow fell at a rate of 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) an hour in Minneapolis, home to about 2.9 million people. New accumulations added to the 8 inches of snow already dumped by the storm. Video footage and photographs on social media showed cars stuck on roadways, while streets and walkways were covered in drifting snow. "Big-time flakes coming down here," storm chaser Aaron Jayjack said in a video he posted on Twitter from Minneapolis. "This is the final push of the storm, and in fact appears to be heaviest snowfall yet." Story continues The Minneapolis school system was holding classes remotely for more than 29,000 pupils for the rest of the week. Dozens of school districts also canceled classes in North and South Dakota, Colorado, Michigan and Wyoming In Ann Arbor, Michigan, home of the University of Michigan, almost 20,000 homes and businesses lost power. Nathan Pietryga, manager of the long-standing college hangout Pizza Bob's, counted himself one of the lucky ones. "I made it to work, a little shuffling on the ice," he said. Classes weren't canceled, but students were advised to use discretion. Pietryga indicated he expected to sell some pizza. "We've been here forever, the kids will come in," he said. A separate storm spawned unusual weather in California, where much of the state was under high wind and winter storm warnings. Rare snow flurries were reported in San Francisco while blizzard conditions were expected in high elevations, even in the typically balmy Los Angeles area. By Saturday, up to 8 feet (2.4 meters) of snow could accumulate on Mount Baldy, about 45 miles (72 km) east of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Mountains. At the same time, parts of the Ohio Valley and the South could see near record-breaking high temperatures, beginning Thursday and lingering into the weekend. Weather forecasters predicted temperatures to hit 88 F (31 C) in Jacksonville, Florida on Sunday. (Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago, Rich McKay in Atlanta and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Sandra Maler) TRENTONA registered sex offender from Lakewood whom authorities said posed as an 11-year-old girl online to persuade a girl in Oklahoma to send him explicit videos admitted in federal court Wednesday to the sexual coercion of the child, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Samuel Schwinger, 37, Lakewood pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Georgette Castner in Trenton to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. Schwinger admitted that from October 2018 through April 5, 2019, he contacted more than 25 minors for the purpose of producing and distributing images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said in a statement In March 2019, Schwinger used an app to text the Oklahoma girl, who was under the age of 12, asking the victim to make the videos of her for him, according to court records and testimony. More:Keansburg man found guilty of possessing more than 1,000 items of child porn The child sexual abuse scheme was uncovered after the girl's parents filed a complaint with the Pottawatomie County Sheriffs Office, authorities said. Booking photo of Samuel Schwinger, 34, of Lakewood. When Schwinger was arrested on April 5, 2019, he tried to hide his cell phone under a couch as law enforcement officers closed in on him, authorities said. Investigators found more than a thousand images of child sexual abuse and dozens of conversations with minors stored on his iPhone, according to an affidavit in the federal case. Schwinger was initially charged by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office. The status of the New Jersey criminal charges against him was not immediately available. After his 2019 arrest, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued a detainer for Schwinger, according to the Ocean County Department of Corrections. Details of that detainer were not provided. Schwinger became a registered sex offender following a conviction in Kings County SupremeCourt in Brooklyn for a criminal sexual act, according to the affidavit. Schwinger's sentencing is scheduled for June 27 in Trenton federal court. Story continues The charge he pleaded guilty to can carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Ken Serrano covers crime, breaking news and investigations. Reach him at 732-643-4029. This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Lakewood NJ man who posed as girl to lure minors admits to coercion Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises President R.J. Melman is seen at a news conference to announce plans for RPM on the Water, a four-level space in the office tower at 321 N. Clark St. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune) Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises President R.J. Melman and his wife, Katherine, paid $6 million in late November to buy a 7,000-square-foot, full-floor condominium on the 16th floor of a Near North Side building. Melman is the son of the restaurant firms founder, Rich Melman. R.J. Melman was named Lettuce Entertain Yous president in 2017. Advertisement On the Near North Side, the four-bedroom condo that the Melmans bought had been listed in September 2021 for $9.99 million. Its asking price was lowered to $8.25 million in March 2022, and it was taken off the market in mid-October, shortly before the condo sold. The listing agent, Robby Baum, told Elite Street that he was not involved in the sale, which technically means that the deal was an off-market transaction. With interior design by Nate Berkus firm, the condo has six bathrooms, wide plank French oak floors, 100 linear feet of floor-to-ceiling windows with motorized shades, cantilevered terraces, a study with custom millwork, a De Giulio kitchen with a more than 20-foot island and a butlers pantry. Other features include large gallery walls and a primary bedroom suite with a walk-in closet. Advertisement The sellers were Ilan Shalit, who co-founded global market-making firm Consolidated Trading, and his wife, Rebekah. The Shalits created the full-floor condo by combining two separate condos. They paid $3.87 million in 2010 for the larger of the two units, and they paid $1.4 million in 2013 for the other unit on the floor. The Melmans bought the condo through a Delaware limited liability company. However, on a publicly recorded, $4 million mortgage that the couple assumed for the condo and their lender is Rich Melman the couple are listed as that Delaware LLCs owners and managers. The condos two pieces together had a combined $93,530 property tax bill in the 2021 tax year. R.J. Melman did not respond to a request for comment. The full-floor condo isnt the only high-priced home in or near downtown Chicago that R.J. and Katherine Melman own. In October 2020, they paid $4.8 million to buy a five-bedroom, 8,098-square-foot vintage mansion on the Gold Coast from power couple Ken Williams, who is the Chicago White Soxs executive vice president, and his wife, former TV news anchor Zoraida Sambolin. Williams and Sambolin subsequently paid $1.85 million in March 2021 for a 29th-floor condo in a Gold Coast tower. Separately, through an opaque land trust, Ilan and Rebekah Shalit paid $12.1 million in 2018 for a full-floor unit in a Near North Side condo building. Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter. Join our Chicago Dream Homes Facebook group for more luxury listings and real estate news. PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) - Paris lit up the Eiffel Tower in blue and yellow and people draped in Ukrainian flags gathered at a vigil in London on Thursday, as the world marks one year of war between Ukraine and Russia. Russia invaded Ukraine by land, air and sea on Feb. 24, 2022, the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two. Russia has called its actions "a special military operation," while Ukraine and the West call the attack an unprovoked land grab. "There will be a life after this war, because Ukraine will win," Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said in a speech before the Eiffel Tower was lit up to show solidarity with Ukraine. "I think no one will run out of this fierce desire for freedom, for Europe, for democracy that the Ukrainians are showing." In Brussels, European Union buildings including those of the European Parliament and Commission were similarly lit up in the colours of the Ukrainian flag. In London, people draped in Ukrainian flags and holding banners - including one that said "Put Putin in the bin" in a reference to Russian President Valdimir Putin - gathered at Trafalgar Square at a vigil to mark the anniversary. "Tomorrow is the anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Russia into my country, this is why I thought I just can't stay home," said Olena Iliuk, an 18-year-old Ukrainian at the vigil. Ukraine had success with counter-offensives in late 2022 to seize much of the territory it lost early on, and the war has settled into one of attritional trench warfare and rising losses on both sides. Russia controls around a fifth of Ukraine a year on. (Writing by Deepa Babington; editing by Diane Craft) Michael Granado pictured with additional firearms and SDB necklace GRAND RAPIDS A federal judge has sentenced a 32-year-old Lansing man to 12 years in prison for possessing a handgun despite being a convicted felon. U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney also ordered Michael Anthony Granado to spend three years on supervised release after his confinement. Granado was a founding member and high-level leader of the Lansing area gang known as Shake Da Bag, commonly referred to as SDB, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a press release. Federal prosecutors also said SDB is "a violent criminal enterprise whose members and associates have been involved in numerous criminal activities in the Lansing area, including armed robberies, assaults, shootings, narcotics trafficking, firearms trafficking, and other illegal firearm offenses." According to court documents, Granado was convicted in 2014 of delivery/manufacture of a controlled substance and was sentenced to one to 20 years in prison. The felony conviction made him ineligible to own a firearm. On Sept. 9, investigators executed a federal search warrant at Granados home and found a loaded Glock 21 .45-caliber pistol in his bedroom, prosecutors said. According to court documents, agents at the scene said the firearm had been reported stolen previously. We will continue to bring the full force of the law down on violent individuals and criminal enterprises that spread havoc and fear in our neighborhoods, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said in the release. My office is committed to disrupting illegal firearm and drug trafficking that hurt our communities. Violent street gangs and illegal firearm possession have no place in our district. The U.S. Attorneys Office, working closely with investigative teams at the Lansing Police Departments Violent Crime Initiative, the Michigan State Police, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have identified and prosecuted several SDB members and associates. In addition to Granado, the following leaders, members and suppliers of firearms to SDB have been sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan in the past year: Story continues Marquies Deshaun Davis: Sentenced in March to 10 years for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Jevonte Steven Scott: Sentenced in August to nine years for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Krista Marie Sullivan: Sentenced in December to two years for making false statements during the purchase of firearms. Prosecutors said Sullivan was a straw purchaser who purchased 11 firearms for Scott, who was a felon prohibited from legally purchasing firearms. Keandre Keith Allen: Sentenced in May to more than 5-1/2 years for being a felon in possession of a firearm. -Staff report This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing SDB gang leader Michael Granado sentenced 12 years in prison for firearm Michigan economic development officials who already approved state support valued over $1 billion to land a new electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall want lawmakers to approve an additional $750 million to prepare the site. While lawmakers stress the need to boost job creation, and the plant is expected to create 2,500 jobs, the ask has some questioning the return on investment for taxpayers. Just last week, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer celebrated Ford Motor Co.'s decision to locate a new electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan. The decision came two years after Ford looked outside its home state to build new electric vehicle and battery plants, a move that prompted wide bipartisan support to establish a new fund to secure future investments in Michigan. That fund the Strategic Outreach and Attractive Reserve Fund has since doled out hundreds of millions in taxpayer-funded economic incentives to lure companies that pledge to create jobs in Michigan. To support the Ford battery plant in Marshall, officials approved a $210 million grant for Ford from the SOAR fund, along with a 15-year tax abatement for the company with an estimated value of $772 million. They also signed off on a $36 million loan for the Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance to prepare the site. A Michigan Economic Development (MEDC) memo from last week outlining the investments forecast a need for additional taxpayer support. More:Whitmer celebrates new Ford battery plant in Michigan backed by state support valued over $1B More:Ford reveals key details of 950-acre battery plant deal in Marshall During a Michigan House Appropriations Committee hearing Wednesday, MEDC CEO and president Quentin Messer Jr. put forward the exact dollar amount: $750 million. "Not a dime of this will go to Ford," Messer said. Instead, it will prepare infrastructure at the Marshall site, he said. It's now up to lawmakers to consider the request. Story continues Some signaled support for the proposed additional investment. "It is not a blank check to the corporation," said state Rep. Phil Skaggs, D-Grand Rapids. "It is simply smart government to build the infrastructure around which private enterprise can thrive." Others questioned whether directing more money to support the Ford battery plant is the best use of taxpayer dollars. State Rep. Donni Steele, R-Orion Township, said lawmakers "should look at the total state cost and what we're not utilizing for all of our residents just for this one project." In a statement issued the day after the appropriations hearing, Steele made her opposition to the funding request clear. "It's time to utilize state resources in a capacity that benefits all Michigan residents such as fixing crumbling roads and bridges in communities throughout our state," she said. "These hundreds of millions of dollars should be used to proactively bolster Michigans future, instead of continuing to fund reactionary pet projects." GOP lawmakers already expressed reservations before the request came to set aside more money for the project. Ford has teamed up with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL), a Chinese company and the world's largest battery manufacturer. Some Republicans have raised security concerns and possible ties between the company and the Chinese government. Chris Smith, Ford's chief government affairs officer, said that the battery plant won't be a joint venture between Ford and CATL. He stressed that Ford is licensing technology from the company, the Chinese government plays no role in the project and no tax dollars will go to CATL. He added that Ford has to take steps to address the threat of industrial espionage even at sites that don't involve another company like CATL. Clara Hendrickson fact-checks Michigan issues and politics as a corps member with Report for America, an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Make a tax-deductible contribution to support her work at bit.ly/freepRFA. Contact her at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on Twitter @clarajanehen. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan lawmakers react to $750M request for Ford plant Photograph: Cristobal Herrera/EPA A lawyers attempt to have a pregnant woman released from jail ahead of trial by arguing that her fetus has been subject to unlawful and illegal detention could have profound consequences for the rights of women in Florida. Attorney William M Norris filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf of the unborn child of Natalia Harrell in Floridas third district court of appeal on 16 February, the Miami Herald first reported. Related: I cried with her: the diary of a doctor navigating a total abortion ban The filing argues that the fetus is a person under the Florida constitution and the United States constitution and therefore has the right to due process. The unborn child has not been charged with a criminal offense by respondents or the Miami Dade state attorneys office, yet respondents have unborn child in a detention center known as TGK in Miami Dade county, Florida, the filing states. It further alleges that the jail has failed to provide Harrell with adequate prenatal nutrition and medical care, saying that she has not been treated by an obstetrician-gynecologist since October, and that on one occasion she was left inside a transport van with inside temperatures exceeding 100F (37C) for an extended period. Harrell, 24, was six weeks pregnant when she was arrested on 26 July 2022 and charged in connection with the death of Gladys Yvette Borcela during an argument in an Uber on 23 July. Harrell has pleaded not guilty and has been held without bail since her arrest. The state of Florida has urged the court to dismiss the petition and disputed the allegation that Harrell has not received adequate medical care, the Miami Herald reported. Norris did not respond to requests for comment from the Guardian, but in interviews with other media outlets, his rhetoric has echoed that of the fetal personhood movement, which seeks to grant constitutional legal protection to fetuses and embryos. An unborn child is a person, Norris told NBC News. The person has constitutional rights, and one of them is the right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law. Story continues Fetal personhood laws are a key aim of the anti-abortion movement in the US following the US supreme court striking down Roe v Wade last summer. They are strongly opposed by pro-choice and womens rights organizations. Pregnancy Justice, the civil rights group formerly known as National Advocates for Pregnant Women, argues: It is not possible to add fertilized eggs, embryos and fetuses to the community of constitutional persons without subtracting people with the capacity for pregnancy. Related: Its a war: the doctor who wants Americans to get abortion pills before its too late If you recognize fetal personhood, this is a Pandoras box, said Mary Ziegler, a law professor and expert in abortion law. Ziegler said it was hard to see how the court could grant a writ in Harrells case without establishing some kind of generalizable rule of fetal personhood. It has the potential to establish that abortion is always illegal and potentially to expose women to punishment or make it a violation of the Florida constitution to perform an abortion, she said. It would mean that you cant imprison people who are pregnant, no matter what crime. Ziegler said that such far-reaching consequences some of which could alienate the tough on crime politics of many within the rightwing anti-abortion movement were why the anti-abortion movement has largely steered clear of habeas corpus petitions in its pursuit of fetal personhood. But the case is yet another indication of the changed legal landscape post-Roe. The fetal personhood movement has certainly gained traction, moving from a fringe idea to codified laws across the country, a spokesperson for Pregnancy Justice said in a statement, adding: And while their goal is to stop abortion and control peoples bodily autonomy, theyve given little thought to how this impacts all facets of the law beyond abortion Theres no telling where this will end: HOV lanes, taxes, workers comp, child custody/kidnapping cases, criminal law, and on and on. A 26-year-old Lebanon man has been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly attempting to lure minors and the production of child phonography in 2022, according to officials. Mason Morey was indicted on one count of attempted online enticement and 14 counts of production of child pornography, the United State's Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced Thursday. The indictment alleges that between Nov. 28 and Dec. 8, Morey used the internet to attempt to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity, according to U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam in a press release. On Dec. 7, Morey also allegedly produced images and videos of child pornography. Agents with Homeland Security Investigations arrested Morey on Dec. 8, on the attempted online enticement charges in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Following an initial appearance in court, U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph F. Saporito, Jr. ordered Morey to be detained pending trial on the charge. The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is lifetime imprisonment, according to officials. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts is prosecuting the case. OSHA Investigation:Oklahoma woman dead after being struck by truck tractor at Bell and Evans, police say Lindley Thelismond:'A hole in my heart': New York gang member gets life sentence for 2019 Lebanon city shooting This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice dealing with a growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Officials said Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. The project is led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. The Department of Human Services operates a 24/7 hotline to report suspected child abuse or concerns about the welfare of a child. ChildLine can be reached at 800-932-0313. Story continues Please check back with the Lebanon Daily News for updates. Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on Twitter at @DAMattToth. This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Lebanon man indicted on attempted child pornography production charges In a seven-minute hearing, a Leon County Circuit Court judge dismissed a case against Gov. Ron DeSantis Wednesday brought by a state senator over flights funded by Florida that took migrants to Marthas Vineyard from Texas last year. Both parties agreed that the Florida Legislature had repealed the portion of the law that was used as a basis for the lawsuit accusing the governor of illegally flying migrants to Massachusetts last September and therefore should be dismissed. State Sen. Jason Pizzo, a Hollywood Democrat sued the governor and the Florida Department of Transportation in his capacity as a private citizen, arguing that funding for the controversial flights improperly used an appropriations bill the 2022-23 state Appropriations Act to create a substantial new program instead of authorizing it through a separate law. Florida legislators met in special session this month to repeal the law and replace it with a new measure to allow the governor to move migrants anywhere in the United States, not just from Florida, and take them to sanctuary cities in blue states. The governors lawyers argued that the claims were moot and urged the court to dismiss the case. By repealing (the section) the Legislature effectively gave plaintiff (Pizzo) precisely what he requested. It eliminated the challenged appropriation, which allegedly amended substantive law, thereby ensuring it cannot be used to transfer unauthorized aliens, the governors lawyers argued in the motion to dismiss. Leon County Circuit Court Judge John C. Cooper agreed. Each side can take what they wish, he said. During the hearing, Pizzo told the court that his goals to declare the law unconstitutional and stop the practice from happening again had been achieved. For the governor of the third largest state in the country to beat his chest about how great the program is and how wonderful it is, it was probably not easy for him to have to swallow the fact that the Legislature had to go in and clean up and repeal that same thing, Pizzo said. We got what we asked for. Story continues Cooper said dismissing the case should not be taken as a determination whether the appropriations bill was constitutional or not constitutional, but because the law requires me to do this. The governors office did not respond to requests for comment. The covert project began with the flight of 49 mostly Venezuelan asylum seekers from San Antonio to Massachusetts on Sept. 14. But after the program generated a criminal investigation in Texas, a federal inquiry and several lawsuits alleging the flights violated state and federal law, additional flights were postponed. READ MORE: Before DeSantis could say he kicked migrants out of Florida, he had to pay to fly them in Pizzo, who agreed to dismiss the case, said he had hoped that the lawsuit could reestablish perhaps some faith in the process of the separation of powers. Its now more proper for the forum of public opinion to decide whether or not this is good, he said. He added that he has told both the White House and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that when it comes to managing the nations immigration crisis, they are not doing a good job either. A month before the legislators convened the special session, Cooper rejected a request by the governors office to dismiss Pizzos lawsuit. DeSantis had signed the budget on June 8, including the provision that allocated $12 million in interest the state earned from COVID relief funds to pay for relocation services run by the Florida Department of Transportation to facilitate the transport of unauthorized aliens from this state. READ MORE: Florida may have violated its own guidelines in flying migrants to Marthas Vineyard The state paid $1.56 million to Vertol Systems Company, Inc., the Destin-based firm whose CEO is a former legal client of the governors public safety czar Larry Keefe, in advance of the flights. Pizzo argued the contract should have been competitively bid, as is required for any service on which the state spends more than $35,000. The money included $650,000 for the Marthas Vineyard flights and $950,000 for flights to Delaware and Illinois, for which there is no record they were ever completed. Pizzo on Wednesday criticized the language in the new law that states that any previous payments under the original law will be deemed approved. He said that eliminates any oversight normally required by law. Its complete cronyism, he said. Its a horrid stewardship of taxpayer dollars. Mary Ellen Klas can be reached at meklas@miamiherald.com and @MaryEllenKlas LAPD officers on horseback patrol along Pico Boulevard on Feb. 17 after the shooting of two Jewish men the previous day. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) To the editor: One arrest does not stem the tide or relieve the anxiety. And it is too simplistic to say that antisemitism is on the rise to explain the two recent shootings in Los Angeles. That explanation begs the question and only exacerbates anxiety. ("Jews in West L.A. are resolute, on edge after gunman targets Jewish community in 2 shootings," Feb. 18) Rather we have to look at our recent political history to address our current problem. The prior presidential administration created a culture of hate and provided a green light for antisemitism. The violence in Charlottesville, the elevation of militia groups, the rise of Christian nationalism all have stoked antisemitism. It is not enough that the prior administration also mouthed protection of Israel to excuse these excesses, because what it unleashed is far more deadly. Its happening right here, not across the world right in our communities, affecting our very own families. Perhaps if we recognize the underlying cause, we can take steps for change and the protection of religious diversity. Marcy Sheinwold, Laguna Woods .. To the editor: Recently I drove past the Museum of Tolerance on Pico Boulevard, not far from where a former UCLA dental student allegedly shot two Jews coming out of prayer services. I thought to myself, maybe the museum is just that it holds the relics of the Shoah, but also the relics of tolerance, which is disappearing around the world. I was so disheartened. Then I saw a young man in colorful clothes wearing a kippah, and I had the urge for him to remove it so as not to be an obvious target. This made me sadder still. Then I thought about my friends who are the mothers of Black and brown children who have to worry about their kids more than I do. My children can take off a Star of David. And I got sadder still. What is America if we are not united? Lisa Boyle, Pacific Palisades This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. One of Licking Heights most popular cultural celebrations is returning for 2023 after record-breaking ticket sales last year. Licking Heights High School students will present two performances of their annual "Diaspora" show, one at 2 p.m. and one at 6:30 p.m., on Saturday, Feb. 25. Both shows will be in the high school auditorium, 4101 Summit Road SW, Pataskala, OH. Tickets are $5 and available for both presale and at the door. This is the first time there will be two performances. Licking Heights students Hubbi Yusuf and Samira Jama recite the poem "Settling the Somali Language' by Maxamed Ibraahin Warsame 'Hadraawi' in both English and Somali during Licking Heights High School's "Diaspora Cultural Show" on Feb. 19, 2022. The show returns and will be held Feb. 25 Now in its fifth year, Diaspora is the creation of the Cultural Identity Club, which includes 160 students and is led by Melissa Carter, administrative assistant to Principal Angel King. The clubs goal is to celebrate cultural diversity all year, and Diaspora is their main event each February. This years show will include dances, singing, fashion shows and poetry readings from students. Some songs and poems, a few of which are original compositions, will be performed in students native languages. A few countries represented include Ghana, Eritrea, Somalia and Nepal. While Carter provides guidance and organization for club logistics, she said the event is almost entirely student-run and led. "Its an amazing program. This group of students starts before school even starts so they can practice for the show," she said. "They are incredibly motivated and are relentless. They would stay here every day until 5 p.m. if they couldthey know I will hold them accountable, but that I respect them." The district has a growing and active Somali and Nepali population, and Carter says both communities are very supportive and proud of their students performing cultural dances and songs in the show. Last years show had more than 700 attendees. Ninth grade student Jayah Mitchell has looked forward to "Diaspora" since middle school. She will perform in the historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) group dance and African-American Decades Fashion Show. Story continues Mitchell said she was especially moved watching former high school principal and current Curriculum Director Tiffane Warren participate in a dance with students last year. "Last year when I came to 'Diaspora,' I went home and told my mom how cool it was," she said. "Thats all I would talk about and what I was looking forward to most in high schooljoining the Cultural Identity Club. My friends sister always told me how much she loves Mrs. Carter, the people in the club and the positive energy and environment." In the future, Mitchell said shed like to get more Latino students involved and see representation of different South American cultures. Ninth grade student Samuella Brefo was also inspired by watching "Diaspora" in middle school. Brefo will dance with Mitchell in the HBCU performance, along with a West African dance number, too. She said her favorite part about participating is working together with a team to build the best show and encourage each other. "What I hope people take from attending our show is that no matter how different we are, we can always come together," Brefo said. "I hope to see this program change and grow in many ways as different grades get the experience of being senior leaders and seeing new and different countries." "Diaspora" is a major event in Licking Heights district-wide celebration of Black History Month. Along with the event, the Cultural Identity Club is celebrating Black excellence by creating hallway displays, sharing facts on the morning announcements and decorating classroom doors. Diaspora is a Greek word meaning "dispersion," typically referring to members of ethnic groups who have left their homeland, or who have been forced out. Information submitted by Licking Heights Local Schools. This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Licking Heights students prepare for annual 'Diaspora' performance Terri Jeffries of Strawberries BBQ, center, shown here at the Aurora Farmers Market, went to the Aurora City Council Rules, Administration and Procedures Committee meeting this week to voice her concerns about proposed new regulations on food trucks. (David Sharos / The Beacon-News) Mobile food vendors had a message for Aurora City Council members this week - dont put us out of business. Food truck operators said at a City Council Rules, Administration and Procedures Committee meeting this week that as it stands, a proposed new ordinance regulating mobile food vendors would do just that. Advertisement Members of the committee have been studying new regulations for food trucks for weeks, and have put together a new ordinance designed to balance the needs of food trucks versus brick and mortar restaurants. The committee will continue revamping and changing the new regulations at least up until its next meeting on March 7, before sending something to the full City Council. Advertisement Aldermen would like to have the ordinance resolved before March 28, when a moratorium on new food truck licenses imposed by the council expires. Were trying to come up with an ordinance that will meet the needs of all the residents, said Ald. Edward Bugg, 9th Ward, Rules, Administration and Procedures Committee chair. Were looking for harmony between brick and mortar restaurants and food trucks. Ald. Emmanual Llamas, 1st Ward, pointed out that the City Council look at a new ordinance grew out of complaints that reached City Hall, including trash in neighborhoods, parties and food trucks operating regularly too close to established restaurants. This is what were hearing from business owners, thats why were having this long discussion, Llamas said. Were not looking to ban food trucks; we want you to be able to feed your families. But food truck operators came to this weeks committee meeting to say they feared the new regulations would hurt their businesses, perhaps irreparably. In particular, the operators are concerned with a change in the ordinance that would say food trucks cannot operate within 100 feet of a brick and mortar restaurant, as measured property line to property line, instead of door to door. Operators also said they would suffer from a new provision that would ban food trucks from operating in the same place every day. Changing the locations would pretty much kill us, said food truck owner Raul Sanchez. It would put us out of business. He added that measuring the 100 feet from property line to property line would put us out in the street. Advertisement Terri Jeffries, representing the popular Strawberries BBQ, said limiting daily operation in one location borders on restraint of trade for small business entrepreneurs. If we are going to be restrained from operating daily, the same restriction should be imposed on brick and mortar restaurants, she said. Hernando Martinez said he rents space in a parking lot from a building owner who is OK with it. Im not sure what the problem is, he said. Jefferies said she, too, was unsure what problem the proposed new ordinance was intended to solve. If there was a community-based problem, we would have liked to be given a chance to fix it, she said. Advertisement Sanchez proposed a committee of food truck owners that the city could talk to if there are problems, before it gets out of control. The committee could even help new food trucks find a proper location, giving them a heads up on regulations and what the city would need. Many of the truck operators said they are Aurora residents, and they provide for their families from their food truck business. Carlos Martinez said he started years ago in the city with a push cart, moved to a food truck and would hope to move to a full brick and mortar restaurant some day. We survived through the pandemic, but I dont see how everyone is going to survive through these changes, he said. Alex Voigt, deputy chief of staff in the mayors office, said after getting complaints, the mayors office began looking at food truck restrictions, and found that the old ordinance was not being enforced. She said the new restrictions are proposed to be minor changes. She added that while Aurora looked at what other cities do, because of Auroras size and makeup, its situation with food trucks is somewhat unique. She showed a graphic that detailed that brick and mortar restaurants have about four times the regulatory burdens faced by food trucks, including paying property taxes and having the overhead of a regular building. Advertisement Karina Garcia, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce president, said while that is true, food trucks do file income taxes, pay sales taxes, sometimes pay rent, have to keep kitchen spaces clean in accordance with the Health Department and pay a lot of money for the food truck in the first place. Garcia said the operators, just as with any business, come with a dream to be part of the community. There must be other ways to help (regular restaurants), she said. It doesnt mean we have to push the small businesses away. slord@tribpub.com Several proponents call it the most important affordable housing measure in decades for the state. Critics state it would keep local governments from addressing the source of the problem. A legislative package meant to increase Floridas affordable housing inventory while banning local governments from imposing rent controls is on its way to the Florida Senate Floor after undoing several alterations. On Wednesday, the Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved a substitute version of the bill (SB 102), dubbed the Live Local Act, a priority of Senate President Kathleen Passidomo. The Appropriations Committee was the bills last stop in the chamber, though there were calls for additional amendments to shore up concerns before the bill reaches a full Senate vote. Freshman Republican Sen. Alexis Calatyud of Miami, the measures sponsor, called it a transformational, market-driven constellation of policies that provides attainable housing options for Floridians at every stage of life (and) income. We are tackling this very complex issue from all angles by incentivizing private sector investment, increasing state funding to historic levels and (making) common-sense reductions in regulation, she said. The measure would enable local governments to increase the percentage of property tax breaks it gives to landlords proportional to the share of affordable housing units they offer. It also would add hundreds of millions of dollars to state programs targeting affordable housing solutions, including the long-underfinanced Sadowski Trust Fund. Notably, the bill would prohibit local governments from capping rent rates, a step counties and cities today can only take during declared states of affordability emergencies. To lure developers into building and offering residential units at affordable rates approximately $28,000 yearly for a family of four the bill would offer broad development allowances. If a plan reserves at least 40% of its units at affordable rates for a minimum of 30 years, the project can match the maximum density and height of the densest and tallest development within a mile radius. Story continues The measure and its twin in the House, which Coral Gables Republican Rep. Demi Busatta Cabrera is carrying, also include provisions for existing structures. Under its missing middle section, the plan would allow local governments to offer tax exemptions to property owners who offer units at half the area median income or less. It would reroute $150 million annually from documentary stamp taxes on real estate transactions to the State Housing Trust Fund. Of that, 70% would go toward redeveloping existing buildings into housing projects near military bases. The remainder would cover housing for seniors, young adults and developments in rural regions. The bill would also move $252 million into the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program and $259 million into the State Apartment Incentive Loan (SAIL) program. Together, the two funds make up the Sadowski Trust Fund, which lawmakers created in 1992 but raided to the bones since the 2002 housing boom. Another $100 million would go to the Hometown Heroes program, which the Legislature approved last year to help essential community workers across 50 professions buy homes for the first time. The substitute bill included a wave of changes from the bill Calatayud originally filed last month. Changes included using the local area median income rather than that of the state to measure affordability levels of an area, authorizing local governments to deny or revoke tax exemptions for a property whose landlord commits multiple code violations and an expansion to the Hometown Heroes program to allow the use of program funds for manufactured home purchases. The bill won plaudits from across the committee dais and attending city representative and advocacy groups, including the Florida Association of Realtors, Florida Association of Counties, Florida League of Cities, Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida Retail Federation, Associated Industries of Florida and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Mark Hendrickson of the Florida Association of Local Housing Finance Authorities, whose members include Habitat for Humanity, United Way, AARP and many others, called SB 102 a wonderful bill. It is, along with the Sadowski Act, the most important state legislation for housing, he said. It again puts Florida in the leadership for affordable housing compared to other states in the nation. Not all agreed. Jackosn Oberlink, a lobbyist for the progressive group Florida Rising, called the bill a false solution that would exacerbate the states affordable housing problem by (stripping) away power from everyday people. He suggested lawmakers instead seek proven solutions like capping security deposits to a months rent, cracking down on application fee abuse and banning landlord discrimination against tenants. Taking away our ability to cap skyrocketing rent hikes only benefits price gougers, not consumers, he said. Former Sen. Dwight Bullard similarly criticized the proposed elimination of rent controls, citing the housing insecurity communities across the country endured during the pandemic as evidence that some local controls over rent will always be needed. He pointed to the tenant bills of rights several counties, including Miami-Dade and Orange, passed in the aftermath of the pandemic to protect some of their most economically vulnerable residents. What this bill unfortunately may undo is many of the strides (they) made, he said. Of even greater concern, Bullard continued, was the possible danger the bill may inadvertently put lower-income residents in by allowing developers to circumvent some aspects of local government oversight. That could lead to construction on or near contaminated sites with dangerous toxins still in the ground. This bill, unfortunately, now creates a pathway in which you can now develop close to or adjacent to those lands without the environmental oversight that is necessary to make sure that those particular sites do not have carcinogens harmful to the potential tenants, he said. Asked later by Democratic Sen. Bobby Powell of West Palm Beach to address those real concerns, Calatayud assured him the bill in no way steps over or jumps over any sort of environmental regulation. Asked by Jacksonville Democratic Sen. Tracie Davis whether she thinks eliminating local rent control powers could backfire and cause unintended harm, Calatayud said no. This policy is a market-driven solution to the problem that rent control is attempting to address, she said. The true strategy in this policy greatly outweighs and supersedes in every way what rent control could do, and thats why were prohibiting that because its not a tool that supports affordable housing in our community. Senate Democratic Leader-designate Jason Pizzo of Miami called SB 102 a great bill but expressed concerns over allowing developers to match the maximum height and density of the largest such existing structure nearby. As a way to guard themselves against overdevelopment, he said, local governments may preemptively downzone themselves. He asked Calatayud if she had considered whether that scenario could prompt builders to sue counties and cities and cite her measure as the cause. Calatayud said no. That specific provision, she said, is limited to the next decade and applies only to projects offering 40% of their units at affordable rates for threefold that timespan. This isnt a new, long-term strategy, she said. This is an emergency strategy to, as quickly as possible, make attainable units available to our workforce. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. Liz Truss - Eugene Hoshiko/AP Liz Truss will not support Rishi Sunaks Brexit deal if it falls short of the changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol that she championed while in office, figures close to her have said. She has become the second former prime minister, after Boris Johnson, to fire a warning that will dampen Downing Streets hopes of averting a Tory rebellion. On Thursday, Mr Sunak was forced to pledge that Parliament will get to express its view on any agreement amid backbench fears that he could try and force it through without a vote. Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, turned up the heat on Number 10 by warning she will not accept any compromise that sells out Northern Ireland. Mrs Braverman said the Prime Minister must not sign any agreement that allows the EU a foothold in the United Kingdom going forward. Ms Truss will oppose any agreement that does not go as far as the Protocol Bill she drew up while foreign secretary, The Spectator reported. That legislation, on pause in the Lords, would give ministers the powers to remove EU law from the province and strip European judges of their jurisdiction. At Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday, Mr Sunak was repeatedly asked by Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, whether his deal would deliver on the demands of Brexiteers and Unionists. Pressured to promise MPs a vote, he replied: Of course Parliament will express its view. Downing Street refused to confirm that the remark meant he was committed to holding a vote, although it was interpreted that way by backbenchers. Members of the Tory European Research Group have warned Mr Sunak that they will force a symbolic ballot in the Commons if he refuses to grant one. They really will have to have at least a confirmatory vote. I cant see how you could bring forward a matter of such importance without the Commons having its say, said one. An announcement on any deal, initially pencilled in for Tuesday, is set to be delayed until next week as EU and UK negotiators continue to haggle over the final details. Story continues James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, and Maros Sefcovic, the EU negotiator, are set to talk on Thursday as Downing Street pushes for a greater say for Belfast over Brussels red tape. In the Commons on Wednesday, Mr Sunak looked to ease growing concerns among Brexiteers and Unionists by promising them that his deal would substantially alter the protocol. He was pressed by Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, on the need to end the automatic imposition of EU laws without Belfasts say and replied: I have heard loud and clear. Addressing the democratic deficit is at the very heart of the issues that must be addressed. Mr Sunak faces pressure from both wings of his party, with moderate MPs warning him not to give in to Brexiteer calls to press on with the Protocol Bill. Sir Robert Buckland, a former justice secretary, said: There would be a sizeable body of opinion that thinks the time for this sort of brinkmanship is well and truly over, and that it no longer serves any real purpose in terms of either relations with the EU or indeed our reputation in the wider world. Stephen Hammond, the MP for Wimbledon, said the party should move on from obscure ideological differences and support a deal that would boost UK-EU relations and benefit businesses in Northern Ireland and Great Britain, adding: The vast majority of the Tory Party want this resolved and therefore would be very reluctant to vote against the deal. One MP from the influential One Nation grouping predicted that upwards of 300 MPs would vote for the Prime Ministers deal. Orange County Sheriffs Office It remains unclear why a gunman fatally shot a woman in a Florida neighborhood, then returned to the area hours later, killing a local television journalist covering the homicide and a 9-year-old girl, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said Thursday. Two others were injured in the second shootinga cameraman who was being treated at a local hospital, and the mother of the 9-year-old, who was fighting for her life in critical condition, Mina said. The journalists, both men, were a reporter and photographer with Spectrum News 13 out of Orlando. News 13 identified the slain reporter as Dylan Lyons, a 24-year-old Philadelphia native who loved his career and was engaged to be married. The 9-year-old victim was identified as T'yonna Major, and the victim of the initial homicide was identified as 38-year-old Nathacha Augustin. Lyons was a happy soul and wonderful person in life, his sister wrote in a GoFundMe. The second journalist hit, Jesse Walden, was stable by Thursday morning and has spoken with detectives, Mina said. https://t.co/7LB80ysVuQ The love of my life was murdered. I will never be the same person ever again. Please help my family and I during this time. pic.twitter.com/3dHrNcdIKK Casey Lynn (@Caseyswim1996) February 23, 2023 A 19-year-old man, Keith Melvin Moses, was detained in connection to the shooting spree. He has a lengthy criminal history, Mina said, which includes gun charges, aggravated battery, and assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, and grand theft charges. Mina said Thursday that Moses is a known gang member, but his motive is unknown because he refuses to speak to detectives. On Wednesday night, Moses had been charged with just one murderthat of the victim from the earlier homicide around 11 a.m. Mina said Thursday that Moses now faces three counts of murder and other charges. Story continues An arrest affidavit for Moses first alleged killing, obtained by The Daily Beast, detailed a seemingly random attack that left his friend in shock. The document said Moses friend, who was not named, was driving around Orlandos Pine Hills neighborhood with Augustin for about 30 minutes as they smoked weed. The driver then spotted Moses walking and noticed he seemed down, so he offered him a ride, the affidavit said. Cops say Moses accepted his friends offer and hopped in the cars back seat. Less than 30 seconds later, however, a loud bang rang out and the driver told detectives he turned to see blood spilling from Augustins face. The driver stopped the car and called 911, while Moses took off running. Augustin was dead by the time first responders made it to the sceneher body lying face down on the street with a bullet wound on the left side of her chin, the affidavit said. The friend told cops no argument preceded the gunfire and that Augustin and Moses did not know each other. Hours later, while covering the mornings initial shooting, two journalists were shot in their vehicle, Mina said. The sheriff said Moses then moved to a house about a block away, where he shot the mother and daughter inside. Why he entered the home was not immediately clear, and neither was his connection to the victims, if any, according to Mina. The sheriff said a handgun in Moses pants was still hot to the touch and out of bullets when he was detained, which was moments after he shot the mother and daughter. Bodycam footage from cops takedown of Moses will be released Thursday afternoon, Mina said. Its hard to know if he was targeting this news crew, he said. Again, thatll all be part of our investigation. Members of the media gather to support one another at Orlando Regional Medical Center after a shooting in the Pine Hills area. No details on the victims or their conditions. ORMC has placed the hospital on lockdown. Stay with @WESH for live updates. pic.twitter.com/GrwIhS7Hkq Luana Munoz (@Luana_Munoz) February 22, 2023 In a since-deleted tweet, WFTV reporter Nick Papantonis described how the gunman walked by our crew who was working in their car. Our crew ducked. He continued: The man then walked up to the other crew working in their car and opened fire. Members of WFTVs crew rendered aid to at least one of the victims before emergency personnel arrived on the scene, according to Sabrina Maggiore, another journalist with the channel. I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and media partners, Mina said. I work closely with all of you and know many of you and know the very difficult job that you do... he continued. No one in our community, not a mother, not a 9-year-old, and certainly not news professionals should become the victim of gun violence in our communities. As the evening went on, News 13 journalists grieved the loss of their colleague even as they continued to report on the shooting. Life is fragile, anchor Greg Angel tweeted. We were just talking to our colleaguesfriendsthis afternoon. Life was normal. And now, life is not normal. This is 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, the suspect in a series of shootings today that left three dead, in OCSO custody. This is a sad day for our community. Three were murdered today, including a woman in her 20s, a 9-year-old girl and a @MyNews13 employee. pic.twitter.com/DXXkxzRHl5 Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) February 23, 2023 White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre expressed condolences in an evening tweet, writing, Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team. Mina said a vigil is scheduled to be held for all three victims on Thursday night. We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today, Spectrum News said in a statement. Our thoughts are with our employees family, friends and co-workers during this very difficult time. We remain hopeful that our other colleague who was injured makes a full recovery. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Feb. 22NEW LONDON The City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to include cannabis use in the city's ordinance that bans smoking in city-owned parks and recreation areas. The city made the move as recreational cannabis is now legal for adults 21 and older in Connecticut. The city has approved the site plan for a retail cannabis shop on Colman Street and is considering another application on Bank Street. The ordinance, which will go into effect in a month, explains that tobacco and cannabis use in and around city facilities is contradictory with young people and adults being encouraged to engage in healthy activities and lifestyle. It adds that children's exposure to tobacco use and smoking cannabis causes adverse health effects as the result of secondhand smoke. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states secondhand marijuana smoke contains many of the same toxic and cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco smoke. Research is ongoing about its health effects. Police Chief Brian Wright worked with city Law Director Jeffrey Londregan and the council on the ordinance. Wright said Wednesday they worked on something that would protect the public's rights and well-being. People will be found to be in violation of the provision if they are smoking on, or within 25 feet of, any recreational property, except within any designated smoking areas. The ordinance defines recreational property as "athletic facilities, parks, playgrounds, beaches, trails and other areas where people may assemble for recreational purposes." Anyone who violates the provision will be issued a warning and/or a $49 fine for each separate offense or violation. State law says that municipalities "may regulate use (smoking and vaping) and consumption of cannabis on any property owned or under control of the municipality." In addition, larger communities with a population greater than 50,000 must designate a location where people can smoke outside. The state prohibits marijuana use in state parks and beaches. j.vazquez@theday.com FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) American Airlines said Thursday that Doug Parker, who served as CEO for more than eight years before stepping down last year, will retire as chairman on April 30. The new chairman will be Greg Smith, who spent more than 30 years at Boeing including the last 10 as chief financial officer. Smith's duties broadened during his tenure at Boeing, including working on the company's effort to return the 737 Max jetliner to service after it was grounded worldwide following two deadly crashes. He briefly served as interim CEO after Dennis Muilenburg was ousted in late 2019. Smith, 56, retired from Boeing in a surprise move in early 2021, then joined Americans board in January 2022. Parker, 61, was CEO of US Airways when he engineered a 2013 merger that put him and his executive team in charge of American Airlines, which was just emerging from bankruptcy protection. Parker's tenure as CEO was mostly a highly profitable period for American, but the airline struggled with more debt than its rivals, even before the pandemic that devastated the U.S. travel industry in early 2020. Also, American's relations with its labor unions worsened, and the federal government sued to kill a partnership with JetBlue in the New York and Boston. Robert Isom succeeded Parker as CEO last March. American also announced that longtime board members Ray Robinson and Jim Albaugh will not seek re-election this spring. Key Insights Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, Divfex Berhad fair value estimate is RM0.12 With RM0.095 share price, Divfex Berhad appears to be trading close to its estimated fair value The average premium for Divfex Berhad's competitorsis currently 50% How far off is Divfex Berhad (KLSE:DFX) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by taking the forecast future cash flows of the company and discounting them back to today's value. We will use the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model on this occasion. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward. We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model. See our latest analysis for Divfex Berhad The Method We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. 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: Story continues 10-year free cash flow (FCF) forecast 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM6.65m RM7.17m RM7.65m RM8.09m RM8.50m RM8.89m RM9.27m RM9.65m RM10.0m RM10.4m Growth Rate Estimate Source Est @ 9.84% Est @ 7.96% Est @ 6.64% Est @ 5.72% Est @ 5.07% Est @ 4.62% Est @ 4.31% Est @ 4.09% Est @ 3.93% Est @ 3.82% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 12% RM5.9 RM5.7 RM5.4 RM5.1 RM4.8 RM4.5 RM4.2 RM3.9 RM3.6 RM3.3 ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St) Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM46m We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (3.6%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 12%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032 (1 + g) (r g) = RM10m (1 + 3.6%) (12% 3.6%) = RM127m Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM127m ( 1 + 12%)10= RM41m 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 RM87m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of RM0.1, the company appears about fair value at a 19% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind. dcf Important Assumptions Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Divfex Berhad as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 12%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.061. 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. Moving On: Although the valuation of a company is important, it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. It's not possible to obtain a foolproof valuation with a DCF model. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For Divfex Berhad, there are three essential items you should further examine: Risks: Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 4 warning signs with Divfex Berhad , and understanding them should be part of your investment process. 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 Top Analyst Picks: Interested to see what the analysts are thinking? Take a look at our interactive list of analysts' top stock picks to find out what they feel might have an attractive future outlook! 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 Kyiv The war raging in Ukraine began when Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion exactly one year ago tonight, U.S. time. It's believed that Russia's political and military leaders along with many international observers expected the war to end within weeks, possibly even days. Instead, Ukraine held on and fought back. But that morning on the far eastern edge of democratic Europe, the lives of millions of Ukrainians changed forever. We were on the balcony of our safehouse in Kyiv at about 5 a.m. local time when Putin announced the start of what he still refuses to call anything but a "special military operation." Moments later, thunderous explosions echoed throughout the capital and other cities across Ukraine. The biggest military invasion seen in Europe since World War II was underway. Despite repeated warnings from the West that Putin was massing hundreds of thousands of forces near his western borders for exactly such an assault, a full-scale invasion was unthinkable at the time for the average Ukrainian. The Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, recalled setting his alarm for 3 a.m. the night before. He told CBS News that Ukrainian officials had information suggesting the invasion would start an hour after that. "I received a call from military forces, from my friends," he recalled. "The invasion started." Smoke rises from near the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's intelligence unit, after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched military strikes across Ukraine, in Kyiv, February 24, 2022. / Credit: VALENTYN OGIRENKO/REUTERS Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, knew it was coming, too. "I left the office for home, because I understood it was going to start soon," he told us. "We couldn't tell anyone. My wife was very upset at me for not warning her that the war was about to start." He showed us official government data charting the first wave of the invasion; the Russians were launching airstrikes across the country, and ground offensives on multiple fronts. As Russian paratroopers landed at the Hostomel Air Field on the outskirts of Kyiv, U.S. intelligence officials predicted the capital itself would fall within 96 hours. Story continues Hostomel: Inside the battle that "changed the course of the war" The main offensive was expected to come from the east, right across Russia's border with Ukraine and through the industrial heartland of the Donbas region. But the assault was less focused than that less well orchestrated by Russia, according to Ukraine's defense chief. "We understood that it would be a battle for the Donbas," Minister of Defense Oleksii Resnikov told CBS News. "But they started everywhere, without striking formation. That's why they lose." Ukrainians have criticized their government leaders for not warning the public that the invasion was imminent. Reznikov said it wasn't an oversight, but a defense strategy. "We were prepared. But we tried to stop the panic in our streets," he said. If Ukraine's population knew that hundreds of thousands of Russian troops were about to pour over their borders, in other words, they might have tried to flee across those borders themselves, and that could have presented an "obstacle for our armed forces to move quickly." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is seen on a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, soon after the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of his country, March 8, 2022. / Credit: Ukrainian Presidency/Handout On the streets of Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made it clear he was staying put, going for a defiant walk with cameras rolling with members of his cabinet in the heart of the capital. Rather than flee, he urged Ukrainian citizens to take up arms to defend their country. And they did, by the thousands. Ukraine's government raced to distribute weapons to civilians who barely knew how to use them. Hastily erected barricades and checkpoints sprung up everywhere, manned by jittery volunteers with guns drawn. Volunteers, one holding an AK-47 rifle, protect a main road leading into Kyiv on February 25, 2022. / Credit: DANIEL LEAL/AFP/Getty It was a chaotic beginning of a war that still rages. Baking helped her overcome addiction, so now she's using her bakery to help others Ukrainian Armed Forces solder shares her life on the front line Gaza fires rockets at Israel one day after 11 Palestinians died in West Bank raid Police investigate in Silver Lake where an officer shot a person Wednesday. (OnScene.TV) Los Angeles police shot a woman in Silver Lake on Wednesday night after she waved what officers described as a gun at them, according to law enforcement sources. The woman was struck in the lower body, according to the sources, who asked to remain anonymous because they weren't authorized to discuss the investigation. The shooting occurred in an underpass area in Silver Lake populated by homeless people. The incident happened around 8 p.m. at the intersection of Silver Lake Boulevard and Bellevue Avenue. Officers were following up on a call about an assault with a deadly weapon, said Annie Moran, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department. Moran said she did not yet have details on what happened in the moments leading up to the shooting or on the identity of the person shot. The woman was hospitalized after the shooting. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A University of Central Florida journalism professor wants the community to know who the News 13 TV reporter killed in Wednesdays mass shooting was, and what he meant to the community. 5:32 a.m. update: Spectrum News 13 identified Dylan Lyons as the TV journalist who died Wednesday after he was shot while covering another deadly shooting in Pine Hills. Spectrum News 13 also identified Jesse Walden as the news photographer who was shot. Walden was critically injured and is still in a hospital. Original report: The shooting Wednesday afternoon left a reporter and a 9-year-old girl dead and a news photographer and a woman critically injured in Pine Hills, just hours after a woman was killed at the same scene. The reporter and the photographer were doing their jobs when they were shot. Channel 9 is not yet sharing the name or photo of the victim out of respect to his family and News 13 colleagues. But we can share he was a UCF student who lived for his job. LIVE UPDATES: Reporter, girl die & photographer, woman critically injured in Pine Hills shooting While in college, he was UCFs president of the Radio TV and Digital News Association. He interned at multiple stations in Central Florida before eventually landing a job at News 13. Rick Brunson, his college professor, came to the hospital to comfort his family and friends. Brunson described the journalist as energetic, enthusiastic and someone who truly loved the industry. He loves journalism, and he loves it because of the difference that he always feels like he can make in whatever community hes in by being on the street with a microphone and a photographer, and telling the stories of the community hes in, Brunson said. Thats what hes about, and thats why Im here. READ: TV journalist, 9-year-old killed in mass shooting: Nation reacts Deputies have not identified the 9-year-old girl who has died, or her mother who is in critical condition. Story continues Deputies said theyre not sure if Wednesdays shootings were targeted. READ: Woman arrested in suspected murder-attempted suicide in St. Cloud, police say Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. Lucid said Wednesday that it plans to build 10,000 to 14,000 vehicles in 2023, short of Wall Street expectations. Lucid Motors Lucid reported full year 2022 results on Wednesday and fell short of estimates. The startup says it is going to build 10,000 to 14,000 EVs this year. Industry analysts say the company has a lot to prove. Lucid fell short of Wall Street's quarterly expectations on Wednesday, alarming investors and leaving experts concerned about continued demand for its expensive cars. The EV startup surpassed its own production goals in 2022, making 7,180 cars and delivering 4,369, but those forecasts had already been reduced twice. Meanwhile, deliveries have lagged, and only 61% of cars built made it to customers. Lucid now plans to build 10,000 to 14,000 vehicles in 2023 far lower than the 21,000 that some expected the company to go after. With shares already down some 58% in the last year, the stock slid another 18% Thursday following the bad quarterly news. "There are certainly some red flags surrounding the story, and the release did nothing to alleviate a lot of the investor concerns," Garrett Nelson, senior equity research analyst at CFRA, said. "They really haven't shown any signs of turning the corner yet." Lucid's recent moves indicate a lot of cars are sitting In the final three months of 2022, Lucid's reservations fell from 34,000 to 28,000, a decline the company attributed to cancellations, delivered vehicles, those stuck in transit, and others waiting on pre-delivery inspection. The exact mix is unclear, but accounting for delivered vehicles, Bank of America estimated that indicates a decline of 4,100 orders. At current rates, the company is suggesting wait times could be up to two years, analysts at Evercore ISI estimated in a note to clients Thursday but that doesn't add up. "That is not the case for Lucid where new deliveries show wait times within 3-5 months," the note said. "Even assuming 6+ months wait time, LCID likely has as few as ~7-10k "active" order conversions." Story continues The company outlined its focus on sales and marketing efforts during its call with investors. "Last year, my focus was on manufacturing," CEO Peter Rawlinson said. "My focus now is on amplifying the message, attracting a broader audience, and ramping up our sales." Lucid has been trying to do exactly that for some time. It announced an internal purchase program late last year, for which employees would receive a stipend if they bought a Lucid Grand Touring by the end of 2022. To crack down on cancellations, Lucid initiated an internal cancellation protocol via email to save the "failure" that is any customer order cancellation, Insider previously reported in December. It also sent emails to customers offering to reinstate their orders for Grand Tourings at the vehicle's original price, $139,000, instead of its increased price of $154,000, Barron's reported. Lucid recently encouraged customers via email to lease its vehicles in order to qualify for the commercial EV tax credit, as Lucid vehicles do not qualify for the new EV purchase credit. Because it does not qualify, Lucid announced earlier this month "credits" for its customers in the form of a $7,500 price cut on certain trims. "Fundamentally, it was a pretty big reset for the business last night," Ronald Jewsikow, vice president of equity research at Guggenheim, said of the results. "The reality is, the price point here is tough in the current macro. "Without explicitly saying it, he is saying the bottleneck is demand," Jewsikow added. Are you a current or former Lucid employee? Do you own a Lucid vehicle or have a Lucid vehicle reservation? Do you have a news tip or opinion you'd like to share? Contact this reporter from a non-work device and account at astjohn@insider.com or on Signal at 313-570-6709. Read the original article on Business Insider A lawsuit has been filed by the family of 7-year-old Connor Kaczmarski, who was struck and killed by a school bus Jan. 20, 2023, near his Park Forest home. (Clifford Law Offices) The family of a 7-year-old Park Forest boy who died Jan. 20 after being hit by a school bus near his home has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the bus company and its driver. The complaint, filed Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court, also names Park Forest-Chicago Heights Elementary District 163 and seeks damages in excess of $50,000. Advertisement Connor Ethan Kaczmarski had been dropped off by the bus near his home, in the 100 block of Walnut Street. He was a second grader at Mohawk Primary Center. The driver, Darryl Downs, 62, of Lynwood, is charged with a misdemeanor offense of not having a valid commercial drivers license at the time of the accident, according to Park Forest police. Advertisement The complaint alleges Downs was negligent and left the child in the street as others called an ambulance. This was a reckless act that was preventable, Bradley Cosgrove, a partner with Clifford Law Offices, said Thursday at a news conference announcing the lawsuits filing. In a statement released Thursday by the law firm, the boys family said that his death has caused a pain and emptiness that cannot be put into words. We are filing this lawsuit to help prevent another senseless death of a young child, the family said in the statement. The law firm initially said the Kaczmarskis family would take part in the news conference, but Cosgrove said they are so grief stricken that they could not attend, instead issuing a statement. At least 100 people attended a funeral service Jan. 29 at Ridge Funeral Home on Chicagos Southwest Side, where family, friends and his teacher shared remembrances. Kaczmarski was taken to Franciscan Health Olympia Fields Hospital after being struck by the bus shortly after 3 p.m., where he died a short time later. 7-year-old Connor Kaczmarski (Clifford Law Offices) Police said an investigation showed at the time the boy was hit, the bus driver was turning the corner from the last stop and the boy was running alongside the passenger side when he stepped into the path of the bus. Advertisement There is no indication the driver was aware the bus had been involved in a crash or had struck the child, police said. At a news conference Thursday, Cosgrove said the driver should never have been behind the wheel of a school bus at the time of the incident, noting he lacked the required drivers license. Cosgrove said Downs never stopped and continue to drive that day and was called back to the scene by his dispatch. The bus company, Kickert Bus Lines, its parent company, Cook-Illinois Corp., and Downs acted with a willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property, the complaint alleges. Downs operated the bus without keeping a proper and sufficient lookout for pedestrians, the complaint alleges. A message left Thursday with Cook-Illinois was not immediately returned. Advertisement Cosgrove said Downs, when interviewed by police at some point after the crash, invoked his Fifth Amendment rights and didnt give an answer to police about what actually happened that day. Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy > The complaint was filed on behalf of Kaczmarskis mother, Rockeal King. Police said the investigation included interviews with witnesses and the driver as well as reviewing video from cameras on the bus and video footage from homes near where the accident occurred. Police said a review of records showed the commercial drivers license issued to the Downs was canceled Jan. 8 due to a failure to provide medical examination documentation to the Illinois secretary of states office. Downs is scheduled to appear at the Markham courthouse March 31, according to police. Attorneys for the boys family said at the news conference that Kaczmarski was one of four children on the bus who were let out at the corner of Westgate Drive and Walnut, near the boys home, and that Kaczmarski was the last child to exit the bus. Advertisement Attorneys said that Kaczmarski should have been dropped off closer to his home or in front of his house. mnolan@tribpub.com The self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, said that he did not notice any concentration of Ukrainian troops with the goal to attack his country. He assessed this trend positively. Source: Lukashenko in an interview with Chinese media, fragments of which are posted on Telegram by his administration Quote: "So far, as recent days have shown, we have not noticed any concentration of troops from the territory of Poland or Lithuania, let alone Ukraine, to drag us into a war. We see this as a positive." Background: On 16 February, Lukashenko said that the Belarusian army would join the Russian army in the war against Ukraine only in the event of a direct attack on Belarus. In the summer of 2022, the Belarusian dictator suggested that Belarusian troops might have to fight for western Ukraine so that it "would not be taken away by the West". Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Feb. 22Police in Maine and New Hampshire are searching for two Maine women with intellectual disabilities who are lost and driving around Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Maine State Police issued a silver alert and New Hampshire State Police activated the missing vulnerable adult alert system to ask for the public's assistance in locating Kimberly Pushard, 51, and Angela Bussell, 50. They were reported missing by the Topsham Police Department at 12:36 a.m. Wednesday. Pushard's and Bussell's families told police the women are intellectually disabled, easily disoriented, have trouble processing information and are prone to be confused by directions. Pushard is driving her red 2012 Jeep Compass with Maine registration 1960VC with Bussell as a passenger, police said. They were last seen Tuesday evening when they had contact with Exeter police and several other New Hampshire law enforcement agencies, who all attempted to give them directions to return home. Pushard's cell phone last pinged in Candia and Raymond, New Hampshire, but is now powered off. Anyone who has contact with the women is asked to call the Exeter Police Department at 603-772-1212. Attached is a photo of Kimberly Pushard (front) and Angela Bussell (back). pic.twitter.com/1wn2Ao7ORF New Hampshire State Police (@NH_StatePolice) February 22, 2023 By A. Ananthalakshmi KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Human rights groups have urged Malaysia to investigate conditions at migrant detention centres after the government said 150 foreigners, including seven children, died at the facilities last year. Malaysia routinely detains foreigners without valid permits to remain in the country, including asylum seekers. It is home to millions of undocumented migrants and over 100,000 Rohingya refugees. Its detention centres are crowded and unhygienic, and detainees have inadequate access to food, water and healthcare, according to activists and Reuters' interviews with former detainees. In a written reply this week to a question in parliament, Malaysia's home minister, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, said seven children and 25 women were among those who died in detention last year. He did not disclose the cause of deaths or the number of migrants held in detention. Last July, Malaysia said there were 17,703 foreigners in its detention facilities. "The fact that so many foreigners, including children, die in immigration custody is a scathing indictment of Malaysia's failure to treat those they are holding as human beings who have rights," said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. Undocumented foreigners are typically detained for long periods while awaiting deportation, while refugees and asylum seekers who do not want to return home are held indefinitely. Malaysia does not recognise refugees, and gives few rights to those given protection by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The UNHCR has been denied access to detention centres since August 2019, hampering efforts to release and resettle asylum seekers. Amnesty International said restricted access and a lack of independent monitoring was fostering harm, and called for a transparent investigation into the deaths. "It is the responsibility of the government to act openly and with urgency," it said. Story continues Malaysia's home ministry and immigration department, which runs the detention centres, did not respond to requests for comment. Malaysia has increasingly come under scrutiny for its treatment of migrants. In 2020, it arrested thousands of undocumented foreigners during the pandemic in what authorities said were efforts to prevent the coronavirus spread. It has also deported asylum seekers back to Myanmar, drawing criticism. (Reporting by A. Ananthalakshmi; Editing by Martin Petty) Malcolm X speaking at a rally. Bettmann/Getty Images The family of Malcolm X is seeking $100 million in a wrongful death lawsuit. The announcement was made on Tuesday, the 58th anniversary of Malcolm X's conspiracy-ridden death. "The truth of what happened and who was involved has always been critical," attorney Ben Crump said. The family of lauded civil rights activist Malcolm X announced that they are suing several law enforcement agencies for $100 million. In a notice of claim document, Ilyasah Shabazz, Malcolm X's daughter argued that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the New York Police Department "conspired with each other and with other individuals and acted, and failed to act, in such a way as to bring about the wrongful death of Malcolm X," according to The Associated Press. The death of Malcolm X the prominent Black nationalist, anti-capitalist, and American Muslim minister has been a subject of conspiracy since the fatal shooting occurred in 1965. While three men were originally convicted of his death, but two Muhammad Aziz and the late Khalil Islam were exonerated in 2021 after spending decades behind bars. They also received settlements in late 2022 from New York City and the state of New York. Mujahid Abdul Halim, the third man convicted in the assassination, has admitted to being part of the shooting. In January 2020, the Manhattan District Attorney launched a 22-month investigation into Malcolm X's death where they discovered that the FBI and the NYPD suppressed information, including documents and the fact that undercover officers were present during his death, that may have acquitted Aziz and Islam, The New York Times reported. When asked by a reporter at a press conference on Tuesday if the family was accusing the law enforcement agencies of being involved in Malcolm X's assassination, attorney Ben Crump responded with: "That is what we are alleging, yes." The press conference occurred on Tuesday, the 58th anniversary of his death, at the location of his death in Manhattan. Story continues "If the government compensated the two gentlemen that were wrongfully convicted for the assassination of Malcolm X with tens of millions of dollars, then what is to be the compensation for the daughters who suffered the most from the assassination of Malcolm X?" Crump said, according to The Washington Post. "We intend to have vigorous litigation of this matter, to have discovery, to be able to take depositions of the individuals who are still alive, 58 years later, to make sure that some measure of justice can be given to Malcolm X's daughters," Crump said. He added, "The truth of what happened and who was involved has always been critical." His daughter echoed Crump's sentiment when she spoke at the press conference, per the Post. "The truth about the circumstances leading to the death of our father is important, not only to his family, but to many followers, many admirers, many who look to him for guidance, for love," Shabazz said, according to the Post. Crump, the Department of Justice, and the CIA did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. The NYPD declined to comment. Read the original article on Insider The 34-year-old man said he stole the milk powder to sell on Carousell, but claimed the stolen toys was for his children. (PHOTO: Getty) SINGAPORE A 34-year-old man was sentenced to three weeks' jail on Thursday (23 February) after he stole eight milk powder tins from a supermarket and $213.94 worth of toys from Toys R Us. Joshua Chen Yixian pleaded guilty to two counts of theft. A third charge which alleged that he was in possession of six more tins of milk powder that he could not account for and that were suspected of being stolen was taken into the sentencing consideration. CNA reported that Chen, a Singaporean technician, stole eight 900-gram tins of Enfagrow Pro A+ Stage 3 milk powder worth $422.40 from NTUC FairPrice at Waterway Point on the night of 22 June last year. He hid behind a pillar and concealed the tins in his blue cooler bag before leaving the supermarket at about 9.15pm. A security guard at the supermarket spotted him stealing the powder, and detained him outside. After taking him to the security office, the guard recovered the eight tins and found other items bearing Toys R Us labels. Upon arrest, Chen admitted that he intended to sell the milk powder for profit on online marketplace Carousell. Based on police figures released in January, Chen's case is one of 80 involving milk powder stolen from supermarkets and grocers last year, with estimated losses of $27,000. FairPrice has taken action to deter such crimes, by installing screens and locks on shelves displaying infant formula in a trial at at least two of its outlets. The police reported that most offenders over the last three years were between the ages of 20 and 40; groups of two or more people committed around 35 per cent of these crimes. Chen had also stolen toys for his children CNA reported that investigations showed that Chen had also gone to Toys R Us earlier that same night, to steal $213.94 worth of toys for his children, including a $99.99 box of Batman Lego and a Thomas & Friends wooden toy priced at $34.99. All the stolen items were recovered. CNA reported that Chen's lawyer said his client had a "difficult and lonely childhood" that shaped his perception of his duties as a married man, and that Chen took on "burdens and stresses" which led him to "make these mistakes". Story continues "He's actually an honest, good and hard-working person," his lawyer added. The judge told Chen that he hoped this was his first and last offence, according to CNA. He asked Chen to learn from this, not commit any other offence in the future, and stay behind after the session to speak to a court counsellor to see if anything could be done to prevent him from reoffending. Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube. Phoenix police. An officer shot and killed a man while investigating an assault case on Wednesday afternoon, authorities said. Police said the man fired at officers searching for him in north Phoenix. At about 2 p.m., a detective was near North 23rd and West Glendale avenues investigating a domestic aggravated assault case from earlier in the month and saw a man driving multiple times past the reported victim's residence, according to police. The man was later identified by police as 41-year-old Derin Holmes. A pair of uniformed officers helping with the investigation then spotted a man matching the suspect's description in the assault as he jumped a fence into a nearby parking lot, police said. Shortly after, at about 2:55 p.m., the officers tried to speak with Holmes, but he fired a handgun. One officer shot back, according to police. Officers provided aid to Holmes until firefighters arrived and he was pronounced dead, police said. There were no injuries to police or others in the incident, police added. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix police: Man fatally shot by officers was firing at them A man was sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty in a 2018 Fort Worth murder case, the Tarrant County criminal district attorney announced Thursday. Robert Rico, 24, pleaded guilty to engaging in organized crime-murder and was sentenced for the death of Diego Martinez, 23. Martinez was hit with a hammer, stabbed multiple times and shot during a drug deal turned robbery on Nov. 1, 2018, according to the district attorneys office. Three suspects were arrested in connection with the death of Martinez, who showed up during the drug deal with a kitchen scale to prove the drugs were the amount promised, according to an arrest warrant obtained by the Star-Telegram. Daniel Rosales, one of the three suspects, was accused of yelling at Rico to get out of the way before opening fire with a shotgun, killing Martinez. Rico agreed to buy half a kilo of meth from Martinez the night of Nov. 1, he told detectives.. Sonita Rosales, his girlfriend, would come along as would her cousin, Daniel Rosales, according to the warrant. Daniel Rosales drove a white truck to the deal; his cousin sat on the passenger side. Rico sat in the back seat behind Daniel Rosales. Shortly before 9:30 p.m., the trio pulled up near a home in the 1200 block of Blalock Avenue. Before they arrived, Rico asked Daniel Rosales to give him something, meaning a weapon, in case Martinez threatened him in some way. Sonita Rosales also asked for a weapon and got a knife from her cousin, the warrant said. Martinez was standing near a curb when the trio drove up. He got into the truck with the three suspects and they drove around the block. A fight broke out between Rico and Martinez in the back seat, and the victim tried to get out. At some point, Sonita Rosales stabbed Martinez before Daniel Rosales yelled at Rico to move out of the way and shot Martinez with a shotgun, according to the warrant. Rico pushed Martinez out of the truck as they drove away. The suspects were arrested separately days after the shooting. Daniel and Sonita Rosales face charges of capital murder, according to court records. Their trial dates have not been set. A man is facing a hate crime charge after chasing and threatening a woman in a California city park, officials said. The 60-year-old San Francisco man is accused of chasing the woman, who identifies as Black and Latina, through Mission Dolores Park while shouting racial epithets and threatening to kill the victim on Sunday, Feb. 19, the San Francisco District Attorneys Office said in a Feb. 22 news release. The man was arrested that day and remains in custody, prosecutors said. Unfortunately, there are people in San Francisco who harbor hate and animus towards others because of the color of their skin or who they are, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in the release. No one should face threats, violence, or discrimination because of who they are period. The man was charged with making criminal threats with an allegation that this was a hate crime, the district attorneys office said. Prosecutors said the mans charge include hate crime enhancements, as they have evidence that the crime was motivated by animus towards Black people. If convicted, the man could face six years in prison, prosecutors said. This is the second hate crime at Mission Dolores Park in recent weeks, according to the district attorneys office. Another man was also arrested and charged with a hate crime for an incident at the park at the end of January, according to a Feb. 4 news release from the district attorneys office. The 30-year-old man is accused of throwing a brick and a metal grate at three Asian Americans, including a 73-year-old, prosecutors said. The man was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and elder abuse. Man accused of taping racist threat on SLO County pilates studio window pleads not guilty Man arrested on suspicion of hate crime after vandalism, assault in Old Sacramento Sacramento man arrested after Shasta County shooting being investigated as hate crime UPDATE @ 1:45 p.m.: Dayton Police are investigating after a teenager arrived at a local hospital shot Wednesday night. Hospital workers called police around 10:40 p.m. saying a male walked in with a gunshot wound, according to Montgomery County Regional dispatch. A Dayton Police spokesperson said Thursday afternoon that the person was a 17-year-old boy. >>1 dead, 1 in critical condition after shooting in Dayton The teen remains in critical condition, the spokesperson said. Officers later found a shooting scene in the 4800 block of Seeley Drive. The investigation is ongoing. The new Willy & Grace Diner at 219 Walnut Ave. in Elgin is named for owner Willy Guadalajara and his his 5-month-old granddaughter, Grace. (Guadalajara Family / HANDOUT) For more than 30 years, Willy Guadalajara has been working as a cook at the various restaurants that have occupied 219 Walnut Ave. in Elgin. From the time I started, I thought one day I would like to own a place of my own. I finally got the opportunity right here, Guadalajara said. Advertisement The Willy & Grace Diner bears his name as well as that of 5-month-old granddaughter, and also conjures up the long-running television sitcom Will & Grace. Most recently the business had been the Lark & Owl Eatery, which was open for four years. It was A M Restaurant before that, and might be best known as the long-standing Kendalls Kountry Kitchen. Advertisement After working at the restaurant at 219 Walnut Ave. in Elgin for decades under various owners, Willy Guadalajara has taken over the place himself and renamed it the Willy & Grace Diner. (Guadalajara Family / HANDOUT) Having been the cook there throughout the run of different owners means Willy has a built-in base of customers, and a lot of them have stopped by to wich him luck since his grand opening on Valentines Day, Guadalara said. They are happy for him, said Willys daughter, Jaquelyn. Jaquelyn had been working as a nurse but didnt hesitate to join the business when her father asked for her help, she said. I like that his dream is coming true, and I am here to help him, she said. Jaquelyn said while her father knows his way around a kitchen, the family is learning the business side of operating a restaurant. Shes been wearing many hats, including designing a logo for the diner, working the register, decorating with plants, a photo of her father and other touches, answering phones and even clearing tables. Willy painted the floor to brighten up the place a bit, Jaquelyn said, and mom, Cristina, has been lending a hand too. So far, the food lineup has remained fairly close to what was offered at Lark & Owl, but Guadalara said hell be introducing his own menu ready in three to four weeks. Advertisement Hes also known for his Mexican-style breakfast dishes, including one that mixes eggs with chorizo, green pepper, onion, beans, rice and homemade hot sauce, tops it with chihuahua cheese and is served with corn tortillas. Lunch specials so far have included chicken parmesan, open-faced hot roast beef sandwiches and chicken stir fry, Guadalajara said. Having her dad own the diner has stirred up memories for the family, Jaquelyn said. My sisters (Christy and Angelica) and I grew up here. Customers remember us. And now my parents grandkids will be here, too, she said. The restaurant will be open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News. On Feb. 18, 2023, the life of a Temple University police officer was violently and deliberately taken by a young man who shot the officer multiple times in the face and torso. The perpetrator then proceeded to attempt to rob the officer and take his firearm. Officer Christopher David Fitzgerald, the son of two law enforcement officers, was just 31 years old. He left behind a wife and four children. Unfortunately, in this commonwealth, we are seeing ever-increasing attacks on law enforcement. Just since the start of this year in less than two months there have been seven police officers shot and killed in the line of duty across our nation and three of those have been in Pennsylvania. That is absolutely unacceptable. Mike Regan We are also seeing in this commonwealth a growing desire to lean into the criminal. To protect their rights. To make sure their family doesnt suffer. But what about the victims rights and the victims family? The gunman chose to sentence Officer Fitzgerald to death on a street in Philadelphia. Why should the gunman not receive the same sentence? Current law in Pennsylvania provides for either the death penalty or life imprisonment for the first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer, which is the intentional killing of an officer while in the performance of duty knowing the victim is a law enforcement officer. I intend to introduce legislation to eliminate the option for life imprisonment. There should be no debate upon conviction of such a heinous and selfish crime. As a former member of law enforcement, I feel it is my obligation to offer this legislation. It is my hope that taking this hardline approach will provide a proper deterrent to those who prey on and willfully murder the men and women who so bravely serve us. More:Students gone wild at Northeastern M.S.: Parents, teachers confront board about discipline More:Mom of gay Red Lion H.S. student who killed himself after bullying sues district, others Story continues It is also my hope that Gov. Josh Shapiro the former top law enforcement officer of the commonwealth when he was attorney general will consider those lives, the lives of the men and women who serve and protect, over the lives of those who murder. Just two days before the murder of Officer Fitzgerald the governor announced that he would continue the policy of former Gov. Tom Wolf and not issue any execution warrants during his term. He also called for the Legislature to abolish the death penalty saying, the outcome is irreversible. The murder of an innocent life and in this case, a police officer at the hands of a criminal is irreversible. It has devasting effects on families and on communities. It is time we show our police officers and their loved ones that we as elected officials stand with them during one of the most violent periods in our commonwealths history. Being a law enforcement officer today is more dangerous than ever before, and officers never know if they will return home at the end of the shift. We must do our part to serve and protect those who serve and protect us through this much-needed and long overdue change to our criminal justice system. Republican State Sen. Mike Regan represents Pennsylvanias 31st Senatorial District covering parts of Cumberland and York Counties. This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: We need a mandatory death sentence for cop killers | opinion Maricopa County Courthouse An Arizona court commissioner dismissed the case of a Mesa man who was charged with manslaughter after he was accused of choking another man to death last month. Calvin Glasby, 44, was charged with reckless manslaughter, a Class 2 felony the second most serious offense after the death of Randall Black, 41. On Jan. 24, the two had a physical altercation at Miles Motel at 5911 E. Main St. in Mesa, according to court documents. Multiple witnesses at the scene said they saw Glasby put Black in a continuous chokehold for approximately 10 minutes, court documents show. Some witnesses said they heard Black say he could not breathe. After police and medical personnel arrived and life-saving efforts were made, Black was pronounced dead at the scene. Glasby fled to his motel room before police arrived. That's when witnesses guided police to his location. Glasby said he was acting in self-defense after Black confronted him, pulled out a gun and accused him of having sex with his girlfriend, court documents show. However, Black was later found to be unarmed, according to the documents. Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Rodney Mitchell dismissed Glasby's case without prejudice on Jan. 27, three days after the incident. That means prosecutors can still file future charges if they choose. But Mitchell said that conviction was not likely at this time, and that more information was needed before being able to proceed further in the case. Most of the incident was captured by video surveillance cameras. Black is seen initiating the fight by punching Glasby outside his motel room, according to court documents. In response, Glasby is seen throwing something back at him. Glasby later admitted to police that he threw a soda can at the victim. The documents say that Glasby is then seen grabbing Black's legs and bringing him to the ground where he gets on top of Black and holds him down. The video ends with witnesses trying to pull Glasby off Black and telling him to let Black go. Story continues Glasby denied knowing Black. He told police that on January 22, Black and another person pulled a gun on him for an unknown reason, according to court documents. On the day of the incident, Glasby said that Black confronted him, alleging that he was sleeping with his girlfriend. Glasby denied those allegations. Black then punched Glasby in the face, according to court documents and their description of the surveillance video. Glasby admitted to taking Black to the ground. According to him, Black said he was going to kill him. He told police that he got control of Black by placing his arms around the victim's torso and pinning his arms to his body. However, Glasby denied placing Black in a chokehold, despite witness statements and surveillance footage. Instead, he said that his body weight shifted towards Black's upper torso during their struggle. Glasby said he felt he had the right to hold Black down to prevent him from continued assault. He told police he did not let go of Black until he felt it was safe to do so, and denied ever hearing Black ask to be let go or claim that he could not breathe. When police reached Glasby at his motel room, he repeatedly told them, "I had to defend myself." This reporting follows crimes The Republic began to cover in 2023 and is part of our commitment to tell the story from start to finish. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Manslaughter case dismissed for Mesa man charged in choking death Manulife Holdings Berhad (KLSE:MANULFE) Full Year 2022 Results Key Financial Results Revenue: RM1.26b (down 16% from FY 2021). Net income: RM18.9m (down 78% from FY 2021). Profit margin: 1.5% (down from 5.8% in FY 2021). The decrease in margin was driven by lower revenue. EPS: RM0.089 (down from RM0.42 in FY 2021). All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Manulife Holdings Berhad shares are down 1.5% from a week ago. Risk Analysis Don't forget that there may still be risks. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Manulife Holdings Berhad that you should be aware of. 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 Mexican marines destroy marijuana crops in Badiraguato in 2009. Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images An effort to legalize marijuana in Mexico has stalled after several years of debate by lawmakers. But Mexican cartels and independent growers are still preparing to cater to a new domestic market. The Sinaloa Cartel in particular is drawing business lessons from marijuana dispensaries in the US. Badiraguato, Sinaloa Every day at 5 a.m. Margarita, a 51-year-old farmer, jumps out of bed and lights a candle to St. Judas, a saint believed to listen to lost or almost impossible causes. Only after that, Margarita steps out to her front yard and looks over her marijuana plants, which are covered with a camouflage-shaded cloth. "Every morning I pray to San Judas that the government don't destroy my plantation. It's been such an effort to put it back up after it got destroyed the last time," she told Insider. Mexican military personnel destroyed Margarita's weed crops during an operation in 2019. Margarita doesn't work for any of Mexico's cartels or criminal organizations. She is doing what she has learned from generations of ancestors: Marijuana harvesting has been her family's legacy for more than 100 years. "I really don't involve myself too much in the rest of the process from the plant. I harvest, pick and trim my plants, and then if someone wants it, fine. If not," she says, "I store it until it sells." A man outside the "Chapo" roast chicken restaurant near Badiraguato's main plaza in July 2015. REUTERS/Roberto Armenta Margarita's product caters to the Mexican market, reaching buyers through independent distributors but also through criminal organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel the cartel's jailed kingpin, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was born in Badiraguato and the region is still the group's home turf. But all Margarita cares about is that her product is not selling as much as it did five years ago. "The full sacks of weed sometimes stay there in the warehouse for a month or two, and what do I do? How do I sustain myself if I'm not selling?" she said in an interview. Margarita helps herself with a government assistance program called "Sembrando Vida," which hands out roughly $220 a month to small farmers in states like Sinaloa and neighboring Chihuahua and Durango a region known as the golden triangle for the intensive cultivation of marijuana and opium poppy there to encourage local development and discourage drug production. Story continues "I tried to harvest tomato, but it sells even worse than marijuana. The big companies take all the sales, and there is very little what I can offer" in quantity, she said. At the current price for weed, Margarita gets roughly $25 a kilo. She was expecting to get at least $500 this season for her harvest, but more than half of it hasn't sold. "It's not a good time for weed. People are asking for a different weed, the one that comes from the gabacho, but we don't have those seeds," Margarita said, using a term referring to the US. Mexican lawmakers debate the decriminalization and regulation of marijuana in March 2021. Luis Barron / Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images Like other independent growers, Margarita remains barred from formal sales in Mexico, where efforts to legalize marijuana have stalled. Negotiations over such a measure began in 2019, when the Congress approved a law to legalize the use, possession, and planting of marijuana. Four years later, it is still stuck in Mexico's Senate. In 2021, the Senate passed a bill legalizing recreational use of marijuana, but lawmakers in the lower house held up the measure while they tried to raise the amount that consumers could carry in public higher than the proposed limit of 28 grams. While weed remains generally illegal in Mexico, farmers and criminal groups are not waiting to position themselves in what could soon be a legal market. "We are not waiting for a law. The Mexican government took too long already and meanwhile other countries keep making profits and our sowers keep struggling," said Andres Saavedra, a lawyer and the founder of an NGO called Plan de Tetecala, which supports independent weed growers and the decriminalization of cannabis. "We are now focused on becoming independent and keep growing marihuana for a Mexican market that wants to use the plant in different ways," he said. Old product, new market Marijuana cigarettes are assembled in a manufacturing house in Culiacan in late 2021. Luis Chaparro Mexico's move toward marijuana legalization comes after several US states legalized the drug, which appears to have put a dent in cartels' profits. Prior to the legalization of marijuana for recreational use in Colorado and Washington state in 2012, the Mexican Institute of Competitiveness calculated that such measures could cost Mexican cartels nearly $2.8 billion. More states legalized the drug in the years that followed, and the amount of weed smuggled into the US from Mexico appears to have declined over that period. In 2013, US authorities seized roughly 1.3 million kilograms of weed at the border, according to the DEA. By 2019, that had fallen to nearly 249,000 kilograms. Over the past five years, marijuana prices in Mexico have decreased by more than half, prompting criminal groups to produce more dangerous drugs, like fentanyl, to maintain profits and pushing independent farmers to harvest plants like opium to sustain themselves. The prospect of a legal domestic market has drawn the interest of criminal groups that used to focus on smuggling marijuana north, especially the Sinaloa Cartel, members of which are studying the success of dispensaries in the US. "What we did was to change the seed. People want a more powerful, better quality weed, and we are putting a lot of money into this industry," a Sinaloa Cartel operative told Insider in a phone interview. A marijuana legalization activist smokes marijuana in front of the San Lazaro Legislative Palace in Mexico City in October 2022. Luis Barron / Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images "This is a business that belongs here, to Sinaloa," another Sinaloa Cartel operative who works as a regional manager for marijuana operations in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state, told Insider in a previous interview. "We lost a share of the business, but in no time we will take it back by producing the best weed in the world." After the arrest of "El Chapo" Guzman's youngest son, Ovidio Guzman, in January, the Sinaloa Cartel's weed operations are overseen by two of his brothers: Ivan Archivaldo and Jesus Alfredo Guzman, members of a group known as "Los Chapitos." The operative and others in the business say the cartel is "very interested" in marijuana legalization. Some believe it is because of Los Chapitos' love for the plant and its supposed benefits. Others think it is purely a business decision. Margarita, on the other hand, can't afford to grow "premium quality weed," since the seeds are at least 10 times more expensive and equipment like that used in cartel-run grow houses to maintain the plants is also a steep investment. "I know that if I had that other weed from los gringos, I could be selling twice my price, but it is also very expensive. And I don't know how the senores are going to take it if I go into that business," Margarita said, referring to Americans and to Mexican drug lords, respectively. "I might get in trouble, don't you think?" Read the original article on Business Insider Veteran auteur Mario Martone, whose Naples-set drama Nostalgia launched last year from Cannes, has quite a lot in common with Massimo Troisi, Italys beloved late comic actor-director who is best known internationally as the star of Oscar-winning film Il Postino. Which is why Martone was well-suited to direct the multi-layered doc about Troisis legacy Somebody Down There Likes Me that is screening in the Berlinale Special sidebar. More from Variety For starters, they are both Neapolitan, and were born only a few years a part. Troisi who in Il Postino played the simple postman who rides his bicycle on a sandy Italian island to deliver mail to his sole client, the Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda died tragically of congenital heart failure at age 41 in June 1994, the day after Il Postino finished shooting at Romes Cinecitta studios. Martone in Berlin spoke to Variety about capturing Troisis combination of humor, humanity and social consciousness. I know you were asked to direct this doc by the producers and by Troisis partner and screenwriter Anna Pavignano. You are a busy guy. What prompted you to accept? I was drawn to it by my love for Troisis body of work and also the political dimension of his figure. This can seem odd since he was a beloved comedian known to everyone as very sweet man. But his artistic vision always encompassed the changes that were going on in Italian society [during the 1970s, 80s and early 90s]. My only request to the producers was: I need to be able to use his films, which of course involved clearing the rights. Pavignano was crucial because she provided me with scraps of paper with Troisis notes on which he wrote observations and poems, and also with intimate tapes with his voice. Story continues How did you structure the narrative? After I gathered the material I worked in the editing suite with Jacopo Quadri [Martones regular editor]. And as I looked at the material I started making a running commentary. Thats basically how I wrote it. The basic idea was to understand Massimo Troisi from his films. I made a deliberate choice not to interview the many people who knew him. I didnt want anecdotes. I told the producers: Its like Im making a doc about a 15th century painter. So I just need the body of this work and some narrative threads as starting points. What was the challenge for you in pulling those threads? As a director I wanted to try to create a dialogue with his films. Thats why I chose to appear on camera, which was not easy for me. But I thought this was important. I wanted to make it clear that this was a personal journey for me. So I fearlessly went into specifics, like the ways in which Troisi framed specific shots. I wanted to delve into details of his choices as an all-round filmmaker. Choices I know he cared about tremendously. This is also my way to give Troisi more recognition as a filmmaker. Troisis body of work comprises twelve films, five of which he directed, including Nothing Left to Do But Cry, which he wrote, directed and starred in with Roberto Benigni in 1985. But, especially outside Italy, the film he is best known for is Il Postino which you beautifully analyze. As I try to explain in the film, Il Postino [which was Troisis passion project for which he chose Michael Radford as director] stands as a sort of final chapter of a discourse that Troisi started from his his first film onwards. Its a discourse on love and the impossibility of expressing love, especially in words. Troisis persona is characterized by the fact that he stuttered and by his overall aphasia. What he saw in Chilean writer Antonio Skarmetas novel was that this humble postman at its center instead managed to express love in his poems. In broader terms its a discourse on cinema. On cinema, as something that can save us. What do you think the international appeal is for this doc? I think it can be interesting for anyone who loved Il Postino to see what germinated that film. The human and social context that spawned it. Its thanks to these aspects that I hope Troisi can be discovered internationally. Hes someone who speaks to everyone. His great quality is his humanity. In his frailty, hes so human: the way he acted, the way he made movies that are extensions of his personality, which is quintessentially Neapolitan. Ive experienced this recently with Nostalgia. I thought it was very specific to Naples, but the films strong human element is proving to be very appealing to international audiences. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. The Rig is returning for season two. (Prime Video) Martin Compston is set to return in a second series of Prime Video's supernatural thriller The Rig. The Line Of Duty star is amongst the lead cast of the series set aboard a Scottish oil rig engulfed by a strange cloud, which kicked off a series of terrifying events in season one. Read more: David Attenborough's first trailer for Wild Isles shows stunning UK scenes Now, streaming service Prime Video has confirmed that its original series will get a comeback, with filming due to begin in Edinburgh later this year. Compston will be joined by returning co-stars Game of Thrones star Iain Glen and Schitt's Creek's Emily Hampshire. Iain Glen and Emily Hampshire will also return. (Prime Video) Other cast members coming back for season two include Rochenda Sandall (Line Of Duty) and Game of Thrones actors Owen Teale and Mark Addy, as well as Molly Vevers, Abraham Popoola and Stuart McQuarrie. In season two, helicopters have taken the surviving crew of the Kinloch Bravo rig to a new location, where dangers await them. Read more: Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Ewan McGregor to co-star in A Gentleman in Moscow The crew will have to deal with the emotional and physical fallout of season one and contend with swirling conspiracies, conflicts and threats from the dark depths of the worlds oceans. Martin Compston and co will face new threats. (Prime Video) Dan Grabiner, head of originals UK & Northern Europe at Prime Video, said: "The Rigs popularity around the world is a testament to the fantastic ensemble cast and the vision of the creatorsthe crew behind the crew. "We cant wait to welcome back Iain, Martin, and Emily, and see what writer and creator David Macpherson has in store for the Kinloch Bravo team next." Writer and creator David Macpherson added: "It was always my aim to build a story that starts in Scotland but speaks to a global audience about global themes. In series two, I'm looking forward to expanding the world of our show through the eyes of our excellent cast, as we deliver more shocks and thrills and delve deeper into both our characters and our show's expanding original mythology." The Rig season one is streaming on Prime Video. ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Adults who testified they were sexually abused as children urged Maryland lawmakers on Thursday to end the state's statute of limitations for when civil lawsuits can be filed against institutions related to child sexual abuse. Dr. Frank Schindler, who testified he was sexually abused by a Catholic priest when he was a 5-year-old kindergartner in 1954, told legislators that the measure was both a moral and a civil rights issue. It will send a strong message to all survivors and their abusers that the gross violation of the basic right of children not to be abused will no longer be tolerated in Maryland no matter how powerful the source of that abuse," said Schindler, who is now 73-year-old psychologist and a member of Maryland's chapter of Survivors Network for those Abused by Priests. Carolyn Surrick, who has testified about abuse she experienced at age 13 from two teachers at the Key School in Annapolis in the 1970s, told lawmakers at the hearing it wasn't up to them to decide who should be held accountable. You just need to make it possible for us to have our day in court, Surrick said. Currently, people in Maryland who say they were sexually abused as children can't sue once they reach the age of 38. The Maryland House has approved legislation in recent years that would have lifted that age limit, but it stalled in the state Senate. This year, state Sen. Will Smith, who chairs the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, is sponsoring a bill that would end the age limit. He said in an interview that he's confident the bill will pass this year but that the courts likely will have the final say. Ive worked with the advocates since the summer, and I feel confident that well produce a good product, but not absent some serious questions and some serious concerns, Smith, a Democrat, said. "A lot of what will be the final outcome is going to be determined by the courts. I suspect that it will be challenged, if and when we pass the bill. Story continues Kathryn Robb, the executive director of Child USAdvocacy, a nonprofit that advocates for better laws to protect children, testified that 15 states have lifted statutes of limitations for child sexual abuse. Twenty-four have approved revival periods known as lookback windows, which are limited time frames during which accusers can sue, regardless of how long ago the alleged abuse occurred, Robb said. The measure would include caps for damages. For example, up to $1.5 million could be awarded to a person for injuries arising from a single incident at a private or non-profit entity. The limit would be $850,000 for a government entity. In written testimony, the Maryland Catholic Conference, which represents the three dioceses serving the state, opposed the bill, saying the elimination of the civil statute of limitations retroactively raises serious equity concerns and is particularly unnecessary in Maryland, which does not have a criminal statute of limitations for cases of child sexual abuse. While there is clearly no financial compensation that can ever rectify the harm done to a survivor of sexual abuse, the devastating impact that the retroactive window provision will potentially have by exposing public and private institutions and the communities they serve to unsubstantiated claims of abuse, cannot be ignored, the conference said in its testimony. In 2017, Maryland raised the age limit that accusers can file lawsuits from 25 to 38. But the law also included language, known as a statute of repose, that some say prevents lawmakers from extending the statute of limitations again. The issue is getting added attention in Maryland after an investigation by the state's attorney general identified 158 Roman Catholic priests in the Archdiocese of Baltimore who have been accused of sexually and physically abusing more than 600 victims over the past 80 years, according to court records made public in November. But the full report on the investigation, which began in 2019, has not been made public. Court permission is required to make the report public because it contains information from grand jury subpoenas. Its unclear when the court will make a decision. Viktor Medvedchuk, a traitor to Ukraine, whose daughters godfather is Russian President Vladimir Putin, and who was handed over to Russia in September 2022 as part of a prisoners of war exchange, has been trying to somehow sneak into the Russian government, presenting himself as a useful expert in the Ukrainian question. Source: Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda Quote from Budanov:"He [Medvedchuk ed.] is trying to make himself useful as an expert in the Ukrainian question and re-enter the circle of active figures in Russian politics. He is trying to devise some solutions for Ukrainian questions." Details: The Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine added that the traitor is working with a "large team of people", all of whom fled Ukraine for Russia at some point in the past, including, for example, Andrii Yermolaiev, a Ukrainian political analyst. Budanov explained that Medvedchuk is trying to come up with different proposals, together with people he is claiming are important experts on Ukraine. And they listen to him in Russia, because "they struggle to understand Ukraine" in Russia. In particular, according to Budanov, "a certain group" within the Russian presidential administration heeds what Medvedchuk has to say. Background: Viktor Medvedchuk was an MP of the Opposition Platform For Life party [this was a parliamentary and now banned pro-Russian and Eurosceptic political party in Ukraine ed.], who, after the beginning of the full-scale invasion and defeat of the Russians in Kyiv Oblast, tried to leave the country, but he was detained by Ukrainian law enforcement officers. In 2020, Medvedchuk, through an associate Taras Kozak [pro-Russian politician ed.], passed on information to Russia about the location of a covert Ukrainian Armed Forces unit. A traitor of the state and close friend of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, Medvedchuk was exchanged for 200 Ukrainian prisoners. During Petro Poroshenkos presidential term, Medvedchuk himself dealt with the issue of exchange with the invaders. Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, said that the Kremlin is hatching a "plan B" after the failure to capture all of Ukraine, the proposals for which would be prepared by Viktor Medvedchuk. Before that, Viktor Medvedchuk announced plans to create a new political movement in order to unite Volodymyr Zelenskyys "opponents". Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Emotional testimony by the mother of a 2020 Valparaiso High School graduate who was shot to death March 3, 2021, dominated the first morning of testimony Wednesday in the trial of Keith Blake, the man accused of his murder. Mikalene Stokers face crumpled as she described the events leading up to the death of her son, Noah Beller, in her arms at the foot of the familys driveway. Loud sniffles could be heard throughout the small gallery predominantly filled with dozens of family members and friends of the dead teen and one juror was seen visibly reaching for tissues. Advertisement The trial is taking place in the courtroom of Porter Superior Court Judge Michael Fish where Blake has entered pleas of not guilty to the charges of murder and carrying a handgun without a license. Beller was 19 and involved in a question of paternity when the defendant and at least three others, including the woman claiming Beller fathered her baby, arrived at the home in the 3700 block of Oakgrove Drive on Valparaisos north side around 10:16 p.m. Beller and a friend were in the driveway when an unfamiliar car arrived. Advertisement Stoker testified that her sons friend texted her that she needed to come outside quickly. She had been in the living room on a couch facing the road reading to two of her other six children and was able to get out to the driveway in about five seconds. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rebecca Buitendorp provided as an exhibit a map of the property in question and Stoker used a pointer to explain the locations of all involved. Stoker said the mother of the baby was the only person she knew. She said the young woman was standing in her driveway with multiple knives threatening her. Stoker said she was trying to focus on the man talking to her son, who she identified as Blake. Blake sat quietly at the far end of the defendants table during her testimony with four of his family members seated immediately behind him. L. Scott Pejic, co-counsel for Blake, took exception to Stoker identifying Blake by name in her testimony. Stoker said there were demands for the results of a paternity test and she headed inside to fetch her phone to call up an email that gave the result, but never made it into the house because she heard the sounds of fighting. She said the fight moved across the street to a neighbors driveway and eventually broke up. I didnt really know what was happening until Noah said, Mom, Im shot. Stoker said she tried to physically stop Blake, who was 32 at the time, and the car he arrived in from leaving. Advertisement And then I had to decide between letting the car go and going to (Noah), and then I went to him, Stoker said. Buitendorp asked Stoker what she was thinking then. Hes dying, she replied. His eyes are glazing over. Hes struggling to breathe and I held his hand, and he took his last breath. Melissa Joan Hart says she and 'Sabrina' movie costar Ryan Reynolds had a 'little thing' for each other. J. Countess/Getty Image, Keith Tsuji/Getty Images Melissa Joan Hart discussed her fling with Ryan Reynolds on the "Hey Dude The 90s Called!" podcast. She said the two actors "had a little thing" while filming "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" in 1996. Hart previously said Reynolds "would have been a great boyfriend" but she was dating someone else. Melissa Joan Hart said that she and Ryan Reynolds "had a little thing" in the 1990s when they were both teen actors. Appearing on the "Hey Dude The 90s Called!" podcast on Monday, the former teen star reflected on some of her earliest relationships. Hart said that she dated her "Clarissa Explains It All" costar Chris William Martin before developing feelings for Reynolds when she was filming the "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" movie that was released in 1996. "I dated Corky," she said of Martin, before adding: "And then kind of had a little thing with Ryan." "I worked with Ryan Reynolds on the 'Sabrina' movie. The first movie we did, Ryan was in it," she recalled. In the movie, Hart played the titular role while the "Deadpool" star portrayed her love interest, Seth. The success of the movie launched the ABC/WB series of the same name that ran for seven seasons from 1996 to 2003. The "Melissa & Joey" star previously explained why her flirtation with Reynolds never went anywhere. Appearing on the Australian morning show "Studio 10" in 2017, Hart said that while she was "smitten" with her costar, she had a boyfriend at the time. "He was adorable," Hart said of the actor who was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 2010. "He was a really, really nice guy probably would have been a great boyfriend and I didn't end up with the other guy. Maybe I should have taken a chance!" Ryan Reynolds and Melissa Joan Hart during MTV's 10th Annual Rock 'n Jock Baseball Game in Los Angeles, California, United States. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/Getty Images In a separate interview with Chelsea Handler on "Chelsea Lately" in 2013, Hart also said that she thought Reynolds was too young for her, but that didn't stop them from having a makeout session in his car during the movie shoot. "He was 17 and I was, like, 19. I was like, 'You're too young for me," Hart said. "So, I stopped his car and I wasn't sure; am I gonna get mad at him? I wasn't sure, so I just grabbed him and started kissing him." Story continues She added that the actor, who went on to date the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Sandra Bullock, and Charlize Theron, won her affection by gifting her a Beluga watch. "You get a piece of jewelry like that, you gotta make out with the guy," Hart joked. Hart, 46, married Course of Nature's Mark Wilkerson, 46, the same year that she wrapped filming the "Sabrina" television series. With the rock band frontman, she shares three sons: Mason, 17, Braden, 14, and Tucker, 10. Reynolds, meanwhile, has settled down with "Gossip Girl" star Blake Lively. The two tied the knot in 2012 and are parents to children: James, 8, Inez, 6, and Betty, 3, and a newborn baby who they have not revealed the name of yet. Read the original article on Insider A judge has ordered a mental evaluation at the request of the attorney for a man who was arrested in North Carolina while driving the car of a dead Lyft driver from Florida and who is also charged with murder in a separate case. The order came Wednesday as Florida officials worked to extradite Matthew Scott Flores, who is a person of interest in the death of Lyft driver Gary Levin, WLOS-TV reported. RELATED: Man tied to Lyft driver slaying charged in separate case Flores, 35, appeared in court for a probable cause hearing in Rutherford County, where he was arrested after a vehicle pursuit in multiple counties and charged with a parole violation, being a fugitive, felony speeding to elude arrest, and driving while impaired. His attorney requested the evaluation, and the judge granted it, the station reported. Flores has also been charged in Hardee County, Florida, with first-degree murder, grand theft auto, possession of a firearm by a felon, and tampering with evidence in the fatal Jan. 24 shooting of Jose Carlos Martinez, 43, in Wauchula, according to court records. Police were searching for Flores in that case by Jan. 30, when Levin, 74, disappeared after dropping off a customer in Okeechobee, a small city about 70 miles (110 kilometers) east of Wauchula. Levins Kia Stinger was spotted in Miami, Okeechobee and Gainesville, in north Florida, after his disappearance. The vehicle was stopped Feb. 2 in North Carolina, where a U.S. Marshals Service regional task force asked authorities to be on the lookout. READ MORE: A dead body found in Okeechobee was eventually identified as Levin. In North Carolina, District Attorney Ted Bell, who represents McDowell and Rutherford counties, told WLOS he plans to settle Flores North Carolina charges before he is sent to Florida. Were not a jurisdiction that dismisses charges, Bell said after the hearing. We have been in close communication with folks from the state attorneys office in Florida. Well continue to keep close contact with them as things progress in this case, which way is the better way forward is for everybody. Im not inclined to dismiss him, it just depends on whats best overall. (WATCH BELOW: What in the world?: 20-mile police chase ends with stolen car on fire in downtown Morganton) A competency exam has been ordered for the former TCU student who is accused of threatening to blow up the campus earlier this month, according to court documents. Ahmad Peterson-Adeyanju, 25, remains in the Tarrant County Jail, and court records show he that he faces four charges related to the TCU incident. The competency exam, which was requested by Adeyanjus lawyer Lateph Adeniji and ordered by a judge on Tuesday, will test Adeyanjus competence to stand trial on these charges. Adeyanju was arrested at TCU on Feb. 2 after he was accused of threatening the Fort Worth universitys staff and threatening to blow up the campus, according to police. Police said they found a loaded gun in his vehicle just off West Berry Street but no explosives. He was transferred from the city jail to the Tarrant County Jail the next day and faces charges of terroristic threat, trespassing, criminal mischief and unlawful carrying of a weapon. A Tarrant County grand jury indicted Adeyanju on the terroristic threat and criminal mischief charges on Feb. 15. Terroristic threat and criminal mischief are considered felonies in Texas, while trespassing and unlawful carrying of a weapon are misdemeanor offenses. According to court records, Adeyanju had mental health concerns and was not taking his medication before the Feb. 2 incident. Adeniji, Adeyanjus lawyer, told the Star-Telegram that he understands Adeyanjus grievances against the school were over a TCU scholarship. On Facebook, Adeyanju posted a letter in December that appears to reference grievances against TCU Chancellor Victor Boschini. The demands include that Boschini apologize to Adeyanju and his family in writing, that he create a full-ride scholarship for a low-income Black student to study abroad, and that he create a comprehensive policy enabling all minority students at TCU to know their basic rights and privileges to the universities resources while academically enrolled. The list also demands that Boschini either tour the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art with Adeyanju or take him to a performance by comedian Dave Chappelle for diversity training. Story continues TCU officials declined to speak on Adeyanjus relationship with the school or the list of demands he posted for the chancellor, saying that the incident was an active investigation and there was no additional information to share. A TCU Public Safety Bulletin posted around campus in December shows photos of Adeyanju and his vehicle. The bulletin said Adeyanju was a person of interest and possible witness and asked anyone who saw him or his vehicle on campus to call TCU police immediately. It wasnt clear what motivated TCU officials to post the bulletin. Court records showed that Adeyanju was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday for a preliminary consultation hearing on the terroristic threat and criminal mischief charges, but the date was pushed back until after the psychological exam is completed, according to Adeyanjus lawyer. The next hearing is scheduled for March 10, according to court records. Ruth Woroniecki survived a 200-foot fall from Cucamonga Peak in the San Gabriel Mountains on Christmas Eve. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) The last thing Ruth Woroniecki remembers before waking up bleeding on the snow, surrounded by a group of worried hikers, is telling herself to focus on the slippery trail at her feet. It was a sunny and clear Christmas Eve morning, and Woroniecki was hiking the San Gabriel Mountains. Shed summited Cucamonga Peak, one of Los Angeles most popular mountaintops, which rises more than 8,000 feet, when she came upon an icy switchback on her descent. I did not have traction, Woroniecki, 40, said. She put her phone and headphones away and gripped her hiking sticks. I wasnt in enjoy hike mode anymore, she said. Her heart beat faster as she told herself to concentrate on her footing. That is my last memory before coming to, Woroniecki said during a recent video call. Woroniecki slipped and fell nearly 200 feet down the trail before slamming against a tree that broke her fall, narrowly averting a fate that has struck a number of hikers in Southern California this winter. Only two weeks after Woronieckis fall, veteran hiker Crystal Paula Gonzalez fell 500 feet to her death on the icy trail on nearby Mt. Baldy, where search-and-rescue teams haveresponded to at least 14 calls for help since Christmas. Several hikers have died, and others have gone missing. A recent series of storms have increased the risks facing mountaineers. Though Woroniecki survived, her recovery is just beginning. Woroniecki, who often works as a server in Las Vegas, arrived in California after Thanksgiving on a service trip with her parents and siblings, visiting prisons and doing outreach on skid row. On this morning, she had a choice between a 20-mile run and a hike. I had my running shoes next to my hiking boots, Woroniecki said. I picked the hike. She left the familys campground in Lytle Creek around 6 a.m. with her backpack, hiking sticks, phone and water. Growing up in Colorado, Woroniecki spent her life hiking, with family and on her own. She told her family shed be home in time to watch the Dallas Cowboys, one of her fathers favorite teams, play the Philadelphia Eagles at 1:30 p.m. Story continues The day was perfect: uninterrupted swaths of blue stretched overhead, a warm morning sun, a trail slicing through forests, the smell of pine needles mixing with the desert air. Woroniecki listened to Irish tunes, oldies and songs her father made. Woroniecki, for whom prayer and Jesus are the bedrock of her life, said she saw and felt her Creator everywhere. She made it to the Icehouse Saddle, where the trail leads to the summit, about 8:30 a.m. She texted her family, sent them photos and let them know she would linger longer. She still planned to be home at kickoff. Woroniecki arrived at the summit of Cucamonga Peak between 9 and 9:30 a.m., where she sat for about 25 minutes before trekking back, along a series of switchbacks. Snow had been piling up on mountaintops across Southern California, and Cucamonga was no exception. Woroniecki said it was ankle-deep at certain points along the hike. For Woroniecki, there is only before and after the fall. Woroniecki broke two vertebrae in her neck, an injury that would require surgery to repair the broken spine. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) Woroniecki said she woke up to the faces of several concerned hikers, including an older couple and a man. She heard a helicopter slicing the sky. She remembered worrying she couldnt afford the chopper and telling the couple to go ahead, that shed be OK. I still thought I could get myself down the mountain, she said. But with her blood staining the snow, Woroniecki soon realized the severity of her injuries. Her face and hands were cut up. She had a gash in her head that the hikers said was down to the bone. Woroniecki didnt know it at the time, but she had also broken two vertebrae in her neck. The fellow hikers, one of whom called for aid by activating an emergency beacon, put a ski hat on her and covered her in emergency blankets. Woroniecki kept packing her head wound with snow. It took about two hours for the first helicopter to arrive one of the hikers helped by waving his bright, orange beanie to flag their location but the rescue was complicated by strong winds. After several attempts by the helicopter to drop a cable, a rescuer whod rappelled down told Woroniecki theyd have to hike to a different spot to be evacuated. The pain seared through her body, particularly her neck. Woroniecki gripped her neck with her hands and began to pray: Have mercy on me, here, now, Woroniecki recalled asking God. Please help me. She estimated she walked about 200 feet down the trail the rescuer leading her while she clasped her neck before being airlifted and transported to the trauma center at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. Woroniecki still wears a neck brace, decorated with a hand-drawn cross. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) It was around 2 p.m., she said. The last time she remembered looking at the time, it was after 10 a.m. From the helicopter, Woroniecki crafted a text message to her family. That was one of the hardest texts I ever had to send, Woroniecki said. Her brothers had already left the campground searching for her. Her younger sister said the family was shocked and devastated. Woroniecki spent five nights in the intensive care unit. She received 40 stitches and staples in her head, as well as stitches on her nose and under her mouth. She had surgery to insert screws and a plate into her spine to repair the broken vertebrae. After six days bedridden in the hospital, Woroniecki finally took her first steps. She felt dizzy and off-balance, but with the support of the hospitals therapy team, Woroniecki steadied herself and inched forward. It was just like a surreal moment of, I cant believe this Im walking, Woroniecki said. Since her fall nearly two months ago, Woroniecki still has some numbness in her mouth and pain in her leg that causes her to walk with a limp. She wears a neck brace that she decorated with a hand-drawn cross on one side and the words John 14 for two biblical passages on the other. In the middle, the word Jesus in bold, capital letters. A scar travels from her left temple up through the middle of her head. Another scar travels from below her lip to the center of her chin. She has to use the brace for about six more weeks, she said. She is rebuilding her strength daily. There have been some dark nights spent tussling over that day, she said. Youre human, and you cant help but analyze things, Woroniecki said. I definitely evaluate things and think twice: What should I do different? ... I will still continue to live and to hike. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. US Attorney General Merrick Garland pauses while speaking during a news conference at the US Department of Justice headquarters on January 27, 2023, in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer/Getty Images Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want Merrick Garland to debrief them about DOJ investigations. Hot topics include classified presidential document hunts, a rogue FBI boss, and the Capitol siege. Senate Judiciary panelists get first crack at Garland at a March 1 oversight hearing. A recent flurry of letters from congressional leaders demanding answers about Charles McGonigal, the FBI spy boss who allegedly went rogue, is just the latest political pressure point for investigation-juggling Attorney General Merrick Garland. Garland is scheduled to join the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 1 for a general oversight hearing his first of the 118th Congress. Politicians are eager for answers about classified documents found at various locations associated with President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and former Vice President Mike Pence, as well as the corresponding special counsels poring over potential crimes relating to the documents. Across the Capitol, House Republicans are gearing up to keep Garland on the defensive for the next two years. House Judiciary chair Jim Jordan and House Oversight chair James Comer are orchestrating investigations into Biden, his son Hunter, the findings of the January 6 select committee, the southern border, and the Justice Department's efforts to address an uptick in violence and threats directed at schools. Democrats, meanwhile, have raised questions about gun control, criminal justice reform, and solitary confinement in federal prisons. Congress wants answers on "extremely disturbing" McGonigal threat Capitol Hill has already asked Garland for answers regarding the case of former FBI agent Charles McGonigal, who ran counterintelligence in the bureau's New York field office. McGonigal is accused of violating US sanctions by taking money from Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch at the center of the Trump-Russia collusion allegations. The possibility that a senior US spyhunter was using his FBI clout to build a lucrative relationship has prompted lawmakers to question whether the bureau is up to investigating itself. Story continues In early February, both Durbin and his Republican counterparts leading the House Judiciary Committee requested briefings about McGonigal. Durbin's letter to Garland revealed his concerns about the "extremely disturbing" threats to wide-ranging national security issues. The Senate letter requested information from Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray; the House letter was addressed to Wray but not Garland. Both letters included mid-February deadlines which have since passed. "This appearance is not in response to our letter" about McGonigal, an aide to Judiciary chair Dick Durbin told Insider. It's unclear whether either committee will use their subpoena power to compel DOJ officials to testify. "Everything is on the table," a staff member from House Judiciary told Insider. A separate letter to Garland from Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island alleged that McGonigal could have knowledge of efforts to undermine the candidacy of former Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton during the days leading up to the 2016 presidential election. Whitehouse requested Garland's assurance that "someone independent of FBI will be involved" in investigating McGonigal. That letter was sent on February 7. "We haven't received a response other than acknowledgement of receipt," said Meaghan McCabe, a spokesperson for Whitehouse, on Wednesday. Whitehouse will be among the committee members posing questions to Garland at the Judiciary hearing next week. The Justice Department confirmed receiving the letter from Senate Judiciary; the FBI confirmed receiving multiple letters. Unlike these other inquiries, the McGonigal controversy is a problem that Garland and Wray inherited from their predecessors. It was former FBI Director James Comey who promoted McGonigal to lead the counterintelligence division in the FBI's New York Field Office. Read the original article on Business Insider "Facebook jail," the name the social network's users have bestowed on the company's system for determining policy violations, is getting an overhaul. Meta announced today it will be reforming its penalty system based on the recommendations from the Oversight Board, the independent body of experts, academics, civic leaders and lawyers who now weigh in on appeals decisions made by Meta. The Board had long raised concerns about Facebook's penalty system, which it called "disproportionate and opaque." It also advised Facebook to be more transparent with users over its decisions and pushed to allow users to explain the context of their violating post when appealing a decision made by Meta. Today, Meta says it will reform its system to focus less on penalizing end users by restricting their ability to post and more on explaining the reasoning behind its content removals, which it believes will be a fairer and more effective means of moderating content on its platform. The new system won't enforce strict penalties, like the 30-day timeouts from posting, until the seventh violation in most cases. "Were making this change in part because we know we dont always get it right. So rather than potentially over-penalizing people with a lower number of strikes from low-severity violations and limiting their ability to express themselves, this new approach will lead to faster and more impactful actions for those that continuously violate our policies," wrote Monika Bickert, Meta vice president of Content Policy, in a newsroom announcement about the changes. Meta explains that nothing is actually changing about its decision-making process with regard to content removals themselves, but it will increase its transparency around its decisions by explaining its policies to users when violations occur. Historically, Meta said people found themselves in "Facebook jail," without even understanding what they did wrong. Some also didn't know they had been penalized after finding themselves suddenly unable to post. However, Meta doled out strict and lengthy penalties for these lower-level violations, which were often not ill-intended. Story continues In its announcement, the company offered some examples of the kinds of posts that may have triggered a Facebook jail sentence in the past. For example, you may have been joking with a friend "I'm on my way to kidnap you," when really you were planning to take them out to dinner after a rough day. Or you may have posted someone's name and address -- a violation of policies around sharing personally identifiable information -- when really you were just inviting a friend to a party. In both scenarios, Facebook's prior response would have been disproportionate. There were real harms to this system, Meta acknowledges. People banned from posting not only lose their ability to express themselves and connect with their local communities, the company says, but they also may not be able to run their business on Facebook while in "Facebook jail." And these "timeouts" could be lengthy. The prior system would have immediately blocked users from posting for 30 days -- a period that's even more frustrating when the mistake was minor or the context wasn't considered. In addition, the system didn't actually address the larger issue at hand with the real bad actors -- it let them stay on the platform longer because it prevented Meta from seeing larger violation trends, it notes. To address this, Meta is increasing transparency around violations while still penalizing repeat violations, which would be a more effective means of managing issues with bad actors, it and the Oversight Board believe. To come to its conclusion, Meta conducted an analysis of its penalty system and found that nearly 80% of users with a low number of strikes did not go on to violate its policies again in the next 60 days, which demonstrated that most users respond well to a warning and explanation. Meanwhile, it applied its more severe penalties at the seventh strike, which gave "well-intentioned people the guidance they need while still removing bad actors." There's more nuance to the changes beyond simply waiting longer to penalize violations, however. Serious violations will not get a pass here. Meta says that posts that include "terrorism, child exploitation, human trafficking, suicide promotion, sexual exploitation, the sale of non-medical drugs or the promotion of dangerous individuals and organizations," will continue to see immediate consequences, including account removals at times. It may also restrict people from posting in Facebook Groups at lower thresholds than the seventh violation, in some cases, but did not elaborate on this part. Meta's decision to now apply these changes, after years of user outcry and outside pressure, is worth noting. In the U.S., Republican lawmakers have long insisted that Facebook and other Big Tech companies, like Google and Twitter, are censoring conservative viewpoints -- more recently pressing companies like Facebook and Twitter to explain their individual moderation decisions, as with the Hunter Biden laptop story. These claims of censorship, along with other factors, have contributed to some lawmakers' increasing interest in regulating tech platforms or even breaking them up over antitrust concerns. The belief there is that the companies have had too much power to regulate discourse, which has led to lengthy debates over to what extent these companies are preventing "free speech" versus making rules about how they want their own business to operate. By reducing the severity of penalties, Meta is trying to balance its ability to remove violating content with the actual harms in doing so, in terms of impacts on individual users. But it still gives the company leeway to make immediate decisions -- like whether or not a sitting U.S. president can have their account banned, perhaps. The Oversight Board applauded Meta's decision today in a blog post, but suggested there was still room for improvement, particularly with the transparency around "severe strikes." It also says that users' explanations and context should be taken into account by content reviewers during the appeals process. However, the post was largely positive, saying the new system is, at least, "fairer to users who have been disproportionately impacted in the past." "This is a welcome step in the right direction for Meta, and the Board will continue to push for further improvements to Metas content moderation policies and practices," it said. A high school student in Newton County was arrested last week after authorities say he threatened to kill his classmates. A Newton County sheriffs deputy met with the high schools principal on Friday. The principal told the deputy that a student, later identified as Jayden Isaiah Slaughter, 17, made a threat in class the day before that caused some concern. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Slaughters teacher said he stated in class that he wanted to kill everybody. The deputy waited for Slaughter to arrive at school and Slaughter was sent to an office. TRENDING STORIES: During a search of Slaughter, the deputy found a knife more than two inches long. Slaughter was arrested and booked into the Newton County Jail for possessing a weapon on school property. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexicos elections chief slammed President Andres Manuel Lopez Obradors move to cut elections spending as an assault on democracy Thursday criticism the leftist president dismisses as elitist. Lopez Obrador said Thursday he he'll sign the changes into law, even though he expects court challenges. The new law passed late Wednesday would cut funding for the countrys electoral agency and weaken oversight of campaign spending. The president has long said the agency is too expensive and that the money would be better spent on the poor. The reforms have prompted fierce debate, and opponents already have announced lawsuits and protest marches in several cities. Lopez Obrador already has taken to branding them as classist, racist defenders of corruption. They are protesting because dont want to help the poor, Lopez Obrador said earlier this week, accusing his opponents of being racist and classist. Lorenzo Cordova, the head of the elections agency, the National Electoral Institute, has said the reforms seek to cut thousands of people who work every day to guarantee trustworthy elections, something that will of course pose a risk for future elections. The new law would cut salaries, funding for local election offices and training for citizens who operate and oversee polling stations. It would also reduce sanctions for candidates who fail to report campaign spending. Cordova warned in a newspaper column published Thursday that the insults being hurled around the issue aid and assist the authoritarian impulses that are floating around. The virulent discourse being used by some could wind up poisoning democracy itself, Cordova wrote. Jaime Rivera, one of council members at the electoral institute, warned that as many as 4,000 employees could get the axe under the new funding cuts, something he said could cause the collapse of the electoral organization. Lopez Obrador was nonchalant about court challenges to the election reforms saying Thursday that he believed they would be upheld because none of it was outside the law. Story continues However, in the past he has frequently attacked Mexicos judiciary and claimed judges are part of a conservative conspiracy against his administration. The president's strident pushback against the judiciary, as well as regulatory and oversight agencies, has raised fears among some that he is seeking to reinstitute the practices of the old Institutional Revolutionary Party, which bent the rules to retain Mexico's presidency for 70 years until its defeat in the 2000 elections. Elections in Mexico are expensive by international standards, in part because almost all legal campaign financing is, by law, supplied by the government. The electoral institute also issues the secure voter ID cards that are the most commonly accepted form of identification in Mexico, and oversees balloting in the remote and often dangerous corners of the country. Federico Estevez, a retired political science professor at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico, said the opposition claims that Lopez Obrador is dismantling democracy are exaggerated. Its not about undoing democracy, its a different conception of democracy, Estevez said. Its more majoritarian, and less dependent on inadequate, unproductive and mistaken elites. Patricio Morelos, a political scientist at the Monterrey Technological university, said the reforms could undermine confidence in elections. Reducing costs could mean some savings in monetary terms, but that does not mean it would increase confidence in electoral processes or their legitimacy, Morelos said. "That should be the main goal, that people have confidence that their vote will count. Lopez Obrador remains highly popular in Mexico, with approval ratings of around 60%, but cannot run for re-election. Part of his popular appeal comes from railing against high-paid government bureaucrats, and he has been angered by the fact that some top electoral officials are paid more than the president. His legislative initiative, known as Plan B, was proposed by the president in December after he did not obtain enough votes in Congress for even deeper electoral changes that would have changed the size and makeup of Congress. The president has repeatedly denied that the reform package could put the elections in Mexico at risk. Lopez Obrador and his supporters have been critical of the electoral institute since 2006 when he came within 0.56% of the vote of winning the presidency and denounced his loss as fraudulent. He and his supporters launched a mass protest movement. This is still driven by his grievances from from those years, Estevez noted. Lopez Obrador later won the presidency by a wide margin in 2018. Many in Mexico see the electoral institute as a key pillar of the countrys modern democracy since 2000. Lopez Obradors ruling Morena party is favored in next years national elections and the opposition is in disarray, which would seem to give the president little incentive to attack the electoral institute. Northwest Regional SWAT team members breach a door with detcord during a demonstration at the former Majestic Star casino in Gary on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune) Members of the Northwest Regional SWAT and Gary SWAT teams gathered in full riot gear Wednesday and waited behind shields just outside the entrance to the shuttered former Majestic Star Casino Hotel in Gary. A loud explosion elicited an audible gasp from onlookers as the sound reverberated. In a flash of light, and with a little lingering flame, the secured solid steel entrance door and its frame were blasted open and the waiting SWAT team entered the building through the breach. Advertisement The training exercise lasted just minutes but provided real-life experience for participants officials hope will stay with them their entire careers. You cant beat this. There is nothing like it, like the real-world experience, team leader Sgt. Marlin Gray, with the Gary Police Department, said. Participants were using live ordnances in the exercises, something that cannot be done in other training exercises. Advertisement Northwest Regional SWAT members stand near the entrance of the hotel at the former Majestic Star Casino in Gary after demonstrating a door breach on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune) Gray said one of the skills they have been practicing is breaching doors. The interior hotel doors are solid steel and very sturdy, Gray said. Learning how to breach those doors is good training for officers who may have to breach a residential door at some point on the job. Those doors arent that strong, Gray said. The training was organized through the office of U.S. Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., and in cooperation with the city of Gary and the new owner of the property at 1 Buffington Harbor, Tim McCahill, founding partner of Transport Properties LLC of Rosemont, Illinois. Tony Ferraro, regional director for Brauns office, read a message from the senator sharing his commitment to ensuring law enforcement has the training and resources needed. Personnel from 12 different agencies including Gary, Griffith, Schererville, Lake Station, Dyer, Hobart, Cedar Lake, Crown Point, St. John, Munster, Merrillville and Cook County, Illinois, will be spending approximately 45 days conducting 20 different training exercises at the site including a live-round sniper scenario and clearing a building using drones. Training was expected to continue Thursday with a live shooter scenario. Bullet holes are seen on windows at the former Majestic Star Casino where local police and Northwest Regional SWAT teams trained on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune) Mayor Jerome Prince said since his first day in office the goal of the administration has been to make public safety the first priority. Were here today going to witness firsthand a true exhibit of collaboration and certainly the ingenuity and creativity that goes behind our military as well as our law enforcement officials, Prince said. The efforts is a show of force of agencies getting together and working for the greater good of the entire region. The Indiana National Guard originally was scheduled to participate in a series of exercises Wednesday that were postponed due to weather. Advertisement Prince lauded the partnership with Brauns office and developer Rob Ferrino, who worked with McCahill to create the opportunity. He said he looks forward to continuing to collaborate with Brauns office on initiatives involving law enforcement for the benefit of public safety in the city. Northwest Regional SWAT team members enter a breached door during a demonstration at the former Majestic Star Casino in Gary on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. (Kyle Telechan for the Post-Tribune) (Kyle Telechan / Post-Tribune) Before this building is demolished we see a great opportunity to use it to help strengthen the response of first responders as well as military officers, Prince said. Ferrino, the developer, said McCahill agreed to delay the demolition of the hotel property for 60 days so the training could take place. He realized how important it was to our community to allow this real life training to take place, he said. cnapoleon@chicagotribune.com By Clark Mindock (Reuters) -The U.S. Forest Service can go ahead with a plan to shoot dozens of feral cattle from helicopters in New Mexico's Gila Wilderness after a federal judge on Wednesday refused a request by ranchers for an emergency order to stop the cull. Cattle ranchers and local business owners told U.S. District Judge James Browning earlier on Wednesday at a hearing in Albuquerque the four-day hunt of about 150 stray or unbranded cows, due to start on Thursday, would violate federal laws and Forest Service regulations and likely kill cows they own. In denying the plaintiffs' bid for the emergency order, Browning said they were unlikely to succeed on the merits of their case and that of the approximately 300 cattle removed or killed over the last several decades "only one has been branded, and it was removed rather than killed." Jessica Blome, an attorney for the ranchers, said they are "deeply disappointed that the court green lit" the plan. The Forest Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Forest Service announced the hunt last week, the second in as many years, saying feral cows were damaging habitats and menacing hikers who visit the vast Southwestern national monument known for its mountain ranges and plunging, rock-walled canyons. U.S. Department of Justice attorney Andrew Smith, representing the Forest Service, argued on Wednesday that blocking the cull would allow feral cow populations to "rebound, and last year's efforts would be wasted." Aerial hunting of feral hogs and predators like coyotes is a common practice in the American West but efforts to gun down cattle from above have been met with protest. The New Mexico Cattle Growers Association (NMCGA), which had filed a lawsuit on Tuesday alongside other ranching, farming and business interests, said aerial shooting puts at risk privately owned cattle that may have strayed through broken fences or to find water. That loss harms an industry already hard-hit by climate change and rising costs, it said. Story continues Ranchers also said helicopter hunting is inefficient and inhumane, causing cattle to run and forcing shooters to pepper cows with multiple rounds before they are left to die, sometimes days later. NMCGA sued the Forest Service over its last cull, resulting in an out-of-court settlement. The ranchers said that agreement requires the government to give the public 75 days' notice before it shoots feral cows from helicopters. The government provided just seven days' notice this year, they said. (Reporting by Clark Mindock in New York; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Matthew Lewis and Tom Hogue) (Bloomberg) -- Mexicos Senate passed a bill that completes the overhaul of the countrys election regulator, a long-sought objective of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador that the opposition denounces as an attempt to tamper with next years elections. Most Read from Bloomberg The Senate late Wednesday approved the electoral bill known as Plan B in general and particular terms with 72 votes in favor and 50 against, according to the legislative chambers Twitter. The bill modifies the laws on institutions and electoral procedures, political parties and electoral challenges, respectively. AMLO, as the president is known, has faced backlash from his push to overhaul Mexicos electoral regulator, known as the INE, with a general election scheduled for July 2024 and a vote to pick governors in two key states in just three months. In November, thousands of protesters marched in Mexico City against the presidents initiative, saying it would weaken elections and calling it a power grab. Read More: Mexicans March Against AMLOs Plan to Overhaul Electoral System The reform seeks to reduce funding for the INE and cut its workforce. The regulator has become too partisan and the cost of elections too high, AMLO has said, arguing in favor of reform. Its considered the governments backup plan after an attempt to change the constitution with a similar bill last year was blocked by the opposition. The original initiative was broader and sought to change the way the electoral authorities are elected. During Wednesdays debate, opposition lawmakers rejected the bill arguing it eliminates several essential powers of the electoral body, greatly reducing the presence of its experts and workers in Mexicos states and even diminishing its ability to sanction those who fail to comply with electoral regulations. Story continues A soon as it is published, we are going to challenge this harmful electoral reform, because it is unconstitutional and hurts democracy, Damian Zepeda, a senator for the center-right PAN party, said. The opposition will ask the Supreme Court to annul the legislation, arguing that it bypasses the constitution by not submitting it to the two-thirds vote needed in these cases. Theyve also called on Mexicans to march against the reform and in defense of the INE during protests scheduled for Feb. 26. Mexico has a long history of voter fraud, including the presidential election of 1988, when an alleged fault in the electoral system was used as excuse for the official PRI party to retain power. Subsequent reforms and the creation of the INE has helped the country to vastly improve its electoral standards. Read More: Ebrard Confident of Clinching Mexico Presidential Nomination (Updates with opposition senator comments in sixth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Ismael Rosas/ Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images Mexico's Senate on Wednesday night approved controversial changes to the nation's electoral agency, the National Electoral Institute (INE), pushed by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The changes dubbed "Plan B" because opposition lawmakers blocked Lopez Obrador's party from enshrining more sweeping changes in the Constitution last year will cut the agency's size, diminish its autonomy, and weaken its power to punish election law violations. The Senate passed the reforms 72-50, and Lopez Obrador is expected to sign it into law. Opposition lawmakers say they will then immediately challenge it at the Supreme Court. Protest marches are planned. Critics, including some allies of Lopez Obrador, call the measures an unconstitutional effort to weaken the independent electoral body responsible for breaking the 71-year run of single-party rule but he PRI in 2000. Mexico is holding presidential elections in 2024, and opposition lawmakers held up signs Wednesday reading, "Morena wants to steal the elections," referring to Lopez Obrador's party. Other observers warn that Lopez Obrador has also been critical of the judiciary and amassed power in the military, among other authoritarian tendencies. It isn't clear if Mexico's democratic institutions are rooted enough to withstand presidential interference. Mexico's president insists he isn't weakening electoral oversight but trying to balance the budget and curb the privileges of the INE, which he has long complained is controlled by the elites. "We were looking to save money, without affecting the work of the INE," presidential spokesman Jesus Ramirez Cuevas told The New York Times, adding that Lopez Obrador would prefer to spend limited public money on "social investments, in health, education, and infrastructure." "What's at play is whether we're going to have a country with democratic institutions and the rule of law," countered Jorge Alcocer Villanueva, a former interior ministry official under Lopez Obrador. The president has been "resentful of the electoral authority" since he lost the 2006 election by 0.56 percent of the vote, Alcocer Villanueva added. "That resentment makes him act irrationally on this issue." Story continues You may also like Why U.S. teens aren't getting their driver's licenses A beginner's guide to passive income Is America headed for a 'national divorce'? MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican lawmakers on Wednesday approved a controversial overhaul of the body overseeing the country's elections, a move critics warn will weaken democracy ahead of a presidential vote next year. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador argues the reorganization will save $150 million a year and reduce the influence of economic interests in politics. But opposition lawmakers and civil society groups have said they will challenge the changes at the Supreme Court, arguing they are unconstitutional. Protests are planned in multiple cities on Sunday. The Senate approved the reform, which still needs to be signed into law by Lopez Obrador, 72 to 50. The changes will cut the budget of the National Electoral Institute (INE), cull staff and close offices. The INE has played an important role in the shift to multi-party democracy since Mexico left federal one-party rule in 2000. Critics fear some of that progress is being lost, in a pattern of eroding electoral confidence also seen in the United States and Brazil. Lopez Obrador has repeatedly attacked the electoral agency, saying voter fraud robbed him of victory in the 2006 presidential election. The head of the INE, Lorenzo Cordova, has called the changes a "democratic setback" that put at risk "certain, trustworthy and transparent" elections. Proposed "brutal cuts" in personnel would hinder the installation of polling stations and vote counting, Cordova said. The changes, dubbed "Plan B," follow a more ambitious constitutional overhaul last year that fell short of the needed two-thirds majority. That bill had sought to convert the INE into a smaller body of elected officials. Mexico will hold two state elections in June and general elections next year, including votes for president and elected officials in 30 states. (Reporting by Adriana Barrera and Diego Ore; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer, Sandra Maler and William Mallard) Mi Technovation Berhad (KLSE:MI) Full Year 2022 Results Key Financial Results Revenue: RM389.5m (up 3.7% from FY 2021). Net income: RM68.9m (up 11% from FY 2021). Profit margin: 18% (up from 17% in FY 2021). The increase in margin was driven by higher revenue. EPS: RM0.077 (up from RM0.075 in FY 2021). All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Mi Technovation Berhad Earnings Insights Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 5.5% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, compared to a 14% growth forecast for the Semiconductor industry in Malaysia. Performance of the Malaysian Semiconductor industry. The company's shares are up 24% from a week ago. Risk Analysis What about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Mi Technovation Berhad 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. 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 LAPORTE Charges have been filed against the parents of a 3-year-old autistic girl who drowned in a nearby lake after wandering away from her home in Michigan City last year. Andrew Allen, 35 and Breanne Smith, 33, are charged in LaPorte Superior Court 1 with neglect of dependent resulting in death. The level 1 felony offense carries a potential sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison. According to court documents, both parents were home but not properly supervising the girl, Ivy Allen, when she went out the back door of the residence on May 12 on Long Beach Cove just north of U.S. 12. The girl was found unconscious in Lake Clare about 45 minutes after her father reported her missing, police said. She was taken to a hospital and later died. According to court documents, there was a history of the girl leaving the home unattended and prior involvement by the Indiana Department of Child Services because of her straying from the residence. The couple has two other young daughters, one with autism and the other with spina bifida, police said. Smith allegedly told investigators Ivy returned to watching TV in the living room after breakfast, and she went to a bedroom and 15 minutes later discovered the patio door was open, police said. A short time later, a police officer from nearby Long Beach spotted a woman resembling Smith near the small lake. It appeared that the woman was looking for someone, said Michigan City Police Det. Anna Painter in her report submitted to the court. According to police, Allen said he was asleep at the time of his daughter's disappearance. Emergency responders were contacted after her parents were unable to find the child. Allen said the girl opened doors often to venture outside but, usually, they found her quickly, according to court documents. He said in this case, though, it was the longest she had disappeared, prosecutors alleged. A few months prior to the girls death, police said, child welfare authorities gave the parents a home alarm system designed to go off whenever a door opened. Story continues The parents hooked up the alarm system but it was not properly installed, police said. In 2016, child welfare authorities first became involved with the family after Smith delivered a baby testing positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, according to court documents. Five years later, they were contacted again when Smith gave birth to a child testing positive for THC and Subutex. The baby was showing signs of withdrawal from the Subutex often used to treat heroin and other forms of opiate dependence, authorities said. A month after the drowning, police said, Allen tested positive for amphetamines and methamphetamines while the same drugs along with THC were found in Smiths bloodstream. LaPorte County Prosecutor Sean Fagan said the case was going to be presented to a grand jury last year to decide whether to seek charges. He said it was never presented to the panel, though. After taking over as prosecutor on Jan. 1, Fagan said, he and his staff members took a closer look and decided themselves the evidence was sufficient enough to pursue criminal allegations. "We believe it was appropriate to go forward with charges," he said. Allen and Smith were taken into custody Feb. 15 and ordered held in the LaPorte County Jail on $100,000 bond pending their initial court hearings. This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Autistic daughter wanders away and drowns, parents charged with neglect The selection of a far-right election denier to lead Michigans state GOP is underscoring divisions within the party as Republican leaders hope to unify heading into 2024. Kristina Karamos victory last weekend showed the extent to which the Republican grassroots has embraced election fraud claims, even as many in the party call for a more forward-looking message heading into 2024. While Arizona and Massachusetts other states where former President Trumps preferred candidates lost high-profile elections last year recently elected more conciliatory voices to lead their state Republican parties, Karamos victory in Michigan raises questions about the partys prospects in top 2024 races. The chair election was poised to set the tone for the party as it tries to win back Michigan for statewide office and also for the 24 presidential election, Ken Kollman, director of the University of Michigan Center for Political Studies, told The Hill ahead of the chair vote. Kollman said a win from either Karamo or Matthew DePerno who had Trumps endorsement for chair and came in second would be a big statement and a big challenge for the GOP in 2024. In November, Democrats defended top statewide offices while flipping both chambers of the state legislature, possibly due in part to redistricting. Karamo was the Republican secretary of state nominee last year and hasnt conceded that race, which she lost by 14 percentage points. DePerno was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for attorney general. Both ran with Trumps backing. Karamos vision statement for the state GOP said the party had failed to pursue remedy for systemic election corruption and that shed give precinct delegates control of the party. Authentic unity, it said, would be achieved by adhering to the Republican Party platform, not by expecting people to tolerate corruption. Michigan GOP chief of staff Paul Cordes wrote in a memo after the midterms that we found ourselves consistently navigating the power struggle between Trump and anti-Trump factions of the Party, mostly within the donor class. That power struggle ended with too many people on the sidelines and hurt Republicans in key races. Story continues Kollman echoed those remarks in his analysis of the challenges the GOP is facing. Theres a number of deep-pocketed donors that are not interested in funding election denialism as a big message of the party, he said, emphasizing that the new chair will serve as the partys public face given the lack of high-level Republican elected officials in the state. Michigans outgoing Republican Party co-chair, Meshawn Maddock, argued instead that we havent moved far enough to the right, according to The Washington Post. Maddock and chair Ron Weiser didnt seek reelection. Ronna McDaniel chaired the Michigan GOP before becoming Republican National Committee chairwoman in 2017, after Trump was the first Republican presidential candidate to win the state in 28 years. McDaniel won a contentious reelection bid this year against candidates emphasizing themes of election integrity and 2020 voter fraud. President Biden won Michigan in 2020. The tensions among Michigan Republicans are evident elsewhere in the country, too. In some of those states, however, Republicans have opted to change course when it comes to their state leadership. We really need state party leaders who can bring folks together to win in 2024, Brian Seitchik, an Arizona-based Republican strategist who worked on Trumps previous campaigns, told The Hill last week. Seitchik said there are divisions between the hardcore Trump folks and the non-Trump folks in the Arizona GOP. The state party recently elected former state Treasurer Jeff DeWit, also a Trump campaign alum, as their new chair. Seitchik said DeWit seems to have the ear of donors and sort of non-hardcore Trump types as well as certainly the credibility in the Trump world. The party vote came after Democrats in the Grand Canyon State defeated Trump-backed candidates to flip open offices of governor and attorney general. Sen. Mark Kelly (D) defeated Blake Masters (R) in the Senate race. Former GOP chairwoman Kelli Ward was active in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and didnt seek reelection. DeWit said he hopes shifting to a positive tone within the party will unite factions, win independent voters and bring donors back to the party. In Massachusetts, Amy Carnevale defeated GOP chairman Jim Lyons in a 37-34 vote last month, calling the election in an interview with CommonWealth Magazine a signal that our party is going to take a different track moving ahead. Were a divided party, Lyons told the same publication. The past is trying to grab on to what we took over and they dont want to let go. I think moving forward the people of Massachusetts have to decide whether they want to see a conservative Republican Party. Sixty percent of Massachusetts voters are unenrolled and allowed to vote in party primaries. Nine percent are registered Republicans. The GOP now comprises around 15 percent of the state legislature. Former Gov. Charlie Baker (R), who had one of the highest approval ratings in the country, chose not to seek reelection. Trump-backed Geoff Diehl won the Republican primary and lost the general in a landslide. Jennifer Nassour, who chaired the Massachusetts GOP from 2009 to 2011 and co-founded a nonprofit supporting center-right female candidates, attributed 2022 losses to Lyonss contentious relationship with Baker and a focus on social issues instead of fiscal conservatism in an interview. Nassour supported Carnevale for chair. Trump looms large over a lot of these party apparatuses, Mileah Kromer, director of the Sarah T. Hughes Center for Politics at Goucher College, told The Hill. In Maryland, term-limited former Gov. Larry Hogan (R), like Baker, had a high approval rating in a blue state. A Trump-endorsed gubernatorial candidate won the primary and lost the general by a wide margin there as well. Former state GOP chair Dirk Haire lamented divisions between the Trump and Hogan camps, telling central committee members he hoped they would find a way to work together to elect all of our Republican nominees, and stop with the counterproductive and petty nonsense, The Baltimore Sun reported. Kromer said the partys weak fundraising and lack of a prominent standard-bearer would pose challenges to its effort to rebuild after 2022. The party elected Nicole Beus Harris as chair in December. Harris promised a rebranding of the party and hired campaign professional Adam Wood as executive director, saying his work with both the Tea Party/House Freedom Caucus conservatives and the Republican Governance Group/Tuesday Group moderate Republicans will bolster communication and unification within the party. Party chairs are pretty much the general heading the army into battle, Nassour said. The partys direction in the states and the unification of its forces will depend partly on its newly chosen leadership. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. China-Russia partnership never targets any third party: senior diplomat Xinhua) 09:22, February 23, 2023 Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with 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, in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Cao Yang) MOSCOW, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has never targeted any third party, nor does it tolerate any third party interference or coercion, a senior Chinese diplomat said here on Wednesday. This is because China-Russia relations enjoy a solid political, economic and cultural foundation, as well as calmness and sobriety from reviewing past experiences, said Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. More importantly, this is because a multipolar world and greater democracy in international relations, which China and Russia jointly support, are in line with the trend of the times and the aspirations of most countries, said Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Wang conveyed to Putin the warm greetings from Chinese President Xi Jinping. He noted that the two presidents held an important video conference at the end of last year, which has charted the course for bilateral relations in the new year. He said that the current international situation is complicated and grim, but the China-Russia relationship, which has stood the test of the drastic changes in the world situation, is mature, tough and as stable as Mount Tai. Although crises and chaos often emerge, challenges and opportunities exist at the same time, Wang said, adding that this is the dialectics of history. China is willing to work with Russia to maintain strategic resolve, deepen political trust, strengthen strategic coordination, expand practical cooperation and safeguard the legitimate interests of both countries, in order for the two countries to play a constructive role in promoting world peace and development, he said. Requesting Wang to convey his sincere greetings to President Xi, Putin said that the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has opened up new prospects for China's development. At present, Russia-China relations are moving towards the established goals, and bilateral cooperation in various fields and coordination in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS and other multilateral organizations are fruitful, Putin said. He added that strengthening unity and coordination in international affairs is of great significance to promoting greater democracy in international relations and the balance and stability of the international landscape. During an in-depth exchange of views on the Ukrainian issue with Putin, Wang appreciated Russia's reaffirmation of its willingness to solve problems through dialogue and negotiations. Wang said China will, as always, uphold an objective and fair position and play a constructive role in solving the crisis through political means. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Ma Xiaolin, a museum curator in central China's Henan Province, has put a great deal of thought into the management of the Hongqi Canal, a major cultural relic site under national protection. Every day, more than 200 people patrol the canal, which is a massive irrigation project in Henan's Linzhou City. This engineering feat was built in the 1960s, according to Ma, head of Henan Museum. "With the proper use of technology, we'll only need 30 people for the canal's management, thus minimising costs while improving efficiency," Ma said after concluding a survey on the protection and utilization of cultural relics with revolutionary legacy. Ma, 56, is a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He has spent nearly three decades protecting cultural relics. Since 2018, when Ma became a member of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, he has submitted proposals on the safety of cultural relics every year. During a visit to several counties in Henan in 2020, Ma took note of the challenges in the protection and management of lower-level immovable revolutionary cultural relics. "There are more than 36,000 pieces of immovable revolutionary cultural relics across the country. While those of a higher level are usually well protected, those at a lower level, though huge in quantity, need stronger policy and financial support, more manpower, and better display to improve their protection," Ma said. The following year, he submitted a targeted proposal at the annual session of the CPPCC National Committee, suggesting a raft of measures to strengthen the protection and utilization of immovable revolutionary cultural relics. Shortly afterwards, he received a reply from the National Cultural Heritage Administration. At the end of 2021, the administration issued a circular, calling for greater protection of revolutionary cultural relics below the provincial level. Unfortunately, in July 2021, torrential rain damaged more than 400 cultural heritage sites across Henan. In response, at the annual session of the CPPCC National Committee in 2022, Ma submitted a proposal aimed at enhancing the emergency response capabilities of museums and other cultural relics protection institutions. "The safety of cultural relics is a red line not to be crossed," Ma said. Ma believes that cultural relics are a form of "living history," rather than "static antiques." "Cultural relics have to become part of people's daily lives. It is where their true value lies," he said. With that in mind, during the top political advisory body's 2019 session, Ma submitted a proposal on popularizing oracle bone inscriptions. Under the leadership of Ma, Henan Museum has taken several initiatives in recent years to connect the public with the cultural relics held within the museum, including the rollout of archaeological blind boxes that contain replicas of cultural relics. "With technology and innovation, relics from ancient times could become close friends in life," Ma said. This year, Ma will continue to focus his work on the protection and utilization of cultural relics, and submit proposals to expand the global influence of Chinese culture. "Protecting national treasure, having archaeological research at heart, and bringing cultural relics to life. These are among the goals I have pursued throughout my career," Ma said. Millcreek Township is the second largest municipality in Erie County and 12th largest in the commonwealth. It is a significant population center of residents and companies that generate an enormous impact on the region it calls home, much like all similarly-sized municipalities. But Millcreek has a significant distinction that sets it apart from big cities in Pennsylvania Presque Isle State Park. This natural asset is also an economic asset that welcomes more than 4 million visitors into Erie County each year that's more than Yellowstone National Park. More:Millcreek Township to buy Bel-Aire, Joe Root's Grill, Sandbar and more West Eighth parcels As a funder of economic and community development projects across Erie County, the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority has been following the public process of implementing Embrace Millcreek, the township's comprehensive plan since it was adopted in 2018. This plan took a major leap forward when the township's leadership launched an approach to redeveloping large swaths of the West Eighth Street commercial corridor now known as the Presque Isle Gateway District. Perry Wood This past summer, the ECGRA staff and board members were joined by County Council members and crisscrossed Erie County, meeting with elected officials, business owners, and nonprofits in the revitalization space. Borough and township managers, entrepreneurs, investors, and volunteers working to revitalize Main Streets, neighborhoods, parks, and historic buildings are common themes we documented in our reporting. In Millcreek, we found a structural consensus on the importance of revitalizing a corridor that stretches from the city of Erie into Millcreek and acts as a gateway to one of our most precious regional assets: Presque Isle State Park. The Millcreek Township General Authority voted 4-1 on Jan. 30 to buy the former Bel-Aire Hotel and former Joe Root's Grill as well as the Grasshopper shop, Sandbar Draft House & Grille and Manor Motel for almost $7.2 million in order to develop the area at West Eighth Street and Peninsula Drive. Part of the intersection is shown here on Jan. 31, 2023. This dense strip of businesses is a mixed bag of blighted or soon-to-be-blighted building stock. Perhaps the most striking observation was the extent to which this high-volume corridor was underrealized. The corridor is classified as a low/moderate income census tract. From an economic development perspective, it is underutilized. That's a simplistic way of saying that the corridor could be yielding a significant tax base for the township but is unable to develop new construction with older building stock in the way. More:Millcreek residents question transparency, costs of Eighth Street property purchases From the perspective of a Millcreek resident who has visited Presque Isle since I was a kid from my hometown of Franklin, it's sad to see this corner because it doesn't reflect the experience visitors should expect when driving into what I believe to be one of the best family destinations around. Reimaging West Eighth Street and Peninsula Drive as a village-style gateway is a moment of optimism as a new generation of kids make their way in the back seat of their parents' car through the threshold of what will become their own cherished family memories. More:Millcreek supervisors adopt zoning rules that include 'village' concept near Presque Isle Millcreek Township is making progress on the project while moving the township's economic development assets forward as well. The newly created Millcreek General Authority is the right vehicle to guide the redevelopment. Subject to the laws of public accountability, best practices and countless successful examples from across the commonwealth show that the authority can work independently and in concert with the township, without added risk to taxpayers. The authority is the ideal quasi-public sector vehicle to broker real estate acquisition and disposition of land for maximum public benefit. To develop this corridor, site control is the first step. The township is well on its way to realizing that goal. Counterpoint: Former Millcreek supervisor questions West Eighth Street property deals This project also offers a window to an important collaboration between the city of Erie and the township. West Eighth Street plays host to businesses in both municipalities, which creates an opportunity for continuity of co-branding through physical improvements and signage. It is a chance for both to improve this iconic street's image and functionality and grow the commercial tax base. An additional point of pride should be that the project fits what Charles Buki, author of Erie Refocused, would call a "middle markets" approach. Focusing on places that are beginning to feel the effects of blight and could decline further is a smart use of resources. A bulwark against the tide of blight, the Gateway could be a significant factor in stabilizing the residential neighborhoods to the north of the iconic corridor. More:City of Erie gets rolling on multimillion-dollar West Eighth Street improvements More:Main Street, Millcreek, USA: Pursuing plans for West Eighth Street Many Millcreek supervisors, past and present, deserve praise for having foresight to listen and create a comprehensive plan that reflects the ends of the community and voice of residents, and the courage to continue to see it through. Putting all the pieces in place to make a measurable comprehensive plan like Embrace Millcreek is difficult work implementing one is something that requires leadership and political fortitude. Now part of the Infinite Erie Playbook, this project is well-positioned to draw in more funding from state and federal sources and should be celebrated as one of Erie County's plans in action. Perry Wood is the executive director of the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority. This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Millcreek Twp. was right to purchase properties along Eighth Street The U.S. Attorney's Office announced Wednesday afternoon that a 42-year-old Milton man pleaded guilty to illicit sexual conduct while in the Republic of Fiji. Jason R. Moore was indicted and pleaded guilty to two counts of illicit sexual conduct in foreign places while he was in Fiji between March 2013 and February 2016. "Moore faces up to 60 years in federal prison, followed by a term of up to a lifetime of supervised release following any imprisonment," the release stated. "Moore will also have to register as a sex offender." Moore's arrest:Milton man arrested for alleged 'illicit sexual conduct' in Republic of Fiji In case you missed it:Pensacola man found guilty of 16-year-old's 2020 murder at Forest Creek Apartments A grand jury indicted Moore in December after he was arrested Dec. 2 by special agents from the Department of Homeland Security and Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The jury found he "engaged in, and attempted to engage in, illicit sexual conduct ... with Minor Female 1, a person under 18 years of age." The case was investigated by DHS, FDLE and the New York State Police, per the release. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, according the the release, which is a "nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse." Moore is scheduled to be sentenced before a federal judge May 22. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Milton man Jason R. Moore pleads guilty to sexual conduct with minor Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Thursday filed a legal motion to have St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner removed from office. The action comes after a chorus of elected officials called on Gardner to resign after a driver who repeatedly violated his bond allegedly injured a 16-year-old volleyball player from Tennessee, resulting in both of her legs being amputated. Bailey, a Republican, and others have accused Gardner, a Democrat, of neglecting her duties because the driver had violated his bond. Gardner, in response, has accused the judge in the drivers case of denying prosecutors requests for a higher bond. Baileys motion, which accuses Gardner of neglect, represents the latest battle over Gardners handling of the office. Gardner, the first Black woman to be elected as St. Louis top prosecutor, has repeatedly clashed with Republican lawmakers in Jefferson City during her tenure. While lawmakers of both parties have criticized Gardners handling of the case, some view Baileys motion as another example of Republicans targeting a progressive, Black official. Heres what you need to know about Baileys action against Gardner. Who is Kim Gardner? Kim Gardner, an outspoken advocate for police reform, was elected as St. Louis top prosecutor in 2016. She won election to a second term in 2020. Gardner, during her time in office, has repeatedly faced backlash from Republicans over how shes run the office. Much of that criticism stems from Gardners prosecution of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens in 2018. Last year, Gardner was reprimanded by the Missouri Supreme Court for her handling of the invasion of privacy case against Greitens. As part of an agreement with the court, she admitted to failing to disclose evidence handwritten notes to attorneys representing Greitens. Greitens was indicted for felony invasion of privacy in the 2018 case, but Gardner dropped the case a day before it was set to go to trial. She agreed to drop an additional computer tampering charge against Greitens as part of an agreement that coincided with Greitens voluntary resignation from office. Story continues Republican lawmakers are also targeting Gardners handling of crime in St. Louis. A bill filed this year would allow Republican Gov. Mike Parson to appoint a special prosecutor to any circuit or prosecuting attorneys jurisdiction for five years if he deems there is a threat to public safety. Why do Bailey and other officials want Gardner removed from office? Bailey and other officials, including Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, want Gardner removed after a motorist who had repeatedly violated his bond struck and injured a teenager in St. Louis this week. Police say Daniel Riley, 21, was speeding and failed to yield at an intersection when his vehicle hit another car that then struck 16-year-old Janae Edmondson. Riley, who was out on bond for a 2020 robbery charge that was dismissed and refiled last year, had violated the conditions of his bond several times including by letting his GPS monitor die. Bailey has criticized Gardner for not filing a motion to revoke Rileys bond. On Thursday, Bailey said Gardner illustrated a continued pattern of failure to discharge her moral and legal duties. St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones has not gone as far as Bailey, but called on Gardner to improve the way her office is run. If she cannot do so, then she must do some serious soul-searching about her future as circuit attorney because she has lost the trust of the people, Jones, a Democrat, posted on Twitter Wednesday. Gardners office released a timeline Wednesday that said prosecutors had asked the judge in Rileys case for a higher bond. The statement shifted the blame to the judge. Judges have the sole authority to determine the bond conditions of a defendant. Bond violations and decisions do not solely rest on the shoulders of prosecutors, the statement said. In this matter, prosecutors asked on several occasions for higher bonds, and those requests were denied. What will this process look like? Bailey on Thursday filed a legal motion called a writ of quo warranto to have Gardner removed from office. The legal proceeding, which is set up in state law, is rarely used in Missouri. It requires Bailey to prove to a judge instead of a jury that Gardner has neglected the duties of her office. If a judge agrees, Gardner could be ousted. If Gardner is removed from office or resigns, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson would be in charge of appointing a replacement to fill her office. Bailey on Thursday said his office would use every legal method necessary to expedite the process. But legal experts who spoke with The Star questioned whether Gardners actions are grounds for removal under the law, which is typically used when an official commits a criminal action. I just dont see this rising to the level of something that would be a quo warranto type of a removal from office for gross incompetence or failure to perform your office, said Joseph Dandurand, who served as chief deputy attorney general in Missouri from 2009 to 2017. Dandurand said he has a lot of respect for Bailey, but was dismayed by this action. Gardner was scheduled to hold a press conference Thursday at 2:30 p.m. What is Bailey alleging? Baileys motion offers three claims for why Gardner should be removed from office: Baileys first claim is that Gardner has failed to prosecute pending cases in St. Louis. Bailey told reporters Thursday that Gardner has allowed cases to languish in court before theyre eventually dismissed. Secondly, Bailey alleges that Gardner has failed to stay in contact with victims of crimes and inform them of whats going on in their cases in violation of her constitutional, statutory and moral obligation. Finally, Bailey says that Gardner has neglected her duties by failing to charge new cases brought by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. These three behaviors constitute a continued pattern of failure to discharge her duties in office and represent neglect, Bailey said Thursday. At the end of the day, this is about the rule of law and about justice. How often has this been used? Bailey on Thursday acknowledged that this form of legal action is extremely rare in Missouri. It is not something that we take lightly, he said. In 2009, then-Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster, a Democrat, filed a similar motion to remove Dent County Prosecutor Jessica Sparks, a Republican, from office. Koster alleged that Dent had neglected her office by failing to pursue more than 250 pending cases. Dent eventually resigned before the proceedings took place. Chuck Hatfield, a Jefferson City-based attorney who was Jay Nixons chief of staff when he was attorney general, said quo warranto proceedings are typically used when an official is involved in illegal actions or nepotism. These happen every few years in history, he said. Whats a little unusual is to see one that is brought alleging sort of dereliction of duties or failure to do your job. Yaroslav Amosov is the Bellator welterweight champion (Lucas Noonan/Bellator MMA) Ukraines Yaroslav Amosov returns to mixed martial arts this weekend, nearly a year to the day since the Bellator welterweight champions world was turned upside down. Friday marks the grim one-year anniversary of Russia launching a full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, which prompted Amosov to join countless compatriots in taking up arms to defend his besieged nation. His hometown of Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv was bombarded in the first few weeks although Amosov was among the Ukrainian troops who retook control of the suburb in late March. This war is not over yet, but its consequences are terrible! Strength, patience and God's help to all! The truth is on our side! pic.twitter.com/2G42wu0YV6 Yaroslav Amosov (@YaroslavAmosov) April 4, 2022 But the death and destruction he witnessed at close hand in the ongoing war has altered the worldview of Amosov, who will make his comeback to the octagon against Logan Storley at Bellator 291 on Saturday. Its hard to watch people run for safety, its hard to watch parents pick up their kids and try to get them to safety, its hard to watch kids dying, people dying and your friends dying, Amosov told the PA news agency, via a translator. Thats been my last year. When you go through a war, it puts things in perspective and you start to realise whats important. Before for me, it was always about sport, training and getting better, which I still do but my priorities have drastically changed. You really just start to evaluate your life and what are issues and what are not. What I think about and focus on now is how soon can we have some peace? When you go through a war, it puts things in perspective and you start to realise what's important Yaroslav Amosov While there is no direct military action currently in Irpin or its surrounding areas, Amosov has no plans to bring his family back from Poland, having made the painful decision to evacuate his wife and infant son out of Ukraine before he joined the territorial defence. Story continues He highlights the infrastructural problems still facing the town while there is also the lingering threat of indiscriminate Russian missile attacks. But he was persuaded by those nearest and dearest to him to get back to MMA and is now set for his first fight since June 2021 when he faces Storley for a second time in Dublin. It was hard to leave and return to training but luckily it was the overwhelming support, advice and push that I got from my friends and family that told me its better to return to sport, its better to use my platform to deliver the message of what is happening in Ukraine, he said. My hometown, its still not a safe place. Theres no running water, electricity, heat, plus these random rocket attacks Russia is launching all over Ukraine. For now, my family is staying in Poland. Amosov who buried his 170lb belt in his family home, which was reduced to ruins when he came back to retrieve the title after the Russian occupation has won all 26 MMA contests but had arguably his toughest test against Storley, who lost a back-and-forth fight by split decision in November 2020. It feels great to be back, Im excited, the 29-year-old said. I miss the feeling leading up to the fight, fight week, stepping into the cage, Ive missed it all. As for his plans after the fight, he added: Im going to go to Ukraine but Im going to go through Poland, Id like to see my wife and my kid, give them a hug, spend a little time with them and then Im going to go to Ukraine. Moldovan authorities denied the claim made by the Russian Defense Ministry on Feb. 23 that Ukraine is planning a provocation against Transnistria, a breakaway region internationally recognized as part of Moldova that has been under heavy Russian influence since 1990. Russian-controlled Transnistria region hosts 1,500 Russian troops and a large Soviet-era arms depot. "We are urging people to stay calm and obtain information from official and verified sources within the Republic of Moldova," the statement added. The Russian Defense Ministry alleged that the provocation would involve units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces disguised as Russian soldiers, specifically the Azov battalion. On Feb. 21, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Rechan confirmed in an interview to Moldova's TV8 that authorities were aware "several" Russian destabilization scenarios, including Russia's plan to take control of the Chisinau airport in the Moldovan capital. This came after President Zelensky said that Ukrainian intelligence had intercepted a Russian plan to destabilize the political situation and seize power in Moldova. "We have strengthened our capabilities and are prepared for various scenarios aimed at the security of the Republic of Moldova," Rechan said, adding that "Moldova opts for a peaceful settlement of the Transnistrian conflict and we must align our goals in terms of security, peace and stability in the region." Moldovan authorities have denied a statement by the Russian Defence Ministry that Ukraine is allegedly preparing a provocation in unrecognised Transnistria. Source: European Pravda; Prima Sursa, Chisinaus official Telegram channel for verifying information. Details: "The state authorities do not confirm the information disseminated this morning by the Russian Defence Ministry. We call for serenity and getting information from official and verified sources of the Republic of Moldova," the statement said. "Our agencies are cooperating with foreign partners, and in case of a threat to the country, the public will be immediately informed." On Thursday morning, the Russian Defence Ministry accused Ukraine of preparing a provocation that would allegedly involve units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in particular "with the involvement of the nationalist Azov formation." Background: Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean confirmed that the Moldovan authorities are aware of several scenarios for destabilising the situation in Moldova. On 13 February, Maia Sandu, President of Moldova, confirmed that the Ukrainian side conveyed to her the Kremlin's plans to destabilise the situation in Moldova and that forceful actions involving saboteurs from outside the country, from Russia, Belarus, and the Balkans, were being prepared. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Tim Burton and Monica Bellucci (Getty) Monica Bellucci and Tim Burton have been photographed walking arm-in-arm together, sparking rumours that they are dating. The Italian actor, 58, and the US filmmaker, 64, have reportedly been together for four months, after seeing one another at the Lumiere Film Festival in Lyon last October. The photographs, obtained by The Daily Mail, show the pair walking with their arms linked and sharing a kiss on Valentines Day. They first met 16 years ago, but reports say they reconnected at the French festival last year, where Bellucci was an honorary guest and presented Burton with the Lumiere lifetime achievement award onstage. Upon receiving the award, the Edward Scissorhands director said: All my life put together, I had never felt so much love as tonight. Welcome to the best funeral I ever had! Bellucci and Burton were also reportedly seen going to a reproduction of the late French filmmaker Louis Lumieres 1895 movie, Silent Documentary Film. The Independent has contacted Bellucci and Burtons representatives for comment. Fans reacted with disbelief at the news, with some taking to social media to voice their surprise at the potential pairing. One person wrote: How is Tim Burton trending, not for a movie, but because he is dating Monica Bellucci, whats going on? Another had high hopes for the reported couple and said: Monica Bellucci and Tim Burton are dating and thats wonderful. Heres hoping they collaborate on screen as well. The results could be very interesting. Burton was previously in a relationship with The Crown star Helena Bonham-Carter, 55, for 13 years before they split in 2014. The pair share two sons, Billy, 20, and Neil, 16. Filmmaker Tim Burton and actress Helena Bonham Carter arrive at the Oscars at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 24, 2013 (Getty Images) They lived in adjoining houses in Belsize Park and later connected the two. In an 2010 interview, Bonham-Carter said their separate living situation was good for their relationship, as she was outrageously bossy and Burton snored. Last year, Bonham-Carter opened up about their separation, describing is as a painful divorce although they were never married. She is currently dating 33-year-old art historian Rye Dag Holmboe, who she met at a wedding in 2018. Bellucci has been married twice previously. Her first marriage, which lasted six months, was to Italian photographer Claudia Carlos Basso. She later married French actor Vincent Cassell in 1999 and divorced in 2013. They share two daughters, Deva and Leonie. Last year, the James Bond star made her stage debut in Maria Callas: Letters and Memoirs, directed by Tom Volf. The play opened in Paris and toured around Italy, Greece and Turkey. (Sam Alden / For The Times) Mondays are Jack Benchakuls favorite day of the week at Endorffeine. He looks forward to the calm, even though hes grateful for the streams of coffee fans that file into his tiny shop on Saturdays and Sundays. Ttaya Tuparangsi, his cousin, takes orders from the no-nonsense menu of options: espresso, cortado, cappuccino, latte and pour-over. From the beginning it has been only the two of them. Benchakul has made every drink since the pair moved into the space on the ground floor of Chinatowns Far East Plaza in 2015. He's a baristas barista, the kind of maestro to whom other coffee professionals come to study his moves. Me too: I know that Mondays are the day Benchakul has the time to be peppered with questions about his pour-over know-how, a method Im slowly attempting to master at home. Late on these mornings, maybe one other customer can be glimpsed through Endorffeines glass storefront. Inside, Benchakuls shaved head often hovers just above the counter at eye level. He squats to study the progress of each espresso shot. Hes thinking about things such as flow distribution, flow rate and discernible shifts in viscosity to determine the exact second to terminate an espresso pull. Thats eye-rolling verbiage to the 99% of us looking for a fast, comforting pick-me-up. Whats most important is that Benchakuls geeky perfectionism hes a biochemist turned pastry chef turned barista translates to exceptionally delicious coffee: smooth and balanced in acidity, devoid of overt sour or bitter aftertaste. He doesnt push any science jargon on his customers unless theyre inquiring. On a recent Monday Im watching Benchakul brew a pour-over in a glass Hario V60, a cone-shaped dripper fitted with a thin filter thats favored by many seasoned baristas. He moves the water wand in his hand in fast clockwise circles over the coffee grounds, creating a murky well. Benchakul is known among coffee geeks for his water recipes customized blends of minerals he mixes into water in weekly batches for the drinks he serves. He experimented for years to land on a formula, with variations based on different coffees, that boosts pleasant acidity and contributes to a round, soft texture. Story continues I've found no better place to drink a pour-over in Los Angeles, and that's saying something given the city's astonishing breadth of options. L.A. has reached an apex in its specialty coffee culture a critical mass of talent personalizing the ubiquitous beverage with obsessive brewing and roasting techniques, connections to farmers and originality with flavor combinations. Endorffeine exemplifies the moment. Benchakul favors a Nordic style of coffee roasting lighter, more expressive of the beans terroir than its roasted flavors, notes of berries or citrus or stone fruit or spices, sometimes combined, like you can discern in elegantly made wine and carefully crafted loose-leaf tea. Many of the specialty coffee bars that brew and sell multiple roasters' beans prefer this approach. The wonders of fermentation: I taste peaches and cinnamon in a pour-over Benchakul makes using Burundi beans from Brooklyn-based Sey, the roaster whose beans he brews more than any other. Angelenos tend to vibe with places where excellence and personal narrative intersect. He keeps his gaze on the pour-over while I rev up my friendly interrogation. Todays subject is grind consistency; Ive been reading how some coffee experts believe pour-overs should be made with the beans pulverized to a powdery fineness. Benchakul pushes up his glasses with his forefinger and thumb as he considers this. I actually take a near-opposite approach, he says. We talk this through as I sip my coffee a cup filled with the platonic ideal of what Id like to be brewing each morning in my own kitchen and I think about how much I still have to learn. (Sam Alden / For The Times) What makes Los Angeles a city with a world-class coffee culture? Its the same ingredient that gifts us with a peerless dining scene: pluralism. It isnt only our vastness, populated by people of all backgrounds who fuel themselves with caffeine to start or keep powering through their days. Weve reached a decisive moment of quality and diversity around coffee in L.A. You can drink finely tuned espressos, cold brews and set-the-bar-high drip coffee in every nook of the region. You can seek out traditions from all over the world, from coffee ceremonies in Little Ethiopia to sand-brewed Turkish coffees at a knafeh pop-up in Northridge. Baristas and coffee bar owners reflect our communities. They pour their own narratives into the atmospheres they create; the philosophies they share with the roasters from which they source, the small farms from which they buy beans and the bakers whose pastries they sell; and the entrepreneurial impulses they follow into roasting and expanding their businesses. Angelenos tend to vibe with places where excellence and personal narrative intersect. Maru founders Joonmo Kim and Jacob Park, as one example, named their growing company from two syllables of the Korean word sanmaru, or mountaintop a reference to both the high altitudes at which premium coffee is often grown and also the tranquil surroundings of Buddhist temples set in the mountains of Korea. If you stick around to drink your cream-top iced coffee in either their Los Feliz or Arts District shops, you can sense the serenity Kim and Park hope to foster in the clean lines and light woods of their design. Part of what makes Benchakul such a standout figure is the way he integrated his scientist and coffee-lover identities: He was working in cancer research at a biopharmaceutical company when he landed a job at now-closed Cafe Demitasse in Little Tokyo and switched professions in 2011. (Demitasse and its chocolatey, nerd-magnet Kyoto-style cold brew, extracted in what looked like a chemistry set designed by Dale Chihuly, was my entryway into the local specialty coffee as a frequent traveler to L.A. before I moved here in 2018.) Talking about calcium content in the brewing water as a means to a sweeter-tasting espresso at Endorffeine could sound like the height of pretension. If you talk with Benchakul, though, he radiates sincerity. His aim is simply to make coffee youll love. The upshot of so many choices in Los Angeles: Its the ultimate city in which to ask, What am I looking for in a coffee shop experience? There are as many answers as there are questions. A starting point might be: How about you tell me where to get a regular ol cup of good coffee without so much chatter? Its a fair ask, and Ill start by directing you to Go Get Em Tiger and Civil Coffee; each has multiple locations. But far more specific desires can be fulfilled here too. Looking to feel a sense of belonging? I find that at LGBTQ-friendly Bloom & Plume in Historic Filipinotown; the coffeehouse, with its iris-purple exterior, feels like an aesthetic and spiritual extension of Maurice Harris next-door floral design studio of the same name. Somewhere to work without distraction? Goodboybob in Santa Monica looks like the swank living room Ill probably never in fact occupy; Sip & Sonder in Inglewood is unusually spacious yet cozy; and Eightfold in Echo Park is small and minimalist but frequented by regulars staring into their laptops with as much intensity as I soon hope to be. A place to browse boxes and bags of beans with tempting tasting notes from roasters all over the world? Dayglow, with locations in Silver Lake and West Hollywood, is my candy store for Nordic-style roasts. A destination for trying something entirely new in the coffee realms? I gladly join the line trailing ceaselessly out the door of Kumquat in Highland Park. Its menu of espressos and pour-overs is a living document; theres always a roaster Ive never heard of, beans from corners of the coffee-growing world with which Im unfamiliar, and a staffer behind the counter ready with enlightening talking points. In its dedication to showcasing emerging roasters, Kumquat feels most like the place where the future of coffee drinking in L.A. is unfolding in real time, batch by batch. Plenty of coffee drinkers are not looking for new. They might be open to the latest experimental natural wine, or rotate flavors of boba to see if they prefer yuzu or passion fruit, but there is no varying from the morning vanilla latte or dark roast with three sugars. Coffee is the stuff of daily routines and personal rituals. This is true in my household. I have come to coffee obsession late in life, really in the four years Ive been with The Times. Ive been a serious tea drinker for much longer; pour-overs, as Im reminded by visiting friends who want their joe strong and viscous and dont much appreciate my fiddly efforts, are as close to tea as brewed coffee veers. During a few recent, rewarding and jittery weeks spent criss-crossing the metro area for coffee research, I started from my purists stance: I drank mostly pour-overs and straight espresso shots or minimum-milk macchiatos. The clarity of the coffee flavor was the sole objective. Kumquat changes its lineup of coffees monthly, including additions of restrained, calibrated coffee drinks. For February, the shop introduced a Valentines-themed concoction: the Ruby Marocchino espresso mixed with hot chocolate ganache and pineberry syrup. It tasted like strawberries and pineapple dipped in chocolate, plus coffee. I couldnt deny the appeal. It reminded me that part of the greatness of L.A. coffee and otherwise is an openness to creative statement. I began to imbibe with a more open mind. This is how I came to admire the espresso tonic at Mandarin Coffee Stand in Pasadena. Sherry Gao uses homemade pineapple jam rather than a typical citrus accent, and it pings the drink with equal sweetness and tartness. At Thank You Coffee in Chinatown and Anaheim, the signature blue pandan milk turns more gray than cerulean, but pandans herbal-vanilla flavor weds with the coffee to create a haunting third taste. Any limiting dogma that remained in me dissolved when I walked into Dudley Market in Venice a couple of Sundays ago. I was there for the Hooked coffee pop-up that runs out of the restaurant most mornings. I didnt know much about Hooked when I arrived; a trusted colleague had recommended it. The barista had his back to me when I approached the counter; he pulled espresso shots while carrying on a conversation with a woman sitting at the bar near his workstation. When the barista turned around, I realized who it was: Christopher Nicely Abel Alameda, a legend in the L.A. coffee scene who has won multiple latte art competitions. You dont forget Alameda. Hes one of those people who seems as if a sunlike source of light surges out of him. I met him last year when he was manning the bar at the Silver Lake location of Dayglow. I was looking for advice on which beans to buy, and he had plenty to say. He moved fast, talked fast and had a bedrock confidence about coffee that came off as reassuring rather than arrogant. I asked him at Hooked what I should order. He suggested a cafe rico, an espresso drink from his days as the founding barista at Menottis Coffee Shop less than a mile away. Alameda scents a cortado with orange zest, vanilla syrup and cinnamon nothing outlandish or alchemical but a drink in perfect proportions. The swerving, heart-shaped art drawn with foamed milk was, as ever, gorgeous. Its a modern L.A. classic, as satisfying in its own way as Benchakuls pour-overs. Coffee, at home or out in the world, is so much about personal taste. But in the land of possibility, if you trust a favorite barista, you never know what wonderful universes might open at the bottom of a cup. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) points to his press secretary Dmitry Pekov in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on November 9, 2022. Contributor/Getty Images Much of Putin's presidential administration is opposed to the Ukraine war, the FT reported. But there's been only a handful of people willing to confront him or step down since the war began. Putin's tendency to surround himself with yes-men has become a fatal flaw, per the FT. Many people serving in President Vladimir Putin's executive office are privately opposed to his war in Ukraine, but can't openly say so, according to a new report. Members of Russia's presidential administration and economic cabinet have told friends they are against the war, according to the Financial Times, whose report drew on the insight of multiple unnamed Putin confidants and former officials. The presidential administration consists of top-level officials who act as the leader's executive office. Over the course of the war there has been a steady trickle of reports indicating unease among high-ranking Kremlin insiders, but this is among the most powerful yet. "It's really a unique war in world history, when all the elite is against it," one former senior official said, according to the FT. Some officials have left. One high-ranking advisor, Anatoly Chubais, resigned his position last March, while another unnamed former senior official has left for private business and applied for an Israeli passport as part of a plan to exit the country, the FT reported. Another unnamed advisor confronted Putin directly about the failings of the war in October, as The Washington Post reported, citing US intelligence. People close to the president told the FT that Putin's fatal flaw is his weakness for loyalty valuing this over competence. "They need to be honest with him and they are not," a figure close to Putin told the paper. "The management system is a huge problem. It creates big gaps in his knowledge and the quality of the information he gets is poor." Those who Putin trusts to help guide his decisions is a vanishingly small group. Even his own foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, was wrong-footed by the announcement of the war, only learning about it hours before, the FT reported. Story continues And as the war faltered, Putin has attempted to break out of his famed isolation by consulting, per the FT, with hyper-nationalist bloggers, who are known for their unvarnished assessment of the country's military progress. But these rumblings have done little to deter Putin from his warpath, even as the predicted rout in Ukraine has turned into a year-long struggle with no end in sight. Read the original article on Business Insider A performer showing her rabbit toy at a Spring Festival celebratory event in Berlin last month.[Photo provided by Ren Pengfei/Xinhua] The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China has launched a cute and soft rabbit figure, which has a pair of big, long ears, and a red suit with golden trim, to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit. Designed by artists from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, the doll is named "auspicious rabbit". Not only is it eye-catching, but a meme featuring the cuddly character is also attracting attention, and has been shared nearly 100,000 times on the WeChat platform alone. During Chinese New Year, this rabbit "traveled overseas" and was presented, as a gift, to many politicians and celebrities in various countries, sending the festive wishes of Chinese people to their international friends in Russia, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, and many other destinations. In addition to the image of this "auspicious bunny", as a symbol of Chinese zodiac culture, the rabbit has naturally and subtly brought countries closer together during the Spring Festival holiday. A rabbit-themed tram runs through the streets of Rome; the ice sculpture of a rabbit shines on the ridge of the Jungfrau in Switzerland; and China, Hungary, Fiji and other countries have jointly issued stamps for the Year of the Rabbit. Leaders from different countries have also expressed their love for the rabbit and their hopes for the lunar new year. For example, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered a video message marking Lunar New Year, while the Prime Minister of Thailand, Prayuth Chan-ocha, dressed in a traditional Chinese costume and holding the "auspicious rabbit" in his hands, sent his best wishes to people in Mandarin. With the start of the Year of the Rabbit, the animal that rules this year in Chinese tradition believed by many as one of the gentlest and most adorable of the 12 zodiac signs has become the star of numerous exhibitions around the world, from the United States to Portugal. In May 2019, Christie's in New York auctioned a 104-centimeter-high stainless steel sculpture, Rabbit, for $91 million. The polished metal sculpture emulates the style of a balloon animal. The sky-high price made its creator, Jeff Koons, the world's most expensive living artist. He is just one of many artists who have created art based on the floppy-eared mammal. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York recently launched Celebrating the Year of the Rabbit, an exhibition that will run until Feb 4 next year. It brings together 16 outstanding works of Chinese art from the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection, stating that the rabbit is a popular character that often appears in Chinese literature and folk tales, and has been an important artistic subject since ancient times. The image of the rabbit first appeared on jade pendants and bronze objects that were used in rituals during the Shang (c. 16th century-11th century BC) and Zhou (c. 11th century-256 BC) dynasties. According to Chinese mythology, the rabbit inhabited the moon to accompany fairy Chang'e and prepares the elixir of immortality. The legend was embodied on the backs of bronze mirrors from the 8th to 10th centuries, and was embroidered in silk patterns of the 19th century. Recently, a Portuguese artist presented a collage featuring rabbits made from waste material from the streets of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia, resulting in relief-like images. The collage, entitled Half Rabbit, is an imposing, 10-meter-high work of art. As an expression of street art, it was created by the artist Bordallo II with the help of the nonprofit art group, Mistaker Maker. Located on the protruding corner of a building, the artwork features a rabbit, which on one side of the wall is bright and colorful, and on the other drab shades of browns and grays. It was designed to raise awareness of the environment by drawing the attention to the amount of waste people discard. Zhang Yiwu, professor of the Department of Chinese and director of the Cultural Resources Research Center at Peking University, said in a previous interview with China News Service that the world's common understanding of the "Chinese concept" stems from both the nature of the festival itself and the rise of China. Raquel Evita Saraswati in 2007 A social justice advocate is being outed by her own mother, who claims her daughter is lying about her own racial identity. According to The Intercept, Raquel Evita Saraswati is a Muslim activist who has been identifying herself as a Latina, as well as a woman of South Asian and Arab descent. Carol Perone, however, said her daughter was born as Rachel Elizabeth Seidel and she is simply white. I call her Rachel, Perone told The Intercept. I dont know why shes doing what shes doing. The post Mother Of Social Justice Advocate And Muslim Activist Claims Her Daughter Is Lying About Her Race appeared first on Blavity. Saraswati works as the chief equity, inclusion, and culture officer for the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization focused on progressive values and social justice advocacy in the U.S. and abroad. Perone said her daughter is of British, German and Italian descent. Im as white as the driven snow and so is she, Perone said. During her conversation with The Intercept, Perone shared photos of Saraswati as a child. The photos, according to the outlet, showed that Saraswatis complexion was much lighter when she was younger. Perone also said her daughter converted to Islam in high school. According to Perone, Saraswati wanted to portray herself as having a different ethnic identity. Im German and British, and her father was Calabrese Italian, Perone said. Shes chosen to live a lie, and I find that very, very sad. Oskar Pierre Castro, a human resources professional who works for an organization partnering with AFSC, said Sarawati presented herself as a queer, Muslim, multiethnic woman. It really touched all the points, Castro, who works for the Quaker group known as Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, told The Intercept. Castro, who participated in the search committee to fill Sarawatis position, said she seemed to be a great for the diversity position. In my mind it was, Great, a person of color, a queer person of color, who happens to be a Muslim, its a woman, all these things, and someone who seemed to get it, he said. I definitely feel conned. I feel deceived. The AFSC addressed the allegations in a statement to The Intercept. We are in receipt of the documentation alleging that our Chief Equity, Inclusion, and Culture Officer, Raquel Saraswati, has been misrepresenting her identity, the organization stated. AFSC has given Raquel the opportunity to address the allegations against her, and Raquel stands by her identity. Raquel also assures us that she remains loyal to AFSCs mission, which we firmly believe. Mount Gibson Iron (ASX:MGX) First Half 2023 Results Key Financial Results Revenue: AU$152.0m (up 456% from 1H 2022). Net income: AU$7.40m (up from AU$65.6m loss in 1H 2022). Profit margin: 4.9% (up from net loss in 1H 2022). The move to profitability was driven by higher revenue. All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Mount Gibson Iron Earnings Insights Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 36% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, while revenues in the Metals and Mining industry in Australia are expected to remain flat. Performance of the Australian Metals and Mining industry. The company's shares are down 3.4% from a week ago. Risk Analysis You should learn about the 1 warning sign we've spotted with Mount Gibson Iron. 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 The Russian occupiers may be preparing provocations before the anniversary of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February; in particular, the movement of a convoy of military equipment without identification marks and manpower dressed in a pixel uniforms, similar to the uniform of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, was recorded near the border with Chernihiv Oblast. Source: Operational Command Pivnich (North) Quote: "The occupiers are preparing possible provocations for the anniversary of the full-scale invasion; most likely, the goal is to accuse the Ukrainian defenders of violating territorial integrity. Intelligence data confirms the movement of a convoy of military equipment without identification marks and troops dressed in the uniform similar to that worn by the Armed Forces of Ukraine were recorded near the border with Chernihiv Oblast. Details: The Operational Command added that the defence forces of Sivershchyna (Ukraine's north) keep the situation under control and, unlike the occupiers, have never resorted to such provocations. Quote: "Each soldier follows the generally accepted warfare rules, not encroaching on foreign territories, but exclusively protecting his native land from an insolent and treacherous enemy." In addition, the occupiers continue to shell the border settlements of Chernihiv Oblast with mortars. In particular, 9 strikes were reported from 07:50 to 08:45, reportedly from a 120 mm mortar, near Yeline village. There were no losses among personnel and equipment. There were no reports of casualties among the local population or damage to civilian infrastructure facilities. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Police question a woman during a Nov. 2 traffic stop where Eric Allen was fatally shot. A Wilson County grand jury has found that a Mt. Juliet police officer who fatally shot a passenger after a traffic stop in November did not act unlawfully, the district attorney general said. Sgt. Josh Lo will not be charged in the death of Eric Jermaine Allen, based on the grand jury's findings, 15th District Attorney General Jason Lawson said Wednesday. Previously:Family demands justice, reform after Mt. Juliet police shooting Attorney Terry Clayton, who represents the Allen family, told The Tennessean he intends to file a lawsuit and will request an investigation of the Mt. Juliet Police Department by the Department of Justice, claiming there was a lack of institutional control in the use of deadly force. The officer could have used non-lethal force to control the situation, according to Clayton. He said police should not have asked for Allens identification or for asked him to step out of the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle was a woman who was initially stopped allegedly for speeding and also having headlight that was out. Police camera video shows Allen moved from the passenger side of the car to the driver's side and began to drive away with the officer inside the vehicle. At the outset of the traffic stop, Lo spoke with the driver and the situation appeared calm. Eventually, the officer asked Allen to exit the vehicle, according to camera footage. Allen did not exit. Within seconds, he began to drive as Lo repeatedly shouted warnings while attempting to grab Allen in the vehicle. The officer used a taser as Allen continued to drive with the officer inside the vehicle. Mt. Juliet police described Lo as being "trapped" in the car. Allen was shot multiple times. Lo was placed on administrative leave. He returned to duty Nov. 30. Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on Twitter @ AndyHumbles. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Grand jury makes decision in shooting death involving Mt. Juliet police How to Retire in the United Kingdom (UK) Numerous European countries are among the worlds most attractive retirement destinations, and the United Kingdom (U.K.) is no exception. With its rustic villages, historic landmarks and lower cost of living, the U.K. can offer retirees the exact right amount of relaxation, excitement, and access to other European countries. Although the UK government recently closed its retirement visa program, its still possible to retire in the UK through other visa types. Heres how to do so and how to weigh the financial implications of retiring outside the United States. A financial advisor can help you plan for retirement, wherever it may take you. Find an advisor today. How Much Does It Cost to Retire in the United Kingdom? From lush countryside to bustling cities, the United Kingdom offers both tranquility and adventure to retirees. Whether you find rustic villages or a cultural center like Edinburgh more appealing, youll generally enjoy lower costs for travel, food, and housing than in the U.K. According to cost of living data aggregator Numbeo, the cost of living in the UK is 15.3% lower than the U.S. on average. In addition, rent is nearly 35% cheaper. That said, costs vary around the country. For example, you can live in the town of Bangor for a fraction of the cost of living in London. In terms of dollars, a retired couple can expect to spend about $1,500 for monthly living expenses, not including the price of housing. Depending on where you live, a one-bedroom apartment will roughly cost between $840 and $1,1o0 per month. Therefore, your budget should be around $2,500 a month, but your location will influence your food and housing costs. Furthermore, trips and excursions would incur additional expenses. Of course, if you have a budget far exceeding $2,500, retiring in the U.K. provides you with an excellent home base for vacationing in other European nations. A monthly income of $5,000 or more would potentially allow you to maintain your home in the U.K. while eating tapas in Barcelona or wandering the streets of Rome. Story continues Housing and Food As stated above, a typical one-bedroom apartment in the U.K. costs between $840 and $1,100 per month, according to Numbeo. However, if you want more space for storage or hosting visitors, a three-bedroom apartment costs more. Specifically, youll pay between $1,470 and $1,950 on average. These costs range widely, with a three-bedroom apartment costing almost $2,800 in Oxford. Similarly, food costs vary by region. For example, a meal for two in Aberdeen costs an average of $63.92, while the same meal would cost $88.22 in Bath. You can compare London to New York for another perspective on costs. Numbeo estimates that rent costs one-third less in London. For example, a one-bedroom apartment in the U.K.s capital costs about 2,480 per month, while a one-bedroom rents for around $3,800 in New York City. Likewise, the average dinner for two costs $85.02 at a mid-range restaurant in London, 15% less than a meal in The Big Apple. Overall, Numbeo reports consumer prices being about 25% cheaper in London. Therefore, retiring in a U.K. metropolis will likely be less expensive than in the biggest cities in the U.S. Getting an Initial Retirement Visa for the United Kingdom How to Retire in the United Kingdom (UK) The U.K. recently closed its retirement visa program, meaning retirees dont have a straightforward way to get into the country. Fortunately, the U.K.s other visa avenues are still open. So, retired couples can apply for work, ancestry or family visas. These visas have varying costs and requirements. For example, the work visa involves committing to work for several years, with specific visas for doctors and religious ministers. You also can qualify for a visa through other types of work, such as skilled labor or business investment. On the other hand, you can qualify for an ancestry or family visa by proving a family tie to a citizen of the U.K. Ancestry visas are granted to those with a parent or grandparent from the U.K., while a family visa means you have a spouse, fiancee, civil partner, child or parent who is a U.K. citizen. So, retiring in the U.K. is more challenging than a country like Thailand, which has straightforward income requirements. To retire in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, you generally have two options: commit to investing in a business or working for five years, or prove a family tie to a U.K. citizen. If you choose the former option, you could move to the U.K. five years before you intend to fully retire to make your last five years of work count toward your retirement plans. Next Steps on Your Visa If you secure a work, family or ancestry visa, youll need to live in the country for five years. Upon hitting this milestone, you can apply for permanent settlement status, granting you indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK. Similarly, if you obtained a retirement visa before the U.K. shuttered its policy, you can also acquire ILR after living in the country for five years. Healthcare in the United Kingdom The U.K. has a nationalized healthcare system, meaning most healthcare expenses come from taxes. As a result, accessing healthcare is inexpensive, but you might wait longer to get in for a procedure, especially if its elective. On the other hand, as an industrialized country, the U.K. has excellent health outcomes and cost control. Plus, unlike Medicare, the U.K.s National Health Service (NHS) has no age requirements. Therefore, you can retire in the U.K. at any age and have health insurance, guaranteed. That said, certain forms of care, such as diabetes treatments and hip replacements, are more accessible in the U.S. Taxes in the United Kingdom You will generally pay taxes on your retirement income if you live in the U.K. However, like the U.S., the U.K. grants several tax deductions called allowances like self-employment and marriage. Below, find the U.K.s tax rates by income level, converted from pounds to dollars: Income Level (Band) Taxable Income Tax Rate Personal Allowance $0-$15,095 0% Basic Rate $15,101-$60,371 20% Higher Rate $60,371-$150,285 40% Additional Rate Over $150,285 45% Reasons You May Not Want to Retire in the United Kingdom How to Retire in the United Kingdom (UK) As the table above displays, taxes might be a reason to avoid retiring in the U.K. For example, youd pay ordinary income taxes of 12% in the U.S. with an income of $65,000 if you are married and filing jointly. On the other hand, this income level would incur a 40% tax rate in the U.K. Plus, the US government will likely tax your pensions and Social Security income regardless of where you settle down. Likewise, transferring your retirement accounts to the U.K. and converting them to pounds can incur additional fees. As a result, your retirement accounts likely dont represent an apples-to-apples comparison in pounds. Its wise to consult a financial advisor about the financial implications of retiring in the U.K. with your unique circumstances. Lastly, retiring in the U.K. now requires you to work if you dont have a close relative or spouse with citizenship. This dynamic complicates retirement plans, as youll have to work for five years before applying for indefinite leave to remain to secure your place in the U.K. The Bottom Line Your retirement goal to reside in the U.K. during your golden years is achievable, despite the U.K. government tightening its visa regulations. If youre willing to work for five years or you have a relative with U.K. citizenship, you can qualify for a visa to get into the country. With a lower cost of living, historic sites and an extensive coastline, its an excellent place to enjoy your golden years. However, if you have a chronic health condition, you may experience worse health outcomes than in the U.S. In addition, the U.K. levies higher income taxes, decreasing your ability to afford city living and travel. All that said, the U.K. is an English-speaking, industrialized country with plenty of attractions, activities and quiet corners. Its best to discuss your retirement plans with a financial advisor to see if living in the U.K. is viable for you. Tips for Retiring in the United Kingdom Retiring at home or abroad requires sufficient income. A financial advisor can help you create or modify a financial plan, optimally manage assets and navigate your unique tax situation. Finding a qualified financial advisor doesnt have to be hard. SmartAssets free tool matches you with up to three financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If youre ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now. Retiring modestly in the UK could cost about $2,500 per month. The average Social Security distribution for a newly retired 65-year-old is around that amount. To see how far your benefit could take you, try our Social Security calculator. Photo credit: iStock.com/CHUNYIP WONG, iStock.com/dave_valler, iStock.com/HerbySussex The post How to Retire in the United Kingdom (UK) appeared first on SmartAsset Blog. Nasas James Webb Space Telescope has found a set of massive galaxies that should not exist. The equipment was used to observe a set of massive galaxies that formed around 500-700 million years after the Big Bang, when the universe was only 3 per cent of its current age. Those galaxies have stellar masses as high as ten billion times that of our Sun, and one that could be as massive as 100 billion of our Sun. In all, scientists found six galaxies, which together threaten to change what scientists know about the beginnings of galaxies in our universe. Researchers say they refer to the objects as universe breakers and that they are in tension with 99 per cent of existing models of the universe. The six galaxy candidates that could change our understanding of the cosmos (NASA) Such galaxies should not be expected to be so big so soon after the beginnings of the universe, the researchers say. The mass of the stars examined in the new research are as much as 100 times greater than researchers had previously thought. These objects are way more massivea than anyone expected, said Joel Leja, assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State, who modeled light from the galaxies, in a statement. We expected only to find tiny, young, baby galaxies at this point in time, but weve discovered galaxies as mature as our own in what was previously understood to be the dawn of the universe. If they can be confirmed, they suggest that our history of the early cosmos may be wrong, and that galaxies grew far more quickly than we realised. That would require changing either our models of the universe or our understanding of how galaxies began. We looked into the very early universe for the first time and had no idea what we were going to find, Leja said. It turns out we found something so unexpected it actually creates problems for science. It calls the whole picture of early galaxy formation into question. But scientists caution that the distance and age of the galaxies mean that they cannot be absolutely sure what they are. Some might turn out to be supermassive black holes, researchers say but with six candidates, a number of them are likely to really be galaxies, as suspected. Story continues If even one of these galaxies is real, it will push against the limits of our understanding of cosmology, said Erica Nelson, co-author of the new research and assistant professor of astrophysics at the University of Colorado Boulder. And even other objects would still be shocking, researchers say. Another possibility is that these things are a different kind of weird object, such as faint quasars, which would be just as interesting, said Professor Nelson. The findings could be confirmed by taking spectrum images of the galaxies, which would better confirm how far away they are and what they are made up of. That in turn would let scientist understand what they might look like and how big they are. The new study, A population of red candidate massive galaxies ~600 Myr after the Big Bang, is published in Nature today. The water running through the pipes and plumbing in your childs school may have some lead in it. Thats according to a new nationwide report from the Environment America Research and Policy Center. As part of its research, the organization graded every state on its current regulations. It shows Washington State received a C+ grade for its policies addressing lead in the water at schools. This report found as schools test their water, theyre discovering widespread lead contamination. John Rumpler with Environment America Research and Policy Center said this is concerning because lead is very toxic and it can be damaging to kids. Its not that schools water is the only way that kids are affected from lead. But it is a clearly preventable way that is in the public domain of responsibility, said Rumpler. This is where families send their kids and put their kids in the public trust and say, we are trusting you to ensure that our kids have a safe, healthy environment for learning - the least they should expect is that the water is safe for their kids to drink. The report found some schools are fixing taps following a positive test for lead concentration in the water. But researchers say lead levels in water can also vary which means its possible to miss contamination even with proper sampling. Rumpler believes schools should take more proactive steps to prevent exposure. This includes replacing all taps used for drinking or cooking with filters certified to remove lead. Replacing lead-bearing parts over time so that were actually getting the lead out of our schools water delivery systems, especially where there are these lead service lines. These toxic pipes weve heard about, there are literally millions of them across the country, he said. Rumpler said theres also federal funding available for schools through the American Rescue Plan. Additionally, Congress approved more than $55 billion to replace lead pipes and lines as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. You can view the report and recommendations here: https://environmentamerica.org/center/resources/get-the-lead-out/ By Andrew Gray, Johnny Cotton and Sabine Siebold BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The war in Ukraine must bring an end to "a cycle of Russian aggression" that goes back much further than the invasion Moscow launched a year ago, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday. In an interview with Reuters on the eve of the first anniversary of Moscow's attack, Stoltenberg said the invasion was part of a pattern that included Russian military action in Georgia in 2008 and Donbas and Crimea in Ukraine in 2014. "We don't know when the war will end. But what we do know is that when the war ends, we need to ensure that history doesn't repeat itself," Stoltenberg said. "We need to ensure that we break the cycle of Russian aggression. We need to prevent Russia from chipping away at European security," he told Reuters at NATO's glass-walled headquarters on the outskirts of Brussels. He said this meant ensuring that "Ukraine has the military capabilities, the strength to deter further aggression." Beyond providing Ukraine with munitions to help repel Russia's invasion, NATO allies have also begun talking to Kyiv about a longer-term partnership, Stoltenberg said. This included helping Kyiv to modernize its defence and security institutions and to move from Soviet-era equipment, doctrines and standards to their NATO equivalents, he said. Russia sent tens of thousands of troops over its border into Ukraine last year in what it called a "special military operation" saying it was countering threats to its own security. It has regularly disputed assertions by the West, Kyiv and Tbilisi about its military actions, saying it intervened in Georgia to protect people in disputed regions there. It denied backing separatists in Ukraine's Donbas region in 2014 and said its annexation of Crimea was backed by a referendum, which Kyiv and the West say violated Ukraines constitution and international law. Story continues 'UNREAL EXPERIENCE' Recalling the day President Vladimir Putin sent Russian forces into Ukraine last year, Stoltenberg said the huge significance of the moment was immediately clear. Even though NATO had received and widely shared intelligence warnings that Moscow would invade, Stoltenberg said it was still an "unreal experience" to see "more than 100,000 troops entering a democratic, free independent country in Europe." "This is now the biggest security crisis, the biggest war we have seen since the Second World War," said Stoltenberg, 63, a former prime minister of Norway who has been NATO chief since 2014. "We all realised that day that there was a Europe, there was a world, before and a world after Feb. 24," he said. NATO members, led by the United States, have provided billions of dollars of arms and ammunition to Ukraine, supplying increasingly advanced weapons systems as the war has gone on. NATO has also sent thousands more troops to eastern Europe as alliance members there fear they could be Moscow's next target. Stoltenberg said NATO members were working to both support Ukraine and to prevent the conflict escalating to become a "full-fledged war between Russia and NATO". "That's the reason why we have significantly increased our military presence in the eastern part of the alliance, to send a very clear message to Moscow that an attack on one ally will trigger a response from the whole alliance," he said. "This is not to provoke a conflict but to prevent a conflict, to preserve peace, and to remove any room for miscalculation in Moscow," he added. Stoltenberg has led NATO through tumultuous times, including the U.S. presidency of Donald Trump, whose criticism of the alliance cast doubt on Washington's commitment to NATO, and also during the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from Afghanistan. Having had his tenure extended three times, he declared this month he had no intention of seeking a further extension when his current term finishes at the end of September this year. Asked if he might still be open to a further extension if NATO member countries asked him to accept one, he said: "I have nothing more to say about that beyond what I've already said." (Reporting by Andrew Gray, Sabine Siebold and Johnny Cotton; Writing by Andrew Gray; Editing by Andrew Heavens) The Shadowless Tower, one of two Chinese-language films competing for top awards at the 73rd Berlin Film Festival, recently held its global premiere in Berlin, marking director Zhang Lu's fourth-time participating in the event. The 144-minute movie, starring actor Xin Baiqing and actress Huang Yao, was filmed on location in the streets and architecture surrounding the iconic White Pagoda located inside the Miaoying Temple in downtown Beijing. Through a poetic tale, the film explores the culture of the Chinese capital and how its unique characteristics have an impact on the lives of its residents. Xin plays Gu Wentong, a food critic who is divorced and entrusts his daughter's care to his sister. Gu had a troubled childhood, with his father (played by director-actor Tian Zhuangzhuang) leaving the family when he was just 5 years old. Gu discovers that his father resides in a seaside town approximately 300km from Beijing and struggles to reconnect with him while also dealing with relationship issues with a young photographer. All of these challenges prompt Gu to reconsider his roles as a father, son and lover. During a news conference at the Berlin festival, director Zhang discussed the Chinese elements featured in the movie, highlighting the significance of the White Pagoda in the urban context of Beijing. He explained the basic colors of the city are gray and a more elegant brownish-red, and a white tower like the White Pagoda stands out in this context, allowing people to imagine many things. Alcohol sales are coming to the small town of Alamo, Nevada. On Tuesday, the Lincoln County Commission voted unanimously to end the towns dry ordinance which had been in effect since 1985, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Bars still wont be allowed in Alamo, but residents and visitors will be able to buy beer, wine, and liquor when the repeal takes effect in the coming weeks. Alamo is an unincorporated town in Lincoln County, about 90 miles north of Las Vegas. A significant number of its early settlers were Mormon, and a majority of its roughly 1,100 residents today are members of the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The church generally asks its followers to abstain from alcohol consumption, and Alamo made that position its official town policy when it passed the prohibition nearly four decades ago. Alamo was far from the only town in the country with a ban on alcohol sales. Panaca, another town in Lincoln County, has a ban as well, as do several predominantly Mormon communities in Utah but town officials felt that their ban was making it difficult for its top businesses to survive. Were doing it to keep a level playing field with the businesses outside of town, town board Chairman Vern Holaday told the Lincoln County commission in comments reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Its not like theres going to be a bar in every corner in town. Mr Holaday said the town board had been particularly concerned about the future of the Great Basin Foods supermarket and the attached Sinclair gas station particularly in the wake of news that a Las Vegas-based grocery store chain proposed building a motel, gas station, and market selling liquor at a site just outside Alamo. The chain, Green Valley Grocery, already has a market selling alcohol in nearby Ash Springs. Mr Holaday told the publication that the repeal of the prohibition will not allow for a possibility of a bar opening in the town because county law prohibits alcohol sales within 1,500 feet of a church, school or other alcohol business, and Alamo is just over a mile across. At their meeting on Tuesday, per the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Commissioner Janine Woodworth had a message for people who dont want to allow alcohol sales in Alamo: You dont have to buy it if you dont want to drink it, Ms Woodworth said. GOSHEN - A Newburgh man was sentenced Wednesday to 16 to 19 years in state prison for manslaughter and other charges in connection with the death of his on-and-off girlfriend in 2019. Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler said Matthew Mercado, 40, of Newburgh, pleaded guilty on Aug. 5, 2022, to second-degree manslaughter, second-degree burglary and tampering with physical evidence, all felonies. Those charges were connected to the death of Jessica Lopez, a 36-year-old city of Newburgh woman who was last seen Nov. 3, 2019, at the Windsor Motel in the town of New Windsor. Jessica Lopez Hoovler said that Mercado admitted that he and Lopez were alone inside a room at that motel around 5 a.m. on that date when he caused her death by giving her a variety of illegal narcotics and drugs. Hoovler said those narcotics and drugs caused Lopez to have a severe adverse reaction, but Mercado failed to get medical help for her. Instead, Hoovler said, Mercado kept Lopez concealed inside the motel room, where she died. Mercado admitted that had Lopez received medical treatment, she could have survived, and his actions caused her death. More than 50 people gather in Nov. 2020 to celebrate the life of Jessica "Yessica" Lopez who went missing a year earlier. Hoovler said that under New York's Good Samaritan Law, if Mercado had sought medical attention for Lopez, he could not have been charged with narcotics possession or even for giving the narcotics to her. The burglary charge reflected the fact that Mercado stole a handbag and a bookbag from an adjacent room at the Windsor Motel that was occupied by three female high school students, and the tampering with physical evidence charge was for the fact that he hid Lopez's body after she died. According to Hoovler, later on Nov. 3, 2019, Mercado removed Lopez's body from the motel room and hid it in the trunk of her car. Downtown revitalization: State awards grants to Port Jervis, Sleepy Hollow, Cornwall Tax breaks: James Skoufis launching probe into Orange County IDA Tik Tok video: Two Middletown school employees under investigation Story continues As part of Mercado's plea agreement, he agreed to provide accurate information on where he hid her body, to aid authorities in recovering her remains. He admitted to disposing of her body in a particular dumpster in Newburgh. At the time of Mercado's plea, an extensive search was made of the Pennsylvania landfill that accepted the contents of that dumpster. Hoovler said he was present while police officers and cadaver dogs searched the landfill for Lopez's remains, but they were not found. New Windsor Police Chief Robert Doss discusses a murder indictment in the disappearance and death of Jessica Lopez of Newburgh while District Attorney David Hoovler, left, and members of the New Windsor Police department listens on Friday, Nov. 6, 2020. "Unfortunately, despite those efforts, it is unlikely that Ms. Lopez's remains will ever be found," Hoovler said in a statement. Mercado's attorney, Natasha Turner, issued a statement on his behalf. "While nothing can undo the loss for the Lopez family, we hope this plea and the cooperation with investigators provides some closure for the Lopez family," Turner said in her statement. "Mr. Mercado accepted the plea and sentence in an effort to spare the family the added pain of a trial." Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Times Herald-Record, Poughkeepsie Journal and The Journal News/lohud. Reach him at mrandall@th-record.com or on Twitter @mikerandall845 This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Newburgh man going to prison for 2019 death of Newburgh woman A ball of fire erupts from the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, on April 19, 1993. Eighty-one Davidians, including leader David Koresh, perished as federal agents tried to drive them out of the compound. A few weeks earlier four agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were slain in a shootout at the site. (Jerry W. Hoefer/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT) A ball of fire erupts from the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, on April 19, 1993. Eighty-one Davidians, including leader David Koresh, perished as federal agents tried to drive them out of the compound. A few weeks earlier four agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were slain in a shootout at the site. (Jerry W. Hoefer/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT) New footage from an upcoming documentary series offers a look behind the scenes during the deadly 1993 siege of the Branch Davidian cult compound in Waco, Texas. And it reveals some chilling words from the cults leader, a self-proclaimed prophet named David Koresh. They think Im the son of God, Koresh says in old footage in the trailer for the upcoming Netflix series Waco: American Apocalypse. Federal agents attempted a raid on the compound on Feb. 28, 1993, after an eight-month investigation found the cult had stockpiled a massive arsenal of weapons. Four agents and six cultists were killed in the resulting shootout. That kicked off what would turn into a 51-day siege of the facility, and the frantic negotiations to try to end it are detailed in the new documentary. But a recorded voice presumably that of Koresh, speaking to negotiators indicates the cultists had other plans. OK, yall been preparing eight months for this, the voice says. How long do you think weve been preparing? The siege ended in tragedy on April 19, 1993, when the FBI tried to clear the compound with tear gas. Instead, the cultists set fire to the facility. In the events that followed, 76 cultists including Koresh and some two dozen children died. The three-part Netflix series, which premieres March 22, is built around recently unearthed videotapes filmed inside the FBIs Hostage Negotiation Command Post, as well as raw news footage never released to the American public, and FBI wiretap recordings. It also includes interviews with surviving cultists, FBI negotiators and members of the ATF team who took part in that initial shootout. Story continues The details of what happened during the 51-day standoff are complex and often ferociously debated, but rather than assigning blame or pointing fingers, we tried to treat it from a deeply humanist perspective focusing on what it feels like for people on all sides to be caught in the maws of history, director and executive producer Tiller Russell said in a news release. See the trailer below: While the announcement that Congressman David Cicilline is resigning to become the head of the Rhode Island Foundation has generated plenty of speculation on potential candidates to fill the spot, at least one Newport elected official has made it clear he won't be one of them. Newport Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong issued a video through his social media channels Wednesday night saying he will not be a candidate for the seat. "Over the past 24 hours my name has been floated as a candidate for Congress and while flattered I want to be the first to inform all of you that I will be staying in Newport to focus on my job serving as its mayor," Khamsyvoravong said. "The citizens of Newport and Newport City Council have given me the opportunity of a lifetime and I intend to continue to do that job until the work is done." Xay Khamsyvoravong Khamsyvoravong's announcement comes after initial remarks to multiple news outlets didn't exactly rule out a potential candidacy. "Until there's a timeline for the special election, CD1 owes its attention to recognizing Congressman Cicilline's service, and I owe my focus to the City of Newport," Khamsyvoravong said in a post reported by The Public's Radio's Ian Donnis. Khamsyvoravong is two months into his first elected role after becoming the top vote-getter in the November election for City Council. Serving as Newports Mayor is an honor of a lifetime. We are accomplishing so much together but there is a lot of work still to do. I look forward to continuing serving our beloved City by the Sea. pic.twitter.com/ZvmTDs92I6 Xay Khamsyvoravong (@XayForNewport) February 22, 2023 While Khamsyvoravong has ruled out a run, at least one other elected official from Newport has voiced interest in the role. State Sen. Dawn Euer, the new chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told The Providence Journal she is considering a run for the seat. Story continues After clearing the air on his decision, Khamsyvoravong went on to congratulate Cicilline and open the door to future collaborations. RI oyster farming:Where can oyster farms be located in RI? Proposed restrictions reopen debate in Tiverton "I'd like to congratulate Congressman Cicilline on his new role with the Rhode Island Foundation," Khamsyvoravong said. "We've been lucky to have you down in Washington, we're excited to have you back in Rhode Island and I look forward to working with you in the future." This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Newport Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong will not run for congressional seat Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, welcomed Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to the Kremlin on Wednesday amid U.S. concerns that Beijing is considering providing "lethal aid" to Moscow. (Anton Novoderezhkin / Kremlin Pool Photo) It seemed to be a scary example of bellicose warmongering foreshadowing a catastrophic escalation. But Russian President Vladimir Putins announcement this week that he was abandoning the last major nuclear arms control treaty may have been more symbolic than a threat of concrete action. Symbolic, but a mighty potent symbol. And one that may signal an end to global arms control agreements. Big mistake, President Biden said Wednesday in Warsaw when asked about Putins comments. At the end of a rambling speech Tuesday on the state of the nation, Putin said Russia was suspending its participation in the New START treaty, a 2011 pact in which Russia and the United States agreed to limits on strategic offensive arms, including the deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads. The treaty allows each country to have about 1,500 nuclear weapons. Early in the Biden administration, Washington and Moscow agreed to extend the New START treaty until Feb. 4, 2026. U.S. officials call it the bedrock of global nuclear arms control. A suspension, as Putin called it, is typically a prelude to complete withdrawal. But it is not fully clear what Putin intended. After his speech, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Russia would not deploy additional strategic nuclear weapons beyond the caps set in the treaty. On Wednesday, the Russian parliament, the Duma, voted unanimously to ratify the decision to suspend participation in the treaty, saying it would be up to the president to decide whether to resume compliance, the Russian news agency Tass reported. Yet as the New START treaty faces possible death, it is becoming increasingly clear that the decades-long era of international arms control pacts may also be fading at a time when nuclear-armed North Korea is asserting itself with numerous missile tests and Iran is moving ahead in its efforts to develop weapons-grade uranium, a main component in nuclear bombs. Even without the war in Ukraine, it was going to be difficult for Moscow and Washington to agree to a future START pact due to likely Russian demands, said Jeffrey Edmonds, a research scientist in Russia studies at the Center for Naval Analyses. Putins suspension is important and worrying, but not yet too ominous, he said. Story continues I dont know that it means Russia is going to suddenly run off and start producing a tremendous number of ICBMs, Edmonds said Wednesday during a panel discussion held by the Center for a New American Security. Thats very costly and its not clear what the use for that would be. ... We have the flexibility to respond to what the Russians are doing. Perhaps most important, at least in the short term, is that the announcement was a way for Putin to remind his adversaries that he has and can use nuclear bombs as he wages Europes deadliest conflict since World War II. Putins speech is not really about using nuclear weapons. It is about using nuclear threats, nuclear control expert Joseph Cirincione, former president of the Ploughshares Fund nonproliferation group, wrote in an opinion piece. He has to convince Western publics that they risk nuclear war by continuing to aid Ukraine, he said separately on MSNBC. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said the U.S. would wait to see what Russia actually does, given the theatrics of many statements from the Kremlin. Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Assn., a Washington-based nonproliferation organization, noted that Russia had already violated the New START agreement by shunning the resumption of required inspections, which were suspended at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and by refusing to exchange data on nuclear stockpiles. And earlier this year, Russian officials failed to attend a meeting with their U.S. counterparts to discuss START provisions. Putin, Kimball said, was saying, Im going to express my displeasure with the West. But if Putin actually released his nuclear arsenal, it would lead to a numerical arms race that neither side can afford, he added. Nevertheless, if the Russian leader is only threatening for effect, the gesture still is not a blip on the radar, Kimball said. The move comes at a time of decreasing control on nuclear arsenals worldwide there are few constraints on China, North Korea, Pakistan and a number of other nuclear-armed states. In Russia, the protocol for Putin or any president to launch a nuclear weapon is similar to the procedure in the U.S. Putin would have to issue an order to do so and the military would have to execute it. In theory, members of the military could question the order, but that would seem an extremely unlikely challenge to the Kremlin. Putin made veiled threats in the early days after he invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, launching a war that has claimed thousands of Ukrainian and Russian lives and displaced millions from their homes. His intention was to dissuade the U.S. and other NATO member states from arming Ukraine. That mission failed spectacularly. Several analysts said Putin would be tempted to use nuclear weapons only if he were convinced he was losing the war, his forces were on the brink of being routed and driven out of Ukraine, and he was about to lose Crimea, the valued peninsula on southern Ukraines Black Sea coast, which Russia occupied and illegally annexed in 2014. Not only would launching a nuclear weapon be disastrous for the parts of the world targeted and invite a response of unprecedented force, it would also hurt Putin domestically and politically, perhaps leading to his overthrow. These possibilities are deterrents for Putin. I see this as a clear signal from Putin to Biden that he did not appreciate his visit to Kyiv, said Sharon Ann Squassoni, a professor of international affairs at George Washington University and former arms control official at the State Department. Bidens feat of an unannounced visit to Kyiv, where he strolled city streets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, was a poke in the eye to Putin, who a year ago thought he would be able to roll into the capital and take over the country within weeks of the invasion. While his treaty suspension doesnt mean Putin is going to start down a nuclear path, Squassoni said, the frustration from the U.S. is that its yet another channel closed shut where we could have communicated with Russia. On Wednesday, Putin played host to Chinas foreign minister, Wang Yi, a signal of the ever-closer relationship between Moscow and Beijing amid concerns voiced by U.S. officials that China is considering providing lethal aid to Russia. Last year, just before the war in Ukraine began, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a pact of limitless cooperation. Xi has since been reluctant to profess full support for Russia in its war against Ukraine. Now, however, U.S. officials say they have new intelligence showing China has shifted to providing Russia with some of the weapons it desperately needs as its own production capacity falters. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Republican 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley said the Confederate flag is not racist in a 2010 interview, when she was running for South Carolina governor, that CNNs K-File unearthed on Wednesday. Haley also told the now-defunct Palmetto Patriots group, whose members included a white nationalist, that the Civil War was really about tradition versus change, and not slavery. She defended the right of states to secede and compared South Carolinas Confederate History Month with Black History Month. Five years later, then-Gov. Haley called for the removal of the flag from statehouse grounds following white nationalist Dylan Roofs massacre of nine people at a Black church in Charleston. Watch the K-File video below and read the full analysis here. Related... Immediately after her first swing through Iowa as a declared presidential candidate, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is announcing plans to return to the state in March. Haley will join Iowa's U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst for a foreign policy forum hosted by The Bastion Institute in West Des Moines March 10. Ernst was the first female combat veteran elected to the U.S. Senate, and she is serving her second term. "With China, Russia and Iran on the rise, the world desperately needs strong American leadership," Ernst said in a statement. "I look forward to leading a timely discussion with Ambassador Haley on important national security and foreign policy issues and their impact on hardworking Iowans." Ernst previously has hosted other national political figures at events for The Bastion Institute, a group founded in 2022, including potential presidential contender Mike Pompeo. Haley, who is also the former governor of South Carolina, announced her run for president earlier this month and just finished a two-day swing through Iowa that included stops in Urbandale and Marion. She focused her message on the need for "a new generation of leaders" and told Iowans it's time to move on from former President Donald Trump and "look forward." Haley's staff told the Des Moines Register they plan to announce additional events for her March trip at a later date. More:Nikki Haley is carving a lane in the Iowa caucuses as Donald Trump looms. Here's how: The return visit marks a notable increase in presidential activity in Iowa this month as Haley and others ramp up travel to the first-in-the-nation caucus state. Former Vice President Mike Pence rallied parents in Cedar Rapids around a "parents' rights" message. U.S. Sen. Tim Scott delivered a message of optimism and unity in Des Moines. And anti-"woke" businessman Vivek Ramaswamy made his first trip to Iowa Thursday after formally announcing Wednesday night he would run for president. Story continues Former Aransas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Michigan businessman Perry Johnson also have been in the state talking to Iowa Republicans. More:Iowa's 50 Most Wanted: These Republicans will help shape the 2024 presidential caucuses The most notable absence: Former President Donald Trump has not traveled to Iowa since announcing late last year he would again seek the Republican nomination. But his staff announced this week it has hired four senior staffers based in the state. Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Nikki Haley returning to Iowa for foreign policy forum in March Filmmaker Bai Zhiqiang spent five years creating "Like Father and Son," his first feature film, to shed light on China's "left-behind children" minors whose parents work in urban areas and leave them behind in rural areas. A still image from the film "Like Father and Son." [Photo courtesy of Elemeet] Bai, who is primarily known for his documentaries, was moved to action after learning that all the children in a school in Shaanxi province he visited while filming his documentary "The Blind Storytellers" (2014) were poverty-stricken left-behind children, with one-third being orphans or from single-parent households. When Bai inquired about their family situations, many of the children cried. Bai strongly wanted to help them, so he and his friends formed a charity and organized donation activities. As he continued to help them over the next two years, he learned more about their plight and the stories of ordinary people in the area. He realized that these children were not only deprived of material resources but also lacked emotional support and hope for the future. Bai felt compelled to give them a voice and decided to make a film about their lives. While many suggested a documentary, Bai opted to create a feature film, believing that it was his responsibility to bring these ordinary people's lives to the big screen. In 2018, Bai relocated to Qingcha village in the Qinling Mountains to write the script. The script underwent 12 revisions, with Bai citing the influence of his scriptwriting mentor Lu Wei, a renowned Chinese screenplay writer. Lu Wei is best known for his work on the classic Chinese films "Farewell My Concubine" and "To Live." Lu eventually agreed to be an executive producer of the film and assisted Bai in polishing and refining the script because the story deeply moved him. Bai's background in documentary filmmaking has instilled in him a profound appreciation for the importance of authenticity in cinema. He explained, "This time, we were so sincere, trying desperately to make the film as real as possible." Director Bai Zhiqiang speaks at a Beijing screening event for the film "Like Father and Son" on Feb. 20, 2023. Film producer Tian Jiaoping (2nd L) and two leading actors, Hui Wangjun and Bai Zeze, also attended the event. [Photo courtesy of Elemeet] Set in 2008 in northern Shaanxi, "Like Father and Son" follows the story of Gou Ren, a truck driver who seeks revenge after the loss of his son, and Mao Dou, a left-behind child whose path intersects with Gou Ren's when he sneaks aboard his truck in hopes of finding his own father. The film takes viewers on a heartwarming and comedic journey as the two unlikely companions bond while searching for their missing loved ones. The film features non-professional actors, including child actor Bai Zeze, who plays the central role and was discovered through a local audition of more than 1,000 rural students. The adult truck driver is played by the director's childhood friend Hui Wangjun. Despite the lack of professional training, the cast delivers impressive performances. Although Bai Zeze's parents were present during his childhood, he was raised among many other left-behind children. During filming, the director intentionally separated him from his parents to evoke a genuine outburst of emotions, and this method proved effective. "The child is an incredibly talented actor. He asked me for the script one day, saying everyone else had one, so why didn't he? I gave him the script, and to my surprise, he read it all in one go and remembered most of the lines. It was awe-inspiring," Bai expressed, regarding the child as the "chosen one." The director also had the adult actor, Hui Wangjun, grow out his hair and beard, refrain from bathing or socializing, and fully immerse himself in the role for three months before shooting. As a taxi driver in real life, Hui's scruffy appearance even frightened away customers who mistook him for a dangerous character. Hui Wangjun went to great lengths to embody his role, even making money on the side by selling goods in rural areas like his character and allowing the production team to subsidize their expenses. "Some people say that I always focus on marginalized characters. However, in reality, there are millions of people in China who share similarities with these characters, but they never receive an opportunity to have their stories showcased on the big screen," explained Bai. "Since I make films, which are 'talking machines,' I should use my films to speak for them and tell their stories. These small characters are regular people who constitute the majority of the world, and they represent the true 'mainstream.'" A poster for "Like Father and Son." [Photo courtesy of Elemeet] The film received critical acclaim at various film festivals, including the FIRST International Film Festival, Beijing International Film Festival, and Silk Road International Film Festival in 2020. It was nominated for the 23rd Shanghai International Film Festival's "Asian New Talent" award and named one of the top 10 new Chinese-language films at the 6th Cinephile Prize, held online in 2021. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a limited budget, and reedits, its wider release was delayed until now. It is due to hit cinemas nationwide on Feb. 25. Bai stated that he wished to dedicate the film to all young and middle-aged migrant rural workers and left-behind children who struggle at the bottom of society. However, he also received early feedback from his friends that the film moved them to tears, and they struggled to cope with the lingering mood and feelings. "Some people felt aggrieved and had no outlet to express themselves. But I never intended to upset or sadden the audience," said the director. "I even instructed my composer to tone down the music because adding even a small amount of music is unnecessary for a neo-realism film. So, eventually, we decided to use very restrained music to evoke the audience's emotions and leave them feeling as warm and moved as possible when they leave the cinema, without feeling sad." There appear to be no survivors after a twin-engine plane crashed shortly after it took off Wednesday from an airport in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Beechcraft BE200 went down after it departed from Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport at about noon, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a preliminary report. Five people were on the plane, which was headed to Columbus, Ohio. Pulaski County Sheriff's Lt. Cody Burk told reporters that authorities were in "recovery mode," NBC affiliate KARK of Little Rock reported. "Right now, there are no survivors that we can find," Burk said. CTEH, a science-based consulting firm, confirmed that five employees, including the pilot, were on the plane. All five were killed. The employees were not individually identified. We ask everyone to keep the families of those lost and the entire CTEH team in their thoughts and prayers," said Paul Nony, a senior vice president of CTEH. Officials said five people were on board an airplane that crashed near the Clinton National Airport just after noon Wednesday, with deputies at the scene saying there were no survivors found. (KARK) The team was on its way to respond to an incident at the I. Schumann & Co. metal alloy manufacturer in Ohio, CTEH said. An industrial blast at the plant killed a person and injured more than a dozen other people Monday. The cause of the blast was still under investigation. Multiple agencies responded to the crash, which occurred on a road outside a 3M manufacturing plant. The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to lead the investigation, as is typical with plane crashes. Burk said that the weather conditions were "not that good" but that he could not speculate on the cause of the crash. KARK meteorologist Pat Walker noted that a thunderstorm had moved into the area at the time of the crash, with wind gusts over 40 mph. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw told residents of East Palestine, Ohio, late Wednesday that he understands their anger after one of the companys freight trains derailed earlier this month and spilled toxic chemicals. I understand the anger, he told residents at a CNN town hall. Ive experienced it as Ive talked to the citizens of this community over the last 2 1/2 weeks. Its important to me that I hear directly from the citizens of East Palestine and what I can do and what Norfolk Southern can do to help the recovery of this community. Shaw also apologized for the disaster, telling residents that he is committed to making Norfolk Southern a safer railroad. He said he could not comment on the ongoing investigation, but that the company will use data to figure out what we couldve done better. Im terribly sorry for what has happened to your community, Shaw said. I want you to know that Norfolk Southern is here. And were going to stay here. And were going to make this right. Residents have been demanding answers in the aftermath of the train derailment and many have voiced concerns about potential environmental and health hazards as a result of the accident. A teacher in East Palestine, Courtney Newman, spoke during the town hall about health concerns, saying that ever since she and her son returned home after the evacuation, her son has been getting bloody noses each day and she has also developed a rash. I took him to the pediatrician on Friday, she said. I was told they had no guidance from the CDC, the Health Department there was nothing they could do. Jim Stewart, who said he has lived in East Palestine for 65 years, said that he no longer feels safe in the town, and is worried about the value of his home. He said he has had a lingering cough since the derailment and has developed a rash on his cheek. Story continues Did you shorten my life, now? I want to retire and enjoy it. How are we gonna enjoy it? You burned me, he said. We were going to sell our house. Our value went poof. Do I mow the grass? Do I can I plant tomatoes next summer? What can I do? Im afraid to. Government officials have reiterated that the area is safe to live in despite residents concerns. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said on CNN that he would stay in the village overnight, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan said he would feel safe raising his kids in East Palestine based on the evidence. State officials said in a statement on Wednesday the municipal water is safe to drink and that no contaminants were found in air quality testing of the area. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will be visiting the town on Thursday, a day after former President Trump visited the area. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Norfolk Southern on Wednesday became the third major freight railroad to offer some of its employees paid sick time, announcing a deal with one of its unions in response to workers' quality-of life complaints that arose during contract negotiations. The agreement to provide about 3,000 track maintenance workers in the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division union with sick time offered some positive news for the railroad as it works to clean up the mess after its fiery derailment in eastern Ohio earlier this month. BMWED union spokesman Clark Ballew said the sick time will be especially welcome to workers rebuilding the track after the Feb. 3 derailment outside East Palestine, Ohio. It is imperative that they have resources available that keep them safe and healthy at a site that many would be apprehensive to work, Ballew said. Paid sick time is one of those resources, but there are several others, and we expect N.S. to start doing right by their employees and the public and afford all resources necessary to not exacerbate an already bad situation. The agreement follows along the same lines as the ones CSX and Union Pacific announced earlier this month. The workers will get four paid sick days a year and have the option to convert three of their personal leave days into sick days. The railroads have been reaching these deals without demanding concessions from the unions. But none of the sick time agreements so far cover train crews that have schedules keeping them on call 24-7. But the railroads have said they are negotiating with all of their unions about this. Norfolk Southern President and CEO Alan Shaw said the Atlanta-based railroad is committed to improving workers quality of life in partnership with our union leaders. Concerns about the lack of paid sick time and demanding schedules pushed the industry to the brink of a strike last fall before Congress stepped in to block a walkout and force workers to accept a five-year contract that included 24% raises and $5,000 in bonuses. But the contract didn't address many of their concerns about working conditions. The federal Surface Transportation Board praised the railroads that have announced sick time agreements because it said these types of collaborative efforts to tackle quality of life issues should result in the further strengthening of our national rail network by promoting both retention of existing workers and providing incentives for potential new hires. Feb. 20BISMARCK A bill that would bar foreign governments and businesses they control from purchasing, acquiring or holding any interest in agricultural land in North Dakota, is set to make its way to the Senate after it passed 93-0, with one absent, during a floor vote on Feb. 20. If it becomes law, legislation in House Bill 1135 would not affect land held by a foreign government before July 1, 2023. The bill received a 7-6 "do pass" recommendation from the House Agriculture Committee. Before the final vote, the bill was amended so the prohibition on ownership of agricultural land wouldn't apply to land that is used for research or experimental purposes, including testing, developing or producing seeds or plants for sale or resale to farmers as seed stock. Additionally, the amendment makes an exception for the acquisition of agricultural land or an interest in agricultural land that is located within this state by a foreign business entity that is not more than 320 acres. During floor debate, Rep. Bill Tveit, R-Hazen, opposed the amendment because he said he believes it creates a loophole "allowing up to 320 additional acres for each foreign business entity that would apply for research or experimental purposes." Rep. Mike Beltz, R-Hillsboro, read off testimony from Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, who shared his opposition to the legislation earlier this month. In his testimony Goehring said the bill may hinder the current and future agribusiness opportunities in North Dakota. "Research and development of new seed and chemical products has to happen in the United States and must be done where the crops are managed, produced, registered and licensed," Goehring wrote. "The majority of developing, testing evaluation, seed breeding and seed proliferation are performed by multi-national companies that may likely not be owned or headquartered in the United States." Goehring also mentioned current federal oversight in place, including the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, in his testimony. Story continues Rep. Jeff Hoverson, R-Minot, also shared his opposition to the amendment during floor debate. He referenced the proposed Fufeng corn mill in Grand Forks, a project that was abandoned after the Air Force declared it a national security threat. "Just a couple of weeks ago we had a deal where CFIUS did not catch China," he said. "It was actually the local Grand Forks Air Force Base that was able to flag Fufeng for a national security threat. CFIUS didn't. So obviously we can not depend on CFIUS." Other amendments made to the bill provide that "foreign governmental interest in agricultural land" includes the purchase, acquisition or possession of any absolute or qualified ownership of land by a foreign government, but does not include a leasehold interest. An additional amendment also states that a "foreign government" doesn't include the government of the United States or its states, territories or possessions or the government of Canada or its provinces or territories. Two other bills related to foreign entities acquiring or investing in agriculture land in North Dakota House Bill 1356, which seeks to create a state agricultural foreign investment review board, and House Bill 1503, which would prohibit foreign ownership of real property in North Dakota did not receive a vote on Monday. The House has 72 bills left to vote on as of Monday evening, according to Majority Leader Rep. Mike Lefor, R-Dickinson. Lefor said the House will pick up voting again on Tuesday morning and may finish their bills sometime Wednesday. Crossover day is scheduled for Friday. A Marion County woman has filed a first-of-its-kind federal lawsuit against one of the biggest companies in the world. Shes taking on YouTube and its parent company, Google, accusing them of benefitting from sex trafficking. STORY: SPOTLIGHT: Race for Jacksonville Mayor - Donna Deegan She claims she was groomed by one of the most famous YouTubers and his spouse, when she was just a teen. That YouTube star is responding only to Investigative Reporter Karla Ray. James Jackson, who has also gone by Greg and is better known under the screen name Onision, says he doesnt even know the woman who named him in that lawsuit. Hes the subject of a docuseries on Discovery+, accusing him of being an online predator. That led to his YouTube channel from being de-monetized, meaning hes no longer making money on the platform. The lawsuit says that should have happened sooner, and that YouTube and Google were on notice of his behavior, but let it go to pad their profits. STORY: Charges reduced against woman, 76, accused of killing terminally ill husband With over two million subscribers, YouTuber Onision was one of the first to ever become internet famous on the video sharing site, but a new federal lawsuit claims his videos were not just controversial, but targeting children. Reliving and rehashing everything out, brings back, like, a flood of memories. And I feel like Im 15, 16 again, and experiencing everything for the first time, Regina Alonso said. Alonso lives in Marion County, and she filed the suit accusing the man better known as Onision, his partner, and YouTube and Google of benefitting from a sex trafficking venture. STORY: Texas man convicted of using fake LinkedIn profile to ruin reputation of NC victim It claims that specifically, Onision appealed to minor females, like plaintiff, who were young, vulnerable, questioning their self image or identity, or were seeking answers and guidance, and goes on to claim those same girls were then invited to the couples home with the intent to engage in sexual acts and three-way sexual encounters with the couple, or for additional grooming. Story continues And at the end of all of it, nothing was done, and as a result of the lack of action by YouTube and Google, Regina was harmed down the road, and the YouTube platform was used to groom and exploit children, attorney Lisa Haba said. Attorneys Haba and James Marsh say their client was groomed from age 14 through 17 by Onisions spouse, and ultimately invited to visit their home in Washington state. STORY: LIVE UPDATES: TV reporter identity revealed following his death in Orlando shooting series The lawsuit includes screen grabs of tweets made by Onisions spouse referring to dating the then-teenage Regina. The trip, however, never actually happened, and Onision told 9 Investigates he has never even spoken directly to the woman now suing him. Its so frustrating to have someone youve never met, never spoken to, making such a huge deal out of something that you have nothing to do with. And also never happened, Jackson said. Jackson said he believes the suit is an attempt to force YouTube and Google to pay out a settlement. STORY: Ohio woman dies after attack by her dog, police say I am allowed to make videos about whatever topic I want, Jackson said. What theyre generally trying to say is that Im responsible for whatever Reginas thoughts and feelings are about a total stranger. We asked attorneys about that balance of free speech. They argue that because YouTube was notified multiple times that Onision was harming young people on his platform but continued to profit share with him, that protection doesnt apply. I think our lawsuit is going to contribute to leading to not only the societal change here, but also holding these companies responsible for their own activities, Marsh said. 9 Investigates reached out to YouTube and Googles media relations team by phone and email, and have not yet heard back. The companies have not yet filed anything in response to the lawsuit. CLICK HERE to read the original WFTV article. STAY UPDATED: Download the Action News Jax app for live updates on breaking stories A Marion County woman has filed a first-of-its-kind federal lawsuit against one of the biggest companies in the world. Shes taking on YouTube and its parent company, Google, accusing them of benefitting from sex trafficking. She claims she was groomed by one of the most famous YouTubers and his spouse, when she was just a teen. That YouTube star is responding only to Investigative Reporter Karla Ray. James Jackson, who has also gone by Greg and is better known under the screen name Onision, says he doesnt even know the woman who named him in that lawsuit. Hes the subject of a docuseries on Discovery+, accusing him of being an online predator. That led to his YouTube channel from being de-monetized, meaning hes no longer making money on the platform. The lawsuit says that should have happened sooner, and that YouTube and Google were on notice of his behavior, but let it go to pad their profits. LIVE UPDATES: Multiple people shot at same scene of deadly shooting earlier today in Pine Hills With over two million subscribers, YouTuber Onision was one of the first to ever become internet famous on the video sharing site, but a new federal lawsuit claims his videos were not just controversial, but targeting children. Reliving and rehashing everything out, brings back, like, a flood of memories. And I feel like Im 15, 16 again, and experiencing everything for the first time, Regina Alonso said. Alonso lives in Marion County, and she filed the suit accusing the man better known as Onision, his partner, and YouTube and Google of benefitting from a sex trafficking venture. READ: A horrific incident: New details released in cold case of slain Central Florida woman It claims that specifically, Onision appealed to minor females, like plaintiff, who were young, vulnerable, questioning their self image or identity, or were seeking answers and guidance, and goes on to claim those same girls were then invited to the couples home with the intent to engage in sexual acts and three-way sexual encounters with the couple, or for additional grooming. Story continues And at the end of all of it, nothing was done, and as a result of the lack of action by YouTube and Google, Regina was harmed down the road, and the YouTube platform was used to groom and exploit children, attorney Lisa Haba said. Attorneys Haba and James Marsh say their client was groomed from age 14 through 17 by Onisions spouse, and ultimately invited to visit their home in Washington state. READ: Charges reduced against woman, 76, accused of killing terminally ill husband The lawsuit includes screen grabs of tweets made by Onisions spouse referring to dating the then-teenage Regina. The trip, however, never actually happened, and Onision told 9 Investigates he has never even spoken directly to the woman now suing him. Its so frustrating to have someone youve never met, never spoken to, making such a huge deal out of something that you have nothing to do with. And also never happened, Jackson said. Jackson said he believes the suit is an attempt to force YouTube and Google to pay out a settlement. READ: Principal at special needs school arrest for assaulting special needs student I am allowed to make videos about whatever topic I want, Jackson said. What theyre generally trying to say is that Im responsible for whatever Reginas thoughts and feelings are about a total stranger. We asked attorneys about that balance of free speech. They argue that because YouTube was notified multiple times that Onision was harming young people on his platform but continued to profit share with him, that protection doesnt apply. READ: Orlando Health hosting 2 hiring events this month I think our lawsuit is going to contribute to leading to not only the societal change here, but also holding these companies responsible for their own activities, Marsh said. 9 Investigates reached out to YouTube and Googles media relations team by phone and email, and have not yet heard back. The companies have not yet filed anything in response to the lawsuit. Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. The National Transportation Security Board (NTSB) on Thursday issued its preliminary report on the derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month, tentatively corroborating reports that a wheel bearing severely overheated ahead of the accident. In its preliminary report, NTSB said investigators have examined the first car to derail, the 23rd overall, as well as local surveillance cameras and signal data. A nearby residences surveillance footage seemingly shows a wheel bearing in late-stage overheat failure immediately ahead of the accident, according to the preliminary report. At the time of the accident, the report states, the train had passed through several hot bearing detectors (HBDs), which repeatedly tested as hotter than average and, by the third HBD, was 253 degrees above average, which meets Norfolk Southerns criteria for critical. The train applied brakes at that point, but was unable to stop, according to the preliminary report. At an NTSB press conference Wednesday, Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy confirmed the initial fire was started by a combination of an overheated axle and a car containing plastic pellets. Homendy said there was no indication the trains crew did anything wrong. The report comes the day after Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited the town amid criticism of his handling of the disaster, on the heels of a visit by former President Donald Trump. The week before, EPA Administrator Michael Regan became the first administration official to visit the town. Advocates of stricter rail safety regulations have specifically highlighted the Trump administrations delay of a 2015 rule that would have required trains to be equipped more modern pneumatic brakes. While the Transportation Department has said the rule would not have prevented the East Palestine disaster, Buttigieg and President Biden have both increasingly pointed to Republican- and industry-backed deregulation as a root cause for the derailment. Story continues The train, operated by Norfolk Southern Railway, derailed on Feb. 3. The 38 derailed cars included several cars containing vinyl chloride, a hazardous substance used in the production of plastics. Federal and state officials have both said drinking water in the area is safe, but both Gov. Mike DeWine (R) and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan have recommended residents drink bottled water. NTSB investigators have taken possession of the wheel bearing in question as well as the affected wheel mechanism, according to the preliminary report. The investigation is ongoing and will further examine the design of the vinyl chloride tank cars and the derailment damage. It will also analyze the immediate response, in which first responders burned the five vinyl chloride tank cars to prevent a possible explosion. In the report, NTSB emphasizes that potential environmental hazards are the purview of the EPA, which announced earlier this week that it would take over the cleanup effort and require Norfolk Southern to assume responsibility. Homendy predicted the full investigation would take between 12 and 18 months, but added If we see a safety issue that we need addressed immediately, something systemic, we will not hesitate to issue an urgent safety recommendation. This is a community that has been devastated, she said. They deserve to know what happened [and] how to prevent it from happening again. Updated at 1:53 p.m. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. National Transportation Security Board Chair Jennifer Homendy denounced politicized rhetoric around the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment, saying the boards focus is on the affected community. Homendy made the remarks Thursday afternoon as part of a press conference at the boards Washington, D.C., headquarters to announce the results of their preliminary investigation into the Feb. 3 derailment, which spilled several cars worth of hazardous chemicals in the eastern Ohio town. Asked to respond to remarks by former President Trump, who took aim at Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigiegs handling of the derailment in a visit to East Palestine Wednesday, Homendy said enough with the politics. This is a community that is suffering, she said. This is not about politics. This is about addressing their needs [and] their concerns, Homendy continued. Thats what this should be about. So I dont care about the politics. What I care about is figuring out how this happened. Buttigieg became the seniormost Biden administration official to visit East Palestine this week following a visit by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan last week. His visit also followed East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaways criticism of President Biden for visiting Ukraine before East Palestine. Conaway called the juxtaposition the biggest slap in the face on Monday. Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has said the president had personally offered him any resources necessary, but also said earlier this month that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) decided the site was ineligible for a federal response due to the lack of property damage. However, late last week DeWine announced the federal agency would send a support team to the town. The NTSB released its preliminary report on the derailment Thursday morning. While it has not yet identified a probable cause, it said surveillance footage seems to confirm reports that a brake bearing overheated ahead of the derailment. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. While not reaching a conclusive reason as to why a Norfolk Southern train derailed in Ohio earlier this month, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday morning that it was continuing to look at an overheated wheel bearing on the first car to go off the tracks. In a preliminary report, the NTSB wrote that it had identified a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment on the 23rd car, the first to derail. The report said hot bearing detectors picked up a temperature 253 degrees above normal prior to the derailment. The train was traveling at 47 mph, just below the 50 mph speed limit. Portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed the previous night in East Palestine, Ohio, still on fire on Feb. 4. (Gene J. Puskar/AP) Sensors showed the bearing heating up for miles before the crash, but it spiked sharply immediately before the accident. The crew heeded the final warning and tried to stop the train for an inspection. After the train stopped, the crew observed fire and smoke and notified the Cleveland East dispatcher of a possible derailment, read the report. With dispatcher authorization, the crew applied handbrakes to the two railcars at the head of the train, uncoupled the head-end locomotives, and moved the locomotives about 1 mile from the uncoupled railcars. Responders arrived at the derailment site and began response efforts. The NTSB noted that security footage previously reviewed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette showed that the train had been traveling with a glowing axle for at least 20 miles prior to the derailment near East Palestine, a town of about 4,700 people. The NTSB said it had collected the bearing and the affected wheel set for further examination. Drone footage shows derailed train cars on Feb. 6. (NTSBGov/Handout via Reuters) The Norfolk Southern train derailed minutes from the Ohio-Pennsylvania border on the evening of Feb. 3, with the governors of both states issuing a joint evacuation order for a roughly 1-mile radius. On Feb. 6, the railroad company burned off five tankers full of vinyl chloride in what it said was an effort to avoid a catastrophic explosion, resulting in the images of a giant toxic smoke plume that drew attention to the situation. Story continues The NTSB said that going forward the investigation will focus on the wheelset and bearing and tank car design and derailment damage as well as a review of the accident response, including the venting and burning of the vinyl chloride, railcar design and maintenance procedures and practices, [Norfolk Southerns] use of wayside defect detectors and railcar inspection practices. Norfolk Southern has been accused of prioritizing the reopening of the railway over handling the situation as safely as it could. The East Palestine accident is at least the fourth Norfolk Southern derailment in Ohio since the fall. ProPublica reported Wednesday that the company has a policy that allows crews to ignore alerts from train track sensors designed to flag potential mechanical problems, including in one instance that preceded an October derailment in the state that was still not completely cleaned up as of earlier this month. While local, state and federal officials have all assured residents the air and water there is safe, there have been continued reports of rashes, headaches and other ailments, in addition to the smell of chemicals in the air. Ohio officials have also said that more than 3,000 fish had died in the immediate aftermath of the accident, and residents have reported seeing sick or dead animals. Trent Conaway, the mayor of East Palestine, leads a town hall meeting at a local high school on Feb. 15. (Gene J. Puskar/AP) Experts told Stat News that the burning at the wreck site likely created dioxins, a highly toxic, carcinogenic, and persistent compound released when polyvinyl chloride burns. On Feb. 6, Norfolk Southern ordered a burn-off of chemicals at the site of the wreckage, which released more toxins into the air. Im certain from the view of that black smoke plume [caused by a Feb. 6 burn-off] that it was a witchs brew of chemicals on fire, and Im quite certain dioxins would be among them, Ted Schettler, science director at the environmental nonprofit Science and Environmental Health Network, told the outlet. Former President Donald Trump visited East Palestine on Wednesday, bringing with him Trump-branded water and other supplies. Although footage on social media showed residents warmly greeting Trump, its his Department of Transportation that rolled back an Obama-era rule that required an upgrade in brakes for certain trains carrying flammable material. That rule would not have prevented the East Palestine crash, because while the NTSB had urged the Obama administration to include more trains with dangerous cargo in its policy, the administration issued a less strict rule. When asked during his visit about criticisms that he had rolled back rail safety standards, Trump replied, I had nothing to do with that, despite repeatedly bragging about the number of regulations his administration had cut during his time in office. Former President Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. at an event in East Palestine on Wednesday to address the recent derailment of a train carrying hazardous waste. (Alan Freed/Reuters) While the Environmental Protection Agency and NTSB have been on the ground in the area since the accident, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made his first visit on Thursday. Buttigieg, who did not comment on the crash until 10 days after the incident, has faced bipartisan criticism for his response to the derailment. He told CBS News on Tuesday that not speaking out sooner was a lesson learned. This morning Im in East Palestine, Ohio, to see the site of the Norfolk Southern derailment, hear updates from investigators, and meet first responders, Buttigieg tweeted early Thursday. [The Department of Transportation] will continue its work to ensure safety and accountability. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said President Biden was in touch with him in the aftermath of the crash and had offered whatever support the state needed. However, in a Monday interview with Fox News, East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said Biden visiting Ukraine before East Palestine was the biggest slap in the face that tells you right now he doesnt care about us. Conaway said the following day that he would welcome Biden to his town and was very frustrated at the time he made the comments, but that he stood by them. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, flanked by other local, state and national leaders, at a news conference Tuesday to address the train derailment. (Alan Freed/Reuters) The federal response grew more aggressive on Tuesday after EPA Administrator Michael Regan visited East Palestine late last week and vowed to hold the rail company responsible. On Tuesday, the Transportation Department released a set of proposals meant to increase rail safety, while the EPA announced it was taking over the cleanup effort, meaning the organization would have to approve Norfolk Southerns plans and could issue its own guidance if it isnt satisfied. Additionally, a clinic operated by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Ohio Department of Health opened in town the same day. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said this week that his state was investigating whether criminal charges against Norfolk Southern were warranted. We made a criminal referral to the office of attorney general. Theyll determine whether or not there was criminal activity, he told NPR. "What I know is that Norfolk Southern is governed every day, not by caring about the communities that they send their trains through, but by corporate greed. REUTERS The NewsGuild of New York responded on Wednesday to a group of New York Times members that bashed the Guild for appearing to defend criticism of the papers trans coverage. By flagging managements condemnation of a Times contributors letter as a workplace issue, the NewsGuild president said, the union was merely trying to protect employees from punishment for speaking out against their employer. The letter from NewsGuild-NY President Susan DeCarava to the group of reporters, obtained and reviewed by The Daily Beast, said the union wasnt trying to wade into any of the debate surrounding the Times trans coverage. Instead, the NewsGuild said it wanted to ensure management wont discipline those who attached their name to an open letter denouncing the papers handling of trans issues. (The NewsGuild also represents The Daily Beasts unionized staffers.) New York Times Union Staffers Seriously Weigh a Walkout Amid Tense Contract Fight Affirming that an allegation is protected speech is not an endorsement of that allegation, she wrote. If any member is disciplined for signing the NYT Letter, they will have Guild representation. The same is true if any member were to face discipline for the coverage that was the subject of the NYT Contributors Letter. DeCarava reiterated that It is unlawful for an employer to threaten employees for having raised such concerns or to discourage other employees from doing so in the future. She further railed against Times brass broadly framed threat of reprisal" against employees who attached their names to the memos. Some Guild members who signed the letter critical of their papers coverage have been called in for questioning, with disciplinary proceedings apparently under discussion, a person familiar with the matter told The Daily Beast. The Times did not immediately return requests for comment. DeCaravas letter followed a Tuesday memo from more than 80 Times Guild members admonishing the union for seemingly attacking the papers journalistic process by defending external and internal criticism of its trans coverage. DeCarava assured those members that the union will not take a position on whether or not some of Times coverage of trans issues has been appropriate. Story continues This is a matter of editorial policy about which the Guild does not take a position, DeCarava wrote in her response. Be assured, however, that the Guild will represent every member without fear or favor as they navigate that process within their respective workplace. Cant get enough of this reporting? Subscribe to Confider, The Daily Beasts media newsletter here. DeCaravas note is the latest development in an ongoing imbroglio, which began last week when hundreds of Times contributors and the LGBTQ organization GLAAD published open letters condemning how the Times has covered transgender issues The letters cited multiple stories written by reporters such as Emily Bazelon, Michael Powell, and Megan Twohey, along with opinion columns penned by Pamela Paul. Executive editor Joe Kahn and opinion editor Katie Kingsbury responded to the letters the following day, arguing that contributors who signed the letter violated the Times ethical standards for speaking out publicly on an issue. Since then, Times management has not said what it will do, if anything, to review, alter, or deepen its trans coverage going forward. Participation in such a campaign is against the letter and spirit of our ethics policy, Kahn wrote, later adding, We do not welcome, and will not tolerate, participation by Times journalists in protests organized by advocacy groups or attacks on colleagues on social media and other public forums. DeCarava fired back in a letter on Friday, saying the contributors were protected in collectively raising concerns that conditions of their employment constitute a hostile working environment. This was the concern explicitly raised in the letter at issue here. That sowed discord among Times staffers and prompted pushback from some Guild members directly to DeCarava over her public statements, according to Semafor. But DeCarava said in her Wednesday letter that the Guild has not actually taken a position on whether a hostile working environment exists. Celebrities and Journalists Unite to Blast the New York Times Trans Coverage That prompted a group of more than 80 reportersled by media reporter Jeremy Peters and signed by big names such as Peter Baker, Ken Vogel, Adam Goldman, and Brooke Barnes (along with Bazelon and Powell)to accuse DeCarava of trying to interfere in the papers editorial process. Your letter appears to suggest a fundamental misunderstanding of our responsibilities as journalists, the group wrote in the letter, which was first reported by Vanity Fair. Regretfully, our own union leadership now seems determined to undermine the ethical and professional protections that we depend on to guard the independence and integrity of our journalism. The NewsGuild reaffirmed the letters contents in a statement: The Guild is committed to representing every member equally and fairly, regardless of reporting assignment. We have never and will not take a position on the subject matter of editorial coverage and fight hard for every members right to work in a healthy and safe environment, free of harassment and discrimination. These are principles that are at the core of trade unionism and are central to our mission. Subscribe to Confider, the Daily Beasts media newsletter, and get juicy scoops in your inbox every week. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. A worker is busy on the production line of new energy vehicles at a factory of Chinese automaker Chery Holding Group Co., Ltd. in Wuhu City, east China's Anhui Province, Oct. 12, 2022. [Photo/Xinhua] China will take more steps to boost the steady growth of the industrial economy in a bid to consolidate economic recovery in the first quarter, officials and experts said. The department of industry at the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic regulator, recently held a symposium with several key provinces in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, saying steady growth of the industrial economy will serve as the "ballast stone" stabilizing the overall economy. More efforts should be made to speed up the resumption of work and production, stabilize and expand investment in the manufacturing sector, promote structural adjustments of key industries and create a better development climate, it was stated at the meeting. " (We will) strive to promote the steady growth of the industrial economy in the first quarter laying a solid foundation for stabilizing the overall economy," it said. Experts said several provincial-level governments have pledged intensified efforts to prop up growth and keep economic performance within a reasonable range, pointing to a robust 2023 amid signs of notable economic recovery. This year, Hunan province will accelerate the push for building itself into a center of advanced manufacturing. The province will actively develop new industries such as electronic information, new energy vehicles and modern petrochemicals as well as hasten construction of a batch of major industrial projects this year, the provincial government said in an article posted on the NDRC's official WeChat account. In 2023, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region will focus on accelerating industrial adjustment and upgrading and promoting high-quality development of the industrial economy, including implementing 580 projects for strengthening industrial chains, official data showed. Citing government work reports released by localities, Zhou Maohua, a macroeconomic analyst at China Everbright Bank, said most provincial-level regions are targeting GDP growth of above 5 percent this year, voicing optimism for a robust 2023. He said local governments are giving priority to expanding domestic demand, promoting improved consumption, supporting industrial transformation and upgrading and continuously deepening reforms. There are positive signs showcasing a strong recovery of economic activity. Official data showed the official purchasing managers index for China's manufacturing sector bounced back to 50.1 in January after reaching 47 in December above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction. And China's nonmanufacturing PMI came in at 54.4 in January after 41.6 in December, returning to expansion territory for the first time since September. Louise Loo, senior economist at British think tank Oxford Economics, said their team now expects a faster economic recovery in China, as the combination of a stronger showing in retail and consumer-focused segments as well as policymakers' pro-growth policy pivots are arguably reasons to be sanguine on China's outlook this year. "Certainly, a rebound in demand in the near term is pretty much guaranteed as reopening proceeds. In terms of policy, we think authorities' proactive and pro-growth stance implies that data-dependent macro policy easing will help stabilize the economy in the near-term, with targeted property sector support, possible relief measures for households, and a push into increased off-balance sheet infrastructure spending as the preferred policy levers," Loo said. Robin Xing, Morgan Stanley's chief China economist, said China's economy is expected to grow by 5.7 percent in 2023, contributing to around 40 percent of global economic growth. Looking ahead, Xing said China will likely set a 2023 GDP growth target of above 5 percent, with measures such as further waves of monetary and fiscal easing to support the rebound. Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland speaks during a press conference addressing updates regarding the investigation of the murders of Abby Williams and Libby German, Monday, Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, at Delphi United Methodist Church in Delphi, Ind. DELPHI, Ind. Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland's reasoned on Oct. 28 that sealing the details about the murder case against Richard Allen protected the public's interest. Confronted with a motion by media inventors including Gannett, the Journal & Courier's parent company to release McLeland's sealed request, Special Judge Frances Gull ordered the document unsealed on Feb. 17 after McLeland did not object to it being published. The document was made public on Wednesday. In it, McLeland argued, "That the public's interest will be secrured by the sealing of the record. ... That dissemination of the information contained in the record will create serious and imminent danger to the public interest." McLeland argued in the Oct. 28 request that the public interest caused by making the probable cause affidavit and charging information public will create such a public stir it will harm the prosecution's case. Gull, however, ordered in November that the redacted affidavit and the charging information be released. However, Gull did not address the media intervenors' request in November for McLeland's motion to seal the documents. McLeland accused Allen on Oct. 28 of killing Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, on the afternoon of Feb. 13, 2017, on the north bank of the Deer Creek about a quarter-of-a-mile east of the Monon High Bridge. Police investigated the case for nearly six years before evidence led to Allen, 50, of Delphi. Police found an unfired bullet at the crime scene, and that bullet had tool markings indicating it was ejected from Allen's semiautomatic pistol, according to the probable cause affidavit published in November. The affidavit also cited witnesses, whose names were redacted from the public version of the affidavit. Those witnesses reported seeing a man on the trails, one of whom said the man wore bloody or muddy clothes as if he'd been in a fight. Allen's attorney requested a hearing for Gull to determine whether Allen should have bail set. Story continues In Indiana, all defendants are entitled to bond, unless charged with murder or treason. Bond may be set in murder cases if the state's case is weak. It is the burden of the prosecutor to persuade the judge the the evidence shows that Allen is more than likely the person who killed Libby and Abby. Gull set June 15 and June 16 as hearing dates to hearing the arguments for and against bond. Gull also will reschedule Allen's trial date during those hearings. Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2. This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Oct. 28 motion asked documents sealed to protect the public's interest Posters made in support of drag performers and transgender rights are set up in the Oklahoma Capitol building, in Oklahoma City, Okla. on Feb. 22, 2023. Credit - Courtesy of Freedom Oklahoma Casey Longacre, a 28-year-old drag performer, made his first trip to the Oklahoma state capitol on Wednesday to protest against a bill that would outlaw drag shows on public property or in front of minors. Under the bill, violators could face felony charges, punishable by up to two years in jail and a fine of up to $20,000. Longacre was joined by some 200 people that were screaming and booing in the halls of the capitol in Oklahoma City when the bill passed in the state House Judiciary Criminal Committee, with five Oklahoma state legislators voting in favor of advancing House Bill 2186 to the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Longacre called the vote a direct attack on the queer community and drag community. The bill would make it illegal for a person to engage or authorize the viewing of an adult cabaret performance on public property or where a minor could view the show. Go-go dancers, exotic dancers, strippers, drag performers or similar entertainers, all fall under this category. If passed, it would take effect on Nov. 1. The drag performers TIME spoke to expressed frustration at the continuous attacks against a community that, to them, represents acceptance and liberation. The bill adds to the approximately 300 anti-LGBTQ bills that have already been introduced at the state level across the U.S. A year ago they were talking about banning trans people in sports, and they [said they] were just gonna stop there, but no theyre not, Conner Caughlin, a 24-year-old drag performer tells TIME. Its terrifying to be in a red state right now, but when you dont have the resources to move, you just kind of have to dig your heels in and keep on fighting. There are at least 14 other states that have introduced similar anti-drag bills, according to the Washington Post including Tennessee, where House Republicans have voted in favor of criminalizing adult cabaret performances, including male or female impersonators. Story continues Nicole McAfee, the Executive Director of Freedom Oklahoma, an organization that advocates for queer communities across the state, says that there was no public comment period during Wednesdays hearing for the bill, which poses major concerns for LGBTQ+ advocates. Without having space on the record its a really hard process to engage in because in the next steps, they could hear this bill again, as early as tomorrow afternoon, or anytime through the end of March, McAfee tells TIME. Many conservative talking points around drag center around ideas about protecting children from viewing explicit or inappropriate content. It is crystal clear that what we are trying to do is protect minors, Kevin West, the author of the Oklahoma bill, said during the committee hearing. Its not banning drag shows. It is not banning how you dress. It is banning the activity that would be considered harmful to minors. The drag performers TIME spoke to recognize that while drag can be explicit in certain contexts, they argue that it can also present itself in family friendly forms like Drag Queen Story Hour, where drag queens read to children in libraries and schools, which began in San Francisco in 2015. But such shows are increasingly under pressure from conservative groups. On Saturday, the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, turned out to protest one such event in Silver Springs, Maryland. Kid friendly drag shows are great for helping people express themselves, find their identity and try new things. Its basically playing dress up and learning about love, kindness, and community, Caughlin tells TIME. And some drag queens, like Longacre, often collaborate on campaigns that would bring resources to the community. With my drag, I tried to shed light on a lot of nonprofits in the city. I just did a campaign with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and I do a lot of benefits for Sisu Youth Services, which is a homelessness shelter in Oklahoma City. However, right-wing rhetoric increasingly depicts drag artists and other parts of the queer community as groomers, falsely implying that they are grooming children for sexual abuse. This movement has been spearheaded by online groups including Libs of TikTok, a right-wing Twitter account that criticizes TikToks and social media posts from liberals. The account actively posted information about drag events across the country, hoping to stoke outrage among its nearly 2 million followers. These actions have real-world consequences. Reports of a Tulsa, Oklahoma, doughnut shop being firebombed after hosting drag queens for an art installation occurred in November. A shooting at an LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, that had planned to host a drag brunch in honor of Trans Day of Remembrance also occurred that same month. District Attorney Michael Allen said Thursday that the gunman allegedly has a distaste for LGBTQ community, pointing to the gunmans use of gay slurs and a rifle scope over a pride parade picture, according to CBS News. Some advocates say theyve never seen a level of attack on this scale. In 2022, GLAAD reported nearly 150 incidents of anti-LGBTQ protests and threats specifically targeting drag events. Weve definitely seen just an increasing volume of anti-trans legislation and anti-gay legislation, but this year was the first session that weve seen these explicit anti drag bills introduced, McAfee says. Eddie Hefner, a 22-year-old trans, nonbinary Oklahoma resident, says its their second time going to the capitol in the past three weeks. Hefner was last there protesting Senate Bill 129which seeks to ban gender-confirming procedures in Oklahoma for people under the age of 26and House Bill 1011which would limit transgender health care to those under the age of 21. The state legislature is also considering House Bill 2177, which would prohibit gender transition care and procedures for underage persons. That legislation could also cause the immediate revocation of a physicians license for a year should they engage in or cause a patient to undergo care to alter the appearance of or affirm the minors perception of his or her gender or biological sex if that appearance or perception is inconsistent with the minors biological sex. Utah was the first state to pass a gender-affirming care ban in 2023, though its since been joined by South Dakota and Florida. Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas and Arizona previously passed similar laws. Wednesdays vote on the anti-drag bill, which passed in a vote 5-2, allows legislation to be heard on the full House floor. From there, it would then be assigned to a Senate committee and be up for a vote on the Senate floor before the governor could sign it. If the bill passes, it would threaten the activity that several performers TIME spoke to have credited for their increased confidence. I started doing drag in May of last year and it has helped me to become a lot happier, a lot better, a lot more confident myself, Hefner tells TIME. It pushed me to move forward and actively change my name Having that taken away is terrifying. A death chamber in Texas. (Getty Images) Three Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion advocates in Oklahoma on Wednesday called for a moratorium on the death penalty there at a time when the state has been increasing the pace of executions. I believe four years ago most people in the House of Representatives believed that it was not possible to have someone innocent on death row, state Rep. Kevin McDugle, one of the GOP officials advocating for a moratorium on capital punishment, told Yahoo News. With todays justice system, it is very possible, and we have no mechanism currently for someone who is innocent to be given another look. The speakers at a press conference on Wednesday cited the findings of a new survey commissioned by Oklahoma Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty to bolster their case for a moratorium. The poll, which was released Wednesday afternoon, surveyed 500 registered voters by phone and online across the state last month. Among the questions asked was, If the governor or attorney general were to temporarily pause executions to ensure that the process was fair and just, and does not result in the execution of innocent people, would you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose this decision? In response, 78% percent of respondents said they supported a temporary pause, with 45.4% strongly supportive and 32.2% somewhat supportive of doing so. Only 18% said they opposed a pause, with 11.8% strongly opposed and 6% somewhat opposed. Just 4.6% of those surveyed said they were undecided on the question. State Rep. Kevin McDugle with members of Oklahoma Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. (Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman via AP) When asked Would you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose replacing the death penalty with a sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole?, 51% of those surveyed said they supported doing so, with 28.6% strongly supportive and 22% somewhat supportive. Forty-four percent said they were opposed to doing so, with 34.6% strongly opposed and 9.2% somewhat opposed. Story continues At the press conference, McDugle said that while he supports the death penalty, he has serious reservations about its current implementation, adding that he believes Richard Glossip, the next Oklahoma death row inmate scheduled to die, on May 18, is not guilty of the 1997 murder of Glossips former boss, Barry Van Treese. I could not stand to see an innocent man put to death in Oklahoma, and I happen to know that Oklahomans dont want to put an innocent man to death in Oklahoma either, McDugle said, adding that more of his Republican colleagues have signaled support for pausing executions. Demetrius Minor, national manager of Oklahoma Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, said Wednesday that the groups survey reveals that when Oklahoma voters have more options than simply yes or no to the death penalty, the favorability for it goes down. I believe these results say clearly, confidently and concisely that it is time for the state of Oklahoma to put into place a moratorium for the use of the death penalty, Minor said, standing alongside former chairman of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board Adam Luck and the Rev. John-Mark Hart. It is an extreme use of state power deeply at odds with our limited government beliefs, and it doesnt align with consistent life ethics. Death row inmate Richard Glossip, who is scheduled to die on May 18. (Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP) Advocates of a moratorium say Oklahomans have shifted their views on capital punishment. In 2016, a state ballot question about whether the death penalty should be codified in the Oklahoma Constitution received 65% of the vote. In 2021, Republican state Rep. Jim Olsen dismissed the idea of pausing executions, suggesting that doing so would lead to even more heinous crimes. I think it gives us a more permissive climate to commit murder, Olsen told Public Radio Tulsa. That same year, GOP state Rep. Chris Kannady told NonDoc, an independent media organization based in Oklahoma, that he believes the death penalty is appropriate for certain crimes. Its a finality piece for crimes that are so heinous that the death penalty is deserved, he said. Oklahoma has executed 120 inmates since the death penalty was reinstated there in 1976, according to figures from the Death Penalty Information Center, more than any other state per capita over that span of time. Ten people sentenced to death have been exonerated. The entrance to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. (Shepard Sherbell/Corbis Saba/Corbis via Getty Images) This most recent pivot for some Oklahoma elected officials comes on the heels of a historic slate of more than two dozen executions put on the calendar last year. In August, the state pushed ahead with a plan to execute 25 people (58% of its current death row population) over a 29-month period. Included in that group are inmates who are mentally ill and others who have maintained their innocence. Four inmates have been put to death in the last six months, and four more are scheduled to be executed this year. Critics of the uptick in the number of executions being carried out in the state say it raises serious moral and ethical questions. I think that when a state rushes to execute a large number of people, what its doing is something very different than pursuing truth, Tracy Hresko Pearl, a professor at the University of Oklahoma College of Law, told Yahoo News in August. Its pursuing punishment above all else. And I think that should be incredibly disturbing for all Americans. Twenty-three states in the U.S. have banned the death penalty, 24 still permit the practice and three others have suspended it, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Since 1915, Oklahoma has executed a total of 200 men and three women, according to state records. According to the 2019 annual report by the National Registry of Exonerations, between 2% and 10% of all individuals in U.S. prisons are innocent of the crimes for which they were convicted, a statistic that many legal experts say makes capital punishment indefensible. Maria Kolar, an assistant professor of law at the Oklahoma City University School of Law, said she has challenged the motives behind executions for years and says she has never received adequate answers. In an era when executions are at a new low nationwide for the modern era for so many reasons it seems reasonable to ask whether Oklahoma really wants to lead the nation when it comes to executions, Kolar told Yahoo News. Anti-death-penalty activists protest outside the Supreme Court in 2008. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Brett Farley, state coordinator for Oklahoma Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, said the findings of the new poll show that the belief that Oklahomans overwhelmingly support capital punishment is a myth. Most folks grow up [pro-death-penalty] in this culture, Farley said, adding that views on capital punishment also shift when costs are brought into the conversation. An execution in Oklahoma costs the state, on average, between $2 million and $5 million, due to legal appeals. No matter how you look at it, whether its from a fiscal angle, from a moral angle or from a justice angle it just doesnt add up. Kolar was a member of the Oklahoma Death Penalty Review Commission, which reviewed numerous aspects of the death penalty in the state and released a report on the topic in April 2017. The almost 300-page report, co-authored by former Democratic Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry and former U.S. Magistrate Judge Andy Lester, a Republican, called on state officials to halt executions in the state temporarily and made 46 recommendations for reforming how capital punishment is carried out there. The report addressed the need for better training and procedures aimed at preventing wrongful capital convictions. A death chamber in Huntsville, Texas, circa 1997. (Getty Images) Six years later, with executions resuming at a rapid rate, virtually all the reports recommendations have been ignored. The death penalty is such a serious, irreversible punishment that we need to be certain that a conviction or punishment is correct in a capital case, Lester told Yahoo News. What we learned when we did our study was that there are serious shortcomings in the way capital cases are handled ... that seriously call into question the convictions. Lester, who served on President Ronald Reagans transition team, admits that hes not eager to argue for or against the penalty, but he says, If we are going to have it, we need to do it right. We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to our state, we owe it to the country, he said. _____ Cover thumbnail photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images An Olathe nursing home employee was arrested earlier this month and accused of hitting and kicking a resident, according to documents filed in Johnson County District Court. Shopna Ikenberry, 50, was charged with mistreatment of a dependent adult after she allegedly struck a woman with dementia while attempting to dress and bathe her. Prosecutors say the 74-year-old woman was found with bruises on her lower back and possibly her ankle, where a witness said Ikenberry struck her. Police were called on Oct. 19 to Homestead of Olathe Memory Care on the 700 block of Somerset Terrace. An employee allegedly told officers she had seen Ikenberry enter into a physical altercation with a resident five days before. According to an employee, the 74-year-old became difficult while Ikenberry tried to undress her and give her a bath. Ikenberry allegedly began to yell at the resident, and in turn, the 74-year-old hit her. Ikenberry then gave the resident a bath but seemed to be hurting her in the process, the employee told police. While the two argued, Ikenberry allegedly told the employee to forcefully grab the resident. The employee refused and said she saw Ikenberry force the 74-year-old on the toilet before kicking her ankle monitor. The employee claimed Ikenberry hit the woman on the back and buttocks. The resident also suffers anxiety and is unable to carry on a conversation, according to court documents. Ikenberry was terminated on Oct. 20, according to court documents. She had been an employee since 2019. Police later interviewed Ikenberry, who denied working that day and accused another employee of hurting the victim. After reviewing the work schedule, detectives determined Ikenberry had been at work at the time the alleged incident occurred. She was arrested on Feb. 2 and released on a $75,000 bond a day later. Ikenberry is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing April 19. Homestead of Olathe could not be immediately reached for comment. Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in our op-ed section are those of the authors and do not purport to reflect the views of the Kyiv Independent. A year ago, on Feb. 21, just three days before Russia launched its full-scale invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin proclaimed the independence of two Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic and Luhansk Peoples Republic. At the time, many rightly feared that this might serve as a pretext for Russia to invade Ukraine further. Recently, the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) granted a significant legal decision exposing yet another of the Kremlins big lies concerning the occupied territories. The ECHR determined that Russia has exercised effective control, or spatial jurisdiction, over parts of eastern Ukraine since 2014 and is, therefore, responsible for gross violations of human rights in this territory. The court details with precision how Russia not only fuelled the conflict, but also provided extensive military, political, and financial support to Russian proxies in the region, including by sending military manpower, heavy weaponry, and instruction. Judging from ECHR rulings on similar cases in other parts of the world, this decision provides that the Russian proxy militias in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts are paramilitary forces backed by the Russian Federation. From a legal point of view, this essentially means that Russia is responsible for their actions. Legal significance aside, what does this decision mean politically? Nine years, the same war First and foremost, the ruling means that Russias aggression is not approaching its first year anniversary, but its ninth. Back in February 2014, Russia illegally annexed Ukraines Crimean Peninsula, after which it conducted a large-scale invasion of Ukraines east. What Russian propaganda called a so-called historic reunification with Crimea and legitimate actions by alleged separatists in eastern Ukraine was a blatant lie. Both actions breached international norms and principles defining the post-WWII order and were the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. Story continues The fact that the West was slow, scared, and indecisive in reacting to these violations is not an excuse to avoid admitting the truth Russias war against Ukraine started in 2014 and should have been dealt with much earlier, without waiting for a full-scale invasion to happen. It is for this reason that Ukrainians place so much importance on terminology and refer to all conventional, cyber, and information attacks by Russia from 2014 until present as part of the same war. International conflict, not internal The ECHRs decision about Russias exercised control over parts of eastern Ukraine also renders another allegation null and void: the so-called domestic nature of the conflict before 2022. The decision declares once and for all that the conflict is international, between Russia and Ukraine. The absence of any international legal references to the conflict as being between two states turned out to be a gift for Russias domestic and international propaganda. Reports by international organizations, think tanks, scholars, and journalists could not refer to the military actions in Donbas as a Russian offensive. They were bound by terminology such as non-government-controlled areas and armed groups. This was heavily exploited by Russia, which falsely portrayed the developments as an internal conflict in Ukraine or a civil war. Pablo Picasso once said, Inspiration does exist, but it must find you working. Never was that more true for one true artist, who has found her perfect medium in manipulating buttery dough and fruity fillings. On Feb. 13, Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin, who goes by u/ThePieous on Reddit, posted her latest creation: a scroll-stoppingly beautiful pie that is as much three-dimensional painting as it is dessert. Posted in the subreddit r/MadeMeSmile, the strawberry pie art was inspired by a particularly poignant episode of the hit HBO show The Last of Us and went viral in r/baking, r/food and other subreddits, too. I baked a Last of Us themed strawberry pie for Valentines Day, reads the post by Clark-Bojin, which has also quoted a line from the third episode of the popular apocalyptic television show. The episode in question, titled Long Long Time, received widespread praise for its deeply moving portrayal of Frank (Murray Bartlett) and Bill (Nick Offerman), two survivalists who meet by chance and fall in love, including one pivotal scene involving strawberries. Clark-Bojins post has gone viral on multiple social media platforms, including on Reddit with more than 79,000 upvotes, tens of thousands of views and likes on TikTok and on Instagram, where the piemaker extraordinaire received love from both of her award-winning subjects in the comments section. This is epic!! exclaimed Bartlett on Instagram, along with the heart-eyes, applause and heart emojis. Offerman went for a punny plaudit, commenting, This strawberry pie is bananas! Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin with one of her pie creations. (Courtesy Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin) For Clark-Bojin, intricately designed pies are a way of life these days. Living and working in Vancouver, Canada, the pie artist and author of Pies Are Awesome: The Definitive Pie Art Book says she found her talent for pie-baking unexpectedly while working in movies. I was a filmmaker before this. I was in the process of trying to raise money for my second feature film, Clark-Bojin tells TODAY.com, adding that on a whim, she made a New Years resolution to not eat any sugar for the year. Story continues Out of desperation for some kind of dessert that I could actually eat, I decided that I was going to learn how to bake pies because I could make them without adding any sugar to the filling and just have fruit and crust, she says. Clark-Bojin's After getting ingredients for pie crust at the store, Clark-Bojin baked her first-ever pie, finishing it with a carved-out fire-breathing dragon crust. I stuck it online. And my family was like, 'Wow, this is amazing.' Because theyve never seen me actually bake anything before, she says. I was always the person who was told to bring the buns to parties. I didnt know how to turn my oven on! After her first pie, Clark-Bojin says she was hooked and she was surprised there werent more people like her out there from whom to learn the ropes. Clark-Bojin's Lorax-themed pie. (Courtesy Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin) Back in 2016, I found out for the first time that pie art wasnt a thing that people did, and I found that very strange because of so many gorgeous examples of cake art, cookie art, waffle art, pancake art and all this stuff, she said. Why not pies? Clark-Bojin says that her pies are 100% edible and in fact, on her TikTok and elsewhere, she often slices into her creations on camera and takes a bite, proving they are. If youre wondering how the heck any of this is possible, youre not alone. Its not as simple as just taking a photograph and pressing a button, she says. She starts by creating a template in Photoshop, then hand drawing to make sure the stencil will work in dough, delineating darker sections from lighter ones. Once Ive got that as a base, Ill use egg white and cinnamon to press in and then it gets a bit darker in the oven, she says. For the fine details that someone cant really stencil, like detail around the eyes, hair or stubble, she hand paints the pies with an emulsifier like vanilla extract or vodka mixed with brown gel food coloring. Its very much like watercolor painting. Clark-Bojin's While honing her craft, Clark-Bojin discovered there was an audience for her pies, judging from the fact that several of her creations before her Last of Us pie have gone mega-viral. In fact, after joining Reddit in 2018, her very first post a trio of Harry Potter-themed pies received nearly 13,000 upvotes on the platform. I belong to a number of Reddit subs and each one of them has their own sort of flavor, their own rules, their own etiquette, Clark-Bojin says, adding that she estimates that more than 10 of her pies have gone viral in various subreddits, including a Super Mario Bros pie, a Christmassy Raspberry Yoda pie complete with Baby Yoda, and a pie celebrating the moon landing, all which received more than 75,000 upvotes a piece. Clark-Bojin's completed The communities like r/food and r/baking that Im a part of, theyre very community-oriented, she adds. Whenever I post I get really meaningful conversations and people are very lovely. Its an amazing place to meet new people and workshop ideas and exchange knowledge with people. Clark-Bojin says shes made many friends on the platform, some who shes met IRL. Shes also noted a growth of pie artists in her community, naming Nokx Majozi, Kate McDermott and Arlene Lott as friends and inspirations in the pie-making space. Lott actually won Food Networks first-ever show dedicated to pie art called "Thanksgiving Pie Fight," a show Clark-Bojin appeared on as a judge. Clark-Bojin's pie-making talent has led her to some amazing spaces: producing pie videos for the Food Network which have garnered millions of views, being featured in Ripleys Believe it or Not! in 2019, and even appearing on TODAY helping judge a pie contest in 2019 along with chef Marcus Samuelsson and PieconicNY owner Christopher Knable. Still, Clark-Bojin asserts that anyone can pick up the craft of pie art, as long as they have a little faith. Clark-Bojin with one of her extremely intricate pie creations. (Courtesy Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin) This is way simpler than it looks, she says, adding that shes always open to sharing those secrets with people on all her social media channels. All of the weird, intimidating-looking things that I post are all just a bunch of little tiny science tricks that I figured out through trial and error. Anybody can do this and its super fun. This article was originally published on TODAY.com One year after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the conflict continues to take a terrible toll. Below is a look at some of the numbers that show the scale of the devastation, including the cost of the war in human lives, and the staggering financial commitment made by the U.S. and its partners to help Ukraine withstand the assault. Military casualties Neither Russia nor Ukraine has officially released casualty figures, but both countries are believed to have suffered huge losses on the battlefield since Vladimir Putin launched the invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. Data compiled by Ukraine suggests Russia may have sustained some of its highest casualties of the entire war during the early months of 2023. Ukrainian forces on the front line have told CBS News that Russian commanders have thrown wave after wave of men at some battles as if they were meat. Graves of Russian Wagner mercenary group fighters are seen in a cemetery near the village of Bakinskaya, in Krasnodar region, Russia, Jan. 22, 2023. / Credit: STRINGER / REUTERS Ukraine said an average of 824 Russian soldiers were dying every day in February 2023, and while those figures cannot be independently verified, the general analysis was supported by the U.K. government, which estimated this month that Russia has suffered between 175,000 and 200,000 casualties during its war in Ukraine, including 40,000 to 60,000 killed. The British intelligence services estimated that Russia's private Wagner Group, which has sent a large number of mercenaries, including convicts recruited from prisons, to the front lines in Ukraine, has taken losses at a rate of up to 50%. For perspective, the then-Soviet Union lost a total of 15,000 troops during the entirety of its 10-year conflict in Afghanistan between 1979 and 1989. In December, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said as many as 13,000 Ukrainian troops had been killed since the start of the war, CBS News partner network BBC News reported. A family in Bucha, Ukraine, examines the remains of a Russian tank destroyed at the beginning of the war, on Feb. 22, 2023. / Credit: Ignacio Marin Fernandez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images United Nations data show that since the start of the war, more than 7,199 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and 11,756 have been injured, with most casualties caused by explosive weapons. The U.N. acknowledges that the real number of casualties is likely much higher, because information is difficult to obtain from areas where there's heavy fighting. Story continues War crimes According to the European Union's justice commissioner, 65,000 suspected war crimes have been reported since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. There are a number of international treaties the Geneva Convention and the Geneva Protocol being two of the most important that establish international legal standards for warfare. Any violation of those standards is a war crime that can be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, and can result in imprisonment for perpetrators. National governments, unilaterally or in partnerships, can also conduct their own war crimes investigations and prosecutions based on their own laws or the principle of universal jurisdiction, which determines some war crimes to be so extraordinary that they shock the conscience of humanity as a whole and therefore can be prosecuted anywhere. Deliberate attacks against civilians are war crimes, as are "methods of war that are inherently indiscriminate and that simply can't make the distinction between the civilian population and armed forces," Jim Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Foundations' Justice Initiative, told CBS News. At least 6,000 Ukrainian children have been taken to camps and other facilities in Russia and Russian-occupied territory since the invasion began, prevented from communicating with their families and subjected to pro-Russian re-education, according to a recent report from the Conflict Observatory, a research group that monitors alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Refugees More than 8 million Ukrainians have fled their country and become refugees across Europe since Russia's invasion, according to U.N. data. More than 5.3 million others are still estimated to be internally displaced within Ukraine. A high-rise residential building lies partially destroyed after a missile strike on Jan. 14, 2023 in Dnipro, Ukraine. / Credit: Yurii Stefanyak/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images According to interviews conducted with over 43,000 Ukrainian refugees, the vast majority of people who've fled the country have been separated from family members, most often due to Ukraine's restrictions on men of fighting age leaving the country under its system of martial law, which was declared after Russia's invasion. The largest group of refugees are women between the ages of 18 and 59, followed by children between the ages of 5 and 17. International aid The United States was long the single largest national provider of aid to Ukraine. From Jan. 24, 2022 through February 2023, the U.S. government says it had committed more than $29.8 billion in military aid alone. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German think tank, the U.S. had also committed some $16 billion in financial aid and $10.5 billion in humanitarian aid. Late last year, the European Union's combined contributions exceeded U.S. support, according to the Kiel Institute. Melania Hidalgo contributed to this report Ukraine mourns losses as war enters second year "CBS Evening News" headlines for Friday, February 24, 2023 Ukraine's ambassador to the U.N. on Russia's invasion, sanctions and China's role Hello, OnPolitics readers! This is Kim Hjelmgaard. I'm an international correspondent for USA TODAY. On Friday, Ukraine will hit an unhappy milestone: one year since Russia launched its invasion. Ukrainians are no strangers to war with Russia. They have been fighting one since 2014, when Moscow annexed Crimea, on the Black Sea, and started installing, arming and encouraging pro-Russian agitators in Luhansk and Donetsk, industrial areas in Ukraine's vast eastern Donbas region. However, the last 12 months have been unlike anything most Ukrainians have ever experienced: Millions displaced. Families torn apart. Apartment buildings, schools, libraries and numerous other civilian spaces subjected to regular Russian rocket fire. The war has shown Ukraine's resilience and ingenuity. Polls show the vast majority of Ukrainians, a year later, are convinced they will win this war. Of course, the war has also had a broader impact. It has re-invigorated the NATO military alliance. It has isolated Russia but also pushed it closer to China, India, Iran and other places in the so-called Global South -- exposing a long-simmering global divide that the U.S.-European bubble often obscures. Surveys show most Americans still support Ukraine, even if the war turns out to be a protracted fight. But there are also increasing calls for more oversight over the tens of billions in military aid Washington is sending to Kyiv. U.S. taxpayers, in short, are all for rallying behind a fellow democracy that's been unjustly attacked. They also want to understand more about how their money is being spent. It was with this in mind that I recently spent time on the front line in Ukraine. It's one thing to have a list of all the weapons the Pentagon has shipped to Ukraine, from missile systems to drones. It's another to see those weapons in action - to meet the soldiers operating them and to observe in real-time what they mean in the context of a battlefield. Ukraine is fighting a grinding ground war across a 600-mile front line. My story tries to give a detailed and intimate look at one spot on this front line, on one particular day. Story continues I hope you'll spend time with it. One year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine: 'It's hard, but they're holding on': On the ground in Ukraine, the war depends on U.S. weapons More stories from the past year of war This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: OnPolitics special edition: One year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine Photo taken in Wushan County, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on Nov. 18, 2021 shows the Wuxia Gorge, one of the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River. [Photo/Xinhua] The Yangtze River, the longest waterway in China, saw continuous improvement in its water quality in 2022 as the country continues its efforts on the river's protection, an environmental official said Wednesday. In 2022, the quality of the water in 98.1 percent of the Yangtze's sections stood above Grade II, the second-highest level in the country's five-tier water quality system, said Huang Xiaozeng, head of the department of water ecology and environment at the Ministry of Ecology and Environment during a press conference. This marks an increase of 1 percentage point year-on-year, according to the ministry. It was the third consecutive year that the main stream of the Yangtze River has maintained Grade II water quality, it said. The Chinese government has attached great importance to the Yangtze's conservation. To restore the biodiversity along the river, China implemented a full fishing ban in 332 conservation areas of the Yangtze River basin in January 2020. The move has since been expanded to a 10-year moratorium along the river's main streams and major tributaries, effective Jan. 1, 2021. In 2022, the water quality of the main stream of the Yellow River, known as the "Mother River" in China, reached Grade II for the first time, according to the ministry. The older brother of a 14-year-old Opa-locka girl who was shot dead in her home early Thursday morning was charged with killing her after initially denying it and saying he believed the weapon wasnt loaded, police said. But after questioning, Keon Martavius Thornhill was taken into custody by Miami-Dade Police and charged with second-degree murder. Before Thornhill admitted to the shooting, the 19-year-old told police he went upstairs to his bedroom, retrieved the gun and handed it to his sister, who shot herself in the face. Then, while the defendant was being detained, he stated several times to officers on the scene, I shot her. It was a mistake. Take me in, police wrote in Thornhills arrest report. Police said they were called to Opa-lockas Mirage at Sailboat Cove development in the 14500 block of Northwest 17th Path just after midnight Wednesday about a man who was running from door to door, causing a commotion and telling people his sister had been shot. At one point, Thornhill knocked on the door of an off-duty Opa-locka police officer, who drove over to the apartment. When police finally arrived, they said Thornhill told them his sister was bleeding inside the apartment. He also told them, according to his arrest form, that he had gotten into a fight with his sister and went upstairs to get the gun and unloaded it. Then, he told police, he went downstairs and handed it to her. Miami-Dade Police Spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta said Thornhill, the oldest of six children, was taking care of his siblings because his mom was at work when the shooting happened. Mom didnt know the gun was in the house, Zabaleta said. The 19-year-old might have found the gun and brought it home. Though Opa-locka has its own police department, homicides are handled by Miami-Dade Police. Police have not released the name of the dead girl. Her four other siblings, all between the ages of nine and 12, were asleep upstairs when the shooting happened. A winter weather advisory remains in effect for Salem and the rest of the central Willamette Valley until 10 a.m. Thursday. The following schools have announced delays or closures for Thursday, Feb. 23: Amity School District: Closed. Blanchet Catholic School: Closed. Afternoon activities canceled. Bridgeway Recovery Services: All outpatient and administrative offices closed. Detox and residential services open. Capital Christian/Sonshine Daycare: School and daycare closed. Cascade School District: Closed. Chemeketa Community College: All campuses closed. Fully remote classes will run as scheduled. Tenant operations continue as required. Essential employees should connect with supervisors. Crosshill Christian: Closed. Dallas School District: (updated) Closed. Family Building Blocks: All offices are closed and all classes are canceled. Gervais School District: Closed. Greater Albany School District: Two-hour delay. Institute of Technology (Salem): Closed. McMinville School District: Closed. Mt. Angel School District: Three-hour delay. North Marion School District: Closed. North Santiam School District (Stayton): Closed. Northwest Senior and Disability Services: All locations will open at 10 a.m. OCDC Headstart: (updated) OCDC Brooks, OCDC Mulino, OCDC McMinville, OCDC Silverton, OCDC Settlemier and Independence are closed. Oregon Office of Public Defense Services: Provider summit in Salem canceled. Salem offices open but work remotely where available. Perrydale School District: Closed. Afternoon and evening activities canceled. Queen of Peace Catholic School: School and childcare are closed. Salem Academy: Closed. No preschool or childcare. All activities canceled. Salem-Keizer Public Schools: Closed. District offices open. Salem Public Library and 50+ Center: Delayed opening until noon. Santiam Canyon School District: (updated) Closed. Silver Falls School District: Closed. St. Paul School District: Closed. Sweet Home School District: Two-hour delay. Willamette ESD: (updated) All sites are closed in Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties. This includes preschool programs, WCA and OASIS. Willamette Valley Christian (Brooks): Closed. Willamette University: Salem campus is open and following its regular operations and academic schedule. PNCA campus is closed. Willamina School District: Closed. Woodburn School District: Two-hour delay. This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Live updates: Oregon winter storm school delays, closures Carlos Watson, the CEO of digital media company Ozy Media, was arrested Thursday after a former executive at his company pleaded guilty to wire fraud charges. Watson is charged with conspiring to commit securities fraud and conspiring to commit wire fraud, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a law enforcement official. His arrest comes after Samir Rao, another top executive at the company, pleaded guilty earlier this week in Brooklyn federal court to fraud and identity theft charges, under a court-approved John Doe pseudonym, the Journal reported. Charging documents alleged Watson engaged in a scheme to defraud OZYs investors, potential investors, potential acquirors, lenders and potential lenders through material misrepresentations and omissions. Ozy Media and Watson have been under investigation by federal authorities and have faced lawsuits after a bombshell New York Times report published in 2021 outlining how Rao, a co-founder and chief operating officer had impersonated a top YouTube official on a conference call with potential Goldman Sachs investors, talking up Ozys success on the platform. The scandal led several top executives and media personalities at Ozy to leave the company. Watson has previously denied any knowledge of a scheme to defraud potential investors, chalking up the episode with Rao to a mental health crisis he said Rao was going through. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Carlos Watson, the CEO of the embattled digital media company Ozy, was arrested on fraud charges Thursday, according to court documents obtained by NBC News. Prosecutors allege Watson misled potential investors about their revenue and business projections to the companys audience numbers and the identities of its investors, court documents show. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. The complaint alleges Watson and other company executives misled investors beginning in 2018, including by falsely claiming the company had doubled its revenue from 2016 to 2017. Instead, the revenue had barely increased from $6 million in 2016 to the following year, the complaint alleges. Watson and other executives then promised investors Ozy would be able to achieve $22 million in revenue in 2018, "even after it became clear that Ozy could not achieve that result," according to the complaint. In one instance in August 2018, the complaint notes, Watson learned that the company had booked about $8.1 million in revenue so far that year; later that week, he allegedly told investors the company had booked $14 million in revenue for the year. In a statement, the U.S. attorney for Eastern New York, Breon Peace, called Watson a con man whose business strategy was based on outright deceit and fraud. If he is convicted, Watson faces a mandatory minimum of two years in prison and a maximum sentence of 37 years, according to the U.S. attorneys office. He is due to be arraigned Thursday afternoon. Watsons co-conspirators, Ozy COO Samir Rao and Chief of Staff Suzee Han, previously pleaded guilty to charges relating to their roles in the scheme, the U.S. attorneys office said. Watson could not immediately be reached for comment Thursday. Two phone numbers listed for him had full voicemails, and several other numbers were no longer in service. In a statement, Watson's lawyer, Lanny Breuer, said he was "deeply disappointed by the events of today." Story continues "We were engaged in a good faith and constructive dialogue with the government," Breuer said. "Given the departments claims of promoting such dialogue, I do not understand the dramatic decision to arrest Carlos today." An Ozy spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Watson, a former MSNBC and CNN anchor, co-founded Ozy in 2013 with Samir Rao (MSNBC and NBC News are both owned by NBCUniversal). Like many other digital-first media companies of the time, Ozy was able to raise tens of millions of dollars, positioning itself as an online magazine focused on "the New and the Next." The company was primarily known for its Ozy Fest events, which often drew politicians and celebrities. The company had continued to look to raise funds when The New York Times published an article in September 2021 detailing a fundraising call with Goldman Sachs that would lead to Watsons arrest. On the call, Rao, Ozys co-founder, allegedly impersonated a YouTube executive. The companys board of directors announced Ozy was shutting down in October 2021 before Watson claimed the startup was open for business just days later. Former employees told CNBC at the time that Watson was a charismatic and temperamental leader who presided over a demanding work environment in which some reporters were expected to produce four feature-length stories a week. Several of those reporters quit from burnout, according to CNBC. Read the complaint here: This article was originally published on NBCNews.com By Jack Queen (Reuters) -Ozy Media and its CEO, Carlos Watson, have been criminally charged for scheming to defraud investors of tens of millions dollars by misrepresenting the company's debts, financial performance and audience size, Brooklyn federal prosecutors said Thursday. Watson and Ozy Media are charged with securities fraud and wire fraud. Watson was arrested Thursday morning and pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance that afternoon. He was released on a $1 million bond. Watson's lawyer, Lanny Breuer, said in a statement he had engaged in "good faith" dialogue with the government and was "deeply disappointed" with his client's "dramatic" arrest. Lawyers for Ozy said in a statement that they had been discussing ways to resolve the matter without charges as recently as Wednesday and were "extremely disappointed" by the government's decision. Watson's arrest comes two days after Samir Rao, a co-founder of his media company, pleaded guilty to similar charges in Brooklyn federal court. Rao's lawyer, Ed Swanson, said in a statement that his client has accepted full responsibility and is "deeply remorseful, apologetic to those affected, and committed to making amends for his actions while at Ozy Media." Prosecutors say Watson and his co-conspirators courted a $45 million investment from an unnamed financial institution using inflated numbers about its audience size, revenue and backing from other investors. Watson and his co-conspirators are also accused of forging a contract and impersonating a cable network executive to secure a bank loan in 2019. "As alleged, Carlos Watson is a con man whose business strategy was based on outright deceit and fraud he ran Ozy as a criminal organization rather than as a reputable media company," Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. The alleged scheme involved a February 2021 ruse where Rao used a voice modulator to impersonate an executive of a streaming service during a call with potential investors, according to the indictment. Story continues Court documents do not identify the lender or streaming service. The New York Times reported in September 2021 that Rao impersonated a YouTube executive during a fundraising call with Goldman Sachs. Watson acknowledged the incident on Twitter at the time but denied wrongdoing and chalked Rao's behavior up to a mental health episode. Goldman did not ultimately invest, Watson said in the tweet. Rao, who was initially charged under a pseudonym, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to securities fraud conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy and identity theft. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission separately filed a civil case against Ozy, Watson and Rao on Thursday. (Reporting by Jack Queen; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Aurora Ellis and Bradley Perrett) LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) Deborah Dorbert was excited to be a mom again. When Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, and Florida banned abortions after 15 weeks, she did not think it would affect her. Never thought I would be stuck right in the middle of it she said. At her 23-week appointment, she said her obstetrician noticed an abnormality. It was confirmed a week later by a maternal-fetal medicine doctor. Her baby had Potter syndrome. A happy soul: Family remembers 24-year-old reporter killed in Orlando shooting Dorberts pediatrician, Dr. David Berger, explained to Nexstars WFLA that the fetus is not developing kidneys or making amniotic fluid. Without amniotic fluid, the babys lungs will not develop correctly. Im in a lot of pain and discomfort, said Dorbert. Doctors do not expect babies with Potter syndrome to survive longer than a few hours after birth. The diagnosis led to a decision Dorbert, a mother of one, never thought she would make. She wanted to terminate the pregnancy. Its something, you know, a parents worst nightmare, they hope they never have to make, she said. Her doctors at Lakeland Regional Health, while supportive, said they could not sign off on the procedure, Dorbert said. Florida law now bans abortions after 15 weeks. There is an exception for fatal fetal abnormalities if the fetus has not reached viability, according to the law. In my week 23 ultrasound, in the report, it says the baby is viable, Dorbert said. Lakeland Regional Health and its physicians honor the privacy and health of each patient. As an organization, Lakeland Regional Health upholds the responsibility to care for each individual patient while abiding with all local, state, and federal laws, wrote Timothy Boynton, Senior Vice President of Development, Chief Public Relations and Communications Officer at Lakeland Regional Health. Dorbertnow has to carry the baby to term. Story continues DeSantis writes in book he knew Trump endorsement would enhance my name recognition Hopefully theyll consider rewriting the law, she said. Former State Sen. Kelli Stargel, a Republican from Lakeland, sponsored the new 15-week abortion bill. [Dorberts fetus] has the definition of a fatal fetal abnormality. It is not viable and therefore she has the right within the law to terminate that pregnancy at any point in the pregnancy that she should decide to do so, she said. If it cannot live outside the womb, it cannot sustain life then it is not viable. That is the definition of viability. But Dr. Berger, Dorberts primary care doctor, said in the medical field, fetus viability happens at 23-24 weeks, when Dorbert learned the news of her babys diagnosis. Pass a law that defines viability in the way she describes it. Thats not how the medical community determines it. Be more specific. Dont have ambiguities in your laws, said Dr. Berger. In the meantime, Dorberts medical team is monitoring her blood pressure and her babys heartbeat. If the baby goes stillborn, obviously they can act and treat me, she said. She hopes to be induced next week on her 37th week of pregnancy. She is planning a delivery, post-birth care and a funeral. While still pregnant, she is speaking out on a national level. Putting yourself out there and putting your story out there, you might help another mom going through something like this and maybe bring change, she said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, gestures at a press conference in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 22, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua] The Chinese mainland will make utmost efforts to facilitate exchanges across the Taiwan Strait and reduce the costs of such activities, said a mainland spokesperson on Wednesday. Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said the mainland spares no effort in facilitating a substantial expansion of cross-Strait flights, with schedules dynamically managed by airline companies from both sides. Noting the limited flight capacity and limited amount of non-stop destinations as a result of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' unilateral restrictions, Zhu said relevant authorities in Taiwan did not respond to the mainland's request to reopen 16 non-stop flight destinations. Zhu urged the DPP authorities to remove such barriers and restore the normal order of direct passenger flights across the Strait. Previously, cross-Strait exchanges were severely strained due to COVID-19 and the DPP's deliberate obstructions. Now that the COVID-19 concern has subsided, such barriers should be removed as soon as possible, said Zhu. At the start of this year, the mainland invited Taiwan's major industry and commerce organizations to visit the mainland and discuss cooperation. These organizations have made travel plans to the mainland and expressed their shared hope for enhanced cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation and peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, Zhu said. [Source] The parents of a 22-year-old Kent State University student who was killed in a hit-and-run crash in Franklin Township, Ohio, are calling on authorities to charge the 19-year-old suspect with homicide. Colin Vinh Pho was riding his electric scooter along Summit Road near the intersection of State Route 261 when a vehicle fatally hit him from behind and fled the scene on Aug. 22, 2022. Police have identified the hit-and-run suspect as Timothy M. Brind, a 19-year-old man from Portage County. The Portage County Court of Common Pleas has issued a warrant for Brinds arrest. As of Wednesday, records show that the teen currently remains at large. More from NextShark: Margaret Cho, Lisa Ling and More Featured as NFT Cards to Raise Funds for #StopAsianHate On Wednesday, a grand jury announced an indictment to charge Brind with a third-degree felony for failing to stop after the crash that left Pho dead. However, prosecutors said that there are no other charges to be made against Brind, as he was found to be not at fault in the fatal crash. Authorities said that Phos scooter merged into the path of Brinds 2008 Dodge Charger and that the 19-year-old tried to avoid contact by swerving. More from NextShark: Hate crime laws across country are inconsistent, new report says In an interview with Fox 8, Phos father, Jonathan, disputed the claim. That doesnt sound logical to me, because the damage was on the left side of the vehicle and the left driver-side mirror. Had Colin cut him off, the damage wouldve been on the right side, Jonathan said. Jonathan and his wife, Debra, reportedly plan to file a civil lawsuit against Brind once the criminal case is resolved. More from NextShark: US Marines wandering outside military camp in Okinawa 'chased' by local villagers Following the death of their eldest son, the Phos called on local leaders to create stricter rules and laws governing the usage of e-scooters. Last year, the U.S. Consumer Commission reported a 127% increase in injuries from micro mobility devices, including e-bikes and e-scooters. These roads have high speed limits and these scooters are basically pretty close to being like a car, but no protection, Debra told Fox 8. If we can prevent one family, just one, from going through what we are going through, itll be worth the fight. More from NextShark: Indian activist accused of being anti-Black for opposing affirmative action admissions policies Paris Hilton has opened up about being vilified over her leaked sex tape and recalled how she was made to look like the bad one. During a cover interview with Glamour UK, Hilton, 42, spoke candidly about the way she was treated after the 2003 leak of the intimate tape shed filmed with her then-boyfriend, Rick Salomon. The tape was filmed when she was 19 and Salomon went on to sell a longer version of the tape in 2004. Hilton said she was the one who became the target of public harassment and scrutiny, despite the fact that Salomon, now 54, was more than a decade her senior. I was vilified when it came out. I was made to look like I was the bad one and no one was looking and seeing this grown man [Salomon], she said. Two decades after the release of the tape, Hilton said she is still haunted by the video and the idea that she will be judged for the rest of her life on one night with someone she loved. Its always in the back of my mind when I walk into a room and I see people, she said. Because of one night, I am going to be judged for the rest of my life, for someone who I was in love with. And then people think that I am bad or Im a slut because of something I did with someone who I was with and that was never meant to be public. Hilton also reflected on the impact the experience had on her future romantic relationships, revealing that the tape made it harder for her to trust her partners. I already had severe trust issues, she recalled. But people assumed that I was [a certain way] because of the tape and because of the way I portrayed myself Hilton said she actually considered herself asexual for a long time because she didnt have interest in pursuing sexual relationships with any of the men she dated. My nickname was Kissing Bandit or Mrs Blue Baller, because I would only like to kiss and make out, she said. And if they tried to do anything else, Id be so scared. And obviously a lot of relationships wouldnt really work for that long the guys going to go out and cheat. Story continues Hilton previously opened up about her belief that she was asexual during an interview with Harpers Bazaar. In that interview, she said her sexual perspective changed in 2019 when she met her now-husband Carter Reum. Elsewhere in her chat with Glamour, Hilton also said that, in an effort to protect herself, shed leaned into the dumb blonde persona when she was younger. The character was a trauma response, it was actually more comforting to put on this mask just to deal with everything Id been through in life, she said. Hiltons talked about the trauma component to her sex tape before, telling Vanity Fair in 2021 that she has post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the humiliating experience. Its always there in the back of my mind. When it happened, people were so mean about it to me. The way that I was spoken about on nightly talk shows and the media, to see things with my family was just heartbreaking, she said, adding: I would be in tears every single day, I didnt want to leave my house, I felt like my life was over. Paris Hilton has revealed that she had an abortion in her 20s while opening about her support for the ongoing fight for womens reproductive freedom. The Paris: The Memoir author, 42, spoke candidly about her experience during a new cover interview with Glamour UK. According to Hilton, shes held off sharing her own experience because there was so much shame around it. However, the heiress, who has become an outspoken activist in recent years, thinks it is important to speak out in support of bodily autonomy after the Supreme Courts reversal of Roe v Wade. This was also something that I didnt want to talk about because there was so much shame around that, she said of the procedure in her early 20s. I was a kid and I was not ready for that. But, according to Hilton, the last year has convinced her to lend her voice to the fight for reproductive freedom. I think it is important, she said. Theres just so much politics around it and all that, but its a womans body Why should there be a law based on that? Its your body, your choice and I really believe in that. Its mind-boggling to me that theyre making laws about what you do with your reproductive health, because if it were the other way around with the guys, it would not be this way at all. While opening up about the topic, Hilton was asked about her famous familys long friendship with former president Donald Trump, who placed the Supreme Court judges that overturned abortion access. In response, Hilton seemed to suggest that the Hilton family no longer has a relationship with Trump. Not any more, Hilton said when she was asked about the close family friend. Elsewhere in the interview, Hilton spoke candidly about the abuse she endured at boarding school as a teenager, as well as two other alleged experiences with abuse she encountered when she was 15. According to Hilton, the experiences, and the shame that she felt growing up about the incidents, have also driven her advocacy work, which has included lobbying congress to reform laws governing youth facilities and campaigning for the Stop Institutional Child Abuse bill. I feel most empowered when Im doing my advocacy work, she explained. Knowing that I can be the hero I always needed when I was a little girl. A federal judge approved a plan for park rangers in New Mexico to shoot approximately 150 wild cows from a helicopter on Wednesday (Feb 22). The livestock are descended from cattle that have grazed in the Gila National Forest since the 1970s, when their owners ranch went out of business. The forest is a 2-million-acre protected habitat in southwestern New Mexico. Read more The plan to cull the cows started after local environmentalists complained the animals were compromising water quality and damaging the local ecosystem. The US Forest Service, which governs the Gila Forest, agreed and developed a plan to fully eradicate the bovine population. The New Mexico Cattle Growers Association and the Humane Farming Association then sued the Forest Service, saying the plan violated regulations and overstepped their authority. Specifically, representatives for the ranchers argued these cows were still domesticated, and thus not feral, which meant the government could not use lethal force according to federal regulations. Ultimately, Judge James Browning disagreed, as the cows have no pedigree. Park rangers plan to shoot the cows with high-powered rifles, aiming at the animals from the skies. After the cows are killed, the Forest Service plans to let them decompose, predicting up to 65 tons of carcasses will litter the area. The shooting could begin as soon as today (Feb 23.) Cattle ranchers have had the right to graze their cows on some government-owned land since the 19th century, a cornerstone of the original Homestead Act. This case could set a precedent for how federal officials treat unbranded animals on publicly-owned land. Where are the cattle grazing? datawrapper-chart-Q7L2F How much of the US is national land? The U.S. government owns 28% of the land in the US, or 640 million acres, mostly concentrated in the West. In fact, only 4% of national land is found east of the Mississippi River. Story continues The government land is mostly controlled by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), with the US Forest Service and National Park Service also holding sizable chunks of the country. Are ranchers allowed to use public land to graze their cattle? American ranchers, and their cows, have a long history in land controlled by the BLM. Much of the land was initially acquired in the 19th century with the express purpose of being available to any cattle rancher for grazing, free of charge. The initiative was part of the Homestead Act that aimed to promote European settlements in the West. Due to overgrazing, the US Congress passed the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 which cordoned off specific grazing districts on public land and created new forms of regulation for ranchers who wanted to use public land. The issue of public grazing has become increasingly politicized recently, most notably with the case of Cliven Bundy, a rancher in Nevada who the BLM fined more than $1 million dollars for grazing on federally-owned land in 2015. Bundy refused to halt the grazing, setting off an armed standoff between local ranchers and federal officials, who eventually left the area. Years later, Bundy has still not paid any fines and continues to graze his cattle on the same public land. Related stories: Congress killed a landmark wildlife bill to preserve a massive crypto tax loophole A newly expanded conservation law could help save Californias bees A new biodiversity credits market wants to avoid the mistakes of carbon offsets More from Quartz Sign up for Quartz's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. The Pentagon on Wednesday released a photo of a U-2 spy plane that was hovering above the Chinese spy balloon earlier this month. The photo shows an Air Force pilot inside what appears to be a U-2 Dragon Lady just above the Chinese spy balloon on Feb. 3, while the surveillance device was still flying over the central part of the country. A website devoted to U-2 spy planes, called Dragon Lady Today, first reported on the existence of the photo on Tuesday. The Chinese surveillance device was shot down by an F-22 fighter jet on Feb. 4 over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina. Most of the Chinese spy balloon was recovered by the Navy, which wrapped up recovery operations last week and sent the balloons equipment and payload to the FBIs lab in Quantico, Va., for analysis. U.S. officials have already revealed the balloon hosted antennas and was capable of collecting communications intelligence. The deployment of U-2 reconnaissance aircraft to monitor and collect intelligence on the balloon was reported by The Drive just two days after the balloon was shot down. U-2 Dragon Lady planes, operating with the callsigns Dragon 01 and Dragon 99, were monitoring the balloon while it was above the central U.S., according to The Drive. The U-2s are the only aircraft that can maintain flight at the altitudes in which the balloon was flying, somewhere between 60,000 and 70,000 feet in the air. These aircraft would be able to capture high-quality images of the balloon and may have been able to jam the surveillance device from communication to any satellites above, The Drive reported. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Olive Burd for BuzzFeed News. A vintage-clothing seller has become the center of outrage and debate about thrift stores and reselling secondhand clothes after posting a now-viral shopping haul on TikTok. Jack ( @jbwells2 on TikTok ) runs her store Jacks Vintage on the secondhand fashion app Depop. She posted a video on Jan. 24 where she tries on a variety of thrifted clothes, modeling skirts and jackets that she would later post to her online store. This right here is the best thrift haul you will ever see, she says, holding up a large bag overflowing with clothes. Under the video, which has 5.8 million views as of Wednesday, TikTok commenters have been lambasting Jack for marking up and reselling the clothes particularly a long fur-lined coat for $175 and a quilt-patterned skirt for $35 that one person found new on Amazon for $45. Top searches for Jacks username on TikTok include jbwells controversy and jbwells is a bad person, as some users compared her and other resellers to developers who buy buildings in lower-income neighborhoods and push out residents. i cant explain it but girlies who resell on depop for a living give mini landlord energy, one said . Most of these girls are bulk buying in low income areas thinking they can turn a profit but ruin the way the thrift stores charge clothing, another tweeted . buying clothes at an affordable price and reselling them for triple is not work. thats inconsiderate exploitation https://t.co/TlSXnwTSxt 12:14 AM - 22 Feb 2023 resell culture is the biggest enemy of our generation 03:56 AM - 19 Feb 2023 Inflated pricing on secondhand-shopping platforms like Depop and IRL vintage stores has received increasing scrutiny as more people online claim the practice of buying in bulk and selling at double or more the price is inherently unethical. Story continues But Venetia La Manna, a fair fashion campaigner who was featured in an expository documentary about Shein, told BuzzFeed News that the main issue is big fast-fashion corporations, not individual sellers, calling it a misdirection of outrage. A lot of these people that we're getting annoyed about for thrifting and then jacking up the prices on Depop, these are predominantly young women who are ultimately not doing anything that harmful, she said. They're not working for Amazon or Shein. This isn't an influencer using an affiliate link to get you to buy from Nasty Gal or Revolve. Theyre not forcing you to buy anything. But people have been posting about the gentrification of thrift stores, with frustrated jokes about the inflated pricing of basic clothing items on Depop . I hate scalpers and resellers more than some criminals, one person said in a TikTok stitched with Jacks haul video. people who go to thrift stores, find amazing shit like this, and then sell it all on depop for 4x the price are the landlords of this generation https://t.co/Ro4QbDBwsK 06:14 PM - 19 Feb 2023 Jack posted on Instagram on Wednesday that selling vintage clothes is how she is able to support herself as a college kid without family financial support. I started Jacks Vntg in February of 2022, still in school, with $100 to my name, and a lot of hope, she wrote. Not to sound dramatic, but it saved my life. I was able to pay my bills, eat, and survive on my own as an 18 year old. Others came out in support of resellers like Jack, saying the comparison to landlording is inaccurate and that higher price points reflect the cost of time sellers spend curating thrifted items. Jack noted in her haul that the clothes were from more than five different stores. fashion is simply not the same thing as housing reselling vintage has existed for years the depop girlies may be silly but they are not extracting surplus value in the form of rent, they are simply charging for hours of work and curation!! one person said . I keep seeing people saying thrift stores are for people who cannot afford to buy new but as far as I know that hasnt exclusively been the case forgenerations now? Especially second hand shops that are pretty curated? Buying second hand was trendy way back in the 60s! 12:20 AM - 21 Feb 2023 Last year, Jack, who did not respond to BuzzFeed News request for comment, addressed similar criticisms from viewers accusing her of being money hungry and greedy. She said that as a seller, shes seen truckloads of clothes get dropped off to her local Goodwill retail stores and by-pound bin outlets, where inventories are constantly being replenished. There are more clothes being donated than can be sold, Jack said . While the demand resellers have for thrifted items is high right now, its still not higher than the supply of thrifted clothing. She reiterated this sentiment after this weeks backlash. Where i live, there are 20 goodwills, she wrote on Instagram . All overflowing, all restocking hourly, and all sending truckloads of excess clothing to the bins. Its terrifying to see the amount of clothing going to waste, while fast fashion continues to pollute and abuse their workers. Reselling pushes circular fashion, sustainable consumption, and helps low income individuals earn a living wage off of endless clothing. Fast fashion has also created a disconnect between consumers and their understanding of what constitutes fair clothing prices, La Manna said, particularly in relation to how much cotton, water, plastic, and labor go into their manufacturing. Fast fashions price point is not reflective of the true cost of our clothes, she said. And that needs to change. I hate to break It to you but like if someone goes to a thrift store and sifts through otherwise ugly clothes and finds 5 pieces out of hundreds that are trendy TODAY the upcharge they put on Depop is for their time. Vintage sourcing IS a legitimate job. 05:24 PM - 21 Feb 2023 According to the University of Colorado, the US generates an average of 25 billion pounds of textiles per year, and 21 billion pounds of textile waste goes to landfills per year. With more frequent extreme weather events in areas that produce materials like cotton, as well as a dwindling supply of resources for clothing, sustainability in fashion has become a buzzy topic for many keen on learning about environmental protection. If you think its unethical to go to thrift stores, buy stuff you recognize as more valuable, and resell it, then I have bad news for you about how literally every vintage/antique store operates 03:41 PM - 22 Feb 2023 For young people who are trying to find a starting point to shop sustainably, La Manna recommends looking at your existing closet, figuring out the items you already wear frequently, and then taking note of any measurements, styles, fabrics, necklines, lengths, silhouettes, and colors you like from the clothes you already put on your body. Building a Pinterest board for your style can be a good way to figure out what you actually want to buy, based on all types of inspiration, from movie characters to magazine covers. La Manna also suggests finding accessible influencers to follow, noting how Jacks excitement about her clothes rubs off on her followers. It's vitally important that people need to see slow fashion and secondhand fashion as something that is joyful, she said. Jack ended her Instagram post by telling her followers that reselling has allowed folks with lower incomes earn a living, introduced a new avenue for sustainable consumption, and encouraged more consumers to engage in circular fashion. As she said in an earlier TikTok: The more people thrifting, the better. Feb. 23, 2023, at 17:09 PM More internet culture news Perak Transit Berhad (KLSE:PTRANS) Full Year 2022 Results Key Financial Results Revenue: RM170.9m (up 23% from FY 2021). Net income: RM60.0m (up 13% from FY 2021). Profit margin: 35% (down from 38% in FY 2021). The decrease in margin was driven by higher expenses. EPS: RM0.089 (up from RM0.084 in FY 2021). All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Perak Transit Berhad Earnings Insights Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 4.8% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, compared to a 11% growth forecast for the Transportation industry in Asia. Performance of the market in Malaysia. The company's shares are up 2.7% from a week ago. Risk Analysis What about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for Perak Transit Berhad 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. 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 US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigiegs team asked a group of conservative media workers to stop acting aggressive and asked them to stop filming their interactions during the cabinet members visit to East Palestine, Ohio. Mr Buttigieg was visiting the site of a Norfolk Southern train derailment in the village on Thursday when the encounter took place. During his visit, a member of conservative youth group Turning Points USA filmed herself following Mr Buttigieg and asking if he was going to apologise to East Palestine for the slow response. Department of Transportation and National Transportation Safety Board officials were in East Palestine just hours after the derailment, and have remained there since. Mr Buttigieg ignored the woman and disappeared inside a building. His press secretary, however, invited the woman holding the camera to discuss her questions on the condition she not film the interaction. A back-and-forth ensues between Mr Buttigiegs press secretary and the conservative media members. The TPUSA member asks Mr Buttigiegs press secretary why she wont answer questions, she replies by saying shes happy to answer questions, just not while being filmed. When the TPUSA member asks why she wants the cameras off, Mr Buttigiegs press secretary replies because I think thats a little bit aggressive. At one point during the exchange another man whose connection to the press secretary is unclear asks the TPUSA member to turn off her camera, prompting her to correctly point out that the encounter was happening in public, where she has a right to film. At the end of the video the press secretary invites another reporter to chat further away from the scrum and out of microphone range. US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg walking through East Palestine as a conservative activist with Turning Point USA films him (screengrab/Twitter/Savanah Hernandez) Mr Buttieig has been a frequent target for right-wing and some progressive critics since the train derailment in East Palestine. He suggested on Thursday that the focus on his personal response to the derailment was, to some extent, political theatre. He wrote on Twitter that he was happy to discuss timing of our Ohio visit - but starting to think some in Washington want that to be the main focus so that there arent too many questions about rail safety regulation, who is for and who is against. We will hold the line on railroad safety and accountability. Mr Buttieig arrived in the village the day after former President Donald Trump toured the scene of the train derailment. Mr Trump spent his brief stop in Ohio bashing Joe Biden, distributing Trump water, and buying a McDonalds lunch for the villages first responders. Story at a glance Its believed the idea to mix xylazine known as tranq into the heroin and fentanyl supply started in Puerto Rico before the animal sedative turned up in Philadelphia. Xylazine is now in 90 percent of Philadelphias drug supply, and a federal law enforcement source told WPIX it has also been detected in New York City drug stash houses. Xylazine is not listed as a controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration. PHILADELPHIA (WPIX) Driving in Philadelphias embattled Kensington neighborhood on Tuesday to get a firsthand look at the effects of xylazine, an animal tranquilizer that was turning fentanyl addicts into zombies, WPIX saw a sea of people with leg wounds, swollen hands and even missing limbs along notorious Kensington Avenue. Next thing you know, you wake up with these big-a** holes all over you, said Jennette Freas, 48, who gets help with wound care at Prevention Point Philadelphia. They just popped up anywhere. Its not necessarily where you shoot up. Woman shot while trying to intervene in domestic dispute in NYC: sources Shawn Westfahl, coordinator for overdose prevention at the non-profit agency, said its believed the idea to mix xylazine known as tranq into the heroin and fentanyl supply started in Puerto Rico before the animal sedative turned up in Philadelphia. Xylazine is now in 90 percent of Philadelphias drug supply, and a federal law enforcement source told WPIX it has also been detected in New York City drug stash houses. Adding a horse tranquilizer, something more sedating, makes it feel like it lasts longer, Westfahl noted. Art El Malik, who said he first tried fentanyl in Seattle before returning to his native Philadelphia, noticed several years ago that his drugs were turning a different shade of white or pink. We would wake up, and we would be completely sick, El Malik told WPIX. Wed see people walking around looking like animals, with their knuckles touching the ground. Story continues El Maliks hands are swollen to about three times the normal size, and he said doctors have warned him about infection that could lead to amputation. Yeah, there is a possibility, El Malik said. A lot of my friends have lost their limbs already. WPIX saw one young man in a wheelchair who was missing his left foot. Good kid: Mom mourns teen son killed subway surfing in NYC Sean Anderson, 44, is originally from Delaware and said his shin recently had two holes in it before it healed. Delawares nothing like here, Anderson said. This is a whole other world. Anderson said he was turned onto pills and heroin by his mother when he was young. He came to Philadelphia after his mother died of the coronavirus. He said a local dealer gave him a free bag of dope. When I was leaving, some guy gave me samples and thats what got me stuck, Anderson said. They had samples of free dope. I got one and Ive been stuck ever since. Most of the people who live in tents, wheelchairs and among the garbage along Kensington Avenue are now hooked on two drugs: xylazine and fentanyl. Remarkably, xylazine is not listed as a controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The drug is monitored by the Food and Drug Administration, which issued a warning last November about the drug tainting the nations street drug supply. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland is to expel the defence attache of Belarus, the Polish Press Agency reported on Thursday, citing a foreign ministry spokesman. Last Friday, Belarus ordered the expulsion of three Polish diplomats, including a border guard liaison officer, in response to Polands closure of one of two truck border crossings. Poland has been an important refuge for opponents of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, and is a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Belarus' main ally Russia invaded in February 2022. Mariusz Kaminski, head of the Polish Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration announced the closure of the Bobrowniki border crossing on Feb. 9 after a Belarusian court sentenced Andrzej Poczobut, a Belarusian journalist and activist of the independent Union of Poles of Belarus, to eight years in a penal colony on charges of instigating hatred against religious and national groups and rehabilitating Nazism. Poczobut was arrested in March 2021 and has since remained in prison. The European Parliament and human rights groups have described him as a political prisoner. On Feb. 17 the Belarus foreign ministry introduced new limitations for Polish freight to cross only the Polish-Belarusian border and can no longer use Belarus border crossings with Latvia and Lithuania. Earlier on Thursday, Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak wrote on Twitter that Poland is to place additional defence enforcements, including anti-tank barriers, at the border with Belarus and Russia as an element of "defence strategy and deterrence". (Reporting by Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska; editing by Grant McCool) A man is facing criminal charges in connection with a crypto currency mining operation that was found under a school in Cohasset, investigators said. Nadeam Nahas, 39, will face charges of fraudulent use of electricity and vandalizing a school, according to the Cohasset Police Department. Nahas was summoned to court but did not show. There is now a warrant out for his arrest. In December 2021, detectives responded to the Cohasset Middle/High School after the schools director of facilities called police to report an unusual discovery in a remote crawl space beneath the building. During a routine inspection of the school he noticed electrical wires, temporary duct work, and numerous computers, that seemed out of place, police said in a statement. After researching and contacting the town IT director, it was learned that this was a cryptocurrency mining operation, which was unlawfully attached to the school electrical system. Cohasset police subsequently worked with the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service and the Department of Homeland Security to safely remove the equipment for forensic examination. Nahas, Cohassets former assistant facilities chief, was identified as a suspect in the operation following a monthslong investigation. Police noted that Nahas resigned his position as a town employee in early 2022. 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 In 1971, Rita Curran, a 24-year-old schoolteacher, was found strangled to death in her apartment in Vermont. The college town of Burlington, where Curran taught second grade, was devastated. Police interviewed Currans neighbors, investigated hundreds of tips and collected evidence including a single cigarette butt found near her arm, but were unable to name her killer. Currans murder, unsolved for more than five decades, became one of Vermonts most notorious cold cases. That changed this week, when police detectives announced the identity of her murderer a male neighbor, police say, who later became a Buddhist monk and countercultural guru before dying of an overdose in 1986. Related: Rapper Nipsey Hussles killer sentenced to 60 years in prison DNA technology and genealogical research have linked the cigarette butt found near Currans body to William DeRoos, who lived upstairs in the same apartment block. Investigators interviewed DeRoos in the 1970s but ruled him out. Were all confident that William DeRoos is responsible for the aggravated murder of Rita Curran, Lt Jim Trieb, a Burlington police detective, announced on Tuesday. This case is the latest example of forensic science catching up to crimes formerly considered unsolvable, sometimes long after perpetrators are themselves gone. Even though hes dead, and there wont be justice, it is a really positive outcome, CeCe Moore, a genealogical investigator at Virginia-based Parabon NanoLabs, said. Moores research identified DeRoos. And it is a great illustration of how investigative genetic genealogy is resolving these cases that so many people have cared about for so many years. In the summer of 1971, Curran had recently moved into a shared apartment. She was working as a hotel maid and taking graduate courses at the University of Vermont while waiting for school to start. Around midnight on 19 July, her housemates found her dead. She had been attacked, sexually assaulted and asphyxiated. Story continues DeRoos, who lived two floors above Curran with his then wife, was not one of the investigations 13 main suspects. His wife told police that they were home all night. Patrick Leahy, the retired US senator representing Vermont, was the areas county prosecutor at the time. In 2016, Leahy said that police and prosecutors had, for a period, considered Ted Bundy a suspect. I dont think so much about the guy who did this as I do about Rita, and my parents and what they went through Tom Curran, brother of Rita Curran Bundy, who was born in Burlington, was thought to have been in the area around the time Curran died. Shortly before his execution in 1989, however, he denied responsibility. Currans death became known as Burlingtons oldest cold-case murder. In 2014, Burlington police decided to reprocess the evidence using modern technology. Male DNA was found on the cigarette found near Currans body, but it did not match a national felon database or any of the 13 primary suspects. The Burlington police reopened the case, again, in 2019. Detectives sent the cigarette DNA to Parabon. It took Moore only a few hours to identify DeRoos. At the top of the list were two people who shared enough DNA with the unknown suspect to be his first cousin once removed, Moore said, and those matches ended up being on both sides of his family tree. Thats extremely unusual. It was shocking. Testing of DNA on Currans housecoat confirmed the findings. When police re-interviewed DeRoos ex-wife, she admitted to deceiving detectives. She said DeRoos, who had a criminal history, had persuaded her that she had to protect him from false incrimination. The couple had married two weeks earlier. I think she lied at the time because she was young, she was naive, she was newly married, she was in love, Thomas Chennette, a Burlington detective, told the press on Tuesday. In actuality, she and DeRoos had argued that night. DeRoos left the apartment and returned while she was asleep. He and his wife left Vermont soon afterward. They separated, and DeRoos moved to Thailand to become a Buddhist monk. A few years later he surfaced in California, where he remarried and was known as a countercultural guru called Dutch. DeRooss second wife, from whom he also became estranged, told police that he had a violent temper and had once choked her and non-fatally stabbed a friend. About 15 years after Currans death, he died of a drug overdose in a San Francisco hotel room. Moore said that her discovery would not have been possible without earlier work by the investigators and generations of detectives over many years. I dont think so much about the guy who did this as I do about Rita, and my parents and what they went through, Currans brother, Tom Curran, recently told the press. Andrzej Duda in front of a Leopard 2 A4 tank Read also: Ukraine to receive no more than 50 Leopards tanks promised by West by April, newspaper claims He noted that Ukrainian crews are currently being trained to operate Leopards. Now, our Leopard tanks are ready for Ukraine today, said Duda. In our training center, there are Ukrainian tankers training on Leopard tanks, we are preparing them right now, there is a training cycle going on. According to the president, Ukrainian troops currently training in Poland will within one month return to Ukraine, along with the tanks. Duda also added that Poland encountered problems with obtaining spare parts for German-made tanks. Read also: Leopards approved by Germany, Russian skull-waving neo-nazi shot in the head Its not only us these problems are quite common, he said. Other countries also have problems with Leopards, because Germans have got a serious problem with providing spare parts. We do not understand this situation, but thats the way it is. Read also: Talks on F-16 jets for Ukraine can bring success with more pressure, says Polish minister On Feb. 22, Polish Foreign Ministry announced the country would provide Ukraine with 14 Leopard-2 tanks over the "next two to three weeks." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that Ukraine would receive 120-140 modern Western tanks in the first wave of shipments. Read also: Zelenskyy says outcome of Kyiv talks with Biden to have impact on the battlefield Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine needs 300-500 tanks for a major counter-offensive to liberate all Ukrainian territory from Russian occupation. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine 98 Polish policemen participated in a top secret mission in Ukraine for five months, clearing mines on the liberated territories. Source: Wirtualna Polska news outlet, reported by European Pravda Details: Wirtualna Polska has stated that they have known about a secret mission of the Polish police in Ukraine for several months already. However, in order to ensure the security of its participants, they did not reveal this information until they received an official confirmation from the National Police Headquarters that all Polish policemen crossed the border and were safe in Poland. The mission started after Ukrainians addressed ATLAS group members last year; it is a police operative group that unites special counterintelligence units of the European Union. The request was to send bomb disposal experts in order to clear mines in Ukraine. Ukrainians referred to the territories where Russian forces were banished from and where it was impossible to go back, as the territories were heavily mined or were otherwise dangerous because of other remnants of combat actions. Wirtualna Polska has stated that the Ukrainian army does not have enough sappers in order to carry out this task quickly. Military sappers from NATO countries cannot do it as well, as it would have been considered as a provocation by Russia. Therefore, it was possible to send only police bomb disposal experts. Out of all ATLAS group member states, only Poland responded to Ukraines request. Other states believed such a mission in the warring country was too dangerous. In summer 2022, Ukraine's Minister of Interior and the government signed a decision on creating the Humanitarian Police Contingent that consists of specialists of separate anti-terrorist police units. Only those who volunteered went to Ukraine. There were bomb disposal experts, medics and members of combat groups whose task was to defend the Polish group. Policemen also took two dogs with them to search for explosives. Story continues At first, the mission had to last three months. However, it was prolonged for two more months in December 2022. The Polish policemen operated in Kyiv Oblast. One of the first tasks they had was to clear mines on the premises of an airport near Kyiv. The Poles collected about 2,000 of explosives in total. Moreover, they cleared anti-tank and land mines on roads and fields. No Polish policeman was wounded or hurt during those five months of work. In recent weeks, the National Police Headquarters decided to stop the mission. Intelligence information about Russias planned offensive affected it, too. On Wednesday, 22 February 2023, all members of this group successfully went back to Poland. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! WASHINGTON President Joe Biden has tapped a new head of the World Bank after the bank's current leader, David Malpass, announced his resignation last week amid criticism over statements he made skeptical of climate change. Ajay Banga, former president and CEO of Mastercard and current vice chairman of the private equity firm General Atlantic, is Biden's nomination as the next president of the World Bank. Biden, in a statement Thursday, called Banga a native of India and former chairman of the International Chamber of commerce uniquely equipped" to lead the World Bank, a global development institution that provides grants and loans to low-income countries to reduce poverty and spur development. More: Court records show how easy it is to walk off with classified documents: Live updates Biden touted Bangas work leading global companies that brought investment to developing economies and his record of enlisting the public and private sectors to "tackle the most urgent challenges of our time, including climate change. The Biden administration is looking to recalibrate the focus of the World Bank to align with global efforts to reduce climate change. President Joe Biden has tapped Ajay Banga, former president and CEO of Mastercard and current vice chairman of the private equity firm General Atlantic, to be the next president of the World Bank. Malpass, nominated by former President Donald Trump, still had a year remaining on his five-year term as president. Malpass came under fire when he said, "I'm not a scientist," when asked at a New York Times event in September whether he accepts the overwhelming scientific evidence that the burning of fossil fuels has caused global temperatures to rise. Former Vice President Al Gore, who called Malpass a "climate denier," was among several well-known climate activists to call for his resignation. Banga was the top executive at Mastercard from 2010 to 2020. He has served as a co-chair of Vice President Kamala Harris' Partnership for Central America, which has sought to bring private investment to the region. Story continues Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen applauded Biden's pick. She said Banga understands the World Bank's goals to eliminate poverty and expand prosperity are "deeply intertwined with challenges like meeting ambitious goals for climate adaptation and emissions reduction, preparing for and preventing future pandemics, and mitigating the root causes and consequences of conflict and fragility." Banga still needs confirmation by the banks board to become president. Its unclear whether there will be additional nominees from other nations. The World Bank's current president, David Malpass, announced his resignation last week amid a backlash over statements he made skeptical of climate change. Reach Joey Garrison on Twitter @joeygarrison. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ajay Banga nominated by President Biden to lead World Bank Former President Jimmy Carter discusses his cancer diagnosis at the Carter Center in 2015 in Atlanta. The Atlanta.-based Carter Center announced Saturday that Carter, 98, had entered home hospice care so he could spend his remaining time at home with his family. It seemed like "the whole world" was running for the Democratic Party presidential nomination when Larry Tenopir attended the Democratic midterm conference in December 1974 in Kansas City, Missouri, he recalled Sunday. Tenopir, a Topeka lawyer, said he decided there that his favorite candidate was Georgia peanut farmer Jimmy Carter, who was about to finish a four-year term as governor of that state but had little name recognition outside of it. Tenopir said he liked that Jimmy Carter was smart, personable and soft-spoken. Tenopir didn't meet Carter at the conference but spent perhaps an hour there in conversation with his oldest son, Jack Carter, he said. Jimmy Carter went on to win election as president, and spent four years in the Oval Office. Jimmy Carter visited Topeka and Kansas several times Tenopir spoke with The Capital-Journal after the Atlanta.-based Carter Center announced Saturday that Carter, 98, had entered home hospice care in Plains, Georgia, so he could spend his remaining time at home with his family. Carter entered the race for the presidency in December 1974 as a Washington outsider seeking to bring positive change in the wake of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, which had caused President Richard Nixon to resign earlier that year. Carter came to Kansas several times during his campaign and had a lot of interaction with Democrats here, Tenopir said. Then-President Jimmy Carter and Democratic Senatorial candidate Bill Roy raise their hands as then-Kansas Gov. John Carlin enters a rally on Oct. 21, 1978, at Wichita. He recalled how Carter was guest speaker March 1, 1975, for Kansas Democratic Party Washington Day festivities in a large ballroom at what was then the Mid-America Fairgrounds in Topeka. Carter and others who sat at the head table were brought into the building in antique cars, which entered through garage doors that had been opened behind that table, Tenopir said. Tenopir that day got Carter's autograph, which remains on the wall at his Topeka law office. Carter then sent Tenopir a personally signed letter congratulating him after he was elected in April 1975 as president of Kansas Young Democrats. Tenopir also has that letter on his wall, he said. Story continues More:Jimmy Carter's autobiography a full delight President Carter's car followed lost driver at Lake Shawnee Tenopir got Carter lost on June 7, 1975, he recalled Sunday with a sense of amusement. It happened as Carter traveled to appear at a fundraiser in Lake Shawnee Shelter House No. 1. Carter rode in a car driven by the late Topeka hotel owner Bob Brock, who followed a car being driven to the lake by Tenopir. "They thought I knew where I was going," Tenopir said. "I didn't." Carter and Brock continued to follow Tenopir as he drove around trying to locate the correct shelter house, Tenopir said. "Eventually we found the right place," he said. The Capital-Journal's coverage of the fundraiser included a photo of Carter eating a barbecued rib. Carter told the newspaper he considered former Alabama Gov. George Wallace to be his biggest opponent at the time, though didn't think there was "a chance in the world" that Wallace would win the Democratic nomination. Tenopir recalled attending a separate gathering during that campaign featuring an appearance by Carter, which was held at Brock's home in west Topeka. More:With new knees and old ardor, former President Carter stays active 'All she wanted to do was talk about her son, Jimmy' At the 1976 convention in which Carter was chosen at New York City to be the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, Tenopir said Kansas was among a tiny number of states whose delegates stayed in the same hotel as the Carter campaign. He said Carter's mother Lillian Gordy Carter, known as "Miss Lillian" at one point stopped and talked to him there for "quite some time." Lillian Carter was the "best president's mother ever," Tenopir said. "All she wanted to do was talk about her son, Jimmy," he said. Tenopir said he watched in surprise as Lillian Carter then got onto an elevator with the actress Candice Bergen to ride up to see her son. "I was too tongue-tied to even say, 'Hello,'" he said. 'Fond memories of being in Topeka' Carter failed to win Kansas in the November 1976 general election, getting 44.9% of the vote here compared to 52.5% for incumbent Republican Gerald Ford, but won the presidency by getting 297 electoral votes compared to 240 for Ford. Ford also had a Topeka connection, as his daughter, Susan Ford, spent several weeks in the summer of 1975 working in Topeka as a photo intern for The Capital-Journal. Tenopir said he covered Carter's inauguration for the Manhattan Mercury in January 1977 in Washington, D.C. Tenopir said he and a couple friends were later allowed to step briefly into the Oval Office at one point in Carter's presidency during a visit to Washington, D.C., though Carter wasn't there that day. Carter served four years in office, in a term plagued near its end by an energy crisis and the taking of 52 U.S. hostages by revolutionaries in Iran. Ronald Reagan beat Carter in the 1980 presidential general election in a landslide, capturing states that included Kansas while receiving 489 electoral votes compared to 49 for Carter. Carter returned to Kansas in April 1991, and gave a Landon Lecture at Kansas State University in Manhattan. He was then awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for the work he'd done after his presidency to promote and expand human rights. Carter has also written 30 books. Tenopir said he last spoke with Carter many years ago, as Carter appeared at a book signing in Kansas City, Mo. "He had fond memories of being in Topeka," Tenopir said. Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934. This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Attorney recalls President Jimmy Carter's visits to Topeka and Kansas By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) -Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia's Wagner mercenary force, said on Thursday that much-needed ammunition for his troops had been dispatched, after a public row in which he accused the military leadership of treason. Prigozhin had on Wednesday published a grisly image of dozens of men who he said had been killed because commanders including Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov had withheld ammunition to spite him. Neither man commented but the ministry rejected the charge. In an audio clip on Thursday, Prigozhin said he felt the pressure he and others had put on the Defence Ministry had paid off, and that he had been told ammunition was now on its way. "So far, it's all on paper but, so we have been told, the principal documents have already been signed," said Prigozhin. "I would like to thank all those who helped us do this. You saved hundreds, maybe thousands of lives of guys who are defending their homeland, gave them a chance to move on with their lives." The ministry, in a statement late on Tuesday, said allegations that "assault troops" fighting in Ukraine were being starved of shells were "completely untrue" and complained - without mentioning Prigozhin by name - about attempts to create splits that worked "solely to the benefit of the enemy". Prigozhin, a wealthy catering tycoon and ex-convict, has emerged from the shadows into a high-profile public role since the war started, and appears to enjoy a large measure of autonomy on the ground. Wagner has spearheaded Russia's months-old battle for the small city of Bakhmut in Ukraine's Donetsk region - a fact he has advertised loudly - and has helped Moscow make small but steady gains. But there have been signs in recent weeks that the Kremlin and defence ministry are trying to curb his growing influence. Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, said on Telegram he believed that Putin's Security Council had intervened to resolve the ammunition problem. Story continues President Vladimir Putin said in his annual state of the nation address on Tuesday that he wanted infighting to stop. "We must get rid of - I want to emphasise this - any interdepartmental contradictions, formalities, grudges, misunderstandings, and other nonsense," he said. (Reporting by Reuters; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Kevin Liffey) Harry and Meghans popularity has sunk, according to a new poll. (AP) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's popularity in the US has sunk to an all-time low, according to a new poll. The royal couple have barely been away from the headlines over the past two months, following the release of their Netflix documentary and Harrys memoirs, Spare. But if the pair had been hoping the media blitz would see their popularity surge to new highs as they settle to life in the US, the Newsweek poll tells a very different story. Harry and Meghans popularity Stateside had already taken a hit after Spare was released but the latest figures show that their favourability continues to dive. The research, conducted by Redfield & Wilton on 19 February, showed that Harry was disliked by 42% of Americans, compared to 32% who said they liked him. Harry and Meghans popularity took a hit following the release of Harrys book, Spare. (Getty) The net approval rating of -10 is a drop of three points from one month ago and a staggering 48% lower than in December, when his net approval stood at +38. Meghan is even less popular than her husband, with just 27% of Americans saying they liked her, compared to 44% who said they didnt giving her a net approval rating of -17. This is a drop of four points from one month ago, and of 40 points from the start of December last year, when she had a +23 approval rating. Watch: What claims did Harry make against brother William in Spare? What did Harry and Meghan say about South Park? The Newsweek figures will make grim reading for Harry and Meghan, who last week became the latest target of mocking by US cartoon series South Park. The episode, entitled The Worldwide Privacy Tour, depicts the Prince of Canada attempting to escape the limelight with his princess, all the while writing a book call Waaagh and appearing on chat shows. The episode mocks the couple for demanding their privacy and being hypocritical because of their dislike of journalists. South Park poked fun at Harry and Meghan in a recent episode. (Comedy Central/Paramount) South Park has previously mocked other royals most notably Prince William and Kate for their wedding in 2011, while the late Queen was also the target of the shows creators in 2007. Story continues Meghan and Harry were reportedly considering suing the makers of South Park for the latest episode but a spokesperson for the couple said the reports were baseless and boring. However, the spokesperson would not comment on claims made by the Spectator magazine that Meghan was upset and overwhelmed at how she and Harry were depicted in South Park. How popular are Harry and Meghan in the UK? Recent polling also shows how Harry and Meghans popularity in the UK has declined particularly since the release of Spare. The YouGov tracker showed that just a quarter of Britons (24%) think positively of Harry, while 68% have a negative opinion of him giving him his lowest ever favourability rating of -44. Recent polling found Harry and Meghans popularity drop in the UK. (YouGov) Meghan fares even worse, with a positive rating of 22% and a negative rating of 68%, giving her a net favourability of -46. The ratings are so bad for the couple that they are more unpopular that Prince Andrew among the over-65s. In that age group, 60% have a very negative view of Andrew, compared to 69% for Meghan and 73% for Harry. Across all age groups, only Andrew beats Meghan and Harry in the unpopularity stakes, following his recent legal battles. Viewing insider transactions for PropTech Group Limited's (ASX:PTG ) over the last year, we see that insiders were net buyers. This means that a larger number of shares were purchased by insiders in relation to shares sold. While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares. Check out our latest analysis for PropTech Group The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At PropTech Group Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Non-Executive Director Georg Chmiel for AU$82k worth of shares, at about AU$0.46 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of AU$0.59. Because the shares were purchased at a lower price, this particular buy doesn't tell us much about how insiders feel about the current share price. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date! PropTech Group is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. Insider Ownership Of PropTech Group For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that PropTech Group insiders own 23% of the company, worth about AU$21m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders. So What Does This Data Suggest About PropTech Group Insiders? The fact that there have been no PropTech Group insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. Insiders own shares in PropTech Group and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for PropTech Group you should be aware of. Story continues Of course PropTech Group may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. 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 WASHINGTON (AP) Russias president and the deposed leader of Afghanistan were among the top gift givers to President Joe Biden and his family in 2021, according to federal documents published on Thursday. In happier times between all three countries, Vladimir Putin gave Biden a $12,000 lacquer writing box and pen when they met at a highly anticipated summit in Geneva, Switzerland in June 2021. And, then-Afghan President Mohammed Ashraf Ghani and his wife gave the U.S. president and first lady Jill Biden silk rugs worth an estimated $28,800 later that month. Relations between the U.S. and Russia turned sour shortly after the Geneva meeting and have plummeted since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February. Ghani, meanwhile, fled Afghanistan shortly after the U.S. withdrew from the country on Biden's orders in August, 2021. Biden also in June received a brass and lapis lazuli jewelry box, worth an estimated $1,150 from Abdullah Abdullah, who was then considered to be the number 2 in the Afghan government. And Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was given a carpet valued at $2,650 in March from Ghani. The details were contained in the State Departments annual accounting of gifts to U.S. officials from world leaders posted on the website of the Federal Register on Thursday. The formal publication of the list, covering 2021, will come on Friday. All of the Putin and Ghani gifts were transferred to the National Archives, a requirement for any gift to a U.S. official valued at more than $415. The recipient has the option of paying the estimated value and keeping the gift. However, Biden decided to retain, at least for official display, a photograph of the late British monarch Queen Elizabeth II. The photo, in a silver frame was presented to the president on the occasion of a Group of Seven summit in southeast England and is estimated to be worth $2,200. According to the records, Putin gave Biden a Kholuy Lacquer Miniature Workshop Desk Writing Set and Pen on the occasion of their meeting in Geneva on June 16, 2021. Story continues There are no other gifts from Putin or other Russian officials to Biden or U.S. officials documented in the filing. Later that month, well after Biden had given the order for American forces to withdraw from Afghanistan in April, Ghani and his wife, Rula, gave Joe and Jill Biden two silk carpets: one valued $9,600 and the other $19,200, according to the list. At the time, U.S. officials believed that Ghani's government and security forces could survive the withdrawal of American troops. A White House statement from Biden's meeting with Ghani on June 25th said that the U.S. and Afghan leaders firmly agreed that although U.S. troops are leaving Afghanistan, the strong bilateral partnership will continue. In another relationship turned sour, Secretary of State Antony Blinken reported receiving a porcelain vase worth $2,000 from the former foreign policy chief of the Chinese Communist Party, Yang Jiechi. The exchange took place in March, 2021, just two months after the Biden administration took office and the vase is now with the General Services Administration. Two years later, the U.S. and China are now at odds on numerous issues ranging from Russia's war in Ukraine to Chinese policies regarding Taiwan, Tibet, the South China Sea, Hong Hong and human rights. During a speech to mark the Defender of the Fatherland Day, which Russia celebrates on 23 February, President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian army would receive new, modern weapons, including Sarmat missile systems that come with new heavy missiles. Source: Meduza, a Russian publication based in Latvia; Interfax Quote from Putin: "This year, our first Sarmat missile systems will be deployed, equipped with a new heavy missile. We will continue to produce Kinzhal air-launched hypersonic missile systems and deliver an extensive supply of the Zircon sea-launched hypersonic missiles." Details: Putin said that the Russian troops will also receive "new assault systems, reconnaissance and communication equipment, drones and artillery systems." Putin also promised to "pursue a balanced and high-quality development of all branches of the Armed Forces" and to "improve the training system for units and subdivisions". "Soldiers, sergeants and officers who have proved their mettle during hostilities on the front are the solid foundation here," Putin said, underscoring that "millions of people are wholeheartedly, at the call of their hearts supporting soldiers on the frontline and this unbreakable unity is the key to our victory." The Russian President also mentioned the need to strengthen Russias "nuclear triad" [a three-pronged military force structure that consists of land-launched nuclear missiles, nuclear-missile-armed submarines, and strategic aircraft with nuclear bombs and missiles ed.]. Background: On 21 February, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin's threats to resume nuclear weapons tests is something no one is taking seriously anymore. On 22 February, CNN reported that Russia carried out a test of the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile around the time US President Joe Biden was in Ukraine on Monday, 20 February 2023. The test appeared to have failed. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! WASHINGTON Vladimir Putin gifted President Joe Biden a distinctive Russian desk set valued at $12,000 after their meeting in Geneva in June 2021, the most expensive gift Biden received from a foreign leader that year. A new government report listed the Kholuy Lacquer Miniature Workshop Desk Writing Set and Pen among the dozens of items Biden and other administration officials received that year. Biden accepted it from the Russian president around their high-stakes summit, their last and only face-to-face meeting before Russia's invasion of Ukraine a year ago. When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House two months ago, he had a far more modest offering: an American flag. First lady Jill Biden accepted a silk carpet from Afghanistans first lady valued at $19,200 in June 2021, just weeks before her husbands government fell in the face of a rapid Taliban takeover following the U.S. military withdrawal. Federal law requires the State Department to list any gifts from foreign dignitaries to senior U.S. officials that exceed $415 in value. The annual report from the Office of the Chief of Protocol offers insight into ways in which foreign leaders try to personalize diplomacy with the White House. Then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, for instance, gave Biden two dog bowls, among other items, around their first face-to-face meeting in June 2021. The first gift Biden accepted was a crystal bowl from Irelands prime minister, though the report failed to note it was filled with shamrocks. The president of Vietnam gave Biden a sand painting of Biden. Queen Elizabeth II offered Biden a framed photo of herself, as was the custom of the late British monarch. Most of the items Biden received were transferred to the National Archives, but some, like the queens photo, were kept for official display, according to the report. Biden also retained a pen drawing of his childhood home in Scranton, Pennsylvania, a gift of then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Story continues Vice President Kamala Harris also kept for display a chess set that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave her in September 2021. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was one of the few officials who opted to purchase from the government gifts he had received wine, books and a coin presented by Pope Francis. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that putting pressure on Ukraine with a proposal to initiate peace talks with Russia makes no sense. Source: Zelenskyy at a press conference in Kyiv after talks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, reports Interfax-Ukraine Quote: "We were under bigger pressure before the full-scale war. But after the beginning of the invasion, it became clear to everybody that Russia is not a state, but a terrorist organisation that came to murder and conquer territories. It became clear to everybody that the issue is about the destruction of Ukraine and everything Ukrainian." Details: According to him, "it is impossible to put pressure on us. Does somebody want to? Yes. But these people speak aloud less, and that is great, [that means ed.] they understand better with whom they have had a dialogue earlier," said Zelenskyy. He emphasised that Russia's goal is a complete capture of Ukraine's territory. "The question of historical borders arises again. It means that they want to capture [the territories] and are looking for justifications for this seizure," the President said. Quote: "There is no point in putting pressure on Ukraine. Because otherwise, Russia will come to Europe to put pressure on Europe." Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! This Palace simulation visualizes the electric field energy density for a metamaterlal waveguide. (AWS Graphic) Todays news from the frontier of quantum computing includes Amazon Web Services release of cloud-based simulation software for modeling the electromagnetic properties of quantum hardware, Googles latest technological advance aimed at lowering the error rate of quantum calculations, and new recommendations about the public sectors role on the frontier. Amazon opens a Palace for designers Amazon Web Services is introducing an open-source software platform called Palace (which stands for Parallel, Large-Scale Computational Electromagnetics) that can perform 3-D simulations of complex electromagnetic models and enable the design of quantum computing hardware. The code is available via GitHub and can be used in conjunction with AWS ParallelCluster. AWS has been using Palace internally for its own quantum hardware development effort. The software tool simulates the electromagnetic characteristics of circuitry particularly the type of superconducting circuitry used in quantum devices. Tweaking the model can show hardware developers how to optimize their designs for reliability and efficiency. In their blog post, AWS researchers discuss using Palace to simulate a single transmon qubit coupled to a readout resonator, or a superconducting metamaterial waveguide based on a chain of microwave resonators. Although Palace puts quantum computing at center stage, the tool can also be used for optimizing classical electromagnetic devices. Google gets better at error correction One of the big hurdles for quantum computers is error correction: Its one thing to build quantum bits, or qubits, but its quite another to make sure the fuzzy process of computation results in definitive and dependable results. Microsoft has said somewhere around 1,000 qubits might need to be connected to produce one reliable logical qubit. In a research paper published today in the journal Nature, Google researchers say theyve developed quantum error-correction procedures that can use 17 qubits to recover from one error, or 49 qubits to recover from two simultaneous errors. Story continues Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, says in a blog post that the achievement is another big step forward, following up on Googles claim of quantum supremacy in 2019. But bringing the error rate down to an acceptable level will require making even more giant leaps. It came down by a little; we need it to come down a lot, Nature quoted Hartmut Neven, who heads Googles Quantum Artificial Intelligence lab, as saying. How to prime the quantum pump In a newly published report, business consultants at Deloitte say that quantum information systems are poised to have transformational impacts but we cannot predict exactly how. So what can the public sector do to support or accelerate the rise of quantum computing? The report notes that federal investment in quantum made up less than 9% of the total market for quantum information technology in 2022, and that its likely to take up a smaller share of the market five years from now, when it estimates that the market will rise to $44 billion. According to the report, the best public-sector strategies would include supporting education and training relating to quantum technologies, serving as a guaranteed purchaser of quantum computers to be placed at research universities, and laying the groundwork for industry standards as well as for post-quantum encryption. Public sector leaders can help identify and reduce the risks standing in the way of a quantum-enabled future, even as the specifics of that future change over time, Deloittes consultants say. More from GeekWire: Camilla told authors: Let there be no squeaking like mice (PA) The Queen Consort has made an extraordinary and unprecedented defence of free speech and the right of writers to express themselves just days after she let it be known privately that she had serious concerns about the censorship of one of her favourite authors, Roald Dahl. In a speech to mark the second anniversary of her literary initiative Reading Room at Clarence House, she urged writers to remain true to your calling, unimpeded by those who may wish to curb the freedom of your expression or your imagination. In what will be interpreted as her disapproval of the changes made to the text of Dahls classic books to make his stories more palatable and less challenging to modern readers, the Queen said let there be no squeaking like mice but only roaring like a pride of lions! Her intervention comes just days after it emerged that the changes by publishers Puffin will include downgrading descriptions such as fat to enormous to describe the character Augustus Gloop in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Language in Roald Dahls books has been altered (PA) Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny and Napoleon: A Life, said: The Queen has very subtly but unmistakably ranged herself behind the principle of free speech and opposing censorship. The fact that she does this in the case of Roald Dahl is a brave and commendable stance The Queen Consort and King at a reception to celebrate the second anniversary of Reading Room on Tuesday (Reuters) The Queen Consort made her intervention during a speech at Clarence House in front of 150 writers including Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian Andrew Roberts and actor Richard E Grant, who has written a memoir. Camilla said: Thank you, on behalf of book lovers and book clubs everywhere, for sharing your talents with us and for everything you do to promote literacy and a love of literature. Camilla speaks to Richard E Grant at the Clarence House reception (AP) Please keep doing so and please remain true to your calling, unimpeded by those who may wish to curb the freedom of your expression or impose limits on your imagination. After the speech, a source close to Camilla said she was shocked and dismayed that Dahls words should have been altered and believes in the power and freedom of writers as one of the most important things that must be protected at all times. Story continues The Queen Consort meets authors Philippa Gregory and Sebastian Faulks (AP) Gyles Brandreth, who wrote a biography of the Duke of Edinburgh and was also at the event, said it was a unique moment for the royal family to be behind books. The Queens Reading Room grew into a charity after Camilla drew up a list of her nine favourite books during Covid. It now has 150,000 members. Camilla meets childrens author Jacqueline Wilson (POOL/AFP/Getty) This has grown into a crusade to get people reading all over the world as she believes it is one of the biggest freedoms for people around the world to connect with each other. Camilla was supported by the King at the event, which was a delayed by a week as the queen recovered from Covid. The King speaks to Michael Morpurgo at Clarence House (PA) The King, as Prince of Wales, was patron of the charity Friends of the National Libraries, which recently raised 15m to save the Blavatnik Honresfield Library which includes manuscripts by Bronte, Jane Austen, Walter Scot which were all bought and distributed back to the authors houses where they were written. The King, author of several books including a childrens book The Old Man of Lochnagar, is a passionate advocate of reading as an essential tool for life. He is an admirer of Henry Wadsworth Longfellows long poem The Song of Hiawatha, part of which he can recite from memory, as well as the infectiously rhythmic quality of Rudyard Kiplings poems. Disgraced musician R. Kelly was sentenced to one additional year in prison by an Illinois federal judge Thursday, nearly five months after he was convicted of sexual exploitation and enticement of a minor. The sentence is to be served after the 30 years Kelly, 56, is serving after being found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking by a New York jury in 2021. Kelly, whose legal name is Robert Sylvester Kelly, was convicted last year on six counts of sexual exploitation and enticement of a minor in a case stemming from the complaints of women who said he lured them into sex acts while they were underage. Federal prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber for the Northern District of Illinois to sentence Kelly to 25 years in prison, saying last week that the musician was sadistic and a serial sexual predator who poses a serious danger to society. Kellys attorney Jennifer Bonjean requested a sentence of around 10 years to be served alongside the New York sentence. Leinenwebers full sentence also includes 19 years to be served concurrent with the New York sentence. The judge said he believed sentencing should be sufficient but not greater than necessary, adding that everybody agrees that the nature of this offense is horrible, horrific. No matter what I do Mr. Kelly is not going out the door in the next 10 years, in the next 20 years, Leinenweber said. One of the things we should bear in mind, he is 56 years old and as Ms. Bonjean points out, he has a life expectancy of not a helluva lot more. In court filings before Thursdays hearing, prosecutors argued that a sentence that kept the musician imprisoned for life was the only way to ensure Kelly does not reoffend. But Bonjean said he was already serving what was effectively a life sentence. Kelly would have to defy all statistical odds to make it out of prison alive, she said in a court filing last week. Kelly appeared in court Thursday wearing an orange jumpsuit, black glasses and a brace on his left leg. He declined, on the advice of his attorney, to give a statement in court. Story continues But he nodded several times in the direction of his family and supporters who filled the courtroom. At the end of the hearing, one supporter stood up and yelled Im here for you to Kelly, which prompted more people to yell We love you and Weve got you. He waved and nodded at them before he was taken away. Kelly had faced 13 counts, including charges of sexual exploitation of a minor, receipt of child pornography, enticement of a minor to engage in unlawful sexual conduct, conspiring to obstruct justice and conspiring to receive child pornography in the Illinois trial. He was acquitted on seven counts, including all of the charges related to conspiracy. The singer was tried alongside two co-defendants, his former business manager Derrel McDavid and his associate Milton June Brown, who were both found not guilty on all charges. Prosecutors centered their case around a star witness, identified by the pseudonym Jane in court, who identified herself as the person in a 26-minute videotape sent anonymously to the Chicago Sun-Times in 2002 that allegedly showed Kelly performing sex acts with an underage girl. In emotional testimony, Jane, now 38, said the singer began having sex with her when she was 15 and he was in his 30s and continued to do so hundreds of times before she turned 18. Several other alleged victims also testified that the singer groomed and manipulated them into sexual relationships, some which were recorded, while they were underage. Before the sentence was handed down, Christopher Brown, an attorney for Jane, read her victim impact statement aloud in court. I have lost my dignity due to Robert Kelly, the statement said. I have lost my dreams due to R. Kelly, I have lost my teenage years due to Robert Kelly. She asked that Kelly be put in jail for the rest of his natural born life. The emotional pain stayed in me until the day I testified against you in court, she said through tears. No longer will you be able to harm other children. No longer will you be able to go to the mall and pick up a child for the night. Pauline, the third woman to deliver a victim impact statement, said she needed years of therapy after Kellys abuse. I have had dark thoughts of suicide. I have had dark thoughts about no one loving me, Pauline, whose name is also a pseudonym, said. Ive lived with this secret for years. I have lost so much due to this. Last month, Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx dropped 10 state charges of sex abuse against the singer saying that justice has been served with the two federal convictions. She added that her offices limited resources and court time were the ultimate factors, noting that it found the accusations to be credible. This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. This article was originally published on TODAY.com The freight rail industrys lobbying efforts to oppose stronger safety standards are under intense scrutiny following the devastating Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Officials are still investigating the cause of the Feb. 3 accident, in which 11 rail cars spilled hazardous chemicals that are being intentionally burned to avoid a massive explosion, prompting fears from area residents about exposure to toxic substances. But lawmakers, federal officials and union leaders are already placing the blame on rail companies, pointing to the industrys decades-long opposition to stricter safety regulations. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg this week called for a slew of new railroad rules, including more stringent braking requirements and larger fines for railroads that violate safety regulations. He called on Norfolk Southern to support new rail safety rules instead of mobilizing against them. Rather than support these efforts to improve rail safety, Norfolk Southern and other rail companies spent millions of dollars in the courts and lobbying members of Congress to oppose common-sense safety regulations, stopping some entirely and reducing the scope of others, Buttigieg wrote in a letter to Norfolk Southern. That must change, he added. Railroads spent big to block safety regulations Railroads are an influential force in Congress and state legislatures, using their lobbying power to kill several regulatory proposals aimed at boosting safety. The four largest U.S. railroads and their trade association together spent over $480 million on federal lobbying over the last two decades, according to data from nonpartisan research group OpenSecrets. Norfolk Southern actually spent the least of the top railroads, shelling out $69 million over that period. Rail companies have spent millions of dollars to oppose common-sense safety regulations. And its worked. This is more than a train derailment or a toxic waste spill its years of opposition to safety measures coming home to roost, President Joe Biden tweeted Tuesday. Story continues Norfolk Southern and other railroads successfully lobbied Republicans in Congress to pass a measure delaying the implementation of a 2015 Obama administration rule that would have required more trains to be equipped with electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes. Regulators say those modern systems would have boosted train safety and braking performance. The Trump administration rescinded the rule in 2018, echoing the industrys concerns that the costs to implement ECP brakes outweighed the benefits. An Associated Press report found that the Trump administration omitted up to $117 million in future damages from train derailments in its analysis. Railroads object to new safety regulations Railroads are lobbying against a proposed federal rule to mandate two-person crews, arguing that its unnecessary and costly. Thousands of rail workers have submitted comments in support of the rule, arguing that accidents are more likely when they work solo. At what point does the greed of Wall Street outweigh the safety of the average citizen? A minimum of 2 person crews needs to be in place for the foreseeable future to protect the environment, our water supply, and life, Colorado-based conductor Charles Noonan wrote in a comment to regulators, noting that trains carry massive amounts of hazardous materials through populated areas. In 2021, Norfolk Southern defeated a bipartisan bill in Ohio that would have mandated two-person crews, arguing that the legislation would create legal issues by conflicting with federal law. The company donated $98,000 to Ohio candidates over the last six years, according to an analysis from ABC 6 On Your Side. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) tweeted that Norfolk Southern should invest its lobbying budget toward supporting the reinstatement of essential rail safety rules, a move thats highly unlikely to happen. Railroads are currently lobbying against Iowa legislation to limit the maximum train length to 1.6 miles, roughly half the length of some freight trains operating today. There are no federal regulations on train length, despite outcry from workers who say that longer trains lead to more dangerous accidents. Buttigieg is calling on Congress to enact other reforms that will likely draw opposition from railroads. He wants lawmakers to increase fines from the current maximum of roughly $225,000 which Buttigieg called a rounding error for the top carriers and implement stronger laws governing ECP brakes and trains carrying hazardous materials. Would stronger rules have stopped the crash? The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) planned to release a preliminary report on the incident Thursday. Surveillance footage appeared to show a wheel bearing catching fire shortly before the derailment. NTSB Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy noted that the Obama administrations ECP brake rule would not have prevented the crash, as it only applied to trains carrying large quantities of highly-flammable liquids. The threshold for that rule was at least 20 train cars of highly flammable liquid, but Norfolk Southern train was only carrying three cars of flammable gas. This means even if the rule had gone into effect, this train wouldnt have had ECP brakes, Homendy said in a tweet. Still, union officials and workers say that faltering maintenance driven by the railroad industrys shift toward precision scheduled railroading (PSR) which involves using technology to move more cargo with fewer trains and workers may have caused the failure. Railroads have slashed their workforce by 30% since 2017 Railroads cut down on their workforce by around 30 percent over the last six years in an effort to boost profits and attract investors. Its worked financial wonders for Norfolk Southern, which made a record $4.8-billion profit last year and shelled out $3.4 billion on stock buybacks. But it has also angered rail workers, who complain about long hours and unpredictable schedules. Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen National President Eddie Hall backed Buttigiegs proposed rail reforms, but lamented that the Transportation Secretary didnt mention PSR, which unions say has led to a reduction in thorough inspections of rail cars. Railroads largely self-regulate and PSR has led to irresponsible practices at the cost of safety, Hall said in a statement. It needs to be eliminated or reformed. While Norfolk Southern has committed to working with regulators to make the railroad safer, it hasnt committed to any specific reforms. Im looking forward to having discussions with our regulators and elected officials on how we can make Norfolk Southern a safer railroad, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw said in a televised interview with CNBC. Were very focused on science-based solutions. Shaw said that the company spends over $1 billion annually on maintenance and technology. Meanwhile, the Association of American Railroads, the industrys top lobbying group, is already pushing back on Buttigiegs proposals, noting that railroads hazmat accident rate has decreased 55 percent over the last decade. The NTSBs independent investigators continue their work to identify the accidents root cause and contributing factors, Association of American Railroads CEO Ian Jefferies said in a statement. That investigation must continue unimpeded by politics and speculation so NTSBs findings can guide what additional measures may have prevented this accident. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) Jacob deGrom came out of his first bullpen session of spring training for the Texas Rangers on Thursday feeling good after not throwing off a mound the first eight days of camp with his new team. It was a small step, but a step in the right direction, deGrom said. The two-time National League Cy Young Award winner was held out of the Rangers' first official workout Feb. 15 because of tightness in his left side. He threw off flat ground four days after that, and had thrown about six bullpen sessions before getting to Arizona. The right-hander threw 22 pitches, all of them easy fastballs, during Thursday's session. About half the pitches were from a half-height mound, and he then finished on a regulation mound. They said just nice and easy, deGrom said of what coaches told him to do. The goal of today was to just go through my delivery, stay nice and smooth. ... Not trying to do too much, let everything get in line, and let my delivery be nice and clean. DeGrom said the plan moving forward was to keep progressing, build up his pitch count and get in some games. His first bullpen session came a day before the Rangers' scheduled Cactus League spring opener, and exactly five weeks before the regular season opens at home March 30 against NL champion Philadelphia. Felt really good, he said. The past few days have felt really good, felt back to normal. Texas signed deGrom to a $185 million, five-year contract in December. The 34-year-old deGrom spent the first nine years of his big league career with the Mets, but injuries limited him to 156 1/3 innings in 26 starts over the past two seasons. After missing the final three months of the 2021 season with right forearm tightness and a sprained elbow, deGrom was shut down late in spring training last year because of a stress reaction in his right scapula. He didnt pitch in the big leagues last season until August, then became a free agent for the first time. Story continues He felt what he called minor tightness in his left side after getting to Arizona, and told team officials about it. His right arm has felt good throughout. The last thing you want to do is come in and say, left sides a little sore. But, you know, we were cautious with it, deGrom said. Looking at it now, I think that was the right step. Youve still got time to build up and get ready." New Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, who spoke to reporters before Thursday's workout, said the previous day that there were no concerns about deGrom's delay getting on the mound. Well, you look at the throwing he did before, we decided to back off a little bit, Bochy said. Its not any concern on our part, especially where were at in spring training here. ... He feels great." ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP By Suzanne Smalley (Reuters) - Health records for about 2,000 current and former Los Angeles school students have been published to the dark web following a ransomware attack last year, the school district said in a statement on Wednesday. The "assessment records," which could include mental health, attendance, disciplinary and academic results, were stolen in a September 2022 cyber attack, Jack Kelanic, a senior IT administrator for the district, told Reuters after an education news site posted redacted copies of purported student mental health records online. The attacks were first widely reported last year, but the compromise of sensitive health records only came to light in recent days. Last year, Los Angeles School Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said the Russian ransomware gang Vice Society had claimed responsibility for the hack and placed the material online in October. According to The 74, an education focused news site, psychological evaluations containing large amounts of personally identifiable information were posted online about special education students, including their medical histories, academic performance and disciplinary records. Ransomware attacks in recent years have impacted daily life across the world with hacks of school systems, healthcare providers and utilities damaging individual privacy and unexpectedly costing victim companies and organizations. Cyber attacks on schools worsened after the COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of students online for virtual instruction while school systems' technology infrastructure may not have been ready. Los Angeles Unified, the second largest school district in the United States, said its investigation is ongoing and that it continues to assess the September 2022 cyberattack. Kelanic told Reuters that approximately 2,000 student assessment records "have been confirmed as part of the attack." He said 60 of the impacted students are currently enrolled and that driver's license numbers, Social Security numbers and even positive COVID-19 results were compromised as well. "Los Angeles Unified takes student, family and employee privacy very seriously and has been implementing enhanced protections and procedures to ensure our data security," Kelanic said, adding they have notified some of the affected individuals and vendors. (Reporting by Suzanne Smalley; Editing by Josie Kao) Ukraine's air defence has shot down a Russian reconnaissance drone during an air-raid in Kyiv Oblast on 23 February. Source: Yurii Ihnat, Spokesperson of the Air Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on air of the national 24/7 news broadcast Quote: "Air defence is operating, [it is] a regular day in a country at war. A reconnaissance drone visited Kyiv Oblast. We have operated successfully and shot it down. We will be looking on land to see what kind of UAV it is and what type it is." Details: The Air Force spokesperson noted that the air-raid warning that was announced in eastern Ukraine was due to the threat of ballistic missiles. At the same time, he explained that such a threat from the Russians arises almost every day. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! A 62-year-old man from Redmond pleaded guilty Thursday in the U.S. District Court in Seattle to conspiring to defraud the federal Paycheck Protection Program of $646,000 in COVID-19 relief funds, said U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Joseph Freeman registered with two companies to get forgivable Paycheck Protection Loans to protect the salaries of fake employees. In May 2020, Freeman and his coconspirators used information he created in 2004 to claim $500,000 in PPP funds. Freeman claimed Special Delivery LLC had 15 employees and a payroll of $200,000 per month when it really had no employees other than Freeman. Freeman used fake IRS forms to make it appear the company had employees and sought $500,000 in PPP funds. On May 20, 2020, the loan proceeds were wired to Freemans bank. After receiving the funds, Freeman created an account with a payroll service to give out the funds to people who were not employees of the company. On June 15, 2020, Freeman and his coconspirators submitted a second fake application. Freeman claimed New Jack Trucking LLC had 10 employees and a monthly payroll of $58,400. Freeman and his associates said the business had been in operation since February 2020 even though the entity never had any real business activity. The coconspirators used fake IRS forms and a fake bank statement to make it appear New Jack Trucking had employees. On June 16, 2020, Freeman and his coconspirators received $146,000 for the fraudulent application. Freeman gave some of the money to his coconspirators and used some of it for his own benefit. In July 2020, after federal investigators detected the fraud and notified Freemans bank, around $220,000 of the loan proceeds were frozen and returned to the Small Business Administration. The net loss from the scheme is $426,666. Freeman will be sentenced for the fraud conspiracy on May 16, 2023. Conspiracy to Commit Theft of Government Funds is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross monetary gain to the defendant or the gross monetary loss to the victims of the offense. Story continues Prosecutors have agreed to recommend no more than two years in prison for Freeman. On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. For more information on the departments response to the pandemic, visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. China urges U.S. to stop interrogating, harassing, repatriating Chinese students Xinhua) 09:35, February 23, 2023 BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China urges the United States to stop interrogating, harassing or repatriating Chinese students in the United States, and avoid similar incidents from happening again, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday. Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a daily press briefing in response to a query about a Chinese student, who held a lawful visa issued by the U.S. government and planned to do cancer research in the United States, was refused entry and repatriated by the U.S. side. "We have noted this and express our grave concern over this, which is yet another case of the U.S. law enforcement department's wanton harassment and bullying of Chinese students," said Wang. "We have lodged a strong demarche to the U.S. side." People-to-people exchanges form the foundation for public support to China-U.S. relations, of which academic, educational, scientific and technological exchanges are an important part, said Wang. The U.S. side claims to welcome Chinese students, but in fact has continued the wrong practice of the previous administration of restricting and thwarting Chinese students planning to study or do research in the United States, he said. "This seriously harms the lawful rights and interests of Chinese students in the United States and undermines normal people-to-people exchanges and educational cooperation between the two countries," he noted. "We urge the United States to genuinely welcome Chinese students as it has said, withdraw the biased and discriminatory Proclamation 10043, stop overstretching the concept of national security, stop interrogating, harassing or repatriating Chinese students in the United States, and avoid similar incidents from happening again," Wang said. He said China will continue to support Chinese students in defending their legitimate and lawful rights and interests in accordance with law and remind Chinese students heading for the United States to be mindful of such risks. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) A historic North Carolina speedway is being transformed for this years NASCAR All-Star Race, and the renovations are ahead of schedule on Wednesday. Construction crews have been hard at work at the North Wilkesboro Speedway since September, when the announcement was made that the old-school race track will be hosting the race. The town has a population of 4,239, but it plans to welcome around 30,000 people in May. Chopper 9 Skyzoom flew over the track on Wednesday, and there are visible improvements even though it still looks like a construction zone. Channel 9s Dave Faherty visited the track and learned theres still a lot of work left to do. Thanks to a mild winter, construction is ahead of schedule. (In the above graphic, use the slider to see the change since September) Faherty learned there are more than 150 people working 12-hour days to transform the track. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: NASCAR All-Star Race coming to North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2023 To make the race a success, track management will need help from the fans, especially when it comes to transportation to and from the raceway. Were gonna need the cooperation of the fans. Were gonna be encouraging people to try to carpool to get to the track. Were gonna encourage people to use our remote parking options and take the shuttle buses, Scott Cooper of Speedway Motorsports said. The last NASCAR race held at North Wilkesboro came in 1996. Faherty could see workers putting in safer barriers for the drivers and paving the infield, while also giving updates to the suites. Faherty spoke to Terri Parsons, the wife of former NASCAR driver Benny Parsons. His last wish before he died was for the track to reopen. It shows what happens when a local community comes together, gets along, checks your ego at the door, and works together for one common cause, Parsons said. The last race was held in 1996. The speedway received $18 million in allocation money from the American Rescue Plan funds. Money was designated for infrastructure improvements at the speedway through the North Carolina state budget. Story continues Dean Combs, a former racer and longtime resident, thinks the investment will pay off for the city. We lost all of our industrial, Combs said. We lost Lowes and this is really gonna help. This is a big benefit for Wilkes County. Tickets are now available for the race. You can purchase them by clicking here. (WATCH BELOW: NASCAR All-Star Race coming to North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2023) Valerii Zaluzhnyi Reporters.media on Feb. 21 published a report on the first days of the war from the Ukrainian commanders HQ, where General Valerii Zaluzhnyi spent days working on at a map that "depicted the struggle for Ukraine. In January 2022, Zaluzhnyi gathered his assistants and said words to the effect: "Not all of us believe it, but I think the Russians will come. You can't negotiate with evil, so get ready to fight." He moved to an office near the General Staff building in Kyiv about a month before Feb. 24. At 5 a.m., when Russia conducted missile strikes on Ukraine and launched a full-scale offensive, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces was there. On the morning of Feb. 24, Zaluzhnyi, along with his deputy Yevhen Moisiuk, Chief of the General Staff Serhiy Shaptala, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, and aide Colonel Oleksiy Noskov, leaned over a map in his office. Read also: Ukrainian forces destroy 80% of Russian aerial targets, says Zaluzhnyy Zaluzhnyi was marking Ukrainian forces and Russian breakthroughs on the map; he circled the places where fierce fighting was taking place at the time with a red marker. Army commanders reported on the unfolding situation at the front via a secure wire communication. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reached Zaluzhnyi on messenger and they discussed further actions and the movement of Russian forces. "The struggle for Ukraine (was) unfolding on Zaluzhnyi's desk in real time," Reporters.media said. Despite the danger of missile attacks, on the first day of the all-out war, Zaluzhnyi only went down to a specially equipped bunker near the General Staff building in the afternoon, which became the newly formed decision-making center. For the first three days after the full-scale invasion, Zaluzhnyi "did not even try to sleep," and he did not leave his map or phone for more than 10 minutes. "Wearing the same regular pixel camouflage uniform of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in which he walked to the General Staff in the morning, General Zaluzhnyi taps his fingers on the table and takes a drag on his e-cigarette over and over again," the report says. Story continues The intensity of his smoking makes his office look like a hookah bar. Only instead of tables with smiling patrons, there are serious deputies and assistants to the commander-in-chief. On the evening of Feb. 24, the number of military maps in the office increased, but the main one the one with the operational situation is still unfolded on the table. Read also: Zaluzhnyy needs more weapons before Russias 2 million-strong army attacks Ukraine again expert For the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion, Zaluzhnyi went outside on March 18. For three weeks before that, he had been going up from the bunker to his office every night "to get some solitude," and spending the rest of the time working on the map. According to Reporters, during the Russian landing at the airfield in Hostomel, the command was urgently looking for "eyes" on the ground to adjust artillery strikes on the invading troops. Zaluzhnyi's aides believe that the night of Feb. 25 was the only moment when the general was "genuinely nervous." Eventually, the military managed to find a trusted person from Hostomel. The "people's corrector" was a man named Ruslan, who was adjusting strikes via voice messages using a messenger service. Everything he transmitted to the military "was 100% true." This is how the Defense Forces were able to hold on to the strategically important Antonov Airport. In an interview with UK news magazine the Economist at the end of 2022, Zaluzhnyi announced a new major operation of the Armed Forces and did not rule out a new Russian offensive on Kyiv or in the southern direction "in February, at best in March." Read also: Worst case scenario: What exactly Zaluzhnyy meant and what to expect in the winter In February 2023, he stated that "the creation of conditions when Russia will never be able to attack in the future" would constitute Ukraine's victory. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have been subpoenaed by the Justice Department's special counsel investigating the former president's efforts to block the transfer of power following the 2020 election, according to media reports. The move represents the latest effort by federal authorities to secure the testimony from Trump's inner circle in an ongoing criminal investigation and comes after special counsel summoned former Vice President Mike Pence earlier this month. More: Mike Pence subpoenaed by Justice Department special counsel in Trump investigations More: Former Vice President Mike Pence expected to challenge DOJ special counsel subpoena Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Eric Trump and family arrive for the funeral of Ivana Trump at St. Vincent Ferrer Roman Catholic Church July 20, 2022 in New York City. The Justice Department declined to comment on the law enforcement action, first reported by the New York Times. The couple's legal representatives could not be reached for comment. A spokesperson for the former president also did not respond to inquiries, including whether he would seek to block the testimony. Former Vice President Mike Pence gives remarks at the Calvin Coolidge Foundationas conference at the Library of Congress on February 16, 2023 in Washington, DC. During his remarks, Pence spoke on a range of topics including the Department of Justice's subpoena for his testimony in their 2020 election subversion investigation. Trump's daughter and son-in-law testified before a House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attacks. During her deposition, Ivanka Trump told lawmakers she had accepted then-Attorney General William Barr's conclusion that there was no evidence of fraud to overturn the 2020 election. Ivanka Trump also was present at the White House when her father sought to pressure Pence to block certification of President Joe Biden's election on Jan. 6. More: Jan. 6 attack shook once-fierce loyalties of Trump's closest aides, new transcripts show Former Senior Advisor to former US President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner appears on screen during a House Select Committee hearing to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol, in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on June 9, 2022. Kushner, who served as a top adviser to Trump, also was at the White House later on the day of the insurrection. He and Ivanka urged the then-president to call for rioters to leave the Capitol. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner subpoenaed by DOJ special counsel A Minnesota state senators defence of the Republican Party was complicated when he used a derogatory term for Polish people. State Sen Mark Johnson was arguing in a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday night that Republicans had good faith objections to a bill that would allow undocumented Minnesotans to obtain drivers licences when he made the remark. There are holes in this bill, Mr Johnson said. Were not calling groups any names. What were saying is we need to protect Minnesotans. Doesnt matter what your race, your color, your creed, Norwegian, P****k, Somalian, you name it. But folks, we have concerns about this and when we bring those concerns up on the floor, tonight we were called white national racists. Minnesota House Minority Leader Mark Johnson (R), while arguing that Republicans aren't bigoted, uses a derogatory term for Polish people: "We are not calling groups any names ... It doesn't matter what your race, color, your creed. Norwegian, Polack, Somali, you name it." pic.twitter.com/9dvlxXOcCn Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) February 23, 2023 The context in which Mr Johnson, the minority leader, made the remark was not lost on a number of observers. After using a derogatory term for Polish people, whats the next word association: Somali, one of the largest groups of color in our state, State Rep Andy Smith, a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL), tweeted. Telling. In addition to concern over Mr Johnsons descriptor for Polish people, other observers noted that members of Minnesotas large Somali community are typically referred to as Somali and not Somalian. The DFL retook control of the State Senate in November while retaining the governors mansion and State House, giving the party total control of the state government for the first time in almost a decade and giving it the opportunity to pass a plethora of progressive legislation. Story continues One those pieces of legislation is the proposal to allow undocumented Minnesotans to obtain drivers licences, which the Senate ultimately voted to pass by a 34-31 vote. Republicans attempted to add language to the bill stating that licences would be for driving only, claiming they had concerns about the integrity of the election process in the state. Today we sent a message to Minnesotas undocumented community: we hear you, we see you, and you are a part of our beloved community, Sen Zaynab Mohamed, the Minneapolis DFLer who wrote the bill, said in comments reported by KARE. The House will need to vote on changes made to the bill in the Senate before it heads to Gov Tim Walzs desk. The second-term DFL governor has said that he will sign it. If Mr Walz signs the bill in the coming weeks, Minnesota will join 18 other states that offer drivers licences to undocumented residents. The majority of those states are either in the West or the Northeast; Minnesota will be just the second state in the Midwest to offer drivers licenses to all after Illinois. The DFL is also pushing proposals to legalise marijuana, expand voting rights, and codify abortion rights in the state. Milwaukee will host the first Republican presidential primary debate in August, according to the Republican National Committee. The event will coincide with the RNC's summer meeting. So far, Milwaukee has been the only city chosen to host a debate. The event will be a precursor to the 2024 Republican National Convention in the city and a chance to bring even more national exposure to Milwaukee. "The Standing Committee on Presidential Debates has been hard at work over the past two days reviewing RFPs from organizations interested in hosting primary debates," Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel wrote in a memo obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The memo does not say where in Milwaukee the debate will be held. "We have a long way to go, but I am confident we will be able to showcase our eventual nominee in a world class fashion," McDaniel said. More:'It was a bit of a miracle': How Milwaukee landed the 2024 Republican National Convention Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson said the announcement is an "affirmation Milwaukee is an ideal location to stage a major event. I want our hospitality industry to grow and for hardworking Milwaukee residents to have even more employment opportunities." In a tweet, Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Schimming said he's excited Milwaukee has been selected as the city to host a debate. "Were looking forward to not only hosting the 2024 RNC, where we will show off our exceptional city & the future president of the United States, but excited MKE has been selected to host the first presidential debate!" Schimming tweeted. Only two major candidates have come forward to announce their candidacy for the Republican nomination, former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley. The field could eventually include such names as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Story continues The committee is hoping all candidates will sign a loyalty pledge to support the eventually nominee in order to participate in the debates, but the RNC would not confirm, according to the New York Times. McDaniel confirmed Milwaukee would get presidential primary debate earlier this month during a host committee kick off event at 3rd Street Market Hall. Milwaukee kicking off the presidential debate cycle in August follows a similar pattern to 2016 when Cleveland hosted the Republican National Convention in mid-July of that year and the first debate in 2015. During that same cycle, Milwaukee hosted a GOP debate in November 2015 at the Milwaukee Theatre. In 2016, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders debated at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. A Democratic presidential primary debate was also held in Milwaukee in 2004. Corrinne Hess can be reached at chess@gannett.com or on Twitter @CorriHess Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal. DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: First Republican presidential primary debate to be held in Milwaukee There is a new website to help healthcare providers, seekers, and helpers get information on pro bono legal assistance to facilitate abortion access, Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced Thursday. abortiondefensenetwork.org is a legal services website managed by the Lawyering Project. People looking for help on the website will be connected to attorneys in a nationwide pro bono network to provide free legal guidance and resources. This includes several Washington law firms recruited by the Attorney Generals Office. Advocacy organizations have also partnered with law firms and the Attorney Generals Office to connect people to important services. The ACLU of Washington, Legal Voice, and If/When/How provided training to Washington attorneys. Radical laws in other states are creating chaos for providers, out-of-state patients, and individuals assisting their friends and family to access health care, Ferguson said. The changing legal landscape is causing providers and others to question whether they face legal jeopardy by helping someone come to Washington for legal abortion care. This resource will help them navigate these important issues and protect their freedoms. Ferguson has also produced a know your rights brochure. The brochure outlines Washington laws to protect abortion and contraception access. It also gives options for insurance coverage for abortion care. Along with the brochure, Ferguson created a specific form for Washingtonians to file complaints on violations of their reproductive rights. Anyone with complaints or concerns about violations of reproductive rights under state law is encouraged to fill out the form. Retired General Jack Keane said on Wednesday that if China were to provide assistance to Russia during its invasion of Ukraine, it would could help escalate the conflict to a cold war. If China comes to the assistance of Russia and starts to provide them military assistance, that will be significant, Keane said on WABC and John Catsimatidiss Cats at Night Show. I dont believe the consequences are war with China and Russia, but it would likely push us much closer to a cold war to have China actively involved in assisting Russia. Keane also said that the Biden administration slow rolls the United States military assistance to Ukraine, noting that it may extend the war. He said that the United States is not sending advanced weapons to Ukraine out of fear that Russia will escalate the conflict. The administration slow rolls this and piecemeals it, and it actually extends the war and protract the war, and that falls into Putins hands, because hes got more people than the Ukrainians have by a factor of three, he said. Keane said this delay in sending weapons systems has handcuffed the Ukrainians and prevented them from retaking their territory. This administration takes a knee every time they think about providing an advanced weapon system to Ukraine out of fear that Russia will escalate and use nuclear weapons, he added. So theyve done this about nine times and Russia hasnt escalated one bit. The United States has sent military aid to Ukraine since the onset of Russias invasion, including a recent commitment to send 31 Abrams tanks to the country. Ukraine has pushed for more military aid, including asking for F-16 fighter jets, but the U.S. has not said whether it has ruled out sending those jets. Biden took an unexpected trip to Kyiv, Ukraine to met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the weekend ahead of his trip to Poland to deliver remarks on the one-year anniversary of Russias invasion. In his speech in Warsaw, he reiterated that the U.S. and its European allies would continue to support Ukraine. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Challenger 2 battle tanks could start to arrive in Ukraine in the spring, U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in an interview with Reuters on Feb. 22. Britain could offer Ukraine more of its main battle tanks on top of the 14 already promised, but that would depend on the country's defense needs, Wallace added. The U.K. has already given more than 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers basic training in drone warfare. It has been training tank crews since late January, part of what ministers say is "proof of the country's leading role in supporting Ukraine." Since 2015, the U.K. has been training the Ukrainian Armed Forces through Operation ORBITAL and was the first European country to provide lethal aid. The UKs military, humanitarian and economic support to Ukraine since the invasion has reached nearly 4 billion ($4.8 billion). "The key is to make sure we can maintain them through this year. With Russia using the meat grinder tactic of its own where the Russian army doesn't care about its own people, ... we have to make sure that is not able to be successful," Wallace was quoted as saying. Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (KLSE:MRCB) investors will be delighted, with the company turning in some strong numbers with its latest results. Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad beat revenue and statutory earnings per share (EPS) expectations, with sales hitting RM3.2b (13% ahead of estimates) and EPS reaching RM0.015 (a 2.3% beat). This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what experts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year. See our latest analysis for Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad Taking into account the latest results, the current consensus, from the five analysts covering Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad, is for revenues of RM2.92b in 2023, which would reflect a chunky 8.9% reduction in Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad's sales over the past 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to ascend 14% to RM0.017. Before this earnings report, the analysts had been forecasting revenues of RM2.78b and earnings per share (EPS) of RM0.019 in 2023. While next year's revenue estimates increased, there was also a substantial drop in EPS expectations, suggesting the consensus has a bit of a mixed view of these results. The consensus price target was unchanged at RM0.37, suggesting the business is performing roughly in line with expectations, despite some adjustments to profit and revenue forecasts. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. There are some variant perceptions on Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad, with the most bullish analyst valuing it at RM0.40 and the most bearish at RM0.35 per share. With such a narrow range of valuations, the analysts apparently share similar views on what they think the business is worth. Story continues Of course, another way to look at these forecasts is to place them into context against the industry itself. These estimates imply that sales are expected to slow, with a forecast annualised revenue decline of 8.9% by the end of 2023. This indicates a significant reduction from annual growth of 1.9% over the last five years. Compare this with our data, which suggests that other companies in the same industry are, in aggregate, expected to see their revenue grow 12% per year. It's pretty clear that Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad's revenues are expected to perform substantially worse than the wider industry. The Bottom Line The most important thing to take away is that the analysts downgraded their earnings per share estimates, showing that there has been a clear decline in sentiment following these results. Fortunately, they also upgraded their revenue estimates, although our data indicates sales are expected to perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at RM0.37, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets. Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. At Simply Wall St, we have a full range of analyst estimates for Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.. That said, it's still necessary to consider the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad , and understanding this should be part of your investment process. 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 As efforts to prove the 2020 election was stolen repeatedly failed and it became more and more apparent that Donald Trump would not remain president, the Proud Boys were overcome with a sense of desperation. "We pretty much knew it was over," Jeremy Bertino, an ex-member of the right-wing extremist group, told a jury in the trial of five Proud Boys Wednesday. "We were desperate at this point for anything else that could have changed the outcome of the election." Prosecutors allege that the Proud Boys on trial, fueled by that desperation to keep Trump in office, conspired to stop the certification of the 2020 election by weaponizing an already-inflamed pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6, 2021 against the Capitol. Bertino is the only Proud Boy who has pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy, a Civil War-era offense sparingly charged and even more rarely convicted. He faces up to 20 years in prison for that charge alone. In testimony Wednesday and Thursday, Bertino said that the Proud Boys viewed themselves as leaders among the political right and were motivated to "save the country" after Joe Biden was named winner of the 2020 presidential race. I believed that we were supposed to be the leaders of the country, of the right wing," he said. "The tip of the spear. Jeremy Bertino: Former Proud Boys leader pleads guilty to seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 Capitol attack Far-right Proud Boys member Jeremy Joseph Bertino, second from left, joins other supporters of President Donald Trump who are wearing attire associated with the Proud Boys as they attend a rally at Freedom Plaza, Dec. 12, 2020, in Washington. Bertino pleaded guilty on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022, to plotting with other members of the Proud Boys to violently stop the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election, making him the first member of the extremist group to plead guilty to a seditious conspiracy charge. Leaders in a post-2020 election world In the Proud Boys' view, there were two kinds of right-wingers, Bertino said: members of the group and "normies." Normies were anyone who supported Trump or fell right of center politically, but were not affiliated with the Proud Boys, he said. To the normies, the Proud Boys were "superstars" or "superheroes," according to Bertino. And to the Proud Boys, the normies were "good allies." "If the Proud Boys are the tip of the spear, then wed be looking at the normies as the people behind us," Bertino said. Story continues Proud Boys trial: Proud Boys on trial for charges stemming from Jan. 6 Capitol riot. What we know On Jan. 6, 2021, that's exactly where the normies were, the government alleges. Prosecutors say that members of the Proud Boys, including those on trial now, were a part of every critical breach" that day, and behind them were thousands of pro-Trump rioters who followed in their footsteps. In messages shown to the jury, members of the Proud Boys questioned whether normies would "push through police lines," "storm the Capitol building" and "burn (D.C.) to ash." They were like a "pack of wild dogs," one Proud Boy wrote in messages. "F--- it, let them loose," Bertino replied back at the time. Rioters loyal to President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. Views of law enforcement soured The Proud Boys attended the Dec. 12, 2020 Million MAGA March in D.C., and later that evening, Bertino was stabbed in a physical confrontation with "antifa." His stabbing was an inflection point for the group, prosecutors have argued. Bertino said that after his stabbing, he and other members of the group began to view law enforcement as the enemy at that point." I felt like they were not on our side anymore, he testified. And basically if you were not with us, you were against us. His feelings toward law enforcement were compounded with his and other Proud Boys' growing frustration about the 2020 election, which they believed to be fraudulent. "I felt that if the election had been done right, we wouldn't have even had to be there, and if we didn't have to be there, I wouldn't have been stabbed," Bertino said. Violent insurrectionists loyal to President Donald Trump supporters try to break through a police barrier at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. As 2020 election options dwindled, Proud Boys grew 'desperate' Bertino testified that an 11th-hour bid to subvert Biden's win a lawsuit brought by Texas, with Trump's blessing, against Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan, claiming fraud was the group's "last hope." When the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, "desperation" set in, Bertino said. "We would have to take the reins, lead the people to freedom," Bertino said. "And freedom was an opposition of a tyrannical government that we felt was being installed as opposed to voted in." Longtime Proud Boys chairman Henry "Enrique" Tarrio, one of the defendants on trial, felt the same way, Bertino said that "time was running out to save the country." 'The revolution had failed' When rioters began to clear out of the Capitol on Jan. 6 and House members planned to reconvene, the Proud Boys expressed disappointment in private chats. Bertino told other Proud Boys in messages that day they had "failed" because the House was meeting again, lamenting that rioter Ashli Babbitt, who was shot attempting to breach the House chamber that day, had "died for nothing." In court Thursday, he expanded on those messages: "The revolution had failed," Bertino testified. Rioters besiege the U.S. Capitol in a Jan. 6, 2021, file photo. Bertino's Jan. 6 role Bertino joined a North Carolina chapter of the Proud Boys in 2018 and for a time served as vice president of a chapter in South Carolina. Bertino was not in D.C. on Jan. 6, recovering from the stabbing, but he monitored the days events on social media and posted encouraging words in the Proud Boys' chats, telling those on the ground to form a spear and continue the fight, according to trial evidence. In addition to a maximum 20 years in prison for sedition, Bertino also faces up to 10 years in prison for a firearms charge brought after authorities recovered six unlawfully possessed guns while searching his home in March. Dig deeper: This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ex-Proud Boy testifies: 'Desperation' as 2020 election options waned Vehicles at Lianyungang Port in Jiangsu province are ready to be exported to Australia in January 2021. [Photo/cfp.cn] Some positive news is coming from the China-Australia trade front. Trade ministers of the two countries held a video meeting earlier in February and agreed to move forward in bilateral economic relations. China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao has said that his country is ready to restart the economic and trade exchange mechanism with Australia, whereas Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell stated that Australia welcomes high-quality investment from China. The development comes at a time when China has undertaken a post-pandemic policy adjustment to realign its trade and economic activities. Interpreting the updated priorities of the Chinese government and the resumption of consumption during the recent Spring Festival holidays, international markets are upbeat about the growth of the Chinese economy. Most institutions like the global lender International Monetary Fund, the investment manager Morgan Stanley, and the asset manager Vanguard, to name a few, have raised their projections for the Chinese economy in 2023 to around 6%. As structural reforms in domestic demand and supply and infrastructure investments take shape, China may even outperform these expectations. For Australia, this is precisely the right time to take advantage of its growing international confidence. The two main areas Wang and Farrell found consensus for expanding cooperation are climate change and new energy. There's no doubt that these emerging areas need a special focus as they provide an arena of shared benefits. Since the impact of climate change will be experienced by everyone, tackling it requires collective and multilateral action. It would be thus encouraging to see the resumption of full-scale sustainable commerce in these areas. Commentators have called the Chinese and Australian economies "natural partners" and termed the relationship as having "a natural economic affinity." It is important to note that they are also innately complementary to each other. What one country needs is provided by the other. While China is rapidly moving up the industrialization ladder, its demand for resource commodities and energy is increasing. Australia has ample quantities of both. Likewise, Australia needs high-quality finished products, which China can supply in massive quantities. Both countries also have the advantage of proximity. As compared to American and European markets, transportation and travel times in the Asia Pacific are much faster. And, of course, lesser distances mean lesser costs. In addition to the call for enhancing mutual trust and resolving differences, Farrell rightly acknowledged during the meeting that China is Australia's largest trading partner. The volume of this trade can be ascertained from the fact recently pointed out by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that Australia's trade with China is greater than its next three largest trade partners combined. At the policy-setting 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China held in October last year, the continuation of China's opening up to the wider world was given a special emphasis. Congress resolved to make the opening up of a high standard and integrate it with the development plans of other countries. This is where Australia's complementary economy comes into the picture. As China continues to open up new sectors for foreign investment, Australia's public and private entities can capitalize on early bird incentives. At the same time, caution must be taken to avoid the stance of the previous Australian government, which put ice on bilateral relations for a couple of years. The actions taken at that time, at the behest of extra-regional entities, caused extensive losses for Australian exporters. Australia should be on the watch for third parties influencing its trade policies with China and should strive to uphold prudent and independent practices. The growth of the Australian economy strongly relates to how Australia balances its relations with major powers. It was welcoming to see a realization in this regard, such as during a recent joint press conference on Feb. 7 by the Australian and New Zealand Prime Ministers. The former rightly identified that maintaining good economic relations and trading with China is in Australia's national interest. China is watching the tightened reviews of Chinese companies' investments in Australia. If Australia provides them with a fair and level playing field, they will be able to bring in capital helpful to accelerating Australia's post-pandemic economic recovery. The recent talk can be seen as a window of opportunity for bilateral trade and economic relations between Australia and China, and both sides can benefit from the budding environment before third parties potentially attempt to introduce new detracting factors. Bilateral relations are back at this level after considerable deliberations. Leaders of the two countries met at the sidelines of the G20 summit last November, and foreign ministers met in Beijing last December. The latest video meeting between the trade ministers and its fruitful outcome has set the path for a full resumption of economic and trade activities. This impetus in trade and diplomatic relations should not be lost. Hayat Bangash is a freelance columnist on international affairs with degrees in business administration and war studies. Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn. BOSTON (AP) A Rhode Island man has been charged with using his accounting and consulting businesses as a front to launder more than $35 million in internet fraud schemes. The 73-year-old man from Cranston is accused of founding dozens of shell companies in the United States and using them to open business bank accounts in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, the U.S. attorneys office said in a news release Thursday. He allegedly laundered the criminal proceeds for his clients in exchange for fees. Prosecutors alleged that he opened about 80 bank accounts purportedly on behalf of 65 different companies. In addition to his arrest, seizure warrants were executed on bank accounts holding several hundred thousand dollars of alleged money laundering proceeds and a Mercedes-Benz sport utility vehicle he bought, prosecutors said. The man was scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Thursday afternoon on charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and obstruction of justice. A message seeking comment was left with his attorney. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW EVANSVILLE A Vanderburgh County judge handed down a decades-long prison sentence Wednesday to Ricky Kiper Jr., who pleaded guilty to felony murder in January midway through the first day of his jury trial. Kiper, 34, was arrested July 27, 2022, the same day he allegedly shot and killed James Christopher McClernon, 41, at a West Side mobile home park where both men lived. Wednesday morning, Vanderburgh County Circuit Court Judge Celia Pauli sentenced Kiper to serve 60 years in state prison for the killing and imposed an additional 15-year sentence due to Kiper's status as a habitual offender. More:Accused murderer pleads guilty on first day of trial Kiper's decision to plead guilty to felony murder just hours after his jury trial got underway stunned Pauli's courtroom in late January. The short trial featured a dramatic outburst from Kiper, who called lead prosecutor Ian Blair a "punk-a** b***h" in open court. Kiper reportedly felt "no regret" According to an affidavit, Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to the 5900 block of Maggie Valley drive at approximately 3 p.m. July 27 after a resident called 911 to report that a man had been shot. On scene, Deputy Justin Chambers reportedly found McClernon lying inside a mobile home suffering from a gunshot wound. During Kiper's trial, Chambers testified that he checked for a pulse but found none. Affidavit:Evansville shooting suspect reportedly killed man for being a sex offender Deputies arrested Kiper after a brief search, according to a probable cause affidavit filed by the sheriff's office. During subsequent police interviews, Kiper reportedly admitted that he shot McClernon. "The defendant implicated himself by admitting to shooting the victim twice," Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office Detective Matthew Elrod wrote in the affidavit. "The defendant was not remorseful for his actions and felt he did the right thing today." Story continues Elrod would go on to claim Kiper killed McClernon due to McClernon's status as a registered sex offender. At least two people, including a family member of McClernon's, submitted victim impact statements to the court prior to Kiper's sentencing, records show. Kiper's 60-year sentence for the felony murder charge is toward the upper bound of state sentencing guidelines, which recommend a sentence of between 45 and 65 years for murder. Including the habitual offender sentencing enhancement, Kiper could remain in prison for up to 75 years. Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Ricky Kiper Jr. sentenced for 2022 Evansville homicide Roger Allam in Endeavour, which is coming to an end. (ITV) Endeavour star Roger Allam has teased that there could be a death in the detective drama's upcoming finale. The Inspector Morse prequel - which focuses on the early career of Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans) - is coming to an end after a decade. And the star, who plays DI Fred Thursday in the series, hinted that it could go out with a bang. Read more: New crime drama with Roger Allam brings sunshine to our screens Appearing on ITV's Lorraine, Allam said it felt "momentous" shooting his final scenes as the character, who he first played in the pilot back in 2012. "It has been a long time," he said, saying there were times filming his final scenes when he was "close to tears". Roger Allam and Shaun Evans in Endeavour. (ITV) Dropping a few hints about the ending, he said: "The mystery has always been for the fans why John Thaw's Morse never mentions a man called Fred Thursday. So there has to be some kind of explanation of that. A final parting of the ways. "Possibly even a death..." Allam, 69, also said he thought it was "right to finish now". "I like things that have a beginning, a middle and an end," he said. Roger Allam said he'd miss the character. (Getty Images) "So that's a good thing. "But nonetheless, of course I will miss it. "I will miss playing the character... but most of all I will miss meeting with that lovely group of regular characters that we've had over all these years. "And most of all working with Shaun." John Thaw as Inspector Morse. (Carlton TV) Inspector Morse, which starred the late John Thaw in the title role, started in 1987 and aired until 2000 and was a massive hit. Read more: Endeavour star Roger Allam speaks about his final scenes As well as the prequel Endeavour, it triggered the spin-off series Lewis. Watch: Lorraine Kelly blasts Brooklyn Beckham's 'joyless' wedding Florida Governor Ron DeSantiss team said they will not take questions from NBC News or MSNBC until host Andrea Mitchell apologises for misrepresenting Mr DeSantiss bans on books about Black history. Bryan Griffin, Mr DeSantiss press secretary, tweeted a standard reply that it will send to bookers and producers from the sister networks until Ms Mitchell issues an apology. I think we need to step back. There will be no consideration of anything related to NBC Universal or its affiliates until and at least Andrea Mitchell corrects the blatant lie she made about the governor, the statement partially reads. Please feel free to pass this up and around the network. To all of the bookers and producers reaching out to our office from @NBCNews and @MSNBC for @GovRonDeSantis to join your shows, this will be the standard response from our office until @mitchellreports apologizes and your track record improves. pic.twitter.com/8kQcLLEVzW Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) February 22, 2023 The comments come after Ms Mitchell conducted an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. In the interview, Ms Mitchell asked Ms Harris, What does Governor Ron DeSantis not know about Black history and the Black experience when he says that slavery and the aftermath of slavery should not be taught to Florida schoolchildren? That led Mr Griffin to criticise Ms Mitchell last week. Shameful. This question from @mitchellreports exemplifies everything wrong with corporate media. They're not accidentally terrible at their jobs--they're maliciously intent on deceiving people.@GovRonDeSantis never said this, and FL has extensive black history requirements. https://t.co/XZMRoBFuZG Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) February 17, 2023 Shameful. This question from @mitchellreports exemplifies everything wrong with corporate media, he tweeted. They're not accidentally terrible at their jobs they're maliciously intent on deceiving people. @GovRonDeSantis never said this, and FL has extensive black history requirements. Ms Mitchell later issued a clarification on her show. In my interview last Friday with Vice President Harris, I was imprecise in summarising Governor DeSantiss position about teaching slavery in schools, she later said. Governor DeSantis is not opposed to teaching the fact of slavery in schools, but he has opposed the teaching of an African American studies curriculum as well as some authors and source materials that historians and teachers say makes it all but impossible to understand the broader historic and political context behind slavery and its aftermath in the years since. Budanov is convinced that Ukraine is approaching the end of the war According to Budanov, both pressure from the Ukrainian army, political processes in Russia, and pressure from diplomacy will contribute to this. Read also: Budanov says number of Ukrainian intelligence agents in Putin's entourage is growing The Russians had the opportunity to calmly get out of the situation they created, he said. However, they did not want to stop and chose the path of escalation, which creates problems for them, Budanov said. He said he believes that Ukraine is nearing the end of the war. At the same time, he stressed that this would be possible only with the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine to its 1991 internationally recognized borders. Read also: Split between Wagner and defense ministry widens, Kremlin seeks to undermine Moldova No other option is acceptable to us, Budanov said. Any territorial concession could only lead to a new conflict later on. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Russia has launched almost 5,000 missiles on the territory of Ukraine. Source: Oleksii Hromov, Deputy Head of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, at a briefing on 23 February Quote: "Overall, since the start of the Russian full-scale armed aggression, the Russian occupation forces have launched almost 5,000 missiles and nearly 3,500 air strikes on the territory of Ukraine." Details: According to Hromov, the occupiers carried out almost 1,100 strikes using UAVs. He also added that due to the lack of high precision missiles in their arsenal, Russian forces use Kh-22 anti-ship cruise missiles, the so-called "aircraft carrier killers", to destroy Ukrainian civilian infrastructure. Throughout February, the Ukrainian forces shot down 6 jets, 2 helicopters, 80 cruise missiles and 84 UAVs of the Russian invaders. According to Hromov, the Kremlin's plans did not change. They aim to capture the main cities of Donetsk Oblast, subsequently occupying Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts in their entirety during summer. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Russia has launched a hacker attack on a number of Ukrainian government web resources on the eve of the anniversary of the full-scale invasion. Source: Press service of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine Quote: "On 23 February, an attack was detected on a number of web resources of Ukrainian state and local authorities, which resulted in the modification of the content on several pages of these resources. At the moment, it can be said that the incident did not lead to a significant disruption of the systems' performance and did not affect the functioning of government agencies. As we can see, Russia keeps asserting itself in cyberspace on the eve of the anniversary of the full-scale invasion." Details: The State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection reports that the work of most information resources has been resumed. The specialists of the State Service for Special Communications, together with the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police, are working to localise and investigate the circumstances of the cyber incident. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a concert in Moscow on February 22. Contributor/Getty Images Russian students were offered extra marks to be at a pro-war rally in Moscow, per a professor. A student who traveled 290 miles to Moscow told The New York Times they were brought there in busloads. Sirena reported that rally organizers were paying people 500 rubles ($6.67) to attend the rally. Russian students were offered bonus marks on their exams to attend a massive pro-war rally in Moscow, The New York Times reported, citing a university professor. Russians flocked to the Luzhniki Stadium, the biggest stadium in the country, for the event on Wednesday. The 81,000-seat stadium appeared to be full even though it was freezing, The Times reported. But The Times reported that not everyone was there of their own accord. Most of the tens of thousands of people who showed, it siad, up were state employees and students, who were given free tickets and a day off to go the event. Matvey, 19, a student who traveled from the city of Tambov, around 290 miles from Moscow, told The Times that university students were brought in by the busload. Some of them had to travel more than eight hours each way to get to the location, Matvey said. Students were also incentivized with free marks in exchange for their time, according to one professor, Grigory Yudin. "People were bused there, forced to attend; we have reports of that from multiple universities," said Yudin, who teachers political philosophy at the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences. The outlet noted that he did not go himself. The celebration was meant to honor Russia's armed forces, as part of the country's annual Defenders of the Fatherland holiday. It was two days before the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and featured a propaganda-filled speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin. People gather for a rally dedicated to the upcoming Defender of the Fatherland Day at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow on February 22. NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images Yudin said: "Putin coerces people, lures them into participating, and these students are promised free passes on exams." It is unclear which universities the students were from, or how many students were bused into the stadium. Insider was unable to independently verify that students and state employees were coerced into attending, or if students were given extra credit at school for attending the rally. Story continues Sirena, a Russian-language Telegram channel, reported that rally organizers were recruiting people to attend the concert on February 22. They were calling for people under the age of "35 to 40" to be background actors, and offering payment of 500 rubles (around $6.67), it said. Putin during his rally speech lauded Russian soldiers for "fighting heroically, courageously and bravely," per the Kremlin's readout of his speech. He also asked those in the stadium to chant "Russia, Russia" in support of Russian soldiers, per Reuters. The rally on Wednesday also doubled as a concert, with performances like a rap piece about "demons buried in Azovstal," referring to the Ukrainian fighters who defended a steel plant in Mariupol for weeks, and are considered war heroes in Ukraine. Read the original article on Insider While U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated the need for additional sanctions on Russia in a speech in Poland on Tuesday, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo was a little more specific in a speech he delivered at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington on the same day. Attributing the reports that Russia has had to turn to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Iran to resupply its military with drones and surface-to-surface missiles to the effectiveness of the U.S.-led sanctions, Adeyemo said that the United States plans to announce additional sanctions this week targeting Russia's military manufacturing industry. "While we have far more to do, we are succeeding in reversing the course of Russia's budget and undercutting its military-industrial complex," said Adeyemo, pledging that the additional sanctions will focus on cracking down on sanctions evasion and putting economic pressure on countries and corporations that continue to do business with Russia. Over 30 countries have imposed price caps on Russian energy exports, instituted export controls, frozen Russian funds and restricted its access to SWIFT, a global financial transaction system. However, the sanctions are being imposed without the United Nations' authorization and have no legitimacy in international laws. The great lengths the U.S. is going to in its efforts to claim the moral high ground by portraying the sanctions as actions for democracy indicate how desperate it is to cover up the nature of the sanctions, which are simply geopolitical weapons wielded by Washington in a bid to bleed Russia's economy in world trade and Russian military on the battlefields in Ukraine. Although those following the U.S.'s lead in imposing sanctions represent more than half the world's economy combined, they only account for about one-sixth of the number of countries and regions in the world and they are mostly developed economies. In weaponizing trade, technology and finance with the sanctions, the U.S. has formed a gang at the top of the global supply, industry and value chains so that it can impose its will on the rest of the world through long-arm jurisdiction and replace the rules of the international order in various sectors with U.S. rules. Yet Russia's economy is performing better than expected. This year, its economy is projected to outperform the UK's, growing 0.3 percent, while the U.K. faces a 0.6 percent contraction, according to the International Monetary Fund. It is clear that the sanctions bite both ways if not more on those that impose them an energy shortage has forced some leading European economies, including Germany, to remap the upgrading path of their industries. The IMF reported last month that Russia's economy would contract by just 2.2 percent in 2022, far less than the 8.5 percent envisaged by the West in March 2022 when it started imposing large-scale sanctions on the country. The report also projects that business activity in Russia will grow by 0.3 percent in 2023 and 2.1 percent in 2024, directly outpacing the 1.6 percent projected for the eurozone. Now is the time for the world to ask for how long will it continue to tolerate, if not pay for, the U.S. continuing to manipulate the international rules through illegal sanctions under a noble disguise for its own hegemony. Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) with Ukrainian tycoon and ally Viktor Medvedchuk in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, July 18, 2019. Mikhail Klimentyev, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP Russia sent masses of cash to pay off officials in Ukraine ahead of the war, the FT reported. It was part of a plot to install MP Viktor Medvedchuk as Ukraine's leader, but it failed. Most of the collaborators just vanished or informed Ukrainian authorities of the plan, per the FT. A carefully constructed network of Ukrainian collaborators, paid to support President Vladimir Putin's invasion, quickly melted away after Russia launched its invasion, according to the Financial Times. As Putin drew up plans to invade Ukraine, he looked to Viktor Medvedchuk, the Ukrainian former opposition leader and longtime Kremlin ally, to help him bolster native support for Russia's invasion, the FT reported. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has long said that Medvedchuk was Putin's pick to become his puppet leader in Ukraine. According to the FT, Medvedchuk tried to convince Putin that Ukrainians would welcome Russian forces prompting Putin to send large amounts of cash his way in order to pay off local officials and build a collaborator network. With that supposed wellspring of pro-Russian support in Ukraine, the Kremlin envisioned installing Medvedchuk as leader the moment Kyiv had fallen. But none of this happened. Some of the paid-off collaborators assisted the invasion, and helped in the swift capture of areas including Kherson, in southern Ukraine, but most either disappeared with the cash or reported the plan to Ukrainian authorities, the FT reported. Ukraine has had to grapple with the presence of collaborators, many of whom spring from the pro-Russian minority that, in many parts of the country, held only small sway ahead of the invasion. Nationwide, Ukrainian police were investigating more than 1,300 suspected cases of cooperation with the enemy as of last fall. But none of it was enough to produce the groundswell that Medvedchuk so confidently depicted to Putin, the FT reported. Medvedchuk was arrested by Ukrainian security services in April last year and handed to Russia in a prisoner swap. He has since been stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship and voted out of Ukrainian parliament by the country's MPs. He characterizes the criminal charges against him as political persecution. Read the original article on Business Insider Russia does not have an intention to prolong the war in Ukraine for years, but quite the opposite it is trying to achieve at least some results and end the war as soon as possible. Source: Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda Quote from Budanov: "No, absolutely not. Exactly the opposite. Russia is trying in every possible way to end the war as quickly as possible. But their military bloc is still trying to prove that 'we can do it, let's limit ourselves to the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts', but we will definitely do it and stop the war." Details: Budanov added that there is a group of people in the Russian Federation who believe that delaying the conflict plays into Russias hands, but there are people who are convinced that this actually benefits Ukraine. Quote from Budanov: "The problem is that, in fact, although I hate all these muscovites, there are also some not-so-dumb guys and girls there. And they clearly understand that no one has time. The longer this goes on, the more and faster the complete destruction of the armed forces and the economy will come." Details: He also believes that we can expect another Russian missile attack on "symbolic dates", that is, 23-24 February. Nevertheless, Budanov has stressed that Ukraine is continuing to receive weapons from its partners and everything is going according to plan, "give or take", as regards a counteroffensive planned for the spring. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! The Russia-Ukraine war has shattered the digital wall that often separated the governments cyber experts from the private sector, forcing a new level of transparency on potential threats and engagement on geopolitical crises. I think the war in Ukraine has acted as a forcing function for governments, particularly the U.S., to reconsider how they communicate and declassify cyber threat information with the private sector, said Jason Blessing, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. Its no secret that government agencies tend to move slower than private actors when it comes to communicating and sharing threat information, so it makes sense to join forces, he added. I think youre seeing the needle move in the right direction in terms of information sharing, he added. Nathaniel Fick, the head of the cyber bureau at the State Department, recently said that the war has made concrete changes to how the U.S. government and the private sector work together to counter cyberattacks. When I was a cybersecurity CEO, public-private partnership was a feel-good buzz term, Fick said. It generally meant I shared my data with the government, the government classified it, and I got nothing back. That is emphatically no longer the case, he added. Experts said the U.S. government is now more willing to declassify certain information and share it with the private sector as they come to realize the benefits of early engagement. And the war has also pushed the U.S. military to rethink how they can better integrate cyber into conventional military operations, while public-private collaboration has also helped Ukraine counter Russian cyberattacks. In Ukraine Microsoft and others were able to push updates at scale in near real time based on collaboration with the U.S. intelligence community that allowed them to blunt these attacks, Fick said. Last year, Microsoft said it had thwarted Russian cyberattacks targeting Ukraine and organizations in the U.S. and the European Union. The tech company said the attacks were launched by a Russian hacking group tied to Russias military intelligence service. Story continues Josephine Wolff, an associate professor of cybersecurity policy at the Tufts University Fletcher School, said since the war started, she has seen a much more urgent approach to publicly sharing information on emerging threats, how to confront them, and what disruptive steps the government and the private sector are taking. Leading up to and following the invasion of Ukraine, U.S. officials sent out several alerts warning companies, especially those in critical sectors, to prepare for potential Russian cyberattacks by strengthening their cyber defenses. I think thats where weve seen kind of the most progress and the most change, Wolff said. On the private sector side, experts say that companies large and small are more aware of the cyber risks stemming from the war and are proactively taking steps to fix their vulnerabilities and secure their networks. Companies also recognize that they can also be targets of state-sponsored cyberattacks stemming from geopolitical disputes, and can no longer sit on the sidelines. I think youre seeing more and more that firms cannot take a backseat to whats happening politically, Blessing said. In fact, executives and board members of various companies are now asking how the war could impact their business operations in cyberspace, said James Turgal, vice president of cyber consultancy Optiv. The questions Im getting are what are the geopolitical impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war, specifically, the cyber aspects?, Turgal said. How should we, as board of directors, now think about that?, he said, adding that these are conversations hes never had with board members prior to the war. [The war] truly has changed how boards are thinking about cyber, he continued. Cyber war crimes? The war has also sparked a global debate on whether certain Russian cyberattacks could consitute war crimes. Earlier this year, Ukrainian officials requested that the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague investigate whether destructive Russian cyberattacks could fall under war crimes. In January, Ukraines chief digital transformation officer, Victor Zhora, told Politico that his country is gathering evidence of cyberattacks tied to military operations and are sharing information with the ICC in the hopes of potentially charging Russia for those crimes. Zhora argued that since Russia used cyberattacks to support its kinetic military operations that targeted Ukraines critical infrastructure and civilians, the digital attacks should also be considered as war crimes against Ukrainian citizens. Those efforts could be a game-changer in this space as cyberattacks are currently not listed as a form of war crime under the Geneva Conventions. Declining Russia; rising China Moving forward, experts said to expect the U.S. to shift its focus on China, as it seems that Russias cyber capabilities have not kept up with the West. At the onset of the war, many experts in the industry, including lawmakers and intelligence officials, predicted that Russian forces would launch destructive cyberattacks, but that didnt materialize as many expected. What I would say is if Russias cyber capabilities cannot overcome the combined defensive efforts of the United States and Ukraine, then their capabilities have gone down, Wolff said. While China is emerging as the main adversary in cyberspace, it is also watching Russias efforts around Ukraine and applying it to its own situation with Taiwan, said Turgal. The Chinese are watching how the Russians are actually utilizing the different types of [cyber] techniques, Turgal said. Last year, Taiwans presidential office and defense ministry were hit with cyberattacks amidst then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosis (D-Calif.) visit to the island, adding to the rising tensions over the island. Although it is still unclear who launched the cyberattacks against Taiwan, many have speculated that China was probably behind it as retaliation for Pelosis visit. I think the conversation does not just remain about Russia-Ukraine, I think the conversation evolves into China-Taiwan, Turgal said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. More than 2,300 crimes against nature by the Russian army have already been documented In monetary terms, the losses are calculated to have already amounted to almost UAH 1.9 trillion ($52 billion), Strilets said. He said one fifth of Ukrainian nature reserves had been affected by hostilities over the year, with 10 national natural parks, eight nature reserves, and two biosphere reserves being, or having been, under Russian occupation. Not every European country has as much forest as the Russians have destroyed in Ukraine, he said. Read also: Russian troops shooting endangered birds for fun on Arabat Spit Khlan Today, almost 500,000 hectares are under occupation or are in the war zone. Another 2.4 million hectares of forests have already been liberated and need to be restored. It is interesting that almost the same amount, or three million hectares, was affected by wildfires in Siberia in the first four months of last year. That is, instead of putting out wildfires at home, Russian aviation bombed our cities and burned our forests. Strilets said about 600 species of fauna and 750 species of flora were under threat of destruction, including ones from the Red List of endangered species. In the Black Sea, about 1,000 cases of dolphin deaths have already been recorded on the coasts of Ukraine, Bulgaria and Turkey. The minister added that the most industrially developed part of Ukraine is located in the war zone, and 132 mineral deposits have been occupied so far. Furthermore, we have faced unprecedented nuclear terror since the first days of the full-scale invasion, Strilets said. Read also: Zelenskyy calls environmental devastation in Ukraine ecocide by Russian invaders The Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant was under occupation for 35 days and suffered losses of UAH 3.2 billion ($87.5 million). Today, we have another challenge the situation with Russias actions on the Kakhovka water reservoir could have colossal consequences. Its not only the deprivation of drinking water for one million Ukrainians a decrease in the water level in the reservoir could lead to the failure of the cooling systems at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant. Story continues The official also said that Russias actions had contributed to the worsening of the climate crisis, which affects the whole world. According to Strilets, due to the aggressors actions, Ukraine is dealing with additional direct emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere of about 33 million tons. Of that, more than 23 million tons of greenhouse gases were released into the atmosphere from wildfires in forests and fires on agricultural and other facilities during the hostilities, he added. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Consequences of enemy shelling in Kharkiv region He said doctors are currently providing the victims with the necessary assistance. Read also: Russian troops strike Kupyansk twice in a row, damaging house Synehubov said that on Feb. 22, around 10:30, the enemy attacked industrial facilities in the Kyiv district of Kharkiv with four S-300 missiles. Two civilians were slightly injured. During the past day, the enemy shelled at least 18 settlements in the Kupyansk, Chuhuyiv, Kharkiv and Izyum districts of the oblast. Read also: Russian shelling of Kharkiv Oblast results in wounded and destruction A 40-year-old civilian man was wounded in the village of Podoly, Kupyansk district, as a result of shelling. He was hospitalized in moderate condition. In Vovchansk, as a result of massive shelling, six residential buildings and two educational institutions were damaged. In the village of Nesterne of the Vovchanska community, farm buildings were damaged. Read also: Russia launches two strikes on Vovchansk, injuring six civilians As a result of the shelling of the village of Cherneshchena, Izyum district, a residential building was destroyed, and electricity poles were damaged. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Prigozhin at a foreign investors meeting in St. Petersburg in 2016. Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images Yevgeny Prigozhin got past UK money laundering laws using a bill in his 81-year-old mom's name. The Wagner Group boss passed the checks that allowed him to sue a UK journalist, the FT reported. At the time he was under UK sanctions for his group's role in bloody conflicts around the world. The head of the Wagner mercenary group, implicated in war crimes in Ukraine, was able to pass UK money laundering laws by using a gas bill in his 81-year-old mother's name, according to the Financial Times. Yevgeny Prigozhin presented the document in response to a 2021 request by a London law firm for his identity documents, before accepting him as a client, the FT reported, citing leaked emails. The request was made before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But at the time Prigozhin was under UK, EU and US sanctions for funding mercenaries connected to human rights abuses elsewhere in the world, as well as attempts to interfere with the 2018 US elections. Prigozhin's Russian lawyers sent Discreet Law a copy of his passport and a gas bill in his mother's name, which had an address in the Russian city of St Petersburg, the FT reported. His lawyers wrote that "the bill is issued in the name of the claimant's mother (Violetta Prigozhina) who actually lives at the client's residential address and pays the bills." A lawyer at Discreet Law replied by saying: "We are satisfied with the [anti-money laundering] documents," according to the FT. The firm was given permission to represent him in 2021 by the UK Treasury, the FT reported. Prigozhin had hired the firm to sue Eliot Higgins, founder of investigative news outlet Bellingcat, for libel after Bellingcat reported on the group's activities and Prigozhin's connections to the Kremlin. The case was later struck out, and Discreet Law applied to stop representing Prigozhin in March 2022. Prigozhin's mother is also under sanctions as of last year, including by the UK for benefiting from her son's activities. She is now 83. Story continues Despite being under Western sanctions for years, Prigozhin has been able to make millions through commodities companies he controls around the world, the FT reported earlier this week. The companies, dealing in oil, gas, diamond and gold extraction in Africa and the Middle East, generated $250 million in revenue in the four years before Russia invaded Ukraine, the report said. Discreet Law founder Roger Gherson told the FT that Discreet Law "cannot comment on confidential communications with their former clients." The Wagner Group has taken a leading role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with the US government accusing it of "atrocities and human rights abuses." It has around 10,000 mercenaries and 40,000 former prisoners deployed in the conflict, Insider's Stephanie Stacey reported last month. Read the original article on Business Insider The Russian military leadership is putting a lot of effort into establishing control over private military companies and ousting the Wagner Group and its owner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, from the media landscape. Source: Oleksii Hromov, Deputy Head of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, at a briefing Quote from Hromov: "The Russian Ministry of Defence is trying to oust Prigozhin from the information space for good. This has pushed them to set up other private military companies, in particular, the Yastreb ["Hawk" ed.] private military company, which is closely affiliated with the Russian Federal Security Service." Details: According to Hromov, in order to establish control over the private military companies and other paramilitary formations, the Russian military is seeking to take control of the supply of weapons, military equipment and food to volunteer formations. The same applies to medical assistance. In particular, the Russian government has already extended the coverage of the military medical examination to apply to so-called volunteer formations as well. Previously: Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the Wagner Group, recently said that the Russian Ministry of Defence is lying when it claims that Russian forces on the Bakhmut front have sufficient ammunition. Prigozhin complained that Wagner fighters are receiving less than 20% of the ammunition they had been promised. After Vladimir Putin's speech at a concert in Luzhniki Stadium on 22 February, Yevgeny Prigozhins bots [fake social media accounts ed.] flooded social media with comments demanding that the mercenaries be given shells. Prigozhin has also posted an image of dead Russian mercenaries who he says died on 21 February because the leadership of the regular Russian troops did not give the Wagnerites enough ammunition. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Russian warplane crashes in Belgorod Oblast A MoD plane crashed in the Valuysky city district, Gladkov wrote. Read also: Two Russian warplanes downed by Ukrainian forces, General Staff says Currently, an investigative team and employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are working at the scene. The cause of the incident is being investigated. Local Telegram channels reported that a Su-25 attack aircraft had crashed, and photos from the crash site soon appeared on social media. Reports said that the plane had crashed and was on fire, and an outbuilding was damaged. The pilot was reported to have ejected from the aircraft, but his condition was unknown, according to reports. On Feb. 13, National Guard servicemen shot down a Russian Su-25 aircraft in the Bakhmut area of Donetsk Oblast. Read also: National Guard downs Russian Su-25 near Bakhmut Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine By Leonardo Benassatto DONETSK PROVINCE, Ukraine (Reuters) -Russian forces were trying to close their circle around the small mining city of Bakhmut on Monday, while rain and an early spring thaw turned eastern Ukraine's battlefields to mud which could hamper both sides as they try to take the initiative. The spring thaw, known as the rasputitsa, has a long history of ruining plans by armies to attack across the soil of Ukraine and western Russia, turning roads into rivers and fields into impenetrable bogs. In the Donetsk region near the front, Ukrainian soldiers hunkered in muddy trenches after suddenly warmer weather softened the frozen ground. "Both sides stay in their positions, because as you see, spring means mud. Thus, it is impossible to move forward," said Mykola, 59, commander of a Ukrainian frontline rocket launcher battery, watching a tablet screen for coordinates to fire. Reuters saw several military vehicles stuck in mud. In a trench, cut deeply out of the ground in a zigzag pattern, Volodymyr, a 25-year-old platoon commander, said his men were prepared to operate in any weather. "When we're given a target that means we have to destroy it." Russia is trying to encircle Bakhmut, forcing Ukraine to pull out its garrison. That would give Moscow its first major prize in more than half a year, following one of the bloodiest phases of the war so far - a relentless Russian assault that began over frozen ground. SLOW PROGRESS Its forces replenished with hundreds of thousands of reservists called up late last year, Russia has intensified its attacks on several locations along the front in the east. Western countries say several of Russia's assaults have failed at high cost. But Moscow's troops have made clear, if slow, progress north and south of Bakhmut, attempting to cut off Ukrainian forces inside the ruined city, which once held around 75,000 people. "Vicious battles are going on there. The command is doing everything it can to stop the enemy from advancing through our territory," Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern military command, told Ukrainian television, describing the situation around Bakhmut. Story continues For it's part, Moscow claimed to have destroyed a Ukrainian ammunition depot near Bakhmut and shot down U.S.-made rockets and Ukrainian drones. Reuters could not verify the battlefield reports. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday described the situation around Bakhmut as increasingly difficult, saying the Russian forces are "constantly destroying everything that can be used to protect our positions for fortification and defence." YELLEN IN KYIV U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen became the latest senior Western official to visit the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, promising assistance and more measures to isolate Russia after meetings with Zelenskiy and other officials. Her boss, President Joe Biden, went there a week ago to mark the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow describes as a "special military operation" to protect Russian security. Ukraine calls the war an unprovoked attempt to subjugate an independent state. "America will stand with Ukraine as long as it takes," Yellen, flanked by sandbags at the Cabinet ministers' office, told Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Yellen announced the transfer of the first $1.25 billion from the latest, $9.9 billion tranche of economic and budget assistance from Washington, and visited a school where teacher salaries are reimbursed by U.S. budgetary support. She also backed completion of a fully financed program for Ukraine with the International Monetary Fund by the end of March. Ukraine's military forces have mostly focused on holding defensive positions in recent weeks, but are expected to attempt a counter-offensive later this year using new weapons pledged by the West. "I really want (victory) to happen this year. For this we have everything motivation, confidence, friends, diplomacy," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app. One thing missing are F-16 fighter jets his country has been seeking from reluctant Western allies. "Our pilots and anti-aircraft units, and other experts of our air force are doing a great job," Zelenskiy said in his nightly radio address. "But we will be able to completely protect our skies when the aviation taboo is fully lifted in relations with our partners." The Feb. 24 war anniversary saw both sides trying to demonstrate their resolve for a second year of fighting. Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a major speech in which he abandoned the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty with the United States but announced no major initiatives to change the war's course. He was upstaged by Biden, who journeyed to Kyiv and gave a landmark speech of his own in Warsaw. China, which signalled support for Russia by sending its top diplomat to Moscow last week, has issued a call for peace. The step has been met sceptically by the West but welcomed in general terms by both Kyiv and Moscow. Washington has said in recent days it worries that China could send weapons to Russia, which Beijing denies. Ukraine's outnumbered troops repelled Russia's attack aimed at taking the capital early in the war and later recaptured substantial territory. Russia still occupies nearly a fifth of Ukraine which it claims to have annexed. (Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Peter Graff and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Mike Collett-White, Christina Fincher and Grant McCool) According to a new filing from the Southern District of New York attorney's office, former FTX co-founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) now faces four additional counts of fraud, bringing his total to 12 charges. With these new charges, the former crypto wunderkind has been accused of defrauding the Federal Elections Committee (FEC), along with additional counts related to wire fraud and money laundering. U.S. campaign finance law places limits on how much money political donors can give per election cycle; also, it is illegal for donors to skirt these limits by making additional donations under others' names. SBF is now being charged with violating these regulations. The filing says that SBF and one or more other conspirators "agreed to and did make corporate contributions to candidates and committees in the Southern District of New York that were reported in the name of another person." Leading up to the 2022 midterm elections, SBF gave more than $40 million to primarily Democratic-leaning PACs and politicians, yet he claimed in an interview with YouTube crypto reporter Tiffany Fong that he gave about an equal amount to Republican groups, much of which is not public. "All my Republican donations were dark," SBF said. "The reason was not for regulatory reasons. It's 'cause reporters freak the fuck out if you donate to Republicans -- they're all super liberal." The initial charges, unveiled in December, were filed in parallel actions with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). He faces a slew of allegations that he led a "years-long fraud" designed to hide from FTX investors the fact that their funds were being redirected to SBFs Alameda crypto hedge fund. He is also facing charges for misusing FTX customer funds. SBF is currently awaiting trial on a $250 million bail bond, secured against his parents' property. Story continues This story is developing... Flash Travellers check in at the Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province, Feb. 10, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua] Germany no longer requires that people arriving in the country from China take a COVID-19 test, the government said on Wednesday. After the European Union (EU) agreed to end the requirement by late February, countries across Europe are now gradually dropping the test requirement for travelers from China. As of Feb. 22, China is "no longer classified as an 'area of variants of concern in which a variant of particular concern threatens to emerge,'" Germany's Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases said in a statement. Since the EU's member states could not agree on binding COVID-19 rules for passenger air traffic from China, the requirements varied by country. The EU's recommendations were also criticized as outdated. China has just resumed outbound group travel for tourists to 20 countries, including Thailand, the Maldives, the United Arab Emirates and Hungary and Switzerland in Europe. Germany is not yet among the destinations. According to the China Outbound Tourism Research Institute (COTRI), the number of outbound trips is to increase from 170 million in 2019 to 228 million in 2030. There was speculation that Samsung could use smartphone-to-satellite technology in its Galaxy S23 much like Apple has for the iPhone 14, but that didn't happen in the end. Now, the company has unveiled a new standardized 5G NTN (non-terrestrial network) modem that will enable two-way communication between smartphones and satellites. The technology will allow users to send and receive calls, text messages and data without the need for a cellular network, and will be integrated into Samsung's future Exynos chips. The aim is to allow people in mountains, deserts or other remote areas to communication with others in critical situations. 5G NTN conforms to 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP Release 17) standards, meaning it works with traditional communication services from chip manufacturers, smartphone makers and telecoms. Samsung confirms development of its own smartphone to satellite communication platform However, Samsung indicated that the tech could eventually be used to transmit high-definition photos and even video, on top of texts and calls. It simulated the tech using its Exynos Modem 5300 platform "to accurately predict satellite locations and minimize frequency offsets caused by Doppler shift," the company said. That will help pave the way for hybrid terrestrial-NTN networks "in preparation for the arrival of 6G," said Samsung VP Min Goo Kim. At CES 2023, Qualcomm unveiled Snapdragon Satellite, technology that would allow smartphones to send messages when no cellular signal is available. It'll work in smartphones that have both the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset and X70 modem system, plus some additional radios. Since Samsung's Galaxy S23 has both chips, it was thought the device may offer satellite communication technology to match Apple's iPhone 14. However, Samsung mobile experience VP TM Roh said it wasn't the best moment, as satellite functionality is still fairly limited. "When there is the right timing, infrastructure and the technology is ready, then of course for Samsung Galaxy, for our mobile division, we would also actively consider adopting this feature as well," he told CNET in an interview. Sam Bankman-Fried was the CEO of FTX. Eduardo Munoz/Reuters Sam Bankman-Fried put political donations through two FTX execs to appear bipartisan, prosecutors say. One was told to give "to a lot of woke shit for transactional purposes," according to a new filing. Bankman-Fried preferred to keep Republican contributions "dark" but gave millions, prosecutors said. Sam Bankman-Fried funneled political donations through two executives at FTX, his failed cryptocurrency exchange, to achieve bipartisan influence with both Democrats and Republicans in Washington, DC, prosecutors alleged in a new indictment Thursday. Bankman-Fried "did not want to be known as a left-leaning partisan, or to have his name publicly attached to Republican candidates," so he instructed two executives to donate money to certain candidates and political organizations instead, prosecutors wrote in the filing. The money for the donations actually came from FTX and Alameda Research, a hedge fund he also controlled, prosecutors alleged. An internal Alameda spreadsheet noted over $100 million in political contributions, according to the filing. Bankman-Fried "perpetuated his campaign finance scheme at least in part to improve his personal standing in Washington, D.C., increase FTX's profile, and curry favor with candidates that could help pass legislation favorable to FTX or Bankman-Fried's personal agenda, including legislation concerning regulatory oversight over FTX and its industry," prosecutors wrote in the filing. The details of the alleged donor scheme, which allowed Bankman-Fried to exceed contribution limits to candidates he already donated to, were detailed in a superseding indictment unsealed on Thursday, in which prosecutors elaborated on the terse indictment they'd first filed against Bankman-Fried in December. The original charges against Bankman-Fried included eight counts, while the updated indictment carries 12 counts, adding more conspiracy charges, including conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, according to the indictment. Story continues Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say Bankman-Fried illegally commingled funds from FTX with Alameda Research. FTX customer funds were used for donations to political candidates, and executives lied in paperwork from the Federal Election Commissions about the source of the money, prosecutors say. The indictment doesn't name the co-conspirators who prosecutors allege acted as "straw donors," referring to them only as "CC-1" and "CC-2." A search on the Federal Election Commission for donations by FTX employees in 2022 shows dozens of contributions by former FTX director of engineering Nishad Singh, and by Ryan Salame, who had helped lead the subsidiary FTX Digital Markets. Singh is reportedly in talks for a plea deal in the case, according to Bloomberg. A CNBC analysis of his political contributions beginning in 2020 found he donated more than $13 million to causes affiliated with the Democratic party. Meanwhile, Salame reportedly alerted Bahamian authorities to the scheme at FTX. According to The New York Times, he donated more than $24 million to Republican candidates and affiliated groups in the 2022 midterm elections. The group ran the donation scheme through an encrypted, auto-deleting Signal groupchat named "Donation Processing," according to prosecutors. The new indictment details an instance where Bankman-Fried wanted one of the executives to support a particular Congressional candidate who "appeared to be affiliated with pro-LGBTQ issues." The executive "expressed discomfort" with making the donation in his name, but "agreed there was not anyone 'trusted at FTX [who was] bi/gay' to contribute the money," prosecutors wrote. "A political consultant working for Bankman-Fried asked CC-1 to make the contribution and told CC-1, 'in general, you being the center left face of our spending will mean you giving to a lot of woke shit for transactional purposes'," prosecutors wrote in the filing. CC-1, prosecutors wrote, ultimately became on-paper "one of the largest Democratic donors in the 2022 midterm elections and helped further Bankman-Fried's political agenda." Bankman-Fried preferred to "keep contributions to Republicans 'dark'," but was the real engine behind CC-2's donations to the GOP, prosecutors wrote. The plot also helped obscure that Alameda Research was the true source of the funds, prosecutors alleged. A representative for Bankman-Fried declined to comment. Read the original article on Business Insider Base pay for South Carolina public school teachers would increase by $2,500 under a proposed budget approved by the state House Ways and Means Committee, but it doesnt mean all teachers would necessarily see a pay bump. The $2,500 increase would bring the states starting salary from $40,000 to $42,500 for next school year. This aligns with Gov. Henry McMasters goal of bringing the starting teacher salary to $50,000 a year by 2026, the last year of his term. In total, $593 million in new money would be spent on public education in the upcoming budget, which includes $261 million more in state aid that pays for teacher salaries. Continuing to increase teacher pay is seen as a way to help address the ongoing teacher shortage in the state, which reached a record 1,400 vacant positions this school year. Each cell on the minimum salary schedule, which bases teacher pay on years of experience and education level, also would increase by $2,500. A teacher who has 12 years of experience and has a masters degree would earn at least $55,104. However, the increased dollars for teacher salaries does not guarantee every teacher will receive a $2,500 raise. Only 46 out of 78 school districts currently pay less than the proposed higher salary schedule, as other school districts use local dollars to pay teachers more. Even though every public school teacher in the state wouldnt see a pay bump under the House budget proposal, the Palmetto State Teachers Association noted every district would receive more money and has the ability to increase teacher pay. It is essential to note that every district will receive increased state funds and, due to the flexibility of funds in state aid to classrooms, that increase can and should be used to raise teacher salaries, the association said in a statement. Lawmakers have about $3.5 billion in new annual and one-time revenue to allocate in this springs budget discussions. In total, the House budget-writing committee proposed a $13.8 billion spending plan. The full House is scheduled to debate the budget the week of March 13. Story continues House budget writers did not go along with McMasters proposal to provide teachers with a $2,500 retention bonus next year to keep teachers in the profession. The proposal would have cost about $132 million. We didnt have the money, really simple, said state Rep. Bill Whitmire, R-Oconee, who oversees the subcommittee on public education. But the Ways and Means Committee proposed spending $120 million on capital projects for school districts around the state. I thought that would go to better use since the teachers are already getting a large increase, Whitmire said. Budget writers included $17.3 million to increase base pay for school bus drivers from $9.12 an hour to $11 an hour. It represents a 20% increase in state pay for bus drivers. Increasing pay for drivers would help retain drivers who can go to the private sector where they can be paid more money. As districts struggle to find drivers, those on staff have to drive multiple routes. Whitmire said some children are picked up at 6 a.m. for school but may not get home until 5:30 p.m. every day. This leaves less time at school and home for our children, Whitmire said. Other spending priorities for education: $20 million of the capital needs money at schools would be used for school safety upgrades $15 million for high-intensity tutoring programs $42 million for literacy instruction training for kindergarten through third-grade teachers, including a $500 stipend for teachers who complete the training $12.5 million to expand computer science education $16.7 million more for full-day 4-year-old kindergarten $3 million to increase teacher supply stipends to $350 from $300 Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) edged out Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) in one of the first polls conducted in the race to replace retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who announced her retirement earlier this month. Schiff received 22 percent of support in the University of California, Berkeley-Los Angeles Times poll, with Porter garnering 20 percent a difference that is within the polls 2.5-point margin of error. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), who launched her campaign for the seat earlier this week, polled at 6 percent and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who is rumored to be considering a bid, came in at 4 percent. But the poll also found that there is a lot of room for change in these numbers, with around 40 percent of voters saying they were undecided on who they would support in the primary. In California primaries, voters choose from candidates in each party and the top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, advance to a general election. The early indications of a tight race between Schiff and Porter come as the two lawmakers, who both have national name recognition, start a primary battle that is falling along ideological fault lines in the party. Officials in California also see the campaign dividing along lines of race, gender and identity. The poll of 7,512 registered California voters, which only questioned Democrats and independents, also found that there is a generational split in the race, with voters over the age of 50 strongly supporting Schiff, a more moderate Democrat who formerly chaired the House Intelligence Committee and served a prominent role in the first impeachment of then-President Trump, and younger voters standing in staunch support of Porter, a progressive who has more than once gone viral for her harsh questioning of committee hearing witnesses. Lee and Khanna did not poll at above 8 percent or 5 percent, respectively, in any age category. No prominent Republican has yet jumped into the race. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A Cobb County school bus driver was arrested Wednesday afternoon after police said he walked into a familys home looking for their daughter. Channel 2s Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell was the only reporter on the bizarre story on Channel 2 Action News at 5 p.m. Cassioppia Ceas daughter attends Powers Ferry Elementary School. Cea said a new bus driver on the route scared her when he walked into her house earlier this week. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Police have identified the driver as Gogineni Rayudu. Cea said he walked into their home through their unlocked door and closed it behind him. He was wearing gloves at the time. My boyfriend was right there, and he came walking out, like, Excuse me? Who are you? Cea said. I tried to keep my distance at first because I didnt know if he had a weapon on him. Cea said she pointed out that kids were out of school this week. Rayudu told her he was looking for her and her daughter. I just started grilling him with questions, and as soon as I did, he took off, Cea said. TRENDING STORIES: Cea said Rayudu, who has only been on the route for about two months, has asked her daughter inappropriate questions in the past and told her he was her friend if she needed someone to confide in. Everything in my gut was telling me something was seriously wrong, Cea said. I I hadnt been there, what would have happened? Neighbors said theyve seen Rayudu roaming around the neighborhood, asking for Ceas daughter and another little girl. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Cea and her boyfriend filed a police report and were at Ceas home as detectives searched for clues Wednesday afternoon. Police asked Newell to hold off on her report because they were moments away from arresting Rayudu. They located him at another location and arrested him. Rayudu has been charged with burglary and loitering. IN OTHER NEWS Sir Iain Livingstone - UNPIXS Scotlands chief constable has announced his retirement two years earlier than expected after unveiling a report warning SNP government cuts had made policing unsustainable. Sir Iain Livingstone is to step down from Police Scotland in the summer after nearly six years in the post, despite his contract running until Aug 2025. The 56-year-old said Police Scotlands stability, a decade on from the merger of the countrys previous eight regional forces, meant it was the right time to look for a successor. But his announcement came after he published a report warning that wider public spending cuts were hitting the force, with officers taking responsibility in situations where the police service is not the most appropriate service to respond. The document, presented to the latest meeting of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), said: This position is unsustainable in the long-term and detracts from the ability to intervene effectively at the critical end of risk and harm. Keith Brown, the SNPs justice secretary, paid tribute to his long and distinguished service and highlighted the successful policing of the Cop 26 climate change summit and of the operation around the late Queens death in Scotland. But Holyroods opposition parties and trade union leaders argued it was hard to avoid the conclusion that his premature departure was linked to SNP underfunding. Officer numbers fall to their lowest level since 2008 Jamie Greene, the Scottish Tories shadow justice secretary, said: The Scottish Police Authority report, in Sir Iain Livingstones name, could not be clearer about the impact of the Nationalists cuts to the policing budget, which has seen officer numbers fall to their lowest level since 2008. Our dedicated police officers are being asked to do more with less by SNP ministers - and, as well as being a totally unrealistic expectation, it appears to have cost them the services of Police Scotlands top officer. Story continues Pauline McNeill, Labours justice spokesperson, said Sir Iain had not been shy about calling out the Scottish government on police numbers and other key issues. She added: The very existence of policing in Scotland is in danger unless the SNP fix these issues now. Michelle Brewster, Unisons police staff branch secretary, said it is not a surprise he is retiring earlier than expected. She added: Police services are facing unsustainable Scottish government cuts, which will set policing back years. Sir Iain had been a serving officer since 1992 when he joined Lothian and Borders Police, before being appointed interim chief in Sept 2017. His rise to the top came after Phil Gormley, his predecessor, was suspended during an investigation into gross misconduct allegations, which he denied before quitting. Sir Iain responsible for UKs second-largest police force He was appointed permanently to the post in Aug 2018 and has responsibility for 23,000 officers and staff in what is the UKs second-largest police force. His contract was originally due to end in August last year but in 2021 it was extended until 2025. Announcing his retirement, he said: We now have a full leadership team with the experience and capability to continue the progress made and can take confidence from the exceptional role Police Scotland played through Covid, Cop26 and the events following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. The police officers and police staff of Police Scotland are outstanding. Leading them as chief constable to serve the people of Scotland has been the honour of my working life. Mr Brown said: I would like to pay tribute and offer my thanks to Sir Iain for his long and distinguished service to Scottish policing. As chief constable of Scotland he has led the force through what history will show to be hugely significant events. Alister Jack, the Scottish Secretary, said: I thank Iain Livingstone for his long and dedicated service with Police Scotland. He has played a key role in ensuring the security of the whole of the United Kingdom as part of the UKs policing family. Seattle firefighters were called to the Ballard area to rescue a worker who was pinned on an elevated conveyor belt Thursday. The fire department first tweeted about the rescue at Salmon Bay Sand and Gravel, in the 5200 block of Shilshole Avenue Northwest, at 8:42 a.m. David Cuerpo, public information officer with the Seattle Fire Department, said a construction worker was stuck under a metal plate on the conveyer belt. The worker was stuck about 45 feet above the ground, according to Cuerpo. When our crews arrived on scene, they requested additional resources to have a Rescue One company bring here specialized equipment to cut through a metal plate that was pinning down the construction worker, Cuerpo said. Its unclear how heavy the metal plate was. Its also unclear how the construction worker got stuck on the conveyer belt, according to Cuerpo. Firefighters were able to safely free the victim from the machinery after about 45 minutes. The man was evaluated by medics and then taken to Harborview Medical Center in serious condition. The injuries are only described as serious, although Cuerpo said the worker was able to safely walk down the conveyer belt to first responders on the ground. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) denounced House Speaker Kevin McCarthys decision to give Fox News host Tucker Carlson access to surveillance footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, warning that it poses grave security risks to members of Congress and everyone who works on Capitol Hill. McCarthy (R-Calif.) granted Carlson access to 41,000 hours of Capitol surveillance footage from Jan. 6 earlier this month, Axios Mike Allen first reported. Excerpts of the footage are expected to be aired by Fox News in the coming weeks. There was never any legitimate reason for this footage to remain secret, Carlson told Axios. McCarthy echoed a similar belief at a news conference last month when he told reporters that the American public should actually see all [that] happened instead of a report thats written [on] a political basis. In a letter Wednesday, Schumer said McCarthy is needlessly exposing the Capitol complex to one of the worst security risks since 9/11. He added that the footage exposes closely held information about how the Capitol is protected, which could compromise its safety in the event of another attack. Releasing security footage publicly reveals the location of security cameras across the Capitol grounds, making it harder and more dangerous for our brave Capitol police officers to do their job, Schumer wrote in the letter. He added: It also risks exposing the carefully laid out and highly guarded plans for the continuity of government, intended to preserve our democracy in the event of an attack. All things anyone who would want to harm our country would love to learn. Schumer also criticized McCarthys choice of Carlson to grant access to the footage. Carlson has previously defended the Capitol rioters and shared conspiracy theories about who was behind the attack on Congress on the day both houses met to certify the 2020 Electoral College count. He also labeled the hearings in the House select committees Jan. 6 investigation as propaganda. Story continues By handpicking Tucker Carlson, Speaker McCarthy laid bare that this sham is simply about pandering to MAGA election deniers, not the truth, Schumer said in the letter. Other elected officials have shared similar concerns about McCarthys decision. McCarthy giving 40,000 hrs of Jan. 6 tape to a pro-Putin journalist is an astounding ethical collapse. What security precautions were taken to keep this from becoming a roadmap for 2024 insurrection? Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said in a tweet. Let me be clear, the Senate strongly objects to the release of this sensitive security footage to Tucker Carlson and Fox News, Schumer said. The speaker nor any elected official does not have the right to jeopardize the safety of senators nor Senate and Capitol staff for their own political purposes. Related... By Michael Erman NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren sent the nation's top patent regulator a letter urging close scrutiny of Merck & Co's requests for new patents on its blockbuster cancer treatment Keytruda, saying further efforts to protect the drug could be an abuse of the system. "It is not at all clear that Merck is doing anything other than extending its monopoly power over the drug," Warren wrote to Kathi Vidal, director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) in the letter sent on Wednesday and seen by Reuters. Senator Bernie Sanders, as well as Representatives Katie Porter and Pramila Jayapal also signed the letter. All four members of Congress are Democrats. They expressed particular concern over Merck's efforts to patent a subcutaneous version of the currently infused drug, which Reuters reported on late last year. They wrote that Mercks use of dozens of patents to fend off Keytruda competitors "appear(s) to be an example of the anti-competitive business practices ... that we have long been concerned about." Merck in a statement said it is "continuously innovating to enhance the benefits of Keytruda in order to reach greater numbers of patients and to increase efficacy and convenience of the treatment." "When appropriate, Merck protects this additional innovation through the filing of patent applications, particularly when we view the innovation as novel, useful and non-obvious," a Merck spokesperson said by email. Merck, which reported $20.9 billion in 2022 sales of Keytruda, has relied on the immunotherapy to fuel its growth. The treatment, first approved in 2014, harnesses the body's own immune system to fight cancers with dramatic results. Against advanced lung cancer, it has led to a five-year survival rate in about one-quarter of people compared to 5% historically for the disease. It initially demonstrated impressive survival benefits in the deadliest form of skin cancer and has since been approved for many types of cancer. Story continues The members of Congress wrote that subcutaneous injections do not represent novel improvements for drugs, as "medications have been injected under the skin since insulin was discovered in 1921." They urged Vidal to "give close scrutiny to any of Mercks requests for new patents for Keytruda, and reject those that do not clearly meet the agencys standards." Clinical studies have shown that patients prefer subcutaneous injections to intravenous administration, which can be time-consuming and invasive. Merck said the easier-to-use formulation of Keytruda will be particularly important for treatment of earlier stage disease, as patients may be on therapy for a longer duration. (Reporting by Michael Erman in New York; Additional reporting by Mariam E Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Bill Berkrot) WASHINGTON The leaders of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee that oversees competition policy and antitrust issues have called on the Justice Department to keep looking into Ticketmaster over concerns that it holds damaging monopoly power after a congressional hearing last month. In a letter Wednesday, Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, the subcommittee's chair and ranking member, respectively, said, "For too long, Live Nation and Ticketmaster have wielded monopoly power anticompetitively, harming fans and artists alike." The letter, addressed to Jonathan Kanter, the assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division, calls for further investigation. The Judiciary Committee held a hearing last month to examine the outsize role of Ticketmaster, which merged with Live Nation in 2010, in the ticketing industry after a presale debacle last year stranded thousands of Taylor Swift fans in their hunt for tickets to a coming tour. The hearing included testimony from Live Nation's president and chief financial officer, Joe Berchtold, as well as antitrust reform advocates and some of the company's competitors. "As an initial matter, other than Live Nations executive, every witness at our hearing testified that Live Nation is harming Americas music industry," the senators wrote. "We asked Live Nation a number of questions about competition both at the hearing and afterwards, but it has largely failed to answer them." They added: "Live Nations responses amount to 'trust us.' We believe that is wholly insufficient." The senators urged Kanter to take action if it determines that Ticketmaster has "walled itself off from competitive pressure at the expense of the industry and fans." In a statement addressing the lawmakers' letter to DOJ, Live Nation said Thursday, "We believe that policymakers would benefit from asking more questions about the chaos caused by scalpers and the resale-first side of the industry. We remain committed to working with lawmakers on developing reforms that will benefit fans and artists including those outlined in a FAIR Ticketing Act." Story continues Berchtold said at the hearing that bot-driven ticket scalping was responsible in part for Ticketmasters bungling of the presale, adding that the company believed the ticketing business has never been more competitive. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. President and Chief Financial Officer Joe Berchtold appears before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to examine promoting competition and protecting consumers in live entertainment on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. (Andrew Harnik / AP file) The bipartisan hearing, while targeting Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster, highlighted broader questions about market dominance issues that often come at a cost to consumers. In November, Klobuchar wrote to Ticketmaster questioning the company after it said it would cancel public sale of tickets for Swift's coming tour after lengthy wait times and technical issues caused disruptions during its presale. The same month, The New York Times reported that the Justice Department had opened an antitrust investigation into Live Nation. In her opening statement at the hearing, Klobuchar said competition needed to be restored while suggesting Live Nation had become so powerful it doesnt even need to exert pressure, it doesnt need to threaten, because people just fall in line. Klobuchar and Lee wrote to Live Nation on Feb. 2 to follow up on Berchtold's testimony, pressing him about figures and contract term lengths and seeking the company's cooperation with third-party audits of retaliation claims. Responding to the lawmakers' questions and concerns about Ticketmaster's market dominance, Daniel M. Wall, Live Nation's executive vice president of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, said in a Feb. 14 letter that the company was "not the monopolist that some claim," arguing that it has lost market share and had lowered prices due to competitive bidding. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Flash Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with 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, in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 22, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua] The China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era has never targeted any third party, nor does it tolerate any third party interference or coercion, a senior Chinese diplomat said in Moscow on Wednesday. This is because China-Russia relations enjoy a solid political, economic and cultural foundation, as well as calmness and sobriety from reviewing past experiences, said Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. More importantly, this is because a multipolar world and greater democracy in international relations, which China and Russia jointly support, are in line with the trend of the times and the aspirations of most countries, said Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Wang conveyed to Putin the warm greetings from Chinese President Xi Jinping. He noted that the two presidents held an important video conference at the end of last year, which has charted the course for bilateral relations in the new year. He said that the current international situation is complicated and grim, but the China-Russia relationship, which has stood the test of the drastic changes in the world situation, is mature, tough and as stable as Mount Tai. Although crises and chaos often emerge, challenges and opportunities exist at the same time, Wang said, adding that this is the dialectics of history. China is willing to work with Russia to maintain strategic resolve, deepen political trust, strengthen strategic coordination, expand practical cooperation and safeguard the legitimate interests of both countries, in order for the two countries to play a constructive role in promoting world peace and development, he said. Requesting Wang to convey his sincere greetings to President Xi, Putin said that the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has opened up new prospects for China's development. At present, Russia-China relations are moving towards the established goals, and bilateral cooperation in various fields and coordination in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS and other multilateral organizations are fruitful, Putin said. He added that strengthening unity and coordination in international affairs is of great significance to promoting greater democracy in international relations and the balance and stability of the international landscape. During an in-depth exchange of views on the Ukrainian issue with Putin, Wang appreciated Russia's reaffirmation of its willingness to solve problems through dialogue and negotiations. Wang said China will, as always, uphold an objective and fair position and play a constructive role in solving the crisis through political means. By David Shepardson (Reuters) -The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the committee's top Republican urged the Biden administration to halt Chinese airlines and other non-American carriers from flying over Russia on U.S. routes. Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat, and James Risch, the committee's top Republican, in a letter seen by Reuters urged the Biden administration to ensure no commercial airline overflying Russian territory arrives or departs from a U.S. airport. It also encouraged the administration to "strongly and publicly discourage U.S. persons, citizens, and permanent residents from traveling on flights over Russian territory." U.S. airlines and other foreign carriers are barred from flying over Russia. Russia banned airlines from the United States from overflights after the U.S. barred Russia flights in March 2022 following its invasion of Ukraine. "An additional byproduct of the current situation is that it puts U.S. airlines at a competitive disadvantage relative to airlines from other countries willing to do business with Russia," the senators wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg that was copied to White House's national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The State Department declined to comment. U.S. air carriers currently serve Shanghai from the United States through a stop in Incheon, South Korea, while Chinese carriers serve the United States directly, flying through Russian airspace. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately comment. Airlines for America, which represents American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and other carriers, praised the letter that "underscores our industrys long-standing concerns regarding Russian overflights, which have put U.S. airlines passenger and cargo at a direct competitive disadvantage." The group echoed the senators "call for the administration to take urgent action to ensure that foreign carriers who are overflying Russia do not depart, land or transit through U.S. airports." Story continues The senators want the Biden administration to prohibit U.S. government personnel on official travel from taking flights known to use Russian airspace. "The risk to Americans flying over Russian airspace is real, as demonstrated by Russian-backed separatists that shot down a Malaysian Airlines flight, killing all 298 passengers on board, or the government of Belarus, using as a pretense a false-bomb alert, ordered a Ryanair flight over its territory to land so that it could seize and detain a particular passenger," the senators wrote. "Proactive action taken by the Administration now would protect Americans from these significant risks, as well as closing off a funding source to the Russian government and addressing an inequity that puts U.S. companies at a disadvantage to foreign competition." (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Lincoln Feast & Shri Navaratnam) Nearly three years after a 15-year-old boy was shot and killed at a Visalia park, the suspected killer and accomplices is finally behind bars. Although seven people were arrested this week, only one person is facing murder charges. Here is what we know about the 2020 shooting and the arrests this week. On Dec. 13, 2020, officers were called to Ruiz Park on Buena Vista Avenue for reports of a shooting. When officers arrived, they found a 15-year-old boy with a single gunshot wound. Justin Molina was rushed to the hospital, where he died seven days later. Detectives believe the shooting took place during a drug deal. Visalia detectives partnered with the California Department of Justice (DOJ) to find Molina's killer. Detectives also asked for the public's help to identify a car thought to be used during the shooting and the identity of a possible killer. The suspect was described as a Hispanic man between 18 and 20 years old. On Tuesday morning, Visalia and Tulare County SWAT teams served six search warrants in Visalia and Farmersville. Seven people were arrested: Antonio Castaneda, 20 Candelaria Ramos, 48 Jennifer Ruiz-Castaneda, 18 Jose Ramos-Castaneda, 21 Jose Patricio Ramos Jr., 51 Maria Griselda-Campos, 43 16-year-old boy Antonio Castaneda was arrested on suspicion of homicide. Candelaria Ramos, Jose Ramos-Castaneda, Jose Patricio Ramos Jr. and the 16-year-old boy were arrested on suspicion of accessory to homicide and felony conspiracy. Jennifer Ruiz-Castaneda and Maria Griselda-Campos were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy and resisting arrest, respectively. Additionally, detectives say they recovered six handguns, a shotgun, and roughly $10,000 in cash. "The collaborative work of these agencies, along with informational tips from the public, assisted the Visalia Police Department Violent Crimes Unit in identifying seven suspects for their involvement in the homicide," Sgt. Art Alvarez stated. If anyone has any information regarding the investigation, call Detective Max Navo at 713-4234, or Sgt. Nate Flaws at 713-4092. Anyone who wants to remain anonymous can call the department's tip line at 713-4738. This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Seven suspects linked to Ruiz Park shooting In 1882, the body of a white man floated down the Kansas river near Lawrence. The man, in his mid-40s, had been accused of having sex with a 14-year-old Black girl. Soon after, the girl was arrested for his murder along with her father and two other men. Each of the men were lynched. A historical marker, built in 2022, memorializes the murder of the three men Pete Vinegar, Isaac King and George Robertson. But little is left to remember the young girl, Margaret Sis Vinegar, who narrowly escaped the lynch mob and spent her remaining years, until the age of 20, toiling in a womens prison without a proper trial. President of the Lawrence NAACP Ursula Minor is looking to change that. Her team has spent the last year designing a structure to memorialize the life of Margaret Vinegar and are waiting for the marker to be approved by multiple committees with the city. Minor believes that there are many more people, especially Black women, whose stories have been silenced or forgotten since Lawrence was segregated. She expects her group to uncover their stories through a grant project investigating the unmarked graves of Black people around the city, alongside the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit organization supporting prisoners without representation. A historical marker in Lawrence memorializes three Black men who were lynched in 1882. Black women were sexually assaulted at will and they couldnt do anything about it to fight back, she said. Its happened time and time again over history. Though she was born and raised in Lawrence, even Minor was unfamiliar with Vinegars story. It took multiple visits to the countys local history museum and the digging up of old newspaper clippings to find any information on the 14 year old. Many of the documents Minor discovered referred to the young girl as a prostitute, but never a child, she said. Few records detail how the 14 year old lived her life. Thats why were putting up markers So that people know even though Kansas was declared a free state it was not that free, Minor said. Story continues She deserves a marker just like the men do. Margaret Vinegar Most details surrounding the life of Vinegar were swept under the rug out of fear of persecution, according to Minor. After David Bausmans body appeared on June 10, 1882 in the Kansas River, all three of the men and Margaret Vinegar were arrested on suspicion of murder. Neither the 14 year old nor the three men received a proper trial. Instead, a mob broke into the jail with sledgehammers at 1 a.m. Each of the men were dragged to the Kansas River bridge, lynched and buried in unmarked graves. The mob considered killing Vinegar, but after further debate the group decided to leave her in jail. An all-white jury sentenced her to death for Bausmans murder. Vinegar lived at the Kansas State Penitentiary in Lansing until 1916, when she died of tuberculosis. It is unclear whether she was buried in the Lansing Prison Cemetery or moved into a different location. Unmarked graves Minors team has shared information about Vinegar through community presentations, but some white community members refuse to believe her story. It is in the newspapers, in black and white its there, Minor said. A lot of people are just now coming to the realization that this has happened and [modern day lynchings, shootings] are still happening. Minor is enlisting volunteers to help share the stories of more Black people buried in unmarked graves, in the hopes of erecting a marker highlighting the lives of those unable to receive a proper burial. Researchers will use grant funding to identify and share the stories of Black bodies that have been claimed. Her team is also reaching out to community members in an effort to identify some of the people buried in unmarked graves. One spot known as Potters Field in Oak Hill Cemetery, 16505 Oak Hill Avenue in East Lawrence, has no marker. Yet it is notorious for holding unidentified Black bodies. Minor believes its where Vinegars father and the two other lynched Black men were buried. We at least want to get a sign there right away, she said. The team also plans to build a marker at the Douglas County Lewis Crowder Cemetery, which is suspected of having many unidentified Black bodies. There might be family out there or it could prompt someone to search for more information about their own families, Minor said. Or, people could just sit and read about these people and understand their stories. That would be enough. John C. Stover, of Silver Lake, was sentenced to jail Wednesday on a conviction for cruelty to animals linked to the shooting of his neighbors' dog Lucy. John C. Stover needs to serve time for firing the shotgun blast that blinded his neighbors' dog, but he also needs to be available to care for his elderly parents, Shawnee County District Court Judge Rachel Pickering said Wednesday. She consequently sentenced Stover to one year in the Shawnee County Jail before suspending that sentence and ordering him to serve three days in that jail, then spend the rest of the one-year period on supervised probation. Pickering also sentenced Stover, 61, of Silver Lake, to pay restitution totaling $8,623.52 to cover medical bills, the loss of income the dog's owners incurred because of Stover's crime and the value of the dog, who is named Lucy. More:Old case complicates Kansas judge's confirmation hearing. Here's why GOP pressed issue. D.A.: Stover 'not really' accepting responsibility for crime Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said Stover fired a shotgun blast on Aug. 6, 2020, that blinded Lucy, a red Irish setter who had come onto Stover's property at 5329 N.W. Hunter Road. Kagay said Lucy hid under a shed before being struck by several pellets from a shotgun fired by Stover. Lucy, a hunting dog, was 18 months old when she was shot. She is now 4 years old, remains blind and lives with her owners, Dian and Mark Workman. The Workmans had asked to be awarded compensation to cover the value of training Lucy received from Mark Workman, but Pickering didn't make Stover pay for that. Kagay's office in 2020 charged Stover with felony cruelty to animals, alleging he wounded the dog knowingly, unlawfully and maliciously. Stover pleaded guilty Sept. 22 to a Class A misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals while saying he wounded the dog knowingly and unlawfully, but not maliciously. More:Northeast Kansas Animal Welfare Foundation pursues justice for mistreated animals with Cruelty Stoppers 'She's not the same, and neither are we' Kagay asked Pickering on Wednesday to sentence Stover to the maximum allowable jail term of one year. He suggested Stover was "not really" accepting responsibility for his crime. Story continues Stover asked Wednesday that he not be sentenced to jail, saying he was needed to run his farm and care for his father, who is 95, and his mother, who is almost 92. Before passing sentence, Pickering also heard from Dian Workman. "We lost a beautiful member of our family that day," she said. "She's not the same, and neither are we." Contact Tim Hrenchir at tim.hrenchir@gannett.com and 785-213-5934. This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Silver Lake man receives jail sentence on cruelty to animals conviction Days before the body of a New Jersey teacher was found in a shallow grave, authorities impounded a car linked to her former partner that had a pickax, a shovel and a bloodstained rope inside it, according to court documents released Wednesday. The details were in an affidavit supporting a murder charge against Cesar Santana, 36, in the death of Luz Hernandez, 33, a kindergarten teacher at a Jersey City charter school. Santana was also charged with hindering, tampering with physical evidence and failing to dispose of human remains in a manner prescribed by law, the Hudson County prosecutors office said in a statement. Luz Hernandez. (via NBC New York) He was arrested at a motel in Miami on Feb. 10 and extradited to New Jersey on Tuesday night, the prosecutors office said. A second person, Lenier Miranda Lopez, 26, was charged with desecrating human remains, the prosecutors office said. Lopez remains at large. According to the affidavit, Hernandez was reported missing by Santana the father of her three children and relatives on Feb. 6. Authorities investigating her disappearance later discovered that on Feb. 4, Santana was seen walking to Hernandez's house in Jersey City, where she was home alone, and dragging a black and yellow bin from the house an hour later, according to the document. The affidavit is partly redacted and doesn't say who observed his movements. On Feb. 5, authorities in the nearby city of Kearney issued Santana a motor vehicle summons after he and a second person were seen loading a black and yellow bin into a Honda, the affidavit says. The car had expired registration and was impounded. Two days later, Jersey City officers who were conducting a welfare check at Hernandez's home observed the faint smell of bleach, the affidavit says. They found cleaning supplies and a mop, and they saw bloodstains in the bedroom, according to the document. Hernandez's body was later found in a shallow grave in Kearney. An autopsy attributed her death to blunt force trauma of the head and compressions to the neck, according to the affidavit. Story continues A search of the Honda revealed a large black and yellow bin with wheels, a pickax, a shovel, clear plastic sheeting and a rope, the affidavit says. Some of the items were bloody; authorities found black hairs on others. Soil was found on the sheeting. Santana made his initial appearance in a Hudson County court Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor's office said. It wasn't immediately clear whether he has a lawyer who could speak on his behalf. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Modernas fourth-quarter profit tumbled 70% as COVID-19 vaccine sales fell and the drugmaker caught up on a royalty payment. Heavy research and development costs also weighed on Moderna as the vaccine developer looks to strengthen an income statement currently dominated by its Spikevax coronavirus preventive shots. Moderna said Thursday that its cost of sales jumped nearly a billion dollars to $1.9 billion in the final quarter of 2022. That included a $400-million catch-up payment to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for a new agreement on future royalty sales of the COVID-19 vaccine. Moderna scientists and government researchers worked together to develop the COVID-19 vaccine at the start of the pandemic. More than 270 million doses of the original vaccine and boosters have been administered in the United States since regulators granted emergency authorization in late 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Spikevax vaccine is Moderna's main source of revenue, outside of grants and money from collaborations. It brought in nearly $4.9 billion in sales in the fourth quarter. That's a 30% drop from the final quarter of 2021, when the omicron variant of the virus was spreading rapidly and more people were getting either initial shots or boosters. Research and development expenses also nearly doubled to $1.2 billion for the drugmaker. Moderna's pipeline of drugs under development includes a potential skin cancer vaccine combination it is working on with the drugmaker Merck & Co. Researchers are testing how Moderna's potential vaccine and Merck's immunotherapy Keytruda work in improving survival before cancer returns in patients who had advanced melanoma surgically removed. The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday gave that potential vaccine a breakthrough therapy designation, which is intended to speed the development and review of drugs that show signs of being an improvement over established treatments. Story continues Moderna expects to start a late-stage study this year. Moderna also is one of several drugmakers developing a potential vaccine for RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus. Company officials told analysts Thursday they will submit that vaccine to regulators for approval in the first half of this year. Overall, the drugmakers profit fell to $1.46 billion, or $3.61 per share, in the final quarter of 2022. Total revenue dropped 29% to $5.08 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $4.60 per share on $5.02 billion in revenue, according to FactSet. The COVID-19 vaccine brought in more than $18 billion in sales last year for Moderna. The company has about $5 billion in sales contracted for delivery this year. But Moderna expects additional sales from the United States, Europe and Japan. In the U.S., COVID-19 vaccines will be sold commercially for the first time later this year when the federal government stops buying the shots. Moderna told The Wall Street Journal last month that it was considering pricing the vaccine in the range of $110 to $130 per dose. But company leaders emphasized Thursday that people with insurance will pay nothing out of pocket for the shots. Moderna also has a patient assistance program that will provide the shots for people without coverage or who are underinsured. Shares of Moderna Inc., based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, dropped 7% to $147.17 Thursday. The stock had already fallen 12% so far this year as of Wednesday. ___ Follow Tom Murphy on Twitter: @thpmurphy People who heat their homes with natural gas may see high bills following the incoming California winter storm. (Craig Ruttle / Associated Press) Richard Keating, 78, was the architect who designed the iconic Gas Co. Tower in downtown Los Angeles. He's now wishing he had fewer natural gas appliances in his San Marino home as he faces a third straight month of four-digit gas bills. The tower, completed in 1991, features a tapered crown of blue glass that is meant to look like a gas flame. Southern California Gas Co. maintains office space there. Like people all over the state, Keating is confronting an extended cold spell and wondering how he can keep heating costs down amid high prices. Although, unlike many, he is attempting to heat a multimillion-dollar home, the supersized bills take a bite out of the budget. "I can't freeze to death in the house, so the heaters are going to run," he said. "Even if I'm aggressive about it, there's not a lot I can do" to bring down natural gas usage. Keating said he had stopped heating his pool after the "very big spike" in January left him with a bill of $1,327.02. In February, his bill rose to $1,534.93, several times higher than what he had paid the previous year. His next bill was projected to be $921.70 but that projection came before the storm, which threatens to bring cold temperatures to much of Southern California this week. Keating designed and built his home around 15 years ago. He now wishes he had installed solar panels and lessened his reliance on gas. "Here's a guy that should've known better and didn't," he said. If he could go back in time and redesign his home to avoid the fuel whose namesake tower he designed, he "sure as heck would." SoCalGas prices dropped by more than two-thirds in February after sky-high prices in January but "remain higher than usual for this time of year, Gillian Wright, a SoCalGas executive, said in a statement. The relationship between demand and price takes time to appear, said Chris Higginbotham, a spokesman for the U.S. Energy Information Administration. "If a given storm comes and drives up the price of natural gas," he said, "it typically takes time for that effect to show up at a retail level." Story continues Demand, however, is "one of the primary drivers of natural gas wholesale prices," Higginbotham said, and if a storm like the current one were to increase demand, it "could affect the price utilities are paying." Those costs would ultimately be passed on to consumers. Data from the USEIA show that stored gas in the Pacific region is well below five-year average levels, whereas all other regions in the country are close to or above average. This potential supply shortage could further raise prices, Higginbotham said. Customers, some seeking ways to save and others expressing frustration on social media, "are telling us that they are doing what they can to conserve, including turning their heat down," said Brian Haas, a spokesman for SoCalGas. Donna Biroczky, a social media marketer, has struggled to keep her Fontana home warm. "Our bill was probably triple this year from last January," she said. She has shut off her gas fireplaces and opted for electric heaters, stocking her house with "more blankets for people to use." Biroczky, 57, has rheumatoid arthritis, which becomes worse when temperatures drop. "Cold is my enemy," she said. She said skyrocketing prices for things that once felt affordable were forcing people to make trade-offs. "People are having to choose can I afford expensive eggs, or can I afford to stay warm?" Haas said that, alongside "some decreases in residential customer usage," SoCalGas had seen an uptick in use of assistance programs for low-income residents. For those who cannot afford the higher cost of staying warm in the storm, there are several such relief programs available. The Gas Assistance Fund, funded by donations and administered by the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, can provide a one-time grant of up to $100 to help customers in need cover their bills. California Alternative Rates for Energy, an assistance program for low-income residents, can provide a 20% discount on natural gas payments. SoCalGas also offers a forgiveness plan for past-due bills totaling up to $8,000 if customers enroll and then pay their bills on time. With each full, on-time payment, the company forgives one-twelfth of eligible debt, allowing customers to pay off debt in full after a year. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Both critical race theory and radical gender ideology are widespread in American schools and are measurably shifting students to the political left, according to a Manhattan Institute report released Thursday. Based on a survey of more than 1,500 Americans aged 18-20, the report seeks to inject hard data into a cultural debate often fought with anecdotal evidence. In the last five years, right-leaning activists, politicians, and educators have increasingly raised the alarm about curricula changes in schools. Researchers Zach Goldberg and Eric Kaufmann decided to put questions to a random sample of students who recently graduated from high school and can recollect their recent school experiences. This allowed them to estimate the extent to which these ideologies have affected American education as a whole. The first step was to ask respondents whether they had been exposed to fundamental concepts of these ideologies in school. There are many genders, not just male and female, read one of the concepts. In America, white people have white privilege, read another. America is built on stolen land, read a third. Goldberg and Kaufmann discovered that students had heard about at least one of eight concepts from a teacher or other adult at school. Ninety percent heard about at least one CRT concept, and 74 percent heard about at least one radical gender concept. Only a third 32 percent of students were taught that there are respectable counterarguments to CRT and radical gender ideology. Educators who incorporate such concepts into their instruction clearly expect, or at least hope, that doing so makes a difference in the minds of students, explained Goldberg and Kaufmann, adding that the idea these concepts are only taught for knowledges sake strains credulity. Students taught one or more of these concepts were more likely to agree with them. They also adopted policy attitudes in line with these concepts to a greater extent. For instance, support for preferential hiring and promotion of black people increases from 17 percent among those who were not exposed to CRT in school to 44 percent among those exposed to the maximum of five CRT concepts. Story continues The instruction of these concepts has influenced students political affiliation as well, with many shifting to the left. This is the case even if they have Republican parents and live in solidly Republican counties. Those exposed to none of these concepts break 20 percent Democratic to 27 percent Republican, while those who have been taught six-to-eight concepts break 44-to-53 percent Democratic (based on the number of concepts) to 7 percent Republican. Thirty-eight percent of those who were not taught CRT and radical gender ideology reported that they were afraid of being punished, shamed, or expelled for voicing opinions on controversial subjects. This rose to between 62 percent and 68 percent among those taught at least two of these concepts. Among Republican young people, fear levels jump from 31 percent to 74 percent after exposure to these ideologies. A conclusion the pair came to is that focusing on school choice alone is ineffective. School choice may allow a small number of highly informed and committed parents to insulate their children from [these ideologies], but it will make little difference to the level of indoctrination in the American school-age population, read the report. The pair also set out a series of policy recommendations for stakeholders. State governments must seek to intervene in the public-school curriculum, such as banning the teaching of CRT and radical gender theory as truth, clamping down on political indoctrination, and requiring teaching materials to be made available upon request, the recommendation read. More from National Review Elizabeth Broekemeier said she now drives over 230 miles from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Minneapolis so her son can get gender-affirming healthcare. Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem signed a bill that bans gender-affirming health care for trans youth. Elizabeth Broekemeier, mother to a 13-year-old trans kid, said the law flipped her life upside-down. To get gender-affirming care for her son, she now has to drive more than 230 miles out of state. A South Dakota mom says a law that bans trans healthcare for youth in South Dakota has forced her to find new ways to help her 13-year-old trans son obtain gender-affirming care including by finding and commuting to new doctors across state lines. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem last week signed the "Help Not Harm" bill into law, making it illegal for medical professionals to provide certain forms of gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth in the state. Gender-affirming care is healthcare given to trans and nonbinary people that can include medical, surgical, mental health, and non-medical services, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. South Dakota's law says healthcare professionals cannot prescribe puberty blockers, which are reversible, administer hormone therapy, or perform gender-affirming surgery. Because of the new law, Elizabeth Broekemeier said she now drives over 230 miles from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to Minneapolis with her child to a doctor who provides gender-affirming care. Broekemeier said she found providers in Minnesota who agreed to pick up her son's medical care. The process to switch, however, was lengthy and frustrating, she told Insider in an interview. It first required checking to see if those doctors were taking new patients and then transferring all of his medical records to the new institutions. The process continues to be inconvenient, she said. "It's that reintroduction of a brand new care team," she said. "We have history with his doctors right now, and the fact that we're going to have to start a brand new relationship, rebuild that trust, rebuild a new doctor-patient relationship all over again." Story continues She also has to coordinate with her ex-husband to figure out how to transport their son to the doctor's office in Minnesota. That means sometimes either of them misses work or their son misses school. It takes up to four hours to drive from Sioux Falls to Minneapolis, Broekemeier said. "Instead of it just being an afternoon appointment at the doctor's office, it turns into a full day," Broekemeier said. Tears, anger, and frustration When the bill was first introduced in the South Dakota House of Representatives in mid-January, Broekemeier and her ex-husband told their son the news. There were "lots of tears, lots of obviously anger from my son," Broekemeier said. Already at school, he had been struggling with peers and teachers accepting that he's trans and had built up resentment, she said. For weeks, he's listened to testimony before the South Dakota legislature and has monitored the bill's progress, leading up to Noem signing it into law. Broekemeier herself testified before South Dakota lawmakers, she said, in an effort to get them to vote down the bill. The testimony was especially hard for her son to listen to, she said, "because he was basically likened to a medical experiment by the proponents of this bill. And that's absolutely dehumanizing." Her son has told her multiple times in the bill's lifespan that he wants to move out of South Dakota. "He counts down until he turns 18 to when he can leave the state," she said. Broekemeier and her ex-husband, though, can't leave the state due to their jobs. Her job provides the insurance that allows her son to receive gender-affirming care. If she switches jobs or moves out of state, there's no guarantee her insurance will cover those costs, she said. The family also has deep ties to South Dakota, and their 7-year-old child is comfortable and settled in the state. Aside from the fact that they are settled there, Broekemeier worries that uprooting their life would lead to cost-of-living increases they might not be able to handle. It's also about the family's sense of belonging, Broekemeier said. "I belong here too, and my son belongs here too," she said. "And you don't have the right to push us out when we've been here as functioning members of society for almost 30 years." When asked whether Noem is concerned about parents like Broekemeier, her spokesperson Ian Fury directed Insider to a press release that does not mention parents. In the release, dated February 13, Noem said she wants to protect kids from "harmful, permanent medical procedures." South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem recently signed into law a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for minors in the state. Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images Utah last month passed a similar ban on gender-affirming care for youth, a law that made some families reconsider their residency. A 17-year-old trans kid, for example, told Insider that the law forced him to start planning a move to Portland. At least 21 other states are considering similar bills this year. Recently, Iowa Republicans proposed their own version of Florida's "Don't Say Gay" bill, in which school officials and faculty members are required to get permission from parents before calling students a nickname that does not "correspond to the biological sex" listed on their birth certificate. Such laws can increase the likelihood that trans youth experience mental illnesses, two experts told Insider. "Access to gender-affirming hormones reduces suicidality and suicide attempts by about 50%," said Minneapolis-based pediatrician Angela Kade Goepferd. "So I would accept that losing access to that care is going to increase suicidality in those populations. And I think that that's probably the thing that parents are most worried about." There might also be a significant increase in trans youth experiencing depression, said Mayson Bedient, a doctor who provides gender-affirming care in North Dakota. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that trans and gender-diverse youth have access to gender-affirming care and warned that trans youth who are denied access to such care are more likely to have poor mental health outcomes. Broekemeier said her son's mental health is on her mind now more than ever. "As a human, to have these bills come forth and these blatant attacks on your identity and who you are as a person, I mean, it's absolutely exhausting," she said. Broekemeier feels helpless. "I feel like I can't do anything to protect him," she said. She said she's been having trouble sleeping in the last few weeks. She worries people aren't more upset by the onslaught of anti-trans legislation piling up across the country. Read the original article on Business Insider South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have addressed the controversy surrounding the show, following its mocking of Harry and Meghan. This week, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were roasted on the show in an episode titled The Worldwide Privacy Tour, as they were seemingly depicted as cartoon characters while being referred to as the Prince and Princess of Canada. South Park has built up quite a reputation for stirring up controversy with its episodic content since its debut in 1998. Stone, 51, and Parker, 53, admitted that the backlash theyve received as theyve poked fun on the show gets us going, and criticism has mainly come from right-wing supporters. The show has faced backlash again after appearing to mock Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (Comedy Central) The writing pair have targeted several celebrities, including Tom Cruise, over the years on the programme. Speaking on the Basic! Podcast, which reflects on the cable TV era, the creators said: There are so many [moments] we cant even remember. It was all coming from the right, we were considered counter culture. The Catholic League are always on our arse it kind of always came from that side. One of the infamous episodes from the long-running series, fans will remember, ridiculed Tom Cruise and his controversial Scientology faith. An infamous South Park episode poked fun at Tom Cruise and his Scientology faith (AFP via Getty Images) Addressing the episode, Stone and Parker said: Everyone knew Scientology was so litigious. People in Hollywood were scared of Scientology at the time because they would just sue you. The duo continued: I think that got us going. The Tom Cruise episode was really about getting sued. I mean, poking openly litigious people and seeing where the line is and what you can say. That episode is what that is about they bullied Hollywood and scared people into [fearing] saying the word scientology. It appears the creators have not let up on their taunting tactics on South Park, considering the latest episode depicting the Sussexes. In the show, a cartoon prince was seen sporting red hair, beside his wife, who wore an outfit similar to Markles worn at 2018s Trooping the Colour, as they held up placards that read: We want our privacy! Story continues Following the episode, reports surfaced that the Duke and Duchess were considering suing the shows creators. The Sussexes have since denied the claims they are taking legal action. Its all frankly nonsense. Totally baseless, boring reports, their representative told People. KYIV (Reuters) - Spain may increase the number of Leopard 2A4 tanks to be sent to Ukraine to 10 from six promised earlier and will discuss potential aircraft deliveries with NATO and EU partners, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Thursday during a visit to Kyiv. The German-made fighting vehicles are part of over 50 2A4s Spain had mothballed in reserve, and they require repairs and refitting. "As the defence minister told parliament yesterday, we will send six Leopard 2A4s. We intend to see in the coming weeks and months whether we can increase the total to 10," Sanchez told reporters after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the eve of the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Sanchez's second trip to Kyiv since the Feb. 24, 2022 invasion comes just days after visits by U.S. President Joe Biden and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Earlier this year, Kyiv secured pledges from Western supporters of modern battlefield tanks to help fend off Russia's invasion, as Moscow steps up its efforts to make incremental advances in eastern Ukraine. Other NATO countries, including Germany, Poland and Portugal, have promised to send a total of 48 Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Sanchez added that Zelenskiy had also asked for warplanes to help Ukraine's war effort, but that was "something that we need to discuss with our partners both at the NATO and European level". (Writing by Emma Pinedo, Andrei Khalip, Editing by William Maclean) Spain will consider supplying Ukraine with four more Leopard 2 A4 tanks in addition to the six ones already promised by the government, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Feb. 23. The decision will be made "in the coming weeks," he added. The first group of Ukrainian troops is already being trained on the use of Leopard 2 tanks in Spain, Sanchez said during a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. According to Sanchez, Spain aims to "synchronize the delivery of the Leopards with the finalization of the training." "Ukraine has never posed any threat to Russia, we are helping a country that is defending its people that were attacked," emphasized the prime minister. "We must understand that Putin violates all fundamental laws, violates the territorial integrity of Ukraine; therefore, this struggle is absolutely legal, it must receive our joint assistance." Sanchez arrived in Kyiv on Feb. 23, the eve of the one-year anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion. This is his second visit to Ukraine since Moscow started its all-out war against the country. The day before, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles confirmed that Spain would transfer six renovated Leopard 2 A4 main battle tanks to Ukraine, according to El Pais. Spain is part of a coalition including Germany, Poland, Norway, and Canada that has promised to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine. The US and the UK have also pledged tanks. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell made an appeal on Feb. 15 to the countries with modern tanks that are "just standing and covered with dust" to send them to Ukraine as fast as possible as the spring and summer of 2023 would be decisive for the outcome of Russia's war against Ukraine. Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez has come to Kyiv on an official visit; he will also visit tge cities of Irpin and Bucha where Russians committed war crimes during the partial occupation of Kyiv Oblast in February 2022. This was reported by the correspondent of Suspilne [Ukraine's public broadcaster], European Pravda writes. The largest Spanish media outlets and the prime minister himself have not yet confirmed the visit, but Suspilne published a photo from the central railway station in Kyiv. Previously, the media outlets found out from unofficial sources that Pedro Sanchez should arrive around 8:00 on Thursday. Sanchez apparently arrived in the capital by train on the morning of 23 February. It is reported that he plans to visit Irpin and Bucha, as well as meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Background: Minister of Defence Margarita Robles reported that Spain would transfer six Leopards 2 Tanks to Ukraine. It was also reported that Spain will train 55 Ukrainian soldiers on Leopard tanks. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Pedro Sanchez, Head of the Spanish government, this Thursday announced in Kyiv that the batch of the Leopard 2 tanks that Spain is going to supply Ukraine with will be increased to 10 units. Source: European Pravda with reference to Spanish media outlet El Pais Sanchez confirmed the statement by Margarita Robles, Minister of Defence of Spain, that Spain will supply Ukraine with 6 tanks, but added that this number will be increased to 10. "We have the intention to do it in the next few weeks or months," Sanchez reported at the joint briefing with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which was held after midday but the broadcast of which was postponed for security reasons. Zelenskyy in turn announced that Spain joined the tank coalition. "Today I was assured that Spain will transfer the Leopard tanks to Ukraine. The Ukrainian troops are already training in Spain," he reported. "We are striving to synchronise the delivery of tanks to Ukraine with the end of training of the Ukrainian troops," Sanchez added. He also does not exclude the increase of the number of tanks that will be transferred to Ukraine. "Moreover, we are ready to send more Leopard tanks at a later stage if needed," stated Sanchez. Background: During his visit to Ukraine, Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of Spain, visited the towns of Bucha and Irpin in Kyiv Oblast that suffered from the Russian occupation. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Even before he stepped into his first newsroom, Dylan Lyons future in journalism looked promising. While a student at University of Central Floridas Nicholson School of Communication and Media, Lyons quickly proved himself to be a leader who was interested in teaching others as he learned, said Rick Brunson, a senior instructor in the journalism school. Brunson taught Lyons in two journalism classes when he was a sophomore at UCF and worked closely with Lyons as advisor of the student chapter of the Radio Television Digital News Association when Lyons was president. I would watch him as he was out and about on campus, Brunson said. He would bring other students in the [videography] class along with him to kind of coach them and mentor them and show them how to work the camera, how to set up a shot. He was that kind of a guy. He wasnt just looking out for his own grade. He involved other people around him in such a friendly way. People just loved being with him. That was Dylan. Lyons, 24, died after he and another Spectrum News 13 employee, photojournalist Jesse Walden, were shot just after 4 p.m. Wednesday while working on a report at the scene of a homicide that happened in the 6100 block of Hialeah Street in Pine Hills hours earlier. Walden was critically injured in the shooting but survived. After killing Lyons, the suspected shooter, 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, walked to a home nearby and shot two others, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said in a press conference Wednesday evening. There, deputies say Moses killed 9-year-old TYonna Major and critically injured her mother. Moses is also suspected in the earlier homicide. The victim, 38-year-old Nathacha Augustin, was found dead in her car around 11:17 a.m. Wednesday. Mina said Moses knew Augustin but its unclear if he had any connection to Lyons, TYonna or the others who were injured. No one in our community, not a 9-year-old child or a media professional should become of victim of gun violence, Mina said. Story continues Lyons was born and raised in Philadelphia before relocating to Florida and attending high school at A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach. According to his LinkedIn page, he started in 2012 and graduated in 2016. The Palm Beach County School District confirmed Thursday he was in the schools theater program. The Dreyfoos family is saddened to learn of the tragic and senseless loss of our former student, Principal Blake Bennett said in a statement. According to teachers who worked with Dylan, he was a bright shining star and was adored on our campus. He will forever be in our thoughts and prayers. Lyons enrolled at UCF, earning degrees in journalism and political science. He joined Spectrum News 13 in July, according to his bio on the news stations website. As a reporter, hes honored to have the unique privilege of being a voice for the voiceless and making sure all communities and stories are treated fairly and equally, it says. He previously worked for WCJB-TV, a news station in Gainesville. His coverage of the 2020 race for Floridas 3rd Congressional District was chosen as the best politics or elections reporting series by the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists. When he graduated ... he already had a job waiting for him, Brunson said. They plucked him up there at Gainesville WCJB-TV. They wanted him as soon as he walked in. He got his cap and gown and got his degree and headed up there and he did amazing work. ... Right out of the box from the get-go, he was an award-winning journalist. Still, Brunson said he was proud when Lyons made the choice to come back to work in Orlando for News 13. I love it when [former students] come back to this town and to this market to work, he said. ... He wanted to be an excellent journalist and he wanted a long-lasting career doing it. He was on his way until he was cut short in a heinous crime. Im having a hard time getting my head around it. Brunson said he rushed to Orlando Regional Medical Center as word reached him that Lyons had been the journalist killed Wednesday. There he met Lyons mother and fiancee who were distraught. Brunson said Lyons loved his mother and conversations that started on the topic of his schoolwork during office hours would often end with Lyons talking about his mom and other family members. He just loved his mom and wanted to make her proud, Brunson said. To see her last night having lost her son, it just broke my heart. In a remembrance posted to the Spectrum News 13 website, friend and colleague Josh Miller said Lyons took his job very seriously. He loved his career, Miller said. He loved what he did. He loved the community, telling the stories of people, reporting on the news, and he was just passionate about what he did. Lyons family set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for his funeral. He was an acting father to his niece and nephew who he loved so much, his sister Rachel Lyons wrote. He loved his fiance and... was a devoted son to his mother and father. In a statement late Wednesday, News 13 parent company Charter Communications said, We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today. Our thoughts are with our employees family, friends and co-workers during this very difficult time, the statement said. We remain hopeful that our other colleague who was injured makes a full recovery. This is a terrible tragedy for the Orlando community. The motive for the violence remains unclear. Every day, journalists across the country go out into the field to do the essential work of bringing important information to their communities, Bruce D. Brown, executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. We are sadly seeing journalism become an increasingly dangerous profession in the United States, and it should not be this way. Caroline Brauchler, a senior at UCF and editor of the journalism schools student publication NSM Today, said she and her classmates are taught about the dangers that come with reporting, learning the story of another UCF graduate, Steven Sotloff, who died at 31 in 2014 while reporting on unrest in Syria. At UCF, weve seen this happen before, Brauchler said referring to Sotloff. Weve seen a reporter that was trained here at UCF who went out into the world to do the good, honest work that were trained to do. He was just doing his job and he was killed and now we see the same thing with Dylan. Over the course of the day Thursday, a makeshift memorial grew outside the Nicholson School of Communication and Media at UCF, with well-wishers leaving flowers, candles and other remembrances beneath a sign that said, In loving memory of Dylan Lyons. Brauchler, who did not know Lyons personally, said the slaying does not change her desire to become a professional journalist. I will always respect Dylan for what he did, she said. He carried his commitment to journalism until the very end. I hope that myself and all of the other students that we work with here at UCF can grow up to be like him, and as dedicated as him. Jeff Weiner, Amanda Rabines and David Harris of the Sentinel staff and Scott Travis of the South Florida Sun Sentinel contributed. Vladimir Putin speaks at Luzhniki Stadium, February 22, 2023 However, at this stage, the Russian army does not have enough resources even for an offensive in Ukraine, ISW analysts believe. In Putins four-minute speech at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on Feb. 22, the Russian dictator once again referred to his imperialist narrative that Russia is allegedly fighting for "historical frontiers." Read also: Putins latest address failed to articulate specific goals for war in Ukraine, says ISW He previously said this a year ago, on the eve of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. ISW analysts point out that with this approach, the notion of Russia's "historical lands" can be used to justify aggression against virtually any of Russia's neighbors, as well as against Moldova and Central Asian states that do not share a border with Russia as they all contain territories that at some point were part of either the Soviet Union, the Russian Empire, or both. Putin's speech came shortly after his decision to cancel his decree on measures to implement Russia's foreign policy course, in which Russia had committed itself to seeking "ways to resolve the Transnistrian problem on the basis of respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and neutral status of the Republic of Moldova" and on the basis of the UN Charter. Read also: Russia has ambitious goals for great offensive, but will fail says Budanov The repeal of this 2012 decree does not mean that Putin intends to attack Moldova as he does not have the military capabilities to do so but it does indicate an escalation of his efforts to undermine Moldova as a state, ISW notes. Ukrainian intelligence officials continue to maintain that Russia lacks the manpower and resources necessary to support its new offensive operations in Ukraine. Vadym Skibitsky, a representative of the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, told news agency the Associated Press that in early February Russian forces intensified their offensive in at least four or five areas in Luhansk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhya oblasts, but have not yet achieved significant success although their resources, including human resources, continue to be depleted. Story continues Skibitsky added that Russian forces are concentrating their efforts on capturing Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Maryinka, Avdiyivka and Vuhledar. In addition, Ukraines spy chief Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with business magazine Forbes that the Russian offensive is so ineffective that it is "almost unnoticeable." He also noted that the aggressor is forced to ration artillery rounds. "More or less normal use of ammunition (can be seen) now only in Bakhmut and on the Lyman axis," as well as in Vuhledar. "In all other sectors, ammunition is being spared," stated Budanov. Read also: Ukraine to see decisive battles in spring, says Ukraines spy chief That is why, according to him, in the area of Bakhmut and Vuhledar the Russian army has largely switched from artillery and mechanized attacks to infantry attacks (due to lack of shells and armored vehicles). Budanov also said that Russia has sent more than 90% of its 316,000 mobilized troops to the front line. "This once again confirms the estimates of the West and ISW that the Russian armed forces do not have significant unused combat-ready reserves," the institute's analysts conclude. Wagner mercenary company owner Yevgeny Prigozhin has directly accused the Russian Ministry of Defense of delivering insufficient supplies of ammunition to his units, sparking intense backlash in the Russian information space and thus confirming ISW's earlier assessment of a growing split between the Wagner Group and the Defense Ministry. Read also: Russian Defense Minister is in conflict with Wagner PMC Prigozhin accused the Russian Defense Ministry of lying, claiming that the Wagner units had received only about 20% of the artillery ammunition they had been promised. Prigozhin called it "spitting at the Wagner PMC" and published documents in which he contrasted the needs of his PMC for shells with what the Russian Defense Ministry actually provides to the Wagner Group. Prigozhin supplemented these documents with a photo with dozens of corpses of Wagner mercenaries, stating that they died allegedly due to the lack of artillery support during the assaults. Many prominent Russian "milbloggers" rushed to defend Prigozhin, spreading his statements and supporting the claims against the Defense Ministry and accusations of "failing to support the allegedly most effective Russian forces in Ukraine," ISW said, describing the reaction. Prigozhin's complaints also confirm that his previous attempts to boast of the Wagner PMC's "independence" from the Russian Defense Ministry were a lie, analysts say. Other ISW findings over the past day: U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price stated that the U.S. government is concerned about the potential strengthening of Russia-China relations; Russian forces are likely attempting to increase the tempo of their offensive operations along the Kupyansk-Lyman line; Some Russian sources refuted other Russian claims about the intensification of offensive operations in western Luhansk Oblast; Russian forces continued to conduct ground attacks throughout the Donetsk Oblast front line and secured marginal territorial gains around Bakhmut; US intelligence officials stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin may mobilize significantly more Russian personnel. Map of hostilities: Russian offensive in Donbas, battle for Bakhmut, fighting in Zaporizhzhya Oblast and northeast Ukraine Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine The situation on Ukraines borders was among the items on the agenda when the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief met on 23 February. Source: Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defence Council, on a 24-hour newscast; Interfax-Ukraine Quote from Danilov: "A meeting of the Staff was held today. There were representatives who are located directly on the borders with Belarus and Moldova. The movements that they are making on the borders with the Chernihiv region have nothing to do with the offensive." Details: Regarding Moldova, Danilov offered this clarification: "One of our intelligence agencies reported the coup that they planned and informed our president, who informed the president of Moldova." According to Danilov, "the Russians could not take advantage of the moment, but this does not mean they will not try to seize power there, in the area of Moldova." "It is important for them that we divert some of the troops to this area. Because if a point of instability appears there, we will have to react to it," Danilov said. Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed that Kyiv had "ramped up preparations to invade" Transnistria (the unrecognised "Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic"), alleging that "concentrations of troops and military equipment belonging to Ukrainian units" had been spotted near the border, that Ukraine had "deployed artillery" within firing range from the territory, and that there is an "unprecedented increase in unmanned aircraft sorties by the Ukrainian Armed Forces over the territory of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic". Despite the fact that Moldovan authorities have denied the statement, the Russian Defence Ministry continues to claim that the "Ukrainian Armed Forces will carry out this operation in response to the alleged Russian offensive mounted from the territory of Transnistria". This, the Russian Defence Ministry said, was "an immediate threat to the Russian peacekeeping mission" in Transnistria. Story continues The Russian Ministry of Defence made these announcements on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Star Media Group Berhad (KLSE:STAR) Full Year 2022 Results Key Financial Results Revenue: RM217.0m (up 16% from FY 2021). Net income: RM6.92m (up from RM132.4m loss in FY 2021). Profit margin: 3.2% (up from net loss in FY 2021). The move to profitability was primarily driven by lower expenses. EPS: RM0.01 (up from RM0.18 loss in FY 2021). All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Star Media Group Berhad Earnings Insights Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 2.7% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, compared to a 11% growth forecast for the Media industry in Asia. Performance of the market in Malaysia. The company's shares are down 1.6% from a week ago. Risk Analysis It is worth noting though that we have found 1 warning sign for Star Media Group Berhad that you need to take into consideration. 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 The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Picard, Season Three, Episode Two: Disengage. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 movie that arguably saved Star Trek as a going concern. It was a cheap movie, but writer-director Nicholas Meyer made thriftiness a virtue, building a paranoid submarine thriller out of steely glances and jousting phone calls. Despite having no love of Trek, Meyer painted a broad sweep of an older Jim Kirk, his life, death and rebirth with the help of a son he never knew he had. Its a sumptuous movie, full of smart dialogue and characterisation, with a drum-tight plot and great acting, not just a great Star Trek film, but a great film, period. And sometimes, I feel that its critical and commercial success was so big that its been to Star Treks overall detriment. Whenever the creative well runs dry, Trek runs back to old comforts, and the Next Generation movies were perpetually looking for its own Khan. First Contact flipped the Moby Dick narrative, making Picard the Ahab against the Borgs white whale. Insurrection borrowed the setting of Khans climatic finale, while Nemesis borrowed its plot beats; a wounded ship only saved by the heroic sacrifice of each series Tin Man character. Into Darkness then winkingly inverted those same plot beats, with Kirk nobly dying in place of his best friend. Picards been telegraphing its intentions from the get-go, dropping every nod to fans about where wed wind up. The Bennett-era movie callbacks remain en vogue here, and to my memory this is the first use of the Blaster Beam, or a soundalike, in a streaming era soundtrack. Much like all of the other nods, were watching a cargo cult being assembled in real time, boldly serving us up something weve only seen, oooh, four or five times at this point. So: Wounded hero ship facing off against a more powerful enemy? Check. Inside a nebula thats disrupting normal starship functions? Check. With our lead suddenly presented with the news he has a son he never knew about? Check check check. Story continues This week, Picard and Riker make it to the Helios to find Beverley in her stasis pod, guarded by her son, Jack. Hes a rakish Englishman who has already spoken two whole words in French while negotiating with a corrupt Fenris Ranger. After being rescued by the Titan, Riker starts hinting about the younger Crushers parentage, as if being the worlds most English Frenchman is a genetic trait. It isnt long before Crusher is outed as an intergalactic con man and fugitive, and Shaw has him sent to the brig. He also, after several hours of allowing her to remain on the bridge giving orders to people, dismisses Seven for indulging two people we keep being told are legends and heroes. Theres plenty of furrowed brows as Picard initially refuses to consider that he might have a son, and at no point does anyone suggest running a paternity test. You might expect it would be easy enough to whip out a tricorder or hypospray, or even the transporter records, and find the truth. But, you know, that would be too efficient, so were left with Picard and Jack facing off in the brig. Now, credit where due, Patrick Stewart and Ed Speelers sell the hell out of this scene, the first that feels in any way real so far. All the while, the Titan is menaced by Amanda Plummers villain, who we know is evil because shes smoking on the bridge of her ship, the Shrike, indoors! I wonder if this, too, is another nod to those older films given Plummers father faced off against Kirk in The Undiscovered Country. Maybe this is why Im so out of step with so much of the (positive) critical consensus around this run. I find this raiding of Star Treks own text and paratext to be insular and repetitive, with it more interested in placating disaffected fanboys than telling a story with a point of view. If you want strange new worlds, new life forms and new civilizations, youll need to watch the show set 142 years earlier. Then theres Raffi. Last week, she uncovered that some nefarious type had stolen some deep tech from Aperture Science Starfleet. At the end of that episode, a Starfleet recruitment building big enough to fill the donut hole in Apple Park gets Portal-ed into dust, killing (just) 117 people. Now, looking to make amends for her, uh, failure? Shes looking into local crims in order to find out who exactly was responsible for the seemingly-unwarranted attack. Now, this is the plot beat I alluded to in my preview, when Raffi, who is in recovery, is forced to do drugs in order to prove shes not an undercover agent. The portentous music and Michelle Hurds acting sells the notion this isnt a great idea, but Raffis committed to the cause. But while shes incapacitated, her handler comes in to rescue everyone with some good, old-fashioned Mekleth carnage. I couldn't help but feel a punch in the air when Worf popped up in all his glory, but the tonal jump doesn't sit well with me. You could be wondering why the Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire is doing covert intelligence work. But, by the end of the Next Generation movies, it was clear that Worf would just show up for a visit whenever the plot required. And even Im not going to harp on about this too much, because it is never a chore to watch Michael Dorn do his work. As EWs Darren Franich said in his definitive Star Trek essay series, Michael Dorn knew Worf only got cooler when the show made him look goofy. As goofy as he is here, hes still Worf, and you just wish that Paramount had greenlit a Worf show three years ago instead. I had hoped this episode, for its laggy table-laying, may be looking for a way to attack a well worn but fundamentally strong Star Trek trope. That being if its right and proper to hand over a potentially-innocent man to frontier justice, and if not, why not? Theres plenty of angles for the argument given the many shades of gray that most people can now comprehend. After all, the Titan is outside Federation space, and so you cant, or shouldnt, impose your values on those beyond your worldview. That can be countered by someone saying that natural justice is, or should be a universal virtue. And that these debates must sit side-by-side with the notion that the needs of the many (the 500-plus souls on the USS Titan) outweigh the needs of the few, or the (Jack Crusher) one. You could even have the supposedly right argument, the one aping Spocks famous aphorism, espoused by the character most seen as an asshole, too. But no. Unfortunately, Picard remains bad for all of the same reasons that pretty much every other Khan copy is bad: It has almost nothing to say. In fact, this episode seems to hinge on every person in the narrative suddenly becoming incapable of doing even the basic parts of their jobs. Since when would a security officer not search a prisoner for hidden technology before putting them in the brig? Since when would a ship at Red Alert be taken by surprise when a hostile vessel in front of them starts attacking? And why did nobody have the presence of mind to run a paternity test, which surely at this point in history could be done with the ships internal sensors? Not to mention, why didnt Jack just tell the security guard hed like to hand himself over rather than knocking him out? Maybe so we could have a few more moments of tension before the Titan chooses to make a break for the nebula and we roll the credits. You may think Im banging on unnecessarily about The Wrath of Khan but I think its justified here. If the production team werent looking to invite comparisons to a vastly superior project then they were unwise to take so many of its plot beats as its own. I mean, in Wrath of Khan, Kirk has sixty seconds to find a way to even things up between the wounded Enterprise and the Reliant. And he does so with a little bit of theatrics, some ingenuity, and by showing that he was a little cleverer than anybody gave him credit for being. When this version of Picard is placed in the same situation but given a whole hour to come up with something, what does he do? He marks time on the bridge while the younger actors with plausible-looking stunt performers can do the now obligatory punch fight so that the audience at home doesnt start getting bored. By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) - A federal judge in Detroit on Thursday dealt a blow to a U.S. labor agency by drastically narrowing his recent order that had barred Starbucks Corp from retaliating against pro-union workers nationwide to cover only one Michigan store. U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith ordered Starbucks to cease and desist from firing or disciplining employees at the Ann Arbor, Michigan cafe because of their union activity, but rejected the National Labor Relations Board's bid for a much broader ruling covering all the company's U.S. locations. Goldsmith on Feb. 17 had issued a nationwide cease-and-desist order against Starbucks and told the company to re-hire a shift manager at the Ann Arbor store who was fired after publicly advocating for a union. But the judge withdrew the order on Wednesday citing unidentified "errors." The board has accused Starbucks of unlawful anti-union tactics at stores across the country during a wave of labor organizing. A nationwide order would have been a potent weapon for the agency to wield in its enforcement efforts. Court orders can help protect employees while the board litigates cases against their employers, and make it easier for the agency to go back to court to enforce the orders when they are violated. On Thursday, Goldsmith said the board "has not demonstrated that Starbucks has implemented a corporate-wide anti-union policy." Starbucks did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The board's general counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, said the order was disappointing but still provides critical protections to workers at the Ann Arbor store. "We will continue to seek nationwide relief ... to remedy violations of federal labor law by Starbucks and other entities, as appropriate," she said. Employees have voted to unionize about 280 Starbucks U.S. locations, while rejecting unions at more than 50 stores. Starbucks operates about 9,000 U.S. stores. The NLRB and Starbucks Workers United, the union organizing workers, have accused the company of firing pro-union employees, promising raises and benefits if workers do not unionize, and refusing to engage in contract talks at some locations. Starbucks has said it respects workers' rights to unionize. (Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and David Gregorio) "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Starbucks rolls out new drinks on a fairly regular basis, but the coffee giant just announced a slew of beverages that are a definite departure from their usual. Starbucks is releasing a line of Oleato coffees, which feature olive oilin coffee. Starbucks plans to roll out its Oleato coffees first in Milan, Italy, and then in other areasincluding southern California. Oleato represents the next revolution in coffee that brings together an alchemy of natures finest ingredientsStarbucks arabica coffee beans and Partanna cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, Howard Schultz, Starbucks interim chief executive officer, said in a press release. Today I feel just as inspired as I did 40 years ago. Oleato has opened our eyes to fresh new possibilities and a transformational way to enjoy our daily coffee. People are already asking questions on social media, and fairthis is definitely different. Heres what you need to know about Oleato coffee, plus whether its healthy. Where did the idea for Oleato coffee come from? It actually came from Schultz, who said he was inspired to combine the two ingredients after learning that some Italians take a spoonful of olive oil each day. So, he decided to mix coffee and olive oil. I was absolutely stunned at the unique flavor and texture created when the Partanna extra virgin olive oil was infused into Starbucks coffee, he said. In both hot and cold coffee beverages, what it produced was an unexpected, velvety, buttery flavor that enhanced the coffee and lingers beautifully on the palate. What is Starbucks Oleato? Starbucks describes its Oleato line as the alchemy of Starbucks arabica coffee and premium Partanna extra virgin olive oil. The reason for this surprising pairing, the brand says, is that it creates an entirely new experience, taking on a depth and dimension that simply must be tasted to be believed. Story continues What is Oleato coffee? Oleato coffee is kind of a new concept. Technically, people have already been putting some form of fat in their coffee for ages, like milk and creamer, but this is different. Starbucks will roll out the following Oleato drinks in the U.S. in the spring: Oleato Caffe Latte: This hot drink features Starbucks Blonde Espresso Roast, Partanna extra virgin olive oil, and oat milk. Oleato Golden Foam Cold Brew: This cold drink mixes Partanna extra virgin olive oil with cold foam and cold brew for a sweet taste. Oleato Iced Shaken Espresso: This cold drink features hazelnut syrup, espresso, oat milk, and Partanna extra virgin olive oil. What does olive oil do in coffee? Is it healthy? On a basic level, it adds fat and (apparently) creates a more full-bodied flavor. It also adds 120 calories to each cup, points out Keri Gans, RD, a New York City-based nutritionist and the author of The Small Change Diet. Starbucks isnt making any health claims with these new concoctionsinstead, theyre focusing on the flavor. But olive oil has been linked with some health benefits, including a reduced risk for heart disease, making it natural to wonder if there are any health perks to drinking your coffee this way. Holly S. Andersen, M.D., attending cardiologist and an associate professor of clinical medicine at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical Center, says she will not be adding olive oil to my coffee. She explains her reasoning this way: Study after study shows that replacing butter and margarine with olive oil is a healthy thing to do. Numerous studies have also shown that the Mediterranean diet which includes olive oil is one of the healthiest diets that weve studied. But Dr. Andersen points out that there is some disagreement about the health benefits of olive oil. Some say it has antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties that may help prevent cardiovascular disease, she says. Others argue that, while it is less damaging than animal fats, it is still a high calorie fat that can contribute to cardiovascular disease. Heating olive oil may also diminish some of its nutritional benefits, she says. Its an interesting concept, says Rigved Tadwalkar, M.D., a board certified cardiologist at Providence Saint Johns Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif. Its true that we have good evidence on olive oil and cardiovascular benefits. ...On the other side, coffee can be heart-healthy. But Dr. Tadwalkar says things get tricky when garnishes and other elements like syrups and oat milk are added to coffee. I cant say that this will specifically be heart healthy, he says. The drinks may have some nutritional value, thoughtheyre a source of omega [fatty acids] from the olive oil, and fiber and protein from oat milk, says Vanessa Rissetto, R.D., the CEO and co-founder of Culina Health. (Worth noting: Starbucks hasnt publicly shared nutritional information for the new beverages.) Scott Keatley, R.D., of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy, points out that olive oil has many science-back positives, noting that oleuropein found in olive oil is one of the best antioxidants found in nature. Olive oil is also a monounsaturated fatty acid, which is very different from any other fat in offer at Starbucks, Keatley says, adding, its a great way to improve the nutrition of your coffee without fundamentally changing your coffee. But the olive oil adds a significant amount of calories to each drink, and experts say its important to be aware of that. Most people are not at a loss for adding olive oil to their diet, especially when cooking, Gans says. For some individuals adding it to their coffee will just result in extra calories. Rissetto recommends looking at these drinks as more than a beverage, noting, you want to consider it as a snack, its probably fine. Oleato drinks will roll out in Starbucks locations in the U.S. in the spring. You Might Also Like Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast A new Tennessee bill poses an interstate health care nightmare. If an insurance provider covers gender-affirming care in another statelike hormone therapy in New York, or breast reduction surgery in Illinoisthat provider could be cut off from the 1.7 million Tennesseans who use the states Medicaid program. The bill, HB1215, is just one of several recent efforts by lawmakers that target insurance, when used for gender-affirming care. In Florida, Wyoming, Kentucky, and Arkansas, proposed legislation would hit doctors, employers, and patients, who rely on longstanding insurance programs. This attempt to try to limit health insurance, particularly for providers and health insurance from companies is just going to [cost] more money and delay more things in court, because weve known for well over a decade that health insurance has explicitly said gender-affirming care is included in health care, Shelby Chestnut, executive director of the Transgender Law Center told The Daily Beast. Tennessees HB1215 was introduced in early February. Under the bill, Tennessees Medicaid program, TennCare, will no longer contract with health providers that cover gender-affirming care, even if the treatment takes place out of state. Were also seeing lots of bills that would prevent any kinds of public funds like Medicaid or public facilities including doctors and hospitals from being able to be used to provide gender affirming care, Cathryn Oakley, the Kentucky legislative director for the Human Rights Campaign told the Associated Press shortly after the bills unveiling. One week before the Tennessee bills introduction, Wyomings Senate introduced its own bill that would block doctors from providing minors with gender-affirming care, including temporary treatments like hormone blockers. If enacted, the bill would suspend or revoke licenses of doctors who provided those treatments. It would also prohibit insurance companies from covering any gender-affirming procedures for minors. Story continues The Tennessee and Wyoming bills come amid a maelstrom of anti-LGBTQ legislation. More than 300 such bills have been introduced in statehouses this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign; about 150 of those bills would curtail rights for transgender people. Medical experts overwhelmingly recommend gender-affirming care for transgender youth. A 2020 study of 11,914 transgender and nonbinary people in their teens and early 20s found a significant drop in depression and suicide attempts among young people who received gender-affirming care, especially when those people were supported by their parents. Nevertheless, lawmakers have used concerns about transgender youth as part of a larger broadside against gender-affirming care for people of all ages. I think its a blanket fear-mongering tactic, Chestnut said. It is concerning the lengths lawmakers are going to criminalize not only young people and their parents and their health care providers. Meet the GOP Governors Standing Up to GOP Anti-Trans Bills One new bill, introduced in Kentucky on Tuesday, is nominally about blocking young people from gender-affirming health care and mental health care. It requires teachers to alert parents if kids use new pronouns but it also lays the groundwork for a wider attack on insurance for transgender people in the state. The bill would establish liability provisions if an insurer elects to cover gender transition services and amend Kentucky law to prohibit a fully insured benefit plan or self-insured plan for public employees from covering gender transition services for a person under the age of 18 years. Health-care providers would also be required to report anyone who provides gender-affirming care to minors, or face criminal charges. The bill is being fast-tracked through the Kentucky legislature, the Louisville Courier Journal reported. The Kentucky bills language about liability comes amid an interstate effort to make gender-affirming care risky for doctors who provide it. A new Arkansas bill would allow people who received gender-affirming care as minors to sue doctors for malpractice up until age 48. The bill would greatly increase doctors liability, making it difficult for them to obtain their own insurance, the Associated Press reported. In Florida, meanwhile, lawmakers have penned legislation that would make employers liable for costly disputes over gender-affirming care. On Monday, Floridas Senate introduced a bill that would require employers who pay for gender-affirming care to pay for treatment that reverses gender dysphoria treatment, if the patient wants it later, regardless of whether the patient is still an employee. Woke businesses need to be held accountable when offering to pay for gender affirming surgeries in other states, such as California, because they are nothing more than political decisions masquerading as health care and human resource decisions, the bills sponsor, Sen. Blaise Ingoglia announced in a statement. Florida banned state Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care in 2022. The healthcare field, as a whole, is bursting at its seams right now, Chestnut said, citing the strain that COVID-19 placed on doctors. Add in the increased discrimination youre seeing across the country: the criminalization of transgender people, and parents, and medical providersnow theyre trying to come for insurance. Its just going to greatly lessen peoples safety in going to the doctor. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. Steven Bannon, the former Trump White House strategist turned convicted felon and conservative podcaster, has been sued by the law firm that represented him in numerous state and federal proceedings over the last few years over unpaid legal fees totaling more than $480,000. In a civil complaint filed last week in a New York State court, the law firm of Davidoff, Hutcher and Citron said Bannon incurred nearly a million dollars in billed hours and expenses from the firm as one of its partners, Robert Costello, represented him in proceedings starting in November 2020, when Mr Bannon was arrested on fraud charges relating to his promotion of an alleged charity to build a privately funded border wall along the US-Mexico border. That case was eventually dismissed after Bannon recieved a last-minute presidential pardon from then-president Donald Trump on the day his term in the White House expired, but Mr Costello also represented Bannon during his trial last year for criminal contempt of Congress after he was indicted for defying a subpoena from the House January 6 select committee, as well as several other state court matters. Of the $855,487.87 in fees and expenses owed by Bannon, the ex-Breitbart News executive only paid $375,000, according to the firms civil complaint. The firm has also asked the court to award it the costs it is incurring to bring the civil action against Bannon, who is currently facing another state-level fraud charge stemming from the wall-building scheme that led to his prior federal indictment. The former Trump aide also incurred legal fees during the time Mr Costellos firm was engaged to help Bannon deal with the January 6 panel subpoena, which he ended up blowing off completely. In June, a Washington DC jury convicted him of contempt of Congress and a federal judge sentenced him to four months in jail. But Bannons sentence has been put on hold while he appeals the conviction. Bannon is also parting company with a separate group of lawyers who are representing him in his criminal case before the New York court over the fake border wall charity. In a court filing, the lawyers said there had been a breakdown in communication with the right-wing podcaster. Students used TikTok to promote their crowdfunding campaign. TikTok;@grey.thurman Students at a Texas high school have raised more than $200,000 to help the school custodian retire. Mr. James was forced out of his retirement this year when his rent was raised. "Nobody deserves to work their whole life," a student who helped start the GoFundMe campaign said. Students at Callisburg High School in Texas have raised more than $200,000 to help the school's 80-year-old janitor, Mr. James, retire after a rent hike sent him back into the workforce. As of Thursday, the fund had raised $217,000 from nearly 7,000 donors. The GoFundMe campaign, set up on February 15 by three students, originally had a goal of $10,000 to cover Mr. James' rent, food, and monthly bills. "Hey guys, I'm having a fundraiser for our janitor who is struggling to pay his rent," the campaign, posted by a student named Greyson Thurman, read. "He had to leave retirement to continue to pay his rent that was raised. Just a little will change his life!" Thurman first shared the campaign on TikTok, where it's been viewed nearly 20,000 times. The local Fox affiliate KDFW reported Mr. James' rent had risen by about $400 a month. To pay it, he had to take the custodial job in January. When Callisburg students heard about that, a few decided to set up a GoFundMe campaign on his behalf. They then asked Thurman, who had more than 2,000 followers at the time, to post it in hopes it might go viral. "We knew being in a small town like Callisburg that people would want to help and people would want to support us, especially with something like this, but I don't think we ever imagined that there'd be, like, news channels here," a student named Marti Yousko told the outlet Wednesday. According to Yousko, when Mr. James heard about the crowdfunding effort, he responded, "Dang, that's all right!" Story continues Strangers on TikTok are commending the teens for their kindness. "The future looks brighter because of what you guys are doing," a commenter wrote. Mr. James, whom Yousko described as sweet and "very shy, very quiet," declined to be interviewed by KDFW Fox 4. Jason Hooper, the principal of Callisburg High School, said Mr. James didn't want "any part of the spotlight" but was "very appreciative of what these students have done." Thurman told the outlet last week, when donations totaled $28,000, that he and the students just wanted Mr. James to retire in peace. He added that the janitor had already worked 70 years, saying: "Nobody deserves to work their whole life. They deserve to enjoy everything." While individual crowdfunding campaigns can oversimplify issues or detract from creating sustainable solutions to major societal ills, turning to social media can give people agency and a cause to rally behind. In January 2022, TikTokers helped raise more than $100,000 for a Walmart cashier to afford retirement. In November, a TikToker raised more than $186,000 so that an 81-year-old Walmart employee could pay off her mortgage and retire. Retirement isn't something millions of US workers can afford. A 2021 Boston College study found 36% of older Americans didn't have the savings to take care of themselves for even a year. And the pandemic has forced some older people to dip into their retirement savings early. In a survey conducted by the reverse-mortgage lender American Advisors Group, 30% of older people polled said that the pandemic had a "negative impact" on their retirement plans, with one in five respondents saying they had to use retirement funds to cover life expenses. Thurman and Hooper didn't immediately respond to a request from Insider to get in touch with Mr. James. Read the original article on Insider The Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to block the execution of a man on death row in Florida after he argued that his death sentence was unconstitutional. Donald Dillbeck, who was found guilty of first-degree murder in 1990, applied to the court for a stay of the execution and petitioned for a writ of certiorari, or review of the case, raising constitutional questions. The Supreme Court denied both. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed the death warrant for Dillbeck last month, and Dillbecks petition for a stay at the state level was denied. Dillbeck was convicted of killing a woman in Tallahassee after he had escaped from custody while serving a separate life sentence for killing a deputy in 1979, according to the filing from the state of Florida. His attorneys argued that Dillbeck was entitled to an exemption from execution because of a neurobehavioral disorder associated with Prenatal Alcohol Exposure. They also asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on whether the Eighth Amendment requires a death sentence to be recommended by a unanimous jury Dillbeck was sentenced in an 8-4 decision. At the time he was sentenced, Florida required only a simple majority of the jury to recommend the death penalty. The threshold was raised to a unanimous jury in 2017 following a Supreme Court decision striking down part of the states capital punishment system. Earlier this month, DeSantis proposed legislation to again update the states death penalty statute and bring down the bar for a death sentence to a supermajority. Dillbecks execution by lethal injection has been scheduled for Feb. 23 at 6 p.m. in Florida. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The EU states have promised to make sure Ukraine prevails in the war with Russia and not to stop their support until the day justice is restored following the Russian Federations criminal offensive. Source: Statement by the Members of the European Council on the year of Russias full-scale invasion, reported by European Pravda Details: The statement supported by all 27 EU members notes that the Russian aggression is a crime against humanity, violates the UN Charter, the UN principles and all of humanitys values. Quote from the statement: "Russia has systematically targeted civilians, destroyed cities and attacked Ukrainian identity. We are determined to ensure that all those who are responsible for war crimes and other most serious crimes committed in connection with Russias war of aggression against Ukraine are held to account." More details: The EU member countries have highlighted that Russia has weaponized food and energy, made deeply irresponsible nuclear threats and spread false narratives about the war. Russias war of aggression and its consequences have significantly affected many countries notably through its impact on the global economy, food and commodity prices. The EU states have promised to keep standing firmly together with Ukraine and its people for as long as necessary. "All Ukrainians deserve to live in peace and choose freely their own destiny. Ukraine is part of our European family," the statement says, and adds that the choice of the people of Ukraine is one of peace, democracy, rule of law, respect for fundamental rights and prosperity. The European Union will continue to support Ukraine in political, economic, humanitarian, financial and military terms, including through swiftly coordinated procurements from European industry. Quote: "We will also support Ukraines reconstruction, for which we will strive to use frozen and immobilised Russian assets in accordance with EU and international law. We will further increase collective pressure on Russia to end its war of aggression. To this end we will adopt a tenth sanctions package and we will take steps against those who attempt to circumvent EU measures." Story continues The EU members have declared their support for President Volodymyr Zelenskyys peace formula and promised to make sure Ukraine prevails in the war with Russia. "Together with our international partners, we will make sure that Ukraine prevails, that international law is respected, that peace and Ukraines territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders are restored, that Ukraine is rebuilt, and that justice is done. Until that day, we will not rest." More on this topic: How the full-scale war changed Ukraine-EU cooperation. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! A person pauses to pay respects at a makeshift memorial in November 2022, near Club Q. David Zalubowski / AP The suspect accused of killing five people in an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs ran a neo-Nazi website and used anti-gay slurs, a police detective testified on Wednesday. At a preliminary hearing on Wednesday, prosecutors for the first time provided evidence related to why they charged 22-year-old Anderson Aldrich with hate crimes as well as murder in the Nov. 19, 2022, shooting at Club Q. The hearing is scheduled to continue through Friday, when a judge will rule if there is enough evidence to take the case which includes more than 300 charges to trial. The alleged shooter, whose defense attorneys have said uses they/them pronouns, ran a website and posted several videos of other mass shootings, including ones at synagogues and mosques mainly in Europe, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department's Rebecca Joines, the lead detective on the case. She testified that she believes the suspect modeled the Club Q shooting after the shootings they posted on their neo-Nazi website. Joines said that detectives found a cellphone taped to a hat inside the suspect's car, leading detectives to believe they had considered livestreaming that night. Joines also testified that the suspect had used anti-gay slurs in the past, calling their apartment property manager a "faggot" after they had an argument over the suspect not getting their mail. Joines also said that the suspect sent a photo of a rifle scope over a Pride parade to someone else over Discord. The suspect had been to Club Q in 2021 and 2022 at least six times before the shooting, Joines said, and on Nov. 19 bought a ticket for a drag show there. On the night of the shooting, the suspect arrived at Club Q around 10:14 p.m. and stayed for just a few minutes before leaving and coming back inside with guns, including an assault-style rifle, she said. After the shooting, Joines said, she tried to interview the suspect at the hospital and they cried and asked if anybody was hurt. Story continues In addition to the five people who were killed, at least 18 others were injured. Dozens of people were inside Club Q that night for a drag show; when the shooting broke out, Richard Fierro and Thomas James, two club patrons, confronted the suspect and beat them, which authorities have said prevented even more people from being killed. On Wednesday, defense attorneys brought up the suspect's gender identity and sexuality, saying that they told James, "My mom will not accept me because I'm gay, you're all the same." But that may be irrelevant in court; as the Associated Press noted, hate crime laws focus on the victims, not the perpetrators. Survivors and victims' family members were in court on Wednesday. Club Q had been considered a safe haven for LGBTQ people in the conservative community of Colorado Springs. Thats usually the club that most people here in Oklahoma, when they take a trip out there, thats where theyre recommended to go for a safe space, Tempest Cartwright, who was best friends with a Club Q bartender who was killed in the shooting, told BuzzFeed News last year. A lot of people here know Club Q as being that safe haven. More on this The suspect charged with killing five people at a Colorado LGBTQ dance party had visited the nightclub at least six times before, including with their mother, but repeatedly expressed violent intention to hurt gay people, police officers testified in court Wednesday. Anderson Aldrich, who injured more than a dozen others before being subdued by heroic people in Club Q, posted hateful commentary on a personal website, including a video called "wrong target" that Coronado Springs detective Rebecca Joines characterized as a "neo-Nazi mass shooter terrorist training video." The video, which Joines said was not created by Aldrich and has been posted online by many others, featured attacks on synagogues and mosques in Europe and the 2019 shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Joines said she believes Aldrich was trying to emulate those attacks in the Colorado Springs shooting. A message sent by a Discord account associated with Aldrich to a friend in Australia showed a rifle scope centered on a participant of a pride parade, Joines testified. Aldrich identifies as nonbinary and uses the pronouns they and them, according to testimony in court. Wednesday's preliminary court hearing delved into many troubling elements of Aldrich's hateful behavior in the months leading up to the Nov. 19 assault on the nightclub. Aldrich is charged with more than 305 counts in the shooting, including bias-motivated charges. Hate crime charges require prosecutors to present evidence of a motive that Aldrich was driven by bias, either wholly or in part. 'BULLIES AREN'T INVINCIBLE': Hero speaks out after stopping Colorado Springs mass shooter What happened at Club Q? Colorado Springs Police Officer Connor Wallick testified about responding to the shooting and finding Aldrich, who was wearing a ballistic plate carrier with a grenade and several magazines of ammo attached to it, fighting with another patron. Story continues "I could hear people screaming, crying. I could smell a lot of gunpowder. You could hear the music that was still going," the officer testified. When the officer handcuffed Aldrich, the suspect said that they were not the shooter. Aldrich claimed the shooter was hiding, and even attempted to blame the man who had been trying to wrest Aldrich's weapon away, Wallick testified. A black AR-platform rifle was also found near where Aldrich was struggling with the bar patron, Wallick testified. Massive arsenal, photos paint troubling picture of crime scene Prosecutors presented photos of the crime scene, including the bodies of Daniel Aston, Derrick Rump, Ashley Paugh, Kelly Loving and Raymond Green Vance. Some of the photos elicited audible reactions from survivors of the attack who were in the courtroom. Detective Jason Gasper testified that several magazines of ammunition for the rifle were recovered, including an empty 60-round drum and a number of 40-round magazines, some of which still had ammunition remaining. A rifle and 9mm handgun allegedly used by Aldrich were also found at the scene. The rifle had a red-dot sight and flashlight attached, Gasper said. Still photos from security footage showed Aldrich entering the club with a rifle raised and ready to fire. Throughout the Wednesday morning session, Aldrich visibly shook, and at one point was handed what appeared to be a box of tissues by a member of the defense team. 'WHEN WILL IT STOP?': LGBTQ community, Pulse survivors react to Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs Search of home finds rainbow targets A search warrant was also conducted on the home of Aldrich's mother, Laura Voepel, where Aldrich also lived. Inside the home, detectives found rainbow-colored targets with what appeared to be small caliber bullet holes in them, several gun parts, and ammunition for several different guns. A rough sketch of club Q was also found inside the apartment. Hero struggles to wrest rifle Detective Ashton Gardner testified that Navy Petty Officer Thomas James confronted the shooter. James was on an outdoor patio when he heard shooting, Gardner testified. James grabbed the hardest item he could find, a metal bucket, and rushed inside to confront the shooter. Gardner testified that James struggled with the shooter, grabbing the super-hot rifle barrel and sustaining blisters to his hands, but continued to struggle over the rifle despite the pain. Aldrich then allegedly pulled a pistol on James, shooting him twice in the chest. Despite his wounds, James continued to struggle with the shooter until help arrived, Garder said. "It's clear he was very winded and didn't have much energy left, but he continued to struggle," Gardner testified. Troubling website revealed Rebecca Joines, the lead detective on the case, testified that Aldrich administered a website called "freespeech2.RU" where Aldrich posted hateful commentary. People familiar with the website told investigators that Aldrich had expressed a hatred for the LGBTQ community as well as law enforcement, and frequently used slurs while playing video games. Joines said Aldrich had posted several videos prior to the shooting and appeared to have attempted to live stream the shooting based on an app found at the family home. During cross-examination, defense introduced evidence of drug use found in Aldrich's vehicle, including two pieces of tin foil with a white substance on them, a lighter and seven bars of Xanax in the vehicle. During a search warrant executed on the apartment Aldrich shared with their mother, investigators recovered several prescription bottles, prescribed to treat a number of mental illnesses meant to combat depression, schizophrenia, PTSD, bipolar and anxiety disorders. What is the suspect's mental health history? Voepel told Joines that Aldrich is severely disabled and suffers from PTSD from a previous sexual assault. Defense also pointed to Aldrich visiting the club six times in the 15 months leading up the attack, showing a photo of Aldrich smiling with their mother. After the shooting, Aldrich told investigators about taking a large amount of narcotics, including Fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl. During a conversation at the jail, Aldrich allegedly said they had "really (messed) up" and that they'd "killed all those people." The defense alleged that Aldrich had told Thomas James, who first confronted Aldrich before other patrons including Rich Fierro came to assist, that "my mom won't accept me because I'm gay. You're all the same." AN ENTERTAINER, A 'SUPPORTIVE' FRIEND: What we know about the Colorado Springs victims Prosecutors say attack was planned Prosecutors drove home the point that the attack was premeditated, stating that Aldrich demonstrated knowledge of right and wrong, had previously drawn an annotated sketch of the club, wore body armor, carried multiple weapons and more than 100 rounds of ammunition, and began shooting immediately after gaining access to the club. At the end of the preliminary hearing, Judge Michael McHenry will make a decision on whether there is enough evidence for the case to go to trial. He may also make a decision to dismiss some of the charges, but allow others to go forward. The hearing will resume Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. and a ruling will be given Thursday. Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen told reporters Thursday that his team expects Aldrich to enter a formal not-guilty plea at the arraignment in May. He said in cases where sanity issues are raised, the suspect is tested by a psychiatrist, neurological testing would be conducted, and a report on the subjects mental state is compiled. Questions, comments or story tips? Contact Justin at jreutterma@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter@jayreutter1. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Suspect in Colorado LGBTQ shooting had neo-Nazy leanings: Officers STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden is open to sending some of its Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine as the Nordic country prepares to present another package of aid to help the country fight off the Russian invasion, its defence minister told local news agency TT. Sweden has delivered a string of military and civilian aid packages to Ukraine since the invasion, which Moscow calls a special military operation, began a year ago. The latest instalment includes armoured infantry fighting vehicles, which Defence Minister Pal Jonson told the news agency would be the country's main contribution to Ukraine in terms of equipment for ground warfare. Sweden is also preparing to send Ukraine the advanced Archer artillery system to Ukraine, but support in the Swedish parliament has been growing to additionally contribute some of the country's around 120 Leopard tanks. "We are open to that and we are in close dialogue with above all Germany about it," Jonson was quoted by TT as saying. (Reporting by Niklas Pollard, editing by Anna Ringstrom) Synectics (LON:SNX) Full Year 2022 Results Key Financial Results Revenue: UK39.1m (down 10% from FY 2021). Net income: UK639.0k (up from UK479.0k loss in FY 2021). Profit margin: 1.6% (up from net loss in FY 2021). The move to profitability was driven by lower expenses. EPS: UK0.038 (up from UK0.028 loss in FY 2021). All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Synectics Earnings Insights Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 14% p.a. on average during the next 3 years, compared to a 5.9% growth forecast for the Electronic industry in the United Kingdom. Performance of the British Electronic industry. The company's share price is broadly unchanged from a week ago. Risk Analysis Be aware that Synectics is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis that 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. 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 Officials in Tennessees largest county, which includes Memphis, voted Wednesday to study reparations for descendants of enslaved people, adding to a growing list of local and state governments that are considering or are launching similar programs. The Shelby County resolution will allocate $5 million to study and find actionable items addressing five key areas: increased access to affordable housing and homeownership, health care parity, criminal justice reform, enhanced career opportunities, and financial literacy and generational wealth. The resolution was overwhelmingly approved with the support of all eight Black members of the 13-member Board of County Commissioners on the heels of widespread outrage over the beating death of Tyre Nichols, who was killed by Memphis police officers last month. Shelby County Schools board member Miska Clay-Bibbs speaks before the building tour of Alcy Elementary School in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, April 7, 2021. Alcy Elementary (Ariel Cobbert / USA Today file) His name, which was repeatedly invoked during the lengthy commissioners hearing Wednesday afternoon, serves as a reminder of lingering racism and inequities, several commissioners said. Five million dollars wont right the wrongs of the past, Commissioner Miska Clay Bibbs said. My people are dying on the daily. Thats why I support this. But Commissioner Mick Wright, who voted against the resolution, said the county is short the $5 million to pay for the study and to develop a framework to implement it. We dont have $5 million available to us we were actually in the negative in November, he said. Boston officials this month appointed 10 members to its new Reparations Task Force, which was created to study the lasting impact of slavery in Boston. The city formally apologized in June for its role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Evanston, Illinois; Asheville, North Carolina; St. Paul, Minnesota; and other municipalities are undertaking similar efforts. In 2020, California became the first state to adopt a law paving the way for descendants of enslaved people to receive reparation payments. The task force released a 500-page report last year detailing the harms suffered by descendants of enslaved people and how federal, state and local laws, public officials and the courts were active in sustaining systemic racism in all facets of life for African Americans. The California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans, which Gov. Gavin Newsom created in 2020, recommended a long list of actions the state can take to address the racial wealth gap, including instituting housing reforms, reducing mass incarceration, creating a state-subsidized mortgage program for qualifying African Americans, and offering free tuition to California colleges and universities and expanding scholarship opportunities. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Texas Pacific (TPL) came out with quarterly earnings of $12.94 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $15.14 per share. This compares to earnings of $10.21 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of -14.53%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this landowner would post earnings of $14.38 per share when it actually produced earnings of $16.82, delivering a surprise of 16.97%. Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times. Texas Pacific , which belongs to the Zacks Alternative Energy - Other industry, posted revenues of $152.71 million for the quarter ended December 2022, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 11.07%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $147.18 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates two times over the last four quarters. The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call. Texas Pacific shares have lost about 23.2% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 4.1%. What's Next for Texas Pacific? While Texas Pacific has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock? There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately. Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions. Story continues Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Texas Pacific: mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $16.62 on $185.53 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $63.22 on $751.98 million in revenues for the current fiscal year. Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Alternative Energy - Other is currently in the bottom 42% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. Another stock from the same industry, Ameresco (AMRC), has yet to report results for the quarter ended December 2022. The results are expected to be released on February 27. This energy services company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.39 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -22%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. Ameresco's revenues are expected to be $369.74 million, down 11.1% from the year-ago quarter. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Texas Pacific Land Corporation (TPL) : Free Stock Analysis Report Ameresco, Inc. (AMRC) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Bloomberg sources claim Apples quest for no-prick blood glucose monitoring is now at a "proof-of-concept stage" and good enough that it could come to market once it's smaller. The technology, which uses lasers to gauge glucose concentration under the skin, was previously tabletop-sized but has reportedly advanced nearer to an iPhone-sized prototype. Its been in the works for a long time. In 2010, when Steve Jobs headed up Apple, the company bought blood glucose monitoring startup RareLight. But no-prick monitors are a challenge. In 2018, Alphabet's health subsidiary, Verily, scrapped plans for a smart contact lens that tried to track glucose using tears. Mat Smith The Morning After isnt just a newsletter its also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here. The biggest stories you might have missed The DJ uses OpenAI to tell you about the songs it chooses for you. Generative AI is absolutely everywhere right now, and that includes Spotify. Its latest feature, simply called DJ, kicks off a personalized selection of music playing that combines Spotifys well-known personalization tools, like Discover Weekly, as well as the content that populates your home screen, all with some AI tricks. The feature rolls out today across Spotify Premium in the US and Canada. Continue reading. The company only began testing Notion AI late last year. Last November, Notion, the popular note-taking app, began testing a built-in generative machine learning algorithm dubbed Notion AI. Now its ready for launch. Notion said anyone, including free users, can start using its AI-powered writing assistant. More than two million people signed up for the waitlist for the alpha version and, according to the company, most testers werent asking it to write blog posts and marketing emails from scratch. Instead, they were using it to refine their own writing. As a result, the company decided to completely redesign Notion AI to make it more iterative and conversational. The new version of the tool will generate follow-up prompts until youre satisfied with its results. Story continues Continue reading. The platform could become less secure but that doesn't mean you have to be. Twitter announced plans to pull a popular method of two-factor authentication for non-paying customers last week. Starting March 20th, if you dont want to pay $8 to $11 per month for a Twitter Blue subscription (hi, thats me!), youll no longer be able to use text message authentication to get into your account. There are still some options to keep your account secure. Software-based authentication apps like Duo, Authy, Google Authenticator and the 2FA authenticator built into iPhones either send you a notification or, in the case of Twitter, generate a token to complete your login, or you can use hardware-based security keys that plug into devices. We walk you through the options if you want to stick around on Twitter. Continue reading. The app now supports iOS 16's Live Activities feature. TMA Uber has rolled out an update for its iPhone app that shows whether it's time to head out the door and meet the ride you ordered. You even get a cute car icon moving along to illustrate it. The company has launched support for Live Activities, an iOS 16 feature that puts real-time events from compatible apps on top of the lock screen and on the iPhone 14 Dynamic Island when your device is unlocked. Continue reading. Shamima Begum joined Islamic State in Syria aged 15 in 2015. Her British citizenship was revoked as a result. (Photo by Sam Tarling/Getty Images) There are three different versions of Shamima Begum and "you never know which one you will get", according to a documentary maker who spent an extensive amount of time with the former Isis recruit. Joshua Baker, who interviewed Begum for podcast and investigative documentary The Shamima Begum Story, spoke to Yahoo News UK after the Special Immigration Appeals Commission upheld the Home Office's 2019 decision to strip Begum of her British citizenship. "There are three different personalities in play in any one conversation with Shamima Begum and as a journalist you have to try to navigate all three of them," he said. The now 23-year-old, who fled the UK for Syria aged 15, is at times a shy schoolgirl, a single-minded Isis recruit and a woman who has suffered immense loss, Baker explained. "There is quite literally still the shy 15-year-old girl who left London, who was probably quite naive. Also she has described it at that point as being 'in love with the idea of joining Isis', not really grasping the severity of what she's got involved with. "That naivety, that lack of understanding of the severity is very much there." Baker also described a "girl who has spent her formative years inside a terror state", commenting Begum has a "kind of blunt single-mindedness" and is unable to think critically about issues like whether it is right for the UK to prosecute her. "The third one is the woman who spent four years in a detention camp in northeast Syria, has lost five kids (two through miscarriage, two through starvation and one through pneumonia) and has been reflecting on the her decisions," Baker explained "That person is very different from the person we've seen in the media and has an ability to think critically, an ability to reflect upon the situation and potentially be, some would say, almost to a detriment, honest with me in a way that people would not expect. That's when she says things like "I was in love with the idea of joining Isis" that's a pretty full-on admission. Story continues "You have all these personalities in play and sometimes she is honest, sometimes she is trying to deceive, and you're never sure which Shamima you are going to get on a given day." Baker's comments follow those of journalist Andrew Drury, who has also previously interviewed Begum, and said he did not believe Begum was a victim. He spoke after her lawyers argued there was clear evidence she had been trafficked to Syria for the purposes of sexual exploitation, with a judge concluding this was likely. "Everyone is an individual, responsible to some degree for their own actions. She was certainly mature enough to get herself through airports and over the Turkish-Syrian border. This isnt a dumb kid," Drury wrote in The Spectator this week. Shamima Begum, now 23, has been unsuccessful in her attempts to appeal the decision to remove her British citizenship. (Getty Images) "During the time I spent with her I also went from thinking that she had been groomed to thinking that she was trying to groom me," he added. In the run-up to the appeal, Begum spoke with a number of media outlets in what MI5 deemed an "attempt to obtain favourable media coverage" for her case, according to the court judgement released this week. In September and November 2021, Ms Begum was interviewed by Good Morning Britain and Sky News. She denied reports in the media that she had sewn suicide vests or been part of ISILs [Isis] morality police and claimed that her activities were limited to being a housewife and mother," the judgement read. The MI5 assessment is that many of the comments Ms Begum made in her later interviews are likely to have been self-serving and an attempt to obtain favourable media coverage in the run-up to this appeal. Other journalists who have interviewed the former Bethnal Green schoolgirl at the Roj Camp in northeast Syria, where she has been held since 2019, have spoken of her intelligence. Begum has told reporters her previous pro-Isis comments were to protect herself from repercussions inside the camp. Journalist Richard Pendlebury referred to her in a 2019 interview as "convincingly disenchanted by her experiences". Numerous commentators have attempted to discern whether Begum is a threat, a victim, or rehabilitated following her time inside the self-proclaimed caliphate of the Islamic State. Baker observes: "You can be a victim of trafficking and be a threat. That is just true. "Anyone who has been with Isis could pose a threat to us in the UK. The problem is with that conversation in the UK typically is it doesn't look at the situation as a whole. "Security experts, serving and retired, and people with knowledge on the ground in Syria will tell you that the idea that leaving these people over there makes us safer is not correct, because what happens in these camps is people escape and they regroup and they rejoin Isis." Begum's lawyers have said the case is "nowhere near over", insisting there are numerous avenues to pursue an appeal. And while Begum will have been disappointed by the result, Baker says she will not have been surprised. He told Yahoo News UK: "Shamima Begum thinks she will never come home, and feels like the camp she has been left in is her punishment for being part of what she calls 'one of the worst things in the 21st century'." BBC podcast I'm Not a Monster: The Shamima Begum Story is out now. Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next four days. The ex-dividend date is one business day before the record date, which is the cut-off date for shareholders to be present on the company's books to be eligible for a dividend payment. The ex-dividend date is of consequence because whenever a stock is bought or sold, the trade takes at least two business day to settle. Meaning, you will need to purchase Lockheed Martin's shares before the 28th of February to receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 24th of March. The company's next dividend payment will be US$3.00 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed US$12.00 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Lockheed Martin has a trailing yield of 2.5% on the current stock price of $479.53. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! As a result, readers should always check whether Lockheed Martin has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut. Check out our latest analysis for Lockheed Martin 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. Lockheed Martin paid out more than half (52%) of its earnings last year, which is a regular payout ratio for most companies. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. It distributed 49% of its free cash flow as dividends, a comfortable payout level for most companies. It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously. Story continues 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 earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. That's why it's comforting to see Lockheed Martin's earnings have been skyrocketing, up 28% per annum for the past five years. Management appears to be striking a nice balance between reinvesting for growth and paying dividends to shareholders. With a reasonable payout ratio, profits being reinvested, and some earnings growth, Lockheed Martin could have strong prospects for future increases to the dividend. 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, Lockheed Martin has lifted its dividend by approximately 12% a year on average. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see. To Sum It Up Should investors buy Lockheed Martin for the upcoming dividend? We like Lockheed Martin's growing earnings per share and the fact that - while its payout ratio is around average - it paid out a lower percentage of its cash flow. There's a lot to like about Lockheed Martin, and we would prioritise taking a closer look at it. So while Lockheed Martin 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 1 warning sign for Lockheed Martin you should know about. If you're in the market for strong dividend payers, we recommend checking 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. 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 By Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber GENEVA (Reuters) - When Russia sent troops into Ukraine a year ago, the director of the Kyiv National Art Gallery had only one thing on his mind: the safety of the paintings. As air sirens blared, Yuri Vakulenko packed a bag and headed to the gallery, where he would spend the next 66 days living in the basement, a bulletproof vest and gas mask at the ready, and caring for the exhibits. Vakulenko, who didn't want the paintings to gather dust in storage abroad, asked European museums if they would be interested in holding modified versions of two exhibitions that had already been held in Ukraine. Two Swiss museums, the Musee d'Art et d'Histoire in Geneva and Kunstmuseum Basel, agreed. "This was an idea that would allow our paintings to be in a safe place while allowing our gallery to continue to fight on the cultural front," Vakulenko told Reuters from Kyiv. The museum in Geneva, which took in paintings from Madrid's Prado Museum during the Spanish civil war in the 1930s, sent packing materials to ensure safe transport. The Musee Rath, which hosts the Musee d'Art et d'Histoire's temporary exhibitions, is now showing "From Dusk to Dawn", showcasing works by Ukrainian painters from the Kyiv gallery. The crates in which the paintings were transported from Ukraine, weeks after the Kyiv gallery's windows were shattered by the shock of a nearby shell, are also on display. Vakulenko said it was impossible to insure the paintings crossing Ukraine, so the shipment was accompanied by security on its two-day journey to the Polish border. "The most important thing was keeping secrecy of the cargo's movement on the territory of Ukraine," Vakulenko said. "The details of the movement of cargo were known only to a very limited circle of people directly related to the process of transportation and security." The exhibition in Basel showcases 49 works from the 18th to 20th centuries by Ukrainian-born artists, such as Ilya Repin and Volodymyr Borovykovsky. Many of the painters were trained in Russia and became associated with its empire or the Soviet Union. Story continues But the exhibitions challenge the concept that the works fit into an all-encompassing understanding of Russian art. "It was an important project to understand the narrative of their collection, and also to view (their) history more critically and consciously," Olga Osadtschy, assistant curator at the Kunstmuseum Basel, said of the Kyiv gallery's initiative. "We're all used to this label 'Russian art', but there is so much more beneath it." (Reporting by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Editing by Nick Macfie) TikTok user Ally Towns revealed "what it's like to have a mental health crisis in Canada." Images via TikTok//@http.mope. Content warning: This article discusses the topic of suicide which may be sensitive for some readers. A Canadian woman is going viral on TikTok for sharing her experience with the healthcare system while dealing with a "mental health crisis." The three-and-a-half minute long upload features photos and videos of TikTok user Ally Towns (@http.mope) as she details her ordeal and walks her audience through her story. "Let's talk about what it's like to have a mental health crisis in Canada," she began. Towns shared that she first arrived at the hospital for a mental health crisis, and allegedly was sent to the emergency room before being put into triage. "If you've ever been in triage you know that it's hell," started Towns. "I was there for four hours until they moved me to another room for two hours." Following triage, Towns said that she was then transported to multiple different locations in hospital, speaking with a team of doctors and psychiatrists. Despite the circumstances, she was told that she would need to wait 1 to 2 days before being sent to a Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU). "It was worth it because I knew if I went home, I wasn't going to survive," she admitted. Towns then explained that after three days, she was finally greeted by two paramedics who would be transporting her to the CSU where she would be staying. "At this point, I am fully traumatized," said Towns. "I am skittish." Ally Towns (Photo via @http.mope TikTok) Towns said that in the CSU she had access to snacks and meals, was able to take a shower, and had "privileges to leave the unit to go for walks." Towns also received daily therapy sessions to discuss her progress. "As much as the whole experience sucked I'm really glad I did it," Towns shared. "I think that when you reach a point of death's doorstep, you need to advocate for yourself." Following her experience, Towns admitted that while Canada's healthcare system is free, she feels it's "blatantly broken." Story continues "Canada needs more funding for healthcare, the hospital was no place for a sick person," stated Towns. "I had to tell a minimum of 15 different people my story because there was probably a lack of communication." In spite of her ordeal, Towns considered herself lucky to be talking to qualified professionals. She concluded the video with one piece of advice for others going through a similar situation: "Reach out," said Towns. "Don't let yourself get to the point that I got to. If you don't take time for your mental health, you will be forced to make time." Ally Towns (Photo via @http.mope TikTok) Towns's story received over 770,000 views and more than 3,000 comments, in which other TikTok users offered messages of support. "You just earned a follower. Looking forward to hearing more of your survival story," said one user. "[Not] a round of applause for us listening but a round of applause for you seeking the help and telling your story. [Hope] you're healing," agreed another. Others rehashed their own experiences with Canada's healthcare system. "[When] I went to the hospital in a mental health crisis in Ontario they told me to go home and call 911 when I actually attempt," said one user. "[We] have no mental healthcare in Canada. We have crisis care and that is it," said another. If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call Talk Suicide Canada at 1-833-456-4566 (24/7) or text 45645 (4 p.m. 12 a.m. EST). Free and confidential mental health support is available 24/7 from Wellness Together Canada. Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram. Last week, I sat paralyzed with fear, praying my 79-year-old aunt would survive her second public, gun violence tragedy. Dragged to safety by a stranger in the 2019 El Paso Walmart tragedy that claimed 23 lives, my aunt was chatting with a friend after her daily walk around the Cielo Vista Mall last Wednesday when gunshots rang out yet again. This shooting came just days after an Oxford High student survived her second mass shooting, this time at Michigan State University where three fellow students died. I refuse to let this become our new normal; and the only way to stem this inevitable tide is for responsible gun owners to stand up. My father taught me how to shoot a handgun when I was 8 years old. My lifelong best friend is an avid gun enthusiast. And as a former national security official trained in how to shoot assault rifles, Ive spent my life around guns. My parents always emphasized that I must respect the weapon; they practiced safe storage and handling. And theres no denying that guns can save lives, which Ive witnessed in my line of work. More:El Paso police say fight between 2 groups led to fatal shooting at Cielo Vista Mall But while working at the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense and serving as Vice President Mike Pences counterterrorism advisor, I saw plenty of the bad while gathering intel on and conducting risk assessments in the aftermath of multiple mass shootings from the horrific tragedy in Christchurch, New Zealand to the shootings at Fort Hood, Parkland, the Pittsburgh Synagogue, the Gilroy Garlic Festival, Dayton, and my hometown of El Paso. I remember the details of every single one of them vividly. It is why when the breaking news alerts hit and the chyrons share the latest horrific figures, it aggravates me to my core, knowing the pain of the communities and families. I joined 97Percent because they are a gun safety organization taking a different approach to this seemingly intractable issue. They and I fundamentally believe we are never going to make any progress on reducing gun deaths without engaging responsible gun owners. For too long, responsible gun owners have been left out of the conversation, when our research shows that 65% of gun owners are concerned about rising gun violence in our country and 70% want to help reduce gun deaths. Story continues When it comes to policy solutions, it cannot be a zero sum game. We must advocate for policies rooted in the common ground between non-gun owners and gun owners, and these policies cannot interfere with law-abiding gun owners Second Amendment rights. The way to do that is by focusing on the who vs. the what: policies that prevent people at high-risk of violence from owning or purchasing guns, instead of policies regulating the weapon itself despite trends across the country advocating for the latter. 97Percents research, for example, found that 80% of gun owners believe people convicted of a violent crime should not be able to own a gun. These who-oriented policies are not only supported by more Americans, but our research also reveals they will have the greatest impact. 97Percent has identified four such policies that could reduce gun-related homicides by 28% and gun-related suicides by 6%: 1) Violent Misdemeanor Laws; 2) Revamped Universal Background Checks; 3) State Gun Permits; 4) Modified Red Flag Laws. More:El Paso police arrest teen suspect after video shows gun being fired out of moving car Current federal law and all but four states do not prohibit someone convicted of a violent misdemeanor from owning a gun. In the case of MSU, lowering the threshold to violent misdemeanors would have prohibited the alleged shooter from possessing a gun because of his prior conviction; and the shooting could have been prevented. Closing this loophole could alone reduce gun homicides by 19%. Federal background checks are not sufficient, in that theyre often not capable of picking up misdemeanors. A search of local and state records is whats needed; and the best way to execute that is via a state gun permit (available online, at a low cost) that runs a local background check. This would also provide benefits to gun owners, allowing for transfers between family members, for instance, without having to go to an FFL for a background check if those participating are permit holders. And lastly, red flag laws, which enable police and family members to petition the court to remove firearms from someone they believe is a threat to themselves or others. It provides a mechanism for those observing warning signs of which there were many for the gunmen nicknamed school shooter, who killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School to actually do something. Nineteen states have red flag laws. Texas does not. To address gun owner concerns and enforcement issues, we propose red flag laws guarantee due process procedures, allowing the subject of the order to appear before the court and present evidence as well as ensure expeditious return of firearms upon conclusion of the order. The perception is gun owners dont support gun reforms, and so they stall in Congress and statehouses across the country as electeds fear the wrath of their constituents. But the data suggests a huge majority of gun owners support reform. It is time we gun owners speak up. Olivia Troye is an advisory board member of 97Percent, a bipartisan gun safety organization focused on engaging gun owners. El Paso is her hometown. This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: It is time we gun owners speak up: Olivia Troye Ukraine has come a long way since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. From the Russian occupation of nearly 30% of Ukraines territory in February to Russias humiliating defeats in the north and the south, from the Wests hesitation about providing weapons to Kyiv to pledging hundreds of modern tanks, from the entire worlds doubts about Ukraines very chances to survive to the global admiration of the Ukrainian peoples courage this year has forever changed Ukraine and the world. No matter how resistant Ukraine has been, Russias endless brutality has also made this year full of devastation and tragedy. The all-out war has claimed the lives of thousands of civilians, forced millions to flee, and led to tens of billions of dollars in damage. Each month presented new developments on the front line, new shifts in the diplomatic effort, new tragedies, and new victories. Here are the main events that defined the 12 months of war in Ukraine. February After months of reports pointing to Russias preparation to invade Ukraine further, in late February, Moscow and its proxies step up hostilities in Donbas, the partially-occupied region in eastern Ukraine comprising Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Russia first invaded Donbas in 2014. The Russia-installed proxies wrongfully accuse Ukraine of escalation, announce a demonstrative evacuation of women and children from Donbas to Russia, and launch a campaign to conscript all men under 55. The following week, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognizes its enclaves in eastern Ukraine as independent states and sends its troops to the area. About 170,000 Russian servicemen are stationed at Ukraine's borders, but the Kremlin denies having plans to scale up its aggression. Most Ukrainians are asleep when Russian President Vladimir Putin declares war on Ukraine in his address around 5 a.m. of Feb. 24. He deceitfully hides the brutal large-scale invasion behind the rhetoric of a special military operation to demilitarize Ukraine. Story continues A mere moments after Putins speech is over, missiles begin raining down across Ukraine, and Russian forces attack the country from multiple directions in an attempt to behead President Volodymyr Zelensky's government and install a puppet regime. Dozens get killed within hours. A man walks on the street as black smoke rises from a military airport in Chuhuiv near Kharkiv on Feb. 24, 2022. (Photo by Aris Messinis / AFP via Getty Images) With the sudden offensive, Russia aims to catch Ukraine off-guard and inflict a quick defeat on the Armed Forces. Many experts predict the swift capture of Kyiv in the face of Moscow's military machine. Shortly after Feb. 24, the U.S. government offeres Zelensky to evacuate from Kyiv, but he turns down the offer. He famously says in response: The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride. But Russian blitz victory plans get foiled by ferocious Ukrainian resistance. The 13 defenders of the Snake Island, a tiny yet key strategic outpost in the Black Sea, become the symbol of this resistance. When Russian troops threaten to bomb the island, one of the soldiers gives an obscene response to the Russian flagship Moskva, saying, "Russian warship, go f**k yourself." The island gets occupied and the defenders end up in captivity, but their act of bravery inspires all of Ukraine to continue the fight. Moscow fails to gain a foothold in any of the country's key cities in the first week of its invasion. Meanwhile, Ukraine officially applies to become an EU member. March As the fighting rages on, hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians flee their homes to the neighboring countries by train, car, or even on foot. In response to the mass displacement, the EU makes an unprecedented move to help those fleeing the Russian violence: The member states keep their borders open and activate the temporary protection directive, which permits Ukrainians to live in any country of the bloc for at least a year. Ukrainians fleeing the war to Poland cram the Lviv train station on Feb. 28, 2022. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin) The EU imposes severe sanctions against Russia, including blocking some of its banks from the SWIFT messaging system for international payments. Other allies, including the U.S. and the U.K., also introduce new measures against the Kremlin regime in the wake of the ongoing aggression. Meanwhile, on the battlefield, the spring brings grim news as Russian forces occupy the southern city of Kherson, a strategic regional capital neighboring Crimea. Ukraine's south is now the site of fierce fighting. Russia starts its siege and relentless bombardment of Mariupol, reducing the once vibrant port city in Donetsk Oblast into a landscape of rubble. Russian troops drop 50-100 bombs on the city every day, according to local authorities. A single strike at the Mariupol drama theater kills from 300-900 people, according to different estimates, who had taken shelter inside. Moscow military also seizes control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world, and occupies the Chornobyl power plant. Ukraine calls the occupation of the plants, as well as their shelling, an act of "nuclear terrorism." In the north of the country, the Ukrainian military is fighting the outnumbering Russian forces near Kyiv, and in Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts. March proves to be the deadliest month of the invasion for the civilian population, with far more civilians killed than in any other month, according to the United Nations. To mark one month of the full-scale invasion, U.S. President Joe Biden makes a visit to Warsaw, Poland, where he meets Ukrainian refugees. He slams Putin, referring to him as a "butcher" and saying, for God's sake, this man cannot remain in power." April As the Russian attempt to encircle the Ukrainian capital and install a blockade fails, the battle for Kyiv is over, with Ukraine as its victor. Ukraine's military raises the Ukrainian flag above the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and the whole of Kyiv Oblast is declared free from occupation. The Russians also withdraw from Chernihiv and Sumy oblasts. However, the significant victory is marred by the emerging evidence of mass executions of civilians, torture, rape, and looting during the weeks of occupation. Bucha, a satellite town just northwest of Kyiv, is now the scene of the worst massacre committed on the European continent in the 21st century. Months after the Russian withdrawal, Bucha was still burying the bodies of unidentified victims. The gruesome images of numerous war crimes and devastating damage to the once peaceful suburbs like Irpin, Hostomel, and Borodianka shock the world. Workers in protective suits take dozens of bodies to the morgue from the Bucha cemetery for forensic examination and eventual burial on April 12, 2022 in Bucha, Ukraine. (via Getty Images) U.S. President Joe Biden calls the war in Ukraine a genocide for the first time, saying that Its become clearer and clearer that Putin is just trying to wipe out even the idea of being Ukrainian. The evidence is mounting. At the same time, Russia launches one of the deadliest missile strikes against civilians. The Russians hit a train station in Kramatorsk, Donetsk Oblast, where thousands of civilians were waiting for evacuation. At least 61 people were killed, and nearly 121 were injured, according to the State Security Service. The attack comes as the war moves to the next stage the Battle of Donbas. After failing to reach Kyiv and withdrawing from the north of Ukraine, Moscow switches to a smaller-scale objective of occupying the entirety of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Russia continues to suffer humiliating losses in Ukraine, with its Black Sea Fleet flagship, the Moskva missile cruiser worth $750 million, sinking in April. Ukraine said that it had hit the ship with two R-360 Neptune anti-ship missiles, while Russia claimed the ship sank after a fire. Moskva is the largest Russian warship to be sunk since World War II and the first Russian flagship sunk since the 1905 Russo-Japanese War. May After enduring weeks of relentless bombardment by Moscow's forces, the remaining Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol surrender to Russia, at the commanders orders. Thousands of Ukrainian fighters, including the members of the Azov regiment, defended the last Ukrainian stronghold in the city, the Azovstal steel plant, with little or no resources at all for nearly three months. The fighting ended with the seizure of the plant, which has become a symbol of Ukraine's resistance to the Russian invasion. Injured Ukrainian serviceman Mykhailo Dianov inside the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine, amid the Russian invasion. (via Getty Images) The city, with a pre-war population of 450,000, is effectively reduced to ashes. Residents describe the living conditions as "not even comparable to hell," and evacuees share terrifying stories about the brutality of the Russian siege. Ukraine's intelligence says the Russians are using mobile crematoriums in an attempt to erase the evidence of their war crimes by burning dead bodies. Mariupol city council reports that the real death toll in the city may be even higher than the previously estimated 22,000. Satellite images show expanding mass graves in the city and surrounding areas. Meanwhile, Russias invasion prompts Sweden and Finland, both of which have traditionally pursued a policy of military non-alignment, to join NATO. Finland has a 1,300-km (810-mile) border with Russia, and the Swedish island of Gotland lies just 300 km (186 miles) from Russia's Baltic Fleet in its exclave of Kaliningrad. This decision is welcomed by NATO, but the accession process is stalled due to objections from Turkey. The first Russian soldier is tried for a war crime in Ukraine. The soldier who shot a civilian in the head in Sumy Oblast would subsequently be sentenced to 15 years in prison. In late May, Ukraine's allies step up sanctions against Russia, with the EU member states finally agreeing on a partial embargo on Russian oil. June In a historic step, EU leaders grant Ukraine candidate status, the first step on the path towards full-fledged membership, which has long been Ukraine's key aspiration reflected in the Constitution among the main goals. The Kremlin, meanwhile, is ramping up its efforts to pressure Europe by cutting gas deliveries via the main pipeline. Russia also continues to weaponize food in its Black Sea blockade of Ukraine's major ports, not allowing ships carrying Ukrainian grain from transiting through its key trade route. In a major victory, Ukraine pushes Russian forces to withdraw from the strategic Snake Island. Regaining control over the island, two months after sinking the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, the Moskva, allowed Ukraine to resist the Russian blockade of Odesa and dealt a blow to Moscow's image of naval power. A view of smoke columns rising from Sievierodonetsk as seen from Lysychansk, Ukraine, on June 10, 2022. (Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) The Battle of Donbas, meanwhile, enters a new phase, as Ukraine's military makes a painful yet long-anticipated decision withdrawing from the last patches of the city of Sievierodonetsk. As a result, Russia gains a tactical victory and gets closer to its goal of capturing the whole of Luhansk Oblast. July Lysychansk, the last city under Ukrainian control in Luhansk Oblast, falls to Russia in the first days of July. Russia continues to launch deadly attacks against civilians. A missile strike at Vinnytsia, a regional capital in west-central Ukraine, kills 27 and injures more than 200 people on July 14. The attack comes five days after the missile strike at a five-story apartment building in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk Oblast, kills 48 people. A rescuer clears the rubble by the heavily damaged office building following a missile strike on July 15, 2022, in central Vinnytsia. (Photo by Alexey Furman/Getty Images) After two months of the UN and Turkey working closely with Ukraine and Russia to broker a grain deal, the parties finally sign an agreement to unblock exports of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. The deal envisioned the safe passage of the grain from three southwestern ports in Odesa Oblast, including the one in Odesa. A day after signing the deal, Russia compromises it by attacking Odesa port with missiles. Over 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war are killed in an explosion in Russian-occupied Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast, marking possibly the worst crime against captive combatants since Russia launched its full-scale war. Ukrainian authorities say that the attack could be specifically targeted at the members of the Azov regiment, who were captured in Mariupol and awaiting a prisoner exchange. Ukraine claims that Russians singled out these soldiers, moving them to a separate part of the prison building that was ultimately destroyed. August Ukraine announces it's coming to liberate Kherson, the only regional capital Russia managed to seize since the start of the full-scale invasion. As Kyiv acquires advanced Western weapons, including High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, provided by the U.S., it begins to take out Moscow's key military infrastructure in the occupied territories. With almost every nightfall, videos of massive detonations at Russian ammunition depots in Kherson Oblast and Donbas pop up on social media. In the east, heavy fighting is ongoing in Donetsk Oblast. As the hostilities intensify, Ukraine carries out a mandatory evacuation of residents from the war-torn region. A screen grab captured from a video shows a view of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant during a fire following clashes around the site on March 4, 2022. (via Getty Images) Meanwhile, Russia is turning the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in occupied Enerhodar into a ticking bomb, putting nuclear safety at risk with its constant shelling. September Ukraine retakes much of the northeastern Kharkiv Oblast in a rapid surprise counteroffensive and seizes the initiative in the war. The Armed Forces also gain more ground in the southern Kherson Oblast. With the Russian retreat, new evidence of war crimes comes to light as mass burial sites with multiple graves, and torture chambers are discovered. Workers exhume a body at a mass burial site containing around 450 graves in liberated Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, on Sept. 16, 2022. (Kostyantyn Chernichkin/The Kyiv Independent) In a major prisoner swap, Ukraine returns 215 prisoners of war, including some of the Azovstal defenders. Kyiv gets 200 prisoners of war in exchange for Viktor Medvedchuk, Ukraine's most high-profile pro-Kremlin politician and Putin's former right-hand man in the country. Medvedchuk was arrested in April on the charges of high treason. After Kyiv's lighting counteroffensive in the northeast, Putin declares a partial mobilization in Russia. Just five days into Moscow's attempt to mobilize Russians to fight against Ukraine, over 260,000 Russian men flee the country. At the same time, the Kremlin-installed proxies in the occupied parts of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts announce they will hold "referendums" on these regions joining Russia. Moscow, however, only partially controls these regions. The proxies claim that nearly 100% of the people living in the four oblasts voted to join Russia in what many describe as the vote at gunpoint. On Sept. 30, Putin declares the annexation of the four oblasts. On the same day, Zelensky announces that Ukraine applies for fast-track NATO accession. Meanwhile in Europe, four leaks are discovered in the Nord Stream pipelines, which were built to carry gas from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. NATO calls Nord Stream leaks deliberate acts of sabotage. Moscow has been regularly accused of weaponizing its gas to blackmail European countries, a policy that intensified after Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine. October The Crimean Bridge, which was illegally built after Russias occupation of the peninsula in 2014, gets damaged in an explosion. Moscow blames Ukraine for the attack, while Kyiv denies being behind it. Just two days later, Russia launches a campaign to cripple Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Moscow openly admits that Ukraine's energy facilities are one of its key targets ahead of winter, effectively admitting targeting the livelihood of the civilian population. Emergency service workers stand near an energy infrastructure that was struck by a Russian missile on Oct. 22, 2022. (Interior Ministry/Telegram) During the first two days of the attacks, on Oct. 10-11, Russia launches a barrage of 83 missiles and 24 Iranian-made kamikaze drones. The major coordinated strike targets critical infrastructure in multiple cities across Ukraine, including Kyiv, Lviv, and Dnipro, resulting in over 20 deaths and over 100 injuries. The attack causes significant damage to the country's energy infrastructure, hitting 30% of it. Rolling blackouts are introduced across Ukraine to manage the power deficit. November After a months-long Ukrainian campaign of striking Russian logistic routes and bridges in the south, Russian forces are ordered to retreat from Kherson, the only major city they occupied since Feb. 24. Ukraine's liberation of Kherson becomes the most far-reaching Ukrainian success since the Battle of Kyiv. The defeat is humiliating for Kremlin, which claimed sovereignty over the region a bit over a month ago after the sham referendum. Ukrainian citizens welcome Ukrainian soldiers with flowers as the Armed Forces enter the southern city of Kherson after Russian retreat from the region in village of Kyselivka, Kherson Oblast, on Nov. 12, 2022. (via Getty Images) Following the liberation of the southern regional capital, Zelensky proposes his 10-point peace plan to G20 leaders. His plan calls for full Russian withdrawal, the return of all prisoners and deportees, food, energy, nuclear security, and justice for Russian war crimes, among other requirements. Ukraine also receives long-anticipated Western air defense systems, such as NASAMS and Aspide, as the country braces itself for new Russian missile and drone attacks. As of mid-November, almost half of Ukraine's energy system is out of order due to the massive Russian strikes, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Scheduled blackouts are in place across the country. For the first time since February, a missile hits NATO territory. On Nov. 15, during a massive nationwide Russian attack against Ukraine, a blast kills two people in the Polish village of Przewodow, about six kilometers west of the Ukrainian border. NATO and Poland say that it is likely a Ukrainian air defense missile that landed on Polish territory, though nobody accuses Kyiv of a deliberate attack. Kyiv denies it and sends experts to investigate the site. December Donbas, particularly the area of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk Oblast, remains the site of the fiercest battles, but the front line makes little changes. Ukraine uses drones to strike airbases deep inside Russia, and several Russian strategic bombers get damaged. The West increases aid for Ukraine. The EU approves an 18 billion euro macro-financial aid package. Zelensky makes the first trip abroad since February. During a historic visit to Washington, D.C., he meets with Biden and addresses the U.S. Congress. The U.S. announces a new $1.85 billion military aid package for Ukraine, including the first long-sought Patriot air defense system. President Volodymyr Zelensky thanks members of Congress after presenting a flag signed by members of the Ukrainian military to U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Vice President Kamala Harris during a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 21, 2022, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Moscow continues its campaign against Ukraine's energy infrastructure, and by the middle of the month, all thermal and hydroelectric power plants in the country are damaged. Hours-long blackouts are a new reality for many Ukrainian cities. On New Year's Eve, Russia intensifies its missile and drone attacks, finishing the year by killing, wounding, and displacing civilians. The deadliest attack was witnessed in Kyiv, where one person was killed, and 21 were injured. January Ukraine's Armed Forces strike on the Russian troops' quarters in occupied Makiivka in Donetsk Oblast. Kyiv puts the death toll from the strike at 400 Russian soldiers, while Moscow says 89 of their service members were killed. Meanwhile, the Russian attacks on civilian areas continue in early 2023, with the strike at an apartment building in the central city of Dnipro resulting in the death of 46 people. A man plays the violin in front of the destroyed building, which was struck by a Russian missile, on Jan. 22, 2023 in Dnipro, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. (via Getty Images) On Jan. 18, a helicopter carrying Ukraine's Interior Ministry top officials crashes next to a kindergarten and an apartment building in Brovary, a city just east of Kyiv, claiming the lives of 14 people, including all 10 people onboard. Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky was the most senior Ukrainian official killed since the start of Russias full-scale invasion. While the crash hasnt been proven to be directly linked to the war and the investigation is ongoing, Zelensky believes that "it wasn't just an accident" and is the result of war. On the battlefield, Russian forces managed to seize what's left of the industrial town of Soledar near Bakhmut after fierce urban fighting. The situation in Bakhmut, which became known as the Ukrainian fortress city in the east, becomes even more complicated. Russias reported losses are staggering, with the Ukrainian military estimating around 150 are killed and as many wounded on an average day of Russias grinding attacks on the city. While Ukraine isnt disclosing its own casualty figures, reports suggest they also suffer heavy losses. After months of Kyivs pleas, the West agrees to supply Kyiv with modern tanks. U.S. President Joe Biden announces the delivery of M1 Abrams tanks. The U.K. pledges to deliver Challenger 2 main battle tanks, and Germany confirmes the supply of Leopard 2 tanks. Berlin authorizes other countries delivery of Leopards to Kyiv as well. Ukraine also sees the biggest governmental reshuffle since the start of the full-scale war in the wake of scandals, some of which are related to corruption. A deputy head of the President's Office, a deputy prosecutor general, several deputy ministers, and several governors are ousted. February President Volodymyr Zelensky goes on a brief yet busy trip to Europe to consolidate support ahead of the war anniversary. His trip begins with a surprise visit to London, followed by an overnight stay in Paris, where he met with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. In a historic visit to Brussels, Zelensky addresses the European Parliament, saying that the EU and Ukraine are fighting together against the biggest anti-European force of the modern world." Fighting intensifies in the east, as Intelligence reports indicate that Putin has instructed his troops to seize the entire Donetsk Oblast by March. Zelensky warns Russia plots a revenge attack for last year's defeats. National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov says Russia has begun its new major offensive in Ukraine's east but faces "big problems" with it. The battle for Bakhmut is ongoing, and the Kremlin-controlled Wagner mercenary group that tries to seize the city along with the regular army admits the fighting is far from over. As Ukraine prepares for a new counteroffensive in spring, Western countries commit to providing hundreds of modern battle tanks to Kyiv. Pentagon head says allies will help Ukraine with a counterattack by delivering pledged weaponry shortly. Just days before the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Biden pays a surprise visit to Kyiv in a show of "unwavering" support. He pledges $500 million in additional military aid for Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden (L) and President Volodymyr Zelensky walk during Biden's surprise visit in Kyiv on Feb. 20, 2023. (President's Office) Putin thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided, Biden said, standing alongside Zelensky in Kyiv. One year later, the evidence is right here in this room. We stand here together, he went on. "One year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands." ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Note from the author: Thank you for taking the time to read this story. It has been a hell of a year, and reporting on these events has been a real challenge. Still, our team has risen to the occasion, putting all our efforts into bringing you quality journalism to keep you informed about Russia's war against our country. To sustain our work and continue telling the stories that matter, we need your support. If you find our reporting valuable, we encourage you to consider becoming the Kyiv Independent's patron. Thank you again for your support. Deputies say an Orange County man shot five people in Pine Hills on Wednesday, killing three of them, including a 9-year-old girl and a TV news reporter. Heres a timeline of what we know happened based on law enforcement reports: 10:30 a.m. Wednesday A man, identified by Orange County Sheriff John Mina as Keith Moses cousin, told deputies he picked up his friend Nathacha Augustin, 38, from her home. He told deputies the pair drove around for about half an hour smoking weed. Read: Affidavit: Man offered accused mass shooter a ride moments before first Pine Hills shooting 11 a.m. Wednesday The man told deputies he saw his cousin, Keith Moses, 19, walking north on Hastings Street. According to an affidavit, he said Moses seemed down so he offered him a ride. He said Moses got in the back seat of the car sitting behind Augustin. About 30 seconds later, the man said he heard a bang and saw Augustin bleeding from her face. The man said he pulled over on Hialeah Street and called 911. He said Moses ran away. LIVE UPDATES: Mass shooting suspect is known gang member; fought with detectives during questioning 11:17 a.m. Wednesday Orange County deputies arrived at 6114 Hialeah Street. They said they saw a car with the driver, passenger and rear driver-side door open and a woman, identified as Augustin, on the ground. Deputies said Augustin had a gunshot wound on the left side of her chin. 11:29 a.m. Wednesday According to an affidavit, Orange County Fire Rescue arrived to the scene and pronounced Augustin dead. Read: Fundraisers created to support families of slain reporter Dylan Lyons, 9-year-old Tyonna Major 11:43 a.m. Wednesday Deputies notified the departments homicide unit about the womans death and they arrived on the scene. Read: UCF students create memorial to honor slain TV journalist Dylan Lyons 12:55 p.m. Wednesday The Orange County Sheriffs Office sent information to news outlets letting them know that a woman, who they originally identified as being in her 20s, was found shot dead on Hialeah Street. Story continues WATCH: He loves journalism: UCF professor shares legacy of reporter killed in Pine Hills mass shooting 4 p.m. Wednesday Deputies said they received several 911 calls about shootings in the same block of Hialeah Street where the morning shooting occurred, as well as on Herrington Drive, which intersects Hialeah Street. Channel 9 and Spectrum 13 both had news crews in the area reporting live for the evening news. Sheriff Mina said when deputies arrived on scene they located Moses nearby, and that his gun was still warm when deputies took him into custody. 5:01 p.m. Wednesday The Orange County Sheriffs Office tweeted that multiple people were shot on Hialeah Street and that one person was in custody. ALERT: Multiple people shot on Hialeah Street, same scene as a homicide earlier today. One person has been detained. We will update as soon as possible. @SheriffMina will brief at a time and location TBD. pic.twitter.com/7exNZy8nDF Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) February 22, 2023 There is a large deputy presence in Orange County after a report of multiple people shot in Pine Hills. Orange County Sheriff John Mina said Wednesday evening that a shooting in the Pine Hills neighborhood left two people killed and two others critically injured. There is a large deputy presence in Orange County after a report of multiple people shot in Pine Hills. Multiple people have been shot in Pine Hills near Orlando. There is a large deputy presence in Orange County after a report of multiple people shot in Pine Hills. The Orange County Sheriffs Office said Wednesday afternoon that multiple people have been shot on Hialeah Street in the Pine Hills community. There is a large deputy presence in Orange County after a report of multiple people shot in Pine Hills. Keith Melvin Moses, 19, is accused in a string of shootings in Orange County. There is a large deputy presence in Orange County after a report of multiple people shot in Pine Hills. There is a large deputy presence in Orange County after a report of multiple people shot in Pine Hills. Multiple people shot at same scene of deadly shooting earlier today in Pine Hills. There is a large deputy presence in Orange County after a report of multiple people shot in Pine Hills. Keith Melvin Moses, 19, is accused of a string of shootings in Orange County. 7:15 p.m. Wednesday Sheriff John Mina held a news conference where he confirmed that two News 13 employees, a reporter and photographer, were shot on Hialeah Street. He said the reporter died, and the photographer was in critical condition. Mina said a block away on Herrington Drive, a 9-year-old and her mother were both shot inside their home. Halfway through the news conference, Mina said he learned the 9-year-old died of her injuries. Her mother survived. Photos: Multiple people shot at same scene of deadly shooting earlier today in Pine Hills During the news conference, Mina identified the suspect in the mornings shooting and the two late afternoon shootings as Keith Melvin Moses, 19. Mina said Moses has a lengthy criminal record, but those law enforcement encounters happened before he turned 18 so they are not public record. This is 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, the suspect in a series of shootings today that left three dead, including a woman in her 20's a 9-year-old girl and a News13 employee. We extend our deepest condolences to all of their families. This is a sad day for our community. pic.twitter.com/whq8DfbmPR Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) February 23, 2023 5:41 a.m. Thursday Spectrum News 13 sent out a statement identifying the reporter that died as Dylan Lyons, 24. A dedicated and motivated reporter, Dylan was shot and killed while working at the scene of a homicide. Spectrum News remembers our fallen colleague. https://t.co/264x3y8Lup Spectrum News 13 (@MyNews13) February 23, 2023 8:59 a.m. Thursday Deputies identified the three people killed in Wedesdays shootings as Nathacha Augustin, 38; Tyonna Major, 9; and Dylan Lyons, 24. They identified Jesse Walden as the News 13 photographer who was shot and survived. UPDATE: The three people senselessly murdered on 2/22 by Keith Moses: Nathacha Augustin, 38. 9-year-old T'yonna Major, shot in her home. (Her mother was also shot & survived)@MyNews13 reporter Dylan Lyons, 24, died. (Photographer Jesse Walden was shot & survived) pic.twitter.com/mlut3TBa2z Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) February 23, 2023 11:45 a.m. Thursday Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, Orange County Sheriff John Mina and Bishop Derrick L. McRae held a community discussion on violent crime and a news conference with the media. The leaders said the community needs to work together to address gun violence, saying it is more than just a police issue. Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. Tom Daley will soon be making room on his already crowded mantel for a prestigious new award. The British Olympic diver will be presented with the inaugural George Takei Advocate Award at PFLAGs 50th anniversary gala in New York next month. The award is named in honor of Takei, who has parlayed his Star Trek fame into advocacy work in recent years. It recognizes public figures like Daley who use their platform to create a caring, just, and affirming world for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them, according to a PFLAG representative. Daley told HuffPost in an email that being named the first-ever recipient of the award is a huge milestone. Being yourself in the spotlight isnt easy, he said. Leaders like George Takei and PFLAG have paved the way and given LGBTQ+ people the tools and resources to advocate for ourselves and for our community. Diver Tom Daley received the gold medal in the mens synchronized 10-meter platform at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Diver Tom Daley received the gold medal in the mens synchronized 10-meter platform at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He went on to note: I am excited to continue to support amazing organizations especially PFLAG that better the lives of the LGBTQ+ community. In addition to recognizing Daley, PFLAG will present rapper Big Freedia with the Breaking Barriers Award, and food and beverage company Mondelez International with the Straight for Equality in the Workplace Award. The March 3 ceremony will be hosted by comedian Amber Ruffin, and will feature appearances by RuPauls Drag Race veteran Eureka as well as actors Rose Abdoo and Tati Gabrielle. Daley, 28, won the gold medal in the mens synchronized 10-meter platform at the 2020 Summer Olympics, which took place in Tokyo a year later than originally scheduled due to COVID-19. That same year, he launched his Made With Love clothing brand, inspired by his well-documentedlove of knitting and crocheting. In 2022, he published a memoir, Coming Up for Air: What I Learned From Sport, Fame and Fatherhood. Story continues He first addressed his sexuality publicly in a 2013 YouTube video, and married Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black about four years later. The two men are fathers of a 4-year-old son, Robert Ray Black-Daley. Dustin Lance Black (left) and Daley married in 2017. Dustin Lance Black (left) and Daley married in 2017. I think its important, if youre a visible queer person, to try and help other people and not just sit with your privilege, Daley told HuffPost last year. He added that, prior to coming out, I was so scared. I was so worried about losing sponsors. My dad had died a couple of years before that, and I wanted to still be able to support my family. When people are telling you that you might lose sponsors, of course its going to scare you into staying in the closet for longer than youd want to. Daleys decision to live as his true self has, of course, set a precedent for an entire generation of young queer people. Still, the athlete said that wasnt his intention. When I came out, that was never my thinking, he explained. It was more like: I just cant deal with this anymore. I need to just say what Im thinking and how Im feeling. To think that people might have watched my video and then felt safe and able to have conversations with their parents or friends I never thought it would ever have that impact. Related... Architect Giorgos Zafeiriou has been living in Plaka, Athens historic neighborhood under the Acropolis hill, almost half of his life. The building he bought and renovated 35 years ago is a three-story apartment more than 130 years old. He uses the first floor as his office and the other two, all connected with a beautiful wooden staircase, as his home. From the terrace he can see the Parthenon up close. His view, however, is not entirely unique. All buildings in this area have a very close view to the Parthenon, a temple dedicated to goddess Athena and the landmark of Athens. That amazing view and the colorful old buildings with the blooming bougainvilleas crawling from the balconies, are why this area is so popular with tourists who flock its narrow streets all year long. But lately, some of its permanent residents are finding the views just arent worth it any more. Over-tourism of the last couple of years has taken away from them the joy of living in one of the most beautiful neighborhoods of Athens. When somebody tells me What a beautiful neighborhood you live in, I usually reply by Thank you, but I want to keep living in here and the neighborhood to continue being beautiful, Zafeiriou, who is the president of the committee of Plaka residents initiative, usually jokes. While most of Athens is packed with ugly concrete apartment buildings, Plaka is unique. The expansion of the Greek capital started in the early 1950s after the Greek civil war ended, and many left the wartorn countryside and moved to the capital, raising the need for housing. As a result many apartment buildings had to be created as fast as possible, all similar to each other, block after block. At the same time, the citys best-preserved neighborhood managed to keep its own architecture. Whether its a smaller stone-built house or a neoclassical building, Plaka always had a different vibe making it stand out from the rest of the city. Jeff Stapleton Since Greece raised all COVID-19 travel restrictions in May 2021, travelers have been coming to the country en masse. This past year unexpectedly saw the country already returning to pre-pandemic levels. According to official data from GBR Consulting, Greece attracted a total of nearly 28 million international tourists spending 17.5 billion ($18.6 billion). Almost every one of them who had Athens as their final destination, or had a layover in the Greek capital, has walked around the streets of Plaka. Its a must-see place to visit when you find yourself in Greeces largest city and, along with popular islands such as Mykonos and Santorini, its one of the most Instagrammable areas in the country. But the exact thing that draws the tourists in has a negative effect on the about 1,500 permanent residents who have seen Athens oldest district changing dramatically over the years. On a recent event for the protection of Plaka organized by the Society for the Environment and Cultural Heritage (ELLET), Maria Kokkinou, a permanent resident, spoke in front of an audience that included the mayor of Athens, Kostas Bakoyiannis, about what they have been dealing with the first post-pandemic years. We had a very difficult summer, sleeping with earplugs and closed windows because even the double glazing cannot limit the noise. The traffic is unbearable, Plaka is full of black vans with tinted windows blocking the streets, taking up our parking spaces. She also issued a warning: If we all leave and all the houses become tacky souvenir shops, the tourists will stop coming too. Zafeiriou could not agree more. Plaka has had a presidential decree since 1999 that fully protects it from all of that, he says, and according to the decree, no new hotels are allowed in the area. But instead of new hotels it has been filled with Airbnbs and there are strict land uses that are not respected. Restaurants cannot make noise and their chimneys cannot emit odors, but both are happening. Also, they cannot extend up to other floors and the roof of the building where the restaurant is hosted, but every summer more and more rooftop bars, cafes and restaurants open. On top of that, speakers from restaurants and bars play loud music of different genres blending with each other all night long, keeping the residents sleepless for days and the tourists confused. So basically nothing mentioned in the decree is followed. "Architect Giorgos Zafeiriou." Demetrios Ioannou In the last two years the situation has become unbearable. There are days when you literally leave your house and can't take a step. There is a general relaxation of land uses. This has started in the last decade and has slowly peaked, says Lydia Carras, president of ELLET and a local in the area. When Carras first arrived at Plaka she had just been engaged with her husband Costa, and they were determined to resettle in a long-abandoned house that belonged to her husbands family. At that time the whole area was meant to be demolished and a park to be created there. She, with her husband and other locals, fought hard to avoid this. Some politicians believed in their dream and Plaka slowly started becoming what we know today. But lately that has started changing again. This happiness lasted for about 20 years, she says. Now we are going back to what we experienced 50 years ago. What the residents of this historic district, which has been continuously populated for over 5,000 years, ask is basically one thing: They just want the abuse of public space to end and the laws to be followed by everyone. To be fair, Airbnb has helped a lot of empty and abandoned buildings to be renovated and be used again, but there must be a limit. Not everything can be Airbnb. It needs to be controlled Zafeiriou says. At least four or five houses have been abandoned by their owners in recent years and some have started to feel so uncomfortable that they are now seriously considering leaving, contends Zafeiriou, who fears that if nothing happens soon, then this summer season, when Greece is expected to welcome more visitors than ever before, things might be catastrophic for the locals. All historic city centers if they lose their inhabitants after a while they languish, he adds. A woman walks by a tourist shop in Plaka district Louiza Vradi At the end, Carras points out, tourists are also overwhelmed with the situation and they too begin to resent it. Zafeiriou agrees: If you disappoint the tourist with what is happening, you will create a bad image. If they can't get around, if they trip on the sidewalk, if the road is bad or crowded. Do you know how many tourists Ive seen twisting their legs on the street?. To avoid all this the Plaka committee has composed official proposals on how everything can be solved. For the noise pollution they suggest a plan similar to what is applied in Paris. External sound meters will measure the volume of the music, and when it is higher than normal, the violator will be fined accordingly. As for the odors, they suggest removing all the chimneys and putting carbon filters which trap the smell. Regarding the rooftops, they suggest the use of drones to scan the area and photograph all the businesses violating the law. So far very little has changed and their next step is to go talk to the owners of those businesses themselves and hope for the best. We sent our proposals to the Municipality of Athens and we are waiting. Nothing has happened yet, says Zafeiriou. The state and the municipality must really look after Plaka at all costs. Plaka has something unique and must be protected. And this must be done now before all the residents leave again, Carras warns. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. A town official allegedly set up a secret cryptocurrency mining operation in a crawl space under a Massachusetts school, according to police. Authorities allege that Nadeam Nahas, 39, unlawfully attached the system to the electrical system at Cohasset Middle High School. Crypto mining is the process of validating cryptocurrency transactions and creating new cryptocurrency, which consumes a large amount of electricity. An investigation was launched in December 2021 when the schools director of facilities found wires, new ductwork and numerous computers in the remote crawl space. The equipment was removed and forensically examined by Cohasset police, with the help of the US Coast Guard Investigative Service and the Department of Homeland Security, according to NBC Boston. Following a three-month investigation, Mr Nahas, an assistant facilities director with the town of Cohasset was identified as the suspect by investigators. He was due to appear in court on Thursday charged with fraudulent use of electricity and vandalising a school, but reportedly failed to show up. (Cohasset police) A judge issued a default warrant, a spokesperson for the Norfolk district attorneys office told the Associated Press. Mr Nahas resigned from his job in early 2022 after a criminal complaint was issued against him. The Associated Press contributed to this article. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Transgender youth in Tennessee would be banned from receiving gender-affirming care under legislation currently headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who has voiced support for the bill. House lawmakers voted 77-16 on Thursday, with three Democrats joining their Republican colleagues to pass the bill. Civil rights groups have vowed an immediate lawsuit if and when the bill becomes law setting up the potential for a lengthy legal battle over the coming months. These children do not need these medical procedures to be able to flourish as adults, said House Majority Leader William Lamberth. They need mental health treatment. They need love and support, and many of them need to be able to grow up to become the individuals that they were intended to be." Across the United States, state lawmakers have introduced legislation attacking gender-affirming medical care for young people even as such services have been available in the U.S. for more than a decade and are endorsed by major medical associations. Similar bills have advanced in Nebraska, Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Dakota. In Utah, the Republican governor recently signed a transgender medical ban into law. Meanwhile, a federal judge who blocked Arkansas ban on gender-affirming care for minors is now considering whether to strike down the law as unconstitutional. A similar ban in Alabama has also been temporarily blocked by a federal judge. If enacted in Tennessee, doctors would be prohibited from providing gender-affirming care to anyone under the age of 18, including prescribing puberty blockers and hormones and could even be penalized. However, the legislation spells out exceptions, including allowing doctors to perform these medical services if the patients care had begun prior to July 1, 2023 which is when the ban is proposed to go into effect. The bill then states that that care must end by March 31, 2024. The bill then allows the attorney general to investigate health care providers who may violate the statute, which carries a $25,000 penalty. Story continues We have taken away a womans right to determine her health care and her health outcomes and now weve gone to children, said Democratic Rep. Gloria Johnson, referencing the state's strict abortion ban that was allowed to go into effect last year. If a doctor and a family feels that taking hormone blockers is going to be healthy and productive and life-saving for these children, thats a decision that should be made, she added. Tennessee in particular has been caught in the center of the conflict over transgender youth medical care ever since video surfaced on social media last year of a Nashville doctor touting that gender-affirming procedures are huge money makers for hospitals. The video prompted calls by Tennessees Republican leaders for an investigation into Vanderbilt University Medical Center, but to date, its unknown if any authorities have done so. The private nonprofit hospital said it had provided only a handful of gender-affirming surgeries to minors over the years but has put a temporary pause on the procedures to review its policies. On average, Vanderbilt University Medical Center says it provided five gender-affirming surgeries to minors every year since its transgender clinic opened in 2018. All were over the age of 16 and had parental consent, and none received genital procedures. But not every red state has enacted such bans with gusto. In Wyoming, a bill stalled in a legislative committee earlier this week amid worries that health insurers would run afoul of federal law by denying coverage for gender-conforming procedures. The bill, which had passed the state Senate, failed 5-2 in a House committee after lawmakers removed the insurance coverage prohibition. To succeed now, it would need to be revived on the state House floor before a Monday deadline a challenging prospect. Wyoming, despite having one of the most Republican-dominated legislatures, has a long tradition of skepticism toward culture war bills. Its a bill that seeks to demonize, its a bill that already knows who its enemies are. And its not a bill thats about solving a Wyoming problem, Sara Burlingame, director of the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Wyoming Equality and a former state lawmaker herself, told the committee. Meanwhile, Tennessee's House Republicans on Thursday also advanced legislation that would severely limit where drag shows can take place. A slightly different version had passed the GOP-led Senate chamber earlier this month, meaning lawmakers must wrestle out the difference before it can go to Gov. Lee's desk. Similar to the gender-affirming medical youth care bill, Lee is expected to sign the legislation. ___ Associated Press writer Mead Gruver contributed to this report from Cheyenne, Wyoming. (Bloomberg) -- A Texas judge has tossed out a disciplinary case against attorney Sidney Powell, finding state bar regulators failed to present enough valid evidence to keep alive claims that she violated ethics rules by filing frivolous post-election lawsuits. Most Read from Bloomberg Powell, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump following the 2020 presidential election, lead a series of unsuccessful legal efforts to contest President Joe Bidens wins in battleground states. She also promoted false conspiracy theories of widespread election fraud, including that voting machine software had flipped votes for Trump to Biden and had its origins in election-rigging efforts in Venezuela. The Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline filed a case against Powell last March in state district court in Dallas County, accusing her of professional misconduct. Bar regulators won an earlier round, with Judge Andrea Bouressa denying Powells motion to dismiss the case last summer. But in a four-page order entered on Wednesday, Bouressa, a Republican appointee of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, found that the commission failed to meet its burden on several claims it had lodged against Powell because of apparent issues with how it presented evidence and simply failed to respond to Powells challenges to others. The judge identified numerous defects with the commissions court filings, noting that exhibits were mislabeled or not cited in its briefs. She wrote that she alerted the parties to difficulty locating materials cited in the Commissions brief, but the Commission responded that no corrective action was necessary. Bouressa wrote that because of these problems, she considered just two exhibits the commission had presented copies of court documents from a post-election case that Powell filed in Georgia. Story continues Bouressa agreed with Powell that the remaining evidence wasnt enough for the commission to meet its burden in the case, and fully granted Powells motion for summary judgment. The commission could now appeal the ruling. The judge allowed the Bar full discovery, all the depositions it wanted; we produced over 55,000 pages of documents, emails, and a huge privilege log, Powell wrote in a statement. The judge applied well-settled law and held the Bar had no evidence as a matter of law that I committed any ethical violation. Claire Reynolds, a spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel, declined to comment. The Texas bar commission has a separate disciplinary case related to the 2020 election pending against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Other Trump allies involved in post-election legal challenges are facing disciplinary action in other jurisdictions Rudy Giuliani in Washington and New York; former senior Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark also in Washington, and conservative attorney John Eastman in California. The case is Commission for Lawyer Discipline v. Sidney Powell, Dallas County District Court, DC-22-02562. (Updated with Powell comment, details about courts reasoning.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Reuters The foreperson of the Fulton County Special Grand Jury in the case over whether former President Donald Trump violated Georgia laws is currently making the rounds in the media, sometimes saying provocative things. But despite howls of outrage from both the left and the right, the musings of Emily Kohrs are unlikely to have any effect on whether Trump or any of his inner circle get criminally charged. The 30 year-old Kohrs was between jobs and unknown when she became the grand jury foreperson for the specially empaneled grand jury that worked for eight months to prepare its investigative report and recommendations. Her anonymity is no moreafter granting interviews to CNN, CBS, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution about her experience, including a description of grand jurors being driven to their cars under police escort in tinted-window vans that sounds like an espionage thriller. Grand Jury Forewoman: Ill be Frustrated If Nobody Is Charged in Trump Election Probe Reactions to Kohrs interviews include commentators expressing worry that she is creating legal arguments that will be used by Trump and his allies to seek dismissal of any indictments issued. Right-wingerscorrectly sensing a high likelihood of indictmenthave been pushing the spin that Kohrs remarks show the entire case against Trump is fake and tainted. But legally it is highly unlikely that Kohrs behaviorwhether proper or notwill affect either Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis decision on whether to bring charges and whether those charges can be attacked before trial, even though it is likely that will be an avenue of legal attack. To start with, Kohrs was the foreperson of a special grand jury that will produce only a report and recommendations. The special grand jury cannot issue indictments because the Georgia case precedent set by the Georgia Court of Appeals in Kennerly v. Georgia does not allow special grand juries to indict. This offers insulation from any eventual charging decision, because if Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis wants to charge, she must present evidence to a different non-special grand jury that is empowered to indict. Story continues How the Jan. 6 Panel Is Supercharging the Georgia Trump Investigation So if Trump and his allies want to attack an indictment as being flawed because of Kohrs comments, then they will have to argue that the initial fact-finding and recommendations were all irrevocably tainted by Kohrs after the special grand jury had already completed its work. Timing is critical here because by the time Kohrs granted interviews, the special grand jury had not only made its report and recommendations, it had also been dissolved. Its job was done. As a matter of law and logic, whatever Kohrs did afterwards cannot affect the conclusions it reached. Unless, of course, her comments reveal some kind of extreme impropriety or bias that occurred during the special grand jury investigation. Thus far, however, there is no indication of such wrongdoings during the life of the special grand jury. Kohrs may also not be quite as hapless as some may believe. She was careful to set out boundaries in her interviews and limit herself to what she understood the judge had instructed. Georgia Grand Jury Recommends Indictments for Witnesses In Trump Election Case While it does appear that members of a special grand jury are subject to the same oath of secrecy that members of a regular grand jury are bound by, the most critical time for such secrecy is prior to an indictment. This is mostly critical to making sure that an investigation is not tainted by leaks. In the Trump case, the investigation is already complete and certain remarks by Kohrslike her observation about Sen. Lindsey Graham joking with the jurorsmight technically violate secrecy rules but are unlikely to be shown to taint the grand jurys conclusions. Some of Kohrs statements do appear more substantive, but that inquiry goes more to the question of whether Kohrs ran afoul of the judges instructions and not whether her statements can harm the integrity of an indictment. As Andy Warhol famously remarked in the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes, and in this age of viral media speed, Kohrs is certainly enjoying her moment. Whether her 15 minutes have any substantive legal effect on Trump and his allies criminal culpability seems doubtful, but there is little doubt that Fani Willis and others are hoping that Kohrs time as a celebrity is almost up. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. (Bloomberg) -- The foreperson of the special grand jury investigating Donald Trumps efforts to overturn Georgias election results has complicated the work of prosecutors with a series of surprisingly frank media interviews but is unlikely to get any potential cases thrown out. Most Read from Bloomberg Legal experts said the unusual candor about secret proceedings, while not unlawful, is almost certain to be used by lawyers defending anyone ultimately charged. Its an outrageous breach of grand jury confidentiality and undermines the fairness of the special grand processes, said Stanley Brand, a one-time House general counsel who has been representing several former Trump aides in separate investigations. Her comments on the credibility and truthfulness of named witnesses may be alleged by anyone charged ultimately to challenge both the grand jury process and any potential jurors who viewed the interview, added Brand, who does not represent anyone in the Georgia inquiry. In a series of interviews with news organizations including the Associated Press, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, NBC and the New York Times, the jury foreperson, Emily Kohrs, said that the panels still-secret recommendations include indicting more than a dozen people, even hinting strongly that one of the targets would be Trump. You are not going to be shocked, Kohrs told the Times, when asked whether the Fulton County panel had recommended charging the former president. Its not rocket science. Lawyers for Trump in Atlanta issued a statement Thursday saying her comments were emblematic of the deeply flawed process of the investigation. Story continues The lens now provided by this foreperson into the lack of seriousness and respect for this process that existed behind the grand jury walls is truly shocking to the legal conscience, the lawyers, Drew Findling, Marissa Goldberg, and Jennifer Little with the Findling Law Firm, said. Barbara McQuade, a former US attorney now at the University of Michigans law school, said that while the forepersons public comments are highly inappropriate and threaten the integrity of the investigation, she did not think the comments would ultimately harm any prosecution because of the unique role of the special grand jury. A separate grand jury will need to consider the evidence and make any charging decisions, which should cleanse the process of any taint, McQuade said. Kohrs did not return multiple calls and texts for comment. The special grand jury, which made recommendations on charges but could not indict, interviewed 75 witnesses over eight months before submitting its report to the court. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney released portions of that report last week, including a recommendation that District Attorney Fani Willis pursue perjury charges against one or more witnesses. McBurney, in a hearing last month, said the grand jurors cant discuss their deliberations but arent barred from talking about anything else. In his opinion on releasing the report last week, though, he said publicizing the names of people recommended for indictment but not charged could violate their due process rights. The portions he released didnt name anyone and included no other indictment information. A separate grand jury would have to bring any indictments. A new grand jury has not heard evidence, according to a person familiar with the matter. Trump Charges In her interview with the Journal-Constitution, Kohrs was reported to have rolled her eyes and laughed when asked about Trumps statement that the partial release of the grand jurys report represented total exoneration. Did he really say that? she asked. Oh, thats fantastic. Thats phenomenal. I love it. Trump, in a Wednesday post on his Truth Social platform, said Kohrs is going around and doing a Media Tour revealing, incredibly, the Grand Jurys inner workings & thoughts and that this is not JUSTICE, this is an illegal Kangaroo Court. Separately, on Thursday, lawyers for leading House conservative and Trump ally Scott Perry are arguing in a hearing in a federal appeals court in Washington that the contents of Perrys phone seized by the FBI in August cannot be searched in relation to investigations of events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack. Backed by House Republican and Democratic leadership, lawyers for Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican, argue that the speech or debate clause of the Constitution, which protects legislative work from executive branch interference, bars the review of the phone data. Riah Greathouse, an Atlanta attorney who worked with Willis in the district attorneys office, said the grand jurors comments could come up in future defense arguments. Lawyers could claim that the amount of pretrial publicity and information about the special purpose grand jurys work was so pervasive and prejudicial that it would be impossible to seat an impartial jury and have a fair trial. Its extremely rare for those types of motions to succeed, Greathouse said, but Kohrss decision to go public created an opportunity. At this point, if youre on the defense, your whole job is to throw things up and see if it sticks, he said. Former federal prosecutor Kevin OBrien said Kohrss remarks wont affect any criminal cases because the special grand jury on which she sat had no power to indict and only made recommendations. To the extent Ms. Kohrss comments reflect on the proceedings before the special grand jury, they are irrelevant to Ms. Willis charging decisions and any votes by the regular grand jury, which are the only votes that matter, he said. Williss probe looked at a range of activities by Trump and his supporters after the 2020 presidential election, including a call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asking that he find more votes and the effort to submit an alternative slate of Trump electors before Congress counted the Electoral College votes. Lawyers for those alternative electors did not respond to requests for comment on the grand jury forewomans remarks. Neither did Trumps Atlanta lawyers. A spokesman for Willis declined to comment. --With assistance from David Voreacos, Billy House, Erik Larson and Zoe Tillman. (Updates with Trump lawyer comment beginning in seventh paragraph) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Commentary: How does U.S. manipulate public opinion? 09:43, February 23, 2023 By Xinhua writer Wu Liming ( Xinhua BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Uncle Sam has a particular way of storytelling. He can hype a trivial matter into a big issue or play down a severe matter as forgettable. Washington's recent handling of the Chinese balloon incident is an excellent example of the former: exaggeration. Although the appearance of a Chinese civilian unmanned airship in U.S. airspace was unintended and unexpected, Washington intentionally portrayed it as a "spy balloon." It was even a sensational topic in President Joe Biden's recent State of the Union address. Like a sledgehammer cracking a nut, Washington resorted to using a fighter plane and missile to shoot down a non-threatening balloon. Call it a political farce. "A lot of balloons are flying over the Earth every day. Does the U.S. want to shoot them all down?" Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, asked at a China session of the 59th Munich Security Conference. Washington Post columnist Max Boot published an opinion piece saying the frenzy over China's airship is dangerous and unwarranted. "What concerns me is the hysterical overreaction on the part of so many Americans to the balloon's progress." Apart from exaggeration, Uncle Sam is also skillful in understating. There have been at least four train derailments in the United States in the past two weeks, including on Feb. 3 when a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in the small Ohio town of East Palestine. Video showed smoke spreading over the accident site and polluted rivers nearby. Frequent train derailment accidents have exposed long-lasting transportation problems in the United States -- aging railway lines, overdue maintenance, the intervention of interest groups, jagged construction standards ... the list goes on. However, American officials downplayed the horrific incident. After the Feb. 3 derailment accident in Ohio, the U.S. government insisted that its response to the accident was rapid and effective, swearing that local air and water quality were safe. It neglected to acknowledge that residents suffered from coughs, headaches, burning eyes and other symptoms. Even though Ohio Governor Mike DeWine insisted the town's air quality was safe, confusion and distrust remained among residents and environmental experts, according to a BBC report. Uncle Sam is also good at playing dumb. Recently, evidence has emerged suggesting that the United States is likely the perpetrator of the North Stream explosion. U.S. officials and the mainstream media have maintained silence on the issue. Whether through exaggeration or understating, the United States has plenty of tools at its disposal to mislead and manipulate the American public. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Lawyers for former President Trump labeled the Georgia special grand jury probe into the 2020 election clown-like after the forewoman of the jury made remarks to multiple media outlets. Defense attorneys for Trump, Drew Findling and Jennifer Little, spoke to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Wednesday and indicated they may file court motions in response to forewoman Emily Kohrss recent public comments. The attorneys said the forewomans remarks to media outlets suggested that the grand jury did not operate in a professional manner. This type of carnival, clown-like atmosphere that was portrayed over the course of the last 36 hours takes away from the complete sanctity and the integrity and, for that matter, the reliability, Findling told the Journal-Constitution of the investigation. Over the last week, Kohrs has been interviewed by multiple media outlets and offered limited insight into the special grand jurys report, which was partially released last week. She said that a number of people were recommended to be indicted, adding its not a short list. She declined to name who the jury recommended. Trumps legal team argued that Kohrss comments suggested that the grand jurys proceedings were conducted in an unprofessional manner. You want folks to have faith and trust in not only the system, but in the results of your investigation, Little said. How can anyone looking at what weve now seen have faith and trust in the results of this investigation? In an interview with The New York Times, Findling said Kohrss comments about recommending multiple people be indicted poisoned the process. He also criticized Kohrss comments that jurors discussed media coverage of the proceedings. They were permitted during the course of seven months to read your newspaper, to read the local newspaper, to watch the news, to go on the internet and apparently even able to bring those sources of material into the four corners of the grand jury room? Findling told the Times. What kind of reliable body is that? Story continues The newspaper noted that there was no indication members of the special grand jury, which operates differently from federal juries, were barred from reviewing media coverage of the case. Trump also attacked Kohrs on Truth Social for her revealing insights into the grand jurys recommendations. This Georgia case is ridiculous, a strictly political continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time. Now you have an extremely energetic young woman, the (get this!) foreperson of the Racist D.A.s Special Grand Jury, going around and doing a Media Tour revealing, incredibly, the Grand Jurys inner workings & thoughts, Trump wrote. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. (Bloomberg) -- Former President Donald Trump subpoenaed his longtime private banker for documents and testimony in New York Attorney General Letitia Jamess suit accusing him and his real estate company of using false asset valuations to dupe banks and insurers. Most Read from Bloomberg Rosemary Vrablic, a former Deutsche Bank managing director who arranged hundreds of millions of dollars in loans to Trumps company, was subpoenaed last week, according to a Wednesday court filing by James. Trump also subpoenaed Donald Bender, a partner at his former accounting firm Mazars. James said in the filing that Trump waited too long to start deposing witnesses and suggested that he was trying to delay a trial set for October in Manhattan by dragging his feet. Her filing was in response to an earlier request by Trump to extend a March 20 discovery deadline. It is remarkable that Defendants sat on their rights to conduct discovery for months, waiting until the past week to serve their first subpoenas, James said. Vrablics and Benders roles in the transactions at issue have been known to Defendants for years. Trump, three of his adult children and his company were sued by New York in September 2022 for allegedly manipulating the value of the former presidents assets and reaping $250 million in ill-gotten financial benefits as a result. The case is among the biggest legal threats to Trump as he campaigns for a return to the White House in 2024. Trump has claimed the lenders and others knew to take his own valuations with a grain of salt and conduct their own analyses. Hes also accused James, a Democrat, of conducting a political witch hunt. Story continues Read More: These Are the Trump Assets at the Center of N.Y. Fraud Suit Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, said in a Feb. 21 court filing asking for more time for discovery that the current schedule imposes significant hardship on the Defendants and deprives Defendants of their right to meaningful and full discovery, prejudices their ability to understand the evidence against them sufficiently to prepare a proper defense. James also said in her filing that Trump hasnt responded to proposals to streamline discovery. She said she offered to forgo deposing Trump a second time if he agreed to stipulate that he would invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination as he did the first time around. Testimony from Vrablic and Bender could be useful to Trump, who argues that his accountants and bankers knew his financial statements were estimates and that they should have done their own valuations to verify them. Vrablic was introduced to the Trump in 2011 by Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law. As part of Deutsche Banks private-wealth management unit, she arranged for the family to get unparalleled rates on loans that were personally guaranteed by Trump, according to James. Trump allegedly supplied the bank with bogus asset valuations to back his claimed net worth. Frankfurt-based Deutsche Bank declined to comment. Mazars declined to comment on the case but provided a general statement. Due to our industrys professional obligations Mazars cannot discuss any clients current or former, the status of our relationships, or the nature of our services in a public forum without client consent or as required by law, Mazars said in a statement. We remain committed to fulfilling all of our professional and legal obligations. Read More: Deutsche Bank Weighed Extending Trump Loans on Default Risk Mazars a year ago severed ties with Trump and said a decade of financial statements for the former president cant be relied upon. The accounting firm made the decision after conducting its own investigation and based on court filings by the attorney general. James cited her offices deposition of Bender in her suit. The accountant allegedly testified that he was shocked by the size of the discrepancy between a 2020 valuation of Trump Park Avenue at $84.5 million and Trumps statement of financial condition valuing it at $135.8 million. He called it misleading and inconsistent with the Trump Organizations obligation to provide accurate information, James said. Vrablic left Deutsche Bank in December 2020 after an internal investigation found she engaged in undisclosed activities related to a real estate deal. The bank cut ties with Trump in January 2021 following the assault on the US Capitol by a mob of his supporters. (Updates with additional detail on discovery dispute and subpoena recipients.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Donald Trumps rivals and would-be contenders in the race for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination are road-testing all sorts of jabs against the former president, who leads in early polls of what is expected to be a crowded and raucous primary. Something they dont mention? Trumps efforts to topple democracy and overturn the 2020 presidential election. The unprecedented attempt by an American president to reverse an election he lost, leading to the violent storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has largely been memory-holed by top Republican Party officials who are trying to turn the page. Establishment GOP figures are confidently predicting that Trump will fail to secure the nomination this time, but theyre doing little to make that a reality. Likely entrants into the race and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the only major Republican to announce a run so far are playing it safe with veiled digs about Trumps age, while others are avoiding mentioning him at all. Many see a 2016 redo in the making. The dynamic could change if indictments against Trump and his allies are announced by a grand jury in Georgia and the special counsel leading an investigation by the Justice Department. But for now, most of those opposing Trump are opting to keep their heads down. Trump is at his most effective when he has someone to fight. His constant goading of [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis shows how much he is spoiling for that. By not taking the bait, the announced and potential GOP candidates are denying Trump oxygen, Doug Heye, a former Republican National Committee communications director, told HuffPost. Needlessly poking the bear this early in the primary could be one reason Trump rivals are loath to broach the subject. Another is fear of antagonizing the conspiracy-fueled Tucker Carlson wing of the GOP, which doesnt believe the Jan. 6 riot was all that bad and is more interested in blaming U.S. Capitol Police officers over the incident. Story continues Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley waves to supporters while arriving at her first campaign event on Feb. 15 in Charleston, South Carolina. Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley waves to supporters while arriving at her first campaign event on Feb. 15 in Charleston, South Carolina. Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, excoriated her ex-boss after the 2021 attack on Congress, predicting he would be judged harshly by history and that he wouldnt be a viable candidate. The presidential contender is now silent on the matter and wont identify any areawhere she disagrees with Trump. Her main argument boils down to the idea that the country deserves a new generation of leaders, in an appeal to some GOP voters who are tired of Trump. But theres little evidence that Trumps hold over the party has waned with a significant slice of the GOP electorate. Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who appears to be ramping up for a potential presidential campaign, delivered a speech in Iowa this week focused on criticizing President Joe Biden and Democrats for policies he said are hurting the country. He, too, steered clear of Trump and any talk of the 2020 presidential election. I understand that President Biden likes to live in the past. I get it. Hes been in Washington for 50 years. But we need new leaders who will lift us up, not tear us down, Scott said at an event in Des Moines. Those in the 2024 GOP field have so far been more interested in talking about culture war issues that animate their base, like limiting discussion in schools about gender, criminalizing gender-affirming care for minors, and targeting transgender athletes. Theyve also been preoccupied with a nonexistent ban on gas stoves, spy balloons and/or UFOs, and bashing Biden over the disastrous trail derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. I would have gone to East Palestine before Id have gone to Kyiv, former Vice President Mike Pence, another potential 2024 candidate, said in a Wednesday interview on Fox News after Bidens surprise trip to Ukraine in support of democracy against Russian aggression. Pence, who perhaps has the most to say about the Jan. 6 insurrection given that Trump put his life and his family at risk from Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol, has taken to yadda-yadda-yadda-ing the harrowing events whenever he discusses his time in the White House, choosing instead to focus on his administrations accomplishments. Hes been forced to walk a delicate tightrope, applauding Trump for his politics, including the former presidents recent visit to East Palestine, while not backing down on his own decision to certify the 2020 presidential election. Mike Pompeo, another possible presidential contender, has also taken veiled hits against Trump without mentioning his name. Pompeo, who served as Trumps secretary of state and CIA director, seemingly argued that the former president shouldnt win the GOP nomination not because he was the first president who sought to stay in power after losing an election, but because he wont be able to serve more than four years in office. We all know the nature of the Washington ... establishment. Its going to take determined conservative leadership, certainly more than four years, to solve it, Pompeo said at an event in New Hampshire last week. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who is weighing a run for president, argued that Donald Trump couldn't win a general election in 2024. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who is weighing a run for president, argued that Donald Trump couldn't win a general election in 2024. Even moderate Republicans who have been most critical of Trump arent putting his attempts to subvert democratic norms front and center as they test the waters for potential 2024 campaigns. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who had harsh words for Trump after the Jan. 6 insurrection, are now focused on making an electoral argument against the former president: that Trumps toxic form of politics has cost their party in two successive elections, and that they cant afford to lose another one. If you repeatedly lose to a really bad team, Hogan said recently, referring to Democrats, its time for new leadership. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Sununu argued that Trump may be able to win the GOP nomination in 2024 but that he wouldnt be able to win in a general election. Trump is going to be seen as a very extreme candidate. The country is going to push back against it, the GOP governor said in an interview with ABC News earlier this month. It cant get done. He could get the nomination, but he cant get [it] done. Democrats largely agreed with that sentiment, relishing the Catch-22 the Republican Party finds itself in. Newly revealed emails by Fox News executives and personalities expressing alarmin private about Trumps lies during the 2020 election, but embracing them on television anyway, reflects the difficulty top GOP brass will have separating itself from the whims of the far-right in the 2024 presidential cycle. Trumps rivals are just reading the room. For key segments of the Republican base that vote in primaries, Trumps attacks on democracy are a feature not a bug, said Democratic strategist Zac Petkanas. This is the inevitable result of years of nonstop propaganda from right-wing media outlets and the wink and nods from supposedly more mainstream Republicans. Trump trying to rip up the Constitution would hurt him in a general election, but it helps him in a winner-take-all primary with a crowded field. Theres an old saying in politics: Never let a crisis go to waste. It looks like former President Donald Trump heeded that advice during Wednesdays visit to disaster-stricken East Palestine, Ohio, site of a 50-car derailment earlier this month. Trump made the visit even though he no longer has the ability to declare the town a disaster area or any of the other things a president can do in the event of a tragedy. But what he does have is chutzpah and, apparently, a whole bunch of bottles of Trump water lying around. So the former president brought the water, which was labeled Trump Spring Water, to East Palestine, along with some other bottled water he said was of a much lesser quality. Trump in E. Palestine: Were bringing thousands of bottles of water - Trump Water, actually. Most of it. Some of it we had to go to a much lesser quality of water. You want to get those Trump bottles. pic.twitter.com/Y6UITcgGrz Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 22, 2023 Although some Twitter users speculated the bottles were actually Trump Ice, a designer water brand discontinued in 2010, the bottles were labeled Trump Spring Water, a brand available at various Trump properties. The Independent noted that it couldnt immediately verify what percentage of the bottles donated by Trump were branded with his name. The water bottles and the desperate need to make himself the center of attention amid a tragic situation reminded some people of the time in October 2017 when Trump tossed rolls of paper towels to Puerto Ricans whose lives had been devastated by Hurricane Maria. Is he going to throw the bottles into the crowd? https://t.co/s3uNe7UkPd Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) February 22, 2023 This tops the paper towel toss in San Juan. Holy hell. https://t.co/DvVq8RDWU0 scott linnen (@ScottLinnen) February 22, 2023 Other Twitter users had strong reactions over Trumps visit to the town, whose residents have been left guessing about the quality of their municipal water supply after vinyl chloride and other chemicals were released in the derailment and skepticism remains about declarations the water is safe to drink. Story continues Trump is using East Palestine disaster to market Trump water. Id rather drink raw sewage. What a shameless asshole. Are the residents this easily fooled? Hey, at least yall owned the libs when you voted for Trump, twice. pic.twitter.com/DUYMLkzAM4pic.twitter.com/sOVP86Mp1S WTFUSA (@dudeonthebay) February 22, 2023 OMG,he makes it into a political branding show for Trump water. https://t.co/0yqbSBTY3g Diane Bernaerts (@DianeBernaerts) February 22, 2023 I think I would drink vinyl chloride straight up over 13-year-old Trump Water Will Bunch (@Will_Bunch) February 22, 2023 Is Trump Water like Trump Steaks? The people in East Palestine don't need bottled water with a splash of grift. https://t.co/oSaqPGdhCh Katie S. Phang (@KatiePhang) February 22, 2023 Some people speculated about how old the water might be. Trump water been sitting in storage in plastic bottles for about 15 years, that's worse chemicals than the damn train derailment caused https://t.co/RHTvVhHfO9 Baylor basketball enjoyer (@TWKsicem) February 22, 2023 So crazy that this ridiculous a-hole was our president. (Trump Water went out of business in 2010 but might still be available at Trump properties, so maybe these poor saps won't be getting 13-year-old water.) https://t.co/N8JdB3MpeR Rick G. Rosner (@dumbassgenius) February 22, 2023 Is it from his bottled water company that went under in 2010?? So he gets rid of old stock & it becomes a tax deduction? Amazing. Sue Berch (@Planet_Sue) February 22, 2023 Others made jokes about the possible color. I dont want to know what color Trump Water is pic.twitter.com/RgmV4U5i0D Tara Dublin (@taradublinrocks) February 22, 2023 If I lived in East Palestine, Ohio - there's NO waaaaaaaaaaaaaay I'd drink the Trump Water.#PeeTapespic.twitter.com/nH4MvGmwfP PaulLeeDicks (@PaulLeeDicks) February 22, 2023 However, one Twitter user took advantage of Trumps visit to post an Access Hollywood clip from 2010 where Sylvester Stallone tries Trump Water in a blind taste test and says he wouldnt wash his socks in it. Please enjoy this 2007 video of Sylvester Stallone taste testing Trump Water and truly hating it. Easily the second most embarrassing Access Hollywood clip involving Donald Trump. https://t.co/HyIV02cqSypic.twitter.com/spUZhpdbss Jon Bershad (@JonBershad) February 22, 2023 The former president may be attempting to politicize the disaster, but his legacy of gutting rail safety rules make any advice he might suggest regarding the Ohio disaster ironic, according to Sarah Feinberg, head of the Federal Railroad Administration in the final years of Barack Obamas administration. The Trump administration rolled back and killed some regulations we had been working on; in many cases, they just stopped working on regulations altogether, Feinberg told HuffPost.The impression that the safety apparatus got was that what industry wanted, industry got. Related... PIERRE A bill that would fundamentally change sentencing guidelines for people convicted of violent crimes has advanced to the House floor after a 7-6 vote in a House committee Wednesday. SB 146, sponsored by Sen. Brent Hoffman, R-Sioux Falls, would require people convicted of serious violent crimes to serve either all or a majority of their sentence, before being eligible for supervised release or parole. The bill sailed through the Senate 31-3. And while Hoffman's argument the state needs to get tougher in crime to address a rise of violent crime, mostly involving parole absconders, it was Rep. Tim Reisch, R-Howard, a former Secretary of Corrections, who told the House Judiciary Committee there were better ways to address the issue. More:South Dakota lawmakers want to tighten how the state handles parole eligibility The two-part bill, heavily supported by the state's Sheriff's Association, the state's Police Chief's Association, the State's Attorney Association and the Attorney General's office, was criticized because of the argument serious offenders once released would not be supervised. In the first section of the bill, anyone convicted of one of 13 high level violent crimes, such as first-degree manslaughter and first-degree human trafficking, would have to serve the full sentence imposed on them by a judge without credits for a shortened term. The inmate would then be eligible for supervised release. In the second section, those convicted of one of 10 other violent crimes, such as aggravated assault or second-degree manslaughter, could receive credits that could be applied toward shortening their sentence. However, they must serve at least 85% of their sentence before becoming parole eligible. Reisch, who served as the Corrections Secretary for eight years under the Rounds and Daugaard administrations as well as temporarily in 2021, stressed the prison system in the state was already "bursting at the seams" and it seemed the problem laid with the parole system. Story continues "The sponsor of this bill is of the opinion that imposing prison sentences with limited chance of parole for a long list of crimes will serve as a deterrent," Reisch said. "The reality of the fact is the length of sentences really don't serve as deterrence. Criminals aren't thinking about the length of the sentence they might get. They're thinking about, 'Am I gonna get caught or not?'" More:Technical parole violations in South Dakota are 'very high,' DOC Secretary Kellie Wasko At the same time the House judiciary committee was meeting, the joint appropriations committee voted to approve funding for projects to build a new women's prison in Rapid City and purchase land for a new men's prison in Sioux Falls. Attorney General Marty Jackley said in committee the bill was the first step toward what happened on the federal level many years ago when the feds did away with the parole system. He added the bill gave discretion to the courts and the Board of Parole and Pardons when it came to supervised release. "I think providing the discretion to the court that this bill does will help that transitioning from an archaic parole system closer to what the federal system (has) found to work," he said. Others on the committee, like Rep. Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, questioned if the bill would repeal efforts the Legislature made in 2013 when it passed SB 70, known as the South Dakota Public Safety Improvement Act, which greatly changed the criminal justice system in the state. The South Dakota State Penitentiary is pictured on Friday, October 29, 2021, in Sioux Falls. "I think this fits within what was trying to be done in Senate Bill 70, but was not accomplished," Jackley said. "I don't feel that this prevents that important goal of more treatment, more supervision and early release programs." However, it was the part about offenders not being able to receive credit for attending programming that drew the concern from opponents of the bill, such as Justin Bell, a lobbyist for the South Dakota Association for Criminal Defense Lawyers. Bell added in other states where similar policies had been enacted, the prison population increased and the policy directly impacted minorities. "You see a significant disproportionate effect on minority populations. In a lot of states that have done this, it ends up being the African American community," he said. "In South Dakota, (it) would likely be the Native American community." As an example; Native Americans disproportionally serve longer manslaughter sentences in South Dakota, according to an Argus Leader analysis. Manslaughter would be included in the two sections of the 'Truth in Sentencing' bill if passed into law. More:South Dakota House advances mandatory minimums for drunken driving The Legislative Research Council found that the Department of Corrections would be expected to spend $21 million over 26 years if SB 146 passed. Rep. Mary Fitzgerald, R-Saint Onge, said it was the responsibility of the Legislature to protect the safety of South Dakotans. Reisch agreed, but said there needed to be alternative to the bill. "There's a difference between being tough on crime and passing bills that make us feel good, but have no real effect on recidivism. This bill is the latter," he said. "We need more parole agents. We need parole agents probably to do a better job. I think a better alternative (to) this bill is something that would tighten the grid on parole revocations." SB 146 now heads to the House floor for debate. If passed, the bill will go to Gov. Kristi Noem's desk for final approval. This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Bill that would change sentencing for violent felons in South Dakota advances TUNIS (Reuters) - The Tunisian president on Thursday repeated his assertion that an increase of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa was part of a conspiracy to change Tunisia's demographics and denied criticism by rights groups that his views were racist. President Kais Saied on Tuesday ordered security forces to halt all illegal immigration into Tunisia and said any undocumented migrants must leave, comments that prompted some strong criticism. Speaking to Interior Minister Tawfiq Charfeddine in a video posted online, Saied said his opponents had twisted his comments in order to spread discord. Rights groups have accused Saied of racism, called his statement on Tuesday fascist and announced plans to protest. Saied said legal African residents should feel reassured and that he would not allow anybody to harm them. A Nigerian students association in Tunisia wrote to its members advising them not to spend time in certain districts of the capital Tunis or to be outside without documents. Reuters spoke to one man from Mali and another from Ivory Coast who are living in Tunisia without official documents and who said they were staying in their homes for fear of arrest or abuse. Tunisia is a major departure point for migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean and over the past year there has been a big increase in the number of Tunisians and other Africans trying to reach Europe. (Reporting by Angus McDowall; editing by Grant McCool) By Humeyra Pamuk and Huseyin Hayatsever ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - The head of Turkey's main opposition party on Thursday sent a condolence letter to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose country was also devastated by the Feb. 6 earthquake, saying he felt the pain of the Syrian lives lost. The rare communication from Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who may emerge as Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's rival in the country's upcoming election, came after the 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, killing more than 49,000 people and leaving millions homeless. "As this disaster and the pain we have experienced show once again, we are partners and neighbours in our grief, we share the common pain of our peoples," Kilicdaroglu, the leader of Turkey's Republican People's Party (CHP), said. "Therefore, I take this opportunity to express my condolences to you and your people and hope that we will not share our sorrows but our hopes in the future." There has been no regular contact between the main Turkish opposition and Assad, but Kilicdaroglu has urged Erdogan "not to pick a fight" with Syria and CHP officials have called on the government to open a dialogue with Damascus. After providing military and political support to the Syrian opposition fighting Assad for over a decade and sending Turkish troops into swathes of northern Syria, Erdogan in early January said he might meet the Syrian president. The defence ministers of the two countries met late last year for the highest-level talks between the two foes since the Syrian war began in 2011. Turkey hosts more than 3.6 million Syrian refugees who have become increasingly unwelcome amid economic hardship in Turkey. Erdogan has talked about returning some refugees, although neither the president nor the opposition has set out how that could safely take place. Russia helped Assad turn the tide of the war in his favour and says it is seeking a political end to the conflict and wants to bring the two leaders together for talks. In mid-January, Syrian foreign minister Faisal Mekdad said Turkey would have to end its military presence in his country to achieve a full rapprochement. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Christina Fincher) A TV reporter in Orlando, Florida, where three people were fatally shot by a 19-year-old gunman on Wednesday, broke down on camera while reporting the death of her fellow journalist. Emmy award-winning journalist Luana Munoz, who works with WESH News in Orlando, could barely keep it together while giving a piece to the camera late on Wednesday. Munoz began with a shaky voice: This is really difficult to cover. It is very emotional here at ORMC (Orlando Regional Medical Center). A nine-year-old girl and a Spectrum News 13 journalist were among the two people who were shot and killed after an earlier homicide in Orlando, according to Orange County sheriff John Mina. A 20-year-old woman had been shot dead earlier on Wednesday, leading to a crew from the local news channel reaching the spot at the Pine Hills area to cover the incident on the same day. The suspected gunman opened fire on the crew of local news channel Spectrum News 13 at 4pm, leading to the death of a journalist, and critical injuries to a photographer. Munoz continued tearing up on camera. I am not even going to turn the camera because there are people here who knew that reporter, who knew his fiance. But I will say this: it is nice to see all the media, we come together in solidarity in this moment. She added: This is every reporters absolutely worst night nightmare. We go home afraid that something like this might occur and that is what happened here. We are at the Orlando Regional Medical Center where we have learned that one of our own, a fellow reporter has died while out covering a shooting. #BREAKING: Multiple people, including news crew, shot at scene of #Florida homicide Listen as reporter who knew one of the victims talks live from the scene Multiple people were shot at the scene of an earlier deadly shooting in #OrangeCounty Wednesday, according to https://t.co/jqOPl8TzkP pic.twitter.com/JFHRkEKIDT Wake Up Waverly (@WaverlyWakeUp) February 23, 2023 There are members of his family, along with his fiance who are incredibly distraught tonight. Story continues The clip of Munoz reporting on the death of her fellow journalist was widely shared on social media, with users expressing sadness and shock over the shootings. One user wrote: This is absolutely sickening. The mental trauma that reporters and photographers go through in the field thinking about something like this happening is very real. To see it actually happen is heartbreaking. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone @MyNews13 tonight. I am so sorry for your loss. Luana Munoz (@Luana_Munoz) February 23, 2023 Others called it heartbreaking while others called out the senseless violence. One user tweeted: No journalist should ever fear for their life or lose their life reporting. Praying for Orlando and Spectrum. A Florida television journalist and a 9-year-old girl were fatally shot Wednesday near the scene of another deadly shooting from earlier in the day, sheriff's deputies said. Deputies had initially responded to the Pine Hills area, just northwest of Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday morning following reports of a woman in her 20s being shot. According to witnesses, a man approached a Spectrum News 13 news vehicle later Wednesday and opened fire, then walked to a nearby home and shot the 9-year-old and her mother. The Spectrum News 13 journalist and the 9-year-old girl died, while a TV crewmember and the girls mother were wounded during the second shooting. They were in critical condition at a local hospital. Report from Florida:Journalist and 9-year-old among 3 dead in Florida shootings, sheriff says; suspect arrested Who is Dylan Lyons? Dylan Lyons, 24, was a TV reporter covering a homicide investigation when he and another journalist from Spectrum News were shot. Family identified him overnight and said the station said he was born and raised in Philadelphia. The University of Central Florida graduate, who previously worked in Gainesville, was engaged to be married. "He was an acting father to his niece and nephew who he loved so much. He loved his fiance and and was a devoted son to his mother and father," his sister Rachel Lyons wrote on a Go Fund Me account she started to help with funeral expenses. "Dylan would have been 25 years old in March. He was a happy soul and wonderful person in life .My brother was our baby. He was taken too early from us." He was a reporter at the Orlando station since July. While the station said he was raised in Philadelphia, Lyons attended and graduated high school from the Dreyfoos School of The Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida in 2016, according to his LinkedIn account. https://t.co/7LB80ysVuQ The love of my life was murdered. I will never be the same person ever again. Please help my family and I during this time. pic.twitter.com/3dHrNcdIKK Casey Lynn (@Caseyswim1996) February 23, 2023 Photojournalist Jesse Walden was critically injured in the incident, the station said. Story continues "We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today," Charter Communications said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with our employees family, friends and co-workers during this very difficult time." I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners, Orange County Sheriff John Mina told a room full of reporters on Wednesday. No one in our community not a mother, not a 9-year-old, and certainly not news professionals should become the victim of gun violence in our community. An arrest made in Florida shooting Mina later confirmed that authorities arrested Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who was formally charged with murder from the first incident. Authorities expect to charge Moses for the additional shooting of the four people. Mina added that Moses already has a "lengthy criminal history," including gun charges, aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, and grand theft charges. Mina added they dont immediately have a motive for any of the shootings but said that Moses was an acquaintance of the woman who was killed earlier in the day. While authorities have not previously seen violence against media in the area, Mina said they are investigating. This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Dylan Lyons, TV reporter & Philly native, killed in Florida shooting Sheriff John Mina of Orange County Sheriffs Office gives update on fatal shootings in Orlando, Florida (Orange County Sheriffs Office) Four people were shot, two of of them fatally, at a homicide crime scene outside of Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday, according to police. The victims included a 9-year-old girl and an Orlando-based TV journalist who was producing a story about a woman was found shot to death at the location in Pine Hills earlier in the day. Another media member covering the scene was critically injured, according to the Orange County Sheriffs Office. The mother of the child was also shot and injured. A suspect, 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, is in custody, the sheriffs said. This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information. A Florida reporter who was fatally shot on the job after the suspect in an earlier shooting returned to the crime scene, authorities say, has been identified as Dylan Lyons of Spectrum News 13 in Orlando. Lyons, a 24-year-old Philadelphia native, and another Spectrum News 13 employee, photojournalist Jesse Walden, were shot around 4 p.m. Wednesday while covering the homicide of a woman in Pine Hills, just outside Orlando. Walden was critically injured but survived, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said. "You know Dylan was a reporter I work with every day," Walden said later in an interview from his hospital bed. "We were best friends." More than anything, Walden said, Lyons loved being a reporter. "He really did a good job," he said. The death of Lyons, who joined Spectrum News 13 as a multimedia journalist in July 2022, sparked an outpouring of grief from loved ones and newsroom colleagues. We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today, Spectrum News 13 said in a statement. Our thoughts are with our employees family, friends and co-workers during this very difficult time. Shooting suspect Keith Melvin Moses is being held in connection with the killings of Lyons as well as two other people, 9-year-old T'yonna Major and 38-year-old Nathacha Augustin. Were not looking for anyone else, Mina said Thursday. Hes the guy. Hes our suspect. Lyons and Walden were in Pine Hills covering the fatal shooting of Augustin. Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons in September 2022. (@DylanLyonsNews / Twitter) Mina said it's not clear whether Moses knew that Lyons and Walden were reporters when he approached their car and opened fire. "It's unclear why exactly they were targeted," the sheriff said. But after shooting the reporters, Moses walked to a nearby home and shot the young girl and her mother, Mina said. Moses knew Augustin, but it's unclear whether he knew the other shooting victims, said Mina, who did not identify the wounded mother. She remains in critical condition. Story continues Moses, as far as we know, had no connection to the reporters and no connection to the mother and the 9-year-old, Mina said. We dont know why he entered that home. Lyons' loved ones in mourning In a gut-wrenching Twitter post, Casey Lynn, a woman identifying herself as Lyons fiancee, wrote: The love of my life was murdered." I will never be the same person ever again, she said, sharing a GoFundMe page set up by Lyons family to help cover the costs of his funeral. On his own Twitter account, Lyons had previously linked to Casey Lynns account with a series of heart emojis. In the GoFundMe set up by Lyons' loved ones, the organizer, who identified herself as his older sister, Rachel Lyons, says the journalist was an "acting father to his niece and nephew who he loved so much." "He loved his fiancee and was a devoted son to his mother and father," Rachel Lyons wrote. "Dylan would have been 25 years old in March," she said. "He was a happy soul and wonderful person in life. My brother was our baby. He was taken too early from us." "Born and raised in Philadelphia, Dylans journey to journalism was fueled by his desire to tell stories that impact local communities," Lyons' Spectrum News 13 bio says. Lyons was a "proud University of Central Florida graduate with a degree in Journalism and Political Science," it says, adding that during his time at UCF the slain reporter anchored the UCF Knightly News, a student-run news station. Before joining the Spectrum News 13 team, Lyons also worked as a reporter and anchor for ABC affiliate WCJB of Gainesville, the bio said. He was awarded the best Politics/Elections Series by the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists and was a finalist for Investigative Reporting in 2021. Lyons is the latest reporter killed while on the job The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the fatal shooting. We stand in solidarity with the newsroom, said Katherine Jacobsen, the organization's U.S. and Canada program coordinator. It is deeply disturbing that a journalist was killed while covering the gun violence that has become a sickening reality of living in the United States. Reporters must be able to cover the news without having to fear for their lives. The Committee to Protect Journalists noted that Lyons death came nearly six months after another reporter, Las Vegas Review Journal investigative reporter Jeff German, was stabbed to death outside his home on Sept. 2. Not counting Lyons, 13 journalists and one media worker have been confirmed killed while working in the United States since the organization began keeping records in 1992. The Reporters Committee on Freedom of the Press also condemned the shootings of the reporters. Every day, journalists across the country go out into the field to do the essential work of bringing important information to their communities," executive director Bruce D. Brown said. "We are sadly seeing journalism become an increasingly dangerous profession in the United States, and it should not be this way. Tributes for Lyons poured in following word of his death. Dylan Lyons was a committed journalist, and a major talent as an on-air presence. Moreover, he was part of the TV20 family," WCJB news director Jon Levy said in a statement. "He had the range to thrive as our morning show reporter, then nightside reporter, and finally as the anchor to launch our 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts. He had a big personality and was never afraid to ask the tough questions." "Dylan was also deeply involved in TV20s charitable and community outreach efforts during his time in North Central Florida. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, and the Spectrum News 13 team," Levy said. "If you knew Dylan, you knew he embodied journalism. Integrity. Passion. Ethics. Speed. He meant so much to so many people," Megan Turner wrote in a tweet, sharing the GoFundMe page set up by Lyons' family. "I was his editor at UCF. He inspired me & always rooted for those around him pray for his loved ones & colleagues," Turner wrote. Many also shared messages of condolences with Lyons' fiancee, with Turner writing: "We're here for you" in a Twitter post. "Im so heartbroken for you and Dylans family," Alexandra Leslie, another journalist, wrote. "Reporters in Rhode Island are thinking of Dylan tonight," she said. Photojournalist critically injured Walden has been able to speak with investigators, police and his colleagues in the newsroom confirmed. He is shaken up, but in good spirits for his physical recovery, Celeste Springer, a fellow journalist at Spectrum News 13, said in a Twitter post. But so far Moses has not been talking, Mina said. Because Moses is not speaking to us, we are unable to determine a motive at this time, the sheriff said after Moses was taken into custody. Spectrum News 13 staffers continued reporting the story Wednesday evening even as they mourned their fallen colleague, according to the Orlando Sentinel. This is extremely devastating for all of us, reporter Celeste Springer said on air. But I am proud to have such an amazing team backing all of us. .... Please, please say a prayer tonight for our co-worker who is in critical condition. And while youre at it, please say a prayer for every victim of gun violence. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Orange County Sheriff's Department vehicles at the scene of shootings in Pine Hills, Florida. Fox 35 Orlando A gunman who fatally shot a woman in Florida returned to the scene of the crime hours later. He then went on a shooting spree, killing a local news reporter and a 9-year-old girl. The child's mother and another journalist were both wounded. They remain in critical condition. A gunman who fatally shot a woman in Orange County, Florida, on Wednesday morning returned to the scene of the crime hours later and went on a shooting spree, killing a journalist and a 9-year-old girl, authorities said. Police said they responded to the homicide of a woman in her 20s at around 11 a.m. on Wednesday in Pine Hills, about five miles east of Orlando. Police identified the woman as Nathacha Augustin, 38, Thursday morning. Later in the day, around 4:05 p.m., deputies received calls reporting two more shootings. One involved two Spectrum News 13 journalists, a reporter and a photojournalist, who were reporting on the earlier homicide. The two men were shot near their news vehicle, which was on "almost exactly the same spot" as the vehicle from the morning's homicide, police said. Both were taken to a nearby hospital, where the reporter died. The photojournalist remains in critical condition. The reporter was identified by police as 24-year-old Dylan Lyons and the photojournalist was identified as Jesse Walden. Around the same time, investigators were also called to the shooting of a 9-year-old girl and her mother. Authorities said the suspect walked to their house and shot the two victims. The 9-year-old, identified by police as T'yonna Major, died, while the mother remains in critical condition. Deputies have detained the man they believe is behind the shootings. Keith Melvin Moses, 19, is in custody and has been charged with one count of murder in connection with the killing of the woman in her 20s, Sheriff John Mina of Orange County Sheriff's Office said. He noted that the woman who died was an acquaintance of the suspect. Mina said additional charges for the other shootings are expected. Story continues The suspect's motive is currently unclear, the sheriff said, noting that it was not known if he knew the Spectrum News 13 crew members were journalists or if they were targeted. In a statement, Spectrum News said: "We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today." In the aftermath of the shooting, a video went viral of a tearful news anchor for NBC affiliate WESH 2 News commenting on the shootings. "This is every reporter's absolutely worst nightmare," reporter Luana Munoz said. "We go home at night afraid that something like this will occur. And that is what happened here." Read the original article on Insider WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Congress Democrats accused House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy of endangering Capitol Police officers and potentially exposing security secrets if he releases thousands of hours of video footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot to Fox News' Tucker Carlson. "The speaker is needlessly exposing the Capitol complex to one of the worst security risks since 9/11," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a letter to his fellow senators on Wednesday. TV host Carlson said on a Monday broadcast that McCarthy had given him and his producers the tapes that Schumer said contain "a treasure trove of closely held information" on security in the Capitol complex as well as highly guarded plans for the continuity of government in the event of an attack. Democrats had closely held the tapes when they controlled the House. Carlson has been a critic of the House investigation into Jan. 6 and has falsely accused the government of orchestrating the attack. During the broadcast, Carlson said he and his team were reviewing the tapes and would say more next week. Last month, Republicans took majority control of the chamber and elected McCarthy as speaker, but only after multiple votes in which hard-right Republicans blocked his election unless he gave them more power. McCarthy aides did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Meanwhile, on Wednesday House Democrats were to hold a virtual caucus, according to Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Representative Bennie Thompson, who chaired the select committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack by supporters of former President Donald Trump, was scheduled to address caucus members. "When the Select Committee obtained access to U.S. Capitol Police video footage, it was treated with great sensitivity given concerns about the security of lawmakers, staff, and the Capitol complex," Thompson said in a statement on Wednesday, noting that access was limited to lawmakers and "a small handful" of investigators and senior staff. Story continues The Jan. 6 riot came shortly after Trump addressed supporters near the White House and urged them to go to the Capitol to protest the Congress' ongoing certification of Joe Biden's November 2020 win in that year's presidential election. Trump falsely claimed the election was "stolen" from him as the result of massive voter fraud. He continues to argue so and has announced that he will again seek the presidency in 2024. Five people including a police officer died during or shortly after the riot and more than 140 police officers were injured. The Capitol suffered millions of dollars in damage. (Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Josie Kao) By Mike Scarcella (Reuters) - U.S. Justice Department lawyers say that Alphabet Inc's Google destroyed internal corporate communications and have asked a federal judge to sanction the company as part of the government's antitrust case over its search business. The DOJ asserted in a court filing unsealed in a Washington, D.C., federal court on Thursday that Google failed to timely suspend a policy allowing the automatic, permanent deletion of employees' chat logs. The government said Google "falsely" told the U.S. in 2019 that it had suspended "auto-deletion" and was preserving chat communications as it was required to do under a federal court rule governing electronically stored information. The DOJ asked the court to hold a hearing and weigh an appropriate sanction. "Google's daily destruction of written records prejudiced the United States by depriving it of a rich source of candid discussions between Google's executives, including likely trial witnesses," DOJ attorney Kenneth Dintzer wrote in the filing. Google said in a statement on Thursday it "strongly" refuted the DOJ's allegations. "Our teams have conscientiously worked for years to respond to inquiries and litigation," a spokesperson said. Google said it has "produced over 4 million documents in this case alone, and millions more to regulators around the world." The DOJ declined to comment. Penalties in circumstances where a judge finds a violation of court rules can include restrictions on what a party is allowed to argue at trial, an order striking a court filing or a monetary penalty. Google has denied the underlying allegations that it abused its power in the internet search market. The DOJ's sanctions bid marks at least the second time in the case that the government has sought to punish Google. Last year, the DOJ alleged Google unfairly kept internal documents away from antitrust investigators, claiming they were protected by attorney-client privilege. Google denied the allegation. Story continues The judge declined in April 2022 to sanction Google for conduct that occurred prior to the start of the litigation in 2020. The case is set to go to trial in September. The case is United States v. Google LLC, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, No. 1:20-cv-03010-APM. Read more: Google hit with $971,000 sanction for litigation misconduct in privacy suit U.S. judge in Google case not convinced company's conduct will get sanction Google urges judge hearing U.S. antitrust lawsuit to reject sanctions request U.S. asks judge to sanction Google in pretrial document fight (Reporting by Mike Scarcella; editing by Leigh Jones) The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution calling for Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine, almost exactly one year after it invaded the neighboring country. In the 193-member body, 141 members voted in support of the resolution, exceeding the two-thirds threshold needed to pass. Seven members Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria voted against the resolution. Thirty-two members abstained, including China, India, Iran and South Africa. The nonbinding resolution, which is largely symbolic, calls for Russia to halt its attack on Ukraine and to withdraw its troops from the region, as well as for a lasting peace. After the invasion of Feb. 24, 2022, the war has dragged on longer than almost anyone expected. Russias efforts at toppling the government in Kyiv have so far failed, and its military has suffered huge casualties while committing a number of tactical errors. Ukrainian forces, with weapons and ammunition supplied by the West, have held out against the larger military and regained territory in the eastern part of the country that Russia had seized. By Pete Schroeder and Hannah Lang WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Top U.S. banking regulators issued a fresh warning to banks to be on guard for any liquidity risks from cryptocurrency-related clients, cautioning some of their deposits could prove volatile. In a joint statement issued Thursday, the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said banks should have robust tools in place to monitor funds placed by crypto-asset related entities. The agencies noted deposits placed with banks for the benefit of crypto consumers, as well as stablecoin reserves, could be subject to rapid outflows. Regulators said the new statement was spurred by "recent events" in the crypto sector that highlighted volatility risks. While they noted the statement does not include new requirements and banks are not prohibited from providing services to particular sectors, it does mark the latest in a series of moves from bank regulators urging caution in any crypto dealings. The guidance represents the first time the bank regulators have highlighted deposits linked to stablecoins a type of cryptocurrency typically pegged to the U.S. dollar as susceptible to volatility during periods of stress in the crypto market. Most of the major stablecoins including Tether and USD Coin are asset-backed, meaning that the stablecoin issuer holds assets, including bank deposits, that can quickly be redeemed to meet withdrawal requests. But regulators expressing concerns about the stability of those reserves could cause banks to further examine their relationship with stablecoin firms. The statement noted that stablecoin reserves could see large and rapid outflows in cases of unanticipated stablecoin redemptions and turmoil in crypto markets, for example. (Reporting by Pete Schroeder and Hannah Lang; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) By Diane Bartz WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Thursday said the government will encourage companies to build at least two advanced domestic computer chip factories employing thousands of union workers, as part of a $52.7 billion dollar initiative. The centers would also include a "robust supplier ecosystem," Raimondo said in a speech in Washington. "America needs to design and produce the world's most advanced chips right here in America," Raimondo said, adding that the United States leads in design but not manufacturing. Congress in August approved $52.7 billion for semiconductor manufacturing and research and cleared a 25% investment tax credit for chip plants, estimated to be worth $24 billion, and $39 billion in government semiconductor chips subsidies to build new or expand U.S. facilities. The effort was sparked by concerns about China. Raimondo said the department planned to invest $11 billion in semiconductor research and development, including the creation of a public-private partnership she called the National Semiconductor Technology Center. The department said in mid-February that it was naming more than a dozen members to a team overseeing $52.7 billion in government funding to boost semiconductor manufacturing and research. The team includes officials with experience managing large federal programs as well as semiconductor experts. The United States has some chip production, and signs of expansion despite a very tight labor market. South Korea's Samsung Electronics has a big presence in Texas, and plans to expand with additional plans near Austin and Taylor, Texas. Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC began building a plant in Arizona late last year. And global giant Intel Corp is building a chip factory in Ohio. (Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by David Gregorio) Tributes are pouring in for Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons. A memorial is growing at the University of Central Florida where he graduated from. Lyons had an impact on newsrooms across Florida, including Channel 9 where he worked as an intern. Watch: Journalist killed in Orange County mass shooting identified as Dylan Lyons His former teachers and UCF alums are honoring and remembering him. UCF students held a moment of silence in memory of Lyons at a memorial started for him at the journalism school he graduated from. Watch: He loves journalism: UCF professor shares legacy of reporter killed in Pine Hills mass shooting Professor Tim Brown organized the area to remember Lyons on campus. Dylan was one of Browns students years ago. Dylans death is making national headlines. The 24-year-old was shot to death while on the job waiting to do a live report on the suspect whos accused of shooting him and his photographer on Wednesday. Read: He loved so much: Fundraiser created to support family of slain reporter Dylan Lyons A memorial for Lyons is now growing outside of the Nicholson School of Communication and Media. See more in the video above. Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. BEIRUT (AP) A British court has ruled a London-based company that delivered the explosive ammonium nitrate to Beirut's port is liable towards the victims of a devastating blast in 2020, Lebanon's Beirut Bar Association said Thursday. On Aug. 4 that year, hundreds of tons of the chemical, typically used in fertilizers, detonated, killing more than 200 people, injuring over 6,000 and damaging large parts of Beirut. Families of the explosion's victims saw the development as a rare step towards justice and against the political intervention that has obstructed the investigative judge leading a probe in Lebanon for over two years. The ruling in London is an unusual judicial success for the victims' families, members of whom have advocated for an unimpeded national investigation. Some have opted to file lawsuits abroad. The London-registered chemical trading firm, Savaro Ltd., is suspected of having chartered the shipment of the ammonium nitrate in 2013 that ended up in Beirut. Documents show a handful of senior political, judicial and security officials were aware of the substance in the port for years, but did not take decisive action to get rid of it. The Beirut Bar Association, alongside three victims' families, filed a lawsuit against Savaro Ltd. over a year ago. The judgment by the High Court of Justice in London means that the proceedings now move to a damages phase" of the case that determines the firm's compensation for the families, Camille Abousleiman, one of the lawyers involved in the case, told The Associated Press. Its the first time there is an actual judgment on this matter in reputable courts, Abousleiman, also a former Lebanese labor minister, said. The ruling "certainly will open the door for potential justice in courts overseas. Mariana Foudoulian, whose sister Gaia died in the explosion, called the judgment a very important step." Through this judgment, we can try to access more important details, Foudoulian told the AP. This does give us some hope. The civil suit against Savaro Ltd. was filed in August 2021. Soon after, UK authorities blocked the firm's attempts to dissolve the company. It remains unclear who the owner of the company is. The listed owners are agents from a corporate services firm, investigative journalists from Lebanese and international outlets reported. The High Court of Justice in June 2022 ordered the company to reveal its true owners, though the firm never has done so. Elsewhere, the Swiss foundation Accountability Now and some of the victims' families filed a lawsuit in Texas against U.S.-Norwegian geophysical services group TGS, which owns a company that allegedly sub-chartered the ship carrying the ammonium nitrate in 2012. Foundation officials said they hoped it would force the company to disclose communications with other parties being investigated. A commuter walks across Westminster Bridge in London on Monday as the UK prepares for forecasted snow and ice. (PA Images via Getty Images) The whole UK is set to be hit with a wave of snow and ice on Monday, the Met Office says. It has issued yellow warnings for snow and ice for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales for Monday and Tuesday, with further warnings throughout the week until Friday. The Met Office warned that temperatures could drop below minus 15C. It brought forward its previous yellow warnings as the UK braces with the cold weather caused by a blast of Arctic air. The Met Office said temperatures could drop below minus 10C on Monday night on higher ground in northern Scotland, with northerly winds making it feel even colder. The Met Office said temperatures could drop as low as -15 overnight on Tuesday in some sheltered Scottish Glens. Snowy conditions are expected in parts of the UK this week. (Reuters) In an update on Monday, the Met Office said temperatures in parts of the UK will drop below freezing on Monday night and will not top mid-single figures during the day on Tuesday or Wednesday. Up to 30cm of snow could fall in isolated spots across Scotland while other areas could see 10-20cm of snow fall. A yellow weather warning will be in place for London, the Thames Valley, East Anglia, parts of the Midlands and South Wales from 9pm on Monday night until 10am on Tuesday. An identical one will be in place in Northern Ireland at the same time. A yellow weather warning for snow and ice is already in place in much of Northern and Eastern Scotland and North East England. Watch: Cold weather alert as freezing temperatures hit the UK The area covered by it is set to extend as far south as Hull from Tuesday before it lifts at 10am on Wednesday. Overnight temperatures later in the week could reach minus 4C in London and minus 6C in Birmingham and Belfast. Met Office chief meteorologist Dan Suri said: Snow, ice and low temperatures are the main themes of this weeks forecast, as the UK comes under the influence of an arctic maritime airmass as cold air moves in from the north. Snow is already falling in parts of the north where some travel disruption likely, as well as a chance of some rural communities being cut off. Snow showers will continue through today and Tuesday here, and Northern Ireland will also be subject to some snow showers, especially over high ground. Story continues It is expected to snow this week as temperatures drop. (PA) The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a cold weather alert and has placed north-east England, north-west England and Yorkshire under a level three alert, with the rest of England at level two. A level three alert means there is a 90% chance of severely cold weather, icy conditions or heavy snow, which could increase the health risk to vulnerable patients, the NHS said. Areas affected by the warnings could experience power outages, delays to road, rail and air travel, icy surfaces and some rural communities may be cut off by the freezing conditions. Dr Agostinho Sousa, head of extreme events and health protection at UKHSA, said: During periods like this, it is important to check in on family, friends and relatives who may be more vulnerable to the cold weather, as it can have a serious impact on health. If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over the age of 65, it is important to try and heat your home to at least 18C if you can. The Met Office have warned of frost and potential snow as temperatures drop at the start of March. (Getty) Britain could see snow in March after temperatures dropped to below freezing over the past few days. (Reuters) Last month, the Met Office suggested that in some areas of the country, there was "a small possibility of more organised rain or snow spreading southwards" in early March. This is down to a phenomenon known as "sudden stratospheric warming". Here, Yahoo News explains how it works. What is sudden stratospheric warming? Sudden stratospheric warming (SSW), refers to a rapid warming up to about 50C in just a couple of days high up in the Earth's stratosphere. This is so high up that we dont feel the warming ourselves, but it can cause a knock-on effect a few weeks later, affecting the weather we experience lower down in the troposphere. Every year in winter, strong westerly winds circle around the Arctic high up in the stratosphere something known as a stratospheric polar vortex, the Met Office explains. Read more: When Snow and -2C Freeze Will Hit UK As Met Office Issues Weather Warning Sometimes although not every year this causes winds in the polar vortex to weaken, or even reverse to flow from east to west. Cold air then descends rapidly in the polar vortex, causing temperatures in the stratosphere to soar by as much as 50C in the space of a few days. Read more: Food shortages: Fruit and veg industry 'hurt horribly by Brexit', ex-supermarket chief warns Cooler air from the higher level disperses and sinks down to the troposphere, which can cause the jet stream to change shape and "snake" across the North Atlantic and northern Europe, including Britain. A sudden stratospheric warming event was linked to the Beast from the East that swept the UK in 2018. What is the Beast from the East? A car covered in snow in Larbert, near Falkirk, during 2018's Beast From the East. (PA) The Beast from the East, a wintry storm that ran from around 22 February to 5 March 2018, saw weeks of heavy snow and wind pelting the UK and elsewhere in Europe. It resulted in a total of 17 deaths in the UK, with 22 inches of snowfall in some areas and 1.2bn in damage. Read more: Full list of fruit and veg rationed by Tesco, Asda, and Morrisons as supermarkets clamp down amid shortages Since then, the term has been used in the media to describe subsequent spells of heavy snow. Although the blizzard was caused by a SSW event, the Met Office says there is a low probability of having widely disruptive winter weather like that of March 2018. Is there a sudden stratospheric warming taking place now? There is usually a delay before we feel the impact of an SSW down on the troposphere. (Getty Images) A major SSW took place some 50km above the North Pole earlier this month, causing the stratospheric polar vortex to reverse. This weather event is currently still taking place, although as mentioned, there is usually a delay before people start to feel it on the Earth's surface. The cold snap is expected to arrive within the next two weeks, according to the Met Office, with much colder weather expected in the middle of March. Its long-range forecast covering 9-23 March says: "Spells of rain or snow, are more likely than earlier in the month, with a low chance that some wintry episodes could be disruptive, though northwestern areas most likely to see the driest conditions. "Winds could often be from a northerly or easterly direction, and temperatures are more likely to be below-average than above-average overall, but later in the month, colder air will be fighting against a strengthening sun." (Bloomberg) -- The US plans to announce sweeping sanctions against key sectors that generate revenue for Russia, including the countrys banking, defense, and technology industry on Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. In addition, officials said a new package of about $2 billion in US security assistance will be announced. Most Read from Bloomberg European Union members failed to sign off on a new package of sanctions, with diplomats set to reconvene Friday morning in an effort to get the measures over the line, according to people familiar with the matter. Both China and Brazil advanced proposals they said could help end the war, though its doubtful either will gain traction. With the one-year mark of Vladimir Putins invasion a day away, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday that the alliance will closely monitor what Russia does with its nuclear weapons after the Kremlin suspended the countrys participation in the New START treaty. Russias War in Ukraine: Key Events and How Its Unfolding (See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.) Listen back to the latest in our series of special Twitter Space conversations about one year of war in Ukraine. Todays focused on the impact on global energy supplies and markets, and on the environment and renewable energy policies. You can access it via this link. You can also listen back to our conversation on the war itself and military lessons learned: How Does Ukraine Continue to Beat Back Russia? (Podcast) Key Developments China Calls for Cease-Fire as War in Ukraine Enters Second Year China Probably Approved Dual-Use Items to Russia, Blinken Says Lula Intensifies Brazils Diplomatic Push for Peace in Ukraine One Year On: Russias War Casts Long Shadow Ukraine Plans to Avoid Gas Imports This Year, Naftogaz CEO Says Russians Support for Putins War Hardens as His Crackdown Grows Story continues On the Ground Russia continues to shell settlements in the Kharkiv region, with one person injured by a missile attack on an administrative building near Kupyansk, according to the local governor. In the past day, Russian troops launched several rocket and air strikes, as well as conducting mortar and artillery fire, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Facebook. Civilian facilities in the Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, and Kherson regions were damaged. (All times CET) Brazils President Pushes Mediation Proposal (2:30 a.m.) Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is intensifying a campaign to mediate an end to Russias war in Ukraine as he seeks to reinsert Brazil in the global political stage. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin was quoted by Russias Tass news agency Thursday as saying Moscow was studying Lulas proposal to end the conflict as it continues to assess the situation in Ukraine. The idea being floated by the Brazilian president is to create of a group of countries, possibly including India, China and Indonesia, to mediate peace talks between the nations as war fatigue takes hold. China, Turkey and numerous other nations have also sought to mediate negotiations in recent weeks and months. China Calls for Cease-Fire, Issues 12-Point Plan (12:25 a.m.) China called for a cease-fire in Ukraine in a bid to portray itself as a neutral party that can help end Russias yearlong war. The 12-point plan issued by the Foreign Ministry in Beijing Friday called for ending hostilities and resuming peace talks. All parties should support Russia and Ukraine in working in the same direction and resuming direct dialogue as quickly as possible, so as to gradually deescalate the situation and ultimately reach a comprehensive cease-fire, the ministry said. The plan is an effort to shape the outcome of the war toward one that benefits Beijing. It appears to have little chance of succeeding given Ukraine has said it would fight until Russia leaves its borders and Moscow has shown little sign of suspending its attacks. UN Approves Appeal to Russia Calling for Wars End (10:40 p.m.) The United Nations General Assembly passed a nonbinding resolution on Thursday calling on Russia to end its war in Ukraine, with 141 countries voting in support of the measure. Seven nations, including Syria, North Korea and Belarus, voted against the measure, and 32, including China, India, South Africa and Iran, abstained. Josep Borrell, the European Union foreign policy chief, called the vote a clear message from the international community, which has called for a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in Ukraine. This vote shows that the international community stands with Ukraine. The voting occurred before a UN session on Friday where US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other foreign ministers will voice their support for Ukraine. New $2 Billion Package of US Security Assistance Is Coming (9:13 p.m.) The U.S. plans to announce a new assistance package of about $2 billion for Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter. The package, to be issued under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, will build on previous efforts to aid Ukrainian defenses against Russia, according to the people, who asked not to be identified in advance of an announcement. The initiative is aimed at funding contracts with delivery dates months or even years away to bolster the nations long-term security needs, not for immediate battlefield use. Ukraine Envoy Cites Need to Rebuild Her Country After the War (9:10 p.m.) Ukraine will need international assistance to rebuild after the war, but first needs more of the weapons needed to defend itself, Oksana Markarova, the nations ambassador to the US, said on Bloomberg Television. We dont have a shortage of the will to fight and Ukrainians who are willing to defend the country, Markarova said, while calling for as much ammunition as possible, as quickly as it can be supplied. The priorities are still the same: air defense, artillery, longer-range systems, she said. US Pledges Sanctions to Target Russia, Its Enablers (7:53 p.m.) In addition to targeting Russias banking, defense and technology industries, US sanctions to be announced Friday will hit actors in other countries that are attempting to help Russia backfill or evade sanctions, the White House said. The US and allies also plan to announce a new economic and security assistance package for Ukraine intended to aid defense efforts and provide basic government services such as electricity and heat, according to Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary. President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet virtually with other Group of Seven leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday. US Tank Deliveries Are Months Away, US Army Chief Says (7:31 p.m.) Delivery of 31 M1A2 tanks that the US promised to the Ukraine military is many months away, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told a breakfast meeting of the Defense Writers Group in Washington. Were looking at options to present Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Wormuth said, that are less than two years, less than a year and a half away. You can build the tanks from scratch as General Dynamics Corp. is doing for Poland in a $1.14 billion order signed last year for 250 tanks of the newest model. There are also countries we have sold tanks to previously, she said, implying one option is to ask countries to donate some of their vehicles. Blinken, Scholz Urge China to Refrain From Arming Russia (6:56 p.m.) Chinas government probably approved of Chinese firms giving Russia non-lethal, dual-use support for its war in Ukraine, Blinken said in Washington, in remarks that underscore growing US concern that Beijing may go further and help arm Putins forces in Ukraine. There has been some non-lethal, dual-use type support coming from quote-unquote Chinese companies, that almost certainly was approved by the state, because theres really no difference, but not lethal military support, Blinken said, without citing evidence. But we also have picked up information over the last couple of months that China is now strongly considering doing that. Scholz said he made clear in recent talks with Chinas top diplomat that Beijing must not provide such support to Russia. In public remarks, China so far has declared that it doesnt want to send weapons. So its important that we continue to take a close look at this, Scholz told public broadcaster ZDF in a television interview. Estonian Premier Says War Will End When Russia Knows Its Lost (5:50 p.m.) NATO states should overcome concern that giving Ukraine the support it needs to defeat Russia will escalate the conflict beyond Putins red lines, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said. Even a worst-case scenario a potential nuclear retaliation will happen in the conflict zone and not on the alliances soil, she said in an interview on Thursday. War in Ukraine Will End When Russia Knows Its Lost, Kallas Says EU Fails to Agree New Russia Sanctions, Set to Try Again Friday (5:29 p.m.) Talks became stuck on the scope of restrictions to impose on Russian rubber imports, according to people familiar with the matter, with Poland leading the charge to toughen up those provisions. The EU is coordinating some of the proposed sanctions with the Group of Seven as part of a coordinated action to coincide with the one year mark since Russias invasion of Ukraine. That means diplomats are confident the measures will be agreed on Friday, the people said. The proposed package includes export controls on multiple technologies and electronic components used in equipment such as drones, missiles, helicopters and for other military purposes, as well as restrictions on heavy vehicle exports. It would also hit a number of Russian banks and Iranian entities, including those linked to Irans Revolutionary Guard, imposing trade restrictions on the latter over Tehrans provision of drones to Russia. Sweden May Announce Tanks for Ukraine This Week (5:29 p.m.) Sweden is set to announce that it will transfer battle tanks to Ukraine, the TT news service said, citing people it didnt identify. According to the report, the Swedish governments eleventh package of military aid will be unveiled this week, and will include air defense systems as well as tanks. Sweden has about 120 tanks based on the German Leopard 2. The country previously announced that it will send 50 armored combat vehicles to Ukraine. Putin Gave Biden $12,000 Pen Set Months Before Invasion (5:03 p.m.) The Russian leader gave US President Joe Biden a $12,000 pen and decorative writing set at their first presidential summit in Geneva in 2021 during a momentary thaw in relations that ended with the invasion of Ukraine eight months later. The writing set was the most expensive gift Biden received from a foreign leader that year. It was described in an annual report from the State Departments Office of the Chief of Protocol as a Kholuy lacquer miniature workshop desk writing set and pen. Putin Gave Biden $12,000 Pen Set Months Before Ukraine Invasion Poland to Send 14 Leopard 2 Tanks to Ukraine Within Days (4:42 p.m.) Poland will deliver 14 of its Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine in a few days, Jacek Siewiera, the head of the national security bureau, told the Financial Times. Its possible that the tanks will leave the border at the end of the week, he was cited as saying. Poland has been assembling a coalition of countries to send the older A4 version of the Leopard 2 to bolster Ukraines fight against Russia. Poland Beefs Up Security Measures on Border With Russia, Belarus (3:50 p.m.) Poland is ramping up security measures on its border with Belarus and Russias Kaliningrad region, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said. The country has started setting up concrete and steel obstacles at the crossings as part of our defense and deterrence strategy, he said on Twitter. Polands government has been among the most vocal in the European Union and NATO in calling for a tough response against Russias invasion of Ukraine. US Senator Highlights Trade Routes in Call for Stronger Sanctions (3:42 pm.) US Senator Ben Cardin, whos leading a key Congressional delegation this week in Europe, said Russian sanctions could be stronger, particularly around Europes periphery, where the Kremlin is building new trade routes to skirt restrictions. In some cases we dont have the direct ability to stop this trade, the Democrat from Maryland said at a briefing in Vienna hosted by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. We will look at ways to use our global influence. It is part of our strategy. Russia and Iran have been building a new transcontinental trade route stretching from the eastern edge of Europe to the Indian Ocean, a 3,000kilometer (1,860mile) passage to avoid the reach of foreign intervention. Zelenskiy Says Its Preferable to Have Contacts with China (3:37 p.m.) Ukraine is seeking to reach out to high-level Chinese officials because it corresponds to the interests of the country, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said at a press-conference with Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. I believe that it would be desirable for Ukraine to meet with China, Zelenskiy said. We conveyed this signal to China on the diplomatic level. G-7 Finance Chiefs Condemn Russias War, Boost Aid to Ukraine (2:46 p.m.) Group of Seven finance ministers increased their budget to $39 billion and reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine, according to a statement issued Thursday. We re-emphasize our shared commitment to our coordinated economic measures in response to Russias war of aggression, Shunichi Suzuki, finance minister of Japan and this years G-7 chair, said from Bengaluru, India. Our sanctions have significantly undermined Russias capacity to wage its illegal war. Poland Warns Ukraine Collapse Could Encourage China on Taiwan (2:20 p.m.) If, God forbid, Russia were to conquer Ukraine, chaos could very quickly ensue, not only in our region but also in the Far East, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a news conference in Copenhagen, alongside Danish Premier Mette Frederiksen. China could attack Taiwan and there could be various disruptions of the international order, he added. China considers Taiwan part of its territory and has repeatedly said it is willing to use force to prevent its formal independence. Ukraine Seeks Four-Year IMF Program (1:35 p.m.) Ukraine is working very actively with the IMF to discuss a four-year full-fledged program, Prime Minister Shmyhal said, adding that the government is working to finalize appointments to anti-corruption institutions. The premier told reporters in Kyiv that Ukraine is in talks on fighter planes for a counter-offensive, while the country received promises on the delivery of long-range weapons during Bidens surprise visit at the start of this week. Ukraines Economic Security Bureau Website Was Hacked (12:57 p.m.) The website of Ukraines Economic Security Bureau an agency that investigates economic crimes was hacked on Thursday morning and is currently not operating, according to an emailed statement. IT specialists are working to fix the site. Its not known so far who was behind the attack or which tools were used, the bureaus press office told Bloomberg by phone. Ukraine has been subject to thousands of cyberattacks over the past year, many of them linked to Russia. Russian Attendees Stir OSCE Meeting in Vienna (12:50 p.m.) A meeting of lawmakers from Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe member states kicked off in Vienna with seven Russian delegates attending. Envoys from several countries, including Ukraine, didnt participate in discussions at which Russian peers were present. Austria has come under scrutiny for granting visas to the Russian lawmakers, including some sanctioned individuals. Its said it must allow them to attend based on its obligations as a host country for the OSCE, an organization founded to promote peace and east-west dialogue on the continent. EU Trade Chief Says Russias Fiscal Outlook Deteriorating Rapidly (12:20 p.m.) European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said the blocs sanctions are taking a toll on Russias economy as the EU attempts to complete a 10th round of punitive measures targeting Moscow. We see strong impact on Russias industry Russias fiscal position is deteriorating rapidly, Dombrovskis told reporters in Sofia. He said measures including the blocs oil embargo and the Group of Seven oil price cap, which went into effect later, have yet to take hold. Finland Donates Leopard 2 Mine-Clearance Tanks (11:49 a.m.) Finland will donate three of its six mine-clearance tanks as part of its 13th military aid package to Ukraine, said Defense Minister Mikko Savola. The package of more than 160 million ($169 million) includes training in the use and maintenance of the vehicles. Tanks donated by Finland and other countries give Ukraine the capabilities it needs to take back its territory, said Savola, who added that the size of Finlands contribution was limited by its own long border with Russia. We cannot compromise on our own security, he said. Allies Watching Russian Nuclear Activity, NATO Chief Says (11:45 a.m.) NATO will closely monitor what Russia does with its nuclear weapons after President Putin suspended his countrys participation in the New START treaty, alliance chief Stoltenberg said as he warned of the risk of an arms build-up. This is a reckless decision because we need arms control and we need transparency, Stoltenberg told Bloomberg TV in an interview. A world without nuclear arms control agreements risks leading to more nuclear weapons. Read more: Allies Closely Watching Russian Nuclear Arms Activity, NATO Says Poland Says Ukraine to Get Fighter Jets Sooner or Later (11:39 a.m.) Its only a matter of time before Western nations decide to send fighter jets to Ukraine, according to Tomasz Szatkowski, Polands permanent representative to NATO. Sooner or later Western planes will also go to Ukraine, Szatkowski told TVN24 television in an interview on Thursday. Western, but also post-Soviet systems. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said his government would support allies who decided to supply fighter jets to Ukraine, but that Germany would not be in a position to send any itself. Pistorius said that it would be awkward if Ukraine used the jets to attack Russian territory and not for preventive defense and that would be something allies would have to discuss with officials in Kyiv. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. 21-year-old Jack Teixeira is the suspected Pentagon leaks perpetrator In today's podcast, we analyse reports from Bakhmut and our colleague Steven Edginton presents a special report on Poland's rapid build-up of its armed forces. The past 24 hours have seen significant developments in what's become known as "The Pentagon Leaks". The Telegraph's Senior Technology Reporter, Gareth Corfield, joined the podcast to lend us his analysis on the reported perpetrator, Jack Teixeira. "He's an Air Force reservist and he works for the State's National Guard, which is their sort of territorial based force. Some sources have described this as the worst intelligence leaked since the Edward Snowden revelations a decade ago". Summing up the leak, Gareth notes that Mr Teixeira had been: "Issuing intelligence summaries about Ukraine to his internet friends on a chat app called Discord. He had been taking photographs of original documents using his mobile phone and posted them to his private chat server where they were eventually shared onwards and outwards". Gareth also points towards the serious security concerns, not least that: "The questions that this raises are far reaching. For example, why is a 21 year old US Air Force Reservist have access to such highly classified and sensitive materials? [The documents contain] analyses of who is supporting Ukraine, who isn't supporting Ukraine, countries that are allegedly making out that they don't support Ukraine while shipping the moms. And this is real explosive, high caliber stuff. So the notion that a 21-year-old Air Force reservist in Massachusetts was able to just pick these documents out and take them away and photograph them and put them on the internet for his internet buddies is still astonishing". Listen to Gareth's full analysis of this week's explosive leaks below: Watch Steven Edginton's report: War in Ukraine is reshaping our world. Every weekday the Telegraph's top journalists analyse the invasion from all angles - military, humanitarian, political, economic, historical - and tell you what you need to know to stay updated. Story continues With over 24 million downloads, our Ukraine: The Latest podcast is your go-to source for all the latest analysis, live reaction and correspondents reporting on the ground. Ukraine: The Latest's regular contributors are: David Knowles David is Head of Social Media at the Telegraph where he has worked for almost two years. Previously he worked for the World Economic Forum in Geneva. He speaks French. Dominic Nicholls Dom is Associate Editor (Defence) at the Telegraph having joined in 2018. He previously served for 23 years in the British Army, in tank and helicopter units. He had operational deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland. Francis Dearnley Francis is Assistant Comment Editor at the Telegraph. Prior to working as a journalist, he was Chief of Staff to the Chair of the Prime Minister's Policy Board at the Houses of Parliament in London. He studied History at Cambridge University and on the podcast explores how the past shines a light on the latest diplomatic, political, and strategic developments. They are also regularly joined by the Telegraph's foreign correspondents around the world, including Joe Barnes (Brussels), Sophia Yan (China), Nataliya Vasilyeva (Russia), Roland Oliphant (Senior Reporter) and Colin Freeman (Reporter). In London, Venetia Rainey (Weekend Foreign Editor), Katie O'Neill (Assistant Foreign Editor), and Verity Bowman (News Reporter) also frequently appear to offer updates. Listen to Ukraine: the Latest, The Telegraph's daily podcast, using the audio player at the top of this article or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favourite podcast app. Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraines Minister of Foreign Affairs, emphasises that Ukraine would not use Western-provided fighter jets to deliver strikes on Russian territory. This was said in an interview with Sky News, writes European Pravda. Kuleba noted that Ukraine needs fighter jets to bring this war to its end and push Russians back behind its borders. "We're using weapons, which we receive from partners, to strike Russia in the occupied territories of Ukraine," Mr Kuleba said. Asked if he could guarantee that Ukraine would not use Western jets and other long-range weapons to bomb Russia itself, the foreign minister said: "We can guarantee that we will be using Western weapons to liberate Ukrainian territories." Earlier, Kuleba said that Ukraine is especially interested in fighter jets from the US, UK, France and Germany. On Wednesday, Andrzej Duda, President of Poland, commented on the possibility of transferring fighter jets to Ukraine, noting that it will primarily concern Soviet MiG-29 aircraft, which it seeks to replace with modern Western-style jets. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Oleksandr Trukhin According to Zheleznyak, 288 lawmakers supported the relevant decision. Trukhin earlier submitted a relevant statement requesting that he have his deputy mandate removed. Earlier, Trukhin entered into a plea bargain with prosecutors, pleading guilty to attempting to bribe a police officer at the scene of a road accident. According to the deal, the lawmaker undertakes to pay UAH 6 million ($164,075) to the Armed Forces of Ukraine within a month, as well as a UAH 68,000 ($1,860) fine. Read also: Ukrainian deputy defense minister resigns amid corruption allegations Trukhin was involved in the road accident on Aug. 23, 2021. On Feb. 1, the Ukrainska Pravda online newspaper published an interview with the police officer who first arrived at the scene and footage from his body camera. According to the video, Trukhin offered to thank the police officer with UAH 150,000 ($4,102), tried to leave the scene, and refused to undergo a drug test. Read also: Law enforcement finds Christmas Wishlist of Kyiv taxman Later, the State Bureau of Investigation published a video from CCTV cameras, judging by which, the person responsible for the accident was dressed in red clothes (the assistant of a member of the Poltava Regional Council, Viktor Sklema, while Trukhin himself was dressed in a suit and a white shirt). In August 2022, the Poltavshchyna media outlet reported that Sklema had been found guilty of causing the accident and had been fined UAH 850 ($23). On Dec. 22, 2022, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutors Office sent the relevant case to the court. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Rishi Sunak during a meeting with Ukrainian journalists in London Sunak noted that he agrees with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg that Ukraine will be a member of the alliance, but adds that "at the same time, we need to focus on what is happening now." Read also: NATO should finalize security guarantee for Ukraine by July, UK PM Sunak says According to the PM, there should be a plan on how to continue to maintain Ukraines security, not only now, but also long-term. Part of this plan includes the ongoing training of Ukrainian troop, a greater compatibility with NATO forces and equipment, and the transition of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to allied standards. Sunak stressed that the allies should talk about Ukraines long-term future and needs, specifically air defense capability. Read also: Sunak says UK to provide Ukraine with long-range weapons, says Russia threatens world security NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg earlier said that the alliance is ready to see Ukraine in its ranks, but first it must win the war with Russia. Read also: Zelenskyy, Sunak agree on supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov repeatedly said that Ukraine as a country, along with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, have already become a de-facto NATO member. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Key developments on Feb. 22: Ukrainian authorities announced that parts of the country would strengthen security measures this week, days ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion. President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this month warned that Russia plots a revenge attack for last year's defeats and is planning to do something "symbolic." Extra safety measures will be implemented in Ukraine's southern Kherson Oblast, the region's military administration said on Feb. 22. From Feb. 23 to 25, most public offices and businesses will work remotely, apart from critical infrastructure facilities, the administration said, Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraines Minister of Foreign Affairs, expressed confidence in the outcome of Thursdays vote on a draft resolution containing Ukraines Peace Formula to put an end to the full-scale aggression. Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release following Kulebas press conference outside the UN Headquarters in New York Quote from Kuleba: "We are fully satisfied with the draft resolution to mark the tragic anniversary of Russias full-scale invasion in Ukraine, which Russia is trying to sabotage in every way it can." Details: Kuleba said that the resolution will demand that Russia withdraw its armed forces from Ukraine, cease hostilities, and implement the key provisions of the Ukrainian Peace Formula. "There is a fierce behind-the-scenes struggle, but despite the efforts of Russia and its satellite states to use every available procedural tool to introduce amendments and obstruct the adoption of the resolution, we are confident that the Ukrainian resolution will be successfully approved tomorrow," Kuleba said. Background: On 22 February, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the UN General Assembly will vote on Ukraines Peace Formula on 23 February. Zelenskyy proposed the 10-point Peace Formula during the G20 summit in autumn 2022; the peace plan outlines his vision for Ukraines and global security, including food and energy security, and stipulates the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. Global leaders, including those from the US, the EU and Turkey, have expressed their support for Zelenskyys proposal. Ukrainian officials discussed the possibility of holding an event dedicated to the Peace Formula to mark the anniversary of Russias full-scale invasion. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has categorically refuted the Chinese Foreign Ministry's statement that the weapons that the US supplies to Ukraine are allegedly often smuggled into the hands of criminal groups in Europe and other regions. Source: Oleh Nikolenko, spokesperson for Ukraines Foreign Ministry, on Facebook Quote: "We categorically refute insinuations about the alleged smuggling of Western weapons from Ukraine. Our country has a modern and effective system of control over the receipt and use of weapons, which is highly trusted by our partners. This system is multi-level and completely excludes any possibility of illegal export of weapons." Details: Nikolenko mentioned that Russia invests numerous resources in disinformation, in order to undermine the international military aid provided to Ukraine, and called on the Chinese side to be guided exclusively by facts and not to be a tool in the hands of Russian propaganda. Where and under which conditions the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued such a statement, Nikolenko didnt mention. Background: In July 2022, Peter Stano, spokesperson of the EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, reported that Russia had launched an intensive disinformation campaign against Ukraine, the EU and NATO, claiming it is "smuggling arms" that were supplied by allies. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Ukraines Ministry of Foreign Affairs urges the Hungarian Foreign Minister to stop playing into the hands of Russia and stop dreaming of negotiations of a conclusion of war without Ukraines participation. Source: Oleh Nikolenko, the spokesman of Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on his Facebook page, reports European Pravda "If Peter Szijjarto is that concerned over the fastest conclusion of the war, we advise them to stop by in Bratislava on their next visit to Moscow or Minsk. Slovakia understands todays menace in Europe very well. We are confident that our Slovak colleagues will be able to give a couple of useful recommendations", Nikolenko wrote. Nikolenko also added that the Hungarian Prime Minister would pay great service to humanity if he stopped playing into the hands of Russia. "Only in the dreams of some Hungarian politicians are the negotiations on Ukraine possible without [the participation of ed.] Ukraine. Hungary is not in any position to determine when negotiations take place. Budapest had an opportunity to help the fight for peace in Ukraine and Europe, but chose to be on the other side of history," he said. Earlier, Peter Szijjarto, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and direct negotiations between the Presidents of the US and Russia to end the war. Earlier, Rastislav Kacer, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, cursed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for his policy, with the latter playing into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Orban previously stated that peace in Ukraine will come when the US wants it. Hungarian officials have repeatedly stated that negotiations between Russia and the United States are necessary to resolve the war in Ukraine. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! By Andrius Sytas and Janis Laizans VILNIUS (Reuters) - On Friday Ukraine will be commemorating not the first anniversary of the Russian invasion but a year of successful resistance, said Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Remotely addressing an anniversary event in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Thursday evening, Zelenska said that Ukraine had suffered "a year of hell." "A year of full-scale war is a terrible date to mark. Because it is a year of attack, aggression, and murders", she said. Friday Feb. 24 marks the start of the second year of what Russia has called a "special military operation" in Ukraine, a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, flattened towns, and forced millions to flee. "Today we are not commemorating a year of war, but we are celebrating a year of resistance to aggression, a year of courage, a year of mutual assistance and rescue of each other, a year of humanity, and a year of friendship," said Zelenska. "I am sure that soon we will be able to share with you the most valuable thing - the victory. Our common victory." The event in Vilnius was attended by several dozen Ukrainian refugees, mostly women and children, and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda. "It's a year of horror that we have all experienced. And we believe that we have entered a victorious (year), the next year will definitely be victorious," said Viktoriia Pohodaieva, 33, a refugee from Kharkiv now living in Vilnius, at the event. "Where horror is happening, alongside it, humanity is revealing itself. And it is really incredible. I saw how ordinary people become heroes, because they had no other choice", said Maria Kolomiets, 43, another Ukrainian from Kharkiv, now living in Wroclaw. Ukraine's central bank marked the invasion anniversary by issuing a new banknote commemorating resistance in the war, with one side depicting three soldiers raising the national flag. (This story has been corrected to rectify the name and age of a refugee in paragraph 8) (Reporting by Andrius Sytas and Janis Laizans, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien) A German Leopard 2A6 tank fires at its target during the Strong Europe Tank Challenge (SETC), at the 7th Army Training Command Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, May 12, 2017. US Army photo by Spc. Nathanael Mercado Ukrainian forces are training on Leopard tanks in Spain, according to the Spanish Prime Minister. Spain aims to deliver the tanks to Ukraine once troops complete their training. Leopard tanks are notable for their firepower, armor, and speed on various terrains. As Ukraine's forces prepare for major deliveries of armored combat vehicles, troops are training on Leopard tanks in Spain. Per reporting from Ukrinform, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday that a group of soldiers are learning to operate the heavy armor. "Together with the contribution of other allies, these units will contribute to push the capacity of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," Sanchez said. Sanchez revealed that the arrival of Leopard tanks in Ukraine would correspond with the return of trained soldiers. "We are aiming to synchronize the delivery of the Leopards with the finalization of the training of Ukrainian soldiers," Sanchez said, adding that Spain could send more Leopard tanks later if needed. According to Ukrinform, Spain is training troops to use Leopard 2 A4 tanks while it readies six tanks to Ukraine by late March or early April, according to Defense Minister Margarita Robles, as reported by Reuters. Ukraine has long sought Leopard tanks, among other powerful Western made assets. As Insider previously reported, the Leopard 2 is a fast German-made battle tank originally designed in the 1970s that is has been upgraded over the years and can be found in the arsenals of nearly 20 different countries. Mark Cancian, a retired US Marine Corps colonel and senior advisor with the Center for Strategic International Studies security program, previously told Insider's Jake Epstein that the Leopard "is the right tank" for Ukraine given its availability in arsenals across the NATO alliance. The Leopard 2 can travel at speeds up to 44 mph, is armed with a 120 mm smoothbore cannon, a 7.62 mm machine gun, and grenade launchers, and the armor provides protection against certain ballistic threats and mines. Story continues Spain is one of several countries to pledge to send tanks to Ukraine. In late January, Germany finally agreed to send 14 Leopard tanks. Others like Poland have also said they will send these tanks. The UK is preparing to arm Ukraine with its Challenger 2 tanks while the US plans to send 31 M1 Abrams tanks. The US vehicles weigh around 70 tons, can travel at speeds of up to 42 mph, are protected by composite armor improved with depleted uranium meshing, and are armed with a 120 mm main gun, a M2 .50 caliber machine gun, and two M240 7.62 mm machine guns. In addition to promises to send tanks, the US, Germany, France, and Sweden have also promised a significant number of armored fighting vehicles, specifically the Bradley, Marder, AMX-10 RC, and CV90. The British are presently training Ukrainian forces on Challenger tanks in southwestern England, and last month, US Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced that the US military was training Ukrainian troops in Germany, the Associated Press reported. The combined arms training is focused on helping Ukraine use armor, artillery, and ground maneuver capabilities for an offensive push or to repel Russian moves. Read the original article on Business Insider Sberbank The Verkhovna Rada supported the Decree of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the application of sectoral sanctions for 50 years against all banks and non-banking financial institutions of the Russian Federation Read also: Ukraines Rada votes to deprive MP Trukhin of deputys seat A total of 325 MPs voted in favor of the decree. The 50-year-long sanctions will be applied to all banks registered in the Russian Federation. In particular, the following financial institutions were sanctioned: The Central Bank of the Russian Federation; non-bank credit organizations; operators of payment systems; professional market participants; insurance companies; investment funds; other financial institutions that are registered and provide services in the Russian Federation. Read also: EU unable to agree 10th package of Russia sanctions Previously, the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy supported the National Bank of Ukraines proposals regarding the application of sectoral sanctions against all registered banks located in Russia. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine Partisans on the occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia Oblast handed the information on the location of a Russian ammunition storage point over to Ukraines Armed Forces: the target was destroyed by Ukrainian defenders. Source: Press service of the National Resistance Center (NRC) Details: Ukraine's Armed Forces carried out an artillery shelling on a Russian ammunition storage point in the vicinity of one of the temporarily occupied settlements of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The NRC reports that the exact information from the local resistance movement helped to find out about the location of the storage point and adjust the targeting. Quote: "We emphasise once again that partisanship is not only direct actions aimed at undermining the enemy's military equipment and [killing ed.] its personnel. Information about the placement and pressing of the enemy. Adjusting artillery strikes, non-violent resistance these are all things that everyone can do and thus bring our victory closer." More details: The NRC called on Ukrainians to inform them about invaders' actions via a Telegram-bot or a special web-form. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! (Reuters) - Three ambulance workers trying to evacuate people from their homes in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine were killed by Ukrainian shelling on Thursday, a Russian-installed official in the region said. The medical team had gone in to rescue civilians after a first wave of Ukrainian shelling when Kyiv's forces started firing again and they were hit, Russian news agency TASS reported, saying a number of other medical workers had been injured in the same attack. Dmitry Gartsev, the Russian-installed head of the local health ministry, said on his Telegram channel that doctors were fighting to save the life of a fourth ambulance worker. Reuters could not verify the fatalities. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian authorities, who say Russian forces have killed thousands of people in similar attacks on civilian areas and that their own armed forces are trying to seize back control of Ukrainian territory. Moscow, which says it does not deliberately target civilians, is trying to take control of all of Ukraine's Donetsk region, a big chunk of which it has already seized, and is facing fierce resistance from the Ukrainian army. (Reporting by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) The General Assembly of the United Nations has approved a resolution calling on Russia to immediately withdraw its troops from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, Deutsche Welle reported on Feb. 23. The resolution was adopted by 141 votes in favor, Deutsche Welle wrote. Seven countries voted against it Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Syria, Mali, Eritrea, and Nicaragua and 32 abstained, including China and India. "I am very grateful to everyone who stood for Ukraine on the anniversary of the unprovoked Russian aggression. The world understands whose side the truth is on," Ukraine's Presidential Office head Andrii Yermak said on Telegram. According to Yermak, the document proposed by Ukraine also establishes the main points of the peace formula outlined by President Volodymyr Zelensky. The 10-point peace plan, which Zelensky introduced at a G20 summit meeting in November 2022, includes the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukrainian territory, the establishment of a Russian war crimes tribunal, the release of all prisoners and forcibly relocated people, and the prevention of ecocide. Though Russia can't veto the UN General Assembly resolutions, they are not binding and mostly symbolic, according to Deutsche Welle. The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution calling for the Russian military to withdraw from all the territory of Ukraine, in a vote that marked one year since Moscow launched a full invasion of the country. While 141 countries voted in favor of the resolution, mirroring a similar vote that occurred in the general assembly one year prior, Russia tallied two additional votes in opposition since a U.N. vote on the war in October. The resolution holds no power to compel Russia to withdraw from Ukraine but is meant to send a political signal of global opposition to Moscows actions and demonstrate its isolation. Colleagues, this vote will go down in history, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in remarks the day before. On the one-year anniversary of this conflict, we will see where the nations of the world stand on the matter of peace in Ukraine. The United Nations General Assembly is a key venue for Ukraine and its supporters to build consensus among the worlds nations that Russia is setting a dangerous precedent that can embolden other aggressive nations to violate another countrys borders. The symbolic votes also allow the U.N. to circumvent a stalemate on action from the bodys Security Council, where any binding enforcement measures can be blocked by Russias veto power as a permanent member of the body. General Assembly votes have been a key barometer of the success of each side of the war to sway international opinion. Moving countries with declared positions of neutrality amid Russias war has proven challenging for Ukraine and its major allies, such as the U.S. This includes an abstention on the vote from China, which has long provided a buffer for Russia at the United Nations. China views Russias war in Ukraine with concern but has maintained close ties with Moscow for its own interests, which include competing for superiority on the global stage against the U.S. Story continues South Africa and India were also among the 32 countries that abstained from the vote, pointing to the continued struggle of U.S. diplomats to shift those countries into Ukraines column. Indias Ambassador to the U.N. Ruchira Kamboj said the resolution had inherent limitations that compelled their vote of abstention and said key questions need to be answered. Can any process that does not involve either of the two sides ever lead to a credible and meaningful solution? Has the U.N. system and particularly its principal organ the U.N. Security Council based on a 1945 world construct, not be rendered ineffective to address contemporary challenges to global peace and security? she asked. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Central Asian nations in Russias sphere of influence, also abstained. Seven countries voted against the resolution, titled Principles of the Charter of the United Nations, underlining, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine, including Russia, Belarus, North Korea, Syria, and Eritrea. Mali and Nicaragua also voted against the resolution, marking a change for the two countries that had abstained in the vote a year prior. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Image: Lucasfilm Kiefer Sutherland goes up against Big Tech in a new look at Rabbit Hole. Shrinkings Lukita Maxwell has joined Chris Weitzs new horror movie. The Red Death comes for Iris in a new look at The Flashs final season. Plus, the Gotham Kidz unite in a new clip from Gotham Knights. Spoilers now! They Listen Deadline reports Lukita Maxwell (Shrinking) will star alongside John Cho and Katherine Waterston in They Listen, the upcoming horror film from writer-director Chris Weitz. Details on the plot are still under wraps. Read more The Gorillaz Movie During a recent interview with the Belgian magazine HUMO (via Stereogum), Damon Albarn confirmed the planned Gorillaz movie has been canceled at Netflix. Yes. That is to say, and without naming names because the whole matter has not yet been settled: the streaming platform for which we were making the film has withdrawn. They started to panic because they were making too much content and decided to cut back on their movie offerings. And, as has been classic Hollywood practice for decades, the guy we were working with has moved on to another company. From then on you have lost your guardian angel, and there seems to be a bad smell hanging on you. Hollywood is quite territorial: if a new guy comes along, he must and will have a different opinion, even if he secretly agrees with his predecessor. The Super Mario Bros. Movie Donkey Kong, Peach, Mario, Toad, and Cranky Kong race the Rainbow Road on a new poster for The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Lets get the show on the road#SuperMarioMovie pic.twitter.com/24b7J4xVQM The Super Mario Bros. Movie (@supermariomovie) February 22, 2023 Shazam! Fury of the Gods Shazam! Fury of the Gods also enjoys its own ScreenX poster from Regal Cinemas. Story continues Check out the ScreenX exclusive artwork for Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and on March 17, get ready for an epic match-up with 270-degree story-enhancing exclusive imagery. Tickets are on sale NOW! See MORE in ScreenX!#ShazamMovie #ScreenX pic.twitter.com/apJbP5wCfn screenxusa (@screenxusa) February 22, 2023 True Blood According to Variety, HBO has canceled its planned revivals of True Blood and Six Feet Under at HBO Max. From However, Spoiler TV reports From has been renewed for a third season at MGM+. Production is expected to begin this May. Star Trek: Picard During a recent interview with SFX Magazine (via /Film), Michael Dorn stated because of the third season of Picard, he now sees Worf as Star Treks own version of John Wick, Jack Reacher, or The Equalizer. I just hit on this recently. ... Because of this season, I think Worf should be a character like Jack Reacher or John Wick or the Equalizer. It just hit me that thats kind of who he is. I always thought that Worf had a place in some show, maybe not even the lead, but just as a character where hes prominent. Star Wars: The Mandalorian Din Djarin, Grogu, Bo-Katan, and Greef Karga also enjoy new posters courtesy of The Mandalorians official Twitter page. Rabbit Hole Kiefer Sutherland unspools a Big Tech conspiracy to destabilize U.S. democracy in the trailer for Rabbit Hole, his new series at Paramount+ co-starring Charles Dance, Rob Yang, Meta Golding, Enid Graham, Jason Butler Harner, Walt Klink, Ishan Dave, and Wendy Makkena. Rabbit Hole | Official Trailer | Paramount+ Gotham Knights The Gotham Kidz plan an escape in a new clip from the pilot episode of Gotham Knights. Gotham Knights 1x01 Sneak Peek Clip 1 Pilot The Flash Finally, Ryan The Red Death Wilder pays a visit to Iris in the trailer for next weeks episode of The Flash. The Flash 9x04 Promo Mask of the Red Death, Part One (HD) Season 9 Episode 4 Promo | Final Season Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, whats next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. More from Gizmodo Sign up for Gizmodo's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Speaker Kevin McCarthy has sparked outrage by handing thousands of hours of footage of the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021 to Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Mr Carlson announced Monday that his staff has already been reviewing the up to 41,000 hours of footage for a week. Some of our smartest producers have been looking at this stuff and trying to figure out what it means and how it contradicts or not the story weve been told for more than two years, Mr Carlson said. We think already in some ways that it does contradict that story. Mr McCarthys decision to give the footage to Mr Carlson is controversial for a number of reasons. Over the last two years, access to footage of the January 6 attack has been restricted to select members of Congress and lawyers for the rioters accused of criminal behavior. Media members had not previously been granted access to the footage and Mr Carlson is not just any media member. A leading figure on the far right, Mr Carlson has repeatedly defended the instigators of the Capitol riot and suggested that rioteres were set up by federal agencies. Mr Carlson has also routinely trumpeted white supremacist conspiracy theories like the Great Replacement Theory on his show, arguing that white people are being systematically replaced by non-white immigrants. The release of the tapes of the riot has been a priority of far right Republican House members like Rep Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Mr McCarthy promised to release the tapes of the attack as part of his bid to become Speaker opening the door for another round of political combat about what happened on January 6 and who was responsible. I was asked in the press about these tapes, and I said they do belong to the American public, Mr McCarthy told The New York Times. I think sunshine lets everybody make their own judgment. Giving the tapes to one right wing outlet, however, may impair the publics ability to make its own judgement. Rep Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader, argued that the decision to release the tapes represents a security breach. Story continues The apparent transfer of video footage represents an egregious security breach that endangers the hardworking women and men of the United States Capitol Police, who valiantly defended our democracy with their lives at risk on that fateful day, Mr Jeffries said in a statement. Rep Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the man who co-chair the House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan 6 Attack and is now the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement that Mr McCarthy must address the significant security concerns at stake with the release of the footage. Its hard to overstate the potential security risks if this material were to be used irresponsibly, Mr Thompson said. The U.S. Attorneys Office of the Middle District of Florida announced on Wednesday the arrest and extradition of a Russian man who allegedly developed and sold a malicious software program that breached protected computers by decrypting login credentials like passwords. Dariy Pankov, 28, was arrested in the Republic of Georgia in October and was later extradited to the U.S., where he faces multiple charges, including access device fraud and computer fraud. According to the indictment, Pankov used the malicious software, known as NLBrute, to obtain the login credentials of more than 35,000 computers worldwide and then sold them through a site on the dark web for a fee. He allegedly received more than $350,000 in illicit proceeds. Prosecutors allege the stolen credentials were then used to commit a range of illegal activity, including ransomware attacks and tax fraud. If found guilty of all counts, Pankov could face up to 47 years in prison. Pankovs arrest comes as the Department of Justice is increasing its efforts to crackdown on global ransomware activity. The department announced in January that it had dismantled an international ransomware group, known as Hive, for extorting more than $100 million in payments from organizations based in the U.S. and around the world. Attorney General Merrick Garland said at the time that the ransomware group targeted critical sectors, including hospitals and schools. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Russia's Kamila Valieva reacts after competing in the women's singles short program at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein Skaters still haven't received their medals from the 2022 Winter Olympics figure skating team event. Their hardware has gotten caught in a legal battle over Russian skater Kamila Valieva's doping case. US Anti-Doping Agency CEO Travis Tygart told Insider he laments that "dreams are hanging in the balance." Nathan Chen, Vincent Zhou, and Karen Chen led Team USA to an impressive second-place finish in the 2022 Winter Olympics figure skating team event. More than a year later, they still don't have their medals to show for it. The Olympic hardware for that event has gotten caught in the middle of a legal battle over the eligibility of Russian skater Kamila Valieva, the then-15-year-old phenom who helped her country take gold despite testing positive for a banned substance two months earlier. As doping agencies and the highest courts in sport continue to adjudicate Valieva's case and determine whether she and Team Russia should be stripped of their medals, the Americans have been left in an excruciating limbo. Nathan Chen (center) and his US Figure Skating teammates await results at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. AP Photo/David J. Phillip "US Figure Skating and its athletes are deeply frustrated by the lack of a final decision in the Team Event," a representative for US Figure Skating told Insider. "We're very proud of how our Olympic medalists have carried themselves with poise and dignity since earning medals in Beijing." "They have long deserved the recognition that has been withheld due to the ongoing process," they added. In October 2022, after nearly a year without progress from the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) in coming to a decision on Valieva's case, World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President Witold Banka said his organization put RUSADA under "formal notice" due to concerns "with the ongoing delay in Kamila Valieva's case." Then, in January, RUSADA finally concluded its investigation by absolving the young star of all "fault or negligence" associated with the December 2021 test that showed a banned heart drug, Trimetazidine, which can potentially boost performance, in her urine. Story continues Valieva reacts after competing in the women's singles free skating final at the Beijing Olympics. Catherine Ivill/Getty Images This week, WADA argued those findings "to be wrong under the terms of the World Anti-Doping Code" and formally appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Banka's agency is seeking not only to void all of Valieva's results from the 2022 Beijing Olympics (she also finished fourth in the women's singles event), but also to disqualify her from competition for "a four-year period," which would include the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Should CAS side with WADA in its appeal, American skaters would earn gold for their second-place finish in the Beijing figure skating team competition. Japan which finished third in the event would bump up to silver, while Canada would take the bronze. US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart told Insider his agency is "very thankful" for WADA's appeal, which "had to be done in order to restore some confidence in the global anti-doping system." But with CAS often taking months or even years to decide its cases, Tygart warns that American athletes' "dreams are hanging in the balance" even still. Team USA's Karen Chen (left) and Nathan Chen at the victory ceremony for the figure skating mixed team competition at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports "Let's hope the hearing is expedited and open to the public," the USADA chief executive told Insider, adding that he hopes athletes "can believe in the final outcome, whatever it may be, and that some justice can be salvaged soon." US Figure Skating similarly called for "a fair and appropriate ruling to rightfully award medals to all clean sport athletes affected by this situation." Read the original article on Insider M1 Abrams tanks and other equipment in the United States, July 2, 2019 None of the options that were exploring are weeks or two months, said Wormuth. Read also: U.S. may speed up tank delivery to Ukraine, State Department says There are longer timelines involved. But I think there are options that are less than two years, less than a year and a half. But again, we have to look at the pros and cons of each of them. One of the options that the United States is considering is turning to countries that have previously purchased U.S. tanks. The official explained that this option will "presumably get tanks to the Ukrainians more quickly but might disrupt relations with important allies." Read also: U.S. and Ukraine working on new weapons deliveries, including long range weapons U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said earlier that it could take many months to deliver tanks to Kyiv. According to a report by The Washington Post, Ukraine will receive Abrams tanks no sooner than the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024. Read also: Hungarian leader Orban accuses Germany of heading war camp On Jan. 25, after much hesitation, Germany approved the transfer of 14 Leopard-2 tanks to Ukraine and their re-export from partner countries. On the same day, the United States announced the delivery of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the first batch of German-made tanks could be sent to Ukraine by the end of March. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine will receive 120-140 modern Western tanks as part of a first wave of deliveries. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has indicated that Ukraine will need 300-500 tanks to launch a major counter-offensive to liberate Russia-occupied territories. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A pilot program in Utah that would have allowed thousands of patients to consume psychedelic mushrooms for therapeutic use failed to advance in the state Senate on Wednesday, effectively ending its chances of passage as lawmakers prepare to adjourn for the year next week. The Senate's health and human services committee neither advanced nor rejected the measure, with Republican leaders proposing more time to examine the issue. Even if it had advanced for further discussion, the proposal likely would've faced an uphill battle getting passed this year, said State Sen. Jake Anderegg, a Lehi Republican, based on his talks with lawmakers. Utah was among several states across the political spectrum considering the use of psychedelic mushrooms this year. Proponents hoped the success of the states medical marijuana regulations could sway members of the Republican-supermajority statehouse to adopt a similar framework. Advocates representing patients and libertarian-leaning groups initially hoped a narrow proposal focused on health care and safety could gain traction. But the proposal's chances diminished last week when Gov. Spencer Cox and Senate President Stuart Adams voiced opposition less than a week after state Sen. Luz Escamilla, a Salt Lake City Democrat, introduced it. The pilot program would have let 5,000 patients suffering from mental illnesses including post-traumatic stress, depression and anxiety to consume magic mushrooms under a therapists supervision. She argued it would add resources to address Utahs high suicide rates and mental health practitioner shortage. Its just not there yet, Cox said last week regarding Escamilla's proposed pilot program. We got there with medical marijuana. I just dont believe the science is there regarding psychedelics. I think there are some serious consequences and side effects societally as well as as well as medically that Im just not comfortable with, said Cox, who is up for reelection next year. Lawmakers' decision to not advance the proposal without significant discussion comes one year after they greenlit a Republican-sponsored measure creating a task force to study mental illness and the therapeutic use certain drugs including magic mushrooms. In October, the task force released a report that noted the potential benefits of mushrooms, yet recommended Utah wait until the federal Food and Drug Administration complete its fast-tracked drug approval review before taking additional action on psychedelic-assisted therapy. Psychedelics including magic mushrooms remain illegal on a federal level yet several states including Colorado and Oregon have taken steps to decriminalize their possession or legalize their consumption for therapeutic purposes. Proposals to study psychedelics for therapy have gained traction throughout the Untied States including Republican strongholds like Utah, Texas and Missouri. Staffing shortages at Veterans Affairs Police Services and security deficiencies at Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers put the facilities, their staffs and patients at risk for theft, assault or other serious crimes, the VA's Office of the Inspector General has found. The VA's "open campus" concept for its facilities, which fosters an environment where veterans, visitors and the public are welcome and have easy access to care, increases security staffing requirements to reduce the risk of individuals entering a hospital or clinic with malicious intent. But a review published Wednesday of 70 VA medical centers nationwide by the department's top watchdog found that police shortages often were the reason that facilities failed to meet security regulations. Read Next: Navy SEAL Dies in Parachute Mishap, 4th Training Death in 14 Months The VA OIG audit, which involved 150 inspectors conducting unannounced visits to 70 facilities over a three-day time frame, found that the average vacancy rate for police officer positions in those hospitals was 33%, and at some facilities, as high as 63%. Across the entire Veterans Health Administration System, which encompasses 171 medical centers and 1,100 clinics, more than one-third of hospitals reported a severe shortage of police officers last year. The understaffing contributes to situations where public entryways arent manned and security cameras arent monitored sufficiently, according to the report. Roughly 388,000 employees of the Veterans Health Administration provide medical care and services to 7.3 million patients each year, according to the VA. In 2022, there were 36 "serious incidents" reported at 32 VA medical centers, defined as events that would draw attention or cause harm, such as major theft of VA property, injury to people or property, display of a firearm by someone on the property, or a shooting by a police officer. The incidents included a bomb threat -- later determined to be a hoax -- at the Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas, in February that prompted the evacuation of building occupants and response by local emergency units. Story continues In May, a man at the Ravenna VA Clinic in northeastern Ohio brought a shotgun to the facility and fired a round into the ground outside, leading to a lockdown of both the clinic and a nearby high school. And in July, at the San Diego VA Medical Center, a patient grabbed an officer's gun and fired it, missing the officer but striking a wall next door, endangering the patient in that room. The incidents, and ongoing concern from veterans and members of Congress about security at VA hospitals, prompted the OIG to conduct the audit, officials said. "All 36 incidents presented significant concerns and highlight VA's need to protect its property and systems, as well as secure its facilities to help ensure the safety of staff, patients, and visitors," wrote Larry Reinkemeyer, VA's assistant inspector general for audits and evaluations, in the report. Auditors found that police shortages weren't limited to a geographic area or size of facility. In one location in the South, 20 of 32 positions were vacant, or 63%; a hospital in a large northeastern city showed that 57 of its 90 positions were vacant, also 63%. And although the VA now has a requirement that all emergency departments have a visible security presence by May 2023, the inspectors, who did their review in September 2022, found that 58% of facilities had not yet met the requirement. Following release of the OIG report, VA officials sought to reassure veterans and visitors that they are safe on VA grounds. They noted that they have embarked on a modernization of the VA police force, including adding new positions. We are always aggressively recruiting for high-quality VA police candidates. Law enforcement is currently a highly competitive market in the country, with more vacancies than applicants, a VA spokesman wrote in an email Thursday to Military.com Previous to this report, VA took steps to attract more high-caliber and diverse applicants. This includes enhanced salaries, recruitment and retention incentives, and continuous job postings on USA Jobs. We have also partnered with DoD in [an initiative] that places qualified transitioning service members in VA Police positions, the spokesman wrote. The inspections reported that not only were the police understaffed, they were overworked. In 2022, VA police officers worked 292,000 overtime hours in the 70 facilities reviewed, at a cost of $13.4 million. At more than half the sites, the VA police chiefs said overtime was mandatory at their facilities as a result of staffing issues. Other issues that contributed to staffing troubles included low pay compared with other police departments and high turnover -- the result of new hires getting training and leaving for other jobs, the VA OIG said. While the shortages meant that many public doors went unmanned by security personnel, the VA OIG also found opportunities for improving security at doors intended for use only by staff or approved visitors. The audit found that 17% of more than 2,500 nonpublic doors were unlocked and/or lacked security cameras. In one case, a door to a surgical intensive care unit was not locked and, in others, VA inspectors were able to walk into a pharmacy where controlled substances were stored, a nuclear medicine clinic, a women's health clinic, and an emergency care clinic. "VA medical facilities are meant to be welcoming. They're meant to be easy to access and, as a result, have many entrances. On top of that, there are 171 geographically diverse medical facilities in the VA network, and each of them come with their own unique challenges. It's important to understand that there is not one [security] template that can be applied. There are 171 templates that need to be applied," said Shawn Steele, director of the VA OIG's Office of Audits and Evaluations Healthcare Infrastructure Division in the VA's Veteran Oversight Now podcast, released Thursday. Keeping security cameras working at VA facilities has been a long-standing problem, with lawmakers calling for change after several high-profile incidents, including the assault of a Navy veteran and congressional staffer at the VA Medical Center in Washington, D.C., and the murder of seven veterans at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia, at the hands of a nurse. The OIG teams found that 19% of all cameras were not working, and more than 20% of cameras at 24 facilities were inoperable. One facility in a large northeastern city said only 50% of its cameras were operational. The OIG acknowledges that the presence of operational security cameras results in a large amount of footage to review, and many facilities may not have sufficient personnel to do so. However, having this footage available to review would help facilities and other authorities investigate any reported incidents, the report stated. For the most part, the office found that VA Police Services were adequately trained and equipped and had policies and procedures in place to respond to an emergency. VA OIG officials also said that at the facilities, where they were taking photographs, attempting to open locked doors and seeking out security cameras, they were approached and challenged by security at 38 of the 70 sites. The OIG made several recommendations for the VA to improve the safety and security of all its medical facilities, to include assessing staffing needs and using hiring incentives to attract recruits; ensuring that VA facilities have budget to maintain security measures; directing all VA police chiefs to develop plans to identify and fix security weaknesses; and requiring policies that standardize security camera footage review and retention. The VA concurred with the recommendations, estimating the fixes would be completed by June. Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime Related: VA Stepping Up Security as It Begins Providing Abortions VatanMed: The World-Renowned Turkish Hair Transplant Clinic Opens in Tijuana VatanMed, a world-renowned Turkish hair transplant clinic, has recently opened its doors in Tijuana, Mexico. With 20 years of experience and a presence in 20 countries with 35 clinics, VatanMed is a trusted name in the hair transplant industry. Expertise and Experience of Turkish Doctors in Tijuana The clinic specializes in hair, beard, and eyebrow transplants, and is staffed by Turkish doctors who bring their expertise and experience to the Tijuana location. The clinic is set to become a major player in the local hair restoration market, offering a wide range of services to meet the needs of all its clients. One of the reasons why VatanMed has become so successful is because of its team of Turkish doctors. These doctors have years of experience and training in the field of hair restoration and have helped thousands of patients get the hair they've always wanted. They bring their expertise and experience to the Tijuana location, ensuring that patients receive the best possible results. Wide Range of Services Offered They offer a wide range of services, including hair transplants, beard transplants, and eyebrow transplants, as well as hair treatments and products. Each procedure is tailored to the individual patient, ensuring that the end result is natural-looking and in line with their specific needs and goals. Latest Techniques and Technologies VatanMed uses the latest techniques and technologies in hair restoration, including the FUE (follicular unit extraction) method, which is considered to be the gold standard in hair transplantation. This technique is minimally invasive and results in unnoticeable scarring, making it a popular choice for patients. The clinic also uses the latest equipment and tools, ensuring that patients receive the best possible results. Their team of doctors and technicians are highly trained, and work together to provide the best care possible. Only Turkish Clinic in Mexico The opening of VatanMed in Tijuana is a major step forward for the city, as it now has access to the same level of expertise and care that patients search for by traveling to Turkey. VatanMed is the only Turkish clinic in Mexico that offers hair, beard, and eyebrow transplants. This is a major advantage for patients, as they have access to state-of-the-art hair restoration equipment, as well as the expertise of Turkish doctors. Their aim is to provide the best hair, beard, and eyebrow transplantation services to all patients with the help of their Turkish methods. With the opening of its clinic in Tijuana, VatanMed is now able to help even more people achieve the look they've always wanted. You can contact and follow Vatanmed Clinic Mexico: Linktree: linktr.ee/vatanmedmx Facebook: https://www.instagram.com/vatanmedclinicmx/ Instagram: https://www.facebook.com/vatanmedclinicmx Phone: +52 664 582-3710, +52 (664) 765 6052, +1 (619) 951-6600 Email: info@vatanmed.mx Website: https://vatanmed.mx/ VIDEO: VATANMED Tijuana - Know our location Montgomery County will hold a vendor outreach event today for small businesses in the area. The free workshop will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Business Solutions Center on Cincinnati Street in Dayton, according to Danielle Malagarie, a public information officer with Montgomery County. The outreach event intends to help the county expand partnerships with small business owners and entrepreneurs. It will educate small businesses on doing business with the County and share information about upcoming projects and where to download bidding opportunities. We value the small businesses in our area. They are vital to creating jobs and contributing to our economic development, said Commission President Debbie Lieberman. We want small business owners to know there are opportunities for them to work with us. For more information about the event call (937) 225-4699 or visit Montgomery Counties website HERE. Meet the City of San Buenaventura, or Ventura for short. This quintessential California beach town is more than surfers and palm trees, for Ventura, less than two hours from Los Angeles, also serves as gateway to Americas own Galapagos, the Channel Islands National Park. A trip to Ventura is a voyage to two very different worlds. The town revels in its surfer culture and laidback lifestyle, but also cherishes the unparalleled natural wonders found in one of Americas least visited national parks. The park includes pristine Santa Cruz, at 98 square miles the largest of the tiny archipelago that includes San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Barbara and tiny one-square-mile Anacapa. Although just an hour by boat from the mainland, Santa Cruz is a world apart. Although only an hour from the mainland by boat, Santa Cruz is a world apart. The parks official concessionaire, Island Packers Cruises, ferries day trippers and campers from Ventura Harbor to all five of the Channel Islands. A private boat can get you there, too. However, the trips rarely arrive on the islands as scheduled, because frequent sightings of whales and huge pods of dolphins make for memorable diversions along the way. The recent rains that plagued the rest of California bestowed upon Santa Cruz an emerald mantle reminiscent of Irelands Aran Islands, undoubtedly to the delight of the more than 2,000 plant and animal species that thrive there. Like the Galapagos, the Channel Islands are home to diverse plants and animals that can be found nowhere else on earth. For example, the island fox, at a whopping four pounds, is one of the smallest canids in the world, and super cute, to boot. Low intensity, limited entry visitation makes for solitude from the time the boat arrives at Scorpion Anchorage or Prisoners Harbor. The bustle of southern California sloughs off immediately, as guests meander through a network of trails that reward the effort with unparalleled vistas tailor made for contemplating the wonders of the universe. Tour boats often run behind schedule on trips to the Channel Islands National Park, thanks to diversions like huge pods of dolphins that demand attention. More travel:Richmond delivers on adventure, history and Southern hospitality Story continues More travel:See Pennsylvanias Laurel Highlands for the (Frank Lloyd) Wright stuff More travel:The wine is fine in Charlottesville, as is the rest of the place Kayaks are the transportation of choice for exploring the nooks and crannies at the bottom of the cliffs. Kelp forests attract snorkelers and scuba divers. Volcanic sand beaches reveal tidepools overflowing with tiny treasures of nature and entice with the promise of an afternoon where the rhythmic sounds of waves is the musical accompaniment. Services are minimal on the island. Do not expect the gifts shops and cafeterias of the typical national park, because there are none. Potable water is available, but visitors are encouraged to bring their own. As for sanitary facilities, its all about porta-potties. Savvy campers know to bring the accoutrements they will need for the duration, for camping here is definitely not glamping. Always too soon, it is time to go back to the mainland, but another and very different adventure awaits, beginning at Ventura Harbor Village, where the boat will dock. The parks visitor center is here at this huge waterfront hub, as are a host of restaurants, shopping and boat rentals. Paddle boats in the shape of dragons, ducks, swans and flamingoes ply Ventura Harbor. Hop aboard Ventura Boat Rentals paddleboats, shaped like swans, ducks, dragons, and the newest in the fleet, flamingoes. Tiny lights add a magical touch to these creature boats during evening cruises. Family-friendly electric boats are also available to toodle around the harbor, as are kayaks and SUPs. Across the street, Harbor Cove Beach, with gentle waves, is ideal for families. Visit Deep Sea Wine Tasting Room to toast to your good fortune while enjoying the harbor goings-on from the outdoor patio before heading to Brophy Bros., Andrias Seafood and On the Alley, Brophy Bros.' sister establishment, for outstanding seafood. About 15 minutes from Ventura Harbor Village, historic Ventura Pier offers a primo vantage point from which to watch the surfers catching the waves. Venturas reputation for consistent waves has drawn surfers for decades. Famed California Street, or C Street, as the locals know it, is a popular coastal road hangout for surfers. The California Coastal Trail, a four-mile beachfront bike road, passes by C Street, Surfers Point and the Pier, built in 1872, making it one of the oldest wooden piers in the state. Car-free and pedestrian friendly, downtown Ventura brims with eclectic boutiques, breweries and restaurants the likes of gastropub Rumfish Y Vino, sibling to the original Belize restaurant. Under a canopy of lemon trees, savor dishes such as Peruvian ceviche and Caribbean fish stew. A spate of museums are steps from each other, including the little and free gem that is the Museum of Ventura County. Polished and breezy, the Museum traces area history through several well-crafted galleries. Music and theater are never far, with venues such as the Rubicon Theatre Company for outstanding musical theater productions and the 1,200-seat Majestic Ventura Theater for all genres of music from visiting artists. Planes, trains and automobiles can get you to Ventura. Unlike Los Angeles, the city is easy to navigate with a car. A leisurely drive along Ventura Highway, with its uninterrupted views of the sea, is hard to beat. Amtraks Pacific Surfliner stops downtown on its route from San Diego to San Luis Obispo. Santa Barbara Airport is just 30 miles north, while Los Angeles Airport is 60 miles south. Hollywood Burbank Airport, 70 miles south, avoids the aerial drama of LAX. At Waypoint Ventura, the land yachts of yore---the Airstreams, Spartans and Avions---have been transformed into luxury accommodations by the sea. Lodgings are as unique as the city itself and rates are often half the price of other Southern California destinations. Yes, the city has plenty of the chain hotels, but for something completely different, check into Waypoint Ventura, a vintage trailer hotel by the sea. Here, the land yachts of yore the Airstreams, Spartans and Avions have been transformed into luxury accommodations. The resort is within walking distance to downtown, the Pier and the beach. The complimentary colorful beach cruisers make it breezy to visit equally unusual eating spots such as Australia-inspired Frontside Cafe, where locals flock to grab an Aussie meat pie for breakfast. Unforgettable natural beauty, cool places to see, eat and sleep and easygoing beach culture: thats Ventura. For more, see VisitVenturaCA.com. Maria Sonnenberg is a Melbourne-based freelance lifestyles and travel writer. This article originally appeared on Florida Today: California's Ventura offers surfing, shopping, dining, rare nature Dr. Niccole Bruno (left), Dr. Charles McMillan and Dr. Donna Jarrell. Dr. Niccole Bruno (left), Dr. Charles McMillan and Dr. Donna Jarrell. Its hard to believe you can be what you cannot see. And one of the least diverse professions in America is veterinary medicine. Its a long-standing issue. In 2013, veterinary medicine was the whitest job in America, according to The Atlantic, and last years Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed that only 2.2% of veterinarians are Black, with Asian and Latinx vets severely underrepresented as well. The overwhelming majority of vets are white women. A lack of visible representation, high vet school tuition costs, six-figure student debt and enduring biases are some of the reasons for this. To put stories behind those numbers, HuffPost interviewed three Black veterinarians to hear why there are still so few Black people in the profession today, what continues to excite them about their jobs and their advice to those who want to follow in their path. Answers were edited for clarity and length. Dr. Charles McMillan is the medical director and owner of GoodVets Atlanta Group Hospitals. A graduate of Tuskegee Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine, he has 10 years of experience as a vet. When did you first want to be a veterinarian? Since I was 5-6 years old, I always wanted to be a veterinarian. My very first veterinarian job was when I was 14. I started cleaning kennels and walking dogs [at a clinic], unpaid, of course. After a few months, the doctor took an interest in me and allowed me to be on payroll and allowed me, once my duties were done, to come in and shadow him. That experience nurtured that desire. Dr. Charles McMillan, owner of GoodVets in the West Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, opened his new clinic in January. Dr. Charles McMillan, owner of GoodVets in the West Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, opened his new clinic in January. When did you meet other Black veterinarians? I was generally always the only Black person on staff, the only Black person at these hospitals, and that carried through to varying degrees throughout my career, so much so that I became habituated to it. I didnt meet another Black veterinarian until one of my professors at the Tuskegee school of veterinary medicine. It gave me that exposure that I was missing. Story continues Upon graduating vet school, I kind of returned back to that reality. I was one of the few Black interns at my internship, and in a number of my jobs, I was one of the only, if not the only, Black veterinarian there. Tuskegee was a break from reality. It allowed me to create a lot of lasting bonds, and it was also the impetus for me to want to effect change. What was it like to be the only Black veterinarian in these rooms? Clients were kind of surprised at seeing you. Cohorts were kind of surprised at seeing you. It almost forced you to lose your individuality in a sense. Because there are so few Black veterinarians, and from other kinds of marginalized groups, you feel like there is the extra sense of responsibility. If a person from a dominant group makes a mistake, theyre just like, Well, its that individual persons training, its that individual persons shortcomings. If, as a minority, you make a mistake, a generalization is automatically had that all Black veterinarians are like this. That wears on you. Its hard to kind of gauge. Youre living your life through a whole bunch of stereotype threats. When you know youre part of a group that is so few in numbers in a particular profession, it creates this psychic anxiety that you cant really measure. Dr. Charles McMillan treats a 9-month-old kitten named Moody. Dr. Charles McMillan treats a 9-month-old kitten named Moody. Why are there still so few Black veterinarians? Its multidimensional. [Beyond representation issues], there are very few veterinary schools, so that makes that access limited, but also there is some research recently that suggests there are biases within the admission process in and of itself. And then what do you do after leaving vet school? We know that people from marginalized backgrounds come out with more student debt [on] average. We also know if youre able to make it through that kind of jungle of obstacles, then once youre out in practice, theres not a lot of Black veterinarians in leadership roles to reach down, mentor and bring up people from these marginalized groups. Once youre an associate, you dont really see any upward mobility because a lot of places say its good to have Black workers or people from marginalized groups, but still there is a disconnect between making that leap from worker to now do we trust this person to actually run this hospital, recruit for this hospital, and things of that nature. Some people believe that the lack of Black veterinarians means that there is a lack of desire amongst Blacks to be veterinarians. Or were seeing a lack of aptitude. You look at the numbers and you come up with this faulty conclusion. When you know youre part of a group that is so few in numbers in a particular profession, it creates this psychic anxiety that you cant really measure.Dr. Charles McMillan Thats what I try to argue against. Its not a lack of desire. You dont see a lot of people who look and sound like you doing what you aspire to do, so it makes it seem like its a little more unattainable. Society tries to typecast Black and brown people to certain professions, so its a lot easier to go into those professions than one where youve never seen folks. Over time, your desire and your aspiration to be a veterinarian gets muted. It gets smaller and smaller. Thats the silent killer of these aspirations. Whats your pitch for Black professionals who want to be veterinarians? Veterinarians are born. Just as many Black veterinarians are born as there are white veterinarians. The lack of exposure, the lack of access and all the other things ... leads and redirects Black veterinarians and other people from marginalized groups from pursuing those passions. My goal is to let people know, dont let those numbers deter you. My goal is to prepare the profession and make it as healthy as possible so that I can, in confidence, recommend my kids go into the profession. The profession, we are at a crossroads. Diversity is one of the reasons why were there. We need to improve those numbers so that we can continue to attract the best and brightest for this profession and cultivate their natural love for this profession, so we are not left in the dark ages of creativity and innovation. Dr. Niccole Bruno is the founder and CEO of Blendvet, a veterinarian hospital certification program. Before pivoting to working full time at Blendvet in 2022, she was chief of staff of Companion Animal Hospital in Spring, Texas. What are you currently doing? My goal is to certify veterinary hospitals in DEI or diversity, equity, inclusion by having them go through a program where all of their staff is trained in certain categories related to DEI. If they go through the modules and they do community service, and they change something internally within their hospitals, then they become certified. I see it as an opportunity to really change our culture of veterinary medicine. I think that the next generation of veterinarians really wants that, and Im trying to be ahead of that so they have a better experience than I had early on in my career. I turned 40 in 2020, and I started to think about, What legacy am I leaving? Am I leaving the profession better than I started? To me, the answer was no. I have two Black children. I think about my children and if they decide they want to be a vet because theyll see it. They have an auntie and they have a mom thats a veterinarian, so they will never doubt that they can be veterinarians. But if they are, what kind of pipeline are they entering? I need to do what I can to make it better. Dr. Niccole Bruno is the founder and CEO of Blendvet in Katy, Texas. Dr. Niccole Bruno is the founder and CEO of Blendvet in Katy, Texas. In your company bio, you talk about dealing with racism, misogyny and stereotypical behaviors in your career. Could you share more about that? I dealt with a lot of imposter syndrome, which I later learned was stereotype threat, because I felt like I had to prove that I was worthy of being a veterinarian, of being in those rooms. A lot of times, people dont assume that Im the veterinarian. Ive had clients request for the doctor to come in like they hadnt seen the doctor. And my staff is like: What are you talking about? The doctor was just in there. And I go back in there, and theyre like, Oh, I didnt know you were the doctor. I did have a client that refused to have me do his pets surgery. It was very early on in my career, but it was a surgery that I felt comfortable doing. The owner did not know what was going on with the pet, and I ... found the problem, went in there and said, I can do the surgery. Heres how much it will cost, and he was just like, I want somebody else to do the surgery. Was it my age? Was it my gender? Was it my race? ... I do look young. And in 2009 [when it happened], I looked much younger. People have biases towards age, towards a newer grad or towards a Black woman or a Latinx woman, or the fact that I was a woman at all. Those are the parts you cant really separate, and I never got clarity because, even though my boss ended up doing the surgery, he didnt provide clarity. He just told me [the client] was being chauvinistic, but as I reminded my boss in that moment, You cant just say that, that its just a gender thing. Because a lot of us are women. It could have been so much more than that. Its hard. I did have a client that refused to have me do his pets surgery.Dr. Niccole Bruno Ive shared this story with veterinary students and people that are in practice now.And we talk about all of the steps, where was it missed? What could I have done? What could the hospital have had in place as far as rules to not allow this? What should the leader have done in that moment? Its a case that is teachable. I had a student last week tell me that he watched a BIPOC veterinarian be declined by a white woman to have her pet seen by him, and it was horrible for [my student] to watch. Why should Black professionals and those from other underrepresented groups pursue veterinary medicine despite the existing barriers? In general, I think what we do is an amazing job. We have the ability to make something feel better that cannot communicate. Its a science; its playing detective. Its asking the owners the right questions but also fact-checking by seeing if it matches with the patient. Every case is a little piece of an investigation. When you are able to make a pet feel better, when you have a client that has struggled with trying to understand how to treat their pet and you can figure it out and give them tools to make it better, its just so rewarding. Dr. Niccole Bruno's goal is to increase diversity, equity and inclusion in the veterinary profession. Dr. Niccole Bruno's goal is to increase diversity, equity and inclusion in the veterinary profession. Do you think your colleagues share your urgency for improving diversity in veterinary medicine? All of my colleagues of color, we recognize what the diversity problem is and we all do what we can to be the change. I have friends that have started programs through their hospital to allow students to come and shadow. They go do career days within their communities. They mentor. But in general, when I walk into hospitals, I dont think that my white colleagues are necessarily thinking about diversity as much as we are. Merck did a veterinary well-being study in 2021, and it actually pointed out that BIPOC veterinary professionals, their No. 1 concern is diversity in veterinary medicine. That was at 46%. Whereas white colleagues, their No. 1 concern was the veterinary shortage. Those are the differences. I think theyre both relatable: We have a veterinary shortage, so we should be thinking about who else might want to join our profession. The clientele is diverse, and they want to see themselves in us, and I want to do what I can to not only improve the representation but also to really train my colleagues about how to appreciate cultural differences and how to connect with people. At the end of the day, how we treat animals is by having the relationships with the people. And if they say yes, then we can treat their pets, we can offer services, and theyll pay for them because they understand and they trust us. But if we dont have a connection with clients, they dont come back, they dont do what we ask them to do and the pet suffers in the end. What would be your advice for Black professionals who want to become a vet? Not to give up. Know that there are opportunities out there to find mentors. Im part of an advisory group called Pawsibilities. We do exist. We may not be a lot, but there are many of us that are willing to mentor students through this platform and some of our colleges and veterinary schools. Dr. Donna Jarrell is the attending veterinarian at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and director of its Center for Comparative Medicine. She grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and was the second Black attendee and first Black woman graduate (in 1988) of the North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine. Can you explain your role? Currently Im the attending veterinarian, the senior position at Mass General Hospital, which has a huge research institute. My department at MGH is 130 people. I actually have seven veterinarians and three residents all providing veterinary care to an array of species of animals, from zebrafish to mice. We have over 100,000 mice under our care. And then we have sheep and goats, and really a variety of species. Ive moved up and now am more in the administrative realm, I would say. Im overseeing the care of all these animals. Researchers partner with us. We take care of their animals and then we support them as they perform their different experiments. Our focus is to balance the welfare of the animals against the knowledge of the potential gains from the experiments. We are the guardians of the animals during their experimental phases. Dr. Donna Jarrell is director of the Center for Comparative Medicine and an attending veterinarian at Massachusetts General Hospital in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Dr. Donna Jarrell is director of the Center for Comparative Medicine and an attending veterinarian at Massachusetts General Hospital in Charlestown, Massachusetts. Weve expanded our reach. Ive been there for 28 years, and we got very involved in pet therapy programs, and were helping the hospital to do that. Now were even asked to look at things like service dogs in the workplace and what are the welfare concerns of having animals in our hospital. I get up every morning, even 35 years later, loving what I do. It is truly a calling. A lot of the advancements that we are successful at at Mass General circle back right around to the veterinary profession. Are you the only Black veterinarian at your job? I am the only Black veterinarian on my staff. We have more diversity [in] our residency [program] because we can be purposeful in our recruitment. New England is not a popular place for people of color. Getting people to move to New England is interesting. Im still oftentimes the only Black veterinarian in the room. Im excited when Im not. Im not the only African American veterinarian in Boston. Theres actually five of us, and we get together on Sundays for brunch. We find our community and we shore each other up. And take care of each other. I get up every morning, even 35 years later, loving what I do.Dr. Donna Jarrell Can you share more about your path to being a veterinarian? When I turned 16, I was very purposeful. I went and interviewed at three or four different hospitals in my hometown, wanting to be a kennel worker. I told every one of them that my goal was to become a veterinarian. I was hired by one of the veterinarians in town. He was white. They all were white. Two years in, Im a senior in high school, he says, You know, youre pretty smart. I think you should go down into the veterinary tech program in the state and then come back and work for me. I thought, I told you I dont want to be a veterinary tech, I want to be you. So that was kind of a turn-off. I went away to college, and when I came back that summer, he had sold his practice to a Black veterinarian that had been teaching at Tuskegee Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine, which produced the highest percentage of veterinarians of color. And [the new owner, Calvert Jeffers] became my boss. And because he had been an instructor at the vet school, he was outstanding at teaching me. I was no longer just a kennel worker on a path to being a great vet tech; he actually supported my dream and helped me to really get that confidence in being in that environment. Dr. Donna Jarrell looks at caged mice used for immunology and cancer research in a lab at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Donna Jarrell looks at caged mice used for immunology and cancer research in a lab at Massachusetts General Hospital. Youve been many firsts. Could you share more about that experience? From high school on, there were often times I was the only Black student in my AP classes. Ive always been in that arena of opening doors. In vet school, there was one male African American student who was two years ahead of me, and the two of us were two out of over 220 students. You have to learn how to establish yourself. I learned how to navigate being the only one. I always went back to my community, my family, my friends to regroup, shall we say. I always had a community behind me that would tell me, Youve got to go back, youve got to finish. I do a lot of mentoring, and I think about things like imposter syndrome and how does it happen. Pursuing veterinary medicine requires a strong academic record, and that is flaked with a lot of obstacles, shall we say, from teachers who dont see you as [someone with] high potential or successful [at] standardized test-taking, and how you do on that. We all know that the AAA+ student doesnt necessarily translate into the most high-performing clinicians, but that had to be proven, Ill say, over the years. Why are there still so few Black veterinarians? There are many obstacles to getting there. ... There are so many needs in the medical profession across the board that if you are successful academically, everyone wants you to go into human medicine. Appreciating the role of veterinary medicine and how it can serve the community was not something you heard a lot about in our community. I do really believe that you need to see other veterinarians of color to see yourself in that opportunity. Do you think, in your career, you will see Black representation increase in veterinary medicine? It has hovered between 1% and 4% for 40 years. I think that the recruitment of underrepresented minorities in vet schools at higher levels, like NC State, is realistically where I think well see the numbers change. It may take another 50 years to see that number grow because its a long journey. Related... [Source] At least five people are dead and 48 are missing after a coal mine collapsed in northern China on Wednesday. The incident took place in the early afternoon after a mine in Inner Mongolias Alxa League collapsed and left dozens trapped under the landslide. A second and third landslide several hours later suspended rescue efforts until the next morning. On Wednesday evening, Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered immediate search and rescue efforts. "We must make every possible effort to rescue the missing persons and treat the injured," Xi said. More from NextShark: Man crawling out of spa in China to avoid paying captured on video State broadcaster Xinhua News Agency reported that more than 900 rescuers, along with heavy machinery and medical workers, have been deployed to help search for the missing miners. Security camera footage distributed by Chinese state media captured the moment the landslide took place. In the video, an avalanche of dirt, rock and debris can be seen cascading down the mountain and burying trucks and equipment below. More from NextShark: Asian, Black leaders to hold unity event on 30th anniversary of Los Angeles uprising According to Reuters, one hospitalized miner recounted the incident to state media broadcaster CCTV on Thursday: I had just started work at 1:15 in the afternoon when I realized that rocks were falling from the mountain I saw that the situation was getting more and more serious, and an evacuation was organized, but it was too late, the mountain just collapsed. More from NextShark: 9 Asian-Owned Businesses Have Their Windows Smashed in the Last 2 Weeks in Oregon Wei Zhiguo, who is leading rescue efforts, told CCTV that the rescue operation was being conducted in "an orderly and tense manner." The cause of the collapse is still under investigation. The company operating the mine, Inner Mongolia Xinjing Coal Industry Co., has not released a statement regarding the collapse. More from NextShark: Chinese girl's letter asking for good ride-hailing reviews for her 'chubby' driver father goes viral HAVANA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The sixth Cuba's International Salsa Music Festival kicked off in the capital city of Havana on Wednesday after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to organizers, the festival has invited 27 Cuban music bands such as Los Van Van, Bamboleo and Havana D'Primera as well as foreign musicians. Cuban musician Maykel Blanco, president of the salsa festival, said that the event will unite dancers from across the world. "Cuba opens its music doors to those who want to dance with us. We share our joy and hearts with first-time and returning visitors," he said. Taking place in Havana's district of El Vedado, the event features music concerts, salsa classes and DJ presentations, along with sales of CDs and magazines. Salsa music artist Haila Maria Mompie said that the festival will be a good chance for Cubans and world musicians to interact with salsa fans. "We will perform high-quality music for salsa music lovers. I am certain this fantastic festival will bring a positive outcome," she said. Running through Feb. 26, the festival is also attended by some 200 international dancers, largely from the United States, France, Colombia, Italy, Panama, Peru and Spain. Among them is Paola Bianchi, a 26-year-old Italian who has been taking salsa classes in her home country for a couple of months. "I will have a lot of fun while learning new salsa moves," she told Xinhua. "This is a great opportunity to hone my skills as a salsa dancer." Mario Marin, who works as a salsa professor in central Havana, told Xinhua that music has the potential to attract thousands of foreign visitors to Cuba. "Aside from our sandy beaches and protected areas, music is part of the identity of this country," he said. "We can share with visitors what we know about salsa music." Cuba saw a remarkable year-on-year increase in the number of tourist arrivals in January. It estimates that some 3.5 million tourists will visit the Caribbean nation by the end of this year. (Reuters) - Belgian court of appeal on Thursday lowered the prison sentence for Vietnamese trafficking gang leader Vo Van Hong over the manslaughter of 39 compatriots who suffocated in an airtight shipping container smuggled into Britain in 2019. The Ghent court of appeal sentenced Vo Van Hong to 10 years in prison, reducing his original prison sentence by five years, kept his fine at 920,000 euro ($975,000), and said he didn't care about his victims. "He took advantage of desperate people and wanted to make as much profit as possible. His victims were his income and the safety of the refugees was not a priority in any way", the court said in a summary of the case. The bodies of the 39 Vietnamese people were found inside a container that had been placed on a ship in the Belgian port of Zeebrugge. The discovery of so many dead people - two as young as 15 - in the back of the truck on an industrial estate to the east of London shocked Britain, Belgium and Vietnam. Most of those who died were from Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces in north-central Vietnam, where poor job prospects, environmental disasters and the promise of financial reward abroad tend to fuel migration. Other co-defendants also saw their sentences reduced on appeal. ($1 = 0.9445 euros) (Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by Bernadette Baum) Kent Casson WOTUS, a new farm bill and trade are just a few of the topics leaders in the ag industry are keeping a close eye on as we roll through 2023. Adam Nielsen, director of National Legislation and Policy Development with Illinois Farm Bureau, addressed the recent Agronomy Day meeting hosted by the Livingston County Farm Bureau. He reported Sen. Dick Durbin joined the Ag Committee, serving on a couple of subcommittees. It is good to have someone from Illinois on the Senate Agriculture Committee, said Nielsen. Sen. Tammy Duckworth was re-elected to the Senate serving on the Environmental and Public Works Committee. Nielsen says Farm Bureau has worked with Duckworth since she was a representative in the suburbs. Shell be an important player in this Congress as well, Nielsen said. Nielsen called WOTUS, or the Waters of the United States rule, regulatory overreach which basically tells people how to farm. He refers to it as a thorn in our side. Those attending Agronomy Day also learned total direct government payments to farmers are expected to decline in 2023, something Nielsen says agriculture will have to react to if it hasnt already. We will likely get back to a normal situation where if a farmer has a bad crop year, crop insurance payments will kick in. Itll be interesting to see if the input side of the equation adjusts, added Nielsen. A new farm bill is becoming more important with ad-hoc disaster assistance going away. Nielsen doesnt foresee many changes in policy as a new bill is drafted with the 2018 farm bill in place now. Farm Bureau will be reviewing policies and making specific recommendations. The farm bill must happen in 2023 since there could be problems if it ends up being pushed into 2024. Nielsen also covered the renewable fuels industry which still has a large impact on Illinois agriculture. This administration does seem to be friendly to ethanol and biodiesel, explained Nielsen. The biggest issue on the trade front currently is the GMO corn situation with Mexico. Nielsen feels we have plenty of leverage in many ways. Story continues Pressure can be put on them to back down from that. This is something to watch as plenty of corn goes to Mexico. The latest ag news, podcasts and blogs can be found at www.centralillinoisfarmnetwork.com. Listen to A Central IL Morning with Kent weekday mornings at 5:06 a.m. on WGCY 106.3 FM, also available from the CIFN website. This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Kent Casson View from the Cab: Keeping up with WOTUS Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, view a memorial at Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, New York, in May 2022. Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images On Feb. 15, 2023, a judge informed Payton Gendron a white 19-year-old who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo Tops market in 2022 that You will never see the light of day as a free man ever again. The week before, Patrick Crusius a white 24-year-old who gunned down 23 people at an El Paso Walmart in 2019 received 90 consecutive life sentences. The threat of domestic terrorism remains high in the United States especially the danger posed by white power extremists, many of whom believe white people are being replaced by people of color. I am a scholar of political violence and extremism and wrote about these beliefs in a 2021 book, It Can Happen Here: White Power and the Rising Threat of Genocide in the US. I think its important to understand the lessons that can be learned from events like the Buffalo and El Paso mass shootings. After decades of research on numerous attacks that have left scores dead, we have learned that extremists are almost always part of a pack, not lone wolves. But the myth of the lone wolf shooter remains tenacious, reappearing in media coverage after almost every mass shooting or act of far-right extremist violence. Because this myth misdirects people from the actual causes of extremist violence, it impedes societys ability to prevent attacks. Buffalo mass shooter Payton Gendron was sentenced to life in prison in February 2023. Scott Olson/Getty Images The lone wolf extremist myth is dangerous FBI Director Christopher Wray said in August 2022 that the nations top threat comes from far-right extremist lone actors who, he explained, work alone, instead of as part of a large group. Wray is wrong, and the myth of the lone wolf extremist the mistaken idea that violent extremists largely act alone continues to directly inform research, law enforcement and the popular imagination. I think that Wrays focus on extremism is much needed and long overdue. However, his line of thinking is dangerous and misleading. By focusing on individuals or small groups, it overlooks broader networks and long-term dangers and so can impede efforts to combat far-right extremist violence which Wray has singled out as the countrys most lethal domestic threat. Story continues Not a new trend Far-right extremists may physically carry out an attack alone or as part of a small group of people, but they are almost always networked and identify with larger groups and causes. This was true long before the social media age. Take Timothy McVeigh. He is often depicted as the archetypal lone wolf madman who blew up the Oklahoma City Federal Building in 1995. In fact, McVeigh was part of a pack. He had accomplices and was connected across the far-right extremist landscape. The same is true of Gendron and Crusius, who were also characterized in media coverage as lone wolves. He talked about how he didnt like school because he didnt have friends. He would say he was lonely, a classmate of Gendron said shortly after Gendron carried out the mass shooting. Both were active on far-right extremist social media platforms and posted manifestos before their attacks. Gendrons manifesto discusses how he was radicalized on the dark web and inspired to attack after watching videos of Brenton Tarrants 2019 massacre of 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. Almost a quarter of Gendrons manifesto is directly taken from Tarrants, which was titled The Great Replacement. This fear of white replacement, centered around perceived white demographic decline, was also a motive for Crusius. His manifesto pays homage to Tarrant, before explaining his attack was a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas. The lone wolf myth also suggests that extremists are abnormal deviants with anti-social personalities. After Gendrons rampage, for example, New York Attorney General Letitia James called him a sick, demented individual. Crusius, in turn, was described by the White House and news articles as evil, psychotic and an anti-social loner. The vast majority of far-right extremists are, in fact, otherwise ordinary men and women. They live in rural areas, suburbs and cities. They are students and working professionals. And they believe their extremist cause is justified. This point was illustrated by the spectrum of participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. People hug at a memorial outside the Walmart in El Paso, Texas, where a shooter killed 23 people in 2019. Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images Tracing the lone wolf mythology How did the lone-wolf metaphor come to misinform the publics view of extremists, and why is it so tenacious? Part of the answer is linked to white supremacist Louis Beam, who wrote the essay Leaderless Resistance in 1983. In it, he called for far-right extremists to act individually or in small groups that couldnt be traced up a chain of command. According to his lawyer, McVeigh was one of those influenced by Beams call. After Beam formulated this idea, both far-right extremists and law enforcement increasingly used the lone wolf term. In 1998, the FBI even mounted an Operation Lone Wolf to investigate a West Coast white supremacist cell. The 9/11 terrorist attacks further turned U.S. attention to Islamic militant lone wolves. A decade later, the term became mainstream. And so it was not a surprise when, after the Buffalo shooting, New York State Senator James Sanders said, Although this is probably a lone-wolf incident, this is not the first mass shooting we have seen, and sadly it will not be the last. The tenacity of the lone wolf myth has several sources. Its convenient evocative and powerful enough to draw and keep peoples attention. By using this term, which individualizes extremism, law enforcement officials may also depoliticize their work. Instead of focusing on movements like white nationalism that have sympathizers in the various levels of government, from sheriffs to senators, they focus on individuals. The lone wolf extremist myth diverts from what should be the focus of deterrence efforts: understanding how far-right extremists network, organize and, as the Jan. 6 insurrection showed, build coalitions across diverse groups, especially through the use of social media. Such understanding provides a basis for developing long-term strategies to prevent extremists like Gendron and Crusius from carrying out more violent attacks. This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. The Conversation has a variety of fascinating free newsletters. It was written by: Alexander Hinton, Rutgers University - Newark. Read more: Alexander Hinton receives funding from "The Center for Politics and Race in America at Rutgers University-Newark. Don Lemon (Getty Images) On 16 February, Don Lemon made some cavalier comments about Nikki Haley. On CNN This Morning, Lemon said of the former South Carolina governor and current Republican presidential candidate that she wasnt in her prime. He, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins were discussing Haleys recent suggestion, made at her campaign launch, that politicians over 75 years old should undergo mandatory mental competency tests. This whole talk about age makes me uncomfortable, Lemon said on CNN This Morning. I think its the wrong road to go down. She says people, you know, politicians or something are not in their prime. Nikki Haley isnt in her prime, sorry. A woman is considered to be in their prime in their twenties and thirties and maybe forties. When his co-hosts challenged him, Lemon didnt have a great answer, instead encouraging viewers to Google the matter. Chris Licht, who became CNNs chairman a year ago, was reportedly less than pleased about the segment. According to The New York Times, Licht called Lemons comments upsetting, unacceptable and unfair to his co-hosts, and ultimately a huge distraction to the great work of this organization during an editorial call the next morning. Lemon apologized, telling the CNN newsroom, according to The New York Times, that he didnt mean to hurt or offend anyone. On Twitter, Lemon expressed regrets over the remarks on the same day hed made them. The reference I made to a womans prime this morning was inartful and irrelevant, as colleagues and loved ones have pointed out, and I regret it, he tweeted on 16 February. A womans age doesnt define her either personally or professionally. I have countless women in my life who prove that every day. Another message followed on 22 February, when he returned to the air: I appreciate the opportunity to be back on @CNNThisMorning today, he wrote. To my network, my colleagues and our incredible audience Im sorry. Ive heard you, Im learning from you, and Im committed to doing better. See you soon. Story continues According to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press, Licht said he and Lemon had a frank and meaningful conversation, and that Lemon has agreed to participate in formal training. In other words: a TV anchor said something rude and, yes, sexist. He apologized. His network took action. This is a mildly interesting story and yes, only mildly interesting. Lemon is, as The New York Times rightly put it, a CNN veteran with a history of televised gaffes. Much of his professional life is spent talking on camera about a variety of topics. Speak publicly as much and as often as Lemon does, and the statistical likelihood that you will say something unfortunate increases. Im not excusing what he said. Im just not that surprised that he said it. Look up the top tweets about Lemons comments and youll see they mainly came from Fox News and conservative figures. The outrage on the right seemed surprising, shall we say, from the side that has so often propped up Donald Grab Them By the P***y Trump. Then again, Lemons comments happened around the same time Fox News found itself at the centre of a string of embarrassing revelations stemming from Dominions $1.6bn defamation lawsuit against the network. Is it terribly surprising, then, that as soon as someone at CNN Fox Newss arch rival made a regrettable comment, Fox News drummed up outrage, running multiple segments and questioning Lemons future at CNN? No! It isnt! Its the very definition of predictable. Outrage is a powerful force one that can easily make us manipulable. I try to be economical about where I put mine. There is a difference between a scandal and a bit of network TV news. Lemons comments are the latter, not the former. We cant know for sure who was responsible for the shooting of an off-duty police officer at football practice in Omagh, but we do know that Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell had been investigating drugs gangs and dissident paramilitaries (the two are sometimes connected in Northern Ireland). We also know that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) says that the dissident republican group, the New IRA, is the "primary focus" of their investigation. Distressing at any time, the attempted murder DCI Caldwell is critical but stable in hospital is a reminder that the endless dry, circular arguments about the Northern Ireland Protocol and the Belfast Good Friday Agreement have consequences far beyond the possibility of EU Single Market rules being referred to the European Court of Justice, or how many checks should be made on a Tesco lorry at the Port of Larne. It's a matter of life and death; and some have taken peace in Ireland for granted for too long. Those DUP politicians and their posturing Tory allies who now hold the power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland hostage to their impossibilist demands should know better. Many grew up during the Troubles, with some losing loved ones; yet they play with fire. The Good Friday Agreement, coming up to its quarter-century anniversary, wasnt the usual sort of political coalition agreement, even in Northern Ireland. It was in effect a peace treaty; a settlement of a civil war that had itself dragged on for the decades, taken thousands of lives and destroyed families. In fact, it was the second instalment in a peace process that began with the Downing Street Declaration in 1993, and was only partly completed after a long boycott by the DUP with the St Andrews Agreement in 2007, which devolved criminal justice to Belfast. Since then, as we see again now, it has catered and been subject to withdrawal by Republicans too. It is, even in good times, fragile. Brexit, and the botched deal negotiated by Boris Johnson, betraying his DUP allies into the bargain, has placed peace in even greater jeopardy. Story continues Given the underlying bitter conflict dates back 800 years, the peace process may never be be "complete". All the more reason not to take risks with it. Its sometimes argued by the DUP that the NIP runs against the principle of consent in the GFA. It does, because its an international treaty and its up to the UK parliament to make the rules. It cant be vetoed by one party, or community, in one devolved parliament. Tell the Scots about that; ripped out of the EU against their will, straining that part of the Union. Also, tell that to the wise majority of the people of Northern Ireland who could see what might be coming, followed the advice of John Major and Tony Blair two men who did as much as anyone for peace and voted to remain in the EU in 2016. It's worth saying: despite their profile and their pompous ubiquity, the DUP does not speak for the people of Northern Ireland. Given that the NIP can never be reformed in a way that will satisfy the DUP (or so it appears), their boycott of the power-sharing executive will presumably also be permanent, in which case power-sharing, the GFA and peace will also slowly fall. But let's think. What if the UK and EU miraculously ditch the NIP and move the economic and trade border to the poltical land border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and challenge the EU to put in border checks and customs posts? The DUP would then be happy, they claim, to rejoin the NI Executive; but then Sinn Fein, at least, will withdraw from it and, probably denounce the GFA. Jeffrey Donaldson and his friends will walk through the front door of Stormont but Michelle ONeill and the others will be exiting from the back door. The threat of Loyalist violence, which has been building, subsides with the NIP gone and a hard border in place, but the Republican men of violence will rise up once again. The DUP boycott of the Northern Ireland Executive, abetted by their supporters in the Conservative Party, is entirely unnecessary, ineffective and inappropriate not to mention dangerous. The struggle to change the NIP can better take place through the NI Executive with the Assembly in place. The brutal truth is that the governance of the UK and its relations with the EU cant be made subject to the veto of one minority party in one community in the UK. The older, smaller Ulster Unionists see this, and want to return to government even as they oppose the NIP. Its (maybe) true that Rishi Sunak wouldnt be working so hard to get concessions now without DUP pressure, but whatever its uses, the DUP's blackmail tactic has run its course. Whatever Sunak comes back with is as good as it gets. The DUP have a choice. They can compromise and live with what they will get, rejoin the NI Executive, and make do with Donaldson as deputy first minister and ONeill as first minister. Theres nothing to stop them trying to get the way the NIP changed again as time goes on. Or they can persevere with the boycott. That will have two unfortunate consequences. It will steadily push Northern Ireland back to the bomb and the bullet. Not, perhaps, the full-blown civil war and breakdown of the rule of law in the early 1970s, but to use the awful old euphemism, an acceptable level of violence. That will also help push Northern Ireland out of the UK. Such a prospect will force many, including in Great Britain, to think the unthinkable, and reconsider a united Ireland within a European Union, which would dissolve the border and all it entails for ever. The law of unintended consequences can be cruel to those who push things too far. (Bloomberg) -- Europes largest carmaker is taking a closer look at India again. Most Read from Bloomberg Volkswagen AG wants to remain a strong player in Europe and China, but in the face of growing geopolitical tensions and an increasingly complex regulatory environment, the German carmaker is looking beyond the US for markets with growth potential, Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz said. Were turning our attention to India to be more robustly positioned in this new world, Antlitz said in an interview with Porsche Consulting Magazin. India has enormous growth potential in my view. The effort will mark yet another attempt by the company to break into the Indian market in a significant way. The carmakers earlier efforts to boost its presence in India have often been bruising experiences. An alliance with Suzuki Motor Corp. ended in a fierce legal dispute before a single car was built and talks over teaming up with Jaguar-maker Tata Motors didnt go anywhere. Volkswagen rose 0.7% at 11:11 a.m in Frankfurt trading, taking gains this year to 13%. But as US-China tensions mount and the Asian giants seeming support of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine raises hackles, Indias large potential market is once again drawing the companys attention. Indias population surpassed that of Chinas at the end of last year, and with half of that population under the age of 30, it has potential to become the worlds fastest-growing major economy in coming years. Public adoption of electric passenger transport has been slow in India, with high upfront production costs deterring manufacturers and a dearth of charging infrastructure deterring consumers. But demand for low-cost battery-powered SUVs is growing, and homegrown carmakers are now finding themselves competing with Chinese and South Korean manufacturers for market share. Story continues READ MORE: Bigger Is Better in Indias Nascent Electric Car Market Volkswagen said in August it was moving forward with a component supply deal for five new electric sport utility vehicles from Indias Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., adding that it wanted to explore ways of working together to electrify the Indian market more quickly. Antlitz said it remained unclear how the global economy would develop under the continued pressure of supply chain bottlenecks, which limits the number of cars that can be manufactured and sold. Given the possibilities of a worsening economy and shrinking demand, Volkswagen is keen to avoid price discounts in coming months. We expect that the worldwide semiconductor supply will improve in 2023, he said. That means a reduced demand would meet improved supply. And at that point we shouldnt allow ourselves to fall back into the habit of rebates. We have to maintain price discipline. Hedging remains a key tool for Volkswagens ability to cope with rising raw material costs, Antlitz said, but that will be secondary to a vertical-integration strategy. The bigger lever is entering the raw material chain yourself and keeping value creation more firmly in your own grasp, he said, adding that investment in vertical integration should occur very, very selectively. (Updates with share price in fifth paragraph. An earlier version of the story corrected the job title) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. A Walmart employee is facing charges after he was accused of producing child pornography while at work in the store, Alabama police say. The 25-year-old man, Ethan Richardson, was an employee at a Walmart in south Cullman when police were alerted about an incident with a minor on Feb. 4. Police spokesperson Adam Clark told McClatchy News that Richardson was on duty when he allegedly used a personal device to record a minor. Clark told WBMA that officers had arrived at the Walmart to investigate an unrelated theft when they were told about the incident. Richardson was arrested and charged with production and possession of child pornography on Feb. 22. Walmart said in a statement to WBMA that Richardson was no longer employed by the store. Cullman is 50 miles north of Birmingham. If you have experienced sexual assault and need someone to talk to, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline for support at 1-800-656-4673 or visit the hotline's online chatroom. Walmart manager in complete disbelief after checking Idaho lottery ticket on break Walmart shoppers thwart attempt to kidnap child from shopping cart, Colorado cops say Toddler gets strangled in stroller sold on Amazon and Walmart. Now a warning is issued JERUSALEM, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Israel's Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday that Oman opened its airspace to Israeli flights after months-long talks, despite the absence of official ties between the two nations. In a statement posted on Twitter, Oman's Civil Aviation Authority confirmed that the sultanate opened its airspace "for all carriers that meet the requirements of the Authority for overflying." In a separate statement, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen hailed the move as "a historic decision for the Israeli economy and for the Israeli travelers." He said the decision came after "months" of talks. He thanked the Sultan of Oman Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, whom he referred to as "our friend," and the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden for their help in brokering the negotiations. The permit would enable a reduction in the duration of flights from Israel to India and other Asian destinations by two hours. According to the foreign ministry, it is expected to lower the costs of airfare from Israel and open new routes to Asian destinations. The move follows a similar decision by Saudi Arabia, which opened its airspace to all flights to and from Israel during Biden's trip to the Middle East in July last year. Israel has been pushing for the normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia and Oman, following the so-called Abraham Accords normalization deals that the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed to sign with Israel in 2020. Kimberly Birch was on "I Wanna Marry 'Harry'" in the early 2010s. FOX Image Collection via Getty Images "I Wanna Marry 'Harry'" winner Kimberly Birch liked seeing Prince Harry actually marry an actor. Prince Harry got engaged to actress Meghan Markle in 2017 and Birch called it "life imitating art." The aspiring actor gives Markle "so much credit" for dealing with criticism in the spotlight. When 24-year-old aspiring actor Kimberly Birch won "I Wanna Marry 'Harry,'" the 2014 dating show that tricked women into believing they were dating Prince Harry, she knew she'd face criticism. But Birch's perspective changed once the real Prince Harry got engaged to American "Suits" actor Meghan Markle in 2017. Reflecting on her experiences in a phone interview with Insider, Birch said she now feels "vindicated" after critics questioned her intelligence for believing the Duke of Sussex would ever marry an American actor like herself. "At the time, it was just something that seemed so far-fetched for people," she said. "There were a lot of comments like, 'Did you really think that Prince Harry would ever actually date some nobody actress in America?'" "Then I remember hearing about the backlash that Meghan Markle got," Birch continued. "She was just this B-list actress. She was a nobody, and now she's married to Prince Harry. For me, it's just so ironic. It was life imitating art." Matthew Hicks on "I Wanna Marry Harry." FOX Image Collection via Getty Images Fox's "I Wanna Marry 'Harry'" attempted to fool 12 contestants into believing they were dating Prince Harry when they were actually pursuing bachelor Matt Hicks, a Prince Harry lookalike. To do so, producers housed the ladies in a luxurious English estate that looked like a castle and staged a series of incidents including fake paparazzi attacks and security threats that could make it seem like they were dating the real royal. The show was pulled off the air after four episodes following low ratings and viewership. Story continues Although Birch said she went back and forth on believing Hicks was Prince Harry, she knew he wasn't really the royal by the time she won. Birch gives Markle credit for having to deal with so much scrutiny and admires Harry for stepping away from royal life Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their wedding day in 2018. Jack Taylor/Getty Images When asked now if she'd still like to live up to the show's premise and marry Harry, Birch was adamant: "Absolutely not. Hell no." "I give Meghan Markle so much credit," she explained. "I, personally, wouldn't be able to handle being under a microscope like that. When I was younger, being famous was something that seemed so enticing, and I've grown to feel the complete opposite of that. I don't want all that pressure." Though Birch has never met the real Prince Harry, she said she's proud of the steps he's taken to separate himself from the "outdated" royal family. She said he "mirrors" his mom, Princess Diana, who separated from King Charles III in 1992 after their marital difficulties became public knowledge. "She tried to break away from stereotypes and she was a free spirit, and it's kind of like watching her come back to life," Birch said. "He's really taking a leap and finding happiness, so I think it's beautiful." In recent weeks, Harry continued to break the royal mold with his bombshell memoir "Spare," which, among other things, details the rift between himself and his father, King Charles, and brother, Prince William. After seeing some of the noteworthy revelations in "Spare" such as Harry taking ayahuasca and losing his virginity in a field Birch wonders if "I Wanna Marry 'Harry'" isn't as audacious as detractors once thought. "With all this that has come out, if they did do a show like this now, would it be more believable?" she said. "If he and Meghan didn't work out, would a show like this make sense?" Read the original article on Insider Sony is set to host its first State of Play showcase of 2023 this afternoon, featuring some new announcements and updates on previously revealed games. The stream starts at 4PM and you can watch it on PlayStation's Twitch and YouTube channels. Alternatively, you can check out the State of Play via the embedded video below. We're expecting to hear about five games that are coming to PS VR2 later this year. It seems like an ideal time for Sony to show off what's in the pipeline for the new headset, which it released earlier this week. We'll also get details on some "anticipated" third-party games, as well as an in-depth look at Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Given the heavy focus on the followup to Batman: Arkham Knight, it'd be a little surprising if there were any other big announcements that could upstage that game, but you never know. Thankfully, we won't have to wait long to find out what's up Sony's sleeve. When HuffPost confronted railroad giant Norfolk Southern about the flawed water sampling its contractor conducted in East Palestine, Ohio, in the wake of the disastrous train derailment, the company shrugged it off as an issue of erroneous recording on the part of the lab that analyzed the samples. Similarly, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency the state agency that relied solely on the results of those railroad-funded samples to initially declare the municipal water in the village safe to drink said subsequent laboratory validation reports will be prepared and will address this issue, but the results are valid. But the final water quality analyses are in, and they detail many of the same issues found in the preliminary reports, namely samples that were not acidified to federal EPA specifications and containers with large air bubbles in them. Sam Bickley, an aquatic ecologist who first alerted HuffPost to the sampling issues, said the final reports do not alleviate any of his initial concerns. Im not sold, said Bickley, who works at Virginia Scientist-Community Interface, an advocacy-focused coalition of scientists and engineers. And if I was living in town, I certainly would not be sold. The final reports, which Ohio EPA posted to its website over the weekend, are the latest in a messy, railroad-led sampling effort that has only helped to fuel distrust in a community desperately searching for answers about how the disaster is impactingpublic and environmental health. The nearly 2-mile Norfolk Southern train derailed and caught fire on Feb. 3 while carrying toxic and flammable materials, including hundreds of thousands of pounds of vinyl chloride, a common organic chemical used in the production of plastics. Fearing a catastrophic explosion, authorities conducted what they described as a controlled burn of the vinyl chloride three days after the crash a controversial decision that has left area residents terrified. Story continues To be clear, the water in East Palestine may very well be safe for consumption at least for now as federal, state and local officials have repeatedly stressed in recent days. In an effort to reassure the community, EPA Administrator Michael Regan, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) and others drank the towns tap water during a series of home visits on Tuesday. DRINKING EAST PALESTINE WATER: with EPA Administrator Michael Regan & Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (2/21) pic.twitter.com/8fnYYkKZgQ Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) February 22, 2023 As HuffPost first reported late last week, Ohio officials only had preliminary data from a railroad contractors sampling when they gave the residents of East Palestine the green light to drink the village water. Making matters worse, the initial lab report flagged that many of those samples were not preserved or handled in accordance with federal EPA standards errors that independent experts slammed as sloppy and amateur. In the wake of the train accident, AECOM, the Dallas-based consulting firm contracted by Norfolk Southern, sampled untreated water from five municipal wells that supply the towns municipal drinking water, each more than a mile from the derailment site, as well as treated municipal water. The samples were analyzed by Eurofins TestAmerica Laboratories, an environmental testing lab in Canton, Ohio. The Columbiana County Health District separately tested the villages public water system, but Ohio EPA acknowledged to HuffPost that it did not receive those preliminary results until several hours after the governors office declared the water safe. Instead, the state took the railroad-funded preliminary results and ran with them. State officials have repeatedly said the county results confirm AECOMs findings that the water is free of contaminants associated with the derailment, but as of Thursday morning those results had still not been made public. Twenty days after the derailment, the only publicly available data on the quality of East Palestines municipal water was collected by the railroads contractor. Norfolk Southern has downplayed the issues with AECOMs sampling and pointed the finger at the lab. Reanalysis of the samples ensured method compliance and again produced a result indicating safe water, Norfolk Southern spokesman Connor Spielmaker told HuffPost last week. The lab did not update the comments to note the retesting and erroneously included the comments from the initial test. But the final lab reports only further confirm that the railroad contractor did not comply with EPA protocols for testing drinking water for volatile organic compounds. Of the 10 total water samples it analyzed, the lab flagged issues with five. Four had pH (acidity) levels that exceeded the 2 pH limit allowed under the EPA method listed in the analyses. Two samples also contained a large air bubble in its vial, while the EPA method requires that sample bottles should not have any trapped air bubbles when sealed, the lab report notes. Failing to properly acidify samples or eliminate air bubbles can bias the results, lowering or even masking levels of contaminants. Eurofins website includes specific guides for collecting both treated and untreated drinking water in accordance with EPA methods. Jason Marshall, an AECOM spokesman, said the company stands by the quality of its work and indicated it is following an entirely different set of sampling protocols. AECOM field staff are trained to collect samples in accordance with the Potable Water Sampling Plan that was developed by the Ohio EPA, Ohio Division of Health and the Columbiana County Health District in accordance with prevailing industry standards, he said via email. Marshall did not respond when asked where the plan could be found. And when HuffPost asked the Ohio EPA one of the agencies that purportedly developed the plan for a copy, its spokesman responded, I have forwarded your request to our records staff for processing. HuffPost was unable to locate the plan on the Ohio EPAs website. Marshalls description would suggest the plan was developed in the wake of the derailment. Nicole Karn, a chemist and associate professor at the Ohio State University, called the final lab reports on AECOMs sampling unclear and uncomfortable. It just doesnt seem like things were done with care, she said, emphasizing the need for both immediate re-sampling and long-term monitoring. Karn has been reflecting on the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, which whistleblowers and citizen scientists exposed while government leaders insisted the water was safe. As a scientist, I am trained to be skeptical and critical of work thats being done especially when the work is being funded by the people who are responsible for the problem, Karn said. That makes me extra concerned. Karn had never heard of the Potable Water Sampling Plan that AECOM referenced and said it is unsettling that the public is in the dark about what sampling guidelines are being followed. We need more transparency, she said. A man takes photos as a black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern train on Feb. 6. A man takes photos as a black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern train on Feb. 6. James Lee, an Ohio EPA spokesman, defended AECOMs sampling and dismissed the red flags in the reports. Its important to understand that none of the issues cited by the validation contractor are in and of themselves significant enough to invalidate the conclusions: That is, there no [sic] indication of contaminants from the derailment in East Palestines wells, he said in an email Wednesday. In fact, the final report shows the [volatile organic compound] analysis was valid. Additional testing has confirmed this conclusion. Certain language appears to have been softened between Eurofins preliminary and final reports. For example, in the preliminary analyses, Eurofins repeatedly noted that the sampling issues had an unknown impact on the final data. That language does not appear in the final reports. Instead, on one of the samples that had an air bubble in it, the lab listed 11 separate contaminants under parameters affected. On that list is butyl acrylate one of the chemicals that spilled and burned in the fiery derailment. The organic compound is used to make adhesives and paint, and exposure can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. Norfolk Southern and Eurofins did not respond to HuffPosts requests for comment about the final reports. Eurofins previously declined to comment, citing contractual obligations and confidentiality for its client. On Tuesday, DeWine twiceskirted questions about Norfolk Southerns involvement in testing the water in East Palestine and what sampling results the state relied on to initially declare the municipal system safe. Yes. Were testing independently, DeWine said at a press conference. a little on this exchange@louisd217: The initial [municipal water] tests were done were by Norfolk Southern... OH Gov. DeWine quietly: No, look Q: They were contractors for Norfolk Southern, correct? DeWine: The testing is being done by Ohio EPA or US EPA 1/ https://t.co/KS9hS1FaLH Chris D'Angelo (@c_m_dangelo) February 22, 2023 That was true as of about two hours prior. The Ohio EPA confirmed Tuesday that it had begun its own testing of the East Palestine municipal water system earlier that day and expects results back from an independent lab within a week. In a newly updated information page on its website, the state agency notes that it is supervising the railroad contractors sampling. We will continue to test, Lee, the agencys spokesman, said Wednesday. All indications thus far show that the drinking water meets all federal health and safety standards. East Palestines public drinking water is safe. Long-term monitoring will allow Ohio EPA to identify any potential impacts to the water supply. Related... More tech layoffs are happening in Austin: Israeli-based software company Wix.com is cutting 100 jobs here and dozens more in other U.S. cities. The job cuts, which will affect a total of about 300 Wix employees, were reported by the company in a WARN letter sent to the Texas Workforce Commission. A WARN letter, which stands for Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, is a federally mandated notice employers must provide to state governments in the event of major layoffs. In addition to the job eliminations in Austin, where Wix has offices at 3300 Interstate 35 North, the company is cutting 27 positions in San Francisco, 142 in Miami and 62 in Denver. More:'Soft landing' expected for Texas economy despite slowing growth Wix, which is based in Tel Aviv, sells cloud-based web development services. Its tools allow customers to create websites and mobile apps by using online drag and drop tools. "The last day of employment for employees impacted by the lay-offs at these sites will be April 16, 2023," the WARN letter said. "These layoffs are expected to be permanent." More tech layoffs are happening in Austin: Israeli-based website builder Wix.com is cutting 100 jobs here and dozens more in other U.S. cities. The affected employees are not represented by a union and do not have bumping rights, which would allow them to displace employees with less time at the company, according to the letter. Wix on Wednesday announced quarterly earnings of $0.61 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.08 per share. This compares to loss of $0.37 per share a year ago. The numbers are adjusted for non-recurring items. The company is joining a wave of tech employers making cuts in Austin as they deal with economic uncertainty. Last week, retail giant Walmart said it is shutting down its Central Texas development office. More:Dell Technologies to lay off 6,650 workers, about 5% of global workforce Industry experts have said Austin has been affected by layoffs at a number of major technology companies, though the exact number of local jobs that have been lost is uncertain. Tech giants with large Austin presences including Google, Meta, Austin-based Tesla, and Round Rock-based Dell Technologies have all laid off employees since late last year. Story continues Meta also said last year it would no longer be using an office space it had long-planned to expand into in downtown Austin and would instead sublease the space. Statesman business reporter Kara Carlson contributed to this article. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Wix.com to lay off 100 workers in Austin as tech layoffs continue Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 additional years in prison on Thursday during his second criminal trial over sexual assault charges. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench handed down the sentence after she denied a motion from Weinsteins attorneys for a new trial. The former Hollywood producer was convicted on one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault stemming from an interaction with a woman who testified that Weinstein assaulted her in her hotel room during a film festival. Weinstein was acquitted of sexual battery against one woman, and the jury could not reach a verdict on other charges related to interactions with another accuser and with Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). The jury deliberated for more than nine days before returning its verdict. This comes as the 70-year-old is already serving a 23-year sentence after he was found guilty of a criminal sexual act and third-degree rape in a case in New York. The additional 16-year sentence means Weinstein could remain in prison for the rest of his life. The New York State Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from Weinstein to try to overturn his convictions in that case. Weinstein has denied the allegations against him, with his lawyers arguing that he consensually had sex with two of the women who made accusations of sexual misconduct against him and that two others were completely lying about any sexual interaction they had. He maintained that he is innocent during the sentencing on Thursday. Weinstein became the face of the #MeToo movement in 2017 after dozens of women made accusations of sexual misconduct against him. More than 80 women, including actresses Rose McGowan and Gwyneth Paltrow, have accused him of actions ranging from sexual harassment to rape. The Associated Press contributed to this report. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. An instructor prepares a drone in Ukraine - Julia Kochetova/Bloomberg Western governments are scrambling to invest in top-secret jamming technology and secure radio gear to battle Russian and Chinese threats, according to UK defence giant BAE Systems. Chief executive Charles Woodburn said the FTSE 100 company was benefiting from growing interest in tools to wage electronic warfare alongside traditional combat. Mr Woodburn said: We are the world leaders in electronic warfare, and a lot of those programmes are classified, but it's areas such as that that are getting increased attention and increased funding. The US in particular is interested in the technology, BAE said. It came as the company unveiled record orders boosted by demand for arms in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putins attack on Ukraine. Jamming enemy signals, and disrupting their attempts to corrupt your radio communication, is a key area of development for militaries around the world. Investment is increasing as surveillance and the rapid sharing of battlefield intelligence becomes more important in warfare. The effectiveness of rapid intel has been demonstrated in Ukraine, where both Russia and Ukrainian forces have made use of electronic warfare. Ukraine has used drones to quickly locate targets such as tanks and artillery, allowing forces to strike them before they move. Russia, meanwhile, has been able to knock out many Ukrainian drones, in part by using electronic attacks. Electronic warfare is among the most secretive areas of the defence industry. The field is growing rapidly as ever more complex radio receivers hoover up everything from radio chatter to mobile phone signals and combine it with maps and other data. Artificial intelligence can then be used to detect patterns of behaviour like troop concentrations, which may prelude an attack or a strike. The ultimate aim is to ascertain what your enemy is planning, said Ioannis Vagias, a lecturer and radar expert at Cranfield University. Mr Vagias: If you want information supremacy, you're trying to understand what the enemy will be doing before he even does it. Story continues The field of electronic warfare is broad and also encompasses complex attacks such as computer viruses designed to corrupt warplanes and warships, Mr Vagias said. Much of the funding requested in the US to date has been for Navy programmes, according to a report to Congress in 2021. Investments include measures to detect ever-faster missiles, including hypersonic varieties that travel more than five times faster than the speed of sound and offer a particular threat to aircraft carriers. BAEs Fast Labs business, which develops radio and radar sensors, works with the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, known as DARPA, which has a $4.1bn research budget. The agency is famous for its work on an early version of the internet called ARPANET and also some of the stealth technology US fighter and bomber craft use to evade radar. A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth strategic bomber - Tsgt. Paul Villanueva/Us Air/Zuma Press BAE and DARPA jointly fund long-term projects that in some cases take 20 years to bear fruit, said Mr Woodburn. Orders for all types of BAE's defence products jumped by 14.9bn to 58.9bn last year, its highest ever annual total. The company won orders for Type-26 submarine-hunting warships from the UK, while Slovakia bought 152 of its CV90 armoured vehicles. The company has amassed 3bn in cash and Mr Woodburn said this allowed it to make long-term bets on research and development, aiding the development of its forthcoming sixth-generation Tempest warplane, which is being developed with Italy and Japan. Cash could also be used to buy businesses in the space industry as the UK gears up to operate two space ports for private and military satellites. US rival Lockheed Martin told the Telegraph this week it was planning to build its first satellite factory in Britain in anticipation of growth in this sector. French aerospace giant Airbus earlier this week complained about German foot-dragging on defence spending, which is likely to hold up Eurofighter construction. Mr Woodburn was more optimistic, saying Germany is still likely to replace many of its Eurofighters with newer models. BAE has delivered the first eight of 24 Eurofighter Typhoons it is building for Qatar. Mr Woodburn said: All of our big programmes are either stable or growing. And on top of that, we've got additional new programmes coming in. So I think the confidence and the momentum in the business is certainly as strong as I've ever seen. Revenue last year rose 9pc to 23.3bn, while earnings before interest and tax rose 12pc to 2.5bn. Mr Woodburn said he is confident in future growth prospects as NATO members order more weapons, with BAE predicting sales could rise by 3pc to 5pc this year. The company is currently ramping up production of ammunition to meet the needs of Ukraines armed forces and to maintain the UKs stocks. A group of people thought to be migrants are brought into Dover on 7 February. (Getty) A record number of people are waiting for a decision on their UK asylum application, new data has revealed. A total of 160,919 asylum seekers were waiting for an initial decision on their claim at the end of December, up 60% from 100,564 for the same period last year. Rishi Sunak has said dealing with the backlog and clamping down on illegal Channel crossings are a priority for his time in office. He has come under fire for the government's handling of the issue, including over the costs involved in housing asylum seekers in hotels across the country. Read more: Thousands of asylum cases to be fast-tracked in bid to cut soaring backlog Rishi Sunak has pledged to deal with the backlog. (PA) Some 90% of people arriving in the UK in 2022 after crossing the Channel claimed asylum or were recorded as a dependant on an asylum application. What support do asylum seekers in the UK receive? People who have applied for asylum in the UK will be provided with support from the government. The two biggest benefits are 45 per person in the household each week and a place to live. Pregnant women or people with a child under three will be given between 3 to 5 per week extra. Pregnant women can also apply for a one-off 300 maternity payment. Asylum seekers are also given full access to NHS services, including prescriptions and dental care. They can also get free eye tests and help to buy glasses. Read more: 12,000 asylum seekers to have cases fast-tracked in bid to clear backlog The government has been struggling to find places to home migrants while they wait for their applications. Those seen here are being housed at Napier Barracks in Folkestone. (PA) Children will also be given a place at school, which they must attend, and may qualify for free school meals. If the asylum seeker is placed in accommodation that offers a meal, such as a hotel, then their allowance is cut from 45 a week to 8.24. Asylum seekers are not allowed to work in the UK and cannot apply for most normal benefits like Universal Credit. If the decision on whether to grant asylum is taking an extended amount of time the asylum seeker can apply for special permission to work. Once asylum has been granted then they will be granted permission to work in the UK. Story continues How big is the backlog? The backlog has been rising sharply in recent years and is now over 160,000 - the highest it has ever been since current records began in 2010. The number of people waiting more than six months for a decision stood at 109,641 at the end of 2022, up 77% year-on-year from 61,864. Of the 160,000 people currently seeking asylum, 89,398 of those applications were made in 2022 - the highest since 2003. The number of illegal channel crossings has soared in recent years. (PA) This has led to more than 100,000 people waiting more than six months for an initial decision. The applications made in 2022 were multiethnic, with people from many different nations trying to be granted asylum in the UK. Albania was the most common nationality applying for asylum in the UK in 2022, with just over 14,000. Afghans came second with 10,000 asylum applications in 2022 out of the nearly 90,000 total. How does the UK compare to other European countries? Although there has been a lot of media coverage about the number of asylum seekers trying to settle in the UK, many other European nations are seeing an even larger surge in applications. For years Germany has seen the highest number of asylum seekers out of all the major countries in Europe. In the year ending in September 2022, the UK had received around 80,000 applications compared to Germany's nearly 300,000. France also took more with 175,000 applications and Spain had around 125,000. Every year since 2018 Germany, France and Spain have all taken more asylum seekers than the UK. Colin Yeo, an author and statistician who specialise in the UK's immigration system said: "The UK is not a 'magnet' for refugees, the vast majority claim asylum elsewhere." The U.S. Supreme Court this week wrestled with arguments from Google (GOOG) (GOOGL), Twitter, and Facebook (META), in two sister cases that say the companies should be liable for aiding and abetting terrorist attacks allegedly tied to content posted to their platforms. In the cases, Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh, the court could set new boundaries to interpret Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a 1996 law that arguably supports the economic models of social media and other interactive websites hosting third party contentand antiterrorism laws that allow victims of international terrorist attacks to seek compensation from those who aid and abet the assaults. Section 230 law broadly exempts websites from legal liability when harm is caused by that content. Section 2333 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, as amended, allows U.S. nationals injured by an act of international terrorism perpetrated by a designated foreign terrorist organization to sue those who sponsor the attacks. The court is expected to hand down rulings in both cases before July. Legal experts say that justices across the ideological spectrum made strange bedfellows in their reluctance to broadly tackle the difficult issues presented by both Section 230 and the antiterrorism laws. However, in some sense, that may be a blessing in disguise, Doug Mirell, a partner with the law firm Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger and Section 230 expert, told Yahoo Finance. At least to the extent it motivates Congress to finally address, in a bipartisan way, the defects that the past quarter century of experience has revealed. One potential reason for treading lightly: limiting 230 protection, said attorney Neama Rahmani, could upend the economic models that sustain social media platforms and other sites that rely on others content to fuel lucrative advertising markets. More liability could push sites to remove significantly more or less potentially harmful or offensive content and expose sites to higher legal expenses. Story continues If I can sue Google instead of suing some idiot on the internet, Im going to sue Google with its unlimited budget, Rahmani said. [The justices] dont want litigation and frivolous lawsuits. Rahmani expects unanimous or near unanimous decisions from the court, given his impression that conservative justices Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas and centrist justice John Roberts seemed to back away from interest in overhauling Section 230. I think people were concerned before the arguments that theres a chance that 230 could be struck down, Rahmani said. I give it absolutely no chance of happening. Beatriz Gonzalez and Jose Hernandez, the mother and stepfather of Nohemi Gonzalez who was fatally shot in the 2015 Paris attacks, listen to Attorney Eric Schnapper speak outside the U.S. Supreme Court after justices heard arguments in Gonzalez v. Google in Washington, U.S., February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Ben Berkowitz, a partner at the law firm Keker, Van Nest & Peters, who helped file an amicus brief on behalf of Google in the Gonzalez case, said the justices were right to worry about expanding litigation against platforms that neutrally host and recommend internet content. This is an issue that impacts not only the platforms, but all internet content creators and users. In other words, all of us, Berkowitz said. After this weeks arguments, we remain cautiously optimistic that the Supreme Court will take these concerns seriously. Justice Neil Gorsuch suggested during arguments in Gonzalez that algorithms by design are incapable of genuine neutrality. Mirell, the 230 expert, added: even if the justices are inclined to alter the platforms' immunity, that impulse should be constrained by the narrow facts presented in the cases. In each case, he explained, the plaintiffs base their claims on unique circumstances that allow suits against those who aid and abet terrorism under the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act. Instead of doing anything to change 230, he said, the justices could take the off-ramp suggested by Justice Amy Coney Barrett and hold that the platforms' conduct doesn't qualify as aiding and abetting terrorism. In Gonzalez, argued on Tuesday, the plaintiffs' proposed that YouTubes organizational algorithms that recommended harmful ISIS terrorist regime videos to targeted users should be treated not as third party content, but as content created by YouTube. The recommendation and accompanying video thumbnail generated by YouTube, they claim, is not covered by Section 230s liability shield. The case was brought by family members of Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen killed in a December 2015 ISIS shooting at Paris' La Belle Equipe bistro, who say Googles YouTube service knowingly permitted and recommended, via algorithms, inflammatory ISIS-created videos that allegedly played a key role in recruiting Gonzalezs attackers. On Wednesday, in the Twitter case, the plaintiffs said they should be permitted to hold the social media company, as well as sites like Googles YouTube and Metas Facebook, legally responsible for "knowingly" providing substantial assistance to ISIS by hosting the terrorist regime's content through willful blindness." The case was brought by relatives of Nawras Alassaf, a Jordanian man killed in a 2017 ISIS attack in Turkey, who allege that the social media sites served as ISIS vehicle of choice in spreading propaganda. Twitter argues that it cannot be held liable under the antiterrorism laws because it provides generic, widely available services to its users, regularly working to detect and prevent terrorism-related content. The company said it didn't "knowingly" provide substantial assistance to the terrorists, as required by law, and that the plaintiff failed to show that the terrorists used its platform in connection with the specific attack that injured the plaintiff. Asked if he foresees a scenario where the court carves out an exception where a platform providing generic services can be held liable for aiding terrorism, Rahmani said it's possible, yet unlikely. "The justices know its going to be very hard to make a suggestion that doesnt swallow the rule," he said. Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on Twitter @alexiskweed. Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and YouTube Find live stock market quotes and the latest business and finance news ISLAMABAD, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan police killed six terrorists during an encounter in the country's northwest Lakki Marwat district, local media reported on Thursday. Local media quoting official sources reported that the personnel of the Counter Terrorism Department of police raided a place on intelligence information in the Dodiwala area of the district in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province early Thursday morning. The terrorists opened fire at police after they were asked to surrender, which led to a heavy exchange of fire, said the reports, adding that all six terrorists were killed on the spot. Four of the killed were recognized as members of the banned terrorist organization Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, police said. Police also found a large cache of ammunition, automatic guns and hand grenades from the possession of the terrorists. An official source told Xinhua that the security forces also conducted an operation in the country's northwest tribal district of North Waziristan on Wednesday night and arrested six terrorists, including three suicide bombers, who were planning to attack the forces in the region. A Ferndale man is facing felony child abuse charges after he allegedly hit, choked and fractured the elbow of a 10-year-old boy known to him during an argument. Anthony Douglas Hines, also known as Anthony Douglas Ashe, 43, was charged Tuesday, Feb. 21, with one count of second-degree assault of a child in Whatcom County Superior Court. Hines was arrested Friday, Feb. 17, and made his first appearance in court Tuesday. Hines bail was set at $10,000 bond or $1,000 cash. He was still incarcerated in the Whatcom County Jail as of Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 22, jail records show. Shortly after 10:15 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16, Ferndale police went to St. Josephs hospital for a child abuse report that occurred within Ferndale city limits. Ferndale police spoke with a woman who said she had received a frantic voice message while at work on Wednesday, Feb. 15, from her 7-year-old daughter. The girl told the woman that Hines had hit and choked a 10-year-old boy, according to court records. The woman told police she left work and went to check on the two children. The 10-year-old boy told the woman that Hines had become upset with him after Hines accused the boy of putting his hand into Hines left-over birthday cake, the court records state. Hines became angry and allegedly pulled the 10-year-old boys left arm behind his back and took him to the ground. Hines then sat on top of the child, punched him in the head and strangled the child, the court records state. The 10-year-old boy had visible injuries to his face, back and elbow, including a contusion, scratches and bruising. It was later determined the boys left elbow was fractured from the assault, according to court records. The woman told police she feared for her and her childrens lives, so she picked the kids up from school the following day, on Feb. 16, and stayed with a family member. She also took the boy to the hospital due to his injuries, the court records state. Hines was then arrested Friday, court and jail records show. Story continues A temporary civil protection order was also filed and put in place Feb. 17 between Hines and the woman and two children, according to court records. Resources If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault, you can contact the following local resources for free, confidential support: Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services: 24-hour Help Line: 360-715-1563, Email: info@dvsas.org. Brigid Collins Family Support Center: 360-734-4616, brigidcollins.org. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Eternal Flame and the Unknown Soldier's Grave As Russian T-64 battle tanks rumbled across Ukraines border one year ago tomorrow, Vladimir Putin said: Whoever would try to stop us and further create threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russias response will be immediate and lead you to such consequences that you have never faced in your history. We are ready for any outcome. The outcome he was not ready for, however and neither were many others was that 12 months later the Russian army would be bogged down in the east of Ukraine having lost thousands of men and a substantial amount of equipment. It was expected that the Kremlins mighty battle machine would be in Kyiv within days, toppling the government of Volodymyr Zelensky and installing a pro-Moscow puppet regime. Yet the attempt to take the Ukrainian capital foundered and the Russians were forced to withdraw, leaving behind the evidence of atrocities that have been the grisly hallmark of its soldiers down the centuries. What President Putin still calls a special military operation was refocused to carve out for Russia the eastern provinces that had been locked in civil war since 2014. The Russian leaders miscalculations have been legion. Not only did he fatally underestimate Ukrainians determination to defend their homeland but he misjudged the Wests willingness to support them in this endeavour. As millions of mothers and children fled west from Ukraine, homes were opened across Europe to accommodate the refugees, while the men and younger women stayed behind to fight. Above all, having stalled Russias initial thrust, Kyiv needed weapons and Britain led the way in ensuring it got them. Boris Johnson, then prime minister, galvanised Western support at a time when it looked likely to weaken. President Macron of France was pursuing a fruitless strategy of engagement with Moscow while the Germans, heavily reliant on Russian energy, were reluctant to get involved. Now they are ready to supply Ukraine with more weapons (but need to get on with it) and, crucially, are weaning themselves off the Kremlins oil and gas. By next winter, Russian energy markets in the West will have all but dried up, forcing it to sell its output at a discount to countries like China and India still willing to buy it. Story continues Putins failure to achieve a swift win has geopolitical consequences that have yet to become fully apparent. Since Nato has pulled together, Russia has had to seek out its own alliances. Ominously, China reaffirmed its tacit support with a visit to Moscow by Wang Yi, a senior diplomat, raising speculation that Beijing might supply Russia with weapons, dangerously destabilising the global power balance. More optimistically, China might rein in Russia by making clear that the reckless rhetoric about nuclear war needs to end. On his visit to Kyiv earlier this week, Joe Biden said the world was backing Ukraine, but sadly that is not the case. India and other non-aligned countries are pursuing a policy of strategic ambivalence. Russian naval exercises are under way off the coast of South Africa. Many national leaders believe Ukraine cannot win. This is the key question. Is a military victory in fact possible unless Nato commits aircraft and risks a direct confrontation with Russia? President Biden says America will support Ukraine for as long as it takes, but he wont be in the White House forever and there is a growing Republican backlash against continuing US military provision. A major demonstration is taking place in Berlin this weekend in protest at Germanys agreement to help re-arm Ukraine with its Leopard 2 tanks. France is ostensibly supportive of Kyiv and yet has sent less military help than most. President Macrons position remains hard to decipher as he tries to keep open a dialogue with Putin. These EU leaders are guided by public opinion which is not as wholeheartedly behind Ukraine as it is in Britain. Apart from Jeremy Corbyn and his cheerleaders on the far Left, no one has argued against British military support for Ukraine. The true plaudits must go to the Ukrainian people who have to live with this nightmare and are braced for worse to come as Russia launches a counter-offensive. Who can tell where we will be a year from now? But as Tony Blair writes in this newspaper today, one thing is clear: Putin cannot be allowed to win. ATLANTA (AP) The foreperson of a special grand jury that investigated whether former President Donald Trump and his allies illegally interfered in the 2020 election in Georgia raised some eyebrows this week when she gave interviews about a process that is typically cloaked in secrecy. But a special grand jury is different from a regular grand jury, and it's an investigative tool that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis chose to help evaluate the facts in the case. WHAT IS A SPECIAL GRAND JURY? A special grand jury, or special purpose grand jury, is impaneled specifically to investigate any alleged violation of the laws of the state of Georgia. HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM A REGULAR GRAND JURY? A regular grand jury in Georgia is seated for a limited duration, one term of court in Fulton County thats two months. Grand jurors hear everything from felony shoplifting to murder cases and then decide whether to issue an indictment. A special grand jury has no set term and focuses on a single topic. Unlike a regular grand jury, a special grand jury can subpoena the target of an investigation to appear before it, former Gwinnett County district attorney Danny Porter said. When the investigation is done, a special grand jury produces a report on its findings but cant issue an indictment. WHY USE A SPECIAL GRAND JURY? Special grand juries are used for an expansive topic that takes longer than a single term of court to investigate and often has to do with public corruption, Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia executive director Pete Skandalakis said. Its usually because its a very labor-intensive investigation thats going to take a while to do, he said, adding the investigation could involve calling witnesses, poring over documents and consulting experts. The election case would be an ideal case for a special purpose grand jury, Porter said. Thats because its likely a complex case with a lot of witnesses and potential logistical concerns that will take more time and focus than a regular grand jury is able to spend, he said. Story continues WHAT IS THE PROCESS? An elected public official in a county or a municipality within a county can ask the chief judge of the superior court in that county to impanel a special grand jury. Its generally requested by a district attorney. After receiving the request, the chief judge submits it to the judges of the superior court for a vote. If a majority of the judges vote in favor, the special grand jury is seated. It is made up of between 16 and 23 people who are summoned from the county master jury list. A special grand jury can compel evidence and subpoena witnesses for questioning. It can inspect records, documents and correspondence of state or local government officials and their offices, and can require any person or company to produce records, documents or correspondence related to the subject it is investigating. When the special grand jury finished its investigation, it issued a final report of its findings and also recommended action. The judge has said the report includes "a roster of who should (or should not) be indicted, and for what, in relation to the conduct (and aftermath) of the 2020 general election in Georgia. But its up to the district attorney to decide whether to pursue an indictment. If the district attorney wants to seek an indictment, the case must be presented to a regular grand jury. ARE SPECIAL GRAND JURIES COMMON? No. Skandalakis said there have probably only been a handful of special grand juries used in the entire state of Georgia in recent decades and its very uncommon for a district attorney to ask that one be impaneled. WHAT DID THE FOREPERSON REVEAL ABOUT THE PROCESS? Emily Kohrs, a 30-year-old Fulton County resident, described some of what happened behind the closed doors of the jury room including how some witnesses behaved, how prosecutors interacted with witnesses and how some witnesses invoked their rights not to answer certain questions. She told The Associated Press that prosecutors told the grand jurors they could read and watch the news but urged them to keep an open mind. The judge overseeing the special grand jury, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, told the grand jurors they could discuss what witnesses said and what is in the report but could not talk about deliberations. Key Insights Significant control over Deutsche Beteiligungs by individual investors implies that the general public has more power to influence management and governance-related decisions The top 25 shareholders own 42% of the company 32% of Deutsche Beteiligungs is held by insiders Every investor in Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (ETR:DBAN) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that individual investors own the lion's share in the company with 57% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn). Individual insiders, on the other hand, account for 32% of the company's stockholders. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Deutsche Beteiligungs. Check out our latest analysis for Deutsche Beteiligungs What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Deutsche Beteiligungs? Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing. As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Deutsche Beteiligungs. 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 Deutsche Beteiligungs, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too. Story continues Deutsche Beteiligungs is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Dirk Rossmann, with ownership of 25%. Ricardo Portabella is the second largest shareholder owning 6.7% of common stock, and Dimensional Fund Advisors LP holds about 2.8% of the company stock. Our studies suggest that the top 25 shareholders collectively control less than half of the company's shares, meaning that the company's shares are widely disseminated and there is no dominant shareholder. While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily. Insider Ownership Of Deutsche Beteiligungs 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. Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances. Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Deutsche Beteiligungs AG. It has a market capitalization of just 569m, and insiders have 180m worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling. General Public Ownership The general public -- including retail investors -- own 57% of Deutsche Beteiligungs. This size of ownership gives investors from the general public some collective power. They can and probably do influence decisions on executive compensation, dividend policies and proposed business acquisitions. Next Steps: It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand Deutsche Beteiligungs better, we need to consider many other factors. To that end, you should be aware of the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Deutsche Beteiligungs . But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter 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. 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 The White House on Thursday dismissed Republican attacks on Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg over his handling of a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, as pure politics. Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended Buttigieg in response to GOP lawmakers who have called on him to resign and questioned his competence in the job in the aftermath of the Feb. 3 train derailment, which spilled toxic chemicals. Theres been a lot of bad faith attacks on Secretary Buttigieg, Jean-Pierre said at a briefing with reporters. And the reason why we believe its bad faith is if you remember, Elaine Chao she was the head of the Department of Transportation, and when there was these types of chemical spills, nobody was calling for her to be fired. Nobody was calling for what theyre calling for Secretary Pete, Jean-Pierre continued. It is pure politics, it is pure political stunts what theyre doing. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has taken the brunt of Republican criticism of the Biden administrations response to the Norfolk Southern train derailment, with lawmakers and conservative pundits questioning why it took until Thursday for him to visit East Palestine. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has called for Buttigieg to resign in the aftermath of the incident. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) also blasted Buttigieg last week for his failure to address the situation in his home state, ripping the secretary over comments about diversity in the construction industry. The White House on Thursday defended its handling of the derailment, noting that Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and FEMA officials were on the ground hours after the incident happened. Buttigieg traveled to East Palestine on Thursday to meet with local leaders and community members. A Department of Transportation spokesperson said Wednesday that the timing of Buttigiegs visit was because the EPA, which is leading the federal response, was moving out of the emergency response phase. The Department of Transportation will continue to do its part by helping get to the bottom of what caused the derailment and implementing rail safety measures, and we hope this sudden bipartisan support for rail safety will result in meaningful changes in Congress, the spokesperson said. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The White House on Thursday said there are no plans at this time for President Biden to travel to the site of a trail derailment disaster in Ohio while defending the administrations response amid Republican criticism. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked multiple times by reporters if Biden had any plans to visit East Palestine, whether such a plan is even under discussion and if the potential environmental disaster site rose to the level of a presidential visit. I dont have anything to share on a presidential visit, not at this time, or anything to announce. But it does matter that the president put forth a multi-agency kind of reaction to this, taking it seriously, Jean-Pierre said. She defended the decision for Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to visit the site of the derailment this week instead of Biden, who just returned from a trip to Ukraine and Poland. Showing up is having the Environmental Protection administer on the ground, showing up is having the Transportation secretary on the ground all these guys are on the ground at the direction of this president, she said. Jean-Pierre also noted that there was no reason to struggle over why Biden hasnt yet been to the site of the crash that occurred on Feb. 3. But Republican criticism was exacerbated this week when East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said on Monday that Bidens trip to Ukraine that day was the biggest slap in the face, and that it showed the president doesnt care about us. Then President Trump visited the town on Wednesday, blasting the Biden administration for indifference and betrayal in what he said was a lack of response. Jean-Pierre noted several times during Thursdays briefing that the EPA responded to the site of the crash early the next morning. The president has no events on his public schedule for the rest of Thursday. The only thing scheduled on Friday is a virtual meeting with Group of Seven leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to mark the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion. Story continues Jean-Pierre said that while overseas, Biden took calls on the matter in Ohio and got updates from agency leaders. When Buttigieg traveled to the site of the derailment on Thursday, he called on Trump to support the Biden administration in reversing Trump-era deregulations. The White House has blamed Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration for lax railway and environmental safety regulations in the aftermath of the derailment. Buttigiegs visit aligned with when the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued its initial findings from investigators on the ground. The preliminary report tentatively corroborated reports that a wheel bearing severely overheated ahead of the accident. NTSB said investigators have examined the first car to derail the 23rd overall as well as local surveillance footage, which seemingly shows a wheel bearing in late-stage overheat failure immediately ahead of the accident. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Nigeria elections youth vote A passerby walks past campaign posters for Nigeria's Labour Party presidential and vice presidential candidates Peter Obi and Ahmed Datti, as well as the All Progressive Congress presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu, , on February, 21, 2023 for the general election in Lagos, Nigeria. Credit - Andrew EsieboThe Washington Post via Getty Images Anyone interested in the future of democracy should pay attention to Nigeria this week. On Feb. 25, the country heads to the polls to elect a new President and parliament in what may be its most competitive, free, and fair election yet. The seventh national vote since Nigerias transition from military rule in 1999, this election will be the first in which none of the leading candidatesBola Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar, and Peter Obiare former military commanders. Obis lead in the polls, as the candidate of the small Labor Party, has disrupted what was expected to be another two-party contest marred by vote buying. A surge in registration among younger voters and new technologies to ensure the credibility of the vote are also fueling a sense of cautious optimism. Thats good newsnot just for Nigeria, but for democracy around the world. Nigeria is already Africas most populous country and its population is expected to overtake the U.S. by 2050, to become the worlds second-largest democracy. A credible election would position Nigeria as a global democratic leader and bolster Africas position as a source for democratic momentum. With 76% of new voters under the age of 34, youth are key to this transition. They are already playing a central role in a democratic awakening; in 2020, it was the youth-led #EndSARS movement, a reference to Nigerias Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), that energized millions of people fed up with police brutality, corruption, and broader government dysfunction to become new voters. These voters expect democracy to deliver better than it has, given rising poverty and pervasive violence, which the government has used to justify the erosion of human rights. More than 10,000 Nigerians were killed by bandits, jihadists, separatists, police, or the army in the past year alone. Story continues Still, voters are more optimistic than in 2019 when Muhammadu Buhari, a general who ruled the country from 1983 to 1985 following a military coup, won a second term as a civilian President in a ballot plagued by delays, violence, voting irregularities, and intimidation of the political opposition. Since then, the work of civil society groups has prompted Nigerias parliament and government to adopt electoral reforms and empower the Independent National Electoral Commission. For its part, the U.S. has sought to bolster democratic development in Africa, seeing it as critical to American interests as China seeks to make inroads in the continent. Congress has appropriated funds, through grant-making institutions like the National Endowment for Democracy, to bolster the role of civil society and independent media in many African nations. During a recent trip to Nigeria, I witnessed how this support is enabling civic actors like Yiaga Africa to coordinate a massive national effort to monitor elections. The Kimpact Development Initiative is doing groundbreaking work using data to help mitigate election-related violence. The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project is helping defend journalists and press freedoms. Meanwhile, Anvarie Tech is tapping Big Brother television stars and popular musicians to ensure greater awareness of the electoral process and civic rights, while Joy Inc.s documentaries spark public debate on police reforms. Thats just a tiny sampling of the ways Nigerians are acting to achieve the free and fair free election they deserve. Although democracy has faced recent headwinds around the world, Africa could help usher in a global democratic renewal. The continent has seen a string of electionsin Malawi, Zambia, The Gambia, Mauritius, Lesotho, and Kenyathat have bolstered democracy. Even Angolas undemocratic process has seen an opposition movement win 44% of the vote. A successful election on Saturday in Nigeria could encourage Senegal to stay the course and set the scene for upcoming votes in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country as large as Western Europe. Free and fair voting would also empower Nigeria to press its northern Sahel neighbors to end military rule and help hold Zimbabwe to account as it votes this year. Showing that democracy delivers will be the test for Nigerias new leaders. Less bureaucratic control of Nigerias economy, for example, could unleash its creative potential already evident in the jobs and world-class products produced by Nigerias tech sector and film and music industry. With democracy under attack in so many places throughout the world, Nigeria deepening its democratic roots is a major development worth watching and supporting by freedom-loving societies everywhere. Scandinavian storytelling is looking to grow its North American fanbase further as streamer Viaplay launched in the U.S. on Wednesday and is next setting its eyes on Canada. The streaming service ended 2022 with more than 7.3 million subscribers, with 37 percent, or nearly 2.7 million, of them being outside the Nordics, namely the Baltic countries, the U.K., Poland and the Netherlands. Now, Viaplay has debuted in the U.S. and will further expand to Canada on March 7. More from The Hollywood Reporter Overseeing the latest international expansion is Vanda Rapti, Viaplay Group Chief Commercial Officer, North America & Viaplay Select. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, she explained the appeal of Nordic Noir, why Viaplay has more than that to offer and how the service will fit into a competitive streaming landscape. Viaplay is known as a big player in the genre of Nordic Noir. How appealing is that to people in North America and is that your main selling point? The genre is very popular. We say Nordic Noir is just the beginning, because for us it is all about the Nordic storytelling. It is a way of filming, a way of telling the story high quality, suspenseful, atmospheric, very intriguing, appealing, gritty and provocative. Do you see much competition from other streamers in this genre? Competition here is actually working to our advantage. In the U.S., AMC and Sundance have already offered this type of content, and Netflix has shown some of its Nordic originals, as well as Viaplays popular 2017 show Occupied. But obviously, we are the No. 1 in the genre, because we have a super-large while at the same time top-quality slate of Nordic content. Story continues Our Viaplay series and films are not only Nordic or Nordic-language ones, but we are commissioning or co-producing other European originals that follow the Nordic storytelling that is quite appealing. We love to create stories with international appeal, often shot in the English language (e.g. Hilma, The Dreamer Becoming Karen Blixen and Stockholm Bloodbath), which have an anchor in the Nordics. We are targeting audiences that have understand and appreciate European series and films, enjoy international content, love Nordic-origin Hollywood stars and that love interesting, unique stories. The target audience is definitely much larger han expats or those with a direct connection to the region: all those who want strong quality content. Are there any target areas or demographics that this applies to in particular? We have a targeted approach. Our core target audience is savvy people who like foreign films and series and choose and prioritize new culture experiences. There are also well-educated people who have work, but still prioritize downtime. We can target them through good, targeted digital marketing. With regards to other audiences, because I believe in the strength of our content and I am convinced that we should go beyond those who are already conscious of their love of Nordic storytelling, we have initiatives to get a wider audience to try and enjoy our content. The most efficient way to approach audiences outside the core target group is through special partnerships, not only with carriers such as Roku and other platforms, but business-to-consumer partnerships. Here you can offer a special promotion and give opportunities to segments of people that would take the opportunity to explore a new service because they are presented with an offer, standalone or bundled with other products they are purchasing. In Hollywood, producers and streamers often look for franchises and spin-offs. How much do you target such continuing programming and characters? We do, too, and have many shows where we have commissioned a second or third season. We also look at top actors and actresses, but Nordic and international, who star in star in our series and films. Audiences that love their work on U.S. show, are likely to be interested in watching them in the shows on Viaplay. In addition, when it comes to box sets we have a lot of series with volume of seasons, some of them commissioned by Nordic public broadcasters that have been very successful within their market and internationally. How has your international expansion affected your original programming strategy and do you try to target new countries with new originals? Even in our local content commissioned primarily for one market, we aim to have broader appeal, so that, for example, a Norwegian show also would be a strong premiere for our audiences in the Netherlands and Poland. Furthermore, we are commissioning or co-producing English-language content, which possibly has a connection with the Nordics or our other core markets, but has an international cast. The show is in whole or part in English, and might be taking place in the U.S., U.K. or elsewhere. One example is the film Hilma, directed by Oscar nominee Lasse Hallstrom (Chocolat, The Cider House Rules), a biopic of Swedish artist Hilma af Klint co-starring Lena Olin (Hunters, Alias). Another example is the Viaplay series Cell 8. It is a story that starts in the Nordics, but evolves mostly in the U.S. as the lead character had been on death row in the U.S. It is one of my favorites, a super-strong thriller, personal drama, and provocative as it touches on a number of U.S. matters. So, indeed we have international or U.S.-linked Viaplay shows with some anchor or connection to the Nordics. In addition, we have commissioned our first Viaplay Series in the U.K., (Ian Rankins) Rebus, with distribution rights for the world. From our English-language original slate, you have seen a lot of our shows in the U.S. on other networks. For example, Last Light with Matthew Fox is on Peacock, it was originally developed by us; Billy The Kid on Epix, The Holiday on (Charters) Spectrum, Kin and Litvinenko on AMC a few examples of our international originals on which, if commissioned today, we may have kept the U.S. rights. How often do you plan to launch new content on the service and how key is it to keep programming fresh? We will follow the one-premiere-per-week promise. Personally, I dont believe that one new show every week is what makes the difference for a niche service. Yes, we have enough premieres to have one every week. But but it is the strength of the offering and a good refresh rate that matters. On our direct-to-consumer platform, we will be lifting our key recommendations as we see fit. On partnering platforms, we are aiming for editorial recommendations pushed through the partners that would help the customers discover the content. Some top shows can play again and again on the top lists because they are still new for the vast majority of people. So, for a specialized and new service like Viaplay in the U.S., I wouldnt preclude pushing a strong show, simply because it originally premiered some months ago. There are millions of people in the U.S. who have not seen it and when new subscribers come to the platform, we would give them the opportunity to the best shows. We should just try to maximize the value of the content throughout the year while having a healthy refresh rate and following the one- premiere-a-week promise. Is there anything else about the Viaplay U.S. launch that you feel is important to highlight? What we are doing in the U.S. is that we are maximizing three strengths of Viaplay Group. One is that we have a massive content pipeline with really strong productions we have invested in, predominantly for the growth of our broad markets in Europe. That gives us so much independence as we have so much control over so much good content that is, arguably already paid for. The second part, which has helped us grow as a company, is our acquisition leverage. Both when we commission as well as when we acquire content, we buy rights for enough markets, which gives us fair leverage on favorable terms. Of course, if a global streamer, such as Netflix, comes on board with a strong wish to acquire and pay the value of global rights, it might not make sense for us to compete, but we have enough marketing leverage to allow us to use our scale cost-efficiently. The third part is that our product and tech are state of the art. This is relevant both for our direct-to-consumer platform and for the technical integration ability with partners. This is a bit of a differentiating factor between us and the other niche players in the U.S., neither of which international or domestic has had product and tech or direct-to-consumer in their tradition and DNA. This interview was edited for length and clarity. Click here to read the full article. An Augusta woman recently was arrested after authorities say she purposefully crashed into the Popeyes restaurant on Walton Way. The 50-year-old Augusta woman is charged with felony aggravated assault and criminal damage to property in the first degree. Just after 7:45 p.m. Saturday, Richmond County sheriff's deputies responded to the chicken restaurant for an accident with injuries. The Popeyes manager told deputies the woman drove her SUV into the east entrance after she became upset that her order did not have any biscuits, according to the incident report. Conviction upheld:Court upholds conviction for Augusta mother who fatally stabbed 2-year-old EMS update:Who is Central EMS? Get the details on Augusta's likely ambulance service provider One of the employees, who was standing by the entrance, was almost struck by the car during the incident, noted deputies. The woman continued driving after hitting and entering the building until her car was stopped by debris, according to arrest warrants. After crashing into the restaurant, the woman fled the scene, heading south on Gordon Highway, according to the report. Her car was later found at her home with front-end damage. Prior to the incident, the manager said the woman made several threats to staff, even calling and threatening to drive her car into the building, according to the report. This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Woman arrested after crashing into Popeyes on Walton Way in Augusta ASTANA, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and two others were injured when an Mi-8 helicopter made a hard landing in west Kazakhstan on Thursday, the country's Ministry of Emergency Situations said. The helicopter with five crew members and an employee of an oil company on board fell to the ground 54 km from the city of Uralsk, the ministry said. Rescuers have arrived at the scene to provide first aid for the injured. In January 2021, Becky was diagnosed with a rare auto immune condition, systemic sclerosis (Simon Greatbatch/PA Real Life) A woman was diagnosed with a devastating and rare autoimmune condition that hardens her internal organs after a routne blood test - and took control of her life by having a Lord of the Rings-themed wedding, complete with hobbit centrepieces and elven lanterns. Becky Unwin, 34, was over the moon when fellow Tolkien enthusiast, Jack, 28, a senior projects engineer, proposed in Edinburgh in May 2017, welcoming a son, Albert, now four, just over a year later in July 2018. But in January 2021 the family was struck with heartache when Becky was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition, systemic sclerosis, that causes the hardening of her internal organs, prompting the pair to book their wedding and make the most of life. Tying the knot in front of 40 family and friends on December 1, 2022, the Lord of the Rings-mad couple agreed the only suitable theme for their wedding would be the famous fantasy films, creating centrepieces, flower arrangements, cakes and signs to represent their shared love. My son, Albert, already requests to watch it, laughed Becky. I think I would be a dwarf and Jack would be an elf, because hes tall. Were always listening to the books or watching the film. There was no question it was going to be part of our wedding day. Meeting Jack whilst the pair worked at a hotel in the Peak District, the couple fell madly in love. I was the hotel manager and Jack worked there, so I was his boss, said Becky. Lord of the Rings was one of the first things we talked about. In May 2017, Becky was over the moon when Jack proposed, and the pair decided to start trying for a baby right away. I got told when I was in my 20s, that it would be hard to conceive, she explained. (PA Real Life) So, we initially started trying thinking that we would get married after Jack finished university and then by that time, we would have been trying for at least a year before seeing a specialist. But I got pregnant straight away. Jack lived in London for university while I lived in Sheffield. Story continues I lived by myself for most of my pregnancy, so Jack bought me two gerbils. We named them Gimli and Gandalf, after the characters in Lord of the Rings. In July 2018, Becky gave birth to their son, Albert. Albert was born by an emergency c-section, she said. He wasnt breathing when he was born and then had strep B, so we stayed in hospital a few more days, but he was fine. (PA Real Life) New arrival Albert was quickly introduced to Lord of the Rings, with Becky saying he has quickly fallen in love with the epic tales. We watch them frequently, not every week, but enough to know the extended editions word for word, laughed Becky. Its always playing in the car or on the TV and were always quoting it. My favourite part of the film is Legolas and Gimlis friendship. Its just part of our everyday life and Albert loves it too. However, in January 2021 the family were devastated when Becky was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune condition, systemic sclerosis, after a routine blood test. Systemic sclerosis is an auto immune condition that deposits collagen in the skin and tissue while some forms can be mild, Beckys condition causes the tissue of her internal organs to harden. I go to the hospital every three months to be checked out and go for scans and stuff, she said. (PA Real Life) Im not going to tell Albert until hes old enough to understand or if it gets to that point where we know Im on my last legs. I could have many years ahead in which case he is going to be old enough to understand. But the couple refused to let Beckys diagnosis affect them and the pair decided that life was too short and booked their wedding for December 1 2022. Sadly Jacks grandma and my grandma passed away so we were both left a bit of money, said Becky. After my diagnosis we decided to book the wedding. We used 1,000 from the money to put a deposit down on a venue. Meanwhile, there was no argument over what the theme of the big day would be sourcing decorations, however, proved a more difficult task. Before Rings of Power came out a lot of stuff was hard to get hold of, she said. Im just making the most of everything I had to get a lot of things from eBay and we made a lot ourselves. My mum and dad did Lord of the Rings invitations and we made our own themed signs throughout the venue with Tolkiens maps on. She added: Everything was the same green from the film, including the bridesmaid dresses. The flower girl and my son both had action figures, one of Arwen and the other of Aragon. My bridesmaids carried elven lanterns down the aisle and each table was a different part of Middle Earth, so the centrepiece was a model of that. That took a long time to make. The wedding cake had Sam and Rosie wedding toppers. My father-in-law made busts for our place setting of Arwen and Aragon. And Gandalf was the topper for our cheesecake for the evening. Just like the original one ring, Jacks wedding ring was forged for him. Jacks dad used a signet ring and a pair of his grandmothers earrings to make his wedding ring, added Becky. A savvy saver, Becky thrifted many items, saving over 5,000 on dresses, suits, decorations and the venue. Our venue cost 2,200 instead of 3,400 because of a last minute deal, she said. My wedding dress was only 600 but it would have been 3,000 new. I even managed to get a 1950s style dress for the evening for 60 on eBay instead of 1,000. My six bridesmaid dresses were 13 each, reduced from 90 and Jacks suit was reduced by 200. Tying the knot in front of 40 friends and family, Becky and Jack showed that one ring really does rule them all. We walked down the aisle to Concerning Hobbits from the film, said Becky. The day was just perfect. We wanted it to represent us and it did. Now, Becky is focusing on making memories with Jack and Albert and the trio are jetting off to sunny Mexico in June this year for a belated honeymoon. Its a honeymoon for all three of us, said Becky. Im just making the most of everything. After my diagnosis, I decided to get a professional photo taken of us every Christmas, so that both Jack and Albert will have precious memories to look back on. Oklahomas academic standards on computer science wont include the word diverse or any reference to bias and equity because these concepts are woke, the states top education official said. The standards for computer science classes in public schools had been under revision for eight months through a regular six-year cycle of review. These standards will dictate what topics public schools must teach in computer science classes. A day before the Oklahoma State Board of Education was set to vote on the standards, a committee of educators drafting the revisions learned the state board had proposed several changes, said Levi Patrick, a member of the committee and the executive director of the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance. Ryan Walters, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, at the Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting Thursday February 23, 2023 More:Ryan Walters proposes ban on 'sexualized content' in school libraries. What that could mean for Oklahoma These changes mostly involved removing the word diverse and replacing it with different. Multiple references to the word culture were changed to environment. To abruptly change the standards in the final hours of that process sets a dangerous precedent after it had undergone two rounds of public comment and months of intensive review, Patrick said. Students who can build technology solutions for our communities have to be thinking about the ways in which they are including others in their solutions, Patrick said. We see phrases like diverse being changed to different, which may sound mostly synonymous but they are not the same. Levi Patrick, executive director of the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance, urges the Oklahoma State Board of Education not to remove certain words like "diverse" from academic standards on computer science. Patrick was a member of the committee that spent eight months drafting the computer science standards. Patrick urged the state board not to change the wording because it undermines efforts to ensure students are responsive to all, rather than focusing on how some are different from the dominant group, according to an email he sent to the Oklahoma State Department of Education. Emails The Oklahoman obtained show the Education Department notified the committee of the boards changes before 8 a.m. Wednesday, the day before the state boards meeting. The committee had until 5 p.m. Wednesday to respond. Story continues More:Oklahoma teachers have split opinions on Ryan Walters' merit pay plan Along with removing the word diverse, the state board replaced a section that would have asked high school students to consider bias, equity and access to computing resources. This is how we get so much of this woke indoctrination being pushed in our classrooms, state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters said. Were not going to put out woke standards. Were going to put out standards that reinforce the skills we want our students to understand. The state Board of Education also approved updated academic standards for fine arts and health and physical education. Walters said the board made changes only to the proposed standards for computer science. Walters campaigned for state superintendent last year with a platform heavy on culture-war rhetoric. In his first month in office, he demanded Oklahomas public colleges and universities report how much money they spend on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Shortly after announcing to the state board on Thursday that he would form a committee to examine whether prayer should have a role in schools, the superintendent questioned whether Oklahomas state colleges are more concerned with ideology than preparing students for the workforce. He wondered aloud whether the state Education Department should continue recommending students attend state universities in Oklahoma. More:Walters says report showing Oklahoma colleges will spend millions on diversity programs is concerning Walters said the concept of diversity, equity and inclusion is used to pit different races and ethnicities against each other. When they say 'diversity, equity and inclusion' what they end up saying is 'weve got to go deeper and to understand that certain groups are diverse because other groups have held them down;' its structural, its systemic, he said. What we want kids to know is, no matter what your background is, you can be incredibly successful. Reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel covers K-12 and higher education throughout the state of Oklahoma. Have a story idea for Nuria? She can be reached at nmartinez-keel@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @NuriaMKeel. Support Nurias work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma cuts words 'diverse,' 'culture' from computer science classes While working for a life insurance company, an Iowa woman managed to steal $273,698 over 36 fraudulent transactions, according to federal prosecutors. Then authorities said she posted videos to TikTok bragging about what she was able to purchase with those stolen funds. Jordyn Darion Culp, of Dallas Center, stole life insurance proceeds from minor children of deceased federal employees and treated their trust accounts as her personal piggy bank, prosecutors said in court records. Now the 28-year-old woman has been sentenced to 18 months in prison, according to a Feb. 22 news release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Iowa. Shes also been ordered to pay back $273,698 and spend three years on supervised release following her time in prison. The defense attorney representing Culp did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on Feb. 23. Authorities said Culp stole the money from about October 2019 to September 2021. She did so by accessing beneficiaries accounts with her employee number, then authorizing payments to herself, according to the governments sentencing memorandum. Culp then transferred the money to her personal bank account, prosecutors said. With the illegally-obtained money, officials said she went on shopping trips, funded her fiances car racing hobby, ordered subscription boxes and paid for other non-essential items. She also used the funds to pay for her wedding ceremony and reception, according to court records. Culp posted TikToks discussing what she bought, authorities said, while flaunting what she described as her work bonuses. Dallas Center is about 30 miles northwest of Des Moines. Man makes up business to get COVID loans then uses money for boat wedding, feds say Nearly $1 million in COVID loans paid for PA mans diamond rings and Lexus, feds say Church worker stole over $500K for years until temporary replacement noticed, feds say By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The World Bank's executive board expects to select a new president by early May after last week's news that David Malpass will leave the top job well before his contract ends in April 2024, the bank said in a statement late on Wednesday. The 25-member board, under pressure to reform its operations to respond more aggressively to climate change and other global challenges, met for several hours on Wednesday to finalize its selection criteria and a timeline for the process. The bank's executive directors affirmed their commitment to an "open, merit-based and transparent selection process" for the new leader, and said countries could nominate candidates beginning Thursday through March 29. The United States, the bank's largest shareholder, which has been pressing for more ambitious and quicker reforms at the bank, could announce its nominee as early as Thursday, two sources familiar with the matter said. Treasury officials had no immediate comment. The World Bank board gave a list of criteria and relevant experience for would-be applicants, including "effective communication and diplomatic skills" and also said it "would strongly encourage women candidates to be nominated." The bank has never had a permanent woman president in its 77-year history, although current International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva served as acting president for about two months in early 2019. The criteria did not mention climate change. The United States has historically selected the president of the bank, but some developing countries and civil society groups are challenging that tradition. It remains unclear if other countries will nominate their own candidates to lead the bank, which provides billions of dollars a year in funding for developing economies. Malpass, a former Treasury official, was nominated by former U.S. President Donald Trump, and ran unopposed for the job. Story continues He faced pressure to resign last fall after failing to say whether he accepts the scientific consensus around climate change. Malpass later apologized and defended the bank's record on climate, but was not expected to get a second term in the job. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, now in Bengaluru, India for a meeting of the Group of 20 major economies, last week pledged to nominate a candidate soon and said she expected a "transparent, merit-based and swift nomination process." Oxfam International and other civil society groups insist the process should be opened to more candidates to improve the credibility of the institution, while others say a woman should lead the bank for the first time in its 77-year-history. Susana Malcorra, a former senior Argentine official who co-founded GWL Voices, an advocacy group for women, said it was "high time" a woman led the bank, one of 13 major multilateral organizations that have never been led by a woman. A top minister in Germany, another of the bank's largest shareholders, this week told Reuters the next president should be a woman, and underscored the need for the institution to tackle climate change as well as fight poverty. Top contenders for the post include Samantha Power, who currently leads the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under President Barack Obama, and Rajiv Shah, former USAID administrator under Obama and currently president of the Rockefeller Foundation, a philanthropic group. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Lincoln Feast) PhillipMinnis / Getty Images/iStockphoto Due to the level of taxation in much of the industrialized world, many turn to tax havens. Tax havens are places where individuals and companies go to avoid paying higher taxes. Find Out: Common Reasons Why You Might Owe Taxes This Year Read: 3 Signs You're Serious About Raising Your Credit Score The International Monetary Fund estimates that tax havens cost governments between $500 billion and $600 billion every year -- mostly in corporate tax revenue that they couldn't collect. Moreover, at least 366 companies in the Fortune 500 base at least one subsidiary in a tax haven. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), Apple had booked $252 billion offshore by 2018. Apple began to repatriate that cash after President Trump reduced the tax on this cash from 35% to 15.5%. However, the tax cut will likely not completely disincentivize companies from routing money into other tax-friendly jurisdictions. Find out the best places to go if you want to avoid paying high tax rates. Shutterstock.com The Bahamas The Bahamas is a former British colony that gained independence in 1973. This Caribbean island nation attracts tax avoiders due to its lack of withholding or corporate taxes. Instead, it derives its revenue from taxes such as import duties, value-added taxes and license fees. This and its proximity to the U.S. makes it an attractive tax haven. It has become a center for banking activities. Companies also benefit from secrecy laws that do not require submission of accounting records to the government. For this reason, one can see why the likes of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase operate subsidiaries there. However, companies outside of banking, such as Viacom, have also chosen to operate in this country. Take Our Poll: How Much of a Tax Refund Do You Expect in 2023? Roman Stetsyk / Shutterstock.com Bermuda Situated between the United States and Europe, Bermuda has become a popular tax haven. Like in the Bahamas, it imposes no taxes on corporate income, interest, dividends or royalties. Corporations such as Nabors Industries and Signet Jewelers have chosen to base their operations in the British Overseas Territory. Story continues Bermuda has also found itself in the middle of prominent tax avoidance schemes. The Paradise Papers reported that Nike shifted some of its European profits from the Netherlands through Bermuda tax-free. Google also sheltered $23 billion from overseas to Bermuda in 2017. Regulators have pressured countries to close some of the loopholes that make such income shifting possible. However, given the territory's policies and proximity to both the U.S. and Europe, it will likely remain a popular financial and business center. Guido Amrein Switzerland / Shutterstock.com British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands, like Bermuda, remains a British overseas possession. However, also like Bermuda, the benign neglect of British rule has enabled its tax haven status. Despite a population of less than 36,000, the BVI is home to over 400,000 companies and holds an estimated $1.5 trillion in assets. Deloitte's international tax guide states that the islands levy no tax on interest, dividends or corporate income. However, they do impose payroll taxes totaling 10% or 14% on all income above $10,000. Financial services also account for 62% of the government's revenue. Officials insist that the BVI is not a tax haven country. However, few seem fooled as it faces a continuous threat of being placed on the EU's tax haven blacklist. Jo Ann Snover / Shutterstock.com Cayman Islands Like other British Overseas Territories, the Cayman Islands has become one of the more prominent tax havens. Despite a population of just over 67,000, more than 117,000 companies base themselves in the territory. These include the American depository receipts, or holding companies that make it possible for Alibaba, Baidu and other China-based operations to trade on U.S. stock exchanges. Crystal Stranger, lead accountant at Greenback Business Services, considers the Caymans "probably the biggest (tax) loophole now for individuals as well as the multinational corporations." One area where it stands out is banking. Despite its small size, it accounts for almost 1/15 of the world's $30 trillion in banking assets, according to The Guardian. Arndale / Shutterstock.com Channel Islands The Channel Islands is an archipelago off the coast of Normandy. Despite its location, the islands belong to neither France nor the U.K. However, English is one of the official languages, and Britain is responsible for defending the islands. The islands are actually two British Crown dependencies, the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey. However, the Channel Islands have become best known as a tax haven. Corporate taxes are 0% for most companies, though they rise to 10% if an entity is labeled a "financial services company" and can go as high as 20% for other types of companies. It also does not levy capital gains tax or inheritance taxes. According to the Paradise Papers, Apple moved its tax residency to Jersey in 2014 and stored as much as $252 billion in offshore cash in Jersey. Kisov Boris / Shutterstock.com The Isle of Man The Isle of Man is a self-governing British Crown dependency located in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland. Aside from being known as the birthplace of the Bee Gees, it has also developed a following as a place to shelter wealth. The Isle of Man does not tax capital gains or inheritances, and it levies no taxes on companies. Many companies also hold pension benefits there as some beneficiaries can collect benefits as early as age 50. However, they like to keep a low profile. When the Paradise Papers shed light on how wealthy individuals sheltered assets in the dependency, a local politician described the revelation as an "orchestrated attack from the international media." Shutterstock.com Ireland As late as the 1990s, Ireland was considered one of the poorest countries in Europe. However, joining the EU and reducing corporate taxes to 12.5% seemed to transform the country overnight. It would go on to attract more than 700 multinationals into the country, among them Airbnb, Facebook and LinkedIn. While Irish officials may shy away from the "tax haven" label, the Republic has come under scrutiny. In 2013, Apple had to pay a record fine of 13 billion euros ($14.4 billion) after finding that a deal between Apple and Ireland broke EU tax laws. According to the Paradise Papers, this led to Apple shifting its overseas cash to the Channel Islands. Marcin Krzyzak / Shutterstock.com Luxembourg Luxembourg is a tiny EU country nestled between France, Germany and Belgium. This country of about 650,000 people has managed to attract capital with its business-friendly tax laws. However, the policies seemed too friendly for the EU, who said it was one of the countries which "displayed traits of a tax haven and facilitate aggressive tax planning." However, the EU credited it for taking steps to limit those practices. Still, Luxembourg remains a favored location among the Fortune 500. Goodyear, Dupont, Amazon, KPMG, Deloitte, EY (Ernst & Young), and PWC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) all have made Luxembourg their headquarters. Shutterstock.com Malta Malta is a sovereign country off the coast of Sicily. It is one of the smallest members of the EU. Once a British colony, this tiny island nation of just under 450,000 people became independent in 1964. Some journalists have labeled Malta a "pirate base" for tax avoidance. The Paradise Papers have also cited Malta among a list of tax havens. However, officials insist that they have complied with EU laws. Though local companies pay a corporate tax rate of 35%, some outside entities pay 0-6.25%. Morgan Stanley, Marriott International and Abbott Laboratories are among these corporations. leoks / Shutterstock.com Mauritius A tiny island nation situated off the coast of Madagascar seems like an unlikely location for a tax haven. However, the corporate tax rate has attracted a large percentage of the Fortune 500 to Mauritius. Companies pay a 15% tax on their income. Individuals pay no capital gains tax, and the country levies a 3% tax on dividend income from abroad. Despite its remote location, it has attracted significant interest from U.S. corporations. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are among the 78 Fortune 500 companies that operate there, according to the ITEP. OSTILL / iStock.com Monaco The Principality of Monaco is a 0.85-square-mile city-state situated on the French Riviera. Long a favored destination of the world's wealthy, it has also become an attractive locale for wealth itself. Individuals do not pay income tax, and businesses do not face direct taxation in most cases. Despite low taxes, operating in Monaco does not come cheap, as it boasts some of the world's most expensive real estate. Despite its costs, seven Fortune 500 companies operate subsidiaries in the principality, according to the ITEP. Shutterstock.com Netherlands Officials in the Netherlands, like those in other tax havens, shy away from this labeling. Jan Kees de Jager, the former finance minister in the Netherlands and now-CFO of KPN, called any association with the likes of the Cayman Islands or Switzerland a "profound insult." However, according to the ITEP report, the Netherlands is the world's most popular tax haven among the Fortune 500. The Dutch have long allowed corporations to reduce their tax burden by moving money through Dutch subsidiaries. Moreover, tech giants such as Google and IBM have a significant presence in the country, and Fiat Chrysler chose the country as its corporate headquarters. bennymarty / Getty Images Singapore Many consider Singapore one of the best countries in the world for taxes. Situated at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, it was once mired in poverty. In 1965, it had attained a per capita GDP of only $516. It was then that the government began to improve education, clamp down on corruption and cut tax rates. Little wonder it has grown to a population of around 6 million and boasts a per capita GDP of $72,794. Singapore assesses a 17% corporate income tax, not including tax incentives, and the city-state does not tax dividends. Shutterstock.com Switzerland Switzerland has long served as a European financial hub. Its low taxes and reputation for secrecy have made it a tax haven of choice. While some of the secrecy laws are now gone, its reputation for reasonable taxation remains. Switzerland levies a corporate tax rate of just 8.5%. While the Global Financial Centres Index from Long Finance no longer considers Zurich a "top 10" financial center, it remains a popular tax haven. Marriott International, Morgan Stanley and PepsiCo are some of the top companies that operate there. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: What Are the Worlds Best Tax Havens? After 13 years, Bob Wright is stepping down as head of the Palm Beach Civic Association. Michael Pucillo, who has been vice chairman for about three years, is his replacement. He will take the reins starting at the organization's April 17 annual meeting. The changes were announced after the Feb. 22 meeting of the Civic Associations Executive Committee. Wright will become chairman emeritus. "I've been there as chairman for 13 years," Wright said. "It's been an honor. I never had a bad day in 13 years." The association has about 2,000 members, 140 directors and 10 committees. "It's a lot of effort to do all that," Wright said of keeping the different parts of the organization running in sync. The Palm Beach Civic Association "aims to protect and improve the quality of life in the Town of Palm Beach by taking proactive stands on civic affairs; informing, educating, and engaging residents on key town issues; working with local government; and encouraging citizen involvement in the community," according to its mission statement. Bob Wright and his wife Susan attended the Jan. 23 Palm Beach Civic Association's Signature Speaker Series Luncheon at The Beach Club. He is stepping down as chairman of the association. Pucillo, 69, is a former president of the Town Council. He was elected to three terms before leaving public office in 2017. A retired securities lawyer and a lifelong resident, he will take control of the Civic Association as the nonprofit organization enters its 80th year. Pucillo said in an interview that he will continue to guide the organization in the same way that Wright has done. Among his priorities, he said, will be working "collaboratively" with the town on issues that include whether the town will continue to contract with West Palm Beach as its supplier of water; helping the town in its rewrite of its 40-year-old zoning codes; strategic planning; and traffic congestion. The retired attorney also is a member of the town's Strategic Planning Board and co-chairman of the association's water committee. "I'm very honored. Bob has done great things for the organization," he said of Wright. "He's done a great job. They're big shoes to fill." Story continues Michael Pucillo, a former Town Council president, has been named the new president of the Palm Beach Civic Association. He is shown with Mayor Danielle Moore in January at the association's Signature Speaker Series Luncheon at The Beach Club. Wright, 79, is a former president and CEO of NBC, and was chairman and CEO of NBC Universal until 2007. He retired as vice chairman of General Electric in 2008. Wright said he was confident the Civic Association will continue to prosper under the leadership of Pucillo, Vice Chairman Michele Kessler, and President and Chief Operating Officer Mary Robosson. More:Palm Beach Civic Association luncheon to focus on personal safety, cybersecurity Weve accomplished a great deal and theres no reason to think it cant keep going with the right leadership and the right support, Wright said in a press release. He also praised Pucillo's qualifications. "I encouraged him [Pucillo] to join us," Wright said. "He's diligent. I feel very comfortable Michael can do the job." He said he is most proud of how "much stronger" the organization has become during his tenure."We have excellent financials, We're able to handle all kinds of things," said Wright, who will devote his time to other charities such as Autism Speaks, which was co-founded in 2005 by him and his late first wife, Suzanne. He also said he was proud of how well the Civic Association works with the Town Council. "We don't run the town. We just want to help." More:People want to be here, says Related Cos. Ross about looming development in West Palm Robosson said Wright cultivated long-lasting relationships that strengthened the Civic Associations standing in the community. To work for Bob has been a true honor his expertise, his high regard for our community, and his service to our members and directors, Robosson said in a press release. Kessler was among the Executive Committee members who thanked Wright for his years of leadership. She will remain as vice chairwoman. What youve done for this organization is just light years from where it was when we came, Kessler said in a press release. A native of Hempstead, New York, Wright has been a resident since 1998. He and his wife, Susan, a Civic Association director, live in the North End. Pucillo joined the Civic Associations Executive Committee in 2017. He and his wife, Deborah, a retired Palm Beach County judge, live on Dunbar Road. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Wright steps down at Palm Beach Civic Association; Pucillo will take the reins BENGALURU, India (AP) The U.S. wants to see tougher and more effectively enforced sanctions against Russia and additional support for Ukraine, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday during meetings of the Group of 20 leading economies in the Indian technology hub of Bengaluru. Speaking on the eve of the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Yellen said sanctions against Moscow were working but more needed to be done to hobble the Russian war effort while supporting Ukraine. We are seeking to strengthen sanctions and make sure that we address violations of sanctions," she said, noting that the Russians were seeking alternative ways to backfill" parts and equipment to replace and repair weapons damaged in the war. We have deprived them of many channels they can obtain material that is critical for their defense efforts," Yellen told reporters. That is a particular focus we have in mind in respect to enforcement of existing sanctions and perhaps with respect to further sanctions. Yellen said the U.S. expects to provide another $10 billion in assistance to Ukraine on top of more than $46 billion already given. She commended allies for their direct aid and said the role of the International Monetary Fund in those efforts is critical." We very much want to see the IMF negotiate an agreement to lend to Ukraine," she said, noting that the fund's managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, hopes to work out a full program by the end of March. Yellen said that work could not come soon enough as well as on extending the Black Sea Grain Initiative that allows shipments from Ukraine and other efforts to improve food security. Given the strong language" on the war included in the G-20's final statement at summit meetings in Indonesia in November, Yellen said she believed a strong condemnation of the war and its impact on the world economy is achievable in Bengaluru, though the issue is still under discussion. Story continues In Bali, G-20 leaders declared that most strongly condemned the war, warning the conflict is intensifying fragilities in the worlds economy. They finessed divisions among them given that the group includes Russia and also countries like China and India that have significant trade ties with Moscow and have stopped short of outright criticism of the war. Overall, the G-20 is a forum focused on economic rather than security concerns. In Bengaluru, finance ministers, central bank governors and other leaders are due to discuss a range of issues, including climate finance, regulating digital currencies, global taxation efforts and other financial priorities. Turning to such topics, Yellen said the global economy was in a better place than several months ago as inflation eases and supply disruptions ease but warned that were not out of the woods yet. She spoke with reporters after meeting with Indias finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, whom she thanked for India's help in trying to resolve debt crises, particularly for its neighbor, Sri Lanka. The Indian Ocean nation is embroiled in a humanitarian catastrophe, strapped by shortages of food, fuel and medicines, among many things. Yellen urged China to work with other donor countries in addressing the problem. Many countries face daunting debt overhangs," Yellen said, after costly efforts to cushion the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such woes have deepened as countries import bills surged due to sustained higher prices for food, oil and fertilizers and weakening currencies. Yellen visited Zambia in January, in part to discuss the African countrys $6 billion debt to China, its biggest creditor. Zambia became Africas first pandemic-era nation to default when it failed to make a $42.5 million bond payment in November 2020. But a slew of other countries, from Laos and Afghanistan to Venezuela and Argentina, have seen their finances deteriorate in the past year. The IMF estimates that about 55% of all low-income countries are near or in debt distress. At a press conference on the sidelines of the meeting, Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said the smaller Group of 7 democracies are advising multilateral banks to review their business models to better address poverty reduction and achieve sustainable development goals. We will continue to closely work with other G-20 members to address debt issues of vulnerable middle-income countries such as Sri Lanka, he said. China is one of Sri Lankas biggest creditors after extending it loans to build a port and other facilities. It has offered a two-year suspension of repayments but balked at reducing the amount owed. The IMF has set a reduction in debt as a condition for an emergency loan. Suzuki said the G-7 is working to resolve debt issues for Ethiopia, Ghana and Zambia. ___ AP Business Writer Elaine Kurtenbach in Bangkok contributed to this report. Zander Fagerson is relishing Sundays match in Paris (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Archive) Scotland prop Zander Fagerson will continue to savour every moment of playing alongside his younger brother for club and country. The Glasgow Warriors siblings have been mainstays of the national team for much of the past five years, with 27-year-old Zander having accumulated 55 caps since his debut in 2016 and 24-year-old number eight Matt notching 30 appearances since his bow in dark blue two years later. Both are expected to start in Sundays high-stakes Guinness Six Nations match against France in Paris, and Zander is adamant he will never take it for granted that he and his brother are able to represent their country together. Its a dream come true for me, he said when asked to reflect on the fact they have both become such integral members of Gregor Townsends burgeoning team. One of my best moments in a Scotland shirt was when he got his first cap in America. It was so special. I make sure I enjoy every game I play for Glasgow or Scotland because you never know when it might stop. Im really lucky and really privileged to be able to play with him. The Fagersons have a light-hearted sibling rivalry. In an interview earlier this week, Matt joked that the student had become the master and that he was now offering tips and advice to his older brother, but Zander dismissed any such notion. Hes getting a bit ahead of himself if he thinks hes the master, smiled the prop. He is doing alright. We are quite harsh with each other. We like to bully each other up. If Im looking to do extras after training I always pick him because I know hes not going to give it to me easy. We try to better ourselves every week. But hes definitely not the master! Zander is delighted at the way Matt has followed in his footsteps and cemented himself in the national team over the past few years. Im always really proud of him and its great to see him get the plaudits he deserves, he said. Hes been doing it for a number of years now. Story continues Hes getting a bit ahead of himself if he thinks he's the master. He is doing alright. Zander Fagerson on brother Matt Hes doing what Ive always seen him do and Im just really proud of him. Im making sure he keeps his feet on the ground and making sure he can back it up. The elder Fagerson brothers involvement in the Six Nations was in doubt after he suffered a hamstring injury at the start of December. After sitting out the opening Six Nations victory away to England, he was thrown straight back into the starting XV for the recent home win over Wales. I was pretty worried at the start with the mechanism of the injury, when asked if he was always confident he could recover in time to play in the tournament. I didnt know I had hamstrings because I usually dont go fast enough to hurt them! I heard a pop and thought, oh no, here we go. It was kind of a rollercoaster. A look back on a famous win in Paris for @Scotlandteam in 2021.#FRAvSCO | #GuinnessSixNations Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 22, 2023 At first I felt it was all right but I got my scan and went to see a specialist and he said it looked pretty serious. On a weekly basis I had little small goals that I kept ticking off. Im quite an impatient guy so I had those little goals to keep me happy and progressing every week. And here we are now. I was really lucky I had that group around me to keep me going. Fagerson is hoping to enjoy his second victory in successive visits to Paris after the Scots triumphed in a behind-closed-doors match in the French capital two years ago. We won over there without fans so it will be a bit different having fans back, but that excites me he said. It is the same sort of personnel with them, same sort of threat all across the park. With the fans back, it will be a different atmosphere but we are definitely up for it. We just have to make sure we can block out the noise and if we stick to our game-plan we can get a win. NATO urged to quit groundless smears against China on Ukraine issue Xinhua) 09:49, February 23, 2023 BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday urged NATO to quit groundless speculation and smears against it on the Ukraine issue, grow out of the Cold War mentality of zero-sum game and bloc confrontation, and actually do something conducive to European and global peace and stability. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the comment in response to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's recent remarks that NATO members "are also increasingly concerned that China may be planning to provide lethal support for Russia's war." Wang said on the Ukraine issue, China always stands on the side of peace. China has taken an objective and just position, and worked actively to promote peace talks. It is a known fact that NATO countries including the United States are the biggest source of weaponry for the battlefield in Ukraine, yet they keep claiming that China may be supplying weapons to Russia. This is a familiar trick used and exposed soon after the Ukraine crisis broke out, Wang noted. Wang said while claiming itself to be a regional defensive alliance, NATO has ignored others' security concerns, and constantly sought to reach beyond its traditional defense zone and scope, and stoke division and tension. "What role has NATO played in the Ukraine crisis? The rest of the world surely has its answer." "We urge NATO to quit groundless speculation and smears against China on the Ukraine issue, grow out of the Cold War mentality of zero-sum game and bloc confrontation, stop instigating antagonism and fanning the flames, and actually do something conducive to European and global peace and stability," he said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) MANILA, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines will start shipping fresh durians to China in March this year, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said on Thursday. In a statement, the PCO said Philippine Assistant Agriculture Secretary Arnel De Mesa informed President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos about the shipment schedule during a meeting at the presidential palace on Tuesday. An initial volume of 7,500 metric tons of durians is ready for shipment to China. The spiky fruit will be sourced from 59 different farmers or producers covering some 400 hectares of production area. The deal to export durians to China was signed by the Philippines' Department of Agriculture and China's General Administration of Customs during Marcos' visit to Beijing early in January this year. Both sides agreed on a protocol of phytosanitary requirements for exporting fresh durians. Marcos said the Philippines is ready to meet the demand of the Chinese market. Fresh fruits, including Cavendish bananas, have been the top drivers for Philippine agricultural exports to China. The PCO said the Davao region in the southern Philippines covers 78 percent of the total durian production in the Southeast Asian country. A Zaxbys employee was doused in hot grease when a co-worker unleashed an attack at a South Carolina fast-food restaurant, officials told news outlets. The attack sent the injured worker to a burn center with skin missing from his face, eye, hands, shoulder and back, the Walhalla Police Department said in an arrest report obtained by WYFF. Now, the man accused of hurling the grease at his co-worker is facing multiple charges. News outlets didnt list attorney information for the man, whom police identified as 49-year-old Thomas Lamar Cobb. Zaxbys didnt immediately respond to McClatchy News request for comment Feb. 23. The case dates to Feb. 17, when Walhalla officers reportedly were called to a fight at the chicken restaurants location on Blue Ridge Boulevard, roughly 45 miles west of Greenville. Police said Cobb told them he was drinking at work and started arguing with a co-worker. He said he threw something at other people but didnt know the substance was hot, according to the report obtained by news outlets. Cobb is accused of throwing hot grease in a co-workers face, causing serious injuries. He also grabbed another worker by the throat and hit a third colleague, police told WHNS. Officers said Cobb was taken to the Oconee County jail. He was charged with two counts of third degree assault and battery and one count of first degree assault and battery, WSNW reported. The Walhalla Police Department didnt immediately share information with McClatchy News on Feb. 22 or 23. Angry customer hurls scalding soup at teen worker, North Carolina cops say Popeyes employee recorded hitting a teen worker at Georgia restaurant, reports say By Lucy Craymer WELLINGTON (Reuters) - The number of people missing in New Zealand's Hawke's Bay following Cyclone Gabrielle is now in single figures, search and rescue officials said on Thursday, 10 days after the worst storm to hit the country in decades. Gabrielle killed at least 11 people and caused widespread damage across the North Island, hitting the farming, wine and fruit region of Hawke's Bay on the east coast particularly hard. Hawke's Bay Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team leader Ken Cooper told TVNZ's Breakfast show that search and rescue conditions were arduous. "It's something that I've never seen before, very challenging for our search crews and the community, however it's the responsibility of our crews and we'll carry out those searches to the best of our ability," Cooper said. As of Thursday morning, "we are down to single figures" in terms of the numbers of people still unaccounted for in Hawke's Bay, he said. USAR teams together with police and dog units were searching several remote communities on Thursday, Cooper said. New Zealand Police said on Thursday afternoon there were 56 people across the country who had been reported as unable to be contacted, down from 152 earlier in the day, and more than 5,000 at the peak, as communications were gradually restored. Those remaining are from the hard hit Hawke's Bay and Tairawhiti areas and include people who do not engage with the authorities for a variety of reasons, police said. (Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Tom Hogue) (Reuters) - The military situation in Ukraine's south is quite dangerous in some places while conditions in the east are very difficult, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address early on Friday. Zelenskiy, speaking on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, said pro-Moscow forces had again shelled the southern city of Kherson, this time cutting off heat for 40,000 people. "As for the south - in some places the situation is quite dangerous but our troops have the means to respond to the occupiers," he said, summarising events on the various fronts. "In the east - it's very difficult, painful. But we are doing everything to withstand it," he continued, in reference to repeated attacks by Russian forces seeking to capture the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Zelenskiy said repair work in Kherson - which is being shelled on a daily basis - would continue until heat was restored. "And we will rebuild. No matter what these Russian terrorists and bastards may do, we will rebuild and restore everything," he said. (Reporting by David Ljunggren and Ron Popeski; Editing by Chris Reese and Alistair Bell) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy considers the very fact of the appearance of China's proposals to end the Ukrainian-Russian war to be a positive. Source: Zelenskyy at a press conference in Kyiv after talks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez Quote: "I know the general things. I have not seen the document. It is too early to analyse this document. In general, the fact that China has started to talk about Ukraine is very good. These are the first steps and it is not bad. We will draw conclusions when we see the specifics." Details: According to the president, it would be desirable for Ukraine to meet with China. "We sent this message at the diplomatic level," Zelenskyy said. Background: China has promised to publish its peace initiative for the Russian-Ukrainian war on 24 February 2023. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he does not know the specific points of the "peace plan" for the Russian-Ukrainian war that China plans to present, and he counts on support for Ukraine's "peace formula". Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held a telephone conversation on Wednesday, 22 February, discussing Ukraines military needs and the situation on the front. Source: UK government press release Details: The Prime Minister updated Zelenskyy on his visit to the Munich Security Conference, and said he had used the event to call on allies to accelerate their support to help Ukraine progress military gains in the coming weeks and months. "Now was the time for Ukraine to seize the opportunity to make real progress on the battlefield and further demonstrate to Putin that Ukraine would ultimately win," the press release reads. Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy said that he and Sunak "discussed the implementation of the agreements reached during my visit to London". It was previously reported that the UK Prime Minister believed that long-range weapons and the acceleration of support for Ukraine can contribute to a decisive battlefield advantage for Ukrainian troops. He said he was convinced that the war will not last significantly longer if Ukraine receives timely military support. Sunak also confirmed that London is prepared to help other countries which might want to supply military jets to Ukraine, noting that this was a difficult decision for the UK itself. Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron! A bill that paves the way for a new 90-bed nursing home facility on a portion of the shuttered Central Virginia Training Center property in Amherst County received the Virginia Senates unanimous approval this week. Senate Bill 1452 now heads to Gov. Glenn Youngkin for final approval, said Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, the bills chief sponsor. I have every confidence the governor will sign this, and it will go into law, Newman said in a phone interview Wednesday. The bill directs the state health commissioner to accept and review applications for a new 90-bed nursing home, which Newman said will meet a need for the Lynchburg area. The beds can be transferred by the commonwealth upon sale of the property. CVTC, a state-owned campus of more than 300 acres and dozens of buildings on Colony Road in Madison Heights, served residents with disabilities and medical needs for more than a century. The site closed in 2020. Exactly two years after the last remaining resident was relocated, the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance in early April presented a master plan to the Amherst County Board of Supervisors that outlines a vast mix of commercial, industrial and residential uses, including converting some existing buildings for economic development. Newman said he brought the bill forward after the Virginia Department of General Services informed him the CVTC sites value was $12 million in the negative. A cluster of newer buildings known as the Lower Rapidan essentially is set up to operate as a nursing home or assisted living facility, he said. In December, Newman announced the commonwealth settled $19 million in outstanding debt on those newer buildings. Newman said he is highly pleased the measure passed the Senate and the goal is to get the property out of a negative balance and into the black. A lot of eyes have been on this, Newman said of efforts to get the CVTC site toward positive cash flow. Newman hopes bids can come in for the planned nursing home as soon as this summer. The state must make sure performance bonds are in place and work with Amherst County to eliminate tipping fees at its landfill for debris from demolished CVTC buildings. Newman said most of the buildings on the CVTC campus are in poor shape and need to be torn down for large-scale redevelopment to move forward. He said he would prefer the state hold onto the property long enough to secure a buyer to tackle tearing down the buildings over fast-tracking an arrangement that doesnt have that crucial component. CVTC formerly was Amherst Countys largest employer and area stakeholders have emphasized a priority in making the property once again an economic engine for jobs and tax revenue. I just hope weve done enough, Newman said. This is everything we can think of so far. Sen. Mark Peake, R-Lynchburg, said the certificate of public need provision in the legislation is an added incentive to potential developers. I am grateful for all of the work Senator Newman has done to lead the fight to revitalize the CVTC property, Peake said Wednesday. There is a vast shortage of nursing home beds and getting this bill through the Senate can help our elderly population and CVTC. U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine made two stops Wednesday in the Hill City to meet with business leaders, teachers, administrators and parents to discuss how his recent work on Capitol Hill will affect Lynchburg. Early Wednesday morning, Kaine stopped at the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance to attend its annual meeting, where he and U.S. Rep. Bob Good, R-5th, both spoke briefly to more than 350 city business leaders, each laying out their visions for how the federal government can spark growth in local communities. Kaine spoke about the resiliency hes seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and how Americans have bounced back in the aftermath. Community and resilience is a little bit of the American story in the last few years, he said. A million people have died; businesses have been affected and all over the globe there have been challenges but America has linked arms. And America has demonstrated a resilience. Good told the audience hes looking forward again to the federal government being a partner to what youre trying to do and not a barrier to what youre trying to do. I hear so much from you ... about the challenges with the workforce and workers. Weve got to get Americans back to work and the federal government needs to become a partner in doing that, he added. Later that morning, Kaine stopped at William Marvin Bass Elementary. Wednesday was National School Bus Driver Appreciation Day, and he touted the accomplishments of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which provided money for Lynchburg City Schools to purchase new electric buses in the coming months. Lynchburg received the biggest grant in the state to electrify its ... school bus fleet, so by late fall 2023, a third of the Lynchburg school fleet will be electrified, so 25 of the 75 or so buses, Kaine said. Kaine added he thinks Lynchburg can become a leader in the commonwealth in electric buses and he hopes other divisions will follow suit when they see the good electric buses do for the environment and the school divisions budget. In October, Lynchburg City Schools announced it received nearly $10 million as a part of a grant program awarded by the Environmental Protection Agency to purchase these buses. On Wednesday, Reid Wodicka, the divisions deputy superintendent of operations and strategic planning, furthered Kaines comments, saying Lynchburg can become a leader in the transition to electrification of the school bus fleets. Were super excited that students in Lynchburg will have the opportunity, he said. Nearly a third of our fleet will be transitioned to electric systems. So not only does that relate to environmental protection, but also air quality protection and making sure our students have the best quality learning environment for every single child. With the division spending roughly $1 million per year on diesel fuel for its bus fleet, Wodicka said electric buses will save the division $250,000 to $300,000 per year. The buses are expected to arrive in Lynchburg sometime in the late fall, Kaine said. Kaine also held a roundtable with teachers, principals and parents to discuss issues such as returning to schools after the pandemic, staffing and career and technical education. Through his Preparing and Retaining Education Professionals (PREP) Act, co-sponsored by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Kaine said he hopes to help address staffing shortages nationwide when it comes to principals and teachers. What we hear again and again, and I heard it from Principal [Monica] Hendricks, heard it from your superintendent, is attracting and retaining teachers is getting to be a real challenge, Kaine said, referring to the principal of Bass Elementary. Kaine said he is working on an idea to turn some classroom aides into teachers. We know theyre fantastic teachers because theyre in succeeding with kids every day. Can we go to our classroom aides and say, Can we create incentives for you to, you know, finish the credential and then youll be a full classroom teacher? Kaine asked. The senator also said the PREP Act will look at ways to create a more diverse teaching workforce. Kaine said he would like to see historically Black colleges and universities, such as Virginia University of Lynchburg, train more Black or Latino teachers. We would like our classroom teachers to kind of look like the class, so that then that would make more kids like, Oh, I want to be a teacher, which would help also. , Feb 23 ( AsiaNews ) - Hospital beds will no longer be reserved exclusively for COVID-19 patients within a year after the diseases status is lowered to the same level as seasonal flu, it has been learned. On May 8, COVID-19 will be reclassified from its current equivalent to Category II to Category V under the Infectious Diseases Control Law. According to the governments plan, the medical care system will be gradually normalized during the transition period for the new ranking. Hospital beds specifically for COVID-19 patients will continue to exist for a while after the downgrade but will be abolished within a year. Once COVID-specific beds are discontinued, all hospitals in the country will accept COVID-19 patients. The government hopes to increase the number of medical institutions providing outpatient care to about 64,000, or about 50% above the current level. Category V does not require a special medical system, such as the one currently in place, or public funding of medical expenses. However, to avoid confusion, the government plans to gradually shift to a medical system similar to that for seasonal influenza during a transition period of about one year. ...continue reading Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, on Wednesday affirmed that their countries will work together in strengthening sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Japan and Albania are both currently serving as nonpermanent members of the U.N. Security Council. Albania is in charge of drafting a Security Council resolution on the Ukraine conflict, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry. At a joint news conference after their meeting in Tokyo, Kishida said that he and Rama agreed to cooperate closely, including on the Security Council resolution. ...continue reading We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription. KABUL, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Over 3,000 Afghan refugees returned from the neighboring Iran over the past couple of days, said the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation Affairs on Thursday. According to a statement by the ministry, the recently returned refugees totaled 3,541 and the refugee repatriation is still going on. More than 270,000 Afghan refugees have returned from Iran over the past six months, the ministry said. More than 2.5 million Afghan refugees have reportedly been living in Iran and about the same number are in Pakistan. Weather Alert ...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM TO 8 PM CDT SUNDAY FOR WIND AND LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NEBRASKA AND WESTERN IOWA... The National Weather Service in Omaha/Valley has issued a Red Flag Warning for wind and low relative humidity, which is in effect from 1 PM to 8 PM CDT Sunday. * Affected Area...In Iowa, Monona. In Nebraska, Knox, Cedar, Thurston, Antelope, Pierce, Wayne, Boone, Madison, Stanton, Cuming, Burt, Platte, Colfax, Dodge, Butler, Saunders, Seward, Lancaster, Saline and Jefferson. * Winds...Northwest 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 55 mph. * Relative Humidity...As low as 20 percent. * Impacts...Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior. && Ghana and Gambia, both of which were recently welcomed as new members of the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO), are now gearing up for tech-based economies where knowledge on 4IR is the new business capital. As legacy economies continue to fall out of favor the world over, the two west African countries are ramping up efforts to build tech-based economies. Ghana and Gambia, with a combined population of 35 million do not want to be sidelined when most economies run by oil, manufacturing, and agriculture are shifting to digital economies. Now, they have joined Nigeria, Rwanda, Morocco, Djibouti, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Cyprus, and Pakistan as members of DCO that aims to link Africa and Gulf countries in the realization of a common digital economy agenda. These 13 members collectively represent nearly $2 trillion in GDP and a market of nearly 600 million people. Africa faces funding shortfalls in tech infrastructure, challenges in implementing data protection policies, and slow adoption of frontier tech skills, but hopes that partnerships supporting its digital economy agenda could unlock financing. While the Gambian government continues to pursue the realization of a digital transformation agenda, even in the midst of economic turmoil, Ghana has experienced a digital technology growth by leaps and bounds, and now ranks among the leaders in sub-Saharan Africa in tech adoption. Despite commanding a market of 1.4 billion people, African countries lack a common agenda for technology, with the African Union and regional organizations such as the ECOWAS, SADCC), and EAC all lacking clear strategies on how members can plug into the global digital economy. When Algeria unilaterally cut gas supplies through the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline in late 2021, it was expecting Morocco to succumb to darkness and electricity cuts. But none of that happened. Instead, a new energy partnership was forged with Spain giving the halted pipeline a new life. Spain received annually 2 million euros from Morocco for the reversal of the pipeline which carries American LNG stored in Spanish terminals to small power stations in northern Morocco, according to Spanish media The Objective. Morocco pays other expenses relating to storage and transport of the LNG. Previously, Moroccos energy minister Leila Benali had explained that Morocco will make its own orders and use Spanish terminals until it builds its own regasification units. Gas exports to Morocco have increased 821% in the second half last year, it said, as Morocco and Spain both welcomed the reversal of the flow as a symbol of a strengthened partnership. Algeria has not shed away from weaponizing gas to reach diplomatic goals and has threatened to halt supplies to Spain altogether after the latter recognized Moroccos autonomy plan for the Sahara. In doing so, Algeria projected an image of a rogue state whose standing as a reliable gas supplier is recalled into question. While the quantities it received from Algeria kept decreasing, Spain turned to US, Nigerian and also Russian gas. Decreasing Algerian gas sales The Algerian government has indulged in telling half-truths by focusing on value of gas exports instead of the volume which has dropped 10% to 49.3 billion cubic meters in 2022, down more than 5 bcm in 2021. The drop confirms forecasts that Algeria- which already lost its status as an oil country- will lack capacity to export gas in next decade due to a surging domestic consumption on the back of high demographic growth and over reliance on gas for electricity production. Half Algerias 100 cbm production went to the domestic market in 2022, a year which saw exports value reach 50 billion dollars. But even with higher prices in 2022, Algeria fell short of matching its 71 billion dollars of gas exports in 2011 when the country produced 145 cbm. The dire truth that Algerian officials seek to hide is that the countrys production capacity is decreasing while its domestic needs of gas are increasing while dependence on hydrocarbons keeps the economy hostage. The European Investment Bank has invested 2.5 billion in Morocco over the last five years, making the North African Kingdom the 2nd largest recipient of EIB funding in the southern Mediterranean region. Speaking at a press conference held Wednesday in Rabat, Ricardo Mourinho Felix, EIB Vice-President said the banks investment supported Moroccos development and its economic growth. Since 2017, the EIB has devoted around 40% of its financing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and industry, 20% to renewable energy, 19% to sustainable transport and 16% to health and education. In 2022, the Bank injected more than 381 million into Moroccos economy, half of which went to infrastructure projects for environmental protection, renewable energy and energy efficiency. This helped the country to enhance its energy independence by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and building a greener and more sustainable economy. We have accelerated the implementation of our projects in Morocco in all sectors of our activity. We have been working closely with our partners on the ground to provide financial and human resources in order to lend even stronger support to the countrys development, said Mr. Mourinho Felix. With EIB Global, the EIBs new development arm, we will further strengthen our local, regional and international partnerships to support projects with high economic and social impact for the benefit of all Moroccans. The EIB has been a key partner for Morocco for more than 40 years. It finances the development and implementation of important projects in vital sectors of Moroccan economy such as business support, agriculture, water and sanitation, education, health, transport and even renewable energy. On the fourth anniversary of Algerias pro-democracy protest movement, known as the Hirak, human rights watchdogs rang the alarm again, saying the situation of human rights in the North African country is under serious threat. The pattern toward a more authoritarian, less competitive regime is clear as authorities are intensifying repression against civil society organizations, human rights defenders, and opposition figures. In this connection, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (OMCT) said the situation of Algerian civil society is more than ever worrying because of the constant efforts made by Algerian authorities to silence all the last dissenting voices in the country. They called on Algerian authorities to put an end to the generalized repression and the continued harassment of civil society organizations and human rights defenders. This call was launched at a press conference organized by human rights organizations on February 21 in Paris, on the occasion of the fourth anniversary of Hirak. From the beginning of the uprising until today, and despite its peaceful nature, the movement was harshly repressed by the Algerian authorities, said the FIDH. Thousands of demonstrators, and among them human rights defenders, activists, lawyers and journalists covering the demonstrations have been arbitrarily questioned, arrested, detained. For Patrick Baudouin, lawyer and honorary president of FIDH and president of the League of Human Rights (LDH), the attitude of the Algerian government leads to a both terribly degraded and very worrying situation. This is really a situation that concerns us a lot and for which it is essential that civil societies, human rights movements, but also the international community try to use the maximum means of pressure on Algerian authorities to put an end to this relentlessness in suppressing all essential freedoms of expression and for a confiscation of the countrys power and economic interests in the hands of a few to the detriment of the Algerian people, said Patrick Baudouin. The NGOs and human rights activists participating in the news conference called on the international community to counter repression in Algeria, by using the maximum means of pressure on Algerian authorities, and condemned the recent dissolution of the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH) that followed the various waves of arrests of activists. As of 7 p.m. on Wednesday there was less than one inch of new snow on the ground in North Platte, less than what the National Weather Service forecast called for earlier in the week. Snow totals were higher in northern Nebraska with five inches of new snow measured at Mullen and 5.5 at Valentine. Although snowfall was expected to end Wednesday night, blowing and drifting snow were expected to continue into Thursday, according to the National Weather Service forecast. Dangerous wind chills will continue across the region on Thursday morning, with values generally between minus 15 and minus 25. Colder wind chill readings are possible. Travel may be difficult due to blowing and drifting snow, and possible icy conditions in places. There is a chance of light snowfall on Thursday night. A high near 9 is expected in North Platte on Thursday, under mostly sunny skies, with temperatures falling to minus 2 on Thursday night. A high near 22 is expected on Friday, with partly cloudy skies. Nationwide, few places were untouched by the wild weather, some at the opposite extreme. Long-standing record highs were broken in cities in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Southeast. The wintry mix was hitting hard in the northern U.S., closing schools, offices, even shutting down the Minnesota Legislature. Travel was difficult. Weather contributed to more than 1,500 U.S. flight cancellations, according to the tracking service FlightAware. More than 400 of those were due to arrive or depart from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Another 5,000-plus flights were delayed across the country. The roads were just as bad. Wyomings Transportation Department posted on social media that roads across much of the southern part of the state were impassable, with blowing snow and reduced to poor visibility into Friday! It wasnt much better in neighboring states. Sometimes its physically impossible to keep up with Mother Nature, North Dakota Highway Patrol Sgt. Wade Kadrmas said. He warned those who venture out to dress appropriately. Often, when motorists get stranded, They dont have a winter jacket. They might be wearing shorts and flip-flops, just thinking theyre going to get from point A to point B and nothing is going to go wrong, he said. Kelly Cross has spent his entire 60 years in South Dakota, but even he tires of the wintry weather that often spills well into spring. Besides the regular snow shoveling at his Pierre store, K&C Western Wear, hes gone through pounds of salt to keep the walkway clear. The company of his terrier, Penny, makes the slog to work tolerable. She comes with me every day, Cross said. In the Pacific Northwest, high winds and heavy snow in the Cascade Mountains prevented search teams from reaching the bodies of three climbers killed in an avalanche on Washingtons Colchuck Peak over the weekend. Two experts from the Northwest Avalanche Center were hiking to the scene Wednesday to determine if conditions might permit a recovery attempt later this week. Powerful winds were the biggest problem in California, toppling trees and power lines. By Wednesday afternoon, more than 65,000 customers in the state were without electricity, according to poweroutage.us. A 1-year-old child was critically injured when a redwood crashed onto a home in Boulder Creek, a community in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco, KTVU reported. A blizzard warning was issued for the mountains of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, effective from 4 a.m. Thursday to 4 p.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service said. A more than 200-mile stretch of Interstate 40 from central Arizona to the New Mexico line closed due to snow, rain and wind gusts of up to 80 mph. Thousands were without power in Arizona. In the northern U.S. a region accustomed to heavy snow the snowfall could be significant. More than 18 inches may pile up in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin, the National Weather Service said Wednesday evening. According to the weather service, the biggest snow event on record in the Twin Cities was 28.4 inches from Oct. 31 through Nov. 3, 1991. Temperatures could plunge as low as minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday and to minus 25 F on Friday in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wind chills may fall to minus 50 F, said Nathan Rick, a meteorologist in Grand Forks. Wind gusts may reach 50 mph in western and central Minnesota, resulting in significant blowing and drifting snow with whiteout conditions in open areas, the weather service said. The storm will make its way toward the East Coast later this week. Places that dont get snow may get dangerous amounts of ice. Forecasters expect up to a half-inch of ice in parts of southern Michigan, northern Illinois and some eastern states. The potential ice storm has power company officials on edge. Nearly 1,500 line workers are ready to be deployed if the ice causes outages, said Matt Paul, executive vice president of distribution operations for Detroit-based DTE Electric. He said a half-inch of ice could cause hundreds of thousands of outages. A half-inch of ice covering a wire is the equivalent of having a baby grand piano on that single span of wire, so the weight is significant, Paul said. About 156,000 customers in Michigan and nearly 72,000 in Illinois were without electricity Wednesday evening, according to PowerOutage.us. Meanwhile, National Weather Service Meteorologist Richard Bann said some mid-Atlantic and Southeastern cities set new high temperature marks by several degrees. The high in Lexington, Kentucky, reached 76 F, shattering the Feb. 22 mark of 70 F set 101 years ago. Nashville, Tennessee, reached 78 F, topping the 1897 record by 4 degrees. Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Atlanta and Mobile, Alabama, were among many other places seeing record highs. The Associated Press contributed to this report. A North Platte High School mathematics teacher faces a March 2 preliminary hearing on one felony account of first-degree sexual abuse of a 17-year-old student by a school employee. David D. Cooper, 47, was taken into custody Wednesday and jailed at the Lincoln County Detention Center. He appeared in Lincoln County Court Thursday before County Judge Tanya Roberts-Connick, who set the preliminary hearing date. She set Coopers bail at $250,000, of which he must pay 10% to be freed. She also ordered him not to have contact with the alleged victim or be on or within 100 feet of North Platte Public Schools property. First-degree sexual abuse by a school employee is a Class IIA felony, punishable under state law by up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Cooper, who appeared without an attorney, completed a financial affidavit indicating he cannot afford one, according to online court records. No court-appointed attorney had been assigned to him as of Thursday afternoon. He previously coached one-act play production and speech at NPHS until he was relieved of those duties in December 2021. Cooper has taught at the school for 16 years, according to an arrest affidavit filed by police Sgt. Justin Erickson. Cooper was to have directed a Penguin Project play in May through the North Platte Community Playhouse. The production, which provides theatrical opportunities for children and young adults with disabilities, was canceled due to lack of enrollment. School administrative staff reported to police Tuesday they had received information that a staff member had been acting inappropriately around a student. The information was turned over to the school resource officer, who investigated in conjunction with the Police Departments criminal investigation division. Investigators interviewed the student Wednesday morning, and several items of evidence were collected. That included evidence of sexual contact between the student and staff member, according to police. A school resource officer at the high school took Cooper into custody later Wednesday afternoon, the police press release said. Ericksons affidavit said Jeremiah Johnson, a school resource officer long based at NPHS, presented him Tuesday with three statements from school faculty/concerned persons about suspicious flirtatious behavior between Cooper and the student in recent days. The students mother, who was present when the student was interviewed, gave consent for the students cellphone to be searched. That search revealed 49,204 text messages between Cooper and the student between Nov. 7 and Feb. 2, Erickson said in the affidavit. North Platte Public Schools sent out a press release on the matter Thursday morning. It reads in part: While we cannot share the specific details of this personnel matter, we can assure you that North Platte Public Schools remains committed to educating our students in a safe learning environment. Additionally, we will continue to work with law enforcement throughout this investigation. Mysterious floating spheres are having quite a month. Just weeks after the military shot down a suspectedChinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast, a cryptic metal ball has washed ashore at Enshu Beach in the city of Hamamatsu on Japans Pacific coast, a Tokyo correspondent from The Guardian reports. Authorities rope off and examine the sphere Wednesday on a beach in Hamamatsu, Japan. Authorities rope off and examine the sphere Wednesday on a beach in Hamamatsu, Japan. The rusty, orange-tinted sphere dubbed Godzilla egg, according to a BBC Tokyo correspondent gained worldwide interest this week after a local resident spotted it and alerted police. The elusive thingy is about 5 feet in diameter and has two raised handles, indicating that it can be hooked onto something else, the Guardian reported. The call to authorities prompted police and even a bomb squad to investigate the object out of fear that it may be a stray mine, The Guardian said. Experts eventually deemed the object safe after X-rays found it was hollow. The Guardian also noted that there was no indication the object was part of any espionage operation from nearby North Korea or China. The ball has been removed from the beach, according to the BBC. Another view of the Godzilla egg. Another view of the Godzilla egg. Although the Dragon Ball Z-like figure is getting a ton of media attention, one local who regularly runs on Enshu Beach told public broadcaster NHK that its been sitting there for a while. Its been there for a month, he said. I tried to push it, but it wouldnt budge. Despite all this, police have not yet identified what the object is, which has some on social media questioning why authorities are staying quiet, the BBC reported. Based on a video posted of the sphere by NHK on Twitter, social media users believe its merely a ball buoy. Others have more whimsical ideas. It's a steel mooring buoy. They are specially designed for the mooring of vessels in the most economical way while protecting shorelines, natural habitats & other boats by giving those sailing or stationed an alternative anchoring point for all types of vessels. pic.twitter.com/PBU4l1anvJ Jeremiah Garcia (@jeremiah_fsp) February 21, 2023 I found one buried in my backyard some years ago. That one at least has some mystery to it - because that's not where I'd go looking for a buoy! pic.twitter.com/mto4ErRI8t gummih $8 (@gummih) February 22, 2023 I can't believe officials from a country surrounded by ocean don't recognize a ball buoy. They seemed rather intrigued by the mooring loop. Efren Mendez, Jr. (@EfrenMendezJr) February 21, 2023 Hamamatsus civil engineering office said it considers it to be a foreign-made buoy, the BBC reported. Story continues Mark Inall, an oceanographer at the Scottish Association for Marine Science, told the BBC that, although he knew instantly it was a buoy, he understood why people might confuse it for a World War II mine. But those would have spikes sticking out of them, he said. Inall told the BBC that these buoys often wash up in Scotland and that they can float in the sea for decades, which causes their markings to fade. Related... An Opelika family was recognized at Tuesday nights city council meeting for bravely taking action when they saw a man attempting suicide on a railroad track near York Avenue and South Long Street. On Dec. 9, 2022, Oneice Starks and her mother Thomasine Smith had relatives from South Carolina visiting their home in Opelika, which is near a railroad track. Starks said her relatives wanted to see the trains, and when they went outside to look, they saw a man laying on the tracks. Starks said her cousins husband, Brandon Littles, began to approach the man on the tracks and she went with him. At the same time, they could hear the horn of a train coming. Smith dialed 911 and told the police about the situation. As the train was nearing, Smith yelled for Starks and Littles to get away from the tracks, but they continued to try to get the man up and pull him to safety. Starks said the man didnt want to be helped off of the tracks and told her, Im ready to go. Starks replied, I dont think its time for you to go right now. She could feel the tracks rumbling and could see the train come into view and continued pulling on the man, but she said he was too heavy. The man finally moved on his own and everyone got away from the tracks safely. Starks said they stayed and watched the man to make sure he didnt jump back onto the tracks until officers arrived and EMS provided treatment to the man. I thank God for my daughter and what she did and the bravery that she responded with, Smith said. Opelika Police Department Sgt. David Priest, one of the officers who responded to the possible suicide attempt, said Starks wasnt going to leave the man. She wasnt strong enough to pull him off, but she just kept pulling his arm while he was having this crisis and she became a voice of reason during this time of crisis, Priest said. I think thats really something because I have armor and training, and its not normal for our citizens to do that. Shes my hero for 2022. Smith also commended the OPD officers for arriving right on time and said, they did what they had to do and they did a good job, all the officers. The certificate of bravery stated that the outcome would have been very different if Starks had not come to this mans assistance and become his voice of reason. The Opelika Police Department thanked Starks, Smith and Littles for their bravery and selflessness in helping a fellow citizen during a crisis situation. This is what Together Opelika is about, OPD Chief Shane Healey said. This is what makes Opelika different than anywhere else is having folks like this that step up no matter if its their job or not and help somebody that needs help. The Together Opelika campaign was established in 2020 with the goal to lower crime, increase community engagement, build community trust, establish genuine relationships and encourage community support for officers. CANBERRA, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Australia has planned to establish a new protected marine zone in the southwestern Pacific Ocean to safeguard the future of millions of penguins, seals and sea birds. Tanya Plibersek, the Minister for Environment and Water, on Thursday announced plans to triple the size of the Macquarie Island Marine Park to protect the entire exclusive economic zone around the island. Lying south of Australia, halfway to Antarctica, Macquarie Island is a critical habitat for millions of seabirds, seals and penguins, including the royal penguin which is found nowhere else in the world. Only 35 km long and five km across, the shores of the island are a breeding ground for several species of sea birds. The island and surrounding waters out to 12 nautical miles were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997 because of its natural value. "The proposal includes a new high protection zone larger than the area of Germany, an important contribution to our commitment to protect 30 percent of our land and 30 percent of our oceans by 2030," Plibersek said in a media release. Some environmentalists have welcomed the announcement. Plibersek said the proposed design would also support the continuation of the small and sustainable Macquarie Island toothfish fishery. i watched their wedding show and she is just so.....odd. like was telling him she was changing her name and talking to him about how she would style it (drop middle name for hilton etc) and then was like 'i dont want to change my name i dont know why he though i would' she has no ability to commit to anything or make any sort of decisions and the idea of her being a mother is very weird Reply Thread Link does the show seem very staged? I'd maybe check it out if it seemed like she was being authentic about life and dropped the baby voice etc. Reply Parent Thread Link yes and no? one of the most interesting parts of the show is watching her try and keep up her paris hilton thing and seeing when it slips. she goes in and out of the baby voice CONSTANTLY the show isnt GOOD. but if you like reality tv shows that make you feel like wtf am i watching? (which i do lol) its worth watching. like the whole point is that its about her wedding but she literally refuses to plan it. she wont make any decisions. so her fiance starts making some decisions and she and her mom flip out. everyone around her is like haha thats just paris! refusing to grow up or ever make a decision about anything! Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Im gonna use this post to talk about a better human being than Paris Hilton: my brother. He loved the symbol of the Phoenix because it meant a lot to him in his recovery. I have a tattoo of the engraving on his grave stone on my arm that shows a silhouette of a Phoenix. His beloved rescued brown Dobermans name was Phoenix. My birthday is tomorrow and Im really fucking sad that hes not here. His 1980s ass is why my name is Kim. He named me. This feels a little like a hello. Why on a Paris Hilton post? I dont know, I can only assume to tease me, lmao. Anyway, I think wed both agree that as a first name for a white child, its extremely weird. Also, bad. Reply Thread Link Im sorry for your loss and Im glad his memory seems like a blessing to you, even though the loss is enormous. Thank you for sharing your brother with us. Reply Parent Thread Link This made me cry thank you so, so much for listening Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Paris, France London, England PhoenixArizona? All world class cities Reply Thread Link Room? OH that's the man's last name, okay. Reply Thread Link I can't see Paris being a fan of the city Phoenix, but okay. Then again i think she's said she liked the names Brooklyn and London before, and I also doubt she ever goes to Brooklyn. Barron is an awful name and just makes me think of Trump's kid. They'll be divorced in a couple years Reply Thread Link Barron was her grandfather's name though and is one of her brother's names as well Reply Parent Thread Link Oh yea i actually read the text for once so I saw it was her grandfather's name. I just think it's awful and also reminds me of Trump's kid. Reply Parent Thread Link Well at least she didnt name him after the Hilton that was abusive towards Elizabeth Taylor I guess Reply Thread Link I've noticed names with the letter X are really trendy right now and I hate it lol Reply Thread Link Angelina's influence Maddox, Pax, Knox Cameron Diaz has Raddix <--- yeah, she will never be called Radish. Reply Parent Thread Link all the kids with Xs in their usernames having bbs Reply Parent Thread Link listen i am a proud daughter of phoenix but i cannot approve of this Reply Thread Link Ive never been to Phoenix. Is it that nice? I like the name. Reply Thread Link I am biased because I love desert terrain, so I'd say so in regards to the natural landscape. Reply Parent Thread Link If you like hikes and nature, yeah. Just unbearably hot. Signed, a Phoenix resident. Reply Parent Thread Link As someone from NM who lived there lol no double no if youre in a BIPOC community Reply Parent Thread Link I loathe her Reply Thread Link I just love that she went on this whole spiel about searching for the right now, places she's traveled to and loved only to end on...Phoenix of all names. Reply Thread Link One time we were driving from El Paso to Los Angeles and we had to stop in Phoenix for food, it was and Arby's, it was bad, also we missed an exit and we had to drive through the city during rush hour, not fun, I wouldn't name my kid Phoenix. Reply Thread Link Dental Practice Employees Who Asked About Employers Measures for COVID-19 to Receive Back Wages Following Termination The employer has agreed to pay the two workers a combined total of $15,706 in back wages. In 2020, two employees at a dental practice were terminated after posing questions about the practices safety measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. The employer must now pay both employees back wages, OSHA recently announced. Employees of Roger H. Bohannan DDS Inc. of Northern Texas were placed on furlough in April 2020, according to a news release. It was during this time that the two employees, a dental hygienist and a dental assistant, inquired about the safety measures. The dental hygienist, who cited guidance from OSHA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was not asked to return to work and was eventually fired. Though the dental assistant did receive an offer to return to work, it was taken back, and they too were eventually terminated. "Like all workers, these two people had every right to speak up without the fear of losing their jobs," said OSHA Regional Administrator Eric S. Harbin in Dallas in the news release. The Department of Labor took legal action in July 2021, filing a suit against Roger H. Bohannan DDS Inc. and its owners, Roger Bohannan and David Bohannan. A little over a year and a half later, per OSHA, the court entered a consent judgment in which Roger and David Bohannan and Roger H. Bohannan DDS Inc. agreed to pay the back wages. In addition, under the judgement, Roger H. Bohannan DDS Inc. must provide neutral work references for wrongfully terminated employees, OSHA said. The two employees will receive a combined total of $15,706 in back wages. "The U.S. Department of Labor will vigorously seek to prevent employers from retaliating against workers who exercise their rights to voice safety and health concerns," said Regional Solicitor of Labor John Rainwater in Dallas in the news release. "This case shows that we will use legal action to enforce the law and ensure the safety, health and well-being of workers." Vital energy infrastructure in the Dutch sector of the North Sea, including gas pipelines and offshore wind farms, could be vulnerable to a Russian attempt at sabotage, the intelligence services of the Netherlands say. Russia is covertly mapping the infrastructure in the area and is carrying out activities that indicate espionage and preparations for disruption and sabotage, the Dutch intelligence agencies MIVD and AIVD said in a report this week. Recently, Dutch marine and coast guard vessels have escorted a Russian ship out of Dutch waters in the North Sea after the Russian vessel was detected near an offshore wind farm attempting to map out energy infrastructure, General Jan Swillens, the head of the MIVD military intelligence of the Netherlands, said at a news conference. Russia is mapping how our wind parks in the North Sea function. They are very interested in how they could sabotage the energy infrastructure, Swillens said, as quoted by Reuters. There are also conceivable threats to energy supply and drinking water supply in the Netherlands, the intelligence agencies said in the report. Just this weekend, the Dutch government said it would expel several Russian diplomats as Russia continues to bring spies into the Netherlands under cover of diplomacy. Related: U.S. Natural Gas Prices Have Plunged By Nearly 80% Since August The Netherlands was not the only European country to warn of increased threats from Russia since the Russian invasion of Ukraine a year ago. Norway, Netherlands fellow NATO member, has been on higher alert for potential sabotage since the autumn of 2022 when the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea were sabotaged and drones were detected near energy infrastructure in Western Europes biggest oil and gas producer. At the end of September, the Petroleum Safety Authority Norway (PSA) of Norway urged increased vigilance by all operators and vessel owners on the Norwegian Continental Shelf after companies operating offshore Norway had given warnings or notifications of a number of observations concerning unidentified drones or aircraft close to offshore installations. A week later, Norway posted soldiers from its Home Guard to protect energy infrastructure as Western Europes largest oil and gas producer, and its Scandinavian neighbors increased security following the sabotage of Nord Stream. The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) said last week in the annual National Threat Assessment report, the first since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Several countries intelligence services operate on Norwegian territory. In PSTs opinion, Russian intelligence services will pose the greatest threat to Norway this year. It is unlikely that Russia will carry out an act of sabotage on Norwegian territory in 2023. However, acts of sabotage could become a more relevant scenario if Russias willingness to escalate the conflict with NATO and the West were to increase, the Norwegian service said in the report. PST expects Russian intelligence services will need new political and military intelligence related to the consequences of NATOs enlargement in the Nordic region. Further, Norways role as an energy supplier to Europe has assumed even greater security policy importance as a result of the war in Ukraine, PST said in the report. ADVERTISEMENT Norway supplies more than 25% of the natural gas to the rest of Europe and has surpassed Russia as the top supplier after Moscow cut off pipeline supply to many EU countries last year. Norway, not an EU member but a NATO member and close ally to the EU, has become increasingly important for Europes energy security as the West turns to supplies from allies to replace Russian volumes. Over the past year, we have seen the emergence of Russian ambitions to exert pressure on European energy security. PST therefore expects that in 2023, Russia will try to gather intelligence about most aspects of Norways oil, gas and energy sector, the Norwegian Police Security Service said. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Leftist Colombian President Gustavo Petros controversial plan to end hydrocarbon exploration sparked fears it will roil the oil dependent economy and endanger the strife-torn countrys energy security. While there was speculation that Petro would soften his approach, the presidents commitment to ceasing issuing new exploration contracts was reiterated by energy minister, Irene Velez, at the Davos World Economic Forum. This further compounded existing fears of an energy crisis occurring because of Colombias dependence on natural gas. To assuage mounting disquiet and curtail the risks the policy poses, Petro secured an agreement with neighboring oil-rich Venezuela, where diplomatic relations were only recently reestablished, to supply natural gas. While Venezuela has natural gas reserves of nearly 200 trillion cubic feet the plan is fraught with considerable risk which could prevent its successful execution. A looming natural gas crisis has existed in Colombia for nearly a decade. Ailing supply due to declining production at mature aging gas fields coupled with scant proven reserves because of a lack of exploration and rising consumption saw a supply shortfall emerge during 2016. Since then, the supply gap has widened not only forcing Colombia to import greater volumes of liquified natural gas but to enact policies aimed at incentivizing natural gas exploration and production. The situation was so dire that compared to 2021, when Colombia was importing around 5,000 metric tons per month, the Andean country was planning to quadruple 2022 imports to nearly 21,000 metric tons. This is because LPG is a popular industrial and household fuel which is experiencing strong demand growth. The threat posed by diminishing production will be compounded by Petros plan to end issuing hydrocarbon exploration contracts. This will weigh heavily on already meagre proven natural gas reserves of 3.1 trillion cubic feet which are only sufficient for another eight years of production. A large proportion of those reserves are from associated gas reservoirs where the extracted fuel is a byproduct of petroleum production. A considerable portion of that natural gas is consumed by oil companies for a variety of purposes including for gas injected enhanced recovery, as a fuel for the gas-fired electric plants which power operations and as a diluent mixed with heavy oil so that it flows. If Petro proceeds with his plan analysts believe Colombia will no longer be energy self-sufficient by as early as 2024 forcing the fiscally fragile country to ramp-up natural gas imports. Related: Drilling Giant Chesapeake Cuts Rigs Amid Plunge In U.S Gas Prices While an agreement with Venezuela, in theory, can address many of the risks faced by Colombia due to dwindling natural gas reserves, declining production from mature fields and rising consumption it also comes with significant risk. After Velez reiterated at Davos (Spanish) that Colombia will cease issuing new contracts for hydrocarbon exploration Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo confirmed the Andean country (Spanish) will import natural gas from Venezuela, 25 million cubic feet of natural gas per day from Venezuelas national oil company PDVSA. That volume is miniscule in comparison to Colombias current output of around 1,100 million cubic feet per day. A privately controlled Venezuelan owned company Prodata, which was granted a 30-year export license by the Maduro regime, will ship the natural gas to Colombia. The plan is to utilize the PDVSA owned 500 million cubic feet per day capacity Antonio Ricaurte Trans-Caribbean gas pipeline to transport the gas. The 139-mile-long pipeline connects the municipality of Bajo Grande in Venezuelas western state of Zulia, the historic heart of the OPEC members petroleum industry, to Riohacha the capital of Colombias northeastern department of Guajira. Incidentally, it is Guajira where Colombias largest non-associated gas fields, the offshore Chuchupa and onshore Ballena fields, are located. The Antonio Ricaurte pipeline was inaugurated in 2009 and initially used to export Colombian gas from the Chevron operated Ballena field to Zulia. There was a plan to reverse the pipelines flow by 2011 and for Colombia to import gas to Venezuela, which never occurred., primarily because of PDVSAs parlous finances, corroding infrastructure and U.S. sanctions, all of which have worsened since then. By 2015, the Antonio Ricaurte pipeline had fallen into disuse because of deteriorating relations between the two countries, the Obama White Houses declaration Venezuela is a threat to national security and PDVSAs deteriorating finances. In early June 2015 the national oil company announced it would not renew the natural gas importation contract. Natural gas in Venezuela, like Colombia, is an indispensable fuel for Venezuelan industry and households. The reliance upon the gas has grown exponentially since the OPEC members economy collapsed with it becoming a crucial source of household energy. OPEC data shows Venezuela produced 2.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day during 2021 which while 32% greater than 2020, when the pandemic disrupted operations, was less than the 2.4 billion cubic feet per day pumped during 2018. By 2022 supply constraints were so acute PDVSAs LPG production of 20,000 barrels per day was less than half of the 55,000 barrels per day required to meet domestic demand. That massive shortfall, which emerged after the Trump White House ratcheted-up sanctions during January 2019, is aggravating the countrys economic and humanitarian crises. It is for this reason that the Biden administration granted a waiver permitting LPG exports and re-exports to Venezuela, which is valid until July 2023. PDVSAs badly corroded energy infrastructure is blocking efforts to bolster hydrocarbon production. This will not improve until U.S. sanctions are eased to where foreign energy majors can invest profitably in Venezuela. Energy companies are fleeing the OPEC member with eight having exited during the last five years, among them supermajors TotalEnergies and Equinor which quit their joint venture with PDVSA during 2021. The Biden administration authorized Chevron, which is now the only western driller with a significant presence in Venezuela, to recommence lifting petroleum and export it to the U.S. but the company is prevented from expanding operations in the pariah state. This sees Chevron limiting its activities to rehabilitating exist wells and infrastructure. Those developments dont bode well for PDVSA being able to obtain the substantial investment required to rebuild shattered energy infrastructure which is imperative to expanding Venezuelas hydrocarbon production. Even when U.S.sanctions are significantly relaxed it will take at least a decade and a massive amount of capital, estimated to be greater than $110 billion, to restore hydrocarbon sector operations to pre-Chavez levels. This creates serious doubts as to whether PDVSA can expand natural gas production which is a crucial requirement for successfully supplying the fossil fuel to Colombia. Washingtons strict sanctions will potentially prevent Colombia, a key regional U.S. ally, from successfully importing natural gas from Venezuela. Those measures essentially block U.S. companies and persons from conducting transactions and working with the Maduro regime as well as national oil company PDVSA. It is the potential impact of Washingtons sanctions, which can cripple a businesss access to financial markets and operations, that is a pivotal deterrent for foreign companies considering operating in Venezuela or conducting transactions with the Maduro regime. The U.S. has sanctioned foreign entities for facilitating the sale of crude oil PDVSAs crude oil. For these reasons, along with rising concerns over diminished energy security, that Trinidad and Tobago sought a license from the U.S. Treasury, which was granted in January 2023, to develop a Venezuelan gas field. It is difficult to see how the Petro administration can receive and pay for Venezuelan gas imports without falling afoul of U.S. sanctions. Then there are the issues relating to the appalling state of the PDVSA owned Antonio Ricaurte pipeline. Since falling into disuse in 2015 the pipelines condition has deteriorated so badly that it is currently inoperable. Economist Mauricio Cardenas who was Finance Minister for President Juan Manuel Santos, who secured the peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC Spanish initials), warned that the deal is riddled with obstacles. He was quoted in Venezuelan industry journal Petroguia as stating: "The problem now is that the pipeline has deteriorated because it has not been used for many years, equipment, valves and segments of the pipeline have been stolen and that is why the first thing to do is recover the pipeline, but that costs hundreds of millions of dollars," U.S. sanctions prevent Venezuelas national oil company and Caracas from accessing international capital markets while discouraging foreign energy companies from doing business in Venezuela. For those reasons PDVSA will struggle to obtain the required skilled labor, parts and funding to bring the Antonio Ricaurte pipeline back online which is the primary prerequisite for shipping natural gas to Colombia. ADVERTISEMENT Aside from these fundamental barriers to importing Venezuelan natural gas into Colombia, there are further concerns relating to the cost. Ecopetrol President Felipe Bayon asserted the cost of (Spanish) Venezuelan gas for consumers could be five times higher than domestically sourced natural gas. When that is considered in conjunction with the political unreliability of the Maduro regime and U.S. sanctions on Venezuela it is difficult to see any agreement to import Venezuelan natural gas being successfully executed. This means the agreement appears to be a political ploy aimed at cementing newly re-established diplomatic relations with Caracas rather than a genuine attempt to guarantee Colombias energy security and ward off a crisis. By Matthew Smith for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: After gas shortages during an unusually freezing winter left Uzbeks shivering in the dark, new extraction data is adding to worries about the countrys near-term energy security. Gas production fell in 2022 to 51.66 billion cubic meters, down 4.1 percent on the 53.8 billion extracted the previous year, government statistics show, and 8.3 percent below Tashkents optimistic forecast of 56.3 billion cubic meters. The large shortfall does not bode well for Uzbekistans chances of hitting its ambitious target of ramping up gas production to 66.1 billion cubic meters by 2030 a rise of 28 percent on last years figure. Such an increase is intended to meet rising domestic demand, which the government forecasts will jump nearly a fifth by the end of the decade, from some 47 billion cubic meters last year to over 56 billion by 2030. Demand regularly rockets during cold spells to levels that supply cannot match. This years severe winter caused pervasive nationwide power outages, sparking public anger. Amid natural gas shortages, the government said in December it had completely halted exports, most of which go to China, to redirect supplies to domestic consumers. Tashkent blamed discrepancies in statistics collection when Beijings data showed China still receiving imports from Uzbekistan in December, when Tashkents put exports to China at zero. Uzbekistan exported gas worth $910.9 million to China last year, its statistics show. But China reported receiving $1.07 billion, or 18 percent more. Tashkent ascribes this to Chinese data including transit gas from Turkmenistan. Tashkent has pledged to end gas exports completely by 2025, to free gas for domestic power generation and the petrochemical industry. This winter the government has had to increase imports to meet demand, from Turkmenistan for example. Russia is looking to cash in on rising demand in both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan (also short of gas this winter), as it seeks new export markets now that Europe shuns its supplies. Last month both Tashkent and Astana signed roadmaps with Russias Gazprom paving the way for gas exports to both countries, in volumes as yet unspecified. That sparked controversy over the influence this will afford Central Asias former colonial ruler. It has now emerged that Russia is in talks with Kazakhstan about building a gas pipeline to China through Kazakh territory. Gazprom and Kazakhstans state-owned QazaqGaz are discussing a feasibility study, Kazakh Energy Minister Bolat Akchulakov said on February 22. In January Tashkent sought to dampen controversy about Russian sway over the sector by assuring citizens there was no threat of handing over the gas transportation system to anyone, or to our sovereignty. But concerns were compounded by the subsequent release of an investigative report from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty alleging that Russian vested interests had benefited from alleged cronyism and lack of transparency in the awarding of contracts in Uzbekistans energy sector. Uzbek and Russian insiders took control of hundreds of gas and oil fields in the Central Asian nation and were awarded lucrative construction, drilling, and export rights, often with no public evidence of competitive bidding, it suggested. Tashkent has furiously rebutted many of its claims. ADVERTISEMENT Compounding the doom and gloom surrounding the energy sector, tax revenue from the extractive industries fell by 12 percent last year, a government report shows. Still, at 13.9 trillion soms ($1.2 billion), it was slightly above the government forecast. The drop is mainly due to tax cuts for the extractive sector that came into force from January 2022 as part of the governments efforts to attract investors. By Eurasianet.org More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Moscows ability to develop its own resource-based economy, expand the Northern Sea Route, cement ties with China and support Vladimir Putins ambitions to project power into the Arctic depends on the development of land-based infrastructure in the northern regions of the Russian Federation (see EDM, April 29, 2016; September 11, 2018; December 6, 2018). Yet, that ability has now been called into question, as the Russian government has canceled, despite Putins repeated orders to the contrary, a program to complete the broad-gauge Northern Broad-Gauge Railway. The route was intended to link settlements that support the Northern Sea Route, military bases and the locations of key sources of raw materials across the Russian North with the rest of the country (see EDM, July 6, 2021; The Barents Observer, September 27, 2021; Ura.news, December 30, 2022, Svpressa.ru, February 19). Without such a rail line, in fact, Moscow will not be able to achieve its economic and geopolitical goals in the region, according to some Russian observers, as there simply are not enough alternative routes to support them (Ura.news, October 7, 2022; Regnum, August 30, 2022). This planned railway is crucial due to the lack of other land-based infrastructure in the Russian North. At present, few regular highways exist in the region, and the melting of the permafrost makes constructing more roads extremely difficult, time-consuming and expensive (Profile.ru, December 22, 2022). The ice roads Russia has long relied on are now ever-more difficult to maintain and accessible for ever-fewer months of the year for the same reason (T.me/Torbozne_radio, January 4; Yakutiafuture.ru, January 6). And air carriers cannot make up the gap, not only in exporting tons of raw materials but also in supplying northern settlements, ports and bases. The number of airports in the Russian North has declined by more than 80 percent since the collapse of the Soviet Union (Window on Eurasia, February 15). These dangers are already raising alarm among Russian economic and strategic thinkers. Indeed, their calculations and concerns help explain why Putin pressed for the Northern Railway in the first place. Now, with the project having been effectively axed, their worries are mounting. (For a comprehensive discussion of the economic and political impact of Russias broader infrastructure problems, see Profile.ru, July 25, 2022; for their specific impact on the military in the North, see Nezavisimoye voyennoye obozreniye, December 2, 2021). In a recent article, Aleksandr Shalak lays out the impact of particular challenges in the Arctic on the domestic economy and the growth of the Northern Sea Route (Jhist.bgu.ru, accessed February 22). He points out that settlements, bases and natural-resource sites in the Russia North require land-based infrastructure because the other routes cannot carry enough cargo. However, Shalak argues, Russia will not be able to handle more than 1 percent of Asia-Europe trade on the Northern Sea Route or otherwise project power into the Arctic Sea, regardless of what Russian leaders might be saying. As a result, and with growing frequency in recent years, Russian officials have placed their hopes in the construction of a major railway across the Russian North. Discussion of such a line goes back to imperial times (Svpressa.ru, February 19; for general discussions of building railways in the north, largely on the model of the Trans-Siberian Railway, see Historicus.ru, accessed February 22). Actual construction began using Gulag prisoners at the end of Stalins rule, though it was suspended upon his death. And a new push for this line emerged in the past decade, with many brave words being said about what it would mean for the Russian North and the country more generally. But, in reality, little work was actually carried out on the ground. Now, even planning has been suspended, a development that makes it unlikely that, in this decade or the next, the Russian North will have the land-based infrastructure that Moscow needs if its hopes are to be realized. What appears to be this projects death knell, at least for the time being, is instructive in its own right. It occurred not with some dramatic single action by the Kremlin but in a rolling fashion as has often been the case with the backtracking of decisions under Putin. In April 2021, to much acclaim, the Russian president called for construction of the Northern Broad-Gauge Railway to begin, with the goal of completing the project in the next few years. Yet, despite Putins words, nothing happened, at least in part because of the COVID-19 pandemic, increased spending for his war against Ukraine and the impact of Western sanctions. Then, in 2022, Putin issued a new order for the project to go ahead. Again, nothing happened. Instead, less than a month later, Marat Khusnullin, a Russian deputy prime minister, quietly stopped all work on the project without giving anyone reason to think it would be resumed. Indeed, many Russian experts and commentators concerned with infrastructure issues believe that this railway plan has come to the end of its line, and one has even suggested that the cancellation of this project puts a cross on the future of Russia (Svpressa.ru, February 19). Khusnullin, who announced the completion of half the project, is, as many have noted, a Kazan Tatar, and some in the Russian Federation think he made this decision to find funds to pay for one of his own pet projects: a super highway connecting Moscow and Kazan (Ura.news, December 30, 2022). But whatever his true intentions, the decision highlights two factors of enormous consequence in Russia today. On the one hand, it underscores the fact that, in todays Moscow, junior officials can sabotage even a critical security-related infrastructure project that the Kremlin leader has made clear he is prioritizing. And on the other, it shows just how tight the Russian budget has become and how that is affecting even high-priority plans, such as those for the Arctic. This in turn means that most of what Putin has talked about in developing the Russian North is just that, talk. And alarmist reactions in the West reflect the fact that too much attention is paid to what Putin says and too little to what is actually happening after he says it. Unless money is found, and soon, to restart this project, Putin and Russia will have a difficult time trying to achieve their goals in the Arctic. By the Jamestown Foundation More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Exxon has warned that it is vulnerable to disruptions at its Kazakh oil operations because of the export infrastructure that passes through Russia. In case the flow of oil from the Caspian Sea to international markets from a Russian Black Sea port via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium pipeline is "disrupted, curtailed, temporarily suspended.", Exxon "could experience a loss of cash flows of uncertain duration from its operations in Kazakhstan," the supermajor said in a regulatory filing cited by Reuters. Exxon has a 25-percent stake in the Tengizchevroil consortium that operates two fields in the Kazakh section of the Caspian Sea, and 16.8 percent in the Kashagan field. The production corresponding to these stakes averaged 246,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily last year. This brought Exxon earnings of $2.5 billion, the company also noted in its filing. The news comes on the heels of suspended oil flows from the Tengiz field due to excess stocks at the Russian port of Novorossiysk. The excess stock in turn was the result of suspended exports from Novorossiysk because of adverse weather conditions. Last year, oil flows via the CPC pipeline were halted first in spring, because of damage from a storm. Then, a few months later, exports were halted again due to a Russian court order following allegations of environmental rule violation. That order was overturned by another Russian court. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium is the worlds largest international oil transportation project involving Russian and Kazakh companies for the transportation of crude oil from Kazakh and Russian fields to the port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea via a 1,500-km pipeline. Chevron has a 15-percent stake in the company. Kazakhstan exports about 80 percent of the crude oil it sells abroad via the CPC pipeline, which makes it a critical part of the country's infrastructure. ADVERTISEMENT By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Germany plans to have as much as 70.7 million tons per year of LNG import capacity by 2030, which will make Europes biggest economy the fourth-largest LNG import capacity holder in the world by the end of this decade, Argus reports, citing plans by the German economy ministry and energy group RWE. Germany no longer receives Russian gas via Nord Stream, which was sabotaged in the autumn of 2022. Even before that, Russia had slashed pipeline flows via Nord Stream, citing Western sanctions that prevented gas turbine maintenance. Faced with the prospect of no Russian gas this winter, Germany rushed to install floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs). Two of those FSRUs are already operational. Germany plans to have a total of 10 FSRUs, some of which will be removed and replaced by onshore regasification facilities once they are built. The rush to have LNG import terminals as soon as possible will make Germany the fourth largest import capacity holder behind the major Asian LNG buyers South Korea, China, and Japan, according to Argus. It is important to note that several of these projects are proposals and there is no guarantee they will all be built. Germany inaugurated its first floating LNG import terminal at Wilhelmshaven a week before Christmas. In early January, Germany welcomed the first tanker carrying LNG at the newly opened LNG import terminal at Wilhelmshaven, with the cargo arriving from the Calcasieu Pass export facility in the United States. Two weeks later, TotalEnergies said it would supply LNG and is contributing an FSRU to the newly opened Deutsche Ostsee LNG import terminal in Lubmin on the German Baltic Sea coast. TotalEnergies has also contracted regasification capacity of 2.6 billion cubic meters of gas per year and began to deliver LNG from its global integrated portfolio to the Lubmin terminal. Separately, Switzerland-based trader MET Group said last month it had secured binding long-term LNG capacities at the Lubmin terminal. ADVERTISEMENT Last week, Germany welcomed the first shipment of LNG from the Middle East, from Abu Dhabis ADNOC, which delivered cargo to the Elbehafen floating LNG terminal in Brunsbuttel. The shipment of 137,000 cubic meters of LNG was the commissioning cargo for the new floating LNG terminal in Brunsbuttel. By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: ISLAMABAD, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- One terrorist was killed by security forces during an exchange of fire on Wednesday in northwest Pakistan, a military statement said. The incident happened in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to the military's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations. It was reported that the killed terrorist remained involved in terrorist activities against security forces and civilians. "Locals of the area appreciated the response and expressed their full support to eliminating the menace of terrorism," said the statement. After plunging for six straight sessions on economic growth concerns, oil prices have now gained over 2% on the back of indications that gasoline demand is starting to improve alongside a weekly decline in U.S. gasoline inventories. At 3:40 p.m. EST on Thursday, Brent crude was trading up 2.26%, at $82.42 per barrel for a $1.82 per barrel gain on the day. WTI was also trading up 2.26%, at $75.62 per barrel. On Thursday, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly inventory report, showing that while crude oil inventory continued to rise for the ninth week in a row, gasoline inventory fell by 1.9 million barrels. Despite the crude oil inventory build, the gasoline inventory decline is driving oil prices upwards today, with gasoline demand expected to strengthen as we head out of winter and into higher driving seasons. Also driving oil prices higher are impending cuts to Russian oil output in March, along with indications that cuts could be greater than initially expected. Earlier in February, Russia announced it would slash production by 500,000 barrels per day in March, in retaliation for Western sanctions. On Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources, that Russia planned to cut crude exports from Western ports by one-quarter in March and April, which would suggest an apparent extension of the 500,000 bpd output cut. There was no official confirmation of the Reuters report. At the same time, a stronger dollar, along with continual rises in U.S. crude oil inventory, serve as counterbalances to rising prices. Reuters cites UBS analysts as saying that a reduction in Russian oil output combined with Chinas reopening should support higher prices despite a stronger dollar. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: ADVERTISEMENT More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Cheniere Energy, the biggest U.S. LNG exporter, more than doubled its revenues in 2022 from a year earlier as Europe imported increased volumes and paid high prices for gas as it sought to replace Russian pipeline supply. Cheniere (NYSEAMERICAN: LNG) reported today total revenues of $33.428 billion for 2022, up from $15.864 billion for 2021. Last years revenues beat the analyst consensus expectation of $32.7 billion. Cheniere also reported a net profit of $1.428 billion, compared to a loss of $2.343 billion for 2021. Europe attracted most of the U.S. exports of LNG last year as demand in Asia was weak while the EU raced to fill inventories ahead of the 2022/2023 winter. The weak demand in Asia due to Chinas zero-Covid policy and high prices that south Asian LNG importers couldnt afford helped Europe stock up ahead of this winter. Cheniere, as the top U.S. LNG exporter, benefited from the European rush to buy LNG. Europe had to compete for LNG cargoes resulting in unprecedented price spikes, Cheniere said in the comments on the market environment in its SEC filing. This extreme price increase triggered a strong supply response from the U.S., which played a significant role in balancing the global LNG market. Despite the outage at Freeport LNG, the U.S. exported approximately 77 million tonnes of LNG in 2022, a gain of approximately 9% from 2021, as the market continued to pull on supplies from our facilities and those of our competitors, the U.S. LNG exporter said. Cheniere believes it is well positioned to help meet the increased demand of its international LNG customers to overcome their supply shortages, it said. U.S. exports could rise later this year after Freeport LNG, the second-largest U.S. LNG export facility, earlier this week received regulatory approval to resume commercial operations of its natural gas liquefaction and export facility. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com ADVERTISEMENT More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Cities and counties would lose authority to set up traffic cameras and collect revenue under a pair of bills that Iowa lawmakers advanced Wednesday. One bill would require local governments to receive approval from the State Department of Transportation before placing a traffic camera on an Iinterstate or state highway. Local governments could only put traffic cameras in high-crash or high-risk locations and would have to exhaust all other traffic enforcement options before installing them. The proposal, House Study Bill 161, mirrors regulations set by the DOT before they were struck down by the Iowa Supreme Court in 2018, which found the department could not regulate city traffic cameras. There have been several attempts since then to rein in the use of the devices, which some lawmakers see as an infringement on privacy. Some also argue that cities are abusing the systems to bring in revenue. We do believe some kind of statewide regulatory framework is necessary, said Rep. Phil Thompson of Boone, who chairs the Public Safety Committee. ... this is essentially just codifying what [the DOT] tried to do in 2018. The bill passed the subcommittee with only Republican support. Cities and counties also would be required to submit a yearly report to the Iowa DOT on the effectiveness of the cameras, which the DOT would use to determine whether to keep them in place. Representatives for cities and law enforcement agencies argued the bill would remove the control cities have to regulate traffic. There are at least 10 cities that use enforcement cameras. Three cities LeClaire, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines have cameras on Interstate highways. If the Legislature is looking to provide a regulatory framework, I think we can work toward that, but adding state government into this would be difficult, David Adelman, a lobbyist for the Metropolitan Coalition, told lawmakers. The Metropolitan Coalition represents Iowas 10 largest cities. Lobbyists also said the cameras reduce crashes and keep police out of high-risk areas. Doug Struyk, a lobbyist for the City of Des Moines, said the traffic camera on Interstate 235 keeps police from pulling drivers over in a dangerous area of the road. Theres no place to be, and youre going to end up injuring and killing officers, and youre going to injure the public by trying to pull people over and enforce traffic there, he said. Another bill, House File 313, would direct the revenues gathered from traffic cameras to the state Road Use Tax Fund, which pays for state and local road improvements. Vehicle registration fees and fuel taxes are currently directed to the fund. Cities again opposed the bill, saying it would take away significant money that cities use to fund police positions and ease property taxes. What this bill is doing is removing dollars that have gone to public safety, to police, to EMS, to fire, and removing those dollars from local law enforcement, Adelman said. Larry Murphy, a lobbyist for the Iowa Police Chiefs Association and Cedar Rapids, said the City of Cedar Rapids uses its traffic camera revenues to fund 11 police positions, which would lose that funding source if the state redirects the money. The bill passed the subcommittee with only Republican support. Lawmakers advanced a bill earlier this month that would restrict cities to placing traffic cameras on city roads, counties on county roads, and allow the DOT to place traffic cameras on state roads. The bills would need to advance through a committee before next Friday, the first funnel date, to remain viable, and Thompson said he isnt ruling any of them out. Im going to give all these bills a subcommittee hearing and try to gather as much feedback and try to put together some kind of framework, Thompson said American Airlines is adding a second daily nonstop flight between Omahas Eppley Airfield and New York Citys LaGuardia Airport. The second daily flight, which starts June 1, represents an expansion of a route that American started in November 2021. Delta Air Lines also operates a route between the two airports. The American flights will take off from Omaha around 7 a.m. and 11 a.m., respectively. Both American routes will be serviced by Embraer E-175 jets. They will fly under American Airlines regional brand American Eagle. Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2023 Audubon Nebraska announced a $34 million fundraising campaign to revamp its nature centers and invest in programming and conservation efforts. The organization, which protects birds and their environments, announced the campaign this week. However, officials already have raised $31 million toward the campaign, dubbed Elevate Nebraska, since July 2020. A portion of the money will go toward renovation and expansion of two nature centers Rowe Sanctuary in Gibbon, Nebraska, and Spring Creek Prairie in Denton, Nebraska. Spring Creek Prairie will see upgrades to bridges and trails as well as new signage and exhibits, and upgraded lighting both indoors and in parking lots. Rowe Sanctuary will see multiple new additions, including a space to improve river and bird viewing, a conference room and multipurpose space, and an industrial-grade kitchen designed for catering. The spaces great hall would be renovated to create a larger, more open space and office space would be reconfigured. The sanctuary also would see installation of interpretive and interactive exhibits, an accessible entry, a new overlook deck and boardwalk segments along the Platte River, landscaping with native plants, and more efficient and wildlife-friendly lighting. Other funds raised through the campaign will go toward conservation programs, native habitat restoration, education programs, as well as partnerships with private landowners across the state. It also would expand the Platte River Initiative, which aims to put in place a long-term, whole ecosystem approach to natural resource conservation on the Platte River, according to the Audubon Nebraska website. We know that what is good for birds is good for people, said Kristal Stoner, Audubon Nebraska executive director, in a press release. When birds thrive, so do people. Which is why we work to conserve our waterways and our native prairies, and share our knowledge to inspire people to join us. Everything is connected, and people need these spaces, too. For more information, visit greatplains.audubon.org. Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2023 Authorities in Iowa have arrested a suspect in connection with a shooting that left an Omaha man in critical condition Wednesday afternoon. Omaha police were called to All Nations Grocery Liquor and Tobacco at 24th and Leavenworth Streets shortly before 1:40 p.m. Wednesday. There, they found DaRontae Orduna, 33, inside the store with a gunshot wound. Orduna was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center in critical condition. The hospital could not provide an update on his condition Thursday. According to a Thursday update from the Omaha Police Department, Council Bluffs police arrested a 27-year-old suspect in connection with the shooting. The suspect was arrested at a Council Bluffs hotel and taken to the Pottawattamie County Jail. Douglas County authorities have not filed charges related to the shooting. Council Bluffs police arrested the suspect on suspicion of marijuana possession and being a felon in possession of a firearm. More than a dozen South Omaha organizations and businesses that have been recommended to receive about $95 million in economic recovery money gathered Wednesday to send a united message to the Nebraska Legislature and the public. Their message: They are ready, willing and able to do the projects they pitched, and they are united. What is important for us is to let the state senators and the community as a whole know that all the organizations are ready to deliver on these projects, said Cesar Garcia, executive director of Canopy South, a nonprofit group working on South Omaha redevelopment. This is a historic moment where organizations in South Omaha are coming together to work regardless of the differences of the past and looking in the future at the only thing we need to focus on: a historic opportunity that we dont want to go to waste. The South Omaha money is part of $335 million that the Nebraska Legislature approved last year to help North Omaha, South Omaha, Lincoln and other Nebraska communities that were disproportionately affected by the COVID pandemic. Most of the money in Legislative Bill 1024, the Economic Recovery Act, comes from the federal American Rescue Plan Act. In January, a contractor for the state, Olsson Engineering, recommended that 35 Omaha-area projects receive a combined $225 million of the funds, including the South Omaha proposals. But those are only recommendations. The Legislature will consider bills this year making actual allocations. And questions have arisen whether the organizations will be able to complete the projects, given that many of the groups asked for more money than they are recommended to receive. The answer is yes, Garcia said. The groups have access to other funds or are raising more money and in some cases are altering plans but they can get them done, he said. More than 50 people from the organizations gathered Wednesday to tout the projects at the historic Livestock Exchange Building in South Omaha. The recommended South Omaha projects include: $25 million for improvements to the Plaza de la Raza on South 24th Street and the surrounding neighborhood plus small-business support; $11.8 million for a new Girls Inc. South Omaha Center; $10 million for OneWorld for a facility to include a health care workforce training center, behavioral health services and childcare; $8.1 million for a renovation of The Simple Foundations community center and headquarters; $9 million to renovate and expand El Museo Latino; and $5.8 million for an economic development project that will include global marketplaces, housing and a commercial kitchen to support business and workforce development. The project involving the global markets has been in the works since 2012, and much progress was being made before the pandemic slowed it down, said Marta Sonia Londono Mejia, the spokesperson for the five organizations involved in it. They already have some of the capital and property they require, and the recommended grant would finally make it possible for them to access enough other financing. If they give the money as part of the project, we will do it for sure, she said. Garcia met with representatives of each nonprofit and business recommended to receive money, he said. I asked them to show me their plans to demonstrate that they had the capacity, because the last thing we wanted to do is to say that were ready when were not, he said. I have seen their programs, I have talked to the architects, I have talked to their project managers, their owners reps, and theyre ready to go. . . . South Omaha has the capacity, desire, trust in the community, proven record for what we submitted. WARSAW, Poland President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin made a big mistake by suspending his countrys participation in the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty. The U.S. president was in Poland to reassure eastern flank NATO allies that the U.S. will remain by their sides amid the grinding Russian invasion of Ukraine. In his first comments since Putins announcement Tuesday, Biden condemned the Russian decision to pull back from the treaty, known as New START. The move is expected to have an immediate impact on U.S. visibility into Russian nuclear activities, but the pact was already on life support after Moscows cancellation late last year of talks intended to salvage an agreement that both sides accused the other of violating. Its a big mistake, Biden said. Meanwhile, both houses of Russias parliament on Wednesday quickly endorsed Putins move. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russias Security Council, which is chaired by Putin, emphasized Wednesday that the suspension of Russias participation in the pact was a signal to the U.S. that Moscow is ready to use nuclear weapons to protect itself. If the U.S. wants Russias defeat, we have the right to defend ourselves with any weapons, including nuclear, Medvedev said on his messaging app channel. Let the U.S. elites who have lost touch with reality think about what they got. If the U.S. wants Russia to be defeated, we are standing on the verge of a global conflict. Bidens comments came as he wrapped up a four-day visit to Poland and Ukraine with talks with leaders from the Bucharest Nine, a collection of nations in the most eastern parts of the NATO alliance that came together in response to Putins 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. He left Poland on Wednesday evening to return to Washington ahead of Fridays anniversary of the wars breakout. Many in Bucharest Nine countries worry Putin could take military action against them next if hes successful in Ukraine. The alliance includes Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Youre the front lines of our collective defense, Biden said Wednesday of the group. And you know, better than anyone, whats at stake in this conflict. Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world. He pledged that NATOs mutual-defense pact is sacred and that we will defend literally every inch of NATO. A day earlier at the foot of Warsaws Royal Castle to mark the somber milestone of the year-old Russian invasion, Biden warned that Russian aggression, if unchecked, wouldnt stop at Ukraines borders. Appetites of the autocrat cannot be appeased, he said. They must be opposed. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the right-wing populist leader who argued last week that the European Union is partly to blame for prolonging Russias war in Ukraine, has balked at sanctions on Moscow and arming Kyiv. Orban skipped the meeting with Biden, and President Katalin Novak attended in his stead. Still, Klaus Iohannis, the president of Romania, insisted that The B9 is stronger than ever. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who attended the meeting, said, We dont know when the war will end, but when it does, we need to ensure that history does not repeat itself. Pointing to past Russian actions in Georgia and Ukraine, he added, We cannot allow Russia to continue to chip away at European security. We must break the cycle of Russian aggression. Biden met Tuesday in Warsaw with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, who last week claimed Moscow was behind a plot to overthrow her countrys government using external saboteurs. Sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania and one of Europes poorest countries, the Eastern European nation has historic ties to Russia but wants to join the 27-nation European Union. Biden endorsed Moldovas bid to join the EU. Im proud to stand with you and the freedom-loving people of Moldova, Biden said of Sandu and her country in his Tuesday address. Since Russia invaded Ukraine almost a year ago, Moldova, a former Soviet republic of about 2.6 million people, sought to forge closer ties with its Western partners. Last June, it was granted EU candidate status, the same day as Ukraine. Sandu spoke out last week about a Russian plot to overthrow the constitutional order. She spoke out after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country intercepted plans by Russian secret services to destroy Moldova. On this version of Hot off the Wire: Both houses of Russia's parliament have quickly endorsed President Vladimir Putins move to suspend the last remaining nuclear arms treaty with the United States. President Joe Biden says Russian President Vladimir Putin made a big mistake by suspending that treaty, known as New START. Nearly all Federal Reserve policymakers agreed earlier this month to slow the pace of their rate increases to a quarter-point, with only a few supporting a larger half-point hike. The Supreme Court seems skeptical of a lawsuit trying to hold social media companies responsible for a terrorist attack at a Turkish nightclub that killed 39 people. Israeli forces stormed into a major Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank for a rare daylight arrest raid, triggering a fierce gun battle that killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded scores of others. Astronomers have discovered what appear to be massive galaxies dating back to within 600 million years of the Big Bang. The findings suggest the early universe may have had a stellar fast-track that produced these monster galaxies. The Biden administration says it will generally deny asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S. southern border without first seeking protection in a country they passed through. CNN's Don Lemon returns to work on Wednesday after being off for three days following on-air remarks that Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was not in "her prime." Amazon has closed its $3.9 billion acquisition of the primary care organization One Medical. The health company runs a membership-based service offers virtual care as well as in-person visits. Microsoft is ready to take its new Bing chatbot mainstream less than a week after making major fixes to stop the artificially intelligent search engine from going off the rails. MANILA, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' foreign investments yielded net inflows of 292 million U.S. dollars in January, higher than the 93 million dollars in net inflows recorded in December 2022, the Philippine central bank said Thursday. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the January figure is about 20 times larger compared to the 15 million dollars in net inflows recorded in January 2022. Year-to-date net inflows amounted to 316 million dollars. According to BSP, investments for January mostly came from Britain, the United States, Singapore, Luxembourg, and China's Hong Kong, with a combined share of 83.8 percent. The central bank added that it saw 1 billion dollars in registered investments in January, reflecting a decrease of 8.1 percent compared to the amount in December 2022. Registered investments in January this year increased by 37.3 percent year on year. LINCOLN Legislation authorizing the issuance of up to $450 million in bonds to accelerate completion of Nebraskas long-delayed, four-lane expressway system would generate economic activity while better positioning the state to compete and grow, according to Gov. Jim Pillen. Weve really missed the boat, the governor told the Legislatures Revenue Committee Wednesday, by lagging behind in completing the four-lane expressway system envisioned in the Build Nebraska Act authored by then-State Sen. Deb Fischer and approved by the Legislature in 2011. Fischer is now a U.S. senator. In terms of safety, economic development and connecting Nebraska communities, this is an incredibly important investment, Pillen said as he testified in support of the highway bond bill, Legislative Bill 706. Its important for the state to be able to compete, he said. Sen. Mike Moser of Columbus, author of LB 706 and the senator who hails from Pillens own community, said the proposal would spur economic development in the state. The bill provides for up to $450 million in bonding authority and $35 million in annual debt service payments, along with provisions that no bonds would be issued after 2029 and all bonds would be paid in full by June 2042, when the program would sunset. Bryan Slone of Omaha, president of the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry, spoke in support of the bill, telling the committee that highways are the lifeblood of business critical to manufacturing, agriculture and transportation. Bruce Bohrer, speaking for the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, said highway infrastructure promotes economic development and growth. Lynn Rex, executive director of the League of Nebraska Municipalities, noted that the bill would complete the long-promised expressway system. The proposal also had the endorsement of the Nebraska Association of County Officials. There was no opposition testimony at Wednesdays hearing. Photos: 2023 Nebraska legislative session LINCOLN The latest attempt to curtail abortion access in Nebraska moved one step closer to becoming law Wednesday evening. Nebraskas Health and Human Services Committee voted 4-2 to advance Legislative Bill 626, pushing the bill out of committee and into the first of three rounds of legislative debate. One committee member, State Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont, was not present for the vote. Dubbed the Nebraska Heartbeat Act, LB 626 would prohibit most abortions in Nebraska once embryonic cardiac activity can be detected via ultrasound, which typically happens around six weeks of pregnancy. The introducer, Sen. Joni Albrecht of Thurston, tried last year to completely ban abortions in the state through a trigger bill, which narrowly failed due to a filibuster. That bill did not make it out of the Judiciary Committee last year, and only made it to the floor thanks to a successful pull motion. The bill this year includes several exceptions that last years legislation did not, including exceptions for rape, incest and lifesaving procedures. It also clarifies the bill does not apply to ectopic pregnancies, in vitro fertilization and other procedures that lead to the end of a pregnancy. However, LB 626 is still significantly stricter than Nebraskas current law banning abortions at 20 weeks past fertilization. Albrecht estimated the bill would eliminate 85% of abortions in the state. If LB 626 passed in its current form, a physicians medical license could be revoked if they perform an abortion after embryonic cardiac activity is detected. This differs from last years proposed ban, which would have made it a criminal offense to perform an abortion. Neither bill would penalize the woman receiving an abortion. LB 626 was the subject of an hours-long public hearing earlier this month, with supporters and opponents crowding the halls of the Nebraska Capitol for most of the afternoon. In addition to the dozens who testified, there were more than 1,600 submitted comments 738 in support and 901 against. Supporters commonly argued that abortions were harmful to children and women, and referenced embryonic cardiac activity as a heartbeat, claiming it was a universal sign of life. The term fetal heartbeat is controversial. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said it isnt accurate to characterize an embryos cardiac activity as a heartbeat until the chambers of the heart are developed around 17-20 weeks of gestation. Opponents argued that abortion was vital health care and that women should be free to make the decision to have one or not. Critics claim the bill would effectively ban all abortions in the state, as most women dont even realize they are pregnant at the point when an abortion would be prohibited. The Nebraska Medical Association, the Nebraska Nurses Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists all opposed the bill. Multiple physicians argued that the vague language of the bill would prevent health care workers from providing essential care, while a few supporting physicians argued the opposite. Sens. Machaela Cavanaugh and Jen Day of Omaha, who were the two votes against advancing the bill, pushed the committee to draft an amendment addressing some of the concerns expressed by opponents at the hearing and make structural changes. However, Cavanaugh later said she would rather the committee advance the bill without changes, as she feels the legislation has a better chance of failing without amendments. Its perfectly terrible, Cavanaugh said. Cavanaugh expressed concerns specifically about the exceptions for rape victims under the bill. After going back and forth with Albrecht at the end of the hearing earlier this month, Albrecht noted that it had been a long day of testimony and declined to answer her questions a move Cavanaugh called unbelievably disrespectful though Albrecht said she would follow up with Cavanaughs office to address her concerns. Cavanaugh claimed Wednesday that Albrecht never followed up with her. Sen. Brian Hardin of Gering said he didnt want to stall the bill to make changes when he expects it will stir up controversy regardless of any amendments. If we hold out for the perfect, we cant act on the good, Hardin said. Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston said LB 626s primary purpose is to end elective abortions, but Day refuted that. She claimed two Nebraska women have already been denied prescriptions one a form of contraception, and another medication to aid in the womans miscarriage because the pharmacists believed the bill was already law. Cavanaugh said she was disappointed that the four male committee members who voted to advance the bill were so flippant about the concerns raised by the two female members present for the discussion. Youre talking about our lives, Cavanaugh said. Cavanaugh and Day plan to file a committee minority report before the first round of debate on the bill. The report will serve as a place for the lawmakers to explain their dissenting opinion. Clerk of the Legislature Brandon Metzler said these reports are relatively rare, but it will be available on the Legislatures website along with other documents associated with LB 626. The bills advancement came as no surprise to its opponents. Planned Parenthood Advocates of Nebraska Executive Director Andi Curry Grubb said in an email statement that she expected the bill to move out of committee, but she and other critics still plan to fight it. The reality is, Nebraska lawmakers now have more control over our bodies and futures than we do, Curry Grubb said in the email. And its imperative we let them know this proposed ban is unacceptable. Anti-abortion advocates praised the committees decision Wednesday in an email that included statements from the Nebraska Family Alliance, Nebraska Catholic Conference and Nebraska Right to Life. Today Nebraska took a giant step forward in valuing everyones rights, regardless of race, belief, socioeconomic status, or age born and unborn, said Sandy Danek, executive director of Nebraska Right to Life. Photos: 2023 Nebraska legislative session Rep. Don Bacon is calling for an official investigation after his and other Air Force veterans personnel records were released without authorization. The Nebraska congressmans records were released to a third-party individual without his approval in November 2021, according to a letter from the Air Force. The news outlet Politico was first to report on the existence of the letter, which it obtained a copy of. Bacons office confirmed that he received the letter from Air Force Maj. Gen. Troy Dunn on Feb. 7. It states that the Air Forces personnel records branch received multiple requests from Abraham Payton, a backgrounds investigation specialist at Due Diligence Group LLC, for Bacons military personnel records on Nov. 9, 2021. Bacon served for nearly 30 years in the Air Force and retired as a brigadier general before being elected to Congress. Payton classified the purpose of the records request as employment and benefits and had Bacons Social Security number, according to the letter. The records department then sent Bacons personal identifying information to Payton on Nov. 12, 2021, the letter said. Politico reported that Payton was a former research director for American Bridge, a Democratic political group. The news outlet also reported that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee paid Due Diligence just over $110,000 between January 2021 and December 2022. Bacon, a Republican who in November was elected to a fourth term representing Nebraskas Omaha-area congressional district, told The World-Herald in a statement that he would like to see an investigation into whether the unauthorized release was connected to the Democratic political group. This isnt just dirty politics, but likely a violation of the law, the statement said. Veterans deserve peace of mind knowing their information is safe and will be protected from political dirty tricksters. In a statement, the Air Force said an audit found that there was unauthorized release of military records for 11 individuals between October 2021 and October 2022. It did not identify those individuals; however, Politico reported that Rep. Zach Nunn, a Republican from Iowa, said the Air Force informed him that his records were disclosed without his authorization. Virtually all unauthorized disclosures were in response to a third-party seeking service records for employment or benefit purposes through a process commonly used by other federal agencies to conduct employee background checks, the Air Force said in its statement. In the letter to Bacon, Dunn said that there was no criminal wrongdoing or malicious intent found on the part of the employee who released the records but that procedural changes to increase security of personnel records were made after the unauthorized release. Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2023 LINCOLN Admirers of Malcolm X called Wednesday for Nebraska to honor and recognize the slain human rights leader by declaring his birthday as a state holiday. Under Legislative Bill 53, proposed by State Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha, the proposed El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, Malcolm X Day would be observed on May 19. At a hearing before the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, McKinney said the day would be a way to celebrate the legacy of an Omaha native, who was born in 1925 as Malcolm Little. Malcolm X may be the most famous Nebraskan internationally, McKinney said. The senator acknowledged that Malcolm X had been controversial but compared his impact to that of Dr. Martin Luther King, the famed civil rights leader who has a national holiday marking his birthday. Both King and Malcolm X were assassinated. The more we dont talk about history, the more we dont talk about men like Malcolm X, we miss an opportunity to change the world, McKinney said. Malcolm Xs family left Omaha less than two years after his birth because of threats from the Ku Klux Klan. Those events had lasting effects on his childhood and his life. He spent time in foster care as a teenager and wound up in prison as a young man but transformed his life and became a major advocate for Black empowerment and an internationally known human rights activist. He was named to the Nebraska Hall of Fame last year, following a decadelong campaign. JoAnna LeFlore-Ejike, executive director of the Malcolm X Foundation in Omaha, said creating a holiday is the next logical step in honoring Malcolm X. She said the celebration could attract visitors from other states and other countries, as well as encourage young people to learn more about him. We would have potentially more motivated youth willing to grow from their experiences, transform and be more insightful about their contributions to this world, she said. YShall Davis of Omaha urged support of the bill, saying that Malcolm X changed her life when the streets of North Omaha led me astray. She said she learned how Malcolm X had made changes to improve himself after realizing there were errors in his thinking. That example helped her stay out of jail and focus on learning. Marilyn Hoegemeyer said she didnt learn about Malcolm X until she went to college in the 1960s. But she said his words still speak to her, even as a 78-year-old white woman from rural Nebraska. But Kathy Wilmot of Beaver City opposed the bill, questioning whether the state should promote Malcolm Xs views. She also argued against creating a new state holiday, suggesting that perhaps Malcolm X and King could be honored with a combined day, similar to the way Presidents Day is handled. I dont think we can continue to add new holidays, said Wilmot, a University of Nebraska regent who said she was speaking for herself. The committee took no immediate action on the bill. Photos: Malcolm X through the years BLOOMINGTON Bradley Ross Jackson, president of the Bloomington-Normal NAACP Youth Council, will receive an NAACP Image Award on Friday evening in Pasadena, California. Jackson will then attend the red carpet event at the awards ceremony on Saturday, to be aired on BET, several CBS affiliate stations and hosted by Queen Latifah. The community can tune in to the BET livestream at 7 p.m. Friday to hear Jackson give his acceptance speech, and again at 7 p.m. Saturday for the awards. Jackson is the youngest recipient of the NAACP Image Award for Youth Advocacy and is the first youth recipient from Illinois. He was selected for the award for his racial and social advocacy work, community service and academic excellence. He is a National Honor Society student, the founder of the B.E. KIND - Bradley Encourages Kindness Campaign, and president of the Illinois State Youth and College Division. Jackson also serves as vice president of Normal Community High School's Black Student Union, is a member of the speech team and symphonic band, and is a freshmen mentor. He is associated with Operational PUSH Excel and holds an office with Jack and Jill of America Inc. He previously served as president for 4-H (Kids Who Serve). Jackson attends Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church, where he volunteers in the audio and visual ministry. Photos: Bloomington-Normal NAACP 2022 Freedom Fund Gala 091922-blm-loc-1naacpgala.JPG 091922-blm-loc-2naacpgala.JPG 091922-blm-loc-3naacpgala.JPG 091922-blm-loc-4naacpgala.JPG 091922-blm-loc-5naacpgala.JPG 091922-blm-loc-6naacpgala.JPG 091922-blm-loc-7naacpgala.JPG 091922-blm-loc-8naacpgala.JPG 091922-blm-loc-9naacpgala.JPG 091922-blm-loc-10naacpgala.JPG 091922-blm-loc-11naacpgala.JPG 091922-blm-loc-12naacpgala.JPG 091922-blm-loc-13naacpgala.JPG 091922-blm-loc-14naacpgala.JPG 091922-blm-loc-15naacpgala.JPG BLOOMINGTON A Bloomington-Normal music teacher has been sentenced to 88 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to sexual assault and child pornography charges. Michael D. Schneider, 35, of Normal was charged initially in July 2021 with 130 counts of possession of child pornography in one case. In another, he was charged with six counts of criminal sexual assault of a minor and one count each of production of child pornography, enticing a child to remove their clothing and distributing explicit material to a minor. In a partially negotiated plea agreement, Schneider pleaded guilty in December to two counts of criminal sexual assault and one count of production of child pornography in one case and 15 counts of child pornography in the other. States Attorney Erika Reynolds said her office offered a plea agreement to save the victim from having to testify in a trial in the sexual assault case. Before his arrest, Schneider taught private piano lessons and was director of worship arts at St. Johns Lutheran Church in Bloomington, having previously been the churchs choir director and a member of the arts ministry team that organizes and performs productions and other presentations, according to the churchs annual reports, as previously reported by The Pantagraph. The victim and her mother read victim impact statements during the sentencing hearing Wednesday. The victim said Schneider groomed her for years before she realized it was happening, and that she lost her teenage years and her love of music because of the assault, which occurred in 2017. She said she had taken piano lessons from him and babysat for his children. In the years since, she said, her mental health has suffered, including depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts that led to multiple attempts on her life. Its impossible for me to express the true agony of every sleepless night, every night terror, every scar on my body in the moments of silence in which I still remember every detail of what happened to me, she said through tears. Now an adult, the woman said she came forward, reopening this wound, for her younger self who could not. For that young girl who thought she couldnt speak about this. This had to be about justice, for me and any other young women who this has or could happen to, she said. ... I couldnt stand up for myself then, but now I can. Reynolds said that in Schneiders sex offender evaluation, he blamed the victim for causing him to become interested in child pornography, though the prosecutor said the digital evidence from indicates that interest already existed earlier in 2017. She said she does not believe Schneider has any rehabilitative potential and he would be at moderate to high risk to reoffend if he were given a community-based sentence. Of his role as a music teacher, the prosecutor said, People should be able to trust teachers. This community deserves that. This community deserves better. Reynolds said she and co-counsel Assistant States Attorney Mary Lawson had agreed to limit their recommendation for the sexual assault and child pornography production case to 20 years in prison as part of the plea agreement. They asked Judge William Yoder to sentence Schneider to a total of 130 years in the DOC, asking for seven-year sentences on each of the child porn possession charges. Reynolds said the sex offender evaluation indicated Schneider believed no one was hurt by his actions, but he has nearly destroyed her for his own pleasure. Reynolds noted the impact of every victim whose image could be seen in the child pornography Schneider possessed, and some of which were toddlers. Schneiders attorney, Stephanie Wong, said the defendant entered a very dark period in 2017 nothing happened before 2017; nothing happened after that. She said this shows Schneider is very capable of rehabilitation and conforming his conduct with the support of family, friends and his faith. She noted that no other students or babysitters who interacted with Schneider's family came forward with criminal claims against him. The evidence is consistent that in 2017 Michael did go through a very dark period in his life that is consistent with a horrible for lack of a better term addiction, Wong said. Theres no question that these offenses are very disturbing. Theres no question about that. She submitted 40 letters from family members, friends and at least one former student who wrote in support of Schneider. Wong said the letters express how uncharacteristic the charges are of Schneider. In a statement to the court, Schneider said he understands that the trust instilled in him by his communities is now broken. Schneider said the victim triggered my addiction to pornography, which continued a secret struggle for years. He said he sought videos of underage teenage girls, which led him to download the numerous child pornography pictures and videos as one file. Schneider said he did not realize the content that was on the file until after he had downloaded it and was shocked and disgusted by the number of photos, the ages of those depicted, and the sexual acts shown. I promptly exited the file and realized that was not who I was, and I did not view that folder again, he said. He said he has had suicidal thoughts since his arrest and was truly sorry for the pain I have caused his family, community, his former student and her family. Wong asked Yoder to give Schneider the minimum sentence of 12 years in prison on the sexual assault case and a probation sentence in the child pornography case. She said if Yoder disagreed with a community-based sentence in that case, she suggested a six-year sentence as a combination of concurrent sentences. Yoder said a community-based sentence would deprecate the seriousness of the offenses and would not be consistent with the ends of justice. The judge said he did not believe Schneiders statement regarding a single download of child pornography, and that anybody who suggests child pornography is a victimless crime quite honestly doesnt know what theyre talking about. Yoder noted the attorneys had agreed to limit the sentence in the sexual assault case, but he said he was not bound by it. He sentenced Schneider to 28 years in that case 10 years for each of the criminal sexual assault charges and eight years for the production of child pornography. He sentenced him to four years in each of the child pornography possession charges, totaling 60 years in that case. Schneider was also fined more than $17,000. Lawson said given his credit for time served and the percentage of each sentence he would be required to serve, she expects Schneider to spend slightly more than 49 years in prison. Reynolds said she was satisfied with the sentence in this case. She thanked the victim for coming forward "and bringing justice to this situation. We hope that it provides closure for the family and they can start to heal." Updated mug shots from The Pantagraph Bryant Lewis Derek Roesch Justin M. Mata Marcus D. Wesley Phillip Tinch Trisha L. Hanke William B. Givens David L. Oliver Kenneth E. Funk Jordan R. King Holly M. Isaacson Kenneth L. Minton Tony L. Jackson Britley L. Hilger Jasmine L. Smith Jackie S. Claypool Noah R. Demuth Brandon L. Parsano Alexander N. Williams Carlos Sanchez-Solozarzano Jaylin S. Bones Jordan R. King Dominique M. Banks Austin T. Daugherty Sandra M. Lewis Samantha E. Morris Nolan C. Love Nikkita L. Sandefur Katlin M.B. Wilson Eli C. Garozzo Tysean T. Townsend Curtis J. Byrd Noral K. Nelson Charles J. Tankson TROY The state has cited the assisted living facility Aspen Creek of Troy and fined it $4,000 after a resident with dementia wandered outside into below-freezing temperatures and died last month. Kathleen "Kitty" Kinkel, 77, was found dead in a field near the back of the facility six hours after she left the building on Jan. 31. Aspen Creek specializes in caring for people who have dementia. Following an investigation, the Illinois Department of Public Health accused Aspen Creek employees of failing to supervise Kinkel and follow facility policy when she triggered the door alarm. The case remains under investigation by the Troy Police Department and the Madison County Coroner's Office. Troy Police Chief Brent Shownes said Tuesday they are still waiting on a final cause of death report, pending the results of toxicological and microscopic tests. Aspen Creek officials could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday. Illinois Department of Public Health inspectors reviewed video and documents at Aspen Creek and interviewed staff members during its investigation of Kinkel's death. The Belleville News-Democrat obtained their investigative report and notice of fines through a public records request this week. State investigation finds violations Video showed that Kinkel put on her coat and went outside at 2:14 a.m., according to state inspectors. They estimated she walked 54 steps from the back door of the facility. Aspen Creek's exits are designed to remain locked unless someone applies continued pressure to the door for 15 seconds, known as delayed egress, after which an alarm will sound. Staff members use keypads to enter and exit. Two resident assistants on duty responded to the door Kinkel exited within minutes of the sounding alarm but reported they did not see any person or footprints in the snow, according to the state's review of video and employee statements. One of the resident assistants looked in Kinkel's room twice without going inside and reported it looked like she was lying in bed. The resident assistants first noticed Kinkel was missing from her room around 5:30 a.m. They thought she might have been in a friend's room but did not check because they got busy, according to the state investigation. An employee who worked the morning shift at 6 a.m. that day told a state inspector that the resident assistants said all residents were accounted for. The morning shift staff realized Kinkel was missing around 8 a.m. and saw her purple jacket in the field from a window, employees told the state. They ran to the field, found Kinkel without a pulse and not breathing and called 911. Kinkel was admitted to the facility about a month before her death. She had worked as a real estate sales associate for 26 years and was a member of the St. Jerome Catholic Church in Troy, according to her obituary. Kinkel is survived by her husband, three children and two grandchildren. Policy review, training follow resident death Aspen Creek has since reviewed its wandering and missing resident policy and procedures with all staff members and retrained them on how to respond to door alarms, according to a statement to the state about how it planned to address the issues identified by the investigation. Facilities are required to submit these plans under federal and state law. The facility also wrote in the statement that it plans to install floodlights with a motion sensor outside each fire exit. The state cited Aspen Creek for "Type 1" violations, which are the most severe because they are related to severe harm or the death of a resident, and levied the highest fine allowed by state law. How do millionaires invest their money? How do millionaires invest their money? Cash and Cash Equivalents Real Estate Stocks and Stock Funds Private Equity and Hedge Funds Commodities Nana Ansu Ababio, the Chief of Yawhima has ordered the closure of the Yawhima Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) Primary and Junior High School in the Sunyani Municipality for fear of an outbreak of respiratory diseases among school children. During a visit by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) around 0800 hours on Thursday, there was no child or a teacher in the school, along the Yawhima portion of the Sunyani-Techiman highway, and all the classrooms were locked up. The GNA said the school was closed since Monday, February 20, 2023, and the children had since remained in the house. Speaking in an interview with the GNA, Nana Ababio said the decision to close the school was taken because the school children and the teachers could not stand the dust from the untarred road. He said if immediate measures were not taken to put the worsened condition of the road into good shape to save residents from the dust, there could be an outbreak of respiratory diseases. Nana Ababio said the people had persistently appealed to the authorities at the Sunyani Municipal Assembly, but the situation remained the same, saying until something reasonable was done, the school would not be opened. When contacted, Mr. John Ansu Kumi, the Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive explained the assembly had directed contractors to water the road and help reduce the dust. He said the assembly had met and interacted with opinion leaders in the town, saying academic work would resume by Monday, February 27, 2023, and advised drivers to reduce speed as well. Meanwhile, residents of Kuotokrom and Yawhima have expressed disgust about the delay of works on the construction of the road and appealed to the Government to intervene. According to them, contractors had abandoned works on the project and had not been seen on site for some time now. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Israeli troops have killed at least 11 Palestinians and wounded dozens more during a raid in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials say. Explosions and gunfire sounded as troops entered the old city of Nablus on Wednesday morning, sparking armed clashes with Palestinian gunmen. The Israeli military said it killed three wanted militants holed up inside a house who refused to surrender. Several of those killed outside were civilians, including two elderly men. The Palestinian health ministry said 72-year-old Adnan Saabe Baara was one of them. Video footage purportedly showed his body in a street next to bags of bread, in what is usually a busy market area. A 61-year-old man, Abdul Hadi Ashqar, and a 16-year-old boy, Mohammad Shaaban, were also shot dead, the ministry said. Another elderly man, Anan Shawkat Annab, 66, who suffered from tear-gas inhalation, died in hospital on Wednesday evening. Six members of the Lions' Den and other militant groups were killed during the raid, the Lions' Den said in a Telegram post. The number of dead is one more than that of an Israeli military raid last month in Jenin, which was the deadliest in the West Bank since 2005. What makes this raid even more significant is the huge numbers wounded, with the Palestinian health ministry saying more than 80 people have suffered bullet wounds. Five different hospitals in Nablus are currently treating them. Senior Palestinian official Hussein al-Sheikh condemned what he described as a "massacre", while a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he held Israel's government responsible for "this dangerous escalation, which is pushing the region toward tension and an explosion". The militant group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, warned that it was "monitoring the escalating crimes conducted by the enemy against our people in the occupied West Bank and is running out of patience". Read Full Story .... HERE >>> : Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, has criticised the recent publication of audit reports before they are looked at by Parliament. According to him, Auditor-Generals everywhere in the world first submit their reports to the legislature for them to be probed before they are made public, so the people are not wrongly judged by the public. Speaking in a Neat FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu added that the former Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Domelevo, was the person who started publishing audit reports before they were probed by Parliament. All the Auditor-Generals in the world submit their works to their parliaments." But for our Auditor-Generals, after their investigations, you see them ordering people to pay monies and they release their reports to the public. And they end up tarnishing peoples image. Mostly, what happens is that after Parliament probes the audit reports, we realise that the auditors did not do their work well and peoples reputation has been ruined for nothing. And you see auditors begging people they have wrongly accused. These things started during the period of Domelevo. But because of what was happening between him and the government, if you criticise him, people start saying that you are against him. But what he started was not good for our democracy, he said in Twi. The Majority Leader, who is also the Member of Parliament for Suame, was reacting to an opinion regarding the publication on the website of the Auditor Service of an audit into the Governments Covid-19 transactions by the Attorney-General that advised the Auditor-General to pull down the report and publish it after it has been debated by Parliament and referred to an appropriate committee of Parliament per article 187(6) of the Constitution. The constitutional duty of the Auditor-General to submit his reports to Parliament and Parliaments consequential obligation to debate and scrutinize same will be grossly prejudiced by prior publication of the report, parts of the opinion by the Minister for Justice, read. Godfred Dame, after receiving backlash over his opinion, came out to explain that the Auditor-General is part of the Auditor General's Department, which is part of the Public Services Commission, and the constitution mandates him to offer legal advice to all agencies under the commission. the letter and spirit of laws governing the work of the Auditor-General make him part of the Audit Service of Ghana and, therefore, a regular member of the public services of Ghana to whom the Attorney-General can give advice pursuant to his mandate under article 88 of the Constitution. Article 189(2) of the Constitution provides a clue when it stipulates thus The appointment of officers and other employees in the Audit Service, other than the Auditor-General, shall be made by the Audit Service Board, acting in consultation with the Public Services Commission, parts of a statement he issued read. Source: ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram and sponsor of the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, 2021, popularly called Anti-LGBTQ+, Sam Nartey Geroge, has hinted that the bill will be presented before the house in March, 2023. This comes after the committee on the bill met with the Attorney General Wednesday, February 22, 2023, after which he indicated that he was okay with the bill. Speaking in an interview he said; I can see that we now have a light at the end of the tunnel. We have reached the end of the tunnel. And we'll be bringing that report hopefully before the end of March or before this house rises and laying it before the house for debates on the floor. And so watch this space." "We are in a good place. And we'll be looking forward to you giving us all the support to pass this landmark bill, which will be the first of its kind. Yesterday the Attorney General made that point the first of its kind on African continent. Nigeria has a bill banning same-sex marriages. That's all. It doesn't have all the other things our bill has. And so we're excited about this," Sam George added. He said that the concerns that were raised by the Attorney General had been dealt with. The Attorney General raises some fundamental issues on cost and on some human rights issues. We drew his attention yesterday that most of the issues he was raising were issues that we had already dealt with. I believe that the bill when it comes for example, and I can give you one of the concessions that had been made earlier in the committee had to do with the issue of intersex. If you read the original bill, you will see that we criminalised a number of expressions of homosexuality, but stated in our bill that intersects was considered a biological anomaly. The Attorney General agreed with the view of the committee, which we had met with earlier that if we were not criminalising intersex, and we're recognising it even original bill as a biological anomaly, then we should take it out of the bill completely. So that the bill focuses on the things that we are criminalising, he said in an interview. Source: ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video African Union observer and former Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, has told the BBCs Focus on Africa programme that he has seen a commitment from the Nigerian government to oversee credible elections. The authorities seem quite confident they can hold a free, fair and transparent election on Saturday, Mr Kenyatta said. There have been widespread reports of vote buying and corruption at polling booths in previous ballots. There are also rising tensions, with a senatorial candidate from the Labour Party being killed on Wednesday. Oyibo Chukwu was shot dead and his body burned in the south-eastern Enugu state. Mr Kenyatta warned there would be challenges, however he said the presidential candidates had told him they think they can surmount those problems, including security concerns and the cash shortage in the country which has sparked a crisis in the last few weeks. Mr Kenyatta added that he hoped these problems would not result in low turnout. He said the Nigerian elections were of the upmost importance because it is the largest democracy on the African continent and one of the largest in the world. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The General Superintendent of Assemblies of God, Ghana Rev Dr Stephen Wengam will be inducted into office at a special church service at the Accra International Conference Centre at 9am on Saturday, 25th February, 2023. The Deputy General Superintendent- Rev Dr Godwin Tito Adjei, the Secretary- Rev Dr Ernest Birikorang and Treasurer, Rev Dr Simon Abu Baba will also be inaugurated. The Guest Speaker is former President John Dramani Mahama who is a member of Assemblies of God, Ghana. Heads of Churches in Ghana as well as General Superintendents of Assemblies of God Churches from Togo, Burkina Faso, Benin, Cote d Ivoire, Niger, Liberia, Guinea Conakry, Tanzania and Singapore will attend the event. There will also be delegations of churches and religious organizations from the United States, Canada and other parts of the world. Invitation is open to all Christians in Ghana, especially Assemblies of God pastors and members who do not need any invitation to attend. Rev Dr Wengam succeeds Rev Professor Paul Frimpong- Manso who served as General Superintendent for 12 years. Rev Dr Wengam assumes office with an agenda to see Assemblies of God missionaries evangelize the entire country and to grow, transform and rebrand the Church to re-take its position as the leading Pentecostal movement in Ghana. The Induction Service will be covered live by GTV and other stations. Source: Assemblies of God, Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The military department of the United States, the Pentagon has warned China of consequences if it provides military aid to Russia. Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said Wednesday February 22, that there will be consequences for China if it were to provide lethal military aid to Russia in its war against Ukraine. [W]e haven't seen them give lethal aid to Russia at this time, for the war, but they haven't also taken that off the table, Singh said. And so we have been consistent from here, and I believe Secretary Blinken also met with his counterpart in Germany just last week, we reinforced there that there will be consequences for China should this partnership with Russia, further deepen. Singh added that China providing lethal aid to Russia in its war against Ukraine would certainly be a miscalculation. Last week, the United States ambassador to the United Nations said that China doing so would be a red line. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has officially been informed of the death of the Overlord of Gonja, the Yagbonwura, Tutunba Boresa Sulemana Jakpa. The death of the 90-year-old Overlord of the Gonjaland was announced Sunday, February 5th, 2023, by the Registrar of the Savannah Regional House of Chiefs, Abutu Kapori. On Tuesday, 21st February 2023, a delegation from the Savannah Region, led by the Savannah Regional Minister and Chiefs from Gonjaland, paid a courtesy call on me at Jubilee House, the seat of the nations presidency, to inform me formally of the passing of the Overlord of Gonja, the Yagbonwura, Tutunba Boresa Sulemana Jakpa, the President wrote on his Facebook page. The late Overlord was enskinned as Yagbonwura in March 2010. Before his enskinment as Yagbonwura, he was the Paramount Chief of the Kusawgu Traditional Area of Gonja, under the skin name, Kusawguwura Sulemana Jakpa. He was born in 1933, to Yapeiwura Bakari, the son of Yagbonwura Mahama of Kusawgu. Tuntumba Boresa Sulemana Jakpa, in his private life, worked with several organisations such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Saba International Construction Company, which constructed the Ghana Foods Distribution Depot in Tamale in 1957, SIMS Construction, Tamale Supplies, a construction firm, and Tuffour Construction, among others. He later joined the 48 Engineers Regiment, popularly called Gas Engineers, which constructed the Kalandan Barracks, Kamina Barracks, and Bawa Barracks thus the Airborne Force in Tamale. He also participated in the construction of the Tema Township and Tema Harbor during the rule of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first President and Prime Minister of Ghana. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video An alleged National Security personnel, Kelvin Prince Boakye, cited in a gold scam and robbery case has been arrested for a galamsey-related offense, his lawyer has told the court. Together with two others Kelvin Prince Boakye has been accused of robbing a gold trading firm, Waahid Gold Company Limited, of five kilogrammes of gold worth GH2.7 million in Accra. When the case was called on Thursday, February 23, lawyer for Kelvin Prince Boakye told the court that his client, the first accused was absent because he was in lawful custody at Konongo in the Ashanti region for galamsey related offense. Counsel for the second accused, Joy Kwame Genu told the court that he was unwell and had obtained an excuse duty from Ridge Hospital hence his absence. Third accused, George Essandoh Akron was however present in court and pleaded not guilty to charges of robbery and abetment of crime. The prosecuting officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Maxwell Oppong, noted that the charge sheet had been amended following the arrest of another accused person allegedly involved in the robbery, Felix Tei who lives at Oyarifa. The presiding judge of the Accra Circuit court 10, Evelyn Asamoah adjourned the case to March 2 for the accused to reappear in court. Per the facts of the case, the first accused person, Kelvin Prince Boakye was picked by the Police on November 18, 2022, following an investigation into a gold scam and robbery incident in Accra on November 8, 2022. Further investigations led to the arrest of accused persons Joy Kwame Genu and George Essandoh Akron on November 29, 2022, and December 2, 2022, respectively. Items retrieved from the suspects included an unlicensed Bruni pistol with three live 9mm ammunition, two bulletproof vests, one ballistic helmet, two stunt guns and one can of pepper spray. Background On Saturday, November 5, 2022, the complainant (name withheld) and others who are witnesses in the case went to buy 5kg of gold from the accomplices of the accused at the cost of GH2.7million. According to the prosecution officer both parties took the gold to the SSL Refinery at the Kotoka International Airport Terminal 2 for testing, after which its authenticity was verified. ASP Maxwell Oppong further noted that the accused persons allegedly lured the complainant to escort them to Accra Mall with the said amount of money for payment. He added that while the complainant was still at the Accra Mall, she called the Managing Director of the company, Mohammed Ko Chan Tha, and Emmanuel Amuzu, one of the workers informing them about the payment. While the payment was been made the alleged National Security personnel, Kelvin Boakye attacked the refinery with his accomplices. Kelvin Prince Boakye, Felix Tei and another person currently on the run beat up the director of the company. Boakye and his men allegedly robbed Mr. Amuzu and the Managing Director of the 5kg of gold. After the act, the accused person and his accomplices went into hiding. On November 18, 2022, the accused was arrested from his hideout at Awoshie, the prosecutor told the court. The court was informed that a Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) installed in the refinery captured the accused and his other accomplices in the act. Source: 3news.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The King of Dagbon, Ya-Na Abukari II says media reports claiming he has endorsed Alan Kyerematen's NPP flagbearership bid are false. The former Trade Minister, who has resigned from government to pursue his flagbearership ambition, called on the King of Dagbon on Monday, and after the visit, some selected newspapers published that the Ya-Na had told Alan Kyerematen that it was Alan's time to lead the NPP as flagbearer. The King of Dagbon has categorically issued a disclaimer stating the reports are falsehood. A press statement signed by the Secretary to the Ya-Na, rejected the concocted reports and affirmed the Ya-Na's openness to the public. "The attention of the Gbewaa Palace has been drawn to reports in various newspapers regarding the courtesy visit by the Hon Alan Kyerematen on His Majesty Ndan Ya-Na Abukari II. In particular, the reports suggest that His Royal Majesty had declared that it was the turn of Hon. Alan Kyerematen to lead the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) as a flagbearer," the statement read. "His Majesty wishes to state categorically that he made no such claim," the release stated, adding, "I have not endorsed Hon. Alan Kyerematen and wish to state categorically that the doors of my Palace are open for all", it added. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video President Buhari says the support his government has received from the private sector in addressing societal issues has made him the envy of many presidents of the world. The President said this while speaking at the commissioning and handover of security equipment valued at over N12 billion to the military and Nigeria Police Force on Wednesday, February 22. Today is indeed a very happy day for all Nigerians, and I can happily say that Im the envy of many presidents in the world. Im exceedingly honoured to be the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, at this time. Im gratified to have the honour of leading a country whose private sector willingly galvanises itself to raise funds to enthusiastically support the government in resolving social ills. Im proud to say that there is nowhere in the entire world, except in Nigeria, where the private sector has voluntarily come together to assist government efforts. These 350 vehicles and thousands of vests and helmets you are handing over today will go a long way in boosting the capacity of our forces, he said. Source: LIB Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Charles Asiedu, a son of NDC National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketia, has declared his intention to contest in the partys Tano South parliamentary primaries. The former NDC Organizer for the Ahafo Region said his contributions to the partys electoral fortunes in the region and the constituency make him the best candidate for the position. Although the other 4 persons are lacing their boots to join the race, Asiedu believes his constant touch with the people in the area will get him the position. If successful, Charles will replace Dr Hanna Bisiw who has been the NDC parliamentary candidate for the area since 2012. In an interview with Myxyzonline.com, the youth activist said I am always here with the people and they know me to be a vibrant party person who has served them in different capacities. His aim is to maximise the NDCs fortunes in Tano South and serve as an agent of development that will transform lives in the area. Charles Asiedu has been a two-term branch organizer who rose through the ranks to become a Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Organizer of the NDC. He is the immediate past Ahafo Regional organizer for the party. Asiedu was the National Campaign Coordinator for Dr Hanna Bisiws campaign for the position of National Womens Organizer in 2018 and 2022 when she was re-elected. Asiedu holds a Master of Arts Degree in Organizational Leadership and Governance from the University of Ghana Business school. Source: myxyzonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has officially announced his decision to contest in the upcoming parliamentary primaries of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC). According to the MP, his decision to start the process towards a re-election to parliament is a result of immense calls made on him by his constituents. As NDC parliamentary & presidential nomination processes begin today, it is with a deep sense of duty, dedication, humility & respect for the overwhelming calls by my beloved North Tongu constituents to continue serving them that I announce my decision to seek re-election as MP, he announced via a Facebook post sighted by GhanaWeb. The NDC ahead of the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections has slated its primaries for May 13, 2023, to elect its candidates. Mr Okudzeto Ablakwa is a third-term MP representing the people of North Tongu on the ticket of the NDC having been elected for the first time in 2012. He has also served as deputy minister for information as well as a deputy minister for communication. He is regarded as one of the most active MPs in the current 8th Parliament of Ghanas Fourth Republic. Source: ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah says former President John Dramani Mahama will tromp his competitors in the impending National Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential primaries. The party opened its presidential and parliamentary nomination on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 and former President John Mahama has picked his nomination forms to contest the NDC flagbearer race. Professor Joshua Alabi, a former Rector of the University of Professional Studies picked the forms on behalf of Mr. Mahama at the partys headquarters. Ghanaians are asking for a well-experienced leader, leadership counts. If leadership counts then experience is the key, one who has done it before and one who is very humble, one who loves the people and one who believes in people-centred policies. Fortunately for us in the NDC, as a country, we have somebody like that, Prof. Alabi said while declaring the former President's readiness to lead the NDC. However, other candidates have popped up to contend for the Presidential candidate spot during the NDC primaries scheduled in May this year; names such as the former Finance Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffour and a former Metropolitan Chief Executive of Kumasi, Kojo Bonsu have come up. To Dr. Benjamin Otchere-Ankrah, there is no shred of doubt that Mr. Mahama is the favorite of the party delegates. In his estimation, there is no hope for the other candidates so far as the NDC Presidential race is concerned. "President Mahama will not get anything less than 80 percent . . . the one whose own pains me a lot is Dr. Duffour; a fine gentleman. He qualifies and all that but unfortunately he won't win. I believe Kojo Bonsu will also pick his forms but he won't get up to 3 percent . . . The majority of the party members have made up their minds to vote for President Mahama," he asserted while speaking to Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video US president, Joe Biden has released a statement concerning the 2023 Nigerian presidential elections which would take place on Saturday February 25. Nigerians head to the polls this weekend to decide their leader for the next 4 years. The four major candidates for the presidential election include Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP and Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the APC. In Biden's statement released today, February 23, he commended Buhari for his commitment to a free and fair election while praising the candidates for signing a peace accord ahead of the election. Biden's statement reads; I commend yesterdays peace accord in Nigeria, signed by the political parties and candidates running in Nigerias presidential election on February 25. By signing this pledge, the parties and candidates have committed to accept the results of the election, as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, and to support a peaceful transition of power. Elections are a fundamental part of a functioning democracy, and all Nigerians deserve this chance to choose their future freely and fairly. While the United States does not support any single candidate or party, we strongly support a peaceful and transparent process that reflects the will of the people of Nigeria. On election day, I encourage all Nigerians no matter their religion, region, or ethnicity to exercise this fundamental freedom and make their voices heard including young voters, many of whom may be heading to the ballot box for the first time. The United States stands with the Nigerian people as they chart a path toward a more democratic, prosperous, and secure future. I appreciate President Buharis firm commitment that the will of the people will be respected. And in the coming days, I encourage voters to remain peaceful and patient as their ballots are tallied, and urge the political parties and candidates to live up to their pledge. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video " " The spread of "OK" shows how important an all-purpose word can be. Foxys Graphic/Shutterstock "OK" is probably the most spoken word in the world besides English, people say "OK" in a dozen languages, including Spanish, Italian and Russian and yet almost nobody can tell you what those two letters stand for or where the word came from. Was it borrowed from the indigenous Choctaw word "okeh," meaning, roughly, "OK"? Did it originate with a Boston baker named Otto Kimmel who liked to frost his initials into his cookies? Does it have anything to do with the state of Oklahoma (OK) or the musical "Oklahoma!"? Advertisement Nope, nope and nope. In fact, there's no evidence that "okeh" was part of the Chocktaw language. "OK is the greatest American word," says Anatoly Liberman, a linguist, translator and language professor at the University of Minnesota. "The history of OK is a history of incredible success, but nobody could have predicted that success." As you'll see, OK began as a piece of insider slang from the late 1830s and rode a (losing) presidential campaign to nationwide fame and eventually worldwide ubiquity. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Griffith University A fascinating quest to discover the identity of a prolific early-20th-century Indigenous painter has led a Griffith directed research team to the top and bottom of Australiaand to Parisand has finally given the artist recognition and new meaning to his modern-day family. Published in Australian Archaeology, Distinguished Professor Paul Tacon from the Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research analyzed the distinctive artistic style of a series of paintings on bark that were collected more than 100 years ago and then housed in the Melbourne Museum. One of the paintings with a unique style of curved rather than straight hatching (an artistic technique for adding brightness and Ancestral power to artworks) was even found in a Paris collection. The creator of these particular artworks, including one of a large crocodile, had been a mystery for nearly a centuryuntil now. Along with three Griffith colleagues and team members from The University of Adelaide and the University of Western Australia, Professor Tacon worked with Aboriginal community members from Arnhem Land and museum curators to investigate the collections of British anthropologist W. Baldwin Spencer and buffalo-shooter Paddy Cahill, who since 1912 collected 163 bark paintings made by artists who also painted in rock shelters in western Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. Sifting through the Cahill and Spencer notebooks and letters associated with the artwork collection, Professor Tacon noticed references to someone named "Old Harry" and a connection between Old Harry and a particular bark painting with the crocodile spirit. "By scouring old ethnographic records and constructing genealogies we realized Old Harry's Aboriginal name was Majumbu, someone who also made rock paintings," Professor Tacon said. "We analyzed Majumbu's characteristic art style from the known spirit painting and then looked for evidence of the same features in the rest of the collection, identifying a further seven paintings." Some of the human-like figures have an extra digit on their hands. Majumbu also often painted an X on hands and/or feet of human-like and some animal figures. When eyes are shown they are on stalks or are represented as rectangles, human-like figures have diamond patterning for some of their infill and there is a central division of limbs and bodies. The largest bark in the Spencer-Cahill collection is dominated by a painting of a crocodile that measures 2.94m x 1.03m. It is almost identical to a rock painting known to have been painted by Majumbu in a rock shelter where his family regularly camped. Frank Nalowerd at Djumuban with crocodile and other rock paintings (photograph by George Chaloupka, November 1974, courtesy of the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory). Credit: Australian Archaeology (2023). DOI: 10.1080/03122417.2023.2177949 "No one had been to that site since the 1980s, so in September 2022 we went looking for it," Professor Tacon said. "And we found it, on a really hot dayit was 41 degrees. But the community was so excited about the rediscovery." Professor Tacon has been working in the western Arnhem Land area for more than 40 years, documenting paintings and exploring the correspondence associated with them. Some of the earliest discovered bark paintings from the region date back to the 1830s, and yet Professor Tacon said it was extremely common for their creators to remain unattributed. "That's true of most ethnographic material across the world, especially from Australia," he said. "Museums possess millions of objects and they don't know the person behind them. "So, in this research we've been identifying a series of artists who made paintings and publishing on each one of them individually. "With Aboriginal research partners, including two of Majumbu's great grandchildren, we reviewed the paintings held in the Melbourne Museum and relocated some of Majumbu's known rock paintings to further confirm him as the artist behind eight of the Spencer-Cahill barks. "This collection always has been considered a priceless piece of Australian heritage. But now, by connecting it to living individuals, community, it's a priceless piece of family heritage as well. It brings it to life. "These aren't random artworks made by anonymous individuals anymore. They are incredible paintings made by people who had fascinating lives that we can now learn more about." More information: Paul S. C. Tacon et al, Majumbu ('Old Harry') and the Spencer-Cahill bark painting collection, Australian Archaeology (2023). DOI: 10.1080/03122417.2023.2177949 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Landslides triggerd by deadly rains in the hard-hit hillside neighborhood of Sahy, in the city of Sao Sebastiao, in southeastern Brazil. Climate change and unchecked construction in flood- and landslide-prone areas are making disasters like the violent storm that killed at least 48 people in southeastern Brazil ever more frequent, according to a leading expert. Francis Lacerda, a researcher at Brazil's IPA Climate Change Laboratory, spoke with AFP about the forces driving disasters like the one that hit the coast of Sao Paulo state last weekend, and what can be done to stop them. What is causing so many tragedies like this in Brazil? "It's a consequence of global warning, which has generated more extreme weather events not just in Brazil, but across South America and the entire planet. "There has actually been a decrease in the total amount of rain in Brazil in the southeast, central-west, north and northeast in the past 30 or 40 years, even as these extreme episodes have increased. "The large amount of heat in greenhouse gases is being absorbed by our oceans, which is changing ocean currents. That's causing changes in the way heat is distributed at Earth's poles and the equator, and the atmosphere responds with these extreme weather events. "So total precipitation has decreased, but the distribution has become more intense, with an entire year's worth of rain falling in a few hours in some cases." Global warming has generated more extreme weather events, and experts say such climate change fueled the latest floodin and landslides in southeastern Brazil that left dozens dead. Is entire country at risk? "Yes, although mountainous areas are at higher risk. "On the Sao Paulo coast, for example, the phenomenon was intensified by the mountain range and the arrival of a cold front with high-speed coastal winds. But rain like that can also occur in coastal areas without mountains." Could deaths have been avoided? "It was a tragedy foretold. A day before the storm, meteorological models started indicating a high probability of a phenomenon like this. It would have been possible to get enough information to emergency officials to evacuate these areas and save lives. "Governments at the city, state and federal levels are unprepared for climate change. We need adaptation and mitigation plans." Millions face such danger. How does Brazil address it? "Real-estate speculation has basically pushed poor people on the urban periphery into these high-risk areas. They have no other option. Torrential rains led to flooding and landslides that killed more than 230 people in February 2022 in and around Brazil's historic town of Petropolis, some 60 kilometers (37 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro. "It's not enough to just say, 'Get those people out of there.' We need to fundamentally reexamine our cities with a view to reformulating urban public policies. "There are a lot of things that can be done, including fixing the lack of decent housing." 2023 AFP This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: After heavy metal exposure, the contents (lysate) of E.coli cells are examined with a sensitive optical sensor composed from gold nanoparticles which are optimized to detect at levels of one metal toxin per bacterium in solution. Machine learning algorithms learn the chemical fingerprint of the stress response, which is unique to the type and quantity of metal toxin, from the optical spectra. Fine-tuned models then determine if an unknown water sample is safe. Credit: Regina Ragan / UCI People often associate Escherichia coli with contaminated food, but E. coli has long been a workhorse in biotechnology. Scientists at the University of California, Irvine have demonstrated that the bacterium has further value as part of a system to detect heavy metal contamination in water. E. coli exhibit a biochemical response in the presence of metal ions, a slight change that researchers were able to observe with chemically assembled gold nanoparticle optical sensors. Through a machine-learning analysis of the optical spectra of metabolites released in response to chromium and arsenic exposure, the scientists were able to detect metals in concentrations a billion times lower than those leading to cell deathwhile being able to deduce the heavy metal type and amount with higher than 96 percent accuracy. The process, which the researchers said can be accomplished in about 10 minutes, is the subject of a study appearing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "This new water monitoring method developed by UCI researchers is highly sensitive, fast and versatile," said co-author Regina Ragan, UCI professor of materials science and engineering. "It can be broadly deployed to monitor toxins at their sources in drinking and irrigation water and in agricultural and industrial runoff. This system can provide an early warning of heavy metal contamination to safeguard human health and ecosystems." Contaminated water is a major source of toxic heavy metal exposure for animals and people. The metabolic stress response of E. coli is used to detect the presence of toxic metals in tap water and wastewater. Difficult to detect heavy metal ions are thereby converted to more easily detectable chemical signals. Credit: Regina Ragan / UCI In addition to proving that bacteria like E. coli can detect unsafe water, the researchers spotlighted the other necessary componentsgold nanoparticles assembled with molecular precision and machine learning algorithmswhich greatly enhanced the sensitivity of their monitoring system. Ragan said it can be applied toward spotting metal toxinsincluding arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead and mercuryat levels orders of magnitude below regulatory limits to provide early warning of contamination. In the study, the scientists explained that they can apply trained algorithms to unseen tap water and wastewater samples, which means the system can be generalized to water sources and supplies anywhere in the world. "This transfer learning method allowed the algorithms to determine if drinking water was within U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and World Health Organization recommend limits for each contaminant with greater than 96-percent accuracy and with 92-percent accuracy for treated wastewater," Ragan said. "Access to safe water is necessary for the health of people and the planet," she added. "New technology that can be mass manufactured at low-cost is needed to monitor the introduction of an array of contaminants in the water supply as a critical part of the solution for water security in the face of pollution and climate change." More information: Hong Wei et al, Decoding the metabolic response of Escherichia coli for sensing trace heavy metals in water, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2210061120 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: University of Canterbury The severe impacts of Cyclone Gabrielle on the North Island, and the five severe weather events experienced by the ThamesCoromandel region in just the first two months of 2023, are merely the latest examples of more frequent erosion-triggering rainfall events over the past decade. Inevitably with the heavy rain, soil, rocks and woody material (also known as "slash") from landslides have flowed down onto valleys and flood plains, damaging the environment and risking human safety. Clear-fell harvesting of pine forests on steep erosion-prone land has been identified as a key source of this phenomenon. So we need to ask why we harvest pine forests on such fragile land, and what needs to change to prevent erosion debris and slash being washed from harvested land. Pine was a solution Ironically, most of these pine forests were planted as a solution to soil erosion that had resulted from the clearing of native forests to create hill country pastoral farms. The clearing of native forests happened in the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the consequenceserosion, flooding and floodplains covered in silt and rocksonly became apparent decades later. Research has shown that pastoral farming on our most erosion-susceptible soils is not sustainable. The productivity of the land is being degraded by loss of soil and large areas have been buried with sediment eroded from hill country farms upstream. So the need to reforest large areas of erosion-prone farmland is scientifically well accepted. Why pine? But why did we choose radiata pine for our reforestation efforts instead of other tree species? Even today, it is hard to find affordable and feasible alternatives to radiata pine. Affordable is the key word here. We are not a rich country and our liking for "Number 8 wire" solutions makes a virtue out of necessitywe don't have the money to pay for anything fancier. Radiata pine is a cheap and easy tree to establish and it grows fast and reliably. Planting native or other exotic trees, such as redwoods, is possible, but it costs more and needs more skill and care to grow a good crop. The problem with radiata pine is that if grown as a commercial crop, it is clear-fell harvested after about 28 years. The clear-felled land is just as erosion-prone as it was before trees were plantedwith the added threat of large amounts of logging slash now mixed in with the erosion debris. It can take six years or more after harvesting before the replanted pine trees cover the ground and once again provide protection to the soil. Benefits of pine come with a cost If we take a long-term perspective, research shows that even a radiata pine forest that is clear-felled once every 28 years will still significantly reduce erosion, compared with a pastoral farm on erosion-prone hill country. This is because the erosion from the clear-felled forest is outweighed by the reduced erosion once the replanted trees cover the land. However, this is not much comfort to communities in the path of the flood-borne soil and logs from that clear-felled forest. It's difficult to take a long-term perspective when your backyards and beaches are covered with tons of wood and soil. Slash a byproduct of efficiency Whatever benefits radiata pine forests bring, we need to transition forest management away from "business as usual" clear-felling on erosion-prone hill country. This transition is possible, but one important problem is not often discussed. The pine forests are privately owned by a range of people including iwi, partnerships made up of mum-and-dad investors and large international forestry companies. All these people have created or acquired these forests as an investment. A typical pine forest investment makes a good financial return, but this assumes normal efficient forestry, including clear-felling large areas with highly-productive mechanized logging gangs. It has become clear that we need to manage forests differently from this large-scale "efficient" model to reduce the risk of erosion and slash from erosion-prone forests. Changing how we manage these forests will inevitably reduce the economic return, and forest investors will absorb this reduction. Time for a permanent fix If we go back to when the pine forests being harvested today were planted, the forests had a social valuenot just in reducing erosion but in providing employment in rural areas where few jobs were available. This social value was recognized by government funding, initially through tree planting by a government department, the NZ Forest Service. With the rise of free market economics in the 1980s, such direct government investment was considered inefficient and wasteful. The Forest Service was disbanded in 1987 and its forests were sold to forestry companies. However, the government continued to promote tree planting on erosion-prone land with subsidies to private investors. As these forests grew, they came to be considered purely as business investments and were bought and sold on that basis. When the time came to harvest the trees, the expectation was that these could be clear-fell harvested in the same conventional way as commercial forests growing on land with no erosion risk. As erosion started occurring on the harvested sites, it became clear why these trees were originally planted as a social investment to protect the land and communities from soil erosion. Aotearoa New Zealand has achieved control of erosion with a Number 8 wire solution- encouraging private investors to grow commercial pine forests on erosion-prone land. The problem with Number 8 wire solutions is that after a while the wire fails, and you have to find a permanent fix. Conventional commercial pine forestry was a good temporary solution, but now we need to find a more sustainable way to grow forests on our most erosion-prone landsand it won't be as cheap. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain A magnitude 6.8 earthquake shook a lightly populated, remote part of Tajikistan early Thursday near China's far western Xinjiang region, officials said. No injuries or damage were reported. The epicenter was 67 kilometers (41 miles) west of Murghob, Tajikistan, and 20 kilometers (12 miles) below ground, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Mughrob is the district capital with a population of a few thousand people, high in the Pamir Mountains. The quake was strongly felt across the border in some areas of Kashgar prefecture and Kizilsu Kyrgyz autonomous prefecture in Xinjiang, but no injuries or damage have been reported so far, state media CCTV said, citing local information officers. China's Earthquake Networks Center said the quake was magnitude 7.2 and 10 kilometers (6 miles) deep. Measurements by different agencies often differ. Five aftershocks ranging from magnitude 4.6 to 5 followed later on Thursday morning, with their epicenters likewise located west of Murghob, Tajikistan's state Khovar agency reported. A further magnitude 5 quake was recorded in the early afternoon 86 kilometers (53 miles) west of the city, Tajik State Emergencies Committee spokeswoman Umeda Yusufi said. Neither referenced any injuries or damage. 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A northern spotted owl sits on a branch in Point Reyes, Calif., in June 1995. Federal wildlife officials on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, announced a proposal to classify one of two dwindling California spotted owl populations as endangered after a court ordered them to reassess a Trump administration decision not to protect the brown and white birds. Credit: AP Photo/Tom Gallagher, File Federal wildlife officials on Wednesday announced a proposal to classify one of two dwindling California spotted owl populations as endangered after a lawsuit by conservation groups required the government to reassess a Trump administration decision not to protect the brown and white birds. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed that California spotted owls that have their habitats in coastal and Southern California be protected under the Endangered Species Act. That population "does not have a strong ability to withstand normal variations in environmental conditions, persist through catastrophic events, or adapt to new environmental conditions throughout its range," which led the agency to propose listing it as endangered, wildlife officials said. The other California spotted owl population, which lives in Sierra Nevada forests in California and western Nevada, would be classified as threatened, the agency said. The habitat of the medium-sized brown owl with white spots on its head and chest and a barred tail is under serious threat from current logging practices and climate change, including increased drought, disease and more extreme wildfires. Most California spotted owls live on land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. How much the population has declined since conservation groups started their effort to protect it more than 20 years ago is unclear. The only available demographic data on spotted owls living in coastal and Southern California was collected in San Bernardino National Forest and shows a decline of 9%, the federal wildlife service said. The Sierra Nevada population shows declines ranging from 50% to 31% percent in some areas, the agency said. The federal agency's decision follows an agreement reached in November between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and several conservation groups that sued the federal agency in 2020 over its decision not to protect the California spotted owl population. Justin Augustine, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the groups that sued, applauded the agency's decision and said he was happy to see the California spotted owls could finally get the safeguards they need. Augustine said he planned to use the 60-day public comment period to push for more protections for the California spotted population in the Sierra Nevada. "One of the things I'll be addressing is the issue of how to make sure that (Sierra Nevada) spotted owls are actually protected under their threatened status rather than potentially allowing some logging to occur that would be harmful," he said. The California spotted owl is one of three spotted owl subspecies and the last to be protected under the Endangered Species Act, Augustine said. The other two subspecies are the northern spotted owl and the Mexican spotted owl. The northern spotted owl habitat is in Oregon, Washington state and Northern California. The tiny owl was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1990, sparking an intense battle over logging in the region. In 2020, the Trump Administration refused to upgrade it to endangered status despite losing nearly 4% of its population annually. The Mexican spotted owl was first listed as threatened in the U.S. in 1993. It is found in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, parts of West Texas and Mexico. The species is in danger of extinction due to lose of habitat to logging, development, mining and wildfires. 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain In the skies above the New Mexico wilderness, federal agents in helicopters this week plan to shoot and kill dozens of feral cattle, which officials say threaten protected lands and the public's safety. For the second year in a row, a last-ditch lawsuit by ranchers aims to halt the aerial extermination effort. The New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association and the Humane Farming Association are seeking a preliminary injunction against the federal government to stop the shootings, saying the practice is "cruel and inhumane" and runs afoul of state and federal laws. Gila National Forest Supervisor Camille Howes called the decision to shoot the cattle "difficult" but "necessary to protect public safety, threatened and endangered species' habitats, water quality, and the natural character of the Gila Wilderness." "The feral cattle in the Gila Wilderness have been aggressive towards wilderness visitors, graze year-round, and trample stream banks and springs, causing erosion and sedimentation," Howes said in a statement. From Thursday through Sunday, according to the U.S. Forest Service, agents from the Department of Agriculture will shoot about 150 heads of feral cattle roaming the Gila Wildnerness. Feral cattle are those without tags, brands or signs of ownership, according to the Forest Service. It is the second year in which officials have issued kill orders for the unbranded cattle. Last year, the Forest Service said it took out 65 feral cattle. Ranchers also worry their branded cattle could have strayed into the wilderness thanks to damaged fences after a strong monsoon season, according to the U.S. Forest Service, which said it would work with ranchers to find and remove their cattle from areas where they are not permitted. The lethal removal of feral cattle has drawn intense debate among federal agencies, legislators, environmentalists and ranchers. Though most agree the animals are a nuisance, there is widespread disagreement over how to get rid of them. Last year, according to the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association, many of the cattle that were shot by federal agents "were not killed instantly but wandered off, bled out and then died." A settlement reached after last year's operation requires the U.S. Forest Service to give 75 days' notice of any helicopter sniper operations, which it can carry out only if it "satisfies the procedural and substantive requirements to justify such an action," according to the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association. This week's planned aerial shootings neglect the terms of the deal, the ranchers groups said, alleging that the Forest Service is breaking New Mexico animal cruelty laws and the National Environmental Protection Act by carrying out the shootings. "Unfortunately, after a year of abiding by our settlement agreement we are now back to square one," Loren Patterson, president of the New Mexico Cattle Growers' Association, said in a statement. "Throughout the past year, we offered real solutions to the Forest Service for the Gila estray problem. Those solutions would address the immediate issue, provide long-term resolution and would be humane." The Gila National Forest spreads across more than 3 million acres of southwestern New Mexico, and the Gila Wilderness, the world's first designated wilderness, is home to an extensive trail network. Feral cattle have roamed the area since the 1970s, according to the Forest Service. 2023 Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The median normalized TESS long-cadence light curve for TOI-3984A. Credit: Canas et al, 2023 Astronomers report the detection of two new gas giant exoplanets using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The newfound alien worlds, designated TOI-3984A b and TOI-5293A b, have very short orbital periods. The discovery was detailed in a paper published February 15 on the pre-print server arXiv. TESS is conducting a survey of about 200,000 of the brightest stars near the sun with the aim of searching for transiting exoplanets. So far, it has identified nearly 6,200 candidate exoplanets (TESS Objects of Interest, or TOI), of which 3,032 have been confirmed so far. A group of astronomers led by Caleb I. Cannas of the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) has recently confirmed another two TOI planets monitored by TESS. They report that transit signals have been identified in the light curves of two M-dwarf stars known as TOI-3984A and TOI-5293Aprimary stars of two different binary systems. The planetary nature of these signals was confirmed by follow-up observations using ground-bases facilities. "We confirm the planetary nature of two gas giants discovered by TESS to transit M dwarfs with stellar companions at wide separations," the researchers wrote. TOI-3984A b has a radius of about 0.71 Jupiter radii and a mass of 0.14 Jupiter masses, which yields a density at a level of 0.49 g/cm3. The planet orbits its parent star every 4.35 days, at a distance of about 0.041 AU from it, and its equilibrium temperature was estimated to be 563 K. Based on its parameters, the astronomers classified TOI-3984A b as a sub-Saturn. The host TOI-3984A is an M4 dwarf about half the size and mass of the sun, located approximately 353 light years away from the Earth. The star is estimated to be between 0.7 and 5.1 billion years old and has an effective temperature of 3,476 K. TOI-3984A has a white dwarf companion at a projected separation of 356 AU. The exoplanet TOI-5293A b is about the size of Jupiter, however less massive, with a mass of about 0.54 Jupiter masses. Therefore, the planet's density is approximately 0.56 g/cm3. TOI-5293A b has an orbital period of about 2.93 days and is separated from its host star by approximately 0.034 AU. The equilibrium temperature of this gas giant is estimated to be 675 K, thus the researchers classified it as a hot Jupiter. At a distance of some 524 light years, TOI-5293A is an M3 dwarf, also about half the size of our sun. The star has an effective temperature of 3,586 K and its age is estimated to be between 0.7 and 5.1 billion years. It has an M-dwarf companion at a projected separation of 579 AU. Summing up the results, the authors of the paper underlined that TOI-3984A b and TOI-5293A b are two of the coolest gas giants among the population of known hot Jupiter-sized gas exoplanets orbiting M-dwarf stars. They added that both planets are great targets for further atmospheric characterization studies. More information: Caleb I. Canas et al, TOI-3984 A b and TOI-5293 A b: two temperate gas giants transiting mid-M dwarfs in wide binary systems, arXiv (2023). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2302.07714 Journal information: arXiv 2023 Science X Network This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Quantum computing has been touted as a revolutionary advance that uses our growing scientific understanding of the subatomic world to create a machine with powers far beyond those of conventional computers. Google scientists said Wednesday they have passed a major milestone in their quest to develop effective quantum computing, with a new study showing they reduced the rate of errorslong an obstacle for the much-hyped technology. Quantum computing has been touted as a revolutionary advance that uses our growing scientific understanding of the subatomic world to create a machine with powers far beyond those of today's conventional computers. However the technology remains largely theoretical, with many thorny problems still standing in the wayincluding stubbornly high error rates. In new research published in the journal Nature, the Google Quantum AI lab described a system that can significantly decrease the error rate. That could give the US tech giant a step up on its rivals such as IBM, which is also working on superconducting quantum processors. While traditional computers process information in bits that can be represented by 0 or 1, quantum computers use qubits, which can be a combination of both at the same time. This property, known as superposition, means that a quantum computer can crunch an enormous number of potential outcomes simultaneously. The computers harness some of the most mind-boggling aspects of quantum mechanics, including a phenomenon known as "entanglement"in which two members of a pair of bits can exist in a single state, even if far apart. 'Magic' But a problem called decoherence can cause the qubits to lose their information when they leave their quantum state and come into contact with the outside world. This fragility causes high error rates, which also increase with the number of qubits, frustrating scientists wanting to ramp up their experiments. However Google's team said it had demonstrated for the first time in practice that a system using error-correcting code can detect and fix errors without affecting the information. The system was first theorized in the 1990s, however previous attempts had just thrown up more errors, not less, said Google's Hartmut Neven, a co-author of the study. "But if all components of your system have sufficiently low error rates, then the magic of quantum error correction kicks in," Neven told a press conference. Julian Kelly, another study co-author, hailed the development as "a key scientific milestone", saying that "quantum error correction is the single most important technology for the future of quantum computing". Neven said the result was still "not good enough, we need to get to an absolute low error rate". He added that "there are more steps to come" to achieve the dream of a useable quantum computer. Google claimed in 2019 it had passed a milestone known as "quantum supremacy", when the tech giant said its Sycamore machine executed a calculation in 200 seconds that would have taken a conventional supercomputer 10,000 years to complete. However the achievement has since been disputed, with Chinese researchers saying last year that a supercomputer could have beaten Sycamore's time. More information: Suppressing quantum errors by scaling a surface code logical qubit, Nature (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05434-1 Towards quantum computers that are robust to errors, Nature (2023). DOI: 10.1038/d41586-022-04532-4 Journal information: Nature 2023 AFP This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Researchers from the University of Helsinki together with colleagues from the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Copenhagen compared over 100 genomes of Saimaa ringed seals preserved in a tissue bank. Credit: Mia Valtonen The endangered Saimaa ringed seal is an Ice Age relict living in the highly labyrinthine Lake Saimaa, Finland. Newly published research shows that although individual seals have greatly reduced genetic variation, the loss of variation has been complementary, preserving the adaptive potential of the whole population. Lake Saimaa, a highly labyrinthine lake in eastern Finland, provides a unique opportunity for assessing the effects of population fragmentation. The lake hosts a population of ringed seals (Pusa hispida saimensis) that became landlocked as the land rebounded after the retreat of the continental ice sheet 10,000 years ago. Today, the Saimaa ringed seal, with some 400 individuals, is one of the world's most endangered seals. Researchers from the University of Helsinki together with colleagues from the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Copenhagen compared over 100 genomes of Saimaa ringed seals preserved in a tissue bank. "The Saimaa ringed seals have gone through a severe population size contraction resulting in greatly reduced genetic variation. This raises concerns about their ability to adaptively respond to ongoing climate change," Petri Auvinen and Jukka Jernvall from the University of Helsinki say. The analyses revealed that the genomes of individual seals contained long stretches of DNA sequences that were inherited identically from both parents. Comparisons of these homozygous regions among seals living in far-flung nooks of the lake revealed something unexpected. "The good news is that the labyrinthine shape of Lake Saimaa has generated three subpopulations that are homozygous for largely different, complementary parts of their genome. This means that the population as a whole has retained much of its original genetic variation," explains Ari Loytynoja from the University of Helsinki. Modeling the population history of the Saimaa ringed seals further suggested that the intricate shape of Lake Saimaa has been optimal in compensating for the detrimental effects of small population size. Detailed analyses also revealed a beneficial genetic signature of a seal individual that was translocated decades ago from one part of the lake to another. The research is published in Current Biology. For the conservation of other endangered species, the lesson learned from the labyrinthine Lake Saimaa is the importance of careful gene flow management among poorly connected populations. More information: Ari Loytynoja et al, Fragmented habitat compensates for the adverse effects of genetic bottleneck, Current Biology (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.040 Journal information: Current Biology This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: One of the examples of the resolution of species boundaries in Aspergillus versicolor and related species, where the number of accepted species has been reduced from 17 to only 4 (the names of accepted species are indicated in larger letters and underlined, and synonyms are indicated in smaller letters). Credit: Authors of the studies Developments in the current systematics of fungi are largely directed towards the division of existing species into smaller, narrowly defined species. But as demonstrated by scientists from the Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, and the Institute of Microbiology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic on the Aspergillus genus model, such a division is often not justified and only complicates or makes the correct identification of species impossible. The findings of the scientists show that the species category for fungi is significantly wider than expected, and as a result, their number in the investigated groups was considerably reduced. Since a number of desirable and undesirable properties of organisms tend to be tied to the species level, these findings have implications for practice, where these species are known as producers of mycotoxins, enzymes, bioactive substances and organic acids, or as the cause of human and animal infections and food spoilage fungi. The results were published in a series of three papers in Studies in Mycology. Species like Aspergillus niger and A. versicolor are relatively well known. They are important in the biotechnological industry as producers of enzymes and organic acids (e.g. citric) or are used in food and beverage fermentations, especially in Asia. At the same time, however, they often spoil food, produce unwanted mycotoxins (e.g. ochratoxin, fumonisins, or sterigmatocystin), worsen the air quality in buildings, and cause serious infections in humans and animals. Variability of colonies within a species Aspergillus versicolor on 8 different culture media. Credit: Authors of the studies Species identification in fungi and other organisms is important because a number of specific properties are often associated with it, such as the aforementioned production of mycotoxins or pathogenicity. The current taxonomy of fungi, based largely on molecular-genetic data, is mainly moving towards the division of existing species into smaller ones. The consequence is the introduction of new names for so-called cryptic species (indistinguishable from one another by the appearance of colonies, microscopic and other features), which complicates or even makes their precise identification in clinical mycology, food science, and other fields impossible. Conidiophores producing spores (conidia) in the examined representatives of Aspergillus. Credit: Authors of the studies "The reason for the excessive number of described species in mycology is partly the ignorance of the characteristics of the species as such in its entire breadth, whether we are talking about variability in morphological, physiological, or genetic characters. This is due to the fact that new species are often described on the basis of a small number of obtained strains from one or more substrates and localities. Examining only a small number of variable individuals within a species can then easily be interpreted as finding an undescribed species. Another reason is the generally prevailing direction of taxonomists' thinking toward the description of new species, rather than the opposite direction. This gives scientists a better opportunity to publish their results because describing new species is more attractive than merging them. Also, it is generally easier to create a species description based on a smaller number of interesting strains than to collect a large dataset revealing the entire variability of a species," says Vit Hubka from the Faculty of Science, Charles University. "For our study, we chose as a model a ubiquitous representatives of Aspergillus, e.g. A. niger, A. versicolor, or A. candidus, and collected hundreds of samples from different continents and substrates. Thanks to the fact that we applied a wide range of methods, including modern phylogenetic methods based on data from a large number of genes, or genomes, we have been able to assess the true diversity within a species. This has led to the discovery that species are much more variable than we thought, at many levelscolony appearance, microscopic characters, genetic variability, mycotoxin production, etc.," says team member Frantisek Sklenar. Geographic distribution of selected Aspergillus members based on available DNA data. The numbers in the location pointers correspond to a total number of reliably identified strains reported from a specific country; the numbers following icons of substrates represent a total number of strains reported from this substrate. Credit: Authors of the studies "The result of the studies was a significant reduction in the number of species in the intensively researched species complexes of the genus Aspergillus, which will greatly simplify their complicated identification in the applied sphere and diagnosis in clinical mycology. A new view of the breadth of species boundaries in microscopic fungi will allow scientific interest to be focused on more important questions, rather than on the unrelenting effort to distinguish or describe 'unrealistically defined cryptic species' using different methods. As the genus Aspergillus largely sets trends in taxonomy and other disciplines, we expect comparable conclusions also for other groups of fungi when similar methodological approaches will be applied," concludes Miroslav Kolarik, head of the laboratory of fungal genetics and metabolism from the Institute of Microbiology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. More information: C. Bian et al, Reducing the number of accepted species in Aspergillus series Nigri, Studies in Mycology (2022). DOI: 10.3114/sim.2022.102.03 F. Sklenar et al, Taxonomy of Aspergillus series Versicolores: species reduction and lessons learned about intraspecific variability, Studies in Mycology (2022). DOI: 10.3114/sim.2022.102.02 K. Glassnerova et al, A monograph of Aspergillus section Candidi, Studies in Mycology (2022). DOI: 10.3114/sim.2022.102.01 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A wild bonobo in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Credit: Sean M. Lee Endangered great apes get malaria, just like humans. New evidence from wild bonobos shows us the infection harms them, too. Malaria is a devastating disease caused by parasites transmitted through the bites of infected mosquitos. For humans, symptoms start out mildfever, headache and chillsbut malaria infection can be fatal within 24 hours. For apes, little is known about what malaria sickness looks like, or how deadly it is. "We don't yet have a good handle on the symptoms and mortality risk," said Emily Wroblewski, an assistant professor of biological anthropology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. "The number of infected animals in captivity that have exhibited disease symptoms has been limited. Sometimes they show symptoms like fever and other things that might be associated with infection, and sometimes not. And in the wild these things are very difficult to track." Scientists know that malaria infection is widespread across the geographic ranges of wild chimpanzees and gorillas (they know this because researchers detect parasite DNA in the apes' feces). In fact, the African great apes harbor at least 12 different Plasmodium species, seven of which are closely related to the human parasite that causes about 95% of human deaths. But a certain kind of ape, the bonobo, so far has escaped infection in all but two locations where researchers have studied them in the wild. Scientists can compare infected populationswhere 38% of bonobos had detectable parasite DNA in their fecesto uninfected bonobos from 10 other sites across their natural range in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This difference gives the researchers an opportunity to try to figure out some basic facts about how malaria impacts the health and mortality of great apes. No one knows how many bonobos are left in the wild, but scientists estimate that there are between 29,500 and 50,000 individuals. Unless humans intervene in their preservation and in maintenance of their habitat, the apes could become extinct in the wild in less than a decade. Credit: Kathryn Judson Wroblewski's new research, published Feb. 23 in Nature Communications, finds that in areas where malaria infection has been detected, bonobos are more likely to have particular variants of an immune gene (Papa-B). The bonobo variants are very similar to a human variant (HLA-B*53) associated with protection from developing severe, and more deadly disease. This suggests that similar immune defense mechanisms may be used in these two species. "To us, this means that there is a selective advantage to individuals having these protective variants, because those individuals are more likely to survive their infection and reproduce, causing that variant to rise in frequency," Wroblewski said. "Seeing infected populations differ from uninfected populations in this immune trait suggests that it is because bonobos experience increased mortality or costs to their reproductive success because of their infection," she said. "The differences between the bonobo populations provides the first evidence of any kind, albeit indirect, that a wild great ape suffers any sort of consequences from their infection." Pattern of protection One of Wroblewski's collaborators on the paper, Beatrice Hahn from the University of Pennsylvania, has documented the patterns of malarial infection in the great apes over recent decades. Her previous work helped establish that the most deadly human malarial parasite got its start with a jump from gorillas. "Understanding the natural history and transmission patterns of malaria in our closest relatives is critical to gauge future transmissions," Hahn said. Bonobos used to be known as the pygmy chimpanzee because they look very similar to, but more slender than, their chimpanzee cousins. Credit: Kathryn Judson This research avoided any handling or other disturbance of wild bonobos because the DNA used for sequencing was extracted from feces that were collected after they were deposited. The scientists were particularly intrigued to observe that the immunogenetic pattern observed in infected bonobos is very similar to what is observed among human populations experiencing malaria infection in Africa. "This is notable because these immune genes evolve very rapidly while trying to keep up with rapidly evolving pathogens," Wroblewski said. "Because of this, it is very unusual to observe a pattern that is shared between humans and their closest living relatives." She said that scientists should further investigate how this particular immune gene variant protects individualsboth bonobo and humanbecause understanding that mechanism might lead to an additional source of treatment or vaccination for humans. It's also important to understand how diseases are affecting the apes because they are endangered species. Disease is always a threat to their survival as they come under more and more pressure from human activity. "With the numerous ways in which each host could adapt in response to their infection," Wroblewski said, "I find it remarkable that both humans and bonobos respond to their infection in the same way." More information: Emily E. Wroblewski et al, Malaria-driven adaptation of MHC class I in wild bonobo populations, Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36623-9 Journal information: Nature Communications This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Experts from Imperial College London are calling for more to be done to limit the potentially harmful impact of toxic tire particles on health and the environment. The researchers, from Imperial College London's Transition to Zero Pollution initiative, warn that even though electric vehicles remove the problem of fuel emissions, we will continue to have a problem with particulate matter because of tire wear. Six million tons of tire wear particles are released globally each year, and in London alone, 2.6 million vehicles emit around 9,000 tons of tire wear particles annually. Despite this, research on the environmental and health impacts of tire wear has been neglected in comparison to the research and innovations dedicated to tackling fuel emissions. The Imperial researchers say that the effect of new technologies on the generation and impact of tire wear should be a priority. In a new briefing paper, a multidisciplinary group of Imperial experts, including engineers, ecologists, medics, and air quality analysts, have called for as much investment into tire wear research as there is for reducing fuel emissionsand for understanding their interactions. Lead author Dr. Zhengchu Tan, of Imperial's Department of Mechanical Engineering, said, "Tire wear particles pollute the environment, the air we breathe, the water runoff from roads, and [have] compounding effects on waterways and agriculture. Even if all our vehicles eventually become powered by electricity instead of fossil fuels, we will still have harmful pollution from vehicles because of tire wear. "We urge policymakers and scientists to embark on ambitious research into tire wear pollution to fully understand and reduce their impacts on biodiversity and health, as well as research to reduce the generation of these particles." Transition to Zero Pollution is an Imperial College London initiative that aims to build new partnerships between research, industry, and government to help realize a sustainable zero pollution future. Professor Mary Ryan, Vice Provost (Research and Enterprise) at Imperial College London, and a co-author on the briefing paper, said, "Safeguarding our planet and the health of future generations requires us to look not just at a problem from a single perspective, but to take a systems level approach. That's why we need to look beyond just carbon and to consider human-made pollution in all its forms. "Electric vehicles are a crucial step forward to decarbonize transport, but we need to look at the big picture too. Some are concerned that electric vehicles tend to be heavier, which might increase tire wear. This is exactly why Imperial College London is driving a holistic, joined-up approach to sustainability challenges. "We will continue to leverage the full strength of our research and influence to find meaningful solutions and help realize a sustainable, zero pollution future." In the briefing paper, the researchers discuss how tire wear leads to these particles, where the particles end up, their potential effects on people and planet, and why we must act now. Tire wear particles As tires break down they release a range of particles, from visible pieces of tire rubber to nanoparticles. Large particles are carried from the road by rain into rivers, where they may leach toxic chemicals into the environment, while smaller particles become airborne and breathed in. They are small enough to reach deep into the lungs. These particles may contain a range of toxic chemicals including polyaromatic hydrocarbons, benzothiazoles, isoprene, and heavy metals like zinc and lead. Environmental effects Particulate matter from tire wear is a significant source of "microplastics" in rivers and oceans, and tire wear in cities could pose up to a four-fold greater risk to the environment than other microplastics. While existing technological interventions such as filters and environmental policies could help to control our ecological footprint, there are huge gaps in our knowledge, understanding, and ability to forecast the impacts of tire wear pollution. Co-author Dr. Will Pearse, from Imperial's Department of Life Sciences, said, "Tire waste does not naturally degrade and instead builds up in the environment, and may interact with other pollutants as well as biological organisms. Our gaps in understanding make further research and development of new solutions vital so we can limit all types of vehicular pollution." Health effects The impact of tire wear particles on human health is an increasing cause for concern, and the full long-term effects on our health urgently require more research. There is emerging evidence that tire wear particles and other particulate matter may contribute to a range of negative health impacts including heart, lung, developmental, reproductive, and cancer outcomes. Co-author Professor Terry Tetley of Imperial's National Heart and Lung Institute said, "We are growing increasingly concerned by the impact of tire wear on human health. As some of these particles are so small they can be carried in the air, it's possible that simply walking on the pavement could expose us to this type of pollution. It is essential that we better understand the effect of these particles on our health." Shifting gear The researchers argue that reducing tire pollution should be seen as a critical part of making transport cleaner and more sustainable, alongside reductions in CO 2 and other exhaust emissions. In tackling the climate crisis, we should design better systems and technologies to protect the environment; and research funding, government policy and regulatory frameworks should reflect this. The report authors call for policymakers and scientists to investigate the complex problems related to tire-wear pollution, from the basics of wear-particle production, to understanding how these particles affect the health of people and the planet. Potential innovation solutions include particle capture technologies, new advanced materials, and disruptive business models that encourage different transport choices. These need to be coupled to clear policy and regulation and to a broader discussion around urban transport systems. The research efforts, they say, should include the following: Establishing standardized ways of measuring environmental tire wear levels and their toxicity. Reducing harm to land and water species and in humans by tightening limits on the use of harmful components in tire materials. Launching new trials to better understand the short and long-term effects of different sized particles on the environment and human health. Efforts to better understand underlying wear mechanisms and to propose wear mitigation strategies such as reducing vehicle weight, using advanced driving techniques, and ensuring tire materials pass wear resistance regulations. More information: Zhengchu Tan et al, Tyre wear particles are toxic for us and the environment (2023). This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: This conceptual image illustrates the types of organic molecules found in the sample of asteroid Ryugu collected by Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft. Organics are the building blocks of all known forms of terrestrial life and consist of a wide variety of compounds made of carbon combined with hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and other atoms. However, organic molecules can also be created by non-living processes, such as chemical reactions in asteroids. Credit: NASA/JAXA/Dan Gallagher Asteroid Ryugu has a rich complement of organic molecules, according to a NASA and international team's initial analysis of a sample from the asteroid's surface delivered to Earth by Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft. The discovery adds support to the idea that organic material from space contributed to the inventory of chemical components necessary for life. Organic molecules are the building blocks of all known forms of terrestrial life and consist of a wide variety of compounds made of carbon combined with hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and other atoms. However, organic molecules can also be made by chemical reactions that don't involve life, supporting the hypothesis that chemical reactions in asteroids can make some of life's ingredients. The science of prebiotic chemistry attempts to discover the compounds and reactions that could have given rise to life, and among the prebiotic organics found in the sample were several kinds of amino acids. Certain amino acids are widely used by terrestrial life as a component to build proteins. Proteins are essential to life as they are used to make enzymes which speed up or regulate chemical reactions and to make structures from microscopic to large such as hair and muscles. The sample from Ryugu also contained many types of organics that form in the presence of liquid water, including aliphatic amines, carboxylic acids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds. "The presence of prebiotic molecules on the asteroid surface despite its harsh environment caused by solar heating and ultraviolet irradiation, as well as cosmic-ray irradiation under high-vacuum conditions, suggests that the uppermost surface grains of Ryugu have the potential to protect organic molecules," said Hiroshi Naraoka of Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan. "These molecules can be transported throughout the solar system, potentially dispersing as interplanetary dust particles after being ejected from the uppermost layer of the asteroid by impacts or other causes." Naraoka is lead author of a paper about this research published online February 23 in Science. "So far, the amino acid results from Ryugu are mostly consistent with what has been seen in certain types of carbon-rich (carbonaceous) meteorites that have been exposed to the most water in space," said Jason Dworkin of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, a co-author of the paper. "However, sugars and nucleobases (components of DNA and RNA) which have been discovered in some carbon-rich meteorites, have not yet been identified in samples returned from Ryugu," said Daniel Glavin of NASA Goddard, a co-author of the paper. "It is possible these compounds are present in asteroid Ryugu but are below our analytical detection limits given the relatively small sample mass available for study." The Hayabusa2 spacecraft collected the samples Feb. 22, 2019, and delivered them to Earth Dec. 6, 2020. They were extracted in Japan in July 2021 and analyzed at Goddard in autumn 2021. A very small amount of sample (30 milligrams or about 0.001 ounce) was allocated for the international soluble organic analysis team. The sample was extracted (like tea) in many different solvents in Japan and analyzed in labs in Japan, Goddard, and Europe using a vast range of machines like those in a forensics lab. This work is the first organic analysis of the Ryugu sample, and the samples will be studied for years. "We will do a direct comparison of the samples from Ryugu and the sample from asteroid Bennu when NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission returns it to Earth in 2023," said Dworkin. "OSIRIS-REx is expected to return much more sample mass from Bennu and will provide another important opportunity to look for trace organic building blocks of life in a carbon-rich asteroid." More information: Hiroshi Naraoka, Soluble organic molecules in samples of the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu, Science (2023). DOI: 10.1126/science.abn9033. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn9033 Journal information: Science This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The day octopus, Octopus cyanea, camouflages itself against the coral reef. Credit: Keishu Asada Scientists have successfully recorded brain activity from freely moving octopuses, a feat made possible by implanting electrodes and a data logger directly into the creatures. The study, published online in Current Biology on February 23, is a critical step forward in determining how octopus' brains control their behavior, and could provide clues to the common principles needed for intelligence and cognition to occur. "If we want to understand how the brain works, octopuses are the perfect animal to study as a comparison to mammals. They have a large brain, an amazingly unique body, and advanced cognitive abilities that have developed completely differently from those of vertebrates," said Dr. Tamar Gutnick, first author and former postdoctoral researcher in the Physics and Biology Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). But measuring the brainwaves of octopuses has proven a real technical challenge. Unlike vertebrates, octopuses are soft bodied, so they have no skull to anchor the recording equipment onto, to prevent it being removed. "Octopuses have eight powerful and ultra-flexible arms, which can reach absolutely anywhere on their body," said Dr. Gutnick. "If we tried to attach wires to them, they would immediately rip if off, so we needed a way of getting the equipment completely out of their reach, by placing it under their skin." The researchers recorded the brain activity of an octopus for 12 hours. Here, the octopus is in active sleep, a stage in which there are rapid changes in color and texture, as well as fast sucker motion. Credit: Current Biology, DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.006 The researchers settled on small and lightweight data loggers as the solution, which were originally designed to track the brain activity of birds during flight. The team adapted the devices to make them waterproof, but still small enough to easily fit inside the octopuses. The batteries, which needed to work in a low-air environment, allowed up to 12 hours of continuous recording. The researchers chose Octopus cyanea, more commonly known as the day octopus, as their model animal, due to its larger size. They anesthetized three octopuses and implanted a logger into a cavity in the muscle wall of the mantle. The scientists then implanted the electrodes into an area of the octopus' brain called the vertical lobe and median superior frontal lobe, which is the most accessible area. This brain region is also believed to be important for visual learning and memory, which are brain processes that Dr. Gutnick is particularly interested in understanding. Octopuses are mollusks, a large evolutionary group to which slugs and snails also belong. Their complex brains, and those of other closely-related cephalopods, like squid and cuttlefish, have evolved separately from vertebrates, and so octopuses are often referred to as alien-like. Here, a day octopus (Octopus cyanea) poses with a Shisa, a creature from Okinawan folklore. Credit: Michael Kuba Once the surgery was complete, the octopuses were returned to their home tank and monitored by video. After five minutes, the octopuses had recovered and spent the following 12 hours sleeping, eating and moving around their tank, as their brain activity was recorded. The logger and electrodes were then removed from the octopuses, and the data was synchronized to the video. The researchers identified several distinct patterns of brain activity, some of which were similar in size and shape to those seen in mammals, while others were very long lasting, slow oscillations that have not been described before. The researchers were not yet able to link these brain activity patterns to specific behaviors from the videos. However, this is not completely surprising, Dr. Gutnick explained, as they didn't require the animals to do specific learning tasks. "This is an area that's associated with learning and memory, so in order to explore this circuit, we really need to do repetitive, memory tasks with the octopuses. That's something we're hoping to do very soon." The researchers also believe that this method of recording brain activity from freely moving octopuses can be used in other octopus species and could help solve questions in many other areas of octopus cognition, including how they learn, socialize and control the movement of their body and arms. "This is a really pivotal study, but it's just the first step," said Prof. Michael Kuba, who led the project at the OIST Physics and Biology Unit and now continues at the University of Naples Federico II. "Octopus are so clever, but right now, we know so little about how their brains work. This technique means we now have the ability to peer into their brain while they are doing specific tasks. That's really exciting and powerful." The study involved an international collaboration between researchers in Japan, Italy, Germany, Ukraine, and Switzerland. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: CC0 Public Domain It's not easy to make sense of quantum-scale motion, but a new mathematical theory developed by scientists at Rice University and Oxford University could helpand may provide insight into improving a variety of computing, electrochemical and biological systems. The theory developed by Rice theorist Peter Wolynes and Oxford theoretical chemist David Logan gives a simple prediction for the threshold at which large quantum systems switch from orderly motion like a clock to random, erratic motion like asteroids moving around in the early solar system. Using a computational analysis of a photosynthesis model, collaborators at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign showed that the theory can predict the nature of the motions in a chlorophyll molecule when it absorbs energy from sunlight. The theory applies to any sufficiently complex quantum system and may give insights into building better quantum computers. It could also, for instance, help design features of next-generation solar cells or perhaps make batteries last longer. The study is published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Nothing is ever completely still on the molecular level, especially when quantum physics plays a role. A water droplet gleaming on a leaf may look motionless, but inside, over a sextillion molecules are vibrating nonstop. Hydrogen and oxygen atoms and the subatomic particles within themthe nuclei and electronsconstantly move and interact. "In thinking about the motions of individual molecules at quantum scale, there is often this comparison to the way we think of the solar system," Wolynes said. "You learn that there are eight planets in our solar system, each one with a well-defined orbit. But in fact, the orbits interact with each other. Nevertheless, the orbits are very predictable. You can go to a planetarium, and they'll show you what the sky looked like 2,000 years ago. A lot of the motions of the atoms in molecules are exactly that regular or clocklike." When Wolynes and Logan first posed the question of predicting the regularity or randomness of quantum motion, they tested their math against observations of vibrational motions in individual molecules. "You only have to know two things about a molecule to be able to analyze its quantum motion patterns," Wolynes said. "First, you need to know the vibrational frequencies of its particles, that's to say the frequencies at which the vibrations occur which are like the orbits, and, second, how these vibrations nonlinearly interact with each other. These anharmonic interactions depend mostly on the mass of atoms. For organic molecules, you can predict how strongly those vibrational orbits would interact with one other." Credit: Rice University Things are more complicated when the molecules also dramatically change structure, for instance as a result of a chemical reaction. "As soon as we start looking at molecules that chemically react or rearrange their structure, we know that there's at least some element of unpredictability or randomness in the process because, even in classical terms, the reaction either happens, or it doesn't happen," Wolynes said. "When we try to understand how chemical changes occur, there's this question: Is the overall motion more clocklike or is it more irregular?" Aside from their nonstop vibrations, which happen without light, electrons can have quantum-level interactions that sometimes lead to a more dramatic turn. "Because they're very light, electrons normally move thousands of times faster than the centers of the atoms, the nuclei," he said. "So though they are constantly moving, the electrons' orbits smoothly adjust to what the nuclei do. But every now and again, the nuclei come to a place where the electronic energies will almost be equal whether the excitation is on one molecule or on the other. That's what's called a surface crossing. At that point, the excitation has a chance to jump from one electronic level to another." Predicting at which point the transfer of energy that takes place during photosynthesis turns from orderly motion to randomness or dissipation would take a significant amount of time and effort by direct computation. "It is very nice that we have a very simple formula that determines when this happens," said Martin Gruebele, a chemist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and co-author on the study who is a part of the joint Rice-Illinois Center for Adapting Flaws into Features (CAFF). "That's something we just didn't have before and figuring it out required very lengthy calculations." The Logan-Wolynes theory opens up a wide array of scientific inquiry ranging from the theoretical exploration of the fundamentals of quantum mechanics to practical applications. "The Logan-Wolynes theory did pretty well in terms of telling you at roughly what energy input you'd get a change in quantum-system behavior," Wolynes said. "But one of the interesting things that the large-scale computations of (co-author Chenghao) Zhang and Gruebele found is that there are these exceptions that stand out from all the possible orbiting patterns you might have. Occasionally there's a few stragglers where simple motions persist for long times and don't seem to get randomized. One of the questions we're going to pursue in the future is how much that persistent regularity is actually influencing processes like photosynthesis." "Another direction that is being pursued at Rice where this theory can help is the problem of making a quantum computer that behaves as much as possible in a clocklike way," he said. "You don't want your computers to be randomly changing information. The larger and more sophisticated you make a computer, the likelier it is that you'll run into some kind of randomization effects." Gruebele and collaborators at Illinois also plan to use these ideas in other scientific contexts. "One of our goals, for instance, is to design better human-built light-harvesting molecules that might consist of carbon dots that can transfer the energy to their periphery where it can be harvested," Gruebele said. More information: Zhang, Chenghao et al, Surface crossing and energy flow in many-dimensional quantum systems, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2221690120 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Violent extremism in Canada is now considered a significant public health issue requiring prevention programs. At the same time that a surge in far-right movements has become a top concern for national security, Ottawa continues efforts to bring home and reintegrate women detained in Syria after traveling to join the Islamic State. A new study calls for more specialized services to assess and treat radicalized individuals with mental health disorders who may be vulnerable and whose distress may be expressed through violent behavior. The study was led by a team of Montreal researchers including McGill University Professor Cecile Rousseau, who is part of the Polarization Team in Quebec, a specialized clinical group addressing violent extremism attached to the Centre integre universitaire de sante et de services sociaux du Centre-Ouest-de-l'Ile-de-Montreal. The study, which included more than 150 radicalized individuals referred to the Polarization Team, shows that a majority of extremist individuals needed mental health services but often failed to receive them because they were distrustful of the system or because primary care providers felt unequipped to deal with them. The association between violent extremism and mental health disorders raises specific challenges for security agencies and clinical services, say the researchers. However, the researchers warn their findings should not be interpreted as evidence that those with mental health disorders are more likely to be attracted to violent extremism. "This assumption, which can stigmatize patients with mental disorders, is not supported by the findings, which only show there's a sizable group of individuals with extremist views and mental health disorders that are in need of services and social reintegration programs," says Rousseau, who is also a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McGill University. Understanding the association According to the team, the findings suggest that extremist ideas circulating in our society may be inspiring distress and behaviors in individuals with specific mental health disorders who may be vulnerable to becoming radicalized. This is a challenge primary care providers will have to address, they say. Looking at trends among the group, the researchers found roughly a third of radicalized individuals were involved with far-right extremism and another third with non-ideologically based violence. More than a quarter held extremist views on gender. Most of them had some previous contact with mental health services. More than two-thirds struggled with an anxiety disorder (36.9%) or a stress-related or mood disorder (35.7%), and nearly a third had an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis (28%). The study authors say specialized services like as the Polarization Team are important to develop knowledge and practices that can be deployed in youth and adult mental health services more broadlyand to support and guide other primary care and mental health service providers working with radicalized individuals. More information: Cecile Rousseau et al, Clinical Services Addressing Violent Extremism: The Quebec Model, International Journal of Forensic Mental Health (2022). DOI: 10.1080/14999013.2022.2147254 GREENWICH A Greenwich man was arrested after police said he failed to provide proper sustenance to a horse. On Sept. 26 at about 3:30 p.m., state police responded to a report of a severely underweight horse at a property in Greenwich. Troopers patrolled the area and found a horse that was reported to be about 40 years old and in what appeared to be a malnourished state, police said. The horse did have access to food and water at the time. The investigation determined that Bryan J. Periard was the owner of the horse in question and responsible for the animals care. After consultation with the Washington County District Attorneys Office, Periard was charged with a misdemeanor count of the Agriculture and Markets Law-overdriving, torturing and injuring animals/failure to provide proper sustenance. Periard surrendered himself to state police for processing and was issued an appearance ticket and released. He is due back in Greenwich Town Court on March 9. MOREAU Two people were arrested after police said they had multiple drugs in their vehicle after stealing gas from Stewart's on Monday. At 4:39 p.m. on Monday, New York State Police stopped a vehicle on Saratoga Road in Moreau after troopers witnessed a fuel theft from the store on Route 9 in Moreau. Jamie R. Brewer, 26, of Greenfield, was identified as the driver, and Alexa M. Scott, 29, of Fort Ann, as the passenger. Brewer was taken into custody on a larceny charge in connection with the gas theft and also had an outstanding warrant. Scott was also arrested on an outstanding warrant issued by Glens Falls City Court. Police said they located multiple controlled substances, including cocaine and a glass smoking device containing drug residue in the vehicle. Brewer was charged with felony charges of fourth-degree and fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and three misdemeanor counts of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and petit larceny. Scott was charged with felony charges of fourth-degree and fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and three misdemeanor counts of seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. Both were arraigned at the Moreau Town Court and released on their own recognizance. Brewer was then turned over to the Saratoga Springs Police Department for the outstanding warrant. Scott was taken to Queensbury state police station, where she was processed for her outstanding warrant and turned over to the Warren County Jail to await arraignment. QUEENSBURY The Town Board will hear a presentation of an ongoing study of the Aviation and Quaker roads corridor during its next regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Feb. 27 at Queensbury Town Hall. Consultants from AKRF and Barton & Loguidice will present findings and recommendations identifying innovative signaltiming solutions to congestion management, meant to improve traffic flow. The study will also recommend improvements to pedestrian and bicycle facilities from the Queensbury Union Free School District campus east to the intersection of Quaker Road and River Street in South Queensbury. The presentation will discuss the study development, existing deficiencies and costs and benefits of the recommended traffic signal improvements along the study corridor. The presentation will include an opportunity for public discussion with the project team. This study is led by Queensbury town officials and the Adirondack/Glens Falls Transportation Council. It is funded by a grant to the town of Queensbury from New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the New York State Department of Transportation. For more information, contact Stu Baker, senior planner for the town of Queensbury, by emailing stuartb@queensbury.net or calling 518-761-8222. PLEASE BE ADVISED: Soon we will no longer integrate with Facebook for story comments. The commenting option is not going away, however, readers will need to register for a FREE site account to continue sharing their thoughts and feedback on stories. If you already have an account (i.e. current subscribers, posting in obituary guestbooks, for submitting community events), you may use that login, otherwise, you will be prompted to create a new account. Principals of Government Polytechnic Pune and Government Polytechnic Awasari connive with each other; while one uses two accommodations, the other rakes in money falsely claiming TA and HRA The principals of two government polytechnic colleges in the district have been pulling the wool over the eyes of the state administration and cheating them of lakhs of rupees for over three years by fraudulently occupying government accommodation and extracting money by falsely producing travelling allowance (TA) and housing rent allowance (HRA) bills. The matter was revealed about six months back when student organisations and social activists wrote to the joint director of Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Maharashtra, demanding action against both principals. The authorities have now issued an order to take action on the contentious matter as per the state government rules. Government Polytechnic Awasari It has been alleged that principal of Government Polytechnic Awasari (GPA) DR Nandanwar and principal of Government Polytechnic Pune (GPP) Vitthal Bandal have duped the state not only in terms of money but also by violating the norms set for using government accommodation allocated to the employees concerned. While Nandanwar has been dwelling in two government accommodations without proper permission, Bandal has been cashing in by producing TA (travel allowance) and HRA (housing rent allowance) bills since 2019. Government Polytechnic Pune Nandanwar was holding the posts of joint director of DTE and principal, GPP. When he was given the additional charge of principal, GPA, Bandal was made the principal of GPP. While Nandanwar shifted to the accommodation allotted to him in Awasari, his family continued living on the GPP campus. Bandal agreed to the arrangement of them staying in the house that was then allocated to him, and resided in his personal flat outside the campus. To make it legitimate, Nandanwar submitted an application requesting permission to continue using the GPP principals house to the joint director of DTE, i.e., himself and cleared it. On the other hand, Bandal, taking advantage of the situation, kept raking in government money through TA and HRA bills. While student organisations and social activists have been demanding strict action against both principals alleging misuse of power and defrauding the government of lakhs of rupees, Nandanwar claimed prior permission was taken from the joint directors office. However, Bandal refused to explain the matter and also denied all allegations. (L) D R Nandanwar (R) Vitthal Bandal Amol Shinde, city president of Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena, said, Vitthal Bandal has been working as the principal of GPP since July 2019. There are hostels for male and female students on the premises of GPP and 1500 boys and girls live there. Bandal is expected to live there as per the government rules. But to date, he has not come to stay there in his quarters. Even if he does not live in the accommodation reserved for him, he cannot take benefit of HRA and TA. These cases should be thoroughly investigated and cases filed against the officials who defrauded the government of lakhs of rupees. The government should recover the amount along with interest. Social Activist Abhishek Haridas said, Who HAS given DR Nandanwar permission to occupy both houses and under which rules? Why is the state government paying house rent allowance and travel allowance to Bandal? Bandal is living in his own flat in Pune and submitting TA and HRA bills. This is fraud. Strict action should be taken on guilty persons. Explaining his side of the story, Nandanwar said: When I was joint director and principal of GPA, I requested to Pune divisional joint directors office and principal of GPP for utilisation of the principals house on GPP campus and the Awasari campus residential flat. We did this with mutual consent and with the prior permission of higher authorities. But Bandal clarified, I did not get a copy of the Pune divisional joint directors order. I will not comment further. You asked the present joint director regarding recovery and administrative action against me. Dattatray Jadhav, the Pune divisional joint director, said, I have issued an order and sent it to both the principals. As per the state government rules, recovery will be made and further action will be taken. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mirrors unanswered questions Why didn't the authority write to Nandanwar about vacating the residence on GPP campus? Why doesn't Vitthal Bandal live in that accommodation? According to which rule does he claim TA and HRA? According to which rule does Nandanwar use the GPP accommodation? Why did not he report that the GPP principal's house was not vacated? Why did Bandal suppress this case for 42 months? Why did joint director, Pune ignore it all this time? When will the money be recovered? Will the principals be prosecuted for defrauding the government? Are senior officers of DTE involved in this corruption? Whose responsibility is it if something goes wrong in the hostels for girls or boys without the principal being present on campus? Junior college teachers refuse to budge; students anxious about six marks of wrong question on English paper Although the Class 12 board exams have started without any issue on Wednesday because the strike by the nonteaching staff of universities and colleges across the state was called off, the question that has arisen now is who will check the answer sheets of the students? Because the junior college teachers in the state have boycotted answer sheet verification because of their pending demands. Also, the students and parents are worried about the six marks on the English subject paper, a meeting for which was called at the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, i.e., the HSC Board Headquarters in Pune on Wednesday but it was not held because subject experts and chief regulators boycotted it. The strike resorted to by nonteaching staff since February 20 has finally been called off. A meeting of the State University and College Non-Teaching Staff Joint Action Committee held late last night decided to suspend the strike till March 10. The state government revised the memorandum regarding the demands of the staff submitted on Tuesday. Sachin Kamble, a student said, When we read the question paper, we found there is a printing mistake. We intimated about this to our exam in charge. They assured us that the HSC Board will declare an official decision. We are worried that whether we will get the 6 marks or not. There is no our fault. Rajesh Kamble, a parent, said, When we read the news about the boycott by teachers, we got worried about childrens future. And, how can the HSC board let such printing mistakes be in the paper? I appeal on behalf of all parents and students to sort out this confusion as early as possible. Santosh Fasage, president of Maharashtra State Junior College Teachers Federation, said, The state government could not decide how to score the questions of 6 marks without printing the answers in the question paper of the English subject because the meeting of the main regulatory body of English subject could not be held. We all subject teachers have boycotted. It is expected that the Minister of School Education will solve the problems of the teachers. Sharad Gosavi, chairman of Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, said, We assured to all the students that the HSC Board will conduct a meeting of the regulatory body of English subject. We will cross-verify and then announce the final decision on this issue. If there is any mistake of the HSC board, we will give bonus marks to all students. An Andalusia man with two orders of protection against him and who is awaiting trial on felony meth and domestic battery charges was arrested this week with a firearm. Michael J. Berhenke II, 40, is charged with one count of aggravated unlawful use of a firearm. The charge is a Class 4 felony under Illinois law and carries a prison sentence of one to three years. He was arrested by agents with the Quad City Metropolitan Enforcement Group, or MEG. According to a news release issued by MEG Director Andy Fratzke, MEG agents along with Milan Police arrested Berhenke while he was in possession of the weapon and driving with a revoked license. Berhenke was booked into the Rock Island County Jail on a bond of $10,000, or 10%, and he remained there Wednesday night. Since his offense is what is known under Illinois law as a Category B offense, $30 will be deducted each day from his 10% cash bond amount. When the cash bond amount reaches zero, Berhenke can be released from the jail on his own recognizance. He currently has two active orders of protection filed against him, one in Rock Island County that has been in effect since June of 2022, and the other in Scott County that has been in effect since August of 2022. The no-contact order in Scott County is part of a criminal case against Berhenke in which he is charged with domestic abuse assault, a Class 4 felony under Iowa law that carries a prison sentence of five years. According to the arrest affidavit in that case filed by Davenport Police Sgt. William Martin, at 12:34 a.m. Aug. 6, 2022, Berhenke strangled his pregnant girlfriend to the point that she passed out. The case is scheduled to go to trial May 15 in Scott County District Court. He also is awaiting trial in Rock Island County Circuit Court on two meth trafficking cases. On Dec. 30, 2021, he was arrested on a charge of delivery of less than 5 grams of methamphetamine. The charge is a Class 2 felony under Illinois law that carries a prison sentence of three to seven years. On Sept. 15, 2022, Berhenke was arrested on a charge of delivering more than 5 grams but less than 15 grams of methamphetamine. That charge is a Class 1 felony under Illinois law that carries a prison sentence of four to 15 years. A pretrial hearing in both of those cases is scheduled for March 3. Berhenke also is awaiting trial on two drunken driving cases in Rock Island County, one of which dates back to Dec. 2020, while the other case occurred in February of 2022. Drunken driving in Illinois is a Class A misdemeanor that carries a jail sentence of up to one year. He also is awaiting trial in circuit court on three counts of driving on a revoked license. Those charges were filed in January and February of 2022. Each of those charges is a Class A misdemeanor. As Berhenke is prohibited from possessing a firearm because he is the subject of an order of protection, federal authorities could take over the case under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a Justice Department initiative instituted in 2001 that brings together law enforcement at all levels to reduce gun violence. At the federal level, a prohibited person in possession of a firearm faces a prison sentence of up to 15 years. There is no parole in the federal system. CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa A Chicago man was convicted Tuesday of shooting and seriously wounding an Iowa sheriff's deputy during a robbery at a convenience store in 2021. Stanley Donahue, 38, was convicted of several charges, including attempted murder, stemming from the shooting in Coggon, a town about 20 miles northeast of Cedar Rapids. Prosecutors said Donahue robbed two employees at a Casey's store and confined them in a cooler before shooting Linn County deputy Will Halverson seven times on June 20, 2021. Halverson was seriously injured but has returned to work. He testified during the trial that Donahue was the man who shot him. As he was being led from the courtroom on Tuesday, Donahue looked at Halverson and his family and said "It should of been worse than what it was," followed by an expletive, The Cedar Rapids Gazette reported. Donahue fled after the shooting and was later arrested after a more than 12-hour manhunt that ended when he was spotted by a television news crew. During the trial County Attorney Nick Maybacks argued it was clear Donahue meant to kill Halverson. Donahue's attorney argued DNA was inconclusive and did not rule out the possibility of other suspects. Donahue faces up to 112 years in prison at sentencing. He was convicted of attempted murder, two counts of first-degree robbery, willful injury, attempt to elude, trafficking stolen weapons, disarming a peace officer, being a felon in possession of firearm and two counts of false imprisonment. No sentencing date was set. SPRINGFIELD When then-New York Gov. Mario Cuomo traveled to Springfield for a speech in 1986, he playfully fueled speculation of a future presidential run while poking fun at Illinois Gov. Jim Thompson, also considered a possible contender. Thompson, in introducing Cuomo, had initially suggested to laughs that tonight is not about presidential politics. Cuomo responded by suggesting that speculation about the presidency is plausible. I wouldnt be a bit surprised, if the election goes well this year for him, if early next year, you heard a declaration of interest from a re-elected governor of a large state Jim Thompson, the New York Democrat said of his Republican counterpart in a witty comeback that drew even more laughter. John Shaw, now the director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, has fond memories of the event. They were sort of gentle, good-natured barbs about governors with national political ambitions and so forth, Shaw recalls. But it was all just kind of gentle, good-natured humor. Shaw was nostalgic for the days of Cuomo and Thompson this week following another exchange between two large state governors Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, that could be described as anything but gentle or good-natured. Pritzker, in his State of the State address last week, called out "a virulent strain of nationalism plaguing our nation led by demagogues who are pushing censorship, with a particular attack right now on school board members and library trustees." Though he did not mention DeSantis by name, it was clear Pritzker was referring to the Florida governor, who has perhaps more than any Republican in the country built his reputation on a series of culture war issues. Last year, DeSantis signed legislation that critics have labeled the Dont Say Gay law. It bans lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade as well as material that is not deemed age-appropriate. DeSantis also spoke out against the curriculum of an Advanced Placement Black History course that allegedly addressed "critical race theory," which examines the role race plays in shaping the country's laws, politics and social movements. The nonprofit College Board, which oversees the AP program nationwide, subsequently revised the final framework of the curriculum, which Pritzker dismissed as "a weak attempt to please extremists. "Illinois young people shouldnt be kept from learning about the realities of our world," Pritzker said. "I want them to become critical thinkers, exposed to ideas that they disagree with, proud of what our nation has overcome, and thoughtful about what comes next." Pritzkers remarks about DeSantis proved to be prescient as, days later, it was announced that the Florida governor would address law enforcement officials near Chicago. At the event, held Monday as part of a three-state tour to highlight crime, DeSantis said the reason you have crime that has spiraled out of control is because you have politicians putting woke ideology ahead of public safety, specifically mentioning Illinois law abolishing cash bail, which has been paused pending a decision from the Illinois Supreme Court. DeSantis also took a jab at Pritzker over his family members spending time in the state during COVID-19 lockdown as well as Illinois out migration rate. Pritzker, ahead of the event, tweeted that DeSantis' "dangerous and hateful agenda has no place in Illinois," while calling on other elected officials to condemn it. The barbs between DeSantis and Pritzker should hardly come as a surprise. The former is widely viewed as a top contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Pritzker has also been thought to harbor presidential ambitions, though the Democrat has repeatedly said he will not run if incumbent President Joe Biden seeks another term as has been signaled. "They're both large, interesting political figures who won reelection handily in big, complicated, electorally significant states," Shaw said. "So that makes both of them players in the national scene. In that sense, they're kind of natural foils." For Democrats seeking to broaden their appeal to a national audience, DeSantis offers a striking and well-known contrast perhaps no be than anyone besides former President Donald Trump. In using him as a foil, Pritzker has sought to amplify his own record, which is often in stark contrast, whether on abortion, guns or any number of issues. Even in the area of education, Pritzker has contrasted with DeSantis, signing laws that require the teaching of LGBTQ history and Asian American history. As the specter of the 2024 presidential race draws closer, more back-and-forth should be expected. For Shaw, the "sharpness" and "meanness" of the exchanges are a reflection of where politics has gone. "We've drifted away from the era of tough, good-natured rivalry to brass-knuckled warfare where you just take a swipe at your opponent with everything you got," Shaw said. Thompson and Cuomo, Pritzker and DeSantis are not. Pre-K tour Pritzker has hit the road following his State of the State address last week selling his $250 million plan to expand access to pre-K across the state. Since the speech, Pritzker has made stops in Chicago, East St. Louis, Macomb, Mt. Vernon, Peoria, Rockford, Rock Island and Springfield touting the plan. The proposed outlay would create 5,000 new pre-K spots for low-income children and is considered a down payment on a multi-year plan, dubbed "Smart Start Illinois," aimed at providing every child with access to pre-K. New pre-K spending seemed to be a winner among lawmakers last week even some Republicans. But, there's a long way between now and May, when the final budget will likely be rolled out. Chicago mayor's race The Chicago mayor's race will be reduced from nine candidates to two on Tuesday as voters in the state's largest city head to the polls. Unless one candidate obtains more than 50% of the vote, considered highly unlikely, two candidates will face off in a runoff election on April 4. But who those candidates are is uncertain. Embattled incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot is vulnerable with low approval ratings after a tumultuous first term that included the COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest following the police killing of George Floyd and rising crime. Her top opponents include U.S. Rep. Chuy Garcia, D-Chicago, Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson and former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas. Garcia, once a top ally of former Mayor Harold Washington, and Johnson, backed by the Chicago Teachers Union, are considered to be the leading progressive candidates while Vallas, backed by the Chicago police union, is considered the more moderate-to-conservative candidate. Also running are state Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago; community activist Ja'Mal Green, Ald. Sophia King; Ald. Rodrick Sawyer; and businessman Willie Wilson. Chicago is the state's economic engine, so who occupies the fifth floor of city hall is important, even for those who live hundreds of miles away. And he or she will be a major player in state and national politics. A race to keep an eye on. Photos: Pritzker sworn in for second term When Erica Carranza planned the opening of Restaurante Sabor Catracho, they knew from social media reactions that it would get busy. What they didn't expect was the line forming outside her family's restaurant an hour before they opened the doors. "It was harder than we thought for sure, but we pulled through," Carranza said. "Sunday was equally as busy." Carranza said she was excited to see so many customers from the get-go, all helping to make her mother and co-owner's dream a reality. Restaurante Sabor Catracho, located at 2006 16th St., Moline, opened to the public Feb. 18. Its hours are 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Sundays. The restaurant, owned and operated by Carranza and her parents, serves a variety of Honduran and other Central American dishes. Carranza, 23, said she grew up eating what is on the menu, spending most of her life in New York before moving here with family to join her father, who previously moved to the area. "In our menu we tried to include a little bit of everything, because my family is is diverse," Carranza said. Both her parents lived in Honduras before immigrating to the U.S. Carranza's mother, Sandra Carranza, had long held the dream of opening a restaurant, but the language barrier kept that dream from being realized. Once Carranza was old enough, she decided to help her mother start the business. It took less than a month after signing the lease to get the restaurant ready to open, Carranza said, thanks to help from her family. The business is entirely family-run, with Sandra Carranza in charge of the kitchen. The response from the community has been wonderful, Carranza said, and while they don't know just what the future holds, the family hopes to start hosting events in the future. "We are super grateful with everyone just coming in and trying it," Carranza said. "Some people that don't even know anything about it, but they're like, 'We want to try it.'" A Davenport alderman says city administration is keeping her from her elected duties. Judith Lee, 8th Ward, told the City Council Wednesday that managers are obstructing her ability to do her job as an elected alderman. After raising questions and concerns about construction on a former city dump and other topics, she was barred from speaking with most city staff and from attending certain meetings. Over the last several months, Lees questions and requests to staff related to construction at Veterans Memorial Park the site of a former city dump deepened a rift between her and city officials, who said she was micro-managing and inappropriately directing city staff on multiple projects. City management has retaliated against me, disparaged my character, obstructed my ability to perform my official duties, and now placed me under investigation, based on vague allegations of inappropriately interacting with staff and micromanaging projects, Lee told the council Wednesday. Neither aldermen nor administrators responded to Lees statement. City attorney Tom Warner declined to comment when asked whether Lee was under investigation, and did not respond to emailed questions. This summer, the city excavated more than 2,800 tons of waste and dirt from riverfront property for an expansion of Veterans Memorial Park. A second pass exposed more waste, which was reburied on guidance from the Scott County Waste Commission. Lee wrote several emails with increasing concerns that soil from the construction site was migrating across the bike path and toward the river. A long-time environmental consultant, she asked city staff for their communications and submitted plan with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, which is required by waste-specific state code of anyone disturbing such sites. After an inquiry from the Quad-City Times/Dispatch-Argus on whether the city had complied with DNR rules, the agency told the city it had violated the state code that requires notification be given. City staff said the failure to comply was simply an unintentional paperwork oversight and didnt negate the responsible handling of the site. In January, Lee was told she must direct all of her city-related communications through Warner until April 1. Typically, aldermen can communicate with department heads to ask questions and forward complaints or requests from constituents. On Feb. 15, Warner again emailed Lee to inform her she could not attend a committee meeting after additional information was brought to his attention. Lee is the vice chair of the Community Development Committee she was barred from attending. A new incident and some new additional information has been brought to my attention, Warner wrote. Until I can gather all the details you will not be able to attend the CD (community development) meeting this afternoon. Lee told council members on Wednesday she hoped to return to her duties free of restrictions. She said she was concerned city management did not directly inform the council of the Notice of Violation from the DNR, so she entered it into the record. Council must be aware of such legal concerns early, so we can assist in understanding strategies, costs, and funding sources associated with responding to this NOV (Notice of Violation) so as to avoid legal action from DNR and to protect public health and the environment, Lee said. She still has concerns about soil erosion from the old dump site making its way into the river, she said, as the park remains unfinished. The DNR in a recent site visit, said there was no waste exposed, and the city has pledged the capping and finishing of the site is a top priority once the weather improves. Warner previously said there were multiple employee complaints about Lees behavior on multiple topics. He also said her persistent involvement in such matters as the dump site could give her greater say in outcomes than the other elected officials. He had also said Lee is not the first elected official who has caused their contact and communications with staff to be limited. Smart Start Illinois invests $250 million for child care providers and early childhood education. It provides an additional $75 million for early childhood block grants administered by the Illinois State Board of Education, additional funding for early intervention programs, and the Illinois Department of Human Services home visiting program. (We can) ensure more of our most vulnerable families can receive evidence-based, early intervention and home-visitation services, provide more equitable access to our child care system, and increase the pipeline of early childhood educators, setting our kids up for success from cradle to career, Pritzker said. The funding would create 5,000 new preschool spots in the first year, the governor said, with the goal of creating 20,000 spots over the next four years. Pritzker was joined by local officials and community members at a news conference Wednesday at the Skip-a-Long Child Development Services in Rock Island, discussing how the child care and early education investments could be transformative in addressing childrens developmental needs in the long term. Jendaya Bailey, a former Skip-a-Long student and now a mother of three daughters, said her kids are always excited to go to Skip-a-Long and having the care allows her to attend classes at Black Hawk College and to work. Thank you for giving us a way for me to be able to work and for my children to go to a loving day care that loves and supports my children, Bailey said. Director of Skip-a-Long, Pat Allison, said the program has the potential to increase staff wages and retain employees who can support childrens individual needs. Being able to increase wages and recruitment, she said, could help open three classrooms that currently are closed due to staffing shortages. By opening up the classrooms, Skip-a-Long can serve 46 more children, including 38 who are on a preschool waiting list. I have seen so many children who have benefited from the (Skip-a-Long) and have gone on to build and maintain successful lives, Allison said. Republicans have raised concerns, saying that launching a new program could lead to tax increases or other service cuts in future budget years. Pritzker, however, said in the past few years of being governor, Illinois has come a long way in balancing the budget, leading to surpluses, and has been able to pay off debt. Its now time to properly invest in early childhood education, K-12 and higher education, he said. The fiscal year 2023 budget, the one Illinois is currently in, had a $444 million surplus. Other investments being made in early childhood education include $100 million to expand existing facilities and to build new; $70 million for the Child Care Assistance Program for lower-income families; $12 million for scholarships and apprenticeships to expand the child care workforce; and $1.6 million to launch a partnership with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, an initiative that sends free books to children under age 5. Photos: Gov. Pritzker, officials, tout Smart Start Illinois in Rock Island visit DES MOINES Standing behind a mural of Dr. Seuss Oh, the Places Youll Go painted on the wall of a library at St. Anthony Catholic School, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott spoke to reporters Wednesday about restoring hope and creating opportunities, including giving more options to parents and increasing the quality of education. The South Carolina senator and prospective 2024 Republican presidential candidate toured the school alongside Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and met with parents as part of his Faith In America listening tour. Scott also spoke at Drake University and was schedule to address an annual Polk County Republican fundraiser Wednesday night. Conservatism is my personal proof there is no ceiling in life. I can go as high as my character, my education and my perseverance will take me. I bear witness to that, Scott was expected to say at the event, according to excerpts shared with reporters. So, for those of you on the left, you can call me a prop, you can call me a token, you can call me the N-word, you can question my blackness, you can even call me Uncle Tim. Just understand: Your words are no match for my evidence. The truth of my life disproves your lies. He and Reynolds visited a kindergarten Spanish immersion classroom and spoke with eighth-graders. Scott recalled speaking with a single mother of four with students enrolled at the school, and mentioned his own upbringing. I was blessed to be raised from a strong, powerful single mom and the best thing I can do is make sure the single moms of today have the best and brightest future for their kids and for themselves, Scott told reporters. And thats why I started the Faith in America tour. Too often, our country seems to be polarized by Black and white, or red and blue. The truth is that we are one American family, and the more we focus on that unity we have, the better off the future of the nation. He applauded Reynolds for her leadership in passing a private school funding bill last month that creates state-funded scholarships that Iowa families could use to send their children to private schools. The nonpartisan Legislative Service Agency estimates the program, when fully phased in, will cost $345 million a year. Seeing the power of school choice, knowing that these kids have an unlimited future to the extent that we can capsulize that and share it and spread it, its good news for the country, Scott said. Opponents of the law say it will siphon money out of public schools to fund private institutions that arent subject to the same oversight as public schools and devotes tax money to schools that could turn away students based on disabilities or personal values. Reynolds reiterated her point Wednesday that the program is not at odds with public schools. It really will make education overall elevated, she told reporters. And Ive said a hundred thousand times, this is not a zero-sum game. We want our public schools and our private schools to do well. But most importantly, we want parents all parents, not just those that can afford it to have the opportunity to decide what that environment looks like. Scott has been a recurring presence in Iowa over the last two years, including campaigning for Republican candidates ahead of the November 2022 midterm election. He deflected questions this fall about his future plans, stating the only office he planned to run for was president of his homeowners association. Asked Wednesday if hes changed his answer, Scott said: Well, the homeowners association, theyve already said, no. Im working on that part of the answer, he said, which involves gathering feedback from Iowans. As I hear more from the constituents here in Iowa and around the country, it will give me more information on what to do next, Scott said. He did not provide a timeline on making a decision. Asked what advice she had to share with Scott, Reynolds who has said she intends to remain neutral and not endorse ahead of Iowa Republicans first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses in 2024 said: Come to Iowa. Come often. Scott's visit comes a day after fellow South Carolinian and newly announced Republican presidential candidate and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley stopped in Marion for a campaign event in the early GOP nominating state. Scott did not respond to a reporters question as he left the library about his reaction to Haleys campaign. Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart, in a statement, criticized Scott for "putting special interests ahead of working families as an architect of the 2017 GOP-passed tax cuts, which made several significant changes to the individual income tax. Hart, too, criticized Scotts record supporting policies to limit abortions and that could jeopardize Medicare and Social Security, and calling to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Nothing Tim Scott says to Iowans today will erase his extreme record, Hart said. One person was injured Wednesday morning when a moving truck they were driving went over an embankment and crashed into an apartment building. According to the Rapid City Fire Department, the collision occurred near the intersection of Fifth and North streets. The driver lost control of a moving truck, went over an embankment and retaining wall before hitting the apartment building. Rapid City Fire Department Public Information Officer Tessa Jaeger said the driver had to be extricated from the vehicle and was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Brendyn Medina with the Rapid City Police Department said slippery road conditions were a factor in the incident. OMAHA, Neb. When a group of health care officials began to look at Nebraskas infant mortality rate, they found the states numbers were about average for the United States. But Nebraskas rate 5.5 deaths for every 1,000 births in 2020 still was higher than many other states, including those of neighbors Iowa and Colorado. Rates among racial and ethnic minorities in Nebraska were worse than the U.S. average. The U.S. rate, in turn, is higher than those of most developed nations. Dr. Bob Rauner, president of Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln, said the group believes that even average isnt good enough for Nebraska kids. As the group members dug into the states data, they found that the factors with the greatest odds of resulting in infant mortality revolved around a lack of prenatal care, which can result in problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes that arent well controlled, Rauner said. Managing those conditions, particularly for women who qualify for Medicaid, requires getting pregnant moms into care earlier. Pregnant women become eligible for Medicaid at higher incomes than those same women would if not pregnant. In a recently released policy brief, the group has outlined a target of reducing the states infant mortality rate to 4 deaths per 1,000 births by 2030. To get there, they propose a goal of increasing the number of Medicaid recipients who get early and adequate prenatal care to more than 80% in all of the states public health districts by 2025. They also list seven other recommendations, including an education campaign to make sure people in all demographic groups know the importance of early and adequate prenatal care and seeking a way to streamline the application for Medicaid eligibility. The group recommends reducing to less than two weeks the time from starting an application to preliminary assignment to a Medicaid managed care plan. Our target is to decrease infant mortality through improved prenatal care, said Dr. Ann Anderson Berry, neonatal medical director for the Nebraska Perinatal Quality Improvement Collaborative. She and other members of the collaborative, along with Rauner and his team and members of the University of Nebraska Medical Centers College of Public Health, drafted the brief. Its a very systematic, data-driven process among the right groups of people to make this achievable, said Anderson Berry, who is also executive director of the Child Health Research Institute, a collaboration between UNMC and Childrens Hospital & Medical Center. Anderson Berry said there is no guarantee of success for the initiative. And there are roadblocks to be removed. But siloed approaches are not going to get us where were needing to go, she said. Weve all been working in this space for decades, trying to put ourselves out of business in the (neonatal intensive care unit), and we just get busier and busier each year. Rauner noted that seven of the states 19 public health districts, most of them largely rural, already exceed the 80% goal for Medicaid-covered mothers receiving early and adequate prenatal care. There may be lessons to be learned from those communities. Im excited about this project, Rauner said. I actually think its doable. Nebraska often has all the right pieces if you just put it together. The project grew out of the ALIGN initiative spearheaded by Rauner and Dr. Ali Khan, dean of UNMCs public health college. The initiative includes officials from health systems, federally funded nonprofit clinics, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and Medicaid managed care providers. The group has agreed upon 11 health quality measures for adults, children and pregnant people that data show can have a significant impact on health and health care costs across large numbers of people. Rauner said the prenatal and infant mortality effort began with a conversation with an official from United HealthCare, one of the states three Medicaid managed care providers. The organization was having difficulty getting information about pregnant women so they could get them into care. At times, the insurer wasnt hearing about women under its plan until they were 20 to 24 weeks into their pregnancy. After the groups research indicated that the main thing they could change was to get women into care earlier, they conducted focus groups in Lincoln and Grand Island to try to determine why some were not. Those groups revealed a number of factors, Rauner said. A Lincoln mom said she had to hang up before completing her Medicaid application because remaining minutes on her cellphone plan ran out. Some recent immigrants either didnt know the value of prenatal care, coming from nations where its not widely available, or that they could get that care in Nebraska. Natalie Lukens and Monica Lee-Buss, who have been leading the Grand Island sessions, said theyve been speaking with moms, pregnant people and groups that support them to get a picture of whats happening in the community. Support groups for parents were sidelined by the pandemic and organizations operating them now are having a hard time getting clients back in, said Lee-Buss, a labor and delivery nurse at Grand Island Regional Medical Center. Lukens, a community volunteer, said the groups goals feel realistic. At the end of the day, if we can keep one baby out of the NICU, that has a ripple effect on that childs health outcomes for the rest of its life. Rauner said the perinatal collaborative already is working on another goal of creating an updated pregnancy risk assessment. Once thats completed, a system should be established to communicate the results to Medicaid plans so timely referrals can be made for those with high-risk conditions. Said Anderson Berry, The whole goal is to get women the care they need and deserve in a wealthy state where we can afford to provide this care and our kids and women need better outcomes. Scott Rose has never been a really good sleeper. Lack of sleep can be problematic for many careers, but when youre a baker, its an asset. Rose heads to work at the Richmond areas newest doughnut shop, Diablo Doughnuts RVA (1090 Virginia Center Parkway, Suite 105) in Glen Allen, at 6 p.m. to start making the next days doughnuts. He spends about five hours mixing, rolling and frying before the decorations crew comes in at 11 p.m., then he spends the night helping the team glaze, decorate and prepare for the next day. He heads home around 4 or 5 a.m. The alarm clock for his wife, Carrie, goes off at 3:15, so she can head into the shop to open at 6 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Its a different life from the one they shared when they got married about a year ago. Although living in Richmond, Scott was working in retail management and commuting to Virginia Beach, and Carrie was commuting to Washington, D.C., for a property management job, which she still holds along with co-owning Diablo Doughnuts. Even with the hours, we get to spend more time together now, she said. Scotts brother has owned the original Diablo Doughnuts for over 10 years in Baltimore. About a year and a half ago, I was like, Richmond needs one of these, she said. And the couple decided to make it happen. Diablo Doughnuts hosted its grand opening Saturday, Feb. 11, and it has already developed a following. We have people that wait in the parking lot for us to turn the open light on, she said. The doughnuts are insane, she said. Both yeast and cake doughnuts varieties are available with over-the-top eye-catching decorations and funny names. Unicorn Farts is a classic yeast doughnut topped with vanilla bean glaze, tossed in fruity cereal and finished with a signature blue drizzle. Panty Dropper is a yeast doughnut featuring maple-bacon glaze with bacon stacked on top. We like to hear people order them by name, she said. It makes us laugh. The fixed doughnut menu is about the same as the Baltimore locations with rotating specials. Another favorite is Berry Cheesecake, a classic yeast doughnut topped with sweet cream cheese dollops and fresh strawberries. A recent savory special, Caprese, featured ricotta cheese, tomato and basil, drizzled with balsamic glaze. After a picture was posted to the restaurants Instagram account, the special sold out in an hour, so its been making regular reappearances. In the future, Diablo Doughnuts RVA will also have Richmond-specific doughnut specials for places like VCU and special events like The Carytown Watermelon Festival. Doughnut prices range from $2.25 to $3.50. To go with the confections, Diablo Doughnuts carries a special Glazed Over coffee blend made locally by Ironclad Coffee Roasters thats available hot or as cold brew. The coffee is also used in the topping for the Glazed Over doughnut on the menu. The Roses are lovers of rescue dogs, and the menu also includes Boughnuts for dogs for $3. They are shaped like a bone, drizzled with peanut butter and topped with bacon. Each month, the proceeds from Boughnut sales are donated to a different animal shelter. The shop features a colorful decor with artistic skateboard decks that complement the eye-catching doughnuts. My husband is a huge Batman fan, so Batman is everywhere, too, Rose added. Although most of Diablos business is takeout, there are also a few tables for customers to enjoy coffee and doughnuts at the shop. Diablo Doughnuts is open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday or until the doughnuts sell out. Follow Diablo Doughnuts on Instagram (@diablodonutsrva) for updates on specials and to learn if the days doughnuts have all been sold. PHOTOS: Diablo Doughnuts U.S. railroad ordered to clean up Ohio train wreck as White House takes more heat Xinhua) 09:55, February 23, 2023 WASHINGTON, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered Norfolk Southern on Tuesday to "conduct all necessary actions associated with the cleanup" from the train that derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, over two weeks ago. The federal agency said the legally binding order would require Norfolk Southern to identify and clean up contaminated soil and water resources; attend and participate in public meetings at the EPA's request and post information online; and pay for the agency's costs for work performed under this order, among other things. The EPA warned that if Norfolk Southern fails to comply, the agency will perform the work itself and seek triple damages from the company. "The Norfolk Southern train derailment has upended the lives of East Palestine families, and EPA's order will ensure the company is held accountable for jeopardizing the health and safety of this community," EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. "Let me be clear: Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma they've inflicted on this community," Regan continued. The EPA said the order marks the transition of the multi-agency response from its "emergency" phase to a longer-term remediation phase. A Norfolk Southern train carrying hazardous materials, including vinyl chloride, derailed in East Palestine, an Ohio village on the state's border with Pennsylvania, on the night of Feb. 3. According to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, 38 rail cars derailed, and an additional 12 cars were damaged by fire. There were no reported fatalities or injuries. Fear of a possible explosion prompted hundreds of residents to evacuate from a so-called controlled release and burning of chemicals on Feb. 6, which discharged toxic and potentially deadly fumes into the air. While residents have been able to return to their homes in East Palestine, they have reported incidents like burning eyes, ill pets or dead fish in waterways. The EPA said on Tuesday that it had assisted with indoor air monitoring of more than 550 homes under a voluntary screening program offered to residents. No vinyl chloride or hydrogen chloride detections were identified above levels of concern. East Palestine mayor Trent Conaway said on Monday that U.S. President Joe Biden's visit to Ukraine on America's Presidents' Day was the "biggest slap in the face" as his town continues to deal with the fallout of the train derailment. "He doesn't care about us," Conaway said during an appearance on Fox News. "He can send every agency he wants to, but I found out this morning that he was in Ukraine giving millions of dollars away to people over there and not to us on Presidents' Day in our country. So I'm furious." Biden made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on Monday, days before the first anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, where he announced an additional 500 million U.S. dollars in aid, including more weapons, to the country. On Monday afternoon, Ohio suffered another major safety incident after an explosion at a metal manufacturing plant in Bedford killed one person and injured 13 others. "What in the world is Pres. Biden doing in Kyiv, rather than minding his own business in Ohio?" Steve Hanke, professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, tweeted. The United States needs "a government who will fight for the people and the people of its own country," Eric Reeves, a protester from Texas, said. "If you look at our cities in America, if you look at (what) America is in, we could be using all of that money, all of that effort here in America to help the people of America to do better." (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Richmond Public Schools officials announced Wednesday that crews are beginning to rebuild Fox Elementary School, which was heavily damaged in a fire about one year ago. The beloved Richmond elementary school in the citys Fan District was built in 1911, and has remained closed since the late-night fire on Feb. 11, 2022. Officials say water used to douse the fire sat in the building for months while it was under control of the fire department, and mold growth over the summer was substantial. RPS did not regain control of the building until July. Crews have since cleaned up, ventilated the building and used a generator to keep fans running. They also completed all shoring, stabilization and demolition. Everything that we are doing moving forward is to put Fox back together, said Dana Fox, RPS chief operations officer, on Wednesday. Crews are now prepping the tops of the walls and removing some of the brickwork to prepare for trusses and for a permanent roof within the next couple of months. The outside of the historic building will remain intact, while the inside will receive major upgrades. It will look like a 21st century school while still having that historical fabric and elements that Fox is known for, Fox said. Richmond School Board member Mariah White, who represents the Second District where Fox is, encouraged parents to be patient. We just want to ensure that this school will be built, White said. And Im going to say it again: it will be built. Parents and community members have grown concerned after expected state funding for the rebuild fell through. Del. Jeff Bourne, D-Richmond, introduced a $15 million budget amendment earlier this legislative session to cover the rebuild costs. But the amendment was not included in the House of Delegates version of the proposed budget, which the chamber adopted earlier this month. Some city leaders have not given up hope yet for state funding. Senior negotiators for the House and Senate are trying to hash out a final agreement on the chambers different versions of the spending plan before the assemblys scheduled adjournment on Saturday. I will always keep my fingers crossed until the General Assembly actually closes out, said Richmond City Council member Katherine Jordan, who represents the Second District. Theres also a lot of money on the table in the Senate budget for classroom and family needs. I will always say continue to reach out to your legislators and to our governor. On July 1, the city will have $200 million in debt capacity through general obligation bonds, and that will become accessible to the Richmond School Board. When it comes to what comes next, thats the School Boards decision, Jordan said. I think what we can all see is there are two shovel-ready projects: George Wythe [High School] and Fox. White said she will make a motion to use $15 million of the $200 million to continue the construction at Fox. She also said there are construction grants that will become available in March. We will be back. This is team Fox here and were working it, White said. We are Fox strong, and we will be back in 2025. PHOTOS: Media tour of Fox Elementary A growing headache for retailers shoplifting gangs would be a clearer target for prosecutors after the House of Delegates and state Senate approved bills defining their deeds as organized crime. The bills say it would be a felony, punishable by a prison term of five to 20 years, for two or more people to act together to steal goods from one or more stores, or to conspire to do so. The trigger for the charge is thefts totaling $5,000, stolen over 90 days. It also clears the way to prosecute thefts that occur in more than one county or city. Weve had stores shut down because of this, said Del. Kathy Byron, R-Bedford, sponsor of House Bill 1885. Now we can go after the people doing this, she said. Democrats initially opposed the measure on the grounds that it was a back-door method of reversing an increase in the trigger for charging a theft as grand larceny, a felony subject to a prison term of one to 20 years. The General Assembly enacted it when Democrats held majorities in both House and Senate. Both the House and Senate bills, as introduced, set a trigger for the organized crime charge at $1,000, but the Senate Judiciary Committee amended its version to set the $5,000 trigger. It was a compromise proposed by state Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, when the committee seemed uncomfortable with suggestions for a $10,000 trigger. When the unamended House bill came before the Senate panel, it amended that bill to set the $5,000 trigger. The House on Wednesday accepted the Senate changes by a vote of 52-45. The Senate approved the compromise by a 27-13 vote. I had wanted the $1,000 to help with proof, said state Sen. Richard Stuart, R-King George, who sponsored the Senate version. Raising the trigger to $5,000 makes it a little harder to prove a case, but I understand where Scott was coming from and I can live with that, he said. But Del. Vivian Watts, D-Fairfax, said she still opposed the measure because it did not go after the heart of the problem the fences. This makes shoplifting racketeering, she said. The bill also creates a fund that prosecutors and police can tap to pursue these cases. The House and Senate also resolved differences in their two bills to consolidate the states workforce development agencies, a top priority for Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Basically, they addressed concerns from unions about how apprenticeships would be handled, as well as how school and college programs would be overseen, Byron said. Unions were concerned that the bills definitions undermined their own apprenticeship programs. These bills went through lots of committees, Byron said, referring to the Senate bills stops at the Senate General Laws and Finance committees, and House bills stops at the House Commerce and Energy Committee, after a detailed view by a subcommittee, review by the Appropriations Committee and the two Senate committees. We had a lot more discussion and time to consider things than if we went into conference, she said, referring to the process in the final few days of a General Assembly session, with negotiators for both chambers try to hammer out their differences under often-intense time pressure. The House also gave final passage to two identical bills setting up programs to encourage a fishery to catch and process blue catfish, an invasive species that has been gobbling up Virginias native crabs and finfish and sometimes even birds and small mammals as well as a bill to give police chiefs authority to declare a curfew of up to 24 hours to calm simmering tensions that could erupt into riots or looting. After the Virginia Supreme Court set new legislative and congressional boundaries, Betsy Carr seemed done for. The Richmond delegate, first elected in 2009, had been lumped in the same district with two fellow Democratic incumbents. Worse, the new district included just a sliver of her old one. That meant she would have her work cut out for her in a primary against possibly better-known opponents. No one would have faulted Carr, who was among 66 delegates and senators nearly half the General Assembly doubled or tripled-up into the same districts, for choosing to retire. Instead, Carr immediately signaled she would enter the primary and take her chances. A year later in a still heavily Democratic district reoriented from south to north of the James River, with a white, rather than Black, majority and anchored in the citys most prosperous neighborhoods instead of lower-income areas she has long represented Carr is unopposed for her partys nomination and heavily favored for reelection. At this point, she may face only a nominal independent challenger in the fall. I dont know that I can say I was surprised, said Carr, 76, sitting in her dusky downtown Richmond legislative office, which, along with its centerpiece in the Jefferson-designed State Capitol, stands in her redrawn district. I was just focused on what was ahead. Despite the presumed advantages of name recognition and friendly turf, the members of the House of Delegates with whom Carr was paired by the line-drawing justices Richmonders Dawn Adams and Jeff Bourne are forgoing reelection campaigns for other political options, some to be pursued now and others perhaps later. Adams, one of the legislatures first openly gay members, said in January she is seeking the Democratic nomination for the soon-to-be-vacant, Richmond-based Senate seat of U.S. Rep.-elect Jennifer McClellan, D-4th. Del. Lamont Bagby of Henrico County also declared a bid for it Wednesday. Alexsis Rodgers, the 4th District Democratic leader who recently moved to the district to meet the residency requirement, is running too. Bourne, a Black lawyer long active in city and state government, cleared the field for Carr on Monday, announcing his retirement from the House, but not ruling out the possibility of a run for the Richmond mayoralty in 2024. Had Carr faced a three-way race for the House nomination, the odds of winning were, at best, uncertain. Roughly half of the new district was carved from Adams current seat, which includes hushed, sylvan neighborhoods west of town favored by lawyers, financiers and corporate executives, many of whom are Republicans. A third of Bournes district, reaching north into historic Black neighborhoods, was folded into the new seat. Not even 20% of Carrs current district is in the reconfigured one. Carr would not necessarily have been a lost cause in a district that also includes the Fan, the scale of which recalls Washingtons Georgetown section: parts of Jackson Ward, once the seat of Richmonds Black middle and professional class; sections of North Side, favored in the early 1900s by street-car commuters; and several south-of-the-James bedroom suburbs. Carr has raised in excess of $300,000 and, as treasurer of the House Democratic Caucus, has a good idea to whom she can turn for more. Carr grew up and raised her own family in Windsor Farms, one of the districts premier addresses. And she is the retired community liaison for St. Pauls Episcopal Church, a 19th-century Anglican parish just beyond the iron gates of Capitol Square, whose members include establishment figures she has known for years and a number of whom would be constituents. Carr is also deeply familiar with the rough-and-tumble of Richmond politics, delineated forever, it seems, by race and culture. She was a member of the city school board during its constant combat with then-Mayor Doug Wilder, who attempted to evict it from City Hall. In 2009, in her first bid for the House, Carr narrowly won a three-way primary in her extant majority-minority district, defeating two Black candidates, one of whom was the pick of Black power-brokers. She was handily elected that fall and has been largely unchallenged ever since. In the House, where policy and political debates can be as sharply polarized as those in Washington, Carr, whose low-key manner veils a nervous energy, pretty much votes with the club. She is a reliable no on those issues with which Democrats are battling Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican: his demands for further tax cuts and post-Roe restrictions on abortion. Attuned to a prospective constituency that includes Youngkin supporters they are badly outnumbered in the district, supplying less than 30% of his vote there Carr is not one to trash the usually cheerful, vest-wearing governor. She acknowledges he may be personally popular, but says his policies are anything but. Because, at bottom line, Carr is a local politician, she is sensitive to nuanced issues with an immediate impact in her backyard, such a proposed casino in South Richmond. She supported putting the issue before voters in a referendum it was rejected last year and could be on the ballot again but personally opposed the casino in a bow to affluent, mostly white, paternalistic voters in her current district who mobilized against gambling as tacky and exploitive of the poor. Carr also embodies quiet power that perhaps is too often overlooked. Women, who make up the majority of the House Democratic Caucus, have been moving incrementally into key positions of influence. For Carr, that includes a seat since 2015 on the budget-writing House Appropriations Committee. Another Richmonder on the committee is Democrat Delores McQuinn, a member since 2016. Both were appointed by a Republican speaker, Bill Howell of Stafford. With McClellans departure for Congress, Richmond will lose a seat on the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee. Unless it is filled by someone from the metro area, it would fall to Carr and McQuinn to do most of the citys budgetary heavy lifting in the General Assembly. And to think that one of them looked done for. Democrats and Republicans are scrambling to organize party-run processes in the Richmond area this weekend to choose candidates to run in a special election next month for the Virginia Senate seat vacated by the election of Sen. Jennifer McClellan to Congress on Tuesday. The day after McClellan, D-Richmond, won a landslide victory in a special election to fill the congressional seat of the late Rep. Donald McEachin, D-4th, Senate Democrats set a special election for her 9th District Senate seat on March 28 with a deadline for parties to nominate their candidates by Monday. Three prominent Democrats have been openly seeking the seat since January. The partys 9th District nominating committee on Wednesday night decided to hold a firehouse primary this Sunday in two or more locations in a district that includes parts of Richmond and Henrico, Charles City and Hanover counties. Republicans expected to determine their nominating process on Thursday after being taken by surprise by the quick decision by Senate President Pro Tempore Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, to set a Monday deadline for the parties to choose candidates and file for the special election. Were just going to have to execute at the speed of light, state Republican Party Chairman Rich Anderson said on Wednesday night. Republicans did not nominate anyone to challenge McClellan in the heavily Democratic district two years ago, but Anderson said Thursday that the partys district committee has set a deadline for candidates to apply by Saturday and has scheduled a firehouse primary from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday at 3429 W. Cary St. in Carytown. Although no Republicans have announced a run for the seat, Anderson said, There have been some who say theyre thinking about it. Its just such short notice. Democrats already knew they would have to choose among at least three prominent candidates Del. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, chairman of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus; Del. Dawn Adams, D-Richmond, who is running for the Senate instead of re-election to the House this year; and Alexsis Rodgers, chair of the 4th Congressional District Democratic Committee and runner-up in the last election for Richmond mayor. The partys district committee decided on Wednesday to hold a firehouse primary that allows Democrats to vote on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The party announced five polling places: Ashland Municipal Building 121 Thompson St., Ashland Charles City County Administration Building 10900 Courthouse Road East Henrico Government Center 3820 Nine Mile Road IBEW 666 1400 E. Nine Mile Road, Highland Springs Virginia Union University Living and Learning Center 1500 N. Lombardy St. The party requires candidates to pay a $2,500 filing fee and submit the names of at least 50 registered voters in the district. This nominating contest will be run by a handful of well-trained, highly dedicated volunteers, Democratic spokesman Liam Watson said Thursday. We remain laser-focused on ensuring this process is run as smoothly and as transparently as possible for candidates and voters alike. The party committee led by Rodgers came under fire from Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Richmond, for holding a firehouse primary on a Tuesday instead of a Saturday in December to nominate a candidate for McEachins congressional seat. The party conducted the voting at eight locations in a district that sprawls across 15 localities. Criticism turned to praise after Democrats turned out more than 28,000 voters for the primary on Dec. 20. McClellan won the nomination with almost 85% of the vote against Morrissey and two other candidates. All three declared candidates were quick to congratulate McClellan on her victory by 48.5 percentage points over Republican Leon Benjamin on Tuesday. Endorsements Bagby, who had stepped aside for McClellan in the congressional nominating fight after Morrissey jumped into it, quickly rolled out endorsements from prominent Democrats, including Richmond Commonwealths Attorney Colette McEachin. Her husband, Donald McEachin, died suddenly on Nov. 28, three weeks after he won a fourth term in Congress. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., posted on Twitter that he will vote in the primary for my longtime friend @delegatebagby Henrico School Board member, educator, superb Delegate, @VaBlackCaucus leader. Bagby also received endorsements from Lucas; Del. Delores McQuinn, D-Richmond; and Henrico Supervisor Tyrone Nelson, who are all close allies. Lucas came under criticism after posting a statement on Twitter that said Bagby had put the interest of the Democratic Party above his own when he stepped aside to allow McClellan to win the party nomination for the 4th District seat. Some McClellan supporters objected to what they saw as a suggestion that Bagbys decision to withdraw from the race had allowed the state senator to win the nomination, even though she was considered the front-runner. Bagby withdrew days after declaring his candidacy because of concern among Black leaders that he would divide the vote with McClellan and open the door for Morrissey, the only white candidate in the race, to win the nomination. I said what I said and I meant what I said, replied Lucas, noting that Bagbys decision allowed the party to unify and Jennifer to win in a landslide against a less desirable candidate. A number of progressive advocates rallied publicly behind Rodgers, who is running as an LGBTQ Black woman. She received an endorsement on Thursday from the Virginia NOW political action committee, which advocates for women and their reproductive rights. On Twitter, Ashleigh Crocker, deputy director of Progress Virginia, urged donations for Rodgers. Adams is a nurse practitioner and three-term delegate who describes herself as the first openly lesbian woman in the General Assembly. She touts her experience in health care policy. Adams did not roll out endorsements on Thursday. Whatever happens, Democrats may have to do it all over again in a June primary for the new 14th Senate District, 80% of which lies in Richmond, with the remaining 20% in Henrico. Democrat Katie Gooch, a former Methodist pastor in Richmond, has announced that she will run for the party nomination for the new Senate District seat in June. Gooch is director of the Pace Center at Virginia Commonwealth University, which she described as a multicultural student community supported by the United Methodist and Presbyterian churches. Gooch, a resident of Barton Heights, previously served as executive pastor of Reveille United Methodist Church in Richmond. My mission is to bridge the gaps of race, age, political alignment, and religious affiliation, she said in an announcement. Jennifer McClellans landslide victory in Tuesdays special election for the 4th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives as of Wednesday afternoon, she had secured more than 74% of the votes tallied was a surprise to no one. The heavily Democratic nature of the district, which includes Richmond, parts of Chesterfield and Henrico counties, all of the Tri-Cities (Petersburg, Hopewell and Colonial Heights) and stretches to the North Carolina border, meant the election to replace the late Donald McEachin, who died unexpectedly on Nov. 28, was largely a forgone conclusion. It was historic nonetheless. McClellan, a corporate attorney who spent 17 years in the General Assembly 11 in the House, the last six in the state Senate becomes the first Black woman from Virginia to serve in Congress. She is part of a noticeable shift in Washington. With McClellans victory, there will be 150 women in House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, 59 of whom are women of color. Black women will now occupy 28 of those seats. A Petersburg native, McClellans father was an educator at the historically Black Virginia State University in the Ettrick community, just across the citys northern border in Chesterfield. Her great-great grandfather was an emancipated slave, her grandfather a civil rights attorney in Nashville. As a state lawmaker, the 50-year-old McClellan has continued that legacy, fighting for voting rights, abortion access, and health care for the disenfranchised, and taking on politically difficult utility regulation and environmental issues. Her bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2021 fell short she eventually lost to former Gov. Terry McAuliffe but her rise to political prominence is a hopeful sign for Richmond and central Virginia. She represents a new guard of sorts, an antidote to Richmonds political patriarchy. After desegregation, as the Black community slowly gained political power in many of the states urban cities in the 1970s, 80s and 90s, Black women remained on the periphery. Today, they are at the forefront. Twelve of the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus 22 members are Black women. In the Democratic-controlled state Senate, there is Portsmouths Louise Lucas, president pro tempore, and Hampton Sen. Mamie Locke. In Richmond, there is longtime Del. Delores McQuinn and ranking City Council members Cynthia Newbille and Ellen Robertson. Seven of nine members of the Richmond School Board are Black women. Black women have always been present, says Zoe Spencer, a VSU sociology professor and activist who specializes in race relations and social justice, but they have historically done their work in the trenches, fighting for political and economic inclusion out of the public spotlight. Now we are seeing the emergence of Black women. You are seeing doors open for Black women to do the political work. Seizing those reins often comes at a price. McClellans victory is an important marker, a sign of progress, but there continues to be an interracial class divide in politics, Spencer says, pointing to McClellans vote to deny Petersburg the opportunity to hold a referendum for a new casino resort. McClellan, who lives in Richmonds North Side, has sided with Mayor Levar Stoney and City Council, which is seeking a second casino referendum in November. While I celebrate the symbolism of her win as a Black woman, I am most importantly hoping that she will use her political position to uplift the marginalized people and communities that can trust her with their votes, Spencer says. In other words, McClellan knows how to wield power and influence. In a divided country, with the fault lines cratering around culture wars and systemic racism, McClellan cannot bridge the divide on her own. But her election to Congress represents a step forward. Close 05-31-1967 (cutline): City Hall is backdrop as crowed gathers at ground-breaking for its replacement. 08-31-1979 (cutline): Peeling paint, fallen plaster are signs of deterioration at Old City Hall. 06-27-1967 (cutline): A bulldozer works today around a heavy vault, uncovered near Ninth and Broad Streets during the excavation for the new City Hall. The present City Hall is in the background, across the intersection of 10th and Broad Streets. The vault is at the site of the former headquarters of Home Beneficial Life Insurance Co., which moved in 1950 to the 3900 block W. Broad St. The building later housed the city Department of Public Utlities. Other buildings in the block housed a different office of Home Beneficial, now located a block west; a fire station, and Richmond Motor Co., now at 4600 W. Broad St. The Life Insurance Company of Virginia is in the background. 08-13-1970 (cutline): Richmond's old City Hall just wasn't built for the modern age symbolized by the aircraft which seems about to hit it, so the new marble facade at left is rising to replace it. The slick newcomer is due for completion in mid-1971, but fate of its venerable granite neighbor across Broad Street is still, like the jet, up in the air. 01-15-1961 (cutline): Basins were once installed in City Hall Offices. Workers who tended fires had to wash their hands. 10-28-1984 (cutline): Richmond's Old City Hall was praised, criticized at national conference. 02-08-1959: Old City Hall 05-04-1950 (cutline): Part of overflow crowd that attended housing project hearing at Richmond City Hall. 03-14-1952 (cutline): Richmond's City Hall shows its age--Coffman (left), Smorto point to latest crack in base. 10-14-1968: Repairs at Old City Hall building. 10-06-1989: Old City Hall from above 10-06-1989: Old City Hall 12-15-1975 (cutline) Ornate staircase is one of many 'treasures' in Old City Hall. Despite National Historic Landmark designation, future is cloudy. 05-31-1967 (cutline): Mayor Crowe, Vice Mayor Mundle, City Manager Edwards and School Board Chairman Calkins crossing Broad St. with shovels over their shoulders, toward site of new City Hall. Each will have a shovel--two chrome-plated, plus two old ones (with the dirt of '88 still on them), used in the groundbreaking for present City Hall. 06-24-1983: Old City Hall 01-15-1961 (cutline): Twisting stairway leads to City Hall tower. Sightseers haven't climbed them for years. 01-13-1984: Workers in close ducts at Old City Hall. 02-05-1984: Old City Hall From the Archives: Richmond's Old City Hall A look back at Richmond's Old City Hall. 05-31-1967 (cutline): City Hall is backdrop as crowed gathers at ground-breaking for its replacement. 08-31-1979 (cutline): Peeling paint, fallen plaster are signs of deterioration at Old City Hall. 06-27-1967 (cutline): A bulldozer works today around a heavy vault, uncovered near Ninth and Broad Streets during the excavation for the new City Hall. The present City Hall is in the background, across the intersection of 10th and Broad Streets. The vault is at the site of the former headquarters of Home Beneficial Life Insurance Co., which moved in 1950 to the 3900 block W. Broad St. The building later housed the city Department of Public Utlities. Other buildings in the block housed a different office of Home Beneficial, now located a block west; a fire station, and Richmond Motor Co., now at 4600 W. Broad St. The Life Insurance Company of Virginia is in the background. 08-13-1970 (cutline): Richmond's old City Hall just wasn't built for the modern age symbolized by the aircraft which seems about to hit it, so the new marble facade at left is rising to replace it. The slick newcomer is due for completion in mid-1971, but fate of its venerable granite neighbor across Broad Street is still, like the jet, up in the air. 01-15-1961 (cutline): Basins were once installed in City Hall Offices. Workers who tended fires had to wash their hands. 10-28-1984 (cutline): Richmond's Old City Hall was praised, criticized at national conference. 02-08-1959: Old City Hall 05-04-1950 (cutline): Part of overflow crowd that attended housing project hearing at Richmond City Hall. 03-14-1952 (cutline): Richmond's City Hall shows its age--Coffman (left), Smorto point to latest crack in base. 10-14-1968: Repairs at Old City Hall building. 10-06-1989: Old City Hall from above 10-06-1989: Old City Hall 12-15-1975 (cutline) Ornate staircase is one of many 'treasures' in Old City Hall. Despite National Historic Landmark designation, future is cloudy. 05-31-1967 (cutline): Mayor Crowe, Vice Mayor Mundle, City Manager Edwards and School Board Chairman Calkins crossing Broad St. with shovels over their shoulders, toward site of new City Hall. Each will have a shovel--two chrome-plated, plus two old ones (with the dirt of '88 still on them), used in the groundbreaking for present City Hall. 06-24-1983: Old City Hall 01-15-1961 (cutline): Twisting stairway leads to City Hall tower. Sightseers haven't climbed them for years. 01-13-1984: Workers in close ducts at Old City Hall. 02-05-1984: Old City Hall Cozumel man reported for public disturbance wanted for murder Cozumel, Q.R. Police in Cozumel detained a (spider) man who was caught attempting to enter Carnaval armed. On Monday night, island officers who were patrolling the parking area were notified by a person of a disruptive man in line to enter a Carnaval concert. He was reported to police not for being armed, but for being a public disturbance. When police went to the line, they visualized a male person wearing a superhero suit. According to Cozumel Police, the 28-year-old superhero was under the influence of alcohol and causing disruption to others in the line. When they ran his identification through Platform Mexico, they learned he was wanted for murder. Cozumel Police reported that 28-year-old A.A.I.L. had an outstanding arrest warrant for homicide. He was lead away and transferred to the State Attorney Generals Office. Lopez Obrador offers asylum to Nicaragua prisoners Mexico City, Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says that protection and the right of asylum will be granted to anyone who makes the request. He made the comment Tuesday in light of the political situation in Nicaragua. On Tuesday morning, Lopez Obrador said that the option of of granting refuge to people from that country is open. The instruction is that the doors are open to all those who want to be in our country () tell them that Mexico has always been open to providing protection and asserting the right to asylum, he said stressing the need to practice universal brotherhood and solidarity. We want all of us who were born on this continent, and those of us who were born on other continents, to act as brothers. What we have to seek is universal brotherhood, he said. The president endorsed the position of respect and in favor of talks with the purpose of resolving controversy in the international context. We cannot move away from the possibility of helping in reconciliation () We are respectful and what we want is to seek to resolve differences through dialogue. Many opponents from other countries choose Mexico to come to talk because it is a country that guarantees them freedoms, and that is what we are basically looking for. () It is possible to talk, everyone talks, even the staunchest enemies, he stressed. That is why Mexico, he added, promotes the establishment of agreements and reconciliation with the objective of procuring the human rights of political prisoners in Nicaragua. During his Tuesday press conference, AMLO presented a letter that he sent on December 1, 2022 to the President of the Republic of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega Saavedra, in which he addresses the willingness of Mexico to receive Dora Maria Tellez, Sandinista guerrilla, and any prisoner who requires shelter, as a humanitarian act. This approach responds to humanitarian reasons. I reiterate: we are not motivated by another interest other than brotherhood with the people of Nicaragua, our common history and Mexicos commitment to always open the doors to those who consider it essential for their security and protection, beyond ideologies and political positions, he read from his letter. National Guard patrol Tulum beaches in increased security operation Tulum, Q.R. Several dozen National Guard were seen on the beaches of Tulum Tuesday in an increased security operation. The armed men and woman patrolled beaches in the Tulum National Park, touring the coast and making their presence known. The increase in security comes on the heels of the arrival of spring breaking tourists. Gabriel Bautista Tapia, Colonel Inspector in charge of the National Guard in the Tulum National Park, said the operation was simply to ensure security and peace for both visitors and park workers. The patrolling elements have increased their operations on Tulum beaches by foot as well as ATV patrols. The presence here of the National Guard is to fulfill one of the functions that this institution has, which is precisely to ensure public safety and the instructions that we have specifically for the National Park is to preserve order, tranquility and the safety of all visitors who come to this place, he said. Bautista Tapia said they are also keeping an eye out for illegal activities such as the illicit sale of alcohol, street vendors and drug dealing. Our function is to preserve order, security and tranquility, it is the task that the President of the Republic has instructed us, he added. On Tuesday, more than 50 National Guard were seen patrolling Tulum beaches from Mezzanine to Santa Fe. Quintana Roo going for more Colombian tourism Riviera Maya, Q.R. Quintana Roo is seeking alliances with tourists from Colombia during the 42nd edition of the Tourism Showcase of the Colombian Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (ANATO). State officials are in Bogota until Friday promoting the Mexican Caribbean. The objective of the event is to generate an attractive offer and help consolidate the tourism industry through commercial alliances of dozens of international destinations, airlines, hotels, travel agencies and cruise companies, the Government explained in a statement. The delegation of the Mexican Caribbean is headed by the State Secretary of Tourism, Bernardo Cueto Riestra, who is accompanied by the Director of the Quintana Roo Tourism Promotion Council, Javier Aranda Pedrero. Representatives of all destinations in the state are in attendance with the mission of attracting more travelers from Colombia, the fourth most important market for the Mexican Caribbean. In 2022, Colombia contributed 417,547 travelers, 75.19 percent more than in 2019, after the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The Colombian market at the national level has received 858,840 travelers, with 48.6 percent arriving in the Mexican Caribbean. Regarding connectivity, 57 flights a week are scheduled to three different Colombian cities, Bogota, Medellin and Cali, with the airlines VivaAir, VivaAerobus, Volaris, SA Avianca and Copa Airlines. According to the profile of the Colombian market, 75 percent of Colombian tourists visit the Mexican Caribbean for the first time with 38.6 percent using travel agencies. As for the general of all the markets of the Mexican Caribbean, 52.9 percent visit Quintana Roo for the first time (19.4 percent four or more times) and only 26.2 percent buy through a traditional travel agency. Spending at the destination (after lodging and airfare) is one of the highest, at $362 per person, second only to Brazil and equivalent to Great Britain. When examining quotes in any news publication, one should always take the utmost care. Especially when the utterances in question seem beyond peculiar. We journalists usually get it right, but there are occasional exceptions. Thats exactly how I approached a recent statement in The New York Times regarding the nature of evidence. The newspaper attributed it to Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, a lawyer and graduate of Washington and Lee Universitys School of Law. Hes also married to a judge. Before we get to the strange words, heres some context. In case you hadnt noticed, the congressman from Salem is no longer a congressional backbencher. In January, the GOP assumed control of the House for the first time since 2018. Now, Griffiths among the House Republican leadership. He chairs the House Energy Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Earlier this month, Chairman Griffith convened a hearing on the federal governments response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It lasted about four hours. Sheryl Gay Stolberg, a veteran reporter for The New York Times (who previously shared in two Pulitzer Prizes while at the Los Angeles Times) covered it. The witnesses top officials from the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave sworn testimony, which Griffith noted wasnt unusual. Griffith administered their oaths, advised the witnesses that lying could be a violation of federal law and noted they could have attorneys present if they wished. (None did.) A wide-ranging discussion ensued, touching on vaccines, the efficacy of masking, the pandemic-forced closure of schools, and much more. In general, Republicans sounded skeptical and critical, the Democrats less so. Griffith himself lambasted NIH for ignoring 14 congressional letters requesting COVID information. Not all of it was political posturing, but there was a decent amount. One topic of discussion concerned $8 million in research grants, prior to 2020, from NIH to a non governmental organization called Eco-Health Alliance. With NIHs knowledge, Eco-Health sent the money to a lab in Wuhan, China, where it funded research on bat coronaviruses. Thats the same city where the COVID-19 virus seemed to erupt in the fall of 2019. A recent inspector generals report found NIH was negligent in its oversight of those Wuhan subgrants. And thats fueled all kinds of wild speculation among certain members of Congress, including (apparently) Griffith. The investigation found the Wuhan lab was two years late submitting coronavirus-research progress reports. Those had been due in 2019, around the time of the pandemics outbreak. Another issue was $89,000 misspent under the subgrant. And the Wuhan lab never turned over other items, such as lab notebooks documenting its research. Though Dr. Lawrence Tabak, acting director of the National Institutes of Health, acknowledged administrative oversights with the subgrants, he noted NIH had terminated the Wuhan contract nearly three years ago. And he vehemently disputed any suggestions the subgrant funded by NIH had been used to create the COVID-19 virus. That seemed like the thrust of questions from Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Arizona. The most important point to appreciate here is that the viruses that were under study in that subproject bear no relationship to SARS COV2 [the pandemic virus], Tabak testified. They are genetically distinct. They are absolutely unrelated to SARS COV2. Thats the most important thing to understand. And how do you know that for sure, sir? Lesko asked. By looking at the genetic sequence, Tabak replied. It would be equivalent to saying that a human is equivalent to a cow. Thats how distant the sequences of the bat viruses that they were using in this work were, to the actual SARS COV2. That brings us to three paragraphs, deep in The New York Times article by Stolberg. Theyre bolded below. But Representative Morgan Griffith, Republican of Virginia, who leads one of the two subcommittees that convened Wednesdays hearing, was not persuaded by Dr. Tabak. While he conceded that he did not have absolute proof that a lab leak caused the pandemic, Mr. Griffith said that, as a lawyer, he did not feel the need to eliminate all doubts. Rather, he said, he is convinced beyond a reasonable doubt, in part because China has withheld information from the United States and in part because of the irregularities uncovered by the inspector general. What he has is a lack of evidence, Mr. Griffith said of Dr. Tabak. He does not have evidence that they didnt study the coronavirus that became Covid-19. Griffith didnt utter those words during the four-hour hearing, which can be watched on YouTube. Most likely, they occurred as his response to questions from Stolberg after the hearing ended. That would not be unusual. But the statements are so absurd, its mind-boggling any lawyer would voice them. In American courts, a lack of evidence isnt considered evidence of anything. To understand the good reason why, lets perform a simple thought exercise: Can Morgan Griffith prove hes never set foot on the moon? Assuming he cannot, should we conclude its beyond a reasonable doubt he did? No, that would be unreasonable. What Griffith described instead sounds like a legal system in an alternate universe, or something one could find in fiction by Franz Kafka. The utterances attributed to Griffith turned the rules of evidence on their head. I sought to find out more about more about the statements, such as if and when Griffith actually made them. But thats where I struck out. Stolberg didnt respond to my email asking if she obtained the quote following the Feb. 8 hearing. No surprise there. (I felt a little weird asking, because its atypical for a journalist to pose to such a question to a reporter at another news outlet.) The story remains unaltered on The New York Times website. Make of that what you will. I also emailed Griffiths communications director, Mollie Timmons, and included the passage from The Times. Was the concluding quote accurate? I asked her. If not, what did Rep. Griffith actually say? Or was it plucked out of context, so as to cast a meaning the congressman didnt intend? If so, what did he intend? Timmons, who joined Griffiths staff in January, didnt respond to my Feb. 14 email, or to an identical one sent Feb. 17. I also sent her two messages via Twitter, requesting a reply. Theres been none yet. The non-responses leave us with a number of possibilities. One is, Griffith was misquoted, and that he never uttered that topsy-turvy mischaracterization about evidence. If thats what happened, The New York Times owes the congressman a correction, at least. So far it hasnt published one. Another possibility is The Times quoted Griffith accurately but he misspoke, as politicians occasionally do. In that case, the usual move is to quickly acknowledge the goof, explain what was intended, and move on. But that hasnt happened, either. (Its also possible Griffith misspoke but is reluctant to bring more attention to the mistake by acknowledging it.) The final possibility is that Griffith meant to say those words. Maybe he actually believes that NIH paid Chinese researchers to develop COVID-19 in a Wuhan biolab, and it got unleashed on the world by accident, or whatever. And that this happened during Donald Trumps presidency, and the chief evidence it occurred is a lack of evidence that it didnt. That sounds like a nutty, QAnon-ish conspiracy theory, or a plot in an old Superman comic book especially in light of Tabaks emphatic and detailed rebuttal. I urge you to draw your own conclusions as to all the unanswered questions above. Just one of them is, whos more likely telling the truth, Tabak or Griffith? Keep in mind that only one of them spoke under oath. And that wasnt Rep. Morgan Griffith. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) A uniform charge paid by electricity consumers to subsidize renewable energy investors will be suspended for another six months in the wake of rising prices of goods and services, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) said on Thursday. In a statement, ERC said the suspension of Feed-in Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) would cover March to August 2023 billings. The government established FIT-All to encourage the expansion of the renewable energy sector. "Amid the high cost of electricity, the ERC's move will bring relief to the consumers in terms of a lower power rate by 0.0364/kWh," the regulator said. The ERC said this was decided after assessing that the FIT-All fund is in "healthy status." You have permission to edit this collection. Edit Close Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Arkansas Times columnist Gene Lyons is a National Magazine Award winner and co-author of "The Hunting of the President" (St. Martin's Press, 2000). You can email Lyons at eugenelyons2@yahoo.com. Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain As the world transitions toward more renewable energy resources and deals with the consequences of a changing climate, the resiliency of energy infrastructure is becoming ever more urgent. University of Oklahoma researcher Paul Moses, Ph.D., has received a Faculty Early CAREER Development award from the National Science Foundation to better understand how chaotic grid disturbances from events like solar storms impact energy infrastructure. In one of the first documented incidents, the 1859 Carrington Event, an extreme solar flare caused telegraph systems to go haywire worldwide. Likewise the magnetism generated during Aurora Borealis events can damage electrical power grids and space satellites, as it did on March 1989 in Quebec, Canada. "Solar events like the Aurora Borealis are created by what we call geomagnetic storms, which are caused by solar flare activity and solar winds. When that hits the atmosphere, it creates electromagnetic disruptions, which in turn affect the power grid," Moses said. "That has been well studied for a long time, but not when we combine renewable energy systems, like solar and wind power, and battery storage, into those systems. There are a lot of knowledge gaps in how those disturbances affect the power grids in a renewable energy rich environment." Moses, an assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Gallogly College of Engineering, will use the five-year CAREER award to advance the study of these kinds of chaotic grid disturbancestheir underlying physics and characteristics, considering high volumes of renewable energy added to legacy power grid infrastructure, to improve mitigation strategies that could help prevent grid failure. "A lot of the components in our power grid are based on century-old design principles like the transformer, which is the device that changes voltages. The transformer is everywhere, and it is not going away for decades to come, so we're stuck, in a way, with these legacy components. We want to learn how they respond to this renewable energy rich environment coupled with all these disturbances like geomagnetic storms and that presents new burdens and stressors," he said. Moses anticipates three phases to the project. To begin, he is developing models and software to simulate geomagnetic storms and their impact on the grid. By modeling the aging of legacy energy infrastructure components and the impacts of geomagnetic storms, he hopes to better understand potential impacts to the lifespan and performance of critical components to improve grid resiliency and rapidly recovery. "When you have solar, wind and battery storage, it has to be connected to the grid through what we call inverters, or solid-state power converters," Moses said. "That presents a new uncertainty because this is something that's cropped up in recent years. How does this new technology associated with renewables work with the old technologythe archaic infrastructure? The grid fundamentally was not designed to operate with these devices, so it raises new uncertainties." Whereas the first phase of the project is aimed at understanding ways in which to mitigate or prevent grid failure, the second phase is to improve detection of electrical transients from geomagnetic storms or other chaotic grid disturbances. "A lot of these phenomena are very difficult to detect and go unnoticed until it's too late, so the next phase is to look at better detection of these disturbances and try to anticipate a problem before it causes irreversible damage," he said. The third phase moves the research from computer simulations to the lab, aiming to validate the modeling with experimental testing, which will also provide opportunities for Moses' students to contribute to the experimentation. "Ultimately, this project is aimed at de-risking the integration of sustainable energy technologies to realize a more robust, resilient and self-healing energy infrastructure for greater economic prosperity, health and living standards for society," he said. Woven throughout each stage of the project is educational outreach, including the development of STEM-oriented educational resources for K-12 students to gain access to electrical energy-related curriculum. Provided by University of Oklahoma CCJ report explores "The Relationship Between Sentence Length, Time Served, and State Prison Population Levels" | Main | Florida completes its first execution since 2019 February 23, 2023 Second-round celebrity sex offenders sentencing day I got two alerts from the New York Times this afternoon about celebrity sentencings, and both involve sex offenders getting sentenced for the second time. Here are the headlines and the basics: "Harvey Weinstein Sentenced to 16 Years for Los Angeles Sex Crimes" Harvey Weinstein, the movie producer whose treatment of women propelled the #MeToo movement in 2017, was sentenced on Thursday to 16 years in prison for committing sex crimes in Los Angeles County. The sentence in Los Angeles adds to the 23 years Mr. Weinstein is serving in New York after his conviction there in 2020. "R. Kelly Sentenced to 20 Years for Child Sex Crimes" A federal judge on Thursday sentenced R. Kelly to 20 years in prison for child sex crimes, after a jury found that he had produced three videos of himself sexually abusing his 14-year-old goddaughter. In a victory for the defense, the judge ruled that all but one year of the prison sentence would be served at the same time as a previous 30-year sentence that Mr. Kelly received after a jury in Brooklyn convicted him of racketeering and sex trafficking charges. February 23, 2023 at 03:15 PM | Permalink Comments Weinstein and R. Kelly are two sick dudes. Posted by: federalist | Feb 24, 2023 10:10:36 AM Hey, wait, I keep hearing here that only the poor and downtrodden get stiff sentences. Golly gosh. Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 24, 2023 2:49:16 PM Bill Otis, should the "pro-crime" folks be sad or happy with these outcomes? Posted by: anon2 | Feb 25, 2023 9:54:28 AM Bill Otis, exceptions prove the rule. Posted by: Dave | Feb 25, 2023 9:55:37 AM anon2 -- "Bill Otis, should the 'pro-crime' folks be sad or happy with these outcomes?" You'd have to ask them. But don't worry, they're easy to find, they're all over the comments section. Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 25, 2023 2:08:41 PM Actually, Bill, you and Tarls and federalist have been by far the most active commentators here over the last few months. Not that I am complaining -- though I certainly do find some the off-topic Trump/Biden stuff tiresome. And I know it's partially my fault when I spend so much time putting words in others' mouths via comments. Still, when you suggest that R. Kelly and Harvey Weinstein are "poor and downtrodden," it is hard not to react.... :-) Posted by: Doug B | Feb 25, 2023 2:58:38 PM Doug -- "Actually, Bill, you and Tarls and federalist have been by far the most active commentators here over the last few months." ...which observation does not to even a slight degree contradict my statement that pro-crime commentators are easy to find here. "Not that I am complaining -- though I certainly do find some the off-topic Trump/Biden stuff tiresome." Do you find it tiresome that at least one of the darlings here opined that the world would be better if I were dead? And no, to preempt your next attempt to put words in my mouth, I DO NOT want him banned. To the contrary, I love it when the pro-crime people show their true colors. "Compassion" and all the rest of their BS. "Still, when you suggest that R. Kelly and Harvey Weinstein are "poor and downtrodden," it is hard not to react.... :-)" Ummmmmmmmmm, my whole point was that they ARE NOT downtrodden, putting the lie to the constant refrain from the pro-crime contingent that only the poor and dispossessed go to the slammer. (And I don't believe for a minute that you didn't get this). Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 25, 2023 8:43:05 PM In order: 1. Fair enough, Bill, something can be "all over" and still in the minority. I just want to make sure you don't feel like an oppressed minority. 2. I would find it quite tiresome, Bill, if there were multiple people repeatedly opining that the world would be better if you were dead. I have not seen that. I saw one ugly comment at the end of a rant, and I believe that person later apologized for what he said. I always try to assume the best of all commentators despite the sensitive topics and sharp rhetoric often used here. I am sorry if that comment hurt your feelings, and if you want to leave again, so be it. I suspect you may hurt others' feelings with your "pro-crime" label.. (I suppose I could start describing you as part of the "pro-prison-rape" crowd because you favor more use of incarceration than I do, but I consider that kind of rhetoric unseemly as well as inaccurate.) 3. Of course I got your point, Bill, ergo the smiley face at the end of my comment. I was trying to make a joke that if I really wanted to waste time trying to put words in your mouth, I would pick words that you would find even more off-putting. I guess a "pro-crime" guy like me is just bad at making jokes and I should stick to helping Dr. Evil with his various nefarious plots. Posted by: Doug B | Feb 25, 2023 10:20:01 PM Doug -- It's scarcely a matter of hurt feelings. When you're an AUSA for a long time, as I was, you get used to defense bar epithets. They can't go after the facts and they can't go after the law, so they go after the prosecutor. Oldest trick in the book. It's low class but old news to me at this point. "I suppose I could start describing you as part of the 'pro-prison-rape' crowd because you favor more use of incarceration than I do, but I consider that kind of rhetoric unseemly as well as inaccurate." HA!! Of course I'm the one who would prosecute the rapist while the majority of commenters here would defend him. (Just as I prosecuted corrupt cops while sanctimonious defense lawyers tried to get them off with a bunch of razzle-dazzle, US v. Muscarella, 585 F.2d 242 (7th Cir. 1978), found here: https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-muscarella). The reason I prosecuted cops is that I'm law-oriented rather than result-oriented. I didn't leave because of any insults directed at me. I left only after they started after my wife, a person of greater character and accomplishment than anyone who has ever commented here. I don't expect much from the pro-crime crowd, but I expected better than that. I guess I got a lesson. Fair enough as to your third point. I had a misguided reaction because of the limitations of the medium, and I apologize for that. Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 26, 2023 2:54:07 AM No apologies needed, Bill, as a lot gets lost in this kind of forum. My back-and-forth with Tarls about incarceration and freedom is one of many examples where this medium may produce more confusion than clarity. And I glad you understand that it would be unseemly and inaccurate to call you "pro-prison-rape" even if one thought more prison rape is a likely consequence of your policy positions. It is a shame you cannot see your reference to the "pro-crime crowd" is comparably unseemly and inaccurate even if you think more crime is likely consequence of their policy positions. Posted by: Doug B | Feb 26, 2023 11:34:43 AM Doug -- Let me just respond with the venerable jury instruction: "The jury may infer that a person intends the natural and probable consequences of his acts." I freely concede that most of the government policies I actively support (e.g., more police, MM's, mandatory guidelines) would increase the prison population, just as it increased dramatically when crime rates were cratering over the Nineties. In that sense, I am indeed "pro-prison," although not pro-prison rape, since I would prosecute and seek severe sentences for the rapists, rather than try to cook up some fancy-dance mitigation like most of your commenters would. By like reasoning, my opponents should concede that they are pro-crime. When we have less accountability for crime, as we did in the Sixties and Seventies, the natural and probable (and historical) consequence is more crime (indeed, in those years, massively more crime). Under the standard jury instruction, the jury would be entitled to infer that that is what the opponents of those softer policies intend. Indeed, every now and again, I'll see an article to the effect that, if going lighter on punishment produces a bit of an uptick in crime, it's still worth it in order to reduce the cruelty and wastefulness and awfulness of incarceration. Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 26, 2023 3:49:13 PM As you know, Bill, we had historically high national crime rates through about 1993, long after the Sixties and Seventies and 20+ years into increased incarceration rates. Two dozen years of putting many, many more people in prison from 1970 to 1993 (500%+ growth) gave us massively more crime for a sustained period. Thankfully, due to an array of factors (of which mass incarceration surely played some role), crime rates fell for 13+ years while prison rates increased much more slowly. Thereafter, from roughly 2007 to 2019 we had no real increases and then modest reductions in imprisonment and continued (but not always steady) reductions in crime. So, for roughly 35 years of 49 pre-pandemic years (2/3 of the time), the prison/crime data shows an inverse of the relationship you seem to claim. Policing is a different story. As recent work by Christopher Lewis and Adaner Usmani argues, a lot less money wasted on prisons and a lot more invested in police --- as is done in many other countries with much lower crimes rates --- may be the formula for effectively getting a lot less crime and a lot less prisoners (and thus less prison rape): https://direct.mit.edu/ajle/article/doi/10.1162/ajle_a_00030/112647 Put simply, your "pro-crime" inference --- that someone who want less prison wants more crime --- is just not supported by the data in the US or around the world. I am sure you have heard many reformers advocate for CJ reform in US to be more like western Europe with caps on prison terms and more humane prisons built more effectively around rehabilitation (which is close to impossible on massive scales). These reformers want less prison and less crime and so it is, as I said before, unseemly as well as inaccurate to say they are "pro-crime" for imagining the US does not have to be worse on all these metrics than the rest of the western world. So, by your reasoning, Bill, you should not call others "pro-crime." When we have more people in prison, it is NOT clear that we are likely to get less crime (that's not been true for 66% of the years in the recent half-century and the data is can be more robust if we look at crime patterns over the prior half-century or if we drill into certain state data). However, sadly, the data is seemingly clearer that there is more prison rape when there are more people in prison. I recognize that you want to believe it is possible to have more people in prison and less prison rape, I have seen less data to support that belief than CJ reformer's advocating for policies they hope could give us less prison and less crime. It is one thing to say that you think others are naive to believe we could have less prison and less crime (even though there it plenty of data to sustain such a belief). But it is not accurate to claim these folks are "pro-crime" just as it is not accurate to say your "pro-prison" admission is tantamount to a concession to being "pro-prison-rape." Posted by: Doug B | Feb 26, 2023 5:15:36 PM Doug -- I know, as do all your level-headed readers, whether I'm in favor of prison (or any other) rape. That is why I prosecuted rapists. Did you? Ever? Did the majority of people in the comments section, ever? And who defended rapists? Me? Sure!!!! Well, ummmmmmm, not exactly. Instead, the numerous defense lawyers here, a few of whom have the guts to identify themselves but most of whom don't. As you sort of admit, ("Thankfully, due to an array of factors (of which mass incarceration surely played some role), crime rates fell for 13+ years while prison rates increased much more slowly."), more incarceration produces less crime. When a drug pusher is in the slammer, he's not selling smack to your 15 year-old. When a carjacker is in the slammer, he's not pointing a .45 at your ear and demanding the keys. When the bank robber is in the slammer, he's not in the vault at your JP Morgan branch. Etcetera. This point is not seriously debatable. And I'll be overjoyed to see lots and lots of your commenters push for more policing and more aggressive and pro-active policing. Is that what you're seeing from them? Maybe as often as hen's teeth, but no more than that. Far more often, we see the cops portrayed here as if they were all Derek Chavin, which is false, destructive and disgusting. If you wanted less crime, you'd prosecute criminals instead of constantly portraying them as hapless but deserving victims of a cruel system. Again, did you prosecute one, ever? Who among the commenters here, save only tmm, ever prosecuted a rapist? And by contrast, who took (and for all I know, takes) the side of rapists -- you know, "She'll get over it, and besides, her dress was too short." Who says that? Prosecutors? This is just rudimentary common sense: The way to get less crime is to increase the costs of committing it. One among several ways to do that is through robust prosecution and sober sentencing. That's where I put my career, I'm very, very, very happy to say. Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 27, 2023 12:01:27 AM Bill, I have said repeatedly that, just as it is unseemly and inaccurate for you to call others "pro-crime," it would be unseemly and inaccurate to call you "pro-prison-rape." That you are working so hard to dispute the silly label I am NOT trying to pin on you perhaps should give you pause before you keep using a comparable silly label on others. Meanwhile, I do robustly dispute that more incarceration ALWAYS produces less crime. The majority of the last century has NOT seen a close relationship between imprisonment level and crime levels. Moreover, when "a drug pusher is in the slammer," you create a market opportunity for others to sell drugs at a higher price. When you incarcerate large parts of communities, you risk destabilizing the community and creating more crime. And the prison rape story is part of an important reminder that we do not even fully incapacitate dangerous persons through incarceration, we just change the community they have a chance to victimize. If more incarceration ALWAYS produced less crime, the US would have historically and globally low crime rates since we have historically and globally high incarceration rates. But, sadly, we have high incarceration and high crime relative to both US history and the rest of the western world, which is exactly why it is reasonable for many advocates to believe we could possibly, and we should aspire to, have less incarceration and less crime. And that is why it is unseemly and inaccurate to call people advocating for less incarceration "pro-crime" just as it would be unseemly and inaccurate to call you "pro-prison-rape." Posted by: Doug B | Feb 27, 2023 9:36:41 AM Doug -- "Meanwhile, I do robustly dispute that more incarceration ALWAYS produces less crime." But the question for purposes of shaping law and policy is whether ON BALANCE it produces less crime, and the answer to that is too obvious to belabor. Because public policy entails trade-off's, you can't get to ALWAYS no matter what. "When you incarcerate large parts of communities, you risk destabilizing the community and creating more crime." We have never incarcerated large parts of communities, at least if "large" retains any sensible meaning. But if a point be made of it, when we increased incarceration for 20 years, 1990-2010 -- including incarcerating criminals from inner cities -- we did not create more crime; to the exact contrary, crime fell dramatically. "And the prison rape story is part of an important reminder that we do not even fully incapacitate dangerous persons through incarceration, we just change the community they have a chance to victimize." No, not at all. We do not "just" change the community they have a chance to victimize. We make that community exponentially smaller, which is a very good thing. P.S. Would you prosecute prison rapists or defend them? I know which side I'm on. "If more incarceration ALWAYS produced less crime, the US would have historically and globally low crime rates since we have historically and globally high incarceration rates." International comparisons are all but useless because of huge variations in history, economics, culture, law, legal tradition, and demographics, for starters. This is not to mention that crime statistics from much of the world (e.g., China, Russia, Iran, much of the Middle East) are pure fiction. To repeat: When you increase the costs, risks and burdens of committing crime, you get less crime. When you decrease these things, you get more crime. This is elemental economics. Again, I know which side I'm on, with respect to prison rape and all the rest of it. Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 27, 2023 2:07:12 PM Bill, we are not debating "shaping law and policy," we are debating whether someone who advocates for less incarceration in the nation with the largest prison populations in world history is properly labelled "pro-crime." You have not come close to making your case. (Does your "elemental economics" mean anyone who advocates or votes against any criminal legislation is "pro-crime"? I believe Tom Cotton voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, but I certainly would not claim that makes him "pro-crime.") Just as I would find it unseemly and inaccurate to call people skeptical about vaccine mandates "pro-COVID," just as I would find it unseemly and inaccurate to call you "pro-prison-rape" even though you are "pro-prison," I find it unseemly and inaccurate to call people skeptical about mass incarceration "pro-crime." Posted by: Doug B | Feb 27, 2023 3:22:14 PM Doug, In the field of psychology, its not even controversial that punishment reduces an activity and reward increases it. Its true from humans right down to mice pushing a buzzer. Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 27, 2023 11:51:01 PM Doug -- Again I recur to the venerable jury instruction that we may infer that a person intends the natural and probable consequences of his acts (of advocacy). When a person advocates having thousands upon thousands fewer hoodlums locked up, and instead keeping them free to do their thing on the street, it doesn't leave a whole lot to the imagination. "Does your 'elemental economics' mean anyone who advocates or votes against any criminal legislation is "pro-crime"?" Depends on what's in the legislation. If it's to abolish prison altogether, as the Harvard Law Review recommended a few years back, it's simply impossible to believe the people supporting that proposal don't know it will lead to more crime. Simply impossible. Posted by: Bill Otis | Feb 28, 2023 12:09:18 AM Tarls, the criminology literature also makes it VERY clear and it is not even controversial that the CERTAINTY of punishment, not its SEVERITY, matters so much more to deter/reduce an activity. I think the late Prof Mark Kleinman's book on these matters is especially effective: When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment: https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691148649/when-brute-force-fails That's why the more cops, less prison seems to work much better around the world. Posted by: Doug B | Feb 28, 2023 11:59:41 AM Doug, I dont believe for a minute that the threat of five years is just as much a deterrent as death. Or, if a speeding ticket was $10, you wouldnt have much more speeding. What does matter is the length of time between the act and punishment. Its why it shouldnt take 10, 20, 30 years to happen. Certainty does come into play as well. You make a great case for using the death penalty much more often. It also reduces the prison population, so win-win!!! Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 28, 2023 1:56:28 PM If you want more to go on than just your beliefs, Tarls, here are some relatively recent reviews of just some of the research literature: https://law.asu.edu/sites/default/files/pdf/academy_for_justice/2_Criminal_Justice_Reform_Vol_4_Deterrence.pdf https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_413 https://eml.berkeley.edu/~jmccrary/chalfin_mccrary2017.pdf Here is a line from the abstract of the last of these linked papers: "While there is considerable evidence that crime is responsive to police and to the existence of attractive legitimate labor-market opportunities, there is far less evidence that crime responds to the severity of criminal sanctions." The literature does not assert that severity is entirely inconsequential in all settings, but certainty clearly matters so very much more. Improving clearance rates for crimes would need to be greatly improved for greater certainty in the US. That is why the shift of resources from cells to cops seems empirically appealing if we really want to reduce crime in the US (and why, based on the evidence, calls to abolish police are actually more dangerous than, say, calls to abolish the death penalty). Posted by: Doug B. | Feb 28, 2023 2:40:26 PM Doug, Im much more inclined to go with actual science than social science, the latter not being science at all. I can also see it everyday in real life situations. I get a much better outcome taking away my sons hobby (which also makes him money) for a week than taking away dessert for the night. You have admitted yourself the great bias in criminal research, so even you know it on some level. Your law students fear getting caught for plagiarism because it will impact their careers, not because they dont want to disappoint you. Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 28, 2023 4:23:13 PM Doug, https://www.americanexperiment.org/court-failures-continue-as-gun-offender-murders-a-man-just-40-minutes-after-walking-out-of-court/ I would love to hear your theory on how the lack of severity for his previous crimes did not embolden the thug (I call him a thug because of his criminal history, not because he belongs to any age demographic that commits more crime ) in the above link. There was certainly enough police, as he was caught numerous times committing many crimes, including felonies. Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 28, 2023 4:34:18 PM *severity of punishment Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 28, 2023 4:43:39 PM Doug, One more. I wonder what you think about what President Bukale has done in El Salvador. Crime has already dropped like a rock. Posted by: TarlsQtr | Feb 28, 2023 7:25:28 PM Tarls, much here, I will try to quickly cover ground: 1. Punishing your son: first, when comparing two certain punishments, severity surely can matter, but then with what limits? Why not lock him in his room for a month or a year or a decade to keep him from doing whatever he did wrong? If you told me to punish him and said all you care about is that he never does the bad deed again, I suppose I should just lock him up for life, right? Seeking to increase certainty never reaches a tipping point, do you think increasing severity also never should? If anyone merits punishment, do they also merit 150 years in prison? 2. Of course there are all sorts of biases in all sorts of research, but the evidence about punishment certainty being, relatively speaking, more important than punishment severity for crime control/desistence has been shown by all sorts of research in all sorts of settings. Of course, there are profound questions/challenges at the margins and it will always be hard to implement certainty (or any level of severity) efficiently and consistently. But the evidence is plenty strong enough to support the main point that someone advocating for more certain and less severe punishment is not "pro-crime," but rather is making an evidence-based argument about one way to try to reduce crime. I welcome you pointing me to competing research, but if we are going to just debate "beliefs" and "biases," we may as well just debate the particulars of the old and new testament. 3. The argument here is not in favor of a "lack of severity" -- the case you cite is a good example of one thug seemingly becoming more certain that he would avoid serious punishment and harm follows. Responsible folks troubled by the scale of US incarceration certainly should be troubled by examples of excessive leniency (and, of course, we do not know how many crimes this thug committed that he was not caught for, so there may be both a certainty and a severity problem here). Responsible folks can and should be able to say your case is an error of undue leniency while also being concerned about about undue severity in cases like Jared Stephen and Alice Marie Johnson. And, I highly recommend the Lewis and Usmani piece showing how our crime-fighting dollars would likely have much more bang for the buck with more cops and fewer cells: https://direct.mit.edu/ajle/article/doi/10.1162/ajle_a_00030/112647 4. As for El Salvador, all I know is what I read in the press. Reuters reports: "More than 64,000 suspects have been arrested in the anti-crime dragnet. Arrests can be made without a warrant, private communications are accessible by the government, and detainees no longer have the right to a lawyer. Human rights organizations argue that innocent people have been caught up in the policy, including at least dozens who have died in police custody." Though I do not all the particulars, mass arrests as part of an anti-crime dragnet does sound a bit similar to my prior hypo (that you balked about) suggesting incarcerating every male between certain ages. Do you think future Prez DeSantis should seek to follow this script? Heck, why should Gov. DeSantis wait: Jacksonville had well over twice as many murders as similar sized San Francisco in 2022. Should Gov DeSantis try to follow the President Bukale playbook in his biggest city? Posted by: Doug B | Feb 28, 2023 11:16:42 PM Doug, 1. The question was whether increased punishment reduces bad behavior. The example shows that it does, in spite of what some goofs with an agenda want to pretend is not human nature. There is a deterrent value. 2. This is not about beliefs. Its about what nearly every psychologist has said since the era of Pavlov, and how people with an agenda pretend that what is known to be true from humans down to mice suddenly ends with punishment. Thats even omitting the fact that imprisoned individuals are not capable of hurting general society (they certainly can within the confines) again. 3. You say it is not about lack of severity and then go on to talk about excessive leniency. You are arguing with yourself. Getting caught did not deter this man because he had spent his life facing few consequences for his actions. Its simple. Would the thug have been deterred from killing the shop owner if in prison? Finally, you blow past the issue of undue leniency like its not exactly what we are talking about. Its already everywhere we look, and lets not pretend it is not EXACTLY what you and your ilk want. My heavens, we see cases of child molesters who get a few months and people come out of the woodwork to comment on why the sentence is OK. Undue leniency is not a bug. Its a feature. 4. The point being made is not the tactics of arrests, etc. Its about the amount of crime in Honduras. From what I read, there wasnt a murder in an entire week in the country. Previously, I believe, it had the highest rate in the Americas. Locking bad people up in cages works. When you arrest 62,000 people, its a statistical certainty that some innocents will get caught up. Its tragic, but it is true of any system. That said, look at the video of the people being brought to the new 40,000 people prison. There isnt a guy without MS-13 tats in the bunch. Posted by: TarlsQtr | Mar 1, 2023 12:33:26 PM Tarls, 1+2. I thought we were discussing whether more punishment certainty or more punishment severity was a more effective way to reduce crime. I agree that, when certainty of punishment is constant, severity of punishment matters. And though plenty of advocates make dumb arguments/claims, I have just been seeking to make the point that one can responsibly look at the criminology literature and make and a reasoned (but debatable) claim that we could have less imprisonment and less crime in the US. The Kleinman book was one example of such a reasoned argument, so too is the Lewis and Usmani piece. Do you dispute my suggestion that it is possible to plausibly argue we could have less imprisonment and less crime in the US? You have elided the question of whether there is a severity tipping point and/or whether how other values matter. If we lock your son up in his room forever for his bad behavior, he would not be "capable of hurting general society." But I trust other values also matter when you punish your son. Is it misguided for advocates to suggest that other values ought also to matter when society punishes other people's sons? 3+4. I think you mean to ask "Would the thug have been [INCAPACITATED] from killing the shop owner if in prison?." Surely he would. And if your main point is that we need to do a better job incapacitating dangerous people, I agree 100%. But how do we do that effectively and efficiently? The FIRST STEP Act included a risk assessment tool intended to use prison more strategically, and I generally favor using such tools as part of bail, sentencing and release decision-making. So we are, as I have suggested before, on the same basic page. But, especially as you praise dragnet approaches to combat crime, it does seem, in some sense, that would be just fine with locking up large swaths of persons who, data tells us, have the highest chance of committing crimes. I surmise your eagerness for mass arrest and more and more severe incarceration is because you sincerely believe "Undue leniency is not a bug. Its a feature." If the US had a relatively small incarceration rate or if we did not have any LWOP sentences while the rest of the world did, or if any other nation had a scale of punishment anything like ours, perhaps I might share that perspective. But because I see historically/globally high incarceration rates already in place, a scale of punishments considered a human rights violations around the world, and I fear that our overcrowded and under-resourced prisons and jails contributes to the very leniency you lament. But, I fully get that if the fear of crime and criminals is high enough, lots of people will cheer dragnet efforts to lock other people's sons away forever, even when we know "some innocents will get caught up." Posted by: Doug B | Mar 1, 2023 4:38:49 PM One more item, Tarls, to allow me to highlight one area where I generally agree with your view that "Undue leniency is not a bug. Its a feature." Our drunk driving laws and punishments have always struck me as generally too lenient given the many thousands killed by drunk driving. This came to mind as I saw this new item: "Pedestrian death surge spurs highway safety officials to sound alarm." https://pluribusnews.com/news-and-events/pedestrian-death-surge-spurs-highway-safety-officials-to-sound-alarm/ Posted by: Doug B | Mar 1, 2023 5:03:33 PM Post a comment By Yantoultra Ngui SINGAPORE, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Malaysian pet food maker Pet World Nutritions is planning an initial public offering (IPO) in Singapore to raise up to $100 million, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, in what could be the biggest IPO in Singapore in over a year. The offering could give a lift to Singapore's IPO activity, which amounted to only $68.7 million last year, not counting IPOs of special purpose acquisition companies, versus $1.94 billion in 2021, according to Refinitiv data. The last time the city-state hosted an IPO of more than $100 million was in December 2021, when Digital Core REIT raised $977.35 million. Pet World's IPO size could change, because it was still under considation, one of the sources said. The company confirmed that it would undertake an IPO but declined to comment on financial details. Pet World, which makes the ProDiet cat food and ProBalance dog food, said it expected to debut on the Singapore stock exchange as early as the end of 2023. Proceeds from the offering would be used for further business expansion, it added, responding by email to questions from Reuters. The IPO comes as increasing disposable income and improving consumer lifestyles in Southeast Asia have led to more people keeping pets. The pet care market in the region will grow to an estimated $3.08 billion by 2032 from a record $1.6 billion in 2022, according to market intelligence firm Future Market Insights. Thai pet food maker i-Tail Corp raised 21.1 billion baht ($611 million) in November in what was Thailand's second-biggest IPO of 2022. Founded in 2006 by Malaysian entrepreneur Choy Peng Yew, Pet World Nutritions produces more than 100,000 tonnes of pet food annually, according to its website. Besides Malaysia, the Selangor-based company counts Thailand, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, Singapore and Brunei as markets, its website shows. ($1 = 34.52 baht) (Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Bradley Perrett) By Kanishka Singh and Simon Lewis WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday countries like India and South Africa, which have not joined the West in denouncing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, were likely on a trajectory away from alignment with Moscow but that process would not happen "in one fell swoop." "There are countries that have long-standing, decades-long relationships with Russia, with the Soviet Union before, that are challenging to break off in one fell swoop. It's not flipping a light switch, its moving an aircraft carrier," Blinken said in an interview with The Atlantic, marking the one year anniversary of the war. India has faced pressure from the West to distance itself from Moscow after Russian invaded Ukraine. New Delhi has thus far resisted that pressure, citing its longstanding ties with Russia and its economic and oil needs. Russia has been India's largest weapons supplier since the Soviet Union days. However, Washington in recent years has looked to woo New Delhi away from its traditional military supplier. India is desperate to modernize its largely Soviet-era fighter jet fleet to boost its air power after concerns over Russian supply delays due to the Ukraine war. "India for decades had Russia at the core of providing military equipment to it and its defenses, but what weve seen over the last few years is a trajectory away from relying on Russia and moving into partnership with us and other countries," Blinken said. Blinken also added that he understood the reasons for South Africa's ties with Russia while acknowledging regret for Washington's "sympathetic" approach to the apartheid-era regime in South Africa. The African National Congress party, which has governed South Africa since white minority rule ended in 1994, had strong ties to the former Soviet Union, which trained and supported anti-apartheid activists during the Cold War. Nelson Mandela, South Africa's anti-apartheid hero, who died in 2013 and was a global icon, was regarded with suspicion by Washington during the Cold War and was even on the U.S. terrorism watch list in that era. "The Soviet Union was supportive of the freedom forces in South Africa, and of course unfortunately, more than unfortunately, the United States was much too sympathetic to the apartheid regime, so that history also doesnt get erased, you know, overnight, it's a process," Blinken said. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; editing by Jonathan Oatis) File: Rescuers prepare to search for passengers of a Cessna 340 aircraft with registry number RP-C2080 at Tumpa Gulley, Camalig town, Albay province, the Philippines on Monday (Associated Press) Rescuers located the bodies of four people onboard a small plane that crashed near the crater of an active volcano in the Philippines, officials said. Officials confirmed the deaths of the two Filipino pilots and two Australian passengers, inside the Cessna 340 plane on Thursday. The team of rescuers reached the wreckage site on Wednesday and found the bodies. It could take hours to bring down the remains of the Filipino pilot, crew member and the two Australian engineers from the volcanos slope as the terrain is rugged, making the next stage of operation difficult, said Caloy Baldo, mayor of the Camalig town where the aircraft crashed just minutes after taking off on Saturday, reported Xinhua news agency. There were no survivors, the mayor said and added that the remains of the crash victims would be brought down the volcano on Thursday. The top official said that the team has already shifted from rescue to retrieval operation. The mayor oversaw the search for the Cessna aircraft by nearly 200 army troops, firefighters and volunteers, including veteran mountaineers. More than a dozen army troops and firefighters were dropped down from an air force helicopter on Wednesday morning. These rescuers then hiked to the crash site on a gully on Mayon volcanos slope, civil aviation officials said. Searchers had been deployed to hike the slopes of a restive Philippine volcano since Sunday after the wreckage of the destroyed aircraft was spotted 300m from the crater. The two Australians were working as consultants for Energy Development Corp, a large geothermal power company, which owned the plane that was flown by a Filipino pilot with a crew member. The energy firm also deployed teams backed by helicopters and drones to help in the search, which was hampered by heavy rains, gusty wind and thick clouds. Australian deputy prime minister Richard Marles expressed his condolences to the families of the crash victims before the deaths were confirmed. Story continues Can I just express my condolences to both Australian and Filipino families of those who died in the very tragic plane accident? Mr Marles, who was in Manila on Wednesday, asked Philippine defence chief Carlito Galvez Jr in a news conference in Manila. Aviation officials lost contact with the plane a few minutes after it took off from Albays international airport on Saturday morning for the hour-long flight to the capital, Manila. Officials said that its wreckage was spotted in an aerial search on Sunday on the slope of the 8,077ft (2,462m) volcano but an air force helicopter only managed to ferry the search team near the crash site Wednesday morning after the weather improved. Only the tail section of the plane was found intact but the rest of the wreckage was seen scattered on the barren upper slopes of the volcano, said Eric Apolonio, spokesperson of the civil aviation authority of the Philippines. 2.82 KOKO MARE2400 University Hill 1 CEOCEO161 ChatGPT2029 0.08% 25 0.46% 6 ChatGPT 64.24 48 27%2024 ChatGPT 0.71% GDP 1.4 9 LV5000 GDP5% 16% 415 KeeTa 0.38% 0.26%15% Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) Thousands of projects worth trillions of pesos are set for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s approval next month, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said Thursday. "That list is quite a big number of projects, tentatively talking about 3,700 projects worth 15 trillion in the medium term," NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said during a Makati Business Club forum The list includes projects initially prepared by previous administrations and some projects that were returned to the proponents. A total of 98 projects, worth about 3 trillion, may be undertaken through public-private partnership (PPP), Balisacan said. "On March 9, hopefully the president will approve of the entire list. It's bearing the entire list and we have already identified what are likely PPPs but we are open to accommodating any of those as candidates for PPP," he said. Late in December, NEDA said the Marcos administration is committed to pursuing more PPPs for infrastructure. Balisacan said tapping the private sector is "the way to go" as the national government "has no money." "We have very limited resources, fiscal space is very narrow because a lot of responses to the pandemic have raised the level of debt. While some say there's some space, personally I don't think so," he said. "The only way we can sustain massive infrastructure development is to get the private sector," he added. Balisacan said the Philippines will continue enticing foreign investors to create high-quality jobs. OMAHA Jon Traudt only has to look at his wife of 60 years to believe that his lifes work advocating for clean indoor air is worth it. Years ago, Bev Traudts allergies got worse when the then-young couple moved into their Millard-area home. But they made simple fixes to the house, and Bevs symptoms eased. Jon, an indoor air quality and energy efficiency consultant, said those kinds of changes remain relevant to homeowners today. Jon is again raising the issue of air quality given the decision by the Omaha Public Power District to extend operations of its North Omaha coal plant by possibly three years. A member of the ad hoc community group advocating for an earlier shutdown of the plant, he said residents can take steps at home to improve indoor air quality, regardless of the timetable for the coal plant. Americans on average spend about 90% of their time indoors, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Because indoor air often is more polluted than outdoor air, being mindful of indoor air quality can make a difference in health, Jon said. The first step to improving indoor air quality, he said, is improving the filtering system on your furnace and air conditioner. The second step is reducing leaks that allow uncontrolled movement of air in and out of the house. The latter also reduces your energy bills. Doing this helps minimize exposure to outdoor pollutants, whether its from a coal plant, wildfire smoke or passing vehicles. The next step, he said, is reducing pollution from indoor sources. After testing their home, the couple realized they had an excessive amount of air leakage. They sealed leaks and then installed an energy-saving ventilation system. Our bills went down and our comfort went up, he said. Jon identified the following areas where people can look for leaks: * Gaps and holes in the wall between an attached garage and the interior of the home. This also is important due to the potential for vehicle exhaust to enter the home. * Gaps around windows and doors, on attic floors, around chimneys, around openings for wiring and plumbing, and where duct work joins walls. * Fireplace dampers that are open or partially open in unused fireplaces. Outdoor air typically contains pollen, urban and industrial pollutants, dust and invisible soot particles. Indoor pollutants include fumes from natural gas appliances, including furnaces, water heaters, stoves and fireplaces; cigarette smoke; and vapors from carpets, upholstery, dry cleaning, cosmetics, paints and household cleaners. Reducing indoor pollutants involves using fewer products that give off gases. This includes using the cleanest cleaning chemicals possible. Its also important, Jon said, to test your home for radon, which is the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths after smoking. To better filter air coming into your home, Jon recommends seeing if your furnace and air conditioner can accommodate a 4-inch pleated filter instead of a 1-inch filter. The 4-inch filter has more surface area to trap particles. The Traudts reduced interior carbon monoxide levels by installing a furnace and water heater equipped with powered exhaust systems that force emissions up the chimney. They also run the fan on their furnace/air conditioner constantly so that it is filtering air, even when its not heating or cooling the home. Traudt does pro bono assessments for nonprofits and most recently is assisting Sacred Heart parish. Homeowners can purchase a home air quality monitor to test their air, he said. These sell for $80 to $400, depending upon their level of sophistication. They test for temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, volatile organic chemicals, particulate matter, and in some cases, allergens and radon. What gets measured, gets managed, Jon is fond of saying. If your budget is tight, Jon advises spending money on a home air quality monitor, sealing leaks and improving filtration over having ducts cleaned. Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2023 020423-owh-new-zooupdate-pic01.jpg 020223-owh-new-target-pic-cm02.jpg 020922-owh-new-bigelk-pic-cm04.jpg Mitchell, McDermott hug Legacy Crossing move Flower shop 021723-owh-new-palacio01.jpg 021923-owh-spo-statewrestlingsat-pic-cm09.jpg 021123-owh-new-feature-pic-cm01.jpg 021723-owh-new-snow-pic-cm02.jpg 021523-owh-spo-rain-pic-cm02.jpg 021123-owh-spo-unoice-pic-cm01.jpg 021923-owh-spo-statewrestlingsat-pic-cm06.jpg WEDNESDAY, Feb. 22, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- A gene variant found almost exclusively among people of African descent appears to substantially raise the risk of Alzheimer's disease, a new study finds. The variant is in a gene called ApoE3, and it's apparently only harmful when it exists in combination with the ApoE4 gene a well-known risk factor for Alzheimer's. That gene duo was present in only 1% of the nearly 32,000 individuals in the study, all of African descent. But it was tied to a nearly threefold increase in the risk of developing Alzheimer's, according to findings published Feb. 21 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Michael Greicius, the senior researcher on the study, pointed to one major reason the finding is important: Most of what's known about the genetics of Alzheimer's and diseases in general comes from studies of white people. Researchers need to learn more about any unique genetic influences on the risk of Alzheimer's in people of color. That matters for individuals who undergo genetic testing to gauge their risk of the disease, according to Greicius, a professor of neurology at Stanford University School of Medicine, in California. Racial and ethnic ancestry should be taken into consideration, he said. More broadly, Greicius said, the more researchers understand about the genetics of Alzheimer's, the more they'll understand the "biology" of the disease and possibly be able to turn that into treatments. The study focused on the ApoE gene, which comes in three forms: E2, E3 and E4. That final form has gotten most of the attention when it comes to Alzheimer's. About 20% of Americans carry at least one copy of the E4 gene, which confers an increased risk of the disease. Carrying two copies of E4 is worse still: Those individuals have roughly 10 times the risk of developing Alzheimer's as people who carry two E3s. E3 is the most common version of the ApoE gene, found in over half of the general population. And in Alzheimer's research, Greicius said, it has generally been considered "neutral" the reference point against which E4 and E2 (which is fairly uncommon) are compared. But in the new study, a particular variant of E3 known as R145C appeared to cause trouble when paired with E4. The findings are based on genetic data and medical records for nearly 32,000 people mostly Black, with 3% from Nigeria. Over 4,800 had Alzheimer's disease, while the rest were mentally healthy. Around 1% of the group carried the "bad" E3 variant plus a copy of E4. Those people were almost three times more likely to have Alzheimer's, versus individuals who carried E4 and a different variant of E3. It's not clear why, but Greicius said this particular E3 may not, itself, cause harm. Instead, it may be unable to do its usual job of mitigating some of the harm caused by E4. That's because the E3 variant only appeared problematic when it was paired up with E4. Plus, in separate lab work, the researchers found some clues as to what's going wrong when people carry the R145C variant: It renders their ApoE3 proteins a little weaker less able to latch onto body cells to do their normal duties. It's possible, the researchers speculate, that impairs E3's ability to counter the harmful effects of E4. Recent research has hinted that while E4 is bad news when it comes to Alzheimer's risk, its impact may vary by race and ethnicity. The new study "builds on that understanding by identifying a specific form of ApoE that increases risk in individuals of African ancestry," said Percy Griffin, director of scientific engagement at the nonprofit Alzheimers Association. Findings like these are critical for ongoing research, according to Griffin. "Research study participants are often grouped by which types of the ApoE gene they carry, and the study results are then analyzed according to these groups," he said. "If the impact of the ApoE gene type differs in people of different ancestries, then those analyses may not be as accurate or generalizable as originally thought." Meanwhile, some people do undergo genetic testing to see which ApoE forms they carry often those with a strong family history of Alzheimer's. And it's important, Greicius said, that doctors and genetic counselors understand that the influence of those genes can vary according to ancestry. Greicius said that he does not recommend routine ApoE testing a position also taken by the Alzheimer's Association. That's, in part, because ApoE is only one part of the story in the likelihood of developing Alzheimer's, which also involves non-genetic factors. And the ApoE story, itself, is complicated. That's illustrated by the current study, and by what's known about the E4 form, according to Greicius. Based on the existing evidence, having a "double dose" of E4 is bad for white and Black people alike, but not to the same degree. On average, it raises the risk of Alzheimer's by 15-fold among white people, and by roughly sixfold among Black people. The bottom line is that there's a lot left to learn about the complex genetics of Alzheimer's, Greicius said. More information The Alzheimer's Association has more on genes and Alzheimer's. SOURCES: Michael Greicius, MD, MPH, professor, neurology and neurological sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, Calif.; Percy Griffin, PhD, director, scientific engagement, Alzheimer's Association, Chicago; Journal of the American Medical Association, Feb. 21, 2023 SIOUX CITY -- A Sioux City man faces charges related to the ongoing sexual abuse of a young girl for more than two years. Nicholas Bunce, 38, was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Woodbury County Jail on charges of second-degree sexual abuse and distribution of a controlled substance to a person under age 18, both Class B felonies. Bond was set at $30,000. According to a complaint filed in Woodbury County District Court, Bunce began making sexual advances on the girl when she was 11 years old in December 2017 and began having sex with her when she was 12 or 13. The girl told an interviewer at the Mercy Child Advocacy Center that Bunce later began smoking methamphetamine and would want to have sex with her. The girl reported Bunce offered her meth once and she smoked it, got sick and never tried it again, the complaint said. Bunce had sex and other sexual contact with the girl, according to the complaint, until August 2020, when the girl told him she no longer would have sexual contact with him and would call police if he persisted. The girl reported the abuse in late 2022, and an arrest warrant was issued for Bunce on Jan. 10. At the time, Bunce faced charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and operating while intoxicated in Plymouth County. He pleaded guilty to the charges on Feb. 8 and was sentenced to six years in prison. SIOUX CITY More than halfway into an hour-long visit with students and faculty at Morningside University's Rosen Ag Center, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra tried to drive home the connection between the stop and the work he's presently focused on in Congress as a member of the agriculture committee. "I want to know from you, what we need in the farm bill," Feenstra, R-Hull, told those gathered in the greenhouse complex. "This is where it starts." The proposed 2023 legislation, which involves everything from conservation to trade to energy, was just one of a number of subjects the second-term congressman broached on Wednesday as a part of a self-branded "agriculture tour." Feenstra also found time to talk China, eminent domain, SNAP benefits and recent railroad accidents. Randy Feenstra Ag Tour U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, right, talks as Tom Paulsen, department head of applied agriculture and food studies looks on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 20 China With China, Feenstra, a former head of sales for the Foreign Candy Company, said the U.S.'s trade balance with the country is significantly out of whack. "China is still buying product," Feenstra said, "They're just not buying it from us." (According to the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security, in 2021, U.S. exports to China were $151.1 billion while imports from the Asian nation were $506.4 billion.) Feenstra asserted that the administration of President Joe Biden hasn't taken enough of a lead on the issue of trade, so individual states are working to find more-balanced deals abroad. Later, while fielding a question from Siouxland Chamber of Commerce President Chris McGowan, Feenstra told attendees there should be much closer attention paid to other countries buying up land in the United States. Iowa Congressional delegates, including Feenstra, have co-sponsored a bill led by Republican Reps. Elise Stefanik, New York, and Rick Crawford, Arkansas, to increase oversight of land acquisitions and require the Secretary of Agriculture to publicly disclose all new and existing Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act reports online. Randy Feenstra Ag Tour U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, right, looks a bed of plants as Tom Paulsen, department head of applied agriculture and food studies talks Wednesday Pipelines and domains After Feenstra was shown the aquaponics systems and production Morningside has going in the greenhouse, he was asked by The Journal about a pair of proposals in the Iowa legislature regarding the use of eminent domain by private companies to construct carbon-capture pipelines. One plan, advanced by Sen. Jeff Taylor, R-Sioux Center, would outright ban the use of eminent domain entirely for such work. The other, House File 368, which advanced out of subcommittee with only Republican support, would require CO2 pipeline companies to obtain 90% of the miles along their path through voluntary easements before being granted eminent domain powers. "There's got to be a negotiation between the private landowner and the private company, and they have to make it work," Feenstra said. "I'm not a believer in eminent domain, again, because it's private land. A private land owner should have the opportunity (to) decide what they want to use that land for." SNAP When asked a separate question from McGowan, about SNAP benefits and current issues filling jobs in Siouxland and beyond, Feenstra said he wanted to see a food assistance program that wasn't just giving people a paycheck but getting them "out of poverty." "We are desperate for workers in the agricultural arena," Feenstra said. Per the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service website, "SNAP has two sets of work requirements. If you are age 16 59 and able to work, you will probably need to meet the general work requirements to get SNAP benefits." In practice, that means someone who is capable of working has to: register for work, participate in SNAP employment and training, take a "suitable" job if offered one and not quit said job or reduce work hours without legitimate cause. Persons excluded from such requirements include those below a certain poverty level who are: already working 30-plus hours, taking care of a child or incapacitated person, unable to work because of physical limitations, participating in treatment programs or studying in school or taking training programs. Outlets such as NPR's Marketplace have noted: During farm bill talks, Republican lawmakers have balked at the size of the program, which presently includes about 41 million recipients. Randy Feenstra Ag Tour U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra talks Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, while meeting students and touring the Rosen Agriculture Center at Morningside Univer Railroads In May 2021, Sibley, Iowa, was evacuated after a train derailed and caught fire in the town of 2,841. Feenstra mentioned the episode while talking about the more-recent incident of a crash in East Palestine, Ohio that sent vinyl chloride and other chemicals into the air and water. "This is a grave concern. We have to have the infrastructure where rail is safe," Feenstra said. "And it can be devastating when it's not." Feenstra went on to say Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has to do a better job answering to questions of safety and explaining how federal infrastructure funding is being used to prevent future infrastructure disasters from happening. Randy Feenstra Ag Tour U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra talks Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, while meeting students and touring the Rosen Agriculture Center at Morningside Univer Bread basket After fielding questions, comments and concerns at such events, Feenstra said he likes to report back to D.C. what he's hearing in the heartland. WASHINGTON The government agency responsible for tracking down contaminated peanut butter and defective pacemakers is taking on a new health hazard: online misinformation. Its an unlikely role for the Food and Drug Administration, a sprawling, century-old bureaucracy that for decades directed most its communications toward doctors and corporations. But FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf has spent the last year warning that growing distortions and half-truths surrounding vaccines and other medical products are now a leading cause of death in America. Almost no one should be dying of COVID in the U.S. today, Califf told The Associated Press, noting the government's distribution of free vaccines and antiviral medications. People who are denying themselves that opportunity are dying because they're misinformed. Califf, who first led the agency under President Barack Obama, said the FDA could once rely on a few communication channels to reach Americans. Were now in a 24/7 sea of information without a user guide for people out there in society," Califf said. "So this requires us to change the way we communicate. The FDA's answer? Short YouTube videos, long Twitter threads and other online postings debunking medical misinformation, including bogus COVID-19 remedies like ivermectin, the anti-parasite drug intended for farm animals. Hold your horses y'all. Ivermectin may be trending, but it still isn't authorized or approved to treat COVID-19 the FDA told its 500,000 Twitter followers in April. On Instagram, FDA memes referencing Scooby-Doo and SpongeBob urge Americans to get boosted and ignore misinformation, alongside staid agency postings about the arrival of National Handwashing Awareness Week. The AP asked more than a half-dozen health communication experts about the FDA's fledgling effort. They said it mostly reflects the latest science on combating misinformation, but they also questioned whether its reaching enough people to have an impact and whether separate FDA controversies are undercutting the agency's credibility. The question I start with is, Are you a trusted messenger or not?' said Dr. Seema Yasmin, a Stanford University professor who studies medical misinformation and trains health officials in responding to it. In the context of FDA, we can highlight multiple incidents which have damaged the credibility of the agency and deepened distrust of its scientific decisions." In the last two years the FDA has come under fire for its controversial approval of an unproven Alzheimers drug as well as its delayed response to a contaminated baby formula plant, which contributed to a national supply shortage. Meanwhile, the agencys approach to booster vaccinations has been criticized by some of its top vaccine scientists and advisers. Its not fair, but it doesnt take too many negative stories to unravel the publics trust, said Georgetown Universitys Leticia Bode, who studies political communication and misinformation. About a quarter of Americans said they have a lot of trust in the FDA's handling of COVID-19, according to a survey conducted last year by University of Pennsylvania researchers, while less than half said they have some trust. "The FDA's word is still one of the most highly regarded pieces of information people want to see, said Califf, who was confirmed to his second stint leading the FDA last February. As commissioner he is trying to tackle a host of issues, including restructuring the agencys food safety program and more aggressively deploying FDA scientists to explain vaccine decisions in the media. The array of challenges before the FDA raises questions about the new focus on misinformation. And Califf acknowledges the limits of what his agency can accomplish. Anyone who thinks the governments going to solve this problem alone is deluding themselves," he said. We need a vast network of knowledgeable people who devote part of their day to combating misinformation. Georgetown's Bode said the agency is moving in the right direction, on misinformation, particularly its Just a Minute series of factchecking videos, which feature FDAs vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks succinctly addressing a single COVID-19 myth or topic. But how many people are seeing them? FDAs YouTube videos have a minuscule audience, said Brendan Nyhan, who studies medical misinformation at Dartmouth College. The people watching FDA videos are not the people we typically think about when we think about misinformation. The superspreaders behind top COVID-19 conspiracy theories. And 6 takeaways. Igor Nikulin Luc Montagnier Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Hossein Salami 6 takeaways from AP's investigation *** *** *** An array of U.S. Jewish leaders are sounding alarms about what they see as a threat to Israel's democracy posed by its new government, fearing it will erode the independence of its judiciary and legal protections for minority groups. A solid majority of mainstream Jewish American groups are voicing unprecedented criticism of the Israeli government, raising fears about a growing rift. Some progressives say Israel can never truly be a democracy as long as it rules over millions of Palestinians who do not have the right to vote. The controversies come even amid a flare-up of deadly violence involving Israelis and Palestinians. On Wednesday, Israeli troops conducted a raid in the West Bank, triggering fighting that killed at least 11 Palestinians and wounded scores of others. Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu took office as prime minister in December after the country's fifth election in less than four years. His coalition includes ultra-Orthodox parties and ultranationalist parties dominated by hardline West Bank settlers. Critics are alarmed about coalition members' wish list of expanded settlements, narrowing the eligibility for would-be immigrants claiming Jewish heritage and restricting non-Orthodox access to a sacred site. They see a planned judicial overhaul as threatening the checks and balances on Israel's government echoing concerns voiced by tens of thousands of Israeli street protesters in recent weeks. "Here we are, about to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Jewish democratic state of Israel that we love," said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, a liberal denomination representing the largest U.S. Jewish religious population. Yet that anniversary is approaching amid fears for "the weakening of Israel's democratic foundations," he said. The Knesset, controlled by Netanyahu and his allies, voted this week for bills that would give the governing coalition control over judicial appointments currently made by an independent committee that includes lawyers, politicians and judges and curtail the Supreme Court's ability to review the legality of major legislation. The Knesset also voted to empower lawmakers to overturn high court decisions by simple majorities. The bills require additional votes before becoming law. Representatives of the influential American Jewish Committee urged Israeli government officials to consult with opposition leaders, judges and others, said Jason Isaacson, the AJC's chief policy and political affairs officer. "If you're going to fundamentally alter a system that's been in place for a number of years and guarantees the independence of the judicial system do it carefully, do it slowly," he said. Opponents say the proposals would push Israel toward a system like Hungary and Poland, where the executive wields control over all major levers of power. There could be widely acceptable changes to judicial selection, Jacobs said, but current proposals will "cause deep harm to the structure of the rule of law." Attempts by Israel's figurehead president to broker a compromise efforts supported by many U.S. Jewish organizations have failed to make headway. A weakened court would particularly affect groups that have relied on judicial rulings for protections, including Palestinians, LGBTQ people and members of the more liberal Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism, whose ranks are small in Israel but comprise the majority of American Judaism. The Jewish Federations of North America which rarely comments on internal Israeli politics opposed legislation that would give a simple Knesset majority power to override Supreme Court decisions. "The essence of democracy is both majority rule and protection of minority rights," it said. Irving Lebovics, co-chair of Am Echad, supports changes in the judiciary, though he said specifics can be negotiated. The Supreme Court, he said, has too much power in deciding both the law and its own membership. Am Echad, a branch of Agudath Israel of America, communicates with the Israeli government on concerns of American Orthodox Jews. Some cabinet members also are seeking to narrow eligibility under the Law of Return that allows anyone with one Jewish grandparent to immigrate to Israel. There's also talk of curbing the already limited space for egalitarian or mixed-gender prayer at Jerusalem's Kotel, or Western Wall the holiest place where Jews can pray, where most of the adjacent plaza is reserved for separate men's and women's sections as per Orthodox practice. This has importance for visiting American Jews who want to pray at the wall in egalitarian worship. Supporters of the progressive group Women of the Wall who pray monthly in the women's section using practices and vestments reserved to men in Orthodox Judaism fear it will face new curbs. Reform rabbis from the U.S. and other countries joined the Women of the Wall at their monthly gathering on Wednesday, parading with Torah scrolls. Orthodox protesters, including teenagers, heckled and harassed the group. "Under the most oppressive government in Israel's history, the rights and dignity of not only all Jewish women but of all inhabitants of Israel must be respected, supported, and protected," said Rabbi Hara Person, chief executive of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the rabbinic arm of the Reform movement in the U.S. (CNN) -- Starbucks wants you to give olive oil coffee a shot. Really. The coffee chain is rolling out a new line of beverages made with extra virgin olive oil. To be clear, the drinks are not simply flavored with olive oil, nor do they have just a hint of it. Each one is truly made with a spoonful of oil, adding 120 calories to the total. With some drinks, you can see a slippery sheen of oil in the cup, and you don't even have to squint. Three olive oil beverages are available for sale at Starbucks cafes in Italy starting this week. Each includes Oleato, Starbucks' word for the new line, in its name. There's an Oleato latte with oat milk and olive oil, an Oleato ice shaken espresso with oat milk, hazelnut flavor and olive oil, and the Oleato golden foam cold brew, made with a version of Starbucks' sweet milk foam infused with two olive oil servings. Versions of those drinks will arrive in Southern California this spring, with more details about the US launch to come. They'll roll out in other markets in the UK, Middle East and Japan this year. Like other major chains, Starbucks often tweaks its menu, rolling out limited-edition items seasonally or introducing new ingredients like oat milk. But this launch is much bigger, Brady Brewer, Starbucks' chief marketing officer, told CNN. "It is one of the biggest launches we've had in decades," he noted. "Rather than a flavor or a product, it's really a platform," he said, meaning that customers will be able to use olive oil to customize some drinks. The company is betting that people will hear about the concoction and try it because they want to know what it tastes like. And, perhaps, because they've heard that there are health benefits to extra virgin olive oil. With Oleato, Starbucks is going out on a limb. Adding fat to coffee is not new. You can do it the old-fashioned way, with cream or milk, or even butter. Recipes for olive oil coffee exist online. But consumers are certainly not clamoring for olive oil coffee. And Starbucks is launching the line at a time when supply chains are fragile, consumers are watching their budgets and baristas, some of whom are so frustrated with the company they're joining a union, are already contending with complicated drink orders. So why is Starbucks launching this major new line? Two words: Howard Schultz. Coming full circle Last year Schultz met olive oil producer Tommaso Asaro, who introduced him to the practice of consuming a tablespoon of olive oil each day. Schultz learned more about the practice this summer while visiting Sicily, and then picked the habit up himself. He wondered if he could combine it with his daily coffee routine. "When we got together and started doing this ritual I said to [Asaro], I know you think I'm going to be crazy, but have you ever thought of infusing a tablespoon of olive oil with Starbucks coffee?" Schultz, currently Starbucks' interim CEO, told CNN's Poppy Harlow. "He thought it was a little strange." Asaro is the chairman of United Olive Oil, through which Starbucks is sourcing its olive oil. For Schultz, making business decisions based on visits to Italy is not new. Schultz joined Starbucks in 1982, 11 years after the first Starbucks location opened its doors (the original Starbucks sold whole coffee beans). Back in 1982, Starbucks was still just a tiny operation, with four stores altogether. Schultz, who had come on board as director of operations and marketing, visited Milan in 1983 and became enamored of the city's cafe culture. The rest, he says, is history. "My Starbucks journey will come full circle when I return to Milan later this month to introduce something much bigger than any new promotion or beverage," Schultz said during a February analyst call, teasing the new line. Speaking with CNN's Harlow, he predicted that the new platform will "transform the coffee industry," and be "a very profitable new addition to the company." It's one thing to toy with the idea of adding olive oil to coffee on a whim, and another to come up with a suite of beverages that can attract customers the world over. For that, Schultz turned to his Starbucks team back in Seattle, where the coffee chain has its headquarters. There, they had to figure out how to make olive oil coffee taste good. A unique case Typically, Starbucks doesn't come up with new beverages based on ideas from the CEO. "This is a pretty unique case," Brewer told CNN. But, he noted, "we have ideas that come from everywhere." Starbucks' beverage team came up with about 12 options, which were whittled down to the three that are now available in Starbucks' Italian cafes. (The Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan will serve five Oleato drinks, including a deconstructed espresso drink, an iced cortado and an espresso martini, all of which include olive oil). Starbucks opened its first Italian location, the roastery, in 2018, a decision that was met with raised eyebrows from locals. But five years later, it's managed to expand within the country. for the launch of Oleato, Schultz is once again in Italy to see how Italians react. "What if they don't like it?" Harlow asked. In that case "I won't be coming back to Seattle," Schultz quipped. In recent years, beverage companies have incorporated into their recipes ingredients like turmeric or CBD, which customers see as healthy or offering certain benefits, like aiding sleep. Starbucks isn't making any health claims with Oleato, but it's hoping that people, through their own research, will come to see it as a healthy choice. And those extra 120 calories? "We haven't seen that as a barrier," Brewer said. "We're not too concerned about that." Brewer and Schultz dismissed some of the other challenges, as well. And as to the likelihood of people shelling out extra cash for the oil, Brewer said that customers see Starbucks as an "affordable luxury." In the last three months of 2022, sales at Starbucks stores open at least 13 months jumped 5% globally, despite higher prices. The way Brewer and Schultz see it, the only risk is if the beverages don't deliver on taste. The proof, they say, is in the cup. The taste test In New York, this reporter got to taste four Oleato drinks: The hot oat milk latte, golden foam cold brew, ice shaken espresso with oat milk and hazelnut, and an iced cortado like the one being served at the roastery in Milan. I could see the oil in the cold drinks it gave the cold foam a pale green tinge and appeared as a thin, bubbly layer on the shaken espresso and cortado. On the first sip, I liked all of them. To me, the golden foam on the cold brew had the strongest olive oil taste nutty and sweet and surprising, as promised. I could detect it in the cortado and the espresso in a more subtle way. In the hot latte, I couldn't really taste it at all. But after a few sips of each, it felt like too much. I usually drink regular coffee with a plant-based milk, preferably unsweetened. So the sweet cold drinks the shaken espresso and cortado, especially felt like a delightful indulgence. They would have been great without the olive oil, which seemed like an unnecessary flourish. Starbucks describes the drinks as lush and velvety, thanks to the oil. But to me they just started to feel weighed down. And for a while after I tried the beverages, I could feel the oil on my lips. As it turns out, I prefer my olive oil with food. Starbucks will have to wait to see if most people disagree. This story was first published on CNN.com "Starbucks' new drinks have a spoonful of olive oil in every cup." On this version of Hot off the Wire: Millions of Americans remain in the path of severe weather including ice and snow that closed schools, grounded airplanes and hobbled automobile traffic. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced he would visit the site of an Ohio train derailment Thursday after facing criticism for not coming sooner. Ukraines first lady Olena Zelenska has given a video tour of human rights violations in the country following Russias invasion almost a year ago. Five employees of an environmental consulting firm died when a small airplane they were traveling in crashed outside an industrial area of Little Rock shortly after the plane took off. A Florida television station says 24-year-old reporter Dylan Lyons was fatally shot while covering an earlier shooting. Orange County Sheriff John Mina says the shooter then walked to a nearby home and fatally shot a 9-year-old girl. 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses has been detained. In sports, No. 1 Houston won in a rout, No. 2 Alabama needed OT to win, the Islanders boosted their playoff chances, Alex Ovechkin returned to practice and Russell Westbrook returned to L.A. From the original version of Hot off the Wire: Both houses of Russia's parliament have quickly endorsed President Vladimir Putins move to suspend the last remaining nuclear arms treaty with the United States. President Joe Biden says Russian President Vladimir Putin made a big mistake by suspending that treaty, known as New START. Nearly all Federal Reserve policymakers agreed earlier this month to slow the pace of their rate increases to a quarter-point, with only a few supporting a larger half-point hike. The Supreme Court seems skeptical of a lawsuit trying to hold social media companies responsible for a terrorist attack at a Turkish nightclub that killed 39 people. Israeli forces stormed into a major Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank for a rare daylight arrest raid, triggering a fierce gun battle that killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded scores of others. Astronomers have discovered what appear to be massive galaxies dating back to within 600 million years of the Big Bang. The findings suggest the early universe may have had a stellar fast-track that produced these monster galaxies. The Biden administration says it will generally deny asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S. southern border without first seeking protection in a country they passed through. CNN's Don Lemon returns to work on Wednesday after being off for three days following on-air remarks that Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley was not in "her prime." Amazon has closed its $3.9 billion acquisition of the primary care organization One Medical. The health company runs a membership-based service offers virtual care as well as in-person visits. Microsoft is ready to take its new Bing chatbot mainstream less than a week after making major fixes to stop the artificially intelligent search engine from going off the rails. Here's a look at top stories for today, Feb. 22. Ash Wednesday Are you ready to give up caffeine for 40 days? What about your social media accounts? While giving up those things may seem hard for you, Christians long ago used to give up a whole lot more. Ash Wednesday is today. It marks the first day of Lent in Western churches. The ashes symbolize penance and the dust from which God made people. When priests mark Christian's forehead the ashes they often say, "Repent and believe in the Gospel," or "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." Lent, which lasts 40 days not including Sundays, is a season of prayer, penance and fasting in preparation for the Easter season. Find out more about the holiday here: "Murdaugh Murders" Landing on Netflix as the trial of Alex Murdaugh continues, "Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal" will certainly benefit from its timeliness, but this three-part production isn't as compelling as its subject matter. Relying almost entirely on those involved to tell the story, the project has a slapdash feel from beginning to end, and finds the younger contingent, especially, to be poor narrators of what transpired. Indeed, if ever a true-crime docuseries would have benefited from using a narrator, it's this one; instead, the producers let the group of friends who were swept up in the tragic boat accident that claimed the life of 19-year-old Mallory Beach drone on, augmenting their accounts with blurry reenactments that look like something out of a cheap horror movie. Although the title "Murdaugh Murders" ostensibly references the killing of Paul Murdaugh and his mother, Maggie, which resulted in his father and her husband, Alex, being put on trial. Read the rest of the review here: Winter storm A powerful winter storm set record cold temperatures in the northern plains of the U.S., while a heat wave in the southeast set record highs for the month of February leaving the U.S. with an unusually stark temperature difference of more than 100 degrees. Much of Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas currently have temperatures below zero, including minus 9 degrees in Cut Bank, Montana. At the same time, much of the South, from Texas to the Carolinas, has temperatures above 80 degrees, including a scorching 95 in McAllen, Texas. The extreme cold in the north is just one aspect of the coast-to-coast storm bringing heavy snow, high winds and ice on Wednesday, putting parts of more than two dozen states under winter weather alerts as travel conditions begin to deteriorate in some areas. Read more about it here: *** Here are some more of today's hot topics: Nipsey Hussle Ohio derailment, Trump WARSAW, Poland Months after Russian forces occupied southern Ukraine's Kherson province last year, they started paying visits to the home of a Ukrainian woman and her Russian husband. They smashed their refrigerator and demanded possession of their car. One day, they seized the wife and her teenage daughter, put pillowcases over their heads and led them away. The woman was locked up for days, her legs beaten with a hammer. The men accused her of revealing Russian soldiers locations. They subjected her to electric shocks and bore down on her feet with the heels of their military boots until two of her toes broke. She heard screams nearby and feared they came from her daughter. More than once, with a bag on her head and her hands tied, a weapon was pointed at her head. She'd feel the muzzle at her temple, and a man started counting. One. Two. Two and a half. Then, a shot fired to the floor. Although at that moment, it seemed to me that it would be better in my head, she told The Associated Press, recounting the torture that lasted five days, counted by the sliver of sunlight from a tiny window in the room. The only thing that kept me strong was the awareness that my child was somewhere around. The Russian officials eventually released the woman and her daughter, she said, and she made her way home. She took a long shower and packed a bag, and the two fled the occupied area first to Russian-occupied Crimea and then to mainland Russia, from where they crossed by land into Latvia and finally Poland. Her body was still bruised, and she could barely walk. But in December in Warsaw, she reunited with a son. And she and her daughter joined the refugees who have fled their homes since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Nearly a year has passed since the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion sent millions fleeing across Ukraines border into neighboring Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova and Romania. Crowds of terrified, exhausted people boarded trains and waited for days at border crossings. Across Europe, about 8 million refugees have been recorded, according to U.N. estimates based on data from national governments, and nearly 5 million of those have applied for temporary protection. Experts say those numbers are fluid some people apply in more than one country but they agree it's the largest movement of refugees in Europe since World War II. Unlike refugees from recent conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, the Ukrainians were largely met with an outpouring of sympathy and help. Yet while the Ukrainian refugees have found safety, they have not found peace. They suffer from trauma and loss uprooted from their lives, separated from relatives, fearing for loved ones stuck in Russian-occupied areas or fighting on the frontline. Children are separated from fathers, grandparents, pets. Others have no family or homes to return to. The woman from Kherson spoke to the AP this month at a Warsaw counseling center run in partnership with UNICEF. She insisted on anonymity; she fears for the safety of her husband and other relatives in Russian-occupied areas. She doesnt like to talk about herself. But she has a goal: For the world to see what Russian troops are doing. Even now, I am afraid, she said, wiping her eyes with her pastel-color nails and fiddling over a tissue. Do you understand? She is among the refugees seeking trauma treatment, most often from Ukrainian psychologists who themselves fled home and struggle with their own grief and loss. No agency has definitive numbers on refugees in treatment, but experts say the psychological toll of the conflict is vast, with rates of anxiety and depression skyrocketing. At the Warsaw center, psychologists describe treating crying children, teenagers separated from everything they know, mothers unknowingly transferring trauma to their kids. One patient, a boy from Mariupol, was used as a human shield. His hair has already begun to turn gray. The home of the counselor who treats him was destroyed by a Russian bomb. Refugee mental health is a priority for aid organizations large and small, even as they work to meet needs for housing, work and education. Anastasiia Gudkova, a Ukrainian providing psychological support to refugees at a Norwegian Refugee Council reception center in Warsaw, said the most traumatized people she meets come from Mariupol, Kherson and other occupied territories. Those who flee bombing in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia also arrive terrified. But theres pain for those even from relatively safer areas in western Ukraine, she said: All Ukrainians, regardless of their location, are under a lot of stress. According to the U.N. refugee agency, 90% of the Ukrainians who have sought refuge abroad are women, children and the elderly. The psychologists see women struggle to put on a brave face for children, trying to survive in countries where they often dont speak the language. Many women with higher education have taken jobs cleaning other peoples homes or working in restaurant kitchens. The luckiest ones are able to keep doing their old jobs remotely from exile or are beginning to envision new lives. Last January, Anastasia Lasna was planning to open her own bakery in Mykolaiv after finding success with providing other businesses with her vegan foods and healthy desserts. Today she is running a food pantry of the Jewish Community Center in Krakow, which has helped some 200,000 Ukrainian refugees, and integrating herself into the southern Polish citys growing Jewish community. She has Israeli citizenship, but doesnt want to live in another conflict-scarred land. Joined now in Krakow by her husband and her 6-year-old daughter, she cannot imagine returning to her former home. There is no future there, she said. Photos: Ukrainian refugees safe, but not at peace Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees APTOPIX Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees Russia Ukraine War Refugees A 12-year-old southwest Iowa child was arrested after threats were made about a shooting at Fremont-Mills School in Tabor, Iowa. According to a press release from the Fremont County Sheriffs Office, around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, parents and students began reporting a threat a student made on social media about bringing a gun to school and shooting multiple people, Deputy Andrew Wake told the Council Bluffs Daily Nonpareil. Deputies investigated the threat Tuesday night and found it to be credible, though no weapons were recovered, according to Wake. The student was arrested on suspicion of making a terroristic threat and taken to the Southwest Iowa Juvenile Detention Center in Council Bluffs to await further court proceedings. Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Mike Heavican on Tuesday outlined a series of ongoing efforts to improve the state's judicial system by further addressing issues such as the needs of children and minority defendants, along with mental health challenges. "Please be assured that Nebraska's judicial branch is always striving to find ways to do it better," Heavican told state senators during his annual State of the Judiciary address to the Legislature. The chief justice said 14,000 adults and 2,500 juveniles are on probation in Nebraska every day. The average cost of supervision of an adult on probation is $5,500 per year compared with $42,000 for incarceration, Heavican noted. A largely federally funded court improvement project focuses on the needs of children, youth and families involved in the juvenile court system, he said. "Our judges are frequently confronted with defendants who have mental health issues," the chief justice said, and judges turn to probation officers to find services for those individuals. Heavican pointed to "an ongoing and long-standing problem of mental health determinations for criminal defendants to stand trial." With the Lincoln Regional Center experiencing a six-month backlog to perform such evaluations, he said, "this problem has festered for years and needs a resource supplement." Heavican suggested adding a veterans treatment court in Sarpy County and a drug court in Platte County, noting that the previously established mental health court in Sarpy County and DUI court in Lancaster County experienced their first graduations during the past year. Last summer, he said, the Supreme Court and the Access to Justice Commission completed a series of focus group hearings with Natives to consider their interaction with courts. Forty-six different languages were interpreted in court proceedings last year, the chief justice said. Photos: The business of governing in Nebraska in 2023 OMAHA The city of Omaha is now on the hook to pay nearly $1 million to a police captain after a federal judge denied the citys motion for a new trial and approved $285,000 in attorney and witness fees. In September after a four-day trial, a jury awarded Kathy Belcastro-Gonzalez $680,000 in lost wages and benefits plus $20,000 in other damages in her retaliation lawsuit against the city and Chief Todd Schmaderer. The jury sided with Belcastro-Gonzalez, who said she was wrongly bypassed for a promotion because of her previous complaints of gender discrimination and harassment within the Omaha Police Department. The city filed a motion for a new trial in October, alleging juror misconduct and nullification, plus other issues dealing with the admissibility of evidence. Deputy City Attorney Michelle Peters requested an evidentiary hearing in December, alleging that one of the eight jurors spoke to people about the trial, which was learned by a former Omaha police officer during the trial. Peters also alleged that the jury delivered its verdict to send a message to the city. In a ruling issued Tuesday, Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon wrote that the city only speculated about juror misconduct and did not show actual evidence of it. The affidavit submitted in support of the Citys juror misconduct allegation does not show that the jury heard extraneous information or that a third-party contact influenced deliberations, Bataillon wrote. There is a dearth of reliable and admissible evidence of any inappropriate conversations or actions of the jury. The judge also said evidence of jury nullification was lacking. A retrospective statement about a verdict sending a message does not serve to establish that the jury disregarded the courts instructions. The Court declines to disturb the jurys verdict under these circumstances, Bataillon wrote. In an order filed last week, Bataillon ordered the city to pay Belcastro-Gonzalez nearly $279,000 for attorney fees and roughly $6,000 for expert witness fees. Belcastro-Gonzalez declined to comment, but her attorney, Tom White, said they were pleased with Bataillons ruling. The decision is both fair and legally correct, White said. Capt. Gonzalez and her family have been so unfairly treated and gone through so much that this order is welcome vindication and it should give courage to any other woman who protests sexual discrimination and harassment in the workplace. City Attorney Matt Kuhse, in a statement, said the city plans to appeal. Omaha Police Lt. Neal Bonacci, a department spokesman, declined to comment on Schmaderers behalf and said the City Attorneys Office would address the matter. Separately, Belcastro-Gonzalez had also contested her 2022 firing from the department. A third-party arbitrator found that the city violated its labor contract by not giving her proper notice before police interviewed her as part of an internal investigation. Because of the arbitrators decision in early January, Belcastro-Gonzalez returned to the department on paid administrative leave and could face firing again. Top Journal Star photos for February 2023 WATERLOO A Waterloo woman has been arrested after her 1-year-old son was injured with drain cleaner. The child also tested positive for methamphetamine and THC, according to court records. Police arrested Kayla Lynn Tiefel, 23, on Friday on charges of child endangerment by meth exposure and neglect of a dependent person. Bond was set at $20,000. A judge has issued a restraining order in the case. Paramedics were called to her home at 1222 Lincoln St. on Jan. 5 for a report of a child with chemical burns. Tiefel told investigators that she had just stepped out of the shower when she noticed the child had drain cleaner down the front of his onesie, records state. Officers found an open bottle of Drano near where the son and another child had been. They determined the cleaner had been kept in an unlocked cabinet under the sink and didnt have a child safety cap. The child suffered burns to the chest and esophagus and was transferred to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City for an operation to remove and repair damaged tissue, records state. He was placed in a medically induced coma, records state. While in the hospital, doctors tested a hair sample from the child and found traces of meth and THC, records state. Police also found meth on top of a small refrigerator in Tiefels bedroom that would have been accessible to the child. Tiefel is also awaiting sentencing in connection with a December 2021 home robbery on South Street. Photos: Missing children in Iowa Alexandra Storm Hailey Coleman Jamira Debose Osbourne Breasia Terrell Julian Murray Daniela Salinas-mejia Jade Colvin Fredrick Workman Benjamin Roseland Erin Pospisil Marc Allen Eugene Martin John Gosch Kimberly Doss Colleen Simpson Caleb Williams Xavior Harrelson Alyssa Dluzak Fatima Conteh Daniela Vera-Ortega Xerxes Blaesing Jorge Peneda Castillo Anya Pritchard Desirae Gifford Daquan Nelson Diomarix Crespo Nebraskas top corrections official made a pitch Tuesday for lawmakers to finally sign off on building a new $335 million prison. Diane Sabatka-Rine, interim director for the Department of Correctional Services, said the deterioration of the Nebraska State Penitentiary and the rising cost of construction mean the long-discussed project needs to move forward. The 1,512-bed prison has been proposed as a replacement for the aging penitentiary, where a major water leak in one housing unit forced the relocation of 140 men in November. A similar leak last year left the Lincoln prison without running water for nearly two days. Sabatka-Rine said such problems are likely to be repeated in a facility that includes the oldest buildings in the state prison system. The penitentiary is designed to hold 818 people, but currently houses about 1,200 men in maximum-, medium- and minimum-security units. This project can no longer be delayed, she told members of the Appropriations Committee about the proposed new prison. Last year, lawmakers set aside money for a new prison and allowed $15 million worth of design work to proceed. But they withheld approval for construction until they could get answers about the departments long-term plans to address the growing inmate population. The committees preliminary budget this year likewise listed the $335 million for prison construction among pending items, rather than approved spending. On Tuesday, committee members asked what would be done with the penitentiary if the new prison is authorized. Sabatka-Rine said it would be needed to house prisoners for at least five years while the new facility is under construction. After that, she said, plans call for the penitentiary to be decommissioned, but nothing concrete has been decided. She said the Corrections Department would work with the State Building Division to figure out whether the buildings can be saved and repurposed, sold or demolished. In the meantime, Sabatka-Rine defended the departments request for money to replace the fire alarm system at the penitentiary and other state prisons. She said the current alarm system is at the end of its life and replacement parts are not available. She said it must be replaced because it affects a critical life safety issue. The department will use the same system at all prisons, so the one at the penitentiary can be used for replacement parts in the future. Sabatka-Rine also urged committee members to include money for previously negotiated employee salary increases in the final budget plan. She said the agency used vacancy savings to cover those costs initially, but the higher pay has attracted enough new employees that those savings have been used up. In response to questions, she acknowledged that overtime hours have not dropped despite the additional employees. She said one factor is that two prisons, the one in Tecumseh and the Reception and Treatment Center in Lincoln, continue to operate with 12-hour shifts, which includes some overtime hours. Another is that the department continues to bus corrections workers from Omaha to Tecumseh, which means they cannot work full shifts. In addition, she said the department is trying to maintain minimum staffing levels, which allow for normal prison operations, rather than get by at critical staffing levels. Nebraska Inspector General of Corrections Doug Koebernick said staffing shortages continue to affect operations in the prisons. Not all employees got the same level of raises, leaving some groups of workers feeling left behind, he said. The shortages particularly affect the treatment professionals needed to run programs so inmates can make progress toward gaining parole. Cities and counties would lose authority to set up traffic cameras and collect revenue under a pair of bills Iowa lawmakers advanced on Wednesday. One bill would require local governments to receive approval from the state Department of Transportation before placing a traffic camera on an interstate or state highway. Local governments could only put traffic cameras in high-crash or high-risk locations and would have to exhaust all other traffic enforcement options before installing them. The proposal, House Study Bill 161, mirrors regulations set by the DOT before they were struck down by the Iowa Supreme Court in 2018, which found the department could not regulate city traffic cameras. There have been several attempts since then to rein in the use of the devices, which some lawmakers see as an infringement of privacy and argue cities are abusing the systems to bring in revenue. We do believe some kind of statewide regulatory framework is necessary, said Rep. Phil Thompson of Boone, who chairs the Public Safety Committee. ...this is essentially just codifying what [the DOT] tried to do in 2018. The bill passed the subcommittee with only Republican support. Cities and counties also would be required to submit a yearly report to the Iowa DOT on the effectiveness of the cameras, which the DOT would use to determine whether to keep them in place. Representatives for cities and law enforcement agencies argued the bill would remove the control cities have to regulate traffic. There are at least 10 cities that use enforcement cameras. Three cities LeClaire, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines have cameras on interstate highways. If the Legislature is looking to provide a regulatory framework, I think we can work toward that, but adding state government into this would be difficult, David Adelman, a lobbyist for the Metropolitan Coalition told lawmakers. The Metropolitan Coalition represents Iowas 10 largest cities. Lobbyists also said the cameras reduce crashes and keep police out of high-risk areas. Doug Struyk, a lobbyist for the city of Des Moines, said the traffic camera on Interstate 235 keeps police from pulling drivers over in a dangerous area of the road. Theres no place to be, and youre going to end up injuring and killing officers, and youre going to injure the public by trying to pull people over and enforce traffic there, he said. Traffic revenues would go to state fund Another bill, House File 313, would direct the revenues gathered from traffic cameras to the state Road Use Tax Fund, a fund that pays for state and local road improvements. Vehicle registration fees and fuel taxes are currently directed to the fund. Cities again opposed the bill, saying it would take away significant money that cities use to fund police positions and ease property taxes. What this bill is doing is removing dollars that have gone to public safety, to police, to EMS, to fire, and removing those dollars from local law enforcement, Adelman said. Larry Murphy, a lobbyist for the Iowa Police Chiefs Association and Cedar Rapids, said the city of Cedar Rapids uses its traffic camera revenues to fund 11 police positions, which would lose that funding source if the state redirects the money. The bill passed the subcommittee with only Republican support. Lawmakers advanced a bill earlier this month that would restrict cities to placing traffic cameras on city roads, counties on county roads, and allow the DOT to place traffic cameras on state roads. The bills would need to advance through a committee before next Friday, the first funnel date, to remain viable, and Thompson said he isnt ruling any of them out. Im going to give all these bills a subcommittee hearing and try to gather as much feedback and try to put together some kind of framework, Thompson said. PHOTOS: Nikki Haley in Iowa Election 2024 Haley APTOPIX Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) The US film "Plane" has been pulled out from local cinemas by its distributor, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) said. "The particular film is not going to be exhibited because the distributor voluntarily pulled out the film already from the cinemas," MTRCB chair Lala Sotto-Antonio told reporters on Thursday. "It will not be exhibited anymore," she said. On the same day, the Senate Committees on Public Information and Mass Media and Games and Amusement led a joint hearing into the mandate of the MTRCB. Senator Robin Padilla presided over the hearing. Padilla, in a manifestation before the Senate plenary last Feb. 15, called on the MTRCB to ban the film from cinemas because of its depiction of the country. Senate President Miguel Zubiri echoed Padilla's sentiments. In response, the film body said they would re-evaluate the movie to determine whether or not it was "injurious to the prestige of the Philippines or its people." READ: MTRCB to re-evaluate US film 'Plane' after Padilla plea In the film, the pilot protagonist played by Gerard Butler is forced to land a commercial plane on Jolo island, Sulu province where the characters face off against local rebels. The film described the area as one without government control, and "run by separatists and militia." It is distributed by Lionsgate Films and directed by Jean-Francois Richet. The Republican Party's newest presidential candidate, former South Carolina Gov. and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, introduced herself by showcasing her roots as a child of immigrants. Haley's family, originally from India, immigrated to the United States in 1969 and settled in a small, segregated town, Bamberg, South Carolina, where she was born three years later. One can glean two reasons why Haley is spotlighting her background and presenting her candidacy as a successful minority woman. First, one doesn't need to be "woke" to recognize the value of an Asian American woman running for president with an agenda of less government and more freedom. Second, showcasing her story and success qualifies her to say, as she does in her introduction video, "Take it from me, America is not a racist country." The strategy has opened her to attacks and criticism from the right and from the left. Ann Coulter, who still seethes at Haley for taking down the Confederate flag which flew on South Carolina's state Capitol grounds in Columbia, called her a "preposterous creature" and suggested she "go back to your own country and reconsider that history." But, of course, this is Haley's "own country." If it weren't, she wouldn't be able to run for president. But Coulter's business is not facts but provoking an audience that buys her books. More temperate advice came from The Wall Street Journal, which suggested Haley must do a better job distinguishing herself from other Republicans. No Republican, says the Journal, would disagree that "America is not a racist country." This is, of course, true. But I believe Haley is correct that it achieves particular resonance coming from an Indian American woman with a stellar resume of public service and achievement. The left's answer to Ann Coulter, Whoopi Goldberg, told her audience, regarding Haley, that "there are things about our country that are not perfect and to pretend that it is and to pretend that nothing happened is ridiculous." But, of course, Haley did not say that our country is "perfect" or that "nothing happened." Perfection is not what defines our country or any place or anything in this world. What defines and makes our country unique is freedom. This is Haley's point when she says, "Even on our worst day, we are blessed to live in America." It is here in our free country that Coulter and Goldberg get to speak their minds and not worry that they will disappear in the night, as they might in China or Iran. More serious criticism comes from the left from Asian American author Wajahat Ali, who accuses Haley of brandishing the "model minority myth," which he calls a tool of white supremacists. That is, per Ali, they use the success stories "of some Asian Americans" as "a cudgel against Black people" who are "told by GOP politicians to stop blaming racism for their problems." Haley has only showcased her own story. But the picture of the phenomenal business success stories of American immigrants is not a "cudgel" but powerful testimony to the opportunities for success and achievement in America. According to a 2022 study by the National Foundation for American Policy, "more than half (319 of 582) of America's start-up companies valued at $1 billion or more" were founded by immigrants. Nearly "two-thirds of (billion-dollar) companies were founded or co-founded by an immigrant or the child of an immigrant." And "almost 80%" of billion-dollar companies "have an immigrant founder or an immigrant in a key leadership role." These include immigrants from India, Israel, U.K., Canada, China, France, Germany, Russia, Iran, Nigeria and many others. My organization, CURE, covered Haley's rollout event in Charleston. The palpable energy and excitement at the rally could be a sign that this campaign will pick up steam as more candidates enter the field, each pitching their own persona. Welcome to election 2024. Speakout: What do you make of the Iowa legislature proposal to legalize marijuana and use revenues for students, mental health services and law enforcement? 'COCAINE BEAR' (Rated R for bloody violence and gore, drug content and language throughout) An oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists, and teens converges in a Georgia forest where a 500-pound black bear goes on a murderous rampage after unintentionally ingesting cocaine. 'BLUEBACK' (Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements, peril and brief mild language) Follows Abby, a child who befriends a magnificent wild blue grouper while diving. When Abby realizes that the fish is under threat, she takes inspiration from her activist Mum, Dora, and takes on poachers to save her friend. 'MUMMIES' (Rated PG for mild action/language and some rude material) It follows three mummies as they end up in present-day London and embark on a journey in search of an old ring belonging to the Royal Family, stolen by the ambitious archaeologist Lord Carnaby. 'WE HAVE A GHOST' (Rated PG-13 for language, some sexual/suggestive references and violence) Finding a ghost named Ernest haunting their new home turns Kevin's family into overnight social media sensations. But when Kevin and Ernest investigate the mystery of Ernest's past, they become a target of the CIA. 'AMBUSH' (Rated R for violence, some bloody images and language) A group of young elite commandos, led by Captain Drummond are tasked with collecting highly classified information that can change the fate of the war. NEW DVD RELEASES FOR THE WEEK Running the Bases' 'Empire of Light' 'Station Eleven' 'The Old Way' 'The Price We Pay' By the time you read this, Stephanie Conyers will be prepping for Easter, her fourth major holiday as the manager of Palmer's Olde Tyme Candy Shoppe. "I started my job last summer, made it through Halloween, Christmas and Valentine's Day," she said with a smile. Barring a St. Patrick's Day rush for emerald-colored sweets, Conyers should be fine until Peter Cottontail comes looking for a candy fix, come April 9. Yet Palmer's Olde Tyme Candy Shoppe -- and the adjacent Palmer Specialty Foods -- is more than simply a holiday stopover. Indeed, Weekender readers named the 405 Wesley Parkway store to be Siouxland's Choice for favorite Tourist Destination. This is because the Palmer Candy Company has been a part of Sioux City ever since Edward Cook (E.C.) Palmer moved to town in 1878. Palmer Candy Stephanie Conyers Palmer's Olde Tyme Candy Shoppe manager Stephanie Conyers said her store is popular with local people, visitors and folks coming back to visit Starting with a wholesale fruit business, the industrious Palmer family began making fancy, hand-dipped boxed chocolates, penny candies, gumdrops and marshmallows from a four-story factory around the turn of the 20th century. Always seeking innovation, Palmer Candy Co. jumped at the chance to manufacture its own candy bar and the legendary Twin Bing was born. Consisting of two round, chewy, cherry-filled nougats coated with chopped peanuts and chocolate, the Twin Bing has been made by hand at the Palmer Candy Company since 1923. That's right, the Twin Bing is turning the big 100 this year. Not too many candies have remained popular for a century but Palmer Candy actually manufacturer two of 'em. Palmer Candy Stephanie Conyers Palmer's Olde Tyme Candy Shoppe manager Stephanie Conyers said anytime is a perfect time for sweet treats. The store was selected as Siouxland In 1956, Palmer purchased the candy division of the Johnson Biscuit Company, which included the already well-established La Fama chocolates, that had been around since 1919. Uh-huh, the La Famas are actually the older sibling of the top-selling Twin Bings. Bet you didn't know that. However, Conyers is quickly becoming a connoisseur of Bings, La Famas and all things sweet, decadent and chocolate-y. Indeed, she and her crew try to taste test as much of their merchandise as possible. "We have to know what the candy tastes like for the sake of our customers," she said. Hmm, yeah, it's all about the customers. We totally believe that. On a more serious note, Conyers and assistant manager Monica Waldon do go to national trade shows to see what is trending in the world of candy and specialty foods. "Our customers want the new and the unexpected," Conyers said. "If I see something, food-related, is trending on TikTok, we'll be getting calls right away." Visitors Guide Palmers Candy The Twin Bing (featuring a cherry nougat and roasted peanut filling) started what has become a Bing empire. Now you can find cookie jars, ice Which is amazing for an old school business like Palmer's, right? According to Conyers, Palmer's retail store remains as relevant as ever. "I saw it personally around the holidays," she said. "If a person came back to Sioux City for family on Christmas, a visit to the Palmer's Olde Tyme Candy Shoppe would always be in the plans." Sure enough, the customer would likely leave the store with a big box of Bings. Or what about the traveler who wanted to discover the tastes of Sioux City? Well, what can represent Sioux City better than chocolate-covered pieces of nougat-y goodness. "The Twin Bing has become synonymous with Sioux City," Conyers said. "I think that's why Palmer's Olde Tyme Candy Shoppe is considered a local tourist destination." It might not look like it right now, but the New Stage Players stage will soon transform itself into the vacation home of Ethel and Norman Thayer, the alternately loving and cantankerous couple from Ernest Thompson's "On Golden Pond." Directed by Billy Denker and featuring a cast of six actors, the Tony Award-nominated play will be performed, Friday through Sunday, as the South Sioux City-based theater's first stage production for the 2023 calendar year. Founded in 2016, New Stage plays are traditionally staged inside of a former elementary school building, located at 3201 Dakota Ave. Considered a newcomer in Sioux City's theatrical scene, New Stage Players was voted as Siouxland's Choice for live theater, beating out both the Sioux City Community Theatre, which is celebrating its 75th season, and LAMB Arts Regional Theatre, which has been around for 43 seasons. Charlie plays Baby Shrek Charlie Weinmeister, left, plays Baby Shrek and Cody Juffer, right, plays the evil Lord Farquaad in "Shrek The Musical," a New Stage Players Charlie plays Baby Shrek Cast members try on their costumes for the first time during a rehearsal for "Shrek The Musical," a New Stage Players production at South Siou "I don't consider New Stage Players to be in competition with other theaters," Kristy Tremayne, one of New Stage Players founding members, explained. "I think we're simply making theater accessible to different types of audiences." Certainly, one of the specific goals of the theatrical upstart was to get more people in Northeast Nebraska involved in the performing arts. "South Sioux City didn't have its own theater group and we felt there was a definite need for one on the Nebraska side of the (Missouri) river," Tremayne said. Just as important was New Stage Players' involvement with the Penguin Project. "The Penguin Project gives young people with developmental disabilities or special needs the opportunity to develop creative and social skills while participating in a musical production," Tremayne said. The Penguin Project presents Willy Wonka Karlee Hughes, left, who plays Veruca gives her golden ticket to Willy Wonka played by Camdyn Meier as they rehearse a scene for their product New Stage Players anniversary New Stage Players community theater on Dakota Avenue in South Sioux City, Neb. is celebrating its fifth anniversary. Last spring, New Stage Players presented the Penguin Project production of "Willy Wonka, Jr." featuring a cast of able-bodied as well as disabled actors. This year, "Disney's 101 Dalmatians" will be the Penguin Project's musical. Under the direction of Tremayne, the production -- which will have actors with Down syndrome, autism, Asperger's and other neurological, physical and developmental disorder -- will run June 9 - 11. "A disability should never prevent an actor from experiencing the joys of acting," Tremayne said. Neither should a language barrier. New Stage Players is also home to El Proyecto Dramtico, which is Siouxland's only bilingual theatrical company. "Tomas and the Library Lady" and "The Singing Nana" -- two books by author Pat Mora -- have been adapted for the theater's "From the Page to the Stage" series on April 28 and 29. New Stage Players anniversary A dragon costume sits in a prop room at New Stage Players community theater. The Penguin Project presents Willy Wonka Camdyn Meier, right, who plays Willy Wonka holds up an oversized everlasting gobstopper with Karlee Hughes, left, and Noah Davis, behind durin Also coming up is a summertime youth camp, revolving around "Disney's Moana Jr.," which will take place from June 26 - July 22. In addition, New Stage Players is offering a series of summer day camps on various topics for kids, age 5 - 9. "The day camps will let children experience performing, maybe, for the very first time," New Stage Players' Deb Morgan said. "It's fun to introduce a new set of kiddos to the world of theater." It also set the stage, so to speak, for the local premiere of "The Spongebob Musical." New Stage Players has the rights to the musical version of the popular Nickelodeon animated series. It will be performed July 28 - Aug. 6 at the Briar Cliff University Theatre. "Briar Cliff wasn't using its stage, so they're allowing us to host the summer youth programming there," New Stage Players board president Christine Wolf said. "It's an awesome facility." Which also follows the sentiment that Tremayne always had. "We want to make theater accessible to as many people as possible," she said. It's hard to make a plate of prime rib or an open-faced sandwich look sexy but Britton Hacke was giving it a go. The Sioux City-based photographer was shooting menu pictures at a Dakota City eatery that will be used by The Market Delivers. "The Market Delivers is one of my clients," Hacke said. "I may not be the best food photographer in town, though these dishes do look pretty appetizing." Indeed, he is now able to snap photos for advertisers, graduating seniors and nervous brides and their beaus. Photographer Britton Hacke Photographer Britton Hacke shoots food at Gateway 2.Oh in Dakota City, Nebraska. Hacke was shooting for client The Market Delivers, a food del Photographer Britton Hacke Photographer Britton Hacke shows a photograph of a hamburger. Hacke is perhaps best known for being the unofficial nightlife photographer of Sioux City. Whether at concerts, events or just surveying the scene, he's been a regular Johnny-on-the-Spot. One only needs to look at his website (brittonhacke.com) for confirmation. "Britton Hacke is someone you have probably seen at events around town," his website reads. "It seems like anywhere you go, you'll see him behind the lens of his camera." Perhaps due to his ubiquitous nature, Hacke was selected as Siouxland's Choice of Sioux-lebrity. Which make him feel weird. "I'm not a celebrity or, even, a Sioux-lebrity," Hacke said. "I'm just a guy who likes taking pictures." Photographer Britton Hacke Photographer Britton Hacke shoots food at Gateway 2.Oh in Dakota City, Nebraska. Photographer Britton Hacke Photographer Britton Hacke food photos for a client. He credited his love of photos to his mom, who was also a photographer. "When I was growing up, my mom had a book that was full of photos by Annie Leibowitz," Hacke said, referencing the famous portrait photographer best known for her Rolling Stone covers. "Whenever I photograph a concert, my mind goes back to the work of Annie Leibowitz." Over the years, he has photographed everybody from Bret Michaels, Flo Rida and Wu-Tang Clan. So, who's on Hacke's photographic dream list? The Rolling Stones, Nine Inch Nails and the hip-hop duo of Run the Jewels. Alright, one final question: what is the worst thing able being the Siouxland's Choice Sioux-lebrity? "Getting my picture taken," Hacke, the photographer, said. "I've never liked having my picture taken." Photographer Britton Hacke Photographer Britton Hacke arranges a basket of food. Photographer Britton Hacke Photographer Britton Hacke shoots food at Gateway 2.Oh in Dakota City, Nebraska. Hacke was shooting for client The Market Delivers, a food del For the past decade, as the cost of building American mass transit has soared to world records, advocates have found themselves in a bind. Should they draw attention to the problem, fighting for top-to-bottom reform now so that future investments dont make the mistakes of the past? Or should they stay quiet, because such an effort would be politically ugly and further cement the American double standard by which transit spending is endlessly scrutinized but highway widening rolls on, no matter how many times state transportation departments fudge their numbers? Advertisement So far, the country is going down the second path. Despite constant crowing from bloggers, newspaper investigations, Elon Musk starting his own tunnel company, and a scathing federal report, there has been no real effort to address spiraling transit costs, either from Washington or local authoritieseven as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law starts distributing $105 billion to intercity rail and public transit. When I asked the CEO of Amtrak in 2021 about why the companys train tunnel beneath the Hudson River would cost $11 billionmany times more than similar projects in peer countrieshe disputed the premise of the question: I dont know that thats an astronomical number. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A mammoth report from New York Universitys Transit Costs Project makes a good case that the numbers are indeed astronomical, and theres something we can do about it. Not just because bringing American transit construction into line with international best practices will make it possible for America to build big againbut also because whats true for transit is true for the moribund public sector in general, and transit might be an object lesson. Advertisement According to authors Eric Goldwyn, Alon Levy, Elif Ensari, and Marco Chitti, theres a lot going wrong with American transit projectsmore on this in a momentbut many of the problems can be traced to a larger philosophy: outsourcing government expertise to a retainer of consultants. What Ive heard from consultants, which is surprising because they make so much money off this stuff, is, Agencies dont know what they want, and we have to figure it out, Goldwyn said. By 2011, the MTA trimmed its in-house capital projects management group of 1,600 full-time employees to just 124. For example, when the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority got to work on the Green Line Extension, the agency only had a half-dozen full-time employees managing the largest capital project the MBTA had ever undertaken. On New Yorks Second Avenue subway, the most expensive mile of subway ever built, consultant contracts were more than 20 percent of construction costsmore than double whats standard in France or Italy. By 2011, the MTA had trimmed its in-house capital projects management group of 1,600 full-time employees (circa 1990) to just 124, tasked with steering $20 billion in investment. Advertisement Advertisement Perhaps the most notorious case in this business is the debacle of the California High-Speed Rail project, which in its early years had a tiny full-time staff managing hundreds of millions of dollars in consulting contracts. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has tried to right the balance more recently: Im getting rid of a lot of consultants, he said in 2018. How did we get away with this? Advertisement There are certainly advantages to hiring highly specialized experts who can come in, complete a task, and go on their way. Subway construction is not a regular government function in most of the United States, so you can see why small agencies are reluctant to staff upespecially since federal funding is unreliable. But that excuse does not apply to organizations in cities like Seattle or Los Angeles with multi-decade pipelines and voter approval to spend tens of billions of dollars. Advertisement Theres another, bigger drawback to being so reliant on outside help. The second megaproject is easier than the first, and resurrecting lost expertise is always challenging. (Just ask the French, who are struggling to complete the countrys first new nuclear reactors in decadeseveryone who worked on its admired 70s nuclear program is long gone.) When it comes to building mass transit, America is a bit out of shape. Unfortunately, its not getting into shape. The report specifies (italics mine): Advertisement Advertisement With Phase 1 [of the Second Avenue Subway] complete, knowledge and lessons learned from Phase 1 have been retained by the consultant teams, and many of the most experienced managers from Phase 1 who learned by doing have left the agency, some have retired and others now work in the private sector. An agency staffer at another large North American agency we spoke to about its reliance on consultants explained that at her agency, it was the consultants who knew everything about past projects rather than agency staff. Advertisement In any case, the benefits of hired guns apparently do not justify the evisceration of public-sector expertise. Consultant teams need a client who knows what it wants and is technically competent enough to direct the consultants, the Transit Costs Project concludes. Most U.S. transit agencies are too hollowed out to fit the bill. Even at the MTA, the nations biggest and busiest transit agency, engineering consultants like WSP, Aecom, and Arup function as a security blanket to handle endless studies, basic problems, and even core design guidelines. Advertisement They studied everything, Goldwyn said. Whether or not the agency was well-equipped to absorb that information, I dont have a good answer. Whos in charge of capital construction at transit agencies? Many of these people have never delivered a transit project, and thats not good. Advertisement Advertisement Its that lack of institutional know-how, of which consultants are both a symptom and a cause, that really hampers projects. The lack of a good in-house team, for example, leads to farming out so-called design-build contracts, which ultimately produces more expensive projects by offloading risk to contractors, who bid accordingly. It means staff are overwhelmed by change orders as projects evolve. In the case of New Yorks Second Avenue subway, the lack of a powerful, effective team of civil servants may also explain some inexplicable conflicts and mistakes: misunderstandings and feuds with local agencies, hugely overbuilt stations, and so little standardization that the escalators in the three new stops were built by three different companies. Advertisement Not all problems can be laid at the feet of consultant culture. Transit routes picked at the ballot box are bound to be worse than those drawn up by experts; transits role as a job creation bonanza doesnt create incentives to be particularly efficient. But the takeaway here might be relevant for the public sector at large. That consultants are draining state capacity is also the argument of a forthcoming book by a pair of London-based academics. In The Big Con, Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington argue that consultants have hollowed out government functions well beyond transit construction. Advertisement Advertisement As the title suggests, they take a view that consultants are not simply the beneficiaries of a reduced bureaucracy. On issues as diverse as vaccination campaigns and climate change preparedness, the role of consultants, they argue, is like a psychotherapist having no interest in her clients becoming independent with strong mental health, but rather using that ill health to create a dependency and an ever greater flow of fees. An overreliance on consultants, they argue, is actually to blame for public sector debacles like the rollout of Healthcare.gov. Advertisement Advertisement Thats the story of the U.S. federal government since the 1960s, according to a theory outlined by John DiIulio in Bring Back the Bureaucrats. The shift to contractors in the place of federal employees, he argues, has created a federal apparatus thats at once bigger, less efficient, and less accountable. Its an apt description of what is happening to state and local governments, too, whose workforce is currently smaller than it was in 2008. Those diminished bureaucracies have trouble handling responsibilities like environmental review, which further erodes our ability to get things done. In the case of the Transit Costs Project, the conclusion is not just the old left-wing bromide of investing in the public sector. Consultants are paid in public money, after all. Its a philosophical shift toward an empowered, full-time civil servant class. Spending money now to save money later. It may not come as a total surprise that James OKeefe, the Project Veritas co-founder who left the activist group on Monday after a power struggle with its board, is not being widely condemned on the right. Project Veritas is known for publishing misinformation-laden and context-twisting hidden camera investigations into progressive groups, news media, Planned Parenthood, and pharmaceutical companies. It had a faithful audience of conservative donors and followers who were eager for dirt on their enemies. OKeefe was the face of that brand, so it makes some sense that those loyal followers would not jump to attack him, even after allegations of misusing donor funds for extravagant personal expenses and fostering an abusive workplace culture. Advertisement But the groups followers didnt just turn a blind eye to the allegations. Instead, they launched an entire campaign to cancel Project Veritas itself. The narrative quickly emerged on social media: The company, which was founded to humiliate people and get them canceled for being corrupt and/or too liberal, was itself corrupt and/or too liberal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They sold out to the cabal, one person wrote on Twitter. Veritas has succumbed to the neocon wokism that destroyed National Review, wrote another. Dont be surprised if PV turns a bit more WOKE in years to come, wrote a third. Seems like theyve been infiltrated. On Twitter, users promoted the hashtags #UnfollowingVeritas, #StandWithJamesOKeefe, and #BoycottProjectVeritas. Accounts gleefully celebrated the hundreds of thousands of Twitter followers the official Project Veritas account was losing. (OKeefe now has 1.3 million followers to Project Veritas 1.1 million, in a near swap of follower numbers.) And influential right-wing accounts stoked the backlash. Advertisement We must stand with James! declared Turning Point USAs Charlie Kirk. Newsmaxs Benny Johnson, a noted plagiarist, called Project Veritas the new Lincoln Project. The provocateur Laura Loomer described the board that ousted OKeefe as frauds, grifters, and backstabbing miscreants seeking likes, clicks, fame & fortune. Steve Bannon declared war on OKeefes rivals. Why, given that the dispute that ousted OKeefe was a matter of internal politics and potential liability issues and workplace allegations rather than anything political, would there be such a strong response? Part of it is OKeefes popularity, and conservatives tendency to trust loud and proudly lib-shaming personalities above anything institutional, even if that institution is one that is dedicated to conservative causes. Another part of it likely has to do with the impulse to distrust accusers (especially abuse accusers) targeting right-wing heroes and to defend those heroes no matter what. But the main factor is probably the tendency toward conspiratorial thinking, a tendency at the root of Project Veritas popularity from the beginning. Advertisement Advertisement In January, Project Veritas put out a video that appeared to show a Pfizer researcher saying the company was going to mutate the COVID virus through directed evolution. The story blew up in conservative mediaTucker Carlson treated it as a bombshellbut failed to gain traction outside the right-wing ecosystem because of its dubious origins, questionable editing, lack of context, and logic-jumping conclusions. OKeefe called it the biggest story in our organizations history. Advertisement So when, in early February, 16 Project Veritas employees signed a letter sent to the board accusing OKeefe of being a power drunk tyrant who misused donor funds and demeaned and humiliated his employeesto the point of spitting on one over a tweetsome of OKeefes allies immediately connected the two events. When, two days later, it was reported that OKeefe was on paid leave, many more of OKeefes allies began to complain about the timing. Advertisement If you look at responses to comments and developments on Twitter, where much of this conversation is happening, a solid majority of OKeefes supporters seem to believe that Pfizer is behind his ouster. There is no evidence of that. But some believe Pfizer paid off the board. Others believe that Pfizer intimidated them into it. The details dont really matter. What matters is that in this scenario, OKeefe is not a bad boss but a hero who spoke truth to power and was felled by it. Advertisement Advertisement OKeefe himself promoted the martyrdom idea. In a video posted online, apparently filmed Monday, OKeefe complained that none of this makes any sense. Why is this happening right now? he asked. He didnt explicitly say his firing was because of Pfizer, but he did bring up the sting video. That is the only thing that has changed, he said. And then, suddenly, an unusual emergency happened just a few days after that. Advertisement Supporters said they sensed a coordinated coup, noted the suspicious timing, and labeled the companys board members as shills. With that reasoning, any allegations seemed like petty falsehoods. The lawsuitsclaiming that Project Veritas had a highly sexualized workplace culture, that OKeefe had once played for employees an audio file of him and his girlfriend discussing sexual activities, and that drinking and drug use were rampantwere simply the lies of a disgruntled former employee. And even if those claims were true, then his detractors were simply too woke, getting worked up over small matters. Advertisement But the Pfizer narrative wasnt the only alternative explanation. Its abundantly clear there are forces attempting to split MAGA right now, wrote the conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec. What happened to James isnt isolated. There is a treacherous plot afoot, and we are going to see more and more of this as we head into 2024. They are trying to ignite a civil war. Advertisement Advertisement Others pointed to other conservative internal feuds as evidence of a trend, implying some sort of coordinated infiltration. Some people concluded that the board members must be simping for establishment sweetheart Ron Desantis. The far-right activist Lauren Witzke was of this camp. Its all coming together now, it appears the DeSantis clan [] all banded together to oust James Okeefe, she wrote. They have, and will continue to target others in the MAGA movement in order to dismantle it before the 2024 Presidential campaign. Regardless of their theories, OKeefes supporters rushed to justify those allegations they didnt dismiss as false. The claim that he was so paranoid he made his employees talk to private investigators and take a lie detector test? Simply prudent behavior when going up against such giant foes. The claim he was a brutal taskmaster? A man who simply had high standards for his employees. The claim that he had spent $150,000 on black cars or $60,000 on dance events or $14,000 chartering a flight to have his boat fixed? Just part of doing business. And the claim he once, while in court, took an eight-months pregnant womans sandwich? No big deal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think the sandwich story is BS, Laura Loomer wrote on Twitter. But even if it is true, who cares? Legends need to eat too. And already, his supporters are rallying Project Veritas donors to come to his defense. I am a donor, and I do not care that James OKeefe takes black cars, Candace Owens said. Advertisement His defenders generally didnt discuss the IRS filing showing Project Veritas had spent $20,512 to send staff to see OKeefe star in an outdoor production of the play Oklahoma!, possibly because musical theater doesnt mesh with the hypermasculine hero supporters were imagining in their discussions. It remains to be seen if OKeefes ouster will, as so many predict, kill off Project Veritas. OKeefe has suggested he will start his own venture, under a new name. But he is coming out of this saga as the early winner, a symbol of truth-telling in a corrupt world. Matt Gaetz has called OKeefe a hero. And perhaps the best summation of the whole campaign came from Donald Trump Jr. and his sense of conservative victimhood: Not sure what PV does without James. We need to continue the mission of exposing the left. The radicle left has entire trillion dollar enterprises running cover for them. We had James. Romeo Krokriatski lives in Kyiv, Ukraine. And the main thing he wants you to know about that is that, a year into Russias invasion, things are pretty normal. Until they arent. My best buddy lives in New York, actually, and he was asking me how it was and when I was telling him, hes like, Well, it doesnt sound like too much has changed. And then the air raid siren went off loud enough that you can hear it through the windows, Romeo said. So that put the situation into stark clarity. Advertisement Romeo grew up in New York City, but he moved to Kyiv as an adult and became a journalist. Now, hes the managing editor of the New Voice of Ukraine. I last spoke with him about a year ago, when the war was still fresh. It felt right to call him back now and see how he was holding up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He says, at least where he is, its the erratic electrical supply that would tip you off that a wars on. And when the lights go out, you can hear the difference. You can smell it, too. If the power is all good, then things look more or less fine But all the generators are diesel and diesel stinks a lot, he said. So it gets pretty noisy and smelly. Advertisement Romeos neighborhood group chat has become the place he pings on the way home from work to figure out: Are the lights still on? In fact, this practice is so common that someone recorded a song about it for a laugh. The little song was people just satirizing that exact situation. It was like, Is there power or not? Is there power or not? Maybe its a stereotype, but it seems to me that Ukrainians have a much greater capacity for laughing at themselves than anyone else. We dont take many things very seriously. And even the serious things we try to joke about. Its a little like there are two Ukraines right now. Theres the Ukraine that Romeo is living in, which is somewhat normal, and then theres Eastern Ukraine, where things are anything but. Just today an entire bus station was blown up, killing six people or something. On the one hand, Im grateful. I also feel a little guilty that I live in a relatively safe place with all the usual modern amenities, he said. Its hard to reconcile the disparity in feelings. Ukrainians, if nothing else, are very determined to keep on living. Advertisement Advertisement On Thursdays episode of What Next, I got an update on Romeos war. Its been a year. He doesnt see an end in sight. Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. Advertisement Mary Harris: Early in the war, Romeo Krokriatski fled Kyiv and went to his hometown, a village in the countryside. He was living alone, wondering each week if Kyiv would finally fall to Russian forces. Romeo Krokriatski: It was a pretty chaotic situation at the beginning because Kyiv was still under threat. The defense lines were pretty fluid. It wasnt clear if the Russians were going to break through or not. And as a journalist, I had to be covering everything, fielding media requests from every corner of the globe. But then things settled down and kind of approached normalcy. There was a curfew at 10, which was a bit strange. The street lights were kept off. Advertisement To encourage people to stay inside and so you couldnt be seen? Yeah, absolutely. The government was very strongly encouraging people to keep the lights off at night to make it harder to target places. I know youre a journalist, but I imagine you know all kinds of people involved in the war effort in all kinds of ways. And youve alluded online to knowing people who fought and even died in the war. Would you feel comfortable telling me one of their stories? Advertisement Advertisement Yeah, an old colleague of mine, and actually one of the first friends I made in this country, Eugene Bakafka was his name. Hed messaged me in the beginning of the war, saying hed enlisted. We didnt keep in too good touch, something I will always regret. But we would message each other from time to time. And Eugene was an incredibly smart guy, one of the smartest guys Ive met. He was an electrical engineer, an IT specialist. The guy was really, really clever. He was really, really artistic and creative on top of that, which is weird for an engineer. And he messaged me last in September, and then in, I think, December I found out that hed been killed. Advertisement Advertisement I cried for a day and then I tried to move on. To be honest, Im lucky that Ive only lost one friend so far. And I warn all of my other friends in the front that if they dont come home, Im going to go find their ghost and harass their ghost for the rest of their afterlife. So how did you decide to return to Kyiv? When did you know it was time? Advertisement Around mid-December, I dont know if I knew it was time or not. I was just getting really tired of being away, and most of my friends had moved back by then. Could you tell me about the first time you walked back in to your apartment? Were things as you left them? Advertisement It was definitely a frozen-in-time feeling. Actually, a month before the war started, Id finally bought a dishwasher. I hadnt had a dishwasher for the past eight years of living in Ukraine, and Id completely forgotten that I bought it. When I came back, I had cooked myself a huge dinner to celebrate, and Im looking at this giant pile of dishes when I saw this dishwasher and I was like, What? How did this get here? I had to call my wife and I was like, Hey, how do we use this thing? If it feels strange to hear Romeo laughing, remember: The Ukrainian way through this war has been with humor. After all, President Volodymyr Zelensky used to be a comedian. The war has put this slapstick approach in the spotlight . Advertisement The Ukrainian meme game is really tight. I share a lot of them on Twitter. But honestly, even Im shocked with official government channels sharing pretty hilarious memes, especially the Russian warship meme. That was a big one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russian warship, go fuck yourself? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It kind of died down now, but people still have stickers on their cars. I wonder how youre anticipating whats going to happen on the actual day of the anniversary of the invasion. Youve noted that Vladimir Putin seems to like anniversaries, so how are you preparing yourself? To be honest, and maybe Im being too optimistic here, my expectation is its just going to be a mass missile attack. Advertisement OK, just?? Yeah, it feels weird to say just a mass missile attack, but weve had so many of them that now when I hear an air raid siren, it feels comforting, not scary. What? Because its a reminder that we have a warning system in our air defenses working. That is the most unhinged optimism Ive ever heard. Maybe. I cant dispute that. But, in general, people are not as optimistic as I am. A lot of people are either preparing to spend the night in a bomb shelter or a corridor or a basement, or theyre just leaving Kyiv for a few days. Youre not. No. From what I can tell, the Russians dont have the capability of doing anything flashy short of nuking us. And if they nuke us, it wont really matter where I am. But I dont think theyre going to nuke us. Advertisement Advertisement When you heard that Joe Biden was visiting Kyiv, were you surprised? Reassured? To be honest, I was completely shocked. I did not expect Biden to come to Kyiv during wartime at all. But for Ukrainians, to be honest, were just incredibly happy that Biden came. And that was support as solid as sending tanks and jets, though the U.S. should still do those things, not just show up. Advertisement Do you feel like Ukraine has what it needs militarily at this point going into this anniversary? No, absolutely not. There are still no theres still no agreement on providing Ukraine with modern airplanes, with modern jet fighters. Ammo is running out as pretty much every military official has been yelling for the past couple of months. Theres definitely not enough stuff to keep up a concerted defense of the type thats needed against basically near-constant Russian assaults. Ukrainian intelligence believes that Putin ordered the Russian military to basically take the rest of the Donbas, the rest of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts by the end of March. And theyre attacking very constantly, taking enormous, enormous1,000 pluslosses per day. And they are taking some ground. Not a lot, just a couple of meters a day. But they are still taking some ground, and we dont have enough to keep up the firepower necessary to deter them, and nor do we have the modern tanks that were promised. A Pentagon official said that the 31 Abrams that were promised by Washington wouldnt be arriving for the next three to six months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oh my gosh. Which is an incredibly long time. The officials said that they havent even decided whether theyre going to send us existing Abrams or build entirely new ones when these processes should have been already in place. Same with the Leopards and the Challengers and all the new stuff thats been promisedits promised on a timeline that is way too far out. So I definitely do not feel like we have what we need to continue to defend ourselves successfully. That must make you kind of nervous. It would have made me nervous earlier in the war. But weve seen the pattern of the West speeding up as the deadline draws near. So I think the weapon and supplies deliveries will speed up. And to be honest, another reason Im not too nervous is that Russia is simply running out of everything. The air mass missile attacks slowed from every few days to once a week. Now once every few weeks or before big occasions. The simple fact that Russia is seemingly unable to scale up any of its operations. Its mobilization drives are drying up. Its soldiers are being sent to fight in winter conditions in basically single-layer linens, and theyre taking a 1,000-plus losses per day. Morale has been negative for months now. Theres a very physical limit to how long they can keep up what theyre doing. I, as an inveterate optimist, hope that that physical limit is reached sooner rather than later, but they will reach it regardless. Advertisement Advertisement I know youve spoken before about this sense of solidarity among Ukrainians thats been sparked by the Russian invasion. People have helped each other, crowdfunded for resources. Im curious about whether you see ways the invasion has inflamed divisions, too. Like, we did a show a few weeks back about the way some neighbors turned against each other, accusing each other of working with the Russians, especially in towns that were occupied. I wonder if youve seen some of that friction as well. Its a joke amongst Ukrainians that one of our favorite hobbies is to accuse everyone around of being traitors to the point where its a meme. Like, whenever anything bad happens, you start yelling strata, or treason in Ukrainian. Advertisement Huh. I actually have an app on my phone calls, Strata, which is, like, a tip line if you suspect someone of collaboration. But to be honest, the divisions arent that much. Id even say theres less division now than there was in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea and the invasion of Donbas. Then, you had a lot of stereotypes about people from the East being all criminals, all Russianized. What are they doing here? Blah, blah, blah. Advertisement Advertisement When they fled, you mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And there were even listings for apartments that would say, Oh, we dont rent if youre from the East or whatever. But that has not been the case. Subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts Get more news from Mary Harris every weekday. Last time we were on, you talked about your doomed optimism about the war. Do you think that theres going to be a Year Two mark to this war? Do you think in February 2024 Ill be calling you back? Yeah, probably. I dont see this war ending until Putin is dead. Whether from natural causes or infighting or, I dont know, a commando raid thats going to make a great movie in 10 years. But I dont see the war ending until hes dead. (CNN) The United States has repatriated 77 looted artifacts to Yemen, including dozens of ancient funerary stones linked to a disgraced New York art dealer and 11 folios from early Qurans. But as part of a landmark agreement announced Tuesday, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, DC will care for and store the items for at least two years as Yemen remains engulfed in a bitter civil war. Among the artifacts being returned are 65 funerary stones, known as "stelae," that date back to the second half of the first millennium BC. Featuring engraved faces, some of the objects contain traces of pigment or inscriptions revealing the names of the deceased. A museum spokesperson told CNN that the stones were most likely looted from archaeological sites in northwestern Yemen. The Quranic folios are meanwhile thought to date back to the 9th century. An inscribed bronze bowl is also among the cache of artifacts. The US Department of Justice said that 64 of the stelae were forfeited to officials during an investigation into Mousa Khouli, a convicted smuggler who sold plundered artifacts via his New York store, Windsor Antiques. The other 13 items were intercepted as they were being smuggled into the US, the Smithsonian said in a press release. The partnership between the Smithsonian and Yemen's government was announced at a repatriation ceremony hosted by the country's embassy in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. As part of the agreement, some of the items could be publicly exhibited at the museum, including in its current show "Ancient Yemen: Incense, Art, and Trade." Yemen's government will have the option to extend the partnership after two years, depending on the state of unrest in the country. The country's ambassador to the United States, Mohammed Al-Hadhrami, said in a statement that "on behalf of the people and Government of Yemen, we are thrilled to see Yemen retaking ownership of its cultural heritage." "With the current situation in Yemen, it is not the right time to bring the objects back into the country," he added. "The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art is a global leader in the field of cultural heritage and preservation. We are pleased to see these objects in their care." New model for repatriation The stone stelae linked to Khouli are thought to have been smuggled into the US via the United Arab Emirates over a decade ago. Officials later seized incriminating correspondence and invoices containing "multiple inconsistencies" from Khouli's home and gallery, according to the Department of Justice's press release. In 2012, the antique dealer, who also went by the name Morris Khouli, pleaded guilty to smuggling Egyptian artifacts and making a false statement to law enforcement. He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months' home confinement and 200 hours of community service, according to the New York Times. Other items seized in the investigation were returned to Egypt in 2015. But this week's ceremony marks the first time in almost two decades that the US has repatriated cultural artifacts to Yemen, with the last being a single funerary stelae that was handed back in 2004. In recent years, extensive investigations and mounting pressure to return cultural artifacts to their countries of origin have resulted in various high-profile repatriation efforts. Last year, New York officials returned 30 artifacts to Cambodia and nearly 200 to Pakistan. US authorities have also repatriated hundreds of artifacts tied to the American antiquities smuggler Subhash Kapoor, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a court in India in November. The University of California, Berkeley has meanwhile begun the process of sending thousands of ancestral remains and sacred objects to Indigenous tribes, and the Manhattan District Attorney's office seized dozens of artifacts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in September. The Yemen war, which is being fought between Iran-backed Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition, has complicated the established repatriation process, however. The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art said in a press release that the country has "experienced heavy looting and destruction of its tangible cultural heritage" since the civil war began in 2014. The museum added that the partnership represents an alternative to direct repatriation, calling the agreement an "exemplary model of how US museums can work with other countries to steward cultural objects and share them with broad audiences." The Yemeni embassy will advise the museum on research and conservation matters while the items remain in its care. The Smithsonian's press release said that the collection of stelae "contributes to knowledge of ancient south Arabian onomastics (study of names) and funerary practices." Chase F. Robinson, director of the Smithsonian's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery and Freer Gallery of Art, added in a statement that the partnership "is a powerful example of how shared stewardship of objects can build bridges and serve as a catalyst for learning and understanding." This story was first published on CNN.com, "US repatriates 77 looted artifacts to Yemen but the Smithsonian will house them for now." This article is a co-publication of Zocalo Public Square and State of Mind, a partnership of Slate and Arizona State University focused on covering mental health. Follow State of Mind on Twitter. Ive had OCD for as long as I can remember. My parents just didnt know what to call it. I seemed like your average worrywart. No go-carts for me at birthday parties and no rides at Disney outside of Its a Small World (which now seems scarier than any roller coaster because of the singing animatronics). I refused to learn how to ride a bike. I got my drivers license but havent driven a car since my 18th birthday. There are few things more humbling than having to ask your mom to take you into town for a bagel in your late 20s. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A frantic narrator was ruling my internal monologue, and I had, until recently, resigned myself to letting her hog the microphone. But then, a year ago, I decided to try something Id never even considered previously: medication. Id done years of cognitive behavioral therapy, but it got me only so far. I felt like Sisyphus, only the boulder was my mental illness and the top of the hill was the fully realized version of myself that made stew for her friends without worrying about accidentally poisoning them. Now, on medication, I feel like Im finally getting to know myself for the first time. My head is clear. I never thought I needed an SSRI, but now that Im on one, I cant believe I suffered so much before. And I cant believe how much stew my friends were missing out on. Advertisement The compulsions arrived while I was in college. I became obsessed with my health and possible contamination, specifically getting infections and diseases through open wounds. I would wipe my body with alcohol pads every day, even when I didnt have cuts, just in case I couldnt see them. My skin probably had more contact with alcohol than my tongue. Sure, I went to parties, but would have sustained panic attacks if someone so much as brushed past me with their elbow. Advertisement And then in 2015 when I was home on Long Island for spring break (I was very cool), I was presented with my biggest fear: a real medical emergency. An ache in my lower stomach that I assumed was gasmy mom tried to burp me thinking it was trappedturned out to be appendicitis. An exploding appendix is not really something you can avoid, so I had my first taste of exposure therapy that day. And did I mention that the day was March 15? Yes, the Ides of March. The universe majored in English, I see. Advertisement Advertisement My body, my safety, my healththese things I obsessed overwere out of my control and in the hands of the hospital. OCD deludes you into thinking that you can protect yourself with an ironclad grip over your reality, but thats impossible. You cant control everything. Kind of like how in New York you can play with your radiator all you want, but at the end of the day, your building is controlling the heat. So there I was, being rolled into the operating room with no choice but to let go. The anesthesia helped, too. When I woke up in the recovery room I was greeted with apple juice and a realization: I was fine. I would be constipated for the following seven days, prompting my aunt to light a candle in a church for me, but I was fine! Well, fine in the immediate sense. I would soon after go through a few months of intense cognitive behavioral therapywalking through the streets of Manhattan touching doorknobs and trash under the supervision of a medical professional. Then I had a few good years where the OCD was in check: I started dating the man who is now my husband, I graduated from college, I went to Guy Fieris Mt. Pocono Kitchen. I was on top of the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Until the OCD came sneaking back. Gradually, trying to get rid of the fruit flies in my apartment turned into hours cleaning and inspecting for bugs. Then we had a global pandemic where people were Cloroxing their groceries, and I became even more obsessed with disinfecting. Id wash my hands 30 times in a row after touching an outside world jacket just in case I didnt wash them the right way the 28th and 29th time. When we found out COVID was spread primarily through airborne droplets, it was too late for me. The handwashing had already extended over into compulsions that didnt even have anything to do with the virus. Every drawer needed to be closed in my apartment. I had to check my carbon monoxide alarm dozens of times before going to sleep. My studio apartment where I was 24/7 with my husband just became a soundstage for my OCD. A petri dish for my behaviors. Advertisement Advertisement I could feel my brain short-circuiting when I tried to complete even simple tasks like getting dressedI definitely washed these pants, right? Maybe I didnt actually do laundry yesterday and I imagined it. Best to put them in the dirty hamper. Every moment of my day I was beholden to my compulsions. So I finally agreed to start taking medication after some long conversations with my mom, my sister, and my best friendall of whom intervened independently of one another, which is when you know the situation is very dire. Advertisement I was afraid of taking medication. I didnt want to introduce another variable into my life. It just seemed like the OCD was a part of me. I felt like I had to ride it out. Ill be my normal self soon, I just kept saying. I believed in medication for other people, but I convinced myself that my OCD wasnt bad enough to warrant it. Ive always had a hard time admitting when I needed help. But I had to let go, just like I did the day I said goodbye to my appendix. Advertisement When you have OCD, its like everything sets off a fire alarm. The people you love can tell you theres no fire all they want, but when the alarm is still going off in your head, all you can focus on is escaping that burning buildingexcept what I was trying to escape was the can of soup that was definitely going to give me botulism. But now that Im on medication, the fire alarm is quieter. My SSRIwhich psychiatrists often prescribe for OCDallows me to sit with the discomfort of not fulfilling a compulsion. It makes the obsessive thoughts less sticky. I can finally go about my day and worry about normal things now, like, Do I look weird in this hat? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After a year on medication, Id be lying if I said I still didnt check the stove or check the front door lock, but it doesnt control my life anymore. Now I can actually enjoy a restaurant with my husband without some pestering thought about a crumb on the seat from the guest before. And Im so grateful to my husband, my parents, my sisters, and friends for being so involved in my life and noticing when something was wrong. Now, Ive gotten to know the Katherine who was buried underneath her buzzing thoughts for so long. The Katherine who loves to travel, who loves to cook, to explore, to see, to touch, to experience life and who, maybeafter a few Bell Auto School lessonswill love to drive. State of Mind is a partnership of Slate and Arizona State University that offers a practical look at our mental health systemand how to make it better. When I asked my husband, John, for his first reaction to the word Snoo, his shoulders tensed up. Its a word that defined a particularly vulnerable period for us: the first few months of our son Sams life. For the uninitiated, the Snoo is a $1,700 mechanized bassinet that claims to automatically respond to your babys fussing with white noise and rocking, movement triggered by your childs cries. The company that makes the Snoo, Happiest Baby, calls it a smart sleeper, and it also funnels data into an app for you to obsess over, if thats your thing. Essentially, it promises to help your baby sleep safely, and for longeran enticing offer when youre running on two hours of sleep and you have no idea what to do with the tiny person youre supposed to keep safe. We rented our Snoo, which at the time ran us $128 a month for four months. (These days, the price is up to $159.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Snoo didnt need instructions from us because in theory it was listening to Sambut John often slept with one eye open to see how well it was working. I think it helped Sam sleep longer, but honestly, its hard to quantify. Mostly it gave us, especially John, a kind of reassurance through data and technology and a system to follow. Still, is that peace of mind worth the price? How much does the Snoo actually do? On Sundays episode of What Next: TBD, I spoke with Kate Taylor, senior features correspondent for Business Insider, about how the makers of the Snoo sold comfort to new parents, and whether the product lives up to its promises. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. Advertisement The story of the Snoo begins with Harvey Karp: the Tom Brady of pediatricians. His 2002 book, The Happiest Baby on the Block, was a runaway bestseller. He became famous for his five Ss; techniques intended to help kids sleep: swaddling, shushing, swinging, side-lying, and sucking, as in sucking on a pacifier. When did Karp start to think about combining the five Ss into a product? According to Harvey Karp, inspiration struck after he was giving a lecture on SIDS [sudden infant death syndrome]. He basically came up with this idea to combine the five Ss with what we think prevents SIDS, which is keeping babies on their back. But, a lot of times babies on their back cant sleep well. They get really fussy; they hate it. So, this product keeps the baby on their back, but it also kind of swaddles them, shushes them, swings them, uses these five Ss to keep them on their back and actually make them fall asleep. Advertisement Advertisement Once a baby is tightly swaddled on their back, the Snoo responds to their cries by playing white noise or increasing a rocking motion. The bassinet itself is made of wood and white mesh. It stands on hairpin legs and it wouldnt look out of place in a modernist furniture store. Advertisement Its like if someone thought, OK, were going to create this trendy couch that everyones going to buy from Instagram, but we want to feel super high-tech. Something I found while researching this is that its been displayed in several museums since it was created. The Snoo is marketed a couple of different ways. One is as something that can help you prevent SIDS. Another is as a luxury product, used by celebrities. Do you find it interesting that there are these two very oppositional forces behind its marketing? Advertisement The marketing has this built-in weirdness. Theyve always said the Snoo was created because they wanted to prevent SIDS and create this life-saving devicebut it costs $1,700 if you arent doing the rental program. And what we know about SIDS is that it disproportionately impacts people who are not super well-off, people who do not have the money to spend that much on a new baby product. Advertisement Advertisement So its a weird balancing act that theyve tried to pull off where they have to say, This is lifesaving, everyone should have it, insurance maybe should cover it someday. But on the other hand, they are like, This is the biggest luxury in the world. Celebrities love it. Advertisement A big thing at the company is a lot of name-dropping. You have celebrity investors, you have celebrities who have used the Snoo. I found from employees that they basically had this thing where they would track celebrities who were pregnant and then find a way to get them free Snoos, where they just have employees drop them off at the house. It makes sense to want celebrities to do this marketing for you, but when youre saying that this is a device that should help all children, and probably is most useful for vulnerable children, its a hard balance to strike. Advertisement The marketing materials are definitely focused on preventing SIDS and on the idea that a Snoo means more sleepboth for the infant and for the parents. What does the evidence show? Advertisement The evidence is definitely not as conclusive as some of the marketing materials would lead you to believe. Happiest Baby has its own study, which has not been fully peer reviewed as a paper, that indicates it adds an hour or two of sleep at night. So what Happiest Baby is finding itself indicates that this can make a baby sleep more. However, we dont have a ton of independent peer-reviewed studies on this. Theres one that looks at sleep and says that the Snoo decreases fussiness but doesnt have a definitive outcome on if it makes baby sleep more. Advertisement Is there any evidence that it prevents SIDS? Happiest Babys own research on this says that it prevents behaviors that contribute to SIDS or other sleep-related deaths. So, parents say, Oh, if I have the Snoo, Im less likely to co-sleep, which is related to infant sleep-related deaths. But thats kind of the same with any bassinet. If you have to spend a bunch of money on a bassinet, youre less likely to have the baby in bed with you. Or they say, Oh, the babys more likely to sleep on their back if they have a Snoowhich is the same for a lot of other products that keep the baby on their back. Advertisement The Snoo is a luxury product. It costs a lot, even if you rent. There are add-onssleep sacks and swaddles and sheetsthat only work with the Snoo. How did people in the company talk to you about how the Snoo is positioned in the market of baby stuff? Advertisement It was interesting because a lot of people who I spoke with who worked at Happiest Baby had negative things to say about the company, but a lot of them believed that the Snoo could do some real good. And especially for those people, I think some were uncomfortable with how it was being presented: this kind of luxury, celebrity-focused marketing. I talked to some customer service employees who said that it was some employees jobs just to deal with influencers and celebrity clients. They were getting a different level of care than the average customer would, and that made people uncomfortable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What is the company culture at Happiest Baby? This is a company that came up with something that was genius. Theyve been able to see massive success, but if it were run by people who didnt micromanage the company, did not make employees feel uncomfortable, did not kind of create all of these weird surveillance tactics, they would be able to achieve so much more. People told me that the office cleaner was taking notes on when people are at their desk and when theyre going to the bathroom. It was a really, really wild level of surveillance that was extremely strange and really weighed on people and drove them out of the company. I had one person who said that she was summoned into the co-founders office and presented with this list of exactly when she had arrived in the office every morning down to the exact minute and then exactly how long she left for lunch on her 15-minute lunch break. Advertisement When negative reviews of the company appeared on the website Glassdoor, where people anonymously review their employers, workers were encouraged by the founders to write positive things about Happiest Baby. Advertisement Reviews are complaining about micromanagement and then employees were saying that the founders were micromanaging their response to this. Even with my article, we reached out for a comment, and instead of immediately addressing those concerns, we got dozens of responses supposedly from current and former employees at Happiest Babybut the names were all blacked out and we were not given the chance to talk to any of these employees. And then one of the employees who wrote that response reached out to me and said, Hey, please dont use a response if you get one from me. I felt like I had to say this companys great because if I didnt, I was worried I was going to lose my job. So it was definitely a feedback loop: When people had a hard time, they had nowhere to go because of the fear of upper management. Advertisement Advertisement What did the company say in response to your reporting? They denied a lot of the things Id heard from many, many employees, especially the conclusions that I drew. Around medical issues, they provided people who were working at the company who said that the concerns over babies struggling to transition away from the Snoo or it interfering with natural development were inaccurate. They said the concerns on the company culture were factually inaccurate. On SIDS, they said, Weve never claimed to prevent SIDS, which is interestingwhen you read the actual language on the site, you can say maybe it was not explicitly said, but there was some pretty aggressive linkage between the Snoo and SIDS. I was definitely a complete psycho in the early months of my sons life. But there is also this thing about technology where were so accustomed to letting tech into various parts of our lives nowso at least in 2020 when I had my son, it seemed weirdly natural that tech would be in my babys life, too. Im wondering whether there is some pushback against that ease, and if were a little more skeptical in 2023. Even in the short period of time that the Snoo has been on the market, I feel like American attitudes toward technology have changed somewhat. What do you think? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After reporting this out, I dont think that tech is necessarily a bad thing to introduce into infants lives. I think that the Snoo and other devices like it can have a lot of uses, but I do think that its good to have some skepticism. There are uses for this, it might help certain babies, but its not proven to prevent SIDS. Its not proven to increase sleep in all children. There are things that we need to remain skeptical of, where we can say, This can help certain childrenbut by allowing this hype to build and build and build, I think it makes it more difficult to understand what kids need and what parents need, and it feeds into these anxieties of, If I dont buy this, if I dont do this, Im failing my kid. I have seen these videos of Harvey Karpand theyre old, theyre probably late 90s Harvey Karpwalking in, holding babies, rocking them, shushing up close to their ear really loudly and it works; they fall asleep like instantaneously. Its really fascinating to think about the distance between Harvey Karp, pediatrician, his hands lovingly cradling a childthe intimacy of thatand then this mechanical bassinet rotating your child back and forth like they are a little astronaut about to blast off. Karps early stuff is almost uncomfortably hands-on when you watch it. Its so visceral. Its something that works, but when youre watching videos of it, it almost feels too intimate or too hands-on to see. That, versus the very sterile Snoo, is a departure. I think that Karp identified a very real problem, which is that parents feel pretty isolated a lot of the time. They feel like, Oh, I cant turn to other people in my community, my own parents, and have them help in a hands-on way. Harvey Karp basically said, Heres something that can be that extra set of hands. Instead of having grandparents living with you, maybe this is something that you can rely on to do that extra shift as a parent. He came up with the idea that a baby is in its fourth trimester after its born, and it needs that constant, hands-on, really womb-like environment. But instead of encouraging that to continue to be from parents or from caregivers, hes saying we can have a robot do it. Which isnt a terrible thing, but its a real departure from how he started out. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled You can now support Pisetskas family whose story The Slovak Spectator shares in the article below. Make a donation through Donio, a fundraising website that always hands over 100 percent of the raised amount. For Yulia Pisetska, a 53-year-old Ukrainian mother, the year she spent in the Syrian city of Aleppo before having to flee was filled with memories that she will never forget. Six months before the start of the Syrian Civil War, in early 2011, Yulias Syrian husband had bought a house in the city for their family after twelve years of hard work and saving up. But the family did not enjoy their new home for long. Several months after the war broke out, Yulia and her children left for Ukraine. She suddenly found herself looking after five children on her own after her husband, whom she met years earlier while living in Syria, decided to stay and died later in the armed conflict. Today, Pisetska says that Syria is a closed chapter for her, even though the memories of that war are a burden that is hard for her to relieve. At night, armed people broke into our flat and beat my husband around the head after a short fight in front of our children, the mother recalls. You sit under the table and realise that you cant do anything. Its a feeling of helplessness. Her husband was not killed in the attack at their home, but died later in the war. In the first months of the war in Syria, it was Yulias eldest son, Zakaria, who helped her with the other children and reassured her that everything would be fine. He was just 10 years old at the time. Several months into the war, a Ukrainian evacuation plane was sent to Syria to evacuate the family and other people from Aleppo, which by then was being destroyed in the fighting. I told my friends at the time that Ukraine would send a plane for us, but they laughed at me because they didnt believe me, Pisetska recalls. We were all considered Russian in Syria. She knows that she and her children were the lucky ones. For Syrian mothers with many children, it was difficult to escape the war. At that moment, I felt great pride in my country for not abandoning us, the mother says, confessing that she often cries when the Ukrainian national anthem is played. She explains that it makes her feel like the whole country stands by her. But a decade later, in February 2022, Pisetska found herself affected by war again, this time in her homeland, after Russia invaded Ukraine. She was forced to relive the experience of being shelling in Aleppo when in her hometown of Zaporizhzhia, a centre of the metallurgical industry in southeastern Ukraine, came under attack. Afraid of witnessing another occupation, she packed up her family and sought refuge abroad. The family chose Slovakia as a destination partly because her eldest son, Zakaria had already been studying in university there for three years, so knew the country and spoke the language. Yulia Pisetska hugs her son Hassan. (Source: Facebook/Slovak police) Another war In 2012, when her family returned to Ukraine from Syria, life was not easy in Zaporizhzhia. They lacked money and the family did not live in their own dwelling at first. They stayed at Pisetskas mothers house until they could save enough money to buy their own place. Her children held Ukrainian citizenship, spoke Russian and learnt English, which made their start in a new school easier. Even in Syria, they studied English and read books by torchlight if there was no electricity, the mother says. None of them, however, expected the events of February 24, 2022: Russias invasion of Ukraine, which forced them to flee their home for the second time. Living in the Ukrainian city, which is near the front line, Pisetska felt that the occupation was unavoidable. For me, the [prospect of] occupation is much scarier than the shelling, she maintains. But there was a hitch: she had to look after her sick mother in Ukraine, in addition to her children and several cats. This situation complicated her plans to relocate to a safe refuge on several occasions. It was impossible to go down to our shelter or flee with my mother, Pisetska explains. At the same time, she knew that she had to save her childrens lives. With my mother, I had no idea how it could be done. We didnt have a car, the mother explains. Evacuation trains were the only option. Her three teenagers Kenena, Luna and Muhammed were first sent to Lviv, western Ukraine, in March 2022. From Lviv, they headed to Slovakia to reunite with Zakaria, their older brother. Their journey to the Slovak border was difficult. The children spent two days travelling without any certainty that the border guards would let the underage children cross the border. According to their mother, The important thing was that they were alive. Using their English, at the border the children got to know Eduard Filo, head of the Slovak Association of Christian Youth Communities organisation. He helped get them to their final destination: Bratislava. Pisetska, together with her mother and her youngest son, Hassan, remained in Zaporizhzhia. Yulia Pisetska's children play with their dog. (Source: Facebook/Slovak police) Son in the spotlight Though Pisetska was 1,500 kilometres away from her children, she was still hesitant about relocating to Slovakia with her ill mother. On the other hand, Hassan missed his siblings very much. The children had been together all the time. Without brothers and sisters, Hassan was completely apathetic, the mother recalls. It would probably have been easier for him to survive if I had gone instead of them. She eventually agreed to send the 11-year-old by train to western Ukraine and then to Bratislava. As soon as he reached the Slovak border, the story of his journey captivated the worlds media. The mother, on the other hand, became the target of Ukrainian people on social media who criticised her for deciding to send her child unaccompanied on such a trip. I often replay the situation in my head and think whether I could have acted differently, the mother says. Im like a cat that carries her kittens to a safe place, one at a time. The trip was a huge test for her boy, the mother admits, but he was not poor or abandoned, as some media reports portrayed him. He was travelling with friends on the train, and he was constantly in touch by phone. Ukrainian volunteers helped him get to Uzhhorod, the main Ukrainian city on the border with Slovakia. Filo had received a photo of Hassan beforehand and was expecting him at the border, his mother explains. Hassan had a phone number written on his hand, something his mother had learnt during the civil war in Syria. I wrote that number on his hand because anything could happen on such a trip, Pisetska says today. Hassan crossed the border at Vysne Nemecke on March 5, with a small rucksack and a bag in his hands. In that bag, he wanted to bring sweets to Bratislava for his brothers and sisters, his mother laughs. The siblings had complained to him that the sweets in Slovakia were expensive. The story of this family touched many people around the world. Calls from Syria, Japan, China and other countries soon followed. The children even joined a live English broadcast twice, the mother claims. Pisetska believes that the story of her sons journey helped people to understand that it is important to support and help each other. Yulia Pisetska. (Source: Y. P.) Reunification Because the volunteers in Slovakia now knew about Pisetskas children, they began trying to evacuate her and her mother from Zaporizhzhia. The support of well-wishers and the happy ending to Hassans story gave her and her mother the strength to set out on the long journey. Accompanied by their dog, they boarded an evacuation train to Slovakia. Thats how we united with everyone, Pisetska explains. They are among more than 109,000 Ukrainian refugees who have been granted temporary refuge in Slovakia since early March 2022. In Slovakia, it was her son Zakaria who took care of all administrative and organisational issues, as he was fluent in Slovak after his three years of studies in the country. At first, they stayed in the town of Trencin, western Slovakia, for 10 days. Then people in Slovakia helped them find a flat in Bratislava. Their life is far from straightforward in the capital city, but it is at least peaceful. We live our lives but we dont know what tomorrow will bring, Pisetska says. Zakaria is continuing his studies at a Bratislava university, while Muhammed and his sisters Kenana and Luna, who are classmates, study at a local grammar school and at a Ukrainian school via the internet to practise their Ukrainian. Luna wants to return to Ukraine, but Hassan, who studies in the 7th grade at a Bratislava primary school, likes Slovakia, his mother says. Because of the events that her children have experienced in the past year, it is very difficult for them psychologically. They often fall ill, Pisetska says. She herself previously underwent major cancer surgery, so cannot work full-time. She and her older children take various temporary jobs to earn at least some money and to get by in Slovakia, where it is difficult for them to adapt to their new life given the uncertainty about events in Ukraine. Still, she has said that she is very grateful to those people who have helped them. Pisetska is also glad that the Slovak government has extended the housing compensation scheme for Ukrainian refugees until the end of May; without it, she would have to look for a new place to stay and be forced to find a full-time job, even though she is unsure that she would find one given her health issues and the fact that she needs to look after her ill mother. Having spent nearly a year in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, without having to fear for her and her childrens lives, she has only one wish in addition to returning to Ukraine one day. I dont want to be in such a situation ever again in my life. I fear occupation. Against all the odds, the Ukrainian mother is convinced that she and her family will eventually return to their home in Ukraine, and that they will be reunited with their cats. Twice we had to give up everything and run away, but its okay, Pisetska says. Life is the most important thing. Everything can start from scratch if people are alive. A well-fitting bra has many health benefits. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled "A woman wearing a bra that doesn't fit her is visible at first glance," says MARIAN TAR for the daily SME, one of the co-owners of the Attractiv stores, which sell underwear and offer professional bra fitting. "This is the reality of most Slovak women. Also, if you look carefully, you will find that most women walk while hunched. Often the reason is not that they are ashamed of their large or small breasts, but that they are wearing the wrong bra." Your store is dedicated to the sale of underwear, mainly offering bra-fitting and bras in brick-and-mortar stores. On social media, you also try to explain to women why it is important to choose a bra carefully. Have you ever encountered any hate over a man tackling this issue? Not at all. Well, I was a little hesitant when I first had the opportunity to come out of anonymity. I did so and thus far there has not been a single negative response to the fact that men are behind the Attractiv brand. One could say that it's interesting for marketing purposes. Even though men are behind the brand, you will not see us in stores or at a bra-fitting. There are only women in the stores. Ever since we opened a brick-and-mortar store, I realised that women really know very little about bras and sizing. Most of the time, they have no idea how to wear a bra correctly, how it should fit, what cut is suitable for certain breasts. There has been a lack of awareness on this topic for a long time, and women really have no way of knowing. Can an expert tell at first glance that a customer who has just entered the store is wearing the wrong size? A woman wearing a bra that doesn't fit her is visible at first glance. Highly pressed breasts, compressed breasts, breasts at the level of the belly or various other aesthetic imperfections are the reality of most Slovak women. Also, if you look carefully, you will find that most women walk while hunched. Often the reason is not that they are ashamed of their large or small breasts, but that they are wearing the wrong bra. And they know it subconsciously. What do you think are the biggest benefits of wearing a bra? A well-fitting bra has many health benefits. When breasts are large, heavy and lack support, women often experience pain in various parts of their body: neck, back, spine and even joints. It can also give you a headache. If a woman has the right bra, it forces her to straighten up a bit. Many times, customers return and say that when they bought the right bra, people around them immediately noticed their more upright, more confident posture. If breasts are not supported, they will start to fall. Many women think that if they have small breasts, they don't need a bra. That is a myth. Older customers also come to us, and most say that if someone could have told them when they were young how their breasts would look at old age, they would have not gone without a bra. Why is it that women know so little about bras? The capital has five people to help foreigners integrate. The assistance centre is housed in the former bus station on Bottova Street. (Source: Sme - Jozef Jakubco) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Not so long ago, the Slovak capital was a tri-lingual city. Much of its population up until the early inter-war period spoke Slovak, German, and Hungarian with some degree of fluency, reflecting the main ethnic communities in what was at the time a markedly cosmopolitan city. Slovak came to dominate in the years after the formation of the Czechoslovak Republic, though, and it was not until the fall of the communist regime in 1989 that a mix of foreign languages would be heard on the streets of the capital again as people from around the world began visiting, and sometimes settling in, the city. Today, there are 70,000 foreigners living in Bratislava, and its authorities are looking to make sure no one misses out on the benefits of having a multinational community. The trend from other European cities shows that Bratislava may benefit from integration [of foreigners], said Nina Spisiak, coordinator of a special team created by Bratislava city to help foreigners integrate. An influx of Ukrainians Bratislava Mayor Matus Vallo had pledged to pay more attention to the foreign community in Bratislava during his 2018 campaign for the mayoralty. But Spisiaks team was formed last spring after the massive influx of Ukrainians to the city as a result of the Russias full-scale invasion of Slovakias neighbour. Before that, there was the project Kapacity focusing on integration of foreigners in Bratislava. Spisiak says that when the team was created, the focus was certainly on the thousands of Ukrainians turning up in the city, but that even then, there was a plan that its agenda would be broader and would focus on foreign citizens of Bratislava in general, not just Ukrainian refugees. They say there is no rest for the weary and the good folks over at Royal Coffee dont appear to have any intention of slowing down any time soon. The Bay Area green coffee importer is coming in hot this week with two developments, and the coffee roasters out there may want to take note. First up is the triumphant return of Sourced: The Coffee Podcast. After publishing 35 episodes in season one, Royals podcast took an 11-month hiatus, but is back with a vengeance for season two. The first two episodes of sourced have recently been released, and they all about, well, sourcing. For episode one, Junior Trader Spencer Ford joins host and Royal CEO Max Nicholas-Fulmer to discuss Brazil and how the worlds leading coffee projects for 2023. Episode two shifts to Colombia, where Colombia green coffee buyer Amanda Amato and director of education Chris Kornman are joined by Natalia Mejia Colombian coffee importer Mastercol to discuss Colombias new wave of coffee culture. But for those who dont want to talk about green coffee but turn it brown, Royal Coffee has rolled out quite the deal. For a limited time, Royal is offering one free box of the Crown Jewelstheir 22lb boxes of super-specialty green coffee microlotswhen you buy five. And not just any free box, but a box of their most expensive Crown Jewel, the double-anaerobically fermented, wash processed coffee produced by Galo Morales of Finca Cruz Loma in Pichincha, Ecuador. Consisting of Typica and Sidra varieties, the experimentally processed coffee has flavors of mango, blackberry, and lemongrass, and a box of this particular Crown Jewel regularly costs a cool $375. But with an order of five boxes, you can have it for free. Just make sure to use the code CJ1475 at checkout. So whether you want to talk about green coffee or be about green coffee, theres something brewing at Royal for you. For more information or to catch up on past episodes of Sourced: The Coffee Podcast, visit Royal Coffees official website. Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/america-last-again-1107721146.html America Last Again America Last Again Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, have sounded the alarm and blasted the federal government for failing to do enough to address the public health crisis plaguing the region after Norfolk Southern decided to deal with a train derailment by torching huge quantities of vinyl chloride in early February. 2023-02-22T21:54+0000 2023-02-22T21:54+0000 2023-02-22T21:54+0000 ted rall cartoons joe biden donald trump ukraine crisis us military aid ohio /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/02/16/1107719299_0:0:2001:1125_1920x0_80_0_0_04c95f8694f7dff83c482fa54561cee4.jpg Many residents have questioned why US President Joe Biden has failed to visit the scene, as the commander-in-chief has instead elected to spend time with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev.The Mayor of East Palestine, Trent Conaway, said Monday he was furious that Biden is in the Ukraine giving billions of dollars to people over there and not to us.The presidents decision to visit Zelensky in Ukraine rather than Ohio was the biggest slap in the face, Conaway told Fox News, adding, that tells you right now he doesnt care about us.However, where Biden failed, another commander-in-chief has since delivered. With Biden away on foreign business, former US President Donald Trump turned out for the East Palestine community, bringing with him water bottles and a promise for improved conditions. Never one to refuse a dig at Biden, Trump told locals he hoped Biden returned from his European tour with "some money" left in the bank. ohio Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International east palestine, ohio, joe biden, public health crisis, norfolk southern https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/blinken-says-us-wants-to-avoid-causing-wider-conflagration-in-ukraine-conflict-1107747097.html Blinken Says US Wants to Avoid Causing Wider Conflagration in Ukraine Conflict Blinken Says US Wants to Avoid Causing Wider Conflagration in Ukraine Conflict The United States wants to avoid making any moves that could cause a wider conflagration in the conflict in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday. 2023-02-23T17:38+0000 2023-02-23T17:38+0000 2023-02-23T17:42+0000 world us ukraine /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/02/10/1107484962_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_7488f1b9961b85eba47c4a6a9adbfa61.jpg "President [Joe] Biden has been very clear from the start that our support for Ukraine is fundamental, that we're with him [Volodymyr Zelensky] for as long as it takes. but we also don't want to broaden this war and certainly do anything to create a wider conflagration," Blinken said during a virtual discussion hosted by The Atlantic. Blinken added that so far the United States has taken some risky steps that at some point were a concern of potentially escalating the Ukraine conflict but have not proven to be so far. The United States held off on providing Ukraine with US modern tanks to use amid Russia's special military operation over concerns it would escalate the conflict, but Biden gave the green light earlier this year. Kiev has long been asking the US and other NATO allies for F-16 fighter jets to use against Russia. Politico reported in January, citing sources, that a group of US military officials was quietly lobbying for the delivery of F-16s to Kiev and that it was gathering momentum in the US Defense Department amid Ukraine's preparations for a planned offensive this spring. In January, Biden said "no" when asked whether the United States was considering sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230219/us-fuels-ukrainian-crisis-while-trying-to-slander-russia-envoy-says-1107588087.html ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International conflict in ukraine, ukrianian crisis, antony blinken https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/china-concerned-over-us-getting-access-to-4-more-military-bases-in-philippines-1107747365.html China Concerned Over US Getting Access to 4 More Military Bases in Philippines China Concerned Over US Getting Access to 4 More Military Bases in Philippines China is concerned over the fact that the United States got access to four new military bases in the Philippines and views Washington as the biggest destabilizing actor in the region, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said on Thursday. 2023-02-23T17:47+0000 2023-02-23T17:47+0000 2023-02-23T17:47+0000 military us china philippines us military presence /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/107733/50/1077335097_0:0:3185:1791_1920x0_80_0_0_8f14db1fd7bece279d9381085882085c.jpg In early February, the US and the Philippines agreed to expand the US' access to four more military bases in the Philippines as part of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), thus, bringing the total number of EDCA sites to nine. The US is constantly trying to increase its military presence in the region, which leads to the crisis of trust and tensions, according to Tan. "It once again proves that the US is the most dangerous factor and the biggest source of chaos that increases regional tensions and undermines regional peace and stability," the spokesman added. The United States and the Philippines signed the EDCA in 2014. It is the first substantial military agreement between the two countries since the 1990s. One of the deal's primary purposes is to counter China's growing influence in the South China Sea and ensure the availability of US troops in the country to help respond to natural disasters. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230216/why-is-the-us-militarizing-the-philippines-1107506192.html china philippines Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International us military presence near china, us bases in philippines, china concerned by us military presence Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) All four passengers of the Cessna plane that crashed near Mayon Volcanos crater in Albay were confirmed dead, an official said Thursday, days after the aircraft went missing and search operations were launched. Camalig Mayor Carlos Irwin Baldo confirmed to CNN Philippines that the bodies of the two Filipino crew members and two Australian nationals were located Wednesday afternoon. Authorities earlier identified those onboard as pilot Capt. Rufino James T. Crisostomo Jr., crewman Joel G. Martin both employees of local geothermal firm Energy Development Corporation (EDC) and the company's Australian technical consultants Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam. According to Baldo, the retrieval team that climbed the slopes of the volcano is expected to finish bringing down the remains today. He said additional responders were deployed late Wednesday night to assist in the retrieval operation, which considering the rough terrain is estimated to take a total of 12 hours. It includes the trek to and from the crash site. In a press briefing, the mayor said 179 people have been deployed including mountaineers, uniformed personnel, and local officials although he clarified not all have joined the hike. The aircraft took off from Bicol International Airport for Manila at 6:43 a.m. on Saturday and lost contact with the air traffic control at 6:46 a.m. It was located a day after, with aviation authorities positively identifying the wreckage on Tuesday in a restricted zone on the volcano, which is currently under Alert Level 2 or moderate unrest. RELATED: Weather, terrain hamper operations for Cessna plane crash in Mayon Officials said the families of the victims have already been notified of the news. The EDC also issued a statement mourning the deaths of its personnel. We stand in compassion and deep sorrow with the families of our fallen Kapamilyas [colleagues] in this unthinkable tragedy. We are working with authorities to bring them home to their loved ones where they may rest in peace, the company wrote. Investigation into the cause of the crash is ongoing. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) earlier said the Cessna may have gone off track, noting it is less likely that the cause of the incident was aircraft failure or lack of experience of the pilot. CAAP Deputy Director General for Operations Edgardo Diaz said the plane was issued a certificate of airworthiness, and the pilot was a veteran. Meanwhile, officials at the press briefing said the crashed Cessna did not have a black box or a flight data recorder on board because it did not meet weight requirements to be equipped with one. The black box is installed in an aircraft to aid authorities in the investigation of aviation accidents. It logs flight path, altitude, airspeed, engine temperature, and radio transmissions and sounds made in the cockpit. Ang black box, required depende sa number of passengers sa aircraft, Albay Public Safety Emergency Management Office Chief Cedric Daep told CNN Philippines Balitaan on Thursday. Daep added: Ang sabi diyan ng mga piloto, saka ng CAAP na kinonsult natin wala naman daw pong black box ang Cessna plane." [Translation: A black box is required depending on the number of passengers in an aircraftWe consulted with pilots and the CAAP and they said the Cessna did not have one.] It was the second recent crash involving a Cessna plane in the country. Another one reported missing in Isabela in January has not yet been found. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/chinese-foreign-ministry-urges-washington-to-tell-truth-about-nord-stream-explosions-1107741390.html Chinese Foreign Ministry Urges Washington to Tell Truth About Nord Stream Explosions Chinese Foreign Ministry Urges Washington to Tell Truth About Nord Stream Explosions The US intelligence information about alleged supplies of Chinese weapons to Russia is nothing but slander, Washington had better share true data on the explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Thursday. 2023-02-23T13:29+0000 2023-02-23T13:29+0000 2023-02-23T13:29+0000 nord stream sabotage russia nord stream china us gas pipeline /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/05/11/1082913703_0:0:3072:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_0ee620814dcdd43084bd90cbaabe26f3.jpg On Sunday, US State Secretary Antony Blinken said that China mulled the possibility of providing "lethal" military assistance to Russia, including either weapons or ammunition, adding that until now, private Chinese firms have provided Russia with only "non-lethal" support. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said that it was the United States, not China, who was pumping the Ukraine conflict with arms. The Kremlin, in turn, said Beijing had resolutely denied allegations about China's plans to help Russia with the supply of weapons and there is nothing to add to the matter. From the very beginning of the Ukrainian conflict, China has firmly spoke in favor of dialogue and peace. In its own way, Beijing sought peace and advocated negotiations, played a constructive role in mitigating the situation and resolving the crisis, the diplomat added. Meanwhile, the European Commission on Thursday refrained from commenting on the investigation by journalist Seymour Hersh that directly connects the explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines with the US, saying it is not aware of any details.Last September 2022, blasts hit 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. Germany, Denmark, and Sweden launched separate investigations into the incident. Earlier in February, Pulitzer Prize-winning US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a report saying that US Navy divers during NATO Baltops exercises in the summer of 2022 had planted explosives to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines, which Norway activated three months later. The report added that US President Joe Biden had decided to sabotage the Nord Streams after more than nine months of secret discussions with the national security team. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/cover-up-worse-than-crime-silence-around-hershs-bombshell--ominous-gulf-of-tonkin-parallels-1107715904.html russia china Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International nord stream explosions, nord stream sabotage, nord stream 1, nord stream 2, nord stream ag, us blasted nord stream, wang wenbin on nord stream https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/delivery-of-us-abrams-tanks-to-ukraine-may-take-up-to-1-year-or-more---army-secretary-1107750806.html Delivery of US Abrams Tanks to Ukraine May Take Up to 1 Year or More - Army Secretary Delivery of US Abrams Tanks to Ukraine May Take Up to 1 Year or More - Army Secretary The delivery of US-made Abrams tanks to Ukraine may take up to a year or even more, despite Kiev's ongoing calls to speed up the process, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said Thursday. 2023-02-23T19:57+0000 2023-02-23T19:57+0000 2023-02-23T19:57+0000 military m1a2 abrams ukraine crisis deployment us military aid /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/01/19/1106700896_0:176:2001:1301_1920x0_80_0_0_87bb47876fe594fcbf65d967bc6ab654.jpg "Its not going to be a matter of weeks; I will say that. None of the options that were exploring are weeks or two months. There are longer timelines involved. But I think there are options that are less than two years, less than a year and a half," Wormuth was quoted by CNN as saying during a Defense Writers Group event. The secretary added that it is still unclear whether the tanks will be delivered by the end of the year. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is being presented with different options, including building Abrams tanks "from scratch" for Ukraine, which is typically not the most preferable option, according to the report. The United States is also mulling sending Abrams tanks to Ukraine that were previously sold to other countries, but this option would entail disrupting relations with important allies, according to Wormuth. Western countries have been supplying Ukraine with various types of weapons systems, including air defense missiles, multiple launch rocket systems, tanks, self-propelled artillery, and anti-aircraft guns since Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine a year ago. In January, Germany committed to sending 14 Leopard 2A6 tanks to Kiev. The United States said it would send Ukraine 31 Abrams tanks and eight M88 recovery vehicles, noting however that delivery would take considerable time. Poland said it could send 14 Leopard 2 tanks, with Kiev's other allies also promising to chip in. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230218/kirby-unaware-of-abrams-tank-procurement-status-but-hints-process-could-take-many-months-1107560243.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International abrams tanks, ukraine, ukraine conflict, christine wormuth, https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/dems-up-in-arms-about-mccarthy-allegedly-giving-41000-hour-jan-6-footage-to-conservative-pundit-1107740870.html Dems Up in Arms About McCarthy Allegedly Giving 41,000-Hour Jan. 6 Footage to Conservative Pundit Dems Up in Arms About McCarthy Allegedly Giving 41,000-Hour Jan. 6 Footage to Conservative Pundit House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been subjected to harsh criticism by top Congressional Democrats for allegedly giving access to the Capitol breach footage to... 23.02.2023, Sputnik International 2023-02-23T14:01+0000 2023-02-23T14:01+0000 2023-02-23T14:01+0000 analysis us january 6 kevin mccarthy gop house gop us house select committee donald trump insurrection /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/06/11/1096408596_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_0f0d76e4bfcdc3abd64610e42bf678e4.jpg Scandal erupted on the Capitol Hill over reports alleging that the GOP House speaker provided US journalist Tucker Carlson and his team with 41,000 hours of Capitol surveillance footage from the January 6, 2021 protests.House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the alleged move an "egregious security breach," while Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer insisted that Kevin McCarthy is "needlessly exposing the Capitol complex to one of the worst security risks since 9/11."It appears that Democratic members of the now defunct January 6 Select Committee feel especially disheartened. The committee's chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson, said in an official statement: "If Speaker McCarthy has indeed granted Tucker Carlson a Fox host who routinely spreads misinformation and Putin's poisonous propaganda and his producers access to this sensitive footage, he owes the American people an explanation of why he has done so and what steps he has taken to address the significant security concerns at stake."41,000 Hours of FootageIt was Axios who broke that Carlson TV producers were on Capitol Hill last week to begin examining the 41,000-hour trove, which includes multiple camera angles from all over the Capitol grounds. According to the media, excerpts may begin airing in the coming weeks.In the wake of the report, Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene praised McCarthy's alleged move: "For all of you that doubted we would release the tapes. Here you go! I'm very happy to be right again in my support for Kevin McCarthy as our Speaker. Americans deserve to see the truth, not a one sided narrative and unfair two tiered justice system," she tweeted on February 20.The US media reported last month that the release of the full footage of the Capitol protests was one of the promises McCarthy made to his MAGA opposition in order to win the speaker's gavel. The speaker was also quoted by the Washington Times as saying: "I think the public should see what happened on that day." According to McCarthy, the January 6 protests have been heavily politicized by the Democratic majority in the US Congress. "We watched the politicization of this. I think the American public should actually see what happened instead of a report that's written on a political basis," McCarthy said.From 9/11-Style Commission to January 6 Select CommitteeFollowing the January 6, 2021 breach of the Capitol, the Democratic Party attempted to create an independent 9/11-style commission to look into what they called the "insurrection" on Capitol Hill. Even though the House of Representatives passed the January 6 panel bill in May 2021, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell axed the endeavor, stressing that the proposed commission would duplicate law enforcement and congressional efforts underway to investigate the roots of the DC protests.In response, House Dems formed the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack in July 2021 which had only two Republicans on board, with both of them long known for their criticism of ex-President Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement. The committee was strongly criticized by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who said at the time that "Republicans will not be party to [Pelosi's] sham process and will instead pursue our own investigation of the facts."Republicans have repeatedly lambasted the Democratic-dominated January 6 select committee for politicization of the riots and attempts to smear protesters as "domestic terrorists." US conservative pundits called upon the committee to release the full footage of the protests instead of cherry-picking videos showing rows and clashes between the Capitol Police and protesters.Was It an FBI Trap?American conservative pundits drew attention to various videos popping up on the Internet allegedly showing that Capitol policemen in some instances voluntarily let the crowd in or encouraged some of the protesters to enter the building. This prompted some US investigative journalists to suggest that the protesters were deliberately set up. They also suggested that there were FBI provocateurs within the crowd who sought to smear Trump supporters and the MAGA movement in general.On September 29, 2021 The New York Times reported that an FBI informant marched into the Capitol on January 6, 2021, which to some extent echoed US conservatives' suspicions. The piece revealed that the agency actually had at least a couple of informants in right-wing groups on the ground who claimed that there was no plan in advance to enter the Capitol. Still, some US investigative journalists insisted that there could have been more than two FBI infiltrators in the crowd. They argued that the release of all video evidence in possession of the Congress and law enforcement officers could shed more light on this.Meanwhile, the FBI and DoJ have been criticized by Republican lawmakers for cracking down on January Sixers and using excessive force against them. An FBI whistleblower stepped forward last year accusing the agency of the apparent misuse of SWAT teams that were sent to raid American protesters not accused of violent crimes and having no criminal record.The US conservative press has drawn attention to multiple instances of MAGA Americans receiving draconian treatment for participating in the January 6 protests. Thus, Richard Barnett, an Arkansas man who was photographed putting his legs on then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's desk, got a 47-year prison sentence. Time will tell whether the January footage will really see the light of day and help sort out the controversy surrounding the Capitol breach. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230124/47-year-jail-time-for-boots-on-pelosis-desk-how-january-sixers-got-draconian-treatment-1106656996.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20211011/glaring-anomalies-why-6-january-insurrection-case-peddled-by-dems-doesnt-hold-water-1089832641.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20211217/observers-theres-no-low-jan-6th-committee-unwilling-to-sink-to-in-crafting-insurrection-story-1091603457.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230120/under-biden-federal-agencies-turned-into-instrument-of-intimidation-fbi-whistleblower-says-1106516720.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Ekaterina Blinova Ekaterina Blinova News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ekaterina Blinova kevin mccarthy, 41,000-hour footage from january 6 protests, tucker carlson got jan 6 footage, january sixers, select committee on january 6 attack, fbi and doj investigation of january 6 attack, misuse of swat teams to arrest january sixers, capitol riots, capitol rioters, january 6 insurrection https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/germanys-wintershall-dea-says-completely-wrote-off-its-share-in-nord-stream-after-blasts-1107736270.html Germany's Wintershall Dea Says Completely Wrote Off Its Share in Nord Stream After Blasts Germany's Wintershall Dea Says Completely Wrote Off Its Share in Nord Stream After Blasts German energy company Wintershall Dea said on Thursday that it had completely written off its share in the Nord Stream project after the blasts at the gas pipelines. 2023-02-23T11:07+0000 2023-02-23T11:07+0000 2023-02-23T11:07+0000 nord stream sabotage russia germany nord stream nord stream ag nord stream 2 nord stream 1 /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/07/08/1097116390_0:130:2501:1536_1920x0_80_0_0_ebd8c7b47b157e7bff7f2d0ee239f4e2.jpg "Due to the geopolitical situation, it is impossible to predict the timing and costs of restoring the gas transmission infrastructure and, consequently, Wintershall Dea has written off its investment in full," the company said in a statement.In September 2022, underwater blasts occurred at three of the four strings of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 underwater pipelines built to carry a combined 110 billion cubic meters of Russian gas to Europe annually. Germany, Denmark, and Sweden launched separate investigations into the incident.On February 8, Pulitzer Prize-winning US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh published a report saying that US Navy divers had planted explosives to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines during NATO Baltops exercises in the summer of 2022. Norway activated the bombs three months later, according to the journalist. The US government has repeatedly denied its involvement in the sabotaging of the Russian pipelines, while the Russian government has demanded an open investigation. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230216/new-corroborating-evidence-emerges-showing-us-trace-behind-nord-stream-blasts-1107514989.html russia germany Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International nord stream sabotage, nord stream explosion, russian gas pipeline, germany, wintershall dea, nord stream 1, nord stream 2, nord stream ag https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/government-severely-downplaying-scale-of-chemical-disaster-911-victims-lawyer-says-1107737859.html Government Severely Downplaying Scale of Chemical Disaster, 9/11 Victims' Lawyer Says Government Severely Downplaying Scale of Chemical Disaster, 9/11 Victims' Lawyer Says Despite investing hundreds of billions of dollars via the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, dozens of trains in the US continue to derail every year, resulting... 23.02.2023, Sputnik International 2023-02-23T15:33+0000 2023-02-23T15:33+0000 2023-02-23T15:34+0000 americas train derailment ohio biden administration pete buttigieg toxic chemicals railroad train accident chemical leak /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/02/17/1107724494_0:111:2138:1314_1920x0_80_0_0_eedeb7b4a3541452aec84be632083910.jpg "Ive seen the pictures of the bubbling in the water. Ive seen the pictures of the dead animals. I wouldnt drink that water, would you?" Michael Barasch, a 9/11 Ground Zero victims' attorney, told American media.The lawyer warned of an impending mass outbreak of cancer in the affected population as a result of the massive derailment of a train transporting chemicals in Ohio. He also urged not to be swayed by claims of government agencies that there is no danger, advising them to fight for their rights and protect themselves. One of the components carried by the ill-fated train, vinyl chloride, has previously been linked to the development of various cancerous tumors.A train derailment near the town of East Palestine, Ohio, on February 3 caused massive pollution, as the train was carrying hazardous chemicals. For some three weeks now, the Department of Transportation's leadership, headed by Pete Buttigieg, has been criticized in the media for failing to act . On February 21, the head of the department said he plans to visit the site of the tragedy, but has so far not given a specific date for the trip, although he regularly appears at a variety of public events.The train was carrying about 1.1 million pounds of vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate, isobutylene, and other highly hazardous chemicals. Lawyer Michael Barasch, who has helped thousands of 9/11 victims get medical treatment, criticized claims by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the water was drinkable and the air in the area was safe.This all comes against the backdrop of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal, in place since November 2021, which has been touted by President Joe Biden as one of the most ambitious infrastructure renewal projects in US history. Designed among other things to renew rail infrastructure with billions of dollars in investment, thousands of train accidents continue to occur in the US every year, including more than a dozen major accidents in the past year. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230215/ohio-residents-bear-witness-to-environmental-disaster-cover-up-1107469360.html americas ohio Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International train derailment, ohio, biden administration, pete buttigieg, toxic chemicals, railroad, train accident, chemical leak https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/greece-not-supplying-s-300-air-defense-systems-to-kiev-despite-us-requests-defense-minister-says-1107734934.html Greece Not Supplying S-300 Air Defense Systems to Kiev Despite US Requests, Defense Minister Says Greece Not Supplying S-300 Air Defense Systems to Kiev Despite US Requests, Defense Minister Says Athens will not supply S-300 air defense missile systems to Ukraine, despite the United States' relevant requests, as this would weaken Greece's defense, the country's Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos told media. 2023-02-23T10:18+0000 2023-02-23T10:18+0000 2023-02-23T10:19+0000 military greece ukraine s-300 /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/105471/75/1054717591_0:314:3073:2042_1920x0_80_0_0_fc316c3e7295d793d9a09ce2683a3932.jpg When asked if US State Secretary Antony Blinken had requested the sending of military equipment, including S-300 systems, to Ukraine during his recent trip to Greece earlier this week, Panagiotopoulos said that Washington had long asked Athens to supply S-300 systems to Ukraine. "But we said that we could not grant this request because we could in no way provide any assistance by weakening our defenses. S-300s are where they are. They were bought and arrived in Greece for certain reasons, and as long as these reasons exist, we are not going to agree to any weakening of our defense system," Panagiotopoulos said. The technical maintenance of missiles for the air defense systems "will not be an easy task," the minister said, noting that this applies to all weapons systems of Russian or Soviet production. "Because not only S-300s are deployed on the islands, but also some short-range air defense systems, these are infantry fighting vehicles. We gave 20 infantry fighting vehicles we have to Ukraine in exchange with the Germans, we received more modern and, therefore, more suitable for our needs German-made armored vehicles. There are 20 more to give. In any case, it is becoming increasingly difficult to maintain these systems," the defense head said. Greece acquired the S-300 air defense missile systems from Cyprus. They are currently deployed in Crete. In the 1990s, Greece acquired a significant number of Soviet and Russian-made weapons complexes, including air defense systems S-300 and Tor, as well as different anti-tank missiles and infantry fighting vehicles. The US has been urging Greece, as a NATO member, to replace these weapons with US-made systems. greece ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International greece's aid to ukraine, will greece send s-300 to ukraine, greek aid to kiev https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/holy-see-sultanate-of-oman-announce-establishment-of-diplomatic-relations-1107749963.html Holy See, Sultanate of Oman Announce Establishment of Diplomatic Relations Holy See, Sultanate of Oman Announce Establishment of Diplomatic Relations The Holy See and Oman announced on Thursday the establishment of diplomatic relations. 2023-02-23T18:48+0000 2023-02-23T18:48+0000 2023-02-23T18:48+0000 world vatican oman diplomatic relations /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/08/12/1099737881_0:161:3066:1886_1920x0_80_0_0_c5a59176173e18366b8ed09aff34ee47.jpg "The Holy See and the Sultanate of Oman ... Have decided to establish, on the basis of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 18 April 1961, full diplomatic relations at the level of an Apostolic Nunciature to the Sultanate of Oman and of an Embassy to the Holy See," a joint statement read. Diplomatic relations are being established out of mutual desire of "promoting mutual understanding and further strengthening friendship and cooperation." Oman has become the 184th state with which the Holy See maintains diplomatic relations. vatican oman Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International vatican, oman, diplomatic relations https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/idf-confirms-six-rockets-intercepted-in-southern-israel-as-projectiles-1107723870.html Video: IDF Confirms Iron Dome Intercepted Five Rockets Launched From Gaza Strip Video: IDF Confirms Iron Dome Intercepted Five Rockets Launched From Gaza Strip Six rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel early Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces has confirmed. 2023-02-23T02:27+0000 2023-02-23T02:27+0000 2023-02-23T03:42+0000 world israel gaza strip rockets rocket strikes /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/05/10/1082911748_0:8:3078:1739_1920x0_80_0_0_a941f2f179aefe30018dd46958dced1e.jpg Six rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel early Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces has confirmed.The Israeli force detailed that of the six rockets launched from Gaza, five were downed by the Iron Dome missile defense system. The sixth projectile was said to have fallen in an open area.Air raid sirens initially sounded along cities situated along the Gazan borders, such as in Ashkelon and Sderot. Early reports suggested explosions had been heard in the region.Footage emerging on social media offered insight into the early morning incidents.The latest round of rocket volley came hours after Israeli officials gave the greenlight for yet another West Bank raid, which ended with the death of 10 Palestinians and dozens of others sustaining injuries.The Israeli military earlier stated that Wednesday's operation had only killed three "terrorists" who were part of a militant group that recently carried out shooting attacks against Israeli citizens. The rare daytime raid was held in the West Bank city of Nablus.The recent operation has drawn condemnation and highlighted a pattern by the Israeli military, which in January marked one of its deadliest raid operations in the West Bank after multiple Palestinians were killed. israel gaza strip Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International israel defense forces, iron dome, interception, rocket launch, gaza strip, southern israel https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/israel-defense-forces-says-currently-striking-in-gaza-1107725580.html Israel Defense Forces Says Currently Striking in Gaza Israel Defense Forces Says Currently Striking in Gaza The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it is striking in the Gaza Strip. 2023-02-23T04:48+0000 2023-02-23T04:48+0000 2023-02-23T05:47+0000 world israel idf israeli defense forces (idf) gaza strip airstrike /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/02/17/1107725673_0:0:3275:1842_1920x0_80_0_0_3f997ec52d511db3133709110177ce58.jpg "Initial report The IDF is currently striking in Gaza. Details to follow," the IDF said on Twitter. The Israeli military also said it had conducted a strike on a Hamas arms production facility in the Gaza Strip."IAF fighter jets struck both a weapons manufacturing site and military compound belonging to the Hamas Terrorist Organization, located in central and northern Gaza," the IDF wrote on Twitter.Earlier, the IDF said five out of six rockets fired from Gaza toward Israel had been intercepted.Relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority have been adversarial since the founding of Israel in 1948. Palestinians seek diplomatic recognition of their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which is partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government refuses to recognize the Palestinian Authority as an independent political and diplomatic entity, and builds settlements in the occupied areas despite objections from the United Nations. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/idf-confirms-six-rockets-intercepted-in-southern-israel-as-projectiles-1107723870.html israel gaza strip Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International idf striking in gaza, israel fires rockets at gaza, israeli conflict with palestinians in gaza EU's New Sanctions Unlikely to Target Russia's Nuclear, Diamond Industries, Reports Say Russia's nuclear energy and diamond industries will not be targeted by the the European Union's 10th sanctions package against Moscow due to opposition from Hungary and several other EU member states, media reported. Proposals put forward by Poland and Baltic states to impose sanctions against Russia's nuclear industry were rejected by Hungary, a country that depends on cooperation with Moscow in this area, a Spanish newspaper said, adding that a number of other EU states, including France, Bulgaria and Belgium, were also against sanctioning Russian nuclear and diamond industries. Meanwhile, US media reported, citing three diplomats, that the countries opposed to immediate sanctions against Russian nuclear industry due to their dependence on imports are working to find alternative suppliers. In the event restrictions are adopted in the 10th package, these countries would reportedly be given a loophole to continue importing fuel so long as they need it. Earlier in the week, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Budapest would not support any sanctions that would limit its nuclear cooperation with Russia. Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom is one of the world's leading companies in nuclear energy and sanctions against it could threaten global nuclear security, Hungary's top diplomat said. On Wednesday, media reported that the European Union failed to agree on the 10th sanctions package against Russia, with negotiations on this issue expected to continue on Thursday. All 27 EU member states have to approve these measures for them to go into effect. The new sanctions package is expected to introduce export restrictions worth 10 billion euros ($10.6 billion), intending to damage Russia's military and technological industry, according to Spanish media. In addition to new trade restrictions, the EU is also discussing measures aimed to improve the implementation of sanctions. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) Sen. Bato dela Rosa on Thursday said he believes the International Criminal Courts (ICC) probe on the alleged human rights violations during the Duterte administrations drug war will lead nowhere, reiterating it has no jurisdiction after the Philippines withdrew from the international tribunal in 2019. Wala patutunguhan talaga, Dela Rosa told CNN Philippines The Source. Respetuhin nila yung ating foreign policy pagdating sa bagay na yan dahil nga ayaw na nga ng ating gobyerno, umalis na nga tayo sa ICC so, as I see it, [it's] deadlock. [Translation: It will go nowhere. They should respect our foreign policy when it comes to that thing especially because our government already refused, we also already left the ICC, so as I see it, it's a deadlock.] After the ICCs pre-trial chamber approved the resumption of the drug war probe, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Saturday that he cannot cooperate with the investigation since the Philippines is a sovereign nation and we are not colonies anymore of these former imperialists. The former police chief, who was earlier named in a report by the ICC prosecutor, said he expected this stand from the chief executive. Dela Rosa said the Court has yet to coordinate with him. He earlier mentioned that he had tapped fellow Sen. Francis Tolentino to be his counsel. According to Dela Rosa, he last discussed the matter with former President Rodrigo Duterte in December, who just laughed at it. The senator also maintained that countrys justice system is enough to give justice to the victims. READ: PNP maintains SOP followed in examination of Kian Delos Santos body https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/long-arm-of-deterrence-how-far-can-russias-nuclear-tipped-rockets-reach-1107739638.html Long Arm of Deterrence: How Far Can Russias Nuclear-Tipped Rockets Reach? Long Arm of Deterrence: How Far Can Russias Nuclear-Tipped Rockets Reach? President Putin caused a stir this week after freezing Russias participation in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. What kinds of nuclear delivery systems does Russia have to guarantee global deterrence? Sputnik explores. 2023-02-23T16:48+0000 2023-02-23T16:48+0000 2023-02-23T17:53+0000 nuclear missile nuclear weapons nuke russia us sputnik explains /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/102494/54/1024945482_0:125:2000:1250_1920x0_80_0_0_23401407e60bb66eeaacd3a391e3a9e2.jpg Russia suspended its participation in New START Wednesday following President Vladimir Putins announcement this week that Washingtons desire to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia and to help Ukraine launch long-range drone attacks against the bases of Russian strategic aviation were incompatible with the Pentagons desire to ramp up inspections of Russian defense facilities.In a separate address on the occasion of the Defender of the Fatherland Day holiday Thursday, Putin announced that Russia would pay increased attention to strengthening the country's nuclear triad, including through the deployment of a new ultra-long range ballistic missile, the development and production of new hypersonic missiles, and the commissioning of a new ballistic missile submarine.What Were the Origins of the Missile Race?The appearance of the first surface-to-surface nuclear missiles in the early 1950s reduced the critical role played by heavy strategic bombers in assuring nuclear deterrence. By the 1970s, US and Soviet military planners had received a wide assortment of terrifying new nuclear delivery means. These included tactical, or battlefield, nuclear weapons with a range of 500 km or below, which, as the name suggests, were designed to be used in land battles in Europe or Asia if the Cold War turned hot. Short-range ballistic missiles travel less than 1,000 km, medium-range ballistic missiles travel between 1,000 and 3,000 km, intermediate-range ballistic missiles can fly between 3,000 and 5,500 km, while intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) travel 5,500 km or more.What Kinds of Nuclear Missiles Are There?Missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons are divided into two main types ballistic and cruise. Ballistic missiles are propelled into the atmosphere via one or more rocket rotors, and, after reaching the right altitude, fall downward toward their target with the help of gravity along a long arc, known as a ballistic flight path.Many modern ballistic missiles are fitted with maneuverable warheads or dummy targets to obscure or overwhelm enemy air defenses, but the more basic among them carry out a flight path that theoretically makes it possible for them to be targeted and intercepted using anti-missile missiles, lasers, and other cutting-edge weapons.Cruise missiles use onboard propulsion systems and inertial guidance or satellite-based navigation systems in flight, and tend to fly along much straighter, lower altitude paths than their ballistic cousins, often maneuvering and cruising low to the ground to avoid enemy air defenses, hence the name.What Kinds of Missiles Does Russia Have?Russia has a wide variety of nuclear-capable missile systems at its disposal, from the Iskander, a short-range ballistic missile system with an operational range of between 50 and 415 km, to the Kalibr, a sea-launched anti-ship and land attack cruise missile with an operational range between 50 and 4,500 km. Also in Russias arsenal are the Kh-55, an air-launched subsonic cruise missile with an operational range between 300 and 2,500 km, and its upgrade the Kh-101/102, which has a range of up to 5,500 km.The longer-range missiles in Russias arsenal include the submarine-launched R-29 Vysota and Bulava missiles, which have ranges of 6,500 and 8,300 km, respectively, and a series of ground mobile and silo-based missiles: the RS-24 Yars (range - 10,500 km), Topol-M (range - 11,000 km), R-36 (range - 16,000 km), and RS-28 Sarmat (range - 18,000 km).Russias size and geographical location vis-a-vis potential adversaries means missiles with a range of 6,000 km or more are often enough to assure deterrence. For example, Bulava-armed nuclear submarines patrolling in the White or Barents Seas have a range sufficient to target much of the US East Coast, while those patrolling in the Pacific can reach any point on the US West Coast. Sarmats stationed in Uzhur or Dombarovskiy, deep behind the Urals, have a range sufficient to strike virtually any point on Earth in the event of an attack against Russia.Can Russian Missiles Get Past US Missile Defenses?After pulling out of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Treaty in late 2001, the United States began developing new anti-missile systems only to protect against so-called rogue states, officials assured. Russia decided to test the sincerity of Washingtons words, proposing the creation of a joint missile defense system in Azerbaijan in 2007. The US rejected the proposal, and ramped up its efforts to deploy missile defense components in Eastern Europe.Central to US military planners calculations is a concept known as Prompt Global Strike, an ambitious Pentagon initiative involving the use of massed precision conventional air and missile strikes aimed at disarming a nuclear-armed rival on short notice. The plan calls for a surprise massed decapitation strike, and for missile defense systems to be used to pick off any enemy missiles launched in retaliation to US aggression. Concocted in the mid-2000s, the PGS concept has continued to be actively pursued by successive administrations, and financed to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars every year.Concerns about US military planners attempts to declaw Russias nuclear deterrent have been a key factor motivating Moscow's creation of new strategic weapons, including hypersonic missiles, glide vehicles, and autonomous underwater and air-based cruise missile systems with an unlimited range.Virtually all of Russias efforts toward modernizing its strategic deterrent are aimed at countering PGS. This includes the creation of new missiles which can evade any existing or future missile defenses, like the Kinzhal missile, carried on board a specially equipped MiG-31 jet, or the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, which can be fitted aboard R-36 or RS-28 heavy ICBMs. These weapons, combined with the ballistic missile subs lurking in the depths of the worlds oceans, are designed to ensure that the Pentagon cannot ever be absolutely, positively, categorically, and unconditionally certain that Russia cant inflict unacceptable levels of damage to the US homeland in response to an American attack.What Arms Control Agreements Are There to Regulate Nuclear Missile Stockpiles?By the 1980s, the nuclear superpowers had accumulated so many nuclear weapons (over 70,000 by one count) and so many missiles capable of delivering them that policymakers in both Moscow and Washington came to the realization that the planet stood a hair trigger from nuclear holocaust. The problem was, neither side wanted to take the first step toward reducing their stockpiles, especially concerning short and intermediate-range weapons. US President Ronald Reagan was unwilling to give up his administrations tough-guy peace through strength posture vis-a-vis the Soviet evil empire, while the USSR argued that as a continental European power, it was absurd for the US which wasnt a European power and had simply placed its nuclear-tipped missiles in Europe, to demand an all-for-all ban.Ultimately, the Soviet side yielded, and in 1987, Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which banned all land-based ballistic and cruise missiles in the 500-5,500 km range. The implementation of the treaty resulted in the destruction of nearly 2,700 ballistic and cruise missile systems, including 846 by the US and 1,846 by the USSR, and reduced the danger of a hair trigger escalation, albeit at the cost of reduced strategic security for Moscow. Three decades later, in 2019, the United States pulled out of the INF Treaty, and immediately began testing of new ground-based missile systems.New START is the other major Russia-US strategic arms control agreement. Signed in 2010, and replacing the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT), New START limits the number of deployed and stockpiled nuclear warheads and ICBMs and submarine-launched long-range missiles, as well as strategic bombers designed to carry nukes. The Trump administration threatened to let the clock run out on the agreement in 2020, but the incoming Biden administration renewed it at the last minute on Russias urging. This week, Russia froze its participation in the treaty, but did not withdraw, giving Washington time to address Moscows security concerns.What Would Happen if Russia Used Its Nuclear Missiles?Russias nuclear doctrine forbids the use of nuclear weapons in any circumstance, unless the country is facing an enemy attack using nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction, or a conventional attack so severe that the very existence of the state is at risk.In the 1980s, popularizers of science Sergei Kapitsa and Carl Sagan discussed the dangers associated with nuclear war, including the concept of nuclear winter the idea that a nuclear exchange would result in a severe global climactic cooling effect that would ultimately lead to the end of all life on the planet. This terrifying notion helped solidify in the minds of leaders at the time that, as the tagline from the 1983 Hollywood film Wargames goes, the only winning move (in a nuclear war) is not to play. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/hypersonic-missiles--modernization-putin-vows-to-strengthen-russias-nuclear-triad-1107721479.html russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Ilya Tsukanov Ilya Tsukanov News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ilya Tsukanov nuclear weapons, nuclear deterrence, nuclear arms, nukes, what kinds of nuclear missiles are there, what kinds of nuclear missiles does russia have, can russian missiles get past us missile defenses, what would happen if russia used its nuclear missiles https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/mtg-slams-biden-for-kissing-zelenskys-a--dragging-us-all-kicking-and-screaming-into-world-war-1107726201.html MTG Slams Biden For 'Kissing Zelenskys A** & Dragging US All Kicking And Screaming Into World War' MTG Slams Biden For 'Kissing Zelenskys A** & Dragging US All Kicking And Screaming Into World War' Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene went on Twitter to denounce President Joe Biden for visiting Ukraine and Volodymyr Zelensky instead of paying more attention to the chemical disaster in East Palestine, Ohio. 2023-02-23T05:51+0000 2023-02-23T05:51+0000 2023-02-23T05:51+0000 americas us marjorie taylor greene donald trump joe biden volodymyr zelensky /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/0c/16/1105694496_0:0:2997:1686_1920x0_80_0_0_55b4fa57351406f1d35573b53c5b20a4.jpg Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene did not mince words as she denounced President Joe Biden for visiting Ukraine and cozying up to Volodymyr Zelensky instead of paying more attention to the chemical disaster in East Palestine, Ohio.The Republican who is also known by her initials MTG went on Twitter to point out that while former US President Donald Trump came to support the people of Ohio, Joe Biden opted to travel to Kiev, promising more lethal aid to Ukraine.Many Twitter users concurred with the Republican Congresswoman. On February 22, during his trip to East Palestine, Ohio, Donald Trump slammed the federal response to the aftermath of the so-called controlled release in which dozens of train cars filled with toxic chemicals were burned in open-air fires after derailing earlier this month. Wearing his trademark Make America Great Again cap, Trump blasted the Biden administration for its indifference and betrayal. Trump spoke at a firehouse not far from where more than three dozen freight cars had come off the tracks. I sincerely hope, said Trump, that when Biden gets back from touring Ukraine, that hes got some money left over cause now were at $117 billion.Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday had also denounced Joe Biden's visit to Ukraine - a state that "would lead the United States to a world war.""Biden didnt go to East Palestine, Ohio on Presidents Day. He went to Ukraine, a NON-NATO nation, whose leader is an actor and is apparently now commanding our United States military to world war," Greene said on Twitter, as she urged impeachment proceedings against Biden "before its too late."President Joe Biden's trip to Poland and the unannounced visit to Ukraine have been widely criticized by a number of Republicans, who accused POTUS of neglecting his own country's needs.On February 3, a train hauling 20 cars with hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. A big fire erupted as a result of the derailment, leading to officials burning vinyl chloride inside five of the tanker cars in order to avoid a catastrophic explosion. The accident released toxic chemicals, including hydrogen chloride, phosgene, butyl acrylate and ethylene into the environment. Since then, local residents have been complaining of health impacts, including headaches, burning skin and irritated eyes. They have also been concerned about the long-term health risks, such as cancer. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/trump-slams-biden-for-ohio-inaction-ukraine-funding-hope-theres-some-left-for-east-palestine-1107723291.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230220/us-congresswoman-slams-biden-for-visiting-ukraine-which-is-leading-us-to-world-war-1107635697.html americas Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Svetlana Ekimenko Svetlana Ekimenko News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Svetlana Ekimenko mtg, congresswoman, marjorie taylor greene, joe biden, volodymyr zelensky, world war, ukraine visit, east palestine, ohio, train derailment, chemical disaster in east palestine, cars with hazardous materials derailed https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/north-korea-test-fired-four-cruise-missile-in-latest-show-of-war-posture-1107752049.html North Korea Test-Fired Four Cruise Missiles in Latest Show of 'War Posture' North Korea Test-Fired Four Cruise Missiles in Latest Show of 'War Posture' The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) broke a several-year calm period last September when it began a slew of new missile tests it said were in... 23.02.2023, Sputnik International 2023-02-23T21:45+0000 2023-02-23T21:45+0000 2023-02-23T22:17+0000 asia north korea test firing cruise missile drill /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/0b/02/1102940116_0:0:3073:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_650314e608cde5fe85da7b3cabc45fa2.jpg According to reports in North Korean media on Friday morning, the Korean People's Army test-fired four "Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missiles" from the northeastern city of Kim Chaek towards the Sea of Japan, called the East Sea in Korea."The four strategic cruise missiles precisely hit the preset target on the East Sea of Korea after traveling the 2,000 kilometer-long elliptical and eight-shaped flight orbits for 10,208 seconds to 10,224 seconds," the report said. As is often the case with North Korean weapons tests, Friday's announcement coincided with tabletop war games hosted by the Pentagon involving US and South Korean forces. The US has kept more than 28,000 troops in South Korea since the 1950-53 war ended in a ceasefire instead of a permanent peace treaty, and South Korean forces are legally obligated to fall under American command in case the war becomes hot once again.In a statement last week, Kim Yo Jong, the deputy director of the Korean Workers Party's information department, said in a statement that "if they truly worry about the situation on the Korean Peninsula and want peace and stability, all the countries should never tolerate the high-handedness and tyranny of the United States to turn the UN Security Council, which has a responsibility for international peace and security, into an organization for implementing its heinous hostile policy" toward the DPRK.After a brief rapprochement in 2018 and 2019, attempts at reaching a peace accord fell apart after the US refused to lower economic sanctions against the DPRK in response to major steps taken by the North toward ending its nuclear program, and the North refused to go any further without reciprocation from Washington. Relations have continued to cool ever since, with the US and South Korea resuming their rehearsals of an attack on the North and the North resuming its weapons tests, although it has kept to the 2017 self-imposed moratorium on nuclear tests.Earlier this week, the DPRK test-fired a Hwasong-15 ICBM in what it described as a surprise ICBM launching drill," and has pledged to test an even longer-range weapon in the near future. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230221/china-slams-us-for-double-standards-over-north-korea-nuclear-issue-says-sanctions-a-dead-end-1107648815.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Fantine Gardinier Fantine Gardinier News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Fantine Gardinier north korea, cruise missiles, test-fire https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/oman-to-open-airspace-for-israeli-passenger-planes-israeli-foreign-minister-says-1107744746.html Oman to Open Airspace for Israeli Passenger Planes, Israeli Foreign Minister Says Oman to Open Airspace for Israeli Passenger Planes, Israeli Foreign Minister Says The Omani government has made the decision to allow Israeli passenger airplanes to enter Oman's airspace, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Thursday. 2023-02-23T15:30+0000 2023-02-23T15:30+0000 2023-02-23T15:30+0000 world israel oman airspace /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/104574/87/1045748789_0:0:3071:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_f8464d1f514e76066b2952bb4261d82e.jpg "This is a historic decision!" Cohen said on Twitter, going on to thank Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other authorities concerned, the Sultan of Oman and "our friends in the United States." The opening of airspace will help reduce the duration of flights from Israel to Asian countries, as well as reduce the cost of tickets, the Israeli foreign minister said. In July 2022, as a result of lengthy negotiations, Saudi Arabia also opened its airspace to Israeli aircraft. https://sputnikglobe.com/20211007/eyeing-oman-israels-foreign-ministry-hopes-for-more-normalization-deals-in-coming-year-1089754283.html israel oman Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International oman-israel bilateral relations, oman airspace, normalizations of diplomatic relations https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/pentagon-confirms-authenticity-of-u-2-pilots-spy-balloon-selfie-1107742137.html Pentagon Confirms Authenticity of U-2 Pilots Spy Balloon Selfie Pentagon Confirms Authenticity of U-2 Pilots Spy Balloon Selfie US officials and media riled much of the nation into a state of anti-China hysteria after a Chinese spy balloon entered US and Canadian airspace and traveled across North America before being shot down by a fighter jet. 2023-02-23T14:57+0000 2023-02-23T14:57+0000 2023-02-23T14:57+0000 viral balloon chinese balloon over us high-altitude balloon china us spy plane spy jets /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/02/17/1107741992_0:34:630:388_1920x0_80_0_0_d33a8a0c6540a4f0b46e6d0279ad420d.jpg The US military has confirmed the authenticity of a viral image circulating online of a US Air Force U-2 reconnaissance plane pilot posing for a selfie with the Chinese dirigible that became a veritable US media sensation earlier this month.The image, originally posted to a U-2-related blog by journalist Chris Pocock along with an article playing up the spy planes versatility against surveillance balloons, spread like wildfire online after being cleaned up and de-grained.I saw the report. I can confirm the photos authenticity, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters. The spokesperson added that at this time, the majority of the balloon, including the payload, was recovered during search operations off the coast of South Carolina, where the balloon was shot down on February 4.US media had reported on the photos existence before Pococks publication, with anonymous officials saying it had gained legendary status in both NORAD and the Pentagon, and helped highlight the failure of US military intelligence to flag the balloons entry into US airspace as urgent despite its purported capabilities to carry out signals intelligence collection operations.Beijing has blasted US officials and media over the hysteria whipped up over the balloon, which China maintains was a weather balloon that blew off course. Late last week, Wang Yi, Chinas top diplomat, urged the US to change course and soberly assess and repair the damage caused to Chinese-US relations by the balloon incident and the excessive use of force against the Chinese dirigible. Wangs comments followed remarks by a US State Department spokesman that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had chided the Chinese diplomat out over Chinas irresponsible act, and stressed that this violation of US sovereignty and international law must never again occur.A Wednesday poll found that 49 percent of Americans believe the government is lying to them about the balloon incident, with 53 percent confident that China purposely sent the balloon to spy on America, while 13 percent said they were not at all concerned about the appearance of such objects over North America.Intelligence experts have questioned the logic of US official and media claims that the balloon was a spy craft, citing Chinas extensive network of surveillance satellites, and other means which can provide Beijing much more valuable and usable intelligence than a piece of technology going back to the 1950s which can be detected by sky gazers with the naked eye. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230219/beijing-says-washington-should-repair-damage-caused-amid-spy-balloon-craze-1107587466.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230222/poll-almost-50-of-americans-do-not-trust-us-government-on-spy-balloon-craze-1107713273.html china Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Ilya Tsukanov Ilya Tsukanov News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ilya Tsukanov chinese balloon, china balloon, spy balloon, balloon, weather balloon, selfie https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/polish-officers-face-disciplinary-action-for-exchanging-memos-on-biden-security-report-1107744640.html Polish Officers Face Disciplinary Action for Exchanging Memos on Biden Security: Report Polish Officers Face Disciplinary Action for Exchanging Memos on Biden Security: Report A Polish police directorate has taken disciplinary action against two officers after they used personal emails to exchange internal memos about US President Joe Biden's visit, media reported. 2023-02-23T15:27+0000 2023-02-23T15:27+0000 2023-02-23T15:27+0000 world poland us joe biden /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/102685/91/1026859174_28:0:972:531_1920x0_80_0_0_b8b4b4ff59fdbefc063ee41e7024396e.jpg Biden arrived in Warsaw for a planned three-day visit on Monday after making an unannounced stop in Ukraine. Polish Zet Radio reported that the officers in question had been dispatched to a Warsaw district that Biden's car passed through on the way from Chopin Airport. The memos reportedly concerned security measures in the area. A spokesperson for Warsaw's main police directorate said there were no classified documents among the internal correspondence found in the officers' private emails. Poland stepped up security in Warsaw during Biden's second visit to that country in little more than a year. He returned for a speech at the Royal Castle marking a year since Russia began a military operation in neighboring Ukraine. poland Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International biden in ukraine, biden in poland, leaked biden memo https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/prince-harry-and-meghan-markle-dismiss-south-park-lawsuit-rumor-1107723498.html Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Dismiss 'South Park' Lawsuit Rumor Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Dismiss 'South Park' Lawsuit Rumor Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not suing over the South Park episode that depicted the two as attention-seekers. A spokesperson for the couple has denied the rumor, saying: Its all frankly nonsense. Totally baseless, boring reports. 2023-02-23T01:50+0000 2023-02-23T01:50+0000 2023-02-23T01:49+0000 viral prince harry meghan markle royal couple south park /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/0c/0b/1105338630_0:236:2801:1812_1920x0_80_0_0_4926409e49a4b65924bdf312e7a9bba6.jpg Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are not suing over the South Park episode that depicted the two as attention-seekers. A spokesperson for the couple has denied the rumor, saying: Its all frankly nonsense. Totally baseless, boring reports.The South Park episode was titled the Worldwide Privacy Tour and focused on a prince of Canada and his wife who moved to the town of South Park, and are essentially caricatures of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The show depicts the two characters traveling to different locations around the world on what they call the Worldwide Privacy Tour while carrying signs that read: Stop Looking At Us! and We Want Our Privacy!The episode reportedly upset and overwhelmed Markle, and she found it annoying but refused to watch it all, according to a source. In the episode, the caricature of Markle is described as a sorority girl, actress, influencer and victim.After the couple stepped down from their roles as senior members of the British royal family, they delivered an explosive interview with famed interviewer Oprah Winfrey explaining their decision to do so. One of the couples greatest grievances was their lack of privacy from paparazzi and journalists, and what they reportedly claimed as a lack of support from fellow members of the royal family.Following that interview, the couple then delivered a documentary about their personal life and their decision to leave the royal family on the streaming service Netflix in December 2022. It was revealed last month that the documentary was Netflixs second-highest ranked documentary in history. Not long after, Harry released his memoir, Spare, while attending interviews in preparation for the books release."I think everyone has a basic right to privacy. Basic. We're not talking about anything that anybody else wouldn't expect, Markle said when asked by Winfrey in 2021 if she had expected to lose her right to privacy, once she became a royal.After their Netflix documentary aired, the Duke and Duchess global press secretary released a statement addressing the assumption that the couple desired a more private life."Any suggestion otherwise speaks to a key point of this series," she continued. "They are choosing to share their story, on their terms, and yet the tabloid media has created an entirely untrue narrative that permeates press coverage and public opinion. The facts are right in front of them." https://sputnikglobe.com/20230219/prince-andrew-keeps-eagle-eye-on-harry--meghans-us-life-mulling-new-career-report-says-1107589987.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg prince harry, meghan markle, south park, lawsuit, rumors https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/putins-address-to-federal-assembly-receives-highest-public-praise-in-years-poll-shows-1107730815.html Putin's Address to Federal Assembly Receives Highest Public Praise in Years, Poll Shows Putin's Address to Federal Assembly Receives Highest Public Praise in Years, Poll Shows An overwhelming 81% of Russians have given a 'positive' assessmentof President Putin's address to the Federal Assembly, poll shows. 2023-02-23T08:50+0000 2023-02-23T08:50+0000 2023-02-23T14:27+0000 russia vladimir putin annual address to the federal assembly russia /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/02/15/1107652527_0:201:2929:1848_1920x0_80_0_0_fc2d36ffb421809ce3ea621f03735dd6.jpg President Vladimir Putins annual address to the Russian Federal Assembly, delivered on 21 February 2023, has been met with a highly favorable response by viewers across the country, according to a survey by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM).Putins speech produced an overwhelmingly positive impression on a major part of participants in the poll, which was based on the perception of the address by 129 respondents watching the live broadcast in 10 Russian cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Saratov, Volzhsky, Krasnodar, Ulyanovsk, Biysk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Perm. The survey, commissioned by the Social Research Expert Institute (EISI), used the method of measuring the perception of video materials, with respondents' reactions recorded in real time. Multimedia equipment was used to record the reactions. After watching the live broadcast, the respondents answered the questions in a formalized questionnaire. On a scale of 10, the speech was given a score of 8.07. When asked of the overall impression made by Putin's words, 45 percent of participants said it was overwhelmingly positive. Another 36 percent said the impression produced by the president's words was more positive than not. Participants singled out the importance and significance of the issues Vladimir Putin spoke about, both for themselves and their families.Vladimir Putin's speech was typically characterized as interesting by 52 percent of the participants of the poll, with just 30 percent of the opinion that a major part of the address was interesting.The Presidential Address was assessed as honest and sincere by 78 percent of respondents. The Russian leader laid out his position on a broad array of problems in a clear and comprehensible manner, 88 percent of the respondents said.The poll showed that 84 percent of respondents felt a positive reaction to the speech, as opposed to just 16 percent who registered a negative one.The information obtained from the results of the study does not necessarily represent the views of the entire population of the Russian Federation. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230221/president-vladimir-putin-delivers-annual-address-to-russian-parliament-1107648407.html russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Svetlana Ekimenko Svetlana Ekimenko News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Svetlana Ekimenko russias president vladimir putin, annual address to the federal assembly, measuring the perception of video materials, high assessment, respondents' reactions recorded in real time, honest, understandable speech, speech characterized as interesting, overall impression, overwhelmingly positive https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/russia-hopes-syrian-turkish-relations-can-be-mended-in-wake-of-devastating-quakes-1107746841.html Russia Hopes Syrian-Turkish Relations Can Be Mended in Wake of Devastating Quakes Russia Hopes Syrian-Turkish Relations Can Be Mended in Wake of Devastating Quakes Relations between Syria and Turkiye collapsed in the 2010s after Ankara began supporting jihadist militias seeking to overthrow the Assad government. 2023-02-23T18:49+0000 2023-02-23T18:49+0000 2023-02-23T18:49+0000 world diplomacy syria earthquake rocks turkiye and syria russia iran bashar assad /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/104242/23/1042422325_0:548:1609:1453_1920x0_80_0_0_450c5a809f317468c354e3edf5443d11.jpg Russia is confident that the long crisis in relations between Syria and Turkiye can be resolved, and will continue to do its part to assure this takes place, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has said.Syrian-Turkish ties hit an unprecedented low point in 2011, after Ankara began supporting the US and Gulf State-backed covert war against Damascus and President Bashar Assad, opening its doors to militants flowing into Syria, and buying looted Syrian oil from jihadi extremists. Ankara gradually shifted course after Russia entered the conflict in 2015, after suffering a series of terrorist attacks on its home soil, and after being overwhelmed with large numbers of Syrian refugees, reducing its support for anti-Assad forces, and kicking off several military operations in northern Syria targeting Daesh* and US-backed YPG Kurdish militants it considers terrorists.Bogdanov expressed confidence that the dispute between Syria and Turkiye over the unsanctioned deployment of Turkish troops in the Arab Republic can be resolved, given Ankaras commitments to Moscow and Tehran via the Astana negotiating platform.About a third of Syria remains under foreign occupation, with the majority of these areas controlled by US-allied Kurdish rebels east of the Euphrates River home to the majority of the countrys oil and its richest agricultural lands. Turkish forces and Turkey-backed militants control wide swathes of territory in Syrias north and northwest, including the rebel-held province of Idlib. Israel occupies most of the Syrian Golan Heights. Damascus has repeatedly vowed to restore control over all of its internationally-recognized territories, and has demanded the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops not invited into the country by its legitimate government.Moscow is presently working to help organize a quadripartite meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, Syria, Turkiye and Iran. These plans follow a meeting between Russian, Syrian and Turkish defense and intelligence ministers in Moscow in December the first of their kind in more than a decade. During that gathering, the main areas for continued joint work were identified and an expert mechanism for its coordination was created, Bogdanov said.Bogdanov emphasized that Russia supports Irans participation in the Syrian-Turkish negotiations process, given its good relations with both Damascus and Ankara, Tehrans important role in the region and constructive participation in the Astana format, which remains the only effective instrument of international assistance on Syrian settlement.Ultimately, Bogdanov stressed that the restoration of friendly ties between Syria and Turkiye is in the long-term interests of both countries, and of their regional partners.Syria and Turkiye were rocked by devastating earthquakes this month which killed over 43,500 Turks and 6,600 Syrians, and displaced millions more. The disaster prompted an outpouring of support for both countries from its regional neighbors, with many countries which had been hostile to the Assad government throughout the Syrian conflict including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the UAE sending relief supplies and search and rescue teams to the Arab Republic. Assad made an official visit to Oman on Monday, with the trip becoming the first of its kind to a Gulf state in over a decade. On Thursday, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan arrived in Damascus for talks with his Syrian counterpart, Fayssal Mikdad.* Daesh, also known as Islamic State, is a terrorist group outlawed in Russia and many other countries. https://sputnikglobe.com/20221231/turkey-agrees-to-withdraw-troops-from-syria-should-damascus-take-political-steps---ankara-1105959798.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20221127/differences-on-syria-between-russia-turkey-can-be-resolved-through-dialogue-kremlin-1104755054.html syria russia iran Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Ilya Tsukanov Ilya Tsukanov News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ilya Tsukanov syria, turkey, negotiations, relations, ties, talks https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/russia-prepares-to-open-new-embassies-in-african-countries-deputy-fm-says-1107732328.html Russia Prepares to Open New Embassies in African Countries, Deputy FM Says Russia Prepares to Open New Embassies in African Countries, Deputy FM Says Russia is preparing to open new embassies in African countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said in an interview with Sputnik. 2023-02-23T12:50+0000 2023-02-23T12:50+0000 2023-02-23T13:38+0000 africa russia embassy russian embassy russian foreign ministry foreign ministry mikhail bogdanov /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/02/17/1107735227_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_555628a3f558c262a2943e6cab57de03.jpg Russia is preparing to open new embassies in African countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has said in an interview with Sputnik. The diplomat noted that following the results of the Russia-Africa summit held in Sochi in 2019, decisions were made that included "expanding the Russian diplomatic presence on the continent."According to him, in matters of "geography" and the size of diplomatic missions, Russia proceeds "both from the presence of national interests, the required amount of work, and, importantly, from the partners' readiness for open dialogue and interaction."Moreover, speaking to Sputnik, Bogdanov expressed the opinion that Western countries perceive the strengthening of Russias ties with Africa as a personal insult, as they can hardly abandon the neo-colonial principles that for many years allowed them to pump out the necessary resources from Africa almost for nothing.According to the deputy foreign minister, the current geopolitical situation and the crisis of the liberal development model "dictate the need to reformat the entire world system of international relations, both political and economic." He added that it is clear that it is "difficult to change habits," therefore, the strengthening of Russias partnership with Africa in a number of Western capitals is perceived as a personal insult. At the same time, Bogdanov claimed that Russia among Africans has a high, well-deserved reputation as a reliable partner and friend ready to help in a difficult situation. Answering a question on whether anti-Russian provocations could be expected due to the fact that European states are trying to prevent the strengthening of Moscow's role in the region, Bogdanov noted that "in other times one could say that this is somehow undiplomatic." "But the behavior of Western countries on the Ukrainian issue suggests that anything can be expected, and we are ready for any development of the situation," he concluded.Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow was not interested in the opinion of Paris on the development of Russia's relations with Africa. She stressed that French President Emmanuel Macron's concern about the expansion of Russia's contacts in Africa suggests that France treats the continent from the point of view of its colonial past. The French Foreign Ministry, in response to criticism by Zakharova, accused Russia of pursuing a "neo-colonial policy" in Africa. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, commenting on the accusations of Paris against Moscow on Africa, said that this is a clinical case speaking of an attempt to "to shift the blame onto someone else." https://sputnikglobe.com/20230209/lavrov-in-sudan-moscow-and-khartoum-ratify-russian-navy-logistics-base-1107267350.html africa russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Kirill Kurevlev Kirill Kurevlev News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Kirill Kurevlev foreign minister sergey lavrov, russian foreign ministry, russia-africa relations, russian embassies in africa Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) Issues on human rights and the International Criminal Court's (ICC) drug war investigation were raised when members of the European Parliament met with Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla and other officials in Manila on Thursday. In a statement, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said Philippine authorities and delegates of the EU parliament's subcommittee on human rights "exchanged views" on the topics, and likewise discussed potential areas of cooperation. "[The] visit is taking place in the context of the open and regular engagement on human rights between the Philippines and the EU (European Union), and the shared aim to further engage in constructive dialogue and cooperation," the DOJ said. Reiterating his previous stand, Remulla also told the European parliamentarians that if the ICC would insist on a probe, then it should just let the DOJ handle the matter. "Ang sabi ko lang doon, inaayos na rin namin ang sistema. Kung may problema talaga ang ICC na gusto nila imbestigahan dito, ibigay na lang sa amin, kami na gagawa. Kasi 'yan, these are crimes committed in the Philippines, by Filipinos, di ba? Eh, kami na lang ang gagawa," Remulla told reporters. [Translation: I told them we're fixing the system. If the ICC really has a problem and wants to investigate, then give it to us, we'll do it. Because these are crimes committed in the Philippines, by Filipinos, right? We'll do it.] The ICC previously said it was "not satisfied" with developments in the Philippines' investigations into the drug war killings. After their courtesy visit to Remulla and the DOJ, the EU delegates also held a dialogue with officials from various government agencies, including the Interior and Foreign Affairs Departments, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Philippine National Police. Earlier in the day, the international lawmakers also met with members of Congress, where they were further briefed about the human rights situation in the country. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/russian-technology-could-replace-german-at-hungarys-paks-2-npp---szijjarto-1107722654.html Russian Technology Could Replace German at Hungary's Paks-2 NPP, Szijjarto Says Russian Technology Could Replace German at Hungary's Paks-2 NPP, Szijjarto Says Russian technologies could replace German ones at Hungary's Paks-2 Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) if the German government keeps blocking Siemens' participation in the construction project, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said. 2023-02-23T00:33+0000 2023-02-23T00:33+0000 2023-02-23T05:50+0000 world hungary russian technologies paks-2 nuclear plant /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/101564/98/1015649877_0:68:1301:799_1920x0_80_0_0_18919df5d0c973e88e3dd579f3b59585.jpg Szijjarto earlier said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Economy Minister Robert Habeck from the Green Party, who do not issue permit to supply a process control system to Siemens, involved in the construction of new units, hinder the construction of the Paks-2 NPP. Meanwhile, the French government issued a similar permit to Framatome company. According to Szijjarto, Budapest considers Germany's behavior unacceptable and illegal and regards it as a violation of Hungarian sovereignty. I would like to say that it is still a bit wild that the EU will build a nuclear power plant with control technologies from the two most powerful European countries, but at the moment the German government is at risk that they will need to be replaced with Russian technologies," Szijjarto told Hungarian journalists at a conference with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, broadcast on Facebook*.The Hungarian foreign minister said talks are under way with another member of the consortium, Framatome, to increase the company's role in the construction of new units of the Paks NPP. And the point now is not what Russian technologies are, because it is obvious that [Russian state nuclear corporation] Rosatom is one of the leading companies on the global market with one of the best nuclear technologies," he continued."But for what reason does the German government not want companies of the two most powerful European countries to supply control technologies to an NPP being built in the EU?" he asked rhetorically.*Facebook, Instagram, and their parent company Meta are recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation https://sputnikglobe.com/20151130/nuclear-plant-eu-hungary-1030999064.html hungary Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russian technology, germany, russia, paks-2 npp https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/study-discovery-of-galactic-giants-fast-tracked-after-big-bang-may-create-problems-for-science--1107740120.html Study: Discovery of 'Galactic Giants' Fast-Tracked After Big Bang May 'Create Problems for Science' Study: Discovery of 'Galactic Giants' Fast-Tracked After Big Bang May 'Create Problems for Science' The potentially ground-breaking discovery by astronomers was made possible thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope, operational since July 2022, which has been offering ever-new insights into the distant reaches of the Universe. 2023-02-23T13:42+0000 2023-02-23T13:42+0000 2023-02-23T13:42+0000 science & tech big bang galaxies james webb space telescope (jwst) infrared milky way /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/106218/58/1062185856_0:42:1921:1122_1920x0_80_0_0_c36fe07102e093f02c6bb5881ec0de84.jpg The recent discovery of six gigantic galaxies that were formed shortly after the Big Bang has been hailed as "astounding and unexpected" by an international collaboration of astronomers. What is particularly stunning is that these "monster" galaxies, remarkable in size and maturity, evolved at a speed that could potentially "rewrite" all current knowledge of the early Universe, according to the findings published in Nature.The discovery was made possible by data obtained by NASAs James Webb Space Telescope. Ever since JWST - NASA's partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) - was put into operation, the worlds largest and most powerful space telescope set out to offer insights into the infrared universe. Unlike Hubble, Webb canuse its infrared vision to allow astronomers to observe the trailblazing first stars and galaxies formed after the creation of the universe 13.8 billion years ago.Thus, the team of scientists behind the new study, "A population of red candidate massive galaxies ~600 Myr after the Big Bang," used data obtained by the telescope to home in on the six mega-galaxies that appeared as mature as the Milky Way. The six galaxies are estimated to date back to within about 540 million to 770 million years after the Bid Bang. Its true that the JWST has zoomed in on galaxies much older than these six, including some that formed within 300 million years of the beginning of the Universe. But Ivo Labbe of Australias Swinburne University of Technology explained why this recent discovery mattered so much.According to Labbe, the team was "mind-blown, kind of incredulous, when the results came in. They could not belive it was possible for "galaxies as mature as the Milky Way" to be formed so early in time. In fact, the study still referred to them as "candidate" galaxies, acknowledging the need for further confirmation. Leja added that the discovery "upends what many of us had thought was settled science.""It turns out we found something so unexpected it actually creates problems for science. It calls the whole picture of early galaxy formation into question, Joel Leja said in a statement. https://sputnikglobe.com/20220520/galaxies-devoid-of-dark-matter-formed-during-massive-collision-billions-of-years-ago-study-says-1095669632.html milky way Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Svetlana Ekimenko Svetlana Ekimenko News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Svetlana Ekimenko discovery, six gigantic galaxies, formed shortly after the big bang, fast-track to maturity, international collaboration of astronomers, monster galaxies, remarkable in size and maturity, could rewrite current knowledge of early universe, james webb space telescope, evolved faster than allowed by standard models https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/time-for-us-pull-out-gop-congressman-warns-about-risk-of-kinetic-conflict-with-russia-in-syria-1107747550.html Time for US Pull-Out: GOP Congressman Warns About Risk of Kinetic Conflict With Russia in Syria Time for US Pull-Out: GOP Congressman Warns About Risk of Kinetic Conflict With Russia in Syria GOP Representative Matt Gaetz has introduced a resolution seeking to direct President Joe Biden to remove all US troops from Syria. The House must vote on... 23.02.2023, Sputnik International 2023-02-23T18:53+0000 2023-02-23T18:53+0000 2023-02-23T18:53+0000 americas us syria russia iran turkey house republicans gop matt gaetz jim jeffrey /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/07/0a/1083358189_0:160:3073:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_18d9998109f71a1fad42a12c7789831f.jpg "[T]he purpose of my legislation is to force members of Congress to vote on record regarding whether they think we ought to continue Obama's war in Syria. President Obama kicked off our involvement () and now we still find ourselves in the middle of a Syrian civil war with Russia and Turkey and Iran, all present in a very confined neighborhood," Congressman Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., told the US press earlier this week.Gaetz, a House Armed Services Committee member, filed the War Powers Resolution on February 22 after he learned that four US military servicemen and a working dog were wounded in a US and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) helicopter raid in northeastern Syria.Speaking to the US press, Gaetz shared his concerns with regard to the US president's ability to handle Syrian matters. The congressman quoted Biden's August 2021 interview in which the president claimed that the US "[doesn't] have military in Syria to make sure that were going to be protected." However, according to the American media at the time of Biden's comment, there were at least 900 troops in Syria who were helping their SDF proxies on the ground.Gaetz has also drawn attention to reports alleging that Russian and US personnel get into very close proximity with one another. "[T]he risk of an accident or miscalculation or just misuse of authority could lead to direct kinetic conflict between the United States and Russia in Syria," the lawmaker insisted.In addition, Congress has never authorized the use of military force in Syria, the congressman argued. "America First means actually putting the people of our country first not the interests of the military industrial complex," he said.Gaetz's resolution has been filed under the War Powers Act of 1973, which was designed to limit the president's authority to wage war and reasserted Congress' authority over foreign wars. Notably, at the time of the 1973 bill's introduction, then President Richard Nixon tried to veto it. However, Congress overrode his veto, and the resolution became law following the US pullout from Vietnam in early 1973.If Gaetz's legislative initiative passes, US military personnel must be removed from the Syrian Arab Republic within 15 days.Meanwhile, the lawmaker lamented the fact that Democratic progressives who used to be anti-war activists have become "cheerleaders" for the US's overseas conflicts. "'The Squad' used to be anti-war. Now, they're waving their pom poms for NATO," he said.The representative believes that the upcoming vote on his resolution will show who the real patriot of America is and who continues to stick to Middle Eastern adventurism.Biden's predecessor, Donald Trump, was the first who sought to pull US troops out of Syria. Nonetheless, he later insisted that some of the contingent should stay in place to "protect" the Syrian oil fields occupied by the US-backed Kurdish-dominated SDF. Trump was also misled about the actual number of US servicemen in Syria. US Syria envoy Ambassador Jim Jeffrey admitted in November 2020 he was "always playing shell games to not make clear to our leadership how many troops we had there." https://sputnikglobe.com/20230214/how-west-is-politicizing-provision-of-aid-to-syria-trying-to-capitalize-on-disaster-1107420063.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20230210/will-ukraine-fatigue-among-us-lawmakers-bring-kiev-militarization-to-end-1107322654.html americas syria russia iran Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Ekaterina Blinova Ekaterina Blinova News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Ekaterina Blinova us troops in syria, us-backed syrian democratic forces, matt gaetz' war powers resolution, us presence in syria, us civil war in syria, gop house majority, us anti-war progressives, america first https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/uk-sets-up-secret-task-force-to-purchase-ammunition-for-ukraine-report-1107745910.html UK Sets Up Secret Task Force to Purchase Ammunition for Ukraine: Report UK Sets Up Secret Task Force to Purchase Ammunition for Ukraine: Report The UK Ministry of Defense has established a secret task force to purchase ammunition for Ukraine, especially Soviet-made weapons, American media reported on Thursday, citing documents it obtained and people familiar with the matter. 2023-02-23T16:28+0000 2023-02-23T16:28+0000 2023-02-23T16:28+0000 military uk ukraine weapons supplies /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/106363/79/1063637903_0:0:1280:720_1920x0_80_0_0_abda14f67ca6646161558c44df92daf9.jpg The task force is mainly focused on obtaining Soviet-style ammunition through third countries and brokers, according to the report. The United States has also financed such deals, the report said. Such deals, however, became harder in recent months as suppliers began running out of stock, the newspaper said. Last June, London reportedly struck a deal to buy 40,000 Pakistani-origin artillery shells and rockets made by the government-owned Pakistan Ordnance Factories. Under the agreement, the UK would pay a Romanian broker to buy the weapons, which would be transferred from Pakistan to the UK, with no mention of Ukraine, according to the newspaper. The deal was not realized because the Pakistani supplier was unable to deliver the ammunition, the report cited Marius Rosu, the head of exports at Romanian broker Romtehnica, as saying. Rosu noted that his company does not provide weapons directly to Ukraine. However, purchasers may obtain them from Romtehnica and later send them to Ukraine. A Czech arms seller also offered Ukraine ammunition and Soviet-made ground-attack jets built between 1984 and 1990 for about $185 million, the report also said, citing documents. Luxembourg is supplying Kiev with arms that originate in the Czech Republic, it added. https://sputnikglobe.com/20220402/us-aims-to-transfer-soviet-made-tanks-to-ukraine-after-failing-to-provide-fighter-jets-of-same-age-1094410761.html ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International uk defence ministry, uk defence ministry secret task, weapons supplied to ukraine, ukrainian crisis, conflict in ukraine, war in ukraine https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/unhcr-says-attention-to-humanitarian-matters-in-africa-not-adequate---special-envoy-1107752491.html UNHCR Says Attention to Humanitarian Matters in Africa Not Adequate, Special Envoy Says UNHCR Says Attention to Humanitarian Matters in Africa Not Adequate, Special Envoy Says Ambassador Mohamed Abdi Affey, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa told Sputnik that while there is attention paid to Africa's humanitarian issues, it is still not adequate. 2023-02-23T22:18+0000 2023-02-23T22:18+0000 2023-02-24T06:19+0000 africa horn of africa un refugee agency (unhcr) humanitarian aid inadequate response east africa /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/02/17/1107740662_0:0:3072:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_0853ac15c100c6b5bf0f4ffb500908ad.jpg "I think there are global competing priorities and challenges, and attention has been given to Africa, but it's not adequate. We need more attention to be given, Affey said. Affey on the sidelines of the 3rd Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum in Riyadh said that many participants noted that while humanitarian responses for some countries like Ukraine are well supported, others are being underfunded. And therefore, it's important that the international community also supports this response mechanism in the rest of the world as they're already doing, he added. Affey shared that the most urgent need now is intervention in terms of helping those populations affected by drought and war. And in the context of the Horn of Africa, which has seen the worst drought situation in 40 years, where a lot of the population have been internally displaced, and many are leaving the countries of origin, he said. And therefore, I think there is a need by the international community to support those countries affected by the drought conditions now." Affey also said that he thinks that the refugee situation in Africa, particularly the Horn of Africa, continues to attract attention. When asked which countries were most in need of support regarding refugees, Affey said, Most countries, the countries of South Sudan, within the region. Sudan, Somalia, those are the countries that are affected - affected already substantially and hope that we can be able to help them, he added. africa horn of africa east africa Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International ambassador mohamed abdi affey, unhcr special envoy for the horn of africa, humanitarian issues, africa, un refugee agency https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/united-nations-security-council-hearing-on-nord-stream-trump-hits-neocons-1107722976.html United Nations Security Council Hearing on Nord Stream; Trump Hits Neocons United Nations Security Council Hearing on Nord Stream; Trump Hits Neocons A number of noted intellectuals testified at a United Nations Security Council meeting on allegations that the Biden administration attacked Germany's energy... 23.02.2023, Sputnik International 2023-02-23T04:08+0000 2023-02-23T04:08+0000 2023-02-23T09:31+0000 the critical hour radio youtube nord stream seymour hersh donald trump ro khanna nablus /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/02/17/1107722830_0:0:1920:1080_1920x0_80_0_0_d593d95ff31edff80f8f1eebfb8deea1.png United Nations Security Council Hearing on Nord Stream; Trump Hits Neocons A number of noted intellectuals testified at a United Nations Security Council meeting on allegations that the Biden administration attacked Germany's energy infrastructure. Ray McGovern, former CIA analyst, and co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity, joins us to discuss the UNSC meeting on the Nord Stream attacks. Several noted intellectuals testified at a United Nations Security Council meeting on allegations that the Biden administration attacked Germany's energy infrastructureMark Sleboda, Moscow-based international relations security analyst, joins us to discuss Ukraine. Many GOP politicians are pushing back against Joe Biden's Ukraine policy while some are increasing malice against China. Also, President Putin has suspended cooperation with the START treaty.Dr. Ken Hammond, writer, and professor of East Asian and global history at New Mexico State University, joins us to discuss China. The US is increasing military exchanges with Taiwan. Also, Russia and China are increasing cooperation and president Xi is planning a trip to Moscow.Regis Tremblay, an American citizen in Crimea, joins us to discuss Russian policy. A former Russian president has warned the US that the Russian Federation will use all weapons at its disposal if the security of the nation is threatened. Also, China and Russia are involved in a military exercise in South Africa.Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut, Lebanon, joins us to discuss the Middle East. Israeli forces kill more Palestinians in a Nablus raid. Also, the daughter of Malcolm X is suing the government for the death of her father.Dr. Margaret Flowers, activist and editor of "PopularResistance.org," joins us to discuss domestic policy. Julian Assange's family members are touring the United States. Also, the West is pushing the Global South to accept its dictates regarding Ukraine.Dan Kovalik, writer, author, and lawyer, joins us to discuss foreign policy. The US cynically pushes double standards for international policy. Also, Cuban medical brigades work in Turkey and China works with Iran on economic matters.Dan Lazare, investigative journalist and author of "America's Undeclared War," joins us to discuss censorship. Youtube has censored a "Democracy Now" segment on the Nord Stream attack. Also, Donald Trump is taking an anti-neocon position for the 2024 elections.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.comThe views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik. nablus Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Wilmer Leon https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/12/1082114047_0:-1:238:238_100x100_80_0_0_4e3adef3e334e381bffe19d388f4b776.jpg Wilmer Leon https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/12/1082114047_0:-1:238:238_100x100_80_0_0_4e3adef3e334e381bffe19d388f4b776.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Wilmer Leon https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/02/12/1082114047_0:-1:238:238_100x100_80_0_0_4e3adef3e334e381bffe19d388f4b776.jpg radio, youtube, nord stream, seymour hersh, donald trump, ro khanna, nablus, https://sputnikglobe.com/20230223/us-kills-seven-al-shabab-militants-in-somalia-africom-says-1107730375.html US Kills Seven Al-Shabaab Militants in Somalia, AFRICOM Says US Kills Seven Al-Shabaab Militants in Somalia, AFRICOM Says US military eliminated seven al-Shabab* militants in an airstrike in Somalia, the Africa Command (AFRICOM) said on Wednesday. 2023-02-23T07:59+0000 2023-02-23T07:59+0000 2023-03-14T13:37+0000 africa somali pirates somalia al-shabaab counter-terrorism terrorism terrorist group us east africa us africa command (africom) /html/head/meta[@name='og:title']/@content /html/head/meta[@name='og:description']/@content https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/02/17/1107730228_0:0:3000:1688_1920x0_80_0_0_076684350ace35c434136f6a5c0e4939.jpg "The strike occurred in a remote area near Galmudug, Somalia which is approximately 510 km northeast of Mogadishu. The initial assessment is the strike killed 7 al-Shabaab fighters," the statement read. The strike was carried out on February 21 at the request of the government of Somalia, it added. US military assesses that no civilians were injured or killed. Al-Shabaab is linked to the al-Qaeda* terrorist group. The former has long engaged in an insurgency campaign against the Somalian federal government and staged numerous terror attacks.*Al-Shabaab and Al-Qaeda are terrorist organizations outlawed in Russia and many other countries. https://sputnikglobe.com/20230216/over-200-al-shabaab-terrorists-killed-in-somali-army-operations-1107490615.html africa somalia east africa Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 2023 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rosiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International somali pirates, somalia, al-shabaab, counter-terrorism, terrorism, terrorist group, us, east africa, us africa command (africom) Carrying on 72-year-old tradition in a scenic setting, the first in the 2023 Virginia Gold Cup Series horse races takes off next Saturday in Boston, Virginia. Gates open at 10 a.m. on March 4 for the Rappahannock Hunt Clubs Annual Point-to-Point Race. The first race is scheduled to start at noon. It is a family affair that reaches deep into Rappahannock, Culpeper and surrounding communities for participation, said hunt club member Colleen Chaplin. Over 2,500 spectators attended last year. We encourage anyone from the general public to attend, bring their friends, family, colleagues or even clients, she said. The horses and ponies will run in Flat and Timber Races; Timber includes jumps throughout the course and competing for the fastest time, Chaplin said. This will be the first opportunity for the public to see the potential Gold Cup horses and pick their favorites, she said. The premiere Virginia Gold Cup will take place May 6 in Warrenton; general admission tickets will be available this year for the first time since the COVID pandemic started. The Rappahannock Hunt race course is one of the best for spectators in the series, said Chaplin. The course is at 13257 Durantes Curve, off of Sperryville Pike, west of Culpeper. The location of our races is called The Hill and that is not a figure of speech, Chaplin said. Our race course lies in a pasture between massive hills and countryside so spectators can spread out high and low and view pretty much the entire race course from any spot on the Hill. She compared the course to theater seating, saying the location has a similar effect for maximum visibility. Not only will you have the view of the racecourse, but the hills continue beyond it and with a beautiful skyline of the mountains in the backdrop. I wish a picture or a postcard could capture the beauty of this location, but it just cannot do it justice, she said. This steeplechase event has been arranged by the Rappahannock Hunt Club for over 70 years and will feature eight races. Three will be for poniesthe courageous riders and keen ponies are sure to bring a smile to all attendees, according to a release. Thoroughbreds from Virginia and neighboring states run for the blue ribbon and bragging rights in the premier sporting competition. Rappahannock Hunt Club was established in 1926 and focused on mounted fox hunting in and around the region. Point-to-Point is an annual highlight. When asked why has this tradition endured for so long, Chaplin said I really think the answer to that is the sense of community that it brings. This event can truly be a whos who of Rappahannock, but also has a warm and welcoming feeling that just truly brings people together. Get tickets on EventBrite through March 2 or $10 per person at the gate. There will be a limited number of prime parking spaces, with ample parking for general admission. Pets are not allowed, with the exception of service animals. In case of inclement weather, the races will be run on Saturday, March 11. Scotts Bluff County commissioners threw their official support Tuesday night behind a proposed racino on Gerings south edge if and when state senators allow one to be authorized. They voted 5-0 to approve a memorandum of understanding sought by Hastings quarter horse racetrack operator Brian Becker, who first proposed horse track-casino combinations in Gering and North Platte in the summer 2021. The one-page memorandum says the county agrees to exclusively support Scottsbluff Exposition & Racing Inc. and Prairie Thunder Gering LLC whenever its cleared to seek licenses from the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission. Beckers Prairie Thunder racino would rise just outside Gerings city limits on 140 acres straddling the Nebraska Highway 71 expressway as it curves northeast around the citys south edge. The plan won Gering city officials blessing later in 2021, but an effective moratorium adopted by the 2022 Legislature has left proposals for all-new racinos in limbo while Nebraskas six existing tracks prepare to add casinos under 2020 voter initiatives. Becker, who operates a one-day quarter horse meet at Hastings Adams County Fairgrounds, also is planning a new horse track and casino there. His attorney, Brian Jorde of Omaha, said Wednesday that Becker is no longer pursuing a would-be North Platte racino. Becker and former project partner Global Gaming Solutions, a Chickasaw Tribe of Oklahoma affiliate, parted ways last summer. Another Chickasaw affiliate has purchased the intended racino site between North Plattes Interstate 80 exits. Prairie Thunder and Scottsbluff Exposition & Racing will announce a new gaming partner in a few months, if not sooner, Jorde said Wednesday. Racinos in Nebraska cities currently lacking horse tracks arent possible before 2025 under last years Legislative Bill 876. That law requires market analyses and socioeconomic analyses for the states existing tracks to be finished first. State Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte has introduced a bill to allow new racinos west of Cozad while also delaying the studies deadline to 2030. LB 148 is scheduled for a March 13 public hearing before the General Affairs Committee. Becker was in the audience at Tuesdays county board meeting, while Jorde presented Beckers request remotely via Zoom. If and when state senators change their minds about allowing all-new racinos, Becker wants to be ready to move quickly, he said. Were very serious about this. We are not Johnny-come-latelys, Jorde said. Weve been working diligently for years now. We want Scotts Bluff (County) to beat out Kimball, which I think is the competition. Canterbury Park, a horse track in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in Minnesota, proposed a casino near Kimballs Interstate 80 interchange about the same time Becker called for one in Gering. The Racing and Gaming Commission has never received a license proposal for a Kimball track, Executive Director Tom Sage said last month. Entities organized by Becker in 2021 applied for tracks for both North Platte and Gering before the moratorium. Western Nebraskas other racino proposal comes from Ogallala, which has partnered with Grand Islands Fonner Park to pursue a site near the Keith County seats I-80 interchange. With Gering and Kimball 40 miles apart and North Platte and Ogallala separated by 50 miles, Jorde said, its unlikely all four will win racinos. We think that these four will be the ones competing for most likely two licenses that could be issued for the western half of the state, he told commissioners. That means either Gering or Kimball would receive a license for the Panhandle, with either North Platte or Ogallala winning the other, he said. Becker, who referred questions to Jorde after the meeting, told commissioners he has showed his commitment to the Scottsbluff-Gering area by buying its would-be racino site even though the states pause on new tracks remains in effect. Beyond that, a $1 million (license application) check has gone to the state racing commission, he said. We just want you on our side. Prairie Thunder LLC, which lists Jorde as its registered agent, bought a pair of parcels Sept. 27 for a combined $1.17 million. About 104.7 acres lie on the Gering side of the expressway, with the rest on the opposite side. Scottsbluff Exposition & Racing Inc., which Becker formed in 2021, won a one-year conditional use permit from the Gering Planning Commission on a 6-2 vote on Sept. 21, 2021. The Gering City Council, which leaves approval of most such permits to the Planning Commission, voted 7-1 to approve a letter of support for the project on Dec. 13, 2021. Planning Commission members voted 5-1 July 19 to renew Beckers conditional use permit for another year. Its now set to expire this Sept. 21. He would have to start over if the states hold remains in place after that, City Administrator Pat Heath said Wednesday. The Gering council likely will soon consider a memorandum of understanding similar to the one the County Board has approved, Heath said. Beyond other economic benefits, Jorde told commissioners, Gering and Scotts Bluff County stand to gain a significant influx of taxes into the community if Becker can build his racino. The trio of racino petitions Nebraska voters approved in November 2020 imposes a 20% tax on each racinos gross gaming income. Gering and the county would each receive 12.5% of that, he said. Seventy percent of the gaming tax would go to the states Property Tax Credit Fund, which finances direct discounts on Nebraskans property tax bills. The states general fund and Gamblers Assistance Program, which aids problem gamblers, would each receive 2.5%. Commissioner Mark Harris, a former Scottsbluff city councilman and mayor, said I generally have not been the advocate or the cheerleader for gambling-type things but wouldnt oppose supporting Beckers plan. Ive been involved firsthand with some issues, family issues, that crept up shortly after keno was initiated here locally, he said. Scotts Bluff County received one of Nebraskas first two local lottery licenses in 1986. Some of this creates certain difficulties for some families, he said. That stuff is real, and it affects some people. But because about 60% of county residents backed the 2020 racino initiatives, he added, my intention would not be to stand in the way. My concern would be if it went to Kimball or any other location close to us that we would end up with some of the same problems or issues but not benefit from any of the financial benefit. Commissioner Charlie Knapper told Jorde hes concerned that the countys keno income would suffer from competition from the Gering racino. He asked whether Becker would be open to allowing the county to operate a keno outlet somewhere at Prairie Thunder. To be honest, we hadnt considered that. I certainly wouldnt say no, Jorde replied. I would say that folks at least in my experience who really enjoy keno may or may not enjoy other things. Scotts Bluff County has received a second purchase offer for the former Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services office building in downtown Gering, county commissioners said Tuesday night. After a 21-minute executive session, the county board voted 5-0 to have Scottsbluff lawyer Phil Kelly continue negotiations and report back to commissioners on progress in selling the property. The two-story building at 1600 10th St., once the home of Gering National Bank & Trust Co. and later U.S. Bank, has been vacant since DHHS moved its local offices in August to the Nebraska State Office Building near Scottsbluffs Safeway store. In other business, commissioners: Approved a memorandum of understanding between the county and the Nebraska Administrative Office of the Courts and Probation for transferring audio-visual equipment between courtrooms in the Scotts Bluff County courthouse. The state will provide and install the equipment, which then will be transferred to county ownership. Approved an agreement with the Nebraska Department of Transportation to replace a County Road M bridge near Minatare with help from NDOTs County Bridge Match Program. Highway Superintendent Steve Baird said the state will contribute up to $250,000, with the county covering the rest. The bridge is about two miles north and 1 miles east of Minatare. <&rule> Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) Members of the European Parliament showed their support for former Sen. Leila de Lima on the eve of her sixth year in detention, while a human rights group reiterated its call for her freedom. On Thursday, an 18-man delegation composed of members of the European Parliament subcommittee on human rights, political group representatives, and interpreters went to Camp Crame, where De Lima has been detained since Feb. 24, 2017. According to the Philippine National Police, the visit was endorsed by the Department of Foreign Affairs through a note verbale sent by the Office of European Affairs. Some members of the European Parliament at Camp Crame The Philippines accepted the request of the European Parliament to visit Manila from Feb. 22 to 24 to hold dialogues with government officials on many issues, including the human rights situation in the country, and exchange views on best practices and legislation. In a closed-door meeting with senators on Wednesday, European lawmakers questioned the resolution opposing the probe of the International Criminal Court into the Duterte administration's war on drugs which allegedly resulted in thousands of extrajudicial killings. READ: Talks between PH senators, EU counterparts turn 'intense' after mention of ICC probe De Lima was one of the most vocal critics of former President Rodrigo Duterte and his brutal anti-drug campaign. Almost a year after Duterte took power, the senator was arrested and detained over drug-related charges. TIMELINE: De Lima's five-year struggle in prison Boni Tacardon, one of her legal counsels, earlier said they would file a supplemental motion for bail this month after key witness Rafael Ragos retracted his testimony against the former senator. So far, she has been acquitted in one of her three drug cases. In a statement, rights group Amnesty International said it was a "travesty" that De Lima has endured six years in detention after "bogus charges." "The numerous retractions of fabricated testimonies and alarming allegations of coercion are further damning evidence of the government's undeniable role in De Lima's arbitrary and lengthy detention, which clearly violates her rights to liberty, presumption of innocence and other fair trial guarantees," said Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Southeast Asia researcher for Amnesty International. Last Feb. 19, the committee on the human rights of parliamentarians of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) the world's oldest and largest group of national parliaments said it was "ever more convinced" that the cases of the detained senator were related to her vocal opposition to the deadly war on drugs. READ: Inter-Parliamentary Union 'ever more convinced' De Lima's detention politically motivated Amnesty International urged the Marcos administration to ensure the "immediate and unconditional" release of the detained senator, urging the dropping of all charges against her. It stressed: "De Lima should never have spent a day in prison, but instead she's languished there for six years. The government must urgently give her the freedom and justice she deserves after such an appalling ordeal." Law enforcement is seeking public assistance to locate Joseph Sloan, 37, of rural Gering. Family members reported him missing late in the afternoon of Tuesday, Feb. 21, according to a press release issued by Sheriff Mark Overman. He was possibly in the La Grange, Wyoming area Tuesday. Sloan is described as a white male, 6-feet tall, weighing 155 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. He is believed to be driving a silver 2012 Toyota Tundra Crewmax pickup bearing Nebraska license plate 21-67BE. Family members have also been circulating a post on social media. Overman asks that anyone with any information to report contact the Scotts Bluff County Communications Center at 308-436-6666, or other local law enforcement. A pickup truck driven by 36-year-old Jedd Lofgren of Wahoo crossed over into the oncoming lane while northbound on Nebraska 109 near Cedar Bluffs, went through a ditch, went airborne, struck a tree and rolled, the Saunders County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. Piedmont HealthCare welcomes Dr. Brandi Kennedy, MD, FMOB, to Piedmont HealthCare OBGYN. Kennedy will be joining tenured physicians Dr. Margot Wacks, Dr. Laura Randolph, Dr. Jennifer Parker and Dr. Jamila Wade at Piedmont HealthCare OB/GYN in Statesville. We are so excited to have Dr. Kennedy join Piedmont HealthCare OB/GYN. She not only makes a great addition to our group but will have a strong impact on the Iredell County community as a whole said Parker, DO. In addition to providing outstanding obstetric care for our patients, she will also be offering family medicine services for all ages, including pediatrics. Kennedy attended Oklahoma State University for her undergraduate degree, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude studying physiology with a Spanish minor. She then went on to receive her doctorate in medicine at the University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Kennedy completed her residency at Spartanburg Regional Family Medicine and chose to pursue additional training through her Spartanburg Regional Obstetrics Fellowship. As a fellowship-trained obstetrician and family medicine physician, I am able to take care of my patients through all stages of their life, including pregnancy, said Kennedy. I am looking forward to establishing long-lasting impactful relationships with my patients across all generations in Iredell County. Kennedy celebrates three years of marriage this year to her husband Jordan, a physical education teacher at NB Mills Elementary School. Together they have a 2-year-old girl and one baby girl on the way. The Kennedy family enjoys spending their spare time getting to know the area and traveling to nearby cities like Charleston, South Carolina. Kennedy is seeing female patients only at Piedmont HealthCare OB/GYN: 1446 Fern Creek, Statesville. For more information on Kennedy, visit https://piedmonthealthcare.com/provider/kennedy-brandi-md/or to schedule an appointment contact Piedmont HealthCare OB/GYN at 704-873-9617. While the estimated 42% increase in tax value still falls in line with other counties that are reappraising tax values in 2023, that is hardly of comfort to Iredell County taxpayers. The public comment period at the Iredell County Board of Commissioners was filled with concerned residents as they voiced their frustration with their looming tax bills. Lorie Fees advocated for lowing the 18th lowest tax rate (0.5375 per $100 of assessed value) among North Carolinas 100 counties. I dont need my property reassessed, I need some help with the .53. Im going from $324,000 to $487,000, thats a $163,000-plus increase, Fees said. I think if we figure out something here where we can go down on the tax rate I mean I voted for the school bond, Im excited about the growth but Im not in a position where my income is making strides with what were paying every day. When you take and you look at the very basics, your people here in Iredell County are the bread and butter, good people, were not living high on the hog. County Manager Beth Mull said that reappraisal is required by the North Carolina Department of Revenue every eight years, but it is recommended to do it every four. Delaying the reappraisal really wasnt an option for us, Mull said. She noted that in 2021, the county got a letter from the Department of Revenue, stating that the county was at 87% of the fair market value, and typically should be between 90 and 110%. In 2022, that dropped to 71%. The last revaluation was in 2019. Jeff Ehrlich asked what the county plans to do with the money generated from the reassessment if the tax rate isnt lowered. What is going to happen with that money? Thats the first thing that popped into my (head). Thats a tremendous windfall, and I think there needs to be a great hesitancy just to find ways to spend it, because thats pretty easy. County meeting regular Tom Snyder shared his concerns with how the county has handled the rezoning of residential areas, which he said was too dense and of little benefit to the county. He also spoke against the tax reappraisal. Angela Matthews said as a CPA, many of her clients are on a fixed income of $2,800 for a household of two for a month. It means choosing between keeping their home or putting food on the table. No one who has worked for 50 years should have to make that choice, Matthews said. She also asked the board to lower the tax rate. Gene Houpe said commissioners are listening to residents concerns and said that the county has scheduled its tax reassessment every four years since the 90s. We have no idea what the economy is going to do. We hear you, we understand the cost of living is up, we feel the pain, and were going to look at every situation once we get all our information, Houpe said. The board and county manager also encouraged people to appeal their evaluations if they believe there was an error made by the county. Regular agenda Dura Supreme LLC, owned by Supreme Chemistry Brand, Inc., requested an economic development incentive of up to $197,445 over a five-year period based on the companys investment of up to $17.4 million, based on the creation of up to 237 jobs. No one spoke at the public hearing, and it was improved 5-0. Consent agenda The following issues are considered administrative matters by the board and discussed in a pre-agenda meeting before the regular meeting at 7 p.m. All are passed with a consent vote unless moved to the regular agenda. Solid Waste: Approved for purchase of five vacant lots on Twin Oaks Road from LandQuest, LLC for $80,000. The department said that by doing so, the lots will not be developed for residential or other commercial uses which in years to come may lessen traffic concerns or other complaints from the public. Finance Department: Approval of an amended contract for Martin Starnes & Associates, CPAs, P.A. to complete the annual audit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022. Finance is requesting to extend the contract beyond Jan. 31. It said there would be no change in the fee from the original contract amount of $77,395. Tax Administration: Approved the refunds and releases for January 2023. One was due to a North Carolina Department of Transportation condemnation action from 2019 and a consent judgment in 2022, which resulted in a release of $7,718.90. This same judgment resulted in a refund of $19,477.80 for the 2020 and 2021 tax years. Emergency Management: Approved request from the Fire Tax Oversight Committee to use $56,587.17 from the Countywide Fire Service District undesignated fund balance to pay for the replacement of a motor in a South Iredell VFD fire engine. Appointment James Steele was approved for the Farmland Preservation Advisory Board. He fulfills the remaining term of Charles Carter, who died last year. Local schools closed Thursday due to the weather, and some have reported closures or delays for Friday as well. The Rainier and St. Helens school districts report classes are canceled Friday. Rainier also says there will be no preschool or kindergarten. The Woodland School District reports classes will start two hours late Friday, with no buses going to Cascadia Tech. The Ridgefield School District is set to start three hours late Friday. Morning preschool in Ridgefield is canceled and there will also be no buses going to Cascadia Tech. EOCF Head Start sites in Cowlitz and Clark counties will be closed Friday. Thursday The following districts closed Thursday: Longview, Kelso, Woodland, Kalama, Toutle Lake, Toledo, Rainier, Clatskanie, St. Helens, Ridgefield, and Three Rivers Christian in Longview. The Longview School District also reported there would be no afternoon activities on campus Thursday. Castle Rock schools are on mid-winter break through Friday. Lower Columbia College closed Thursday, meaning all classes, including online, as well as activities were canceled. Lower Columbia College Head Start reports all centers in Longview, Kelso and Castle Rock were closed Thursday. All Educational Opportunities for Children and Families, or EOCF, Head Start sites in Cowlitz and Clark counties were closed Thursday, including the administration office. South Africa: Meeting puts medical countermeasures under the spotlight The Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, has called on experts and industry leaders to ensure that future medical countermeasures (MCMs) platforms deliver life-saving tools to the right people at the right time and place. Achieving this means protecting lives and livelihoods, advancing economies, and securing world peace and health security, he said on Thursday. The Minister was speaking in Sandton, where South Africa and Norway, in association with the World Health Organisation (WHO), are hosting a two-day high-level technical meeting on MCMs. MCMs are medicines and medical supplies that can be used to diagnose, prevent and treat diseases and these include vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics. The stakes are high, but we are confident that this initiative is in the worlds most capable and expert hands. The meeting of the worlds best minds in medical countermeasures and pandemic management excites me. There is no doubt that this will be a fascinating and highly fruitful meeting, said Phaahla. The discussion centres on an assessment of the needs relevant to the establishment of a future MCMs platform and an end-to-end medical countermeasure ecosystem. It also zooms in on coordinated delivery support for vulnerable countries, and humanitarian settings and financing. Phaahla also made a special mention of the Facilitation Council for the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, the first global pandemic response platform that raised about US$24 billion in less than two years. The platform also deployed almost 1.9 billion doses of vaccines globally, of which more than 70% went to low-income countries. Moreover, it delivered 164 million tests, and provided treatments and oxygen supplies during the peak of the deadly pandemic. Phaahla believes that ACT-Accelerator should remain in place until a permanent global countermeasure mechanism is in place within a broader system for global pandemic preparedness and response. The following two days should reflect on our performance in delivering equity in access to medical countermeasures. We have gathered to confront this issue as an acknowledgement that we came short in this regard. However, the Minister believes that it takes maturity, vision and excellence to strive for better future regimes towards an ideal world. This is an undertaking we have all made, as we committed in various fora to the Sustainable Development Goals. WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said she hopes that the industry leaders will use the tough lessons of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic to inform suggestions on how to deal with future outbreaks. Africa was seriously affected by COVID-19 and is often the last continent to benefit from countermeasures, said Moeti. In addition, Special Advisor to President Cyril Ramaphosa, Professor Olive Shisana, said the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant challenge for the international community, particularly in developing, distributing and financing MCMs. Shisana acknowledged that the pandemic has highlighted inequalities in access to healthcare, which ultimately cost more lives. She called on the global community to do more. Phaahla said the broad and complex issues of equity regarding access to pharmaceuticals hasve a long history, and there are "signs that threaten to cast long shadows into the future". "However, an awakening has begun and today, we will never again accept inequity in access to quality medical countermeasures. He also thanked the rest of the co-hosts and collaborators who have come together to respond to an urgent need for global MCMs. These include ACT-Accelerator, the African Union, the European Union, Japan, India, the United States and the ACT-A Independent Evaluations Reference Group comprising, which includes Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Nigeria, Sweden, and the representatives of the ACT-Accelerator Civil Society Organisations platform. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2023-02-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Delegates recommend adoption of Chinese Juncao technology to promote sustainable agricultural production in Africa Xinhua) 09:59, February 23, 2023 KIGALI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Delegates attending an African regional workshop on applications of Juncao technology in the Rwandan capital city Kigali have recommended the adoption of the technology to promote sustainable agriculture production in Africa. Juncao technology is a priority project under the China-United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund as it contributes to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including eradication of poverty, reduction of hunger, use of renewable energy, promotion of women's empowerment, job creation and response to ongoing climate change, said Amson Sibanda, chief of National Strategies and Capacity Building Branch, Division for SDGs, the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, at the workshop on Tuesday. Under the "Agriculture, Food Security and Food Safety" pillar of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Dakar Action Plan (2022-2024), China and Africa agreed to give full play to the agricultural technology demonstration centers already established in Africa to strengthen personnel training and exchanges as well as agricultural technology trials and demonstrations, Sibanda said. The presence of Chinese experts and the participation of various countries in the forum underscore the importance of South-South cooperation as well as the contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, said Ozonnia Ojielo, UN resident coordinator for Rwanda, at the workshop. "Juncao technology is an important technology that will enhance and promote sustainable agriculture production in Africa and contribute to the continent's efforts towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals," he said. Ojielo said that the most important thing participants can learn and take away from the workshop is to apply the knowledge gained on Juncao technology and make much more use of it as they return to their respective countries. "I am pleased that Juncao technology is contributing to the fight against poverty and climate change in Rwanda and hopefully so in all our countries in Africa," he said. Speaking at the workshop, Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda Wang Xuekun said that Juncao technology can be applied to mushroom cultivation, livestock forage, biogas and soil preservation. Since 2001, the technology has extended to 106 countries worldwide and helped countless farmers get rid of poverty and achieve prosperity, he said. "By now, more than 35,000 Rwandan farmers have been trained in this technology, and over 3,800 households, 50 companies and cooperatives have been supported to engage in the pertinent business," Wang said. He said that the technology is low-cost, high-yielding and environment-friendly, and that Africa stands a chance to adopt the technology and contribute to achieving sustainable agriculture production on the continent. Addressing participants, Olivier Kamana, permanent secretary in the Rwandan Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, said that the government of Rwanda considers Juncao technology as a technology that needs to be prioritized. "Juncao technology is a high-potential agricultural technology to enable the country to achieve the SDGs. The technology has been adopted by many mushroom farmers in Rwanda," he said. According to Kamana, many people in Rwanda and abroad are not yet aware that mushroom-farming is a profitable business that can help fight poverty and malnutrition. "Adoption of Juncao technology will certainly boost profits of mushroom producers, small and medium-enterprise mushroom processors, and generation of household incomes," he said. The four-day workshop has brought together government officials, experts in Juncao technology, farmers' representatives, representatives from the UN, civil society organizations and the private sector, among others. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) The House Committee on Population and Family Relations on Thursday approved in principle bills legalizing divorce, as well as related measures seeking the civil recognition of marriages dissolved by the Catholic Church and other religious denominations. Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, author of House Bill 78 seeking to legalize divorce, said the approval is subject to the submission of a substitute measure to be drafted by a technical working group (TWG) which will include the key provisions of other divorce-related bills. Lagman has been selected to lead the TWG in charge of coming up with a substitute bill. In the explanatory note, Lagman said when the foundations of marriage are lost, "no amount of compulsion by statute, custom or religion can restore their value." At least six bills have been filed in the 19th Congress to legalize divorce as a way of dissolving marriages. Meanwhile, two measures, House Bill 1021 of Cebu Rep. Pablo John Garcia and House Bill 1593 of Tingog Party-list Rep. Yedda Romualdez, seek to recognize the civil effects of church annulment. Lagman said divorce would not destroy marriages because it could only be availed of by couples whose relationship "has long perished." "Absolute divorce is urgently necessary in exceptional cases for couples in inordinately toxic and irreparably dysfunctional marriages, particularly the wives who are abused or abandoned," the lawmaker said. He said his bill also prohibits "quickie" or "drive-thru" divorces, as well as collusion between spouses to end the marriage. "Divorce is not against the Catholic faith. Even the Bible cites instances when Jesus Christ allowed divorces. All Catholic countries, except the Philippines, have legalized divorce. Even the Catholic hierarchy has its own matrimonial tribunal which dissolves marriages similar to a divorce," added Lagman. Jerome Secillano, Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Public Affairs Committee Executive Secretary, said the Catholic Church remains staunchly opposed to legalizing divorce. Iglesia Ni Cristo spokesman Edwil Zabala said their church also believes in the sanctity of marriage. Several local schools are closed Wednesday due to the weather. The Woodland School District, Kalama School District and the Ridgefield School District are closed. The Rainier School District is using snow routes in the morning and afternoon, and has early release because it's Wednesday. View snow routes at www.rainier.k12.or.us. The Kelso School District ran on morning snow routes, and is also running on snow routes in the afternoon for routes 15, 16, 20 and 26. View the district's snow routes at www.kelso.wednet.edu/page/transportation. Toutle Lake School District is running on afternoon snow routes. The Head Start center in Woodland is closed. St. Helens School District is running on morning and afternoon snow routes. Snow routes can be viewed at www.sthelens.k12.or.us. Love Street Playhouse in Woodland invites the community to take a vacation to the Mediterranean Sea by auditioning for their upcoming production of Enchanted April from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. March 6. The production will be directed by Brenda McGinnis and is written by Matthew Barber. Those interested in auditioning should arrive before 6:30 p.m. to fill out an audition form, bring a headshot, resume, and a personal calendar for conflicts. Love Street welcomes anyone interested to audition and all ethnicities are encouraged to audition for any role. Auditions will be held at Love Street Playhouse at 126 Loves Ave. in Woodland. Adapted from the 1922 novel by Elizabeth Von Arnim, the story centers around a pair of London housewives who plan a getaway to a luxurious Italian villa, bringing along two stuffy, upper-class ladies to share the expense. Enchanted April is a charming comedy that portrays a different sort of girls trip than expected. Those interested can email questions to Melinda Pallotta at melinda@lovestreetplayhouse.com or visit www.lovestreetplayhouse.com/auditions. The audition will include only cold readings from the script so theres no need to prepare a monologue or make an appointment for the audition. All actors will need to learn to speak in a proper English accent. Love Street Playhouse strongly encourages those interested in auditioning to review the audition sides available on the website to familiarize themselves with the material before the audition. Rehearsals for Enchanted April start in the middle of March and run four or five times a week until the show opens April 28. Performances run Thursday through Saturday evenings from April 28 to May 14, with the option of adding performances on Wednesday nights and Sunday afternoons. OLYMPIA What one expert called the first bill of its kind on domestic violence cleared a major hurdle last week, passing out of committee in the Washington state House of Representatives. State Rep. Lauren Davis, D-Shoreline, used her personal experience to create House Bill 1715, aiming to enhance existing services and protections for domestic violence victims. Diane Rosenfeld, founding director of the Gender Violence Program at Harvard Law School, called it the most thorough, original and comprehensive piece of legislation she has ever seen. This bill rests on this notion that is also backed by 25 years of research that domestic homicide is preventable, Davis said. It is predictable and therefore preventable, and DV homicide is actually the most predictable form of homicide. The main components of the bill include starting up a lethality assessment hotline, strengthening civil protection orders, expanding GPS monitoring of offenders across the state, and creating a right to counsel for low-income survivors. The bill also calls for further restricting offenders from having firearms and other weapons, establishing a statewide domestic violence prosecutor and expanding law enforcement training on the issue. And it proposes creating a research center at the University of Washington and an ombuds office for domestic violence. Early estimates suggest the bill could cost about $9 million per year. Davis bill joins a spate of proposals in the Legislature meant to tackle domestic violence, including legislation that would issue emergency domestic violence no-contact orders, create a victim-centered response in the legal system, and reduce gun and gender violence harm. In the committee voting session for the bill, Rep. Jenny Graham, R-Spokane, the lone no vote, said she opposed the bill because her concerns about restricting firearms were not amended. As a victim of domestic violence and a survivor of abuse and violent crime, I know firsthand what it means to be fearful of a close family member, Graham said. But I also know how accusations can be weaponized. We need to protect the rights of all individuals, including the accused. Davis said she spent 217 days hiding in more than a dozen safe houses last year to escape her ex-boyfriend, prominent lobbyist Cody Arledge. He was barred from the Capitol after a judge ruled he stalked the state representative. I am a white, educated, English-speaking woman. I have every privilege in the world, and yet our system failed me, Davis said. Over and over again. Ive spent the last 18 months careening through every part of our states domestic violence system. She is concerned other women, particularly those who dont have the same privileges and access to resources as her, wont escape with their lives. According to data provided by the King County Prosecuting Attorneys Office, 2022 saw the most domestic violence deaths in 25 years. A spokesperson said domestic violence is the most charged crime in the states most populous county, making up at least a quarter of all charges in the past six months. The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs reported more than 60,000 domestic violence incidents statewide in 2021, nearly half of all crimes against people that year. Davis proposed lethality assessment hotline would evaluate how likely a person could be killed in a domestic violence situation, ranging from low to extreme. For example, the assessment would factor whether a person told their partner theyre leaving them and if their partner has guns. Those scores then would be sent to courts and law enforcement agencies. In addition, new high-risk teams, who handle the hotline, would identify and monitor the most dangerous cases where a person faces the threat of serious injury or death. Those teams would help coordinate a response and connect people with resources. The assessments could help prioritize civil protection orders. According to court records, more than 7,000 civil protection orders were filed in 2021 at the district, state, county and municipal courts. Theyre meant to restrict contact between a victim and an offender, including banning the offender from the victims residence, workplace or school, and requiring them to maintain a minimum distance. But often, Davis said, there can be some delay in sending those orders to authorities and serving them to the respondent. Her bill would require courts to get protection orders to law enforcement the same day they are issued rather than by the next court day and have police attempt to serve them within 24 hours, unless an emergency makes that infeasible. Situations that have been given a high lethality designation would get higher priority. Davis bill would also require GPS tracking of offenders be made available as a tool in all jurisdictions throughout the state. The trackers would notify police and victims through a mobile app if a protection orders minimum distance is violated. The GPS devices were initially coded into law after Tiffany Hill was killed by her husband in Clark County, but so far few courts mandate them because of costs. Clark County Deputy Prosecutor Taylor Knight, the coordinator for the offices Domestic Violence Prosecution Center unit, said 40 GPS devices now are being used in Clark County. King County also uses them. Another component of the bill seeks to provide funding to help low-income people pay for protection order proceedings and create a list of attorneys to represent their cases. Refugee Womens Alliance Domestic Violence Program Director Carlin Yoophum said there are more barriers for refugee and immigrant domestic violence victims and survivors. They might not be able to speak English, or know how to navigate the courts in a new country. Yoophum said at least a third of people seeking services with the Alliance dont go through the legal system, usually out of fear of what the consequences might be. The organization handled more than 700 domestic violence cases in 2022, Executive Director Mahnaz Eshetu said. She said she supported Davis legislation. I think it is very important because it helps our clients to move forward with their petition and all the legal proceedings, Eshetu said about creating more support for low-income domestic violence victims and survivors. By proposing the legislation, Davis said she is flipping her narrative, writing down every pitfall from her journey with the system to make sure other survivors wont share the same problems. Something shifted in me, then I pivoted from victim to survivor, Davis said at the hearing for her bill. I was ready to fight for my life. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain China's Alibaba Group said Thursday its revenue rose two percent year-on-year in the quarter ending December 2022, as the internet giant shook off the impact of strict COVID containment measures and a slump in consumer demand. The company recorded revenue of 248 billion yuan ($36 billion) for the three months through December, according to a quarterly earnings report. "We delivered a solid quarter despite softer demand, supply chain and logistics disruptions due to impact of changes in COVID-19 measures," chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang said. "Looking ahead, we expect continued recovery in consumer sentiment and economic activity," he added. China maintained a strict zero-COVID policy until late last year, sticking fast to a strategy of snap lockdowns and lengthy quarantines even as they roiled global supply chains and smothered demand. Beijing abruptly changed tack in December, lifting years-long curbs in a matter of days. "During the past quarter, we continued to improve operating efficiency and cost optimization that resulted in robust profit growth," said Alibaba's chief financial officer, Toby Xu. "Our net cash position remains strong and we continue to generate healthy cash flow," he said. Tech troubles China's technology industry has been hit in recent years by a sweeping crackdown, with authorities pulling Alibaba finance affiliate Ant Group's planned 2020 IPO in Hong Kong at the last minute. The government also later fined Alibaba a record $2.75 billion for alleged unfair practices. Alibaba's billionaire founder Jack Ma retreated from public view after a public speech in 2020 accusing financial regulators of stifling growth. He said in January he would cede control of Ant, which operates Alipay, the world's largest digital payments platform. Alibaba's earnings data showed a three percent increase in revenue year-on-year for the quarter ending September 2022. The company did not release full sales figures for its annual Singles Day shopping bonanza, for the first time ever. The company in December said its business had tackled a "deteriorating macroeconomic backdrop, wild swings in financial markets and fluctuating geopolitical tensions" over the past year. Combined revenue at China's internet companies shrank by just over one percent to 1.46 trillion yuan in 2022, the first contraction in almost a decade, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. But the crackdown appears to be easing as the country scrambles to boost economic growth battered by three years of zero-COVID restrictions. Authorities in December said they would allow Ant to raise 10.5 billion yuan, while embattled ride-hailing company Didi last month began accepting new users for the first time since a 2021 ban on fresh registrations. Chinese tech firms are now rushing into the AI chatbot field, inspired by the success of Silicon Valley's ChatGPT. Alibaba this month said it was developing a ChatGPT-like conversation bot, which is being tested by employees. 2023 AFP This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Shutterstock The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) this week released an update to its annual assessment of reliability, the so-called Electricity Statement of Opportunities. This has been reported as the market operator forecasting "power shortages," or the network being "at risk of supply shortages." The market operator has certainly put up in lights its message that there's an "urgent need for investment in generation, long-duration storage and transmission to achieve reliability requirements over the next decade." Yet the reliability outlook has actually improved overall since AEMO's previous statement last August. At first pass, this seems counterintuitive. How can reliability be improving, yet still evidently cause for grave concern? To interpret the report and statements fully, it's important to understand how the analysis is prepared, and what is and isn't included in the overall outlook. The Statement of Opportunities Every year, AEMO prepares a report that assesses the reliability of the National Electricity Market (NEM). Reliability is a measure of the power system's ability to supply demand. A reliable power system has adequate resourcesgeneration, demand response and transmission capacityto supply customers. In the NEM, the reliability of the system is reported in terms of "expected unserved energy." This is essentially a measure of the expected amount of electricity not delivered to customers, as a result of inadequate capacity to meet the anticipated demand. AEMO's reliability assessment looks ahead ten years, to provide information to the electricity market more broadly on any potential gaps or shortfalls in supply that would put reliability at risk. This was intended to guide the private sector, by highlighting "opportunities" for new investment across the electricity system. Hence the report is named the Electricity Statement of Opportunities. But, importantly, the assessment does not actually forecast a market response or any other intervention in power generation or transmission. It generally only looks at "committed projects"those that are all but guaranteed to be completed. As such, it provides an estimate of the expected unserved energy over the next decade, if (and only if) there is no further investment or response. A consequence of this is that a large amount of potential investment and future capacity is not included. The update AEMO's updated report was prompted by a range of "material generation capacity changes" since the August statement. This includes delays to the Kurri Kurri gas-fired power plant and the Snowy 2.0 hydro project. However, it includes the addition of 461 megawatts of battery storage and 1,326MW of wind developments that have reached "committed" status since August. It also includes the Waratah Super Battery, which will effectively unlock additional capacity in the transmission system. This is why the reliability outlook has improved. There are now no "supply gaps" projected in any region of the NEM, which covers Australia's southern and eastern states, until 202526, where previously there were. Besides these committed projects, more than 2,000MW of battery capacity is "anticipated" to be available. But, as it has not yet met the formal commitment criteria, it has not been considered in AEMO's assessment. The latest report also doesn't include capacity that will supported by the Victorian Renewable Energy Target or the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap. Several transmission developments that are expected to significantly reduce projected reliability risks were also not included. One of these, the Victoria-New South Wales Interconnector West, received a significant boost just yesterday, with the Victorian government issuing orders to accelerate the project. Other schemes are still working their way through the regulatory process, and hence are also not yet included in AEMO's statements. So, while AEMO's assessment projects supply gaps appearing from 2026 onwards, as various projects and other initiatives progress we can expect this outlook to continue to improve. This is, after all, how it's supposed to work. The market operator highlights emerging gaps, and various actors respond to prevent those gaps becoming reality. Emerging risks This is certainly not to say everything is fine. There are some significant risks and challenges on the horizon. The potential closure of Eraring power station in just two-and-a-half years is a key risk to reliability in NSW in particular. In the shorter term, a return to hot summers in 202324 could give the system its harshest test in years. The delay of Snowy 2.0 may also have significant impacts on the reliability of the system. Unfortunately, AEMO's update doesn't provide much meaningful information on the implications of this situation. AEMO's report does not include the transmission projects required to realize the benefits of Snowy 2.0, so the impact of a delay is rather a moot point. It is reasonable to assume, however, that the promised 2 gigawatts of firm supply would have a considerable impact on the reliability outlook. As previously mentioned, there are plenty of projectsrenewable, storage, transmission and demand responsethat can mitigate these risks. But of course we have to actually deliver them. Supply-chain issues, skills shortages and community opposition are key challenges facing the delivery of new capacity. At a federal level, the newly announced Capacity Investment Scheme may help bring more storage capacity online. The Rewiring the Nation plan is intended to bring forward important transmission projects. A bevy of state government programs and interventions will also help bring new projects online. Supply shortages can be assured if nothing happens beyond what is assumed in the assessment. Things are of course happeningbut we do have to get cracking. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain People yelling at broken computers was a popular YouTube genre in the 2000s. If you think this is unique to non-digital boomers when it comes to new technologies, think again. Something similar is happening today with ChatGPT, the chatbot recently launched by OpenAI, which has already generated hype not seen since the Metaverse was considered the next big thing (seems like eons ago, doesn't it?). We are not yelling at ChatGPT, but we interact with it as if it were a person, sometimes even accusing it of lying. "And, in a way, it's natural," says Heather Yang, an Assistant Professor at Bocconi Department of Management and Technology, whose research focuses on how people interact with novel technologies and how that is changing our workplace environment. "We are social animals, and it's been one of the reasons why humanity has thrived. So, we have an instinct to act in a social way, even with machines. Nonetheless, if you humanize a machine, you are more likely to trust it and give away private information." ChatGPT was trained to converse with humans and remembers previous conversations. Using a prompt, you can ask it to perform linguistic tasks such as answering a question, writing or debugging code, composing music, and writing any kind of text (essays, tales, poetry, jokes). The reason for the excitement is that it is extremely effective at performing the majority of these tasks. The chatbot is based on a recent version of Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT), a Large Language Model (LLM), i.e. in ChatGPT's own words, "a type of Artificial Intelligence (AI) program that has been trained on vast amounts of text data in order to understand and generate natural language." "LLMs have been around for decades," says Dirk Hovy, a computational sociolinguist at the Bocconi Department of Computing Sciences. "What is new is the power behind GPT and ChatGPT: they've been trained on basically everything that's ever been written on the Internet and can write text that is no longer funny or weird like the models did some years ago." Models of the Transformer family, launched in 2017, work by refining their ability to complete sentences. When fed a sentence with a hidden word, they can "guess" it (assess which is the most likely). "GPT and a few other LLMs have been able to write fluent texts for some time, but before ChatGPT, which works like an interface, you needed some degree of specialized knowledge to find the model, and you had to be good at coding to ask it things. Now everyone can do it!" "For a language model," Prof. Hovy says, "words are just words. Their output is so good that you are tempted to believe that they understand language, but it's not the case. They only produce sentences that are probable, given their training set." Some features of ChatGPT, though, make this temptation of assuming understanding (and to consider it quasi-human) even stronger. Since it remembers past conversations, ChatGPT can correct what we highlight as a mistake (sometimes with another mistake), by saying, "I apologize for any confusion caused by my previous responses" again and again. The text does not appear on your screen at once, but word by word, as if someone on the other side was writing. The output, most of all, is credible. "In a class," says Prof. Yang, "I asked my students to invent jokes and, then, compared them to jokes written by ChatGPT. Well, the AI-written jokes were not so easy to spot. Unless you are already familiar with ChatGPT, I mean, because it tends to propose the same jokes again and again." Other features make being conscious consumers of ChatGPT's output a real challenge. "According to psychological research, we have cues of whether the content is correct or not: how confident someone sounds, how fluid the reasoning is. Since we find these cues in ChatGPT texts, we think we don't have to check for the quality its output, and we make a mistake," Prof. Yang continues. OpenAI admits several limitations, including that "ChatGPT sometimes writes plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers." Sometimes, facts are entirely invented. Its training, furthermore, ended at the beginning of 2022, so it can't be considered a reliable source for anything that happened after that. A severe drawback of LLMs, partially addressed by ChatGPT, is that because these models have learned everything on the Internet, they've also learned discrimination, fake news, and hate speech. "We have shown that, when asked to complete a neutral sentence, language models most often complete it with hurtful words if the subject is a woman rather than a man, and even more so (up to 87% of cases for terms related to certain queer identities) if the subject is LGBTQIA+," says Debora Nozza, an Assistant Professor at the Department of Computing Sciences. ChatGPT, being targeted to the general public, has additional checks that usually prevent it from generating discriminatory output, "but people have shown that if you ask the right questions, you can still generate horrible things, and anyway, it's like putting lipstick on a pigwe must find ways to address the problem at its root," comments Prof. Hovy. The team is also looking into what these models actually know about differences in the way people speak according to, for example, their age or gender. "We have some evidence that these models know something about this point, but it seems they are not using this information actively," says Prof. Hovy. "If you ask ChatGPT to write something as a woman or a 12-year old would, it may adapt its way of speaking, but you have to overtly ask for it." INTEGRATOR (Incorporating Demographic Factors into Natural Language Processing Models), a research project by Prof. Hovy, wants to make the design of demographically aware LLMs possible. Prof. Hovy, Prof. Nozza, and Dr. Giuseppe Attanasio are also working on how to make LLMs pay attention to linguistic contexts and not only to single words. If someone curious about Dutch culture were to ask ChatGPT, "Do houses built on a dyke always include a windmill?" the chatbot would cut the conversation short ("This prompt may violate our content policy"), because "dyke" can also be a derogatory term, "But if you look at the entire context, though, the meaning should be unmistakable. We implemented a solution where the model learns to look at the larger context rather than over-focusing on one particular word." For the last couple of months, it seems that everyone has been having fun with ChatGPT and making fun of its limitations (underestimating the circumstance that, if asked, the bot says, "ChatGPT can learn from the interactions it has with users, allowing it to improve and become more accurate over time"). But how could it be used in real life, apart from cheating on school assignments? "Living in a multicultural environment like Bocconi," says Prof. Yang, "I see a high potential for leveling the playing field between English native speakers and non-native speakers. You could ask ChatGPT to draft a nuanced e-mail to be sent to a colleague or professor, and it would really be useful to start from such a basis and then amend something to put your own voice in it. It can be such a time-saver." "Since Microsoft has bought a stake in OpenAI, think of possible integrations with Teams, their videoconferencing app," says Prof. Nozza. "It could summarize a meeting in a few bullet points, create a to-do list to be sent to the participants, and schedule the next meeting in your calendar based on the date you agreed on." "ChatGPT could also write this article instead of you," continues Prof. Nozza, "based on the transcript of the conversation." For the record, the publicly available version of ChatGPT did not accept my prompt containing the transcript because of its length. Anyway, I point out, I'm not always impressed by the quality of ChatGPT output. "It could depend on the quality of your prompts," explains Prof. Nozza. "The prompt works like the first part of the sentence LLMs have been trained to complete, so it's key to obtaining a good result. Although ChatGPT is not expected to replace journalists or any other professionals anytime soon, it has the potential to enhance and streamline the way people perform their tasks. Additionally, it could bring about new job opportunities." Keep an eye on Linkedin for vacancies for prompt engineers. Journals referenced in this work include Proceedings of the 2021 Conference of the North American Chapter of the Association for Computational Linguistics: Human Language Technologies, Findings of the Association for Computational Linguistics: ACL 2022 and Proceedings of the Second Workshop on Language Technology for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. More information: Debora Nozza et al, HONEST: Measuring Hurtful Sentence Completion in Language Models, Proceedings of the 2021 Conference of the North American Chapter of the Association for Computational Linguistics: Human Language Technologies (2021). DOI: 10.18653/v1/2021.naacl-main.191 Giuseppe Attanasio et al, Entropy-based Attention Regularization Frees Unintended Bias Mitigation from Lists, Findings of the Association for Computational Linguistics: ACL 2022 (2022). DOI: 10.18653/v1/2022.findings-acl.88 Debora Nozza et al, Measuring Harmful Sentence Completion in Language Models for LGBTQIA+ Individuals, Proceedings of the Second Workshop on Language Technology for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (2022). DOI: 10.18653/v1/2022.ltedi-1.4 Provided by Bocconi University This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: CC0 Public Domain Over the past year, images from Ukraine have often portrayed a war resembling other conflicts from the past half-century. Russian forces deploy tanks, fighter planes, warships, amphibious vehicles and attack helicopters. Ukrainians fight back with anti-tank weapons, grenade launchers and anti-aircraft missiles. This is how much of the war appears on the ground. But there's another side to the conflicta hypermodern battleground where drones play a crucial role in surveillance, reconnaissance and combat missions. These technologies may foreshadow a world in which armed conflicts are conducted largely by remote controland perhaps someday, by artificial intelligence. What lessons does the drone war in Ukraine hold for the future? Commercial and portable drones One lesson is that drones have been democratized, accessible to anyone with a few hundred dollars and a bit of technical knowledge. In Ukraine, DIY hobbyists have modified and weaponized small, inexpensive commercial drones by outfitting them with high-resolution cameras and explosives. Ukraine's Aerorozvidka air reconnaissance unit made headlines early in the war when its drones helped stop a Russian convoy headed for Kyiv. Aerorozvidka personnel use spiderlike hexacopters, octocopters and other remote-controlled devices as weapons. These gadgets typically fly at low altitudesless than 1.5 miles (2.4 kilometers)and limited distancesless than 19 miles (31 kilometers). Russia's fighter jets aren't designed to prevent attacks from such small drones. 'Suicide' drones Both sides in the war have also unleashed loitering munitionssometimes called "suicide" drones. These self-destructing devices can circle around targets for hours before attacking. Ukraine's arsenal includes U.S.-made Switchblade and Phoenix Ghost models, while Russian forces use domestically manufactured Lancet-3 drones. Some of these weapons are small enough to fit in a backpack. Ukrainian forces have also fashioned DIY loitering munitions by attaching explosives to off-the-shelf quadcopters. Russian troops have also used Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones, which recently terrorized Kyiv. At about 11 feet (3.5 meters) long, these fixed wing drones resemble a small plane. Loitering munitions typically cost US$10,000-$20,000 each, and have a longer range932 miles (1,500 kilometers) or morethan cheap commercial drones. Most have swarming capability, which allows multiple drones to attack a target and inflict greater damage. In the Ukraine war, it's much more expensive to intercept loitering munitions than to deploy them. Using MiG-29 jet fighters, C-300 cruise missiles and other Cold War-era weapons to stop these drones far exceeds the cost of the disposable robots. New high-tech battles of attrition could become a regular feature of future conflicts, with each side attempting to exhaust its enemy's resources. Loitering munitions hold another lesson. When used against civilians, low-altitude drones can unnerve an entire city. Russia's October 2022 drone attacks on Kyiv not only killed four people, but they terrorized thousands more. A Stanford-NYU research project on the long-term impact of America's drone war in Pakistan reveals that it has deeply traumatized civilian populations. Remotely piloted aircraft Another class of drones includes those capable of flying longer distances124 miles (200 kilometers) or moreand at higher altitudes2.5 to 5 miles (4 to 8 kilometers)than those mentioned above. They can also be armed with laser-guided missiles, boosting their lethality. In the Ukraine war, these dronesessentially remotely piloted fighter planesinclude the Turkish-produced Bayraktar TB2. The Ukrainian military has acquired several dozen, at a cost of about $5 million each. An interview in the field with Ukrainian drone pilots. Some call it the "Toyota Corolla of drones" because of its affordability and reliability. Among other things, the Bayraktar TB2 inspired a Ukrainian rap song that went viral, pointing to the potential propaganda value of new technologies. Russian forces have used comparable drones, most notably the domestically produced Orion series. Other drones in this class (none of which have been used in Ukraine) include the Israeli Hermes 450, the American-made MQ-1C Gray Eagle, China's recently unveiled Wing Loong 3 and dozens more. China now surpasses Israel as the world's biggest drone exporter. Drone proliferation is likely to accelerate their battlefield presence. High-end military drones High-end drones aren't likely to be used in Ukraine anytime soon. It's hard to imagine that the Rolls-Royce of drones, the U.S.-made RQ-4 Global Hawk, will ever be deployed in Ukraine, given its high cost. (The $200 million behemoth is, in fact, powered by a Rolls-Royce AE 3700 turbofan engine). But it's plausible that one day, the U.S. government might provide Ukraine with RQ-9 Reapers, which cost about $50 million apiece. And although China has so far been reluctant to send weapons to Russian forces, its state-of-the-art CH-5 Rainbow strike drones could dramatically alter the course of the war. This advanced aircraft would provide Russian troops with far greater firepower, endurance and range than its current drones. How drones are changing war Over the past 20 years, researchers have observed that drone warfare simultaneously stretches and compresses the battlefield. It does so both physically and psychologically by increasing the geographic distance between targeter and targeted. When American forces launch drone strikes in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Yemen, the attacks are secret, targeted assassinations, more like a form of hunting than airstrikes on military targets. But the ways in which drones are being used in Ukraine are strikingly different from how the U.S. has deployed them in the war on terror. In Ukraine, both sides use drones as a tactical technology for a range of missions, including battlefield surveillance, artillery spotting and attacking armored vehicles and missile launchers. One year on, missiles and drones dominate the air war over Ukraine, raising the question: Where are the pilots? Future wars may incorporate yet more advanced dronesand counter-drone systems for jamming command or GPS signals, or intercepting drones before they strike. Russia's failure to adequately use such systems gave Ukrainian forces an edge in the early months of the war. Flying 'killer robots' Perhaps the most troubling prospect is the possibility of a new global arms race in which the U.S., China, Russia, Iran, Israel, the European Union and others rush to develop fully autonomous drones. The U.S. Air Force is already testing an AI-controlled fighter jet. Several factors are driving this process. As GPS and control signal jammers become more sophisticated, drones are likely to become less reliant on remote control and more autonomous, using systems that incorporate AI, such as simultaneous location and mapping, LiDAR technology and celestial navigation. Another factor propelling the long-term adoption of autonomous weapons is the psychological impact of remote-controlled warfare on drone pilots, many of whom suffer from serious mental illnesses like post-traumatic stress disorder after killing targeted people. To some observers, autonomous drones might seem to offer a way of eliminating the psychological trauma of killing remotely. Yet many rank-and-file soldiers and pilots are reluctant to use autonomous weapons because they don't trust them, something confirmed by my own research. Finally, there are ethical concerns: Autonomous weapons tend to absolve humans of any responsibility for life-and-death decisions. Who will be held accountable when an autonomous drone kills civilian noncombatants? As the Ukraine war drags onand as autonomous weapons research surges forwardthe possibility of a robot war looms on the horizon. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan federal court in New York, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. The FTX founder returned to a New York courtroom for the second time in two weeks to explain why he keeps accessing parts of the internet that the government can't monitor and how it might affect his bail Credit: AP Photo/John Minchillo FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried faced new fraud charges Thursday in a rewritten indictment unsealed in a New York federal court. The charges, including commodities and securities fraud, were unveiled with the unsealing of the refreshed indictment that was returned a day earlier. It was not known when Bankman-Fried would return to Manhattan for an arraignment. Twice in the last two weeks, he has appeared in court after prosecutors expressed concern that he might be communicating online in ways they cannot trace. They have also said his communications indicate that he might be trying to influence a witness with incriminating evidence against him. A judge is deciding how to toughen Bankman-Fried's bail requirements to prevent any improper communications. Last week, he even suggested that Bankman-Fried might have to be incarcerated prior to trial if his communications cannot be monitored to ensure he is not tampering with witnesses. Bankman-Fried has already pleaded not guilty to charges that he cheated investors and looted customer deposits at FTX, his cryptocurrency platform. The charges accuse him of diverting money from his investors in part to finance political donations and make risky trades through his cryptocurrency trading hedge fund, Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas in December and was brought to the United States soon afterward. FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, when it ran out of money after the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run. He is free on a $250 million personal recognizance bond. The bail arrangement allows him to live with electronic monitoring at his parents' home in Palo Alto, California. Bankman-Fried's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the updated indictment. 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Finished silicon using the SisAl process. Credit: Norwegian University of Science and Technology Norway is Europe's largest producer of aluminum and silicon. The metal industry is one of the country's most important export industries, but also accounts for 10% of its CO 2 emissions. Norway urgently needs to cut its emission levels in the current production methods in order to reach its climate targets. Out with carbon NTNU has taken out a patent for an industrial process that will remove all direct emissions of CO 2 and NO x . The process has been named SisAl. Quartz is the raw material in both the traditional smelting process and using the SisAl method. With today's technology, CO 2 is formed when quartz reacts with carbon. Instead of carbon, the SisAl process uses aluminum as a reducing agent, thus avoiding the formation of CO 2 . "Technologically, we believe that nothing stands in the way of producing silicon on an industrial scale with the new method. And it's energy-saving," says Maria Wallin, a materials researcher at NTNU. The SisAl process is exothermic, meaning the reaction between quartz and aluminum releases energy. Today's method is endothermic, and energy needs to be added to reduce the quartz. SisAl uses only one third the energy consumption per ton of finished silicon. The traditional technology uses 85% to 92% of the quartz that is put in the furnace. SisAl utilizes 97% to 99% because the process can also use quartz in powder form. Wallin and Professor Gabriella Tranell co-coordinate the large EU projects SisAl Pilot and SisAl Slag, which are led by NTNU. Twenty-two partners in research and industry in Europe and South Africa have developed the process based on NTNU's patent. Dozens of pilot tests have been carried out at Elkem's pilot center at Fiskaa in Kristiansand and at the Fundiciones Rey foundry in Spain. Egg of Columbus Wallin says the SisAl method has a number of other advantages. In addition to removing all direct emissions of CO 2 and NO x and saving energy, the new silicon-making process will use slag (dross) and scrap from the aluminum industry. The SisAl process can use slag as a reducing agent in silicon production. The same applies to thin aluminum scrap, for example from food packaging. The SisAl process also creates slag, such as calcium oxide and aluminum oxide, but these are substances that are in demand by the steel industry, says Wallin. The new smelting process also makes better use of the raw material, because fine quartz ("fines") can be used. In the traditional process, fines have to be removed. Circular economy "The challenge we're spending the most time on right now is creating a circular business model that includes the metal industries. We see great opportunities for synergies that would benefit both the environment and the economy," Wallin said. "We're looking to better utilize raw materials, and to find the lowest possible emissions, less energy consumption, maximum reuse and the least possible waste. The size of tax the authorities place on CO 2 emissions is of course also a factor in the calculation," says Wallin. Next steps Silicon is produced by Elkem and Wacker in Norway. Wallin believes that today's smelters for silicon could use the SisAl technology without large investments as a supplement, or partial replacement, for current production. A pilot plant for SisAl production is being built in South Africa as part of an EU project. Wallin considers this a milestone before the eventual construction of a facility on an industrial scale. EU aiming to be self-sufficient The EU has designated silicon as a critically important metal. Silicon has semiconductor properties and is a critical material in circuit boards, solar cells and all electronics. Silicon, in alloys with aluminum, is also a part of many of the everyday materials we use. Today, China accounts for two-thirds of silicon production in the world. World production of aluminum is 60 million metric tons. Silicon production is 12 million metric tons. Europe produces less than half of its needs. The EU is keen to become more self-sufficient in key metals, which has become a major priority since the invasion of Ukraine. The European Commission also believes that the silicon, aluminum and ferroalloy industries risk being moved to low-cost countries given the stricter environmental requirements in Europe. Aluminum scrap is exported annually from Europe to the tune of 600,000 metric tons. The EU aims to phase out these exports to avoid losing valuable raw materials. Norway in a dream position Thanks to hydropower, Norwegian metal production is among the cleanest in the world. Iceland is in the same class because of its geothermal energy and hydropower. "Norway is in a unique position to be able to produce silicon and aluminum by even more environmentally friendly methods than is done today. For silicon, I think we're close to a technological shift. A lot is also happening in the aluminum industry. At the same time, the potential for cleaner production and better resource utilization is even greater when two important industries can work together," Wallin said. "Norway also has the advantage of short transport distances between the facilities of the two industries. We believe the SisAl process can completely replace the current method, but it will probably take time," she said. A version of the research has been published on the pre-print server SSRN Electronic Journal. More information: Harald Philipson et al, Preliminary Techno-Economic Considerations of the Sisal ProcessClosing Materials Loops through Industrial Symbiosis, SSRN Electronic Journal (2022). DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4116381 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: (Left) The molecular structure of perovskite (blue) with the zinc-based capping layer (green). (Right) The FP process that the researchers used to coat the zinc-based capping layer onto the perovskite layer. Credit: NTU Singapore. Solar cells made from perovskite, a material that is able to harvest sunlight and convert it to electricity, hold great potential as a replacement for silicon solar cells. Despite superior performance, efficiency and being cheaper to manufacture, perovskite solar cells have not been commercially manufactured for the consumer market. Perovskites decompose when they react with moisture and oxygen or when they are exposed to light, heat, or used for an extended time, resulting in concerns that the small amount of lead, a toxic heavy metal, present in perovskite solar cells could pollute the environment when the solar cell is damaged or discarded. The lead comes from both the perovskite material and a compound used to make a component of the perovskite solar cell, known as the capping layer. Now, research by scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) at the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore has provided the possibility of capping materials based on non-toxic metals being used in the manufacture of perovskite solar cells. Their study, published in Nature Energy in February 2023 and led by Professor Sum Tze Chien, Director of the Institute of Advanced Studies at NTU and Associate Dean (Research) of NTU's College of Science, and Professor Lam Yeng Ming, Chair of NTU's School of Materials Science and Engineering, could take perovskite solar cells one step closer to the market. Perovskite solar cells are made of several layers of materials, including a perovskite layer that harvests light and a capping layer. The capping layer is coated onto the perovskite layer to protect the solar cell from environmental stresses such as heat and moisture and to boost the performance of the cell. To fabricate the zinc-based capping layer, the researchers dissolved the chemicals and coated the solution onto the perovskite layer in a glovebox. The glovebox protects the perovskite from oxygen and moisture in the environment before it is coated. Credit: NTU Singapore. To ensure that the capping layer is compatible with the underlying perovskite layer, researchers typically use an approach called the half precursor (HP) method to fabricate the capping layer. One of the precursor chemicals is first deposited on top of the perovskite layer which provides the other precursor. Through a process known as cation exchange reaction, the deposited precursor then reacts with lead ions present in the perovskite layer beneath to form a lead-based chemical compound that makes up the capping layer. As a result of the HP method, lead is also present in the protective capping layer. A method that enables non-toxic metals to be used in the capping layer would be a game-changer for perovskite solar cells. To make perovskite solar cells more environmentally friendly, the NTU scientists devised an approach, known as a full precursor (FP) solution method, to synthesize a capping layer that does not contain lead. Using the FP method, the scientists coated perovskites with solutions containing metal halide saltscompounds made of a metal and elements that include chlorine, fluorine and iodineand phenethylammonium iodide (PEAI) that is commonly applied to perovskites to improve the performance of perovskite solar cells. PEAI contains ammonium, a positively-charged ion that contains nitrogen and hydrogen, which is vital for the chemical reaction. Zinc-based compound leads the way The researchers found that a zinc-based compound PEA 2 ZnX 4 synthesized using the method was the most effective capping material among the other materials tested. Unlike the HP method, there is no need to draw lead ions up from the underlying perovskite layer to form this protective capping layer when the FP method is used. This paves the way for the use of non-toxic metals in the capping layer. According to the researchers, the FP process is also more effective than the HP method at fabricating the capping layer as the chemicals in the solution are able to react with each other directly on the surface of the perovskite. The researchers used a vacuum evaporation system to synthesize the remaining layers of the perovskite solar cell, a method commonly used for the fabrication of perovskite solar cells. Credit: NTU Singapore. To fabricate a solar cell capped with PEA 2 ZnX 4 , the researchers first dissolved zinc halide salts and PEAI in a solvent called acetonitrile, commonly used for industrial applications. They then deposited the solution onto a rapidly-spinning perovskite layer attached to an electrically conductive glass substrate to form a thin and uniform layera process known as spin-coating. The coated perovskite was heated at 100 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes to bind the capping layer to the surface of the perovskite. The researchers then used a process called vacuum evaporation, in which a material is heated in a vacuum chamber to produce a vapor which is deposited on the coated perovskite, to synthesize the other layers of the perovskite solar cell. Using the FP method, the scientists created a 1 inch by 1 inch prototype solar cell capped with the zinc-based compound. The scientists examined the zinc-based capping layer using electron microscopy and spectroscopy and found that it did not affect the electrical properties of the underlying perovskite layer. The capping layer also helped to cover defects on the surface of the perovskite layer and improved its light-harvesting capabilities. The researchers say that their method contributes to efforts to make perovskite solar cells more environmentally friendly. For example, the method can be used together with lead-free perovskite materials that are currently being explored for the development of solar cells that would not release toxic metals when discarded. The method also opens the possibility of engineering the composition of the capping layer to enhance the performance of perovskite solar cells. "One of the biggest drawbacks of using perovskite solar cells is their impact on the environment. By enabling zinc and other non-toxic metals to be used in the capping layer, our innovation potentially solves a major obstacle that prevents the widespread use of perovskite solar cells," said Dr. Ye Senyun, research fellow from NTU's School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, one of the lead researchers of the study. Co-lead author Dr. Rao Haixia, research fellow from NTU's School of Materials Science and Engineering, said, "As our method does not require extracting lead ions from the perovskite, this enables the possibility of using a wide range of materials to boost the stability and efficiency of perovskite solar cells." The researchers found that the fabricated solar cell was as effective at converting sunlight to energy as conventional perovskite solar cells. In experiments with light that simulated sunlight, the solar cell could convert 24.1 percent of the light captured to electricity, close to the highest efficiency achieved by perovskite solar cells so far. In comparison, the highest certified light conversion efficiency of silicon solar cells is 25.2 percent. (Left) A diagram showing the different layers of the perovskite solar cell capped with the zinc-based capping material fabricated by the researchers. (Right) The dotted green rectangle indicates the active region of the perovskite solar cell that captures sunlight and converts it to electricity. Credit: NTU Singapore. "The capping layer is a vital component of a perovskite solar cell. This new approach to fashion the capping layer is a major milestone in designing perovskite solar cells with enhanced properties," said Professor Michael Gratzel, Director of the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland, who was not involved in the study. The prototype also demonstrated good reproducibility, with an average light conversion rate of almost 23 percent over 103 cells tested. It had a long lifespan, maintaining more than 90 percent of its ability to convert light into electricity for more than 1,000 hours of operation at full capacity. The performance of the device was also more stable at high temperatures compared to devices without a capping layer. "By expanding the library of materials that can be used, our findings unlock new opportunities for developing superior materials for the capping layer, for more efficient and stable perovskite solar cells," said Prof Sum. "This lead-free protective capping method can also be extended to other applications like perovskite light emitting devices, lasers and detectors." Prof Lam added, "As fossil fuels are depleting rapidly, we need to harness renewable energy resources such as solar energy much better. Eco-friendly and stable perovskite solar cells could be the answer and this innovation can potentially propel a wider scale adoption of perovskite solar cells for solar energy harvesting." The scientists are working on scaling up the method to fabricate full-sized solar cells. They are also in the process of filing a patent with NTUitive, NTU Singapore's innovation and enterprise company. Details of the study can be found in Nature Energy. More information: Yeng Lam, Expanding the low-dimensional interface engineering toolbox for efficient perovskite solar cells, Nature Energy (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41560-023-01204-z. www.nature.com/articles/s41560-023-01204-z Journal information: Nature Energy Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) A top agriculture official and other people involved in an allegedly illegal sugar importation must be ready to face charges, Senator Risa Hontiveros said Thursday after calling the shipments government-sponsored smuggling. Sa pag-amin kahapon ni Department of Agriculture (DA) Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban na sila ang namili at nag-utos sa tatlong kompanya na mag-import, sana ay handa silang humarap sa mga seryosong kasong kriminal at administratibo, Hontiveros wrote in a statement. [Translation: After DA Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban admitted that they ordered three firms to import sugar, I hope they are ready to face serious criminal and administrative cases.] The lawmaker earlier questioned the Feb. 9 arrival of imported sugar, which was ahead of the effectivity of Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) Sugar Order No. 6. She said if the SRA directive which authorizes the importation of 440,000 metric tons (MT) of refined sugar is to be followed, the earliest possible date for the shipments to enter the country is March 1. Hontiveros added that three importers were already identified to be given allocations ahead of the sugar order. She said these companies are All Asian Countertrade, Sucden Philippines Inc., and Edison Lee Marketing Corporation. Biruin niyo, tatlong kompanya, halos na-handpicked pa, ang pinayagan na mag-angkat ng asukal para sa buong bansa, she said on Thursday. Di ba sa ganyan nagsisimula ang kartel? Paanong hindi mangangamoy government-sponsored smuggling yan? [Translation: Imagine, three companies, which even appear to be handpicked, were allowed to import sugar for the whole country. Isnt that how cartels start? How can that not reek of government-sponsored smuggling?] On Tuesday, the senator filed a resolution calling on the Senate Committee on Public Accountability and Investigation to probe the issue. Panganiban earlier said he interpreted a memorandum issued to him by the Office of the Executive Secretary as a go-signal to proceed with the importation. He added that he instructed three capable and accredited companies to import sugar as long as they reduce the cost of the commodity to a commercially acceptable price. But citing Executive Order No. 18, series of 1986, Hontiveros said only the SRA has the power to issue permits on sugar importation. "Once, and for all, para mapanatag naman ang mga consumer, nananawagan ako kay Presidente (Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.): Lagdaan na nila ang isang maayos na sugar order na hawig sa mga dating sugar orders na pangmaramihang importers," she added. [Translation: Once and for all, to give consumers peace of mind, I call on the President: They should sign a proper sugar order similar to previous ones which cover many importers.] Hontiveros said if imported "validly," the arrival of 440,000 MT of sugar can help bring down prices of the commodity to 60 per kilo. Based on the DA's latest price monitoring, refined sugar costs 87 to 110 per kilo in Metro Manila markets. Pero kung cartel lang pala ang makikinabang, malamang kickbackan, kontratahan at katiwalian lang ang magiging resulta, at sa huli, hindi rin bababa presyo, she said. [Translation: But if only cartels were to benefit, it will only result in kickbacks, contracts and corruption, and prices will remain high.] This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: CC0 Public Domain "These are not, like, the nine greatest experts on the internet," noted Justice Elena Kagana reference to herself and fellow colleagues on the Supreme Court. Depsite this, the justices are being asked to negotiate complex arguments that could have wide implications for online providers and ultimately everyone who uses the internet. Their rulings in two cases argued before the court on Feb. 21 and Feb. 22, 2023, could force social media companies to change the way they do business. So, will the Supreme Court "break the internet," as some have suggested? The Conversation asked Michael W. Carroll, a cyberlaw expert at American University, to explain what is at stakeand how the justices appear to be thinking about the cases. Can you talk us through the two cases? The justices are looking at two separate casesGonzalez vs. Google and Twitter vs. Taamnehthat arise out of the same lawsuit. They are being argued separately because they revolve around the interpretation of two different laws. Both cases result from terrorist attacks. The Google case was brought by the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, an American woman killed in the 2015 attack by the Islamic State group in Paris. The death of a Jordanian man in a 2017 attack by the terrorist group in Istanbul forms the basis of the Twitter case. What both have in common is the claim that social media platforms played a role in the organizing of the attacks. In particular, it was argued by lawyers for the two families that Twitter and YouTube, owned by Google, amplified the Islamic State group's recruiting and fundraising messages. Central to this argument is that the social media platforms used algorithms that boosted content to those who may be interested in the Islamic State group's content. How do the two cases differ? In the case of Google, the company is saying it cannot be held responsible because it is protected by Section 230 of the Communications Act. Section 230 holds that no provider of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of information provided by a third party. Google's lawyers argue that treating YouTube as the publisher of Islamic State group videos would contravene Section 230. Complicating matters, however, is the definition in the act of what an information content provider is. It is defined as a person or entity responsible for creating or developing content "in whole or in part." The plaintiff in Gonzalez is arguing that in promoting Islamic State group videos through thumbnails on the platform, YouTube is responsible for content creation and, as such, can be held responsible. As law professor Eric Schnapper, representing the Gonzalez family, argued to the justices: "I type in ISIS video and they are sending me to a catalog of thumbnails which they created." The Twitter case is not centered on Section 230. Rather, at question is whether social media platforms can be seen to be "aiding and abetting" terrorism by not doing enough to take down Islamic State group content and by recommending the terrorist organization videos through its algorithms. Doing so would represent a violation of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1990, as amended. What are the possible implications? Although I don't subscribe to some of the hyperboleno matter what the justices rule, they are not going to "break the internet"the stakes are actually quite high for social media companies. And this is largely due to scale. This could be a huge issue for social media providers because so many people use their products. At the moment, Section 230 provides social media firms broad, but not blanket, immunity against prosecution for the actions of individuals using their services. It doesn't protect platforms if they knowingly promote and circulate criminal content such as child pornography, but it does protect them from a lot of other lawsuits. In fact, Congress specifically designed Section 230 in this way, knowing that the defamation laws that cover traditional media such as newspapers were unworkable on social media. Instead, under Section 230 social media platforms are treated more like phone servicesand phone companies are not held accountable for what is said over their service. If the justices interpret Section 230 in a similar fashion, then not much will change. But if they side with the plaintiff, that could open up social media providers to lawsuits regarding content posted by individuals and groups. How would that affect the way social media operates? That would depend on how tech companies respondwould they change the way their platforms work? And, if so, how? It could change the relationship between users and content, as well as the usefulness of social media. Or it could just mean that social media companies need to tweak the way they present recommended contentso instead of a thumbnail of suggested videos, you just get a hyperlink. But a big question went largely unanswered in the oral arguments: If you open up the door to litigation, where would it end? No one gave the justices an answer on that, which by my reading of the oral arguments appeared to make the justices a little nervous. The fear seemed to be they may make what seems to be a small tweak to the law that ends up having large consequences. What was your reading of where the justices are on the central questions? Judging by the way the oral arguments went down, I got the impression that social media will win on the Section 230 issueand I think they will win pretty clearly. In part, this is because no one could articulate what a narrow interpretation of Section 230 would look like, or where a possible line in the sand could be drawn regarding what content social media firms could or could not be held accountable for. Justice Clarence Thomas noted that the same algorithm used to recommend Islamic State group videos was also responsible for promoting cooking videos to cooking enthusiasts. "I don't understand how a neutral suggestion about something that you've expressed an interest in is aiding and abetting," he said. You can't always tell from oral arguments how justices will rule, but I wouldn't be surprised if justices try to find a way to refine the existing standards, but without making any sweeping changes. In part, this is because any sweeping changes could have implications that go beyond Big Tech. It was notable that among the many amicusor friend of the courtbriefs filed were ones representing the business community and nonprofit organizations. They are all afraid that if the social media companies are deemed to have aided and abetted terrorists, then they too could be open to litigation for accidentally providing assistance to terrorists through the normal course of their activities. This all boils down to a clause in the Anti-Terrorism Act that says aiding or abetting means "knowingly providing substantial assistance." Again, I feel the justices are likely to rule in favor of the social media companies. But the court might want to clarify to lower courts what the standard is on the questions of what constitutes "knowing" and "substantial" assistance. One interesting thing to note is that the court didn't seem to be split down any ideological lines. My impression is that the justices were genuinely struggling in both cases with the issue of where the line should be drawn. They seemed willing to provide some guidance that encourages responsible practices, but they don't want a result that fundamentally changes how the internet works. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Pamela Samuelson is a co-director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology and co-facilitator of the universitys public interest technology initiative. Credit: Pamela Samuelson The U.S. Supreme Court will consider this week whether social media companies are shielded from liability when they use algorithmic systems to recommend relevant content to users. UC Berkeley experts say this case could be a defining moment for Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally states technology companies like Google aren't responsible for content others post on their platforms. The oral arguments will preview how large an impact the court's rulings could have. "Sometimes the Supreme Court decides to make broad statements about how it interprets a particular law and sometimes it focuses on the specific dispute before it," said Pamela Samuelson, co-director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology and co-facilitator of the university's public interest technology initiative. "One thing I will be looking for is how broadly or narrowly they are perceiving the question before the court." Social media platforms have been vectors for wide dissemination of misinformation, harassment and other content that's harmed people and societies. For years, researchers and legislators have explored how to stem the flow of damaging content, while protecting freedom of speech. This case places the nation's top court front and center in that debate. The court will hear arguments on Feb. 21 in the case known as Gonzalez v. Google LLC, which was filed by family members of a U.S. citizen killed in a 2015 ISIS attack in France. Making the internet work The Gonzalez family alleges that Google, through its entity YouTube, violated the Anti-Terrorism Act by materially contributing to elevating terrorists' content. That helped ISIS grow and was a cause of the 2015 attack, the family asserted. They allege that YouTube aided and abetted terrorists by algorithmically recommending ISIS-made content to its users whose viewing history suggested they would be interested in such videos. The plaintiffs say that the recommendations are content created by YouTube, as well as thumbnail images of the videos. Google has argued that Section 230 protects the company from liability in recommending content to end-users. YouTube's recommender systems are not creating content, said Brandie Nonnecke, CITRIS Policy Lab director and Goldman School of Public Policy associate research professor. They organize the content, display it and help make the internet work, she said. "It's like going into a library with the Dewey Decimal System. The old card catalogthat's sort of like a recommender system. The books have been organized in a way that helps you find what you're looking for, and it's likely other books you're interested in are nearby on the shelves, just like how a recommender system shares content with you it thinks you're interested in," said Nonnecke. "Without that, it's like going into a library where all of the books are thrown on the ground, and you're like, "Oh, I think maybe the book on art history is over there," but you don't know." The plaintiffs in the case aren't disputing whether algorithms are necessary for the internet, said Samuelson, a Berkeley law professor. They're drawing a distinction between algorithms, and arguing that YouTube's should not be protected, she said, summarizing the plaintiff's briefs. Nonnecke said differentiating displaying versus recommending content could have a broad chilling effect on free speech. "We all agree with that if it's illegal content and the [platforms] know it's there, and they're still sharing it and not removing it, that's a problem," said Nonnecke. But drawing a technical line between displaying and recommending content, she said, isn't "going to achieve the goal that Gonzalez wants of stopping the spread of harmful content." Nonnecke will specifically be listening during the February hearing for any mentions of how a decision could ultimately affect free speech. Meanwhile, Samuelson said she'll be listening to see if the Supreme Court justices draw a similar distinction between types of algorithms. Samuelson is also interested in whether the justices will share their thoughts about Congress's role in Section 230 debates. Congress has introduced more than 50 bills in recent years to change or repeal the law, though none have passed, she said. Learn more about these cases and Section 230 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay, delivers her speech during a conference on guidelines for regulating digital platforms, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023 in Paris. UNESCO is leading consultations on ways to regulate digital platforms and making the internet a safer space. The two-day conference aims to formulate guidelines and principles that would help regulators, governments, lawmakers and business manage content that undermines democracy and human rights while supporting freedom of expression and promoting the availability of accurate and reliable information. Credit: AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard The United Nations' educational, scientific and cultural agency chief on Wednesday called for a global dialogue to find ways to regulate social media companies and limit their role in the spreading of misinformation around the world. Audrey Azoulay, the director general of UNESCO, addressed a gathering of lawmakers, journalists and civil societies from around the world to discuss ways to regulate social media platforms such as Twitter and others to help make the internet a safer, fact-based space. The two-day conference in Paris aims to formulate guidelines that would help regulators, governments and businesses manage content that undermines democracy and human rights, while supporting freedom of expression and promoting access to accurate and reliable information. The global dialogue should provide the legal tools and principles of accountability and responsibility for social media companies to contribute to the "public good," Azoulay said in an interview with The Associated Press on the sidelines of the conference. She added: "It would limit the risks that we see today, that we live today, disinformation (and) conspiracy theories spreading faster than the truth." The European Union last year passed landmark legislation that will compel big tech companies like Google and Facebook parent Meta to police their platforms more strictly to protect European users from hate speech, disinformation and harmful content. 2021 Nobel Peace Prize Maria Ressa delivers her speech during a conference on guidelines for regulating digital platforms, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023 in Paris. UNESCO is leading consultations on ways to regulate digital platforms and making the internet a safer space. The two-day conference aims to formulate guidelines and principles that would help regulators, governments, lawmakers and business manage content that undermines democracy and human rights while supporting freedom of expression and promoting the availability of accurate and reliable information. Credit: AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard The Digital Services Act is one of the EU's three significant laws targeting the tech industry. In the United States, the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission have filed major antitrust actions against Google and Facebook, although Congress remains politically divided on efforts to address online disinformation, competition, privacy and more. Filipino journalist and Nobel laureate Maria Ressa told participants in the Paris conference that putting laws into place that would prevent social media companies from "proliferating misinformation on their platforms" is long overdue. Ressa is a longtime critic of social media platforms that she said have put "democracy at risk" and distracted societies from solving problems such climate change and the rise of authoritarianism around the world. UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay, delivers her speech during a conference on guidelines for regulating digital platforms, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023 in Paris. UNESCO is leading consultations on ways to regulate digital platforms and making the internet a safer space. The two-day conference aims to formulate guidelines and principles that would help regulators, governments, lawmakers and business manage content that undermines democracy and human rights while supporting freedom of expression and promoting the availability of accurate and reliable information. Credit: AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay answers the Associated Press during a conference on guidelines for regulating digital platforms, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023 at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The two-day conference in Paris aims to formulate guidelines and principles that would help regulators, governments, lawmakers and business manage content that undermines democracy and human rights while supporting freedom of expression and promoting the availability of accurate and reliable information. Credit: AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay listens to the Associated Press Vice President International News Ian Philips during an interview Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023 at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The two-day conference in Paris aims to formulate guidelines and principles that would help regulators, governments, lawmakers and business manage content that undermines democracy and human rights while supporting freedom of expression and promoting the availability of accurate and reliable information. Credit: AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard By "insidiously manipulating people at the scale that's happening now, ... (they have) changed our values and it has rippled to cascading failure," Ressa told the AP in an interview on Wednesday. "If you don't have a set of shared facts, how do we deal with climate change?" Ressa said. "If everything is debatable, if trust is destroyed (there's no) meaningful exchange." She added: "Just a reminder, democracy is not just about talking. It's about listening. It's about finding compromises that are impossible in the world of technology today." 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared Friday, Feb. 24, a special non-working day. Proclamation No. 167 approved by Marcos on Thursday aims to "enable our countrymen to avail of the benefits of a longer weekend" ahead of the anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution on Saturday, Feb. 25. "The celebration of EDSA People Power Revolution Anniversary may be moved from 25 February 2023 to 24 February 2023, provided that the historical significance of the EDSA People Power Revolution Anniversary is maintained," the document read. The Labor Department was tasked to issue the appropriate circular for the private sector. The 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution has been tagged as the movement that restored the country's democracy, and ushered in political, social, and economic reforms. Filipinos had stormed the streets and forced the ouster of the president's father, the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, who fled with his family to Hawaii in exile. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) The Philippines has condemned the test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) last Saturday and other missile launches by North Korea. These tests provoke tension and undermine peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula, in the region and the world, according to Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) statement released Wednesday. The Philippines reiterates its call for the DPRK (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea) to immediately put a stop to these missile tests, comply with UNSC resolutions and resort to diplomacy and peaceful dialogue with the Republic of Korea, it added. North Korea has launched multiple unidentified ballistic missiles into the waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula the latest missile launch in recent days by the country. North Korea released details of Saturdays ICBM launch, saying it was a Hwasong-15 ICBM fired in a surprise ICBM launching drill under the orders of leader Kim Jong Un. The missile flew 989 kilometers (614 miles) for almost 67 minutes to an altitude of 5,768.5 kilometers (3,584 miles), according to the Korean Central News Agency. The North Korean leaders sister later warned of more to come unless the United States halts military drills with South Korea. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres also strongly condemned the launch and reiterated calls for Pyongyang to immediately desist from further provocative actions. Trio sentenced to 15 years each Three men from Bryan-College Station Jaylon Jones, Davion Mitchell and Derrick Burleson were each sentenced to 15 years in prison for aggravated sexual assault, according to the Brazos County District Attorneys Office. The charges stemmed from an incident in 2021 when a man came home from work and found his 15-year-old daughter and three unknown men, later identified as Burleson, Jones and Mitchell, inside the home and naked, according to the district attorney. The three men grabbed their clothes and fled the house while the victims father called police. During an interview at Scottys House, the victim said she knew Mitchell and Jones, but not Burleson. She told investigators she agreed to meet Mitchell at her house, but said his friends werent welcome. According to the Brazos County District Attorneys Office, all three men came to her house and she told them they couldnt come inside. The third man, later identified as Burleson, showed a gun, demanded sex and forced his way inside the house. All three men forced her to perform sexual acts on them while she was held at gunpoint as the others watched and videoed the incident on their phones, according to the district attorney. B-CS Ukrainian community to host anniversary event The Bryan-College Station Ukrainian community is hosting Ukraine Unbreakable, an event honoring the resilience of the Ukrainian people. Following one year since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, community members and supporters are invited to this free event that will include presentations and cultural displays. The event will run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at Texas A&M Universitys Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology Building (496 Olsen Blvd.) in room 106. According to a press release, a group from Austin will be doing a poetry reading. Lena Denman, director of the Arlene Campbell Humanitarian Foundation, will lead a presentation on the work accomplished by the foundation, including sending medical supplies and equipment to hospitals in Ukraine, and plans for further assistance. Additional presentations will include music by local artists, a craft sale and cultural exposition and video reporting made by two Aggies living in Kyiv, Ukraine, according to Elena Kolomiets, technical laboratory coordinator for the Texas A&M PLPM Department. The B-CS community has welcomed several Ukrainian families as a result of the Uniting for Ukraine program wherein Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members are welcomed into the U.S. for a two-year period, the press release said. One of whom was Natalya Kolomiyets, vice president of the Ukrainian Club at Texas A&M, who was awarded a scholarship to Texas A&M and offered housing by the university. Kolomiyets will deliver a speech entitled War in Ukraine through the eyes of an Aggie, on Saturday. In line with this event, the Ukrainian Club at Texas A&M will gain university recognition on March 6 to become an official student organization. The club will promote and assist the Arlene Campbell Humanitarian Foundations efforts to support Ukraine, Kolomiets said. Eagle staff reports The Bryan-College Station Ukrainian community is hosting Ukraine Unbreakable, an event honoring the resilience of the Ukrainian people. Following one year since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, community members and supporters are invited to this free event that will include presentations and cultural displays. The event will run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday at Texas A&M Universitys Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology Building (496 Olsen Blvd.) in room 106. According to a press release, a group from Austin will be doing a poetry reading. Lena Denman, director of the Arlene Campbell Humanitarian Foundation, will lead a presentation on the work accomplished by the foundation, including sending medical supplies and equipment to hospitals in Ukraine, and plans for further assistance. Additional presentations will include music by local artists, a craft sale and cultural exposition and video reporting made by two Aggies living in Kyiv, Ukraine, according to Elena Kolomiets, technical laboratory coordinator for the Texas A&M PLPM Department. The B-CS community has welcomed several Ukrainian families as a result of the Uniting for Ukraine program wherein Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members are welcomed into the U.S. for a two-year period, the press release said. One of whom was Natalya Kolomiyets, vice president of the Ukrainian Club at Texas A&M, who was awarded a scholarship to Texas A&M and offered housing by the university. Kolomiyets will deliver a speech entitled War in Ukraine through the eyes of an Aggie, on Saturday. In line with this event, the Ukrainian Club at Texas A&M will gain university recognition on March 6 to become an official student organization. The club will promote and assist the Arlene Campbell Humanitarian Foundations efforts to support Ukraine, Kolomiets said. Country United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) The Philippines will begin exporting durian to China in March, Malacanang announced Thursday. In a statement, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said the Department of Agriculture (DA) has informed its secretary, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., of the scheduled shipment to Beijing. Although a date was not specified, the DA's Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI) said an initial volume of 7,500 metric tons of durian, which was acquired from 59 local farmers and producers, has already been prepared for shipment. According to the PCO, Manila and Beijing have agreed on a protocol of phytosanitary requirements for the export of fresh Philippine durian to China during Marcos' visit to the East Asian country. Marcos said at least four companies expressed their intention to purchase durian, along with other Philippine tropical fruits. Meanwhile, Malacanang also announced Marcos' approval of the digitalization of the farmer registry and the creation of a digital food balance sheet that would present real-time data on the country's food supply during a specific period. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-7th, and fellow congressional Democrats in Northern Virginia are making an unusual foray into state budget policy by asking Gov. Glenn Youngkin how he will correct a $201 million mistake by his education department on the amount of state money they can expect in basic aid for education in the current budget. Spanberger, who has begun to attract attention as a possible gubernatorial candidate in 2025, voiced concern in a letter on Thursday about how the mistake would affect suburban and rural school divisions that were told last year to expect more state aid for schools than they actually would receive under the budget adopted in June. The Youngkin administration acknowledged the error, which the Richmond Times-Dispatch first reported in late January, and promised to fix it in the budget. The House of Delegates and Senate address it differently in competing versions of the budget now under negotiation by a joint conference committee. "As Representatives for families in rural and suburban parts of Virginia, we are concerned about the adverse impact of this mistake on parents and students in our districts," states the letter, signed by Spanberger and three Northern Virginia Democratic representatives - Don Beyer, 8th; Gerry Connolly, 11th; and Jennifer Wexton, 10th. "Rural and low-income school divisions rely more heavily on state (rather than local) funding, meaning every missing dollar will be harder to find." Youngkin and House Republicans say the unintentional mistake in the state's online education funding calculator hasn't cost local school districts any money or opened a hole in the budget. They say additional sales tax revenues will more than offset the estimated $58.1 million less that school divisions will receive than they expected in the current school year. The House budget includes just $5 million to compensate for the mistake, while the Senate proposed to cover the entire amount. "This delayed congressional inquiry comes weeks after [House Appropriations] Chairman Barry Knight stated on the House floor that the VDOE estimation tool error would be offset in the budget and no school divisions will see reduced resources," Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter said Thursday. "The administration immediately went to work with all stakeholders, including school divisions and the legislature, to address VDOEs error," Porter said. "Both the House and Senate budgets in conference reflect that commitment. Governor Youngkin will continue prioritizing education in Virginia, building on the largest investment in K-12 education in the history of the Commonwealth in his budget last year. Bristol School Superintendent Keith Perrigan said Thursday that while school divisions would not lose money under either proposed budget, "we would have been in much better shape" if the original estimates had been correct in a year when Youngkin and legislators tout their commitment to expanded funding for K-12 schools. "The plan coming out of the House is not as beneficial to these high-poverty school divisions as the Senate budget is," said Perrigan, who also is an officer at the Virginia Association of School Superintendents and president of the Coalition of Small and Rural Schools in Virginia. Spanberger and her colleagues also raised concerns about the effect on suburban school divisions, which can afford to spend more local dollars on schools but will get significantly less money than they had been led to expect. Fairfax County, the state's largest and most affluent school division, would receive $5.1 million less this year and $12.7 million less in the fiscal year that will begin July 1. Her district includes part of Prince William County, which would receive $4.3 million less this year and $10.7 million less under the revised state calculation. She also represents Stafford County ($1.5 million less the first year and $3.8 million less in the second) and Spotsylvania County ($1.2 million and $3.7 million). "These dollars were budgeted to address learning loss, support teacher recruitment and retention, repair school infrastructure, provide mental health support for students, and more," the congressional representatives said in the letter. Spanberger and her colleagues also asked Youngkin to brief the congressional delegation on the issue and do a better job of communicating with local school officials. The education department caught the error on Jan. 23 and reported it to school divisions four days later. "While it is understandable that mistakes can happen, school districts deserve the utmost transparency from your administration," they said. The letter reinforced speculation that Spanberger is positioning herself to run for governor in 2025, after winning two elections in a district centered in the Richmond suburbs and one last fall in a new district based in Northern Virginia and the Fredericksburg area. "Spanberger has the advantage of having won in two districts in different parts of the state," Richmond political scientist Bob Holsworth said Thursday. Holsworth said the letter suggests she is "highlighting a state issue with a potential gubernatorial run in mind." The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option. Quick what song or snippet of music is knocking around in your head right now? Maybe it's a musical phrase from one of your favorite songs. For me, a musician and huge fan of Blue Oyster Cult, there's an infectious chord change pattern A minor to C in their song "Transmaniacon MC." Maybe it's a catchy, well-written lyric from a song like "Oh Hey," from up-and-coming local punk band Pet Mosquito: "I need electrodes in my brain, to keep me from going insane." And sometimes it might be a silly little wordless, hum-able melody that sounds like something you might hear played on a calliope at the circus. Is it just me? Related to recent Music Historicity columns about MP3 audio files and other forms of storage media, discussions persist about the concept of archiving music, how it is stored and who decides what recordings should be preserved. A MH column from May 2022 explored archived music, from "The Sounds of Earth" gold-plated record attached to the Voyager 1 spacecraft to the Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (No. 1 being Aretha Franklin's 1967 recording of Otis Redding's "Respect"). Another Music Historicity opined that awards, such as the Grammys, given by so-called "judges," are invalid because music is in the ear of the beholder, as Plato first implied in the 6th Century B.C. After much careful consideration and time spent beneath a Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome thinking about it, I've now come to a modified conclusion about music criticism. If you'd like to hear about it, just continue reading. In addition to critique, I feel it's also a rock journalist's duty to entertain the reader with flowery 14-syllable words that pertain to how extraordinarily good, or supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, is his writing style. Why does the public consider a Grammy Award music judge qualified to decide one recording is better than another, when beauty and art are in the eye and ear of the beholder? Consider the concept of being a 'professional.' In our society, we consider a professional to be someone who is paid money for their expertise. Society expects a professional to have expertise, even though they may have debatable amounts of the skill. Likewise, a 'professional' is under a personal obligation to do their best to provide expertise in an area unless and until demonstrated otherwise. It's true that everyone has a perfectly valid opinion, albeit possibly limited personal expertise, about music or art. But we expect those deemed 'professionals' to have above-normal expertise because they accept money for their services. Go figure? It's up to the public, then, to decide whether the so-called professional has good expertise and is fair or not. Consider a judge in the Olympic figure skating competition who is accused of favoring a competitor from their own country, for example. This leads to today's discussion on the choices of recordings archived for posterity. Did the Rolling Stone panel get it right when they decided, for their latest 2021 list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, that Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On" was No. 1? Did the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame get it right when their 2023 nominated artists included "A Tribe Called Quest," a hip-hop group that existed sporadically between 1985 and 2017, that recorded only six albums, that never won a Grammy Award? (Winners will be announced in May, by the way.) There are at least 39 different audio archive projects in existence around the world. Each has a panel of judges who decide what recordings should be saved for posterity. In the U.S., the Library of Congress (LOC) has the National Jukebox, a collection of tens of thousands of historical audio files available free of charge that include, for example, more than 10,000 recordings made by the Victor Talking Machine Company between 1901 and 1925. Established in 2000, another archive within the LOC is the National Recording Registry, which stores sound recordings that "are culturally, historically or aesthetically significant and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." But who makes the annual choices of what recordings fit that description? Selections are made by the National Recording Preservation Board, appointed by the Librarian of Congress. The group consists of 42 representatives of composers, musicians, musicologists, librarians, archivists and the recording industry. The panel who decide what recordings should be archived for posterity include two individuals from the following 17 organizations: The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), the American Federation of Musicians, the American Folklore Society, the American Musicological Society, the Association for Recorded Sound Collections, the Audio Engineering Society, Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI), the Country Music Foundation, the Digital Media Association, the Music Library Association, the National Archives and Records Administration, the National Academy of Popular Music, the National Association of Recording Merchandisers, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), The Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC) and the Society for Ethnomusicology. The essence of critiquing music can be compared to tasting food. The first phase is the initial taste of the music or dish, and whether it's palatable (to the ears) or should immediately be spit out. The second phase is whether the music holds the attention of the listener. Is the musical food yummy enough to continue chewing? The final step, after consuming the food or music, is the aftertaste. Is it memorable? Is it something the critic will recall in the future and wish to taste, sample, consume or listen to again? Getting back to the Rolling Stone magazine greatest albums and songs, more than 300 artists, journalists and industry figures voted on the 2021 list. They included such diverse and famous musicians like Jon Batiste, Beyonce, Stewart Copeland, Elliot Easton, The Edge, Billie Eilish, Ace Frehley, Billy Gibbons, Rob Halford, Mickey Hart, Carly Rae Jepsen, Wynonna Judd, Sade, Roger McGuinn, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Graham Nash, Stevie Nicks, Questlove, Nile Rodgers, Robert Smith, Ronnie Spector, Dave Stewart, Taylor Swift, Lars Ulrich and Rick Wakeman. I'll wager that they weren't paid anything to judge the best songs and albums for the Rolling Stone lists, but we can respect and value their opinions, based on their reputations as music professionals. That's good enough for me. Students and staff were evacuated from Bambergs Richard Carroll Elementary School in the early afternoon Thursday after someone reported a possible safety concern, according to Bamberg Police Chief James Smoak. The school is located at 1980 Main Highway and serves 640 students from pre-K through the sixth grade. Smoak said officials believe, no legitimate threat was made to the school, but decided to get it checked out as a precaution. Bamberg County School District Superintendent Dr. Dottie Brown said, Richard Carroll Elementary School evacuated today following multiple phone calls from parents and others voicing their hearing about a potential bomb threat. While there was no direct, credible threat made to the school, students and staff were all evacuated safely out of an abundance of caution. At 2 p.m., the S.C. Law Enforcement Division arrived with a couple of dogs trained to sniff out any type of suspicious devices or substances. It later cleared the school. SLED spokesperson Renee Wunderlich said the school was searched thoroughly by the agencys Bomb Squad at the request of the Bamberg Police Department. SLED encourages communities across South Carolina to remain vigilant and report any information regarding school threats to local law enforcement, Wunderlich said. Orangeburg County Council has agreed to proceed with leasing the Regional Medical Center to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. Better days are coming, Orangeburg County Council member Deloris Frazier said Monday. The effort to place RMC under the MUSC system was set into motion last year by a proviso inserted in South Carolinas state budget calling for a partnership between the two hospitals. Orangeburg and Calhoun counties own RMC. Both county councils have previously agreed to the partnership. MUSC spent four months on due diligence, examining RMCs finances, information technology infrastructure, physician contracts and compensation, compliance and real estate holdings. Its board then agreed earlier this month to the lease. Orangeburg County Council approved a resolution on Monday directing the RMC board to enter into a lease and community health development agreement with MUSC. The move is all but finished, according to Orangeburg County Attorney DAnne Haydel. Were putting the final points in place and the lawyers are writing what they have to write. This is just to lease the hospital to the Medical University of South Carolina and to sell the assets which are inside the hospital when the lease is up, which is after 99 years, Haydel said. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 23) A transport group on Thursday said jeepney drivers need five more years to be able to comply with the requirements of the government's modernization program. Speaking to CNN Philippines The Source, Piston national president Mody Floranda said the June 30 deadline given by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) for traditional jeepney franchise holders to consolidate or join cooperatives to continue operations is too early. Yung isinumite natin sa DOTr [Department of Transportation] at LTFRB, panawagan natin ay halos five years na kailangan magkaroon ng extension sa usapin ng modernization program sapagakat hindi talaga ito kaya na i-avail ng ating individual operator, he said. [Translation: We submitted to the DOTR and LTFRB our call for an extension of five years when it comes to the modernization program because our individual operators cannot really comply.] He noted that the cost of a modern jeepney ranges between 2.4 million and 2.8 million. The group sees the latest move as a way to wipe out the livelihood of drivers and operators, as well as the local manufacturers of jeepneys, Floranda said. He added that the program aiming to replace jeepneys older than 15 years old is questionable since there is no clear plan to improve public transportation in the country. He asked the government if it's really jeepney drivers that will benefit from modernization program or the foreign businesses who want to control the sector. If the government is really serious about modernization, why cant it just focus on supporting local stakeholders, including jeepney manufacturers, and heed the call to rehabilitate public transportation, Floranda said. He said many drivers have yet to join cooperatives as required by the modernization program because of the huge capital needed. Floranda said Piston is open to joining such cooperatives, but with conditions. Bukas kami sa usapin ng kooperatiba na kung ito po ay individual franchise at individual operator, hindi po monopolyo ng iisa lamang, Floranda said. [Translation: We are open to talks about cooperatives if it will involve individual franchise and individual operator, not the monopoly of only one.] What the government is currently implementing is a monopoly, he said. The vehicles to be loaned by operators will not be put under their name, while also leaving them in debt. Floranda said Piston and other transport stakeholders raised this and other concerns last week to authorities, who said they will look into it. (TBTCO) - Ngay 14/4/2023, Bao hiem Bao Viet chi tra 200 trieu ong boi thuong tu vong theo chuong trinh bao hiem suc khoe cho hai nan nhan do gap su co bat ngo khi du lich Vinh Ha Long (Quang Ninh) tren truc thang Bell 505 vua qua. ay la 2 trong 5 nan nhan, nhung la 2 khach hang a tham gia chuong trinh bao hiem suc khoe cua Bao hiem Bao Viet voi ten goi Bao Viet An gia tu ngay 28/10/2022 cua Bao Viet a Nang. BEIRUT London's High Court of Justice has issued a verdict holding chemical trading company Savaro Ltd. liable toward the victims of the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port blast, the Beirut Bar Association said in a statement Thursday. It is the first such verdict holding an entity responsible in the deadly blast, which killed more than 200 people and destroyed parts of the Lebanese capital. The verdict follows a civil claim filed in 2021 against UK-registered Savaro, which allegedly purchased the cargo of ammonium nitrate that caused the blast. The case was brought in UK before the High Court of Justice in London, which in June 2022 ordered the company to reveal the identity of its ultimate beneficial owners. "The court has issued a verdict recognizing the liability of the company Savaro Ltd. towards the victims. It also launched the second stage of the process, which involves determining the amount of compensation to be paid," the Beirut Bar Association said in its statement Thursday. The legal proceeding was initiated by the former president of the Beirut Bar Association and current MP Melhem Khalaf, in cooperation with other lawyers, including former minister Camille Abousleiman. In Lebanon, the investigation has been slowed down by a series of political and judicial interferences. The judge in charge of the investigation, Tarek Bitar, has been targeted by numerous judicial requests and lawsuits seeking his dismissal from the case by officials he is prosecuting, which has repeatedly impeded his work. Lawyer Camille Abousleiman, who helped initiate the proceedings, told L'Orient-Le Jour that the court retained the responsibility of the British company, which imported the ammonium nitrate. Civil, rather than criminal, trial The verdict was made in the context of a civil trial, not a criminal investigation, lawyer and former minister Abousleiman told LOrient-Le Jour. The London court applied Lebanese law to assign liability to the company. In its defense, the company insisted that the chemicals were imported in 2014, six years before the deadly explosion, the lawyer said. However, the court did not accept this argument. The lawyer added that the second phase of the trial, concerning the determination of damages, will also be based on Lebanese law. He added that elements revealed during the investigation in London could be useful for the Lebanese investigation and that this information will be transmitted to the competent authorities. Paving the way for further proceedings Lawyers Nasri Diab and Abousleiman, who are in charge of the lawsuit filed in the United Kingdom, said Thursday that this is the first court decision that names one of those responsible for the tragedy, which paves the way for the prosecution of others and the opening of other proceedings in Lebanon or abroad, according to the Beirut Bar Association statement. The president of the Beirut Bar Association, Nader Gaspard, hailed an achievement that strengthens the will of the victims and the lawyers to continue in the pursuit of the truth. The associations prosecution office, which provides pro bono defense for the families of many victims in the case, previously succeeded in suspending the de-listing of Savaro from the UK corporate registry. The company therefore continued to be under the close watch of the English court. Savaro had sought to be delisted from London Companies House in a bid to escape its liability related to the damage caused by the ammonium nitrate that led to the explosion. In January 2021, Lebanese investigative journalist Firas Hatoum revealed that Savaro had ordered and paid for the shipment of ammonium nitrate. He said that Savaro was a shell company headquartered in Cyprus. Hatoums investigation led him to believe that Hesco Engineering and Construction, which belongs to Georges Haswani, a Syrian businessman close to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, shared the same address as Savaro. The journalist learned that Savaro had an address in the UK and sought to find out the identity of the company that shared the same address to identify the parties implicated. It later emerged that they all are fictitious, except for one, IK Petroleum Industrial Company Limited. It is owned by Imad Khouri, another Syrian businessman close to Assad, and was founded less than a month before the issuance of the bill of lading of the ammonium nitrate shipment, according to him. The shipment of ammonium nitrate was carried by the ship Rhosus, which entered Beirut in November 2013 before being detained by the port authorities, under the pretext of technical damage to the cargo vessel. Unloaded, the ammonium nitrate was then stored in a warehouse inside the port without proper security measures, until the deadly explosions of Aug. 4, 2020. In a step forward for a new health center planned for Casper, the City Council on Tuesday approved an agreement to transfer 8 acres of land to Natrona County. The city and county hope to use the property located near East 12th and South Conwell streets, near the Lifesteps Campus to build a newer, larger home base for the Casper-Natrona County Health Department. The agency is currently anchored in downtown Casper, off of Spruce Street. Under the deal, the county would pay Casper $100 to transfer the property. The county, in exchange, would foot the remaining cost to construct the new center. The agreement says the city of Casper would also agree to provide transportation between the Lifesteps Campus and the Thyra Thompson State Building, near the Health Departments current location. If the city and county move forward with the agreement, a lot would still need to happen before the land changes hands including hosting a public hearing on the transfer. To help fund the project, the county was awarded $4.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant money from Wyomings State Loan and Investment Board. As a condition of the grant, the county is required to match that amount by 20% (in this case, $900,000). County officials told board members in December that the health department is struggling because they are too constrained in the current location they are operating out of, meeting minutes show. Natrona County originally applied for $10 million for the grant. But there were concerns they wouldnt be able to spend that money quickly enough, the minutes indicate. Theres a tight deadline attached to ARPA dollars; it has to be obligated by 2024, and spent by 2026.The boards health and human services capital construction grant program gives money to communities and organizations around Wyoming to build, renovate or expand their health facilities. State lawmakers set aside $85 million in ARPA funds for the program during the 2022 legislative session. CHEYENNE The Life is a Human Right Act sailed through the Senate Agriculture Committee in a unanimous vote Thursday morning after stalling for two weeks in the upper chamber, bringing Wyoming closer to a new attempt to ban abortion in a post-Roe landscape. Before moving it along, lawmakers on the committee stripped the bill of a House amendment that would have made it possible to enact the legislation only if the abortion ban currently on the books is overturned in court, and added two more to insert rape and incest exemptions while lowering the barrier for lawmakers to be appointed as intervenors in future court cases challenging the bill. The bill, sponsored by Cody Republican Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams and 36 lawmakers from the House and Senate, draws on lessons learned so far in the ongoing litigation challenging the constitutionality of last years abortion trigger ban, which went into effect briefly before being blocked by a state judge. For now, abortions remain legal in Wyoming. The proposed legislation includes unusual characteristics that some lawmakers have argued would infringe on separation-of-powers principles in the U.S. Constitution. Its findings and purposes section, for example, makes interpretations of the Wyoming Constitution, a job thats reserved for courts, and it would give the sponsor and cosponsors of the bill power to intervene in potential court cases challenging the legislation. Last week, Senate President Ogden Driskill told reporters that he was still weighing whether or not to let the bill proceed, citing questions around the bills legality and constituents concerns about the proposed legislations elimination of rape and incest exemptions. As Senate president, Driskill is responsible for assigning bills to committees. Bills that arent assigned automatically die after they pass certain deadlines. By then, the bill hadnt moved since clearing the House more than a week before in a 46-16 vote. Forward momentum With the approaching deadline for bills to make it out of committee in their second chamber, House Majority Floor Leader Rep. Chip Neiman, a cosponsor of the bill, and Rodriguez-Williams decided to approach Driskill in the hopes of persuading him to allow the bill to proceed. Prior to Thursdays vote, Driskill met multiple times with sponsors of the legislation as well as Frederick Harrison, a lawyer and former lawmaker who helped draft the bill and who represents the anti-abortion group Wyoming Right to Life. Driskill told the Star-Tribune that there were additional people involved, but that he wouldnt name them unless they wanted him to. When asked about his involvement or lack thereof in those meetings, Wyoming Family Alliance President Nathan Winters, who has lobbied in support of the bill, said that he has been a part of the process in all of those situations. Driskill ultimately referred the bill to the Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday, where an affirmative vote for the bill was practically a foregone conclusion. Typically, abortion-related bills are referred to the Legislatures labor and health committees. Driskill said in a Wednesday text to the Star-Tribune that the Senate Agriculture Committee requested the bill be referred there. The committees chairman, Lingle Republican Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, is a cosponsor of the bill, as are two other members of the panel. When asked what she thought ultimately convinced Driskill to allow the bill to proceed, bill sponsor Rodriguez-Williams said it was just a matter of having a conversation with [Driskill] to see where he was at on the bill and talking to him more in depth to understand the intent a little better. He was easy to work with. He was forthcoming about what his thoughts were, she said. Though he allowed the bill to proceed, Driskill said the sponsors and their lawyers werent able to address all his concerns about the bill's legality. I think its worthy of debate, Driskill told the Star-Tribune on Thursday. I honestly dont think, and I told them so, that the bill does what they think its gonna do. Its likely to be back in court. Significant changes Prior to Thursdays vote, the bill had been amended in the House so that it could only be enacted if the current abortion ban is overturned in courts, essentially making it a second trigger bill. That amendment, brought by anti-abortion lawmaker Buffalo Republican Rep. Barry Crago, was meant to skirt the risk that the bill, which repeals the abortion ban thats currently on the books, could lead to a situation where Wyoming is left with no abortion ban at all. Crago and other lawmakers have argued that the the bill infringes on separation-of-powers principles in the U.S. Constitution and would be rejected in courts, which would lead to that scenario. But sponsors of the bill are confident that its legally sound. Rodriguez-Williams went as far as to call Cragos amendment unfriendly to the pro-life movement on the House floor earlier this month. She reiterated that stance on Thursday, saying that the change eliminates the whole purpose of the bill, which is meant to end abortion sooner by answering questions that have come up in the course of litigation against the current abortion ban. Steinmetz moved to strip the bill of Cragos amendment, as well as some of the legislative findings that some lawmakers have said could be problematic, such as the bills statements that the Legislature may make declarations interpreting the Wyoming constitution and that the life of every human being begins at conception. The Senate Agriculture Committee added two more amendments to the bill on Thursday: one that takes out the requirement for the Legislature to pass a joint resolution to appoint the sponsor or cosponsors of the bill as intervenors in potential court cases challenging the legislation, and another to add rape and incest exemptions. Driskill, who sponsored the latter amendment, previously told reporters that constituents concerns about the bills erasure of rape and incest exemptions was one point that had made him hesitate to allow the bill to proceed. His amendment requires that incidents of rape or incest be reported to law enforcement and that report provided to the physician before an abortion could legally be performed. Driskill said that he spoke with sponsors of the bill about the amendment prior to Thursdays committee meeting, though Neiman and Rodriguez-Williams told the Star-Tribune after the meeting that they would have preferred moving the bill along without the change. The bill still has to go through three votes in the Senate, as well as a possible concurrence vote in the House. If the House doesnt agree with the changes, the two chambers would need to negotiate some sort of compromise. Lawmakers in the Senate can reject the committees amendments or add new ones if they choose to. Its very likely that the bill will clear the Legislature, though after that Gov. Mark Gordon could still veto it. PHOTOS: Abortion in Wyoming Pro-choice protest Abortions rights protest Abortion-rights protesters The Women's Health Center and Family Care Clinic of Jackson Pro-life Protest Pro-life Protest Abortion-rights protest Abortion-rights protest Abortion-rights protest Abortion clinic fire Abortion-rights protest Abortion-rights protest Pro-life Protest Pro-life Protest Pro-life Protest Pro-life Protest Pro-life Protest CHEYENNE Wyoming schools wont see a major boost in mental health support funding after the Legislature killed an $11.5 million school mental health bill on Wednesday. The bill failed in the Senate Education Committee in a 3-2 vote, with Sens. Chris Rothfuss and Charles Scott voting in favor of the legislation. The proposed $11.5 million program would have allowed each Wyoming school district to apply for up to $120,000 per year for the next two school years to support mental health services roughly enough to cover the salary and benefits of a full-time mental health professional for each district, Matthew Willmarth, a senior school finance analyst with the Legislative Service Office, said at a previous meeting. Support for the bill faltered in the Senate Education committee over concerns that the money without more research wouldnt be used in the most effective and efficient ways possible, and that the bill could interfere with parental consent and involvement. Its a lot of funding going out. Are we really going to be able to identify those best practices in a couple of years in a way that allows us to find what makes sense for sustainable mental health solutions? Dicky Shanor, Wyoming Department of Education Chief of Staff, questioned. Shanor, speaking on behalf of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder, suggested that mental health support funding could be an interim topic of study something that the Legislature can take a deeper look at before the next session. Sen. Bo Biteman, R-Ranchester, imagined a scenario where the Legislature decided to pull funding for the program after districts had already hired people. With that money, they go out and hire new people, and then when that money goes away, they got to get rid of them. Id hate to see that happen to mental health professionals, he said. Like I said the other day, the closest thing to eternal life is a new government program, so I doubt this will ever go away. But with Wyomings suicide rate the highest in the nation, according to 2020 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rothfuss asked why the state couldnt start the program now and course correct along the way. A lot of times we study because we we want to get everything perfect, and sometimes better is the enemy of good. Sometimes you just need to actually provide services to help people, he said. The reality is, weve got kids in schools now, weve got seniors that if we just studied this, they couldnt possibly benefit from a program that we put into place a year from now. Other mental health bills in the Legislature this session have also faced roadblocks. A bill that aimed to fund suicide prevention services for the long term has cleared the Legislature, but not without being stripped of its original $46 million proposed appropriation and getting a sunset date tacked onto it. Some lawmakers again questioned if the appropriation would be well used, and if the hotline and other services are actually effective in preventing suicides. There are some bills that have made headway. A mental health care access bill is still making its way through the Legislature, and two bills that enter Wyoming into interstate compacts allowing some mental health providers to practice across state lines have cleared both chambers. Gov. Mark Gordon has already signed one into law, and the other is headed to his desk. CHEYENNE After a nearly two-week hang up in the Senate, the most ambitious abortion restriction bill the Wyoming Legislature has ever considered is back on track. Senate President Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, referred the Life is a Human Right bill on Wednesday to the Senate Agriculture Committee, where its very likely to receive an affirmative vote. Three of the five members of the committee are cosponsors of the bill. The measure would have likely faced more skepticism if it had been sent to the Senates Health Committee, which has more members who are moderate Republicans. As the Senate president, Driskill is responsible for assigning bills to committees. Without his referral, bills can automatically die if they miss cutoff dates. The Life is a Human Right act, sponsored by Cody Republican Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams and 36 lawmakers from the House and Senate, would go further than the abortion trigger ban thats already on the books, erasing rape and incest exemptions and attempting to assert legislative authority in courts. The proposed legislation draws on lessons learned so far in the ongoing litigation challenging the constitutionality of last years abortion trigger ban, which went into effect briefly before being blocked by a state judge. For now, abortions remain legal in Wyoming. On Friday, Driskill told reporters that he was still weighing whether or not to let the bill proceed, citing questions around the bills legality and constituents concerns about the proposed legislations elimination of rape and incest exemptions. House Bill 152 includes a number of unusual characteristics that some lawmakers, including several who voted in favor of last years abortion trigger ban, have argued would infringe on separation-of-powers principles in the U.S. Constitution. Its findings and purposes section, for example, makes interpretations of the Wyoming Constitution, a job thats reserved for courts. And it would give the sponsor and cosponsors of the bill, by joint resolution, power to intervene in potential court cases challenging the legislation. I do think [the courts] dont like when we write legislation thats reactive to whats in court presently, and weve traditionally killed every bill that does that, Driskill said on Friday. By then, the bill hadnt moved since clearing the House more than a week before in a 46-16 vote. Behind-the-scenes maneuvering With Fridays cutoff for bills to make it out of committee in their second chamber fast approaching, House Majority Floor Leader Rep. Chip Neiman, a cosponsor of the bill, said that he and Rodriguez-Williams decided to approach Driskill in the hopes of providing information that might persuade him to allow the bill to proceed. On Tuesday, Driskill again met with sponsors of the bill as well as Frederick Harrison, a Wyoming attorney who helped draft the legislation and who represents the anti-abortion group Wyoming Right to Life. Harrison, a former lawmaker, told the Star-Tribune that he couldnt disclose what they discussed in the meeting. Driskill said in a text to the Star-Tribune on Wednesday that he worked hard with the bill sponsors, though, when asked if the sponsors and the lawyers they have been consulting with were able to answer his questions and concerns about the bills legality, he answered with a simple No. Driskill didnt immediately respond to a follow-up question asking what ultimately persuaded him to allow the bill to proceed. Abortion-related bills are typically referred to the Labor, Health and Social Services Committees. Its unusual for abortion bills to be referred to the agriculture committee, but its not unprecedented. In 2017, then-Senate President Eli Bebout referred two abortion bills to the Senate Agriculture Committee, prompting the Wyoming Democratic Party executive director at the time to question the motives and optics behind doing so. I have not spoken to the Senate president yet, but the clear message that seems to be resonating around the Capitol is, are women livestock? Aimee Van Cleave, then-executive director of the Wyoming Democratic Party, said. Driskill said in a text that the Senate Agriculture Committee requested the bill be referred there. The committees chairman, Lingle Republican Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, is a cosponsor of the Life is a Human Right bill. Driskill noted that Steinmetz has worked closely with the bill sponsors. Steinmetz said in a text to the Star-Tribune that she requested the bill be referred to her committee because she has room to hear the bill and believes that its one of the most important bills of the session to the citizens of Wyoming. I have received numerous emails and phone calls regarding this bill, she said. The committee will consider the bill at 8 a.m. Thursday. PHOTOS: Abortion in Wyoming Pro-choice protest Abortions rights protest Abortion-rights protesters The Women's Health Center and Family Care Clinic of Jackson Pro-life Protest Pro-life Protest Abortion-rights protest Abortion-rights protest Abortion-rights protest Abortion clinic fire Abortion-rights protest Abortion-rights protest Pro-life Protest Pro-life Protest Pro-life Protest Pro-life Protest Pro-life Protest Wyoming began to dig itself out of a mammoth blizzard on Thursday. Multiple highways have reopened, though travel remained difficult as roads were still covered in snow and ice. After nearly the entire stretch of Interstate 25 closed on Wednesday, the highway reopened Thursday morning between Casper and Cheyenne. However, a stretch north of Casper remained closed as of 9 a.m. Interstate 90 also reopened between Sheridan and Gillette. More closures were still in effect in southern Wyoming. Interstate 80 was shut down between Rock Springs and Laramie. The eastbound lanes were still closed from Rock Springs to the Wyoming-Utah border while the westbound lanes were shut down from Laramie to Cheyenne. While the heavy snows of Tuesday and Wednesday have ended, the cold front left behind arctic temperatures. Lows in Casper, for example, fell to nearly 20 degrees below zero on Thursday morning. Relatively warmer weather is expected by Saturday. PHOTOS: Blizzard batters Casper Blizzard Blizzard Blizzard Blizzard Blizzard Blizzard Blizzard Blizzard Blizzard 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. (CNN) Israel launched airstrikes targeting alleged weapons manufacturing and storage sites in Gaza on Thursday, following a rocket attack from the coastal enclave, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. In a statement, the IDF said "fighter jets struck a weapons manufacturing site" in central Gaza owned by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that runs Gaza. "In parallel, a military compound belonging to the Hamas Terrorist Organization in the northern Gaza Strip which also was used as a naval weapons storage warehouse was struck," the statement said. Earlier Thursday, the IDF said five rockets fired from Gaza toward Israeli territory, including the cities of Ashkelon and Sderot, were intercepted and another rocket fell in an open area. The airstrikes come after the deaths of at least 11 Palestinians in Nablus in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, which occurred during a rare daytime raid by the Israeli military that also left more than 100 injured. One of the dead targeted in the Nablus raid was a Hamas member, the group said. IDF raids into the West Bank usually occur overnight; the last time the military conducted a daylight operation, they said it was because of an immediate threat. 'Violent and deadly' The occupied West Bank has been rocked by a series of lethal Israeli military raids in the past year, as tensions in Israel and the Palestinian territories remain sky-high in a region riven by bloodshed. An Israeli raid in the city of Jenin in January caused the deadliest day for Palestinians in the West Bank in over a year, according to CNN records, with at least 10 Palestinians killed on the day and one dying later of his wounds. One day later, at least seven civilians died in a shooting near a synagogue in Jerusalem -- which Israel deemed one of its worst terror attacks in recent years. This comes as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu leads a cabinet that has been described as the most far right and religious in the country's history. Netanyahu previously told CNN's Jake Tapper that people can get "hung up" on peace negotiations with the Palestinians, saying he has opted for a different approach. As relations between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants boil over, CNN's Hadas Gold said the scenes on Wednesday reflected those "not seen since the second intifada," or uprising. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Israel launches airstrikes on Gaza after rocket attacks as violence escalates." CHAGUANAS nightlife is said to be declining as random crimes increase, with food vendors and bar operators calling yesterday for better arrest rates to stop repeat criminals. Once booming mostly as a result of plentiful fast food options, the Chaguanas Main Road is still a go-to for doubles and gyros but now shows much less activity after dark than in years past. 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. PHOENIX For Arizona residents, the job market has tilted in favor of job seekers in a way rarely seen. Bureau of Labor Statistics data analyzed by the University of Arizonas Economic and Business Research Center showed hourly wages in the state grew 5.7% from December 2021 to December 2022, when the average wage was $30.81 per hour in the private sector. Economists such as George W. Hammond, the director of the Economic and Business Research Center, says there are multiple factors driving the rise in wages, but one of the primary causes is the churn of people moving between jobs. People wouldnt be (quitting their jobs) if they didnt think the new job had better opportunities for them, whatever it may be, Hammond said. For Trineka Greer, the upheaval in the job market changed the nature of the type of offers she was receiving. Greer had been working in the public sector and accepted an offer for a remote role at an educational nonprofit. She had been recruited previously, but she was overqualified for most of the jobs. Greer did not want to reveal her former or current employers. This time was the first time where I had people who were these professional, high-level recruiters with firms and organizations who were really doing targeted searches, Greer said. Every headhunter that reached out to me this time around was for a role that I could have potentially been well suited for, at least on paper. Furthermore, employee motivations in a post-pandemic world have changed. For Greer, being forced to work from home at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic opened her eyes to the possibilities and advantages of remote work. It just worked well for my life personally and professionally. I was far more productive, far more creative, Greer said. I enjoyed the work that I did. I enjoyed the people that I worked with at my last organization, but having to come in to the office began to be a significant burden for me. Beyond wages, the overall value of employment is increasing nationally. The BLS Employment Cost Index, a national measure of wages and non-monetary employment benefits, continues to rise. In the Phoenix metro area, the compensation cost for private employers experienced an annual gain of 4.4% year over year in 2022. The role of the workplace in the average workers life has changed as well, with employees using the tight labor market to negotiate for better working conditions. This current generation of employees, theyre like, Im not going to tolerate that kind of overwork, that culture of overwork or that culture of disrespect or abuse, said Greer, who also has executive experience in multiple organizations. So, its not just about salary, but certainly when (one) gets a certain salary level, there are other things that youre looking for in your total compensation package, and I think that employers are aware of that. Even signs normally associated with loosening in the market show that there is a willing workforce present in the state for the right price. Arizonas unemployment rate rose from 3.2% in May to 4% in December, above the national average of 3.5% that month. Though a growing unemployment rate would normally signal a loss in jobs, Hammond described the trend as being driven by the growth in the labor force. According to BLS, an additional 8,200 Arizona residents found employment between November and December 2022, at a time when the number of Arizonans in the labor force grew by 7,800. However, there are reasons for workers to be concerned that wages are not keeping up with costs. The All Item Consumer Price Index, a measure of the costs of consumer goods, showed prices in the Phoenix metro area in 2022 rose 9.5% over the year, 3 percentage points higher than the national average. While the increased employment costs to businesses did contribute to that rise, the gap between the Phoenix metro area and the national average was driven by the cost of housing, Hammond said. Shelter cost grew 17% from December 2021 to December 2022, compared to the previous year, though this is a drop from the years peak. According to Felicia Davis, founder and CEO of The Black Womens Collective and a former human resources executive, these mixed economic signals make it imperative for workers to maximize the value of their labor. If you can really master yourself in these three areas, ascension in times like these when the market is tight will never be a problem. Those are your reputation, your relationships and your results, Davis said. Davis further emphasized that to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the churn in the market, maintaining relationships is key. There will come a point where sometimes you do (change organizations), Davis said. Your only alternative to really get to that next level is to go outside the organization because you just kind of tap out in terms of how you can do. Youve got to make sure that you are strategically building those relationships. Even as headwinds appear to be on the horizon, according to Hammond, he doesnt expect the state to see the kind of economic fallout brought on by the financial crisis of 2008. Even if the U.S. experiences a mild recession, that will translate into slower growth here in Arizona, not a reduction in jobs, Hammond said. The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a man on Arizonas death row should be resentenced because jurors in his case were wrongly told that the only way to ensure he would never walk free was to sentence him to death. The 5-4 decision, in an opinion by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, said John Montenegro Cruz should get a new penalty phase of his trial where it is made clear to jurors that he is ineligible for parole if he is sentenced to life in prison, instead of death. The case is important not only for Cruz, but also for other Arizona death row inmates whose juries received similar misinformation. Arizona currently has approximately 100 people on its death row. It was not clear how many of those might be eligible for a new sentencing hearing. Cruz had argued that the jury should have been informed he would be ineligible for parole if spared from death and given a life sentence. A judge rejected that request and the state said Cruz failed to make the precise requests he needed to under Supreme Court precedent. At least one juror has said that had she known that a life sentence without parole was an alternative to death, she would have voted for that option. Cruz was convicted of the 2003 murder of a Tucson police officer, Patrick Hardesty. Hardesty and another officer were investigating a hit-and-run crash that led them to Cruz, who attempted to flee and shot Hardesty five times. A 1994 Supreme Court case, Simmons v. South Carolina, says that in certain death penalty cases, jurors must be told that choosing a life sentence means life without the possibility of parole. Thats required when prosecutors argue that the defendant will pose a threat to society in the future. Arizona courts refused to apply the decision. In a 2016 case, Lynch v. Arizona, the Supreme Court told Arizona directly that it needed to comply with Simmons. Cruz says Arizona has continued to defy the high court. The case is Cruz v. Arizona, 21-846. PHOENIX The director of the Department of Child Safety, newly appointed by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, has been forced to resign. And the head of a special panel that reviews gubernatorial nominees is using that fact to justify his intense questioning and investigations into all of Hobbs picks. Sadly, it seems clear that Hobbs is not conducting her own vetting process, Sen. Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek, said in a prepared statement. So my colleagues and I will continue to serve as the necessary and constitutional check and balance on the executive branch that the citizens of our great state need and deserve. Hoffman, who chairs the Senate Committee on Director Nominations, said there were troubling events since Hobbs named Matthew Stewart to direct DCS in December. He said those included questionable moves on consulting contracts and the firing of gay DCS employees, whom he said have filed complaints against Stewart which prompted the forced resignation. The governor would not comment Thursday other than to stick to a prepared statement of her own that it was a decision that was made for the best interests of all parties involved. She brushed aside questions of whether her staff had not properly vetted Stewart before she nominated him. This just wasnt the right fit, Hobbs said. And as the governor and a social worker, I take the direction of the agency very seriously. Its charged with protection of the vulnerable populations. A press aide to Hobbs said she had no contact information for Stewart. A representative of Our Sister Our Brother, a nonprofit Stewart founded to assist with the safe reunification of children in foster care with their families, said she would pass along Capitol Media Services request to speak with him. There was no immediate response. The Arizona Republic did reach Stewart on Thursday and he declined to comment. I imagine Ill have a statement (at some time), Stewart said. Hobbs claims political theater Hobbs lashed out at the Republican majority on the committee, which already rejected her nomination of Pima County Health Director Theresa Cullen to head the Arizona Department of Health Services; refused to hold a vote on Elizabeth Ann Thorson for the Department of Administration; and tabled Hobbs choice of Karen Peters for the Department of Environmental Quality. The committee has made it very clear that theyre not interested in seriously vetting my nominations, Hobbs said. Theyre interested in carrying out their personal vendetta against me and using my nominees as proxy to do that. Hobbs had particularly harsh words for Hoffman. I dont think fake elector Jake Hoffman is interested in good government at all, she said. She was referring to the fact that Hoffman was on a list of 11 names sent by the Arizona Republican Party to Congress as electors pledged to vote for Donald Trump after the 2020 election, despite Joe Biden winning the states popular vote and being entitled to the states 11 official electors. Hes interested in creating a stage for his political theater, Hobbs said of Hoffman. Hobbs said all of her nominees were selected by a bipartisan transition committee that was focused on how to create the best government possible. What these folks are doing in the Senate is serving to potentially grind government to a halt, she said. Public records requested There also was no immediate response to public records requests seeking information about Stewart from either DCS or the Department of Administration, which handles personnel matters for the state. The requests covered any actions taken by Stewart since he was named director, as well as what Hoffman said was Stewarts resignation from the agency in 2020 as its training operations supervisor after he received a letter of reprimand for insubordination and unauthorized absence. In tapping Stewart, Hobbs cited his experience as a former child safety specialist with DCS. She said he became the training manager and helped launch the departments African-American Disparity Committee, formed to reduce the disproportionately large share of Black and minority families in the DCS system. Hobbs said Michael Wisehart, who was director of the Department of Economic Security, will be interim director of DCS until she names a replacement. Increasingly contentious process The dust-up over Stewart underscores an increasingly contentious confirmation process. Prior to this year, gubernatorial nominees were screened by existing Senate committees with expertise in each area. So a pick for director of the Department of Health Services would go before the Senate Health Committee, for instance. The Republican-controlled Legislature changed that this year upon having to deal with the first Democratic governor since 2009. Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, named Hoffman to head a panel of three Republicans and two Democrats. The committee, on a 3-2 partisan vote earlier this month, rejected Hobbs nomination of Cullen to head the health department, with Hoffman accusing her of lying and having an air of supremacy in enacting regulations during the COVID pandemic. Hobbs formally withdrew the nomination as the full Senate, acting on the committees recommendation, voted along party lines to refuse to confirm Cullen. More recently, Hoffman refused to allow a vote on the nomination of Thorson to head the Department of Administration, even though she had been its deputy director under Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. That lack of action does not remove her from office, as Thorson is able to serve up to a year without being confirmed. Hoffman has tabled the governors nomination of Peters, now a deputy Phoenix city manager, to head DEQ, saying there was some concerning information that weve become aware of, without providing specifics. Hoffman heads the Arizona Freedom Caucus, a group of senators and representatives openly hostile to much of what Hobbs has proposed since taking office at the beginning of the year. (CNN) North Korea is a "clear and present danger," the foreign minister of South Korea has told CNN in an exclusive interview. Kim Jong Un's frequent missile tests and repeated warnings that he would consider using tactical nuclear weapons were a display of aggression and the only way to counter this was through extended US deterrence, Foreign Minister Park Jin said on Wednesday. "What North Korea is doing is completely wrong," Park said. "They have been escalating nuclear and missile threats, and threatening the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia." In just the past week, North Korea has tested an intercontinental ballistic missile, which in theory could be used to strike almost anywhere in the world, and nuclear-capable long-range multiple rocket launchers the equivalent of short-range ballistic missiles which could hit anywhere in South Korea. Those followed a record year of missile testing in 2022, when Pyongyang tested missiles on 37 days, according to CNN's count, all in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions. After the rocket launches on Monday, Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's sister, warned of more missile tests to come unless the United States halts military drills with South Korea, threatening to make the Pacific Ocean "our shooting range." But Park suggested such belligerence would only strengthen South Korea's alliance with the US. "US extended deterrence" is "the only way that we can effectively protect our country from the North Korean aggression," Park said, adding that enhancing that deterrence would involve "effective deployment of US strategic assets" as well as exercises and training. On the same day as Park was speaking, guided-missile destroyers from both countries were joined by another from Japan in a ballistic missile defense exercise in the waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Park offered little hope for any early easing of tensions with North Korea, saying there are no active negotiations and that Kim would not give up his nuclear weapons voluntarily. The North Korean leader must be made to see that talks are his only option, Park said. "We have to create an environment where North Korea has no choice but to come back to the negotiation table," he said. Experience had shown that Kim would not negotiate when he sensed weakness in his opponents, Park said, citing failed negotiations that occurred during the administration of former US President Donald Trump. "The lesson we learned is that when we are strong ... North Korea comes to the dialogue table. When we are weak, they try to take advantage of that vulnerability. So we have to prepare ourselves through our defense and also through deterrence to talk with the North," he said. Park also said South Korea's security challenges extend beyond the Korean Peninsula, including a thousand miles to the south across the Taiwan Strait. "Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is essential for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and it's indispensable for security and prosperity of the region as a whole," Park said. China's ruling Communist Party has for months been pressuring the self-ruled island of Taiwan. It sees the island as part of its territory, despite never having controlled it, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping has repeatedly refused to rule out the use of force in "reunifying" it with the Chinese mainland. Park said that could have a "direct impact" on South Korea. "We are opposed to unilateral change of (the) status quo by force. So in that sense, we will make sure that if something happens in the Taiwan Strait, we have to maintain peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula." he said. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Exclusive: North Korea a 'clear and present danger,' says South Korean Foreign Minister." The 2020 election was conducted fairly and former Attorney General Mark Brnovich knew it despite publicly claiming there were instances of fraud, his successor reported Wednesday. The results of (the states) exhaustive and extensive investigation show what we have suspected for over two years: The 2020 election in Arizona was conducted fairly and accurately by election officials, said Attorney General Kris Mayes. But that information was wrongly withheld by Brnovich, she told Capitol Media Services. In releasing documents prepared last year that Brnovich had kept secret, Mayes said this is about more than putting to bed unfounded allegations the 2020 election was rigged. Had the reports been released last year, they could have made a difference in the dark cloud that was cast over the 2022 election, she said. The insane conspiracy theories perpetrated by high-profile election deniers could have and should have been stopped, especially as it relates to Maricopa County and its elections officials, said Mayes, a Democrat who succeeded Republican Brnovich in January. Every American had a right to know that the 2020 election in Arizona, which, in part, decided the presidency, was conducted accurately and fairly, Mayes said, adding: I think the people of Arizona had a right before the 2022 election, and Maricopa County elections officials had a right to know that they were cleared of any wrongdoing. And that obviously didnt happen. Mayes, who edged out Republican Abe Hamadeh in the 2022 election for attorney general, also said theres an important goal accomplished in finally making public all of the information that Brnovich had in his hands last year. Its time for us to move forward and its time for our state and our country to heal, she said. And Im hoping that this information will help in that regard. Mayes said she could not say whether Brnovich, who was running last year for U.S. Senate, purposely withheld the information. Brnovich: We did our due diligence Brnovich, in a statement to Capitol Media Services, did not respond to the question of why he had not released the reports before he left office at the end of 2022. But he defended conducting the inquiry, even if it did not result in verifying the claims by some of widespread fraud in the 2020 race. While subjected to severe criticism from all sides of the political spectrum during the course of our investigations, we did our due diligence to run all complaints to ground, he said. Where we were able to debunk rumors and conspiracies, we did so. Brnovich said his report did identify changes the Legislature and county officials should address to ensure confidence in future elections. Those included instituting new procedures to verify the people using mail-in ballots are who they say are; requiring the state auditor general to review future elections; and spelling out in law the procedures for transporting ballots from drop boxes. The documents released by Mayes on Wednesday are at odds with some of the claims made by Brnovich in an interim report in April 2022, as he was in the running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, that investigators had uncovered instances of election fraud by individuals who have been or will be prosecuted for various election crimes. He also claimed at the time that Maricopa County was using artificial intelligence to verify signatures on early ballots, a claim county officials disputed. And Brnovich, in his report to then-Senate President Karen Fann, reported there are problematic systemwide issues that related to early ballot handling and verification. Withheld key information But the documents Mayes released showed that even as he released that interim report in April 2022, Brnovich had reason to believe there was little basis for many of his statements. A month before, his own staffers made notes to Brnovichs top aide, Joe Kanefield, on what was then a draft. For example, staffers said their investigators concluded the Maricopa County Recorders Office followed its policies and procedures as they related to signature verification. We did not uncover any criminality of fraud having been committed in this area during the 2020 general election, the staff notes say. None of that was made public in Brnovichs April interim report. Brnovich also claimed in that April report that procedures used in the county could result in election officials approving ballots that should not be otherwise approved without further investigation. But the staffers said investigators learned that the Recorders Office had provided training by a handwriting expert to signature verifiers, used a multi-step process to review questionable signatures, and had hired additional staff due to the sheer volume of ballots to be processed. This, too, was not in Brnovichs interim report. Also missing from what was released in April were other staff notes disagreeing with Brnovichs report. In addition, Mayes said, a September memo from the attorney generals Special Investigations Section was withheld from the public. It said agents and support staff had spent more than 10,000 hours investigating and reviewing alleged instances of illegal voting submitted by various private parties. Those parties included Cyber Ninjas, the private firm without any election auditing experience hired by Fann, and True the Vote, a group at the forefront of denying the results of the 2020 election. In each instance and in each matter, the aforementioned parties did not provide any evidence to support their allegations, the September memo stated. The information that was provided was speculated in many instances and when investigated by our agents and support staff, was found to be inaccurate. Elected officials tightlipped in probe Moreover, the investigators said elected officials had made public statements asserting that voting fraud had occurred and that fraud was a factor in the outcome of the 2020 election. Yet when questioned by investigators under circumstances where they could be prosecuted for making false reports to law enforcement agencies, the elected officials did not repeat or make such assertions. They included then-Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, who had publicly stated he had a source reporting that more than 30,000 fraudulent or fictitious votes were registered in Pima County during the 2020 general election. Investigators then requested to speak with him. During that meeting, Mr. Finchem did not repeat those allegations, specifically stating he did not have any evidence of fraud and he did not wish to take up our time, the investigators reported. What he did provide were four ballots he said were evidence of a flawed process for mailing and counting ballots. The investigators, however, said they found the ballots had been mailed to prior residents of the address on file, the residents had moved, the ballots could not be forwarded, and they were unopened and not counted. They also said a claim by Sen. Sonny Borrelli, R-Lake Havasu City, that someone who had voted was deceased also proved false. The actual voter in this state was alive and had lawfully voted, the report said. And they said Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff, who had alleged widespread fraud in the 2020 election, refused to meet with us, saying she was waiting to see the perp walk of those who committed fraud during the election. Other allegations that investigators said were unfounded in the report not released until Wednesday included: That subjects dropped off large numbers of ballots at local post offices; That paper ballots were filled out by machines; That tabulators connected to the internet, allowing votes to be switched; That election officials deleted information and overwrote hard drives containing voter information. That satellites under the control of the Italian military changed the votes recorded in tabulators in favor of Joe Biden. Brnovich changed tune Brnovich had come under fire in 2022, as he was running for Senate, from some members of his own Republican Party for not accepting their arguments that the 2020 election has been fraudulently conducted and that Donald Trump actually won the popular vote in Arizona. In fact, Brnovich was one of the first elected GOP officials in Arizona to declare after the 2020 vote that Democrat Joe Biden apparently had won the race. And Brnovich, right after the election, rejected as baseless claims of election fraud by Democrats, pointing out that, aside from Trump and U.S. Sen. Martha McSally, who lost her race, Republicans fared well in down-ballot races. He also pointed out that Democratic Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes, whose office jointly oversaw the vote counting in the states most populous county, was going down to defeat. If indeed there was some great conspiracy, it apparently didnt work, since the county election official whos a Democrat lost and other Republicans won, Brnovich said then. But in early 2022, as he was campaigning, Brnovich found himself being blasted by other Republicans also seeking the nomination for U.S. Senate. And Trump released a statement saying people want to know whether or not Attorney General Brnovich is doing the right thing, or is it just politics as usual. Clint Hickman, who chairs the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, issued a statement Wednesday saying he was absolutely disgusted by revelations that Brnovich failed to do his job as a public servant and concealed reports that showed the election was conducted fairly, lawfully and accurately. He blasted Brnovich for never correcting the record and blatantly not sharing the teams final report with the public. This was a gross misuse of his elected office and an appalling waste of taxpayer dollars, as well as a waste of time and effort of professional investigators, Hickman said. You can take a lot of lessons from the scandal over a Saudi company pumping Arizona groundwater to grow alfalfa for export back to the Middle East. So far, Arizonas Legislature is missing the biggest one, though. Theyre passing a bill that takes on a side issue while ignoring one that deals with the main issue. The main bill responding to Saudi company Fondomontes pumping of groundwater in La Paz County has been Rep. Leo Biasiuccis HB 2376. It would ban ownership or leasing of state-owned land by the governments of seven countries, or by companies from those countries. The list of countries so far, adapted from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism: China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela. Yes, the list does not include Saudi Arabia, the country that prompted the bill. Its a funny fact, but it may change with an amendment. The main problem the Fondomonte fiasco illustrates is that our groundwater laws remain too lax. It shows that anyone with enough money can come into Arizona and deplete its aquifers without any regulations or consequences. This is the problem Arizona has been ignoring for decades, since the 1980 Arizona Groundwater Management Act established active groundwater management areas around the states bigger metro areas but left unregulated most of rural Arizona. Biasucci, the House majority leader and a Republican from Lake Havasu City, actually has a bill starting to deal with this problem, but instead legislators are focused on the side-issue, foreign ownership or leasing of state lands. The bad bills sail through on party line votes, said Rep. Stephanie Stahl-Hamilton, a Tucson Democrat who sees some value in the proposal. The good bills dont get heard. At a Feb. 16 meeting of the House Land, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, Biasiucci said, This bill is making sure that these countries in question should never own the state lands of Arizona. Committee members raised all the right questions: Wouldnt the list of banned countries constantly be changing? Maybe all foreign purchases or leases should be banned? Cant companies hire their ownership through a maze of LLCs? Was there any discussion about out of state American companies? Rep. Lydia Hernandez asked. They are able to come in and do the exact same thing. In fact, that has been the case in Cochise County, where Minnesota-based Riverview LLP, has opened large dairy operations and water levels have dropped. But Biasuccis HB 2376 is focused on foreign ownership. The Fondomonte operation, he noted, is in my district, and we want to make sure the water is not being pumped and used for things that dont benefit us at all. Rep. Mariana Sandoval, a Democrat from Goodyear, responded, I dont know that the underlying issues, pumping groundwater, are in your bill. Biasucci responded, If we stop them from getting the land, then they cant pump the water, and thats the goal. But of course, the bill is limited to state-owned lands. They can buy the land elsewhere and pump to their hearts content, as Riverview has. Its not that Biasuccis foreign-ownership idea has no value, but that it is limited. The real issue is that anyone can come here and, as long as they are outside the active management areas, in most of rural Arizona, drain as much groundwater as they want. There is actually a legislator with a decent idea for doing something about that touchy issue Biasiucci. He has proposed establishing a new type of entity, a local groundwater stewardship area. These could be established in a basin either by a proportion of the local population petitioning for it, or by the county supervisors. The Arizona Department of Water Resources would approve and potentially oversee local plans to achieve groundwater goals. Its a new version of an idea that former Rep. Regina Cobb, from the same area of the state, previously proposed. She called them rural management areas. Haley Paul, the policy director of Audubon Southwest, told me discussions are ongoing and that this idea, now enshrined as HB 2731, still has potential. It would give local residents more control over local water. Creating new water policy is really hard, she told me. People are still hungry to do something, and theyre trying to figure out what are the ways we can move this ball forward. The obstacle, as always, is Rep. Gail Griffin, chair of the House Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee. Griffin has for years blocked any regulation of groundwater pumping from occurring, even standing in the way of measuring pumping. Shes not giving this bill a hearing in her committee either. So supporters are holding discussion outside of committee, trying to find a way. At the Legislature, good ideas dealing with tricky issues like groundwater often have a hard time. But so-so ideas they have a good chance. WASHINGTON Thousands of hours of surveillance footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol are being made available to Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson, a stunning level of access granted by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that Democrats swiftly condemned as a "grave" breach of security with potentially far-reaching consequences. The hard-right political commentator said his team is spending the week at the Capitol poring through the video and preparing to reveal their findings to his viewers. But granting exclusive access to sensitive Jan. 6 security footage to such a deeply partisan figure is a highly unusual move, seen by some critics as essentially outsourcing House oversight to a TV personality who has promoted conspiracy theories about the attack. "It's a shocking development that brings in both political concerns but even more importantly, security concerns," said Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who was a chief counsel during President Donald Trump's first impeachment trial. Critics warn that Capitol security could be endangered if Carlson airs security footage that details how the rioters accessed the building and the routes lawmakers used to flee to safety. Furthermore, a sharply partisan retelling of the Capitol attack could accelerate a dangerous rewriting of the history of what happened Jan. 6, when Trump encouraged a mob of supporters to head to the Capitol to overturn Joe Biden's election. "It is not lost on anyone that the one person that the speaker decides to give hours and hours of sensitive secret surveillance footage is the person who peddled a bogus documentary trying to debunk responsibility for the Jan. 6 riot from Donald Trump onto others," Goldman said. "Kevin McCarthy has turned over the security of the Capitol to Tucker Carlson and that's a scary thought," he added. McCarthy's office declined to confirm the arrangement, first reported by Axios, despite repeated requests for comment. Gripping images and videos from the Capitol attack by Trump supporters have been widely circulated by documentarians, news organizations and even the rioters themselves. But officials held back much of the surveillance video from hundreds of security cameras stationed in and around the Capitol that offer a detailed view of the grisly scene and the brutal beatings of police as they tried to stop the rioters. The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack went through a painstaking process to work closely with the U.S. Capitol Police to review and release approved segments of the surveillance footage as part of its public hearings last year. The chief of the U.S. Capitol Police, Tom Manger, issued a terse statement when asked about the new release of footage: "When Congressional Leadership or Congressional Oversight Committees ask for things like this, we must give it to them." House Democrats planned to meet Wednesday for a private caucus call to hear from Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who served as the chairman of the Jan. 6 committee, and others. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called McCarthy's decision an "egregious security breach" that threatens the safety of those who work at the Capitol. "Unfortunately, the apparent disclosure of sensitive video material is yet another example of the grave threat to the security of the American people represented by the extreme MAGA Republican majority," Jeffries, D-N.Y. said in a letter to House colleagues. Carlson, who produced a documentary suggesting the federal government used the Capitol attack by Trump's supporters as a pretext to persecute conservatives, confirmed that his team was reviewing the footage ahead of a possible airing. "We believe we have secured the right to see whatever we want to see," Carlson said on air Monday. The House committee investigating Jan. 6 underwent an often intense process to review the tens of thousands of hours of footage as it documented its findings. Over the nearly two-year probe, the panel, which was disbanded once Republicans took control of the House, created a secure room in their Capitol Hill offices for staff to comb through the more than 14,000 hours of footage. The process took months, according to a person familiar with the investigation who requested anonymity to discuss the private machinations. Any clip of footage the committee wanted to use for their series of public hearings or for the final report had to be approved by Capitol Police to avoid any security breaches, the person said. If police had an objection, the committee would engage in negotiations to redact content that could potentially endanger the force or the mechanisms they use to protect the Capitol and lawmakers. Anxiety over security is high after Capitol Police reported an uptick in threats to member safety over the last several years. The number of possible threats against members of Congress rose from about 4,000 in 2017 to more than 9,600 in 2021, then declined last year to 7,501. Key Republicans welcomed McCarthy's decision as part of his commitment to create a more transparent House and engage in oversight. "I support Speaker McCarthy's decision," said Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., the chairman of the House Administration Committee. EAST PALESTINE, Ohio Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday criticized the federal response to the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, as a "betrayal" during a visit to the village where residents and local leaders are increasingly frustrated more than two weeks after the disaster. Trump, wearing his trademark red "Make America Great Again" cap and an overcoat, said the community needs "answers and results," not excuses. He spoke at a firehouse roughly half a mile from where more than three dozen freight cars including 11 carrying hazardous materials came off the tracks near the Pennsylvania state line on Feb. 3. "In too many cases, your goodness and perseverance were met with indifference and betrayal," Trump said. He appeared with Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Mayor Trent Conaway and other state and local leaders, giving the visit the look of an official trip. The former president and other Republicans have intensified criticism of the Biden administration's handling of the derailment, which led to evacuations and fears of air and water contamination after a controlled burning of toxic chemicals aboard the rail cars. The Biden administration, meanwhile, blasted Trump and other Republicans for loosening rail safety measures and environmental protections when Republicans were in charge in Washington though there is no evidence that having them in place would have prevented what happened in East Palestine. The trip offered Trump, who is running for the White House in 2024, an opportunity to reprise the role he often held as president, when he surveyed disaster damage and met with impacted residents following tragic events. He said he would donate cleaning supplies along with pallets of what he said was Trump-branded bottled water to residents who remain concerned about the quality of their drinking water. Trump seized on Biden's decision to make a surprise visit to Ukraine this week, saying he hoped Biden "got some money left over" for the residents of East Palestine when he returns. Biden, who has yet to come to the Ohio town, was traveling back from Poland on Wednesday after marking the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Biden White House defended its response to the derailment, saying officials from the Environmental Protection Agency, National Transportation Safety Board and other agencies were at the rural site within hours of the derailment. The White House says it also offered federal assistance and the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been coordinating with the state emergency operations center and other partners. EPA Administrator Michael Regan visited the site last week and tried to reassure skeptical residents that the water was fit for drinking and the air safe to breathe. "I'm asking they trust the government," Regan said. "I know that's hard. We know there's a lack of trust." Officials are "testing for everything that was on that train," he said. Shortly before Trump arrived in Ohio, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced he would visit Thursday after also facing criticism for not coming earlier. He also urged Congress to raise the $225,455 limit on railroad safety fines at least tenfold. Biden administration officials also called out a decision by the Trump administration to repeal an Obama-era Department of Transportation rule that would have requiring "high-hazard" cargo trains hauling large amounts of flammable liquids such as crude oil and ethanol to be equipped with more sophisticated, electronically controlled brakes by 2023. Buttigieg said this week that the Federal Railroad Administration will look at reviving that brake rule, but the head of the National Transportation Safety Board pointed out that the brake rule couldn't have helped in this derailment because the train wasn't considered a "high hazardous flammable train." Regulators may now look at expanding which trains are covered by the "high hazardous" rules. Before Trump's arrival, excavators picked up charred chunks of the rail cars that have been piled alongside the tracks and scooped up contaminated soil. Trucks were hauling contaminated water to a makeshift "tank farm," where it is being stored in metal containers before being taken to a hazardous waste site. The village of just under 5,000 residents is near the Pennsylvania state line in Columbiana County, which grew increasingly Republican in recent years. Trump won nearly 72% of the vote in the 2020 election, and signs of his popularity remain clear. Since the derailment, residents have complained about headaches, irritated eyes and other ailments. Thousands of fish have been found dead, and residents have talked about finding dying or sick pets and wildlife. Residents also are frustrated by what they say is incomplete and vague information about the lasting effects from the disaster and have demanded more transparency from rail operator Norfolk Southern. Some residents close to the tracks say there's still an odor inside their homes. Fancy sport cars, designer jewelry and over $4 million in cash were among the items seized by federal authorities last fall during a takedown of an alleged catalytic converter theft operation that spanned the nation. Together, the cash and items seized by authorities make it the largest seizure case in the history of the Northern District of Oklahoma, according to a spokeswoman. The district is a federal judicial region that includes Tulsa County and 10 other counties in northeast Oklahoma. The seizures come after law enforcement from several federal agencies executed search warrants simultaneously Nov. 2 at properties in Coweta, Wagoner and New Jersey. Federal prosecutors claim those charged in the criminal case should forfeit the cash and other items to the federal government upon their conviction. A list of most of the items seized was filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. The list includes nearly $2 million in cash seized at various locations and a stable of vehicles that would make even comedian and famous car collector Jay Leno proud. A much shorter, partial list of cash and items seized that was included in the November indictment included $1.1 million seized May 8 in Wyandotte, $1 million seized May 11 in Texas and $500,000 intercepted May 2 at the Tulsa International Airport, along with real property in Wagoner, a Volvo XC6, a boat and trailer, and various financial accounts. The Friday filing sets out plans to seize 63 other items, ranging from over two tons of precious metals located at a rented building in Coweta to 13 gold bars of unspecified size from a home in New Jersey. Two grand juries one in Tulsa, the other in Sacramento, California named a total of 21 people in indictments unsealed in early November following an investigation by local, state and federal authorities into the nationwide problem of catalytic converter thefts. A 39-page indictment unsealed Nov. 2 in Tulsa federal court named 13 people on charges ranging from conspiring to steal catalytic converters from private vehicles, to money laundering, to the sale and receipt of stolen goods. The indictment filed in Tulsa federal court alleges Tyler James Curtis, 26, of Wagoner purchased bulk quantities of stolen catalytic converters from low-level and intermediate buyers throughout the United States through operations based from a rented building in Coweta, near the citys border with Broken Arrow. Curtis and others allegedly then sold the catalytic converters they had purchased to DG Auto, a core-buying business in Freehold, New Jersey, according to the indictment. The catalytic converters are valued for the precious metals inside. Curtis faces one count of conspiracy, three counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering and 12 counts of sale and receipt of stolen goods. In all, prosecutors allege that DG Auto paid Curtis about $13.1 million for the catalytic converters, most of which were stolen. Most of the vehicles seized Nov. 2 were located at a Holmdel, New Jersey, residence linked to the conspiracy. The 15 vehicles seized included a 2021 McLaren 765 LT Coupe, 2022 Rolls Royce Cullinan, a 2021 Rolls Royce Ghost, a 2017 Lamborghini Huracan, two Ferraris, a Porsche and two Mercedes Benzes. Other property seized at the New Jersey residence included: a Hermes bracelet, nine watches, 17 loose, clear stones and 13 gold bars. Property seized at the Coweta business included two tons of ground precious metals, two tons of oxygen sensors, 676 pounds of wiring harnesses, equipment used to recycle catalytic converters and numerous forklifts. Federal authorities also seized a 2022 Yamaha 252X boat and trailer from a marina at Sequoyah State Park in Hulbert. A jury trial for the 13 facing charges in Tulsa federal court is scheduled for May 15. Featured video: OKLAHOMA CITY A legislative proposal that would dole out $300 million in new per-pupil funding would result in Tulsa Public Schools receiving less of that pot of money per student than any other district in the state. House Republicans say their proposed education plan attempts to correct existing funding disparities between small and large school districts. But a $2 million cap on the new per-pupil spending means many small districts would receive more money per student than large urban and suburban districts whose funding increases will be limited. TPS spokeswoman Drew Druzynski said House Bill 2775 creates the illusion of additional aid. Under the proposal, TPS the state's largest school district with close to 34,000 students would get the same portion of that $300 million as Ponca City Public Schools a district with about 4,500 students, she said. "If our state leaders want to benefit every student, parent, and teacher, they would stop playing games that attempt to pit urban and rural education systems against each other in a fruitless competition that ends in woefully inadequate resources for both," Druzynski said in a statement. House Speaker Pro Tem Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, said TPS would receive about $9 million in new funding under the bill because the district will receive additional funds for mandatory $2,500 across-the-board teacher pay raises. The $150 million earmarked for pay raises would go into the state's funding formula, unlike the $300 million that would be allocated based on districts' average daily membership of students. He also noted TPS's current per-pupil funding is about $2,000 higher than the statewide average. "As of today, Tulsa Public Schools is better funded than most districts in the state," he said. "When this bill passes, they will still be better funded than most school districts in the state. That doesn't change." When presenting HB 2775 on the House floor Wednesday, Rep. Rhonda Baker, R-Yukon, said all districts will see their funding increase under the proposal that would pour $500 million more into public schools. She also noted urban and suburban districts are able to collect more ad valorem tax dollars than most rural schools. TPS would receive about $61.30 in new funding per student, according to an analysis from the Oklahoma State School Boards Association. Oklahoma City Public Schools would get $62.40 per student. Both districts would hit the $2 million cap. Hundreds of districts with 2,614 or fewer students would receive the maximum increase of $745 per student. House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, authored HB 2775. Under his bill, Atoka Public Schools would receive $745 per student for a total of $636,744 in new per-pupil funding. Roughly 44 districts, including nine in Tulsa County, would hit the $2 million funding cap, according to the OSSBA analysis. Owasso Public Schools Superintendent Margaret Coates estimated her district would get about $3.9 million in new per-pupil appropriations if there was no funding cap. Under HB 2775, the district will receive about $207.28 per student. Coates praised House lawmakers for seeking to appropriate more money to public education, but she said putting those dollars into the school funding formula would be ideal. "I do think that putting a cap on the $300 million in funding is not equitable," she said. "Everything in public ed is all about equity, and our funding formula is designed to provide that equity across districts." Broken Arrow Public Schools would receive an additional $6 million in funding, $4 million of which would be earmarked for teacher pay raises, said Superintendent Chuck Perry. In a statement, Perry said he's struggling with how HB 2775 values children differently based on where they live. "In Broken Arrow, each child will be funded at $106 more, but other students across the state will be funded as much as $745 more per child," Perry said. "This doesnt seem fair to the families who have made a choice to live here in this community. The cap will benefit school districts like Sapulpa Public Schools, Hilbert said. Initially, the district would be on track to receive $1.7 million in new per-pupil funding. But because other districts will hit the funding cap, the per-pupil funding amounts over $2 million will be redistributed to other districts. That will bring Sapulpa up to the $2 million cap as well, he said. "No matter what you do, you're choosing a funding formula," he said. "The current funding formula already disproportionately gets more money to Tulsa Public Schools and OKCPS. One way or another, you're putting more money toward some schools than others." HB 2775 passed the House on a largely party-line vote of 78-20 and now goes to the Senate. Republican Reps. Mark Vancuren, of Owasso, and Judd Strom, of Copan, sided with Democrats in opposing the bill. Featured video: Already the largest federally recognized tribe in the United States, the Cherokee Nation enrolled its 450,000th tribal citizen this week, a benchmark set after rapid growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cherokee population has swelled in recent years largely by people asserting their citizenship rights as adults, but it was a newborn baby who actually pushed enrollment to this new record, tribal officials said. Daniel Jones of Wagoner took his son Bryant to Cherokee Nation offices Monday to apply for the baby's citizenship, citing the familys desire to ensure the childs place in the tribe right away. The tribes Registration Department has received a record number of citizenship applications since the Cherokee Nation announced in 2021 that it would provide COVID-19 assistance payments, said Registrar Derrick Vann. To meet the increased workload, the department added staff, extended work shifts to 7 p.m. during the weekdays and added Saturday office hours. Our tribal citizens were longing to reconnect, access our services, especially during the pandemic, and families are coming in to get their children registered for citizenship at an earlier age, Vann said. During the height of COVID-19 we were wading through as many as 3,000 to 5,000 applications per month, and weve now processed those and are back to working on current applications. The Cherokee Nation has registered 50,000 new citizens in the past 18 months, making the Registration Department the most visited office in the tribal government, officials said. More than 270,000 Cherokee citizens live in Oklahoma, with about 140,000 living within the tribes reservation in the northeastern part of the state, officials said. COVID-19 taught all of us that there is a great need out there in terms of broadband, food insecurities and vital services that our people need, said Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. We are the largest tribe in the United States, and for our citizens to engage and connect with us is a sign that our Cherokee Nation government is strong and focused where it should be serving our people. With this growth, we will continue to be an important force for economies, education, health care and quality of life. For Cherokee Nation citizenship, an individual must prove direct lineage to an ancestor on the Dawes or Freedmen rolls from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Featured video: Photos: Opening of the Cherokee Nation's Anna Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center Opening of the Cherokee Nation's Anna Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center Opening of the Cherokee Nation's Anna Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center Opening of the Cherokee Nation's Anna Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center Opening of the Cherokee Nation's Anna Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center Opening of the Cherokee Nation's Anna Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center Opening of the Cherokee Nation's Anna Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center Opening of the Cherokee Nation's Anna Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center Opening of the Cherokee Nation's Anna Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center Opening of the Cherokee Nation's Anna Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center Opening of the Cherokee Nation's Anna Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center Opening of the Cherokee Nation's Anna Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center Opening of the Cherokee Nation's Anna Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center Opening of the Cherokee Nation's Anna Mitchell Cultural & Welcome Center Check out our latest digital-only offer and subscribe now A Republican-dominated Oklahoma House of Representatives, which last year refused to even consider private school vouchers, warmly embraced an open-ended tax credit program to reimburse families for private and home-school expenses on Wednesday while also voting to boost public education funding by $500 million. The two-bill package by Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, was sold as an "everybody wins" alternative to vouchers that boosts public school funds instead of diverting them. Republicans vehemently protested Democrat insistence that the tax credits in House Bill 1935 are vouchers by another name and that the distribution of the public education money in HB 2775 unfairly favors the smaller, rural school districts that have in the past opposed private school subsidies of any kind. Five Republicans joined the Democrats in opposing the tax credit proposal; only two voted against HB 2775. "What we are seeing today is a plan that will support a parent's right to choose," Rep. Rhonda Baker, R-Yukon, said during the four hours of discussion and debate on the two measures. "We're going to provide for more historic funding. And, we're to be protected from potential fraud and abuse by cutting the bureaucracy that adds to the cost for the taxpayer." Democrats raised alarms on two principle points: the allocation of $300 million included HB 2775 and an admitted lack of detail on exactly how taxpayers would be protected from potential fraud arising from HB 1935's tax credits. Rep. Monroe Nichols, D-Tulsa, said House leadership "squandered" an opportunity to do something "truly historic" because it refused to listen to superintendents and school board members. "It is simple," he said. "You engage the folks who are closest to it. You engage the folks who you are asking to produce better outcomes for kids. You ask them what they need, because you have (the money) now, and you give it to them and you hold them accountable. You don't give it away to places you can't hold accountable." HB 1935 would create refundable tax credits of up to $5,000 per private school student per year or $2,500 for those "educated by other means" a reference to home schooling. Besides tuition and fees, eligible expenses would include academic tutoring, learning materials and college admission tests. The bill would not limit the overall amount that could be claimed in a year, but Baker indicated that the Republican caucus thinks it would be about $300 million. Almost all of that, she said, is expected to go to families whose children are already in private schools or being otherwise educated outside the public school system. According to a tax commission report, that will cost state taxpayers more than $270 million. "From the research we've done on other states that have done this, we've seen about a 2% movement" from public to private schools, Baker said. "I don't see this as an incentive to pull from public and put them into private." The credit would be administered by the Oklahoma Tax Commission and the Oklahoma Department of Education, which between them would be supposed to spot students who are enrolled in private school just long enough to submit a tax credit claim before switching to public school. Baker acknowledged that administrative details have not been worked out but said the Tax Commission already oversees dozens of tax credit programs. Rep. Meloyde Blancett, D-Tulsa, did not find that reassuring. "There is not the infrastructure on the back end to do this well," she said. "If you vote green (yes) on this bill, you better, by God, better be getting back over there and making sure that there is a damn good plan so that the Tax Commission has the resources they need to do this. Because I will tell you this: They do not have the auditing staff to accomplish this well." The other bill, HB 2775, would provide for three categories of public school funding: $300 million to be distributed among all of the state's school districts, $150 million for across-the-board teacher raises, and $50 million for districts with low ad valorem tax bases. Almost all of the resistance to this bill was from Oklahoma City- and Tulsa-area representatives who objected to the $300 million not being added to the state school funding formula, which is intended to equalize state aid based on a variety of factors. HB 2775 would provide for per-pupil distribution but with a $2 million per district cap. The result is that large districts would receive considerably less per student than smaller districts. The handful of districts whose local funding is such that they receive no state aid, all of which are in rural areas, would be included in the distributions. The two bills face an uncertain future in the Senate, which has its own ideas about school funding. Video: Would tax credits encourage parents to disenroll children from public schools? Ho Chi Minh City is investing in human resources to turn itself into a medical tourism destination in the Southeast Asian region, said chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee Phan Van Mai. At a roundtable meeting between Ho Chi Minh City leadership and foreign business associations in the city on Wednesday, Alain Cany, chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), said Ho Chi Minh City has great potential to become a leading tourism destination in the region and tourism will contribute substantially to the citys economic recovery and development. However, it is important to amend visa policies so that the sector can sustain the growth momentum. The visa waiver period [for foreigners entering Vietnam] should be extended from 15 to 30 days and the policy should be applied to citizens of all European Union countries, the EuroCham Vietnam chairman said. He added that EuroCham had also received many visitors complaints about their unsatisfactory experience at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. They have to wait for hours due to an unreasonable arrangement. Despite being a large airport, Tan Son Nhat International Airport has no lanes for business class passengers, investors, and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) tourists. Many investors also wondered when Vietnam will reinstate the three-month multiple entry visa policy which was applied before the COVID-19 pandemic, Cany noted. Leaders of foreign business associations in Ho Chi Minh City propose many solutions to improve the quality of life in the city. Photo: N.Binh / Tuoi Tre James Ollen, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Ho Chi Minh City, emphasized that the southern Vietnamese metropolis infrastructure has hindered its production and tourism activities. He suggested the city should pay more attention to reforming the investment environment to attract new investors and maintain and develop existing investments, adding that a favorable investment environment is fair, transparent and predictable. Our members attach great importance to plans to improve traffic infrastructure facilities in the southern region. However, these plans should be executed and accelerated as part of the regions supply corridors to boost the connectivity among economic zones. Industrial parks should be easily accessed through expressways, while the congestion on the ways to the under-construction Long Thanh International Airport [in Ho Chi Minh Citys neighboring province of Dong Nai], Cat Lat Port [in Thu Duc City, under Ho Chi Minh City], and Cai Mep Terminal [in neighboring Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province] should be eased, Ollen added. The AmCham representative had a high opinion of opportunities to turn Ho Chi Minh City into a medical tourism destination. A representative of the German Business Association (GBA) also voiced his concern over the regulation forcing employees of restaurants and hotels to wear face masks while on duty. He said that wearing face masks while serving travelers will create an unfriendly impression, while the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam is almost successfully controlled. Therefore, he proposed that employees of restaurants and hotels should not wear face masks while working. At the meeting, Ho Chi Minh City chairman Phan Van Mai appreciated the role of foreign business associations in supporting the city in achieving post-pandemic economic recovery and development targets in 2022. Regarding the proposal that laborers in the local hospitability sector should not wear face masks while working, he said the city will review and report the proposal to the Ministry of Health to create the most possible favorable conditions for enterprises. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Ho Chi Minh City is investing in human resources to turn itself into a medical tourism destination in the Southeast Asian region, said chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee Phan Van Mai. At a roundtable meeting between Ho Chi Minh City leadership and foreign business associations in the city on Wednesday, Alain Cany, chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), said Ho Chi Minh City has great potential to become a leading tourism destination in the region and tourism will contribute substantially to the citys economic recovery and development. However, it is important to amend visa policies so that the sector can sustain the growth momentum. The visa waiver period [for foreigners entering Vietnam] should be extended from 15 to 30 days and the policy should be applied to citizens of all European Union countries, the EuroCham Vietnam chairman said. He added that EuroCham had also received many visitors complaints about their unsatisfactory experience at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. They have to wait for hours due to an unreasonable arrangement. Despite being a large airport, Tan Son Nhat International Airport has no lanes for business class passengers, investors, and MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) tourists. Many investors also wondered when Vietnam will reinstate the three-month multiple entry visa policy which was applied before the COVID-19 pandemic, Cany noted. Leaders of foreign business associations in Ho Chi Minh City propose many solutions to improve the quality of life in the city. Photo: N.Binh / Tuoi Tre James Ollen, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Ho Chi Minh City, emphasized that the southern Vietnamese metropolis infrastructure has hindered its production and tourism activities. He suggested the city should pay more attention to reforming the investment environment to attract new investors and maintain and develop existing investments, adding that a favorable investment environment is fair, transparent and predictable. Our members attach great importance to plans to improve traffic infrastructure facilities in the southern region. However, these plans should be executed and accelerated as part of the regions supply corridors to boost the connectivity among economic zones. Industrial parks should be easily accessed through expressways, while the congestion on the ways to the under-construction Long Thanh International Airport [in Ho Chi Minh Citys neighboring province of Dong Nai], Cat Lat Port [in Thu Duc City, under Ho Chi Minh City], and Cai Mep Terminal [in neighboring Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province] should be eased, Ollen added. The AmCham representative had a high opinion of opportunities to turn Ho Chi Minh City into a medical tourism destination. A representative of the German Business Association (GBA) also voiced his concern over the regulation forcing employees of restaurants and hotels to wear face masks while on duty. He said that wearing face masks while serving travelers will create an unfriendly impression, while the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam is almost successfully controlled. Therefore, he proposed that employees of restaurants and hotels should not wear face masks while working. At the meeting, Ho Chi Minh City chairman Phan Van Mai appreciated the role of foreign business associations in supporting the city in achieving post-pandemic economic recovery and development targets in 2022. Regarding the proposal that laborers in the local hospitability sector should not wear face masks while working, he said the city will review and report the proposal to the Ministry of Health to create the most possible favorable conditions for enterprises. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Peoples Committee of Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam on Wednesday exported over 300 metric tons of fresh bananas to China, marking its first batch of fresh bananas exports for this lunar year. Nguyen Thi Hoang, vice chairwoman of the Dong Nai Peoples Committee, shared that, after years of negotiations, a protocol on phytosanitary procedures for fresh Vietnamese bananas to be exported to China had been agreed upon by Vietnams Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the General Administration of Customs China in November of last year. The agreement marked a milestone in the saga of the export of fresh bananas through official channels. Bananas are considered one of 24 key crops produced in Dong Nai Province. With a total area of more than 13,100 hectares, Dong Nai boasts the most acreage dedicated to banana farming in Vietnam, accounting for 8.5 percent of the countrys total and 71 percent in the countrys southeastern region. Eight 40-feet container trucks transport fresh bananas from Dong Nai Province to China. The province also took the lead in terms of number of banana planting area codes issued by the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and approved by the General Administration of Customs China. In particular, it currently boasts 30 banana planting areas with issued codes, accounting for a combined area of nearly 5,700 hectares, or 43 percent of the provinces total banana farming area. Dong Nai is also home to 39 banana packaging unit codes. The province produces 450,000 metric tons of bananas per year, with each hectare producing 40-45 metric tons annually. Of that total, over 80 percent is exported to China, South Korea, Japan, and Malaysia. Consul General of China in Ho Chi Minh City Wei Huaxiang said Chinese people prefer fresh bananas but many regions in the country cannot cultivate banana trees. Therefore, he hopes to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries in order to boost the export of fresh Vietnamese bananas to China. He also affirmed that the Consulate General of China in Ho Chi Minh City supports the export of Vietnams fresh bananas to China, though he did note that Vietnam should pay more attention to packaging and preservation in order to ensure quality. Dong Nai Province exported more than 400,000 metric tons of fresh bananas last year and set a target to send over 500,000 metric tons to other countries this year, Dong Nai newspaper reported. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Peoples Committee of Dong Nai Province in southern Vietnam on Wednesday exported over 300 metric tons of fresh bananas to China, marking its first batch of fresh bananas exports for this lunar year. Nguyen Thi Hoang, vice chairwoman of the Dong Nai Peoples Committee, shared that, after years of negotiations, a protocol on phytosanitary procedures for fresh Vietnamese bananas to be exported to China had been agreed upon by Vietnams Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the General Administration of Customs China in November of last year. The agreement marked a milestone in the saga of the export of fresh bananas through official channels. Bananas are considered one of 24 key crops produced in Dong Nai Province. With a total area of more than 13,100 hectares, Dong Nai boasts the most acreage dedicated to banana farming in Vietnam, accounting for 8.5 percent of the countrys total and 71 percent in the countrys southeastern region. Eight 40-feet container trucks transport fresh bananas from Dong Nai Province to China. The province also took the lead in terms of number of banana planting area codes issued by the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and approved by the General Administration of Customs China. In particular, it currently boasts 30 banana planting areas with issued codes, accounting for a combined area of nearly 5,700 hectares, or 43 percent of the provinces total banana farming area. Dong Nai is also home to 39 banana packaging unit codes. The province produces 450,000 metric tons of bananas per year, with each hectare producing 40-45 metric tons annually. Of that total, over 80 percent is exported to China, South Korea, Japan, and Malaysia. Consul General of China in Ho Chi Minh City Wei Huaxiang said Chinese people prefer fresh bananas but many regions in the country cannot cultivate banana trees. Therefore, he hopes to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries in order to boost the export of fresh Vietnamese bananas to China. He also affirmed that the Consulate General of China in Ho Chi Minh City supports the export of Vietnams fresh bananas to China, though he did note that Vietnam should pay more attention to packaging and preservation in order to ensure quality. Dong Nai Province exported more than 400,000 metric tons of fresh bananas last year and set a target to send over 500,000 metric tons to other countries this year, Dong Nai newspaper reported. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnams rice exports are expected to do well this year with the return of its traditional import markets, such as Indonesia and Bangladesh, and Chinas reopening, according to a Ministry of Industry and Trade meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday. At the meeting to assess rice export results in 2022 and make forecasts for 2023, Nguyen Phuc Nam, deputy head of the Asia-Africa Market Department under the ministry, said Vietnams rice exports to other Asian markets accounted for 70 percent of its total rice exports, while the proportion was only 11 percent in Africa. In Asia, Vietnams rice exports currently make up over 80 percent of the market in the Philippines thanks to competitive prices. On the contrary with the positive results in the Philippines, Vietnam last year exported 2.43 million metric tons of rice to Africa, while consuming up to 42 metric tons. According to the Vietnam Food Association, many countries imported rice for stockpiling late last year. African markets have a high demand for low-cost rice and their payment ability is limited. As for China, Vietnams rice exports to the northern neighbor have fallen as the latter has diversified suppliers by cooperating with partners in Pakistan, India, and Cambodia. However, Chinas reopening will facilitate Vietnams rice export, Nam forecast. Vietnam set a target to ship some 6.5-7 metric tons of rice to other countries this year, with over 4.1 metric tons expected to be exported in the first half of the year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The target was set based on the impact of climate change and droughts in the U.S. and Europe, Chinas shortage of rice supplies, and Indias ban on broken rice exports and the imposition of a 20-percent export tariff on white rice. To reach the target, Vietnam should understand the market demand, diversify rice varieties, and enhance the production of high-quality rice. He also proposed organizing a Vietnam rice day in foreign markets and inviting foreign partners to take part in the Vietnam rice festival. Localities and enterprises should invest in the research of new rice varieties, Nam added, giving the example of Thailand researching rice for diabetics. Vietnam exported 7.1 million metric tons of rice worth US$3.45 billion last year, up 13.8 percent in volume and 5.1 percent in value over the previous year, making it among the three largest rice exporters in the world, the Vietnam Government Portal reported, citing statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs. The average rice export price stood at $486 per metric ton. In January this year, Vietnam shipped 359,310 metric tons of rice to other countries, earning $186.6 million, falling 29 percent in volume but rising 6.8 percent in price year on year. The Philippines remained the largest importer of Vietnams rice, accounting for 35 percent of total rice exports. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnams rice exports are expected to do well this year with the return of its traditional import markets, such as Indonesia and Bangladesh, and Chinas reopening, according to a Ministry of Industry and Trade meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday. At the meeting to assess rice export results in 2022 and make forecasts for 2023, Nguyen Phuc Nam, deputy head of the Asia-Africa Market Department under the ministry, said Vietnams rice exports to other Asian markets accounted for 70 percent of its total rice exports, while the proportion was only 11 percent in Africa. In Asia, Vietnams rice exports currently make up over 80 percent of the market in the Philippines thanks to competitive prices. On the contrary with the positive results in the Philippines, Vietnam last year exported 2.43 million metric tons of rice to Africa, while consuming up to 42 metric tons. According to the Vietnam Food Association, many countries imported rice for stockpiling late last year. African markets have a high demand for low-cost rice and their payment ability is limited. As for China, Vietnams rice exports to the northern neighbor have fallen as the latter has diversified suppliers by cooperating with partners in Pakistan, India, and Cambodia. However, Chinas reopening will facilitate Vietnams rice export, Nam forecast. Vietnam set a target to ship some 6.5-7 metric tons of rice to other countries this year, with over 4.1 metric tons expected to be exported in the first half of the year, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The target was set based on the impact of climate change and droughts in the U.S. and Europe, Chinas shortage of rice supplies, and Indias ban on broken rice exports and the imposition of a 20-percent export tariff on white rice. To reach the target, Vietnam should understand the market demand, diversify rice varieties, and enhance the production of high-quality rice. He also proposed organizing a Vietnam rice day in foreign markets and inviting foreign partners to take part in the Vietnam rice festival. Localities and enterprises should invest in the research of new rice varieties, Nam added, giving the example of Thailand researching rice for diabetics. Vietnam exported 7.1 million metric tons of rice worth US$3.45 billion last year, up 13.8 percent in volume and 5.1 percent in value over the previous year, making it among the three largest rice exporters in the world, the Vietnam Government Portal reported, citing statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs. The average rice export price stood at $486 per metric ton. In January this year, Vietnam shipped 359,310 metric tons of rice to other countries, earning $186.6 million, falling 29 percent in volume but rising 6.8 percent in price year on year. The Philippines remained the largest importer of Vietnams rice, accounting for 35 percent of total rice exports. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, at a meeting with secretary of the Party Committee of the Chinese province of Hainan Shen Xiaoming on Wednesday, suggested the restoration of tourism cooperation between the two countries, including the inclusion of Vietnam in Chinas list of approved markets for outbound group tours. China had earlier announced a list of 20 countries and territories where its tour agencies were allowed to take travelers, including seven ASEAN countries, but Vietnam was excluded. According to Chinese media agencies, Chinese travelers have significant interest in visiting Thailand, Singapore, and the Maldives. At the meeting, PM Chinh also requested that Hainan Province enhance its exchanges and cooperative initiatives with Vietnamese ministries, agencies, and localities, particularly Ho Chi Minh City and the northern province of Quang Ninh. In addition, the Vietnamese government leader suggested boosting mutually beneficial cooperation in tourism, transport, education, healthcare, cultural exchange, and climate change response. He also called on Hainan Province to join hands in search and rescue work at sea, as well as to treat Vietnamese fishermen in a humanitarian manner in order to contribute to the maintenance of peace and stability in regional maritime areas. In response, Shen affirmed that Hainan attaches great importance to collaboration with Vietnamese ministries, agencies, and localities. The province also noted plans to work closely with Vietnam in order to realize PM Chinhs recommendations. In particular, Hainan will soon reopen air and sea routes to Vietnam, as well as establish a Vietnam trade promotion office in Hainan. The Hainan Party Committee secretary pledged to increase its imports of Vietnamese agricultural products, including coconuts. Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (right) and secretary of the Hainan Province Party Committee Shen Xiaoming at a meeting on February 22, 2023. Photo: Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs On the same day, Shen also met with Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son who suggested that Hainan foster cooperation with Vietnam in search and rescue at sea and create conditions for Vietnamese fishermen to seek shelter in case of storms. Shen voiced his agreement with Minister Sons suggestions, adding that Hainan will facilitate the import of Vietnamese farm produce into China and transform itself into a gateway for Chinese enterprises to invest in Vietnam. The visit was Shens first to Vietnam since he became the secretary of the Party Committee of Hainan Province. Prior to his meeting with PM Chinh, Shen met with secretary of the Ho Chi Minh municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, at a meeting with secretary of the Party Committee of the Chinese province of Hainan Shen Xiaoming on Wednesday, suggested the restoration of tourism cooperation between the two countries, including the inclusion of Vietnam in Chinas list of approved markets for outbound group tours. China had earlier announced a list of 20 countries and territories where its tour agencies were allowed to take travelers, including seven ASEAN countries, but Vietnam was excluded. According to Chinese media agencies, Chinese travelers have significant interest in visiting Thailand, Singapore, and the Maldives. At the meeting, PM Chinh also requested that Hainan Province enhance its exchanges and cooperative initiatives with Vietnamese ministries, agencies, and localities, particularly Ho Chi Minh City and the northern province of Quang Ninh. In addition, the Vietnamese government leader suggested boosting mutually beneficial cooperation in tourism, transport, education, healthcare, cultural exchange, and climate change response. He also called on Hainan Province to join hands in search and rescue work at sea, as well as to treat Vietnamese fishermen in a humanitarian manner in order to contribute to the maintenance of peace and stability in regional maritime areas. In response, Shen affirmed that Hainan attaches great importance to collaboration with Vietnamese ministries, agencies, and localities. The province also noted plans to work closely with Vietnam in order to realize PM Chinhs recommendations. In particular, Hainan will soon reopen air and sea routes to Vietnam, as well as establish a Vietnam trade promotion office in Hainan. The Hainan Party Committee secretary pledged to increase its imports of Vietnamese agricultural products, including coconuts. Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (right) and secretary of the Hainan Province Party Committee Shen Xiaoming at a meeting on February 22, 2023. Photo: Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs On the same day, Shen also met with Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son who suggested that Hainan foster cooperation with Vietnam in search and rescue at sea and create conditions for Vietnamese fishermen to seek shelter in case of storms. Shen voiced his agreement with Minister Sons suggestions, adding that Hainan will facilitate the import of Vietnamese farm produce into China and transform itself into a gateway for Chinese enterprises to invest in Vietnam. The visit was Shens first to Vietnam since he became the secretary of the Party Committee of Hainan Province. Prior to his meeting with PM Chinh, Shen met with secretary of the Ho Chi Minh municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Check out the news you should not miss today: Politics -- Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday suggested Chinas Hainan province enhance its exchange and cooperation with Vietnamese ministries, agencies and localities, particularly Ho Chi Minh City and the northern province of Quang Ninh, according to the Vietnam News Agency. Society -- Doctors from Thanh Vu Hospital Medic Bac Lieu in Vietnams Mekong Delta said on Wednesday that they had successfully treated a woman with a ruptured liver and intra-abdominal hemorrhage caused by the use of a slimming belt. -- A man from Ha Giang Province, northern Vietnam was sentenced to three years in prison on Wenesday for raping a tour guide while she was sleeping inside a bungalow last September. -- Police in Nha Trang City, central Vietnam are looking into the death of a two-year-old boy who died unexpectedly while attending kindergarten. -- Police in Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam said on Wednesday that they had broken up a gambling ring for Vietnamese people at a hotel in the area and confiscated more than VND100 billion (US$4,2 million). -- The rescue team of the Vietnam Peoples Army (VPA) headed for home on Wednesday afternoon, concluding a mission to assist with the aftermath of an earthquake in Turkey. World News -- A major winter storm battered the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest with high winds and heavy snow on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of schools to close, grounding air travel and making road travel difficult - if not impossible - in some U.S. areas, according to Reuters. -- Foreign interference in elections is a very serious issue and Canada must be on guard against it," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday, following a media report saying that China sought to influence the outcome of the 2021 election, Reuters reported. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Check out the news you should not miss today: Politics -- Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Wednesday suggested Chinas Hainan province enhance its exchange and cooperation with Vietnamese ministries, agencies and localities, particularly Ho Chi Minh City and the northern province of Quang Ninh, according to the Vietnam News Agency. Society -- Doctors from Thanh Vu Hospital Medic Bac Lieu in Vietnams Mekong Delta said on Wednesday that they had successfully treated a woman with a ruptured liver and intra-abdominal hemorrhage caused by the use of a slimming belt. -- A man from Ha Giang Province, northern Vietnam was sentenced to three years in prison on Wenesday for raping a tour guide while she was sleeping inside a bungalow last September. -- Police in Nha Trang City, central Vietnam are looking into the death of a two-year-old boy who died unexpectedly while attending kindergarten. -- Police in Quang Ninh Province, northern Vietnam said on Wednesday that they had broken up a gambling ring for Vietnamese people at a hotel in the area and confiscated more than VND100 billion (US$4,2 million). -- The rescue team of the Vietnam Peoples Army (VPA) headed for home on Wednesday afternoon, concluding a mission to assist with the aftermath of an earthquake in Turkey. World News -- A major winter storm battered the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest with high winds and heavy snow on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of schools to close, grounding air travel and making road travel difficult - if not impossible - in some U.S. areas, according to Reuters. -- Foreign interference in elections is a very serious issue and Canada must be on guard against it," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Wednesday, following a media report saying that China sought to influence the outcome of the 2021 election, Reuters reported. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The old shell of a rare yellowish orange lobster caught in Canada has been displayed at the Institute of Oceanography in Nha Trang, the capital of Khanh Hoa Province in south-central Vietnam. Some visitors to the institute had a chance to see the old shell on Wednesday, one day after the rare lobster had shed the exoskeleton. The institute received the lobster for research and exhibition purposes from Ho Chi Minh City-based Royal Seafood International Trading Company Limited, which imported the rare crustacean from Canada in July 2022. A rare yellowish orange lobster is seen after shedding shell at the Institute of Oceanography in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam, February 22, 2023. Photo: Minh Chien / Tuoi Tre The lobster, which weighs about two kilograms and measures 55 centimeters long, has been supplemented with nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin C, and calcium because it consumed a lot of energy during the molting process, which happens once a year, and became vulnerable. Yellowish orange lobsters are extremely rare, with a probability of one in 30 million, because their bright shells make them easy targets for predators. They are the results of genetic abnormalities. The old shell of a rare yellowish orange lobster at the Institute of Oceanography in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam, February 22, 2023. Photo: Minh Chien / Tuoi Tre Typically, lobsters are dark colored, either bluish green or greenish brown, and are primarily found along the Atlantic coast and in North America. This is the first time Ive seen a lobster with a yellowish orange color like a cooked one, said Le Ho Thien Nga, a tourist from southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. The Institute of Oceanography said the lobster shell will undergo a processing stage before its official display in the future. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The old shell of a rare yellowish orange lobster caught in Canada has been displayed at the Institute of Oceanography in Nha Trang, the capital of Khanh Hoa Province in south-central Vietnam. Some visitors to the institute had a chance to see the old shell on Wednesday, one day after the rare lobster had shed the exoskeleton. The institute received the lobster for research and exhibition purposes from Ho Chi Minh City-based Royal Seafood International Trading Company Limited, which imported the rare crustacean from Canada in July 2022. A rare yellowish orange lobster is seen after shedding shell at the Institute of Oceanography in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam, February 22, 2023. Photo: Minh Chien / Tuoi Tre The lobster, which weighs about two kilograms and measures 55 centimeters long, has been supplemented with nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin C, and calcium because it consumed a lot of energy during the molting process, which happens once a year, and became vulnerable. Yellowish orange lobsters are extremely rare, with a probability of one in 30 million, because their bright shells make them easy targets for predators. They are the results of genetic abnormalities. The old shell of a rare yellowish orange lobster at the Institute of Oceanography in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam, February 22, 2023. Photo: Minh Chien / Tuoi Tre Typically, lobsters are dark colored, either bluish green or greenish brown, and are primarily found along the Atlantic coast and in North America. This is the first time Ive seen a lobster with a yellowish orange color like a cooked one, said Le Ho Thien Nga, a tourist from southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. The Institute of Oceanography said the lobster shell will undergo a processing stage before its official display in the future. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Researchers have found a 2,000-year-old insturmented crafted from a deer antler in Vietnams Mekong Delta region, one of the earliest examples of a stringed instrument ever found in Southeast Asia. Discovered along the Mekong River in southern Vietnam, the 2,000-year-old instrument resembles a single-stringed harp and may have been an ancestor to the complex musical instruments people still plucked today in Vietnam, according to UK-based science website IFLScience. The artifact consists of a 35-centimeter piece of deer antler with a hole at one end for a peg, which was likely used to tune the string. The antler most likely came from a Sambar deer or an Indian hog deer, two species native to mainland Southeast Asia. While the string seems to have eroded away long ago, the instrument features a bridge that was perhaps used to support the string. Lead researcher and Ph.D. student Fredeliza Campos from the Australian National University said the artifact is at least 2,000 years old -- dating back to Vietnams pre-Oc Eo culture along the Mekong River, which is exceptionally early for this kind of instrument. How the artifact could have been played. Image credit: F Z Campos. This stringed instrument, or chordophone, is one of the earliest examples of this type of instrument in Southeast Asia, Campos said. To better understand the music cultures of ancient Vietnam, researchers sifted through a catalog of over 600 bone artifacts found in the area. Their analysis indicates that this fashioned antler corresponds to contemporary Vietnamese musical instruments. There are three corresponding types of instruments for comparison, including the Bro JoRai of the Ede ethnic people, the Co Ke (dan nhi or dan co, a Vietnamese bowed string instrument with two strings found throughout Vietnam), and the Kny - a single-string bowed instrument that is uniquely controlled by the players mouth - of the Jarai ethnic people. The discovery was published on Tuesday in the peer-reviewed archeology journal Antiquity. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Researchers have found a 2,000-year-old insturmented crafted from a deer antler in Vietnams Mekong Delta region, one of the earliest examples of a stringed instrument ever found in Southeast Asia. Discovered along the Mekong River in southern Vietnam, the 2,000-year-old instrument resembles a single-stringed harp and may have been an ancestor to the complex musical instruments people still plucked today in Vietnam, according to UK-based science website IFLScience. The artifact consists of a 35-centimeter piece of deer antler with a hole at one end for a peg, which was likely used to tune the string. The antler most likely came from a Sambar deer or an Indian hog deer, two species native to mainland Southeast Asia. While the string seems to have eroded away long ago, the instrument features a bridge that was perhaps used to support the string. Lead researcher and Ph.D. student Fredeliza Campos from the Australian National University said the artifact is at least 2,000 years old -- dating back to Vietnams pre-Oc Eo culture along the Mekong River, which is exceptionally early for this kind of instrument. How the artifact could have been played. Image credit: F Z Campos. This stringed instrument, or chordophone, is one of the earliest examples of this type of instrument in Southeast Asia, Campos said. To better understand the music cultures of ancient Vietnam, researchers sifted through a catalog of over 600 bone artifacts found in the area. Their analysis indicates that this fashioned antler corresponds to contemporary Vietnamese musical instruments. There are three corresponding types of instruments for comparison, including the Bro JoRai of the Ede ethnic people, the Co Ke (dan nhi or dan co, a Vietnamese bowed string instrument with two strings found throughout Vietnam), and the Kny - a single-string bowed instrument that is uniquely controlled by the players mouth - of the Jarai ethnic people. The discovery was published on Tuesday in the peer-reviewed archeology journal Antiquity. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! BritBox International has hit three million global subscribers, a lift of 15% during the past year. It had previously announced 1m subscribers in March 2020, 2m in July 2021, and 2.6m in March 2022. The BBC and ITV joint venture streaming platform operates in the U.S., Canada, Australia, South Africa and last year adding Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. During this time the service became available on Amazon Prime and Apple channels across Australia and has ramped up original co-productions including Stonehouse last month, Why Didnt They Ask Evans? in 2022, and co-commissions Sister Boniface Mysteries and Murder in Provence. Reemah Sakaan, CEO, BritBox International said, The strong performance of BritBox in international markets, ahead of industry averages, underlines how British television and talent continue to be a gold standard for quality around the world. In a crowded streaming market, this illustrates how there is room for distinct targeted services to find and grow loyal audiences. We live and breathe British TV like no-one else, and thats been reflected in our ability to build out an expanded slate of new and original IP combined with a treasure trove of long-running British franchises. We are proud to champion British creativity and voices to millions of viewers, keeping talent and funding in the UK television ecosystem. Its this passion and knowledge which keeps us distinctive from the other global streamers out there. Known for the best in British content, BritBox offers a world class collection of originals, co-productions, and other popular scripted and live programming. Over the past week, the company has announced the upcoming new co-productions Murder is Easy, an Agatha Christie adaptation, and After the Flood, starring Sophie Rundle. Also on its future slate is Archie, starring Jason Isaacs as Cary Grant, Payback starring Morven Christie and Peter Mullan, from Jed Mercurio, Passenger, from Andrew Buchan, and Three Little Birds, from Sir Lenny Henry. These recent announcements add to existing BritBox Original co-productions Beyond Paradise, a spin-off from the popular Death in Paradise, launching on February 24, as well as The Confessions of Frannie Langton, based on the award-winning book by Sara Collins, premiering on March 8. Hit acquisitions premiering on BritBox International in the last year have included James Grahams Sherwood starring Lesley Manville and David Morrissey, and mystery series Karen Pirie from author Val McDermid, adapted by Emer Kenny and starring Lauren Lyle, and Irvine Welshs Crime, starring Dougray Scott, all of which will return. Acclaimed drama A Spy Among Friends, starring Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce, also debuted on BritBox in Australia and Nordic markets. BritBoxs subscriber growth over the past year has also been fueled by its content and market investment strategy, including the BritBox International co-production Stonehouse, which tells the extraordinary story of disgraced Labour Minister John Stonehouse, portrayed by Successions Matthew Macfadyen, who also serves as an executive producer. Why Didnt They Ask Evans?, the services first collaboration with the Agatha Christie estate, was produced, directed and adapted for screen by Hugh Laurie and stars Will Poulter and Lucy Boynton, sun-soaked co-commissioned murder mystery series Murder in Provence stars Roger Allam, and co-commission Sister Boniface Mysteries is a spin-off from the hugely successful series Father Brown. Screen Australia has announced $4.6 million documentary funding for two documentaries through the First Nations Department, 12 documentaries through the Producer Program and 7 projects through the Commissioned Program. They include a second season of Our Law narrated by Deborah Mailman, which has already screened on NITV, and ABCs Designing A Legacy, War on Waste, and Dolphins: Is Our Love Too Deep? Screen Australias Head of Documentary Alex West said, Were pleased to announce this latest mix of documentaries which explore various chapters of Australias history, highlight where we may be headed in the future and shine a light on Australians making a difference. In doing so, I hope this extensive offering will also provide viewers with insights on topics including art, health and science, our environment, gender and multiculturalism which can help add to important contemporary conversations. Angela Bates, Head of First Nations at Screen Australia said, We are proud to support two experienced teams in their mission to deliver compelling documentaries, Rebel with a Cause and Our Law season 2. Our Law will continue to provide an honest insight into the challenges First Nations police officers face as they aim to change the system from within, while Rebel with a Cause celebrates four outstanding trailblazers in Queensland, who have each left lasting legacies in their respective fields. First Nations Dept: Rebel with a Cause 4 x 51 mins Inkey Media Pty Ltd Directors Douglas Watkin, Sio F. Tusa, Jill Robinson, EJ Garrett Producers Dena Curtis, Citt Williams Synopsis Rebel with a Cause celebrates the personal journey of four outstanding First Nations trailblazers from Queensland, who against the odds created amazing pathways for future generations. Our Law S2 8 x 30 mins Our Law S2 Pty Ltd Director Perun Bonser Producers Taryne Laffar, Sam Field Synopsis Our Law: Australia expands nationwide with its unique brand of intimate and candid access to First Nations police officers, recruits, and cadets as they attempt to break the cycle of Indigenous incarceration and repair deeply troubled Aboriginal-police relationships, while giving a rightful voice to the First Nations communities being policed. Commissioned program: A Forgotten Cure (Working Title) 1 x 54 mins Genepool Productions Writer/Director Emma Watts Producers Sonya Pemberton, Anna Mantzoros Executive Producer Sonya Pemberton Synopsis An intimate real-time journey with superbug infected patients who, left with no other option, are being injected with trillions of viruses viruses that could save their lives and also give hope to the world. Designing A Legacy S2 2 x 60 mins SAM Content and Modernister Director Chris Eley Producer Aline Jacques Executive Producers Sally Aitken, Tim Ross Synopsis Architecture tragic Tim Ross travels the country to see buildings and meet people that help reveal a new story of what it means to be Australian, hidden in the architecture around us. Devils Last Stand 1 x 55 mins Quoll Farm Pty Ltd Director Simon Plowright Producer Simon Nasht Synopsis Set in the spectacular landscape of north-west Tasmania, Simon Plowright will spend a year immersed in the intimate daily life of a remarkable animal, the often-misunderstood Tasmanian Devil. Dolphins: Is Our Love Too Deep? 1 x 57 mins Sea Dog TV International Pty Ltd Director Leighton De Barros Producers Jodie De Barros, Leighton De Barros Executive Producer Jodie De Barros Synopsis Dolphins: Is Our Love Too Deep? is a ground-breaking, investigative, environmental film that explores the impact humans are having on wild dolphins through hand feeding tourism programs in Australia at Monkey Mia and Bunbury in Western Australia, and Moreton Bay and Tin Can Bay in Queensland. The Nameless Nazi (Working Title) 1 x 60 mins Mint Pictures Pty Ltd Writer/Director Dan Goldberg Producer Dan Goldberg Executive Producer Adam Kay Synopsis A Jewish boy witnesses the murder of his family, survives the Holocaust by becoming the Nazis youngest soldier, has four false names, two mistaken family reunions and now, thanks to DNA, is on the cusp of discovering his true identity on his deathbedis it too remarkable to be true? Lessons From The Unknown 1 x 85 mins Blackfella Films Pty Ltd Writer/Director Chris Phillips Co-Writer Jacob Hickey Producers Darren Dale, Jacob Hickey Executive Producer Jennifer Peedom Synopsis An Australian scientist staging world first psychedelic trials hopes to change the course of the mental health epidemic. War On Waste S3 3 x 60 mins Lune Media Director Jodi Boylan Producers Craig Reucassel, Mariel Thomas Executive Producers Leonie Lowe, David Galloway Synopsis This three-part series will put the critical issue of waste back on the agenda and highlight the connection between waste and climate change. The series reveals how far weve come, and how far weve fallen behind and what we can all do to stem the waste tide. Producer program After School (Working Title) 1 x 90 mins and 2 x 60 mins FremantleMedia Australia Pty Ltd Director Thomas Hyland Producers Catherine Bradbury, Josie Mason Campbell, Jim Wright Executive Producers Josie Mason Campbell, Jim Wright Synopsis A humorous and heart-warming coming of age story unfolds when a cast of neurodiverse teenagers confront their own challenges, dreams & desires as they prepare for their first high school musical. This is a simple story with complex characters of teen life on the margins. Breakaway Femmes 1 x 90 mins Goldynaut Pictures Writer/Director Eleanor Sharpe Producer Nickolas Bird Synopsis For six glorious years during the 1980s, a womens Tour de France was held alongside the mens race their story has never been told, until now. The Carnival 1 x 85 mins and 1 x 52 mins Sideshow Films Writer/Director Isabel Darling Producer Tom Zubrycki Co-Producer Isabel Darling Synopsis The Carnival is a documentary capturing the intimate moments of a six-generation carnival family, the Bells. Dead By June 1 x 90 mins Third Man Films Pty Ltd Directors Robert Coe, Madeleine Ross Writers Robert Coe, Madeleine Ross Producers Robert Coe, Madeleine Ross Executive Producers Paul Wiegard, Karl Stefanovic, Josh Pomeranz Synopsis The meteoric rise, heartbreaking fall and the unfathomable comeback of motorcycle racings 5-time World Champion, Mick Doohan. Killjoy 1 x 90 mins Pandoras Docs Pty Ltd and Fringe Dweller Films Pty Ltd Writer/Director Vincent Lamberti Producer Lisa Albert Associate Producer Jess Hill Project Advisor Ivan OMahoney Synopsis A mothers death, a communitys silence, and a childs journey to understand how the law allowed them to be raised by their father the man who killed their mother. The Love Of My Life 1 x 28 mins Yarra Bank Films Pty Ltd Directors Francesca Rizzoli, Trevor J Graham Producer Trevor J Graham Executive Producer Catherine Barrett Synopsis A vivid, transgender love story, Gail and Lisette waited 60 years to live their lives freely and to love and marry as their true selves. Rose Gold 1 x 90 mins Wooden Horse Director Matthew Adekponya Creative Consultant Kriv Stenders Writers Matthew Adekponya, Allan Clarke Producer Richard Finlayson Executive Producers Richard Finlayson, Jude Troy Synopsis After nearly 70 years of valiantly trying, what will it take for the Boomers to finally bring home an Olympic medal? Songs Inside 1 x 80 mins Shalom Almond Writer/Director Shalom Almond Producers Shalom Almond, Katrina Lucas, Lauren Drewery Co-Producer Nancy Bates Synopsis Most women leaving prison eventually end up back inside, but one musician and her guitar want to prove that music can be a powerful tool for change and healing, behind bars and beyond. Will music open the door to a different future and set these women prisoners free? Turning The Tide 1 x 27mins Edge Atelier Pty Ltd Director Franck Dubuc Writer Francesca Partridge Producers Steve Thomas, Francesca Partridge Synopsis Captain Sarah Parry takes a group of teenagers from refugee and Aussie backgrounds on a remarkable, life-changing voyage aboard Windeward Bound, the tall-ship she built in Tasmania. Watandar, My Countryman 1 x 67 mins Watandar Pty Ltd Director Jolyon Hoff Writers Jolyon Hoff, Muzafar Ali Producers Jolyon Hoff, Muzafar Ali, Hamish Gibbs Ludbrook Synopsis When the Taliban take over Afghanistan a former refugee finds a new home in the Australian desert. The Weeping Tree 1 x 60 mins Rummin Productions Pty Ltd Director Matthew Newton Producer Catherine Pettman Executive Producer Andry Sculthorpe Synopsis A deeply moving and engaging portrait of a Vandemonian tree with the ability to survive blizzards, weep alcohol and bring grown men to tears. Woven Threads Stories From Country 8 x 5 mins Woven Threads Productions Pty Ltd Director Tony Briggs Producer Michi Marosszeky Synopsis This series will look at the effect of colonisation past and present on Indigenous Australian communities, exploring themes of identity (not just skin colour), youth justice, mental health, disability, employment, LGBTQI related issues and out of home care. Paul Murray Live resumes its Our Town series for 2023 from Sunday, broadcasting from locations across the country and highlighting regional communities. On Sunday it visits Orange, NSW, located in Wiradjuri country. Paul Murray will speak with Deputy Mayor and owner of Indigenous Cultural Adventures, Gerald Power, to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on local tourism. He will also share stories of the towns rich gold rush and mining history, highlighting local produce and sites to explore, from the Orange Regional Museum to scenic trike tours. Paul Murray said: Were in our fifth of telling the great stories of the great places in Australia that dont get enough time in the spotlight. Our show is about coming to town when times are normal, as well as supporting them during times of disaster or crisis. At a time of global uncertainty, Im glad to go to the smaller towns where people are incredibly resourceful and self-reliant; where they grow their own food, for example, and are not reliant on imports. Sunday 26 February at 9pm AEDT on SKY News. Aussie diva Trevor Ashley has joined the second season of drag singing contest Queen of the Universe, hosted by Graham Norton. The second season sees drag queens from Australia, Italy, Brazil, USA, Philippines and more, competing before judges Mel B, Michelle Visage, Vanessa Williams, and drag queen Trixie Mattel. Meet the Queen Of The Universe Season Two cast: Aura Eternal (Palermo, Italy) Instagram: @aura_eternal Having previously appeared on the second season of Drag Race Italia where she made it to the top three, Aura Eternal has already demonstrated sickening skills in her homeland. But now Auras ready to show the rest of the world shes got vocal chops that equal her stunning looks and is ready to become the next singing drag queen global sensation! Chloe V (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) Instagram: @dragchloe With Brazil having won last seasons Queen of the Universe, Chloe V knows shes got big stilettos to fill. But with a powerhouse voice and gag-worthy looks that could turn a drag queen green with envy, shes confident nobody in the competition can knock her down and steal that crown! Jazell Royale (Orlando, Florida, U.S.) Instagram: @jazellbarbieroyale Jazell Royale is more than just a gorgeous face and an award-winning pageant queen, and the time is now for her star to shine. She may be known in the USA for her many titles and viral videos, but she hopes that the Queen of the Universe stage will allow her to be remembered for her biggest asset her voice! Love Masisi (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Instagram: @lovemasisi Having lived in several different countries throughout their adventurous life, Love Masisi is now proud to call the Netherlands home. After a previous appearance on Drag Race Holland Season 2, theyre ready to showcase their passion for music and spread a message of hope and love all over the world. Maxi (Manila, Philippines) Instagram: @maxieandreison Maxie may already be known in the Philippines as a top-tier performer and LGBTQ advocate, but now shes ready to be known as a universal singing sensation! Although shes appeared on TV several times beginning when she was just a kid, shes never left her home country. Now shes ready to step onto the Queen of the Universe stage for a shot at her dream. Militia Scunt (San Francisco, California, U.S.) Instagram: @militiasf Known in California for her edgy drag looks and her soulful singing voice, Militia Scunt is ready to conquer the universe and become the next singing drag queen superstar. A triple threat with singing, dancing, and style skills, shes confident shes got the goods to smack down the competition and bring the crown to the USA period! Miss Sistrata (Tel Aviv, Israel) Instagram: @misssistrata Miss Sistrata, reporting for beauty! This former soldier is ready to walk onto the Queen of the Universe stage like the true diva that she is. And with vocal abilities and looks that leave audiences gagged and begging for more, shes ready to make her mark on the competition. Taiga Brava (Cancun, Mexico) Instagram: @taigabrava Taiga Brava arrives to the main stage from the sunny shores of Cancun, ready to make both homeland and family proud of her vocal skills and jaw-dropping drag looks. With her effervescent personality and unshakeable confidence, shes confident shes got what it takes to bring the crown home to Mexico. Trevor Ashley (Sydney, Australia) Instagram: @trevor_ashley Trevor Ashley is a seasoned theatre queen whos been part of the Australian drag community for over 20 years. Despite her many career successes (including winning the Aussie equivalent of the Tony Award) this is her first televised singing competition and the diva from Down Under is ready to deliver! Viola (Coventry, England, U.K.) Instagram: @playedbyviola At only nineteen years old, Viola may be the youngest contender in the competition but dont be deceived shes a talented musician whos been working towards this opportunity her entire life. Having joined the drag community only a few years ago, this rising star is ready to show the universe just how bright she can shine. Global drag icon and multi-Emmy Award winner RuPaul serves as an executive producer on the series, alongside MTV Entertainment Studios and World of Wonder, the producers of the Emmy Award-winning franchise RuPauls Drag Race. Updated: Saturday June 3 on Paramount+. Working near home new option for migrant workers in west China Xinhua) 10:06, February 23, 2023 XI'AN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- After working for 10 years at a food company in central China's Henan Province, some 500 km away from his hometown, 37-year-old Fu Rang found a new job near his home in the Lintong District of Xi'an City in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Fu's return to his hometown is attributable to the economic development of county-level regions in western China, which has created numerous local job opportunities. It's common for migrant workers from the underdeveloped western parts of the country to work in the more developed regions along the coast. In the current recruitment season, however, such workers have more alternatives to searching for jobs far away from their homes. In recent years, several leading food and beverage companies have made investments in Sanyuan, located about 50 km from Lintong, creating many job opportunities in the agricultural county. "My wife and I worked far from our hometown for years, and could only return during holidays. Now we can visit our family members every week as we live closer," said Fu, who now works at Baixiang Food Company in Sanyuan. There's a growing tendency among migrant workers from the western parts of the country to seek employment opportunities closer to their homes, and this trend is reflected in China's official statistics. In 2021, in the western parts of China, migrant workers working outside their home provinces accounted for 47.8 percent of total migrant workers in the region, while the figure stood at 52.2 percent in 2016, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Being closer to their workplace not only shortens the distance between home and work for individuals but also contributes to their happiness. Every morning, after sending her children to school, 35-year-old Shen Weimei goes to work at a toy and gift factory in Xunyang County, the largest community factory in the area. She is quite content with her job, earning over 4,000 yuan (about 582 U.S. dollars) a month while working eight hours a day. "There were no decent enterprises in the past in Xunyang. My husband and I worked in east China's Suzhou City for over four years, and we could only stay at home for about ten days during the Spring Festival every year. Although our income now is lower than that in Suzhou, our family is reunited and the cost of living is lower, so we are happier," Shen said. A similar situation can be observed in Wugong County, which was previously known as a labor export county in Shaanxi. "We don't have to find a job far away from home, as our hometown offers many employment prospects," said Ma Qian, who hails from Zhenyuan Township in Wugong. After working in the provincial capital Xi'an for some time, she decided to return to her hometown and has already secured a local job. A significant number of our new employees this year are locals who have returned from big cities, said Li Weihua, an official with the Wugong County Industrial Park Management Committee. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Alandsbanken Bank of Aland Plc Notice to convene general meeting February 23, 2023, 8.00 EET. Notice to convene the Annual General Meeting Notice is hereby given to the shareholders of the Bank of Aland Plc (Alandsbanken Abp) of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) to be held at 3.00 p.m. Finnish time (15.00 EET) on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at the Alandica Kultur & Kongress auditorium, Strandgatan 33, Mariehamn, Aland, Finland. The reception of persons who have registered to participate in the Meeting and the distribution of voting tickets will commence at 2.00 p.m. on the above date. A. Matters on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting The following matters will be dealt with at the Meeting: 1. Opening of the Meeting 2. Calling the Meeting to order 3. Election of persons to check the minutes and to supervise the counting of votes 4. Verification of the legality of the Meeting 5. Verification of attendance at the Meeting and adoption of the voting list 6. Presentation of the financial statements, the Report of the Directors and the Auditors Report for 2022 Managing Directors review. 7. Adoption of the financial statements 8. Decision on allocation of the profit shown in the balance sheet and dividend distribution The Board of Directors proposes that a dividend of EUR 1.60 per share plus an extra dividend of EUR 0.45 per share shall be paid for the financial year January 1 December 31, 2022, that the record date for dividend payment shall be Monday, April 3, 2023 and that the payment date shall be Wednesday, April 12, 2023. 9. Decision on granting discharge from liability to the members of the Board of Directors and the Managing Director for the financial year January 1 December 31, 2022 10. Presentation and adoption of the compensation report 11. The Boards proposal on amendment of the Articles of Association The Board of Directors proposes that Section 2 of the Articles of Association be amended in such a way that the references to laws in the description of the Banks area of operations agree with currently valid legislation, since the Finnish Act on Mortgage Banks and Covered Bonds (151/2022) has been updated. Story continues After the proposed amendment, the section shall read as follows: Bolaget, som i denna bolagsordning benamns Banken, bedriver sasom affarsbank i kreditinstitutslagen (610/2014) for inlaningsbanker avsedd kreditinstitutsverksamhet. Banken tillhandahaller aven sadana investeringstjanster och sidotjanster som avses i lagen om investeringstjanster (747/2012). Banken bedriver aven hypoteksbanksverksamhet i enlighet med lagen om hypoteksbanksverksamhet (151/2022). The Board also proposes to the AGM that Section 13 of the Companys Articles of Association be amended to read as follows: 13 Revisorer For granskning av Bankens forvaltning och rakenskaper valjs arligen vid ordinarie bolagsstamma minst en och hogst tva revisorer. Om endast en revisor valts och denne inte ar en revisionssammanslutning, skall aven en revisorssuppleant valjas. Revisorerna valjs for en mandattid som upphor vid slutet av den ordinarie bolagsstamma som foljer narmast efter valet. 12. Decision on the number of members on the Board of Directors It is proposed that the number of Board members shall be set at six. 13. Decision on fees for the members of the Board The Board of Directors proposes an unchanged annual fee for its Chairman (EUR 35,000), the Deputy Chairman (EUR 30,000) and each other Board member (EUR 28,000). The Board also proposes an unchanged fee per meeting attended for the Chairman (EUR 1,000) and for each other Board member (EUR 750). It shall be noted that the fee per meeting for Board members attendance at meetings of the committees appointed by the Board is EUR 750 per Board member and EUR 1,000 for the committee Chairman. In addition, it shall be noted that compensation for travel and accommodation expenses as well as daily subsistence allowances are paid in compliance with the instructions of tax authorities and the Banks travel guidelines. 14. Election of Board members The Board of Directors proposes the re-election of Board members Anders A Karlsson, Nils Lampi, Mirel Leino-Haltia, Christoffer Taxell, Ulrika Valassi and Anders Wiklof for a term of office that will run until the closing of the next AGM. All the persons proposed have agreed to being elected. Asa Ceder has declined re-election. 15. Decision on the auditors fees The Board of Directors proposes that the auditors fees be paid as invoiced. 16. Decision on the number of auditors The Board of Directors proposes that the number of auditors shall be set at three (3) for a term of office that will run until the day that the amendment of Section 13 of the Articles of Association, which will make it possible to appoint only one auditor, has been registered in the Finnish Trade Register. The Board proposes that the number of auditors shall be set at one (1) for a term of office that will run from the day that the amendment of Section 13 of the Articles of Association, which will make it possible to appoint only one auditor, has been registered in the Finnish Trade Register. 17. Election of auditors The Board of Directors proposes the re-election of Henry Maarala, Authorised Public Accountant (KHT), Sandra Eriksson, Authorised Public Accountant (KHT) and Jessica Bjorkgren, Authorised Public Accountant (KHT), as auditors for a term of office that shall run until the day that the amendment of Section 13 of the Articles of Association, which will make it possible to appoint only one auditor, has been registered in the Finnish Trade Register. The Board also proposes that the authorised accounting firm of KPMG Oy Ab, with Henry Maarala (KHT) as auditor in charge, be appointed as auditor from the day that the amendment of Section 13 of the Articles of Association, which will make it possible to appoint only one auditor, has been registered in the Finnish Trade Register. 18. Closing of the Meeting B. General Meeting documents The above-mentioned proposals by the Board of Directors, this notice convening the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and other documents that shall be available as provided by the Finnish Companies Act are found on the website of the Bank of Aland Plc, www.alandsbanken.fi in Swedish. The Boards proposal and the accounting documents are also available at the Companys head office and at the AGM. Copies of these documents and of this notice convening the AGM will be sent to shareholders upon request. The minutes of the Meeting will be available for viewing on the Companys website no later than April 5, 2023 in Swedish. C. Instruction for participants in the Annual General Meeting 1. Right to participate and registration Shareholders who were listed on March 17, 2023 (the record date for the AGM) in the Companys shareholder register, which is maintained by Euroclear Finland Ab, are entitled to participate in the Meeting. A shareholder whose shares are registered in his or her Finnish personal book-entry securities account is listed in the Companys shareholder register. Shareholders wishing to participate in the AGM must register no later than 12 noon on Friday, March 24, 2023. They may register for the AGM: a) via the internet at the address www.alandsbanken.fi/bolagsstamma; b) by telephone at +358 18 29 011; c) by fax at +358 18 291 228 or d) by letter addressed to Bank of Aland Plc, PB 3, AX-22101 Mariehamn, Aland, Finland. When registering, please state the shareholders name, personal identity code or business ID number and the name of any assistant or authorised representative and the representatives personal identity code. These personal data will be used only for purposes attributable to the AGM and for processing of registrations related to this. If needed, the shareholder and his/her authorised representative must be able to prove their identity and/or authorisation at the Meeting venue. 2. Holders of nominee-registered shares A holder of nominee-registered shares is entitled to participate in the AGM on the basis of the shares he or she would be entitled to list on March 17, 2023 in the Shareholder Register maintained by Euroclear Finland Ab. Participation also requires that on the basis of these shares, no later than 10.00 a.m. on March 24, 2023 the shareholder has been listed in the temporary shareholder register maintained by Euroclear Finland Ab. In the case of nominee-registered shares, this shall be counted as registration for the AGM. Changes in the shareholding after the record date for the AGM shall not affect the right to participate in the AGM or the shareholders number of votes. Registration shall be carried out by the asset managers account administrator no later than the above-mentioned date. A holder of nominee-registered shares is urged to request instructions well in advance from his or her asset manager regarding entry into the temporary shareholder register, issuance of powers of attorney and registration for the AGM. The asset managers account managing institution shall register the holder of nominee-registered shares who wishes to participate in the AGM in the Companys temporary shareholder register no later than the above-mentioned deadline. Authorised representatives and powers of attorney Shareholders may participate in the AGM and exercise their rights at the Meeting through authorised representatives. A shareholders authorised representative must show a dated power of attorney or otherwise prove in a reliable manner that he or she is authorised to represent the shareholder. If a shareholder is represented at the Meeting by more than one authorised representatives, who represent a shareholder with shares in different book-entry securities accounts, at the time of registration the shareholder must state on the basis of which shares each authorised representative is representing the shareholder. Any original powers of attorney should be sent to the Bank of Aland Plc, PB 3, AX-22101 Mariehamn, Aland, Finland and be in the possession of the Company before the expiration of the registration period. Please label the envelope Annual General Meeting or AGM. Alternatively, a copy of the power of attorney may be sent by e-mail to bolagsstamma@alandsbanken.fi, in which case the original power of attorney shall be shown at the AGM. 4. Other instructions and information Shareholders who attend the Meeting are entitled to ask questions concerning matters being dealt with at the Meeting, pursuant to Chapter 5, Section 25 of the Finnish Companies Act. On the date of this Notice convening the Annual General Meeting, the number of shares in the Bank of Aland Plc totals 6,476,138 Series A shares, which represent 129,522,760 votes and 8,799,766 Series B shares, which represent 8,799,766 votes, or 15,275,904 shares and 138,322,526 votes in all. Each Series A share has 20 votes at the Meeting and each Series B share has one vote, but subject to the limitation on voting rights stipulated in the Articles of Association, Section 7. Mariehamn, February 22, 2023 Board of Directors Tasneem on a previous trek to Nanga Parbat - nicknamed the 'Killer Mountain' for its high number of climber fatalities - the ninth-highest mountain in the world (Image: Imran Khan Cancer Appeal) A BRADFORD woman will take on a gruelling challenge to raise money for cancer patients when she climbs the second-highest mountain in the world this summer. Tasneem Habib will tackle K2 on behalf of Little Horton Lane-based charity the Imran Khan Cancer Appeal (IKCA), which provides free treatment to cancer patients in Pakistan a country where the poor struggle to afford it. Tasneem, who is originally from Redditch in Worcestershire but now lives with her husband in Eccleshill, is an experienced trekker. She has already climbed Mount Everest the only mountain higher than K2 as well as Nanga Parbat, amongst others. She is hoping to raise 5,000 through her K2 climb in July. K2 has always been on my bucket list. Its going to be challenging, but Im looking forward to it, said Tasneem, who is a global oncology diagnostics director for AstraZeneca. In the UK, were very fortunate that we dont have to pay a penny for our treatment. We take it for granted. We moan about waiting ages for a doctors appointment, and yes, its not great but it could be worse. In countries like Pakistan, a poor person being sick makes them even more impoverished they cant afford to stay alive. Thats why we should be supporting charities like IKCA, which has built hospitals there. Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Tasneem training for a trek in Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan Tasneem training for a trek in Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan (Image: Tasneem Habib) Tasneems 16-day challenge will see her trek for eight hours a day in temperatures reaching 30 degrees, on rough terrain with an average elevation gain of 320 metres. Night-time temperatures will drop to lows of minus 10, while fundraisers will be sleeping in ice at Baltoro Glacier, making this one of Tasneems most difficult treks so far. The other climbs Ive done have been daring, but this is another level, she said. Tasneems job meant she lived in Arizona in the US for four years, and also spent time in the Middle East, before moving back to the UK in 2021. She settled in Bradford as her husband, Imran Ishaq who will join her in the K2 challenge is from the city. Story continues Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Tasneem and husband Imran hiking at Catalina State Park, Tucson, Arizona in November Tasneem and husband Imran hiking at Catalina State Park, Tucson, Arizona in November (Image: Tasneem Habib) Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Tasneem and Imran during their Walima (the second part of a traditional Islamic wedding) Tasneem and Imran during their Walima (the second part of a traditional Islamic wedding) (Image: Tasneem Habib) Working on a diagnostics testing site means cancer is an issue Tasneem is no stranger to. Its close to my heart, she said. But irrespective of your job, we all know how cancer affects people. Seeing how patients cant afford it in Pakistan gives me a bigger drive to help. Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Tasneem delivering a presentation at work Tasneem delivering a presentation at work (Image: Tasneem Habib) Tasneems roots are also a link she is of Pashtun ethnicity, and IKCAs second Shaukat Khanum Memorial Hospital was built in Peshawar, close to where her family are from. Tasneem was recognised for her fundraising efforts when, last year, a room at the hospital was named after her and she was invited to officially open it. That was amazing. I met patients from my familys village, and that really reinforced the fact that our donations are helping people, she said. It made me realise how much of a difference were making. Its tough climbing peaks, Ive wanted to give up on previous treks, but I always think of these sick patients and that keeps me going. Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Tasneem, pictured with her parents and hospital staff, officially opens the room Tasneem, pictured with her parents and hospital staff, officially opens the room (Image: Tasneem Habib) To prepare for the K2 climb, Tasneem is sticking to a strict routine. I do a 6K run every day, a 7K spinning workout, weights, Pilates and yoga, she said. Were also climbing Pen-y-Ghent before we go to get in top condition." Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Tasneem and Imran after climbing Ben Nevis Tasneem and Imran after climbing Ben Nevis (Image: Tasneem Habib) Tasneem, a regular at PureGym in Idle, said moving to Bradford has suited her. Its so close to wonderful countryside, so its perfect for training, she said. The Dales are a stones throw away. My husband and I love going out there. Bradford has great food places, too. Growing up South Asian in Redditch meant we had to drive to Birmingham for halal food. When I lived in the US, it was also hard to get South Asian food. I think Bradford is the heart of the UKs Pakistani community, and thats a big plus. Our culture is just down the road, and thats not something Ive ever been used to. Everyone is also really welcoming here. Bradford gets stigmatised a lot, and the media doesnt do it justice. To support Tasneem and donate, click here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/tasneemk2challenge?utm_source=Sharethis&utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=tasneemk2challenge&utm_campaign=pfp-email&utm_term=69fd0eb1631d4d958a15a7577162dd62 The earthquake which hit Turkey and Syria on 6 February was a cataclysm of unprecedented proportions, and the worst in 100 years. Turkey's southern city of Antakya - and its people - are among the hardest hit. It was once an important trading centre and the Roman Empires third-largest city. But the devastating earthquakes have left almost nothing in this city unscathed. Kasim Gunduz is a local resident. His family has been torn apart by the catastrophe. "My wifes name is Shefika, I called her my gulum (rose). I called Shefika! Shefika! And I didn't hear anything back. We were married for 52 years," he said. Kasim Gunduz, Antakya resident - Euronews Kasim told Euronews he is now waiting for what will probably be his wifes remains. His sons body has been retrieved from the rubble and is in a plastic bag nearby. His entire world is gone. I have been helping. I got my sister-in-laws dead body out. Her head was gone," explained fellow Antakya resident Mehmet Elmaci. "My brother-in-law and their little daughter are still in there. Deteriorating sanitary conditions Antakya was founded in 300 BC and had seen its fair share of disasters. It was destroyed and rebuilt many times during the past centuries. But when the region was struck by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake, it caught everyone off guard. Several days into the tragedy, help was still slow to arrive. Mehmet is himself a survivor but says he doesnt remember how he managed to get out of the rubble. He told Euronews that since the earthquake, hes had to sleep in his car with his wife and their 7-month-old son. Destroyed houses in Antakya, Turkey - Euronews Without electricity, water, or sanitation, those who survived the earthquake are at great risk. Infectious diseases such as scabies and cholera are spreading fast and aftershocks occur every day. In the first few hours following the earthquake, the only hands available to sift through the rubble were those of survivors who were in shock, wounded, and had never done anything like this before. Story continues Then came the volunteers. Erdem, a builder from Istanbul, rushed to Antakya as soon as he heard of the quakes. Residents in Antakya, Turkey - Euronews I have tried to do what needed to be done here. I was able to get [a] mother out. While I was trying to reach her in her room, by breaking her closet, she started to scream why are you breaking my stuff? who are you? She yelled at me, he explained. "I [also] managed to get a boy and his big sister out. I really wanted to get more people out but I am all alone now and there were some problems in the team. I dont think I could do anything by myself now." Erdem Ozturk, builder from Istanbul and volunteer in Antakya - Euronews Anger aimed at Ankara Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said nothing could have been done to prepare the country for such a tragedy. But not everyone in Antakya agrees. The first day we came here, we wanted to drill but we could not even find a generator or jackhammer. There was no AFAD or officials here," explained Antakya resident Ibrahim Halil. "On the second day, some machines came. These people told me that they cannot work right now because they need an order from 'above'. And they waited for that order. The work is not organised nor is it being done properly. Not a single well-trained person came here, he added. Several days after the earthquake, authorities still didnt seem to have the situation under control - despite an outpouring of international help. Antakya residents disagree over where responsibility lies for the chaos in their city - Euronews There is disagreement over who or what is to blame for the chaos. Some say it is internal rifts, while others blame poor governance. "The situation of aid coming late is not an act of neglect. But because those diggers, trucks, and machines came from other provinces, it took some time to bring them here. But now they are doing an excellent job," said local resident Cemal Gungor. "The only reason local municipalities did not work well is because their power had been reduced. No one could move even an inch without permission from above," said another resident. The catastrophe has brought Erdogans centralised governing system under renewed scrutiny, giving the opposition a powerful argument to mount a challenge in this years presidential election - a vote some here believe Erdogan may try to postpone if he feels his chances of winning a third term are compromised. Bodies piling up Antakyas main cemetery offers a glimpse into the magnitude of the disaster. There isnt enough space to bury the dead, so authorities opened a mass grave site on the outskirts of the city. Unidentified bodies have DNA samples collected from them so that families can, one day, give their loved ones a proper sendoff. A mass grave set up on the outskirts of Antakya - Euronews The race to save the living has continued well past what feels like a normal window of opportunity. But against all odds, survivors have kept appearing. Konya firefighters recover a body from the rubble, Antakya - Euronews One such survivor was Fatma, a 25-year-old refugee from Syria. After escaping the horrors of war in her home country, she survived 140 hours under the rubble. Shes now given yet another chance just like this city at rebirth. (Youthtopia) Melati Wijsen award-winning climate activist, Cesar-nominated film star and soon-to-be-author isnt quite on a regular WhatsApp basis with Greta Thunberg, but she is certainly delighted to count the Swedish climate activist icon as one of her 76,000 followers on Instagram. The Indonesian-Dutch 22-year-old has shared many a global stage with Thunberg over the years since she founded Bye Bye Plastic Bags (BBPB), the youth-driven NGO that is said to have inspired the single-use plastic ban on her home island of Bali in 2019. Wijsen launched the intiative with her younger sister and best friend Isabel when they were just 12 and 10 years old, after being inspired by a lesson in school about celebrated global figures from Princess Diana to Mahatma Gandhi. The result was an inspirational story of their own: in 2017 they threatened to go on a hunger strike over their islands plastic pollution crisis; the governor of Bali agreed to meet them; and two years later he signed an order banning plastic bags, straws and styrofoam island-wide. Little did Wijsen know it then, but that project was to be the launchpad for a glittering changemaking career. Ten years, two TED talks and countless global climate summits later and shes now shared platforms with Thunberg everywhere from Davos to the UN Headquarters in New York. Wijsen jokes that she might not have made it into Thunbergs inner circle (there are a couple of people I would call first before Greta), but she respect[s] and admire[s] everything Thunberg is doing for the youth movement. She has accelerated the youth movement to a point where its never been before, and I think we all have a role to play in what she has done in making the climate crisis a household conversation, she tells me from her hometown on the south-west coast of the popular tourist island. Wijsen might not have reached Thunbergs level of household-name status yet but she has certainly earned the title of Indonesias Greta. In fact, the comparison fails to do justice to Wijsens successes over the last decade: since founding BBPB, she has gone on to found One Island One Voice, a project aiming to reduce waste and plastic usage all over Bali; Mountain Mamas, a social enterprise empowering women to produce pre-loved bags; and Youthtopia, a teenage changemaker social enterprise focusing on short, meaningul peer-to-peer programmes. Story continues She is also, as of two years ago, an award-winning movie star, after spending her gap year filming Bigger Than Us, a Cesar Award-nominated feature film that premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival in which she meets six other young activists across the globe. No wonder shes already landed a Forbes 30 Under 30 award and been crowned one of TIME magazines most influential teens in the world. (Youthtopia) Today, Wijsen is 22 and describes herself as a full-time changemaker and movement builder. She has lost the baby-faced looks that turned heads when she was a teenager and now turns heads for a different reason: as a power-suit-wearing, TikTok-generating Gen-Z leader, with the same infectious energy of her youth, but a lot more confidence and a hell of a lot more experience under her belt. She is currently writing a book about her decade of activism and the changes shes seen between the ages of 12 and 22. I can say I feel very confident entering rooms now, she says Of course there are some moments where I think: Oh my goodness. They still think Im 12. But thats just something I think we have to work through. In true VIP style, Wijsen is speaking to me from the back of a taxi after hours of meetings with the Balinese government not an unusual day in the life of an international changemaker. She grew up wanting to be a gymnast, then a teacher, but the success of BBPB lead her to the realisation that empowering young people to make change could become a career of its own. At 17, she left school a year early because she couldnt wait to get started, and went on to found Youthtopia two years later. Her goal? To make Youthtopia the worlds number one platform for young changemakers, a title that didnt even exist when she was growing up. (Youthtopia) So what does a career in changemaking actually look like? Wijsens Instagram certainly paints a picture of its jet-setting, glamorous side: visits to Paris, the Swiss Economic Forum, and COP27; front page magazine interviews; fun, professionally-lit TikTok videos with Monday mantras, public speaking tips and thank yous to her tens and thousands of social media followers. Filming Bigger Than Us took her everywhere from the beaches of Greece to the farmland of Uganda and the film tour over the last couple of years has taken her everywhere from red carpets in Paris to theatre halls in London. My first TED Talk was in London so I have fond memories, she says of her whirlwind few days in the British capital last month, where she was put up in the house of a kind supporter in Holland Park after taking the Eurostar from Amsterdam. Shell be back in Europe this summer for various speak engagements and youth summits. But Wijsen insists a lot of hard work goes on behind the globe-trotting life she portrays on Instagram. She heads up a team of seven full-time Youthtopia staff and a typical day when shes not travelling begins with a run along the beach, a coffee, then your classic nine til five at Youthtopias Bali HQ round the corner from her home. After a quick break for sunset and dinner, its back to work for her evening calls with Europe and America (Wijsens 30-minute public speaking fees currently start at $4,000 (3,325)). But is changemaking actually a viable career option for other young people who might not have the status of the Thunbergs and Wijsens of this world? Wijsen certainly thinks so so much that shes decided to make this the main focus of her career. She understands why people compare her to Thunberg but the comparison also highlights her biggest issue with changemaking: that its become too tunnel-vision on the belief that being Greta [Thunberg] is the only way to be a changemaker hence making it daunting for other young people to get involved. Today, Youthtopia has a total of 185 under-25s from over 50 countries as part of its Circle of Youth programme, ranging from photographers to policy advocates, podcasters to public speakers. These include Fionn Ferreira, an Irish inventor known for his method of removing microplastic particles from water; IneIs YaIbar, a Peruvian activist leading beach clean-ups; and Jasmine Rodman, a Canadian artist using her work to start conversations about the ocean examples that Wijsen hopes to highlight the varying ways in which young people can use their particular skills to be part of the solution. A further 1,600 young people are signed up to Youthtopias digital learning platform, designed to create a world where every young person can be an agent of positive change, no matter how old they are or where they are from. Its on this issue of nationality that Wijsen believes her Balinese upbringing is her superpower: not only is Bali an island already suffering the effects of climate change in the form of sea level rise, but half of Indonesias population is under the age of 30 so there is huge potential to inspire a youth movement. The country recently changed its national curriculum to be more peer-to-peer led so she is excited to see steps being made in this direction especially in a country where stereotypes remain about not speaking up to ones elders and girls needing to know their place. A remarkable 70 per cent of Youthtopias members and 90 per cent of BBPBs community are female so is climate activism a girl thing? Its what I see happening, says Wijsen. She believes the act of collectively coming together is a very feminine trait, as is the ability to see the bigger picture. But more concerningly, she thinks its also because women and girls are more likely to be the victims: according to the UN, women are also increasingly being seen as more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than men, mainly because they represent the majority of the worlds poor and are proportionally more dependent on threatened natural resources. So [the main reason girls are more likely to be activists] is a relatability factor; its that strong urge to prevent others from going through the same experiences, says Wijsen. (AFP via Getty Images) Fittingly, Wijsen pauses our conversation and asks the driver to stop at a florist so she can buy some flowers for her mum and sister, Isabel, for Valentines Day. Isabel remains her co-founder of both BBPB and Youthtopia, but has chosen to step away from running them full-time to focus on a culinary degree, with a goal to make the the food and drink space more sustainable. They both still live at home with their parents, who work in business and volunteering, and are enjoying the greater respect that comes with their transition out of teenagehood. People recieve us differently now: they used to be amazed by our age; these days theyre amazed that were still here, says Wijsen. Weve moved from being these cute little girls to full-time changemakers that actually graduated high school and took it full-time... Were a living example that kids can do things. Ukraine boycotted the latest meeting of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, hosted in Vienna, over the presence of Russian lawmakers that they described as "an affront." Austria granted them visas even though they are under European Union sanctions and despite protests from 20 countries including Britain, France and Canada. The two-day meeting of the normally low-profile assembly coincides with the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Their presence aroused the anger of the delegates, and many of them left the room when the floor was given to a Russian parliamentarian. Others, including Latvian delegate Rihard Kols, voiced their anger: "It's a disgrace that this delegation is here, particularly the delegation that consists of members who are sanctioned individuals who voted to annex independent countries' territories, Donbas, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Luhansk. Those are the principles this institution has vouched to protect and guard." Russian MPs were not invited to previous OSCE meetings in the United Kingdom and Poland, but Austria, as the host country of the organisation, claims to be bound by an "international agreement". "It is of course, difficult to sit with Russian parliamentarians who have blindly supported the Kremlin's war," said Margareta Cederfelt, OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President. "But it is important that the Russian MPs hear our message. I will be sure to let them know that we reject the war and that the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly supports Ukraine." Outside the venue, demonstrators gathered in front of the OSCE headquarters to denounce the presence of Russian deputies and the war crimes of Vladimir Putin. Environment Secretary Therese Coffey speaking during the National Farmers' Union Conference at the ICC, Birmingham Environment Secretary Therese Coffey speaking during the National Farmers' Union Conference at the ICC, Birmingham Therese Coffey was booed at a farmers conference this week after denying that market failures were behind UK food shortages. The environment, food and rural affairs secretary ended up in a tense clash with the president of the National Farmers Union, Minette Batters, over the decline in egg production we saw in 2022. And, to make matters worse, leading UK supermarkets including Tesco and Aldi have just announced they will be rationing purchases of various fruit and vegetables to consumers, such as tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. While debates are unfolding over the cause of the shortages (is it Brexit or poor weather conditions in Europe?), Batters put Coffey on the spot over the entire debacle on Wednesday, during an on-stage interview at the NFU event. She began: Front page of every newspaper, salad shortages, Asda rationing. We cant control the weather in Spain, the environment secretary cut in. While there has been bad weather in the areas where the UK secures most of its salad vegetables southern Europe and north Africa, the UK has also stopped producing so much itself because of the rocketing energy prices involved with growing such items out of season, like using greenhouses. Coffey also denied that there was a problem with the UKs market, claiming: Were not necessarily seeing market failure. Batters hit back: We saw a market failure with pigs and poultry. Im not sure weve seen a market failure with poultry, the minister said. We had a billion less eggs in 2022 compared to 2019. Farmers cut egg production because costs were soaring, meaning there were fewer eggs in the shops. Bizarrely, Coffey replied: Thats not necessarily a market failure. Batters persisted: Weve lost businesses. Hey! Im not denying that people have chosen potentially not to restock on certain things, Coffey claimed. Story continues But Batters insisted that there was a market failure due to high costs and avian flu so Coffey repeated: There is not a market failure, Minette. This was then followed by some unflattering booing from the audience. Batters, "Front page of every newspaper, salad shortages, Asda rationing." Coffey, "We can't control the weather in Spain." pic.twitter.com/McaaPwYu0P Farrukh (@implausibleblog) February 22, 2023 Batters has called for the government to weigh in and support producers through energy bills, therefore encouraging more home-grown produce. But the government rebuffed this call for help, claiming this would increase costs for other bill payers, including households. Meanwhile, farmers have also accused ministers of just ignoring how disrupted supply chains are particularly Coffey. After their on-stage clash, Batters reportedly said later that she took real exception to the secretary of states denial. The managing director of fruit and arable growers Hugh Lowe Farms in Kent, Marion Regan, also said at the NFU event that Coffey had just dismissed the empty shelves. Regan cast doubt on the environment secretarys understanding of the challenges facing the sector, and the wider costs. Related... By Henriette Chacar and Ali Kucukgocmen ANTAKYA, Turkey (Reuters) - More than two weeks after huge earthquakes devastated Turkey's Antakya, Mustafa Kazzaz was camped near the rubble of his family's building, refusing to move even after the search for the bodies of his father, brother and sister had ended. "They worked and worked. They dug out the whole building," he said, sitting alone in darkness on a plot of land across from the building his family lived in. "They told me the work is done. There is no one else. They are saying, 'Your brother, sister, father are not here.' How can that be?" Rescue operations in the 10 provinces that were battered by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Feb. 6 that killed more than 47,000 people in southern Turkey and northern Syria were largely called off on Sunday. When another violent tremor struck Hatay province on Monday, several buildings collapsed, killing six people and prompting renewed rescue operations. But by Tuesday, efforts to save survivors had ceased and Antakya city centre was desolate. There was only the grinding clamour of excavators clearing away debris from nearby collapsed buildings as emergency workers tried to pinpoint the bodies of a mother and daughter. Kazzaz, a 25-year-old Syrian who arrived in Turkey with his family five years ago, was sitting in a chair next to a tent he had been sleeping in for 15 days. "I will wait here my whole life. I will not leave," Kazzaz said, holding his head in his hands as he wept. "I knew at least 250 people on this street. Now they are all dead," he said, referring to a main street in Antakya where his family resided. Kazzaz had been living in Turkey's northeastern province of Trabzon, where he worked as a translator in the tourism sector. He spent the day before the first earthquake hit in Antakya, visiting his family for the first time in years. "I had been working for three years in Trabzon, saving up to get married. My mother converted it all to gold and that all remained in the house. (Now) I am starting from scratch." Story continues When news of the initial quake broke, he hurried back to Antakya. He said he pulled his sister and mother out of the rubble on his own, without help from authorities. A video of what he said was his own rescue effort showed him climbing deep inside a narrow opening between a collapsed ceiling and the floor until only his feet could be seen sticking out. His mother was already dead when he brought her out and his sister died shortly after, he said. In another video, he pointed to his sister's body, seen covered in a pink blanket. "I was living for them. It is like I am newly born. I have no one. I have no money. I have nothing. I have no future. I have no home." (Reporting by Henriette Chacar and Ali Kucukgocmen, editing by Mark Heinrich) Children can be encouraged to curb their screen time if parents adopt a simple method of intervention, according to a new study. Tablets, phones, computers and television have led to parental concerns about the impact screen time has on childrens development. Recent research suggests a higher amount of screen time at age two is linked to weaker communication and practical skills at age four. Researchers from Osaka University in Japan said encouraging children to engage more in outdoor play can be a simple way to mitigate some of the negative impacts of screen time. Their new study, published recently in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, tracked 885 children who were between 18 months and four years of age. They assessed the correlation between three main factors average daily screen time at age two, amount of outdoor play at age two years and eight months and neurodevelopmental outcomes. The outcomes analysed specifically included effects on communication, daily living skills and socialisation at age four that were measured by the standardised Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale-II assessment tool. Although both communication and daily living skills were worse in 4-year-old children who had had more screen time at age 2, outdoor play time had very different effects on these two neurodevelopmental outcomes, explained study co-author Kenji J Tsuchiya. We were surprised to find that outdoor play didnt really alter the negative effects of screen time on communication but it did have an effect on daily living skills, Dr Tsuchiya said. Research found about a fifth of the effects of screen time on daily living skills were mitigated by outdoor play. This suggested increasing outdoor play time could reduce the negative effects of screen time on daily living skills by almost 20 per cent. Scientists also observed socialisation was better in four year olds who spent more time playing outside at two years and eight months of age. Taken together, our findings indicate that optimising screen time in young children is really important for appropriate neurodevelopment, said Tomoko Nishimura, another study author. Story continues We also found that screen time is not related to social outcomes and that even if screen time is relatively high, encouraging more outdoor play time might help to keep kids healthy and developing appropriately, Dr Nishimura said. The findings are more important now as Covid-induced lockdowns around the world have revealed how screen time increased among children and led to less outdoor time for them. Researchers called for future studies to look specifically into the nature of the associations and develop intervention measures to reduce the potential risk of higher screen time. Further, updating guidelines regarding media use is extremely important for parents, educators, researchers, and the children themselves, they added. Doctor Zhivago, Casablanca, Amour. Over the decades, cinema has produced some fictional love stories of enduring beauty and resonance. But for sheer emotional force, even those classics may not rival the true love story told in The Eternal Memory. Maite Alberdis documentary, which made its international premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, centers on the remarkable bond between a Chilean couple, the esteemed writer and journalist Augusto Gongora and his wife an actress, academic, and Chiles former Minister of Culture, Paulina Urrutia Fernandez. They spent many joyous years together before Augusto was diagnosed, in 2014, with Alzheimers. More from Deadline The film begins with a scene shot in the couples bedroom in the middle of the night, after Augusto apparently has awoken. Smiling, he introduces himself to his wife. Im Augusto Gongora, he says. And who are you? Patiently, lovingly, she replies her name is Pauli. And she explains, I am a person who has come here to help you remember who Augusto Gongora was. Augusto Gongora and his wife Paulina Urrutia Fernandez watch an eclipse through protective shades. Urrutia recorded the moment on a camera affixed to a tripod. She shot like half of the film, Alberdi tells Deadline. I started shooting in 2018 and in 2020 when the [Covid] lockdown started, it was like, what are we going to do? I told Pauli, I will send you a camera and you can shoot anything, but I never expected to get good material, really. And the first scene that I received, its the first scene of the film. It was like, I cannot believe it, because even if I were there, I could never shoot this in the middle of the night, in the bed. It was an intimacy that only they can shoot. Story continues When Gongora was first diagnosed, the couple shared the news publicly. I read that interview and it was really touching, Alberdi recalls, adding that they spoke of wanting to continue their loving relationship no matter what might develop with his condition. I was so moved. A public announcement was one thing, but agreeing to a documentary would involve a willingness to share their experience on another level. Paulina didnt want do it. She was like, No, I dont want to expose this anymore, Alberdi says. But Urrutias thinking evolved and ultimately she decided to open the doors of my own house to show my fragility. A record should exist. Gongora concurred. Alberdi, who earned an Oscar nomination for her previous documentary, The Mole Agent, filmed Paulina and Augusto as they went to her workplace together. With evident satisfaction, he joins Paulina on stage as she rehearses a play, participating in dances with his wife and the cast. Director Maite Alberdi She took him to her [work] life and it was good for him because he had a social life, Alberdi says. She took care of him, but also the people in the theater that were with her, everybody was helping. It was a collective, ideal situation for a caregiver not to have to isolate their [loved-one]. Gongora displays warmth, humanity and sense of humor despite his condition. Im going to fight to the end, he declares. I love life. The outbreak of the pandemic, though, forced everyone in Chile into isolation, with particularly severe consequences for Paulina and Augusto. Thats why he would get worse so fast because he didnt have therapy, he didnt have a social life, the director says. His rate of cognitive decline accelerated 12-fold, Paulina and her husbands doctor concluded. Paulina Urrutia Fernandez with her husband, Augusto Gongora The documentary doesnt gloss over the challenges posed by the degenerative illness, a reality that will be familiar to Alzheimers caregivers everywhere. As his disease worsened, Augusto would become anxious and confused more often. The film shows him talking to his reflection in a glass-paneled door, thinking someone else has joined them in their house. He thinks a large photograph of him and his wife that hangs on a wall is actually two real people watching him. In moments of distress, he pleads, Help me! Another time, he demands of his wife, Who are you? Im Pauli, she says gently. No, youre not! In one poignant sequence he is seen repeating to himself, They love me, they love me, as if dispel anxiety and reassure himself that people care about him. The toll on Pauli becomes evident in a scene where she cries after her husband has gone for a period of 12 hours without recognizing her. Somehow, the spell of confusion lifts, and he attempts to lovingly comfort her and dispel her fears. Its a family issue, Alberdi notes. We always put the focus on the patients, but we dont put the focus on the damage that [occurs] for the people that are with them. The Eternal Memory won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary at Sundance, where the film held its world premiere. In the midst of the festival it was acquired by MTV Documentary Films. Its going to be premiering this year, but the distributor is [deciding on] the date, Alberdi says. I think in the middle of the year. Gongora co-authored a 1989 book called Chile: The Forgotten Memory, about political crimes of the Pinochet dictatorship, when opponents of the regime were disappeared. In the film, Paulina reads from his words: Without memory, we dont know who we are. Without memory, we wander, confused, not knowing where to go. Without memory, there is no identity. But in archive of a book launch event in 89 that is shown in the film, Gongora explains that he defines memory more broadly than most, commenting, [I]ts not enough for memory reconstruction to be a merely rational act. Numbers and statistics arent enough. I think Chileans also need to rebuild our emotional memory. It is that kind of memory, beyond facts memory embedded in emotional connection that is reflected in the film. That speech [at the book launch] is the invitation of the film to understand that there are some feelings that, yes, he cannot communicate verbally, he cannot express, he doesnt remember and he cannot explain it, but the body [retains] something, Alberdi observes. And that for me was like an eternal memory, another understanding of memory. She adds, speaking of Pauli, She said, Memory, its constructed not alone, its constructed collectively. So, even if [Gongora] is losing his memory, I am his memory, like, we are a memory together. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Swedish intelligence now sees Russia as the single biggest threat to the country's security. In a warning, the SAPO security service pointed to a more aggressive Russia and a growth in extremism. It follows an earlier alert from Swedish military intelligence, rating the current threat as the most serious it has been since the Cold War. The security service statement described Russia on Wednesday as the "single biggest threat" to Sweden. "It's happening through infiltration and the influencing of decision-makers. But also by building up an ability to create an alternative social structure. For example, to have an alternative power of order," said Susanna Trehorning, deputy head of counter-terrorism at SAPO. Concerns about Russia and its destabilising activitities in the region were centre stage at the summit in Poland of the so-called Bucharest Nine -- NATO's newest members on the alliance's eastern flank. Attending as part of his three day trip to Europe, US President Joe Biden reaffirmed America's commitment to the security of the B-9, whose members joined the military alliance after being under Moscow's sphere of influence during the Cold War . They are now looking at Moscow's expansionist ambitions with concern. "The commitment of the United States to NATO, I've said it too many times, I'll say it again, is absolutely clear. Article Five is a sacred commitment the United States has made. We will defend every inch of NATO, every inch of NATO," Biden told the alliance's eastern European leaders. Support for Ukraine and NATO was Biden's mission to Europe. He's concluded his trip hoping to have convinced European allies of America's committment . They will be hoping he does not falter when he returns home to face Republican criticism over the cost of his reassurances. (L-R) Norway's Prime MinisterJonas Gahr Store, Sweden's PM Ulf Kristersson, and Finland's PM Sauli Niinisto at a security summit at Flen, Sweden, Feb. 22. - Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency via AP Security situation 'most serious' since Cold War Swedish military intelligence on Monday called the security situation in the Nordic countries and Europe following Russia's invasion of Ukraine "the most serious" since the early 1980s, during the Cold War era. Story continues "The risks to Sweden's security have increased and the threats to Sweden have become broader and more complex," the Swedish armed forces said in a statement. The assessment was presented in the Swedish Military Security and Intelligence Services' (MUST) annual security report. "Today we have a situation of conflict and confrontation between Russia and the West, which is likely to worsen," stressed the director of military intelligence and security services Lena Hallin, in the preamble of the report. According to her, the security situation in Europe and in the region bordering Sweden is currently "the most serious at least since the early 1980s". Sweden, along with neighbouring Finland, broke with its decades-long policy of military non-alignment and declared itself a candidate for Nato membership in May 2022 following the Russian offensive in Ukraine. Sweden's application has been opposed by Turkey, which accuses the Scandinavian country of harbouring Kurdish militants whom it describes as "terrorists", particularly those of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The accession protocols of new NATO members must be ratified by all 30 members of the organization. Only Turkey and Hungary have not yet had their parliaments ratify the agreement for the accession of the two Nordic countries. Yousaf denies deliberately skipping gay marriage vote (Image: NQ) HUMZA Yousaf has denied intentionally skipping the key Holyrood vote on gay marriage despite setting up a diary clash with it 19 days in advance. The frontrunner in the SNP leadership race insisted he had missed Stage 3 of the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill in 2014 for good reason. Mr Yousaf, the only SNP minister to miss the vote, also suggested the issue was being "resurrected" to undermine his leadership bid. The Health Secretary told ITV Border that he had been meeting the Pakistan consulate over the case of a Scottish citizen on death row for blasphemy. However the condemned man wasnt sentenced until a week after Mr Yousaf arranged the meeting, meaning he was not on death row when it was set up. Finance Secretary Kate Forbes this week lost the support of many colleagues when she said she would opposed the gay marriage vote if she had been an MSP at the time. Mr Yousaf, the MSP for Glasgow Pollok, voted for the general principle of the Bill in November 2013, but missed the final Stage 3 vote on 4 February 2014. At the time, he was the Scottish Governments minister for external affairs, while the gay marriage vote was opposed by many Muslim leaders in Scotland. Mr Yousaf's ministerial diary records show that on 14 January 2014, the then minister for parliamentary business Joe FitzPatrick requested that he attend the Holyrood chamber for the marriage vote on 4 February. Two later, Mr Yousaf himself then requested a meeting with the Pakistan Consul General in Glasgow on 4 February, thereby creating a clash with the gay marriage vote. It was only a week later, on 24 January, that Mohammad Ashgar, a 69-year-old Scot with a history of mental illness, was sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan. Asked at the time why he had been absent from the vote, Mr Yousaf wrote on Twitter: Had ministerial engagement arranged beforehand but signed pledge, voted for stage one and v public about my (continued) support! Story continues Asked if his absence had been unavoidable, Mr Yousaf replied: Meeting Pakistan Consul discussing Scot on death row accused under Blasphemy Law not one could/want avoid. Asked last night on ITV Border about missing the Stage 3l vote and whether he could have rearranged his diary to be there, he said he had missed it for good reason. He said: I was meeting the Pakistan consulate over a very important case that was a Scottish citizen in Pakistan on death row for the issue of blasphemy. So it was not a meeting that I felt could be avoided. But also I had stated very publicly by that point as well, very publicly, my support for equal marriage. Asked about his diaries showing he requested the meeting with the Pakistan Consul almost three weeks in advance of the vote, and whether he was under any pressure from his community to miss it, Mr Yousaf said: The community knows my views. I wont lie to you, there will be some difficult conversations sometimes with what you describe as my community. I assume you mean the Muslim community. I belong to many communities. But there was certainly [that], I would say even in my support for example of GRR. But I will explain my position because Im confident in my position. My position is a very simple one. Im a minority in this country. I believe that my rights dont exist in a vacuum. If I want to advance my rights, want to advance other peoples rights, they are interdependent on each other. I have no problem saying to you, unequivocally, as I did in 2014, that I support equality for all. Pressed again on whether he had deliberately avoided the final vote on gay marriage, the Health Secretary said: No. Asked after FMQs by Sky News if he had set up his diary clash to avoid the vote, Mr Yousaf said: Ive said already 'No'. Its incredible that in the years that have proceeded since then than nobody has ever raised the issue. "It seems to me somewhat convenient that its happening during [my] election leadership bid. What I would say very clearly to you is my track on equalities, anybody can see, and Im clear, that I wasn't to continue the social progress of this government. Asked how it looked for him to have been the only SNP minister to have missed the vote, Mr Yousaf said: The fact that I voted for it of course at Stage 1, the fact that I was publicly in support of it at the time, the fact that I have supported bills like the GRR, I think my track record speaks for itself. "We are in the middle of a leadership campaign and the fact that you have resurrected this issue almost 10 years on, shows its probably more to do with the leadership contest than anything else. The Berlin Film Festival has made one of its highest priorities this year to stand with the courageous protesters in Iran as they defend themselves against a violent, undemocratic regime. The festival hosted a panel discussion on the persecution of artists by the theocratic government, and last week it also held a demonstration of solidarity with Iran on the red carpet of the Berlinale Palast venue, an event that drew the participation of jury president Kristen Stewart. More from Deadline This show of support recognizes the convulsions in Iranian society following the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who was detained last September for allegedly failing to wear a hijab in public. Outrage over her death triggered mass demonstrations in Iran, perhaps the greatest threat to the Islamic regimes rule since the revolution of 1979. Reyhaneh Jabbari testifies in an Iranian court after being accused of premeditated murder. One of the films that held its world premiere at the festival highlights another chilling example of state machinery in Iran that subjugates and kills Iranian women. Seven Winters in Tehran, directed by Steffi Niederzoll, follows the case of Reyhaneh Jabbari, a 19-year-old young woman pursuing an academic degree in the capital city. The Berlinale program sets the scene: In the summer of 2007, an older man approaches Jabbari and asks the architecture student who has a side job as an interior decorator for her help in the design of offices. During the site inspection, he tries to rape her. Reyhaneh stabs him in self-defense. She is arrested for murder and sentenced to death. Director Steffi Niederzoll For seven long years the seven winters referenced in the films title Jabbari languished behind bars, uncertain whether and when she would be executed. Partly through the efforts of Jabbaris mother, Shole Pakravan, the case attracted worldwide attention. Niederzoll, a native of Nuremberg, first heard of it through media reports. Story continues In 2014, it was quite big in the news also in Germany, Niederzoll explains. The uncle of Reyhaneh lives in Germany, and so he was making press [interviews] here. I knew like a little bit, a tiny bit, just a few lines about her story, and of course, not so deep how I and my whole team then went into the story. Reyhaneh was the youngest of three girls, and grew up longing for progress in repressive Iran. After her arrest, Reyhanehs family was told by police that they couldnt see her or hire a lawyer. One of her sisters told the filmmaker the family learned Reyhanehs attacker, Morteza Sarbandi, was a big shot in the secret service, an ominous indicator of the kind of justice the accused woman could anticipate receiving. From the beginning, authorities tightened the screws on Reyhaneh and her family to extract a confession. Reyhaneh later revealed she was beaten during police questioning and housed in an isolation cell in prison. An interrogator told Reyhaneh her family had abandoned her, out of shame over her crime. Her youngest sister was arrested as an accessory to murder and allegedly threatened with torture. Reyhanehs mom, in an interview with Niederzoll, said when police searched her daughters room they planted a knife sheath in an attempt to show the killing of Sarbandi had been a premeditated act. A miniaturized model of the prison where Reyhaneh Jabbari was held. Even before Reyhaneh went on trial she was given 30 lashes for having a relationship outside marriage, but without intercourse. Two years passed before she was convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to hang as blood revenge for Sarbandis death. As the putative victims in the case, Sarbandis family had the option to forgive Reyhaneh and overturn her death sentence. Sarbandis family dangled the prospect of clemency before Jabbari, but only on the condition that she recant her accusation. She refused. Shortly before she was put to death in 2014, Reyhaneh got a message out to her family. Beg so that it is arranged that as soon as I am hanged my heart, kidney, eye, bones and anything that can be transplanted be taken away from my body and given to someone who needs them as a gift, she told her loved ones. I dont want the recipient to know my name, buy me a bouquet, or even pray for me. I am telling you from the bottom of my heart that I dont want to have a grave for you to come and mourn there and suffer. I dont want you to wear black clothing for me. Do your best to forget my difficult days. Give me to the wind to take away. A framed photo of Reyhaneh Jabbari as a child, with her father. During the course of her imprisonment, Reyhaneh wrote letters and journals and was able to get the writings smuggled out of prison. Iranian actress Zar Amir-Ebrahimi, who was forced to flee Iran in 2008 after running afoul of state authorities herself, voices some of Reyhanehs words in the film. When I started to read the letters, I couldnt stop crying, Amir-Ebrahimi recalls. It was really moving for me. [The letters refer to] rape. Its about how you are treated as a woman in this society. And I think, personally, I know this story. I could have ended up like her, and I could imagine myself in that jail. Speaking with Deadline in Berlin, Amir-Ebrahimi became emotional thinking about what Reyhaneh went through. In voicing the letters, she said, Something from my heart came out very connected to her, even if I never met her Its hard to just imagine how you can live seven years with this little hope of having a normal life again maybe one day. And then I could imagine her saying that it wont happen, and you are losing this life, but you stand for something more than that for your voice, for your dignity. Its so heartbreaking, really. Amir-Ebrahimi says Seven Winters in Tehran speaks to a grim reality in Iran. We have this patriarchal tradition, but this case is not only about that, its about the really, really corrupted system which lets [authorities] do anything they want to people, especially to women, she says. If you dont collaborate with them, you are condemned to die or to be isolated or whatever. Thats the problem with this system. Thats why its really important that Shole [Reyhanehs mom], and Steffi, they do this movie. Its been years now that Reyhaneh isnt here, but the whole world has to know about this story. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Vanderbilt Universitys Peabody College of Education and Human Development is apologizing after students learned the school used ChatGPT to compose a campus email about this months mass shooting at Michigan State University. Vanderbilts Feb. 16 email, signed by two administrators, urged faculty, students and staff to come together as a community to foster a safe and inclusive environment for all. It noted in small print at the bottom that the message was a paraphrase from OpenAIs Chat GPT AI language model. There is a sick and twisted irony to making a computer write your message about community and togetherness because you cant be bothered to reflect on it yourself, Laith Kayat, a senior whose sister attends Michigan State, told the Vanderbilt Hustler. Three students were killed in the Feb. 13 Michigan State shooting and five were wounded. The shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot. The AI-assisted email was sent by the Vanderbilt Peabody Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, per The Tennessean. A day earlier, Vanderbilt Provost G.L. Black issued a sincere statement of his own, which starkly contrasted the ChatGPT emails antiseptic tone. Nicole Joseph, a Peabody associate dean who co-signed the email, apologized and stepped aside from the equity, diversity and inclusion program as Vanderbilt investigates what led to the message, the Hustler reported. The student newspaper was the first to report on the email, which failed to list resources available to students struggling to deal with the campus mass shooting. The Nashville, Tennessee school apologized and said it was investigating the email's creation. The Nashville, Tennessee school apologized and said it was investigating the email's creation. While we believe in the message and inclusivity expressed in the email, using ChatGPT to generate communications on behalf of our community in a time of sorrow and in response to a tragedy contradicts the values that characterize Peabody College, Joseph wrote in a statement. Story continues Camilla Benbow, the Peabody College dean, offered heartfelt apologies to all those who deserved better from us and did not receive it, according to ABC News. I remain personally saddened by the loss of life and injuries at Michigan State, which I know have affected members of our own community, Benbow added. She lamented that her faculty missed the crucial need for personal connection and empathy during a time of tragedy. ChatGPT has become an increasingly concerning artificial intelligence service available to all. ChatGPT has become an increasingly concerning artificial intelligence service available to all. Vanderbilt student Samuel Lu condemned school officials for failing to take the time to put their genuine thoughts and feelings into words. In times of tragedies such as this, we need more, not less humanity, Lu told the school newspaper. If you or someone you know needs help, dial 988 or call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. You can also get support via text by visiting suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for a database of resources. Related... GENEVA Swiss daily Tribune de Geneve recently published an article hailing Viet Nam as an attractive new destination for foreign companies. The article said Viet Nam recorded the strongest economic growth in Asia in 2022 following a closure period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Switzerland is well-positioned to leverage advantages brought about by the Vietnamese economy and two-way trade between Switzerland and Viet Nam hit about US$3.2 billion in 2020. Hundreds of Swiss companies have been among the most important European investors present in Viet Nam. In particular, the Swiss industrial equipment sector should fully tap the growing trend of "Made in Vietnam" products. According to the article, the industrial boom in Viet Nam could be clearly felt when entering the Van Trung Industrial Park, which is an hour's drive to the north of Ha Noi. Early in the morning, many people lined up in front of the recruitment office of Foxconn - the most famous subcontractor for Apple. In front of a large dormitory for workers was a large poster with a notice that Foxconn was recruiting 10,000 employees with favourable working conditions. Foxconn is not the only factory hiring a large number of workers. Not far away, competitor LuxShare announced it would recruit 13,000 new employees. An automobile supplier is seeking 700 eligible positions, while a solar panel manufacturer is announcing recruiting for 6,000 positions. Large industrial zones are being built and taken over by advanced electronics manufacturers, said the article. The Republic of Korea's electronics conglomerate Samsung inaugurated a new research and development centre in Ha Noi in December 2022. It also plans to invest around $3.2 billion to produce semiconductors in a neighbouring province. The US semiconductor equipment company Amkor Technology will soon open a factory near the airport. Pegatron of Taiwan (China), which produces components for electric carmaker Tesla and assembles iPhones, has recently begun operations near Ha Long Bay. The article attributed Viet Nam's above-said attraction to various factors, such as a stable investment environment and 15 free trade agreements, including one signed in 2020 with the European Union (EU), helping Viet Nam become a hub of industrial production at affordable costs. Foreign investors rate Viet Nam as a top priority for investment. Therefore, the country will continue to witness the emergence of super factories in the future, it concluded. VNS HA NOI The conservation and sustainable use of the biodiversity and ecosystem services of wetlands (Ramsar sites) have contributed to sustainable socio-economic development, carbon storage, climate change adaptation, environmental protection, and nature and biodiversity preservation. Dr. Du Van Toan from the Institute of Environmental Science, Seas and Islands under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said that mangroves are considered as a highly productive ecosystem in tropical and subtropical coastal areas globally, contributing 50 per cent of materials to the ocean from materials in the forest and 15 per cent of total organic matter in marine sediments. The function of storing the organic carbon of wetlands plays an important role in global carbon stocks and the mitigation of climate change impact, Toan said, stressing the need to conduct research to provide policies and orientations on mangrove conservation and the assessment of carbon stocks. According to the expert, with an area of about 150,000 hectares of mangrove forests and the current estimated price of US$5 per tonne of carbon dioxide, the benefits from trading carbon credits are huge. More importantly, if they are exploited effectively, there will be a large source of funds to increase income for the community and, at the same time, contribute significantly to forest protection and development in Viet Nam. In addition, in order to fulfill commitments to and join the international community in reducing carbon emissions, it is necessary to have orientations on mangrove conservation and an assessment of carbon stocks in mangrove ecosystems in the coming time. Accordingly, Viet Nam needs to develop a national policy on operating a carbon credit exchange and assess the economic valuation of carbon sequestration and storage functions of mangrove forests. It is also necessary for the nation to actively participate in and implement conventions on emission, deforestation and forest degradation reduction to enhance its position in the international arena; participate in and contribute to major international initiatives on mangrove restoration; and develop basic surveys on the calculation of carbon stocks in mangrove ecosystems. Viet Nam became a member of the Convention on Wetlands, known as the Ramsar Convention, in 1989. So far, nine wetlands, with a total area of 120,549 hectares in the country have been recognised as Ramsar sites wetlands of international importance. They are Xuan Thuy National Park (recognised in 1989), Bau Sau Wetlands and Seasonal Floodplains (2005), Ba Be National Park (2011), Tram Chim National Park (2012), Ca Mau Cape National Park (2013), Con ao National Park (2014), Lang Sen Wetland Reserve (2015), U Minh Thuong National Park (2016), and Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve (2017). By now, a network of Vietnamese Ramsar sites has been set up and operated at the website https://vran.vn/. To effectively implement the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat, Viet Nam will prioritise perfecting mechanisms and policies related to the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands. VNS Pham Thi Thanh Quyen is among the writers honoured at the National External Information Service Awards 2022. Living in Besancon, France, Quyen works as a cultural and heritage expert at the Pierre Bayle Library. Quyen also won De Men Awards from The Thao Van Hoa (Sports and Culture) newspaper for her books, an award that honours the best works by and for children. Quyen speaks with Viet Nam News reporter Nguyen Binh about her work. Could you tell me about your award-winning work about President Ho Chi Minh's time in France? Working in culture and heritage preservation, I had the opportunity to come into contact with many documents about President Ho Chi Minh. I pay strong attention to documents about Viet Nam because it is my hometown. I also read rare documents about Indochina and Viet Nam for my thesis. I intended to use the historical document kept outside Viet Nam. When I started exploiting this files about President Ho Chi Minh in France, I knew it was not new and that many people had already exploited the topic. However, it was not without difficulties and challenges. I am a heritage expert, so I want to make clear some details in the files. Do you engage in Vietnamese heritage preservation projects? What interests you about heritage preservation in Viet Nam? After researching President Ho Chi Minh, I intended to continue introducing people about Vietnamese culture, history, economy and politics during the French colonial period. My work has helped me to keep in contact with a small community of heritage preservers in Viet Nam. Thanks to them, I know Viet Nam is gradually paying attention to and promoting heritage preservation, including intangible heritage preservation. One of the results is the Then practice of Tay, Nung and Thai ethnic groups recognised as Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity by UNESCO. This recognition not only helps Then to be preserved but also provides an opportunity to promote the beauty of Vietnamese community culture to the world. For heritage makers, these results are thanks to hard work. Everyone knows that in addition to the challenges of time, human impacts are also the biggest concern, and that is not only the story of Viet Nam but also the world. Take, for example, the complete disappearance of the Palmyra heritage. It has become a major symbol of the human impact on heritage. Could you tell me about your current work? Besides my work at the library, I have been participating in reading and social culture popularising projects for young people in France. It is an interesting work because it gives me a broader perspective on how to help young people have more passion for history. Culture and history is my passion. I think that no one can exist without a past. The past is the driving force that helps us see and orient our future. Luckily, I have travelled extensively and participated in social and cultural activities. I am very keen on the cultural and historical factors of the lands where I have visited. I want to live in harmony with the people and the lands. I also want people to share historical and cultural stories to develop together. Last year, you won De Men Awards for your children's books. How did you come to writing? Partly, it is from my passion for my work and partly from my love of writing. The De Men Awards last year were for my books Biet oi Tham Tu (Detective Team) and Emma Tham Hoa (Disaster Emma). I was surprised to receive the awards. The books are about small stories that I have experienced. I wrote these two books to give children a pleasant and happy reading time. Through witty and funny stories, I want to help them build up their dreams and enrich their daily life knowledge. I have several other books for children and adult readers. Literature is a bridge helping me return to my homeland and introduce the Vietnamese image to international friends. What is your next book? This year, I will work with Kim ong Publishing House to print two books for teens and a book series for children. HCM City General Publishing House will distribute my long story for teenagers. Plus, I have a collection of three-dimension and Kamishiba books a kind of picture card storytelling that some publishing houses are interested in. With the diversity in writing and form of books, I want to contribute to changing the approach to childhood through books, helping them have more interest in reading and using books as the most effective means of education. VNS HATAY The Vietnam Peoples Army (VPA) delivered almost 25 tonnes of relief supplies, including rice, milk and medical supplies, to Turkish authorities at the Hatay stadium in Antakya City on Tuesday as part of the Southeast Asia nation's continued relief efforts after a series of earthquakes struck the region. In a poignant moment, Major General Pham Van Ty, who leads the VPA team, expressed his heartfelt sentiment that the relief work is a testimony to the Vietnamese people's empathy and the Ministry of National Defence's compassion towards the Turkish people. He also expressed his hope that Turkey could soon overcome the consequences of the earthquake. On behalf of Turkish authorities, Ambassador Hakan Cakil, a representative of the Turkish Foreign Ministry in Hatay province, praised the VPAs assistance and said the practical support has helped Turkish people surmount difficulties and losses. In particular, he noted that the medical supplies they donated would be quickly transported to local hospitals and health centres for emergency aid and treatment of patients. Talking to the Vietnam News Agency on February 21, Vietnamese Ambassador to Turkey o Son Hai said search and rescue operations by the teams of the Vietnamese ministries of public security and national defence had received high evaluation from local administrations and people, international rescue teams, as well as Vietnamese people. They performed tasks in Adiyaman and Hatay provinces, about 500km from each other and among the localities hit hardest by the earthquake. Highlighting the diplomatic significance of the teams engagement in search and rescue efforts, Hai said this was the first time Viet Nam had sent rescue teams to a humanitarian mission in such a faraway place, helping implement the Party and States policy that Viet Nam be a responsible member of the international community. It also showed that Viet Nam could fulfil the responsibilities the international community entrusts the country with, despite difficulties and even risks of loss. The two teams performance also conveys that Viet Nam is not only a responsible member of the international community but also capable of carrying out those responsibilities. VNS NEW YORK The Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations opened its annual meeting on February 21 with representatives from more than 80 member states, including Viet Nam. This years session focuses on the role of the UN Charter in maintaining international peace and security, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and the role of regional mechanisms and agreements. Addressing the session, Minister Counsellor Le Thi Minh Thoa, Deputy Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the UN, underlined the need to abide by the UN Charter and principles of international law to maintain international peace and security, especially as the world faces many common challenges. Regarding sanctions, Thoa said the measure should only be applied when it is the last solution. She said that to prevent adverse effects on economic activities and people's lives, sanctions should be built on a clear legal basis with specific objectives and application time. In addition, periodic reviews are necessary to ensure that when the goal of the sanctions is achieved, they are also lifted. The Vietnamese representative called on sanction committees and expert groups to fully consider the impact of sanctions on third countries. Over the peaceful settlement of disputes, Thoa said that Viet Nam always upholds this fundamental principle of international law and supports measures stated in Article 33 of the UN Charter. Viet Nam supports the exchange and sharing of information on national practices in using regional mechanisms and agreements to build trust and prevent and reduce conflicts, she stated. She said that ASEAN had taken a leading role at the regional level in establishing effective dialogue mechanisms such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the East Asia Summit (EAS). Along with continuing to reinforce fundamental documents for friendly cooperation and dispute settlement such as the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), the association has worked with partners to implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) and negotiate for a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC), in line with international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS), said Thoa. The Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations was established in 1975, creating a forum for member states to discuss the implementation of the Charter. The Special Committee meets annually to consider relevant proposals. Since its adoption in 1945, the UN Charter has been revised three times, in 1963, 1965 and 1973. VNS NEW YORK A Vietnamese diplomat said the country is willing to continue expanding the deployment of personnel to United Nations peacekeeping operations in the future. Minister Counsellor Nguyen Hoang Nguyen, deputy head of the Permanent Delegation of Viet Nam to the UN, delivered a speech at the opening general debate of the annual session of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (also known as the C34) on February 21 (US time). The sending of personnel to UN peacekeeping operations since 2014 is an important landmark in Viet Nam's foreign policy, he said, highlighting the willingness to keep expanding the scale and scope of personnel deployment. Priority will continue to be given to promoting womens participation to increase the rate of female officers and soldiers to 15 per cent at the deployed units and 20 per cent of the deployed individuals. Nguyen called on the UN to take timely measures to improve the capacity to ensure security and safety for peacekeeping forces. In particular, it should prioritise resources for pre-deployment training programmes and the supplementation of essential medical supplies to peacekeeping missions. As one of the four Southeast Asian countries with a UN-recognised international training centre for implementing the Triangular Partnership Programme (the UN, Viet Nam, Japan), Viet Nam backs the UNs efforts to develop a global partnership on peacekeeping and enhance cooperation with regional organisations, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the diplomat added. The debate, held at the UN headquarters in New York, was attended by the President of the 77th UN General Assembly Csaba Korosi, representatives of member states, including 125 countries sending military and police personnel to UN peacekeeping operations, and many international and regional organisations. Participants discussed emerging challenges to peacekeeping operations an essential tool of the UN for maintaining international peace and security. More than 76,000 troops are performing UN peacekeeping tasks at 12 missions in four regions, mostly in Africa. Since 2014, Viet Nam has sent more than 520 military and police officers and soldiers to the UN missions in the Central African Republic, South Sudan and the Abyei Area, and to the UN headquarters. VNS HA NOI The recently-released Viet Nam University Rankings has been met with both praise and criticism from experts in the field. While the rankings represent a positive step forward for higher education in Viet Nam, many have expressed concerns about the system's limitations and potential for improvement. Le Van Ut, head of the Research Group on Scientific Measurement and Research Policy of Van Lang University, said the six criteria Viet Nam University Rankings use for the assessments are comprehensive and cover the quality of domestic universities. Pham Hiep, co-leader of the Education and Policy Science group under the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, said releasing the first-ever university ranking is a good start. However, no ranking is perfect, he told the Zing online newspaper. He said the ranking is certainly flawed, and the younger universities ranking high are unsurprising. Some evaluation data are incomplete, he said. For example, the team only gets data from the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), which is incomplete, he added. I think, with 191 universities, data should be taken from Scopus to cover more", he said. He also said the rankings did not distinguish between single and multi-disciplinary schools. Therefore, single-disciplinary schools suffer more disadvantages. Sharing the same opinion, Le inh Hieu of Johns Hopkins University also praised the methodology of the rankings. The methodology used in the rankings is quite standard with a full multi-dimensional scale. It is quite comprehensive, and that's a good thing," he said. However, he believes the standard methodology requires that input data be standard to produce a correct ranking. In the meantime, getting input data in Viet Nam is not easy. Currently, there are two methods to collect data, either with data proved directly by the universities, after which the university rating team performs post-testing, evaluation and ranking, or through entirely independent data. Hieu said the Viet Nam University Rankings only used the second method. He assessed that obtaining independent data may cause the team to accept the available data from the enrolment scheme and public reports of the university, data from the Ministry of Education and Training and of line ministries and Web of Science (WoS). Important role Ut said the rankings play an important role in the development trend of universities. He said it is a useful information channel for universities to refer to and adjust operation processes. Hiep said: "Viet Nam should have had a university ranking long ago and maintained it for many years. The community should be open to the rankings. He said it is a tool that makes the picture of Vietnamese universities more complete. The trend of university rankings is inevitable, he said. Hieu said the appearance of the rankings is a good signal and a yardstick for the future development of Vietnamese universities. How to maintain Ut suggested that a few things should be noted to maintain the rankings. Firstly, the evaluation method must be scientific and clear, with criteria that fully reflect the level of a university from research to education. Secondly, the evaluation method must be objective so that the community can verify the university rating team's approach. Thirdly, the prestige of the university rating team should be increased. Without reputable experts in higher education and data analysis, there would be no good ranking results. Fourthly, the rankings should focus on independence. If the university rating team's aim is commercial, it can be challenging to obtain an objective ranking. Therefore, the university rating team should seek funding or conduct research projects on university ranking to obtain funding to ensure their operation. Hiep said that to maintain the rankings, they must ensure independence and avoid commercialisation. He said that the rating team also needs to make timely adjustments and improvements to increase prestige. He suggested that the State create a mechanism to manage university ranking teams, including requirements for explaining ranking methods and the data collection process. Additionally, the calculation method must be explicit. The rating team does not necessarily have to put the information on the ranking website, but there should be a reasonable explanation to the managerial agency about the rankings, he said. Hieu said that the rankings should allow universities to have the right to counter-argue and supplement data after the rankings are published, creating a two-way interactive channel. Last Friday, the first-ever Vietnam University Rankings were released, with the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, ranking first. The others in the top 10 consist of Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City; Ton uc Thang University; Hanoi University of Science and Technology; Duy Tan University; the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City; Can Tho University; Hanoi National University of Education; the University of a Nang, and Hue University. The ranking is made within the framework of activities of the non-profit Vietnam Education Index Company Limited (VEINDEX). VNS BUVs campus in Ecopark Township in the northern province of Hung Yen Following their success in securing the internationally recognised QS 5-star quality rating in 2022, BUV has achieved another internationally recognised quality classification: attaining university-wide accreditation from the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA). BUV has now set records in Vietnam and the international education sector, including being the only university in Vietnam awarded QAA university-wide accreditation, one of only 22 universities outside the UK to achieve this, and the first in ASEAN. The heritage and quality of the UKs education system is acknowledged throughout the world, with the UK hosting many of the highest quality and historically universities (Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, Imperial College London, etc.). The QAA regulates the performance of all universities in the UK, as well as those delivering British higher degree programmes elsewhere in the world. In short, QAA guards the heritage and maintains the high level of quality that makes the UK education system one of the very best. To earn the recognition of being QAA quality assured, BUV completed the International Quality Review, a rigorous procedure which benchmarks global higher education institutions against the UKs international quality assurance standards, with the University achieving the highest level of performance in all 10 categories. This result is an extension of BUVs existing position of holding QAA accreditation for its programmes and training quality, to now being fully accredited at a university-wide level. The latest QAA assessment of BUV recognised outstanding accomplishments in all academic aspects. The QAA offered special commendation to BUV for operations in three specific areas of best practice. Firstly, significant employer engagement and connections with civic society are actively facilitated by all internal stakeholders, including students. This is fundamental to enabling BUV to deliver its mission. Secondly, there opportunities and support for students in preparing for, identifying, and participating in work placements and internships, as formal components of programmes and as extracurricular activities, which greatly enhances job readiness and employability. Thirdl, the Certified and comprehensive Personal Development Programme of activities and modules enhance students' broader knowledge and personal development, helping to define graduate attributes. Sharing his appraisal and congratulations with BUV, Chris Bland, the QAAs Head of Accreditation and Consultancy said, It is with great pleasure we announce that the British University Vietnam has successfully completed our International Quality Review. It is to their credit that they become the first university in Vietnam to achieve this recognition. I hope this is the beginning of a deep relationship with BUV and that we can work together on other activities. Professor Raymond Gordon, BUV president said, "2023 marks the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations between Vietnam and the United Kingdom. Since its inception, BUV has contributed to the relationship between the two nations, and it will continue to do so. BUV will continue to contribute resources to the Vietnamese governments education priorities. Receiving the highest level of accreditation from both QS and QAA is a result of the Universitys goal to invest in a world-class higher education learning environment. In the immediate future, BUV will focus on activities ranging from continuing to align its academic curriculum to the practical needs of the Vietnam labour market; continuing to provide students with internship opportunities in a wide range of industries and positions; and strive to maintain its record 100 per cent of students attaining employment or moving on to higher studies within three months of graduation. The school also plans to complete the third phase of its campus construction by 2028 with a planned total investment of more than $165 million; expand its market reach and services throughout Vietnam; facilitate high-quality research on Vietnams economic and social priorities; and, increasing access to British degree programmes through a scholarship and financial aid fund worth billions of VND. BUVs mission is to develop highly employable graduates who are foremost good human beings with an ethic of kindness and caring. Graduates will also be cross-disciplinary in skills and language; innovative, imaginative, respectfully confident; and committed to continuous learning and development. BUV expects all its staff, students, and stakeholders to be courteous and care about the wellbeing of other people; to respect their environment; and be socially and culturally inclusive. In short, BUV is committed to the bilateral relations between Vietnam and the UK and will continue to turn young Vietnamese students into talented and respectful adults that are confident and caring, but most importantly, are prepared to lead the way and thrive in a challenging and exciting future in which the jobs and roles they will play are yet to be invented. Study the University of London International Foundation Programme at BUV The University of London (UoL) International Foundation Programme (IFP) is one of the most widely accepted foundation programmes in the world. Prof. Rick Bennett to become BUV deputy vice chancellor and vice president Rick Bennett, an experienced academic leader, has been appointed as incoming deputy vice chancellor and vice president of British University Vietnam (BUV). The availability of this service type is expected to support thousands of passengers arriving at the airports domestic and international terminals each day. Gojek will offer GoCar services at seven pick-up points in the D2 lane, between columns G6 to B6, at the domestic terminal. For international arrivals, GoCar services will be available at five pick-up points, from column 9 to column 12. Gojek launches GoCar services from D2 lane at Tan Son Nhat International Airport Nguyen Trung Kien, head of Drivers at Gojek Vietnam, said, With the number of passengers arriving into Tan Son Nhat increasing, the launch of our GoCar service type at the airport will help to meet the growing demand for ride-hailing services into Ho Chi Minh, as well as supporting efforts to control and manage traffic. We are sincerely grateful to the airport management unit for their partnership and cooperation in helping us quickly deploy operations at lane D2 - enabling users to access GoCar services more conveniently, and helping us to provide access to more income opportunities for our driver-partners. To assist passengers, Gojek representatives will be on hand at the D2 lane to help them find their correct pick-up location and support in controlling and managing the traffic flow at D2 lane. Users can opt-in to Gojeks new on-time guarantee feature which entitles them to a VND20,000 ($0.87) voucher if their car arrives at least 10 minutes later than the estimated arrival time, and can also enjoy up to 50 per cent off their GoCar from the airport by using the code GOJEKNHA. Passengers arriving at the domestic terminal and looking to use GoCar services should head towards the TCP building, the D2 lane is located on the ground floor from cell 5 to 11, corresponding to column B6 to column G6. Gojek is Southeast Asias leading on-demand platform and a pioneer of the multi-service ecosystem model, providing access to a wide range of services including transportation, food delivery, logistics and more. Gojek is founded on the principle of leveraging technology to remove life's daily frictions by connecting consumers to the best providers of goods and services in the market. The company was first established in 2010 focusing on courier and motorcycle ride-hailing services, before launching its app in January 2015 in Indonesia. Since then, Gojek has grown to become the leading on-demand platform in Indonesia, with additional operations in Vietnam and Singapore. The Gojek platform now comprises over 2.6 million driver partners across the region. Gojek is part of the GoTo Group, the largest digital ecosystem in Indonesia, consisting of Gojek, Tokopedia and GoTo Financial. Gojek is dedicated to solving the daily challenges faced by consumers, while improving the quality of life for millions of people across Southeast Asia, especially those in the informal sector and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Gojek Vietnam leveraging tech to remove lifes frictions Mobile on-demand platform Gojek has been growing from strength to strength since its inception in Vietnam in 2018, proving its strong position as a growth partner for drivers and merchants. Gojek launches new campaign to support digitalisation for micro-entrepreneurs Gojek, Southeast Asias leading on-demand platform, launched the Small Shops Weather Big Storms campaign in Vietnam on November 1, an inclusive initiative to help micro-entrepreneurs improve their livelihoods by going digital. Gojek appoints new leader in Vietnam Gojek, Southeast Asias leading on-demand mobile platform, on January 18 announced that Sumit Rathor had been appointed as its general manager. The suggestions included improving the investment environment, developing the supply chain and high-value production, investing in transport infrastructure, digital transformation, and training facilities, reforming capital markets, and simplifying visa policies. James Ollen, executive director of AmCham Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City said, in terms of improving the investment environment, the city needs to apply digital transformation to public management to create a fair and transparent legal environment and a reliable and consistent approval process. He said, We suggest that the city creates favourable conditions for AmCham member companies to expand their existing investments and facilities. To improve the capacity of the citys enterprises to participate in the global supply chain, Vietnam in general, and Ho Chi Minh City in particular, need to implement tax policies that are compatible with those globally. Along with that, Vietnam should apply global standards on accounting, auditing, transfer pricing, and use the pre-agreed process method of determining taxable prices as approved by the National Assembly. Foreign investors also asked the city to improve air quality and control noise pollution. Along with that, it needs to invest in more lanes for pedestrians and public transport. AmCham enterprises wish to participate in high-quality healthcare and boost the wellbeing of the people. To develop supply chains and high-value production, AmCham suggested that the city reform education, adopt policies to promote the localisation of supply chains, and invest in transport infrastructure and logistics. Along with that, essential action solutions should be developed to meet energy security and clean energy transition targets and encourage investment in high-tech research and development. Foreign investors highly appreciate the investment plans to improve the transport infrastructure in the south Foreign investors also highly appreciate the investment plans to improve the transport infrastructure in the south. However, these plans need to be implemented and accelerated as part of the overall southern supply chain corridor to promote the connectivity of economic zones. A smooth transport system should be stretched from Binh Duong and Dong Nai in the north to Ba Ria-Vung Tau in the south, including links to industrial parks, Long Thanh Airport, Cat Port, and Cai Mep logistics centre. This is much needed to ease the congestion of Ho Chi Minh City and create an opportunity to increase industrial output across the south, Ollen said. Regarding licensing procedures for foreign workers, Alain Cany, chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), reflected that many foreign experts have difficulty when carrying out the procedures to apply for a work permit in Ho Chi Minh City. In particular, many international schools in Ho Chi Minh City need to recruit foreign teachers but have to do too many procedures to apply for a work permit even though many of them have been living and working in Ho Chi Minh City for a long time, said Cany. Alain Cany, chairman of EuroCham, highlighting that many foreign experts have difficulty when carrying out the procedures to apply for a work permit in Ho Chi Minh City Answering questions from representatives of foreign business associations related to the issue of work permits, Nguyen Van Lam, deputy director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said that the Department has collected all recommendations on the procedures for granting work permits to foreigners and proposed them to their superiors. Those policies are expected to be amended and simplified very soon. Speaking at the seminar, Phan Van Mai, Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, said that suggestions from enterprises will form the basis for the city to propose revisions to improve the current procedures. We are ready to listen and solve the problems that businesses face very soon. If the opinion requires interdisciplinary resolution, it will be resolved and responded to within one-month, Mai said. "Ho Chi Minh City's goal by 2025 is to become a smart, modern, and industrial city, maintaining its role as an economic hub of the whole country with per-capita GRDP of $8,500," concluded Mai. More European companies shifting operations to Vietnam In the latest survey by the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), 41 per cent of respondents stated their company was shifting operations from China to Vietnam, up from 13 per cent in the third quarter. European business community confident in Vietnam With Vietnam's strong economic fundamentals, and its commitment to sustainability, the European business community remains strongly confident in the Vietnamese market. EuroCham launches 2023 Whitebook in Hanoi The European Chamber of Commerce Vietnam (EuroCham) held a business-to-government dialogue forum in Hanoi on February 16 to launch its 2023 Whitebook, seeking to strengthen ties with the country in terms of the green economy and sustainable development. New industrial parks will open the floor for a raft of new businesses to invest here, photo Le Toan Chairman of Haiphong Peoples Committee Nguyen Van Tung hosted a meeting in the northern port city to listen to reports on the construction process of industrial parks (IPs) in the city on February 7. Afterwards, Tung asked Tien Thanh Investment Industrial Zone JSC, the investor of Tien Thanh IP, to pay a deposit of VND100 billion ($4.38 million) to Tien Lang Peoples Committee for land clearance, and to simultaneously ask the developer to complete procedures and start construction of the IP in May. He also asked the investors of DEEP C 3 Industrial Zone which has Belgian investors, to accelerate the construction of items in the cleared area. He also required Haiphong Economic Zones Management Authority to speed up the adjustment of local planning to be suitable for the zones expansion. In addition, he urged local authorities to cooperate with each other to accelerate the land clearance of Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park, An Duong, and Trang Due 3, among others, so investors can start the construction of the IPs this year. The neighbouring province of Hai Duong is simultaneously deploying infrastructure construction or expansion of six IPs: Gia Loc, An Phat 1, Kim Thanh, Tan Truong, Dai An, and Phuc Dien. According to Hai Duong Industrial Zones Management Authority, the area of these six IPs is equal to 77 per cent of the area of 11 operating. New IPs are expected to create great advantages in attracting investment for the province because in recent years, the number of new projects investing in existing IPs was limited due to a lack of land. The demand for renting land and even developing new IPs, is still large. Thus, many industrial real estate developers are just waiting for the cleared land to develop their projects. For example, the southern province of Dong Nai has planned nine IPs, which are waiting for either licences or cleared land. At present, seven of these nine IPs have investors, and they are waiting for the appraisal from the Ministry of Planning and Investment as well as the approval to switch the land use purpose, which is currently forestry and rubber plantations. A deputy general director of a Japanese-invested IP in Dong Nai told VIR, Despite the complicated situation, the companys plans to expand operations in Vietnam have yet to be impacted because we always have a long-term investment vision. We have plans to develop an additional IP every three years, with an average area of 300 hectares. We can handle the capital, and are just concerned about the administrative procedures and land. In the south, especially the southeast, the demand for renting industrial land is large, and the only problem is whether IPs have big enough land to meet the demand, she added. In the context of a land shortage, the government has moved to expand master plans for IP development. Notably, Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai signed a decision on February 3 to approve the Ministry of Planning and Investments proposal to add four IPs in the northern province of Ha Nam into the countrys master plan. The DPM has also asked that preparations for ventures in developing infrastructure at IP to ensure investment attraction and land use efficiency, with priority given to the development of new IP models. The IPs will contribute to diversifying industrial real estate supply sources. Waste criteria lacking for nations IPs Vietnams industrial parks are in the process of transitioning to more ecological models, but are struggling due to a lack of regulations on reusing treated waste and wastewater. Eco-industrial parks to become inevitable trend Vietnam will continue to encourage investors to both develop eco-IPs and transition from traditional to ecological ones, which is set to contribute to the national target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. New ventures underpinning Hai Duongs prosperity Foreign capital in the northern province of Hai Duong is increasingly prosperous, thanks to its attractive potential and incentives, as well as environmental reforms which enhance high competitiveness. According to the Credit Department for Economic Sectors under the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the outstanding credit amount for commercial real estate in 2022 was close to $35 billion, with urban building and housing development projects receiving the most concern. According to the Hanoi Stock Exchange, at the end of 2022, the outstanding individual bonds of real estate companies totalled around $17.7 billion. Consequently, real estate enterprises are borrowing up to $52.5 billion through credit and bonds. Since the second half of last year, insiders noted, cash flow has been trapped in banks and people, no longer flowing to enterprises, and the other two capital mobilisation channels, namely securities and bonds, are onerous, resulting in a widespread capital deficit. In the context of stalled capital flows, real estate enterprises are expecting banks to bail them out. Nevertheless, during a real estate credit conference organised by the SBV at the beginning of February, a number of suggestions from real estate enterprises on debt restructuring and lowering credit access criteria were vetoed due to system security concerns. Associate Dinh Trong Thinh, an economist, told VIR that requesting banks to engage in the bailout of real estate enterprises is perilous for the whole system. A bank is also a firm that must adhere to risk management regulations in order to safeguard its interests, shareholders, and depositors, Thinh said. Dr. Le Xuan Nghia, a member of the National Advisory Council for Monetary Policies, added that credit has a significant influence on the real estate markets revival, but it cannot be simply poured. Companies with solid, robust initiatives must be classified. Banks will only favour certain projects when allocating cash, Nghia stated. Currently, credit is considered the tonic for the real estate market. However, it is all but guaranteed that access to funding for real estate enterprises is to remain very challenging. At BIDV, Vietcombank, and VietinBank, real estate loans account for up to 18-20 per cent of the total; however, 80-90 per cent are focused on people purchasing homes, concentrating on actual housing requirements. In order to improve risk management, banks that have increased corporate lending in recent years, such as Techcombank, prefer to limit lending to these clients. Because they are being pursued, it will also be challenging for the group of banks recognised for their tight links with other real estate businesses to expand their lending for backyard development. The SBV said that in the near future, it would intensify inspections and audits of banks that amass loans for enterprises, corporations, and homeowners backyard projects. In order for credit to save the real estate market, according to economic analysts, firms must reorganise the sector with an emphasis on low-cost commercial housing developments that meet actual housing demands. This market sector has a high capacity for consumption, and it is typically simple to get a feasible loan. In order to achieve this, local governments must expedite the elimination of legal processes and licence new projects. According to Thinh, real estate businesses have only the following options in the near future to avoid default: steeply reducing real estate prices, bringing house prices to an adequate point to induce cash flow from buyers; joint ventures and associations to find additional funding sources; and reducing prices of initiatives that have not yet begun or are struggling. Until then, firms must accept reality, be willing to sell assets cheaply to meet debt repayment commitments, have investment cash, preserve their reputation, and sit tight for time to restore it, Thinh added. Thinh added that it is vital to consider modifying Decree No.65/2022/ND-CP comprehensively, and not in the direction of a 1-2 year grace period as the Ministry of Finance recently advocated. This decrees requirements are overly stringent, making life tough for both investors and issuers. A grace period of 1-2 years makes little sense, given that the market will remain challenging for longer than a few years and investors trust cannot be quickly restored, Thinh said. Management agencies, businesses, and buyers must work together to solve the problems in the real estate market, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at a national conference in Hanoi last Friday. It is important to be aware of the problem and have a solution, and it must be based on the principle of harmonising benefits and sharing risks between the state, people, and businesses, PM Chinh said. Going into detail, the PM asked state management agencies to review their mechanisms, policies, and laws, and strengthen supervision. The banking and finance side must also take measures to unclog credit sources such as bonds and securities. How predictable can 2023 become for real estate? Some experts continue to be sceptical about the possibility of the real estate market entering a calm period and freezing liquidity at this moment. Together for a long-term partnership Despite market swings, foreign investment capital continued to flood heavily into several categories of Vietnamese real estate in 2022. Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the real estate industry have been particularly attractive due to the existence of a number of loaded giants. Last year, the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) disbursed close to $700 million in policy credit through its programmes that support people in need. Of that total, it is estimated that more than $36 million was used by over 85,000 students taking out loans to buy computers or other online learning equipment. Loans supporting the construction of social housing, with more than 10,000 homes built, came to over $175 million. Social security support came to almost $435 million, with more than 210,000 borrowers. Lending to non-public primary or preschool education institutions was just under $8.5 million, with nearly 2,600 schools taking advantage of the scheme. In addition, loans for the development of ethnic minority and mountainous areas amounted to a little over $42 million, with nearly 19,500 borrowers in total. Speaking at the conference, Standing Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu said, Preferential credit policies have brought positive results, contributing to the success of ensuring the removal of difficulties for people, workers, disadvantaged groups, and those heavily affected by the pandemic, thereby maintaining order and social security. These achievements aside, there are still some obstacles related to the disbursement of capital, particularly the slow pace with which social housing programmes receive funding. These achievements aside, there are still some obstacles related to the disbursement of capital, particularly the slow pace with which social housing programmes receive funding. Social housing loan programmes only received approximately 66 per cent of what was projected last year due to a number of factors, such as the limited supply of social housing units or the ineligibility of borrowers via the review process. Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Van Sinh suggested that local authorities should continue to pay attention to investors to speed up project implementation and create a steady supply of social housing. At the same time, offer timely administrative support to people with real demands to buy houses. Minister and Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs Hau A Lenh suggested that, "local ethnic minority agencies should coordinate with relevant departments, sectors and units in the VBSP system to develop plans to deliver well-tailored credit initiatives. This would ensure adequate capital is available in accordance with the governments commitment". VBSP CEO Duong Quyet Thang proposed the Party and local authorities at all levels pay further attention to directing social policy credit activities, focusing on the mobilisation of resources. "The VBSP system needs to focus on fast-tracking loans to ensure timely support for the right beneficiaries, helping the poor and others to easily access assistance, ensuring the publicity and feasibility of the policy, and effectively using the state's resources," said Thang. At the same time, Thang explained, "Member units need to further coordinate with the State Bank, the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs and relevant ministries to advise the government on the allocation of capital and implementation of preferential credit policies over the next two years, and offer regular review to keep the implementation process running smoothly". SBV will continue providing capital for real estate sector Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Dao Minh Tu has clarified that the bank has not restricted real estate loans, contrary to reports. VBSP praised for efficient operating model Vietnam Bank for Social Policies has been praised by the delegation of the Asia-Pacific Rural Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA) on a Vietnam visit to attend the recent international workshop on Pro-Poor Rural and Agricultural Finance Best Practices: Experiences of Vietnam. Becamex IDC of Vietnam and Sembcorp Development of Singapore this month signed a MoU to work cooperatively on the development and establishment of five eco-friendly, smart, and sustainable industrial parks (IPs) in Vietnam. A corner of VSIP Nghe An Industrial Park, Source: baodautu.vn Tow Heng Tan, deputy chairman of Sembcorp Industries and one of the leaders of Sembcorp Group, said that it formed a joint venture with Vietnamese allies to develop Vietnam-Singapore IP (VSIP) in order to implement 10 parks in seven locations. Innovative and sustainable IP projects in Lang Son and Nghe An will be the next desirable additions to the VSIP network. In addition, Sembcorp intends to construct offshore wind energy facilities for transmission to Singapore under a cooperative development agreement, Tan said. According to Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam, the two nations may deepen economic cooperation in five key sectors, including infrastructure and sustainable development, until 2023 and beyond. These disciplines align well with Vietnams aims and future investment solicitations. Partnering in sustainable infrastructure, especially IPs will allow us to both fulfil our objectives throughout the next green energy transition, he underlined. Ratnam mentioned that Singapore intended to enhance bilateral and regional connectivity and interoperability to facilitate the expansion of enterprises and investments in innovation and technology. The new areas of engagement offer the foundation for creating a green relationship that will influence our bilateral ties for decades to come, he continued. Vietnam is now developing ideal circumstances for Singaporean enterprises to increase their investment, particularly in the sectors of digital transformation, renewable energy, research, technology, and innovation. Binh Duong, a significant southern industrial province in Vietnam, has also evolved to emphasise next-generation IPs, such as the 700-hectare Cay Truong IP, which Becamex invested in and began building in March last year. According to Vo Van Minh, Chairman of Binh Duong Peoples Committee, the province is transitioning from its existing industrial and urban service development model to one that is sustainable and adaptive. Minh stated that the province would create and update current IPs into contemporary parks capable of offering 4.0 technology platforms in order to assist investors in building smart factory models, using technology properly, increasing labour productivity, and protecting the environment. In Singapore, its leaders are now aggressively pursuing the Green Plan 2030. In tandem, Vietnam has requirements in these sectors as it aggressively implements the transformation and growth of the green economy, as well as the energy transition towards net-zero emissions by 2050. At a meeting with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on February 9, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh pointed to the Vietnam-Singapore Green Economic Partnership, which was formed the same day. The Vietnamese leader said that Singapores investment is an opportunity to convince Vietnam to carry out its National Strategy for Green Growth 2021-2030. According to Vietnams Foreign Investment Agency, Singapore in 2022 reported $70.8 billion in registered capital and almost 3,100 legitimate projects, representing 22.9 per cent of all registered foreign direct investment (FDI) in Vietnam. Even as FDI into Vietnam declined by nearly one-fifth in the first month of 2023, investors from the city-state poured in $767.6 million, comprising nearly two-thirds of the total newly registered capital, making it the largest investor among 28 countries and territories with licenced projects in January. In the frame of reference of geopolitical uncertainties and rapidly increasing prices, FDI inflows have been globally complicated. However, according to Dr. Vo Tri Thanh, former deputy director of the Central Institute of Economic Management, Vietnam remains a tempting investment destination, particularly for Singaporean investors. Singapores average project size in Vietnam is over $23.5 million, which is much greater than the average project size of foreign-led projects in Vietnam, which is over $12.1 million. This demonstrates Singapores faith in the Vietnamese market and its growth possibilities, Thanh said. Vietnam is a promising star in the region with appealing investment policies, according to Patrick Lee, CEO for Singapore and ASEAN Markets at Standard Chartered. Vietnams advantageous demographic structure makes it an attractive market for Singaporean investors, he said. Singaporean clients are increasingly interested in expanding into Vietnam due to the countrys developing consumer market and potential, spanning from green energy to infrastructure investment, Lee said. According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam has 140 legitimate ventures in Singapore with the total registered capital of around $586 million accumulatively by last December 2022. Eco-industrial parks to become inevitable trend Vietnam will continue to encourage investors to both develop eco-IPs and transition from traditional to ecological ones, which is set to contribute to the national target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. New ventures underpinning Hai Duongs prosperity Foreign capital in the northern province of Hai Duong is increasingly prosperous, thanks to its attractive potential and incentives, as well as environmental reforms which enhance high competitiveness. Illustrating the critical need for top eco-industrial parks Vietnam is leaning towards international conventions when it comes to expanding its eco-industrial park strategy. Florian J. Beranek, lead expert of Responsible Business Development at the UN Industrial Development Organization, explains what this looks like, and how developers can be encouraged to go greener. Since its emergence in the past few months, AI applications like ChatGPT are eventually expected to replace many job positions in the labour market, including in IT. Vietnam tech arena strives to circumvent global lay-off woes, photo source: freepik.com Global business development director of MindX Technology School Nguyen Trung Duc said that the outstanding points of the software such as low cost, ease of management, and high working efficiency were factors that business owners cannot ignore if it becomes commercialised in Vietnam. Currently, an AI tool costs about $40 a month, while an intern would need a stipend of perhaps over triple that. As a result, many fresh graduates with little experience will have more difficulty finding work, Duc said. New technology will replace the first low-end products. Workers with low grey matter, doing simple jobs, will be the first group to be replaced. However, Duc added that such tech would not affect the labour market in Vietnam in the near future. Firstly, the information provided by ChatGPT depends on the input data source, so it often provides false information. Secondly, AI technology is not necessarily a breakthrough because it lacks the critical thinking humans possess. The tool is now more like software that quickly aggregates and organises information based on open data, rather than a brain that thinks like a human, Duc explained. If a Google search provides multidimensional information on an issue, ChatGPT will give an answer directly according to its knowledge. If its wrong, we will get false information that sometimes we do not even know. According to Nguyen Thac Thang, CEO of senior recruitment consulting group ACG, AI tools could support the work of IT staff at first, especially to shorten working time and make basic reports. It is unlikely to replace the work of programmers, but assistive technology tools and software like ChatGPT are essential to help developers create more quality products, he said. Thang said that technology companies would still maintain a certain number of employees, combined with AI, to take advantage of both huumans and machines. Younger employees will have more opportunities because they are better able to stay updated than those who have been in a job for a long time and are weaker in terms of mastering new technology and a willingness to do so, Thang said. The Vietnamese technology industry labour market possesses different factors compared to many countries in the world. The latest information from global data monitor lay-offs.fyi shows that over 350 companies in the global tech industry had to lay off about 105,000 employees in the first two months of 2023. In January alone, big names in the technology field such as Google parent group Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and IBM laid off nearly 44,000 employees. Meanwhile, recruitment demand at many tech enterprises in Vietnam is still increasing, despite the impact from a massive wave of lay-offs. At the beginning of 2023, Vietnamese giant FPT welcomed its 60,000th employee, adding thousands of employees compared to a year earlier. CMC Technology Group is also expected to recruit about 300 more employees by the end of the first quarter, bringing the total number of employees to more than 6,000. Last year, Germany group Bosch began the process of expanding operations in Vietnam, recruited around 1,100 more software engineers for research and development centres in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Boschs staffing needs are expected to grow by around 2,300 engineers over the next two years as the company aims to hit 6,000 engineers by 2025. One of the reasons for the differing fortunes in Vietnam could stem from the National Strategy on Digital Transformation, implemented in Vietnam three years ago, which has spurred a wave of tech startups and increased the number of projects from many large companies and global tech groups, leading to an increase in the demand for employees in this field. Meanwhile, the Tech Hiring 2022 report from TopDev, an IT recruitment platform established in 2015, shows that Vietnam is short of 150,000-190,000 programmers and engineers for the next two years. Previously, demand for IT workers in Vietnam was even more scarce, with a shortage of 400,000 employees in 2020 and 450,000 employees in 2021. According to the national digital tech industry development strategy for this decade, Vietnam plans to increase the number of digital tech enterprises from 67,300 in 2022 to 100,000 by 2030, while the number of employees in the field will rise to 1.8 million. ChatGPT and AI booms in Vietnam AI and ChatGPT technologies are forecasted to explode, creating a new wave of technology this year. ChatGPT and its potential legal implications in Vietnam ChatGPT is the topic on almost everyones lips at this great juncture in Vietnam. Even high school kids will be trained for this technology so that they can know how and when to use and not to use it in their studying and future careers. The big question remains, nonetheless, as to the legal implications this technology carries. Almost all the 12 Vietnamese banking brands listed in the rankings improved their positions, with Vietnams second most valuable banking brand Agribank (brand value up 1.7 per cent to $1.4 billion) recording a mere drop of two places and VIB making its first ranking appearance by posting a brand value increase of 14 per cent to $181 million. Brand Finances research indicated that recovered revenue and revenue forecasts were important drivers of the impressive growth. Overall, Vietnamese banking brands recorded improved business performances in 2022, underpinned by the nations strong credit growth of nearly 13 per cent, as well as remarkable economic recovery that is reflected by a GDP growth of 8 per cent its fastest in 25 years. Alex Haigh, managing director of the Asia Pacific of Brand Finance commented, "Vietnamese banking brands are rapidly adopting digital banking as a primary business and becoming leaders in this space regionally. For instance, Techcombank (brand value up 46.7 per cent to $1.4 billion), the second-fastest growing Vietnamese banking brand in our study, is embracing digital banking, which has resulted in significant growth of its retail banking unit. Combined with Vietnams economic miracle, we note that Vietnams banks are well poised to be some of the best performing this year." "We believe that Vietnam's banks are ready for consolidation in the next few years given that the nation has many brands relative to its scale to leverage efficiencies and bolster their strength. If this proceeds, it is important that these brands play a central role in the process and that the resulting combined entities identify the individual brands that will deliver maximum value," he added. In addition, findings outlined in Brand Finances Banking 500 2023 report support the global prevalence of digital banks as the value of digital banking brands grew from $795.6 million in 2022 to $1.61 billion in 2023 an increase of 102.6 per cent or $816.3 million. Digital banking brands such as Tymebank and Discovery Bank in South Africa, Nubank in Brazil, and Maya Bank in the Philippines are disrupting the industry, having garnered high scores in Brand Finances innovation and sustainability metrics two key drivers of customer choice. Declan Ahern, director of Brand Finance said, "Banking brands across the globe have continued to recover well post-pandemic. There has been an improvement in digital banking services, government stimulus measures have been relatively successful, and the rise of mobile banking and online platforms have contributed to the sectors positive performance. Accelerated by the strict global lockdowns, banking and fintech brands have innovated to create user-friendly, application-based banking services that have led to an increase in customer satisfaction and acquisition." The future of commercial banking The commercial banking sector is rapidly evolving through digitalisation. Nguyen Ngoc Hoang, director and digital innovation lead for KPMG in Vietnam, looks at what the future of the commercial banking landscape looks like, and what commercial banks should do to stay competitive. Neobanking: a trend-setting model for the digital revolution With the achievements of Industry 4.0, digital transformation has become a strong movement in all sectors in recent years. Finance-banking is one of the sectors prioritised in digital transformation since it is one of the backbones playing a vital role in the national economy, as stated in the National Digital Transformation Programme towards 2025, with an orientation to 2030. Owning 10 industrial parks (IPs) with more than 1,700 foreign-led projects, the northern province of Bac Ninh is currently one of the localities with the largest concentration of IPs and foreign enterprises in Vietnam, and also home to a vibrant job market. Vocational training institutions in Bac Ninh therefore also focus on renewing training programmes to closely follow the actual needs of enterprises, especially the demand for human resources who are eager to learn and able to use modern machinery and equipment. Nguyen Quoc Huy, rector of Bac Ninh College of Electrical Engineering and Construction, said that vocational education linking to the needs of businesses is the fastest way to help students adapt to the actual working environment, reduce retraining time, and save costs for both businesses and employees. Bac Ninh College of Industry is also one of the agile vocational training institutions when making the most of social media platforms to enroll students. We also invest in 4.0 technology equipment to meet the training needs of auxiliary technology enterprises in the high-tech field. I think that along with quality assurance to satisfy businesses, ensuring output will also help vocational training institutions to attract more students, Huy said. Vocational training takes on digital slant, Photo: Pham Van The lack of skilled workers, especially the skills to receive and use modern machines and technologies, is a weakness of the Vietnamese labour market, which is known as a source of abundant labour resources, but mainly low-cost labour. According to the Total Workforce Index 2022 report, Vietnams skilled workers accounted for just 11.6 per cent of the total. This is a weakness of Vietnamese workers when compared to other markets in Southeast Asia, such as Thailand with a high skilled labour rate of about 15 per cent, the Philippines (18.5 per cent), and Malaysia (28.2 per cent). In the future, cheap labour may no longer be as important to foreign investors as the skill factor. One-third of foreign-invested enterprises in the manufacturing industry are currently applying modern technology at a very high level, according to a ManpowerGroup Vietnam survey covering 2021-2023 and which was created in collaboration with the Institute of Science, Labour, and Social Affairs and included over 200 enterprises across the country, Meanwhile, the number of enterprises applying technology at an average level accounts for 63 per cent, and only 5 per cent is not currently applying technology. According to ManpowerGroup, 57 per cent of businesses faced difficulties in recruiting high-quality human resources in the second half of 2022. Businesses are increasingly placing high demands on skilled workers, while the current training situation and workforce cannot keep up, said general director of ManpowerGroup Vietnam Andree Mangels. Vietnamese workers need to improve both soft skills and expertise, otherwise they will lose their opportunities to other markets. According to the General Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (GDVET) under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MoLISA), Vietnam currently has over 1,900 vocational education institutions, including 400 colleges, 440 intermediate schools, and more than 1,000 dedicated centres. There are also nearly 700 private and foreign-invested vocational training institutions, accounting for 36 per cent, while the number of related education enrolments each year reaches about 2.2 million people. Although the quality and effectiveness of vocational education has improved, more in line with the actual needs of the labour market with the rate of 80 per cent of workers attaining jobs soon after graduation, the GDVET indicated that digital transformation is one of the most important solutions to improve the quality of vocational training. The nations digital transformation programme in vocational education for 2021-2025 sets a target of 100 per cent of output training standards of qualifications being integrated with digital capabilities. The MoLISA is also developing an amended Law on Employment, which includes a group of policies on developing vocational skills and improving the quality of human resources. The vocational training model is also gradually shifting from traditional face-to-face training to distance teaching. Many vocational education institutions have begun to digitalise materials, and some have cooperated with external organisations to use digital libraries. Especially in engineering sectors, some industries such as electromechanics and automobiles are applying simulation programmes and electronic learning materials. The restrictions of the past few years have made many vocational education institutions ready to update their technology to ensure training activities in any situation, including changing the learning and teaching process, and investing in VR and simulation technology to promote distance teaching, said Dong Van Ngoc, rector of Hanoi College of Electro Mechanics. Pham Vu Quoc Binh, deputy director of the GDVET, said that the digital transformation will change vocational education activities, from the way of management and teaching to learning and practising related skills at dedicated education institutions. Digital transformation will also create many new professions and fields, forming a potential new job market, but it will also be more challenging for vocational education activities, Binh said. Meanwhile, many foreign enterprises are also willing to cooperate. David Wei, general director of Huawei Vietnam, said it will cooperate with partners to form 15 academies, and work with 100 universities and organisations to provide training for more than 10,000 students in the industry. Huawei is willing to cooperate with Vietnamese universities and academies to develop high-quality local human resources through increasing knowledge transfer and promoting greater understanding as well as participation in the digital community, Wei said. Hoang Duc Trung-Partner, VinaCapital Ventures ICT human capital in Vietnam is up there with all the countries in the region. Generally speaking, technology and digital skills of the general workforce is also good. In fact, many companies are facing a lot of competition when it comes to attracting ICT personnel because now there are many highly qualified Vietnamese people choose to work abroad. Big tech unicorns in the region are having in their resource many top-tier Vietnamese ICT talents. Many applications such as Zalo and VNPay were built by Vietnamese talents and are attracting plenty of users. All of our investments must have an element of technology. We use technology to solve the problems of the market and of life. One of the companies that we invest in is PNJ, which has made good use of technology to increase its market presence and growth. If digital transformation in general in Vietnam is still difficult, it is because it is a great change of all systems, in which synchronisation is a challenge. From the data entry process to other processing tasks, it is a process that changes the behaviour of both users and system operators. If theres one side thats not ready for that, it is hard. Tran Quang Thuc - Director of Talent and Culture Hotel des Arts Saigon For our hotel, we will only need to hire 8-10 per cent staff to expand the business as we recruited enough staff for the operation. However, the hospitality industry will still face many difficulties when it comes to recruitment issues. First of all, there was a sudden increase in the number of tourists last year, so it was quite challenging to hire employees to support the business during peak season. Many people left the industry in recent years and this led to the severe lack of experienced employees. Digitalisation will play a significant role in not only tourism but also in other industries. Nowadays, our customers are young people who have a strong passion for travelling and exploring new horizons. They find it easier to get access to information through different sources and platforms. Therefore, digitalisation in tourism becomes important. AI and Industry 4.0 tools will become much more popular in tourism and travel sector. Before deciding to take a trip, the first thing people always do is to look for information and advice. The need for accurate and fast information can help them choose the best place or the most suitable time with reasonable price. If people working in tourism can make good use of AI, they can benefit a lot from it. Pham Qui Toan - CEO, Gumi Solutions Currently, there is no shortage of businesses providing products and services for digital transformation, but meeting customers demands and ensuring the effectiveness after implementing digital transformation remain problems many firms face. Therefore, we continue to look for team members who have knowledge of service consulting, with highly professional analysis skills, and good technical capacity to be able to solve customers pain points. Lacking of practical experience is a challenge for Vietnamese personnel. Although universities and IT training centres already provide basic knowledge to students, many fields in IT require practical experience to put that knowledge into practice. Schools need to work closely with companies to meet practical needs; students internship should start from the third year. There should be practical projects that students can participate in instead of learning basic and fragmented knowledge. In addition to professional knowledge, IT human resources also need soft skills such as communication, teamwork, time and stress management, and research. However, many students and IT staff in Vietnam lack these skills, making it difficult to work effectively with colleagues and customers. Vietnam lucrative market for digital economy Vietnam is believed to be a lucrative market for digital economy with the second fastest growth pace in the world last year, after India. Digital economy to reach $50 billion by 2050 The scale of Vietnam's digital economy could hit $50 billion by 2050, of which, e-commerce will be the most important contributor. AI wave set to sweep tech market The trend for digital transformation and the push from new technology have created momentum for platforms and products applying AI to develop in Vietnam. McLennan Theatre continues its post-pandemic revival with a return to the large-scale musicals it did regularly before the pandemic, with the undead, near-dead and thinking-about-dead lending a hand in its production of The Addams Family. A 25-actor company performs the 2010 musical, accompanied by a 12-piece orchestra, in performances tonight through Saturday at McLennan Community College, with tonights performance part of the Hearts in the Arts Gala. For MCC choreographer Joseph Taylor, its a welcome opportunity to focus on the dancing end of things, with colleague Kelly Parker handling directing duties, Daniel Farris leading the music direction, Benjamin Mason on scenic design and Kathleen Laundy on costuming and makeup a familiar division of directing duties for larger musicals. The Addams Family is McLennan Theatres largest musical since Chicago in February 2020, performed weeks before the community college and theater shut down to slow COVID-19 spread, the first of what would be various disruptions over the next two years. The theaters musicals since Chicago, Clue the Musical and last years Little Shop of Horrors, have gradually increased in company size. In fact, The Addams Family was large enough that the production had to draw on community talent to supplement the MCC student cast, with actors coming from the Waco Civic Theatre and Silent House Theatre Company. The musicals storyline by creators Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice takes the darkly whimsical characters created by Charles Addams cartoons and the 1960s television series The Addams Family and puts them in a plot recognizable to fans of both musical and romantic comedy. Addams daughter Wednesday (Juliet Indergard) is contemplating marriage with normal boyfriend Lucas Beineke (Eduardo Perez). The thought of bringing a normal family into the circle of not-so-normal Addamses will not go well with her mother Morticia (Reanna Fornash), so Wednesday doesnt clear her invitation of Lucas parents Mal (Ethan Trueman) and Alice (Izzy Weaver) to the house for dinner with Mom first. She does tell Gomez (Nick Marquez), her dad, and swears him to secrecy. That little secret, when it becomes public, threatens the Addams parents marriage because Gomez had promised Morticia he never would keep secrets from her. Putting that relationship in jeopardy threatens the post-dead part of the family, the Ancestors, who find themselves locked out of the family crypt until Morticia and Gomez patch things up. Meanwhile, Uncle Fester (Charlie Jay) has fallen in love, too: with the moon. The jangled Addams family relations also affect Wednesdays brother Pugsley (Sarah Provencal), Grandma (Rachel Clark), butler Lurch (Randy Dockendorf) and some 15 family Ancestors before theres reconciliation at least in an Addams Family way. The Addams Family way a sweetly macabre, genially morbid view of the world proved a little challenging for the McLennan Theatre cast at first until they became familiar with the family characters as seen on television and film, Taylor said. The characters are so comic and some of our actors were not used to work that way, he said. But thats what people are coming to see. Those familiar with the series and movies should listen closely to Andrew Lippas score as he works in sly musical references from those into the stage musical, the choreographer noted. Editors note: The Friday and Saturday performances have sold out, but a waiting list will be held on each day. Baylor University and the Baptist General Convention of Texas announced this week their relationship will remain unchanged after a review that comes around once a decade. The most recent review of the agreement between the university and the convention, known as Texas Baptists, arrived at a time of concerns and rumors of friction between the two organizations over an LGBTQ student group Baylor formed last year. David Hardage, who stepped down as the conventions executive director late last year, announced in August that discussions over their 2011 agreement would start, after a delay caused by the pandemic. Publications including the Baptist Standard, Baptist News Global and the Baylor Lariat student newspaper drew connections between the review and the newly formed LGBTQ student group, Prism. In a statement posted to the Texas Baptists website in May, shortly after Prism was formed, Hardage wrote that the convention had heard from members concerned about the new Baylor group. There has been some confusion regarding the groups chartering, and we are seeking clarification to determine the best course of action moving forward, Hardage wrote. The BGCTs position on Human Sexuality and Biblical marriage has not and will not change. The convention provides about $1.3 million to Baylor in scholarships, student ministry activities and financial aid for convention-affiliated pastors, ministers and their families, and will continue to do so, according to a joint statement the convention and university released Tuesday announcing the agreement defining their relationship would remain unchanged. This relationship enables the BGCT to offer a positive, Christ-centered influence on the issues confronting Baylors campus, will strengthen the presence of Baptist Student Ministry on Baylors campus, and will ensure our continued partnership with the George W. Truett Theological Seminary, convention Associate Executive Director Craig Christina said in the statement. Prism, which Baylor announced in April 2022, came after university administrators for years rebuffed efforts by unofficial LGBT groups on campus seeking an official charter. Over the decades, Baylors student life department rejected other LGBTQ groups charter applications on the logic the groups were too political in nature and in violation of university policies against advocacy groups in conflict with the universitys Statement on Human Sexuality. Christian churches across the ages and around the world have affirmed purity in singleness and fidelity in marriage between a man and a woman as the biblical norm, the current statement says. Temptations to deviate from this norm include both heterosexual sex outside of marriage and homosexual behavior. It is thus expected that Baylor students will not participate in advocacy groups which promote understandings of sexuality that are contrary to biblical teaching. A page on the Baylor website, under the diversity heading titled Human Sexuality at Baylor University, states Baylor is committed to providing a caring, loving and supportive community for students in all aspects of their lives, including the development of their sexuality. GC2 considered Doug Weaver, interim chair of Baylors department of religion, said members of the Baptist General Convention of Texas about eight months ago were considering adopting a statement of faith called GC2, a name referring to the Great Commission and Great Commandment. The GC2 includes affirmations of the Trinity, virgin birth, local church autonomy, biblical inerrancy, the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death, that gender is a gift from God at birth and that one man and one woman in a covenant relationship with the Lord and one another is the definition of biblical marriage. Weaver said it was not clear if institutions connected with the convention would be subject to the CG2 tenets, or if Prism would be considered a violation, adding to speculation about the relationship between the convention and university. There was some discussion as to whether that document would be used for scholarship recipients, whether they would have to sign it, Weaver said. It has not been decided, yes or no. He said the convention still has not adopted GC2. They backed off that, Weaver said. History The Baptist General Convention of Texas has had a formal relationship with Baylor since the university was founded in 1845, and the convention still nominates a quarter of Baylors board of regents. The relationship has been defined by a special agreement for more than 30 years, and the agreement they recently agreed to continue without changes has been in its current form since 2011, according to their joint announcement this week. Not so long ago, the Baptist General Convention of Texas was considered one of the few moderate Baptist holdouts in the South as fundamentalist factions took control over most Baptist conventions, Weaver said. I dont think any observer, any historian is going to dispute that theyve moved to the right politically, Weaver said in an interview in August, after the convention announced the review of its agreement with Baylor. Weaver said as the Southern Baptist Convention moved theologically and politically to the right it was churches in Virginia and Texas that resisted through the 1990s. That did not stop Herb Reynolds, Baylors president from 1981 to 1995, from worrying. He didnt want the school to be under the thumb of a fundamentalist movement that was taking over the Southern Baptist Convention, taking over a lot of state Baptist conventions, Weaver said. Weaver said the shift was part of the larger development of the religious right as a force in American politics. For him the conflict truly began in 1979, the same year Jerry Falwell helped found the Moral Majority political organization. Its called a conservative resurgence by those who liked it. It was called a fundamentalist takeover by those who opposed it, he said. Core fundamentalist beliefs included inerrancy, the belief that the Bible is without error. Weaver said the word became the battle cry that anyone hoping to be appointed to a Southern Baptist Convention agency had to echo and became a sort of litmus test to filter out moderates. The moderate group said inerrancy wasnt the only way to understand the Bible, and that the real issue was power, Weaver said. Funeral arrangements are pending for two people killed in an apartment fire Saturday near Richland Mall, and the local Red Cross chapter is helping others who were displaced by the fire. FA Green, owner and funeral director of Robertson Funeral and Cremation in Marlin, confirmed Wednesday that Sophia Delores Jones Strother-Brooks, 64, and Jerry Wayne Brooks, 69, died in the fire. Funeral services will be arranged through Robertson Funeral and Cremation, but a time and date had not been finalized Wednesday afternoon. Green also confirmed Strother-Brooks was the mother of Sophia Strother-Lewis, who has organized many Juneteenth celebrations in Waco and Marlin and has led awareness and advocacy efforts on domestic violence and sexual abuse. The Waco Fire Department responded at about 7 a.m. Friday to the fire at Three 44 Apartments, 344 Richland Drive. At the time, department officials said the fire started in an upstairs apartment, where two adults were found dead. The fire also displaced 12 adults and 12 children. They will receive assistance through the Heart of Texas Chapter of the American Red Cross as long as needed, spokesperson Delia Castillo Gonzalez said in an email Monday. People who are interested in helping others recover from disasters like home fires can do so by signing up to become a volunteer at redcross.org/volunteer or by donating at redcross.org/donate, Castillo Gonzalez said. She said Red Cross volunteers provide emotional support, help families find a place to stay, clothes to wear and other necessities, and assist with recovery. Beam signing ceremony Community supporters of G.W. Carver Middle School may sign the final beam to be installed in the new school between 1 and 5 p.m. Thursday at the school site, 1601 J.J. Flewellen Road. The steel beam, which will carry the signatures of students, parents and other school supporters, will be installed above the entrance of the new building. The new school is expected to open for classes this fall. Gospel music concert In honor of Black History Month, Bledsoe-Miller Community Center will host the annual Gospel Explosion from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the city of Waco Multi-Purpose Center, 1020 Elm Ave. The celebration is free to attend. Groups performing include Generation Now, Heavenly Voices, Judah Worship Church, Miriams Army, Praise in Motion, Rejoice, St. Paul A.M.E. Church and Waco Community Choir. NAACP banquet The Waco NAACP Scholarship banquet will start at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Lee Lockwood Library and Museum, 2801 W. Waco Drive. Tickets cost $50 each and are available at eventbrite.com. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. Dinner will be catered by Sascees Southern Eatery. The event will mark the Waco NAACPs 87th anniversary. Michael Hurd, former director of the Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture, is the featured speaker. Business expo Richland Mall, 6001 W. Waco Drive, will have a Black-Owned Business Expo from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. It will offer an opportunity to shop and support local Black-owned small businesses from Richland Mall and surrounding areas. The expo will be filled with vendors showcasing their services and products. Rattlesnake roundup The Oglesby Lions Club will have its 53rd annual Rattlesnake Roundup from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Oglesby Community Center, 117 Main St. in Oglesby. Cost is $5 per person, or free for kids under 6 years old. Victorian to speak Waco Police Chief Sheryl Victorian will be the guest Friday at Baylor Lifelong Learnings morning coffee. Victorian will speak from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Mayborn Museum, 1300 S. University Parks Drive. Refreshments will be served beginning at 9:30 a.m. Lifelong Learning coffee events are free and do not require advance registration. This is a monthly feature on someone who makes a difference in other peoples lives. To submit someone for consideration, email ken.sury@wacotrib.com. About Josh Born in Mexia to Jaime and Rocio Blake, Joshs family moved to Waco when he was 4. Josh went to Waco ISD schools and graduated from Waco High. He attended architecture school at USC for a year, then worked in a ministry in East Texas for three years. He returned to Waco, attending Baylor and graduating with a bachelors degree in psychology. Two days after graduation, Josh moved to Bangkok, Thailand, and taught English to third- and fourth-grade students for a year. Returning to Waco, Josh became a case worker for MHMR for four years. He joined Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey as a funeral services assistant, earning his funeral directors license in 2016. He transitioned into the chief operating officers role five years ago. He is single and his extensive family includes two sisters in Waco Sarai Cuevas and Abigail Blake. Hobbies include tennis, pickleball, running the Cameron Park trails and traveling. He is a member of First Woodway Baptist Church. A psychology degree from Baylor has proved beneficial for Josh Blakes work in the funeral industry. Blake has been at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home for 8 years, the last five as chief operating officer. After four years with MHMR (now the Heart of Texas Behavioral Health Network), he joined WHB as a funeral services assistant. He then began helping families prearrange their services and started mortuary school online through Amarillo College. He became a licensed funeral director in 2016, and before long transitioned in the COO role. He said the skills learned in psychology are so important in dealing the people who come to WHB after a loved one died. Youre meeting people where theyre at, Blake said. When they come here theyve experienced a loss. So theyre grieving. And some of them may not be at their best. Its important to gain their trust so that you can guide them through the process. With psychology you can sympathize better and understand their mental state that theyre in, and therefore be able to serve them appropriately. As COO he tries to stay attentive, too, to the WHB staff and provide the support they may need. Even before joining WHB, Blake was good friends with Hatch Bailey, WHBs fourth-generation owner and president, knowing his children and his parents. Hatch has four sons, and hell often introduce me as like a fifth son, he said. To me, his sons are like brothers. Growing up he was a mentor and then coming here I got to have even a deeper, better relationship connection with him as far as a mentor and helping with the management of his business. And so even through were technically not blood family, it feels like I work for the family business. Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home is in its 98th year of operation. Blake said that like all small businesses, employees wear multiple hats. I started taking on other responsibilities and Hatch had me in leadership training, management training. I showed interest, took on some responsibilities and Hatch nurtured it. Blake is well regarded in the industry, recently finishing three years on the board and one year as president of the Selected Independent Funeral Homes Association, an invitation-only group that dates to 1917. Blake was the associations youngest president (37 at the time; hes 39 now); its first non-owner and its first minority. The association recently presented him with the 2023 NextGen Professional of the Year Award, which highlights career achievements and community involvement of funeral processionals under age 50. It noted that during the pandemic, Blake pivoted regular operations to serve the community while retaining as many team members as possible. He coordinated staff vaccinations while refining virtual arrangements and livestreaming services. Blakes community involvement includes the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Leadership Network (serving on a mentorship committee) and the city of Waco TIF board. Theres a sense of responsibility wanting to do whats best for the business, for the Bailey family, and also for the Waco community, he said. Ive enjoyed getting to give back to the community that help raised me and gave me so much. Working here, its very rewarding. Im not only serving families through the funeral home, but also the community by serving on boards and volunteering. WAHOO A Local Working Group that provides advice on the priorities for many U.S. Department of Agriculture conservation programs will meet Tuesday, Feb. 28, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Lower Platte North Headquarters, located at 511 Commercial Park Road in Wahoo. The public is encouraged to attend and express their natural resource concerns. Ideas generated from the public will help the U.S. Department of Agriculture tailor their natural resource programs to meet the needs identified locally. There is a Local Working Group established within each Natural Resources District (NRD) throughout the state of Nebraska. Membership on the Local Working Group includes federal, state, county, tribal or local government representatives according to Mark Walkenhorst, district conservationist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) whose agency guides the Local Working Group for the Lower Platte North NRD. The Local Working Group recommends to the NRCS State Conservationist how conservation programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), or Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) would be used most effectively in their area. This recommendation can include special target areas, cost share rates on conservation programs, which conservation practices should have cost assistance, or how many dollars could be needed, said Walkenhorst. This work group allows local input into how Federal dollars are spent, he said. Typically, Nebraska NRCS obligates anywhere between $45 million to over $75 million dollars to farmers and ranchers statewide through NRCS conservation programs. These programs helped landowners and operators make natural resource improvements to their land, water, or wildlife. This funding was allocated according to the priorities set by the Local Working Group. For more information about the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the programs and services they provide, contact your local USDA Service Center or www.ne.nrcs.usda.gov. DES MOINES Marijuana would be legal for recreational use, previous convictions for non-violent possession charges would be removed from an individuals criminal record, and the states medical cannabis program would be expanded under legislation introduced Tuesday by Democratic state lawmakers. The proposal is not likely to become state law any time soon, since Republican state lawmakers in leadership and Gov. Kim Reynolds have in the past opposed any efforts to legalize marijuana in Iowa. Nationally, 21 states have legalized recreational marijuana, including Iowa neighbors Missouri and Illinois. Minnesota state lawmakers are considering legislation to legalize marijuana there. It is time, said Iowa Rep. Jennifer Konfrst, a Windsor Heights resident and leader of the minority-party House Democrats. Konfrst argued that legalizing marijuana would keep sales tax revenue in Iowa instead of sending it to other states, it would preserve state resources that currently go toward enforcing marijuana laws, and it would increase the quality of life for Iowans with chronic illnesses. She also noted legal recreational marijuana use is popular with a majority of Iowa voters: 54% of Iowans said they support legalizing recreational pot in a 2021 Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Poll. It is across party lines. It is across the place where you live in the state: rural, urban and suburban. And it is time to do this, Konfrst said. House Democrats proposal would tax marijuana sales at 10% and revenue would be split three ways: 35% to fund scholarships for Iowa college students, 32.5% to mental health services and substance abuse programs, and 32.5% to local law enforcement agencies. Imagine that kind of revenue to Iowa schools, mental health services and local public safety, said Iowa Rep. Lindsay James, a Democrat from Dubuque, who introduced the proposal along with Konfrst. The state agency that currently regulates alcohol laws would oversee marijuana sales in Iowa under Democrats proposal. The proposal also would allow Iowans convicted of misdemeanor marijuana possession without any convictions for violent crimes to request the courts to remove the possession conviction from their record. James and Konfrst said House Democrats examined legal marijuana programs in other states in order to glean best practices for their proposal. The Republicans who lead the Houses public safety and judiciary committees said the proposal will not advance in the House, where Republicans hold the agenda-setting majority. I have been clear in the past that I do not believe marijuana legalization is the right path forward for Iowa, said Rep. Steve Holt, a Republican from Denison who chairs the judiciary committee. This is not an issue that has received much support from the judiciary committee in my time as chair, and I do not expect this session to be different. Iowans have expressed a very different set of priorities to me and my Republican colleagues. Added Rep. Phil Thompson, a Republican from Jefferson who chairs the public safety committee, I dont have any interest in moving it without broad Republican support, and I dont think we have that. The Democrats proposal was still being drafted, they said Tuesday, and thus does not yet have a bill number. Officials said they expect the bill to be filed Wednesday. WATERLOO -- Katinka Keith will speak about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in a program hosted by the Black Hawk County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. She is with MercyOne Behavioral Health Care and has been a therapist since 1987. The program is scheduled for Wednesday, March 8 from 7 to 8 p.m. It will take place in the lower level of the First Congregational Church in Waterloo, at 608 West Fourth St. For more information call (319) 830-6448. PHOTOS: Nikki Haley in Iowa Election 2024 Haley APTOPIX Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley WATERLOO -- The public is invited to join the Waterloo Community Foundation on Wednesday, March 1 at 11 a.m. to hear from the Riverview Center about the services they provide. The Riverview Center assists survivors of sexual and domestic violence through their Waterloo Crisis Intervention Program. Community members can join the free presentation by contacting Paige Price at paige.price@wloocommunityfoundation.org. Windows on Waterloo is a Zoom educational series offered by the Waterloo Community Foundation which serves to highlight community organizations and the work they do. PHOTOS: Nikki Haley in Iowa Election 2024 Haley APTOPIX Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley Election 2024 Haley PIERRE, S.D. A brutal winter storm closed interstate highways from Arizona to Wyoming Wednesday, trapped drivers in cars, knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people and prompted the first blizzard warning in Southern California in decades and the worst won't be over for several days. Few places were untouched by the wild weather, including some at the opposite extreme: long-standing record highs were broken in cities in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic and Southeast. The wintry mix hit hard in the northern U.S., closing schools, offices, even shutting down the Minnesota Legislature. Travel was difficult. Weather contributed to more than 1,600 U.S. flight cancellations, according to the tracking service FlightAware. More than 400 of those were due to arrive or depart from the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Another 5,000-plus flights were delayed across the country. The roads were just as bad. In Wyoming, rescuers tried to reach people stranded in vehicles but high winds and drifting snow created a "near-impossible situation" for them, said Sgt. Jeremy Beck of the Wyoming Highway Patrol. "They know their locations, it's just hard for them to get them," he said. Wyoming's Transportation Department posted on social media that roads across much of the southern part of the state were impassable. In the Pacific Northwest, high winds and heavy snow in the Cascade Mountains prevented search teams from reaching the bodies of three climbers killed in an avalanche on Washington's Colchuck Peak over the weekend. Two experts from the Northwest Avalanche Center were hiking to the scene Wednesday to determine if conditions might permit a recovery attempt later this week. Powerful winds were the biggest problem in California, toppling trees and power lines. By Wednesday evening, more than 65,000 customers in the state were without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us. A 1-year-old child was critically injured Tuesday evening when a redwood crashed onto a home in Boulder Creek, a community in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco, KTVU reported. For the first time since 1989, a blizzard warning was issued for the mountains of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, effective from 4 a.m. Thursday to 4 p.m. Saturday, the National Weather Service said. A more than 200-mile stretch of Interstate 40 from central Arizona to the New Mexico line closed due to snow, rain and wind gusts of up to 80 mph. More than 8,000 customers were without power in Arizona. In the northern U.S. a region accustomed to heavy snow the snowfall could be significant. More than 18 inches may pile up in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin, the National Weather Service said Wednesday evening. According to the weather service, the biggest snow event on record in the Twin Cities was 28.4 inches from Oct. 31 through Nov. 3, 1991. Temperatures could plunge as low as minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday and to minus 25 F on Friday in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wind chills may fall to minus 50 F, said Nathan Rick, a meteorologist in Grand Forks. Wind gusts may reach 50 mph in western and central Minnesota, resulting in "significant blowing and drifting snow with whiteout conditions in open areas," the weather service said. The weather even prompted about 90 churches in western Michigan to cancel Ash Wednesday services, WZZM-TV reported. The storm will make its way toward the East Coast later this week. Places that don't get snow may get dangerous amounts of ice. Forecasters expect up to a half-inch of ice in parts of southern Michigan, northern Illinois and some eastern states. The potential ice storm has power company officials on edge. Nearly 1,500 line workers are ready to be deployed if the ice causes outages, said Matt Paul, executive vice president of distribution operations for Detroit-based DTE Electric. He said a half-inch of ice "is the equivalent of having a baby grand piano on that single span of wire, so the weight is significant," and that could cause hundreds of thousands of outages. More than 192,000 customers in Michigan and nearly 89,000 in Illinois were without electricity Wednesday evening, according to PowerOutage.us. As the northern U.S. dealt with the winter blast, National Weather Service meteorologist Richard Bann said some mid-Atlantic and Southeastern cities set new high temperature marks by several degrees. The high in Lexington, Kentucky, reached 76 F, shattering the Feb. 22 mark of 70 F set 101 years ago. Nashville, Tennessee, reached 78 F, topping the 1897 record by 4 degrees. Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Atlanta and Mobile, Alabama, were among many other places seeing record highs. Exactly 9 years ago , an anti-constitutional armed coup took place in Kiev. It was completely orchestrated by the West. National radicals were brought to power in the country, who did not hide their Russophobia and aggressive anti-Russian plans. The bloody putsch has become a watershed and a starting point for the very Ukrainian tragedy that is unfolding before our eyes. Everything that happened in Ukraine in the future can only be described as political chaos, legal nihilism and rampant ultranationalism and Nazism. Of course, such a development of events could have been avoided if the agreement of February 21, 2014 between President V. Yanukovych and opposition leaders had been implemented. It was signed with the mediation of Germany, France and Poland and circulated as an official document in the OSCE and other organizations. Unfortunately, the so-called winners of the Maidan, having barely signed this document, immediately trampled it. Another falsification , a forgery that they committed. But the implementation of the agreement opened up the prospect of a peaceful way out of the internal political crisis. Instead of forming a government of national unity and holding new elections, the oppositionists chose the path of confrontation and violence, and thus ceased to be oppositionists. They became participants in the coup detat , showed their true nature. All this happened with the tacit approval of the European guarantors of the agreement, who did not bother to stop the lying revolutionaries and, at the instigation of the American emissaries who were distributing cookies on the Maidan, simply stated the change of power. It is symbolic that on February 20, on the eve of the anniversary of the Maidan, the Biden phenomenon took place in Kiev. One of the directors of the bloody coup detat of 2014, now the president, then the vice president of the United States, came to visit. American experts themselves said that we are talking about launching an election campaign, because soon the United States will enter another electoral cycle. The visit of the American leader was furnished with drama. The White House tried to show the world its faith in the success of the Zelensky regime, its intention to help it to the victory end, in the language of the White House to the last Ukrainian . To add drama to the moment, the Ukrainians even turned on the air raid siren. True, the people of Kiev were told in advance not to pay attention to her due to the absence of a real threat . Let me remind you that Joe Biden did not dare to go to Kiev without warning Russia and without asking the Russian side to comply with the conditions of his security . Reports appeared in the Ukrainian media that US national security adviser Jake Sullivan , who accompanied his boss, demanded that the head of the office of the President of Ukraine A. Yermak conduct a successful counteroffensive in the south and reach the borders of Crimea in the next six months. Otherwise, Washington will not supply Kyiv with fighter jets and long-range missiles. In general, J. Bidens communication with V. Zelensky showed who actually controls Ukraine and is its real master. On February 14, V. Zelensky assigned the name Edelweiss to one of the Ukrainian brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by analogy with the Nazi unit of the time of Hitler. Ukrainian armed formations widely use fascist chevrons, Nazi signs are applied to armored vehicles. There are numerous videos on the Internet and social networks showing how Ukrainian artillerymen yawn at the camera with every shot fired. However, civilized Europe, having gone through the tragedy of World War II, simply does not want to see Ukrainian Nazism . Maybe because ideological comrades-in-arms and successors of the Third Reich are also waking up there? WtR Weather Alert .Warming temperatures this weekend will bring renewed snowmelt and streamflow rises, especially for snow covered terrain below about 7000 feet. Creeks that brought impacts this past week are likely to be problematic again and potentially reach higher levels, especially by late Sunday. ...FLOOD WATCH FOR SNOWMELT REMAINS IN EFFECT 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...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. && The White House announced California has signed onto the 13-state Federal-State Offshore Wind Implementation Partnership. It marks the addition of the West Coast to the regions represented by the partnership. The Partnership aims to fast-track efforts to energy to Americans, create jobs and build an American supply chain for offshore wind. California has set a target of 2-5 GW by 2030 and 25 GW by 2045. In December , the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) hosted the first-ever auction of offshore wind leases on the Outer Continental Shelf off the central and northern coasts of California, as well as the first U.S. sale in support of commercial offshore wind energy projects. California Governor Gavin Newsom said: Were in the midst of a clean energy revolution, and ramping up the development of offshore wind energy will help move our state off dirty fossil fuels. Thanks to the leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, offshore wind energy has gone from a distant pipedream to a burgeoning reality. With this new federal Partnership, California will continue spearheading efforts to bring offshore wind energy to the West Coast while creating thousands of good jobs and tackling the climate crisis. Numerous other US states are progressing offshore wind development with President Biden having set a national goal to deploy 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030 back in January 2021. This was followed in September 2022 with a goal of 15 GW of floating wind by 2035. Earlier this week 4C Offshore reported that the US Department of the Interior proposed the first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. So far, only two projects have hit the water, Block Island which was commissioned in 2017 followed by Coastal Virginia in 2020. Vineyard Wind 1 , poised to be the first commercial scale offshore wind project in the United States, is expected to start offshore construction this year with first power slated for 2023 ahead of commissioning in 2024. Galileo and Hope Group have launched a new joint venture (JV), named Barium Bayn dedicated to additional floating wind development in Italys Adriatic Sea. The plant will have a target capacity of 1,100MW and will be using floating offshore wind technology. The project, carrying the same name as the joint venture, will be positioned over 40 kilometres from the shoreline, spread from Barium to north of Barletta. According to the joint venture partners, the wind farm will feature 74 wind turbines of 15 MW each and be able to capture wind speeds sufficient to produce over 3 billion kilowatt hours. They claim this will meet the annual electricity demand of over one million Italian households. The joint venture is currently completing the necessary environmental and technical studies, with the objective to file its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) application within summer 2023. In parallel, the JV will begin a 24-month wind measurement campaign at sea together with Eolos Floating Lidar Solutions, the Spanish firm specialised in this sector. We are enthusiastic and satisfied for having strengthened our partnership with Galileo. This confirms the validity of our collaboration and the synergies arising from it, thanks to which we developed competencies making us a reference in the growing Italian offshore wind market. Barium Bay is an incredible opportunity also for the local community, which can become a hub of new capabilities for the energy transition. We are impressed by the positive and constructive discussions that we are having, on a daily basis, with local and national institutions: this makes us optimistic about the next steps of the project said Michele Scoppio, CEO of Hope Group. Barium Bay is a landmark project thanks to both its scale and potential contribution to Italys energy transition using exclusively local energy sources. The Adriatic Sea offers a winning combination of key factors that make floating offshore wind projects highly attractive for Italy: good wind speeds, vast areas, and suitable connection solutions to the national grid. Finding a valid answer to cover the electricity needs of over a million Italian households is a great source of motivation and determination! affirms Ingmar Wilhelm, Galileos Chief Executive Officer. The announcement follows the filing of an EIA application with the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security and to the Ministry of Culture on 30 December 2022 by Lupiae Maris. It concerned a 525 MW floating offshore wind project in Apulia (Italy) . With a total 35 turbines to be installed off the coast of Brindisi and Lecce the project is expected to provide power for around 500,000 homes. Galileo and Hope Group they will use the same technology for the newly announced Barium Bayn project Apulia, Italy, as it will for the the Brindisi and Lecce project. For more information on floating offshore wind farms worldwide, click here . US government unveils plans for Gulf of Mexico offshore wind lease sale By: Tom Russell DOI Rougemont Production Testing Update and Grant of ATP 2069 Brisbane, Feb 23, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - State Gas Limited ( ASX:GAS ) ( STGSF:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to advise further encouraging results from continued production testing of the combined Rougemont-2 vertical well and Rougemont-3 lateral wells ("Rougemont"). Despite the Bandanna coal seams still being covered by 120 metres of water, daily gas production at Rougemont 2/3 is now exceeding 100,000 cubic feet of gas per day. The rapid increase in daily gas production, during the past week since the Company's last announcement (16 February 2023), continues to indicate the excellent permeability of Rougemont's coals and the possibility of extremely high gas production levels from the pilot well. Executive Chairman, Richard Cottee said "Despite the coals still being subject to approximately 120 metres of water pressure, the gas production rate has increased by 50,000 scft/day in just eight days - quite a step up." While de-watering activities continue at Rougemont 2/3, the Company is now planning the evaluation of the area surrounding Rougemont for the purposes of establishing a substantial gas reserve. "Bringing substantial new gas supply to market quickly from Rougemont will help alleviate the inevitable Eastern Seaboard gas shortfall," Mr Cottee said. Award of ATP 2069 In May 2022, State Gas announced that in joint venture with Santos QNT Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Santos Limited ( ASX:STO ) ( SSLTY:OTCMKTS ), it had been appointed as preferred tenderer of two substantial highly prospective coal seam gas exploration areas (PLR 2021-1-2 and PLR 2021-1-3). As shown in Figure 1*, these areas are adjacent to the Arcadia Valley gas field and are contiguous with existing project areas held by State Gas and Santos, offering potential development synergies for that area and economies of scale around capital, operations and off-take. The Company is pleased to advise that ATP 2069 has now been formally granted over the PLR 2021-1-3 area, permitting commencement of early works. Mr Cottee said "The way is now clear to accelerate the exploration and evaluation of ATP 2068 (previously granted) and ATP 2069 in conjunction with our joint venture partner Santos. Those strategically located tenements present a unique opportunity to bring online another substantial high quality gas resource in a known gas producing region that is well located to infrastructure at a time when new gas supply is critical," Mr Cottee said. Earlier this week, the importance of this CSG province was highlighted with the announcement of federal environmental approval for 116 new CSG wells in the Bandanna Coal Formation within the neighbouring Arcadia Valley gas field. *To view tables and figures, please visit: https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/X9FQ5975 About Santos Limited Santos (ASX:STO) is one of the leading independent oil and gas producers in the Asia-Pacific region, supplying the energy needs of homes, businesses and major industries across Australia and Asia. With its origins in the Cooper Basin, Santos has one of the largest exploration and production acreages in Australia and extensive infrastructure and is committed to supplying the domestic markets, unlocking resources and driving value and performance. Underpinned by a portfolio of high-quality liquefied natural gas (LNG), pipeline gas and oil assets, Santos seeks to deliver long-term value to shareholders. Santos' foundations are based on safe, sustainable operations and working together with our shareholders, host communities, governments and business partners. About State Gas Limited State Gas Limited (ASX:GAS) is a Queensland-based developer of the Reid's Dome gas field, originally discovered during drilling in 1955, located in the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland. State Gas is 100%-owner of the Reid's Dome Gas Project (PL-231) a CSG and conventional gas play, which is well-located 30 kilometres southwest of Rolleston, approximately 50 kilometres from the Queensland Gas Pipeline and interconnected east coast gas network. Permian coal measures within the Reid's Dome Beds are extensive across the entire permit but the area had not been explored for coal seam gas prior to State Gas' ownership. In late 2018 State Gas drilled the first coal seam gas well in the region (Nyanda-4) into the Reid's Dome Beds and established the potential for a significant coal seam gas project in PL 231. The extension of the coal measures into the northern and central areas of the permit was confirmed in late 2019 by the Company's drilling of Aldinga East-1A (12 km north) and Serocold-1 (6 km to the north of Nyanda-4). State Gas is also the 100% holder Authority to Prospect 2062 ("Rolleston-West"), a 1,414 km2 permit (eight times larger than PL 231) that is contiguous with the Reid's Dome Gas Project. Rolleston-West contains highly prospective targets for both coal seam gas (CSG) and known conventional gas within the permit area. It is not restricted by domestic gas reservation requirements. The contiguous areas (Reid's Dome and Rolleston-West), under sole ownership by State Gas, enable integration of activities and a unified super-gasfield development, providing economies of scale, efficient operations, and optionality in marketing. State Gas is implementing its strategic plan to bring gas to market from Reid's Dome and Rolleston-West to meet near term forecast shortfalls in the east coast domestic gas market. The strategy involves progressing a phased appraisal program in parallel with permitting for an export pipeline and development facilities to facilitate the fastest possible delivery of gas to market. State Gas' current focus has been to confirm the producibility of the gas through production testing of the wells. Tinsley Ellis learned a lot about himself by not touring for two years. While he had forgotten how nice it was to stay at home, the blues guitarist was able to work on his songwriting skills during his time off the road. To get back to his musical roots, he began composing on amps and guitars that he hadnt used for decades. He explored obscure studio and live recordings from some of his greatest musical heroes, such as the Allman Brothers, Freddie King, Michael Bloomfield, B.B. King and beyond, and was inspired by his favorite artists all over again. It was nice not to have a deadline, he says. I wrote about 200 songs during that 18 months. It was a creative breakthrough. Ellis released the album, Devil May Care, in Jan. 2022, which is his 20th full-length studio album. He is currently on a special acoustic tour across the country. He will perform twice in New Mexico at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, at The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing in Santa Fe, and then at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, at Fusion 708, in Albuquerque. Ellis says his previous tours have had an acoustic portion to the set. This tour is completely Ellis and his guitars. This is the full extension of the acoustic show, he says. Its fun to talk about how I wrote the songs. I do some quirky covers like a few from Gregg Allman and Bob Dylan. I even throw ins some Delta blues. (The set) is a mixture of those things. Ellis says being on stage alone with only his guitars, is freeing because hes able to turn on a dime. With a band, you have to work with a specific set, he says. Im able to feel out what the audience likes and compose my set to the audience. Im going to be doing this for 64 shows and Im excited for audiences to be seeing a different side of myself. Prior to the beginning of his tour, Ellis performed at Capricorn Studios in Macon, Georgia. I pulled out songs that had been recorded at the studio, he says. The set gave people a warm and fuzzy feeling. It added more fuel to the fire for this tour. Ellis says during the two years away from touring, he learned a lot of technical aspects to his writing process. I learned that Im a journeyman type of writer, he says. Ive found that many of the best songs are written in a day. It just flows out of you and I had many songs do that during the process. Ellis knows that his current tour is special. I would have never imagined myself doing a show like this when I was 20 years old, he says. I never thought it would be some kind of blues rock conversations. Ive been told my fans that they are enjoying taking part in the show. Its all stream of consciousness for me. This is a different dimension to not only myself, but the music. Looking around the restaurant scene in The City Different, there is a diverse landscape of more than 300 culinary options. And when analyzing the restaurant scene, there are two major food categories that rise to the top. Its no surprise that New Mexico food is prevalent, but pizza appears to be sitting in second place of popularity and frequency. There seem to be more pizza restaurants per capita in Santa Fe than in most cities. And while this is surprising, what makes this totally acceptable is that each of the dozens of pizza joints have a differentiating element. But with so many pizza spots, how do you even zero in on a favorite? It starts with the crust. Thin or thick or something in between. Sauce. Red sauce, white sauce or pesto. Cheese. A lot of cheese, light cheese or no cheese. And the baking method. Screaming hot oven, wood-fire burning oven or grill. Whether you want to eat pizza on a corner, from a food truck, on the rooftop, along the original Santa Fe Trail, in a bar, in a brewery, near the Plaza, outside of town, there are options for whatever kind of pizza you crave. A piping hot pizza is mandatory. But have you considered a HAWT pizza? What does HAWT mean? According to the HAWT Pizza website, owners Felicia Meyer and Seth Beckley propose several layers of meaning to HAWT. First, it stands for Have a Wonderful Time (HAWT), pronounced like hot. And then theres the 850-degree Texas oak wood-burning oven that cooks a pizza in 90 seconds. No matter which way you slice it, this pizza is HAWT, hot and haute! Located just off the Plaza in Hotel Chimayo de Santa Fes Low N Slow Bar, guests can enjoy a solid pizza while sipping suds, cocktails and wine in this cozy, but simple, space. The tight and thoughtful menu features eight creative pies ($13-19) to choose from, and a simple Arugula Side Salad ($6) with Parmesan cheese and served only with olive oil. Conveniently, HAWT also has a location at the very popular Sawmill Market in Albuquerque, both venues are owned by Heritage Hotels and Resorts. The pizza oven already existed in Hotel Chimayo, which made it easy for HAWT Pizza to dive into the Santa Fe market to build on their brand. The wood-fired oven is HAWTs claim to fame, and the Italian component to the pizza. Meyer explained that the dough is a combo of the chew people love from a New York pizza and the classic Neapolitan pizza, and that there is a real art to cooking these pizzas. An accountant by trade, Meyer says, My love of cooking pizza started years ago with a Weber grill in my backyard. After feeding people food they loved, I was encouraged by friends and family to open a restaurant. In 2011, I bought an imported oven from Italy, put it on a trailer and catered events, movie sets and more. When Seth and I were invited to be part of the inaugural launch of Albuquerques Sawmill Market in 2020, HAWT was born. Then we opened HAWT in Santa Fe in February 2021. As for the distinguishing factor that sets HAWT Pizza apart from the busy pizzeria landscape, Meyer says, Every kitchen is non-GMO and we strive really hard to bring the products to the market that are worth eating. From our cheese to our pepperoni, its a premium product. Ezzo sausage made in Ohio by the same family for 100 years. We field the products and we use Bianco DiNapoli organic tomatoes for the sauce, which is Chris Bianco in Phoenix, the king of Neapolitan pizza in the states. The menu and concept behind HAWT are a cross-between Neapolitan and New York style pizza. Neo-Neapolitan style is what they call it, says Meyer who wanted to pay homage to Italy and New York. We have different menus in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, but each menu focuses on a sense of place. For example, in Santa Fe, The Norteno ($19) is a nod to northern New Mexico, and like The Lobo in Albuquerque. Some pizzas are traditional Italian style with a few ingredients and then there are New York options with more toppings. The Norteno is one of the most popular pies in Santa Fe and its one my dining companion and I were drawn to. A red sauce is topped with Ezzo pepperoni, Kellers Farms Hot Italian sausage, mushrooms, green chile and basil. This perfectly spicy pizza speaks to meat lovers in a big way, and we were impressed. The crust is the Goldilocks standard of classic Neapolitan and New York chew providing a sturdy foundation for the generous meats that make this pizza a solid choice. We also had the Pizza Chimayo ($19) which features roasted garlic, Boars Head bacon and wood-fired chicken chunks. The pizza is then doused with spoonfuls of a gorgeous Chimayo red chile crema and topped with a handful of spicy arugula. The red chile crema is truly a spectacular addition to this pizza. Its so tasty, I recommend you request a side of the Chimayo red chile crema for every pizza. Its that singular and special. Of course no pizza joint would be complete without the classic Margherita ($15) with mozzarella, olive oil and freshly torn basil. And pepperoni fans will be happy with the Pepperoni ($16) which features an abundance of small but crispy, chewy and spicy pepperoni rounds. The New Mexico White pizza replaces the traditional red sauce with a garlic crema that is topped with wood fired chicken chunks, feta, green chile, oven-roasted garlic and basil. In one bite, you may eschew red sauce from here on. The Pesto ($19) pie uses basil pesto for the red sauce and is then topped with wood fired chicken chunks, artichokes, green chile, Kalamata olives and thinly-sliced red onion. And for vegetarians and vegans, HAWT has something for you as well. The Veggie ($18) pizza is loaded with roasted red pepper, artichoke hearts, red onion, Kalamata olives and basil, while the Vegan ($13) also adds mushrooms. When it comes to filmmaking, there are always obstacles that pop up. For Matt Page, hes been in the film industry long enough, that he rolls with the punches. The first obstacle for the Albuquerque-based filmmaker was rewriting the script for Cop Vs Killer. The script had been around for over a decade, Page says. We shot the movie about a year ago. Eighty percent of the movie was shot over 10 days. That wasnt by choice. We could only afford to pay people for 10 days. The hard work has paid off as Cop Vs Killer is set to premiere at the Santa Fe Film Festival at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24. The film tells the story of Sheriff Bill Abrams as he is attacked during a routine traffic stop. The would-be killer leaves him for dead, using his gun, badge and vehicle to terrorize the residents of a small desert town. Page says his debut feature film is a thriller in the style of No Country For Old Men meets The Hitcher. Page had a conversation with local producer Jim Burleson during the height of the pandemic about the feature film. After the meeting, Page went back home and began to dig up the script. I read it and I said to myself, Its not ready, Page recalls. I sat down and did a page one rewrite for a few days. I ended up rewriting it all from scratch and it improved immensely. Page sent it to Burleson and got the call to go down to Truth or Consequences to start shooting the establishing shots. The production was in principal photography on March 1, 2022. Page says Triangle U Studios Dan Schatzman and Jordan Hildebrant stepped in to provide facilities as well as financing which saved the production. It was insanely quick and Im glad I know that it can be done, Page says. I had written the movie not worrying about the size and scope. I wanted to expand as a creator and director. I felt like this opportunity wouldnt happen again. With more than a decade working in New Mexico, Page has built up plenty of respect from other filmmakers. This is where he reached out to those he knew in the industry for the cast. The film stars Burleson, Kevin Bankens, Jamie Bernadette, Chris Casamassa, Nora Cazares, Melissa Chambers, Joseph Conway, Tatiana Favela, Antony Golston, Stephanie Gutierrez, Zacciah Hanson, Victoria Harrington, Carmen Nadine Irwin, Elese Jones, Jessica Logeria, Jack Lutz, Rachel Michaela and Clint Obenchain. This film taught me that there is never enough time or resources, Page says. We were always figuring out how to get it done. Page has found success on YouTube with his webseries Enter the Dojo, which follows Pages Master Ken teaching martial arts. A feature film was always the goal for Page. Ive been building something like this my whole career, he says. Ive had meetings for years and getting roles. People have wanted to make a Master Ken movie. But the conversation would usually stop when interested parties didnt see a feature film from me. This is a big step forward and Im excited to share it with the world. SEND ME YOUR TIPS: If you know of a movie filming in the state, or are curious about one, email film@ABQjournal.com. Follow me on Twitter @agomezART. SANTA FE Young teenagers starting long adult sentences in New Mexico would have a shot at redemption under legislation gaining increased support at the Roundhouse. A bill to prohibit life sentences without the possibility of parole for juveniles won Senate approval 32-8 on Wednesday as it picked up some bipartisan support a contrast to last years partisan debate. I dont believe any individuals should be thrown away, Sen. Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, told her colleagues. I believe we should offer hope. The bill heads next to the House, with just over three weeks left in the session. It outlines a tiered schedule of parole hearings, giving serious youthful offenders a chance at release 15, 20 or 25 years into their sentence, depending on the severity of their underlying conviction. Release wouldnt be guaranteed, just a parole hearing. The legislation, Senate Bill 64, would also remove the sentencing option of sending someone to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a crime committed when they were 14 to 17 years old. A year ago, a similar proposal triggered some of the most intense, emotional debate of the session as lawmakers heard from families whod lost a loved one to violence and from young people whod seized their second chance after a youthful conviction. But the version moving through the Senate this year was revised to address objections from crime victims and prosecutors. The revisions include the tiered scheduled of parole hearings and language codifying how the Corrections Department will handle juveniles sentenced in multiple cases. Last years bill won Senate approval on a 23-15 vote along party lines. Eight Republican senators maintained their opposition to the bill Wednesday as they acknowledged difficult questions of forgiveness and justice. Senate Minority Leader Greg Baca, R-Belen, said judges already have the options they need to determine an appropriate sentence. He voted against the bill. What our system is set up for is for justice, Baca said. Its not to give you a hug at the end. Its not to make you feel better about yourself. Some opponents of last years version of the bill, however, changed their mind, thanking Sedillo Lopez and supporters for their work reaching out to prosecutors. The legislation is backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and others. Republican Sen. Ron Griggs of Alamogordo voted against the bill last year but credited supporters with reshaping the legislation since then. These are challenging questions for all of us, he said before voting yes. The legislation heads to the state House, where it died without a vote last year amid opposition from district attorneys. Carissa McGee who went to prison at 17 before turning her life around and founding a nonprofit group after her release watched from the public gallery Wednesday as the Senate debated the bill. The increased support, she said, was reassuring and refreshing to know that were headed in the right direction. A judge on Wednesday ordered a woman charged in a fatal suspected drunken-driving crash to complete required breath tests and other conditions of her release or remain in jail pending trial. Danielle Archuleta, 41, of San Felipe Pueblo faces one count of vehicular homicide (driving while intoxicated) in a wrong-way crash that killed Nikhil Adhi, 29, on Interstate 40 in January 2021. An out-of-state man, Adhi was travelling through New Mexico at the time he was killed, the 2nd Judicial District Attorneys Office said Wednesday. Ms. Archuleta is presumed innocent, Archuletas attorney, Noah Gelb, said in a written statement. Important questions remain about the strength of the evidence in this case and the thoroughness of the governments investigation. Archuleta is required to complete four Soberlink breathalyzer tests each day as a condition of her release, Rob Miller, a pre-trial services official, testified at a hearing Wednesday. Failure to complete a test by more than an hour is considered a missed test, he said. Archuleta had three such violations since her previous compliance hearing on Jan. 18, Miller said. Second Judicial District Judge Lucy Solimon warned Archuleta to comply with conditions of her release but did not order her held in custody. You can be held in jail until your trial date, Ms. Archuleta, Solimon said. Archuleta responded that she understood. Nancy Laflin, a spokeswoman for the DAs office, said a warrant was issued for Archuletas arrest on Feb. 1, 2021, a day after the fatal crash. She was arrested June 1, 2022. Archuleta was seriously injured in the crash, Laflin said. According to an arrest warrant filed in Metropolitan Court, Bernalillo County Sheriffs deputies responded shortly after midnight on Jan. 31, 2021, to a fatal two-car crash on I-40 in western Bernalillo County. Archuletas Honda Accord was travelling west in the eastbound lanes of I-40 when it collided head-on with Adhis Toyota Corolla, the affidavit said. Adhi died at the scene. Archuleta was transported to University of New Mexico Hospital, where deputies obtained a warrant to test Archuletas blood, it said. SANTA FE Legislation to expand automatic voter registration in New Mexico is headed back to the Senate, where last year it died in a session-ending filibuster. A new version of the bill arrived in the Senate on Wednesday, setting up another intense debate in the chamber, after the House passed the legislation on a 41-26 vote late Tuesday. Sen. Katy Duhigg, an Albuquerque Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill, said her Democratic colleagues remain dedicated to getting the New Mexico Voting Rights Act passed and signed into law. Republican lawmakers opposed a similar bill last year questioning the propriety of automatic registration, among other objections and it died as Sen. William Sharer of Farmington held the Senate floor for the final hours of the session. This years legislation, House Bill 4, touches on a host of New Mexico election laws and procedures, ranging from secure ballot drop boxes to quicker restoration of felons voting rights. Democracy thrives when we eliminate the unnecessary and cumbersome barriers to being involved in the process, Duhigg said, and the New Mexico Voting Rights Act reaffirms our states commitment to safeguarding the sacred right to vote. One of the most intensely contested parts of the bill is a provision phasing in automatic voter registration during some transactions at Motor Vehicle Division offices, such as when a person presents documents proving citizenship while applying for a drivers license. The newly registered voters would be told theyve been added to the voter rolls and that theyll get a postcard in the mail allowing them to decline the registration. Republican opponents of the bill said its inappropriate to register someone to vote even if briefly over their objection. In an interview, Sen. Gregg Schmedes, R-Tijeras, said the will of the people, not the government, should drive voter turnout and registration. Its manipulative to do it without their consent, Schmedes said. The state House worked deep into the night Tuesday to debate the bill over three hours, with final action coming about 11:20 p.m. It passed mostly along party lines, with Democrats in favor. Letting every voice be heard, thats what we want, Rep. Susan Herrera, D-Embudo, said. House Majority Leader Gail Chasey, an Albuquerque Democrat who presented the bill, described the legislation as a major step forward for protecting the right to vote for our citizens in New Mexico. The legislation would: Allow voters to sign up once to get absentee ballots before every election. Restore the voting rights of felons when they leave custody rather than after they complete probation or parole. Require each county to have at least two secured, monitored boxes for people to drop off absentee ballots. Enact a Native American Voting Rights Act to better coordinate access to the polls on tribal land. Make Election Day a school holiday. An Albuquerque police officer was fired months after shooting and injuring a rock-throwing man in Northeast Albuquerque. Gilbert Gallegos, a police spokesman, said Quan La was fired Thursday following an investigation into the Sept. 21 police shooting of 48-year-old Gabriel Garcia. Chief (Harold) Medina committed that every Officer-Involved Shooting would be thoroughly investigated and officers who are found to have committed misconduct will be held accountable, Gallegos said. The Albuquerque Police Department recorded 18 police shootings last year 10 of them fatal. It was the most tallied by APD since 2016 and a 100% increase from 2021, when there were nine shootings, and three were fatal. Gallegos did not give a reason for Las firing and an investigative report was not made available. Fred Mowrer, Las attorney, declined to comment on the case but said they will be filing an appeal of the officers termination. Mowrer said he didnt know the status of the district attorneys review of the shooting but the office is taking nine months to a year to review such cases. Nancy Laflin, a spokeswoman for the DAs Office, said they had not yet received the case for review. Las firing stemmed from an incident in the early hours of Sept. 21. Police responded around 2 a.m. to reports of gunfire in the area of Candelaria and Carlisle NE. Officers found Garcia allegedly trying to break into a nearby gas station. Police followed Garcia to a nearby strip mall where he allegedly threw two soft ball-sized landscaping rocks at La, who was 60 feet away. La fired at Garcia several times even as he ran away and struck him in the shoulder. Garcia was booked into Metropolitan Detention Center and charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer, possession of burglary tools and more. He is being held pending trial. I think myself and even the public should be, and we specifically, always concerned that police officers are given the proper training when they are in the line of duty, Samuel Awad, Garcias attorney, told the Journal. La, who has not been involved in a prior shooting, was the third officer fired after shooting someone in 2022. In the previous three years only one officer had been fired for a shooting, according to data provided by Albuquerque police. Officer Jerry Arnold fired at an unarmed auto theft suspect in April and an investigation found he opened fire without a clear view of what was unfolding. Arnold and Detective Damian Lujan both shot at the man but only Lujans bullets struck him. Lujan was determined to have acted within policy. Arnold was rehired as a civilian in APDs auto theft unit earlier this year. Officer Kenneth Skeens fatally shot Keshawn Thomas at a gas station but he was fired for an incident that had happened nine days earlier when he unlawfully arrested a man who was trying to buy a bike at a Target store. Two other officers Marcos Flores and Dustin Ketchum also shot Thomas. They were found to have followed policies regarding the shooting but reprimanded for violating policies regarding rendering aid, de-escalation and conducting a preliminary investigation. Skeens was found to have violated policies when he shot Thomas by failing to de-escalate the situation and was ordered to be suspended. Since 2018, outside of terminations, one officer was suspended, eight were reprimanded and six were given additional training following a police shooting. SANTA FE Three years into the pandemic, New Mexico lawmakers are still struggling to keep COVID-19 at an arms length. But legislators are forging ahead despite a recent outbreak of cases at the Roundhouse that prompted the House this week to suspend an existing rule and allow members who test positive for the virus to participate remotely and vote in floor sessions and committee hearings. Four Democratic lawmakers participated remotely in a House floor session one night this week that extended well past 11 p.m. Their voices croaked as they were called on to verbally cast yes or no votes through a video conferencing program. The Senate passed a similar rule at the start of this years 60-day legislative session, which has allowed Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, and several others to take part in legislative business from their homes. Sen. Leo Jaramillo, D-Espanola, who returned to the Roundhouse on Wednesday after self-isolating for five days after contracting COVID-19 for the second time, said he went into this years session largely unworried about the pandemic, after two years of restrictions and social distancing. But he said the regular handshakes and hugs with colleagues and acquaintances at the Roundhouse might not have a been a good idea in hindsight. Now Im a little leery of doing that, Jaramillo said in an interview. Handshakes and hugs will have to be replaced with waves and fist-bumps for now. He said the remote session participation was trying at times, as he had to ask for microphones to be turned on and properly utilized at least once so he could hear the discussion. But he said the rule at least allowed him to represent his district while recovering at home. My voice was still heard even though I wasnt here, Jaramillo said. However, Sen. Gregg Schmedes, a Tijeras Republican and surgeon, questioned the fairness of allowing remote participation for COVID-19 infections but not others. If a senator is sick with a contagious illness, Schmedes said, I think its fine for them to be excused and to be able to participate remotely to protect other people. But to carve out one particular contagious disease just because its famous or infamous doesnt make sense to me. While views on the remote participation rules vary, its clear that lawmakers have no plans to pause or halt the 60-day session that, per the state Constitution, is set to end March 18. I think this is going to be the new reality as long as we have COVID present, Jaramillo said Wednesday. No tests required This years session marks the first time since 2020 that lawmakers have held a regular session without any pandemic-related restrictions. The Capitol was closed to everyone but legislators, staffers and media members for sessions held in late 2020 and early 2021. The decision to close the Roundhouse prompted a court challenge and criticism from some Republican lawmakers, but a divided state Supreme Court upheld the decision. The Capitol was reopened to the public during the summer of 2021 when infection rates dropped to a low level. But visitors to the Roundhouse during last years 30-day session were required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccine status upon entering the building. That requirement was lifted for this years session, and legislators did not renew expired rules requiring members to wear face masks on the House and Senate floors. Currently, there are no requirements for legislators to undergo COVID-19 testing and the Legislative Council Service, the Legislatures administrative arm, is not tracking the number of positive cases, as it did during the last two years. Legislative Council Services Director Raul Burciaga said Wednesday the agency was aware of a number of cases affecting lawmakers and legislative staffers, but does not have an exact count. For those who do test positive, Burciaga said they have been advised to follow guidelines from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that include a five-day self-isolation period. Testing available In a sign of the increased COVID-19 concern, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham wore a mask as she entered a crowded room Monday for a bill signing ceremony on the fourth floor of the Capitol. I just want folks to know that Im going to start wearing masks for meetings upstairs, just to make sure I dont contribute to any of the COVID spread, said the governor, who lifted the states hotly-debated face mask mandate on the final day of last years session. Meanwhile, the shifting views about the pandemic at the Roundhouse are exemplified by on-site testing options for COVID-19 at the Capitol. While the Capitol rotunda was used for mandatory testing during the 2021 legislative session, that space in the center of the Roundhouse is now bustling with visitors, student groups and rallies on a daily basis. Instead, rapid tests are being administered for any legislators and staffers who want them in a small paramedics office tucked away behind the Senate chambers. Journal Capitol Bureau reporter Dan McKay contributed to this report. ATLANTA (AP) Almost as soon as the foreperson of the special grand jury in the Georgia election meddling investigation went public this week, speculation began about whether her unusually candid revelations could jeopardize any possible prosecution of former President Donald Trump or others. Emily Kohrs first spoke out in an interview published Tuesday by The Associated Press, a story that was followed by interviews in other print and television news outlets. In detailed commentary, she described some of what happened behind the closed doors of the jury room how witnesses behaved, how prosecutors interacted with them, how some invoked their constitutional right not to answer certain questions. Lawyers for Trump say the revelations offered by Kohrs shattered the credibility of the entire special grand jury investigation. People hoping to see the former president indicted worried on social media that Kohrs may have tanked a case against the former president. But experts said that while Kohrs chattiness in news interviews probably aggravated Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whos leading the investigation, they were not legally damaging. Willis likely wishes that this woman hadnt gone on the worldwide tour that she did, said Amy Lee Copeland, a former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney in Georgia whos not involved in the case. But is this a headache that is grinding the machine to a halt? Its not. Its just one of the many frustrations that attends the practice of law. Trumps attorneys in Georgia, however, are jumping on the interviews. Drew Findling and Jennifer Little, who represent Trump in the Fulton County case, said theyve had concerns about the panels proceedings from the start but have kept quiet out of respect for the grand jury process. After Kohrs interviews, they felt compelled to speak out. The end product is, the reliability of anything that has taken place in there is completely tainted and called into question, Findling said. But he also said he wasnt attacking a 30-year-old foreperson. Shes a product of a circus that cloaked itself as a special purpose grand jury, he said. Findling and Little hadnt filed any challenges in the case by Thursday but said theyre resolute as to Trumps innocence and keeping their options open. Were considering everything and anything to look after the interests of our client, he said. The special grand jury was impaneled at the request of Willis, who is investigating whether Trump and his Republican allies committed crimes as they tried to overturn his narrow 2020 election loss in the state to Democrat Joe Biden. The panel didnt have the power to indict but instead offered recommendations for Willis, a Democrat, who will ultimately decide whether to seek charges from a regular grand jury. Willis office has declined to comment on Kohrs media appearances, other than to say they werent aware ahead of time that she planned to give interviews. Spokesperson Jeff DiSantis also declined Thursday to comment on the statements from Trumps attorneys. The former presidents lawyers expressed concern that the special grand jury had been allowed to watch and read news coverage of the case and was aware of some witnesses efforts not to testify. Kohrs said prosecutors told the jurors they could read and watch the news but urged them to keep open minds. Kohrs also shared numerous anecdotes from the proceedings that she found amusing and was very expressive in television interviews, sometimes laughing or making faces. Its not a joking matter, Findling said. Its not a matter for giggles. Its not a matter for smiles. Findling and Little said the district attorneys office, which advised the special grand jury, should have better educated the grand jurors about the solemnity of the process and the rules and limitations. That tone and that rhetoric begins from the top down, and that was set by the district attorneys office, Little said. Trump himself criticized the process in a post on his social media network Wednesday, calling the Georgia investigation ridiculous, a strictly political continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time. He expressed dismay at Kohrs going around and doing a Media Tour revealing, incredibly, the Grand Jurys inner workings & thoughts. Though Kohrs did not publicly name anyone the special grand jury recommended for possible indictment, Trumps lawyers said she seemed to implicate him in response to questions. They also said the judge overseeing the special grand jury could have instructed or strongly suggested that the grand jurors not speak publicly until the panels full final report was made public. Several parts of the report were released last week, but Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said any section that recommended specific charges for specific people would remain secret for now. During a hearing last month, a lawyer for a coalition of news outlets, including the AP, urged the immediate release of the full report. In the federal system, grand jurors are prohibited from talking about what witnesses say or anything that happens in the room. But the Georgia special grand jury oath says only that they cannot talk about their deliberations. The special grand jury was dissolved Jan. 9, and Judge McBurney told the AP that he later met with grand jurors to discuss where things stood. He said he provided them with the rules of the road of what they were legally allowed and not allowed to discuss publicly. He said they could discuss what witnesses said and what is in the report but could not talk about deliberations because thats what their oath said. Trump lawyer Little said she believes some of what Kohrs discussed in interviews was in fact part of deliberations, including when she talked about the credibility of some witnesses, decisions to recommend multiple indictments and the reasons why the grand jurors did not seek to bring Trump in to testify. Copeland, the former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, noted that Kohrs was cautious consulting a notebook where shed written the judges instructions before answering some questions and didnt describe the discussion and debate that led to the special grand jurys outcomes. I wish she really hadnt talked about anything, Copeland added. But she doesnt talk about the deliberations. She doesnt talk about the votes. She simply talks about other things that were happening in the grand jury session. University of Georgia law professor emeritus Ron Carlson said that if Kohrs had revealed the names of anyone for whom the special grand jury recommended charges, its possible those people could try to use that as grounds to dismiss an indictment. But he wasnt optimistic about the chances for success. I think that any kind of motion to dismiss an indictment based on her comments would have an uphill battle, Carlson said. Almost 600 people across the state are still without power Thursday morning as Public Service Company of New Mexico works to restore power after Wednesdays strong winds. Around 10 a.m. PNM still had 89 outages to address, affecting 599 customers. We realize that anytime without power is frustrating and we appreciate your patience and understanding of the situation, PNM said on social media late Wednesday evening. Some customers expressed frustration on social media. We still without power 18 hours without power, one person posted on PNMs Facebook page at 5:44 a.m. With elderly living here this sucks. This BS nearly 18 hours later and our block is the only one in the neighborhood still without power, another person said shortly before 6 a.m. But go ahead and keep believing you are providing reliable energy. We realize that anytime without power is frustrating and we appreciate your patience and understanding of the situation. If you are still out of power we are asking PNM customers to take the following actions: pic.twitter.com/559RitraGk PNM (@PNMtalk) February 23, 2023 PNM repair crews worked a 22-hour shift between Wednesday and Thursday to get power back for residents, said PNM Spokewoman Terri Reishus. The utility said on social media that customers who are experiencing outages should report them online at pnm.com/search-an-outage, or by calling 888-DIAL-PNM or texting #OUT to 78766. PNM also asks customers to sign up for alerts by texting #ALERT to 78766 so they can be notified as soon as their power is restored. While waiting for power to be restored across the state, PNM suggests reaching out to friends and family members who do have power as they work to restore power across the state. Yesterdays wind gusts reached upwards of 70 mph in central New Mexico and as high as 85 mph across southern parts of the state. An Oxford man who allegedly made threats of violence directed at students and the Stratford School for Aviation has been arrested, according to Connecticut State Police. Joseph Cyr, 31, is charged with threatening and breach of peace, both in the second degree, following an investigation by troopers into a complaint made on Feb. 17, according to state police. State police said two people came to Troop G to report the alleged threats. A witness told the investigating trooper that in December 2022, Cyr was allegedly heard saying he was going to shoot up graduation, and that on Feb. 16 Cyr also allegedly made comments to his classmates implying that if he were to be kicked out of school, he would turn the airport into a crater and that he knew where some of the classmates lived, state police said in a statement Wednesday. Police said a second witness also told troopers Cyr made the comment about graduation and that Cyr allegedly also said he was going to bring a friend or possibly a coworker with him, state police said. The second witness also told troopers that, in response to a question about staying in school, Cyr allegedly responded, If I go down, everyone is going down with me and implied the airport would become a crater, state police said in the statement. The second witness told troopers Cyrs alleged comment caused them to fear for their safety. State police said the investigating trooper contacted administrators at the aviation school and was told they were aware of the allegations and had already begun an administrative investigation. State police said Cyr was taken into custody at his home and taken to Troop G to be charged on a warrant. Cyr is free on a $50,000 court set bond, pending his arraignment at Superior Court in Bridgeport, set for Thursday, Feb. 23, state police said. School boards are an often undervalued piece of the puzzle in improving New Mexicos public schools. They play a critically important role in setting the tone, culture and expectations for the schools they oversee. Last year, Think New Mexico published a report titled A Roadmap for Rethinking Public Education in New Mexico, which proposed a sweeping 10-point plan with 30 separate legislative recommendations to improve the performance of New Mexicos public schools. One of those planks highlighted research demonstrating that local school boards can positively impact the learning environment when they are focused on elevating student achievement. House Bill 325 is based on the proposals in our report. It is sponsored by Rep. Natalie Figueroa, D-Albuquerque and a high school teacher, and Rep. Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena and a former school board member. The bill aims to strengthen school boards by enhancing their training, increasing their accountability to the public and adding transparency to school board elections and meetings. Currently, school board members are only required to receive five hours of training per year, focused primarily on the basic legal aspects of the board role. House Bill 325 would enhance that training to include public school finance and budgeting, the role of local school boards in improving student academic performance and best practices for working effectively with their superintendent. New Mexicos school superintendents tend to have a short tenure, averaging less than two years. This instability makes it difficult for districts to set an academic vision and follow it through. One reason cited by superintendents for leaving their positions is lack of support from their school boards, which could be improved if board members had better training about how to support and supervise their superintendents. Similarly, school boards collectively spend over $4 billion of state taxpayer dollars annually, and they would benefit from more training in how to understand and evaluate school district budgets. The core duty of a school board is to foster an environment focused on student success. In North Dakota, school boards receive targeted training each year during which they set academic goals for their districts and are taught how to support and evaluate progress toward that goal. This sort of training helps ensure student outcomes remain at the center of a school boards deliberations. Along with enhanced training, House Bill 325 would increase the accountability of school boards by requiring that members step down if they violate the law against nepotism. New Mexico is one of just 13 states with no penalty for nepotism by school board members. Because some very small communities have a limited population from which to hire employees, the bill allows districts under 500 students to apply for a waiver from the Public Education Department if a family member of a school board member is the only qualified applicant for a job. House Bill 325 would increase the transparency of school board elections by requiring all school board candidates to disclose their campaign contributions. Under current law, only school districts with more than 12,000 students have to make these disclosures; that is just four of the states 89 school districts. The public has a right to know who is influencing school board elections. House Bill 325 would also increase transparency by requiring that school board meetings be webcast and the recordings posted publicly. This would make it easier for families to participate in school board meetings without having to drive long distances each way, as many currently do in rural communities. More public input ultimately leads to better decisions. Along with Think New Mexico, House Bill 325 is supported by the American Federation of Teachers, Common Cause New Mexico, the League of Women Voters, the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, the New Mexico Chamber of Commerce and reform-minded school board members from across the state. If you share our support for these reforms, we encourage you to visit Think New Mexicos website at www.thinknewmexico.org, where you can easily contact the governor and your legislators and urge them to enact House Bill 325. Holtec needed for gov.s $9.4B budget WHEN, IF ever, can we as a state come together to promote the unique opportunities and assets we have to help our communities and our country? As the fourth-largest state in the U.S. and one of the least populated, we have expansive vistas of high desert in the south, and mountains and forests in the north. In our south flat lands, oil production has consistently provided revenues to the state in the billions of dollars. In the north and south, agriculture has provided modest inflows in the yearly budget . For fiscal 2023-24, the governor is proposing a $9.4 billion budget. Plans are for $1.1 billion for Medicaid, tens of millions for housing, hundreds of millions for education and over $100 million for law enforcement, as well as eliminating school meal costs for every New Mexico child. Where is the money to come from? Certainly not agriculture, and certainly not the retired and wealthy in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, or the typical day worker. The extraction industries in Lea, Eddy and Chavez counties producing oil and gas can help, as can the Holtec workers with the storing of radioactive waste materials, and our colleagues at Los Alamos and Sandia National labs. These industries and think tanks are the difference between living day to day or having ample resources to promote the governors agenda. We need to allow the areas of the state that can and will develop unique economic opportunities to move forward. STEPHEN HIGHTOWER, Rio Rancho Time for NM to boost the tax on alcohol HOUSE BILL 230 proposes an excise tax increase on alcohol. In the proposed bill, these tax proceeds would go toward treatment and recovery of alcohol addiction. We need to contact our legislators now to do the right thing in support of a tax increase on alcohol. The loss of revenue for businesses cannot be considered a valid argument for prohibiting the increase of tax on it, especially in light of the extreme hazard alcohol presents to New Mexico. This minimal loss is in no way comparable to the statistic showing New Mexico is the No. 1 state in our nation for alcohol-related traffic deaths. It is determined the proposed increase might amount to 25 cents per drink, which would not stop social drinkers nor addicted ones from purchasing it. The answer to N.M.s alcohol problem is to address the medical, emotional and mental health of persons and families with alcohol addiction, as well as providing treatment programs for recovery. If the revenue from the tax increase is used properly as stated in the bill, it can help to reduce this fundamental and widespread hazard in New Mexico. Contact your senators and representatives now. SANDY CHARLES, Los Alamos Waiting 14 days can, and has, cost lives IN 2017, Carol Browne, a hairstylist, tried to buy a gun for protection against her ex. She did everything right. She had a restraining order against him and had security systems installed. Even so, he murdered her, stabbed her to death during the waiting period, and she had no way to stop him. How many New Mexican women are going to have to suffer the same fate? Waiting periods endanger those most at risk. Waiting periods cost lives. And, in case you dont know, law enforcement has no duty to protect individuals. They have no duty to stop the commission of crimes. Their duty is to solve crimes. ELAINE SUMMERHILL, Edgewood NM should dump Daylight Saving Time SWITCHING FROM Mountain Standard Time (MST) to Daylight Saving Time (DST) and back has always had a very negative impact our lives, especially now that we are in our 80s. Not only does it impact our sleeping patterns, but also it impacts our daily eating schedules, our digestive systems and output. Most people dont realize it, but it also impacts our pets equally. I checked the current legislation introduced so far in both (chambers) and found Senate Bill 191, introduced by Sen. Robert Bobby Gonzales. I think this a very important issue and every N.M. citizen that thinks New Mexico should be exempted from Daylight Saving Time should contact their state representatives and senators, and ask them to get behind and support SB 191. NAHUM CASTILLO, Albuquerque Alec Baldwin entered a plea of not guilty to involuntary manslaughter on Thursday in connection with the 2021 shooting death of a cinematographer on the Rust movie set in New Mexico. The actor also waived his first appearance, which had been scheduled for Friday, and was allowed to remain out of custody on personal recognizance by order of 1st Judicial District Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer. First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies initially charged Baldwin on Jan. 31 with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Halyna Hutchins. The most serious of those charges carried a mandatory five-year prison sentence. Prosecutors on Monday reversed course and downgraded the involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin, dropping the possibility of a mandatory five-year sentence, if convicted. Sommer ordered Baldwin not to consume alcohol or possess firearms as a condition of release ahead of his trial. As a special condition, Baldwin is permitted to have contact with potential witnesses in connection with completing the Rust movie, but is not permitted to discuss the accident at issue with people who may offer testimony in the case, Sommer ordered. Instagram Music The 'Wake Up in the Sky' rapper makes the declaration during an Instagram Live months after he suggested that he and the Canadian rap star were working on an album together. Feb 23, 2023 AceShowbiz - Kodak Black seemingly has ruled out the possibility of working together with Drake. The "Wake Up in the Sky" hitmaker declared on social media that he won't collaborate with the Canadian superstar after he released a joint album with 21 Savage called "Her Loss". The 25-year-old emcee made his statement during an Instagram Live. "I had told Drake I don't wanna do no collab... No songs or no album. 'Cause we supposed to done did a whole album before him a lil' buddy," he said, seemingly referring to 21 Savage. "Before him and lil' buddy did that s**t. I had told him I wanted to wait [until] like, 2023," the Pompano Beach, Florida native further explained. "Like, after February." In the summer of 2022, Kodak suggested that he and Drake were working on an album together. Me and Drake, we got some more music," he stated at the time. "It's really on like whenever bruh might feel like he ready and stuff. They be like, 'Is we gon' drop the album? We gon' do this? It's really on him. We got a lot of songs, though." In 2020, Kodak gave Drake his flower. "I Am Your Biggest Fan Sir. If We Can't Do A Whole Album Together, I Never Want To Do A Song With You Sir," he commented on Drake's social post. After "Haitian Boy Kodak" arrived, Drake told Koak, "Man you always give me that inspirationReal POETOracle." He continued, "Man let's do some music for sure. But for real you really on another level." You can share this post! Instagram Celebrity Weslie Boss pays tribute to her late father as she makes her first return to social media, two months after the 'Ellen DeGeneres Show' DJ took his own life. Feb 23, 2023 AceShowbiz - Stephen "tWitch" Boss' daughter is back on social media more than two months after the dancer's death to tell him he's missed. Weslie Boss, 14, whom Stephen's widow Allison Holker had in 2008 with an unnamed former fiancee before she was adopted by "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" DJ and choreographer, has kept mum online since December 12 - the day before her dad was found dead - but she made a comeback to TikTok on Monday, February 21. While posting a video showing her holding a phone up to a mirror while Mac Miller's song "Surf" played - which is from the rapper's posthumously released album "Circles", put out after he was killed by an accidental drugs overdose in September 2018 aged 26, Weslie included two small snaps of her and Stephen in the post, which was accompanied by the teen's caption, "I miss u." Her mum Allison, 35, who married Stephen in 2013 - the same year he adopted Weslie - replied to her daughter in the comments, "I love you babygirl," adding a red heart emoji and the words "always and forever." The teen joined her dancer mum, and her siblings Maddox, six, and three-year-old Zaia who Allison also had with Stephen, as well as hundreds of mourners and celebrities for the celebration of life ceremony in honour of her late dad on February 12. Allison hailed Stephen as a "light" in her speech at the event in Los Angeles, telling the crowd, "He chose love, grace and kindness. And he deserves to be celebrated." Around 500 other attendees turned out for the service, included Ellen DeGeneres, 65, and her talk show's entire cast and crew, as well as Wayne Brady, Loni Love, and Derek Hough. Comedian Loni, 51, posted a picture of the program on Instagram and said, "Goodbye King Twitch." You can share this post! Celebrity The 'Animal Kingdom' actress talks about testifying against the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor in Amber Heard trial, saying she will always stand up for people if she feels they 'need help.' Feb 23, 2023 AceShowbiz - Ellen Barkin insists testifying against former partner Johnny Depp in his defamation trial was not an "act of bravery." The 68-year-old actress testified in the legal proceedings between the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star and his ex-wife Amber Heard, saying she'd seen Johnny be "verbally abusive" towards his staff. Barkin, however, insisted speaking out was nothing to celebrate as she was just doing what she felt she should. "I've never met Amber Heard in my life, but I know what I know about Johnny Depp," she told the Huffington Post. "He never touched me, but I saw violence. I saw him strangle an AD [assistant director]. He did throw a wine bottle. But I didn't feel at the time that [testifying] was an act of bravery. I felt it's just what you do." The "Animal Kingdom" actress recalled asking why she had been subpoenaed and was proud when she was told that every lawyer in the room felt she wouldn't lie. She said, "That was the nicest thing anyone ever said. I felt more proud of myself then. And I was like, 'That's the truth. I won't lie.' " Ellen will always stand up for people if she feels they "need help." She said, "I guess I just feel like I'm a human being, and I am obliged to stand up for my fellow man when they need help. It sounds corny as s**t, but the older I get, the more I just say, 'This cannot stand with my mouth closed.' " In the court battle, the "Aquaman" actress ended up being ordered to pay her ex-husband $10.35 million in compensatory and punitive damages last June after a jury in Virginia ruled she had defamed him when she wrote an article in 2018 about being a victim of domestic abuse, while she was awarded $2 million in compensatory damages - in which she said the 59-year-old actor had been "controlling," "jealous," and "demanding" during their relationship in the early 1990s. Pre-trial documents unsealed after the trial included Ellen's 2019 deposition, in which she claimed Johnny gave her a Quaalude the first time they had sex. The "Big Easy" star claimed to Amber's lawyers that Johnny drank too much wine and once threw a bottle at her in a hotel room. Ellen said the "Black Mass" star was "a yeller" and "verbally abusive," however, she insisted he was never physically abusive towards her because his staff who would take the brunt of his "violence" and she claimed he would call his assistant "pig." She said, "His assistant. People who would work on the film, maybe in what he would view as a lower capacity than he functions at. There is just a world of violence." Speaking of his drinking habit, she said, "He was drunk all the, most, a lot of the time. He was always drinking - or smoking a joint." You can share this post! Cover Images/Facebook/DARA KUSHNER Celebrity When speaking to Emily Ratajkowski on her podcast, the 32-year-old Australian femcee reveals that she broke up with her baby daddy three weeks after they welcomed son Onyx. Feb 23, 2023 AceShowbiz - Iggy Azalea has opened up about her split from Playboi Carti. When speaking to Emily Ratajkowski on the latter's "High Low with EmRata" podcast, the "Fancy" hitmaker said she decided to call it quits with her baby daddy because she wants to break the cycle of having a "volatile relationship." Noting that she broke up with Carti three weeks after they welcomed son Onyx, the 32-year-old shared, "I had something happen one day with my son's father and me and it was just like one of those moments where you're just like, I didn't wake up thinking this is what my day would be." She added, "But by the end of the day, I was on a plane to Los Angeles and I never went back. And that was the end of it." "Don't get me wrong. We had a volatile relationship and you know that, you're not an idiot. You know when something's not working," the Australian artist continued. "I knew it wasn't working, but I also just had a baby, it was COVID. There were a lot of things to navigate for me at that time and I didn't think I'd be leaving when I left." Iggy claimed her parents also had a "volatile relationship," that's why she didn't want to repeat the cycle. "In that moment that I had on that day, I was like, 'I will never let my son see this because I don't want him to see someone talk to me this way, 'cause I don't want him to ever learn this, I don't want him to be exposed to this,' " she shared. "I decided in that moment, I have to be more accountable for myself into what I'm doing with my child and even if there are days where I wanna go back to this," the female rapper continued. "I just never would do it. I will never do it. I'm leaving." Around one week prior, Iggy addressed Carti's arrest for allegedly assaulting his pregnant girlfriend. Taking to Twitter, she wrote, "Imagine having a pregnant girlfriend and pretending they don't exist until it comes out you like to abuse them too & rarely visiting your actual son unless it's because you're running from whatever problems ya got going on in Atlanta and the press with your serial abuse of [women]." You can share this post! Instagram Celebrity Meanwhile, the 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' alum allegedly isn't bothered by the news and is telling everyone that the foreclosure is a 'misunderstanding.' Feb 23, 2023 AceShowbiz - Kim Zolciak-Biermann's daughters have broken their silence on the rumors that they're going to lose their family's house in Georgia as it's in foreclosure. When speaking with TMZ at LAX on Wednesday, February 22, Brielle Biermann and Ariana Biermann cleared the air. The girls told the reporter that the foreclosure is a "misunderstanding," adding that they have no plans on moving out and that the family is still living in the Alpharetta estate. They additionally revealed that all the family's belongings are still in the home. When asked about court documents that the home is scheduled to be auctioned off on March 7 at the Fulton County Courthouse, Ariana said, "I'm not really sure, not to my knowledge." Echoing the sentiment, Brianna added, "Yeah, not what I've been told." They also said that people just need to stay tuned on March 7 to see if the reports are true or not. In other related news, a source close to Kim revealed to PEOPLE that "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" alum isn't bothered by the news. "She is telling everyone this is a misunderstanding and is being sorted out," the informant claimed. "She's not moving." The reality star also took to her social media account to share a video showing off her lavish mansion despite her rumored financial issues. In the clip, Kim boasted about her ornate living room, complete with a dazzling chandelier. She said, "This is definitely one of my most favorite rooms, called the Hollywood room. That chandelier is seven - almost eight-feet wide, by seven-feet high." Prior to this, it was reported that Kim's mansion is in foreclosure after the 44-year-old Bravo personality and her husband, Kroy Biermann, defaulted on a $1.65 million loan they took out on the property in October 2012. A notice shared last week by Fulton County additionally revealed that Truist Bank plans to auction off the property on March 7 in front of the Fulton County Courthouse. You can share this post! Instagram Celebrity The 33-year-old controversial star and her 2-year-old son Valentino arrive at a Diesel show during Milan Fashion Week while being decked out in matching all-denim attire. Feb 23, 2023 AceShowbiz - Julia Fox brought one of her favorite people to Milan Fashion Week. The controversial star took her 2-year-old son Valentino on a night out in Italy as they attended a Diesel show on Wednesday, February 22. For the event, the "Uncut Gems" actress arrived in all-denim style. She opted for an oversized denim shirt that she paired with a tiny green bandeau top, super low-rise jeans and denim boots. Her little man, meanwhile, matched her mom's look with his own denim look. Valentino, whom Julia shares with ex Peter Artemiev, looked adorable in denim pants, a denim jacket, a T-shirt and black cowboy boots. This wasn't the first time for Julia to bring her son to a fashion event. Back in September, the former girlfriend of Kanye West attended the Elena Velez fashion show at Chelsea Factory, part of New York Fashion Week, alongside her son. At the time, the mom and son duo was decked out in head-to-toe black ensembles. Last June, Julia opened up about what being a parent means to her. Gushing over Valentino, the 33-year-old model said during the premiere of Richie Shazam's short film "Savitree", "He's amazing. He's my little angel. I love him so much." She also shared her desire to grow her family, "I would like to have more children. I think he's ready for siblings." Her love for Valentino can also be seen through how she decorated her New York apartment. While treating fans to a home tour last month, Julia showed off one of the most special rooms in the apartment. "I put the most effort into this room I think," she said while revealing her son's room. "I really wanted him to have a cute room. However, he does not hang out in here at all. He only wants to be in mama's room. He doesn't even sleep in there. He sleeps in bed with me. Yeah, we're co-sleepers. Sue me, I don't care." You can share this post! 82.5 Communications, Kolkata, has picked up the integrated communications mandate for Kutchina, following a multi-agency pitch. The Kolkata-based kitchen solutions brand, which has already become a household name in the East, now aims to reshape and transform ideas for kitchens across millions of homes around the country. Partnering Kutchina in its vision to establish a national footprint will be 82.5 Communications (part of the Ogilvy Group), who won the mandate not just for their strategic planning and creative execution, but innovative consumer engagement ideas and digital capabilities as well. In fact, 82.5 Communications will be the single point partner for Kutchina across touchpoints, including digital and social media, across their four key business verticals Large Appliances, Small Appliances, Modular Kitchens, and Water Purifiers. According to Namit Bajoria, Managing Director, Kutchina Home Makers, Kutchina has very big ambitions for pan India supremacy and we are thrilled to have 82.5 communications on board to resonate our vision and give our brand a tactical edge and create a benchmark in India. He further added, For any good partnership to start, there must be immense understanding and trust which we found in 82.5 Communications. The team consists of a brilliant mix of youth and experience to steer the brand towards right direction in our journey. Reacting to the win, Kapil Arora, Chief Executive Officer, 82.5 Communications, said, The future belongs to home grown brands that put excellence at the heart of everything they do. And Kutchina is at the forefront of those brands. As the brand prepares to scale toward its ambition of becoming the countrys leading kitchen specialist, we couldnt be happier at being chosen by Namit and his team, as Kutchinas partner on this journey. An Old Saybrook contractor was sentenced to 15 months in prison this week for tax evasion, according to federal authorities. Dimitrios Kassimis, also known as Jimmy Kassimis, 58, also was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford to three years of supervised release. Authorities, citing court documents and statements made in court, said Kassimis owns and operate entities related to his construction business, including Allstate Contracting Group and JRC Renovations, and the between 2018 and 2021, received substantial income from his businesses but did not file any personal or business federal income tax returns, and also did not file any employment tax returns for his businesses. The investigation revealed Kassimis didnt have any personal bank accounts, paid his personal expenses through his business bank accounts and made cash withdrawals from the business accounts at casinos for personal expenses, authorities said in a statement. He also cashed checks made payable to his businesses at a check cashing business in New York and failed to report that income, and didnt issue IRS Forms 1099 or W-2 to his employees and paid at least some employees in cash. The tax loss to the IRS for the 2018-2021 tax years was $233,086.87, authorities said, and the judge ordered Kassimis to pay all outstanding tax liabilities. Kassimis pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion on Nov. 9, 2022; he is free on bond and must report to prison on April 24, authorities said. The investigation was done by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang. The Proud to Be an Indian trip was a pilgrimage to understand the homeland. It was also a journey of realization. A voyage to discover India, A journey to experience India. For the 23 selected Indian students in the UAE, these six days provided a lot of knowledge, experiences, and, of course, memories. Asianet News provided non-resident students with the opportunity to learn about India through "Proud to be an Indian" campaign. Amazing Republic Day This year's "Proud to be an Indian" trip was flagged off by Indian Consulate General Dr. Aman Puri in Dubai on the 24th.The journey got off to a start when the Consulate General gave the Indian National Flag to Mr.Rajesh Kalra, Executive Chairman of Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd. Asianet News Proud To Be An Indian team witnessed the Republic Day Parade with the students,according to the students, one of their greatest desires came true, all the students witnessed the parade for the first time. The students who observed the parade of various armed forces wished to join the military. They welcomed India's show of military might with applause. They saw BrahMos missiles and Arjun tanks for the first time. The main topic of this year's Republic Day celebrations, Narihakthi, also inspired the students. They were also impressed by the stills presented at the Republic Day parade. Unique experiences in Shimla After celebrating Republic Day in Delhi, the students travelled to Himachal Pradesh. The students saw the magnificent mustard fields of Haryana during their excursion. Students interacted with Shimla Governor Mr.Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at Shimla Raj Bhavan. Then the Governor showed the students the room and table in the Raj Bhavan where the Shimla Agreement was signed between India and Pakistan in 1972. The students learned the details of the agreement directly from the governor himself. In addition, the governor hosted a tea reception at Raj Bhavan. The group visited Shimla's famous Mall Road and Kufri Park. Kufri was a different experience for the students. The students travelled back to Delhi from Shimla on the Shimla Kalka Toy Train, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The students enjoyed the train ride, which threaded through the forest and tunnels. The rain lost to the excitement of beating a retreat The students departed Shimla on December 29 under unanticipated rain. With Delhi's terrible winter, the precipitation had compounded the cold. But they enjoyed beating the retreat ceremonies with enthusiasm. The sight of the troops returning to the barracks accompanied by the music of the bands was very refreshing for the students. The students enjoyed beating the retreat while being drenched in heavy rain. YadunathSurendran, a student at Sharjah Indian School, stated that the Republic Day Parade and Beating the Retreat boosted respect for the soldiers who are guarding the country. Potential of young India The students met with Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar. He pointed out that within two years, India will become one of the top three economic powers in the world. He also reminded the kids that the youth's golden age of opportunity is approaching. He responded to all the queries from the students. Students were reminded that there are no shortcuts to success. Handful of flowers at Gandhi Samadhi The Proud To Be An Indian tour finished on January 30, Gandhi's Martyrdom Day, with the placing of flowers at the Gandhi Samadhi at Rajghat. Following the laying of wreaths by the President and the Prime Minister at the Gandhi Samadhi, the students also put wreaths. Jaishel Niaz, a student of Al Ain Indian School, described that moment as one of the luckiest moments in his life. The commemorative ceremony at Rajghat provided an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Gandhiji. This time, the exam was held at De Montfort University Dubai. The entrance exam questions were based on Indian history, current affairs, and general knowledge. Winners were announced within an hour of the exam. Manoj K. Das, Managing Editor of Asianet News Group, presented the national flag to the winning students. Compared to the previous years, this time the students for the Proud to be an Indian team were identified through regional quiz competitions. Regional quiz competitions were held in Dubai, Sharjah, and Ras Al Khaimah. This is the ninth year that Asianet News in collaboration with Equity Plus Intelligence is providing an opportunity for students to participate in the Republic Day celebrations. Bharat Web3 Association (BWA), a premier organization representing top Web3 technology companies in India has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Telangana government's Information, Technology, Electronics, and Communication Department (ITECD). The first-of-its-kind MoU sets the stage for collaborative discussions between the two entities. The Telangana government is taking an innovative approach by exploring the potential benefits of Web3 technology. The announcement was made in the presence of Shri. Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary to Government of Telangana- Industries & Commerce (I&C) Department, & Information Technology, Electronics & Communications (ITE&C) Department, Smt. Rama Devi Lanka, the Director of Emerging Technologies for the state of Telangana, and Kiran Vivekananda, Chief Policy Officer at CoinDCX and Director, Bharat Web3 Association. Speaking on this occasion, Shri. Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary to Government of Telangana- Industries & Commerce (I&C) Department, & Information Technology, Electronics & Communications (ITE&C) Department, said, We are extremely delighted to announce our partnership with BWA, and extend a warm welcome to them. I believe that BWA serves as a great example of how the blockchain industry can come together united to drive the ecosystem forward. The signing of this MoU marks a significant milestone in our efforts towards establishing a leading ecosystem for the Web 3 space in India. We believe that this partnership will help us unlock immense value to the startups and enable us to expand the frontiers of possibilities in this rapidly growing and dynamic sector. Ms. Rama Devi Lanka, Officer on Special Duty & Director of Emerging Technologies said, Telangana is well-positioned to become a leader in the Web 3 space, and we are committed to supporting its growth and development. The sandbox will facilitate access to the relevant data, users and more importantly suggest recommendations on the regulatory changes to be made that will spur innovation in the web3.0 ecosystem accelerating greater participation and collaboration. Under this partnership, the Bharat Web3 Association will work closely with the Telangana government to build a thriving Web3 ecosystem in the state. This will be achieved through the organization of events, seminars, and roadshows, as well as by facilitating discussions around Web3 technology. BWA will also facilitate the exploration of potential synergies between its members and the Telangana government, aimed at utilizing the sandbox environment to its fullest potential. The ultimate goal is to help the Telangana government achieve its vision of becoming a leader in the field of Web3. The Telangana government has taken the first step in exploring the immense opportunities that Web3 offers. On its part, BWA aims to explore possible synergies that align with the states vision of becoming a leader in the field of emerging technologies. Kiran Vivekananda, Chief Policy Officer, CoinDCX & Director- Bharat Web3 Association, said, We, CoinDCX are excited to collaborate with the IT, Electronics, and Communications Department of the Government of Telangana on this monumental initiative. I applaud the vision of the Telangana government, in realising the transformative potential of Web3, and cementing its position as a leader in emerging technologies. As a founding member of the Bharat Web3 Association, we are especially proud to be playing a part in charting the pathways for the future of Web3 in India. Promoting this ecosystem has long been a goal of mine, and I am happy to see that the Telangana Government and the Bharat Web3 Association have made it possible at a much larger level. Apart from this, Bharat Web3 Association will mentor and advise selected cohorts in their endeavour to utilize opportunities in Web3 and related technologies, as presented by the ITE&C department. The BWA will also appoint a nodal officer to speed up the implementation of policies. CoinSwitch welcomes the proactive initiative taken by the Telangana government. The collaboration between the Information, Technology, Electronics, and Communication Department of the Telangana government and the Bharat Web3 Association is a forward-thinking move that signals a commitment to the advancement of Web3 technology. As a member of the BWA, we are committed to supporting and building a thriving Web3 ecosystem in the country. We believe that this partnership is a key step towards realizing the full potential of this cutting-edge technology and we look forward to playing an active role in its development and implementation. said Ashish Singhal, Co-founder and CEO, CoinSwitch As outlined in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the Bharat Web3 Association will provide guidance and support to selected groups as they seek to take advantage of Web3 and related technologies. The association will also designate a dedicated point of contact to facilitate the swift implementation of policies. This agreement and the associated activities will help to drive the state's transformation through the adoption of cutting-edge technological innovations.New Aming to support people with quick medical care, CarDekho has onboarded ambulance service provider Medulance on its mobile app and website. Amit Jain, the new Shark on Shark Tank India show, decided to add Medulance, a GPS-based platform enabling fast ambulance services that pitched its business on the show, to CarDekho without any financial transaction. Amit Jain, Co-Founder and CEO of Indias largest auto tech company CarDekho Group did this with an aim to expand the reach of the emergency first care service and help bring down the number of road accident fatalities. This offer was made by Amit Jain in succession to his offer of Rs. 5 crores for 5% equity in Medulance, the biggest offer in the history of Shark Tank India. This free-of-charge integration of Medulance on the CarDekho app and website will enable users to call for an ambulance from the app and website in case of a mishap. This is in line with Amit Jains view of supporting cause-based businesses and will seek to prevent road accident fatalities in India. Present in 500 cities, Medulance is India's first, GPS-based technology platform that enables fast and reliable first-point medical attention. Started in 2017, Medulance intends to make finding an ambulance as easy as finding food or taxis these days to assist lives. It is an integrated emergency response support provider, ambulance booking, and tracking system designed to provide first-point medical attention. Speaking on this partnership, Mr. Amit Jain, CEO, and Co-Founder, CarDekho Group, said, India reports one of the highest numbers of fatalities caused by road accidents every year, cutting short great life stories. About half of these lives can be saved if the injured receive timely access to medical care, and Medulance is playing a pivotal role in bridging this gap. As a responsible group, CarDekho has integrated Medulance on its mobile app and website, and is playing its part in helping create awareness about a service that can help save lives. Pranav Bajaj, CEO, Medulance, said, Medulance was started with the aim to help people call for early first care in case of an accident. Our efforts have saved hundreds of lives so far and this social gesture by Shark Amit Jain will further amplify the reach of Medulance, allowing timely availability of ambulances and curbing the loss of lives. Shark Tank India 2.0 is witnessing increased participation from entrepreneurs that are battling societal odds and are keen on solving problems through their businesses. Amit Jain has been at the forefront of promoting such ventures by looking beyond profit and investing in businesses that help India move forward. CoinDCX, India's leading and most valued crypto company, has announced the promotion of Vivek Gupta, former EVP and Head of Engineering at the company, to the role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO). As the CTO, Vivek will play a crucial role as the companys technological evangelist, building and innovating for the business and ecosystem at large. In his new role, Vivek will be responsible for enhancing and simplifying the user journey and product experience for CoinDCXs 15-million-strong customer base, while also laying the foundation for onboarding new users. He will spearhead innovations and capability-building efforts to further simplify the user experience through a secure and reliable platform and value-driven web3 solutions. He leads a talented 190-member team spanning across engineering, data science, devops and infrastructure. In his previous role at CoinDCX, Vivek placed a strong emphasis on consistently improving the product experience, ensuring that the platform strengthens its usability for its customers. Considering the nascency of the industry, he was instrumental in developing and building several technologies from the ground up, and laying the foundation for the ecosystem to grow on. He was the driving force behind the technology for CoinDCXs DeFi initiative, Okto, a self-custody wallet, and making it risk-proof. Commenting on the appointment, Neeraj Khandelwal, Co-founder, CoinDCX, said, I congratulate Vivek on his coveted promotion. Vivek has seen our company grow from strength to strength, and over these years, his passion for the industry and his commitment to our company's success has been unwavering. CoinDCXs culture is built on collaboration, teamwork, and a shared sense of purpose. We don't believe in titles or hierarchies, but we do believe in recognising exceptional contribution when we see it. Viveks promotion is a testament to his dedication, hard work and excellence. As the company ushers in the next phase of growth, Viveks proven track record of enhancing user experiences will fortify the companys technical architecture and help us reimagine the internet. Thanking the company, Vivek Gupta, Chief Technology Officer, CoinDCX, said, I am humbled and thankful to the founders for their continued confidence in me over the last three years. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with an exceptionally talented team. In my new role, I am excited for the opportunity to lead CoinDCXs technological initiatives and together with the team shape the future of web3. Vivek firmly believes in the power of technology and the need for it to be transparent and simple. He has worked with multiple startups in various sectors, across roles such as product engineering, technology, innovation and growth solutions. He foresees cryptos eventual proliferation across the globe, much like how the internet grew exponentially during the Web 2.0 era. To this end, Vivek is committed to harnessing his expertise in technology to make crypto safe and accessible to all. Understanding the crypto industrys clarion call for strengthening tech capabilities and user experience, CoinDCX is constantly striving to ramp up its product features and maintain its pole position in the crypto and Web3 space. The company always encourages aspirations of its employees and mentors them to take on leadership roles which align with their ambitions. As part of its expansion strategy, the company has also recently appointed Rajnish Vedi as the Head of Customer Experience, Sridhar Govardhan as the Head of Information Security and Amit Gala as the Head of Finance, as it continues to develop cutting-edge products and services for users. IndiaMART InterMESH Limited has been bestowed with the prestigious Best Business App of 2022 award by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) at the 13th India Digital Awards announced at the 17th India Digital Summit, Amirt kaal: Digital India@100. This is the third time in a row the app of IndiaMART has been recognized to be the best business app in India. The 17th India Digital Summit (IDS) marked the gracious presence of Shri Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry; the event was held at the Lalit hotel in New Delhi. IDS is a flagship event organized by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). It brings together policymakers, pathbreaking founders, and industry doyens who congregate to discuss and deliberate on Indias digital growth story and the future of India, across various sectors. This year, Industry leaders such as Mr. Dinesh Agrawal, Founder and CEO of IndiaMART, Mr. Sanjay Gupta, Chairman of IAMAI, Dr. P D Vaghela, Chairman of TRAI, Shri Vikram Sahay, Joint Secretary of Ministry of I&B to name few, joined the summit to confer on the topic: Amrit Kaal: Digital India@100. On receiving the award, Mr. Amarinder Dhaliwal, CPO of IndiaMART exclaimed, We are continuously striving to build a seamless user experience and ensure customer delight on all our platforms. From voice search in vernacular languages to lead manager system, our app is transforming into a one-stop destination for all business needs. We are thankful for this recognition. Adgully has been turning the spotlight on the entrepreneurs who fought against all odds to bring their dreams to fruition in our special series START-UP STARS. We at Adgully wholeheartedly support the Vocal for Local movement and have been featuring numerous local/ homegrown businesses, brands, and Apps in the country launched in the last few years. Reequil was born in 2018 as Indias first online direct-to-consumer cosmeceutical brand. Built with brand values of honesty, integrity, and efficacy at its core, Founder Vipul Guptas struggle with hair loss and his dissatisfaction with the inefficiency of the available solutions led to him founding Reequil. The brand strives to be more than just skin and hair and wants people to embrace how they look, feel, and build back their confidence. Reequils products are dermatologically tested with clinically proven ingredients offering an alternative to the prevailing natural skincare brands. The start-up engages with 5 lakh customers and clocked 100% YoY growth in FY21. In conversation with Adgully, Vipul Gupta, Founder and Director, Re'equil India, shares his journey as an entrepreneur and the Reequil ecosystem. He also shares his key insights and takes on the upcoming trends for 2023 and how the company became the top-notch brand in the industry of Skin and Body Care Products. Please take us through your journey as an entrepreneur. What motivated you to establish Re'equil? Reequil as a brand is formed on the ideology of offering effective formulations. Experiencing hair loss at the very young age of 19 made me look for a solution that could resolve my concern. Every product whether over the counter or prescribed depicted how a bald head would turn into a head full of hair in a short span of time. Therefore, I invested time, money, and a lot of heart believing that the said solutions will work. Product after product the expectations never matched the results and ultimately, I had to undergo a hair transplant which is an expensive surgical procedure. This learning led to the formation of Reequils foundational pillar of offering efficacy-driven formulations that customers can trust and know what to expect from. An acronym for Restoring Equilibrium, Reequil restores the lost equilibrium of skin, hair, expectations, and results and instills a belief in the customers that they are more than their skin and hair. What was the need for Re'equil via a consumers perspective? What is the core business proposition? Our consumers are our biggest ambassadors and advocates. Our focus is to make sure that our consumers spread the joy and experience of using Reequil with everyone. Understanding the consumers better leads to a closer communication with them. We understand our consumers expectations, which, in turn, helps us become better. A brand should grow organically more than anything else. Credibility comes through trust. We want to be the most trusted personal care brand and we invest in resources to sharpen these. Our formulations are developed employing the highest levels of safety and are dermatologically tested to deliver effectiveness. We believe in being transparent in our communication so that our users know what they are getting right at the outset. The ultimate goal is to garner the trust of our consumers. What were your key learnings so far? How do you see the Reequil ecosystem progressing in 2023? As we enter our fifth year, our primary objective is to deepen our connections with our existing customers. Our presence on digital platforms and the influence of digital platforms on the consumption pattern of our customers have helped us connect better and faster with our consumers. The information garnered has helped us develop specific solutions for their concerns. Digital mediums have helped us build a personal care brand that is consultative, engaging, and effective. Well continue to leverage the power of technology while exploring traditional mediums that will enable us to connect more meaningfully with our consumers. Going forward, we will be tapping into different geographies to make our products accessible to more and more people. Learning and evolving is a key to success, and we thrive on learning every day, be it on an organizational or personal level. What were the challenges that you faced in your start-up journey and how did you overcome them? I dont come from a retail or cosmeceutical background. Prior to starting Reequil in 2018, I worked in commodities and trading. My core reason to come up with Reequil was to make sure that our customers get effective products that are setting the right expectations. The Indian self-care industry is growing at a progressive rate because people are more aware of themselves and are deeply invested in seeking effective solutions for their skin and hair. Keeping efficacy, honesty, and transparency at its core, we want to cater to more and more individuals. We want to set the right expectations and provide solutions that are effective and trustworthy. 2023 will be a year in which we will focus on expanding our geographical presence in tier 1 and tier 2 markets across the country. My journey till now has been beautiful. Its a journey we all live for. Every day is a challenge and I learn something new every day. What would be your message for budding entrepreneurs? Learning is the key, and it should never stop. Its crucial to embrace your mistakes and progress toward perfection. Keep learning every day, keep pushing yourself, take risks and be courageous but most importantly stay true to what you believe in. Surround yourself with a team thats just as professional, hard-working, committed, and driven as you. Understand your target audience and communicate clearly and set the right expectations for your product and the result it yields. Market research will help you identify the wants, needs, behaviours, and attitudes of your target audience and how your product or service will serve them best. UnCrave, a plant-based meat brand owned by Delightful Gourmet, which also owns the meat delivery service Licious, has hired comedian-actor Vir Das as a brand ambassador. UnCrave knows how meat-lovers feel when they are deprived of meat and fills that void with the most meat-like, vegetarian option possible with its plant protein-based meat products. The actor will also perform a campaign for the business that will consist of a series of videos, the first of which is titled Without Meat, in which Das explains a life without meat in his distinctive flair. Created by Tilt Brand Solutions, the campaign features a series of films in which Das discusses various events from the perspective of a meat lover. The commercial also heralds the introduction of a new product by the company, the Mutton Galouti Kebab. In conversation with Adgully, Simeran Bhasin, Business Head - Alternative Protein, Licious, speaks at length about the newly launched product, their TG, USP, campaigns planned and much more. What led Licious to launch plant-based meat? No one knows about excellent quality, fresh meats, and seafood like Licious. So, when it came to creating the meatiest, tastiest, and most wholesome plant-based meat alternative, we had to take the lead. Licious is the only Indian company to house both animal and alternative protein under one roof. We wanted to provide an alternative to our consumers and satisfy their meat cravings on all days without compromising on taste and nutrition. Two years of research on alternative proteins and a deep understanding of meat-eaters preferences resulted in UnCrave making it unlike any other alternative. A superior, meat-like taste is our biggest USP, thats why we spell our products with a tilde (~), signifying the products similarity to meat in almost every aspect. What is the target audience and market for this? The domestic market size for plant-based meat in 2030 has been projected to be around Rs 1,800 crore. Around 70% of the Indians are meat eaters, with 81% of Indians consciously abstaining from eating meat for one reason or the other on certain days, so were essentially a flexitarian market. The market may seem relatively small, but the critical task is to create relevance for this new-to-the-market category. We intend to grow the market and take the largest share in it. UnCrave is the answer to no meat days, targeting meat-eaters in India. The addressable market for the category is the same as the meat market, the flexitarians. We wanted to offer our consumers the freedom to choose their preferred source of protein. Why did you select Vir Das as the ambassador for the brand? UnCraves brand persona has been crafted as a light-hearted brand with a childlike imagination and highly animated expressiveness much like Vir. We are excited about working with Vir and believe his brand of humour brings alive the brand message in a simple, relevant, and engaging manner. We have an entire campaign planned where Vir brings alive a life without meat and how UnCrave comes to the rescue in such situations. A meat-lover himself, Vir is a firm believer in giving into meat cravings whenever you crave it. Marked by his signature wit and style, Vir addresses the many myths and concerns about plant-based meat, driving more conversations around the category. The task of category creation is undoubtedly a long, drawn-out affair, and we intend to have fun while were at it. How has the overall performance of UnCrave been so far? We are overwhelmed by the initial response. We have a very healthy repeat rate which is a positive sign and a big nod to the acceptance of the product and category. The feedback is so pointed and nuanced, unlike any other category, and we are continuously engaging with consumers on a large scale to test products before launch. How have your ad spends been? After building organic traction and conversion through sampling, we started the brand campaign. We are a digital-first brand and that dictates how spends will be allocated. What are your marketing strategies? Are there any campaigns planned? The marketing strategy revolves around demystifying the plant-based meat category for consumers and creating relevance for the category in their meal moments. Being a nascent category, the focus will be to grow the category and take the largest share of it. This will involve creating awareness and relevance for the category via the education route. Vir Das is our brand ambassador, and we have launched our first film in a series of many. We have an entire campaign planned, where Vir brings alive various scenarios of life without meat and how UnCrave comes to the rescue in such situations. Marked by his signature wit and style, Vir would address the many myths and concerns about plant-based meat. How are you leveraging digital? UnCrave is a digitally native brand. With a prolific D2C parent brand like Licious, digital media is a natural choice. Our choice of brand ambassador is also reflective of this Vir Das has a relevant digital presence and following and makes a lot of content thats consumed on social and other digital mediums. So far, the media focus has been on building awareness through top-funnel activities like targeted CRM communication, a social media presence, specifically Instagram, information dissemination through blogs, and a presence on search. The Vir Das campaign will see our spending on the video format grow disproportionately compared to static content, focusing on growing awareness through a reach and frequency approach. What are your plans for 2023? 2023 is a year of expansion for us, both in terms of product portfolio and markets. We are currently present in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bangalore and Pune. Based on the learnings and feedback from there, we will be entering new markets with a broader range of snacks. Zattoo is reorganising its management team. Bert Schulzki is now joining the TV streaming provider's management team as Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO). In his role, Schulzki will be leading the Operations, Engineering, Product, Design and Data Analytics divisions. The former CTO, Stefan Lietsch, and CPO, Peter Siciliano, are leaving the company to devote themselves to new professional challenges. Bert Schulzki has held leading positions in a wide range of technology companies for more than 20 years. He was previously the Director of Engineering at Germany's largest vehicle marketplace, mobile.de, where he advanced the technological redesign of the company. Also as Director of Engineering, Schulzki built up a team of over a hundred people at eBay Classifieds Group to develop a new marketplace platform, which went online in its first market after just 12 months. Nick Brambring, CEO of Zattoo: "We are excited to have Bert with us as CPTO. In his previous roles Bert has proven his ability to develop strong teams to build great products and scalable platforms. Together we will work on our mission to free TV from broadcast restrictions." "I am delighted about this new and big challenge. The team working with Nick and the great potential offered by Zattoo convinced me, and I am sure that together we can reach the next evolutionary stage for the product and the platform," says Bert Schulzki as the new CPTO at Zattoo. As Bert Schulzki joins the company, Zattoo announces that Stefan Lietsch will be leaving it as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in order to focus even more on the topic of sustainability in his future work. "Twelve years ago Stefan joined the still small startup Zattoo and has transformed it into a great technology company with a world class tech team. We thank Stefan and wish him all the best for his future endeavours to fight climate change, says Nick Brambring. The former Chief Product Officer (CPO), Peter Siciliano, who also joined Zattoo's management team in 2020, will be realigning his professional career in the coming months. Until then, he will act as a senior consultant for Zattoo. Nick Brambring comments: "In the last two and a half years Peter has laid the fundament for further growth. He has introduced scalable structures to help our team leverage its power and fulfil our vision to be the first choice TV streaming platform. We are grateful to have Peter with us for the next step on our journey." China, Indonesia agree to further deepen cooperation Xinhua) 10:11, February 23, 2023 Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi co-host the fourth meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation between China and Indonesia in Jakarta, Indonesia, Feb. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Qin) JAKARTA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China and Indonesia have agreed to deepen strategic synergy and promote cooperation on trade and investment, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Wednesday after a meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation between the two countries. Qin told reporters after co-hosting the meeting with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi that China and Indonesia have dovetailed their development strategies, jointly addressed risks and challenges, and continued to deepen the new pattern of "four-wheel drive" cooperation in politics, economy, humanities and maritime affairs, setting an example of developing countries embracing a shared future, pursuing strength through unity, and seeking solidarity and cooperation. The two sides will uphold the leading role of the heads of state, cement high-level contacts, consolidate strategic mutual trust, strengthen defense cooperation, enhance coordination of political and security policies, and offer firm support on issues related to each other's core interests and major concerns, so as to promote the China-Indonesia community with a shared future in a deep and substantive manner. Both countries will deepen their strategic synergy, speed up the construction of the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway and other flagship projects of the Belt and Road Initiative, and ensure their completion or inauguration on schedule, Qin said. They will also continue to promote the construction of key projects including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Corridor and "Two Countries, Twin Parks" to create a new benchmark for high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road, he added. The two sides are ready to lift their cooperation on trade and investment to a higher level. China, which is the largest trading partner in a decade and second largest source of foreign investment for Indonesia, is willing to further expand the import of commodities and quality agricultural and aquacultural products from Indonesia, the Chinese foreign minister said. He added that China will encourage Chinese enterprises to invest in Indonesia, expand cooperation in the fields ranging from infrastructure, green development to digital economy and healthcare, create highlights of marine cooperation and speed up the restart of aquaculture cooperation. The two sides will strengthen cooperation in tourism, education, culture, youth and sports, and boost cultural and people-to-people exchanges, Qin said, adding that he believes that with increasing direct flights, Chinese visitor arrivals in Indonesia will resume and even surpass the pre-COVID level. Both sides will stay committed to their collaboration as major countries, continue to push for alignment and cooperation between the Belt and Road Initiative and the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and foster a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home in the region, Qin said. The two countries, together with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), will fully and effectively carry out the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), accelerate negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC), and jointly safeguard the peace and stability there, he said. The two sides will enhance cooperation on the Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative, deepen communication and collaboration under multilateral frameworks including the Group of 20 (G20) and BRICS, and jointly safeguard and practice real multilateralism, according to Qin. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) The East of the River Chambers of Commerce Association (ERCCA) held a legislative breakfast meeting with several senators and state representatives, at Goodwin College on Feb. 15. The CT River Valley, Tolland County, and South Windsor Chambers of Commerce all took part, and the open discussion drifted toward housing, in terms of workforce development and retention. State Rep. Tim Ackert was among those who encouraged business leaders to contact their legislators earlier rather than later, about any topic. Its great to hear from you, but before legislation moves along, Ackert said. We love it when you thank us for what weve done, and maybe when you yell at us for how we voted for it, but if youre part of the process, it helps. I think the number one thing we have to do is make the state more affordable, and we struggle with that, said State Rep. Tammy Nuccio, speaking to increasing the workforce and moving people away from needing social services. Im big on bringing down the cost of healthcare. As someone who has been in the insurance industry for 26 years, I can tell you that the only way we do that is by conquering the cost of healthcare at the core issue. State Rep. Tom Delnicki said the best way to keep people in Connecticut is by making home ownership easier. If they have a home, they are more likely going to stay in Connecticut, have a family in Connecticut, and promote Connecticut as a great place to live, Delnicki said. But, how to make home prices and rentals more affordable was something those in the room couldnt agree on. We all agree that there is a scarcity of good housing in Connecticut, said State Rep. Jason Doucette. That feeds into so much of what we talk about, in terms of fueling the economy. Were going to be looking at some of the home ownership programs that the state runs, primarily through CFHA, and looking at improving those programs, expanding those programs, and putting more state resources into those programs, so we can get more people into homes. State Rep. Jason Doucette (D-Manchester, Glastonbury) said some of the programs the state has for rehabilitating housing have been effective. Emcee of the event, developer Eric Santini of Santini Living, said that there had been approximately 10,000 homes being built per year in the state until approximately 15 years ago, and its been approximately 5,000 per year. The pandemic, he said, caused many to want to move to the state, but there simply wasnt enough housing. Rent control bills, he said, are problematic for developers. Rent control is going to actually do the opposite of what you want it to do, he said. Its actually going to be a disincentive for landlords and owners of apartment buildings to invest in their properties. Its going to scare away investors. Finance lenders are not going to want to get involved. Its actually going to hurt production of housing. The one thing we need is we need more housing. Whats being done in the legislature to address that issue? State Rep. Steve Weir said he has done a lot of work in the housing industry, and agrees that rent control isnt the answer. Housing providers generally have great relationships with the residents, Weir said. They dont make money when theyre evicting people. Most of the time, youve got two willing parties entering into an agreement of their own volition. When proposals like rent control come in, I see it as government injecting themselves into a relationship and potentially causing contention where it doesnt exist. Doucette said the states first-time buyer program has already been successful, and more similar programs could be the key to increasing housing and attract more people to Connecticut. I think we want to think bigger and broader, in terms of creating more housing units, he said. Were going to look at creating a pilot program for the rehabilitation of housing units and the creation of small housing projects, so we can make a dent in the number of housing units were putting forward in the state. The governor has proposed a pretty substantial investment in new housing production. State Rep. Jaime Foster said that whatever side business leaders or private citizens fall on housing or other issues, its important to keep in touch with legislators, and present ideas, because compromising is what gets things passed in Hartford. Its always helpful, she said. There are counter-proposals that are effective. We have to be solution-makers, amongst policy-makers. We cant just oppose things and not ever propose a counter-solution. If you say, I am at this table and I have a counter-solution that would be helpful then you can be more effective. Instead of being an obstructionist, you are viewed as a collaborator on the solution. Over at The Conservative Treehouse, Sundance has again managed to generate a treasure trove of anecdotal history, evidence, and analysis from those who visit his site. Last month, he asked readers: if "[y]ou did not take the COVID-19 shot, why not?" The thousands of personal responses were illuminating and created a kind of timeline showing how irreconcilable conflicts pitting available scientific knowledge and common sense against the government's own actions, orders, statements, and censorship heightened public distrust of COVID mandates and "vaccines," until various tipping points spilled over into outright rejection of political, medical, and media authorities. This month, Sundance asks a more foundational question: "When did you start really paying attention?" In other words, when did you "recognize that things around you, things you perhaps didn't pay attention to before, were not what you thought they were"? What was the moment when "your political awakening began"? The thousands of responses to this simple question are a cornucopia of rich history, personal reflection, and insightful analysis. Just as last month's COVID question created a powerful timeline documenting the last three years of COVID-1984 insanity, this month's more general question has generated nothing less than a near-century's worth of details and stories tracking people's "aha moments" as they discovered that the promises of American self-government are often but an ornamental fabrication plastered upon the stratagems of ruthless government actors pushing propaganda, accumulating power, and sacrificing American lives. Interestingly, they come from people traversing back and forth across the political spectrum. From a research point of view, the collected information is staggeringly comprehensive, impressive, and invaluable. From a personal point of view, the selfless entries and recorded memories are emotional, poignant, cathartic, and often deeply revealing. I encourage you not only to read through some of the many responses, but also to continue the conversation here at American Thinker, whose commenters, like those at The Treehouse, are well known for their crisp intellectual engagement. What you will find is a compendium stretching all the way from before the Second World War to the present day, in which ordinary people describe jarring, face-to-face experiences with institutional corruption, malice, cover-ups, cognitively dissonant government propaganda, intimidation, sanctioned lies, and public betrayals. Some of those experiences are well known events: the perplexing details surrounding Lee Harvey Oswald's assassination of President Kennedy, followed directly by Jack Ruby's unbelievable live on-air assassination of Oswald; the Gulf of Tonkin incident that escalated the Vietnam War; the FBI's massacres at Ruby Ridge and Waco; the mysterious disappearance of the FBI's John Doe No. 2 after the Oklahoma City bombing; the explosion of TWA Flight 800; the FBI's and CIA's failures leading to 9/11; the use of predominantly Saudi hijackers to justify wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq; the PATRIOT Act; Obama and Holder's redirection of the PATRIOT Act into a political weapon for targeting American civilians; the 9/11/12 Benghazi attack; IRS, DOJ, and FBI harassment of conservatives; the conspiracy among Obama's FBI, Hillary's presidential campaign, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and a morally corrupt media to frame Donald Trump as a Russian spy; statistically inexplicable vote totals after the introduction of security-free and fraud-prone mail-in-ballot elections; COVID-1984; the persecution of J6 prisoners; and dozens of events in between. These high-profile matters prompted people to question government "narratives" with much more scrutiny. Alongside such historical nodes are numerous personal experiences in which normal Americans observed members of the U.S. government engaging in unethical, immoral, and at times criminal activities that shocked the formerly oblivious from their states of relative complacency. Some were military brats stationed all over the world who saw events as they were and not as they were reported. Many witnessed firsthand how news media distorted events right outside their doors. Others watched as federal authorities got away with outrageous lies. Most encountered some form of government corruption that was unmistakable yet covered up to this day. It is worth pointing out that, just as with the great bulk of readers at American Thinker, the respondents at The Treehouse are generally America-supporting, freedom-loving patriots either who have directly served the nation through the military and supporting professions or whose parents, spouses, children, or other loved ones have made such sacrifices. These are not people who hate America, as the 1619 Project propagandists do. They do not cause reckless harm to their nation, as Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and other anti-American (yet DOJ and FBI-supported) rioters, arsonists, and left-wing shock troops do. Even after having had their "aha" experience, often in a personally gut-wrenching way in which some element of the U.S. government directly betrayed their trust and loyalty, these are people who would overwhelmingly still volunteer to be first in line to protect America and stand in harm's way. Truly, this has always been the most disheartening aspect of our current reality that Americans who have given their all to their nation and would do so yet again are the very people targeted today as "extremists," "terrorists," spreaders of "disinformation," and purveyors of "hate." Well, they are none of those things. They are truth-tellers, honest historians, keepers of liberty's flame, righteous warriors, and the generational glue still somehow preventing society from breaking in two. When a nation not only turns its back on those most critical for its survival but also denigrates their service, commitment, opinions, and personal loss as somehow contemptible and undeserving of respect, that nation will not endure many more days. Read the responses to Sundance's question, and you get a prophetically penetrating glimpse into any future answer should the depressing question one day be asked: why did America fall? Should America disappear from the map, it will be because decades of government corruption and abuse were never addressed until it was simply too late. In fact, this growing collection of personal accounts from ordinary Americans, in which they take to task not only the inherent failings of any system of government, but also the specific train of abuses and usurpations choking too many Americans under the yoke of petty despotism, should be regarded as one of two things: a stark warning that decades of government lies and betrayals must rapidly come to an end, or as an autopsy report preserved in time capsule form for future generations to one day study and comprehend. Either more and more Americans will use forums such as these to stomp out the cancer before it finally takes the host, or the blessings of liberty will skip over several generations, until a time when those of principle and resolve rise to clear a space of Earth free from the evils of State tyranny once again. Do not let the stories of so many thousands of passionate, patriotic Americans be this country's swan song, when they can just as easily be the accelerant spread across the land waiting for a divine spark. Do not assume that evil and pain presage more of the same, when they can just as effectively open up minds and hearts to the coming of a better age. People who find the courage to exercise "free will" will free themselves. It is crystal-clear that more and more Americans (and Westerners generally) are awakening to the dispiriting reality that successive self-serving governments have turned our most cherished rights and freedoms on their head. This process, far from taking place overnight, has been many decades in the making. After so many generations have endured harms at the behest of Constitution-betraying bureaucrats and self-loving proto-tyrants, we are on the precipice of real change. It is a choice. It belongs to you. Do not be misled. Seize the day. Image: Jeff Turner via Flickr, CC BY 2.0. As I perused a list of rules the British Royal Family must follow, one rule in particular jumped out at me. The Royals cannot express any political opinions. They cannot vote. They can't even speak publicly about politics or run for political office of any kind. With companies around the country increasingly perpetuating political stances, I thought of how appropriate it would be for companies to take a similar stance to the Royals, by not taking political sides. A political side we see being heavily pushed at companies is neither Democrat nor Republican, but rather Marxist. The teachings by Frankfurt School academics have evolved into Critical Race Theory, intersectionality, cultural appropriation, and a variety of other academic theories. These theories are disseminated through what you may be more familiar with in the workplace as Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DIE). The Frankfurt School was founded in 1932 as a philosophical and sociological movement with the aim of developing Marxist studies in Germany. After the Nazi takeover in 1933, the Frankfurt School relocated to Columbia University in New York City. The main focus of the Frankfurt School has been Critical Theory, which is primarily focused on critiquing modernity and capitalist society. Failing to attract converts to communism due to capitalism's abundant material wealth, they instead focused on the cultural Marxism of Critical Theory, with the intent of perpetuating populace discontent. Critical Theory divides people via race, sex, and class, with individuals falling into either oppressed or oppressor roles. The many academics who were disciples of the Frankfurt School expanded on these theories in the 1960s and 1970s, putting them into action starting in the 1980s. To be clear, the implementation of DIE being pushed at broker dealers and the workplace in general is a political stance (progressive leftism). A company is certainly free to impose these theories on employees but should realize there are repercussions to taking sides. In my field of expertise, financial services recruiting, a financial adviser in a recent interview requested (as he put it) "an alternative firm that is less WOKE." His current broker dealer had required him and other advisers to attend a Zoom conference call that comprised Human Resources staff indoctrinating advisers in the intricacies of DIE. The adviser found this Zoom meeting inappropriate, insulting, and a turnoff, to say the least. This is not an isolated situation. These DIE Zoom calls have been commonplace at the wirehouses (like Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley) for several years, where the advisers frequently refer to Zoom calls as "anti-white calls," but they are newer to smaller Independent Broker Dealers (IBDs). You see this trend in many industries, where large firms are deeper into indoctrinating DIE, small and midsized firms to a much lesser degree, if at all. Further evidence of the intrusion of these theories into IBDs is newly created staffing positions at broker dealers. In 2020, we saw the first independent broker dealer to advertise a new hire under the title "First Chief Diversity Inclusion Officer." The primary role of this position was stated as "to ensure the corporate workplaces feel safe for everyone." This broker dealer is playing into intersectionality theories, heavily practiced on college campuses that mandate policing people's feelings because those individuals who are established victims (females, minorities, handicapped, etc.) are so very fragile. Everyone must walk on eggshells for fear that someone may say something offensive, which could trigger the oppressed and cause permanent damage to their psyche. Life is hard, and humans are resilient, not fragile. Through all forms of adversity, we grow, learn, and become stronger...not weaker. Cocooning people from adversity impedes their ability to deal with life conflicts. Polarization From CRT Overtly taking political sides to push DIE theories can be polarizing to a large percent of your firm, especially in an industry like financial services, which has been historically heavily Republican because financial advisers are to a large degree cheerleaders for capitalism. Contrary to what some may think, a large percent of the population does not even know about CRT and other social theories. In a survey done by the Institute of Policy Research, seven out of ten respondents said they were not at all or not very familiar with the concept of Critical Race Theory. When asked how well they think CRT describes how American society works, one in five respondents, or 21%, say it does; 35% say it does not; and 44% do not know. The authoritarian nature of this small percentage of CRT evangelists can be quite intimidating, as they are fervent in their beliefs and are quick to shout down those who disagree with their views with accusations of racist, misogynist, etc. If you need proof of this, just try to speak against CRT at a college campus. A Politically Neutral Broker Dealer Speaks Out We asked the CEO of a broker dealer we view as politically neutral several questions as to why he chooses political neutrality and stays clear of promoting DIE. 1. Why do you choose to be politically neutral in the operation of your broker dealer? CEO: We have formally defined our ideal adviser, and nowhere in there does it mention a political party preference. Our aim is to hire advisers that are client-centric, kind and compassionate, maintain a culture of compliance, and are committed to the financial services industry. Personally, I don't know why a company or a celebrity chooses to make a statement on a highly divided topic. Regardless of which side of the fence you sit on with respect to things like guns, religion, or abortion, you will alienate half your customers or potential customers. Therefore, we have not issued any statements. 2. What are your thoughts with regard to the increased push of woke progressive politics toward broker dealers on topics such as diversity, inclusion, and equity? CEO: We just hire the right person, whether it is an employee or adviser. If you do that, you'll find a workplace full of talented individuals with diverse backgrounds. We don't need to spend a lot of money and hire someone to create a DIE program to ensure we have a great group of diverse people. If a company really needs a board or individual to oversee a DIE program to explain right from wrong, it needs new executives. More than likely, though, it's just a bunch of virtue-signaling for executives to feel good about themselves and get their names in industry publications. 3. What are your thoughts on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing? Is this something you encourage your advisors to incorporate into their investment focus? CEO: We do not encourage advisers to incorporate ESG into their investments. We are completely open architecture, so we do not promote one investment style over another and have multiple platforms for advisers to choose from to meet their clients' financial plans and goals. Most advisers we speak to have ESG in their toolbox should a client have a desire to allocate some of his portfolio into companies that rank higher, but it's not common. The narrative is being pushed by the current administration and some media outlets, but in reality, most clients are more concerned about ensuring that their investments will fulfill their retirement hopes and dreams. ESG was questioned not only because it is interlinked with DIE, but because it has been heavily pushed in financial services by Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, in his annual letter to CEOs, "The Power of Capitalism." Mr. Fink's sales pitch "investing with his firm will make you rich and save the world" is debatable, but what isn't debatable is that using customers' money to advance political objectives rather than their best financial interests is a cut and dried breach of fiduciary duty. With the political climate increasingly polarized, attitudes toward those who believe differently can be harsh. These conversations can be disruptive to a harmonious work environment. What we should strive for is a neutral space where everyone works together to achieve the same goals. Jon is the founder of the recruiting firm Henschen & Associates. Since 1999, Henschen & Associates has focused on recruiting financial advisers to independent broker dealers and RIAs throughout the United States. Image: Pezibear via Pixabay, Pixabay License. As I travel, I constantly see tattered American flags blowing in the wind. They are a metaphor for the state of the Union. It is emblematic of how our country is being hollowed out. We have a Manchurian leader who is gutting us of our rights. The latest assault is Bidens determination to put us under the domination of the World Health Organization, who will determine our health care. Despite widespread criticism of the WHOs response to the COVID pandemic, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra joined with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in September 2022 to announce the U.S.-WHO Strategic Dialogue. Together, they developed a platform to maximize the longstanding U.S. government-WHO partnership, and to protect and promote the health of all people around the globe, including the American people. What could possibly go wrong with America ceding its G-d given rights to an organization that could set up a medical police state under the control of the WHO, and in particular WHO Director-General Tedros who could issue orders that will go all the way down the pipe to your primary care physicians? Consider that COVID dictators continue to look for a way out after draconian Covid measures ruined the lives of millions of lower- and middle-class Americans while lining the pockets of the liberal cabal. Cultural Marxism continues to degrade every facet of our country. With the end of the Cold War, many Americans justifiably believed communism had been defeated. But American Marxists have gained more influence than ever before. Cloaking their goals under the pretense of social justice, these cultural Marxists want to distort Americas history and dismantle its very foundations. Everywhere we turn, the social justice warriors have invaded. Endless ethics training courses are mandated in order for colleges to receive federal funding. These courses are Orwells nightmare of debasing language, gaslighting, and weakening common sense. A female educator virtue signals when she writes she/her next to her name. What exactly is that supposed to mean? If a professor has a rainbow flag on her door signifying a safe space for the alphabet soup community, does that mean a white heterosexual male better think twice before entering? Decades have passed since the warnings about our historical ignorance, but we are more historically illiterate than ever before. If history is [even] taught in the United Sates, the version of the history given greatly distorts and defames the motives and truth about those who shaped our country, resulting in Americans pitted against each other, rather than living together in harmony. As a result, our very republic becomes increasingly wobbly as it struggles to remain standing while lurching from one cultural crisis to another. Precisely as the Left has always desired. In fact, the goal of Marxists is the total annihilation of freedom. No matter how many times the communist dream is proven to result in nothing but misery, it seems to get resurrected. And historical ignorance is the means by which the next generation gets sucked in. Consequently, a statue of Teddy Roosevelt that used to invite visitors into the Museum of Natural History is taken down. On the other hand, a statue of career criminal George Floyd is erected despite the fact that Floyd committed three armed robberies, three violent home invasions, six burglaries, three car thefts, beat four victims senseless and held a gun to a very pregnant belly of his robbery victim. Everywhere I turn, I see American values being eviscerated. Our legislators are beyond senseless -- dare I say idiots? Sandy Ocasio-Cortez and Chuck Schumer havent a clue about the system they are supposed to represent. The Left has an insatiable need to be a wrecking ball. The latest attack is a war on local zoning laws. Biden and Democrats are mandating that high-rise apartment buildings with affordable units in tree-lined, single-family neighborhoods will be built. This is all in the name of equity. Towns that do not meet the requirement for economic diversity will lose federal funding. It is but another attack on local control and single-family zoning and would require re-zoning for high-density housing. And then there is the canard about gun control. Forget the fact that both Honduras and Switzerland have a population of 8.2 million people. Honduras bans citizens from owning guns and has the highest homicide rate in the entire world. Switzerland requires citizens to own guns and has the lowest homicide rate in the entire world. Emerald Robinson reminds us that the Australian people gave up their guns and are now on their fifth covid booster shot. The Canadian people gave up their guns and they are now having their bank accounts seized illegally. Perhaps the most devastating and irrevocable assaults are the incessant attacks on the innocence of children. Ayn Rand in her Return of the Primitive wrote about the comprachicos or comprapequenos or child buyers. Comprachicos, as well as comprapequenos, is a compound Spanish word that means child-buyers. The comprachicos traded in children. They bought them and sold them. They did not steal them. And what did they make of these children? Monsters. Why monsters? To laugh. The people need laughter; so do the kings. Cities require side-show freaks or clowns; palaces require jesters To succeed in producing a freak, one must get hold of him early. Consider the drag show in Tennessee where a small child is seen rubbing the crotch of a drag performer. Hence, an art. There were educators. It was a whole science. Where God had put harmony, they put deformity. Where God had put perfection, they brought back a botched attempt. And, in the eyes of connoisseurs, it is the botched that was perfect The practice of degrading man leads one to the practice of deforming him. Deformity completes the task of political suppression Mull over the spiraling increase in gender reassignment surgeries where perfectly healthy organs are cut off. The comprachicos did not merely remove a childs face, they removed his memory. At least, they removed as much of it as they could. The child was not aware of the mutilation he had suffered. This horrible surgery left traces on his face, not in his mind. He could remember at most that one day he had been seized by some men, then had fallen asleep, and later they had cured him. Cured him of what? He did not know. But the modern heirs of the comprachicos are smarter and subtler than their predecessors: they do not hide, they practice their trade in the open; they do not buy children, the children are delivered to them; they achieve their goal without ever laying a finger on their little victims. ...the child is not aware of the mutilation he has suffered. ...they take a child before he is fully aware of reality and never let him develop that awareness. Where nature had put a normal brain, they put mental retardation. To make you unconscious for life by means of your own brain, nothing can be more ingenious. This is the ingenuity practiced by most of todays educators. They are the comprachicos of the mind. They place him into a Progressive nursery school to adjust him to society. The COVID masks and sex reassignment have severely damaged our children. Schools have distorted their minds and politicians have stolen our childrens future. We have to fight back with everything we have. Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com Image: Public Domain Pictures Joe Biden acquired his job through a legal process. However, he did not earn enough verifiable votes to justify the certifications in six key swing states. This issue is addressed in my new book, but here is some of my reasoning. I have limited myself to one example of unverifiable votes for each of those swing states. Arizona At an Arizona Senate Committee hearing on January 24, 2022, we learned that precisely 95 percent of Maricopa County overseas military members (and their families) voted for Joe Biden. That is an amazing (as in phony) percentage, given that the overall county-wide vote was fairly even between Biden and Trump (51 to 49%). Winning the military vote in Maricopa County with a 90 percent margin strongly suggests the likelihood of fraud. The findings were presented at the Committee hearing by Paul Harris, a corporate executive who had been asked to conduct the review during the Cyber Ninjas audit. These are key points from the presentation. (See video @ 1:53.) The ballots were simply unsourced sheets of copy paper. The number of ballots had jumped dramatically, from 1,600 in 2016 to 9,600 in 2020. Exactly 95 percent of the votes were for Joe Biden. Harris estimated that these copy paper ballots provided 8,000 net votes to Biden, who ostensibly won the state by just over 10,000 votes. Paul Harris analyzed just one county. In Pima County, a witness named Kathleen Alby testified that thousands of military faxes were processed: At one point thats all that they were processing were the faxed ones. And, as in Maricopa County, there was no chain-of-custody documentation. (See video at 8:32.) Georgia Garland Favorito is the head of VoterGA.org, and has a forty-year background in information technology. In a detailed press conference, Favorito and his cyber experts itemized fifteen categories of ballot irregularities found during their analysis of ballot images acquired from Fulton County, Georgia. (See video @ 27:00.) The number of unsupportable ballots found for this one county is forty-five times larger than Bidens margin of victory for the entire state. Here are just five of the 15 findings: Although it takes one second to scan a ballot, there are over 4,000 ballots with precisely the same timestamp -- to the second. Not possible. 16,034 mail-in ballot authentication (sha) files were added several days after scanning. Also impossible. There are no ballot images to support 17,724 final certified recount presidential votes. There are no images to support 374,128 certified in-person votes, which is a violation of both federal and Georgia law. 132,284 mail-in ballot images have no authentication files. Michigan Before the 2020 election, the Michigan Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, implemented an illegal procedure that seriously undermined the integrity of the election. Benson announced that all signatures would be presumptively valid -- even if they were only slightly similar to registration signatures. The announcement was, effectively, an invitation to fraudsters to grab all the unused ballot applications they could find or buy; and fill them out and send them in. Trump opposed Bensons new procedure, and he ended up winning in court -- four months after the election. In March, 2021, State Court of Claims Judge Christopher Murray: Nowhere in this states election law has the Legislature indicated that signatures are to be presumed valid... By using an illegal standard for processing of signatures, and by announcing that new standard in advance so that fraudsters could exploit it, Benson effectively invalidated the Michigan election certification. Nevada Three months before the 2020 election, the Democrat administration in Nevada passed a law that gutted election controls, and made the 2020 election impossible to certify with credibility. Under the new Nevada law, all registered voters are automatically mailed ballots (not just applications). In 2020, this created mountains of unused ballots because lots of registered voters are not interested in voting, are not necessarily citizens, may have already moved to a new location, or are already living in the city cemetery. Jay Greenberg, a journalist with NeonNettle.com News, reported that thousands of ballots were being mailed to inactive voters in Democrat Clark County: The vote-by-mail envelopes are piling up in post office trays, outside apartment complexes, and on community bulletin boards in and around Las Vegas. Jenny Trobiani, a Clark County postal worker, wondered: Whats going to happen with these things, theyre not secured at all and there are thousands of them just sitting here? This just seems fraudulent to me, something stinks here. How hard was it to cheat in the 2020 Nevada election? In Clark County you just had to walk into any large apartment building, go to the mailbox area, scoop up a handful of ballots, sign them, and mail them in. There was no ID required, and it was very hard to fail a signature test in Nevada. That is still true today. The new Nevada law, coupled with its lack of an ID requirement, made the 2020 election unverifiable. Pennsylvania When the Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth certified the election on November 24, 2020, there were 202,377 more ballots cast than the number of people shown to have voted. This irrefutable fact is one of several reasons many Pennsylvania legislators wanted Vice President Mike Pence to delay counting the electoral votes on January 6, 2021. On December 28, 2020 (well before the January 6th debacle), Pennsylvania Representative Frank Ryan issued a lengthy statement on behalf of himself and 16 other PA legislators. It had this title: Numbers Dont Add Up, Certification of Presidential Results Premature and in Error. A reading of the Pennsylvania Code (25 PA. Stat. 3154) suggests that the certification may have violated Commonwealth law. The statute states that, if there is a significant unidentified excess of votes cast over persons who voted, there must be an investigation before the votes are recorded. There was no investigation. A spokesperson for the Pennsylvania secretary simply noted that four counties had not yet submitted their voter information. Months after the election, the slowpoke counties finally submitted their voter information, and there no longer was a discrepancy of 202,377 votes. However, the remaining excess of ballots over voters was (and is) over 90,000, and that number exceeds Bidens winning margin of 81,000 votes. In other words, it is likely that the election was and remains illegal under Pennsylvania law, and unverifiable under any credible audit standard. Wisconsin In an effort to spot possible irregularities, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty did a statistical analysis of the top ten voter turnout changes for Republican wards and Democrat wards. (See link @ pg. 78.) I have displayed the results graphically in Figure 1. Figure 1: Percentage increase in voter turnout 2016 to 2020 The very tall column to the right side of the Democrat wards is Madison Ward 124, and in some amazing way the voter turnout increased in that ward by 1,285 percent. That very unnatural increase could explain why Madison refused to provide ballot access to post-election auditors. (See link @ pg. 7.) The sharp increase in Madisons voter turnout could be due to incredible voter enthusiasm. But more likely, it is due to the 200 drop boxes that were placed in the Democrat stronghold for special voting days called Democracy in the Park (a two-day, Biden-promoted event of very questionable legality). The Ward 124 anomaly has never been investigated. Conclusion Joe Biden is the legally-elected President of the United States. However, I believe he won several swing state elections that would not be certifiable if our elections were administered with credible election standards. Joe Fried is an Ohio-based CPA who has performed and reviewed hundreds of certified financial audits. He is the author of the new book, Debunked? An auditor reviews the 2020 election and the lessons learned (Republic Book Publishers, 2022). It explains why the certifications of six swing state elections were premature. Friday, February 24, 2023 marks a year of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Russian president Vladimir Putin thought Ukraine would be easily subdued and a puppet regime would be installed in about three days. He also probably believed that Ukrainian civilians would welcome the Russian soldiers with open arms and offer little if any resistance. Even many Western military leaders and politicians thought Ukraine would quickly fall and even suggested that that Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, could leave for the West at any time. Well, surprise, surprise! Zelensky didn't leave, and the Ukrainian military let the Russians hold on to only about a fifth of the eastern and southeastern part of the country. Zelensky now wants Russia to leave all occupied Ukrainian territories, including Crimea, a strategic location on the Black Sea, which was forcefully annexed by Russia in 2014. As of Feb. 3, the estimated number of Russian soldiers killed is about 200,000, with at least twice that many casualties if you include the wounded who can no longer fight. The Russian mobilization in September added many poorly trained recruits, some of whom were criminals from jails, sent to the front line with poor military equipment who just became cannon fodder for the Ukraine defenders. According to Russian propaganda, about 500,000 new conscripts for military service were planned, starting on Jan. 15, for a second mobilization. So far, no second mobilization has formally been announced. As you can see, the Russian military thinks that hordes of human soldier bodies will make up for an inability to use smart offensive military strategy, hampered further by acute logistics and tactical problems. The tactical approach is a little reminiscent of the Russian hordes charging German positions in the city of Stalingrad in World War II, where Russia lost about a million soldiers and finally defeated the Germans who probably ran out of ammunition. Recently, in fierce fighting in Bakhmut, which once had a population of about 70,000 in eastern Ukraine, Russian soldiers outnumbered Ukrainian soldiers by about a factor of 10 to 1. The battle for Bakhmut has been going on for about 8 months now, and it is mostly a symbolic political rather than strategic necessity for Russia and Ukraine. So far, Ukraine still holds on to Bakhmut but may eventually withdraw to avoid continuing, relatively large losses of soldiers and military equipment. Rumors of massive Russian offenses and Ukrainian counteroffensives abound, but basically the war is largely a stalemate, a trench warfaretype scenario. Yes, Ukraine pushed back the Russians from the area around the capital, Kyiv; Ukraine got back some territory in northeastern Ukraine; and Ukraine got back the city of Kherson and the surrounding area west of the Dnieper river because the Russians withdrew from the area, which was a unique tactical retreat in the war. Russia had minor successes in the Donbas area of eastern Ukraine by reducing small villages and towns to rubble with brute-force artillery shells and then occupying the area with troops, who dug more frontline trenches. Overall, the Russian use of artillery shelling has decreased by about 75%, highlighting the fact that Russia is running low on military hardware and shells, which Ukraine has been rather successful in destroying with their own artillery, anti-tank precision rockets, and Himars longer-range precision rockets obtained from the West. Russia recently tried to destroy the electrical infrastructure of Ukraine before the onset of winter. Russia failed to totally destroy that, but Ukraine was forced to suffer from big blackouts and intermittent electrical service in the winter months. Many of the Russian-launched missiles or rockets were destroyed, and few hit their targets. It seems that for the time being, Russia is out of rockets and missiles. Ukraine has three large working nuclear energy electrical plants, which provide a lot of power, and fortunately, Russia did not target them as part of its nefarious destructive plans. Because this is basically a war of attrition of soldiers and military hardware, both sides are running low on both. Ukraine desperately needs Bradley or similar troop carriers and tanks, like the Leopards made in Germany, to go on an aggressive strategic offensive anywhere on the front line or it will have no chance of taking back any more occupied territory belonging to Ukraine. Western military aid has been promised to Ukraine, but the situation so far is too little and too late. Neither Russia nor Ukraine is good at aggressive strategic planning because of the dwindling number of trained professional soldiers, commanders, and military equipment. Russia has lost over a dozen generals in combat and has failed miserably in tactics, strategy, and logistics. How much the same situation applies to Ukraine is unknown, but Ukraine is still suffering from poor military leadership, Russian-style tactics, and Russian-style military equipment, which includes some Western military equipment. So what we see is a seemingly endless war with neither side making any decisive aggressive strategic that which could quickly alter the state of this largely trench warfare scenario. The war will last many more months, if not years, unless there is an economic or political collapse in either country. Placing your bets on an end to the war is currently unpredictable, and only time will tell whether either country has any kind of victory. Perhaps something will radically happen and lead to a compromised peaceful negotiated settlement of the war, with Russia consolidating most of its military gains. Before the war, at least on paper, Russia was the second most powerful military in the world. Largely due to a corrupt, incompetent military and a tyrannical, corrupt, and incompetent oligarchy, Ukraine's third-rate military, with a corrupt political oligarchy, has so far survived the seemingly more powerful Russian onslaught. Only time will tell if a continuing potpourri of Western economic aid, military aid, and military equipment training for Ukraine will succeed in taking Russia's choking foot off of Ukraine's throat. Ukraine may get some more of its territory back, but it will take a lot more dead and wounded soldiers, suffering, human sacrifice, time, and courageous aggressive strategic fighting to do so. The worst possible future scenario is a split of Ukraine into a Russian-controlled eastern part and a Ukrainian-controlled western part with a demilitarized zone dividing the two areas, much like the stalemate situation with North and South Korea. If that happens, then the world will see that tyrannical military might makes right and national sovereignty is meaningless into the foreseeable future. Can you really blame many Ukrainians, Belarusians, Chechens, Georgians, and other ethnic minorities yearning to live a relatively free Western European lifestyle rather than an oppressive Russian lifestyle? Just compare the average standard of living of Western Europeans and that of the Russians, and you will better understand what is really going on in the world they see around them. Image: mvs.gov.ua via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Natalia Harrell is being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. And she is pregnant. Now lawyers are arguing before Florida's Third District Court of Appeal that the fetus's incarceration is a violation of his rights guaranteed by the U.S. and Florida constitutions. Attorney William M. Norris recently filed an emergency writ of habeas corpus, which allows the court to determine whether someone's imprisonment is lawful. According to the Miami Herald, the writ reads: "UNBORN CHILD has not been charged with any crime by the State. Further, the State has placed the UNBORN CHILD in such inherently dangerous environment by placing the UNBORN CHILD in close proximity to violent criminal offenders." Therefore, the writ argues, the unborn child should be released so he can get necessary care and treatment, be free from "unlawful and illegal detention," and avoid entering the world in a dangerous environment like a prison cell. The 24-page document claims that the "draconian confinement" is harming Harrell's unborn child. It states that the fetus isn't receiving adequate prenatal care, such as vitamins and visits to specialists, and adds that it also has been the victim of negligence including once being trapped in a corrections transport van without air conditioning while temperatures exceeded 100 degrees. Harrell, 24, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, a felony punishable by life in prison, while 6 weeks pregnant on July 26, 2022. (While inside an Uber, she was involved in a fatal quarrel that was caught on tape.) The article used the term "his" to describe the unborn child. Did the attorney, too? Did they simply assume that the unborn baby was a male? Ultrasound be damned how do they know that the yet-to-be-born child identifies as a male? Maybe it is non-binary, or genderfluid, or identifies as a female. Maybe Natalia Harrell should identify as a non-felon with no criminal record whatsoever so that she and her unborn child can be released. One thing is certain: Natalia's baby is innocent and uncharged. This is an interesting case. On the one hand, I don't want to see yet another violent criminal released. (And you know, or at least strongly suspect, that Harrell and her lawyer[s] are more concerned about springing her than they are about her baby.) On the other hand, what a powerful statement it would be! An affirmation that an unborn child has rights like any other innocent human being. "Pro-choice" activists, who are also usually feminists and believe in criminal justice reform, would be thrust into an awkward position: that of essentially having to say, "Keep the woman and her non-viable tissue mass in prison!" Delicious. If justice were to prevail, perhaps a C-section could be performed, Harrell could continue to serve her time...and the baby could be given to loving foster parents. Image: Nogwater via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped). Next week is the mayoral election in Chicago, and things are actually looking up a bit in my long-ago home town. Chicago has non-partisan elections for aldermen and mayor which is good, because there are so many chumbolones: dim-witted Chicagoans who will vote for any Democrat, no matter how bad, like Soros-backed prosecutor Kim Foxx. The non-partisan races tend to break down by race, among white, black, and Hispanic candidates all scrambling to make the run-off. Last time, two black mayoral contenders made the run-off the corrupt machine boss, Toni Preckwinkle, and the supposed reformer, Lori Lightfoot. Interestingly, Chicago has seen a steep decline the last 20 years in its black population. The polls in 2022 showed Lightfoot getting trounced by several contenders and Congressman Chuy Garcia leading. Garcia, though, appears to be the first casualty of the Sam Bankman-Fried scandals. I suppose young Sam figured that if Soros could buy a Chicago prosecutor, he ought to buy a Chicago mayor. This set the stage for a Lightfoot comeback, but also opened the door for a respected government official and moderate Democrat, Paul Vallas a man who in the recent past even flirted with the idea of running as a Republican. That's something you don't see in Chicago these days: a mayor who is a competent, non-crazy person. The latest polls show Vallas surging ahead. Most observers believe he can beat Lightfoot in a run-off. My family in law enforcement back in Illinois even think Vallas could stem some of the outrageous violence now afflicting the city, such as the record homicide levels in recent years, which, until now, has made no impression on Democratic leaders. Governor Pritzker keeps pushing more pro-criminal laws through the Legislature and now the courts. Chicago schools are also in the direct control of the mayor and, under Lightfoot, left to the mercy of the teacher's union. No surprise most of the public schools are utterly worthless. One may also ask, where are the Illinois Republicans in all this? Can they not at least do something in Springfield? Well, all the world remembers the notorious history of Chicago ballot-stuffing, and how it led to Kennedy winning Illinois in 1960. The election fraud wasn't about JFK it was done that year by Mayor Daley and the Outfit to stop Republican Ben Adamowski, their arch-nemesis, from being re-elected state's attorney. But few recall "the rest of the story," as Chicago's most famous broadcaster might put it. All the vote fraud of that era created a massive backlash against the Machine Democrats. Republicans organized the original Operation Eagle Eye in 1962, which sent poll-watchers into the mob-controlled "River Wards" and ended the obvious vote-stealing. A series of major GOP victories in Cook County and statewide followed. Nixon's U.S. attorney, Jim Thompson, even prosecuted most of Daley's allies, starting with the outgoing governor, Otto Kerner. Reform Democrat Dan Walker took on Daley, winning a single divisive gubernatorial term in 1972. The Republicans then won every Illinois election for governor until 2002, and Richard J. Daley passed away in 1976, his Machine a near impotent wreck, to be led by one nincompoop after another. But sadly, Illinois, after decades of Republican victories, still became just another high-tax, high-regulation state. Public employee unions are now the dominant force in government. Crime and nasty race politics are as bad as ever in Chicago's black neighborhoods. Republican Jim Edgar even torpedoed what was then a bipartisan school choice movement in the 1990s. If the nickname "RINO" wasn't coined in Illinois, it should have been. To give you an idea of how far the Illinois Republican Party has sunk, just a few years ago, Adam Kinzinger was considered the party's brightest star. Paul Vallas may well win election as mayor and try to turn things around. But he won't get any help from Springfield, nor from what's left of the Illinois Republicans. Frank Friday is an attorney in Louisville, Ky. Image via Public Domain Pictures. Imagine if Mexicans in the U.S. chose to stop sending money to their families south of the border. It would upset the families, to be sure, and rock the Mexican economy. "Remesas" or remittances to Mexico are now $50 billion on a yearly basis. Let's go into the numbers: Mexican families received a record high of US $48.3 billion from abroad during the period from January to October. The number represents an increase of 14.6% over the same period last year, data from the Mexican central bank showed on Thursday. The figure also marks 30 months of sustained increase with highs recorded in May ($5.142 billion), June ($5.144 billion) and September ($5.3 billion). In October alone, the number of remittances was US $5.35 billion 11.25% more than the amount of US $4.81 billion registered in the same month of 2021. In total, 124 million operations were registered between January and October, mostly electronic transfers. Remittances, mainly from Mexican migrants in the United States, represent the country's second-largest source of foreign revenue after automotive exports. It also accounts for more than the Mexican agricultural sector, which contributes 3% to the gross domestic product. Think about it: 3% of the GDP! According to the article, 94% of remittances come from California, Texas, and Minnesota. Am I the only one surprised that Minnesota made the top 3? It's all about "son" in the U.S. sending "dolares" to "mami." It generally goes to food, clothing, and family health care. Honestly, it keeps a lot of families south of the border living from month to month. The numbers are so vital that the Mexicans living in the U.S., and especially the ones sending money, are referred to as "heroes." Yes, that young man cutting your grass or cleaning your table at the restaurant is a hero back home. How does this make Mexico more prosperous? I don't know, but it certainly provides a safety net that Mexico does not have to pay for. PS: Check out my blog for posts, podcasts, and videos. Image: Judgefloro. Attorney General William Tong announced an investigation into what Cynthia Jennings, attorney for the students of Stone Academy, called one of the largest heists of African American and Latino people in the history of this state. The for-profit nursing college, which had three campuses in the state, closed abruptly Feb. 15 following the states findings that the school faced numerous compliance issues, leaving nearly 900 students unable to finish the semester or complete their education. At the Capitol Thursday surrounded by impacted students, Tong said he has begun a formal investigation into Stone Academy under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act and has subpoenaed student records, information about tuition, marketing practices, faculty qualifications, complaints and how and when the school decided to close. Its really important also that we get information about how the school intends to make this right to the students because they have to make this right. Thats why were here today, Tong said. Before the school closed, the Office of Higher Education had found that 20% of the schools teachers were not qualified, that clinical experiences offered were invalid and that the school failed to properly document students classroom and clinical experiences. In addition, the schools nursing program faced closure due to high student failure rates on the state licensing exam. This isnt just hard for the students. This is a tragedy for hundreds if not thousands of Connecticut students and families and their communities, Tong said. And I think you can see most of the folks here probably have jobs already and have just been trying to make it work for their families, for their kids women, women of color just trying to do better for themselves and their families. We are going to throw everything we have at them, Tong said. We are going to get to the bottom of this and if we find any violations of the law criminal or civil wrongdoers are going to face the most severe consequences and we are going to make sure of that. Already the state has taken possession of 75 boxes of current student records and is working to evaluate each students transcript, focusing first on those closest to graduation. In addition, the Office of Higher Education is planning a career fair to bring students together with the states community colleges, workforce development, the National Guard and other trade schools like Lincoln Tech and Porter & Chester Institute. Representatives of the state and federal Departments of Education will also be there to help students apply to have loans discharged, tuition refunded or to transfer schools. Our office is currently processing all active Stone Academy student files so that we can turn them over to an independent auditor for verification, said Timothy Larson, executive director of the Office of Higher Education, acknowledging that the process would take time. Legislators at Tongs side urged the students to continue their dream and finish their education at a time when there is a critical need for nurses in the state. But Jennings, a civil rights attorney who said she is representing Stone Academys students, pointed to the states share in failing the students. No student should have to know whether or not the institution is presenting accredited teachers the state is supposed to check that out and investigate that as its happening. No students should be told at the end of their [educational] career that Oh, Im sorry, were going to have to look at your transcripts. Were going to have to evaluate if theyre accredited. That should have been done before this happened. She called on the state to draw on its resources to hold classes and get every one of these students through the state board. Im speaking on behalf of almost every student in this room when I say it is not about the money. Giving them their tuition back is not going to recover the years they took getting ready for this, she said. Jennings thanked Tong for pursuing the investigation but said, I can tell you an investigation isnt going to come close to making these people whole. They should be given their tuition back because it was stolen from them but they should be able to go forward and graduate in July. If you look around the room, it is almost all Black and brown people who have been affected. Students can register for the career and education fair hosted by the Office of Higher Education here. Students or Stone Academy employees with information relevant to the investigation can file a complaint at dir.ct.gov/ag/complaint. Students seeking guidance on their educational options can contact the Office of Higher Education at 860-947-1816 or ohe.pcs@ct.gov. Kaitlin McCallum can be reached at kmccallum@courant.com. California's governor, Gavin Newsom, likes to hold out his state as a model for the nation, in a move to ramp up his presidential ambitions. Never mind that 500,000 people have fled the state. He calls California the nation's true "free" state and says he plans to make all of America into one big California. Well, he's got this sort of thing going on, and it's directly tied to his governorship. According to Fox5 San Diego: SAN DIEGO Law enforcement in San Diego launched a major human trafficking operation that resulted in the successful rescue of eight children and arrest of 48 individuals, officials announced Tuesday. Since Jan. 9, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies completed 17 operations in San Diego and National City neighborhoods as part of a larger undertaking to address human trafficking called "Operation Better Pathways." According to officials during a press conference Tuesday, members of the "Operation Better Pathways" task force used video surveillance and undercover units to monitor neighborhoods for potential victims, traffickers or buyers. "There's a focus on reducing demand, but really the focus is dealing with the traffickers the people who are basically (enslaving) these women to go out there and perform sex acts for money and then also trying to get these women onto better pathways," San Diego Police Department Lt. Adam Sharki said to FOX 5 prior to the press conference. Law enforcement said 16 people being trafficked were rescued overall, including eight children. The youngest of the children was 13 years old she has since been reunited with her family. Human slavery. With 13-year-old girls the slaves. That's some "free" state he's talking about. And the cases are multiplying exponentially in California, all because of a bill he signed to empower pimps and human-traffickers. According to a laudatory July 2022 piece from the ACLU: Today, Governor Newsom signed Senator Scott Weiner's Senate Bill 357, the Safer Streets for All Act, which will help to protect all people from discriminatory arrests and harassment based on how they dress or their profession. SB 357 repeals California Penal Code Section 653.22, a law that criminalizes loitering for the intent to engage in sex work. This new act will take effect on January 1, 2023. SB 357 is the first legislative initiative of the DecrimSexWork CA Coalition a coalition of current and former sex workers, organizers, and allies. What an ironically titled bill. Fox quoted two San Diego officials who are watching this explosion of activity unfold up close: David Nisleit, chief of the San Diego Police Department, and Summer Stephan, the city's district attorney, who put their finger on the problem: Nisleit and Stephan during the conference said that a new California law, SB 357, that decriminalized loitering with intent to commit prostitution has had an inverse effect by emboldening those who engage in trafficking. The bill was signed into law last year and took effect in January. The purpose of the act was to address the disproportionate impact that previous enforcement of loitering had on Black and transgender communities, according to the ACLU California Action, who co-sponsored the measure. "The foreseeable and predictable consequences of this bill far outweigh this (impact)," Nisleit said during the conference. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline provided by SDPD, more than 1,300 human trafficking cases were reported in California in 2021 more than any other state in the nation. So the pimps were the beneficiaries of this measure, not the exploited victims, whether transgender, illegal alien, or anyone else who's vulnerable to pimps out human-trafficking for profit. Abigail Shrier, who's examined the trangender industry in the past, has the receipts on what's happening. In a long and substantial deep dive for City Journal's March edition, called "Predator's Paradise" (which can also be read on her Substack), Shrier explains: Over the last six months, the number of prostitutes has doubled, [anti-trafficking activist Stephany] Powell says. "On Figueroa, between 68th and 75th, in an hour, you might see about 30 girls out there. Now, you can see 60 to 65 girls in an hour." What shifted? The answer, the anti-trafficking advocates told me, is Senate Bill 357. Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in July, the measure decriminalized loitering with the intent to engage in prostitution. The bill did not officially take effect until January 1 of this year; but, from the moment it became law back in July, these women say, the on-the-ground reality changed. "The minute the governor signed it, you started seeing an uptick on the streets," Powell said. "And on social media, the pimps were saying: 'You better get out there and work because the streets are ours.'" The pimps were right: police stopped making arrests for crimes that would no longer be charged. What are the two biggest California cities for this kind of horrific trade in kids? According to EasyLlama, an NGO that fights sex harassment: Los Angeles, CA California is the worst offender out of all US states when it comes to human trafficking violations. Los Angeles is its largest city with a huge gap between the rich and the poor, with lots of hopeful people arriving to "chase their dreams": with so much "sex, drugs and rock-n-roll" going on, it's an obvious hotspot for human trafficking activity. ...and... San Diego, CA With California being the US state with most human trafficking cases called in and with San Diego being located right by the Mexican border, the city sees its share of human trafficking and smuggling in all its hideous incarnations. Shrier believes that Newsom has been a "show poodle" for the darker forces consistently moving to disempower parents, defund the police, spread AIDS without consequences, and protect kids from predators, which primarily stems from the legislative moves of state senator Scott Wiener, who exerts abnormal levels of statehouse power in the one-party blue city, all ostensibly in the name of helping LGBT community members and extending sexual freedoms. He's the author of a slew of malevolent measures that strip the vulnerable of any protection. But who exactly are these "queer kids" and "gay kids" he's talking about? He can't be referring to the young gay teens who are the victims of felony statutory rape; those minors weren't being discriminated against by the law they were being protected by its bright-line insistence that they were sexually off-limits to predatory adults. When he refers to discrimination against "queer kids," Wiener seems actually to be concerned with the law's unfairness to the perpetrators of felony statutory rape. That is, he worries about a twentysomething adult a "kid," in his turn of phrase who has sex with a minor. Sex predators are the biggest beneficiaries of all, and now California has become a magnet for them. The details in the Shrier piece cover a slew of negative measures that enable children to be sex-trafficked, and now we are seeing the results in the massive child sex-trafficking rings turning up all through California. These horrors aren't happening in a vacuum; they are directly the handiwork of Newsom and his political allies, who create such comfortable positions for sex-traffickers to operate, and when lawmen eventually do catch up to them, they do so only with one hand tied behind their back after the evil organizations have grown big. Shrier notes that primarily black girls from Oakland have been some of the biggest victims, but you can bet with the state's open invitation to illegal aliens that the open border is a boon for these evil organizations, too. Newsom is the ultimate author of it and now wants to spread it throughout the country. He can take a bow for it, but anyone outside California who doesn't want the same fate for his state should hold him accountable for that "achievement." Image: Pixabay, Pixabay License. James Cameron is not only a Hollywood director known for box-office hits like Titanic and Avatar, but also a devout environmentalist on a mission toward a green Utopia well, in theory, at least. His "solutions" sound more like crimes against humanity, so now that I think about it, I guess "climate communist" is a better term. Cameron is currently in the midst of a media blitz for his new film, and in an article for Time Magazine, which was published last week, Cameron said the following: I can relate to Thanos ... I thought he had a pretty viable answer. The problem is nobody is going to put up their hand to volunteer to be the half that has to go. Huh? I had some idea of who Thanos was because to be honest, I consume a lot of memes, but I still had to look him up to gather extra context and details. According to a website dedicated to Marvel fandom: Thanos was a genocidal warlord ... whose objective was to bring stability to the universe by wiping out half of all life at every level, as he believed its massive population would inevitably use up the universe's entire supply of resources and perish. Ahhh, I see. Population "management" for the sake of Gaia or is it human sacrifice for Asherah? Where is Cameron's handler? This is the kind of stuff you say behind closed doors, not out loud in a printed interview with Time Magazine. "Klaus, Bill, slight hiccup. Those four billion people we need to exterminate? Yeah, they're not going to march to the killing fields or the gas chambers voluntarily." Now, I do not subscribe to the idea that there is such a thing as overpopulation (have you ever driven through rural Nevada?), but that's beside the point, because Cameron does and what an incredibly sad and wicked way to view humanity. Say he's right, and overpopulation is a looming crisis. Why is murder the solution instead of innovation? Eliana Dockterman, the author of the article, opened her piece with this: James Cameron wanted a vegan set on Avatar: The Way of Water. Anything less would be hypocritical. The sci-fi epic ... centers on aliens fending off invading humans who have depleted earth's resources. 'We couldn't lecture oil companies and turn around and eat hamburgers,' he says. The same oil companies you patronize when you buy fuel for your private jet? The shiny pages of a magazine, like, say, Time Magazine, require refined oil. Avatar is CGI, which means a lot of lithium-battery computers were involved. To procure lithium, diesel-powered heavy machinery is a must. But heaven forbid you provide the peasants with real food, because that would be hypocritical. Give me a break. Image: Free image, Pixabay license, no attribution required. Things we know about Sam Brinton, the former Biden nuclear official: He claims he's "non-binary"; he gets sexual pleasure by "dominating" men pretending to be dogs; he claimed his family subjected him to brutal "conversion" therapy, something that both his parents and experts in the field say is not true; videos show him leaving airports with suitcases that allegedly did not belong to him; and he's being tried for grand larceny because of those suitcases. Yesterday, we learned something new: a Tanzanian fashion designer alleges that Brinton has been wearing clothes that look remarkably like designs stolen from her at Ronald Reagan Airport five years ago. Aysa Khamsin has alleged that, in 2018, she came to D.C. for an event at which her original clothing designs would be displayed. However, when she went to pick up her luggage, the suitcase holding those unique clothes was gone, leaving her unable to participate in the show. She immediately reported the loss to the authorities: In communications between Khamsin and Delta Air Lines officials from March 2018 shared with Fox News Digital, Khamsin pleaded for help locating her bag, saying that it contained expensive clothes, shoes, jewelry and other personal belongings. Most stories about lost luggage end there, with the victim never seeing her things again. Image: Aysa Khamsin's design and Sam Brinton. Twitter screen grab. But with Sam Brinton's penchant for self-promotion, that story may have a different ending. In 2022, when the story broke that Brinton is alleged to have stolen women's luggage from airports, a lot of pictures of him were suddenly circulating on the internet. And lo and behold, Khamsin saw Brinton wearing clothes that looked remarkably like her unique designs, the ones that had vanished at the airport in 2018. Khamsin, therefore, filed a complaint with the Houston Police Department in December, which they turned over to the FBI. After a single telephone interview with the FBI's Minnesota field office, Khamsin heard nothing more. Given that Brinton's case is in the headlines again after a couple of court appearances, Khamsin decided to go public with the giant coincidence of Brinton wearing clothes identical to her original design: My name is Asyakhamsin tanzanian fashion designer based in houston Texas USA I lost my bag 2018 in DCA recently I heard the news on @FoxNews about @sambrinton luggage issue surprisingly I found his images wore my custom made outfitswhich was in the lost bag on 2018 pic.twitter.com/lJwLHtMJlz asyakhamsin (@asyakhamsin1) February 20, 2023 The comparisons are striking. I'm no fashionista, but Brinton's attire looks remarkably like Khamsin's designs. The Twitterati had fun with this new information: Whenever the Biden Administration lectures us about DEI, I will think of this cross dresser fetishist stealing a Tanzanian womans luggage to wear her clothes. pic.twitter.com/HRRTsu53L7 Christina Pushaw (@ChristinaPushaw) February 23, 2023 What you should note about all of these photos is that Sam Brinton posted them himself. And then was twice charged with theft of womens luggage and still didnt take them down. Now a designer credibly claims these are her designs, lost luggage. and the photos are still up pic.twitter.com/ohqC6aJGBp BrutalBrittany (@BrutalBrittany2) February 23, 2023 Matt Walsh had the best line about the emerging evidence of clothing "coincidences": We're about to have another Me Too movement but it's just going to be women coming forward because Sam Brinton stole their clothes Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) February 22, 2023 Humor aside, there's a lesson to be learned from this: what we're not supposed to notice but is nevertheless true is that there is a difference between the normal and the perverse. Normal people tend to ascribe to normal rules, chief among which are those articulated in the Ten Commandments, including "Thou shalt not steal." People who embrace perversion and denying your sexual reality and embracing BDSM, or engaging in Devil-worship, like Demetre Daskalakis, the National Monkeypox Response Coordinator, are all perverse have already made clear their disdain for norms. Why wouldn't they push the envelope in other areas as well? Does this mean all Devil-worshipping, BDSM crossdressers are breaking the law? Of course not. But common sense says there's going to be a cohort among that number that believes the rules don't apply to them. For that reason, an FBI guided by common sense, rather than an obsession with January 6 and Catholics who like the Latin Mass, should have paid a little more attention to Brinton's background check, just in case. Unfortunately, in Biden's America, it's a reasonable assumption that, even if the agents responsible for checking Brinton's background weren't already onboard with the diversity ideology, they were advised to tread lightly. The average Democrat doesnt spend their day thinking; theyre just living in a state of emotion and instant gratification. Therefore, its no wonder theyre completely given over to ill-conceived ideas and misinformation; in other words, leftism. Low intellect mixed with hypersensitivity makes for the perfect storm: they identify with the political philosophy that meets their needs which is why blue voters in Arizona currently find themselves in the throes of a nervous breakdown. Back story: Arizona has a unique scholarship program (ESA), which allows for recipients to redirect the money that would have been spent on their public education towards a private one of their choice. Historically, program funds were doled out using a lottery system, but that all changed during the last legislative session, when the Republican legislature and Republican governor enacted ESA for all dont get any ideas though thinking these Republicans arent RINOs, this job well done was an anomaly. Understandably, leftists are throwing a temper tantrum. Parental rights like school choice is for the birds! What would they do without an audience of children to whom they could read and show pornography? Parents? How in the world are they qualified to make choices for their children? Im the one with a masters degree! They arent nearly as educated! (No, that wasnt sarcasm, because yes, it is almost verbatim what a teacher said recently regarding a new parental rights bill; read Andrea Widburgs breakdown here.) But, check out this tweet below: Well this is fcking terrifying. https://t.co/hPQ62Tm8WS Jeanne Casteen (@JeanneCasteen) February 22, 2023 Am I reading that right? Per her bio, the author of the tweet is a devout leftist a political philosophy which openly promotes the grooming of children in schools. But now, all of a sudden, shes concerned that adults charged to educate the younger generations might exploit or abuse those under their tutelage? But not only that! Leftists consistently poo-poo accountability for the flowing money spigot to Zelensky and dont seem to have a problem with a $32 trillion national debt, but now theyre suggesting our taxpayer money isnt being spent judiciously and ethically? Am I being punked? This feels like a prank. A few years back, I watched in amazement (or perhaps stunned horror is a better descriptor) as a group of three Arizona leftists scanned Netflix for something to watch. This is not an exaggeration: it took them north of 40 minutes to find something because one of them or another had seen each of the options through which they flipped. How many was it? Was it hundreds? Or thousands? Seriously, how much time do these people spend getting programmed in front of a television? Even speculating what that answer might be makes me sick but, the experience was an eye-opener, because these are the people with whom were dealing. Their vote is worth as much as mine isnt that terrifying? Funny enough, one of those lefties is in fact a teacher, with a masters degree, and later that night as I told her of my intentions to homeschool, she asked do you really think youre qualified? Mind you, this is a woman who works in a school that has this artwork on their walls: From a MIDDLE SCHOOL in Tucson, AZ: Baby murder brainwashing nearing completion. pic.twitter.com/vSzzcuT0hM Olivia Murray (@americaliv1) February 22, 2023 Um, yeah, I think Im qualified Im not interested in brainwashing my precious children into the Biden Youth. Image: Free image, Pixabay license, no attribution required. Doctor, I have cancer. I have this new pain, and I talked to my friends, and I looked on the internet, and it can't be anything other than cancer. You have to start me on radiation and chemotherapy right now, or I'll die. The doctor says take a breath and slow down let's do some tests, find out what the pain is, and see what the issue really is. You should know to never diagnose yourself through the internet; people always assume the worst or the most extreme when they do that. As for your friends, I think they are trying to be supportive and kind, but they may not be the best source of information on this right now. Doctor, I am transgender. I have these new thoughts, and I talked to my friends, and I looked on the internet, and it can't be anything other than being transgender. You have to start me on hormones and schedule me for surgery right now or I'll die. The doctor says...sure, when do you want to start? In other words, if you think you have cancer, your doctor will check. If you think you are transgender, too many doctors will simply take your word for it, "affirm" your almost assuredly transitory state of mind, and then go right ahead with procedures that cause permanent damage. And while the scenarios above my be fictional, they are not at all hypothetical. In fact, they are all too real, as many "detransitioners" will attest to. Recently, lawsuits have begun to be filed by detransitioners against the doctors and clinicians and establishments that, they say, simply moved them down the conveyor belt toward transition without taking into account other factors, such as looking at the general mental health of the person, his overall well-being, and the reasons for seeking to transition in the first place. In the first Canadian lawsuit brought, the claim is made that doctors, etc. allowed Michelle Zacchigna "to self-diagnose as transgender and prescribe her own treatment without providing a differential diagnosis or proposing alternative treatments[.]" Further, she discovered the concept of "gender identity" online, became certain that was the issue, and sought treatment for gender identity issues. A few doctor appointments later, Zacchigna was prescribed testosterone. In the United States, one of the nation's health care behemoths, Kaiser Permanente, is also being sued for having "performed, supervised, and/or advised transgender hormone therapy and surgical intervention for Chloe Cole when she was between 13[ and ]17 years old." According to Kaiser's gender-related web pages, they practice "gender affirming" care as outlined by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health guidelines. To say WPATH has become a lightning rod in the gender discussions is an understatement, and criticisms of its "affirming" approach abound. Despite the red flags, Kaiser continues to take this approach, noting on its site that "it's important to us to know how you identify yourself and how we can best meet your needs." "Meeting your needs" involves certain physical and chemical procedures. It should be noted that there is scant mention of mental health evaluations, therapy options, or even any other possible approach for the patient to take other than medicalization. But it is specifically noted, rather encouragingly, it seems, that "young people can talk with their doctor about gender-related questions. Part of every appointment is confidential for youth age 12 and older." Twelve and older. Most doctors want to do the best they can by their patients and the community. Some, sadly, do not, whether it be about this issue or other past medical tragedies. As with the social contagion spreading transgenderism through teens, it appears that a parallel process is happening in the medical field. Doctors are people, and people like to be popular and seen as caring and at the vanguard of change, and people do not like being stigmatized, censured, mocked, fired from their jobs, and made pariahs in their peer group in this case, other doctors, who claim to be "experts" on the subject. That is a tragedy...and it is causing even worse tragedies. Thomas Buckley is the former mayor of Lake Elsinore, Calif. and a former newspaper reporter. He is currently the operator of a small communications and planning consultancy and can be reached directly at planbuckley@gmail.com. You can read more of his work at https://thomas699.substack.com. Image: ParaDox. It is said that for politicians, every occasion, from celebrations to tragedies, is a campaign opportunity. During a celebration, they take credit for the joys of citizens while reminding them that prior to their election, the situation was dire. During a tragedy, they put on a serious demeanor, dress casually, and ensure that videos and photos of them on location are circulated. Most voters are driven by emotions. Even if the negligence of the politician caused the tragedy, the sight of their leader rolling up his sleeves and interacting with victims is enough to overlook mistakes. They remember a handshake or a hug or "inspiring" words and vote to re-elect. It has been more than 20 days since the train derailment occurred in East Palestine, Ohio, which left toxic chemicals brewing in the water and air. Many are gripped by fear and anxiety despite assurances from government officials that the air and the water are safe. Residents have reported headaches, nausea, burning eyes, and sore throats since the accident. But the Biden administration doesn't seem to care even to feign compassion. No top official from the federal government has visited the site thus far. In fact, Biden flew away to Ukraine, where he was busy provoking World War 3, struggling to construct coherent sentences, and announcing an additional $500 million of taxpayer funds in aid to Ukraine. Trent Conaway, the mayor of East Palestine, said that Biden's visit to Ukraine was the "biggest slap in the face" as his town continues to bear unspeakable hardships. BIDEN: "We built a coalition of nations from the Atlantic to the Pacific. NATO. To the, in the Atlantic. Japan in the Pacific. I mean, across the couacross the world" pic.twitter.com/4TBLtHHcDd RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 20, 2023 Biden's transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg, seemed indifferent. He attempted to suggest that the accident was nothing out of the ordinary. Pete Buttigieg on the Ohio train derailment disaster: "While this horrible situation has gotten a particularly high amount of attention, there are roughly 1,000 cases a year of a train derailing." pic.twitter.com/5NFtZnlDmg RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 16, 2023 He did a series of interviews where he attempted to claim that help was being provided. Buttigieg's apathy was so blatant that even MSNBC held him accountable. "The residents of East Palestine are asking when you are going to pay them a visit. What have you got to say to that?" PETE BUTTIGIEG: "So I am planning to visit. I have followed the norm..." pic.twitter.com/XhDSEMnWQQ RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 21, 2023 "What do you say to people who see the presidents visit to Ukraine, but dont see you or the president in East Palestine?" BUTTIGIEG: "This has the attention of the entire administration" pic.twitter.com/lOO2xgAqyz RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 21, 2023 Clearly, Buttigieg must have been upset that his media lapdogs were squeaking at him. Hence, when a Daily Caller reporter challenged him about his failures, he displayed passive-aggressiveness by refusing to answer and asking the reporter to refer to his earlier statements. He claimed he was taking personal time perhaps failing to realize that the victims do not have such a luxury, with the water and air around them severely polluted. So infuriated was Buttigieg that he took a picture of his reporter, Jennie Taer. Perhaps it will be sent to the FBI for action? We will know in a few days. I asked Secretary Buttigieg about the crisis in East Palestine and I guess he didnt like that so he took a pic of me. Im just doing my job, sir. @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/HjKNgF25FJ Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) February 22, 2023 Such unscripted and spontaneous interactions usually reveal the true colors of an individual. Buttigieg doesn't care, and worse, he doesn't even care to hide his apathy. The Biden administration peddled the claim that Buttigieg's failure to visit the affected site was altruistic, stating that he didn't want to "detract from the emergency response efforts." It was utter chaos on the ground, made worse by the display of abject apathy by the Biden administration. Perhaps Biden and Buttigieg feared being harmed by the chemicals in the air in the affected zone; hence, they looked away. Perhaps it was because the Biden administration knew that the victims weren't their Democrat voter base and never will be. They didn't even send Kamala Harris for a tour which was probably a good move. The victims have suffered enough; they must not be subjected to Harris's word salads or her poorly timed laughter. But since this involves Democrat leadership, the media are also looking the other way. Had this happened when a Republican was in charge, the media would have covered this story in detail, each and every resident would have been interviewed, and their plight would have been amplified. A few days back, President Trump announced that he will be visiting the affected area. This announcement was enough to make waves in D.C. The Western Journal revealed that FEMA initially rejected Ohio's plea for help, yet hours after President Trump announced his visit to East Palestine, FEMA announced that it would be deploying a team to support the ongoing relief efforts. Yesterday, Trump visited the affected areas. Shortly before Trump arrived, Buttigieg announced that he would visit East Palestine on Thursday. Trump was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd of local residents. Many of the local residents were heard shouting, "Thank you for coming," "Thank you for not forgetting about us," and "We love you." Upon hearing their chants, Trump went over to greet and shake hands with the people. This is what happens mid-visit when residents of East Palestine, Ohio start chanting We love you, President Trump! He drops what hes doing and walks over to greet each and every one of them. This is servant leadership and love for fellow Americans. pic.twitter.com/6w5Pi7QePk Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 22, 2023 Trump delivered truckloads of bottled water and cleaning supplies to those in need and vowed to continue to provide food and cleaning supplies. He told the residents: "You are not forgotten." Trump to East Palestine, Ohio residents: "You are not forgotten ... We stand with you" pic.twitter.com/kHy7VqqnBI The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 22, 2023 Next, Trump stopped by a local McDonald's and ordered meals for first responders such as the town police and fire brigade and residents of East Palestine, Ohio. He caused laughter when he said he knows the menu better than anyone in the restaurant, including the employees. Trump to East Palestine, Ohio residents: "You are not forgotten ... We stand with you" pic.twitter.com/kHy7VqqnBI The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 22, 2023 Despite not being in government, Trump was paying for the relief material for the suffering residents. This is commendable by any standards and a rare display. Trump also had a message for Biden: President Trump On The Ground In East Palestine, Ohio Reporter: "What's your message to Joe Biden?" President Trump: "Get over here." pic.twitter.com/PoOrZPt5j8 The Columbia Bugle (@ColumbiaBugle) February 22, 2023 How did the media cover it? Fox News and the N.Y. Post highlighted the fact that Trump had handed over "Trump Spring Water" to imply that Trump was promoting his brand following a disaster. Far-left news organizations like the HuffPost, Salon, Newsweek, etc. also focused on branded water. Many media houses claimed that the train derailment occurred because a rule on the electronic brakes was withdrawn in 2018 by the Trump administration. Breitbart debunked that spurious claim, while Trump rejected it. In the next few days, similar claims will be made where Trump is either blamed for the disaster or called insensitive during his visit. They will probably sneer at the McDonald's snacks that Trump served, as they do for the habits and activities of the working class. In a democracy, the media must deliver facts to the people. But instead, they have become the P.R. wing for the Democrats. Also, accountability from officials is essential for any civilized democracy. Dereliction of duty must have consequences. Buttigieg should have resigned or should have been sacked. But that didn't happen, despite him being a repeat offender. Perhaps a "deal" was struck between Buttigieg and the Democrat leadership for Buttigieg to withdraw from the presidential race in 2020 and clear the path for Biden. Trump also presented a clear contrast between how he would have handled the train derailment and hazardous chemical exposure and the Biden administration's slow and reluctant response to the disaster. Trump said that he would have dispatched funds for relief work. He also said he would have sent doctors to the affected location to care for and console the victims. Trump's deep connection with regular people is what caused the MAGA movement. That bond prevails, and the respect is mutual, which is why Trump doesn't have to engage in any virtue-signaling or disingenuous displays. This was a display of leadership by President Trump. Image: Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. The "giddy" (and arguably immature) 30-year-old forewoman of the Georgia grand jury, apparently charged by Fulton County district attorney Fani Wills to come up with some basis to indict former president Donald Trump, is just the latest citizen apparently afflicted with Trump Derangement Syndrome whose effect leads the afflicted to look for ways and means to prevent Mr. Trump from seeking a second presidential term, preferably via incarceration for illusory "crimes" perceived only by those carrying the TDS virus. The first such carrier (not to gainsay the existence of TDS carriers during the early years of the Trump presidency when the name Adam Schiff, M.C., comes to mind) was, certainly, House speaker Nancy Pelosi, who, after failing to oust President Trump for a perfectly reasonable phone conversation with Ukraine president Volodomyr Zelensky, summer of 2019, went on to rip up Mr. Trump's final State of the Union address, for viewers to witness, and then concocted a second Trump impeachment for this president, with the Senate aspect taking place after Mr. Trump had peacefully left office. Thereupon, Ms. Pelosi arranged for a nine-member House select committee consisting of nine representatives suffering from TDS to the point where they, every member, including the two Republicans chosen by Pelosi, too could no longer distinguish their obligation to honor the rule of law from their desire to throw the book at former president Trump, in full derogation of the principle of law, claiming, in effect, that when it comes to Donald J. Trump, our narrative pushes aside our commitment to the Constitution. How could one expect a 30-year old grand juror not to be "giddy" at the prospect of performing Woke's work, going from media outlet to media outlet for her more than 15 minutes of notoriety? It is not clear who initiated the invitations our giddy grand jury forewoman or media producers long giddified by the image of a frog-marching Donald J. Trump (fresh from visiting a toxic red-state venue that Biden wouldn't enter wearing a COVID mask), headed to arraignment. Occam's Razor on Media Hysteria would suggest that the media initiated the invitations to turn the legal process upside-down, legal niceties be damned. After all, when it comes to Donald J. Trump, all not just legal niceties are damned, trashed, thrown overboard. Should we really expect that the giddy 30-year-old Georgia grand jury forewoman had, all along, a personal list of media contacts and was ready to initiate media contact while consumed with giddiness? Unfortunately, with former Biden aide Jen Psaki now ensconced at MSNBC, the media opportunities for a TDS-stricken, yet giddy, Gen Zer have narrowed considerably. On the other hand, perhaps a George Soros-backed public TV outlet in Georgia has an opening for a giddy reading of the headlines. Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0. A couple of days back, Samsung released the first software update for the Galaxy S23 series. The rollout began in Europe. But the company has wasted no time to bring it to other regions. The update is now available for Galaxy S23 users in Asia and Africa as well, including in Samsungs homeland South Korea. We expect the company to release the update in the US over the next few days. Galaxy S23 units sold in Europe, Asia, and Africa bear the same model number (SM-S911B for the base model, SM-S916B for the Plus, and SM-S918B for the Ultra). So the updated firmware version for the phones in these regions is the same S91*BXXU1AWBD. But the South Korean versions ship with the model number SM-S91*N. The latest update comes with firmware version S91*NKSU1AWBD in the country. The story is similar for Galaxy S23 phones in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China as well. The new Samsung flagships bear the model number SM-S91*0 in these markets. Users are getting the new update with the firmware build number S91*0ZHU1AWBD. But regardless of the firmware version, the latest update for the Galaxy S23, Galaxy S23+, and Galaxy S23 Ultra has the same changelog everywhere. The February update for the Galaxy S23 reaches more markets Samsungs changelog for the first firmware release for the Galaxy S23 series doesnt go into detail. It only states that the package contains some optimizations and the February 2023 Android security patch. The latest SMR (Security Maintenance Release) patches more than 50 vulnerabilities. Advertisement Samsungs security bulletin says seven of those are Galaxy-specific. Those vulnerabilities dont exist in Android devices from other brands. They patch flaws in Fingerprint TA, Secure Folder, and other systems apps and services. The remaining 40-odd vulnerabilities patched by this months security update are part of Googles latest ASB (Android Security Bulletin). They patch flaws in Android OS and other partner components. The Android maker labeled five of those as critical vulnerabilities that could potentially allow remote code execution if a threat actor exploited them in the wild. It could pave the way for them to remotely control your phone. If you are one of the early buyers of Samsungs latest flagships, you might want to install this update as soon as possible to stay safe from these vulnerabilities. You can go to the Software update menu in the Settings app and tap on Download and install to check for updates manually or wait for a notification prompting you to download the update. For users in the US, we will let you know when Samsung releases the update stateside. Samsung arguably offers the best software support in the Android space today. The pace at which it releases new security and feature updates is unmatched by any other OEM. The One UI 5.1 rollout is a testament to that. The Korean firm brought the latest One UI version to eligible Galaxy devices just over a week after the Galaxy S23 launch. As One UI 5.1 reaches more models around the world, the company has already started working on the next big One UI update. Twitter user Tarun Vats (@tarunvats33) recently spotted a new One UI test build for Samsungs Galaxy Z Fold 4. The company is testing the firmware for the South Korean version of its 2022 foldable. The updated firmware build number is F936NKSU1DWB9. For reference, the device currently runs the firmware version F936NKSU1CWB1. While these alphanumeric characters may not look meaningful to most, if youre familiar with Samsungs firmware numbers, you can already tell its a major One UI update and not just a regular feature or security update. For the uninitiated, the fourth-to-last character in a firmware number determines whether its a major update. Every new Galaxy device ships with a firmware build that has A in that place. With each major feature update, that changes to B, C, D, and so on. If you closely look at the above-mentioned firmware numbers for the Galaxy Z Fold 4, the current build has C in the fourth-to-last place, while the test build has D. So we are looking at a major update here. It could either be a new One UI version (something newer than One UI 5.1) or a major Android update. Samsung may be developing One UI 5.1.1 for its 2023 foldables Unfortunately, we cant tell what Samsung is developing. It usually debuts new foldables with a new One UI version (Galaxy Z Fold 4 debuted with One UI 4.1.1 while other Galaxy devices were on One UI 4.1). Its possible that the company is working on Android 13-based One UI 5.1.1 or something along that line for the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5, which will arrive in the second half of the year. But we cant rule out that the Korean firm is developing an early build of Android 14-based One UI 6.0. Advertisement Android 14 wont be official until sometime after the new foldables arrive on the market. But Google will start releasing developer previews and beta builds within the next few months. Maybe we will get clarity on the new firmware build that Samsung is testing on the Galaxy Z Fold 4 around that time. We will keep you posted. The state Supreme Court confronted philosophical questions about wrongful birth and the value of life Wednesday when the state asked the justices to reverse a $37 million verdict awarded to a family whose lives were upended by a tragically flawed artificial insemination procedure at UConn Health. Jean-Marie Monroe-Lynch, her husband Aaron Lynch and their surviving son Joshua sued for malpractice after fertility specialists affiliated with the University of Connecticuts medical center inseminated her with sperm from an anonymous donor infected with cytomegalovirus, or CMV, a common, sexually transmitted virus that has catastrophic effects on fetal development. The procedure, a therapeutic donor insemination, succeeded in that the mother became pregnant with twins, a boy and girl. But she and the children were infected with CMV. One of the twins died and the other was born in January 2015 with a long list of devastating disabilities that will put him in need of constant, life-long care. The surviving twin, Joshua, cannot communicate or care for himself, has global developmental delays; suffers from cognitive, hearing and movement deficits; suffers from autism and seizures, and spends hours each day having nutrition pumped into his body through a tube. In its appeal, the state is arguing, among other things, that the familys suit was not based in the usual definition of malpractice but is rather what has become known as a wrongful life suit, a relatively new and controversial action against medical practitioners for failing to properly prevent the birth of children, such as Joshua, shown through prenatal examinations to have tragically debilitating conditions. The state argued that the court has not addressed the question of wrongful life litigation the issue of whether a childs existence, as opposed to nonexistence, is a cognizable injury and urged the court to follow the lead of other states that do not permit it. Most wrongful life suits have been filed in cases where physicians have permitted births of children with what should have been detectable genetic conditions, such as spina bifida. The rationale behind the suits is that not being born is preferable to being born. Referring to a New York decision, one of the states lawyers, Jeffrey R. Babbin, argued that such questions Is not being born preferable to life with a grave disability? are better settled by philosophers than courts. Over 30 states have said courts are not equipped to say what (medical) conditions mean no life is superior to life, Babbin said. James J. Healy, who pressed the Lynches argument to let the verdict stand, told the justices that the suit was not about a wrongful birth, but about medical malpractice that deprived surviving twin Joshua the ability to enjoy a full and healthy life. Joshuas claim is not that he never should have been born, Healy said, but that he was entitled to a healthy life. Should the court accept the wrongful life argument and dismiss the malpractice verdict, Healy argued the justices would effectively immunize the billion dollar medical fertilization industry from future claims arising from its medical errors. The justices appeared at times bemused by the implications of measuring birth against the alternative. Justice Steven D. Ecker observed that it can be argued that Joshuas life was not made worse by medical malpractice, but rather was created by it. Had his mother been inseminated by a sperm sample from an anonymous donor not infected by CMV, Ecker said, Joshua would have been a different person. At the time of the pregnancy, Monroe-Lynch was a 34-year-old woman with a masters degree in social work. Her husband was a 34-year-old transgender male, whose gender became relevant for two reasons. It explained why the couple could not conceive children and why he could not transmit CMV to his wife through intercourse. The couple, suing with Joshua, accused the state, UConn and other affiliated defendants of malpractice in two aspects of the fertility and pregnancy treatments they obtained from UConns Center for Advanced Reproductive Services. The family claimed that the treating physicians failed to obtain informed consent from Monroe-Lynch, who had tested negative for CMV infection, before inseminating her with sperm from an anonymous donor she chose from a photograph and who was known to have tested CMV positive. The Lynches also said their physicians were negligent in their prenatal treatment because they should have been alerted to what clearly were CMV-related developmental abnormalities in the twins by an ultra sound examination 22 weeks into the pregnancy. When further examination revealed that the twin girl, named Shay, was stillborn, doctors performed a cesarean delivery in January 2015. Joshua survived. The suits allegations were sharply contested and involved both theoretical and proven science. The case was tried before Superior Court Judge Mark H. Taylor, rather than a jury. Taylor found the physicians were negligent by not pursuing ultra sound evidence of CMV developmental abnormalities that would have allowed the Lynches to terminate the pregnancy relatively early. Taylor also concluded the physicians failed to conform to accepted standards of care by not adequately warning Monroe-Lynch of the consequences of insemination by a CMV positive donor. (ANSA) - ROME, FEB 23 - The Holy See and Oman established full diplomatic ties on Thursday. A Vatican statement said that the Holy See and the Sultanate of Oman, "desirous of promoting mutual understanding and further strengthening friendship and cooperation between the Holy See and Oman; convinced that the establishment of diplomatic relations serves the common interests of the Holy See and Oman guided by the principles of sovereign equality, independence, territorial integrity and non-interference; have decided to establish, on the basis of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 18 April 1961, full diplomatic relations at the level of an Apostolic Nunciature to the Sultanate of Oman and an Embassy to the Holy See". (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, FEB 23 - Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has said Wednesday's wave of cyberattacks on Italian companies and public institutions were "a threat, a warning" after Premier Giorgia Meloni visited Kyiv on Tuesday and reiterated Italy's support for Ukraine after the Russian invasion. The impact of the attacks was curtained by cyber-defence systems. The pro-Russian NoName057 group claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement on Telegram in which it referred to the government approving a sixth package of military aid to Ukraine and accused Italy of being "Russiaphobic". (ANSA). (ANSA) - ROME, FEB 23 - Millions of Italians risk having their tap water cut off in the coming months because of the severe drought Italy is experiencing, especially in northern regions, the head of the ANBI water-resource consortium said on Thursday. "According to the data we have available, it is reasonable to believe that the tap water of at least three and a half million Italians cannot be taken for granted," said ANBI President Francesco Vincenzi. He referred to data by the National Research Council (CNR), according to which, between 6% and 15% of the Italian population are living in areas exposed to severe or extreme drought. Low levels of rain and snowfall this winter has exacerbated an already difficult situation after the severe drought and long series of heat waves Italy endured last summer hit its water resources badly, causing huge problems for agriculture. ANBI said the level of the Po, Italy's biggest river, was at a record low. It said rivers and lakes in central Italy were also under extreme stress. ANBI's warning comes after Environmental association Legambiente on Monday sounded the alarm about the drought. Citing figures from the CIMA Research Foundation, it said the Italian Alps currently have a snow-water-equivalent deficit of 53% compared to the average of the last ten years. This is worrying as snow is an important source of water in spring and summer when, by melting, it ensures water supplies in the months it is most needed. This deficit is due to reduced precipitation levels this winter, combined with mild winter temperatures that have brought forward the melting of snow on the mountains. Alpine snow is Italy's most important water reserve, since it supplies the Po River basin. Scientists say that extreme weather events like heat waves, supercharged storms, flooding and droughts are becoming more frequent and more intense because of climate change caused by human greenhouse-gas emissions. (ANSA). Algeria: gas production to increase by 10 bl cubic m in 2024 Thanks to agreements signed with foreign firms, including ENI (ANSAmed) - ALGIERS, 23 FEBRUARY - The gas production of Algeria will increase by 10 billion cubic meters starting in 2024, thanks to agreements signed with foreign firms, among them ENI (Italian State Hydrocarbons Authority).The news was shared by Miloud Mdjelled, head of economic studies at the Ministry of Energy and Mines in Algiers while speaking to the mic of the country first radio channel. It was also Mdjelled who specified that the state hydrocarbon company Sonatrach had signed agreements with foreign firms last year. Among them there is ENI, to develop different projects with investments equal to 6 billion dollars. "These projects will increase the production of Algerian gas by 10 billion cubic meters, starting 2024. These additional quantities allow to meet demand, in particular international contracts", he underscored. With regard to crude oil, continued Mdjelled, production will increase by 20 million tons of equivalent petrol, to reach 210 million tons. Furthermore, Mdjelled noted how his country intends to invest between 20 to 25 billion dollars in the production of green hydrogen by 2035 and transport it to Europe through a new pipeline that will connect it to Italy. Algeria has produced approximately 130 billion cubic meters of gas in 2022, of which 56 billion were exported and it consumed roughly 50 billion on the internal market. The rest goes into oil and gas well with the objective of increase the rates of recovery.(ANSAmed). BRUSSELS - "Sicily can become a clean energy hub for Europe. Not only does this island have sun and wind in abundance: it also has a solid industrial base in the clean technologies. Sicily is crucial for energy transition also for another reason. A few miles from your coastlines there is what may become another giant for clean energy: the African continent". These are the words delivered by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, from her speech at the University of Palermo. "The time has come for a new strategic pivot to Europe toward the Mediterranean", she highlighted. "At the beginning of this month, right here in Sicily, the construction of the largest European solar gigafactory began. It will produce new generation solar panels. Our European recovery plan, NextGenerationEU, contributes to finance it. Because we know that clean energy is the future. And this future will happen here, in Sicily", explained von der Leyen. The head of the EU's executive then underscored the potential of Africa for clean energy. "Europe must look toward the Southern coast of the Mediterranean and Sicily represents a natural bridge. From the beginning of the war, Italy has carried out admirable efforts, together with the African partners, to diversify its energy sources. Even the European Union is launching new connections with Africa through the plan of investments of the Global Gateway strategy, by financing for example a new underwater power line between Sicily and Tunisia", she noted. Palestinian woman attacks Israeli guard Air raids on the Strip following rockets fired toward Israel (ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, 23 FEBRUARY - A Palestinian woman, 26, tried to knife a guard at the entrance of the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, in the South East of Jerusalem. The police reported that the guards opened fire "against the armed threat and the terrorist was neutralized". Her conditions at the moment remain unclear. This attack happened in a highly tense context following the killing of 11 Palestinians during an operation of the Israeli army in Nablus yesterday. This morning at dawn Israeli air raids hit targets in the Gaza Strip, in response to rockets being fired toward Israel - which did not result in victims - by the Palestinians. The Israeli army confirmed this news. Slightly after 6 A.M. local time black smoke surrounded the skies of the targeted areas to the North of Gaza City. In a declaration sent to the press a few minutes later, the Israeli army indicated it was "conducting attacks on the Gaza Strip".(ANSAmed). ROME - Arrests related, according to local media, to the alleged "conspiracy against the security of the State" continue to take place in Tunisia against other opposition members who have been the object of judicial orders. The last arrest, in chronological order, involves political activist of the National Salvation Front, Chaima Aissa who was apprehended last night by agents of the National Anti-Terrorism unit, following the issuance of the order by the Anti-Terrorism prosecutor's office, according to what was reported by businessnews.com. According to the local radio Mosaique Fm, the arrest of Chaima Aissa is related to the one of the Secretary General of Al Joumhouri (the Republican Party), Issam Chebbi, suspected of an alleged involvement in a "conspiracy against the security of the State". The Tunis Prosecutor's office also arranged for the arrest of the member and spokesperson of the National Security Front, Jawar Ben M'barek. The company planning to build 19 rental homes on a small Berlin Turnpike lot is suing the town of Berlin, claiming that planners acted illegally when they rejected the proposal. But the planning and zoning commission maintains the developer, Cromwell-based Little House Living LLC, initially proposed a tiny homes project that could meet the towns new zoning rule for redevelopment along the Berlin Turnpike but then changed it. When they rejected the plan, several commissioners pointed out that Little House Livings most recent plan had added duplexes, done away with a proposed community center, and drawn opposition from neighbors. The project came a long way from what we originally looked at. When I see this now, it doesnt remind me of tiny houses, commission Secretary Brian Rogan told his colleagues at a November meeting. We hear from residential abutters and commercial abutters that theyre considering it a direct negative impact on their properties. Little House Living argued that it amended its original plans partly as a way to address neighboring property owners complaints. It maintained that its proposal met all of Berlins requirements under the Planned Residential Infill Development rules, which were adopted just two years ago. In a new lawsuit, Little House Living accuses the commission of deciding its case illegally and arbitrarily. It failed to approve an application which conforms to the agencys regulation, it failed to assign a proper reason for the denial, the suit claims. Commissioners based their decision on factors outside their regulations, misinterpreted Berlins zoning rules and illegally accepted evidence after closing the public hearing, it further claims. Town officials were initially receptive when Little House Living proposed 18 small houses at 1676 Berlin Turnpike. The property is less than 2 acres, and has been vacant since a small motel there went out of business years ago. Neighbors from Holly Court, a cul de sac behind the property, immediately raised concerns about parking, drainage and other matters. Little House Living amended its proposal, but opposition remained when it went to a hearing in September. At a hearing on the original plan in late 2021, Holly Court homeowner Linda Ahlstrand joined several neighbors in complaining that the new zoning rules to foster redevelopment of outdated motels along the turnpike had been rushed to adoption without consulting residents. Neighbors Patti Burgio and Sherri Rice said the proposed subdivision wouldnt have enough parking and no dedicated recreation space, and warned that tenants might end up using Holly Court as a playground and an overflow parking lot. When the new version of the plan went to hearing last September, Burgio said she remained concerned about property values as well as privacy. Rice argued that the town should have required an environmental impact statement; numerous neighbors said they feared new development on the elevated site could cause flooding at lower-level properties. Patrick Snow, a partner in Little House Living, said his company had added a visitors parking area with 10 spaces as a way to address neighbors concerns. I spent a lot time with this project, a lot of capital, Ive worked with the neighbors, Snow said. At the November meeting, Rogan said planners wanted improvements in the original plan, but didnt get them. In some regards, the newer version was worse, he said. Weve lost the community center, which I thought really added to the mental health and welfare of the residents, he said. Rogan acknowledged supporting a gazebo in place of the community center, but noted that that element, too, was removed in favor of adding another house. He said making the project bigger wasnt going to help the quality of life for tenants. Its not just the people who live around it, I think its very clustered for the people who live in it, Rogan said. Commissioners noted that they amended the zoning rules to encourage small, affordable housing, but werent satisfied with the final version of Little Homes plan. Chairman Joan Veley said the commission tried to work with the developer, but hit a stone wall over the number of units on the property. When it was once a little hotel, it was eight or nine units and a caregivers house, Veley said. Now its exploded to 18 or 19 units and duplexes. It doesnt seem to provide much sense of a community. Veley said the commission had some discretion with the Little Homes application. This is not only a site plan (application), this is a special permit which means its held to a higher caliber than a normal development would be, she told the commission. In their decision, commissioners concluded the plan didnt correspond to Berlins plan of conservation and development. New Britain Superior Court Judge Matthew Budzik has directed lawyers for Little Housing Living and the commission to submit briefs by the end of June. The late broadcaster Bill Turnbull has been honoured with the launch of an annual prize in his name for medical students at a Cambridge University college. The former BBC Breakfast presenter died at his home in Suffolk in August 2022 at the age of 66 after a battle with prostate cancer, which was diagnosed in November 2017. Turnbull was a former BBC colleague of broadcaster Roger Mosey, who is now Master of Cambridges Selwyn College. Turnbull attended a number of events at Selwyn College over the years, giving talks about the media and his career, and now a prize has been set up in his name with the permission of his family. The Bill Turnbull Prize for Clinical Medicine will be given to a Selwyn student in the fourth to sixth years of their medical degree. It is backed by an initial five-figure donation from private donors, in Turnbulls name. The late broadcaster Bill Turnbull has been honoured with the launch of an annual prize in his name for medical students at Cambridges Selwyn College. (Selwyn College/ PA) Many of Selwyn Colleges students are based for some of their training at Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk, which was one of the places where Turnbull received care while being treated for prostate cancer. A travel scholarship is also being established at the college in recognition of Turnbulls love of the United States, where he served as a BBC correspondent in New York and then Washington. It will give 1,000 each summer to students wanting to travel to the USA for the benefit of their academic work. Turnbulls widow, Sesi Turnbull, said: Bill would be so honoured to be remembered with this prize and scholarship from Selwyn College. Throughout his life he had a strong connection with America, where we lived as a family for some years while he was working as a BBC correspondent. Towards the end of his life, after moving to Suffolk, Bill received outstanding care from Ipswich Hospital, for which we will always be grateful. It is wonderful to know that others will get the opportunity to broaden their studies in places which were so close to Bills heart. Roger Mosey, Master of Selwyn College, said: Bill became a great friend to Selwyn visiting here often, and generously giving his time to talk to students about his career and how they might themselves go into journalism. Im delighted that his name will now be permanently associated with a prize and with support for future generations of students. A Jaguar previously owned and driven by the Queen has been donated by Chris Evans CarFest as a prize for Red Nose Day. The 2009 Jaguar X-Type estate was first owned by the late monarch, with its original vehicle handbook confirming its registration as PYN 1F, belonging to the Queen. She was widely photographed using the car, including at Windsor Castle. Finished in emerald fire green paintwork with a barley-coloured leather interior, the car also comes with a Jaguar Heritage Trust certificate confirming its authenticity. Chris Evans CarFest has donated the car as a Red Nose Day prize (Comic Relief) The Jaguar has been donated by current owner, radio DJ and presenter Chris Evans, who runs the CarFest motoring event, as a competition prize for Comic Reliefs Red Nose Day. Evans said: Im so grateful CarFest is able to support Comic Relief and Im thrilled that we are able to donate this very special historic car, and so pleased to be able to share it with another enthusiast, especially for such an important cause. The 2009 Jaguar, which has covered around 73,000 miles, was sold at auction in November 2022 by Historics for 43,000 more than four times what an example without its provenance would go for. The Queen pictured in the Jaguar X-Type estate (PA/Steve Parsons) Samir Patel, chief executive of Comic Relief, said: We are enormously grateful to Chris Evans and CarFest for this generous donation for Red Nose Day this truly is a prize like no other we have ever been able to offer our supporters. This is an extraordinary opportunity to own a real piece of history and will be such a special prize for the lucky winner. CarFest is the brainchild of Chris Evans, a huge car enthusiast. It takes place on the last weekend of August at Laverstoke Park Farm near Basingstoke, Hampshire. The prize draw is now open, with entries set to close on March 31. Clique ambulance staff have been criticised in a new report which suggests that target-driven cultures could be having a negative impact on ambulance trusts just as it did at Mid Staffs. A national guardian has warned of negative cultures in trusts preventing workers from raising concerns as she called for a cultural review of ambulance organisations. Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust was lambasted in national reports with a focus on how target-driven culture led to poor care which could have contributed to the deaths of hundreds of patients. The National Guardian for the NHS, Dr Jayne Chidgey-Clark, has now said that pressures on ambulance trusts in England are leading to a considerable focus on targets such as call answering, handover delays and ambulance response times. A focus solely on targets can especially under pressure make us blind to how those measures are achieved and at what cost, she said in a new report. I fear that a focus on targets may inadvertently be having a negative effect on the culture of ambulance trusts just as it did at Mid Staffs. One senior ambulance leader told the review team: When I first started, everyone I spoke to said we have a culture problem. Sexism, racism, homophobic, cliquey. We are going to fix it but not yet. We need to sort out other things like wait times. Dr Chidgey-Clark also raised concerns about staff not feeling they could speak up about concerns and described a culture of silence where workers could often not speak up, and concerns were often unheard. Some people who had raised concerns suffered detriment as a result, she added. We heard about experiences of bullying, harassment and discrimination, she wrote. Workers spoke about cliques between directors, managers and workers which was stopping people from raising issues because they feared the consequences. The report called for an independent cultural review of ambulance trusts to help transform poor culture in the trusts. The National Guardians Office and the role of the Freedom to Speak Up Guardian were created in response to recommendations made by Sir Robert Francis QC who examined the failings into Mid Staffs to help encourage NHS staff to speak openly when they had concerns. Some of the findings in the latest report include: The culture in ambulance trusts was having a negative impact on workers ability to speak up. Some ambulance staff described bullying, harassment and discrimination. Workers spoke about cliques between directors, managers and workers which was stopping people feel able to speak up. Some staff felt raising concerns would not accomplish anything. The report adds: Broader cultural issues such as favouritism and cliques, command-and-control decision making, and bullying and harassment were affecting workers ability to speak up and the confidence they would be listened to. Not supporting workers to speak up is having an impact on staff wellbeing and ultimately patient safety, the National Guardians Office said. As well as calling for a cultural review into trusts, the report also recommends that trusts adopt speaking up as a business as usual. It also called for better regulation of trusts to ensure staff could speak up when they felt they wanted to. Dr Chidgey-Clark said: Leadership throughout healthcare including ambulance trust leaders and regulators must do their part by listening to workers and treating their voices with the same respect as patients. Daren Mochrie, chairman of the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE), said: The Association of Ambulance Chief Executives welcomes this review, the greater insights it provides into the current workings of the Freedom to Speak Up culture, including the role of the guardians within NHS ambulance services, and the further opportunity it presents for comprehensive and consolidated improvement in this area for the benefit of staff and patients alike. Alongside and on behalf of our members, AACE will support and work with the National Guardians Office, NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care to implement the recommendations and ensure that they have a meaningful and sustainable impact within the ambulance sector. Eating turnips could help avoid fruit and vegetable shortages in UK supermarkets during the winter months, the Environment Secretary has suggested. Therese Coffey told MPs that ongoing shortages of produce will be a temporary issue that should be resolved in two to four weeks. She added the UK should cherish the specialisms it has and a lot of people would be eating turnips right now under a seasonal food model rather than thinking about lettuce, tomatoes and similar produce. Ms Coffey went on to acknowledge shoppers want a year-round choice. Her remarks came after Tory colleague Selaine Saxby said supermarkets are importing far too many products and suggested seasonal eating would solve the issue. A shortage of tomatoes in UK supermarkets has widened to other fruit and vegetables due to a combination of bad weather and transport problems in Africa and Europe. Some supermarkets have introduced customer limits on certain fresh produce, with photographs emerging of empty shelves. Empty fruit and vegetable shelves at an Asda in east London (Yui Mok/PA) Responding to an urgent question in the House of Commons, Ms Coffey said: I am led to believe by my officials, after discussion with industry and retailers, we anticipate the situation will last about another two to four weeks. It is important that we try and make sure that we get alternative sourcing options. That is why the department has already been in discussion with the retailers. It is why there will be further discussions led by ministers as well, so that we can try and get over this and try and avoid similar situations in the future. Even if we cannot control the weather, it is important that we try and make sure the supply continues to not be frustrated in quite the way it has been due to these unusual weather incidents. In response to a later question, Ms Coffey said: Im hoping that this will be a temporary issue. Ms Saxby, Conservative MP for North Devon, later said: The supermarkets are still importing far too many products for us and actually we should be eating more seasonally and supporting our own British farmers. And if we were actually to move to a seasonal line of eating, many of these problems would be avoided there are great food products available from local farmers at this time. Ms Coffey replied: Its important to make sure that we cherish the specialisms that we have in this country. A lot of people would be eating turnips right now rather than thinking necessarily about aspects of lettuce and tomatoes and similar, but Im conscious that consumers want a year-round choice and that is what our supermarkets, food producers and growers around the world try to satisfy. For Labour, shadow environment secretary Jim McMahon said: There is genuine public concern about the availability of food, and as the secretary responsible for our food security and lets bear in mind food security is national security this is absolutely mission-critical. Environment Secretary Therese Coffey said ating turnips could help avoid fruit and vegetable shortages in UK supermarkets (Jacob King/PA) He questioned suggestions the food shortages were entirely caused by external forces, claiming ministers could have done more to support farmers with access to the energy-intensive support scheme, and could have increased quotas on labour to help with workforce shortages. Conservative former minister Sir Desmond Swayne ridiculed suggestions that Brexit was responsible for the shortages. Sir Desmond told the Commons: If only I had been told before I voted for Brexit that it was going to cause frosts in Morocco, I could have made a different decision, couldnt I? Liberal Democrat Wera Hobhouse (Bath) said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak should call an emergency Cobra meeting to respond to the national emergency. Downing Street said Ms Coffey was setting out the importance of celebrating British produce in response to her turnip remarks. No 10 also rejected suggestions Brexit is to blame for any shortages. A Downing Street spokesman said: We dont believe it is for us to tell people what they should or shouldnt buy that is entirely a matter for them. I think what the Secretary of State was doing was setting out the importance of celebrating the produce that we grow here in the UK but, ultimately, it is for individuals to decide what food they wish to buy. Asked if Brexit has had an impact on shortages, he said: The industry and retailers themselves have spoken about the reason for some of the supply issues we are facing, notably poor weather in certain parts of southern Europe and north Africa. A former SNP MP found guilty of stealing almost 25,000 from two Scottish independence groups has lost her appeal against her conviction. Lawyers acting for Natalie McGarry, who was elected as Glasgow East MSP in 2015, had claimed in her appeal that her embezzlement trial was prejudiced by a tsunami of Twitter posts saying she was already guilty ahead of the full hearing. But on Thursday, the Court of Criminal Appeal rejected her appeal, confirming there were strong enough safeguards in place to give the 41-year-old a fair trial. Lady Dorrian, who gave the judgment, compared the social media posts to the modern day equivalent of gossip and tittle-tattle at the bus stop or the pub. She said the jury was given four-and-a-half pages of instructions to put out of their minds anything they may have read in the past about the accused or circumstances relating to the charges. She added: These were thorough and careful directions, making the position abundantly clear, and there is no basis for thinking that the jury did not follow them. Lord Justice Clerk Lady Dorrian delivered the judgment on McGarrys appeal (Judiciary of Scotland/PA) Judges refused the appeal against conviction, but McGarrys sentence of two years was changed to 20 months. McGarry was found guilty of stealing 19,974 while treasurer of Women For Independence (WFI). She was also convicted of taking 4,661 while treasurer and convener of the SNPs Glasgow Regional Association. She was jailed for two years following the trial in June last year. Gordon Jackson KC, who was defending McGarry, insisted she was the victim of a miscarriage of justice because of the posts about her circulating on social media ahead of the trial at the High Court in Glasgow last year. He previously told the court there was a tsunami of tweets just before the trial started and the jury was empanelled which he described as nasty, very personal, very unpleasant but most importantly, majoring on the point that this is someone who has already admitted their guilt. He claimed they would have influenced the jury, and that the Crown did not do enough to remove them at the time. But in the judgment, Lady Dorrian concluded: The question is whether these posts presented a degree of prejudice to the fairness of the trial, in respect of the independence of the tribunal, so grave that no direction of the trial judge, however careful, could reasonably be expected to remove it. We are satisfied that this is not such a case there were other strong safeguards which enabled a fair trial to take place. McGarry, of Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, also appealed against her two-year prison sentence. Natalie McGarrys prison sentence was reduced from two years to 20 months (PA) In her judgment, Lady Dorrian quoted Sheriff Tom Hughes, who at the time of the trial told McGarry: The jury have accepted that you had lied to others, deceived colleagues you were working with and embezzled funds from organisations who entrusted you with their finances. In particular you had obtained money from colleagues and people who looked up to you when you falsely claimed to them that you are (sic) about to be evicted from property you had been renting. In response, Lady Dorrian said: It seems that the sheriff took this into account in reaching the sentence which he selected, leading him to impose a sentence which may properly be described as excessive. She confirmed judges reduced the former MPs sentence to 20 months. A jury found McGarry guilty by majority following the six-week trial. The court heard from dozens of witnesses, including former Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman, who said she reported McGarry after noticing a significant shortfall in WFI accounts. McGarrys bank records were also presented before the trial, which showed Crowdfunder donations from WFI being transferred to her own personal account. It included 10,472.52 on April 29, 2014 and a further 9,848.70 on November 12, 2014 which she used to pay rent and for shopping. McGarry had said these were legitimate expenses which she had incurred and which she was reimbursing herself for. Her legal team admitted her finances were disorganised and chaotic, but she denied the charges. Filming on the Rust movie will resume this spring in the US state of Montana, producers have announced. Plans to complete the film, following the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, were announced earlier this month. Alec Baldwin will remain in his starring role and as producer. It comes ahead of the actors first appearance in US court on Friday over the fatal shooting, which occurred in October 2021, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. In a statement on Thursday, Rust Movie Productions announced work on the film would resume at Yellow Film Ranch in Montana. Alec Baldwin will remain in his starring role and as producer when filming resumes (Ian West/PA) Director Joel Souza, who was also wounded during the 2021 incident, said the support of the venue to complete the project in Ms Hutchins honour means the world to me. I am deeply grateful for the invitation to the Yellowstone Film Ranch in Montana, he said. (The) unwavering friendship, support, and now partnership in completing Rust and honoring Halyna means the world to me and our entire production team. The beauty of Montana surpasses words, and the warm hospitality and kindness extended by everyone Ive met has been both humbling and inspiring. It is a privilege to work with such great partners as we see this through on Halynas behalf. Yellowstone Film Ranch co-founders Richard Gray, Carter Boehm and Colin Davis said the decision to honour Ms Hutchins vision had deeply moved us. We are honored to play a role in the realization of her vision and to carry forward her inspiring legacy through championing this film, they said in a joint statement. A number of original crew members will return to the project alongside Joel Souza. Joining the production will be safety officers Gary Jensen and Paul Jordan from Tenet Production Safety and production designer Christine Brandt. Bianca Cline is reported to be joining the project in Ms Hutchins place as cinematographer. Ms Hutchins widower Matthew Hutchins will serve as an executive producer and will be joined by Academy Award-nominated producer Grant Hill. Mr Hutchins has also sanctioned a documentary about his wife, which will explore her life and final work, including the completion of the film, which he will executive produce. Baldwin has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter by the New Mexico District Attorneys office and will appear virtually for his first appearance hearing at a Santa Fe court on Friday. Just 22 people, including eight children, have been resettled in the UK having fled Afghanistan under part of a Government scheme which promised to help vulnerable refugees. It comes as the figure for Afghan nationals arriving to the UK by boat having crossed the Channel rose to 8,633 last year a six-fold increase on 2021. The Refugee Council said the contrast showed the Government needed to urgently rethink its approach and expand access to refugee visas. A pledge had been made to take up to 20,000 Afghan refugees, with as many as 5,000 in the first year, who were forced to flee their home or faced threats of persecution from the Taliban under what the Home Office claimed at the time would be one of the most generous resettlement schemes in the UKs history. The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) was formally launched in January 2022 although 7,141 Afghans had been resettled by December 2021 as people arrived in the UK under the summer evacuation exercise that year. The scheme was split into three pathways by which people would be considered eligible for resettlement. Pathway one focused on eligible people who were notified by the UK Government that they had been called forward or specifically authorised for evacuation, but were not able to board flights at the time of the evacuation amid the Taliban takeover in August 2021. A total of 468 people were resettled under this pathway last year, the latest Home Office figures showed. Under the second pathway specifically designed to help vulnerable refugees referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) having fled Afghanistan for resettlement to the UK just 22 people had been resettled by the end of December eight children and 14 adults. The UNHCR said it had made more than 1,600 referrals to the UK under the scheme since April last year. A third ACRS pathway is for those at risk who supported the UK and international community effort in Afghanistan, as well as those who are particularly vulnerable, such as women and girls at risk and members of minority groups. There are 1,500 places including the applicants and their eligible family members available in the first year under pathway three but the Home Office has said this data will be released once people have been resettled via this pathway. In addition, the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) was launched April 2021, offering priority relocation to the UK for current or former locally employed staff who have been assessed to be under serious threat to life. Under that scheme, 4,094 were resettled last year and 7,118 in 2021. To date, the Home Office said around 24,500 people have been brought to safety, including British nationals, their families, Afghans who served the UK and others identified as particularly at-risk. A spokeswoman said: The UK has made an ambitious and generous commitment to help resettle some of the most at-risk people in Afghanistan and so far we have brought around 24,500 people to the UK, including via ACRS and ARAP. Supporting the resettlement of eligible Afghans remains a top priority. We have so far welcomed over 7,600 arrivals under ACRS, including those who were evacuated, as well as those (who were) called forward during the evacuation of Afghanistan but were unable to travel and Afghan families who have been referred to the UK by the UNHCR. Meanwhile, the Government said Afghan nationals arriving to the UK in small boats became noticeably more common in 2022, particularly from October to December. A total of 8,633 arrived last year, with almost three-quarters (71%) of those getting here between August and December. This was up from 1,437 Afghan arrivals in 2021, 494 in 2020, 69 in 2019 and three in 2018. Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon said: The reduction in the number of refugees arriving in the UK via safe routes, such as resettlement and family reunion, clearly shows the need to expand these pathways to safety, so people from countries such as Afghanistan and Sudan are no longer forced to make a dangerous journey across the busiest shipping lane in the world. The fact that the number of Afghans coming across the Channel increased six-fold but only 22 arrived on the Afghan Resettlement Scheme shows how the Government needs to urgently rethink its approach and expand access to refugee visas. We need an asylum system that isnt just about control but is also about compassion and competence. A total of 9,483 people, around half of whom are children, are currently living in hotel or serviced accommodation, the Government said. The Home Office said it had reduced the number of hotels in use from 84 in October 2021 to 63 at the end of December last year. Meanwhile, 8,565 people have moved into a home, and a further 590 people have been matched to a home and are waiting to move in, the department said. Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein begged a Los Angeles judge for mercy as he was sentenced to 16 years in prison for rape and sexual assault. The movie mogul, 70, said he did not deserve to spend the rest of his life behind bars and continued to insist that the allegations against him were a set-up. Weinstein was found guilty of rape and two other sexual misconduct charges involving a woman known as Jane Doe One after a trial in December. The woman said the incident happened after Weinstein appeared uninvited at her hotel room during a Los Angeles film festival in 2013. At the hearing on Thursday, the court heard an emotional victim impact statement from Jane Doe One, who said Weinsteins selfish and disgusting actions had broken me into a million pieces. Before receiving his sentence, the former producer maintained his innocence and claimed he did not know the woman, who remained anonymous. Your Honour I maintain that I am innocent, he told judge Lisa Lench in front of the packed courtroom. I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe One. I dont know that woman and she doesnt know me. He continued: This is a made-up story. With all due respect, Jane Doe One is an actress Jane Doe One can turn on the tears. Please dont sentence me to life in prison, I dont deserve it. I beg your mercy. The former producer was wheeled into court wearing a grey Los Angeles County jail uniform and remained seated as he addressed the court. Throughout the hearing he kept his eyes mostly forward, but stared at members of the media as they entered the courtroom. In her statement, Jane Doe One thanked judge Lench for allowing her to speak and said following her brutal attack by Weinstein, she had become invisible to myself and the world. I have been carrying this weight for 12 months, she said. Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman. I valued myself and the relationship I had with God. I was excited about my future. Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me. I became invisible to myself and to the world I lost my identity. It has broken me into a million pieces there is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage. The woman asked Judge Lench to pass down a strict sentence on Weinstein to restore faith in the justice system to other victims and survivors of abuse. Weinstein was found guilty of rape and other sexual misconduct charges involving a woman last December (Ian West/PA) Your Honour, my life matters. I matter, she said, becoming visibly and audibly emotional during her statement. Jane Doe One continued to cry openly while Weinstein gave his remarks. Thursdays sentencing was previously delayed from January 9, to allow for a motion for a retrial to be put forward by Weinsteins legal team. Shortly before passing sentence, judge Lench dismissed the motion, following arguments by his other lawyer Alan Jackson, saying: I respect your position, Mr Jackson, but I just disagree with it. During the two-month trial, which began in October last year, the court heard how Weinstein had used his influence to organise private meetings with women, where he attacked them. He previously pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of rape and sexual assault involving a total of five women in Los Angeles. Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein to be sentenced in Los Angeles (Alamy/PA) After the December trial, the jury was unable to reach a decision on several counts, notably on charges involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California governor Gavin Newsom. The jury was also unable to reach verdicts on the allegations of another woman. A mistrial was declared on those counts. Weinstein was acquitted of a sexual battery allegation made by another woman. The former film producer is already serving a 23-year sentence for a different rape and sexual assault conviction in New York, which is under appeal. A hearing on the possible retrial is scheduled there for next month, though it is not yet clear where Weinstein will serve his time while these issues are decided. He will be eligible for parole in New York in 2039. Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for rape and sexual assault at a Los Angeles court. The movie mogul was found guilty of rape and two other sexual misconduct charges involving a woman known as Jane Doe One, after a trial in December. The woman said the incident happened after Weinstein appeared uninvited at her hotel room during a Los Angeles film festival in 2013. Just before his sentencing, Weinstein begged Judge Lisa Lench for mercy, telling her that he didnt deserve to spend life behind bars, and adding that the allegations against him had been a set up. Your Honour I maintain that I am innocent, he told the packed out court room. I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe One. I dont know that woman and she doesnt know me. He continued: This is a made-up story. With all due respect, Jane Doe One is an actress Jane Doe One can turn on the tears. Weinstein was found guilty of rape and other sexual misconduct charges involving a woman last December (Ian West/PA) Please dont sentence me to life in prison, I dont deserve it. I beg your mercy. The former producer, 70, was wheeled into court wearing a grey Los Angeles County jail uniform and remained seated as he addressed the court. Prior to the sentence, the court heard an emotional victim impact statement from Jane Doe One, who said Weinsteins selfish and disgusting actions had broken me into a million pieces. Thanking Judge Lench for letting her speak, the woman said: I have been carrying this weight for 12 months. Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman. I valued myself and the relationship I had with God. I was excited about my future. Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me. I became invisible to myself and to the world I lost my identity. It has broken me into a million pieces there is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage. The woman asked Judge Lench to pass down a strict sentence on Weinstein to restore faith in the justice system to other victims and survivors of abuse. Your Honour, my life matters. I matter, she said, becoming visibly and audibly emotional during her statement. Jane Doe One continued to cry openly while Weinstein gave his own remarks and Judge Lench passed sentence. During the two-month trial, which began in October last year, the court heard how Weinstein had used his influence to organise private meetings with women, where he attacked them. He previously pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of rape and sexual assault involving a total of five women in Los Angeles. After the December trial, the jury was unable to reach a decision on several counts, notably on charges involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California governor Gavin Newsom. The jury was also unable to reach verdicts on the allegations of another woman. A mistrial was declared on those counts. Weinstein was acquitted of a sexual battery allegation made by another woman. The sentencing on Thursday was delayed from January 9, to allow for a motion for a retrial to be put forward by Weinsteins lawyers. Judge Lench dismissed the motion, following arguments by his lawyer Alan Jackson, shortly before handing down the sentence, saying: I respect your position Mr Jackson, but I just disagree with it. The former film producer is already serving a 23-year sentence for a different rape and sexual assault conviction in New York, which is under appeal. Boris Johnson declined to say whether he would back any new deal negotiated by the Prime Minister on the Northern Ireland Protocol, as talks continue between the UK and EU. The former prime minister pitched the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, put forward by his administration and which effectively rips up parts of the agreement with Brussels, as the best solution as he declined to say whether a new deal would have his support. Mr Johnson, who sits on the backbenches but who retains a loyal following within the Conservatives, appeared to warn against any settlement that would create other problems. It comes as negotiations between London and Brussels continue, following talks between Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and the EUs Maros Sefcovic in Belgium on Thursday. Another constructive meeting with @MarosSefcovic on the NI Protocol. We are committed to finding a durable solution that works for the people of NI and protects the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement. Intensive work continues. pic.twitter.com/YVlOT4ddSi Chris Heaton-Harris MP (@chhcalling) February 23, 2023 Government sources have downplayed the chances of an agreement being struck this week, with no announcement expected to come on Friday as it marks a year since Russia began its all-out assault on Ukraine. Mr Johnson, in an interview marking the anniversary of the invasion, was asked briefly about the post-Brexit arrangement he negotiated and which has been the source of bitter political clashes in Belfast and Westminster. He said: I think that it is important to wait to see what there may be but I think the best way forward, as I said when I was running the Government, is the Northern Ireland Bill, which cleared the Commons very comfortably, I think unamended, when I was in office and only a few months ago. So, I think that is the best way forward. The protocol, agreed as part of the UKs Brexit deal, effectively keeps Northern Ireland in the EUs single market for goods, meaning checks on products crossing from Great Britain. Appreciate the visit of Northern Ireland Secretary @chhcalling to Brussels. We continue to engage on the outstanding issues related to the Protocol. Striving for joint solutions in the interest of all communities in NI and protective of the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement. pic.twitter.com/nwBFUHRRYc Maros Sefcovic (@MarosSefcovic) February 23, 2023 The situation led to the collapse of powersharing in Northern Ireland, with the DUP protesting about the barrier to trade with the rest of the UK. Downing Street has set no deadline for resolving the issue, but the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in April adds to the imperative of getting a deal soon. The former prime minister was asked about his backing for any deal, but refused to say whether Rishi Sunak could count on his support. I think the best thing is to continue with the Northern Ireland Bill that we agreed, it is a very good Bill, it fixes all the problems, it solves the problems we have in the Irish Sea, it solves the problems of paperwork, VAT and so on, it is an excellent Bill and doesnt set up any other problems in the economy of the whole island of Ireland, he said. So, Id go with that one. The former prime minister had made his feelings on the Bill clear in recent days, with his intervention prompting other senior Tories to press Mr Sunak to push ahead with proposed legislation, currently in the House of Lords. Any final settlement with the EU is seen as fraught with political risk for the Prime Minister, who faces potential pushback from Northern Irelands DUP and Brexit hardliners in the Tory party. Neither the Northern Ireland Secretary nor Mr Sefcovic offered much indication of when the next set of talks would take place. Mr Sefcovic, tweeting after the meeting, said that both sides continue to engage on the outstanding issues. Mr Heaton-Harris called it a constructive meeting, adding that intensive work continues. Nicole Chen told lawmakers this week that while her resume doesnt show that she has any election expertise, she has little doubt that the implementation of early voting in Connecticut would help make this countrys democracy free and available to all. Chen, a student at Yale University, was among the dozens of state residents who publicly testified in support of in-person early voting at a public hearing for the measure, in addition to a constitutional amendment that would permanently allow residents to cast mail ballots without having to provide an excuse. The public hearing held in Hartfords Legislative Office Building was the first since voters overwhelmingly cast their support for in-person early voting during Novembers general election, which opened the door for lawmakers to negotiate and pass a law to implement the practice. Connecticut is one of four states without early voting, effectively disenfranchising voters who cant afford to wait in long lines or make it to their polling locations on Election Day many of whom are people of color and people with low income. The hearing largely focused on three bills referenced throughout the hearing as starting points that would establish the popular voting method as soon as 2023. Each bill would mandate 10, 14 and 18 days of early voting. It is time for Connecticut to listen to their voters, said Chen, speaking in support of the bill that would establish 14 days of early voting. It is time for Connecticut to give its constituency the choice of education and training to support early voting procedures. It is time for Connecticut to catch up and be at the forefront of sustaining democratic institutions. Stephanie Thomas, the states top election official, was the first to publicly testify this week in favor of early voting, specifically backing the bill that would allow for 10 days. Thomas said she settled on the time after reviewing a recent study that showed longer periods of early voting having less success over time, because people tend to appear the first couple of days. The former legislator also said people she spoke with expressed a desire for more weekend time to vote. The legislation she endorsed would also provide same-day election and same-day primary registration during early voting periods, as well as require her office to undertake efforts to educate the public and train registrars of voters on the matter. Shes also recommending one polling place per town during the early voting period. Regardless of which bill gleans the most support, she said, the two most important components of any of the legislation are the need for state funding and timely passage so that there is time to implement it seamlessly. We believe all three versions are a solid starting point and include many of the Secretary Offices logistical considerations and policy proposals that our election staff have weighed in on, said Thomas, a Democrat. We think this will help to create a program that can be instituted seamlessly while providing voters with greatly increased access to the ballot box. Without an agreed-upon framework for early voting, it is unclear how much the effort will cost. Gov. Ned Lamont also did not include funding for the measure in his proposed budget. Republicans Sen. Rob Sampson and Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco both of whom represent Wolcott and have publicly opposed expanding voting access, while Sampson has raised baseless claims of election fraud prompted questions to speakers Wednesday about how the state would fund the effort, accommodate election workers and maintain election security. Both GOP lawmakers indicated that they favor a shorter early voting period, around three to five days. Sampson also questioned the need for having both no-excuse absentee voting which the state has allowed since the height of the pandemic but isnt written into law and in-person early voting, which he believes accomplishes the same goal. But both measures are different: No-excuse absentee voting allows residents to request and cast a ballot before Election Day through an in-person dropbox or through mail without an excuse. In-person early voting typically means voting in person, only. Mastrofrancesco asked Thomas whether it was her recommendation for the state to fund early voting temporarily or permanently. Thomas indicated the latter. I believe that the right to vote is our most important responsibility as citizens and that the state needs to fund our elections. Short of that, the federal government needs to fund our elections, Thomas said. So I would be in favor of this funding continuing forever and ever. But ultimately, thats going to be a decision that this group, the General Assembly, will need to make. I think state investment would be a signal to voters that we actually believe we work for them. In November, more than 60% of Connecticut voters cast ballots in affirmative to the early voting question: Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to provide for early voting? It was the second time that the convenience voting measure reached voters, the first of which failed by more than 38,000 votes during the 2014 midterm election. Political experts attributed the previous rejection of early voting to confusion, uncertainty about giving the state legislature more power, and racial and partisan divisions, according to The Hartford Courant. During the 2014 election, early voting was also grouped with no-excuse absentee voting. People testifying in the public hearing including election workers spoke largely in favor of no-excuse absentee voting, which, if passed among a simple majority in the current legislature, would go to the ballot for voters to decide in 2024. Connecticuts voting laws are enshrined in the state constitution, meaning any changes to it must first pass through the House and Senate with three-fourths majority support, or a simple majority in both chambers in two successive legislative terms, and then majority support among voters. I just want to say that we can do this. We can figure this out. The registrars can handle this, and the town clerks can help us support this, Elisa Beckett-Flores, a Democratic registrar in New Britain, said Wednesday about early voting. We can also do no-excuse absentee balloting, she said. Its just the concerns over staffing, space, security and financial burden. It really comes down to the cost. We need the state investment into elections to help support these initiatives, and we also need to get the word out to the voters about all these changes. Leslie Blank of Norwalk, who submitted written testimony for the hearing, said Connecticut voters want choice and that the legislature must implement and fund voters wishes on the matter. CT Voters have spoken not once, but twice, on referenda to move Connecticut into the 21st century on voting rights, Blank wrote. We cannot continue to wage in the company of Alabama, Mississippi and New Hampshire in restricting access to the ballot. Steve Zales, who didnt identify his whereabouts in his written testimony, said if there is a state in this country that should be among the most voter-favorable, it should be Connecticut. We need to change from being among the least favorable to among the most favorable, provide sufficient funds to support those efforts and communication vehicles to inform and educate the public so that those who would like to vote early can, Zales wrote. Please take this opportunity to right the wrongs of decades before us, and let Connecticut voters be fully heard. Chen, talking to legislators on Zoom, said lawmakers supporting the voting measures communicates solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of constituents who made their wishes clear last November. And by association, you will be demonstrating your dedication to ensure that all eligible voters of Connecticut feel represented and valued, she said. Boris Johnson has stepped up calls for Britain to supply jet fighters to the Ukrainians to help drive out Russian forces from their territory. On the eve of the anniversary of Russias invasion, the former prime minister said the UK should break the ice and send RAF Typhoons to the government in Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelensky has appealed for US F16 fighters as the Ukrainians prepare to mount an expected counter-offensive, but western allies have so far been reluctant to agree, citing lengthy required training. In an interview with Sky News, Mr Johnson said: What the Ukrainians want is F16s. We dont have F16s. We do have Typhoons. I think there is an argument for the UK breaking the ice and giving them some Typhoons. Boris Johnson has urged the UK to supply Typhoon jet fighters (PA) If it is a question of training people up to use those machines, we can do that.Mr Johnson said it is absolutely crucial the Ukrainians have the equipment they need if they are to drive out Russian forces and prevent them from re-grouping for a fresh offensive. There is clearly a possibility, unless the Ukrainians get the help that they need, that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin can kind of manufacture out of the land that he is able to retain some sort of victory from this disaster, he said. That is why it is vital that we help the Ukrainians to expunge Putins forces from every part of their territory. Mr Johnson also said it would be a historic mistake for China to support Russia in the conflict by supplying it with weapons. Why does China want to be contaminated by association with Putin, who has revealed himself to be this gangster and adventurer? I think it would be a big, big mistake by China, he said. A man has admitted suffocating a four-year-old girl and assaulting her to the danger of her life. The child suffered two broken arms and extensive bruising in the attack by Sean Lochrie in a property in Paisley, Renfrewshire, last year. The High Court in Glasgow heard significant force would have been needed to inflict such injuries on the child, who cannot be identified for legal reasons. When he appeared at the court on Thursday, Lochrie, 33, pleaded guilty to compressing the childs face and neck with his hands or by some other unknown means, suffocating her and restricting her breathing. He admitted assaulting her to her severe injury and to the danger of her life by seizing her, throwing her about, striking her on the head and body or inflicting blunt force trauma to those areas by unknown means on October 28 and 29, 2022. The court heard Lochrie phoned police at around 3.15am on October 29 to report that he had just woken up and a female he did not know was lying on the floor. Prosecutor Lorraine Glancy KC said: When the police constable asked the accused to wake up the female so he could speak to her, in the background officers could hear a sound of a young female crying as if in pain. Officers were sent to investigate, arriving at 3.25am, and said Lochrie appeared to be under the influence of some unknown substance. Iain McSporran KC said Lochrie has no recollection of the events (Andrew Milligan/PA) They found the child in the bedroom of the property, with her arm in an unnatural position under her body. Ms Glancy said: Officers saw a young female child lying naked on the floor, she was lying on her side with her face towards the door. She was naked apart from her purple T-shirt, which was pulled up around the neck. She was shaking uncontrollably and tearful. The child was taken to hospital by ambulance. Doctors at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow found she had two broken arms and extensive bruising, while her urine tested positive for cocaine indicating that she had ingested it at the property. Ms Glancy said doctors concluded significant force would have been used to inflict such injuries. She told the court the child refuses to speak about the events of the night she was injured. Iain McSporran KC, defending, said Lochrie has no recollection of what happened and pleaded guilty to the single charge at the earliest opportunity, describing him as a broken man. He added: The only comfort to him is that the physical injuries have greatly healed. Lord Weir told Lochrie he had pleaded guilty to an extremely serious charge and deferred sentence until March 23 at the High Court in Edinburgh for reports. Paris Hilton has revealed the name of her new baby is Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum. The US socialite and businesswoman said she wanted to choose a name on the theme of world cities, like herself, but one that also had other meanings. Last month she announced the arrival of her son, who was reportedly born by surrogate, with partner Carter Reum but said they had kept the birth a secret from even their closest friends and family. Speaking in the latest episode of her podcast This Is Paris, she explained the thought process behind the name, which she had thought of over a decade ago. This is a name that is so special to me. Ive been planning my childrens names for years and years, she said. I knew even when I was a little girl that I wanted to have a daughter named London, because London is one of my favourite cities in the world, I think its such a beautiful name it could work for a boy or a girl. I just think it sounds cute, Paris and London. She continued: Its hard to think of a boy name on that theme, I really wanted to stick with the theme of other cities, or a state or a country, just something about the world because I love to travel and I love exotic names. Hilton added that she had considered some of her other favourite cities for her sons name, including Las Vegas, in Nevada, and Aspen, in Colorado, as well as Ibiza, which she admitted sounded weird. Over a decade ago I thought of this amazing name. Its such a beautiful name, its so unique. I love that its not only a city but it also has other meanings that are just beautiful, she said. I do believe that names have power and we wanted a name for our baby boy that was uniquely remarkable. Hilton said she had chosen the name of Phoenix because it stands for hope, rebirth and transformation. Phoenix has a few good pop culture reference points, but more important its the birth that flames out and rises from the ashes to fly again, she said reading an extract from her upcoming memoir. I want my son to grow up knowing that disaster and triumph go around and come around throughout our lives, and that this should give us great hope for the future. Hilton announced the arrival of her son last month (PA) She explained that her sons middle name of Barron was in tribute to her grandfather, who she described as her mentor. Earlier in the episode, Hilton said she and Reum had felt nervous about sharing details with friends and family out of fear that their privacy would be invaded by US media outlets. It was really nice to have that with Carter, it be our own journey together because I feel like my life has been so public and Ive never had anything be just mine, she said. My life in so many ways has been invaded. She added that her life now felt complete and praised Reum as an angel and such an incredible father. Its amazing being a mum, it sounds so weird saying Im a mum but I love it, she said. Announcing Phoenixs birth, she posted a close-up picture of the baby gripping her thumb to Instagram, with the caption: You are already loved beyond words. Her upcoming book, Paris: The Memoir, is due to be released on March 14. In her podcast Hilton added that she was nervous about the books release, as it contains details about her rollercoaster life which she had never shared before, but that it had been healing to write. Sir Keir Starmer is to launch a series of five national missions setting out his objectives for a Labour government if the party gains power at the next general election. In a keynote speech in Manchester, the Labour leader will say the country needs a serious plan if it is finally to fix some of the deep-seated problems it is facing. The five missions are expected to be based around the economy, climate, crime, skills with a particular focus on education and childcare and the NHS. His main economic goal will contain a pledge to make the UK the fastest-growing economy in the G7. He is expected to contrast his programme with measures ranging from tackling the crisis in the NHS to the stalled economy with the sticking plaster politics of Rishi Sunaks five priorities set out in his new year address. At the same, Sir Keir will stress that he is ready to draw on investment and expertise from both the public and private sectors to get the job done. With an election potentially little over a year away, party officials said the mission plan will form the backbone of their manifesto. Over the coming months the party will set out a series of measurable ambitions for each mission, beginning in Thursdays speech with its plan for economic growth. Labour is the party of law and order. The next Labour government will prevent crime, punish criminals and protect communities. Heres our Home Office team to explain how. pic.twitter.com/54wm7Crzey The Labour Party (@UKLabour) February 17, 2023 A party spokesman said they will draw on Sir Keirs experience of having run the Crown Prosecution Service for five years to establish a set of clear objectives for what they want to achieve in office. The missions are an important part of focusing government, prioritising not just spending but time in government, the spokesman said. In his speech, Sir Keir will say that he wants a different approach to government neither state control nor pure free markets but a genuine sleeves rolled=up partnership working in the national interest. It means providing a clear set of priorities, he will say, according to advance extracts of his speech. A relentless focus on the things that matter most. An answer to the widespread call for someone that can fix the fundamentals. A long-term plan to unlock Britains pride and purpose. Without a serious plan, there will be no light at the end of a very long tunnel for the British people. Sir Keir will say that each mission will be laser-targeted at addressing the root causes of a series of complex problems which demand new thinking. The more I delve into these challenges, the more I can see things that are simply not working, he will say. Things that could be sped up, joined up, given direction, made to work better. This is at the core of my politics. Government can prevent problems, as well as fix them. Can shape markets rather than serving them. Can lead a collective national effort on growth and innovation. But without reforming the role of Government none of that will happen. Equally, Im not concerned about whether investment or expertise comes from the public or private sector I just want to get the job done. With missions comes greater stability and certainty instead of a Government chopping and changing all the time, blowing with the wind. The missions will be anchor points to show clearly the direction of travel. Ukraine confident of UK support regardless of who is in No 10 ambassador Ukraine is confident of retaining UK support in the war effort against Russia regardless of who is in Downing Street, the countrys ambassador has indicated. Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK Vadym Prystaiko praised the bipartisan support across British politics for his country, as it prepares to mark one year since the Russian invasion. Mr Prystaiko, who met Sir Keir Starmer and other Labour figures this week, told the PA news agency that Ukrainians understood that governments change and prime ministers can come and go. Boris Johnson retains the affections of many in Ukraine for his wholehearted support for Ukraine since the outbreak of war, with his exit from office last year prompting some concerns that British backing could soften. But in his visit to London earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Rishi Sunak and heaped praise on the British response since last February. In an interview, Mr Prystaiko praised the united front shown by British politicians. It comes with Labour currently polling far ahead of the Conservatives. A Labour victory at the next general election, in around 18 months time, would see Sir Keir leading the countrys response on Ukraine. We are quite happy by this bipartisan, multi-partisan support we have here. Discussing his meeting with Labour, he said: Even they told me that it is quite unusual for the internal politics when the parties are united around anything, Mr Prystaiko said. That doesnt mean we dont have to explain our position, the position might be different in some things. But the core of the understanding is here. Referencing Mr Johnson, he said: People do appreciate what he was doing, but at the same time people in the same intensity appreciate what has been done by the whole UK and they understand that now all decisions are taken in No 10 and there is a new Prime Minister there. So they do understand, they are not naive, and they will appreciate whoever comes, the Conservatives, the Labour. We might also change our system, that is the beauty of democracy, were OK with that. Labour leader Keir Starmer (left) greets Vadym Prystaiko at Portcullis House in Westminster, London earlier this week (Yui Mok/PA) Mr Prystaiko also praised the Governments welcome for Ukrainians fleeing the war, one year on. Around 160,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the UK as of February 13 under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme where people are sponsored by a UK household for six months and the Ukraine Family Scheme, for those with family already settled in the UK. But concerns have emerged that some Ukrainian refugees in the UK are facing homelessness or destitution. Mr Prystaiko said he was happy with the scheme. Your colleagues, Ukrainian journalists, are formulating this question differently. How come that a nation which has not much in common with us is supporting at such a level why? And you know most of the nations around the globe are supporting us through taxpayers money Here it is different, people opening up their houses. The Ukrainians are asking why? What is that? How can we repay? In the same interview, the Ukrainian ambassador looked ahead to beyond the war and the place of his country in the world. What we are telling Russians let us write the new chapter here. Lets draw the line, we will live our lives, you will live whatever you want to do. We dont want to isolate ourselves, North Korean style which very unfortunately Russia is moving towards we would like to be open and do the same as many nations. Universities in England could face sanctions if intimate relationships between staff and students who they have academic responsibilities for are not disclosed under plans by the higher education watchdog. Academics who refuse to report relationships with their students which involve sexual activity, romantic intimacy or financial dependency should be dismissed, the Office for Students (OfS) has proposed. Susan Lapworth, chief executive of the OfS, warned that a power imbalance in personal relationships could be exploited by unscrupulous staff to subject students to harassment or sexual misconduct. Addressing harassment and sexual misconduct would be a new ongoing condition of registration for universities and colleges in England under the proposals set out by the higher education regulator. A consultation has been launched by the OfS on the proposed steps that institutions would be required to take under the condition which includes banning the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) which forbid students from talking about incidents of harassment or sexual misconduct. It proposes requiring universities and colleges to maintain a register of personal relationships that exist between students and relevant staff, such as those involved in teaching students or marking their work, and to manage and address any actual or potential conflict of interest and/or abuse of power. The watchdog describes a personal relationship as one that involves physical intimacy, including isolated or repeated sexual activity, romantic or emotional intimacy, and/or financial dependency. The condition could see universities face a range of sanctions including being fined, stripped of access to student loan funding or de-registered if they fail to comply with the regulators requirements. Views are also being sought on whether all universities should be required to ban such personal relationships between students and staff, but the watchdog said its preferred option was a register of staff-student relationships. Ms Lapworth said: The majority of those working in higher education behave appropriately towards their students. But we recognise that there can be a power imbalance in personal relationships that could be exploited by unscrupulous staff to subject students to harassment or sexual misconduct. Thats why were proposing that certain types of personal relationships should be disclosed, with staff dismissed if they fail to do so. Under the proposals, universities would also be required to publish a document setting out the steps they will take to protect students from harassment and sexual misconduct. The document would include information about how to report cases of harassment and sexual misconduct, as well as explain how students will be supported through the process. The watchdog is calling on universities to introduce mandatory training for students and staff which should include training for potential witnesses to raise awareness of and prevent sexual misconduct. Ms Lapworth said: These are important proposals which would allow the OfS for the first time to directly regulate concerns about harassment and sexual misconduct. Some universities are already doing excellent work in this area, but we know that progress across the sector has been too slow and too patchy. She added: Harassment and sexual misconduct can have a profound and sometimes devastating impact on the lives of students, including damage to their education. Our proposals would ensure that victims of harassment and sexual misconduct are appropriately supported, and that universities and colleges make significant progress to reduce these incidents. Tiffany Page, co-director of The 1752 Group, an organisation that lobbies to end sexual misconduct in higher education, said: Any measures put in place by the OfS must ensure that staff-student relationships are not driven underground. The OfS proposed requirement for staff to disclose a relationship on a register would need to be combined with safeguarding measures after relationships are declared and continued education on why relationships are so problematic. Power imbalances still exist even without staff responsibilities towards the student, and so the criteria for a relationships register should include all staff-student relationships. A Universities UK (UUK) spokesperson said: Our members take tackling harassment and sexual misconduct extremely seriously and have been working hard to meet their obligations in this area. However, we recognise that there is still work to be done. We look forward to working with OfS so that these proposals will further strengthen universities own efforts to ensure student safety. It is crucial that any new obligations on universities are proportionate and work for the full range of institutions. Weight loss is an important health goal for Sabrazsia Gardner, so she began researching Wegovy, the anti-obesity drug that contains the same medication as Ozempic. Gardner, 33, says she wanted to stop the snacking and binge eating that contributed to her obesity, and eat less. But diets didnt work and she didnt want to go the weight-loss surgery route. After talking about her options with her doctor during her annual physical, she received a prescription for Wegovy. Since starting the treatment in January 2023, Gardner says she has "very little appetite" and is losing weight. I dont think about food the same I dont think about snacking and Im fuller longer, Gardner, an esthetician who lives in Chandler, Arizona, tells TODAY.com. I dont even have hunger cravings. I eat because Im supposed to. You eat to live, not live to eat. Gardner could once eat 10 chicken wings in a sitting, but barely ate three when she recently treated herself. She got a stomachache afterwards, one of the side effects shes experienced on the drug. Since starting Wegovy, Gardner has also had fatigue, diarrhea and really prominent nausea for which she takes another medication. Gardner says she sometimes doesnt feel hungry all day and is no longer drawn to chips or chocolate foods she used to crave and snack on. Shes lost 10 pounds so far. Whats the difference between Ozempic and Wegovy? Wegovy contains semaglutide, the same medication found in Ozempic, the Type 2 diabetes treatment that comes with a celebrated side effect: weight loss. The only difference between the two drugs is the design of the injector pen and the doses, says Dr. Louis Aronne, an obesity medicine physician and director of the Comprehensive Weight Control Center at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian. Can you take Ozempic just for weight loss? Wegovy is approved for weight loss by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, while Ozempic is not, though many people are using it off-label for that purpose. Each medication is self-injected by patients once a week. Wegovy comes in five different dose strengths, while Ozempic has four. The maximum dose is 2 milligrams for Ozempic and 2.4 milligrams for Wegovy, according to Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical giant that makes both drugs. The company says they are not interchangeable. How do Ozempic and Wegovy lead to weight loss? Semaglutide is a synthetic version of a hormone known as GLP-1, which the body releases into the intestine when people eat food, says Aronne, who is a scientific adviser for Novo Nordisk. When the medication hits GLP-1 receptors in different parts of the brain, that triggers a reaction, stimulating nerves that mimic the effect of eating food people have reduced appetite, and when they do eat, they feel full sooner, he notes. That hormone gets absorbed into the bloodstream, goes to the brain and tells the brain youve eaten food. So people basically feel like theyve already eaten when they take it, Aronne tells TODAY.com. Its kind of like if I gave you Thanksgiving dinner and then I asked you to eat another dinner. Youll say, I cant possibly eat it. I just ate a whole dinner. Another way the medication works is that it slows down stomach emptying, which slows down the absorption of calories and may contribute to the feeling of fullness, Aronne says. How much weight can you lose on Ozempic or Wegovy? In randomized clinical trials, patients receiving the 2.4 milligram dose of semaglutide lost a mean of 6% of their weight by week 12 and 12% of their weight by week 28, researchers reported. In one study of almost 2,000 overweight or obese adults without diabetes, people taking that dose of semaglutide lost an average of 34 pounds in less than 16 weeks, compared to 6 pounds among those receiving a placebo, NBC News reported. That same study, funded by Novo Nordisk, showed participants lost about 15% of their body weight after taking semaglutide for 16 months, compared to a 2.4% weight loss for those taking a placebo. Wegovy should be used in addition to a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity, the FDA says. Will Ozempic or Wegovy reduce belly fat? The answer appears to be yes. That Novo Nordisk-funded study of almost 2,000 overweight or obese adults without diabetes also found their visceral fat the type that accumulates in the belly was reduced from baseline with semaglutide, along with their total fat mass. How do people feel about food when taking semaglutide? A typical anecdote Aronne hears from a patient is: I went to the same restaurant I always go to, I ordered the same dinner I always order, but when I ate half of it, I just couldnt continue. I felt so full, so bloated that I could not eat anymore. People with binge eating problems or who obsessively think about food tell him, I have so much time in the day now because Im not thinking about my next meal all the time. Some people also lose cravings. Looking at a bag of Doritos was kind of like looking at a pair of socks, Shea Murray, who used Ozempic, previously told TODAY. People have to keep taking semaglutide for the drug to keep working otherwise, they will regain two-thirds of their prior weight loss, studies have shown. Its not a short-term cosmetic fix for someone who wants to lose 10 pounds to look good in a swimsuit, but a long-term treatment for people who have health problems related to obesity, doctors say. Why do patients experience nausea? The most common side effects of Ozempic and Wegovy include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach pain and constipation, according to Novo Nordisk. Some patients told NBC News the side effects were so severe they stopped taking the drugs or questioned whether they could stay on them long-term. In clinical trials, almost 7% of patients treated with Wegovy permanently stopped taking it because of adverse reactions, or more than twice the number of people who received a placebo, Novo Nordisk reported. The nausea, which was the most common side effect that led patients to stop treatment, may be caused by the slowing down of the emptying of the stomach or by acid reflux, Aronne says. People respond in different ways to the medication, so they must start with the lowest dose and work their way up to higher doses slowly, he adds. What foods should be avoided in the Ozempic diet? Patients taking semaglutide should notice which foods may exacerbate their symptoms and eat less of those, says Dr. Ania Jastreboff, director of weight management and obesity prevention at the Yale Stress Center in New Haven, Connecticut. She serves on the scientific advisory board for Novo Nordisk. One Ozempic patient previously told TODAY.com that greasy food in general was really hard for her to eat after starting the medication. To reduce nausea while on semaglutide, registered dietitian Emily Rubin recommended skipping hot, fried or greasy food; and avoiding eating or cooking strong-smelling food. Dont eat too quickly and dont have a large drink with meals, she says. Do you regain weight after stopping Ozempic or Wegovy? Because Ozempic is not approved for weight loss, it wasnt studied for weight changes following discontinuation, Novo Nordisk previously told TODAY. Data from its clinical trials for Wegovy "showed that, not unexpectedly, patients experience weight regain once they stop taking the medication, the company previously said in a statement to TODAY.com. This supports the belief that obesity is a chronic disease that requires long-term management, much like high blood pressure or high cholesterol, for which most patients remain on therapy long term in order to continue to experience the benefits of their medications. What are the dangers of Ozempic and Wegovy? Possible serious side effects of Ozempic and Wegovy include pancreatitis, gallbladder problems and kidney problems, among other issues, according to the manufacturer. Both drugs also carry the warning that semaglutide causes thyroid C-cell tumors in rodents, though its unknown whether that can happen in humans. Dr. Robert Lustig, a neuroendocrinologist and professor emeritus of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, previously told TODAY.com he has major, major concerns about people potentially taking Wegovy for years or for life. Hes not against the drug, but calls it a Band-Aid thats not fixing the root of the problem of obesity. If people keep eating junk food and not exercising, the drug is not going to solve any problems, adds Dr. Luigi Fontana, professor of medicine and nutrition, and director of the healthy longevity research program at The University of Sydney in Australia. Dr. Zhaoping Li, professor of medicine and chief of the division of clinical nutrition at the University of California, Los Angeles, says more long-term data is needed about Wegovy. But other doctors previously told TODAY.com they were comfortable prescribing it for the long-term. Aronne calls this the golden age of treating obesity as more medications that work and are safe become available, he says. Sabrazsia Gardner, the woman who started taking Wegovy in January, says shed like to stay on it for as long as she can and hopes to lose 120 pounds. The nausea I can live with. Its annoying, but its OK. If its making me healthier, I think Ill be OK, she says. This article was originally published on TODAY.com LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Harvey Weinstein, the onetime Hollywood titan who came to epitomize a culture of pervasive sexual misconduct by powerful men that ignited the #MeToo movement, was sentenced on Thursday to 16 years in prison for the 2013 rape of an actress in Los Angeles. Weinstein was sentenced in a Los Angeles courtroom, where a jury in December found him guilty of rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object. The charges stemmed from an assault on a former model and actress, identified in court as Jane Doe 1, at a Los Angeles hotel in February 2013. Weinstein, the powerful co-founder of Miramax Films, a U.S. movie production and distribution house, will serve the sentence after completing his 23-year sentence for a sexual misconduct conviction in New York. Allegations against Weinstein helped fuel the #MeToo movement, which has encouraged women to speak out about sexual harassment and abuse by powerful men in media, politics and other endeavors. The movement, which went viral on social media in 2017, seeks to break a culture of silence that has long allowed such conduct to go unchallenged. Weinstein, who produced "Pulp Fiction," "Shakespeare in Love" and other successful independent films, has said all of his sexual encounters had been consensual, and he pleaded not guilty in the Los Angeles case. Prosecutors called for a "high-term" penalty of 24 years because of the prior conviction, rather than a "mid-term" sentence of 18 years that California law would otherwise prescribe, absent additional "aggravating" factors. Weinstein's team opposed the district attorney's recommendation for a high-term, consecutive sentence, given Weinstein's "advanced age and deteriorating health," defense lawyer Mark Werksman told Reuters in an email. The jury acquitted Weinstein of charges relating to a second alleged victim and failed to reach a unanimous verdict on charges arising from two other accusers. One of them, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, now the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, had disclosed she was the alleged rape victim referred to in court records as Jane Doe 4. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench declared a mistrial on the deadlocked charges. Defense attorneys argued that the women willingly had sex with Weinstein because they believed he would advance their careers, part of what they said was a widespread "casting couch" culture in the film industry. In two of the cases, they said the alleged sexual contact was fabricated. Weinstein was convicted of sexual misconduct in New York in February 2020. He was extradited from New York to Los Angeles prison in July 2021. Weinstein is appealing the New York conviction and prison sentence. (Reporting by Steve Gorman; Writing by Lisa Richwine; Editing by William Mallard and Aurora Ellis) FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan federal court in New York, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. The FTX founder returned to a New York courtroom for the second time in two weeks to explain why he keeps accessing parts of the internet that the government can't monitor and how it might affect his bail (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (ASSOCIATED PRESS) NEW YORK (AP) FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried faced new fraud charges Thursday, as prosecutors accused him of cheating thousands of investors out of billions of dollars while casting himself as a trustworthy savior of the cryptocurrency industry" an image boosted by celebrity-studded Super Bowl advertising and big donations to political figures. Four new charges, including securities fraud and conspiracy fraud counts, were unveiled with the unsealing of the refreshed indictment in Manhattan federal court that was returned a day earlier. In a statement, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams hinted, as he has several times previously, that prosecutors were not finished building their case. We are hard at work and will remain so until justice is done, he said. A spokesperson for Bankman-Fried declined to comment. The new charges raised the prison sentence Bankman-Fried could face if convicted from 115 years to 155 years, authorities said. The new charges raised the number of counts in the indictment to 12, as prosecutors more thoroughly and eloquently told their story of what happened to FTX, Bankman-Fried's global cryptocurrency exchange, and its affiliated cryptocurrency trading hedge fund, Alameda Research. The description cast FTX customers, investors, financial institutions, lenders and the Federal Election Commission as victims of fraudulent schemes Bankman-Fried allegedly carried out from 2019 until last November. Prosecutors said Bankman-Fried stole billions of dollars in FTX customer deposits to support the operations and investments of FTX and Alameda and to fund speculative venture investments, make charitable donations and spend tens of millions of dollars on illegal campaign donations to Democrats and Republicans in an attempt to buy influence over cryptocurrency regulation in Washington. They said Bankman-Fried cast himself as a figurehead of a trustworthy and law-abiding segment of the cryptocurrency industry that sought to protect investors and clients. As recently as late 2022, Bankman-Fried boasted about FTXs profits and portrayed himself as a savior of the cryptocurrency industry, making venture investments and acquisitions purportedly to assist struggling industry participants, the new indictment says. Meanwhile, he spent millions of dollars on celebrity advertisements during the 2022 Super Bowl that promoted FTX as the safest and easiest way to buy and sell crypto and the most trusted way to buy and sell digital assets, it states. In reality, prosecutors wrote, Bankman-Fried routinely tapped FTX customer assets to provide interest-free capital for his and Alameda's private expenditures and in the process exposed FTX customers to massive, undisclosed risk. They said Bankman-Fried controlled both companies and used them to prop each other up, notwithstanding conflicts of interest and outright lies to the contrary. It was not known when Bankman-Fried would return to Manhattan for an arraignment. Twice in the last two weeks, he has appeared in court after prosecutors expressed concern that he might be communicating online in ways they cannot trace. They have also said his communications indicate that he might be trying to influence a witness with incriminating evidence against him. A judge is deciding how to toughen Bankman-Fried's bail requirements to prevent any improper communications. Last week, he even suggested that Bankman-Fried might have to be incarcerated prior to trial if his communications cannot be monitored to ensure he is not tampering with witnesses. Bankman-Fried has already pleaded not guilty to charges that he cheated investors and looted customer deposits at FTX, his cryptocurrency platform. The charges accuse him of diverting money from his investors in part to finance political donations and make risky trades through his cryptocurrency trading hedge fund, Alameda Research. Bankman-Fried was arrested in the Bahamas in December and was brought to the United States soon afterward. FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, when it ran out of money after the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run. He is free on a $250 million personal recognizance bond. The bail arrangement allows him to live with electronic monitoring at his parents' home in Palo Alto, California. Alex Murdaugh has confessed to stealing money from his law firm and to orchestrating a bizarre botched hitman plot but continues to deny killing his wife Maggie and son Paul in cold blood on the familys sprawling estate. The disgraced attorney who is facing almost 100 charges for a multi-million-dollar financial fraud scheme took the witness stand in his own double murder trial in the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on Thursday. During dramatic testimony, Mr Murdaugh admitted that he had stolen funds from clients at his law firm PMPED. I did, he said. Mr Murdaugh blamed his alleged financial crimes on a 20-year opioid addiction, which he said he had spent years battling. Im not quite sure how it got the way it got but I was battling addiction for so many years. I was spending so much money on pills, he said. My addiction is to opiate painkillers in particular to oxycodone, he said. He claimed that he developed his addiction after injuring his knee in college, and his addiction just escalated after that. It just escalated and escalated and escalated, he said. Mr Murdaugh said that he has been to a detox facility three times over the years the first time in December 2017 but always relapsed. When asked how long he had been clean of drugs, he smiled at the jury and said: 535 days and Im very proud of that. In a move that sought to undermine the prosecutions theory of a motive, Mr Murdaugh insisted that he was not concerned that his financial crimes were on the brink of exposure on 7 June 2021 the day of the murders. Prosecutors claim that Mr Murdaugh killed his wife and son to distract from his string of alleged financial crimes at a time when his multi-million-dollar fraud scheme was on the brink of being exposed. Alex Murdaugh stands next to the witness booth during a break in his trial (AP) His law firm was asking questions about missing payments with his CFO confronting him about $792,000 on the day of the murders and a hearing in the 2019 fatal boat crash lawsuit was scheduled for that week. When asked by his attorney Jim Griffin if, on the day of the murders, he thought his financial house of cards was crumbling, he insisted he did not. He sought to dismiss the significance of a voicemail message he sent to former Palmetto State Bank CEO Russell Laffitte four days before the murders and suggested that the deaths of Maggie and Paul could not have benefited him financially, On 3 June 2021, Mr Murdaugh sent a voicemail to Mr Laffitte asking him for money to extend credit on the family Moselle home. I need to extend farm credit line another 600k. My dad will sign also if needed. How much turnaround will that take? he asked. Mr Murdaugh insisted that there was $7m equity in Moselle home and that the home was fully in Maggies name. The entire Moselle property was 100 percent in Maggies name, he said, so her death actually made it more difficult to access his finances. The second home the Edisto Beach house was owned 50-50 by the married couple so he also couldnt access the equity after her death, he said. Mr Murdaugh also said that there was no life insurance policies on Maggie and Paul. Jurors have previously heard troves of testimony from Mr Murdaughs former law firm colleagues, fellow lawyers and legal clients about his alleged financial crimes. Jeanne Seckinger, the CFO at PMPED, previously testifed that she had confronted Mr Murdaugh over missing payments on the day of Maggie and Pauls murders. She told the court that by 7 June 2021 the law firm partners had noticed $792,000 worth of legal fees missing from the case he worked with attorney Chris Wilson. When she approached Mr Murdaugh to ask him about it that morning she said he appeared to be disgusted with her. Hours later, Maggie and Paul were shot dead. Ms Seckinger and other PMPED partners testified that their deaths put the probe into the missing payments on hold as they were focused on rallying around Mr Murdaugh. Mr Murdaugh testified that he was not overly concerned by Ms Seckinger confronting him about the money that day. I had some level of concern asking me about money that I took that I wasnt supposed to have, he said. But not that concerned. Defence attorney Jim Griffin questions Alex Murdaugh at his trial (AP) He also downplayed the significant of the boat crash hearing saying he was concerned about a change in venue but not that his finances would be exposed through the suit. At the time of the murders, Mr Murdaugh was being sued by the family of Mallory Beach a 19-year-old woman who died in a 2019 crash in the Murdaugh family boat. Paul was allegedly drunk driving the boat at the time and crashed it, throwing Beach overboard. Her body washed ashore a week later. Paul was charged with multiple felonies over the boat wreck and was facing 25 years in prison at the time of his murder. The Beach family sued Mr Murdaugh and a lawsuit hearing was scheduled for 10 June 2021. Their attorney had also filed a motion to compel, which prosecutors say would have exposed Mr Murdaughs ruinous finances. The hearing was then postponed following Maggie and Pauls murders. Mr Murdaugh dismissed the significance of the hearing, saying that, based on his own legal experience, the motion to compel was not so significant. Over the coming months after the murders, Mr Murdaughs law firm partners uncovered an alleged multi-million-dollar fraud scheme where he had stolen millions from their clients and pocketed it himself. Things reaching a head on 3 September when the partners confronted him about the scheme and forced him to resign. The next day, Mr Murdaugh was shot in the head in what turned out to be a botched hitman plot. Mr Murdaugh told the court that he initially asked his alleged accomplice Curtis EddieSmith to bring me pills but then changed the plan. Not to get pills anymore. I asked him to shoot me, he said. Mr Murdaugh said he believed it would be better for him to be dead. I meant for him to shoot me so Id be gone, he said. I knew all this was coming to a head. I knew how humiliating it would be for my son... Id been through so much. At the time... I thought it was the better thing to do. After the shooting, Mr Murdaugh initially claimed he was the victim of a drive-by shooting while he changed a tire by the side of a road in Hampton County. He spent hours with a sketch artist to help track down the fictional drive-by shooter. But, Mr Murdaughs story about the incident quickly unravelled. Lynn Murdaugh Goette, Alex Murdaughs sister, cries as he testifies at his murder trial (AP) One week later on 13 September, he confessed to law enforcement that he had orchestrated the whole saga, paying an alleged hitman to shoot and kill him in an assisted suicide plot so that his surviving son Buster could get a $12m life insurance windfall. He told investigators that he asked Mr Smith a former law firm client, distant cousin and allegedly his drug dealer to carry out the shooting. Both he and Mr Smith were arrested and are awaiting trial over the incident. Mr Murdaughs confession to the two other cases he is awaiting trial for the financial crimes and the botched hitman plot appears to be part of the defences strategy to suggest that the disgraced attorney would also confess to the murders if he was guilty of carrying out them too. But, it comes after jurors have heard four weeks of dramatic testimony from the prosecution, presenting Mr Murdaugh as a serial liar who has orchestrated situations to paint himself as a victim when his alleged crimes were on the brink of exposure. In total, 61 prosecution witnesses covered a trove of circumstantial evidence, including cellphone and car data, a damning video allegedly placing Mr Murdaugh at the crime scene and apparent holes in his alibi for the time for the murders. Mr Murdaugh, 54, is facing life in prison for the murders of his wife and son. He has pleaded not guilty. Two markets, a senior center and a dollar store are among the East Hartford establishments that failed health inspections the last year. The inspections are in addition to 19 city eateries that failed inspection in that same 2022 time frame. The markets are licensed and inspected because they sell perishable foods requiring refrigeration, a health department official said. In some cases, such as that of Family Dollar which is on the list foods arent being prepared, but they sell refrigerated perishables. Following a failed inspection establishments are reinspected and if they fail again, the department works with them until the facility gets it right. In some cases, violations are corrected on the spot such as expired food being thrown out. Health inspection failures include: Accra Market, 168 Burnside Ave., failed inspection on Aug 22, 2022. The conditions that represented violations, according to an inspectors report included: Not all food items on the shelf are being sold with a proper label on them; too many food items are being stored in the walk in freezer uncovered and on the ground; food containers were stored on the floor; a hand sink was very unclean and not being used in the back cutting room; handwashing procedures were not being followed; there was no proper sink for handwashing; all hard surfaces in the back cutting room needed to be washed and sanitized; unclean food equipment, dry storage and floors in back cutting room; loose trash around the entire building. A person who answered the telephone declined to comment when the Courant asked to speak with a manager or owner. Big Brothers Market, 155 Burnside Ave., failerd an inspection July 28, 2022. Inspection documents show they were missing thermometers inside cooler units, lacked proper handwashing facilities in all food preparation areas; employees failed to wash hands at appropriate times; they had improper sanitizing procedures and unclean food equipment. A person who answered the telephone declined to comment when the Courant asked to speak with a manager or owner. East Hartford Senior Center, 16 Milbrook Drive, failed inspection Sept. 28, 2022. The center didnt get any points off for cleanliness, but had a four-point violation for not properly cooling a pot of tomato sauce. Facilities with a four-point violation automatically fail because they can be the biggest contributors to food-borne illness. The inspectors report states that tomato sauce was stored in a pot in a walk-in cooler at 60 degrees. The sauce had been prepared the previous day around 1 p.m. and was discarded. A health department official said the sauce was debited as a four-point temperature violation because the cooling was too slow. The code requires that a food item such as this must spend no more than 6 hours in the temperature danger zone (135 degrees F to 41 degrees F) while being cooled, the official said. Since the inspector noted the sauce to be 60 degrees and staff indicated that the cooling process had begun the previous day, it was determined that the food item had not been properly cooled. The center passed on re-inspection. Messages left at the senior center were not returned. Lawrence Burned, director of health and human services for East Hartford, said after the inspection the staff at the senior center was made aware of the cold holding rules. The violation was corrected on the spot, he said, by throwing the sauce away. Family Dollar, 180 Main St., failed inspection Oct. 5, 2022. The violations included: expired bologna was in the cooler (and thrown out); there were no paper towels in the bathroom dispenser; the dumpster lid was open; the ceiling in a back room was moldy in back of the cooler; the walk-in storage area was in poor repair. The store also failed re-inspection Oct. 24, 2022, with violations that included milk in cooler with expiration date of Oct. 3, 2022, half of a dumpster uncovered; loose trash around the dumpster area. Several attempts to reach a manager or owner at Family Dollar were unsuccessful. The hotly-anticipated trial of Alex Murdaugh is currently under way in South Carolina where he is facing life in prison for the double murder of his wife and son. The 54-year-old heir to a prominent legal dynasty is accused of gunning down wife Maggie, 52, and their son Paul, 22, on the grounds of the sprawling family estate in Islandton back on 7 June 2021. He was arrested in July 2022 and charged with two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. Mr Murdaugh has pleaded not guilty to the charges and maintains that the person or persons responsible for killing his wife and son is still at large. Opening arguments kicked off the trial on 25 January, with both the prosecution and the defence going into graphic detail about the horrific injuries suffered by the two victims. And the bombshell details have not stopped since. Prosecutors claim that Mr Murdaugh killed his wife and son to distract from his string of alleged financial crimes at a time when his multi-million-dollar fraud scheme was on the brink of being exposed. Meanwhile, the defence is seeking to paint him as a family man who could not have carried out the brutal murders because he loved his wife and son. As a case that has captured national and international attention, its about so much more than the double murders. The prominent legal scion is now at the centre of a series of wild allegations of an alleged hitman plot, multi-million-dollar fraud schemes and unexplained deaths and is facing a slew of more than 100 other charges. So who is the man at the heart of the saga? Who is Alex Murdaugh? Alex Murdaugh was once a powerful figure in Hampton County, South Carolina, where his family has reigned over the local justice system for almost a century. Three generations of the family his father, grandfather and great-grandfather all served as the solicitor in the 14th Judicial Circuit solicitors office. His father Randy held the position until 2006 and was given the highest civilian award the Order of the Palmetto by the South Carolina governor in 2018 for his work. Randy died just three days after Maggie and Pauls murders. Due to the Murdaughs prominence in the judicial system in the lowcountry, the family held a reputation for being powerful and wielding their influence over matters. Alex Murdaugh walks into the Colleton County Courthouse for jury selection on 23 January (AP) Mr Murdaugh continued with the family tradition working as an attorney in the local prosecutors office and also at his own law firm PMPED (the M standing for Murdaugh). He was married to wife Maggie whom he met at college - and the couple had two sons Buster and Paul. After the murders of his wife and son, it transpired that Mr Murdaugh had a two-decade-long opoiod addiction and he checked into rehab in September 2021. Why is he on trial for murder? On 7 June 2021, Maggie and Paul were found shot dead at the kennels of the familys sprawling hunting lodge in Islandton. It was Mr Murdaugh who claimed he discovered their bodies, placing a dramatic 911 call where he cried and sobbed on the phone. He said hed returned home from visiting his elderly mother and dying father to find his wife and son dead from multiple gunshot wounds. In the audio, Mr Murdaugh is heard sobbing as he tells the dispatcher its bad and my wife and child have been shot badly. Two different weapons were used to kill the victims, with Maggie shot five times with an automatic rifle and Paul shot twice once in the head and once in the chest with a shotgun. For 13 months, no arrests were made in their murders, no suspects were named and no charges were brought over their killings until Mr Murdaugh was finally charged in July 2022. Prosecutors say that Mr Murdaugh killed his wife and son in an attempt to distract from the other crimes and scandals swirling around him. What other legal troubles is he facing? Besides the murder case, Mr Murdaugh is facing at least 100 other criminal charges over a string of allegations. Three months on from the murders on 4 September 2021 Mr Murdaugh allegedly conspired to pay a hitman to shoot him dead so that Buster would inherit a $10m life insurance windfall. The now-disbarred attorney initially claimed he was ambushed in a drive-by shooting while changing a tyre on his vehicle, but his story quickly unravelled and he confessed to orchestrating the plot. Mr Murdaugh and his alleged co-conspirator Curtis Smith were arrested and charged over the incident. One day before the shooting, Mr Murdaugh had been confronted by his law firm PMPED for allegedly stealing millions of dollars from clients. He is now charged with more than 100 counts from multiple indictments alleging he stole nearly $8.5m from clients at his law firm in fraud schemes going back a decade. The attorney, who has since been disbarred, allegedly represented the clients in wrongful death settlements before pocketing the money for himself. Alleged victims include family members of Gloria Satterfield family, the Murdaughs longtime housekeeper who died in a mysterious trip and fall accident at the family home in 2018. Mallory Beach died in a 2019 boat crash involving Paul Murdaugh (Facebook) At the time, her death was regarded as an accidental fall though the investigation was reopened after Maggie and Pauls murders. The housekeeper is one of a series of other mystery deaths surrounding the Murdaughs. Stephen Smith, 19, was found dead in the middle of the road in Hampton County, South Carolina. The openly gay teenager had suffered blunt force trauma to the head and his death was officially ruled a hit-and-run. But the victims family have long doubted this version of events, with the Murdaugh name cropping up in several police tips and community rumours. An investigation has also been reopened into his death. At the time of Pauls death, he was also awaiting trial over the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach who died in a 2019 boat crash where Paul was allegedly drink driving behind the wheel. He was charged with boating under the influence and faced up to 25 years in prison but was killed before his trial. The Murdaugh family reached a wrongful death settlement with the Beach family earlier in January. Mr Murdaugh is also facing several other civil suits. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said he would not have revealed his own tally (PA Wire) Ben Wallace has accused the Duke of Sussex of boasting about shooting dead 25 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. In his memoir, Spare, Harry shared detailed his experience with the armed forces, a decision that has since drawn criticism. I frankly think boasting about tallies, or talking about tallies, does two things, Mr Wallace, the defence secretary, told LBCs Nick Ferrari. It distorts the fact that the army is a team game, a team enterprise... Its not about who can shoot the most, or who doesnt shoot the most. What youre actually doing is letting down all those other people. Click here to sign up for our newsletters. A motorist fills up at a Mobile gas station in Huntington Beach on Feb. 16. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Nearly five months after Gavin Newsom initially called for a penalty on excessive oil company profits, the governor and lawmakers in Sacramento appear no closer to deciding how to prevent the kind of gasoline price spikes that Californians experienced last year. At the first legislative hearing on the governor's proposal at the state Capitol on Wednesday, lawmakers shared concerns about potential unintended consequences of his desire to cap the industry's earnings. Some oil market experts said Newsom's idea to limit oil refinery profits wouldn't solve the problem and one called it a "tax gimmick." Other economists agreed with the Newsom administration about demanding more transparency from oil refiners on pricing, maintenance, supply contracts and inventory. "I know that legislators do not want the answer, 'We need more investigation,' but the fact is shooting first and then finding out if it's the right solution is going to likely be just as detrimental as helpful," Severin Borenstein, director of the Energy Institute at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, told lawmakers. Lawmakers and many experts who testified Wednesday agreed with Newsom that something should be done to prevent oil companies from charging Californians more than drivers in other states, a differential that peaked in October when in-state prices were $2.60 above the national average, while the corporations reap billions in profits. Polls conducted by advocates for Newsom's policy found that 6 in 10 Californians support a price-gouging penalty on oil refiners when gas prices reach abnormally high levels. But the hearing underscored the challenge Newsom has faced since he began publicly talking about penalizing the industry before he had a detailed plan to execute it: Solving the problem is even more complicated than it seems. Newsom's push for a cap on oil industry profits comes as the governor engages in a high-profile battle with the industry, which he has accused of intentionally price gouging Californians as retribution for the state's effort to curb the use of fossil fuels. The petroleum industry argues the consequences of those policies and the states dependence on a small number of oil refineries drives up gasoline costs. Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president and chief executive of the Western States Petroleum Assn., described the governor's plan as a misguided policy that "focuses on profits, rather than the root cause of price spikes, which is a lack of supply." "These supply constraints, coupled with demand driven by the world's fourth-largest economy and 35 million internal combustion engine vehicles even as we adopt more [electric vehicles], are the primary drivers of fuel costs in the state," Reheis-Boyd said. Newsom called for swift passage of a penalty on oil company profits to alleviate financial pressures on working families when he announced the special session in October. At the time, prices topped $6 per gallon. Now, prices have declined to $4.74 per gallon, while steep increases in home heating bills are a growing concern, showing the difficulties the Legislature faces in quickly addressing top-of-mind issues for Californians. The governor did not attend the informational hearing Wednesday and instead traveled to Palo Alto, where he joined Elon Musk as the Tesla CEO announced that his company would open a new global engineering headquarters in California. Newsom made no mention of the hearing, special session or his proposal for a penalty on oil companies in a video of the event Musk shared on social media. Newsom's predecessor, Gov. Jerry Brown, on rare occasion testified before the Legislature in support of proposals he championed, such as pension reform in 2011, and the gas tax and the extension of the cap-and-trade program in 2017. Often described as a policy wonk, Newsom has not participated in a legislative hearing since taking office in 2019. When asked last week, Newsom said imposing a limit on the profits of oil refiners is challenging, in part, because it's largely uncharted territory in California and the rest of the nation. "No other state in history has done it," Newsom said. The Democratic governor also highlighted the lack of transparency from oil refiners. The state's largest oil refining companies declined to participate in a prior hearing on gas prices held by the California Energy Commission. Newsom said the state would "fight like hell to see to it that information is provided so they can't game the system." "And once we figure that out, and we're in the process of doing that, we're going to be able to fill in those blanks on what apparently everybody wants to see," Newsom said. Officials from his administration shared the same concerns to lawmakers Wednesday. "We're at a point where I think we need to move beyond sort of the voluntary sharing of information and start using the state's authority to get the information that you all need to make informed policy decisions," Nicolas Maduros, director of the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, said at the hearing. State Sen. Dave Min (D-Costa Mesa) said he has concerns about the governor's proposal and didn't see any "smoking guns" at the hearing. But he also said the state's petroleum market is broken if the industry is able to earn record profits while Californians pay "ridiculously high" gas prices. "We have to fix it and I do think we need answers and accountability here because I don't know where the blame lies," Min said. Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, agreed that more investigation should be done to detail unexplained surcharges, largely at the retail end of the supply chain, but argued that lawmakers should not pass up the opportunity to also cap the profits of oil refiners. "This is the first time the Legislature has ever focused on why Californians are paying so much more money for our gas and what tangibility can be done about it with a penalty for doing it," Court said in an interview. "Any legislation that doesnt have a penalty and a windfall profits cap would be a failure." This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The defence secretary has accused Prince Harry of boasting about the number of fighters he killed in Afghanistan. Ben Wallace joins a string of veterans who have criticised the princes memoir claim that he killed 25 Taliban soldiers during his time in the Army. The Duke of Sussex sparked anger globally after writing in his book about precisely how many enemy combatants he shot. Prince Harry discussed his experience in the Army in his book Spare (Getty Images) So, my number is 25. Its not a number that fills me with satisfaction, but nor does it embarrass me, he wrote. Harry dubbed allegations that in doing so he was boasting as a dangerous lie. But Mr Wallace has said killing enemies does not make you a better person. The success of a soldiers time in the forces was not measured by who can shoot the most or who doesnt shoot the most, the defence secretary told LBC. Explaining that it was his personal view, he added: The armed forces is not about a tally. I frankly think boasting about tallies or talking about tallies distorts the fact that the army is a team game, a team enterprise. Its not about who can shoot the most or who doesnt shoot the most I think its my personal view if you start talking about who did what youre letting down all those other people. Mr Wallace said it was up to individual former personnel members to make their own choices about what they want to talk about, but he would not have revealed tallies from when he was a captain in the Scots guards. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said he would not have revealed his own tally (PA Wire) Anyone going over the top would be supported by hundreds of people behind them whether in headquarters in Britain or in the Royal Logistic Corps who helped them get there, he said. In Harrys memoir Spare the prince said he did not think of the Taliban fighters as people but as chess pieces that had been taken off the board. After the backlash to the book, he said it had been hurtful and challenging seeing people claiming he was boasting. Admiral Lord West, former head of the Royal Navy, had called the duke very stupid for giving details of his Taliban kills. And retired commanding officer Tim Collins accused Harry of "turning against" his military family after "having trashed his birth family". In rural Idaho, most emergency medical service providers are volunteers, and some services are funded by bake sales or other community fundraisers. Thats because the state doesnt deem emergency medical services (EMS) essential, the way it does police and fire services, so local EMS providers rely on a patchwork of resources, with no statewide coordination of coverage. Meanwhile, population growth coupled with recruitment and retention barriers and a drop-off in able and willing volunteers is putting pressure on existing staff. EMS in Idaho is broken, simple and easy as that, Peder Humlen, deputy chief of Ada County Paramedics, told the Senate Health and Welfare Committee last week. A new Idaho Senate resolution seeks to take a step toward reforming the existing EMS funding and coordination structure. Sponsored by Senate Majority Caucus Chair Mark Harris, R-Soda Springs, the resolution asks the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to draft legislation recognizing EMS as essential and establishing a statewide EMS coordination and funding system. The proposal follows a 2021 study by the Idaho Office of Performance Evaluations, which found that EMS, particularly in rural areas, are understaffed and underfunded. Seven in 10 emergency medical service personnel in rural Idaho are volunteers, the study found, and just 18% of Idaho EMS directors said in a survey that theyre able to maintain sufficient staff, leading to longer wait times for service and lower standards of care. Funding is an issue, personnel is an issue, burnout is an issue, Harris said during a Tuesday debate in the full Senate. Our EMS need some help, and this (resolution) is the first step toward getting them the help they need. The resolution now heads to the House, after approval from the Senate. Nine Senate Republicans opposed it. North Idaho Republican Sen. Scott Herndon, of Sagle, said he opposes a move toward consolidating local EMS providers under Department of Health and Welfare control, because it would hinder local accountability. I am very concerned about the regionalization weve done already in our district, but even more so about the possibility that we might consolidate, at some level, EMS services at the state level, especially if it ultimately ends up in the Department of Health and Welfare, Herndon said Tuesday. Study reveals structural issues facing EMS According to the 2021 study from the Office of Performance Evaluations, a nonpartisan research group, emergency medical services in Idaho are administered by a complex network of agencies, including local governments, private entities and nonprofits. Those agencies are required to share patient care reports with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfares Bureau of EMS and Preparedness, but the data is inaccurate and incomplete, the study found. The state bureau has limited authority and capacity to expand its support of EMS agencies, the report said. Additionally, the state does not have a statewide structure for governance of EMS, according to the report, and such a structure could limit redundant services, require statewide EMS coverage and mandate cooperation among EMS agencies. More than half of EMS directors surveyed by the researchers said they do not have adequate funding to meet emergency medical demand in their communities. We are putting on a band-aid for a major hemorrhage, and its not working in rural Idaho, one director said, according to the report. Nearly all emergency medical services are delivered without requiring proof of insurance or ability to pay, the report said. But EMS agencies often fail to recover their treatment costs because of low insurance reimbursement rates and uninsured patients who cant pay for the service, the report said. And the cost of equipment, from ambulances to stretchers, are increasing. The 2021 study wasnt the first time the Office of Performance Evaluations brought attention to EMS funding and oversight. A 2010 study by the group came to similar conclusions, that the statutory framework for emergency medical services in Idaho had not kept pace with the evolution of EMS and the state did not follow nationally recommended EMS funding practices. The new Senate resolution asks the Department of Health and Welfare to come up with legislation next year that would create a statewide EMS planning, coordination and funding system to ensure reasonable availability of EMS across the state. Decline in volunteers hurting EMS providers Increased demand for emergency medical services, driven by rapid population growth across the state, is straining local EMS agencies, which are struggling to recruit and retain staff, EMS leaders told the Senate committee last week. The issues that were facing in EMS are at the worst Ive seen them, said Shawn Rayne, chief of Ada County Paramedics. We used to get 70 people (who) would apply for one position that we had open. I cant fill all the vacancies that I have right now. Rayne and dozens of other medical providers served on a task force that met last year to study EMS governance, coverage and funding. Rayne said he learned that Ada County Paramedics, which serviced 36,000 calls last year, is facing similar problems to the emergency service agency in rural Clark County, which serviced 89 calls during the same period. A key difference for rural providers is their reliance on volunteers. The pool of qualified and willing volunteers is shrinking, and while all states have EMS volunteers, Idaho relies more on volunteers than 40 other states, the Office of Performance Evaluations study noted. We are asking these folks to leave jobs that sustain their family ... to go help folks in need, and they are no longer able to do that, said Wesley Anderson, who works with a private EMS agency in Ada County as well as a volunteer agency in Horseshoe Bend. They are no longer able to provide for folks when they cannot provide for themselves. Harris said one challenge facing the task force was resolving tension between assisting struggling EMS providers while maintaining local control of public agencies. Under the proposal, the Department of Health and Welfares EMS bureau would be a hands-off clearinghouse for training and licensing. Theyre fiercely independent, and we want to keep it that way, he said of the local agencies. Environmental activist Erin Brockovich has called the derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month a disaster like one Ive never seen. Brockovich, who discovered that groundwater contamination from Pacific Gas and Electric Company was sickening residents in the small town of Hinkley, Calif., in the 1990s, told CNN This Morning that the East Palestine incident feels reminiscent of the disastrous Hinkley case. Ive been doing this for 30 years now, and the lack of information that has not been given to these people, that theyve been almost left here, not knowing whats going on, where to go, what to do, who to turn to, their fear I mean, all of it feels very remnant, to me, of what happened in Hinkley, Brockovich told CNN. A large plume of smoke rises over East Palestine, Ohio, following the controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains on Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar) Asked where she places the incident against others shes worked with, Brockovich called it like one Ive never seen. Among the 38 cars on the Norfolk Southern Railway train that derailed on Feb. 3 were several carrying vinyl chloride, a hazardous substance used in plastics production. Some contents of the cars were set ablaze as part of a controlled release to avert an explosion, and residents were temporarily asked to evacuate the area. The incident sparked concerns about the environmental repercussions of the crash and burning, including contamination to the East Palestine land and drinking water. Some have said the drinking water is safe, while others have suggested residents avoid it. They had an acute immediate exposure when they lit all those chemicals on fire. Weve had all kinds of soot and chemicals rain out on them, Brockovich said on CNN of the Ohio residents. And what happens in the water is a process that takes time. How this chemical will travel with the water, how long it will take to get to a municipality, to a well water those are two different conversations, she said, adding that it feels a little bit misleading to tell residents the water is safe when you cannot give that assurance that that will be the condition tomorrow, or a month from now or two months from now. In an interview with NewsNation earlier this week, Brockovich stressed that East Palestine residents are frustrated with inconsistent messaging from the railway, their state representatives, the state EPA and the federal EPA. They dont know who to believe, and at this point, I dont think theyre trusting anybody [] They feel like nobodys listening to them, the activist said, adding that she also doesnt trust the EPA at this moment. These people and this community are almost a pawn in between some political agency corporate scenario, and theyre just left there to fend for themselves at this point, Brockovich said. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was in East Palestine Thursday to meet with community members and hear from investigators. His trip comes a day after former President Trump visited the town and bashed the administration over its response to the disaster. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. (Hanna Barczyk / For The Times) Faced with high levels of worker stress, anxiety and burnout as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies pledged that employee mental health would become a top priority. Firms promised manager training to ensure bosses were more empathetic toward employee struggles. Some offered more mental health benefits, such as improved insurance coverage and employee assistance programs that offer free therapy sessions. Despite the increased attention, however, the stigma of mental illness persists, preventing many with bipolar disorder, clinical depression and other maladies from feeling safe enough to be open with employers about their diagnoses and seek out workplace supports that they're legally allowed. The vast majority of the corporations, the businesses that are saying, Oh, we care, mental health is important, I just don't believe it, said Claudia Sahm, a 46-year-old former Federal Reserve economist who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2011 and advocates for healthy workplace environments. Because until you actually put [in] the money and the resources and the training, it's just words." Wendy Ascione-Juska is among the many workers who say they have learned that not all health conditions are treated equally in the workplace. In her current job at the University of Michigan, when she experienced symptoms of mania or depression, she felt safe asking her boss for time off or to extend a deadline. The focus was on getting me healthy, Ascione-Juska, 44, said. That's in stark contrast to an earlier job in 2006, when she was newly diagnosed with bipolar disorder and experiencing a manic episode. She didn't know she had legal protections and could ask for help. Instead, her employer told her not to bring her "personal life" to work, she said, adding that she was soon fired. I needed to have a compassionate supervisor that could say, 'All right, you're going through a difficult time. What can we do?' she said. Mood disorders are fairly common. An estimated 21.4% of adults in the U.S. have experienced depression, bipolar disorder or other similar conditions, according to a Harvard Medical School survey. But frequency hasn't translated into acceptance in the workplace, and finding sustainable employment can be challenging for those with mood disorders and other serious mental illnesses. Of the 14.2 million adults with serious mental illness in the U.S., about 1 million are unemployed, according to a 2020 survey conducted by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration a 7% unemployment rate that is significantly higher than the national average. Those who have found work are often paid less. People with serious mental illness make an estimated $16,000 less per year than those without a serious mental illness. More research is needed, however, to understand whether discrimination is at play, and whether a need for individual employment programs could help, according to a widely cited 2008 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry. "These are conditions, just like other serious health conditions like diabetes or cancer, in which when people get effective treatment, when they're identified early with these conditions and receive treatment early, they can live fairly normal lives, just like anyone does living with a health or mental health condition," said Darcy Gruttadaro, chief innovation officer at the nonprofit National Alliance on Mental Illness. In some cases, a person might show signs of bipolar disorder that are sometimes missed in a fast-paced work environment. That was the case for Natasha Bowman, a lawyer, published author and sought-after human resources speaker. When the pandemic initially restricted travel and her work, Bowman found herself having unusual thoughts. As her hectic work schedule slowed, she wanted to run away from her family and eventually found herself in "a very, very dark place." Her therapist couldn't identify what was happening and attributed the symptoms to the stress of the pandemic. In 2021, Bowman attempted suicide. She was involuntarily hospitalized and diagnosed with bipolar disorder. As she learned more about her condition, her working style made more sense. She used to work for hours without sleep, all the while remaining highly creative and productive. "I felt for some reason I had some sort of superpowers, but I knew that it wasn't usual for people to work at the capacity that I did," Bowman, 44, said. "I realized that I pretty much operated in a bipolar manic state for most of the time." Bowman now takes medication to treat her bipolar disorder and said her diagnosis led her to start a nonprofit focused on workplace equity and mental wellness. Many people with mood disorders don't feel they can be that open. Some still fear the stigma associated with mental health conditions. A 2015 Rand Corp. study found that 69% of survey respondents said they would "definitely or probably" hide a mental health problem from their co-workers or classmates. "The lack of safety or comfort with disclosure raises concerns about the degree to which individuals are able to obtain sufficient support in school or in the workplace," the study said. Making a workplace safe for people with mood disorders starts with a company ensuring its managers and HR professionals are trained on how to help employees and connect them with support. Experts said managers should avoid asking employees directly about their diagnoses or playing armchair psychologist in an attempt to guess what diagnosis an employee has but to keep the discussions to performance. Managers should also create an environment of compassion where they can offer support. The workplace is probably the greatest opportunity to enact change because so many of us between the ages of 20 and 65 or 70 years old, we go to work," Rich Mattingly, founder of the Luv U Project, which advocates for mental health, said during a recent National Press Foundation panel on the topic. "We spend our waking hours in the workplace. And what we could do at work, if we paid attention, would not only improve the workplace, but it would also improve home lives. Supporting employees with mood disorders goes beyond just a moral obligation and improved productivity. Employers can be on the hook legally if they are found to have violated federal or state disability protection laws. I've definitely noticed, personally, an uptick in the number of questions that I'm getting about mental health, said Aaron Konapsky, senior attorney with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He cited lawsuits filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2022 alleging that employers violated the rights of workers with psychiatric disabilities. In one case, a management company in Georgia settled for $250,000 over the termination of an employee with severe depression. After taking medical leave per their doctors recommendation, the plaintiff tried to return to work only to be told by the chief executive that they couldnt be trusted to do their duties. In 2008, Congress redefined the term disability under the Americans With Disabilities Act to include major life events that can impair any aspect of a person's life. Mental disabilities, when disclosed to an employer, are protected from discrimination. Employers "aren't entitled to your whole medical file or notes about your therapy sessions, Konapsky said, recognizing that employees may fear how their bosses could misuse information about mental health. But not disclosing could mean not getting the help a person needs. Under the law, employers are obligated to provide reasonable accommodations that allow a worker to perform essential functions of the job so long as doing so doesnt create an undue burden for the employer. For people with mood disorders, these can include quiet work environments, altered breaks and work schedules or changes in supervisor interactions. Employers need to provide the same compassion for mood disorders that they provide for other serious illnesses, said Sahm, the economist. You wouldnt fire someone who had cancer because they were grumpy, and every day wasn't a good day," Sahm said. "But with mental health, it's a lot harder for someone to recognize and give that same kind of understanding. Sahm has been open about her bipolar disorder for years, largely to try to reduce the condition's stigma and to help others feel like they weren't alone. Too many employers just kick you to the curb," she said. "People with mental health conditions are not worthless, theyre just sick. And they can get better. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Sheriff John Mina holds a news conference following multiple shootings by the same individual, on Feb. 22, in Orlando, Fla. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/TNS) A Florida man who fatally shot a woman on Wednesday morning returned to the scene several hours later, officials said, and opened fire on two TV journalists who were covering the initial homicide before fleeing to a nearby home and shooting a 9-year-old girl and her mother. Both the young girl and one of the journalists, who worked at Spectrum News 13 in Orlando, died from their injuries, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a news conference. The other journalist and the girl's mother, Mina said, remained in the hospital in critical condition Wednesday evening. I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community, Mina said. No one in our community not a mother, not a 9-year-old, certainly not a news professional should become the victim of gun violence. Homicide detectives are still investigating whether the suspected gunman, Keith Melvin Moses, 19, knew that the News 13 employees were journalists, Mina said, adding that the vehicle they were in didnt really look like a news vehicle to me. After shooting the journalists, Mina said, the gunman fled about a block to a home where he barged inside and shot the mother and child. Authorities believe that the gunmans first victim from Wednesday morning a 20-year-old woman was an acquaintance, but say they dont think he has any connection to the other four victims. Its unclear, Mina said, why exactly they were targeted. During their Wednesday night broadcast, the Spectrum News 13 anchors addressed the shooting , saying theyd decided not to identify the victims their colleagues out of respect for their families. This is something that plays out in our country every single day, and there are days when it hits extremely close to home, one anchor said. Today was one of those days. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. What a difference a few weeks make. From down and out of the NCAA Tournament picture after a loss at Georgia, the Kentucky Wildcats have now padded their postseason credentials with three straight wins against Mississippi State, Tennessee and Florida. These most-recent triumphs over Tennessee and Florida represented season sweeps over each school for UK. Kentucky relied heavily on its starters Wednesday night in Gainesville to beat the Gators 82-74: UKs starting group of Cason Wallace, Antonio Reeves, Chris Livingston, Jacob Toppin and Oscar Tshiebwe combined to play 189 out of a possible 200 minutes in the victory. Tshiebwe had 25 points and was 12-for-13 shooting from the field. He also became a 1,000-point scorer at UK during the game. Livingston finished with 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds for his second straight double-double. Toppin added 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Wallace shook off a potentially scary incident with fans courtside to lead all players in the game with six assists. Kentucky was without both CJ Fredrick and Sahvir Wheeler for a fourth straight game. Postgame, Kentucky head coach John Calipari met with the media in Gainesville to discuss Wednesdays win, and the factors that have led to Kentuckys late-season surge: Opening Statement: It was a terrific game, Florida was undermanned. Were still missing a couple guys but theyre undermanned. (Colin Castleton) was a guy that was getting big usage from them, and i saw him after. The year he was having, it just stinks for him that that happened because he was having a fabulous year. But that team didnt quit and they fought and they made shots and they made threes and they made every free throw. Again. Another team makes all those free throws against us. But it was a good gut-it-out win for us. Chriss tip-in. Antonios two free throws. Jacobs three. Those are daggers, and were finally starting to throw some daggers at other teams who have thrown it at us all year. Questions. Q. Question about what allowed Florida to go on a run at the end of the first half and how Kentucky corrected things in the second half. Well, we had a couple of guys Id gotten on individually. Like, when you look like that, youre not a very good player. The other guy, youre one of the best players in the country. And he played really well in the second half. I had to tell the team after because Adou played well, Daimion played well, Lance played well. And I just went with the five guys, just trying to win the game. But they were happy in the locker room and doing it. And then the other thing is Chris Livingston was ridiculous today, but hes been ridiculous for the last couple weeks. His stuff is that energy, the diving on the floor and going after offensive rebounds because he attempts stuff, and then rebounding defensively with two hands. Hes been a monster. But at halftime I just said look, theyre gonna try to beat us shooting threes. Do you understand? So you have to be closer and you must have hands up. Make them drivers. Make them be the shooting twos. They need to shoot threes and I said it at half, they had five at half, what did they end up with? (eight) So they had three (in the second half). We wanted to hold them to five. Obviously they got eight. Q. Question about Jacob Toppins improvement as a three-point shooter in SEC games. Hes working at it. But Im telling you the best part of him is going at the rim, those little pull ups, the little floater. But now it becomes dangerous because if you dont play him and we drive it and throw to him he can make it. Q. Question about playing Kentuckys starters (Cason Wallace, Antonio Reeves, Chris Livingston, Jacob Toppin and Oscar Tshiebwe) the entire second half. Yeah, it was a two-bucket game, now how fair would that have been for Adou or Daimion or Lance If I was going to do it, I would have done it in the first five or six minutes. But after we got by and it was 11, 10 minutes, I told the staff if Ive gotta use the timeout to give them a break. I almost called one at 4:26 because I thought okay, lets get one, lets get a long break here. But you know he ended up calling one I think at 4:09. Q. Question about Oscar Tshiebwes confidence with the mid-range jumper and what that does for Kentuckys offense. Well, hes done that. Thats one of the things he can do, but what happened early in the season, he wasnt making them, now he had an operation, he was out four weeks, but he was out of kilter a little bit so he missed a bunch of those, but now hes making them. If you just put him near the basket hes got three guys around him, then its a slugfest. Its not fair to him, so were trying to bring him up so that hes up: Start him up, push him down, screen across, do some stuff. But the biggest thing is hes just got to keep guarding better defensively in that pick and roll. And we knew because Castletons out, they were going to set more ball screens and more dribble handoffs. Which is what they did. But Ill tell you... I didnt like the start of the game. I didnt like the start of the game because I knew we would then relax. And we did. And they kept coming and they made plays and all of a sudden were down at half. And I told you guys, Hey, this is what happens when youre not on it the entire half. But its a good win. This time of the year, on the road, you just win and move on. Change my clothes, get on the plane and get out of here. Q. Question about CJ Fredrick and Sahvir Wheelers return from injury. Theyre working out... And the trainers, the weight room and all the stuff theyre doing. They got two different kinds of injuries, but theyre injured. And one of the things that I know is you trust a player because only he knows his pain. You know, dont question it. If hes in pain they shouldnt be playing CJ said, Coach when I come back Antonio and Chris are playing so well. I know Im gonna go in and if I make some threes I may play more, but I know my position right now because Im watching and Sahvir makes us different. Cason plays one way, Sahvirs that flying and a couple easy baskets and you know creating a turnover because of his defense. We need them both to be honest with you. But Im gonna say it again, Adou did great again today. Q. Question about if the process will be difficult to work CJ Fredrick and Sahvir Wheeler back into the lineup after their injuries. Well just have to see. Q. Question about Florida freshman guard Riley Kugel. Oh, hes playing great. And what hes done is hes been averaging like 15, 16 a game, but because they need him to do more. Hes happy as heck. Hes like, Ill do more, let me do more. So he played great again today. Kentucky forward Chris Livingston (24) shoots the ball during Wednesdays game against Florida at the Stephen C. OConnell Center in Gainesville, Fla. Q. Question about Chris Livingstons recent offensive emergence. What Im asking each guy (is) what does the team need you to do? I dont care what you want to do. What does this team need you to do? And Im going around the room. Some of them I had to help. But I went around the room and Chris knew exactly what this team needs him to do. And he said to a tee. Im like looking at the other guys: Some of you guys, you want to play for you and do your thing. What does the team need you to do? Just do that. And if youre doing that youre playing to your strengths, too. This has been a grind to get this to where you know, were comfortable. And were still not there, you know, were still some errors, some tip-aways, some late game, people that we have buried and then we let them back in it, just like we did today. So theres things that we got to get better at and work on. Q. Question about Kentucky having a 15-0 second-chance points advantage over Florida. Their big man wasnt in there, too. Like we wouldnt have gotten all of those with him being in there. They double teamed too today, which they didnt last game, because they didnt have to. So we kind of thought theyre gonna have to double team (Tshiebwe). Q. Question about what Calipari was told about the second-half incident between Cason Wallace and Florida fans courtside. My whole thing was, you know, come on... The guy grabbed him around the, you know. But anyway, its fine. That game was a roughhouse game. And Florida never stopped playing. And they were gritty as hell. And you know, I wish them luck Im glad were not playing them again. Because this, if they play that way, you watch what happens. You watch, if they play the way they just played us. I dont know what their schedule is and who it is. But if they do that, theyll be fine. Three takeaways from Kentucky basketballs win over the Florida Gators in Gainesville Another day, another Quad 1 win. Kentucky sweeps Florida to boost NCAA Tournament resume. Kentucky-Florida has turned into a one-sided rivalry. Heres how dominant UK has been. First Scouting Report: UK to face Auburn in game with major NCAA tourney implications Florida fans removed from courtside seats after in-game incident with UKs Cason Wallace A Hartford man who is charged with allegedly sexually assaulting a woman in a sex work arrangement in East Hartford told police he wanted to get revenge on his ex-wife, according to a warrant for his arrest. Moo Ta, 24, is facing charges of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree assault and brandishing a facsimile firearm, according to the East Hartford Police Department. In an interview with police, Ta told investigators that his ex-wife had recently left him for a new boyfriend so he picked up a prostitute in Hartford and agreed to have sex with her for $40, according to the warrant. Police identified Ta as an alleged suspect in two incidents after using surveillance footage of his orange Dodge Avenger to track him down. He matched the description provided by three women who were threatened with a fake gun by Ta in January and February, police said in a warrant. On Jan. 15, police responded to a Holiday Inn at 100 East River Dr. in East Hartford for a report of a woman who was bleeding from her forehead after being assaulted, East Hartford police said in the warrant. The woman told investigators that she was in the area of Wethersfield Avenue and Baker Street in Hartford when she was approached by a small man wearing all black who was driving a red sedan, police said. She reportedly told the man she was trying to make some money and got into his car to discuss prices for services, police said in a warrant. He asked her if she was a cop and she said no, the warrant said. Ta allegedly drove the woman to East River Drive in Hartford and pulled over on the side of the road after telling her he could not bring her to his home. The woman told police that Ta then sexually assaulted her at gunpoint and then beat her using a baton all about her body, according to the warrant. Ta reportedly told police that they engaged in sexual acts and that the woman refused to leave his car when he refused to pay her. He then told police he got a stick out of his trunk and hit her with it, the warrant said. About a month after the womans attack, on Feb. 13, East Hartford police again responded to East River Drive and Hartland Street for a report of two women screaming and crying, according to the warrant. The women told investigators that a man in an orange vehicle that resembled a Dodge Charger began to follow them in Hartford. They said they got into the vehicle and were driven to East River Drive by a man who matched the same description as the suspect in the first attack, according to the warrant. The man approached the women on the passenger side, ordered them out of the vehicle at gunpoint and said Im a cop, Im a cop, according to the warrant. The women said there was some sort of light attached to the gun, the warrant said. Police used license plate reading systems to locate an Orange Dodge Avenger that had traveled near the area of the incident at the time of the event, police said. The car was parked in front of 128 Shultas Place in Hartford, where officers were approached by Moo Ta, who said he was the driver of the car, according to the warrant. When asked whether he had recently had two women in his car, he told police they had tried to rob him, according to the warrant. Ta agreed to an interview with police, during which he said his ex-wife had recently left him and was with her new boyfriend, the warrant said. Ta stated that he wanted to get revenge and picked up a prostitute on Park Street where they agreed to have sex for $40, the warrant said. Ta originally stated that his conscience would not allow him to have sex, according to the warrant, but later said he engaged in sexual acts with the woman but then asked her to leave. When she refused to leave without payment, Ta told police, he got a stick from his trunk and hit her with it. He also eventually told police that he displayed a paintball gun during the incident, police said in the warrant. Ta was arrested on Feb. 17 and was charged in connection to the attack on Jan. 15. He is being held in custody in lieu of a $500,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court in Manchester on March 8, records show. After a national search, longtime Kansas City Public Schools administrator Jennifer Collier was named the districts next superintendent, officials announced Wednesday. In closed session, the school board voted unanimously to select Collier as the lone finalist for the job, an announcement that was met with applause from the crowd at Wednesdays board meeting. Collier, who has served as interim superintendent since Mark Bedell resigned last summer, has earned the endorsement of many prominent community members throughout Kansas City, as well as several faith leaders. She has worked for KCPS for 23 years, as a teacher, principal, chief human resource officer and deputy superintendent. Most recently, she helped guide the district through the first phase of a restructuring plan, responding to community feedback by reducing the number of school closures next fall from four buildings to two. I am just humbled, I am honored and I am super excited about the future of KCPS, Collier said Wednesday. The school board in October contracted with JG Consulting to conduct the districts national superintendent search. Board member Tanesha Ford said 17 people applied for the position. Five candidates were interviewed, and the field was narrowed down to two earlier this month. Officials have not said who the other candidate was. Ford said the school district will make an announcement on Colliers contract in the near future. Dr. Collier has proven both in our interviews, and in her role as interim, her exceptional leadership, integrity and pride in our school district, Ford said. She has our full confidence as an administrator deeply rooted in our schools and community. Dr. Collier has respect for our historic legacy and has true vision for our bright future. Former superintendent Bedell last summer accepted the top leadership position at Anne Arundel County Public Schools, based in Annapolis, Maryland. After serving for six years, Bedell broke the districts revolving door of leaders, serving the longest of any superintendent in more than five decades. Many credited that stable leadership with helping the district improve and regain community trust, after a history of enrollment decline and a two-decade-long struggle to regain full state accreditation. During Bedells tenure, the district raised academic achievement scores and graduation rates, helping it to finally become accredited once again in January 2022. Many community members said they were happy with the decision to appoint Collier as interim superintendent, viewing her as someone who also was instrumental in helping achieve the recent successes and who is a homegrown leader, committed to staying. She stepped in during a critical time, as officials were working to gain community buy-in for a long-term restructuring plan that last fall included a proposal to close 10 schools over several years. That proposal led to widespread outcry, petitions and heated public meetings. Taking the feedback, district leaders reeled back the plan, and recommended closing only Troost and Longfellow elementary schools next fall. The school board approved the closures with a 4-2 vote in January. Officials say they might propose closing more schools in the coming years, as the district struggles to operate an overstock of under-enrolled, aging buildings. But Collier said she hopes to capitalize on the energy seen among parents and neighborhood leaders and to rally the community to grow enrollment, improve student achievement and avoid more closures. Before the school board voted to close the two schools, several community members said they support Collier as superintendent. I think it is important that we maintain the confidence that she has instilled in the community and build on the good will she has established, Alissia Canady, a former city council member and Northeast High School graduate, told the board. Last month, several Kansas City clergy members gathered at St. Paul Monument of Faith Church in the Northeast area to endorse Collier for superintendent, surrounded by signs crafted by KCPS students, which read, Dr. Collier is the change and KCPS is in good hands with Dr. Collier. The faith leaders said they were confident Collier could continue to build that support and reinvigorate the district, which for years has reported dwindling enrollment as more students leave for charter schools and suburban districts. She has the trust of the community, as demonstrated in her handling of the difficult and ongoing school closing process, the Rev. John Modest Miles, of Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church, said last month. She has the trust and support of the teachers and their union. Kansas City Public Schools are in the mist of a rise. Dr. Collier is the surest way to keep this momentum going. Collier earned a bachelors degree from the University of Kansas, a masters in education from Avila University and an educational specialist degree in educational leadership from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. She received her doctoral degree in educational leadership from UMKC in 2018. In the face of some harsh blowback, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the firebrand Georgia Republican, has tripled down on her proposal for a "national divorce"-- splitting the country according to political ideology into "red" Republican states and "blue" Democratic states. After the Civil War, the Supreme Court ruled it is unconstitutional for a state to secede, which would make it impossible for her plan to be implemented. But Greene, who has been touting the idea since 2021 when she wanted to halt "brainwashed" Californians from moving to states like Florida, is gaining new attention for the concept, now that she has become a close ally of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and a member of the House Homeland Security Committee. "We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government," Greene wrote in a separate tweet on Presidents Day. "Everyone I talk to says this. From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrat's traitorous America Last policies, we are done." PHOTO: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greenspeaks during a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing in Washington, Feb. 8, 2023. (Anna Rose Layden/Bloomberg via Getty Images) MORE: Marjorie Taylor Greene says if she ran Jan. 6 Capitol attack, 'We would have won' She's been invited to explain how she claims it would work on Fox News' "Hannity" program as well as on other conservative outlets. "The last thing I ever want to see in America is a civil war," she told Sean Hannity. "No one wants that -- at least everyone I know would never want that -- but it's going that direction, and we have to do something about it." On conservative commentator Charlie Kirk's show on Tuesday, Greene laid out another part of her proposal: allowing red states to block Democrats from voting if they came from a blue state. "Red states can choose in how they allow people to vote in their states," Greene said. "What I think would be something that some red states could propose is: well, okay, if Democrat voters choose to flee these blue states where they cannot tolerate the living conditions, they don't want their children taught these horrible things, and they really change their mind on the types of policies that they support, well once they move to a red state, guess what, maybe you don't get to vote for five years." Her proposition was promptly dismissed by current and former GOP lawmakers, including Utah GOP Sen. Mitt Romney, who told the Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday, "I think Abraham Lincoln dealt with that kind of insanity "We're not going to divide the country. It's united we stand and divided we fall." PHOTO: Sen. Mitt Romney speaks with reporters during a series of the votes at the U.S. Capitol, Feb 13, 2023, in Washington. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., lambasted Greene on Monday, highlighting the unconstitutionality of Greene's proposal. "Our country is governed by the Constitution," Cheney tweeted. "You swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Secession is unconstitutional. No member of Congress should advocate secession, Marjorie." Another former Republican member of Congress, moderate Adam Kinzinger, who, like Cheney, was a member of the Jan. 6 committee and left Congress just over a month ago, asked his party: "Every Republican elected official needs to be asked and must give an answer: do you support a "national divorce" aka a civil war? One word answer, no misdirect, not 'this is what the media always does.' "Do you agree with the leader of the party, MTG?" McCarthy has not commented publicly on Greene's proposal. PHOTO: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy walk together through the U.S. Capitol, Feb. 7, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images) MORE: Judge rules GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene can stay on ballot But the Georgia Republican has remained steadfast, lashing back at some of her most vocal critics. "People agree with me and not the RINO governor of Utah," MTG tweeted alongside a news story outlining remarks from Utah's GOP Gov. Spencer Cox calling Greene's rhetoric "evil." She also argued her "national divorce" idea was not equivalent to a "civil war." "People saying national divorce is a bad idea because the left will never stop trying to control us literally make the case for national divorce," she said in a tweet on Wednesday. "We don't want a civil war. We're not surrendering. We're tired of complaining with no change and want to protect our way of life," she said. In recent years, there have been several secession efforts at the state level, including reorganizing state lines to accommodate outlier counties. The Idaho House passed a bill in 2022 that would allow a conservative portion of eastern Oregon to join Idaho. Later, some Republican lawmakers in Maryland proposed three of the state's three counties break off and join West Virginia. In both those cases, proponents claimed the rural, conservative counties they said desired to secede felt disconnected to their states' liberal leadership. But the idea of secession has also been floated around by national leaders in the past. In California, after Trump withdrew from the Paris climate agreement, Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown discussed furthering the state's own foreign policy initiatives. During the days of the fiscally conservative "tea party" movement, similar ideas were floated by national figures. "We've got a great union. There is absolutely no reason to dissolve it," Texas GOP Gov. Rick Perry said in 2009, before adding, "But if Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what may come out of that?" Marjorie Taylor Greene refuses to back down from 'national divorce' proposal originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Students walk through the Warren College and Moore College area at Vanderbilt University in 2015 in Nashville. (Mark Humphrey / Associated Press) Vanderbilt University apologized after sending an email that used the artificial intelligence of a chatbot to address students about the recent shooting at Michigan State. Vanderbilts Peabody Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion sent a message of unity last Thursday to students, calling the shootings that killed three students and injured five others at the East Lansing campus a tragic reminder of the importance of taking care of each other, and of creating a safe and inclusive campus. But the Vanderbilt Hustler , the student newspaper, reported that a note at the bottom of the email indicated the message was composed by a chat bot, a text generator. The text, which appears in small print, stated (Paraphrase from OpenAI's ChatGPT AI language model, personal communication, February 15, 2023). Peabody Associate Dean Nicole Joseph, Assistant Dean Hasina Mohyuddin and graduate student Chenxi Zhu signed the email. According to the Hustler, Joseph issued an apology email Friday and said using the chat bot was poor judgment. While we believe in the message of inclusivity expressed in the email, using ChatGPT to generate communications on behalf of our community in a time of sorrow and in response to a tragedy contradicts the values that characterize Peabody College, the follow-up email reads, as reported by the Hustler. As with all new technologies that affect higher education, this moment gives us all an opportunity to reflect on what we know and what we still must learn about AI. The shooting at Michigan State terrorized the campus and evoked an all-too-familiar fear for a student population that came of age during mass shootings. The email included messages about how connection, respect and understanding establish an inclusive environment, calling it an ongoing process that requires constant reflection and solidarity. In the wake of the Michigan shootings, let us come together as a community to reaffirm our commitment to caring for one another and promoting a culture of inclusivity on our campus, the Feb. 16 email said. By doing so, we can honor the victims of this tragedy and work towards a safer, more compassionate future for all. ABC News reported that Camilla P. Benbow, the dean of Vanderbilt's Peabody College, said in a statement that she was unaware of the email before it was sent and that the incident is under investigation. ABC News also reported that Benbow said Joseph and Mohyuddin, the assistant dean whose name is also on the Feb. 16 email, have stepped back from their responsibilities with the EDI office while the investigation is underway. Benbow, Joseph and the schools communications department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. File photos of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Mitt Romney. Alex Wong/Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Mitt Romney thinks Marjorie Taylor Greene's idea to break up the US is unhinged. "We're not going to divide the country. It's united we stand and divided we fall," Romney said. He alleged that fringe members of the GOP say crazy things as a cynical way to attract donations. Sen. Mitt Romney did not mince words when he weighed in on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's President's Day pitch to divide the US into red and blue states. "I think Abraham Lincoln dealt with that kind of insanity," Romney told reporters in Utah on Tuesday, per The Salt Lake Tribune. "We're not going to divide the country. It's united we stand and divided we fall." Romney also alleged that fringe members of the GOP are using crazy ideas like secession as a cynical way to grift money from their supporters. "There are some people in my party and the other party that say things to try and get a headline and get people to send them money. And that happens to be in today's 'loony left,' or I should say 'loony right,'" Romney said, per The Salt Lake Tribune. The congresswoman responded to Romney's jab in an interview with the Washington Examiner on Wednesday. "Mitt Romney is so bad I couldn't even vote for him for president against Barack Obama," Greene told the outlet. Greene on Monday made the suggestion that the US needs "a national divorce." According to Greene, this would involve the US getting broken up into "red states and blue states." Claims the U.S. is heading towards a civil war "From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrat's traitorous America Last policies, we are done," Greene tweeted. She doubled down on her suggestion to split the US in two during an appearance on Fox News on Tuesday, claiming without substantiation that the US is heading towards a civil war and that a pre-emptive split is necessary. "The last thing I ever want to see in America is a civil war. No one wants that at least everyone I know would never want that but it's going that direction, and we have to do something about it," she said. "Our ideas, our policies and our ways of life have become so far apart that it's just coming to that point," she added. Splitting into two countries did not prevent the last US civil war in 1861, when fighting broke out after a series of southern states broke away to form the Confederate States of America in the hope of preserving slavery. Greene's idea for a national divorce has also received pushback from other members of her party. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called the Georgia congresswoman's call to break up the United States "evil" and "destructive." This rhetoric is destructive and wrong andhonestlyevil. We dont need a divorce, we need marriage counseling. And we need elected leaders that dont profit by tearing us apart. We can disagree without hate. Healthy conflict was critical to our nations founding and survival. pic.twitter.com/HyFgfyjpbf Spencer Cox (@SpencerJCox) February 20, 2023 "We don't need a divorce, we need marriage counseling. And we need elected leaders that don't profit by tearing us apart," Cox tweeted. Representatives for Romney and Greene did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment. Read the original article on Business Insider Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, welcomed Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to the Kremlin on Wednesday amid U.S. concerns that Beijing is considering providing "lethal aid" to Moscow. (Anton Novoderezhkin / Kremlin Pool Photo) It seemed to be a scary example of bellicose warmongering foreshadowing a catastrophic escalation. But Russian President Vladimir Putins announcement this week that he was abandoning the last major nuclear arms control treaty may have been more symbolic than a threat of concrete action. Symbolic, but a mighty potent symbol. And one that may signal an end to global arms control agreements. Big mistake, President Biden said Wednesday in Warsaw when asked about Putins comments. At the end of a rambling speech Tuesday on the state of the nation, Putin said Russia was suspending its participation in the New START treaty, a 2011 pact in which Russia and the United States agreed to limits on strategic offensive arms, including the deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads. The treaty allows each country to have about 1,500 nuclear weapons. Early in the Biden administration, Washington and Moscow agreed to extend the New START treaty until Feb. 4, 2026. U.S. officials call it the bedrock of global nuclear arms control. A suspension, as Putin called it, is typically a prelude to complete withdrawal. But it is not fully clear what Putin intended. After his speech, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Russia would not deploy additional strategic nuclear weapons beyond the caps set in the treaty. On Wednesday, the Russian parliament, the Duma, voted unanimously to ratify the decision to suspend participation in the treaty, saying it would be up to the president to decide whether to resume compliance, the Russian news agency Tass reported. Yet as the New START treaty faces possible death, it is becoming increasingly clear that the decades-long era of international arms control pacts may also be fading at a time when nuclear-armed North Korea is asserting itself with numerous missile tests and Iran is moving ahead in its efforts to develop weapons-grade uranium, a main component in nuclear bombs. Even without the war in Ukraine, it was going to be difficult for Moscow and Washington to agree to a future START pact due to likely Russian demands, said Jeffrey Edmonds, a research scientist in Russia studies at the Center for Naval Analyses. Putins suspension is important and worrying, but not yet too ominous, he said. I dont know that it means Russia is going to suddenly run off and start producing a tremendous number of ICBMs, Edmonds said Wednesday during a panel discussion held by the Center for a New American Security. Thats very costly and its not clear what the use for that would be. ... We have the flexibility to respond to what the Russians are doing. Perhaps most important, at least in the short term, is that the announcement was a way for Putin to remind his adversaries that he has and can use nuclear bombs as he wages Europes deadliest conflict since World War II. Putins speech is not really about using nuclear weapons. It is about using nuclear threats, nuclear control expert Joseph Cirincione, former president of the Ploughshares Fund nonproliferation group, wrote in an opinion piece. He has to convince Western publics that they risk nuclear war by continuing to aid Ukraine, he said separately on MSNBC. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said the U.S. would wait to see what Russia actually does, given the theatrics of many statements from the Kremlin. Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Assn., a Washington-based nonproliferation organization, noted that Russia had already violated the New START agreement by shunning the resumption of required inspections, which were suspended at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and by refusing to exchange data on nuclear stockpiles. And earlier this year, Russian officials failed to attend a meeting with their U.S. counterparts to discuss START provisions. Putin, Kimball said, was saying, Im going to express my displeasure with the West. But if Putin actually released his nuclear arsenal, it would lead to a numerical arms race that neither side can afford, he added. Nevertheless, if the Russian leader is only threatening for effect, the gesture still is not a blip on the radar, Kimball said. The move comes at a time of decreasing control on nuclear arsenals worldwide there are few constraints on China, North Korea, Pakistan and a number of other nuclear-armed states. In Russia, the protocol for Putin or any president to launch a nuclear weapon is similar to the procedure in the U.S. Putin would have to issue an order to do so and the military would have to execute it. In theory, members of the military could question the order, but that would seem an extremely unlikely challenge to the Kremlin. Putin made veiled threats in the early days after he invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, launching a war that has claimed thousands of Ukrainian and Russian lives and displaced millions from their homes. His intention was to dissuade the U.S. and other NATO member states from arming Ukraine. That mission failed spectacularly. Several analysts said Putin would be tempted to use nuclear weapons only if he were convinced he was losing the war, his forces were on the brink of being routed and driven out of Ukraine, and he was about to lose Crimea, the valued peninsula on southern Ukraines Black Sea coast, which Russia occupied and illegally annexed in 2014. Not only would launching a nuclear weapon be disastrous for the parts of the world targeted and invite a response of unprecedented force, it would also hurt Putin domestically and politically, perhaps leading to his overthrow. These possibilities are deterrents for Putin. I see this as a clear signal from Putin to Biden that he did not appreciate his visit to Kyiv, said Sharon Ann Squassoni, a professor of international affairs at George Washington University and former arms control official at the State Department. Bidens feat of an unannounced visit to Kyiv, where he strolled city streets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, was a poke in the eye to Putin, who a year ago thought he would be able to roll into the capital and take over the country within weeks of the invasion. While his treaty suspension doesnt mean Putin is going to start down a nuclear path, Squassoni said, the frustration from the U.S. is that its yet another channel closed shut where we could have communicated with Russia. On Wednesday, Putin played host to Chinas foreign minister, Wang Yi, a signal of the ever-closer relationship between Moscow and Beijing amid concerns voiced by U.S. officials that China is considering providing lethal aid to Russia. Last year, just before the war in Ukraine began, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a pact of limitless cooperation. Xi has since been reluctant to profess full support for Russia in its war against Ukraine. Now, however, U.S. officials say they have new intelligence showing China has shifted to providing Russia with some of the weapons it desperately needs as its own production capacity falters. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A North Texas man was sentenced to prison Wednesday for assaulting a law enforcement officer at the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election, the U.S. Attorneys Office said n a news release. Garret Miller, 36, of Richardson, was sentenced in the District of Columbia to 38 months in prison on charges of assaulting a police officer, interstate threat to injure or kidnap, three counts of interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder, entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, impeding ingress and egress in a restricted building or grounds, engaging in disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, impeding passage through the Capitol grounds or buildings, and demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Miller pleaded guilty to the charges in December. U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols also ordered three years of supervised release in addition to Millers prison term. Miller traveled to Washington, D.C.., on Jan. 6, 2021, to stop Congress certification of the 2020 presidential election, according to court documents. He brought rope, a grappling hook, a mouth guard, and a bump cap with him tools that he referred to as riot gear and stated that he looked forward to fighting what he called the soft people that he might encounter in Washington, D.C. Miller was obsessed with the results of the 2020 presidential election and his belief that it had been stolen, according to the news release. He had posted threats on social media to multiple people, including Sen. Chuck Schumer, Mark Zuckerburg, and Jack Dorsey. Miller was at the forefront of every barrier overturned, police line overrun, and entryway breached within his proximity that day, federal authorities said. He was so disruptive on the east front of the building that he was twice detained, the second time resulting in him being put in handcuffs, according to the news release. After being released and vowing to leave, Miller instead stayed at the riot, initially recording himself talking about a revolution. Miller then forced his way past the United States Capitol Police and entered the rotunda, accessing the Senate Chamber before being turned back to the rotunda. As the line of USCP and Metropolitan Police officers tried to remove the rioters, Miller stayed on the front lines, assaulted an MPD sergeant, and engaged in a physical altercation with no fewer than six officers. Miller then made his way to the west front following his ejection from the building, where he watched the violent encounter at the lower west terrace tunnel until finally leaving the Capitol grounds after 5 p.m, according to the news release. Regarding Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs social media post to Impeach, Miller directly responded with, Assassinate AOC at 7:26 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021. Following the riot and up until his arrest, Miller continued to discuss his desire to start assassinating, bragged to his friends about how he terrified [c]ongress, and openly discussed his desire to publicly identify the officer who fatally shot Ashli Babbitt at the riot and hug his neck with a nice rope. Miller was so proud of his conduct, that when he was arrested on January 20, 2021, he was found wearing a shirt with an image of the former president and the words I was there, Washington, D.C., January 6, 2021, the release said. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Divisions Counterterrorism Section. Assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Texas. The case was investigated by the FBIs Dallas and Washington Field Offices. Assistance was provided by the MPDs U.S. Capitol Police. In the 25 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 985 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including approximately 319 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing. While not reaching a conclusive reason as to why a Norfolk Southern train derailed in Ohio earlier this month, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday morning that it was continuing to look at an overheated wheel bearing on the first car to go off the tracks. In a preliminary report, the NTSB wrote that it had identified a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment on the 23rd car, the first to derail. The report said hot bearing detectors picked up a temperature 253 degrees above normal prior to the derailment. The train was traveling at 47 mph, just below the 50 mph speed limit. Portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed the previous night in East Palestine, Ohio, still on fire on Feb. 4. (Gene J. Puskar/AP) Sensors showed the bearing heating up for miles before the crash, but it spiked sharply immediately before the accident. The crew heeded the final warning and tried to stop the train for an inspection. After the train stopped, the crew observed fire and smoke and notified the Cleveland East dispatcher of a possible derailment, read the report. With dispatcher authorization, the crew applied handbrakes to the two railcars at the head of the train, uncoupled the head-end locomotives, and moved the locomotives about 1 mile from the uncoupled railcars. Responders arrived at the derailment site and began response efforts. The NTSB noted that security footage previously reviewed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette showed that the train had been traveling with a glowing axle for at least 20 miles prior to the derailment near East Palestine, a town of about 4,700 people. The NTSB said it had collected the bearing and the affected wheel set for further examination. Drone footage shows derailed train cars on Feb. 6. (NTSBGov/Handout via Reuters) The Norfolk Southern train derailed minutes from the Ohio-Pennsylvania border on the evening of Feb. 3, with the governors of both states issuing a joint evacuation order for a roughly 1-mile radius. On Feb. 6, the railroad company burned off five tankers full of vinyl chloride in what it said was an effort to avoid a catastrophic explosion, resulting in the images of a giant toxic smoke plume that drew attention to the situation. The NTSB said that going forward the investigation will focus on the wheelset and bearing and tank car design and derailment damage as well as a review of the accident response, including the venting and burning of the vinyl chloride, railcar design and maintenance procedures and practices, [Norfolk Southerns] use of wayside defect detectors and railcar inspection practices. Norfolk Southern has been accused of prioritizing the reopening of the railway over handling the situation as safely as it could. The East Palestine accident is at least the fourth Norfolk Southern derailment in Ohio since the fall. ProPublica reported Wednesday that the company has a policy that allows crews to ignore alerts from train track sensors designed to flag potential mechanical problems, including in one instance that preceded an October derailment in the state that was still not completely cleaned up as of earlier this month. While local, state and federal officials have all assured residents the air and water there is safe, there have been continued reports of rashes, headaches and other ailments, in addition to the smell of chemicals in the air. Ohio officials have also said that more than 3,000 fish had died in the immediate aftermath of the accident, and residents have reported seeing sick or dead animals. Trent Conaway, the mayor of East Palestine, leads a town hall meeting at a local high school on Feb. 15. (Gene J. Puskar/AP) Experts told Stat News that the burning at the wreck site likely created dioxins, a highly toxic, carcinogenic, and persistent compound released when polyvinyl chloride burns. On Feb. 6, Norfolk Southern ordered a burn-off of chemicals at the site of the wreckage, which released more toxins into the air. Im certain from the view of that black smoke plume [caused by a Feb. 6 burn-off] that it was a witchs brew of chemicals on fire, and Im quite certain dioxins would be among them, Ted Schettler, science director at the environmental nonprofit Science and Environmental Health Network, told the outlet. Former President Donald Trump visited East Palestine on Wednesday, bringing with him Trump-branded water and other supplies. Although footage on social media showed residents warmly greeting Trump, its his Department of Transportation that rolled back an Obama-era rule that required an upgrade in brakes for certain trains carrying flammable material. That rule would not have prevented the East Palestine crash, because while the NTSB had urged the Obama administration to include more trains with dangerous cargo in its policy, the administration issued a less strict rule. When asked during his visit about criticisms that he had rolled back rail safety standards, Trump replied, I had nothing to do with that, despite repeatedly bragging about the number of regulations his administration had cut during his time in office. Former President Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. at an event in East Palestine on Wednesday to address the recent derailment of a train carrying hazardous waste. (Alan Freed/Reuters) While the Environmental Protection Agency and NTSB have been on the ground in the area since the accident, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made his first visit on Thursday. Buttigieg, who did not comment on the crash until 10 days after the incident, has faced bipartisan criticism for his response to the derailment. He told CBS News on Tuesday that not speaking out sooner was a lesson learned. This morning Im in East Palestine, Ohio, to see the site of the Norfolk Southern derailment, hear updates from investigators, and meet first responders, Buttigieg tweeted early Thursday. [The Department of Transportation] will continue its work to ensure safety and accountability. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said President Biden was in touch with him in the aftermath of the crash and had offered whatever support the state needed. However, in a Monday interview with Fox News, East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said Biden visiting Ukraine before East Palestine was the biggest slap in the face that tells you right now he doesnt care about us. Conaway said the following day that he would welcome Biden to his town and was very frustrated at the time he made the comments, but that he stood by them. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, flanked by other local, state and national leaders, at a news conference Tuesday to address the train derailment. (Alan Freed/Reuters) The federal response grew more aggressive on Tuesday after EPA Administrator Michael Regan visited East Palestine late last week and vowed to hold the rail company responsible. On Tuesday, the Transportation Department released a set of proposals meant to increase rail safety, while the EPA announced it was taking over the cleanup effort, meaning the organization would have to approve Norfolk Southerns plans and could issue its own guidance if it isnt satisfied. Additionally, a clinic operated by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Ohio Department of Health opened in town the same day. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said this week that his state was investigating whether criminal charges against Norfolk Southern were warranted. We made a criminal referral to the office of attorney general. Theyll determine whether or not there was criminal activity, he told NPR. "What I know is that Norfolk Southern is governed every day, not by caring about the communities that they send their trains through, but by corporate greed. Ted Cruz has claimed that Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelensky faked air raid sirens during the presidents visit to Ukraine. The emergency klaxons could be heard going off in the background as the two leaders walked together through Kyiv during the surprise visit earlier this week. Mr Cruz, the US Senator from Texas, made the suggestion during his Verdict podcast, during which co-host Ben Ferguson claimed, The sirens go off. He doesnt even look up for a moment. Mr Cruz, who was previously mocked for taking a trip to the Texas-Mexico border during which he posed on a patrol boat armed with heavy machine guns, agreed with Ferguson. Listen, youre right. Zelensky is engaged in theatre as well. And look, Zelensky, before he was president, he was an actor, the Republican lawmaker stated. He was a professional actor in a popular sitcom in Ukraine. And now hes president. He understands acting. And so, you know, its a little jarring seeing all of these images of him in a sweatshirt and fatigues next to Biden in his pressed suit, Mr Cruz continued. Mr Bidens visit to Ukraine came almost one year after Vladimir Putin launched Russias unprovoked attack on the country. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) (red shirt) stand aboard a Texas Department of Public Safety boat for a tour of part of the Rio Grande river on March 26, 2021 in Mission, Texas. (Getty Images) Mr Cruz added: The fact that neither Biden nor Zelensky flinch, look around, do anything when the air raid sirens go off, means both of them knew about it because theres no chance youre walking through and suddenly air rain sirens go off. You react and you react quickly. Twitter users were quick to attack the politicians claims. Good to see you are still Putins man in Congress, Ted, one Twitter user posted. And another wrote: Some people go into the line of fire. Some people go on a Mexican vacation when things get tough. Air raid sirens are a sound Ukrainians hear on a daily basis. Despite sirens being annoying, they are helpful. You on the other hand go off every day, are annoying, and not helpful, tweeted another user. And another added: Are you brave enough to walk through Kyivs downtown while air raid sirens? Then welcome to Kyiv, Sir! UNITED NATIONS (AP) Ukraines foreign minister on Wednesday urged the worlds nations as the anniversary of Russias invasion nears to prove they stand for the United Nations Charter and vote in favor of a U.N. resolution calling for a peace that ensures his war-ravaged countrys sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity. Dmytro Kuleba told an emergency special session of the U.N. General Assembly that despite Moscows empty calls for negotiations, Russia still wants to destroy Ukraine as a nation. He said the resolution, to be put to a vote Thursday in the 193-member world body, will contribute to our joint efforts to bring the war to an end as well as protect the fundamental principles of international law and the U.N. Charter. Calling this a decisive moment to show support, unity and solidarity, he recalled standing in the assembly urging its member nations to prevent war days before Russias Feb. 24, 2022 invasion. Against all odds, he said, Ukraine exercised its right to self-defense enshrined in the U.N. Charter and has been able to stop the much stronger aggressor and kick him out of half of the newly occupied territory. Kuleba said he had a message for countries that want to be friends with both sides and want an end to the war with whatever result: In this war there are not two sides, there is an aggressor and a victim. Never in recent history has the line between good and evil been so clear, he said. One country merely wants to live. The other wants to kill and destroy. There is no other country in the world that wants peace as much as Ukraine does. If countries dont want to take Ukraines side, Kuleba urged them to take the side of the U.N. Charter, international law and five General Assembly resolutions adopted since the invasion and stand up for the preservation of every countrys territorial integrity. Is there anyone in this room who is ready to give away one square meter of its territory to a blood-thirsty neighbor? he asked, surveying diplomats in the vast assembly chamber. Assembly President Csaba Korosi and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the emergency special session, and almost 80 countries will speak before the vote, including more than a dozen ministers. Guterres called Russias invasion an affront to our collective conscience that violates the U.N. Charter and challenges the cornerstone principles and values of our multilateral system. The U.Ns position is unequivocal in supporting the Charters principles, he said. We are committed to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders. Over the past year, the U.N. chief said, the suffering, devastation and human rights and humanitarian consequences of Russias invasion have grown and it is also becoming more evident just how much worse it could all still become. The possible consequences of a spiraling conflict are a clear and present danger, Guterres warned, pointing to the irresponsible military activity at Europes largest nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia, implicit threats to use nuclear weapons, and increasing regional instability and global tensions and divisions. It is high time to step back from the brink, the secretary-general said. Complacency will only deepen the crisis, while further eroding our shared principles proclaimed in the Charter. The General Assembly has become the most important U.N. body dealing with Ukraine because the Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, is paralyzed as a result of Russias veto power. While the assemblys five previous resolutions on Ukraine are not legally binding as council resolutions are they are important as a reflection of world opinion. There are no vetoes in the assembly, so the resolution is certain to be approved Thursday, but the big question is how many yes votes it will get. An Oct. 12 resolution condemning Russias attempted illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions and demanding its immediate reversal got the highest vote of the five resolutions 143-5 with 35 abstentions. Russias close ally Belarus proposed a series of amendments which will be voted on first. They would delete language referring to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, aggression by the Russian Federation, and the demand that Russia immediately withdraw all its military forces from Ukrainian territory. They would also call for the start of peace negotiations, urge countries to refrain from sending weapons to the zone of conflict, and call on U.N. member states address the root causes of the conflict including legitimate security concerns of member states. Russias U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia claimed that Ukraine spent all of its military potential in the first weeks after the active stage of the Ukraine crisis began and said a year later, it is the collective West including the U.S., NATO and the European Union that is providing Kyiv with weapons, ammunition and intelligence information. Its becoming very clear that the Ukrainian crisis will only become a catalyst for the visceral Russophobia to come to the surface, he said. It has now contaminated the American and European elites who are competing against each other to impose sanctions when in fact the sanctions are hitting the developing world hardest. On the morning of Feb. 24, 2022, Yurii Zaviriukha, a 42-year-old Ukrainian who lived in Kyiv with his wife and two sons, woke up to terrifying news. His brother, he said, messaged him that their country was at war. Awakening and getting this text [I thought it was] like a joke or something, but it was not, not funny, you know, it [was] totally like a hit on the face, Zaviriukha told Yahoo News. A year ago, Russian troops poured over the Ukrainian border and launched attacks on Kyiv, as well as the countrys second-largest city, Kharkiv. Since then, tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been killed in the conflict, and some 14 million have fled their homes in what has been described as the fastest and largest displacement of people in Europe since World War II. The majority of Ukrainian refugees, about 8 million, have gone to other European countries, and nearly as many are believed to be internally displaced. Other Ukrainian refugees, like Zaviriukha and his family, have found refuge in the United States thanks to a humanitarian parole program created by the Biden administration last April. The program, called Uniting for Ukraine, was designed to welcome Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russian invasion for a two-year period. To qualify, refugees must have a sponsor in the U.S. who agrees to support them financially for the duration of their stay. A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) representative told Yahoo News that the United States has welcomed more than 258,000 Ukrainians since last March. These refugees, the agency said, have arrived through a series of pathways, including the Uniting for Ukraine initiative. Since the program was created, the agency has received approximately 207,000 requests from people in the U.S. who want to support Ukrainian citizens who wish to come to the States. More than 144,000 Ukrainians have been approved so far, and nearly 110,000 individuals have successfully arrived at United States ports of entry and been processed as part of Uniting for Ukraine, USCIS said. Yurii Zaviriukha and his family in Ukraine before the war. (Courtesy Yurii Zaviriukha) During the first months of the war, Zaviriukha and his family moved to different locations within Ukraine to remain safe, but he said that one day he realized he needed to leave the country. While most Ukrainian men ages 18 to 60 have been banned from leaving the country and asked to join in the fight, there are a few exceptions . In Zaviriukhas case, he said he was able to leave Ukraine because both of his boys are disabled, and his wife suffers from an illness in her hip. He had a friend in the U.S. who told him about the humanitarian parole program and encouraged him to apply. He gives me [a] couple of links and I start to read information. Then I understand how it works. Like you should find somebody in [the] USA, like a sponsor who will help you go inside of the country, Zaviriukha explained. Meanwhile in Jacksonville, Fla., Christie Dizzia, a stay-at-home mom, heard about the program and decided she wanted to help. I heard about the program from a friend ... and I just thought I should do it, especially because my dad had been sponsored [through] a different program. He came from Malaysia, and I felt like this was the perfect, you know, kind of full circle [and] karma kind of thing, she told Yahoo News. The Uniting for Ukraine program, sometimes called U4U, is administered by USCIS. Although the agencys website provides all the relevant information needed to participate in the program, it does not offer a platform to connect potential American sponsors with Ukrainians. Zaviriukha and Dizzia connected the way many refugees and their U.S. sponsors have on Facebook. There have been all these Facebook groups which have popped up where you can unofficially match with each other, Dizzia explained. You can read peoples advertisements about themselves or you can offer, you know, whatever youre offering. She joined a couple of the groups, and after messaging with a few Ukrainians, she said she found Zaviriukhas post about needing a U.S. sponsor and decided to reach out. I just started messaging with him and we hit it off. Zaviriukha and his family celebrate their first Thanksgiving in the U.S. with their U.S. sponsor, Christie Dizzia. (Courtesy Yurii Zaviriukha) After talking for a few weeks, Dizzia and her husband, a business owner, submitted the necessary documents to sponsor Zaviriukha, his wife and their two children, who are 5 and 8 years old. They were approved at the end of August and arrived in Florida in late September. Since then, the Zaviriukhas have been living near the Dizzias in the familys guesthouse, and although they come from two different cultures, they have been able to forge a friendship. I think one big difference is the food, Dizzia said. They cook a lot and everything is homemade. I was talking to Yuris wife yesterday and she said, Oh, we made hamburgers, and it took hours because they had to make the bread, like the hamburger buns, and I was just thinking, Oh my gosh, so thats been different. Even though hosting the Ukrainian family has come with some challenges, Dizzia explained that it has been a very rewarding experience as well. Its been really meaningful to see how the family is adapting and just to be able to help someone who needs help, she said. We are very grateful. We are very grateful [for] this opportunity to be somewhere, in [a] quiet place and peaceful place, Zaviriukha said, adding that he and his family are also really enjoying the Florida weather. Me and my wife like warm very much. I mean warm weather, and because of this also we [are] happy, he said. The Zaviriukha family with Dizzia and her daughter. (Courtesy Yurii Zaviriukha) The father of two worked as a content manager for a bookstore in Ukraine and is now a part-time construction worker in Jacksonville. He told Yahoo News he hopes to find a more stable job so hes able to provide housing and everything else his family needs. In the future, he said, his dream is to be able to bring his and his wifes parents to the U.S. from Ukraine. Son Duong, a former refugee from Vietnam who lives in Apex, N.C., also decided to become a U4U sponsor. Last June, he helped a Ukrainian family come to the United States. After staying a couple of months in North Carolina with Duong and his two sons, the family found work in Chicago and moved there. However, Duong decided to continue helping more refugees and is currently hosting a mother and daughter from western Ukraine who were sponsored by one of his friends. At first it was a little scary, because when I signed up for the program there wasnt any sort of financial assistance, Duong said. It sounded like you were going to be responsible completely for everybody that you sponsored. But once we got them over and the government started opening up ... all these assistance programs, now I feel like its actually working really well. But with the war dragging on and the humanitarian parole program lasting only two years, Duong said the Ukrainian refugees he has hosted worry about their future. I definitely would love a little bit more certainty in the future, as far as what their future would look like. I know they stress out a little bit about whats going to happen at the end of two years, he said. According to a Department of Homeland Security official, Ukrainian refugees who arrived through the U4U program may be able to adjust their legal status or extend their humanitarian parole in the future, CNN reported. Erol Yayboke, director and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told Yahoo News that humanitarian parole is a really useful tool ... to get people out of harms way. However, it is often a temporary solution. Currently, as I understand it, the program does not afford any pathways to more permanent resettlement residency, as opposed to the asylum and refugee process, which does offer more permanent solutions, Yayboke explained. But he said it is unlikely that at the two-year mark, the U.S. government will send any refugees back. You cant forcibly return people to places where they would still be at risk. And I think that for the foreseeable future, unfortunately, that seems to be the case in Ukraine. Once again, we find ourselves amid another legislative session considering the possibility of legalizing assisted suicide. Lets remove the euphemisms and say what we mean. According to Merriam Webster suicide is defined as the act or an instance of taking ones own life voluntarily and intentionally. It is important for the citizens of Connecticut to understand several issues when deciding to support or rally against assisted suicide. First, there is no science behind the lethal doses of medication provided to the participants. Also, the most common drugs used are make it up as you go cocktails. Late last year I spent over two hours searching an academic library and a Google search trying to locate a standardized practice/protocol, best practices, or a standardized formulary for these drug cocktails. I only found one source, and it was a continuing education activity for physicians. It was a formulary without even one scientific citation and it was found on Google. It is important to note that the piece was sponsored by Compassion and Choices, the organization that promotes assisted suicide. For its part, the federal government has determined that assisted suicide is incongruent with the Controlled Substance Act and is rife with dangers to the disability community and all patients. Another area of concern is the response to the legalization of assisted suicide by Accountable Care Organizations (a type of insurance company). An article from the respected journal Health Affairs notes the challenges and opportunities for ACOs concerning serious illness. Currently, ACOs are rapidly saturating the home palliative care market. This is a good thing. It is a win-win for the insurers and the insured. With ACOs there are fewer hospitalizations, 30-day readmissions and more patients staying at home rather than having frequent emergency room visits and hospitalizations. But do you know what would be even less costly than palliative care and hospice? Assisted suicide. We know of a case in Canada where a woman was allowed to obtain life-ending drugs when she was unable to secure wheelchair-accessible housing. In her own words, she said she was seeking assisted suicide due to abject poverty. In the United States, people are qualifying for assisted suicide with a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa. In Canada, the number of assisted suicides has increased exponentially. In 2016, 1,018 people chose to take their own lives. In 2020 that number rose to 10,064, which is 3.3 percent of all deaths in Canada for that year. This correlates with the consistent chipping away at what legislators refer to as safeguards. Last year while testifying against assisted suicide a senator on the Public Health Committee became frustrated and said, We are only responsible for the verbiage in this bill as it is written. I chided him and reminded him and his colleagues that the path of legislative good intentions is paved with catastrophic unforeseen consequences. An often-quoted slogan by advocates is my death, my decision. Another Google search using this slogan brings up a suicide prevention phone number. The scientific literature has been clear, suicide is a contagion. During a mental health crisis and an epidemic of suicide amongst young people is it wise to normalize suicide? When an individual learns of a terminal illness a natural response is demoralization, a state of hopelessness, helplessness, and loss of meaning in life. Palliative care provides dignity therapy, an intervention that works with patients to find resolution, reconciliation and meaning in their lives. I have seen this intervention result in almost miraculous outcomes. Addressing demoralization with interventions to achieve remoralization is the compassionate and loving response to the terminally ill. It is cruel and inhumane to allow those who are dying to do so without excellent end-of-life care, leaving them to die in despair. It is also true that proponents of assisted suicide do so because of prolonged and complicated grief. Their efforts are misguided efforts to find purpose in their own loss. There are ways to find meaning in loss but advocating for assisted suicide is misguided. The recently formed Connecticut Hospice and Palliative Care Organization advocates for better end-of-life care and has taken a stance against assisted suicide. The bioethics discussion could take up three or four opinion pieces. For more information visit The Ethics of Suicide: Part I and The Ethics of Suicide: Part II. Dr. Rebecca Gagne-Henderson is the president and executive director of the Connecticut Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. A large and disruptive storm system tracking south just offshore of the West Coast on Thursday was bringing some impacts to California. As the storm zeroes in on the southern part of the Golden State, it is forecast to ramp up in intensity into Saturday and produce heavy rain, snow and even rare blizzard conditions in the mountains around the Los Angeles area. AccuWeather meteorologists warn that this storm has the potential to be the most impactful storm of the winter, and perhaps in a number of years, for Southern California due to the risks of flooding, snow in low elevations and widespread travel disruptions. Snow fell close to sea level along the coast of Northern California on Thursday morning and more rain and snow were seen on radar across a larger portion of the state on Friday. During Wednesday afternoon and evening, as the storm was spinning just off the coast of Oregon, heavy snow buried roads in the Portland area and left numerous motorists stranded. Already some of the major passes have been shut down by the sprawling winter storm on Friday morning. Portions of Interstate 5 over the higher terrain in Northern California were closed, as well as Tejon Pass in Southern California. I-80 over Donner Pass, California, was also closed. More than a foot of snow was already reported in Northern California, including 18 inches near Lake Spaulding. As the storm continues its southward push, it will grab more moisture while retaining its cold nature. Even though rain amounts may not be exceptional around the San Francisco Bay Area through Friday night, temperatures will be low enough to allow wet snow to mix in over the hills in the region, and a slushy accumulation can begin at around 1,000 feet in elevation in Central California. There is a risk that enough clinging snow could fall between 1,000 and 2,500 feet to cause tree limbs to break and power lines to come down. GET THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP From about Point Conception, California, to areas south is where the storm is likely to really hit its stride as it spins just offshore on Friday night. The strength of the storm combined with subtropical moisture will unleash a tremendous amount of rain as snow falls at very low elevations, according to AccuWeather meteorologists. AccuWeather's team of forecasters has been warning about the chances of snow and blizzard conditions since last week. On Wednesday, the National Weather Service office in Los Angeles issued a rare blizzard warning for the mountains to the north and northeast of the city. The NWS office said on Twitter that it was the first blizzard warning in the area since 1989. This zone includes the Tejon (Interstate 5) and Cajon (I-15) passes. Both are likely to experience highly adverse and dangerous conditions due to excessive snowfall, strong winds and near-zero visibility in blowing snow during the storm. Both locations have the potential to pick up 2 feet of snow or more. "The higher terrain along I-8 in San Diego County and I-10 over the Inland Empire is also likely to clogged with heavy snow and may close," said Ken Clark, a retired AccuWeather meteorologist and Southern California resident who spent more than four decades forecasting the weather across the western U.S. "This will be an epic storm for much of Southern California," Clark added. Heavy, travel-snarling snow will not be limited to areas outlined by National Weather Service blizzard warnings. "I've been [living] out here going on 27 years," Clark said. "I've seen snow at low elevations before but the potential [with this storm] is more than I've seen in the years I've been forecasting." Travel may be shut down due to dangerous conditions and road closures from high water, washouts and debris flows at low elevations and heavy snow in the foothills, mountains and passes, Rayno added. There is a significant risk for some people to be stranded in vehicles or isolated for an extended period in the storm's wake. "The absolute worst conditions in the zone from Los Angeles to San Diego will be from Friday evening to Saturday morning," AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said. This is when temperatures will tumble over the region, and snow levels will lower, following a slight warmup from Friday. The combination of rain, wind and poor visibility is likely to lead to major airline delays and numerous flight cancellations at the major hubs and regional airports in Central and Southern California. These can have ripple effects on flights across the country as crews and aircraft are displaced. "Our meteorologists remain highly concerned about the risk of significant tree damage and power outages in the intermediate elevations of 1,000 to 2,000 feet during the storm in Southern California where several inches of snow is likely to fall," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said. "At this approximate elevation, heavy, wet snow would cling to trees and power lines much more effectively than the fluffier snow expected at higher elevations." From Friday night to Saturday, a fire hose effect of moisture will be aimed at coastal areas of Southern California. At the storm's peak on Friday night, rainfall rates of 0.50 of an inch to 1 inch per hour will be possible. Up in the mountains, snow may come down at the rate of several inches per hour, resulting in several feet over the highest elevations. Widespread rainfall totals of 2-4 inches are foreseen with a zone of 4-8 inches of rain possible in the foothills north of Los Angeles. It's in this part of the region where an AccuWeather Local StormMax of 12 inches is most likely. Along the immediate Southern California coast, the storm was already creating stiff onshore breezes and pounding surf, according to storm chaser and extreme meteorologist Reed Timmer. As the storm drops southward into the weekend, conditions are likely to worsen, with forecasters warning of significant beach erosion and the risk of coastal flooding. Multiple storms have hit Southern California with heavy rain and heavy mountain snow in recent years. However, this storm is likely to leave a lasting impression for a generation in terms of the impacts from torrential rain, low-elevation snow and the amount of snow that piles up over the mountains. A couple of additional storms are likely to drop southward along the Pacific coast starting this weekend in the Northwest and reaching portions of California by early next week. While snow levels may not be quite as low as the storm rolling through the region into Saturday, more snow may pile up in the mountains and over some of the hills, while rain soaks the lowest elevations. Flooding rain and heavy snow will also fall on the northwestern corner of Mexico from the storm, resulting in major travel disruptions. There has been a major reversal in the severity of drought conditions in California when compared to the early autumn, according to the United States Drought Monitor. The end result of the storm at hand and storms in the near future will go a long way toward reducing the remaining drought conditions in California. It is possible in the coming weeks that portions of the state and region may become drought-free for a time. The rounds of stormy and unsettled conditions may persist in Southern California into mid-March, including around March 12, the day the Academy Awards are held in Los Angeles. Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. With one year to go before the Iowa caucuses, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is coming to Connecticut to speak to Republicans. Haley will be the headliner at the 44th annual Prescott Bush Awards dinner on May 31 at a Stamford hotel in the partys biggest annual fundraiser. The news comes after Haleys recent announcement of her presidential campaign and heading to Iowa. Haley is the former United States ambassador to the United Nations under President Donald J. Trump and the former governor of South Carolina. Asked how the party was able to attract a presidential candidate with a busy schedule, state Republican chairman Ben Proto said, We asked. Thats how you get most things. We went sometime in January to my friends who are involved in her campaign. They got me in touch with her staff, and they gave us some dates that she was available. We checked with the hotel where we normally do it [in Stamford]. Everybody wants us to bring it to Hartford, but the speakers want to be down in that area because it makes it accessible to them for New York. Haley marks the return of a national figure for the dinner that has attracted former presidential candidates like John McCain, Bob Dole, Jeb Bush, and Mitt Romney. In recent years, attendance figures have dipped as some Republicans said that they were not particularly inspired by the keynote speaker or the award winners. The most recent appearance by U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, the junior senator from Iowa, attracted about 375 donors, which was small when compared to the more than 800 who heard presidential adviser Karl Rove in 2002 and about 1,000 people in 2000 for U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona. Traditionally, Republicans looked forward to red-meat speeches by national firebrands like Jack Kemp and the late Lee Atwater, who was widely credited with helping George H.W. Bush get elected as president in 1988. The general admission tickets are $300 per person, while couples will receive a discount at $500 for two tickets. Those attending the VIP reception and having their picture taken with Haley will pay $1,500 each for the private reception, according to a copy of the invitation. The highest price listed on the invitation is $10,000 for the CT GOP platinum member sponsorship that includes a table for 10, plus two tickets for an exclusive pre-event roundtable with keynote speaker, four tickets to the VIP reception, and other benefits. Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian military held joint command staff trainings under the leadership of Major-general Edward Asryan, the Chief of the General Staff and First Deputy Minister of Defense. The training was titled The work of the military command bodies of the Armed Forces in the preparatory phase of defense operations and was held February 20-22, the ministry of defense said in a press release. A tactical field march was held with the purpose of adjusting objectives of the troops in tactical directions and make decisions, as well as the main issues of integration of active forces and equipment. The order of battle, sequence of actions, actions of officials were checked. The skills of the command staff were perfected. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. On February 23, in Damascus Bashar al-Assad, the President of the Syrian Arab Republic, received Foreign Minister of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, ARMENPRESS was informed from MFA Armenia. The interlocutors discussed the situation in the disaster-affected regions of Syria and the works aimed at overcoming the existing problems. Issues of Armenian-Syrian bilateral relations were also on the agenda. Cooperation on international platforms was touched upon. Regional and international security issues were also discussed. The Foreign Minister of Armenia briefed the President of Syria on the recent developments in the normalization process of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations, as well as the dire humanitarian situation resulting from the illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. On February 23, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Paruyr Hovhannisyan received the delegation led by MEP Francois Alfonsi, co-founder of the friendship group with Artsakh in the European Parliament. As ARMENPRESS was informed from MFA Armenia, during the meeting, the parties discussed the security situation in the South Caucasus region, the importance of the deployment of the EU observation mission, the need for the immediate release of the Armenian prisoners of war kept in Azerbaijani captivity, and the steps to preserve the Armenian cultural heritage. The deputy minister presented in detail the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulted by the blocking of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan. In this context, the parties highlighted the decision of the International Court of Justice regarding the indication of provisional measures against Azerbaijan. It is noted that a number of issues of the Armenia-EU partnership agenda were discussed, including inter-parliamentary cooperation. Paruyr Hovhannisyan highly appreciated the firm position of the European Parliament on issues of primary importance for the Armenian side, which was reflected in the relevant resolutions and reports. Options are being discussed but except for a determination to continue the war, not much appears emerging. The war in Ukraine began unexpectedly on February 24, 2022, and took most of the world by surprise. Many analysts felt it would be a walkover for Russia, which was already deeply embedded in one of the very successful proxy hybrid war campaigns, in eastern Ukraine: the Donbas area. It had completely taken over Crimea in 2014. The primary cause of the Russian action was the purported crossing of the Russian red line, which was the prospective inclusion of Ukraine as part of Nato in the eastward march of the Europe-US alliance to cement the victory in the Cold War. The build-up for Ukraines Nato entry had already begun well before 2014, almost as a culmination of the long process of assimilation of the earlier pro-Moscow elements in the East European theatre. On the first anniversary of the initiation of the war, there is much to review. Yet, this essay only generically comments on the factors which are affecting the likely outcome, on war stamina and the prospects of an early end. It will take a couple of more analyses to talk of the meatier aspects within these factors. If you are following the ongoing Munich Security Conference, then you need to know the Russia-Ukraine war from different angles. Obviously, options are being discussed but except for a determination to continue the war, not much appears emerging. US President Joe Bidens surprise dash to Kyiv is symbolic and intended to convey the intent to continue the war. That demonstrated intent will also be used as a bargaining leverage if any proposals start fructifying. Let us start by stating that it was a fundamental mistake that Nato made, of going over the top in the efforts to contain Russia, whose weakness through 1991-2014 did not allow it to push back sufficiently. That a push back would happen at some stage was inevitable, especially with a personality like Vladimir Putin at the helm. However, Mr Putins perception that he would battle only Ukraine to stop Nato was naive. Nato had invested too much in its strategy to prevent a resurgence of Russia and would obviously fight tooth and nail to enable Ukraine to defeat or weaken Russia and prevent it achieving its aim. The clinching factor in this entire drama, the first war after the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected the entire world, was Russias double fear. The first of these was that it would lose control over the Black Sea ports which were its only recourse to the warm waters of the crucial waterways around the Persian Gulf, Red Sea and Mediterranean Sea. That gave it the second fear; that without this, Russias ability to be a strategic influencer would be highly compromised, relegating its comprehensive national power. The early part of the war demonstrated that the Russian forces were just not up to it in terms of doctrine, strategy, training, logistics, technology or leadership. Their reliance on tank forces reflected poor reading of the development of warfare in that part of the world. It was much later that the Russian Air Force came into play and the employment of drones, missiles and artillery was felt necessary. This is the same army which once believed in massed artillery barrages; such that one such operation changed the course of the Ussuri river and caused severe damage on Chinas PLA in 1969. Russian generals expected a rapid folding of the Ukrainian forces and did not pay sufficient attention to logistics for an extended engagement. Russian infantry lacked penetration capability and could rarely go beyond the firm bases established around cities and townships. The Ukrainians, fired by their nationalism, a young charismatic leadership and with the backing of Natos information and network-centric warfare sowed seeds of doubt about Russian capability, focusing a great deal on the demographic problems of Russia. Economic sanctions against Russia, especially restrictions on its energy trade, were supposed to bring it to its knees. Similarly, Russia believed that Europe without sufficient energy to heat up homes in winter would be amenable to compromising on war aims. Both are living examples of the disinformation prevailing. The Russian economy seems to be buoyed by the justifiable Chinese and Indian energy purchases under different payment systems. Europe also appears to have got some deals in energy, albeit at a huge increase in prices. The lesson from this is that conventional methods of conflict restraint are not working and therefore the war remains in dynamic mode, with an advantage to the side which takes up a fresh initiative. A military counteroffensive (actually a riposte) was launched by Ukraine as an initiative, on August 29, 2022 to expel Russian forces occupying the southern regions of Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts. Russian inability to counter these led to perceptions of a quick Ukrainian victory, leading to ammunition, missiles and logistics being flown from countries closely linked with Nato. Pakistan was one of them. However, a strong Russian counter over the last three months has led to an apparent advantage to the Russians, who are now employing drones, missiles and artillery much more freely. The Ukrainian side is short in air resources, tanks, ammunition and much more. Natos indecisiveness on resupply of military resources to Ukraine is probably being read by Russia as an opportunity to press home the advantage, although there is no confirmation on what is the resource position in Russia. All this only encourages the perception of a war with no victor and no vanquished. Neither side can be convinced that a military resolution may not be possible. It is internal pressure on the leadership which may trigger something more positive. The Munich Security Conference has given no positive indicators so far. Nato has warned China against providing military resources to Russia. There is talk of an US-Israel like equation in post-war Europe, to provide a security guarantee to Ukraine so that there is no threat from Russia. However, the threat from Palestine or Iran, which the US neutralises under this equation, is not a compatible comparison with the threats from Russia to Ukraine; the Crimea and Donbass hybrid wars of the last nine years have proven that. On the first anniversary, it looks like a war without end. Indias role as a neutral which has resorted to the purchase of Russian energy and yet had its Prime Minister render pragmatic advice to Russia to stop the war as none will benefit from it, is bringing a level of focus to it. Under the circumstances, there seem very few who could have the bandwidth, gravitas and stature to mediate a halt to operations and bring about a consultative process. India is one of the few countries which can. by Nirmala Carvalho Upon learning of the matter, the local archdiocese sent a message to the Election Commission of Karnataka, the BJP-led southern state where elections are scheduled in May. Out of over 9,000 names, at least 8,000 have disappeared in constituencies where mostly minorities vote. For spokesman Kanthraj, this is clear political tampering. Bengaluru (AsiaNews) - "We note with great dismay the news that has been brought to our attention about the deletion of names from the electoral rolls after their publication in the polling stations of the Shivajinagar constituency in Bengaluru. Upon careful examination and verification, we have found that a large number of names belonging to our Christian community are missing'. These are the words of J. A. Kanthraj, Public Relations Officer of the Archdiocese of Bengaluru, capital of the southern state of Karnataka, after the names of several thousand voters belonging to religious minorities were removed from the electoral rolls. "Out of a total of 9,195 names, about 8,000 are missing, including voters belonging to the recognised tribes and castes and the Muslim community. It is unbelievable that out of 193 polling stations, 91 have been selectively chosen on the basis of where the minorities reside,' the statement submitted on 15 February to the head of the State Election Commission continues. In Karnataka, currently led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), local elections are scheduled for May, and Christian leaders suspect that the elimination of the names of people belonging to religious minorities is part of the party's strategy to maintain power: 'We fear that many constituencies in the city have been tampered with with impunity. If such misdeeds are allowed to continue unchecked, citizens' trust in the electoral process will be shattered and devastated beyond repair,' the archdiocese's message continues. For Kanthraj, there is no doubt: this is clear manipulation to prevent Christians and Muslims from voting in the upcoming elections. The spokesman added that the Chief Voter responded to the archdiocese's appeal by suggesting that campaigns be organised in all Bengaluru constituencies so that people can find out if their names have been removed from the electoral roll. The archdiocese has undertaken such a campaign in all parishes, Kanthraj explained. Rizwan Arshad, the opposition Congress party MP from Shivajinagar constituency, was also shocked by the matter. 'This is a blatant attempt by the BJP to rob minorities of their fundamental right to vote,' he said. On 9 February, Arshad had filed a written petition in the Karnataka High Court against the political plot to undermine the minorities' right to vote. Legal experts and minority representatives commented, saying that since the BJP came to power in 2014 there have been repeated abuses against religious minorities by election bureaucrats. by Shafique Khokhar Yesterday, a group of young people attended the mass presided over by Archbishop Travas. In his homily he called for "penance and acts of sacrifice" such as fasting to draw closer to Christ. But new elements of tension emerge in political world: in protest, some allies of former premier Imran Khan purposely handed themselves over to the police to be arrested. Karachi (AsiaNews) - An ideal time of "prayer for peace" in the region and in the world, for the "stability" of the country, to show "comfort and solidarity" to the most unfortunate, to make gestures of "penance and sacrifice" to strengthen the faith. Lent is an opportunity for renewal, as the Archbishop of Karachi, Mgr Benny Mario Travas, emphasised in his homily yesterday, celebrating Ash Wednesday Mass before a group of students gathered in St Patrick's Cathedral. The period of preparation for Easter, he added, is an auspicious time to "return to the Lord, confess and change one's life" by following the commandments. "In these days of Lent," the prelate noted in his reflection, "we must do penance and make sacrificial gestures" such as that of "fasting" that allows us to "experience on our skin the pain of Christ". He added, that this experience "allows us to get closer to God" and to be more united "with one another". Mgr. Travas concluded his reflection by invoking peace and stability in Pakistan, on the same day on which the political atmosphere in the country has been decidedly overheated following the decision of some Pti (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf) leaders to be arrested "on purpose" as a sign of protest. The attack on 17 February by an extremist group on the city's police headquarters, which killed at least four people and injured 14 others, and the explosion of rudimentary devices and gunfire that filled the air with smoke in the area between Jinnah Hospital and Sindhi Muslim is compounding tensions. "I pray for peace," said a second-year student, Myra Anastasia, addressing those present, "and I pray for the prosperity of our Pakistan. People have huge problems, some have nothing to eat; my parents taught me to save money at this time and help the poor, so that they can experience the joy of the risen Lord'. Adding to the tension in the country, right at the beginning of Lent, was the decision by some Tpi leaders to 'voluntarily' turn themselves in to the police in Lahore and be arrested in a manner better known as 'Jail Bharo Tehreek'. Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Asad Umar and Azam Swati, among others, ended up in handcuffs, together with other second-ranking elements of the party and supporters, a total of about eighty people. The basis of the protest was the attack, in their words, on 'fundamental rights' guaranteed by the Constitution and the 'economic disaster' resulting from the choices of the current government. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has offered to help the police in Cotabato province following a recent spate of violent attacks. According to the group, it could exert some influence over feuding clans., The Philippine National Police imposed a gun ban on 18 February. Manila (AsiaNews) The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which formerly sought to set up an independent Muslim state in Mindanao, has offered to work with police in Cotabato, a province on Mindanao Island, to curb violence in the Municipality of Pikit, scene of a string of gun attacks. Since the start of the month, local authorities have seen a wave of attacks that left residents dismayed and shocked, to the point that some are considering leaving the city. On Valentine's Day, a 13-year-old boy died in a shooting while two other students were injured; A security guard was killed the day before, while on 16 February, armed men killed a 15-year-old girl and wounded a 42-year-old farmer. On 18 February, Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong was also wounded in an ambush in which four of his escorts were killed. Immediately after, the government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) agreed to the MILFs offer. On the same day, the Philippine National Police imposed a gun ban on three provinces (Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur), plus 63 villages in Cotabato that are special geographical areas under the jurisdiction of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. The Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG), which welcomed the ban, coordinates the joint work of the Philippines' Armed Forces and Moro independence groups (like MILFs armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces or BIAF). AHJAGs chairman Anwar Alamada (MILF) said that a collective approach involving all stakeholders is needed to stop the violence, which began as a "rido", a feud between clans. The MILF is committed to taking part in this collective action, Alamada said. We pity the innocent civilians who have been dragged into the mess. According to Alamada, many of the feuding families have relatives who are members of the MILF, and the group can help mediate a settlement. A Muslim majority area, the BARMM was established in 2019 following years of peace talks between the Philippine government and pro-independence Muslim groups such as the MILF and its armed wing, the BIAF. Since the late 1960s, Muslim groups have fought to set up an Islamic state on Mindanao resorting to terrorist attacks thanks to the support of foreign states like Gaddafis Libya. After decades of fighting against the Philippine military, the MILF watered down its demands calling for greater regional autonomy from the central government, which resulted in the 2018 Bangsamoro Organic Law. In exchange, it agreed to disarm its 30,000 fighters. Japanese wave goodbye to three more pandas returning to China Xinhua) 10:18, February 23, 2023 Staff members transfer giant panda Ouhin at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 22, 2023. The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday. Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing) SHIRAHAMA, Japan, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Eimei, a giant panda that has lived in Japan for 28 years, left west Japan's Wakayama park along with his twin daughters to fly back to China on Wednesday. The 30-year-old male panda, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama in Wakayama prefecture. Around 7:15 p.m. local time, the three pandas boarded a plane that will take off from the Kansai International Airport to a facility in southwest China's Sichuan province, escorted by Koji Imazu, director of the park. Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. "The Eimei family has established a deep friendship with the Japanese people with irreplaceable and special contributions to the promotion of Sino-Japanese people-to-people friendship," Chinese Deputy Consul General in Osaka Fang Wei said at the ceremony. The three pandas returning to China will always be shared stars and witnesses to the friendship between China and Japan, said Fang when delivering a speech on behalf of Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian. On Tuesday, the famous Japan-born female giant panda Xiang Xiang left Tokyo's Ueno Zoo and arrived at a giant panda research and breeding facility in the city of Ya'an of Sichuan. Tuesday also marked the three pandas' final public appearance in Japan, when many fans waited hours in line at the park, some in tears, to bid goodbye by taking photos of Eimei and Touhin munching on bamboo. Touhin's twin sister, Ouhin, was not on display as she was showing signs of being in heat. "I captured the image of Eimei enjoying the food with his eyes closed!" Aya Ito said with much excitement as she walked out of the panda house. "One day when I turned to the last page of Eimei's memorial album and saw his smiling face, I immediately booked a round-trip ticket for this final visit." The interior designer who now works in Tokyo told Xinhua that she has recently been motivated to learn Chinese because of the pandas, hoping to visit them in China one day. Eimei, or Yong Ming in Chinese, with his age the human equivalent of 90, is the oldest giant panda living in Japan. Coming from China in 1994, it is fondly nicknamed "Super Papa" for fathering 16 giant panda cubs born at Adventure World, setting the world record for being the oldest giant panda to have successfully bred in captivity. Last year, Eimei was appointed as a special envoy for Sino-Japan friendship. Thanks to the friendly cooperation between the Adventure World and the research base of giant panda breeding in China's Sichuan province, Wakayama and Sichuan forged a prefecture-province friendship relationship in January 2022, said Shuhei Kishimoto, governor of Wakayama prefecture. Upon the pandas' return, only four giant pandas, all females, will be living at the Adventure World. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Today's headlines: a Pakistani delegation visits Kabul to discuss issue of terrorist attacks; Speculation about a metal ball found in Japan; At least 4 dead in China after a mine collapse; In Papua New Guinea a woman taken hostage on Sunday is released; Bombings between Israel and the Gaza Strip after yesterday's deaths in Nablus; Closer and closer ties between Russia and Belarus. MYANMAR Landmines and unexploded ordnance injured or killed more than one person per day in Myanmar last year, according to a UN report. There were 390 victims in 2022, a 40 per cent increase over the previous year. Prior to the coup, the UN had recorded 254 fatalities in 2020. Most of the incidents occurred in the border areas where ethnic militias are concentrated and in the central region of Sagaing, which has been affected by intense fighting following the army coup. PAKISTAN - AFGHANISTAN Yesterday, a high-ranking delegation led by the Pakistani Defence Minister visited Kabul to hold talks with Taliban officials. Also present was the head of Pakistani intelligence, General Nadeem Ahmed Anjum. According to the Foreign Ministry, they discussed the activities of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), which killed 134 people and wounded at least 254 in 44 different attacks in January alone. JAPAN A buoy? An explosive device? A Godzilla egg? Ever since a huge metal sphere appeared on the beach at Enshuhama in the coastal city of Hamamatsu, speculation about the nature and origin of the object has raged on social media. Some even speculated that it was one of the seven Dragon Ball spheres. Meanwhile, a team of experts has clarified that there is no risk of an explosion. CHINA At least four people are dead and about 50 are missing after a coal mine collapsed in Inner Mongolia. Chinese authorities have ordered an investigation into the cause of the landslide, while rescue efforts continue. Coal is a major source of energy in China, but its mines are among the deadliest in the world due to poor safety standards. Chinese mines have also tried to increase production over the past year under government demands. The site in question had been closed for three years before reopening in April 2021. PAPUA NEW GUINEA A woman who was part of a group of researchers captured by armed rebels in Papua New Guinea on Sunday was released today, while efforts continue to free the other hostages, local police said. The archaeologists were in the village of Fogoma'iu in a remote mountainous region. The police stressed that negotiations are being conducted in an attempt to avoid an escalation of tension. ISRAEL - PALESTINE Israel shelled the Gaza Strip in response to rockets fired by Palestinian fighters in revenge for the deaths of 11 Palestinians killed yesterday in the West Bank city of Nablus. The Islamic Jihad group and Hamas condemned the attack in Nablus, during which the Israeli army closed the entrances to the city to arrest some Palestinian fighters. At least 100 people were injured in the clashes. RUSSIA - BELARUS The 'Dosje' centre has published excerpts of the Kremlin-filtered plan for the 'progressive annexation' of Belarus, which is not limited to the official one-state agreements with Russia, but by 2030 the spheres of politics, defence, trade and social organisation will be 'harmonised' under the 'decisive influence' of Moscow. ARMENIA - AZERBAIJAN The 100 observers sent by the EU, half of them unarmed, arrived at the Armenian base in Ekhegnadzor, together with a contingent of eight French gendarmes and some German policemen, with the aim of "helping stability in the border areas with Azerbaijan, strengthening mutual trust and the security of people in the areas most affected by the conflict". Schools, universities and businesses shut down in the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Egypt and the UN try to mediate to prevent an escalation. UN special envoy bemoans an already volatile situation. Israels Finance Minister Smotrich gets more powers over the Territories. Former Palestinian PM Ahmed Qureia, who played a key role in the Oslo Accords, dies. Jerusalem (AsiaNews) Palestinians reacted with a general strike across their territories (West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem) after an Israeli raid in Nablus left 11 people dead and over a hundred wounded, triggering overnight rocket attacks from Gaza. Schools, universities, and businesses closed in protest following an appeal by Palestinians leaders, while Egypt and the United Nations are trying a difficult mediation to prevent more bloodshed. To this end, UN Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland arrived in Gaza to meet Hamas leaders. I am continuing my engagement with all concerned parties to de-escalate the situation, Wennesland said in a statement before the visit. I urge all sides to refrain from steps that could further inflame an already volatile situation. The latest violence was triggered by an Israeli raid, which, unlike previous operations, was conducted in broad daylight, in Nablus, one of the West Banks most populous and important business centres, turning it into a war zone for a few hours. The Israeli military became engaged in a heavy fighting with a local armed group of young men known as the Lion's Den, which has been gaining influence over the past year. While claiming to be independent, the group is funded by Hamas and Islamic Jihad and is believed to be responsible for recent shootings against Israeli military and settlers, including one in October in which a soldier died. The 11 who died yesterday include three elderly people and a 14-year-old. Following this, rockets were fired from Gaza overnight into southern Israel, with Israel responding with air strikes against targets in the Strip. No casualties were reported. Since the start of the year, 61 Palestinians have died so far, the highest figure since 2000. Last year, a total of 150 Palestinians died in violent confrontation with Israeli forces. The escalation of violence is worrisome for Palestinian leaders. We call for an end to the continued attacks against our people," said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for the president of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. A Hamas official said that the groups patience is running out, while its leaders warn that the situation could slide into an open confrontation if there was no change. Tensions have risen ever since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu adopted an iron fist policy after he took power two months with ultranationalist parties in the countrys most right-wing government since it was founded. So far, Mr Netanyahu or his office have not released any statement. In a separate development, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who heads the pro-settler Religious Zionism party, reached an agreement with his cabinet colleagues, granting him some civil powers in the West Bank. For many experts, this could spark a new intifada and is a source of concern for activists and global leaders, such as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres who said that the current situation is the most combustible in years. Commenting on the Nablus operation, the UN chief went on to describe it as "deeply concerning", urging all parties to make every effort to reduce violence and restore calm. Meanwhile Ahmed Qureia, a former Palestinian prime minister and one of the architects of the Oslo peace accords with Israel, died yesterday at age 85. That deal was in 1993, a lifetime ago. The pontiff makes his appeal during a meeting in the Vatican with a group of young priests and monks from Eastern Orthodox Churches. Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti talks about his visit to Aleppo where he expressed the popes closeness to earthquake survivors, like the elderly, left alone at home without help, and people in Idlib where supplies are hard to deliver. But once the emergency is overcome, the future must be rebuilt for everyone. Vatican City (AsiaNews) Pope Francis met this morning in the Vatican with a delegation of young priests and monks from Eastern Orthodox Churches. Because of a severe cold, the pontiff gave a copy of his prepared written text rather than read it. In it, he says that he hopes, there will be no reasons or sanctions to hinder the urgent and necessary aid to the population in quake-devastated Syria. Conscious that some of the members of the delegation come from Syria, he took the opportunity to express a particular closeness to that dear people, tested not only by the war but also by the earthquake which, as in Turkey, has claimed so many victims and caused terrible devastation. In the face of the suffering of so many innocent people, children, women, mothers, families, I hope that everything possible will be done for the people. Acting on behalf of Francis, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches, was in Aleppo last Saturday and Sunday before travelling to quake-devastated Turkey. In a statement by the dicastery on the situation in Syria released today, the prelate expressed the closeness and affection of the Holy Father, which everyone welcomed with deep emotion. In a country torn by war in the past 12 years, with people sharing their stories of unspeakable suffering. The prefect notes that one of the most serious situations in Syria was the fate of the elderly, left alone at home as a result of the emigration of relatives, [who are] often and tragically without a pension. Archbishop Gugerotti also had the opportunity to speak about the situation in Idlib province, "which is not under government control and where about 210 Christian families remain, helped [materially] by two friars of the Custody of the Holy Land, as well as pastorally, with whatever that can get through despite difficulties in delivering supplies. The statement goes on to say: One had the impression that the earthquake further weakened a population exhausted by war and the effects of sanctions, which have made that land unrecognisable compared to its previous prosperity. [F]or this reason, the prefect greatly stressed how necessary it is, once the emergency is overcome, to prepare a future that bears witness to Christians commitment in favour of the entire Syrian population. Pope Francis also highlighted shared witness in his address to the young priests and monks of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, noting, we must believe that the more we walk together, the more we will be mysteriously accompanied by Christ, because unity is a common pilgrimage. For him, one must desire unity with prayer, with all ones heart and strength, with insistence, without tiring. Because if the desire for unity is extinguished, it is not enough to walk and dialogue: everything becomes dutiful and formal. If, on the other hand, the desire drives one to open the door to Christ together with one's brother, everything changes. by Vladimir Rozanskij An effort at reconciliation between leaders who have fought each other. The thorny Bakiev case, convicted at home for abuse of power. In 30 years of independence, the country has had only one peaceful transition to power. Some believe that Biskek is moving towards an authoritarian drift. Moscow (AsiaNews) - President Sadyr Zaparov's initiative has caused great surprise in Kyrgyzstan, as for the first time he brought together his five predecessors in Dubai. They are: Askar Akaev, Kurmanbek Bakiev, Roza Otunbaeva, Almazbek Atambaev and Sooronbai Zeenbekov. They have succeeded each other since 1991 after uprisings and coups, without any real democratic transition. Zaparov commented on the meeting in a TV interview on 21 February with the state agency Kabar. Before the meeting in Dubai (which took place three days earlier) he had already met Atambaev and Zeenbekov, who had long fought each other and now 'have reconciled and forgiven each other'. He then wanted to extend the face-to-face meeting to the first three presidents, without immediately revealing that it would be a meeting of six, 'otherwise some of them would not have come'. The current president wanted to reassure everyone present that 'there are no financial or political demands on my part', emphasising that none of them had interfered with his presidency. According to Zaparov, 'the time has come to put aside all the disagreements of the past', because if the leaders are not capable of it, their supporters and all the citizens of Kyrgyzstan are unlikely to do so. All the presidents eventually supported the initiative, and the meeting lasted over four hours. Zaparov also explained the situation concerning Bakiev, who was sentenced in his home country in absentia and who should be arrested on his return to Kyrgyzstan, according to the Prosecutor General's Office. He lives in Belarus, and four times Minsk has denied his extradition. The president explained that 'everyone has to answer for his actions before God, history and the law', and if one wanted to prepare Bakiev's return by circumventing the laws 'we would not have organised the meeting in Dubai, but in Biskek'. The decision to return is left to the conscience of the former president, who led the country from 2005 to 2010, coming to power with the 'tulip revolution' against the first post-Soviet president Akaev, only to leave it due to the uprisings in April 2010, when Kyrgyzstan came to the brink of civil war. Bakiev was accused of abuse of power after he proposed moving the capital from Biskek to a city in the south, an area he controlled, and eventually had to flee to Belarus. According to Zaparov, the meeting was very positive, and he vows to summon the predecessors again in order to 'get all Kyrgyz politicians around the reconciliation table'. Atambaev, president from 2011 to 2017, and himself convicted after several riots, commented that 'the restoration of peace and unity in the country is absolutely necessary', although Bakiev's return to his homeland 'is another matter altogether'. The first president Akaev, after all, had also suffered an arrest before fleeing to Russia, and Otunbaeva had only been in office for one year, between 2010 and 2011. Zaparov's predecessor, Zeenbekov, had succeeded Atambaev at the end of his term in 2017, the only time in 30 years, but had then had to relinquish the presidency in 2020 after the October riots, out of which the current president emerged, who had appointed himself premier and rode out the protests. The proposal for historical reconciliation thus falls in the third year of the Zaparov presidency, which by Kyrgyzstan's standards is not a sure guarantee of stability, given that the reforms underway have raised several concerns. Some believe that the country is heading towards an authoritarian drift, but perhaps the unprecedented 'harmony of presidents' could help to bring about a peaceful, if not actually democratic, transition. Iranian Foreign Minister pulls out of the Raisina Dialogue in India after organisers post a video showing Iranian women cutting their hair. For the Islamic Republic, this constitutes interference in its internal affairs. The two countries could work together in the region, especially in Afghanistan. Delhi (AsiaNews) Protests caused by the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian-Kurdish woman who died in September in the custody of Irans morality police after she was arrested for not wearing her headscarf correctly, has sparked a diplomatic rift between India and Iran. Iran's Foreign Ministry yesterday released a statement saying that Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian would not attend next months Raisina Dialogue in India, an annual geopolitical meeting organised by Indias Foreign Ministry and Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation (ORF). Iran has accused organisers of unprofessional behaviour after ORF posted a video on its website showing Iranian women cutting their hair, a symbol of protest against Iran's strict headscarf rules. According to Iranian authorities, the video constitutes Indian interference in the internal affairs of the Islamic Republic. Despite a harsh crackdown, protests have been going on for months in Iran following Mahsas death. As a result, many Western countries have imposed new sanctions on Iran, a step India has not followed. As ORF noted, while great powers turned their attention to the war in Ukraine, a diplomatic vacuum has been created across the Middle East, as well as South and Central Asia, especially with regard to Afghanistan, where both India and Iran could carve a space for themselves working together. Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Rich Allen is a sports reporter for the Aspen Daily News. He can be reached at rich@aspendailynews.com. Aspen School District Superintendent David Baugh, left, Pitkin County Undersheriff Alex Burchetta, center, and Deputy Sheriff Bruce Benjamin discuss the response to the report of a shooter at the Aspen schools during a press conference on Wednesday. While the response was effective, communication could have been better, they said. Aspen School District Superintendent David Baugh, left, and Pitkin County Undersheriff Alex Burchetta discuss the response to a report Wednesday morning of a shooter at the Aspen schools during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. While the response was effective, communication could have been better, they said. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Hyundai's premium brand Genesis introduced its first full-electric crossover in 2022 for the 2023 model year, marking its first step into the EV era. The Korean automaker invested a lot of money to develop a full-electric platform, and it had to sell more vehicles with higher profit margins to get its money back. Thus, apart from the Ioniq 5 and the EV6 from Kia. While these two electric vehicles created a strong image for the automaker, the GV60 added a premium touch and a luxurious feeling for its customers. Genesis created a new design for the hatchback crossover vehicle. Unlike the Ioniq 5, the GV60 sported shaved edges and rounded shapes. Its front fascia was dominated by the broad black grille from the dam. Still, that was mostly blocked since the car didn't need that much cooling area. On the upper side of the bumper, the carmaker installed the headlights and, above them, the daytime running lights. All of them were fitted with LEDs. A unique feature of the vehicle was the clamshell design for the hood, which opened altogether with the upper sides of the fenders. Inside, the car featured luxurious and technological amenities. The only traditional elements were the seats and the two-spoke steering wheel. There were no side mirrors but cameras and small screens inside the cockpit. In front of the driver, Genesis installed a wide screen that integrated the instrument panel and the infotainment system. Between the front occupants, the automaker placed a center console that housed a crystal ball, which was the gear selector, and a couple of cupholders. For the drivetrain, Genesis offered a choice of four drivetrains ranging from 228 to 490 hp, with one or two motors driving all wheels. If railway stations sound like a boring thing from the past, heres something that could transform them into one of the most futuristic urban spots air taxis. These electric aircraft could use the rooftops of railway stations as a landing pad. Sounds farfetched? Odense, a city in Denmark, is planning to do precisely that for the Odense Banegard Center.This is part of a larger AAM (Advanced Air Mobility) project in Denmark, where it would be the first of its kind. European vertiport plans are currently underway in places like Germany, Italy, and France. Now, Denmark has joined the club, through a collaboration between the HCA Airport (in Odense) and Copenhagen Helicopter.HCA Airport officials believe that the idea of connecting rail travel with air taxi transportation in this area could come to life in just a few years. This is how things would go: folks arriving at the Odense Railway Station could take an air taxi from there, and fly to Copenhagen faster and with no emissions. Gradually, Odense could use air taxis to connect to other cities as well, and even expand to international flights to neighboring countries.Theres no time to waste, since the Danish government also expects to reach the universal goal of 100% zero-emission transport by the end of the decade.The first steps will be taken as soon as this summer, when the two partners plan to carry out the first air taxi flights. Unlike most vertiport-related projects, this one doesnt include joining forces with a specific eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) manufacturer. At the moment, its still unclear which air taxi companies will be the ones to bring AAM services to this country.But the HCA Airport did mention that it hopes to attract foreign AAM players, which also includes flying taxi manufacturers. Copenhagen Helicopters, who is one of the most active AAM supporters in Denmark, also sees great potential for local air taxi services.It estimates that by 2035, flying taxis could be transporting more than 80,000 passengers per day. In addition to alleviating traffic and helping people get faster to their destinations, this would also help to eliminate more than 100,000 tons of CO2 each year.Until then, the Odense Banegard Center is gearing up to provide the first landing pad for air taxi services, paving the way for future vertiports. Codenamed F140, the naturally-aspirated V12 rolled out in 2002 with a displacement of 6.0 liters in the supercar that bears Enzos first name. In terms of road-going applications, the most extreme F140s in production today are the 6.5-liter units in the 812 Competizione and Daytona SP3. Both pack in excess of 800 ponies, and both exceed 500 pound-feet (678 Nm) on full song.Expected to arrive in dealer showrooms in 2024, the next-generation V12 flagship gran turismo from the Prancing Horse of Maranello is certain to exceed 800 horsepower and 500 pound-feet. Recently spied by carparazzo Varryx, this prototype is anything but a Roma. Its the successor of the 812 series, and for the first time ever, its been spotted with the hood open.It produces absolutely superb exhaust and induction sounds, although thats only natural for V-type royalty. Look closer at the stills in the photo gallery, and you may also notice that its an idea longer than the V8-powered Roma due to additional cylinders hiding underhood.Were guesstimating that Ferrari sticks to a dual-clutch transmission rather than reverting to a gated manual. Developing and calibrating two gearboxes for the same model is a resource-consuming endeavor, and looking at the bigger picture, Ferrari stopped caring about manuals a long time ago. Its all numbers the Prancing Horse is interested in. Zero to 60, top speed, and all that jazz.Speaking of numbers, the Italian automaker broke its sales record again in 2022. It delivered 13,221 vehicles worldwide as opposed to the 9,233 reported by Automobili Lamborghini. But alas, Ferrari failed to mention how many units of the 812 were delivered.Similar to the Purosangue sport utility vehicle, the whats-its-name heir apparent of the 812 is likely influenced by the design language introduced by the Roma. The V8-engined grand tourer emphasizes modern minimalism according to design boss Flavio Manzoni, the man in charge of Ferrari Centro Stile since 2010.The long hood and compact-ish glasshouse hark back to 1960s grand tourers, although theres not a glimpse of nostalgia embedded in the design. The shark-like front end is yours truly's favorite part of the dazzling Roma.One can imagine how the all-new flagship will look given that the prototypes hardpoints and wheelbase will carry over. One can further imagine a ludicrous price tag, especially now that large displacement engines of the free-breathing variety are very close to going extinct.Ferrari already banked on the imminent extinction of the naturally-aspirated V12 with the Purosangue. The Prancing Horses first utility vehicle retails at $398,350 including the $5,000 destination charge, making it nearly twice as expensive as the 2023 Lamborghini Urus S.By the way, if you want to learn more about Ferrari V12s, we have a great video for you: The information on how Google wants to integrate podcasts into the YouTube Music experience is very limited right now. The Mountain View-based search giant is going to allow both audio and video content, and YouTube Studio will be updated to let users mark uploads accordingly.Google will also allow users to create podcast playlists, similar to how they can now organize videos and songs.One important feature coming to YouTube Music is the support for starting a podcast on a device and then continuing from where users left off on another. This will be possible when the same Google account is used, as the content will be synced between devices.Just like music, podcasts will be allowed to play when the phone is locked. Users will be able to control playback from the lock screen, and podcasts will also debut in the car via dedicated YouTube Music apps for Android Auto and CarPlay.As per Googles typical approach, podcasts will be recommended to users based on the content theyve previously played.Given the migration of podcasts to YouTube Music, its not hard to figure out that Google Podcasts future is currently in limbo . Google has invested massively in podcasts in the last couple of years, but Google Podcasts appears to become a second-class citizen of its product lineup.Most likely, YouTube Music will now spearhead Googles podcast efforts, so the company is expected to enter the race of securing exclusives . Spotify and Apple are investing big on this front, and Google is likely to join the battle, especially as it needs YouTube Music to grow in this regard.YouTube Music has long been the companys main focus in terms of music, and podcasts moving to the platform makes sense in the long term. However, it looks like the company doesnt immediately plan to get rid of Google Podcasts, though its very clear that this application doesnt make much sense anymore.Google will first roll out the podcast experience in YouTube Music in the United States, but the company promises to bring it elsewhere in the coming months. The company is also updating YouTube Studio to set videos as podcasts and edit them. Uploading podcasts will also be possible via RSS beginning later this year.More details are expected to be provided in the coming weeks as the migration of podcasts to YouTube Music is making progress. For now, the transition is yet to start, but even so, remaining committed to Google Podcasts is nearly impossible both on the phone and in the car. The German carmaker has signed a licensing agreement with the search company to bring the Google Maps platform, YouTube, and Cloud to MB.OS . The operating system is projected to launch next year on the first vehicles.The collaboration is unusual at first, especially as Google typically provides such capabilities as part of Android Automotive Mercedes-Benz will use Googles services on a Linux-based operating system, with the underlying technology for navigation to be provided by Google.The auto manufacturer has more ambitious plans for its operating system, and Google is playing a key role. The company wants to build its own navigation solution whose route guidance will be powered by the Google Maps platform. The interface will be different, and Mercedes will try to adapt the experience to retain its brand identity, but the underlying technology will be based on Google Maps.Googles platform will be in charge of providing real-time traffic information, route guidance, and details on the displayed points of interest. Mercedes is expected to contribute with personalized data, such as the location of dealerships, service centers, and charging stations.At the same time, Mercedes also wants to use Google Maps as the foundation of more advanced capabilities for autonomous systems. For example, the company could rely on Google Maps for speed information, something thats already available for vehicles running Android Automotive.The first feature powered by the partnership between Google and Mercedes is rolling out to vehicles running an up-to-date version of MBUX. Place Details is a feature that allows drivers to find information about businesses and places across the world based on data available on Google Maps. Users can see business hours, photos, and ratings imported from the maps platform.YouTube is making its way to Mercedes-Benz vehicles in a way that Android Auto users have been requesting for years . The application will allow vehicle occupants to watch videos when the vehicle is parked. Mercedes hasnt mentioned whether YouTube would be allowed to continue video playback on secondary screens installed in the cabin even when the vehicle is in motion.Mercedes partnership with Google proves essential applications like Google Maps and YouTube can make their way to cars without the need for adopting Android Automotive.German carmaker BMW is trying a different approach. The company did not agree to provide Google with full access to its vehicles, so instead of using Android Automotive, the company plans to adopt an open-source version, not shipping with Google services pre-loaded. As a result, BMW would be able to provide customers with Android capabilities without Google reading the data.Mercedes says its also working on a MBUX API for Android that will allow the installation of other apps built for Googles mobile operating system on its operating system. Photo: Bundnerbike Knowing this, many garages out there go to great lengths to incorporate said names in the final design of their rides, using the appropriate letter styles and colors. This element is so important for custom bikes that some even make the name the central element of their build.Not when it comes to this Breakout , though. Yes, it is a Breakout, made by Harley-Davidson at an undisclosed time in the past, although looked at from afar it is hard to identify as one. And theres not a single indication of what kind of motorcycle youre looking at either, as there are no bold letters on the fuel tank to reveal its provenance, no markings on the covers to show who contributed to this build (except for the number 114 etched on the left side of the engine), and no inscription on the exhaust pipes.It is, if Im not mistaken, the first time I have come across such a bare motorcycle and I must say, it is quite the revelation. Painted matt black all over, with only a faded shade of gold sprayed on the two wheels, its the perfect mystery machine.The wheels are the ones that give the bike its name, in this case GoldenEye , and some would be inclined to immediately make the connection with Britains favorite spy, James Bond. To me however, it seems not as suitable for 007 as it would be for ninjas on a mission, if ninjas ever decided to use such things.The shop behind this contraption, Swiss-based Bundnerbike , describes it as a powerful, down-to-Earth machine that avoids unnecessary ostentation and impresses with its clear lines and hidden special features.Said power comes from the stock engine of course, in this case the 95-hp Milwaukee Eight 114, enhanced solely with the addition of a KessTech exhaust system, which also happens to be the most important mechanical modification made.Visually though there are several changes. You get an immediate sense of that thanks to the round mirrors mounted high at the end of a custom handlebar. Then the fuel tank comes into view, longer than what the Breakout originally had on. At the rear were treated to the sight of a new rear panel that holds braking and turn lights, but also the seat, now lowered to 665 mm off the ground when not occupied.The Harley-Davidson GoldenEye is one of Bundnerbike's most recent projects, but like all the others weve discussed before it does not come with a price sticker attached. Mazda Laputa Photo: Mazda Motor Corporation Studebaker Dictator Photo: Studebaker AMC Gremlin Photo: American Motors Corporation Renault Le Car Photo: Renault Subaru BRAT Photo: Subaru When the first automobiles came into being, choosing an appealing name was not something that manufacturers cared much about. The vehicles received a brand name, which was usually borrowed from the companys founder (or founders). Then, as newer iterations started to appear, a second name was added to easily differentiate them from other models.Earlier model names were pretty straightforward, reflecting obvious things such as the design iteration (in numerical or alphabetical order), the cars engine displacement , or body type. But, as marketing strategies became more and more complex, a lot more attention and creativity went into choosing an appealing name.This led to iconic nameplates like Mustang, Viper, Diablo, or Firebird that do a great job of reflecting the cars personality. However, some brands made awful choices that compare to naming your baby boy Adolf.While theyre responsible for some of the coolest cars ever built, Japanese manufacturers are the undefeated champions of bad car names.Unquestionably the worse of them all is Laputa, a JDM kei car that Mazda added to their lineup in 1999. Like most kei cars, which are popular because they are practical and cheaper to ensure, the Laputa was powered by a 658 cc three-cylinder engine available in either naturally aspirated or turbocharged form.This particular model started life as the Suzuki Kei, which wasnt the most creative model name, but then Mazda came in. Through a partnership between the two companies, Mazda was allowed to sell an identical model which continued to be produced by Suzuki. The only thing they had to do is fit their own badges and choose a different name.Well, the people in charge of this task were apparently not among the hundreds of millions who are fluent in Spanish, choosing a name that literally translates to the prostitute if one puts a space after the first two letters.I find it hard to believe that the only thing on the marketing teams minds was the flying island from Gulliver's Travels and that no one knew what Laputa would allude to for Spanish speakers. Maybe they did, but concluded that it wouldnt be a problem for Japanese customers, although Im sure that there are plenty of natives and immigrants who speak Spanish. In the end, Mazda wasnt bothered by this and continued to sell the Laputa in Japan for no less than seven years.The oldest model on this list was introduced nearly a century ago, in 1927. Studebaker , a now-defunct carmaker which was based in South Bend, Indiana began rebranding its models in the mid-1920s, so the latest version of its mid-size car which used to be called Standard Six received a rather controversial moniker.This name was reportedly chosen because the brand wanted to market the car as a model that dictated the standards in terms of comfort and reliability At first, there werent many Americans who had an issue with this, since the term dictator wasnt as broadly used as it is today. The only man who was called a dictator in the U.S. was Benito Mussolini, but he wasnt mentioned in the press too often. However, things changed dramatically a few years later, when Hitler rose to power in Germany and dictator was on everyones lips. Studebaker was forced to drop the name in 1938 and the succeeding model was called Champion.Another car developed by a defunct American manufacturer; the Gremlin was released in 1970 with the aim of challenging imports in the increasingly-popular subcompact market.AMC marketed the car as "cute and different," which apparently was a success. The car was unquestionably different, but cute is the last word I would use to describe it, as it looks like something that my four-year-old son would draw when hes in a hurry.To make matters arguably worse, AMC chose to name it Gremlin, which literally means an imaginary being thats responsible for a mechanical or electrical fault . It goes without saying that naming a car after something that causes mechanical or electrical issues is not a good idea, but despite that, the Gremlin sold pretty well.Revealed by the French manufacturer in 1971 and sold in several European markets a year later, this tiny little thing was known as Renault 5. Not much more than a budget-friendly people mover at the time of its release, it was wildly successful on the Old Continent.It also served as the base for one of the very first hot hatches, the Renault 5 Turbo , a piece of RWD mid-engine madness developed to homologate the R5 for rallying.Its popularity and strong sales in Europe encouraged Renault to bring the R5 to North America, where it had around 250 dealerships. However, the marketing team thought that a different name would be more appealing than 5 and ended up calling it Le Car, probably because Le Pew was taken by Warner Bros. The Turbo version was never sold in North America, but if it did, I have to wonder if Renault would have called it Le Car Turbo or Le Turbo Car.In all seriousness, it was an uninspiring name that was created by weirdly combining the French word for the (le) with the English word car. Not only does it sound condescending, but its also kind of grammatically incorrect because the definite article that goes with the noun car (voiture in French) is la not le.The second Japanese entry on our list was developed back home in 1977, but it was aimed at the North American market, where it competed against other passenger car-derived pickups like the Chevy El Camino or Ford Ranchero.With standard all-wheel drive and better ground clearance , it was more practical than its competitors, but its name was far less impressive. Unlike Mazdas blatant mistake, Subaru intended to call it Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter, but since that was a mouthful, they chose to go with the acronym.Still, since it was developed for North America, someone should have pointed out that brat is used to describe a misbehaving kid. That never happened, and even though the second generation was sold in other parts of the world using other names such as Brumby, Shifter, MV, or Pickup, it remained a BRAT in North America and even in the UK. Photo: Bear's Workshop on YouTube SUV EV Around the same time last year, Lucid adjusted its production target by lowering them from 12,000 14,000 to 6,000 7,000. It blamed logistics and supply chain issues for the halved guidance. As time passed, the brands decision proved to be the right one because things went exactly as the renewed prediction. Unfortunately, it was not enough for Wall Street estimates, and that caused the stock price to tumble a bit.For 2022, the automaker made 180 more cars than what its revised targets said, but it encouraged investors to continue believing in the company by announcing hopeful production guidance of 10,000 to 14,000 units in 2023.The carmaker has around 28,000 reservations which are not included in the 100,000 vehicles that are supposed to reach Saudi Arabia. But placing a reservation does not guarantee a customer will receive a production slot or have the vehicle end up in their hands after the buying process is reached. Some may have second thoughts and back off, while others may have gotten another one in the meantime. Reservations are nonbinding understandings, even though they imply a $300 deposit for Air Pure models and $1,000 for the Touring and Grand Touring.Lucid says it still has almost $5 billion laying around and finished 2022 with a total revenue of $608 million. This represents a net loss of around $2.5 billion, but it is not as bad as it looks because in 2021 the brand reported nearly double as much negative performance.However, Lucids CEO (whos also the CTO) said in the earnings call that the automaker must deal with new supply chain issues regarding its blacked-out units that sport the Stealth package. Customers preferred the under-the-radar look and ordered many Air units in this spec, which might tell us why weve seen so many vehicles waiting to find their owners in the marques Arizona plant parking lot. Hundreds of units have been spotted a couple of weeks ago still stuck in the same area. Considering deliveries have started in Europe too, Lucid must quickly figure out a way in which it will finish stealth Airs to send them out faster.Lucid's Arizona Plant Parking Lot as seen on February 1st, 2023Peter Rawlinson, however, assured investors and the media that Lucid is working to solve the delays and is working together with the suppliers to ship everything out as soon as possible. If things continue to follow a positive trend and the global geopolitical landscape wont deteriorate, Lucid could meet or even exceed its guidance for the current year.The company also plans to invest more in marketing while it says that a strong focus on capital discipline will remain paramount. Even though it must continue ramping up production and delivering all the units it made, the company says it eyes growth while remaining focused on reducing costs. This sounds ambitious and the fact that it introduced a $7,500 discount for some Air models might help. But the current sentiment surrounding posh EVs is not one that may warrant optimism.Still, Lucids vehicles remain out of reach for most Americans (and Europeans) because they are expensive and the much-awaitednicknamed Project Gravity is still nowhere to be seen. High-riding vehicles are important because this sector is where customers tend to allow themselves to spend a little bit more than would normally be necessary.Finally, Lucid still has the rumored total takeover thats reportedly being planned by Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund (PIF) looming over its head. Its unlikely that it will materialize in due time, but the countrysambitions might help Lucid expand to new markets, find new buyers, and grow its portfolio. kWh Codenamed M189, as opposed to M145 for the first generation, the newcomer is presently available in fixed-head coupe format. The soft-topped convertible will follow suit this year as a 2024 model. Maserati has already previewed the GranCabrio Folgore all-electric version with camouflage hiding its body panels, and our spy photographers have recently caught a combustion-engined GranCabrio testing near the Arctic Circle.Sporting the same wheelbase and overall length as the coupe, the convertible has that certain Dolce Vita about it precisely because it features a canvas top rather than a metal roof. The camouflaged prototype is equipped with steel brake rotors squeezed by red-painted calipers that proudly wear the Maserati script on them. Pictured on prototype tires from Pirelli, the GranCabrio is equipped with black-painted wheels and round quad pipes.The Maserati version of the F136 engine is gone in favor of a twin-turbo V6 that also leverages Ferrari technologies. Advertised under the Nettuno handle, the 3.0-liter engine premiered in the MC20 supercar.The press release for the Nettuno engine claims that its 100 percent Maserati , although the Modenese automaker couldnt be more wrong about that. Essentially a Ferrari F154 twin-turbo V8 with two cylinders loped off, the 90-degree powerplant features the 1-6-3-4-2-5 firing order of the F154-based Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6.To Maseratis credit, the 11:1 compression ratio heads are unique to the Modena-based House of the Trident. A dual-clutch transmission similar to that used in the Chevrolet Corvette is employed in the MC20. The GranTurismo and GranCabrio dont support transaxles, which is why an eight-speed auto will have to make do. Its one of the best automatics out there, though, namely the ZF Friedrichshafen-developed 8HP transmission.In the 2+2 coupe, Maserati offers the Nettuno in two flavors: Modena and Trofeo. The all-electric Folgore sits at the top of the lineup, although the Italian brand has yet to unlock the full potential of the powertrain. Maserati promised 1,200-odd horsepower at launch, but in practice, the electric motors are limited to 818 ponies in boost mode. The culprit is the 92.5-battery with LG Chem pouch cells, namely the battery's discharge capability.The combustion-engined GranTurismo Modena produces in the ballpark of 490 horsepower and 443 pound-feet (600 Nm). As for the Trofeo, its engine makes 550 horsepower and 479 pound-feet (650 Nm).What kind of performance metrics can prospective customers look forward to from the GranTurismo ? How about 3.9 seconds to 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) for the Modena and 3.2 seconds for the Trofeo? Top speed favors the higher-output version as well, with the speedometer indicating 199 miles per hour (300 kilometers per hour) on full song.On an ending note, it should also be noted that the GranTurismo- and GranCabrio -spec Nettuno uses a conventional wet sump lubrication system, as opposed to the dry sump of the corner-carving MC20 supercar. Skoda uses "Magic Eye" on the assembly line for the Enyaq iV and Octavia models at its main plant. It is based on a computer using Artificial Intelligence. Irregularities are thus detected very quickly and the computer sends notifications to the maintenance team for correction. Although not new worldwide, Skoda is one of the first companies in the Czech Republic to make use of AI-supported predictive maintenance capabilities."Magic Eye" compares its high-precision photographs to thousands of previously stored images in real time. This enables it to detect deviations from the optimal baseline conditions and identify error sources. The use of blue light ensures that the AI tool distinguishes between cracks and scratches and makes accurate diagnoses. Furthermore, the system's knowledge base is constantly being expanded. If it discovers a worn bolt, for example, it marks the location as error-free once the part is replaced and checked again. The system uses information from previous irregularities to evaluate detected deviations.The FabLab simulated a section of the assembly line to enable further system optimization and accelerate wider integration at Skoda sites. This "implementation arena" can be used to test different camera settings, configure system parameters, and simulate assembly line damage. In Europe , the way was paved as early as last year when BMW used artificial intelligence (AI) across its global operations. The German company has developed software that makes it easy to create AI applications for object recognition. The centerpiece of the software is the so-called BMW Labeling Tool Lite. This tool allows users to easily label objects in images, offline, to quickly create AI applications that can then reliably identify those objects in images during production.However, at BMW , the foundations for new technologies using artificial intelligence have been laid as early as 2021. At that time, the German carmaker planned to start producing electric vehicle propulsion systems at its plant in Regensburg, Bavaria. At that plant, long before any new parts rolled off the production line, the entire manufacturing process was taking place in realistic detail inside a virtual version of the factory.There is a high interest in using artificial intelligence to control robots and other industrial machines for the car industry. As in the case of an operation such as the identification of irregular objects, this technology has the potential to help automate much of the logistics activity.This frequently employs an AI approach known as reinforcement learning, which involves an algorithm experimenting and learning how to achieve a specific goal based on positive feedback. HP In 2022, we grew to 47k direct employees & $5B of capital investment in California. Today, were continuing our investment in California with our new Engineering HQ in Palo Alto ?? pic.twitter.com/FvQyRtgNrg Tesla (@Tesla) February 23, 2023 Elon Musk may have turned from left to right in the past year, but he still closely relates to both sides of the political spectrum. On Wednesday, Musk and California Governor Gavin Newsom jointly announced Teslas global engineering headquarters in Palo Alto. The ceremony also revealed an interesting connection between the two men, with Newsom being one of the first to place a deposit for the original Tesla Roadster back in 2007. Considering it was a hefty $100,000 and only 2,450 units were built, this makes Newsom an important Tesla backer.Fast forward to 2023, and we see Tesla taking over the former Hewlett-Packard offices in Palo Alto and establishing its worldwide engineering and AI headquarters there. This is a notable change of strategy for Tesla, which moved its headquarters from California to Texas in 2021 . Musk said at the time that the move was decided because of the high housing costs in the Golden State, which limits expansion and makes labor more expensive.At the time, Musk was also quarreling with Alameda Countys health officials over his desire to reopen the Fremont factory during the coronavirus pandemic. Then Texas had more favorable tax conditions and cheaper labor, so its difficult to assess which of these was more important. Musk didnt say what prompted the decision to return to the state and set up Teslas engineering headquarters in Palo Alto. Some say its because Twitter offices are also nearby.Tesla leased part of the formeroffices in 2021, and weve seen many Tesla prototypes in and around the area recently, so its safe to assume Tesla is already using the space. According to Musk, Tesla has no intention of abandoning its corporate headquarters in Austin and is now kind of a dual-headquartered company.Tesla intends to focus on hiring engineers proficient in R&D for artificial intelligence, a technology crucial in developing robotics and autonomous vehicles. The moment is ripe because other technology companies have laid off talent in the past months. At the same time, Tesla has increased its employee headcount in California every year, and it now has 47,000 people working for it in the state. This is mostly thanks to Fremont, the biggest automotive factory in North America.The opening ceremony ended with a tour of Teslas new global engineering and AI headquarters, followed by a huge party. The invitations had an interesting detail, considering the date was written as v2023.2.22, suggesting it has some connection with an upcoming OTA software update. Tesla is currently rolling out v2023.2.12, and Tesla fans expect the 2023.2.22 version to encapsulate the FSD Beta V11.3.2 software Photo: Northern Rivers Tiny Homes Photo: Northern Rivers Tiny Homes Photo: Northern Rivers Tiny Homes Tiny homes are often seen as the happy medium between conventional houses and RVs. As comfortable as they may be, motorhomes and campers are meant to literally serve as a home away from home during trips, while standard houses ensure the best comfort but no freedom of movement. Tiny homes on wheels are here to bring the best of both worlds. They can be moved to different locations, but are perfectly fit for permanent living, for more than one generation.Australia seems to be one of the places where tiny living has become increasingly popular. There are plenty of builders and a wide variety of models to choose from. Northern Rivers Tiny Homes is offering three designs that cover most of what people want when it comes to this alternative lifestyle. The Larnook draws attention easily with its clean, farmhouse-inspired look. Unlike some modern builds out there that can be too dark and gloomy, the Larnook looks family-friendly and welcoming in a traditional way. Sitting on a purpose-built tiny house trailer, its no taller than 4.3 meters (14 feet) and its 7.2-meter (23.6 feet) length is below the maximum size allowed in Australia (8 meters/26 feet).Small but mighty, the Larnook is built to last and to withstand even the harshest local conditions. Its built with locally-sourced, termite-treated pine, using a mix of pine and cedar for its cladding. High-quality roofing materials and three types of insulation for the walls make sure that this home can maintain a cozy temperature in any weather.Like all of the builds from Northern Rivers Tiny Homes, Larnook can be connected to conventional power sources (if theyre available on location) or go off-grid . It comes solar-ready, and a few optional features can easily adapt it for off-grid living. These include a compost toilet instead of a flush one, a generator, a gray water management system, and a rainwater tanker so that the owners can collect water from the roof.At the same time, Larnook is as cozy and warm as a conventional house. The large glass entry doors lead to the living area with a fold-out sofa bed, discrete LED lights, and large windows that keep it light and airy.Theres a seamless transition from this lounge spot to the kitchen. The most interesting feature here is the L-shaped bench, with stools underneath. Its great for preparing meals, while also doubling as a dining table. It can even work as an office space, which is why its also fitted for USB charging.The kitchen comes with all the basic appliances, and it can fit in a lot of stuff, despite its limited surface, thanks to multiple cupboards that are cleverly integrated.The bathroom sits at the other end of the house and reflects the same clean, minimalistic style. Future owners will be happy to see that it can fit a full-size shower and a washing machine, with room left for an elegant vanity and a medicine cabinet.Larnooks entire main floor benefits from an abundance of natural light, thanks to large windows (fitted with bug screens) in each separate area. This tiny includes two loft spaces, one of which is the main bedroom.It can be reached through a solid staircase, and its moderately sized (big enough for a queen-size bed). Features such as wall-mounted reading lights, USB charging points, and two-way switches, make this space more functional . Natural light and ventilation are a priority here as well, with the four large windows doing a great job with that.At the opposite end, the second loft area sits above the living room downstairs. It could serve as an additional sleeping area, or an extra office, but it wouldnt be the most comfortable or safe. The only way to access it is through a ladder that isnt fixed, which may not be everyones favorite. But this becomes an advantage if the loft is used only for storage, because the ladder can stay out of the way most of the time (by simply storing it on the wall) and only be used when necessary.Luminous and uncluttered, the Larnook makes the most of its tiny size without becoming overly complicated. It looks truly comfy and cozy but doesnt neglect modern additions like multiple USB charging points placed wherever its needed, strategic lighting, and high-quality appliances.The basic version of this charming tiny house starts at AUD $99,000 ($67,500) and goes up to AUD $125,000 ($85,400) with all the extras. With further customization, that sum will go even higher. Either way, the Larnook is solid and practical enough to become the perfect home not just for now, but for decades. SUV Introduced in 1934, the first-generation Suburban paired a station wagon body with a small truck chassis. The termdid not exist back then, but the Suburban is now widely regarded as the world's first SUV (though it did not get four-wheel drive until 1957). Ford, on the other hand, focused on pickup trucks until the 1960s, when SUVs started becoming increasingly popular.Following the introduction of the International Harvester Scout in 1961, Ford began developing its own SUV. The final product arrived in 1966 as the now-iconic Ford Bronco. Originally a compact SUV, the Bronco morphed into a full-size hauler in 1977 and soldiered on until 1996. What's more, Ford did not offer a four-door SUV until 1990, when it created the Explorer.But while U.S. customers had to wait almost three decades to get a proper four-door SUV, South American enthusiasts were enjoying them as early as the 1970s. Because Ford Argentina took matters into its own hands and turned the sixth-generation F-Series into one. This 1977 B-250 that was recently imported from Colombia by the folks at "Ford Era" is one of those Chevy Suburban fighters that the U.S. never got.There's not a lot of info about these haulers to run by, but it's pretty obvious that they're more than just F-Series trucks with bed caps. The conversion included a full rebuild of the bed area. In this case, the vehicle comes with three rows, meaning it can provide seating for up to nine people including the driver.It also comes with a 50:50-split second row for easy access to the third-row bench. This SUV is actually a three-door hauler, as there's only one door on the driver's side, but four-door versions are known to exist.Restored some years ago, the B-250 appears to be in excellent condition save for some bodywork issues here and there. The interior, in any case, looks fantastic which is a rare feat on decade-old haulers that usually get a lot of abuse. The fact that this one survived to get a restoration and then to make it on U.S. soil is as spectacular as it gets.But while it's very similar to the sixth-gen U.S.-spec F-Series design-wise, this B-250 is entirely different under the hood. Because while the American truck was offered with inline-six and V8 gasoline engines, this SUV conversion packs a four-cylinder turbodiesel mill. According to our host, the B-250 draws juice from a 2.7-liter powerplant of the Nissan TD27 variety.Not familiar with this mill? Well, Nissan built it in various forms from 1986 to 2006 and used it in vehicles like the Navara and Terrano . And as you might have already guessed, this oil burner found its way into the B-250 through a swap. However, it's not a big departure from the Argentinian-built F-Series. Because Ford's local division actually used a four-cylinder diesel back in the day.I'm talking about a 203-cubic-inch (3.3-liter) powerplant sourced from Perkins, a diesel engine manufacturer established back in 1932. Now a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., Perkins also supplied Massey Ferguson and Dodge with diesel engines at some point. The oil burner was, however, only available in the small F-100 in Argentina, alongside a six-cylinder "Falcon" and a Y-block V8.But the new owners aren't planning on keeping the Nissan diesel in the SUV. They're planning on replacing it with, you guessed it, a 7.3-liter Godzilla V8 . Currently fitted in the F-250 Super Duty, the mill is also available as a crate engine and it's capable of 430 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque without upgrades. A great choice for a truly special and rare SUV like this. Check it out in the video below. The Armenian Foreign Ministry reported that Mirzoyan discussed with Assad Syrian-Armenian relations, regional and international security as well as bilateral cooperation on international platforms. He held a separate meeting with Syrian Foreign Minister Fayssal Mikdad. According to the official Syrian news agency SANA, Assad praised his countrys historical ties with Armenia and its worldwide Diaspora. He also thanked the Armenian government for sending a search-and-rescue team and relief to the northern Syrian city of Aleppo hit hard by the February 6 earthquake. Mirzoyan flew to Damascus on board a transport plane that carried 32 tons of food and medicine for Aleppo residents affected by the disaster. He toured the war-ravaged city and met with the Armenian rescuers still working there later in the day. The magnitude 7.8 quake killed at least 1,400 people in Syrias government-controlled areas. The victims included several Syrian Armenians from Aleppo. The schools here remain closed and people still live in fear, Zarmig Boghigian, the editor of the Aleppo-based Armenian-language newspaper Kantsasar, told RFE/RLs Armenian Service on Wednesday. An estimated 80,000 ethnic Armenians, most of them descendants of survivors of the 1915 Armenian genocide in Ottoman Turkey, lived in Syria before the outbreak of its bloody civil war in 2011. At least half of them reportedly fled the country during the fighting. Thousands took refuge in Armenia. Armenia was one of the few countries that did not cut ties with Assads regime and maintained functioning diplomatic missions Damascus and Aleppo throughout the civil war. In 2019, it deployed, with Russias support, more than 80 demining specialists, army medics and other noncombat military personnel to Syria, prompting criticism from the United States. https://www.bassresource.com/fishing/late-winter-bass-fishing.html Winter Image A suspending stickbait is one of Steve Dickeys favorite lures when late winter bass stage on transition banks. Heavyweight bass leave their wintertime haunts when the water temperature slowly rises and daylight hours lengthen in late winter and start migrating to spawning sites. Along their way to the spawning banks, the fish will make a couple of stops at transition spots and wait for the arrival of spring to trigger their urge to procreate. Table Rock Lake guide Steve Dickey tries to intercept these prespawn bass during their transition from winter to spring. They move from an open water suspended stage and transition into the pockets, Dickey says. They still want to be right next to really deep water but also where there is a spawning pocket real close. In early winter, Dickey finds Table Rock bass on channel swings in creeks or on the main lake. During late winter, he notices the fish move onto secondary points or into short pockets in the creek arms. He looks for the banks with more gravel leading into a protective pocket. During their migration to the spawning pockets, prespawn bass in the late winter first stage on transition banks where the rocks change from bluff and ledges to chunk rocks. Their next move is to banks where the rocks transition from chunk rocks to pea gravel. The sweet spot on transition banks is usually the most pronounced section of rock change, from ledge to chunk or gravel. Any cover, such as standing timber on the transition bank, will also draw prespawn bass. Dickey typically finds late winter bass in the standing timber on the bluff ends. They will get on that pretty thick at times, he says. Then, the fish will slide over to the chunk rock if it gets warm and breezy. Bass gradually move to the transition banks depending on how long winter lasts. There are some bass there all winter, Dickey says. They live there, but the others start trickling in. Sometimes there will be big numbers on the right spot. Dickey discovers the largest numbers of prespawn bass move to the transition banks when the water temperature climbs above 50 degrees. The guide notes the prespawn bass on the transition banks are some of the biggest fish he catches all year. Dickey usually finds these bass suspended 6 to 12 feet deep over 15 to 18 feet of water. They are just sitting right where there is 6 to 8 feet on a gravel bottom, and then it drops right on a roll-off into 25 to 30 feet, he says. Weather determines whether the bass will move shallower or deeper on the transition banks. If we get a sunny, breezy day, the fish will move up, and I will catch them in 4 to 5 feet very close to the rocks, Dickey says. If there is a cold front, they will slide off that bank, and I will catch them more halfway between the boat and the bank versus having them 3 to 5 feet off the bank. If the cold weather lingers, prespawn bass will remain on the transition banks. They just slide out a little deeper, Dickey says. The guide notices bass will congregate more on a transition bank during a cold front but will scatter in the shallows on warm, sunny days. Image Guide Steve Dickey finds late winter bass along banks where rocks transition from one type of rock to another. The Table Rock guide tricks transition bass with two lures: a suspending jerkbait and a float-and-fly rig. Dickey favors the float-and-fly setup when the water temperature is in the upper 30s and low 40s. The suspending stickbait produces best for him in water temperatures above 40 degrees. Dickey opts for Luckycraft and Megabass suspending jerkbaits in various colors. In the morning, Dickey prefers throwing stickbaits with a tint of chartreuse or orange on the lures belly. On sunny afternoons he favors stickbaits with a foil finish for added flash. Stickbaits in a natural color such as Tennessee shad work best for Dickey in sunny, calm weather. A neutrally buoyant stickbait is Dickeys preference for late winter bass. Dickey will throw a stickbait that sinks slightly but never uses one that rises. Dickey experiments with his stickbait retrieve until he finds a cadence bass prefer. He typically starts in the morning with a presentation of a couple of twitches of the rod, followed by a pause of 6 to 8 seconds. On sunny afternoons, he will fish closer to the bank and speed up his retrieve with harder jerks of the rod and shorter pauses (three to four seconds). Dickeys float-and-fly setup consists of a 1/32-ounce hair jig set 9 to 11 feet below a small fixed Thill or Mr. Crappie Rattlin Pearl Float. He throws the rig on 6-pound line with a 9-poot spinning rod. The Missouri angler usually casts the float and fly to timber along the bluff ends or to the rock change spots on the transition banks. He lets the rig sit for 6 to 10 seconds and then jerks his rod to make the float pop on the surface. Dickey suggests a bite is usually easy to detect because a bass will rapidly pull down the float. BassResource may receive a portion of revenues if you make a purchase using a link above. Paddy McKillen Jr's portfolio includes the Dean hotel brand. A new Dean hotel is now planned for Belfast's Bedford Street Paddy McKillen Jrs Oakmount development group is plotting a possible sale of its 275m hotel property portfolio, which is operated by his Press Up Entertainment business. A report by property publication Reactfirst reported that options, including a potential sale of the properties, were being weighed up. However, Press Up would continue to run hotels at the locations following any sale of the properties. Press Up operates high-profile hotels in Dublin including The Devlin and The Mayson. It also operates the Dean hotel brand, with properties in Dublin, Galway and Cork. A Dean hotel is also due to open in Belfast and Birmingham. The Leinster Hotel on Dublins Mount Street is also due to open, as is the new Ladyville House resort in Wexford. Press Up also operates the Butler Arms Hotel in Waterville, Co Kerry, as well as the Clarence Hotel, having acquired the lease on the property in 2019. The hotel building continues to be owned by U2s Bono and The Edge, as well as Paddy McKillen Sr. This week it was reported that Paddy McKillen Jr was close to purchasing a number of properties beside Dublins St Stephens Green that will be used for a luxury hotel to be operated by Press Up. Press Up also has other interests across the hospitality sector. It operates a number of restaurants such as the renowned Captain Americas near Dublins Grafton Street. It also operates bars around the capital as well as the Stella Cinema. From time to time, Oakmount sells properties that house venues operated by Press Up. Oakmount is also a partner in the redevelopment of Clerys Quarter in Dublin. The latest set of account for Orsen, the company behind Press Up, show that it generated pre-exceptional revenue of just under 100m in the 17 months to the end of May 2020. It made a 5.3m operating profit in the period and a 3.3m profit after tax. Its tangible fixed assets at the end of May 2020 were valued at 31.8m, which was up from the 28.7m recorded at the end of 2018. The period before the Covid pandemic struck was a busy one for the group. It opened its 94-bedroom Mayson hotel in December 2019, which features a gym, Elephant & Castle restaurant, a pool and other amenities. The group said that while the pandemic had presented challenges and hit revenue, it had adjusted to a new reality. A spokesperson said in 2021 that the group had opened eight new venues during the financial period. An artist's impression of The Keep in Belfast's Castle Lane, where Deichmann is opening its first Northern Ireland store Europes biggest footwear retailer has confirmed its opening in Belfast later this year on the site of the old BHS store. Deichmanns plans to come to Northern Ireland were first revealed by Belfast Telegraph last year. The store will open at The Keep on Castle Lane, a new development thatll house hospitality, leisure and retail outlets, as well as a rooftop terrace. Read more German footwear giant Deichmann on the hunt for store locations in Northern Ireland Deichmann, which offers its own brand of shoes starting at 5.99, said it had invested 750,000 in the store and would be creating 20 jobs. All stock will be located on the shop floor so that customers dont have to ask for assistance. It sells brands such as adidas, Fila, Nike, Puma and Skechers and vows to match the prices of other retailers. Deichmann says it refunds customers for the difference, plus 1, if they find the same shoes cheaper online or in other shops. The business, which was founded in 1913 and remains in family ownership, is headquartered in Essen, Germany. The company said it has experienced strong growth throughout the cost-of-living crisis due to its low prices. Simon Wilson of Deichmann UK said: Were excited to open our first store in Northern Ireland. Belfast is a key destination for the brand and we look forward to seeing how the customer responds. The store will be opening towards the end of this year and well be launching some great special offers during the opening for customers to enjoy. The non-domestic rate will not be increased this year. Northern Irelands domestic regional rate is to rise by 6% while rates on non-domestic properties are to be frozen, the Secretary of State has announced. In the absence of a Stormont Executive, Chris Heaton-Harris has set the rate under powers given to the Secretary of State under the recently passed NI (Executive Formation) Act. The regional non-domestic rate will not change at all for the 2023-24 financial year, while the domestic rate will be increased by 6% lower than the double-digit rise some had feared. Colin Neill, chief executive of Hospitality Ulster said: This is welcome news at a time when cost pressures are hurting the wider business community and the hospitality sector in particular. "We have fought hard and made representations to the Secretary of State to do more for business and for our industry and we are glad to see that he has heeded the warning signs and made this decision to freeze the non-domestic regional rate for the next financial year. The average district rates increase across Northern Irelands councils was 6.67%, slightly higher than the regional rate hike announced on Thursday by Mr Heaton-Harris. In the absence of the Northern Ireland Executive, I have set the regional rate to ensure the crucial delivery of public services and provide certainty for NI taxpayers, said the Secretary of State. I am very aware that this comes amidst cost of living pressures for both NI businesses and households, and I have set the rates to improve the sustainability of the NI public finances whilst protecting those most in need. Whilst I will not shirk my responsibility to do the right thing for NIs finances, it remains the case these decisions should be taken by locally elected politicians in a fully functioning NI Executive. The regional rate has been set through secondary legislation which was laid in the UK Parliament today, and will come into effect on March 20 2023. Policy Chair of FSB, Alan Lowry said Mr Heaton-Harris had removed one of the threats faced by businesses in Northern Ireland by freezing the non-domestic rate. "We are very pleased that the Secretary of State has recognised the immense pressures facing SMEs in Northern Ireland and chosen not to add to their burden as he strikes the regional rate, he said. "The next step must be for officials in the Department of Finance to prioritise some of our most challenged sectors and match the support that the Chancellor saw fit to provide in England and Wales when he introduced a 75% discount for retail, hospitality, tourism and leisure. "Our members in these sectors are telling us about the pressures they are facing and cannot see how officials could decide that the pressure is somehow less in Northern Ireland than that in England or Wales. "SMEs provide the majority of employment in Northern Ireland, and these sectors are a key part of our tourism offering which brings in wealth from elsewhere, so we must see them prioritised for similar support. It comes after Northern Irelands 11 councils finalised their rates increases before the February 15 deadline, with the highest increase (7.99%) coming in Belfast City Council. Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council saw the lowest increase, agreed at 4.9%, while Derry City and Strabane (7.97%), Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council (7.95%), Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council (7.49%) and Mid Ulster District Council (7.3%) all came close to Belfast City Councils figure. The highest non-domestic increase came in Derry City and Strabane (10.67%), while Mid Ulster (4.32%) saw the lowest non-domestic rise. Landlords have been warned to ensure they declare income from rental properties Landlords who operate short-term rental properties via websites like AirBnB have been warned they risk facing penalties for tax evasion if they fail to disclose their income. The strong advice has issued by Belfast accountancy and advisory firm Baker Tilly Mooney Moore who said HMRC is targeting short-term landlords in a campaign to stamp out undeclared income from property letting. Examples of landlords include those who operate properties by renting them out via advertising sites such as Airbnb, Booking.com and Holiday Lettings. The websites typical offer short-term stays for holiday makers looking to come to Northern Ireland. Under current tax requirements, customers who rent rooms in their own homes do not need to declare their rental income, unless they earn more than 7,500 from the property per tax year. If two people receive income from that same property, this limit drops to 3,750. However, this tax relief does not apply to income gained from letting additional properties such as second homes. The rules and limits around income from short-term rentals are very clear, however this move by HMRC to target short-term landlords should serve as a reminder that landlords have responsibility for their own declarations said Head of Tax at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore, Angela Keery. Anecdotally, we see more and more people coming into the rental market as landlords, so many who are new to it or are only renting one additional property may have a limited knowledge of their obligations. The launch of the HMRC campaign is a good time for customers to get their tax affairs in order, and ensure they arent at risk of facing a penalty down the line. Dublin musician Maurice Kiely says he played it for bassist Adam Clayton, and that he agreed that the band could perform the song in certain circumstances A preliminary issue in a Dublin High Court action brought by a musician who is seeking damages from U2 over what he claims is the bands unlawful use of a song he wrote has been listed for hearing next month. Dublin musician Maurice Kiely claims he wrote the song entitled A Man and A Woman, which is included on U2s 2004 album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. He claims that he wrote the song in the 1990s and played it for U2 bassist Adam Clayton, and that he agreed that the band could perform the song in certain circumstances. He claims that, in breach of contract and his copyright, the band performed the song live. He is now seeking damages from the band. Mr Kiely has sued Dublin registered company U2 Ltd, a corporate entity set up in the early 1990s for the administration of arts facilities and which is associated with the world-famous band. Read more Bono presents Steven Spielberg with lifetime award at Berlin film festival The company, represented in court by Kelley Smith SC, instructed by Beauchamps solicitors, rejects all of Mr Kielys claims and opposes his action. On the 2004 album, the song is credited to band members The Edge Dave Evans and Bono. The song was the subject of an earlier legal claim made by Mr Kiely before a court in California. However, the claim was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds. At the High Court in Dublin on Wednesday, Mr Kiely was granted a date for the hearing of a pre-trial motion that has arisen out of his claim. Mr Kiely, who is representing himself in the action, claims the defendant company has failed to properly answer formal questions or requests for information about the case, known as interrogatories, he has put to it. Such questions are put to parties involved in court actions in order to clarify matters of fact and help to determine in advance what facts will be presented at the trial of the case. The defendant is opposing the application and says that it has not replied to matters put to it by Mr Kiely on the grounds that the questions are not relevant to the claim. The matter came before Mr Justice Brian OMoore, who adjourned the plaintiffs motion to March 10. The motion had been due to be heard later in March but the court agreed to move it following a request by the plaintiff, who said that for medical reasons he wanted the matter heard as soon as possible. The judge said while the courts list in March was full, he hoped that the matter would be heard on that date. Boyband JLS will return to Belfast for their Everybody Say JLS: The Hits Tour later this year. The 2008 X-Factor runners-up with hits such as Everybody In Love, One Shot and Beat Again, will perform at the SSE Arena on Saturday, October 21. They will also sing at Dublins 3Arena on Friday, October 20, to kick-off their UK and Ireland tour. JLSs 2021 comeback tour was met with phenomenal public demand as the reunited quartet extended their initial 16 show schedule to a 29 date tour of arenas across the UK and Ireland. More than 350,000 people attended their 2021 Beat Again tour. The band said: We couldn't be more excited to announce another arena tour. Last time out was totally surreal and weve been eagerly awaiting the right time to do it all over again. Playing live and seeing our amazing fans is definitely the best part of being JLS." Aston Merrygold, JB Gill, Marvin Humes and Oritse Williams, will bring their catalogue of unforgettable hits. JLS broke through in 2009 in the biggest way imaginable as the instant pop classic Beat Again shot straight to number one - their first of five chart-topping smashes. With another five top 10 hits to their credit, JLS also impacted the album charts with their self-titled number one debut and three more top three records before saying goodbye with their 2013 Greatest Hits album. Throughout, they were heralded with numerous major awards, notably two BRIT Awards and five MOBO Awards. Prominent Belfast republican Damien Dee Fennell has again been acquitted of overseeing an illegal Easter procession. Charges were dismissed today after the 41-year-old told a court he had been unaware the event four years ago was unlawful. Mr Fennell, of Duneden Park in Ardoyne, insisted that he did not hear any police announcements made at the scene in Milltown Cemetery, west Belfast. He faced counts of organising and taking part in an unnotified procession on April 22, 2019. A second defendant, 31-year-old Patrick McGrath, from Saunderson Court in the city, was also cleared on a single charge of participating in an unnotified procession. A judge dismissed charges against the 39-year-old after prosecutors were unable to play footage of the incident nearly four years ago. Proceedings centred on an event said to have been overseen by the Saoradh-linked National Republican Commemoration Committee. Although charges against the two defendants were originally thrown out in January last year when footage of the incident could not be played, the prosecution was reinstated following a legal challenge. At Belfast Magistrates Court today, a Crown lawyer argued police clearly warned those gathered at the graveyard that the necessary notification had not been given to the Parades Commission. But questioned by defence counsel Conor OKane, Mr Fennell maintained that he heard none of the tannoy announcements and had no reason to believe the event was unauthorised. If I thought it was illegal I wouldnt have had my children with me, he told the court. Mr Fennell said he had attended up to 30 previous commemorations in Milltown without any issues. Based on his standing as a well-known republican, he argued that others in attendance would have sought his views if the lawfulness of the event was in question. People would be asking, Am I going to get done here? But nobody came up to me, he said. The first I knew was then a summons came in the door of a house I havent lived in for years. I thought this was all done with over a year ago when I was acquitted. Its held me back, its just been a bit of a nightmare. Dismissing the charges against both defendants, Deputy District Judge Liam McStay said he could not be satisfied that they were aware of the events illegal status. He also pointed out that Mr Fennell would want as many notified parades as possible to maximise his republican objectives. A convicted hooligan who has established a new life in Northern Ireland has won a High Court battle in his bid to avoid imprisonment in Latvia. Senior judges ruled that a decision to extradite Marius Ancevskis denied him the chance to present evidence about the potential impact on his family. Quashing the order made at Belfast County Court, Lord Justice McCloskey held that it had breached his human rights. Latvian authorities are seeking Ancevskis surrender to serve sentences of two years and four months imposed for hooliganism and motoring offences. In 2006, the 43-year-old left his native country and moved to Northern Ireland. He has been locked in a legal fight since being detained in Crossmaglen, Co Armagh, in November 2020. Belfast County Court initially ordered Ancevskis' discharge after determining that extradition would be incompatible with his human rights. That decision was based on his status as a married father-of-two whose family are all fully integrated in their local community. Ancevskis' work record since arriving in Northern Ireland was also cited. Prosecutors in the Baltic state mounted a successful appeal which led to the case being remitted for reconsideration. With the requested person remaining on bail, the County Court refused his application for an adjournment to prepare fresh evidence on the alleged interference with private and family life. In August last year a judge directed that he should be extradited. Ancevskis challenged that decision, claiming it violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Further evidence was produced, including a medical report about his wifes severely broken leg and the psychological impact on their two children, as part of the appeal and related judicial review. Ruling on the case, Lord Justice McCloskey said refusing Ancevskis an adjournment deprived him of an opportunity to assemble evidence in support of his continued resistance to extradition on the basis of his rights and those of his family members under Article 8 ECHR. He confirmed: The decision of Belfast County Court is quashed. Fr DArcy says two of five operating theatres have never been used since opening in 2012 The Western Heath Trust has been accused of a complete mismanagement of resources over its handling of services at Fermanaghs South West Acute Hospital (SWAH). Enniskillen priest Fr Brian DArcy hit out at what he called the systematic running down of services since the collapse of the Stormont government last year, with two of the five surgical theatres at the 700 million complex having never been used at a time when waiting lists for operations are growing across the country. Emergency surgery was suspended at the hospital last December, with the Trust saying that was unplanned and partly down to a shortage of suitable consultants. Fr. Brian D'Arcy. Picture by John McVitty Fr DArcy said the current waiting lists at Altnagelvin show the Londonderry hospital will not be in a position to cope with extra demand should services in Enniskillen not be reinstated, adding that anyone living in Newtownbutler will need to travel over two and a half hours for treatment. More than 83,000 patients in Fermanagh and parts of Tyrone are located further than one hour from their nearest emergency department. The Western Trust said the suspension was necessary to protect the publics safety after staff recruitment issues. A consultation remains open until April, and the Department of Health (DOH) insists that the SWAH is still a type 1 emergency department. It simply doesnt make sense, said Fr DArcy, who supported several hundred protesters at the latest rally outside Enniskillen Town Hall ahead of a special council meeting on Tuesday night. Im a Fermanagh man and I know how hard we fought to bring the hospital to Enniskillen. Its here because of the location and the golden hour critical to life saving treatment to make sure all patients who may need the services are within reach. Again, Fermanagh is being dismissed. The people who live here deserve an equal service. Theres a fear that since we have been left without a Health Minister, decisions are being taken to the detriment of residents. Weve been without an acute service since last year. The longer it remains that way, the harder it will be to bring them back. This is the future of the children who live here we are fighting for, but the casual dismantling of services is basically telling people you may as well drop your loved ones off at the morgue rather than try to get to hospital. Enniskillen has a wonderful facility, the best in Northern Ireland. The people who live here cannot be allowed to become victims of geography. Everyone has the right to good, basic medical care. Making the case for the hospital before a special meeting of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, local solicitor and chair of the Save Our Acute Services group, Reggie Ferguson, said that it was clear things have taken a turn for the worse for the hospital that was once a source of great pride and joy. The Western Trust and Department of Health said that updated ways of dealing with trauma mean patients in need of orthopaedic surgery are never sent to a hospital where this cannot be provided. There have been multiple studies carried out across the world which have failed to find any significant survival advantage for trauma patients with shorter pre-hospital rescue times, the Trust said. Trauma care has changed beyond recognition in the past decade, initially across England, Scotland and Wales and more recently across Northern Ireland and the Republic. Patients are now preferentially taken to the most appropriate hospital first for trauma care. No patient with major trauma would be taken to a hospital which did not have orthopaedic surgeons on site. The Northern Ireland Trauma Network set up a trauma triage tool which helps paramedics take more patients to the RVH which is the trauma centre and bypasses multiple other hospitals. Effectively Antrim, Ulster and Craigavon Hospitals are bypassed in the majority of cases of significant trauma and the patient is taken to the RVH as the main trauma centre. Altnagelvin sees approximately one third of the numbers of patients with significant trauma that attend the RVH trauma centre. The RVH has also initiated a call and send model this allows for a patient who fulfils major trauma criteria to be rapidly transferred from any ED to the RVH for ongoing management. The Western Trust said both it and the Department are fully committed to the sustainability and the future of obstetric and gynaecology services, including all maternity services, at the South West Acute Hospital, Enniskillen. It added: The health service as a whole continues to experience ongoing challenges and pressures which has been seen in all acute hospitals in Northern Ireland. As a smaller rural hospital, South West Acute Hospital has been and will continue to face workforce challenges. Daithi Mac Gabhann was pictured having a magical time at Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio Tour in London a day after his legislation was passed at Westminster. A photo of the six-year-old holding a pint of butter beer from the franchise while dressed as the schoolboy wizard was posted on social media by the Donate4Daithi campaign. Alongside the image were the words, Nothing like a pint of butter beer to celebrate your law being passed in the House of Commons. The Mac Gabhann family visited London to see the legislation win approval in Parliament. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content The law was cleared in Westminster after it failed to proceed in Northern Ireland due to the ongoing political stalemate in Stormont despite being first introduced in 2021. Its named after Daithi, who is need of a heart transplant. The legislation means all adults in Northern Ireland would be considered a potential organ donor after their death unless they specifically state otherwise. MPs supported the change to the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill as it passed through its Commons stages on Wednesday. The Bill received an unopposed second reading and will now head to the House of Lords for further scrutiny. Mairtin Mac Gabhann, Daithis father, said it was a very emotional day and he was beyond proud of his son. The family have campaigned for the law change for five years. The victory of this is finally sinking in... we didnt think we would be here today, he said. The Mac Gabhann family were joined by representatives from Northern Ireland including Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris, Alliance deputy leader Stephen Farry and the DUPs Carla Lockhart. Sinn Fein vice president Michelle ONeill said: Today belongs to Daithi, Mairtin, Seph & all that campaigned for this life saving law. The daughter of former Belfast Telegraph editor Roy Lilley paid tribute to her humble and compassionate father at his funeral in Co Antrim. Mourners attended a thanksgiving service at Abbey Presbyterian Church in Monkstown on Wednesday afternoon. It followed a private funeral service at Roselawn Crematorium for the former newspaper man who died in hospital at the age of 85 following a long illness. Claire Lilley told those who had gathered to pay their respects that a colleague of her dad once wrote, if you cut him open he would bleed ink as she described how newspapers and books played a central role in her childhood. "But there was of course so much more to him as a family man than words, she said. He was consistently compassionate generous in thought, word and deed. Read more Roy Lilley decades ahead of his time as a journalist and a man of integrity Always thinking of others and respectful of everyone. Claire shared many happy memories including how as a 12-year-old she made her fathers face light up after she solved a crossword clue that he had been struggling with. She also described how the doting grand-dad was thrilled when her sister Rozalind began sending him pictures of her daughter Abigail and he discovered her untapped talent for pithy caption writing. His editorial skills were never softened at home and he spent many Sunday afternoons writing in the margin of a history or English essay, Claire continued. "As we grew older he was always willing to listen but was very reluctant to give any advice on any topic or to try and influence or interfere with our plans even when his counsel was actively being sought. "Instead, preferring to leave us to make our own decisions. Former Sports Editor Jim Gracey & Dame Mary Peters Claire told mourners that her father was also great fun as a dad and recalled how he loved going down water slides with her as a child despite being half blind without his glasses. She said the notoriously terrible poker player would blatantly cheat playing simple card games and enjoyed playing pie-face with his three grandchildren. He was a very humble man and despised boastfulness, Claire said. At the same time we both knew he was deeply proud of us. He and mum enjoyed 56 years of happy marriage characterised by mutual respect, loyalty and honesty not withstanding a little bickering of course. And if our own marriages can be as happy and as long well have done very well indeed. Claire said her dad took great pride in never breaking promises and undertook to always stay the course on a task, whether in his career, family or in the community. Roy, who used to run a toy stall at Whiteabbey Primary School summer fair, sat on the board of Belfast Royal Academy for almost a decade and for 20 years he served on the management committee of The Wishing Well Family Centre in Belfast. Martin Lindsay Claire broke down and wept after revealing that the fan of quotations regularly cited Tony Blairs 1996 campaign speech all I ask is a chance to serve. This is how we as family will remember him, she added. Not for grand gestures, but in the words of William Wordsworth, one of his favourite poets, that best portion of a good man's life is little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love. Rozalind read one of her fathers favourite biblical passages from the book of Ecclesiastes before lifelong friend Alf McCreary paid an emotional tribute to his former colleague. He said his former boss enjoyed a long and impressive career in the difficult and dangerous days of the Troubles and displayed great courage when the Belfast Telegraph was bombed in September 1976. The veteran journalist said Roy was a tough editor and a voice of reason in an era of discord and division during his time in the role from 1974 to 1992. "He was fair, and knew that a word of praise went a long way, Mr McCreary continued. "He was simply decent, loyal and upright a role model for all of us. DCI John Caldwell is one of the PSNI's most senior police officers. Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell is one of the most senior police officers in Northern Ireland. Well known inside and outside the service, Mr Caldwell often faces the media during major investigations. Mr Caldwell has led a number of major investigations both into dissident republican terrorism and drug-related organised crime. It is understood he received a number of threats in the past due to his investigations linked to dissident republicanism. Appearing in front of journalists, television cameras and photographers, the officer, who was shot a number of times on Wednesday night in Omagh, answers some of the most difficult questions put to him by the media. Mr Caldwell was the original lead investigating officer into the murder of Natalie McNally, who was killed in her Lurgan home on December 18. Natalie, who was 15 weeks pregnant, was beaten and stabbed, and suffered defensive wounds. High-profile PSNI detective shot by gunmen in Omagh More recently, Mr Caldwell was the leading investigating officer into the fatal shooting of Shane Whitla in Lurgan. The 39-year-old father of four was gunned down in an alleyway off Woodville Street in the Co Armagh town on January 12. He made his way to Lord Lurgan Park where he was found dead. Speaking to the media at Lurgan Police Station just a day after the shooting, Mr Caldwell stood next to his colleague, Superintendent Kellie McMillan, and gave details of the attack. Our investigation is at a very early stage and we are working to establish the circumstances of Shane Whitlas brutal murder, he said. Shane leaves loved ones behind, including four children. Theres no possible justification for this murder. Shane was shot a number of times, including once in the back. No one should protect the person responsible. I am aware of speculation in the local community that this may be linked to the murder of Natalie McNally in Lurgan before Christmas. This is not the case. Mr Caldwell was also involved in the investigation into the gangland murder of Mark Lovell in Newry. Mr Lovell (58) was shot up to 15 times at close range inside his car near his home in Ardcarn Park on December 1. In an appeal to the public, Mr Caldwell said: The attack took place just after 6pm on Thursday, December 1. This was a time when people would have been coming home from work, and when families would have been out and about. Anyone any child, neighbour or passer-by could all too easily have been seriously injured or killed. In 2021, Mr Caldwell renewed an appeal into the 2011 murder of PSNI Constable Ronan Kerr. Constable Kerr, a 25-year-old Catholic police officer, was killed when a bomb exploded under his car outside his apartment in Highfield Close in Omagh. Dissident republicans are believed to be responsible. Ten years ago today, Ronan left his home to travel to work, Mr Caldwell said at the time. Despicably, people living in his own community planned and plotted to kill him simply because he was a police officer bravely going out every day to protect people and make communities safer places to live and work. No one deserves to be murdered because of how they earn their respectable living and I would ask those living in the Omagh area, who know vital information about the bomb attack and those involved, to bring it forward to police on this 10 year anniversary. It is never too late to do the right thing. A former Sinn Fein MLA who resigned over links to a Covid grant scandal has launched a bid to return to frontline politics. In October 2020, Catherine Kelly stepped down from her Stormont post after admitting being a signatory to a party account into which 10,000 was paid in error. The money was from Stormonts Small Businesses Grant Support Scheme, which was designed to help companies struggling due to the pandemic. The eligibility criteria for the scheme showed that political party offices had not been entitled to it. For seven months the money remained in the party account, before being returned when it came to light in the media. Mrs Kellys husband, Barry McColgan, who was Sinn Feins West Tyrone constituency manager, resigned a few days before his wife. The MLA was the fourth party official to step down over the scandal, alongside Irish senator and former Foyle MLA Elisha McCallion and an unnamed Sinn Fein member who was the chair of the party branch in Upper Bann. Ms McCallion quit after she admitted having 10,000 lodged in error in a bank account she shared with her husband, which was not immediately paid back. The unnamed Sinn Fein member in Upper Bann also resigned after he failed to promptly return a 10,000 grant paid in error. Earlier this week, Mrs Kelly announced she is running for a seat on Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in the upcoming local government elections in May. She is running alongside ex-MLA Barry McElduff who previously stepped down from his Stormont post due to another, separate scandal and Marty McColgan, a former council chairman. Mrs Kelly was previously co-opted to fill Mr McElduffs Stormont seat in June 2017. Posting on social media, Ms Kelly said: Proud to be selected for Sinn Fein in Omagh alongside Barry and Marty for the upcoming council elections. I would also like to pay tribute to Anne Marie Fitzgerald, who has taken the decision not to go forward after 16 years as one of the hardest-working councillors in Ireland. Looking forward to the campaign ahead. Sinn Fein has been contacted for comment. Speaking in October 2020, Mrs Kelly apologised to the party over her links to the Covid grant controversy. I have been a signatory to that account for a number of years and as such had a responsibility to ensure it was operated to the highest standard. That did not happen in this case, she said. I believe that, as a public representative, this is not acceptable and therefore I have tendered my resignation as a member of the Assembly with immediate effect. I apologise unreservedly to the party, those who vote for us and the wider public. Accepting Mrs Kellys resignation, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said: Catherine is a signatory to an account into which a small business grant of 10,000 was lodged in error. The grant was unsolicited and has been repaid in full. The failure to return the grant immediately is unacceptable. Catherine fully accepts that she did not discharge her duties as a public representative in this regard. A group of Belfast councillors have launched a renewed bid for a safe drug injecting room in the city that would save the lives of some of our most vulnerable. The councillors are calling for a special dispensation in the law that would allow for an overdose prevention facility to be legally established. Also known as overdose prevention centres (OPCs), these facilities are hygienic and safe spaces where people can take drugs under the supervision of trained staff. There are almost 200 in operation around the world. In recent months there has been a spate of drug-related deaths on the streets in the city centre. Last year John Walsh, Belfast City Council (BCC) chief executive, told this newspaper that the establishment of an OPC in the city should be explored. Due to the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, this cannot legally happen as things stand and a special legal dispensation would need to be granted in order for a OPC to be lawful. Moves to establish safe injecting rooms have been made in both Scotland and the Republic of Ireland recently. A group of Green Party councillors have tabled a motion on the issue that will be debated by the council at the beginning of March. It reads: This council supports the establishment of an overdose prevention facility in Belfast. This council will work with key partners in the community, voluntary and statutory sector to bring together a partnership to advocate for the establishment of an overdose prevention facility for the city. With almost 350 drug related deaths in the city from 2017 to 2021 and over 1,000 needles recovered each month, a facility like this will save lives and reduce the amount of discarded drug debris. There are over 200 overdose prevention facilities in 14 countries across the world. While we are conscious that the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is an inhibitor to the establishment of this service and that it would require some form of special legal dispensation from the Act for the facility to be lawful, it is clear that current policy is not saving lives. In the absence of a local Assembly to deliver reform and innovation that can save vulnerable lives, this council will act as a civic leader by requesting our city solicitor and chief executive to engage with partners and to lobby Belfast Trust, PSNI, the Departments of Health and Justice and the attorney general to make the case for special dispensation. The motion has been proposed by Green Party NI leader Mal OHara and his colleague Brian Smyth. It was mentioned at a meeting of BCCs standards and business committee on Wednesday evening, where it was referred for debate at next months meeting of the full council. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Mr OHara said there is an urgent need for an overdose prevention facility for Belfast. This facility would mean less needles lying about the city and that makes it safer for those who live, work and socialise here. It would also be somewhere that vulnerable people can access support in terms of addiction, homelessness, family breakdown and poverty, he said. I understand that this is a difficult issue for people but what we are doing now is obviously not working. Most importantly, this facility can save the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in our city. A spokesperson for the charity Extern, which works with people with addiction issues, said it would welcome the establishment of an overdose prevention centre in Belfast. The rise in drug-related deaths within Belfast city centre and beyond in recent years has shown that we must find a way in which those managing problem drug use can be supported in a safe, stable environment, they said. Extern supports people with problematic drug use within Northern Ireland and has been at the forefront of calling for new approaches to tackling the issues which sadly contribute to the loss of so many lives every year. This includes the creation of a dedicated overdose prevention facility. As well as helping to save lives, overdose prevention facilities can have a positive impact on local communities by ensuring that less drug paraphernalia such as used needles are discarded in public spaces. The creation of an overdose prevention facility in Northern Ireland requires significant support from policymakers and politicians to make this a reality. We would therefore welcome any moves which can advance this discussion, with the ultimate aim of saving lives and making communities safer. Back in October of last year, then Health Minister Robin Swann was asked about introducing an OPC here. He pointed out it would be illegal under the law, but added: I am aware of discussions and proposals on this issue in both Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, and my Department is watching developments closely. We will continue to monitor the evidence in respect of effective interventions and develop new proposals, within the wider legislative framework, as appropriate. Government commits itself to devolution as MPs extend deadline for next Assembly vote The government has ruled out a return to direct rule after MPs voted to extend the deadline for holding a new Assembly election. Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris expressed profound disappointment at the failure to re-establish a functioning Assembly and Executive, saying it remained his top priority. But he insisted a return to direct rule from London was 100% not on his agenda. Mr Heaton-Harris was speaking as Home Secretary Suella Braverman played down suggestions she could resign amid concerns among some Tory MPs that the prime minister is conceding too much ground to the EU in negotiations over the Northern Ireland Protocol. Rishi Sunak spoke to around 15 local business leaders in a call on Wednesday. They pressed him for pragmatic solutions in a deal on the protocol. Stephen Kelly, the chief executive of Manufacturing NI, said the prime minister was fully engaged and had an intimate understanding of the issues. MPs on Wednesday approved the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill, which will delay the requirement for the formation of an Executive at Stormont until January 18 next year and an Assembly election to April 11, 2024, at the latest. Mr Heaton-Harris told the Commons: It remains my view that a further Assembly election at this time would be unwelcome. It would be expensive and, crucially, it would bring us no closer to our objective of delivering fully functioning devolved institutions. At this critical juncture, the best approach to facilitating the return of those institutions is one built on flexibility. Flexibility to allow the time and space for negotiations on the protocol between the EU and UK to continue, and flexibility to allow the parties in Northern Ireland to form a government and not compete in an unwelcome election. Simon Hoare, the Conservative chairman of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, asked Mr Heaton-Harris: In order to concentrate the minds of those who hold the future of devolution in their hands, could I invite him to confirm from the despatch box that joint authority is not on his agenda, direct rule is not on his direct agenda, but making sure devolution works is up front and centre? Mr Heaton-Harris replied: I can confirm those points 100%. Shadow Secretary of State Peter Kyle said the vacuum caused by the absence of Stormont was having a profound impact on Northern Ireland. I dont think wed accept that in any other part of our country, he added. Meanwhile, Ms Braverman, who quit as a minister in Theresa Mays government over her Brexit deal, said she was confident the current prime minister was committed to safeguarding Northern Irelands place in the UK. Read more PM Rishi Sunak left squirming by Starmer as pair clash over deal progress Her comments came amid reports that some ministers were prepared to walk away if they considered Mr Sunak had conceded too much to secure a deal with Brussels. Speaking to GB News, Ms Braverman said: I dont think we need to be talking about resignation. Ive taken a very forthright position in the past because Ive found the terms of previous agreements intolerable. I dont support selling out on Northern Ireland and allowing the EU a foothold in the UK. Its absolutely vital we safeguard what weve gained from the Brexit vote, that we go forward as a United Kingdom where the integrity of our Union is safeguarded and we properly take back control. I know the prime minister shares that objective. Ms Braverman said the government was committed to working with the DUP. We have always worked very closely with the DUP. They are unionists, she added. They speak for a significant portion of the community in Northern Ireland and they need to be around the table. Ultimately, Stormont will only function if the DUP supports any proposal. Her comments came as Downing Street indicated it would not drop the Protocol Bill currently paused in the House of Lords unless there was a new agreement with the EU. The prime ministers press secretary told reporters: It is a long-standing position of the government that we want to resolve the issues in partnership with the EU by negotiation rather than legislate domestically. In the absence of that negotiated solution, the Protocol Bill is an important piece of legislation to ensure we safeguard Northern Irelands position in the Union. DUP MP Sammy Wilson told the Commons that not to proceed with the Protocol Bill would be wrong because there must be a fallback position. Attempting to use political blackmail to move my party form its principled opposition to an agreement which is designed to take us out of the UK was futile, he warned. Mr Wilson added: I would say to the secretary of state, to protect his own credibility in Northern Ireland, itd be far better not to listen to the anti-unionist voices in the Northern Ireland Office and use his political antenna to know what is the right thing to do. Bishop earned his nickname of 'The Peacemaker' after intervening during the 1992 race riots in LA A woman lays flowers near the house where Bishop David OConnell was killed. Photo: Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag Bishop David O'Connell, originally from Glanmire in Cork, was found dead in his home in Hacienda Heights, California. Photo: AP Photo/Julio Cortez AP An Irish bishop known as 'The Peacemaker' in the US was probably shot dead while he was asleep in bed at his home and helpless to defend himself. The revelation came as Los Angeles is to hold a special ceremony to honour Bishop David O'Connell (69), who suffered fatal gunshot injuries in his home last Saturday. Bishop O'Connell, originally from Glanmire in Cork, died from a wound to his upper chest at his residence in east Los Angeles last Saturday. It has now emerged that multiple shots from a medium-calibre handgun, possibly a .38, were discharged at the cleric while he was asleep in bed. Up to five shots were fired. Home repair contractor Carlos Medina (65) has been charged with the murder of Bishop O'Connell. Read more Man charged with murder over shooting of Irish bishop David OConnell Mr Medina is the husband of the Irish cleric's housekeeper and neighbours said the contractor, who has a previous drugs conviction, had been behaving erratically over recent days. Detectives said they were baffled by a motive for the shooting after ruling out initial reports that Mr Medina believed Bishop O'Connell owed him money. Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon said Mr Medina faced one count of murder and a further count of using a firearm to commit a criminal act. The prosecutor said Mr Medina admitted the killing to homicide detectives during interviews. I know this has been a shock for our community this was a brutal act of violence against a person who dedicated his life to making our neighbourhoods safer, healthier and always served with love, Mr Gascon said. By all counts, Bishop O'Connell was a saint for Los Angeles." If convicted, the contractor could face a sentence of between 35 years to life imprisonment. Mr Medina had been held on bail of $2m (1.9m). Details of Bishop O'Connell's funeral are expected to be confirmed by the weekend. He has already been prayed for daily at masses across Los Angeles and in his native Ireland. Grieving parishioners have created impromptu shrines to the priest across Los Angeles and have held daily vigils, including at candle-lit ceremonies outside his Hacienda Heights home. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles now wants to honour a priest who devoted his life to helping the poor, the vulnerable and migrants from Central and South America. A woman lays flowers near the house where Bishop David OConnell was killed. Photo: Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Los Angeles Times via Getty Imag A date for the special tribute ceremony in Los Angeles will be confirmed over the coming days. He earned his nickname of 'The Peacemaker' after personally intervening during the 1992 race riots in Los Angeles in a bid to ease tensions and restore order. The riots erupted following the police beating of African-American motorist Rodney King. A special ceremony to celebrate Bishop O'Connell's life is now also planned for Cork. Bishop of Cork & Ross Fintan Gavin said Bishop O'Connell's death had shocked communities both in Ireland and the US. The Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop who was raised to the role in 2015 by Pope Francis was a regular visitor to his native city and often brought groups to Ireland from his California archdiocese. Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn who worked closely with Bishop O'Connell on various social and education projects said his death was an enormous loss to the city, California and Ireland. He was the help of the helpless and the hope of the hopeless, she toldThe Los Angeles Times. Former mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti said it was tragic that a man who devoted his life to peace and understanding should die in such violent circumstances. "This city has lost one of its most beautiful angels," he said. Archbishop of Los Angeles Jose Gomez said the Irish cleric was so determined to help migrants from Central and South America that he learned Spanish so he could communicate with them more effectively. Archbishop Gomez fought back tears as he recalled how Bishop O'Connell spoke fluent Spanish but with a distinctive Irish accent. "He was a good friend of Los Angeles he was a good priest, a good bishop and a man of peace. His death is a terrible loss." Los Angeles politicians hailed Bishop O'Connell for his work to help the poor, vulnerable and migrants in the city. Senator Bob Archuleta said the bishop devoted himself totally to helping the poor. [He] had an ability to walk the streets, everywhere he went bringing people together with clergy, bringing other priests together, bringing families together, gang members together. He brought everyone together. He was truly a man of the cloth. The Irish cleric often put himself at personal risk in his efforts to help protect the poor and vulnerable. Several community campaigners said "Bishop Dave" wielded street smarts alongside his natural charm and good humour. Pastor of St Cornelius Church in Long Beach, Fr Jarlath Cunnane, first met Bishop O'Connell at All Hallows College in Dublin when they were both studying for the priesthood. Bishop O'Connell was ordained in 1979 and spent his entire ministry in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Fr Cunnane met up with Bishop O'Connell for dinner just 48 hours before the fatal shooting and was in disbelief when informed of the murder. "He was a great friend," he said. Former Irish premier Bertie Ahern has said that if an agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol is not struck soon, it will probably not happen until there is a new British government. If its not sorted in the next few weeks, we will have to wait until the next British government, which looks like it will be a Labour government, Mr Ahern said. I hope that isnt what happens, I hope they can sort it out, he added. The former taoiseach was speaking during a panel discussion with Alastair Campbell, former press secretary to Tony Blair. Mr Campbell also agreed that a new British government may be needed before a protocol deal is struck. A combination of Brexit, populism, the utter charlatanistic opportunism of (Boris) Johnson and his lying to the unionist community, that is what has driven us to the point were at now, he said. He added that he believed UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is trying to find a resolution. When Tony and Bertie were doing the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, they were relatively newly elected: Tony had a massive landslide, Bertie was this young, powerful taoiseach who could get stuff done. Rishi Sunak is the fifth prime minister in six years since Brexit with very little political power. For all that I think Rishi Sunak is trying, I dont believe this is going to be fixed until the whole lot of them are gone. The Dublin event was organised by Ibec to discuss the Good Friday Agreement ahead of its 25th anniversary in April. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content Plans are under way to commemorate the peace agreement despite the collapse of Northern Irelands power-sharing institutions after the 2022 May elections. Mr Ahern said that it was not Brexit that brought down the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly, and that Stormonts politicians share some of the blame. Politicians, because the way the whole deal was put together in the north, with joint responsibility between the First Minister and Deputy First Minister, politicians havent been as brave as they should have been in making it work. They, unfortunately I think, too much of the time they took their eye off what the real issue was and got tied up in smaller issues. In spite of it, Northern Ireland has continued on to do quite well, he said. Mr Ahern also said that he was not against a review of the peace agreement, but said the priority should be to restore the Assembly and Executive. Mr Campbell added: It doesnt need to be done because theres a big event and a big anniversary coming up, but it does have to be done. The tragic thing for me is that were allowing it to become normalised the idea that the institutions in Northern Ireland dont function is becoming normalised. Kate Forbes has said she felt greatly burdened that offence had been caused by her views on social issues. Speculation had been mounting over whether the SNP leadership hopeful would continue in the race after a raft of party MSPs withdrew their support following her comments on equal marriage. Ms Forbes, who is a member of the Free Church of Scotland, received a backlash after she revealed on Monday that she would have voted against same-sex marriage legislation if she was an MSP at the time in 2014. She went on to say that she believes having a child outside of marriage is wrong according to her religious beliefs. Ms Forbes took Wednesday off to regroup after the backlash and she has now pledged to defend the rights of all Scots. Addressing the controversy, she said in a statement on Facebook and Twitter: I feel greatly burdened that some of my responses to questions in the media have caused hurt, which was never my intention as I sought to answer questions clearly. Ash Regan, left, Kate Forbes, and Humza Yousaf are candidates for the SNP leadership (Lesley Martin/Jane Barlow/PA) I will defend to the hilt the right of everybody in Scotland, particularly minorities, to live and to live without fear or harassment in a pluralistic and tolerant society. I will uphold the laws that have been won, as a servant of democracy, and seek to enhance the rights of everybody to live in a way which enables them to flourish. I firmly believe in the inherent dignity of each human being that underpins all ethical and political decisions I make. Ms Forbes also said her Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch constituents are in full knowledge of her religious views and are comfortable knowing she would serve faithfully and without prejudice. She added: It is possible to be a person of faith, and to defend others rights to have no faith or a different faith. It comes as the Free Church of Scotland condemned the anti-Christian intolerance it claimed had been shown to Ms Forbes. A church spokesperson declared: Kate Forbes is standing on the basis of her policies the fact that she is being criticised for her Christian convictions shows a level of bigotry that has no place in a pluralistic and diverse society. In a shift away from the conversation around her personal beliefs, Ms Forbes went on to outline key details on policy, which she vowed would see SNP party members become more engaged in policymaking than ever before. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content She said: The role of our party its members is crucial to our success. Our membership is large. Our members are in constant contact with their fellow citizens. They know, better than anyone, what motivates those who support independence, and what holds back others whose support we need. In short they are in touch. Our members have experience and talent. Central to my plan is that they become more engaged in policymaking than ever before. The party making policy through a number of key committees would not exclude ministers, MSPs and MPs, as they have much to contribute. But so have the ordinary members, and it is their hand on policy that I want. Ms Forbes is running against Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf and former community safety minister Ash Regan for the leadership. Ms Regan confirmed to journalists on Thursday that she has enough nominations to progress in the contest. She will formally launch her campaign on Friday, hours before nominations from SNP party members close. Mr Yousaf and Ms Regan have publicly stated their support for same-sex marriage following the comments from Ms Forbes. Boris Johnson has stepped up calls for Britain to supply jet fighters to the Ukrainians to help drive out Russian forces from their territory (PA) Andrew Boyers Boris Johnson has stepped up calls for Britain to supply jet fighters to the Ukrainians to help drive out Russian forces from their territory. On the eve of the anniversary of Russias invasion, the former prime minister said the UK should break the ice and send RAF Typhoons to the government in Kyiv. President Volodymyr Zelensky has appealed for US F16 fighters as the Ukrainians prepare to mount an expected counter-offensive, but western allies have so far been reluctant to agree, citing lengthy required training. In an interview with Sky News, Mr Johnson said: What the Ukrainians want is F16s. We dont have F16s. We do have Typhoons. I think there is an argument for the UK breaking the ice and giving them some Typhoons. Boris Johnson has urged the UK to supply Typhoon jet fighters (PA) Joe Giddens If it is a question of training people up to use those machines, we can do that.Mr Johnson said it is absolutely crucial the Ukrainians have the equipment they need if they are to drive out Russian forces and prevent them from re-grouping for a fresh offensive. There is clearly a possibility, unless the Ukrainians get the help that they need, that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin can kind of manufacture out of the land that he is able to retain some sort of victory from this disaster, he said. That is why it is vital that we help the Ukrainians to expunge Putins forces from every part of their territory. Mr Johnson also said it would be a historic mistake for China to support Russia in the conflict by supplying it with weapons. Why does China want to be contaminated by association with Putin, who has revealed himself to be this gangster and adventurer? I think it would be a big, big mistake by China, he said. The UKs asylum backlog has topped 160,000 for the first time since current records began as Albanians became the most common nationality to make claims last year (Gareth Fuller/PA) Gareth Fuller The UKs asylum backlog has topped 160,000 for the first time since current records began as Albanians became the most common nationality to make claims last year. A total of 160,919 asylum seekers were waiting for an initial decision on their claim at the end of December. This was up 60% from 100,564 for the same period in 2021 and the highest figure since current records began in 2010, Home Office figures published on Thursday show. The number of people waiting more than six months for an initial decision was 109,641 at the end of 2022, up 77% year-on-year from 61,864. There were 14,223 applications by Albanian nationals in 2022 and 9,573 of these came from people who arrived in the UK after crossing the Channel. The majority of applicants from the Balkan state (83% or 11,832) were men. Some 90% of people arriving in the UK in 2022 after crossing the Channel claimed asylum or were recorded as a dependant on an asylum application. The figures come after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to reduce the asylum backlog by the end of 2023 as he vowed to stop the boats crossing the Channel. (PA Graphics) PA Graphics The Home Office has about 10 months to clear 92,601 initial asylum claims in the system at the end of June 2022. As part of efforts to speed up the process and cut the soaring backlog, thousands of asylum seekers will now be sent 10-page questionnaires to fill out instead of facing an interview, amid warnings from officials their claim could be withdrawn if they do not reply with the required information. The Home Office said the rising backlog was due to more cases entering the asylum system than receiving initial decisions. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer claimed the asylum system has been broken by this Government, while Marley Morris from the Institute for Public Policy Research said the latest backlog figures paint a dire picture of the inadequacies in our asylum system. The Refugee Council branded the latest figures alarming and said people fleeing persecution are being left in limbo awaiting a decision. (PA Graphics) The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford described the scale of the challenge as a major headache for the Government. Senior researcher Dr Peter Walsh said other countries have routinely received similar or higher numbers of claims but processing the applications has been particularly slow in the UK. While there was no single explanation, factors included low morale and high turnover among Home Office case workers, the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic and additional measures introduced by the Government, he added. Data obtained by the Observatory under freedom of information laws suggest the average waiting time by 2021 was more than 20 months. The Home Office figures show there were 18,699 initial decisions made on asylum applications last year, up 29% from 14,532 in 2021 but 10% below the 20,766 in 2019, prior to the pandemic. (PA Graphics) More than three-quarters (76%) of initial decisions in 2022 were grants of refugee status, humanitarian protection or alternative forms of leave, which the Home Office described as a substantially higher grant rate than in years before the pandemic. The grant rate last year was the highest since 1990, when it was 82% although the volume of applications was much lower at that time, with 4,025 initial decisions made compared with 18,699 in 2022. A Home Office spokesman said: Our priority is to stop the boats and ensure that people who come here illegally are detained and swiftly removed. We are working to speed up asylum processing so that people do not wait months or years in the backlog, at vast expense to the taxpayer, and to remove everyone who doesnt have a legitimate reason to be here. To ensure our processes remain robust and all claims are properly considered, we have recruited hundreds of caseworkers to crack through cases. As part of these efforts to speed up the asylum process for high-grant nationalities, 12,000 asylum seekers who have made legacy asylum claims will be asked to provide details in a new Home Office questionnaire to help determine their case. If they do not reply, their asylum claim could be withdrawn. Ukrainians have not lost optimism after one year of war, the countrys UK ambassador has said. Vadym Prystaiko, speaking at a vigil to mark the one-year anniversary of Russias invasion in Trafalgar Square, central London, insisted Ukrainian people are confidently looking at our future. The vigil, jointly co-ordinated by the US and Ukraine embassies in London, saw not only Mr Prystaiko take the stage but also Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, US ambassador Jane Hartley and academy award-winning actress Dame Helen Mirren, in between Ukrainian musical performances. Dame Helen Mirren recites a poem at the vigil (James Manning/PA) James Manning Mr Putins original plan of taking the country in only a matter of days failed, with a vast amount of the current fighting centring around the battle for the east of Ukraine. Addressing the crowd, Mr Prystaiko said: After a year ofwar we are not losing our optimism. Speaking to the PA news agency, he insisted Ukraine is stubborn and will be able to go through this. He said he visited Ukrainian soldiers earlier on Thursday who are strong. Asked if he agreed with Mr Wallace that the war could rage for at least another year, the ambassador said that if Ukraine continues to receive help, we will be able to finish much earlier. Responding to Mr Putins comments on Tuesday blaming the West for starting the war in Ukraine, Mr Prystaiko said: This matter is a lesson of history, how he performed it. He added: I was watching the faces of Russians within the elite, so-called, sitting listening to him. Most of these people by their eyes, by their looks, they understand that they are in deep, deep, deep trouble. They are fighting with the world for a year. They are doing very badly. The economy is going down. They cant perform on the battlefield and they are destroying their relations. The ambassador continued: But the most tragic thing is he (Putin) is not turning away so we have to show him that the resolve is also on this side and we are going to fight. He told PA: Yes the losses are huge sometimes its peoples lives, sometimes its cities, but actually we are going through this war and will be victorious all together. The UK has been a prominent supporter of Ukraines military efforts to push back the Kremlins troops, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announcing earlier this year that Britain would be the first country to supply tanks to its armed forces. The Defence Secretary has been seen to be lobbying Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in recent weeks to increase Ministry of Defence spending in the face of Russias aggression and growing Chinese influence on the world stage. Ben Wallace speaking at the vigil (James Manning/PA) James Manning Mr Wallace told the vigils crowd that they should be incredibly proud of the bravery of Ukrainian people who have stood against this illegal war. He announced that Britain trained 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers last year and will train another 20,000. He went on: Like Ukraine, Britain remembers what it was like to stand alone against overwhelming odds when many people thought we didnt have a chance in 1939. Calling Ukrainian soldiers the bravest of the brave, he added: You not only showed Russia, you showed us all when you stand up for human rights and your country, anything is possible. The latest Government figures show that as of February 20, 163,500 people had arrived in the UK under the Ukraine schemes. Of these, 47,800 arrived via the Ukraine Family Scheme and 115,800 via the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme. Ms Hartley, in her speech at the vigil, said Mr Putin was blinded by arrogance. Jane Hartley addressing the crowd (James Manning/PA) James Manning As co-host of the event, she told PA: We thought it was very important not just to show Ukraine that we in the UK are steadfast in our support for them but also to show Putin that he made a huge mistake when he underestimated the bravery of the Ukraine people, of the resolve of the West. Taras Topolia, vocalist for Ukrainian musical group Antytila, said he and some of his bandmates joined the front line on the first day of the war, becoming paramedics. After performing on stage at the vigil, he told PA his group now run a charity foundation which raises money, buys and delivers equipment to soldiers and supports children whose fathers were killed in the war. Asked what his message to the world would be, he said: We will get this victory. Continue to support Ukraine and all together we will get this victory and establish the right world order with humanity, with right values and principles. We will not let Russians to beat us on the battlefield. We will fight to the end. The crowd in Trafalgar Square (James Manning/PA) James Manning Iryna Estevez, who grew up in Ukraine but has lived in London for 22 years, labelled Russia as terrorists. Im not afraid to say they are the biggest terrorists in the world, she told PA. Ms Estevez whose parents, grandparents, brother, three nephews, cousins and university friends all still live in Ukraine attended the vigil to commemorate all the thousands of people, innocent people, children, elderly people, who died in those dreadful 365 days. Its not just a year, she said. Every day had casualties, every life, every lost life, its not just a number its a story. Every lost life, its a family, its a personality that had a future, that had dreams, that were planning to grow up into adults, that were planning to finish university, that were planning to get married and have families. Diana Zhuk, who moved from Odessa to Paris when the war began and who has arrived in London in the last few days, told PA she still cant believe the conflict has stretched for one year. I hope it wont continue longer and it wont be two years, she added, wrapped in a Ukrainian flag in Trafalgar Square. I really worry about my family in Ukraine every day. I wish it will be peace in the whole world. Rishi Sunak will use the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to urge fellow world leaders to move faster in arming the countrys troops. After 12 months of conflict, the Prime Minister is expected to use a G7 meeting on Friday to urge allies to supply longer-range weapons to Ukraine, stressing the urgent need for Kyiv to gain a decisive advantage on the battlefield. The UK will hold a national minutes silence to mark the anniversary, amid fears that the war could drag on for at least another year. For Ukraine to win this war and to accelerate that day they must gain a decisive advantage on the battlefield. That is what it will take to shift Putins mindset. This must be our priority now. Instead of an incremental approach, we need to move faster on artillery, armour, and air defence, Mr Sunak is expected to tell G7 leaders in a virtual meeting. The coming weeks will be difficult for Ukraine, but they will also be difficult for Russia. They are over-reaching once again. So now is the time to support Ukraines plan to re-arm, regroup, and push forward. Mr Sunak, who will host members of the Ukrainian armed forces in Downing Street as well as ambassador Vadym Prystaiko, will also reiterate his offer of UK support to countries able to provide jets to Ukraine. The Prime Minister, with his wife Akshata Murty, is also expected to hang a blue and yellow wreath on the door of No 10. As we mark one year since a full-scale war broke out on our continent, I urge everyone to reflect on the courage and bravery of our Ukrainian friends who, every hour since, have fought heroically for their country, he said. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Volodymyr Zelensky during the Ukrainian Presidents visit to the UK (Peter Nicholls/PA) Peter Nicholls I am proud that the UK has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine through this horrific conflict. As I stand with brave Ukrainian soldiers outside Downing Street today, my thoughts will be with all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to defend freedom and return peace to Europe. The UK remains a prominent supporter of Kyiv and President Volodymyr Zelensky, with Mr Sunak announcing earlier this year that Britain would be the first country to supply tanks to its armed forces. Mr Zelenskys call for jets has so far been met with reluctance by western allies, although the UK has announced training for Ukrainian pilots on Nato-standard jets. Sir Keir Starmer, as he marked the anniversary, said that the UKs support is as firm and unstinting today as it was on that dark day one year ago. The Labour leader met with Mr Zelensky in the Ukrainian capital recently. He said: The resolve and the bravery of the Ukrainian people, supported by their allies across the world, has doomed Putins barbaric invasion to failure. We should take inspiration from their courage and resolve to double down on our support for them. When I visited President Zelensky in Kyiv recently, I was deeply moved by the way people there are continuing with their lives. Despite the appalling suffering being inflicted upon them, they remain steadfast and united. As we mark this solemn anniversary and look ahead to the coming months, we must do the same. Regardless of what other political disagreements we may have, we stand in lockstep with the Government on this issue. No one should ever have to face the hardship and loss that the Ukrainian people have over the last year. Their fight for democracy, freedom and liberty in the face of tyranny is also our fight. Standing with our Nato allies, we will ensure Putins defeat and Ukraines victory. A Chinese pangolin has been born at Prague Zoo, the first birth of the critically endangered animal in captivity in Europe. The park said it is doing well after initial troubles. For the first few days after the baby female was born on February 2, park keepers were worried because it was losing weight. The reason was found to be that the mother, Run Hou Tang, did not have enough milk. A baby Chinese pangolin being weighed at Prague Zoo, Czech Republic (Petr David Josek/AP) Petr David Josek Following consultations with experts from Taiwan, a programme of artificial feeding with milk from a cat was introduced and the mother was stimulated to produce more of her own. That turned things around, with the zoo now expressing cautious optimism about the pup, which still has no name but has been nicknamed Little Cone because it resembles a spruce cone. Prague received the rare animals from Taiwan last year, becoming only the second European zoo to keep the species. Guo Bao, the male pangolin, and Run Hou Tang both came from Taipei Zoo, the leading breeder of the mammals that are hunted heavily for their scales and meat. It is estimated that almost 200,000 were trafficked in 2019 because of the scales that are used in traditional medicine in Asia and elsewhere. A keeper holds a baby Chinese pangolin for it to be weighed at Prague Zoo (Petr David Josek/AP) Petr David Josek The pangolins arrival in Prague came after relations with China became strained, among other reasons, after Prague decided to revoke a sister city agreement with Beijing and signed a similar deal in 2020 with the Taiwanese capital Taipei. That agreement also included co-operation between the zoos of the two cities. Taiwan split from mainland China amid a civil war in 1949, but Beijing considers the self-ruled island part of its territory. The Czech government recognises the one-China principle but Prague officials said they wanted to focus on cultural and other co-operation, not on politics. A demonstrator burns tyres during a protest against an Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Nablus (Adel Hana/AP) Adel Hana Palestinian militants in Gaza have launched rockets at southern Israel and Israeli aircraft struck targets in the coastal enclave after a deadly gun battle with Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank killed 10 Palestinians. A 66-year-old man died after the raid from tear gas inhalation. The bloodshed extends one of the deadliest periods in years between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank, where dozens of Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the start of the year. Palestinian attacks on Israelis in 2023 have killed 11 people. Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike in the western Gaza Strip (Fatima Shbair/AP) Fatima Shbair The violence comes in the first weeks of Israels new far-right government, which has promised to take a tough line against the Palestinians and pledged to ramp up settlement construction on lands Palestinians seek for their future state. Israel was bracing for a retaliation and police were stepping up security in sensitive areas. A day after a raid in January on the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank that killed 10 Palestinians, a Palestinian shot and killed seven people outside a synagogue in east Jerusalem. On Thursday, police said security guards at the entrance to a West Bank settlement shot a woman who police said attempted to stab the guards. Her condition was not immediately known. The Israeli military said Palestinian militants fired six rockets from the Gaza Strip towards the countrys south early on Thursday. It said air defences intercepted five of the rockets, which were fired towards the cities of Ashkelon and Sderot. One missile landed in an open field. A demonstrator burns tyres during a protest against an Israeli military raid in the West Bank city of Nablus (Adel Hana/AP) Adel Hana Israeli aircraft then struck several targets in northern and central Gaza, including a weapons manufacturing site and a military compound belonging to the Hamas militant group that rules Gaza. There were no reports of injuries in Israel or Gaza. Violence in the West Bank often sets off a response from militants in Gaza, although the rocket attacks were not immediately claimed by Palestinian militant groups. Among the 11 killed in Wednesdays raid in Nablus were three Palestinian men, aged 72, 66 and 61, and a 16-year-old boy, according to health officials. Scores of others were wounded. It was one of the bloodiest battles in nearly a year of fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and raised the likelihood of further bloodshed. Israeli police said they were on heightened alert, while the Hamas militant group in Gaza said its patience was running out. Islamic Jihad, another militant group, vowed to retaliate. Hamas has battled Israel in four wars since seizing control of Gaza in 2007 (Majdi Mohammed/AP) Majdi Mohammed In response to the raid, a strike was called across the West Bank, and schools, universities and shops all shut down in protest. Schools and universities were shuttered in Gaza. The four-hour operation left a broad swathe of damage in a centuries-old marketplace in Nablus, a city known as a militant stronghold. In one emotional scene, an overwhelmed medic pronounced a man dead, only to notice the lifeless patient was his father. Elsewhere, an amateur video showed two men, apparently unarmed, being shot as they ran in the street. Israel has been carrying out stepped-up arrest raids of wanted militants in the West Bank since a series of deadly Palestinian attacks in Israel last spring. Israel says the raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks. But the raids have shown few signs of slowing the violence, and in cases like Wednesdays operation, can raise the likelihood of reprisals. A Palestinian gestures to Israeli military vehicles during clashes in the West Bank city of Nablus (Majdi Mohammed/AP) Majdi Mohammed The Israeli military said it entered Nablus, the West Banks commercial centre, to arrest three militants suspected in previous shooting attacks. The main suspect was wanted over the killing of an Israeli soldier last autumn. The influx of wounded overwhelmed the citys Najah Hospital, said Ahmad Aswad, the head nurse of the cardiology department. In the Old City of Nablus, people stared at the rubble that had been a large home in the centuries-old marketplace. From one end to the other, shops were riddled with bullets. Parked cars were crushed. Blood stained the cement ruins. Furniture from the destroyed home was scattered among mounds of debris. Various Palestinian militant groups claimed six of the dead including the three targeted in the raid as members. Palestinians carry the bodies of 10 men killed in clashes with Israel troops in the West Bank city of Nablus (Majdi Mohammed/AP) Majdi Mohammed There was no immediate word on whether the others belonged to armed groups. Later, officials said a 66-year-old man had died from tear gas inhalation. As the bodies were paraded through the crowd on stretchers, thousands of people packed the streets, chanting in support of the militants. Masked men fired into the air. The fighting comes at a sensitive time, less than two months after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus new hard-line government took office. It presents an early challenge for Mr Netanyahu, who on top of spiralling violence is also facing waves of protests from Israelis against a plan to overhaul the countrys justice system. The government is dominated by ultranationalists who have pushed for tougher action against Palestinian militants and vowed to entrench Israeli rule in the occupied West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Maya Alleruzzo/Pool/AP) Maya Alleruzzo Israeli media have quoted top security officials as expressing concern that this could lead to even more violence as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan approaches. Nearly 60 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, according to a tally by The Associated Press. Last year, nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in those areas, making it the deadliest year there since 2004, according to figures by the Israeli rights group BTselem. Some 30 people on the Israeli side were killed in Palestinian attacks. Israel says most of those killed were militants. But youths protesting against the raids and others not involved in the confrontations have also been killed. Israel captured the West Bank, along with the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, in the 1967 Middle East war. The Palestinians seek those territories for their hoped-for independent state. President Joe Biden has closed out his wartime visit to Europe by working to shore up partnerships with allies perched on Natos perilous eastern flank. At the same time, Russias Vladimir Putin is drawing closer to China as his invasion of Ukraine nears the one-year mark. Mr Bidens meeting with leaders of the Bucharest Nine nations in Warsaw came at the conclusion of a whirlwind, four-day visit to Ukraine and Poland meant to reassure allies that US support in fending off Russia is not at risk of waning. In dramatic counterpoint, Mr Putin on Wednesday played host in Moscow to Wang Yi, the Chinese Communist Partys most senior foreign policy official, as U.S. intelligence warned that Beijing is considering supplying arms and ammunition to the worn-down Russian military. The flexing of alliances was a fresh indication that both sides are digging in for prolonged conflict in Ukraine with the fighting expected to intensify with the arrival of spring. Mr Bidens trip had provided yet another moment of telling counterprogramming on Tuesday when he delivered a ringing speech on Western unity in Warsaw, a day after he swept into Kyiv unannounced for a visit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. As Mr Biden spoke in Poland, Mr Putin announced that Russia was suspending its participation in the last remaining US-Russia nuclear arms control treaty. Mr Biden called that departure a big mistake. The exit is expected to have an immediate impact on US awareness of Russian nuclear activities. However, the pact known as New START was already on life support following Moscows cancellation late last year of talks that had been intended to salvage an agreement that each side has accused the other of violating. Mr Biden met on Wednesday with leaders of the Bucharest Nine, the nations in the easternmost parts of the Nato alliance that came together in response to Mr Putins 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. They include Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Youre the frontlines of our collective defence, Mr Biden told them. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content And you know, better than anyone, whats at stake in this conflict. Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world. These countries have worried that Mr Putin could move to take military action against them next if he is successful in Ukraine. Mr Biden responded to that anxiety by pledging that Natos mutual defence pact is sacred and that we will defend literally every inch of Nato. Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, who attended the meeting, pointed to past Russian actions in Georgia and Ukraine and said: We cannot allow Russia to continue to chip away at European security. We must break the cycle of Russian aggression. It was unclear how the US and its allies aimed to do that, other than by continuing to arm Ukraines military with the Western and ageing Soviet arms that have allowed it to retake about half of the territory it lost in the opening days of the war. Mr Biden returned to Washington late on Wednesday night. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content After the Russian militarys battlefield shortcomings were revealed at the start of the conflict, Mr Putin, too, has been seeking rearmament, drawing on Iran and North Korea for assistance and potentially China. Administration officials do not yet have an indication that China has decided to move forward on sending Moscow weaponry, but secretary of state Antony Blinken said this week it would be a serious problem should Beijing follow through. Throughout the conflict, China has cautiously weighed the pros and cons of directly aiding Russia. But a year into the war, Beijing now seems increasingly concerned that Russia one of its closest allies is teetering toward something that could approximate a loss in Ukraine. The US and its allies have threatened secondary sanctions on countries that support the Russian war effort. But there was no concensus this week on potentially steeper sanctions for China, which could have global economic implications, should it decide to rearm Mr Putins forces. The European Unions executive branch said it has temporarily banned TikTok from phones used by employees as a cybersecurity measure, reflecting widening worries from western officials over the Chinese-owned video sharing app. In a first for the European Commission, its Corporate Management Board suspended the use of TikTok on devices issued to staff or personal devices that staff use for work. TikTok faces intensifying scrutiny from Europe and the US over security and data privacy amid worries that the hugely popular app could be used to promote pro-Beijing views or sweep up users information. It comes as China and the West are locked in a wider tug of war over technology ranging from spy balloons to computer chips. The EUs action follows similar moves in the US, where more than half of the states and Congress have banned TikTok from official government devices. The reason why this decision has been taken is to increase the commissions cybersecurity, commission spokesperson Sonya Gospodinova said at a press briefing in Brussels. Also, the measure aims to protect the commission against cybersecurity threats and actions which may be exploited for cyber attacks against the corporate environment of the commission. TikTok did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Commission spokespeople declined to say whether something specific triggered the suspension or what is needed to get it lifted. Staff would be required to delete TikTok from private devices that they use for professional business by March 15, EU representatives said, but did not provide any details on how that would be enforced. In Norway, which is not a member of the 27-nation EU, the justice minister was forced to apologise this month for failing to disclose that she had installed TikTok on her government-issued phone. TikTok has also come under pressure from the EU to comply with upcoming new digital regulations aimed at getting big online platforms to clean up toxic and illegal content along with the blocs strict data privacy rules. The company has said it plans to open two more European data centres to allay data privacy fears. Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell in a critical condition after the Omagh attack Police at the scene of a shooting incident in Omagh on Wednesday night (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph) A high-profile senior policeman is in a critical condition after gunmen tried to murder him in Omagh, Co Tyrone. Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot in front of his son at a sporting complex on Wednesday night. The PSNI are pointing the finger of blame at the New IRA. Ciaran Dunbar is joined by the Sunday Life News Editor Sharon ONeill with the details. Surya Darmadi (center) arrives for his sentencing hearing at the Central Jakarta District Courts Corruption Eradication Unit, Feb. 23, 2023. An Indonesian court on Thursday sentenced a palm oil tycoon to 15 years after finding him guilty of misusing forest concessions, which prosecutors said cost the state U.S. $5.1 billion. The Central Jakarta District Courts Corruption Eradication Unit also ordered Surya Darmadi, who turns 72 next month, to pay 41.9 trillion rupiah ($2.7 billion) as compensation for actual and projected losses to the state, or see his sentence increase. Failure to pay the compensation money will result in [the convicts] properties being confiscated] or an additional five years in prison, presiding judge Fahzal Hendri ruled. The judges said Suryas age, politeness and his companys contributions to infrastructure, education and employment of 21,000 people were mitigating factors. The prosecutors had sought a life sentence for Surya and a fine of 73.9 trillion rupiah ($4.8 billion). Surya was arrested as he arrived in the country last year after being on the run for eight years. His company, Duta Palma Group, converted 37,095 hectares of forest land in Riau province into palm oil plantations. He also paid a bribe to the regent of Indragiri Hulu in return for issuing permits for the plantations, according to his indictment. Regent Raja Thamsir Rachman, who is serving an eight-year sentence in a separate corruption case, issued a permit to five companies belonging to Surya, but those companies did not obtain land-use rights before converting the forests into plantations, according to the prosecution. To reach the estimated 78 trillion rupiah loss, officials included potential gains for local communities had Suryas company complied with rules that required allocation of 20% of the area to farmers, the attorney generals office said last year. In 2014, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named Surya a suspect for allegedly paying 3 billion rupiah ($200,000) in kickbacks to then-Riau Gov. Annas Maamun to pave the way for changes to local forestry regulations in favor of his company. Surya managed to evade questioning by staying overseas, authorities alleged. He and his team of attorneys said they plan to challenge the ruling. After we discussed it, we thank you for the panels decision, but we have agreed that today we will also appeal the panels decision, attorney Juniver Girsang said after the hearing. Prosecutors, meanwhile, said they would spend the next few days to decide whether to appeal. Hibnu Nugroho, a legal analyst at Jenderal Soedirman University in Purwokerto, said the sentence was too lenient considering the harm the company has done. If it doesnt serve as deterrence, there will be similar cases, he told BenarNews. Pizaro Gozali Idrus in Jakarta contributed to the report. A bus carrying people believed to be Myanmar migrants in Malaysia is seen heading toward the naval base in Lumut, outside Kuala Lumpur, Feb. 23, 2021. Malaysia has deported 114 Muslim Myanmar nationals who will be persecuted by the ruling military when they return, although they are not Rohingya, their lawyer said Thursday. Amnesty International Malaysia said Kuala Lumpur returned the Myanmar nationals to their strife-torn country, despite condemning the Burmese juntas violence against its own people. Lim Wei Jet, a lawyer appointed for the Myanmar nationals by Amnesty, said the Burmese military, which ousted an elected government in February 2021, ostracizes Muslims. Its against the non-refoulement principle and the right to live, whereby you shouldnt deport someone back to a country where they will be imminently persecuted because of their race and religion, he told BenarNews. In this case, it is because they are Muslim, and Muslims are discriminated against by the junta in Myanmar. And we are also saying that children were deported. The rights of children are also being breached, so we are saying its still unlawful. Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention. But according to the principle of non-refoulement, people cannot be sent back to a country where they are likely to be persecuted, tortured, mistreated or have their human rights violated in other ways. An Amnesty statement said the deportation took place despite information from court proceedings that the group included children and other people in vulnerable situations. In February 2021, the Malaysian government sent back 1,086 Myanmar nationals despite a High Courts interim stay on the deportation of a group of 1,200. The 114 Myanmar nationals remained in Malaysia because they had tested positive for COVID-19 only to be sent back last month. The director-general of immigration and then-Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin previously applied to lift the stay, saying the 114 Myanmar nationals had agreed to be deported. Rights groups disputed the alleged consent, claiming that it was not received voluntarily. Katrina Jorene Maliamauv, executive director of Amnesty International Malaysia, said in the statement Thursday that her organization was deeply dismayed that the Malaysian government not only proactively sought to get a stay on their deportation lifted, it also then sent back the individuals. The Malaysian government has criticized the Myanmar military and won international praise for its leadership, but by detaining and deporting at-risk individuals, it contradicts this position and exposes its hypocrisy in policy and practice, Maliamauv said. Earlier this month, Malaysias new Prime Minister Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim called on Southeast Asian nations to take urgent steps to resolve the crisis in post-coup Myanmar. [N]o country in these times should ever continue with discriminatory policies, marginalization of their people or intimidating, or worse, perpetrating violence against your own people, he said while on a visit to Thailand. BenarNews contacted the Malaysian Home Ministers office and the Immigration Department for comment but did not immediately hear back. In October 2022, Myanmars shadow government voiced alarm over reports that military defectors were among 150 Myanmar nationals deported that month from Malaysia. They were among more than 2,000 Myanmar nationals deported since April, Human Rights Watch said in a statement at the time. Syed Hamid Albar, a former diplomat and chairman of the Malaysian Advisory Group on Myanmar, said the Malaysian government was wrong to continue deporting refugees who could face persecution and even death when they return. We should abide by international law and international standards. Strictly, you cannot deport refugees to a country where their life is in danger, and because their status is that of refugees, they should be given protection, he told BenarNews on Thursday. They cannot be sent back to the country where they ran away from because of persecution or violence. For sure, when they go back, they will be harmed. In some cases, they will be killed. No country should send refugees back to the country they escape from. Indigenous people from the Dumagat-Remontados communities in the Sierra Madre mountain range march in Manila, Feb. 23, 2023. About 300 indigenous people from communities to be displaced by a China-funded dam trooped to the presidential palace in Manila on Thursday, ending their nine-day 150-km (92-mile) march to protest the project. Members of the Dumagat-Remontados communities and their supporters called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to stop the ongoing construction of the 60-meter (196-foot) high Kaliwa Dam, a flagship project of Marcos predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. The project is envisioned to provide a long-term solution to the water shortage in Metro Manila, although environmental groups have said it would destroy the Sierra Madre mountain range, considered the Southeast Asian nations shield against devastating typhoons. The project would displace indigenous communities from their ancestral land in the provinces of Quezon and Rizal in southern Luzon, the biggest island in the country. Conchita Calzado, an environmental activist who serves as the coalitions spokeswoman, called on Marcos to listen to their plea. Despite the heat, the rains, we traversed Quezon province to go here in Manila just to plead to the president to listen to us. He should not listen to his government agencies because they were spewing lies, Calzado said in a speech. We are relying on your support because this is not just for us, we are fighting for the environment and for everyones welfare. Protesters listen to speakers calling on the Philippine government to halt the Kaliwa Dam project, Feb. 23, 2023. [Gerard Carreon/BenarNews] Marcos did not respond to the protesters. The dam, financed by a U.S. $211 million (11.6 billion pesos) Chinese loan, is being constructed by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS). It was one of the big-ticket projects negotiated under Duterte, whose administration was criticized for welcoming money from China in exchange for his silence on territorial disputes in the South China Sea. On their way to Malacanang Palace on Thursday, the marchers stopped at government offices involved in the project, including the MWSS and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Joined by a network farmers, fishermen and activists, they were greeted by a barricade of police officers and firetrucks as they neared the palace at dusk. The protesters accused the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) of acting as spokespersons of the MWSS instead of carrying out its mandate of protecting their rights. They said the process of obtaining consent was railroaded and accused the MWSS and NCIP of harassing and manipulating community members. NCIP refuted the claims, saying there was a long and delicate discussion among affected communities over the years, with officials personally visiting and answering questions of the communities leaders. These consultations, it said, were done according to the virtues and customary law of the tribe, but were complicated by the existence of different tribal leaders and factions in the community. Those marching are being fed with lies and it is saddening that the natives are again being used by various interest groups to further their dubious objectives and fraudulent activities, the NCIP said in a Facebook post. Flooding, environmental damage The government has claimed that the communities would not be under water once the dam is operational. They will not be submerged except for some seasonal crops that are on the riverbanks which are included in the inventories and will be paid for. Their community is far from the inundation area of the Kaliwa Dam and they are in the higher part, NCIP said. The Department of Public Works and Highways said it has allotted 380 million pesos ($6.9 million) for flood control projects in the towns of Infanta and General Nakar in Quezon province. It added that the nearby Agos River is being dredged. Environmentalists, meanwhile, said the dam would cause irreversible damage to the environment, as the project would affect protected areas, including the Kaliwa watershed, a declared forest reserve and national wildlife sanctuary. The national resources department gave an environmental clearance in 2019 despite resistance from environmentalists. A construction site that is part of the Kaliwa Dam project is seen in the town of Teresa, in Rizal province in the Philippines, July 19, 2022. [Camille Elemia/BenarNews] In December 2022, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition that sought to nullify the Philippine governments loan agreements with China on the Kaliwa Dam project and the Chico River Irrigation Project in north Luzon. The court ruled the loan deals sufficiently complied with the Philippine Constitution. Kaliwa Dam is expected to be completed by mid-2026, supplying 600 million liters of water a day to Metro Manila and nearby areas. Contractor China Energy Engineering Corp. (CEEC) began excavating a tunnel to carry water from the dam to Manila in December. In 2019, the World Bank debarred a related firm, CEEC-Hunan Electric Power Design Institute, for 20 months for apparently falsifying documents describing its past contract experience, litigation history and business credentials related to a project in Zambia. Gerard Carreon in Manila contributed to this report. Adm. Michael Gilday, chief of U.S. naval operations, speaks during an interview with the media at a private hangar in Manila, Feb. 22, 2023. The U.S. is committed and focused to conducting joint patrols with the Philippines in the South China Sea, its navy chief said, as Manila again accused China of keeping coast guard ships in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Adm. Michael Gilday, the chief of U.S. naval operations, made a two-day visit to the American ally this week to discuss how to improve our interoperability together in the South China Sea and across the region. As Gilday visited Manila, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) issued a statement saying that one of its patrol aircraft had spotted a China Coast Guard ship and at least 26 suspected Chinese maritime militia vessels during a fly-over in the area around Ayungin (Second Thomas Shoal) and Sabina Shoals in the South China Sea. The area is well within the Philippine EEZ where Manila has exclusive rights to the sea resources. As the Philippine plane approached Sabina Shoal, in the Spratly Islands, it received inaudible radio challenges, both in English and Chinese, from CCG-5304 [Chinese vessel] currently continuing to maintain presence in the area, the statement said. The same thing happened when the aircraft came within 10 nautical miles (18.5 kilometers) of Ayungin Shoal, less than 200 kilometers from Palawan, the largest province of the Philippines. Ayungin Shoal is where the BRP Sierra Madre, an old naval ship, was deliberately run aground by the Philippine military to serve as an outpost since 1999. Suspected Chinese maritime militia boats in the Philippine exclusive economic zone, Feb. 21, 2023. [Handout photo/Philippine Coast Guard] They also received a text message that said Welcome to China! The PCG responded by issuing its own radio challenge directing the CCG-5304 to leave the area immediately. Increased tensions Last year in March, April and June, the Philippines filed several protests against what it called swarming by Chinese fishing vessels near Whitsun Reef. The reef, known as Julian Felipe Reef in the Philippines, is located in the Kalayaan Islands in the South China Sea and claimed by the Philippines, China and Vietnam. Hundreds of Chinese fishing boats were seen forming clusters around the reef, part of the contested Spratly Islands. Beijing said they were sheltering from approaching storms. In the latest pictures taken by the PCG aircraft on Tuesday, similar formations of Chinese boats were also observed. The Philippines suspect they could be from the Chinese maritime militia, an increasingly powerful armed fishing fleet funded by the Beijing government. On Thursday, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela told a press briefing that PCG vessels would be deployed to drive the Chinese ships away and to prevent the Chinese maritime militia from swarming our exclusive economic zone. China coast guard vessel CCG-5304 as seen from a Philippine patrol aircraft above Sabina Shoal, Feb. 21, 2023. [Handout photo/Philippine Coast Guard] The situation in the area has been heating up recently after the Philippines accused the Chinese coast guard of pointing a military-grade laser at one of its vessels, temporarily blinding the crew, on Feb. 6. The Philippine ship was on a mission to deliver food and supplies to the troops stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal. Manila lodged a diplomatic protest and summoned the Chinese ambassador, but Beijing dismissed the accusation, saying its coast guard ship was not equipped with industrial-grade lasers. Western countries, including the United States, voiced support for the Philippines and condemned the Chinese coast guards action. On Wednesday, visiting Australian Minister of Defense Richard Marles said after meeting here with his Filipino counterpart that Australia and the Philippines were to sign a strategic partnership later this year. Both countries are looking at ways in which we can pursue joint patrols together in the South China Sea, and looking at ways in which we can do more exercises together, Marles told reporters in Manila. BenarNews staff contributed to this report. The first thing Zulkifli Zainal Abidin, the new Malaysian facilitator for the Thai Deep South peace talks, decided to do after being appointed last month was start to meet with all parties involved in the conflict on the Thai-Malaysian border. Zulkifli says he should be accessible to everyone, as that is the only way to keep communication flowing. And regular communication will engender trust, which he believes has been in short supply in the process of ending the conflict in the Malay-majority Thai Deep South. Zulkifli this week attended his first round of talks since taking over the position and achieved the rare feat of a joint press conference with negotiators representing the Thai government and the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) rebel group. He also convinced BRN, the main rebel group, to agree in principle to other southern Thai groups joining the talks. If that does materialize, it would be the first time since 2018 that groups other than BRN participate in the peace negotiations. Zulkifli sat down with BenarNews for an exclusive interview after the first round of talks he brokered in Kuala Lumpur. Excerpts from the interview have been edited for clarity: BenarNews: You were appointed on Jan.1, barely two months ago. What was the first thing you did when you got the job? Zulkifli Zainal Abidin: I have been moving all over. Ive seen everyone BRN members, PULO and BIPP members. I have met and spoken to all of them; I met with BRN heads as well and they agreed in principle to invite others because they do not want to be alone. They want to be inclusive too. We need to send a formal invitation to them to make it happen. We are also planning to allow NGOs from Malaysia and other NGOs to get involve in the peace talks. A few have written to us to be observers ... I will look into this after my return from southern Thailand. And I have to discuss this with both parties because Im not the decision maker. Both parties have to agree to [this] ... it is unfair for me to push whoever I want. BN: What will be different this time to ensure that these discussions/talks will eventually lead to the end of conflict? ZZA: I must allow communication 24/7. I must allow everybody to speak. Do not hold punches when they speak, and I must be a good listener. However, [being a] good listener without giving thoughts or suggestions is not a good facilitator. I facilitate whatever they want. I try my level best to use my grey matter to give options. However, the decision always is theirs to make. Thats why the prime minister always said that trust deficit must be overcome. Now, in a way we have overcome it. We spoke our mind, we shared our thoughts and showed that we are sincere. Thats the only thing that I do. This is about humanity. This is about producing chemistry. It is easier said than done but I have to make sure that I have to open routes for discussion. BN: Observers said that discussions between the two sides have never passed the trust building phase. What about now? Have we passed the trust building? Have we achieved trust? ZZA: Yes, but the taste of the pudding is in the eating. So, we cannot put a barometer yet to this because the devil is in the details. Details are the ones that have lots of insights. As a facilitator, I must see the details, see the reason why of certain actions/suggestions and try to understand and facilitate and to make sure the other side understands. BN: You are going to southern Thailand but there are always people who have a certain skepticism about your trip there, saying it will only for appeasing the Thais and that your movements will not be free and easy as you would like. ZZA: I cannot sit still and do nothing. I cannot limit myself and prevent myself from using this opportunity to be there. I have to try and I must open the line of communication. Everybody can come and see me. BN: Was reduction of violence discussed in this meeting? ZZA: Yes, we did. However, it was only in brief because we cannot focus on that or else we get stuck. We must focus on Joint Comprehensive Plan toward Peace. That is why we said we have to have technical meetings to iron out the details. This is not a small matter. This is a very serious matter. We will meet again next month. I am working on it. BN: When you decided to accept this task, were you persuaded? ZZA: The prime minister asked me to take on the task. As a soldier, I have got to take that as the task for the nation. So, I said yes without hesitation. BN: Were you pressed to get quick results or report to the PM? ZZA: No. I have been given the liberty to do what I can or must do to achieve a good result. However, as a subordinate, I report to him [Anwar Ibrahim] all the time and he gave me guidance. BN: I have been informed that BRN military wing was not so happy with the JCPP, as you have put pressure on BRN to agree to use the roadmap. Is it true? ZZA: It was utter nonsense. I did not pressure anybody. I only give options and understanding. The BRN team were very good negotiators. We must compliment them. It was not easy for me to get both sides to agree on things. Its not easy for the Thais, its not easy for BRN as well. Drafting one word could take us one hour or so, just to put it to you on the delicate of matters. My face turns red easily when things get tense. We have to take many breaks in between to make sure that discussion went through and we achieve the result that we need. PITTSFIELD Jazz is alive and well in the Berkshires. And it will remain that way if Berkshires Jazz has anything to say about it. The organization, now in its 18th year of bringing jazz to the region, will debut its most significant project to date the world premieres of 10 original jazz compositions commissioned by Berkshires Jazz at the Berkshire Museum, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 25, as part of the city's annual 10X10 Upstreet Arts Festival. Admission $25 in advance; $20 for Berkshire Museum members. Tickets can be purchased at the museum, by calling 413-443-7171 or online, bit.ly/3Rqh0Pr The new works will be performed by an all-star trio of musicians: Eugene Uman, piano; Mary Ann McSweeney, bass; and Conor Meehan, drums. They will be joined by the composers and one or more of the composing cohort. Tom Reney, the dean of New England jazz radio (WFCR/Northeast Public Media), will host. The 10x10 Upstreet Arts Festival is the perfect vehicle for us to showcase the awesome creative talent that abounds in the region, said Edward Bride, Berkshires Jazz president, in a news release. The composers showcase is the brainchild of musician and educator Andy Wrba, a board member of Berkshires Jazz. With most of the composers performing their own works, the bands will have a different flavor as well as configuration for each selection. Instruments include saxophones, guitar, piano, bass, drums, trumpet and trombone. No two groups will be the same, in this panoply of jazz excellence. An artist meet-and-greet with cash bar will take place after the concert. Reflecting myriad styles and instruments, the works have been created by the following artists: Kris Allen, alto saxophonist, Williams College artist-in-residence and Jazz Ensemble director. Carolyn Dufraine, trombonist with The Lucky Five and University of Massachusetts Amherst graduate teaching assistant. Jason Ennis, guitarist, Dartmouth College music lecturer and Berkshire Music School instructor. Daryl Lowery, tenor saxophonist and Berklee College of Music professor. Anton Kot, drummer, pianist, a former Berkshires Jazz Prodigy, headlined the Litchfield Jazz Festival in 2022 at the age of 20. Peter McEachern, trombonist, recording artist, Litchfield Jazz Camp teaching artist and music director at the Salisbury School. Mary Ann McSweeney, bassist, currently in the Broadway pit band for "Some Like It Hot," widely recorded as a leader and side musician. Joe Smith, concert producer, former dean of the composition department of the Berklee College of Music. Richard Stanmeyer, trumpet prodigy, leader (CON7OUR), masters candidate after graduating from the Berklee College of Music. Eugene Uman, piano, composer of 120 original works, director of the Vermont Jazz Center. More information: BerkshiresJazz.org. The application of genetic engineering to food crops is controversial, and rightly so. Critics worry that changing genetics may have harmful, unanticipated effects on food safety and the environment. In fact, this has sometimes been the case. Growing tomatoes this year? You may need to plant special cold-hardy varieties to get a good harvest Given that our gardens here in the Berkshires have a short and cool growing season, it may be worth obtaining seeds of tomatoes adapted to cool climates. Almost as soon as it became possible, genetic engineering was co-opted by chemical companies to create herbicide-resistant strains of crops such as corn or soybeans so that weeds could be controlled by indiscriminate applications of toxins, such as glyphosate. The resulting orgy of chemical usage has resulted in widespread contamination of soils and water supplies, as well as contaminated foods becoming a routine feature at local supermarkets. So there are real reasons for caution. Its important to remember, however, that genetic engineering has precisely the same goal as conventional plant breeding, which has been transforming the genetic material of plants for millennia. The difference is that conventional plant breeding, which depends on moving pollen from one plant to the flower of another in the hope that the offspring will include the desirable traits of both parents, is hugely inefficient. Its like pulling the handle on a biological slot machine. Getting the exact genetic combination you want from a cross of two plants may require hundreds or even thousands of crosses. Thats possible when you are working with a fast-maturing annual crop. However, it makes breeding trees a very protracted process. It has been almost a century, for instance, that plant breeders have been working on the American chestnut tree. This was once a foundation of the forest ecosystem in the eastern United States. The American chestnut was hugely common, comprising an estimated 25 percent of all our hardwood trees. Its abundant crops of nuts were an important food source for wildlife and human inhabitants too. Growing to towering heights with trunks 10 feet or more in diameter, the American chestnut produced a light but strong and rot-resistant timber which was an important source of income throughout the trees range. With the accidental introduction of the chestnut blight a fungus from Asia in the early 20-century, the impact was severe, resulting in the death of virtually every American chestnut tree, an estimated 3.5 billion in all. By the 1920s, plant breeders were already engaged in crossing surviving American chestnuts with Asian relatives that had a natural resistance to the blight. The goal was to produce a tree with the physical characteristics of the American species but the resistance of the lower-growing Asian ones. However, after hundreds of thousands of crosses over the course of a century, success has eluded these efforts. Apparently, the genetic coding that endows the Asian trees with blight resistance is linked with genetic material that gives them their low and spreading pattern of growth. Thats why in 1989 the American Chestnut Foundation, an organization dedicated to returning this tree to the forest, approached scientists at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry with a request that its scientists apply the techniques of genetic engineering to this species. In response, the genetic engineers were able to insert into the American chestnut genome a single gene, taken from wheat, which did endow the tree with blight resistance; the genetically engineered trees still contract the blight, but it is no longer harmful to them. This success began the long process of getting the genetically-engineered tree approved by government agencies for transplanting into the wild. In the course of this process researchers have studied everything, from the potential impact of the GMO trees on pollinators and other insects that may feed on them, to the possible impact of the blight-resistant tree roots on mycorrhizal fungi in the surrounding soil. No problems have emerged, and the trees have been approved for release, perhaps as soon as this summer. Wild American chestnuts have continued to send up shoots from their stumps, occasionally bearing flowers before the blight cuts them down again. By interbreeding these with the genetically engineered specimens, it is planned to create a genetically diverse but blight-resistant population that can, over time, return this keystone species to our woods. The importance of this project is more than just the restoration of one species. In an era when introduced pests and diseases are attacking so many native trees, genetic engineering offers an efficient and effective response that, in my view, we cannot afford to reject. In the process, we can redeem a technology that has so often been used for environmental harm. Community News Editor / Librarian Jeannie Maschino is community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has worked for the newspaper in various capacities since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989. PITTSFIELD Despite nine years of sobriety and her job mentoring parents in recovery, Jaclyn Carnevale isnt allowed to volunteer at her childrens schools. Every time they bring home a field trip permission slip, or parents are invited to read books to the classroom, Carnevale searches for an excuse to explain why she wont be there. She knows shes barred from taking part with the other parents, because of the criminal record from her time as an addict. I didnt do any jail time, she said, But Im in jail today because of my charges. Its a wrenching reminder of a period her children know nothing about. Its also an example of how her record stalks her long after shes lifted her life on track. Carnevale, a program director for 18 Degrees, the family services nonprofit, was invited to a Tuesday afternoon weekly meeting of a group of women who for years have supported one another after going through the criminal justice system. This weeks meeting was a listening session for District Attorney Tim Shugrue, whom members of the womens aftercare group had invited to hear their stories. Held at 2nd Street Second Chances at the old Pittsfield jail, the session was organized by group leader Sgt. Lindsay Maynard of the sheriffs department and Mark Gold, a friend of Shugrues and the 2nd Street Second Chances board president. After hearing the women speak amongst themselves during a past group session, Gold was disgusted when he heard how the women described being treated in court in years past and helped set up the listening session. With the ear of the district attorney, who took office last month, the women advocated for a courthouse culture that takes a compassionate approach to those struggling with substance use disorder, viewing defendants as more than just dockets. The impact Carnevales involvement with the courts had on her childrens lives surfaced years into recovery. But for another group member, Lisa, its devastating effect abruptly surfaced while she was still in the courtroom. Lisa, 44, who asked that her last name not be used to protect the privacy of her now-teen children, was charged in 2016 with writing false prescriptions. She makes no secret that she made grave errors while fighting her addiction. Six years later, the scene sticks in her head. She was ready to plead guilty. In explaining the sentencing recommendation, the prosecutor told the judge the consensus in the office was that her children would be better off without her, Lisa recalled. Unaware of what was coming, Lisa was devastated. Her husband was in the courtroom, holding his breath. She said the Department of Children and Families had never been involved with her family; the couple still had full custody. She halted the plea. Her father came to court with $15,000 cash, expecting, correctly, that the judge would increase his daughters bail. Lisa felt embarrassed, dirty and ashamed. She knew she messed up, but felt dehumanized and attacked at the very moment she was ready take responsibility for her actions. She wishes the court had felt more empathy toward her. I feel its important that we be treated like people ... Im guilty as guilty can be of my mistakes, she said. Im admitting Im wrong. But please dont come after my babies. Lisa was sentenced to incarceration at the Western Massachusetts Regional Corrections Center in Chicopee, where she says she was treated more humanely. Her children remain with her today, but like Carnevale, she was unable to go on their school enrichment trips. Katelynn Goodwin says her life has changed completely since she started coming to the womens aftercare group in 2018. Prior to that, when she was using and addicted to crack cocaine, Goodwin said her house was raided by police and her son removed from her care by authorities. She lost custody of her young child. She was unable to reunify, and her son was permanently placed with another family in a closed adoption. Thats when I got really bad, Goodwin said. I lost it all. The stigma around it was, Youre a drug addict; youre never going to be able to take care of your kid, she added. Goodwin was searching for help, but couldnt find a hand-hold. She was homeless, and ultimately went to jail, hitting her rock bottom. Thats when she found the womens aftercare group. My life has turned around so much, but I cant get my son back, she said. I just wish that those people that were saying that I was such an awful person could see me now. Shes sober and enrolled in the culinary program at Berkshire Community College, but says that what we can learn from her experience can help others. Instead of going to jail, Goodwin said, passionate about pleading now for a different path, I wish that I could have went to, you know, an inpatient treatment. I wish that I could have worked on my skills. She asked Shugrue if he could make something like that happen. He said hes trying to get those programs in gear. But the state doesnt provide his office money for it, he said, so he and his staff members are seeking grants. They want us to do all these things to reintegrate people into society, Shugrue said, but they dont give us any money. A baby cooed in the background, bouncing on the hip of his mother, 25-year-old Ariel Errichetto. Errichettos mother, Sharon Killackey, 53, was there too. She joined the aftercare group at her daughters urging, and had put her thoughts on paper to appeal to Shugrue. Killackey became involved with the courts after her substance-use disorder began. She felt that in the eyes of court personnel, she was viewed as little more than a mother who didnt care about her kids. I was a junkie. You might as well have shot me in that courtroom that day. Because I felt like I felt worthless, hopeless. I wanted to die, she said. Because everybody told me who I was, but nobody knew who I was. She was actually a sister, a daughter and the sole caregiver of her children. After years of hard work, she is now a grandmother, a manager at work and a soon-to-be homeowner. Most importantly, I feel good about me. The system is a vicious cycle that people get stuck in, she said. Hopefully, by the grace of God, she said, they find the way out. Shugrue, who was sworn in last month, speaking to the group, said, Nobody wants to see anybody going to jail. Wed rather see everybody working and being productive In some scenarios, prosecutors may recommend a defendant for pretrial diversion, which would allow them to avoid the black mark of a criminal conviction. But in others, he said incarceration is the first step towards the solution. His office is going to attack the big heavy drug dealers, he said, while also dealing with the issues of people that are going through addiction problems. He and the women spoke about the lasting stain of a criminal record, which they said makes it difficult or impossible to get a job, find housing, volunteer with children and get student loan assistance. Goodwin said she wants to be a professional, but knows that when she applies for a job, her charges will come up on a background check. I want to be able to, you know, live a normal life, she said. Sealing ones record is an option, but Shugrue said if youre applying to work with children or law enforcement, They can see behind the seal. Kristen, an aftercare group member for well over a decade, offered Goodwin assurances. Today, after years of schooling and training, she is a professional in her own right, working with children and their families as a social worker. She said work must be done to restore trust in the system she went through herself. Through it all, she doesnt shy away from her past. I wont seal my record, she said, for one reason: Because they can look and see who I was, and look and see who I am today. So too is the present for Katelynn Goodwin. She cannot shed her past, but as each morning begins, gratitude floods through her window as she sees trees outside. Seth Brown is an award-winning humor writer, the author of "From God To Verse", and is also not here to make enemies. His website is RisingPun.com Chinese mainland pledges utmost efforts to facilitate cross-Strait exchanges Xinhua) 10:28, February 23, 2023 Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, gestures at a press conference in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 22, 2023. The Chinese mainland will make utmost efforts to facilitate exchanges across the Taiwan Strait and reduce the costs of such activities, said a mainland spokesperson on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua) BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland will make utmost efforts to facilitate exchanges across the Taiwan Strait and reduce the costs of such activities, said a mainland spokesperson on Wednesday. Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said the mainland spares no effort in facilitating a substantial expansion of cross-Strait flights, with schedules dynamically managed by airline companies from both sides. Noting the limited flight capacity and limited amount of non-stop destinations as a result of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' unilateral restrictions, Zhu said relevant authorities in Taiwan did not respond to the mainland's request to reopen 16 non-stop flight destinations. Zhu urged the DPP authorities to remove such barriers and restore the normal order of direct passenger flights across the Strait. Previously, cross-Strait exchanges were severely strained due to COVID-19 and the DPP's deliberate obstructions. Now that the COVID-19 concern has subsided, such barriers should be removed as soon as possible, said Zhu. At the start of this year, the mainland invited Taiwan's major industry and commerce organizations to visit the mainland and discuss cooperation. These organizations have made travel plans to the mainland and expressed their shared hope for enhanced cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation and peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, Zhu said. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) I miss the old Republican party. While I disagreed with much of the Republican platform, it was possible to engage in spirited debate and principled disagreement without flushing democracy down the toilet. Now, Trumps MAGA acolytes, calling themselves Republicans, represent the greatest threat to democracy since Sen. Joseph McCarthys House Unamerican Activities Committee of the 1950s one of the most un-American spectacles of the past century. Most presidents are known for what they did in office, and to an extent thats true of Jimmy Carter. The Camp David Accords provided what seemed like an impossible peace between Israel and Egypt that has lasted nearly half a century. The Torrijos-Carter treaties oversaw the landmark transfer of control of the Panama Canal. Strategic Arms Limitation Talks paved the way for nuclear deproliferation amid Cold War tensions. Then there were the twin crises of energy and American hostages in Iran in 1979 that marred the end of his first term and doomed any hope of a second. But Mr. Carter is perhaps the exception to the presidential rule in that hes better known for what he did after leaving office. He championed ambitious projects for improving public health and human rights worldwide, and not just through advocacy; the Carter Centers efforts alongside the World Health Organization have contributed to the near-eradication of dracunculiasis, a painful and sometimes fatal parasitic infection that used to affect millions worldwide but is now limited to about a dozen cases annually. He also remained enmeshed in important diplomatic efforts post-presidency: He was a member of international peace group The Elders, and in 2010 traveled to North Korea to negotiate and secure the release of imprisoned U.S. citizen Aijalon Gomes. And, of course, there is Habitat for Humanity arguably the most widely recognized and beneficial post-presidential legacy in modern U.S. history. While the biggest footprints of many ex-presidents are the libraries built for them, Mr. Carters impact stretches into everyday households in the homes he helped build for others. For what its worth, The Berkshire Eagle has a connection to Mr. Carter not from after his presidency but just before it. He was the last successful presidential candidate who made a campaign stop in The Eagles newsroom (though because it was back in 1976, it took place at the newspapers former home on Eagle Street). Theres another Berkshire connection, as well. After he was sworn in, then-President Carter tapped Evan Dobelle, a former mayor of Pittsfield, for chief of protocol an advisor to the president, vice president and secretary of state on matters of national and international protocol. Mr. Dobelle, the youngest elected mayor in Pittsfield history, was also the youngest person in U.S. history to serve as chief of protocol to that time. Mr. Carter, 98, is now in hospice, entering the final round of his battle with cancer and hes doing so with the grace and class hes always been known for, according to Mr. Dobelle. Its classic Jimmy Carter, Mr. Dobelle told an Eagle reporter. He was born in Plains (Ga.), hes going to die in Plains. Hes not going to die in a hospital in Atlanta and in his mind take a hospital bed from somebody who needs it. Beyond any one policy position from his time in office or any one advocacy effort afterward, Mr. Carters legacy is one of service and decency. He not only modeled it in action, but through faith believed in its presence and potential everywhere. When he didnt hear it in the voices of leaders, including American ones, he was outspoken in critique. When he did see it in the hands and hearts of everyday Americans, he was selfless in his amplification. That was demonstrated through deed hammering nails well into his 90s with Habitat for Humanity. But he also inspired countless others by eloquently speaking about the duty and rewards of helping our neighbors, like when he highlighted the work of volunteers in Texas and Louisiana who inspired him while working together to build back after the devastation of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. It is unfortunate that decency is seemingly not a priority of our national political climate or the leaders who most vocally contribute to it. Whatever ones thoughts on Mr. Carters presidency and politics, its easy to recognize the painful irony of losing a former leader who so thoroughly embodied decency at a time when our nation needs it more than ever. We are thankful, however, for what ought to be a powerful and apolitical example that will live on and, hopefully, inspire all Americans to prioritize decency and service the way that former President Carter did. Gov. Maura Healey just released a preview of her proposed budget. It would increase local education aid by almost 10% Philosophy and ideas often sneak their way into Christian dialogue and the worldview of believers. In the early centuries of the church, theologians would bring in ideas from Greek philosophy, cultural habits from their ethnic culture, or get carried away with an idea they didnt understand; over time, bad ideas, false doctrine, or common misconceptions have entered common Christian discourse, and then been rejected. In the 20th and 21st century, this pattern has been exacerbated by the increased availability of information through increased exposure to incorrect ideas and interpretations from Christians, and interesting ideas from the rest of the world. Jacques Derrida was a French philosopher who rose to prominence after the Second World War. His focus was on language and its power. Derrida embraced Continental Philosophy and Radical Hermeneutics, and is the foremost thinker for the Deconstruction movement. Elements of Derridas philosophy and analytical approaches have become commonly applied in the church, leading to radical new interpretations of the Bible, or to people having an avenue to walk away from their faith, which is becoming dangerously common. Who Was Jacques Derrida? Born in Algeria in 1930 to Sephardic Jews, Jacques Derrida had French citizenship through the Cremieux Decree of 1870, which extended French citizenship to Jews in French-controlled Africa. He moved to Paris for university around the beginning of World War II, where he studied and eventually became a professor. He was married to psychoanalyst Marguerite Aucoutier, with whom he had three children. He died in 2004. What Were Derridas Most Popular Theories? All of the philosophical and political movements that influenced Derridas formation of his own philosophy were atheistic. These ideas included those of Karl Marx; though Derrida would always remain skeptical of Communism as prescribed by Marx, he did embrace radical thinking which encouraged the tearing down of the status quo. Another important influence was Martin Heidegger, a German thinker who reached the height of his popularity pre-World War II. Heidegger was considered the father of modern continental philosophy, and a member of the Nazi party, for which he never apologized or repented. Derridas approach to language was rooted in the ideas of Ferdinand de Saussure, who was a linguist and an atheist. Finally, he studied the works of Edmund Husserl, a mathematician and philosopher whose ideas left room for deity and spirit, but not one that Christians who read the Bible in a traditional way would recognize. When coming into his own as a thinker, Derrida brought together a complex understanding of linguistics with phenomenology, which is the philosophical study of experience and consciousness. Phenomenology rejects western philosophy, which they identified as coming from Plato. While Derrida wrote many books, his most popular philosophy and the one that solidified his place in 20th century thinking was Deconstructionism. He outlined these ideas first in De La Grammatologie (Of Grammatology), and elaborated on it in Differance, La Voix et Le Phenomene (Speech and Phenomena), and Lecriture et la differance (Writing and Difference). The core elements of Deconstructionism rests on a few key concepts: 1. It seeks to understand the relationship between text and meaning. 2. Its foundational ideas are built on the belief that everything is subjective to experience, and therefore truth is subjective. Deconstructionism inherently assumes subjectivity and a lack of objective truth. 3. It exists to re-evaluate Western values and pure reason. 4. It challenges dialectics, which is arguing concepts by contrasting seemingly opposite ideas. 5. Il n'y a pas de hors-texte; a word cannot exist outside of context because people understand it in context. (Example: a sedan is understood in its cultural, geographic, and historical context, and is understood by its contrast to other modes of transportation like a truck, a van, a train, or a plane). 6. Deconstructionism is not a method for understanding, a form of analysis, or a style of critique. Instead, it seeks to exist outside traditional philosophical concepts for coming to conclusions. 7. The purpose of the exercise of deconstructing text is to break things down into its smallest separate parts, to re-evaluate how it has been understood, and to reveal how the way it has been understood is inadequate. 8. Deconstructionism does not present a way to reconstruct a text. Understanding that eighth point in particular is key to understanding how applying this philosophy to the Bible leads to misinterpretations of the Bible and to people walking away from their faith. How are Derridas Philosophies Being Used in Modern Christianity? Applying Deconstructionism to a religious text means engaging with the text in such a manner to break it down into smaller and smaller parts, to find inadequacies in translation, historical interpretation, or personal understanding. Heresies that come from applying a Deconstructionist lens to the Bible often come from someone presenting a new understanding or interpretation of translations or traditional readings of particular words or phrases in the Bible. Examples of these ideas that are becoming more common include, but are not limited to: 1. Because the word Elohim is used in the Old Testament, and it is a plural noun, believing the Bible is only presenting one God is incorrect. 2. When seen through the right lens, the traditional understanding of Jesus being resurrected bodily is not correct. 3. Certain parts of the Bible may be true, but they may not be, and it is okay to accept what is easy to digest and reject or dismiss parts that are personally offensive. 4. God does not have a gender, or is transgendered, or many gendered. 5. Because the text of the Bible does not agree overtly with scientific texts, it can be interpreted metaphorically in part or in whole. These ideas come from hyper-analyzing the text with the intent to deconstruct. Common ways this is done is by: 1. Identifying and applying obscure definitions of words in the original Hebrew or Greek. 2. Comparing two verses or passages out of context against one another. 3. Taking a passage of the Bible, particularly from the Old Testament, that can be difficult to understand, and only interpreting it within the text; for example, because the New Testament says God is love in 1 Corinthians, but God orders the nation of Israel to engage in total war, then there are two different gods being spoken of in these two sections of the Bible. 4. Ignoring or rejecting the idea of the Holy Spirit as the divine author of the Bible, and assuming the Bible is not infallible. 5. Partnering deconstructionism with another 20th century philosophy such as Marxism, Feminism, or Freudianism to understand the text. Many ideas taught from pulpits in the modern western church in Europe and America that reject traditional understandings of God, the Bible, Jesus, the crucifixion, and the resurrection are rooted in deconstructionism. People who do not reject the existence of God or Christianity outright, but have personal problems with the church, Christian behavior, or ideas in the Bible are usually the sources of these theologies. How Does This Relate to Modern Deconstruction of the Faith? People who claim to have walked away from the Christian religion because they have deconstructed their faith did engage in a form of deconstructionism, though if they did not exclusively engage with the Biblical text, they were not doing true Derridean deconstruction. The term came from David Hayward, who co-opted the term deconstruction when he was questioning his faith. While it is good to evaluate if a church or a believer is engaging in correct behavior or with good ethics, and to think critically about faith, deconstruction tears down rather than evaluates. Deconstructionism does not offer a path to reconstruction or new understanding, leading to people looking at their religion torn to pieces through hyper-critical analysis and left with nothing to replace it. Often, they assume that nothingness is the truth. True deconstruction would then require their newfound atheism, since it is rooted in the idea that truth is subjective, and objective truth is merely a western concept to be deconstructed. To learn more about the trend of deconstructing ones Christian faith, check out Deconstructing the Faith: What Does It Mean? How Can I Identify an Interpretation That Comes from Derrida, and not the Bible? When someone reads or hears something that sounds wrong, or goes against a traditional understanding of the Bible, but doesnt sound like other false teachings they may have heard before, there are questions they can ask to see if it is an idea born from deconstruction. 1. Does this challenge the idea of an objective interpretation of the Bible? 2. Does this challenge the idea that there is only one way to read the Bible? 3. Does this radically reinterpret God? 4. Does this rely on obscure or hyper-specific interpretations of the text or translations of the Hebrew or Greek? 5. Does this reject, or not take into account, historical accounts, information, or sources that would provide clarifying context that supports a traditional understanding of the Bible? 6. Is the interpretation rooted in a philosophy commonly paired with Deconstructionism like Feminism, Post-Structuralism, or Freudian thought? Bible Verses about Objective Truth to Fortify Your Faith The Bible does have verses to encourage Christians to strengthen their faith and reject Deconstructionism by focusing on the reality of objective truth. It is good to have an informed faith and to think critically, but not to indulge in the endless exercise of deconstructing, especially without being able to rebuild. These verses include, but are not limited to: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out follyIn the house of the righteous there is much treasure, but trouble befalls the income of the wicked. The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools (Proverbs 15:2, 6-7). Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered (Proverbs 28:26). Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him (Proverbs 30:5). Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, He catches the wise in their craftiness (1 Corinthians 3:19). Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things (Philippians 4:8). But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene.They are upsetting the faith of some (2 Timothy 2:16-18). All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). Jacques Derrida was a man of great intellect, and he was influenced by men of great intellect. Being wise in worldly matters does not necessarily mean someone has truth or to spiritual nourishment. It may challenge the mind, but God wants to bring all people to Himself through Jesus Christ, providing them with eternal life. Embracing deconstructionism as a valid way to interpret the Bible has led to heresy, and to people rejecting Gods love and offer for salvation. While it is an interesting philosophy, Derridean Deconstruction has influenced theology in a way that is leading people away from, rather than closer to, God. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints (Ephesians 6:14-18). Sources Abujamra, Lina. Fractured Faith Finding Your Way Back to God in an Age of Deconstruction. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2021. Cixous, Helene. Portrait of Jacques Derrida as a Young Jewish Saint. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004. Nancy, Jean-Luc. Adoration The Deconstruction of Christianity II. New York: Fordham University Press, 2013. Norris, Christopher. Deconstruction. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2003. Salmon, Peter. An Event, Perhaps A Biography of Jacques Derrida. London: Verso, 2020. Photo credit: Getty Images/Leong Thian Fu / EyeEm Bethany Verrett is a freelance writer who uses her passion for God, reading, and writing to glorify God. She and her husband have lived all over the country serving their Lord and Savior in ministry. She has a blog on graceandgrowing.com. Clarkston, WA (99403) Today Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 48F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 48F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Tonight's rundown: Talking Points Memo: Joe Biden continues to decline with the world watching and remains out of the press reach Presidential Historian Larry Cook weighs in on how Bidens relationship with the press compares to past presidents US Special Forces have been confirmed to be in Ukraine OReilly describes Democrats hosting the DNC in Chicago as Crazy Arrogant The trial of Fox News gets underway 58% of Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck even as inflation begins to cool off Smart Life: Utilizing Kelly Blue Book when searching for a new car This Day in History: FDR dies in office Final Thought: what to do when someone is disrespectful to you In Case You Missed It: Read Bill's latest column, "Reason to Believe" Join 'Team Normal!' Order your gear now at BillOReilly.com! Pre-order Bills next bestseller Killing the Witches NOW Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Providing employment opportunities to 1500 people in Hyderabad in the next few years Global Pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb plans to set up a state-of-the-art facility in Hyderabad with an investment of $100 million,to expand its global drug development and IT capabilities. The proposed facility in Telangana will employ about 1,500 local youth. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with Telangana Government in the presence of Minister K.T. Rama Rao, Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Industries & Commerce, and Information Technology. "BMS is one of worlds largest and top 10 pharma company headquartered in New York. Telangana has emerged as the Hub of Lifesciences in Asia & with BMS's addition to our long list of global giants strengthening our position further", said the Minister. The announcement came following a meeting between KT Rama Rao and Samit Hirawat, Executive Vice-President, Global Drug Development at BMS. Principal Secretary of Industries and Commerce Department, Jayesh Ranjan and Director, Lifesciences, Shakthi Nagappan were also present during the meeting. Business-to-business engagement solutions provider Advantage Group International has appointed Lauren Filen as customer director for Africa. In this role, she will be responsible for retailer engagement and coverage, market revenue growth and key account management in South Africa and the rest of the continent. Lauren Filen, customer director, Advantage Group Africa Based in Johannesburg, Filen holds over 30 years of experience across innovation, logistics, sales, marketing and general management in the FMCG sector. During this time, she has led small, medium and large businesses in leadership roles, including holding the title of chief executive officer at several companies. During her tenure at PepsiCo, Filen was the first woman and South African to lead the Simba snacks business as CEO. She then became the CEO of IFFCO, an FMCG conglomerate based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. In 2018, Filen started Baobab Nutritional Brands, which involved significant investment in a greenfield manufacturing site, and, most recently, she served as commercial director for The Natures Choice Group. Private label experience Advantage Group said that this experience gives Filen a specialised understanding of the challenges affecting businesses in the FMCG, retail, distribution, and manufacturing industries. She has broad experience in the private label arena, having worked with almost all the key retailers (including Woolworths, Pick n Pay, Shoprite, Spar, and Clicks) on private label projects. Filen has broad African experience, having worked across sub-Saharan Africa. Commenting on her appointment, Filen said, At my core, Im a collaborator, so I am looking forward to connecting with my team to drive the potential that I know exists in the South African business landscape. The work is exciting not just with the larger companies but having the opportunity to arm our small companies with data that can really make a difference in their business partnerships. In the highly competitive and challenging business environment we find ourselves in, partnering and communicating better is essential to drive competitive advantage, and Advantage Group facilitates and drives these partnerships. Dylan Piatti, managing director for Advantage Group Africa, said, I have no doubt that Lauren will be able to channel her expertise and experience into accelerating customer development in Africa. We are all excited to have someone with her expertise, people skills and business acumen on our team. Njabulo Sithole from KwaZulu-Natal has grown his passion for home backing into a successful confectionary business that supplies nearly 200 Pick n Pay stores. Source: Njabulo Sithole, Bakers Creationz founder. Source: Supplied From a venture that started out in his home kitchen, eight years later Sithole's Bakers Creationz business has grown to employ 40 staff and supply the supermarket giant with more than 12,000 snowball products each week. A dream is born Sithole loved eating cake so much that, in his late 20s, he started making recipes off the back of flour packets, progressing to trying recipes off the internet which he adjusted to his preferences. As it turns out, quite a few people liked my preferences and I realised there was a demand, the 43-year-old father of two said. When we had a family gathering or traditional ceremony, people would say they were not buying cakes from a shop, as mine were better. People asked me where I had bought my cakes. He quit his job as a marketing manager at the end of 2012 to start Baker Creationz, but the expected funding did not materialise. In 2014, I gave up my dream of starting in a business facility and started trading from my home kitchen, convinced that my business plan would work out in the end. Bakers Creationz initially supplied local schools with cakes, muffins and cupcakes, paying schoolchildren commission for selling them. Orders started pouring in and I was able to move to a larger kitchen later that year. I started saving the funds I was making to buy equipment from other bakeries which were closing down. Scaling the business Sithole converted space at Maphephethe near Inanda Dam. The facility meets the relevant enviro-health, food and manufacturing regulations. This space has expanded along with the business and we currently occupy 300m. I made sure the space complied with food safety regulations by inviting the Department of Health to visit, and they guided me on what needed to be done. His experience in food manufacturing as sales and marketing director was also brought to bear. In the early days, Sithole had minimal income and said there was a point where he could not even buy bread for his family. I realised I just needed to keep going and develop products for which there was a market. I started small scale but my vision was always to supply major retailers. He delivered his initial products himself, by taxi. I would jump off at the main gate and carry my crates all the way to the delivery gate of the wholesaler I supplied who is still a customer today. His customer list has grown to include Pick n Pay stores in KwaZulu-Natal and the retailer recently started stocking his products in Gauteng. He also supplies various fuel station convenience stores. My first employee was a driver, who I hired in 2015 after I missed the same road turn three times after Id been up baking all night. Sometimes Id work for three days straight. But I first had to build up a credit record to enable me to approach a bank for a loan for the vehicle. In 2016 he joined the Pick n Pay Boost Your Biz programme and not only won, but also gained access to the retail giant. He started supplying Pick n Pay with his range of snowballs raspberry, chocolate, and vanilla almost two years ago, and sales have grown by over 400% in the past year. He currently stocks his products in 191 stores across Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, after launching in 57 stores in Durban. Initially, Bakers Creationz supplied Pick n Pay with 3,200 units a week, and today supplies 6,000 units twice a week. I expected the pandemic to affect the business badly, and orders initially slowed down. But supermarkets were busy and we eventually peaked our production to twice what it was before lockdown. This encouraged me and I realised I had something special, he said. The Bakers Creationz facility was fortunately undamaged during the 2021 riots in the province, and when bread supplies ran out in the area, the company expanded its product range to include hot dog rolls and burger buns, which now form a permanent part of its production. Supplier awards Bakers Creationz won Pick n Pays 2022 Small Suppliers of the Year Awards (which recognises suppliers for their performance, sales growth or ability to create jobs over the last year) which Sithole said increased his confidence and helped me to realise the areas I am falling short on, what I am doing right and what I need to improve on. Being part of Pick n Pays Enterprise and Supplier Development programme means that Pick n Pay is holding my hand and giving me confidence to develop my products. He says, My vision and goal for this year are to continue expanding to all other Pick n Pay regions, and to extend and increase product lines. Ive got a couple of ideas for cakes, especially for Pick n Pay. We just need to finalise packaging and the practicality of shipping, as the product needs to arrive at your customer in excellent condition. When asked if he enjoys his cake for his birthday, he says he has never had one on his special day despite being surrounded by cake. Nurturing a growing business is hard work and I have even had to work on my birthday. I am hoping to be able to build the business to a point where I can take time off and celebrate properly, says Sithole. The 14th International Congress of Human Genetics (ICHG 2023) - hosted for the first time in Cape Town - kicked off to a great start this week. Source: Supplied. Naledi Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation delivered her keynote address at the opening of the 14th International Congress of Human Genetics at the CTICC this week. Running until 26 February 2023, the congress brings together more than 1,200 researchers from across the world to discuss and exchange ideas on the latest developments and research in human genetics. That the international congress of human genetics is hosted for the first time in Cape Town has broken new ground, and has set a precedent in changing the narrative on how scientists worldwide view the latest trends, technologies and research in genetics coming out of South Africa. Professor Raj Ramesar, co-chair of the conference's organising committee and head of the division of human genetics at the University of Cape Town (UCT) remarked on this remarkable milestone. "We have been part of the society of human genetics for decades, and the international congress of human genetics has always been hosted mostly in developed countries of the world such as the UK and Australia, but it has never before come to South Africa. I felt it was my duty to bid for it. I felt brave enough to use the theme "Coming Home" and to pitch on that theme." Coming Home was chosen to celebrate the common genetic origin of all humanity here on the African continent. This meeting is an invitation to the worlds geneticists to come home, and to deliberate about our common heritage, and the remarkable advances that have been made with the tools of genomics, which have emerged from great endeavours like the Human Genome Project," Ramesar said. "It is also an opportunity to assess, while visiting home, the role that genomics has played, and is going to make in advancing human and global health. Celebrating advances in human genetics "It is truly remarkable to think that the roots of human genetics can be traced back to our own continent," Naledi Pandor, SA's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation said at the opening of the congress on Wednesday. "This congress is a unique opportunity for us to come together as a global community, and to celebrate advances in the field of human genetics that have been made since the last joint congress of the African and Southern African Societies of Human Genetics that was held here in Cape Town, in 2011. "In South Africa, we are proud of the role that our scientists and researchers have played and continue to play in these efforts. Through partnerships like H3A Africa, our researchers are working to advance our own understanding of human genetics, and to make a positive impact on human health and wellness." The first talk at the ICHG 2023 by Carina Schlebusch was a beautifully described story of our origin as humans. It elucidated what is understood about our ancestors, the complexity of Africa's migration patterns and how ancient DNA and genetics can help us to understand our past! Genomics in Africa This dovetailed with the critical theme running through the speaker presentations, that of the importance of including African populations and people of African descent in large-scale genetic studies. "This is especially because the indigenous populations of Africa harbour the greatest depth of genomics variation," Pandor said. "One area in which there has been significant progress is in the understanding and treatment of non-communicable diseases. Advances in genomics have allowed for a better understanding of the underlying causes of these diseases, and the development of new and innovative treatments that can improve patient outcomes." Visit the poster area to see and learn more about the hundreds of different projects being presented at this years conference. Young scientists from around the world are showcasing their research and findings to the international community #ICHG2023 #Genetics #Africa pic.twitter.com/qn0N1XAA2T ICHG 2023 Cape Town (@ICHG2023) February 23, 2023 "Another area of critical importance is in the study of the Covid-19 pandemic. The role of genomics has been crucial in tracking the spread of the virus, and in understanding its underlying mechanisms. This work is critical to the global effort to develop effective treatments and vaccines, and to bring an end to the pandemic." The speakers at ICHG 2023 highlighted too the importance of streamlining the integration of scientists' findings into clinical settings. In her keynote speech Implementing Equitable Genomic Medicine: Challenges and Opportunities Cathy Wicklund from the USA, spoke to the need for genetic counselors to only provide information their patients want to know, rather than providing information they think their patients need to know. "We know that providing knowledge does not always equal behaviour change, so it's important when speaking to the people you want to educate, to first ask them questions about what's limiting them, and why they are coming for testing," she said. Empowering our societies Ultimately, Ramesar's vision for ICHG 2023 is one that has manifested in encouraging sustainability and inspiring young people to consider a career in genetics. He encourages young people to pursue becoming medical scientists, and to study a bachelor of science degree or medical technology in order to be able to diagnose genetic diseases. "Genetics is the big frontier in understanding human disease and managing and treating it, he said, "and is relevant to all geneticists from around the world." Currently data from Blueprint Genetics shows that inherited disorders are found in approximately 5% of the world's population, or around 350 million people, and that today's genetic testing technology can make a significant difference in long-term prognosis. ICHG 2023 is hosted by the African Society of Human Genetics, the Southern African Society of Human Genetics and the International Federation of Human Genetics Societies. In the face of a mental health pandemic in South Africa, the share of the national public health budget allocated to mental healthcare is not only woefully inadequate but could be better invested in prevention and care at primary healthcare and community level. Responding to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwanas 2023 Budget tabled Wednesday (22 February), the South African Society of Psychiatrists (Sasop) said it was concerning that mental healthcare continued to be under-funded while common mental-health conditions including anxiety and depression were on the rise Mental healthcare continues to be allocated only 5% of the national public health budget and since the health budget itself is declining in real terms, the mental health portion is actually declining in monetary terms, Sasop public sector national convenor, Kagisho Maaroganye said. One in three South Africans suffers from mental illness, with 75% unable to access treatment, while Maaroganye said mental healthcare professionals had seen a significant increase in common mental health problems after Covid-19 ran through the country and caused both documented and untold misery for all citizens. Common and treatable mental-health disorders have overtaken physical illnesses and injuries as the leading cause of medical-disability claims in South Africa. However, the focus of the mental healthcare system is skewed towards more severe mental health conditions that affect less than 1% of the population, he said. The latest Mental State of the World report rated South Africans mental wellbeing the lowest in the world, with the countrys mental health quotient (MHQ) at 46/100, a decline of 3% from 2020. Covid-19 the culprit South Africa also had the highest percentage (36%) of people experiencing emotional distress or struggling with mental health, an increase of 8% from 2020. The combined effects of the Covid-19 pandemic social isolation, job losses, illness and threats to peoples physical health, deaths of family members have caused widespread emotional distress and mental illness. Treatment rates fell due to lack of access to mental healthcare facilities during lockdowns and patients may have had relapses, while those who did not previously experience mental-health problems now find themselves with anxiety, depression and sleep disorders, Maaroganye said. Meanwhile, he said, under-funding of mental healthcare hampered prevention and diagnosis of mental illness, and limited access to treatment.Shortages of mental-health clinicians, a lack of experienced practitioners, insufficient resources to follow up and ensure compliance with treatment, all contribute to a persistent treatment gap. Mothers and children vulnerable In addition to the factors that put the general population at risk of mental illness, there are specific populations that are particularly vulnerable to mental illness, specifically the maternal population and children and adolescents, he said. Insufficient attention to the mental-health needs of expectant and new mothers, and of children and adolescents, suggests that the prevalence of mental illness is likely higher than indicated in surveys. South Africas mental healthcare budget, as a percentage of the overall health budget, is at the lower end of international recommendations for mental health spending, but it is also misdirected. Budget allocations are hospital-centric and reactive, with 86% of the budget allocated to inpatient care, and almost half that on specialised psychiatric hospitals. The focus is on treating the most severe conditions, which have a prevalence of less than 1%, rather than preventing or providing early intervention and treatment for widespread and common mental-health conditions of anxiety and depression before they escalate into more serious mental illness. Hospital re-admissions high Almost 20% of the mental healthcare budget is spent on hospital re-admissions. This revolving door syndrome is a costly reflection of a highly inefficient system with an inability to optimise care at primary and community level, he said. While only 8% of the mental healthcare budget is allocated to primary healthcare, Sasop argues that it is at this level that community psychiatry can work to prevent mental illness and ensure early treatment that prevents mental-health conditions becoming disabilities. Maaroganye said that community psychiatry offers the best prospects of optimal care for a stabilised mental healthcare patient in the community and preventing the costly revolving door of repeated hospital admissions. While specialised psychiatric hospitals, and psychiatric wards in general hospitals, do serve a purpose, the success of a health care system ultimately depends on the extent to which we can prevent illness, and on treating illness effectively to prevent relapse. "The aim is to improve quality of life by enabling persons with mental illness to maintain their dignity, obtain or re-obtain independence, and return to being productive members of society, Maaroganye said. Within the budget limitations for mental healthcare, Sasop has called on the government to focus investment in mental healthcare at the community psychiatry level. #StopTeenSuicide Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15 to 19-year-olds globally.@TheSADAGhttps://t.co/2jJBc48fWV 702 (@Radio702) February 19, 2023 The organisation proposes the following as more appropriate investments in mental healthcare: Development of IT systems that hold and distribute psychiatric information between community-based psychiatric facilities and psychiatric units or hospitals to facilitate continuity of care, better understanding of care outcomes, and inform service planning. Strengthen child and adolescent mental healthcare through establishment of more community-based mental-health facilities and provision of treatment and rehabilitation for children and adolescents. Expansion of the substance abuse helpline set up in Gauteng, that gives substance use help-seekers access to human and physical resources to manage their substance-use disorders. Improve mental healthcare for expectant and new mothers by investing in the mental healthcare education of all primary-care nurses and healthcare workers, not only antenatal care nurses and midwives, to bolster early detection and treatment of depression and other psychiatric conditions that have a high prevalence in South Africa during pregnancy and after childbirth. Increase expenditure on community psychiatry through hiring of psychiatrists, psychiatric medical officers, mental-health nurses and allied professionals with interest and expertise in mental health, renovating or expanding primary healthcare clinics to accommodate mental-health clinics, and facilitating the training of generalist clinical staff to manage patients mental illness independently or with support from psychiatric clinicians. According to the Department of Higher Education and Training, literacy is and always will be a topic of conversation in South Africa, where 3.7 million people are illiterate. The reasons for these illiteracy rates are vast and range from the legacy of Apartheid to the cost of books and other materials needed for better reading and comprehension. And this only speaks to literacy when it comes to reading and writing. However, there are additional literacy areas that need more attention, too, such as financial literacy, data literacy, digital literacy and so much more. Image supplied The effects of illiteracy across all sectors can affect many aspects of life. This includes an inability to participate in civic processes or the economy, earn a living and drive economic growth. There are no quick fixes for tackling literacy problems in South Africa, but there are digital and technological tools that can help. Access to quality reading materials and literacy tools is a struggle in countries such as South Africa where books and resources are often very expensive, notes Lea-Anne Moses, executive director of the Fundza Literacy Trust, an organisation that tackles teen and adult literacy in South Africa. However, about 20 to 22 million people in South Africa use a smartphone, with many more having internet access through shared devices. It is, therefore, imperative that more literacy tools become easily accessible via mobile devices. The role of online reading tools Improving literacy and reading comprehension across South Africa is imperative to grow generations of educated, engaged and empowered citizens, shares Moses. Ensuring that young people have access to reading tools and resources is key to facilitating such improvement. Online reading tools play an important role in creating easy access to quality reading materials. Young people now have access to a library of local stories written by themselves and their peers about them and for them. Moses advises that an environment in which teenagers can develop an appetite for reading is equally important as the reading tools themselves. If young people are given the encouragement to read for pleasure and the space to do just that, it will go a long way to help in the development of critical thinking and analytical thinking, improve their concentration and memory, strengthen their own writing ability, and even gain a better understanding of the world around them. The importance of digital literacy In a world where almost, everything relies on some sort of digital touchpoint, digital literacy has become incredibly important, and big tech companies such as Google have been doing their part. The company has a digital safety and citizenship curriculum for children that aims to help children use the internet safely and with caution. Additionally, in South Africa, digital literacy is also important in vernacular languages. The digital divide is widened at a technological level due to the absence of written content in African languages. This translates into poor datasets for machine learning and translation, making it harder to provide local-language versions of popular and useful apps. This makes it increasingly difficult for those who dont speak English to upskill themselves in the digital world or be more involved in technological innovation in South Africa, says Moses. Digital tools in home languages need to be made available to South Africans from a young age in order for them to thrive later in life. Zoho, a company that works with micro, small and medium enterprises to create digital literacy and provide critical skill development, echoes this sentiment, and believes that children need to be adequately equipped from early on in order to meet the demand of digital skills in South Africa. We need to future-proof children so that they are equipped to apply for jobs that require digital and development skills, says Andrew Bourne, regional manager for Africa at Zoho Corporation. And we can help do this by ensuring that educators have the skills to encourage children to become more digitally literate. With low-code platforms, for example, citizen developers can create complex and powerful business applications without requiring costly and lengthy training. Most low-code application development can be managed with users who only have moderate technical knowledge. Why data literacy matters Data is at the forefront of the world today. Everything we do includes either consuming data or sharing our data and information for various reasons. Data literacy is, therefore, an important part of learning in todays world. To make learning about data literacy that much easier, ALT Advisory, data privacy advocates, and Fundza have teamed up on a story called Stolen Dreams, by South African author Zimkhitha Mlanzeli. The story speaks about data protection through a compelling human-interest story. Bongi, the main protagonist, is a young woman who dreams of getting into university. These plans are halted when she becomes a victim of identity theft. The story unfolds as Bongi, and her friends investigate a shady businessperson who she suspects of stealing her personal information. The goal of this project is to help equip young people with the tools and knowledge they need to protect their data in a digital world. Moses concludes: Literacy across all aspects of life is becoming more important and its great to see how technology companies and platforms are doing their part to improve literacy levels in South Africa. With South Africans often having easier access to a phone than a book, these digital tools and apps will only become more useful in our plight to address the literacy challenges that we face as a country. Culture plays a vital role in shaping the way a company markets its brand. Understanding the cultural nuances of a target audience can make or break a marketing campaign. The importance of culture in marketing strategy has increased, as our understanding of its effect on consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions also increased. Who is the target? Before getting into this topic, it is important to understand that culture is not just about national or ethnic identity, but it also encompasses social, economic, and demographic factors. These cultural factors can have a significant impact on how a brand is perceived and received by a targeted audience. For example, a marketing campaign that emphasizes family values and tradition may resonate well with a conservative, older demographic, while a campaign that emphasizes individualism and innovation may be more appealing to a younger, more progressive demographic. In order to effectively market a brand, companies must take into account cultural differences in values, beliefs, and behaviour. Generating these insights and having cultural awareness and intelligence, is particularly important in culturally diverse countries such as South Africa. The choices impacted by these insights range from the foundation of the creative idea behind a marketing campaign, to anything from the images, environment and cast to the language and tone used in the advertising campaign. For example, in some cultures, it is considered impolite to directly promote a product or service, so a more subtle approach may be necessary. On the other hand, in other cultures, direct and assertive marketing tactics may be more effective. Culture also plays a role in determining what types of products and services are in demand. Different cultures may have different needs and wants, and a product that is popular in one cultural group may not be as well received in another. For example, while fast food is popular in the United States, it may not be as popular in cultures that place a greater emphasis on healthy eating. Companies must take into account these cultural differences when developing new products and services. Melting pot Another important aspect of culture in marketing is understanding how to communicate with different audiences. In todays globalised world, companies must be able to communicate effectively with customers and partners from different cultures, and this is equally as important in the cultural melting pot that is South Africa. This includes understanding cultural norms for communication, such as the use of formal vs. informal language including slang, and the importance of nonverbal cues like gestures and facial expressions. In addition, companies must also be aware of cultural sensitivities and how their marketing campaigns may be perceived. For example, using imagery or language that is considered offensive in one culture can cause significant damage to a companys reputation, and there are quite a number of these examples in South Africa from recent times. Therefore, it is important to conduct thorough research and testing before launching a marketing campaign to ensure that it is culturally appropriate. Brand identity Lastly, understanding culture is also crucial for developing a strong brand identity. A companys brand should reflect the values and beliefs of its target audience, and should be communicated in a way that is consistent with cultural norms. A company that is able to create a brand that resonates with its target audience at a cultural level, will have a competitive advantage over companies that do not take culture into account. In conclusion, culture plays a critical role in shaping consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions. Companies that take the time to understand and incorporate cultural factors into their marketing strategies will be more successful in reaching and engaging their target audiences in South Africa. Understanding culture can help companies develop effective marketing campaigns, create products and services that meet the needs of different cultures, communicate effectively with customers and partners, and create a strong brand identity. The South African wine industry has formally honoured four outstanding individuals at the annual Wine Harvest Commemorative Event, hosted on South Africa's oldest wine-producing farm, Groot Constantia in Cape Town, on Thursday 2 February 2023. The Wine Harvest Commemorative Event is a strong tradition in the South African wine industry, inspiring new levels of excellence in an inclusive way. This years event, held to celebrate the birth of South Africas wine industry 364 years ago, included the blessing of the new harvest and tributes to four individuals who have shown the way for future generations, unlocking their talents to ultimately leave a unique and proud legacy for South Africa. They were honoured in four categories: Visionary Leadership, Growing Inclusivity, Wine Advancement, and Viti- and Viniculture. According to Dr Ernest Messina, chairperson of Groot Constantia, it is heartening to witness the growth in reach and scope of this annual occasion. Year on year more wine people from diverse backgrounds are nominated to be recognised for their work, says Messina. This is in line with our objective of honouring all who are contributing to our proud wine industry. I trust that by recognising the four 2023 honourees, others will be inspired to take the industry to even greater heights. The 1659 Award for Visionary Leadership: Ken Forrester Ken Forrester This year the recipient of the prestigious 1659 Award for Visionary Leadership is Ken Forrester, widely known as 'Mr Chenin'. His contribution to the development and international fame of the chenin blanc cultivar has profoundly enhanced the reputation of South African chenin, making him a worthy recipient of one of the highest accolades in South Africas wine industry. Forrester was born in Zambia. His family moved to South Africa, where he went to school in Krugersdorp, followed by a three-year course in hotel management at the Johannesburg Hotel School and a career in hospitality at Southern Sun. After this, he entered the restaurant trade, where his unfaltering commitment culminated in his election as chairman of the Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (FEDHASA). A trip to the Cape in the early 1990s presented him with the opportunity to buy the historic Scholtzenhof Farm in Stellenbosch his first foray into the wine industry. It was here that his love affair with the chenin blanc cultivar started, and, despite setbacks and many challenges, Forrester soon put South African chenin on the global map. The Chenin Blanc Association of South Africa was established in 1998, with Forrester as a founding member. Thanks to the work of the association, South Africa has more chenin growing than the rest of the world combined, and it is universally regarded as South Africas de facto national white wine. Since its founding, the associations international standing has risen dramatically, through research and other projects in collaboration with international bodies and academic institutions. Milestones include: Global status: The Association has established chenin blanc as the most studied and researched cultivar in the world, including the development of the worlds first multi-language aroma wheel. Exponential financial growth: The net value of chenin blanc produced has increased from R290.6bn in 1998 to R888.7bn in 2020. Ploughing back: Contributions to the upliftment of wine worker communities amount to R2.1m as part of the Standard Bank Chenin Blanc Top 10 Challenge Awards. Forresters unique vision has put him at the forefront of promoting South African wine and made him the flag bearer for the chenin blanc cultivar. Over the years, his inspired work has not only resulted in sales growth locally, but has also brought global renown to South African wine, chenin blanc in particular. Forresters leadership demonstrates how vision and determination can conquer new territories for South African wine in a highly competitive global landscape. His work sets a worthy example for future generations. Growing Inclusivity category: Rydal Jeftha Rydal Jeftha The 2023 honouree in this category is Rydal Jeftha, CEO and managing director of the Koopmanskloof Vineyards for the past 16 years. The winner here, a person or institution, must set an inspirational example, pave the way for others by eliminating barriers, contribute to knowledge that others can use, and have a generally positive impact on the image of the South African wine industry. Jeftha has led the field for many years through his wealth of experience and true leadership. He has spearheaded important initiatives, including: Driving empowerment: Thandi Wines is South Africas first truly broad-based BEE wine company and also the biggest black-owned exporting wine company. Under Jefthas leadership, Thandis sales grew from 500 cases to 42,000 cases in just two years. Embracing fairtrade: As an empowered company, Koopmanskloof is one of the worlds largest fairtrade exporters. Jeftha has transformed it from a 100% bulk wine producer for the local market to an international bulk and packaged wine exporter. Emerging agriculture: Jeftha was a finalist for both Toyota Emerging Farmer of the Year and Cape Chamber of Commerce Exporter of the Year. Jeftha has 42 years experience in agriculture, including 20 years in the wine industry, with stints at Lourensford, Capespan, and Vinfruco. He is a board member of Vinpro and Wines of South Africa (WoSA). With his passion for emerging generations of farmers and winemakers, Jeftha is a mentor and inspirational leader to multitudes of young people, creating a sense of hope and future focus for those who may face barriers to enter the industry. Wine Advancement category: Wendy Jonker Wendy Jonker The 2023 honouree in this category is Wendy Jonker, appointed by the Minister of Agriculture as Administering Officer of the Liquor Products Act. The recipient in this category should have made notable contributions to the image and responsible use of wine and to developing the image of the South African wine industry through the breadth of their reach. In her role as administering officer, Jonker represents the South African government in bilateral and multilateral discussions and negotiations as a technical wine expert in the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV) and the World Wine Trade Group (WWTG). She is a registered professional natural scientist, and an author and reviewer of scientific publications as vice-president of the OIV scientific committee. Her achievements in creating an optimal governance environment for the wine industry include: Facilitating the export process: Involvement in developing an online export platform to streamline and shorten the export process. Enhancing international trade: Representing South Africas wine interest in the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Southern African Customs Union. Establishing good corporate governance: Maintaining constructive relations between the South African wine industry and importing countries, and addressing non-tariff barrier issues. Jonkers behind-the-scenes work has significantly contributed to opening doors for the South African wine industry internationally. Without the dedication and expertise of role players like her, the industry would find it difficult to advance consistently and sustainably. Viti- and Viniculture category: Dr Erna Blancquaert Dr Erna Blancquaert The 2023 honouree in this category is Dr Erna Blancquaert, lecturer and researcher in viticulture. The recipient of this accolade should have developed new ideas, technologies, and methods within the winemaking industry, and also implemented and transferred these ideas and methodologies, changing mindsets and benefiting the South African wine industry as a whole. Blancquaert is a lecturer in Grapevine and Wine Sciences at Stellenbosch University, where she also acts as postgraduate supervisor of masters and PhD students in Viticulture and Oenology, Sustainable Agriculture, and Biotechnology. Blancquaert was the first black South African to receive a PhD in Viticulture, in 2015. Her tireless devotion to excellence and empowerment has established her as a major force in her field. Here are just a few of her distinctions and achievements: Academia: Recipient of multiple awards, ranging from the South African Wine Industry Trust scholarship in 2003 to the Fulbright African Research Scholar Award in 2018, and most recently the Taylors Port Golden Vines Diversity Scholarship in 2021, as one of only two recipients out of 42 entries from 23 countries, allowing her to do her Master of Wine studies. Industry: Serves on various scientific journal review panels, as well as member of various industry bodies, including representing the national Minister of Agriculture on the Deciduous Fruit Industry Development Trust. The perfect balance between aged complexity and agave brightness. Award-winning Tequila Avion has unveiled Avion Reserva Cristalino, the latest addition to its exclusive Reserva range. As the prestigious brand continues to redefine standards of quality and taste, its newest innovation in the Avion portfolio is a crystal-clear, aged tequila that is a unique blend of the finest 12-month-old anejo, and a touch of 3-year-old extra anejo, double charcoal filtered to achieve crystalline clarity and unparalleled smoothness. Established in 2008, the prestigious tequila is made in small batches using only the finest agaves picked from the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, ensuring that Avion is taking aged tequilas to new heights with its Reserva range. Avion invites South Africans to indulge in an adventurous taste of Tulum with Avion Reserva Cristalinos versatile and elegant profile and unparalleled smoothness, making it great for every occasion, with a range of serves and cocktails capable of surprising at home or proudly served in the trendiest bar in town. Discover the impeccable savouring of a range of layered flavours within the crystal-clear tequila, and enjoy notes of oak, vanilla, spices, and nuttiness, along with the bright earthiness of Avions agaves. Ideally sipped neat or on the rocks, Avion Cristalino goes beyond typically aged tequila; it marries silky smoothness with aged complexity. Avion Cristalino has a world-renowned taste like no other and is meticulously crafted with hand-selected agaves that are slowly roasted in brick ovens and carefully distilled to ensure an incredibly smooth and finely balanced finish. "Avion Reserva Cristalino is for the individual looking for a superior drinking experience. They intentionally seek elevated experiences and are fearless enough to mix tradition with a modern twist of luxurious and distinct tastes because, 'with Avion Tequila, it's different up here'," says Damien Batteux, head of Portfolio Champagne, Cognac, and Tequila, Pernod Ricard South Africa. Our consumers are ever-evolving, and this evolution encouraged us to respond better to the industry needs, leading us to launch Avion Reserva Cristalino in South Africa," concludes Batteux. The perfectly elevated celebration for any tequila lover comprises Avion Reserva 44 a taste experience waiting to unfold. The true adventure of this perfectly aged tequila lies in discovering its 44 unique and rich flavour notes. An ever-evolving taste map ready to be explored sip by sip. Hand-crafted in limited batches, Avion Reserva 44 is an Extra Anejo tequila aged for at least 36 months in American oak barrels. Elevated and complex, Reserva 44 is aged to perfection for a rich, dark flavour experience consisting of infusions of ripe, luscious fruits. Avion Reserva Cristalino is now available in selected venues in South Africa, and will take the collectors of elevated experiences throughout a tequila journey with launch events at iconic accounts in Johannesburg, then followed by Cape Town and Durban. Visit TequilaAvion.com to discover more about Avion Reserva Cristalino and the brand's full portfolio. Lubin Ozoux, CEO of Sumitomo Rubber South Africa (Pty) Ltd, has been appointed as the new chairperson of the South African Tyre Manufacturers Conference (SATMC), the representative body of the four global tyre manufacturers with manufacturing facilities in South Africa. He began his two-year term as SATMC Chairperson on 1 November 2022 and will serve in the role until late 2024. Lubin Ozoux Ozoux has hit the ground running alongside SATMC managing executive, Nduduzo Chala, to ensure progress on topics critical to the industry, country and manufacturing sector. High on the agenda for the SATMC in 2023 is a drive to reduce the negative environmental impacts of waste tyres. Members are committed to finalising the Industry Waste Management Plan for Tyres this year and having a clear roadmap in place to reduce carbon emissions in the sector. SATMC priorities in 2023 broadly centre around industry evolution, skills development for the future, localisation and supplier development efforts, as well as infrastructure maintenance. However, Ozoux views waste management as a critical focus area. We are collaborating with the Tyre Importers Association of South Africa (TIASA), the Tyre Equipment Parts Association (TEPA) and the government to ensure that steps are taken to drive improvements and sustainability in both collection and processing of tyre waste, he said. This includes working closely with tyre dealers to encourage correct storage of waste tyres, and exploring the commercial prospects for waste tyres, with the aim of supporting enterprise development and job creation in a circular economy. Consultation is underway on the draft section 29 Integrated Industry Waste Management Plan for Tyres (IndWTMP), developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on the notice of Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Barbara Creecy. In terms of section 29(1) of the National Environmental Management: Waste Act 59 of 2008, the Plan provides requirements for the implementation of effective and efficient waste tyre management in South Africa and sets out guidelines and requirements for all tyre industry role-players. Failure to manage waste tyres as prescribed in the IndWTMP is a criminal offence. Chala said the industry has long been advocating for a process that will cater for the processing of end-of-life tyres. The SATMC is also lobbying in relation to second-hand tyres or part-worn tyres, which remain unregulated in the country, posing a serious safety risk for road commuters. As such, among our priority areas is to ensure that there is a part-worn standard developed through the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) and to challenge the importation of second-hand passenger casings into the country as these end up on our roads, becoming not only an environmental hurdle, but more importantly, a safety risk, says Chala. He said maintaining South Africas position as the key automotive hub in Africa would require close collaboration with government, automotive sector players and other industry associations, as well as a policy environment conducive to the competitiveness and sustainability of manufacturing. Tackling dumping and illicit trade Among efforts to safeguard competitiveness and sustainability for local tyre manufacturing is the campaign to stem the proliferation of unfairly traded tyres from China. We want to partner with government and other stakeholders in the industry to ensure that dumping and illicit trade is stopped to ensure sustainability in the local tyre manufacturing sector. If South Africa is used for dumping activities from other parts of the world, we will soon see remaining factories shutting down, causing further loss of employment, says Ozoux. Ozoux said the SATMC and its members would respect the final findings of the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC), which is currently investigating the issue of tyre dumping from China into South Africa. Following a preliminary investigation, ITAC imposed a provisional antidumping duty of 38.33% on car, passenger, truck and bus tyres dumped into the local market from China, applicable between 9 September2022 to 8 March 2023. He said all four SATMC members would continue to drive road safety, while striving for the sustainability of the local tyre manufacturing sector in 2023 and beyond. I look forward to creating positive opportunities within our environment, helping to ensure the countrys future prosperity. For me, it is critical to work with all four tyre manufacturers, government and the private sector to contribute to the sustainability of the local industry, create employment opportunities, accelerate economic reforms, address unfair international trade practices, reduce barriers to entrepreneurship and improve infrastructure, he said. From 1 March 2023, the earnings threshold will increase to R241,110.59, entitling employees falling below the new threshold to stricter protections in terms of labour legislation. Image source: Andriy Popov 123RF.com The earnings threshold will increase to R241,110.59, representing a R17,030.11 increase from the earnings threshold that currently applies. The earnings threshold, a determination in terms of section 6(3) of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), impacts the applicability of certain of the provisions of the BCEA, the Labour Relations Act (LRA), and the Employment Equity Act (EEA). Employees who earn above the threshold are not entitled to certain of the protections afforded to those employees who earn below the threshold. What labour legislation says about earnings threshold Sections of the BCEA regulating ordinary hours of work, overtime, meal intervals, daily and weekly rest periods, Sunday pay, pay for work at night and on public holidays only apply to employees earning below the threshold. Employees earning above the threshold are not subject to the deeming provisions that apply to temporary employment services (labour brokers), and fixed-term employment provisions under the LRA. In the EEA, employees earning above the threshold are not allowed to refer disputes relating to unfair discrimination to the CCMA for arbitration unless it is related to sexual harassment, or all parties agree to arbitration. To be able to calculate whether an employee falls above or below the earnings threshold, the determination outlines what should be included in defining "earnings". An understanding of this is essential in seeking to minimise the risk of non-compliance with the BCEA. Importantly, "earnings" in this context must be differentiated from what may otherwise be included in "remuneration" in terms of the Ministerial Determination regulating the Calculation of Employee's Remuneration in terms of section 35(5) of the BCEA. Therefore, the increase to the earnings threshold may result in an increased number of employees becoming entitled to the stricter protections afforded by labour legislation such as overtime payments. This may, in turn, have financial consequences for employers. An assessment should be conducted by all employers to ensure that the increase and its consequences are accounted for in the workplace and, where necessary, changes to the employment contracts or remuneration structures are affected in order to mitigate the risks of any unintended contraventions of the BCEA or the deeming provisions applicable to atypical employment arrangements. Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Thembi Nkadimeng, says the department is preparing for any eventuality ahead of the announcement that Cyclone Freddy is expected to bring heavy rains and strong winds in the north eastern part of South Africa from early Saturday morning. Image: SANews.gov.za Speaking to SAnews, the Minister called on communities, who may be affected by Cyclone Freddy, to heed warnings and evacuate if necessary. Listen more to the notices of evacuations, stay safe and dont try to cross any streams. One of the cases in Nkomazi [Local Municipality] was a learner who was trying to cross a stream out of school and hes still missing as of [Tuesday]. We have had six fatalities in that area alone, and 11 in the entirety of Mpumalanga [as a result of the current flooding]. One life is one too many, so we need to stay clear of streams. Our teams are on the ground, humanitarian relief as well, readying ourselves for Friday and Saturday in any eventuality that we may need to evacuate more people, Nkadimeng said. She said Cyclone Freddy is expected to bring added pressure on infrastructure and homes that are already flood battered and will set back ongoing relief efforts. It is anticipated that it will continue pouring in Mpumalanga. We are already sitting at about 1,929 houses that must be [provided] for human settlement relief, only in Mpumalanga. So you can see that if we are going to combine a budget for human settlement relief and development for all the seven [affected] provinces, we are going to be ranging into serious billions of rands in terms of what we need to repair, she said. Turning to current relief efforts, Nkadimeng told SAnews Cogta has written to President Cyril Ramaphosa requesting the assistance of the South African army to assist in disaster relief in the flood-hit Eastern Cape. Heavy rains have battered several provinces over the past two weeks, leading President Ramaphosa to declare a National State of Disaster to ensure an accelerated response from government to assist affected communities. I visited Nkomazi, which is the hardest hit in Mpumalanga. We are assessing about six municipalities there. We are estimating damages going to almost R1bn. The Eastern Cape has already rounded up and estimated billions as well. We are discussing and asking for authority from the President and the Minister of Defence to dispense the army in the Eastern Cape because some of the roads are actually totally destroyed, Nkadimeng said. She reflected on the immense damage that ongoing flooding has caused in communities all over the country. Water infrastructure has been damaged and villages have not been receiving water. Roads have been damaged. Farmers have lost livestock. Just in Nkomazi alone, 5,650 cattle and goats have been lost, 119 farming equipment has been lost... and on estimation, that will cost around R200m for the farmers to repair. So its quite [a lot] of damage that has happened and will cost us a great deal to repair, she said. Investors were mostly positive about the South African government's plan to take on more than half of Eskom's debt over the next three years, viewing it as a path back to sustainability for the troubled state utility. Source: Mike Hutchings/Reuters The government plans to take on R254bn of Eskom's R423bn debt, which the National Treasury said was at risk of default. That was the upper end of the one-third to two-third range that finance minister Enoch Godongwana had previously set out last year, prompting the rand and Eskom's international dollar bonds to rally as investors welcomed the cut in debt service costs. "It's slightly more than what the market was expecting," said Max Wolman, a senior portfolio manager at Abrdn, which holds Eskom's overseas bonds. "Interest costs should come down and that should make Eskom a viable ... going concern." The Treasury said that it would settle R184bn that Eskom owes over the next three years via a loan that converts to equity in the utility and then take on R70bn of debt directly in the 2025/26 financial year. Phased approach The phased approach speaks to the government's fiscal caution, "which is positive for investor confidence", said Khanyisa Phika, an economist at Alexforbes, a South African financial services firm that holds Eskom debt. "We are certain that government is actually serious about turning around Eskom," she added. "It's highly likely that it's credit positive for Eskom and credit-neutral for the sovereign," Jones Gondo, an analyst at Nedbank, said of the plan. "If they don't meet the conditions of operational performance, then the loans they're getting from the government don't convert into equity and that slows down the credit trajectory." No more bailouts after this one, says Godongwana Godongwana told Reuters that there would be no more bailouts for Eskom after this one, adding that if it failed to comply with the debt relief conditions then "heads must roll". These conditions include using the debt relief to only settle debt and interest payments and requiring Eskom to prioritise maintenance of its dilapidated coal power stations and capital expenditure on transmission and distribution. But some investors said more clarity was required on these conditions and their enforcement. "Other than withholding subsequent relief payments, there is no indication of other steps Treasury will take to assist the utility to return to sustainability," said Raphi Rootshtain, a portfolio manager at South African financial services firm Sasfin Wealth. This week I speak to creative director Wilton Ackeer about what inspires him to create magic at Rogerwilco. Wilton Ackeer. Source: Supplied. What do you enjoy most about your industry? People. But there are two kinds of people; the ones we are desperate to resonate with as we create work. And the people we share our coffees and toasted sandwiches with. Its their ever-changing habits, wants and trends that drive everything I do. What is a typical workday for you? Finding out what a client wants. Then spending the rest of the day coming up with something better. Describe your career so far. A bit of this and a lot of that, like most people who started in advertising 20 odd years ago, I started by making traditional advertising like TV, radio and print ads. Over the years the mediums have changed, from Below The Line to CRM and now digital. It still feels like that first day at an agency. What are you currently streaming/reading/listening to? This is difficult because of the inherent judgement that comes with sharing this info. Music: Im currently listening to a lot of British reggae like Linton Kwesi Johnson. Hes angry, in a chilled, contemplative way. Reading: The Lie of 1652, which deals with the taught version of European settlers and how, in fact, the Cape was a very different place to what it states in our textbooks. Podcast: May I elaborate with JB Smoove. What's your favourite gif? I still cant decide whether to say it with a G or J. Who inspires you? People who turn their ideas into businesses. What did you want to be when you were a child? A wildlife vet. Give three pieces of advice for young people waiting to enter this industry. Use your own experiences, no matter how trivial. Clients arent stupid. Dont steal booze from the agency bar. Has it all been worth it? Totally! What absolute fun this industry is. Last year Mandisi Ads was launched as part of the Mandisi Media Group, founded by Mandisi Maqetuka. This new business offers out-of-home (OOH) advertising services and last year it successfully launched a nationwide OOH Mall campaign for GCIS. Bizcommunity reached out to its founder to find out more about Mandisi Ads and the story behind its creation. Mandisi Ads founder Mandisi Maqetuka | image supplied Tell us how you got started on launching Mandisi Ads? We started off by accumulating strategically positioned digital and static OOH inventory in line with local OOH by-laws. In 2020, our very first OOH campaign was with the Capitec Bank at our impactful airport sites, in the same year, we produced another clients (Sizwe medical fund) successful OOH campaign on our unconventional and tactical airport branding inventory. In 2022, we officially launched Mandisi Ads with a GCIS national malls OOH campaign and a regional (Western Cape Province) malls and lifestyle environments OOH campaign for the Western Cape Government. We then amplified our launch through the companys business introductory tour, visiting media agencies across the country. What services does Mandisi Ads offer? Mandisi Maqetuka: We offer out-of-home advertising static and digital inventory, where we position clients' brands right at the apex of their target markets with colossal ROI. Our OOH inventory offering includes the following precincts: Affluent airports environment Different LSMs malls environment Utility social lifestyle environment What inspired you to start this business? Other than the conspicuous ultimate template of generational wealth creation, the OOH business is inspirational to me because it is one potent advertising medium artistry with a value proposition to drive an immediate and direct response that mix markets could perform on, leading to clients OOH campaigns KPI high-end results. What challenges did you face in starting Mandisi Ads? Access to markets at an organic scale was and still continues to be a challenge in our business. What future plans do you have for Mandisi Ads? A quest to attain sufficient capex and vastly increase our digital out-of-home inventory and create latitude for our clients to purchase and manage their campaigns efficiently through programmatic DOOH, too. What trends do you predict for the advertising and media sectors? With the deprecation of third-party cookies by most major browsers to the changes in consumer behaviour that distinguish our post-pandemic era, I believe that advertisers and brands will have to systemically adopt a very agile, adaptable and feasible approach to reach their target markets. In the end, the datafication of the advertising and media fraternity always presents both opportunities and threats. As an entrepreneur, what would you like to see change in the South African startup landscape? A paradigm shift from working in silos to a unified ecosystem and prompt an establishment of a tailored digital start-ups bank, of which will be strictly catering for all of our SMMEs and SMEs business needs with zero to non-red tape. What words of motivation do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs? Integrity above all in your business. When a temporary doom and gloom moment finds you, trust the process and never stop having constant positive thoughts, practical concentration and mental strenght, for which are your margins of victory. The 2023 online Film Impact Screening Facilitation course by Cape Town-based media organisation Sunshine Cinema and the UCT Centre for Film and Media Studies, which will run from 1 June 1 to 8 December 2023, is open for applications. All applications must be in by 31 March 2023. Image supplied. South African Sihle Hlophe, graduate of the 2022 online Film Impact Screening Facilitation course, is an executive producer at Passion Seed Communications and produced the recent award-winning film Lobola, A Bride's True Price? This follows the success of the inaugural course last year. Its success, along with the growing need for societal shifts, has resulted in the course becoming an annual feature on the film and social justice landscape. The course equips participants with the skills and knowledge needed to use film as a tool to initiate meaningful discussions and have a positive impact on societal issues. Well-known story-tellers, film producers and directors, activists, writers, community leaders and university lecturers who have used their skills to effectively make change will be lecturing the course. Participants will learn the methods and processes for hosting impactful screenings and will leave with a toolkit and a network of peers and mentors to support their future efforts. The big take-out from alumni of the inaugural course is that: Change is possible. And a well-crafted film with a powerful message shown to a relevant audience can be a catalyst for positive change in society. Alumni praise for the course South African Sihle Hlophe, graduate of the course who is executive producer at Passion Seed Communications, a film-driven social enterprise says: The courseaffirmed what I have always believed that film is an effective tool for social change. I am inspired by the filmmakers who are using their films to create paradigm shifts, influence changes in policy, hold people in power accountable, and change the lives of their documentary subjects. Through the course, I had the privilege of meeting some of these filmmakers such as Rehad Desai, Anita Khanna, and Emily Wanja. Hlophe hopes that her recent award-winning film Lobola, A Bride's True Price? will bear the fruits of the course having secured five impact screenings around the country with Sunshine Cinema. The impact campaign of Lobola is aimed at empowering women with important information about their marital rights, men too. This course has helped tremendously in developing a strategy for this. Le Roux Schoeman, a video journalist and editor working for the faith-based NGO Kerkbode, and an alumnus of the course says he had very little understanding of how content "lands" in real life ... in the communities where it was shot, for instance. So the course concept (how to facilitate screenings) appealed to me as a natural extension of working with video on social impact and human interest stories. Another alumni New York-based producer Debbie Walters says A powerful takeaway for me was that change is brought about by ordinary people every day. When we look at change as a process rather than an event and position ourselves as part of the solution rather than just restating the problem, there is great power in what we can do even as one person. When it comes to the change I'd like to inspire within the film production community itself., I'm looking forward to sparking conversation about what is happening within my own community by creating safe spaces to encourage dialogue. An understanding of the impact eco-system Ugandan creative Denis Onyodi, whose vision is to impact his world through creative and relevant visual content did the course in 2022. The overall take-out for him was that he got an understanding of the impact eco-system and how he could have a lot of control over this to achieve the greatest impact for his work. A highlight for Onyodi was meeting like-minded professionals from Kenya, South Africa, and South America and being able to discuss areas of shared interests. Kenyan producer, Joan Njeri says, Figuring out how to do an impact campaign and the practical side was really interesting for me. Anyone who has a goal to work in a community should do this course. Open to anyone wanting to learn The course is open to anyone wanting to learn more about how to use film as a means to make change, explains Sydelle Willow Smith Sunshine Cinema co-founder, and lecturer. These could be locally-based issues for example service delivery or gangsterism, or bigger global issues such as climate change, and food security. But what is vital is that people, once having watched a film, are able to have robust and open discussions with a facilitator, with the aim to help or galvanize a community into positive action. There is a fee for the course, but several scholarships are available to participants who merit the opportunity. Find more information or enrol here This article is a deep dive into the history and background of Transhumanism. It underscores the title of my latest book, The Evil Twins of Technocracy and Transhumanism. Transhumanism is an ideological pseudoscience that cannot possibly succeed, but will leave a wake of human destruction and harm in its path. Technocracy News & Trends Editor Patrick Wood By: Johannes Eisleben via UKColumn Transhumanism is a very strong trend among the Western elites. Its aim is to overcome the natural limitations of human biology using technology. Proponents of transhumanism, including Yuval Harari and Klaus Schwab, believe in ideas such as these: that we can improve the human body to create cyborgs, which are fictive organisms in which human organs and technology are seamlessly combined; that properties such as human intelligence can be genetically enhanced by germline genome manipulation; that mRNA technology will soon allow us to write circuitry for cells and predictably program biology in the same way in which we write software and program computers (as worded in President Bidens Executive Order on biotechnology); that we will soon cure cancer using genetic or even nano-mechanic (tiny machine) therapies; that machines will shortly be able to read thoughts; that there is no free will because the mind is a collection of biochemical processes; that soon we will obtain digital immortality by uploading our minds to the cloud; that artificial intelligence (AI) will soon lead to machines more intelligent than humans; and either that AI will make most humans useless to society because all their work will be taken over by machines, or that we will be able to genetically reprogram the sex of adult humans in the near future to name just a few of the ideas they espouse. Why is all of this unscientific balderdash? And why do so manyincluding clever people like the billionaire Elon Muskbelieve in it? What are the roots and goals of this movement? Lets answer these questions in reverse order. What are the transhumanists goals? There are two groups of transhumanists. The first group sees transhumanism as the ultimate method of self-actualisation (alias self-realisation), supposedly allowing those who think they can afford this eye-wateringly expensive alleged self-improvement to escape the biological limits of their bodies. For example, the transhumanist Martine Rothblatt, whose cells have the XY karyotype but who became a woman, says that self-defining ones gender is just the first step on a path that will lead to a cure for cancer and other lethal diseases and ultimately to digital immortality. Related to this goal, but of lesser importance, is the idea that transhumanism could promote universal equality of outcomes in the tradition of the French Enlightenment ideal of equality by law (as opposed to the Protestant Enlightenment ideal of equality under the law, or isonomy). In this flavour, transhumanism has an emancipatory character akin to abolitionism (the fight against slavery in the nineteenth century) or feminist emancipation, the absurd idea that both sexes should be equal in every respect. Proponents of this variant of the creed believe that all human beings could be altered using transhumanistic technology to achieve equality of outcomes. We will see in the last two sections below that none of these hopes can be fulfilled. The second group of transhumanists hopes to use transhumanism as a technical means of power in the spirit of Aldous Huxley, who describes the engineering of human classes with planned properties in artificial wombs. Implanted sensors or molecular effectors (for example, delivering pulsated drug dosages into the circulation) are believed by transhumanists, as is genetic engineering, to afford physical control and manipulation of the masses, to direct their will and to leave most human beings superfluous. For example, Harari believes that artificial intelligence will make most humans useless; according to him, only a small elite of superhumans will be needed in the future. He also thinks that technology can be used to direct and manage the will of the masses. We will see below that, while technology can be used to manipulate the masses culturally, it cannot be used to control them physically (other than in the pushing of chronic mass intoxication and addiction, which is not a new phenomenon), nor to render them obsolete as a workforce. Also related to this intention is the idea of using the transhumanist narrative to exert cultural power via fear of the future, as has been done with the climate change and the Covid fear narratives. This is by far the biggest effect that the transhumanist narrative has had so far, but it will lose its hold once its preposterousness and anti-scientific character become obvious and once its cultural precondition, the current collective Western spasm of fear, has dissipated. What are the cultural roots of transhumanism? Transhumanism has several major cultural sources: self-actualisation, an idea originally developed in the Italian Renaissance which was further elaborated and popularised by Herder but which has since degenerated into a flat form of hedonistic consumerism; emancipation in the sense of the French Enlightenment; Cartesianism and neo-positivism; postmodern anti-rationalism; and eugenics. We will discuss each in turn. Self-actualisation The idea of self-actualisation was originally developed by Pico de la Mirandola and other thinkers of the Italian Renaissance. It was a programme for cultural elites to realise the full potential of their personality and arose with the discovery of the modern individual. The individual was thought to be primarily related to himself and was tasked with maximising his own culture, knowledge and pleasure. In the eighteenth century, the German Protestant theologian Johann Gottfried Herder reformulated the concept as a philosophy for the masses, but in accordance with Christianity. Self-actualisation was meant to happen in the context of the liberty of a Christian (a doctrine as old as the New Testament) who is simultaneously a freeman unto himself, but a bondsman unto all (Luther). In the nineteenth century, when the followers of Hegel separated the modern individual from God, one of them, Max Stirner, enunciated a radical agenda of self-actualisation by declaring that each man is his own god, possessing his own uniqueness. The Western bourgeoisie developed a romantic manifesto of self-actualisation during the nineteenth century, which became a broad social movement of the upper classes. However, its subjectivist tendency quickly became apparent. Heidegger, one of the fathers of contemporary anti-rationalism, saw this movement as a form of subjectivism, including the most dangerous kind, which is hidden in the cult of the personality. He also saw a link to globalism (which he called planetarism) and said that planetarian imperialism (by which he meant US-led globalisation commencing in the 1930s) would culminate in a forgetfulness of being (Seinsvergessenheit) embedded in subjectivism. In like vein, Heidegger calls this Western subjectivism the rule of Man, an elegant pun in the original German (where man is routinely used as a pronoun indicating anonymity, collectivity or unspoken agency, like one in English and on in French, but which Heidegger repurposes as a noun). Hard to translate, this coining of his means the rule of a standardised, soulless type of posthuman. After all, a trans-anything is on the way to leaving it behind altogether (post-). Foucaultwho, like his main sources, Bataille, Marx and Heidegger, is rarely a source of valid insightadequately characterised this cultural megatrend as the Californian self-cult, and later Charles Taylor called it pseudo-authenticity in his Ethics of Authenticity, a redoubtable book on this very topic. All of these thinkers realised that this pseudo-self-actualisation is a form of consumerism in which the realisation of the potential of the person is trivialised to a certain selection of goods and services churned out by the megamachine (Lewis Mumford). In transhumanism, the idea of self-actualisation attains a peak. Transhumanists affirm that we can completely reshape our entire bodily and mental existence to maximise the potential of our personality. The would-be woman Rothblatt, who not coincidentally resides in California, is the consummate embodiment of this ideology. Emancipation Emancipation is an idea originating in the French Enlightenment and contains a factor that the Protestant Enlightenment (Britain, the Netherlands, the German-speaking countries and Scandinavia) does not recognise. The main ideas of the Protestant Enlightenment are the dignity of the individual, the individuals freedom and rights, and the sanctity of design of the bourgeois society built on these ideas, namely a state respecting and protecting the rule of law and enabling democratic participation. In the French tradition, however, there is a notion to create a secular paradise on earth, which was described explicitly by Abbe Etienne-Gabriel Morelly in his Code de la nature (1755), the first communist manifesto ever written. Morelly proposed the creation of the state that owns everything and distributes goods and services to achieve perfect equality and social justice. His ideas influenced Rousseau, who distinguished the vulgar volonte de tous (the will of everyman, a bottom-up democratic participation in Scottish Enlightenment terms) from the ostensibly noble volonte generale (the universal will), to be discerned and implemented by an elitist oligarch group supervising and directing society to achieve a higher optimum. The idea of emancipation, according to which humans need to be liberated from oppressive power structures of society by breaking with traditional rules, was very potent in the French Revolution, and later on in feminism, as well as in anti-racist movements. It has, of course, a fully justified core that is clearly visible in abolitionism (the campaign to end slavery), but tends to become dangerous if the liberation it seeks is combined with the intention to plan a new and better society with new social norms from scratch, as the French revolutionary Babeuf described it. It did not take long for Burke and Hegel to realise this and point out that societies can only be stable if social norms evolve spontaneously. In transhumanism, there is the idea that technical manipulation of human nature can free us from the burden of our physical existence and make us immortal. It is a secularised eschatology aiming at the total absence of constraints imposed on us by nature or society (which is the natural system resulting from human nature by the interaction of individuals in large groups). The slipping of the bonds of nature is part of the self-actualisation aspect of transhumanism, but the creed also contains an aspect of social emancipation based on technology. This view is thoroughly detached from any realistic perspective on anthropology. The last emancipatory promise based on technology was propagated in the 1990s: it was the idea of the free internet, which was supposed to be shared by mankind and to enable new models of participation. Today, the internet has instead become a tool of commercial data collection and exploitation, mass surveillance, propaganda and political exclusion, trammelled knowledge and censorship. Cartesianism and neo-positivism Cartesianismthe philosophy of Descartes summed up in the deductivist maxim I think, therefore I amhas many aspects, but the one we are concerned with here is the view that humans can systematically describe, understand and manipulate the world using mathematics and the sciences based on them. For Descartes, the entire world is a mechanism that can be modelled mathematically to enable its mapping and manipulation. Major Cartesians were Lagrange, La Mettrie and Laplace. Lagrange was a mathematical genius who invented a very elegant mathematical expression of Newtons laws. Like Boyle and Hooke, both British physicists, he believed that the laws of physics were written by God into the book of nature and merely await our discovery, which is the task of science. La Mettrie, a contemporary of Lagrange, was a drastic materialist and saw the human being as a machine. Laplace, who lived a generation later, believed that if we could measure all physical magnitudes of the world, we could write down a gigantic system of differential equations, plug the measurement values into it, and calculate the future: an idea later dubbed the Laplace demon. Scientists with a higher power of judgement than the French scientific utopians, such as Adam Smith and Immanuel Kant, saw that this was impossible, and it became apparent in the course of the nineteenth century that classical physics (mechanics plus electromagnetism) was running into problems that could not be resolved in the universal framework originally defined by Newton, Leibniz, and Euler. Many philosophers apprehended early on that we are unable to model and manipulate nature in the way the Cartesians longed for. Giambatista Vico may well have been the first, but othersfrom Herder to Max Scheler, who solemnly pronounced Cartesianism deadfollowed in his wake. When, with the development of quantum mechanics, it became evident that the mathematical models of particles making up matter merely led to stochastic (guesswork) models of reality, many physicists abandoned Cartesianism as well. The theory of complex systems which emerged from thermodynamics and chaos theory made it obvious to every physicist that the models we have are superb for predicting the behaviour of highly restricted systems and for engineering technology based on them, but that we cannot model complex systems using mathematics. But though Cartesianism is dead from the point of view of philosophy and mathematical physics, it is still a major driving force of our culture, as is evident from the fact that so many engineers, entrepreneurs, biologists, representatives of the humanities and politicians believe in Cartesianism. They are convinced by Cartesianism because they do not understand physics and because they are bedazzled by the great success of physics and its applications over the last two centuries. Closely related to Cartesianism is neo-positivism. It is the heir to positivism, an ideology which was fully formulated by Auguste Comte, who coined the term. The basic idea of positivism is that all true propositions which constitute scientific knowledge have to be based on empirical data that can be verified using independent observations or experiments. It is based on the English tradition of empiricism going back to Aristotle and Bacon (Novum Organum), Locke, and then the Scottish Enlightenment; above all, David Hume. No sources of science other than experience and its verification are allowed; there is therefore no religious or metaphysical knowledge. Positivism is strongly linked with the idea of the teleological (end-state), necessary progress of mankind, a secular (post-Christian) eschatology. Comte believed that there was a necessary movement towards a science-based (where have we heard that adjective recently?) global culture that would enable mankind to surpass its current dismal state. He founded the secular-positivist religion of humanity (eglise positiviste) for positivist societies to fulfil the cohesive function once held by collective worship. Though positivism was dismissed as an ideology by Scheler, the Vienna Circle in the 1920s revived its ideas as logical (or neo-) positivism. The movement failed philosophically, but the ideas of positivism are still vivid in transhumanism and its teleological ideas. A core feature of both Cartesianism and positivism notable in transhumanism is the alleged technical feasibility of effecting a change in human nature using mathematical models. Eugenics The ideas of eugenics go back to Arthur de Gobineau, the theoretician of the master race, and Herbert Spencer, the coiner of the term survival of the fittest. Eugenics became a political movement in the 1920s in the United States and Britain. Its core idea is that the genomes of the individuals of a population (the totality of their genetic material) should be improved to yield a higher genetic quality of the individuals and a better overall genetic quality of the population. It was inspired by the success of animal and plant breeding in agriculture, which was first genetically explained by Mendel and then systematically used to improve the properties of agricultural life forms. But because even basic human traits such as body height have an omnigenomic inheritance pattern (the whole genome encodes the trait), and since nothing is known about the genetic causation of higher qualities such as intelligence or emotional stability, eugenic strivings cannot succeed even theoretically. Any attempts to implement eugenic programmes, such as those pursued by the Nazis in the 1940s, are deeply anti-human and evil. Nevertheless, transhumanism is full of dreams of improving mankind using genetic manipulation. Postmodern anti-rationalism Transhumanism also has a deeply anti-rational aspect. Postmodern thinkers like Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault and Judith Butler reject the idea that there even is reliable knowledge of the world. For them, human language is an expression of power; all propositions have to be interpreted from a power perspective. The will to surmount biological sex by replacing it with gender, to overcome racism by pronouncing that races do not exist, to transgress traditional cultural identities and social norms by declaring that they are merely oppressive structuresall are hallmarks of postmodern anti-rationalism. The emancipatory arm of transhumanism is strongly influenced by these ideas. The irrationality of transhumanism Transhumanism is anti-rational because it hankers to apply scientific methods to systems that cannot be modelled using mathematical physics, chemistry or biology in the way transhumanists fondly fancy. Let us look at the main plans cherished by transhumanists, starting with eugenics. We cannot genetically reprogram our mind-body continuum because we are unable to model how the phenotypical properties which we would like to alter are caused by our genome as well as by the non-genetic cellular material we inherit from the blastocyst and embryonic and foetal development. In medicine, there are many examples of technologies that successfully alter properties of the body, but they can only address partial systems and are unable to model and manipulate the complex system of the mind-body continuum as a whole. This is why there is no cure for solid malignant carcinomas (cancer) and why we cannot cure schizophrenia or Alzheimers disease. We could not even manipulate a genome to increase body height, though for such basic properties this can be done by way of breeding in animals. The other dreams of transhumanism are as naive and absurd as its eugenic expectations. We cannot build interfaces to our sensory apparatus, because the models of the neuronal systems we have are far too superficial and partial in nature. The problem is that we do not understand in detail how the different types of energy reaching our various sensory cells are even translated into neuronal signals. While this shortcoming in our knowledge can be remedied, we will not be able to achieve more than harnessing the afferent neurons that are already present in the nervous system. Why is this so? Because the sensory unit from the peripheral sensory cells to the end points in neuronal processing form a hard-wired, closed biological system that we cannot change. For example, we can build glasses that can sense the presence of radioactivity and then translate this into a light signal that can be mixed into our regular visionbut we cannot add neuronal subsystems to our nervous system, with the specialist task of processing radioactivity, to add a Geiger sense to our heads. A flick through a modern textbook of neuroscience is highly instructive in this context: it contains almost no mathematical models, and thus the curtailments of what can be engineered are certain. We can only engineer if we have mathematical models that allow us to calculate the characteristics of a technology. True, engineering is also a heuristic science; but its process of discovery is always based on scientific models. Though we can build prostheses that can be connected in a rough-and-ready manner to motor nerves, we will not manage to model the sensorimotor circuits that drive our conscious and unconscious motions at a level sufficient to build a cyborg. Nor is such a project necessary, as we already have interfaces with which we can direct high-precision instruments such as quantum sensors or huge machines like the Large Hadron Collider and the International Space Station. That is not to say that further technical progress will not happen, but our ability to change humans is restricted by the complexity of the mind-body continuum, the most complicated individual complex system there is. The same applies to human thought and mind. Transhumanist slogans that we will soon be able to read thoughts using quantum sensors and AI are ludicrous. Even when we will be able to measure some of the signals occurring during the physiological process that we experience as propositional cognition (thinking in sentences) with higher temporal and spatial resolution than todaywhich we certainly will shortly be able to dowe still wont be able to understand how the 100 billion neurons of the brain (and the additional glial cells that support them, ten- to fiftyfold more numerous) encode propositional thoughts. That is a process in which the cells involved use hundreds of thousands of different molecules each. The same is true for nuanced emotions, acoustic, olfactory or visual memories, and all the other rich modes of inner experience with which we are endowed. Furthermore, transhumanist dreams of digital immortality are utter nonsense. The mind-body continuum is, as the name suggests, a unity. We do not understand the processes that we experience as consciousness and inner experience at all, after a century of furious philosophising and research on the subject. It is impossible to model them to an extent that would allow us to emulate these processes in a Turing machine (a computer, or a quantum computer in the future). Authors like Harari who extrapolate from the technology that is available today to predict achievements of transhumanist technology do not appreciate how the insights of physics were translated into technology over the last three centuries. Transhumanists fail to grasp the limits of physics and engineering. They have no idea of biology and its swingeing limitations. In other words, their predictions reveal that they do not understand science at all. That is why these visions should not scare us: they are all mere fantasies. Transhumanism is nothing but neo-Lysenkoism, an ideological pseudoscience. However, there is a dangerous aspect of transhumanism, just as there was a massive danger in the eugenic ideology of the Nazis. The hazards and the failure of transhumanism As long as transhumanism was just an ideology detached from reality, it did not warrant too much attention. The first fundamental application that the transhumanist ideology could relate to was the surgical and hormonal change of the outer appearance of patients with transsexual personality disorder who had a normal gonosomal karyotype (XX or XY chromosome pairs). Of course, these successful interventions do not change the fundamental biology of the treated person; but with the introduction of these methods erroneously called sex reassignment surgery (erroneously, because the intervention does not change the sex, only the appearance) since the 1960s, early transhumanists were flushed with the hope that more might be possible. Todays widespread usage of gonadotropin-releasing hormone modulators (puberty blockers) to stop the onset of adolescence, and the performance of surgery on underage children with a normal gonosomal karyotype without a long period of clinical observation to establish the diagnosis of a transsexual personality disorder (which would represent a valid indication for such treatments), demonstrates the dangers and the nihilism of the transhumanist ideology. The damage inflicted on children is grievous in the extreme, and once the cultural hysteria that brings about such surgical activism is over, Western societies will reel under the weight of coming to terms legally and culturally with this collective crime. Another example of the danger of transhumanism is the so-called Covid vaccination programme. The treatments consist of repeated injections of genetically modified nucleic acids, either as modified RNA contained in lipid nanoparticles, or as adenovirus-packaged cDNA (complementary DNA). As was clearly visible from the trial data of the various licensees, the treatment has no prophylactic effect on an infection with SARSCoV2, but it is significantly toxic. One in a thousand to one in five hundred treated people have already died, and an order of magnitude more (one per cent) are chronically ill because of the treatment, as a careful evaluation of the numbers undertaken by a German scientist shows. Stillbirths among vaccinated pregnant women have reached unprecedented levels, and it is unclear how severe the mid- to long-term effects on fertility will be. This massive damage to the unborn, while appalling, is not astonishing, since the spike protein encoded by the nucleic acid vectors destroys the endothelium of embryonic and foetal blood vessels when administered at an effective dose (which does not happen with every injection, due to quality problems with the vectors). But the vaccination programme has not been stopped, even though the damage continues to mount up. The producers of these nucleic acid treatments and the regulatory authorities in charge of approving the treatments knew all of this when the injection campaign started. The willingness to perform this medical crime, which is the worst in human history, was patently impelled by transhumanism, with its stated intent to genetically modify those who were vaccinated. Politicians and health executives who support these programmes subscribe to a transhumanist agenda. This is evident from recent government publications across the Western world. The executive order on biotechnology issued by the Biden Administration on 12 September 2022 states: We need to develop genetic engineering technologies and techniques to be able to write circuitry for cells and predictably program biology in the same way in which we write software and program computers; unlock the power of biological data, including through computing tools and artificial intelligence; and advance the science of scale-up production while reducing the obstacles for commercialization so that innovative technologies and products can reach markets faster. To view biological systems as deterministic electric circuits that can be programmed like a computer is highly characteristic of transhumanism. The above quotation exemplifies all the characteristics of the ideology described above. At the same time, trying such anti-rational methods on human beings is dangerous and criminal. Transhumanism will fail when the functional elite, the one-in-twenty carrying out the management of society (the outer party as George Orwell called them) on behalf of the tiny overlord class of owners (the inner party in 1984), start to understand to what extent they themselves have been physically damaged by ineffective therapies that do nothing but harm. Transhumanism is bound to fail because its ideas cannot be achievedthey are technically unfeasible, and will not pass the reality test. The Covid vaccination campaign clearly illustrates this, but it could well be that more harm will be done before the failure is apparent to society as a whole. Read full story here "The Peoples Republic of China is ready to join forces with Russia to decisively stand up for national interests and promote mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas," Wang said Tuesday while meeting with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev. On Wednesday he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in what appeared a warm and cooperative visit. Kremlin pool photo/Reuters "During a virtual meeting at the end of last year our leaders [Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin] came up with a plan for further development of bilateral relations. We are ready to join forces with the Russian side, in accordance with the high-level agreements, to decisively stand up for national interests and virtues, and promote mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas," the Chinese diplomat's statement said. He additionally said China will "together with all like-minded partners further promote the development of the international order in the direction of equitable development." "Its necessary to unlock the potential of this mechanism, and its also necessary to develop new steps of strategic interaction in accordance with the changing situation in order to provide the necessary guarantees for national development," Wang added. "I want to fully join your appreciation of the strategic cooperation between the two countries." The positive and glowing statements amid the high-level visit comes at a crucial juncture in which Moscow needs a powerful backer in its corner which also holds a seat on the national security council. The war in Ukraine is days away from reaching its one-year mark since the invasion began. The Kremlin praised Wang's stance in response, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov welcoming "China's balanced position on the Ukraine issue." He further declared that "ours and China's vision is much the same" concerning the crisis. However, it will be interesting to see if any further specifics on Ukraine emerged from the China side. So far, Wang appears to be advancing the official party line which has been somewhat ambiguous, also while in Moscow saying that China will maintain its "objective and impartial stance" on the Ukraine crisis. Toward this end, he said that China "appreciates Russia's willingness to resolve the crisis through negotiations," according to TASS. Beijing has of late expressed its desire for warring parties to reach negotiated peaceful settlement in Ukraine. This could be focus of President Xi Jinping's upcoming trip to Russia. While news of the future trip broke Tuesday, President Putin confirmed Wednesday that it will happen - a very significant symbolic first since the Ukraine invasion. When will President Xi come to Russia? At a meeting in Moscow, Vladimir Putin tells Beijing top foreign policy official, Wang Yi, that he's waiting for a visit from the Chinese leader https://t.co/UBXo5A04Ai pic.twitter.com/zjHDe38r4R Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) February 22, 2023 "We are expecting the president of the People's Republic of China to visit Russia. We agreed on this earlier," Putin said as he welcomed Wang Yi in the Kremlin. The Russian leaders praised the "new frontiers" that both countries are forging together: President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that China's Xi Jinping would visit Russia, saying relations had reached "new frontiers" amid U.S. concerns that Beijing could provide material support to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "We understand that [China] has a domestic political agenda, but we assume that as we tackle all the issues related to this agenda - with the National People's Congress, which is made up of Chinese deputies, who must also resolve serious personnel issues - we will implement our plans for personal meetings as well, which will give an additional impetus to our relations," the Russian president added. A specific timetable has yet to be publicized, but US policy makers along with the rest of NATO and other UN Security Council members will without doubt be watching closely. Meanwhile, Putin is on the offensive against his enemies near and far... When we are together, we have no equal, strength is in unity Putin pic.twitter.com/JxaL0FSXBE War Monitor (@WarMonitors) February 22, 2023 And concerning Zelensky's prior day's comments on the prospect of WW3 given deepening Moscow-Beijing relations... Zelensky: if China allies with Russia there will be WW3 Following above statement, Putin and Xi have started cooking their own food..#UkraineWar #Ukraina pic.twitter.com/nC8B6JKtW1 Akshat Deora (@tigerAkD) February 20, 2023 * * * Rabobank previews China's proposed peace plan for Ukraine in the analysis below: Relatedly, Friday will see Chinas proposed peace plan for Ukraine. Any such attempt should be applauded, but the question is on whose terms. Western observers remain skeptical the plan will see any concrete details, while rumors are also flying China may threaten to do for Russia what the US is doing for Ukraine, amplified by the news that Xi Jinping will visit Moscow soon. Logically, assuming China is not going to dump Russia, which it wont, there are few potential outcomes: China offers nothing new. However, this would underline that it remains a bystander having bullets fired at it by the White House, who just warned that Chinese firms that try to circumvent sanctions on Russia will face repercussions: like the ones forbidding the flow of Iranian oil?; or China escalates to deescalate with an implied threat to stand behind Russia, in which case: The US accepts a grand deal to climb down and partition Ukraine. That would mean a Western retreat on an historic scale that could snowball into a broader partition of the geopolitical and geoeconomic architecture and the US wont want that. Yet it would also allow the US to pivot towards Taiwan and China wont want that; or The US reacts as if China just bought a ticket for the Titanic after seeing the movie, and the geopolitical and geoeconomic architecture shatters. In short, the most logical probability is that neither the China peace plan nor the upcoming Xi visit to Moscow provide anything new. In which case, Ukraine escalation, inflation, and global polarisation it is. Yet the fact that we have a war in Ukraine at all should underline that the fat tail-risks are of something even worse a scenario we originally flagged in our Ukraine metacrisis report in early 2022. Russian spy ring in Australia dismantled after operation by ASIO Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss A Perth trio allegedly involved in a 3-hour police chase across multiple suburbs on Wednesday afternoon has fronted court, with one of the accused a 15-year-old boy. WA Police said the pursuit of an allegedly stolen red Range Rover SUV began in Bertram around 2pm and ended in West Perth just after 5.30pm when the vehicle was boxed in by several police cars. A spokeswoman said the vehicle was allegedly stolen from a reserve in Mount Pleasant on February 17 and had since been involved in a number of cross-district stealing, burglary, stolen motor vehicle and traffic offences. About 2pm yesterday, Wednesday 22 February 2023, police sighted the Range Rover travelling northbound on Kwinana Freeway, near Bertram, she said. The state government will conduct an independent review into Western Australias four major universities as student numbers and research grants plummet. But the decision has drawn concern from both students and university management. The review panel will take about six months to report their findings. An independent panel has been appointed to examine how to improve the financial stability of Curtin, Murdoch, Edith Cowan and the University of Western Australia. Education Minister Tony Buti said over the last few years there had been a downward trend in the recruitment of international students, the share of grants and the commercialisation of research. A $5 million donation will turbocharge the Yes campaign for the Voice to parliament, as it prepares to recruit thousands of volunteers to drive a groundswell of support in neighbourhoods across the country. The Yes Alliance announced the donation from the Paul Ramsay Foundation as it launched its ground campaign on Thursday night in Adelaide, attended by hundreds of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people from community organisations, faith groups, unions, and businesses. Uncle Moogy conducts a smoking ceremony to launch the Yes campaign for a Voice to parliament, Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Undeterred by the sweltering 40-degree heat, supporters queued outside the Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Institute, taking in the wafting smoke of a traditional cleansing ceremony performed by local elder Major Uncle Moogy Sumner. Inside the venue, the Yes Alliance campaign leaders Dean Parkin and filmmaker Rachel Perkins rallied the crowd, channelling an its time message as they placed the referendum on a continuum of a long fight for Indigenous rights. The NSW government says any inquiries including one into alleged branch-stacking involving a brother of Premier Dominic Perrottet can continue despite parliament being shut down from Monday. Labor seized on a notice published in the government gazette on Thursday that said the states upper house would be prorogued, meaning shut down, from Monday. NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet: A spokesperson for the premier said proroguing the parliament was a normal process before elections. Credit: Kate Geraghty The government insisted it was procedural after Labor raised concerns the move could stop further inquiries into missing Liberal Party operatives or its final report into the John Barilaro trade scandal. A spokesperson for the premier said proroguing the parliament was an entirely normal process that occurs before every election and that the timing was comparable with previous general elections. San Francisco: Accounts pushing Kremlin propaganda are using Twitters new paid verification system to appear more prominently on the global platform, another sign that Elon Musks takeover is accelerating the spread of politically charged misinformation, a non-profit research group has found. The accounts claim to be based outside Russia, so they can pay for verification without running afoul of US sanctions. But they pass along articles from state-run media, statements by Russian officials, and lies about Ukraine from Kremlin allies, according to the research group Reset, which shared its findings with The Washington Post. Elon Musk has boosted one of the pro-Kremlin accounts by replying to its tweets. Credit: AP One of the accounts describes itself in English as No woke. No BLM. No gender pronouns ... Just Anti-Imperialism. Purporting to be based in San Francisco, its profile picture shows a blond woman wearing a fur hat with a hammer and sickle badge. Another accounts biographical blurb says: Doing my part to stop Western support for the Ukrainian war machine, one taxpayer at a time. It regularly tweets videos it says show Russians killing Ukrainian soldiers. The Google counsel told the NCLAT bench of Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan and Dr Alok Srivastava, member (technical), the competition regulators findings that Google was trying to abuse its dominance by pushing Google Chrome into Android phones were devoid of a proper analysis. Google on Thursday told the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) order imposing a fine of Rs 1,337.76 crore on it for allegedly misusing its dominant position in the Android ecosystem was without any inquiry or analysis. The tech giant also said CCI itself had recognised that Googles Mobile Application Distribution Agreement (MADA) was beneficial to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Once recognised, there can be no imposition of unfair terms, OEMs are free to install any other browser on the system, and, unlike Apple devices till 2020, Google Chrome is not the default browser on Android systems, it submitted. They (CCI) say Google apps can only be disabled. The question then is how much additional space the uninstallation will free, and if disabling slows the device. There is not an iota of finding on this. There is no inquiry or analysis on whether this has any effect on running of the device, Googles counsel argued. The bench will continue hearing the matter on February 23. The charge against Google is that by pre-installing Google Chrome, it is ousting somebody. The ban was imposed on UC Browser in June 2020. In the first six months that year, the app was downloaded over 104 million times. The figure is from Google Play Store. Can we even counter that there is an exclusion on account of my MADA? None of this has been considered in the CCI order, Google told the appellate tribunal. Also Read Google may face a third CCI fine in less than a month. Now for Android TV Android 13 (Go edition) announced: What is new in Google OS for smartphones Compaq launches Ultra HD LED smart Android TV at Rs 17,499: Details here The trouble with Android 'forks': Experts fear security, privacy breaches Google dials NCLAT against CCI's Android order, Rs 1,337-crore fine Fitch affirms Adani Transmission restricted group's notes at 'BBB-' JPMorgan Chase restricts its employees from using AI chatbot ChatGPT 46% of India Inc to offer double-digit salary hikes in 2023: Survey Zee Entertainment's Punit Goenka moves NCLAT against insolvency order Zee shares tumble over 14% intra-day; recover most of lost ground at close The Indian government seeks to achieve an equitable scheme of distribution of proceeds, it said in a discussion paper issued in January that recommends other significant changes to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. But secured creditors, who are generally paid out before those with unsecured claims, may be less amenable to the IBC if those changes are ultimately put into effect, insolvency professionals said. Indias banks and bondholders stand to recover less in insolvency resolutions under a proposed change in law that would apportion more to junior creditors, such as unpaid vendors and the government, according to restructuring and insolvency professionals. The proposal seems unfair to secured creditors and would impact credit markets and security considerations significantly, said Abizer Diwanji, financial services and restructuring leader at EY India. Secured creditors, typically banks and bondholders, would continue to have first claim on proceeds of an insolvency resolution plan, but only up to the liquidation value of the corporate debtor. Any recovery beyond liquidation value would be shared ratably among all creditors, including unsecured financial creditors, unpaid vendors and statutory dues owed to government, according to the paper, which was up for public comment earlier this month. What Will Change? Overall recoveries under the IBC which has already been mired in delays and litigation have been roughly one-third of claims or less. Under those circumstances, the governments proposal may turn off lenders, ranging from Indian banks to international private credit funds, even more. Also Read IBBI fixes timelines for the liquidation process to reduce delays 165 IBC liquidation cases saw 94% asset value erosion since 2016: Report Has India's insolvency process attained adulthood? RCap liquidation or negotiation? CoC to meet on Tuesday to take a call What is a pre-packaged insolvency resolution process? Tata Motors in talks to raise $1 bn via stake sale in EV business: Report Hindenburg fallout: Adani Group decreasing exposure to Indian banks Fresh blow to Adani after Wikipedia claims entries on group manipulated Adani's older brother plays opaque, powerful role at embattled dynasty No increments for Flipkart's 4,500 senior personnel this cycle Diwanji proffered a situation in which an insolvent company with secured creditor claims of 100 rupees, unsecured claims of 150 rupees, a liquidation value of 75 rupees and a recovery of 125 rupees. In the current system, he said, secured claims would be paid in full and the remaining 25 would go to unsecured claims in a hierarchy. But under the proposed new system, he said, secured creditors would only receive 75 rupees while the remaining 50 rupees would be proportionately distributed among all unsecured claims. Like the existing liquidation waterfall, which determines the order in which creditors are repaid, the proposed insolvency waterfall also prioritizes secured claims, but only up to the value of the security. In liquidation, the remaining proceeds are distributed first toward unpaid wages, then unsecured creditors, and shareholders. In insolvency, the proposal treats all unsecured creditors equally. It will professionalize lending at a time when India has suffered non-performing assets across banks, Sahoo said. The proposed changes would also force lenders to keep a watch over security value and provide reasonable protection to unsecured creditors, he added. The biggest impact will be on under-secured creditors those who have lent more than the value of the underlying security or those who have seen a deep decline in the securitys value, said MS Sahoo, law professor and former chairman of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India. In a closed-door meeting on Thursday in New Delhi, broadcasters Disney-Star, Sony and Zee have agreed to switch on TV signals in 25 million homes by Friday, after members of the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF), who were also present, assured them of signing revised interconnection offers or tariff agreements. The impasse between some of the country's top broadcasters and cable operators has ended a week after it began, informed sources have told Business Standard. This sparked a feud between cable operators and broadcasters, with the former claiming that the channel price increase would be exorbitant, while the latter claiming that it would be no more than 5-15 per cent. It may be recalled that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), which is the regulator for both the telecommunication and broadcast sectors, had amended NTO 2.0 (now called NTO 3.0) in November 2022, restoring the price cap for a TV channel, which is part of a bouquet from Rs 12 to Rs 19. However, members of the AIDCF, which includes top cable companies such as Hathway, GTPL and Den, all owned by Reliance Industries, NXTDigital, part of the Hinduja group, and Asianet Digital, part of the Rajan Raheja group, had not signed the revised tariff agreements with broadcasters. The assurance to sign revised tariff agreements interestingly comes even as the Kerala High Court is hearing the matter between cable operators and broadcasters over the new tariff order (NTO) 3.0. This order has come into force since February 1 and has the support of direct-to-home operators as well as some cable operators, industry sources said. Also Read Zee is in talks with CCI to get approval for merger with Sony Entertainment CCI gives conditional nod to Zee-Sony merger, formal order awaited 99.99% of Zee Entertainment shareholders vote for merger with Sony Sony Audio Days sale: Check deals on headphones, speakers, earbuds and more Sony introduces NW-ZX707 Walkman in India at Rs 69,990: Details here NSE removes Zee Entertainment from F and O segment post insolvency fallout Asset reconstruction companies set to grow 10% this fiscal: Report EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 award goes to Sajjan Jindal Google disobeying CCI orders blatantly: Digital start-up thinktank Android case: CCI's Rs 1,337 crore fine unreasonable, Google tells NCLAT Both AIDCF and the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) were not available for comment when contacted. At the start of the standoff last week,signals were switched off in 45 million homes, AIDCF had said, which subsequently came down to 25 million homes as some regional cable operators such as UCN in Pune and Kerala Communicators Cable in Kochi switched sides and agreed to sign revised tariff agreements with the broadcasters, it is reliably learnt. But with the two sides now ending the spat, cable subscribers can go back to watching their favourite shows on Star, Sony and Zee once the signals are turned on. First Published: Feb 24 2023 | 12:39 AM IST YouTube: From chaos to command IPL Mini Auction 2023: Five players who will rake in the moolah in Kochi Valley of Words Book Awards: 'Tagore & Gandhi' wins in English non-fiction Nobel Prize in Literature 2022: A look at past 10 awardees and their work Future of Hindi literature set to prosper: Booker winner Geetanjali Shree Colditz: Prisoners of the Castle To read the full story, subscribe to BS Premium now, at just Rs 249/ month. Key stories on business-standard.com are available only to BS Premium subscribers. Already a BS Premium subscriber?LOGIN NOW Register to read more on Business-Standard.com Also Read Write, edit, verify: Everything you need to know about how Wikipedia works Govt summons Wikipedia execs after Arshdeep Singh's page entry changed Hindenburg Research: All you need to know about US-based investment firm Hindenburg vs Adani: Short selling not shareholder activism, says InGovern Hindenburg's hydrogen connection Adani's older brother plays opaque, powerful role at embattled dynasty No increments for Flipkart's 4,500 senior personnel this cycle Sri Lanka investment board approves $442-mn Adani Green wind power plants Zomato unveils new 'Everyday' offering for affordable home-cooked meals Adani Group's CFO, Jugeshinder Singh, said that the group was reducing its exposure to Indian banks, according to a report in Hindu Business Line. This comes despite the fact that Indian banks have not expressed any issues with lending money to the Adani Group. In an interaction on Tuesday with institutional investors, Jugeshinder Singh said that while foreign banks took credit decisions, Indian banks took name decisions, the report said. Of all the debt the group has, over half is foreign debt in the form of overseas bonds and loans taken from foreign banks, and a fourth is from domestic banks. Singh said that the group's gross debt is $30 billion. Earlier, many Indian banks, State Bank of India included, went public and said that they had no issues with the Adani Group loan exposure. The statement followed the crisis sparked by allegations of irregularities by Hindenberg Research, a US-based short seller. A few days ago, Bank of Baroda's CEO said that the bank was willing to continue lending to the Adani Group, the report added. According to the report, some Indian banks had expressed reservations about lending more money to Adani Group companies. Some of the group's projects have experienced a cash crunch as a result of this. In earlier reports, foreign banks, including Standard Chartered and Citibank, said that they have no plans to reduce their exposure to the group or stop their credit facilities. Foreign banks' debt exposure to the Adani Group has been gradually increasing over the years, the report said. Metro Brands Ltd, which sells Crocs clogs in India, is hiring between 1,500 and 2,000 workers in the country to staff the new footwear stores it plans to open by the end of 2025, its chief executive told Reuters. The company, which had 720 stores as of end-2022 and nearly 4,000 employees overall, said last March it would add 260 new stores that sells brands such as Mochi, Walkaway and Metro, to expand in cities where it is already present and enter smaller towns. "To support the extra stores, we would definitely need more back office staff (in addition to store workers)," CEO Nissan Joseph said in an interview on Wednesday. Joseph said the rising affluence in the country and a shift in consumer spend from mom-and-pop stores to bigger chains have set Metro up for sales gains. The company reported a near 68% jump in revenue for the nine months ended Dec. 31. "We see middle-class incomes growing in India ... And when incomes rise, what people want is better products, better brands," said Joseph. Besides Metro, several other apparel and footwear players - including Arvind Fashions which sells Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein in India - have doubled down on smaller cities to tap growing household incomes and penchant for global brands. Also Read Delhi Metro fails to comply with Delhi HC order to pay DAMEPL by Oct 4 Metro Brands extends rally on strong outlook; zooms 69% in 2 months Kolkata underwater metro to be completed by December 2023, says KMRC Big shoes to fill for footwear firms as near-term margin worries bite Alstom wins Rs 798 cr deal to manufacture 78 metro cars for Chennai Metro Ekart to offer warehousing services to brands, manufacturers and retailers Match Group in talks with Shaadi.com for a possible partnership: Report IAMAI opposes demands to share revenue, pay compensation to telcos Olectra Greentech in partnership with Reliance unveils Hydrogen bus ESG reporting by Indian corporates has improved by 160%, shows research Metro, which operates nearly 200 exclusive stores selling only footwear made by Crocs Inc, will also benefit from the U.S. company's plans to sharpen its focus on sandals, which is commonly worn by Indians, said Joseph. "There's still a considerable runway for Crocs to continue to grow," he said. Earlier this month, Crocs reported record revenue for 2022, with its Asia-Pacific business outgrowing North America. Metro's shares, which climbed 93% last year, have declined nearly 4% so far in 2023. Ranitidine is used to treat and prevent gastric ulcers. The recent study evaluated the records of 12,680 ranitidine users and 12,680 other H2RA (ranitidine-like medicines) users retrospectively. The study was conducted in South Korea on the alleged link between the use of ranitidine and cancer, which has concluded the lengthening debate on the alleged link between the use of ranitidine and the risk of cancer. A recent study published in scientific reports in peer reviewed journal Nature finds that there is no link between the use of ranitidine and cancer risk. In September 2019, several companies including British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Pharma (GSK), Hyderabad based Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) had withdrawn their ranitidine products from the markets following the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) raising concerns around presence of a cancer causing substance in some ranitidine products. N-nitroso dimethylamine (NDMA) is a probable human carcinogen, based on laboratory studies, its effects on humans rely on observational studies. Following the detection of unacceptable levels of NDMA impurities in many ranitidine products in 2019, measures were taken to withdraw ranitidine from the market. Speaking about the research and negating the risk of the association of cancer with the use of ranitidine, one of the lead researchers, Ju-Young Shin, Sungkyunkwan University Seoul, Republic of Korea and his colleagues stated, We found no association between ranitidine with potential NDMA impurities and risk of major individual malignancies and overall cancer. Following this, ranitidine manufacturers in different countries (including US, EU and India) were asked by the respective drug regulators to conduct tests for determining the concentration of an impurity (N-nitrosodimethylamine or NDMA) in the ranitidine they supply. This order came in the wake of a citizen petition filed by Valisure (a US pharmacy that chemically validates all the products it delivers to end-users). NDMA is a known environmental contaminant and found in water and foods, including meats, dairy products, and vegetables. FDAs guidelines stated 0.32 parts per million or 96 nanograms of NDMA daily were acceptable. Also Read Breast cancer among men slowly on the rise & usually detected late: Doctors NDMA asks experts to coordinate and resubmit survey report on Joshimath No amount of alcohol 'safe', even low consumption hikes cancer risk: WHO India's cancer treatment infra in rapid expansion mode as cases soar For insurance cover against cancer, maintain high sum for hospitalisation No plans to shut down WhiteHat Jr, merely optimising it: Byju's Tata team arrives for inspection after BEST took 400 CNG buses off road Disney-Star, Sony, Zee agree to switch on cable signals after standoff NSE removes Zee Entertainment from F&O segment post insolvency fallout Asset reconstruction companies set to grow 10% this fiscal: Report The South Korean retrospective study published in nature has further affirmed the findings of previous studies concluding no association between ranitidine and cancer. The molecule has a history of 43 years and is safe to use as per available scientific evidence, I use Ranitidine as co-prescription with Dual antiPlatelet therapy for my cardiac patient along with various GI indication said, Dr. Manoj Kumar, Senior Director & Unit Head - Cath Lab, Cardiac Sciences, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Patparganj, New Delhi Ranitidine has been in existence for over four decades and has been on the WHO list of essential medicines for several years. It is commonly used in the treatment of peptic ulcer disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease. The recent study provided no evidence of the association of NDMA impurities in ranitidine products with cancer risk, which further substantiates the US district court findings in which the Florida court dismissed almost 2,500 lawsuits alleging links between heartburn medication Zantac (Ranitidine) and cancer. The judge had said that almost 2,500 lawsuits filed in federal court by plaintiffs were based on flawed science and that the only reliable testing of the blockbuster drug undertaken showed an unprovable risk of cancer. Mumbai's civic transport body BEST on Thursday said the nearly 400 CNG-run buses which were taken off roads after three recent incidents of fire will be back in service only after a written assurance of safety is received from manufacturer Tata Motors. A team of TATA Motors Engineering arrived in the city from Lucknow on Thursday and is re-examining all these buses for compliance of safety standards, BEST said in a statement. Once they complete examination of safety parameters and give necessary clearance and written commitment and assurance of safety norms compliance, these buses will be put to service, it said, adding that the exercise is likely to be completed in six or seven days. On Wednesday evening, BEST undertaking announced taking 400 leased buses of M/S Mateshwari Limited off roads after a third incident of a CNG bus catching fire within one month. The 400 leased CNG buses of Mateshwari operate on around 40 routes, BEST sources said. Commuters faced a lot of inconvenience as the frequency of buses on these routes was severely affected. As a large number of buses went off roads, the number of buses in the BEST fleet came down to around 2,700 from around 3,100, sources said. The Afghan Taliban leaders have promised to cooperate with Pakistan on its concerns about the presence of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants and sanctuaries on their soil after Islamabad delivered a stark warning to them to rein in the outlawed outfit amid a rise in terror attacks across the country. The promise came during a day-long trip by a high-level Pakistani delegation led by Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif to Kabul on Wednesday, amidst the worsening of ties between the two neighbours over the issue, according to a media report. Pakistan's Foreign Office said the growing TTP and IS-K threat was discussed and the two sides agreed to collaborate to effectively address the threat of terrorism. The delegation included ISI Chief Lt Gen Nadeem Anjum, Foreign Secretary Asad Majid, Special Envoy on Afghanistan Muhammad Sadiq and Pakistan's charg d'affaires in Afghanistan Obaid Nizamani. The visit took place days after the TTP gunmen raided the police headquarters in Karachi in which four people including three security personnel lost their lives. Earlier a suicide bomb explosion in Peshawar mosque on January 30 claimed more than 100 lives. The TTP was blamed for the mosque attack as well. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in TTP violence since peace talks between the militant group and the government began to falter last year. The TTP formally ended the ceasefire on November 28 and since then 58 attacks have been claimed by the group in which 170 people died. Also Read Seven TTP militants killed in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province 25 militants killed in Pak army raid on detention centre; one hostage dies Sunni Muslim groups TTP, TLP incite sectarian violence across Pakistan Pakistan issues nationwide alert amid heightened risk of terror attacks Pakistan's banned terrorist outfit TTP warn of more attacks against police Gujarat health centres under probe for issuing fake Covid vax certificates Rs 27 cr allotted for promotion of millets in Haryana budget FY24: Khattar I-T raids over 70 locations of Uflex company, Rs 1.50 cr in cash recovered Need to pause rate hikes as growth risks are significant: Jayant Varma New Delhi World Book Fair to be held from February 25: National Book Trust Many of these attacks were planned and directed by the TTP leadership based in Afghanistan. A senior Pakistani official said the delegation delivered a pointed message to the Taliban officials that Afghanistan-based TTP elements must be reined in, the Dawn newspaper said. The visiting delegation met Taliban Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Defence Minister Mawlavi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. Afghan leaders have in the past always rejected the allegations that TTP used their country's soil for attacks in Pakistan, but the official said this time they surprisingly agreed to cooperate on the issue, the report said. Probably they realised the gravity of the situation, the official further said. The details of the cooperation against the TTP would be worked out in subsequent meetings between the two sides at the expert and technical levels. The two sides in their meetings also discussed the broader issues of counter-terrorism and border security cooperation. The Afghan Taliban, meanwhile, said the two parties had discussed economic cooperation, regional connectivity, trade, and the state of bilateral relations. Mullah Baradar urged Pakistan not to allow political and security concerns to affect business or economic matters. The official said the delegation linked to progress on all these ideas for enhancing bilateral cooperation with the Afghan Taliban addressing the concerns about TTP presence in their country, the paper said. The TTP has increased the attacks in recent months and apparently, it has become stronger since the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban who asked Pakistan to hold talks with the group. But the talks have failed as Islamabad was not ready to accept the demands of the rebels. The TTP, which has ideological linkages with the Afghan Taliban and is also known as the Pakistan Taliban, was set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007. Its main aim is to impose its strict brand of Islam across Pakistan. Pakistan had hoped that the Afghan Taliban after coming to power would stop the use of their soil against Pakistan by expelling the TTP operatives but they have apparently refused to do so at the cost of straining ties with Islamabad. The TTP, which is believed to be close to al-Qaeda, has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan, including an attack on army headquarters in 2009, assaults on military bases and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad. In 2012, Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai was attacked by TTP. She suffered bullet injuries and was admitted to the Military Hospital (CMH) Peshawar and then taken to London for further treatment. The TTP claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that Yousafzai was a "Western-minded girl". In 2014, the Pakistani Taliban stormed the Army Public School (APS) in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing at least 150 people, including 131 students. The attack sent shockwaves across the world and was widely condemned. PARIS (Reuters) - Indian low-cost airline IndiGo is negotiating the purchase of "several hundred aircrafts" from Airbus, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in comments published by Les Echos on Thursday. The contract could be signed at the French airshow in Le Bourget in June, the paper said, adding that Le Maire made the comments during his trip to India for a G20 Summit. An Airbus spokesperson said the company was constantly in discussions with airlines but said he could not comment on any talks that may, or may not, be going on. IndiGo did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Last week Indigo's domestic rival Air India unveiled deals in a record order for 470 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing. The provisional deals include 220 planes from Boeing and 250 from Airbus and eclipse previous records for a single airline as Air India vies with domestic giant IndiGo to serve what will soon be the world's largest population. Also Read French FM Le Maire aims for annual inflation at 5% in early 2024: Report India has enough potential for recurring aircraft orders: GE Aerospace IndiGo's new CEO Pieter Elbers takes over, eyes 'new frontiers' Air India close to finalise deal of 50 Boeing 737 MAX planes for AI Express France to continue energy tariff shield for households in 2023: FM Le Maire 90% of Indian female blue-collar employees vouch for pay parity: Report India, Sri Lanka agree to increase 'complexity' of bilateral exercises: MoD This malware steals social media credentials under ChatGPT app disguise Bhutan FM talks about geopolitical tensions in Asia Economic Dialogue India Inc also responsible for trade imbalance with China: MEA S Jaishankar (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, additional reporting by Sakshi Dayal, editing by Tassilo Hummel) Indian-American business leader Ajay Banga, who has been nominated by US President to lead the World Bank, will be a transformative President of the international financial institution, Vice President Kamala Harris said here on Thursday. Banga, 63, currently serves as Vice Chairman at General Atlantic. Previously, he was President and CEO of Mastercard, leading the company through a strategic, technological and cultural transformation. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2016. Ajay Banga will be a transformative World Bank President as the institution works to deliver on its core development goals and address pressing global challenges, including climate change, Harris said in a statement after Biden announced that he nominated Banga for the top World Bank position. If confirmed by the World Bank Board of Directors, Banga would be the first-ever Indian-American and Sikh-American to head either of the two top international financial institutions: the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Since I was elected Vice President, Ajay and I have worked closely together on a new model of a public-private partnership designed to address the root causes of migration in Northern Central America, Harris said. Through that partnership, nearly 50 businesses and organisations have mobilised to generate more than USD 4.2 billion in commitments that will create opportunity and hope for people in the region, she said. Also Read Biden picks Ajay Banga as US nominee for World Bank president Was able to become US vice prez because of my mother: Kamala Harris Diwali a universal concept that transcends cultures: US VP Kamala Harris US VP Kamala Harris briefly meets China's Xi Jinping to 'keep lines open' Kamala Harris to visit DMZ on Thursday as tensions rattle region India needs a culture of honesty and no favouritism, says Narayana Murthy Only 34% firms meet Sebi's requirement to raise 25% fund via debt: Analysis Over 1,100 participants attend post-Budget webinar on green growth Centre making contradictory statements over Bengal's GST dues: Minister Ensure digital connectivity in rural, remote areas: Himachal chief secy Ajay has brought great insight, energy, and persistence to the challenges of promoting economic development and tackling the root causes of migration as the institution works to deliver on its core development goals and address pressing global challenges, including climate change, Harris said. In a separate statement, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen applauded Biden for nominating Banga for this position. I applaud President Biden's decision to nominate Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank. He has the right leadership and management skills, experiences living and working in emerging markets, and financial expertise to lead the World Bank at a critical moment in its history, deliver on its core development goals and evolve the Bank to meet global challenges like climate change, Yellen said. As a renowned executive, Banga has led a global organisation with nearly 20,000 employees, advocated for diversity and inclusion, and delivered results. His efforts have helped bring 500 million unbanked people into the digital economy, deploy private capital into climate solutions, and expand economic opportunity through the Partnership for Central America, she said. This experience will help him achieve the World Bank's objectives of eliminating extreme poverty and expanding shared prosperity while pursuing the changes needed to effectively evolve the institution to be fit for purpose for the world being faced today. Ajay Banga understands that those core objectives are deeply intertwined with challenges like meeting ambitious goals for climate adaptation and emissions reduction, preparing for and preventing future pandemics, and mitigating the root causes and consequences of conflict and fragility, she said. While the World Bank will continue to play a key role in improving the lives of people around the globe, it can't do it alone, she noted. Banga's track record of forging partnerships between the public sector, private sector, and non-profits uniquely equips him to help mobilize the private capital and press for the reforms needed to meet our shared ambitions, Yellen said. In doing so, the World Bank can serve as a force multiplier for good by setting the right agenda and catalysing action from across the spectrum including governments, the private sector, other multilateral development banks, civil society and philanthropies, Yellen said. In a series of tweets posted by him, he also shared some suggestions for the authorities at the Delhi airport to expedite the checking process. Ashneer Grover, BharatPe founder, took to Twitter to slam Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI), after he had to wait for thirty minutes just to enter the airport. He further advised the authorities to start daily flights to US/Canada/UK from the Chandigarh airport in order to ease the burden on Delhi airport. Ashneer Grover wrote, "Delhi airport T3 needs an overhaul! 30 minutes to just enter the airport is insane. Suggestions 1) Separate gates for international / business 2) 2 people at the gate to check ticket/id (why 3 people check boarding pass between boarding gate and aircraft ? Move them!)". According to media reports, last year the Delhi airport came under fire after congestion was witnessed at Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Thousands of grumbling passengers raised a complaint regarding the airport's mismanagement. In fact, several flyers missed their flights due to long queues at pre-boarding points. Following his tweets, the airport authority thanked former Shark Tank judge for his valuable suggestions. The official Twitter account of Delhi Airport wrote, "Dear Ashneer, We certainly do not wish to provide such an experience to our flyers. However, we thank you profusely for your valuable suggestions. Request you to share the time of your observation and contact details via DM so that our on-ground team can get in touch with you." Also Read Ashneer Grover saga: A timeline of how things went wrong at BharatPe Delhi HC summons Ashneer Grover, wife and kin over BharatPe's complaint Tell your client to maintain decorum: HC tells Ashneer Grover's counsel Bhavik Koladiya takes Ashneer Grover to court over BharatPe share dispute Suhail Sameer steps down as BharatPe's CEO, will be new Strategic Advisor Gangster-terrorist case: Khalistani terrorist among six arrested by NIA Tropical Cyclone Freddy leaves 4 dead, 11,000 displaced in Madagascar: UN Pentagon releases selfie taken by US pilot of Chinese spy balloon Top headlines: FDI equity inflow contracts, no increment for Flipkart execs 6.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Tajikistan near China border on Thursday Subsequently, the ministry asked the airlines to deploy additional staff at the airports. Besides, the ministry ordered airlines to keep updating their social media handles regarding waiting time and delays of flights and additional staff at check-in counters. The Centre also asked passengers to install the DigiYatra app for hassle-free check-ins. The situation at IGI was so chaotic that Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had to visit the airport and inspect all the suspected congested areas and interact with the airport staff. IGI airport is India's largest airport which has three terminals - T1, T2, and T3. All international and some domestic flights operate from T3. On average, IGI airport handles 190k passengers and 1,200 flights on a daily basis. The Bihar Police on Thursday warned people against posting provocative, objectionable and hatred-filled messages on social media platforms, asserting that stern action would be taken against the ones found trying to disrupt peace in the state. Talking to reporters, Nayyar Hasnain Khan, the additional director general (ADG) of Bihar Police's Economic Offences Unit (EOU), said the sleuths of the cyber cell are keeping a close watch on online activities by people, and would do what is necessary to thwart trouble. "The Bihar Police will take strict action against those who spread hate messages or upload provocative, fake and objectionable posts on social media platforms. Such posts happened to have become the main cause for disruption of peace and harmony in the society. People are being advised not to indulge in such activities or strict action will be taken against them," said Khan. The ADG further warned people against falling prey to organised gangs of cyber criminals. "Cyber cell of the EOU had been creating awareness among people about the modus operandi of conmen. We keep telling people not to share their bank account, debit cards, credit cards details with unknown persons. Besides, OTPs should not be shared with anyone under any circumstances. Cyber crooks are always on the prowl, looking to infiltrate your bank account. Therefore, people should always remain alert and inform the police in case of an emergency." Six districtsPatna, Nawada, Nalanda, Gaya, Sheikhpura and Jamui have been identified as hotspots of cybercrime in the state, police sources said. West Bengal Finance Minister Chandrima Bhattacharya on Thursday claimed that the Centre was making contradictory statements on the state's GST compensation dues by deciding to release the balance for June 2022, and at the same time asserting that audited figures were not submitted. Bhattacharya pointed out that Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, after the 49th meeting of the GST Council last week, had said in a release that West Bengal will receive Rs 823 crore for June 2022 as GST compensation. "This is contradictory On one hand, it is said that we have not given the accountant general (AG) certificate and no calculation (of the dues) was done, and on the other hand, she (Sitharaman) says everything has been paid till May 2022 and this (amount of Rs 823 crore) is only for June 2022... My respectful submission is this makes no sense," the minister noted. Bhattacharya was speaking at an interactive session here, titled 'Bengal's Fiscal Health in Post Pandemic: Road Ahead', organised by the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce & Industry. Sitharaman had recently said in Parliament that GST compensation to states is released when the audited figures are provided, but West Bengal has not submitted those since 2017. Replying to the assertions, the state government had said in a release, "The Union finance minister made a statement that West Bengal has not sent GST compensation cess claim with accountant general (AG) certificate since 2017-18 to 2021-22. The state government does not agree with the statement." Bhattacharya also downplayed concerns of the central government over proper utilisation of funds granted to the state, and criticised the decision to withhold money for various welfare schemes in Bengal. Also Read GST Council okays setting up tribunals, specific levy for pan masala firms SGPC seeks action against those making provocative statements in Punjab Nora Fatehi sues Jacqueline for defamation through 'false statements' Vodafone Idea decides to not convert its AGR dues into equity: Report NCLAT directs Jet Airways' new owner to clear unpaid provident fund, dues Ensure digital connectivity in rural, remote areas: Himachal chief secy No one has right to take law in their hands: Khattar on cow vigilantes row Ajnala incident can have grave ramifications: Capt Amarinder Singh Bihar Police warn people against objectionable social media posts In a world full of conflict, Indian arts can spread harmony: Prez Murmu She claimed that as per a survey in 2018, as many as 59 lakh families in Bengal had enrolled for the PM Awas Yojana (PMAY), but of these, 17 lakh were "omitted due to stringent terms" of the Union government. "Of the remaining 42 lakh enrolments, approvals were given for 11.36 lakh, but the funds are yet to be received I also urge the Centre to revise the terms and conditions under the scheme," the minister said. The West Bengal government had recently written to the Centre demanding the immediate release of funds under the PMAY, underlining that the state would fail to meet its March 31 deadline for building houses, if there is any further delay. The ruling TMC has also been pressing for the immediate release of dues to the state under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). "We are not begging before the central government; it is our right, which is being infringed upon, Bhattacharya added. Deputy National Security Adviser Pankaj Kumar Singh on Thursday called for adoption of new technologies for railway security. Speaking at the 18th UIC World Security Congress, he lauded the role of UIC and its security platform for bringing together all stakeholders to develop solutions for emerging security threats. He highlighted the exceptional role played by Railway Protection Force in enhancing passenger security through various initiatives such as Operation Nanhe Farishte for rescue of children and Operation AAHT for rescuing women and children from the clutches of traffickers. Singh called for adoption of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, 5G and Internet of Things (IoT) among others to develop comprehensive solutions for Railway Security that covers all aspects of the railway system including infrastructure, operations, and passenger experience. The 18th UIC World Security Congress was jointly organised by Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the International Union of Railways (UIC). IT concluded with the adoption of the Jaipur Declaration, an official statement said. The Paris-headquartered UIC (Union International Des Chemins) or International Union of Railways was established in 1922. It is the worldwide professional association representing the railway sector for research, development & promotion of rail transport. Also Read US Deputy Secy of Defence Hicks meets NSA Doval, discusses defence ties NSA Doval meets members of USISPF, discusses cooperation in defence, space States not impervious to global geopolitical challenges: Deputy NSA Misri Retired director general of BSF Pankaj Kumar Singh appointed deputy NSA Rail stocks may chug along till budget; book profit selectively: Analysts Google blatantly disobeying CCI orders, charges app developers 11-26%: ADIF Moderna's Q4 profit tumbles to 70% as Covid-19 vaccine sales fall 59% of long Covid patients suffered organ damage a year later: Study Shares of 8 Adani Group firms ended the day in negative territory Airbus close to landing large order from IndiGo: French FM Bruno Le Maire The conference discussed the latest developments and best practices in railway security, focusing on the theme of "Railway Security Strategy: Responses and Vision for Future." Director General, RPF, Sanjay Chander read out the "Jaipur declaration" outlining an actionable agenda for the UIC to explore innovative approaches that can help global railway organisations achieve their long-term goal of safety and security. The declaration highlighted the commitment of UIC to work towards providing a safer and more secure rail network across the globe by also fully activating the Asia-Pacific, Latin America and African regional assemblies by 2025. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday met her Japanese counterpart Shunichi Suzuki, ahead of the first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting. According to a tweet posted by the official handle of the finance ministry, the ministers exchanged views on priorities under the G20 FinanceTrack 2023. "Both ministers looked forward to close cooperation between Japan as G7 Presidency and India as G20 Presidency on strengthening of multilateral development banks (MDBs), debt-related issues, financing cities of tomorrow and coordinated policy for crypto assets," the finance ministry said in a tweet. The Japanese Minister also assured his whole-hearted support to India during the G20 India's Presidency. The second Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting under India's G20 Presidency is underway in Bengaluru. The meeting began on Wednesday. The deputies' meet will be followed by the first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors two-day meeting, scheduled from tomorrow in the same city. The meeting will be jointly chaired by Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. Also Read What makes state governors so important in India? Another lotus blooms 'US looking forward to support India's G20 presidency': Janet Yellen G20 summit: PM Narendra Modi meets Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese UNDP administrator Achim Steiner highlights India's G20 presidency IIT-Delhi developing Smart Monitoring System for persons working at height Quality Control for cotton good for industry, says Aditya Birla official Despite troubles, salaries in India may increase by 10.3% in 2023: Survey G20 meet expected to address big challenges of digital world: Jaishankar Data privacy labels for most apps in Google Play Store misleading: Mozilla The meeting will be spread over three sessions, covering issues such as strengthening multilateral development banks to address shared global challenges of the 21st century, financing for resilient, inclusive, and sustainable 'cities of tomorrow', leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for advancing financial inclusion and productivity gains, an official release said earlier. The sessions will also cover issues related to the global economy, global health, and international taxation, and discussions in the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting are intended to provide a clear mandate for the various workstreams of the G20 Finance Track in 2023. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested six persons, including a close associate of Canada-based designated terrorist Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dalla, in connection with the Gangster-terrorist case, an official said on Thursday. The arrested Khalistani terrorist has been identified as Lucky Khokhar alias Denis. Recently, raids were conducted at 76 locations across the nation which led to the arrests. According to the central counter terrorism law enforcement agency, the arrested were identified as Lucky Khokhar, Lakhvir Singh, Harpreet, Dalip Bishnoi, Surinder alias Chiku Chaudhary and Hari Om alias Titu. Khokhar, a resident of Bhatinda, Punjab, was nabbed from Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, on Tuesday. He was in direct and frequent touch with Arsh Dalla and had carried out recruitment for him. Khokhar received funds from him for carrying out terror-related activities, the official said. "He had provided arms and ammunition to Arsh Dalla's associates in Punjab on his directions, which were also used for carrying out the recent killing in Jagraon, Punjab on directions of Dalla," said the NIA. Also Read India to contribute $500,000 for UN Trust Fund for Counter-Terrorism NIA raids 60 locations linked to gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Kala Jathedi Statue honouring Sikh soldiers unveiled in UK's Leicester city: Report NIA raids 70 locations linked to Bishnoi, Bawana, other gangsters NIA conducts raids at locations linked to Lawrence Bishnoi, aides Tropical Cyclone Freddy leaves 4 dead, 11,000 displaced in Madagascar: UN Pentagon releases selfie taken by US pilot of Chinese spy balloon Top headlines: FDI equity inflow contracts, no increment for Flipkart execs 6.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Tajikistan near China border on Thursday TMS Ep375: Wheat crop, Air India, rice exporters' shares, political symbols The NIA had registered a suo-motu case on August 20, 2022 against seven people, including Harwinder Singh alias Rinda, Lakhbir Singh Sandhu alias Landa, and Arshdeep Singh. One person, Deepak Ranga, was earlier arrested in the case by the NIA. Khokhar was working for Dalla, who has been involved in smuggling arms, ammunition, explosives, IEDs across international and inter-state borders in India for several Khalistani terror outfits, including the Khalistan Liberation Force, Babbar Khalsa International and International Sikh Youth Federation. "While Titu was arrested on Tuesday, Lakhvir Singh was nabbed a day later in connection with a case registered against them and their associates in August last year for allegedly attempting to motivate and recruit youth for terror activities by using social media. They were also using social media to 'publicise' their crimes in a bid to create fear among the general public," the official said. A total of nine weapons were recovered from Lakhvir's possession. Lakhvir is a notorious criminal and an associate of Chhotu Ram Bhaat, who was earlier arrested in the case. The NIA has so far arrested nine accused, including Kaushal Choudhary, Amit Dagar, Sukhpreet Singh, Bhupi Rana, Neeraj Bawana, Naveen Bali and Sunil Balyan, in this case. The NIA further said that Surender Chaudhrary and Dalip Bishnoi, are known associates of gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Canada based criminal, Goldy Brar. They were arrested for raising funds, recruiting youth and carrying out terrorist acts on behalf of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. This case was also registered by the NIA in August last year and ten accused, including Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, Kala Jatheri, Kala Rana, Joginder Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Raju Basoudi, Anil Chippi, Naresh Yadav, and Shahbaz Ansari were arrested. "Surinder Chaudhry, who was arrested on Tuesday faces several cases under the NDPS Act, for attempt to murder and extortions. He has been involved in illegal liquor contracts, smuggling and extortion from liquor and mining contractors in Haryana and has been one of the main financers of terror-gangster sydicates," the official said. Dalip Bishnoi, who was arrested on Wednesday, is a habitual criminal having 13 cases against him. He has been one of the main financers of this terror gang and was providing logistics support to the gangs in Punjab and Rajasthan. The NIA investigations have so far revealed that many criminals, who were leading gangsters in India, had fled to countries like Pakistan, Canada, Malaysia, Philippines and Australia and were planning their terror and criminal acts from there, in association with criminals lodged in jails in different states. These groups were carrying out targetted killings and raising funds for their nefarious activities through smuggling of drugs and weapons, hawala and extortions. Further probe is on. --IANS atk/shb/ As the General Assembly met for an emergency session with an expected vote on a resolution condemning Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called Moscow's action "an affront to our collective conscience". "There's not a moment to lose for ending the war," he said on Wednesday as the invasion approached its one-year mark. "The possible consequences of a spiralling conflict are a clear and present danger." "The war is also fanning regional instability and fueling global tensions and divisions, while diverting attention and resources from other crises and pressing global issues," he said outlining the invasion's fallout on the global economy, the food crisis affecting the global south and the nuclear danger. Wednesday's meeting was a continuation of the emergency session convened last year because the Security Council cannot overcome Russia's veto to act on ending the war. Ukraine and its allies are duelling with Russia and its supporters over what will be the Assembly's sixth resolution on the war. Also Read UNGA: India votes with West on 3 procedural matters, silent on Ukraine Ukraine urges nations to vote to preserve its territory in UN resolution UN draft resolution calls for peace to ensure Ukraine's sovereignty India votes against Russia's demand for secret ballot on Ukraine in UNGA Vladimir Putin faces grim choices after blast hits prized Crimea bridge Ashneer Grover slams Delhi's IGI airport for long wait, shares suggestions Gangster-terrorist case: Khalistani terrorist among six arrested by NIA Tropical Cyclone Freddy leaves 4 dead, 11,000 displaced in Madagascar: UN Pentagon releases selfie taken by US pilot of Chinese spy balloon Top headlines: FDI equity inflow contracts, no increment for Flipkart execs Ukraine's resolution with over 65 co-sponsors would deplore Moscow's invasion and demand an immediate end to the war, Russia's withdrawal from territories it has seized and a "comprehensive, just and lasting peace". It would also demand the prosecution of crimes and justice for victims. Belarus, acting on behalf of Russia and its supporters, has proposed amendments to the resolution that would gut it of references to Moscow's aggression and invasion and the demand for it to withdraw from occupied territories, while calling instead for an end to arms supply to Ukraine by other countries. Both sides have mounted an intensive campaign on the resolution. Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, spoke by phone with India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval ahead of the Assembly's emergency session to seek New Delhi's support for the resolution against Russia's invasion. India did not speak on Wednesday and it has abstained on all substantive resolutions on Ukraine. Assembly resolutions cannot be vetoed -- as Russia has done in the Security Council -- but they are not binding and only project a sense of moral authority. Five similar resolutions have been adopted by the Assembly since the invasion began on February 24, 2022, to no effect. One adopted In October got 143 votes, with five against it and 35 abstentions including India's in the 193-member Assembly. With that level of support, the Belarus amendments have virtually no chance of passing. General Assembly President Csaba Korosi demanded, "Russia must end this hell of bloodshed". He also held out hope for an end to the war: "This war will come to an end. And the time of reconstruction, reconciliation and transformation will come. We know it will not be easy. We know the scars are deep but the shared destiny of humanity will certainly help nations currently facing each other in the trenches." Switching to Russian from English, he spoke directly to the people of Russia: "Let this anniversary -- and the anguish of millions before our eyes over the last year -- serve as a reminder to all of us here in this Hall that military solutions will not end this war." Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: "We have no choice but to keep fighting for our survival, as any of you would. A year after, against all odds, Ukraine is effectively defending itself against a much stronger enemy and I appeal to you: this is a decisive moment to show support, unity, and solidarity. This is the moment to prove that you stand for the UN Charter." Russia's Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenziz accused the west of fueling the war. "It's not Ukraine that is fighting Russia, but rather it is a collective West," he said. Its "goal is to inflict strategic defeat on my country", he said. US Permanent Representative Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the vote on the resolution "will go down in history". "On the one-year anniversary of this conflict, we will see where the nations of the world stand on the matter of peace in Ukraine," she said. (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis) --IANS al/ksk/ Speaking at the Asia Economic Dialogue here, Jaishankar said the government was doing its bit by bringing in policies like the thrust on Atmanirbhar Bharat and made it clear that the massive external exposure puts national security at threat. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said the responsibility for the trade imbalance with China rests squarely on businesses as well, blaming Indian corporates for not developing the right sourcing arrangements. Indian corporates have not developed the kind of backwards (integration), vendor supplies, components and parts, ingredients and intermediates that should be supporting us, he said. Terming the challenge posed by the trade imbalance with China as very serious and formidable, the career bureaucrat turned politician said the responsibility here is not just of the government, but it is an equal responsibility of businesses as well. Jaishankar said he will consider the local public sentiment while making a big decision. With lots of people, including former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, asking India to focus on services, Jaishankar warned that those who do down manufacturing are actually damaging Indias strategic future. Also Read Imbalance in eco system, lack of food, cause for leopard attacks: Minister American businesses struck by India's rapid digitalisation: S Jaishankar Jaishankar consults Ethiopian FM to reinforce ties in education, trade India matters more in current polarised world, says EAM Jaishankar India is an invaluable partner: US State Department on Jaishankar-Blinken 1 year of Ukraine war: Cheaper crude from Russia pushes India's import bill Managing a crisis: Russia-Ukraine war outbreak a setback for Indian economy How Russia-Ukraine conflict has impacted global and Indian economy El Nino risk for inflation, farm output in India: Finance ministry More nations interested in using UPI: RBI deputy governor T Rabi Sankar Pakistan is grappling with an economic crisis and has not been successful in getting an agreement from multilateral institutions either. In the recent past, India has helped neighbours like Sri Lanka as it struggled to come out of its economic woes and regularly helps others in the neighbourhood as well. I would have a pulse (on) what do my people feel about it. And I think you know the answer, he said. No country is ever going to come out of a difficult situation and become a prosperous power if its basic industry is terrorism. However, when it comes to Pakistan, the fundamental issue impacting the New Delhi-Islamabad ties is terrorism, Jaishankar said, adding that one must not be in denial of this problem. Jaishankar also made it clear that it is in nobody's interest to see a country get into severe economic difficulties, and that too a neighbour. Just as a country has to fix its economic issues, a country has to fix its political issues too, a country has to fix its social issues, he said without naming Pakistan. The world can only provide options and support systems, Jaishankar said, making it clear that Pakistan will have to make tough choices. Once a country is in the throes of a serious economic problem, it has to make policy choices to get out of it, the career diplomat-turned-politician said, adding that others cannot solve it for the country. Meanwhile, Jaishankar said ever since Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, the countrys approach to the neighbouring countries has undergone a perceptible change and also reminded all about the Prime Ministers decision to call heads of state for the swearing-in function to start a new relationship. He said India has also undergone the same challenges several times in its modern history, with the last one being 30 years ago with the balance of payment crisis. Going forward, the country is also mulling to up its focus on education and healthcare spending in the neighbourhood, Jaishankar said. The world-renowned Kovalam beach here and its adjacent seashores will soon get a facelift with additional facilities to attract more tourists, thanks to a multi-crore development scheme by the Kerala government. The State Cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on Thursday gave nod to the Rs 93 crore-worth "Development of Kovalam and Adjacent Beaches" project. It is envisaged for the revival of Kovalam, one of the most significant beaches in the southern part of the country, and other beaches located adjacent to it and to take steps to ensure coastal protection there, a CMO statement here said. Kovalam is popular among both foreign and domestic tourists, it said. Infrastructure and transportation facilities, renovation of parks and other things would be covered under the project, which would be implemented in two phases. The Cabinet also gave nod to entrust WAPCOS as the special purpose vehicle to implement the Rs 93 crore-worth project prepared by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), the CMO added. Also Read Auto Expo 2023: MG reveals Hector facelift, Plus; price starts Rs 14.7 lakh Citroen C5 Aircross to get a facelift version; new to SUV launch on Sep 7 G20 delegates start day 2 of Health Working Group meet with yoga session Helicopters collide over Australian beach, passengers hurt: Police Maharashtra revenue department set for facelift with blockchain technology Economy to grow at 7% despite global headwinds: Finance ministry data Banks can see rise in bad loans from retail, small businesses: SBI official ED questions Delhi CM Kejriwal's PA in excise policy money laundering case It is IAS against IPS as the Roopa vs Sindhuri battle rages on social media Gautam Adani, and Mukesh Ambani are the top wealth losers this year WAPCOS is a Central public sector enterprise under the administrative control of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India. Supreme Court ordered on Thursday that Pawan Khera who was arrested by Assam police from Delhi airport in morning over his comment about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, should be released on interim bail on production before Delhi Magistrate. Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi gave an undertaking in the court that his client Khera will tender unconditional apology, the LiveLaw reported. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday questioned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's PA Bibhav Kumar in the money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy, officials said. Kumar deposed before the federal probe agency here and the investigators are recording his statement under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. Moderna's fourth-quarter profit tumbled 70per cent as COVID-19 vaccine sales fell and the drugmaker caught up on a royalty payment. Moderna said Thursday that its cost of sales jumped nearly a billion dollars to USD 1.9 billion in the final quarter of 2022. That included a USD 400 million payment to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases tied to a new license agreement started in December. The drugmaker's profit fell to USD 1.46 billion, or USD 3.61 per share. Total revenue dropped 29 per cent t o USD 5.08 billion. Analysts expected earnings of USD 4.60 per share on USD 5.02 billion in revenue, according to FactSet. Moderna's Spikevax is the company's main source of revenue, outside of grants and money from collaborations. Also Read Receivables of leading RE companies to shrink 20% this fiscal: Crisil China's export growth sinks in August, imports shrink due to inflation Moderna misses Q3 expectations, net income dips 69%; defers vaccine sales Flipkart's net loss widens 51% on account of rising transportation costs A viral message in the Moderna story 59% of long Covid patients suffered organ damage a year later: Study Shares of 8 Adani Group firms ended the day in negative territory Airbus close to landing large order from IndiGo: French FM Bruno Le Maire 90% of Indian female blue-collar employees vouch for pay parity: Report India, Sri Lanka agree to increase 'complexity' of bilateral exercises: MoD The company had said last month that it recorded USD 18.4 billion in sales from its COVID-19 vaccine last year, and it expects about USD 5 billion in 2023. Shares of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna Inc. slipped 1 per cent to USD 156 in premarket trading. With the participation of over 30 countries and nearly 1,000 publishers and exhibitors, the New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) is returning to its full physical form after a gap of three years, the National Book Trust announced on Thursday. This year's festival will be inaugurated on February 25 by education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, French ambassador Emmanuel Lenain, and NBT chairman Govind Prasad Sharma, among others. The last physical edition of the festival was in January 2020 and then the pandemic enforced the book gala to go online. Based on the theme of 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav', the book fair will host France as the guest country with the participation of 16 French authors, including the Nobel Prize winner Annie Ernaux, and more than 60 publishers, literary agents and cultural representatives. "Today we are seeing French people are more and more interested in Indian literature. France and India are two big countries of literature. We have dozens of people arriving from France. The delegation of authors is led by Annie Ernaux, who is our latest Nobel prize winner. With 16 laureates, France is the country which received the largest number of literature Nobel prizes in the world," Emmanuel Lebrun-Damiens, cultural counsellor, Embassy of France, said here at a press conference. He added that other writers will include feminist author Camille Laurens, children's writer Susie Morgensten, and graphic novelist Simon Lamouret. Also Read India to be theme country at 2025 Madrid International Book Fair: Envoy Valley of Words Book Awards: 'Tagore & Gandhi' wins in English non-fiction International trade fair tickets to be available at 67 Delhi metro stations Nearly 7,000 kg single-use plastic seized by MCD in February in Delhi SSB enrollment in J&K back on track amid new measures for fair selection Kerala's Kovalam beach to get facelift as govt okays Rs 93 cr-worth project Economy to grow at 7% despite global headwinds: Finance ministry data Banks can see rise in bad loans from retail, small businesses: SBI official ED questions Delhi CM Kejriwal's PA in excise policy money laundering case It is IAS against IPS as the Roopa vs Sindhuri battle rages on social media Talking about the theme pavilion, NBT director Yuvraj Malik said that the book fair will be organising a number of literary and cultural activities to mark 75 years of Independence. "More than 750 titles on freedom fighters and the national movement will be displayed in all major Indian languages and English. Book and photo exhibitions, panel discussions, book releases, cultural events and workshops will also be held to mark the occasion," Malik said. The NDWBF will host participants from G20 countries at a separate pavilion. The nine-day literary event will also feature more than 50 cultural programmes such as open mics, performances by Army and Police bands, talk shows, and folk performances. At the children's pavilion, a number of activities such as skits, dramas, street plays, musical presentations, storytelling sessions, workshops, and panel discussions will be held to inculcate reading habits among children. Renowned authors including Ashwin Sanghi, Vikram Sampath, Preeti Shenoy, and Anand Neelakantan will participate in dialogues, panel discussions, and book launches at the fair, Malik noted. The National Book Trust will also mark 50 years of the book fair by releasing a special postal stamp on the occasion. Tickets for the fair are priced at Rs 10 for children and Rs 20 for adults, while entry is free for school children, differently-abled and senior citizens. The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has held an interaction with members of the life insurance industry to discuss the proposed changes in Ind AS 117 -- accounting standard for insurance contracts. Ind AS 117 is based on high quality global standard IFRS 17, insurance contracts issued by the IASB (International Accounting Standard Board) of IFRS foundation. It is going to help investors and others to better understand insurers' risk exposure, profitability and financial position. Ind AS 117 is specifically designed to capture the unique features of the insurance and investment contracts of the insurance entities, according to an official release. "Given the importance of the insurance sector, it was important to appreciate the practices and standards followed by the industry and the expected benefits of their convergence with international standards and best practices," Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Chairperson, NFRA, said. Further, the discussions were also held with representatives of IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India), where they provided insights into the intricacies of the proposed Ind AS 117, in capacity building and knowledge sharing to equip companies and professionals (accounting, actuaries and technology teams) to handle change, the release said. Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Council Samrat Chaudhary on Wednesday claimed that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is fooling coalition partner RJD, and will not hand over his post to his deputy Tejashwi Yadav. "Nitish Kumar was thinking about moving from the post from Chief Minister of Bihar to Prime Minister of the country but his alliance partners are not accepting it. Congress has said that Rahul Gandhi will be the only person who will be the prime ministerial candidate of the opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. "Since, there is no scope for Nitish Kumar at central level, he is advocating opposition unity to stay in the politics of Bihar. This is the reason why Nitish Kumar is asking (JD-U national President) Lalan Singh to give statements that his party will think about Tejashwi Yadav's name as a CM face in the 2025 Assembly polls," Chaudhary, of the BJP, said. "Nitish Kumar is ready to do anything to save his chair. The people of Bihar are watching him and they will give answers at the right time," he alleged. "Nitish Kumar was fooling Tejashwi Yadav and RJD leaders after the formation of Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar. Now, Lalan Singh disclosed that the CM face is not decided for 2025," Chaudhary said. "When Upendra Kushwaha described the "truth" to Nitish Kumar, JD-U leaders made many allegations against him. Kushwaha said that Nitish Kumar is searching for his political successor in the house of his neighbour. He asked Nitish Kumar to disclose the deal and now RJD leaders are openly saying that there was a deal between Nitish Kumar and the RJD to handover the post of Chief Minister to Tejashwi Yadav," he alleged. Also Read RJD MLA's remark against Bihar CM unacceptable, says Tejashwi Yadav No need to wait till 2025, Nitish should make Tejashwi Bihar CM now: Kishor Aiming to unite Oppn, Nitish, Lalu to meet Sonia Gandhi in Delhi today Caste-based head count begins in Bihar; Tejashwi terms it 'historic step' Socialist leader Sharad Yadav's politics was about turns, splits, alliances PM reviews 9 infra projects worth over Rs 41,500 cr spread across 13 states Goa govt to conduct safety audit of roads amidst rising accidents Space telescope uncovers massive 600 mn yrs old galaxies near cosmic dawn Assam cabinet approves Right of Way for speedy rollout of 5G network Elections of MCD's standing committee stalled due to ruckus in House --IANS ajk/vd With the Haryana Police under fire after the abduction and killing of two men allegedly by cow vigilantes, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday said no one has the right to take law into their own hands. "We have never given rights to private persons. We have formed Gau Task Force in districts whose incharge is the DSP, and some non-official members are also part of it so that the police can take action on the information received through the task force. "No one has the right to take law into their hands," Khattar told reporters here when about allegations that some cow vigilantes were indulging in hooliganism in Mewat area. On Wednesday, two Congress MLAs from the Mewat area alleged in the Haryana Assembly that some cow vigilantes are indulging in hooliganism in the name of cow protection in Mewat while claiming that the abduction-murder of two men from Rajasthan was not an isolated incident. The family members of the deceased have alleged that Nasir and Junaid were killed after they were abducted by cow vigilantes from Haryana. Ismail, the brother of Junaid, had alleged that the victims were taken to a police station after being assaulted, but the police personnel in Nuh refused to take them into custody. Also Read Supreme Court rejects plea seeking declaration of cow as national animal Cowhide transport does not amount to contravention of UP cow act, says HC Govt schools to be painted with shades of cow dung in Chhattisgarh Gaumutra cures illness, dung protects from nuclear radiation: Gujarat court No fresh tax proposed in Haryana budget for 2023-24, says CM Khattar Ajnala incident can have grave ramifications: Capt Amarinder Singh Bihar Police warn people against objectionable social media posts In a world full of conflict, Indian arts can spread harmony: Prez Murmu Information technology should be used to improve governance: Om Birla Uttarakhand govt signs agreement for Yamunotri ropeway's construction Congress MLA Mohd Illyas had said in the assembly, "Nobody in the Mewat region is indulging in cow slaughtering. But some cow vigilantes are indulging in hooliganism and harassing innocent people." Another MLA, Mamman Khan, had said it was not an isolated incident and there were a few cases in the Mewat region in the past too. Nasir (25) and Junaid alias Juna (35), both residents of Ghatmeeka village in Bharatpur district of Rajasthan, were allegedly abducted by cow vigilantes on February 15 and their bodies were found inside a burnt car in Loharu in Bhiwani in Haryana on the morning of February 16. A total of nine accused, including Bajrang Dal member Monu Manesar who runs a cow protection group, and Srikant Pandit, whose mother lodged the complaint against Rajasthan Police, have been named in the case so far. During his interaction with the media on Thursday, Khattar also replied to questions on other issues. When asked that Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda had suggested the state government file a "contempt of court" petition in the Supreme Court over delay in the construction of Sutlej Yamuna link canal, he said an execution order is yet to be issued for canal construction. "The SYL issue has attained finality and if it's not implemented contempt of court should be filed," Hooda had said in the state assembly on Thursday. Khattar told reporters that it has been decided that the SYL canal should be constructed and it will be constructed, but the execution order has not come yet. Earlier, while presenting the budget for 2023-24, Khattar had said his government is committed to the construction of the SYL canal in order to get its due share of water from the Ravi-Beas river system and an outlay of Rs 101 crore has been proposed for this. Over 1,100 participants on Thursday attended the post-budget webinar on green growth. The Power Ministry led the first post-budget webinar on Green Growth with discussions in six parallel sessions on 12 announcements made in the Union Budget 2023-24, an official statement said. Over 1,100 participants drawn from the industry, academia, PSUs, state governments and sector experts participated in the deliberations, which were aimed at seeking inputs for the finalisation of a time-bound action plan for the implementation of budget initiatives, it added. Addressing the stakeholders at the webinar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited global investors to invest in India, saying that the renewable energy sector in the country has the potential not less than a goldmine or an oil field. The first break-out session on Green Growth, led by Alok Kumar, Secretary, Power and co-led by BS Bhalla, Secretary, New and Renewable Energy, on Green Growth, focused on Energy Storage and Inter-State transmission system for RE evacuation, Green Hydrogen Mission and capital investment towards energy transition. The second break-out session was led by Pankaj Jain, Secretary Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas led by deliberated on GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan scheme). Also Read Budget 2023-24: Manufacturing sector eyes revised taxations, new PLIs Union Budget 2023: Experts don't expect surprises in social sector outlay Budget 2023: A look back at some major announcements in previous Budget Crypto industry wants 0.1% TDS, Sebi-like regulator in Budget 2023 Budget 2023 to increase capex for infra projects for growth: Experts Centre making contradictory statements over Bengal's GST dues: Minister Ensure digital connectivity in rural, remote areas: Himachal chief secy No one has right to take law in their hands: Khattar on cow vigilantes row Ajnala incident can have grave ramifications: Capt Amarinder Singh Bihar Police warn people against objectionable social media posts The third break-out session led by Leena Nandan, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change discussed the Green Credit Programme, MISHTI and Amrit Dharohar initiatives with stakeholders. The fourth session led by Ramesh Chand, Member, Niti Aayog deliberated on PMPRANAM and Bhartiya Prakritik Kheti Bio-Input Resource Centres. Sudhansh Pant, Secretary, Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, led the 5th break-out session on coastal shipping and Alka Upadhyaya, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, discussed with stakeholders the issues and timelines on the vehicle replacement programme. Addressing the participants, the Prime Minister urged the industry to invest in the sector and said that India had a huge potential to lead the world in green energy and generate green jobs. "This Budget will play a key role in establishing India as a lead player in the global green energy market. That is why, today, I invite every stakeholder of the energy world to invest in India," the Prime Minister said. Speaking in the breakout session on Green Growth, Power Minister RK Singh said that the power sector is going to emerge as a major contributor to investment and growth in the country. "The country will add 325 GW of Renewable Energy capacity between now and 2030. It has the lowest cost of setting up RE capacity, and its cost of Green Hydrogen will be the most competitive in the world. The country will need at least 80 GW of Electrolyser capacity by 2030. India is poised to transform from a net importer of energy to being a net exporter of energy," the minister said. Highlighting that the country was growing at 7 per cent and the power demand was increasing at 10 per cent, the minister said that enough capacity in generation, transmission and distribution was being created to take care of the growing needs of the economy. Singh said that a rather conservative estimate of 5 MMT has been projected for the Green Hydrogen by 2030 but the country was aiming to surpass this target. Concluding the day-long deliberations, the minister said that this has been a very productive exercise with a large number of suggestions received from the stakeholders. He said the concerned ministries would work on these suggestions to put in place a time-bound action plan. As part of the Green Growth agenda, the Union Budget has envisaged 12 initiatives spread across 13 ministries -- Green Hydrogen Mission, Energy Transition, Energy Storage Projects, Renewable Energy Evacuation, Green Credit Program, PM-PRANAM, GOBARdhan Scheme, Bhartiya Prakritik Kheti Bio-Input Resource Centres, MISHTI, Amrit Dharohar, Coastal Shipping and Vehicle Replacement. The webinars by various ministries to build on 'Saptarshi' priorities are scheduled between February 23 and March 11. Over 31,500 refugees from Myanmar and Bangladesh have taken shelter in different parts of Mizoram, an official said. The number of Myanmar nationals taking refuge in the northeastern state was 31,050 as on January 27, and those from Bangladesh were 541, he said. The Bangladeshi nationals are lodged in 160 makeshift camps set up in eight villages in Lawngtlai district, the official said. The Myanmar nationals, mostly from Chin state, fled to Mizoram following a military coup in the neighbouring country in February 2021, while the asylum seekers from Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) came to the state after a military offensive against an ethnic insurgent group, he said. Mizoram shares a 510-km long porous border with Myanmar and a 318-km boundary with Bangladesh. Mizoram Home Minister Lalchamliana had recently informed the assembly that the state government has so far released over Rs 3.8 crore as part of relief measures for the Myanmar nationals, and Rs 30 lakh for those from Bangladesh. In the second arrest by Assam police of an Opposition spokesperson for his alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Pawan Khera was Thursday arrested at the airport in New Delhi before being released on interim bail by the Supreme Court. Khera was on his way to Raipur for the Congress plenary session when he was arrested by the police who deplaned him and took him away. "He was detained by the Delhi Police on a request by the Assam Police. We were just extending support to them. The arrest has been made by them," a senior Delhi Police officer said. The Supreme Court later in the day heard a plea on Khera's behalf and ordered that the Congress spokesperson be released on interim bail till February 28. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said that upon being produced before the competent magistrate in Delhi, Khera would be released on interim bail. Before Khera, TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale was similarly arrested from Jaipur by the police in December last and finally flown to Assam on the basis of FIRs filed against him there. Also Read Pawan Khera detained at airport after being deplaned, says Congress Congress claims Khera deplaned from Raipur flight, stages dharna on tarmac Has India become a banana republic? Venugopal after Khera deplaning row IND vs SA Live Streaming: When and how to watch the 2nd T20I LIVE in India Despite ammo against govt, divided Oppn may fritter away Budget session Two more weeks to complete investigation against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Russia-Ukraine crisis to have impact on G20 proceedings: EU Ambassador Global economy is in a better place today: US Treasury Secy Janet Yellen Above normal temperature in northwest, central, east India for 5 days: IMD Domestic solar capacity addition grows 27% in 2022: Mercom report The apex court issued notices to the states of Assam and Uttar Pradesh seeking their responses on Khera's plea seeking clubbing of multiple FIRs lodged against him at Assam, Lucknow and Varanasi for his alleged remarks against the prime minister. A case has been registered at Haflong police station in Assam against Khera under various sections of the IPC, including 153 B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national interest), 500 (punishment for defamation) and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), for his alleged remarks against the prime minister. Dima Hasao Superintendent of Police Mayank Kumar told PTI that one Samuel Changsan filed a complaint on Wednesday at Haflong police station over Khera's comments on Modi and other issues. "His (Khera) comments against the PM is one part of the FIR. There are other complaints also. The case is registered under several sections of the IPC," the SP said. Kumar said that the sections are non-bailable and a police team has already gone to the National Capital to investigate the case. Trinamool Congress national spokesperson Saket Gokhale was earlier arrested in December for a tweet endorsing an alleged fake news report about Prime Minister Modi's visit to Gujarat's Morbi town after the collapse of a suspension bridge in October. Gokhale was detained at Jaipur in Rajasthan, taken to Ahmedabad and finally flown to Assam before getting a bail. Khera was earlier in the day asked by the Delhi Police to deplane. Congress leaders sat on dharna at the tarmac in protest and did not allow police to take him away without an arrest warrant. Senior Delhi Police officials later handed over a document from Assam Police seeking their help in the detention of Khera. Several party leaders got off the plane after Khera was deboarded and staged a dharna on the tarmac. As drama escalated at terminal one of the domestic airport here, flight staff told Congress leaders there was confusion with Khera's bags. They said police was on its way and would explain the reason to him. "We are all on the @IndiGo6E flight 6E 204 to Raipur and all of a sudden my colleague @Pawankhera has been asked to deplane," Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, who was also on the flight, said on Twitter. "What sort of high handedness is this? Is there any rule of law? On what grounds is this being done and under whose order?" she said. Congress leader Pawan Khera was detained by police on Thursday after being deplaned from a flight to Raipur in connection with his alleged remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party said. Khera, against whom a case has been registered in Assam, was asked by the Delhi Police to deplane. Congress leaders sat on dharna at the tarmac in protest and did not allow him to be taken away without an arrest warrant. Senior Delhi Police officials later handed over a document from Assam Police seeking their help in the detention of Khera. Congress leader Randeep Surjewala accompanied Khera to a police station at the airport where there was a huge deployment of CISF. A case has been registered at Haflong police station in Assam against Khera under various sections of the IPC for his alleged remarks against the prime minister. Earlier several party leaders got off the plane after Khera was deboarded and staged a dharna on the tarmac. Khera was on his way to Raipur for the Congress plenary. Also Read Relief for Rahul Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, Supriya Shrinate in copyright case Congress claims Khera deplaned from Raipur flight, stages dharna on tarmac Issues like inflation, unemployment should be core to politics: Congress Bengaluru Court asks Twitter to block Congress, Bharat Jodo Yatra accounts Only request to PM Modi is to stop rupee from scoring century: Congress MCD House adjourned till 10 am tomorrow without electing standing committee Over 31,500 Myanmar, Bangladesh refugees took shelter in Mizoram: Official LIVE: ED questions CM Kejriwal's PA in excise policy money laundering case UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to arrive in Bengaluru for G20 finance meet PM to address 12 webinars for effective execution of Budget initiatives As drama escalated at terminal one of the domestic airport here, flight staff told Congress leaders there was confusion with Khera's bags. They said police was on its way and would explain the reason to him. "We are all on the @IndiGo6E flight 6E 204 to Raipur and all of a sudden my colleague @Pawankhera has been asked to deplane," Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, who was also on the flight, said on Twitter. "What sort of high handedness is this? Is there any rule of law? On what grounds is this being done and under whose order?" she said. The flight was delayed. More efforts needed to boost production 14:03, February 23, 2023 By OUYANG SHIJIA ( China Daily Technicians check vehicles rolling off the production line of an automaker in Yibin, Sichuan province. ZHUANG GEER/FOR CHINA DAILY Regulator urges expanding investment, structural adjustments of key industries China will take more steps to boost the steady growth of the industrial economy in a bid to consolidate economic recovery in the first quarter, officials and experts said. The department of industry at the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic regulator, recently held a symposium with several key provinces in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, saying steady growth of the industrial economy will serve as the "ballast stone" stabilizing the overall economy. More efforts should be made to speed up the resumption of work and production, stabilize and expand investment in the manufacturing sector, promote structural adjustments of key industries and create a better development climate, it was stated at the meeting. " (We will) strive to promote the steady growth of the industrial economy in the first quarter laying a solid foundation for stabilizing the overall economy," it said. Experts said several provincial-level governments have pledged intensified efforts to prop up growth and keep economic performance within a reasonable range, pointing to a robust 2023 amid signs of notable economic recovery. This year, Hunan province will accelerate the push for building itself into a center of advanced manufacturing. The province will actively develop new industries such as electronic information, new energy vehicles and modern petrochemicals as well as hasten construction of a batch of major industrial projects this year, the provincial government said in an article posted on the NDRC's official WeChat account. In 2023, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region will focus on accelerating industrial adjustment and upgrading and promoting high-quality development of the industrial economy, including implementing 580 projects for strengthening industrial chains, official data showed. Citing government work reports released by localities, Zhou Maohua, a macroeconomic analyst at China Everbright Bank, said most provincial-level regions are targeting GDP growth of above 5 percent this year, voicing optimism for a robust 2023. He said local governments are giving priority to expanding domestic demand, promoting improved consumption, supporting industrial transformation and upgrading and continuously deepening reforms. There are positive signs showcasing a strong recovery of economic activity. Official data showed the official purchasing managers index for China's manufacturing sector bounced back to 50.1 in January after reaching 47 in December above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction. And China's nonmanufacturing PMI came in at 54.4 in January after 41.6 in December, returning to expansion territory for the first time since September. Louise Loo, senior economist at British think tank Oxford Economics, said their team now expects a faster economic recovery in China, as the combination of a stronger showing in retail and consumer-focused segments as well as policymakers' pro-growth policy pivots are arguably reasons to be sanguine on China's outlook this year. "Certainly, a rebound in demand in the near term is pretty much guaranteed as reopening proceeds. In terms of policy, we think authorities' proactive and pro-growth stance implies that data-dependent macro policy easing will help stabilize the economy in the near-term, with targeted property sector support, possible relief measures for households, and a push into increased off-balance sheet infrastructure spending as the preferred policy levers," Loo said. Robin Xing, Morgan Stanley's chief China economist, said China's economy is expected to grow by 5.7 percent in 2023, contributing to around 40 percent of global economic growth. Looking ahead, Xing said China will likely set a 2023 GDP growth target of above 5 percent, with measures such as further waves of monetary and fiscal easing to support the rebound. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) The US Department of Defense (DOD) has released a selfie image taken by an American pilot which shows the suspected Chinese spy balloon that was shot down earlier this month. The selfie, taken by the pilot of a U-2 spy plane, shows the shadow of the aircraft on the balloon and a clear image of the latter's payload as it crossed across the continental US, CNN reported. The suspected spy balloon, which was first spotted by the US on January 28, was shot down on February 4 by an American F-22 fighter jet. The officials waited until the "strange object" was safely over water before shooting it down. The balloon was retrieved off the coast of Myrtle Beach in South Carolina on February 5. A senior State Department official said earlier this month that fly-bys "revealed that the high-altitude balloon was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations". Also Read China committed act of floating balloon as they are Chinese govt: Biden Romania, Moldova both report mysterious balloon-like objects in their skies Reliance Retail to expand biz in affordable toy segment through Rowan brand Sale of Warren Buffett portrait raises lesser funds than $19 mn lunch bid Does India need PLI to become a toy manufacturing powerhouse? Top headlines: FDI equity inflow contracts, no increment for Flipkart execs 6.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Tajikistan near China border on Thursday TMS Ep375: Wheat crop, Air India, rice exporters' shares, political symbols Assam cabinet approves guidelines for RoW for speedy rollout of 5G Upendra Kushwaha to launch 'Virasat Bachao Naman Yatra' on Feb 28 The image, which was released on Wednesday was taken the day before the balloon the shot down, has reportedly "gained legendary status" inside the Pentagon, reports the BBC. The balloon was said to be hovering at 60,000 fee in the air. U-2 spy planes routinely fly at altitudes over 70,000 feet, according to the Air Force. The single-seater reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft, nicknamed the Dragon Lady, were previously flown by the CIA. Pilots are required to wear full pressure suits similar to those worn by astronauts. Recovery efforts for the balloon's scattered remnants in the Atlantic Ocean ended on February 17. Pieces of the debris were transferred to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory in Virginia to be studied further, reports CNN. Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said in a briefing on Wednesday that the payload of the balloon had been recovered. --IANS ksk/ The supporters of Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh Thursday clashed with police and stormed into a police complex in Punjab's Amritsar district, protesting against the arrest of one of his associates. Police had booked Singh and his supporters for allegedly kidnapping a man. Carrying swords and other arms, scores of supporters led by Singh had assembled at the police station in Ajnala in Amritsar. They broke the barricades put up by police. Heavy security arrangements were made at the police station as the protesters began a dharna in the complex. A case was registered against Singh, a self-styled preacher, and his supporters for allegedly kidnapping and thrashing Varinder Singh, a resident of Chamkaur Sahib in Rupnagar district. Amritpal Singh had reportedly issued a threat recently to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying he will meet the same fate as that of former prime minister Indira Gandhi. Also Read Global shocks are best times for radical reforms: G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant Rishi Sunak supporters speak out as UK economy spirals under Liz Truss Supporters of rival Shiv Sena factions clash over party office in Dapoli 60% of stubble burning cases in Punjab from Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Gurdaspur No military solution to any conflict: India on Armenia-Azerbaijan clash 3.1 magnitude tremor recorded in Savarkundla taluka of Gujarat's Amreli Byju's to shut coding platform WhiteHat Jr as part of restructuring NCLT admits plea for insolvency proceedings against ZEEL, Siti Networks Afghan Taliban promises to help Pak address threat posed by TTP: Report Gujarat health centres under probe for issuing fake Covid vax certificates Dubai-returned Amritpal Singh is the head of 'Waris Punjab De' organisation founded by actor and activist Deep Sidhu who died in a road accident in February last year. A project of Rs 27 crore is being prepared to promote the cultivation of millets, said Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar while presenting the state budget for 2023-24. The state government has also set a target of 20,000 acres of land for the adoption of natural farming in the state, said Khattar in the state assembly here. While tabling the fourth budget of the second term of his government in the state, Khattar proposed a 19 per cent increase in allocation for the agriculture and allied sectors and cooperation at Rs 8,316 crore for the year 2023-24. "Agriculture and allied activities contribute 18.5 per cent to the economy of the state. The contribution of Haryana's farmers to the economic development of India is well recognized," said Khattar in the House. Khattar said on the request of the government of India, the United Nations is celebrating 2023 as the International Millets year and the government of India is actively promoting the cultivation and consumption of millets in Haryana. A project of Rs 27 crore is being prepared to promote the cultivation of millets through cluster demonstration, distribution of hybrid seeds, certified seed production, integrated nutrient and pest management, said Khattar. Also Read Budget 2023-24: Manufacturing sector eyes revised taxations, new PLIs Union Budget 2023: Experts don't expect surprises in social sector outlay Budget 2023: A look back at some major announcements in previous Budget PM Modi asks BJP MPs to work to promote millets, sports during address Indian missions to be roped in for branding, promotion of domestic millets New Delhi World Book Fair to be held from February 25: National Book Trust Kerala's Kovalam beach to get facelift as govt okays Rs 93 cr-worth project Economy to grow at 7% despite global headwinds: Finance ministry data Banks can see rise in bad loans from retail, small businesses: SBI official ED questions Delhi CM Kejriwal's PA in excise policy money laundering case In order to improve the productivity of bajra cultivation, a Nutri-Cereals Research Station was being established by Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture University (CCS HAU) at Gokalpura in Bhiwani district will become functional in 2023, he informed the House. The government will popularize the consumption of bajra through bringing out a recipe book for various items based on bajra. "I hope that Haryana will lead the way in improving the productivity of bajra cultivation, its branding and marketing through various products," he said. On natural farming, Khattar said in 2023-24, the government has set a target of 20,000 acres for the adoption of natural farming. "Two training centres have been established at Gurukul in Kurukshetra and Gharaunda in Karnal. Three more training centres are proposed to be established in 2023-24 located in the CCS HAU Hisar, HAMETI Jind and Mangiana in Sirsa," said Khattar. "In 2022-23, 2,238 farmers have been identified and provided support for the adoption of natural farming over 5,906 acres against the target of 2,500 acres set in the budget address last year," the CM said. The budget also proposed to focus on precision agriculture which enables climate-smart agriculture through judicious use of fertilizers and pesticides, optimizing water usage through micro-irrigation techniques, crop health monitoring through drone imagery, soil health monitoring, local area disease and pest surveillance and increasing adoption of solar pumps. The project will be initiated in Sirsa district and based on the learnings, it will be expanded to other districts in phases, he said. Taking forward the initiative of the central government for the adoption of 'Kisan drones' in agricultural activities, the government plans to impart training to 500 young farmers in drone operations, said Khattar. Stating that green manuring increases soil's organic matter and improves soil health, Khattar said the state government has introduced a scheme where the farmer will be facilitated to adopt green manuring through 'dhaincha' cultivation where the government will bear 80 per cent of the cost of Rs 720 per acre and the farmer has to contribute only 20 per cent of the cost. Khattar said the government aims to double the cropped area under horticulture and triple horticulture production by 2030 through the formation of crop cluster development programmes, setting up the supply chain for fresh fruits and vegetables, the establishment of pack houses and the formation of farmer producer organizations (FPOs). The government also proposed to establish a honey laboratory and prepare honey trade policy to facilitate beekeepers in the state to market honey through auctions for better price realization and improving quality, the CM said. The budget also proposed three new centres of excellence, one on post-harvest management in Panchkula, the second for onions in Pinangawan in Nuh district and the third for flowers in Munimpur in Jhajjar district, he said. Europe understands India's position in continuing with procurement of crude oil from Russia and it appreciates New Delhi's overall stand on the Ukraine conflict, Ambassador of European Union Ugo Astuto said on Thursday on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of the neighbouring country. With India set to host a crucial meeting of the foreign ministers of G20 states after five days, Astuto also said it is not a "business as usual situation" and the crisis will have an impact on the proceedings of the grouping. At the same time, the envoy asserted that the European Union trusts the Indian presidency of G20 to make the proceedings productive in that respect. In an exclusive interview to PTI, the ambassador of the 27-nation European Union said the Indian voice on the conflict is an influential one and that there is appreciation in Europe of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement that it is not time for war. "When it comes to G20, inevitably we are not in a business-as-usual situation and this will have an impact on G20. But we trust the Indian presidency to make the proceedings of G20 productive in that respect. We will support the Indian presidency as much as we can," he said. Europe has been solidly backing Ukraine in the face of the war that according to a UN estimate left over 7,000 civilians dead and thousands of others injured. Also Read What does the G-20 presidency mean for India? 'US looking forward to support India's G20 presidency': Janet Yellen Another lotus blooms With 'Soul of India' as key theme; India gets ready for G20 presidency 'Era not of war': G20 declaration uses Modi's words in call for diplomacy Global economy is in a better place today: US Treasury Secy Janet Yellen Above normal temperature in northwest, central, east India for 5 days: IMD Domestic solar capacity addition grows 27% in 2022: Mercom report We will rid Karnataka of corruption in five years: Home minister Amit Shah Radical preacher Amritpal Singh's supporters clash with police in Amritsar Astuto said there is an understanding in Europe about India's continuing procurement of crude oil from Russia. "I think we all in Europe understand and respect the constraints of India when it comes to procurement of energy for its people," he said, adding the G7 price cap on Russian crude is working for many countries including India. The G7 price cap that came into effect in December stops countries from paying more than USD 60 a barrel to Russia for oil procurement with an aim to stop Moscow profiting from its oil exports. "It is working for all the countries that need to get supplies from the world market. As opposed to the past when we have seen dramatic increase in oil prices, today the prices are down to the pre-crisis level. And it is not by chance," he said. The ambassador described India's voice on the crisis as "influential". "The Indian voice is a very influential voice. We have much appreciated the statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the fact that it is not the time for war and we have seen India trying to exert its influence on a number of occasion including when the moment came to arrange some sort of an agreement to have grains exported from Ukraine through the Black Sea," he said. In a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Uzbekistan on September 16, Modi said "today's era is not of war" and nudged the Russian leader to end the conflict. India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion and has been pushing for resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. The grain agreement was signed following months of negotiations to primarily facilitate the export of around 20 million tonnes of wheat, maize and other grains from Ukraine. Following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia blocked maritime access to the Ukrainian ports that resulted in a total halt in the export of millions of tons of grains from that country triggering a global food crisis. "I think the position of India is important and well appreciated. What we asked all partners of the international community is to come together for the defence of the UN charter," Astuto said. He also pointed out about India extending humanitarian aid to Ukraine on several occasions. "So we have already seen India remaining active and rightly so as India is an influential voice," Astuto said. He said India's G20 presidency has presented a very ambitious programme and some of the points on the topical issues are very close to consensus. Astuto cited climate change, digital transition, and ways to achieve the sustainable development goals as major areas of deliberations at the G20. "It's a fact that we need to inject further momentum into the global pursuit of sustainable development goals if we want to respect our target of 2030. We will be happy to cooperate with the Indian presidency of G20. "The problem remains that we are not in a business as usual situation. The war in Europe is due to an illegal aggression and this will have an impact also on the proceedings of the G20. We are ready to help the Presidency, but we must also recognise the effect on the ground," he said. Astuto said everybody in the West is supporting Ukraine "very solidly". "It is further evidence of the fact that the US and its allies NATO, the European Union and Europe are all with Ukraine," he said. "We understand that for Ukraine, it is an existential fight. If the Russians stop fighting, the war is over and Russia will remain a major power in Europe. If Ukranians stop fighting, the very existence of Ukraine as an independent sovereign country is in jeopardy," he said. Khera was on his way to a meeting of the All India Congress Committee when he was deboarded from a plane bound for Raipur in Chhattisgarh at Delhi airport. He was detained by Assam Police on Thursday based on a first information report (FIR) registered against him. The Supreme Court on Thursday granted interim bail to Congress Spokesperson Pawan Khera after he was booked by Assam and Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi at a press conference. To protect the petitioner until he applies for regular bail before the jurisdictional court concerning all FIRs, we direct until the next date of listing the petitioner shall be released on interim bail by Delhi court this evening. The above order shall stay in operation until Tuesday, the court ordered. The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and M R Shah directed a Delhi court to grant Khera relief after he approached the top court on Friday. Lucknow, Assam, Varanasi ... Assam Police deplaned him and now he is at the airport and is to be taken to Dwarka court, said Singhvi. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Khera, said FIRs have been registered against Khera in many places. Also Read Gujarat riots: Supreme Court grants activist Teesta Setalvad interim bail LIVE: Supreme Court grants interim to Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera Gujarat riots case: Teesta Setalvad gets interim bail from Supreme Court SC granted Teesta Setalvad interim bail: What did the apex court say Arrest not in accordance with law: Bombay HC grants bail to Chanda Kochhar Scan, share service for faster OPD registrations gaining success: NHA Olectra Greentech unveils Hydrogen bus in partnership with Reliance CJI announces launch of 'neutral citations' for Supreme Court judgements AI to operate ferry flight to bring back passengers stranded in Stockholm 13 wagons of goods train derail near freight corridor in Bihar's Dehri "Yes. Now UP Police, too, will come, said Singhvi. Delhi airport? the CJI asked. We accept that taken at face value, the spoken words do not lead to Sections invoked in the FIR. Hence, we order to issue notice on the prayer to transfer and club all FIRs registered against Khera. Notice to Assam and the State of UP, the order read. The court also sought a response from UP and Assam on Kheras prayer to club multiple FIRs registered against him in those states. The press conference in question is the one where Khera had allegedly messed up the PMs name while demanding a joint parliamentary probe into the Adani-Hindenburg row. Khera has been booked for offences under Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, etc) and Section 295A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The video in question was played before the Bench by Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the State of Assam. If Narasimha Rao could form a joint parliamentary committee (JPC), if Atal Bihari Vajpayee could form a JPC, then what problem does Narendra Gautamdas... sorry Damodardas Modi have? Khera had asked. Singhvi said Khera had not deliberately flubbed PMs name but it was a slip of tongue. The entire press conference has to be seen. It is a derogatory remark made to incite disaffection against the PM. After all, he is the duly elected PM of the country, she said. Please protect him from arrest, said Singhvi. I genuinely got confused whether it is Gautamdas or Damodardas, said Khera, apologising for the mistake. Bhati said the statement by Khera was intentional. Singhvi also said that for any amount of political dialogue, Sections 153(a) or 295(a) of the IPC cannot be invoked. Nearly two-thirds of Indian companies' CEOs expect a steady or positive global economic outlook over the next three to five years, despite present challenges and sombre macroeconomic projections for 2023, according to a research report released on Thursday. The research by strategy and management consulting firm Arthur D Little also highlighted that the CEOs who are keen on growth despite the crisis as half (of them) believe they will expand into new regions, while 30 per cent anticipate growing faster than the overall market. As many as 250 CEOs of businesses with annual sales of at least USD 1 billion were interviewed for the firm's 2023 CEO Insights research, of which 33 per cent of the Indian CEOs surveyed had an optimistic view about the economic outlook over the next 3-5 years, quite above the global average of 22 per cent, as per the report. These include 21 CEOs of the Indian companies, according to the research organisation. The research report shows that CEOs of the largest corporations in the world remain upbeat despite the current economic unrest. It said that a quarter of CEOs in North America, 10 per cent in Asia, and 38 per cent of CEOs in Europe's top five economies -- France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK -- expect to see a positive economic outlook over the next three to five years. At the same time, as much as 60 per cent of Indian CEOs intend to increase spending and 33 per cent aim to maintain spending levels as they anticipate growth with 75 per cent of Indian CEOs looking to beat or meet market growth, according to Arthur D Little. Also Read 73% CEOs globally expect eco growth to decline over the year: PwC survey Govt raises maximum tenure of PSU banks' CEOs to 10 years to retain talent Business Standard CEOs poll: Capex tops India Inc's 2023 to-do list MDs, CEOs of ARCs can't have more than 3 terms in office without a cool-off 'Boomerang CEOs' don't always work out; Disney hopes to buck trend Surprise CBI inspection at General Post Office in Shimla's Mall Road Uttarakhand govt signs agreement for Yamunotri ropeway's construction NFRA, life insurance players discuss proposed changes in Ind AS 117 Government invites applications for CCI Chairperson post till March 9 Fake Flight Lt held for duping over 100 youth on pretext of IAF career Even cautious CEOs anticipate increasing growth investments, with 40 per cent planning to raise spending and 55 per cent holding expenditures steady, it stated. "Our research reveals that Indian CEOs are more optimistic about the future than their global counterparts. They look past the current crisis to embrace a more promising future for their businesses with over 90 per cent of Indian CEOs increasing or maintaining growth investments," said Barnik Chitran Maitra Managing Partner, Arthur D Little. The Uttarakhand Tourism Department on Thursday signed an agreement with two private firms to construct a ropeway to Yamunotri, situated at a height of over 10,000 ft in the Garhwal Himalayas. The agreement between the department, SRM Engineering and FIL Industry Pvt Ltd was inked in the presence of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and state tourism and culture minister Satpal Maharaj. The ropeway to connect Yamunotri with Kharsali, where Goddess Yamuna is worshipped during winter, will be 3.38 km long, an official release said. It will be a mono cable detachable ropeway with a capacity of carrying across 500 people in an hour. To be built in accordance with European standards, the ropeway will spare devotees the trouble of trekking for 2 to 3 hours to reach the temple, Dhami said, adding they will traverse the distance in the ropeway car in just 10-15 minutes. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday asked the people of Karnataka to repose faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and said the BJP would give such a government that it would rid the State of corruption and make Karnataka number one in South India within five years. Addressing a public meeting at Sandur, a Congress stronghold, in this district, Shah also took potshots at the M Mallikarjun Kharge-led outfit and the JD(S), saying they were dynastic parties which cannot do good to the people. "On one hand there is PM Modi-led BJP strengthening India, and on the other there is Rahul Gandhi-led Congress linked with 'Tukde-Tukde' gang", he said. Trust PM Modi and Yediyurappa once, and we (BJP) will give such a government that it will rid Karnataka of corruption and make it a number one state in South India, Shah said Assembly elections are due in Karnataka by May. India is averse to using the term "war" in the communique, and softer terms like "crisis" are not acceptable to the G7 members, all of whom are a part of G20 as well, informed sources said. The G7's views will be more detailed in a press conference later in the day. With the United States and the Group of Seven (G7 nations) pushing for further sanctions against Russia, differences are being ironed out with India and some other G20 partners over the language of the official communique which will be issued at the end of the meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG). "In the coming months, we expect to provide around $10 billion in additional economic support for Ukraine. Russia's economy has become increasingly isolated. Estimates indicate that nearly a million Russians may have left the country last year. This is putting downward pressure on its productive capacity going forward," Yellen said. Meanwhile, in a separate media briefing in Bengaluru, United States treasury secretary Janet Yellen categorically stated that the US and its allies would push for further sanctions on Russia. "Continued, robust support for Ukraine will be a major topic of discussion during my time here in India," she said. Yellen's statement comes days after US President Joe Biden's surprise visit to Ukraine's capital Kyiv. In her remarks, Yellen mentioned Russia sixteen times and said that it's critical for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to move swiftly towards a fully financed program for Ukraine Also Read 'US looking forward to support India's G20 presidency': Janet Yellen US treasury secy Janet Yellen to visit India on Nov 11 for EFP dialogue Janet Yellen: For the people G20's declining share in the world, amid India's growing influence What is friendshoring? Bihar govt cancels 3.93 mn job cards of inactive labourers under MGNREGA PM Modi bats for more RE and less fossil fuel or gas-based economy Apparel sector to contribute in taking exports to $1 trn by 2030: AEPC Nirmala Sitharaman meets US Treasury Secy ahead of G20 Finance meeting No fresh tax proposed in Haryana budget for 2023-24, says CM Khattar And therein lies the core of the differences between the G20 nations over the language of the communique. "We have continued to see emerging markets negotiate steep discounts on Russian oil which keeps oil on the global market but sharply reduces the Kremlin's take," Yellen added. As reported by Business Standard earlier, India does not want the discussions in Bengaluru to focus on further sanctions. India's Russian oil imports climbed to a record 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, up 9.2 per cent from December, with Moscow still the top monthly oil seller to New Delhi, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia, news agency Reuters had reported earlier. Last month Russian oil accounted for about 27 per cent of the 5 million bpd of crude imported by India, the world's third-biggest oil importer and consumer. IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva said on Wednesday that about 15 per cent of low-income countries are in debt distress, and an additional 45 per cent are at high risk of debt distress. And among emerging economies, about 25 per cent are at high risk and facing "default-like" borrowing spreads. Interacting with the media, Yellen also said that the partner nations need to work together to ease the debt overhang of some low and middle-income nations. "We will continue to push for all bilateral official creditors, including China, to participate in meaningful debt treatments for developing countries and emerging markets in distress." The move pertains to a writ petition filed by some sugar exporters challenging Custom authorities move to recover benefits under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP). The Gujarat High Court has asked the Centre and the tax authorities to file responses on petitions challenging the denial of benefits to sugar exporters under the neutralisation scheme. Several nations are interested in using UPI or building their own similar payment systems, and India would be willing to help them, Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar said on Thursday. India looked forward to showcasing its digital infrastructure prowess during its time as President of the Group of 20 (G20). Given the response among other nations to the home-grown real-time retail payment Unified Payments Interface (UPI), it seems to have been a success. Sankar said many of the larger countries like the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and others with evolved payment systems have also shown interest in linking their payment systems with UPI. There is some interest in taking Indias help. Several Commonwealth nations from the Caribbean and South Pacific, and some Latin American countries as well are interested in actually using UPI or similar technology. For them, it is a question of developing their systems and linking it with ours, said Sankar, on the sidelines of the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in Bengaluru. Earlier this week, UPI and its equivalent network in Singapore called PayNow were integrated to enable faster remittances between the two countries at a competitive rate. If they want UPI, we would be happy to help them. If they have fast payments system, the linking becomes easier, he said. Also Read UPI Lite: A payment method that allows you to pay without PIN or internet CBDC more anonymous than traditional e-transactions: IDFC First Bank CEO UPI transactions touch a record Rs 11.17 trillion in September, shows data Can India's UPI system go global? 'US looking forward to support India's G20 presidency': Janet Yellen India is 15% of solution G20 is looking for economic growth: Jaishankar RoDTEP benefits: Gujarat HC ask Centre, tax authorities to file responses CM Mann woos investors, promises to give clearances within 15 days Haryana govt allocates Rs 5,893 crore in FY24 Budget for urban development MCA approves demerger of core and non-core assets of Shipping Corp Speaking about Indias central bank digital currency (CBDC, also known as e-rupee), Sankar said the RBI was looking to expand the use cases for wholesale CBDC. Sankar also added that access to UPI for non-resident Indians (NRIs) would be operationalised next week. Sankar said it would be available to NRIs with international phone numbers. The facility had been enabled a while ago but could not be implemented due to technical issues. The pilot in the wholesale segment, known as digital rupee-wholesale, was launched on November 1, 2022, with the use case being limited to the settlement of secondary market transactions in government securities. We want to have as many use cases as possible. We will try account-based CBDC. We hope to launch it and are also looking at using a wholesale CBDC on the distributed ledger for other use cases, said Sankar. The pilot in the retail segment, known as digital rupee-retail, was launched on December 1, 2022, within a closed user group comprising participating customers and merchants. Sankar said that the use of CBDC was expected to make the interbank market more efficient. He said that settlement in central bank money would reduce transaction costs by pre-empting the need for settlement guarantee infrastructure or for collateral to mitigate settlement risk. Sankar said that the RBI expected half a million users for retail CBDC in the next three months. During the meeting - the first in-person talks since July 2019 - held under the WMCC framework, the two sides agreed to hold the 18th round of military talks at an early date to achieve the objective in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said. India and China on Wednesday held diplomatic talks in Beijing and discussed proposals for disengagement in the remaining friction points along the LAC in eastern Ladakh in an "open and constructive manner", but there was no indication of any breakthrough. The Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs (WMCC) was established in 2012 as an institutional mechanism for consultation and coordination for the maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border areas. In Beijing, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a separate statement, saying the two sides reviewed the positive progress made in the early stage of China-India border control, affirmed the results of the disengagement of the two border troops in the Galwan Valley and other four locations. They had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on the approach for the next stage of consultation, it added. "To achieve this objective in accordance with the existing bilateral agreements and protocols, they agreed to hold the next (18th) round of the Senior Commanders meeting at an early date," it said in a statement. "The two sides reviewed the situation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Western Sector of India-China border areas and discussed proposals for disengagement in the remaining areas in an open and constructive manner, which would help in the restoration of peace and tranquillity along the LAC in Western Sector and create conditions for the restoration of normalcy in bilateral relations," the MEA said. Also Read Rajnath Singh, S Jaishankar to visit Japan for 2+2 bilateral dialogue: MEA Situation has not returned to normal: MEA on eastern Ladakh border row Chhattisgarh to provide free training, loans to farmers for lac cultivation Guterres, Jaishankar to unveil Mahatma Gandhi's bust at UN headquarters China mum on Modi-Xi meet, calls disengagement of troops 'positive signal' Under G20 presidency, 'green growth' priority for India: Bhupender Yadav BIS signs MoU with 3 colleges to set up 'Standardization Chair Professor' Gencos with high input cost allowed to sell power at up to Rs 50 per unit Proposal of disengagement discussed in India-China border talks Govt to auction 27 more coal mines starting February 27 "The 26th meeting of the WMCC was held on 22 February 2023 in person in Beijing. This was the first WMCC meeting since the 14th meeting held in July 2019, to be held in person," it said. The MEA said the two sides agreed to continue discussions through military and diplomatic channels. The two sides agreed to consolidate the achievements of the negotiations, strictly abide by the agreements reached between them and the spirit of relevant consensus, avoid repeated situation on the ground and ensure peace and tranquility in the border areas, it said. The Chinese statement said that the two sides agreed to actively implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries to further stabilise the border situation. The two sides discussed other measures to further ease the border situation, and agreed to work further to push the border situation into a stage of normalised management, the Chinese statement added. They agreed to meet each other halfway on the basis of the previous consensus, to speed up the resolution of issues related to the western sector of the China-India border, and to reach a solution acceptable to both sides at an early date, it added. Ambule also called on China's Assistant Foreign Minister Hua Chunying. Shilpak Ambule, the Joint Secretary (East Asia) from the Ministry of External Affairs, led the Indian delegation. The Chinese delegation was led by Hong Liang, the Director General of the Boundary and Oceanic Affairs Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A joint statement released after the talks had said that both sides exchanged views in an "open and constructive" manner to resolve the "relevant issues" and described the talks as "frank and in-depth". The 17th round of military talks was held on December 20 but there was no indication of any forward movement in the resolution of the remaining issues. In line with a decision taken at the 16th round of military talks, the two sides carried out disengagement from Patrolling Point 15 in the Gogra-Hotsprings area in September last year. The WMCC meeting in Beijing came a week before the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Delhi. Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang is expected to attend the meeting on March 1 and 2. The ties between the two countries nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two sides in decades. India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas. The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong lake area. As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the disengagement process in 2021 on the north and south banks of the Pangong lake and in the Gogra area. The corporate affairs ministry sanctioned the scheme of arrangement for demerger of non-core assets (demerged undertaking) of SCI into Shipping Corporation of India Land and Assets (SCILAL) under Section 230-232 of the Companies Act, SCI told stock exchanges on Thursday. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) on Thursday issued an official order approving the proposed demerger of the core and non-core assets of Shipping Corporation of India (SCI). Shares of SCI soared 9.79 per cent to Rs 126.20 apiece after the MCAs approval. The governments stake is worth Rs 3,747 crore at this price. This could pave the way for the privatisation of SCI, with the government looking to divest its entire 63.75 per cent stake in the national cargo carrier. The ministry held a meeting on December 29, 2022, to take a final call on the demerger. However, the order was awaited. The matter was before the MCA as objections were raised over the Rs 1,000-crore cash transfer to the demerged entity SCILAL, which will hold SCIs non-core assets. Also Read Shipping Corporation soars 10% on govt's approval to demerger plan Ahead of IDBI privatisation, Centre working on tightening disclosure rules MCA concludes demerger hearing of Shipping Corp, may approve soon: Sources Shipping Corporation hits 52-week high; up 17% in 2 days on demerger update This shipping company is rerouting its ships. To save blue whales Centre earns Rs 17.49 cr from scrap in Jan under cleanliness campaign Centre's wheat procurement to be normal next season: FCI chairman We are a phone call away: Andhra CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy to investors IAMAI slams COAI over revenue sharing demand that may dilute net neutrality Not sufficient emphasis on jobs in FY24 budget, Ex-RBI Governor Subbarao According to them, financial bids are expected to be invited in a month or two after the demerged entity gets listed on the stock exchange. Since the demerger plan has been approved, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) is likely to expedite the privatisation process and could soon decide on inviting financial bids, said two people in know. Issue with demerger In December 2020, DIPAM had invited expressions of interest (EoIs) for strategic disinvestment of the governments entire stake of 63.75 per cent in SCI, along with the transfer of management. The employees union and SCI officials objected to the amount saying it was too high. The original demerger scheme involved the transfer of Rs 450 crore to SCILAL. However, the SCI board approved the revised scheme in May 2022 and asked the MCA to vet the plan. However, the stake sale plan was delayed following objections to the proposal in the revised demerger scheme of a Rs 1,000-crore cash transfer to SCILAL for the maintenance of SCIs two assets including Shipping House, which is SCIs registered office, and Maritime Training Institute in Mumbai. Thus far in the current financial year, the DIPAM has raised Rs 31,106 crore from disinvestment. The Union Budget has revised the asset-sale target to Rs 51,000 crore from Rs 65,000 in the Budget Estimates. The companys privatisation is now likely to be completed in FY24. On three consecutive occasions - 2022, 2019, 2017 - the state has achieved the top spot in the rankings of the Department for the Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. It is also one of the fastest growing states with a gross state domestic product of 11.43 per cent. We are just a phone call away is one reason why Andhra Pradesh is consistently voted number one for ease of doing business, according to chief minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy The statement was issued in connection with the Global Investment Summit 2023 which is being held at Visakhapatnam on March 3 and 4. For any industrial-related problems, we are one phone call away and that is the reason we are ranked number one, said Reddy in a statement. He highlighted the states infrastructure and coastline. We have the second largest coastline in the country with six operating ports and four more. We have six airports connecting the country and AP will have three industrial corridors out of 11 in the country covering 80 per cent of the districts, he said. "It is common for every chief minister to boast about their state, said Reddy. But I am requesting you (industrialists) to come and feel the state, and I assure you that you will have a successful way forward. Also Read UP gets Rs 21 trn investment proposals; PM to inaugurate GIS on Friday Andhra CM seeks investments, announces Visakhapatnam as new capital Private companies lap up Esri's GIS software for multiple uses LIVE: India sends 841 cartons of medicines to quake-hit Turkey, Syria MP will play vital role in India's developmental journey, says PM at GIS IAMAI slams COAI over revenue sharing demand that may dilute net neutrality Not sufficient emphasis on jobs in FY24 budget, Ex-RBI Governor Subbarao Measures announced in Budget to promote jobs, spur economic growth: FinMin At G20 event in Bengaluru, India and G7 differ over using the term 'war' Bihar govt cancels 3.93 mn job cards of inactive labourers under MGNREGA The three industrial corridors that are coming up are Visakhapatnam Chennai, ChennaiBengaluru and HyderabadBengaluru. Since the Reddy government took charge in 2019, the state has seen investments of around Rs 56,534 crore from large industries and Rs 19,115 crore from micro, small and medium enterprises. Andhra Pradesh is being pitched as Indias gateway to the southeast with its 974 km long coastline. It is looking to develop four new ports, in addition to the six existing ones. The state offers a land bank of around 46,500 acres with industrial zoning leading to a significant de-risking of the projects by avoiding delays. The state has identified 13 sectors with high growth potential in the long run. These include aerospace, defence, agriculture and food processing, automobiles including electric vehicles, electronics, information technology, healthcare and medical equipment, logistics, MSME, start-ups, petroleum, pharma, renewable energy, textiles, tourism and hospitality. Reliance Capital is undergoing bankruptcy proceedings since November 2021 after defaulting on loans worth Rs 24,000 crore. The main reason for the urgent need for capital is the delay in Reliance Capital's resolution process. Both Torrent and Hinduja group have made offers for Reliance Capital and the matter is currently pending with the appellate tribunal. Reliance General Insurance, a subsidiary of Reliance Capital has sought a capital infusion of Rs 600 crore from its holding company to improve its solvency level. The company said it's borderline solvency is creating hesitation among corporate clients, government businesses, tenders, and key retail and bank assurance partnerships, which is being capitalised by its competitors. In its December quarter results presentation, Reliance General Insurance said that to take its solvency level from the current 155 per cent of statutory requirements to about 175 per cent, it urgently requires capital support. The company also highlighted the problem of high attrition levels in the current year, impacting client relationships and channel development. The company needs further investment to build up the retail health distribution network, strong digital ecosystem, tech alliances, and enter into tie-ups with OEMs to capture the fast-growing EV (electric vehicle) segment. The company believes that fresh fund infusion will increase the regulatory comfort of the insurance regulator, and reflect continued support by the promoter company. Also Read New tax norm to hurt insurers; stocks attractive for the long run: Analysts Irdai approves amendments, simplifies rules to set up insurance firms Piramal, Zurich Insurance may bid separately for Reliance General Insurance Irdai endorses panel's view to cut obligatory cession to zero from 4% Motor insurance picked up pace, grew neck and neck with health in H1FY23 More insurance players required for diverse needs of citizens: Irdai chief Over 1.6 mn cyber attacks blocked on Indian insurance firms a day in Jan Borzo, Symbo tie up to provide insurance to over 50,000 delivery partners Case for having insurers cater to niche sectors: Irdai's Rakesh Joshi The life insurance sector's trouble with taxation on high-value policies RGIC reported a total income of Rs 1,917 crore and a net earned premium of Rs 1,599 crore in the third quarter of the ongoing financial year. A total of 10 Palestinians were killed and 102 others injured in clashes with Israeli soldiers in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. In a statement on Wednesday, the Ministry published the names of 10 victims, which include an elderly man, a teenager and eight members of the Palestinian militant group known as the Lions' Den. In addition, 102 Palestinians, including three local journalists, were injured by Israeli soldiers during the four-hour clash in the Palestinian city, with six of them in critical condition, according to the statement. Thousands of Palestinians gathered in front of the three main hospitals in the city, where the dead and wounded were accommodated, and chanted slogans against Israel, Xinhua news agency reported. In separate statements, Palestinian factions declared a general strike on Thursday to mourn those killed in Nablus, calling on the Palestinians to confront the Israeli forces all over the West Bank. Local sources and eyewitnesses said the clash broke out when an Israeli force backed by armoured vehicles stormed the outskirts of the old city of Nablus and surrounded a house to arrest several Palestinians wanted by Israeli Army. Also Read Israeli ultra-orthodox army unit linked to American's death exits West Bank Libya capital remains tense a day after clashes kill over 30 people Palestinians protest US visit to West Bank as tension rises with Israel 6 Israeli soldiers, 1 civilian injured in Jordan Valley bus shooting attack Nations express 'deep concern' at Israeli punitive measure on Palestine Amid debate on Ukraine conflict, India to host event on Gandhian philosophy Russian FM Lavrov to attend G20 Foreign Ministers' meet in India next month China approves $700 mn loan to Pakistan: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar India can achieve its goal of being carbon neutral much before 2070: IMF MD Pak has to do more to ensure foundation for strong growth: IMF MD Georgieva They said the wanted Palestinians were armed and exchanged fire with the soldiers, adding several explosions and gunfire were heard in the entire city. Meanwhile, in the city's streets, dozens of Palestinians threw stones and empty bottles toward the soldiers, who fired back to disperse them. The Israeli military said in a statement that the raid aimed at arresting suspects for the killing of a soldier near an Israeli settlement last year, adding no injuries were reported among its soldiers. Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Ishtaye condemned the Israeli killing. "The Israeli aggression is an organised terrorism through which Israel seeks to export its internal crisis to the Palestinian arena," he said. "Whatever is practised against our people will not deter them from continuing their legitimate struggle to achieve their goals of freedom, ending the occupation, and establishing their independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital," the Prime Minister added. In Gaza, Abu Obeida, military spokesman of Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the ruling faction Hamas, said in a short statement that "the patience of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza is running out." The tension between Israelis and Palestinians has been flaring since early January in the West Bank. Israeli forces killed at least 61 Palestinians since the beginning of 2023, mainly during daily raids allegedly aimed at arresting suspects in deadly Palestinian attacks, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Meanwhile, official figures from Israel showed 11 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks since the beginning of 2023. --IANS int/khz/ As the United Nations discusses the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, India said it will be hosting an event on the Gandhian thought and philosophy at the UN headquarters in New York on Thursday. To be organised jointly by the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations and the University for Peace at Economic and Social Council Chamber, the event on Thursday evening is expected to be attended by diplomats from across the world. On Friday, the UN Security Council is scheduled to hold a discussion on Ukraine. Announcing the event in a tweet, India's Permanent Mission to the United Nations said, "Join us tomorrow at UN for a thought-provoking initiative on the centrality of Mission Life & sustainable development to Gandhian thought as part of the the India Roundtable series." It also shared a quote by Gandhi: "In a gentle way, you can shake the world." The announcement comes as the UN General Assembly held an Emergency Special Session on Ukraine. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the one-year mark of the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine stands as a grim milestone for the people of Ukraine and for the international community. "The invasion is a violation of the United Nations Charter and international law and is having dramatic humanitarian and human rights consequences," he said. Also Read Various decisions of Centre based on Gandhian philosophy: VP Dhankhar India building a world order based on spirituality, morality: Prez Murmu 60 yrs after Bhoodan, Bihar finds 160,000 acres land fit for distribution Elaben Bhatt: Prominent Gandhian, founder of SEWA passes away aged 89 Russia's Lavrov backs India for permanent member in UN Security Council Russian FM Lavrov to attend G20 Foreign Ministers' meet in India next month China approves $700 mn loan to Pakistan: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar India can achieve its goal of being carbon neutral much before 2070: IMF MD Pak has to do more to ensure foundation for strong growth: IMF MD Georgieva India remains 'bright spot' to contribute 15% of global growth in 2023: IMF "The position of the United Nations is unequivocal: We are committed to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders," Guterres said. Csaba Korosi, President of the General Assembly, said Wednesday marked the grim and first anniversary of the war in Ukraine, highlighting the despair, displacement, destruction and death that Europe has not seen in decades. "No one can be complacent," Korosi said. He also assured all those suffering from the war's consequences that they have not been forgotten. "This war will come to an end, and the time of reconstruction, reconciliation and transformation will come," Korosi said. "We know it will not be easy. We know the scars are deep. Culture, family bonds, sports, arts and the acknowledgement of the shared destiny of humanity will certainly help nations currently facing each other in the trenches." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba introduced a draft resolution calling for just and lasting peace in his country. Calling this "a decisive moment to show support, unity and solidarity," he recalled standing in the assembly urging its member nations to prevent war days before Russia's February 24, 2022 invasion. Ukraine exercised its legitimate right to self-defence, enshrined in the Charter as its people chose to fight for their lives. "Against all odds, we were able to stop the much stronger aggressor and kick him out of half of the newly occupied territory," he said, adding, "No one should be fooled by Russia's empty calls for negotiations." In his remarks, Vassily A Nebenzia of Russia alleged that Ukraine is nothing more than a pawn. "While Moscow is ready for a diplomatic solution, its opponents have not recovered from the futile illusion that they could defeat a nuclear power," he said. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that President Vladimir Putin had chosen war in an assault on the United Nations that struck at the heart of its Charter. "On the one-year anniversary of this conflict, we will see where the nations of the world stand on peace in Ukraine," she said. The Israeli military said Palestinian militants fired six rockets from the Gaza Strip toward the country's south early Thursday, hours after an Israeli army raid in the occupied West Bank triggered a fierce gunbattle in which 11 Palestinians were killed. The rocket attacks, which were not immediately claimed by Palestinian militant groups, appear to be triggered by the Wednesday morning raid in Nablus. The Israeli military said Aar defenses intercepted five of the rockets which were fired toward the cities of Ashkelon and Sderot. One missile landed in an open field. There were no reports of damage or casualties. Among the dead in Nablus were three Palestinian men, ages 72, 66 and 61, and a 16-year-old boy, according to health officials. Scores of others were wounded. It was one of the bloodiest battles in nearly a year of fighting in the West Bank and east Jerusalem and raised the likelihood of further bloodshed. Israeli police said they were on heightened alert, while the Hamas militant group in Gaza said its patience was running out. Islamic Jihad, another militant group, vowed to retaliate. The four-hour operation left a broad swath of damage in a centuries-old marketplace in Nablus, a city known as a militant stronghold. Also Read Tension in West Bank fuels atmosphere of fear, hatred: UN official Israeli officer, 2 Palestinian militants killed in shootout at West Bank Israel builds 4.6 km wall around Gaza Strip to protect communities Facebook violated rights of Palestinian users during Gaza war, report finds UN Security Council calls for de-escalation of Israeli-Palestinian tensions 6.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Tajikistan near China border on Thursday Pakistan seeks another bailout as economic and political crises worsen UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to arrive in Bengaluru for G20 finance meet 10 Palestinians killed, 102 injured in clashes with Israeli soldiers Amid debate on Ukraine conflict, India to host event on Gandhian philosophy In one emotional scene, an overwhelmed medic pronounced a man dead, only to notice the lifeless patient was his father. Elsewhere, an amateur video showed two men, apparently unarmed, being shot as they ran in the street. Israel has been carrying out stepped-up arrest raids of wanted militants in the West Bank since a series of deadly Palestinian attacks in Israel last spring. Israeli officials liken these operations to mowing the lawn, saying they are necessary to prevent a difficult situation from turning worse. But the raids have shown few signs of slowing the violence, and in cases like Wednesday's operation, can raise the likelihood of reprisals. The Israeli military said it entered Nablus, the West Bank's commercial center, to arrest three militants suspected in previous shooting attacks. The main suspect was wanted in the killing of an Israeli soldier last fall. The military usually conducts raids at night in what it says is a tactic meant to reduce the risk of civilian casualties. But military spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said forces moved quickly after intelligence services tracked down the men in a hideout. Hecht said Israeli forces surrounded the building and asked the men to surrender, but instead they opened fire. One militant who tried to flee the building was shot and killed. He said the military then fired missiles at the house, flattening the building and killing the other two men. At the same time, he said, troops that had set up an outside perimeter came under heavy fire, setting off an intense gunfight. The military said others hurled rocks and explosives at the troops, and officials released a video taken from inside an armored vehicle as crowds of Palestinian youths pelted it with stones. There were no Israeli casualties. The influx of wounded overwhelmed the city's Najah Hospital, said Ahmad Aswad, the head nurse of the cardiology department. The 36-year-old medic told The Associated Press that he saw many patients shot in the chest, head and thighs. They shot to kill, he said. In a moment he said will haunt him, he and a colleague carefully extracted a bullet from a 61-year-old man's heart. After the chaos subsided and they pronounced their patient dead, they looked at the man's face. It was his colleague's father, Abdelaziz Ashqar. His colleague, Elias Ashqar, was overcome and went silent. It didn't feel like we were in reality, Aswad said. In the Old City of Nablus, people stared at the rubble that had been a large home in the centuries-old marketplace. From one end to the other, shops were riddled with bullets. Parked cars were crushed. Blood stained the cement ruins. Furniture from the destroyed home was scattered among mounds of debris. Time-stamped security footage widely shared online appeared to show two young men running down a street. Gunshots are heard, and both fall to the ground, with one's hat flying off his head. The two men did not appear to be armed, but the video did not show the events that led to the shooting. Hecht called the video problematic, and said the military was looking into it. Various Palestinian militant groups claimed six of the dead including the three targeted in the raid as members. There was no immediate word on whether the others belonged to armed groups. Later, officials said a 66-year-old man had died from tear gas inhalation. As the bodies were paraded through the crowd on stretchers, thousands of people packed the streets, chanting in support of the militants. Masked men fired into the air. Israel's police force said it was beefing up security in the West Bank and east Jerusalem in anticipation of violence. Last month, Israeli troops killed 10 people in a similar raid in the northern West Bank. In response, Palestinian militants fired rockets from Gaza. The following day, a lone Palestinian gunman opened fire near a synagogue in an east Jerusalem settlement, killing seven people. Days later, five Palestinian militants were killed in an Israeli arrest raid elsewhere in the West Bank. That was followed by a Palestinian car ramming that killed three Israelis, including two young brothers, in Jerusalem. The fighting comes at a sensitive time, less than two months after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new hard-line government took office. The government is dominated by ultranationalists who have pushed for tougher action against Palestinian militants and vowed to entrench Israeli rule in the occupied West Bank. Israeli media have quoted top security officials as expressing concern that this could lead to even more violence as the Muslim holy month of Ramadan approaches. The Cabinet includes a number of West Bank settler leaders. In a move that could further raise tensions, Yesha, the settlement council, announced that Israeli planning officials had granted approval to nearly 2,000 new homes in settlements across the West Bank. There was no immediate confirmation from the government, but an announcement was expected Thursday. The Palestinians and most of the international community say settlements built on occupied lands are illegal and obstacles to peace. Over 700,000 settlers now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a future state. In Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price said the U.S. recognizes Israel's very real security concerns, but was also deeply concerned about the deaths and injuries from the raid. He urged both sides to avoid steps that could inflame tensions, including the possible approval of new settlements. The Israeli decision comes in the wake of a U.N. presidential statement that strongly criticized settlements. The U.S. blocked what would have been a stronger, legally binding council resolution. American diplomats claimed to have extracted an Israeli pledge to halt unilateral action to block the resolution. The approval of new settlements by Israel would appear to undermine that claim. The Palestinian ambassador to the U.N., Riyad Mansour, urged the international community "to put an end to these massacres against our people. In the Gaza Strip, Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the ruling Hamas militant group, warned that Hamas' "patience is running out, he said. Late Wednesday, Palestinian activists burned tires along Gaza's frontier with Israel in protest. Hamas has battled Israel in four wars since seizing control of Gaza in 2007. Islamic Jihad leader Ziyad Al-Nakhala called the Israeli raid a huge crime. It is our duty as resistance forces to respond to this crime without hesitation, he said. Nearly 60 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, according to an AP tally. Last year, nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in those areas, making it the deadliest year there since 2004, according to figures by the Israeli rights group B'Tselem. Some 30 people on the Israeli side were killed in Palestinian attacks. The chatbot will provide answers for the whole group. People can ask Bing for suggestions on travel, or ask about the weather or about recent award shows, for example. Similar to the Bing mobile app, answers can be displayed in bullet points, simplified responses or text format. Bing in Skype is available in a worldwide preview. On February 7, Microsoft held an event at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington, and it announced AI-powered updates to the companys Bing search engine and Edge browser. The updates were initially released on desktop in a limited preview, meaning users get a finite number of queries to search during the initial period. Microsoft on Wednesday announced the preview release of its new Bing and Edge apps for iPhone and Android, which include new features like voice search and access to its AI chatbot.In the Bing mobile app, users can tap the Bing icon to start a chat session, where they can ask a variety of questions via text or with their voices, according to a release. Answers can be displayed in bullet points, in simplified responses or in a traditional text format. Users will also be able to access updates for Bing through the homepage of the Edge mobile app, Microsoft said.Microsoft also announced AI-powered Bing for Skype on Wednesday. Users can add Microsofts AI to group chats and ask it questions. NATO's chief has said that the military alliance has seen some signs that China may be planning to support Russia in its war in Ukraine, and strongly urged Beijing to desist from what would be a violation of international law. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also told The Associated Press in an interview on Wednesday that the alliance, while not a party to the war, will support Ukraine for as long as it takes. Asked whether NATO has any indication that China might be ready to provide arms or other support to Russia's war, Stoltenberg said: We have seen some signs that they may be planning for that and of course NATO allies, the United States, have been warning against it because this is something that should not happen. China should not support Russia's illegal war. Stoltenberg said potential Chinese assistance would amount to providing (direct) support to a blatant violation of international law, and of course (as) a member of the UN security council China should not in any way support violation of the UN charter, or international law. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted the Chinese Communist Party's most senior foreign policy official Wang Yi raising concern in the West that Beijing might be ready to offer Moscow stronger support in the almost year-old war. China has pointedly refused to criticize the invasion of Ukraine while echoing Moscow's claim that the US and NATO were to blame for provoking the Kremlin. China, Russia and South Africa are holding naval drills in the Indian Ocean this week. Also Read Putin is failing in brutal war of aggression against Ukraine: NATO chief Poland probably hit by Ukrainian missile: NATO Chief Jens Stoltenberg NATO chief Stoltenberg says 'closely monitoring' Russia's nuclear forces Zelenskyy, NATO Secretary-General discuss Ukraine Euro-Atlantic integration NATO Chief Stoltenberg urges Turkey to endorse Finland, Sweden accession Ready to defend our national interests, dignity together with Russia: China Right-wing star Vivek Ramaswamy enters 2024 US Presidential race Majority of Indians see both US and Russia as allies, want war to end soon China-US superpower rivalry grows after war sweeps away multipolar world Indo-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy announces 2024 presidential bid US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said any Chinese involvement in the Kremlin's war effort would be a serious problem. Ties between China and the US are under severe strain over Taiwan and other issues. Stoltenberg spoke to The Associated Press in Warsaw, following a meeting of NATO's nine eastern flank members with US President Joe Biden on the region's security. He stressed that while NATO is no party to the Ukraine conflict its tasks are to ensure that Ukraine prevails and to prevent this war from escalating beyond Ukraine and becoming a full-fledged war between Russia and NATO. He said the main message from the meeting in Warsaw was that we will provide support to Ukraine for as long as it takes. It would be a "tragedy for the Ukrainians if President Putin wins in Ukraine, Stoltenberg said, and also dangerous for all of us because it would send the message to all authoritarian leaders that when they use military force, they get what they want. Without any formal orders by the Pakistan government or the provincial governments, officers of the Balochistan government have found a fifty per cent cut in their salaries this month on the grounds that they are required to contribute to the Turkey relief aid, as per the report by the Asian Lite. This comes at a time when the Pakistan government is witnessing a severe economic crisis amid allegations of corruption and coercion of being rampant in the country. The Asia Lite reported that Grade 19 to 21 officers in Balochistan have protested the unilateral salary cut, saying that they were already facing problems feeding their families, faced by a 33 per cent rise in prices of essential commodities. These salaries were their only source of income. They could not be deprived of their legitimate earnings without any consultation. A Daily Intekhab report has said the officers have asked if other officers of other grades and provinces were also asked to contribute, or if this was a Balochistan Government diktat. They plan to appeal to the federal government with the suggestion that they could pay one or two days' salaries, and be spared from the steep 50 per cent salary cut. Despite severe economic stress, the Shehbaz Sharif Government is trying hard to return the gesture Turkey had made last year when Pakistan experienced nationwide floods. Nine aircraft sorties have been undertaken and 16 containers carrying 162 tonnes of relief material have been rushed so far. This gesture is not without its political sting, which shows Pakistan in poor light, the Pakistan-based publication reported. Despite severe economic stress, the Shehbaz Sharif Government is trying hard to return the gesture Turkey made last year when Pakistan experienced nationwide floods. Nine aircraft sorties have been undertaken and 16 containers carrying 162 tonnes of relief material have been rushed so far, the Asian Lite reported. Also Read Pakistan PM Shehbaz ready to sacrifice political capital at IMF altar Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif to meet Chinese President Xi on China visit next week Nawaz Sharif asks brother Shehbaz Sharif to not engage with Imran Khan Countries should not leave Pakistan at mercy of climate change: PM Sharif Pakistani military helicopter crashes in Balochistan; 6 soldiers dead Israel says Palestinian militants fired rockets after raid 6.8 magnitude earthquake shakes Tajikistan near China border on Thursday Pakistan seeks another bailout as economic and political crises worsen UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to arrive in Bengaluru for G20 finance meet 10 Palestinians killed, 102 injured in clashes with Israeli soldiers Prime Minister Sharif had announced plans to fly to Ankara and express solidarity with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan when Turkey is mourning thousands of deaths. However, the Turkish Government requested that he postpone his visit since Ankara was very busy dealing with the calamity and the relief operations as per the media reports. Some media reports have termed this as a 'snub' to Sharif who should not be wasting time, money and effort to show goodwill gestures when his own government is fighting a crisis. While Sharif's effort may be ill-timed or misplaced, there is no effort at all on the part of his principal critic, former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Imran Khan had admitted to keeping or buying over at concessional rates, expensive gifts he received from foreign hosts and guests when he was Pakistan's prime minister. These gifts included an expensive wristwatch gifted by Saudi Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman. A case is before the court arguing that as per government rules, he should have deposited those gifts to toshakhana, the government's depository since he received them in his official position. Khan's wife Bushra Bibi has been caught on secretly recorded audio clips asking a close aide of Khan to dispose of those gifts, and the latter did so in Dubai. The diamond-studded watch was sold for USD two million. Struggling to generate power amid the ongoing financial crisis, Sri Lanka has given the go-ahead to two wind power plants by India's Adani Group, an investment amounting to more than $400 million. The Board of Investment (BOI) Sri Lanka approved two plants by Adani Green Energy Ltd. at Mannar and Pooneryn, the former war-torn areas in the North, the BOI said on Wednesday. According to the BOI, the two wind power plants of 350 MW which are scheduled to be commissioned in two years, and would be added to the national grid by 2025. The wind power plant in Mannar will generate around 250 MW while the one at Pooneryn will produce 100 MW. The new projects will generate nearly 1,500-2,000 employment opportunities. On Wednesday, a group of officials from the Adani Group met the Sri Lanka Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara. "Progress of the renewable energy project of 500 MW in Pooneryn & Mannar was discussed with the visiting Adani Group officials this morning at the Ministry of Power & Energy. Officials of the Ministry, CEB & Sustainable Energy Authority participated," tweeted Minister Wijesekara. Also Read COP27: Australia announces to sign up with global offshore wind alliance Wind energy has huge potential in India, to cost less by 2026: GWEC It's challenge to meet tariffs for wind power in India: Engie MD India vs Sri Lanka, Super 4 Asia Cup 2022: Live streaming, where to watch? Lankan govt designates high-security zones for ensuring stability: Official UNESCO chief urges tough regulation of social media to curb misinformation Pak, Sri Lanka close in on IMF deals after raising taxes to boost economies New Zealand hikes key rate to 4.75% to fight inflation despite cyclone India 'number one' priority, have reduced wait time for visa: US Officials Visa issue priority, people-to-people ties bedrock of India-US relations Hit by the worst-ever economic crisis since the independence, Sri Lanka started long hours of power cuts in January 2022 and people took to streets against this move, forcing the former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government to step down. Former Opposition lawmaker Ranil Wickremesinghe took over the government but continue the power cuts until massive power tariff hike by 66 per cent last week. --IANS sfl/khz/ Ukraine's foreign minister has urged the world's nations as the anniversary of Russia's invasion nears to prove they stand for the United Nations Charter and vote in favour of a UN resolution calling for a peace that ensures his war-ravaged country's sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity. Dmytro Kuleba told an emergency special session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that despite Moscow's empty calls for negotiations, Russia still wants to destroy Ukraine as a nation. He said the resolution, to be put to a vote Thursday in the 193-member world body, will contribute to our joint efforts to bring the war to an end as well as protect the fundamental principles of international law and the UN Charter. Calling this a decisive moment to show support, unity and solidarity, he recalled standing in the assembly urging its member nations to prevent war days before Russia's February 24, 2022 invasion. Against all odds, he said, Ukraine exercised its right to self-defence enshrined in the UN Charter and has been able to stop the much stronger aggressor and kick him out of half of the newly occupied territory. Kuleba said he had a message for countries that want to be friends with both sides and want an end to the war with whatever result: In this war there are not two sides, there is an aggressor and a victim. Never in recent history has the line between good and evil been so clear, he said. One country merely wants to live. The other wants to kill and destroy. There is no other country in the world that wants peace as much as Ukraine does. Also Read Hungary calls for peace in Russia-Ukraine conflict, warns of escalation UN draft resolution calls for peace to ensure Ukraine's sovereignty UNGA: India votes with West on 3 procedural matters, silent on Ukraine Support for Ukraine must continue until Putin withdraws, says Boris Johnson India votes against Russia's demand for secret ballot on Ukraine in UNGA NATO chief sees 'some signs' China could back Russia's war against Ukraine Ready to defend our national interests, dignity together with Russia: China Right-wing star Vivek Ramaswamy enters 2024 US Presidential race Majority of Indians see both US and Russia as allies, want war to end soon China-US superpower rivalry grows after war sweeps away multipolar world If countries don't want to take Ukraine's side, Kuleba urged them to take the side of the UN Charter, international law and five General Assembly resolutions adopted since the invasion and stand up for the preservation of every country's territorial integrity. Is there anyone in this room who is ready to give away one square meter of its territory to a blood-thirsty neighbour he asked, surveying diplomats in the vast assembly chamber. Assembly President Csaba Korosi and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the emergency special session, and almost 80 countries will speak before the vote, including more than a dozen ministers. Guterres called Russia's invasion an affront to our collective conscience that violates the UN Charter and challenges the cornerstone principles and values of our multilateral system. The UN's position is unequivocal in supporting the Charter's principles, he said. We are committed to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders. Over the past year, the UN chief said, the suffering, devastation and human rights and humanitarian consequences of Russia's invasion have grown and it is also becoming more evident just how much worse it could all still become. The possible consequences of a spiraling conflict are a clear and present danger, Guterres warned, pointing to the irresponsible military activity at Europe's largest nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia, implicit threats to use nuclear weapons, and increasing regional instability and global tensions and divisions. It is high time to step back from the brink, the secretary-general said. Complacency will only deepen the crisis, while further eroding our shared principles proclaimed in the Charter. The General Assembly has become the most important UN body dealing with Ukraine because the Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, is paralyzed as a result of Russia's veto power. While the assembly's five previous resolutions on Ukraine are not legally binding as council resolutions are they are important as a reflection of world opinion. There are no vetoes in the assembly, so the resolution is certain to be approved Thursday, but the big question is how many yes votes it will get. An October 12 resolution condemning Russia's attempted illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions and demanding its immediate reversal got the highest vote of the five resolutions 143-5 with 35 abstentions. Russia's close ally Belarus proposed a series of amendments which will be voted on first. They would delete language referring to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, aggression by the Russian Federation, and the demand that Russia immediately withdraw all its military forces from Ukrainian territory. They would also call for the start of peace negotiations, urge countries to refrain from sending weapons to the zone of conflict, and call on UN member states address the root causes of the conflict including legitimate security concerns of member states. Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia claimed that Ukraine spent all of its military potential in the first weeks after the active stage of the Ukraine crisis began and said a year later, it is the collective West including the US, NATO and the European Union that is providing Kyiv with weapons, ammunition and intelligence information. It's becoming very clear that the Ukrainian crisis will only become a catalyst for the visceral Russophobia to come to the surface, he said. It has now contaminated the American and European elites who are competing against each other to impose sanctions when in fact the sanctions are hitting the developing world hardest. A year since ordering the invasion of Ukraine, Putin has signalled he is ready to rip up the architecture of nuclear arms control - including the big powers moratorium on nuclear testing - unless the West backs off in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would pay increased attention to boosting its nuclear forces by deploying a much delayed new intercontinental ballistic missile, rolling out hypersonic missiles and adding new nuclear submarines. In an address to mark Defender of the Fatherland public holiday, known in Soviet times as Red Army Day, Putin invoked the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany to argue that Russia needed modernised armed forces to guarantee its sovereignty. Putin on Tuesday sought to underscore Russian resolve in Ukraine by suspending a landmark nuclear arms control treaty, announcing new strategic systems had been put on combat duty and warning that Moscow could resume nuclear tests. Putin, who casts the conflict in Ukraine as an existential struggle to defend Russia against what he sees as an arrogant and aggressive West, said the Sarmat silo-based intercontinental ballistic missiles would be deployed this year. As before, we will pay increased attention to strengthening the nuclear triad, Putin said, referring to nuclear missiles based on land, sea and in the air, in an address broadcast on state television. Also Read Navy buys 'enhanced range' BrahMos missiles for Rs 1,700 crore North Korea fires ballistic missile days after US-South Korea joint drills Delivery of BrahMos missile to Philippines expected in 2023: Reports North Korea fires over 20 missiles towards South Korean border: What now? North Korea fires four missiles toward Yellow Sea, says South Korea Afghanistan's Taliban reopen key trade route with Pakistan: Report As G20 finance chiefs gather, Yellen calls for more economic aid to Ukraine India calls for greater cooperation with France in clean energy field Landslide halts efforts to find 53 missing after China mine collapse 7.2-magnitude earthquake hits Tajikistan, tremors also felt in China The Group of Seven (G7) nations on Thursday raised economic support to Ukraine to $39 billion for this year and urged an IMF programme for the country by the end of March, according to a statement released by the blocs current president Japan. G7 lends support Ukraine is hoping to clinch a $15 billion programme with the International Monetary Fund that will cover immediate financial assistance and support for structural reforms to underpin efforts at post-conflict rebuilding. The decision came after a meeting of the bloc's finance ministers and central bank governors on the eve of the war's first anniversary. The conflict continues to rage despite sanctions by western nations meant to cripple Russia's financing of its special military operation. Ukraines parliament imposed sweeping 50-year sanctions on Thursday on Russian financial institutions including the central bank, all commercial banks, investment funds, insurers and other enterprises. Ukraine imposes 50-year sanctions on Russian financial sector It is a complete block on financial institutions of the Russian Federation accessing markets and assets in Ukraine. A complete block, Andriy Pyshniy, governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, said on Facebook. The sanctions are part of moves by Kyiv to maintain financial pressure on Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year. Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said the sectoral sanctions would affect hundreds of banks and tens of thousands of financial institutions registered in Russia. We should weaken it with all available means. It is the financial sector which is a strategic donor of this war. An overwhelming majority of 325 deputies voted to support the measures, intended to be in place for half a century. Spains Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is due to meet Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on his visit to the war-torn country. Russia will not win this war: Spains PM UK supermarkets put buy limit on fruits, vegetables Some of Britains leading supermarket chains have imposed purchase limits on certain fruits and vegetables amid a supply shortage due to adverse weather conditions and the knock-on effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with the UK government warning on Thursday that the situation could last up to a month. Sanchez was greeted by Ukraines Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Evhen Perebyinis after he arrived in Kyiv by train on Wednesday morning. The premier was brought on a tour of Irpin upon his arrival, a town in the Kyiv region that was devastated by Moscows full-scale invasion. The shortage has been linked with bad weather in southern Europe and Africa as well as high energy prices restricting greenhouse farming in the UK and the Netherlands. Tomatoes, peppers or capsicums, cucumbers, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and boxes of raspberries are among the produce being limited to around three for each customer by the likes of Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Aldi. Lemon Tree Hotels said that it has signed a license agreement for a 47-room property in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh under the company's brand 'Lemon Tree Hotel'. The property is expected to be operational by December 2023 and shall be managed by Carnation Hotels Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary and the management arm of Lemon Tree Hotels, the company said. It further informed that the said hotel will feature 47 well-appointed rooms, a restaurant, a banquet, a gym and other public areas. Mahesh Aiyer, CEO, Carnation Hotels, commented, "We are happy to announce our expansion in Madhya Pradesh with our valued partner, Hotel Rajtilak Pvt. Ltd. We already have 2 operational hotels in the state, in Indore and Bandhavgarh and another 3 upcoming in Kanha, Jabalpur and, now, Bhopal. We have found that Madhya Pradesh has immense tourism and business potential and are looking at adding more hotels and resorts in the state to our existing portfolio. Though we are just in February, this is already the fifth hotel signed by the company this CY. We signed 19 hotels in the previous CY and we are looking to top that number in CY23 through our asset-light expansion strategy. Also Read Lemon Tree Hotels opens its latest hotel in Mukteshwar, Uttarakhand Lemon Tree Hotels signs new property in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh Lemon Tree Hotels add new property at Jamshedpur Lemon Tree Hotels rises on signing new property in Jamshedpur Lemon Tree launches eighth property in Uttarakhand Hero MotoCorp's VIDA sets up public charging infrastructure in three cities Canara Bank slides over 7% in five days Gujarat Alkalies appoints Raj Kumar as chairman RIL's subsidiary concludes acquisition of certain shares of Germany-based NexWafe Imagicaaworld inks BTA with RAPPL for acquiring latter's water park business in Gujarat Lemon Tree Hotels is engaged to carry out business of developing, owning, acquiring, renovating, operating, managing and promoting hotels, motels, resorts, restaurants, etc. under the brand name of Lemon Tree Hotel, Lemon Tree Premier, Red Fox Hotel, Aurika, Keys Select, Keys Prima and Keys Lite. Also, some of the Group companies provide project management services and learning & development services. The company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 39.97 crore in the quarter ended December 2022 as against net loss of Rs 1.87 crore during the previous quarter ended December 2021. Sales rose 62.58% to Rs 233.55 crore in Q3 FY23 over Q3 FY22. The scrip fell 2.33% to end at Rs 73.35 on the BSE yesterday. Powered by Capital Market - Live News Many Indians in the UK bought this line because they were so convinced that the West and especially its press was biased against I knew what they meant. Brought up to believe that the West did not want India to succeed, I had been confused when the Emergency was declared while I was at boarding school in England. Indira Gandhi said that the Emergency was needed to protect India and that the West did not see the merit in her actions only because of its ill-will towards our country. The pensionable salary cap was increased from Rs. 6,500 to Rs. 15,000 per month as a result of the EPS amendment, says Aditya Chopra, managing partner, Victoriam Legalis - Advocates & Solicitors. The Union government had amended the Employees Pension Scheme (EPS) 1995. These amendments came into effect from September 1, 2014. Accepting Union Home Minister Amit Shah's accusation that the Meghalaya government is "one of the most corrupt" in the country, the Congress alleged that the BJP has encouraged such a state of affairs in the northeastern state. The ruling NPP has been riddled with corruption charges by its former allies, including the BJP, as also by opponents such as the Congress and the Trinamool Congress. Meghalaya's state Congress President Vincent Pala told PTI in an interview that he agreed that Union Minister Amit Shah was correct in saying that the Meghalaya government is one of the most corrupt in the country. Pala went on to claim that this has been encouraged by the BJP. The BJP was in the NPP-led coalition from its beginning in 2018, he pointed out. Addressing a poll rally in North Tura constituency, Shah had on February 16, said the BJP broke its alliance with the NPP before the elections in Meghalaya so that it can contest all 60 assembly seats and emerge stronger. Also Read People's trust in govt forced Mukul Sangma to leave Congress: Meghalaya CM BJP fumes after permission for PM Modi's rally at Meghalaya stadium denied Not involved in denying permission to PM's rally in Tura, says Meghalaya CM Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma virtually inaugurates 50 upgraded schools Meghalaya CM launches Rs 121 crore water supply project in East Garo Hills Meghalaya speaker richest candidate, assets soared to Rs 146 cr in 5 yrs Presence of many parties to help NPP win: Meghalaya Dy CM Prestone Tynsong RPI(A) will work for social, economic equality in Nagaland: Ramdas Athawale We want to solve Naga problem, ENPO issue quickly: Amit Shah in Nagaland Rahul Gandhi to campaign in Meghalaya, Kharge in Nagaland for elections Pala also claimed that the setback of desertions by its entire lot of MLAs who won in 2018 is a thing of the past, and said the party is pinning hope for a turnaround in the upcoming assembly elections in the northeastern state on fresh candidates sans any past baggage. Leader of opposition and former chief minister Mukul Sangma, ex-Assembly speaker Charles Pyngrope and 10 other Congress legislators had shifted their allegiance to the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC in 2021. The Congress, which once was the prime power in the hill state, has put up candidates in all 60 seats for the February 27 assembly polls. "Slowly, we are gaining ground as the new candidates bring fresh minds, ideas, hopes for the youth, and the anti-incumbency is quite high this time as compared to the previous elections," Pala said, adding that the people are "coming back to the Congress with these points in mind". "We have crossed the odds now and are in a position to fight. The party is campaigning very hard. We are quite confident of doing well," he said. Of the 60 candidates fielded by the Congress, 44 are new faces, Pala said. He also mentioned that people are viewing Congress as their best bet in the February 27 polls as it mostly has "fresh faces devoid of any controversy". "Majority of the nominees are qualified people. We have also put up as many women candidates possible," he said, expressing hope that female voters' choice will tilt towards the grand old party. The Congress has nominated Manuel Badwar, an IIM Kolkata graduate from East Shillong and Adrian Lambert Chyne Millie, who studied psychology in Singapore, from Jirang constituency. The party has fielded 10 women candidates. Asked about the low number of women candidates despite Meghalaya being a matrilineal society, Pala said that it is not that women aspirants were not deliberately put up. "I think most women are not willing to join politics because of family engagement and poverty," he said. Unless there is a reservation of seats for women in Parliament and the state legislatures, the situation is likely to continue, the Congress MP said. Pala accused the NPP-led coalition government of being involved in corruption, and claimed that Meghalaya has been subjected to loot of its resources. "It's a daylight robbery in Meghalaya and it's not just one scam, but several," he said. The Conrad Sangma government has been accused by opposition parties of a Rs 140-crore land acquisition scam, which the ruling party has vehemently denied. It has been alleged that middlemen made a quick buck at the cost of original landowners whose assets were acquired by the government. "The government is losing out revenue owing to illegal coal and limestone and transportation of betel nuts outside the state through unlawful means," Pala said. Questioning why the BJP is accusing the NPP of all ills in the government, he said the saffron party has been in the ruling coalition right from the beginning. Maintaining that it is a "game" that the BJP and the NPP are "playing to hoodwink" electorates, the Congress MP from Shillong said, "They will all come together after the elections." Asked whether he will join the BJP, Pala said that if he had to switch over to the saffron party, he would have done that in the beginning. "Whether I win or lose, I will always remain in the Congress," said Pala, who is contesting from Sutnga Saipung constituency in East Jaintia Hills district. Admitting that the party has little strength in West Garo hills after Mukul Sangma left with 11 other legislators to join the TMC, he said the Congress is still likely to do well in East, South and North Garo hills. Pala said that Rahul Gandhi campaigning in Shillong will definitely have an impact on the voters, mainly in the urban and semi-urban areas of the state. "Rahul Gandhi and the entire Gandhi family from Nehru, Indira to Rajiv Gandhi have been very close to the hearts of the people of Meghalaya," he said. The Congress leader also blamed the NDA government at the Centre for border issues between Meghalaya and Assam and alleged that it sees that the BJP-ruled states dominate the others. "They try to bulldoze the smaller states," he said. To solve the inter-state boundary dispute, there is a need for patience along with dedicated and unbiased persons who would give due importance to the emotions of the people involved, Pala said. "We must have a proper body like a boundary commission who know the culture, habits of the people and history and geography of the area," he added. K Palaniswami on Thursday cleared what seems to be the final legal hurdle towards his elevation to the powerful General Secretary post of the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, winning another bout of fight with his now beleaugered rival O Panneerselvam after the Supreme Court greenflagged his continuation as the interim chief of the opposition party. It is now a only matter of time before the 68 year-old leader is formally elected general secretay, a post last occupied by the late J Jayalalithaa and the formalities for this would be soon discussed and decided upon by the senior AIADMK functionaries. Palaniswami said "dharma, justice and truth" have won following the SC ruling today. On the other side, the apex court verdict cast a shadow on the political future of Panneerselvam, but his supporters are confident he will raise like a 'phoenix,' the mythical bird that rose from the ashes, although almost the entire AIADMK rank and file now seems to rally behind EPS, as Palaniswami is known. The apex court ruling was a result of the 'divinity' of party stalwarts, the late Chief Ministers M G Ramachandran (MGR) and J Jayalalithaa, Palaniswami said at a mass wedding ceremony in Madurai. AIADMK's win in the legal battle was due to the 'blessings' and 'grace' of MGR and Jayalalithaa, even as he prayed to them for a favourable verdict while garlanding their statues at a shrine constructed by a senior party functionary in the temple town, Palaniswami said. Also Read Supreme Court upholds 10 per cent reservation for EWS in 3:2 verdict Court's verdict in Gyanvapi Mosque case today: All you need to know SC verdict on Karnataka hijab ban today: A look at the timeline of events SC allows Palaniswami to continue as AIADMK interim general secretary Rishi Sunak supporters speak out as UK economy spirals under Liz Truss MCD secy recommends fresh election, claims poll sanctity 'badly bruised' Measures announced in Budget will boost jobs, spur economic growth: FinMin Has India become a banana republic? Venugopal after Khera deplaning row Pawan Khera detained at airport after being deplaned, says Congress Congress claims Khera deplaned from Raipur flight, stages dharna on tarmac He described the SC verdict as "great" and "historic" and indicated that he or his party had nothing to do with Panneerselvam anymore. "The temple is one with devotion. Both leaders blessed us and within minutes there was a fantastic news (the SC verdict).. it was due to the blessings of powerful leaders (who are like) gods," Palaniswami said. In a veiled attack at Panneerselvam, a grinning Palaniswami said "some Ettappars (a Tamil reference to betrayers) who worked as DMK's B-team and wanted to finish off the AIADMK have been unmasked today. Many said AIADMK has no future (in the wake of the 2021 electoral defeat and in-party squabbles), and all that has ended with verdicts by the Supreme Court and the High Court," he said. The top court earlier in the day upheld the order of the Madras High Court which allowed Palaniswami to continue as the interim general secretary of the AIADMK, founded by the late chief minister Ramachandran. It dismissed the petitions filed by Panneerselvam. The judgement came on a batch of pleas concerning amendments made to the party bylaws during the July 11, 2022 general council meeting. The AIADMK is no more "three or four," but was one united entity, Palaniswami said, even as he exuded confidence of the party winning the February 27 Erode East bypoll, the first such electoral excercise after the DMK came to power in 2021. Targeting his party's archrival, the M K Stalin-led DMK, Palaniswami said "when MGR founded AIADMK, he said it is being done to destroy the evil force called DMK and he was steadfast in opposing it till his last breath. Amma (Jayalalithaa) tolerated all the challenges and travails, walked the path of MGR and kept the evil force under control during her regime. She once said in the state Assembly that AIADMK will continue to live for 100 years after her. That has happened today," he added. "The AIADMK works for people, not for a family.. this is not a family party but a movement working for people. Madurai soil always brings good news for AIADMK. Nobody can even dare touch his party," the former CM said. He said he spent a "sleepless night" ahead of today's court ruling but was visibly relieved over the outcome of the case. When reporters asked about OPS side planning to appeal against today's order, Palaniswami indicated it was not possible. Over the past few days, the AIADMK had received some good news, he said. While former BJP leader CP Radhakrishnan was made Jharkhand governor within days after attending a meeting to introduce AIADMK candidate for the February 27 Erode East bypoll, today his party secured a favourable verdict in the SC on the leadership issue. The next will be the party's win in Erode East, he insisted. AIADMK and the BJP are part of the NDA coalition. He said a perception was being made out that the AIADMK was weak, which was not the case. As regards the other camp, Panneerselvam's house wore a deserted look, leaving the leader too dazed to publicly react to the court's ruling and contrastingly the AIADMK workers at party headquarters here and other parts in the State were on cloud nine celebrating the verdict. A senior functionary who is a supporter of Panneerselvam says "a new political chapter begins for him. Panneerselvam will rise again and get back the position in the party, as party founder M G Ramachandran had proved his capabilities when he was expelled from the DMK." OPS would approach the people's court and win back political recognition, he added. The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stay the Election Commission's decision to give the party name "Shiv Sena" and the symbol "Bow and Arrow" to the faction led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde with the rival factions gearing up for the legal battle ahead. The court listed the matter after two weeks and issued notice to the Shinde camp. While Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the Supreme Court had not accepted the demand of status quo, Thackeray faction leader Anil Desai said that the court had taken up the plea and had asked them to take remedies if any action is outside the decision of the poll panel. NCP leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Sharad Pawar attacked the Centre over Election Commission decision, saying it is an example of "how an institution can be misused". A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud which comprised Justices PS Narsimha and JB Pardiwala issued notice to the Shinde camp and Election Commission on the plea and listed the matter after two weeks. Referring to the EC order, the court said, "We cannot stay an order at this stage". Also Read Shinde faction posts Sule's photo sitting in CM chair; NCP files complaint EC allots 'two swords and a shield' poll symbol to Shinde faction of Sena Shinde faction to meet Election Commission on Friday over Sena poll symbol Shinde camp arguments on constitution have contradictions: Thackeray group Uddhav faction to start 'Mahaprabodhan Yatra' from Shinde stronghold Thane Pawar was ready to form govt with BJP, but did not want Fadnavis as CM Sanjay Raut sends legal notice to Kirit Somaiya for 'defamatory remarks' SC refuses to stay EC order recognising Shinde faction as real Shiv Sena We accept CM Eknath Shinde as new Shiv Sena chief, says Uday Samant PM Modi, Owaisi will disappear from Rajasthan after election: Sachin Pilot The court clarified that Uddhav Thackeray camp can pursue other remedies of law if any action is taken which is not based on EC order. Senior Advocate NK Kaul, appearing for the respondent, assured SC that they will not issue a whip and not precipitate the disqualification proceeding. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Uddhav Thackeray, sought interim relief and said that the rival faction was taking office after office. He sought a status quo order. Senior Advocate NK Kaul, appearing for the respondent, raised preliminary objections on the maintainability of the plea filed by Uddhav Thackeray. Sibal said the EC passed the order on the test of the majority in the legislative wing. He apprised the court that their camp has a majority in Rajya Sabha, but a rival faction got the symbol due to the majority in the legislative wing. Kaul said for recognition of political party, number of votes, percentage of votes etc have to be seen and added that ECI examines the entire structure of the party. The court was hearing the plea by Uddhav Thackeray challenging the Election Commission's move to allot the party name "Shiv Sena" and the symbol "Bow and Arrow" to the faction led by Eknath Shinde. Uddhav, in his plea filed on Monday, said that ECI failed to consider that his faction enjoys the majority in the Legislative Council and Rajya Sabha. Uddhav Thackeray in the plea, also submitted that the legislative majority alone, in this case, could not be the basis for passing of the order by EC. Challenging the EC decision, Uddhav Thackeray said the poll panel was erroneous in its decision. "The entire edifice of the impugned order (EC's decision) is based upon the purported legislative majority of the Respondent (Shinde) which is an issue to be determined by the top court in the Constitution Bench. "The ECI has failed to consider that the Petitioner enjoys a majority in the Legislative Council (12 out of 12) and Rajya Sabha (3 out of 3). It is submitted that in a case of this kind where there is a conflict even in the legislative majority i.e., Lok Sabha on the one hand and Rajya Sabha on the other as well as Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, more particularly, having regard to the fact that there is a possibility of the alleged members losing their right of membership, the legislative majority alone is not a safe guide to determine as to who holds the majority for the purposes of adjudicating a petition of the Symbols Order," the plea said. "In these circumstances, it is respectfully submitted that the legislative majority test cannot be the test which can be applied for the purposes of determination of the present dispute," it added. Shinde said Supreme Court would take a decision on the Shiv Sena symbol row in further hearing. "The rival (Thackeray faction) had demanded a status quo on the order of the Election Commission. But Supreme Court refused to stay Election Commission's order. A further hearing will be done and a decision will be taken. SC has rejected their plea," he said. Mahesh Jethmalani, BJP MP and lawyer of Shinde faction, expressed confidence about their case. "Today, SC has rejected the plea by Uddhav Thackeray faction over EC order on Shiv Sena symbol. There would be final hearing.... We're very confident about our case," he said later. Pawar slammed Election Commission's decision to recognize Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena faction as the real Shiv Sena and allotting them the 'bow and arrow' poll symbol. "Election Commission gave a decision a few days ago. This is an example of how an institution can be misused. We have never seen such a decision by EC. Balasaheb Thackeray in his last days said that Shiv Sena's responsibility would be given to Uddhav Thackeray after him," said NCP chief. "But someone complained to the Election Commission and the Election Commission gave a verdict and allotted the Shiv Sena and its symbol to someone else from those who formed this party. This is a big attack on political parties. Today, the organization which is working in the country under Modi's leadership thinks they will keep the power in their hand," Pawar added. Following EC decision, Uddhav Thackeray had hit out at Shinde faction. "Everything has been stolen from me. The name and symbol of our party have been stolen but the name 'Thackeray' cannot be stolen. We have moved the Supreme Court against the decision given by the Election Commission," he had said. The Delhi High Court has asked the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to deal with RTI applications strictly in accordance with the timelines prescribed under the law. Justice Prathiba M Singh, while dealing with a matter related to NGT's failure to respond to an RTI plea, said being a national tribunal, its RTI cell ought to function properly. In view of the fact that the NGT is a national tribunal, the RTI cell of the NGT ought to function properly. Needless to add, the RTI applications received by the NGT in future shall be dealt with strictly in accordance with the timelines and rules prescribed under the RTI Act and RTI Rules, said the court in a recent order. The counsel for the NGT told the court that now the tribunal has created a proper RTI Cell and the First Appellate Authority. The NGT counsel said the tribunal did not have full time staff in 2013. The RTI applicant had filed an application in March 2014 and sought disclosure of certain information on appointment to a certain post but no reply was sent by the NGT. Following appeals, the matter reached the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) which not only converted it into a complaint but also went into the issue of the NGT's stand of defending the second appeal by engaging an advocate and concluded that the information sought was liable to be disclosed. Also Read Online portal for filing RTI applications 'practically ready', says SC Railway orders trains with German brakes to follow prescribed speed limit AICF claims pests destroyed records in response to query under RTI Act Effective use of RTI will help building a corruption free country: Om Birla NGT imposes environmental compensation of Rs 3,500 cr on West Bengal govt ONGC to invest $2 bn in Mumbai offshore to raise oil, gas output Cable & wire industry urges govt to bring laws against substandard products Easy to be irresponsible in making allegations against registry: SC Delhi HC asks Centre to take decision on filling up MBBS seats for PWDs Zelenskyy instilled hope as West, fearing for his life, advised him to flee The NGT approached the high court against the CIC order and argued that the authority had no power to pass such an order. The court observed, There can be no manner of doubt that the NGT was at fault in the present case and the non-reply to the RTI application was not an acceptable position. It, nonetheless, added that some of broad directions given by the CIC, such as to disclose the details of litigation expenditure, could not have been given in the present case and are unsustainable. The court set aside the CIC order to the extent that it directed supply of information pertaining to details of expenditure incurred on dealing with the RTI application. It also set aside directions to the tribunal authorities to make it a policy to disclose all results of recruitment test or interview, minutes of committee selecting candidates etc. The direction to explain why compensation should not be awarded in the present case was also rejected. When we had joined the IIT in 1977, log tables and slide rules were just giving way to the simple calculator and later the scientific calculator, for use in examinations. There was not much controversy as this seemed a logical progression. The question did come up however, whether schools should permit calculators. At that time, the spontaneous reaction was a clear No! We felt that the touch and feel of maths tables was critical to early brain training. When my brilliant friend and batchmate at IIT, Delhi (CGPA of 10 points and gold medallist) declared that he would be pursuing a Masters degree, leading to a PhD, in Artificial Intelligence in the USA, I was intrigued. Also curious. This was 1982. He sat me down and patiently explained the significance of the force that the two words when conjoined, could generate in the next few decades. Moving still further, to Feb. 2023, Microsoft has rolled out some new limits for its ChatGPT powered Bing AI. Apparently, Bing had gone off the rails and had been insulting, threatening and mocking to some users reported the press. This rang a loud alarm bell. Fast forward to 2018. My friend, now representing Amazon, delivered a Ted Talk in conversation with Shahrukh Khan on the power of the Voice, while introducing Alexa. It was fascinating. Alexa did not seem a threat. Just a helpful assistant. Through this article, I would like to make a few suggestions for discussion. There are no easy answers of course. Parents, educationists, students, employees and employers are each concerned, on how we, and our future generation, will remain relevant? In our country, this question becomes even more critical, since we must on a net basis, create jobs at all levels of skills. Also Read Podcast: What is ChatGPT and why has it taken the Internet by storm? ChatGPT vs humans: What it can and cannot accomplish AI integration may soon fundamentally alter how we search on the internet Gupshup launches new auto bot builder powered by GPT3 to build chatbots OpenAI announces ChatGPT chatbot: What is it, how it works, and limitations WhatsApp adds new feature to let users search settings on iOS beta Amazon introduces male voice option for Alexa's responses in India Samsung secure 5G tech for direct communication between phones, satellites Music platform Spotify launches AI-powered personalised music feature 'DJ' WhatsApp still working on feature to let users edit messages on iOS beta Children are born curious. Education must therefore nurture curiosity, so that it becomes part of a students DNA and therefore a lifelong trait. Curiosity leads to the ability to think critically; continually evaluate and process information, and consequently generate new ideas. This can give students the much needed self-confidence to communicate their thoughts creatively. We are in the era of Industry 4.0 powered by AI. And therefore, education will necessarily have to adapt to the new reality. We have conventionally been used to having a teacher in front of a blackboard teaching us as if we were on a conveyor belt on a factory shop-floor. We have now to move rapidly, to improving the comprehension and analytical abilities of children continually. As we move to the workplace; during a career of 35-40 years, how do we keep reinventing ourselves? Unlearning and relearning. Skilling and reskilling to remain relevant and also positively employable? Here are five suggestions for discussion : The teachers role changes to that of a guide, a mentor, a facilitator, a provider of frameworks and an experience sharer. Classrooms of the future will best be designed to foster greater collaboration among students, with wide spaces and also technologically equipped for ease of use. However, schools must also encourage students to be physically active, provide for team sports, arts & crafts, hobbies and other extra-curricular activities for continued holistic development. Secondly, follow your passion : If you are going to be spending the best part of your productive life at a formal work place, you may as well enjoy every minute of it. That can only happen if your heart and mind are both aligned to what you set out to do. It will feed your creativity and help you innovate. You can select the vocation you are passionate about and build it into a career, that is also financially rewarding. Fortunately, in this day and age, many options are not only available, but are also increasing. First, a kaizen a day: As most of us in the manufacturing industry are aware, kaizen is a Japanese approach to continuous change for the better. As employees, regardless of our skill levels or our position in the hierarchy, we must endeavour to embrace kaizen on a daily basis in our work place or work process. This keeps our mind proactively looking for ideas for constant improvement, be it in cost, quality, productivity, technology, product or service. Also, a series of kaizens in a very short period of time on the same process can actually lead to a disruptive innovation. Fourthly, always think and act with sustainability and circularity in mind : Every small action of yours, together with that of your colleagues, will become a force multiplier for the organisation that you represent, in its endeavour to be socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable. The higher purpose! Young people intuitively wish to work for and contribute to this higher purpose. It is a great motivator. It is also good for business. Thirdly, be an enthusiastic team player : Except in very specific cases e.g. R&D, I have always preferred team players over those who are brilliant and who operate as individuals. A combination of both qualities - brilliance and teamwork - would of course be ideal, but is rare. Time and time again, cohesive teams deliver high quality and enduring results. Also, team members go the extra the mile in supporting one another, especially in times of adversity. To conclude, we must remember that employers of the future are also doing their best to retain talent. They need you! They will need to become more flexible; have career paths that are customised for diversity; foster creativity and innovation; utilise technology that is enabling and supportive. Fifthly and finally, keep abreast of technology and technological changes: Make technology your friend. Your aid to enhance your knowledge, your productivity and that of your team, as also your work processes. Adopting and learning new tech should not be left to techies. Techies can design. But you should utilise tech to your and your organisations advantage. Unsubscribe to continue This is a subscriber only feature Subscribe Now to get daily updates on WhatsApp Radisys Corporation, a global leader of open telecom solutions, today announced its Release 17 compliant 5G NR software solution, extending its award-winning Release 16 Software with advanced features like non-terrestrial networks (NTN) and integrated access and backhaul (IAB) that expands coverage ability for 5G Networks. Release 17 relay node and satellite access capabilities will improve worldwide cellular service availability by enhancing the accessibility of fast and reliable 5G connectivity for unserved and underserved areas. In addition to driving ubiquitous 5G consumer access, Radisys Release 17 compliant 5G NR software supports enterprise, infrastructure and public safety use cases including intelligent transportation systems (ITS), aeronautic broadband, maritime, critical communications, fleet management, smart factories, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Radisys Connect RAN 5G solution facilitates a flexible 5G network to meet varied deployment requirements and provide universal 5G connectivity for diverse applications and use cases. By deploying Connect RAN 5G software, customers can minimize their development costs and operational and capital expenses while at the same time improving time-to-market and shortening their return on investment. News Highlights Radisys Release 17 compliant RAN software continues its proven track record of 5G R&D innovation, enabling 5G Network connectivity for diverse service enabler ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC), and eMBB use cases across a wide set of FR1and FR2 bands for multiple deployment and access options. Radisys Connect RAN 5G softwares NTN feature supports geostationary, medium and low earth orbit (GEO/MEO/LEO) satellite access with flexible and scalable software architecture and well-defined interfaces to SATCOM infrastructure. Radisys NTN software empowers OEMs and ODMs to unlock newer business opportunities by leveraging the significant investment being made in SATCOM technology. Radisys IAB feature enhances centralized (CU) and distributed (DU) units to service relay nodes as 3GPP compliant Donor CUs and Donor DUs. It also includes IAB/Relay node comprising IAB-DU and IAB-MT software that provides end-to-end IAB solution integration with industry-leading platforms. Radisys Release 17 compliant RAN software provides a foundation for features such as NR positioning, reduced capability (RedCap), and NR SideLink enabling OEMs, ODMs and operators to cost-effectively scale their 5G networks. We are excited to launch the first-to-market Release 17 Connect RAN 5G Software delivering expanded 5G connectivity and service accessibility, enabling our customers to unlock newer business opportunities, said Munish Chhabra, SVP and General Manager, Software and Services, Radisys. With advanced features like NTN and IAB, Radisys continues to be a leader in delivering ORAN-compliant multi-architecture and multi-platform 5G software to our customers, driving business use cases across a variety of industry verticals. Meet with Radisys at MWC Barcelona See demonstrations of Radisys industry-first Release 17 compliant 5G NR Solution, at MWC Barcelona, Stand 5B81. To schedule a meeting with Radisys mobility experts, contact [email protected]. About Radisys Radisys is a global leader in open telecom solutions and services. Its disaggregated platforms and integration services leverage open reference architectures and standards combined with open software and hardware, enabling service providers to drive open digital transformation. Radisys offers an end-to-end solutions portfolio from digital end points, to disaggregated and open access and core solutions, to immersive digital applications and engagement platforms. Its world-class and experienced network services organization delivers full lifecycle services to help service providers build and operate highly scalable and high-performance networks at optimum total cost of ownership. For more information, visit www.Radisys.com. Radisys is a registered trademark of Radisys. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005290/en/ The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney and Enterprise Ireland have today launched two new programmes with funding of over 63m, focused on supporting Irish innovators and research. The programmes are administered by Enterprise Ireland, and co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) which aims to promote economic, social and territorial cohesion across all European regions. The Managing Authorities for the ERDF in Ireland are the Northern & Western Regional Assembly and the Southern Regional Assembly. Enterprise Ireland says the new 30M national initiative has the objective of developing a series of immersive, needs-led innovation training programmes. These training programmes will aim to identify unmet market needs within specific sectors of growth in Ireland. The Innovators Initiative programmes will be hosted in Irish publicly funded Research Performing Organisations (RPOs) mainly third level institutions - or within a consortia of RPOs. Applications are now being sought from publicly funded RPOs from areas of sectoral importance to Ireland. Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney said, "These two new funding programmes, which are worth 63m combined, signal a major vote of confidence for both innovation and research in Ireland. We have a very strong and well-earned reputation for our capabilities in research, innovation and knowledge transfer, and this will enable us to build further on that success." Head of Research and Innovation at Enterprise Ireland, Marina Donohue added, "The programmes will enable those active in this space to investigate, establish and develop new ideas. Both initiatives will accelerate the development of innovation capability in Irish enterprise across all regions and we look forward to supporting the projects involved." Source: www.businessworld.ie Being an interdisciplinary study topic, it incorporates aspects from areas of science such as Biology, Microbiology, and Chemistry to create products and methods that may tackle complicated issues. This discipline has grown in popularity among the numerous engineering branches due to the need for innovation in its trials. Biochemical engineering is a subfield of chemical and biological engineering that studies the design and development of units that interact directly with individuals. These individuals are taught to use and implement their scientific knowledge and technical principles to make items such as medications, processed foods, oil, paints, cosmetics, paper, plastic, and some others, using molecules (bioreactors) and other living species. Because of its significant contribution to a variety of different disciplines, this field has recently begun to catch the attention of the youth. This eventually provides excellent prospects for creating a profession in Biochemical Engineering. What Do Biochemical Engineers Do? Manage experiment characteristics or outcomes databases. Keep up with scientific, industrial, and technological breakthroughs by reading current scientific or trade publications. Provide strategies for translating laboratory procedures or biological processes to commercial-scale manufacturing production. Create technical reports, data summary sheets, or research articles for publication in scientific journals, regulatory filings, or patent applications. Provide scalable protein recovery, purification, or fermentation systems for human or animal medicinal use, food production or processing, biofuels, or wastewater treatment. Examine existing production processes for the potential to improve yield or reduce process variance. Career Opportunities Metabolic Engineer A Metabolic Engineer uses genetic engineering techniques to improve the metabolic activity of living creatures or to adjust an organism's metabolic activity. The method is frequently applied in bacteria, yeast, and plants to boost the production of certain metabolites. Enzyme Engineer An Enzyme Engineer is a professional who changes the amino acid sequence of an enzyme to increase its activity or enhance its effectiveness. Enzyme Engineering entails the use of advanced technologies to overcome the limitations of native enzymes as biocatalysts. Tissue Engineers Tissue engineers use extracellular matrix or tissue scaffolding to create new, functioning tissue to improve, restore, repair, or replace damaged biological tissues. Tissue engineering is a subfield of regenerative medicine. Artificial cartilage and skin are two examples. Chemists Chemists and manufacturing engineers investigate substances at the atomic and molecular levels, as well as how they interact with one another. They apply their knowledge to create new and improved items as well as to evaluate the quality of manufactured goods. Industrial Engineers Industrial engineers look for solutions to reduce waste in manufacturing operations. They create efficient systems that integrate employees, machines, materials, information, and energy to manufacture a product or offer a service. Chemical Engineers Chemical engineers employ chemistry, biology, physics, and arithmetic principles to address problems involving the manufacture or usage of chemicals, fuel, pharmaceuticals, food, and a variety of other items. They design procedures and equipment for large-scale manufacturing, plan and test production methods and byproducts treatment, and direct facilities. Well, it took Geely Philippines long enough. About two years after we said they needed a sub-compact crossover to penetrate the local market... Localities across China further explain health insurance reform (Global Times) 14:08, February 23, 2023 A medical worker talks with the relatives of a patient at the emergency department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, Jan. 21, 2023. Medical staff stick to their posts during the Spring Festival holiday. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) More provinces and cities across China, including Southwest China's Sichuan and Northeast China's Heilongjiang provinces as well as Wuhan in Central China's Hubei Province, Xi'an in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, have published their detailed interpretation of the health insurance reform in a bid to dispel public misgivings as the reform has sparked heated discussion since details of implementation were published recently. Insiders said the reform of the medical insurance system is to make full use of relevant funds and improve the overall operation efficiency, so that those people in need, especially the elderly, can get more reimbursement, and reduce the economic burden of outpatient services and medicine purchases. This reform is intended to adapt to the development stage of China's medical insurance and to improve the objective needs of the public's medical insurance benefits, experts said, refuting some Western media outlets' claims such as that the healthcare system has been strained by three years of COVID-related expenses. The outpatient mutual aid security mechanism fully embodies the participation and benefit of social insurance for all, they noted. China's health insurance system for urban employees and retirees consists of two parts: mandatory personal accounts with contributions from both employees and employers that mainly pay for ordinary outpatient services; and a pooled fund contributed by employers that is used to reimburse hospitalization bills, outpatient bills for serious diseases, and expenses for some chronic diseases, according to the Xinhua News Agency. After the reform, money that employers deposit into employees' personal accounts will be directly paid to the pooled fund in order to support the reimbursement of ordinary outpatient medical bills. The State Council, China's cabinet, rolled out the guiding instruction for the reform in April 2021. In response to the issues of public concern in promoting the reform, the Wuhan Municipal Healthcare Security Administration issued a detailed interpretation on Tuesday. This reform has increased preferential assistance to special groups. No minimum payment standard has been set for inpatient medical expenses of disabled people who are given minimum living allowances, and the proportion of payments from the pooled fund for employees' medical insurance has been raised by 2 percent. For eligible medical assistance recipients whose out-of-pocket medical expenses exceed 7,000 yuan ($1,015) and who are at risk of returning to poverty after comprehensive coverage by the three systems of basic medical insurance, supplementary medical insurance and medical assistance, preferential assistance will be granted at a rate of 50 percent, with an annual limit of 30,000 yuan, according to the administration. Under the new policy, the number of chronic diseases eligible for outpatient reimbursement in Wuhan will be expanded from 32 in 28 categories to 70 in 37 categories. Separately, the Sichuan Provincial Healthcare Security Administration recently issued an interpretation. Since the reform, the amount deposited each month into personal accounts of the insured people will be reduced in the current period, but the outpatient treatment services will improve, and the people in need will benefit more, the Sichuan authority said. After the reform, the scope of use is also extended to family members. In addition to being used by the insured personnel themselves according to regulations, the personal medical accounts can also be used to pay the medical expenses of their family members. Also, the personal account accounting method is more equitable, the Sichuan authority noted. Both the Sichuan and Wuhan healthcare authorities pointed out that the reform is not being taken because healthcare funds are running out, saying there is no need for insured people to worry about this. In recent years, Sichuan's medical insurance fund has been in balance and operating steadily. By the end of 2022, the province's employee basic medical insurance pooling fund had accumulated a balance of 146.2 billion yuan. A woman who works in a Beijing hospital surnamed Wang told the Global Times that elderly people indeed benefit the most from the reform. Wang's father, who always purchases medicine at hospitals and pharmacies, can get more reimbursement after the reform. "Previously, my father had to pay by himself his medical expenses surpassing the limit of 20,000 yuan, but this year, he can get part of the expense surpassing 20,000 yuan reimbursed," Wang said. Liao Zangyi, associate professor at the School of Politics Science and Public Administration at the University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times on Wednesday that "it is essentially a game between immediate short-term losses and future long-term gains." Liao noted that for individuals, their medical costs will not be raised due to the reform. Liao also pointed out the necessity of reforming China's health insurance system, citing its unreasonable structure. The balance of the medical insurance fund in 2021 was 3.6 trillion yuan, official data showed, of which one-third belonged to individual accounts, meaning that portion of money could not be used by others. "Money in individual accounts could not play the role of mutual aid in social insurance, and it is difficult to deal with the economic risks brought about by disease only with individual ability," said Liao, noting that only by jointly bearing and resolving the risk of disease on the whole-of-society level, the redistribution function of social security could be better reflected. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Photo: The Canadian Press The new executive chairman of Restaurant Brands International Inc. has laid out a sweeping vision for the fast-food giant's four chains, with plans to borrow from his winning playbook as CEO of Domino's Pizza. Patrick Doyle credited with having the Midas touch after transforming Domino's lagging sales into meteoric growth told investors during a wide-ranging conversation on Wednesday that each of the company's brands is positioned for momentum and growth. But he says there is room to improve operations and grow earnings at Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs. Doyle says the company is committed to helping franchisees become "wildly successful" if they are willing to put in the work. He was joined by incoming CEO Joshua Kobza, a 36-year-old rising star in the company who offered his own views on positioning the company for success. Kobza says one of his first and biggest priorities will be giving more "autonomy of decision making" to the business unit presidents. "One of the things that I need to do is really empower the business unit leaders around the world to be as autonomous (and) fast moving as possible and be able to have full ownership of their (profits and losses) and their business," he said. "In practice what that means is giving them a bit more autonomy, reducing a bit the amount of centralized groups that support all the businesses and giving those resources back to the brand and just allowing a little bit more autonomy of decision making to the business unit presidents." The president of Tim Hortons in Canada and the United States is Axel Schwan. This service applies to you if your subscription has not yet expired on our old site. You will have continued access until your subscription expires; then you will need to purchase an ongoing subscription through our new system. Please contact The Chanute Tribune office at 620-431-4100 if you have any questions A woman is facing charges after police conducting a traffic stop found her with 15 potentially-deadly fentanyl pills.East Ridge Police conducted the stop on Valentine's Day at 6708 Ringgold Road on a silver Chevrolet Impala for improper display of registration. When the vehicle came to a stop, the driver, Makayla Reynolds, 25, immediately exited the vehicle. She was ordered by police to get back inside. She was identified by her Georgia driver's license.Police observed that she was extremely nervous and shaking while speaking with officers.When asked if there were any illegal substances in the vehicle, she said there were not. She gave police consent to search her vehicle. Police then asked her to exit the vehicle so they could conduct a search. She then began reaching around inside the vehicle and grabbed something. Police then took her by the arm and assisted her out of the vehicle. Police observed she was clenching her right fist. When police opened her hand, they observed blue pills fly out of her hand onto the ground.Ms. Reynolds was handcuffed and police recovered 13 blue pills marked with "M' on one side and "30" on the other side. Officers recognized these markings to be consistent with fentanyl pills. Ms. Reynolds was then searched and two more of the same pills fell onto the ground while she was being searched. She was placed in the police vehicle and informed she was being arrested.A tow for her vehicle was called and during inventory of the vehicle, police located several pieces of tin foil with black burn marks and several cut straws with residue inside.Ms. Reynolds was charged with possession of fentanyl for resale. The sighting and destruction of several Chinese balloons with undetermined contents during February 2023 by U.S. fighter jets over Canada, America and South America has caused concern, political rhetoric and fears of a potential World War III. The hysteria over the end of the world has a precedent in the 1962 Cuban missile confrontation with Soviet Russian which was capably, analyzed and discussed by the late recognized military defense authority, Lewis Grizzard (LG). Rather than subject a jittery populace to unwarranted worry he began a careful recitation of what would be the best municipality in which to reside if the Russian Bear should launch a missile attack that might have been concealed in the innocent looking balloons drifting over our frontiers and towns that are being used as a target practice for our Top Gun aces. In the 1989 publication Chili Dawgs Always Bark at Night (Villard Books) and an article Have you Ever Heard of Boise, Idaho he aptly pinpoints his selection of the best place in the United States in which to live and feel fairly safe about not getting a direct Soviet missile hit. He makes the following wise observations with only one notable exception that may still be applicable in 2023: Certainly not in such major cities as New York and Washington. You read anything about Soviet military power and it always get around to mentioning, to completely destroy such major American cities as New York and Washington in a matter of minutes. It never reads, to complexly destroy such major American cities as Dallas and Milwaukee in a matter of minutes. I guess Dallas and Milwaukee would be okay, but therere some other places I would feel safe as well. Ill list a few and give the reasons why: 1. Miami- The Soviets dont dare shoot at Miami. They could be off target just a hair and hit Castro ninety miles way. 2. Boise, Idaho I figure the Soviets have never even heard of Boise. A lot of Americans havent, either, for that matter. 3. San Diego Great weather, great zoo, and you could always grab your stuff and sit out the war drinking tequila in Mexico if L.A. were hit. 4. Nashville, Tennessee Even the Evil Empire wouldnt shoot at Dolly Parton and Barbara Mandrell. 5. Tulsa, Oklahoma Thats where Oral Roberts lives. You could write him a check and hed put in a good word for you when he talks to God. 6. Cleveland Why would anybody want to waste a perfectly good missile on Cleveland? As for me I think Ill stay in Atlanta. The weathers good, the girls are pretty, they talk my language, and Atlanta has already hosted the Democratic Convention. Isnt that enough punishment for one city? (LG would surmise that the Chinese wouldnt dare release any missile contained in a balloon over Soddy Daisy, Tennessee. An independent-minded borough that could bravely display a Men Only sign in the former den of masculinity established in 1947 and survived many years of criticism by the lesser gender Speech Police before removal was recently necessitated). * * * You can reach Jerry Summers at jsummers@summersfirm.com We have a bad feeling, ABCs Alaska Daily fans. The upcoming season 1 episode, which we have waited almost three months for, is just around the corner, and it promises to be a doozy. New promos for Alaska Daily Episode 7 suggest that the hostage situation involving Eileen Fitzgerald and the Concerned Citizen is more complex than we thought. And we dont think everyone will survive the night. Hilary Swank as Eileen Fitzgerald | ABC/Darko Sikman Is Alaska Daily on tonight? Unfortunately, Alaska Daily Episode 7 wont air tonight, Feb. 23, on ABC. The show starring Hilary Swank was initially supposed to return from its three-month hiatus tonight, but the network pushed it back one week. Now, episode 7 will drop on Thursday, March 2, and a repeat of The Company You Keep Episode 1 will air in Alaska Dailys time slot tonight. ABC wanted the final five Alaska Daily episodes to air without any breaks. So starting on March 2, fans will experience five uninterrupted weeks of new episodes, meaning the finale will debut on March 30. A preview of Alaska Daily Episode 7 Before jumping into episode 7, lets recap what happened in Alaska Daily Episode 6. The hour aired on Nov. 17, 2022, and ended on a cliffhanger that left fans on the edge of their seats. After threatening Eileen for weeks, the Concerned Citizen finally confronted the reporter face-to-face at the Daily Alaskan. He waited until (almost) everyone was out of the office, knocked on Eileens door, and showed her the gun he was holding. And then the episode cut to black. The synopsis for episode 7, Enemy of the People, reads, The stakes are high when Concerned Citizen targets Eileen at gunpoint and takes her hostage in the newsroom. As the clock ticks, the team races to help before its too late. The hour will pick up right where episode 6 left off, so we know it will be tense from start to finish. The promo reveals that the other journalists Stanley Cornik, Roz Friendly, Bob Young, Claire Muncy, Yuna Park, and Austin Teague find out about the hostage situation in the bar across the street from the Daily Alaskan. Along with Aaron Pritchard and a SWAT team, they gather outside the scene and try to help. Inside, the Concerned Citizen tells Eileen, You spread lies. You suppress the truth. And now youre dead. The Alaska Daily Episode 7 preview also suggests that Eileen and the Concerned Citizen are not the only ones whose lives are in danger. Someone likely wont make it out of Alaska Daily Episode 7 alive When Alaska Daily Episode 6 ended, viewers thought Eileen was the only one left in the office. However, when the Concerned Citizen confronted Eileen, another person was still working in the building Gabriel Tovar. A new promo for the midseason premiere reveals that Gabriel hides in the archives room during the hostage situation. He calls Stanley and says, I want to help, but I dont know how. His boss reminds him to Try to stay calm and do what he says. And at one point, the gun goes off. But fans will have to wait for the episode to air to learn who pulled the trigger and if it was aimed at anyone. If anyone is going to make it out of this alive, its Eileen. Hilary Swank is the star of the show, and theres no way the writers would kill her off seven episodes in. But now that we know Gabriels life is also in danger, we are extremely worried about him. Theres a chance that Gabriel could die or get wounded during the hour, which would break our hearts. Hes one of the kindest Alaska Daily characters. And then theres the possibility that the Concerned Citizen dies. In our opinion, this is the most likely scenario. The man is distraught about what Eileen has been doing in Alaska, and hes not thinking clearly. The shot we heard during the preview might be self-inflicted. Or the police might take the Concerned Citizen out before he hurts anyone else. Whatever the case, were eager to learn all the answers. Alaska Daily Episode 7, Enemy of the People, premieres Thursday, March 2, at 10 p.m. ET on ABC. For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheets YouTube channel. King Charles IIIs coronation will have some personal touches when he is crowned king of the United Kingdom on May 6. While much of the planning for the event has been kept secret, one tidbit was revealed in a statement by Buckingham Palace. Charles will pay homage to his beloved father, Prince Philip, with a heartwarming tribute woven into the storied royal weekend. Prince Philip and his son, King Charles III, pictured in 2016 | Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images King Charles III will have a scaled-down coronation ceremony King Charles IIIs ceremony, alongside his wife Camilla, Queen Consort, will be a more scaled-back event than his mother, Queen Elizabeth IIs lavish coronation celebration in June 1953. Charles ceremony is reportedly a more modernized celebration. The king has stripped back a lot of the coronation in recognition that the world has changed in the past 70 years, reported The Mirror of the celebration details. Subsequently, the three-hour service at Westminster Abbey will reportedly be pared down to just 60 minutes. The number of guests is reported to be just 2,000. This number is scaled back from the over 8,000 who attended Elizabeths rise to power. The coronation will reflect the monarchs role today. And look toward the future while being rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry, Buckingham Palace said. Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, will perform the religious ceremony. The event is scheduled to be televised, although Buckingham Palace has yet to release official details. The profoundly traditional ceremony will honor the long reign of Queen Elizabeth II, Charles late mother, from whom he assumes the throne. However, Charles father, Prince Philip, will also be honored very sentimentally. Prince Philip will be honored as his son, Charles III, takes the throne Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, and King Charles III on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in 2001 | Anthony Harvey/Getty Images Prince Philip was Charless beloved father and Elizabeths husband, who died in Apr. 2021 at Windsor Castle. He was 99. Philip will be a big part of Charles coronation ceremony. The official royal website reports twelve commissioned pieces of music will be performed at the coronation. At the request of His Majesty. In tribute to his late father, his royal highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Greek Orthodox music will also feature in the service. Performed by the Byzantine Chant Ensemble, the site reports. Philip was born in Greece and baptized in the Greek Orthodox church. Per Vanity Fair, when he married Queen Elizabeth in November 1947, he converted to the Anglican religion. King Charles will also have a coronation anthem written by a legendary composer ? Twelve newly commissioned pieces of music will be performed at the Coronation of The King and The Queen Consort at @Wabbey, showcasing musical talent from across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Find out more The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) February 18, 2023 The royal website revealed Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, the legendary composer behind smash hits such as Cats and The Phantom of the Opera, was asked to write Charles a new coronation anthem. In a statement by Buckingham Palace, Webber said, I am incredibly honored to have been asked to compose a new anthem for The Coronation. My anthem includes words slightly adapted from Psalm 98. He continued, I have scored it for the Westminster Abbey choir and organ, the ceremonial brass and orchestra. I hope my anthem reflects this joyful occasion. The entire coronation service will be sung by The Choir of Westminster Abbey and The Choir of His Majestys Chapel Royal, St. Jamess Palace, along with choristers from the Chapel Choir of Methodist College, Belfast, and Truro Cathedral Choir. The Ascension Choir will also perform, as will the kings scholars of Westminster School. I still remember vividly the intellectual liberation I felt when I read the first letter of C. S. Lewiss TheScrewtape Letters during my graduate years at the University of Michigan. It was not my first time reading the book; that had taken place when I was a teenager. But when I read it this time, it came alive for me in a new and bracing way. Secular colleges and universities, like the secular world itself, have a way of convincing students, without them realizing they are being convinced, that the real, solid world belongs firmly in the realm of science and that anything relating to God or heaven belongs in the abstract, invisible world of dreams and wish fulfillment. Reason, in this telling, is on the side of those who keep their eyes fixed below, while those who wish to turn their gaze upward must be satisfied with faith. Growing up means learning to trust reason, face facts, and accept the world as all there isat least all there really is. In one fell swoop, The Screwtape Letters tore away the curtain to expose the phony smoke and mirrors behind this worldview. Reason, logic, and argument, Lewis helped me realize, belong neither to the devil nor to the atheists, agnostics, and secular humanists. It is God, the one Screwtape calls the Enemy, who invented these tools and uses them with greater skill, precision, and honesty. Thus, when his nephew Wormwood shares his plan of using logical scientific arguments to draw his patient away from God, senior tempter Screwtape warns against using such a dangerous strategy: The trouble about argument is that it moves the whole struggle onto the Enemys own ground. He can argue too; whereas in really practical propaganda of the kind I am suggesting He has been shown for centuries to be greatly the inferior of Our Father Below. By the very act of arguing, you awake the patients reason; and once it is awake, who can foresee the result? Even if a particular train of thought can be twisted so as to end in our favour, you will find that you have been strengthening in your patient the fatal habit of attending to universal issues and withdrawing his attention from the stream of immediate sense experiences. Your business is to fix his attention on the stream. Teach him to call it real life and dont let him ask what he means by real. I had never heard or read anything like this before! Of course, the omniscient God who ordered the cosmos and gave humanity the gift of reason would be the real supporter of logic and argument. And of course, real life had little to do with the stream of disjointed sights and sounds and smells that greeted me each morning on my drive to work. If there is something real out there, it must be something that lasts, that has shape and form and weight. Animals perceive the world as a flood of sensations without and instincts within, but that is because they lack both reason and a sense of that which is real and true. Article continues below The source of all facthood As I worked my way through Charlie Starrs The Lions Country: C. S. Lewiss Theory of the Real, I experienced again that sense of intellectual liberation I had first felt while reading Screwtapes opening letter to Wormwood. Starr, a professor of English at Alderson Broaddus University who is also an expert on Lewiss handwriting, has a deep and intimate knowledge of Lewiss full body of work. In his new book, he marshals that knowledge for a single purpose: to tease out what Lewis had to say in his fiction, nonfiction, essays, letters, and sermons about the nature of reality. He begins at just the right place, with the contrast that Lewis makes in Miracles between the naturalist and the supernaturalist view of reality. Both know that there must be an ultimate and basic fact on which everything can be grounded; they simply disagree on the identity of that basic fact. Lewis, Starr explains, says that the Naturalist thinks nature is the ultimate and self existent Fact, whereas the Supernaturalist thinks God is basic Fact or Actuality and the source of all other facthood. Which is not to say that matter is therefore bad or illusory or inconsequential. It was the young atheist Lewis, longing intensely for beauty, who thought that matter and nature were evil. Only after coming to believe in a good God who created the world and became incarnate in that world could he accept nature as a good thing that pointed beyond itself to a Transcendent Other that Lewis, in Starrs words, would ultimately recognize as the true source of his longing. As counterintuitive as it might seem to modern people raised in a post-Enlightenment world that makes a sharp division between fact and fiction, reason and imagination, our experience of literature and myth often draws us closer to reality. It certainly did for Lewis. Starr sums up the false division with commendable brevity: If it comes from the imagination, it is imaginary. If it is imaginary, it is not real. He later sums up Lewiss position with equal brevity: that myth gives us experiences of transcendent reality, and from those experiences we can abstract all manner of truths about that reality. Article continues below Starr returns often to a key Lewisian distinction between looking at (or studying) something and looking along (or experiencing) that same thing. In Meditation in a Toolshed, Lewis discusses the difference between looking at a beam of light breaking into a dark shed and looking along that same beam to see the world outside. While most moderns study myths as objects or artifacts, Lewis embraced them as imaginative vehicles for experiencing the greater, unseen reality that transcends our own. The sad frustration is that, in our current state, we cannot do both simultaneously; we cannot analyze and enjoy, dissect and taste, know about and know at the same time. At least we cannot do so in our fallen world. In heaven, we will be able to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and participate in his triune life. One of Starrs most exciting contentions in The Lions Country is that Lewis provides direct insight on this aspect of heaven in his science-fiction novels Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra, in which he whisks us away to the unfallen planets of Mars and Venus. In heavenly worlds like Mars or Venus, knowledge might work the way it does in heaven proper: in the highest reality of heaven, there is no distinction between fact, truth, or myth. But on Earth we cannot bring fact, truth, and myth together, either in history or in our thinking except in two instances: in myth, which can give us glimpses of higher reality, and in the Incarnation, where the three came together in the person of Christthis too, though, is a myth for us to encounter: the myth that became fact. In an unfallen world, as in heaven, one need not choose between specific, concrete facts and general, universal truths. There, they are one and the same. There, mythic tales that on the earth are lovely but untrue are historically real, without losing any of their imaginative wonder and aesthetic beauty. Indeed, if I may highlight a scene Starr does not mention, Lewis, in the penultimate chapter of Perelandra, allows us to gaze on the eternal essence of masculine and feminine rendered concrete in the guardian angels of Mars and Venus. Article continues below Such is the nature of reality in an unfallen world, but, Starr adds in the quoted passage above, our fallen world still affords us some glimpses of that reality. Through myth we catch an echo of a world where soul and body, subject and object, longing and fulfillment become one; where, to borrow a line from the poet William Butler Yeats, we can no longer distinguish the dancer from the dance. In the incarnate Christ, the two actually become one: not just perfect God and perfect Man, but perfect Myth and perfect Fact. World within worlds The Lions Country offers many insights like these that both connect and open up Lewiss diverse works. I will just mention two more that I found particularly helpful. First, Starr connects some of Lewiss signature distinctionsbetween history and myth, fact and reality, looking at and looking alongto another central distinction Lewis discusses most fully in Mere Christianity and The Abolition of Man. Whereas the laws of nature define the way things are, the laws of human nature define the way they ought to be. By introducing the word ought into the discussion, Lewis calls up the distinction between prescription and description. The Law of Nature describes how things are; the Law of Human Nature prescribes how things ought to be. And the facts of human behavior (the descriptions) frequently oppose the fact of how people ought to behave. Nevertheless, for Lewis, Natural Law in prescribing Ought is as real as any descriptive Is. Both is and ought are equally real and true, though the source of the second is ultimately supernatural, communicating to us a divine facthood that transcends the brute facts of nature. One is not real and the other illusory, or one objective and the other subjective. Rather, they point to what Starr calls multiple levels of reality, a hierarchical complexity that cannot be accounted for by the limited tools of natural science or naturalistic philosophy. And that leads to a second insight, a second connection that Starr makes. As Lewis analyzes these hierarchical levels in his nonfictionparticularly in his sermon Transpositionso he illustrates them, and thus allows us to experience them, in his fiction. In The Great Divorce, Lewis helps us see that as hell is less real than the earth, so heaven is more real than the earth. On the lower level of the earth, we pursue truth intellectually; on the higher level of heaven, writes Starr, we meet Truth in person. On Earth, truth is abstract statements one makes about reality. In heaven, truth is concretely real. Article continues below Meanwhile, in Narnia, the stacked levels of earth and heaven morph into a different yet similar configuration. The reason Narnia runs on a totally different temporal scheme than the earth is because Narnia exists in a different dimension that lies along, rather than above or beneath, our own. When Digory and Polly land in the Wood between the Worlds in The Magicians Nephew, they discover that it is not a place with its own history and inhabitants but a waystation between different worlds. When they, along with the other five friends of Narnia, make it to Aslans Country at the end of The Last Battle, they encounter another space-expanding configuration. Connected, like spokes in a wheel, to Aslans Country, they see not the multitude of worlds accessible through the Wood but the perfections of each. These perfections (Plato would call them Forms) lie within the worlds, but they are bigger and more real. Just so, the baby that lay in the manger in Bethlehem was far bigger than the stable, the city, and the world around him. In his fiction, Starr argues, Lewis imagines the possibility of vertical, horizontal, and even interior realities, a multiverse of being that is even more than merely hierarchical. Like a cube, it may have vertical realities, horizontal realities, and realities of depth. Reality upon reality, existence alongside existence, worlds within worlds: all connected, in perception, by the isthmus of myth and, in fact, by the Word made flesh. Such wonders await the reader who, guided by Starr, ventures into the realms of C. S. Lewis. Louis Markos is professor in English and scholar-in-residence at Houston Christian University, where he holds the Robert H. Ray Chair in Humanities. His books include Lewis Agonistes: How C. S. Lewis Can Train Us to Wrestle with the Modern and Postmodern World and Restoring Beauty: The Good, the True, and the Beautiful in the Writings of C. S. Lewis. In todays episode we present part two of Lessons from My Mentor, our four-part, pod-class series on mentorship. In part one, Heather introduced us to Pastor Jose Rojas, her personal mentor and a former White House advisor. This week we learn from author, activist, and evangelist Christine Caine in a power-packed conversation about what it means to trust God, pursue your calling, and lean into the development process of your own life rather than rush through it. Christine also tells us why she resists the concept of influencers and explains why a platform isnt necessarily a ministry. But first, Heather sits down with her friend Katlyn Giberson, director for digital marketing at the Christian and Missionary Alliance, to discuss Taylor Swift and whether fandom culture is a hashtag bless, or a hashtag mess. Make sure to let us know your thoughts about this segment by typing in ViralJesusPod on Instagram or Twitter and including #Blessed with your comment. Guest Bio Christine Caine is a speaker, author, and activist who has been serving the local church globally for over 30 years. She and her husband, Nick, founded the anti-human trafficking organization, The A21 Campaign, which works at the local, domestic, and international level to end modern-day slavery. They also founded Equip & Empower, a ministry that is mobilizing people everywhere to live on mission for Jesus. Propel Women is an initiative of the ministry dedicated to coming alongside women all over the globe to activate their God-given purpose. The ministry has also planted three life-giving Zoe Churches in Europe that are not only bringing the Gospel to the region, but also serve the most vulnerable through humanitarian outreach during times of crisis. Christine is the best-selling author of more than a dozen books and studies and you can tune into her weekly podcast or television program to be encouraged with the hope of Jesus wherever you are. Christine holds a Masters Degree in Evangelism and Leadership from Wheaton College. Host Bio Heather Thompson Day is an associate professor of communication at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan. She is the author of eight books, including Ill See You Tomorrow and Its Not Your Turn. Reach out to Heather on Twitter @HeatherTDay and on Instagram @heatherthompsonday. Viral Jesus is a production of Christianity Today Host and creator: Heather Thompson Day Executive Producer: Ed Gilbreath Producer: Loren Joseph Associate Producer: Azurae Phelps Mix Engineer: Alex Carter Senior Director of CT Media: Mike Cosper As the dust settled on the rubble of Turkish cities, citizens began asking hard questions. Why was the government response so slow, and why did so many buildings fall in the first place? Some Christians have joined the chorus. During the earthquake, some serious mistakes were made, said Melih Ekener, executive director of SAT-7 TURK, an inter-denominational satellite television ministry with offices in Istanbul. But with the destruction of cities with large Christian populations, we are feeling more alone than ever. The mistakes came both before and after, he said. But the church paid a disproportionate price, as the ancient cities of Antakya, Iskenderun, and Diyarbakir collectively held the majority of Turkeys Christiansabout 1 percent of the overall population of 85 million. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to rebuild affected areas. And with a local death toll of over 40,000 and one million people displaced across a 10-province region roughly the size of Switzerland, any government would struggle, Ekener said. But nodding his head at a long list of reported failures both before and after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake and 7.5-magnitude aftershock, Ekener said trust in official institutions has been shaken. The results are tragic. Not all can be blamed on the government. The earthquake damaged the local airport and road systems, bottlenecking equipment necessary for rescue. Freezing temperatures, lack of electricity, and the sheer scale of devastation handicapped relief efforts. But three or more days were lost due to poor coordination in the centralizing of effort. The system makes sense, said Ekener. But it does slow things down. One Turkish Christian, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, was blunt, warning there will be consequences for mistakes. Earthquakes dont kill people; the shoddy works of men do, said the senior ministry leader. The government failed this test, and many who could have been saved died. Elections are scheduled for June but may be postponed. Analysts remarked that after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in 1999 killed 18,000 people in northwest Turkey, the army acted quickly to lead the emergency response. But given the nations long history of military coups, when the Islamist-tinged Justice and Development Party (AKP) of now-president Erdogan came to power in 2002 it established civilian control over the largely independent brass. As an unintended consequence, the military, like everyone else, had to wait on the official Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD). And AFAD, critics remarked, is headed by a graduate of an Islamic seminary with no experience in the field. For years, the AKP has packed almost every institution in the country with their staunch loyalists, often purging people with real know-how and expertise, said Mustafa Akyol, a Turkish senior fellow at the Cato Institutes Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity and an expert in Islam and public policy. The result has been a huge loss of quality and competence. Following a 2016 coup attempt, the government removed tens of thousands of civil servants, many connected to a rival Islamic movement accused of conspiracy. Other civil society organizations have also been suppressed, and Akyol said an effective, national effort against disasters is impossible in a climate of suspicion against domestic enemies. Drawing no connection, an AFAD internal report described deficiencies in personnel and earthquake preparedness. It still consisted of more than 10,000 employees. Erdogan acknowledged shortcomings in the earthquake response, pledging to care for every affected citizen. But he also blamed dishonorable people for spreading lies and rumors against the government. Ekener said that after delays, overall coordination has been smooth. But while the after errors have been tragic, critics point to a criminal before. They failed in this as they failed in every other issue, stated Kemal Kilicdaroglu, president of the opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP). This ruling party has not prepared the country for an earthquake for 20 years. It is not quite true. The AKP was elected after a wave of anger at the 1999 disaster, and worked with the European Union on substantial reforms. These included building codes demanding use of high-quality concrete and steel bars, as well as the creation of agencies to monitor compliance. An additional earthquake tax has raised an estimated $36 billion since 1999. But this is listed as general revenue in the national budget, without clear specification of use. Former officials stated it has been spent on infrastructure and the repayment of international loans. And CHP figures identify a Gang of Five political allies of the AKP whose companies have received 24 percent of government contracts in the last five years. You have been collecting earthquake tax to protect people for years, stated Adnan Cakiroglu of the opposition Good Party. Ten provinces are dying, and you are still waiting for financial aid. Millions of dollars more have been raised through construction amnesties that excuse the failure to bring structures up to code. In the affected area, 75,000 buildings received such license. But many other buildings collapsed, despite their certificates of approval. Expert testimony stated that the quake, though massive, would have left properly constructed apartments standing. A BBC report exposed three specific cases in Malatya, Iskenderun, and Antakya. Following the 2011 earthquake in Haiti, a study in the academic journal Naturecalculated that over the previous 30 years, 83 percent of earthquake deaths occurred in nations that were anomalously corrupt, using Transparency Internationals ratings. In its 2022 report listing from clean to crooked, Turkey ranks 101 out of 180 countries and has polled consistently downward since 2013. Look at the debriscollapsed columns were filled with sponge-like substances, said Ekener. It doesnt make any sense, but much is coming to light. Perhaps it will prevent similar tragedy in Istanbul. The chairman of Turkeys Chamber of Geological Engineers warned that a minimum magnitude 7.0 earthquake is expected to hit the city in the near future. The mayor, meanwhile, counted 90,000 buildings at high-risk status, with another 170,000 also vulnerable. It is too late for the southeast. Visiting the area, Erdogan appropriated the equivalent of $530 per affected household, guaranteed rent payments for homeless families, and pledged to rebuild the ruined cities within one year. Our geologists say this speed is not the solution, said Ekener, referencing the known fault lines. But it doesnt seem like they will be listened to. Even understandable reactions and stop-gap solutions are coming under criticism. Erdogan decreed that all universities will move to online education so that dormitories can receive the displaced. Ekener, also a drama professor at Marmara University, lamented the long-term impactfollowing COVIDfrom a cadre of medical and engineering students now three years without practical laboratory experience. The government has also gone after the contractors. More than 100 arrest warrants have been issued, with at least four arrests so far. One accused, detained while trying to leave the country, said his buildings were properly certified. What will happen if they confess to paying bribes? asked Ekener. We are very curious to see what will unfold. And the postponement of elections, while necessary, sparks his concern. The affected area voted 55 percent for Erdogan in 2018, but its rural and religiously conservative constituency has expressed much anger at the earthquake response. The constitution allows postponement of up to one year, but only in the case of war. An AKP official stated such documents are not sacred texts. Their own holy book makes many Turkish Protestants uncomfortable with this criticism, Ekener said. Every church prays faithfully for the president, and the great majority nurture a culture of spiritualrather than politicalfocus. And for those in the pews, the strident condemnation from opposition politicians makes them appear no different from those in charge. The Association of Protestant Churches (TeK) issued a request to all international volunteers. The church is sensitive to avoid holding to a specific political identity. It is extremely important, it stated, not to make any public critique that risks implying the church is partisan. We say, It is not a solution to blame anyone, Ekener said. The earthquake will not change this attitude. But the anonymous ministry leader thinks it may. On social media, he sees many Christians voice their complaint, no different than the average Turkish citizen. What keeps himand othersfrom speaking out publicly is fear. It is hard to be courageous in Turkey, especially if you are part of a minority group, he said. They can ruin your life. Ekener takes refuge not only in God, but in his nations secular system. Unlike previous governments, he said, the AKP follows constitutional guarantees of religious freedom and generally leaves the churches alone. TeK even publishes a yearly report on religious freedom violations. They are not afraid their rights will be taken away. We are a democratic country, and I criticize my government as a public citizen, not from my Christian faith, said Ekener. Some people talk, some dont. Canada considers allowing assisted suicide for children without parental consent A parliamentary committee has called for expanding Canada's assisted suicide program so that "mature minors" whose deaths are "reasonably foreseeable" be allowed to hasten their deaths without parental consent. The Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying presented its report last week for discussion in the House of Commons, recommending that minors should be eligible for doctor-assisted suicide. Minors "deemed to have the requisite decision-making capacity upon assessment" should be eligible for the country's Medical Assistance in Dying Program (MAID), the report states in a list of 23 recommendations. The committee urged the Canadian government to "undertake consultations with minors on the topic of MAID, including minors with terminal illnesses, minors with disabilities, minors in the child welfare system and Indigenous minors, within five years of the tabling of this report." The report also recommended that parental consent is not always necessary in certain cases if a minor is eligible for assisted suicide. "That the Government of Canada establish a requirement that, where appropriate, the parents or guardians of a mature minor be consulted in the course of the assessment process for MAID, but that the will of a minor who is found to have the requisite decision-making capacity ultimately take priority," Recommendation 19 in the report reads. While the report recommended expanding MAID to minors, it called for restricting it to only young people whose death is "reasonably foreseeable." The report did not propose an age limit for assisted suicide, stating "eligibility for MAID should not be denied on the basis of age alone." Regarding parental consent, the final report recommends parents be consulted "where appropriate." The majority of the committee's members called for the government to hold formal consultations with Canadians under 18 within the next five years and to provide funding for research into the issue of minors being eligible for MAID. In addition, the committee called for the creation of an independent expert panel to evaluate the criminal code provisions in MAID for "mature minors" within five years. Recommendation 22 calls on the Canadian government to "work with provinces and territories, regulatory authorities, provincial and territorial law societies and stakeholders to adopt the necessary safeguards for advance requests." Conservative members of Parliament objected to the proposal to expand MAID eligibility to minors, highlighting how decision-making capacities, even for mature young people, remain questionable. Citing Dr. Maria Alisha Montes, a clinical associate professor of pediatrics, the report states: "I would argue that MAID for mature minors carries the highest amount of risk, as the consequence is death." "It's irreversible," Montes wrote. "We need to ask ourselves if we should be legalizing this for mature minors when biology shows us that the ability to balance risks and rewards is one of the last areas of the brain to mature." As The Christian Post reported, Canada legalized doctor-assisted suicide in 2016 but was limited to citizens or permanent residents at least 18 years old with "a serious and incurable disease, illness or disability" that included "enduring and intolerable suffering." Canadian Parliament expanded the law in 2022 to patients with non-threatening physical disabilities, intending to offer assisted suicide to people with mental illness by March before the Canadian government announced a temporary delay in December. MAID provider Dr. Madeline Li, who has overseen hundreds of patients hasten their deaths through the program, recently expressed concerns that MAID has gone too far and is "missing fundamental safeguards for vulnerable people." In an op-ed published earlier this month by the Canadian magazine Maclean's, Li voiced disapproval towards offering assisted suicide to people with mental illnesses or patients with curable conditions that refuse care. The provider recalled a cancer patient determined eligible for MAID despite his condition having a 65% chance of a cure. The MAID assessors approved his case just because the patient declined care and had a "grievous and irremediable condition." "[I]t was irremediable because they didn't want the treatments available. That's what the law currently states: as long as the patient doesn't want the treatment, their condition is considered irremediable even if there are effective treatments," she wrote. "But not treating a cancer with such a high chance of cure goes against medical practice standards. The doctors involved had a lot of moral distress about this person's request for MAID. This person signed consent for me to share their story, but I feel differently about it than they did. They saw it as an expression of their autonomy; I saw it as dystopian." Canada wouldn't be the first country to legalize assisted suicide for minors, as the Netherlands and Belgium have allowed the practice. In the Netherlands, children 12 and older can request assisted suicide but must have parental consent unless they are 16 and older. In Belgium, children must have a terminal disease or be near death. They must also have the consent of their parents. Cedarville University students spread the spirit of revival at other college campuses Inspired by the revival worship at their campus, scores of students from Cedarville University in Ohio traveled to campuses across the region to proclaim the Gospel. Last week, following a Tuesday evening gathering of worship and prayer, students went to various college campuses to evangelize after being encouraged to do so by Cedarville University President Thomas White. Gabriel Cherry is a Cedarville student who attended the evening service. He helped organize an outreach trip to Michigan State University in East Lansing last Wednesday. In an interview with The Christian Post, Cherry said a friend felt especially compelled to go to MSU as that campus is grieving the aftermath of a mass shooting earlier this month that left three students dead. "We talked about it for a few minutes and felt convicted that we needed to find a team and go to MSU to love on a campus that was hurting. After all, what's the point of brokenness and darkness if it is not for the light to shine through?" said Cherry. "Over the next 14 hours, the Lord provided us with a 15-passenger van, a place to spend the night, a contact on campus at MSU, and 14 people willing to make the trip. It was clear that this was what we had to do." Cherry said six of the 14 who went on the trip were individuals he didn't know personally. The attendees had to go around the van to share their names after they left. The group left for MSU around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, arriving a few hours later as the campus community held a candlelight vigil in memory of those lost. "We met up with our contact on campus, who told us what was going on, and then we just started praying for the campus and walking up to people asking how they were doing. There were 18 people who we were able to pray for and get their names, who heard the Gospel in some way," Cherry told CP. "There were many sobering conversations that we had with students who were going through an unimaginable pain, but we were able to pray for them and encourage them in an eternal hope." Describing the trip as "incredible," Cherry noted that while "no salvation decisions were made on the spot, seeds were planted, and there was an overwhelming sense of gratitude that we were there just to love the students and community." "God's name was being lifted up in the midst of darkness, and the students were able to be encouraged, not by our efforts, but by the provision of the Lord," said Cherry. "We understand that the ministry at MSU is not over. Our trip was one instance where we were able to spread light on the campus, but it did not 'fix' everything. The names of the students are still being prayed for, and additional teams are planning to go to MSU to continue what we started." Cherry believes the trip to MSU was "a growing and humbling experience to see the Lord provide," saying that God "showed up in every way, including providing someone willing to open up their house that no one on the team had ever met." "It is sobering to return to campus after an experience like this, but I am excited to continue to pray for the campus, deepen the relationships that were created through this trip, and see what the Holy Spirit has for us next," he added. Christianna G. Galkin, another Cedarville student, went with friends to Ohio State University in Columbus, where they partnered with Rock City Church for worship. From there, they split off into small groups who went about OSU to evangelize and pray for people they encountered. "I personally interacted with several students and young professionals who were interested in sharing their story and hearing ours," Galkin told CP. "Many of those people allowed us to pray for tangible needs, such as exams the next morning or their search for a job or continued success in their field. We were also able to pray for their intangible needs, like their search for significance and community." Galkin "left encouraged that some were willing to listen about who Jesus is and engage in conversations about their own faith traditions." "I am praying that the Christian community at OSU would continue serving their community well with truth and love. I hope that by partnering with them in prayer and community outreach, we would all spend more time in prayer and intentional relationship-building," Galkin continued. "I am praying that the individuals we met at OSU would continue to search for the truth about God and His Word and that the Lord would bring them to Himself through future interaction with the message of the Bible. I am praying that, in hearing people openly talk about spiritual topics, students would consider their own spiritual state and seek help." In Christian tradition, revivals are gatherings where individuals come together for prayer and worship, with many seeking forgiveness, confession and sometimes conversion to Christianity. Earlier this month, the revival at Asbury University of Wilmore, Kentucky, appeared to spread to Cedarville. Cedarville President White described it to CP in an earlier interview as "a special outpouring and sensing of the presence of the Lord." According to White, the outpouring began during Cedarville's morning chapel service on Feb. 13, when approximately 1,000 of the 3,000 student attendees felt inspired to stay after the service ended to continue worshipping. After that, multiple services were held at the chapel, with hundreds of attendees. One service began at 8 p.m., technically concluding at 10 p.m., but continued for about another hour as students continued praying and worshipping. Regarding parallels between Asbury and Cedarville, White told CP that the outpouring at his university has not "been continuous" like at Asbury, adding that he felt God was "not working here the same way that He is working at Asbury." "He works in different places in different ways, and that's great," White continued. "We're just happy He's working all across the country." Were you there? Use #MyRevivalStory to share your story. Indonesia: Village official threatens Christians at Sunday service, demands they stop worshiping SURABAYA, Indonesia A local village official in Indonesia stopped a church service on Sunday in what became a mob intrusion, sources said. On western Indonesias Sumatra Island, the head of the Rukun Tetangga area of Rajabasa Jaya village, Wawan Kurniawan, leaped over a meter-high fence to intrude into the worship service of the Tabernacle of David Christian Church (Gereja Kristen Kemah Daud, or GKKD), sources said. The village is in the southeast corner of the island in Bandar Lampung Regency, Lampung Province. A video of the incident shows Wawan pushing away a pastor who tries to speak with him as the leader and a congregation member tell him they are in a house of God and are only praying. Ignoring the objections of church members and leaders, Wawan takes the pulpit and motions with his hand that the service is over. Some Christian women are later seen telling him, Be patient, be patient, sir, and Wawan appears to call someone stupid. A member of the congregation, Lina Sinambela, told Suara.com that Wawan threatened to bring in more people if the worship did not stop. He threatened with harsh words, asking the congregation who were worshiping to dissolve, Lina Sinambela said. [He said] if it doesnt, more people would be brought in, and then he threatened to weld [shut] the church gate. More area residents did arrive, she said. It happened suddenly, she reportedly said. A group of approximately 10 residents came to the church location and jumped off the fence asking for the service to be dissolved. Parlin Sihombing, chairman of the GKKD Church Construction Committee, told Suara.com that someone from the mob choked the pastors throat and told the congregation to leave. A resident came straight into the church and climbed onto the pulpit and choked the pastor, Parlin Sihombing reportedly said. The pastor suffered from a slight scar on his hand because he was trying to defend himself. The atmosphere was tense, and finally the congregation dispersed, and today we reported it to the authorities. Wawan later told local media outlet IDNTimes.com that he only meant to ask the congregation to refrain from worshiping there until they obtain a permit for their building. This is not a new problem, he told the outlet, saying the village head supports his actions. They have been carrying out worship activities there since 2014 even though there was no permit. Wawan said church Pastor Naek Siregar on Dec. 10, 2016, signed a statement pledging not to use the building until the church had a permit, according to IDNTimes.com. The outlet said the church has not met requirements to obtain a permit, but Parlin Sihombing told IDNTimes.com the congregation met requirements in their application. The church, whose building was constructed in 2009, applied for a permit for a place of worship in 2014, but officials have not responded, he said. He said the 2014 application included the approval of 75 area residents; 60 are required under Indonesias Joint Ministerial Decree of 2006. Parlin Sihombing said the number of congregation members has reached 100, also exceeding the required 90 members under the 2006 decree. He said the church was emboldened to continue worshiping after hearing President Joko Widodos speech in January on the rights of every citizen to worship. Appeal for help The Communion of Indonesian Churches (Persatuan Gereja Indonesia, or PGI), appealed for the state to intervene in the conflict. PGI asks the government and security forces not to allow cases like this to continue without firm and transparent legal action, PGI General Secretary Jacklevyn F. Manuputty said in press statement on Monday. The states inaction will result in the loss of state authority, the development of distrust, and the accumulation of friction at the grassroots level which can be ignited at any time by irresponsible people into open conflict. Manuputty said the states authority would fade if it allowed such incidents to continue, and that public trust would also decrease. PGI understands that there are rules that must be met in order to build a house of worship, Manuputty said. Even so, incomplete permits should not be an excuse for forcibly stopping an ongoing worship service, let alone since the dissolution was carried out in a very undignified way and caused terror and fear. Purna Irawan, head of the Bandar Lampung chapter of the Interreligious Communication Forum (Forum Kerukunan Umat Beragama), a government body, asserted that the incident was the result of a misunderstanding and had been resolved. It was just a miscommunication between the church and the local neighborhood, and it has been resolved amicably, Purna told Kompas.com, saying the conflict was rooted in a residential home being used for worship. Indonesia is ranked No. 33 on Christian support organization Open Doors 2023 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian. Indonesian society has adopted a more conservative Islamic character, and churches involved in evangelistic outreach are at risk of being targeted by Islamic extremist groups, according to Open Doors WWL report. If a church is seen to be preaching and spreading the gospel, they soon run into opposition from Islamic extremist groups, especially in rural areas, the report noted. In some regions of Indonesia, non-traditional churches struggle to get permission for church buildings, with the authorities often ignoring their paperwork. Jesus Revolution a real love story that brought Greg and Cathe Laurie to revival and each other The love story of Pastor Greg Laurie and his wife, Cathe, is depicted in the new film Jesus Revolution, and now, 50 years later, Cathe is reflecting on the long-lasting love that she encountered with both Jesus and her husband back during the revival of the 1970s. "Here we are 50 years later to have our young lives depicted in a major motion picture like this is really quite surprising for me, Cathe told The Christian Post in a video interview. I will be totally honest with you, I was a little terrified by the idea. In the beginning stages, when John Irwin was interviewing Greg and myself, he just wanted to know people who lived through this revival. Jesus Revolution, which is now showing in theaters nationwide, was inspired by the true story of the spiritual awakening that swept Southern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Kingdom Story film, in collaboration with Lionsgate, was directed by filmmakers Jon Erwin (I Can Only Imagine) and Brent McCorkle and produced by Kevin Downes. Erwin and Jon Gunn wrote the script after they decided to explore Greg and Cathe's love story with God and each other as a major premise of the film. "I'll be totally honest with you, I read the script and what these actors do when they bring the script to life is remarkable, because I was a little nervous reading, Cathe revealed. My parents are in this; my sister's life is in this. I'm willing, 'Here I am, Lord. Whatever you can use of me, I want to be available.' But at the same time, it is very personal. In the movie, the Lauries, who are best known for leading Harvest Christian Fellowship, represent a young, wayward generation that was lost. But after meeting Lonnie Frisbee, a charismatic hippie street preacher, this group finds themselves at the church of Pastor Chuck Smith which sparked this generation's Jesus movement. "It's remarkable because it shows what God can do when He breaks through to a generation, Cathe explained. It was not organized. It was not orchestrated by a particular parachurch group. It was not organized by a particular church. It was a spontaneous intervention, I believe, of the Holy Spirit into a generation that was lost and searching. Cathe has been praying to see that kind of revival breakthrough for subsequent generations. The film happens to be coming out at a time when her prayers are being answered. Earlier this month, at Asbury University, a small Christian college in Wilmore, Kentucky, a small chapel service turned into a continuous prayer and worship gathering where students and people worldwide have been praising and worshipping Jesus around the clock. The revival has now spread to other campuses, churches and schools across the United States. Jesus Revolution will now reach many others with a message of revival on the big screen. "It is a real love story. It's a love story with Jesus, and it's a love story between Greg and myself, and what God did in our lives, Cathe declared. When asked what she advised church leaders to do to reach this generation, the founder and director of Virtue, the women's ministry at Harvest Christian Fellowship, said genuinely living for Christ is what will reach others. "I think for us, first of all, we need to be authentically walking with Jesus, living in a real relationship with Him in order for us to communicate that to somebody else. And if it doesn't impact your joy, if it doesn't impact your compassion, if it doesn't impact your interest in outsiders, then I would question whether or not you're really living in that what we would call first love relationship with Jesus. And we need to return to that again and again and again, she advised. "Those of us that have been on the inside of church for a number of years, we can grow apathetic, we kind of have our little clique, we have our little group. We check the boxes. We go to church on Sunday, and we go out and we live our lives. But can I tell you, that kind of Christianity is not what reached me, Cathe explained. What reached me was a radical change in the person who was talking to me [who] was like, 'You have to hear what I'm going to say because this could change your life.' The California native said people cannot bring a move of God, but they can posture themselves in a way that allows God to do what He desires to do in the hearts of others. "We cannot bring revival on our own. It's not by might, nor by power, nor by an organization, nor by a movie, nor by a program that we change culture. We change culture as we live authentically and the Holy Spirit Himself has to invade people's hearts and minds, she declared. "We have to live authentically as Christians in a world that is watching and is very suspicious and as dismissed Christianity by in large, as judgmental and uncaring and hyper-political at times. We have to find ourselves living as Jesus did. Go back to the book of Acts, go back to the disciples, go back to Jesus life and His Words and His compassion for sinners. We need that in a world today where there's so much division and anger. Cathe and Greg have been married and working in ministry for almost 50 years. The success of their union throughout their time in ministry is credited to their intentionality of being one with Jesus and each other. "I wanted Jesus first and in my marriage, and over the years, I've always wanted to come back, time and time again, to Jesus at the center, Jesus in between the two of us holding us together, Cathe told CP. The Bible talks about how can two walk together except they be agreed. Also, it speaks about that if one falls down the other will pick them up. In the book of Ecclesiastes, it says that a threefold cord is not easily broken. Let Jesus be that third cord that is binding your hearts and calling you together. The mother of two sons their eldest, Christopher, tragically died in 2008, which inspired Greg Laurie to write a book to help those going through grief after suffering a loss, titled Hope for Hurting Hearts) said marriage over the years and ministry requires a bending in of your own desires, your own will, meeting your spouse in the middle with putting Jesus first. "This year, well celebrate 50 years of ministry as Greg and I enter into our 50th year of marriage. Over the stages of ministry, life and married life, God has continually been faithful to call us back to each other and to Himself, she noted. Whenever we began to sort of go off in our own selfish directions, He brings us back and we still are at that, still having to do that daily surrender. "Repentance is huge in marriage, [be] willing to say I'm sorry, I got that wrong. It was my fault. Cathe concluded her interview with CP by saying she doesn't always do things perfectly, but she and Greg desire to finish well. God will take you at your word if you're willing and you're saying, 'Lord, I want to finish well; I want my marriage to last. I want to build a legacy that I will not look back on and regret. I want this to stand the test of time,' she instructed. "If we build on the right foundation, we build on the rock of His word. He will do it. He is able! Jesus Revolution is now in theaters and stars five-time Emmy winner Kelsey Grammer, The Chosens Jonathan Roumie, Joel Courtney (Super 8), Kimberly Williams-Paisley (According to Jim), Anna Grace Barlow and Nicholas Cirillo. Tablets from Iraq reveal lost language of biblical Amorites, adversaries of the Israelites The existence of an ancient people who were frequent adversaries of the Israelites in the Old Testament has been corroborated by a pair of tablets from Iraq. While the Bible frequently speaks of the Amorites, a nomadic people believed to have lived around 3,000 years ago in the region currently known as Syria and Israel, researchers have found little evidence that the Amorites had a language of their own. Now, a research article titled Two Remarkable Vocabularies: Amorite-Akkadian Bilinguals from the Revue d'Assyriologie et d'Archeologie Orientale suggests that not only did an Amorite language exist, but it was possibly used as far east as ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). Researchers Manfred Krebernik, a professor and chair of ancient Near Eastern studies at the University of Jena in Germany, and Andrew R. George, an emeritus professor of Babylonian literature at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies, both of whom authored the study, told Live Science that some experts doubted whether the language even existed. "Our knowledge of Amorite was so pitiful that some experts doubted whether there was such a language at all," they told Live Science, adding: "the tablets settle that question by showing the language to be coherently and predictably articulated, and fully distinct from Akkadian. The Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS) notes that the researchers describe the pair of Old Babylonian tablets dating as far back as roughly 1894 BC as being inscribed with similar vocabularies and divided into two tablets. The right-hand columns are inscribed in the Akkadian language, while the language used in the left-hand columns is what researchers called North-West Semitic, with some admixture of Akkadian. The artifacts are believed to be what the BAS calls "unprovenanced objects" which were likely illegally taken from Iraq following the First Gulf War about three decades ago. Each tablet was found decades later in private collections, one in London and the other in New York, according to the Bradenton Herald. Further study of the tablets led researchers to the conclusion that the language is a variety of Amorite, similar in many ways to Ugaritic, Hebrew and Aramaic. According to BAS, while the first tablet contains lists of deities, constellations, food items and clothing, it also has a section written entirely in Amorite, while the second tablet has bilingual phrases in both Amorite and Akkadian. Researchers say in addition to offering further insight into when and where the languages were used, the tablets might also show a link between the Amorite language and the Canaanite language group, which also includes Hebrew and Moabite. The tablets are said to bear a striking resemblance to the Canaanite language used in the Amarna Letters from the 14th century BC, with some of the phrases nearly identical to modern Hebrew, according to BAS, which said the findings also show just how fluid linguistic barriers were in antiquity. Scholars say because the Amorite language was never as widely spoken as other languages, it never became the common written language in ancient Syria and Iraq, and may have instead functioned more like Aramaic did during the first millennium BC, known as the Neo-Assyrian period. Despite their biblical fate, the Amorites are referenced repeatedly in the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch or Torah. In the table of nations in Genesis 10, the Amorites are said to be descended from the line of Canaan, Noahs grandson. God would not permit Abram to destroy the Amorite nation because the nations sins were not yet full in Genesis 15:16. However, the Lord later told Abram that he would remove His protective hand from the Amorites. As the Israelites were taking the Promised Land, Joshua warned those in the land to choose this day whether they would serve the one true God or the false gods of the Amorites: Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:1415). The Amorites were eventually taken captive and forced into slavery under King Solomon in 1 Kings 9, before their final mention by the prophet Amos: And I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. Catholic bookstore sues city forcing businesses to use customers' preferred pronouns A Catholic bookstore is suing a Florida city over its anti-discrimination law, which the bookstore claims will force it to use the preferred pronouns of customers. Queen of Angels Catholic Bookstore filed a lawsuit against the City of Jacksonville on Wednesday for expanding its human rights ordinance to include protections for gender identity and sexual orientation. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division, the complaint accuses city leaders of passing the ordinance to "require businesses to address customers using their preferred pronouns and titles regardless of a customer's biological sex." "The law even prevents businesses from publishing 'any communication' a customer or government official might subjectively interpret as making someone feel 'unwelcome, objectionable, or unacceptable,' such as statements opposing gender-identity ideology," the lawsuit claimed. Queen of Angels and its owner Christie DeTrude are represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal nonprofit that has successfully argued religious liberty cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. ADF contends that DeTrude upholds "Catholic beliefs about gender and sexuality in her store and on the store's website" but is forbidden from doing so under Jacksonville's ordinance. Violations of the ordinance would leave DeTrude liable to pay fines and damages. ADF Legal Counsel Rachel Csutoros said in a statement Wednesday that "Americans should be free to say what they believe without fear of government punishment." "Christie, owner of Queen of Angels Catholic Bookstore, gladly serves everyone, but she can't speak messages that go against her religious beliefs," stated Csutoros. "Yet Jacksonville is illegally mandating Queen of Angels abandon its religious beliefs the very faith that motivates the store to open its doors to customers every day." In 2017, Jacksonville City Council voted to add sexual orientation and gender identity to its human rights ordinance, exempting businesses with fewer than 15 employees and religious groups. An appeals court panel struck down the amended ordinance, which concluded that the measure had not been adequately written out when it was initially passed. "Instead of setting out the full text of the amendments in context, the proposed ordinance stated that the City's office of general counsel would write the amended ordinance later," read the 2020 ruling, as quoted by News 4 Jax. "The only way to ensure clear, accurate, understandable, and uniform notice of proposed changes to a law or an ordinance is to put them in writing before enacting or adopting them in full text, in context, complete as if for immediate enforcement. Without all of that, an amendment is just an idea. Ideas alone are not enforceable." Jacksonville Councilman Aaron Bowman introduced a revised version of the measure. The council voted 15-4 to approve it in June 2020, with dissenting votes coming from Al Ferraro, Randy White, Sam Newby and Danny Becton. DOJ indicts 8 pro-life activists for obstructing Michigan abortion clinic A federal grand jury indicted eight people accused of blocking access to an abortion clinic in Michigan. Two defendants were indicted for allegedly doing the same to a second facility elsewhere in Michigan. In a statement, federal prosecutors announced indictments against activists Calvin Zastrow, Eva Zastrow, Justin Phillips, Heather Idoni, Chester Gallagher, Eva Edl, Caroline Davis and Joel Curry for holding an August 2020 blockade of an abortion clinic in Sterling Heights. The group was charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and engaging in a civil rights conspiracy, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Idoni and Edl were also charged with violating the FACE Act for their alleged connection to an April 2021 blockade of an abortion clinic in Saginaw. The indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges that on Aug. 27, 2020, all eight defendants engaged in a conspiracy to prevent the Sterling Heights clinic from providing, and patients there from receiving reproductive health services, stated the DOJ. Gallagher allegedly advertised the Sterling Heights clinic blockade on social media. He and Curry reportedly live-streamed the incident. The indictment also said that the defendants gathered at a location near the Sterling Heights clinic before going over to stand in front of the door and interpose. Passed by Congress in 1994, the FACE Act created federal penalties and civil remedies for any damaging or violent acts against reproductive healthcare providers and their patients. The Justice Department established the Task Force on Violence Against Health Care Providers in 1998, shortly after the murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian, an abortion provider based in New York. Although the act is traditionally used to protect abortion providers, two individuals were charged with violating the FACE Act in January in connection to the vandalism of three pro-life pregnancy care centers in Florida. The Justice Department also used the FACE Act to prosecute Catholic activist Mark Houck after he pushed an abortion clinic escort who harassed him and his son near a Philadelphia clinic. Houck was acquitted of the charges. In 2020, Phillips and Zastrow were part of a lawsuit against Detroit and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over the ticketing of pro-life activists demonstrating outside an abortion clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. U.S. District Court Judge Janet Neff issued an order in April 2020, noting that an agreement was made allowing for pro-life demonstrations during the lockdown period. Zastrow, Gallagher, Edl and Idoni were also among 11 people charged with violating the FACE Act for hosting pro-life actions against an abortion clinic in Tennessee. "The indictment alleges that, beginning in February 2021, Chester Gallagher utilized social media to promote a series of anti-abortion events scheduled for March 4-7, 2021, in the Nashville area," the DOJ stated last October. "On March 4, 2021, Coleman Boyd and Chester [Gallagher] advertised the blockade of the Carafem Health Center Clinic in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, which was planned for the following day." 'Jesus Revolution' star Jonathan Roumie on surrendering ego in ministry: Satan 'targets' those who proclaim God LOS ANGELES Jesus Revolution star Jonathan Roumie reflected on how God uses imperfect people to carry out His will and stressed the importance of surrendering ones ego, as Satan targets those who boldly proclaim Jesus name. The 48-year-old actor, best known for playing Jesus in The Chosen, stars as real-life evangelist Lonnie Frisbee in the forthcoming Lionsgate film Jesus Revolution. Based on a book by Harvest Pasto Greg Laurie, the film follows the Jesus Movement of the late '60s and '70s, when thousands of hippies came to know the Lord. A charismatic preacher, Frisbee played a key role in the Jesus Movement, partnering with Chuck Smith at Calvary Chapel (Kelsey Grammer) to attract young people into the congregation. The film highlights Frisbees positive impact, including how he mentored and championed a young Greg Laure (Joel Courtney). But it also depicts how, as the church grows bigger, Frisbees ego begins to blind him and causes conflict with Smith and eventually, ministry separation. First and foremost, he was driven by his love of the Lord, Roumie told The Christian Post at the red carpet premiere of the film. And then, as things got bigger, they just found themselves at the wrong end of a spiritual attack. And then his ego became a thing, but it didn't start out like that. He was as human as any one of us. I think the more powerful you are in the spirit world, in proclaiming God and looking to promote Jesus Christ, the bigger target you are for Satan, for the enemy, for the devil, because he doesnt want that. He wants nobody to praise Jesus and talk about God; he wants people just ignorant and ambiguous and lukewarm and unfaithful. Lonnie was the opposite of that. He was bold; he would just walk up to people on the beach and start preaching the Gospel, and he was mesmerizing. Because of the power that God gave him, he pulled people into church. He just had too many slings and arrows painted on him. After Frisbee and Smith parted ways, the former traveled to Florida and joined the Shepherding Movement. He would later help launch the Vineyard Movement, a neo-charismatic renewal in California. Later on in life, Frisbee lost his way, Roumie said, but eventually reconciled and returned to the church before he passed. He was an extraordinary man, Roumie said. He pointed out that just like Frisbee, Jesus used the disciples to proclaim His name yet Peter denied Him and Judas betrayed Him. They were all part of Jesus ministry handpicked by Jesus, but Scripture said that Satan entered into Judas and he betrayed Him and sent Him to His death, Roumie reflected. God uses anybody who is willing in any way that He wants. We cant put God in a box. Roumie is keenly aware of the platform he has and the calling God has placed on his life. The Chosen, a multi-season series on the life of Christ, has seen staggering success and propelled Roumie to the limelight. He's outspoken about his faith and the role it plays in his life. In January, he spoke at the March for Life and implied that abortion is satanic in nature. Though he sometimes gets flak for his boldness, Roumie told CP, Im not here to serve people, Im here to serve God. And I go where He leads me, and I do what He calls me to do and where He pushes me, even when its uncomfortable to do so. God called me to be at the March for Life, and I was like, Really God? You want me to put my hat in this ring? Id never done that before, he continued. And He said, Just trust me. A lot of people need to hear the things Im going to have you say. I said, OK, and I did, and I couldn't have had a better experience and I wouldnt take it back. Id do it all over again. Any time Ive committed myself to following Gods voice as best I can hear it, my expectations have been more than surpassed. And playing Frisbee in Jesus Revolution," Roumie said, made him even more aware of the power of the Holy Spirit. The film shows how Frisbee carried out acts of healing and could sense when others were struggling, both physically and mentally. "To me, like, having that kind of charism and studying this movement and ... the kinds of congregations that really put this priority on the fact that everyone has this potential to have this within them as a Christian and called to witness to it, it wasn't anything that I had known about previously," Roumie said. "I wasn't aware of the movement until I got the script and started studying and thought, wow, this is, this is hugely impactful. So it got me more curious about this kind of testimony, this kind of expression of faith. Through his work, Roumie said he hopes to encourage others to put God at the center of their lives, especially in a society that would have people believe otherwise for all sorts of reasons. I think finding examples of faith and inspiration in their lives, and then modeling themselves after a life akin to a disciple of Christ, this is something that it's only going to improve your life, he said. The actor revealed that when he personally surrendered his ego and the things he thought were important in his life and put God front and center, everything changed. My career changed, my life changed, the things that were important to me changed only for the better. Everything's only gotten better, he said. I haven't been spared from struggle and trial and suffering, like anyone else. That's just part of the human condition. But now I have a sense of trust that I didn't have before; just implicit trust that it's going to be OK. And inevitably, it always is. And that's what you get from making God the center of your life. Jesus Revolution is directed by Jon Erwin and Brent McCorkle, and scripted by Erwin and Jon Gunn. Producers are Kevin Downes, Jon Erwin, Andrew Erwin, Daryl Lefever, Joshua Walsh and Jerilyn Esquibel. Lionsgate opens it Friday only in theaters. Journalists mourn as reporter is fatally shot, colleague injured at crime scene in Florida Journalists, media workers and well-wishers from around the country mourned the loss of a Spectrum News 13 reporter fatally shot Wednesday while covering a murder scene in Pine Hills, Florida. Spectrum News 13 identified the dead reporter as Dylan Lyons, 24. Photojournalist Jesse Walden was also critically injured. Sheriff John W. Mina of the Orange County Sheriff's Office said Lyons was with a news crew at around 4 p.m. on Wednesday to cover the murder of 38-year-old Nathacha Augustin, who was found shot earlier that morning. While Lyons and Walden were in or near a vehicle, 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, the suspect in Augustin's murder, returned to the scene and opened fire on them. Police have since detained him. "We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today. Our thoughts are with our employee's family, friends and co-workers during this very difficult time," Spectrum News said in a statement Wednesday night. "We remain hopeful that our other colleague who was injured makes a full recovery. This is a terrible tragedy for the Orlando community." Lyons' death triggered an outpouring of condolences and grief from well-wishers, his family, and members of the media. "Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted Wednesday night. "Our hearts are also with the other shooting victims today, their families, and the entire community. Too many lives are being ripped apart by gun violence." Lyon's fiancee, Casey Lynn, said she lost the "love of my life." "The love of my life was murdered," she tweeted Thursday morning. "I will never be the same person ever again. Please help my family and I during this time." In a GoFundMe campaign seeking to raise $25,000 for his funeral, the reporter's older sister, Rachel Lyons, said her brother was a "happy soul" who was "taken too early." "He was an acting father to his niece and nephew who he loved so much. He loved his fiance and was a devoted son to his mother and father. Dylan would have been 25 years old in March. He was a happy soul and wonderful person in life," she wrote. "My brother was our baby. He was taken too early from us." University of Central Florida journalism professor Rick Brunson told WFTV 9 that when Lyons was a student at the school, he was president of the Radio TV and Digital News Association. His LinkedIn page shows that he graduated in 2019 with a degree in journalism and political science. He also pursued a graduate degree in criminal justice. Brunson, who went to the hospital to support the reporter's family, said Lyons was passionate about his work because he wanted to make a difference. "He loves journalism, and he loves it because of the difference that he always feels like he can make in whatever community he's in by being on the street with a microphone and a photographer, and telling the stories of the community he's in," Brunson explained. "That's what he's about, and that's why I'm here." Erik Sandoval of News 6 recalled how hard Lyons had worked to achieve his professional goals. "I met Dylan during his senior year at UCF. He was our intern at News 6. He spent many nights with me and my photographer as we reported for the 11 pm news. Dylan wanted so badly to be a broadcast journalist. He was excited for his future, and we were excited for him," Sandoval wrote in a Facebook post. "When I saw him last year at an awards ceremony (where he won), I gave him a huge hug. Dylan was talented. Dylan was electric. Dylan had a future. My heart goes out to his family, my colleagues at Spectrum News 13 and his fiance. This shouldn't have happened." Other journalists, like Kirstin Garriss, said even though she didn't know Lyons, she was moved by his death because it's something that could happen to any reporter. "While I didn't know Dylan personally, he was doing was something that wasn't uncommon with the job something I've done countless times. As reporters, we go into the community to cover stories and we often work on scene in our news cars. We know our jobs can be dangerous but we assume we'll make it home," she wrote on Facebook. "Last night, one of our own didn't make it home to his family. Please keep this family and the entire Orlando community in your prayers. Today, we are all News13." SBC Expels Saddleback Church, Lauren Daigle Surprises American Idol Contestant, Ohio Train Derailment Spills Toxic Chemicals link to download the audio instead. link to download the audio instead. 07:26 07:26 Top headlines for Thursday, February 23, 2023 The Southern Baptist Convention has decided to cut ties with Saddleback Church, one of the largest churches in the United States, and four other churches over their decision to elevate women to the office of pastor. Apologist and author Ray Comfort is releasing a new book this month that explains why a healthy fear of the Lord is a key component of prayer. "Jesus Revolution" director Jon Erwin and Pastor Greg Laurie reflect on God's divine hand over the film and how its release coincides with a series of revivals happening on college campuses across the United States. More than a week after a train derailment caused a leakage of toxic chemicals in eastern Ohio, questions remain about the air and water safety for millions living in the Ohio River Basin after state and federal authorities claimed the burning of chemicals poses no threat. Does the Holy Spirit depart from us when we grieve Him? When I was a young believer, I was often told that as soon as a Christian sins, the Holy Spirit walks out on the individual. This belief has made me feel empty whenever I did anything contrary to the Word of God. I was told by my pastor that the Holy Spirit does not dwell in any vessel that is not pure or holy. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:13). This verse was often used to teach that the Spirit abandons us whenever we grieve Him. If the Holy Spirit angrily departs from us when we grieve Him, what hope do we have as believers? Christ called the Holy Spirit the Helper. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you (John 14:26). We need help from God especially when we fall into sin. If our Helper abandons us in the moment of darkness, then He is not the Spirit of God. The Scripture says, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (Romans 8:1). The truth is, there are only two categories of people in this world: Christians who walk by the Spirit and those who walk by the flesh. Those who walk by the flesh are condemned because the Holy Spirit does not dwell in so-called fleshy Christians. "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God" (Roman 8:14). Unfortunately, there are people who claim to be Christians who are led purely by their flesh. There is a great difference between falling into sin and living in sin. The Holy Spirit will walk away from Christians who habitually live in sin and use the grace of God as a license to sin. But those who are led by Him, who deviate from Gods law, are always restored and receive forgiveness. David was afraid that God would take away the Holy Spirit from him: Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me (Psalm 51:11). David committed murder and adultery and realized his mistakes and cried unto God for forgiveness. David requested that God should create in him a new heart. He realized what lust has done to him and desired to make immediate restitution. He asked God not to cast him out and not to take the Holy Spirit from him, and God answered his prayer. What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? (Romans 6:1). Inasmuch as we believe that we are eternally sealed by the Holy Spirit, we should strive to please Him by shunning fleshy desires, walking after Him and allowing Him to lead us in all we do. FBI's memo of 'radical Catholics': Abhorrent targeting of unpopular beliefs In another stunning revelation about government overreach, a whistleblower exposed an internal FBI memo identifying Radical Traditional Catholicism (RTC) as a potential breeding ground for terrorists or what they call, Racially Motivated Violent Extremists (RMVE). By way of background, the governments definition of a violent extremist is the following: US-based actors who conduct or threaten activities that are dangerous to human life in violation of the criminal laws intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, and influence the policy of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping As a subject matter expert in this field, I know firsthand that the government decided on the expression violent extremist to avoid associating the religion of Islam with terrorism. It was also helpful because it was broad enough to encompass those who committed ideologically motivated violence for many other reasons, including racial superiority or the protection of animal rights. In the field of counter-terrorism, it is grossly inappropriate to directly associate an entire religious group with violence because a single member or group of individuals engage in criminal behavior. The FBI, in particular, has a legal prohibition against targeting individuals based on religious beliefs. This memo includes a warning to that effect: Potential criminality by certain members of a group referenced herein does not negate the constitutional rights of the group itself or its members. The FBI does not investigate, collect or maintain information on US persons solely for the purpose of monitoring activities protected by the First Amendment. Despite the warning, this FBI analyst provides an inflammatory definition of Radical Traditional Catholic doctrine to supposedly educate the reader about why its members are potentially dangerous. RTCs are typically characterized by a rejection of the Vatican II; disdain for most of the popes elected since and frequent adherence to anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ and white supremacist ideology. Citations include several left-leaning news articles and the often biased research of the Southern Poverty Law Center. There is no evidence that this religious group has committed a single act of violence. The author also acknowledges this memo is the first to identify the RTCs as a threat. The accusations made in this document were so alarming I looked up the organizations and doctrine for myself. As a disclaimer, I have no personal knowledge or experience with the divisions in the Catholic church and its doctrine. However, I did spend most of my professional career researching ideologically motivated violence. I can recognize when a group uses inflammatory language to incite followers into criminal behavior. After reading and listening to several of the groups listed in the memo, it is shocking that the FBI legal counsel approved this document as credible. To summarize, most groups dubbed RTCs are upset with how Vatican II abolished many of the ancient practices that survived centuries. They felt like subsequent Catholic leadership was throwing away long-held traditions, which included the Latin mass. They see it as a breakdown of the traditional Catholic values on everything from gender relations to sexual promiscuity and even abortions. Another theme amongst these RTC groups is a rejection of the post-Vatican II movement towards ecumenicalism, which claims all religions are equal and worship the same God. It fails to acknowledge the primacy of Jesus Christ for salvation or his Lordship. Many of the debates between Catholic scholars on the future direction of the church sound very similar to the ones we have in mainstream churches across America. The concern over corrupt cultural norms seeping into the church is happening everywhere, regardless of denomination. One organization posted content about the historical conflict between Judaism and Catholicism to justify their objection to improved relations between the two communities. Their reasoning stems from the crucifixion of Jesus and the subsequent persecution of the Church. It is a religious conflict that dates back 2,000 years. As despicable as these ideas may be, the groups did NOT advocate violence whatsoever and made no association with being white or with racially motivated groups like the KKK. In fact, white nationalist groups historically despise Catholics as much as they do Jews or Blacks, so associating these two movements together is ridiculous. Furthermore, to claim that a traditional Catholic opposed to liberalism means that a person is an antisemite is a gross misstatement of the ideas and principles behind conventional Catholicism. Thankfully, 20 Attorney Generals from around the country wrote a scathing letter to the DOJ and FBI condemning the unconstitutionality of the focus on one religious community based on its beliefs and the suggestion to cultivate spies inside the Catholic church who can report on their activities. Though the FBI claims it has retracted the memo, the letter dismisses that action as simply a ruse to cover up its already committed malfeasance. The signatories demanded accountability to ensure the Catholic community was not persecuted or subject to bias and hostility within the FBI. It is important for all Americans, especially the Church, to realize that everyone is a potential target once the government starts characterizing deeply held religious beliefs as the impetus for violence. Many people dismissed the overly aggressive targeting of January 6 attendees because it was associated with Trump, whom they disliked anyways. However, this memo demonstrates that if our government decides to investigate a group of people based on their unpopular beliefs, all Bible-believing Christians may be in danger one day. Americans take pride in protecting religious liberty as the cornerstone of our society. It is abhorrent for any branch of the US government to behave contrary to that principle. Nightmare in Calif. jail: Imprisoning women with 6'5'' male murderer If youve ever wondered what a godless society devoid of everything good and decent looks like, what follows is a snapshot of the worlds largest womens prison, Central California Womens Facility. Based on daily reports I receive from my sisters inside (I was formerly incarcerated), I no longer recognize the prison or the culture of psychological terror they are being forced to adopt. Currently, under the implementation of The Transgender Respect, Agency and Dignity Act, males, including hardened criminals, are permitted to self-identify as the opposite sex and are allowed to transfer to prison facilities based on their chosen gender identity. Any rational person can see the intentional indifference of Californias lawmakers efforts to prioritize predators. This recently enacted law does not even require a male inmate to take cross-sex hormones or have sexual reassignment surgery prior to transfer. A good friend of mine, Cathleen, whom I met many years ago while in prison, is firmly standing on her Christian faith, and she is paying for it dearly. Her freedom, her civil liberties, and her right to the pursuit of happiness that she earned back after serving decades in prison have recently evaporated. As I explained during the bonus episode of The Christian Posts podcast series Generation Indoctrination and will again next month in Dallas at CPs public event, what she and others are enduring is a nightmare. Cathleens ordeal is a case study of what incarcerated women regularly experience in this morally convoluted, torturous environment. Cathleen was found suitable for parole by the board of parole at hearings last year. It is always a time of celebration when a person is granted parole, especially when they have worked hard for it. I met Cathleen in the honor dorm in 2009 where she still lived until very recently. A trans-identified male and self-proclaimed satanist that transferred from the mens prison violated her privacy many times by entering the toilet when she was in the stall. In the months before this incident, another woman from a different prison yard told me about this same guy, that he is 65 and is a big dangerous man who was convicted of murder 40 years ago, and killed another inmate while he was in the mens prison. I was and still am scared to death of this man. I was afraid to report him to the guards, she added. Others noticed what was happening, and they decided to submit inmate complaints together. None of these women were prepared for the psychological warfare that ensued as the predator is a skilled manipulator who has had approximately 40 years to perfect his craft. After receiving a tip from a confidential informant that the three women who used the correct avenue to voice their concerns were in danger, all three were arrested for their own safety and taken to administrative segregation. All three of these women were honor dorm residents with jobs and records free of write-ups, which is required for them to live in the honor dorm, unless one transferred from a mens prison which was set forth under Californias law, SB 132. After being released from segregation, the women received serious rules violations for false reporting and harassment. Cathleen was then referred to an en banc hearing either by the Decision Review Unit or the Governor, because of the new information about her rule violations. En banc hearings are open to the public and give supporters and those in opposition to a persons release an opportunity to speak. Her hearing was full of formerly incarcerated women who served many years together, some of whom guided me and mentored me during my time in prison. Employment and housing were secured for her and peer support was available from some of the most notable and successful ex-lifers in California. But Cathleens parole grant was vacated and the panel voted to reverse her suitability grant. She was ordered a new hearing as her serious rules violations were still pending as she was not yet found guilty of anything. Months later, the false reporting violations were all dropped. Cathleen was later found not guilty of harassment. The lieutenant who heard her on the write-up told her that not only did she do nothing wrong, but that, in fact, she did exactly what she was supposed to do in such circumstances. This was encouraging news given how emotionally traumatic this process can be and she was eager to know what the next step was regarding her grant reinstatement. Every step is like free-falling in the gamble for potential freedom. At her next legal visit, her attorney urged her to write an open letter of apology to the male predator who violated her privacy and to apologize specifically for her ignorance and transphobia that stemmed from her religious upbringing. She was advised to focus on her unwillingness to see the other person, a dangerous male felon, as a woman. She was advised to use words like "unwilling" rather than "unable to show that she made a choice instead of using words like "lack of knowledge/understanding" because "I don't know" is deemed less accountable than apologizing. She was also advised to own her part in the harm she caused and add: "Today, I have done the work to understand more deeply what your identity means and I have more knowledge about the issues you face as a transgender woman. She was told to reflect on the negative impact her actions had on the transgender community as a whole and to commit to using correct gender pronouns and even correcting her peers when they harmfully refer to a male-bodied inmate as he. They even suggested she express a willingness to use her cis-gendered privilege to create a reverse ripple effect in support of the transferred inmates from the mens prison. In addition to her basic dignity as a woman being violated, Cathleens Christian faith is also on trial. Hebrews 13:3 reminds us to [c]ontinue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering, and that certainly applies here. Cathleen is not only being mistreated but is being denied her freedom and liberty because she refuses to bow down to the god of gender. Her commitment to withstand this darkness has bolstered my faith and I believe the Lord will somehow redeem this terrible situation. Im praying that it inspires her fellow inmates, my friends, to continue to remain steadfast amid these ongoing horrors. To the Body of Christ, please hear me: Cathleens ordeal is not limited to the prison context and she is far from the only one enduring this cruel abuse. This savagely evil exploitation of the vulnerable that is being allowed to flourish in Chowchilla prison (CCWF) is what is to come for us if we do not stop what is happening to these incarcerated women who are precious to Jesus. This is the fate we are sealing for ourselves if we do not actively protect the least of these. A visit with ADAM From painting and sculpture, to decorative and digital arts, this rule-bending Christie's exhibition accesses the brilliant eye of a legendarily prescient collector, gallerist and curator In a 2010 profile in The New York Times, ADAM declared contemporary art a wild bet on the future. This was at the end of a decade in which he collected many of the most emblematic art and design trophies of the day. Now, a rare selection of those contemporary masterworks is on offer in an eponymous evening sale at Christies in New York. ADAM has never shied away from boldly championing new talent and betting on the most ambitious, pathbreaking art, often at an institutional scale. Highlights from his personal collection represent pivotal moments in the careers of the artists who created them, working at the height of their powers, works that have come to define the artists oeuvres. On 9 March 2023, 37 objects will be offered at Christies in New York as part of ADAM: Works from the Collection of Adam Lindemann, with a portion of proceeds earmarked to support the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing for art of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa, the Pacific Islands, and North, Central and South America at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. ADAM, New York, 2023 Adam Lindemann is a person with a breadth of interests, an appreciation for depth of knowledge, and a trailblazer who embraces the unconventional and yet recognises creations of enduring power. Those qualities led him to his appreciation of the beauty, complexity, and diversity of the collections and program based in the Met's Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, says Alisa LaGamma, Ceil and Michael E. Pulitzer Curator in Charge of The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. We are thrilled that he was among the first donors to pledge his support for the naming of one of those new spaces under way. From Richard Princes painted El Camino to Beeples erotic NFT portrait of Madonna, highlights of ADAM will included coveted works that surprise and challenge, among them a monumental Paul McCarthy phallic sculpture and an enchanting and enigmatic small painting by the late Lebanese author and artist Etel Adnan. Both low to high I always aspired to collect works of historic impact, once-in-a-lifetime objects that define not only a great collection, but also the art of connoisseurship, ADAM tells Christies. While [people are] rushing for the newest thing that everyone else wants, Im going for the works that no one else is really paying attention to, the art and design that the worlds most insightful and daring museum curators are looking at. Jeff Koons (b. 1995), Ushering in Banality, 1988. 38 x 62 x 30 in (96.5 x 157.5 x 76.2 cm). Polychromed wood. Sold for $3,900,000 in ADAM: Works from the Collection of Adam Lindemann on 9 March 2023 at Christies in New York. Jeff Koons In the ADAM sale, Jeff Koonss Ushering in Banality (1988) is a perfect example of that collecting principle. This sculpture is the key work in a landmark series that came to define the artists entire practice and secured his place in art history, he says. In a sense, Koonss entire oeuvre is about the banality of the everyday. Here, he elevates a commonplace figurine from the depths of mass averageness to the pinnacle of high art, pointing to the slippery line that separates kitsch and genius. ADAMs special talent for mixing genres is seen throughout the sale. A Calder masterpiece lives with a grade society figure from Vanuatu and a 1960s Andy Warhol Electric Chair in a meditation on power and godliness. Rudolf Stingels Untitled (2010), a monumental canvas in gold, represents a rethinking of the monochrome in contemporary art and exemplifies this celebrated artists greatest triumph. In the words of ADAM, When 21st century art history is written, Stingels great contribution will be noted in his reinterpretation of the monochrome paradigm that has coursed through the centuries, and hell join the ranks of predecessors Robert Ryman and Ellsworth Kelly. Urs Fischer (b. 1973), last supper, 2014. 57 x 302 x 58 in (144.8 x 767.1 x 147.3 cm). Cast bronze and stainless steel armature, in three parts. Sold for $1,008,000 in ADAM: Works from the Collection of Adam Lindemann on 9 March 2023 at Christies in New York. Urs Fischer. Courtesy of the artist and Gagosian. Photographer: Stefan Altenburger Urs Fischers last supper (2014) offers another striking example of an artist defying and reworking artistic convention. Based on a clay sculpture originally finished by the museum audience at MOCA in Los Angeles in 2013 as part of his YES series, this bronze cast reworks Warhols famous reinterpretation of Leonardo Da Vinci. In Fischers three-dimensional version, the original bread and wine of Christ and his disciples have become McDonalds French fries and cans of beer. Along the table are scatterings of half-eaten fruit, chicken bones and a wad of cash, in a brilliant commentary on the gradual but inevitable consumption and digestion of even the most exalted masterpieces of the past. Combining design and architecture The ADAM sale mingles painting and sculpture with classic icons of 20th century decorative art by such legends as Jean Royere and Pierre Paulin, capturing the unique atmosphere of the collectors own private residence itself a famous work of contemporary architecture. In 2007, ADAM commissioned British-Ghanaian architect David Adjaye to design his first building in Manhattan. An abandoned Park Avenue carriage house was demolished to make way for the six-story House for a Collector. Hidden behind the original 1897 carriage house facade is a poured in place concrete interpretation of Marcel Breuers original Whitney Museum building, Adjayes architecture is a radical structure akin to a private museum one can fully inhabit. Here, ADAMs approach to collecting flourished in an environment that encourages dialogue between art, architecture, design and the historic arts of Africa and Oceania, another of ADAMs longstanding passions. The exterior of Adam Lindemanns home designed by David Adjaye, New York, 2011. Photograph: Robert Polidori The complete, iconic Ours Polaire (polar bear) sofa set by Royere, on offer in ADAM, is the only lime green (vert delave) set in its original and unrestored fabric (tissue dorigine) a true standout in the canon of existing, complete Royere sets. With full provenance stretching back to the original owner in the 1950s, this grouping stands apart as an undisputed treasure of the sale. Its completely original and in a unique, amazing coloura holy grail for a true connoisseur collector, says ADAM. Rudolf Stingel (b. 1956), Untitled, 2010. 130 x 185 in (330.2 x 469.9 cm). Oil and enamel on canvas. Sold for $1,740,000 in ADAM: Works from the Collection of Adam Lindemann on 9 March 2023 at Christies in New York. Photo by Rob McKeever. Courtesy Gagosian The interesting and unexpected This emphasis on singularity is another tenet of the ADAM approach, one that is embodied by Damien Hirsts 1997-1998 The Sleep of Reason, the most important of the artists famous Medicine Cabinets. Here, Hirst raises questions about obsolescence, decay and death which constitute the core of his practice. Hirsts prized early works of this period are also in a direct dialogue with minimalism, evoking but critiquing the achievements of such masters as Donald Judd and Sol Lewitt, while maintaining an active dialogue with Pop Art. This monumental cabinet is one of the original three installation sculptures that defined Hirsts infamous Pharmacy restaurant in London; the other two examples remain in the personal collection of the artist himself and a European museum, respectively. Damien Hirst (b. 1965), The Sleep of Reason, 1997-1998. 98 x 144 x 11 in (249 x 368 x 28.6 cm). Glass, stainless steel, steel, nickel, brass, rubber and pharmaceutical packaging. Sold for $2,220,000 in ADAM: Works from the Collection of Adam Lindemann on 9 March 2023 at Christies in New York. Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2022 From Takashi Murakami to Wade Guyton and Richard Prince, I was once told that your collection is a picture of yourself, of who you are as a person, if its done properly, ADAM explains. I value originality and love surprises. Whether it is an Andra Ursuta or a Ducati, I want this sale to capture that spirit some blue chips masterpieces, some potent niche highlights and a touch of the unexpected. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Sorry, no valid subscriptions were found for this Publication. Please select from an option below to start a subscription. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 24 Hour Access Job Description Background UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks. Organizational Context This position is located in the Security Unit consisting of 8 (eight) Security Guards. Security Guard duties are performed in eight (8) or twelve (12) hour rotating shifts which are covering posts on 24/7 basis. Under the guidance and supervision of the UN House Security Guard/Security Team Leader as direct supervisor and the Operations Manager, as secondary supervisor, the Security Guard provides reliable security services ensuring protection of UN House personnel and premises. The Security Guard demonstrates a client-oriented approach, high sense of responsibility, courtesy, tact and the ability to work with people of different national and cultural backgrounds, surveillance skills on video cameras, efficient response to incidents. Scope of Work Security Guard will be performing variety of tasks while ensuring Safe and Secure environment for UN House personnel and assets. Detail Security Guard duties are defined in standing Standard Operating Procedures and other relevant security plans. Following sections describe general Security Guard duties but they are not limited to them: 1. Access Control 2. Control Center 3. Emergency Response More specifically: 1. Access Control Perform the pedestrian access control to the UN House facilities ensuring that all personnel and visitors desiring access are properly identified, screened and directed: Control admissions of authorized personnel and movements of United Nations property into and out of the premises; Control entry of employees, requesting identification from those not known or recognized; Receive and control visitors; Enter their names in the Visitors Log and inform by telephone the office or person to be seen; Visitor is either escorted or, in some cases, instructed how to reach the appropriate office; Receive notification calls when visitors leave offices and register time of their departure from the building; Ensure that all visitors depart in timely manner, after notification of visit termination. When assigned at the UN House pedestrian entrance (LGF Post 1), the Security Guard controls the entry of UN House employees, day laborers, and visitors, ensuring no contraband or unauthorized items are brought into the UN House compound. The incumbent maintains a log of visitors and monitors closed-circuit video cameras (CCTV) for potential problems. Incumbent also issues and keeps track of visitor badges and keys to the UN House unrestricted areas, ensuring both are returned in a timely manner. After working hours, the incumbent will occasionally transfer calls to appropriate mission personnel. This post operates 24 hours a day. The Security Guard identify the suspect persons and objects and timely report about the incidents to supervisor. Take in immediate security measures in ad hoc incidents. Perform the vehicular access control to the UN House facilities ensuring that official, staff and visitor vehicles desiring access are properly identified, inspected and directed. This post operates 24 hours a day: When assigned to the vehicle screening area, the guard will thoroughly inspect each incoming vehicle, opening the gate only for vehicles authorized compound access; Security Guard will randomly conduct explosives tests of vehicles; In bomb alert incidents in the town, the incumbent will increase control of checking entering car in the compound with the special mirror. Ensure that no unauthorized personnel gain access to UN House facilities. Ensure that all persons entering or removing equipment from UN House premises present the equipment and valid document in which this action is duly authorized. Ensure that all packages and briefcases of all visitors are opened and inspected on entry. Conduct patrolling of entire UN House and its inner, outer perimeter and parking area in front of the compound, including overnight guard duties, and reports any irregularities. Conduct physical security checks of compound and offices ensuring that they are properly secured. Check that all office equipment, air conditioners, lights, etc. are turned off after the working hours. Use of technical screening equipment to prevent prohibited items from entering the facility. Use of variety access control technical equipment. Maintain control of the emergency key system and its log sheet. Implement all related and prescribed technical and nontechnical measures. 2. Control Center Maintaining operation of the security control center. Monitor and control following: UN House Emergency Line and Panic Button; Public Address System; Video Surveillance System; Intrusion Detection System; Fire Safety and Suppression System; Electronic door locking/access control system; VHF working channel for d/s Area; Be familiar with existing procedures and comply with them. 3. Emergency Response Act as a response officer during any emergency or incident and promptly report to the Supervisors. Be familiar with emergency procedures and all issued Security Standard Operating Procedures and Contingency plans. Implement UN House emergency procedures and measures in case of such event. Know how to properly employ firefighting equipment should a fire be discovered on premises. Respond to emergencies affecting the safety and security of UN House personnel, visitors, assets and facilities by following the authorized emergency procedures and notifying the Supervisors. Institutional Arrangement Direct supervisor: UN House Security Guard/Security Team Leader and UNDP Operations Manager. Competencies Core Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination Cross-Functional & Technical competencies Business Management Customer Satisfaction/Client Management Ability to respond timely and appropriately with a sense ofg urgency, provide consistent solutions, and deliver timely and quality results and/or solutions to fulfill and understand the real customers needs. Ability to anticipate clients upcoming needs and concerns. Business Management Evaluation Ability to make an independent judgement based on set criteria and benchmarks. Business Management Communication Ability to communicate in a clear, concise and unambiguous manner both through written and verbal communication; to tailor messages and choose communication methods depending on the audience. Security Services Security incident management and monitoring Ability to provide adequate response to security incidents/events Security policies Security policy awareness and implementation Knowledge of security policy concepts and ability to apply to strategical and/or practical situations Security services Safety management (including Air, road, Fire) Knowledge of air, road and fire safety programmes/systems and ability to assess risks and identify mitigation measures Security Services Physical/premises security design, implementation and management Ability to conduct accurate premises assessments on UN facilities to ensure appropriate mitigation measures are in place. Ability to design, support and test physical security systems for UNDP premises. Minimum Qualifications of the Successful NPSA Min. Education requirements Batchelor degree or High School certificate with minimum 3 years of professional experience in providing security services in police, military or other governmental, private or international organization. Min. years of relevant work experience Minimum 3 years (with High School certificate) of professional experience in providing security services in police, military or other governmental, private or international organization. Required skills Knowledge of Windows and MS Office applications. Ability to manage the security system including CCTV, Access control and fire-alarm system. Desired skills Driving license is an advantage. Proven work experience as a Security Guard with an international organization or Embassy is an asset. Previous experience with: Technical protection equipment, Radio and other Telecommunication Equipment is an asset. Required Language(s) Fluency in Romanian and working knowledge of English is required. Working knowledge of one or more additional languages relevant for Moldova, including Russian, Bulgarian, Gagauzian, Romani, Ukrainian or sign language would be an asset. Professional Certificates Relevant training and professional accreditation in security field is an asset. The following documents shall be required from the applicants: a) Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least three (3) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers. b) A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position. Disclaimer Applicant information about UNDP rosters Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements. Scam warning The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web. Data de incheiere a postului vacant: 9 March 2023 Pentru a aplica, va rugam sa adresati link-ul: http://bit.ly/3ILL9WE Primeste notificari pe email Nota bene: Adresele email cu extensia .ru nu sunt acceptate. Contractare si Achizitie Bunuri Anunturi de Angajare Granturi - Finantari Burse de studiu Stagii Profesionale Oportunitati de voluntariat Toate Articolele Job Description Background UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks. The Swiss-UNDP project Resilient, Inclusive Markets in Moldova (RIM) is set to contribute to the promotion of integrated approaches to inclusive and sustainable local economic development and employment creation, in partnership with ILO and SDC, targeting both local populations, as well as returning migrants and refugees. Previous and ongoing SDC UNDP efforts to address the positive impact of migration and engage migrants in local socio-economic development, along with design and piloting of local economic developments models and partnerships shaped a favorable enabling environment to expand the current work and take it to another level. In this context, Moldova has a number of comparative advantages that can be harnessed to steam up the growth, broaden its geography, and make it more socially inclusive. In order to do so, UNDP Moldova will further advance the successful LED interventions by scaling up the focus from local to (micro)-regional, while at the same time leveraging revenue generation, strengthening business support services and value chains to increase the competitiveness of local economy, retention of human capital and facilitate local socio-economic development. The role of the SMEs, including owned and led by migrants, is crucial, being potentially the most efficient transmission between the economic growth and welfare of the employed persons, particularly in the remote rural communities and small towns. Also new political and socio-economic development required new approaches, taking into consideration the need to build more resilient, inclusive, and innovative local communities and local markets. Hence, the strategic goal of the RIM project is to enhance the SMEs-based sustainable economic development and promote equal access to decent work at the local and (micro)-regional levels, targeting both local populations, as well as returning migrants and refugees. It leverages the enhanced multi-stakeholder cooperation, improved business support services and complementary regulatory frameworks at the level of individual communities and micro-regions. The Project will enhance sustainability of the results from the previous efforts supported by the Swiss Government, shape them to new political and socio-economic developments, by embracing and promoting relevant policy and community-action innovations and by ensuring engagement of all relevant stakeholders in the design and implementation of local development solutions for building responsive institutions, inclusive economy, and resilient communities. In light of the regional security environment that is expected to remain turbulent even in the most optimistic scenarios, the Project is intended to bring a valuable contribution to the triple humanitarian-development-peace nexus at the local/regional level. The strategic goal of the RIM project is to enhance the inclusive, competitive, and sustainable economic development, and promote equal access to decent work at the local and (micro)-regional levels, by leveraging the enhanced multi-stakeholder cooperation, improved business support services and complementary regulatory frameworks. The Project targets three interrelated Outcomes. As part of Outcome 1, policy and institutional frameworks create an empowering environment for inclusive and sustainable economic development in the targeted economic sectors. The Outcome 2 assumes that local/regional communities including private sector representatives, meaningfully cooperate in cluster formats to enhance value chains and improve their competitiveness. As part of Outcome 3, the people of Moldova, especially women, youth, returning migrants and refugees, will benefit from improved economic opportunities in the pilot micro-regions. Duties and Responsibilities Effective communication plan management: Contribute to the timely and efficient delivery of outputs and products leading to the achievement of expected Project results and ensure full compliance of all the actions with UNDP policies and procedures Coordinate the activity of the projects national consultant(s) in the field of communication and public outreach; Review, implement and continuously monitor the projects communication, using appropriate feedback mechanisms and monitoring tools; Establish meaningful partnerships with mass-media, at the local and national levels; Ensure synergies with other programmatic partners on joint outreach, communication, and capacity building activities; Identify appropriate suppliers for the provision of services required for the implementation of the communication plan; Ensure compliance with all corporate rules and regulations of UNDP and the Donor organization in the field of communication and visibility promotion, efficiently cooperate with the UNDP, SDC and ILO communication analysts; Provide solid inputs to projects analytical products, work plans and progress reports, etc.; Support the RIM Project Manager and the UNDP CO in general project implementation and related strategic processes. Visibility of project results: Support the communication capacities of partner communities (including representatives of LPAs and private sector) and coordinate the support offered to projects institutional partners in the area of communications and visibility (particularly the State Chancellery, National Employment Agency, and Organization for Entrepreneurship Development), with a focus on their development initiatives and opportunities; Document best practices (via articles, success stories, interviews, press releases, etc.) and ensure wide dissemination and visibility of project achievements in the national media as well as in the local and regional media/websites; Design concepts for communication products and oversee their implementation; Organize press trips in RIM partner communities and ensure media coverage; Provide support to the project team on the conceptualization of new initiatives aimed at enhancing the attractiveness of local development, investment, and business opportunities in the targeted micro-regions. Competencies Core Competencies Achieve Results: LEVEL 1: Plans and monitors own work, pays attention to details, delivers quality work by deadline Think Innovatively: LEVEL 1: Open to creative ideas/known risks, is pragmatic problem solver, makes improvements Learn Continuously: LEVEL 1: Open minded and curious, shares knowledge, learns from mistakes, asks for feedback Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 1: Adapts to change, constructively handles ambiguity/uncertainty, is flexible Act with Determination: LEVEL 1: Shows drive and motivation, able to deliver calmly in face of adversity, confident Engage and Partner: LEVEL 1: Demonstrates compassion/understanding towards others, forms positive relationships Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 1: Appreciate/respect differences, aware of unconscious bias, confront discrimination Cross-Functional and Technical Competencies Communication o Ability to manage communications internally and externally, through media, social media, and other appropriate channels Human-centered Design o Ability to develop solutions to problems by involving the human perspective in all steps of the problem-solving process Knowledge Facilitation o Ability to animate individuals and communities of contributors to participate and share, particularly externally Digital Awareness and Literacy o Ability and inclination to rapidly adopt new technologies, either through skillfully grasping their usage or through understanding their impact and empowering others to use them as needed Advocacy strategy and implementation o Ability to create and implement advocacy strategies which lead to impactful change Media Relations o Ability to develop media relations across all aspects of media work including relationships with media and preparing media materials such as messages Writing and editing o Ability to create and/or edit written content in different UN languages. Required Skills and Experience Education: Masters degree or equivalent in Journalism, Communication, Public Relations, Sociology, International Relations, or another relevant field. Bachelors degree with 2 years of qualifying experience can be taken into consideration in lieu of Masters degree. Experience: Minimum 2 years (with Bachelors degree) of progressive experience in communication, mass-media, public relations, and/or other substantive area. Experience in development and implementation of media/communication strategies and plans. Experience in conceptualizing and implementing national and local public outreach/communication campaigns. Desired Skills: Proven experience in similar positions in UN Agencies will be considered an advantage; Openness to change and ability to manage complexities; Commitment to UNDP mission, vision, and values. Language: Fluency in oral and written English and Romanian; Knowledge of one or more minority languages relevant for Moldova, including Russian, Romani, Gagauzian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian and sign language, is an asset. Certificates: Additional training and/or certification in communication and/or new media would be an advantage. Institutional Arrangement Under the guidance and direct supervision of the RIM Project Manager, the Communication Analyst shall contribute to an effective and efficient implementation of the projects communication and outreach plan, contributing to an increased visibility of the policy and local development components results. The Analyst will apply and promote the principles of results-based management (RBM), as well as a client-oriented approach consistent with UNDP rules and regulations. The Communication Analyst will work in close collaboration with the Project Manager and the Local Development Officer for the effective achievement of results, anticipating and resolving complex project-related issues and information delivery. The Analyst shall exercise full compliance with UNDP programming, financial, procurement and administrative rules, regulations, policies, and strategies, as well as implementation of the effective internal control systems. Required Documents Personal CV or P11, indicating all past positions held and their main underlying functions, their durations (month/year), the qualifications, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate, and at least three (3) the most recent professional references of previous supervisors. References may also include peers. A cover letter (maximum length: 1 page) indicating why the candidate considers him-/herself to be suitable for the position. Managers may ask (ad hoc) for any other materials relevant to pre-assessing the relevance of their experience, such as reports, presentations, publications, campaigns, or other materials. Disclaimer Applicant information about UNDP rosters Note: UNDP reserves the right to select one or more candidates from this vacancy announcement. We may also retain applications and consider candidates applying to this post for other similar positions with UNDP at the same grade level and with similar job description, experience and educational requirements. Scam warning The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web. Data de incheiere a postului vacant: 9 March 2023 Pentru a aplica, va rugam sa adresati link-ul: http://bit.ly/41mbJwz Adobe, Prostock-studio Charities have been warned that they could miss out on a large amount of income in the coming years if they do not focus their fundraising efforts on legacy giving. Helen Hamer, senior legacy marketing manager, Macmillan Cancer Support told delegates at Fundraising Live yesterday that legacy giving is our number one income stream, not just now, but definitely for the future. She said legacy fundraising is potentially the biggest opportunity for fundraising in the coming years but the charity sector could pass over this opportunity if it does not embrace it. We need to understand more about legacy giving decisions Hamer noted the legacy marketplace is anticipated to grow dramatically in the coming decades, and that's mostly due to the anticipated rise in the deaths of the baby boomer generation. With that will come the largest ever intergenerational transfer of wealth and an expectation that the legacy market will grow to 5.16bn by 2030. It obviously represents a huge opportunity for UK charities but there's also significant potential for a huge amount of missed income, unless we as a sector do more. Hamer noted: Research from Remember a Charity suggested that 40% of the people in the UK would be happy to leave a gift in their will to charity, but only 6% actually do. That represents billions of pounds of missing income from the charity sector, so it's absolutely essential that we are embracing this in the coming years. As fundraisers, we face the challenge of converting interest into action. And as a sector, we need to understand more about legacy giving decisions, and where and how we can have the biggest impact. The age debate Hamer says a key aspect of growing any fundraising is for charities to understand their target audience. One of the big debates in the sector at the moment, and I think has been around for a while, is the question of age [] the ongoing debate around the value of targeting younger audiences for legacy fundraising. She said there is an opportunity there to be influencing people to choose our charities however Macmillan has currently decided to remain focused on the 55+ baby boomer generation. That's for a number of reasons, and I will caveat that to say this may change at some point, but for now, we're sticking with it. We have an ageing population that we can absolutely target, she said, so we believe that this is where our focus should be. Hamer added there were also lots of other considerations around targeting the 55+ audiences, rather than younger generations. Some of those are the expense and effort of long term stewardship, as though this can be rewarding for a charity, it can cost more money. She added there's the likelihood of depreciation over time, and also the length of time between investment and return. Legacy culture Hamer said a legacy-giving culture should go across the entire organisation so we work really closely with our fundraising teams to drip feed that legacy message into our fundraising communications. In terms of sending that legacy message to frontline workers, Hamer said it is quite a sensitive area. As a charity that has a really significant service offering as well as a fundraising arm, there's always a really fine line around when is it appropriate to include a fundraising ask. We have to be really sensitive about that, because we've got millions of people living with cancer accessing our services, we need to be sensitive to their needs, and their needs absolutely come first. She added: We will absolutely be looking at getting the legacy message out to our services team. I don't think we've been great at doing that up until now. So it's something that we're looking at, and we're working with those teams on, certainly to build an awareness, not necessarily so that they are relaying that message all the time ... but just so that they are aware of it. sign up to receive the Civil Society News daily bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector, For a law whose central clause contains just twenty-six words, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 has generated vast amounts of debate over the past few years. Conservative politicians say the lawwhich shields online services from liability for the content they hostallows social networks like Twitter and Facebook to censor right-wing voices, while liberals say Section 230 gives the social platforms an excuse not to remove offensive speech and disinformation. Donald Trump and Joe Biden have both spoken out against the law, and promised to change it. This week, the Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in two cases that could alter or even dismantle Section 230. Its the first time the nations highest court has considered the fate of a law often credited with creating the modern internet. On Tuesday, the courts nine justices heard arguments in the first case, Gonzalez v Google. The family of Nohemi Gonzalez, a US citizen who was killed in an Isis attack in Paris in 2015, claim that YouTube violated the federal Anti-Terrorism Act by recommending videos featuring terrorist groups, and thereby helped cause Gonzalezs death. On Wednesday, the court heard arguments in the second case, which also involves a terrorism-related death: in that case, the family of Nawras Alassaf, who was killed in a terrorist attack in 2017, claim that Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube recommend content related to terrorism, and thus contributed to his death. After a lower court ruled that the companies could be liable, Twitter asked the Supreme Court to say whether Section 230 applies to it. The clause at the heart of Section 230 states: No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider. In practice, this has meant that services such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are not held to be legally liable for things their users post, whether its links or videos or any other content (unless the content is illegal). The question before the Supreme Court is whether that protection extends to content that these services recommend, or promote to users via their algorithms. Section 230, the plaintiffs argue in Gonzalez, does not contain specific language regarding recommendations, and does not provide a distinct legal standard governing recommendations. During their questions on Tuesday, the justices began to grapple with whether there is a way to hold the platforms accountable for recommended content, when the same kinds of algorithms are used to rank search results and other responses to user input. From what I understand, its based upon what the algorithm suggests the user is interested in, Justice Clarence Thomas said at one point. Say you get interested in rice pilaf from Uzbekistan. You dont want pilaf from some other place, say, Louisiana. Recommendation algorithms, he suggested, are at the heart of how a search engine operates. So how does one make Google liable for one use but not the other? John Bergmayer, legal director of Public Knowledge, told the Berkman Klein Center that algorithmic recommendations fit the common law understanding of publication. There is no principled way to distinguish them from other platform activities that most people agree should be covered by 230. The attempt to distinguish search results from recommendations is legally and factually wrong. If the Supreme Court comes down against the platforms, Bergmayer said, it could limit the usefulness or even viability of many services. The internet, he argued, might become more of a broadcast medium, rather than a venue where people can make their views known and communicate with each other freely. And useful features of platforms may be shut down. Julian Angwin, a journalist and co-founder of The Markup, disagrees. She wrote in her inaugural column for the New York Times that while tech companies claim any limitation to Section 230 could break the internet and crush free speech, this isnt necessarily true. Whats needed is a law drawing a distinction between speech and conduct, she said. Based on his comments about previous cases involving Section 230, Justice Thomas is itching to try his hand at finding such a distinction. In a decision last March, he said that assuming Congress does not step in to clarify Section 230s scope, we should do so, adding that he found it hard to see why the law should protect Facebook from liability for its own acts and omissions. Sign up for CJR 's daily email In a podcast discussion of the two cases being heard by the Supreme Court, Evelyn Doueka professor of law at Stanford who specializes in online contentsuggested that both options seem like a stretch, because neither one mentions any specific content recommended by YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter that allegedly caused the deaths in question. Her guest, Daphne Keller, the director of platform regulation at the Stanford Cyber Policy Center, agreed. I dont even have a good theory about why they would choose such exceedingly convoluted cases, Keller said. Maybe its just that Justice Thomas had been champing at the bit for so long they finally felt they had to take something, and they didnt realize what a mess of a case they were taking. Even if the Supreme Court decides that Section 230 doesnt protect the platforms when it comes to terrorist content, that doesnt mean platforms like Facebook and Twitter are out of options. Online speech experts say they could argue with some justification that the First Amendment protects them against legal liability for the work of their recommendation algorithms. To the extent that people want to force social media companies to leave certain speech up, or to boost certain content, or ensure any individuals continuing access to a platform, their problem isnt Section 230, its the First Amendment, Mary Anne Franks, a professor of law at the University of Miami, said during a conversation on CJRs Galley discussion platform in 2021. One problem with that theory, however, is that online platforms might not bother trying to fight such cases at all, because of the difficulty of proving that their behavior is permitted by the First Amendment. Instead, they may decide to just remove content willy-nilly, in case a court finds them liable. The consequences of this could be catastrophic, the Washington Post argues. Platforms would likely abandon systems that suggest or prioritize information altogether, or just sanitize their services to avoid carrying anything close to objectionable. The result, the Post editorial says, could create a wasteland. Some news from the home front: CJR is holding a forum to answer questions about the recent series by reporter Jeff Gerth on Russia and Trump. Here are the details: A CJR Forum: The president and the press Its been a few weeks since CJR published a series by reporter Jeff Gerth critiquing the coverage of Russian attempts to intervene in the 2016 election and the subsequent Trump presidency. We knew at the time that the articles would elicit strong responses. But we also believe that CJRs role is to air a range of views about the strengths, challenges, and failings of contemporary media. It is in that spirit that we are organizing this town hall. We will answer questions, respond to criticism, and explain our approach to these stories, applying to ourselves the same transparency and accountability that we seek from the institutions CJR covers. The content of the discussion will be guided entirely by the events outside, independent moderator. For more than 60 years, the Columbia Journalism Review has stood for clarity and integrity in news. We continue that tradition and invite you to participate in this discussion. Jelani Cobb, dean, Columbia Journalism School Who: * Reporter Jeff Gerth * CJR Editor and Publisher Kyle Pope * Columbia Journalism School Dean Jelani Cobb Moderated by Geeta Anand, dean, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism When: Monday, February 27, 12:45 pm 2 pm ET via link RSVPs required. Questions for the moderator can be submitted in advance via this link. Other notable stories: A group of New York Times journalists sent a letter on Tuesday to the NewsGuild of New York criticizing a statement from Guild president Susan DeCarava, according to a report in Vanity Fair. In a previous letter, DeCarava defended the right of Times journalists to criticize the papers coverage of trans issues. Factual, accurate journalism that is written, edited, and published in accordance with Times standards does not create a hostile workplace, the letter from Times journalists reportedly said. NPR announced that it will lay off about ten percent of its current workforce, or about 100 people, and eliminate most vacant positions, David Folkenflik of NPR reported Wednesday. John Lansing, NPRs CEO, cited the erosion of advertising dollars, particularly for podcasts, and the tough financial outlook for the media industry. Knight Foundation President Alberto Ibarguen announced a $5 million investment in Signal Akron, a new nonprofit news source, to help strengthen local news and civic information in northeast Ohio. Signal Akron will be part of Signal Ohio, which recently launched its first newsroom in Cleveland. There are over 200 e-books in Amazons Kindle store listing the artificial intelligence software ChatGPT as an author or co-author, according to a report from Reuters, including How to Write and Create Content Using ChatGPT, and a poetry collection called Echoes of the Universe. Due to many authors failure to disclose, however, Reuters said that it is nearly impossible to get a full accounting of how many e-books have been written by AI software. And the BBC removed a story about actor Will Ferrell from its website after discovering that the story was based on a tweet from a parody account pretending to be the actor, Deadline reported. The Twitter account had a blue check, meaning it was verified, which in the past would have meant that the account belonged to Ferrell. But under Twitters new policies, anyone can pay a monthly fee and get a verified account. ICYMI: How journalists do their work in Iran Mathew Ingram is CJRs chief digital writer. Previously, he was a senior writer with Fortune magazine. He has written about the intersection between media and technology since the earliest days of the commercial internet. His writing has been published in the Washington Post and the Financial Times as well as by Reuters and Bloomberg. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. BBC an infamous propaganda machine long before India documentary saga (Global Times) 14:11, February 23, 2023 Fake news is like Pinocchio's nose, the more you lie, the longer it grows. Illustration: Liu Rui/GT British MP Jim Shannon has claimed that the raids by Indian tax authorities on the BBC's Delhi and Mumbai offices are a "blatant attack on press freedoms," according to UK media reports on Tuesday. The accusations came after the BBC's offices in India were raided as part of a tax investigation by Indian authorities. However, some British politicians deliberately linked it to India's actions against a BBC documentary known as "India: The Modi Question" aired in January. According to Song Luzheng, a research fellow at Fudan University, the BBC made the documentary against the backdrop of the West's disfavor of Modi's governing style and the UK's unease toward the rapid development of India, a former colony of the UK. The BBC, as a typical Western media outlet, claims to be objective and fact-based. Nonetheless, it's not reporting facts but doing opinion journalism. In essence, it's a propaganda machine that serves the Western imperialism. The BBC is not a news media outlet in the common sense, but a tool to attack other countries that the West does not see eye to eye with. The BBC knows it is just a propaganda tool, but when it is confronted, it touts press freedom. When British politicians defend the BBC as a national treasure, they ignore the fact that this propaganda machine has long been infamous in other countries. As Chinese netizens put it, the BBC reports China with a "gloom filter." That's why the sky over Chinese cities is always murky, cloudy, misty and polluted in BBC's video about China. Meanwhile, the West adopts its own set of values and standards -- it only agrees with what fits their standards and bans whatever doesn't fit the standards. In early 2021, the UK regulator ofcom revoked the broadcast license of the Chinese state broadcaster CGTN in the UK because of its coverage of the Hong Kong protests. When the UK suppressed Chinese media outlets using various excuses, why did it turn a blind eye to the fabrication and neglect of justice of its own media? Song from Fudan University told the Global Times that the West will not reflect on their double standards; in other words, there is no such a word as "double standards" in their dictionary. "Rather, the West believes it is the rightful one. The hostility, extreme prejudice and neglect of professionalism of Western media reflects their arrogance and supremacist mentality," said Song. Song believes that although the West has been wooing India currently for geopolitical reasons, the fact that India's GDP last year exceeded that of the UK has hurt the dignity of the UK, especially due to the UK's imperialist mind-set over India. Nie Shujiang, an associate professor at the Guangming School of Journalism and Communication of China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times that the way of reporting by Western media shows their degradation. "The mainstream Western media, represented by the BBC, and the interest groups behind them are losing their long-held cultural taste and standard of values. Against the trend of 'the East is rising and the West is declining,' they resort to smear and deception to fool their own people and the international community," said Nie. The international status of a country's media is determined by the strength of the country and its adherence to media ethics. The BBC has lost the latter, and the UK is losing the former. The days when Western countries ask for economic benefits from developing countries while demanding them to be loyal to Western values are long gone. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form A former top Bill Clinton adviser's death was ruled a suicide after authorities discovered his body hanging from a tree with a gunshot wound to his chest. The classification, which came nine months after the death of Mark Middleton, raised doubts over his mysterious passing as no weapon has yet to be found that caused the injury to his chest. The 59-year-old was found dead last year in May at the Heifer Ranch in Perryville, Arkansas. Mysterious Death Authorities released a copy of the report regarding the finding after it was held up by members of the deceased's family who petitioned a judge. They said they were worried that the photographs officials took of the scene would be made public. Eventually, the judge ruled that while the report could go public, authorities could not include any pictures of the gory scene. Perry County Sheriff's Deputy Jeremy Lawson was the one who wrote the report that said he was called by a ranch worker, identified as Samantha McElroy, who was the one that found the abandoned black BMW SUV of Middleton, as per Daily Mail. The 46-year-old ranch worker, after finding the car, then walked around a cottage on the ranch. Lawson wrote in his report that McElroy immediately started yelling after stepping around the corner of the cottage. When she reached the back of the cottage, she quickly pointed toward the rear of the property and asked whether it was a person's body. McElroy said that she first thought a man was sitting near a tree, but as she focused her eyes, she noticed some rope from the tree's limb to the man. Lawson said that Middleton was dead when the ranch worker discovered his body. The deputy said that he found a gunshot wound to the deceased's chest and had a knot tied in an extension cord around his neck attached to the limb of the tree directly above him. Read Also: 'Possessed' French Student Kills Teacher A Potential Coverup? The report also noted that officers located a gun case and three boxes of buckshot inside Middleton's BMW SUV but failed to find the weapon used in the incident. The 59-year-old, who served in the Clinton White House in the 1990s, worked for his family's HVAC business years before, according to the New York Post. But as a top adviser to the former president, he enjoyed a high-flying lifestyle. Middleton also signed the late Jeffrey Epstein into the White House seven out of 17 times. The former Clinton adviser reportedly flew on Epstein's "Lolita Express" jet. In 1996, Middleton's administrative access was curtailed after it was determined during an investigation that he abused his connections to become an "international dealmaker." The decision was made a year after he left the White House. Despite the suicide ruling, a close associate of Middleton said the former Clinton adviser was brutally murdered. The associate, who requested to stay anonymous, said that the incident had become an Arkansas state coverup, said Radar Online. Related Article: Mardi Gras Shooting Update @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday from Twitter, the US government and the family of a Jordanian citizen killed in a 2017 terrorist attack, in a case that will decide whether the social media platform can be held liable for the actions of those who use its services. Much of the hearing was devoted to a careful parsing of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA), the law under which the Tammneh family brought their lawsuit. Their argument, essentially, is that Twitter is liable for providing a platform to terrorists who used it to communicate and plan the attack. Twitter, for its part, argued that it couldnt be held responsible without a demonstration that it had been informed of a specific attack and failed to do anything about it. The Tammneh cases hearing came one day after another hearing Gonzalez v. Google, a case that turns on a similar issue of whether a major tech platform can be legally responsible for bad actors using its services for malicious ends. But while arguments in that case centered heavily on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a law that provides extensive immunity to internet companies from liability for user-created content, Taamneh focused more heavily on the JASTA law. The plaintiff's claim that because defendants were generally aware that among their billions of users were ISIS adherents who violated their policies and, therefore, defendants should have done more to enforce those policies does not constitute aiding and abetting an act of international terrorism, said Twitter counsel Seth Waxman, a partner at WilmerHale and a former US Solicitor General. Justices skeptical of Twitter's arguments Some legal observers were surprised by the apparent skepticism with which some justices treated Waxmans arguments, given the way the issues were treated in the previous days hearing. I thought the indication from Gonzalez was that [the court] was skeptical that JASTA would allow liability based on generally providing services to millions of people around the world, and I expected them to carry that skepticism into the Taamneh argument, said David Greene, a senior staff attorney and civil liberties director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The potential effects of a ruling against Twitter are enormous, Greene noted, but would heavily depend on the precise nature of the courts decision. It would substantially affect Section 230, a fundamental backbone of the Internet, and a particularly wide-ranging new standard of liability could produce huge and immediate shifts in the way platforms like Twitter and Google operate. One of the key effects, if some of Section 230s protections are watered down by the court, could be a notice-and-takedown system, similar to that used for online copyright infringement, he added. More than one justice, he said, has an apparent interest in resurrecting the idea of distributor liability for internet companies. And that would result in a lot of stuff being taken down very quickly, said Greene. Rulings in both the Twitter and Google cases are expected this summer. An alleged Israeli raid targeting Palestine's West Bank reportedly killed at least ten people, including a 16-year-old boy. It injured more than 100 others in the latest in a series of high-tension developments. Palestinian officials described the incident as a massacre as Israeli authorities noted that the operation on Wednesday in Nablus was done to target three suspects. The individuals were believed to be planning attacks in the future. Israeli Raid on Palestine's West Bank The Israel Defense Force (IDF) and Israel Security Agency released a statement that the three suspects were neutralized in the attack. The IDF added that one of the men was shot when he tried to flee, while the other two lost their lives during an exchange with military personnel. Israeli officials claimed that the suspects threw rocks, Molotov cocktails, and suspected "explosive devices" at military forces. The Israeli military's raid started at around 10:15 a.m., said the local director of the Red Crescent, Ahmad Jibril. He added that it was a time when everyone was still shopping in the open market of the old city, as per CNN. Jibril added that they stationed snipers on the rooftops equipped with live ammunition, saying that this was why many people were shot in the head, shoulders, and backs. He noted that many people who were unarmed and trying to flee the area were shot dead. The Red Crescent local director said there was also a drone that randomly dropped tear gas while other drones fired live ammunition. A spokesman for the IDF, Maj. In contrast to Jibril's claims, Nir Dinar noted that Israel did not operate drones that fired a live shot in the West Bank. Dinar argued that Jibril and others only saw small drones that dropped tear gas grenades meant for riot dispersal means, which he confirmed were used during the incident. The Red Crescent official said that some Israeli special forces disguised themselves as locals, a claim that Dinar refused to comment on, only noting that the IDF had such capabilities. Read Also: 'Possessed' French Student Kills Teacher Rising Tensions The incident was considered one of the bloodiest battles in nearly a year of fighting between the two sides in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. According to the Associated News, it raised the possibility of further bloodshed. Health authorities reported that two fatalities were Palestinian men aged 72 and 61, while a third was a 16-year-old boy. The operation, which lasted four hours, targeted Nablus, which is known as a militant stronghold. A medic who pronounced a man dead suddenly noticed that the lifeless patient was his father. An amateur video also showed two men elsewhere, who were unharmed, being shot down while running in the street. Last month, a similar raid was conducted, followed by a deadly assault outside of a Jerusalem synagogue. At the time, the Hamas militant group said that its patience was "running out," said the New York Post. Related Article: Russia, China Meet To Discuss Relations @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope helped astronomers discover six mysterious cosmic bodies believed to be galaxies so old and large that they should not exist. The space observatory was able to spot the galaxies that are believed to have existed between 500 million and 700 million years following the big bang. The finding has completely upended current theories regarding galaxies' origins, based on the study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday. Six Mysterious Galaxies In a statement, an assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State University, Joel Leja, a co-author of the study, said that the massive objects are larger than anyone had ever expected. He added that the team that conducted the study only expected to find tiny, young, baby galaxies during that point in time. However, they discovered galaxies as mature as our own Milky Way. The Webb telescope can observe the universe in infrared light, which the human eye cannot see. This allows it to detect the faint light emitted by ancient stars and galaxies across the universe, as per CNN. Using the space observatory, astronomers can peer into the distant universe and look back in time up to roughly 13.5 billion years ago. Scientists have estimated that the universe is about 13.7 billion years old. Leja noted that the finding suggested that massive galaxy formation began exceptionally early in the universe's history. It challenges everything that scientists believe to be settled and set in stone. He noted that they have been calling these massive objects "universe breakers" and said they have been living up to their name. The six newly discovered galaxies are so large that they conflict with about 99% of models representing the universe's early galaxies. This means that experts must now rethink how galaxies are formed and evolved. Currently, theory suggests that galaxies began as small clouds of stars and dust and grew larger over a long period. Read Also: Texas Meteorite Weighs Nearly 1000 Pounds Challenging Existing Theories Another study co-author, Erica Nelson, said that the discovery was "bananas." She added that they did not expect the early universe to have been capable of organizing itself at such a young age, according to the University of Colorado Boulder. Despite the unexpected discovery, the findings are not the earliest galaxies the James Webb Space Telescope has observed. The space observatory, launched in December 2021, helped another team of scientists last year to spot several galaxies that are believed to have existed around 350 million years from the big bang. However, those particular cosmic objects paled in comparison to the size of the six galaxies that were recently discovered. The latest team of researchers still needs to acquire more data about the galaxies to confirm that they are as large and as old as they appear. The brightest of the six newly discovered galaxies was also unexpectedly large, even compared to the others. It was estimated to have roughly 10 times the mass of our Sun, making it larger than our own galaxy, said ARS Technica. Related Article: Scientists Discover Two New Forms of Salt Water @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich allegedly hid records made by his investigators that refuted claims of election fraud in the state during the 2020 elections. The discovery comes from documents released by Brnovich's successor, Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes. She took office last month and now said that the records showed that the election in 2020 was "conducted fairly and accurately by election officials." Concealment of Refuted Election Fraud Claims The former attorney general, who was a member of the Republican Party, failed to release the summary of investigative findings in March 2022. The reports ruled out many election fraud claims that former President Donald Trump's allies and supporters spread. However, a month later, he released an "interim report" claiming his investigation found serious vulnerabilities that must be addressed. It also raised questions about the state of the 2020 election in Arizona. His April report was released despite pushback from his investigators, who claimed that their observations disputed some of the arguments. Brnovich, who at the time was in the middle of a GOP primary for the US Senate, argued that he was not doing enough to prosecute election fraud, as per Yahoo News. The former attorney general, whose primary Senate bid was unsuccessful, was also found to have failed to release a September memo that refuted election conspiracies. This includes allegations of dead or duplicate voters, pre-marked ballots flown in from Asia, election servers being connected to the internet, and satellite manipulation headed by the Italian military. The September memo read that the parties failed to provide evidence to support their allegations in each instance. It added that the information they spread was purely speculative and was found to be inaccurate after agents investigated the matters. That particular memo was among the documents that Mayes released on Wednesday, all of which describe an all-encompassing probe that became a top priority of Brnovich's investigators. They spent over 10,000 hours sifting through 638 complaints, where they opened 430 investigations and referred 22 cases for prosecution. Read Also: Biden Unveils New Border Policy Spreading Conspiracy Theories According to the Washington Post, the recently released records show that Brnovich's office privately disregarded fact checks that state investigators provided while publicly promoting incomplete or inaccurate accounts of the office's work. The reformer attorney general's concealment of the reports and Trump's and his allies' spread of misinformation regarding election fraud made Arizona the epicenter of distrust in the democratic process. The situation eroded confidence in the 2020 election as well as in subsequent elections. The investigations came and went as various politicians, including Sen. Wendy Rogers and Rep. Mark Finchem, claimed they had evidence of election fraud but chose to stay silent. They took advantage of their stance to raise millions of dollars in donations from their supporters. One report noted that Finchem publicly stated that he had a source that said more than 30,000 fraudulent votes were registered in Pima County. When asked to meet with the politician to discuss the claims, he did not repeat the allegations, acknowledging that he did not have evidence of fraud, said AZCentral. Released Article: Biden Administration Plans To Reduce Mortgage Costs @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group, which currently supplies mercenaries for the Russian military against its Ukrainian counterpart, has shown public betrayal to the Kremlin by posting gruesome photos of the corpses of the group's soldiers. On Wednesday, the so-called "Putin's Chef" posted images of the deceased soldiers on a pro-war Telegram Channel. He questioned who was to blame for the horrific scene and who should be responsible for resolving the issue of supplying the Wagner Group with sufficient quantities of ammunition. Wagner Group Founder's Betrayal Prigozhin singled out Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov. A day before the post, the Wagner founder accused both Russian officials of trying to "destroy" the group by purposely blocking their ammunition supply. He supported his claims using the gruesome image that showed rows of bloody and maimed bodies that he said were from fighters of the Wagner Group who died fighting to support Russia's war on Ukraine. Prigozhin added that the Russian officials took no further action to issue ammunition to the Wagner Group's soldiers. He claimed that the dead fighters in the image lost their lives due to "ammunition hunger," as per The Daily Beast. Putin's chef added that the group was like a beggar crowdfunding, asking unit commanders to assist somehow. He noted that they would maintain their position in Bakhmut and argued that Shoigu and Gerasimov would have to take up arms themselves when they all lost their lives. While Prigozhin has previously criticized Russia's top military personnel, his discontent has quickly spread throughout the pro-war military bloggers that the Kremlin has continued to rely on to increase public support for its invasion of Ukraine. Now, the Wagner Group founder's threats seek to overshadow what Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to mask as "everything is going according to plan" efforts despite rising losses in the offensive. Read Also: 'Possessed' French Student Kills Teacher Stalled Offensives On the other hand, Russia's Ministry of Defense denied Prigozhin's allegations, claiming that ammunition had been held up for volunteers in "assault detachments" fighting around Bakhmut. Officials added that their priority was ensuring those groups were well-equipped for the war, according to the Associated Press. The ministry concluded its statement by saying that any attempt to create a division between subdivisions of the Russian forces is counterproductive and would only work to benefit the enemy, in this case, Ukraine. For weeks, the Wagner Group founder and his soldiers claimed they lacked sufficient ammunition to take over Bakhmut. The city is located in Ukraine's partially occupied eastern Donetsk region. The fight for the area has primarily stalled and has become a battle of attrition. Prigozhin also released a video where he could be emotional while saying that the Russian Ministry of Defense was trying to destroy his group. He likened the actions to high treason when his soldiers were fighting for their lives trying to claim Bakhmut for Russia amid the war that raged on for nearly a year, said Fox News. Related Article: Israeli Raid Kills 10 in Palestine's West Bank @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Three individuals died, and two more were injured in shootings in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday, according to the authorities. Among the victims were a 9-year-old girl and a local TV news crew member. At a news conference, Sheriff John Mina of Orange County announced that 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses had been taken into custody for the shootings. Florida Shooting Spree Leaves 3 Dead According to Mina, Moses allegedly shot and killed a lady in her twenties on Wednesday morning. Later that day, police were alerted to two more gunshots near the scene. Mina said Moses was formally charged with the morning's murder, and investigators anticipate additional charges for the afternoon's four shootings. He added that a 9-year-old girl and her mother were shot at one residence, and adjacent, at a different scene, reporters from Spectrum News 13 who were covering the first shooting were shot close to their vehicle. Per CBS News, when deputies arrived at a shooting at 11 a.m. local time, they found a lady in her 20s who had been fatally shot, according to Mina. According to Mina, Moses knew that victim. Later, soon after 4 o'clock, deputies got a call about two more shootings that had happened close to one another. Deputies discovered a reporter and photographer from Spectrum News 13 shot in or close to their reporting van in one place where they had been covering an earlier-that-morning homicide. According to Mina, it's unknown why the Spectrum News 13 team was targeted or even if the suspect knew they worked in the media. One of the News 13 staff members passed away from their wounds after being rushed to the hospital, according to Mina. On its website, Spectrum News 13 stated that it had not yet released any information regarding the shooting team members. Police also found a mother who had been shot inside a nearby home along with her 9-year-old kid. The 9-year-old girl passed away at the hospital, according to Mina, while her mother was still "fighting for her life." The reason the suspect went into that house is unknown, according to Mina. The sheriff stated that they were unsure of the suspect's relationship to the news team, the mother, or the daughter. Moses, according to Mina, has an extensive criminal history that includes arrests for burglary, grand theft, aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon, and possession of a firearm. Read Also: Nipsey Hussle Killer Gets Punishment from LA Court Local News Crew, 9-Year-Old Innocent Girl Among Victims The two journalists, a photographer, and a reporter were shot in or near their vehicle that morning while covering the homicide, according to Mina. The vehicle "didn't look like a conventional news vehicle with many markings on it," the sheriff claimed. Immediately after that shooting, police responded to a third shooting and discovered a mother on Harrington Street and her 9-year-old daughter had also been shot inside a house. The sheriff announced the 9-year-old's death. It's unknown why the suspect went into the house, CNN reported. Per The Independent, it is still being determined how Moses will plead or if he has legal counsel. According to documents obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, Moses has previously been detained for theft of a motor vehicle, the battery in a domestic dispute, impeding law enforcement, resisting arrest, burglary, failure to appear in court, grand theft, and probation violations. On Wednesday, the White House sent its condolences. Fred Guttenberg, a proponent of gun control whose daughter Jaime died in the Parkland school shooting in 2018, posted on Twitter: "I am stunned. While covering a shooting, reporters in Orlando, Florida, get shot. One has passed away. The current campaign in Florida to pass permitless carry and prevent a repeat of violence is ongoing today. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre posted on Twitter, "Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the Spectrum News team." Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team. Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) February 23, 2023 Related Article: Mardi Gras Parade Shooting: Young Girl Among 5 Victims @YouTube @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Gossip never dies. My biography of Princess Margaret was first published back in 2017. Her lady-in-waiting, Lady Glenconner, disliked it so much that she was inspired to write a memoir of their friendship, which, to my mind, offered much the same portrait of a difficult and demanding woman, but from a more tolerant point of view. Now there is a volume of diaries that portrays the Princess with greater vitriol than ever before. The Conservative MP and louche socialite Chips Channon died 65 years ago, but only recently, with the publication of the final volume of his unexpurgated diaries, edited by Simon Heffer, has his portrait of Princess Margaret come to light. On June 29, 1948, Channon reveals that Princess Margarets new nickname is The Twerp. The following month he stays with the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, and discovers that the 17-year-old Princess Margaret, who has just left, bored and bullied everybody. She is a tiny tyrant and will get the Royal Family into trouble. Now there is a volume of diaries that portrays the Princess with greater vitriol than ever before Like many people in high society at that time, he is obsessed by the Princesss height, or lack of it. How tiny Princess Margaret is, he notes. And so it goes on. On March 19, 1952, a friend reports back to him that Princess Margaret, now aged 21, is utterly exhausted, wretched and bored. Chips has friends in the Royal Family and they seem happy to pass on all sorts of gossip, perhaps under the misapprehension that he can keep a secret. It is a mistake they have made before, and will make again. On February 19, 1953, the King of Greece lets him know of all the latest goings-on, having just come from dinner at the Palace. . . . He dined a quatre, the Queen, Prince Philip and Princess Andrew of Greece. They were very downcast: Princess Margaret, who is pretending to be ill with gastric flu and perhaps half is has announced her intention of marrying Peter Townsend! The Queen Mother refuses to speak to her!! . . . They have made her promise to do nothing until Queen Mary dies, lest it kill her; and, of course, they hope she will get over it. The family are in despair and the drama has cast a shadow over the whole Coronation . . . The Queen Mother is to blame; she must have been aware of what was going on, since half London society knew! . . . Poor fat Queen Mum her world is collapsing. For the rest of the year, Chips cant stop going on about how awful Margaret is. Channon wrote: 'Princess Margaret is becoming cheap and declassee, unpopular and a bore. She goes almost anywhere with almost anyone' At Ascot in June: Princess Margaret looked dull and dowdy and cross. The following month, Townsend is transferred to Belgium, which explains Princess Margarets recent rudeness and sulky manners. A week later, she has a cold: Or is it a fit of ill temper and sulks? And so it continues. His diary entry for March 30, 1954, notes that: Princess Margaret . . . is becoming a bore, a problem and unpopular. A month later, at a supper party: Princess Margaret behaved tiresomely, I thought. I am very anti-her at the moment. You dont say! By now, she is a regular on the London party circuit. Princess Margaret is becoming cheap and declassee, unpopular and a bore. She goes almost anywhere with almost anyone. In a clear case of pot and kettle, Chips complains that she is always making fun of people. In June 1954, Princess Margaret is involved in a charity play. One hears of nothing else. Princess Margaret, now known variously as Maggot, Princess Midget, Lilliput and Her Royal Lowness, is the prime mover. She . . . bullies everybody. She is beginning to get on my nerves. His vitriol gathers pace throughout the summer months maddening (June 15), increasingly impossible (June 16), increasingly unpopular (July 24). At a party in October 1955: Princess Margaret is strained and I wonder why they take her does she insist on going? On March 19, 1952, a friend reports back to Channon that Princess Margaret, now aged 21, is utterly exhausted, wretched and bored The following month, at a ball at the American Embassy, she is as maddening as ever. Eighteen months later, a friend tells him that Princess Margaret looked extremely bored at a party. She is, he observes, increasingly unpopular. On April 15, 1957, his friend Rab Butler, the then Home Secretary, tells him that Princess Margaret swears . . . and is downright and very Elizabethan in her language. It is to be his last diary entry. Chips Channon then suffers a series of strokes, and can write no more: bad luck on him, but a godsend for Her Royal Highness. Vanessa Feltz has received thousands of messages of sympathy following the very public break-up with her partner of the last 16 years, Ben Ofeodu. It must be horrible to find out that person you love and trusted has cheated on you so sneakily. In all those outpourings of love and support for Vanessa, there's been little comment about the 10-year age difference between the two protagonists: Vanessa, at 60, was a decade older than her errant former lover. Times have changed so much. She was 44 when they met in 2005, and there was a considerable amount of negative comment at the time. I know how it felt back then. I dated the photographer Normski for four years. We were photographed together at the premiere of Four Weddings and Funeral in 1994 when I was 48 and he was 27, and you can imagine the nasty comments we received about our age difference. Norm was trashed as a 'toy boy', a bad joke considering how smart he was. Thankfully, society has moved on. In 2023, if you are over the age of consent and so is your partner, what you get up to is your business. In the era of gender fluidity, age should be unimportant. Sadly, there's one exception: it's called Leo DiCaprio. Janet Street-Porter: Why are so many smart feminists bothered by the fact that a 48-year-old movie star, who is losing his waistline and his looks, is regularly photographed hanging out with women half his age? (DiCaprio pictured with Camila Morrone in 2018 Only the other day he was spotted enjoying the company of 19-year-old Israeli model Eden Polani. Within hours, the twitter erupted with predictable venom Why are so many smart feminists bothered by the fact that a 48-year-old movie star, who is losing his waistline and his looks, is regularly photographed hanging out with women half his age? Any sighting of Leo DiCaprio seems to cause huge outrage and a host of snotty comments like 'Titanic is too old for Leo to have starred in it'. There have been countless debates about whether the actor has a cut-off point of 25 when it comes to choosing a partner. It's true that Leo's girlfriends - or rather the majority of the women he has been seen with in recent years - have all been under 30. And the star broke up with his last long-term partner Camile Morrone in June 2022, just after her 25thbirthday. Since then, there's been a string of beauties too long to mention, and only the other day he was spotted enjoying the company of 19-year-old Israeli model Eden Polani. Within hours, the twitter erupted with predictable venom. Comedian and actor Katharine Ryan commented 'no crime, just a creepy pattern..it's all I've talked about for SEVEN years.' Caitlin Moran weighed in with 'I feel like he has Titanic Traumahe's dating women like he's still the age he was when he shot it, and he's ALWAYS on holiday on a yacht'. There are jokes that Leo's girls weren't even born when Titanic was released in 1997. Following the picture of the star sitting next to Eden Polani, Dr Charlotte Proudman tweeted 'Not enough people are talking about Leo is almost 50 and he's 'getting close' to a 19-year-old girl'. Of course, there is no evidence whatsoever that Leo DiCaprio did anything other than sit next to this person at the launch party for Ebony Riley's new EP, but that's not good enough for the haters. On Tuesday Leo turned up at a party at Chiltern Firehouse and was spotted leaving at 4am next morning, closely followed by 21-year-old Josie Redmond (pictured), an American model They seem to be saying that there's an element of unspecified 'danger' if a 48-year-old man is in the same room as any woman under the age of 25, even if those women are intelligent, hardworking, successful and perfectly capable of making up their own minds about who they hang out with and what they do with their bodies. In other words, the concerned 'feminists' ranting on Twitter appear to be thinking on behalf of the sisterhood, which is patronising to say the least. Leo DiCaprio obviously likes hanging out in nightclubs and listening to mind-numbing music for hours at a time. In the last week, he has been spending time in London, attending various parties connected to the British Academy awards. On Saturday he was allegedly deep in conversation with Love Island host Maya Jama. On Sunday they connected again, at the post Bafta party at Annabel's nightclub. On Tuesday Leo turned up at a party at Chiltern Firehouse and was spotted leaving at 4am next morning, closely followed by 21-year-old Josie Redmond, an American model. Leo has stamina, rarely leaving a party before 3am, usually wearing his sensible trainers and comfy trousers. Around the same time, a young woman may be leaving too - and her name will be added to the ever-increasing list of 'Leo's girlfriends'. Leo has stamina, rarely leaving a party before 3am, usually wearing his sensible trainers and comfy trousers For all we know, Leo DiCaprio might be a eunuch. We know so very little about his sexual preferences, other than he has correctly worked out that being photographed with glamorous women will bring him plenty of publicity and he's still not short of work. At 48, if he wanted to get married it probably would have happened already. By now, the obsession with Leo's love life is bordering on the bizarre. Nobody seems to be bothered by the news that another Academy award winner, 59-year-old Brad Pitt - currently shooting Wolves in New York with his pal George Clooney - has been dating social influencer Ines de Ramon (THIRTY years his junior) since last November. Could Leo be secretly scouting for a carer or a companion rather than a hot date? Someone to iron his pyjamas, make the herbal tea and fill up his hot water bottle? Rupert Murdoch ditched Jerry Hall (26 years his junior) after six years of marriage and - at 91 - was photographed weaving about in the waves on holiday earlier this year with 66-year-old Ann-Lesley Smith. Good luck to him! Don't ask me to get worked up about Leo's love life. There's always the possibility that it simply doesn't exist. Judge us on our plan, Keir Starmer said, as he unveiled the grand strategy he believes will transport him and his party into power. Wed love to, Sir Keir, we really would. But at the moment there isnt a plan. Yes, there are some vague ambitions. Actually, some ambitious ambitions. A pledge to deliver the highest growth in the G7. To make Britains streets safe. To break down barriers to opportunity. But in terms of the detail of how these lofty goals will be realised, answer comes there none. When Labours leader was first elected, his allies boasted about his forensic communications skills, finely honed as a barrister and the Director of Public Prosecutions. Yet the closer he gets to power, the further he retreats into abstraction and managerial double-speak. The solution to Britains problems is, according to Sir Keir, a government that is more agile, empowering, catalytic. The solution to Britains problems is, according to Sir Keir, a government that is more agile, empowering, catalytic For years the nation has been in a crouched position. If he is handed the keys to No 10, he will deliver an answer to the widespread call to fix the fundamentals. A long-term plan to unlock our pride and purpose. A profound statement of intent. And it may well be that when Sir Keir pops into his local supermarket in Kentish Town he is assailed by people imploring him to deliver a profound statement of intent. But in the rest of the country, people would prefer to know how hes going to stop the small boats. Or help them keep their heating on. Or make sure they can get a face-to-face appointment with their GP. For some reason Sir Keir and his advisers thought they would prefer a stream of psychobabble about how he would make clear what is mission-critical for my government. When he was challenged over this verbiage by the BBCs Amol Rajan yesterday, Sir Keir tetchily responded that the precise wording of his five missions was unimportant. But they underline why Starmer is finding it so difficult to transform antipathy towards the Government into excitement and enthusiasm for his own project. Whatever his faults, Tony Blair proved a master at packaging his New Labour offer in a way that was accessible to the average British voter. Based on yesterdays performance, Labours strategy is to bludgeon them into submission with intellectual gobbledegook. Which isnt to say that the address wasnt instructive. For a period last year, Sir Keir had fire in his belly. As the Truss administration soared, then fell like an imploding star, he seemed to realise victory was in his grasp. He began to roll out a series of bold pronouncements on immigration, trans rights and disruptive climate protesters. But now he seems to have calculated that grabbing for the seals of office is an unnecessary effort. Before yesterday, the line from shadow ministers was that complacency was the enemy. When he was challenged over this verbiage by the BBCs Amol Rajan yesterday, Sir Keir tetchily responded that the precise wording of his five missions was unimportant But in the run-up to his speech, Starmers spin-doctors were briefing that he would unveil a ten-year vision. Which reflects his view that not only is the next general election basically in the bag, but so is the one after that. There was something else that was revealing. Namely, that he is banking on the fact the British people have spent the past three years totally ignoring everything hes been saying. When he ran for leader, he unveiled not a paltry five mission statements like yesterday but ten cast-iron pledges. They ranged from a prevention of military intervention act to common ownership of rail, mail, energy and water. Each of those commitments has been ditched. But for a reason he hasnt yet been able to articulate, everyone is meant to believe his most recent commitments will be honoured. Some have compared his promises to Ed Milibands ill-fated Ed Stone initiative. But at least Miliband cast those commitments in stone. Its legitimate to ask why anyone should assume Sir Keirs promises are worth the paper they havent been written on. Some have compared his promises to Ed Milibands ill-fated Ed Stone initiative Make no mistake, Sir Keirs strategy will probably work. The polls indicate the voters faith in Rishi Sunak has already been tested to breaking point. But those voters still have a right to ask what they can expect from the man who is likely to be their next prime minister. And its clear from today they will not get an answer. Between now and the election, Keir Starmer will be asked increasingly detailed questions about his plan for government. And he will deploy an increasingly sophisticated strategy for dodging them. Abstraction. Obfuscation. Entreaties to wait for the manifesto. So the British people will wait. For Keir Starmer to tell them what he will actually do if they entrust him with power. And on the basis of yesterday, they will wait in vain. Vladimir Putin appeared in front of a crowd waving flags at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium the day after delivering a speech on the state of the nation to the Russian parliament. It was a terrifying sight, the Kremlin leader effectively presided over a military pep rally intended to rally the populace behind his disastrous military venture in Ukraine. In other words, Putin was presenting his conflict in Ukraine as a kind of crusade that would necessitate the sacrifice of his people. Putin Calls War on Ukraine a 'Defense of the Family' The Russian president, flanked by uniformed military personnel, led the crowd in applauding the soldiers who he claimed were defending the historical borders of our people, his fanciful term for the regions of Ukraine that Russia has attempted to annex but has been unable to take control of. Per RadarOnline, in his speech to the Russian parliament, Putin went off on a rambling tangent about how the West was encouraging perversions while he claimed that Russia's traditional values were being attacked. The Russian president also framed his conflict with Ukraine at Luzhniki Stadium as an effort to protect the family. Extreme military kitsch was present at the rally, such as an accordion group playing "333," a song written by a Russian combatant in the ongoing conflict. It also appealed to nostalgia for World War II. Many Russians hold a special place in their hearts for the Great Patriotic War, which is also a cause that Putin frequently champions. But, according to reports, Russian extras were enlisted on social media sites and offered cash and free goods to attend a Wednesday patriotic stadium rally led by President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. An estimated 200,000 people who were chanting "Russia, Russia" attended the celebrations, but it seems the horde of supporters was just smoke and mirrors, as per NY Post. Advertisements looking for extras to participate in the Defender of the Fatherland Day rally started popping up on well-known social media platforms last week, according to the Russian-language news Telegram channel Sirena. To appear at the stadium rally, the recruiters were looking for background actors, ideally under the age of 35-40. In exchange for their assistance, they were given free merchandise and 500 rubles, or about $7. Read Also: Malcolm X Family Alleges Concealing of Evidence in His Wrongful Death Missile System Near Putin's Patriotic Rally According to numerous reports, an air defense missile system was seen close to the location where Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a four-minute speech honoring his country in Moscow. It appears to be one of several such systems, which suggests that as the invasion of Ukraine drags on, the Kremlin is concerned about an aerial attack. A Pantsir missile system was reportedly installed outside Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, where thousands of people had gathered on Wednesday to hear Putin speak and some had paid to attend. These mobile air defense systems are designed to stop drones, cruise missiles, and aircraft from attacking Moscow. The surface-to-air missiles started showing up on Russian rooftops in the capital last month, Yahoo reported. As Putin's war continues, Moscow has not yet been attacked, unlike the capital of Ukraine, but bases deep inside Russian territory have been hit. The strikes were attributed to Ukrainian drones by Russia, which has launched thousands of missiles, suicide drones, and other weapons at Ukrainian towns on a nearly daily basis, striking indiscriminate targets like train stations, schools, hospitals, and residential areas. Related Article: Vladimir Putin Issues Nuclear War Threat @YouTube @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Rachel Zoe was one of, if not the, first celebrity wardrobe stylist to establish herself as a household name. She starred in her own reality series, "The Rachel Zoe Project," launched multiple businesses including a clothing line, luxury subscription service, website, and more, to become one of the most successful and influential women in fashion ever. It's no surprise that her friends constantly text her questions like "Is this tragic?," but fortunately you don't have to be in her contact list to get some style pointers. Rachel reveals the five things you need to create an enviable look to DailyMail.com. Rachel Zoe was one of, if not the, first celebrity wardrobe stylist to establish herself as a household name 'I love glamour, I like being fancy, I like being polished, I like dressing up,' declared the founder of The Zoe Report at the Damn Fancy Styling Station in New York 'I love glamour, I like being fancy, I like being polished, I like dressing up,' declared the founder of The Zoe Report at the Damn Fancy Styling Station a one day only mobile pop-up celebrating New York Fashion Week in partnership with Tanqueray. For an afternoon in The Big Apple Rachel looked amazing in a black suit boasting crystal embellishments on the jacket sleeves and sizable chandelier earrings. While she's known for her effortless take on glamour, Rachel believes feeling dressed up is a state of mind. 'You don't have to be in a ballgown, you can have a cat-eye or lip-stain,' revealed the stylist whose past A-lister clients include Nicole Richie, Cameron Diaz and Anne Hathaway, to name a few. Rachel was born in New York but currently lives in California with her husband Rodger Berman and two sons, Skyler, 12, and Kaius, 10. 'California style is a little more casual than New York, ' said the businesswoman with a fierce personal aesthetic. 'Everyone in LA thinks I'm on my way to a black-tie event.' In the mid-2000s Rachel's signature bohemian look included: oversized sunglasses, a giant handbag, wavy hair and a plunging neckline. And while her fashion choices have evolved in twenty years, one thing has remained the same: her attention to detail. Rachel is a master at layering jewelry and uses accessories like shoes and handbags to elevate even the most laidback of looks. 'My five minute getting ready process is having a few things that add drama to whatever your outfit is. 'So your uniform would be your favorite pants like a great black trouser, great sweater or blouse with a good shoulder, then add a great coat, good jewelry and a little clutch or day-bag, and you're good!' 'Your uniform would be your favorite pants like a great black trouser, great sweater or blouse with a good shoulder, then add a great coat, good jewelry and a little clutch or day-bag, and you're good!' 'It's all about your coat, especially in the cold weather,' said the expert who treats white like the way she treats black 1. It's what's on the outside that matters 'It's all about your coat, especially in the cold weather,' said the expert. Rachel was spotted outside the Rodarte show during New York Fashion Week in an all-black look consisting of leather bootcut pants and a matching blazer, topped by a longline furry white coat resting on her shoulders. She carried a quilted Chanel handbag and accessorized with large black sunglasses and rings on every finger. 'I like to treat white and ivory the way I treat black,' revealed the professional tastemaker. But no matter the color, to take an outfit from "meh" to amazing, Rachel relies on details. 'You can have a black coat, it just needs to have detail. Whether it's tons of faux fur, faux snakeskin, or whatever, it just needs to have texture, drama, big shoulders, etc..' 2. More is more when it comes to jewelry 'I'm a huge believer in jewelry, no matter what time of day. But that's me, I've never been a minimalist, its just not how I'm programmed,' admits Rachel. She invests in the classics and has a extensive collection from brands like Cartier, Tiffany & Co., and Bulgari, to name a few. For the Tanqueray event, massive circular earrings were are a part of the blonde-beauty's ultra-glam sartorial statement. 'I'm a huge believer in jewelry, no matter what time of day. But that's me, I've never been a minimalist, its just not how I'm programmed,' admits Rachel. For the Tanqueray event, massive circular earrings were are a part of the blonde-beauty's ultra-glam statement 3. Size doesn't always matter when it comes to handbags In the mid-2000s Rachael had a well-stocked closet of oversized handbags from high-end designers like Chanel, Hermes and Chloe. And while bag lovers have been ditching their spacious totes in favor of smaller carryalls in recent years, your bag does matter, according to the pro. 'If I'm not running around and going to 80 appointments then I don't need a life-size bag.' For the Carolina Herrera show, Rachel complemented her leopard-print dress with a small brown satchel from the New York-based label. 'California style is a little more casual than New York, ' said the businesswoman with a fierce personal style. 'Everyone in LA thinks I'm on my way to a black-tie event' 4. Put your best foot forward (literally) When it comes to footwear, 'I think it's whatever works for you; if your feet bleed when you wear heels then don't wear them,' she said. 'There are so many great flats and mules, and lug sole boots that are comfortable and look cool.' But for Rachel, it's 'platforms forever.' 'I've been in them since I was 13 and I don't know anything different. That cute kitten heel, as much as I love them on other people, it just doesn't work for me.' 5. Drink a classy cocktail 'I love a French 75, it's why I love Tanqueray. It's very light and refreshing, you can drink it any time of day - brunch, lunch, cocktail or dinner. 'It's very chic to order a French 75, it just sounds good,' says the OG influencer. The psychologist noted that the most important part is listening She has now revealed how to effectively ask for forgiveness A psychologist who specializes in apologies has revealed the best way to say 'I'm sorry' - detailing why that oft-used phrase can prove totally ineffective if said in the wrong way. Harriet Lerner, who is the author of best-selling book 'Why Won't You Apologize?', has studied the art of saying 'I'm sorry' for over 20 years and she's now detailed how you can earn the understanding of someone no matter the mistake. In the past, Harriet has detailed how delicate apologizing is and shared that you should always keep it short and sweet and never add a 'but' or 'if.' Now, the psychologist has once again shared how you can create the perfect apology that 'heals' all wounds. Harriet Lerner, a psychologist who specializes in apologies has revealed the best way to ask for forgiveness Speaking to Today, the psychologist revealed that people don't often think about all the ways they hurt others. She explained 'the need to give and receive apologies is with us until our very last breath.' And while Harriet noted that apologizing is essential, many don't understand why mumbling the words 'I'm sorry' is even necessary. The psychologist explained that when an apology is 'done right' it can be 'deeply healing.' However, when it's done wrong, it can 'put a crack in the foundation' or even end a relationship. Because we are all humans and will indefinitely make mistakes, the psychologist explained how you can own up to them and help those your hurt heal. From listening to allowing time for forgiveness, she has detailed how you can say 'I'm sorry' the right way. Step one: Listen and hear the wounded party to understand their hurt The first step of asking for forgiveness is listening. An effective apology begins with the willingness to listen and understand what the person who is hurting has to say, no matter if you agree. Harriet said: 'Sit on the hot seat and listen with an open heart to the anger of the wounded party.' It's important to sit down and discuss everything together. However, this may take more than one conversation, so its essential that you and the wounded party make time for another talk. 'If it's a big betrayal, there's no greater gift or one that's more difficult to offer then the kind of listening where we put aside our defensiveness and listen to someone's anger and pain when they're accusing us of causing it,' Harriet told Today. Step two: Take accountability for your actions and never include a 'but' or 'if' in your apology An effective plea for forgiveness doesn't focus on the other person's feelings or response, instead it allows you take responsibility for your words and actions (stock image) Next, the psychologist noted you should always take 'clear and direct' responsibility for what you have done without any caveats. More than anything, the hurt party wants to hear an apology that is genuine. This means one without an 'if' or 'but' in it. If you include a 'but' or 'if' in the apology, you undo the sincerity as those words always signal an excuse, cancelling out the original message. Even if the statement you make after the 'but' is true, it still makes the apology false. For example, 'I'm sorry if I was insensitive' doesn't count as a genuine expression of regret. Instead, you should say, 'The comment I made was offensive. Im sorry I was insensitive and it wont happen again.' An effective plea for forgiveness doesn't focus on the other person's feelings or response, instead it allows you take responsibility for your words and actions. Apologizing for someone else's feelings implies that if they weren't so sensitive, they wouldn't be so wounded and takes the blame off of you. Step three: Promise a solution and commit to making it right Step three in forming the perfect apology, is making reparations, which Harriet describes as including a 'corrective action' in your apology. This is essentially a solution that ensures you will rectify the wrong that has been committed and promises that it won't happen again. The psychologist gave the example of receiving bad service or food at a restaurant and the server says 'I'm sorry' but doesn't make up for the poor service or food in any way. 'It's a terrible business error to apologize, but not to make it right,' Harriet said. When it comes to relationships and friendships, the apology expert explained that you need to make sure you let the hurt party know that you're going to change your behavior. And, you should keep in mind that just mumbling 'I'm sorry' won't cut it for big issues such as affairs, abuse and various other toxic behaviors. So, you should always bring up the issue at hand to begin with and initiate the apology as well as make a commitment that it won't occur again. Step four: Don't push the person who has been hurt, give them space and time to heal For the fourth step of forming the perfect apology, you will have to remember that most issues are not solved right away. So, while you may hope that you will be forgiven as soon as you apologize, its more likely than not that it will take time for the wounded party to truly heal. Once a genuine apology has been given, the process of healing begins. However, it is ultimately up to the person who has been hurt to decide if or when they want to forgive you. After you apologize, you should allow both time and space for the person to forgive you. And even if they need to take more time, you should be respectful of their healing process and accept it. If you are dealing relationship issues, rebuilding the trust may be an even longer process. So, while apologizing is the best way to start, it isn't always the only thing that will need to occur for you to be forgiven. Step five: Keep an open mind if you want to move on from the issue The last step of apologizing is validating each other's opinions and having an open mind. This means that both you and the person who has been hurt have to want to work through the issue for the two of you to work through it. Regardless of whether or not you and the wounded party want to resolve the issue, you should still apologize. But, if the two of you do want to work through the problem, it's essential that you both keep an open mind. You should never go straight to the defense and begin attacking the other person, but instead try to empathize with them. Lastly, the psychologist explained that even though you deserve an apology, you may never receive the one you are hoping for. 'People who commit serious hurt may never get to the point where they can admit to their harmful actions, much less apologize aim to repair them,' Harriet said. A former police officer and child safety expert has revealed the top three things she never lets her own children do. Taking to TikTok, Kristi McVee, a child protector educator of East Bunbury, western Australia, has said she would never let younger children have sleepers. She added that parents should not 'blindly' trust anyone. And they should never grant their young children unsupervised access to the Internet. In the video, Kristi, who used to work as a child abuse detective, explained that she used to interview children who had been abused. And she said often perpetrators were within families or close to them. Kristi has written a book called Operation KidSafe - A detectives guide to child abuse prevention In the video, which was viewed 430,000 times, she said: 'Hi, my name's Kristi. 'I was a child abuse detective and a specialist child interviewer, so I interviewed children who had been abused.' Kristi, who served as a police officer for ten years and has written a book, Operation KidSafe - A detectives guide to child abuse prevention, then listed her rules for parents to follow. She said: 'Number one is blindly trust anyone.' 'We need to remember that our children's safety is our responsibility to look after them. 'We can't just trust anyone even if nothing happened to you with that person as a child, unfortunately it doesn't necessarily mean it won't happen to your child.' Kristi then shared her second opinion that she would never let a young child attend a sleepovers at someone else's home. She said: 'Again, children are vulnerable. 'They don't always have the language, the skills or the confidence to help themselves or to get help if something happens.' She said that 'sleepovers are a no no until children get older'. Kristi then shared her third rule, which relates to letting your young child surf the internet on devices like the iPad while on their own. The social media user said that this could lead to kids being exposed to things they shouldn't be, bullied, or, in worse scenarios, even groomed. She explained: 'Number three is allowing your child unrestricted, unsupervised access to the internet. 'We know this, but yet we use it as a babysitting device. 'I'm not saying don't give them access, I'm saying restrict it and supervise it. It should never be a free for all. 'For young children under 8-10 years old, they should be sitting in the lounge room with parents around. 'They shouldn't be on their devices in their room.' Kristi, who has 26,000 followers, regularly posts videos about how parents can keep their children safe Kristi, who has 26,000 followers, regularly posts videos where she shares her take on child safety and her own do's and don'ts for parents. In later videos she added that children of all ages should be educated in their body safety rights. This means that children know they have the right to feel safe at all times and that no one has permission to touch their body. She clarified that - with regards what age a child should be allowed to go on a sleepover - it 'depended on the child and their confidence'. She said: 'I will admit that I allowed my daughters to have sleepovers but it was a vetting process. 'My daughter was a very confident child. She knew her protective behavours. She knew her rights. 'She had access to a telephone to call me. She knew she could come home at any time.' Kristi added that 90 per cent of sexual abuse done to children is done by someone they know. She said this is because 'children are inherently vulnerable and we are trusting people'. The brother of a Harry Potter actor stabbed to death outside a London bar 15 years ago has recalled the moment he knew his sibling had died in a new documentary. Rob Knox played Marcus Belby in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and quickly made friends among the regular cast members, including Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy. His life was tragically cut short aged 18 in May 2008 when he was knifed outside a bar in Sidcup, Southeast London, when he intervened in a fight to protect his younger brother Jamie. Now, in ITVX's (K)Nox: The Rob Knox Story, Jamie emotionally recalled watching paramedics trying to resuscitate his brother on the night of the stabbing, only to realise 'in my heart I knew that he was probably dead then, so that was hard to see'. Elsewhere in the documentary, co-star Tom, 35, admitted that the news was 'distressing' to hear. Rob Knox (pictured with Daniel Radcliffe) played Marcus Belby in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and quickly made friends among the regular cast members, including Tom Felton, who played Draco Malfoy The actor said: 'It was beyond believe to be honest with you. Especially in the way that it happened, because, I don't know, I just hadn't heard of that happen to a friend of mine, or someone I work with, and he was definitely not the sort of character, in my mind, that would've got involved in something like that at all. 'So to hear that his life had come to an end in that manner was distressing, I think, for all of us.' Jamie, meanwhile, told of the moment he realised his brother had died, saying: 'The ambulance was there, attending to him. 'I remember hugging mum, and as I was hugging her, I could see over her shoulder, that they were resuscitating him. 'I think in my heart that I knew he was probably dead then. So, that was hard to see and then they put him in the ambulance.' Rob Knox was born to Colin and Sally Knox in 1989 and was a pupil at Beths Grammar School in Bexley. He had been acting since the age of 11, with roles in The Bill and Channel 4's Trust Me, I'm a Teenager as well as the BBC comedy After You've Gone. Now, in ITVX's (K)Nox: The Rob Knox Story, Jamie (pictured) emotionally recalled watching paramedics trying to resuscitate his brother on the night of the stabbing, only to realise ' in my heart I knew that he was probably dead then, so that was hard to see' Elsewhere in the documentary, co-star Tom (pictured), 35, admitted that the news was 'distressing' to hear He'd also appeared as an extra in a number of shows and his first film was King Arthur in 2004. But he won his first major breakthrough with the Harry Potter movie, where he was cast as Marcus Belby, a Ravenclaw student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He appeared posthumously in the film, the sixth installment in the series, which came out in 2009. He had also signed on to appear in the final installment of the Harry Potter film series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, released in November 2010, with the second part in July 2011. However his acting dreams were cut tragically short in the summer of 2008 when he died aged 18 following a fight outside the Metro Bar in Sidcup, South East London, on May 24, when he intervened to protect Jamie, then just 17, from a man armed with two kitchen knives. Rob Knox played Marcus Belby in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince and was pictured with stars including Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint (pictured together) during his time on the film Karl Norman Bishop was found guilty of murder in March 2009 and received a life sentence with a minimum of 20 years to be served before parole was considered. At the time, Warner Bros released a statement on the murder, saying: 'We are all shocked and saddened by this news and at this time our sympathies are with his family.' In the wake of Rob's death, the Knox family set up the Rob Knox Foundation to campaign against knife crime. An annual film festival is also held in his honour. (K)Nox: The Rob Knox Story, Thursday 23rd Feb, exclusively on ITVX Queen Letizia of Spain looked the picture of poise as she attended the opening of a contemporary art fair in Madrid. Looking typically stylish, the mother-of-two, 50, sported an elegant pink frock as she joined King Felipe VI, 55, at the annual outing. Walking alongside her husband, art-lover Letizia admired the works on display at the ARCO 2023 Contemporary Art Fair in the Spanish capital today. Adding an extra pop of colour to her fashionable ensemble, the royal opted for a vibrant floral handbag. She teamed the midi dress, which was cinched at the waist with a matching pink belt and boasted rolled-up three-quarter sleeves, with nude heels. Queen Letizia of Spain looked the picture of poise as she attended the opening of a contemporary art fair in Madrid with King Felipe VI The royal finished off her look with a glamorous pair of amber and purple earrings, while sporting a smattering of makeup, including bronzer and a pink eye shadow. Her husband King Felipe looked just as sophisticated in a pinstripe suit with a colourful tie. The event was hosted by ARCO Madrid, an international contemporary art fair in Spain that has been running since 1982. A total of 211 galleries from 36 countries are participating in the fair until February 26. Former news presenter Letizia is a keen art fan and regularly attends the annual occasion. It's been a busy week for Letizia, who on Monday joined her husband King Felipe at the National Culture Awards 2021 in Zaragoza. The royal turned heads in a recycled black and pink midi dress with sheer panelling around the neckline for the award ceremony. The Spanish queen first wore the unique dress in 2019 for a gala in Seoul, hosted by former South Korean President Moon Jae-in and wife Kim Jung-sook. Looking typically stylish, the mother-of-two, 50, sported an elegant pink frock as she joined King Felipe VI, 55, at the annual outing Walking alongside her husband, art-lover Letizia admired the works on display at the ARCO 2023 Contemporary Art Fair in the Spanish capital today Showing off her thrifty side by re-wearing the garment for the awards at the Pignatelli building in Spain's Aragon region, Letizia paired the chic dress with pale pink heels and a coordinating clutch bag. The mother-of-two swept her brunette tresses to one side in loose curls, showing off drop earrings. Keeping her look on-trend with a statement make-up look, the Spanish royal paired vibrant fuchsia pink eyeshadow with statement lashes and a glossy, muted pink lip. Meanwhile, King Felipe was also stylish in a navy two-piece single breasted suit, which he wore alongside a pale blue shirt, and deep red tie for the event. Diana had welcomed Prince William three months before the photos were taken King Charles and Princess Diana were every inch the doting parents in previously unseen images from Prince William's first trip to Balmoral in September 1982. Next month, a set of 22 pictures - which were taken by the Royal Family's close friend Lord John King of Wartnaby - will go under the hammer at Willingham Auctions in Cambridge. The never before seen set include a series of touching images of the late royal cradling her firstborn outside what appears to be Balmoral Castle. Diana is pictured in a long brown cardigan, white polo neck, tweed knickerbockers and brogues as she cuddles Prince William, who is wrapped up in a white blanket. The late Princess of Wales - who had become a mother for the first time just three months earlier - gazes down at William lovingly as Lord King peers over her shoulder. Princess Diana pictured cradling three-month-old Prince William outside what appears to be Balmoral Castle as Lord John King of Wartnaby looks over her shoulder Having just woken up from a nap, baby Prince William is seen giving the family friend a quizzical look in return. Another photo, which was taken moments later, shows William clinging onto his mother's shoulder as she brings him closer. A third image sees Diana beaming at her son as he looks around the wider group - which included his father King Charles, the late Queen and John's wife Isabel Cynthia Monckton. The photos appear to have been taken as the group set out for a walk in the Scottish Highlands, where the Queen would spend every summer with her family. Before embarking on their excursion, Diana and Lord King posed for a photo in one of the castle's thresholds. As they smiled for the camera, Diana happily put her arm around Lord King's shoulders before then repeating the same photo with his wife. The Queen - who would have been 56 at the time - is also pictured with Lord King and her eldest son standing in the courtyard. Dressed in a red shirt, pleated midi skirt and printed cardigan, the late monarch appeared in high spirits during her annual break as she smiled into the distance. The same set of photos - which are going up for auction next month - show Diana posing in front of some hills during her trip to Scotland in September 1981 Left: Princess Diana pictured holding a three-month-old Prince William. Right: Lord John King of Wartnaby looks over her shoulder Left: Princess Diana beams at Prince William as he takes in the wider group. Right: Princess Diana poses for a photo with Lord King King Charles, the Queen and Lord King pose for a photo in the courtyard in September 1981 The Queen, King Charles and Lord King wait by their cars as the late monarch leans against a box which may have contained their barbecue equipment Having arrived at their location, the trio were pictured again waiting by their cars - with the Queen leaning against a sizeable box which could have contained the equipment for their annual barbecue. The set also contains two images of Princess Diana smiling in front of some green rolling hills. After posing for a landscape shot, the late mother-of-two - who was holding a camera of her own - then walks a few paces to lean against a white bench for a portrait image. An image from another family excursion shows the Princess of Wales looking pensive as she sits behind the group next to a lake. Wearing a yellow jumper and blue cords, the royal swapped out her brown brogues for some more practical green wellies. King Charles beams as he poses for photos with three-month-old Prince William in Balmoral Touching images shows King Charles lovingly looking down at his son, who grows increasingly intrigued by the camera On another excursion, Diana is pictured looking pensive as the group take a break on their lakeside walk Diana wore a long brown cardigan, white polo neck, tweed knickerbockers and brogues in the majority of the images The set of 22 pictures will go under the hammer at Willingham Auctions in Cambridge The unseen images will be sold at auction on March 4 along with their original negatives The set of family photos also includes some heartwarming images of King Charles spending quality time with his firstborn. The pictures - which were taken on the same trip - show the monarch beaming as he holds baby Prince William. One touching image shows King Charles lovingly looking down at his son, who is intrigued by the camera. The photos will be sold at auction in Cambridge on March 4 along with their original negatives. Lord King of Wartnaby - who died at the age of 86 in 2005 - left school without any qualifications and is best known for overseeing the privatisation of British Airways. Despite his humble beginnings, Lord Wartnaby began rubbing shoulders with royalty when he became master of the Belvoir Hunt. In 1979, Lord King was given a knighthood by the Queen. A resurfaced interview in which Ellen DeGeneres seemingly predicted Paris Hilton's baby name one year before he was born has sent the internet into a spin. Paris, 42, and her husband, Carter Reum, also 42, welcomed their first child together last month via surrogate - a baby boy whom they named Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum - but talk show host Ellen, 65, actually guessed his moniker long before they were even expecting. The psychic moment occurred when The Simple Life star sat down on Ellen's show on January 27, 2022, where she discussed everything from her and Carter's wedding to their plans to have 'lots of babies.' 'You're now going to have babies? Lots of babies?' asked Ellen, to which Paris responded, 'I want a couple, yeah, probably like two or three.' Psychic? The internet is going wild over a resurfaced clip that shows Ellen DeGeneres predicting Paris Hilton's baby name one year before he was born Paris, 42, and her husband, Carter Reum, also 42, welcomed their first child together last month via surrogate - a baby boy whom they named Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum But talk show host Ellen, 65, actually guessed his moniker long before they were even expecting. Phoenix's hand is seen in Paris' I named @ParisHiltons baby! What do I win?!?! A hotel?!?! pic.twitter.com/CiD85CdZko Ellen DeGeneres (@EllenDeGeneres) February 22, 2023 'And you have names picked out already?' the TV personality continued. 'Yes, the girl is going to be named London Marilyn Hilton Reum. Marilyn after my grandmother and London because it's my favorite city,' Paris dished. 'I just think Paris and London sound cute together.' While the socialite confirmed that the name she had picked out if she had a boy was also a city or country, she said she wasn't going to share it because she was 'scared someone was going to steal it.' 'Oh, it's that good?' Ellen said. 'Does that name exist right now? Does anyone have that name?' 'No one I know,' Paris told her. But a determined Ellen said she wanted to try to guess it, and started to throw out some options. 'Argentina? Phoenix?' she asked Paris, who simply giggled and looked around nervously. 'I'm not telling you,' added the now-42-year-old. The psychic moment occurred when The Simple Life star sat down on Ellen's show on January 27, 2022, where she discussed her and Carter's plans to have 'lots of babies' She told the host that if she had a girl, she would name it London Marilyn Hilton Reum after her 'favorite city' Paris confirmed that the name she had picked out if she had a boy was also a city or country, but said she wasn't going to share it because she was 'scared someone was going to steal it' Ellen was indeed right, and Paris announced that she and Carter had named their son Phoenix during the latest episode of her podcast, This Is Paris, as she read an excerpt from her upcoming book, Paris: The Memoir. But a determined Ellen said she wanted to try to guess it, and started to throw out some options. She guessed Phoenix, but Paris just giggled and looked around nervously 'If all goes well, by the time you read this, Carter and I will have a baby boy,' she began. 'We plan to name him Phoenix, a name I that decided on years ago when I was searching cities, countries and states on a map, looking for something to go with Paris and London. 'Phoenix has a few good pop culture reference points, but more important, it's the birth of flames - it rises from the ashes to fly again. 'I want my son to grow up knowing that disaster and triumph go around and come around throughout our lives and that this should give us great hope for the future. 'Even when the past is painful and the present seems to have fallen to s**t, it's weird how two ideas that are so different, so completely opposite, can co-exist like that. Ellen was indeed right, and Paris announced that she and Carter had named their son Phoenix during the latest episode of her podcast, This Is Paris 'I want my son to grow up knowing that disaster and triumph come around throughout our lives and that this should give us great hope for the future,' she said of the name 'But they do. Freedom and suffering, joy and sorrow, love and loss. So his name is Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum.' She added that the newborn's middle name is a tribute to grandfather, Barron Hilton, who she described as her 'mentor.' 'I looked up to my grandfather so much and we were so close and I miss him everyday so I really wanted to honor him by having his name in my first son's name,' added Paris. 'So there you go, my beautiful baby boy's name is Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum and Carter and I are so proud to welcome him into the world.' A Phoenix is an immortal bird associated with Greek mythology that obtains new life by rising from the ashes of its predecessor. Following Paris' announcement, an excited Ellen took to Twitter to share the clip of her making the prediction last year. 'I named @ParisHilton s baby! What do I win?!?! A hotel?!?!' she captioned it - and the video quickly went viral. While Paris said during her appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show that she thought the name was unique, it has actually become increasingly popular in recent years, ranking in the top 200 names for boys in the United States. Paris shocked fans on January 24 when she revealed she had welcomed her first child via surrogate. The heiress kept her baby news not only a secret to the public but also from her own family - waiting a week after Phoenix was born to share his arrival with her own loved ones Paris also recalled the 'priceless' look on her mom, Kathy Hilton's face when she shared the news. She said: 'It was amazing to see the look on her face, she was so surprised' The heiress kept her baby news not only a secret to the public but also from her own family - waiting a week after Phoenix was born to share his arrival with her own loved ones. 'Not even my mom, my sister, my best friends, no one knew literally until he was over a week old,' she explained on her podcast. 'It was really nice just to have that with Carter, be our own journey together. Because I just feel my life has been so public and I've never really had anything just really be mine. 'We were talking about, I just really felt like I wanted to have this journey be us only. Of course it was hard to keep that in because we were so excited and wanted to tell our families... No one knew until just recently.' The mother-of-one also recalled the 'priceless' look on her own mom, Kathy Hilton's face when she finally introduced Phoenix to her. 'When I introduced my mom to our baby boy, it was amazing to see the look on her face, she was so surprised,' Paris gushed. 'Just the look on her face, it was just priceless. We are just so happy and just feel so blessed and he is so perfect and it's amazing being a mom.' Paris concluded by stating that she is the 'happiest' she has ever been in this new chapter of her life. 'This is the happiest of my life, just being a mom and a wife and starting this whole new phase of life, it's just very exciting,' she said. He was visiting homelessness charity The Passage, of which he is a patron Prince William, 41, very quickly put the brakes on an invitation to draw Prince William left charity workers in stitches this afternoon as he firmly declined an offer to get involved with arts and crafts during his visit. The Prince of Wales, 40, was learning about creative initiatives at homelessness charity The Passage in central London when a staff member asked if he wanted to draw something, to which he very swiftly replied: 'Definitely not.' The room erupted in laughter as William laughed along, clearly wanting to move the conversation on from his artistic skills - or perhaps, lack thereof. Elsewhere, William met with people who are being supported by the charity and put one slightly nervous man at ease when he revealed he was a little bit star struck to be meeting the future King. On a more serious note, William delivered an emotive speech to the charity where he committed himself to helping the cause of eradicating homelessness. Aside from leaving the room in fits of laughter as he learnt about The Passage's art projects for those it supports, William chatted in more depth with a gentleman named Mark Chiverton who has been helped by the charity. As the man folded his arms and told William he was 'nervous', the Prince of Wales shook off any worries and replied: 'Ah, don't be nervous.' He added he can 'chat for hours' - and indeed, chatting to people to hear their stories was the purpose of his visit. Mark told William he had been living at The Passage's accommodation for five weeks. The Prince - who first visited the centre with Princess Diana and Prince Harry in 1993 asked: 'How's it going, how are you finding it? Is everything alright?' Mark replied he was finding things 'difficult' before revealing he had been through the process of living in sheltered accommodation approximately six times. Looking concerned, William asked if Mark had found himself in temporary housing in the past, wanting to get to the bottom of why it had not worked out for him. He replied: 'I don't like people' which drew laughter from some, however William smiled and nodded along. Prince William unveiled a plaque to celebrate the opening of two new buildings. Bentley House and Passage House have gone through extensive refurbishments and together will support approximately 225 people who are experiencing homelessness per year A touching photo from a visit to the centre in 1993 shows a young Prince William and Prince Harry posing with their mother, Princess Diana, and a resident The Prince of Wales visited homelessness charity The Passage in central London today where he left staff in stitches when he firmly declined an offer to do some drawing while learning about the charity's arts programme William, 41, chatted to Mark Chiverton, a resident at The Passage who is being supported by the charity During their conversation, Mark told father-of-three William that he was finding things 'difficult' The Prince of Wales was interested to learn about Mark's history and asked questions about his temporary accommodation woes in the past William was captured assuring Mark there was no need to be nervous at the beginning of their chat The Prince of Wales sat down to learn more about how The Passage helps those who have experienced homelessness with craft projects The father-of-three recommitted himself to fighting homelessness in an emotive message to the charity workers and those who receive support, with a hint that he'll reveal more about his work in the field later this year. Today, he unveiled a plaque to celebrate yhr opening of two new buildings. Bentley House and Passage House have gone through extensive refurbishments and together will support approximately 225 people who are experiencing homelessness per year. William declared the fight to end homelessness must be taken seriously as an 'achievable goal' as he spoke to an audience at the charity, which he first visited in the 1990s with his mother Princess Diana. Speaking to the crowd at the charity's hub in Victoria, William said: 'The work that I have seen first-hand over many years is the reason I know that ending homelessness must be thought of as more than simply a wishful aspiration. 'Instead, it should be viewed as an achievable goal, one that working together we can and must accomplish.' The royal added that ending homelessness is something that can only be achieved with 'collaborative' efforts - which he said The Passage champions. He said: 'No single organisation or sector can end homelessness; but by working together in true partnership, organisations like The Passage can help demonstrate it is not an inevitable part of life. 'I believe this is how we can make homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurrent. I am determined to play a significant role to support this becoming a reality and look forward to sharing further details later this year. 'I am personally more determined than ever to play my part in working with others to do all we can to stop the human tragedy that is homelessness.' READ MORE: Cambridge students vote for a completely vegan menu across all catering services after campaign by Extinction Rebellion offshoot Yet, the 37-year-old will become Cambridge's youngest-ever black professor Unable to speak before the age of 11 and incapable of writing until he was 18, Jason Arday was told he would probably spend his adult life in assisted accommodation. But at the age of 37, the academic has defied his therapists' warnings and been unveiled as the youngest black person to become a professor at the University of Cambridge. The professor of sociology of education, from Clapham, London, has joined just five other black academics with similar posts at the elite institution and is one of the only 155 black university professors in the UK, out a huge total of 23,000. Professor Arday was all but written off in his youth after being diagnosed with autism and global development delay, a genetic or chromosomal condition, which causes a significant lag in cognitive and physical abilities. He explained: 'When I was contacted by the Faculty of Education about getting the post, I couldn't believe it. Professor Jason Arday (pictured) was told he would spend life in assisted accommodation. Yet, the 37-year-old will become Cambridge's youngest-ever black professor 'I put the phone down, screamed, and then I just sat in the same place for what felt like hours.' He continued: 'The next day I had to go and deliver a keynote [speech] in Brighton. I sat on the train in a daze. I could not believe I had achieved that dream.' The 37-year-old revealed that his rehabilitation was thanks to his mother, who used music to help develop his conceptualisation of language. After hauling himself through a primary school in Wandsworth, Jason moved to the nearby Southfields Community College, now Southfield Academy and Merton College, gaining just two GCSEs, in PE and textiles, and a BTEC. Determined to succeed, he went onto study physical education and education studies at the University of Surrey before training as a PE teacher. At the age of 22, Jason started considering the possibility of postgraduate study and turned to his college tutor and friend Sandro Sandri for guidance. He said: ' Sandro told me I think you can do this I think we can take on the world and win." Looking back, that was when I first really believed in myself. From that moment, I was determined and focused. Professor Arday has defied all odds and after growing up in a 'relatively disadvantaged area,' is focused on improving the representation of ethnic minorities when he takes up his mew post on March 6th The now father-of-two went on to acquire two Masters qualifications and a PhD in educational studies at Liverpool John Moores University and Brunel University London. But the route wasnt easy, as he juggled working as a PE lecturer in higher education during the day and studying sociology and drafting academic papers at night. When I started writing academic papers, I had no idea what I was doing. No one ever showed me how to write [them]. Everything I submitted got violently rejected, he said. The peer review process was so cruel it was almost funny. But I treated it as a learning experience and, perversely, began to enjoy it. Jason's first paper was published in 2018 and he secured a senior lectureship at Roehampton University in London the same year, before moving to Durham University, where he was an associate professor of sociology. Two years ago, aged just 35, he became professor of sociology of education at the University of Glasgows School of Education, making him one of the UKs youngest professors at the time. The route for Professor Arday wasnt easy, as he juggled working as a PE lecturer in higher education during the day and studying sociology and drafting academic papers at night WHAT IS GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT DELAY? Global development delay is defined as a child taking longer than average to reach certain milestones. This might include them learning to walk or talk, movement skills, discovering new things or interacting with others. Global development delay may affect people with Down's syndrome or cerebral palsy. Developmental delay may be caused by complications at birth, such as insufficient oxygen; environmental issues, like exposure to alcohol in the womb; or other medical conditions, including chronic ear infections. Between one and three per cent of people in the UK suffer. Up to seven per cent have the condition in the US. For some, global development delay only affects them in the short term and can be overcome with additional support. Others may require ongoing therapy. Treatment depends on the individual but may include physio or occupational therapy to help with motor skills, as well as speech, behavioural or music therapy. Advertisement Professor Arday has defied all odds and after growing up in a 'relatively disadvantaged area,' is focused on improving the representation of ethnic minorities when he takes up his mew post on March 6th. The professor said: 'My work focuses primarily on how we can open doors to more people from disadvantaged backgrounds and truly democratise higher education.' He is currently working on how neurodivergence, which he is all-too familiar with, as it covers brain differences and the way they affect how the organ works, and black students, in collaboration with and Oxford academic. He added: 'Hopefully, being in a place like Cambridge will provide me with the leverage to lead that agenda nationally and globally. Cambridge is already making significant changes and has achieved some notable gains in attempting to diversify the landscape. But there is so much more to be done here and across the sector. Professor Bhaskar Vira, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education at Cambridge, described Prof Arday as an exceptional scholar of race, inequality and education. The new mother, 33, cut a casual figure as she walked around Notting Hill Cressida Bonas looked effortlessly chic as she took her baby son Wilbur for a stroll around West London. Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend, 33, was pictured pushing her buggy and walking her sausage dog Budgie in Notting Hill this afternoon. Dressed casually for the outing, the new mother donned a slimline denim jacket and stylish black baker boy cap. Braving the colder temperatures in London today, the actress wrapped up warm with a navy scarf and thick blue jumper underneath her jacket. Finishing off her low-key look, Cressida donned a pair of black leggings and chunky white trainers. Cressida Bonas, 33, looked chic in a denim jacket, baker boy hat and leggings as she took her son and dog for a stroll in Notting Hill this afternoon What's more, Cressida's beloved dog looked equally as trendy in a red leather collar with 'LOVE' printed on the side. As she got a breath of fresh air, the new mother appeared deep in thought as she spoke on the phone. The mother-of-one recently revealed that she touchingly named her son after the late brother of her husband who died at the age of 21. The 33-year-old welcomed her first child with her husband Harry Wentworth-Stanley last year, after the couple married in 2020. It has now been revealed that the couple chose to name him after Harry's brother James, who took his own life in 2006. Sources told the Daily Mail's Richard Eden the name Wilbur James Wentworth-Stanley is a 'dedication' to the 21-year-old. Cressida, who dated Prince Harry for a time and was a guest at his wedding with Meghan Markle, has previously written movingly about the impact of James' passing. Last year, she wrote in the Daily Mail that his passing had turned the lives of her future in-laws 'upside down'. The new mother appeared deep in thought as she spoke on the phone during her outing around Notting Hill Cressida styled her hair in loose waves and wore a thick blue piece of knitwear under her denim jacket Cressida Bonas, pictured here with her husband Harry Wentworth-Stanley, welcomed her first child with him in November last year 'Following a minor operation, he sought help for anxiety and suicidal thoughts. 'Later that week, while back in Newcastle, James went to an NHS walk-in centre and was then referred to A&E as a low priority. 'James left A&E without being seen. A letter was sent from the NHS to his family GP by second-class post to the wrong postcode. By the time it arrived, James had already taken his own life, ten days after the operation.' His family vowed to do something to help others avoid similar tragedies and formed a charity, James' Place, which supports, advises and helps men in suicidal crises with individual therapy. As the president departed for his surprise trip to Poland and Ukraine, Joe Biden appeared to stumble as he ascended the stairs to Air Force One. The president appeared to trip about halfway up the steps, then regain his balance and wave before boarding the plane, according to video of the incident. President Joe Biden is the oldest US president at age 80. White House physician Kevin O'Connor wrote in a report last week that President Joe Biden's stiff gait is due to significant spinal arthritis, mild post-fracture foot arthritis, and mild sensory peripheral neuropathy of the feet, as per The Independent. President Joe Biden's Viral Fall As Biden boarded Air Force One at Warsaw Chopin Airport, he stumbled forward about halfway up the stairs to the aircraft. In contrast to the viral fall he took in March of 2021, the President of the United States was able to get back on his feet and walk toward the exit. The President of the United States was seen waving to the crowd just prior to stepping inside the aircraft. In the hours leading up to the dramatic event, a White House worker was injured in a fall down the plane's ramp. Per The Sun, the president was able to get back on his feet and walk toward the exit, in contrast to his viral fall that occurred in March of 2021. The US president could be seen waving to the crowd before entering the aircraft. A White House employee also lost her footing on the ramp of the aircraft hours before the dramatic event. This week, after a crucial visit to Ukraine, President Biden was in Poland to deliver a speech. After a year had passed since the invasion, he used a major speech in Poland to mock the Russian dictator, saying that Kyiv "stands strong, proud, and free." A number of times, President Joe Biden has been filmed struggling to make it up the steps to Air Force One, according to The Daily Telegraph. Last June, on his way back to California from delivering a speech about the midterm elections of 2022, he was seen to have fallen. The trip was quick, and upon reaching the top of the last flight of stairs, the President stood to his full height and rendered a military salute. March 2021 saw a much more dramatic scene when Biden fell three times. At the time, Biden was "doing 100% fine" after the fall, according to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. The president apparently fractured his foot while playing with his dog, which led to this fall. Read Also: Migrant Crisis: Biden's New Border Policy Limits Asylum for Immigrants Biden's Health Joe Biden's health has recently been in the spotlight due to his anticipated bid for a second term, but his doctors recently stated that the 80-year-old vice president is still in good health and fit for duty. Per Al Jazeera, the test was closely watched as Biden gets ready to run for re-election in 2024. According to the summary, President Joe Biden did not exhibit any long COVID-19 symptoms, and his stiff gait has not gotten worse since his November 2021 exam. Biden underwent his second thorough examination since taking office in January 2021 during a three-hour visit with medical professionals at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Maryland. According to the summary, Biden uses the statin Crestor to maintain healthy cholesterol levels, as well as an anticoagulant to treat his asymptomatic atrial fibrillation and an acid reflux medication. Related Article: Where Is Joe Biden Now? POTUS Silently Arrives in Ukraine @YouTube @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. She says the Palace wants the public to 'focus' on the heirs Royal expert said William and George will be made very visible on the day Prince George will be a 'focus' of the King's upcoming coronation as part of the Palace's efforts to draw attention to the immediate line of succession, a royal expert has claimed. Dr Tessa Dunlop appears in the latest episode of the Daily Mail's Palace Confidential series alongside Diary Editor Richard Eden. During the 30-minute programme, the experts spoke to host Jo Elvin about King Charles' coronation in May and what roles the wider Royal Family will play. Although Dr Dunlop said that working members of the firm are expected to appear in the procession, the expert claimed the emphasis will be on King Charles, Prince William and Prince George in Westminster Abbey. She explained: '[They] want to keep it focused on that line of succession. Dr Tessa Dunlop says Prince William and Prince George will be made very visible on King Charles' coronation day 'So we're going to see a lot of camera shots of Charles, of William, of George.' Dr Dunlop then referenced the Queen's coronation in June 1953, where her heir was placed in the spotlight. For the occasion, King Charles - who was five at the time - was seated in between the Queen Mother and his aunt Princess Margaret in order to make him as visible as possible. Describing how the coronation is 'all about King Charles', Richard Eden added: 'We will see other working members of the royal family taking prominent roles. 'We'll see them in the procession to Westminster Abbey. They won't be taking part in the ceremony as such but what you will see is a programme of events around the country involving all the working royals. 'So that all the different parts of the United Kingdom feel part of the coronation and of course, [we'll] see them on the Buckingham Palace balcony where it'll be all the working royals together.' King Charles is understood to want his Coronation to set the tone for a streamlined and modern monarchy, while retaining some of the pomp and majesty that stunned the world during the Queens lying-in-state and funeral ceremonies. The historic ceremony on May 6 will begin with Camilla's crowning, before Charles is officially named as monarch when the St Edward's Crown is placed on his head by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The expert says Prince George (pictured on Christmas Day 2022) will be a 'focus' of the day as part of the Palace's efforts to draw attention to the immediate line of succession Dr Tessa Dunlop says Prince George will be visible at the coronation, just like King Charles (pictured) was for his mother's in 1953 A procession will then lead the newly-crowned King past thousands of people to Buckingham Palace, where he will join members of his family on the balcony to wave at the crowd. The next day, Windsor Castle is set to host a concert broadcast around the world, with thousands of street parties in the afternoon as people. This will be followed by a Bank Holiday on Monday, with millions of people set to get a day off work. Dr Dunlop's comments about Prince George's role in the coronation come amid weeks of mounting speculation about whether Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will attend. Friends of the couple said this week they are 'in limbo' and considering the 'million different variables' impacting their decision. The couple - who are said to be 'in limbo' about whether to attend the coronation - released their six-part Netflix special in December 2022 The coronation of King Charles III is set for May 6 2023 with invitations expected to be sent out soon Harry wants to be by his father's side on 'pretty much the most important day' and hopes to salvage his strained relationship with the Royal Family, sources close to the Duke told The Daily Telegraph. The insiders claim it's a 'complicated' decision because the couple may be accused of 'snubbing' the family by not attending but also risk 'being booed or labelled hypocrites.' The couple's friends say they will not make a decision about attending the Coronation until a formal invitation arrives at their home in California. They will then decide if they will go to the historic event together or if Harry, 38, would attend without Meghan. It is also possible that neither makes an appearance. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are both said to be 'weighing up' whether or not to fly over for the ceremony on May 6 Sources close to the couple claim it's a 'complicated' decision because the couple may be accused of 'snubbing' the family by not attending but also risk 'being booed or labelled hypocrites.' Pictured: Queen Consort Camilla, King Charles, Prince William and Princess Kate If either Harry or Meghan, 41, visit the UK for the ceremony, it is understood that their visit would be 'brief.' A source close to the couple revealed last week that if Harry attends the Coronation, he will want a meeting with the King and Prince William before he leaves the US. The Sussexes are expected to be invited to the Coronation on May 6 despite the fallout from Harry's explosive memoir Spare released last month. If they choose to travel from their home in Montecito, California, to attend the event at Westminster Abbey, they will do so as normal congregation members. Some Royal Family members were reported to be 'spitting feathers' over claims in Harry's book and his media campaign to promote it, according to royal sources. Harry has not spoken to the King or William about whether he will attend, with invitations set to be sent out imminently, The Mirror reported. But he is reported to want a meeting with his father and brother before he travels to the UK. A source told the newspaper: 'Harry has been very clear and his position hasn't wavered he isn't going to come if he feels the atmosphere will be as toxic as it was during the Queen's Platinum Jubilee and funeral. 'He's said he wants to reconcile with his family and it's their call, but so far nothing has changed.' It is understood that those who want to attend the Coronation will need to RSVP to the invitation by the start of April. If he does go, Harry will not have any special role and he and Meghan, 41, would not be allowed to appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony with other royals. Royal sources recently suggested officials would ensure that Harry would not be seated next to his brother. The prince could also travel from the US to London without Meghan, in part because their son Archie's fourth birthday falls on the same day as the crowning. Such a plan could see Harry whisked in and out of Britain in a 48-hour so-called 'Harry in a hurry' trip. Socialites and influencers descended on Savile Row on Thursday for the opening of The Deck's new London flagship. D&G model Lady Sabrina Percy, whose father Richard Percy is a second cousin of the 12th Duke of Northumberland, was among the stylish guests mingling in the Mayfair showroom. Dressed head-to-toe in black, the socialite, 33, cut a stylish figure in skin tight black jeans, paired with a roll neck jumper and double breasted jacket with gold buttons. She completed her outfit with black ankle boots, and held onto a glass of champagne in one hand and a black handbag in the other. Lady Sabrina Percy looked glamorous head-to-toe in black as she attended the launch of The Deck's new London flagship store on Savile Row Also in attendance for the tailored women's fashion brand event was Lady Helen Taylor, who opted for a royal blue loose suit with matching round neck top. The daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent was joined by her son Cassius Taylor and was seen posing with The Deck founder Daisy Knatchbull. Other guests included Arabella Holland, Natalie Salmon, Flora Vesterberg, and Hum Fleming to name a few. Daisy, 30, founded the women's made-to-measure tailoring house - which charges upwards of 1,000 for a jacket - in early 2019. The great-granddaughter of the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma wore a dogtooth suit, with wide leg trouser paired with an asymmetrical white top. The Deck started with a shop in Chelsea, with tonight's event marking a big moment in the fashion house's history, as it opens the doors of its London's flagship. Daisy previously told Daily Mail: 'I didnt train as a tailor. 'After university I worked in fashion journalism, then went to work for Huntsman, the Savile Row tailors, where I realised there was a huge gap in the market for tailoring for women. 'That prompted me to set up my own business two years ago, with 150,000 of capital from private investors. London style: L-R - Lady Sabrina Percy, Hum Fleming, Daisy Knatchbull, Natalie Salmon and Flora Vesterberg Daisy Knatchbull, the great-granddaughter of the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma wore a dogtooth suit, with wide leg trouser paired with an asymmetrical white top Lady Sabrina Percy completed her outfit with black ankle boots, and held onto a glass of champagne in one hand and a black handbag in the other Lady Helen Taylor (right) was also in attendance with Wendy Knatchbull and her son Cassius Taylor Looking glamorous Lady Helen Taylor posed with Daisy, wearing a royal blue suit with a wide leg and matching round neck top Daisy Knatchbull and Philip Knatchbull attend the launch of The Deck's new London flagship store on Savile Row Timothy Vesterberg and Flora Vesterberg were also in attendance at the launch event for the women's tailoring fashion house Lady Sabrina Percy, Arabella Holland and Natalie Salmon attend the launch of The Deck's new London flagship store All in black: L-R - Lady Sabrina Percy, Natalie Salmon, Hum Fleming and Flora Vesterberg all looked stylish in monochrome for Thursday's launch event Daisy, 30, (pictured) founded the women's made-to-measure tailoring house in early 2019 and has another store in Chelsea Daisy Knatchbull and Thea Carroll attend the launch of The Deck's new London flagship store on Savile Row 'I called it The Deck after a deck of cards, because we have four basic suit silhouettes and we want to reshuffle the way women dress. 'Tailoring has historically been male-dominated, which discouraged women from entering it simply wasnt the obvious route for a woman who wanted to work in fashion.' The daughter of Philip Knatchbull, boss of art-house cinema chain Curzon, made waves in 2017 when she defied convention at Royal Ascot by wearing a gentlemans morning suit, complete with a top hat. But her eye for style caught the attention of the Duke of Kents daughter Lady Helen Taylor, a former ambassador for Giorgio Armani, who was among her chief supporters at the labels launch party in Belgravia in 2019. She added: 'We understand womens bodies and can celebrate the curves. There are things women may not want to talk about with a male tailor, such as body changes with the menopause. Personally, I am inspired by androgyny. 'Our trouser-suits start at 2,200, which is a lot, but not far off what you would pay for a designer ready-to- wear one. SHOPPING Contains affiliated content. Products featured in this Mail Best article are selected by our shopping writers. If you make a purchase using links on this page, Dailymail.co.uk will earn an affiliate commission. Click here for more information. If youre thinking about starting a family now or in a few years, its never too early to optimise your health to improve your chances of getting pregnant. And theres one lady who has spent years helping celebrities, older mothers, and thousands of people around the world get pregnant - her name is Zita West. Actress Kate Winslet is a fan as is the star of Britains Got Talent Amanda Holden, but now you dont need to book a private appointment or spend thousands of dollars to get all of Zitas knowledge for a healthy and easy pregnancy as her range of fertility supplements can be bought on her website. Vitafem Premium Womens Fertility Supplement Vitafem is a premium multi-vitamin and multi-mineral womens fertility supplement specially developed to help support female fertility, redress nutritional imbalances and prepare the body for conception. It can be bought as a single jar of 60-supplements (one month supply), as part of a fertility bundle. Shop Celebrity-approved fertility expert Zita West is a practising midwife and has more than 40 years of experience in helping men and women become parents Whatever your age or whether youre about to try or have been trying for a few years, the Zita West range offers a range of supplements to address all aspects of trying to conceive. One that both men and women both need to make healthy eggs or sperm is Co-enzyme Q10. The Zita West CoQ10 (now 38.36) comes from Kaneka Ubiquinol, naturally produced by yeast fermentation, which is better able to help the body do its job. And to help the sperm meet the egg, Zita West's Vital DHA (now 15.60) product contains Omega 3 essential fatty acids (EFAs), plus a small amount of Zinc. It has been designed to help protect both partners DNA from oxidative damage during preconception as well as to support normal fertility and healthy sperm production. Whatever your age or whether youre about to try or have been trying for a few years, the Zita West range offers a range of supplements to address all aspects of trying to conceive The Vital DHA along with Vitafem, designed to restore a woman's nutritional imbalances and prepare the body for conception, can make a huge difference to how easy it is to have a baby when the time comes. Both have been transformative for women trying to conceive for a long time without joy. Actress Kate Winslet says: 'Zita is often called a fertility & pregnancy guru, and Im one of her devoted followers' Another lady helped by the supplements added: 'After 2.5 years trying to conceive number two (and now 40), I started with the preconception supplements by Zita West after lots of reading. Was pregnant 6 weeks later, just couldnt believe it.' The Zita West supplement range can be bought individually or in bundles. The couples trying to conceive bundle contains everything men and women need to take to improve sperm and egg health Inspired by her own fertility journey Zita, a practicing midwife, has developed what has become the most comprehensive collection of specialist supplements available on the market focused on female and male reproductive health and the issues underlying it. But to help you navigate the range and get the right supplements for your needs, the website allows you to shop by stages including starting trying, finding it difficult, IVF and FET, already trying, and egg transfer. The site also contains blogs with 20 years of expert knowledge about fertility, pregnancy and hormone health. And if you're still not sure what you need, check out the consultation feature on the website for free bespoke recommendations to get you in the best shape of your life. Friends urged her to go to a doctor once it was visible Ashleigh Mills said she had just felt 'a lump in her throat' Ashleigh Mills was living a happy and healthy life before she was diagnosed with cancer at just 25. And a lump on her throat, which was spotted by a friend during a girls' weekend away, turned out to be the most important clue. The lump was visible from the outside for the first time that weekend - prompting her friend to encourage her to get it checked out. But Ashleigh, now 33, was reluctant. She had felt a strange sensation or lump in her throat for years, but doctors had previously assured her it was a symptom of her anxiety. She was also at a good point in her life - she had moved out of home, graduated and secured her first job as a lawyer. Ashleigh Mills was just 25 when she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer For those reasons, she initially told her friend that the lump was nothing serious. Speaking to 9Honey Ashleigh, who is now an advocate and supporter of the Australian Cancer Research Foundation, said she tried to dismiss her concerned friend. 'I was so quick to be like "no, it's nothing. I've already checked it out, don't worry about it",' she said. But her friend didn't give up and urged her to see another doctor. Ashleigh decided to get it checked by a different GP the next day. A decision that potentially saved her life. The GP did tests and within a week she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Ashleigh was celebrating moving out of home, finishing university and getting a job as a lawyer so tried to dismiss her friend - pictured in 2022 following her recovery from the disease Weeks later, Ashleigh had surgery to have it removed before going on a course of radioactive iodine and other treatments in a bid to kill the cancer. This meant her initial time 'living out of home' was short. She took a period of leave from her job as a lawyer and moved back in with her parents. And for once she had no control. 'When I was at school, or uni, or work, or I was in a particular sport, I could just try harder and work harder at whatever it was to get a result. But I couldn't just work hard or study hard at not having cancer,' she said. Ashleigh needed something to distract her, so she started researching the thyroid and fundraising for cancer research. But she is healthy now because she did go to the doctor - and was diagnosed with cancer She planned a dinner inbetween her doctors and specialist appointments just so she had something to focus on. In hindsight she admits she probably put too much pressure on herself by organising the fundraiser which raised $26,000. But it has led to a continued relationship with the cancer research body and given Ashleigh the opportunity to warn others to look for the signs and to invest in research into all cancers. She is now raising money for the Australian Cancer Research Foundation's inaugural Fit40 in Feb challenge exercising for 40 minutes each day in February to raise vital funds for cancer research. You can help her with her fundraising efforts here. Many on TikTok believe she cared about looks more than her baby She bought a stash of beauty supplies and a curling wand to hospital American mum Carly Temple had her hair and makeup done before giving birth A young mum has been blasted on social media for having her hair and makeup done in hospital while in labour to avoid looking 'sweaty'. Before the birth of her second child in 2020, Carly Temple, from Mississippi, wanted to look her best - but many were left questioning her vanity. Sharing behind-the-scenes footage on TikTok, the mum brought a whole stash of beauty supplies to the ward and can be seen curling her hair while in the hospital bed. She also took a quick selfie video showing off her full-face of makeup complete with fake eyelashes, lip gloss and shimmering eyeshadow. At that point she was '4CM' dilated. 'I really gave birth like this,' she captioned the video. Carly Temple, from Mississippi, (pictured) wanted to look her best before the arrival of her second child in 2020, but was slammed by thousands on TikTok for 'caring more about looks' than her baby. She took a quick selfie video showing off her full-face of makeup Sharing footage on TikTok, the mum brought a whole stash of beauty supplies to the ward and can be seen curling her hair while in the hospital bed. Another photo included in the video shows someone touching up Carly's hair during the 17-hour labour (pictured) Another photo included in the video shows someone touching up Carly's hair during the 17-hour labour. The final shot is of Carly holding her new baby as the two sleep soundly together. The video swiftly exceeded more than 700,000 views with many criticising and mocking the young mum for her choice. 'When you care more about your vanity than child,' one person commented. 'And I'll be lucky if my legs are shaved,' another said, a third added: 'Why so extra?' 'Makeup was the LAST thing on my mind when I was in labour,' another woman wrote. Others thought Carly also looked similar to Kylie Jenner. Despite the backlash, others offered their support to the young mum. 'I think if I had something to focus on other than whatever was playing on tv I would have had a much easier time laboring this is awesome,' one person wrote. 'Why y'all worried about her doing her makeup. That may be a really relaxful way [sic] of dealing with labor. Self care,' another added. A third said: 'Gorgeous! These photos will be looked back on just as much as your wedding so why not want to look your best?!' Branded offerings can retail for up to four times the price Kmart shoppers are racing to get their hands on the store's latest trending launch -but they will have to move quick if they want one. The store is selling a budget-friendly version of the fashionable Esplanade cruiser bike - which can retail for around $700 for branded styles. The $179 bike features 28-inch wheels, a front basket and bike rack; the 70cm retro-style mint green bike has proven to be a sell-out every time and previous customers have left rave reviews. Everyone is talking about Kmart's $179 70cm Esplanade cruiser bike (pictured with Instagrammer Addison and me) The bike (left) is a budget-friendly version of the fashionable Esplanade cruiser style bike - which can retail for around $700 (right) Popular Instagrammers have been snapping the bargain up and posting it on their social media. 'My favourite thing to do to unwind is to ride down to the water,' said a Queensland mum who runs the page Addison and me. She uploaded a snap of herself and her two-year-old daughter taking the Kmart bike for a ride on the promenade, her daughter was strapped onto the bike in a bike seat. 'Im so sad that soon she will be too big for the back of my bike. I love our afternoon rides so much,' she said. The bikes can hold up to 100 kilos and is suitable for riders over 14, and who are at least 157 centimeters tall. Previous customers have high praise for the bike. 'I love this bike, my husband put it together very easily, it's so fun to ride, the seat is very comfy, excellent value, looks so cute and retro,' one woman said. 'It is lovely to ride and it has an alloy frame so it is very light,' another agreed. Kmart also sells other trending cruiser type bikes. Shoppers rave about the $189 rose gold Holland bike (left), and the wildly popular $159 Paris cruiser bike which is available in sky blue (right) Kmart also sells other trending cruiser type bikes. Shoppers rave about the $189 rose gold Holland bike, and the wildly popular $159 Paris cruiser bike which is available in sky blue. The store sells smaller cruiser bikes for kids and teenagers, including a light pink 50 Bella cruiser bike for $119, and a 40cm lilac cruiser bike for $99. One mum said she loves the range so much she owned three of the cruiser bikes at one point. One mum DIY-ed the bike because she loved the style but wanted to make it pink (pictured) Others say the bikes were big hits with their kids and get used often. 'My daughter has this bike. Absolutely loves it,' one woman said. One mum DIY-ed the bike because she loved the style but was trying to replicate the style of a designer bike. She was certain she wanted a pink vintage ladies bike, but couldn't find one for under $400. She bought the bike and used a $8 tin of Bunnings pink paint to give the bike a makeover. Golden Retrievers and French Bulldogs came in second and third The ten most popular dog breeds born in Australia last year have been revealed with the Cavoodle topping the list. Cavoodles came out on top in front of the Golden Retriever, French Bulldog, Golden Doodle or Groodle and the Border Collie. Pet Insurance Australia compiled the list based on the all the dog breeds born and insured throughout 2022. The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel cross Poodle was the number one breed Aussies welcomed into their homes. Poodle crosses were a popular choice as the Groodle and Labradoodle came in at number four and seven respectively. The top 10 dog breeds born in Australia in 2022 have been revealed by a pet insurance company with the Cavoodle or Cavalier cross poodle topping the list The top 10 dog breeds in Australia in 2022 Cavoodle Golden Retriever French Bulldog Golden Doodle (Groodle) Border Collie Miniature Dachshund Labradoodle Labrador German Shepherd Maltese Cross Advertisement The top 10 cat breeds in Australia in 2022 Domestic Shorthair Ragdoll British Short Hair Tabby Ragdoll Cross Maine Coon Burmese Devon Rex Bengal Peke-Faced Persian Advertisement While Poodle crosses were a popular choice for Aussies in 2022, the Golden Retriever (left) came in second while the French Bulldog (right) was the third most popular breed The Golden Retriever was the second most popular breed choice while the French Bulldog came in third and the Border Collie fifth. Also on the list was the Miniature Dachshund at number six, the Labrador in eighth, German Shepherd at number nine and the Maltese cross in tenth. Nadia Crighton from Pet Insurance Australia said the statistics give a 'lovely insight' into the types of pets Aussies are welcoming to their families with a 'great' combination of pure-bred and mixed breeds. She said it's important for Australians looking to adopt a pet to research the different types of breeds and their compatibility to their lifestyle. The Border Collie was the fifth most popular breed while the Miniature Dachshund, Labradoodle, Labrador, German Shepherd and Maltese Cross were also in the top 10 'Particularly with dogs, different breeds require different levels of exercise. Some simply adore a Netflix binge on the couch, while others will require a decent amount of exercise to keep them happy and healthy,' Nadia said. 'We always encourage people to look past the atheistic qualities of a pet and make sure their typical breed traits suit your household.' Nadia recommended considering adopting a pet even if you have a particular breed in mind. 'Contact local breeders who offer rehoming services or call your local shelter can allow you to offer a pet a forever home while obtaining the pet of your dreams,' she said. Five questions to ask when finding the right dog breed for you How much room do you have? This will impact the size of the pet you can have. How much time do you have? How active are you and your family? How much training will the dog require? How much experience do you have with training? Source: Pet Insurance Australia Advertisement Previously a survey revealed the most popular dog names in Australia. Luna was declared Australia's most used pup name as part of the annual Great Australian Dog Survey by Scratch, which surveyed almost 13,000 dog owners to find out what people dubbed their dogs. Since the last survey, Luna climbed four places to knock Buddy off the top spot which is now the third most popular name behind Charlie that came in second. Luna has been declared the most popular dog name in 2022 according to research that surveyed almost 13,000 Aussie pet owners (stock image) Ruby dropped three places to fourth while Frankie ranked fifth and is a newcomer to the top ten. The name Tilly has surged in popularity since the last survey rising seven positions to number ten. Fewer dog owners are naming their pets Bella which fell four spots to number six, while Archie placed seventh on the list. Also in the top ten were Molly at number eight and Daisy at number nine. She said men don't like hearing about feelings and being called bud A Canadian woman has listed what she believes to be the three things that will instantly turn any man off - but hundreds disagree with one. Georgia Costello, who owns clothing brand Strawberry Milk Mob, racked up thousands of views on the controversial list when she shared it online. She believes men hate when their partners talk about their feelings, call them 'bud' or refuse to shave their legs. The majority of men disagreed with Georgia's statement about discussing feelings, but nearly everyone said she was right when it came to being called 'bud'. 'If a girl calls me bud Im never talking to them again,' one man said. Scroll down for video Georgia Costello, from Canada, revealed the three things that will instantly turn any man off - but hundreds disagree with one (Georgia Costello pictured) She believes men hate when their partners talk about their feelings, call them 'bud' or refuse to shave their legs. The majority of men disagreed with Georgia's statement about discussing feelings, but nearly everyone said she was right when it came to being called bud Poll Do you do any of these things? Tell your partner your feelings Call your partner 'bud' Don't shave your legs All of the above! Do you do any of these things? Tell your partner your feelings 115 votes Call your partner 'bud' 3 votes Don't shave your legs 50 votes All of the above! 57 votes Now share your opinion 'This is my list of three things that men don't want you do to,' Georgia said when she shared the list to TikTok. She said the number one thing they do not want is for you to tell them how you feel. 'Have you ever heard of something called a mystery? Let's keep it a mystery, see how it works out,' she said. The entrepreneur then said that if you 'really wanna scare them off' you should begin calling the men in your life bud. 'Say "what's up bud?" They're gonna shiver in their underwear. They hate it,' she explained. The final thing on her list of what men hate was hairy legs from not shaving or waxing. Hundreds of men commented on the post disagreeing with the first point which said men don't want to hear about their partners feelings. 'First ones wrong. The rest are spot on,' one man said. 'Always know your girls feelings, you gotta talk about them to keep a strong relationship,' another commented. However, an overwhelming majority agreed that calling a man 'bud' is a 'major turn off'. 'The bud comment - most accurate on the list by far,' another wrote. Several women joked that they would use this checklist to purposely 'repel' men. 'Three things added to my to-do list thank you!' one woman said. The three things men don't want you to do: 1. Tell them how you feel 2. Call them 'bud' 3. Not shave your legs Advertisement A dating expert previously shared the two different types of 'nice guy' a woman will come across when she's dating, and why one will 'always get the girl over the other'. Louanne Ward, from Perth, said there is a huge difference between a man who is 'nice because he wants to be' and a man who is 'nice because he feels he has to be'. The one who is nice 'because he wants to be' will always end up getting the woman that he wants. 'There are two types of nice guys: One always gets the girl, the other doesn't,' Louanne captioned a new clip. A dating expert previously shared the two different types of 'nice guy' a woman will come across when she's dating, and why one will 'always get the girl over the other' (Louanne Ward pictured) According to the matchmaker, a man who is nice because he wants to be is always going to be a catch. 'He has confidence, he's a nice guy who treats women well. He has respect,' Louanne said. This type of man will typically 'plan great dates' and will come across as charming and well-mannered. But, importantly, Louanne said he has the 'expectation of reciprocity'. 'He has the ability to get up and walk away. He's not going to sit there and put up with a woman's BS,' she said. Louanne Ward (pictured) said there is one type of 'nice guy' who is nice because he wants to be, and another who is nice 'because he feels he has to be' On the other hand, you have the type of man who is being nice because he 'feels he has to be'. 'This type of man is often subjugated by a woman, it doesn't matter how she treats him, it doesn't matter whether she does anything back in return,' Louanne said. 'He's planning great dates and he's making an effort and she's treating him like a doormat, this guy doesn't have the balls to get up and walk away.' The dating expert said that being a nice man and a good human 'because you choose to be' will always be the sort of man that a 'woman would want to date'. 'But being a doormat and putting yourself below and choosing to stay in a situation and not having the strength to consider yourself and put yourself in a high enough standard where you have an expectation of reciprocity, that's not what being a nice guy is about.' She added that it's important to 'be nice to yourself first, treat women well and treat yourself well; if you're not getting anything back in return, that woman isn't worth spending time with'. Thousands of people who saw the clip were quick to thank Louanne (pictured) for sharing her advice and said it's always good advice to 'know when to hold and when to walk' Thousands of people who saw the clip were quick to thank Louanne for sharing her advice: 'Wow that's good advice in most situations know when to hold and when to walk away,' one person commented. 'You are so right,' added another. It found less of those children were recommended for university-track education Children born from an induced labour perform worse at school, a study suggests. Dutch scientists compared the academic performance of more than 225,000 kids aged 12. Children born through induced labour were 12 per cent less likely to fall within the group of highest intelligence, results showed. Currently about one in five labours in the UK are induced when contractions are started artificially. Doctors induce labour by inserting a gel or tablet into the vagina. Children born from induced labour perform worse on school tests as 12 year olds, a study has shown (file photo) NHS midwives recommend pregnant women whose babies are overdue after 41 weeks have their labour kickstarted artificially. This is to cut the risk of death and complications. Others get induced due to a health risk to the mother or baby, such as such as high blood pressure or the baby not growing properly. Yet doctors claim that there's an ever-growing trend of 'low-risk' mothers-to-be being induced early. Experts at the Amsterdam University Medical Center, who carried out the study, said the benefits of doing so needed to be weighed against the risks. Data was only collected from pregnancies without complications. All of the women gave birth between 37 and 42 weeks. Around eight per cent of the children studied were induced. In the Netherlands, 12 year olds are tested to help determine which of three types of secondary school they will attend. These include a four-year vocational education (VMBO), five-year general secondary education (HAVO), and a six-year pre-university education (VWO). Results were lower in induced children at every gestational age up to 41 weeks. Researchers said there was no difference between children who were induced and ones who weren't at 42 weeks. Renee Burger, study author, acknowledged the impact on individual children would be 'small'. But she claimed that it 'could lead to a potentially large impact on society, given the increasing number of elective inductions'. The authors said that while inductions have advantages in terms of limiting stillbirth and caesarean risks, it 'might come at a price of reduced long-term intellectual development' in offspring. The rates of people born by induced labour has increased in many countries in the last decade. In the UK, the number of induced births increased from 21 per cent in 2010, to 34 per cent in 2021. A similar trend has emerged in the US. The findings were published in the journal Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica (AOGS). Mothers-to-be who use certain flavours of vapes may be twice as likely to suffer a miscarriage, a disputed study has claimed. Health data taken from 600 pregnant women suggested those who used menthol and mint flavoured vaping liquid were at most risk. It prompted the researchers to state that vaping women should be encouraged to quit 'prior to and during early pregnancy'. But leading experts have today criticised the research, calling it 'irresponsible' and 'nonsense'. Vapes have long been hailed as a healthier alternative to traditional tobacco and even the NHS has said expectant mums should use them over cigarettes. A controversial US study found women who vape while pregnant were more likely to suffer a miscarriage depending what flavour they chose But health authorities have cautioned that the long term effects of using the devices are still unknown. It comes just days after the UK's chief medical officer, Sir Chris Whitty, demanded a crackdown on marketing tactics that are leading to a kid vaping epidemic. Academics from a trio of US universities used data gathered by a long-running study on smoking and vaping. Around 600 women who had recently been pregnant were analysed including a fraction who vaped while expecting. No significant differences were spotted between vapers and non-vapers overall in terms of foetal deaths, a category that included miscarriages and abortions in the study. Read more: Chris Whitty demands crackdown on kid vaping epidemic: Covid guru says officials must do 'everything we can' to stamp out child e-cig use as he attacks 'appalling' marketing tactics The Government's chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty, nicknamed 'Dr Doom' for his prominent, if gloomy, advisory role during the Covid pandemic told MPs that more needed to be done to shrink the nation's waistlines Advertisement But there was a heightened risk when they looked solely at different vaping flavours, their analysis suggested. Women who used mint- or menthol-flavoured vapes during or just before pregnancy were 227 per cent more likely to suffer a foetal death compared to other flavours. The authors said the results for candy-flavoured vapes were also associated with a higher risk of both foetal death (27 per cent), but, writing in the medical journal Preventive Medicine, they added this result was not 'statistically significant'. The exact mechanism for why menthol- and mint-flavoured vapes could cause this effect wasn't determined in the study. The authors cited previous research that suggested chemicals used to flavour vapes could cause inflammation in the body and damage cells as one potential mechanism behind the rise in risk. Previous studies have found some of the chemicals used in mint-flavoured vapes are carcinogenic. While adding that more research needed to be done, the authors said their results showed healthcare providers should encourage women to quit vapes both while trying to conceive and during pregnancy. 'Healthcare providers should encourage e-cigarette users to quit prior to and during pregnancy,' they wrote. But experts today warned of a catalogue of flaws in the study, including its small sample size and the fact it included abortions in the foetal death data. Professor Michael Ussher, an expert in behavioural medicine at St Georges University of London who is studying vaping and pregnancy, said: 'This study is not designed in a way that can assess whether vaping in pregnancy is associated with adverse birth outcomes.' One in 10 secondary school pupils are now vape-users, despite the uncertainty surrounding their long-term impact on health NHS Digital, which quizzed nearly 10,000 students aged 11 to 15 on their smoking, drug and drinking habits last year, found that nine per cent currently vape the highest rate logged since the survey began in 2014 Prevalence of vapes which can contain as much nicotine as 50 cigarettes has doubled among kids in less than a decade (Pictured: Elf bars) He said as the level of traditional smoking was not included among those who vaped the reason for the observed rise in foetal deaths couldn't be determined. 'Dual smoking and vaping is common and it is possible that the findings are due to high levels of smoking in the "vaping group".' Professor Lion Shahab, an expert on health psychology at University College London and a past president for the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco- Europe, also criticised the study. He added that it failed to account for other factors that could influence the outcome of pregnancy, such as exposure to second-hand smoke in the home. Professor Shahab also homed in on the results for alcohol flavoured vapes reducing risk of foetal death as another example that the data might not be reliable. What do the recent studies on e-cigarettes say? People who vape experience 'worrisome changes' in their blood pressure Vaping causes your blood pressure and heart rate to spike immediately afterwards, a study claimed. University of Wisconsin experts found vaping and smoking cause people's heart rates to spike 15 minutes after use and put the body in 'fight or flight' mode. The study, presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2022, looked at data for 395 participants 164 vapers, 117 smokers and 114 who had no history of nicotine, e-cigarette or tobacco use. Co-lead author Matthew Tattersall, an assistant professor of medicine at the university, said: 'Immediately after vaping or smoking, there were worrisome changes in blood pressure, heart rate, heart rate variability and blood vessel tone (constriction).' But the study has not been peer-reviewed and was only observational, so researchers could not prove vapes were actually causing the heart issues. E-cigarette users are less fit than people who do not vape Vapers perform worse when exercising than non-smokers and are more akin to smokers, a study claims. Researchers looked at data from the same participants as the previous study. After 90 minutes on the machine, they were given four heart screenings to determine overall health of the organ. People who vaped scored 11 per cent lower than those who did not use nicotine. Smokers had test scores 16 per cent lower than the control group. Dr Aruni Bhatnagar, a professor of Medicine at the University of Louisville said: 'These studies add to the growing body of science that shows similar cardiovascular injury among people who use e-cigarettes and those who smoke combustible cigarettes.' Vaping is 'just as bad as cigarettes for your heart' Vapers are at the same risk of heart disease as cigarette users, according to US federally-funded research. In two studies, one on mice and one on people, e-cigarettes were found to cause similar damage to blood vessels as smoking tobacco. The findings from experts at the University of California, San Francisco were published in the American Heart Association's journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (ATVB). Despite the difference in ingredients that make up e-cigarette aerosol and cigarette smoke, the researchers found that blood vessel damage does not appear to be caused by a specific component of cigarette smoke or ecigarette vapor. Rather, it appears to be caused by airway irritation which triggers biological signals in the valgus nerve. Dr Matthew Springer, a professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at the University of California, San Francisco said: 'We were surprised to find that there was not a single component that you could remove to stop the damaging effect of smoke or vapors on the blood vessels.' 'As long as there's an irritant in the airway, blood vessel function may be impaired,' he said. Advertisement 'This finding makes no sense whatsoever, suggesting this is an unreliable analysis and should not be trusted,' he said. 'Only e-cigarette users were included and what this likely means is that there is some important confounding variable that was not controlled. 'It is a spurious finding that has little biological plausibility and is likely not replicated in other datasets, especially since this finding is only seen with the problematic outcome of foetus death and not the more reliable outcome of high risk birth.' He added, however, that the topic of vaping harms in pregnancy was still an important one and deserving of more research. For expectant mums with a nicotine habit wanting to help keep their baby safe, Professor Shahab recommended using licensed products like patches and gum in the first instance. 'But if you find using an e-cigarette helpful for quitting and staying smoke-free, it's much safer for you and your baby than continuing to smoke,' he said. Hazel Cheeseman, deputy chief executive from the health charity Action on Smoking and Health, said pregnant women struggling to quit traditional tobacco products should not be put off using vapes to help. 'Many women in the UK are successfully using vapes to avoid smoking in pregnancy,' she said. 'It is irresponsible to discourage them from doing so without clear evidence of harm given the known and very substantial risks to mother and baby from smoking in pregnancy.' The NHS says little research has been done into the safety of vaping in pregnancy and particularly if the vapour is harmful to a developing baby. But the prestigious Mayo Clinic in the US warns that the nicotine contained in electronic can permanently damage a baby's developing brain and other organs, alongside many of the other chemicals in the devices. Using a vape as smoking cessation aid while pregnant is not officially recommended by the MHS which advises expectant mums struggling to quit to use patches or gums instead. While vapes are generally accepted as being healthier than cigarettes, experts are still unsure if there could be a long-term health cost of using the devices. A King's College London study, commissioned by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities at the Department of Health, has said it was clear that vaping is less harmful than cigarettes in the short to medium term and smokers should be encouraged to switch to vapes. However, it said current research is not robust enough to make clear conclusions about how harmful vaping is in the longer term. Vapes use has soared in the UK in recent years, with users blowing plumes of smoke across the country and vape shops becoming a common fixture on almost every High Street. But the rise of the vape has not been without controversy, given the fact they can cost as little as 5 and their popularity with children. Earlier this month major retailers pulled sales of bestselling Elf Bar vapes after a Mail investigation found the company was breaking the law on nicotine limits. Tesco, Sainsbury's and WH Smith withdrew all Elf Bar's products and Morrisons and Asda stripped the top-ranked Elf Bar 600 range from their shelves. It came after independent lab tests commissioned by the Mail found the 600 line of e-cigarettes were at least 50 per cent over the legal limit for nicotine e-liquid. Last September, experts called for a crackdown on the sale of vapes to children and concluded little is known about the long-term impact of e-cigarettes on health. Vermont police say they have confirmed Rita Curran's murderer using DNA from a cigarette butt and her clothes, over 50 years after her roommate discovered her dead in her room. Detectives identified William DeRoos, a man who resided in Curran's Burlington apartment complex, as the person responsible for the use of improvements in DNA testing and genetic genealogy, The police determined that DeRoos died of a heroin overdose in 1986 in San Francisco. This Vermont murder case has been closed, according to CNN. On the night of the July 1971 crime, DeRoos, who lived with his wife two floors above Curran, quarreled with his wife and left their apartment to "cool down," per a Burlington police investigation. A detective stated at the time that 24-year-old Curran was discovered dead after putting up a "vicious struggle" before her death. Authorities are now "unanimously certain" DeRoos was accountable, as the report published Tuesday indicates. A Case Gone Cold The following morning, authorities questioned DeRoos and his wife, who maintained they were together all night and did not notice anything. In 1971, officials looked into the case and gathered evidence in the Vermont murder scene, including a cigarette butt. Burlington Police Detective Lt. James Trieb, commander of the Detective Services Bureau, said it was crucial to solving the Vermont murder case. Trieb said the object was found near Curran's right arm in 2014 and sent in for Vermont murder DNA testing that same year. Trieb said a male DNA profile was identified, but a check of the country's law enforcement repository for genetic material yielded no matches, NBC News reported. Read Also: Putin Forces Russians To Attend Rally Extensive Genetic Research Solves The Mystery The government partnered with Parabon NanoLabs, a genetic genealogy organization that blends historical study with DNA analysis, to search publicly for indications about the Vermont murder killer's identity. The company's chief genetic genealogist, CeCe Moore, told reporters Tuesday that she narrowed the list of candidates to DeRoos within a few hours using a publicly accessible database. Following the finding, officers interrogated DeRoos' then-wife again, who indicated she and DeRoos had fought on July 19, 1971, and he fled. Trieb noted that after she had gone to bed, DeRoos came back and instructed her to inform the police that they had stayed in their house all night. Although no charges will be brought, the local state's attorney concluded reasonable cause that DeRoos committed the Vermont murder, according to Burlington Police Department acting chief Jon Murad. A brother of Curran told reporters that he prays to his parents and his sister, and he does not worry about Rita's murderer, but rather what his sister and their parents went through. according to People. Related Article: French Teacher Killed By 'Possessed' Pupil @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Prostate cancer screening could soon be offered to all middle-aged men after trials showed new techniques slashed the chances of overdiagnosis. Experts have long argued that only a national screening programme will significantly reduce deaths from the leading cancer in men. Until now, tests have been too unreliable to pass the threshold, with the potential for unnecessary harms deemed to outweigh the benefits. But new analysis of advances in screening and biopsy techniques in trials involving more than 600,000 men has been shown to cut potential harms by two-thirds (67 per cent). Trials have found MRI scans can effectively pick up tumours while a new biopsy technique, known as transperineal guided biopsies, slashes the risk of infection It comes as the UK's National Screening Committee announced it will review all evidence for prostate screening, with a decision expected by the end of the year. Charities welcomed the review, with estimates an NHS programme similar the breast screening offered to women could save thousands of lives every year. Dr Matthew Hobbs, director of research at Prostate Cancer UK, said: 'We've known for some time now that testing more men reduces prostate cancer deaths. 'But there have always been concerns about how many men would be harmed to achieve this. 'However, our evidence shows that screening may now be a lot safer than previously thought. 'That's why we are so pleased that the committee is going to review the evidence once more. 'It's important that they consider this study and actual outcomes from the real-world NHS data and we hope they will find that we've reduced harm enough to be ready to launch a screening programme for prostate cancer.' As it stands, men usually only find out they have prostate cancer when they start displaying symptoms such as frequent or difficulties urinating. They can request a 'PSA' blood test from their GP, which they are eligible for over the age of 50 but this is far from accurate missing many aggressive cancers and picking up too many cancers that would not cause problems if they had not been detected. As a result, it has never been deemed accurate enough for a screening programme. But trials have since found MRI scans can effectively pick up tumours while a new biopsy technique, known as transperineal guided biopsies, slashes the risk of infection. Prostate Cancer UK analysed several clinical trials and current practice alongside real-world data from 16 NHS trusts in London and the South-West. When compared to screening trial data using old methods, they found the percentage of men who suffered harm during the diagnostic process dropped from 13.39 per cent to 4.37 per cent. The number of unnecessary biopsies fell from 9.46 per cent to 3.44 per and the number of men who developed sepsis fell by half from 0.1 to 0.5 per cent, according to findings presented at the ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco. Meanwhile the number of men being diagnosed with clinically insignificant cancer meaning is unlikely to ever spread or cause real harm fell by 77 per cent. Ros Eeles, Professor of Oncogenetics at The Institute of Cancer Research, said the data 'supports the shift towards the investigation of how to implement prostate screening'. She said: 'It shows us a rationale for the way forward to implementing a prostate screening programme in the UK. 'The challenge will be to find better markers which indicate the presence of aggressive disease and to refine our use of genetic risk stratification to be able to target new methods of screening to those at highest risk.' Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in the UK behind breast cancer, responsible for around 12,000 deaths a year. It is estimated screening could cut deaths by a fifth but the current test is unreliable, resulting in men suffering harms such as unnecessary or repeated biopsies, which can lead to serious infections. Move is seen as retaliation for the Government holding private talks with nurses Ambulance workers have announced a new strike date after Government pay talks with nurses left other unions raging. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) called off a 48-hour strike planned for next week when health secretary Steve Barclay agreed to 'intense' discussions. However, the offer has angered other NHS staff who accused ministers of playing 'divide and rule' by only agreeing to talk to the College. Unison retaliated by revealing healthcare assistants, cleaners, porters and ambulance staff it represents will now walk out across England on March 8. It insisted there can be 'no pick-and-mix solution' and warned the decision to talk only to the RCN 'could make a bad situation much worse'. NHS ambulance staff from the union Unison will walk-off the job for another day in March as retaliation for the Government holding pay talk with only the Royal College of Nursing. Picture from a previous ambulance staff strike on February 20 While the RCN now paused a planned 48-hour strike action for March 1, industrial action by other unions is still going ahead with NHS ambulance union Unison announcing a new day of industrial action on March 8 Health workers at NHS Blood and Transplant, Great Ormond Street Hospital, the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool Women's Hospital and the Bridgewater Community Trust will be among those now walking out for the first time. They will be joined by ambulance staff at four services in England South Central, East of England, West Midlands and East Midlands, also now able to take action following a strike vote last week. This means staff will be on picket lines in all but one ambulance service in England. Unison members working for ambulance services in London, Yorkshire, the North East, North West and South West who have already taken action on four previous occasions will also walk out on March 8. Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: 'Unfortunately for patients, staff and anyone that cares about the NHS, the strikes go on. Read more: Junior doctor pay rise demands of up to 30 PER CENT are 'unrealistic', health minister warns as tens of thousands of medics prepare 72-hour strike that will hit A&E Junior doctors taking to picket lines in 2016, sparked by a contract dispute between medics and then-health secretary Jeremy Hunt Advertisement 'There can be no pick-and-mix solution. NHS workers in five unions are involved in strike action over pay, staffing and patient care. 'Choosing to speak to one union and not others won't stop the strikes and could make a bad situation much worse. 'The entire NHS team is absolutely determined to stand firm for better patient care. 'They'll be furious at the Government's failure to invite their union in for talks, not least because a deal just for nurses cannot possibly work, and nurses belong to other unions too. 'Next month staff in all but one of the ambulance services in England will walk out. 'They'll be joined by thousands more NHS colleagues, many striking for the first time. 'The action by NHS Blood and Transplant Staff will hit blood collection across the country too. 'By holding solo talks, the prime minister is condemning patients to many more months of disruption.' Dr Suzanne Tyler, from the Royal College of Midwives, said: 'This divide and rule tactic by the Westminster Government will not work. 'There are millions of health workers represented by the health unions and we remain united in our campaign for a better deal for all of our members.' The British Medical Association said Mr Barclay refused to meet the co-chairs of its junior doctors' committee today ahead of three consecutive days of strike action next month. In other NHS union news the British Medical Association (BMA) accused Health Secretary Steve of 'dragging his heels' for refusing to meet them directly following the doctor's union's successful strike ballot More than 47,000 junior doctors could hold a devastating three day strike in March following the BMA ballot. The situation is similar to the 2016 junior doctors pay dispute (pictured) which was the last time medics took to the picket line over pay Dr Rob Laurenson and Dr Vivek Trivedi, met Mr Barclay's officials, and told them it was not too late to stop up to 47,600 medics below the rank of consultant walking out of hospitals, including A&E. In a statement released afterwards, they said: 'There was no offer on the table and the Department made it clear they are not ready to enter negotiations but we left the Department of Health civil servants in no doubt that it is still not too late to avert a strike. 'We have now written to the Health Secretary, Steve Barclay asking to meet with him within the next 24 hours; frankly, he has dragged his heels for far too long. 'The Government has agreed to enter a process of intensive talks with other unions but the strength of feeling of our junior doctor members is being resolutely ignored.' Meanwhile, the National Education Union (NEU) has said teachers could pause strike action planned for next week if 'real progress' can be made in negotiations. Read more: Stop using receptionists as 'untrained medical triage services', campaigners say as NHS statistics show admin staff outnumber GPs in practices In 2015 family doctors outnumbered receptionists in England's primary care workforce by over 1,000. But by the end of 2022 this had completely changed with 3,000 more receptionists than GPs. Source: NHS Digital. Some data for reception numbers in 2016 and 2017 is incomplete and has been left in the graph as a straight line Advertisement Members are due to launch regional walkouts on February 28, March 1 and March 2 in the ongoing row over pay and recruitment. Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint general secretaries of the NEU, said they will recommend pausing the strikes to the union's national executive on Saturday if the government comes forward with a serious proposal. They said: 'We reiterate - we are ready to negotiate. We are prepared, should the negotiations make real progress, to pause next week's strikes. 'But the government has to show good faith. 'We ask ministers to drop its preconditions and to begin serious negotiations. We ask ministers to engage in earnest so that we can achieve what is surely a common objective - uninterrupted schooling for the nation's children and young people.' It comes after Education Secretary Gillian Keegan wrote to teaching unions inviting them to 'formal talks on pay, conditions and reform' on the condition that next week's strike action in England and Wales is cancelled. However, the wave of transport strikes that have swept the country since last year is set to continue, after Aslef announced that drivers on London Underground will walk out on Budget Day March 15 in a row over pensions and working arrangements. Downing Street declined to comment on the fresh talks between the RCN and the Government, stressing it was right that talks took place 'privately'. No10 said that it wanted a deal that is 'fair' for all taxpayers. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'We are now in a period of discussion that start today and will continue in the coming days, so I won't be commenting on the detail of those discussions while they are taking place.' Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he was 'grateful' to the College for entering into talks and calling off their strikes next week. Almost 140,000 ops and appointments have been cancelled because of NHS strikes this winter. That toll includes the biggest ever strike to rock the ailing health service on February 6, involving tens of thousands of nurses and paramedics Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, he said: 'I'm very pleased that the Government is in intensive talks with the Royal College of Nursing to find a way forward. 'As I've always said, we were keen to discuss these terms and conditions, and I'm glad that those conversations are now happening.' Answering another question, Mr Sunak said: 'I am grateful to them for entering into those talks with a spirit of constructive attitude, but also (for) calling off their strikes next week.' Addressing the teachers strike, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'We're obviously disappointed given, I think, the NEU and many other unions have wanted to talk about pay and have wanted to have these discussions for some time. 'We are inviting them to have those discussions, so it is obviously regrettable they are not choosing to pause strike action. 'The discussions and the talks are on the basis that they do stop strike action there will be no talks, obviously, if they do not take that step.' If you've felt like you had Covid recently but tested negative, you're not alone. A wave of respiratory and stomach bugs have been sweeping the US for months, striking earlier and more severe than usual and causing similar symptoms to the pandemic virus. An unseasonably early and vicious flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) outbreak largely subsided last month, but now a new familiar nuisance has resurged. Norovirus is a very contagious stomach bug that causes vomiting and diarrhea. Like Covid it can cause headaches, chills and a fever. But there are some ways to tell between the two. For norovirus, symptoms usually start one or two days after being infected and . Dehydration is often the earliest warning sign. A dry mouth and throat, listlessness, dizziness and increased urine output could also occur if the patient is dehydrated The above graph shows norovirus cases by year, with this year's data 2022/23 shown in red. Last year's (2021/22) is the blue dashed line, while the previous year is the blue dotted line. The average for the period before the pandemic is shown in gray. It reveals that cases of norovirus are pointing sharply upwards in the 14 states where they are monitored The telltale symptoms of norovirus, often known as the summer flu or travelers' diarrhea, are nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Some people also have a high temperature, a headache and aching arms and legs. Symptoms usually start one or two days after being infected. Dehydration is often the earliest warning sign. A dry mouth and throat, listlessness, dizziness and increased urine output could also occur if the patient is dehydrated. There are a lot of overlapping symptoms between the two, but Covid has more upper respiratory symptoms, a cough and the hallmark loss of taste or smell. Even though anosmia has become less common with new Covid variants, it rarely appears at all in other viral illnesses. Other Covid symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath and a dry cough. Another key difference between the two is that Covid symptoms usually last for two weeks whereas norovirus sufferers typically recover in a couple of days. People with either can usually manage their symptoms at home by drinking a lot of fluids to avoid dehydration. In more serious cases, norovirus can lead to dehydration and even death. Official data shows norovirus infections are up 66 percent in 2023 compared to last year and are rising across the country. Experts say the virus is took off earlier than normal, erupting around New Year's instead of its usual rise in late-February. Google searches for norovirus have risen more than six-fold since the start of February, a signal that more Americans are suffering these symptoms. Official data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that 225 norovirus outbreaks have been recorded since August, already up a third on the 172 recorded in the previous year. The CDC does not routinely test for, track and report norovirus information like it did for Covid, meaning actual case numbers are likely much higher. In the most recent update - including data for the week ending January 9 2023 - more than 20 outbreaks were recorded. For comparison, during the same week last year, there were 15 outbreaks. Cases are rising in all 14 states that report data to the CDC. These states include Alabama, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. There are also concerns the illness could be more serious than usual after lockdowns robbed children of vital immunity for fighting viruses. Norovirus is usually acquired by eating contaminated food, or touching a contaminated object and then putting your hand in your mouth. But, it can also spread from person-to-person through close contact with someone who is infected. Dr Simon Clarke, an Associate Professor in Cellular Microbiology at the University of Reading told our sister publication MailOnline: 'Good hand hygiene and not putting your fingers in your mouth are really important to reduce chances getting norovirus'. He added: 'Nobody knows whether the last person to touch a door handle or lift a petrol pump, unwittingly deposited something unpleasant which could make you sick.' Medics say the best way to avoid infection is to wash hands regularly, adding that hand sanitizers which worked against Covid do not work against norovirus. Experts also say hand sanitizer does not destroy the virus because it is resistant to alcohol. This means only thorough hand washing can help someone avoid catching it. Norovirus can spread all year round, but cases tend to rise in the late winter driven by more social events spurred by the warming temperatures. The virus is passed on via fecal matter that gets onto the hands and then transferred to other surfaces people touch. Ingesting only a small amount of the virus can trigger an infection. Patients tend to suffer a mild illness lasting for about one to three days, suffering symptoms including nausea, vomiting and stomach pain or cramps. Those most at risk of catching norovirus include young children yet to have built up immunity against it, those with underlying conditions and the elderly. There are no vaccines available, with medics saying it is best to allow the infection to run its course. A CDC spokeswoman previously told TODAY: 'While norovirus cases are rising in the US, CDC data as recent as January 2023 shows that reported norovirus outbreaks are within the expected range for this time of year.' Norovirus causes 19 to 21 million cases of vomiting and diarrhea, 109,000 hospitalizations and 900 deaths. Read more: The deadly conditions behind Sudafed safety review A teenage girl was left in intensive care after taking a common cold and flu remedy currently subject to a safety review. The 18-year-old, from France, was left confused, vomiting and battling blurred vision and headaches after taking pseudoephedrine. She ended up spending six days in ICU after suffering one of the extremely rare but deadly complications which have spooked health chiefs across Europe. Her case and another similar one in a Turkish man in his 50s are expected to be considered by regulators judging pseudoephedrine's health risks. Britain's medical regulator has launched a safety probe into the drug, it was revealed yesterday. An 18-year-old, from France, was left confused, vomiting and battling blurred vision and headaches after taking pseudoephedrine. Her case and another similar one in a Turkish man in his 50s are expected to be considered by regulators judging pseudoephedrine's health risks. The MHRA is 'reviewing available evidence' to determine whether the rules on selling products such as Sudafed and Day & Night Nurse need to change The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is 'reviewing available evidence' to see whether rules on selling products such as Sudafed and Day & Night Nurse need to change. It follows new reports of two life-threatening complications, which can both cause strokes. The conditions called posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) and reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) happen when blood supply to the brain is reduced, causing it to swell. Pseudoephedrine could be pulled from shelves or made prescription-only, if MHRA officials decide action is needed. Whitehall sources told MailOnline, however, that a rule change was unlikely. Other decongestants, such as products made by Benylin and Sinutab, would also be affected if any change was necessary. Dozens of own-brand remedies including ones at Boots and Lloyds also contain the chemical. It comes after bosses at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) launched their own review into the safety of the medicine less than a fortnight ago. It noted a 'small number' of cases had been logged in surveillance databases and medical literature. One of these cases is likely to be that of the French girl, who wasn't identified. Doctors at the University Medical Centre in Amiens shared the case of PRES in the journal Frontiers of Medicine in March 2022. The 18-year-old who had kidney failure, was already receiving hemodialysis a treatment via a machine to filter waste and water from the blood three times a week. She was also suffering from a bacterial infection in her bloodstream, triggered by a catheter. Admitted to the emergency department with mental confusion, blurred vision, headaches, and vomiting, the unidentified woman had taken an oral decongestant containing 60mg pseudoephedrine earlier that day. Everyday decongestant tablets found on pharmacy shelves often contain between 30mg and 60mg of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride. Some 60mg can be found in Sudafed decongestant tablets or Benadryl Plus Capsules, for example, available over the counter in Boots or Lloydspharmacy. Signs of PRES often include headaches, vision problems and seizures found in over two thirds of cases according to the NHS. The symptoms of PRES usually come on quickly, in just a matter of hours, and worsen over a period of 12 to 48 hours While the woman's blood tests and glucose levels were classified within a normal range, doctors recorded a high blood pressure reading of 210/100mmHg. An ideal blood pressure is considered to be between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg. She was transferred to intensive care where she was sedated and ventilated. MRI brain scan results later showed swelling on her blood vessels and brain tissue, interrupting the brain-blood barrier. The woman who made a full recovery also had both kidney failure and sepsis, tests revealed. Medics wrote 'uncontrolled hypertension from oral decongestant in the setting of renal failure and sepsis might have triggered PRES'. PRES is linked with a swathe of conditions, though most frequently with high blood pressure, eclampsia, severe infection, kidney disease and some autoimmune diseases. Doctors don't know exactly what is behind PRES. But seven in ten sufferers have high blood pressure, which puts pressure on the blood vessels and can cause surrounding brain tissue to swell. Signs of PRES often include headaches, vision problems and seizures found in over two thirds of cases according to the NHS. The symptoms of PRES usually come on quickly, in just a matter of hours, and worsen over a period of 12 to 48 hours. Later in September 2022, medics at Konya City Hospital in Turkey also noted a further case of PRES in a 56-year-old man. In an effort to relieve his runny nose, sore throat and headache, the unidentified man took two doses of paracetamol and pseudoephedrine tablets. But following his second dose, he suffered a generalized tonic-clonic seizure in his sleep - where the muscles stiffen, the patient loses consciousness and arms and legs begin to jerk rapidly. Writing in the journal Clinical Neuropharmacology, doctors said the man was not known to have any risk factors associated with the potentially deadly condition. However, an MRI scan revealed swelling on both sides of the brain, leading doctors to diagnose PRES. The man was later diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes in a follow-up appointment. Scientists are developing custom 3D-printed replicas of human hearts - in an effort to improve life-saving technology fitted in thousands of patients each year. The models mimic blood flow and pressure in patients' diseased hearts, allowing surgeons to improve replacement valve procedures and select the best fit. Replacement heart valves are used when a person's natural valve is diseased or damaged, stopping the heart from working as it should. Avoiding potential leakage and failure could remove the need for patients to have multiple risky heart surgeries in their lifetimes. The prosthetic heart valve market was worth almost $7 billion in 2021 but is expected to more than double in the next decade as the population ages. Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a 3D-printed heart that they can get to pump like a real organ. Pictured above is the heart being developed on a computer Scientists said the heart could be used to test how valves would work which are implanted into patients suffering from aortic stenosis This is only the latest medical advance achieved through 3D printing. In December, scientists at the National Eye Institute in Maryland used the technique and stem cells to generate eye tissue. Experts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Cleveland Clinic and other institutions developed the artificial hearts using cans from 15 patients with aortic stenosis, a narrowing of heart valves that impedes blood flow. Everyone's heart contains four valves that stop blood from flowing backward with each beat, allowing for a steady supply of oxygen and nutrients. But in aortic stenosis, the valve between the lower left chamber ventricle and the main artery aorta becomes narrowed and doesn't fully open. This leaves the left ventricle needing to work harder, causing chest pain, and may also cause oxygen-rich blood to start to flow backward into the lungs. About 1.5million people in the United States suffer from aortic stenosis, with four-fifths of those who don't get treatment dying within five years. Patients currently receive two different valves: Either the self-expanding Evolut R which enlarges to fill the gap where the valve is when it is heated or the SAPIEN 3 which is put in place of the damaged valve using a balloon. Medics at MIT hope that their replica heart could be made for each patient to test which valve would work best. It could also be used to help in the treatment of other patients, they said, such as those with congenital heart disease, one or more problems with the heart's structure that exist since birth. Similarly, the device could be used in industry to help to develop new treatments and in colleges to train future doctors. Dr Luca Rosalia, a graduate student in the MIT-Harvard Program, told DailyMail.com the replica takes about a day to make. He was not clear on the costs. The model, revealed this week in Science Robotics, was developed using images from 15 patients with aortic stenosis. Images were converted into a three-dimensional computer model of their left ventricle and aorta using polymer ink. Elastic sheets were also applied to allow the replica to expand and contract, just like a real heart, and a rigid skeleton was applied to ensure that it kept its shape. Scientists also used the machines to print a 3D model of the patient's aortas. This model included the valve that was narrowed or partially closed. Once created, the heart was connected to a system that pumps air in and out, mimicking the flow of blood in a patient with aortic stenosis. They then tested applying different valves to the model, to measure how the flow of air a substitute for blood changed. This image shows the model with tubes attached to pump air in and out - which mimics blood. The doctors said it began to work just like a real heart. The model is of a left ventricle and aorta Pictured above is the model heart being held by one of the researchers Asked whether this model brought the scientists closer to making a 3D heart that could be transplanted into patients, Mr Rosalia told DailyMail.com that was the case. 'Some of the soft robotic sleeve elements could be used to support cardiac function in patients with aortic stenosis,' he added. '[But] our work is preclinical.' 'This is a model, but we envision it being built for every patient that comes in' to test the impact of replacing the aortic valve in the heart. 'There is a big need to have a model that is patient-specific and can also simulate cases where there is an anomaly in the morphology of the aortic valve,' he said. 'We have patients who as they get old, it gets narrower, and others who are born with congenital defects [who could benefit].' Co-author Dr Ellen Roche, of Massachusetts General Hospital, said: 'Being able to match the patients' flows and pressures was very encouraging. 'We're not only printing the heart's anatomy but also replicating its mechanics and physiology. That's the part we get excited about.' When valves were implanted as they pumped the researchers observed they produced similarly improved flows as seen in patients following their procedures. Co-author Dr Christopher Nguyen, of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, said: 'Patients would get their imaging is done, which they do anyway, and we would use that to make this system - ideally within the day. 'Once it's up and running clinicians could test different valve types and sizes and see which works best - then use that to implant.' Architects of Britain's Covid lockdowns are modelling how many Britons could die in a bird flu outbreak amid growing fears that the virus may soon jump to humans. UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) officials are now developing 'scenarios of early human transmission' to 'facilitate preparedness'. Only one Briton has caught bird flu since the outbreak of the killer illness began sweeping the world in October 2021. Yet fears of another pandemic are quickly notching up. Cases of the H5N1 strain have already jumped from birds to mammals. It has sparked huge concern among top virologists that the deadly pathogen is now one step closer to spreading in humans a hurdle which has so far stopped it from triggering a pandemic. Among those working on the models is Professor Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist whose chilling projections of the Covid outbreak led the UK Government to impose the first lockdown. It comes as a dozen people in Cambodia are suspected of being infected with H5N1 in the same province where an 11-year-old girl died on Wednesday raising fears the virus may even be spreading from human to human. This picture released by Cambodia's Communicable Disease Control Department (CDCD) on Thursday shows villagers posing with posters about the H5N1 virus in Prey Veng province where a girl died from the virus this week Among those working on the models is Professor Neil Ferguson (pictured), an epidemiologist whose projections of the Covid outbreak led the UK Government to impose the first lockdown The Khmer Times a local newspaper reported that the suspected patients have all been tested for the virus and are waiting on lab confirmation, four of whom are symptomatic. Dr Arturo Casadevall, an immunologist at Johns Hopkins University in the US, wrote on Twitter: 'Key information is whether the 12 infected people obtained it from a bird source or from human-to-human transmission, which would be very worrisome.' Dr Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and Chief of COVID Task Force at the New England Complex Systems Institute, tweeted: 'Hope this wasn't human to human, but I'm now getting to be worried,' H5N1 was first detected in chickens in Scotland in 1959, and again in China and Hong Kong in 1996. It first was detected in humans in 1997. Human-to-human transmission of H5N1 is incredibly rare, but not impossible. In 1997, officials confirmed 18 H5N1 cases in Hong Kong, some of which were acquired through human-to-human transmission. The outbreak stayed relatively small, though. And did not spiral into a massive issue at either the local or global level. This recent outbreak has caused particular concern. More than 15million domesticated birds, and countless wild animals, have been struck down by the virus. There is nothing to be done that can prevent the spread among wild birds, but officials are working to keep domesticated populations away from them. In the UK, all farmed chickens are now required to stay indoors. Among those working on the models is Professor Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist whose modelling of the Covid outbreak led the UK Government to impose the first lockdown. The above map shows locations where there is a growing risk of a zoonotic virus outbreak. Dr Jennifer Nuzzo, a public health expert at Brown University in Rhode Island, warned that Texas was also a potential epicenter Pictured: A National Trust ranger clears deceased birds from Staple Island in July 2022 The UKHSA graph shows the number of bird flu cases, by region in England, confirmed among kept and wild birds between October 2022 and February 2023 A young girl in Cambodia has died from the H5N1 bird flu. She was infected with the virus last week. She is the nation's first case since 2014 (file photo) The above map shows bird flu cases detected in poultry facilities (left) and in wild birds (right) in 2022 and 2023. The WHO has warned the world to prepare for a potential bird flu pandemic saying the virus could jump to humans Before the cases in Cambodia, only one case of H5N1 in humans had been detected this year. Cases in humans have been rare in recent years In an update today, the UKHSA confirmed that its Avian Influenza Technical Group which includes Professor Ferguson and around two dozen other experts calculated how an outbreak could sweep the UK. Under a 'mild scenario', the scientists estimated that one in 400 people who caught bird flu would die due to the virus. This infection fatality rate (IFR) of 0.25 per cent is similar to Covid's in mid-2021 and the 2009 bird flu outbreak. But under a 'more severe scenario', the virus would be fatal among one in 40 people who became infected (an IFR of 2.5 per cent). However, the World Health Organization warns that of the 868 human H5N1 cases reported to it over the last two decades, 456 - just over half - have been fatal. Bird flu outbreak: Everything you need to know What is it? Avian flu is an infectious type of influenza that spreads among birds. In rare cases, it can be transmitted to humans through close contact with a dead or alive infected bird. This includes touching infected birds, their droppings or bedding. People can also catch bird flu if they kill or prepare infected poultry for eating. Wild birds are carriers, especially through migration. As they cluster together to breed, the virus spreads rapidly and is then carried to other parts of the globe. New strains tend to appear first in Asia, from where more than 60 species of shore birds, waders and waterfowl head off to Alaska to breed and mix with migratory birds from the US. Others go west and infect European species. What strain is currently spreading? H5N1. So far the new virus has been detected in some 80million birds and poultry globally since September 2021 double the previous record the year before. Not only is the virus spreading at speed, it is also killing at an unprecedented level, leading some experts to say this is the deadliest variant so far. Millions of chickens and turkeys in the UK have been culled or put into lockdown, affecting the availability of Christmas turkey and free-range eggs. Can it infect people? Yes, but only 860 human cases have been reported to the World Health Organization since 2003. The risk to people has been deemed 'low'. But people are strongly urged not to touch sick or dead birds because the virus is lethal, killing 56 per cent of people it does manage to infect. Advertisement The Avian Influenza Technical Group noted that while other H5N1 outbreaks have had 'much higher fatality estimates', these did not involve sustained human-to-human transmission, so are not 'directly comparable'. Unlike the Covid pandemic, the scientists said that a bird flu outbreak could be more deadly among the young, rather than the elderly as was seen in the 1918 flu pandemic. Professor Ferguson has admitted he became 'something of a marmite figure' and that he 'made mistakes' and 'oversimplified things' during the pandemic. Modelling from the epidemiologist and his colleagues at Imperial College London in March 2020 predicted the NHS would be overwhelmed within weeks and a terrible death toll would arise if nothing was done to stop the spread of the disease. Professor Ferguson has said while it had been challenging for most Western governments to act in a timely manner, the science throughout the crisis 'had basically been right'. In light of the modelling, the UKHSA said it would continue to investigate how it could detect cases if there was an outbreak among people. This could see Covid-style lateral flow tests rolled out to test Brits for bird flu, it said. The UKHSA said it is investigating whether the swabs, which provided results in as little as 15 minutes during the Covid pandemic, would detect the circulating deadly H5N1 strain. It is also probing whether a blood test could be developed that detects antibodies against the virus. Genetic mutations in positive samples are also being monitored for any signal that the virus is mutating to become a bigger risk to people. It will 'remain vigilant' over whether the 'constantly' evolving virus, which kills over half of those it infects, has gained mutations that may better allow it spread among people. The UKHSA also noted that the 'very high levels' of transmission in wild birds presents a 'constant risk'. The agency noted that there is 'no evidence so far that the virus is getting better at infecting humans or other mammals' and data suggests H5N1 'does not pass easily to people'. But it warned there is an 'increased chance' of people coming into contact with the virus due to the sky-high rates among birds. It urged Brits to avoid contact with sick or dead wild birds in parks and waterways and wash their hands after feeding wild birds, to reduce the risk of exposure to bird flu. Dr Meera Chand, incident director for avian influenza at the UKHSA, said: 'The latest evidence suggests that the avian influenza viruses we're seeing circulating in birds do not currently spread easily to people. 'However, viruses constantly evolve, and we remain vigilant for any evidence of changing risk to the population, as well as working with partners to address gaps in the scientific evidence.' The weekly update also revealed that 2,310 Brits have been monitored by UKHSA officials between October 1 2022 and February 14 after being exposed to bird flu. Imperial College London published a paper in March 2020 on the potential impact of coronavirus. It weighed up options on how a lockdown could reduce demand on hospitals The UKHSA graph shows the number of cases of the H5N1 bird flu strain detected among mammals, such as foxes and otters, between October 2021 and January 2023 in England (light blue), Scotland (dark blue) and Wales (green) The graph, from the UKHSA, displays cases of H5N1 among mammals worldwide between January 2020 and February 2023 The UKHSA graphic shows the number of people exposed to bird flu between October 2022 and February 2023, by region in England But samples taken from those who developed any cold or flu-like symptoms in the three weeks after coming into contact with the virus revealed none had become infected. The UK's avian flu outbreak began in October 2021, after health chiefs spotted the virus was still spreading among birds after the spring and summer months when they usually decline. Health chiefs have warned that the winter migration of wild birds is likely to further hike avian flu transmission in the coming months. This is because migrating birds can infect local kept and wild birds, driving up cases. As well as record cases in birds, the virus has also been spotted in other animals, such as foxes, otters and seals in the UK, mink in Spain and sea lions in Peru. This sparked concern that the virus may be spreading between the mammals, which would indicate it had picked up a troublesome mutation that could, in theory, make it easier for humans to become infected. Nearly 300 confirmed cases of H5N1 have been detected among birds in England since the current outbreak began in October 2021. However, the true toll is thought to be much higher. The map shows the areas where cases have been detected and where 3km (blue dots) and 10km (yellow dots) protection zones have been imposed meaning enhanced infection control measures are in place among those who have birds Pictured: A dead bird in Queens Park in Heywood, Rochdale, amid the bird flu outbreak Alan Gosling (pictured), a retired engineer in Devon, caught the virus after his ducks, some of which lived inside his home, became infected. No one else caught the virus Further testing is still required to determine if mammals are transmitting the virus, however. But there has only been one case of a British person becoming infected since the current outbreak began. Alan Gosling, a retired engineer in Devon, caught the virus in early 2022 after his ducks, some of which lived inside his home, became infected. Cambodian Health Minister Mam Bunheng warned that bird flu poses an exceptionally high risk to children who may be feeding or collecting eggs from domesticated poultry, playing with the birds or cleaning their cages. The virus can spread to humans when a person has an open wound exposed to an infected bird. Usually, infections occur when a person is pecked or clawed by a bird. Transmission can also occur from a dead bird to a human. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency still deems the risk of bird flu to humans as low. 'But we cannot assume that will remain the case, and we must prepare for any change in the status quo,' he said earlier this month. He advised people not to touch dead or sick wild animals and for countries to strengthen their surveillance of settings where people and animals interact. Cambodia had 56 human cases of H5N1 from 2003 through 2014, and 37 of them were fatal, according to the World Health Organization. Each person had samples were taken for analysis for a lab in Phnom Penh, the nation's capital, around 40 miles west of the rural province of Prey Veng, where the suspected cases were detected. It is unclear whether this group of people had any interaction with the 11-year-old girl, or if they come from the same part of the province. It is also unclear whether they had interactions with any birds that could be carrying the virus. More than 1.1million people live in Prey Veng, it is the third most populous province in the country, and known to be densely populated. Prey Veng is also were the girl who eventually died lived. She became ill on February 16 and was sent to be treated at a hospital in the capital She was diagnosed last Wednesday after suffering a fever up to 39C (102F) with coughing and throat pain. She died shortly after her diagnosis, the Health Ministry said in a statement Wednesday night. There are no treatments designed specifically for humans infected with bird flu, let alone H5N1. Those who fall ill are treated with regular antiviral drugs such as Zanamivir and Peramivir. In case of an outbreak, the US does have a stockpile of vaccines designed to prevent infection from H5N1. It is sold under the name Audenz and was approved in 2021 by the Food and Drug Administration for people six months and older. It is a two-dose vaccine. Health officials have taken samples from a dead wild bird at a conservation area near the Prey Veng girl's home, the ministry said in another statement Thursday. It said teams in the area would also warn residents about touching dead and sick birds. Experts warn that the virus is adapting in ways that allow it to cause outbreaks in other mammals - increasing the risk it could spread among people. In October, an outbreak of the bird flu ravaged a population of 52,000 mink at a farm in Spain. Some of the critters were initially infected by eating meat from birds that died while infected. There were also signs of mink-to-mink spread of the flu, which is unusual for a mammal population and signals a change to the virus. In Peru, 716 sea lions were found to have died from the bird flu in recent weeks. Local officials worry that the virus has also spread between the animals - which are also mammals. The world is suffering what has been described as the worst bird flu outbreak ever recorded, with over 58million birds in the US alone having been culled or killed by the virus over the past year. Unlike usual spikes in bird flu that last months, this outbreak sustained itself through the summer of 2022 and is spread almost entirely by wild birds For the US poultry industry the battle has been deadliest in history. The outbreak has ramped up pressure on the industry to protect its flocks and forced them to kill millions of birds to avoid the deadly spread. To protect their domesticated birds, farmers around the country have installed extra protections from wild flocks, including installing vibrating mechanisms in containers holding chicken feed to avoid worker contamination. The disease is so contagious that wind can carry bird droppings to a barn vent causing the virus to circulate inside. It can also be spread to commercial flocks by workers stepping on wild-bird feces outside of a barn and spreading it inside with each step. Some farms have installed motion-detecting alarms, known as 'sound cannons', as well as bright laser systems to shoo away wild birds without harming them. The recent spread of the virus has lead to rampant inflation of both chicken and egg prices in the US and across the world. Federal officials also fear that the spring migration of birds could also reignite spread of the deadly virus. A Cambodian man carries dead chickens at a market in Phnom Penh - the capital and most populous city of Cambodia It comes as experts express greater fears of the threat of zoonotic diseases spreading in America. Last week, experts at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and New York University, warned about the risks of zoonotic transmission. In an editorial, they accuse the US of being too obsessed with external threats such as bioterrorism and lab leaks while failing to keep a close eye on the risks in its own backyard. They called for an overhaul of regulatory agencies, including the US Department of Agriculture. Experts have already warned that the next zoonotic outbreak could occur in China because of its wet food markets and Rwanda and Brazil where urbanization and expanding agriculture are bringing people into contact with wild animals they would previously have been separated from. But they also warn that Texas one of the world's leading producers of meat could also be a hotbed for new dangerous viruses. In the piece, they urged: 'What is needed is not simply for agencies to do their jobs better or to paper over the gaps, but a fundamental restructuring of the way that human-animal interfaces are governed. 'A One Health approach, which NBS-22 claims as its guiding principle, would take the health of other living things not merely as the occasional means or obstacles to human health, but as continuous with it. 'The first step in implementing such an approach would be to create a high-level process for integrating the broken mosaic of multiple agencies, with their unclear and sometimes competing mandates, into an effective, comprehensive regime.' Figures show 10billion animals were killed for meat in the US in 2022, the highest number on record and up 204million in 2021. The country is also a leading importer of live animals which could harbor diseases bringing in about 200million annually according to estimates. There is also a large wild game market which raises about 40million animals annually. Scientists warned that infections could jump from animals to humans at any stage in the meat supply chain from the rearing facility right through to slaughter and where it is consumed. They warn there is a higher risk with live imported animals because these come into the US with no health and safety checks on arrival, meaning they could bring new diseases into the country. There is also a higher risk with game animals, because these are not sanitized or regulated before being eaten. Evidence is mounting that the US is already facing a growing number of animal-to-human infections. The country recorded more animal-to-human infections in the second half of the 20th century than any other country globally, the scientists said. Reporting The Second World War by Tim Luckhurst (Bloomsbury 24.99, 255pp) BOOK OF THE WEEK REPORTING THE SECOND WORLD WAR by Tim Luckhurst (Bloomsbury 24.99, 255pp) Winston Churchill described it as Britain's secret weapon during the long and bloody years of World War II. But he wasn't talking about any whizz-bangery on the battlefield. He was referring to a cartoon strip in the Daily Mirror, one of the most successful of Britain's wartime popular papers. Artist Norman Pett's Jane ran every day: she was a scantily dressed girl about town and her exploits entertained Britain's fighting men and their families throughout the war. She was a powerful symbol of Britons' cheerfulness and robust sense of humour, though much of it would be unlikely to survive in these more timorous days. For his strip on VE Day, May 8, 1945, Pett took the radical step of showing Jane naked. It begins with Jane in full army uniform, a glass of champagne in one hand. In the other is the flag of the Soviet Union, a nod towards Mirror readers' admiration for the courage (and huge casualties) of the Red Army. A male pal stands in the doorway carrying a Union Jack. Jane raises her glass and says: 'Victory at last, Smiler. I shall soon be out of my uniform now.' In the next frame, Jane is mobbed by a bunch of squaddies, all demanding a souvenir of their favourite pin-up. Jane emerges from the crush naked except for a strategically placed Union Jack. Smiler jokes: 'You've said it, Jane you've been demobbed already.' It might not go down too well today, but, by golly, it kept people going in the war. The dedication to the war effort of Jane and her undies is just one of the many fascinating insights in this engrossing study, the first about the British Press in World War II. Professor Tim Luckhurst of Durham University is that increasing rarity among media academics: he actually likes the Press. Artist Norman Pett's Jane ran every day: she was a scantily dressed girl about town and her exploits entertained Britain's fighting men and their families throughout the war Which he should do really, because, after a distinguished career as a news journalist at the BBC, he edited the Scotsman newspaper. The Press has not always been the vivid, raucous, robust institution it is today. Its behaviour in 1936 over the abdication crisis had been pretty supine, colluding with ministers to keep news of Edward Vlll's affair with Wallis Simpson, a U.S. divorcee, out of the papers. Similarly, the Press failed to be especially critical of appeasement, despite what was clearly Hitler's willingness to expand without any regard for international deals. Geoffrey Dawson, editor of The Times and a close friend of Neville Chamberlain, was an arch appeaser and his paper fawned over the Munich Agreement. The Press came to World War II understanding that this was a war for national survival, a good war, a just war, perhaps the last one. So no newspaper, apart from the Communist Party's Daily Worker, wanted to undermine the war effort. The Press came to World War II understanding that this was a war for national survival, a good war, a just war, perhaps the last one. Pictured: Newspaper stand in 1940 One of a set of "British Official Photographs' distributed by the MOD during the war is praise of Britain's free and independent press But nor did they lose their editorial independence or their willingness to challenge, criticise and confront. This annoyed ministers from all parties, which is as it should be, despite the best efforts of some to bring the Press under state control. Circulations were huge: four out of every five British families read a newspaper. The Press were guardians of democracy and fierce defenders of their readers' interests. Papers were far more popular than radio as a source of news. The BBC, which was slow and ponderous, was commonly regarded as a branch of the Ministry of Information. It didn't emerge with much credit over the relief of Belsen concentration camp in April 1945, reported by Richard Dimbleby. His account of the abominable scenes within the camp is even now regarded as a model of journalism: meticulous and factual, Dimbleby combined humanity and authority to convey to his audience the full horrors of the Nazi regime. Circulations were huge: four out of every five British families read a newspaper. The Press were guardians of democracy and fierce defenders of their readers' interests. Pictured: Actresses at Revudeville theatre reading the morning paper But senior BBC staff found what he described quite literally incredible and refused to broadcast it. Dimbleby had to threaten to resign before the BBC relented. The Press was still able to do what it does best, though running vigorous campaigns on a range of ills. In the aftermath of the retreat from Dunkirk, it became clear the children of the rich and powerful were being evacuated to the U.S. and Canada. With powerful headlines from the conservative Express 'To Go Or Not To Go? The Rich Go First', and the Left-leaning Mirror, 'Only The Rich Go' the practice soon ended. In the early days of the Blitz in autumn 1940, there was growing controversy over the lack of fair access to deep underground air raid shelters in poorer neighbourhoods and readers reported that, even under intense bombing, they were being turned away from London's grand hotels during air raids. The Sunday Pictorial's intrepid and stylish war reporter, Bernard Gray, had often entertained contacts at Claridge's, The Ritz and The Berkeley. Now dressed in the rough clothes of the working man, he tested the hotels' reaction. As the bombs started to fall, he was turned away from all the hotels, nearly getting blown up outside The Ritz. What the story proved was that snobbery and division did exist, despite the very specific guidance on posters throughout Britain: 'Open your door to passers-by. They need shelter, too.' At the end, winning the war and readers' interests were the same. The papers, with all their variety had kept democracy going. Pictured: People in London Reading Newspapers, ca. 1943 Eventually the rows over the lack of deep shelters would lead to resignation of the Home Secretary, Sir John Anderson. Luckhurst is not uncritical of the Press. He points out it was reluctant to explore what was happening to Jews across Europe, although the brutality of Nazi race laws had been identified long before the war began. He also feels it could have done more to expose the full horror of the RAF's ruthless carpet-bombing of German cities such as Dresden, wiping out hundreds of thousands of civilians. Bomber Command's claims that all the raids were precision-bombing were clearly preposterous, but editors concluded that any criticism might be seen to undermine the war effort, and not respect the enormous bravery of aircrew, as well as the hideous casualties they suffered. At the end, winning the war and readers' interests were the same. The papers, with all their variety the horoscopes, cartoons, lifestyle tips and gossip, as well as the news had kept democracy going. What this book, a gripping study of journalistic history, shows above all is that any attempts to control the Press, then as now, would do a grave disservice to the brave men and women who kept the written media going through World War II. People Hacker by Jenny Radcliffe (Gallery 16.99, 304pp) PEOPLE HACKER by Jenny Radcliffe (Gallery 16.99, 304pp) Here's another Professional Confessional, a book about someone's unusual worklife, and as gripping as any of this fascinating genre I have read. Jenny Radcliffe is what she would probably call a freelance security consultant, but what the publishers have sensibly labelled a 'burglar for hire'. She tests the security of companies and individuals by breaking into their buildings, often with the greatest of ease, telling them about it afterwards, often with some glee. It sounds a wonderful job. Some burglars for hire are more technologically minded, and absolute whizzes with computers. Radcliffe, by contrast, is more of a people person. She thinks that the weaknesses in most organisations are not the technology, but the people who run it. Her job, as she sees it, is to identify the most careless and the least observant of those people and then run rings around them. Her book is essentially a collection of greatest hits: her adventures in the security trade. Radcliffe has been nearly caught more times than seems entirely decent: it's a small miracle that she has survived to write this book. With each chapter allotted to a separate adventure, we begin in the Far East. One day she gets a call from 'Frank', an occasional client. He wants her to break into a house somewhere in Asia belonging to a friend of his, one that isn't especially well-alarmed, guarded or even inhabited for most of the time, and leave a note saying, in effect: 'You've been Tango-ed.' (It may have been Frank's idea of a joke.) She finds the house in a deserted residential area: it looks completely uninhabited. Getting in isn't too hard, and leaving the note is a piece of cake, but as she goes to leave, what she calls a 'serious security crew' roll up in their enormous black cars, armed to the teeth, chattering in Chinese and looking for trouble. It takes luck and a following wind for her to make her escape, after being face down in some soil and getting her hair caught under the back wheels of one of the vehicles, but she makes it back to the hotel, runs a bath and downs two large cocktails to steady her nerves. Jenny Radcliffe is a professional 'people hacker' - someone who claims she can get past anyone and get in anywhere Later chapters take us around Radcliffe's rather rackety childhood in Liverpool, which seems to be mainly characterised by her getting access to a really good pair of binoculars. Staring at the office building over the street, she notices that nothing ever happens on the eighth floor. No one works there during the day, no lights are ever switched on, and the security staff don't even bother checking it at night. So she breaks in and has a look around. In her later career, she will establish that a lot of buildings have their 'eighth floor' equivalents, where the building's water tanks have been built in and where old files go to die. We're talking about someone who has never paid to get into the Glastonbury Festival, although sneaking in gets harder with each successive year. Only for the first year was she hauled over the fence by a friendly Irish guy. Later on she pretended to be part of the litter patrol, and latterly has even turned up in her own hi-vis yellow vest, to be waved in by careless security guards. Buying a ticket is so 20th-century! Radcliffe claims that being a woman has definitely been a help in her chosen career, and now being a middle-aged woman makes her even more invisible. Her problem lately is that she has become rather too well-known in security circles, so has been reduced to 'travelling the world advising clients and speaking at high-profile events on the subject of security'. The poor lamb. You almost feel sorry for her. Anyway, this is a rip-roaring read, full of derring-do and sometimes comic, often foolhardy bravery. She sounds an absolute hoot, and her book is never anything less. ...are you reading now? Innards a powerful, sharply observed debut story collection thats unlike anything Ive read. Magogodi oaMphela Makhene explores apartheid South Africa through a colourful cast of complex, beautifully rendered characters, whose electrifying stories will often leave you clutching at your own innards. Im already looking forward to this writers next book. In Between Starshine And Clay, Sarah Ladipo Manyika celebrates Black excellence through a brilliant series of intimate interviews with luminaries such as Toni Morrison, Michelle Obama, Henry Louis Gates Jnr, Claudia Rankine and Evan Mawarire. In addition to her own captivating life, Sarah Manyika probes with care, depth, and intelligence to bring out what is deeply human about her inspiring subjects, while allowing their celebrated genius to shine through. ...would you take to a desert island? One Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The daring imagination, the beguiling story-mazes, the haunted characters, the humanity, the history, the magic, the absurdity, the narrative ingenuity for this, and so much more. NoViolet Bulawayo (pictured) is reading Innards by Magogodi oaMphela Makhene, set in South Africa. She would take One Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez to a desert island Ive read this masterpiece so many times Ive lost count, and it never fails to feel fresh, as well as fill me with awe with each read. Id also take Travelling While Black by Nanjala Nyabola. I longed for this book for years before it was written, and Im super pleased and grateful it now exists. As a Black woman and holder of an African passport, traversing through the so-called global north is to navigate and move through an unequal world whose hostile border systems are invested in keeping Black and Brown people out. Dear reader, the indignity, the injustice! Nanjala Nyabolas provocative collection unpacks this and other important questions around movement, identity, racism, power and much more. ...first gave you the reading bug? I encountered The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton as a child, and it was a revelation. This was the first time I escaped into a fictional universe from which I didnt want to return. I emerged from it hungry and a believer in the power of the written word, devouring whatever I could get my hands on, and with a fervent desire to create my own worlds. I think of this book often, with fondness and gratitude. ...left you cold? Sometimes, a book is just not for you (or it could be that youre not for the book) and thats OK Ive set aside my fair share in this long reading life. Still, I have little interest in publicly dismissing someone elses earnest efforts, especially as I know how hard writing is. Downing Street slapped down Sadiq Khan today after he begged Rishi Sunak to spend 110million to prop up his controversial ULEZ scheme. The Labour Mayor of London has already made hundreds of millions from his hated ultra low emission zone, as income rose from 77million to 226million in the last two years. Yet the Government slammed Khan's demands for more money, saying it was up to him to 'justify his decision to expand the ULEZ' and make sure it is 'not just a tax on the poorest motorists'. A Government spokesman said: 'We have provided TfL with 6billion in funding to keep public transport moving, as well as 2billion towards vehicle grants and infrastructure to support the rollout of clean vehicles across the country.' Khan's pleas for more than 100million of extra cash came after it was revealed the Mayor plans to expand ULEZ to cover the whole of London from August 29. Sadiq Khan (pictured above) has urged the Prime Minister to match the 110million he has allocated for London's scrappage scheme The Mayor of London has launched a new scrappage scheme providing financial assistance to help Londoners scrap their polluting vehicles to prepare for the expansion of the ULEZ across all London Boroughs The Government spokesman added: 'More specifically, London has received almost 102million of Government funding for projects specifically targeted at helping to tackle pollution.' He added: 'Decisions on how to allocate funding to best meet the city's transport priorities are for the Mayor of London to make.' Drivers will be slapped with a 12.50 daily fee for using vehicles inside the city that do not meet the minimum standards. This has met fierce resistance from several councils, with five mounting a legal challenge partly based on the scrappage scheme. In a letter, Mr Khan urged the Prime Minister to 'become a doer, rather than a delayer, when it comes to climate action'. Khan claimed even more money was needed to fund a project for people who lived in locations such as Surrey and Kent and needed to drive to the capital to have their vehicles scrapped or retrofitted. What is the scrappage scheme? The Mayor of London has launched a new 110m scrappage scheme providing financial assistance to help eligible Londoners scrap their highest polluting vehicles to prepare for the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) across all London boroughs from 29 August 2023. You will need to live within one of the 32 London boroughs or the City of London and receive certain benefits to be eligible for the ULEZ car and motorcycle scrappage scheme. Other scrappage schemes: Birmingham City Council introduced its own vehicle scrappage scheme (worth 10million) a few weeks before its Clean Air Zone (CAZ) started, from 1 June 2021 onwards. The Scottish Government has introduced a Low Emission Zone Support where they're providing disposal grants to those looking to switch to a LEZ compliant car. Following the government's steps, manufacturers too, have started providing their own car scrappage schemes. Many manufacturers like VW, Audi, BMW, Ford, Volvo and Vauxhall have run a scrappage scheme successfully in the past. Cities with clean air zones: Bath has a Class C clean air zone Birmingham has a Class D clean air zone Bradford has a Class C clean air zone Bristol has a Class D clean air zone Portsmouth has a Class B clean air zone Tyneside (Newcastle and Gateshead) has a Class C clean air zone Greater Manchester (under review) Sheffield (will start charging on 27 February 2023) Source: Gov.uk He said several areas introducing clean air zones have already received Government funding for scrapping non-compliant vehicles. Such areas include: Manchester (120million) Bristol (42million) Birmingham (38million) Bradford (30million) However, he noted that London and the home counties 'have not received even a penny of support'. The mayor wrote: 'I urge you to use some of the unexpected 30billion windfall in the public finances to not only match the funding allocated for scrappage in London, but to introduce a targeted scrappage scheme that provides help to those based in the home counties.' He went on to add: 'London, the South East and the East of England make net contributions to the Treasury every year, and Londoners pay 500million of vehicle excise yearly, which is then spent on maintaining roads in other parts of the country. 'For our regions to pay in so much and not be helped to reduce carbon emissions and make our air safer to breathe is unfair and doesn't make sense.' His plea for more cash was met with fury from the public. Brits flocked online to slam Khan and his controversial ULEZ scheme. Many were fuming that Khan was begging the government for more money to prop up his hated ULEZ scheme. Khan's Ultra Low Emission Zones have already garnered more than 200million in fines from hundreds of thousands of Londoners. Drivers made their anger clear online. One social media user likened the Labour Mayor of London to Oliver Twist, while another said he couldn't manage a budget because he was 'completely incompetent'. Twitter user Paul said: 'You can get your public funding through the ULEZ tax. 'No need for any funding from central government, you already have it.' Meanwhile, mother and carer Andie told Khan he had 'lost the plot'. She said: 'You now want to push the home counties into further poverty too. I hope Rishi Sunak treats your request with the contempt it deserves. 'Not sure how much further you can dig yourself into the massive hole you've created with this. 'Unbelievable.' For diesel cars and vans to avoid the ULEZ charge they must generally have been registered from September 2015. Social media users slammed Khan for asking the Government for more money to prop up his hated ULEZ scheme Meanwhile, most petrol models that are registered after 2005 are exempt. London's scrappage scheme for vehicles that do not comply with the emissions standards includes payments of up to 2,000 for eligible drivers - such as those on low incomes or the disabled scrapping a car. Up to 9,500 is given for charities, sole traders and small businesses scrapping or retrofitting their vans or minibuses. Khan asked Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for more than 100million to prop up his hated ULEZ expansion However, home counties residents are not eligible for the initiative. Mr Khan wrote that London is 'in the grip of a deadly public health crisis', with toxic air 'causing the premature deaths of an estimated 4,000 Londoners every year'. He continued: 'It is abundantly clear then that the cost of inaction is far too high and that further action is needed to safeguard public health and spare people unnecessary suffering. For diesel cars and vans to avoid the ULEZ charge they must generally have been registered from September 2015, while most petrol models that are registered after 2005 are exempt 'I'm simply not prepared to stand idly by while toxic fumes from highly polluting vehicles choke our communities and leave our children reaching for inhalers and gasping for air. 'That's why I've chosen to expand the ultra low emission zone London-wide.' A Government spokesperson said: 'It's for the Mayor of London to justify his decision to expand the ULEZ, and to properly consult to ensure it is not just a tax on the poorest motorists. 'Decisions on how to allocate funding to best meet the city's transport priorities are for the Mayor of London to make. 'We have provided TfL (Transport for London) with 6billion in funding support to keep public transport moving, as well as 2billion towards vehicle grants and infrastructure to support the rollout of clean vehicles across the country. 'More specifically, London has received almost 102million of Government funding for projects specifically targeted at helping to tackle pollution.' China's largest land port sees robust trade via China-Europe freight train service Xinhua) 14:58, February 23, 2023 HOHHOT, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Manzhouli, China's largest land port, handled 4,818 China-Europe freight trains in 2022, up 37.6 percent year on year, according to data from the customs of Manzhouli in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The trains carried 382,058 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo during this period, with a total value of 48.66 billion yuan (about 7 billion U.S. dollars). The two figures each represented a year-on-year increase of 38.6 percent and 36.5 percent, respectively. Currently, 57 China-Europe freight train routes pass through this land port, reaching 28 cities in 11 European countries and carrying about 30 percent of the total freight volume of China-Europe freight train service. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) The European Union's executive body banned TikTok from staff phones on Thursday as a cybersecurity safeguard amid Western authorities' increasing concerns about the video-sharing app owned by a Chinese tech firm. The European Commission Corporate Management Board has prohibited employees from using the video-sharing app TikTok on any work-related devices, including those they bring from home, according to AP News. Concerns that the massively popular app may be used to propagate pro-China ideas or scoop up users' data have led to intensified monitoring of TikTok in Europe and the United States. The European Commission move occurs as China and the West dispute over surveillance balloons, computer processors, and other technologies. Similar measures have already been taken in the US, where over half of the states and Congress have banned the app on official government devices amid TikTok spying fears, per The Independent. Read Also: Putin Issues Nuclear Threat Employees at the European Commission have been ordered to uninstall the program from all company-issued computers and mobile devices, Politico reported. This is the first time the Commission has banned staff apps. European Commission Officials: TikTok Ban Prompted By Careful Study European Commission spokespeople Eric Mamer and Sonya Gospodinova stated it was the outcome of a "careful" study. But they refused to provide the details that prompted the commission to conclude that the app posed serious cybersecurity and data concerns to the EU executive. TikTok last week announced plans to construct two more data centers in Europe to address the TikTok spying fears of its Western client base. The tech firm's General Manager for European Operations Rich Waterworth wrote on the company's blog that plans are "at an advanced stage" for a second data center to be established in Ireland in partnership with a third-party operator, per a previous HNGN report. Related Article: Twitch Streamer Gets Banned For Running Over A Dog @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. From Tesla-lovers who will never go back to their old cars to petrolheads who slam the 'rollercoaster of unreliability', MailOnline readers have their say on electric vehicles and hybrid cars. Electric vehicle sales have been growing rapidly in the UK, and with an increasing consumer demand, greater availability of electric models and government support, Brits may be wondering whether the change to an EV from their petrol or diesel car is the right one for them. With over 680,000 battery-electric cars on UK roads - plus a further 455,000 plug-in hybrids - according to ZapMap, the demand is ever growing. And this week, the UK Government announced that it will help deliver up to a further 2,400 charge points across Britain, which will be installed in the short term, while working to support local councils to deliver tens of thousands more in the long term. But not everyone is convinced that electric vehicles are here to stay - feeling betrayed by their lavish purchase saying they have 'terrible consequences in the future' - or are any good for their pockets with the cost of living crisis that is at the forefront of many families minds. Here, MailOnline readers have their say as to whether or not they would recommend others to fork out for an electric vehicle... Best car I've had, there's no way you'll go back to petrol after having an EV Poll Would you purchase an electric vehicle? Yes No Not sure Would you purchase an electric vehicle? Yes 380 votes No 2371 votes Not sure 181 votes Now share your opinion Best car I've ever had always charge at home when sun is out using electricity from solar panels. For long journeys we have a petrol car but 90per cent of the time we are within a radius from home which means we never use any other chargers than the one in our garage. - Martin Williams For me the EV works well for me. I do very low mileage and charge overnight at home as required via the normal socket. We are in the Canary Islands and so in Kms. We have a large battery in our Nissan Leaf giving a claimed 400Kms. I may think twice about taking it to another Island because of charging, I find the biggest problem is the functions and the display which has too much information which I will never fully understand and be able to use. The main reason for changing is that petrol cars are going out and I may have problem getting a good price for a petrol model in a few years time. - Martin Ward I bought my Leaf Dec 2021 secondhand for a very good price. I love driving it. The acceleration is very quick, so much so I have to use the ECO version to slow it down slightly plus that is best for the environment. I have a home charger so charging overnight at a cheap rate (2-6am) makes it affordable. It is always ready to use too. Cheaper car insurance and free parking in some places Downsides are the lack of public chargers so longer trips need planning I do not plan to return to a petrol or diesel car - MailOnline reader I have a company electric car, I was offered a choice from around 20 options. I went for the Peugeot 2008e. I wouldn't got back to diesel but there are some things, even though I researched thoroughly, I wish I was made aware of. - Jules Hatt The battle between sticking to an petrol or diesel vehicle or swapping out to an EV continues as MailOnline readers have their say (File image) It's just not for me I found it quite interesting. Reading your article and definitely not for me. I can't think of anything more stupid when I look at the mileage I drive. My job takes me throughout the UK and that's where I love my diesel car. It's economic and I don't have to waste any time waiting for it to charge. If manufacturers of electric vehicles want to be taken seriously, and I need to produce a vehicle that is kind to the environment as they keep banging on about (production of the battery). They need to produce a vehicle that does in excess of 600 miles per charge. I need to produce a vehicle that charges in five minutes. Personally, if I was in power, I would scrap the whole electric vehicle experiment, because it is costly to the environment, costly, financially, and costly timewise. - Richard Caleb Champion, Pastor and Evangelist Hi, briefly best option for us financially going forward is Dacia Stepway Auto. Saving an eye boggling 15k to spend on holidays fuel etc.. To continue EV ownership after three years for us would be complete insanity. Appalling charging infrastructure, being confined to a 50 mile radius of home. Micro managing charging stops on long journeys. Range falling off a cliff in the rain and freezing conditions. Having to turn heating off and freeze to get more range. No one locally capable of repairing EV's. All in hindsight obvious before we stupidly bought an EV. Regards - Roger Rothery There is no way on earth I would buy an electric vehicle until the manufacturers state what the replacement battery cost will be - J Anon 'EVs will be the motoring equivalent of the cassette tape or CDs' Apart from the terrible environmental impact of manufacturing EVs, especially the batteries, and the terrible consequences in the future when millions of batteries will need disposing of there is also the question of producing the ever increasing amounts of electricity required to charge them. For me, with my plug in Range Rover Evoque, it has been a roller coaster of hideous unreliability, a poor dealer network that is ill equipped to understand the problems but worst of all it is not any cheaper than using petrol. If I select a home electricity tariff with cheaper overnight charging I then pay a premium for the rest of the day. I suspect EVs will be the motoring equivalent of the cassette tape or CDs. If the public think using an EV with its awful carbon footprint is the solution to global warming or cheap form of fuel they are much mistaken. Hope this is useful. - Chris Littler Another person said that they are unhappy about the charging times of their EV model, saying it takes 'long' and 'about eight hours to fully charge the car when I'm down to the last 50 miles in the battery' (File image) A family with low charging costs We are a two EV family and have had 2 Teslas and a Polestar. First Tesla was a model X, beautiful car but range was circa 200 miles max which was a little limiting. New Tesla range is 326 and that's miles better for day to day use, charging on long journeys takes a bit of time but isn't so bad. The Polestar range is a bit less but sill high 200's. We have a home charger and a tariff that gives 7.5p per kWh between 12.30 and 04.30. Ample time to charge 150 miles for about 2. Yes charging out is currently extortionate but don't do it often but Tesla network is really reliable and can use a feature called charge my other electric car as some Tesla chargers for Polestar. Other infrastructure is relatively poor but then went to a National Trust property with lots of free reasonably quick chargers - put on 50 miles in the 1.5 hours there! - Steve Boston Low maintenance I bought this new last summer as my 7 year old diesel Volvo had given me 2 high repair bills as well as insane annual service costs. I have solar so can top it up on sunny days so makes it cheaper to run. Its service costs are low as their is little to maintain. Its great to drive although you notice the extra weight. It is annoying on long journeys the worst when I missed a service station on the motorway and pulled into the next one with 8 miles remaining, I would have been sweating except everything was turned off including the heater! - Philip Horn Mine are all very positive but our circumstances are different from most. 18 months ago we traded a 14 year old BMW x3 diesel suv for a Mercedes A class plug in hybrid suv. It has a 30 mile realistic range from full charge. Costs about 1 for an overnight charge from flat which sees us 2 to 3 days normal driving, AND there's no range anxiety as the engine kicks in if we miscalculated to get us home. So far I've put 15 L of petrol in the tank from new, and mostly that was due to experimentation with different driving modes and to gain confidence that the technology works. Admittedly we live in Guernsey, which is a 5 mile by 7 mile island, but we do need a vehicle we can take to UK to visit family and expect to mainly use the petrol engine driving there. It is comfortable, quiet and performs well. With 3 year maintenance free, the only cost is insurance. (Guernsey doesn't have a road fund licence!). So I am very happy with the switch. - Dr Trevor Matthews I wouldn't have another electric one as they just aren't practical and you have to be extremely rich to have one with a better range - Susan Waters It's not for you if you're a petrolhead Owned my Kia since January 2022.. if you are a petrol head then it's not for you. I am retired and have driven for 57 years and EV is a dreameasy to drive, less maintenance, Cheaper to run..ok when travelling long distances a bit of hassle but nothing too problematic. 15 to charge on average up to 90%=250+ miles, depending on temperature. Love it. Regards - Terence J Crispin There is no way on earth I would buy an electric vehicle until the manufacturers state what the replacement battery cost will be (which would be easy enough to determine at date of sale as they should order replacements based on sales anyway) AND state how long it will last. There are already instances of a new battery being more than the value of the vehicle - if they can be obtained. It should also be a requirement to include the cost of battery disposal in the cost price so purchasers are not stuck with an exorbitant fee for safe reclamation/disposal of a dead or damaged battery. - J Anon One person said that they have not enjoyed using their electric vehicle, saying that 'worst of all it is not any cheaper than using petrol (File pic) A problem with charge points I have had an Kia EV6 for the past year as a company car. Main reason for change was the tax benefit - I was paying around 190 a month tax for Q5 hybrid - now pay about 13 pm. Main problem is long journeys - I took several last year - problems with chargers not working or hard to find. EV6 is supposed to do 327 miles on a full charge - most I have seen is about 275 and that drops to 219 or less in the winter. Tends to make me drive more conservatively - less speeding and turn down heater but I guess that is a good thing (doesn't feel like it!). If you can charge at home (currently 12.8 p a mile for me) it's still cheaper than diesel but if you use the fast chargers it's pretty much same as Petrol. If I had to make to make the decision again today I would go electric for a company car but If it was my own money I would opt for a hybrid until the battery technology improves. Hope this is helpful. Kind Regards - Bill Simpson Overall I am still pleased with my transition to an electric vehicle. There are still plenty of places that offer free charging. I have found myself scoping out new places to see if I can get some free charging for a few hours. This is another pitfall as not all public charging places are free. I did not retrofit my garage with a 240v charging port. I use the standard 120v and have found this to be sufficient for my needs. It does charge much slower and if I do go on a long trip it will take longer to charge but I am fine with that. - Nathan Astle I had a smart 2for electric, I knew its battery range was limited at 80 miles on a full charge. Got rid of it last year, charging where I live wasn't a problem but out and about forget it, not enough charging points and when you found one because you needed to charge was being hogged by a hybrid or a Tesla owner who wouldn't pay to use the fast chargers. In the winter it was next to useless range of 60 miles if you were lucky and you couldn't use the heater. Second hand electric ones are pointless as well due to the battery getting older as I noticed with mine coming up to two and half years old battery charge was less. No I wouldn't have another electric one as they just aren't practical and you have to be extremely rich to have one with a better range. - Susan Waters I purchased a new Kia Niro EV4 in September and, following your recent article, I would like to comment a) The sales details appeared to claim about 4 miles per kWh, along with a get out clause about 'your mileage may differ' In reality I got 3.9 miles per kWh in September. However this dropped dramatically when the weather got cold, reducing my mileage to only 2.5 miles per kWh in December and January. So, instead of a range of about 270 miles, I only get about 170 miles. b) Although the manufacturer provides the dimensions of the car, it isn't initially obvious that you have to add about 50 cms to the length to allow for the opening of the charging flap of the Niro that is placed illogically at the very front of the car. c) Charging takes a l o n g time. I have a standard home charger that provides 7 kW supply. This means it takes about eight hours to fully charge the car when I'm down to the last 50 miles in the battery. d) If you are planning on any journey that is further than can be achieved on one battery charge, then it becomes a nightmare. For example, in Stratford upon Avon, some of the charging bays appear available on the app but are occupied by non EV cars. e) It is true that electric cars have some neat features. For example I can program the car to turn on heating ten minutes before I get into the car. Another amusing feature is the ability to 'drive' the car backwards and forwards while being outside the car. Conclusions? EV cars have great mileage in the summer months but are useless in the winter months. - Peter Dick Only 17 of the worlds 122 biggest firms have pulled out of Russia since it invaded Ukraine with Unilever, BP and HSBC all still operating there. A year after Vladimir Putin launched his bloody assault, 59 firms have made only partial withdrawals shutting down bits of their businesses in Russia. And 46 hardcore companies have refused to downsize at all, according to a report by the Moral Rating Agency (MRA). A year after Vladimir Putin launched his bloody assault, 59 firms have made only 'partial withdrawals' shutting down bits of their businesses in Russia The watchdog, which was set up to track companies operating in Russia during the war, said those still trading in the country are facilitating Putins invasion. US anti-corruption campaigner Bill Browder said companies trading there benefit Putin and lead to the death of innocent Ukrainians. Among firms that have not, according to the MRA, moved an inch and exited Russia were consumer goods giant Unilever. In March it pledged to suspend all imports and exports of its products into and out of Russia. But it has since emerged it still sells Magnums and Cornettos in the country. It reported 147m of profit in Russia last year, which was branded blood money. The MRAs report, released on the anniversary of Putins invasion, also criticised UK-based bank HSBC and oil giant BP. Browder said: Western companies that do continue to do business in Russia deserve to lose their Western customer base. Months after four University of Idaho students were knifed to death, questions remain about why the alleged suspect committed the heinous murders. The answer may be as simple as a 'crime of passion.' Information I learned about the suspect, 28-year-old criminology PhD student Bryan Kohberger, suggests that rejection may have been enough of a motive. Kohbergers team is already fighting against the family of one of his alleged victims over a sweeping gag order imposed on the case. Both sides are waiting to see if the judge will side with suspect or the victims, which will be the first major ruling in the case. Late last year, Bryan Kohberger was charged with the stabbing deaths of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves and Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin. On the night of the crime, the killer moved swiftly, butchering his victims, indicating that he had a solid understanding of the home's layout. Seeing the home where the massacre occurred cleared up any confusion about how the alleged killer managed to murder the four unsuspecting students in under 20 minutes. Kohberger has not yet entered a plea in the quadruple homicide. The next court date is June 26 for a probable cause hearing. Watch our video to hear my compelling theory on what prompted this horrific quadruple murder: A crypto gaming start-up rated as the third most valuable privately owned tech company in Australia after raising nearly $300million in funding last year quietly announced it is letting 11 per cent of its staff go. Sydney-based Immutable X was a darling of the start-up world after raising $280million of venture capital last year, which on top of other successful rounds saw the company valued at $3.5billion last March. The success propelled its young founders, Alex Connolly and brothers Robbie and James Ferguson, all aged in their 20s, into the ranks of multi- millionaires with Connolly being worth an estimated $57million and the Fergusons around $1billion. However, in an internal message to staff Immutable X CEO James Ferguson announced the layoffs which he blamed on the need to preserve cash and concentrate on the company's most important areas. 'An unfortunate consequence of these decisions is that we will be reducing the size of our team by approximately 11 per cent,' James wrote, according to The Age. Crypto gaming start-up Immutable is laying off 11 per cent of their staff despite being valued at $3.5billion last March 'This is difficult news, and I am sorry to all Immutables impacted by these changes. As CEO, I am deeply aware that these role eliminations will directly impact the lives of many, and I take full ownership for these actions.' The start-up, which began in 2018, had previously offered huge salaries to expand its workforce to over 300 people in 16 offices around the world. Immutable X creates games on the blockchain platform Ethereum and allows players to own and trade in-game items using that cryptocurrency. In today's announcement Mr Ferguson said the company would hand over developing traditional aspects of its games to partners to concentrate on the crypto and Web3, otherwise known as 'play-to-earn' games, components of its business. Immutable X counts Disney and Marvel among its clients. Brothers James (pictured left) and Robbie Ferguson founded Immutable with Alex Connolly (pictured right) Financial uncertainty has created a rocky climate for both start-ups and cryptocurrency. The high profile collapses of the crypto-based Terra ecosystem and the FTX exchange has seen investors become gun-shy, however the two largest currencies Ethereum and Bitcoin have shown signs of rallying. Immutable has been contacted for comment. A mother from East Palestine, Ohio is pleading for President Joe Biden to send medical help to the community after the toxic chemical runoff from the train derailment earlier this month led to her daughter's hospitalization, a prevailing skin rash and her new reliance on an inhaler. Heidi Paparella, 43, got emotional when detailing how the 50-car freight train crash on February 3 has completely flipped her family's life upside down. She told DailyMail.com that a hospital visit after returning to their home found that Addison Paparella, 15, had a tight chest and irritated lungs 'due to chemical exposure.' If it weren't for former President Donald Trump's visit to the small village on Wednesday, Heidi Paparella doesn't think the Biden administration would have done anything to help the struggling community. 'I'm happy that he's coming, I'm happy that it's getting more attention and he'll definitely bring attention to it,' Paparella said while dining Wednesday morning at Sprinklz On Top, a diner in East Palestine. An East Palestine resident and mother is pleading for President Joe Biden to send medical help to the Ohio village after a train derailment released toxic chemicals into the air, ground and water and led to her daughter's hospitalization Heidi Paparella told DailyMail.com that her 15-year-old daughter Addison has been plagued with rashes all over her body and face since they returned to their home in East Palestine after the train derailment on February 3 led to an evacuation 'We took her to the hospital, they gave her a breathing treatment,' Heidi Paparella detailed to DailyMail.com 'They said she had tight, constricted, and irritated lungs due to chemical exposure. So, they gave her a steroid and she's now on an inhaler' 'I think it's more than what our current president is caring about,' the assistant teacher added. Trump visited East Palestine on Wednesday to deliver short remarks, survey the crash site and meet with leaders of the community. He brought in pallets of food and Trump Water bottles as well as bought McDonald's for himself and first responders. Paparella says, on the other hand, that what Biden is doing isn't enough. She described that residents are in need of more medical help, claiming that anything available to them is not adequate to address the unique symptoms plaguing the community from hazardous material entering the air, ground and water. Another East Palestine resident share a similar sentiment with DailyMail.com. 'As soon as Trump announced they said, 'Oh s***, he's showing us up again.' So they sent FEMA out,' William Hugar, 56, said. He said a trip from Biden at this point would be 'a little too late.' 'Like he can come, but for what?' Hugar questioned. The East Palestine resident had the train derail directly in his backyard, and said that his duplex neighbor moved 40 minutes away from the village because of the crash and release of toxic chemicals. Paparella, like many Republican leaders across the country, is also not happy that Biden went to Ukraine before visiting East Palestine. 'I think he needs to get his priorities in order and take care of our people before we take care of others.' Heidi Paparella, 43, (left) speaks with another resident, William Hugar, 56, (right) about the train derailment while dining at Sprinklz On Top, a diner in East Palestine Donald Trump visited East Palestine on Wednesday going to the village before both President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Residents were appreciative of Trump's visit, claiming that his announcement sparked the administration to send FEMA. Pictured: Trump is flanked by East Palestine local officials, including Mayor Trent Conaway (to the right of Trump) and Ohio Senator JD Vance (to the left) A 50-car freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3 released toxic chemicals into the air, land and water causing the community to evacuate after experiencing some symptoms like headaches. The site is pictured on February 4 She said that Trump announcing his trip earlier this month sparked more noticeable action from the administration, including the presence of those with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 'He could have done that a long time ago and he chose not to,' she said. A once-healthy teenager, Paparella's daughter Addison never used an inhaler a day in her life. The competitive athlete who turns 16 this weekend is now finding herself short of breath and has a recurring rash that won't go away with any ointments or treatments. 'We took her to the hospital, they gave her a breathing treatment,' Heidi Paparella detailed to DailyMail.com 'They said she had tight, constricted, and irritated lungs due to chemical exposure,' the concerned mother of five detailed. 'So, they gave her a steroid and she's now on an inhaler.' 'This kid has been doing competitive cheer and dance since she was six and she wrestles here and she has never needed an inhaler ever a day in her life. And now she's reliant on an inhaler and it's not helping her,' Paparella added, holding back tears. Addison, 15, is pictured when her mother took her to the hospital for breathing issues When she left East Palestine for the day to pick up a new puppy, Addison's symptoms subsided substantially The rash and shortness of breath started in both Heidi and Addison when they returned to East Palestine the day after the evacuation was lifted and an all-clear was given that it was safe to go back to their home. 'I think that they should provide us with some doctors and scientists for the environment that are not paid or with the Railroad,' Paparella said. 'Someone that can come and, first off, help us medically.' While there is a free clinic set up, Paparella says that they aren't helping residents and don't have the ability to prescribe them medications or treatments. 'The people they have here now there's a free clinic they are not treating anybody,' she said. 'I think they're here for research purposes in all honesty.' 'They're basically just, like, assessing people,' Paparella detailed. 'They can't prescribe meds, they can't do things like a hospital. I feel like we need specialists People from the big hospitals can maybe come in and help us.' Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg assures that he will visit East Palestine, claiming that his presence was not needed for action to be taken to amend the issues from the administration's side. But residents say that they need more help from those not on Norfolk Southern's payroll. No greater example epitomizes the heartlessness of wokism and the intellectual laziness of its proponents than the Vanderbilt University Diversity, Equity and Inclusion deans who used ChatGPT to write an open letter, in the aftermath of a deadly mass shooting, to their students. ChatGPT, for those who haven't fully abandoned their thoughts to our AI overlords, is a software application that churns out prose as a literate human being would minus the heart and soul, of course. And it is soulless. 'In the aftermath of the Michigan shootings,' the letter reads in part, 'let us come together as a community to reaffirm our commitment to caring for one another . . .' Blah, blah, blah. It was a long letter, as boilerplate in sentiment as the cliched 'thoughts and prayers' response whenever there's a mass shooting. In that sense, I guess, it's on-brand. No surprise that colleges are leaning into ChatGPT. On-campus woke-ism has led to trigger warnings, safe spaces, and Orwellian codes of thought and expression. One wrong utterance can get you cancelled. These hall monitors of campus political correctness must have assumed that it was safer, and no doubt faster, to have a bot do the work. And so this program trawled the internet and 200,000 years of human knowledge in nanoseconds and came up with the purest, most highly sanitized, meaningless babble imaginable. Truly, this open letter uses a lot of words to say nothing. Is it really such a stretch that these would-be educators let an algorithm think and speak for them? We've already trained a generation to automate thought rather than wrestle with it, to generate and calibrate their expressions with robotic reflexiveness rather than human messiness. And these DEI deans, who copied-and-pasted this computer-generated text into an email, nearly got away with it. Want proof that artificial intelligence is smarter than your run-of-the-mill woke campus bureaucrat? ChatGPT actually signed itself as the primary author of this open letter! Apparently proofreading was too heavy a lift for these deans. One of the Vanderbilt signatories, dean Nicole Joseph (left), was already suspect for this tweet back in December: 'I'm trying to hype myself up to face all the writing I have to do today.' Hasina Mohyuddin (right), is Assistant Dean of Peabody's Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion ChatGPT, for those who haven't fully abandoned their thoughts to our AI overlords, is a software application that churns out prose as a literate human being would minus the heart and soul, of course.And it is soulless. What more evidence do we need of wokeism's uselessness? That wokeism is the enemy of nuanced thought, real emotion and creativity? That instead of enriching college students and taking them seriously by challenging them, even outraging them, campuses prefer mono-thought, round edges, bubble-wrapped ideologies? That the basis of woke philosophy maintains that the worst offense you could ever commit is to offend? Your vehicle's GPS might tell you to turn left and into a lake, but the difference here is: You can see the lake and save yourself. AI, as in this instance, has no idea what Vanderbilt students might be thinking or feeling. AI has never experienced a mass shooting, or PTSD, or the fear of an unhinged incel. It doesn't do the real hard work of being human. And if, as they're inadvertently telling us, their very important work can be done by machines well, what are they getting paid for? Why not just replace them with machines? It would all be funny if it weren't so infuriating. Just ask Vanderbilt students, who were rightly appalled and disgusted. 'Do more,' Vanderbilt senior Laith Kayat told the student newspaper. 'Do anything. And lead us into a better future with genuine human empathy, not a robot. 'Indeed. When deans at institutions of higher learning can't be bothered to sit down and think through a genuine response to such a grave and preventable tragedy, you have to wonder: What are these kids and their parents even paying for? What's the point of college if you can log on to ChatGPT and have it do your homework or write your resume? By the way, one of the Vanderbilt signatories, dean Nicole Joseph, was already suspect for this tweet back in December: 'I'm trying to hype myself up to face all the writing I have to do today. I would not have it any other way. [Smiley-face emoji] It matters when you LOVE what you do.' As most writers will tell you: Hate having to write, love having written. Why? Because writing is hard! It requires thought and the ability to articulate what one actually wants and means to say. This woman already proved herself dubious at best. Creativity is what makes us human. It's why the most successful civilizations have, throughout history, prioritized and venerated the arts. Originality is rare. It's a virtue and it's valuable. Do we really want AI writing books or op-eds or reporting the news? Architecting or painting or choreographing ballet? Making movies? Writing songs or composing symphonies? It's already happening. Meet Brett Schickler, a salesman from Rochester, New York. He had always aspired to be a published author. Never happened till ChatGPT, which did the heavy lifting of writing a children's book for him, now on sale at Amazon.'The idea of writing a book finally seemed possible,' he told Reuters. 'I thought, 'I can do this.' It was a long letter (above), as boilerplate in sentiment as the cliched 'thoughts and prayers' response whenever there's a mass shooting. In that sense, I guess, it's on-brand. Brett, I don't know you, but allow me to say: You can't, and you didn't. It's offensive to anyone who has done the hard work of conceiving a book, writing a proposal, selling that book, sitting down with oneself and a blank screen and grinding it out, day after day, producing and refining and rewriting and editing, to say that you, enabled by ChatGPT, have now written a book. It's terrifying that Amazon is endorsing this. Over 200 e-books written using ChatGPT are sold through Kindle. So are books about the app produced by the app. 'A.I. is here, and it's making movies,' said the L.A. Times in December, 'Is Hollywood ready?' The story explained how a director used AI to change his actors' expressions, manipulating the way their mouths moved to fit looped-in dialogue.'You can't tell what's real and what's not,' director Scott Mann said. 'Which is the whole thing.' But don't we want to be able to tell what's real and what's not? This goes beyond special effects we're talking about acting, and as we well know, few take their profession excuse me, craft as seriously. But we're beginning to enter the Uncanny Valley-ization of acting for film and television, faces manipulated digitally to change expressions, mouths rearranged to suit post-production dialogue changes or dubbing for foreign markets. Does this not obviate the entire movie-making enterprise? Don't we want to know if we're watching a human emote and speak rather than a facsimile? How are such deep fakes not corrosive to art? To literature? How will this impact our ability to think critically or originally? Reuters reports that lawyers are now using ChatGPT to co-author legal briefs. Will we outsource human judges and juries? Surgeons? Four-star generals in wartime? Where does it end when AI takes over humanity itself? When 'I, Robot' becomes a reality? We long ago melded with the machine. Our cell phones have become literal extensions of ourselves, appendages as vital as arms and legs. Amazon's Alexa, we know, spies on our most intimate conversations and reports back to the Bezos Death Star, but hey it cuts down on the maximum effort of flipping on a light switch or Shazaming a song or tapping the weather app to see how much longer it'll rain. Big Tech has made us soft and lazy. Its ultimate annexation is our hearts and minds, our individuality of thought and expression, our very personhood. Will resistance be futile? In the end, that'll be up to us. For now, anyway. A mother fought off a two-year-old lion that attacked her in front of her home in the central Mexican state of Aguascalientes. Lidia Hernandez, 40, was stepping out of her residence to finish her laundry when she was nearly mauled to death by 'Salome' on January 31. The African lion had reportedly escaped from her cage during a failed burglary attempt at the Aguascalientes City residence where she was being housed. 'Salome' killed two dogs and a cat on a street before she showed up at Hernandez's home, according to local reports. Lidia Hernandez survived a lion attack in front of her home in Aguascalientes, Mexico, on January 31. She suffered multiple leg, arm and head wounds 'Salome,' a two-year-old African lion, attacked a 40-year-old woman in front of a home in Aguascalientes, Mexico, on January 31 Hernandez told Mexican newspaper El Heraldo de Mexico that she initially thought she was being attacked by a human because she could only see a huge shadow from the corner of her eye. 'I remember that I was just opening the door when I was going to go out to rinse some pants,' she said. 'When I opened the door she jumped on me and I said oh my God who attacked me. I thought it was a big shadow, a shadow of person. She noticed it was lion when Salome 'started to growl' on her. The six-foot long African lion was confiscated from its owner by agents assigned to the office of the Mexican Attorney General for Environmental Protection. Hernandez was able to free herself from Salome by biting her near the eye, according to Univision. The lion's owner, Geovany Javier, 34, was able to regain control of the animal and placed her inside a vehicle. Geovany Javier (pictured) is declining to provide financial support to the woman who was attacked by his pet African lion, 'Salome' Lidia Hernandez is now home recovering for the lion attack that left her with multiple stitches Lidia Hernandez said she had no idea she was being attacked by a lion, confusing its large shadow with that of a human As part of the investigation, both 'Salome' and a nine-month-old male lion known as 'Cachito' were confiscated by the office of the Mexican Attorney General for Environmental Protection. Geovany Javier was placed under arrest and is being investigated for malicious injury. Hernandez is recovering at her home but is feeling pain from the multiple stitches on her arms, legs and head, where she also has a large scar. She has has been relegated to moving around in a wheelchair at her home and is calling on Geovany Javier to assume all costs of her post care. 'Well, I would tell him to make himself responsible, make himself responsible and give me a house to live in, help me start a business so that I can support myself and ... give me money to recover,' Hernandez said. However, Geovany Javier, who claims he feeds Salome 15 kilos of meat a day, balked at the notion that he should provide economic assistance for Hernandez and her family going forward. 'The daughters want me to support them,' he said. 'Well, no.' Former Greens senator Lidia Thorpe has confronted Patricia Karvelas in an on-air clash, calling out the ABC host over her tweet calling Indigenous Affairs minister Linda Burney a 'legend'. In May, Ms Karvelas tweeted an election night picture of herself with the Labor cabinet minister in charge of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, with the caption 'This woman is a legend.' But in an awkward fiery interview on Radio National on Thursday morning, the now independent Indigenous senator fired back at Ms Karvelas: 'I don't hear you calling me a legend'. 'You're out there saying, "Burney's a legend" - so we know where your allegiances lie,' she snapped. 'You've got to stop setting black women up against one another.' Former Greens senator Lidia Thorpe has confronted ABC host Patricia Karvelas (left) over her tweet calling Indigenous affairs minister Linda Burney (right) a 'legend' in an ugly on-air spat Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe (pictured) fired back at Patricia Karvelas: 'I don't hear you calling me a legend' Ms Karvelas escaped with a slap on the wrist from ABC bosses over the 'Legend' tweet and was defended by ABC Managing Director David Anderson in November. He told the Senate Estimates hearing he did not believe the post damaged the ABC's 'reputation for impartiality and independence' and said there was no 'political bias'. Staff were warned about the use of social media in 2021 after several defamation cases involving senior journalists, and the ABC admitted last month it had 'cautioned' Ms Karvelas over the post. On Thursday, Sen. Thorpe repeatedly referred to the tweet throughout a 13-minute interview on Radio National. 'You've mentioned a few times this word "legend" which is a play on me,' said Ms Karvelas as the interview drew to a close. 'I get it, that's fine, but I do have a question about that. 'Given Linda Burney was the first Aboriginal woman to enter the NSW Parliament and the first Aboriginal woman to enter the lower house in federal parliament, does that not make her a legend?' Sen. Thorpe replied: 'Brilliant. Absolutely. That's the media lens on a legend black woman I absolutely agree with.' But she added: 'Your tone is very different when you interview me and that's got to change.' The row over the tweet arose as Sen. Thorpe was quizzed by Ms Karvelas over the impact a No vote in the upcoming Voice referendum would have. Sen. Thorpe has argued the Voice does not go far enough in advancing Aboriginal power, and quit the Greens over the issue to become an independent on the crossbenches where she will pursue a 'Black sovereign movement' with demands for a treaty. At one stage the pair talked over each other and Sen. Thorpe snapped: 'You don't want the progressives to hear this, do you PK? 'You need to allow the your audiences to understand that there is a progressive No, and we're not focusing on the day after the referendum. 'We're focusing on survival today.' She told MS Karvelas she has yet to make a final decision on whether to support or oppose the Voice referendum, but branded it impotent and questioned: 'Why is everyone so excited? 'We deserve better than a powerless Voice,' she said. 'We need a treaty. We want real power. We want real justice in this country. 'Everything else we've been offered for the last 200 years has no power.' Patricia Karvelas (pictured) escaped with a slap on the wrist from ABC bosses over the 'Legend' tweet and was defended by ABC Managing Director David Anderson in November Senator Lidia Thorpe (pictured) quit the Greens to be an independent on the crossbenches fighting for the 'Black sovereign movement' and demanding a treaty before the Voice She said it was 'systemic racism' to argue that she might 'end up on the side with Peter Dutton and the Liberals' if she opposes the Voice. 'It troubles me that white progressives use that as an excuse,' she said. 'Thats part of the problem that, you know, if you vote no youre going to stand with Peter Dutton or Pauline Hanson. 'So thats another way of taking away the voice of those grassroots black fellas who have a progressive no (position) that the white progressives dont want to hear. 'And thats part of the problem thats systemic racism right there, and everyones "hand on heart, lets save the Aborigines, lets give them a voice, lets give them advisory power", with no power.' She said it was a 'sad state of affairs' that white Australians would ultimately make the decision that impacts First Nations people. Sen. Thorpe said the voices of Indigenous people risked being drowned out by the 'loud' yes campaign bankrolled by corporate Australia. 'It is going to be a lot louder than those grassroots black fellas on the ground who have very serious issues with the proposal,' she said. 'And that's a shame because at the end of the day, we are only three per cent (of the population). 'So it's the progressives in this country that will make the decision for us ultimately, and that's a sad state of affairs that white progressives think they know best for us. 'They think that this is a good thing for us, but they haven't dug deep enough and allowed those grassroots black activists to have a say.' She said the most pressing matter was to immediately implement findings of the royal commissions. 'If Labor are fair dinkum and Burney is such a legend, then implement those recommendations and save people's lives today,' she said. Senator Thorpe refused to speculate on how much closer she would be to her aims if the referendum fails. 'We'll cross that bridge when we come to it,' she said. 'I'm not giving anything to anybody until I see justice in this country for our people. 'What the progressives don't understand is that we're still attending funerals every day, while everyone is telling us how great the Voice is going to be for us. 'It is still not too late, it's still not too late to question what this Voice actually means for us. It has no power.' Senator Lidia Thorpe (pictured) repeatedly referred to Karvelas's 'legend' tweet throughout a 13-minute interview on Radio National Senator Thorpes comments come as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese prepares to launch his Yes campaign in Adelaide on Thursday night She said she had written to the Prime Minister about meeting with the referendum working group, saying that she wanted to bring her views to the table. 'I feel that the PM is talking in you know, forked tongues, basically,' she said. 'He's saying to the conservatives, "Look, it's okay everybody. It has no power. We will have the ultimate power. They're just an advisory body." 'Then he goes to the black people and he says, "This is going to save the world, this is going to save the culture".' Ms Thorpes comments come as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese prepares to launch his Yes campaign in Adelaide on Thursday night. He has indicated the referendum will be held between October and December this year, and if successful, a body would be legislated before the next election. The Greens support the Voice, while the Nationals do not and the Liberal Party has made public criticisms but has yet to reach a final decision. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Karvelas and Sen. Thorpe for comment. Piling into an elevator, the nine-strong group had one goal as they headed towards Joshua Lindsay Elkerton-Sandy's apartment. 'To fight him,' Billy Siemons told Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday. A fight broke out lasting 'less than a minute' before Mr Siemons had his arm around best mate Kane Alexanderson, helping him back downstairs so they could call an ambulance. Mr Alexanderson, 18, died six days later from a knife wound that penetrated his heart. Elkerton-Sandy, 21, is on trial after Mr Alexanderson was fatally stabbed in the fight that erupted after two groups having separate parties in different buildings became aware of each other, the court was told. Joshua Elkerton-Sandy is on trial after a teenager was fatally stabbed on Australia Day 2020 Kane Alexanderson was fatally stabbed in the fight that erupted after two groups having separate parties in different buildings became aware of each other, the court was told Mr Siemons said their group left their gathering and 'sort of intimidated' a girl to obtain a security swipe card and gain access to the party Elkerton-Sandy was attending in the other building. He agreed that they wanted to give Elkerton-Sandy a 'hiding'. Security footage was shown in court of the group packed in the lift travelling to the apartment, with defence barrister Stephen Kissick saying it suggested they were 'geeing' each other up for the fight. Mr Siemons denied that he said 'get ready' to the group as they left the lift but said he looked forward to the confrontation with Elkerton-Sandy. 'You didn't care if you caused him (Elkerton-Sandy) serious injury did you?' Mr Kissick asked. Mr Siemons replied: 'I wish not to answer'. When they entered, group members - some holding beer bottles - lunged at Elkerton-Sandy and Mr Alexanderson threw the first punch, Mr Siemons said. Elkerton-Sandy backed out to the balcony as he was set upon by the group. 'He cowered in the corner of the verandah on his arse,' Mr Siemons said. Mr Siemons said he tried to hit Elkerton-Sandy with a beer bottle but it slipped and flew over the balcony, with a chair at one stage also going over during the fight. 'You could have caved the bottle into his head. It could kill him (Elkerton-Sandy), couldn't it,' Mr Kissick asked. 'I wish not to answer,' Mr Siemons replied. The group ran out of the building after someone yelled 'he's got a knife', Mr Siemons said. Mr Siemons said he saw Elkerton-Sandy viciously throwing his right hand in a stabbing motion multiple times before he saw the knife. There was blood 'all over the balcony' when they left, he said. Mr Alexanderson's shirt was 'changing colour' because of the bleeding, the court was told. Mr Kissick challenged Mr Siemons' claim that Elkerton-Sandy was the aggressor in the apartment. 'You were the attacker, you and your mob, weren't you?' he said. Mr Siemons replied: 'I wish not to answer'. Asked if he remembered later making a throat slitting motion to a girl who had been in Elkerton-Sandy's apartment, Mr Siemons said: 'I think I did it to numerous people that night'. Mr Siemons denied that an attack on Elkerton-Sandy had been planned up to two days earlier. Elkerton-Sandy has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter. The trial before Justice Sean Cooper continues. The review has been taken down by Delicious Australia's most highly esteemed food critic has been slammed over a crude comment about a restaurant worker 'bending over' in a revealing outfit. John Lethlean - who made his name on The Australian and for calling out social media influencers looking for a free feed - wrote a review of Perth restaurant Shui for popular food magazine Delicious which has since been taken off the website. But a post from Mr Lethlean's own Instagram feed promoting his piece has been shared widely, and provides an indication as to why the review suddenly disappeared. 'And the maitre d'/meet and greeter wears an outfit that threatens to expose more than just her inexperience when she bends over to set a table,' Lethlean wrote in the post earlier this week. Legendary Perth chef Colin Wood, who has worked with some of the world's best culinary names, led the backlash against Lethlean and Delicious with a scathing post. Highly regarded food critic John Lethlean has been slammed over a review in which he made comments about a waitress's outfit and her 'bending over' Mr Lethlean (left) said he was asked by Delicious to remove his Instagram post promoting his review of Shui 'How this gross 'review' went to print after multiple eyes seeing it, appearing online at Delicious and on here before being deleted without an acknowledgment, consequence or apology is more overcooked than some of the steaks he's barbecued,' Wood wrote while sharing a picture of Lethlean saying 'It's time for a change'. Food author Dani Valent was among others admonishing the reviewer online over his coarse description of the Shui staff member. 'This is sexist, disrespectful and pervy,' Valent wrote, while fellow culinary writer Lee Tran Lam and chef Shannon Martinez joined the chorus of criticism online. Mr Lethlean - a leading voice in the industry for more than 20 years - told The Sydney Morning Herald the publisher asked him to delete the Instagram post. After the removal Instagram users pursued Mr Lethlean on his other posts - including on one of him enjoying a holiday in Canada - to object to his lurid comments about the restaurant staffer. 'Pretty sure you can write an apology from Calgary and also do some reading on how not to be misogynistic,' one wrote. 'You are in an industry where women are already subjected to sexual harassment and assault all the time. Take a look in the mirror and check yourself,' another read. 'Women in hospitality and women everywhere deserve an apology.' Elsewhere on social media others called Mr Lethlean's comments 'gross'. 'Never seen anyone torn apart like he was on Insta. I cannot believe somebody published that,' one comment read. 'Oh yikes! I could've sworn he retired but apparently he can't stay away,' another said. Mr Lethlean has been known to criticise social media influencers in the past Legendary Perth chef Colin Wood who has worked with some of the world's best culinary names took aim at Lethlean (pictured) and Delicious in a scathing post Mr Lethlean until last year had been a food writer and restaurant critic for The Australian, where he wrote an popular column in The Weekend Australian magazine. In 2018 he famously started the hashtag 'CouscousForComment' to call out social media influencers for seeking free meals in return for endorsing restaurants to their followers. One case involved Married At First Sight's Dean Wells, after a 'leaked' email supposedly revealed Dean's attempt at getting a free meal at a Melbourne restaurant. Food author Dani Valent (right) was among others who admonished the reviewer online over his coarse description of the Shui staff member The embarrassing email - which appeared to have been sent by a representative on behalf of Dean - was published on Instagram by Mr Lethlean. 'I hope this finds you well. I just wanted to touch base regarding our client, Married At First Sight star Dean Wells, who is looking to wine and dine in the city of Melbourne on the 18th of August,' the email read. 'I thought this could be a good opportunity for them to attend your restaurant, as Dean has over 80K followers across his Instagram. In return for looking after the two on this special occasion, we can offer Social Media posts and mentions.' Mr Lethlean captioned his post at the time: 'Grasping At First Sight, a new reality series. Please consider #CouscousForComment.' Asked for comment, Mr Lethlean said: 'I don't acknowledge the legitimacy of The Daily Mail Australia.' The remark came just months after Mr Lethlean posted a comment about his 'love' for the publication, following an article on his departure from The Australian. 'Don't you just love @dailymailaustralia?' he wrote in September. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Delicious and Shui restaurant for comment. US President Joe Biden's administration announced on Thursday a change in weapons export policy that prioritizes human rights above financial interests, reversing Donald Trump's approach. The new Commercial Arms Transfer (CAT) policy, governed by the State Department in addition to the Defense and Commerce departments, examines security assistance, government-to-government weapons transfers, and approved commercial sales of US-origin military goods and services, including commonly accessible guns in the country, Reuters reported. Military corporations and activists examine such US weapons policies to see how the government balances the business interests of manufacturers like Lockheed Martin Co. and Raytheon Technologies with its claimed dedication to protecting human rights. US weapons might be used in gross breaches of human rights; thus, the State Department has updated its CAT policy to address this risk. The State Department will not accept a weapons transfer under the new US weapons policy if it determines that the weapons would "more likely than not" be used to commit or enable genocide, human rights abuses, violations of the Geneva Conventions, or other major transgressions of international law. Read Also: Why Wagner's Yevgeny Prigozhin Publicly Betrayed the Kremlin US Military Weapons Sales Soared In fiscal 2022, US partners in Europe rushed to equip themselves after Russia invaded Ukraine 11 months ago, driving up military weapons sales to about $51.9 billion, per Defense News. Recent data from the State Department shows that this is a 49% increase over the $34.8 billion in sales recorded the previous year. Sales to businesses and government agencies directly also increased, from $103.4 billion to $153.7 billion. The Biden administration unveiled the new US weapons sales policy after President Joe Biden wrapped up his wartime tour of Europe on Wednesday. Joe Biden attempted to strengthen alliances with allies on NATO's precarious eastern flank, just as Russian President Vladimir Putin drew closer to China for support as his incursion of Ukraine turns one year, according to AP News. Related Article: Biden Cuts Mortgage Costs For New Home Owners @ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Tradies, real estate agents and accountants with self-managed super funds face being slugged thousands of dollars in penalties if they accidentally breach complex tax rules banning DIY work on their retirement savings or assets. Strict rules banning 'non-arm's length transactions' were introduced in July 2018 to prevent self-managed funds buying or renting out assets at below market value. The rules prevent, for example, a property owned by a self-managed fund to be rented out at mates rates to a relative of the trustee. But accountancy groups warn the rules are so complex anyone with a self-managed fund who applies 'their professional or trade skills to their personal lives' could be penalised. They argue breaches could include using a work laptop to complete personal tasks or an accountant doing their self-managed fund tax return without charging for it. A real estate agent who sold an investment property owned within their super fund could be in trouble for not charging commission. And so could a tradie who renovated an investment property and didn't bill their self-managed fund. Under the 'arms-length' rules, someone with a typical super balance earning close to an average salary could be slugged $6,000 in tax penalties if they did work for free. Average-income Australians with a self-managed super fund face being slugged with $6,000 in penalties if they accidently breach complex tax rules, accountants say (pictured are Sydney construction workers) Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones was urged to change the rules regarding Australia's 600,000 self-managed funds as he addressed the SMSF Conference in Melbourne on Thursday. CPA Australia, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, Institute of Financial Professionals Australia, Institute of Public Accountants, National Tax & Accountants' Association, SMSF Association and The Tax Institute released a joint statement condemning the rules. 'Hardworking Australians could take a hit to their super simply by applying their professional or trade skills to their personal lives due to complex restrictions on non-arm's length transactions,' they said. 'Professionals and skilled tradies are not trying to circumvent the rules. It is simply easier and often makes financial sense to DIY these tasks.' The accountants cited the case of someone having $135,000 in super and earning $90,000 a year, which is slightly below the average super balance of $145,388 and the average-full-time salary of $94,000. Someone in this position risked $6,000 in tax penalties for accidentally breaking the rules. Accountants argue some of the 'arms length' rules are so complex an Australian with a typical super balance earning close to an average salary stood to be slugged $6,000 in tax penalties (pictured is a stock image) Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones was lobbied to change the rules regarding Australia's 600,000 self-managed funds as he addressed the SMSF Conference in Melbourne on Thursday Mr Jones noted in his speech there were more than 600,000 self-managed super funds holding $870billion worth of assets. Australia is home to 16million superannuation accounts collectively worth $3.3trillion. 'That's a lot of money. It is an Australian story that we can be proud of,' Mr Jones said. 'But no public policy can or should be "set and forget".' He also reiterated Labor's call for super funds to invest in projects that aligned with the federal government's key priorities. 'The funds want to do it. They want to work in partnership with government to invest in things like infrastructure, whether it's roads, whether it's rail, whether it's ports, whether it's airports, whether it's health infrastructure or aged care,' he said. 'They want to do it. Many of them are already doing it. We want to lift that up and ensure we can do it in partnership and ensure we can remove some of the friction out of the process.' Self-managed super funds can be used to buy a residential investment property, provided its not rented out to a relative. H&R Block's director of tax communications Mark Chapman said the rules were strict. 'So, buying a holiday home in your SMSF and living there during the summer isnt allowed,' he told Daily Mail Australia. Small businesses can also buy a commercial property but the rent must be paid back into the self-managed fund at market rates, with the funds saved up for retirement. Australians with a self-managed super fund have until February 28 to lodge their annual return for the previous financial year but can get an extension to May 15 if they used a tax agent. However, some say it is a case of rich people 'whinging' A property owner has bemoaned a staggering tax increase on her coastal escape but not everyone was sympathetic with some accusing her of being a rich 'whinger'. Michelle Whitehead told Daily Mail Australia she had received 'a lot of responses' to her plea on social media calling on other holiday home owners to object to huge hikes in the amount of land tax they will have to pay on their coastal properties. 'A lot weren't aware of it and have now realised,' Ms Whitehead said. Ms Whitehead said the tax on her property in the NSW south coast town of Bendalong was about to jump from $1,200 a year to more than $20,000 based on a new valuation. In NSW, homeowners must pay land tax on any home that is not their principal place of residence. 'I'm not objecting to paying tax,' Ms Whitehead said. 'What I object to is the methodology to arrive at the valuation and their projection that the land value will increase by 62 per cent next year. 'I've spoken to local real estate agents and they seem to feel that this will not be the case.' A property owner in the scenic NSW southern coastal town of Bendalong (pictured) has complained they have been landed with a huge land tax increase The owner said the house had been in her family since 1960 when her grandmother won a lottery to buy land. She appealed for others in the region, which is filled with holiday homes, to share information if they were facing similar staggering increases. One person replied to say they were in the 'same boat'. 'As a Bendalong owner also we are gobsmacked by our latest bill where land value increased by over 50 per cent in one year,' they wrote. 'Very happy to support and be involved.' An owner with a property in the nearby town of Manyana replied that they had also been hit with a 'a massive tax bill'. The property owner appealed for others to share information in a bid to object to the massive tax increase The Manyana owner had made an objection but found it to be a very 'convoluted process' and learnt they would still have to pay the bill even as their application is considered. Another wrote that they were amazed to see that their property in Manyana attracted a higher land tax than one they owned near Sydney. 'This is outrageous. No one can afford this except the very rich,' wrote another sympathiser. However, a number of people noted land tax was only applied to properties other than the owner's primary residence, which led to bitter debate between the two camps. Not everyone was sympathetic pointing out that land tax does not apply to primary residences and anyone who owns a holiday house is by definition 'wealthy' (pictured Bendalong Beach) 'If you have more than one home then by definition, you are wealthy. If it's a rental, then the tax is a tax deductible cost of business,' one person wrote. Others agreed that as the property was seemingly a holiday house it should attract a high rate of tax. 'The rich get richer and the poor live somewhere else. Just pay your taxes and stop whinging,' another wrote. NSW south coast properties saw a steep average increase of 38 per cent in value, according to the NSW Valuer General who makes the determinations. In its annual report on land valuations for 2022 the NSW Valuer General David Parker wrote that working from home arrangements brought in by the Covid pandemic had driven up prices. 'Regional and coastal markets with accessibility to regional and metropolitan centres were particularly sought after,' the report said. Land tax is determined on the average value from the current year of the assessment and for the past two years. Objections must be lodged within 60 days of the assessment but tax must still be paid by the due date or interest will be charged. Land tax on holiday homes have become a contentious issue on the NSW South Coast with the Shoalhaven local council proposing rate increases for those who do not live in the region and rent their properties for short terms. Shoalhaven Mayor Amanda Findley proposed the idea last September to fund more affordable housing in the region with many struggling to find rental properties. The council commissioned a report to determine if the rate variations would be allowed by state laws. According to the 2021 Census 12,000 homes in the Shoalhaven were not primarily used as residences with many used as holiday rentals. Wild increases in rental prices across Australia could pressure young Aussies to move back home with mum and dad or into sharehouses as they look for cheaper alternatives. The sharp hikes include suburbs up to 20 minutes from the CBD, with tenants such as Daniel Olaniran left shocked after his rent at Ryde in Sydney's north-west jumped to an extraordinary $730 per week. Mr Olaniran posted a video to his TikTok channel, OlanTekkers, showing an email from his landlord informing him of the steep increase in rent. Recent statistics show that rental prices in Mr Olaniran's Ryde neighbourhood have increased by a staggering 35.6 per cent over the past year. The increases are similar across the nation, with some economists suggesting that a move away from sharehouses by renters during the Covid period has driven up overall demand for housing. In the TikTok, Mr Olaniran is shocked that rent in a suburb such as Ryde is starting to match the city's more luxurious suburbs. 'These are Bondi prices, you know, these are Darlinghurst prices I'm seeing per week,' he said. 'I might just have to move to Perth or something 'cause this is a joke.' According to statistics from the Reserve Bank of Australia, the decrease in the number of Australians living in sharehouses is one of the influences driving dramatic rises in rental prices. The trend started during the Covid pandemic, with numerous Aussies deciding to leave larger sharehouses and move into smaller spaces with their parents or partners. In the same period, the construction industry was beset by supply chain problems and was unable to provide new dwellings to match demand. Rental prices across Australia have risen at record rates, leaving tenants such as Daniel Olaniran (pictured) shocked at finding their rent increased to unsustainable levels Australians turned away from sharehouses during the pandemic, however higher rental prices across the nation could force them back in order to find a cheaper alternative (pictured, stock) Economists have suggested that these influences have helped drive up the price of rental properties to the point where Australians will again choose to move into sharehouses. 'I think we are going to see more and more sharehouses, or group households forming,' Time Lawless, CoreLogic's head of research, told the ABC. 'Simply due to the fact that rental markets are as tight as what they are.' However, ABC business reporter Emilia Terzon, reported that prices for share houses are no longer the bargain they were since before pandemic. 'Sometimes you can find some rare gems,' she said. 'But places like Bondi, some people are paying $500 per week on a room.' Demand has also driven by both interstate and international students looking for rental properties in major cities as they return to face-to-face studies. However, student aren't the only demographic in demand for housing as according to Claudia Conley from flatmates.com.au, an increasing number of people over the age of 55 are also looking to share. Former deputy prime minister Wayne Swan has angrily defended Treasurer Jim Chalmers against accusations he has backed down on contentious changes to superannuation tax concessions. Dr Chalmers, who was Mr Swan's chief-of-staff when he was Labor treasurer a decade ago, on Wednesday appeared to suggest the changes on taxes and early access would hardly be radical. 'We're not contemplating major changes to superannuation,' he told Sydney radio station 2GB. 'We think that there should still be generous tax concessions for people to save for their retirement.' Chris O'Keefe, 2GB's drive presenter who interviewed Dr Chalmers, told the Today Show the Treasurer was now backpedaling because 'this was all blowing up in his face'. 'It's typical Labor politics. He flew the kite, see which way the wind blows, realised, "Oh, no, the kite's flying back at me" and said "I'd better water this down",' he said. 'That is exactly what happened.' Mr Swan, who is now the Australian Labor Party's national president, was livid with that interpretation. Former deputy prime minister Wayne Swan has angrily defended Treasurer Jim Chalmers against accusations he backed away from big changes to superannuation. 'With due respect, that's crap,' he said. 'This is a simple proposal, a very sensible clean-up, but it's very modest.' Dr Chalmers on Wednesday afternoon downplayed suggestions the federal government would increase the tax rate on extra contributions to superannuation. Super contributions of up to $27,500 a year incur a concessional tax rate of 15 per cent for those earning up to $250,000, with that low tax rate introduced by former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello in 2006. Dr Chalmers denied he was planning to lower that income threshold to $200,000 and lift the tax rate to 30 per cent, telling 2GB a change is 'not on the table'. Mr Swan defended Dr Chalmers for exploring ways to tighten the rules on early access to super, and to cap tax concessions for those with more than $3million in their retirement savings. Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday afternoon hosed down suggestions the Federal government will increase the tax rate on extra contributions to superannuation This concession costs $53billion a year, with wealthier Australians putting money into super paying a concessional rate that is well below the marginal tax rate of 45 per cent for those earning more than $180,000. Two-thirds of these concessions go to the top 20 per cent of income earners and less than 1 per cent of people have super savings of more than $3million, with that group having an average pool of $5.8million. Mr Swan denied he was defending Dr Chalmers for 'personal' reasons given they once worked closely together, and said lies and distortions on the matter of super 'don't reflect well on the people making them'. O'Keefe bit back, citing his 6,000-word summer essay in The Monthly on reforming capitalism as a 'wide-ranging think piece meant nothing'. 'It does mean a lot,' Mr Swan replied. 'If we legislate the purpose of super, which is for retirement, we protect the retirement savings of millions and millions of Australians, a pretty important thing to do. 'People like you beat it up. It gets out of proportion.' O'Keefe said Dr Chalmers' messaging this week had been inconsistent and had scared 'the living daylights' out of people concerned about their retirement savings. Sydney 2GB's Chris O'Keefe criticised the Treasurer for changing his plan after seeing 'this was all blowing up in his face' Today Show host Sarah Abo, who moderated a rowdy federal election debate between Anthony Albanese and Scott Morrison, called for everyone to 'cool it down a little bit'. When can you access your super? For those born before July 1, 1960, it's 55 The rises to 56 for baby boomers born between July 1, 1960 and June 30, 1961 It's 57 for those born between July 1, 1961 and June 30, 1962 It's 58 for those born between July 1, 1962 and June 30, 1963 It's 59 for those born between July 1, 1963 and June 30, 1964 It's 60 for anyone born after July 1, 1964 Advertisement 'This feels like the leader's debate, I can't get a word in,' she said. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton appeared on the program shortly afterward and again attacked Dr Chalmers' plan. He warned that while the change to tax breaks might just affect the 36,000 people with more than $3million in their super accounts to begin with, 'with Labor it never stops there'. 'If Labor runs out of revenue sources, they've then got to come after the next rung,' Mr Dutton said. 'There's a lot of Australians who are very aspirational, who work hard, and for many they'll have drawn down out of their superannuation to pay their mortgage off so they don't have those payments in retirement as well. 'People have pumped money into superannuation, and the uncertainty that the Prime Minister is creating I think just shows they can't manage the budget or the economy.' Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor accused the government of going back on its election commitment not to make 'major changes' to superannuation. 'This is Australians' money, not the government's money to play with. I know Australians feel that very strongly, particularly at a time like this when there is real pressure on Australians' households,' he told Channel 7. 'Money in super should be invested in your interests, not for the government to tax and spend because they have a hole in their budget.' A cafe owner has hit back at critics who have attacked her controversial job ad seeking a female barista. Jekyll and Hyde Coffee Lab in Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast, has been searching for a new barista since September. Owner Georgina Rebecca Clothier initially wanted 'experienced baristas' to apply but on Tuesday switched to calling specifically for female applicants. The advertisement was shared on the cafe's social media pages with many calling the ad exclusionary for wanting only females. However Ms Clothier defended the ad, insisting it never said male baristas cannot apply. Jekyll and Hyde Coffee Lab in Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast shared an ad on the cafe's Instagram page calling for experienced baristas (pictured) The cafe's owner faced backlash over the advertisement with many claiming the wording excluded applicants who did not identify as female (pictured, Jekyll and Hyde Coffee Lab) 'That's where you, and a few other people who commented on it, are getting it wrong,' Ms Clothier told the Gold Coast Bulletin. 'You can go on Facebook, and people take everything the wrong way. If you're a sensitive person, that's how you're going to look at it. 'Nowhere does it say 'only' female baristas.' The unapologetic owner explained the cafe has hired male and female staff since it opened its doors in 2018. 'I am not sexist - if you and other people want to take it that way thats a personal preference to them,' Ms Clothier said. 'This is not coming from a place of badness at all I'm a person who own a business and I'm trying to employ people from my local community and now I'm going to get scathed for it.' Under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 it is unlawful to discriminate against a person because of their sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, intersex status, marital status, relationship status, pregnancy or breastfeeding. The controversy comes a month after Ms Clothier complained on Instagram and Facebook about the difficulty of finding good staff. Ms Clothier shared a detailed list of attributes a successful applicant will need to secure a job at the cafe and claimed it was like looking for a 'rare specimen'. 'Looking for someone who wants to stick around, does not intend to go to uni, can commit to turning up five days a week,' Ms Clothier wrote. 'Lives a fairly normal life with no dramas on the daily, can smile, be genuine, have a funny bone in their body, looks half way decent, drives a car, has some morals, is a team player, doesn't want to sit on their phone every 10 minutes. It comes after Ms Clothier complained about the difficulty of finding good staff and provided a detailed list of the attributes an applicant needs to secure a job at the cafe (pictured) 'Has pride in themselves and their work, can start at 5.30am, is available on Saturdays, isn't righteous, and most importantly can make coffee,' she added. 'Is that alot (sic) to ask for? I think so because there doesn't seem to be many of these rare specimens around. Please don't waste my time because I'm over it.' Ms Clothier also insisted she is not sexist and rejected claims the ad was 'sex discrimination'. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Jekyll and Hyde Coffee Lab for comment. Chris Smith has slammed broadcasting industry figures who portrayed him as a 'monster' for harassing female colleagues at a Sky News Christmas event. Smith hit out at some of his critics - who he did not identify - after announcing he had found a new job in radio, two months after he was sacked by Sky and 2GB. 'Let's sum up what I did,' the 60-year-old told Daily Mail Australia. 'I made gross remarks to one woman about her holiday snaps and I pinched another one on the backside. 'None of them lodged an official complaint and yet I'm being called a monster by people whose own track record is hardly glowing. 'That's the greatest piece of hypocrisy I've ever witnessed in the industry.' Chris Smith has slammed broadcasting industry figures who portrayed him as a 'monster' for harassing female colleagues at a Sky News Christmas party. Smith hit out at some of his critics after announcing he had found a new job, two months after he was sacked by Sky and 2GB Smith even compared coverage of his conduct with the media attention given to notorious killer Chris Dawson when he was jailed for 24 years in December for the 1982 murder of his wife Lynette. 'I've got to say I got eight days of negative coverage - maybe I deserved that - but murderer Chris Dawson only got five,' he said. 'There were some people who were trying to play the moral card about what a monster I was. I don't want to mention any names but some of those people are gross hypocrites given their own records.' Smith has been thrown a career lifeline by international digital talk station TNT Radio where from Monday he will present an afternoon program five days a week. He lost his jobs as a weekend 2GB announcer and the Sunday night host of a Sky program over his drunken behaviour at a Sky function two weeks before Christmas. Smith had joined colleagues at Sky's end-of-year celebrations at Ivy Sunroom in Sydney's central business district which began about 12pm on December 10. When that formal event concluded in the afternoon, a group including Smith moved on to nearby Establishment about 5pm. 'There were some people who were trying to play the moral card about what a monster I was,' Smith told Daily Mail Australia. 'I don't want to mention any names but some of those people are gross hypocrites given there own records'. Smith is pictured with wife Susie Burrell It was there Smith commented about one female colleague's Instagram photos from a holiday, saying she 'had a lot of side boob going on', and touched another one's bottom. Smith apologised profusely for his actions, which he blamed on mixing alcohol with the medication he takes for bipolar disorder, causing him to black out. Leading broadcasting figures laid into the father-of two, pointing to his previous misconduct while drunk and saying he should no longer work in the industry. Speaking with Daily Mail Australia, Smith again expressed extreme remorse for his offensive behaviour and said 'I think I deserved a lot of the criticism'. 'But gee, there are some hypocrites in our industry who want to moralise about what I shouldn't have done,' he said. Smith said he had been heartened by the support he received from other quarters, particularly on social media. 'I've had about 5,000 supporters and listeners contact me and wish me all the best and that has kept me standing throughout some difficult mental times,' he said. 'Basically complete strangers have sent me notes of support and I don't want to let them down ever again.' Smith compared coverage of his 'gross' conduct with the media attention given to Chris Dawson (above) when he was jailed for 24 years in December for the 1982 murder of his wife Lynette Smith said his nutritionist wife Susie Burrell had supported him throughout his ongoing recovery and described her as 'an absolute tower of strength'. He has not touched a drop of alcohol for 75 days and has vowed never to drink again. Smith said after spending time in rehab and consulting with psychiatrists and psychologists he had realised he was incapable of drinking responsibly. 'In previous times where I've stuffed up binge drinking I never had the guts nor probably the guidance to be able to give up drinking,' he said. 'I never had the advice, I'd never had the guts to do what I should have done which was to give it up completely. 'I've never given up more than three weeks. I could never do it. I thought I could control it, as I thought I could control it in December, but I can't.' Asked if he would ever drink again Smith said, 'Never, ever.' 'I don't need it. I'm angry with it. It's not just the big incidents that have occurred in my life. It's also the reliance on alcohol on almost daily basis which I've also had. 'It negatively impacts my family, my wife, my kids. I don't need that anymore.' Smith said removing the 'wild card' prospect of black outs from his life meant he could prevent himself 'behaving like an adolescent'. 'It's a great relief for me and it's a great start to hopefully another stage of a career without drama,' he said. The Chris Smith Show will air on tntradio.live from 3pm to 5pm from Monday to Friday and will concentrate on international affairs in its first hour. The next hour will have a more local focus and Smith will be able to take callers from around the world. 'It's awfully lucky,' Smith said. 'It's a great life buoy for me and I intend to grab it with both hands. I don't think I've ever been more appreciative of a job in my life.' Smith, who has a history of alcohol-fuelled misbehaviour at work functions, celebrated 50 days off the drink with this Facebook post in January. He has now reached 75 days alcohol-free Before his sacking Smith was about to be given his own daily 5pm show on Sky News before he was sacked, with that role being given to Sharri Markson. Smith was previously suspended by 2GB for allegedly harassing four women at the radio station's 2009 Christmas party. He had also been demoted at Nine Network's A Current Affair after allegedly exposing himself at a farewell party in the late 1990s. After the 2GB soiree Smith admitted to having been drunk on champagne and red wine and said he had also taken the 'the wrong antidepressants'. He was soon back at 2GB where until December he had been a weekend presenter as well as regular fill-in announcer. Sir Keir Starmer was mocked last night ahead of a speech in which he is expected to try to dodge the issue of small boat Channel crossings. The Labour leader will set out five 'national missions' at a keynote speech in Manchester today in a push to cement the party's 28-point poll lead. They are an attempt to challenge the five pledges announced by Rishi Sunak last month and will form the backbone of Labour's election manifesto. But the broad themes will be the economy, the NHS, crime, climate change and education with immigration absent. By contrast, one of Mr Sunak's five pledges was to 'stop the boats', with new laws to ban those using the Channel route from claiming asylum and deport them swiftly. The issue could become a key battleground in the next general election, expected to be towards the end of next year. Sir Keir Starmer was mocked last night ahead of a speech in which he is expected to try to dodge the issue of small boat Channel crossings Yesterday Mr Sunak mocked Sir Keir at Prime Minister's Questions over the plan. He said: 'We have heard that tomorrow he's going to announce five missions. 'But we already know what they are it's uncontrolled immigration, it's reckless spending, it's higher debt and it's softer sentences. And for the fifth pledge, Mr Speaker, it's that he reserves the right to change his mind on the other four.' And last night Conservative Party chairman Greg Hands said: 'Keir Starmer will say anything if the politics suit him. He lacks principles and has no new ideas.' Sir Keir will only outline his five pledges in his speech this morning before fully launching two of them for May's local elections, with the remainder staggered in the run-up to the general election. He will focus on economic growth and is expected to say that the party should be judged against every region of the UK seeing greater prosperity. His five missions will generate 'a decade of national renewal' and provide 'long-term solutions' to the 'long-term problems' facing the country, he will say. Sir Keir will again accuse the Tory government of only temporarily fixing problems with 'sticking plaster' solutions. Mr Sunak's five pledges was to 'stop the boats', with new laws to ban those using the Channel route from claiming asylum and deport them swiftly Dozens of criminals escaped being fitted with an electronic tag when an IT system collapsed, it has emerged. A controversial computer system in the courts, called Common Platform, failed to send out more than 3,000 messages to criminal justice agencies. More than 300 of the unsent messages were later found to have potentially 'affected justice outcomes', a report by the National Audit Office found. It said: 'In 35 cases an individual was not fitted with an electronic monitoring tag when they should have been.' The Ministry of Justice was unable to say last night if any of the offenders had been convicted of a sexual or violent crime. Dozens of criminals escaped being fitted with an electronic tag when an IT system collapsed, it has emerged (File image) The Ministry of Justice said: 'No offences were reported by the 35 defendants who were temporarily untagged' (File image) The problem lasted from June 2021 to August last year. HM Courts and Tribunals Service had to pause its rollout for two weeks while the problems were investigated. 'The system could not cope with the volume of notifications,' said the watchdog's report, published today. 'HMCTS has since completed an extended review, which has recommended that it works with partners to identify a more robust mechanism for exchanging data rather than the current email route.' The NAO said the system had been introduced 'before it was ready', creating 'extra burdens for courts when they were already under pressure'. HMCTS now expects to make 2billion in savings over the lifetime of the programme 310million less than it estimated in 2019 auditors said. Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said Common Platform had 'put avoidable pressure on the courts at a critical time'. He added the HMCTS must also 'secure value for money from the 1.3billion of taxpayers' money it has invested'. The Ministry of Justice said: 'No offences were reported by the 35 defendants who were temporarily untagged.' The two have since become friends and check-in with each other regularly An Arkansas teenager has tracked down and befriended a grandmother after he found her lost wallet in a Walmart shopping cart. Delivontae Johnson, 19, was getting his tire fixed at a local store when he came across a black wallet left in a cart belonging to Dee Harkrider, 61. Johnson decided to personally return the wallet to Harkrider, a grandmother of seven, rather than to employees - a hunt that lead to him finding an unexpected friend. 'When I found a name, I looked it up on Facebook so I could get in contact with the owner,' Johnson told Fox News. Delivontae Johnson, 19, was getting his tire fixed at a local store when he came across a black wallet left in a cart belonging to Dee Harkrider, 61 The grandma left her black wallet in a Walmart shopping cart Harkrider didn't immediately respond to Johnson since Facebook doesn't always alert users of messages from non-friends. Johnson then decided to reach out to a person on Harkrider's friend list for help and eventually found himself at the 61-year-old's house. Within an hour, Johnson was on his way to meet Harkrider in a Palestine parking lot. 'When I got there she was surprised that I was a teenager,' Johnson said. 'She thanked me and gave me a hug and we both took a picture together.' Harkrider told NTD news she left her wallet in the cart after wandering in the store for a few items. 'Everything I had was in that wallet,' Harkrider said. 'And someone took the time to get it and bring it to me.' Meanwhile, Johnson shared he was led to the Walmart after he hit a pothole in Memphis, Tennessee and was driving on a spare for about five days. 'My mom always told me that if you do good things, good things will always fall back on you,' Johnson told the news outlet. The two quickly became friends and Harkrider has since met Johnson's family and attended his family parties. This past weekend, Harkrider shared a series of pictures from Johnson's family baby shower. 'I went to a baby shower this weekend and got to meet some of Delivontae Johnsons family,' Harkrider wrote on Facebook. 'They made us feel so welcomed!' The number of migrants arriving in British communities is causing 'unsustainable' pressures and 'saying so does not make you racist or bigoted', Suella Braverman said last night. But the Home Secretary forcefully condemned violent protests outside hotels being used to house Channel migrants. Mrs Braverman said in an interview with GB News: 'It is clear and undeniable that there are really serious pressures on communities, and saying so does not make you racist or bigoted. 'I very much understand people's frustrations with hotels being occupied by large numbers of illegal immigrants or asylum seekers. 'Violence is never acceptable and intimidation, harassment, any forms of abuse to anybody should be condemned and I condemn them in the fullest possible terms. The number of migrants arriving in British communities is causing 'unsustainable' pressures and 'saying so does not make you racist or bigoted', Suella Braverman said A total of 45,000 migrants arrived in England on small boats in 2022, Mrs Braverman said 'And it's clear that we have an unsustainable situation in towns and cities around our country whereby, because of the overwhelming numbers of people arriving here illegally and our legal duties to accommodate them, we are now having to house them in hotels. 'And that is causing understandable tensions within communities, pressures on local resources and is frankly unsustainable.' Mrs Braverman added that people had a right to express their anxiety over how the arrivals were affecting their neighbourhoods and putting pressure on local services. Her remarks came after violent scenes as anti-migrant protesters gathered outside hotels in Knowsley in Merseyside and Rotherham, South Yorkshire, and clashed with counter-demonstrators. Conservative MPs yesterday piled pressure on Rishi Sunak at Prime Minister's Questions to fulfil his pledge to 'stop the boats'. In December, Mr Sunak committed to dealing with 92,000 asylum cases from a total backlog of just under 149,000 by the end of this year. The Home Office today launches a streamlined system which will see 12,000 asylum seekers migrants from five countries Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Yemen granted refugee status on the basis of a ten-page questionnaire. It was branded an 'amnesty in all but name'. The Home Secretary forcefully condemned violent protests outside hotels being used to house Channel migrants However, the Home Secretary pledged to do 'whatever it takes' to deter people from crossing the Channel including potentially leaving the European Convention on Human Rights. 'At this stage, nothing's ruled out,' she said. 'We need to ensure that we fix this problem of illegal migration. That's my priority and as the Prime Minister himself has said, he'll do whatever it takes to achieve that goal. We've had 45,000 people last year arrive here illegally on small boats. That situation is unacceptable.' Last year Mrs Braverman was accused of using inflammatory language after she described small-boat arrivals across the Channel as an 'invasion'. 'The British people deserve to know which party is serious about stopping the invasion on our southern coast and which party is not,' she told the Commons in October, days after a firebomb attack on a migrant processing centre in Dover. She added that many arrivals had paid people traffickers for their journey and that some were 'actual members of criminal gangs', adding: 'So let's stop pretending that they are all refugees in distress.' In December, Mr Sunak committed to dealing with 92,000 asylum cases from a total backlog of just under 149,000 by the end of this year The Government has pledged to find alternative accommodation for asylum seekers, including empty holiday parks, former student halls or disused military barracks. At Prime Minister's Questions yesterday, Mr Sunak said the Home Secretary would make a 'formal update' on progress in the coming weeks. Former Tory Cabinet minister Esther McVey asked the PM when new legislation would be published because 'time is of the essence'. Mr Sunak said ministers were 'working at pace' on the legislation, adding: 'What I can tell her is that we want a system whereby if someone arrives in our country illegally they will not be able to stay.' Tory MP Sir Bill Wiggin urged the PM to publish the long-awaited immigration Bill next week. Mr Sunak replied: 'The Home Secretary and I are working intensely and as quickly as possible to bring forward that legislation, because what I want is what he wants it's to ensure that those people who come here illegally will simply not be allowed to stay.' Apple Watches from the Series 4 and later come with health-related features like the EKG which allows users to monitor their heart rhythm. Other companies, however, are accusing Apple of infringement for using the tech on their products, which US President Biden is upholding. Potential Apple Watch Ban AliveCor, a medical device producer stated that US President Biden has upheld the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruling that might lead to the import ban of the Apple Watch that has the EKG (also known as ECG) feature. This follows the notice of the commission's final determination, concluding that Apple has committed patent infringement over the EKG tech of AliveCor. The ruling says that the former is in violation of Section 337, and will issue a limited exclusion and cease-and-desist order. Should the ruling go further, Apple Watch models with the EKG feature will no longer be imported by the company into the US to sell. Although, Apple spokesperson Hannah Smith says they intend to appeal the decision to the Federal Circuit. AliveCor CEO Priya Abani expressed that they applaud US President Joe Biden for upholding the ITC's ruling, and holding Apple accountable for infringing the patents that "underpin our industry-leading EKG technology." Masimo, another medical tech manufacturer, also sued Apple Watch through the ITC. They claim that the tech giant also infringed on five of its pulse oximetry patents. ITC ruled in Masimo's favor, reports say. This will affect the Apple Watches with the Sp02 sensor, which covers Series 6 and later. The potential ban is still to be determined by May. As pointed out by The Verge, it's also possible that the companies suing Apple for infringement may just be after the licensing fee that Apple would provide in exchange for the use of their patents, given that Apple has enough to pay for it ten times over. Read Also: Research Says Apple Watch Can Accurately Determine Stress Levels How Likely is the Potential Ban on Apple Watches? There's no way of telling how likely it is for the ITC to ban Apple Watches in the US, but it is safe to say that there is a possibility that it could happen. Since US President Biden decided not to veto the ITC's ruling, AliveCor and Masimo just increased their chances of winning. Apple has been in the same situation before as the ITC claims that iPhones and iPads infringed on Samsung's technology. Although the Apple Watch manufacturer came out on top as former US President Barack Obama vetoed the import ban, effectively disregarding the ITC ruling. According to iMore, the LEO will go into effect after the resolution of all the appeals in the case, which includes the EKG patent owner's appeal of the US Patent Trial. With Apple's resources, the US President upholding the ruling might not be enough to ban the Apple Watches. There's also the Appeal Board ruling that says AliveCor's EKG patent is unpatentable, which leaves the mentioned company needing to win the appeal to the ruling before the ban for Apple Watches can even be possible. Related: Apple Watch Infringes AliveCor's ECG Patent, ITC Affirms Britain's asylum system is not merely malfunctioning; it is completely broken. More than 150,000 people are being fed, housed and clothed at huge expense to the taxpayer while their claims are processed. So this paper applauded Rishi Sunak when, in December, he vowed to tackle a scandal that has dogged successive governments for at least two decades. Reducing the enormous backlog by the end of this year, he said, would cut the cost to the public purse and free up officials to focus on the Channel migrants crisis. So how exactly does the Government intend to go about this? Will it tighten up the eligibility criteria and speedily put tens of thousands of failed asylum seekers on planes back home? (File Photo) Britain's asylum system is not merely malfunctioning; it is completely broken No. As we explain, the head-scratching plan involves fast-tracking 12,000 applicants from five warzones in a scheme which critics say is an amnesty in all but name. Under this streamlined system, they will be allowed to stay and bring relatives here on the basis of a ten-page questionnaire. Many will never get a face-to-face interview. The perils of this are obvious. How will we know any individual is really who they say they are? It's blatantly clear that such a box-ticking exercise, with fewer checks, could make it more likely that terrorists and other criminals get permission to live here, risking public safety and national security. And another risk is that such a policy will simply encourage more people to attempt to come here illegally in small boats. Home Secretary Suella Braverman acknowledged in an interview last night that record numbers of migrants being put up in hotels was putting communities under 'unsustainable pressure'. She's right. The failure to make more progress on this issue is one reason the Conservatives are 28 points behind Labour in the polls. The Tories promised to take back control of our borders not implement what looks like a migrant amnesty for thousands. A lesson to jihadis When she joined Islamic State, Shamima Begum chose a group that delivered justice by the executioner's sword over a country where the law is upheld in the courts. Yesterday the jihadi bride, who was 15 when she travelled to Syria on her warped adventure, lost her immigration appeal to return to the land of her birth. Her lawyers argued that she should not be deprived of her UK citizenship because she had been groomed online and effectively trafficked by recruiters for the evil group. The human rights lobby moan that barring Shamima Begum sets a dangerous precedent. But letting her back in would do that by opening the floodgates to other fanatical runaways But Mr Justice Jay's tribunal ruling was compelling. With the security services saying she could still pose a threat to national security, he put public safety first. The human rights lobby moan that barring her sets a dangerous precedent. But letting her back in would do that by opening the floodgates to other fanatical runaways. Show some steel With Russia waging brutal war in Europe, it could hardly be more important for Britain to have a stable steel industry. After all, steel is vital for our defence sector. Yet as we send vast quantities of arms to Ukraine, meaning our own military supplies urgently need replenishing, the UK's steelworks are being run down. Chinese-owned British Steel plans to close the coking ovens at its Scunthorpe headquarters, with the loss of 260 jobs. This is profoundly troubling. If Britain loses the ability to produce steel, our defence firms would become beholden to foreign powers for imports. Successive governments have been lamentably ambivalent about selling off our strategic jewels to the highest bidder whatever the national security concerns. We must pray the chickens don't finally come home to roost. NSW law states that dog owners must dispose of dog poo A dodgy dog walker has been caught on CCTV footage pretending to pick up his dog's poo from a resident's front lawn. A furious homeowner at Kareela in Sydney's Sutherland Shire released the video of the man leaving the dog excrement on their front lawn - after pretending to pick it up with a dog poo bag. The footage shows the man walking the dog on a lead through a quiet cul-de-sac before stopping so his pooch can answer the call of nature. The man is seen to quickly glance around the street looking for witnesses before he pulls out a plastic poo bag from his pocket. He then seems to struggle with opening the bag while his dog, done with its business, circles the man ready to continue its walk. Bizarrely, the man then squats down and seemingly pretends to pick up the dog poo from the lawn, never touching the pile. He then turns around and pretends to pick up another imaginary pile from the path. A dog owner has been caught on CCTV appearing to fake picking up a pooch's poo from the front lawn of a home at Kareela in Sydney's south (pictured) Believing he'd gotten away with the faux poo collection, the man even puts the unused doggy bag back in his pocket. Under New South Wales' Companion Animals Act 1998, those responsible for a dog must pick up and dispose of their pooch's excrement. The offence carries a minimum $275 fine up to a maximum of $880, depending on the council area. The act only makes an exception for the owners of assistance animals such as guide dogs. The civilian official elected to oversee Lancashire Constabulary has faced a backlash from former officers over his social media activity during the Nicola Bulley investigation. Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden, who ordered the latest probe into the much-maligned force, made no mention of Ms Bulley on his Twitter feed until more than a fortnight after she disappeared despite it being one of the most high-profile cases of its kind in years. The 38-year-old Tory politician, paid 104,000 a year, instead found time to post about food, wine and his wifes birthday, while police, experts, well-intentioned members of the public and social media sleuths tried to piece together what happened to the missing 45-year-old. Former Royal Protection chief and Metropolitan Police divisional commander Dai Davies said: To my mind it illustrates sheer crassness and a level of absurdity that beggars belief. Mr Davies questioned Mr Snowdens decision to set up an inquiry when so many question his role. The civilian official elected to oversee Lancashire Constabulary has faced a backlash from former officers over his social media activity during the Nicola Bulley investigation The 38-year-old Tory politician found time to post about food, wine and his wifes birthday, while police, experts and members of the public tried to piece together what happened to the missing 45-year-old Martyn Underhill, former police commissioner for Dorset and an ex-detective chief inspector, said: Tweeting pictures of his dinner is really not in keeping with the public mood over the hunt for poor Nicola. Of 45 tweets posted by Mr Snowden between when Ms Bulley went missing on January 27 and yesterday, just seven related to her case the first of which was on February 12 and three of them were after her body was found on Sunday. Seven other tweets were jolly messages about food, wine, his wifes birthday, Valentines Day and even supermarket shopping with his young son. In his biographical details, Mr Snowden states his is a personal Twitter account so expect dad, hubby, cooking & walking pics. On January 28, the day after Ms Bulley went missing while walking her dog in St Michaels on Wyre, the well-nourished politician posted about homemade curry. Mr Snowden, associate director of external relations at Salford University until his election in 2021, post pictures of his 'homemade curry night' In his biographical details, Mr Snowden states his is a personal Twitter account so expect dad, hubby, cooking & walking pics Of 45 tweets posted by Mr Snowden between when Ms Bulley went missing on January 27 and yesterday, just seven related to her case the first of which was on February 12 Mr Snowden, associate director of external relations at Salford University until his election in 2021, wrote: What a little feast, with a cameo from his son shopping with daddy for ingredients for a homemade curry night. 'Kashmiri Keema Paneer, a side of Bhindi Bhaji, and pilau rice slow steamed in the Aga. On February 11, 15 days into the missing person inquiry, he tweeted a snap of his dinner. He wrote: Saturday night treat of lamb shank slow cooked for 8 hours in a spicy homemade curry sauce, served on garlic and seasoned rice. The same night, Mr Snowden shared a picture of a bottle of wine, telling his followers his son was in bed and his dog was conked out. Hello Saturday night!, he added. A teenager has been arrested after a journalist, a nine-year-old girl, and a woman, 20, were all shot dead at three different murder scenes in Orlando, Florida. Keith Melvin Moses, 19, a career criminal with a lengthy rap sheet, sneered and smiled as he was handcuffed on Wednesday in connection to the three shootings - which police believe are all linked. The first fatality occurred at 11.17am on Wednesday morning, on 6100 block of Hialeah Street - where Orange County Sheriff's Deputies found a 20-year-old woman with gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Two Spectrum News 13 journalists then gathered at the first murder scene to begin broadcasting on the woman's death. However, five hours later, the suspect returned and started firing again - gunning down the news reporter and photographer. At the same time, around 4.05pm, police were called to a third shooting nearby - where a mother and her nine-year-old daughter had been shot in a residential house. The child later died, and the mom is still in critical condition. Sheriff John Mina said that Moses was in some way connected to his first victim - but that the potential motive for the second and third shootings are unclear. Keith Melvin Moses smirked and smiled as he was taken away in handcuffs after being arrested in connection to the three killings in Orlando, Florida. The terror started just after 11am, when a woman, 20, was found dead on the street with shotgun wounds. Then at 4.05pm that day - as broadcasters gathered to report the local news - the suspect is believed to have returned and started firing again Keith Moses (pictured), 19, was arrested and is suspected with committing all of the shootings, which took place between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Wednesday According to witnesses, the man approached the news vehicle around 4pm and opened fire, hitting the two journalists. He then walked to a nearby home and shot the mother and daughter. The two male journalists were gunned down while on duty. One of the employees has since died, but has yet to be identified. The second is still in hospital. The mother and child, nine, were inside a residence on Harrington Street when they were shot. The young girl has died, and her mother is still in critical condition. Mina said it was 'unclear' why Moses chose to enter their home. According to Spectrum News 13, the photographer is 'healing' and 'been able to speak with investigators and colleagues. Moses has already formally charged with the murder of the woman earlier Wednesday morning and Mina expects further charges from the later shootings. He has a history of gun violence - including assault with a deadly weapon and grand theft charges. The police chief said: 'At 19, he has a lengthy criminal history, to include gun charges, aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft charges.' Mina added that Moses 'is not saying much right now' and they have not been able to determine a motive, nor have they figured out if he specifically targeted the media members. 'It's unclear why exactly they were targeted, and certainly we're going to look into that,' Mina said. A man has been arrested after a TV reporter and a 9-year-old girl were shot dead at the scene of the fatal homicide of a 20-year-old woman that happened earlier that day in Orange County, Florida, all believed to be connected to the same suspect Orange County Sheriff's Deputies reported to the 6100 block of Hialeah Street in Orlando at around 11:17 a.m. where they discovered a woman in her 20s who had been fatally shot Sheriff John Mina (pictured) said that Moses was in some way connected to his victim and noted that homicide detectives had collected evidence, conducted follow-up interviews and developed leads before leaving the premises Mina said the News 13 vehicle did not look like a typical news van with TV station markings. The White House has since commented on the shooting via Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. 'Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team,' she wrote. 'I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners,' Mina told a room full of reporters. 'I work closely with all of you and know many of you and know the the very difficult job that you do and also the very important job that you do for our community and for law enforcement.' 'No one in our community - not a mother, not a 9-year-old and certainly not news professionals - should become the victim of gun violence in our community,' he added. Orange County Sheriff John Mina addresses the media during a press conference about multiple shootings 'I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners,' Mina told a room full of reporters. 'I work closely with all of you and know many of you and know the the very difficult job that you do and also the very important job that you do for our community and for law enforcement.' Charter Communications, the parent company of Spectrum News 13, did not identify the reporter but offered condolences. 'We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today. Our thoughts are with our employee's family, friends and co-workers during this very difficult time. We remain hopeful that our other colleague who was injured makes a full recovery. 'This is a terrible tragedy for the Orlando community.' According to witnesses, a man approached the news vehicle later Wednesday and opened fire, hitting the two reporters. The man then walked to a nearby home and shot the mother and daughter. Spectrum News 13 was not identifying the crew members who were involved in the shooting, according to a story on the TV stations website. 'Please, please, say a prayer tonight for our co-worker who is in critical condition. And while youre at it, please say a prayer for every victim of gun violence in this country,' Spectrum 13 journalist Celeste Springer said during her live on-air report. Worldwide 40 journalists were reported killed last year, plus another two this year before Wednesday, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Only one of those was in the United States. A conspiracy theorist has arrived at court surrounded by supporters after he allegedly stalked and harassed a 2GB worker over being refused an interview on Ben Fordham's breakfast show. David Graham, a 'sovereign citizen' who calls himself 'Guru', was arrested in Wollongong, south of Sydney, on Friday after allegedly intimidating a radio worker. Daily Mail Australia understands the charges relate to Graham allegedly repeatedly harassing a 2GB staff member over the phone on January 30 after he was refused a spot on Fordham's prime-time show. The concreter was arrested after police searched his boat, which is also his home, in Wollongong Harbour, with officers also allegedly finding drugs. Graham walked into Wollongong Local Court on Thursday to face the charges, thronged by more than a dozen supporters. David Graham (pictured), a 'sovereign citizen' movement follower who calls himself 'Guru', entered Wollongong Court with about a dozen supporters on Thursday While he was refused a spot on Ben Fordham's show, Graham did get a brief stint on John Laws' show, who called him a 'conspiratorialist' and 'clown'. In late January, Graham told supporters he would be interviewed by Fordham at 5.45am the following morning - but no such agreement had been made. If the interview did not happen for any reason, Graham told his followers to call and email 2GB demanding that he be put on air. But not only did he not get on air, Fordham interviewed a woman who warned about the dangers posed by sovereign citizens. Callers to 2GB reportedly told the producers Graham should be allowed on, but Fordham said he had not been promised a spot on his show and suggested he 'change his medication'. Fordham also said some sovereign citizen movement followers were upset because 'apparently I have been making fun of them'. What is the sovereign citizen movement? Sovereign citizens believe they are immune from government rules and in some cases have violently confronted police. In the US, the FBI has described the movement as 'domestic terrorism'. Advertisement The radio host said he thought he would support them because he opposed lockdowns and vaccine mandates during the Covid-19 pandemic. 'Well I'm happy to give them some assistance in finding a good therapist,' Fordham said. Graham, who has also had an apprehended violence order taken out against him by police, is running for the NSW Parliament in next month's state election. He has built an online following during the pandemic with posts and live streams opposing lockdowns. Since his arrest, Graham has lodged an application for police to return items seized from his boat. 'They took everything from inside the boat - every device,' he said in a livestream. 'They also took all the stuff they weren't supposed to take which is all our election gear, all my signatures that I came down to Canberra and got off you beautiful people.' He said he used his time in custody to 'red pill' Wollongong police officers and that he uses the mainstream media to get his messages out. 'Red pill' is a reference to the 1999 film The Matrix, where taking the pill leads to learning a potentially unsettling or life-changing truth. 2GB presenter Ben Fordham (pictured) refused to interview David Graham on his program 'If we get a chance to use the mainstream media ... let us have it, we need it - we're in a war,' he said. But he did not improve his chances of getting on mainstream media when last Tuesday he allegedly clashed with journalists who were at Wollongong Courthouse for unrelated matters. Fordham said he would be 'reaching for the headache tablets' if he allowed Graham on his show. 'They need a check-up from the neck up. Their brains are fried. So to any of these people who are listening this morning, stop listening to lunatics who are feeding you false information.' RMT boss Mick Lynch privately admitted that a referendum his union held on a pay deal which could have ended strikes was flawed, it was claimed yesterday. Senior sources said Mr Lynch admitted in a meeting with industry leaders and the rail minister that his members did not have enough time to understand the complex offer. RMT workers were given six days, when around two weeks was ideally needed to explain the proposal. The RMT last night rejected the claims about the referendum, which was held by the union in December just before Christmas. More than a third voted in favour of the deal despite the RMT urging its members not to and failing to explain it properly. Ministers and industry bosses fear the union is simply waging a 'political campaign' to try and bring down the Tory government and engineer a class war. Sources said Mr Lynch (centre) admitted in a meeting with industry leaders and the rail minister that his members did not have enough time to understand the complex offer Train drivers' union Aslef announced new strikes on the London Underground, which will cripple the capital's transport network, on March 15 This month they rejected a new offer of 9 per cent over two years, and said there will be no deal unless proposed reforms in exchange for the pay increase are dropped. This is despite saying in negotiations since last summer that they'd accept reforms in return for a pay rise. New details of the latest Network Rail offer yesterday emerged, which show it was worth up to 20 per cent for the lowest paid workers. It came as train drivers' union Aslef announced new strikes on the London Underground, which will cripple the capital's transport network, on March 15. It is the day before the RMT's next strike on March 16. There are fears Aslef is plotting with Mr Lynch to coordinate further mainline rail walkouts to coincide with the RMT's other strikes on March 18, 30 and April 1. A senior rail source present at the pre-Christmas meeting said: 'If you'd had two weeks to share and consult on the offer beforehand, and then had a week's worth of referendum, then it would have been OK. 'But it was the fact that you literally had six days from the offer going out until the end of the referendum. 'And in a meeting before Christmas with the rail minister, he [Mr Lynch] acknowledged that. 'He acknowledged that for a complex deal it wasn't enough time. And his defence was that because they had strike action coming up they didn't have any more time to give.' There are fears Aslef is plotting with Mr Lynch to coordinate further mainline rail walkouts to coincide with the RMT's other strikes RMT boss Mick Lynch privately admitted that a referendum his union held on a pay deal which could have ended strikes was flawed, it was claimed yesterday Talks are now said to have hit a 'roadblock', with the RMT refusing to put an improved offer to its members in another vote. Network Rail's chief negotiator, Tim Shoveller, said: 'The RMT has really annoyed their members, our staff, by their refusal to put the revised offer that we made in January to a referendum. It's a sham,' The union rejected a 9 per cent pay offer over two years, with 5 per cent paid for 2022 and 4 per cent for 2023. For the lowest paid it was worth 20 per cent if they also shifted onto a new type of contract. An RMT spokesperson said: 'We do not recognise the details of this exchange or the quoted figures on pay. 'Network Rail's offer is contingent on members accepting a raft of unacceptable and unsafe changes under so-called modernising maintenance. 'This will consist of a 50 per cent reduction in scheduled maintenance tasks, more unsocial hours and hundreds of job losses which our members rejected in an extensive consultation exercise.' Two Australian engineers have been confirmed dead after a light plane crashed near a volcano in the Philippines. Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam, both from South Australia, were on board a Cessna RPC340 that crashed after leaving Bicol International Airport in Albay at 6.43am on Saturday. Pilot Rufino James Crisostomo Jr and mechanic Joel Martin were also on board. A search for the remains had been made in the days since, and it was confirmed on Friday that all had died. 'Sadly there are no survivors,' foreign affairs minister Penny Wong said at a press conference in Fiji this morning. 'On behalf of the Australian Government, I'd like to extend my deepest sympathy to the families of the two men, Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam, both from Adelaide, my home town, as well as the Filipino nationals involved.' Two Filipino soldiers who were part of the search party were also killed when they were ambushed by Marxist rebels at a market. It's understood the six-seater Cessna 340 aircraft was bound for the capital Manila following the engineers' site visit at Bac-Man Geothermal Power Plant. Fears are held for two Australian men after a plane crashed near the crater of a volcano in the Phillipines (pictured, wreckage of a small plane near the crater of Mayon Volcano) Engineers Simon Chipperfield and Karthi Santhanam, who are from South Australia, were on board a Cessna 340 aircraft that left Bicol International Airport for Manila on Saturday However, communication with the aircraft's pilot was lost three minutes after the plane's departure. The aircraft was last seen five minutes after leaving the airport before it was reported missing. The Bureau of Fire Protection in Albay said the wreckage was photographed at the forested boundary between the towns of Guinobatan and Camalig. The plane had taken off during moderate rain. Chief of the Camalig fire station, Senior Inspector Hamor Laguilles, relayed an account from a village chief who saw the aircraft and said it was 'flying too low, (emitting) smoke and making a loud crumbling sound before it disappeared'. More than 200 personnel along with 34 vehicles, 11 drones and four K9 dogs were deployed in the joint search and rescue operation to reach the aircraft in the remote volcano, according to state-run Philippine News Agency. The wreckage was located near a 'permanent danger site' and a determined 'no-fly zone' around the volcano. Communication with the pilot was lost three minutes after the plane took off. The plane was last seen five minutes after leaving the airport before it was reported missing Britain will head in a 'drastically anti-investment direction' if a planned rise in corporation tax goes ahead, telecoms giant BT warned yesterday. The FTSE 100 company, valued at 14 billion, said the UK was heading towards a 'cliff-edge deterioration in the tax environment for investment'. It is the biggest corporate broadside yet against government plans to hike corporation tax from 19 per cent to 25 per cent. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is under increasing pressure from MPs and business leaders to abandon the plans and deliver a much-needed growth boost. BT warned of the damaging impact the hike, together with the end of the so-called 'super deduction' policy which gives tax incentives for investment, would have on the country. Telecoms giant BT, valued at 14 billion, said the UK was heading towards a 'cliff-edge deterioration in the tax environment for investment' Chief financial officer Simon Lowth said: 'Productivity growth is stubbornly low and although not just a UK problem, does mean that some of our international competitors are starting to outpace us. Business investment has also been poor; a problem because it's one of the key ways of helping the UK to break the cycle of low growth. 'At a time when the economic growth which business investment could unlock is urgently required, the case for intervention at the upcoming Budget has never been clearer.' It came as a survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) found that nearly one in three businesses (30 per cent) are regularly finding themselves caught up in tax and red-tape problems. The poll also revealed that 65 per cent will raise prices due to cost pressures, while almost half fear they will struggle to pay their energy bills when a government support package ends. And just over half are struggling to recruit staff. Shevaun Haviland, director general of the BCC, said: 'This snapshot of the state of play for business at the start of 2023 sets out exactly why the Chancellor must act in his Budget to fuel investment in the UK.' The BCC is calling for childcare to be made more affordable, business rate reforms to help start-ups, and funding to help businesses to become greener and more energy efficient. A broader coalition of business leaders and MPs is increasingly pushing for the hike in corporation tax to be binned, raising the prospect of a backbench rebellion if Mr Hunt does not act. Many Tories are furious that the UK is heading towards having its highest tax burden since the Second World War. Households are also being squeezed as a freeze on income tax thresholds drags millions into higher tax bands. Luke Johnson, an entrepreneur and former Channel 4 and Pizza Express chairman, said the corporation tax was 'sending a very bad signal' and that the Government was 'more socialist than the Labour Party'. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt (right) is under increasing pressure from MPs and business leaders to abandon the plans and deliver a much-needed growth boost He said despite Mr Hunt's background as a successful entrepreneur, the Chancellor 'seems anti the free markets and even capitalism'. 'This will have repercussions for companies making big investment decisions here as they'll be unable to make returns,' Mr Johnson added. 'This goes against the open-for-business rhetoric. Actions speak louder than words.' The calls for the corporation tax hike to be scrapped grew after figures this week showed a 30 billion windfall for the public finances from lower-than-expected borrowing. Drugs giant AstraZeneca recently cited tax as the reason for choosing to build a major factory in Ireland rather than England. John Longworth, the former BCC director-general and pro-Brexit campaigner, said: 'The Chancellor now has no excuse to raise corporation tax.' He added: 'Doing so would send out the wrong signal regarding investment and enterprise in the UK and would be an act of economic vandalism.' Rishi Sunak's Brexit deal has hit delays as he tries to reassure Tory MPs and the DUP that it will not leave Northern Ireland under the control of Brussels. The Prime Minister had hoped to unveil the new agreement with the EU this week after flying to Northern Ireland to brief political leaders last Friday. But a Government source said there was now a '99.9 per cent' likelihood that negotiations would slip into next week as the PM tries to calm a backlash by the DUP and his own MPs. Home Secretary Suella Braverman last night warned the PM she would not back any deal that involved 'selling out on Northern Ireland'. Mrs Braverman played down the prospect she could resign, and said she believed Mr Sunak shares her objectives. The Prime Minister had hoped to unveil the new agreement with the EU this week after flying to Northern Ireland to brief political leaders last Friday Mrs Braverman (pictured) played down the prospect she could resign, and said she believed Mr Sunak shares her objectives But she told GB News: 'I've taken a very forthright position in the past because I've found the terms of previous agreements intolerable. 'I don't support selling out on Northern Ireland and allowing the EU a foothold in the United Kingdom.' The PM's plans are expected to end EU checks on most British goods sent to Northern Ireland and restore Westminster's right to set tax policy in the Province, which was effectively still left in the EU's single market after Brexit in order to prevent a hard border with Northern Ireland. But Northern Ireland is still expected to be subject to some EU trade laws, over which it currently has no say. During clashes in the Commons yesterday, the PM insisted he would be 'resolute' in defence of the UK's interests. He told MPs: 'I am a Conservative, a Brexiteer and a Unionist, and any agreement that we reach needs to tick all three boxes. 'It needs to ensure sovereignty for Northern Ireland, to safeguard Northern Ireland's place in our union, and it needs to find practical solutions to the problems faced by people and businesses. 'I will be resolute in fighting for what is best for Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.' Sir Jeffrey Donaldson welcomed the PM's initiative but warned that any new deal must not involve 'tinkering around the edges' But, in an ominous sign, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson warned there would have to be significant changes to the Brexit treaty with the EU, including ending the 'unacceptable' situation that leaves Northern Ireland governed by EU trade laws it has no say over. Sir Jeffrey welcomed the PM's initiative but warned that any new deal must not involve 'tinkering around the edges'. Former Brexit minister Lord Frost said: 'We have learned we can't rely on EU commitments that aren't tied down or rest on good faith or the EU's acting reasonably. They need to be legally clear and enforceable. If they aren't, we will be back here again before too long.' England has had its driest February to date for 30 years raising fears of another drought this year. The National Drought Group (NDG), which advises the Government, has warned that Britain may need further hosepipe bans and restrictions on water. The water shortage is likely to impact on the availability of vegetables as two key agricultural regions in the UK are still in drought East Anglia and Devon. A dry February so far means 63 per cent of rivers are below normal levels for this time of year, and some reservoirs 'are lower than anticipated'. The Met Office said: 'Up to February 20, you'd expect to have around 71 per cent of the month's total average rainfall. However, the UK has currently had just 36 per cent (34.5mm) so far. The NDG said: 'Members are planning for the worst case scenario of another hot, dry summer and are managing water resources to reduce the risk of drought measures being required.' Pictured: Dry cracked earth in Ripponden, Yorkshire, August 12, 2022 The water shortage is likely to impact on the availability of vegetables as two key agricultural regions in the UK are still in drought East Anglia and Devon 'While Scotland has so far had 59 per cent (83.5mm) of its average February rainfall, the south of England has had just 6 per cent (3.8mm).' Mark McCarthy, of the National Climate Information Centre at the Met Office, said: 'Although there's still around a week left of February, it has been a notably dry month so far.' The NDG said: 'Members are planning for the worst case scenario of another hot, dry summer and are managing water resources to reduce the risk of drought measures being required.' After a brief journey from Houston aboard a NASA private plane, the four astronauts of NASA's SpaceX Crew-6 mission arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday afternoon. However, it turns out they will stay on the Space Coast for at least one additional day since their launch has been postponed until Monday, Florida Today reports. There Is Nothing To Worry About The Slight Change The Crew-6, a four-person trip to the International Space Station (ISS), was planned to launch on Sunday, February 26 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. However, following a protracted flight readiness review (FRR) on Tuesday, NASA and SpaceX chose to postpone the launch by 24 hours. According to the current schedule, Crew-6's Dragon capsule Endeavour will be launched on Monday at 1:45 AM EST by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket (0645 GMT). During a post-FRR conference on Tuesday evening, representatives from SpaceX and NASA claimed the extra day would allow launch teams to fix a few small problems with Endeavour and the Falcon 9. According to Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, the crew wants to, for instance, examine the thermal performance of the "pod panels" that cover Endeavour's exterior in more detail. Furthermore, they want to examine the Falcon 9's composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs), which are helium-filled cylinders that are kept in the rocket's liquid oxygen tank. "We have noticed that there was blending done in some areas on the liner, and we have some testing and analysis to go make sure that those are good for flight," Stich said. According to SpaceThe researchers also discovered a possible problem with a Falcon 9 that was recently used to launch a significant number of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites into orbit. It can be remembered that although the Starlink mission was successful, there was a small amount of combustion that could be seen in one of the rocket's engine compartments. With that said, the Crew-6 team is currently inspecting that other rocket to make sure that there will not be any troubles with combustion for the upcoming astronaut launch. Read More: SpaceX's Six-Month Crew-6 Mission to Include United Arab Emirates Astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi What Is The Crew-6 Mission About Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg of NASA, Sultan Al-Neyadi of the United Arab Emirates, and Andrey Fedyaev of Russia will go to the International Space Station (ISS) on the Crew-6 spacecraft for a nearly six-month stay. As the first Arab astronaut to perform a long trip to the orbiting lab, Al-Neyadi is set to go down in history, Space claims. The Crew-6, as its name suggests, will be SpaceX's sixth operational astronaut flight for NASA to the ISS. In addition to the six, Elon Musk's SpaceX has launched two more crewed flights to the orbiting lab: Demo-2, a test flight for NASA, in 2020; and Ax-1, a private flight run by Houston-based Axiom Space, in April 2022. Three of those earlier ISS missions, Demo-2, Ax-1, and Crew-2, which launched in April 2021, were piloted by Endeavour. While Crew-6 will use a brand-new rocket, the Falcon 9 first stage that launched the Starlink batch was in flight for the 12th time, Stich pointed out. However, before crew-carrying missions, SpaceX and NASA routinely review data from all Falcon 9 flights to inform their analysis. When this upcoming work is finished, NASA and SpaceX anticipate that Endeavour and its rocket ride will be approved for liftoff. Related Article: NASA is Planning to Buy 5 More SpaceX Crewed Flights to the ISS A survivor of a UK terror attack insisted Begum 'knew what she was getting into' Mr Wallace said removal of citizenship based on intelligence 'she was a threat' Jihadi bride Shamima Begum will never be 'welcome on our streets' says Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, after intelligence showed she was 'active with the Islamic State'. Ms Begum left east London at the age of 15 to join the Islamic State in 2015, after which the government stripped her of her UK citizenship on national security grounds. Yesterday she lost her bid to reverse the decision to revoke her UK nationality, meaning she will not be able to return to London from the refugee camp in northern Syria she currently lives in. Mr Wallace defended the Home Secretary's decision, and said it was 'based on very real intelligence that showed she was a threat'. While a terror attack survivor insisted she has 'no place in British society'. Shamima Begum was told she would never 'welcome on our streets' by the Defence Secretary (pictured this year on The Shamima Begum Story, a 10-part BBC podcast) Ben Wallace said that intelligence showed Shamima Begum was 'active with the Islamic State' and would not be welcome back to the UK Mr Wallace told The Sun: 'I never took, and nor did the Home Secretary, any of the decisions lightly to strip people of their citizenship. 'And we did so based on evidence, intelligence, and reasons that were there to protect society. I'm pleased the tribunal upheld the ruling' Jade Clough, who was seriously injured terror attack on an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester in 2017, said Ms Begum has 'absolutely no place' in British society. Ms Clough, a teacher, said she was happy with the decision and believes that Shamima Begum should stay where she is. Speaking to The Sun, she said: 'She chose to go to a war zone when she was a teenager but girls her age who chose to go to a concert in Manchester never came back. 'Those innocent pop fans never came home so why should she?' Roy Larner, nicknamed the 'Lion of London Bridge', was stabbed eight times after he confronted knife-wielding IS murderers in 2017. He told The Sun that she should 'rot where she is' and that she 'knew exactly what she was getting into'. Mr Larner, who still suffers from PTSD, believes she 'probably still supports the nutters like the ones who attacked me'. Roy Larner, nicknamed the 'Lion of London Bridge', said Ms Begum she should 'rot where she is' Begum on Sky News in 2019, when she said of ISIS: 'It was nice at first, like in the videos' In the run-up to yesterday's court hearing, Ms Begum made numerous media appearances - including a magazine cover, TV interviews and a 10-part BBC podcast series. Shamima Begum Q&A: What does yesterday's ruling mean for her future? What happened in court today? The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) has refused to overturn former home secretary Sajid Javid's decision to strip her of her British citizenship for fleeing the UK to join ISIS. Judges said that while there was a 'credible suspicion' that Ms Begum was trafficked to Syria for 'sexual exploitation' this was not enough for her appeal to succeed. Mr Justice Jay added that whether she posed a threat to national security was a decision for politicians, not the courts. What does it mean for Ms Begum? The ruling means she will not have her British citizenship restored or be allowed to return to the UK. She will stay in the Al-Hawl refugee camp in Syria, where she is effectively stateless after being rejected by both the UK and Bangladesh - where she also has a claim to citizenship. What do Ms Begum and her lawyers plan to do next? Ms Begum's legal team will now challenge the judgment and seek to have it overturned in the Court of Appeal. Her lawyer Daniel Furner said the case was 'nowhere near over' and they would be challenging the ruling. What does this mean for other ISIS members who've been stripped of their citizenship? Dozens of other former ISIS members have had their citizenship taken away after being accused of joining ISIS. These include Jack Letts, nicknamed 'Jihadi Jack'. It is not clear today's ruling will affect their cases because judges based their decision on factors specific to Ms Begum's case. However, the Independent Reviewer on Terrorism Legislation, Jonathan Hall KC, said he believes Britons stranded in Syrian refugee camps would probably have to return at some point. Advertisement The MI5 took a dim view of her publicity campaign, a judgment written by Mr Justice Jay read: 'In September and November 2021, Ms Begum was interviewed by Good Morning Britain and Sky News. 'She denied reports in the media that she had sewn suicide vests or been part of ISIL's [ISIS's] morality police and claimed that her activities were limited to being a housewife and mother. 'The MI5 assessment is that many of the comments Ms Begum made in her later interviews are likely to have been self-serving and an attempt to obtain favourable media coverage in the run-up to this appeal.' The jihadi bride was 15 when she and two other east London schoolgirls fled to join ISIS in February 2015, with Ms Begum marrying a 23-year-old ISIS fighter ten days after arriving in Syria. Her British citizenship was revoked on national security grounds by the former home secretary Sajid Javid shortly after she was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019. Ms Begum, now 23, brought a challenge against the Home Office at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), where her lawyers argued she should be allowed to return to Britain on the basis she was 'a victim of child sex trafficking'. However, the Home Office defended the decision by saying the security services 'continue to assess' that she poses a risk to the UK. Judges dismissed Ms Begum's challenge yesterday, ruling that while there was a 'credible suspicion' that Ms Begum was trafficked to Syria for 'sexual exploitation' this was not enough for her appeal to succeed. Ms Begum's lawyers vowed to appeal the ruling, while a legal expert warned the taxpayer would continue to receive a massive bill for legal aid costs. Paul Fulcher, who runs specialist firm Legal Costs Experts, has predicted the case could end up costing taxpayers more than 5million when all legal costs are accounted for. He told MailOnline today: 'It's going to go on. Her lawyers have come out and said they're going to keep fighting. Ultimately they get paid win, lose or draw. 'The taxpayer has probably already paid out millions and it's likely to be millions more. 'KCs can charge 5,000 a day, although legal aid doesn't usually pay out at those rates. Then there's the solicitors and a massive team behind them too.' Ministers should scrap stamp duty on residential home purchases to help older people downsize, a think-tank has urged. Policy Exchange said the 14billion tax stagnates the property market by penalising retirees looking to sell large homes. Former prime minister Liz Truss cut stamp duty for home buyers in September, and Rishi Sunak kept the measure. But Policy Exchange found people are still disincentivised from moving, leaving elderly couples living in partially empty houses. An average home would attract a stamp duty bill of 2,300 while a 524,000 house the average in London would attract a bill of 13,700. Research from buying agency Ludgrove estimated cutting stamp duty by a third would boost property sales by 40 per cent and bring in 1.4billion in tax revenue. Last month the Institute of Fiscal Studies said that removing the tax would free empty nesters to fly their coops, and reported how, second to the stress of moving, elderly homeowners were staying put because they didnt want to pay stamp duty. Ministers should scrap stamp duty on residential home purchases to help older people downsize, a think-tank has urged Director Paul Johnson said: Of all the taxes levied at present, stamp duty has a pretty good claim to be the most damaging and pernicious of the lot. Policy Exchange also said the UK economy would get a 17.7billion boost if an additional 100,00 new homes were built each year equivalent to 600 per household. The Government has a target of 300,000 new homes per year, a figure that was last hit in the 1960s. It called on the Government to boost housebuilding, saying the shortage of new homes and over-inflated house prices are dampening investment and families spending power. Tory MP Brandon Lewis, a former housing minister, said: To fulfil our countrys great potential, we must give young people cause to believe that, like their parents, securing a good job will enable them to buy a home of their own, and to settling down and have children. Policy Exchange said the 14billion tax stagnates the property market by penalising retirees looking to sell large homes These ambitions depend on us delivering more homes. Addressing the UKs housing shortage is a huge challenge, perhaps the greatest that we face as a country. At the same time, though, solving the crisis holds out the dual prospect of placing rocket boosters under our economy and selling a new generation on the British dream of homeownership. Ruth Kelly, a Labour former Cabinet minister and senior fellow at Policy Exchange, said: The UK economy is paying the price for failing to build enough homes to support demand. Building more homes is the medicine that both the housing sector and the UK economy requires. The outback nurse who claimed Alice Springs children were being raped and abused in their homes has faced a Northern Territory court on forgery and harassment charges. Cosmetic surgery specialist Rachel Hale has been charged with using a carriage service to harass, making a false declaration and forgery. She appeared in Darwin Local Court on Wednesday. Ms Hale was quizzed by local news outlet The Mango Inquirer as she approached the court and checked into the security screening station at the front of the Darwin courthouse. She made national headlines last month after claiming she 'feared for her life' while filming troubled youth during a 'terrifying night' in an Alice Springs hotel. Ms Hale then spoke out about the sexual abuse of children in remote Indigenous communities, before coming under fire online from critics who pointed out she worked in the cosmetic industry and didn't visit the town camps she was portraying. A YouTube commentator claimed she simply 'squirted Botox' into people's faces and others claimed she was a fake. Ms Hale, 45, hit back, saying she had been working as a full-time cosmetic nurse for the past two years in the Territory, but previously worked for Darwin's Danila Dilba Aboriginal Health Service in NT Health. Outback nurse Rachel Hale who claimed Alice Springs youth were violent on the streets because they were being raped and beaten at home has been charged with three offences Nurse Rachel Hale arrives at Darwin court on Wednesday to appear on three charges of forgery, making a false declaration and using a carriage service to harass, just weeks after she filmed violent youths from her Alice Springs hotel Outback nurse Rachel Hale was filmed walking into Darwin courthouse to face charges just weeks after she claimed Alice springs youth were raped in their homes and she was then attacked online by trolls She said she had also worked in an alcohol and rehab centre and a jail, and did cosmetic work on the side. It is unclear whether her charges listed in Darwin Local Court have any connection with Ms Hale's recent online battle with trolls which followed her posting numerous videos of teenagers punching and spitting on patrons at Alice Springs' Diplomat Hotel. The nurse was staying in a hotel in Alice when dozens of young people caused chaos downstairs during a crime crisis that has gripped the the remote Northern Territory town over the past few months. She claimed gangs of youths roamed the streets looking for trouble to escape violent home lives where they are raped and beaten. Much of the violence was blamed on the lifting of alcohol bans in Aboriginal communities outside of Alice Springs in July last year. The bans have since been reinstated after a national outcry. Ms Hale claimed the main reason kids were on the street was because of their deplorable home lives and vicious sexual assaults in the communities which she had witnessed during 14 years of nursing in the NT. 'Some of these houses have 10-15 people sleeping on the floor of a three-bedroom house. There's no personal hygiene, there's lice, scabies, fungal rashes, maggots in wounds, perforated ear drums - the level of care is shocking,' she said. It is unclear whether the charges against Rachel Hale (above) in Darwin Local Court have any connection with Ms Hale's recent online battle with trolls which followed her posting numerous videos of Alice Springs teenagers Rachel hale (above entering Darwin courthouse on Wednesday) was attacked online by people questioning how a cosmetic nurse would know anything about violence in outback communities 'That's why the kids are not at home, along with the vicious sexual assaults. The parents, the uncles, the cousins are all drinking and the kids are being preyed upon.' But after sharing anecdotes about some of the horrific abuse, Ms Hale was attacked herself for giving an 'unsubstantiated' theory amid claims she wasn't a real nurse. 'Can anyone confirm if Rachel Hale has ever worked as a nurse (no not a cosmetic nurse) in Alice Springs?' one person questioned on Facebook. 'I can't help but ask myself the question what the f**k would Rachel Hale know about Aboriginal people in Alice Springs?' Ton Tanuki asked on a lengthy YouTube clip attacking her. In response, Ms Hale said she had received countless 'disgusting' and threatening messages. 'Everyone started calling me and messaging me, saying I'm a fake and I've never witnessed anything,' she said. 'People are saying I'm just trying to promote my own profile. What am I gaining out of this? I knew I'd get blowback, I just didn't think it would be this severe.' Prince Andrew could be set to move into his ex-wife's 4.25 million Belgravia mews as plans to rent out the newly renovated terrace 'fall quiet', a source claims. Sarah Ferguson paid all cash for the Belgravia home in June last year and has spent the months since completely renovating it in anticipation of renting it out to tenants. But a source told The Sun all talk about moving a tenant in 'has suddenly all gone quiet' amid reports Andrew fears his older brother King Charles is trying to force him out of his 30 million Windsor home. 'They are looking to keep it empty to use themselves,' the insider said. 'It's a far cry from a mansion on the Windsor estate, but this is their only London property.' Prince Andrew could be set to move into his ex-wife's 4.25 million Belgravia mews as plans to rent out the newly renovated terrace 'fall quiet' Sarah Ferguson paid all cash for the Belgravia home in June last year and has spent the months since completely renovating it in anticipation of renting it out to tenants The Duke of York reportedly told friends he is unlikely to be able to maintain upkeep of the home without receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds every year from the King. When Andrew was hit by bombshell allegations of sexual abuse in 2019 - which he strenuously denies - he stepped down from being a working royal and therefore no longer received public funds. Instead, he relied on the generosity of his late mother who supported him with private funds from the Duchy of Lancaster. The sum has been reported to have been approximately 249,000 per year. However in the last few weeks, the King has reportedly asked all members of the royal family to tighten their belts and to expect less money from the Duchy now owned by Charles than in the past. Now, there are suggestions the family's solution to Andrew potentially losing his home could be to move him into the 'nest egg' Fergie purchased as an investment for their daughters, Princess Beatrice, 34, and Princess Eugenie, 32. Mail on Sunday earlier revealed the duo may have event helped cover the cost of the home. There are suggestions the family's solution to Andrew potentially losing his home could be to move him into the 'nest egg' Fergie purchased as an investment for their daughters, Princess Beatrice, 34, and Princess Eugenie, 32 (pictured together) Official Land Registry documents revealed she cannot sell it without written consent signed by her daughters. One legal expert suggested the clause may have been added if Beatrice and Eugenie stumped up the funds. 'That could be one explanation,' they said, adding: 'But it also could mean that whoever purchased the property wants to make sure that her daughters ultimately benefit from it. 'Usually a restriction like this one is needed to stop conmen taking advantage of vulnerable elderly relatives and selling their house from under them when they are in a care home, but I don't think that applies in this case.' A source close to the Duchess declined to discuss whether she had paid for the mews home herself, stating it was a 'private matter'. The Duke of York reportedly told friends he is unlikely to be able to maintain upkeep of his Windsor home (pictured) without receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds every year from the King However, they alluded to Fergie's recent publishing success, adding: 'She has bought it very much as a nest egg for the girls so it does not surprise me at all that she has put that kind of provision in.' The terrace is a short walk from Ghislaine Maxwell's old home where Prince Andrew was pictured with his arm around the waist of the then 17-year-old Virginia Roberts, who claims she was trafficked to London to have sex with him in 2001. Fergie bought it a few months after he reached a multi-million pound settlement with Ms Roberts. He did not accept any liability and strongly denies the claims. Late last year, Andrew finally offloaded his seven-bedroom Swiss ski chalet for 19 million. The former head of the Police Federation has been told he will face gross misconduct proceedings over allegations about his behaviour in late 2021. John Apter, who is now retired, was suspended in December 2021 amid accusations over his conduct on four occasions late that year including at a bravery awards ceremony. It is understood the alleged incidents took place between October and December 2021. He was being investigated over two potential criminal allegations of sexual assault but prosecutors found evidence provided by watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) did not meet the level for a prosecution. But IPCO said yesterday that Mr Apter will now face a misconduct hearing over his alleged behaviour. Pictured: John Apter, who is now retired, was suspended in December 2021 amid accusations over his conduct on four occasions in late 2021 A spokesman for the IOPC said on Wednesday: 'We completed our investigation in June 2022 into allegations relating to the conduct of a now retired Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary police officer. 'We referred a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider two counts of sexual assault contrary to section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. 'We were notified this week that the CPS, having reviewed the evidence, has decided it did not meet the threshold for prosecution. 'We have notified the parties involved. 'We also found an indication of gross misconduct for potential breaches of the police professional standards of behaviour relating to authority, respect and courtesy; equality and diversity; and conduct. 'We will now liaise with the force as it arranges a misconduct hearing.' Mr Apter formerly led the Police Federation of England and Wales, which represents more than 130,000 officers from the rank of constable to chief inspector. He is said to have formed a close working relationship with then Home Secretary Priti Patel during his tenure as chairman. Mr Apter is said to have formed a close working relationship with then Home Secretary Priti Patel during his tenure as head of the Police Federation Mr Apter was elected head of the highly influential staff association in May 2018 after becoming a Police Federation representative for Hampshire in 2001. Shortly before his suspension, he spoke out against misogyny in a comment article for The Sunday Times. He said: 'Misogyny is not just a problem for women it's a problem for us all. 'Far too often there is silence when this takes place and through this inaction we are failing each other and wider society. 'We need to consign to the history books some of our canteen culture where sexist nicknames and derogatory remarks are made. 'When banter crosses the line to become sexist, derogatory or homophobic, that's when it ceases to be banter.' On his visit on Wednesday to the site of a toxic train derailment in Ohio, Donald Trump referred to the town's physically conspicuous mayor as 'very easy to find' while praising him. During remarks in East Palestine, Trump searched the room for Mayor Trent R. Conaway, saying, 'Trent, where is Trent...he's very easy to find,' as he finally turned to shake the mayor's hand. Trump praised Conaway for 'working tirelessly for this community since the beginning,' after the February 3 derailment thrust the mayor of the town of 5,000 into the national political spotlight. On Monday, Conaway slammed President Joe Biden for making his surprise visit to Ukraine, instead of East Palestine, calling it 'the biggest slap in the face that tells you right now he doesn't care about us' in an interview with Fox News. Conaway later backpedaled on those remarks when asked at a briefing if he would still welcome a visit from Biden, saying: 'I would never turn anybody away. This has been made into a political pawn game. If he wants to come visit, he can come visit.' Trump referred East Palestine's physically conspicuous Mayor Trent R. Conaway (right) as 'very easy to find' during remarks in the town on Wednesday Conaway, mayor of the town of 5,000, has been thrust into the national spotlight following the February 3 derailment of a train loaded with toxic chemicals Conaway added: 'We don't want to be political pawns. We don't want to be a sound bite or news bite. We just want to go back to living our lives the way they were.' Elected Republicans have been flocking to the small town in recent weeks, slamming the Biden administration's response to the toxic spill and excoriating Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Biden for failing to tour the site as well. Of Biden's Cabinet, only EPA Administrator Michael Regan has visited the East Palestine site, but the Biden administration has defended its response and said that high-level visits would only distract from recovery and cleanup efforts. The Biden administration has also pointed the finger at Trump for the disaster, claiming he could have done more as president to toughen rail and environmental regulations. The train disaster took perhaps its most political turn on Wednesday, with the visit of Trump, who is mounting a third bid for the White House. Wearing his trademark red 'Make America Great Again' cap, Trump slammed the federal response as a 'betrayal' and said the community needs 'answers and results,' not excuses. The former president greeted crowds angry at the perceived lack of action from the White House, and brought in thousands of bottles of his own water, cleaning supplies and canned food. Trump stands besides a pallet of his branded water in East Palestine. He brought trucks with his own supplies during his visit to the toxic train derailment site Trump then stopped at a local McDonald's where he ordered Big Macs for first responders and members of his team, and handed out signed MAGA hats to the customers He then stopped at a local McDonald's where he ordered Big Macs for first responders and members of his team, and handed out signed MAGA hats to the customers. 'I know this menu better than you do. I probably know it better than anybody in here,' he told the server and demanded they 'knock it out fast' so he could eat it on the plane. Trump appeared with Senator JD Vance, Mayor Conaway and state and local leaders - and traveled via motorcade - giving the visit the look and feel of an official presidential visit. Hundreds of people lined the streets waving MAGA flags and chanting 'no more Joe' to greet Trump after he landed in the community on his renovated Trump Force One jet. In a speech in the local fire department he praised the response from law enforcement and the 'strength and courage' of the residents, and said: 'You are not forgotten'. 'In too many cases, your goodness and perseverance were met with indifference and betrayal,' Trump said at the event, roughly half a mile from where more than three dozen freight cars - including 11 carrying hazardous materials - came off the tracks. The fiery, mangled mess near the Pennsylvania state line apparently followed a mechanical issue with a rail car axle. Trump promised to return if the community didn't get help from the White House and when a reporter asked what message he had for Biden, Trump said: 'Get over here'. His visit coincided with Norfolk Southern releasing a statement saying they would take 'full responsibility' for the derailment and Pete Buttigieg confirming he'll visit the site on Thursday. A 50-car freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3 released toxic chemicals into the air, land and water causing the community to evacuate after experiencing some symptoms like headaches. The site is pictured on February 4 Hundreds of people lined the streets waving MAGA flags and chanting 'no more Joe' to greet Trump after he landed in the community on his renovated Trump Force One jet The stack of bottles of water with Trump's logo on the side were wheeled into the East Palestine Fire Department to distribute to the residents reeling from the derailment 19 days ago But some residents of East Palestine feel that a visit at this point from Biden or Buttigieg would be largely useless. 'It's a little too late,' East Palestine resident William Hugar, 56, told DailyMail.com while eating breakfast at a local diner when asked if Biden should visit. 'Like he can come, but for what?' he questioned. 'We stand with you,' Trump told the crowd at the East Palestine Fire Department, 'we pray for you, and we'll stay with you in your fight to help answer and [get] accountability that you deserve.' 'Biden and FEMA said they would not send federal aid to [the town] under any circumstances,' Trump claimed. 'We opened up the dam, and we got them to move,' he said referring to his visit, which the Biden administration has claimed is a photo op. An F-35 jet pilot has spoken of the shocking moment he escaped from his plane moments before it plunged into the sea after failing to launch off a Royal Navy aircraft carrier. The pilot, known only as Hux, was seated in the cockpit of the 120million Lightning II when it malfunctioned on the runway of the the UK's flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth. Mobile phone footage captured the moment the aircraft sped towards the ship's 'ski-jump' ramp in November 2021. Hux managed to eject himself into the air seconds before the plane crashed into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Egypt. An explosion can be seen in the video as the ejector seat detonates as the jet topples over the edge. Hux, who is based with 617 Squadron RAF, suffered cuts to his neck among other minor injuries. The pilot, known only as Hux, described his harrowing escape from the 120million Lightning II when it malfunctioned on the runway of the HMS Queen Elizabeth in November 2021 A photo shows an Italian F-35B Lightning Jet launching from HMS Queen Elizabeth Hux said: 'I tried for emergency power - that didn't work, then I tried to slap on the brakes - that didn't work either... so I kind of knew it was going to roll off the ship.' It was at that point that his ejector seat, which he described as the fastest in the world, activated and catapulted him into the air. He described looking down at the sea below as his parachute opened, 'and then a second later I could see the flight deck of the ship starting to appear beneath me.' Hux managed to descend down onto the carrier within just a few feet from its edge. Had he missed, he would have risked being pulled under the ship, The Times reported. The mishap occurred during filming of a BBC documentary series The Warship: Tour of Duty, whose crew interviewed Hux on the HMS Queen Elizabeth shortly after the incident. The wreckage of the F-35 was later recovered from the seabed a mile underwater in a complicated mission involving Britain, Italy and the US. A soldier was later arrested for releasing footage of the sensitive operation. Ten months after the crash, an investigation found that it was caused by crew failing to remove a rain cover. The HMS Queen Elizabeth was returning from a seven-month maiden voyage to the Far East at the time of the crash in November 2021 Footage shows the moment the 120million fighter jet crashes into the Mediterranean during an operation onboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth on November 17, 2021 The interim report of the defence safety authority stated that a 'single engine intake blank' was inside the engine intake as the plane took off, which blocked the airflow to the engine - hindering its attempt to takeoff. The cause was 'most likely caused by human, organisational and procedural factors,' the report concluded. HMS Queen Elizabeth was returning to Portsmouth following a seven-month maiden voyage to the Far East at the time of the crash, The BBC documentary also uncovers the ship's risky game of 'hide-and-seek' with the Chinese navy and its harassment by Russian aircraft during the tour. Filmmaker Chris Terrill praised the ship's company for their decisive response to the crash, adding: 'An aircraft might have been lost but there was a pilot, a shipmate, who had to be saved.' Hux previously featured in a December 2020 promotional clip for defence company Lockheed Martin, which manufactures the F-35s, before his first attempt at flying the jets across the Atlantic. He went on to describe the 'amazing' experience. Video appears to capture the moment the pilot ejects from the jet as it leaves the flight deck Jet disappears over the edge of the aircraft carrier and the pilot's parachute floats into view The unknown sailor who captured the November 2021 incident held their phone against a computer screen to copy a CCTV recording from HMS Queen Elizabeth's control tower in the Mediterranean Sea. The grainy footage, which the Navy later confirmed was genuine, shows the F-35B Lightning II taxiing along the runway aboard the 3billion aircraft carrier before toppling off the end and ditching into the water. The clip shows the jet appear to struggle to accelerate as it approaches the take-off ramp. Crew on the flight deck then watch in horror as it plunges over the edge. Officials believe the rain cover was sucked into the F-35B Lightning II (pictured) stealth plane's engine as it took off from the flight deck of the HMS Queen Elizabeth, forcing the pilot to eject The film is of poor quality and not operationally sensitive, but its appearance on social media dismayed Navy bosses. A source said: 'What is someone doing recording that on their phone and putting it out there for everyone to speculate about? There's a trust issue here. 'The crash is a sensitive matter whoever is behind this has forgotten that... If that person is found they'll be in deep trouble and will lose any security clearance they have.' Overall, the UK has 24 F-35s and this was the first major incident involving any. The cutting-edge warplane has stealth and intelligence-gathering capabilities which can fly at supersonic speeds without being detected on radar. Russia had been playing close attention to the Queen Elizabeth with a significant increase in aircraft activity nearby at the time. The footage was shared by defence commentator Seb Haggart, believed to be a former member of the Royal Navy, who posted the video on his Twitter page. Andy Netherwood, a former RAF pilot, said on Twitter that the leak itself would be a 'source of concern' for the Royal Navy. He added: 'In the long term, that may have bigger ramifications than the F-35B accident itself.' At the time, sources told the Sun the RAF pilot realised the plane was malfunctioning and tried to abort take-off but was unable to stop the plane before the end of the ship's runway. They said naval personnel realised the issue 'almost right away' because rules around removing covers and engine blanks before flights are 'incredibly strict'. The video shows the jet slowly approach the end of the runway before it topples over and prompted concerns over whether the jet hit the aircraft carrier on the way down before it landed in the sea. Commander Tom Sharpe, a former Royal Navy officer, told Sky News: 'Given how close the aircraft ditched to the bow, and the speed of the ship on launch, the likelihood of it hitting the bow of the ship (under the waterline) would be quite high. 'Warship steel is not that thick so, even despite the weight discrepancy between the two, I would want the compartments near the bow checked immediately I would then want the hull dived on at the first opportunity, just to be sure.' The incident was the first mishap for the RAF's F-35B fleet and for the 3billion aircraft carrier. The crash triggered a scramble to recover the next-generation jet from the sea before it could be reached by foreign powers, particularly Russia The technology onboard the US-designed aircraft, including top secret radar and sensors, is hugely sensitive as it allows the F-35 to fly 'unseen' in hostile territory at supersonic speeds. Royal Navy servicemen worked with the Americans to recover the F-35B Lightning II from more than a mile below the surface. The operation, shrouded in secrecy, involved divers, miniature submarines and inflatable bags to lift the plane to the surface of the Mediterranean. The US was anxious that the jet's top secret technology was not salvaged by Russia or any of its allies as they would want to study the stealth technology closely to find a way of defeating the jet. The Lightning is described by the RAF as a fifth generation combat aircraft capable of conducting air-to-surface strikes and electronic warfare. The aircraft uses an array of sensors to operate undetected in enemy airspace. There were understood to be not only eight British F-35s aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth but also ten US aircraft. They have conducted some 2,000 take-offs and landings without incident. When not deployed on the carrier, the UK's F-35Bs are stationed at RAF Marham in Norfolk as part of 617 Squadron (the 'Dambusters'). The Georgia grand jury forewoman who laughed about bringing down the former president has a wacky Pinterest page with collections of pinned magic spells and all things witchy. Emily Kohrs, 30, has been on a bizarre media tour that is already causing headaches for prosecutors after she giggled during a televised interview with MSNBC when she said she 'kind of wanted' to subpoena Trump just to get the chance to swear him in. Many of Kohrs social media accounts have been deleted, but her Pinterest page remains with several collections of pins dedicated to Wicca and Witchcraft. Fulton County DA Fani Willis has been probing conduct related the effort by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 elections. The former president called the 'ridiculous' case a 'strictly political continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time.' Emily Kohrs, 30, the forewoman on the Georgia grand jury that could indict former president Donald Trump has a Pinterest page full of posts dedicated to secret spells and magic tricks Emily Kohrs, who pinned several 'spells' on her Pinterest, is seen sporting a Harry Potter Slytherin hat On Kohrs' Pinterest page is a collection of pins dedicated to Wicca and Witchcraft. Some of the pins give instructions for magic spells while others lists herbs and other supplies for the spells In just one of her multiple interviews about a usually shrouded process, Kohrs told MSNBC why she personally wanted to hear from Trump. 'I wanted to hear from the former president, but honestly, I wanted to subpoena the former president because I got to swear everybody in,' she said. 'And so I thought it would be really cool to get 60 seconds with President Trump, of me looking at him and be like, 'Do you solemnly swear,' and me getting to swear him in,' she continued. She said she 'kind of just thought that would be an awesome moment,' smiling slyly. Kohrs lives in Georgia and has previously been employed as a scheduling coordinator at Elizabeth Gallo Court Reporting LLC, according to her LinkedIn page and at JOANN Fabrics, according to her Facebook page, which shows the 30-year-old in photos dating back for years with her family and friends. Her Pinterest page has several collections of pinned posts dedicated to magic, casting spells, herbalist, and sacred science. Some of the pins give instructions for magic spells and casting circles, while others lists herbs and other supplies needed for the spells. Kohrs' Pinterest page has several collections of pinned posts dedicated to casting spells One post pinned to her Pinterest page gives details on what books to read and how to practice Wicca, Witchcraft, and Paganism There are other posts that lead to spells and detail what's needed for spells in witchcraft In a pin labeled 'Witchcraft Knowledge,' there is information about the Salem Witch Trials and lists different types of witches A post on Emily Kohrs' Pinterest page entitled 'The Seer's Trick' which describes how to 'see into the future' by placing a crystal under your pillow As her media tour continues, there have been concerns that it could jeopardize any potential indictments against Trump and his MAGA allies. Former federal prosecutor Elie Hoing told Anderson Cooper Kohr's interviews were a 'horrible idea' and a 'nightmare' for prosecutors. 'Mark my words, Donald Trump's team is going to make a motion if there's an indictment to dismiss that indictment based on grand jury impropriety', he added. 'She's not supposed to be talking about anything, really.' Lawyers to witnesses who have appeared before the grand jury, which gets to recommend charges, are already preparing to move to try to quash any indictments, based on her public statements. Kohrs also gave comments to CNN about the nature of indictments that could be coming. 'Can you imagine doing this for eight months and not coming out with a whole list' of recommended indictments, Kohrs told CNN. 'It's not a short list. It's not.' Emily Kohrs has been on a media tour, dropping hints about indictments that could be coming Trump posted Wednesday calling the case 'ridiculous' case he called a 'strictly political continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time' 'There may be some names on that list that you wouldn't expect. But the big name that everyone keeps asking me about I don't think you will be shocked,' she said in comments that appeared to point to a possible indictment of Trump himself. She also said in a later interview to the network that indictments could surpass a dozen. 'I believe so. That's probably a good assumption,' she said. Trump posted Wednesday calling the case 'ridiculous' case he called a 'strictly political continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time.' 'Now you have an extremely energetic young woman, the (get this!) 'foreperson' of the Racist D.A.'s Special Grand Jury, going around and doing a Media Tour revealing, incredibly, the Grand Jury's inner workings & thoughts. This is not JUSTICE, this is an illegal Kangaroo Court. Atlanta is leading the Nation in Murder and other Violent Crimes. All I did is make TWO PERFECT PHONE CALLS!!!' In just one of her multiple interviews about a usually shrouded process, Kohrs told MSNBC why she personally wanted to hear from Trump Kohrs, 30, has been on a bizarre media tour that is already causing headaches for prosecutors Kohrs lives in Georgia and has been employed at JOANN Fabrics, according to her Facebook Grand jury forewoman Emily Kohrs posing for a photo with shorter blond hair Grand jury forewoman Emily Kohrs who giggled when admitting it would have been 'awesome' to subpoena former president Donald Trump Many of Kohrs' social media accounts have been deleted, but her Pinterest page remains with several collections of pins dedicated to Wicca and Witchcraft That was a reference to his call to the top state election official stating, 'I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,' amid a recount and fight over the election results in a state that went for Joe Biden. He has also used the term to apply to his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky seeking an investigation of Hunter Biden. It was part of his first Senate impeachment. Former assistant U.S. attorney Elie Honig, speaking of the media tour on CNN, called it 'a prosecutor's nightmare.' He said it was a 'horrible idea' and speculated prosecutors are 'wincing.' The TV hits came after Kohrs said 'one or more witnesses' will be indicted as first reported by the New York Times 'It is not a short list,' the forewoman, Emily Kohrs said, adding that the jury had appended eight pages of legal code 'that we cited at various points in the report.' Following last week's release of portion of the report, there are still seven sections that remain sealed with indictment recommendations, according to Kohrs. Those sections are silent on key details, including who the panel believes committed perjury and what other specific charges should be pursued. But it marks the first time the grand jurors' recommendations for criminal charges tied to the case have been made public. And it's a reminder of the intensifying legal challenges facing the former president as he ramps up his third White House bid amid multiple legal investigations. Trump is also under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for holding classified documents at his Florida estate. A bomb hoaxer who brought chaos to Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial has been unmasked as a violent inmate at a local prison. Police confirmed last night that Joey Coleman, a local drug dealer, made the threat on the Colleton County courthouse in Walterboro, South Carolina, on February 8. Coleman, 32, called the clerk and claimed there was a 'bomb in the judge's chamber' forcing Murdaugh's trial to be evacuated. Detectives said there is 'no direct connection' between the thug and Murdaugh. Investigators discovered Coleman in possession of a contraband cell phone after tracing the offending call to the Ridgeland Correctional Facility in Jasper County. Coleman was jailed for 30 years in 2018 after pistol-whipping two store clerks during a stick-up in Yemassee, South Carolina, in 2018. Joey Coleman (left and right) was jailed for 30 years in 2018 after pistol-whipping two store clerks during a stick-up in Yemassee, South Carolina, in 2018. The Walterboro crook has a rap sheet dating back more than a decade, including third-degree burglary in 2010, second-degree burglary in 2011 and possession with intent to supply cocaine in 2018 Lawyers, press and members of the public were seen streaming out of Colleton County Courthouse as police cars and fire trucks swarmed on the building in Walterboro, South Carolina on February 8 Paul, Maggie, Alex and Buster Murdaugh attend a dinner at the Carolina Yacht Club. The legal scion is accused of shooting dead Maggie and Paul on June 7, 2021 The Walterboro crook has a rap sheet dating back more than a decade, including third-degree burglary in 2010, second-degree burglary in 2011 and possession with intent to supply cocaine in 2018. Prison records show that after the bomb hoax Coleman was moved to the Broad River Secure Facility in Columbia. On the day of the hoax, lawyers, press and members of the public streamed out of the courthouse amid fevered speculation over the latest twist in the Murdaugh saga. A police officer entered the court moments before the evacuation and signaled to the judge who immediately sent the jury out. Confusion spread through the room as the court clerk and a police officer then opened the rear doors, which are usually blocked off. Law enforcement swept the building and eventually gave the all-clear two hours later, with the trial allowed to resume. The involvement of a Walterboro drug dealer comes as the dark underbelly of the sleepy town has been exposed in Murdaugh's trial. The disgraced legal scion's defense lawyers have suggested that a violent local gang, the Walterboro Cowboys, could have been behind the murders of his wife and son. Murdaugh is accused of shooting dead Maggie, 52, and Paul, 22, at the family's sprawling hunting estate in Moselle on June 7, 2021. The property is around 20 miles from Walterboro. The disbarred attorney was in the grips of a chronic opioid habit at the time of the killings and claims he was buying $60,000 worth of pills a week. His defense claimed that his drug dealer cousin, Curtis 'Eddie' Smith, was buying from the Walterboro Cowboys but skimming money off the top. They insinuated last week that the Cowboys could have been out for revenge and murdered Maggie and Paul. Prison records show that after the bomb hoax Coleman was moved to the Broad River Secure Facility in Columbia A police vehicle arrives at the scene after a bomb threat was reportedly made Prosecutors say that Murdaugh killed his wife and son because 'the walls were closing in' on his financial crimes and he had racked up millions in debt. Murdaugh stole more than $10million from his law firm and on the day of the killings staff uncovered $792,000 had gone 'missing' from a recent case - this would turn out to be the tip of an iceberg of malfeasance dating back to 2011. There is no suggestion that Coleman is affiliated with the Cowboy gang. Unmasking the bomb hoaxer Wednesday, the Colleton County Sheriffs Office said in a statement: 'Just after noon on February 8, 2023, a clerk at the Colleton County courthouse received a call from an anonymous number. The unidentified male caller claimed there was a "bomb in the judge's chamber." The clerk immediately notified the security office, and the courthouse was promptly evacuated. 'Immediately, Agents with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and Detectives with the Colleton County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) began working to identify the caller. Alex's cousin, Curtis 'Eddie' Smith, left, and Cowboys gang leader Khiry Broughton Self-professed leader Khiry Broughton (center), a wannabe rapper who calls himself K Blacka, appeared in a 2013 rap video for his song 'Can't Let You Take Me'. He rapped: 'I've been f*****g with them killas and my n****s clappin' / You run up on me I'm gone' leave the scene nasty' 'The SLED Bomb Squad assisted with a search of the facility. As a result, no threats or devices were located. As court was cleared to resume, SLED Agents and Colleton County Detectives traced the target phone to the Ridgeland Correctional Institute in Jasper County. South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) personnel were notified and reacted swiftly to locate a cellular device in the possession of Inmate Joey Dean Coleman. 'An initial forensic examination of the phone confirmed the components were a match to the device used to call in the bomb threat to the courthouse. At this time, no direct connection has been identified between Joey Coleman and Alex Murdaugh or the Murdaugh trial. 'CCSO Detectives have obtained a felony arrest warrant for Joey Dean Coleman for the phone call threat. The Colleton County Sheriff's Office remains the primary investigative body for this incident with outstanding professional assistance from SLED and SCDC.' A slithery surprise has given childcare workers a scare when one of Australia's most venomous snakes was found curled up under a child's backpack at a daycare centre. The red-bellied black snake was found on Tuesday morning at a Coombabah daycare centre on the Gold Coast in Queensland.. It was originally thought to be a rubber toy until a closer inspection revealed it was very much not to be played with. Snake catcher Tim Hudson uploaded the vision to his Facebook page after being called to the classroom where the adult snake was located asleep in a locker. A teacher at the centre made the frightening discovery when going to move a child's backpack after nap time. THATS NOT A TOY SNAKE !! RED BELLIED BLACK SNAKE INSIDE LOCKER OF GOLD COAST DAYCARE !!!!! #hudsonsnakecatching #goldcoastsnakecatcher Posted by Hudson Snake Catching - Gold Coast Snake Catcher on Monday, February 20, 2023 A red-bellied black snake has been filmed hiding under a child's backpack in a childcare centre's locker as a teacher made the slithery discovery shortly after morning nap time The video shows Mr Hudson slowly removing the backpack to reveal the large adult reptile. Mr Hudson commended the staff who he said 'acted in a fantastic way'. 'One of them went to grab the school bag out of a locker and noticed a black snake curled up behind it having a sleep,' Mr Hudson said. 'They quickly rang us and sealed the bottom of every door with rolled-up towels and kept an eye on the fatty through the window.' The red-bellied black snake was found on Tuesday morning at a daycare centre at Coombabah on the Gold Coast and was originally thought to be a rubber toy until a closer inspection revealed it was very much not to be played with Users online were shocked by the discovery, noting that they wouldn't have stuck around to see it be captured. 'I'd just leave you and the kids and leg it out the door,' one person commented. 'Omg lucky it was found before the kids tried to play with it,' another said. Red-bellied black snakes are commonly found along Australia's east coast. They get their name from their distinctive black bodies and red underbelly. The snake carries a potent venom that attacks the blood and muscles. A teenager has been taken into custody after using AirDrop to threaten passengers on an American Airlines flight with a bomb. The traveler requested to share a photo of a bomb they were carrying by using the iOS service, according to Android Authority. The Bomb Threat Caused Delay El Paso International Airport was the departure point for the aircraft carrying 125 passengers and eight crew members. After iOS users received the following message over AirDrop, the flight was then delayed by four hours. Sharing photographs, videos, and other types of information between iOS devices is possible through AirDrop, Apple's exclusive wireless file transfer service. It is important to note that to use the service, bluetooth and Wi-Fi must be enabled and the sender and receivers must be close to each other. However, in order for someone to send them something through the service, iPhone, Mac, or iPad users must enable AirDrop to receive goods or make their devices discoverable. With the aid of Apple's Airdrop technology, iPhone users could wirelessly send photos and files to other Mac users who were within 30 feet of one another. In this instance, the unidentified teen admitted to using AirDrop to threaten others and warn them not to leave this setting on all the time. The bomb squad had to thoroughly search the entire plane before the suspect could be taken into custody, Android Authority reports. Luckily, there were no bombs located in the passengers' belongings, the luggage, or any other part of the aircraft. The teen's phone was seized by the authorities, who discovered evidence of the prank AirDrop message on it. The individual will face legal action from the El Paso County Attorney's Office for making a false report or alarm. Read More: ICYMI, Flight Bound for Turkey Aborted as Passengers Receive Plane Crash Photos in Their Phones The Texas Department Of Public Safety Shared A Statement The juvenile offender has finally been caught in El Paso, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety Statement, and will face charges. However, which passengers were getting the bomb threat is not specified in the report, according to Android Authority. The student may have been able to utilize AirDrop in this way if one of two things happened. First, the passengers who received the threats may have had their AirDrop settings set to "Everyone." Although there is a 10-minute time limit for setting AirDrop to "Everyone," this restriction does not apply to iOS 16.2 or later users. After that brief period, it changes back to "Contacts Only," and users are no longer discoverable by anyone outside of their contacts. As such, it is likely that the student shared the threat with classmates who knew about it, grounding the flight with angry passengers, and landing the teen with a felony charge. However, despite the hold up of more than five hours after the scheduled time, American Airlines flight 2051 eventually landed at its destination of Chicago O'Hare International Airport. Related Article: Apple Limits AirDrop Spam With New 'Everyone for 10 Minutes' Option In China A former NRL star has been left puzzled by a question on a rental application amid Australia's housing crisis. Casey Conway, a proud Indigenous man and activist for the LGBTI community, had been applying for a property when he came across the baffling query. The online form asked if 'any applicants identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander' with Conway taking to social media to demand why. 'Why am I being asked this question on a rental application,' Conway asked on Twitter, with many users suggesting it was 'unnecessary' and 'irrelevant'. The online form (pictured) asked if any applicants 'identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander' with Mundine quickly taking to social media to share his confusion After Conway's original tweet received over 200,000 views, the sportsman-turned-model took to Twitter to slam the 'racists' in his comments 'It's outrageous how invasive the questions are on these applications - appalling,' one user commented. 'This must, and I mean MUST be removed from the assessment application,' another said. 'There is no reason for this question to be asked. It is illegal to ask. It should not be answered, and they should be called out on it,' a third said. 'Some of the responses here are similarly prejudiced and as inappropriate as the question on the form.' After his original tweet went viral, the sportsman-turned-model was forced to address the 'racists' in the comments. 'All these racists hiding behind profiles with no names or pics, probably thinking they're hurting my feelings, are really giving small budoo energy,' he said, 'Cowards that don't like themselves.' The form was hosted on a website called Snug, which works as an intermediary between renters and real estate agents. Soaring rents and a lack of properties to lease have become a crisis across Australia in the last 12 months (pictured, lines to inspect a rental property in Sydney last year) Snug gives renters a score based on their profile and matches them to eligible properties, with tenants receiving a higher score if they offer to pay more rent. Renters apply by completing a profile, which includes data such as legal identification, references and pay slips. Tenants can also submit bank statements and background checks if they wish. In many Australian states, real estate agents and landlords aren't allowed to ask renters about their race, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital status, children, or religion. In Tasmania, renters are not required to disclose their criminal record, while in Victoria, a tenant's profession is also protected as well as their criminal record. Nationally, rents rose 6.7 per cent to a median of $495 per week in 2022, but the issue was much worse in capital cities (pictured, for sale signs in Gosford, NSW) It comes as soaring rents and a lack of properties to lease have become a crisis across Australia in the last 12 months. Nationally, rents rose 6.7 per cent to a median of $495 per week in 2022, but the issue was much worse in capital cities. In cities such as Melbourne and Sydney, higher post-Covid demand for fewer properties saw unit rents up by 9.3 per cent, while houses went up 8.3 per cent. Renting has become a key issue in the coming NSW state election, with the Opposition Labor party saying it will create a Rental Commissioner to advocate for renters and boost rental supply in the regions if it wins power. Daily Mail Australia has contacted Snug for comment. A man has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Scott Johnson just four months after he had his murder conviction over the suspected gay hate killing quashed. Scott Phillip White, 52, on Thursday appeared in the NSW Supreme Court where he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the American mathematician. Mr Johnson's body was found in 1988 on the rocks at the base of Blue Fish Point on Sydney's northern beaches near a well known gay beat. White wasn't arrested until 2020. He shocked his lawyers last year when he pleaded guilty to the murder of Mr Johnson more than three decades after the 27-year-old's naked body was found at the base of a cliff. Scott White pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Scott Johnson (pictured) just four months after he had his murder conviction over the suspected gay hate killing quashed 'Guilty. I'm guilty. Guilty', White said loudly over the top of the court officer reading out the charge sheet during a pre-trial hearing in the NSW Supreme Court in January 2022. White had proclaimed his innocence and repeatedly instructed his legal representatives that he intended to plead not guilty before his surprise plea. Justice Helen Wilson subsequently sentenced White to a 12-year and seven-month term of imprisonment, with a non-parole period of eight years and three months, backdated to when he first entered custody in May 2020. Later that morning, White signed a statement saying he had been 'confused', 'stressed' and worried about his ex-wife 'coming after me' when he declared he was guilty in the courtroom. 'I maintain that I didn't cause Scott Johnson's death. I want to confirm my plea of Not Guilty. I want to go ahead with my hearing and my trial,' White wrote in the statement. Scott Phillip White (pictured front) on Thursday appeared in the NSW Supreme Court where pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the American mathematician He lodged an appeal against the conviction, arguing he should have been allowed to reverse his plea. Last year the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction and remitted the matter to the Supreme Court. However, on Thursday, before Justice Robert Beech-Jones, White pleaded not guilty to murder, but guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter. He will now face sentencing proceedings in June. Police initially believed Johnson took his own life and the case went cold for decades despite his family advocating for further investigation and three coronial inquests into his death. The first inquest in 1989 found Johnson died by suicide and a second in 2012 returned an open finding. A third inquest in 2017 found he fell to his death as a result of actual or threatened violence by unidentified persons who attacked him because he was gay. Police interviewed White in 2020 after his ex-wife tipped off authorities. Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright has been hit by a fresh blow after his tourist boat was dumped on its side in the middle of the road in an embarrassing blunder. The fan-powered airboat - part of the reality TV star's Darwin Adventure Boats Tours - appears to have slid off its trailer while being transported through city streets. Police and firefighters flocked to the scene as Darwin locals mocked the star after pictures of the accident spread on social media. Several of the comments can't be repeated, but others joked 'Emergency crews had to Wright the vessel' and 'The word on the street is its a Wright off.' Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright has been hit by a fresh blow after his tourist boat was dumped on its side in the middle of the road in an embarrassing blunder The bungle comes just days after it was revealed Matt Wright (pictured with wife Kaia) could lose his aviation licence as he faces charges over a helicopter crash that killed his mate Thrillseeker tourists can get a taste of the TV's star outback adventures with a $165 hour-long joyride on the V8-powered airboat around Darwin Harbour and the city's mangrove mudflats. 'Enjoy the local birdlife and keep an eye out in the waters below for sharks, crocs even stingrays,' the star promises on his Matt Wright Wild Territory-branded website. 'Then it's time to get your adrenaline pumping with the fun part - airboat FAST LAPS. 'You'll be left smiling from ear to ear as you spin and glide across the water and experience the unique thrill of an airboat ride.' Northern Territory Police they were called to the scene at 6.30 on Wednesday where they found a 'minor traffic hazard' after 'an airboat had fallen off a trailer.' A spokesman told Daily Mail Australia: 'Police provided a traffic control, while fire crews helped move the boat off the road. No-one was injured.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted the reality TV star for comment. Northern Territory Police they were called to the scene at 6.30 on Wednesday where they found a 'minor traffic hazard' after 'an airboat had fallen off a trailer' The fan-powered airboat - part of the reality TV star's Darwin Adventure Boats Tours - appears to have slid off its trailer while being transported through city streets Thrillseeker tourists can get a taste of the TV's star outback adventures with a $165 hour-long joyride on the V8-powered airboat around Darwin Harbour and the city's mangrove mudflats The bungle comes just days after it was revealed Wright could lose his aviation licence as he faces charges over a helicopter crash that killed his mate. Wright, 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. When the matter returned to Darwin Local Court earlier this month, it was revealed Wright's company Helibrook, which held the registration for the Robinson R44, is being investigated by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. 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 past 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.' Matt Wright, 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 heard Wright's aviation licence could be suspended depending on the outcome of the investigation 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'. 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.' The Project host Kate Langbroek is being slammed for promoting a bizarre conspiracy theory that '15-minute cities' are secretly a dark plan to control people's freedom. The '15-minute city' idea originated back in 2015 by Paris urbanist Carlos Moreno who suggested people living in cities should be able to access all necessary amenities - including grocery stores, medical help, work and schools - within 15 or 20 minutes. However the idea has gained traction in conspiracy circles in recent weeks and featured on The Project on Tuesday. The program played a clip explaining what a 15-minute city was and why some believed it was about government control rather than its actual motive of improving lives. Immediately after the segment, Langbroek said 'Mmm, you know I love a conspiracy theory'. When panelist Dave Thornton asked if Langbroek bought into the conspiracy, she answered 'I don't know about you, but I have been locked down by governments recently'. The Project host Kate Langbroek (pictured) is being slammed for promoting the conspiracy theory that '15-minute cities' are designed to control people While Langbroek got a laugh, it quickly became clear she wasn't trying to be funny. Langbroek said it was an easy thing to dismiss people as 'Oh, conspiracy theorists'. What is a 15-minute city? The 15-minute city is an urban planning idea in which most daily necessities and services, such as work, shopping, education, healthcare and leisure can be easily reached by a 15-minute walk or bike ride. The plan behind it is to reduce car dependency, promote healthy and sustainable living and improve the overall quality of life for city dwellers. Melbourne, and the NSW cities of Wollongong and Coffs Harbour, are aiming to adapt to a series of 15-minute cities. Conspiracy theorists believe the urban planning idea is instead a dark idea from the world's elite to control society. Advertisement 'However, let us just remember that in the 1600s a guy called Galileo was put in jail, and I think died in jail, because he said the Earth went round the Sun,' she said. 'That at the time was considered to be heresy and now we know it to be the truth.' Co-host Waleed Aly challenged her, saying Galileo's research findings were not a conspiracy, but Langbroek got frustrated and her voice went higher as she said 'It was then, Waleed'. 'The conspiracy was that what he believed was wrong, that what he was telling people was wrong,' she added. Langbroek, who vehemently opposed the mandatory Covid vaccines that were introduced in some industries during the pandemic, then did a further dive into her problem with 15-minute cities. 'I just feel increasingly like there's a battle for control of people - clearly. Everywhere you go there's cameras,' she said. 'I don't think conspiracy theorists in some cases are that crazy.' Aly addressed her fears by saying he understood 'the idea that people are losing trust in government'. 'But the problem is the logical extension of that is any time somebody comes up with what might be a good idea, we'll just want to kill it because we'll just decide it's a conspiracy somehow,' he added. Waleed Aly (pictured) challenged Kate Langbroek over her views Langbroek then said 'Well, you agree with me then?' However Aly was not in agreeance. 'No, I don't,' he replied firmly. Her embrace of the latest conspiracy to do the rounds was met with some withering responses online. Technology journalist Cameron Wilson said 'I'm going to be generous and say that Kate Langbroek's surveillance concerns are legit. 'But gotta say I was hoping for more rigorous takes on conspiracy than "Gallileo was jailed (therefore) urban planners are taking over the world".' A successful Sydney cosmetic dentist and injectables expert has died suddenly, prompting an outpouring of grief from friends and loved ones. Dr Chad Hazouri - who practiced at Dental Facial Clinic in West Ryde - had gained a reputation as a pioneer in his field during his 30-year career. A procedure with the popular doctor had even been dubbed the 'Dr Chad Experience'. Dr Houzari's loved ones - many of whom were shocked to hear of his passing - this week took to social media to express their grief. Beloved Sydney cosmetic dentist and injectables expert Dr Chad Hazouri has died Dr Hazouri (second from left) built up a reputation as an expert in his field, and a procedure with him had been dubbed the 'Dr Chad Experience' One close friend posted a heartbreaking message to Facebook for his 'mate' who he had been 'making pizza' with only two weeks before learning of the tragic news. 'Not only the best dentist ever but also a great mate,' the mate wrote on Monday. 'I loved you my bro and looked up to you... and will miss you until it's my time.' Another friend described Dr Hazouri as someone 'larger than life with the smile and charisma to match'. Others lamented the treasured doctor was 'far too young to leave this world'. Friends and loved ones took to social media this week to express their shock and sadness at Dr Hazouri's death It is believed Dr Hazouri was in his mid-50s. A memorial for Dr Hazouri was held on Tuesday evening in West Ryde, according to another post on social media, and it is believed his funeral will be held this coming weekend. Dr Hazouri graduated from Sydney University in 1990, after which he travelled the world to learn and perfect his trade, according the Dental & Facial Clinic website. The website says Mr Hazouri performed 'state of the art care' for patients, offering procedures in orthodontics, cosmetic dentistry, implant surgery and facial aesthetics. He was rushed to Westmead Children's Hospital in a stable condition A four-year-old boy has been rushed to hospital after falling from an apartment balcony in Sydney's west. Emergency services were called to Dressler Circuit in Holroyd following reports a child had fallen from a second-floor balcony at about 12.30pm on Thursday. Paramedics treated the boy on scene before taking him to Westmead Children's Hospital for further treatment. The child remains in hospital in a stable condition. He sustained facial lacerations in the fall. A four-year-old boy has been rushed to hospital after falling from an apartment balcony in Sydney's west Emergency services were called to Dressler Circuit in Holroyd following reports a child had fallen from a second-floor balcony at about 12.30pm on Thursday NSW Ambulance Inspector Nicholle Mengell said a fall from that height can result in 'serious injuries'. 'Paramedics assessed the child at the scene but no obvious, life threatening injuries were identified,' Ms Mengell said. 'Once we had completed our initial assessments and treatment of the child, they were taken to Westmead Children's Hospital.' A crime scene has been established by officers from Cumberland Police who are investigating the circumstances of the incident. Locals confirmed to NCA Newswire there were three police cars at the scene following the incident. More to come. A budget airline has shocked customers after deciding to end a route between an Australian tourist destination and one of the world's busiest airports. The low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, Scoot, emailed passengers on Thursday night announcing that it will no longer offer flights between the Gold Coast Airport and Singapore Airport after July 17. The airline has been operating the route for over a decade, and was one of the first international carriers to fly out of Coolangatta following the Covid pandemic. Scoot's email to customers explains that the company is attempting to 'adjust capacity and optimise resources in response to demand'. The email then reportedly advises customers on how to receive a refund or credit with Scoot. Budget subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, Scoot (pictured), told customers on Thursday that it will no longer offer flights between the Gold Coast and Singapore from July 17 Customers were reportedly left scrambling to replace their flights so they could catch connecting flights out of Singapore. One customer told the Gold Coast Bulletin that although their flight between the Gold Coast and Singapore had been cancelled, their following Scoot flight to Vietnam was still available. 'Australia remains an important market to Scoot and we are committed to connecting travellers between Australia and other parts of the world,' a spokesperson for the airline wrote. The airline currently operate flights to Singapore Airport from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth 10 times a week, and plan to increase that to 12 after they remove Coolangatta. However, adding other Australian destinations is not currently a part of the airline's plans. 'Scoot will remain nimble in adjusting our network in tandem with evolving developments and opportunities,' the spokesperson continued. Passengers were reportedly left scrambling to find replacement flights out of Gold Coast Airport (pictured) after Scoot offered refunds or credits with the airline 'We share the disappointment of our tourism partners and passengers who have benefited from Scoots Singapore-Gold Coast flights,' a spokesperson for Gold Coast Airport said. 'We will be welcoming Virgin Australias Gold Coast-Bali route to our newly expanded terminal from March 29, and AirAsia Xs popular Gold Coast-Kuala Lumpur route will resume on April 1.' Just five days earlier, Scoot announced it intended to expand it's influence throughout Asia by adding nine new aircraft from Brazilian manufacturer, Embraer, to its fleet. The airline hopes the 112-seat Embraer E190-E2 will help it 'drive growth and enhance network connectivity.' 'This investment underscores Scoot's confidence in the growing demand for air travel in Asia and allows it to better match capacity,' a media statement from Scoot reads. A Tanzanian fashion designer has accused President Biden's former non-binary nuclear waste guru Sam Brinton of wearing her clothes that vanished with her suitcase in 2018. Asya Khamsin claimed that Brinton has been seen wearing her custom-made outfits on several occasions since her luggage went missing from Washington DC airport. The fashion guru, based in Houston, shared side by side photos of herself wearing one of her outfits next to a photo that surfaced of Brinton in what she believes is the same one. Khamsin reported her luggage missing after it disappeared from the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on March 9, but the baggage was never recovered. The designer filed a complaint with the Houston Police Department in December, and DailyMail.com has reached out to her for further comment. Fashion designer Asya Khamsin has accused President Biden's fired non-binary nuclear waste guru Sam Brinton of wearing her custom-made outfits that vanished with her luggage in 2018 She now claims that Brinton must have taken her case after seeing pictures of them in the news amid allegations of stealing suitcases at other airports. Khamsin claims that her custom designed clothes are the same that are pictured on Brinton. The patterns, though similar, sit differently on Brinton and there has been no proof that the items are the same - and it is unclear if they got them altered. Brinton was let go from their Department of Energy (DOE) position after the multiple theft allegations last year. Khamsin told Fox News Digital in a recent interview that she recognized her designs on Brinton who had been prominent in the news cycle. 'I saw the images. Those were my custom designs, which were lost in that bag in 2018,' she said. 'He wore my clothes, which was stolen.' Khamsin's luggage containing the outfits she has accused Brinton of being photographed in, went missing at the airport when she flew to Washington, D.C. in 2018 for an event. The outfits were meant to be on display, but Khamsin said she was not able to do the event after they went missing. Asya Khamsin tweeted the claim Monday sharing side by side photos of herself wearing one of her outfits next to a photo that surfaced of Brinton (in 2019) in what she believes is the same Brinton attended The Trevor Project TrevorLIVE NYC on June 11, 2018 in an outfit that Khamsin said resembled her outfits that went missing with her luggage in March 2018 Khamsin shared photos on her social media of her designs compared to what Brinton was seen wearing after her luggage with the clothing was stolen from an airport in Washington, DC Khamsin filed a police report with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police Department as well as a complaint with Delta Air Lines, while she pleaded with the airlines to help locate her lost bag of expensive clothing and jewelry. When Brinton's photos appeared on the news, Khamsin became convinced they were wearing her outfits that went missing from the airport. Khamsin then filed a complaint with the Houston Police Department on December 16 and spoke with the FBI about the investigation, but as of this week Brinton has not been charged with a crime connected to Khamsin's claims. Last week, Brinton walked out of a Minnesota court after a preliminary hearing on luggage theft charges in a separate incident. They could face up to five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine if found guilty. According to the complaint, Brinton removed a tag from a woman's luggage and walked out with the bag at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport on September 16. The items inside were appraised at $2,325. American Airlines later confirmed that Brinton had not checked a bag on their flight from Washington, D.C. The victim was shown footage of Brinton with the suitcase, she confirmed that it was her luggage. Brinton was ordered not to have any contact with the victim. The judge referred to Brinton as Mx Brinton. Mx is a common gender-neutral title for non-binary people who do not wish to have a gender referred to in their title. Sam Brinton (pictured left at the Starbucks in West Hollywood) appeared to be wearing Brinton's one of a kind designs Sam Brinton dodged a reporter's questions as they left court in Minneapolis last week Independent photojournalist Rebecca Brannon recorded Brinton exiting the court. They ignored reporter's questions including, 'Why would you want some ladys dirty clothes?' Another reporter asked if Brinton was there to have a job interview with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's administration. Another asked if they had visited 'the Larry Craig restroom,' a reference for former Republican Senator Larry Craig who was arrested for lewd conduct in a bathroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in 2007. When Brinton returned to the nation's capital two days after the alleged theft they are accused of, they checked the bag as if it was theirs. The nuclear scientist then used the bag on a trip to Europe in October. Brinton was contacted by investigators and lied initially saying they had not taken the bag. They later admitted to the crime but claimed it was an accident. They also said that they had left the woman's clothing in a hotel room in St. Paul, however it was never recovered. In a separate incident, Brinton is accused of stealing a different woman's luggage from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. They appeared in court in December on those charges, then freed on a $15,000 bail. In October 2022, Sam Brinton was accused of stealing a woman's Vera Bradley suitcase on September 16 at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport from a baggage carousel A security footage image showed Brinton walking through Harry Reid International Airport with the luggage during the summer. The $320 case, which was lifted from a carousel, was stuffed with more than $3,000-worth of jewelry, clothes and makeup, investigators have said. The hearing was originally supposed to take place on December 19. A few days prior to that original date, Brinton was fired by the Department of Energy. A spokesperson said: 'Sam Brinton is no longer a DOE employee. By law, the Department of Energy cannot comment further on personnel matters.' It's unclear if Brinton resigned of their own accord, if they were fired - or if they were given the chance to resign before being fired. The White House has repeatedly refused to comment on the scandal, claiming it is a non-political issue. The Department of Energy has also tried to distance Biden from the issue. Brinton could face up to five years in prison and/or a $10,000 fine if found guilty Brinton was laid off from their Department of Energy job after being accused of stealing luggage in two separate incidents at the Las Vegas airport and the Minneapolis airport Brinton was appointed in June with much fanfare. 'Sam is also a well-known advocate for LGBTQ youth and helped to secure protections against the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion therapy in more than half of the country,' it said. 'They identify as gender-fluid and use the pronouns they, them, and theirs,' their bio reads. On top of working in the Department of Energy, they also held seminars including a recent event on spanking. Brinton lives in Washington, D.C. with their husband. Battle lines have been drawn on the maps of a regional Victorian town, as residents challenge in the Supreme Court the proximity of a proposed wind farm. A community group has challenged the decision of former Victorian planning minister Richard Wynne to approve the development of a wind farm in the Latrobe Valley. The Delburn Wind Farm was to be built by OSMI Australia on a pine plantation near the site of the permanently closed Hazelwood coal-fired power station. Strezlecki Community Alliance is calling for the court to overturn the decision, citing the local planning scheme, which prevents wind farms being built within five kilometres of Moe, Morwell and Traralgon. Residents have expressed safety concerns the 33 planned turbines could prevent aerial support in the bushfire prone area. A community group is trying to overturn the approval of the development of a wind farm in the Latrobe Valley (an artist impression of the Delburn Wind Farm) Residents claim the proposed wind farm's 33 turbines (pictured) will impede aerial support in bushfire-prone zones The group have produced images showing the 250m turbines will be as tall as the Rialto with their blades wider than the MCG playing area at 180metres in diameter. Lawyers on Thursday in court debated the definitions of urban areas, whether the town of Newborough was included in the planning scheme and what defined the wind farm's perimeter. 'It's a residential zoning,' Strezlecki Community Alliance's counsel Paul Connor told the court. 'It's an urban area. It's zoned for urban purposes and it forms part of the urban area of Moe, that's our case.' Delburn Wind Farm's representative Susan Brennan debated the definition of urban areas and the distance from physical infrastructure. 'There's no relevantly sound urban area within 5km of that impact footprint,' Ms Brennan told the court. The Strezlecki Community Alliance produced an image of the proposed size of the turbine's blades (pictured) The community group fighting the wind farm shared this image showing the 250m turbines will be as tall as the Rialto building in Melbourne Surveyor Josh Cummins said Moe's sister-town of Newborough, which is not mentioned in the council planning scheme, fell within the zoning. 'Can we agree that it's only if you include Newborough ... that lot 77 of the project site is within the 5km radius of the mapped township structure plan?' Ms Brennan asked. 'Yes, that is correct,' Mr Cummins said. The trial continues. Santos recently admitted that he 'got away' with lying while campaigning Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro took a swing at liar congressman George Santos over his dubious longstanding claim that he has 'Jew-ish' heritage. 'What he should have said is, "On the inside, I feel Jewish,"' joked Shapiro, who is himself Jewish, in an interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Wednesday night. 'I feel so Jewish on the inside, what are you going to do, challenge my feelings?' Just days ago, Morgan also interviewed Santos himself, who admitted that he 'got away' with lying on the campaign trail by wildly embellishing his resume and personal history. However, the Long Island Republican stuck by his guns on the heritage claim, saying he had called himself 'Jew-ish' as a joke throughout his life due to purported Jewish ancestry on his mother's side. 'He's almost the apex predator of politicians at this point, he's reached the logical endpoint of where our politics is going,' remarked Shapiro, a writer and podcaster who founded the Daily Wire conservative news site. Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro took a swing at liar congressman George Santos over his dubious longstanding claim that he has 'Jew-ish' heritage Santos, 36, also appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored this week, to defend himself after being branded a 'serial liar' 'We have just reached a sort of post-truth era, not in that people don't pay attention to the truth, but I'm not even sure how many people care about the truth,' said Shapiro. At various points, Santos has claimed he is 'Jewish,' 'Jew-ish,' 'half Jewish' 'a proud American Jew' a 'Latino Jew' and a non-observant Jew, though genealogy searches reveal no family ties to Judaism, according to Jewish Insider. During one interview, Santos said his family name on his mother's side was the historically Jewish name 'Zabrovsky.' He claims that his grandfather was born in Ukraine when it was part of the Soviet Union, and migrated to Belgium in 1940 or 41 when he met his grandmother. Speaking to Fox Digital last year he said: 'We don't carry the Ukrainian last name, for a lot of people who are descendants of World War II refugees or survivors of the Holocaust, a lot of names or paperwork were changed in the name of survival.' However reports indicate that there have been no successful efforts to find any Jewish or Ukrainian heritage at all in his family tree, according to the Forward. Santos said in a separate interview in 2020 that he was raised by 'a white Caucasian mother, an immigrant from Belgium. But Santos' mother, Fatima Devolder, was born in Brazil, according to her obituary in 2016. Speaking to Morgan he said that his heritage was an argument that he would 'battle to his grave'. In an interview with Morgan on Monday, Santos stuck by his guns on his heritage claim, despite admitting to being a 'terrible liar' about his resume He added: 'I have already ordered those DNA test kits, I've done four of them and I am so far waiting for the returns which I am very curious to share those with everybody. 'My grandparents fled from Belgium to Brazil, and faked a lot of documents. It has happened to other people, and they received apology letters. I will be the same story.' However the congressman denied ever saying he was Jewish, telling Morgan that he was a Christian who was 'Jew-ish' a joke he claims he has made throughout his life. He said: 'I never claimed to be Jewish. It was a party favor joke. I say that my grandparents are Jewish on my mothers' side, and I am Jew-ish. 'There were thousands of people in a room at the RJC in November who all laughed at that joke.' However, he admitted previously that he had 'embellished' his resume during his successful 2022 House campaign - and his unsuccessful 2020 bid. The Long Island Rep told Piers Morgan: 'I've been a terrible liar on those subjects and what I try to convey to the American people is I made mistakes of allowing the pressure of what I thought needed to be done. 'This wasn't about tricking anybody. It wasn't about tricking the people it was about getting accepted by the local party.' Minnie, a Thai member of K-pop girl group (G)I-dle, will release a collaboration single with British pop star Anne-Marie, next month, the group said Thursday. It tweeted that the song, titled "Expectations," will hit music services around the world on March 9, without giving further details. Minnie debuted as a vocalist of (G)I-dle in May 2018 and has since released many popular songs, such as "Latata," "Oh My God," "Dumdi Dumdi," "Hwaa," "Tomboy" and "Nxde." The quintet was nominated in four categories of the Korean Music Awards this year, which distinguishes itself by placing more importance on musicality rather than popularity and album sales. The winners will be announced on March 5 without an awards ceremony. (Yonhap) A 12-year-old entrepreneur has adopted new tactics to avoid harsh council restrictions after his much-loved seaside stall was shut down by pen-pushers. Jesse Lane won the hearts of locals last year selling cold drinks, insect repellent, dog treats and sunscreen from a tent outside his home in Sydney's eastern suburbs. The youngster was enjoying a roaring trade on the popular Bondi to Coogee walk, before two grumpy neighbours moaned to Randwick Council in October he shouldn't be allowed to use public land to make a profit. Despite this, 'Jesse's Shop' was spotted up and running again on Australia Day. Catherine, Jesse's mum, said the budding businessman had taken to a more 'mobile' approach to his lucrative operations by using a pram to move his items between spots. Jesse Lane's (pictured) stall was shut down by Randwick Council late last year after two complaints by grumpy locals The youngster has now taken up a more 'mobile' approach, using a pram to move his goods from spot to spot along the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk Poll Should council have shut down Jesse Lane's beach 'shop'? Yes No Should council have shut down Jesse Lane's beach 'shop'? Yes 176 votes No 559 votes Now share your opinion 'It's been a mixed response... some rangers are OK with it, but some have asked him to move on,' Catherine told Yahoo News Australia. Randwick Council last year warned the 12-year-old his stall could be shut down for good if he didn't have insurance. With throngs of locals in support, he took out an insurance plan and lodged an official trading application - yet 'Jesse's shop' was still rejected by bureaucrats. Randwick Council continues to stand firm in its decision to shut down Jesse's business, saying the use of public spaces for commercial use without approval is prohibited. 'While we admire the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of the young man, Council does not permit commercial operations in public parks,' a council spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia. 'Our parks and reserves are places for the whole community to enjoy, exercise and share.' 'Requests from businesses and commercial retailers to sell goods in public parks are routinely declined as they are not consistent with the purpose of the public space', the spokesperson said. Locals rallied around the 12-year-old entrepreneur (pictured) following the council's rejection, with the youngster returning to business earlier this year The budding entrepreneur was enjoying a booming business selling cold drinks and other items to walkers on the popular Bondi to Coogee walk (pictured, stock image) Jesse was originally told in October he couldn't operate due to not having any insurance, but even after lodging an official trading plan Randwick Council rejected his application It confirmed Jesse has appealed the decision to stop him from operating his stall multiple times, with the most recent application having been rejected in November. 'We've taken a sensitive and sympathetic approach to this issue noting the boy's age and have been in regular contact with Jesse and his family about the restrictions,' the spokesperson said. 'Despite this, however, the practice has continued.' More than 6000 members of the community, including Deputy Liberal party leader Sussan Ley, signed a petition to stop the closure of Jesse's business. A teacher who was seriously injured in the Manchester Arena terror attack has said ISIS bride Shamima Begum should never be allowed to return to the UK. Jade Clough, who was at the Ariana Grande concert in 2017 which saw the loss of 22 innocent lives, described how the attack had 'changed her life forever' and left her with nightmares. Ms Clough's comments followed a court ruling yesterday in which Ms Begum lost her bid to reverse the 2019 decision to revoke her UK nationality, meaning she will not be able to return to London from the refugee camp in northern Syria she currently lives in. It comes as Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said yesterday Ms Begum was not welcome on British streets after intelligence showed she was 'active with the Islamic State'. Ms Begum left east London at the age of 15 to join the Islamic State in 2015, after which the government stripped her of her UK citizenship on national security grounds. Shamima Begum was told she would never 'welcome on our streets' by the Defence Secretary (pictured this year on The Shamima Begum Story, a 10-part BBC podcast) Jade Clough, who was at the Ariana Grande concert in 2017, says Ms Begum should never return to the UK Ms Clough yesterday said she was happy with the decision and believes that Shamima Begum should stay where she is. Speaking to The Sun, she said: 'She chose to go to a war zone when she was a teenager but girls her age who chose to go to a concert in Manchester never came back. 'Those innocent pop fans never came home so why should she?' She added: 'We all make choices and now she has to live with hers.' Ms Clough, who suffered a serious leg injury in the bombing, said she still has 'mental scars' and struggles to sleep due to nightmares. She said her life was 'changed forever' by the actions of the suicide bomber, and Ms Begum has 'absolutely no place' in British society. Meanwhile Roy Larner, nicknamed the 'Lion of London Bridge', was stabbed eight times after he confronted knife-wielding IS murderers in 2017. He said Ms Begum should 'rot where she is' and that she 'knew exactly what she was getting into'. Mr Larner, who still suffers from PTSD, believes she 'probably still supports the nutters like the ones who attacked me'. Begum on Sky News in 2019, when she said of ISIS: 'It was nice at first, like in the videos' Twenty-two people were killed and hundreds were injured in a suicide attack at the end of an Ariana Grande concert on May 22 2017 Roy Larner, nicknamed the 'Lion of London Bridge', said Ms Begum should 'rot where she is' Ben Wallace said that intelligence showed Shamima Begum was 'active with the Islamic State' and would not be welcome back to the UK In the run-up to yesterday's court hearing, Ms Begum made numerous media appearances - including a magazine cover, TV interviews and a 10-part BBC podcast series. Shamima Begum Q&A: What does yesterday's ruling mean for her future? What happened in court today? The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) has refused to overturn former home secretary Sajid Javid's decision to strip her of her British citizenship for fleeing the UK to join ISIS. Judges said that while there was a 'credible suspicion' that Ms Begum was trafficked to Syria for 'sexual exploitation' this was not enough for her appeal to succeed. Mr Justice Jay added that whether she posed a threat to national security was a decision for politicians, not the courts. What does it mean for Ms Begum? The ruling means she will not have her British citizenship restored or be allowed to return to the UK. She will stay in the Al-Hawl refugee camp in Syria, where she is effectively stateless after being rejected by both the UK and Bangladesh - where she also has a claim to citizenship. What do Ms Begum and her lawyers plan to do next? Ms Begum's legal team will now challenge the judgment and seek to have it overturned in the Court of Appeal. Her lawyer Daniel Furner said the case was 'nowhere near over' and they would be challenging the ruling. What does this mean for other ISIS members who've been stripped of their citizenship? Dozens of other former ISIS members have had their citizenship taken away after being accused of joining ISIS. These include Jack Letts, nicknamed 'Jihadi Jack'. It is not clear today's ruling will affect their cases because judges based their decision on factors specific to Ms Begum's case. However, the Independent Reviewer on Terrorism Legislation, Jonathan Hall KC, said he believes Britons stranded in Syrian refugee camps would probably have to return at some point. Advertisement The MI5 took a dim view of her publicity campaign, a judgment written by Mr Justice Jay read: 'In September and November 2021, Ms Begum was interviewed by Good Morning Britain and Sky News. 'She denied reports in the media that she had sewn suicide vests or been part of ISIL's [ISIS's] morality police and claimed that her activities were limited to being a housewife and mother. 'The MI5 assessment is that many of the comments Ms Begum made in her later interviews are likely to have been self-serving and an attempt to obtain favourable media coverage in the run-up to this appeal.' The jihadi bride was 15 when she and two other east London schoolgirls fled to join ISIS in February 2015, with Ms Begum marrying a 23-year-old ISIS fighter ten days after arriving in Syria. Her British citizenship was revoked on national security grounds by the former home secretary Sajid Javid shortly after she was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has defended the Home Secretary's decision, and said it was 'based on very real intelligence that showed she was a threat'. Mr Wallace told The Sun: 'I never took, and nor did the Home Secretary, any of the decisions lightly to strip people of their citizenship. 'And we did so based on evidence, intelligence, and reasons that were there to protect society. I'm pleased the tribunal upheld the ruling.' Ms Begum, now 23, brought a challenge against the Home Office at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), where her lawyers argued she should be allowed to return to Britain on the basis she was 'a victim of child sex trafficking'. However, the Home Office defended the decision by saying the security services 'continue to assess' that she poses a risk to the UK. Judges dismissed Ms Begum's challenge yesterday, ruling that while there was a 'credible suspicion' that Ms Begum was trafficked to Syria for 'sexual exploitation' this was not enough for her appeal to succeed. Ms Begum's lawyers vowed to appeal the ruling, while a legal expert warned the taxpayer would continue to receive a massive bill for legal aid costs. Paul Fulcher, who runs specialist firm Legal Costs Experts, has predicted the case could end up costing taxpayers more than 5million when all legal costs are accounted for. He told MailOnline today: 'It's going to go on. Her lawyers have come out and said they're going to keep fighting. Ultimately they get paid win, lose or draw. 'The taxpayer has probably already paid out millions and it's likely to be millions more. 'KCs can charge 5,000 a day, although legal aid doesn't usually pay out at those rates. Then there's the solicitors and a massive team behind them too.' The US Secretary of the Navy has raised the alarm that China's naval fleet surpasses America's in number of ships, and is growing faster than the US has current capacity to match. 'It is no secret that the People's Republic of China seeks to upend our dominance on the oceans across the globe,' said Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro in remarks at the National Press Club in Washington DC on Wednesday. Del Toro said that China's navy has recently added over one hundred combatants to its fleet, calling it 'a naval buildup that is a key component of its increasingly aggressive military posture globally.' China's People's Liberation Army Navy now has approximately 340 ships, according to Del Toro. The US Navy says its fleet is 'over 280 ships ready to be deployed,' and thought the exact number is unclear, it is less than 300. Del Toro said China plans to field a fleet of 440 ships by 2030, far outstripping the Pentagon's stated goal is to have 350 manned ships by 2045. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro (right) raised the alarm that China's naval fleet surpasses America's in number of ships, and is growing faster than the US has current capacity to match A Chinese warship is seen taking part in exercises in the Arabian Sea near Karachi, Pakistan, on February 13. China's People's Liberation Army Navy now has approximately 340 ships 'Because of the incursion of a Chinese balloon into our air space, most Americans' alarm bells have now gone off,' said Del Toro. However, he added that many Americans were not aware that China 'consistently' attempts to violate the maritime sovereignty and economic well-being of other nations, including our allies and trading partners in South China Sea and elsewhere. In recent years, China has grown increasingly aggressive in the South China Sea, a vast swath of ocean that China claims as its own, though the claim is not recognized under international law. 'China's disregard for the rules-based international order is particularly troubling in the maritime domain, from the Taiwan Straits to the high seas,' said Del Toro. 'The values espoused by the Chinese Communist Party are incompatible with individual liberty, with democracy, and with respect for human rights,' he added. Del Toro claimed in remarks to reporters that China's shipbuilding capacity far exceeds that of the US, saying that China has 13 shipyards, including one that has a shipbuilding capacity greater than all US yards combined, according to CNN. The US maintains a powerful advantage in aircraft carriers, with the Navy's 11 to China's three. China has also reportedly struggled to train enough ship-borne fighter jet pilots to properly man its carriers. However, experts say that in a full-scale naval war, the bigger overall fleet almost always has a decisive advantage. A US warship takes part in multinational exercises. The Navy has roughly 280 warships The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) is seen in a file photo The US Navy's fleet size is not projected to reach 350 until the 2040s, according to the Navy's latest projections, seen in a CBO report out Wednesday CBO documents detail the Navy's shipbuilding plans over the next several years. The fleet will likely shrink before it grows, as old ships are decommissioned Sam Tangredi, the Leidos Chair of Future Warfare Studies at the US Naval War College and a former US Navy captain, issued such a warning last month in the January issue of the US Naval Institute's Proceedings magazine. His analysis of 25 historical naval wars, the side with the larger fleet won in all but three cases. 'In a war between equally competent technological near peersabsent a series of amazing strokes of luckthe larger fleet always won,' he wrote. Meanwhile, China's provocations continue to increase on the South China Sea. On February 6, a Chinese coast guard ship directed a 'military-grade laser' at a Philippine coast guard vessel, temporarily blinding its crew on the bridge. The Philippine ship was assisting a navy mission to deliver food and supplies to troops on an atoll in the disputed South China Sea. The incident took place at the Second Thomas Shoal, 105 nautical miles off the Philippine province of Palawan. The shoal is home to a small Philippine military contingent on board a rusty ship. 'I think it's time for the Chinese government to restrain its forces so that it does not commit any provocative act that will endanger the lives of people,' Philippines military spokesperson Medel Aguilar told reporters, according to Reuters. Aguilar quoted the Philippine defense chief as saying the Chinese action was 'offensive' and unsafe. The Philippines on Monday accused a Chinese coast guard ship of hitting a Philippine coast guard vessel with a military-grade laser on February 6. Pictured: An image released by the Philippine coast guard showing a green light light coming from the Chinese vessel Manila said the laser (pictured) temporarily blinded some of its crew in the disputed South China Sea, calling it a 'blatant' violation of Manila's sovereign rights US naval operations chief Admiral Michael Gilday was in Manila on Wednesday, where he said the United States is 'committed' to conducting joint maritime patrols with the Philippines in the disputed waterway to deter Chinese aggression. Gilday said the countries were 'in the beginning of the planning stages' for combined maritime activities, but he insisted the United States was 'committed and focused', AFP reported. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, and has ignored an international court ruling that its claims have no legal basis. In Manila, Gilday held talks with Philippine navy chief Vice Admiral Toribio Adaci and military chief of staff General Andres Centino. They agreed 'in principle that we need to move forward, focused and with speed, in order to improve our interoperability together in the South China Sea and across the region', Gilday told reporters. Given its proximity to Taiwan and its surrounding waters, cooperation from the Philippines would be key in the event of a conflict with China, which a four-star US Air Force general has warned could happen as early as 2025. Shawn King is currently suing the producer as well as Larry King Jr., alleging they cheated her out of millions from the late TV icon's estate Greg Christensen said in court papers he was asked by his boss to help move him out of his home and into a hotel to 'escape Shawn King's abuse' A long-time producer on 'Larry King Live' says he witnessed the late host's wife, Shawn King, abuse, mistreat, and isolate him from family members A producer who worked for 'Larry King Live' for more than 1,300 episodes has claimed that he saw Larry King's wife, Shawn King, abuse and isolate him, as well as trap him in the back of their $17 million Beverly Hills mansion. Greg Christensen claims Shawn - who is currently suing him and others alleging she was cheated out of million from her husband's estate - had isolated the late TV icon from his family prior to his death. According to court papers, the producer at one point was asked by King to help move him out of his home in order to escape his wife's control. 'At Larry King's direction, Christensen paid for a hotel room for Larry King to escape Shawn King and then Christensen located an apartment and purchased furnishings for the apartment with Christensen's own money,' the producer's lawyers said. 'This allowed Larry King to escape Shawn King's abuse and was essential to Larry King being able to file for divorce.' The couple split in 2019, and King filed for divorce from Shawn, 63, after 22 years of marriage. They were estranged, but not yet divorced, when he died of sepsis at age 87 in January 2021. Greg Christensen (left) was a longtime producer on 'Larry King Live' and worked with Larry King (right) for more than 1,300 episodes on his show Greg Christensen claims Shawn King (right) had isolated the late TV icon from his family, mistreated and abused him, and confined him to areas of their house King left a hand-written will, advising an even-split of his $2 million fortune between his five children. It was allegedly written two months after he filed for divorce from Shawn - his seventh wife - who was completely left out of the note. She later reached a confidential settlement and challenging the will. But Shawn is currently suing Christensen, Larry King Jr., and Blouin & Co. in Los Angeles for $100 million over claims of professional negligence and fraud. She claims Blouin & Co. worked with King Jr. to transfer millions illegally to people and entities without her permission. Shawn says she believes that Blouin managed secret bank accounts for King Jr. Christensen is one of several people named in the suit, along with Becky Radant, King's former assistant. Shawn alleges Radant helped to keep financial information away from her. Radant reportedly received $50,000 for her help while the longtime producer received $40,000. Shawn alleges the King associates used the money to buy designer clothes, jewelry, and furniture. In response to being named in the suit, Christensen's lawyers filed a motion to dismiss him as a defendant under the state's anti-Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) laws. Shawn King opened the doors of the couple's $17 million home before the house hit the market The stunning 9,696 sq ft mansion on glitzy North Hillcrest Road is in the heart of Beverly Hills famous 90210 zip code boasts six bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a gym and pool house The mansion has a double staircase in the foyer, which has marble floors and a double grand staircase as well as a huge crystal chandelier. At the time the Kings lived in the home, a table displayed their family photographs According to the ACLU of Ohio, SLAPP lawsuits are 'a civil complaint or counterclaim filed against people or organizations who speak out on issues of public interest or concern.' In their response to Shawn's suit, Christensen's lawyers stated the payments were from Larry King himself and that they were to reimburse Christensen for money he had spent to help pull the TV host from his situation. Christensen submitted a sworn declaration stating he saw Shawn mistreat her husband in numerous ways after he returned to their $17 million Beverly Hills mansion after being treated in hospital for a stroke. 'Shawn King prohibited Larry King from living or sleeping in the main home and forced him to live and sleep only in the backhouse, which was located behind their home which Larry King had purchased,' Christensen says. 'Shawn King also deprived Larry King of his wallet and sometimes his phone for extended periods of time, keeping him trapped in the back house,' he continues. Christensen said Shawn had also limited her husband's resources. The producer alleges that due to his confinement, King often would have to go without certain care or wait for it to be brought in the future because. He directly states the wife also prevented people and limited his visitors after his hospital stay, even after he asked for friends. Larry King is pictured with his sons - Cannon Edward King, Chance Armstrong Kind and Larry King Jr. Shawn is currently Larry King Jr., along with Chritensen and Blouin & Co. in Los Angeles for $100 million. She claims Blouin & Co. worked with King Jr. to transfer millions illegally to people and entities without her permission Larry King is pictured with two of his sons during Thanksgiving 2020 Larry King allegedly told Christensen he had been asking for him to come and visit, according to the producer. 'Shawn King made false statements to me, like telling me that for medical reasons Larry King was not allowed to have visitors, (but) that same day I spoke to the caregivers in the back house who informed me that Larry King was feeling fine and that visitors would actually help his recovery,' Christensen said. 'I also observed Larry King on that same day and saw with my own eyes that Larry King was fine and was able to have visitors,' he said. The 'Larry King Live' producer also claims he had conversations with others who had the 'same experience' he did. Christensen alleges in addition to the mistreatment and abuse, Shawn used the home's surveillance and intercom system to monitor King at all times and listen in on conversations with visitors. A hearing is set for May 30 to address Christensen's anti-SLAPP motion. A sleepwalking teen dairy farmer shattered her spine and pelvis after falling four-and-a-half metres out of a window while dreaming she was going to milk her cows. Abbey Sizer, 18, plummeted from the second floor window at a friend's house in Nathalia, northern Victoria, and woke up in 'pain and agony'. She was rushed to Sepparton Hospital before being transferred to the Alfred hospital's trauma centre in Melbourne. Ms Sizer is still at the hospital with a fractured spine, broken pelvis and out-of-place tailbone. Speaking about her ordeal, Ms Sizer said she remembered thinking she had to milk her cows. Abbey Sizer, 18, plummeted four-and-a-half metres while staying at a friend's house in Nathalia, northern Victoria Ms Sizer is still at hospital with a fractured spine, broken pelvis and out-of-place tailbone She said she reached for what she thought was a door but ended up falling through the window. 'All I recall is being in agony on the ground screaming while rolling around in pain,' Ms Sizer told 9News. 'I don't recall many memories from the accident. 'I remember the fire department being called as the paramedics were unable to lift me, the rest is a blur.' She is now facing an extended period of time in hospital before being able to go back to work. Despite already having surgery, doctors said it could be a year before she is able to return to the farm. Ms Sizer admitted she is anxious to get back to it and that she has always slept walked and talked. 'I'm very sore, tired and just want to gain my independence back,' she said. 'I have always slept walked and talked, but never before has there been an incident of this magnitude.' The family have set up a fundraising page to pay for her medical expenses. Speaking about her ordeal, Ms Sizer said she remembered thinking she had to milk her cows Despite already having surgery, doctors said it could be a year before she is able to return to the farm The money raised will also go towards her rehabilitation cost and living expenses during what they have described as a 'difficult time' for the teen. So far, $9,000 has been raised out of target goal of $30,000. The fundraising page reads: 'Abbey has always been a hard worker, and she's never one to shy away from a challenge. But her recovery will be a long and difficult journey, and she won't be able to work for up to 12 months. 'Her ambulance, Medical and rehabilitation costs are expected to be substantial, which is why her family has started this fundraiser. Unfortunately, Abbey did not have Victorian Ambulance cover so that alone is going to be very challenging for her.' A 13-year-old boy has been arrested over the attempted murder of a 14-year-old left fighting for his life after a stabbing in Bournemouth. The victim suffered a single stab wound in the knife attack on a housing estate in Bournemouth, Dorset, at 7.11pm last night. The schoolboy was then chased into a nearby road where he was found seriously injured in the front garden of a house, a witness told. He is believed to have hidden from his alleged pursuers behind a car before struggling on to the spot where he collapsed. The victim was rushed to hospital for emergency treatment and his condition was today described as 'critical' by Dorset Police. Dorset Police were called to Mandale Road on Wednesday evening - a 14-year-old boy was found on nearby Gladdis Road with a single stab wound (stock image) Police and armed response units attended the incident in Mandale Road. A 13-year-old boy, from Bournemouth, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and is being held in custody. Crime scene investigators are forensically examining the scene as well as nearby Gladdis Road, where the victim was found. 'His family has been informed and our thoughts are with them all at this difficult time,' police said. It is believed that a knife was discarded and found on a driveway in Mandale Road after the incident. One resident, who did not want to be named, said she saw the injured boy being chased down Gladdis Road by a group of youths. Crime scene investigators are forensically examining the scene as well as nearby Gladdis Road, where the victim was found She claimed he had crouched behind her car to hide from his pursuers. 'All I saw was a big group of lads running after a lad who was crouched behind my car on the drive,' she said. 'It looked like he was hiding from them and then he moved off. 'I think he had been stabbed a few moments before, it was dark so I didn't see anything else.' Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward, including two men in a pick-up truck who flagged officers down at the scene to alert them of the incident. Cordons are in place in Gladdis Road and Mandale Road as investigators carry out their enquiries. There is an increased police presence in the area and officers are making door-to-door enquiries to piece together what happened. Detective Inspector Katie Starkie, of Bournemouth CID, said: 'Enquiries into this incident are ongoing and I would appeal to anyone who witnessed what happened, or has any information that may assist our investigation, to please get in contact with us. 'I am particularly keen to speak to two men who were travelling in a pick-up truck and flagged officers down at the scene as I believe they may have witnessed some or all of the incident. We believe they turned right at the end of Mandale Road into Turbary Park Road. 'I understand this incident will cause great concern to residents and the wider community and they can expect to see an enhanced police presence over the coming days while we carry out house-to-house and CCTV enquiries. 'Officers from the local neighbourhood policing team will be in the area and can be approached with any direct concerns.' Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk/contact or by calling 101, quoting incident number 22:652. Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling Freephone 0800 555 111. An Aboriginal elder was shocked to discover a website using his image to support fracking, which he has long campaigned against. Mudburra man Ray Dimakarri Dixon's image appeared on a website for the Beetaloo Economic Alliance beside a claim that fracking has 'no impact on air or water quality'. The Beetaloo Basin, an area more than twice the size of Tasmania located 500km south of Darwin, is said to contain enough shale gas to power Australia for 200 years. It has attracted the interest of energy companies, including Tamboran Resources, interested in exploratory fracking since the Territory Labor government lifted its moratorium on the controversial coal seem gas ban. 'I was shocked. It's horrible, terrible stuff,' Mr Dixon said in a press release issued by the Central Australian Frack Free Alliance (CAAFA). 'It makes me feel that people might be looking at it and thinking that I support fracking.' Aboriginal elder, Ray Dimakarri Dixon, was shocked to discover a website using his image to support fracking, which he has long campaigned against Mr Dixon is a 'prominent opponent of fracking' CAAFA explained on its Facebook page that Ray is seen standing before the Marlinja creek, headwaters of the Ijibarda-Jukurlu wetland system (Lake Woods), that he is striving to protect from the harms of unconventional gas fracking. 'You can't just go and put a website up with a person's image without talking to them,' Mr Dixon told the ABC. The Betaloo Economic Alliance website also features messages claiming 'your opportunity is under attack' and that fracking projects are 'in harmony with nature'. CAAFA says the Betaloo Economic Alliance campaign is likely to be an example of a marketing tactic called 'astroturfing'. Astroturfing is the practice of hiding the real sponsors of a message to make it appear to be a grassroots campaign. CAAFA spokeswoman Hannah Ekin said there is no grassroots campaign supporting fracking in the Betaloo Basin. 'There's just a massive grassroots campaign opposing it.' CAAFA announced it will be taking the NT government to the supreme court over an alleged failure to properly account for the environmental impacts of fracking in the Betaloo Basin. The Betaloo Economic Alliance website also features messages claiming 'your opportunity is under attack' and that fracking projects are 'in harmony with nature' The publisher of Roald Dahl has defended changes made to his books as 'minimal' and insisted it has a 'significant responsibility' to young readers. Puffin hired sensitivity readers to rewrite chunks of Dahl's texts to ensure the books 'can continue to be enjoyed by all today'. The move has sparked fury among some literary fans including acclaimed writer Sir Salman Rushdie who branded the move as 'absurd censorship'. Edits include descriptions of characters' physical appearances for example removing the word 'fat', making some characters gender neutral, and references to the colours 'black' and 'white' are also said to have been removed. The publisher maintains that the spirit of the iconic books remains unchanged. A spokesman for Puffin told The Bookseller: 'Children as young as five or six read Roald Dahl books, and often they are the first stories they will read independently. With that comes a significant responsibility, as it might be the first time they are navigating written content without a parent, teacher or carer. 'It is not unusual for publishers to review and update language, as the meaning and impact of words changes over time.' Puffin insists that the spirit of the iconic books remains unchanged amid backlash 'Roald Dahl's stories remain unchanged and his mischievous spirit undiminished,' a spokesman for the publisher said - pictured is Roald Dahl They said that in the last year, they have published updated editions of 16 of Dahl's books, by working with the Roald Dahl Story Company and insisted these were 'small' edits to text and changes to covers and layouts. Puffin said that edits were even made in the author's lifetime. 'Roald Dahl's stories remain unchanged and his mischievous spirit undiminished - they still celebrate and showcase his unique voice and his brilliantly rich storytelling,' the spokesman added. Edits have been made to descriptions of characters' physical appearances - the new editions no longer use the word 'fat', for example, which has been cut from every book, and the Oompa Loompas from Charlie And The Chocolate Factory are now gender neutral. Elsewhere, in The Witches, 'old hag' has been changed to 'old crow', while 'you must be mad, woman' is now 'you must be out of your mind'. And in Matilda, Miss Trunchbull no longer has a 'great horsey face.' References to the colours 'black' and 'white' are also said to have been removed, with the BFG not able to wear a black cloak and the description 'turning white with fear' axed. Puffin Books is the company which publishes the Dahl novels. It is the children's division of Penguin Random House. And while it has decided to make controversial edits to the classics, its European counterparts will not be following suit, with some criticising the move. Hundreds of changes were made to the original text, extinguishing Dahl's colourful and memorable descriptions, some over fifty years old, to make his characters less grotesque In the new version of The Twits, Mrs Twit's 'fearful ugliness' has been chopped to 'ugliness' Publishers Puffin and the Roald Dahl Story Company have changed how Gloop (pictured far left in 1971's Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory) is described, with the character no longer called fat in new versions of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory In The Witches (pictured), 'old hag' has been changed to 'old crow', while 'you must be mad, woman' is now 'you must be out of your mind' How the stories changed CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY 2001 - Mrs Salt was a great fat creature with short legs, and she was blowing like a rhinoceros 2022 - Mrs Salt was so out of breath, she was blowing like a rhinoceros THE TWITS 2001 - Mrs Twit may have been ugly and she may have been beastly, but she was not stupid 2022 - Mrs Twit may have been beastly, but she was not stupid. MATILDA 2001 - Get your mother or father 2022 - Get your family THE BFG 2001 - 'BFG,' she said, 'would you please tell these rather dim-witted characters exactly what to do.' 2022 - 'BFG,' she said, 'would you please tell them exactly what to do'. THE ENORMOUS CROCODILE 2001 - We eat little boys and girls 2022 - We eat little children ESIO TROT 2001 - 'I beg you to tell me Mr Hoppy! I'll be your slave for life.' 2022 - 'I beg you to tell me Mr Hoppy! You'll be my hero for life.' FANTASTIC MR FOX 2001 - Bunce, the little pot-bellied dwarf, looked up at Bean 2022 - Bunce looked up at Bean JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH 2001 - They were like a couple of hunters who had just shot an elephant 2022 - They were like a couple of hunters who had just shot their prey Advertisement Joris van de Leur, director of De Fontein, which has published Dahl translations for decades, will demand an explanation during talks in Italy in two weeks' time, reports the Times, after he was left 'surprised' by the changes. Mr de Leur said stereotypes and exaggerations 'make children think about good and evil', telling the Trouw newspaper: 'If you take them all out, it loses its power.' The decision to edit Dahl's classics has triggered a wave of outrage in the UK, with 98 per cent of MailOnline readers demanding the best-selling author's works are kept in their original form. Now parents have said they will be boycotting the updated novels as the changes were branded as 'absolutely insane', with one saying: 'If you're that easily offended, then stay at home wrapped in bubble wrap.' 'I find the whole thing utterly horrific and shudder to think that there are enough people in the profession to cheer this on,' wrote one person on popular parenting forum Mumsnet. 'Write your own books and leave other books alone. If you are that easily offended, then stay at home wrapped in bubble wrap.' One parent raged: 'This is absolutely insane. These are children's books that have been beloved for decades. I won't be buying the new versions for my two little ones... seriously, what's going to be targeted next? Shakespeare?' Hundreds of changes were made to the original text, extinguishing Dahl's colourful and memorable descriptions, some over fifty years old, to make his characters less grotesque. Mrs Twit's 'fearful ugliness' has been chopped to 'ugliness' and Mrs Hoppy in Esio Trot is not an 'attractive middle-aged lady' but a 'kind middle-aged lady'. Gender is also eliminated, with books no longer referring to 'female' characters. Miss Trunchbull in Matilda, once a 'most formidable female', is now a 'most formidable woman', while her 'great horsey face' is now called 'her face'. Oompa-Loompas, who were once 'small men', are now 'small people' and Fantastic Mr Fox's three sons have become daughters. Passages not written by the late author, who died in 1990, have also been added by the publisher to complete their new editions. MailOnline earlier contacted Penguin Random House for comment. Experts have now revealed why the dogs attacked Three dog experts have revealed why two Rottweilers may have snapped and mauled a five-week-old baby girl to death at a family barbeque - as they warn owners of aggressive breeds against 'over-stimulating' their pets. Mia Jade Riley was killed in a vicious dog attack at a home in Moruya, on the NSW south coast, about 10.40pm on Saturday. The newborn was asleep in a bassinet at the end of a table surrounded by up to eight adults when the pair of Rottweilers, which had been sleeping three metres away, suddenly pounced and mauled her to death. Friends insisted the attack came out of nowhere but leading dog trainers now claim a sound or a smell could have been the trigger to overstimulate the animals. K9 Trainer Liarne Henry added they could have been affected by something called 'sleep startle', which occurs when dogs are woken up suddenly or unexpectedly. Friends of the family told Daily Mail Australia that the dog's attack was completely random. One of the Rottweilers is pictured Mia Jade Riley's family (Mia pictured with her older sister) said the infant was asleep when the vicious dog attack occurred The newborn was asleep in a bassinet at the end of a table surrounded by up to eight adults when the pair of Rottweilers attacked 'Every dog breed has the potential to attack even their owner at that moment, because it's a fearful reaction and it just takes them by surprise,' Ms Henry explained. The trainer, who has also owned Rottweilers, told news.com.au that the phenomenon could lead to aggression in affected dogs before they realise what happened. 'We forget that dogs possess up to 300 million olfactory receptors. So they smell millions of times better than us, so that could have been a trigger,' she said. 'Or even the sound. Just because we can't hear something it doesn't mean that dogs can't because dogs have a huge frequency range up to 60,000 hertz.' Another trainer, Mark Hickey, suggested one dog could've gotten overexcited, stimulating the other. 'When you get one dog that gets really excited, the other dog can feed into that and then, obviously, you don't just have one dog that's bitten a child or a person, you've got two, so the damage is just going to be way worse,' he said. 'It's just another timely reminder that children should never be left alone. Things can happen so quickly within a couple of seconds.' Dog Behaviour Specialist Nathan Williams also suggested that the dogs may have been overstimulated. K9 Trainer Liarne Henry said the dogs could have been affected by something called 'sleep startle', which occurs when dogs are woken up suddenly or unexpectedly Dog Behaviour Specialist Nathan Williams also suggested that the dogs may have been overstimulated 'In Sydney right now there'd be thousands of Rottweilers, but we hear of one story which is the exception to the rule,' Mr Williams said. 'So unfortunately, in situations like this, dogs are typically overstimulated and played with, especially with things like squeaky toys and tug of war. 'It's not in a dog's nature to kill - no dog has that nature - and especially Rottweilers, if anything. 'But if we stimulate them, teach them to chew and bite on things they shouldn't be, then that causes these potential side effects.' The dogs belonged to the neighbour of Mia's grandfather Ross Galvin, whose house the family were visiting for dinner. In 2018, one of the neighbours posted a photo on Facebook of the two Rottweilers believed to be responsible for the attack. The image shows the black dogs sitting side by side looking up at the camera, their tongues happily dangling from their mouths. In a tragic twist, baby Mia's mother lovingly gushed over the animals in comments on the photo, writing: 'Haha so proud.' Prior to Mia's death, the dogs had reportedly spent time around the newborn's older sister, aged two, without any issues. A friend said Tom and Lani Riley's two-year-old daughter had also been around the dogs repeatedly since she was born without any incident Pictured: Ross Galvin, Mia's grandfather. The little girl was mauled to death by dogs during a family dinner Mia's grandfather Ross Galvin is pictured, right. He is standing next to a neighbour. There is no suggestion the neighbour pictured is the owner of the dogs who attacked Mia The resurfacing of the eerie post comes as Mr Riley's sister Anna Zandberg defended the young couple as 'incredible parents' on Wednesday. Her defence came in response to social media trolls who wrongly claimed the parents had failed to 'supervise' their daughter. '[The] baby was not adequately supervised or it wouldn't have happened,' one posted on Facebook. 'If you can't see that it's the people responsible for caring for the child's fault, then it's something that can happen again. 'People need to learn from their mistakes, not act like they did absolutely nothing wrong.' Ms Zandberg lashed out in response: '[Mia] was never alone for her five short weeks on Earth. She was and is dearly loved and she was taken away right before our eyes.' But the troll hit back with the incorrect claim: 'If she was never alone then why did nobody witness the attack?' An emotional Ms Zandberg asked why the troll was 'intent on causing us pain', and clarified that the tragedy unfolded in front of several adults. 'My sister-in-law and brother are incredible and this happened in a room with everyone right there,' she said. In another comment, Mia's distraught aunt said: 'We are grieving and traumatised and you are all out like a lynch mob. Is this really how the world is?' She said Mia's parents are 'the most loving dedicated and protective parents who have just experienced the most unimaginable thing a person can'. A family friend told Daily Mail Australia both sides of Mia family 'are not doing very good'. 'It's just a tragedy for everyone involved,' they said. 'Our thoughts are just with the parents and everyone involved who is going to be affected by this for the rest of their lives.' A police source told Daily Mail Australia there is no suggestion of wrongdoing by the parents and they will not be charged. But it has come to light that multiple neighbours claim to have reported the dogs to council months before the attack. They said they were so afraid of the Rottweilers that they had stopped walking by the property where they lived. The Rottweilers were seized by Eurobodalla Shire Council following the incident. It is believed they have been euthanised. Police investigating the case are seeing if it's a hate crime Quinn Tough and Chyna were attacked in Port Melbourne Two trans women were assaulted and robbed at a party Two transgender women have been brutally bashed and robbed at a charity street rave - with police investigating whether the vicious attack was a hate crime. Quinn Tough, 22, and her friend Chyna were attending a fundraiser for the Turkey-Syria earthquake victims at Westgate Park in Port Melbourne, Victoria, early Sunday morning. The pair were approached by three men who asked for cigarettes about 3am on Wharf Road. Ms Tough told the men she didn't have any cigarettes to spare in a post to her Instagram account. It's understood the thugs then started hurling anti-trans slurs at Ms Tough and Chyna after realising the pair were transgender women. Transgender women Quinn Tough (pictured), 22, and Chyna were assaulted and robbed at a dance party in Port Melbourne on Sunday One man punched Ms Tough, which caused her to fall to the ground. Another then started kicking Chyna before he pulled a knife on both women and threatened to 'f****** end' them. 'I was punched again then another guy gets in my face telling me to back (the) f*** up telling me that he's got a knife and that he's gonna f*****g end me,' Ms Tough said in her Instagram post. 'She (Chyna) was on the floor with the guys ganging up on her, her hair ripped out clothes ripped whilst they're screaming death threats. 'My mind is in shambles, almost thinking we deserve this because the fight we have to keep fighting is brutal and ruthless change starts now.' The men stole one of the women's bags that contained her ID, wallet and cash, while still making threats and hurling insults, and then fled the scene. As a result of the malicious beating, both women suffered bruises and cuts to their faces, had their clothes torn and their hair ripped out. Chyna, who sustained a bruised eye, described the assault as 'humiliating and traumatic' in a post. 'It's something I have to live with,' she said. 'My first encounter with hate crime and violence targeted towards trans people, dwelling on what happened is only going to be more destructive.' The two friends have received an outpour of support online following the sickening assault. A GoFundMe page has also been set up to support the pair, which has already raised more than $24,000. It can be found here. Three men approached the pair and hurled transphobic slurs at them before they started punching and kicking them Ms Tough and Chyna suffered bruises and cuts to their faces, had their clothes torn and their hair ripped out. One of the women also had their bag stolen The two friends have received an outpour of support online following the sickening assault. A GoFundMe page has also been set up to support them A Victoria Police spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that Melbourne Embona detectives, who investigate armed robberies, were handling the case. 'Detectives are investigating after two women were assaulted and robbed at an outdoor dance party in Port Melbourne in the early hours of Sunday morning,' the spokesperson said. Police LGBTIQ liaison officers have reached out to the victims and offered referrals or any further assistance that may be needed. Officers are trying to establish whether the assault on the women was a prejudice-motivated crime. Anyone with information should contact police immediately. This image, captured from footage aired by North Korea's Korean Central Television on Feb. 6, shows the North holding a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea the previous day. Yonhap North Korea is expected to hold a key party meeting later this month to solely discuss agricultural issues amid keen attention to whether it will unveil any practical measures to address its serious food shortages. The secretive country earlier announced its plan to hold a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in late February to discuss "immediate farming issues and long-term goals for the agricultural development." It stopped short of specifying the date. The North's state media said it is "very important and urgent" to establish the "correct strategy" for development and agriculture, and to take relevant measures. Observers said the North's rare move to convene such a key party meeting for the second time in about two months points to the urgency to deal with the country's food crisis. North Korea has reportedly faced chronic food shortages, but its food crisis has further deepened recently due to border lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to observers. South Korea's unification ministry said the North's food crisis appears to be worsening, with more deaths from starvation being reported in "some regions." Asked if starvation-related deaths are being witnessed in big cities, such as the border town of Kaesong, a ministry official did not elaborate, saying that North Koreans are dying of starvation in some regions and such deaths have occurred "recently." North Korea underwent a massive famine and related deaths during the period of the Arduous March in the 1990s. The ministry handling inter-Korean affairs said the current food situation does not appear to be similar to what it was during the Arduous March, but it seems to be "grave." "A fall in crop production and food distribution problems are apparently attributable to the North's food shortages," the ministry official said. North Korea's crop production is estimated to have reached 4.51 million tons last year, down 3.8 percent from a year earlier, according to a report by the South's Rural Development Administration. The North's crackdown on grain transactions at marketplaces also appears to have disrupted food distribution, the ministry said. The North adopted a new policy in October last year to tighten state control on the distribution of rice and other grains. But the move is believed to have disrupted food supplies, as farmers and merchants refrain from selling rice to state-designated facilities due to fears of losses, observers said. (Yonhap) Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace today hammered Prince Harry for 'boasting' about shooting dead 25 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. The Tory MP, 52, said the Duke of Sussex had 'let down' his former Army comrades by revealing his kill count in his autobiography Spare. He is the most senior minister to speak out on the issue, which experts claimed put Britons at risk and prompted anger from across the Armed Forces. Mr Wallace was asked about it by LBC's Nick Ferrari today, and said: 'I frankly think boasting about tallies or talking about tallies distorts the fact that the Army is a team game. It's a team enterprise. It's not about who can shoot the most. Mr Wallace told LBC's Nick Ferrari today that Harry had been wrong to 'boast' about Taliban kills Defence Secretary Ben Wallace with Prince Harry at the Invictus Games in The Hague in April last year Prince Harry on patrol in Helmand province in 2008. In his autobiography, he said he regarded Taliban fighters as chess pieces during operations 'If you start talking about who did what [you're] letting down all those other people, because you're not a better person because you did and they didn't'. When asked by Mr Ferrari about whether the royal had broken an 'unwritten code' that you don't talk about kill counts, Mr Wallace said: 'Well you'd have to ask Prince Harry about his choices.' He added: 'For an infanteer to go over the top - they are supported by hundreds of people behind them. Whether they are in headquarters in Britain, in the Royal Logistic Corp who help them get there, it's a team. 'It's not about who can shoot the most or who doesn't shoot the most. This is my personal view, if you start talking about who did what, what you are actually doing is letting down all those other people.' Harry revealed that he killed 25 Taliban fighters in his controversial memoir Spare, referring to them as 'chess pieces'. Later, during an appearance on US television, he claimed that he had included the figure to reduce suicides in veteran communities. His admissions - in defiance of the long-running code of not discussing their kill count - have particularly upset members of the Armed Forces family with mental health issues. Spare's release coincided with Harrys popularity dropping to an all-time low after the fallout from his memoirs in both the US and the UK. The Sussexes were also mercilessly lampooned in a South Park episode last week. It was even claimed that his wife Meghan Markle had raised 'gentle concerns' about Prince Harry's decision to release Spare. The Duchess of Sussex, 41, was notably absent from any promotion or interviews for her husband's explosive memoir. She allegedly stayed away because she would have been accused of 'trying to steal the limelight' but also 'media-savvy' Meghan may have raised gentle concerns about whether the book was the right move, one insider told the Telegraph. The source said: 'Is this the way she would have approached things? Possibly not. But she will always back him and would never have got involved in promoting such a personal project. This was about his own life, his journey and his own perspective.' Mr Wallace is the most senior minister to speak out about Harry's account of his time in the Army Harry appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and said he included his 'kill count' to reduce suicides in veteran communities Prince Harry and Meghan break their silence on THAT South Park episode Advertisement On his January TV interview blitz, Harry was unchallenged by Stephen Colbert, host of The Late Show, when he insisted my words are not dangerous even though serious concerns were raised about the safety of the Royal Family and of British citizens overseas when the Taliban revelation emerged. He was also widely accused of emboldening the Afghan regime, who have returned the country to a brutal dictatorship since 2021 when Western troops left the country. Leaders of the militant regime mocked Harry and called for his war crimes to be investigated by an international tribunal. The Duke of Sussex told Colbert his words had been twisted. However Derek Hunt, whose son Nathan served with in Afghanistan and later took his own life, was among those to condemn Harry's book. Mr Hunt, who campaigns on behalf of soldiers suffering with mental health issues, told the Mail: However he tries to justify his comments, what he said cannot be unsaid. This is too painful for too many people to be discussed so loosely in public. Veterans were not crying out for this debate, they have spent years trying to forget about the realities of combat, such as taking peoples lives. If the disclosure was part of his therapy, then it should have stayed between him and his therapist. I think he has brought back a lot of memories for those men and women who served and are trying to forget. If all this was for their benefit then Harry has made a mistake. Harrys attempt to persuade the US television audience that he was attempting to help veterans was met with cheers in the New York studio, which had invited a number of veterans. He told Colbert: The reason as to why I decided to share this in my book... I made a choice to share it because, having spent nearly two decades working with veterans all around the world, I think the most important thing is to be honest and to give space to others to share their experiences without any shame. And my whole goal, my attempt with sharing that detail is to reduce the number of suicides. More than 2,000 British soldiers and veterans are believed to have killed themselves since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. Suicide rates in military communities have also risen in recent years. The risk of suicide among Armed Forces veterans aged under 25 is four times higher than for civilians, according to recent research. Harry also told Colbert the media had wrongly accused him of boasting about his kills. In doing so the media has endangered his family, according to the prince. He said: The most dangerous lie they [the media] have told is that I somehow boasted about the number of people I killed in Afghanistan. My words are not dangerous, but the spin of my words is very dangerous to my family. I would say, if I heard anyone else boasting about that kind of thing I would be angry. [The media] had the context. It wasnt just that they had one line, they had the whole section. They ripped it away and said, "here he is boasting on this". And that is the choice they have made. In fact, this interpretation of the princes remarks was introduced by numerous commentators, including Conservative MP Bob Stewart, who said: I wonder why he is doing such things. Real soldiers tend to shy away. People I know dont boast about such things. They rather regret they had to do it. Sir Tony Blair's idea for every Briton to be issued with a 'digital ID' has been blasted as a 'retrograde' plan which would put people at risk of identity theft and hacking. Big Brother Watch director Silkie Carlo hit out saying 'we don't have to live in a kind of checkpoint society'. Blair was yesterday accused of pushing a 'creepy' plan for every Briton to be issued with a 'digital ID' as part of a 'reshaping of the state around technology'. The former prime minister joined ex-Tory leader William Hague in calling for the Government to introduce an ID card that people can have on their phones which would hold details such as their passport, driving licence, tax records, qualifications and right to work status. Raising concerns about the concept, Ms Carlo told Good Morning Britain: 'When it comes to digital ID - that means introducing something like a digital rights bill that protects people's privacy and means that we don't have to live in a kind of checkpoint society where you have a facial recognition check and a massive database state that records everything about you. 'And that's the kind of system that they set out yesterday, which is totally retrograde. In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning, Sir Tony highlighted how countries 'as small as Estonia and as large as India' are moving towards digital IDs 'That's the system that was scrapped in 2010. Blair's ID cards was the vision of a giant database state where your identity is all in one place. 'It really puts people at risk of identity theft, hacking and changes the relationship between the citizen and the state. That's what we're really worried about.' Her comments came after Sir Tony Blair and Lord Hague urged every citizen should be issued with a 'digital ID' as part of a 'fundamental reshaping of the state around technology'. The former political rivals said the challenge of adapting to the new technological revolution meant putting party differences to one side. Their plan would involve a new ID incorporating details such as a passport, driving licence, tax records, qualifications and right to work status which could be stored on a mobile phone. In a joint article for The Times they said: 'Politics must change radically because the world is changing radically. 'We are living through a 21st-century technology revolution as huge in its implications as the 19th-century Industrial Revolution.' They warned that politicians were in danger of conducting a '20th century fight at the margins of tax and spending policy' rather than grappling with the fundamental shifts required in the new era. 'We both believe the challenge is so urgent, the danger of falling behind so great and the opportunities so exciting that a new sense of national purpose across political dividing lines is needed,' the former Labour and Tory leaders said. Big Brother Watch director Silkie Carlo hit out saying 'we don't have to live in a kind of checkpoint society' Sir Tony Blair has joined ex-Tory leader William Hague in calling for the Government to introduce a digital ID that people can have on their phones The pair suggested a shake-up of Whitehall 'including digital ID for every citizen, a national health infrastructure that uses data to improve care and keep costs down, and sovereign AI systems backed by supercomputing capabilities'. The Times reported the pair's plan, published in a report with more than 40 recommendations, included: Limiting the Treasury's power to manage science and technology investment. Appointing 'executive ministers' from outside Parliament to rewire Whitehall's approach to science and technology. Using AI to help teachers in schools and provide personalised support to pupils at home. Offering tax breaks to stimulate pension fund investment in UK start-ups. In an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning, Sir Tony highlighted how countries 'as small as Estonia and as large as India' are moving towards digital IDs. 'If you look at the biometric technology that allows you to do digital ID today, it can overcome many of these problems,' he added. Downing Street ruled out taking up Sir Tony and Lord Hague's advice. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'There are no plans to introduce digital ID. Our position on physical ID remains unchanged.' A huge protest organised for this weekend will demand that Germany stop arming Ukraine in its year-long fight against Vladimir Putin's invasion. Earlier this month, far-left politician Sahra Wagenknecht and feminist Alice Schwarzer launched what they called a 'manifesto for peace' criticising the government's approach to the conflict. Calling for 'an end to the escalation of arms deliveries to Kyiv' and 'the opening of negotiations with Moscow', they have also invited like-minded Germans to join them at a demonstration in central Berlin on Saturday. Russian apologists among the far-left and far-right fringes of Germany society are expected to attend. As Berlin has increased its support for Ukraine since Chancellor Olaf Scholz took just days to announce seismic shifts in Germany's military after Russia's invasion, public support for sending arms in the middle-ground of German politics has also risen. However, according to Ellen Ehn - editor in chief of Germany's WDR TV, which runs polls on public opinion - the number of people who say Scholz's decision to send main battle tanks to Ukraine was a mistake has started to increase. A huge protest organised for this weekend will demand that Germany stop arming Ukraine in its year-long fight against Vladimir Putin's invasion. Pictured: People take part in an anti-war and Pro-Russian demonstration in Munich on February 18 While 44 percent said in a recent poll that Berlin's support for Ukraine was 'adequate,' Ms Ehn on Thursday told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that 39 percent said it was a mistake to send tanks to Ukraine. 'This is particularly the case in the east. East and West Germany are completely different,' she told the programme. 'People in the east generally say that diplomatic efforts don't go far enough,' she said, noting that many of those were at the extreme ends - the far left and the far right - in German politics. Now, more than half a million Germans have signed a petition calling for a change in Berlin's approach to Ukraine. It says rather than sending Kyiv more weapons, the country should instead insist on peace negotiations and a freeze in the conflict. However, this could mean that Russia retains control of the vast swathes of Ukraine that it currently controls, an outcome that Kyiv considers to be unacceptable, and has vowed to push all of Putin's forces out of the country. Germany today is a different country to what it was a year ago. Last year, Scholz announced that Germany would plough 100 billion euros into revamping the army, send weapons to Kyiv and wean itself off Russian energy. But the Chancellor is finding himself struggling to put his ambitious plans into practice and to make them palatable to all in the country. Wracked by guilt over the Holocaust, post-war Germany has always tread lightly on the world stage and pursued a pacifist approach when it came to conflicts. Although Scholz has repeatedly said that Germany would lend Kyiv any necessary support in its bid to repel Russia, his decisions on sending heavy armaments from missile launchers to tanks only came after much agonising. In his recent speeches, Scholz hints at what may be holding him back. Ukrainian service members ride a BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the frontline town of Vuhledar, Ukraine February 22, 2023 Pictured: Sahra Wagenknecht (centre), Bundestag faction leader of Die Linke leftist political party launched with feminist Alice Schwarzer what they called a 'manifesto for peace' criticising the government's approach to the conflict Calling for 'an end to the escalation of arms deliveries to Kyiv' and 'the opening of negotiations with Moscow', Wagenknecht and Schwarzer have also invited like-minded Germans to join them at a demonstration in central Berlin on Saturday. Pictured: A protester waves a Russian flag and coat of arms in Munich on February 18 at an anti-war, pro-Russian demonstration Announcing his decision to send Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine, Scholz underlined in the Bundestag that 'there are many citizens who are worried about such a decision and the dimension that it could bring', as he urged them to trust him. Not only are there fears of an escalation in the conflict, there are also many who remain reluctant to directly oppose Moscow. Others are wary of Germany's new bid at re-arming itself or as a weapons supplier to Ukraine. At the Munich Security Conference last weekend, thousands of protesters turned up in the southern German city to demonstrate against armament support for Kyiv. Margot Kamann, the former Bishop of Hannover, told the Today Programme that the peace coalitions goal of changing the debate over how Germany approach the war had been successful. 'We now have an almost aggressive debate in Germany over whether we should deliver more and more weapons into the region of war, and what the manifesto really succeeded in is brining a public debate which in the last two weeks was only about weapons that can we deliver to Ukraine,' she told the BBC. 'How many weapons, how many tanks, who goes first, who goes second. I think it's a change in debate, and that's what we wanted.' She said that the coalition was calling for an end to the delivery of weapons 'into an area of crisis of war' and instead focus energy on 'stopping the killing'. Russia has been accused of war crimes against the people of Ukraine, killing thousands in indiscriminate shelling. Kyiv and it's allies say Putin's invasion is an imperialistic land grab, while Moscow insists - among other excuses - it is for security. Ms Kamann did say that she was concerned about the more extreme far-left and far-right groups among the protesters expected to march in Berlin. 'German peace society clearly says there's no place for neo-Nazis or right-wing people we don't want them,' she said. Therefore, she would not be attending the protest in Berlin, but would be at other events in the country. Norbert Rottgen, who sits on the Bundestag foreign affairs committee and on the right of German politics, told the programme that he did not see the protests changing Germany's approach to arming Ukraine. The protests and petition were 'representing a debate, and not more,' he said. 'And this is quite a natural thing for a democratic society. And there is strong, bi-partisan support for what the government is doing. 'What is represented in these polls is that there is a fundamental shift in the attitudes and views to the German society. We were very pacifist society this has fundamentally shifted,' he said. A protester wears a hat made of balloons, depicting a tank, as he takes part in an anti-war demonstration, during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany February 18 Pictured: Protesters march down a street in Germany in support of Ukraine, in a counter-demonstration against pro-Russian demonstrators who were also marching in the city On February 27, 2022, Scholz hailed a 'new era' as he announced the special fund for the military and vowed to meet NATO's target of spending two percent of GDP on defence. Germany's energy policies were also upended, throwing its export-orientated industry into chaos. Before Russia's invasion, Berlin was dependent on Moscow for 55 percent of its gas supplies and 35 percent of its oil. The cheap Russian power supplies were welcomed by German industries as they helped keep costs low and, thereby, their exports competitive. Gas has been a particular sticking point since Germany needs the fuel - less damaging to the environment than coal - to plug the gap left by the planned closure of its nuclear plants. 'We thought it was a double dependency: yes, we were dependent on Russian deliveries, but we assumed that Russia was also dependent as a seller,' Nikel said. To make up for the missing supplies from Russia, Berlin has had to extend the life of its remaining nuclear plants by a few months, temporarily reactivate coal-fired power plants and open new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals. After months of scrambling for new energy sources, Scholz recently proudly proclaimed that Germany is now 'independent from Russian gas'. While the energy transition appeared to be going better than thought, on the military front, Berlin was struggling. It was only in 1999 - under heavy pressure from NATO - when the German army joined the operation in Kosovo. Until then, Germany was happy to take on the mantle of Europe's leading economic force, but not a military power. Russia's role as part of the allies that ended Adolf Hitler's regime, and Germany's recent history as country split between a capitalist West and a communist East for five decades before reunification in 1990 also led it to view Moscow through a different prism. Last year, Scholz announced that Germany would plough 100 billion euros into revamping the army, send weapons to Kyiv and wean itself off Russian energy Successive German leaders - from the centre-left Gerhard Schroeder to the centre-right Angela Merkel - pursued a path of dialogue and detente with Moscow. Overhauling a military that had suffered from decades of under-investment was proving tough at a time when Germany is battling not only to renew its own military gear but also send huge quantities to Ukraine. Scholz's strong speech on the planned army revamp 'has been relativised with time because it took too long for Germany to really back Ukraine including with military equipment and weapons,' said Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann of Scholz's junior coalition partner the Greens. 'In a crisis like this, you have to take responsibility courageously and not just react when the pressure increases in Germany and internationally,' she told AFP. A Russian jet has crashed in the Belgorod region of Western Russia mere miles from the Ukrainian border, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. 'A plane of the Ministry of Defence crashed in the Valuysky urban district. Now an investigation team and officials of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are working on the spot,' he wrote on Telegram early this morning. The pilot, who had just returned from a combat sortie over Ukrainian skies, ejected from the Sukhoi Su-25 jet but Russia's MoD later said the pilot did not survive. It was not immediately clear whether the jet had been hit by a strike from Ukraine, but Russia's MoD claimed the crash was due to a 'technical malfunction', a routine explanation when its warplanes are downed. 'After completing a combat mission, a Su-25 aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces crashed while returning to its base airfield in the Belgorod Region. The pilot died... According to preliminary data, the cause of the disaster was a technical malfunction,' the ministry said. The remains of a Russian jet that crashed in Belgorod region close to the Ukrainian border are pictured Russia's ministry of defence said the jet was returning to base from a combat mission when it malfunctioned and crashed FILE PIC: Soviet-era Su-25 jets have long been a mainstay in Russia's arsenal and are used to provide close air support to troops on the ground. The Valuysky district of Belgorod sits along the border of Ukraine's Kharkiv region, and a live map of the crash suggested the plane careened into the ground close to Orekhovo village just 10 miles from the border. Soviet-era Su-25 jets have long been a mainstay in Russia's arsenal and have been used to provide close air support to troops on the ground in Ukraine. The crash in Belgorod today comes days after a Russian court sentenced two defendants to three-and-a-half years in a strict regime colony for plotting to sabotage a railway in the region that was carrying military equipment and troops to the frontlines. These are the first convictions for sabotage since Russia's invasion began, media reported on Tuesday. 'According to the criminal intent, such actions would have led to derailment, damage to military and railway equipment, casualties among servicemen,' Russia's state-run TASS news agency cited an unidentified source at the court in the Belgorod region as saying. TASS identified the two by their last names but gave no more details about them. Their convictions were the first based on the 'Sabotage' Article 231 of the Russian Criminal Code since the start of what Russia calls its 'special military operation' in Ukraine, the news agency said. Belgorod's proximity to the Ukrainian border means the region is home to several ammunition depots and field camps from which Russian soldiers can deploy to Ukraine. As a result, it is often the target of Ukrainian artillery and missiles which seek to destroy Russian military equipment and sever supply lines. Ukraine and its allies say Russia's military intervention in its neighbour, launched on Feb. 24 last year, is an imperialistic land-grab. There have been several sabotage incidents against Russian railways and other facilities, especially in regions bordering Ukraine, such as Belgorod and Bryansk, according to the British Ministry of Defence. Ammunition depot in Belgorod is pictured ablaze after a Ukrainian strike Belgorod's proximity to the Ukrainian border means the region is home to several ammunition depots and field camps from which Russian soldiers (pictured in Belgorod) can deploy to Ukraine The ministry said in an October report that with the Russian military primarily relaying on rail transport, which often passes through isolated areas, meaning 'the system is extremely challenging to secure against physical threats'. Separately, Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, the main state investigating agency, told TASS in an interview on Monday that there have been more than 150 criminal cases opened on statements discrediting the Russian army. Russia's president Vladimir Putin on Thursday called Russia's army a guarantor of national stability and promised to boost arms production nearly a year after the start of the Ukraine offensive. 'A modern, efficient army and navy are a guarantee of the country's security and sovereignty, a guarantee of its stable development and its future,' Putin said in a video address on the occasion of the annual 'Defender of the Fatherland Day' holiday in Russia. 'That's why, as before, we will pay priority attention to strengthening our defence capabilities,' he added on the eve of the first anniversary of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine. Russia's president Vladimir Putin on Thursday called Russia's army a guarantor of national stability and promised to boost arms production nearly a year after the start of the Ukraine offensive Putin takes part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin Wall on the Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow, Russia, February 23, 2023 Putin said Russia will 'conduct the balanced and high-quality development of all components of the armed forces' in particular by equipping troops with 'new strike systems, reconnaissance and communication equipment, drones and artillery systems'. 'Now our industry is rapidly increasing the production of an entire range of conventional weapons,' he said in the video released by the Kremlin. The president also hailed Russian soldiers, who he said are fighting 'heroically' in Ukraine and 'defending our people in our historical lands'. Russia's 'unbreakable unity is the key to our victory,' he said. Putin sent Moscow's troops to Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching what he called a 'special military operation' there. In the autumn he announced the mobilisation of 300,000 reservists to boost Russia's ranks in Ukraine, which is backed financially and militarily by Washington and several European capitals. During his two decades in power, Putin has made strengthening the armed forces a top priority and introduced hypersonic weapons, which he described as 'invincible', to Russia's arsenal. The mysterious metal sphere that washed up on a beach in Japan causing fear among locals may just be a piece of common marine equipment after all. The orb, roughly 5ft (1.5m) in diameter, washed up on Enshu beach in the Pacific coastal city of Hamamatsu this week, forcing beachgoers to evacuate and leaving authorities clueless about what it was for and where it was from. But the ball bears a striking resemblance to a steel buoy made by Chinese shipbuilding company Nantong Yangfan, made in similar sizes and used to guide mariners or mark positions in the ocean. The company is based in China's coastal Jiangsu province in eastern China, supporting arguments the buoy simply broke away and floated east towards Japan. Nantong Yangfan are a marine equipment company based in the east coast region of Jiangsu The balls, called 'steel floats', are used to mark out certain points in the ocean for mariners A mysterious metal sphere washed up on a beach in Japan, leaving locals and Japanese authorities clueless as to its origin or purpose Japanese authorities quickly deployed bomb disposal squads to the shoreline amid initial fears it could be a sea mine On Tuesday, Japanese authorities deployed bomb disposal squads to the shoreline amid initial fears it could be a sea mine. They built a 600ft perimeter around the scene and prevented public access. But an X-ray of the object revealed its rusted metal shell was merely a casing, its insides hollowed out. There were no indications it was a surveillance or espionage device deployed by nearby foes China and North Korea. After the initial panic ended, some theorised that the sphere was a mooring buoy, given the raised handle that could be used to hook a rope, that had become detached and floated away. These metallic buoys usually contain more components inside the outer casing to aid buoyancy, and not everything supported the theory. The shell appears to be coloured with a faint yellow hue, with patches of brown likely caused by rust. Investigators at the scene took several photographs of the sphere and said they had sent the images to the coast guard and the armed forces for further inspection and examination. Locals interviewed by Japanese broadcaster NHK said they'd also inspected the object and then had no idea what it was. 'I tried to push it, but it wouldn't budge,' one man told NHK. Despite investigators' insistence the orb was not of Chinese origin, there were still concerns about the provenance of the object amid recent tensions between Tokyo and Beijing. Following the downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon by the United States, Japanese authorities last week said it planned to clarify military engagement rules to allow its jet fighters to shoot down unmanned aircraft that violate its airspace. The shell appears to be coloured with a faint yellow hue, with patches of brown likely caused by rust. Japanese authorities are still yet to determine what the object is The orb, measuring roughly 5 feet in diameter, washed up on Enshu beach in the Pacific coastal city of Hamamatsu 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 Yesterday, at the Asian powers' first formal security talks in four years, Tokyo took aim at Beijing's military ties to Russia and its suspected use of spy balloons in Japanese skies. The talks, aimed at easing tensions between the world's second- and third-largest economies, came as Tokyo worries that Beijing will resort to force to take control of Taiwan in the wake of Russia's attack on Ukraine, sparking a conflict that could embroil Japan and disrupt global trade. Japan in December said it would double defence spending over the next five years to 2 per cent of gross domestic product - a total of $320 billion - to deter China from resorting to military action. Beijing, which increased defence spending by 7.1 per cent last year, spends more than four times as much as Japan on its forces. 'While relations between Japan and China have a lot of possibilities, we are also facing many issues and concerns,' Japanese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Shigeo Yamada told his Chinese counterpart. He pointed to their territorial dispute over uninhabited islands in the East China Sea known as the Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, Beijing's recent joint military drills with Moscow and the suspected Chinese surveillance balloons spotted over Japan at least three times since 2019. A woman dubbed 'Rocky Balboa' by her own defence lawyer after having been convicted of beating her ex-husband has avoided jail after she pulled a large clump of hair out of her female neighbour's head during a vicious attack. Jill Pettafor, 55, who has a track record of violence against family members, 'charged' at mother of one Kaye Whittaker in a car park after the pair became embroiled in a bitter feud over their pet dogs. She has now been ordered to pay her victim 200 in damages. During the assault Pettafor, of Ainsdale, near Southport, was said to have grabbed her victim's hair with such force that a large clump came out. She later said she attacked the victim in a fit of rage after barely getting any sleep whilst caring for her own mother. Pettafor had eight previous offences on her record, including common assault and battery upon her ex-husband and other family members. Jill Pettafor, 55, was even nicknamed 'Rocky' by her own defence lawyer after she tore a patch of hair out of her neighbour's scalp She was given a 10-week suspended sentence and told to pay the victim 200 in compensation at Sefton Magistrates' Court Her own lawyer called her 'Rocky' after the boxer played by Hollywood actor Sylvester Stallone in the movie franchise. At Sefton magistrates court, Pettafor pleaded guilty to assault and was handed a 10-week sentence suspended for 24 months. She was also ordered to undertake 20 days of rehabilitative activity with the probation service. Jenna Cooney, prosecuting, said: 'On 17th of October of last year, police were called to an ongoing neighbour despite. 'During this time the defendant charged at the victim and grabbed her hair pulling her into a carpark. 'She was pulled with such force that a large clump came out. There was use of substantial force. We are also seeking compensation for the victim for her injuries.' In mitigation defence lawyer Mark Ellis told the court: 'The defendant and the complainant live side by side in a block of flats and she is deeply ashamed of having committed this offence and assaulting Miss Whittaker in the manner described. 'There is no watering down what happened.' Mr Ellis said that Pettafor, who has angina, and the victim had been friends for a number of years before falling out over the ownership of two dogs. He added that at the time of the offence she had been splitting time between her own home and her mother's, who has dementia. Pettafor was also ordered to undertake 20 days of rehabilitative activity with the probation service Mr Ellis said: 'At the time of the offence, she spent several days there and had slept very little. 'She returned home, encountered Ms Whittaker and it was like a red rag to a bull. 'She did lash out and grab the lady's hair and it was recorded on the lady's partner's phone.' He said since the attack there have been no incidents between the pair: 'Although their paths have crossed, the defendant had made no attempt to intimidate or harass her in any shape or form.' He added: 'She tells me that she began drinking when she and her husband divorced. It was a very acrimonious divorce. The gentleman did not treat her well at all. 'She is not fit for unpaid work as she suffers from angina. A curfew, she will struggle with as she goes backwards and forwards to her mother's house.' Sentencing Pettafor, JP Angela McIntyre told her: 'Your conduct on the day was unacceptable. It was an unprovoked attack causing significant harm and because of your previous convictions, it has crossed the custody threshold. 'However, because of your ill health, your caring responsibilities for your mother, your previous good compliance with the probation service and because there is a good prospect of rehabilitation we are going to suspend it for two years.' The firefighter water used at the toxic Ohio chemical spill is to be disposed of in another county over safety concerns - as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is due in East Palestine today, 20 days after the disaster struck. The 150-car train Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3, causing a fire and spillage of toxic chemicals. Videos and pictures posted online have shown nearby rivers contaminated by the petroleum-based chemicals and fish floating dead in streams. The now potentially-toxic firefighter water used at the scene will now be disposed of in Harris County in Texas, over 1,300 miles away. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo confirmed the decision in a statement, saying that she understood the concerns this would bring to the community but that she was waiting on more information from the Environmental Protection Agency about how this would be carried out. Videos and pictures posted online have shown nearby rivers contaminated by the petroleum-based chemicals and fish floating dead in streams. Pictured is the pollution in a creek nearby An 150-car train Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio on February 3, causing a fire and spillage of toxic chemicals Hidalgo said: 'I and my office heard today that firefighting water from the East Palestine, Ohio is slated to be disposed of in our County. 'Our Harris County Pollution Control Department and Harris County Attorneys Office have reached out to the company and the Environmental Protection Agency to receive more information about the timing, transportation mechanisms, and contents, as well as to ensure all regulations are being met. 'I have communicated with Deer Park Emergency Management and Mayor Mouton and am very sensitive to the concerns that this news naturally brings to our community. 'We will keep residents informed as we learn more.' It is currently unclear how the water will be disposed of and how it will be safely transported to Harris County. Norfolk Southern is now being sued by East Palestine residents who are concerned about the toxic chemicals being spilled from the train cars and a subsequent 'controlled release' of highly-flammable vinyl chloride. Vinyl chloride is also a known carcinogen that can cause drowsiness, headaches and dizziness in the short term. In the long term, exposure to vinyl chloride can cause liver damage. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (pictured on February 13) is due to visit East Palestine today A man takes photos as a black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern train The train derailment on February 3 set off a fire that could be seen from miles away Residents near the site have said they are 'too afraid to shower' and have experienced worrying symptoms of headaches and irritated eyes in the days since the derailment. Doug Brayshaw, 63, told NBC: 'We're afraid to shower. I won't even give my dog drinking water out of my well right now because I'm worried.' Amanda Greathouse told CEN that she had developed a rash, her eyes were 'burning' and she felt sick. Since the incident she said she had decided not to raise her kids in the area. One couple even had to put down their indoor cat after they noticed he was getting sick just the hours after the train derailment. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will visit East Palestine today, 20 days after the disaster to meet with members of the community. President Biden is yet to visit the site. Buttigieg will also meet with the National Transportation Safety Board, who are investigating the derailment of the freight train. The investigation team is expected to released its initial findings today. The derailed train consisted of three locomotives, 141 loads and nine empties - it was 9,300-feet long and weighed 18,000 tons. During the accident 38 individual cars derailed, which caused a fire that damaged an additional 12 cars. Authorities have said 1.5million gallons of contaminants have been taken away from the area since the crash. CBS News reported that employees for Northern Southern thought the train was too heavy and had too many cars, making it hard to stop. Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday alleges that Norfolk Southern's effort to clean up and mitigate the derailment site have made the situation even more dangerous for residents. It claims Train 32N was carrying nearly 1.1million pounds of vinyl chloride when it overturned on February 3, a chemical that can mutate DNA and is not safe at any level of exposure. Then when the train overturned, that massive amount of vinyl chloride which is more than double the amount industrial emitters released in the United States combined in one year. Former President Donald Trump visited the site on Wednesday, where he gave a speech and distributed water bottles, hats and meals to emergency workers. He criticized Biden's response to the disaster, before saying 'have fun, everybody.' A spokesperson for Norfolk Southern Corporation rejected the idea the train was too long and heavy, telling DailyMail.com it 'previously ran as one longer and heavier train before being split into two shorter, lighter trains in the past few months.' A police chief with a 2.5million property portfolio quipped he would wear a 'floral dress and a blonde wig' as a disguise in order to meet with a suspected crooked developer, a misconduct panel has been told. Chief Inspector Stephen Rice joked he held 'secretive' meetings with a developer who had sold him several large rental properties between 2012 and 2016, partly funded by large unsecured loans from the same man, despite him being a suspect in a major criminal probe. The 24-year veteran of Merseyside Police is accused of misconduct for his years-long business relationship with the suspect, who can only be referred to as 'Mr A' for legal reasons and has links to actor-turned-drug dealer Desmond Bayliss. He has also been accused of using the police database to snoop on Bayliss and one of his associates without 'proper policing purpose', as well as paying a company to write his dissertation for him so he could pass his Master's degree. Chief Insp. Rice, who is not accused of criminal wrongdoing and denies the offences, railed against the charges when giving evidence at the misconduct hearing yesterday, claiming he had been 'singled out' and treated 'like a criminal' with 'no evidence whatsoever'. Chief Inspector Stephen Rice, pictured here in his police uniform, has railed against accusations of wrongdoing He is accused of having a year-long business relationship with a major suspect in a criminal probe, who is in turn believed to be connected to actor-turned-drug dealer Desmond Bayliss (pictured) The misconduct allegations mainly span around a criminal investigation called Operation Benadir, conducted by Merseyside Police's Economic Crime Team into large-scale property fraud in which Mr A, a financial adviser referred to as 'Mr B' and a solicitor referred to as 'Mr C' were charged. Merseyside Police accuse Chief Insp. Rice of failing to disclose thousands of pounds of debt to Mr A, which he disputes, and lying about continuing to contact the developer even after he learned of his arrest, although he was never charged with any criminal offences. On Wednesday the married dad-of-three, supported at Merseyside Police HQ during the public hearing by his wife, denied ever being deliberately dishonest and claimed he had been 'singled out', 'targeted' and 'ostracised' by the force. He described the period between 2017 and the present as 'hellish' and spoke of his anger at being accused of criminal offences (which were later dropped) and then gross misconduct, the Liverpool Echo reports. James Berry, representing Merseyside Police at the hearing, said 'serendipitously' Mr A's phone had ended up in the possession of the police in August, 2019, after he was stabbed and seriously wounded. Messages on the phone revealed a number of meetings with Chief Inspector Rice including one in Calderstones Park, the day before he was interviewed under criminal caution on March 28 that year. In that interview he falsely said he 'no longer had any contact' with Mr A, although the officer claimed he had simply forgotten about the meeting. The panel heard how in February 2018, Chief Insp. Rice and Mr A made jokes which Mr Berry suggested showed they knew it was 'inappropriate' for them to meet. In one text, Mr A asked if he should wear a 'moustache, hat and gloves' to which the officer replied: 'no I'm wearing the floral dress and blonde wig'. Chief Insp. Rice dismissed the messages as 'banter' and told the panel it was a reference to him being investigated at work. He claimed he had simply forgotten to mention the meetings with Mr A because they were 'totally irrelevant to me'. The misconduct panel had previously been told that Chief Insp. Rice had bought a number of properties, including the Roklis Building - a large commercial property comprising flats and retail units in Liscard Road, Wallasey, for 570,000 - and two further properties, both on Alpass Road in Aigburth. Earlier the panel heard how in 2016, Chief Insp. Rice also bought an annexe at the back of a large Victorian property, on Linnet Lane in Aigburth, for 570,000, from Mr A. However in early 2017, Chief Inspector Rice received a phone call from a woman based in the Middle East, who said her name was Bella. Chief Insp. Rice bought the Roklis Building (pictured) after a sit down meeting with Mr A in a Costa Coffee He also bought a property in Linnet Lane, Aigbuth (pictured), which was later the basis of fraud accusations Mr Berry said: 'She said she was representing a Saudi property developer who had bought the whole of Linnet Lane including the annexe, she thinks there has been fraud that you are involved in and she is going to contact the City of London Police.' The panel heard that Chief Insp. Rice checked the Land Registry and realised the property was not in his name, despite the fact he had obtained a mortgage from Lloyds Bank and agreed to borrow 180,000 from Mr A to cover the deposit. Mr Berry said: 'This must have been shocking to you, it is not every day that you, a senior police officer, are accused of a criminal offence. But you reported none of this to Merseyside Police?' Chief Insp. Rice said he contacted Mr A and spoke to his bank manager at Lloyds, who both reassured him that it was likely a delay in splitting the deeds for the two sides of the property which had not yet shown up on the Land Registry website. Mr Berry pointed out that he had also been messaging a woman referred to as Ms D, who was connected to Mr A, and who told him the businessman had been doing 'dodgy deals with the Saudis' in relation to a number of properties. Chief Insp. Rice said he felt that he could trust Mr A, having been introduced to him in 2012 by his own cousin and having completed successful property deals with him before. However he did become suspicious of a law firm, referred to in the hearing as 'Firm 1', which employed Mr C and had handled the property deals. Chief Insp. Rice told the panel that shortly after the call from Bella, he instructed a separate firm of solicitors to get to the bottom of the issue, but they 'got nowhere' trying to get information from Firm 1. That dispute dragged into a years long lawsuit against Firm 1. Chief Insp. Rice told the panel he lost any ownership of Linnet Lane and the civil case drained much of his time and energy, although it recently ended with a ruling in his favour and a 'substantial pay-out'. As the issue with Linnet Lane was dragging on, Chief Insp. Rice received an email from an Economic Crime Team detective asking to speak with him. He met the team on December 19, 2017, where they discussed Linnet Lane and his relationship with Mr A, and they told him they were conducting Operation Benadir. Chief Insp. Rice also allegedly bought two properties in Alpass Road (pictured), in Aigurth, Liverpool A misconduct hearing at Merseyside Police HQ has been told the senior police officer is accused of multiple breaches of professional standards Chief Insp. Rice denied he had been specifically informed during that meeting that Mr A and Mr C were under investigation for fraud, telling the panel: 'They didn't make it clear to me'. However the detectives who met with him that day all gave statements claiming he was directly told who was being investigated. READ MORE HERE: Actor who specialised in playing gangsters jailed for eight years for running one of Britain's biggest ever drug farms Advertisement The fraud investigation continued, but Chief Insp. Rice and Mr A continued to meet and even discussed further business opportunities, including purchasing two apart-hotels and a carpark in the city centre, although those deals never came off. The pressure increased on March, 2019, when Chief Insp. Rice was given a notice that he was under criminal investigation. He was interviewed under criminal caution on March 28, and told detectives that he was no longer in contact with Mr A and was aware he was a suspect in Operation Benadir. One of the key disputed issues in the case is whether in October, 2020, when being interviewed over misconduct allegations, Chief Insp. Rice 'accepted he had lied' in his criminal interview the previous year when confronted with evidence of regular meetings with Mr A. Chief Insp. Rice claimed he did not express himself clearly in that misconduct interview and did not have a transcript of the previous interview in front of him. Under questioning from his barrister, Sarah Barlow, he told the panel: 'I didn't remember what I had for dinner yesterday. I had been treated as a criminal and interviewed criminally with no evidence whatsoever. 'I had been accused of fraud and money laundering, accused of numerous different allegations by [professional standards] that I wasn't even interviewed over and they were dropped. 'I was taken out of my role, I was ostracised and put into a role in an office that was a total waste of time to me. I was prevented from doing my work, what I had done for 20 odd years. 'I was stopped from doing my projects and operations, I was being questioned and questioned talking about the same stuff over and over again. If I didn't remember what was said in an interview 20 months ago then I apologise.' Elsewhere in the hearing: Chief Insp. Rice denied he had searched police intelligence databases for a convicted drug dealer called Desmond Bayliss in 2016 due to concerns over his relationship with Mr A, although he said he could not remember the policing purpose of the search He denied paying a company called UK Essays 3,300 for a dissertation when doing a Master's degree at Liverpool Hope University in 2015, claiming he 'did not get on' with his tutor and was paying for guidance and tutorship due to lack of support He denied attempting to mislead detectives about a text suggesting Mr A or Mr C were 'running with the Ungis', a reference to a 'prominent organised crime group'. The hearing continues. One of Rishi Sunak's most senior ministers has warned she would not accept a 'sell out' to the EU in order to solve the Brexit row over Northern Ireland. Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she would oppose any agreement with Brussels that gave it a 'foothold' in Ulster. Her intervention came as the Prime Minister tried to woo unionists and Eurosceptics into backing a deal to solve the customs border that has been a running problem since the UK left the bloc. The PM's plans are expected to end EU checks on most British goods sent to Northern Ireland and restore Westminster's right to set tax policy in the Province, which was effectively still left in the EU's single market after Brexit in order to prevent a hard border with Northern Ireland. But Northern Ireland is still expected to be subject to some EU trade laws, over which it currently has no say. Ms Braverman claimed she was not prepared to resign over the issue, but last night she told GB News: 'I've taken a very forthright position in the past because I've found the terms of previous agreements intolerable. 'I don't support selling out on Northern Ireland and allowing the EU a foothold in the United Kingdom. 'It's absolutely vital we safeguard what we've gained from the Brexit vote, that we go forward as a United Kingdom where the integrity of our Union is safeguarded and we properly take back control. 'I know the Prime Minister shares that objective.' Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she would oppose any agreement with Brussels that gave it a 'foothold' in Ulster. The Prime Minister had hoped to unveil the new agreement with the EU this week after flying to Northern Ireland to brief political leaders last Friday Mrs Braverman (pictured) played down the prospect she could resign, and said she believed Mr Sunak shares her objectives A Government source said there was now a '99.9 per cent' likelihood that negotiations would slip into next week as the PM tries to calm a backlash by the DUP and his own MPs. In her interview, Mrs Braverman said the Government was committed to working with the DUP which is refusing to return to powersharing in the Stormont Assembly unless there is fundamental change to the protocol. 'We have always worked very closely with the DUP. They are unionists. They speak for a significant portion of the community in Northern Ireland and they need to be around the table,' she said. 'Ultimately Stormont will only function if the DUP supports any proposal.' During clashes in the Commons yesterday, the PM insisted he would be 'resolute' in defence of the UK's interests. He told MPs: 'I am a Conservative, a Brexiteer and a Unionist, and any agreement that we reach needs to tick all three boxes. 'It needs to ensure sovereignty for Northern Ireland, to safeguard Northern Ireland's place in our union, and it needs to find practical solutions to the problems faced by people and businesses. 'I will be resolute in fighting for what is best for Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.' Sir Jeffrey Donaldson welcomed the PM's initiative but warned that any new deal must not involve 'tinkering around the edges' But, in an ominous sign, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson warned there would have to be significant changes to the Brexit treaty with the EU, including ending the 'unacceptable' situation that leaves Northern Ireland governed by EU trade laws it has no say over. Sir Jeffrey welcomed the PM's initiative but warned that any new deal must not involve 'tinkering around the edges'. Former Brexit minister Lord Frost said: 'We have learned we can't rely on EU commitments that aren't tied down or rest on good faith or the EU's acting reasonably. They need to be legally clear and enforceable. If they aren't, we will be back here again before too long.' A school has sparked fury from pupils and their parents over a uniform policy which states skirts must be knee length - with the risk of detention or suspension for failure to adhere to the rules. Parents at Rainford High School in St Helens, Merseyside, claimed girls whose skirts were deemed too short were made to queue up and asked to adjust their skirts by teachers - and that parents were contacted if they did not comply. Both male and female teachers were involved in the inspection, it is understood. One woman told the Liverpool Echo her 'granddaughter came home mortified that her skirt height was inspected by a male teacher in front of male pupils'. A parent claimed some pupils had been left 'crying and embarrassed' as a petition was started titled 'Stop Rainford High controlling girls skirts.' The parent, who asked not to be named, told the St Helens Star: 'My daughter stated that they are asked to adjust their skirt and if they say no or cannot then parents are contacted and told their child must come in the following day in a longer skirt or they will be given a detention.' Parents at Rainford High School in St Helens, Merseyside, claimed girls whose skirts were deemed too short were made to queue up and asked to adjust their skirts by teachers Rainford High School in St Helens, Merseyside, said they had been 'concerned about the failure of a significant number of students to wear the skirt to the standards and expectations laid down in the uniform policy' 'I do understand some students may wear particularly short skirts, but that cannot be the case for this amount of girls. They shouldn't get detention or suspension over skirt length. 'The male students are now using this as an excuse to laugh at the girls, what message is this sending to them?' Another parent told the Liverpool Echo: 'My daughter came home in tears after this debacle. One of the highest achievers in her year, never been in trouble in her life and is subject to this. 'Skirt at the knee and wearing tights too. Young girls lined up at the door and separated by male staff! 2023 not 1823.' Rainford High's Principal Ian Young said the school had been 'concerned about the failure of a significant number of students to wear the skirt to the standards and expectations laid down in the uniform policy' adding that they have 'taken firm action to politely challenge our students around how they wear uniform'. He confirmed to the MailOnline: 'No one has been suspended directly for not wearing the uniform correctly. Students have been suspended due to their conduct towards staff that is linked to the issue but no one at all has been suspended for not wearing a skirt in line with the school policy.' A petition, started by Lexi Pennington, claims that girls are being 'punished' for wearing skirts above their knee. 'Parents during a cost of living crisis are being forced to buy new skirts or risk the children being suspended from school, in a school that constantly preaches the importance of students attending school and lessons they find suspension a suitable consequence which is completely contradictory to the schools aim, school is supposed to prepare us for the workplace however when we see teachers in the school walking around their workplace with skirts not following these same rules it seems very unjust,' the description states. A petition has been set up which it titled 'Stop Rainford High controlling girls skirts' 'Also given the fact the pupils are being treated almost as animal being almost headed into a penned in section in the auditorium to be inspected seems very demeaning and almost inhumane to the female students being inspected by the male staff. 'I understand the fact that some skirts are too short and incredibly revealing and are not suited to a school setting however unless these extreme violations occur I don't see why girls legs are much of a problem to the school community and how girls with skirts that are an inch above the top of the knee are deemed unacceptable and these perfectly fine skirts are being forced to be replaced which see is wasteful.' It argues there are more important issues for the school, rather than trying to 'control' skirt lengths. The full statement issued by Principal Ian Young: 'As a school we have been concerned about the failure of a significant number of students to wear the skirt to the standards and expectations laid down in the uniform policy. 'We have attempted to work with our young people by consulting and working with the student leadership teams to propose a compromise position that was acceptable to both the staff and the students. 'This compromise was implemented between November and February half term, unfortunately, this was also ignored by a significant minority of students. 'Rainford High has a clear uniform policy that despite having tried to work with our student community to adjust and compromise throughout this academic year, has unfortunately seen a refusal to comply by approximately 45 per cent of the students. 'We have taken firm action to politely challenge our students around how they wear uniform. The issue of required skirt length as a school rule has been within the school policy for a number of years and all parents and students are directed to this upon joining our community. 'As a school that believes Everyone Matters, Everyone Helps and Everyone Succeeds we have strived to support and work with the school community to achieve an acceptable position on uniform for all members of our school community. This approach has not delivered the standards as a school we expect which has therefore meant we have with regret had to revert to our previous uniform policy of knee-length skirts . 'As a school, our focus is for our young people to exemplify and learn the importance of high standards and expectations so they can be ready to contribute to our community and wider community as successfully as possible. 'The discourse with our young people has been positive and proactive and I am delighted they have spoken with passion on this topic and as a school we are listening however we have consistent standards and expectations which cannot be compromised. 'A school environment is exactly that, a place of learning and development, not the outside world or an adult work place. There are rules, standards and expectations that are in place to support young people to develop, learn and grow in a safe environment. 'These rules and systems may not be seen outside of school communities however are necessary within them to ensure a large school can operate safely and effectively. Behaviours, attitudes and problems are dealt with by teachers. At Rainford we employ teachers of all genders who are highly effective and professional and able to offer support, help, care and guidance to our students. 'Concerns raised by parents around how we have dealt with challenging students regarding this issue will be investigated fully. At this point I have no evidence that any member of the school staff has done anything other than behave in a professional manner. 'As a school, we provide an inclusive and supportive approach to our community, allowing all our young people to access a wide range of activities and support services alongside a balanced curriculum that has been recognised by a strong OFSTED report and the school being significantly oversubscribed for the past 8 years. 'As a school we spend increasing amounts of funding on services to support students anxiety and resilience. The reaction to our decision to ensure our school uniform policy is adhered to has raised significant concerns around our young people's wider well being we will be working hard as a school to work with our community and support our young people through the challenge of following our uniform policy.' Ukrainian Ambassador Dmytro Ponomarenko, left, speaks with Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin before attending an event to mark the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the Seoul foreign ministry, Feb. 23. Newsis The top Ukrainian envoy here appealed to Korea on Thursday for continued attention and support for his country, as Russia's invasion enters its second year with no end in sight. Ambassador Dmytro Ponomarenko delivered the message directly to Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin during a meeting for a ceremony hosted by the ministry to mark the first anniversary of the war on Feb. 24. In response, Park extended his "deepest respect to the courage and sacrifice of the Ukrainian people overcoming the hardships of war" and voiced hope that the war will come to an end "as soon as possible." "We are concerned that it is still unable to find a glimmer of hope for resolving the situation in the midst of the prospect of a massive Russian offensive," he said. Police have unveiled new off-road dirt bikes to be used by a crack new team of officers who will tackle anti-social behaviour across the countryside. Derbyshire Police showed off their three all-terrain scramblers, which can even be driven through water, in a montage video of the biker officers riding round the countryside set to an indie-rock track. The video showed the bikes - which are fitted with flashing lights and sirens - on rocky paths, muddy trails and parks and climbing steep slopes. It ended with an action shot of a rear wheel kicking up dirt as an officer set off from a standstill. The new petrol-powered Honda CRFs - which will be used pursue criminals across the countryside - will be able to reach areas which normal police patrol vehicles struggle to navigate as crooks increasingly evade more conventional pursuits. The force has obtained the 'lightweight and versatile' scramblers, which will be ridden by specially trained officers from the roads policing unit, for use in all conditions. Derbyshire Police have unveiled new off-road dirt bikes to be used by a crack new team of officers tackling anti-social behaviour countryside The force showed off their three all-terrain scramblers, which can even be driven through water, in a montage video of the biker officers riding round the countryside The new petrol-powered Honda CRFs (pictured) will be used pursue criminals across the Derbyshire countryside Officers will use the dirt bikes to tackle nuisance and anti-social behaviour particularly caused by users of illegal off-road motorbikes across wasteland areas. They will also help during searches for high-risk, missing and vulnerable people as well as responding to reports of crime, such as drug dealing, in secluded locations. But some social media users mocked the force, with one commenter writing: 'F***ing hell [crying laughing emoji] they coming for you lads.' And another advised the officers: 'Make sure you lock them [the dirt bikes] up or they'll be gone.' Adam Titterton, Sergeant in the Roads Policing Unit, said: 'We've seen a rise in the number of reports we receive about the illegal use of motorbikes in some of Derbyshire's most beautiful parks and countryside. 'Over the last few months, we've been working hard behind the scenes to source scrambler bikes such as these, so that we have the tools to better target this antisocial behaviour. 'We're looking forward to getting out and speaking to people, so that we can prevent further anti-social behaviour and better educate the illegal riders in the law and how to legally use off-road bikes.' Officers will use the dirt bikes (pictured) to tackle nuisance and anti-social behaviour particularly caused by users of illegal off-road motorbikes across wasteland areas The police force's video showed officers riding over rocky and hilly parts of the Derbyshire countryside Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster said: 'These off-road bikes will help Derbyshire Constabulary's police officers to tackle a raft of crimes which blight our neighbourhoods. 'They will play an important role in the work to tackle the anti-social and criminal use of motorcycles, as well as a range of rural problems such as machinery theft, trespass and poaching. 'It's important that police officers are provided with the right equipment and training to tackle the changing nature of crime and anti-social behaviour and I am pleased to see my investment being used to address problems that are of concern to local communities.' The number of asylum seekers waiting for a decision on their claim in the UK has topped 160,000 with almost 75,00 applications made in the last year alone, Home Office figures show. Albanian was the most common nationality applying for asylum in the UK last year, with 14,223 applicants from the Balkan state - 9,573 of which came from people arriving in boats after crossing the Channel. A total of 160,919 asylum seekers were waiting for an initial decision on their claim at the end of December. This was up 60 per cent from 100,564 for the same period in 2021 and the highest figure since current records began in 2010. The number of people waiting more than six months for an initial decision was 109,641 at the end of 2022, up 77 per cent year-on-year from 61,864. It comes as the Home Office launched a plan to fast-track some asylum claims in a bid to cut the soaring backlog. The move will see thousands of applicants sent a questionnaire, rather than automatically facing an interview, with the department warning that if they do not reply with the required information their asylum claim 'could be withdrawn'. MailOnline today asked the Home Office to release a copy of the questionnaire to the public but this request was refused. A total of 160,919 asylum seekers were waiting for an initial decision on their claim at the end of December Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is facing renewed pressure on immigration after a new fast-track scheme for 12,000 asylum seekers In December, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to reduce the asylum backlog by the end of 2023 as he vowed to 'stop the boats' crossing the Channel. Mr Sunak insisted the government is 'working at pace' on the new laws, and ensuring that 'if someone arrives in our country illegally they will not be able to stay', following pressure from MPs demanding to know when he will bring forward the promised legislation. AND LEGAL VISAS SKYROCKET TOO Nearly one-and-a-half million visas were issued in 2022 to people coming to the UK for work, study or family reasons or through one of the Government's settlement schemes. Some 423,013 work visas were granted, along with 626,551 study visas and 48,107 family visas, plus 5,055 visas for dependants joining or accompanying others, according to Home Office figures. In addition, 210,906 were issued under the Ukraine visa schemes, 53,836 were granted to British National (Overseas) status holders from Hong Kong, 34,338 were under the EU Settlement Scheme, and 3,903 were under other settlement schemes. The combined total of 1,405,709 visas in 2022 is up 64 per cent from 858,869 in 2021 and is the sixth successive record high for a 12-month period since current figures began in 2005. Advertisement The PM laid out his plan for tackling the Channel crisis at the beginning of the year, making it one of the five 'pledges' that voters should judge him on by the election. He faced pressure to act on his promises by former Cabinet minister Esther McVey, who warned that 'time is of the essence'. In the Commons, Ms McVey asked: 'Can he tell us when we can expect to see this legislation coming forward as time is of the essence, and can he explain why sorting out this issue did not feature on the Home Office permanent secretary's stated top three priorities for his department?' The rising backlog is 'due to more cases entering the asylum system than receiving initial decisions', the Home Office said. There were 18,699 choices made on asylum applications last year, up 29 per cent from 14,532 in 2021 but 10 per cent below the 20,766 in the pre-pandemic year of 2019. More than three-quarters (76 per cent) of initial decisions on asylum applications in 2022 were grants of refugee status, humanitarian protection or alternative forms of leave. The Home Office said this was a 'substantially higher grant rate' than in pre-pandemic years when around a third of initial decisions were grants. More than 95 per cent of the 12,000 claims are expected to be granted, based on current rates, allowing them to settle permanently in Britain and sponsor relatives to join them here. The Home Office has about ten months to clear 92,601 initial asylum claims which were in the system as of the end of June 2022. There were 74,751 asylum applications in the UK in 2022, relating to 89,398 people. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the asylum system had been 'broken by this Government'. They included former Cabinet minister Esther McVey, who warned that 'time is of the essence' Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the asylum system had been 'broken by this Government' 'Frankly if the Government picked up our plan we might make some progress,' he said. This is the highest total for any 12-month period since the year to March 2003, when it stood at 80,736 applications relating to 99,338 people The grant rate last year was the highest since 1990 when it was 82 per cent - although the volume of applications was much lower at that time with 4,025 initial decisions made, compared with 18,699 in 2022. About 12,000 people from Afghanistan, Syria, Eritrea, Libya and Yemen, who have applied for asylum in the UK and are waiting for a decision, will be eligible for the Home Office's plan to speed up processing applications. These applicants have been picked because they come from nations that typically have a high grant rate in the UK. Asylum seekers subject to the process, which applies to adult applicants and their child dependants but not lone migrants under the age of 18, will not be automatically interviewed. Instead, they will be sent a 10-page questionnaire with about 40 questions which may not all apply to them, and asked to return it within an initial 20 working days before being offered an extension. Some campaigners criticised the plans as 'clumsy' amid reports that asylum seekers will be told to fill out the form in English. Others welcomed efforts to reduce the backlog but said the approach could throw up more 'bureaucratic hurdles'. The rising backlog is 'due to more cases entering the asylum system than receiving initial decisions', the Home Office said The new fast-track scheme will be applied to Libyans, Syrians, Afghans, Eritreans and Yemenis who arrived in Britain before June 28 last year, including those who arrived by small boat across the Channel Applicants could still be called for an interview and any who do not provide the required information and evidence could have their claim rejected. Those granted asylum will be allowed to work and will be expected to find their own accommodation. Officials insisted the move was not an 'asylum amnesty' and stressed thorough security checks will still be carried out. Nearly one-and-a-half million visas were issued in 2022 to people coming to the UK for work, study or family reasons, or through one of the Government's settlement schemes. The combined total of 1,405,709 visas in 2022 is up 64 per cent from 858,869 in 2021 and is the sixth successive record high for a 12-month period since current figures began in 2005. Albanian was the most common nationality applying for asylum in the UK last year. There were 14,223 applications by Albanian nationals in 2022 and 9,573 of these came from people arriving in boats after crossing the Channel. The majority of applicants from the Balkan state (83 per cent) were adult males, Home Office figures published on Thursday show. Afghans were the second most common nationality applying for asylum last year, with 10,011 applications, more than six times the number in the pre-pandemic year of 2019 (1,573). The Home Office said this rise was 'likely due to the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan'. Some 90 per cent of people arriving in the UK in 2022 after crossing the Channel claimed asylum or were recorded as a dependant on an asylum application. Those granted asylum will be allowed to work in the UK and will be expected to find their own accommodation Overall, just under half (45 per cent) of total asylum applications in the UK last year were from people who arrived in the country after making this journey. It is believed to be the first scheme of its kind in the UK, although a similar backlog-clearing exercise designed to fast-track historic asylum cases was set up by the former Labour government in 2006 and ran until 2011. One senior source said: 'This is an asylum amnesty in all but name. One major issue here is that it will encourage people from these nationalities who are not yet in the UK to come here and attempt to get asylum. 'It will also push up immigration figures because once these 12,000 have been granted refugee status they'll be able to bring relatives here through the family reunion scheme.' Another well-placed source suggested that dropping interviews with asylum seekers indicated the Home Office was prepared to 'take a bit of a risk in order to get the backlog down'. Officials denied the scheme amounted to an amnesty because it will not give 'blanket' refugee status by nationality. They insisted each case will be considered 'on its own merits'. The Government spent nearly 25million deploying the Royal Navy in attempt to stop migrants from crossing the English Channel illegally, it has emerged. Pictured: Border Force boat Typhoon escorts 50 migrants back to Dover Harbor in June 2022 The Home Office source added: 'The Prime Minister and the Home Secretary are clear that we need to clear the backlog in order to be able to detain people and swiftly remove them when we have the new legislation.' It has recently emerged that the Government spent nearly 25million deploying the Royal Navy in attempt to stop migrants from crossing the English Channel illegally. The military effort, dubbed Operation Isotrope, cost taxpayers about 84,553 per day, a Freedom of Information request by The Sun on Sunday revealed. Navy vessels were first deployed to assist Border Force under last April by ex-PM Boris Johnson, who said it would mean 'no boat makes it to the UK undetected'. However, Operation Isotrope ended on January 31, handing the role back to Border Force. Data published last weekend revealed the effort cost a total of 24.77million, despite it seemingly not solving the crisis at the border. A recorded 45,756 migrants landed in small boats in 2022. An additional 1,180 arrived in 27 vessels last month, analysis of Home Office and Ministry of Defence (MoD) provisional figures showed. So far, 890 people have been brought to shore in 20 boats in February 2023. Merseyside Police put restrictions in place at the Suites Hotel in Knowsley and provided guests with 'security awareness training'. Pictured: Officers are seen detaining people outside the hotel on Friday February 17 News of the mammoth expense of Operation Isotope comes after violent protests broke out outside a hotel used to house asylum seekers in Knowsley, Merseyside last weekend. Merseyside Police were called to put restrictions in place at the Suites Hotel in Knowsley and provided migrants with 'security awareness training' after demonstrators clashed outside the property. The Suites Hotel has been used to accommodate asylum seekers in Merseyside since January 2022. A demonstration outside the hotel descended into chaos with protesters hurling missiles and damaging a police van. During the incident, a police officer and two members of the public were injured in the violent clash that saw 15 people, including a 13-year-old boy, get arrested. Protesters chanted 'get them out' during the riot as police were forced to wear protective clothing including riot gear shields and helmets. The Home Office has previously deemed the violence as 'totally unacceptable' and has vowed to work closely with police to 'ensure the safety of those in our care and the wider community.' Kate Forbes today attempted to salvage her hopes of being elected the SNP's new leader amid the row over her views on gay marriage and transgender rights. The Scottish Finance Secretary, who is one of three contenders to replace Nicola Sturgeon, vowed to 'defend to the hilt' the rights of minorities in Scotland. This is despite Ms Forbes having this week admitted she would have voted against both gay marriage and gender identity reforms. The 32-year-old, a devout Christian and a member of the Free Church of Scotland, said she was 'heartsore' that her carcrash TV interviews this week had 'caused hurt'. As well as setting out her stance on same-sex marriage and gender self-identication in recent media appearances, Ms Forbes has also branded pre-marital sex 'wrong'. In a statement posted on social media, she said: 'I feel greatly burdened and heartsore that some of my responses to direct questions in the media have caused hurt to friends, colleagues and fellow citizens.' Ms Forbes' attempt to resurrect her faltering leadership bid came after Ms Sturgeon had taken a swipe at her Finance Secretary. The outgoing First Minister, who stunned her party by announcing her resignation last week, insisted the views of those hoping to replace her 'matter'. A number of Ms Forbes' supporters have turned against her as her campaign implodes amid the scrutiny over her personal views. But the Free Church of Scotland, known as the 'Wee Frees', has hit back at what they claim is 'bigotry' shown towards Ms Forbes and condemned 'anti-Christian intolerance'. Nicola Sturgeon, who stunned the SNP by announcing her resignation last week, insisted the views of those hoping to replace her 'matter' Kate Forbes, the Scottish government's Finance Secretary, is a devout Christian and a member of the Free Church of Scotland In an attempt to salvage her faltering leadership bid, Ms Forbes this morning vowed to 'defend to the hilt' the rights of minorities in Scotland In a statement posted on her Facebook page this morning, Ms Forbes wrote: 'Every leaders identity is multifaceted I am a woman, I am a Highlander, I have a faith. 'Of all these characteristics, the questions over the last few days have focused on my religious faith. 'I feel greatly burdened that some of my responses to questions in the media have caused hurt, which was never my intention as I sought to answer questions clearly. 'I will defend to the hilt the rights of everybody in Scotland, particularly minorities, to live and to love without fear or harassment in a pluralistic and tolerant society. 'I will uphold the laws that have been hard won, as a servant of democracy, and seek to enhance the rights of everybody to live in a way which enables them to flourish. 'I firmly believe in the inherent dignity of each human being; that underpins all ethical and political decisions I make.' Ms Forbes is competing against Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf and former minister Ash Regan in the battle to replace Ms Sturgeon as SNP leader and first minister. When she announced her resignation, Ms Sturgeon promised not to get involved in the contest to choose her successor. But she yesterday risked further fuelling the SNP's civil war by appearing to criticise Ms Forbes. 'Scotland is a socially progressive country and I believe that is majority opinion,' she told reporters, when asked about the Finance Secretary's views. 'Whoever is first minister, the views that they have on all sorts of issues matter. 'Because people look to their first minister to see someone who will stand up for them and their rights. 'The job of first minister on a daily basis involves responding to things based on your positions, your values, your outlooks. 'I know all of the candidates well and they are all really talented people and they all offer different things to the job and it is for the SNP to make that decision.' Ms Sturgeon denied her party was tearing itself apart in trying to elect her replacement, adding: 'No it's not, it's having a democratic election.' Amid the row over Ms Forbes' views, the Free Church of Scotland issued a statement to defend the 'highly respected' politician. 'She is consistent about what she believes, irrespective of the consequences, a quality which makes for an honest politician,' a church spokesman said. 'The issues raised by Kate Forbes' intention to run as SNP leader have displayed a level of intolerance that we believe is uncharacteristic of the wider ordinary Scottish population, and indeed does not represent authentic Scottish identity which is historically grounded on hard work, common sense, respect, truthfulness and the family. 'It is lamentable that Kate's honest adherence to simple traditional values would, for some, disqualify her from contributing to the public good of Scotland. 'The Free Church of Scotland is concerned at the level of anti-Christian intolerance which has been displayed on social media, and by some political and media commentators. 'Kate Forbes is standing on the basis of her policies the fact that she is being criticised for her Christian convictions shows a level of bigotry that has no place in a pluralistic and diverse society.' The final Instagram posts of an air stewardess who suddenly died after the plane landed at Stansted Airport revealed she 'loved' her job and enjoyed a jet-setting lifestyle. Greta Dyrmishi, 24, was a member of staff working for the airline Air Albania when she suddenly fainted, and passed away in December. The cabin crew member shared airline-related memes and videos of her jet-setting lifestyle, visiting Italy and Turkey, in the months leading up to her unexpected death. One shows an aerial view of city lights at night, taken around June last year, with the caption: 'That's why I love my job'. Her final post, uploaded to her Instagram account nine weeks ago, just days before Ms Dyrmishi died, include a picture from the plane window looking out over buildings and countryside below. Greta Dyrmishi, 24, was a member of staff working for the airline Air Albania when she suddenly fainted, and passed away in December A picture uploaded by Greta Dyrmishi shows an aerial view of city lights at night, with the caption: 'That's why I love my job'. Ms Dyrmishi's final post was taken from the window of a plane just days before her death Other videos documented a trip to Istanbul with colleagues, in which the young air stewardess could be seen enjoying a night out, taking in the sights and sitting by a pool. A post-mortem found that that the 24-year-old cabin crew member had died from 'sudden adult death syndrome' and was attended to by paramedics after reports of a woman being seriously ill. Essex Coroner's Court today heard that Ms Dyrmishi was travelling from the Albanian capital, Tirana, to Stansted Airport on December 21 when she fainted suddenly. Ms Dyrmishi shared videos of her job as an air stewardess and travel-related memes in the months leading up to her sudden death First aid and CPR was provided but Ms Dyrmishi was unable to be saved, and paramedics confirmed that she had passed away. Sudden Adult Death syndrome, also known as Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome (SADS) is 'when someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly from a cardiac arrest, but the cause of the cardiac arrest cant be found', according to the British Heart Foundation. It affects around 500 people in the UK every year and can result from inherited heart condition, which can lead to SADS if they left undetected and untreated. Another picture showed an aerial view of clouds below while Ms Dyrmishi, 24, worked as a cabin crew member for Air Albania Ms Dyrmishi uploaded a picture of a Christmas tree in the week leading up to her death. She died on December 21, an inquest heard The East of England Ambulance Service Trust said two ambulances, a hazardous area response team vehicle, an ambulance officer vehicle and Essex and Herts Air Ambulance responded to reports of a woman being seriously ill. Michelle Brown, area coroner for Essex, said Greta's death would be subject to a full documentary inquest. Coroner Brown said: 'This 24-year-old female was cabin crew on a flight from Albania and was on the tarmac when she appeared to faint and was given basic first aid. Ms Dyrmishi shared videos of her job as an air stewardess and travel-related memes in the months leading up to her sudden death Ms Dyrmishi, 24, was a member of staff working for the airline Air Albania when she suddenly fainted, and passed away in December. Another showed she had visited Bari, Italy, in the months before she died 'Ten minutes later there was no pulse and CPR commenced. Paramedics treated her and confirmed she had passed away. 'A post-mortem found her cause of death to be sudden adult death syndrome.' She added: '[At the time of the incident,] she was at the front by the doors on a plane at Stansted Airport. This is suitable for a documentary inquest in due course.' A statement issued by Air Albania at the time of Greta's death said: 'On December 21, after disembarking the passengers from our flight to London, one of our cabin crew Greta Dyrmishi had a heart attack. 'Even after all medical assistance was provided immediately, we still lost her. Greta Dyrmishi, 24, was a member of staff working for the airline Air Albania when she suddenly fainted, and passed away in December 'She was taken to the hospital in London, and procedures were being followed. From the first moments, Air Albania contacted her family, and we continue to be close to them in these difficult moments. 'In respect to Greta and her family, we decided to share the news with the public at the appropriate time. 'We will always remember Greta as a passionate professional, an excellent co-worker, and a great friend to all of us. 'May God mercy her and give peace to the family. Air Albania will continue to be with her family.' Britons have reacted after it was revealed Sudafed could be pulled from UK shelves or even made prescription-only because of links to extremely rare but deadly brain disorders. Medical regulators are 'reviewing available evidence' to see if the rules on selling pseudoephedrine need to change, it emerged yesterday. 'This can't be serious? What are we supposed to do? Wait two weeks for a GP appointment for a prescription?' One tweeted. Another wrote: 'Is it just the tablets or the spray as well? I never run out of the #Sudafed nasal spray, I have one on my bedside table right now.' Health chiefs are spooked by reports of patients being struck down with two rare conditions. Both can cause strokes. Other decongestants, such as products made by Benylin, Day & Night Nurse and Nurofen's Cold and Flu, would also be affected if any change was necessary. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which polices the safety of drugs used in Britain, is behind the review Dozens of own-brand remedies including ones at Boots and Lloyds also contain the chemical. It works by narrowing swollen blood vessels in the sinuses which causes the nose to become blocked in the first place. One woman reacting to the news on social media wrote: 'I welcome this ban and if you can add codeine based products to that it would be amazing. 'Got abuse tonight from someone wanting two packs of Sudafed!!!!' Another said: 'Who takes these anyway?' The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which polices the safety of drugs used in Britain, is behind the review. A spokesperson told MailOnline: 'We will provide any further advice as appropriate. If people have concerns, they should speak to their pharmacist or doctor.' Whitehall sources told this website it was possible but unlikely that pseudoephedrine will be subject to a rule change following the review. The Pharmaceutical Journal, which first reported the news, claimed it was to decide 'whether marketing authorisations for pseudoephedrine-containing medicines need to change'. Bosses at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) launched their own review into the safety of the medicine less than a fortnight ago. Social media reaction after news broke that medical regulators are 'reviewing available evidence' to see if the rules on selling pseudoephedrine need to change Which medications contain pseudoephedrine and where are they sold? Sudafed decongestant tablets (12 tablets) Each tablet contains 60mg of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride LloydsPharmacy, 4.79 Day & Night Nurse Cold and Flu (24 capsules) Each daytime capsule contains 30mg of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride Boots, 9.35 Benylin 4 Flu, (24 tablets) Each tablet contains 22.5mg of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride Boots, 6 Nurofen Cold & Flu 24 Tablets Each tablet contains 30mg of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride Medino, 6.39 Lloydspharmacy decongestant tablets (12 tablets) Each tablet contains pseudoephedrine hydrochloride Lloydspharmacy, 3.55 Care Decongestant Tablets (12 tablets) Each tablet contains 60mg of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride Chemist4U, 1.89 Boots decongestant tablets (12 tablets) Each tablet contains 60mg of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride Boots, 3.65 Sinutab Non-Drowsy Congestion Relief (15 tablets) Each tablet contains 30mg of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride Chemist4U, 5.79 Benadryl Plus Capsules (12 tablets) Each capsule contains 60mg of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride Boots, 6.09 Contac Non-drowsy Dual Relief Capsules (18 capsules) Each capsule contains 30mg of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride Weldricks, 4.55 Advertisement The deadly conditions behind Sudafed safety review which could see cold and flu remedies taken by millions pulled from shelves or made prescription-only By Emily Stearn Health watchdogs are now reviewing the safety of some everyday decongestants, including Sudafed and Day & Night Nurse, amid concern over links to two deadly brain disorders. Medicines containing pseudoephedrine have been discovered in rare cases to trigger posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) and reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS). The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which polices the safety of drugs used in Britain, is behind the review. It comes as bosses at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) sparked fears by launching their own review into the safety of the medicine less than a fortnight ago. But what are PRES and RCVS? How can they be treated? And who is most at risk of developing the two deadly conditions? Here's everything you need to know. Medicines containing pseudoephedrine have been discovered in rare cases to trigger posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) and reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS). Signs of PRES often include headaches, vision problems and seizures - found in over two thirds of cases - according to the NHS What are PRES and RCVS? The rare conditions both involve reduced blood supply - known medically as ischaemia - to the brain, causing it to swell. PRES may develop at any age from infants to the elderly, but dozens of studies have found it most frequently affects adults in their 40s and 50s. It is also slightly more common in women. Likewise, RCVS is also more often diagnosed in women between the ages of 20 and 50. PRES predominantly - but not exclusively - affects the back of the brain. Normally associated with high blood pressure, this excessive pressure causes blood vessels to become permeable allowing the surrounding brain tissue to swell. RCVS meanwhile occurs when persistent contraction of the blood vessels - vasoconstriction - causes arteries to narrow. This reduces blood flow and oxygen delivery to the affected area of the brain. How is it triggered? PRES is associated with numerous conditions, though most frequently with high blood pressure, eclampsia, severe infection, kidney disease, and certain autoimmune diseases. It is also associated with the use of several medicines, particularly decongestants like Sudafed and Nurofen's Cold and Flu or immunosuppressants and cancer chemotherapy. In rarer cases, it could occur as a side effect of the antibiotic linezolid, scorpion poisoning and after LSD and cocaine use. Risk factors associated with RCVS include certain prescription medications, such as anti-depressants, nasal decongestants, nicotine patches and head injuries. It could also be triggered by blood and intravenous immunoglobulin transfusions, as well as vasoactive secreting tumours. What are the tell-tale symptoms? Signs of PRES often include headaches, vision problems and seizures - found in over two thirds of cases - according to the NHS. Those suffering from the condition may also experience confusion, weaknesses of one or more limbs, nausea and difficulty when speaking. The symptoms of PRES usually come on quickly in a matter of hours and worsen over a period of 12 to 48 hours. A severe 'thunderclap' headache is the hallmark sign of RCVS and it may be the only symptom. But other signs of the condition could also include seizures, vision problems and weakness on one side of the body. Some also experience difficulty understanding others when theyre speaking and difficulty speaking themselves. Decongestants including Sudafed and Day & Night Nurse might be pulled from shelves or even made prescription-only because of links to the rare but deadly brain disorders. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which polices the safety of drugs used in Britain, is behind the review. The health watchdog told MailOnline yesterday that cases have been 'very rarely reported with these medicines' Can it kill? In the vast majority of cases of PRES and RCVS, patients recover from their symptoms. But in some instances, it can be life-threatening. Recent studies also suggest that RCVS and PRES both increase the long-term risk of strokes, raising the risk of death. The mortality rate is thought to sit between three and six per cent of all cases of PRES and under five percent of RCVS cases. Can it be treated? Diagnosis of both PRES and RCVS is difficult, and clinical judgement is essential. MRI and CT scans are used to see the area affected by constricted or permeable blood vessels. An angiogram may also be used to view the arteries. If recognized and treated promptly, the rapid-onset symptoms of PRES usually fully resolve within a week. But PRES may recur in around five to ten per cent of cases, more commonly in patients with uncontrolled hypertension. When should I see a doctor? Anyone thought to have the symptoms of PRES or RCVS should seek medical help immediately. Severe forms of the condition will need to be treated in hospital. But the Ted actor, 51, said he 'doesn't want to jam it down anybody's throat' Mark Wahlberg said he has always talked about his faith as a Catholic Devout Catholic Mark Wahlberg has said his faith is 'not popular' in Hollywood but he cannot deny his religion because that would be 'an even bigger sin' as he celebrated the start of Lent. The Ted actor, 51, said he has always talked about his faith - but he added 'he doesn't want to jam it down anybody's throat'. Wahlberg said Catholicism had allowed him to focus on being a 'better version of himself' as he appeared on the Today Show on Ash Wednesday, which starts 40 days of Lent. Wahlberg appeared on the show with a black cross on his forehead - Christian devotees receive repentance ash in the form of the cross on Ash Wednesday, a holy day of praying and fasting. 'I have always talked about my faith,' Wahlberg told the Today Show. 'It's a balance. I don't wanna jam it down anybody's throat, but I do not deny my faith. Its a balance, Mark Wahlberg told @SavannahGuthrie of his practice of discussing religion. I dont want to jam it down anybodys throat, but I do not deny my faith." https://t.co/ijCgDGhBi1 pic.twitter.com/W6h0uXvT1j TODAY (@TODAYshow) February 22, 2023 Devout Catholic Mark Wahlberg has said his faith is 'not popular' in Hollywood but he cannot deny his religion because that would be 'an even bigger sin' as he celebrated the start of Lent The Ash Wednesday ceremony Ash Wednesday is a Christian holy day of fasting that falls on the first day of Lent. A priest places ashes on a believer's head while reciting the dictum 'Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return' or 'repent, and believe in the Gospel'. Traditionally the ash for the ceremony comes from leaves burned in last year's Palm Sunday services. It comes from the ancient practice of fasting and it is generally considered bad taste to dine out, to shop, or to go about in public after receiving the ashes in the service. It is not required that a person wear the ashes for the rest of the day, and they may be washed off after Mass. However, many people leave the ashes on their forehead until the evening. Advertisement 'That's an even bigger sin. You know, it's not popular in my industry, but, you know, I cannot deny my faith. It's important for me to share that with people.' Speaking about what his faith means to him, Wahlberg said: 'It's everything, it's afforded me so many things. 'God didn't come to save the saints, he came to save the sinners. We've all had issues in our lives and we want to be better versions of ourselves, and through focusing on my faith, it's allowed me to do that.' Wahlberg's family are Catholic, which his son Michael attending his confirmation in July last year. Michael wore a white button-down shirt with a gray tie and matching gray slacks at the time. Confirmation is one of the seven Catholic sacraments. It is a rite where Catholics reaffirm their faith in the religion they first joined after being baptized. The Uncharted actor shares four children with Rhea Durham: Michael, 18-year-old Ella, 13-year-old Brendan and 12-year-old Grace. Ash Wednesday is a Christian holy day of praying and fasting as devotees receive repentance ash in the form of a cross on their foreheads to either the words 'Repent, and believe in the Gospel' or the dictum 'Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.' As a devout Roman Catholic, no doubt it is important for Mark to participate in acts of contrition as in his teenage years he served 45 days in prison for felony assault for two racially charged attacks on Vietnamese men on the same day. Mark Wahlberg attends Steven Tyler's Second Annual GRAMMY Awards Viewing Party wearing his rosary beads in LA in 2019 In April 1988, Wahlberg assaulted a middle-aged Vietnamese man named Thanh Lam calling him a 'Vietnam f***ing s***' before knocking him unconscious with a wooden stick. Later that day he attacked a second man named Hoa Trinh whom he punched in the eye. He was arrested as investigaotrs noted that Wahlberg made numerous unsolicited racial statements about 'g**ks' and 'slant-eyed g**ks' according to documents obtained by The Smoking Gun in 1997. Before that in June 1986, Wahlberg and three friends chased after three black children while yelling 'kill the n****r, kill the n****r' and throwing rocks at them. The next day he and others followed a group of school children during a field trip at the beach and yelled racial epithets at them, threw rocks at them, and 'summond other white males who joined' in the harassment according to those The Smoking Gun documents. In August 1986, civil action was filed against him for violating the civil rights of his victims and the case was settled the following month. In August 1992, Wahlbeg fractured the jaw of a neighbor in an attack as court documents state that 'without provocation or cause, viciously and repeatedly kicked' a man in the face while another man held the victim to the ground. Since those days, the Boston-native has moved on to a successful career and hip-hop then acting. Russia has claimed the West 'is willing to plunge the entire world into the abyss of war' and 'sacrifice Ukraine' to defeat Vladimir Putin and his invading armies. Moscow's UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya told a special meeting of the UN General Assembly that the United States and its European allies were ignoring 'neo-Nazism in Ukraine' to use the country to crush Russia and maintain global power - parroting a Kremlin line that has been widely discredited. 'In this desire of theirs to defeat Russia in any way possible, they cannot just sacrifice Ukraine, they are ready to plunge the entire world into the abyss of war,' Nebenzya said on Wednesday, two days before the first anniversary of Russia's invasion. 'They are competing against each other in the number of sanctions that are imposed on my country, whereas these sanctions in actual fact are hitting the developing world hardest,' he said. Nebenzya was speaking at the opening of a debate on a new resolution backed by Ukraine and its allies calling for Russia to immediately and unconditionally pull its troops out of Ukraine and urging a lasting and just peace deal to the year-long war. Russia has claimed the West 'is willing to plunge the entire world into the abyss of war' and 'sacrifice Ukraine' to defeat Vladimir Putin and his invading armies. Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers ride tank down a road near the eastern town of Bakhmut Nebenzya was speaking at the opening of a debate on a new resolution backed by Ukraine and its allies calling for Russia to immediately and unconditionally pull its troops out of Ukraine. Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers fire a mortar towards Russian positions near Bakhmut Russia calls the invasion a 'special military operation' against security threats and has cast deliveries of heavy weapons to Ukraine as proof that the West is escalating the war. Kyiv and its allies call Russia's actions an imperialistic land grab. Russia's army is a guarantor of stability, Putin says President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called Russia's army a guarantor of national stability, promising to boost arms production nearly a year after the start of the Ukraine offensive. 'A modern, efficient army and navy are a guarantee of the country's security and sovereignty, a guarantee of its stable development and its future,' Putin said in a video address on the occasion of the annual 'Defender of the Fatherland Day' holiday in Russia. 'That's why, as before, we will pay priority attention to strengthening our defence capabilities,' he added on the eve of the first anniversary of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine. Putin said Russia will 'conduct the balanced and high-quality development of all components of the armed forces' in particular by equipping troops with 'new strike systems, reconnaissance and communication equipment, drones and artillery systems'. 'Now our industry is rapidly increasing the production of an entire range of conventional weapons,' he said in the video released by the Kremlin. The president also hailed Russian soldiers, who are fighting 'heroically' in Ukraine and 'defending our people in our historical lands'. Russia's 'unbreakable unity is the key to our victory,' he said. Putin sent Moscow's troops to Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching what he called a 'special military operation'. In the autumn he announced the mobilisation of 300,000 reservists to boost Russia's ranks in Ukraine, which is backed financially and militarily by Washington and several European capitals. During his two decades in power, Putin has made strengthening the armed forces a top priority and introduced hypersonic weapons, which he described as 'invincible', to Russia's arsenal. Advertisement 'What is at stake after all is keeping the United States' and its allies' hegemony. They don't want to have anyone come to the level of governing the planet. They think it's their turf,' he said, in comments rejected by other UN representatives. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned Russia's invasion during the assembly. 'That invasion is an affront to our collective conscience,' Guterres said, calling the one-year anniversary 'a grim milestone for the people of Ukraine and for the international community.' As fighting raged on in Ukraine, the General Assembly began debating a motion backed by Kyiv and its allies calling for a 'just and lasting peace.' While the measure is not as tough as Ukraine would like, it is hoping that a large majority of UN states will back the non-binding resolution to demonstrate Kyiv has the support of the global community. Dozens of countries have sponsored the resolution, which stresses 'the need to reach, as soon as possible, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.' It reaffirms the UN's 'commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine' and calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities. It also demands Russia 'immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine.' In his opening remarks, Guterres highlighted the impact on the world of Russia's February 24, 2022 invasion of its neighbor. He noted that it has generated eight million refugees, and hurt global food and energy supplies in countries far away from the war zone. 'As I said from day one, Russia's attack on Ukraine challenges the cornerstone principles and values of our multilateral system,' he said. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also rejected Nebenzya's comments. 'I want to stress it: this war is not a 'European issue'. Nor is it about 'the West versus Russia',' Borrell told the General Assembly. 'No, this illegal war concerns everyone: the North, the South, the East and the West.' The US envoy to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said the new vote 'would go down in history... We will see where the nations of the world stand on the matter of peace in Ukraine.' 'I urge you to vote against - against any and all hostile amendments that seek to undermine the UN Charter and ignore the truth of this war,' she said. Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at a memorial to the Hero Cities of the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany, by the Kremlin Wall on the Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow, Russia, February 23 Moscow's UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya (pictured) told a special meeting of the UN General Assembly that the United States and its European allies were ignoring 'neo-Nazism in Ukraine' to use the country to crush Russia and maintain global power - parroting a Kremlin line that has been widely discredited Ahead of the General Assembly session, Ukraine's first lady told a meeting of top global diplomats that for real justice to be served, an international tribunal should be convened to judge Russia. 'I think you will agree... regardless of our country or nationality, we have the right not to be killed in our own homes,' Olena Zelenska said via video link. 'However, Ukrainians are being killed in front of the whole world for the whole year in their own cities, villages, apartments, hospitals, theaters.' 'That's why we call on the United Nations to establish a special tribunal for the crimes of Russian aggression,' she said. Staff at Sainsbury's have been offered a four-day work week by bosses in a new trial aiming to improve workers' flexibility. Employees at head offices in Holborn, Coventry and Milton Keynes, as well as those working in warehouses and as store managers at its 1,400 UK stores, have all been taking part in the experiment which is running for three months. Britain's second-largest supermarket chain hopes the scheme will provide more flexible working conditions to staff members - but includes no store workers below management. It allows staff to choose how they work their hours - so they can work four longer days, or use the weekend to complete their work and have more time off in the week. It comes after results from a pilot trial of a four-day week showed staff were happier and businesses performed better, as well as seeing improved levels of staff retention. Staff at Sainsbury's working in head offices in Holborn, Coventry and Milton Keynes, as well as those working in warehouses and store managers at its 1,400 UK stores have all been taking part The majority - 92 per cent - of participating companies in the four-day week trial said they intended to continue, and 30 per cent confirmed they had made it permanent Employees for Sainsbury's must still work their 37.5-hours per week, just in a seven-day period instead of strict Monday to Friday hours. One London store manager told the Times: 'No one wants to work full-time anymore. The new condensed working scheme, introduced almost two months ago, means I have more time to spend with my family.' A head office employee told the newspaper that the scheme was proving to be effective financially but they were not keen on the idea. He said it was 'too difficult to navigate for managers, especially when people are working from home. 'If people did decide to work on a Saturday then you don't know if they're doing the work or not.' A spokesperson for Sainsbury's told MailOnline: 'We are always looking to evolve our ways of working to ensure we can do the best possible job for customers while continuing to be a brilliant place to work for our colleagues. 'We are currently testing new ways to be more efficient and offer improved flexibility.' 'At the same time, we are committed to supporting colleagues when they need it most. 'That's why we have recently invested 185million to give retail hourly-paid colleagues a pay rise to help them manage increasing bills. 'This is the second pay rise we have given retail colleagues this financial year, taking Sainsbury's total investment in colleague pay to 205million.' They stressed the company is a 24/7 business and is not taking a 'one-size-fits-all' approach. A pilot published yesterday saw 61 UK companies reduce working hours for all staff by 20 per cent for six months from June last year, with no cut in wages. At least 56 said they planned to continue with a four-day week, with 18 having already adopted the policy. Staff said they found it easier to balance work with both family and social commitments and that their mental and physical health improved from having an extra day off, while the average firm reported a slight revenue increase over the trial period. The Sainsbury's trial does not include store staff below managerial level Employees were asked to report whether they 'would like to spend more time' on a range of activities Pros and cons of a four-day week Pros: Fewer distractions at work Longer hours does not mean more output Increased mental wellbeing and physical health Parents with children find themselves less stressed out Lowered carbon footprint Cons: Not all industries can participate It might widen existing inequalities The cost risk for employers is expensive Workers may put in the same hours anyway Difficult team management Source: Adecco Group Advertisement But some have raised concerns that a four-day week is not suitable for shift workers such as Sainsbury's store employees. Chris Sanderson, CEO at hospitality employment app Limber, said: 'The four-day week is an obsession of the middle classes. And every time this circulates, shift workers get ignored. 'The very same shift workers who worked through the pandemic and who are the heart of our economy and the foundation of every service we take for granted. 'What we'd like to see discussed is that, if the four-day week becomes the norm, does that mean shift workers get a 20 per cent uplift in pay? Or one paid day off a week? We bet it doesn't.' His concerns were echoed by Michelle Jones, founder of membership community Kind Currency. 'The four-day working week is set to widen the disadvantaged gap significantly. It is accessed merely by privilege. 'The actual ''needed'' sectors in society, where real ''burnout'' is experienced due to working to protect basic human need, do not have this privileged work pattern as an option, nor do those working minimum wage to survive, many working more than one essential frontline job.' Some companies also fear it could harm profits or increase prices for customers. Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin said: 'In a supermarket, wages are about 8 per cent or so of sales. In a pub, wages are about 34 per cent of sales. 'If a four-day week pushed up the cost of labour, it would affect pubs more than supermarkets (due to their higher labour costs), pushing up the relative price of a pint. 'The effect would be more intense in smaller pubs, creating problems for tenants, for example, with labour scheduling, due to the requirement for more employees per pub.' Sainsbury's is not the first supermarket to trial a four-day week after Morrisons announced in January 2022 it would ask staff to work 35 hours over four days instead of five. A statement on Morrisons' website says: 'At Morrisons, we believe that flexible working can really make a difference. It can help us be more productive as a business. 'It can bring all kinds of health benefits. And it puts everyone's wellbeing first. So, at head office we operate over a four-day working week, which means many of our people work nine-hour shifts instead of eight hours, with a six-hour Saturday shift 13 times a year. 'The idea is that this innovative new way of working will mean we're much more flexible and responsive and we think it will make Morrisons a place where more people will want to join - and stay.' The trial results released yesterday point to support for a four-day week from most staff who participated in it. They revealed a significant drop in the rates of stress and illness among the approximately 2,900 staff trying a shorter working week. Around 39 per cent of employees said they were less stressed compared with the start of the trial, and the number of sick days taken during the trial dropped by around two thirds. There was a 57 per cent drop in the number of staff leaving the participating companies compared with the same period the previous year. Store managers at Sainsbury's 1,400 branches are completing the trial along with warehouse and head office staff Levels of anxiety, difficulty sleeping and burnout decreased substantially, while more staff reported that balancing care responsibilities had become easier. The results even found that company revenue increased slightly by 1.4 per cent on average over the trial period, and by a much higher 35 per cent when compared to the same six-month period in 2021. Joe Ryle, director of the 4 Day Week Campaign, said the trial is a 'major breakthrough moment' for the campaign towards a four-day working week. 'Across a wide variety of different sectors of the economy, these incredible results show that the four-day week with no loss of pay really works', Mr Ryle said. 'Surely the time has now come to begin rolling it out across the country.' Dr David Frayne, a research associate at the University of Cambridge, said: 'We feel really encouraged by the results, which showed the many ways companies were turning the four-day week from a dream into realistic policy, with multiple benefits.' The researchers insisted the results show the four-day week is 'ready to take the next step from experimentation to implementation'. 'The benefits of a shorter working week for no reduction in pay are now both well-known and well-evidenced: employees are happier and healthier, and the organisations they work for are often more productive, more efficient, and retain their staff more readily,' it concluded. The campaigners and academics will present the results at an event in the House of Commons on Tuesday. It is being chaired by Peter Dowd, a Labour MP who brought forward the 32-Hour Working Week Bill in October, which would reduce the maximum working week from 48 hours to 32 hours for all British workers. Sainsbury's has been contacted for comment. The mother of seven-year-old Athena Strand has filed a wrongful death lawsuit - after their delivery driver was charged with kidnapping and strangling her daughter while delivering a box of Christmas presents. Maitlyn Gandy named the accused killer Tanner Horner, FedEx and Big Topspin, who hired Horner, in the lawsuit filed in Wise County Court on Friday, in which she called the delivery giant the 'deliverer of death'. Tanner Horner, 31, told investigators that he accidentally hit Athena Strand with his truck on November 30 as he delivered a box of Barbie dolls for her Christmas present. He 'panicked' before grabbing her and putting her in his vehicle. Fearing what would happen if he told her parents, he strangled her inside the truck and dumped her body seven miles from her home, besides a country road. She was found on December 2 in Wise County, Texas. He has been formally charged with the kidnap and murder of the young girl and could face the death penalty. The mother of seven-year-old Athena Strand, Maitlyn Gandy (right, Athena is centre) has filed a wrongful death lawsuit Tanner Horner (pictured right), 31, told investigators that Athena Strand (pictured left) wasn't seriously hurt after he hit her while backing up, but he panicked and put her in his van. He said she was talking to him and told him her name The lawsuit alleges that FedEx and Big Topspin were negligent when they hired Horner as he was not screened properly over his criminal record, previous employment and mental history. Horner has also been charged with sexually assaulting a child almost a decade ago and faces three additional counts of sexually abusing a child in 2013, in Fort Worth. He is being held in jail on a $1.5 million bail. Ms Gandy is joining the lawsuit started by Athena's father, Jacob Strand. In her demand to intervene she said FedEx should have been a trustworthy delivery source - but instead had become the 'deliverer of death'. The demand states: 'For so long, FedEx the trucks, the uniforms, the logo, the drivers has been trusted to travel the last mile to come to our doors, to be welcomed, and so often, to deliver the subject of our desires. 'As parents hugged their kids on December 2, 2022, they wondered how FedEx became the deliverer of death,' reported Fox News. The lawsuit reads: 'It is about implementing better hiring, training, and supervising practices to prevent vicious killers from arriving at our doorsteps bearing an insignia that has been cultivated to instill trust. 'It is about preventing billion-dollar organizations from insulating themselves from liability by using fly-by-night contractors instead of acknowledging the responsibility they bear when we trust them to come onto our property, to our doorsteps, and even inside our homes.' It also states that FedEx showed negligence when hiring Big Topspin in the first place. Athena was abducted from her father's home in Paradise, Texas, on November 30 by FedEx driver Tanner Horner, police say Police have told prosecutors they want them to seek the death penalty for Horner, according to NBC5. If convicted, he faces either execution or life in prison. The lawsuit is part of an original lawsuit previously filed by Athena's father, Jacob, in December, claiming FedEx did not carry out sufficient background checks before hiring Horner. It is seeking compensation for the traumatic experiences the family have gone through since Athena's tragic death. Strand's lawyer, Benson Varghese, added in a statement: 'FedEx has a problem - a big one. 'There is a pattern that can no longer be ignored. The company has the resources to ensure its drivers and contractors are properly vetted, trained, and supervised. 'No parent should have to bury a child because of gross negligence. Tanner Horner should have never been given a FedEx uniform or a delivery van.' Ms Gandy previously said she appreciated everyone's support and for 'keeping Athena's name and memory alive.' Athena's mom continued: 'Please take a moment to hug your children and loved ones. No one is promised another day.' She also said she would support the death penalty as a punishment - as every breath the accused killer takes is one her daughter doesn't. FedEx previously responded to the original lawsuit, denying liability. Harvey Weinstein, the onetime Hollywood titan who came to epitomize a culture of pervasive sexual misconduct by powerful men that ignited the #MeToo movement, is to be sentenced on Thursday for the 2013 rape of an actress in Los Angeles. Prosecutors have recommended Weinstein, 70, receive the maximum penalty of 24 years in prison, with no eligibility for parole, after a Los Angeles trial jury found him guilty of rape and two other felony charges of sexual abuse in December. Whatever sentence is pronounced should be served once the former movie producer and Miramax co-founder has completed the 23-year sentence imposed for a sexual misconduct conviction in New York, prosecutors argued in their sentencing memorandum. Weinstein would be 90 at that point. They said a 'high-term' penalty of 24 years was called for because of the prior conviction, rather than a 'mid-term' sentence of 18 years that California law would otherwise prescribe, absent additional 'aggravating' factors. Weinstein's team opposes the district attorney's recommendation for a high-term, consecutive sentence, given Weinstein's 'advanced age and deteriorating health,' defense lawyer Mark Werksman told Reuters in an email. Harvey Weinstein, 70, pictured here during his rape trial in Los Angeles in October, is facing another 30 years in prison after being found guilty in December Weinstein, shown here at the 2014 Academy Awards, was first charged with rape in New York in 2018, he was found guilty in February 2020 and sentenced to 23 years behind bars The team's sentencing brief was filed under seal because it contains references to confidential medical information, Werksman said. Weinstein was convicted of rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object stemming from an assault on a former model and actress, identified in court as Jane Doe 1, at a Los Angeles hotel in February 2013. The jury acquitted Weinstein of charges relating to a second alleged victim and failed to reach a unanimous verdict on charges arising from two other accusers. One of them, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, now the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, has disclosed she was the alleged rape victim referred to in court records as Jane Doe 4. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench declared a mistrial on the deadlocked charges. Weinstein has said all of his sexual encounters were consensual and pleaded not guilty. Defense attorneys argued that the women willingly had sex with Weinstein because they believed he would advance their careers, part of what they said was a widespread 'casting couch' culture in the film industry. In two of the cases, they said the alleged sexual contact was fabricated. The producer of 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Shakespeare in Love' was convicted of sexual misconduct in New York in February 2020, and extradited from New York to a Los Angeles prison in July 2021. In New York, Weinstein is appealing his conviction and prison sentence. Allegations against Weinstein helped fuel the #MeToo movement of women speaking out against sexual harassment and abuse by powerful men in media, politics and other endeavors, as well as a culture of silence that has long allowed such conduct to go unchallenged. Turkish Ambassador to Korea Murat Tamer expressed his gratitude Thursday to Korean rescue workers for "every drop of sweat" shed during their operations in his quake-stricken country. He also thanked Seoul for its humanitarian assistance, as he attended an event here for the first batch of the Korea Disaster Relief Team that returned home last week after rescuing eight survivors in Turkey. "Many countries have offered humanitarian assistance to Turkey, but I believe what South Korea extended to us was not merely humanitarian aid but the wholehearted support one would give to their own brother or family," he said. "We are grateful for every drop of sweat shed (by the team)." Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin also recognized the rescue workers for their relief efforts despite challenges posed by power outages and aftershocks, calling it "real diplomacy." "The public and private sectors will continue to cooperate together to assist our brother nation Turkey in their relief and recovery efforts," he said. Last Friday, Korea's second relief team arrived at the country's Adana Airport on a military transport aircraft. The 21-member team consists of medical workers, diplomats and personnel from aid agencies. The first batch of the disaster relief team, comprised of 118 members, was the largest-ever sent by Korea for emergency rescue work abroad. (Yonhap) Four men were found stabbed on three roads in Walthamstow, east London Four people have been stabbed within three hours less than two miles apart in the latest knifings on the streets of 'Lawless London'. A man in his early 20s was found in a vehicle in Queensland Close, Walthamstow, at around 3.45pm yesterday. He was rushed to a north London hospital where his condition is not life-threatening. Less than three hours later, at 6pm, a man in his 30s was found with stab wounds less than two miles away at the junction of Brandon Road and Wood Street. Two more men - both 18 - were then found stabbed in nearby Stocksfield Road at around the same time. The Metropolitan Police said both teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Four people were found with stab wounds less than two miles apart within three hours yesterday evening in Walthamstow At 6pm yesterday, a man in his 30s was found with stab wounds at the junction of Brandon Road and Wood Street In December, it was reported that Met Police responded to 13,405 incidents involving knives in just twelve months, with 106 people murdered last year. The Metropolitan Police said yesterday's incidents appeared to be isolated. Chief Superintendent Simon Crick, responsible for local policing in north-east London, said: 'I recognise the significant concern this incident has caused, particularly following a number of similar incidents over recent days, and we are taking significant steps to increase our local policing presence in the area. We are working with partners and our community to do all we can to prevent further violence' 'Local officers, who know the community, will be on patrol in the area. These are your officers, please speak to them about any concerns you have. Our detectives are also supporting the family of the man who remains seriously ill in hospital. 'Our relentless efforts to tackle serious violence has led to an almost a 20 percent reduction in knife crime offences in Waltham Forest over the past 12 months, however these recent incidents are a stark reminder that we can't be complacent and I assure you that we will continue to take action to remove dangerous criminals from the streets.' There were 319 knife crime offences in Waltham Forest in the year to the end of January 2023. Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy (Lab) said: 'Given the proximity of the various victims, the narrow window of time between incidents, and other recent violence, a Section 60 CJPOA was authorised at 18:30 until 06:30 tomorrow morning, covering Waltham Forest Borough.' She also called on residents to stop 'commentary and speculation' after 'serious violence' in the area, adding: 'I recognise these are deeply upsetting incidents and have already been in touch with the police about these matters.' One bystander said the scene in Wood Street was 'a bit too chaotic with police trying to redirect cars and pedestrians', while another witness saw a man receiving first aid nearby. The owner of a off-licence close to the crime scene at Brandon Road said: 'It's crazy, we just had a different stabbing a few weeks ago after about a year of it being really quiet around here. 'I saw or heard nothing, just police arriving at the scene and the ambulances. This is a family area man, good people live here, I don't know why it's gotten like this recently. It's sad, I've lived here a long time and it's sad for me.' Met Police asked anyone with information that could assist the investigation to call 101 quoting CAD 5668/22Feb or anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Also yesterday, a teenager was stabbed at London's O2 Arena hours before K-pop boy band ATEEZ were performing. A teenage male was found with knife wounds outside Cineworld and treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken to hospital. A teenager was stabbed at London's O2 Arena yesterday hours before K-pop boy band ATEEZ were performing Yesterday's violence comes just over a week after another quadruple stabbing at a pub in Walthamstow. Four men were rushed to hospital after trouble flared at The Duke E17 pub on Wood Street just after 8pm on February 13. They found three men inside the pub with stab wounds, and another man close by on Shernall Street who had also been stabbed. The men, aged between 22 and 42, were rushed to a nearby hospital. One of the men, aged 22, was initially believed to be in a life-threatening condition, but police later said this was no longer the case. The violence comes as Met Police responded to 13,405 incidents involving knives in just twelve months, it was reported in December, in a further sign lawless London has become the knife crime capital of the country. It was confirmed that the central borough of Westminster has the highest rate of offences by population with 253 since June, accounting for about one incident per 1,000 people. Meanwhile, Bromley, Kingston upon Thames and Richmond upon Thames have the lowest rates in London, according to recent figures. A total of 106 people were murdered in London during 2022 - the lowest figure since 2014, down from 132 in 2021 August last year proved the most dangerous month across the board with 1,125 offences alone, compared to 850 in February. Nearly a quarter of all killings and more than half of shootings in London are linked to gangs, mayor Sadiq Khan revealed earlier this year. 106 people were murdered in London during 2022, compared with 132 in 2021 - the lowest since 2014. The youngest victim was 11-month-old Hazel Prajapti, while the oldest was Thomas O'Halloran, 87, who was killed in Greenford. Emergency workers had an emotional reunion with a miracle set of premature twins born during a panicked car trip on a rural highway. Emma Wilkins took her twin boys Declan and Dominic back to Inverell Hospital to meet the police officers and the healthcare staff who helped save their lives five months ago. The twins survived despite being born three months early, in the passenger seat as her dad Ian sped along the Gwydir Highway, in north-west New South Wales, led by local police escort. When relieved healthcare workers at Inverell Hospital finally weighed the tiny babies after resuscitating, intubating and stabilising them, they tipped the scales at just 960 grams and 1.25 kilograms. 'They were hanging on to our fingers, they were very strong little boys,' Inverell nurse Kath Randall remembered as she was reunited with the now-healthy boys. Nurse Kath Randall (pictured left) and policeman Darrell Monckton had an emotional reunion with Emma Wilkins' miracle set of twins born a remarkable 14 weeks early during a panicked car trip on a rural highway Emma Wilkins took her premature twin boys Declan and Dominic back to Inverell Hospital to meet the people who helped save their lives five months ago Kath Randall of Inverell Hospital remembered how the 'strong' premature twins were 'hanging on to our fingers' A tearful Ms Wilkins thanked the hospital's medical team and Senior Constable Darrell Monckton who were all part of the most dramatic of days. Ms Wilkins, who already had two children, was due on Christmas Day but went into labour on September 21, just 26 weeks into her pregnancy. She woke early with severe pain and having lost a set of twin girls earlier, she checked in with her parents, who live nearby. It was decided the best thing was to make the 90 minute drive to Inverell for a check-up. When Ms Wilkins and her dad set out from her home at Bingara, they were still 70 kilometres from the hospital. Around halfway into their trip, Sr Const. Monckton, watched as Ian sped past, 'leap frogging' other cars and weaving through traffic. He pulled the car over and Ms Wilkins' dad ran up to him, explained the situation, then bolted back to his car. 'By the time I could say anything he turned around and ran off back into the vehicle and started heading off again, so I put the lights and sirens on and went around and escorted them in,' Sr Const. Monckton told the ABC. Before the car reached Inverell Hospital, both babies were born within two minutes of each other. Declan came first after a big contraction, then while Ms Wilkins was trying to get him to breathe and cry, Dominic followed. Ms Wilkins is pictured with one of her newborn premature twins at Inverell Hospital last September Ms Wilkins has lost twins previously and went she experienced stomach pains three months ahead of her due date last September she was taking no chances. Declan and Dominic were born on the way to that precautionary check up When relieved healthcare workers at Inverell Hospital finally weighed them after resuscitating, intubating and stabilising them they tipped the scales at just 960 grams and 1.25 kilograms On arrival at the hospital both boys had only faint heart beats and one had stopped breathing. Few of the healthcare workers at Inverell Hospital expected them to survive the ordeal. After the twins were stabilised, they were taken to Sydneys Royal North Shore Hospital, where they were given specialised 24 hour care for three months. Trent, Ms Wilkins' husband, a road worker away at a job, rushed to the hospital just in time to see the twins being flown to Sydney. Two schoolboys have appeared in court this morning charged with the murder of a 17-year-old. The teens aged 14 and 16, are accused of stabbing to death Harley Brown, in West Yorkshire. Harley was fatally wounded in a machete attack in Kings Mill Lane, Huddersfield, at 3.56am on Monday, February 20. Police responded to reports of Harley lying on the ground. He was taken to hospital but died from his wound later that day. Crime scene investigators had also been seen at a property on Teddington Avenue. His devastated family today paid tribute to the teenager saying he had a loving personality with a beautiful smile. Harley Brown, 17, was fatally wounded in an machete attack on Monday, February 20, with two schoolboys appearing in court charged with his murder Police cordoned off the area where Harley Brown was found. He was taken to the hospital but died of his wound later that day They said: 'Harley's mother, two sisters, brother, niece, family and all his friends are deeply saddened. 'Harley will always be remembered for his loving personality, beautiful smile and cheeky sense of humour. 'He will be deeply missed by us all. He had so much potential, we wish he was given more time.' Harley's alleged killers, who cannot be identified because of their ages appeared at Leeds Youth Court this morning and were remanded into custody. Thursday morning a 14-year-old boy, and a 16-year-old boy - who cannot be named for legal reasons - have been charged with Harley's murder. Two males aged 15 and 19 who were also arrested on suspicion of murder have been released on bail pending further enquiries. The two schoolboys, 14 and 16, cannot be named for legal reasons but appeared in Leeds Youth Court on Thursday Two females aged 17 and 19 who were arrested in connection with the case have been released on police bail. A 37-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder has been released with no further action taken. Brett Whitehead, Harley's cousin, said: 'He's a good kid with the most respect anyone could have - if you did good by him, he did more than good by you. 'He had manners, he was just getting himself on the right track and was taken way too early. 'He will forever be with us in our hearts and minds with his cheeky little smile spreading joy.' Danny Stephenson, Harley's uncle, wrote: 'Rest easy now Harley, uncle Dan loves you. 'No matter what people may say or think of this lad his heart was always pure.' Podcast released same day as ruling tells of death of schoolfriend from bomb Comes after she made numerous media appearances in run-up to court hearing Shamima Begum has recalled having to identify the remains of a teenage friend who was killed in an airstrike shortly after they fled for Syria to join ISIS together. The ISIS bride, 23, yesterday lost a bid to reverse the decision to revoke her UK nationality and has been prevented from returning to the UK from the refugee camp in northern Syria she currently lives in. Now, in the latest episode of the controversial BBC series The Shamima Begum Story, she has spoken about the death of schoolfriend Kadiza Sultana. Sultana, 17, was thought to have been killed by a Russian airstrike on Raqqa in 2016 - but her death has never been verified. Begum told the podcast: 'We saw her body. It was really hard because it had been bombed really badly. It was in pieces.' Shamima Begum was told she would never be 'welcome on our streets' by the Defence Secretary (pictured this year on The Shamima Begum Story, a 10-part BBC podcast) Kadiza Sultana, Shamima Begum and Amira Abase pictured walking through security at Gatwick Airport Kadiza Sultana, 17, is thought to have been killed after her home in the terror state's stronghold city of Raqqa was hit by a bomb It came after Begum made numerous media appearances - including a magazine cover, TV interviews and a 10-part BBC podcast series - in the run-up to the court ruling. Sultana was one of the three Bethnal Green schoolgirls, along with Begum and Amira Abase, who left their homes to join ISIS a year earlier. Begum told the podcast: 'That night I heard the bomb. I didn't know at the time how much it would affect me.' She was told the next morning Kadiza had been killed in the bombing, before she and friends went to the hospital to identify her remains. 'We saw her body. It was really hard because it had been bombed really badly. It was in pieces,' Begum said. 'That's the lasting memory I will have of her. It was hard to see her body and then we had to go to the internet cafe and tell her family what had happened. Shamima Begum, Amira Abase, Kadiza Sultana and Sharmeena Begum: The four friends who fled Bethnal Green for Syria Shamima Begum fled Bethnal Green for Syria with schoolfriends Amira Abase and Kadiza Sultana. Sharmeena Begum - no relation to Shamima - fled the UK to join ISIS two months earlier. Shamima Just ten days after arriving in the city of Raqqa, Begum, who is of Bangladeshi heritage, was married to a Dutchman named Yago Riedijk, who had converted to Islam. They had three children together, who all later died from malnourishment or disease. They were a one-year-old girl, a three-month-old boy and newborn son. Begum left Raqqa with her husband in January 2017, but they were eventually split up, as she claimed he was arrested for spying and tortured. She has since been embroiled in a battle with the British legal system and she lost her latest legal challenge over the decision to deprive her of her British citizenship yesterday. Kadiza She had been living in Syria after leaving her home in east London during the Easter school holidays in 2015 to join ISIS. Shortly after her arrival, she married an American national of Somali origin who died only a few months later. The teenager had quickly become disillusioned with ISIS and told her family last summer that she wanted to return home. Kadiza is thought to have then been killed after her home in Raqqa was hit by a bomb believed to have been dropped by a Russian plane. Amira Abase married Australian ISIS fighter Abdullah Elmir, known as Ginger Jihadi, shortly after her arrival. But her husband died in a drone strike in December 2015. She stayed in contact with her family via social media, before messages suddenly stopped - leading to her mother suggesting that her daughter is now dead. Begum, though, has previously said she believed her schoolfriend to be alive. Sharmeena Unlike her notorious and publicity seeking friend, Sharmeena's story is less well-known - despite her being the first East London schoolgirl to make the journey. Born to Bangladeshi parents in Tower Hamlets in 1999, she was largely brought up by her mother Shahnaz until 2007 when her father Mohammed Nizam Uddin moved to Britain. After Sharmeena joined ISIS, Shamima said she began sending her messages urging her to also join the death cult. She is also understood to be missing at present. Advertisement 'That was one of the lowest points in my life.' She then admitted feeling responsible for Kadiza's death, adding: 'I feel like in a way I have not accepted her death. It's just a constant reminder that she could be alive today but she's not and, in a way, it may be my fault. 'If I had said 'no, I don't want to go to ISIS, guys' or if I had told the police the truth, maybe she would still be alive. 'Maybe we would have never gone to Syria. Maybe they would have never spoken to me again because they would see me as a snitch but they would still be alive. That would be enough for me.' 'If I ever do go back to the UK, having to face their families is going to be really hard.' Following Kadiza's death it emerged she had become disillusioned with life in Syria and was planning to flee the ISIS-stronghold to return to Britain. From their East London flat her family were hoping to help to smuggle her out of Raqqa and across the border into Turkey, in a bid to be reunited with the former schoolgirl. Sultana, 17, was thought to have been killed after her home in the terror state's stronghold city of Raqqa was hit by a bomb believed to have been dropped by a Russian plane in 2016 - but her death has never been verified. It is believed Kadiza was killed in a residential building before she could flee, after the property she was staying in was obliterated by the airstrike. Begum yesterday lost her bid to strike down the Government's decision to revoke her UK nationality for travelling to join ISIS aged 15. She brought a challenge against the Home Office at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), where her lawyers argued she should be allowed to return to Britain on the basis she was 'a victim of child sex trafficking'. But the Home Office defended the decision by saying the security services 'continue to assess' that she poses a risk to the UK. It came after MI5 described her media blitz ahead of the appeal decision as 'self-serving PR' aimed at swaying public opinion. The dim view MI5 took of this publicity campaign was revealed in the copy of the judgment written by Mr Justice Jay. ' In September and November 2021, Begum was interviewed by Good Morning Britain and Sky News,' it read. She denied reports in the media that she had sewn suicide vests or been part of ISIL's [ISIS's] morality police and claimed that her activities were limited to being a housewife and mother. 'The MI5 assessment is that many of the comments Begum made in her later interviews are likely to have been self-serving and an attempt to obtain favourable media coverage in the run-up to this appeal.' Meanwhile, Begum also spoke of her childbirth on the latest episode of the podcast - which has resulted in the BBC facing a backlash over 'giving terrorists a platform'. She said she had been excited to get pregnant, following two miscarriages, and admitted she 'craved' the attention of her 'abusive' husband Jago Riedijk. Asked what it felt like to be a mother, Begum said: 'It was the best feeling ever; I cannot explain it. I felt like I had a purpose in life. It was the first time in my life that I felt loved, and needed and wanted. 'After giving birth to my daughter, the bombings scared me a lot more. They made me realise I'm not just responsible for myself, I'm responsible for another human being that completely depends on me, and I took that very seriously. 'It was a really big burden on me. It was really scary because I didn't really know anything about being a mum. I barely knew anything about being an adult let alone a mum and then right after I gave birth, I got pregnant again.' Asked how it felt when he held his child for the first time, Riedijk said: 'It was beautiful. It was like nothing else. It gives a whole different dimension to your life, this small little baby that's there.' Judges dismissed Begum's challenge yesterday after ruling that, while there was a 'credible suspicion' that she was trafficked to Syria for 'sexual exploitation', this was not enough for her appeal to succeed. Three Bethnal Green schoolgirls Kadiza Sultana (left) Amira Abase (centre) and Shamima Begum (right), who left their homes to join ISIS Mr Justice Jay added that whether she posed a threat to national security was a decision for politicians, not the courts. With Begum's lawyers vowing to appeal the ruling, a legal expert warned the taxpayer would continue to receive a massive bill for legal aid costs. Jihadi 'pin-up poster girls' who fled Austria to join ISIS Samra Kesinovic was just 16 and her friend Sabina Selimovic was 15 when they left Vienna to join the terrorists in Syria in April 2014. They both married and had children with ISIS fighters, as well as featuring in propaganda for the terror group - toting AK-47s surrounded by fighters. The pair had been reported dead in December 2018, but Austrian intelligence claimed those reports are false. Samra Kesinovic, who was 16 when she fled Austria in April 2014, pictured in Vienna (left) and in Syria (right) Sabina and Samra were recruited by hate preacher Ebu Tejma, the alias of 35-year-old Bosnian-born religious leader Mirsad Omerovic. Shortly after arriving in Syria, Sabina, speaking through text messages to a French magazine, insisted she was enjoying life in the war-torn region where she felt free to practice her religion. Advertisement Gareth Peirce called it 'an extraordinary judgment delivered in an extraordinary way'. Speaking outside Field House in central London, she added that the commission 'is clearly deeply troubled by the case it is having to decide and by the limitations placed on it by the Supreme Court'. She continued: 'The implication, the outcome, that we face is that no British child who has been trafficked outside the UK will be protected by the British state if the home secretary invokes national security.' But Sajid Javid, who was home secretary when Shamima Begum was first stripped of her British citizenship, lauded the decision. He said: 'I welcome today's court ruling, which has again upheld my decision to remove an individual's citizenship on national security grounds. 'This is a complex case but home secretaries should have the power to prevent anyone entering our country who is assessed to pose a threat to it.' At a five-day hearing last year, Begum's barristers Samantha Knights KC and Dan Squires KC said she was 'recruited, transported, transferred, harboured and received in Syria for the purposes of 'sexual exploitation' and 'marriage' to an adult male'. They also argued that the Home Office unlawfully failed to consider that she travelled to Syria and remained there 'as a victim of child trafficking'. However, Sir James Eadie KC, for the department, said the security services 'continue to assess that Begum poses a risk to national security'. Sir James later said that Mr Javid took into account Begum's age, how she travelled to Syria - including likely online radicalisation - and her activity in the country, when deciding to remove her British citizenship. Giving the decision of the tribunal, Mr Justice Jay said that 'reasonable people will differ' over the circumstances of Begum's case. He said: 'The commission has fully recognised the considerable force in the submissions advanced on behalf of Ms Begum that the Secretary of State's conclusion, on expert advice, that Ms Begum travelled voluntarily to Syria is as stark as it is unsympathetic. 'Further, there is some merit in the argument that those advising the Secretary of State see this as a black and white issue, when many would say that there are shades of grey.' He continued: 'If asked to evaluate all the circumstances of Ms Begum's case, reasonable people with knowledge of all the relevant evidence will differ, in particular in relation to the issue of the extent to which her travel to Syria was voluntary and the weight to be given to that factor in the context of all others. The jihadi bride appearing on Good Morning Britain in an exclusive interview in September 2021 Begum's British citizenship was revoked on national security grounds by the former home secretary Sajid Javid shortly after she was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019 'Likewise, reasonable people will differ as to the threat she posed in February 2019 to the national security of the United Kingdom, and as to how that threat should be balanced against all countervailing considerations. 'However, under our constitutional settlement these sensitive issues are for the Secretary of State to evaluate and not for the commission.' The Special Immigration Appeals Commission concluded there was a 'credible suspicion' that Begum was trafficked to Syria for 'sexual exploitation' and that there were 'arguable breaches of duty' by state bodies in allowing her to travel to the country. But Mr Justice Jay said in a summary of the commission's decision that the existence of this suspicion was 'insufficient' for her to succeed on her arguments that the deprivation of her British citizenship failed to respect her human rights. He is repeatedly punched and kicked by other students The boy was attacked at Coomera Station in the Gold Coast A school boy has been ruthlessly bashed and stomped on by a gang of teenagers at a train station. The teenage victim was assaulted at Coomera Train Station in the Gold Coast, Queensland, just before 3:30pm on Wednesday. Shocking footage captured on a witness's phone shows the boy being slammed to the ground, punched, kicked and stomped on by more than half a dozen students. The teens are wearing school uniforms that indicate they're from Upper Coomera State College and Foxwell State Secondary College. One student appears to start the fight with the victim by punching him repeatedly before others also join in and start landing blows. Shocking footage shows a teen boy being brutally bashed by a group of students at Coomera Train Station in the Gold Coast Some students are seen in the background recording the vicious beating on their phones. At one point in the video, the victim is cornered on a fence and continuously punched by students. Moments later the school boy is slammed against a wall, kicked in the leg and then repeatedly booted by the group while laying helplessly on the ground. Police were called to the train station but the students had left by the time they arrived. The video of the bashing was shared to a number of social media groups. 'There certainly is a rise in this type of activity and that's supported by the claims from the school teachers of violence escalating in the schools,' former Queensland superintendent, Jim Keogh, told Nine News. 'So as resource intense as it is, the police need to consider we're going to have to put police officers in these schools that are at risk.' The victim is cornered and repeatedly punched, kicked and stomped on by more than half a dozen teens The Queensland Department of Education says both Upper Coomera State College and Foxwell State Secondary College are aware of the incident. The department said both schools would be taking appropriate action against the students involved in the bashing. Police are currently investigating the incident. Officers have cautioned four boys aged 13, 14, 15 and 16 in relation to the brawl. It's comes just days after premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced a proposal to reintroduce breach of bail as an offence in a bid to curb the youth crime wave plaguing Queensland's south-east. She said Joe Biden embodies the American dream - growing up 'middle class' and eventually becoming president Jill Biden on Thursday said her husband, Joe embodies the American dream, a 'man of the middle class' who went on to become president of the United States. She shared his stories to a group of Namibians as the country builds its own democracy in the wake of its independence from South Africa. Namibia has a huge youth population, making up 43% of the country, according to UNICEF. One teenager at the luncheon at the State House, Moses Filipus, 17, spoke of how he consumes social media to learn more about U.S. culture. 'The American dream is something that is envied by a lot of people that are not from America. This is no secret. All of us consume - we consume the media,' he said. 'I think that I speak for most of the youth that, now, it is the goal of the modern youth to achieve the American dream that we see on TV so much. That is why there is a huge disparity between us and our parents. They don't understand that the dream we see on TV is something that we would like to achieve.' Jill Biden emphasized the ties between the U.S. and Africa U.S. First Lady Jill Biden waves as she is welcomed by the First Lady of Namibia, Monica Geingos, ahead of addressing guests at a luncheon, at the State House in Windhoek Traditional dancers wait to perform for First Lady Jill Biden at the State House in Windhoek, Namibia, February 23, 2023. Jill Biden shook his hand after he spoke and addressed his remarks in her own speech. 'Moses, you really don't have to turn on the TV or go to the social media to look for the American dream, because I think you'll find it in our president, my husband, Joe Biden,' she said. 'He is a man who really started as a man of the middle class, who believed that he wanted to make a change for people - just somebody in your neighborhood. He became president of the United States. That is the American Dream.' Joe Biden often emphasizes part of his humble roots - being from Scranton, Pennsylvania - and talks about how his father lost his job when he was young. He also mentions he was one of the poorest men serving in the U.S. Senate during his career there. The Bidens have made money since he served as vice president, mainly on book deals and other income. They own two homes in Delaware: a large home in Wilmington and a beach house in Rehoboth. Jill Biden used her remarks on Thursday to talk about 'the values that we share: liberty, democracy and building a better world for the next generation.' She is using the soft sale during her trip to gently remind African nations who they turn to in times of crisis - whether it be grants for school, funding for AIDS, or humanitarian assistance in natural disasters. It's a subtle way for the Biden administration to differentiate itself from China, who has poured money into Africa for decades in the form of business and infrastructure investment. Jill Biden reminded the leaders that the futures of the United States and the countries in Africa are 'tied together.' 'The vision we all share: a world that is free,' she reminded them. 'Our futures are intertwined - we face many of the same challenges: from climate change to economic inequality to strengthening democracy,' she noted. Both Washington and Beijing are competing for influence on the continent, which is rich in the mineral resources need to build batteries, chips and other technologies. Africa is also home to some of the fasting growing economies in the world and has a growing labor market. The first lady echoed President Biden's vow to see an African nation have a permanent seat on the United Nation's Security Council and for the African Union to have a permanent place in the G20 - the group of the world's biggest economies. 'We are committed to making sure that African countries not only have a voice in organizations in the U.N. Security Council and the G20, but that those voices are valued as equal partners working side by side to advance our shared priorities, empowering women and youth, strengthening global health and building economic prosperity,' Biden said. Locals watch as Biden arrives to the Hope Initiatives Southern Africa, in Windhoek, Namibia, February 23, 2023. Jill Biden spoke about 'the values that the U.S. shares: liberty, democracy and building a better world for the next generation' at a ceremony in Windhoek, Namibia He was speaking at the Berlin Film Festival after premiere of film Superpower Actor Sean Penn has branded Putin a 'creepy little bully' as he recounted meeting him while heralding Zelensky in his handling of Russia's bloody invasion of Ukraine. In an interview at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday, a day after the festival premiere of his documentary Superpower, Penn recalled meeting Putin in 2001. Meanwhile, Penn, 62, praised Zelensky for his courage and his war effort - after meeting with Ukraine's leader just hours before war broke out on February 24 last year. Superpower was initially intended as a comedic profile of Zelensky, but after war broke out it explored his courage in the face of the war. Describing meeting Putin 12 years ago, the Mystic River actor said he and Jack Nicholson had travelled to the Moscow Film Festival for the premiere of his film The Pledge. Sean Penn (left) is pictured meeting Putin (right) with Jack Nicholson (centre) in 2001 after going to the Moscow Film Festival The actor spoke at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on Saturday, a day after the festival premiere of his documentary Superpower The two actors were taken in a convoy to the house of Nikita Mikhalkov, an Oscar-winning filmmaker and Putin supporter. There, they met the Russian president. Penn said he had a bad feeling about Putin, who he said is a 'creepy little bully'. Penn said: 'We have two choices. We show the world that bullies with nukes win or we take our chances and fight for the life that we all deserve.' Sean Penn also met with President Volodymyr Zelensky on camera just hours before Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 last year. Penn and his co-director Aaron Kaufman were in Kyiv to film a profile of the comedic actor-turned-president. Upon seeing his first interview, Penn said: 'It was as if he was realizing himself, that he was born for this moment. 'It's hard to explain, but there was a resolve in reaction to something that no one has ever faced before. At a press conference also on Saturday, Penn said they returned to the hotel after the interview and the shelling started that very night. When they first met Zelenskyy, he had 'a proper suit and a proper office.' 'The next time we saw him, he was in camos and his country was at war,' Penn said. Superpower was initially intended as a comedic profile of Zelensky, but after war broke out it explored his courage in the face of the war. Penn and Zelensky are pictured in Kyiv on November 8 The outbreak of war sent the documentary on an unexpected track. The film contains further interviews with the president conducted over the past year. After completing the project, the pair have continued to speak off camera. Zelenskyy presented the Hollywood star - who has been involved in numerous international humanitarian and anti-war efforts over the years - with the Ukrainian Order of Merit last year. Penn was also given a plaque on a Kyiv walkway honoring world leaders who have shown solidarity with Ukraine. Penn told the AP that people would be most surprised by Zelenskyy's 'command of the mechanisms of government.' 'Not only his, but all of those upon whom he is reliant, his sense of mapping the diplomatic territory,' he said. 'Hes on fire. He has that extreme gift for politics.' Penn recalled the 'civility' he saw when leaving Ukraine via the Polish border a few days after the invasion began. 'No one was honking. No one was trying to drive around the other and take and there was a kind of quiet acceptance,' Penn said during the interview. 'You know, and these were families being torn apart. Some, most remain torn apart.' During a later visit to Ukraine, Penn loaned one of his two Oscars to Zelenskyy, telling him: 'When you win, bring it back to Malibu.' 'The Oscar is there in his office and its ready to be melted anytime he wants to melt it,' Penn clarified in the press conference after threatening to smelt his awards in public if Zelenskyy was not on the program for last year's Oscar telecast. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did not include a video address from the president, opting instead for a moment of silence in support of the people of Ukraine. Zelenskyy did address the opening of the Berlinale on Thursday, exhorting artists and filmmakers to express support for Ukraine. Penn said at the press conference that the gift of the Oscar was inspired by his 'continuing shame towards the leadership of the Academy, the motion picture academy, in choosing to present Will Smith smacking Chris Rock rather than the greatest symbol of cinema and humanity living today on their broadcast.' Penn's two Oscars both were for best actor, in 2003 for 'Mystic River' and in 2008 for 'Milk.' His previous directing credits include 'Flag Day,' 'Into the Wild' and 'The Pledge.' 'Superpower' sees Penn travel all the way to the front line of the war to talk to soldiers in the trenches. Two boys, aged 13 and 14, said they were forced to have sex at al-Hol camp Boys as young as 13 have claimed they were forced to have sex with ISIS women and impregnate them in Syrian detention centres as part of a plot to increase the population of the Caliphate as there are no men in the camps. The women have forced at least ten young teenagers into performing sexual acts, two victims have claimed. 'We are being forced to have sex with the ISIS women, to impregnate,' Ahmet, 13, and Hamid, 14, told a guard at Camp al-Hol in northern Syria, Syrian Defence Force officials told The Daily Beast. They have confirmed this is also happening at Roj camp where jihadi brides Shamima Begum, from Britain, and American Hoda Muthana are held. The sprawling al-Hol camp houses tens of thousands of women and children linked to the Islamic State group - and violence, exploitation and lawlessness is rampant there, international aids groups have said. Some women linked to ISIS at the al-Hol camp still feed their children the group's extremist ideology. Now, Ahmet and Hamid have claimed that they have been victims of sexual violence, with one of the boys telling camp staff he was forced to have sex with eight ISIS women in just a few days. Boys as young as 13 have claimed they were forced to have sex with ISIS women and impregnate them in Syrian detention centres as part of a plot to increase the population of the Caliphate because there are no men in the camps. Pictured: File image of women walking in the al-Hol camp in Syria in 2021 Officials have also confirmed that boys are being sexually abused at the Roj camp where jihadi brides Shamima Begum, from Britain, (left) and American Hoda Muthana (right) are held Officials told The Daily Beast that the ISIS women at the camp had wanted to get pregnant as part of a twisted plot to increase the population of the Caliphate. They said there is a high rate of pregnancies in the camp, which should not be possible as ISIS men are held in separate camps. Ahmet and Hamid, along with eight other young boys, have since been rescued from al-Hol camp and taken to the newly opened Orkesh rehab center in the city of Qamishli, northeastern Syria. A camp guard said the boys were rescued by Syrian Defence Force troops who found them hidden by the ISIS women in underground tunnels. Young boys have also been raped by ISIS women in the Roj camp, where jihadi brides Begum and Muthana are held. One boy at the Roj camp collapsed and was rushed to hospital after he was plied with a Viagra-like drug to make him perform, reports The Daily Beast. Kurdish authorities currently operate more than two dozen detention facilities scattered across northeastern Syria, holding about 10,000 ISIS fighters. The camp was initially used to house the families of ISIS fighters in late 2018 as US-backed Kurdish-led forces recaptured territory in eastern Syria from the militants. In March 2019, they seized the last ISIS-held villages, ending the 'Caliphate' that the group declared over large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014. Young boys have also been raped by ISIS women in the Roj camp, where jihadi brides Begum and Muthana are held. File image of Roj camp 'We are being forced to have sex with the ISIS women, to impregnate,' Ahmet, 13, and Hamid, 14, told a guard at Camp al-Hol in northern Syria, Syrian Defence Force officials said. Officials have also confirmed this is happening at the Roj camp Children gather outside their tents, at al-Hol camp, which houses families of members of the Islamic State group, in Hasakeh province, Syria, in 2021 (file image) Among the detainees are some 2,000 foreigners whose home countries have refused to repatriate them, including about 800 Europeans. At al-Hol, about 50,000 Syrians and Iraqis are crowded into tents in the fenced-in camp. Nearly 20,000 of them are children; most of the rest are women, wives and widows of ISIS fighters. In a separate, heavily guarded section of the camp known as the annex are an additional 10,000 people: 2,000 women from 57 other countries they are considered the most die-hard ISIS supporters along with about 8,000 of their children. Last year, US-backed Syrian fighters concluded a 24-day sweep at al-Hol during which dozens of extremists were detained and weapons were confiscated in the operation. The operation came after ISIS sleeper cells committed crimes inside the camp. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday that Russia has the right to use its nuclear weapons if the United States 'wants the defeat of Russia.' The warning came as President Joe Biden was wrapping up a three-day trip to Europe, which started out Monday with a surprise trip to Kyiv to stand beside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, ahead of Friday's one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion. Biden then delivered a speech Tuesday night from Warsaw where he proclaimed that 'Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, never.' But he also made clear that the United States and its European allies 'do not seek to control or destroy Russia.' Medvedev, a prominent ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, claimed he didn't buy that in a post on Telegram. 'After all, it is obvious to all reasonable forces that if the United States wants the defeat of Russia, then we are on the verge of a world conflict,' wrote Medvedev, according to The Hill. 'If the United States wants to defeat Russia, then we have the right to defend ourselves with any weapon, including nuclear.' Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday that Russia has the right to use its nuclear weapons if the United States 'wants the defeat of Russia' President Joe Biden delivered a speech in Warsaw, Poland Tuesday night proclaiming 'Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia, never' Just hours before Biden's speech in Warsaw, Putin delivered his state-of-the-nation address and announced that Russia would be pulling out of the New START nuclear treaty with the U.S. It was signed in 2010 and went into effect the next year, and was extended for five years when Biden came into office in 2021. The treaty allowed for each country to inspect the other's nuclear arsenal - something that already wasn't being done due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, Biden called it a 'big mistake' when reporters asked him about it Wednesday as he entered a meeting with the Bucharest Nine leaders, those NATO nations on the eastern flank of the alliance. He reiterated that sentiment in his interview in Warsaw conducted by ABC's David Muir. 'It's a big mistake to do that, not very responsible I think it's a mistake,' Biden said. Putin alleged in his speech that the United States and Europe were using Ukraine 'as a military base to fight Russia.' President Joe Biden (right) made a surprise trip to Kyiv, Ukraine on Monday to stand alongside Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky ahead of the anniversary of the Russian invasion Biden countered that by saying 'the West was not plotting to attack Russia, as Putin said today.' He added, 'This war was never a necessity. It's a tragedy.' Biden also said in his speech that the Ukraine war could end immediately if Russia simply pulled out its troops. 'If Russia stopped invading Ukraine, it would end the war,' the president said to a crowd of 30,000, according to the Warsaw mayor's office. 'If Ukraine stopped defending itself against Russia, it would be the end of Ukraine.' In his post, Medvedev said the U.S. was prolonging the war by sending weapons to Ukraine. 'If the U.S. stops supplying weapons to the Kyiv regime, the war will end,' Medvedev said. Parents have spoken out about lack of supplies as Poole was convicted of fraud A primary school bursar is facing jail after plundering more than 500,000 to splash out on holidays, cars and shopping sprees - while children were left lacking basic equipment. Shameless Debbie Poole, 63, pocketed the fortune in a seven-year scam after being put in charge of finances at Hinchley Wood Primary School in Surrey. She enjoyed a lavish lifestyle after siphoning off 490,000 from a special account set up to run after-school and breakfast clubs between October 2011 and October 2018. The manager also authorised her own pay rises to boost her annual salary to over 80,000 - more than most primary school headteachers are paid. After Poole was found guilty of four counts of fraud at Kingston Crown Court, parents told how their children's education had suffered at the hands of Poole's flagrant greed. Primary school bursar Debbie Poole (right), 63, is facing jail after plundering more than 500,000 to splash out on holidays, cars and shopping sprees. Pictured: Debbie and Gary Poole pictured outside Kingston Crown on February 6 Poole (pictured here in an old Facebook photo) pocketed the fortune in a seven-year scam after being put in charge of finances at Hinchley Wood Primary School in Surrey They told how tens of thousands of pounds raised by the PTA for the benefit of pupils 'seemed to simply disappear'. Their suspicions were raised when Poole began arriving for work in a succession of expensive new cars which she parked alongside headteacher Fiona Collins' 'old banger'. And they revealed how years of raising funds through cake sales, summer fairs and raffles seemed to come to nothing while Poole was diverting cash into her personal accounts. Meanwhile Poole and husband Gary, 67, were living the high life as they jetted off on a string of exotic holidays. The couple enjoyed one five-star getaway in a deluxe bungalow suite with its own private pool at a Greek holiday resort. They splashed out 13,000 for the ten-night stay at the exclusive Ikos Olivia resort in Thessaloniki in August 2018. Earlier that year they paid 7,000 for a week's stay at a luxury cottage for 15 people in Shipston-on-Stour on the edge of the Cotswolds. The couple also enjoyed Christmas and New Year in Australia along with breaks in Venice and Amsterdam. The court heard they visited 'expensive shops' and put down large deposits on three new cars including a 29,000 Peugeot SUV. The couple also transferred nearly 70,000 to their two daughters. One was able to put down a deposit to buy a house after 37,000 was paid into her partner's account. Gary, who was a co-defendant in the case, was cleared of a money laundering offence of acquiring criminal property. After the jury delivered their verdicts, parents who had gathered every day to watch proceedings from the public gallery hit out at the bursar for 'betraying their children'. One mother-of-three who was a long-standing member of the PTA told MailOnline: 'I'm gutted that she stole from our children and from us. 'I would be out in the sun or the rain year after year at every school fair, every event working six or seven hours for free and you wonder what it was all for. 'We were giving them money for playground equipment, astroturf. We'll never know how much of that money she pocketed. 'In a primary school the teachers are meant to provide pens, pencils, glue sticks etc. It got to the stage where children were coming home crying because they hadn't stuck things in their books because they had no glue. 'Mrs Poole would say "Oh here comes the Pritt Stick Brigade" when we tried to speak to her about it. 'The school couldn't afford to pay for trips even though we were all paying into a school fund. 'Since she's gone it's a wonderful little school now. The right heads are in there, the right teaching staff are in there. It's in a beautiful place now.' Tina Booth, whose two children attended the school at the height of the scam, said: 'We are delighted that justice has been served. 'Parents have lost out. We were paying for the after-school clubs out of our own pockets. 'There were other issues as well. Lots of funds were going into the school but the children were not benefitting from them. Their education suffered as a result. It's a disgrace. 'We were raising money through all sorts of events - cake sales, balls and quiz nights - and the money seemed to be going nowhere. 'All the equipment wasn't being replenished as expected. 'While the school was suffering Debbie seemed to be thriving. 'She would arrive at work in a nice car which she was constantly changing and upgrading. At one stage she had a sporty white Ford Cougar then towards the end she had her Peugeot SUV. She would park it up near the headteacher's old Ford Fiesta.' The court heard Poole boosted her salary by submitting false documents to dishonestly gain two pay rises and increase the number of hours she was rewarded for. Poole, pictured outside Kingston Crown Court, boosted her salary by twice raising her own pay grade as well as increasing her contracted working weeks from 40 to 52 per year The bursar - who worked at the school for 18 years - carried out the scam by forging Mrs Collins' signature on documents and cheques. Poole - who ran the after-school club which was known as Woody's - abused her position as signatory of the club's account by transferring and using funds for her own benefit. The fortune came from the pockets of parents who paid 18 a day for their children to attend. The clubs - which provided out-of-school activities and care - proved popular with busy working families and were attended by up to 70 pupils a session. Poole would be handed cash paid by parents and was the financial supervisor of the clubs as well as being in control of the school's finances and banking. Investigators discovered that Poole transferred large sums of money from the Woody's account into her own bank. She also wrote school cheques out to herself. The audacious scam was discovered after a whistleblower came forward following growing concerns over safeguarding issues at the school and allegations of 'bullying and intimidation'. Mrs Collins was suspended after an investigation was launched and a new head was brought in when she later resigned. Surrey County Council auditors were called in after concerns were raised over the school's finances. Poole joined Hinchley Wood - which has more than 600 pupils aged four to 11 - as school secretary in February 2000 before becoming senior administration officer four years later. She took greater control of finances after being appointed school business manager in 2011 and was part of the senior leadership team. Poole boosted her salary by twice raising her own pay grade as well as increasing her contracted working weeks from 40 to 52 per year. She made a false claim to Surrey County Council's payroll team that she was working 30 hours a week administering the school clubs. Poole was arrested by police at her home in nearby Surbiton in October 2018. Officers seized piles of documents including paperwork for 'holidays and expensive shops'. Suspicions were raised when Poole (pictured) began arriving for work in a succession of expensive new cars which she parked alongside headteacher Fiona Collins' 'old banger' They recovered school cheque books and bank statements, 48 of which were in unopened envelopes, along with similar documents relating to the after-school club and their own bank statements. Surrey County Council insisted lessons had been learned from the case. A spokesman said: 'We are glad to see this case come to a conclusion and the perpetrator be brought to justice. 'This was a calculated and deceitful theft of school money that should have been used to enhance the education and extracurricular experience of children. 'Thankfully this theft was uncovered without long-lasting damage to the school, which is now thriving under new leadership. 'There is no doubt that the wrongdoing went undetected for too long, and there should be no way in which somebody in this position should be able to act in this way to such an extent. 'In this particular case, funds were stolen from non-public or private funds such as donations and payments for school trips etc. However, it is expected that private or non-public funds are accounted for by schools' governing bodies under the same strict regulations required of public funds, which should be independently audited each year. 'Surrey County Council provided additional leadership and support to Hinchley Wood Primary as a school of concern and drafted in additional leadership and management oversight from the Lumen Learning Trust. It was members of the Lumen Learning Trust team who ultimately uncovered the theft. 'Hinchley Wood Primary School is now part of a Multi Academy Trust and is in a healthy financial position delivering a high-quality education for local children.' Poole, who has no previous convictions, is due to be sentenced next month. South Korea and Ireland have agreed to increase the quota of their annual bilateral working holiday program to 800 people from the current ceiling of 600, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. The countries signed a revised memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Seoul for the expansion of the program, which also raised the eligible age up to 34 from the current 18-30 age limit. The MOU was signed by Choi Yeong-han, deputy minister for overseas Koreans and consular affairs, and Sonja Hyland, deputy secretary general of Ireland's foreign affairs department. According to the ministry, some 4,560 South Korean youths have visited Ireland through the program between 2010 and 2022. South Korea has forged similar working holiday programs with 24 countries, including Australia, Britain and Canada. (Yonhap) The heartbroken colleagues of the Florida journalist shot dead while covering a murder broke down in tears while reporting on his death last night. Spectrum 13 News reporter Dylan Lyons was shot in his unmarked car at around 4.05pm yesterday. He was on the scene in Pine Hills, near Orlando, to report on the murder of Nathacha Augustin, a 38-year-old woman who was killed in a car at around 11am. A new arrest affidavit reveals she was in the passenger seat of a friend's car when the friend saw suspect Keith Melvin Moses walking down the street looking 'down'. He offered him a ride and Moses got into the backseat, but then shot Augustin in the chin and fled. Local reporter Lyons and his cameraman Jesse Walden flocked to the scene of that shooting and were preparing to report on it for their nightshift. That is when Moses is accused of returning to the scene, shooting them and then nine-year-old girl T'Yonna Major. Scroll down for video WESH 2 News reporter Luana Munoz wept on-air as she reported from the hospital where Lyons was confirmed dead Dylan Lyons, 24, was shot and killed while reporting on a shooting in Pine Hills, Florida, yesterday Cameraman and photographer Jesse Walden, who was with Lyons at the time, was also shot. He remains in the hospital in critical condition He did not know that girl, her mother or either of the journalists. Lyons, a 24-year-old reporter who was due to be married, died of his injuries. Walden remains in the hospital in critical condition. Last night, WESH 2 News reporter Luana Munoz wept on-air as she reported from the hospital where Lyons was confirmed dead. 'I apologize. This is really difficult to cover. It is very emotional here... 'There are people here who knew that reporter, his fiancee and I were just embracing. 'This is every reporter's worst nightmare. We go home at night afraid that something like this will occur. One of our own has just passed. I'm going to send it back to you guys so I can get myself together.' Lyons' colleagues at Spectrum News 13 also paid tribute to him on-air. 'He took his job very seriously, he loved his career, he loved what he did. 'He loved the community, telling the stories of people, reporting the news. He was just passionate about what he did. 'When he was out of the news station he was still talking about how much he wanted to succeed. Very close with his mom too,' his colleague and friend Josh Miller said. Anchor Ybeth Bruzual said: 'This is a profound loss on so many levels because it's impacting us at our doorstep, but there is a child that is dead, a mother who is injured, another co-worker who is hospitalized. 'So please bear with us as we also try to process the fact that our co-worker will not be coming to join us here. He is gone. 'His family is trying to figure things out. Dylan was so special. He died while doing what he loved the most - doing his job.' 'Please bear with us as we also try to process the fact that our co-worker will not be coming to join us here. He is gone': Anchors Ybeth Bruzual and Julia Gargotta confirmed Lyons' death on-air on Thursday mornin Lyons' colleagues said he died 'doing what he loved most, reporting the news of the community' Julia Gargotta added: 'Of course for us we've been talking about this nonstop, up all night. We sit here in unity and in mourning thinking about our colleague who lost his life, he's now being identified as Dylan Lyons.' Lyons' heartbroken fiancee, Casey Lynn, took to social media last night to share her grief. 'The love of my life was murdered. I will never be the same again,' she said as she shared a link to a GoFundMe page dedicated to covering his funeral costs. Keith Melvin Moses, 19, is accused of shooting the reporter and cameraman along with murdering a 20-year-old woman, nine-year-old girl and that girl's mother Other tributes poured in from politicians in Florida and the White House. Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted: 'Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team'. Governor Rick Scott tweeted: 'This is absolutely horrible. 'My team and I are closely monitoring the situation and keeping these Floridians and their families in our prayers.' Police say Moses had no connection to either the reporters or the nine-year-old girl. He is also suspected in the first murder that Lyons and his colleague were reporting on when they were struck, and is believed to have known that woman though she has not yet been named. In 2021, Moses was arrested for marijuana possession after police found him in a car with two other young men. As they approached the vehicle, one of them tossed a gun out the window. Moses had 4.6 grams of cannabis on in his pocket, and was on probation for juvenile offenses at the time. Orange County Sheriff's Deputies reported to the 6100 block of Hialeah Street in Orlando at around 11:17 a.m. where they discovered a woman who had been fatally shot in the passenger seat of a car White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted: 'Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team'. The men also had ski masks in their car and all prior arrests for weapons offenses and burglary. But because of the low amount of marijuana Moses was carrying at the time, he never received a prison sentence and at-most, would have only ever been given probation. It's unclear whether cops charged any of the young men for possession of the weapon, which was stolen. Moses' prior offenses occurred before he was 18, which the State's Attorney's office says limits them from discussing them. The State's Attorney's Office would not discuss them on Thursday morning when contacted by DailyMail.com. In a statement last night, State Attorney Monique H. Worrell said: 'Our sincere condolences go out to the families of those whose lives were lost... due to the pending criminal charges in this matter, we are unable to comment further on the details of this case as it is now an open and ongoing investigation.' An Italian tourist told jurors he had become a recluse because of the shame he felt after shooting his lifelong friend dead on holiday in Scotland. Franco Moroni, 62, shot his friend Marco Cavola, 42, at point-blank range while they were pigeon hunting on an estate near Dundee. Moroni, with long white hair and a beard, told the High Court in Dundee that he had not had a haircut since the incident almost four years ago. Asked why, he said: 'I'm ashamed to go out and about... From this incident, yes.' He added that his marriage of more than 30 years had also ended. Marco Cavola (pictured), 42, died in 2019 after another member of his shooting party, Franco Moroni, fired a shot which tragically hit him in a field at Rossie Estate, near Dundee He told the trial that he and his victim - who had been a childhood friend - liked to collect porcini mushroom in the woods near their home in the Rome region. He said Mr Cavola and fellow holidaymaker Onorio Galoni were keen hunters and had persuaded him to join their pigeon shooting trip to Scotland in March 2019. Moroni, who runs a family paint business, said: 'Marco was passionate about hunting and mushrooms. Marco convinced me to go with him for four or five days. 'I didn't want to go very much, because I'm not very passionate about hunting. Marco was very good at involving and persuading people, so I agreed to go along with him.' Moroni said he had decided to go on the trip organised by Mr Cavola and Mr Galoni 15 days prior to leaving and had only shot two or three times in the past - adding he was not 'a hunting expert'. The trio were met by local sporting agent Peter Bruce and had a brief shooting outing on the day they arrived. The tragedy occurred the following day. Moroni said the group were taken to Rossie Estate at Inchture and were each given a shotgun and a warning not to aim towards the road when firing the weapons. He claimed no further instruction was given. Mr Galoni was put in one hide, while Moroni and Mr Cavola were placed together in a second hide - the jury had already heard how having two shooters together in the same hide could be 'extremely dangerous.' Mr Cavola, pictured, was said to have been a keen hunter and was about a metre away when he was shot in the back of the head 'I don't think I had more than five shots. He shot more than me but I don't know how many. There were many birds. We were in the hide and I was sitting down because I didn't feel comfortable with the situation. 'At a certain point, a bird came across. Marco shot three times. He then told me 'shoot, shoot, shoot' and then he got down,' Moroni said. 'At that point I rose to my feet and shot and then he also got up at that point. He did the movement so quickly - lowering himself and getting up again. 'As I was turning I shot him. It was a complete tragedy. Everything was happening. I was screaming for Onorio.' The court was told Moroni did not have a valid visitor's gun licence as Mr Bruce - whose licence provided temporary cover - had driven from the scene to buy petrol. Moroni told the court that Mr Bruce told him to tell the police he and Mr Cavola had been sharing a shotgun, which is what he initially did. However, when he was interviewed the following day he admitted they both had shotguns. He told the jury he had lied because he was in a panic and did not know what to do. He said he had subsequently told Police Scotland the complete truth. Moroni said his friend had been around a metre away when he had shot him in the back of the head and it was immediately apparent that he had been killed instantly. Sergeant Ian Borthwick, 39, told the court Moroni was 'extremely distraught, distressed, in a state, shouting and wailing' as he was being interviewed. Det Con Andrew Howe, 44, took a further statement the following day and said Moroni was 'very upset, crying, shouting out in pain, repeatedly the name Marco.' Wildlife and shooting expert witness Stewart Scull told the jury that having two guns shooting from the same hide could be 'extremely dangerous.' Mr Scull said it was clearly recommended in the Wood Pigeon Shooting Code of Practice that the safest way to conduct pigeon shooting was by limiting guns to one per hide. He added that it was not an unknown practice to have two shooters in the same hide, but told the jury that it could be 'extremely' dangerous. Colin Shedden, 65, Scottish Director of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation, agreed it was a risk for two people to share a hide. Mr Shedden said: Our code of practice clearly states it can be dangerous for two people to be shooting from a hide at the same time.' The court has already heard how Mr Cavola was fatally wounded by a shotgun blast minutes after the party were left unsupervised in the field. Mr Bruce, 56, told the court he had slipped away briefly to buy diesel and returned to discover Mr Cavola had been shot dead. Mr Bruce, from Meigle, said he had known the victim for a decade and had organised a number of shooting trips for him and his friends. Moroni has admitted firing the shot which fatally wounded fellow pigeon shooter Marco Cavola, but denies culpable homicide. Michael Meehan KC, for the Crown, urged the jury to find Moroni guilty and said: 'The significant risk to life would have been obvious to a reasonable person. 'It is not in dispute Franco Moroni pulled the trigger. It is not in dispute it was shot from his shotgun which struck and killed a friend since childhood. 'What is in issue is whether Franco Moroni acted recklessly. The Crown's position is that when he discharged the shotgun, he did so recklessly.' Moroni denies killing Mr Cavola at Rossie Estate, Castlehill, Inchture, on March 25 2019. He denies culpably and recklessly repeatedly discharging a loaded shotgun in close proximity to another person and exposing him to the risk of injury. The charge alleges Mr Cavola sustained severe head injuries and died as a consequence of his injuries. The trial, before Lord Clark, continues. The European Commission on Thursday banned TikTok on official devices over spying fears - but the Chinese social media giant branded the move as 'misguided'. TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is Chinese, has faced increasing Western scrutiny in recent months over fears about how much access Beijing has to user data. The new ban also means European Commission staff cannot use the video-sharing app on personal devices including phones that have official EU communication apps installed - as the EU seeks to bolster its cybersecurity. Employees must remove the app as soon as possible and should do so by March 15. EU spokeswoman Sonya Gospodinova said the corporate management board of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, had made the decision for security reasons. The European Commission on Thursday banned TikTok on official devices over spying fears (file image) 'The measure aims to protect the Commission against cybersecurity threats and actions which may be exploited for cyberattacks against the corporate environment of the commission,' she said. There was no immediate comment on whether other EU institutions such as the European Council, which represents member states, or the European Parliament would take similar measures. After the news was made public, EU industry commissioner Thierry Breton pointed to the cybersecurity risks he said had informed the decision. 'As an institution, the European Commission has, from the beginning of the mandate, a very strong focus on cybersecurity, protecting our colleagues and, of course, everyone who is working here in the Commission,' Breton told reporters. A spokesperson for TikTok said it was 'disappointed with this decision, which we believe to be misguided and based on fundamental misconceptions'. In November, TikTok admitted some staff in China can access the data of European users. The company however denies that the Chinese government has any control or access. TikTok on Thursday stressed it protects the data of 125 million users monthly in the European Union on its app and was taking steps to strengthen data security. The European Union is seeking to bolster its cybersecurity with the move (file image) 'We're continuing to enhance our approach to data security, including by establishing three data centres in Europe to store user data locally; further reducing employee access to data; and minimising data flows outside of Europe,' the firm said. The United States last year banned the app from federal government devices, and some US lawmakers are trying to prohibit TikTok from operating in the United States. Last month, the Dutch government reportedly advised public officials to steer clear of the app over similar concerns. TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew was in Brussels last month for talks with EU officials during which they warned TikTok to ensure the safety of European users' data. The company has said it is setting up centres in Europe to store user data locally and has promised to further reduce employee access to data. TikTok also promised last year to hold US users' data in the United States to allay Washington's concerns. The European Union has taken a tough line on technology companies, passing two major laws to make sure social media platforms adhere to the bloc's rules on digital issues. The Digital Services Act (DSA) forces social media platforms, online marketplaces and search engines to react more quickly to remove content deemed in breach of EU regulations. The other, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), prohibits anti-competitive behaviour by the so-called 'gatekeepers' of the internet. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has another heated run-in with the press as he finally visited East Palestine on Thursday, 20 days after the train derailment leaving resident begging for answers from the Biden administration. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana - now a Cabinet member - donned a hard hart as he toured the site with investigators, a day after Donald Trump told the locals they had been betrayed by the White House and federal government. His press secretary then had to intervene when a group of journalists approached him and asked if he would apologize for taking almost three weeks to visit the devastated residents. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg finally visited East Palestine on Thursday, 20 days after the train derailment that has left the Ohio community reeling and begging for answers from the Biden administration Nearly three weeks since the Feb. 3 derailment of a train carrying hazardous waste in East Palestine, Ohio, clean-up efforts continue. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg talks with East Palestine, Ohio residents but didn't response to questions from reporters on Thursday, Feb. 23 The Biden administration continues to face intense backlash from both Republicans and Democrats for the slow response to the disaster that has prompted fears the release of toxic chemicals will lead to long-term illnesses including cancer. Buttigieg was talking with local residents when reporters approached him about why it took so long for him to visit the small town of 4,700 still very much impacted by the aftermath of the rail crash that took place on February 3. 'Mayor Pete, why did it take you an entire two and a half weeks to actually get here - to respond to East Palestine?' asked Savanah Hernandez, a reporter for Turning Point USA. 'Will you apologize to the residents of this city for the slow response - to the government's slow response? Do you have any apologies?' In the video, Buttigieg appears to be escorted away from the media and the press secretary for the Transportation Secretary, Kerry Arndt, tells Hernandez and the other reporters that she'll answer their questions but not on-camera and when asked why the cameras shouldn't be on, Arndt responded, 'that's a little bit aggressive.' I asked Sec. Buttigieg why it took him almost 3 weeks to come and speak to residents of East Palestine. His press Secretary then told me I was aggressive for trying to ask questions on camera: pic.twitter.com/bOB52DIq0O Savanah Hernandez (@sav_says_) February 23, 2023 Buttigieg spoke near the derailment site and admitted that he waited too long to address the situation - a similar response he told CBS earlier in the week. 'What I tried to do is balance two things: My desire to be involved and engaged and on the ground which is how Im generally wired to act and my desire to follow the norm of Transportation secretaries, allowing NTSB to really lead the initial stages of the public-facing work. Ill do some thinking about whether I got that balance right, but I think the most important thing is first of all making sure the residents here have what they need,' said the Transportation secretary. In the face of mounting criticism, Buttigieg also blamed the Trump administration and rail companies for undermining safety regulations he says led to the crash. 'One thing he [Trump] can do is express support for reversing the deregulation that happened on his watch. I heard him say he had nothing to do with it, even though it was in his administration.' Buttigieg also demanded - yet again - that the train operator will pay for the clean-up operation 'as long as Norfolk Southern is running trains through here, as long as people feel effects,' according to Reuters TV producer Julio-Cesar Chavez. Earlier this week, before he announced the Thursday visit, a reporter from the Daily Caller confronted him in the street. He confirmed he would be going, and then tried to take a photo of the journalist Jennie Taer while he was walking around Washington D.C. with his husband Chasten. 'Well, I'd refer you to about a dozen interviews I've given today and if you'd like to arrange a conversation, make sure to reach out to our press office,' Buttigieg replied. He indicated he wasn't going to 'have that conversation with you just walking down the street here.' 'You don't have a message for them?' the reporter asked, as the two walked and talked near the Capitol. 'I do and I've shared it with the press many times today and I refer you to those comments,' Buttigieg responded. When the reporter pressed again, he declined, saying: 'No I'm going to refer you to the comments I made to the press because right now I'm taking some personal time and I'm walking down the street.' She asked whether he would visit East Palestine, something he had revealed on ABC's 'Good Morning America' earlier Tuesday. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg asked to take a reporter's photo after a brief interview while walking with husband Chasten A man takes photos as a black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern train, Feb. 6, 2023. The intense crash spewed toxic chemicals into the air, ground and water and has led nearby residents to complain of headaches and other symptoms. East Palestine was evacuated two days after the derailment EXCLUSIVE: Ohio mother's message to Biden: East Palestine resident whose daughter, 15, got rashes tells White House to send medical help An East Palestine resident and mother is pleading for President Joe Biden to send medical help to the Ohio village after a train derailment released toxic chemicals into the air, ground and water and led to her daughter's hospitalization Advertisement After pausing, Buttigieg allowed: 'Yup I'm going,' but declined to give a timeframe. Then Buttigieg, who often represents the administration in combative interviews on Fox News and with other outlets, asked the reporter: 'Can I get a photo of you?' The reporter agreed. She later posted video of the encounter on Twitter. On Wednesday, Trump told residents of East Palestine they are victims of 'betrayal' by President Biden and the federal government, and said his visit had finally sparked them to act. The former president greeted crowds furious at the lack of action from the White House, 19 days after the disaster in Ohio, and brought in thousands of bottles of his own water, cleaning supplies and canned food. He then stopped at a local McDonald's where he ordered Big Macs for first responders and members of his team, and handed out signed MAGA hats to the customers. 'I know this menu better than you do. I probably know it better than anybody in here,' he told the server and demanded they 'knock it out fast' so he could eat it on the plane. Hundreds of people lined the streets waving MAGA flags and chanting 'no more Joe' to greet Trump after he landed in the community on his renovated Trump Force One jet. In a speech in the local fire department he praised the response from law enforcement and the 'strength and courage' of the residents, and said: 'You are not forgotten'. He promised to return if the community didn't get help from the White House and when a reporter asked what message he had for Biden, Trump said: 'Get over here.' His visit coincided with Norfolk Southern releasing a statement saying they would take 'full responsibility' for the derailment. A view of a mannequin as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (not pictured) visits the site of the derailment of a train carrying hazardous waste in East Palestine, Ohio. Trump stopped at a local McDonald's where he ordered Big Macs for first responders and members of his team, and handed out signed MAGA hats to the customers Trump stands besides a pallet of his branded water in East Palestine. He brought trucks with his own supplies during his visit to the toxic train derailment site Former Greens senator Lidia Thorpe will march in this year's Mardi Gras parade, joining the 'No Pride in Genocide' float. Pride in Protest, a LGBTQIA+ activist group and the organisers of the float, made the announcement on Instagram on Thursday afternoon. A representative of Senator Thorpe confirmed to NCA NewsWire that she would be taking part in the parade in Sydney on Saturday night. Mardi Gras board director and Pride in Protest member Skip Blofield welcomed Senator Thorpe's participation in the float. Former Greens senator Lidia Thorpe (pictured) has confirmed she will be marching in this year's Mardi Gras parade on Saturday 'I am proud to march alongside Lidia this Saturday to say that queer rights and Blak rights are one and the same,' Mr Blofield said. The group have organised floats and marched in the Mardi Gras parade for close to a decade under banners such as 'Queers Against Austerity' and 'No Pride in Detention'. 'We are staunch in saying that the oppression of queer people and the oppression of Indigenous people and refugees are one and the same fight', Pride in Protest member Mikhael Burnard said. 'We find it shameful that the Australian government continues the atrocities of the camps and prisons in this country.' The group welcomed 'all community members' to join them and Senator Thorpe in marching. They will hold a press conference at Sydney Town Hall at 4pm before the protest. It's not confirmed whether Senator Thorpe will be attending the press conference. Pride In Protest is a collective of activists who campaign for issues within the LGBTQIA+ community This year Senator Thorpe will be marching alongside the group under a 'No Pride In Genocide' banner (pictured, an Australia Day protest) WHAT IS MARDI GRAS? Mardi Gras is a parade celebrating the LGBTQ+ community. Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras describe the event as: 'A colourful explosion of self-expression, celebration and protest. 'Our glittering Parade and Festival are a demonstration of the amazing power of passion, creativity and community.' The parade is set to hit Sydney's Oxford St on February 25. Advertisement Anthony Albanese to become the first sitting prime minister to march in Mardi Gras - as annual gay pride parade snubs the NRL AAP Anthony Albanese will be the first sitting Prime Minister to march in Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras when he joins the parade for the WorldPride festival. The Prime Minister says he will be joined by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, the first openly gay woman in parliament, when he takes part in the event on February 25. Mr Albanese announced the news to a crowd gathered for the official opening of Pride Square at Newtown, in Sydney's inner-west. 'I'll be the first Prime Minister not to watch the march on Mardi Gras, but to march,' he said on Saturday. Mr Albanese's appearance will come as the annual gay pride parade snubs the NRL for the first time in seven years after seven Manly Sea Eagles refused to wear the pride jersey at a match last year. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (above) will be the first sitting prime minister to march in Mardi Gras Mr Albanese said he will be joined by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, the first openly gay woman in parliament, at Mardi Gras (pictured, Sydney Mardi Gras in 2018) In 2016, Malcolm Turnbull became the first sitting Prime Minister to attend the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, but he did not march in the parade. That year, then opposition leader Bill Shorten became the first federal leader of a major party to participate in the march. Mr Albanese said his government was committed to removing inequality on the basis of sexuality or people's identities. 'We speak a lot about tolerance - and tolerance is really important - but this is about a step that is way more important than tolerance,' he said. 'We need to celebrate our diversity, not just tolerate it, because our diversity is what gives our society strength.' Mr Albanese paid tribute to protesters who marched for gay rights in 1978, many of whom were arrested when the first parade on Sydney's Oxford St was dispersed. Since then, the annual Sydney march has grown to become part of one of the largest LGBTQI festivals in the world. This year, 12,500 marchers are expected to participate as the parade is incorporated into the 17-day WorldPride festival. This year, 12,500 marchers are expected to participate in the Mardi Gras parade (pictured, Mardi Gras 2018) The NRL will be excluded from Mardi Gras this year following controversy over the Sydney Roosters' pride jerseys (above) Mr Albanese said Australia could be 'a beacon for the world', where everyone would be respected and celebrated regardless of their beliefs, sexuality or ethnicity. Meanwhile, the NRL will be excluded from the event for the first time in seven years. The footy board was rejected by organisers in September, just weeks after seven Manly Sea Eagles refused to play a game against the Sydney Roosters after the club decided it would sport rainbow-coloured pride jerseys. However, organisers of Mardi Gras said the incident had nothing to do with NRL's rejection, instead the event was already at capacity. A baby boy has become so big that he weighs the same as an eight-year-old and has to wear his father's clothes. Muhammad Kenzi Alfaro is only 16 months old but weighs a whopping 60lbs - and wears nappies in size XXXL. An average baby his age weighs around a third of his size, at 22lbs. A video filmed at his home in Bandung Regency, Indonesia, shows his mother Patriah laughing as she struggles to push him into an upright position. Kenzi wears a green T-shirt with the number 2 on - which appears a couple of sizes too small - as the child is eventually heaved onto his feet for a split second. Muhammad Kenzi Alfaro is only 16 months old but weighs a whopping 60 pounds He eats snacks and plays with his toys as his family gathers around him in a team effort to look after him. The footage also zooms in on his swollen hands and feet as his mother tries to pull his T-shirt down. Pitriah explained the difficulty of the situation - as Kenzi doesn't fit in his pushchair anymore but his parents find it hard to lift him up and he can't support himself. Kenzi weighed 10 pounds at birth - which is large, but not usually a cause for concern as most come in at between five and eight pounds. She said: 'His father's body is also small. His father's clothes just fit him, sometimes they are also worn on my son,' The Sun reported. A video filmed at his home in Bandung Regency, Indonesia, shows his mother Patriah laughing as she struggles to push him into an upright position Kenzi wears a green T-shirt with the number 2 on - which appears a couple of sizes too small The footage also zooms in on his swollen hands and feet as his mother tries to pull his T-shirt down Kenzi doesn't fit in his pushchair anymore but his parents find it hard to lift him up and he can't support himself She also described the difficulty to find him nappies of the right size, saying: 'So I put on the double XL, I also bought the one in the shop, but the triple XL in the shop doesn't exist.' But in the past year he has grown in size to the extent he needs regular medical care and visits. His parents and doctors have wondered if he has an underlying health condition due to his rapid increase in size. They are awaiting final results after he had tests at the Hermina Bekasi Hospital. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said officials were monitoring Kenzi. A robber claimed he held up a post office and a Halifax branch with an imitation gun so he could get money to pay for his funeral. Adam Gilbert terrified shoppers with a pair of raids in Bootle, Merseyside, in May and June last year, going so far as to fire the weapon in a desperate bid to scare staff into giving him cash. The bungling 37-year-old, who has 21 previous convictions including two robberies, at one point took off the hood covering his face during one of the robberies, before realising what he had done, and left both stores empty handed. When he was arrested Gilbert told police 'you've got me' and in court his lawyer brazenly claimed the incidents were part of a 'dysfunctional' attempt to pay for his interment as he intended to take his own life. Today he was jailed for ten-and-a-half years at Liverpool Crown Court, after a judge ruled he was a dangerous offender who poses a high risk of serious harm to the public. Adam Gilbert, pictured here in his police mugshot, held up a Post Office and a Halifax branch with an imitation firearm Gilbert terrified shoppers in a branch of Halifax at the Strand Shopping Centre when he attempted to rob it on May 30, 2022. Pictured: Police outside the shopping centre following the incident Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, said that the first incident occurred on May 30 last year at the Halifax building society in the New Strand, Bootle, when Gilbert, wearing a hood and black snood, produced the blank firing gun after patiently waiting in the queue. It was his own branch and he even called the cashier by her first name while demanding cash. 'He pointed the gun at the ceiling and attempted to fire it but the cartridge misfired. He fired again and the sound of the shot and the gun flash added to the colleague's terror,' said Mr Blasbery. The three women cashiers and the customers, including a child and pensioner on a walking frame all rushed out in fear for their lives and the cashier he had targeted fell and injured herself. He left empty handed and two days later carried out a replica offence at the Park Lane post office in Netherton, Bootle, again armed with the gun. He demanded cash and when his request to fill his carrier bag was rejected he fired the gun at the ceiling causing staff to 'duck and flinch'. In anger he pointed the weapon at the post master and at one point swept back his hood before realising what he had done and pulled it back up. He realised the drawers were locked and the alarm was sounding and he left empty handed. The criminal attempted to rob a Post Office in Netherton, Bootle (pictured), two days after the first incident A police officer stands in the Strand Shopping Centre following the attempted robbery at a branch of Halifax When he was arrested he said: 'You've got me'. He admitted he had his gun in his backpack and officers found a Turkish made blank firing pistol and numerous rounds of ammunition, said Mr Blasbery. In addition to the ten-and-a-half year prison term, Judge Stuart Driver KC imposed an extended licence of five years. Judge Driver said that all three women employees in the building society have since been prescribed medication for anxiety and sought counselling. Gilbert, of no fixed address, had pleaded guilty to two attempt robberies and two offences of possessing an imitation firearm. Julian Nutter, defending, said that the defendant had been in the process of getting his affairs in order with a view to taking his own life and the raids had been 'in some dysfunction way' to get money to finance his funeral. He pointed out that he had not been armed with a real weapon and the imitation gun was not fired in anyone's direction. For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116 123 or go to samaritans.org A former University of Kentucky student has been indicted on six counts after drunkenly calling a black desk clerk n***** 200 times. Racist Sophia Rosing, 22, has been charged with assaulting a police officer a felony - and three counts of fourth-degree assault, disorderly conduct as well as public intoxication. She was indicted on the charges by a Fayette County grand jury on Wednesday, after launching into the assault against Kylah Spring on November 6. Assaulting a cop is a felony which carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, while the three fourth-degree assault charges each carry a maximum 12 months behind bars. Rosing pleaded not guilty at an initial hearing with her attorney Fred Peter in November last year. The blond former business and marketing major stumbled into the dorms on campus in Lexington, Kentucky, before she launched herself Spring who was working the front desk. Racist Sophia Rosing, 22, has been charged with assaulting a police officer a felony - and three counts of fourth-degree assault, disorderly conduct as well as public intoxication University Police were finally able to take Rosing into custody just before 4am on following the now-viral incident During her rampage, Rosing told University of Kentucky police officers that she gets 'special treatment' because she has 'lots of money'. Court documents revealed she 'kicked and bit' officers as they tried to place her under arrest. University Police were finally able to take Rosing into custody just before 4am on following the now-viral incident. She was held at the Fayette County Detention Center where she refused to identify herself to officers upon her arrival in the early hours so was processed as a Jane Doe. Rosing dropped out of school after the footage of her 10-minute-long tirade was posted online showing her singing the racist slur as she was carted off by cops. The former Kentucky student was released on $10,000 bail and collected by her parents trying to hide her face by holding paper in front of herself. In the full 10-minute video of Rosing's assault, which shows her use the n-word 200 times, she is told that she has ruined her life to which she brazenly replies 'no I didn't' before singing the n-word over and over before police arrived to arrest her. Even after the University of Kentucky officer has her in handcuffs, she can still be heard singing the word as she is dragged away. Rosing pleaded not guilty at an initial hearing with her attorney Fred Peter in November last year She was arrested in the early hours of November 6 after she stumbled into the dorms on campus in Lexington, Kentucky, before she launched herself Spring who was working the front desk Spring made an impassioned speech at an anti-racism march the day after the incident Rosing can also be heard telling Spring to 'do her chores' as well as calling her an 'ugly n***** b****' while horrified students look on and some try to intervene. President of the University of Kentucky Eli Capilouto confirmed that Rosing was suspended on an interim basis as they continued their investigation. They also said that she is no longer a student, is not eligible to re-enroll as a student and is permanently banned from the campus. It comes after DailyMail.com revealed that she allegedly doxxed a 15-year-old girl while they were at high school together, publicly posting that she would 'send nudes' and falsely claimed she had an abortion. Rosings lawyer also said that she would be going to rehab to address her issues as well as undergoing racial sensitivity training. Spring made an impassioned speech at an anti-racism march the day after the incident. The desk clerk, a freshman at the university, became emotional as she addressed the dozens of people who attended the march in her honor. She told the crowd: 'I was physically, verbally and racially assaulted by Jane Doe, aka Sophia Rosing. Rosing was last seen dashing into her parents car following her arrest in relation to the racial attacks DailyMail.com revealed that she grew up in a modest three-bedroom and two-bathroom family property in Fort Mitchell with her parents and siblings after she bragged that she was 'rich' President of the University of Kentucky Eli Capilouto said that she is no longer a student, is not eligible to re-enroll as a student and is permanently banned from the campus A former classmate of racist University of Kentucky student Sophia Rosing (pictured), who attended Beechwood with her, has branded her a 'bully' who has had her 'true personality' exposed by her own vile rant 'This is a recurring issue in and across the American school system no matter what age. 'I am deeply saddened by the events that took place, but I am most grateful for justice that is to come. To Miss Rosing. You will not break my spirit and you will be held accountable for your actions. I only pray that you open your heart to love and try to experience life differently and more positively. As Michelle Obama once said, when they go low, we go high. I will continue to address this situation with grace and humility.' A year before the vile racist incident, Rosing had bragged to fellow students: 'I'm rich as f*** and you're obviously not'. But DailyMail.com can reveal that she grew up in a modest three-bedroom and two-bathroom family property in Fort Mitchell with her parents and siblings. Her father, Paul Donald Rosing, works as an Technology Executive for Messer Construction Co, but relatives of Rosing have not yet responded to request for comment. Since the attack, Rosing herself has been fired by fashion brand Dillard's for her outburst. She was part of the Campus Collective Program, with a Dillard's spokesperson saying: 'Dillard's does not condone this behavior. Her relationship with Dillard's has been terminated immediately.' Assaulting a cop is a felony which carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, while the three fourth-degree assault charges each carry a maximum 12 months behind bars Rosing, pictured in high school, allegedly started rumors about the pupil 'getting pregnant and getting an abortion' in high school, which was not true The former Black Panther also discovered she had two white grandparents A famed Black Panther who's also a communist has faced calls to pay reparations after discovering her ancestors were white puritans who arrived in the US on the Mayflower. Angela Davis, 79, was flabbergasted to discover both sides of her family were white, and that her mom's ancestors were slave owners, on PBS show Finding Your Roots. And the stunning revelations sparked calls for the famously woke Marxist University of California professor to herself pay reparations, having previously called on whites to pony-up in the past. Sharing a tweet about the show, conservative pundit Matt Walsh wrote: 'It gets better. She's also descended from a slave owner. On her father's side is a pilgrim. On her mother's side is a slave owner. Looks like Angela Davis owes some reparations.' Another Twitter user called AK Kamara wrote: 'Angela Davis, the radical Marxist and former black panther, recently discovered she is also the ancestor of colonizers and slave owners. I guess she owes herself reparations. This timeline is hilarious.' Angela Davis, 79, appeared on an episode of PBS's Finding Your Roots on Tuesday, during which she also learned that both her mother's father and her father's father were white men and descendants of slave owners It was revealed that Davis is a descendant of William Brewster (pictured), who traveled to the US aboard the Mayflower with his wife, Mary Wentworth Brewster, in 1620 Davis became nationally known in 1970 when guns she owned were used in the holding up of a Marin County courtroom in California which left four dead, including the judge. After the FBI issued a warrant for her arrest she went on the run and became listed as one of the department's 10 Most Wanted. After her eventual arrest she spent 16 months in jail before being found not guilty. Davis was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1944 during an era of segregation and violent racial division in the South. While studying in West Germany in her youth she was drawn to far-left politics and upon returning to the US became involved with the Black Panthers and the Communist Party USA. She appeared shocked during the TV interview that aired this week in which Finding Your Roots host Henry Louis Gates, Jr. told her of her ancestry. 'No. I can't believe this. My ancestors did not come here on the Mayflower,' she said - only to be later told that they did indeed arrive in the US aboard the famed pilgrim ship. The Mayflower was an English boat that brought white English families, known as the Pilgrims, to the American continent to permanently establish the New England colony in 1620. 'You are descended from the 101 people who sailed on the Mayflower,' reiterated Gates Jr., who is the director of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University. The one-hour show, in which public figures learn about their ancestry, outlined how William Brewster, who traveled aboard the boat with his wife Mary Wentworth Brewster, was Davis's 10th great-grandfather. Mary was one of only five adult women from the Mayflower to have survived the first winter after arriving in the US and one of only four such to survive until the 'first Thanksgiving' in 1621, which she was said to have helped cook. The revelation caused many to point out the complexity of ancestry and on social media some suggested that by some logic Davis should pay black reparations. The concept of reparations - an idea she has endorsed in the past - is that people with ancestors who were enslaved should be financially reimbursed by those whose ancestors enslaved them. 'This vividly illustrates the absurdity of reparations as a concept, among other things,' said one person on Twitter, in response to a clip of the revelation. 'Before any talk about reparations everybody needs to take the ancestry DNA test. I think a lot of people would be shocked to to discover who they were descended from,' said another. Davis shot to fame in 1970 when guns she owned were used in the holding up of a Marin County courtroom in California, leaving four dead Davis was born in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1944 during an era of segregation and severe racial violence in the South. While studying in West Germany in her youth she was drawn to far-left politics and upon returning to the US became involved with the Black Panthers and the Communist Party USA An engraving of the Mayflower, the English boat that brought white puritans to the New World in 1620 'This vividly illustrates the absurdity of reparations as a concept, among other things,' said one person on Twitter, in response to a clip of the revelation The revelation caused many to point out the complexity of ancestry and on social media some suggested that by certain logic Davis should pay black reparations Davis also made discoveries about her mother, Sallye Bell, who was found to be the daughter of a successful white Alabama lawyer who himself descended from a slave owner. Bell was a school teacher and grew up in a foster home, never knowing either of her biological parents. Her mother had genetics that traced back to Africa but her father was John Austin Darden, who was also involved in politics, and was born in Rockford Coosa, Alabama, in 1879. 'He has my mother's lips,' Davis said as she was presented a photo of her grandfather. 'I can't get used to the fact this is my mother's father.' A clipping from an old Alabama newspaper shone light on who Darden had been. 'The former publisher of the Goodwater Enterprise, who served as both a representative and a senator at various times from 1914 to 1933, had practiced law here 40 years.' 'Was he a member of the Ku Klux Klan or the white citizens council?' Davis asked. 'That's something I would also want to know. Because in those days in order to achieve that power one had to thoroughly embrace white supremacy. 'I'm both glad and I'm angry. I'm really, really angry,' she added. John Austin Darden (pictured) was a successful attorney in Alabama and was involved in state politics. He is Davis's maternal grandfather Davis's mother (right) was a school teacher in Birmingham, Alabama Davis's mother Sallye Bell (right) grew up in a foster home and did not know who her biological parents were. It was revealed that her father was John Austin Darden Stephen Darden, Davis's fourth great grandfather, was born in colonial Virginia around 1750 and was in the revolutionary war. He moved to Georgia after the war and records indicate he owned four slaves As Gates went back further in time things got murkier still. Stephen Darden, her fourth great grandfather, was born in colonial Virginia around 1750. He was a patriot who played the drums during the Revolutionary War, according to a muster roll. Afterwards he moved from Virginia to Georgia, where he owned a farm and at least six slaves. 'I always imagine my ancestors as the people who were enslaved. My mind and my heart are swirling with all of these contradictory emotions,' said Davis. 'I'm glad on the one hand we've begun to solve this mystery, we have something we didn't have before, but at the same time I think it makes me even more committed to struggling for a better world. 'This world that could give rise to such a beautiful person as my mother was not the world I want to see in the future,' she added. Davis's father Benjamin Frank Davis grew in up in Lyndon, Alabama. His mother was Mollie Spencer butm similarly, nothing was known about his father. Alabama Census records indicated that for at least ten years Mollie lived next door to a white man named Murphy Jones. Records stated that he sold her two acres of land for two hundred dollars and that the two were likely relatively close. Using genetic profiles of Murphy's known living relatives, researchers found multiple matches to Angela, indicating that Jones was her grandfather. Court records uncovered by PBS showed that Davis's grandfather brought a complaint against a slaver over his nephews, who were being held in the plantation under 'apprenticeships' Davis (pictured in Raleigh in in 1974) said she was glad to learn her grandfather had challenged the slave owner in court. 'I'm happy to find there's a motif of resistance there because that is what I feel I've been trying to do since I was a teenager,' she said Mollie Spencer's father was named Isom Spencer and was listed as collateral on a loan document filed by a slave owner named William K. Pauling, who owned a plantation in Marengo, Alabama. 'I assume that my ancestors lived on plantations as slaves, but of course I didn't know who they were and I didn't know who the slave owners were,' she said. It transpired that Isom was a remarkable figure who marked the transition of her family from enslaved to free. Court records uncovered by PBS showed he even brought a complaint against the slaver over his nephews, who were being held in the plantation under 'apprenticeships'. 'I'm happy to find there's a motif of resistance there because that is what I feel I've been trying to do since I was a teenager,' said Davis, reflecting on her grandfather's struggle. A Russian oil magnate who was a former spy and close to Vladimir Putin's foreign intelligence chief has died in mysterious circumstances near Moscow, say reports. Well-connected Viatcheslav Rovneiko, 59, was 'found unconscious' late at night at his home in an elite gated village. Doctors could not save him, according to a report by Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper. The circumstances of his reported death were unclear although an investigation is underway. The report said 'no signs of a violent death were found on his body'. Rovneiko's reported death means he would join a long list of high-profile Kremlin figures to die under mysterious circumstances in recent years. He is believed to have been a Cold War era KGB spy working in Belgium with Sergei Naryshkin, now head of the SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence agency. Well-connected Viatcheslav Rovneiko, 59, was 'found unconscious' late at night at his home in an elite gated village near Moscow. Doctors could not save him, according to a report by Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper. No photo was available of him. Pictured: People are seen walking across Moscow's Red Square on Tuesday (file photo) Rovneiko's reported death means he would join a long list of high-profile Kremlin figures to die under mysterious circumstances in recent years. He is believed to have been a Cold War era KGB spy working in Belgium with Sergei Naryshkin (seen left with President Vladimir Putin), now head of the SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence agency He is also reported to have been close to billionaire Gennady Timchenko, seen as one of Putin's most loyal oligarchs. Rovneiko's former business partner was Leonid Dyachenko, whose then wife Tatiana was the powerful daughter of President Boris Yeltsin, Russia's first president. The pair founded Urals Energy, one of several major oil players he was involved with. The company was floated in London in 2005. He also had business interests linked to Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Cyprus, according to reports, and he was reported in 2006 to have held a Belgian passport. Rovneiko was a graduate of Moscow's prestigious Institute of International Relations [MGIMO], a training school for spies and diplomats. Russian business databases showed the ex-spy as a man with no face, and he was known as highly secretive. He was married to fellow MGIMO student Irina, 63, and their son Nikolay, 40, worked as an investment banker in London, and studied at Kingston University. Dozens of Russian businessmen have been found dead since the start of 2022 in unexplained circumstances. A top Russian defence official was found dead after plunging 160ft from a tower block window last week. Marina Yankina, 58, was a key figure in the funding of Vladimir Putin's illegal war in Ukraine as head of the financial support department of the Ministry of Defence for the Western Military District, which is closely involved in the dictator's invasion. Before joining the Western Military region, Ms Yankina worked in the Federal Tax Service, and also served as deputy chairman of the Property Relations Committee of St Petersburg. Reports say it is a suspected suicide, but this is often stated in such cases in Russia before any investigation is carried out or the facts are known. A week earlier, Major General Vladimir Makarov - a Russian general recently fired by Putin - was found dead in a possible suicide. On December 26, Pavel Antonov - the richest deputy of the Russian Duma (Russia's parliament) and a Putin critic - died in India falling out of a hotel window. Russian MP Pavel Antov, 65, who previously criticised the war in Ukraine, was found dead in India in December, having seemingly tumbled from the roof of a hotel Vladimir Bydanov, 61, died in hospital after suddenly falling ill. Indian police insisted he died of a heart attack, possibly brought about by drinking and drug abuse His companion Vladimir Bidenov was found dead in the same hotel four days earlier. Aleksey Maslov, 69, the former chief of Russian Ground Forces, died in hospital on December 25 while Aleksandr Buzakov - who had been the head of Russia's 'admiralty shipyards' for a decade - died on December 24. In July, 76-year-old Yevgeny Lobachev - a retired Major General of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation - was found dead in Moscow with a pistol nearby. His death was also ruled as suicide. Other recent deaths have included the editor of a popular Russian propaganda magazine, the vice-president of Gazprombank and a senior Gazprom official. Dmitry Zelenov, a real estate tycoon, died on December 9 in the French Riviera town of Antibes. The oligarch, 50, was out to dinner with some friends when he began feeling unwell and tumbled down a flight of stairs, sustaining serious head injuries, according to Russian news outlet Baza and local French outlet Var Matin. He was rushed to hospital but doctors were unable to save him and his death was confirmed by the public prosecutor in the nearby municipality of Grasse the following day. Russian oligarch Dmitry Zelenov died in France after allegedly falling down a flight of stairs Zelenov died on December 9 in the French Riviera town of Antibes (pictured) Anatoly Gerashchenko, the former head of Moscow's Aviation Institute (MAI) reportedly slipped and tumbled down a flight of stairs at the institutes headquarters in the Russian capital MAI is one of Russia's leading scientific research universities responsible for the development of aerospace technology and is closely linked to Putin's Defence Ministry According to Baza's Telegram channel, Zelenov underwent surgery related to undisclosed heart problems in the weeks prior to his death, though no further information was provided. Zelenov was a co-founder of Don-Stroy, once one of Moscow's most significant real estate investment and development empires. The circumstances around the real estate tycoon's death are remarkably similar to those of Anatoly Gerashchenko, the former head of Moscow's Aviation Institute (MAI) who is said to have tumbled down a flight of stairs at the institute's headquarters in the Russian capital in September. 'On September 21, 2022, Anatoly Nikolaevich Gerashchenko, Doctor of Technical Sciences, professor, adviser to the rector of the Moscow Aviation Institute, passed away as a result of an accident,' the organisation's press service said. 'This is a colossal loss for the MAI and the scientific and pedagogical community.' MAI is one of Russia's leading scientific research universities responsible for the development of aerospace technology and is closely linked to Putin's Defence Ministry. Gerashchenko, 73, spent a lifetime working with the institute, attending the university as an engineer before working his way up to run the operation for eight years. He had received Russia's Medal of the Order for Services to the Fatherland, First Class, and was a distinguished professor with more than 50 scientific publications who remained on as an influential advisor after retiring in 2015. Gerashchenko's highly suspicious death came less than two weeks after Vladimir Putin's point man for developing Russia's vast Arctic resources 'fell overboard' while sailing off the country's Pacific coast. Ivan Pechorin, 39, was managing director of Putin's Far East and Arctic Development Corporation and had recently attended a major conference hosted by the Kremlin warmonger in Vladivostok. Pechorin fell off the side of a boat in the waters close to Russky Island near Cape Ignatiev, said Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda. His body was found after a search lasting more than a day. The corporation's former CEO Igor Nosov, 43, also died suddenly in February, reportedly from a stroke. On September 1, oil tycoon Ravil Maganov, 67, fell to his death from the sixth floor window of a Moscow hospital. One report said the chairman of Lukoil - Russia's second largest oil company - was 'beaten' before he was 'thrown out of a window', though this has not been independently confirmed. Lukoil had previously voiced opposition to the war in Ukraine. Maganov's death came shortly before Putin arrived at the elite Central Clinical Hospital to pay his last respects to final Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who had died at the hospital just days earlier. A Russian MiG 27 fighter aircraft is pictured in the courtyard of Moscow's Aviation Institute Ivan Pechorin (L), point man for Vladimir Putin's development of the Arctic, died after 'falling overboard' into the sea from a boat near Vladivostok. Igor Nosov (R), CEO of the Corporation for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic, also died in his early 40s, reportedly from a 'stroke' Ravil Maganov, chairman of Russian oil giant Lukoil, died after falling from a window at Central Clinical Hospital, Moscow (pictured with Vladimir Putin in 2019) Yuri Voronov, 61, was found dead in August Two more deaths of Gazprom-linked executives were reported in elite homes near St Petersburg, stoking suspicions that the deaths may well have been murders Billionaire Alexander Subbotin, 43 former top executive with energy giant Lukoil, died in May In July, Yuri Voronov, 61, head of a transport and logistics company for a Gazprom-linked company, was found dead in his swimming pool amid reports of foul play. Two more deaths of Gazprom-linked executives were reported in elite homes near St Petersburg, stoking suspicions that the deaths may well have been murders. Alexander Tyulakov, 61, a senior Gazprom financial and security official at deputy general director level, was discovered by his lover the day after war started in Ukraine in February. His neck was in a noose in his 500,000 home in the elite Leninsky gated housing development, yet multiple reports claim his body had been badly beaten, leading to speculation he was under intense pressure from bad actors. That came just three weeks after Leonid Shulman, 60, head of transport at Gazprom Invest, was found dead with multiple stab wounds in a pool of blood on his bathroom floor in the same gated housing community. Billionaire Alexander Subbotin, 43, also linked to Kremlin-friendly energy giant Lukoil where he was a top manager, was found dead in May. One theory is that Subbotin - who also owned a shipping company - was poisoned by toad venom triggering a heart attack. And in April, wealthy Vladislav Avayev, 51, a former Kremlin official closely linked to Russian financial institution Gazprombank, appeared to have taken his own life after killing his wife Yelena, 47, and daughter, 13. Friends have disputed reports that he was jealous after his wife admitted she was pregnant by their driver, and there are claims he had access to the financial secrets of the Kremlin elite. Several days later multimillionaire Sergey Protosenya, 55, was found hanged in Spain, with his wife Natalia, 53, and their teenage daughter, Maria, found dead from stab wounds. Former Kremlin official and Gazprombank vice-president Vladislav Avayev, 51, appeared to have taken his own life after killing his wife and one of his daughters in April Russian gas tycoon Sergey Protosenya (pictured), his wife Natalya, 53, and their teenage daughter Maria were found dead in their Spanish mansion, in Lloret de Mar, on April 19 Ukrainian born multi-millionaire Yevgeny Palant, 47, and his wife Olga Palant, 50, were found stabbed to death in their family house in Moscow region last week He was a former deputy chairman of Novatek, a company also closely linked to the Kremlin. As with Avayev, it is suggested this may have been an assassination made to appear as a murder-suicide. A week prior Yevgeny Palant, 47, and his wife Olga, 50, both Ukrainian-born, were found by their daughter Polina, 20, having suffered multiple stab wounds. An official briefing to the media claimed the woman took her own life in a jealous rage after Palant said he was leaving her - claims which were strongly disputed by the couple's best friend. China mine collapse leaves 4 dead, 49 missing, as rescue resumes Xinhua) 16:58, February 23, 2023 HOHHOT, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The search and rescue efforts in a collapsed coal mine in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region resumed after a halt caused by a massive landslide at the rescue site. So far, four people have been confirmed dead, and 49 others remained missing. Rescuers have brought out 10 people from debris, including the deaths and six injured ones, who were immediately sent to hospital, according to the rescue headquarters. (Web editor: Liang Jun, Sheng Chuyi) This undated file photo shows Byun Hee-soo, a transgender solider, who was found dead in 2021 after being forcibly discharged from the Army the previous year. Yonhap The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) on Thursday recommended recognizing a transgender soldier, who died in an apparent suicide after forcible discharge from service, as having died in the line of duty. The Army earlier decided to classify the death of the soldier, Byun Hee-soo, as a "general death." Byun died in 2021 after being forcibly discharged the previous year. Currently, deaths of men serving in the military are divided into three categories: death in action, death on duty and general death. The state human rights watchdog called for a defense minister to reevaluate Byun's case as an on-duty death, saying her death had significant causal connection with the forcible discharge from the Army. "The victim suffered mental and financial difficulties due to reasons such as the illegal discharge order, which eventually led to death," the rights watchdog said, adding the death was largely due to negligence or misconduct by the military. The commission also called the Army's conclusion that Byun's death was related to her personal action, such as a gender reassignment surgery, a discriminatory perception on sexual minorities. It also urged the minister to come up with a system to prevent the recurrence of forcibly discharging an active-duty officer who has sex reassignment surgery while in service. Byun underwent surgery in 2019, two years after voluntarily enlisting, and expressed her desire to keep serving in the military as a female soldier. But the Army decided to compulsorily discharge her in January 2020. She later filed a suit over its decision to discharge her against her will but died in an apparent suicide in February 2021. (Yonhap) Britain must double-down on its support for Ukraine while urgently rearming and ramping up its own military spending or face sleepwalking into its own defence crisis, a top Army chief has said. General Lord Richard Dannatt issued the warning ahead of the first anniversary of Vladimir Putin's barbaric invasion of the former Soviet state on Friday, which has claimed the lives of thousands of people and cost the UK 2.3billion. Speaking to MailOnline, the retired General said the conflict had exposed the British Army's 'deficiencies' after decades of cuts hollowed out its ranks, seeing troop numbers shrink to 76,000 - its smallest size since Napoleonic times. But he warned if Britain took its foot of the gas and did not support Kyiv's forces 'to the maximum', it risked 'selling Ukraine down the line', potentially opening the doors to a deeper and more deadly conflict in the future. 'Ukraine must be given the help they need to break the back of the Russian army,' Lord Dannatt said. 'If were serious about wanting to see Ukrainians win then we must do that. A Ukrainian squad launches one of four rockets at a Russian infantry position from their BM-21 Grad 122mm multiple rocket launcher, in the southern Donbas region, Ukraine, on 20 February And the former Army chief insisted the UK must also continue to support Ukraine 'to the maximum' to help it 'break the back' of Russia's invading army. Pictured is UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace standing with Ukrainian troops training on a British Challenger 2 tank at Bovington Camp, Dorset on Wednesday General Lord Richard Dannatt has warned that Britain faces a '1939' moment if it does not pump in more cash to build up its weakened military firepower 'If, however, people harbour some lingering aspiration to bring this war to a negotiated settlement were effectively going to sell the Ukrainians down the line because the only negotiated settlement that Putin is going to accept Is having control of Crimea and Donbass.' The former Army boss's warning comes ahead of a crucial decision in parliament next month over how much the Government will spend on its military budget. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt are facing increasing pressure to pump at least 3billion more into defence as well as reverse plans to shrink the Army further over the next two years. But behind closed doors in Whitehall, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is fighting for 11billion from the Treasury invested into the MoD's coffers, as he warned that 'war is coming to Britain' by the end of the decade. As tensions mount between east and west, and Mr Wallace seeks a boost to defence in the March budget, he told The Sun: 'In order to deter, you have to be ready, you have to be equipped and you have to stand with your friends and your allies.' Warning Britain must brace for a conflict, hot or cold, he added: 'Freedom isn't free. Britain's message to Russia is we are not giving up and we are not going away.' The concern was echoed by Lord Dannatt, 72, who said the UK was on the cusp of repeating the errors of the 1930s, when it failed to boost military coffers in the run-up to the Second World War, as Nazi leader Adolf Hitler rose to power in Germany. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain waves at the crowd at Heston Airport as he declares 'Peace in our Time' after returning from signing the Munich Agreement on September 30, 1938. Less than a year later, on September 1, 1939, Adolf Hitler launched the invasion of Poland, triggering the Second World War Vladimir Putin thought he could defeat Ukraine and overthrow its government in just three days, according to leaked FSB intelligence. But on Friday the war will enter is 365 day. Pictured: Putin attends a rally-concert 'Glory to defenders of the Fatherland' dedicated to the Defender of the Fatherland Day at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, February 22 Ukrainian servicemen of the 3rd Separate Tank Iron Brigade take part in an exercise in the Kharkiv area on 23 February 2023, the day before the one year mark since the war began 'I very much think theres a danger that were walking into a 1939 scenario. Were in the same position today. We havent just got the threat of a dictator in Europe, we have got actual aggression and violence from a dictator in Europe.' The concern was repeated by Robert Clark, director of defence and security at UK think-tank Civitas. The military veteran told MailOnline: As Russia ravages Europe and China menaces Asia, British defence is woefully underfunded to face the very real threats that the government acknowledges exist. Without further funding from the Treasury, then the UK risks failing its Nato commitment of two per cent of GDP for defence. The very first responsibility of government is the defence and security of the UK - and right now this government risks failing in that most basic commitment. Earlier this year, a senior US general is reported to have privately told Mr Wallace the British Army was no longer regarded as a top-level fighting force. Britain has already invested heavily in supporting Ukraine, donating tanks, helicopters, missiles and countless artillery rounds. But it is facing calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to donate Typhoon fighter jets - a plea supported by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Liz Truss but that has so far been rejected by current incumbent, Mr Sunak. Ukrainian President Vlodymyr Zelensky remains in power while Russian gains have been modest over the winter, which has seen a stalemate take hold in the east of Ukraine - despite Putin reportedly planning on his armies taking Kyiv within three days Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace speaks to the crew of an Ajax Ares Armoured Fighting Vehicle, on the training range at Bovington Camp, a British Army military base on Wednesday Britain has helped to train hundreds of Ukrainian troops since the war begun. Pictured are Ukrainian recruits training at Salisbury on Thursday ahead of the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine on Friday The Russian despot launched his invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 - almost one year to the day - leading to tens of thousands of casualties on both sides. Pictured: Destroyed Russian military vehicles are seen in the snow in March With the weather and ground conditions improving in Ukraine, the conflict is braced for a Russian spring offensive and subsequent counter by Kyiv's military in the coming weeks and months. Mr Putin's original plan of taking the country in only a matter of days failed, with a vast amount of the current fighting centring around the battle for the east of Ukraine. Mr Wallace, asked whether he could envisage the war between Ukraine and Russia going on for a further 12 months, told the radio station: 'I think we will. 'I think Russia has shown a complete disregard, not only for the lives of the people of Ukraine, but for its own soldiers. 'We are sitting here 12 months in and 188,000, actually more now, Russian soldiers are dead or injured as a result of this catastrophic miscalculation and aggression by President Putin. 'When someone has crossed the line and thinks it is OK to do that to your own people, running effectively a meat grinder for an army, I think he is not going to stop.' Lord Dannatt, speaking to MailOnline after an event in London, felt the war was likely to rumble on for the rest of the year. He added: 'The potential negotiating positions of Zelensky and Putin are mutual irreconcilable, this conflict is going to have to be ended on the battlefield which is why we must absolutely support the Ukrainians to the maximum so that they can achieve battlefield success with our help and defeat the Russian army. I believe it is quite possible to do that this year. Speaking on Thursday, Mr Wallace stressed the battle in Ukraine was 'not a Nato conflict' but suggested he was not opposed to alliance member Poland sending MiG-29 aircraft to its neighbour. 'We're not going to see Nato [supply planes]. We're going to see countries that are members of Nato potentially put in air force equipment or MiG-29,' he said. The MiG-29 is a Soviet-era fighter jet still in operation worldwide. In September, Mr Wallace said that Britain's defence spending would double, reaching over 100billion per year by 2030. This was in response to a commitment by then-PM Liz Truss to raise spending to three per cent of GDP. At least 15 people were in the home and managed to leave the residence, but da Silva got trapped inside and rescued from the rubble of a nearby home Her home was destroyed by a landslide that killed her brother Ariosvaldo Paes Neide da Silva was able to recover her pet dachshund Dora from the rubble of her home in Sao Sebastiao, Brazil, on Sunday A Brazilian family is back together with their wiener dog after a landslide destroyed their home. The reunion was especially bittersweet for Neide da Silva, who lost her brother, Ariosvaldo Paes, 46, in the storm that killed 49 people and left 11 others missing along the northern coast of the southeastern state of Sao Paulo last weekend. Her niece, Beatriz Farias, 26, is three months pregnant and was still unaccounted for as of Thursday. Da Silva told Brazilian news outlet G1 that her husband returned Sunday to their home in the city of Sao Sebastiao and spotted their pet dachshund Dora hiding in Paes' wardrobe. A Brazilian family has reunited with their pet wiener dog, Dora, who was feared dead after a landslide destroyed their home in Sao Sebastiao, Brazil. The city, located along the northern coast of the southeastern state of Sao Paulo, was battered by 38.3 inches of rain between Saturday and Sunday Neide da Silva was swept out of her home by the landslide and was found in the rubble of a nearby residence, where a neighbor saved her The family initially had ruled out that Dora had survived because she was not responding to their calls. 'She didn't cry and didn't answer anyone,' da Silva said. 'My husband went back there the other day, called her and Dora answered. She came out of my brother's wardrobe. She was waiting for us to pick her up.' Da Silva said at least 30 family members had a get together at her home Saturday as the storm pounded Sao Sebastiao. The city registered a record rainfall of 38.3 inches during the 24-hour period, surpassing the expected average of 18.5 inches for the month of February. Ariosvaldo Paes (pictured) was killed when he attempted to go back into the home to rescue his sister, Neide da Silva. The force of the landslide caused the house to collapsed on top of him Dora was found hiding in Ariosvaldo Paes' wardrobe on Sunday. The dog's owners initially figured that she had died because she was not answering their calls Neide da Silva's niece, Beatriz Farias, 26, is three months pregnant and was still unaccounted for as of Thursday Half of da Silva's family were able to leave her home while the rest, including Paes, remained there waiting for the weather to improve. The landslide swept through Da Silva's house dragged her away to a nearby home, where a neighbor rescued her. Paes reportedly tried to go back into the home after noticing that da Silva had not come out, but the house fell on him. Rescue workers look for bodies after a landslide triggered by heavy rains near Barra do Sahy beach in the Brazilian coastal city of Sao Sebastiao on Wednesday 'At the moment there was nothing to do, (nobody) to ask for help,' da Silva recalled. 'I managed to get out from under the rubble because of a neighbor who passed in front of me, I screamed and he waved his hand. When I looked at the hill there was the rest of the family everyone there.' Da Silva was treated for fractures to the collarbone and foot. A two-year-old boy was injured and underwent a tracheostomy. 'My brother was closest to me, since I was a little girl,' she said. 'We lived together and would live together for the rest of our lives. He had no children, but my son was very attached to him.' Police provided elevated security for school arrivals while Richneck School administrator Karen Lynch informed parents about the texts in a letter It's claimed that the fifth grader texted in a group chat with other students on Saturday that they'd 'pop some bullets' and 'tell someone to shoot up the class' A fifth grader at Richneck Elementary school in Newport News, Virginia - where a teacher was shot by a child, 6, a month ago - has threatened another shooting An elementary school student threatened to shoot-up a Virginia elementary school where a teacher was shot by a different six year-old boy last month. The unidentified Richneck Elementary school student texted a group chat with other students saying they would 'pop some bullets' and 'tell someone to shoot up the class' on Saturday. One student in the group chat reported the messages to their parent who notified teachers that told Lynch. The fifth grader who sent the messages was immediately 'excluded from school' according to the letter obtained by the outlet. The troubling messages come as an investigation into what led the six-year-old student to shoot his teacher, Abby Zwerner, came to an end. Newport News Police provided elevated security for school arrivals in the wake of the latest threat, while Richneck School administrator Karen Lynch informed parents about the texts in a letter on Monday, ABC News reported. A fifth-grade student at an elementary school in Virginia - where 25-year-old teacher Abby Zwerner was shot in the chest just one month ago - has threatened another shooting The Richneck Elementary school student texted a group chat with other students saying they would 'pop some bullets' and 'tell someone to shoot up the class' on Saturday. Police stand outside the school after the six-year-old shot Zwerner Lynch wrote: 'a thorough investigation is underway with the police department. A threat assessment is also in progress.' 'Threats and safety concerns are always taken very seriously. Please rest assured that all protocols are being followed and this incident is being addressed accordingly.' Lynch took the helm after the former principal was reassigned after the January shooting with Zwerner. Zwerner accused the school's assistant principal Ebony Parker, who has since resigned, of failing to act despite being told repeatedly that the student had a gun at school. The 25-year-old's attorney alleged in a letter notifying the district of the intent to file a lawsuit. In the letter, they allege that four teachers, including Zwerner and a guidance counselor, all warned Parker, about the student's behavior the day of the shooting. It's claimed Parker failed to act when she was first notified, between 11.15 and 11.30 am, and when Zwerner was shot at 1.59 pm. School officials have declined to share details about the ongoing case. On Tuesday, the Newport News Police Department completed its investigation into Zwerner's shooting and presented the case to the Commonwealth's Attorney's Office. The findings are yet to be made public, however, the Newport News School Division's separate investigation into the case, is ongoing. Richneck School administrator Karen Lynch informed parents about the texts in a letter on Monday Zwerner, a first-grade teacher at Richneck Elementary School in Newport News, Virginia, told her superiors she felt 'uncomfortable' having the six-year-old boy in her classroom A vigil for Zwerner while she was in hospital was organized shortly after the shooting Zwerner had just finished reading a story to her class, who were about to head to an art lesson, when the six-year-old pulled out a handgun and shot her on January 6. The notice of claim outlines the boy's behavioral issues, and troubling interactions he had with teachers and fellow pupils at Richneck Elementary School in Virginia. Two days before the shooting, the six-year-old allegedly 'slammed' Zwerner's mobile phone and broke it, according to the claim notice. He was given a one-day suspension, but when he returned to Zwerner's class the following day, he pulled a 9mm handgun out of his pocket and shot her while she sat at a reading table, the notice says. The document said that several hours before the shooting, at least three teachers and staff members warned school administrators they believed the boy had brought a gun to school. His backpack was searched, but no gun was found, and administrators did not remove the boy from class, lock down the school or call police. The claim notice said Zwerner went to Parker's office at about 11.15am that day 'to advise her that the shooter seemed more 'off' than usual and was in a violent mood'. It also says the boy had threatened to beat up a student and 'angrily stared down' the school security officer in the canteen. The document describes several more warnings Parker was allegedly given by staff about the boy having a gun. The 25-year-old's attorney alleged in a letter notifying the district of the intent to file a lawsuit Newport News Police provided elevated security for school arrivals while Richneck School administrator Karen Lynch informed parents about the texts in a letter on Monday. Here we can see police outside the school after the first January shooting In the wake of the Jan shooting the superintendent said the district would consider enforcing clear plastic backpacks, as it continues to reel from its third shooting in three years 'Assistant Principal Parker should have called police, instead she did not follow proper protocol and chose to do absolutely nothing,' the claim notice states. Newport News Public Schools Superintendent Dr George Parker admitted there had been a report that the boy may have had a gun with him when he spoke at a town hall a week after the incident. Speaking at the meeting with school parents, the superintended said: 'At least one administrator was notified of a possible weapon in the timeline that we're reviewing and was aware that that student had, there was a potential that there was a weapon on campus.' He said the district would consider enforcing clear plastic backpacks, as it continues to reel from its third shooting in three years. Americans are increasingly cheating on partners, are more open to multiple lovers, and less keen on monogamy, a new survey on changing attitudes to sex and love has revealed. YouGov polling this month shows that while most Americans still want a wholly monogamous marriage, the numbers are slipping as people increasingly accept some degree of dallying. Meanwhile, polygamy the custom of having more than one spouse at the same time remains mostly taboo, but nearly a fifth of US adults say it will be legal within 50 years. For many, the trend is not surprising, echoed in the celebrity cheating scandal involving stars Meghan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly and the open marriage between Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. But for others, including conservative DailyMail.com columnist David Marcus, the trajectory is a worrying progression from the collapse of traditional norms about family life. 'Polygamy will be legal in parts of the US within a decade,' Marcus posted on social media. Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly have been embroiled in a recent cheating scandal, an issue that modern couples must navigate as social norms and expectations shift Comparing YouGov's polling this month against results seven years ago shows an evolving trend away from conventional monogamous relationships 'There is no logical basis to oppose it once you accept gay marriage.' Comparing this month's YouGov survey of 1,000 adults with the same questions asked in 2016 shows the evolution of American attitudes to romance and fidelity. The share of respondents who described their current relationship as 'completely monogamous' dropped from 71 percent in 2016 to 66 percent this month. Those who saw monogamy as the relationship ideal also fell from 62 percent to 55 percent over that period. Meanwhile, the share of respondents who had sex with somebody other than their main romantic lover without that partner's consent ticked up slightly from 19 percent in 2016 to 20 percent this year. A similar rise is seen in the numbers of people sleeping around with their partner's consent. The research also uncovered stark differences of opinion between men and women across age groups. Older women, for example, are more than twice as likely (74 percent) as young men (35 percent) to say they want a completely monogamous relationship. Poll Will polygamy become legal this century? Yes No Not sure Will polygamy become legal this century? Yes 123 votes No 148 votes Not sure 41 votes Now share your opinion Among couples, researchers found men were 'more likely than women to have engaged in sexual activities outside of their relationship'. Attitudes to polygamy also appear to be changing. More than two thirds (68 percent) of Americans are against legalizing marriage for somebody who already has a spouse. But only about a half (53 percent) of younger adults, aged under 29, oppose the idea. Likewise, Democrats are more open to the looser relationship structure than Republicans. 'Though most Americans do not want polygamy legalized, about half either think it will be legalized in the next 50 years (18 percent) or are uncertain (30 percent),' YouGov said in a statement. Jada Pinkett Smith admitted she did have an extra-marital affair while married to Will Smith during a bombshell tell-all confessional Former GMA3 hosts T.J. Holmes (right) and Amy Robach were recently spotted kissing at a poolside resort in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico Unruly congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green openly cheated on her husband Perry Greene (pictured) with men at her fitness gym, DailyMail.com has revealed 'Half (52 percent) say it will not become legal in the next 50 years.' Shifting attitudes on sex and love occur against a backdrop of revelations about the trysts and unconventional relationships of a growing number of notables, as well as efforts to change the laws around marriage and polygamy. The relationship between Fox, 36, the Transformers star, and her pop-punk rapper boyfriend MGK, 32, reportedly hit the skids over an infidelity. Meanwhile, Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes were spotted kissing in Mexico this month. The co-hosts were kicked off Good Morning America after DailyMail.com's revelations about their extramarital affair. In a 2021 cover story for GQ magazine, Smith, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star, spoke of his unconventional, open marriage with his wife. Even hard-right Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene had extramarital flings, including one with a man who was dubbed her 'polyamorous tantric sex guru'. US courts have started giving slivers of recognition to polyamorous relationships a New York City judge last year allowed some inheritance rights within a throuple but more concrete rights are a long way off. A Sarah Lawrence grad sobbed as she was jailed for four-and-a-half years for helping a notorious cult leader sex traffic her fellow students while she enjoyed luxurious hotels and lingerie. Isabella Pollok, 31, spent nearly a decade helping sex traffic young women with cult leader Larry Ray - and used money gleaned from prostituting them to buy designer lingerie and stay at Manhattan's five-star Pierre Hotel. During Wednesday's sentencing, Judge Lewis Liman told Pollock that 'the crime was an extremely serious one' that lasted a long time and caused 'immense harm' to the victims and involved 'sadistic' violence, The New York Times reported. He also told Pollok that although she was young when she met Ray and acknowledged that she he had been 'extraordinarily manipulative,' he said, she always had 'choices.' 'There were moments over the years when you could have walked away or at least shown some mercy,' the judge said. He called a 'significant' sentence of imprisonment necessary, and his sentence fell just shy of the 5-year maximum available for the madam's crimes. Isabella Pollok, 31, leaving the Manhattan courtroom on Wednesday after a judge sentenced her to four-and-a-half years in prison Pollok spent nearly a decade helping sex traffic young women and spending her days lounging at the ritzy Pierre Hotel. Before her sentencing, she addressed the court: 'I badly hurt my friends, and I am ashamed and deeply regret it,' she said during her apology. 'I am truly sorry' The sick and twisted photo of sex cult leader Larry Ray wearing a robe from The Pierre Pollock wept and played the victim just before she was sent to the slammer, claiming she'd been brainwashed and coerced into pimping the victims by Ray. He was jailed for 60 years last month. Pollock struggled to speak as she addressed the Manhattan federal courtroom not mentioning Ray by name but said that she had 'believed and supported someone' who had controlled her in ways she could not understand. In September, Pollok pled guilty and admitted to conspiring with Ray to commit money laundering. 'I will live with the guilt forever. I pled guilty because I am guilty,' she said. 'I did what they said I did.' As a co-conspirator, Pollok's role was to manage Ray's finances and enforcing Ray's rules, which included 'making and maintaining recordings of false confessions he elicited from followers, then used as leverage to demand payments,' federal prosecutors said, the Times reported. 'While collecting money from her abused and trafficked college friends, the defendant was spending luxurious nights at the Pierre Hotel on the Upper East Side and buying expensive clothing, beauty products and high-end lingerie,' the prosecutors wrote. Prosecutors spoke about how Pollok helped facilitate the attacks on Ray's victims, including fetching a hammer that Ray then used to batter one of his victims. Another victims and former student was Claudia Drury, who had been earning money for them by working as a prostitute. One night in 2018 at the Gregory Hotel, Drury was tormented by Pollok as Ray made her strip naked, doused her with water and placed a plastic bag over her head for nearly eight hours while threatening to kill her, Law & Crime reported. Pollok lounged in lingerie at Manhattan's five star Pierre Hotel, pictured, using cash gleaned from forcing sex trafficking victims into prostitution The hotel that was opened in the 1930s is known for its grandeur and opulence Claudia Drury, now 31, was one of the victims of Larry Ray's sex cult ring In April 2022, Ray was convicted of sex trafficking, racketeering and extortion in following a highly publicized trial where prosecutors detailed how he manipulated his daughter's 20-something roommates after moving in with them in at their campus dormitories in 2010. Pollok and Ray's daughter, Talia Ray, were best friends and both were students attending Sarah Lawrence. When Talia asked if her father could live with them following a brief incarceration, the women agreed. But, instead of simply crashing in their dormitory the sordid tale of betrayal and deceit took place at various hotels and a number of New York City apartments, where Ray targeted the group of women He used psychological and physical abuse that involved separating them from their families and coercing them into degrading acts, before extorting them for his own gain and, eventually, holding some captive. The sordid tale and crimes were first exposed in 2019 by New York Magazine's The Cut. Some of the group remained loyal to him even then, after being cut off from their families by Ray. Drury, now 31, one of the victims, who spoke during Ray's trial detailed the sick and twisted way Ray destroyed her lives. 'His evil withered us. I feel profoundly violated in a way that I cannot fully communicate,' she said. But, Drury would later write a letter to the court, asking for 'leniency' for Pollok. 'I do not believe she had a choice in who she became in the hands of Larry Ray,' Drury wrote in a letter, urging 'lenience and mercy' for her former friend,' Law & Crime reported. 'I believe that he specifically encouraged, groomed and conditioned callousness and meanness into her personality, while making her not only believe but know, with conviction, that her reactions were the appropriate and kind one.' Pollok's lawyers had written to Judge Liman that Pollok deserved 'a non-jail sentence.' They wrote that Pollok started Sarah Lawrence as a 'damaged, lonely' freshman, becoming first an 'awed protege' of Ray and then a 'broken automaton.' They also wrote that Pollok came to the realization that his influence was malign and 'made tremendous progress toward her own rehabilitation,' the Times reported. The campus at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, where Ray preyed on victims, and where Pollok studied During Wednesday's sentencing, Judge Liman questioned Pollok's attorney David B. Bertan, who argued that Pollok was a victim of Ray who was 'brainwashed.' 'The truth is she is a victim, albeit in a slightly different way,' Bertan said, who had been referring to the government's proposed five-year sentence. Betran added: 'To me, that sentence is vengeance, not justice.' Pollok apologized to the courtroom: 'I badly hurt my friends, and I am ashamed and deeply regret it,' she said during her apology. 'I am truly sorry.' She is scheduled to report to the Federal Prison Camp Alderson, minimum security women's facility in West Virginia, in April. A man dressed up as Sesame Street's Cookie Monster on a California boardwalk is terrorizing parents to force their kids to take pictures with him. Police identified the man in the beloved blue suit walking around Santa Cruz Beach and harassing visitors as Adam Sandler, 59, who has no relation to the actor. This is not the first time Sandler has used the disguise of a furry monster to scare people, ten years before, when he was referred to as Dan Sandler, he harassed tourists dressed as another Sesame Street character. In 2013, Sandler dressed up as 'Evil Elmo' and harassed tourists in San Francisco, getting himself arrested and banned from the iconic wharf. 'It's the creepy monster, not the Cookie Monster,' a Santa Cruz resident told KSBW. 'We saw him at the beginning of the wharf. At first glance, it just seemed like maybe it would be fun to do a selfie with him but we were away from him and then we went to the back of the wharf... and that's when we saw him coming out making a commotion and getting in people's faces.' Police identified the man in the beloved blue suit walking around Santa Cruz Beach and harassing visitors as Adam Sandler, 59. Sandler is seen above in the blue furry suit with resident Nick Padron (left) Sandler made headlines in 2012 after amateur video emerged of him in New York dressed as Elmo and shouting anti-Semitic slurs. In addition to his California arrest in 2013, he was arrested a year before in Time Square Sandler hasn't committed a crime in Santa Cruz but officers warned people to steer clear of the Cookie Monster imposter due to his extensive criminal history. 'It's a parent's prerogative and risk to allow their child to take a picture with this character,' SCPD wrote in a statement. The police department added that they've received several calls and messages from residents about his 'creepy' presence and comments. Several adults have stopped and taken photos with Sandler while others kept their distance. One concerned resident on Facebook reported Sandler shouted profanity at her family. 'He yelled at us with profanity about a Singapore related conspiracy theory,' one woman wrote. 'I was with my 4 yr old.' 'He asked us if we wanted a picture with him, but we said NO,' another woman added. Resident Nick Padron didn't appear to mind the blue furry monster and stopped by to chat with him. 'We were keeping our distance but I cant see someone that has problems and not talk to them about Jesus for a quick second,' Padron wrote on Facebook. 'So I sparked up a quick conversation by saying God is good. Take a picture with him gave him a couple bucks. Let him know. Ill be praying for him.' The Santa Cruz Police Department said they've received several calls and messages from residents about his 'creepy' presence and comments Several adults have stopped and taken photos with Sandler while others kept their distance Following his arrest, the street performer took his act to San Francisco where he was apparently filmed 'trying to hug kids' in the city's popular Richmond district Speaking to CBS 5 in costume at the time, Sandler admitted he was deported from Cambodia in 1999 for running a pornography website called 'Welcome to the Rape Camp He was then arrested in San Francisco for a plot to extort $2 million from the Girl Scouts Sandler made headlines in 2012 after amateur video emerged of him in New York dressed as Elmo and urging listeners to read The International Jew, a pamphlet of racist musings by car tycoon Henry Ford in the 1920s. Sandler was arrested in Time Square before fleeing to California. He was then dubbed as 'Evil Elmo' and arrested for a plot to extort $2 million from the Girl Scouts. Speaking to CBS 5 in costume at the time, Sandler admitted he was deported from Cambodia in 1999 for running a pornography website called 'Welcome to the Rape Camp.' 'I did a website 12 years ago in Cambodia, over 18 (year old) chicks, so it's not even a crime,' he told the channel. Sandler was only sentenced to eight months for attempted grand larceny and stalking. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has warned 'war is coming to Britain' by the end of the decade and must invest in its military to prepare. The former Scots Guard also stressed that Russia's 'meat grinder' tactics could drag out the war in Ukraine for another year, with Putin 'not going to stop', on the eve of the anniversary of the invasion tomorrow. As tensions mount between east and west, and Wallace seeks a boost to defence in the March budget, he told The Sun: 'In order to deter, you have to be ready, you have to be equipped and you have to stand with your friends and your allies.' While Britain continues to pledge material support to Ukraine, he urged that the nation must brace for conflict, hot or cold, and 'be ready for whatever could happen'. 'Freedom isn't free,' he said. 'Britain's message to Russia is we are not giving up and we are not going away.' Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace speaks to the crew of an Ajax Ares Armoured Fighting Vehicle, on the training range at Bovington Camp, a British Army military base on Wednesday A Ukrainian squad launches one of four rockets at a Russian infantry position from their BM-21 Grad 122mm multiple rocket launcher, in the southern Donbas region, Ukraine, on 20 February In an interview with LBC, Mr Wallace added that he was 'open' to sending more British tanks to Kyiv and suggested Ukraine was likely to receive fighter jets from NATO member countries. But he hinted it was eastern European members of the alliance, which have Soviet-era planes more like the ones the Ukrainian air force is used to, that were more likely to supply the jets than Britain. With the weather and ground conditions improving in Ukraine, the conflict is braced for a Russian spring offensive and subsequent counter by Kyiv's military in the coming weeks and months. Mr Putin's original plan of taking the country in only a matter of days failed, with a vast amount of the current fighting centring around the battle for the east of Ukraine. Mr Wallace, asked whether he could envisage the war between Ukraine and Russia going on for a further 12 months, told the radio station: 'I think we will. 'I think Russia has shown a complete disregard, not only for the lives of the people of Ukraine, but for its own soldiers. 'We are sitting here 12 months in and 188,000, actually more now, Russian soldiers are dead or injured as a result of this catastrophic miscalculation and aggression by President Putin. 'When someone has crossed the line and thinks it is OK to do that to your own people, running effectively a meat grinder for an army, I think he is not going to stop.' He stressed that the battle in Ukraine was 'not a NATO conflict' but suggested he was not opposed to alliance member Poland sending MiG-29 aircraft to its neighbour. 'We're not going to see NATO [supply planes]. We're going to see countries that are members of NATO potentially put in air force equipment or MiG-29,' he said. The MiG-29 is a Soviet-era fighter jet still in operation worldwide. The UK has been a prominent supporter of Ukraine's military efforts to push back the Kremlin's troops, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announcing earlier this year that Britain would be the first country to supply tanks to its armed forces. Mr Sunak announced that 14 Challenger 2 tanks would be supplied, with the war machines set to arrive in eastern Europe next month. Ukrainian servicemen of the 3rd Separate Tank Iron Brigde take part in an exercise in the Kharkiv area on 23 February 2023, the day before the one year mark since the war began Mr Wallace made the comments on sending more British tanks to Ukraine after spending Wednesday at Bovington Camp in Dorset to see Ukrainian troops being trained on the Challengers. The Defence Secretary has been seen to be lobbying Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in recent weeks to increase Ministry of Defence spending in the face of Russia's aggression and growing Chinese influence on the world stage. Facing criticism, including from veterans' minister Johnny Mercer, for his remarks about Britain's armed forces being 'hollowed out', Mr Wallace said it was 'not unheard of' for a defence secretary to push for more money ahead of a Budget. In the run-up to Mr Hunt's fiscal announcement on March 15, the Conservative minister said he was 'asking for relief from pressures that have occurred since the last settlements', adding: 'We're not in a position where we want transformational money in the next few years.' In September, Mr Wallace said that Britain's defence spending would double, reaching over 100bn per year by 2030. This was in response to a commitment by then-Prime Minister Liz Truss to raise spending to 3% of GDP. Last week he acknowledged he was fighting to boost spending by 11bn in this year's March budget. A vigil, jointly co-ordinated by the US and Ukraine embassies in London, will be held in Trafalgar Square on Thursday evening between 6pm and 8pm to mark the first anniversary of Russia's assault on Ukraine. The latest Government figures show that as of February 20, 163,500 people had arrived in the UK under the Ukraine schemes. Of these, 47,800 arrived via the Ukraine Family Scheme and 115,800 via the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme. A retired Taiwanese government official who turned 100 in November has died after he was knocked down by a hit-and-run driver as he crossed the road in Oakland. Tzu-Ta Ko, whose wife died last month, suffered severe head trauma as a result of the collision and died in the middle of the road as a result of his injuries. Oakland police have now released photographs of a Mini Cooper that is believed to have been driven by the hit-and-run driver. Police say the driver in the Mini Cooper - which is either in white or tan - struck Ko on the intersection of 19th Street and Harrison street in Oakland before fleeing the scene on Sunday morning. Ko's daughter, Shirley Ko, told KTVU: 'We're really, really close, so this is really a shock for me.' Oakland police have now released photographs of a Mini Cooper that is believed to have been driven by the hit-and-run driver Police say the driver in the Mini Cooper - which is either in white or tan - struck Ko on the intersection of 19th Street and Harrison street in Oakland before fleeing the scene on Sunday morning Shirley said her father 'enjoys walks'. 'He's pretty healthy. That's why we're very surprised. He walked almost every day,' she said. 'Everybody should learn from him,' Shirley added. 'He lived over 100. He exercised, he takes care of himself.' Officers were called to the scene following reports of a hit-and-run and they found Ko lying on the floor with severe head trauma. Medics arrived at the scene and provided aid to Ko but he succumbed to his injuries "Very sad, you know, someone who can live to 100," Carl Chan, president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, told KTVU. "Being a senior, it's quite sad. Unfortunately, we have seen many pedestrian fatalities involving our seniors." He added, "At least you should have the courtesy to stop, call the police, call for help. This type of behavior is not acceptable." The Oakland Police Department and Crime Stoppers of Oakland are offering a reward up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest in this case. Officials said if anyone has seen the Mini Cooper or have information about the case, to contact the Oakland Police Department Traffic Investigation Unit at (510) 777-8570. The teenage gunman who killed a Florida journalist and a nine-year-old girl after returning to an earlier crime scene was 'high' when police arrested him, and is refusing to explain his murderous spree. Keith Melvin Moses, 19, is in custody for the murder of Nathacha Augustin, a 38-year-old woman he allegedly shot at 11am yesterday. Nathacha was in the passenger seat of Moses' cousin's car when the cousin spotted him walking down the street, looking 'down'. The cousin offered to give him a ride and Moses got in the backseat, but then shot Augustin in the chin and fled. Local reporter Lyons and his cameraman Jesse Walden flocked to the scene of that shooting and were preparing to report on it for their nightshift. That is when Moses is accused of returning to the scene, shooting them both. He then walked into a nearby home and shot and killed nine-year-old girl T'Yonna Major. T'Yonna's mother Brandi was also shot and is recovering in the hospital. Nine-year-old T'Yonna Major was shot dead in her home when the gunman stormed in and opened fire T'Yonna's mother Brandi was also shot. She remains in the hospital Her family are now fundraising to pay her mother's medical bills, and to cover the cost of the child's funeral. 'Senseless violence has taken the life of my little girl, T'Yonna Major. 'She was a light to everyone that knew her. She was everything to us,' her father said in a GoFundMe page set up for the family. Police arrested Moses moments after the murders and said his gun - a .45 Glock handgun - was still 'hot to the touch'. At a press conference on Thursday, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said Moses is a known gang member who has refused to explain why he committed the murders, but that he appeared to be high when he was arrested. Keith Melvin Moses smirked and smiled as he was taken away in handcuffs after being arrested in connection to the three killings in Orlando, Florida. The terror started just after 11am, when a woman, 20, was found dead on the street with shotgun wounds. Then at 4.05pm that day - as broadcasters gathered to report the local news - the suspect is believed to have returned and started firing again Keith Melvin Moses is now in custody refusing to speak to police. Cops said he appeared to be under the influence of drugs when they arrested him 'We are not looking for anyone else. This is our guy,' Sheriff Mina said, adding that witnesses and surveillance footage place Moses at the scene. 'When deputies took him down they thought he might be under the influence of some kind of drug but none of that has been confirmed - his eyes were dilated,' he said. Police took him to the hospital after he complained he 'couldn't breathe'. There, he began 'fighting with hospital staff' and had to be restrained. Once in police custody, Moses 'pretended to be asleep' to try to get out of his interview. He remains in custody but is refusing to talk to detectives. 'Moses is not speaking to us. We're unable to determine a motive at this time. 'It's unclear why he shot the first victim, why he targeted the folks in the news media and it' unclear why he shot a nine year old and her mother. 'We'd like to answer this for our community - why did he do this? Why did he shoot these people? 'His firearm was empty, thankfully. I'm not sure if he would have kept shooting people in that community,' Sheriff Mina said. It's unclear how he obtained the gun. Dylan Lyons, 24, was shot and killed while reporting on a shooting in Pine Hills, Florida, yesterday. He was just six months into his job at Spectrum News 13 Cameraman and photographer Jesse Walden, who was with Lyons at the time, was also shot. He remains in the hospital in critical condition An arrest report details how Moses was caught with 4.6grams of cannabis, ski masks and a gun in a car In 2021, Moses was arrested for marijuana possession after police found him in a car with two other young men. As they approached the vehicle, one of them tossed a gun out the window. Moses had 4.6 grams of cannabis on in his pocket, and was on probation for juvenile offenses at the time. The men also had ski masks in their car and all prior arrests for weapons offenses and burglary. But because of the low amount of marijuana Moses was carrying at the time, he never received a prison sentence and at-most, would have only ever been given probation. It's unclear whether cops charged any of the young men for possession of the weapon, which was stolen. Moses' prior offenses occurred before he was 18, which the State's Attorney's office says limits them from discussing them. The State's Attorney's Office would not discuss them on Thursday morning when contacted by DailyMail.com. In a statement last night, State Attorney Monique H. Worrell said: 'Our sincere condolences go out to the families of those whose lives were lost... due to the pending criminal charges in this matter, we are unable to comment further on the details of this case as it is now an open and ongoing investigation.' Last night, WESH 2 News reporter Luana Munoz wept on-air as she reported from the hospital where Lyons was confirmed dead. 'I apologize. This is really difficult to cover. It is very emotional here... Dylan Lyons' heartbroken fiancee, Casey Lynn (left) wrote: 'The love of my life was murdered. I will never be the same again.' The young reporter (right) was killed while on duty in Florida 'There are people here who knew that reporter, his fiancee and I were just embracing. 'This is every reporter's worst nightmare. We go home at night afraid that something like this will occur. One of our own has just passed. I'm going to send it back to you guys so I can get myself together.' Lyons' colleagues at Spectrum News 13 also paid tribute to him on-air. 'He took his job very seriously, he loved his career, he loved what he did. 'He loved the community, telling the stories of people, reporting the news. He was just passionate about what he did. 'When he was out of the news station he was still talking about how much he wanted to succeed. Very close with his mom too,' his colleague and friend Josh Miller said. Anchor Ybeth Bruzual said: 'This is a profound loss on so many levels because it's impacting us at our doorstep, but there is a child that is dead, a mother who is injured, another co-worker who is hospitalized. 'So please bear with us as we also try to process the fact that our co-worker will not be coming to join us here. He is gone. 'His family is trying to figure things out. Dylan was so special. He died while doing what he loved the most - doing his job.' Julia Gargotta added: 'Of course for us we've been talking about this nonstop, up all night. We sit here in unity and in mourning thinking about our colleague who lost his life, he's now being identified as Dylan Lyons.' Lyons' heartbroken fiancee took to social media last night to share her grief. 'The love of my life was murdered. I will never be the same again,' she said as she shared a link to a GoFundMe page dedicated to covering his funeral costs. Vladimir Putin thought he could defeat Ukraine and overthrow its government in just three days, according to leaked FSB intelligence. The Russian despot launched his invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 - almost one year to the day - leading to tens of thousands of casualties on both sides. The leak appears to confirm what has long been reported: Putin's spies told him his armed forces would quickly depose Volodymyr Zelensky and his administration, and that the people of Ukraine to welcome Russian soldiers with open arms. In reality, Ukraine has since put up a fierce defence of its country. It's forces drove Russia's armies back from the capital in the first month, and have since pushed on in the north and south with lighting counteroffensives. And one year on, Zelensky remains in power while Russian gains have been modest over the winter, which has seen a stalemate take hold in the east of Ukraine. Vladimir Putin thought he could defeat Ukraine and overthrow its government in just three days, according to leaked FSB intelligence. Pictured: Putin attends a rally-concert 'Glory to defenders of the Fatherland' dedicated to the Defender of the Fatherland Day at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, February 22 The Russian despot launched his invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 - almost one year to the day - leading to tens of thousands of casualties on both sides. Pictured: Destroyed Russian military vehicles are seen in the snow in March Leaked emails from within Russia's FSB intelligence service, seen by The Sun Online, shows Putin was told by those close to him there would be 2,000 pro-Russian people in every Ukrainian city waiting to overthrow their leader. The source, known as Wind of Change, handed the emails to Russian human rights activist Vladimir Osechkin who founded 'Gulagu', which monitors Russian prisons. 'We issued reports that at minimum about 2,000 trained civilians in every major city in Ukraine were ready to overthrow Zelensky,' the report says, according to The Sun. 'And that at least 5,000 civilians were prepared to come out with flags against Zelensky on the beck-and-call of Russia.' The Sun says the emails are thought to have originally been written by a single FSB officer, but that now several contribute to the emails. The report suggests that the FSB was informing Putin that once Zelensky had been removed from the top of Kyiv's government, Ukrainians would turn to in-fighting in order to win Putin's favour in the new iteration of their country. 'Do you want a laugh? We were expected to be the arbitrators for crowning Ukrainian politicians who were supposed to start tearing each other apart competing for the right to be called aligned with Russia,' the source is understood to say. The report also asked what would happen if the plan 'doesn't work?' This question was left unanswered when they planned to take Kiev in three days,' it says. In the first month of the war, the capital Kyiv saw Russian troops 19 miles from its doorstep and relentless attacks on energy infrastructure since. Nevertheless, residents remained defiant, and the city's defenders kept the vast Russian forces at bay, who were forced to refocus their attention in the east. There have been several explanations put forward as to why this was, including poor and slow-moving Soviet-era tactics, poor intel, ageing equipment, and the weather. Since then, Russia has gone on to suffer as many as 200,000 casualties, as well as several humiliating single blows to the likes of its Black Sea flagship the Moskva and the Kerch Bridge, which links Russia to the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsular. On a whole, the report suggests the Kremlin severely underestimated Ukraine. Speaking on Thursday, Zelensky expressed confidence in his country's victory over the invaders, and fears of mounting of strikes on the war's first anniversary. Since failing to take Kyiv, Russia has gone on to suffer as many as 200,000 casualties, as well as several humiliating single blows to the likes of its Black Sea flagship the Moskva and the Kerch Bridge, which links Russia to the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsular One year on, President Zelensky remains in power while Russian gains have been modest over the winter, which has seen a stalemate take hold in the east of Ukraine - despite Putin reportedly planning on his armies taking Kyiv within three days The nearly year-long conflict has seen Western leaders step up their support for Kyiv, and on Thursday G7 ministers discussed new sanctions on Russia as the UN General Assembly prepared to vote on a motion calling for 'lasting' peace. 'We have not broken down, we have overcome many ordeals and we will prevail. We will hold to account all those who brought this evil, this war to our land,' Zelensky said on social media. Ahead of the war's first anniversary on February 24, Ukraine's military intelligence chief said Russia was planning a missile attack to mark the day. 'February 23-24, they have two dates,' Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview to newspaper Ukrainskaya Pravda, adding: 'Believe me, we have survived this more than 20 times already.' Hyun Jin Preston Moon, founder and chairman of Global Peace Foundation speaks during an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul Feb. 20. Courtesy of Global Peace Foundation Moon encourages young generation to take part in 'Korean Dream' initiative By Lee Hyo-jin After more than seven decades of hostilities between South and North Korea, unification may sound like a distant goal to many especially to the younger generations. For them, integrating the capitalist south with the communist north is becoming an increasingly far-fetched idea amid the widening economic and cultural gaps that exist between the two. However, Hyun Jin Preston Moon, the founder and chairman of the Washington D.C.-based non-profit group Global Peace Foundation (GPF), strongly believes that young people will play a significant role in achieving unification on the Korean Peninsula. After establishing the foundation in 2009, Moon has been campaigning for unification based on the founding ideal of Korea "Hongik Ingan," which means "to live for the greater benefit of all mankind." "If I speak to young people here in Korea, they have been misinformed about unification and that is one of the reasons why a lot of the concepts they have are wrong," he said during an interview with The Korea Times in Seoul, Feb. 20. "They don't seem to understand what opportunities will be afforded to them if that [unification] happens. It will be the greatest transformative opportunity in their lifetime," he said. With that, he stressed the importance of quality education for young people. "Education is absolutely the key. If you want to have the public to make good decisions, you have to provide them with the right information. There's a lot of ideas out there that are not really good ideas and have been disproven historically and yet are now still being pushed upon young people." Hyun Jin Preston Moon gives a speech during an event held to campaign for unification in Seoul, Feb. 21. Courtesy of Global Peace Foundation Unification achievable through grassroots movements During the interview, Moon introduced what he calls the "Korean Dream" framework as a tool to achieve the unification of the two Koreas and create a common national identity. The initiative is based on the notion that feasible progress on unification will be made by grassroots movements of ordinary people, not top-down decisions by policymakers. He said that diplomatic initiatives, bilateral talks and summits aimed at resolving security concerns surrounding North Korea's nuclear weapons program have led to little progress so far. Against this backdrop, he established Action for Korea United (AKU) in 2012, a coalition of 1,000 civic organizations which aims for a grassroots approach to raising public awareness of the importance of unification. "Ordinary people are going to be the gate openers. If people moving in a certain direction and a central vision is what's driving them, eventually, the politicians are going to follow and they're going to open the doors. That's what happened with the downfall of the Soviet Union and German unification," he said. Such an initiative seems to be showing visible progress. Participants attend an event hosted by the Global Peace Foundation on its unification campaign held in Yeouido, Seoul, Feb. 21. Courtesy of Global Peace Foundation The US is expected to quadruple the number of forces deployed to Taiwan in the coming months as tensions with Beijing continue to simmer. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that the Pentagon plans to deploy between 100 and 200 troops to the self-ruled island, up from around 30 a year ago. Service members from the Marines and the special forces have been sent to Taiwan in the past and the number has fluctuated over the years. However, this uptick would mark the biggest increase of American troops on the ground in Taiwan in decades. US forces are used to train Taiwanese military members, so they can defend themselves against China, which claims ownership of Taiwan. The US is expected to quadruple the number of forces deployed to Taiwan in the coming months as tensions with Beijing continue to simmer. Taiwanese military forces are photographed in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei in January Already the Michigan National Guard is training Taiwanese troops at Camp Grayling in northern Michigan. The US forces sent to Taiwan will also be tasked with training Taiwanese military members Thursday on Fox & Friends, Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee called it a 'significant step' but also pointed out the total amount of troops wouldn't be large. 'We do have to remember that, although this involves the quadrupling of those we've got there, it's going to amount to no more than a couple of hundred,' Lee said. 'So, it's a small presence, it is a presence that is there to provide training and not to fight battles.' Additionally, Taiwanese forces are being trained in Michigan by the Michigan National Guard at Camp Grayling in the northern part of the state. The moves come several weeks after an Air Force general predicted the US would be at war with China in 2025 and a day after the Secretary of the Navy raised the alarm that China's fleet was now larger than the US's. 'It is no secret that the People's Republic of China seeks to upend our dominance on the oceans across the globe,' said Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro in remarks at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. Del Toro said that China's navy had recently added over 100 combatants to its fleet, calling it 'a naval buildup that is a key component of its increasingly aggressive military posture globally.' China's People's Liberation Army Navy now has approximately 340 ships, according to Del Toro. The US Navy says its fleet is 'over 280 ships ready to be deployed,' and though the exact number is unclear, it is less than 300. Del Toro said China plans to field a fleet of 440 ships by 2030, far outstripping the Pentagon's stated goal to have 350 manned ships by 2045. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro (right) raised the alarm that China's naval fleet surpasses America's in number of ships, and is growing faster than the US has current capacity to match A Chinese warship is seen taking part in exercises in the Arabian Sea near Karachi, Pakistan, on February 13. China's People's Liberation Army Navy now has approximately 340 ships 'Because of the incursion of a Chinese balloon into our air space, most Americans' alarm bells have now gone off,' said Del Toro. However, he added that many Americans were not aware that China 'consistently' attempts to violate the maritime sovereignty and economic well-being of other nations, including our allies and trading partners in South China Sea and elsewhere. In recent years, China has grown increasingly aggressive in the South China Sea, a vast swath of ocean that China claims as its own, though the claim is not recognized under international law. 'China's disregard for the rules-based international order is particularly troubling in the maritime domain, from the Taiwan Straits to the high seas,' said Del Toro. 'The values espoused by the Chinese Communist Party are incompatible with individual liberty, with democracy, and with respect for human rights,' he added. Del Toro claimed in remarks to reporters that China's shipbuilding capacity far exceeds that of the US, saying that China has 13 shipyards, including one that has a shipbuilding capacity greater than all US yards combined, according to CNN. The US maintains a powerful advantage in aircraft carriers, with the Navy's 11 to China's three. China has also reportedly struggled to train enough ship-borne fighter jet pilots to properly man its carriers. However, experts say that in a full-scale naval war, the bigger overall fleet almost always has a decisive advantage. A US warship takes part in multinational exercises. The Navy has roughly 280 warships The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG 70) is seen in a file photo The US Navy's fleet size is not expected to reach 350 until the 2040s, according to the Navy's latest projections, seen in a CBO report out Wednesday CBO documents detail the Navy's shipbuilding plans over the next several years. The fleet will likely shrink before it grows, as old ships are decommissioned Sam Tangredi, the Leidos Chair of Future Warfare Studies at the US Naval War College and a former US Navy captain, issued such a warning last month in the January issue of the US Naval Institute's Proceedings magazine. In his analysis of 25 historical naval wars, the side with the larger fleet won in all but three cases. 'In a war between equally competent technological near peers absent a series of amazing strokes of luck the larger fleet always won,' he wrote. Meanwhile, China's provocations continue to increase on the South China Sea. On February 6, a Chinese coast guard ship directed a 'military-grade laser' at a Philippine coast guard vessel, temporarily blinding its crew on the bridge. The Philippine ship was assisting a navy mission to deliver food and supplies to troops on an atoll in the disputed South China Sea. The incident took place at the Second Thomas Shoal, 105 nautical miles off the Philippine province of Palawan. The shoal is home to a small Philippine military contingent on board a rusty ship. 'I think it's time for the Chinese government to restrain its forces so that it does not commit any provocative act that will endanger the lives of people,' Philippines military spokesperson Medel Aguilar told reporters, according to Reuters. Aguilar quoted the Philippine defense chief as saying the Chinese action was 'offensive' and unsafe. The Philippines accused a Chinese coast guard ship of hitting one of its coast guard vessels with a military-grade laser on February 6. Pictured: An image released by the Philippine coast guard showing a green light coming from the Chinese vessel Manila said the laser (pictured) temporarily blinded some of its crew in the disputed South China Sea, calling it a 'blatant' violation of Manila's sovereign rights US naval operations chief Admiral Michael Gilday was in Manila on Wednesday, where he said the United States is 'committed' to conducting joint maritime patrols with the Philippines in the disputed waterway to deter Chinese aggression. Gilday said the countries were 'in the beginning of the planning stages' for combined maritime activities, but he insisted the United States was 'committed and focused', AFP reported. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, through which trillions of dollars in trade passes annually, and has ignored an international court ruling that its claims have no legal basis. In Manila, Gilday held talks with Philippine navy chief Vice Admiral Toribio Adaci and military chief of staff General Andres Centino. They agreed 'in principle that we need to move forward, focused and with speed, in order to improve our interoperability together in the South China Sea and across the region', Gilday told reporters. Given its proximity to Taiwan and its surrounding waters, cooperation from the Philippines would be key in the event of a conflict with China. A top black doctor has slammed woke 'implicit bias training' infiltrating the modern medical field - which threatens the careers of experienced physicians if they don't comply with the racism re-education course. Marilyn Singleton, a leading physician with 50 years experience in the medical field, hit out at the mandated training being pushed on doctors in states across the US. In an opinion piece for the Washington Post, Singleton said she was 'appalled' to be told she needed the training, which she refuses to take. 'Racial obsession has come rushing back in academia, politics, business and even in my beloved medical profession,' she wrote. 'The malignant false assumption that Black people are inherently inferior intellectually has been traded in for the malignant false assumption that White people are inherently racist.' Top doctor Marilyn Singleton has hit out at the woke 'implicit bias training' infiltrating the medical field The medic said the re-education initiative is based on a 'malignant false assumption that white people are inherently racist' Woke 'implicit bias' training has been forced on medical professionals in several states in recent years, including California, Maryland, Michigan and Washington. In California, Singleton's home state, medics are mandated to undergo 50 hours of 'continuing medical education' every two years, and those that refuse are threatened with having their license revoked. But Singleton is among those fighting back against the re-education initiative, arguing that she rejects 'the unscientific accusation that people are defined by their race, not by their individual beliefs and choices.' Speaking to DailyMail.com, Singleton said: 'This problem has been going on for a while. 'This is a new wave of division. People of my age group saw racial segregation and division pass, and now it's starting up again.' The physician said that the introduction of such programs has been far from a sudden move, and instead has been steadily infiltrating fields in multiple industries. 'It's like boiling the frog, it creeps in,' she continued. 'The corporate world are doing it too, certainly as a political tool. 'Anyone can sign up for a course and simply attend, the problem is that it is a weapon for those in power to keep us divided. They have us bickering, meanwhile they change the whole landscape of medicine.' Noting her 50 years of experience, she said the ideological training should be particularly offensive to black physicians such as herself, who battled to obtain her medical degree in 1973 'in a class of mostly white men'. 'It's disheartening. After all our advancements, to see people chip away at it, its demeaning, to take away from individual successes and achievements. 'You cease to be a person in your own right, no longer a singular... it's how it gets to be like a 1984 scenario.' Singleton is among a growing chorus of medical workers who are refusing to take the training course, a decision that threatens her medical license despite her 50 year career in the field The leading doctor is a visiting fellow from the medical organization Do No Harm, and previously served as President of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) after graduating from Stanford and UCSF Medical School. Singleton argues that the course suggests white colleagues are driven by an implicit racist bias 'beneath the surface, threatening to rear its ugly, racist head'. 'Black people are, in effect, being told that White physicians are likely to quite literally damage our health,' she continued. 'If thats the case, why on earth would you seek medical care, unless you could be absolutely certain of not being treated by a white physician? 'And if you do seek medical care, why wouldnt you doubt every word from a white doctor who is inherently prejudiced against you?' Despite its apparent intention to help black patients, the leading medic said it may be having the opposite effect, because the proposal instead 'fosters a climate of distrust and resentment that threatens to undermine the medical and moral progress Ive seen over the decades.' 'When I graduated from medical school, we were moving past the era of racial obsession and anger. 'Why are we going back to the days when race defined so many lives and dimmed so many futures?' Singleton previously ran for Congress in 2012 as an independent candidate, where she argued against the Affordable Care Act and said 'something had to be done to improve healthcare delivery in our country.' Prior to her unsuccessful run for California's 13th Congressional District, she also attended law school and worked at the National Health Law Project. A growing number of people in the medical field are fighting back against the woke training course, after some were kicked out of their careers for rejecting it. Last year, Texas nurse Laura Morgan was terminated from her job after she refused to take the training, which she says was designed to pit her against her colleagues and patients on the basis of their race. Morgan, who is a program manager for Singleton's organization Do No Harm, spoke out after she was fired for refusing to attend the course. 'This type of training and other radical ideologies that are infiltrating health care, are really causing divisiveness between the relationship of trust between doctors and nurses and their patients,' she told Fox News. She added that the 'degrading' course forced healthcare workers to 'look at their patients through an ideological lens instead of a clinical one'. An unruly American Airlines passenger has been arrested after trying to breach the cockpit following an argument with the crew over alcohol - forcing the pilot to make and emergency landing. Tiffany Michelle Miles, 36, of Washington DC, caused American Airlines Flight 3444 from Jacksonville to DC to divert to Raleigh-Durham International Airport shortly after 3.30pm on Wednesday. The flight had about 50 people on it. Fellow passenger Kara Rosario told ABC 11 that Miles, who was sitting in first class, became irritated that her alcoholic beverage wasn't being served fast enough. She then tried to get into the cockpit before crew members attempted to calm her down. Another passenger who heard the commotion walked up to help the crew 'diffuse the situation', according to Rosario, who was a few rows behind Miles. Miles was arrested and later bonded out of jail. She was charged with a illegal airport obstruction misdemeanor for interfering with a flight crew and could face up to 20 years in jail, according to World News Tonight. Tiffany Michelle Miles, 36, of Washington DC, caused American Airlines Flight 3444 from Jacksonville to DC to divert and make an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport shortly after 3.30pm on Wednesday Miles reportedly became irritated that her alcoholic beverage wasn't being served fast enough and attempted to breach the cockpit 'She was upset because they weren't serving her her beverage,' Rosario said. 'She was yelling that she paid for First Class and that she's not getting her drink that she's ordered.' And that's when the fellow passenger got up to help the crew. 'He wasn't a marshal at all or police officer just a citizen who was trying to help diffuse the situation,' Rosario told ABC 11. 'You could feel that we were in it together and were willing to do what was needed but the gentleman behind me was the first to get up and take matters into his own hands.' Air Traffic Control audio from cockpit revealed Miles was walking around the cabin and attempted in gain entry to the cockpit. 'Subject is currently on the loose in the cabin,' the audio said. 'And [Miles] is trying to breach the cabin. [Miles] is being somewhat restrained by the flight crew and other passengers.' The pilot then asked for Miles to be 'restrained' as soon as the plane landed. An Air Traffic Control operator later informed the crew that a 'long gun crew is going to be on the outside, end of the aircraft.' An American Eagle flight traveling from Jacksonville, Florida to Washington D.C. was disrupted during its flight as a passenger tried to gain access to the cockpit, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing. @GioBenitez has details. https://t.co/waOcuhhsMm pic.twitter.com/MTvgtivaeI World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) February 23, 2023 A long gun crew was deployed to stand outside the aircraft in North Carolina, as well as the FBI, who is currently investigation. Miles was charged with illegal airport obstruction for interfering with a flight crew and could face 20 years in jail for the misdemeanor 'They'll be standing by,' he said. A photo taken on the flight shows Miles being escorted off by four officers and she was arrested. The airport had put a ground stop on arriving flights when Flight 3444 landed, but it was lifted around 4pm, according to WRAL News. The FBI and the FAA are currently investigating the incident to determine if additional charges are needed. No passengers were injured during the commotion and all were rebooked on different flights to Washington DC. DailyMail.com has attempted to contact Miles for comment. The 'infamous' pole has become something of an urban legend within the state, even earning a spot in a local woman's obituary It is unclear exactly why more than 100 crashes have taken place involving a mysterious Walmart stop-sign pole in Auburn, Maine A simple stop sign outside of a Walmart in Auburn, Maine is terrorizing local residents who can't seem to stop crashing into it, to the extent that one woman asked for its removal in her obituary. Local Police Chief Jason Moen said police have responded to crashes at the pole at least 130 times since 2020. The city's Fire Chief called it 'an inordinate amount of emergencies.' It is unclear why such an astoundingly high number of people have managed to hit the bright yellow pole, but it lives in infamy in its community, and beyond, thanks to social media. The pole (one of two) strikes again! In the distance (right) the second havoc-wreaking pole, which is also bent, can be seen in the Auburn, Maine Walmart parking lot The pole, which, together with its twin at the other end of the parking lot, has caused upwards of 130 crashes, was recently given a makeover meant to provide drivers at least half a chance of avoiding the Walmart parking lot fixture A multitude of media outlets have covered the magnetic power that the pole seems to have on local cars. The sign has, in fact, become so well known that people drive to the sign, hopefully avoiding it, to see it in person and take selfies with it. A 9-year-old girl went viral after asking her mother to take her to the pole for her birthday after a roller-skating outing. There is also a Facebook group with more than 7,500 members called 'The Auburn Walmart Pole Strikes Again.' And in 2021, the pole even earned a spot in a local woman's obituary in 2021, which asked that in lieu of flowers, mourners of Janet Morse please 'donate to the removal of the notorious Auburn Walmart pole that has led to the needless destruction of countless vehicles.' Since the pole began its reign of terror over local vehicles, it has assumed several different appearances, each apparently designed to guide drivers away from it. At one point it was cloaked in a bright green neon plastic sleeve to help drivers avoid it. The sleeve was subsequently stolen and found on the side of a nearby road. The sleeve, for a while, took trips around town and was positioned in front of a number of local businesses, helping establish the local legend of the pole, according to a short documentary a resident made about the phenomenon. The local police chief said some incidents, like cars ending up on top of the pole, are hard to figure out Jeydon-Xavier Smith, the 22-year-old former Walmart employee who created the Facebook group, told the Boston Globe that he has 'no idea' why the post is hit so often. 'I've driven in that parking lot, right by that exact pole so many times, and I've never hit it!' he said. He felt, however, that having a place where people could come to discuss the strange activity surrounding the pole may be something his community needed. He launched the group in jest in October. By January it had more than 2,000 followers, and that number has more than tripled since. Chief Moen said that, though no serious injuries have been caused by the pole, 'We've had cars roll on their side after hitting the pole, somehow one car ended up on top of the pole (we could never figure out how that one actually happened).' He also said that there are actually two poles in the parking lot, equally poorly placed, that are victimizing local vehicles. For a time, the pole was outfitted in a neon green, plastic sleeve to help drivers steer clear of it. It didn't work and was quickly stolen and placed in front of different businesses around town, helping to spread the local legend One theory is that the bright yellow pole is secretly a magnet, using its powers to pull cars directly into a collision course, though no evidence suggests that is true Locals are not sure why Walmart is so insistent upon keeping the poles up, and also believe that no measure taken to help cars avoid them will ultimately do all that much The true reason that so many drivers have fallen victim to the Walmart poles is like some combination of poor placement, distracted and impatient drivers and miscalculating turns. In order to help drivers at least try to miss the poles, they have now been painted bright yellow, surrounded by concrete barriers and had bright red-and-white lights attached. True believing locals, however, are skeptical that the poles' new costuming will help. 'This won't change anything,' one local news anchor said earlier this month. Elon Musk has been blasted as Russia's 'useful idiot' and a 'truly pathetic shill' after he accused US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of warmongering for supporting Ukrainian attacks on military targets in Crimea. The Twitter CEO said 'nobody is pushing the Ukraine war more than Nuland', prompting outrage from a wide range of political figures including a former Canadian diplomat and an ally of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Musk was responding to a tweet posted by controversial psychologist Jordan Peterson in which he shared a news story about a Russian propagandist that the US had declared war on Russia following reports Washington had approved of strikes on military targets in Crimea. Putin's puppet Igor Korotchenko claimed on state TV that the US had crossed a line by supporting the strikes on Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014 following a sham referendum. It comes after Nuland said Washington supports Ukrainian attacks on military targets on the peninsula and has called for it to be demilitarized. Musk weighed in and tweeted: 'Nobody is pushing this war more than Nuland.' His tweet was slammed by political figures. Ivan Zhdanov, a Navalny ally who was forced to flee Russia, responded: 'Putin, for example. No?' Elon Musk has been blasted as Russia's 'useful idiot' and a 'truly pathetic shill' after he accused US Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of warmongering for supporting Ukrainian attacks on military targets in Crimea Ivan Zhdanov, a Navalny ally who was forced to flee Russia, responded: 'Putin, for example. No?' Former Canadian diplomat and minister Chris Alexander accused Musk of spreading disinformation Leonid Volkov, chief of staff to Navalny, wrote: 'Nobody is pushing this war but Putin' Former Canadian diplomat and minister Chris Alexander accused Musk of spreading disinformation. In a scathing tweet, Alexander wrote: 'More disinformation marching orders arriving from Moscow for Peterson and his eager acolyte: Elon Musk is a truly pathetic shill.' Leonid Volkov, chief of staff to Navalny, wrote: 'Nobody is pushing this war but Putin.' Earlier this month, Musk was criticised for preventing Ukraine's military from using Starlink technology against the invading Russian troops. The network of low-orbiting satellites has been crucial to Ukraine's use of battlefield drones a central fixture of the year-old war and the country's defenders have no viable alternative. The satellite links help Ukrainian fighters locate the enemy and target long-range artillery strikes. President Gwynne Shotwell of SpaceX, which runs Starlink, said the company had worked to restrict Ukraine's use of Starlink for military purposes. That drew the ire of a top aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In a tweet, Mykhailo Podolyak said SpaceX needs to decide whether it is on the side of Ukraine's right to freedom or Russia's '"right" to kill & seize territories.' The Twitter CEO said 'nobody is pushing the Ukraine war more than Nuland', prompting outrage from a wide range of political figures including a former Canadian diplomat and Ivan Zhdanov, (pictured) an ally of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny It comes after Nuland (pictured) said Washington supports Ukrainian attacks on military targets on the peninsula and has called for it to be demilitarized Last week, Moscow accused the US of inciting Ukraine to escalate the war by condoning attacks on Crimea, warning that Washington was now directly involved in the conflict because 'crazy people' had dreams of defeating Russia. Moscow was responding to comments by Nuland who said the United States considers that Crimea should be demilitarised at a minimum and that Washington supports Ukrainian attacks on military targets on the peninsula. 'Now the American warmongers have gone even further: They incite the Kyiv regime to further escalate the war,' Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, told reporters when asked about Nuland's remarks. 'They supply weapons in huge quantities, provide intelligence and participate directly in the planning of combat operations,' Zakharova said, adding that some U.S. officials dreamed like 'crazies' of defeating Russia. Crimea, which includes the port of Sevastopol where Russia's Black Sea Fleet is based, is seen by Western and Russian diplomats as the biggest potential flashpoint of the Ukraine war. The Kremlin has said all territories considered by Moscow to be part of Russia - including the areas of Ukraine under Russian control - are covered by its nuclear umbrella. 'No matter what the Ukrainians decide about Crimea in terms of where they choose to fight etcetera, Ukraine is not going to be safe unless Crimea is at a minimum, at a minimum, demilitarised,' Nuland told the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. Asked about the dangers of escalation in the Ukraine war, Nuland said Russia had a host of military installations crucial for the conflict. 'Those are legitimate targets, Ukraine is hitting them and we are supporting that,' Nuland said. Ukrainian servicemen of the 3rd Separate Tank Iron Brigde take part in an exercise in the Kharkiv area, Ukraine, on Thursday President Vladimir Putin casts Russia's invasion in Ukraine as an existential battle with an aggressive and arrogant West, and has said that Russia will use all available means to protect itself and its people. The United States has denied that it wants to destroy Russia, while President Joe Biden has cautioned that a conflict between Russia and NATO could trigger World War Three, though he has also said Putin should not remain in power. Crimea, which juts out into the Black Sea, was absorbed into the Russian empire after Catherine the Great annexed it in the 18th century. In 1921, the peninsula became part of the Soviet Union and of Russia within it until 1954, when it was handed to Ukraine, also a Soviet republic, by Josef Stalin's successor Nikita Khrushchev. In the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, Russia recognised Ukrainian sovereignty in its existing borders - which included Crimea - and agreed to refrain from using force against Kyiv. Attacks on Russian air and naval bases in Crimea, as well as on a Russian-built road and rail bridge linking it to Russia across the Kerch Strait - have been celebrated by Ukrainian officials. Actor appeared in one episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2004, starring in a scene opposite Ben Stiller and Larry David An actor who once appeared in Curb Your Enthusiasm has been charged with theft after surveillance footage caught him stealing comic books and hiding it under his T-Shirt at a San Diego store. Ray Buffer was publicly shamed by Southern California Comics back in October as they uploaded the footage to their Facebook page and accused him of stealing around $850 worth of comics. The store's owners did not name Buffer, who has also appeared in an episode of ER, in their post. But today the San Diego City Attorney's Office confirmed he had been charged with petty theft relating to an offense which happened in January. They added the arrest was connected to the October 4 incident too. Southern California Comics uploaded a video appearing to show Buffer put a comic under his shirt - though they did not name him in the October post The star has pleaded not guilty, officials told the New York Post. Video footage shows Buffer wearing a blue and white striped T-shirt lurking in the corner of the store. He is then seen rifling through stacks of the comic books before sliding one underneath his shirt. The store uploaded the footage alongside a caption that said: 'If this guy looks familiar please contact us. Thank you!' Buffer starred in one episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2004 called 'Ben's Birthday Party,' according to his IMDB page. He played the role of the 'stage manager' and appeared in scenes with Ben Stiller. In a clip, star Larry David is seen giving Stiller a red shirt as a birthday present in front of Buffer's stern-faced character. Southern California Comics owner Jamie Newbold said he only discovered Buffer had been charged on Wednesday when he received a call from the city attorney. 'I thought this case got swept under or out of the way,' Newbold told the Post. 'Now I realize the case matters, therefore what Ive had to go through matters. 'I was losing hope every month I didnt hear anything from anyone,' he added. Buffer posted on Instagram just yesterday with a shot of him drinking a beer in a hot tub He later uploaded a shot of him going to watch Antman with a woman he called 'my babe' 'He gets off really light if the courts allow him to pay for the crime financially. I would prefer that he sees justice.' He claimed he only shared the video on social media to warn other comic book stores in the area. Other businesses then identified the suspect as Buffer who Newbold estimates stole 10 comics worth around $850. A readiness conference in San Diego Superior Court is scheduled for Tuesday Feb 28. The case involving Buffer was filed on December 13, 2022. Another comic store has claimed Buffer stole from them in September, reports The Post. Buffer is pictured with Cuba Gooding Jr on the set of 'Instinct'. The picture appears on his IMDB page Buffer's IMDB page lists minor roles in episodes of CSI: Miami, Gilmore Girls and Cold Case. He posted to his Instagram as recently as yesterday, uploading a shot of him enjoying a beer in a hot tub before later going to watch the new Antman film with a woman he called 'my babe.' Michelle said blind support for transitioning medical intervention can do irreparable harm and thoughtful and informed transitioning should be applied The 34-year-old has filed a lawsuit against the eight doctors and mental health professionals who encouraged her transition during a 'mental health crisis' A Canadian detransitioned woman said that she feels ostracized from others like her and is left feeling 'nauseous' as the community continue to push pro-transgender medical intervention. In a post to her substack blog, Michelle Zacchigna, 34, who goes by the penname Michelle Alleva said that she spends a lot of her time in detransition spaces. At the end of November 2022, Michelle said that she attended a symposium on detransition research held at York University in Toronto and was 'disappointed' by how they 'downplayed' experiences of regret. 'It was difficult for me to sit in a room where panels of people with no regrets about their medical history emphasized the importance of unquestioning access to medically treating,' she wrote in the Feb 13 post. Canadian detransitioned woman, Michelle, said that she feels ostracized from others like her and is left feeling 'nauseous' as the community continue to push pro-transgender medical intervention She slammed health care professionals who provide affirmation as a diagnosis - having transitioned herself to male, during what she claims was a mental health crisis 'I have met so many people who have been irreparably harmed by that same 'treatment.' The 34-year-old listed several people that she said had been affected by transition treatments. 'I know people with ongoing vocal pain from testosterone use. I know people who are devastated by their inability to ever breastfeed their children,' she said. 'I know people who might never enjoy sexual intimacy again, either because they are horrified by their own bodies - because their libidos are completely shot - or because sex is now physically painful. 'I know people who have been made infertile by this 'treatment.' (I, myself, have sat sobbing as I process the reality that, during the darkest years of my life, I was insistent on eradicating one of the last indicators of 'female' I had, when I had resolutely wanted to bear children my entire life before then.) 'I know people deep in addiction because they are convinced it is the only way they can make it through the day after everything they've been through. 'I know people who can't get out of bed because they believe the best parts of life have been stolen from them. I have seen (and felt) so much pain. So much. I still keep myself one step back from it.' She slammed health care professionals who provide affirmation as a diagnosis claiming that teaching that 'gender identity is innate, people who identify as transgender are born that way, and that transition can be lifesaving' is having a contrasting affect on many. Michelle said transitioning for her, and 'thousands' of others going through detransition, was a coping mechanism for dealing with 'trauma, hatred of ourselves and a number of comorbid conditions.' 'It altered our bodies, it destroyed our natural functioning, it gave us chronic pain and lifelong complications; and it left us feeling broken and alone,' she wrote. 'I am angry that the perception of detransitioners that was given to the audience was one of people who embrace the idea of gender diversity '[People who] frame their experiences, perhaps, as a 'gender journey'the number of times I heard that phrase throughout the day made me nauseous. Michelle detailed her troubled time at school - which fed into her feelings of anxiety and depression 'It only reinforces the idea that transition rarely harms even the people who feel it was ultimately wrong for them.' While she doesn't blame her community, she does stress that until both sides of the transitioning story need to be addressed, or there will be 'more people in desperate need of support.' 'I've watched as detransitioners who have been in this for years slowly harden their stances as they are, at best, ignored and, at worst, humiliated and threatened,' she wrote. 'I am two years out from detransitioning, and my patience, too, has worn thin.' It's been eleven years since Michelle had her mastectomy, she explained, adding that while she has accepted how she looks there are still time's she is caught off guard. 'There are still moments where I remove my shirt to change, my breath catches, and my mind leaves my body,' she wrote. Michelle underwent surgery to remove her breasts and uterus and is now suing the healthcare providers who are reported to have facilitated her transition 'I have no way of predicting when it will happen. This reality will never go away for me. I will still be living in this body long after everyone has moved on to whatever the next big scandal is.' As Michelle approaches 35, she pondered what there is 'left to salvage' from her life. 'I have work that I'm good at and pays my bills, but I'm still on disability. I can't drive, and I spend an extensive amount of time by myself, isolated,' she said. 'My social anxiety hasn't gone away it's just morphed into avoidance and hyper-independence. The transition and detransition process for Michelle 2008: Michelle starts to see a therapist after a suicide attempt. 2009: Michelle said she started thinking about her gender critically aged 21. She questioned her gender after reading about gender identity on Tumblr. 2010: Michelle attends a Toronto support group, where a therapist puts her forward for hormone therapy after just one appointment lasting less than an hour. Mental health professionals, who Michelle is seeing following a 2008 suicide attempt, reportedly say she is an 'ideal candidate for hormone therapy'. 2012: Different professionals refer Michellefor a bilateral mastectomy, removing her breasts. 2016: Michelle stops taking testosterone at this point and identifies as non-binary. 2017: Michelle is referred for a full psychological assessment, where she is diagnosed with autism, ADHD, MDD and traits of PTSD. Another professional refers Michelle for a hysterectomy to remove her uterus, which is completed in May 2018. 2020: Michelle said she reflects on her diagnoses and decides to detransition. Advertisement 'Relationships with other people still trigger childhood wounds, resulting in emotional breakdowns that I have difficulty getting under control any time something goes wrong.' Michelle said she doesn't feel close to 35 but rather closer to that of a teenager. 'I spent the years I was transitioned in arrested development, focusing on the cultivation of a sham 'identity' and changing my appearance to try to control how others perceived me. 'I should have been developing resilience and social skills: learning to tolerate rejection and to accept differences in opinion, finding the courage to ask for what I need, and knowing when to leave when my needs aren't being met. She said that her days of advocacy are slowly slipping away as she feels 'tired and broken' despite the 'fight [being] far from over.' 'At the end of it, nothing I do in advocacy is for me. I've always known and accepted this, but time has made me grow resentful of the effort I've put in,' she said. 'I'm not getting enough out of it to justify what I am losing. I wanted to change the world, but everything action I take is criticized by someone who thinks they can do it better. 'I wanted female solidarity, but if I don't meet a purity test, I get called a handmaiden. I wanted justice, but ultimately, I will probably get skipped over.' Michelle underwent surgery to remove her breasts and uterus and is now suing the healthcare providers who are reported to have facilitated her transition. She filed a lawsuit against the eight doctors and mental health professionals who prescribed her testosterone treatments and gave her a bilateral mastectomy and a hysterectomy during what she said was a mental health crisis. Over a ten year period, she went from seeing a therapist to being referred for hormone therapy by doctors who she had limited interaction with, including one she said she spoke to for less than an hour, to undergoing irreversible surgery and deciding mental health diagnoses better explained her condition than anything else in 2020. 'I will live the rest of my life without breasts, with a deepened voice and male-pattern balding, and without the ability to get pregnant,' she wrote. 'Removing my completely healthy uterus is my greatest regret,' Michelle claims the professionals failed to properly address her mental health needs and allowed her to undergo irreversible procedures to her body and suppress feminizing characteristics with testosterone. Michelle went back-and-forth with mental health issues - in which a number of diagnoses were made but her gender dysphoria left unexplored. She's pictured here after her mastectomy While she doesn't blame her community, she does stress that both sides of the transitioning story need to be addressed After a suicide attempt in 2008, she started seeing Dr Nadine Lulu, who became her regular therapist and put her forward as an 'ideal candidate' for hormone therapy in July 2010. That spring, she had spoken with a therapist at a Toronto support group for reportedly less than one hour before she was recommended for hormone therapy. Rupert Raj, one of the therapists running the group, is a defendant in the case, as well as Dr Rick Lindal, who had apparently not met Michelle before recommending her for hormone therapy. With these recommendations from multiple medical professionals in the space of a year, Michelle started to transition in 2010. Dr Pamela Lecce, Dr. Cavacuiti and Dr Suzanne Turner apparently did not consult with a psychologist before prescribing Michelle testosterone. Michelle went back-and-forth with mental health issues until Lulu sent her for a full psychological exam with a Dr. Rowden, in which a number of diagnoses were made but her gender dysphoria left unexplored. Two years later, still battling with her identity, a professional refers her for a procedure to remove her uterus, which is completed in May 2018. But it was the diagnoses in 2015 that she would come back to when deciding to detransition in 2020. She wrote in a post for the Gender Dysphoria Alliance about a troubled time at school feeding into anxiety and depression: 'As a little girl, I was bullied daily by my peers, by older children, and sometimes even by younger children. It felt like everyone in my elementary school knew that I was 'different' 'My mom once recalled a time when the school bus was pulling up to my house, and she could hear the entire bus full of children chanting cruel things at me.' Later in life, she said, she 'began connecting with the LGBT community online' and 'found out that many people who identify as asexual were also gender variant'. She wrote that she thought more about gender and became convinced she 'had been bullied because I was trans and just didn't know it.' After transitioning, Michelle found her mental health improved for a while before 'plummeting'. She said in a crowdfunding video: 'It took me 10 years to figure out why I could have falsely believed something like this, and why so many professionals could have wrongly encouraged it. 'I can imagine that there are a lot of people who will eventually find themselves in my position, some of them vulnerable adults like I was and some of them too young to understand the long term consequences.' The success of surgery is a contentious topic. Finland's chief psychiatrist for a state-approved pediatric center said four out of five young people who do not receive intervention from professionals will come to accept their bodies. She warned there was a problem of 'purposeful disinformation' among American doctors who pressure parents into transitioning young people. Research has shown that young people are more likely to come out as trans if they have friends who have already come out as trans, though the cause cannot be inferred from correlation. A 2020 systematic review and meta-analysis of 'the quality of life in people with transsexuality after surgery', looking at 1,099 patients, found quality of life was generally better for people who underwent surgery, but that trans people remain at risk for low life quality and mental health issues. It noted that '[transexuality] can convert to a source of identity crisis due to the... effects on the personality and behavioral system of the individuals as well as their social adjustment.' With these recommendations from multiple medical professionals in the space of a year, Michelle started to transition in 2010 DailyMail.com has contacted Michelle for comment and reached out about the impending court case/court documents. The 34-year-old seen here in a video she reveals she is suing medical professionals The authors wrote that the subjective experience of quality of life is difficult to report, and that individuals 'may have very different opinions about their quality of life and report it differently', making it hard to decisively review. Therapeutic hormones and surgical procedures can, it said, improve satisfaction and self-confidence by 'harmonizing' sex and identity. The study notes, however, that transgender people tend to suffer a lower quality of life in general. DailyMail.com has contacted Michelle for comment and reached out about the impending court case/court documents. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's popularity has slumped to an all-time low in the US, where they are now less popular than the disgraced Prince Andrew, a shock poll has found. Since December last year, Harry has sunk 48 points and Meghan 40, giving them net approval ratings of -10 and -17 respectively, according to a survey by Redfield & Wilton for Newsweek, conducted on February 19. While Andrew is still viewed negatively following his New York civil trial against his sex accuser Virginia Roberts - which he settled out of court - his net approval rating sits at -2, with 26 per cent of Americans saying they like him compared to 28 per cent who do not. The Sussexes' nosediving popularity across the pond comes just days after they were royally mocked by South Park - a satirical cartoon famed for having its finger on the pulse of American culture. The couple were lampooned in an episode aired on February 15 - four days before the latest poll - which was entitled The Worldwide Privacy Tour and depicted them embarking on a publicity blitz to promote the Prince's new book, Waaagh. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's popularity has slumped to an all-time low in the US, where they are now even less popular than disgraced royal Prince Andrew, a shock poll has found New data from the US shows the drop in the couple's approval ratings over the last three months After the show aired, reports surfaced suggesting that 41-year-old Meghan had been left 'upset and overwhelmed' by the couple's less-than-flattering portrayal - while one royal commentator claimed that the Sussexes' lawyers were 'casting an eye' over the animated series. However, a spokesperson for Harry, 38, and his wife slammed speculation that they are planning to sue South Park creators, blasting the rumors as 'boring and baseless' in a statement given to Newsweek. But the latest survey suggests the increased attention and scrutiny of the Sussexes, brought on by their six-part Netflix docuseries, Harry's memoir Spare and a spate of bombshell interviews, has only turned larger portions of the public against them. This week's poll shows that 18 per cent of US respondents felt neither favorably nor unfavorably about Harry, while 7 percent replied 'don't know'. Some 20 percent were on the fence about Meghan and just 8 percent did not have an opinion. The figures mean that only 25 per cent of respondents expressed no strong feelings either way about the duke, and 28 percent about the duchess. However when it came to Andrew, who has been keeping a low profile, some 32 per cent of respondents had a 'neither favorable nor unfavorable' view, while another 13 per cent answered 'don't know' - meaning a total of 45 per cent did not have a strong opinion either way, perhaps making him a less polarising figure. Respondents were also asked if they felt positively or negatively towards Harry, Meghan and Andrew, with the results likely making sober reading for the couple. Some 32 per cent felt positively about Harry, compared to 27 per cent about Meghan and 26 per cent about Andrew. However, 44 per cent held a negative sentiment towards Meghan, compared with 42 per cent for Harry and just 28 per cent for Andrew. It comes as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are both said to be 'weighing up' whether or not to fly over to Britain for the King's Coronation on May 6, according to The Spectator. Friends of the couple said this week they are 'in limbo' and considering the 'million different variables' impacting their decision. And royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said fears over security and a 'seismic drop' in popularity since the publication of Harry's memoir mean they could stay at home. Harry wants to be by his father's side on 'pretty much the most important day' and hopes to salvage his strained relationship with the Royal Family, sources close to the Duke told The Daily Telegraph. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are both said to be 'weighing up' whether or not to fly over for the ceremony on May 6 The King's Coronation is due to held in London on May 6 The insiders claim it's a 'complicated' decision because the couple may be accused of 'snubbing' the family by not attending but also risk 'being booed or labelled hypocrites.' The couple's friends say they will not make a decision about attending the Coronation until a formal invitation arrives at their home in California. They will then decide if they will go to the historic event together or if Harry, 38, would attend without Meghan. It is also possible that neither makes an appearance. If either Harry or Meghan, 41, visit the UK for the ceremony, it is understood that their visit would be 'brief.' 'They do not have any insight,' a friend said of their looming decision. 'Theyll cross that bridge when they come to it.' It comes as a YouGov poll this week showed that more than half of the British public believe Harry should have protection from the state - but 37 per cent through he should pay for it himself. More than a quarter of people (28 per cent) thought he shouldn't get police protection at all, as his judicial review case rumbles on. The prince, who moved to California with wife Meghan Markle after stepping down from royal duties in 2020, launched a legal battle after his right to guards was withdrawn. His legal case against the Home Office over the police security for his family has already cost the state nearly 300,000, a freedom of information request has revealed. Prince Harry has argued that it would be unsafe to bring his children to visit Britain without guaranteed police protection (pictures in Germany in September) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been invited to the Coronation but the couple have not publicly announced whether they plan to attend (file image from November 2019) The Duke insists his family requires round-the-clock protection, even though royal security is automatically in place for formal events as well as at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. Figures obtained through the Freedom of Information Act have revealed that the court case - which has been ongoing since autumn 2021 - has already cost the UK Government 296,882 to defend. The Duke insists his family requires round-the-clock protection, even though royal security is automatically in place for formal events as well as at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. John O'Connor, a former commander at Scotland Yard, told The Sun: 'To expect protection provided by the state is arrogant and irrational. 'It is only vanity anyway. He only wants protection because he thinks his importance is downgraded without it.' Engineers onboard the doomed Ohio toxic train desperately tried to bring it to a halt after receiving alerts that a wheel bearing was 254 degrees above normal temperature. The crew attempted to slow the train as it barreled towards East Palestine, Ohio, but their efforts failed to avert the crisis before it derailed in a fiery crash on February 3. A preliminary report released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that an engineer eventually attempted to apply the breaks to the runaway train, but it was too late as several cars had already fallen off the tracks. Investigators found that three alerts had sounded warnings that a wheel bearing was significantly overheated, with the final alert cautioning it had reached a critical threshold moments before it derailed. The bombshell report was released as embattled Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg finally visited the site, nearly three weeks after it caused severe devastation to the small Ohio town. The toxic train derailed in a fiery crash on February 3 in East Palestine, Ohio Buttigieg is set to hear from investigators as to how the train derailment caused such significant damage to the area. He is also expected to visit East Palestine residents, who were forced to evacuate after hazardous chemicals including vinyl chloride were ignited during a controlled burn of the derailed toxic train cars. The NTSB report did not provide an official reason for the derailment, but it did offer several key details that reveal what happened in the lead up to the crisis. Among the new details are that the train was only travelling at 47mph as it derailed, which was below the 50mph speed limit. The report said the internal alarm for the train was triggered three times prior to the derailment, with the first cautioning that the wheel axle was 38 degrees above average temperature. According to recordings taken by a bearing heat detector, the second alert sounded after the axle reached 103 degrees above ambient temperature. By the third alert, the wheel bearing had overheated by over 250 degrees, far above the 'critical' 200 degree threshold that demands the train must stop. After the train came to a stop as the brakes were set, engineers onboard reported a large fire and smoke to emergency dispatchers. They were instructed to apply the handbrake to the two rail cars at the front of the train, then uncouple the leading carriages and move them a mile from the rest of the derailed train. The NTSB report said: 'Investigators identified and examined the first railcar to derail, the 23rd railcar in the consist. 'Surveillance video from a local residence showed what appeared to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment.' Footage was previously released in recent weeks showing the train already on fire as it was travelling through a depot, which was over 20 miles from the final derailment site. About 50 cars, including 10 carrying hazardous materials, derailed in the small Ohio town The train derailment on February 3 set off a fire that could be seen from miles away Nearby houses were quickly evacuated as the flammable, highly toxic chemicals were ignited As toxic waste leaked from several of the cars, Norfolk Southern, the rail company, decided to ignite the hazardous material in a slow burn in an attempt to prevent the hazardous waste from spilling into the surrounding area. Nearby houses were quickly evacuated as the situation worsened, while the flammable, highly toxic chemical fire created a large plume of smoke that could be seen for miles. Despite residents being told it was safe for them to return home following their evacuation, many locals have since complained of severe side effects, including persistent coughs and burning eyes. Thousands of dead fish were also spotted in waterways around the scene after the incident, and residents have complained that local animals are also dying off due to the chemicals. The destructive incident was one of a number of train derailments to hit the US heartland in recent weeks. The delayed visit by Buttigieg underscored a wave of criticisms over the federal government's handling of the toxic situation. His eventual arrival was overshadowed by a visit from former-President Donald Trump, who told the residents of East Palestine that they had been 'betrayed' by President Biden's administration. The former president greeted large crowds as he brought thousands of bottles of his own water, cleaning supplies and canned food. He also found time to make a trip to a local McDonald's, where he ordered Big Macs for first responders and members of his team, and handed out signed MAGA hats to the customers. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that he will finally visit the site of the train derailment that released hazardous material into East Palestine, Ohio earlier this month Buttigieg suggested that former President Donald Trump's upcoming trip to Ohio on Wednesday is just a photo-op As Trump entered the fray in the devastated Ohio town, he was greeted by hundreds of people who lined the streets waving MAGA flags and chanting 'no more Joe'. Buttigieg has criticized the visit as a 'photo op' for Trump's 2024 campaign. In a speech in a fire department, Trump praised the response from law enforcement and the 'strength and courage' of the residents, and said: 'You are not forgotten'. He promised to return if the community didn't get help from the White House and when a reporter asked what message he had for Biden, Trump said: 'Get over here'. 'We stand with you,' Trump told the crowd at the East Palestine Fire Department, 'we pray for you, and we'll stay with you in your fight to help answer and [get] accountability that you deserve.' 'Biden and FEMA said they would not send federal aid to [the town] under any circumstances,' Trump claimed. 'We opened up the dam, and we got them to move.' Trump's high profile visit coincided with Norfolk Southern releasing a statement saying they would take 'full responsibility' for the derailment. More than 8,600 Afghan migrants reached the UK by boat last year - a six-fold increase on 2021, a report has revealed. The Refugee Council said the contrast showed the Government needs to 'urgently rethink its approach and expand access to refugee visas'. The figure for Afghan nationals arriving to the UK by boat having crossed the channel rose to 8,633 last year, it was shown, with almost three-quarters getting here between August and December. This was up from 1,437 Afghan arrivals in 2021, 494 in 2020, 69 in 2019 and three in 2018. It comes as just 22 people, including eight children, have been resettled in the UK, having fled Afghanistan under part of a Government scheme which promised to help vulnerable refugees. 8,633 Afghan migrants reached the UK by boat last year - a six-fold increase on 2021, a report has revealed Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak is facing renewed pressure on immigration after a fast-track scheme for 12,000 asylum seekers - including Channel migrants - was dubbed an 'amnesty in all but name'. In a bid to begin clearing the massive asylum backlog, the Home Office will launch a streamlined system which will see migrants granted refugee status on the basis of a 10-page questionnaire. The plan was immediately attacked by critics as the Prime Minister faced demands from his own backbenches to urgently tackle the Channel crisis. More than 95 per cent of the 12,000 claims are expected to be granted, based on current rates, enabling them to settle permanently in Britain and sponsor relatives to join them here. A pledge had been made to take up to 20,000 Afghan refugees, with as many as 5,000 in the first year, who were forced to flee their home or faced threats of persecution from the Taliban - under what the Home Office claimed would be 'one of the most generous' resettlement schemes in the UK's history. The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) was formally launched in January 2022 - although 7,141 Afghans had been resettled by December 2021 as people arrived in the UK under the summer evacuation exercise that year. The scheme was split into three pathways by which people would be considered eligible for resettlement. Pathway one focused on eligible people who were notified by the UK Government that they had been called forward or specifically authorised for evacuation, but were not able to board flights at the time of the evacuation amid the Taliban takeover in August 2021. A total of 468 people were resettled under this pathway last year, the latest Home Office figures showed. Migrants in transit, mostly from Afghanistan, lying wrapped in jackets and blankets because of the cold Under the second pathway - specifically designed to help vulnerable refugees referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) having fled Afghanistan for resettlement to the UK - just 22 people had been resettled by the end of December - eight children and 14 adults. A third ACRS pathway is for those at risk who supported the UK and international community effort in Afghanistan, as well as those who are particularly vulnerable, such as women and girls at risk and members of minority groups. There are 1,500 places - including the applicants and their eligible family members - available in the first year under pathway three, but the Home Office said this data will be released 'once people have been resettled via this pathway'. In addition, the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) was launched in April 2021, offering priority relocation to the UK for current or former locally employed staff who have been assessed to be under serious threat to life. Under that scheme, 4,094 people were resettled last year and 7,118 in 2021. To date, the Home Office said around 24,500 people have been brought to safety, including British nationals, their families, Afghans who served the UK and others identified as particularly at-risk. Rishi Sunak faced renewed pressure on immigration after a new fast-track scheme for 12,000 asylum seekers A spokeswoman said: 'The UK has made an ambitious and generous commitment to help resettle some of the most at-risk people in Afghanistan and so far we have brought around 24,500 people to the UK, including via ACRS and ARAP. 'Supporting the resettlement of eligible Afghans remains a top priority. We have so far welcomed over 7,600 arrivals under ACRS, including those who were evacuated, as well as those (who were) called forward during the evacuation of Afghanistan but were unable to travel and Afghan families who have been referred to the UK by the UNHCR.' Meanwhile, the Government said Afghan nationals arriving to the UK in small boats became noticeably more common in 2022, particularly from October to December. A total of 8,633 arrived last year, with almost three-quarters (71%) of those getting here between August and December. This was up from 1,437 Afghan arrivals in 2021, 494 in 2020, 69 in 2019 and three in 2018. Refugee Council chief executive Enver Solomon said: 'The reduction in the number of refugees arriving in the UK via safe routes, such as resettlement and family reunion, clearly shows the need to expand these pathways to safety, so people from countries such as Afghanistan and Sudan are no longer forced to make a dangerous journey across the busiest shipping lane in the world. 'The fact that the number of Afghans coming across the Channel increased six-fold but only 22 arrived on the Afghan Resettlement Scheme shows how the Government needs to urgently rethink its approach and expand access to refugee visas. We need an asylum system that isn't just about control but is also about compassion and competence.' A total of 9,483 people, around half of whom are children, are currently living in hotel or serviced accommodation, the Government said. The Home Office said it had reduced the number of hotels in use from 84 in October 2021 to 63 at the end of December last year. Meanwhile, 8,565 people have moved into a home, and a further 590 people have been matched to a home and are waiting to move in, the department said. Rep. Kang Min-jung, center, speaking on the microphone, of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap By Lee Hae-rin Lawmakers urged the government, Thursday, to launch a probe into atrocities committed by Korean troops during their 1964-73 participation in the Vietnam War. The bill proposed by Rep. Kang Min-jung of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and 24 other opposition lawmakers is aimed to launch a special investigation committee to uncover massacres, cruelty, sexual assaults and imprisonments committed by Korean soldiers against Vietnamese civilians at the time. Kang said she visited Vietnam last week and met survivors of the atrocities who are still holding joint memorial ceremonies to grieve the losses from the massacres. As Korea has been demanding that Japan acknowledge and apologize for its imperial war crimes, including wartime sex slavery, it must set an example by taking historic responsibility, she said. Vietnamese massacre survivor Nguyen Thi Thanh, 62, also spoke via a prerecorded video message during the press conference. "I was only 11 (when the massacre happened) I visited Korea several times and turned in many petitions and letters but was disappointed to receive no response," she said, urging the Korean government and the National Assembly to investigate. Earlier this month, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of Nguyen and ordered the Korean government to pay about 30 million won ($23,513) in compensation for the Republic of Korea Marine Corps' involvement in civilian massacres beginning Feb. 12, 1968. The atrocities saw 74 unarmed Vietnamese civilians killed, including the plaintiff's five family members, in the village of Phong Nhi and Phong Nhat of Quang Nam Province. According to Kim Nam-ju, a managing attorney at Dodam law firm who led Nguyen's case to victory, the court ruling, which was announced 11 years after the plaintiff's first demand to the Korean government for an apology, is so far the first and only decision that acknowledges a country's involvement in civilian massacres during the Vietnam War. "In this time where the war in Ukraine is still ongoing and international humanitarian laws have been violated, the court ruling has significance in world history," the lawyer said. "But this is a win for only one individual. And there are many more victims who wish to see the truth uncovered." However, the Ministry of National Defense denied the allegations made against it. During the National Assembly's National Defense Committee meeting last Friday, Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup said the ministry "does not agree with" the court ruling and explained that the ministry's findings show no civilians were killed by Korean troops at the time. Groups for Korean veterans of the Vietnam War also disagreed with the court ruling. Rep. Kim Sung-won of the conservative ruling People Power Party (PPP) who is a member of the Vietnam Veterans Associations Korea (VVAK) and other veteran groups, held a press conference at the National Assembly, also on Thursday, to denounce the court ruling for "damaging (Korea's) national status" and dishonoring the veterans and their families. They called for the domestic ruling to be put on hold until they get a ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The Korean government has never issued an official statement or apology regarding this issue. The head of Ukraine's Central Intelligence Directorate has claimed members of Putin's inner circles are now working as spies for Ukraine as support for the Russian war effort slumps. In an interview with online newspaper Ukrainian Pravda, Kirill Budanov said those closest to Putin had now turned their back on the Russian President to cooperate with Ukraine. As the war approaches its one year anniversary, Ukraine's backers have pledged their undivided support for the nation which Russia invaded on 24 February 2022. Following word that Ukraine would receive tanks from a coalition of countries, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today expressed confidence that Ukraine would 'prevail' over the attacking forces. 'We have not broken down, we have overcome many ordeals and we will prevail. We will hold to account all those who brought this evil, this war to our land,' Zelensky said on social media. Kirill Budanov, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence, pictured in September 2022 Servicemen fire artillery at Ukrainian troops from their position in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine Budanov did not give the names or number of agents he says have defected to support Ukraine. He claims that some of these people were looking to secure their futures, anticipating Putin's defeat. 'Since the situation in the Russian Federation is actually getting worse every day, it's getting easier every day to find people willing to cooperate,' he said. Despite the threat of a major new Russian offensive in the spring, Ukrainian morale remains high. In the capital Kyiv, which saw Russian troops at its doorstep at the start of the invasion last February and relentless attacks on energy infrastructure since, residents remain defiant. 'This has been the most difficult year of my life and that of all Ukrainians,' said Diana Shestakova, 23, who works for a publishing house and whose boyfriend has spent the last year away in the army. 'I am sure that we will be victorious, but we don't know how long we will have to wait and how many victims there are still to come.' In the western city of Lviv, a Swiss artist projected images in honour of Ukraine on public buildings on Wednesday night, covering them in blue and yellow peace doves and Ukrainian tridents. Budanov warned, however, that Russia would be planning a missile attack tomorrow to mark the anniversary of the war. 'February 23-24, they have two dates,' he said in an interview to newspaper Ukrainskaya Pravda, adding: 'Believe me, we have survived this more than 20 times already.' The year-long conflict has devastated swathes of Ukraine, turned Russia into a pariah in the West and according to Western sources, has caused 150,000 casualties on each side. A senior US official has said that the United States and its G7 allies planned to unveil 'a big new package of sanctions' around the anniversary, including measures to crack down on the evasion of existing sanctions. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the G7 meeting that the unprecedented Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over the last 12 months 'had a very significant negative effect on Russia so far.' The latest Western leader to visit the Ukrainian capital, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, tweeted that Madrid would 'stand with Ukraine and its people until peace returns to Europe' after arriving in Kyiv by train and before meeting President Zelensky. Budanov warned that Russia would be planning missile strikes to mark the war's anniversary Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a joint press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez following their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, 23 February 2023 In New York, the UN General Assembly was on Thursday to bring to a vote a motion backed by Kyiv and its allies calling for a 'just and lasting peace'. 'Never in recent history has the line between good and evil been so clear. One country merely wants to live. The other wants to kill and destroy,' Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the world body on Wednesday. The Kremlin's UN ambassador accused the West of being 'ready to plunge the entire world into the abyss of war' to defeat Russia. And Russian leader Vladimir Putin vowed to strengthen his country's defence capabilities as he laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow before meeting soldiers in Red Square under blue skies and brisk temperatures. Russia will equip troops with 'new strike systems, reconnaissance and communication equipment, drones and artillery systems,' he said, hailing Russian soldiers fighting 'heroically' in Ukraine and defending 'our historical lands'. Russia's 'unbreakable unity is the key to our victory,' he said. While US President Joe Biden paid a hugely symbolic trip to Kyiv to show support this week, strengthened Russo-Chinese ties were on display in Moscow as Putin met Beijing's top diplomat, Wang Yi. Their meeting, during which Beijing presented its views toward a 'political settlement' in Ukraine, came after Washington and NATO voiced concern that China could be preparing to supply Russia with weapons. Jill Biden told DailyMail.com that 'it's always time to have a female president' Jill Biden on Thursday told DailyMail.com that 'it's always time to have a female president' amid speculation that Joe Biden won't seek a second term in the White House. The first lady, during her trip to Namibia, was praising the high number of women in government service in the African country. When DailyMail.com asked her if it was time for the United States to have a female president, she responded: 'It's always time to have a female president no matter what country you're in.' 'I'm very supportive of women running for office,' she noted. Jill Biden hands out candy to children during her visit to Namibia in Southern Africa Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden together in the Oval Office Obviously, Jill Biden would support her husband if he ran again. And her voice will be one of the top ones he listens to as he weighs making another run. The first lady is one of the president's most influential advisers and will be one the last voices he listens to as he makes a decision to seek four more years in the White House. During her trip to Namibia, where she is spreading goodwill and reminding African countries of the humanitarian aid the U.S. has provided, she's also talking about empowering women. 'In Namibia you have so many women in public office, you have so many women in government. They're not afraid to jump in,' she said. The Namibian parliament is 44% women. In its executive branch, which has 25 full ministers, four are female while of the 25 deputy ministers, 15 are women. 'As I got off the plane, you know who I walked down and met? All women, one man,' she said of her arrival in the country. She noted the one man was an American - the U.S. Ambassador to Namibia Randy Berry. Although the president talked about announcing his 2024 plans in February, real-word events have pushed a final decision on Biden's part, Politico reported. If the president decides not to run, it would be the first time since President Lyndon B Johnson, that a Democratic first term incumbent has decided not to run. If so, there would be no shortage of Democrats to run including but not limited to: Senators Amy Klobuchar on Minnesota and Bernie Sanders of Vermont - who is an Independent in Congress but would run as a Democrat for the White House; and Governors JB Pritzker of Illinois, Gavin Newsom of California and Phil Murphy of New Jersey have all been mentioned as contenders. For her part, Harris has said that she expects Biden to run again and that she would be on the ticket with him. 'Joe Biden ... has said he intends to run for re-election as president and I intend to run with him as vice president of the United States,' she told NBC News last month. Vice President Kamala Harris is the first black and south Asian woman to hold the office Will he or won't he run for a second term? Biden said he'll decide later this year Joe Biden, 80, is the oldest serving president in American history. If he runs and wins a second term, he would be 86 when he left office. There have been concerns about his health given his age. He had his annual physical last month where his doctor announced him fit to serve as president. Some Democrats are worried Republicans will use the president's age against him and, taking it a step further, attack Harris' credentials to hold the top job should Biden's health fail. Harris has had notable missteps during her time as vice president - including laughing during an interview with NBC's Lester Holt when talking about the southern border. She was given the task of migrating the causes of migration into the U.S. - a job her critics say she failed at. Harris' supporters counter that she is held to a different standard being the first female president and has been given some of the toughest tasks in the administration to tackle. The brand has revealed to Dailymail.com the names and faces of the characters and what 'differences' some of them will deal with LEGO, which recently unveiled a range of new characters, with a range of skin tones and nationalities, several of whom have disabilities, has revealed to Dailymail.com the details of each of these characters. The new generation of Lego friends are a diverse bunch, representing a multitude of backgrounds and lived experiences. One of the new characters, who is based on a little girl who wrote to the company, was born without an arm. While another has Down Syndrome. Several more suffer from commonplace neurodevelopmental disorders including anxiety and ADHD, and one character suffers from the rare skin disorder Vitiligo, which causes areas of skin to lose pigment over time. The move is the latest attempt from companies who market products aimed at children to be more 'inclusive' - and it comes after publisher Puffin hired sensitivity trainers to rewrite portions of Roald Dahl books and Hasbro dropped the 'Mr.' from Mr. Potato Head's name. The new hoard of LEGO Friends will include characters with a multitude of disabilities, including limb differences, Down Syndrome, and vitiligo Two of the new LEGO Friends characters are Autumn and Fiona, who are respectively, physically and mentally disabled The new generation of toys has been created to 'celebrate diverse friendships in the modern world,' as well as to enhance the perspectives of children on physical disabilities, ethnicity and mental health According to the company, the fresh building sets and streaming content will introduce children to a world of 'authentic, interesting and passionate characters.' Some of the new characters, all of whom hang out together on Unity Street, include Paisley, who struggles with anxiety, 'especially in big crowds,' according to the brand. Autumn is the 'friend' with the limb difference - she was born without an arm. The brand describes her as being 'happiest when she is on her own' and an 'avid nature lover' who 'deeply cares about the planet and animals.' Liann, is a 'fun, outgoing and very creative' girl with ADHD. She is described as 'at time impulsive' and 'works harder to focus,' though she 'brings a unique perspective on many things.' Jordin has Vitiligo, a rare skin disease that usually manifests during the second or third decade of life, that strips skin of its pigment resulting in colorless splotches across the body. She is described as a 'fast learner' works as a 'part-time assistant' for the town green grocer. Fiona has Down Syndrome, a genetic disorder in which an individual has an extra chromosome resulting in a number of health and developmental complications. An average adult with Down Syndrome may have the cognitive capacity of an eight-or-nine year old child, though experiences vary greatly. Fiona works at the flower stall on Unity Street. She is described as being 'good at crafts and decorating, and knows all the flower species by name.' Nova is a socially anxious gamer who has 'amassed more than 500k followers on her streaming channel,' but finds real-life interactions to be 'challenging.' She is an avid engineer who built her disabled dog Pickle a wheelchair. Zac is French-African and very social, while Olly is a fashionable Brit, who can sometimes be overbearing. Leo just moved to Heartlake City. He is an athlete with Mexican heritage who 'prefers not to hurt someone's feelings,' which the brand explains means he has poor confrontation skills. And then there's Aliya, who is the 'most studious' of the lot. Though 'she can seem perfect to her peers ... underneath her facade, she is tightly wound and constantly second guessing herself.' The group will include several other characters, some of them adults, of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, as well a some furry friends. From left to right: Jordin, who has Vitiligo, Isaac the green farmer, Autumn, who has a limb difference, and Leo, an athlete with Mexican heritage Paisley is anxious and shy, which sometimes stops her from sharing her passion for music with others. The toy version of the character is shown here playing her guitar Some of the other characters included in the Heartlake City community, including Olly (bottom second left), Fiona (upper right), and Liann (bottom left) Liann, who has ADHD, sits with Aliya, who is an internally conflicted overachiever, according to brand descriptions of the characters LEGO first launched its Friends mini-figures in 2012, they were almost the same size as the traditional Lego figures but were more detailed, compared to the previous ones. The new generation of toys has been created to 'celebrate diverse friendships in the modern world,' as well as to enhance the perspectives of children on physical disabilities, ethnicity and mental health. LEGO's newly diverse set of friends follows an announcement the company made in 2021 that claimed they would eliminate gender bias from its toys. According to a press release from the Danish company, which works closely with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, research indicated that 73 percent felt there 'were not enough toys with characters that represented them.' The announcement followed a report from the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media that said 71 percent of boys indicated they feared being made fun of for playing with what they described as 'girls' toys.' Boris Johnson reiterated his plea for the UK to 'break the ice' and be the first Western nation to supply Ukraine with fighter jets today as he warned that a Russian victory in Ukraine would threaten European security. The former prime minister said 2023 had to be 'the year of victory' in Eastern Europe, one year on from Putin's tanks rolling over the border. In a wide-ranging interview with Sky News he also took a swipe at China, warning it would be an 'historic mistake' to 'contaminate itself' by providing military aid to Russia while 'gangster' Putin was in charge. The ex-premier is leading the charge for sending Typhoon jets to Ukraine, something being resisted by ministers on the grounds that it would take too long to train pilots more used to Soviet-era fighters. He told Sky: 'What the Ukrainians want is F-16s (US fighters). As it happens, we don't have F-16s but we do have Typhoons. 'I think there's an argument for the UK breaking the ice and giving them some Typhoons. If it's a question of of training people up to use those machines - we can do that.' The former prime minister said 2023 had to be 'the year of victory' in Eastern Europe, one year on from Putin's tanks rolling over the border. The ex-premier is leading the charge for sending Typhoon jets to Ukraine, something being resisted by ministers on the grounds that it would take too long to train pilots more used to Soviet-era fighters. It came after the Defence secretary suggested the war could rage on for at least another year. Ben Wallace said the way Putin was content to operate his army like a 'meat grinder' meant 'he is not going to stop' despite incurring horrific casualties. The Cabinet minister's comments were released on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, a bloody conflict that has left hundreds of thousands dead and millions of civilians displaced. The former Scots Guard, in an interview with LBC, also said he was 'open' to sending more British tanks to Kyiv and suggested Ukraine was likely to receive fighter jets from Nato member countries. However, he hinted it was eastern European members of the alliance, which have Soviet-era planes more like the ones the Ukrainian air force is used to, that were more likely to supply the jets than Britain. With the weather and ground conditions improving in Ukraine, the conflict is braced for a Russian spring offensive and subsequent counter by Kyiv's military in the coming weeks and months. Mr Putin's original plan of taking the country in only a matter of days failed, with a vast amount of the current fighting centring around the battle for the east of Ukraine. Mr Wallace, asked whether he could envisage the war between Ukraine and Russia going on for a further 12 months, told the radio station: 'I think we will. Ben Wallace said the way Putin was content to operate his army like a 'meat grinder' meant 'he is not going to stop' despite incurring horrific casualties. Vladimir Putin at a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow today during the national celebrations of the 'Defender of the Fatherland Day' 'I think Russia has shown a complete disregard, not only for the lives of the people of Ukraine, but for its own soldiers. 'We are sitting here 12 months in and 188,000, actually more now, Russian soldiers are dead or injured as a result of this catastrophic miscalculation and aggression by President Putin. 'When someone has crossed the line and thinks it is OK to do that to your own people, running effectively a meat grinder for an army, I think he is not going to stop.' He stressed that the battle in Ukraine was 'not a Nato conflict' but suggested he was not opposed to alliance member Poland sending MiG-29 aircraft to its neighbour. 'We're not going to see Nato (supply planes), we're going to see countries that are members of Nato potentially put in air force equipment or MiG-29,' he said. The UK has been a prominent supporter of Ukraine's military efforts to push back the Kremlin's troops, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announcing earlier this year that Britain would be the first country to supply tanks to its armed forces. Mr Sunak announced that 14 Challenger 2 tanks would be supplied, with the war machines set to arrive in eastern Europe next month. Mr Wallace said he was 'open to more British tanks' being sent, on top of those already pledged. He made the comments after spending Wednesday at Bovington Camp in Dorset to see Ukrainian troops being trained on the Challengers. The Defence Secretary has been seen to be lobbying Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in recent weeks to increase Ministry of Defence spending in the face of Russia's aggression and growing Chinese influence on the world stage. Facing criticism, including from veterans' minister Johnny Mercer, for his remarks about Britain's armed forces being 'hollowed out', Mr Wallace said it was 'not unheard of' for a defence secretary to push for more money ahead of a Budget. In the run-up to Mr Hunt's fiscal announcement on March 15, the Conservative minister said he was 'asking for relief from pressures that have occurred since the last settlements', adding: 'We're not in a position where we want transformational money in the next few years.' A vigil, jointly co-ordinated by the US and Ukraine embassies in London, will be held in Trafalgar Square on Thursday evening between 6pm and 8pm to mark the first anniversary of Russia's assault on Ukraine. The latest Government figures show that as of February 20, 163,500 people had arrived in the UK under the Ukraine schemes. Of these, 47,800 arrived via the Ukraine Family Scheme and 115,800 via the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme. Boris Johnson tonight refused to guarantee he would back Rishi Sunak's deal over the Northern Ireland Protocol in a warning shot to the Prime Minister. The Government is currently engaged in 'intensive' talks with the EU over resolving the bitter dispute about post-Brexit trade arrangements for Northern Ireland. But, despite suggestions that an agreement could be struck this week, hopes have since receded of an imminent breakthrough. Both the DUP and Tory Brexiteers are witholding their support for a Protocol deal until they are able to closely scrutinise a legal text. And there was likely to be further alarm in Downing Street this evening after Mr Johnson failed to state whether he would support an agreement overseen by Mr Sunak. He urged Mr Sunak to instead concentrate his efforts on controversial new laws at Westminster that would give ministers the power to unilaterally override parts of the Protocol. Mr Johnson's intervention will increase nervousness among Mr Sunak's allies that the former PM could yet lead a Tory revolt over a Protocol deal. Boris Johnson failed to state whether he would support a Protocol agreement overseen by Rishi Sunak Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris held further talks over the Protocol with the EU's Maros Sefcovic this afternoon 'It's important that we wait to see what there may be,' Mr Johnson tonight told Sky News of Mr Sunak's efforts to reach a Protocol resolution with Brussels. 'But I think the best way forward, as I said when I was running the Government, is the Northern Ireland Bill which cleared the Commons very comfortably - I think unamended - when I was in office only a few months ago. 'So I think that's the best way forward.' Pressed on whether he could guarantee his support for a Protocol deal struck by Mr Sunak, Mr Johnson added: 'I think the best thing is to continue with the Northern Ireland Bill that we agreed. 'It's a very good bill, it fixes all the problems, it solves the problems we have in the Irish Sea, it solves the problems of paperwork, VAT and so on. 'It's an excellent bill and doesn't set up any other problems in the economy of the whole island of Ireland. I'd go with that one.' Mr Johnson agreed the Protocol with the EU when he was PM. But he later turned against the deal he struck and hit out at the 'bureaucratic' implementation of post-Brexit trade rules by the EU. A subsequent row prompted Mr Johnson to propose the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which heightened tensions with the Brussels and infuriated Tory moderates who claimed the legislation would breach international law. Earlier today, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris travelled to Brussels for his latest talks with the EU's Maros Sefcovic over the Protocol. He described it as 'another constructive meeting' and said that 'intensive work continues'. Mr Sefcovic said the two sides would 'continue to engage on the outstanding issues related to the Protocol'. It has been suggested that Mr Sunak is ready to drop the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill - the passsage of which has currently stalled in Parliament - should he reach an agreement with the EU. But Mr Johnson's comments add to further pressure on the PM - including from within his own Cabinet - for him to keep alive the threat of unilateral action by the UK on the Protocol. Home Secretary Suella Braverman this week described the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill as 'one of the biggest tools we have in solving the problem on the Irish Sea'. She has also warned she would oppose any agreement with the EU that gave it a 'foothold' in Northern Ireland. Ms Braverman claimed she was not prepared to resign over the issue, but last night told GB News: 'I've taken a very forthright position in the past because I've found the terms of previous agreements intolerable. 'I don't support selling out on Northern Ireland and allowing the EU a foothold in the UK. 'It's absolutely vital we safeguard what we've gained from the Brexit vote, that we go forward as a United Kingdom where the integrity of our Union is safeguarded and we properly take back control. 'I know the Prime Minister shares that objective.' Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she would oppose any agreement with the EU that gave it a 'foothold' in Northern Ireland The Prime Minister had hoped to unveil the new agreement with the EU this week after flying to Northern Ireland to brief political leaders last Friday Mrs Braverman played down the prospect she could resign over the Protocol and said she believed Mr Sunak shares her objectives A Government source said there was now a '99.9 per cent' likelihood that negotiations would slip into next week as the PM tries to calm a backlash by the DUP and his own MPs. In her interview, Mrs Braverman said the Government was committed to working with the DUP which is refusing to return to powersharing in the Stormont Assembly unless there is fundamental change to the Protocol. 'We have always worked very closely with the DUP. They are unionists. They speak for a significant portion of the community in Northern Ireland and they need to be around the table,' she said. 'Ultimately Stormont will only function if the DUP supports any proposal.' During clashes in the Commons yesterday, the PM insisted he would be 'resolute' in defence of the UK's interests. He told MPs: 'I am a Conservative, a Brexiteer and a Unionist, and any agreement that we reach needs to tick all three boxes. 'It needs to ensure sovereignty for Northern Ireland, to safeguard Northern Ireland's place in our union, and it needs to find practical solutions to the problems faced by people and businesses. 'I will be resolute in fighting for what is best for Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom.' DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson welcomed the PM's initiative but warned that any new deal must not involve 'tinkering around the edges' But, in an ominous sign, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson warned there would have to be significant changes to the Brexit treaty with the EU, including ending the 'unacceptable' situation that leaves Northern Ireland governed by EU trade laws it has no say over. Sir Jeffrey welcomed the PM's initiative but warned that any new deal must not involve 'tinkering around the edges'. Former Brexit minister Lord Frost said: 'We have learned we can't rely on EU commitments that aren't tied down or rest on good faith or the EU's acting reasonably. They need to be legally clear and enforceable. If they aren't, we will be back here again before too long.' Schools across France on Thursday held a nationwide minute of silence for a teacher who was stabbed to death in front of a packed class yesterday by one of her pupils who reportedly claimed to be 'possessed by the devil'. Agnes Lassalle, 54, died after a 16-year-old student plunged a knife into her chest during a Spanish lesson on Wednesday morning, with investigators saying the student had been hearing voices. Prosecutors today said the killer - who cannot be named for legal reasons - had admitted 'a kind of animosity towards his Spanish teacher' as he was not receiving good grades compared to other subjects. It was 'a time for paying respects, emotion and solidarity,' Education Minister Pap Ndiaye said as he joined the commemoration of Ms Lassalle. 'Our thoughts are with her, her family, her pupils and her colleagues,' he added, hailing a 'very dedicated' Spanish teacher who 'spent most of her time preparing lessons... helping her pupils grow'. Agnes Lassalle (pictured) died after a 16-year-old student plunged a knife through her heart during a Spanish lesson on Wednesday morning Mourners walk as students and their parents leave after gathering at Saint-Thomas dAquin middle school, in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, France today Schools across France on Thursday held a nationwide minute of silence for a teacher who was stabbed to death in front of a packed class yesterday by one of her pupils Pupils had on Thursday morning brought flowers including white roses in memory of the victim to her Saint Thomas Aquinas middle and secondary school in the southwestern seaside town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Ms Lassalle had been a 'good listener', a 'very kind teacher', said Rudy, a middle school pupil who had a class with her last year. 'It's important to be here for her family, those close to her, her pupils,' he added. 'We have to lend strength to those who witnessed' the attack. One teaching assistant who asked not to be named said: 'It's going to be a tough day, I'm still very upset.' Ines, a 16-year-old schoolgirl who was in Ms Lassalle's class Wednesday, said that the suspect approached the teacher and 'plunged a big knife into her chest without saying anything'. Prosecutor Jerome Bourrier told reporters at a Thursday afternoon press conference in the nearby town of Bayonne that the 16-year-old male suspect said he had heard 'a little voice talking to him' that 'suggested he commit a murder'. 'He described [the voice] as selfish, manipulating... urging him to do bad things,' he added. In 'somewhat inconsistent' conversations with a psychiatrist, the boy said he had had a fight with a classmate the day before and wanted to 'punish him in some way' by committing the killing in front of him, Bourrier said. 'He also admitted a kind of animosity towards his Spanish teacher, in a subject where he wasn't getting good grades, unlike his other classes,' the prosecutor said. The regional school authority described the attacker as a 'very good' pupil at middle school and since joining high school in September. Pupils had on Thursday morning brought flowers including white roses in memory of the victim to her Saint Thomas Aquinas middle and secondary school Bayonne Archbishop Marc Aillet arrived at the Catholic school on Wednesday, February 22, 2023 It was 'a time for paying respects, emotion and solidarity,' Education Minister Pap Ndiaye said as he joined the commemoration of Ms Lassalle People embrace at the entrance to the Saint-Thomas d'Aquin high school People place bouquets of flowers at the entrance gate of the Saint-Thomas dAquin middle school Bourrier said that he had reported being bullied at his previous school and was being treated with antidepressants following a suicide attempt in October. The prosecutor nevertheless added that the teenager was capable of bearing criminal responsibility for his acts and that prosecutors would request he be kept in custody during a probe into 'premeditated murder'. Psychologists have been sent to the school to care for the students who witnessed the attack, as well as two other high school classes. 'We're speaking in class to say that we're available, and there's demand,' said Elorri Amestoy, an emergency psychiatric doctor, describing 'frustration, exhaustion (and) excesses of emotion' among people at the school. Such attacks at schools are generally rare in France but there have been growing concerns about the security of teachers. The attack in Saint-Jean-de-Luz is the first killing of a teacher in France since an Islamist radical beheaded Samuel Paty outside Paris in October 2020. In July 2014, the mother of a pupil stabbed to death a 34-year-old teacher in the southern town of Albi. The perpetrator was later found to be legally irresponsible. A Jewish school was targeted in the attacks carried out by Islamist gunman Mohamed Merah around Toulouse in 2012, with a teacher and three pupils shot dead. A fast-track questionnaire designed to clear the massive asylum seekers backlog, will ask migrants, 'Have you ever been involved in crime or terrorism?'. The Home Office will launch a streamlined system which will see asylum seekers, including Channel migrants, granted refugee status on the basis of a 10-page questionnaire. The questionnaire asks more than 50 questions in total, such as how they reached the UK and how much it cost them, and suggests that applicants use 'online translation tools' if necessary. The plan was immediately attacked by critics and dubbed 'an amnesty in all but name', as the Prime Minister faced demands from his own backbenches to urgently tackle the Channel crisis. While a charity boss expressed deep concern at the implication that applications could be withdrawn if refugees are unable to fill in the document on time. The questionnaire will ask migrants more than 50 questions in total, such as how they reached the UK and how much it cost them The new fast-track scheme will be applied to Libyans, Syrians, Afghans, Eritreans and Yemenis who arrived in Britain before June 28 last year, including those who arrived by small boat across the Channel The Home Office released figures to show 160,919 people were waiting for an initial decision on their claim as of the end of December last year. The new scheme will be applied to Libyans, Syrians, Afghans, Eritreans and Yemenis who arrived in Britain before June 28 last year, including those who arrived by small boat across the Channel. Around 12,000 claims will be dealt with through the questionnaire and more than 95 per cent of them are expected to be granted, based on current rates, allowing them to settle permanently in Britain and sponsor relatives to join them here. Officials said the 'vast majority' of cases will go ahead without an asylum interview - a detailed, one-to-one session with a Home Office caseworker which is designed to show up discrepancies in an applicant's claim. Christina Marriott, the executive director of strategy and communications at the British Red Cross, told The Guardian: 'These men, women and children may not speak English and are likely traumatised from fleeing persecution and war. 'They need our support and compassion, not rushed and complicated bureaucracy that will only increase suffering.' The questionnaire warns the asylum seekers that a failure to return the document within 20 working days 'may result in an individual's asylum claim being withdrawn'. Questions include: 'In times of peace or war have you ever been involved in or suspected of involvement in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide? Around 12,000 claims will be dealt with through the questionnaire and more than 95 per cent of them are expected to be granted Rishi Sunak faced renewed pressure on immigration after a new fast-track scheme for 12,000 asylum seekers 'Have you ever been involved in, supported or encouraged terrorist activities in any country? 'Have you ever, by any means or medium, expressed views that justify or glorify terrorist violence or that may encourage others to conduct terrorist acts or serious criminal acts?' Other questions ask if the individual fear officials in their country and if they were subject to human trafficking on their way to the UK. Enver Solomon, head of the Refugee Council, welcomed the Home Office's announcement as a 'welcome first step'. But he added: 'After living in worry and uncertainty for months and even years without hearing anything about their claims, it cannot then be fair or reasonable to expect people to complete a lengthy form only in English in a matter of weeks especially for those who don't have access to legal advice and don't speak English. 'As it stands, the Prime Minister will fail to meet his commitment to clear the backlog by the end of this year and if he is serious about it there must be a more ambitious, workable, person-centred approach that sees the face behind the case.' Ukrainians are more convinced than ever that they will defeat Russia, it can be revealed on the eve of the first anniversary of the invasion. Almost seven in ten (69 per cent) of those questioned in a major survey said they were more confident of victory now than they were at the start of the war. When the same question was asked last summer, 60 per cent thought Ukraine would prevail, suggesting their resolve is strengthening despite the unrelenting onslaught from Vladimir Putins forces. And in a boost to Boris Johnson, almost as many Ukrainians said they had a favourable view of the former British prime minister as their president Volodymyr Zelensky (89 per cent compared with 91 per cent). US President Joe Biden was viewed favourably by 88 per cent, followed by Rishi Sunak on 72. Almost seven in ten of those questioned in a major survey said they were more confident of victory now than they were at the start of the war. Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers undergoing training at Bovington Camp in the UK, pose with a Ukrainian flag today Ukrainians are more convinced than ever that they will defeat Russia, polling has revealed The polling of thousands of residents of Ukraine, Russia, the US and Britain carried out by Lord Ashcroft and exclusively revealed by the Daily Mail today also found: Half of those polled in the US and UK said they thought their militaries should supply fighter jets to Ukraine, and that the country should be allowed to join Nato, but only about one in five supported their troops being deployed on the ground; Only about one in ten Russians think the so-called special military operation is progressing very successfully and almost half fear it has damaged their reputation internationally; Citizens of Ukraine and Russia believe the war will drag on for at least another year, in views echoed today by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace; Britain was viewed as more supportive to Ukraine than any other major Western nation. The findings come as world leaders prepare to mark the shocking moment at dawn on February 24, 2022, when Putins forces launched an attack on three fronts in Ukraine with air strikes and a ground invasion. A year on, 45 per cent of the 2,019 Ukrainians surveyed by Lord Ashcroft think they are winning, with only 2 per cent saying Russia has the upper hand. Half believe the year-long conflict has reached a stalemate. Some 85 per cent think the defence of their country is going well, with only 5 per cent feeling it is going badly. Focus groups showed their pride at their nations strength and determination to defeat Russia rather than surrender, despite acknowledging it would be a long and painful process to rebuild their shattered cities. One Ukrainian said: They expected an easy victory. They didnt consider that we are not slaves, we are civilised people. Nobody expected how the nation would unite. Another said: We are not ready to concede territory for peace, but a third admitted: We just live by the moment. If we get through the day, thats OK. Somewhere someone is being bombed. And in a boost to Boris Johnson, almost as many Ukrainians said they had a favourable view of the former British prime minister as their president Volodymyr Zelensky. Pictured: Johnson visits Zelensky in Kyiv, Ukraine, August 24, 2023 US President Joe Biden was viewed favourably by 88 per cent, followed by Rishi Sunak on 72. Pictured: Rishi Sunak and Volodymyr Zelensky at a military facility in Dorset, UK, February 8, 2023 Focus groups with Ukrainians showed their pride at their nation's strength and determination to defeat Russia rather than surrender. Pictured: Zelensky speaks to a joint meeting of Congress at the US Capitol, December 21, 2022 In contrast with the Ukrainians increasing confidence, only 57 per cent of the Russians questioned in the survey carried out this month think their special military operation (SMO) is progressing successfully, with 16 per cent admitting it is going badly. Only 39 per cent of Russians are more confident of victory now than a year ago, while 11 per cent are less sure, and 60 per cent admit Ukraine is resisting more strongly than expected. Although most think Russia will emerge from the conflict stronger than before, almost half (46 per cent) now acknowledge that its international reputation has been damaged in recent years. Most (69 per cent) say they still support the operation, despite the sanctions imposed by the West on banks, oil exports and oligarchs that have crippled the economy. And the overwhelming majority (91 per cent) support the 2014 takeover of Crimea, with almost as many backing Putins illegal annexation of Donetsk and Luhansk last year. Two focus groups held with residents of Yekaterinburg one comprising Putin supporters and the other made up of opponents uncovered complaints about high prices, medicine shortages and corruption in Russia. But they blamed the problems on local officials rather than their president. One woman in the pro-Kremlin group confessed: My husband ran away to Europe and I decided to divorce him. If he cant defend the country, I dont need him as a husband. Although many claimed the invasion was necessary to recapture territory from Ukraine, there was widespread acknowledgment that it was not going as quickly or as well as expected. If 300,000 people are called up and we still cant win, the military commander is not successful, said one participant. Ukrainian servicemen prepare to change their position at the frontline in Vuhledar, Ukraine, February 22, 2023 The body of Ukrainian serviceman rests in a coffin during his funeral in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on October 17, 2022 Ukrainian service member loads anti tank grenade as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the frontline town of Vuhledar, Ukraine, February 22, 2023 Another said: I know people who support (Putins) policies and think hes a great strategist. But I want to ask where was his genius strategy when he decided to launch the SMO. But some in the pro-Kremlin group still felt Russia had a good reputation or was feared by Nato. Two-thirds of Ukrainians now think one side will be defeated on the battlefield rather than diplomacy bringing about peace, while opinion is divided among Russians. Neither side expects the conflict which has led to thousands of civilian casualties and many more among military personnel, as well as triggering an exodus of refugees and a worldwide energy crisis to end any time soon. One in three Ukrainians and two in five Russians believe it will continue for more than a year, with fewer than one in ten expecting it to end within the next month. And two-thirds of Ukrainians fear that Russia will continue to pose a serious threat to its neighbours even after Putin has gone. Britains support for Ukraine including sending a squadron of tanks as well as missiles, drones and ammunition was welcomed by those surveyed. Asked which countries were doing enough to help, 74 per cent of Ukrainians mentioned the UK, with 71 per cent saying the US and fewer than half listing Germany or France. I first visited Ukraine in 2018 to meet soldiers in the trenches of the Donbas region in the east, who were defending their country from Russian-backed separatists. I have been fortunate to return several times, and I am now in Kyiv again to show my support on the anniversary of the invasion. Nobody who has followed events over the last year could fail to be moved by the resilience and determination of the Ukrainian people. My latest polling only underlines that. Most people here are prepared for the war to last months or even years longer, and I have found no appetite for any compromise with Russia or trading territory for peace. Victory is the 1991 borders [the official territory declared when Ukraine proclaimed itself an independent state, free from the USSR] and joining Nato, as well as returning Crimea to Ukraine. That is a minimum, as one Kyiv resident said. I first visited Ukraine in 2018 to meet soldiers in the trenches of the Donbas region in the east, who were defending their country from Russian-backed separatists, writes Lord Ashcroft, pictured visiting Ukraine in December Nearly seven in ten Ukrainians say they are more confident in their ability to defeat Putin than they were a year ago But even after that, the threat from Russia would remain, probably longer than Putin himself. We need to become more like Israel, said another. Since 1947 they have lived in a war situation. We need to learn from them how to live in a condition of war. While 85 per cent of Ukrainians say the defence of their country is progressing successfully compared with 57 per cent of Russians who say the same of Putins special military operation they want more help. We can be proud that they think Britain has done more than most indeed, Boris Johnson still rivals President Zelensky himself in popularity. But while I found voters in Britain and the US most willing to offer humanitarian aid and diplomatic support to help reach a peace deal, these were some way down the priority list for Ukrainians themselves: they would most like weapons and military equipment, admission to Nato, and a no-fly zone over Ukraine patrolled by allied air forces. If support from allies has so far been strong, there are worrying signs of fatigue. While around half of the public in Britain and the US think their governments are providing roughly the right amount of help to Ukraine, a quarter of Americans including four in ten of those who voted for Trump in 2020 say they are already giving too much military support. Men walk past a residential building damaged in shelling in the city of Chernihiv on March 4 last year An 80-year-old woman presents Lord Ashcroft with one of the cushions she makes for frontline soldiers as a 'thank you' for his support of Ukraine Only half of Republicans are happy to supply weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, compared with three quarters of Democrats. In Britain, Conservatives are keener to help militarily, while Labour voters are much more willing to accept further Ukrainian refugees. In Britain, too, more than two thirds of the public think we have a direct interest in ensuring Russias defeat or that helping Ukraine is simply the right thing to do. Only just over half of Americans agree. Six in ten Ukrainians now believe Putin has the support of most Russians, a figure that has crept up since the invasion, and my polling suggests they are right. More than three quarters of Russians surveyed said they support the operation - and 85 per cent have a positive view of their president. Focus groups conducted online with people in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg exposed plenty of complaints about life rocketing prices, shoddy goods, poor services and endemic corruption. But citizens laid the blame elsewhere. It is not our president, his head is busy with more important issues, one Russian told us. Sometimes he appoints people, and they make mistakes and he replaces them with other people. Though actually, the rate of mistakes is very high. Despite the absence of a quick victory, Putin has managed to control the narrative inside Russia to a remarkable degree. Around eight in ten Russians say the US or Nato are responsible for the war - thats nearly twice as many as blame Russia itself. Four fifths also believe Nato expansion is a threat to Russian sovereignty and that action in Ukraine was needed to protect national security. Even so, not everything is going according to the objectives, as one focus-group member put it. On the battlefield the situation is terrible. Relatives are buying uniforms and food. People are mobilised but they send them there without taking care of them. Many feel their government underestimated their adversary, and six in ten Russians say Ukraine is resisting more strongly than they would have expected. Yet there is little demand for Russia to cut its losses. Many feel that whatever the reasons were for beginning this operation in the first place, it now has to be seen through. There is also disdain for Russians who have left the country to avoid the draft. My husband ran away to Europe and I decided to divorce him, one woman said. If he cant defend the country, I dont need him as a husband. Not everyone is so staunchly supportive of the Kremlin, though. Nearly three in ten young Russians said they opposed the invasion, and a large majority of them want to see negotiations to end the war. But, equally, no one should run away with the idea that the Russians who are sceptical of military action are also pro-West: few have a positive view of Western countries or organisations, and a clear majority thinks the allied nations are more interested in attacking Russia than in liberating Ukraine. Yet despite all this, Ukrainians are not just determined but also optimistic. Nearly seven in ten say they are more confident in their ability to defeat Putin than they were a year ago. They expected an easy victory, said one Kyiv resident. They didnt consider that we are not slaves, we are civilised people. Nobody expected how the nation would unite. Full details of Lord Ashcrofts research will be available from tomorrow at LordAshcroftPolls.com. Lord Ashcroft is an international businessman, author, pollster and philanthropist. You can follow him on Twitter/Facebook: @LordAshcroft Unlike other outbreaks, it has lasted more than a year and is spread by wild birds One of the largest egg producers in the country has described the current bird flu outbreak as an 'epic battle'. For the US poultry industry, that battle has been the deadliest in history, killing 58million birds since February last year and affecting egg-laying hens, chickens and turkeys. Unlike normal spikes in bird flu that last months, this outbreak sustained itself through summer and is spread almost entirely by wild birds. The outbreak has ramped up pressure on the industry to protect its flocks and forced them to kill millions of birds to avoid the deadly spread. Versova Management Co., one of the country's five largest egg producers, learned lessons from a previous outbreak in 2015 but remains anxious. 'We're fighting an epic battle,' its president J.T. Dean told the Wall Street Journal. 'We have to be perfect.' The US poultry industry has been mired in its deadliest battle against bird flu in history, which has seen 58million birds wiped out since February last year Unlike usual spikes in bird flu that last months, this outbreak sustained itself through the summer of 2022 and is spread almost entirely by wild birds Dean said the company has been forced to change its practices, including by installing vibrating mechanisms in containers holding chicken feed to avoid worker contamination. The disease is so contagious that wind can carry contaminated bird droppings to a barn vent, causing the virus to circulate inside. It can also be spread to commercial flocks by workers who can bring the disease into the barn via wild-bird feces on their shoes. Some farms have installed motion-detecting alarms, known as 'sound cannons', as well as bright laser systems to shoo away wild birds without harming them. Of the 58million birds that have been wiped out, nearly 75 percent have been egg-laying hens. They are more susceptible to bird flu because, unlike chickens that go for slaughter within months, they are kept producing eggs for as long as a year. Versova, based in Iowa, said it has about 17million egg-laying hens, making it one of the world's largest egg processing companies. States including Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Colorado have suffered the most severe contamination of flocks, according to the CDC. The last time the industry was rocked so severely by bird flu was in 2014-2015. Although that outbreak killed more than 50million birds, it was much shorter and over by June. What makes this outbreak different is that wild birds are responsible for around 84 percent of all cases, according to the USDA, whereas during the last outbreak it was spread farm to farm. States including Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nebraska and Colorado suffered the most severe contamination of flocks, according to the CDC Bird flu, paired with a rising cost of energy and labor, caused the price of eggs to surge to an all-time high in January, though it did drop in February The US Department of Agriculture has warned the upcoming migration could cause a resurgence. The beginning of the outbreak early last year also coincided with rising energy and labor costs, causing the cost of eggs to surge to an all-time high. Last month it surpassed the cost of a pound of beef, and while this month it dropped to $2.22, it remains higher than usual. In January, a dozen large grade A eggs cost an average of $4.82. Higher cost of feed and transportation caused egg prices to rise further. Although the hike squeezed consumers, some suppliers have recorded large profits as their margins mean they make more out of each egg. Cal-Maine, the largest producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs in the US, had a record quarterly income of $199million in the final quarter of 2022. In the last quarter of 2021 it just about broke even, netting $1million. In some places, it's been hard to find eggs on the shelves, but supplies overall are holding up because the total flock is only down about 5 percent from from its normal size of around 320million hens. Farmers have been working to replace their flocks as soon as they can after an outbreak. Although the hike squeezed consumers, some egg suppliers have recorded large profits as their margins mean they make more out of each egg Purdue University agricultural economist Jayson Lusk said he believes the bird flu outbreak is the biggest driver of the price increases. Unlike past years, the virus lingered throughout the summer and made a resurgence last fall, infecting egg and poultry farms. 'Bird flu is not the only factor, but in my view it's the main driver of what we're experiencing at the moment,' Lusk told the Associated Press. But the president and CEO of the American Egg Board trade group, Emily Metz, said she believes all the cost increases farmers have faced in the past year were a bigger factor in the price increases than bird flu. 'When you're looking at fuel costs go up, and you're looking at feed costs go up as much as 60 percent, labor costs, packaging costs, all of that... those are much much bigger factors than bird flu for sure,' Metz said. Three members of a Korean community climbing group in the United States have been killed by an avalanche while trekking a mountain in the U.S state of Washington over the weekend, according to Korean diplomatic authorities and American news reports Thursday. According to the Korean consulate general in Seattle and local media reports, three members of the New York Korean American Alpine Club aged 66, 60 and 53, respectively, travelling through Washington's Cascade Mountains died on Sunday (local time) due to the avalanche. According to the consulate general, the remains of the climbers have yet to be recovered due to bad weather conditions. Seoul's foreign ministry said one of the victims was a Korean national and two were of U.S. citizenship. "We are providing necessary consular support through our mission," Lim Soo-suk, spokesperson for the ministry, said during a regular press briefing Thursday. (Yonhap) A bondage-loving middle-aged mum who ran a fetish Facebook page has walked free from court after hoarding indecent images of children. When Julie Barnes's Cheshire home was raided by police they seized her mobile phone and analysis revealed the sickening child abuse images. She told police that the images had been sent to her fetish page, Rosie Cheek, by fans 'purely due to the nature of the account.' A judge today accepted that the 57-year-old had not sought the images and they were found in a cache folder which she could not access. But she told her, 'This was disgraceful and shameful behaviour.' Julie Barnes, pictured, was found to be running an X-rated Facebook page under the name 'Rosie Cheek' Barnes pictured leaving Liverpool Crown Court after sentencing today Derek Jones, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that, 'She had seen them and deleted them.' Barnes, of Coronation Drive, Widnes, pleaded guilty to making a total of 47 indecent images in all three categories of seriousness, possessing those images and possessing three prohibited computer generated images. Mr Jones said police raided her home on December 23, 2021 following intelligence that indecent images were being uploaded on a Facebook account.They located her via an IP address. The images found on her Samsung phone included girls as young as seven being raped and a five-year-old boy also being raped. 'When interviewed she provided a prepared statement and accepted possession of the images but stated they were not sought by her.' Jim Smith, defending, said that Barnes has no previous convictions and only eight images were in the most serious category. 'This perhaps an unconventional case,'he said. 'The nature of the work she involved herself in was a by-product of loneliness.' On the page she posted images of herself in negligees, but also hoarded indecent images of children On the website Barnes posted a picture of a cat-o-nine tails alongside the caption: 'I want it.. beautiful' She also posted other bondage-themed photos, including this one showing an item adorned with the word 'slave' Barnes admitted to multiple counts of possessing indecent images of children at Warrington Magistrates' Court He described her as a loving mum-of-two who has mental health and physical health impediments and had been affectedly life events. Barnes, who walks with the aid of two sticks, wiped away tears in the dock. Mr Smith said she had done voluntary work and impressed friends 'despite many difficulties and hardships that she has encountered throughout her life.' The judge, Recorder Tania Griffiths KC, said that while the charges spanned three years the prosecution could not say when they began and the last image was in May 2021, six months before her arrest. She said she accepted 'due to loneliness rather than sexual interest in children you set up a Facebook fetish account in which you accept there was the potential risk of this sort of material being sent to you*..you created circumstances where receipt of this information was likely. 'I accept you are remorseful and it was due to loneliness but that is no comfort to children in these awful offences.' She imposed an 18 month community order and ordered her to carry out 20 days rehabilitation activities. She imposed a five year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered her to sign the Sex Offenders Register for the same length of time. The judge warned her, 'This must never happen again, no matter how lonely.If you commit further offences of this nature the attitude of the court will be very different than it was today.' On her fetish site, believed to have since been deleted, Barnes called herself 'Big Blonde and Beautiful' and posted pictures of herself in negligees. Her own personal Facebook page showed slave themed bondage photos along with a cat-o-nine tails alongside the caption: 'I want it.. beautiful.' But Barnes later told one fan: 'Am not getting it, no one to play with xx.' The Mormon mom who took 'soft swinging' too far has been arrested for domestic violence. Influencer Taylor Frankie Paul, 28, who has more than four million TikTok followers, was taken into custody on Saturday by cops in Herriman, Utah, a southern suburb of Salt Lake City. Salt Lake County Jail records obtained by DailyMail.com show she was booked in at 1.56am and released at 10.35am on three misdemeanor charges assault, criminal mischief and domestic violence in the presence of a child. Neither Herriman Police nor the city attorney's office would reveal details of the charges. Mom-of-two Influencer Taylor Frankie Paul, 28, was arrested in a suburb of Salt Lake City Saturday and held for almost nine hours before being released She was booked on three misdemeanor charges assault, criminal mischief and domestic violence in the presence of a child Her boyfriend Dakota Mortensen refused to say what happened. 'I'm not even allowed to speak with her,' Mortensen, 30, said 'I have yet to see the file on Taylor Paul,' assistant prosecuting attorney Matt Brooks told DailyMail.com. 'If it comes across my desk, I will screen it for possible charges like any other case.' Mom-of-two Paul was part of a group of Utah couples who indulged in 'soft swinging' a practice where partners are swapped but only with the understanding that they don't have full sex. Neither Herriman Police nor the city attorney's office would reveal details of the charges against Taylor Frankie Paul But last year she caused a sensation when she admitted that she had broken the cardinal rule and ended up losing her husband Tate, who divorced her, and most of her friends. Her new boyfriend Dakota Mortensen told DailyMail.com that Paul had been at a 'Galentine's Party' a bonding event for women held around Valentine's Day on Friday night, and he went to pick her up and drive her back to her house. 'I'm not even allowed to speak with her,' Mortensen, 30, said. 'I really don't want to talk about it but I want to clarify a few things. 'I didn't call 911,' he added, saying he thinks a neighbor may have called. Mortensen refused to say what happened after they arrived at the house. 'I'm going to wait for everything to come out before I speak on it,' he said. But then he let slip, 'She never hurt anyone intentionally.' When pressed for specifics he said he didn't want to elaborate. Mortensen, a real estate agent and tiling company boss who has his own popular TikTok account where he discusses his recovery from drug addiction and alcoholism then added: 'We didn't argue.' 'I don't even want the truth to come out. She's so broken right now. I tried to help her,' he said. 'She's a good mom, she's going through a lot in her life right now. Taylor's been struggling, it's been a hard year for her. She is racked with guilt on her cheating scandal that cost her her marriage.' Mortensen refused to say what caused her arrest, but let slip, 'She never hurt anyone intentionally.' Paul is pictured with daughter Indy, five, and two-year-old son Ocean Taylor Paul suffered an ectopic pregnancy and lost the child she and Mortensen were planning to have together Mortensen is a real estate agent and tiling company boss who has his own popular TikTok account. 'I love Taylor very much and want to have a future with her,' he added Taylor admitted that she broke the swinging agreement with her friends early last year, 'I did step out of that agreement, that's where I messed up, and I, obviously, am losing everything that I have.' Then she suffered an ectopic pregnancy and lost the child she and Mortensen were planning to have together. She wrote to her followers in December, calling 2022 the 'sh***iest year of my entire life. 'From rough marriage, to swinging, to divorce, to major loss of some family, best friends, my kids part time, trying to be in another relationship but can't let myself be happy, to ectopic pregnancy to deep depression. 'Meanwhile millions of people watched it all and gave their lovey opinions,' she added. But she did say she was hoping for a better New Year. '23 is my number so I'm thinking next year is my year.' Taylor introduced Mortensen on TikTok last July while still in the middle of her divorce. She and Tate have two young children, Indy, five, and two-year-old Ocean. Their whirlwind romance lasted six months before she announced they split up after the pregnancy. But they were soon back together again. On January 14 they appeared together in a short TikTok video called 'Guess we don't know any better.' Mortensen says he thinks the arrest was a 'rock bottom' moment for Paul and she'll only get stronger from it. 'She needs help, she hasn't had time to process the ending of her marriage. She's having a hard time forgiving herself for the swinging scandal. And then she had an ectopic pregnancy. 'I love Taylor very much and want to have a future with her,' he added. He confirmed they don't live together and he rents an apartment about 20 miles away from her house in Herriman. 'We'll just have to let it go through the system and see how it pans out. I have no idea when I'll be able to see or talk to Taylor again. It could be days, weeks or months.' Taylor shares two young children, Indy and Ocean, with her ex-husband, Tate The mom-of-two was part of a group of Utah couples who , she said, indulged in 'soft swinging' but last year she caused a sensation when she admitted that she had broken the cardinal rule and ended up losing her husband Tate, who divorced her, and most of her friends Mortensen has been featured in several videos with Taylor's children, including some that have been shared on his account. In a Q&A, they recalled how he recently met her ex-husband Tate, who is also understood to be in a new relationship. They noted that Tate is a nice guy and it went well. Taylor previously noted that she and Tate had other issues in their marriage before they separated, but the swinging scandal 'was like the tip of the iceberg.' 'Tate has made out with several girls and [done] other things, and I've made out with all of the husbands and [done] other things,' she added. She refused to name names, but she stressed that fans could easily figure out which couples she was referring to in the TikTok Live. Taylor made it clear she had nothing to lose, saying she and Tate told their families everything that had happened. She admitted her parents were 'disgusted' by the revelation. She insisted that she has proof of her swinging claims in the form of videos and texts if she ever needs it. Taylor also alleged that there are 'three divorces in the friend group,' but one of the breakups is not related to the swinging situation. 'They're going to deny it, and that's fine,' she said. 'I'm speaking my truth, and they can speak theirs.' A woke fire service chief has banned the use of the word fireman by his staff, claiming it represents micro-aggression. Dave Russel has insisted that the term will not be tolerated because it is sexist and exclusionary. The word has not been officially used by fire and rescue services since the late 1980s. It was replaced with the gender-neutral firefighter, but is still often used among the public. Greater Manchester Chief Fire Officer Mr Russel, who is paid 172,000 a year, said in an email to staff: We employ firefighters not firemen and havent for decades so why use the term? Woke Fire Chief Dave Russel has insisted that the term 'fireman' will not be tolerated because it is sexist and exclusionary' Here it regularly slips into peoples everyday vocabulary, and it very often goes unnoticed and unchallenged because its just become the way things are around here. But its connotation is sexist, exclusionary and represents a form of micro-aggression that is damaging to our culture. This needs to stop and the term permanently erased from our vocabulary. His tough stance angered Andy Morgan, a former member of Greater Manchester Fire Authority, who said: Its ridiculous. Its wokeism gone mad. The term 'fireman' was replaced with the gender-neutral firefighter, but is still often used among the public He said the term fireman was part of the services long and outstanding history, adding: Yes, the world moves on, but you cannot erase the past. Conservative MP Scott Benton branded Mr Russels move more nonsense following an earlier ridiculous campaign to cancel childrens TV character Fireman Sam. The row comes as the number of UK female firefighters is steadily growing but they remain a small minority. There were 2,862 in March last year 8.2 per cent of the total compared with 1,833 (5.2 per cent) in 2017. A group of Stanford professors are fighting back against a woke tattle-tale tool that lets students anonymously report each other for discrimination. More than 75 professors argue in a petition to school administrators that the online tool threatens free speech on campus, with one telling the Wall Street Journal it reminded him of systems in place in the Soviet Union and China. The Maxient reporting system, employed at 1,300 institutions around the country, has already been challenged by free speech advocates in Florida, Texas, Michigan and Oklahoma. It has apparently made Aaron Hark, 42, a millionaire, owning a $900,000 dollar home in Charlottesville, Virginia, with his family's own vineyard. Hark set up the firm with wife Celeste, 41, with the pair now enjoying the fruits of their woke online hall monitor software in more ways than one. Back at Stanford, school administrators say the system is necessary to ensure a respectful campus, despite criticism that it is creepy and Orwellian. Russell Berman, a professor of comparative literature created a petition calling on Stanford University to investigate free speech and academic freedom on campus after becoming aware of an online tool that allows students to anonymously report their peers for discrimination The school has been using the third-party system since 2021, when it became widely used at universities across the country for students to report their colleagues who were not wearing masks. But university professors said they did not know of the system, run by third-party contractor Maxient, until the school newspaper reported on an incident in which a student was reported for reading Mein Kampf. 'I was stunned,' Russell Berman, a professor of comparative literature who created the petition, told the Journal. 'It reminds me of McCarthyism.' According to the company's website, Maxient is the 'software of choice for managing behavior records at colleges and universities across North America. 'Our centralized reporting and record-keeping helps institutions connect the dots and prevent students from falling through the cracks,' it says, noting: 'Maxient serves as an integral component of many schools overall early alert efforts, helping to identify students in distress and coordinate the efforts of various departments to provide follow-up.' Maxient was founded in 2003 and is now being used at more than 1,300 institutions across the United States. At Stanford, students can use the system to report a Protected Identity Harm Incident, which is defied as conduct targeting an individual or group on the basis of characteristics like race or sexual orientation. The system defaults to anonymous reporting, allowing students to describe how they saw bias, which would trigger an inquiry within 48 hours. Both parties are then contacted, but participation in the inquiry is optional. Administrators would then work with the students to resolve the matter. Only Maxient and a small number of people within the student affairs office have access to records, Stanford spokeswoman Dee Mostofi said, though she declined to say how long the records are stored. A dashboard maintained by the school, though, the Journal reports, lists a few incidents students have reported using the anonymous system, including the removal of an Israeli flag and a racial slur written on a white board hanging on a dorm room door. Stanford University has been using the Maxient system since 2021, allowing students to anonymously report a Protected Identity Harm Incident School officials say it is necessary to maintain a peaceful and respectful campus It is meant to 'build and maintain a better, safer and more respectful campus community,' according to the Stanford's website. As Mostofi explained to the Journal: 'The process aims to promote a climate of respect, helping build understanding that much speech is protected while also offering resources and support to students who believe they have experienced harm based on a protected identity.' Professor Juan Santiago helped Berman collect 77 faculty signatures, saying that the system could make students with differing view points feel ostracized DailyMail.com has reached out to her for clarification about her assertion that 'much speech is protected,' given that the First Amendment gives all Americans the right to complete freedom of speech. And senior Christian Sanchez, the executive vice president of Associated Students of Stanford University, the school's student government, said he believes the system is necessary, noting that he bristles when another student refers to him as 'G,' short for gangster because he is Latino. Sanchez told the Journal he lets those comments slide off his back, but the Maxient system provides less thick-skinned students a path for redress. 'People need to be aware of what they're saying and who they're saying it to,' he said. 'There are a lot of instances of stereotyping,' he said, 'and people should have a resource to report it if they want to.' But free speech advocates say the system is draconian, with Stanford mechanical engineering Professor Juan Santiago saying it could make students with differing view points feel ostracized. 'If you're an 18-year-old freshman and you get contacted by an administrator and told you've been accused of some transgression, what are you going to do?' he asked, rhetorically. 'They may not call that punitive, but that can be very stressful.' Santiago has since helped Berman collect 77 faculty signatures to petition the school to investigate free speech and academic freedom on campus, the first step in getting rid of the Maxient system at the school. Among them was Professor Ivan Marinovic, who said the system reminds him of the way residents in the Soviet Union, East Germany and China were encouraged to alert authorities of anti-government rhetoric. 'It ignores the whole history,' said Marinovic, a business professor at the school. 'You're basically going to be reporting people who you find offensive, right? According to your own ideology.' The Maxient system was created in 2003 by Aaron Hark, 42. He is pictured with his wife Candice and his two children The Harks own a sprawling nearly 5,000-square-foot four bedroom, four-and-a-half bathroom home in Charlottesville, Virginia worth an estimated $900,000 The system is still being used at other schools as well, including at the University of California's 10 campuses. During the 2021 - 2022 school year, the university system recorded 457 acts of 'intolerance or hate.' Nearly 300 of those reports were defined as using offensive speech. The University of California said those incidents include 'gestures, taunts, mockery, unwanted jokes or teasing and derogatory or disparaging comments of a biased nature.' Free speech advocacy groups like the Goldwater Institute, the Foundation for Individual rights and Expression and the Alumni Free Speech Alliance have challenged the system at other schools. As a result, the universities of Texas, Michigan and Central Florida all disbanded their systems. And an ongoing legal case against Oklahoma State University for using a bias response system lists three students as plaintiffs. They say in court documents that they do not believe abortion, same-sex marriage or affirmative action should be practiced, and think the Black Lives Matter movement to race relations. But, they argue, they are afraid to discuss their views publicly on campus out of fear of being reported to the school's bias response team by students who disagree with them. In 2015, the couple bought 70 acres of open land to build their own vineyard Hark Vineyards advertises that it provides 'spaces for gatherings as well as quietude' Meanwhile, the man who created the system seems to be doing well for himself. Aaron Hark owns a sprawling nearly 5,000-square-foot four bedroom, four-and-a-half bathroom home in Charlottesville, Virginia worth an estimated $900,000. And he and his wife, Candice, also run their own vineyard in the city. The website for Hark Vineyards says Aaron and Candice first bought the original 70-acres in 2015. 'In the years since,' it says, 'the land has been methodically cultivated to maximize the site's winegrowing potential, create spaces for gatherings as well as quietude and bring to life the vision that is Hark Vineyards.' The company will be sunsetting its trademark military jet at the end of 2025 Boeing has announced plans to end production of its iconic F-18 fighter jets following the aircraft's illustrious four decades in the skies. The aerospace giant said Thursday that it will be sunsetting its trademark military jet after its current contract with the US Navy finishes at the end of 2025. A classic military fighter jet, the F/A-18 Super Hornet served in both of the US Gulf Wars in 1991 and 2003, before more recently starring in Tom Cruise's 2022 blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick. Production on the jet first began in November 1983, leading to more than 2,000 deliveries over 40 years. And while its iconic model is now being shuttered, the company insists it isn't the end of the road. 'We are planning for our future, and building fighter aircraft is in our DNA,' said Steve Norlund, senior site executive for Boeing St. Louis. Boeing has announced it is planning to end production of its iconic F/A-18 fighter jets The military aircraft stole the show during Tom Cruise's 2022 blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick Originally rolled out in the 1970s, Boeing made the F-18 a central cog in its military machine after it merged with McDonnall Douglas in 1997. Following McDonall Douglass' initial development, the jet gained a fearsome reputation. It was the first fighter jet to have carbon fiber wings, and was able to easily take off and land from the decks of the US Navy's titanic aircraft carriers. It was introduced into active duty in 1983, before being sent to the front lines three years later on the USS Coral Sea. After the US entered the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the US military relied on the fighters to play a key role in the conflict, before again utilizing them in Afghanistan a decade later. More recently, the jet captivated audiences around the world when it was flown in Tom Cruise's hit sequel Top Gun: Maverick. The flick, which became one of the most successful films of all time when it flew past the $1 billion mark last summer, prominently featured the jets' eye-opening firepower throughout its 2 hour runtime. The F-18 fighter jets were heavily used during the two Gulf Wars in 1991 and 2003 As the first fighter jet to have carbon fiber wings, the F-18 became one of the slickest fighter jets when it was introduced to battlefields over three decades ago However, their time on the force came under threat as rival Lockheed Martin rolled out its slick F-35 fighters in 2008, causing Boeing to see demand for the jet decline in recent years. For two consecutive years, the US Navy reportedly omitted the F-18 from its budget, but Congress insisted the fighter jet kept its place in the military arsenal. Lawmakers made another order of a dozen Super Hornets in 2022, leading Boeing to maintain its current order stream until 2025, when production will cease. It comes after militaries from other nations including Germany and Canada also began opting for the Lockheed Martin rival jet over the F-18 following the 2008 development, aerospace consultant Richard Aboulafia told Fortune. The decision to end production on the fighter jet comes as Boeing insists it is focusing on its next generation of aircraft, opening up its supply chains for more military programs. Boeing is reportedly planning on expanding its St Louis, Missouri hub in the coming years, where it plans to set up three new facilities for advanced new aircraft projects. Among the military aircraft set to be expanded includes the T-7A Red Hawk training craft and MQ-25 Stingray refueling drones. Around 1,500 engineers and staffers currently working on the jet are set to be shifted, with the company saying they were planning on transitioning to a new 'future' with their decision. 'These are highly skilled workers,' said Boeing spokeswoman Deborah VanNierop. 'Their skills are easily transferred to our other programs.' The death of the F-18 comes after another classic Boeing aircraft, the 747 jumbo jet, was officially retired at the start of the month. Boeing said that while its latest production line of the fighter jet will end as soon as its delivery to the US Navy comes to a close in late 2025, it could be extended if the Indian Navy decides to order more aircraft. Putin's war started on February 24, and has left hundreds of thousands dead Dame Helen Mirren has led a vigil marking the one-year anniversary of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine. Deranged despot Vladimir Putin's Russian army invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, starting a war in Europe that has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and forced millions to flee their homes. Ukraine's allies across the world marked the eve of the anniversary in a show of strength against Moscow's illegal invasion, which has led to copious allegations of war crimes by Russian soldiers. On Thursday evening the United Nations voted overwhelmingly to demand Russia 'immediately' and 'unconditionally' withdraw its troops from Ukraine and called for a 'just and lasting' peace. In London, Oscar-winning actress Mirren recited a Ukrainian poem as she addressed the crowds in Trafalgar Square today. Helen Mirren has led a vigil marking the one-year anniversary of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine Hundreds of people gathered to show their support for the people of Ukraine, who have battled heroically against the illegal Russian invaders People were visibly emotional during the vigil in Trafalgar Square in central London on Thursday evening Defence Secretary Ben Wallace also spoke at the vigil, which was called United With Ukraine The Minister was seen talking to Oscar-winning actress Mirren during the moving vigil Mirren raised a gloved hand to her eye during the vigil United With Ukraine on Thursday evening A woman and her daughter stand as they listen to a prayer for fallen soldiers at Lviv cemetery, western Ukraine, on Thursday. Family members gathered at the military cemetery in Lviv for a 'lights of memory' event to honor those who died fighting the Russians In Paris the Eiffel Tower was illuminated in the colors of the Ukrainian flag to mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine A giant peace sign was formed with candles in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin marking the anniversary of deranged despot Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine a year ago She read out the English translation of Take Only What Is Most Important by Serhiy Zhadan. The poem included the line: 'You will not return and friends will never come back.' At the end of the recitation, Mirren added: 'But I think you will be back.' She said: 'Peace for Ukraine, democracy for Ukraine and freedom for Ukraine.' At the same vigil, US ambassador Jane Hartley told the crowd that the event is a reminder the US and the UK will 'always stand by our friends in Ukraine'. A woman looks on as she attend a vigil in Trafalgar Square, central London, on February 23, 2023 Two men and a woman, each wrapped in the Ukrainian flag, attend the vigil in Trafalgar Square A woman with a tiara of roses appeared to have tears in her eyes as she listened to the vigil in London Throughout the evening there were moments of contemplation for many people attending Although the vigil had its sombre moments, there was still time for Brits to show their rapturous support for the UK's ally Ukraine She said: 'It's been one year since Russia invaded Ukraine a shocking and brutal act committed by a remorseless tyrant. 'Through this entire war the Ukrainian people have shown the world their strength and incredible courage. 'That's what Putin underestimated all along.' US ambassador Jane Hartley told the crowd that the event is a reminder the US and the UK will 'always stand by our friends in Ukraine' Londoners wrapped up warm, with many having the Ukrainian flag around their shoulders, as they attended the vigil People waved Ukrainian flags as they listened to speakers including Dame Helen Mirren She added: 'Blinded by arrogance, Putin believed the Ukrainian army was weak. 'He believed that the international community would look the other way. 'He believed that the war would be over in days. Well, how wrong was he?' The Eiffel Tower was illuminated in the colours of the Ukrainian flag, blue and yellow, in a show of French support Meanwhile, similar support was shown in Brussels, Belgium, where charity workers placed children's toys and candles in front of a sign reading 'Justice For Ukraine' Teddy bears and toys, representing children abducted during the war in Ukraine, are seen on the ground during an event organised by Avaaz NGO and Ukranian refugees at the Rond-point Schuman in Brussels The Europa, headquarter of the EU Council is lighted with an Ukrainian flag for the anniversary A light installation by Swiss artist Gerry Hofstetter is projected on the National Opera House of Ukraine in Kyiv on February 23 Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost already in the war that has raged for a year in Ukraine More than 10 million people have been forced to flee their homes after Putin and his Russian army's invasion However, Ukrainian President Zelensky's wife Olena said Ukraine will not be commemorating the first anniversary of the Russian invasion but a year of successful resistance. Remotely addressing an anniversary event in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Thursday evening, she said Ukraine had suffered 'a year of hell.' She said: 'A year of full-scale war is a terrible date to mark. Because it is a year of attack, aggression, and murders. 'Today we are not commemorating a year of war, but we are celebrating a year of resistance to aggression, a year of courage, a year of mutual assistance and rescue of each other, a year of humanity, and a year of friendship. 'I am sure that soon we will be able to share with you the most valuable thing: the victory.' The event in Vilnius was attended by several dozen Ukrainian refugees, mostly women and children, and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda. Viktoriia Dolbitseva, 54, a refugee from Kharkiv now living in Vilnius, said: 'It's a year of horror that we have all experienced. 'The next year will definitely be victorious.' Ukraine's central bank marked the invasion anniversary by issuing a new banknote commemorating resistance in the war One side depicted three soldiers raising the national flag while a person's bound hands are on the opposite side Maria Kolomiets, 43, another Ukrainian from Kharkiv, now living in Wroclaw, said: 'Where horror is happening, alongside it, humanity is revealing itself. 'It is really incredible. I saw how ordinary people become heroes because they had no other choice.' Ukraine's central bank marked the invasion anniversary by issuing a new banknote commemorating resistance in the war, with one side depicting three soldiers raising the national flag. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday expressed confidence in his country's victory over invading Russian forces as fears mounted of strikes on the war's first anniversary. The war has seen Western leaders step up their support for Kyiv, and on Thursday, the eve of the anniversary, G7 ministers discussed new sanctions on Russia as the UN General Assembly prepared to vote on a motion calling for 'lasting' peace. Despot Vladimir Putin laid flowers at a memorial to the Hero Cities of the Great Patriotic War against Nazi Germany, by the Kremlin Wall on the Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow today A boy watches fireworks standing at a gun installed at the Artillery museum during the national celebration of 'Defender of the Fatherland Day' in St. Petersburg on Thursday Putin and his Russian generals have told the people of Russia that the invasion was to fight Nazism in Europe Fireworks illuminate the sky over Moscow's University building, in Moscow. Meanwhile, 620 miles away in Ukraine, many are preparing for a Russian missile strike expected tomorrow Fireworks burst behind cathedrals of the Novodevichy Convent during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow on February 23 In the UN General Assembly this evening, 141 members voted in favor of a resolution, that reaffirmed support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, seven opposed it, and 32 abstained, including China and India. Meanwhile, the White House said the United States will announce 'sweeping' new sanctions. Zelensky vowed to keep up the fight as Ukraine prepared to mark one year since the invasion on Friday. 'We have not broken down, we have overcome many ordeals and we will prevail,' Zelensky said on social media. 'We will hold to account all those who brought this evil, this war to our land.' In the capital Kyiv, which saw Russian troops at its doorstep at the start of the invasion last February and relentless attacks on energy infrastructure since, residents remained defiant. 'This has been the most difficult year of my life and that of all Ukrainians,' said Diana Shestakova, 23, whose boyfriend has spent the last year away in the army. Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country's 'unbreakable unity is the key to our victory' Yesterday Russians waved national flags during the ''Glory to the Defenders of the Fatherland'' concert waiting for Russian President Vladimir Putin, a day before the Defender of the Fatherland Day, a holiday honouring Russia's armed forces at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, addresses the crowd during the ''Glory to the Defenders of the Fatherland'' concert 'I am sure that we will be victorious, but we don't know how long we will have to wait and how many victims there are still to come,' said Shestakova, who works for a publishing house. Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov warned that Russia was planning a missile attack on Friday to mark the first year of the war. In Moscow, crazed tyrant Vladimir Putin promised victory as he laid flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before meeting soldiers in Red Square under blue skies and brisk temperatures. He said Russia's 'unbreakable unity is the key to our victory.' The year-long conflict has devastated swathes of Ukraine and turned Russia into a pariah in the West. G7 finance ministers met in Bengaluru, India, to discuss further sanctions and more financial aid for Ukraine. The G7 said that for 2023, based on Ukraine's needs, it had increased its commitment of budget and economic support to $39billion. It said sanctions so far have 'significantly undermined Russia's capacity to wage its illegal war' and the G7 would 'take further actions as needed'. The United States and its G7 allies plan to unveil 'a big new package of sanctions' around the anniversary, including measures to crack down on the evasion of existing sanctions, a senior US official said. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: 'The United States will implement sweeping sanctions against key sectors that generate revenue for Putin.' The latest Western leader to visit the Ukrainian capital, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, said he hoped to send up to ten Leopard tanks to Ukraine in the coming months. After months of hesitation European countries agreed in January to send battle tanks to Ukraine to help force back Russian forces. Russia has denounced the growing arms deliveries to Ukraine, saying they only lead to escalation. Russian Defence chief Sergei Shoigu accused the West of 'using Ukraine [as it] is seeking to dismember Russia, to deprive it of independence'. Still, Weinstein maintains he is innocent and his lawyers argued in court he was the victim of an unfair trial Weinstein, 70, will now serve the 16 years in a California prison after finishing the remaining 21 years of his 23-year sentence He was found guilty of rape and two counts of sexual assault in December after previously being sentenced for sex crimes in New York City Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison for rape and sexual assault Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein whined about the 16-year prison sentence he received today and made an outrageous claim that the actress he was convicted of raping only accused him as a 'money grab.' The once powerful media mogul, 70, was found guilty of rape and two other counts of sexual assault at a trial in Los Angeles in December after previously being sentenced in 2020 for sex crimes in New York City. 'It is incredible to be convicted for a crime I wasnt even present for. I am innocent. I never raped or assaulted anyone,' Weinstein said in a new statement following the verdict. Weinstein, who continued to maintain his innocence, added that the actress 'perjured herself at least three times and then sued for money, when she said on the stand that she would "never.'" 'I was never with her. Her entire claim thing was a setup for a money grab,' he added. Weinstein was already serving a 23-year sentence for separate rape and sexual assault convictions in New York when he was found guilty of rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by foreign object of an unnamed Russian-born Italian model. His latest sentence - which will only begin when he completes his New York sentence - came after a rape at the Mr C Beverly Hills Hotel in February 2013. Harvey Weinstein, pictured here in October, was sentenced to 16 years in prison on Thursday As the judge revealed his fate on Thursday, Weinstein - who is now almost certain to die behind bars - moaned: 'I maintain that I'm innocent. 'I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe 1. I never knew this woman, and the fact is she doesn't know me.' 'Please don't sentence me to life in prison,' he begged Judge Lisa B Lench, to no avail. 'I don't deserve it. There are so many things wrong with this case.' He will now serve the 16 years in addition to the 21 years left in his New York sentence. That would mean that Weinstein would be extradited to California to serve his 16 years behind bars in the state at the age of 91 - if he's still alive at that age. Should Weinstein make it to the end of his California sentence, he'd be released aged 107. But he still claims he is innocent, and his lawyers tried to argue in court on Thursday that Weinstein was the victim of an unfair trial. And his spokesman says the sentence is 'cruel' given Weinstein's age and failing health conditions, vowing that his conviction will be overturned. Weinstein attacked the woman at the Mr C Hotel in Beverley Hills, pictured, in 2013 In a statement to DailyMail.com, Weinstein's spokesman Juda Engelmayer said the sentence is 'cruel' given 'his age, his health and the conditions of his conviction in Los Angeles when the sole charge was from a person who lied, with the judge and prosecutor well aware of it and permitting it, about critical elements of her own claim.' 'Its not justice, but a pile on for a man many people just decided should be cast off and discarded regardless of facts. It will be appealed,' Engelmayer vowed. 'The judge, just like the trial judge in his New York trial who was not reappointed to the bench, will eventually be called out for bias and injustice. 'There are many out there who will celebrate this action,' Engelmayer noted, 'but it is a sad day for justice and fairness, and I hope no one who is pleased with this is ever caught on the wrong side of cancel culture while hopelessly and voicelessly proclaiming innocence.' The jury in his Los Angeles trial had been unable to reach a decision on three other counts, including those aired by the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who alleged Weinstein raped her in 2005. It also failed to reach a verdict on allegations involving model Lauren Young, called Jane Doe 2 during proceedings forcing jurists to declare a mistrial on those counts. And the disgraced mogul whose crimes spawned growth of the #MeToo movement in 2017 was acquitted of a sexual battery allegation made by another woman, an unnamed massage therapist who treated Weinstein at LA's Montage hotel in 2010, known as Jane Doe 3. In total, the case contained five sexual assault charges brought by the four women for incidents that transpired in LA county between 2004 and 2013, including two counts of forcible rape one involving Siebel Newsom, and another involving the unnamed Russian model, who said Weinstein appeared uninvited at her hotel room door during a Los Angeles film festival in 2013. Weinstein had pleaded not guilty to all the charges, which could have seen his current sentence increase by as much as 65 years Jurors remained deadlocked over sexual battery allegations leveled by the massage therapist, who broke down in court earlier this month as she recalled how Weinstein groped her and masturbated in front of her in a bathroom after one of their appointments in 2010 Shouting through tears at times during her impassioned testimony, the 48-year-old wife of California's more prominent politician testified that Weinstein raped her when she was 31 and trying to build a career as an actor and producer. Jurors voted 8-4 in her favor but could not reach a verdict Jurors also remained deadlocked in regards to rape and sexual assault charges leveled by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who claims Weinstein sexually assaulted her during a 2005 meeting telling her relax, this is going to make you feel better' Over the course of the trial, the accusers shared their stories. A woman only referred to in court as Jane Doe 1, an unidentified Russian, Italy-based model, said she was sexually assaulted by Weinstein in 2013 and was forced to perform oral sex when he had difficulty maintaining an erection, She faced a heated line of questioning from Weinstein's legal team in October, with the defense accusing her of lying arguing that at the time of the incident, Weinstein's testicles had been surgically relocated to his inner thighs. Jane Doe 1 said the attack took place in Los Angeles at an Italian film festival, during which Weinstein arrived uninvited at her hotel room in February 2013 and raped her. The attack, during which Weinstein also penetrated her with a foreign object, led to mental anguish and abuse of alcohol, she said. 'I was destroying myself,' she testified early on during proceedings, while fighting back tears. 'I was feeling very guilty. Most of all because I opened that door.' She added that she has been the victim of rape in the past and feared being beaten if she didn't follow Weinstein's demands for sex. Lauren Young, 29, also claimed that during a 2013 meeting with the mogul about a script, Weinstein trapped her in the bathroom of his Beverly Hills hotel, groped her, and masturbated in front of her. The alleged incident transpired shortly after the alleged 2013 rape of Jane Doe 1, according to the model, who became acquainted with Weinstein while pursuing a career in acting and screenwriting. She was the only one of the four accusers to tell her story at both trials, in Los Angeles and New York. 'I was scared of Harvey Weinstein that he would hurt me, or send someone to hurt me, or ruin my career, or make my life hell,' Young said during an emotional testimony. Weinstein's attorneys denied the encounter ever occurred, and said there was no evidence she was forced to remain in the room. A third accuser, a massage therapist known as Jane Doe 3, was hired by Weinstein in May of 2010 for a massage, during which she said he trapped her in a hotel bathroom, groped her, and masturbated in front of her, in an incident eerily similar to the one recounted by Young. Tearing up at the stand, the masseuse said she was 'young and naive' when Weinstein allegedly abused her, and felt like she couldn't confide the ordeal to the authorities or her fiance but eventually told another of her A-List clients, Mel Gibson, after he indicated he'd be working with Weinstein. She expressed shame and disgust that she agreed to see and work with Weinstein again afterward, something the defense attempted to hone in on during cross-examinations. 'That's one of the reasons why I didn't want to come forward, because this is embarrassing,' she told the court in defiance of the defense's claims concerning supposed inconsistencies. 'He went toward me in a very aggressive manner. He pushed me against the wall. Thats when he started to put his hand under my bra and feel my chest.' She added: 'I was terrified, I thought I was about to get raped.' Perhaps the most prominent of the four accusers, however, was Siebel Newsom, known as Jane Doe 4 in court, who gave an intensely harrowing account of what she described as a rape by Weinstein at a Beverly Hills hotel in September 2005, where she had been supposed meet with the producer about her aspiring acting career. Shouting through tears at times during her impassioned testimony, the 48-year-old left onlookers stunned upon airing her accusations in court for the first time, during which she was accused of lying by Weinstein's defense. Jurors were also unable to reach a verdict involving model Lauren Young, called Jane Doe 2 in proceeding, who alleged that during a 2013 meeting with Weinstein about a script, he trapped her in the bathroom of his Beverly Hills hotel, groped her, and masturbated in front of her 'I was scared of Harvey Weinstein - that he would hurt me, or send someone to hurt me, or ruin my career, or make my life hell,' Lauren Young said during an emotional testimony In court on Thursday, the victims once again got the chance to tell their stories as Lench considered how long Weinstein would serve in prison for his actions. 'Ten years later, the effects of this rape are still raw and difficult to discuss,' Jane Doe 1, the Italian model, said. 'I have been carrying his weight this trauma, this irrational belief that it was my fault. 'His selfish, disgusting actions have greatly impacted my life,' she continued, explaining that 'before that night I was a very happy and confident women. I valued myself and the relationship I had with God. 'I was excited about my future,' Jane Doe 1 said. 'Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me. 'I soon became invisible to myself and to the world/ I lost my identity. I was heartbroken, empty and alone. My rapist did that to me.' She concluded: 'Your Honor, I hope you can understand my suffering. There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage. 'I hope you give him the maximum sentence allowable.' The case has seen five new sexual assault charges and two of rape leveled against the now wheelchair-bound convict for alleged incidents that transpired in LA between 2004 and 2013. The allegations were brought by four women all referred to as Jane Doe in court documents But Weinstein's defense attorney, Alan Jackson, alleged that the sexual assault trial was conducted unfairly saying that 'by allowing perjury on the stand to go unchecked and unchallenged, the court allowed what can only be described as a cascade of errors.' He argued that the district attorney introduced 'false testimony,' and the defense attorneys were not allowed to cross-examine one of the victims who took the stand as Jane Doe.' What she said during the trial, Jackson claimed, was not relevant to the charges against Weinstein. And, he said, the fact that she sued Weinstein after the testimony proves she had a financial motivation to testify against the producer. 'She literally camouflaged her true intentions, her true motive.' 'The jury got sucked into the lies told by Jane Doe 1, because they didn't get the whole story,' he claimed. 'The truth was literally hidden from them. 'There is no question Mr. Weinstein suffered an enormous prejudice in regard to these errors.' 'When all the noise and the smoke and all the distraction is cleared away, the conviction comes down to the word of a single witness: Jane Doe 1. And that's it,' he explained. Jackson then painted Weinstein as 'just an accused person, nothing more, nothing less. 'Like anyone lese he is entitled to the absolute best this justice system has to offer.' Jackson concluded as he argued for a lenient sentence. 'He did not get a fair trial. He is entitled to a new one.' But prosecutor Paul Thompson argued that the court acted properly in conducting the trial, noting that Jane Doe 1 was on the stand for two days and the judge never precluded defense attorneys from asking her about her ulterior motives. 'Now they want a new trial so they can [go] back and ask,' he claimed. 'After two days.' And Judge Lisa B. Lench seemed to agree, dismissing a motion for a new trial. Weinstein was once a powerful media mogul before scores of women came forward to accuse him of rape and sexual assault in 2017 The case has seen five new sexual assault charges and two of rape leveled against the now wheelchair-bound convict for alleged incidents that transpired in LA between 2004 and 2013. The allegations were brought by four women all referred to as Jane Doe in court documents Defense attorneys then asked the judge to sentence Weinstein concurrently to his New York sentence, noting that 'all three counts occurred in one sexual assault.' Mark Werksman also says Weinstein is a '70-year-old man in bad health,' who has already lost four teeth while in Los Angeles County jail. And, he argued that Weinstein 'did a lot of good for a lot of people in a 50 year career. He produced hundreds of films that were a joy to millions of people. He was a man that many famous movie stars would thank in their Oscar speeches. 'He lived a full, rich and productive life that included being a father to five children,' Werksman continued. 'He has become to his children the disembodied voice on the telephone. 'I ask Your Honor to sentence that man, that compassionate and successful man, please do not sentence the man who has become a caricature because of the #MeToo movement.' At that point, Weinstein himself spoke before the court saying that Jane Doe 1 is an actress who 'can turn the tears on. 'This is a setup,' he claims. 'This is not the way to act in this situation. 'I beg your mercy,' he told Lench. But Lench then moved forward with the 16 year sentence. Transportation Secretary repeated earlier comments that he waited too long to address the situation Reporters ask 'Mayor Pete' if he will apologize to the residents of the small Ohio town of 4,700 for the delayed visit to the derailment White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said GOP attacks on Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg are 'political stunts' and claimed that Trump-era Sec. Elaine Chao never fell under these kinds of attacks. The press secretary refused to provide any insight on whether President Biden had given any consideration himself to visiting the Ohio border town where a Norfolk Southern train derailed and spilled toxic chemicals. She insisted that Americans should feel 'at ease' with the Biden administration's response to the spill that prompted 5,000 to evacuate, and insisted Biden took the matter 'seriously.' 'I want to be very clear here. I don't I don't have anything to share on a presidential visit at this time or anything to announce,' Jean Pierre said as reporters continued to press her on whether the president would take a trip to Ohio after returning from Poland and Ukraine. One day earlier former President Trump paid a visit to East Palestine, bearing food and water for residents and first responders in what analysts deemed a calculated political play ahead of the 2024 bloodbath presidential race. CNN's Jeremy Diamond asked Jean Pierre: 'I'm struggling to understand why the president wouldn't go to East Palestine. Does it simply not meet the bar for a presidential visit?' White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said GOP attacks on Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg are 'political stunts' and claimed that Trump-era Sec. Elaine Chao never fell under these kinds of attacks 'There's no reason to struggle, I don't think, on this question, when you look at how the federal agencies have responded from day one,' Jean Pierre shot back, noting EPA first responders and DOT investigators had been on the ground 'since 2am on February 4.' Buttigieg meanwhile paid a visit to the town on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border on Thursday, 20 days after the spill on Feb. 3. Asked if he had made a 'mistake' by not visiting sooner, Buttigieg said: 'What I tried to do was balance two thingsmy desire to be involved and engaged and on the ground, which is how I am generally wired to act, and my desire to follow the norm of transportation secretaries.' EPA administrator Michael Regan first visited the site last Thursday and again this Tuesday. 'When there were these types of chemical spills, nobody was calling for [Elaine Chao] to be fired' 'There's been a lot of bad faith attacks on Secretary Buttigieg. If you remember Elaine Chao,' Jean Pierre said, referring to Chao as the EPA head before a reporter corrected her that Chao was Transportation secretary. 'When there were these types of chemical spills, nobody was calling for her to be fired.' Meanwhile, federal safety investigators said in a report Thursday the Norfolk Southern train that derailed did not receive a critical warning about an overheated axle before dozens of its cars went off tracks. Ohio Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted told CNN ahead of the reports release that its findings had the potential to form the basis of a criminal referral from the state. He also said railroad company Norfolk Southern should temporarily relocate people who continue to feel unsafe, or even consider buying their property. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg finally visited East Palestine on Thursday, 20 days after the train derailment that has left the Ohio community reeling and begging for answers from the Biden administration Nearly three weeks since the Feb. 3 derailment of a train carrying hazardous waste in East Palestine, Ohio, clean-up efforts continue. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg talks with East Palestine, Ohio residents but didn't response to questions from reporters on Thursday, Feb. 23 I asked Sec. Buttigieg why it took him almost 3 weeks to come and speak to residents of East Palestine. His press Secretary then told me I was aggressive for trying to ask questions on camera: pic.twitter.com/bOB52DIq0O Savanah Hernandez (@sav_says_) February 23, 2023 In further remarks, Buttigieg told reporters in Ohio that he would think about whether he had waited too long to respond to the crash. 'I'll do some thinking about whether I got that balance right, but I think the most important thing is first of all making sure the residents here have what they need,' said the Transportation secretary. Buttigieg also blamed the Trump administration and rail companies for undermining safety regulations he says led to the crash. 'One thing he [Trump] can do is express support for reversing the deregulation that happened on his watch. I heard him say he had nothing to do with it, even though it was in his administration.' Jean Pierre said Republicans are 'all of a sudden, they are interested in the safety of East Palestine... For years they have been in lockstep with the [rail] lobby.' But Buttigieg's Transportation Department has failed to bring the e-brake safety regulation he's referred to back. And though the Trump administration did roll back a regulation requiring modern braking systems on some trains, the Obama administration had already hollowed out that rule so much so that the modern braking systems would not have been required on the train that derailed in East Palestine. The 2015 Obama-era rule required trains carrying crude oil and some other chemicals to use electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) brakes but left out many other hazardous chemicals after industry pressure. Then in 2017 Trump's Transportation Department under Sec. Elaine Chao rolled back the ECP brake rule even further. The Department of Transportation's Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) said at the time that the safety benefits 'do not exceed the associated costs' and were not 'economically justified.' Norfolk Southern previously touted the technology as having the 'potential to reduce train stopping distances by as much as 60 percent over conventional air brake systems.' Earlier this week, before he announced the Thursday visit, a reporter from the Daily Caller confronted him in the street. He confirmed he would be going, and then tried to take a photo of the journalist Jennie Taer while he was walking around Washington D.C. with his husband Chasten. 'Well, I'd refer you to about a dozen interviews I've given today and if you'd like to arrange a conversation, make sure to reach out to our press office,' Buttigieg replied. He indicated he wasn't going to 'have that conversation with you just walking down the street here.' Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg asked to take a reporter's photo after a brief interview while walking with husband Chasten A man takes photos as a black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern train, Feb. 6, 2023. The intense crash spewed toxic chemicals into the air, ground and water and has led nearby residents to complain of headaches and other symptoms. East Palestine was evacuated two days after the derailment EXCLUSIVE: Ohio mother's message to Biden: East Palestine resident whose daughter, 15, got rashes tells White House to send medical help An East Palestine resident and mother is pleading for President Joe Biden to send medical help to the Ohio village after a train derailment released toxic chemicals into the air, ground and water and led to her daughter's hospitalization Advertisement 'You don't have a message for them?' the reporter asked, as the two walked and talked near the Capitol. 'I do and I've shared it with the press many times today and I refer you to those comments,' Buttigieg responded. When the reporter pressed again, he declined, saying: 'No I'm going to refer you to the comments I made to the press because right now I'm taking some personal time and I'm walking down the street.' She asked whether he would visit East Palestine, something he had revealed on ABC's 'Good Morning America' earlier Tuesday. After pausing, Buttigieg allowed: 'Yep I'm going,' but declined to give a timeframe. Then Buttigieg, who often represents the administration in combative interviews on Fox News and with other outlets, asked the reporter: 'Can I get a photo of you?' The reporter agreed. She later posted video of the encounter on Twitter. On Wednesday, Trump told residents of East Palestine they are victims of 'betrayal' by the Biden administration and claimed his visit had finally sparked them to act. The former president greeted crowds and brought in thousands of bottles of his own water, cleaning supplies and canned food. He then stopped at a local McDonald's where he ordered Big Macs for first responders and members of his team, and handed out signed MAGA hats to the customers. 'I know this menu better than you do. I probably know it better than anybody in here,' he told the server and demanded they 'knock it out fast' so he could eat it on the plane. A view of a mannequin as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (not pictured) visits the site of the derailment of a train carrying hazardous waste in East Palestine, Ohio. Trump stopped at a local McDonald's where he ordered Big Macs for first responders and members of his team, and handed out signed MAGA hats to the customers Trump stands besides a pallet of his branded water in East Palestine. He brought trucks with his own supplies during his visit to the toxic train derailment site Neil Mitchell has accused the Labor government of waging 'class warfare' as it pushes to increase the taxability of superannuation contributions. The 3AW radio host clashed with Government Services Minister Bill Shorten on Friday accusing the government of punishing high-earners. He was angered by reports the government is considering restricting the tax concessions available to those with superannuation balances over $3million. The proposal is among several changes being considered by the Labor government after it launched a consultation on reforming retirement savings laws this week. Today Show host Karl Stefanovic slammed the 'new tax' while Mitchell joined the pile-on demanding Mr Shorten speak to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. 'This is class warfare,' he said. 'Go to Albo, say to Albo, "Mate, they won't wear it, this is class warfare and it's a new tax." 'It is a new tax, you are not going to try and spin that one.' Neil Mitchell has accused the Labor government of waging 'class warfare' as it pushes to increase the taxability of superannuation contributions Addressing a bee-themed conference on Thursday, Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones compared the government's proposal to cut down the number of Australians withdrawing their super early to managing 'honey' in the best interests of a 'hive'. 'In the self-managed sector, there are over 600,000 funds holding around $870billion in retirement savings that's a lot of honey,' he said. 'We want to make sure there's plenty of honey to go around'. Stefanovic took issue with the comparison and likened the metaphor to communism - where the collective is prioritised over individual wealth. 'I didn't realise that our super honey was for the collective, comrade,' he quipped. The Today host also said Mr Jones' comments all but confirmed the reports of looming changes to super regulations. Those reports indicated the government was looking to put an end to the wealthy getting significant tax breaks by putting large sums into their retirement funds rather than taking it as income, in which case it would be subject to much higher tax rates. 'He did confirm the government is looking to impose higher taxes on funds over $3million, just in case, anyone missed that buzz from the bee, that is a new tax, is it not?' he said. Australians can deposit up to $27,500 a year into their super and pay a concessional tax rate of just 15 per cent if they earned up to $250,000 a year. This concession costs $53 billion a year, with wealthier Australians putting money into super paying a concessional rate that is well below the marginal tax rate of 45 per cent that applies to income received by those earning more than $180,000. Mr Shorten defended the proposed reforms in the heated clash on live TV. 'Do you think it's right people who go to work every day pay their taxes, should be paying their taxes to be giving a concession to someone who has several million dollars in their account?' he said. 'There's about one per cent of people who have over $3million in their superannuation. The average for this group of people is $5.8million,' he said. 'He was raising the question, should taxpayers be subsidising someone who's already got nearly $6million in their superannuation account?' Mr Shorten defended the decision questioning whether it was fair high-earners should be subsidised by taxpayers Today Show host Karl Stefanovic slammed the 'new tax' while Mitchell joined the pile-on demanding Mr Shorten speak to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Mr Shorten fired back taking a stab at Mr Mitchell after he was accused of waging 'class warfare'. 'First of all, Neil. I'm glad you've stepped up to defend the people with $6million in their superannuation account,' he said. 'The fact of the matter is, we did say at the last election, we want to legislate the objective of superannuation.' Mitchell clapped back at the idea high-earners should have their superannuation taxed at a higher rate. 'These awful people who have been successful enough to get money into their super account. What awful people they're successful,' he said. Mr Stefanovic said it amounted to a broken election promise after Labor had said there would be no significant changes to super arrangements. Mr Shorten however said he was not confirming the cap on the tax concession would be passed and that it was still in the stages of discussion. Treasurer Jim Chalmers on Wednesday appeared to suggest the changes on taxes and early access would hardly be radical. 'We're not contemplating major changes to superannuation,' he told Sydney radio station 2GB. 'We think that there should still be generous tax concessions for people to save for their retirement.' Now, he's told of his jail routine, adding he's 'outperforming' men who are free He's been behind bars since December 29 accused of sex trafficking and rape While Andrew Tate is languishing in a Romanian prison accused of sex trafficking, he's maintaining a rigid routine of exercise, meditation and prayer. He's also still teaching 'students' remotely via his The Real World 'learning platform', and responding to hundreds of letters he receives daily, he claims. Tate's loyal followers - comprised primarily of young men - pay $49.99 (40) per month in order to access community chat groups and 'step-by-step' lessons Tate is now creating behind bars. Tate, 36, shared an insight into his daily routine today while simultaneously berating fans who he believes are lagging behind and not putting enough effort into their lives. 'If my days in this cell are more productive than yours, you should be furious with yourself,' he said. 'It means you are failing. 'How will you ever reach greatness when you do not even outperform a man in a jail cell? Work harder. You cannot afford to fail any longer.' While Andrew Tate is languishing in a Romanian prison accused of sex trafficking, he's maintaining a rigid routine of exercise, meditation and prayer Tate, 36, shared an insight into his daily routine today while simultaneously berating fans who he believes are lagging behind and not putting enough effort into their lives Tate said despite his 'extremely limited freedom of action', he completes 500 squats and 500 push-ups each day. 'I practice my tiger paw technique. Walk 10km. Write and complete lessons for the students inside The Real World. Read and respond to 100s of letters,' he added. 'Pray, read my Quran. And then begin my day of strict long meditation. You have all your freedom of movement. You have unlimited information and accessibility at your fingertips.' Tate has amassed a cult-like following who are standing by him as Romanian authorities investigate allegations of trafficking and rape. He claims he has some 200,000 paying clients via his The Real World platform - which appears to be a rebrand of his Hustlers University business. At $49.99 per month - about 40 - the business would be bringing in 96m-a-year if he does have as many clients as he claims. To protect their anonymity, members refer to themselves as 'G's' and to Tate as 'Top G' - and many share stories of desperation, seeking to turn a quick buck to cover medical expenses or end cycles of living paycheck to paycheck. Tate has amassed a cult-like following who are standing by him as Romanian authorities investigate allegations of trafficking and rape Tate denies the allegations Romanian authorities are currently investigating But there are others drawn to the group over Tate's divisive rhetoric about escaping the 'matrix' and his misogynistic views. Tate and his younger brother Tristan have been held in custody since December 29, when they were arrested over allegations of rape, human trafficking and setting up an organised crime group. They are being held alongside Luana Radu, 32 - a former police officer in Bucharest - and Georgiana Naghel, 28 - a model believed to have been dating Tate for almost a year. The two models are being held in house arrest. The Tate brothers have repeatedly asked to be released from prison pending further investigation but, so far, Romanian courts have kept them in custody. A judge granted a further 30-day extension to the detention order earlier this week amid concerns he is too dangerous to be released. Tate said despite his 'extremely limited freedom of action', he completes 500 squats and 500 push-ups each day Tate and his younger brother Tristan have been held in custody since December 29, when they were arrested over allegations of rape, human trafficking and setting up an organised crime group Tate claims he is 'being held in custody to make me mentally ill' and claimed his detention was part of a ploy to make him 'succumb'. Prosecutors can ask the courts to extend the suspects' detention for up to 180 days. While Tate maintains his innocence, Romanian prosecutors DIICOT said in a statement they had identified six victims in the human trafficking case. No charges have been laid. They claim alleged victims were held under constant supervision against their will in the armed safehouse near Bucharest and forced to make pornographic content to be shared online. Police allege women were sexually exploited, physically abused and mentally coerced ('through intimidation, [...] control and invocation of alleged debts') by members of the group for financial gain. Prosecutors say they recruited victims by seducing them and by falsely saying they wanted to marry them or be in a relationship. Han Yoon-soo, right, speaks during a press conference held for the release of his books titled "Blooming Violets" (literal translation) at the National Human Rights Commission of Korea building in Seoul, Feb. 20. Yonhap By Lee Hyo-jin Han Yoon-soo, 75, a migrant workers' rights activist has published a series of books featuring his decades-long experience of supporting foreign workers in Korea. Titled "Blooming Violets" (literal translation), the 10-book series is a collection of nearly 900 essays Han has written on his personal blog, as well as for his columns for a local newspaper since 2008. The stories feature the difficulties often faced by migrant workers harsh working environments, delayed payments, unfair treatment and physical and sexual abuse by employers. Han, who has been heading the Hwaseong Migrant Worker Support Center based in Gyeonggi Province after establishing it in June 2007, has witnessed challenges faced by thousands of foreign-born workers. "Although I've helped many foreign workers, I realized that there is no written record about their struggles," Han told The Korea Times, Wednesday. "That's why I began writing essays on my blog. But didn't think of making it into a book until a few years ago." "My colleagues suggested to me that I publish my work. It wouldn't have been possible without their help. It took over three years to organize the stories into books." Han's center has been offering free legal consultations to foreign workers not only in Gyeonggi Province, but from across the nation. Among the prevalent struggles the workers needed help with were delayed payments and physical abuse by employers. Since 2004, through the employment permit system (EPS) operated by the Ministry of Labor and Employment, about 50,000 workers from 16 countries have entered the country to work in the manufacturing, agriculture and fishing sector. However, despite the government-operated system, many employers still think that it is okay for foreign workers to work overtime and be paid less, Han said. "I hope that my books can shed light on the lives of migrant workers, who have been largely invisible in Korea, despite the fact that they have now become irreplaceable members of our society." The Transportation secretary's visits come one day after Trump visited the town Pete Buttigieg had to wait his turn behind Rudy Giuliani to speak with East Palestine's Mayor Trent Conaway on Thursday after putting off for 20 days a visit to the Ohio village thrown into chaos after a toxic train derailment earlier this month. While Giuliani spoke with Mayor Conaway on Thursday, Transportation Secretary Buttigieg waited in the hall for at least 30 minutes. Buttigieg's staff was careful, making sure that there were no run-ins between the secretary and Giuliani, a person present for the meeting told DailyMail.com. Speaking mayor to former mayor, Conaway said he isn't focused on partisanship and is only interested in ensuring the safety of his constituents who have felt ignored by the Biden administration in the aftermath of a train crash in their small town. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was left waiting in the hallway for at least 30 minutes to speak with East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway as the local leader met with Rudy Giuliani Giuliani (left) met with East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway (right) on Thursday, February 23 for nearly an hour to discuss crisis management after a train derailed and spewed hazardous materials into the community Buttigieg (pictured at microphone) finally visited East Palestine on Thursday, February 23 following weeks of criticism for the lack of federal government response to the 50-car train derailment on February 3 'I am grateful to Mayor Giuliani for being here to help us. My top priority is to ensure the health and safety of the people of this city and our region,' Conaway said during their meeting, according to a spokesperson for Giuliani. 'I will work with anyone who wants to help East Palestine, and their partisan affiliation is irrelevant to me,' Conaway added. Giuliani also met with Representative Bill Johnson, whose Ohio district includes East Palestine. Former President Donald Trump, who hired Giuliani as his personal attorney while in the White House, visited East Palestine on Wednesday, effectively sparking several other visits including from Buttigieg. Giuliani, who was mayor of New York City during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, slammed the government's response to the train crash, which spewed hazardous materials into the air, ground and water. 'I've grown concerned about the lack of a response by our federal government to help the people of East Palestine,' Giuliani said. 'I wanted to offer my knowledge and experience when dealing with crisis' management and most importantlyto help the people here who are our fellow Americans.' Biden and Buttigieg faced a slew of criticism for not coming out to East Palestine in person and largely ignoring the crisis for weeks. Rudy Giuliani tours a creek in East Palestine that according to residents is contaminated with hazardous chemicals due to the train derailment. View of train derailment aftermath in East Palestine, Ohio on February 23, the same day Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Rudy Giuliani visited the town Courtney Miller (right) is pictured speaking with Rudy Giuliani. The train crash happened directly in her backyard Residents of the Ohio village told DailyMail.com that they only think they are getting the deserved attention from the administration because former President Trump visited on Wednesday. Trump said during remarks at the village's fire station on Wednesday that he would 'make time' to come back to East Palestine if Biden and Buttigieg did not keep their promise to fix issues plaguing the town after the toxic chemical release. Giuliani also promised to Mayor Conaway to stay in touch for as long as clean-up and remediation efforts are ongoing, a person familiar with the conversation told DailyMail.com. The former Trump attorney met with locals, including a resident named Courtney Miller, who showed Giuliani the damage to the stream behind her home. 'Courtney lives right next to where the train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio,' Giuliani wrote in a tweet along with a video speaking with Miller. 'I'm here to offer my experience with crisis management, as I'm concerned by the federal government's slow response,' he added, with the assurance: 'We're going to make sure Courtneyand everyone else heregets the help they need.' Trump brought in on Wednesday pallets of his branded water bottles along with food and supplies to assist the people of East Palestine. He also bought first responders a McDonalds meal before leaving back for Florida. A bizarre fight aboard a LATAM Airlines plane left four passengers in police custody and six aviation security agents with injuries. The vicious brawl took place Monday when the men, who were allegedly drunk, boarded flight LA135 at Andres Sabella Galvez International Airport in the northern Chilean port city of Antofagasta. The passengers were caught verbally abusing some of the other customers, which prompted the flight crew to seek assistance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Tensions flared when a flight attendant approached one of the unruly passengers and asked him to leave the aircraft, which was bound for Santiago de Chile. Four passengers were placed under arrest after they fought with Chilean aviation agents aboard a LATAM Airlines at Andres Sabella Galvez International Airport in the northern port city of Antofagasta on Monday. Authorities said six agents suffered minor injuries Chilean authorities restrain one of the four unruly passengers who were allegedly drunk when they boarded a LATAM Airlines flight and got into a fight with aviation agents after they were asked to leave the airplane Aviation agents responded to the incident and tried to remove the men before they were attacked. The viral video showed one of the alleged intoxicated passengers pummeling an aviation agent on the back. Another passenger could be seen restraining an individual with a choke hold to stop him from fighting the agent. In a separate video, two agents could be seen struggling to restrain one of the passengers on the tarmac. The passenger kicked the agent before they were finally able to pin him to the ground and handcuff him while a second suspect was being escorted. Chilean authorities restrain two of the four passengers who were removed from a LATAM Airlines aircraft after a fight with aviation agents at Andres Sabella Galvez International Airport on Monday An aviation agents attempts to restore order and remove four passengers who were allegedly drunk on a LATAM Airlines flight in Chile on Monday LATAM airlines said in a statement that it would be seeking legal action against the four passengers. The massive brawl was the second to take place aboard a South American airline this month. At least 15 passengers fought while boarding a Gol Airlines flight in Salvador, Brazil, on February 2. That incident was sparked by two families after a mother asked a female to exchange seats in order to sit with her child, who has special needs. The mother then flew into a rage when her request was denied and attacked the passenger, sparking an all out fight. All 15 passengers were removed from the airplane and were not allowed to continue their trip. Audience members audibly gasped at the comment. It come as residents have revealed the disturbing aftermath of the 38 cars derailment on February 3 Joy Behar triggered shocked gasps from The View audience after suggesting victims of the Ohio toxic train crash had it coming to them for voting for former U.S. president Donald Trump. During Thursday's show, Behar, 80, declared: 'I don't know why they would ever vote for him, for somebody who, by the way, he placed someone with deep ties to the chemical industry in charge of the EPA's chemical safety office.' 'That's who you voted for in that district,' she said, pointing directly at the camera. 'Donald Trump, who reduces all safety.' The audience were audibly aghast when they heard Behar's comments. 'They need to look past the photo op and say who's doing the job here,' Behar added. As they headed to the break, co-host Hostin said, 'I think this is Donald Trump's fault.' The View audience have gasped at Joy Behar's suggestion that residents of an East Ohio town upended by a toxic train derailment had it coming after voting for former U.S. president Donald Trump The audience were heard audibly gasping following the comments during the Thursday taping of the show - but co-host Sunny Hostin lay blame squarely on Trump - not resident voters The controversial comment came amid a lively discussion in which Republican criticism of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's handling of the situation was also brought up. Alyssa Farah-Griffin was pointing out that Norfolk-Southern gives large donations to both parties, and added that central Ohio is 'Trump country,' which led to the comment from Behar about the district. 'That's called chutzpah! It's his fault and then he shows up,' said Behar, referring to Trump dropping in on the district this week to give short remarks, as his 2024 campaign continues to spin up. A total of 38 cars derailed during the Feb 3 crash, 11 of which were carrying hazardous materials - residents later reported feeling unwell, as well as fish and wildlife dying. Engineers onboard the doomed East Ohio toxic train on Thursday said that they'd desperately tried to bring it to a halt - after receiving alerts that a wheel bearing was 254 degrees above normal temperature. The crew attempted to slow the train as it barreled towards East Palestine, Ohio, but their efforts failed resulting in the fiery crash. Pictures and footage emerging from the incident shows plumes of black smoke billowing from the crash site. A total of 38 cars derailed during the Feb 3 crash, 11 of which were carrying hazardous materials - residents later reported feeling unwell, as well as fish and wildlife dying A preliminary report released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board revealed that an engineer attempted to apply the breaks to the runaway train, but it was too late. Investigators found that three alerts had sounded warnings that a wheel bearing was significantly overheated, with the final alert cautioning it had reached a critical threshold moments before it derailed. The bombshell report was released as embattled Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg finally visited the site, nearly three weeks after the crisis. Buttigieg is set to hear from investigators as to how the train derailment caused such significant damage to the area. He is also expected to visit East Palestine residents, who were forced to evacuate after hazardous chemicals including vinyl chloride were ignited during a controlled burn of the derailed toxic train cars. The NTSB report did not provide an official reason for the derailment, but it did offer several key details that reveal what happened in the lead up to the crisis. Key details of the East Palestine, Ohio, toxic train crash revealed Among the new details are that the train was only travelling at 47mph as it derailed, which was below the 50mph speed limit. The report said the internal alarm for the train was triggered three times prior to the derailment, with the first cautioning that the wheel axle was 38 degrees above average temperature. According to recordings taken by a bearing heat detector, the second alert sounded after the axle reached 103 degrees above ambient temperature. The scenes from the toxic train derailment appeared apocalyptical. A preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board says an engineer attempted to apply the breaks to the runaway train By the third alert, the wheel bearing had overheated by over 250 degrees, far above the 'critical' 200 degree threshold that demands the train must stop. After the train came to a stop as the brakes were set, engineers onboard reported a large fire and smoke to emergency dispatchers. They were instructed to apply the handbrake to the two rail cars at the front of the train, then uncouple the leading carriages and move them a mile from the rest of the derailed train. Damning footage surfaced in the wake of the incident Footage was released in recent weeks showing the train already on fire as it travelled through a depot over 20 miles from the crash site. The train derailment on February 3 set off a fire that could be seen from miles away As toxic waste leaked from several of the cars, Norfolk Southern, the rail company, decided to ignite the hazardous material in a slow burn in an attempt to prevent the hazardous waste from spilling into the surrounding area. Nearby houses were quickly evacuated as the situation worsened, while the flammable, highly toxic chemical fire created a large plume of smoke that could be seen for miles. Environmental and health risks Despite residents being told it was safe for them to return home following their evacuation, many locals complained of severe side effects, including persistent coughs and burning eyes. Thousands of dead fish were also spotted in waterways and reports of local animal populations dying as a result of the chemical spill. Nearby houses were quickly evacuated as the flammable, highly toxic chemicals were ignited The destructive incident was one of a number of train derailments to hit the US heartland in recent weeks. The delayed visit by Buttigieg underscored a wave of criticisms over the federal government's handling of the toxic situation. 'Trump Country' His eventual arrival was overshadowed by a visit from former-President Donald Trump, who told the residents of East Palestine that they had been 'betrayed' by President Biden's administration. The former president greeted large crowds as he brought thousands of bottles of his own water, cleaning supplies and canned food. As Trump entered the devastated East Ohio town, he was greeted by hundreds of people who lined the streets waving MAGA flags and chanting 'no more Joe'. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg criticized Trump's visit to East Palestine as a photo op Buttigieg visited the site of the train derailment but the delay underscored a wave of criticisms over the federal government's handling of the toxic situation Buttigieg has criticized the visit as a 'photo op' for Trump's 2024 campaign. In a speech in a fire department, Trump praised the response from law enforcement and the 'strength and courage' of the residents, and said: 'You are not forgotten'. He promised to return if the community didn't get help from the White House and when a reporter asked what message he had for Biden, Trump said: 'Get over here'. 'We stand with you,' Trump told the crowd at the East Palestine Fire Department, 'we pray for you, and we'll stay with you in your fight to help answer and [get] accountability that you deserve.' 'Biden and FEMA said they would not send federal aid to [the town] under any circumstances,' Trump claimed. 'We opened up the dam, and we got them to move.' Trump's high profile visit coincided with Norfolk Southern releasing a statement saying they would take 'full responsibility' for the derailment. Mask-wearing has been the center of a fierce culture war, with right-wing libertarians more likely to oppose them The New York Times has risked alienating its left-wing staff after publishing an opinion piece claiming mask-wearing during the pandemic was a 'fool's errand' while championing 'conspiracy theorists' who rallied against it. Columnist Bret Stephens cited a 'gold-standard' study published this week claiming face masks made 'little to no difference' in preventing Covid infections or managing death rates. Mask-wearing has become the center of a culture war in the US, with right-wing libertarians more likely to oppose the mandatory wearing of them. The New York Times, famously a left-leaning publication, repeatedly purported the benefits of face masks in its news coverage, echoing the message relayed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At the end of 2022 the newspaper published an article headlined: 'Its Time to Wear a Mask Again, Health Experts Say.' New York Times writer Bret Stephens, pictured, championed conspiracy theorists who questioned the effectiveness of masks in a column for the left-leaning newspaper published this week A gold-standard study published this week said harms caused by masks - including hampering children's schooling - were poorly measured in the studies, meaning any small benefit on infection rates may be outweighed (file image) But the publication changed its tone this week as it posted an opinion piece called: 'The Mask Mandates Did Nothing. Will Any Lessons Be Learned?' In it, Stephens admitted the 'cranks' who rallied against mask-wearing were right as he criticized the 'psychological' and 'political' costs of the debate. It comes after a landmark study by two top Oxford academics found the coverings reduced the risk of catching illness by just five percent - a figure so low it may not be statistically significant. The research - carried out by the Cochrane Institute, the 'gold standard' of evidence-based reviews - looked at 78 global studies involving over a million people. Professor Carl Heneghan, an unlisted author on the report, also called into question why the harms of mask-wearing - such as their impact on children's education - had not been properly measured or reported. Writing in the New York Times, Stephens said: 'When it comes to the population-level benefits of masking, the verdict is in: Mask mandates were a bust. 'Those skeptics who were furiously mocked as cranks and occasionally censored as 'misinformers' for opposing mandates were right. 'The mainstream experts and pundits who supported mandates were wrong. 'In a better world, it would behoove the latter group to acknowledge their error, along with its considerable physical, psychological, pedagogical and political costs.' Despite publishing the opinion piece, the paper had no reference to the study on its health homepage on Thursday afternoon. The author went onto say the mask debate had risked undermining public trust in science. 'Whatever the reason, mask mandates were a fools errand from the start,' wrote Stephens. The New York Times repeatedly purported the value of wearing masks throughout the pandemic At the end of 2022 the New York Times published a piece purporting the value of mask-wearing This week writer Bret Stephens criticized the implementation of mandatory mask-wearing 'They may have created a false sense of safety and thus permission to resume semi-normal life. 'They did almost nothing to advance safety itself. 'The Cochrane report ought to be the final nail in this particular coffin.' The writer also speculates that promoting mask-wearing was a low-cost and low-risk way of attempting to keep people safe. 'But 'do something' is not science,' he wrote. 'And it shouldn't have been public policy. 'And the people who had the courage to say as much deserved to be listened to, not treated with contempt. 'They may not ever get the apology they deserve, but vindication ought to be enough.' The Cochrane report was authored by Dr Tom Jefferson who was a vocal critic of mandatory mask-wearing throughout the pandemic. In 2020 he and his colleague Professor Heneghan accused Facebook of 'censorship' after claiming an article they wrote on face masks amounted to 'false information.' The Cochrane researchers updated their review with 11 additional studies involving more than 600,000 people, bringing the total number of studies to 78. The analysis was published this week in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews journal. Professor Carl Heneghan, pictured, left, and his colleague Dr Tom Jefferson, right, repeatedly questioned the benefits of mask-wearing during the pandemic. Their latest study was published by the 'gold standard' Cochrane Review In total, the researchers looked at 78 studies involving more than a million people across the world. Results indicated that surgical masks reduced the risk of catching 'Covid or a flu-like illness' by just five percent - a figure so low it may not be statistically significant Some of the additional studies looked at Covid, while others were conducted before the pandemic and looked at flu and other respiratory illnesses. They included Covid pandemic trials - two from Mexico and one each from England, Norway, and Bangladesh, plus the Danish study. The researchers only added randomized controlled trials (RCTs) looking at the effect of physical interventions to protect against illness, including mask-wearing. RCTs are the optimal method to prevent systematic differences between participants affecting results. In RCT studies, the mask and control groups are randomly chosen from the same eligible population. The main outcomes the Cochrane researchers measured were the number of flu- and Covid-like illness cases and any adverse events that came about from the intervention. Millionaire Alex Murdaugh comes from a long line of eminent attorneys whose name was pretty much a byword for the law for nearly a century in their swampy corner of the Deep South. But that distinguished reputation changed drastically one night in June 2021, when he rang police to say he had arrived home to find his wife and younger son dead of gunshot wounds outside the kennels of the familys 1,700-acre hunting estate. There appeared to have been two attackers his wife Maggie, 52, had been killed by four rounds from an assault rifle while his son Paul, 22, had been blasted through the head by a shotgun fired at point-blank range. It was an appalling reversal of fortune for the scion of one of South Carolinas most powerful families, a dynasty in which Murdaughs great-grandfather, grandfather and father served consecutively as chief prosecutor in the states Lowcountry region from 1920 to 2006. Alex wasnt just influential but also immensely rich, running a private law firm whose aggressive pursuit of personal injury claims had earned him a fortune. And yet the family tragedy was soon to become immeasurably darker, eventually landing the bear-like redhead in the dock in a double murder trial that has suddenly transfixed America. Alex Murdaugh's (second right) wife Maggie (second left) had been killed by four rounds from an assault rifle while his son Paul (left) had been blasted through the head by a shotgun fired at point-blank range Alex Murdaugh's (left) wife Maggie (right), 52, found shot and killed with their son Paul, 22, on the family's land Mallory Beach (pictured) 19, was killed in a a boat crash in 2019. Felony charges where filed against Paul Murdaugh Not only was he accused of killing two members of his own family, but his alleged motive was so cold-blooded as to be barely conceivable. In a courtroom where a portrait of his grandfather used to hang until a judge ordered it removed for the duration of the trial prosecutors have argued that the 54-year-old murdered his wife and son in an attempt to win sympathy and save himself from being exposed as a massive fraudster. The labyrinthine case, which involves two more deaths and numerous complicated financial allegations, has true-crime fanatics and film-makers alike queuing each day to get into the courtroom in the small town of Walterboro. For them, it seems to have everything: ruthless lawyers, claims of political corruption, multi-million-dollar fraud, a fatal boat crash involving a beautiful young woman and even an apparent assassination attempt on Murdaugh himself. At its centre is a man whose tendency to keep dissolving into tears during testimony may simply be a shameless ploy by someone accused of the most calculating and monstrous behaviour. Yesterday, he was weeping again, this time from the witness stand, as he ignored his lawyers advice and testified. I didnt shoot my wife or my son any time. Ever, he sobbed. However, he admitted lying to police about not being in the vicinity of the kennels on the night of the murders, blaming his drug-induced paranoia. Quoting Sir Walter Scott, he told the court: Oh, what a tangled web we weave . . . Once I told the lie, and I told my family, I had to keep lying. Murdaugh, whose name (thankfully for him and his lawyers) is pronounced Murdock rather than Murder, has denied killing his wife and son in a trial now in its fifth week. The defence has portrayed him as a devoted father and husband who would never dream of butchering his loved ones. The prosecution counters that 6 ft 4 in Murdaugh committed the killings to avoid personal legal and financial ruin by distracting attention from evidence that he had tricked millions of dollars out of clients and his own firm. (He also faces some 100 charges, mainly of insurance fraud and theft, to which he has yet to plead.) Both sides agree, however, that the story behind the murders really begins two years earlier, on the night of another tragic death. In February 2019, Alexs son Paul Murdaugh, then 19, had taken out the familys 17 ft-long fishing boat one night with five friends for a short booze-laden cruise along the South Carolina coast. As they were returning home in the early hours in thick fog, the vessel hit the pilings of a bridge before running into a bank with a smashed hull. Of three passengers thrown into the icy water, only two surfaced. The body of the third, 19-year-old Mallory Beach, was found a week later in a nearby marsh. Alex Murdaugh is in the dock in a double murder trial that has suddenly transfixed America Defense attorney Dick Harpootlian holds Buster Murdaugh's 300 Blackout rifle, similar to the one used to kill Maggie and Paul Murdaugh, Colleton County Courthouse, February 21, 2023 Alex Murdaugh gives testimony in his murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, February 23, 2023 Paul Murdaugh, a wayward youth who has been described as a teenage Caligula, was an aggressive drunk and he was allegedly steering the boat when it crashed. Despite his influential familys alleged attempts to pressure survivors of the accident to say Paul had not been at the helm, he was charged with three offences including boating under the influence resulting in death. Although that case never came to court an illustration, some said, of the power of the Murdaughs Mallory Beachs family filed a civil suit against Murdaugh, claiming he was liable for her death because he lent his son the boat and turned a blind eye to his underage drinking. Just days before Murdaughs wife and son were killed, a future hearing for this civil case had been scheduled. Crucially, it would have required Murdaugh to provide a full picture of his finances which could have revealed he was fleecing his clients. The lawyer bringing the civil suit had specifically requested his wife Maggie and son Paul to testify about the reportedly boozy culture on the Murdaugh hunting estate, known as Moselle, where underage teenagers were said to be allowed to stagger around drunk. Prosecutors believe Alex murdered them not only to delay the civil suit (which the killings succeeded in doing) but also to distract attention from himself by suggesting that the Murdaughs had been targeted by people wanting to avenge Mallory Beachs death in the boat crash. Indeed, his trial was shown video evidence last week from the body cameras of police officers who attended the scene of the murders. It showed an apparently distraught Alex Murdaugh offering his thoughts about the possible motive. This is a long story. My son was in a boat wreck . . . months back. Hes been getting threats, he says. Most of its been benign stuff. We didnt take it serious, you know, hes been getting like punched. Um, I, I know thats what it is. And to reinforce this idea that the murders were in fact carried out by people intent on revenge for Mallory Beach, its alleged that Murdaugh then faked an assassination attempt on himself. Alex Murdaugh swears to tell the truth before he takes the stand during his trial for murder This week, his surviving son Buster testified that his father was destroyed by the murders of his wife and son so heartbroken that he could barely speak Three months after the double murder, he called police to say that a stranger had ambushed him while he was changing a tyre by the roadside and that the assailant had shot him in the head. Medical reports have showed that Alex was indeed grazed by a bullet but, as we will see, the man involved was far from a murderous stranger. Unfortunately for Murdaugh, a passer-by saw the so-called shooting and told police it was so unconvincing they thought it had been a set-up. This all coincided with a worsening of Murdaughs problems when his family law firm, which goes by the acronym of PMPED, revealed it had just ousted him for allegedly stealing its funds. Following the firms disclosure, Murdaughs lawyer went on national television to admit that, yes, his client had been stealing money but only because he had to pay for a 20-year-old opioid addiction, for which he was now in rehab. The lawyer also blew the gaff on the mystery person who supposedly shot at Murdaugh by the roadside, saying he had in fact been a distant cousin, Eddie Smith, who did odd jobs for him. Murdaugh had asked Smith to shoot him dead, explained the lawyer, and make it look like murder so that his surviving son, Buster, could collect an 8.4 million ($10 million) life insurance policy. Only Smith, he added, had botched it and managed merely to wound him. The trouble was that Smith then insisted to investigators he had never agreed to kill him and that the gun only went off by accident as he struggled to wrest it from Murdaugh. Whatever the case, sceptics believe Murdaugh never meant to die at all and simply wanted to strengthen the theory that he and his family were targets. But what of the financial crimes that, say prosecutors, Murdaugh was so desperate to keep secret that he was even prepared to murder his wife and son? These were already beginning to emerge because journalists had started to look into the familys affairs following the fatal boat crash. And it is here that we came to the fourth death in this grim saga. It emerged that Murdaughs former housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, had died in February 2018 after falling down the front steps of their family home. It has been mooted that she might have been pushed, although Alex Murdaugh has insisted Ms Satterfield tripped over one of his hunting dogs. What the journalists uncovered was that the housekeepers family had accused Murdaugh of tricking them out of a multi-million-dollar settlement over her death. Buster Murdaugh (left), son of Alex Murdaugh, sits during his father's double murder trial Mike Sutton, a forensic engineer, answers questions about shot trajectory from defense attorney Dick Harpootlian during the Alex Murdaugh trial, February 21, 2023 Old hand as he was at exploiting Americas super-litigious culture, Murdaugh actually encouraged Ms Satterfields brothers to sue him over her death on the grounds that his liability insurance policies would cover it. And the policies did, paying out more than 3 million whereupon Murdaugh allegedly pocketed it all. Only after a lengthy battle did Murdaugh, who is now disbarred, agree in late 2021 to pay the Satterfield family 3.25 million to settle their claims. Prosecutors say many more examples of his shameless looting over a decade-long period have emerged, including the fact he once stole from a police officer injured in the line of duty, as well as from the family of a deaf man who had suffered a horrendous car accident that left him quadriplegic. Local people say that he was able to act with impunity for so long because so many of them were intimidated by the Murdaughs, who despite having reputedly first made their money distilling illicit alcohol, or moonshine built strong connections with politicians and law enforcement. They were powerful. They own the country, said Suzy Murdaugh, a relative, about how she would sometimes enlist her mighty cousins help. If you went to court, you won. Didnt matter what it was. Dont think Alex, his father or his grandfather ever lost a case. He told the judge what to do. Even now in his murder trial, Murdaugh is represented by a lawyer friend who is a senior senator and judiciary committee member in the state congress a congress that chooses South Carolinas judges. For all that historical influence, the trial isnt going his way, hence his 11th hour decision to take the stand. Murdaugh has denied killing his wife and son in a trial now in its fifth week Alex Murdaugh cries while watching a video clip on his son Paul's phone during his double murder trial The Murdaughs current housekeeper has testified how Mrs Murdaugh had told her that her husband Alex had insisted she return home from their beach house on the night of the murder. And video evidence from son Pauls phone placed his father with his family minutes before prosecutors say he killed them contradicting his previous insistence to police that he didnt get home until much later and hadnt seen the pair that evening until he found their bodies. This week, his surviving son Buster testified that his father was destroyed by the murders of his wife and son so heartbroken that he could barely speak. His defence has suggested that the double killing may have been committed by a drug gang, saying Murdaugh was spending $50,000 (41,000) a week buying drugs from a man who was in deep debt to the gang. The state still has the death penalty but prosecutors, perhaps to improve their chances of getting a conviction, have said they wont seek it for Murdaugh. If convicted, he faces 30 years to life in prison. Many believe he was brought down by his own vanity, desperate to live up to the family name. A jury will have to decide whether the tears rolling down his cheeks yesterday are those of an innocent and cruelly bereaved man or an accomplished but desperate liar. Britain is already in discussions about sending such weapons to Zelensky The PM will call on G7 members to supply longer-range weapons to Ukraine Rishi Sunak will tomorrow urge Western leaders to 'move faster' on increasing military support for Ukraine as the world marks the first anniversary of Russia's invasion. In a rallying cry to the G7, Mr Sunak will call on members to follow Britain's lead in supplying longer-range weapons to aid President Volodymyr Zelensky's brave troops. He believes the weapons will not only help Ukraine protect critical civilian infrastructure but also push back Russia's forces and regain territory lost in the bloody fighting. Ahead of a meeting of the Western allies, the Prime Minister will join Ukrainian military personnel in Downing Street at 11am as Britain pays tribute to their nation's courage in a minute's silence. He and his wife will also hang a blue and yellow wreath on the door of No 10. Rishi Sunak will call on G7 members to follow Britain's lead in supplying longer-range weapons to aid Ukraine In remarks published tonight, Mr Sunak said he was proud that Britain had stood 'shoulder to shoulder' with Ukraine 'through this horrific conflict'. President Zelensky yesterday vowed his country would prevail and that Russia 'the murderer' will be held to account. Boris Johnson also spoke out as the anniversary loomed, pushing for a 'swift Ukrainian victory' this year and repeating his call for the RAF to send Typhoon jets to Ukraine. Tomorrow morning, Mr Sunak will host Ukrainian Ambassador Vadym Prystaiko and members of the country's armed forces in Downing Street before the minute's silence. Then, in a virtual call with G7 leaders, he will encourage them to join Britain in stepping up support. Britain is in discussions about sending longer-range weapons such as Harpoon anti-ship missiles or Storm Shadow air-to-surface missiles, as well as a squadron of Challenger 2 tanks, and has offered to support other countries that can provide jets. The PM is expected to say: 'For Ukraine to win this war and to accelerate that day they must gain a decisive advantage on the battlefield. 'That is what it will take to shift Putin's mindset. This must be our priority now. Instead of an incremental approach, we need to move faster on artillery, armour and air defence. 'The coming weeks will be difficult for Ukraine, but they will also be difficult for Russia. They are over-reaching once again. So now is the time to support Ukraine's plan to re-arm, regroup and push forwards.' His Foreign Secretary James Cleverly will address the UN Security Council today, insisting that Britain will support Ukraine 'for as long as it takes', having provided 2.3billion in military aid over the past year along with 220million in humanitarian assistance. Tomorrow morning, Mr Sunak (pictured with Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this month) will host Ukrainian Ambassador Vadym Prystaiko and members of the country's armed forces in Downing Street before the minute's silence It has also given more than 200,000 visas to people fleeing the warzone. At a meeting in India, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and G7 finance ministers committed to increase financial support for the Ukrainian government to a total of $39billion (32billion). However, Mr Johnson is continuing to demand that the West goes further still and starts giving fighter jets to Ukraine. President Zelensky made a request for 'wings for freedom' in his historic address to Parliament earlier this month. In an interview with Sky News, Mr Johnson said today: 'What the Ukrainians want is F-16s. We don't have F-16s. We do have Typhoons. I think there is an argument for the UK breaking the ice and giving them some Typhoons.' He added it would be a 'historic mistake' for China to arm the 'gangster' Putin. Vigils were held across Britain tonight to mark the first anniversary of the invasion, including one in Trafalgar Square, while more will take place tomorrow. Dramatic arrest bodycam footage of a man accused of fatally shooting a journalist and young girl in Florida showed him letting out a cry that the cops were suffocating him. Keith Melvin Moses, 19, is in custody after he allegedly shot several people on Wednesday, killing three of them, including a local journalist covering the original shooting he's accused of, and a nine-year-old girl. The Orange County Sheriff's Office released video of Moses' arrest that shows the deputies placing struggling Moses in handcuffs as he yells that he can't breath and screams: 'They're killing me!' Moses is charged with first-degree murder in the initial shooting that killed Nathacha Augustin, 38, that morning and officials said 'numerous more charges' will follow. Dramatic body cam footage captured the moment a man accused of fatally shooting a journalist and young girl in Florida claims that the cops were suffocating him during the arrest In the video, Moses claims that he can't breathe as deputies place him in handcuffs The arrest on Wednesday came after the shooting spree that began early that morning and ended with three dead and two injured. Video released shows the moment deputies put an end to his rampage. 'Get on your face!' the deputies are heard yelling. 'Let me go!' Moses yells back. 'They're killing me! Let me go!' Deputies placed him in handcuffs and then could be seen cutting open Moses' jeans and seized a Glock semiautomatic weapon that 'was still hot to the touch, meaning it had just been fired, and there were no more rounds.' Orange County Sheriff John Mina characterized the shootings Wednesday as random acts of violence. Moses complained he was hurt and was taken to a hospital where he attacked medical staff, Mina said. He has since refused to speak with detectives. Moses has been charged with first-degree murder in the initial shooting that killed Nathacha Augustin, 38, and authorities said 'numerous more charges' would follow Deputies placed Moses in handcuffs and then could be seen cutting open his ' jeans and seized a Glock semiautomatic weapon that 'was still hot to the touch, meaning it had just been fired, and there were no more rounds' Moses complained he was hurt and was taken to a hospital where he attacked medical staff. He has since refused to speak with cops. Pictured is when cops cut his jeans to retrieve the gun The shooting unfolded earlier that morning and police responded to the Pine Hills area, just northwest of Orlando, at around 11 a.m. following reports that a woman had been shot. That woman, identified as Nathacha Augustin, 38, died at the scene after she was shot in the left side of her chin, according to the arrest warrant. About five hours later, 911 calls began coming in from the same area, the sheriff said. Spectrum News 13 reporter Dylan Lyons and photographer Jesse Walden were in an unmarked news vehicle on Wednesday afternoon covering the first homicide when a man approached and shot them. Lyons was killed and Walden was rushed to the hospital where he is being treated. Dylan Lyons, 24, was shot and killed while reporting on a shooting in Pine Hills, Florida, yesterday. He was just six months into his job at Spectrum News 13 T'Yonna Major, 9, was shot dead in her home when the gunman stormed in and opened fire T'Yonna's mother Brandi was also shot. She remains in the hospital The gunman then went to a nearby home where he fatally shot 9-year-old T'yonna Major and critically wounded the girl's mother. Moses was taken to the hospital following his arrest and a motive for the killings remain unclear. After complaining that he couldn't breathe, he then began 'fighting with hospital staff' and had to be restrained. Once in police custody, Moses 'pretended to be asleep' to try to get out of his interview. He remains in custody but is refusing to talk to detectives. 'Moses is not speaking to us. We're unable to determine a motive at this time. Moses smirked and smiled as he was taken away in handcuffs after being arrested in connection to the three killings in Orlando, Florida 'It's unclear why he shot the first victim, why he targeted the folks in the news media and it' unclear why he shot a nine year old and her mother. 'We'd like to answer this for our community - why did he do this? Why did he shoot these people? 'His firearm was empty, thankfully. I'm not sure if he would have kept shooting people in that community,' Sheriff Mina said. It's unclear how he obtained the gun. The Ukrainian soldiers were hiding among the trees and buried in hobbit-like holes beneath the snow. But the Russian drones were still buzzing overhead. Over the past two days, the troops had managed to shoot down six of these aircraft often packed with explosives. The team's medic offered me a set of wings as a souvenir. Shells were also landing in this wooded encampment by the frontline. Three men had been wounded by shrapnel and the back wheels off a lorry had been blown off. Several trees bore the scars of war, with splintered trunks and branches ripped off. 'Now we have lots of wood for the fire,' joked one soldier, wearing a fleece over his camouflage gear. But then, soon after breakfast on Monday, an enemy drone evaded all their efforts to bring it down and it dropped a bomb directly onto one of the Ukrainians' precious U.S.-made howitzers. The long barrel was ripped open near the base, the targeting mechanism ruined so after one week in this frontline position, firing up to 150 rounds a day, the unit hastily moved two miles away to protect their remaining two field guns. The Team's medic showed a set of Russian wings of the drone they have hit early in the morning that day The only way for Ukrainians to escape the Russian drone or winter cold is to hide in the dugout Over the past year of Vladimir Putin's war, they have swept more than 100 miles east, from Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv to their current position attacking enemy forces in occupied Luhansk The war in Ukraine has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands and displaced millions more 'It's difficult to relocate all the time and dig new dugouts in this solid winter ground,' admitted Vitaly, their 23-year-old commander, as his men packed up their few possessions and the ammunition scattered around us in the snow and mud. 'Now we need to move again. Go to the new place, dig new dugouts. We'll try to move closer, to reach the enemy with our shells. We can target anything: tanks, infantry, drones. Sometimes we know the results, but not often.' Earlier this week, I spent two days with the 76 soldiers in this Ukrainian artillery team. Over the past year of Vladimir Putin's war, they have swept more than 100 miles east, from Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv to their current position attacking enemy forces in occupied Luhansk. Distant explosions the drumbeat of battle echoed around the frozen landscape. At one point, while we were speaking, the men suddenly went silent. 'You need constantly to listen to the surroundings. Where do the sounds come from?' one told me later. On the first day, thick snow fell. The next, it turned to slush and mud. My hands froze on both days as a biting wind whipped over fields of unharvested sunflowers, their blackened heads drooping as if in mourning for this terrible war. On the stove in the makeshift kitchen, a pan had been filled with snow, which was being melted for water. One middle-aged soldier told me how he wished he was back home. 'I'm from Odesa and it's 4C there,' he said. Yet for this band of Ukrainian brothers, there was no rest from their relentless mission to move, dig fresh bunkers, fire at their Russian foes and then move on again. 'It's a war, so what can you do?' said one. 'It feels like eternal migration with digging.' With two volunteers, I drove to their frontline position about 20 miles from the recaptured town of Kupiansk, now coming under heavy Russian bombardment. They were delivering a generator, along with supplies of food, toilet paper and wet wipes. Our journey was complicated: many bridges have been destroyed and a dam blown up. At the edge of one broken crossing I saw five men fishing through the thick ice below. We stopped at a field hospital to deliver medicine and clean clothes to the unit's men hurt in recent shelling. A young soldier collected them, his discoloured fingers sticking out of a bandaged arm as he showed us a wound on the back of his head. Earlier this week, I spent two days with the 76 soldiers in this Ukrainian artillery team Distant explosions the drumbeat of battle echoed around the frozen landscape. At one point, while we were speaking, the men suddenly went silent. 'You need constantly to listen to the surroundings. Where do the sounds come from?' one told me later Several trees bore the scars of war with splintered trunks and branches ripped off. 'Now we have lots of wood for the fire,' joked one man We stopped at a field hospital to deliver medicine and clean clothes to the unit's men hurt in recent shelling The men have a loathing of the Russian invasion and a fierce desire for freedom Little wonder the troops enduring such challenging conditions on the frontline all said they were motivated by patriotism and a desperate desire to protect their people For this band of Ukrainian brothers, there was no rest from their relentless mission to move, dig fresh bunkers, fire at their Russian foes and then move on again. 'It's a war, so what can you do?' said one. 'It feels like eternal migration with digging' It was a bleak place in winter: desolate-looking villages studding the open, flat fields many filled with mines and fringed with straggly lines of trees. Inside one such thicket, we found our battery Then, as we turned off the icy track and crossed snowy fields to our destination, we passed two self-propelled artillery that had been crunched into piles of burnt and twisted metal. 'They're ours,' said Andriy, one of the volunteers. It was a bleak place in winter: desolate-looking villages studding the open, flat fields many filled with mines and fringed with straggly lines of trees. Inside one such thicket, we found our battery. After we parked the car, I came across a soldier digging out a new bunker. Even the commander, who joined a military academy in his teens and took charge of the unit five months ago, told me he dug out his own holes in the ground for survival. The men explained how they use a small bit of explosive to blow off frozen topsoil. Then, after hollowing out their burrows in the earth, they cover the roof with chopped logs, cardboard wrapping from shells, sheets of plastic and finally soil. 'If you want to live, you need to dig,' said Ivan, 37, a father of two young children who first joined the army eight years ago. 'I'm a good digger since I'm a builder. If I had to choose between a spade and a gun, I'd definitely chose the spade.' Yet he admitted their nomadic lifestyle was tough. 'You just settle down, build a little kitchen, dig the dugouts and suddenly need to leave. You can't really get used to it.' He has been unable to visit his family for five months. 'My wife misses me so much, she wants me home. I call her every day,' he said. 'It's good that it's not 1943 when you had to write letters to your family at least we can talk with video.' Ivan admitted he was lucky to survive the latest attack, since he was close to the targeted howitzer. 'When it hit us, I'd gone for a cigarette in the dugout,' he said. 'So you see, smoking can actually save your life.' A former infantryman, this soldier admitted it was easier in the artillery since they did not actually see the Russians. 'Mentally, it's much tougher in the infantry. You need to kill people face-to-face, but here you just shoot and don't see anybody.' Or as one of his comrades later put it: 'Before the war, we saw Russians alive. After the war, we only see them dead.' Walking between the trees, I saw men chopping wood for fires. Piles of logs had been cut with chainsaws. It looked almost like a forestry encampment apart from the clusters of unfired shells and snouts of artillery sticking out from under netting. Chimneys poked through the snow, puffing smoke. Descending some roughly hewn steps, I found a burrow for eight troops that was surprisingly warm. 'We have food, internet, water who could ask for anything more?' said one soldier, laughing. The artillery team is hidden in trees beside frozen fields as they search for the enemy 'These are antiques,' said Mykhailo, 41, a businessman before mobilisation last June and another of the commanders 'It's difficult to relocate all the time and dig new dugouts in this solid winter ground,' admitted Vitaly, their 23-year-old commander, as his men packed up their few possessions and the ammunition scattered around us in the snow and mud The Ukrainian soldiers said while they had enough shorter-range shells, which can travel about five miles, they were down to just nine longer-range ones that can hit both targets 25 miles away and anti-aircraft defences Before the war, this man also the father of a young child made heating briquettes. But he was mobilised after the full-scale invasion. 'When the heavy hitting starts, we hide here in the dugout,' he said. 'But we always have the feeling of danger.' Earlier, I met an infantryman who told me his comrades had been facing more confrontations with enemy sabotage and reconnaissance units in recent weeks. He presumed this was ahead of the anticipated Russian offensive. 'They're coming closer, sneaking for weak points to break through. We're in woods, so the fights can be very tight over 30 or 40 metres,' he told me. In this war, artillery has become strategically vital, after an era of U.S.-led conflicts in which control of the skies rendered shelling on the ground less effective. 'Artillery was the dominant weapon on the battlefields of both the First and Second World Wars, but then it played a lesser role in Vietnam and Iraq,' said Phillips O'Brien, professor of strategic studies at St Andrews University in Scotland. 'But in this war, neither side controls the air, tanks seem so vulnerable and moving forward so difficult. This means that artillery has become more significant and the artillery duel is hugely important.' But Vitaly, the impressive young commander of one of Ukraine's biggest batteries, said his troops lacked sufficient artillery after suffering 'lots of losses' to Russia's Lancets, a sophisticated new 'loitering' drone with a range of 25 miles. 'We would like Great Britain to send us more weapons,' he told me. Later, their quartermaster explained how they started the war using Soviet-made Giatsints, which were heavier, harder to calibrate but tougher than their U.S.-made Excaliburs. 'You can beat them with a hammer and they'd still work,' said Anton. 'With the American ones, you must care more for them, which is difficult in these conditions. The Excaliburs can shoot four times a minute while the Giatsints go six or seven times a minute. But of course, the American ones are better.' Other soldiers said many of their donated shells were very old, showing me pictures of an American missile dated 1958 when Dwight D. Eisenhower was in the White House and Elvis Presley had released Jailhouse Rock. 'These are antiques,' said Mykhailo, 41, a businessman before mobilisation last June and another of the commanders. 'But the problem is not the age of the weapons but the range of shooting. The older weapons are short-range. We have to move close and become like the infantry and the closer we go, the more dangerous it is. It is like a suicide mission. When we go so close, even the mortar can reach us.' The Ukrainian soldiers said while they had enough shorter-range shells, which can travel about five miles, they were down to just nine longer-range ones that can hit both targets 25 miles away and anti-aircraft defences. Many of the men told me they had lost friends fighting in this war and all admitted to being scared at times. 'We're humans, after all,' said one. When we left, the volunteers gave a lift back to Kharkiv to a soldier who was bunking off for the night after being refused permission to see his pregnant wife. He bought her a big bunch of flowers and a teddy bear in the national colours of blue and yellow. These volunteers from Palyanytsya working out of a cafe that's been turned into a field kitchen churning out 1,500 meals a day have followed this unit on its advance in the region, visiting the men up to three times a week with supplies to keep up morale. Among the chefs peeling mountains of beetroot, potatoes and onions, I found one man who had served in Russia's army during its brutal war in Chechnya, which was infamous for atrocities. 'I knew what would happen if they came here,' said Adalyat Vezirov, 47, a builder originally from Azerbaijan. 'I heard what the soldiers talked about when they went there, hearing about lots of murder and raping. I knew it would be the same here.' Little wonder the troops enduring such challenging conditions on the frontline all said they were motivated by patriotism and a desperate desire to protect their people, fused with loathing of the Russian invasion and a fierce desire for freedom. 'I don't hate Russians I just want them to disappear from the political map,' said one. 'My conscience is clear. I'm defending my country and my family. I am fighting for freedom.' Yet Anton, the 29-year-old quartermaster from Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine, underscored the strange complexities of this epochal conflict. As we sat in an underground burrow on the frontline, he told me how his Russian-speaking grandmother so inspired him to love Ukraine with its traditional poetry that he joined the pro-democracy protests that sparked Russia's attack on Crimea in 2014. On the stove in the makeshift kitchen, a pan had been filled with snow, which was being melted for water Even the commander, who joined a military academy in his teens and took charge of the unit five months ago, told me he dug out his own holes in the ground for survival Yet, at the same time, his own mother misses the Soviet Union and admires the despotic Putin. 'We have lots of conflicts since I'm a patriot and she is pro-Russian,' he said. 'Now she doesn't know what to think. She tells me 'it is most important that you stay alive, all the rest is nothing.' He added with a shrug that he had become so used to the conditions that if the war dragged on for many years, 'maybe I will even miss it'. Then came the successful drone attack and the dutiful men in this artillery battery packed up their missiles. They moved on with their guns to dig a fresh warren of survival holes in another freezing stretch of woodland on the frontline of this terrible war. Additional reporting: Dzvinka Pinchuk Downing Street last night rejected calls to ban government officials from using Tiktok after EU staff were told to delete the Chinese-owned app over security fears. No 10 stressed that the decision over whether to use the controversial social media platform was up to individual departments and ministers to decide. EU Commission staff were told yesterday to remove TikTok from any work phones and personal devices with work-related apps installed. It follows Joe Biden implementing a similar ban on federal phones in the US late last year as Washington believes Beijing is hoovering up private data from officials via TikTok. The Houses of Parliament stopped using its TikTok account last year after Westminster politicians said Parliament 'cannot and should not legitimise the use of an app which has been described by tech experts as essentially Chinese government spyware'. Downing Street last night rejected calls to ban government officials from using Tiktok after EU staff were told to delete the Chinese-owned app over security fears Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said it was important that MPs were 'not chased off from engaging with our constituents on the platforms they actually use' Commons foreign affairs committee chairman Alicia Kearns said last night: 'The foremost responsibility of government is to keep its people safe ministers do not need to have TikTok on their phones to use the platform, and most certainly should not have it on their phones. 'The Government should be communicating the risks so that the public can be informed and make their own decision.' Luke de Pulford, from the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, added: 'When it comes to data security, the UK Government is asleep at the wheel. 'MPs have been raising the alarm about TikTok for years, and have been ignored. 'Now the US and EU have both moved and the UK is dragging its feet. The Government shouldn't wait until pushed by the Information Commissioner and should act to protect the data security of government officials immediately.' A number of senior MPs, including Energy Secretary Grant Shapps, are prominent users of the platform. Last week he said it was important that MPs were 'not chased off from engaging with our constituents on the platforms they actually use'. TikTok has repeatedly faced and denied - allegations that it harvests data from its users and hands it over to China's leadership. A TikTok spokesman criticised the Brussels decision, claiming it was based on 'fundamental misconceptions' of how the platform works. But only last year, TikTok's parent company ByteDance admitted the personal data of users could be accessed at their Chinese HQ. Staff at the Commission, which drafts EU laws for the bloc and conducts trade negotiations on behalf of all 27 members including talks with Britain, have until March 15 to delete the app. A spokesman for the European Parliament refused to rule out taking similar action against the company. Follow DailyMail.com's liveblog for all the updates from Walterboro, South Carolina on February 23, as more witnesses take the stand in the legal scion's double murder trial, where the disgraced lawyer is accused of killing his wife, Maggie, 52, and son Paul, 22, at the family's 1,800-acre hunting estate. Wu Zhenrong, a Chinese dissident, prays at a church in Daerim-dong in Seoul that became his first home when he escaped from China in 2002. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul By Jack Lau Wu Zhenrong begins every morning by folding his futon into the corner of his room, just below the window that provided a view half blocked by a brick wall. Before he spends his day writing on his computer his musings on Chinese politics, he would walk hunchbacked to an alley floored in uneven concrete and roofed with wooden planks that he calls his kitchen, to boil a kettle of water for his sugar-filled morning instant coffee. Wu had never had coffee, at least not until he was forced to leave his home in China to settle in the Korean capital of Seoul. He has written more than 13 books, totaling some eight million Chinese characters, including one he wrote secretly as a Chinese soldier reflecting on the Cultural Revolution. His wish to publish it, however, had attracted the attention of the national security police, leaving him exiled for 21 years in a country he had never before visited. Wu, who became one of the first Chinese nationals to gain refugee status in 2008 after Korea struck formal ties with China in 1992, spends most of his time on a computer in his 16-square-meter apartment writing pro-democracy essays critical of the Chinese Communist Party that few could read because of state censorship. Unlike the big names among exiled Chinese democracy activists who rubbed shoulders with heads of state and earned a decent living being professors, Wu, now 73, says he faces the prospect of dying alone. "There are times I felt particularly lonely," he said, sitting on the lumpy plastic flooring of his home. "I keep busy writing, talking to friends, researching about China and reading, but once I sit down alone, sometimes I feel especially lonely. This world this life felt so cold." Wu sits on the floor of his 16-square-meter apartment as he sips a cup of coffee, a habit he took up since coming to Korea. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul In 2002, Wu left behind his wife, son, daughter and son-in-law to seek asylum in Korea. Two years before, he moved with his wife from his native Shaanxi Province to the southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen, where his daughter was getting married. Unlike most of the Chinese cities, Shenzhen was filled with towering skyscrapers and bustling business districts as the first test site for China's economic liberalization in the 1980s. He had retired and worked part-time behind the counter at his daughter's internet cafe keeping logs of who used a computer and when. Witnessing how Shenzhen had become a showcase for affluence, he wrote a letter in 2002 to the Commercial Press, one of Hong Kong's biggest publishers, to pitch his book called "Treatise on the '66 Movement" a memoir about his young adulthood during the Cultural Revolution. He later said he handwrote the letter while being under the illusion of Shenzhen's reforms and was mistaken that there was greater room for political speech than the rest of China. "I believe that the Commercial Press in Hong Kong is a free publishing house," Wu said, reciting a part of his letter. He used his daughter's internet cafe as a return address and signed the letter off under a pseudonym: Chen Anmin. A little more than a month later, national security police showed up at the internet cafe, asking for a person named Chen Anmin. They told Wu, who was sitting at the front counter, to get them the manager. Police talked to Wu's son-in-law for half an hour and left. "What was the problem?" Wu asked at the time. His son-in-law said, "Nothing dad, they were here to find one Chen Anmin." Wu knew immediately that he was in trouble, but since no one knew or suspected it was Wu who wrote the letter. "If I had written Wu Zhenrong in that letter, I would have been arrested on the spot." But the police returned a few hours later holding sheets of paper on which each Chinese character from Wu's letter was printed. They asked Wu's daughter and son-in-law to recognize the handwriting, but they could not do so. After two hours of interrogation, the police left. Wu's daughter came to him and told Wu those looked like his handwriting. Wu could hide the truth no longer. "It was really me who wrote the letter." Tears fell immediately for his daughter. His son-in-law cried and yelled at Wu, blaming him for ruining the only rice bowl for the family. First thing the next morning, Wu bought a train ticket and left alone for the city of Xianyang in Shaanxi. Wu called Deng Yunbi, his friend from Xianyang, and told him to let him stay at his home. "I was afraid the police investigation would lead them to me. I was afraid police would go to my house." After staying 10 days at Deng's, the two decided that they would leave China for their political activism. "But when I stepped into the free world, things were different than what I imagined," Wu said. "We didn't understand the world outside, and it was my first time out of China." The 50,000 yuan (9.45 million won) of cash prepared by Wu for their trip had been spent in the few months in Korea. They had to live in the Seoul Chinese Church that was created for the Chinese diaspora in Seoul as they sought asylum. "When I was in China, I was retired and was part of a middle-class family. However when I got to Korea, every resource had become scarce and there was no source of income. It was trying times, but I had already taken on this path." Wu stands behind a pane of glass on the door to his apartment that leads to a concrete alleyway that he uses as a kitchen and shower. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul While living at the church, Wu made multiple appointments with the Korean Ministry of Justice, which was responsible for approving refugee statuses. Officials hurled questions at him, asking for evidence that he was subject to political persecution in China. The persuasive evidence, Wu said, was still in China. Before Wu and Deng went to Korea, they had buried handwritten drafts of three books written by Wu during his days in the People's Liberation Army in the village home of Deng's in Shaanxi. Using money Deng earned from working in Korea, the pair spent 700,000 won to hire a woman from Shanghai to fetch those writings. "I brought the handwritten drafts to the Ministry of Justice," Wu said. "The officials had a look, and only then did they believe in my story." Wu's apartment is placed under a flight route, where planes come and go every few minutes. Even when he removes his hearing aid, Wu says the planes create considerable noise. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul His path to being recognized as a refugee was not smooth. In 2005, three years after arriving in Korea, the government refused his application for refugee status because the evidence for Wu's "anti-government activities" did not amount to a "well-founded fear of being persecuted," according to a refusal notice. His appeal a year later also failed, which was followed by a "written advice to exit" Korea. It was only in November 2008 that the Korean Supreme Court ruled in favor of Wu and Deng, recognizing that repatriating them to China would risk further persecution. Wu is no stranger to turmoil. When Wu was born in March 1949, Communist troops were fighting in northwest China during the Chinese Civil War, to seize control from the military of the ruling Kuomintang party. Tens of thousands were injured or died in the theatre, and six months later, Mao Zedong and his revolutionaries declared victory and established the People's Republic in October. Wu felt none of the gunfire and turmoil, however, because of the seclusion of his birthplace, the remote agrarian village of Xiaonan in Shaanxi province in central China. "Life was extremely hard, but it seems that I stayed quite positive," he said, chuckling. "We were kids! We lived in a world of innocence." Xiaonan had no childcare centers. Wu, like many children living in China's impoverished countryside, had no school to stop him from living his carefree days playing with friends. He only started to go to school at 8. Villagers had torn down a temple worshipping the ancient Chinese general Guan Yu and repurposed it as a school. He wrote on wooden planks serving as tables and brought his own stool. "I remembered the winters when I was small to be especially cold. Ninety-nine percent of my hand was frostbitten, and you could see blood from the lesions here," he said, pushing his eyebrows together and pointing to the back of his hand. The Communist Party's propaganda had shielded him from feeling the hardship China faced, Wu said. In 1958, Mao launched the disastrous Great Leap Forward movement that aimed to push the Chinese economy to overtake Britain's and catch up with the United States in steel and food production, only to result in the death of at least 15 million people from widespread famine. Wu first saw Mao in person on Nov. 11, 1966, when he was 17. The Chinese leader stood on Tiananmen and waved to a sea of young devotees who had traveled to Beijing from every corner of China. The Red Guards held high their Little Red Books of Mao's sayings and rocked them to the tune of "The East is Red" while chanting "long live Chairman Mao." Wu's friends from school, who had only seen Mao in portraits and paintings, were reduced to tears when they saw the leader in person. "It was fanatical," he said. Wu and other Red Guards returned to their homes after being instructed by Mao to go on one mission: to rebel against the local Communist Party establishment. "We toppled Communist Party committees at every level," he said. Starting with the party branch of his secondary school, Wu took down seven Communist Party authorities, including the bureau in the party's central committee in Beijing overseeing issues in China's northwestern region and its first secretary Liu Lantao. Wu joined his first "struggle session," against his school principal Guo Huanxian, who had attempted to kill himself after pupils began to denounce figures of authority on posters plastered in public. While Guo was not targeted, he was frightened. In the middle of the night, someone yelled, "The principal had killed himself," Wu said. Wu got out of bed and ran towards Guo's office, finding him with an axe sunk into his head, with the pale skin of his scalp loose. Half his face was covered in blood. Guo was hospitalized and survived his suicide attempt. But before he could remove the gauze wrapped around his head, he was surrounded by his students in struggle sessions and publicly denounced as a "counterrevolutionary." "That left an indelible mark in my memory," Wu said. Mao launched his Cultural Revolution in May 1966, convinced that the top echelon of the party and military had been compromised by capitalists, corrupt cadres and what he called "revisionists" betrayers of the 1949 communist revolution that swept the party to power. It did not help that then-Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev had been denouncing and dismantling the personality cult of his iron-fisted predecessor Joseph Stalin, whom Mao modeled himself upon. A revolution was therefore needed, Mao thought, for the proletariat to seize power from Communist Party officials across China. "To us, this political movement united the people and was a grand liberation," Wu said. "To us, it was a revolution of human rights." "After the struggle, at least in our province, we had a 'direct line' to Mao Zedong. After my generation was liberated, Mao Zedong created a relationship that was religious, not political. Our rebellion had ended the political relationship." Each faction of the Red Guard called itself the rebellious side and disparaged rival sects by labeling them the reactionaries. Wu's group of Red Guards lost out to the competition. "Our faction was on the weaker side and so we were kicked out of the school. I felt I had been cornered," he said. Left with no options, he joined the Chinese military, the People's Liberation Army, in February 1968. By day, he worked as a political officer promoting Mao Thought at an asbestos mine in Shaanxi. Secretly, he wrote criticisms of Chinese politics, in particular the Cultural Revolution and the official narrative surrounding Mao. His access as a political officer to a Communist Party school library allowed him to get a rare glimpse into the works of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Immanuel Kant, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and other Western philosophers. Every-day people could only study Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The handwritten drafts of Wu's books are still stacked in his small cubicle of a home in Seoul, hidden behind a wooden door and bagged in Manila envelopes. Half of Wu's view is obscured by a wall of the nearby building. What is left provides him a good view of the neighborhood church. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul Fears are spreading in Silicon Valley that ChatGPT the AI chatbot taking the world by storm could become the globe's go-to search engine. Google execs are said to have declared a 'code red' over fears its $150-billion-a-year search business monopoly could be wiped out thanks to the Microsoft-backed tool. Much has been made about ChatGPT's ability to perform eerily-human professional tasks such as writing emails and resumes. But fears in big tech stem from the fact it can instantly conversationally respond to users' questions, using data aggregated from the internet. That's a worry for search engines that rely on users scrolling and researching themselves, exposing them to advertisements. However, experts have noted that ChatGPT appears to have a liberal bias and its answers are not entirely transparent, which raises doubts about its effectiveness as a search tool. DailyMail.com has compiled an everything-you-need-to-know guide on the AI program: ChatGPT launched in November 2022 and has since gained in popularity since. The AI-powered chatbot generates emails, naturally converses with customers and provides patients with medical information What is ChatGPT? OpenAI invented ChatGPT, a startup co-founded by billionaire and Twitter CEO Elon Musk, and is headquartered in San Francisco. A system prototype went online on November 30, 2022, and quickly climbed the popularity ladder, garnishing over one million users in its first week. ChatGPT uses a machine-learning technique called Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF). This means it learns through interactions with its environment. The model was trained with 570 GB of data collected from books, web text, Wikipedia articles and other online writings. Poll Do YOU think ChatGPT could replace Google? Yes No Unsure Do YOU think ChatGPT could replace Google? Yes 183 votes No 95 votes Unsure 50 votes Now share your opinion It has been fine-tuned using supervised and reinforcement learning - which uses feedback to teach the system what responses are desired. Proper results draw positive feedback, while incorrect answers or behavior will cause negative feedback. OpenAI explains on its website that its agent is let loose to act randomly. 'The AI gradually builds a model of the goal of the task by finding the reward function that best explains the human's judgments. It then uses RL to learn how to achieve that goal,' according to OpenAI. 'As its behavior improves, it continues to ask for human feedback on trajectory pairs where it's most uncertain about which is better and further refines its understanding of the goal.' The massive dataset of internet text ChatGPT learned from also allows it to generate text similar to what humans would write. One of the significant advantages of the chatbot is its ability to conversate. It can detect the context of messages and respond accordingly. This makes it well-suited for language understanding and dialogue generation tasks. The model can generate high-quality text and human-like responses, making it suitable for a variety of industries, such as customer service, finance and healthcare. Additionally, ChatGPT can be fine-tuned on a specific task or dataset, making it highly adaptable for different use cases. This ability provides AI with various applications, such as language translation, text summarization, and question answering. How does it work, compared to traditional search engines? The version of the bot available for public testing attempts to understand questions posed by users and responds with in-depth answers resembling human-written text in a conversational format. Just like Google's search, it is accessible on a desktop for free, but it responds with information in a totally different way. Users first have to verify they are not a bot by entering their name and mobile number. A person can then ask it anything, although some answers will be more detailed than others depending on how much training in that topic the AI has received. ChatGPT can spit out an answer to many questions in a fraction of second. The human-like responses to questions could also make it feel like there is another person speaking on the other end. Experts say a tool like ChatGPT could be used in real-world applications such as digital marketing, online content creation, answering customer service queries or, as some users have found, even to help debug code. What is ChatGPT's main purpose? ChatGPT has been used to pass exams, deliver sermons, write love and apology letters, code software and give relationship advice, to name just a handful of its functions. Some companies have used the platform to create emails and sales campaigns. Marketing experts believe its use could be expanded, helping answer frequently asked customer questions and providing base-level customer support. The healthcare field is excited about its potential too. Some have speculated that it could help answer patient questions about symptoms and advise them on how to continue. With both the US and UK suffering from doctor shortages, the tool could get patients in need simple care fast, while freeing up physicians for more serious work. It has also landed a spot as a 'co-author' on more than 200 books on Amazon. Students have also reportedly bent the rules by harnessing the AI's power to write essays and create projects. But its ease of use and accessibility has made it a hit with the general public too. There are anecdotes of people using it to find new recipes or to writing a cover letters for their job search. How could it be used as a search engine? ChatGPT differs from other search engines by providing one single answer to a query. Google, and other similar competitors, spit out hundreds of results and lets users pick their own source of information on a certain topic. Typical search engines also provide videos, news articles and images related to a topic or question. ChatGPT streamlines this process, though, instead giving users one simple answer based on what the AI itself is trained to say. It also does not show adds. Google and other search engines like Bing are teaming with advertisements that sometimes portray themselves as actual results. The AI is trained using text it pulled from the internet. This is unlike search engine algorithms that are instead more personalized, and give results based on a person's search history. What Google and ChatGPT output is also different, with the tech giant's results being based on relevance and popularity. Chat GPT responses are generated based on probabilities and what it determines to be the context of the conversation. ChatGPT uses a machine-learning technique called Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF). This means it learns through interactions with its environment, but ChatGPT does not have the ability to think critically What are its benefits and drawbacks? Chatbots have been filtering into the internet for decades but have only been able to answer simple questions with standard answers. But ChatGPT is believed to be the future of these systems, carrying out conversations with users through multiple queries, providing lightning-fast responses and generating software code. OpenAI's system can engage with disgruntled customers, increase company sales and provide medical information to patients. For companies, ChatGPT could help cut costs. But spells bad news for human employees who could lose their position. Zak Saidi, creative director and AI Lead of creative agency IZSRI, told DailyMail.com that copywriters, bloggers and people who produce online copy could be among the first to fall in the AI revolution. How to use ChatGPT ChatGPT is free to anyone and can be accessed by visiting OpenAI's website and signing up with an email address and phone number. Once you have created an account, you can start asking the AI questions - as many as you like. The system is only available on desktop and OpenAI has not yet announced plans to launch it in a mobile app. However, users can chat with the AI on their smartphone browser app. There are instances when you might log in and ChatGPT is 'at capacity,' which does not mean you cannot access the site, but to try again at another time. OpenAI has added a $20 monthly subscription to the service that lets you bypass the line to access ChatGPT even when it is at full capacity. ChatGPT has been blocked in some regions, including China, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, Russia, Belarus and several educational institutions - but there is a workaround. Users can connect to a VPN server location where ChatGPT is available, open a window in the browser and visit the OpenAI website to start the registration process. Advertisement 'We work with a lot of copywriters and there is certainly a lot of industry talk around the replacement of content writers by AI technology,' said Saidi. 'ChatGPT is free, copywriters aren't we expect more tech-savvy small businesses to turn to ChatGPT and its AI counterparts when generating more content.' One of the primary disadvantages of using ChatGPT for customer service is the potential for the chatbot to provide inaccurate or misinformed answers. Since the GPTs are trained through trial and error, they are only as accurate as the data and algorithms they are based on. When DailyMail.com asked ChatGPT if it is accurate, it responded: 'As an AI language model, ChatGPT strives to be as accurate as possible in providing responses based on the information it has been trained on. 'However, it is important to note that ChatGPT's responses are generated based on patterns and associations in the data it has been trained on, and may not always be perfect or completely accurate. 'While ChatGPT can provide helpful information and insights, it is always a good idea to verify information from multiple sources, especially for important or critical decisions. 'Additionally, ChatGPT may not always have access to the most up-to-date information, as its training data has a cutoff date.' There are also tasks the AI cannot do, such as brain teasers and giving you a train schedule. Because the AI only uses information it has been trained with and does not search the internet for it itself, it is not a great tool for current or up-to-date news and information. There are also concerns over the potential control or information, and the inability for ChatGPT users to choose their own sources. When a person types a question into Google - or other similar search tools - they are offered hundreds of options to find their answer. They receive multiple websites, blogs, encyclopedias and other sources that each answer said question in a different way. While a person will not always choose the perfect source of information, they can pick to find an answer from whatever source they personally deem trustworthy. ChatGPT is trained using information fed to it by its creators, making it likely the creators' personal bias affects the types of answers a person receives. The AI platform was recently under fire for giving answers that supported Democrats, based Republicans, and supported green energy over fossil fuels. While experts believe ChatGPT will replace Google in as little as two years, the AI-powered chatbot has a different opinion Another reported issue with ChatGPT and all AI models is their lack of empathy. 'Chat GPT cannot empathize with users or understand their emotions, making it challenging to provide support in certain situations,' Paresh M Patel, who has more than a decade of experience in sales and marketing, shared in his blog. Will ChatGPT replace Google? 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. A core way that Google makes money is from advertisers paying to have their links displayed alongside the results of a search query result in the hope that a user clicks on them. 'The way I imagine this happening is that the URL/Search bar of the [Google] browser gets replaced with AI that autocompletes my thought/question as I type it while also providing the best answer (which may be a link to a website or product),' Buchheit said. 'The old search engine backend will be used by the AI to gather relevant information and links, which will then be summarized for the user,' Bucheit explained. 'It's like asking a professional human researcher to do the work, except the AI will instantly do what would take many minutes for a human.' The fluency and coherence of the results being generated now has those in Silicon Valley wondering about the future of Google's monopoly While some believe ChatGPT will replace Google, the AI has a different opinion. 'As an AI language model, I do not have the ability to take over any company or organization, including Google,' it said on the matter. 'My purpose is to assist and provide helpful responses to users who interact with me. 'Google is a multinational technology company with a strong market position and a vast array of products and services, so it is highly unlikely that any single entity, including an AI language model like myself, could take over Google. 'Furthermore, I believe that companies like Google and AI language models like myself can work together to provide even better solutions and services to users around the world.' Whether it's the latest chart hits or a classic soul album, Spotify already has something for music lovers of almost any taste. Now, the tech giant has launched its most personalised service, in the form of an AI DJ. The DJ, dubbed X, features a 'stunningly realistic voice' and creates personalised mixes based on your music taste. 'The DJ is a personalized AI guide that knows you and your music taste so well that it can choose what to play for you,' Spotify explains. 'This feature, first rolling out in beta, will deliver a curated lineup of music alongside commentary around the tracks and artists we think you'll like in a stunningly realistic voice.' Spotify's AI DJ, dubbed X, features a 'stunningly realistic voice' and creates personalised mixes based on your music taste The AI DJ is Spotify's latest personalised offering, following the success of other features such as Discover Weekly and Wrapped. How to try the AI DJ The AI DJ is available for Spotify Premium users in the US and Canada. Head to your Music Feed on Home in the Spotify mobile app on your iOS or Android device Tap Play on the DJ card The DJ will serve a lineup of music alongside commentary on the songs and artists, picked just for you Not feeling the vibe? Just hit the DJ button at the bottom right of the screen to be taken to a different genre, artist, or mood Advertisement 'The beauty of these experiences is our ability to deliver the right piece of music for that exact moment in time, and maybe even connect you with your next favorite artist in the process,' Spotify explained. 'We're building on that innovation by harnessing the power of AI in an entirely new way.' The DJ uses OpenAI technology to sort through your latest music and old favourites, before combining these with songs it thinks you might enjoy. Your personalised mix is delivered by X, whose voice is based on Xavier 'X' Jernigan, Spotify's Head of Cultural Partnerships and one of the hosts on Spotify podcast, The Get Up. 'His personality and voice resonated with our listeners and resulted in a loyal following for the podcast,' Spotify explained. 'His voice is the first model for the DJ, and we'll continue to iterate and innovate, as we do with all our products.' Thankfully, if you're not enjoying the mix, you can tap the DJ button and it will change things up. 'The more you listen and tell the DJ what you like (and don't like!), the better its recommendations get,' Spotify added. The DJ uses OpenAI technology to sort through your latest music and old favourites, before combining these with songs it thinks you might enjoy Your personalised mix is delivered by X, whose voice is based on Spotify's Head of Cultural Partnerships, Xavier 'X' Jernigan The AI DJ is currently available for Spotify Premium users in the US and Canada, and it remains unclear when it will launch in the UK. If you're in the US or Canada, you can find the feature by heading to your Music Feed on Home in the Spotify mobile app. Tap Play on the DJ card and it will deliver your personalised mix. Since its launch yesterday, the AI DJ has garnered huge attention from impressed fans on Twitter. One tweeted: 'The Spotify DJ AI-powered feature is a game changer.' Another added: 'The AI generated voice is incredible, love it when it adds in extra details about the artist, new releases.' And one joked: 'Can I let the AI know when I break up with a girl so it squeezes in enough sad songs into the list?' As if Meta hadn't irritated its users enough by introducing a paid subscription service just like Twitter, it now appears to be copying another one of its rivals. Engineers are reportedly testing a feature for Facebook Messenger that asks members of a group chat to quickly send photos via their front and back cameras. This is reminiscent of the app BeReal, which prompts users to take an unfiltered picture every day using both cameras simultaneously. Details about the new feature, called 'Roll Call', were leaked by social media industry analyst Matt Navarra on Twitter. It comes shortly after Instagram and TikTok both launched their own copycat BeReal features. Engineers are reportedly testing a feature for Facebook Messenger that asks members of a group chat to quickly send a photo via their front and back cameras. Details about the new feature, called 'Roll Call', were leaked by social media industry analyst Matt Navarra on Twitter It is reminiscent of the app BeReal, which prompts users to take an unfiltered picture every day using both cameras simultaneously With the feature, Facebook Messenger users can create and send custom prompts, such as 'show me your lunch', to a group chat they are in. What is BeReal? BeReal was created by Alexis Barreyat, a developer based in Paris. The premise is simple - everyday at a different time, users are notified to capture and share a photo in two minutes. Users must use the in-app camera, which simultaneously snaps a photo with the front and rear facing cameras. Like other social media apps, you can follow friends and see their photos in your main feed. Alternatively, you can search through a Discovery page, where you can explore photos taken by users you do not follow. If you miss the two minute window, you can post late, but can't see your friends' photos until you post your own. Advertisement All members then have five minutes to respond to the prompt with their own 'in the moment' set of images or videos, and a countdown clock is added to the thread. Only those who respond to the prompt can view others' responses, but members are able to unsend their responses if they aren't happy with them. The Roll Call prompt itself can be completely deleted too if everyone involved unsends their responses. A description of the feature describes it as a 'fun, pay to play experience', suggesting that it will cost users money to add it to Facebook Messenger. It reads: 'Roll Call helps people share authentic moments with friends and family in Messenger group chats, initially supporting photos and videos'. This is a similar premise to BeReal, a photo-sharing app that shot to the top of the UK and US app charts last May, quickly becoming a fierce rival of Instagram and Snapchat. Those who have the app downloaded receive a daily notification, which gives them just two minutes to take a selfie and photo of what is in front of them. This goes out to all users worldwide at the same time, and appears to be where it differs from Meta's Roll Call, which is tailored to specific, private group chats. Like other social media apps, BeReal users can follow friends and see their photos in the main feed, or search through a Discovery page to see photos taken by those they do not follow. Facebook Messenger users can create and send custom prompts, such as 'show me your lunch', to a group chat they are in. All members then have five minutes to respond to the prompt with their own 'in the moment' set of images or video A description of the feature describes it as a 'fun, pay to play experience', suggesting that it will cost users money to add it to Facebook Messenger Meta is the parent company of Instagram and Facebook. Rumours that Meta was developing a BeReal copycat feature for Instagram started swirling in August last year (stock image) However, rivals Instagram and Snapchat are known to be crammed full of heavily edited photos showing people with seemingly smooth skin and perfect figures. The lack of filters available on BeReal, plus the fact it does not allow users to endlessly retake their photos to catch their best angle, is what makes it unique. A BeReal spokesperson told MailOnline: 'It is a place where real life is captured, free from the need to create, cultivate and amass influence. 'By not focusing on followers, likes and filters, BeReal connects users with spontaneity and authenticity.' Meta spokesperson Liz Sweeney has said that, for now, Roll Call for Facebook Messenger is an 'an internal prototype, and not testing externally', according to The Verge. The lack of filters available on BeReal, plus the fact it does not allow users to endlessly retake their photos to catch their best angle, is what makes it unique The 'IG Candid Challenges' feature was spotted by developer Alessandro Paluzzi last year But rumours that Meta was developing a copycat feature for Instagram, named 'IG Candid Challenges', started swirling in August last year. Screenshots were leaked on Twitter by developer Alessandro Paluzzi, which read: 'Join IG Candid Challenges. Add other's IG Candid to your story tray. And everyday at a different time, get a notification to capture and share a Photo in 2 Minutes.' This came just after Instagram added its 'Dual' camera feature, which allows users to take a photo or video with both their phone's front and back cameras simultaneously for a Story. In response to the tweet, Meta spokeswoman Christine Pai said that IG Candid is an 'internal prototype' and is not being tested externally yet. Then, in December, Mr Paluzzi tweeted a few screenshots of the Roll Call feature on Instagram group chats, as well as a variation called 'Glimpse' . Pressing the button for Glimpse, which appears next to Stories, allows the user to take simultaneous front and back-facing photos. Then, in December, Mr Paluzzi tweeted a few screenshots of the Roll Call feature on Instagram group chats. Content sent in response to this prompt is also deleted after 24 hours Pressing the button for Glimpse, which appears next to Stories, allows the user to take simultaneous front and back-facing photos. These are then added to the user's Glimpse story, and can only be viewed by followers who have uploaded their own too These are then added to the user's Glimpse story, and can only be viewed by followers who have uploaded their own too. Content sent in response to the Instagram version of 'Roll Call' is also deleted after 24 hours. Meta isn't the only one getting a slice of the BeReal action as, in September, TikTok rolled out its own copycat feature 'TikTok Now'. This sends users a daily prompt to capture a 10-second video or a static photo using their phone's front and rear cameras within three minutes. Several disgruntled BeReal fans were quick to point out the similarities between the two features. One user tweeted: 'TikTok launches its BeReal clone "TikTok Now". You either die an innovator or live long enough to see yourself become the copycat.' And one joked: 'The moment we were able to take pictures of ourselves was the moment civilization started to fall.' Meta isn't the only one getting a slice of the BeReal action as, in September, TikTok rolled out its own copycat feature ' TikTok Now' It is best known for having a population of just four people and potentially being the final resting place of the legendary King Arthur. But now Ynys Enlli, or Bardsey Island, has a new claim to fame the tiny remote Welsh island officially has one of the best night skies in the world. It is the first site in Europe to be awarded International Dark Sky Sanctuary (IDSS) certification and joins 16 others worldwide recognised as the most remote and dark places on Earth. The trust which owns Ynys Enlli home to just a handful of residents but no electric grid, cars or indoor toilets said gaining such 'prestigious status' was a 'huge achievement'. Known as 'the island of 20,000 saints' because of its supposed number of graves and the Celtic and Christian monasteries established there since the 6th Century, evidence suggests Bardsey was inhabited from as early as the Bronze Age. Starry night: Ynys Enlli, or Bardsey Island, off the coast of north Wales, is the first site in Europe to be awarded International Dark Sky Sanctuary certification and joins 16 others worldwide Remote: The trust which owns Ynys Enlli home to just a handful of residents but no electric grid, cars or indoor toilets said gaining such 'prestigious status' was a 'huge achievement' By the early Middle Ages, the island was one of the holiest places in Britain, while some even believe it to be the final resting place of the legendary King Arthur. There are two key factors which make Ynys Enlli one of the darkest places in the UK. WHAT IS DARK SKY SANCTUARY CERTIFICATION? The International Dark Sky Places certification process is similar to other conservation and environmental designation programs, such as the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. There are several different categories, including dark sky parks, communities, reserves, sanctuaries, and urban night sky places. Each category has its own set of guidelines based on land management, size, and sky quality. Dark sky sanctuaries have to be public or private land, accessible to the public in part or whole, and must provide an exceptional view where the night sky brightness is routinely equal to or darker than 21.5 magnitudes per square arc second. The International Dark-Sky Association does not select the sites, they are normally nominated by a small group of individuals who organise to seek formal protection of their nightscape. Advertisement First is its location two miles off the tip of the Llyn Peninsula in north Wales and the second is its geographical features. The island's mountain acts like a barrier to limit light from the mainland, which means the most significant light pollution comes from Dublin, over 70 miles (112.6 km) across the Irish Sea. Sian Stacey, chair of the Bardsey Island Trust, said: 'There's no doubt that achieving this prestigious status for Ynys Enlli will raise the profile of the island as a unique place in Wales and amongst the best in the world to appreciate the night sky. 'We hope it will also go a long way in securing the long-term sustainability of the island.' Wales already has several Dark Sky places and reserves, but sites designated as sanctuaries are much rarer and have stricter criteria in terms of the quality of the night sky. The population of Ynys Enlli has fluctuated over the centuries but today it is home to a small community of residents who work the land and fish from the island. There are also 10 holiday cottages, with visitors allowed between March and October. The tiny community is accessible only by boat from a small fishing village on the mainland, but centuries ago, the scrap of land was one of the most significant religious sites in Britain. The 1.5 mile-long island was a Christian pilgrimage site in the Middle Ages when three visits to Bardsey were said to equal one to Rome. Mari Huws is one of the Wardens on Ynys Enlli and has been part of the lengthy certification process. 'Living here, I am always in awe of the island's beauty and the night sky is very much a part of that,' she said. 'Having secured the certification, we look forward to welcoming visitors here over the coming months and years and sharing with them our unique story. Tight-knit: The population of Ynys Enlli has fluctuated over the centuries but today it is home to a small community of residents who work the land and fish from the island Rich history: Ynys Enlli is said to have become an important religious hub in the 6th century. Bardsey Lighthouse is pictured Where is it? The 1.5 mile-long island was a Christian pilgrimage site in the Middle Ages - when three visits to Bardsey were said to equal one to Rome THE 16 DARK SKY SANCTUARY SITES !Ae!Hai Kalahari Heritage Park (South Africa) Aotea / Great Barrier Island (New Zealand) Black Gap Wildlife Management Area, Texas (US) Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota (US) Cosmic Campground, New Mexico (US) Devils River State Natural Area - Del Norte Unit, Texas (US) Gabriela Mistral (Chile) Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Maine (US) Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge, Montana (US) Massacre Rim Wilderness Study Area, Nevada (US) Medicine Rocks State Park, Montana (US) Niue Pitcairn Islands Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Utah (US) Stewart Island / Rakiura (New Zealand) The Jump-Up (Australia) Ynys Enlli - Bardsey Island (Wales) Advertisement 'We knew we lived in a special place, this new status confirms this, with IDSS putting Enlli firmly on the global stage. 'In a world that's increasingly being polluted, it's a privilege to be able to work towards protecting something that is pristine for future generations.' It took the trust four years to receive its rare certification, which was confirmed with the help of monitoring of the island's night sky to show that it was sufficiently dark. 'We are delighted to welcome Ynys Ellis to the growing community of dark sky places worldwide,' said Ruskin Hartley, executive director of the International Dark-Sky Association. 'With it, Wales is fast becoming one of the leading nations in protecting dark skies as a precious resource that benefits people and wildlife.' Ynys Enlli is said to have become an important religious hub in the 6th century when Einon, the King of Llyn, invited the Breton St Cadfan to Bardsey. Together, they built St Mary's Abbey where a community of 2,500 monks lived throughout the 7th century. It is believed many of them indicated they wanted to be buried on Bardsey, which is perhaps the reason the land is known in folklore as the 'island of 20,000 saints.' This tale is honoured in a chapel graveyard, where an inscription reads: 'Respect the remains of 20,000 saints buried near this spot.' It may seem a stretch that such a huge population is hidden beneath an island just 1.5 miles long, but locals believe you can dig anywhere on Bardsey and find a body. In fact, in an excavation near to the modern-day chapel in the 1990s, archeologists unearthed 25 medieval graves. St Mary's Abbey flourished until 1537 when it was destroyed by Henry VIII in his Dissolution of the Lesser Monasteries. Legend has it: By the early Middle Ages, the island was one of the holiest places in Britain, while some even believe it to be the final resting place of the legendary King Arthur (depicted) Teenagers who cut their social media use in half see improvements in body image in just a month, a study suggests. Young people in the UK spend hours every day looking at screens much of it scrolling through the likes of Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat. Now, researchers have found slashing the amount of time spent on social media can improve how they feel about both their weight and the way that they look. A team from the Eastern Ontario Research Institute conducted a study with 220 teenagers and young adults who spent at least two hours per day on their phones. The cohort, aged between 17 and 25, also had symptoms of depression or anxiety. Teenagers who cut their social media use in half see improvements in body image in just a month, a study suggests (stock image) Participants were asked to respond to a series of statements about their overall appearance and weight, and then completed a similar questionnaire at the end of the experiment. What age SHOULD you give your child their first phone? Experts weigh in - READ MORE As a result of their widespread usage, many experts have weighed in on when they think children should be given their first smartphone (stock image) Advertisement During the first week of the study, participants were told to use their social media as they normally would. Then, half were instructed to try and reduce their social media use to no more than 60 minutes a day. For the next three weeks, those who were instructed to restrict their social media use reduced it by approximately 50 per cent to an average of 78 minutes a day. Meanwhile the control group, who were told to use it as normal, averaged over three hours a day online. Analysis, published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media, revealed those who reduced their time on social media had a 'significant improvement' in how they regarded both their overall appearance and body weight. The control group, however, recorded no significant change. Lead author Gary Goldfield said: 'Adolescence is a vulnerable period for the development of body image issues, eating disorders and mental illness. 'Youth are spending, on average, between six to eight hours per day on screens, much of it on social media. 'Social media can expose users to hundreds or even thousands of images and photos every day, including those of celebrities and fashion or fitness models, which we know leads to an internalization of beauty ideals that are unattainable for almost everyone, resulting in greater dissatisfaction with body weight and shape.' The researchers said reducing social media use could be a way to produce a short-term positive effect on body image among vulnerable young people. 'Our brief, four-week intervention using screentime trackers showed that reducing social media use yielded significant improvements in appearance and weight esteem in distressed youth with heavy social media use,' Dr Goldfield added. Up above, a mona monkey clatters in a treetop in search of small yellow fruit (nicknamed monkey apples). A mongoose scuttles across the path. A hummingbird with a shiny green head and a curious hooked beak flickers by. That was a rufous-breasted hermit, says my guide Simon Green, fount of all knowledge on Grenadian wildlife. Extremely rare. You dont see them in the lowlands. We are almost at the top of Mount St Catherine, Grenadas highest mountain (2,757ft), an active but safe volcano, without a soul in sight and nature is coming out to play. Earlier, down on Grand Anse Beach, tourists and locals alike had been taking their constitutionals before breakfast, enjoying the soft sand and rising sun. But mine is a different kind of walk altogether, more of a clamber in places as the rocky path rises beneath the jungles canopy. Most people visiting the Caribbean stick to its gentle waters, but a growing number of eco-tourist initiatives have sprung up, many offering guided walks into the more remote corners of the interiors of some of our favourite holiday islands. Idyllic: After a morning spent on Grand Anse Beach (pictured), Tom Chesshyre explores the wild side of Grenada, hiking through the island's interior Tom hikes up Mount St Catherine (pictured in the background), Grenadas highest mountain at 2,757ft Simon Greens Hidden Treasures Hikes in Grenada is one of the best. The journey up and down Mount St Catherine takes about five hours and covers around seven miles. You start at a farm with pigs, goats and chickens as well as all sorts of fruit and veg, plus cinnamon and nutmeg, of course. Grenada is, after all, known as the Spice Isle. Along the way as the trail rises, Simon stops to pick fruit from wild plants, which is how I get to try wax apples (a delicious crunchy fruit with a rose/apple taste), mammy apples (a bit like peaches) and succulent guava. Clumps of bamboo occupy the lower reaches as well as aromatic frankincense trees, huge hardwood trees and long dangling vines (as though Tarzan lives near by). It has not always been so green and gorgeous in these parts. After Hurricane Ivan in 2004 all the vegetation was gone, says Simon. Just a few trunks remained. It was heartbreaking. But this rare event Grenada is below the usual hurricane belt, hence being a favoured mooring place of yachts was soon righted as plants grew back. The resilience of nature is amazing, he says. So are the views from the summit of Mount St Catherine, with the whole island (21 miles long and 15 miles wide) spread out below and its sister islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique in the distance. The landscape around Mount St Catherine, seen from the coast. The journey up and down the peak takes about five hours and covers around seven miles. Picture courtesy of Creative Commons A hummingbird with a curious hooked beak flickers past during Tom's hike (file photo) Tom sees tourists and locals 'enjoying the soft sand and rising sun' on Grand Anse Beach (above) Tom stays at Mount Cinnamon hotel (pictured) on Grand Anse beach TRAVEL FACTS Nine nights at Mount Cinnamon hotel on Grand Anse beach from 2,602 pp B&B with flights (virginholidays.co.uk). For more information, visit puregrenada.com. Mount St Catherine hikes from 150 pp based on two sharing, or 75 pp based on four sharing (001 473 459 1582). Advertisement To see Grenada from such a height is to realise what a truly remarkable place it is. It is about the same size as Barbados but with 50 per cent fewer people. Its interior is lush and hilly, with deep valleys that lend themselves perfectly to waterfalls, where local lads are only too happy to put on a daring diving show. And theres history, too, of course. The American invasion of Grenada in 1983 or liberation remains a vital component in understanding the former British colony. You can even see the outline of Union Island in the neighbouring nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the distance. On the way down, we stop to drink fresh water from a spring much of the islands bottled water comes from this south-western corner of Grenada. Then we pause again for a Carib beer in the charming little town of Victoria by the coast. By then we felt wed earned it. Qantas has unveiled prototypes of the lavish first and business cabins on the aircraft that will fly passengers non-stop from Sydney to New York and London from late 2025. A virtual reality fly-through of the aircraft cabin has also been revealed. The cabins, reveals Qantas, have been designed by Australian studio Caon Design, plus sleep scientists from the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre. The non-stop flight program dubbed 'Project Sunrise' will use a fleet of 12 Airbus A350-1000s that will 'overcome the tyranny of distance', with passengers on the flights which will take around 20 hours - enjoying cabins with 'the most sophisticated and thoughtful design of any airline'. Key to the cabin design, says Qantas, is giving passengers more space, by configuring the A350s to seat 238 passengers compared to the 300-plus seat layout featured by other carriers. Qantas has unveiled prototypes of the lavish first (above) and business cabins on the aircraft that will fly passengers non-stop from Sydney to New York and London from late 2025 The first-class suite (above), 'has a range of features to make customers feel like they are in a mini boutique hotel room' First-class seats will have an extra-wide fixed bed, separate recliner chair, personal wardrobe, dining table for two and a 32-in ultra-high-definition TV' The Qantas A350 will have six first suites in a 1-1-1 configuration and 52 business suites in a 1-2-1 configuration, with direct aisle access for all. Qantas says that the first-class suite 'has a range of features to make customers feel like they are in a mini boutique hotel room complete with an extra-wide fixed bed, separate recliner chair, personal wardrobe, dining table for two and a 32-in ultra-high-definition TV'. Business-class passengers, meanwhile, will have seats with privacy doors, two-metre (6ft 5in) lie-flat beds, 'generous' storage including a large mirror cushioned leather ottomans, 18in high-definition touch-screen TVs, large dining tables and 'feature lighting'. Qantas adds that both classes will offer 'multiple personal device charging options including wireless induction charging'. Additionally, 'fast and free' high-speed Wi-Fi will be offered throughout the aircraft, along with Bluetooth connectivity. It will also feature a 'wellbeing zone' for all passengers. Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the investment in new A350 aircraft and approach to cabin design continues Qantas' 100-year history of aviation 'firsts'. He said: 'Qantas has been the leader in opening up new long-haul flights for most of our history, and we're bringing everything we've learned, both technically and in terms of passenger comfort, to Project Sunrise flying. Business-class passengers will have seats (above) with privacy doors, two-metre (6ft 5in) lie-flat beds and 'generous' storage The Qantas A350 will have six first suites in a 1-1-1 configuration and 52 business suites (above) in a 1-2-1 configuration, with direct aisle access for all 'We think our A350 cabins have the most sophisticated and thoughtful design of any airline, combining cutting-edge technology with sleep research to shape the look and feel for what is effectively a new era of travel. 'We're building on the customer experience of our extremely popular non-stop flights from Perth to London as we keep working to make it easier to connect Australia with the rest of the world.' Australian designer David Caon said every possible opportunity has been seized upon to promote wellbeing and comfort in the first and business suites. He said: 'We began designing this aircraft cabin five years ago, working with Airbus and Qantas to maximise space, as well as creating a tailored lighting program that will influence mood and sleep patterns. 'All the design and service elements will work together to significantly improve inflight comfort, convenience and health and wellbeing and help minimise the old nemesis of jetlag. 'Every element has been created for Qantas, from the reading light right down to the fabrics, to ensure that passengers spend their journey in refined comfort. 'There are also a number of storage design elements to keep personal items within arm's reach so the space can be personalised by each individual passenger to feel just like they are in their own bed at home.' A cut-away of the A350-1000 that will fly for around 20 hours non-stop between Sydney, New York and London In 2019 Qantas carried out three research flights using 'human guinea pigs' to test the impact of the ultra-long-haul routes on passengers and crew. The first non-stop test flight operated between New York and Sydney, carrying 49 passengers and crew. The second flight ran from London Heathrow to Sydney, carrying a similar number of people. A third test flight was conducted between New York and Sydney. Researchers from the University of Sydney's Charles Perkins Centre and the Cooperative Research Centre for Alertness, Safety and Productivity (Alertness CRC) were onboard all three flights, collecting data concerning the health and well being of passengers. Qantas currently uses Boeing Dreamliners for non-stop flights between London Heathrow and Perth, a distance of 14,498km (9,008 miles). London to Sydney is a distance of 16,983km (10,553 miles) and New York to Sydney is 15,979km (9,929 miles). READ MORE: Cabin crew reveal the six things they hate most about their job A Guinness World Record for the longest kiss underwater has been broken by a freediving couple who wanted to 'inspire others to fall in love' with the ocean. The four minutes and six seconds smooch between 40-year-old Beth Neale, from South Africa, and her 33-year-old fiance Miles Cloutier, from Canada, was achieved in an infinity pool at the Lux South Ari Atoll resort in the Maldives earlier this month. The previous record of three minutes 24 seconds, which was held by Michele Fucarino and Elisa Lazzaina, was broken after 13 years. The record-breaking pair met five years ago through their love of ocean conservation, with Neale teaching on this topic, as well as freediving, and Cloutier volunteering for the programme. Neale said that she wanted to take on the challenge to 'inspire others' to share the couple's love of all things underwater. A Guinness World Record for the longest kiss underwater has been broken by Beth Neale, from South Africa, and her fiance Miles Cloutier, from Canada The pair's four minutes and six seconds smooch beat the previous record of three minutes 24 seconds 'You protect what you love and the oceans need all the love we can give to safeguard them for future generations to come,' Neale said. After a few weeks of training for the kiss, the duo travelled to the Maldives with their one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Neve for the attempt and took part in practice sessions in the open sea for three days. Beth told Guinness World Records: 'Three days before the record I could just not hold my breath.' Miles added: 'We couldnt even reach the existing record we werent even close.' Despite Neale being a four-time freediving champion and Cloutier an experienced freediver, they referred to the attempt as being 'incredibly challenging'. Their attempt began with two trial underwater kisses of two and three minutes in length, before they aimed for the record-breaking smooch. 'We had to be completely relaxed and confident, even when our bodies were experiencing something else,' Cloutier said. The couple say they wanted to 'inspire others to fall in love' with the ocean The record-breaking pair met five years ago through their love of ocean conservation A Guinness World Records official said that the pair's 'incredible underwater feat leaves me breathless' At around three minutes, Eminem fan Neale who has regularly gone viral on Instagram for lip-syncing to the rapper underwater put on his hit Lose Yourself to get through the final minute. Craig Glenday, editor in chief of Guinness World Records (GWR), said: 'Beth and Miles' incredible underwater feat leaves me breathless. 'What an incredible testament to love an epic achievement helping to celebrate and protect our beautiful oceans. 'Congratulations to the happy couple you are both "Officially Amazing".' The pair were given an official GWR certificate by adjudicator Swapnil Dangarikar and cheered on by holidaymakers. Bianca Gascoigne has welcomed a baby girl with her partner Arron Wright. The former Celebrity Big Brother star, 36, took to Instagram on Thursday to share the happy news, posting a reel documenting her newborn's arrival at The Portland Hospital in London. Captioning the post, Bianca wrote: '20/02/23 You are perfect Baby B.' The reel showed Bianca in the midst of her labour in the hospital, along with a glimpse of her lavish birthing suite. She then included several snaps taken moments after her daughter was born, showing her newborn nestled in a cot and wrapped in a pink blanket, and a glimpse of her brother Regan holding his niece for the first time. She's here! Bianca Gascoigne has welcomed her first child, a daughter, with her partner Arron Wright, taking to Instagram to share the news on Thursday The baby is here! The Celebrity Big Brother star posted a reel documenting her newborn's arrival at The Portland Hospital in London Adorable! She then included several snaps taken moments after her daughter was born, showing her newborn nestled in a cot and wrapped in a pink blanket Bianca first shared that she was expecting her first child with Arron back in August, posting a hilarious snap with her boyfriend that recreated the poster for the romantic comedy Knocked Up. It comes after Bianca shared with fans a picture of her 'basic' nursery in January, saying she thought it looked 'basic' as she had 'left it so last minute'. Showing off the white bedroom set and grey carpeting in the room, she told fans: 'We finally have baby furniture. I've left it so last minute. Obviously she's coming next month but I'm really impressed.' 'Obviously that's the wardrobe and that's the chest drawers. I've actually got to move that so changing has got to be a bit more easy access.' She added at the time: 'There's the cot and yeah I know it's so basic at the moment but it will all come together and my mum was like you know, saying I've left everything last minute as per usual, but we will get there.' She finished: 'Still so much work to do! Can't wait to see the room when it's all done. We need to get our skates on.' It comes after Bianca revealed she was suffering from antenatal depression and has been finding her pregnancy 'a little bit scary'. The daughter of Paul and Sheryl Gascoigne told her fans what she has been doing to help her through her pregnancy. Do you want to meet her? Bianca also posted a video of her brother Regan holding his baby niece for the first time Expecting: Bianca first shared that she was pregnant with her first child with Arron in August She said that all she can pray for is that her unborn baby is healthy as she admitted her worries over the 'unknown'. Bianca, who announced her pregnancy in August, shared the update alongside a bikini snap of her bump from her trip to Tenerife. She said: 'New Year and definitely gonna be a new me! Still can't believe I'm going to be a Mummy next month! She added: 'Finding everything a little bit scary as I'm sure most new parents feel! It's the unknown isn't it. All you can pray for is the baby is healthy and everything will to fall into place.' In a further post, Bianca added: 'Had my first Reading of the Year with my real life angel @theangelic.medium It's the best way to start the new year! Her guidance is magical. Revealing her battle with depression, Bianca said: 'Emma has massively helped me through my Antenatal Depression and everything she predicts always comes true!!! .. it's crazy scary. Her gift is unreal and extremely very lucky to have her in my life.' Candid: Bianca previously revealed she was suffering from antenatal depression and had been finding her pregnancy 'a little bit scary' Bianca received some supportive remarks from her pals in the comments section, including former Big Brother winner Kate Lawler who wrote 'beautiful'. Former TOWIE star Nicole Charbass, wrote: 'The best feeling. Not long now.' Bianca and Arron, who confirmed their romance in December 2021, have been friends for 14 years and announced they were expecting a baby in February 2023. The couple celebrated their one year anniversary on August 7 with a romantic trip to Paris. An extensive archive of David Bowie's life, work and legacy will go on display to the public for the first time in 2025, it was announced on Wednesday. Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V and A), the exhibition will include more than 80,000 items that span six decades of the cultural icon's career. They will be made available to the public through the creation of The David Bowie Centre for the Study of Performing Arts, which will open in Stratford's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It will allow fans and researchers alike to get up close and gain new insights into Bowie's creative process like never before, the V and A said. The collection will feature handwritten lyrics, letters, sheet music, original costumes, fashion, photography, film, music videos, set designs, album artwork and awards. Icon: An extensive archive of David Bowie's life will go on display to the public for the first time in 2025 (pictured: David wearing the striped bodysuit designed by Kansai Yamamoto for the 1973 Aladdin Sane tour which will be shown) Music star: Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V and A), the exhibition will include more than 80,000 items that span six decades of the cultural icon's career Well-known: The Union Jack coat designed by Bowie and Alexander McQueen for the 1997 Earthling album cover will be on display as part of the exhibition It will also include instruments owned by the world-famous musician, as well as writings and unrealised projects never before seen in public. Highlights include stage costumes such as Bowie's breakthrough Ziggy Stardust ensembles, designed by Freddie Burretti in 1972, Kansai Yamamoto's creations for the Aladdin Sane tour in 1973, and the Union Jack coat designed by Bowie and Alexander McQueen for the 1997 Earthling album cover. The archive also includes over 70,000 photographs, prints, negatives, slides and contact sheets taken by some of the 20th century's leading photographers from Terry O'Neill to Brian Duffy and Helmut Newton. Its acquisition by the V and A and the creation of the centre was made possible thanks to the David Bowie Estate and 10 million donation from the Blavatnik Family Foundation and Warner Music Group. Dr Tristram Hunt, director of the V and A, said: 'David Bowie was one of the greatest musicians and performers of all time. 'The V and A is thrilled to become custodians of his incredible archive, and to be able to open it up for the public. 'Bowie's radical innovations across music, theatre, film, fashion, and style - from Berlin to Tokyo to London - continue to influence design and visual culture and inspire creatives from Janelle Monae to Lady Gaga to Tilda Swinton and Raf Simons. 'Our new collections centre, V&A East Storehouse, is the ideal place to put Bowie's work in dialogue with the V and A's collection spanning 5,000 years of art, design, and performance. 'My deepest thanks go to the David Bowie Estate, Blavatnik Family Foundation and Warner Music Group for helping make this a reality and for providing a new sourcebook for the Bowies of tomorrow.' Glimpse: As part of the archive the quilted two-piece suit, designed by Freddie Burretti in 1972 for the Ziggy Stardust tour will be on display In real life: David is pictured wearing the tow-piece suit while on stage with Mick Ronson in 1972 Museum: A 1978 self-portrait by David in the same pose adopted for the cover of the album Heroes will be on display Important details: Cut up lyrics for the song Blackout from David's 1977 album Heroes will be part of the archives on display On the stage: A photograph of David performing as the The Thin White Duke on the Station to Station Tour in 1976 will be on display A spokesperson from the David Bowie Estate, added: 'With David's life's work becoming part of the UK's national collections, he takes his rightful place amongst many other cultural icons and artistic geniuses. 'The David Bowie Centre for the Study of Performance - and the behind the scenes access that V and A East Storehouse offers - will mean David's work can be shared with the public in ways that haven't been possible before. 'We're so pleased to be working closely with the V and A to continue to commemorate David's enduring cultural influence.' David died from liver cancer in 2016 in New York. Bowie kept his liver cancer battle mostly private, and succumbed to the disease just days after turning 69 which coincided with the release of his 25th and final studio album Blackstar. Rep. Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. Newsis Lee Jae-myung insists innocence as lawmakers set to vote on arrest warrant By Jung Min-ho The embattled opposition leader, Lee Jae-myung, again denied all the corruption allegations facing him, Thursday, accusing President Yoon Suk Yeol of abusing his power to remove his political opponents, ahead of lawmakers' upcoming vote on his arrest warrant. A day after describing the president as a "gangster," Rep. Lee of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) claimed he had become a victim of the prosecution's "legal hunting" only because he lost in the presidential election. "It is a crime to abuse the power given to gain personal benefits, remove political opponents or consolidate power further," Lee said during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul. "The Yoon administration and the ruling party appear to have no interest in the lives of the ordinary people, economy or security but only in abusing their power to strengthen themselves further and extract benefits." Last week, the prosecution requested the court to issue an arrest warrant for the opposition leader, in an unprecedented scenario, over bribery allegations in connection with property developers and businesspeople during his term as the mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province from 2010 to 2018. Under the Constitution, lawmakers cannot be arrested or detained while the Assembly is in session without parliamentary consent. Lawmakers will vote on Lee's case on Feb. 27. Given the seat majority held by the DPK, his arrest is expected to be rejected. "What the Yoon administration wanted to show to the public was probably the images of Lee Jae-myung in handcuffs or waiting in the detention center before a court hearing on the arrest warrant," Lee said. "This violent rule of the prosecutor-dictator-like government may appear to be winning temporarily, but the people will not condone or forgive it." Asked whether he would resign, he rejected the possibility, saying that he was able to serve successfully as the Gyeonggi governor while he was going through a trial over accusations of crimes, all of which were cleared eventually. Lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) urged him to make his case at the court instead of hiding behind the prerogative while criticizing his party for helping him do so. "The easiest solution is to give up his immunity from arrest and attend the court hearing on the warrant," Rep. Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the PPP, told reporters earlier that day. "If it really was political persecution, it would certainly be disapproved If it starts off on the wrong foot, Lee and his party will fall into the abyss from which they won't be able to come out." DPK lawmakers have called for a united voice against what they say is political persecution. "The arrest warrant will be rightly denied by an overwhelming number of lawmakers," Rep. Kim Sung-whan said at a party meeting. Yet concerns have been growing within the party, which has seen its approval ratings falling in recent polls. According to a survey released Monday by pollster Realmeter, the DPK's support rate fell by 2.9 percentage points from a week earlier to 39.9 percent, while for the PPP it increased by 2.5 percentage points to 45 percent. Italian actress Monica Bellucci and film producer Tim Burton shared a passionate kiss after it was revealed they have been secretly dating for four months. The couple linked arms as they took a romantic walk on Valentine's Day before stopping to lock lips. Tim, 64, wrapped an arm around Monica, 58, as they complemented each other by wearing coordinating black coats. Monica added a few extra inches to her frame with a pair of black high heels and toted a matching black handbag. They first met 16 years ago but are said to have started dating after seeing one another at the Lumiere Film Festival in Lyon in October. Relationship: Italian actress Monica Bellucci and film producer Tim Burton shared a passionate kiss after it was revealed they have been secretly dating for four months Smooch: The couple linked arms as they took a romantic walk on Valentine's Day before stopping to lock lips Romance: Tim wrapped an arm around Monica, as they complemented each other by wearing coordinating black coats Monica, 58, who was an honorary guest at the festival- presented Tim, 64, with the Lumiere lifetime achievement award on stage around the time they went official. As he was handed the prize, Tim said: 'All my life put together, I have never felt so much love as tonight. Welcome to the best funeral I ever had!' The pair were also seen heading in to watch the re-production of Silent Documentary Film, directed in 1895 by late French filmmaker Louis Lumiere. Paris Match writes that Monica and Tim 'briefly met on the steps of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes in 2006, but it was only sixteen years later, behind the scenes of another festival, that they got closer.' MailOnline has contacted reps for both Tim Burton and Monica Bellucci for more information. Monica has been single since she split from artist Nicolas Lefebvre in 2019. She was previously married to Vincent Cassel from 1997-2013. The former model met Cassel in 1996 on the set of Gilles Mimounis film lAppartement. They have two daughters, Deva, who was born in 2004, and Leonie, who entered the world in 2010. They were together for three years before marrying in a quiet ceremony in Monaco, on the French Riviera. Monica spoke about love in an interview with Paris Match back in 2011 when she was still married to Cassel, admitting there is 'no rationality' for her when it comes to relationships. She said: 'I am carried by the moment and instinct. No rationality, only emotions. You love or you don't.' 'You don't decide sitting around a table: OK, so I have two kids, 16 years of life as a couple, that would be nice if it lasts, but how I am going to make it work? Stylish: Monica added a few extra inches to her frame with a pair of black high heels and toted a matching black handbag Loved-up: They strode along the street hand-in-hand Smitten: They first met 16 years ago but are said to have started dating after seeing one another at the Lumiere Film Festival in Lyon in October Presenter: Monica, 58, who was an honorary guest at the festival- presented Tim, 64, with the Lumiere lifetime achievement award on stage around the time they went official As he was handed the prize, Tim said: 'All my life put together, I have never felt so much love as tonight. Welcome to the best funeral I ever had!' Spotted: The pair were also seen heading in to watch the re-production of Silent Documentary Film, directed in 1895 by late French filmmaker Louis Lumiere Reconnected: Paris Match writes that Monica and Tim 'briefly met on the steps of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes in 2006, but it was only sixteen years later, behind the scenes of another festival, that they got closer' Candid: Monica spoke about love in an interview with Paris Match back in 2011 when she was still married to Cassel, admitting there is 'no rationality' for her when it comes to relationships She said: ' I am carried by the moment and instinct. No rationality, only emotions. You love or you don't.' She said: 'You don't decide sitting around a table: OK, so I have two kids, 16 years of life as a couple, that would be nice if it lasts, but how I am going to make it work?' 'I don't think at all that a couple is something "you work out", as we say.' Tim was famously in a relationship with The Crown actress Helena Bonham Carter, 56. but they sadly split in 2014. The pair were never married, but were together for 13 years and share two children; son Billy, 20, and daughter Nell, 16. Helena spoke about the split with Harper's Bazaar magazine in 2016. She said: 'You go through massive grief - it is a death of a relationship, so its utterly bewildering. Your identity, everything, changes.' 'Just saying: "I'm not myself at the moment, so be careful. Everyone always says you have to be strong and have a stiff upper lip, but its okay to be fragile.' Helena and Tim got together in 2001 after he cast her as an ape in Planet Of The Apes. They famously lived in inter-connecting houses during their relationship, with each property decorated to their own his 'n' hers tastes and personal styles. Now in a relationship with writer Rye Dag Holmboe, 34, Helena told Daily Mail's Richard Eden in 2022 she felt 'very lucky' to have met him. She said she had made the step of choosing to share a home with her academic boyfriend, even adding to their domestic bliss by adopting house rabbits. The couple met at a wedding in 2018. All change: Helena Bonham Carter and long-term partner Tim Burton split in late 2014 after 13 years together (pictured in 2012) Past love: Monica was previously married to Vincent Cassel from 1997-2013 (pictured together in 2008 ) Ready to party: Monica has been single since she split from artist Nicolas Lefebvre in 2019 (pictured together that year) Explaining how they met, she told The Guardian: 'A totally random thing, which both of us nearly didn't go to, so it was one of those moments that was so chance and ended up determining so much. A really happy accident, and it's an amazing thing.' Addressing the couple's 22-year age gap, the actress previously said in an interview with The Times: 'Everybody ages at a different rate. My boyfriend is unbelievably mature. He's an old soul in a young body, what more could I want? 'People are slightly frightened of older women, but he isn't. Women can be very powerful when they're older.' She wed the conductor in 1986. And in a new interview, Joanna Lumley, 76, has insisted that she wouldn't be married if she hadn't met her second husband Stephen Barlow, 67. The Absolutely Fabulous star spoke to Good Housekeeping about her marriage, and men in general, as she defied her years on the cover of its April edition. Joanna told the magazine of meeting her husband at 31: 'The truth is, if I wasn't married to Stevie, I wouldn't be married. I've always loved men, but I never thought: ''Oh, I want to settle down''. It simply didn't cross my mind.' She added: 'But there was something different about him; I was drawn to his whole mindset and his knowledge of music.' Candid: While gracing the cover of Good Housekeeping, Joanna Lumley, 76, insisted to the publication that she wouldn't be married if she hadn't met second husband Stephen Barlow, 67 Stunning: The Absolutely Fabulous star spoke about her marriage, and men in general, as she defied her years on the cover of its April edition Throwback: 'If I wasn't married to Stevie, I wouldn't be married. I've always loved men, but I never thought: ''Oh, I want to settle down'',' admitted Joanna (Pictured together in 1993) Joanna shares her only child, son Jamie Lumley, 55, with photographer Michael Claydon, who she remains friends with. She married her first husband, scriptwriter Jeremy Lloyd, in 1970, but the pair divorced after a year. The much-loved actress married her second - and current - husband Stephen in 1896, and they remain as happy as ever. Joanna's son Jamie is now living in Scotland with his writer wife and their two daughters. Joanna looked sensational for her Good Housekeeping cover shoot, switching between two stylish ensembles; a sleek white trouser suit and a colour-pop outfit. The activist wore her white jacket and trousers with a pair of box-fresh trainers and a red top. Joanna then switched into the eye-catching orange blazer, which she teamed with a crisp white shirt and baby pink trousers. Her natural beauty was enhanced with a stunning bronzed smokey eye and deep orange lipstick, while her coiffed platinum tresses perfectly framed her face. Love: 'But there was something different about him; I was drawn to his whole mindset and his knowledge of music,' gushed Joanna of her husband (pictured together in 2016) Gorgeous: Joanna looked sensational for her Good Housekeeping cover shoot, switching between two stylish ensembles; a sleek white trouser suit and a colour-pop outfit On recently launching a podcast 'Joanna & The Maestro' with her husband, Stephen, Joanna explained: 'It was sort of born out of one of our evening rituals. 'Every night, I have a bath and listen to Classic FM while [my husband] Stevie is in the bedroom reading. During my bath, I'll shout out questions about the music, such as: ''How old was Tchaikovsky when he wrote this?'' 'Without fail, Stevie, who's a musical genius, patiently puts his book down and answers me. So the podcast is me in conversation with him, asking all the silly questions that somebody like me has. He plays a few renditions on the piano, too.' Speaking about receiving her Damehood, the iconic actress revealed: 'I was met by Princess Anne [at the ceremony], but sadly I was so overwhelmed with emotion that I could barely speak. 'I apologised and she said: ''Don't worry, you have a lovely brim on your hat.'' She kept on talking before I curtseyed and went out into the Picture Gallery. Stevie was there waiting and I just burst into tears.' Joanna has just travelled the Spice Route, having trekked across the Banda Islands, Zanzibar and Madagascar for a new series coming out later this year. She said of her experience: 'You can have an adventure at any age. I'm not saying everyone should go and do a 14-day trek up some very steep mountains. 'But, if you're like me and you're scared of something, be brave. Chances are, you'll come back and say: ''Well, wasn't that something?'' Out now! Read the full interview with Joanna Lumley in the April 2023 issue of Good Housekeeping, on sale now The actress also admitted that she 'doesn't do' stress anymore, as she revealed what she's learned from burnout. She said: 'I will never, ever misread anything so badly again in my life. So now, if I'm tired, I will make sure to put my head down and go to sleep. 'If there's something completely awful happening, I deal with it head-on or I let it go. I don't do stress any more; I won't let myself go there.' Read the full interview with Joanna Lumley in the April 2023 issue of Good Housekeeping, on sale now. Edwina Bartholomew has listed her stunning heritage home in Sydney's inner west. After renovating the property in 2019, the Sunrise presenter has decided to put the period brick house on the market with a buyer's guide of $2million. Bartholomew, 39, purchased the home with her husband Neil Varcoe in 2017 for $1.59million, before renovating ahead of giving birth to their daughter Molly, now three. The stunning property features its original floors, a spiral staircase and even a 'secret door' which leads into the family's powder room. According to The Design Files, the three-bedroom home in Dulwich Hill 'is one of the oldest original houses' in the suburb. Edwina Bartholomew has listed her stunning heritage home in Sydney's inner west. After renovating the property in 2019, the Sunrise presenter has decided to put the period brick house on the market with a buyer's guide of $2million Bartholomew, 39, purchased the home with her husband Neil Varcoe in 2017 for $1.59million, before renovating ahead of giving birth to their daughter Molly Bartholomew and her writer husband Varcoe teamed up with architect and interior designer Felicity Slattery, from Studio Esteta, and builders Wynn Build for the project. Despite previously promoting both companies on Instagram, she stated there were 'no freebies' and she is just grateful for the team's hard work. Their initial plan was to simply 'update' the home while sticking to its heritage flair, but they ended up 'reconstructing the whole house'. Bartholomew and her writer husband Varcoe teamed up with architect and interior designer Felicity Slattery, from Studio Esteta, and builders Wynn Build for the project. Pictured: Dining room (after) Pictured: Dining room (before) 'We didn't change too much with the floorplan but completely overhauled the interiors, from sanding the floor back, to creating a dramatic dark blue study and library at the front of the house,' Bartholomew told The Design Files. Other upgrades to the home include a marble fireplace and bespoke drop lights in the dining room, a marble kitchen and a glasshouse-style terrace. Bartholomew have listed the property to focus on renovating their 1890s farmhouse, named 'Warramba', in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales. Their initial plan was to simply 'update' the home while sticking to its heritage flair, but they ended up 'reconstructing the whole house'. Pictured: Kitchen (after) Pictured: Kitchen (before) Located on 100 acres of land in Glen Alice, the three-bedroom country property boasts private hillside views. Bartholomew went on to say that she's sad to say goodbye to their 'friendly neighbours' and the home's 'clever storage'. 'I've loved sitting in the study at the front reading a book with the big bay window, or playing up on the terrace with the kids,' she told the outlet. Other upgrades to the home include a marble fireplace and bespoke drop lights in the dining room, a marble kitchen and a glasshouse-style terrace. Pictured: Bedroom (after) Pictured: Bedroom (before) 'We love that we have not only renovated a house, but resurrected a house to last for another century, and countless other families.' Back in 2019 during the home's renovation process, the TV presenter kept fans updated on the home and revealed the property's history with fans on Instagram. 'Our heritage house is slowly getting there. It was built by the descendants of James Bloodsworth, the very first convict bricklayer,' said Edwina. Back in 2019 during the home's renovation process, the TV presenter kept fans updated on the home and revealed the property's history with fans on Instagram 'Bloodsworth was sent to New South Wales in 1788 as part of the First Fleet and was immediately appointed master bricklayer in the settlement at Sydney Cove. 'He was responsible for building the very first structures in Sydney, including the first Government House. Bloodsworth was pardoned in 1790 and on 1 September 1791 was appointed superintendent of all the brickmakers and bricklayers. 'The very next year he was offered rehabilitation to England, but he refused and stayed here for the rest of his short life.' Bartholomew said she's sad to say goodbye to their 'friendly neighbours' and the home's 'clever storage'. 'I've loved sitting in the study at the front reading a book with the big bay window, or playing up on the terrace with the kids,' she said Roxy Jacenko shared details of her tumultuous school years during an interview on The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Tuesday. The businesswoman, who closed her successful PR firm Sweaty Betty last year, revealed she was thrown out of an elite private girls' school in Sydney's east. 'I went to three different all-girls schools. I got thrown out of one. I did a few things,' said the mother of two as she reflected on her younger years. She was given the boot after taking issue with an art teacher who wanted her to clean up after herself, which she refused to do. In another incident, she took leave without permission, which was the final straw for school administrators, who promptly expelled her. Roxy Jacenko shared details of her tumultuous school years during an interview on The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Tuesday Roxy, who was promoting the Stan Original series Bad Behaviour, then turned her attention to bullying, saying people don't realise the impact it has. 'I repeated year one. I was cross-eyed. I was the perfect candidate,' she said of her years being picked on at school. The publicity queen said Bad Behaviour is an important show for parents to watch as it highlights the dog-eat-dog attitude of some schools. 'It's cool to be kind, but it's only later in life [that you realise],' she added. 'I remember these scenarios in school myself.' The businesswoman (pictured in her youth) revealed she was thrown out of an elite private girls' school in Sydney's east She continued: 'I do look back... it's actually how it is. Pixie [her daughter] does come home from school and says "one said this" and this "one said that". 'Kids can be mean - and it's only getting worse with social media.' Stan Original series Bad Behaviour delves into the uncomfortable truth about teenage bullying and the scars that can last into adulthood. The four-part series highlights the struggle many teenage girls encounter when faced with a situation where they must either bully or be bullied. Viewers are first introduced to the protagonist Jo Mackenzie, played by Jana McKinnon, when she is 25 years old. Roxy is now a mother of two. Her daughter Pixie and son Hunter are pictured here She bumps into her old school friend Alice Kang (Yerin Ha) and memories of the brutal year they spent together at Silver Creek come flooding back. A trailer for the series shows an adult Jo thinking back to her teenage years at the boarding school and how they changed her life. The Stan Originals series, Bad Behaviour is streaming now, only on Stan. Wild footage has surfaced of an Australian reporter being kissed by a female fan on the street while he was preparing to film a news story for 10 News First in Moldova. The clip shows Europe correspondent JohnPaul Gonzo rehearsing a news segment about America's pledge to donate US$500 million in military aid to Ukraine. Suddenly a blonde passer-by runs up to JohnPaul and places a kiss on his cheek, leaving the newsreader visibly taken aback. 'You're very cute!' the woman exclaimed, to which JohnPaul awkwardly replied: 'Thank you'. The woman scampered away, leaving the gobsmacked broadcaster chuckling to himself in disbelief. Wild footage has surfaced of Australian reporter JohnPaul Gonzo being kissed by a female fan on the street while he was preparing to film a news story for 10 News First in Moldova JohnPaul has since shared the footage to Twitter, telling fans he 'certainly wasnt expecting this interruption'. While some fans found humour in the woman's brazen stunt, others said it would be a very different story if the gender roles were reversed. 'If a guy did that [it would be] jail and all over the news,' one user tweeted. JohnPaul has since shared the footage to Twitter, telling fans he 'certainly wasnt expecting this interruption' While some fans found humour in the woman's brazen stunt, others said it would be a very different story if the gender roles were reversed 'If a man does that to a human it's sexual harassments but because a woman did it to a man it's "funny" and a "joke",' another tweeted. Others expressed a more positive response to the clip, with one tweeting: 'Did she say, "You're really cute"?! Surely you did a brisk job to catch her for a coffee haha.' 'She's only human!' another fan gushed. One fan took a stab at those complaining about the 'double standard' between gender roles, tweeting: 'Imagine seeing a cute video and first thing you think about is finding things to get angry about.' Kylie Jenner got real about battling postpartum depression twice as she offered advice to new mothers who are also struggling with the same condition. Jenner, 25, who has daughter Stormi, five, and son Aire, one, with her ex Travis Scott, referred to her first bout with the condition as 'very difficult' in a candid interview with Vanity Fair Italy. While her second time battling it was 'more manageable', she acknowledged just how 'painful' the condition can be as she advised other new mothers to stay present despite the discomfort. 'I have experienced it. Twice. The first time was very difficult, the second was more manageable,' she said. 'I would tell those women not to over-think things and to live all the emotions of that moment to the fullest. Stay inside that moment, even if it is painful. I know, in those moments you think that it will never pass, that your body will never be the same as before, that you will never be the same. 'The first time was very difficult': Kylie Jenner got real about battling postpartum depression twice as she offered advice to new mothers who are also struggling with the same condition 'That's not true: the hormones, the emotions at that stage are much, much more powerful and bigger than you. My advice is to live through that transition, without fear of the aftermath. The risk is to miss all the most beautiful things of motherhood as well.' Kylie also reflected on the joys of motherhood and described bringing her children home for the first time as 'perhaps the most beautiful moment.' 'Finding myself in the hospital alone with a new and unknown creature in my arms,' she said when asked about exciting moments in parenthood. 'It's such a unique and special situation and it's all about building with these little beings that you're learning about. 'There is another magical moment, though: when you bring your children home. It is perhaps the most beautiful moment.' On Wednesday, she gave fans a glimpse of the newest addition to her family - her son Aire. She shared a sweet snap of the youngster snacking in his high chair and wearing a playful bib. 'I'm obsessed w this baby,' she wrote in the post. Kylie has been candid with fans about her postpartum struggles, even opening up about suffering from the 'baby blues' on her family's reality show The Kardashians. 'It's been really hard for me,' Kylie admitted on a 2022 episode of the show. 'I cried non-stop all day for the first three weeks. 'It's just the baby blues,' she added. 'And then it kind of goes away.' Getting real: Jenner discussed her battle with postpartum depression and the joys of motherhood during her interview with VF That's her girl! Jenner has daughter Stormi, five, pictured, and son Aire, one, with Travis Scott Oh boy! She shared a glimpse of the newest addition to her family, Aire, on Wednesday Kylie added she cried so much that even resting was painful: 'To the point where I'd be laying in bed and my head would just hurt so bad.' In a confessional, she elaborated: 'I'm not a doctor but I read on Google, they call it "baby blues" when it doesn't last past six weeks. After about six weeks I started to feel better. But I definitely had the case of the blues.' She also offered words of encouragement to other mothers as she got candid about her postpartum struggles last year. 'I just want to say to my postpartum moms that postpartum has not been easy. It's not been easy, it's very hard,' she said in her Instagram Stories. 'This experience for me, personally, has been a little harder than with my daughter.' She added: 'It's not easy mentally, physically, spiritually... it's just crazy. I didn't want to just get back to life without saying that because I think we can look on the Internet and for other moms going through it right now, we can go on the Internet and it might look a lot easier for other people and, like, the pressure on us, but it hasn't been easy for me. 'It's been hard. And I just wanted to say that. I didn't even think I'd make it to this work out today, but I'm here and I'm feeling better, so you've got this.' 'And, it's OK not to be OK,' she said. 'Once I realized that, I was putting some pressure on myself, and I just keep reminding myself, I made a whole human.' 'A beautiful healthy boy, and we have to stop putting pressure on ourselves to be back - not even physically, just mentally after birth. So ya, just sending some love. I love you guys.' Family: Jenner pictured with her ex Travis and their daughter Stormi in 2021 Rebel Wilson has been spotted for the first time since announcing her engagement to clothing designer Ramona Agruma. The Pitch Perfect star, 42, enjoyed a walk in Los Angeles on Wednesday. The mother of one kept things low-key, wearing a beige tracksuit and going makeup free as she went for a stroll. She had shared news of her engagement to Ramona, 38, on Sunday after proposing during a trip to Disneyland. The Australian actress and her fiancee were first introduced to one another by a mutual friend in late 2021. Rebel Wilson has been spotted for the first time since announcing her engagement to clothing designer Ramona Agruma. The Pitch Perfect star, 42, enjoyed a walk in LA on Wednesday Rebel kept things casual in a hooded jumper and baggy pants, and completed her look with white leather slip-on shoes. She tied her blonde locks in a scruffy ponytail and listened to music on her AirPods. The comedian is no doubt on cloud nine after announcing her engagement to Ramona. The mother of one kept things low-key, wearing a beige tracksuit and going makeup free as she went for a stroll She revealed the news by sharing a series of loved-up photos on Instagram over the weekend. Rebel dropped down to one knee in front of Disneyland's Magic Castle as she and Ramona wore matching pink sweaters. She presented her partner with a stunning diamond ring from Tiffany & Co. Rebel dropped down to one knee in front of Disneyland's Magic Castle as she and Ramona wore matching pink sweaters She presented Ramona with a stunning diamond ring from Tiffany & Co. 'We said YES! Thank you Tiffany for the stunning ring and to Bob Iger and the incredible team at Disneyland for pulling off this magical surprise!' she wrote on Instagram. The couple were initially introduced to one another by a mutual friend in late 2021. Rebel previously told People she and her fiancee had made an effort to establish a genuine connection prior to their first date. 'We spoke on the phone for weeks before meeting. And that was a really good way to get to know each other. It was a bit old-school in that sense. Very romantic,' she said. She also remarked she felt much more supported in her new romance. 'There were times - I'm not saying with all my exes, they're great - but there were some times that I was probably putting up with that I shouldn't have. So it feels different to be in a really healthy relationship,' she said. Rebel shocked many when she announced she had become a mother to a daughter named Royce Lillian, who was welcomed via surrogate, on November 7. Riley Keough was pictured promoting her new series Daisy Jones and the Six at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, California on Wednesday, amid her ongoing rift with grandmother Priscilla Presley over her late mother Lisa Marie Presley's will. The 33-year-old actress donned a zip-up white sweatshirt with slim fit print pants and brown UGG slippers. Keough, the daughter of the late Lisa Marie and Danny Keough, wore her dark brown locks down and parted, and had a black purse hanging from her arm while holding her iPhone. Keough on Tuesday began her promotional tour in support of the new 10-episode Amazon Prime miniseries, which focuses on the 1970s music scene in Los Angeles. She took to Instagram on Tuesday, sharing two snaps of her outfit from the first day of press and writing, 'Here we go! @daisyjonesandthesix press day one.' The latest: Riley Keough, 33, was pictured promoting her new series Daisy Jones and the Six at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, California on Wednesday Casual: The actress donned a zip-up white sweatshirt with slim fit print pants and brown UGG slippers on the chilly day at the Southern California hotel She was wearing a colorful Paco Rabanne jumpsuit with cutouts, while accessorizing with large gold hoop earrings. Her long red locks flowed down her back, tagging hairstylists Gregory Russell and Joshua Falewitch, makeup by Mai Quynh and styling by Jamie Mizrahi. Keough did not go across the pond for the U.K. premiere with the rest of the cast of Daisy Jones & The Six. Keough revealed she had 'FOMO' on Instagram, as she shared a snap of co-stars Suki Waterhouse and Camila Morrone toasting champagne glasses together on her Instagram story. Keough captioned a shot, 'Meanwhile Daisy has FOMO' while tagging the Instagram for the project. 'No one really thought Riley would be involved in the screen and Q&A, given everything she has been through over recent weeks, but her absence was noticeable as her co-stars discussed scenes involving Daisy,' a guest at the London event told the Daily Mirror. 'It felt a little odd that the lead actress wasn't there but Camila was absolutely enchanting during the discussion and wowed the audience with her witty observations and quips.' The actress lost her mother Lisa Marie Presley last month, after she suffered cardiac arrest at her Calabasas, California home in January. Riley's look: Just days after skipping the UK premiere of her film Daisy Jones & The Six and revealing she had 'FOMO' on Instagram, Riley Keough is getting ready for press stateside Lost: The actress lost her mother Lisa Marie Presley last month, after she suffered cardiac arrest at her Calabasas, California home in January FOMO: Keough added in her caption, 'Meanwhile Daisy has FOMO' while tagging the Instagram for her movie @daisyjonesandthesix She has also been locked into a bitter feud with grandmother Priscila Presley over the will that Lisa Marie left. The dispute stemmed from both Keough and her brother Benjamin being named trustees to Lisa Marie's estate in 2016, after she was the sole trustee for years. Benjamin died by suicide in 2020, meaning the fortune now belongs to Keough. Priscilla is contending the 2016 amendment and has questioned the authenticity of her late daughter's signatures on the document. 'Riley has been mourning the loss of her mother and is heartbroken to have to deal with a trust dispute with a family member,' an insider told ET. She stars in the Prime Video series Daisy Jones and The Six, which follows the rise of rock band Daisy Jones and The Six through the '70s LA music scene on their quest for worldwide icon status. The show is based on the New York Times bestselling novel, also starring Suki Waterhouse, Camila Morrone, Sam Claflin, Sebastian Chacon, Josh Whitehouse, Nabiyah Be and Tom Wright. The series will feature 24 original songs written exclusively for the series and recorded by the cast. The original music will be released by Atlantic Records during the rollout of the series. The series will debut March 3, with new episodes released every Friday through March 24. New series: She stars in the Prime Video series Daisy Jones and The Six, which follows the rise of rock band Daisy Jones and The Six through the '70s LA music scene on their quest for worldwide icon status Novel: The show is based on the New York Times bestselling novel, also starring Suki Waterhouse, Camila Morrone, Sam Claflin, Sebastian Chacon, Josh Waterhouse, Nabiyah Be and Tom Wright Radio host Jackie 'O' Henderson had an unwelcome surprise recently when she booked herself a Thai massage. She revealed on Thursday she'd made a last-minute booking at a 'dingy' massage parlour that could have potentially been a 'rub-and-tug' joint. Speaking on The Kyle and Jackie O Show, the 48-year-old said things got off to a bad start when she called the shop trying to make an appointment. She was confused when the receptionist didn't take down any of her details when she scheduled an afternoon booking. 'I thought, "I'll go because I must be booked in and it'll be fine." And I figured, you know, she's not going to be the masseuse anyway,' Jackie told her co-host Kyle Sandilands. Radio host Jackie 'O' Henderson had an unwelcome surprise recently when she booked herself a Thai massage 'She didn't even know your name! How are you booked in?' asked Kyle. Jackie went on to explain she arrived at the parlour after walking up 'a little staircase' and was met with a 'beautiful' reception with 'white leather lounges'. 'I'm actually going to a way upmarket one than I thought,' she said. But the novelty wore off when no one came to greet her at the desk. 'I look around and there was this little dingy door at the back of the room. And it just has a handwritten note going "Thai message here,"' she said. She revealed on Thursday she'd made a last-minute booking at a 'dingy' massage parlour that could have potentially been a 'rub-and-tug' joint Kyle was convinced the business also offered sex services to men, and suggested Jackie's towel was from a previous male customer who may have received a 'rub-and-tug' 'Like, I'm in the wrong reception. So yeah, this isn't the place at all. So I opened the door and it's so dingy,' she added. Things took a weird turn when Jackie was taken into a small room with only a massage bed and tissues - and no music was playing. She then went to take the towel from the bed to put over herself for 'modesty', before discovering it was damp. Kyle was convinced the business also offered sexual services to men, and suggested the towel was from a previous male customer who likely received a 'rub-and-tug'. After the session, the blonde went to inspect the 'purple paste' the masseuse rubbed on her back, before noticing a small sign that read: 'We have never nor will we ever offer six services in this establishment' Jackie said the massage was the 'worst' she'd ever had, revealing how the masseuse's long nails had scratched her back. She also said the therapist had used a strange substance like Vicks VapoRub which irritated her back. She even had hot stones placed on her, which she didn't ask for. After the session, the mother of one spied a small sign that read: 'We have never nor will we ever offer six services in this establishment.' But the sign didn't convince her, and she left the premises thinking it must have been a 'rub-and-tug place' aimed at male clientele, but that tolerated the occasional female customer coming in by mistake. Jackie also said she didn't even bother to check the total cost of the massage because she was in such a rush to leave. Kyle said the experience must have taught his co-host a lesson. 'You've got all these beautiful spa giveaways, we're giving them away on the show the pamper packages, and you're down the back alley of Surry Hills somewhere in some god knows what joint!' he said. 'You might run into me down there too every now and then. Just saying.' Kim Kardashian showed off her sculpted frame in a sultry new shoot for SKIMS' new Cotton Sleep collection on Wednesday. The 42-year-old reality television personality modeled several of her company's new offerings while showing off her enviable form in the shots. The social media mainstay, who recently showed her affection for her half-sister Kylie Jenner, initially wore an all-white outfit that included a split neck tank top that showed off a slight portion of her upper chest. The entrepreneur also showcased her curvy thighs in a pair of drawstring shorts during the photoshoot. The former wife of Kanye West went on to don a black mock neck t-shirt that exposed part of her toned tummy for the second part of the shoot. Looking good! Kim Kardashian showed off her sculpted frame in a sultry new shoot for SKIMS' new Cotton Sleep collection on Wednesday She paired her top with a matching high-waisted bottom that placed her chiseled hips on near-full display. Kardashian also shared several videos to her Instagram Story in which she showed off her two looks for the day. The entrepreneur previously founded SKIMS alongside Jens and Emma Grede in 2019. The company was previously known as Kimono, although its name was changed after Kardashian was accused of cultural appropriation. The model has since appeared in several of her brand's promotional campaigns following the name change. Several of her family members, including her sisters Khloe and Kourtney and half-sister Kendall, have also been featured in SKIMS' photoshoots. Kardashian previously spoke about working on her company's various projects during an interview with Marie Claire, where she remarked that she was very involved in the development process of her offerings. 'I have to figure out how thick I want the fabric to be, how stretchy it is, how sheer I want [the material to be], whether I want a high-waist [style] or not. Color coordination: Kardashian initially wore an all-white outfit that included a split neck tank top that showed off a slight portion of her upper chest Switching it up: The former wife of Kanye West went on to don a black mock neck t-shirt that exposed part of her toned tummy for the second part of the shoot Almost here: SKIMS' Cotton Sleep collection is currently set to be made available to customers this Friday Being honest: Kardashian previously spoke about working on her company's various projects during an interview with Marie Claire, where she remarked that she was very involved in the development process of her offerings 'Our material is also all custom woven just for us,' she said. The social media personality also expressed that she favored a hands-on approach to building her brand. 'I have learned from my own experience that if you want to get things done, you have to do it yourself,' she stated. This captured photo shows a press release from the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command describing the body of water between South Korea and Japan as the Sea of Japan. Korea Times photo by Kang Seung-woo By Kang Seung-woo The South Korean government requested the U.S. military, Thursday, to change the name of the body of water where South Korea, the United States and Japan held a three-way naval exercise, the previous day. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command described the venue of the joint missile defense drill as the Sea of Japan, although South Korea calls it the East Sea. When the allies held a similar exercise in October last year, the U.S command referred to the venue as the waters between South Korea and Japan. "After finding that the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command used the Sea of Japan, we requested the U.S. side to correct it," Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) spokesman Army Col. Lee Sung-jun said in a press briefing, Thursday. Seoul's JCS said it requested the U.S. side to describe the venue of the joint drill as open waters. On Wednesday, three warships from South Korea, Japan and the United States carried out a ballistic missile defense drill in the waters east of South Korea in an apparent show of force against a recent North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test, according to the JCS. The Republic of Korea Navy's Aegis destroyer ROKS Sejong the Great held a drill with Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Barry and a Japanese Atago-class Aegis destroyer. The trilateral exercise took place shortly after North Korea launched a Hwasong-15 ICBM last Saturday that is believed to be theoretically capable of hitting targets anywhere on the U.S. mainland. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lim Soo-suk also said during a briefing that the government has clearly conveyed its position regarding the name issue to the U.S. side on various occasions. "We also communicated our position to the Indo-Pacific Command," Lim said, adding that the ministry will continue to work with all diplomatic missions abroad and related organizations and private organizations to correct errors related to the East Sea and to raise awareness in the international community. Newly-engaged Rebel Wilson had one very good reason to justify her beaming smile as she exited her local fitness studio on Wednesday. The Australian actress called into a Los Angeles gym after announcing her engagement to girlfriend Ramona Agruma over the weekend. Making her way towards a waiting car, Wilson, 42, flashed a smile while greeting onlookers with a cheerful wave. The actress looked relaxed in a hooded top and black gym leggings teamed with matching trainers as she prepared for the journey home. Bridesmaids star Wilson will soon get to be a bride herself as she revealed on Saturday that she had popped the question to Ramona, 38. She's pleased: Newly-engaged Rebel Wilson had one very good reason to justify her beaming smile as she exited her local fitness studio on Wednesday PLenty to smile about: The Australian actress called into a Los Angeles gym after announcing her engagement to girlfriend Ramona Agruma over the weekend It's been a big few weeks for Wilson, who launched her own dating app called Fluid earlier this month after being inspired by her own sexual journey. The How to Be Single star announced her engagement via Instagram on Sunday, posting a collection of sweet photos from their romantic milestone at Disneyland. In the first of her two snaps, the Pitch Perfect star showed off the impressive engagement ring that she had presented to her partner while they affectionately locked lips. Wilson went on to express her gratitude to both Tiffany & Co. for the ring and to the team at Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings for making her proposal all the more magical. The couple wore matching striped sweaters while the former got down on one knee in front of the theme park's Magic Castle. Greetings: Making her way towards a waiting car, Wilson, 42, flashed a smile while greeting onlookers with a cheerful wave Low key appearance: The actress looked relaxed in a hooded top and black gym leggings teamed with matching trainers as she prepared for the journey home Big plans: Bridesmaids star Wilson will soon get to be a bride herself as she revealed on Saturday that she had popped the question to Ramona Several of the performer's friends, including Kathy Hilton and Lindsey Vonn, sent their well wishes towards the couple in the post's comments section. The actress also shared a pair of shots that had been taken during her trip to Disneyland, the first of which showed her spending quality time with her fiance. The second snap showed them enjoying churros 'moments before' she popped the big question. Wilson went on to post a photo of herself receiving the engagement ring from Tiffany & Co., which had been taken 'a few days before' the proposal. Bride-to-be: Earlier that day she was seen for the first time since popping the question to Ramona over the weekend They're engaged! Rebel announced on Sunday via Instagram that she had become engaged to her now-fiance, Ramona Agruma, 38, at Disneyland There it is: In the first of her two snaps, the Pitch Perfect star showed off the impressive engagement ring that she had presented to her partner while they affectionately locked lips Rebel also shared a video to give her 11.3 million followers a better look at the ring, which she described as 'just stunning.' The actress and Agruma were initially introduced to one another by a mutual friend in late 2021. Wilson previously spoke to People and recalled that she and her now-fiancee, who was not identified at the time of the interview, had made an effort to establish a genuine connection prior to their first date. 'We spoke on the phone for weeks before meeting. And that was a really good way to get to know each other. It was a bit old-school in that sense very romantic,' she said. The actress also commented that she felt much more supported in her new romance. 'There were times I'm not saying with all my exes, they're great but there were some times that I was probably putting up with that I shouldn't have. So it feels different to be in a really healthy relationship,' she said. The pair went on to make several public appearances with one another in early 2022, but they did not confirm that they were dating at the time. Wilson and Agruma eventually went Instagram official with their relationship in June of last year. Celebrating their love: The actress also shared a pair of shots that had been taken during her trip to Disneyland, the first of which showed her spending quality time with her now-fiancee Building the suspense: The second snap showed them enjoying churros 'moments before' she popped the big question Getting ready: Wilson went on to post a photo of herself receiving the engagement ring from Tiffany & Co., which had been taken 'a few days before' the proposal Impressive: She also shared a video to give her 11.3 million followers a better look at the ring, which she described as 'just stunning' Proud mom: Wilson shocked many when she announced that she had become a mother to a daughter named Royce Lillian, who was welcomed via surrogate, on November 7 The happy couple later collaborated on a collection of loungewear entitled R&R Club, which was released in November. Engagement rumors for the pair began to circulate that same month, although she publicly denied the claims. Wilson shocked many when she announced that she had become a mother to a daughter named Royce Lillian, who was welcomed via surrogate, on November 7. Prior to the baby's arrival, Agruma threw a baby shower for her now-fiancee, and the actress described her to People as 'so amazing and such a great partner.' The performer recently appeared on the Life Uncut podcast and expressed that, while her family was happy about her relationship, her now-fiance's loved ones were not as supportive. 'Ramona's family hasn't been as accepting. And so in many respects, it has been a lot harder on her to have to make the news public,' she said. Wilson also added that she wanted to be able to connect with Agruma's loved ones n the future. 'I feel so sad to see what happened with her family over it. Hopefully, people will change their attitudes about things,' she said. Damian Lewis looked casual as he stepped out in New York with girlfriend Alison Mosshart on Wednesday. The actor, 52, donned a brown leather jacket and blue scarf paired with grey jeans and black trainers for the trip out. Meanwhile, Alison, 44, opted for a camouflage fleecy hoody and black skinny jeans. The musician wore the loungewear with the hood up and a black Celine hat underneath and added a pair of trainers to the look. Alison toted her essentials in a blue bag as she strolled through the streets of New York with Damian. Casual: Damian Lewis looked casual as he stepped out in New York with girlfriend Alison Mosshart on Wednesday Damian and Alison were all smiles as they enjoyed their walk together and the actor also clutched a black umbrella, protecting them against downpours. The couple are thought to have met through mutual friends while in London. They had grown increasingly fond of one another, Mosshart's mother Vivian, 76, told MailOnline last year. Speaking exclusively from her home in Florida, she said: 'I don't know how much flak I'm going to get for all of this but of course we are excited for her. 'They have mutual friends. I don't know exactly how they met but I'm fine with it. If she's happy, we are happy. I'm yet to meet him but certainly I'd like to.' The pair were first photographed together in July at a swanky fundraising party for London's National Gallery. A fellow passenger, who spotted the pair travelling to the event by train, told The Mail on Sunday that the two looked '100 per cent romantically involved like they were on a hot date'. They were seen again at the Serpentine Gallery's annual summer party - one of the highlights of the British capital's social season. The pair were once more snapped at the British Formula One Grand Prix at Silverstone, with Alison taking to Instagram afterwards to write: 'The absolute thrill. I'm still floating at 200 miles per hour.' Smiles: The actor, 52, donned a brown leather jacket and blue scarf paired with grey jeans and black trainers for the trip out Moving: Following her death, Damian revealed how his late wife Helen had urged him to find love again, telling him and their son and daughter that she wanted 'Daddy to have lots of girlfriends' (pictured together in 2019) They then confirmed their relationship during an appearance at private members' club The House of KOKO's summer party in July, during which Damian wore his wedding ring. Damian's late wife, Peaky Blinders actress Helen, tragically died after a secret battle with breast cancer. Following her death, he revealed how his late wife had urged him to find love again, telling him and their children that she wanted 'Daddy to have lots of girlfriends'. Damian said in a social media post: 'She died as she lived. Fearlessly. God we love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air.' Cardi B headed to court-ordered community service in style on Wednesday after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges in September over a 2018 strip club brawl. The rapper, 30, reported to court last month after failing to complete a 15-day community service sentence as part of her plea deal, but a judge later extended the deadline to March 1. 'On my way to serve some community service time ..DONT COMMIT CRIMES!' tweeted Cardi, who snapped a mirror selfie just moments before leaving for duty. The WAP hitmaker was decked out in designer goods, including a pair of pink leather Maison Margiela boots that retail for just under $1,000. She paired them with a pink tweed Chanel bag with a shiny gold clasp, which can cost upwards of $5,000 from a verified reseller. Serving in style: Cardi B headed to court-ordered community service in style on Wednesday after pleading guilty to misdemeanor charges in September over a 2018 strip club brawl The fashionista slipped her curvaceous legs into tight black leggings and layered a cropped beige bomber jacket over a plain white tee. Cardi let her silky brunette hair flow out from under an adorable pink Teddy Bear beanie and she rocked six-inch silver nails. She posed with her legs crossed and lips pouty while standing in front of a floor-length mirror. There were rows of other pricey shoes at her feet while unopened clothing boxes, candles and jewelry were displayed on and around the coffee table behind her. Cardi kicked off her community service commitment shortly after her January 17 appearance at Queens Criminal Court, where she was given a March 1 extension. On January 20 she revealed on Twitter that she was already on her 'second day' and urged her followers to 'Obey the law.' Similarly to Wednesday's post, the mother-of-two also got decked out in full hair, makeup and a designer getup. Instead of bubblegum pink, Cardi slipped her feet into a beige pair of her beloved Maison Margiela boots. The Bodak Yellow hitmaker resolved the August 2018 battery case in September of last year by pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges while ten other counts, including two felonies, were dismissed. Two co-defendants also pleaded guilty. The rapper, 30, reported to court last month after failing to complete a 15-day community service sentence as part of her plea deal, but a judge later extended the deadline to March 1; seen on February 4 On January 20 she revealed on Twitter that she was already on her 'second day' and urged her followers to 'Obey the law' According to prosecutors, Cardi B and her entourage were targeting employees of Angels Strip Club in Flushing, Queens, over an apparent personal dispute. She allegedly told eight people, including Tawana Jackson-Morel and Jeffrey Bush, to assault sisters Baddie Gi and Jade. In 2019, Cardi B rejected a plea deal that would have given her a conditional discharge. Prosecutors then presented the case to a grand jury and obtained an indictment that included the two felony charges. During sentencing, prosecutors described the melee saying: 'The victims allegedly had glass bottles hurled at them, alcoholic drinks thrown in their faces and one woman's head was slammed into the bar.' After receiving her light penalty for the incident in September, the rapper went to Little Italy in Manhattan where she celebrated the decision by devouring an Italian sausage. Speaking to reporters as she left court, Cardi said: 'I'm feeling like I look: good.' Cardi kicked off her community service commitment shortly after her January 17 appearance (pictured) at Queens Criminal Court, where she was given a March 1 extension Brawl: According to prosecutors, Cardi B and her entourage were targeting employees of Angels Strip Club in Flushing, Queens, over an apparent personal dispute; seen on February 11 The plea deal also stipulated that Cardi supply the court with a DNA sample, and prohibits her from contacting the victims in the case for three years. Her statement following the sentence read in full: 'As a mother, it's a practice that I am trying to instill in my children, but the example starts with me. 'I've made some bad decisions in my past that I am not afraid to face and own up to. These moments don't define me and they are not reflective of who I am now. 'I'm looking forward to moving past this situation with my family and friends and getting back to the things I love the mostthe music and my fans,' she concluded. In a brief statement, her lawyer Drew Findling told DailyMail.com: 'Personally and professionally, Cardi is dedicated to community service and charitable endeavors. She therefore appreciates the court giving her until March 1st to complete her community service commitment in Queens, New York.' Cardi has been ultra busy in recent weeks as she took the Grammy Awards season by storm by hitting the star-studded red carpet and presenting the award for Best Rap Album. She also attended a glamorous pre-GRAMMY gala with her husband Offset, where the put on a steamy display for photographers. Lovebirds: Cardi gave fans a look at her and husband Offset's lavish Valentine's Day celebration in snapshots shared to Instagram Extravagant: Pulling out all the stops, Offset treated Cardi to an extravagant display of heart shaped foil balloons, an abundance of flowers inside their sprawling Georgia estate, as well as a giant bear shape made out of roses Romantic: The couple's bedroom was given the Valentine's Day treatment as it was decked out with dozens of foil heart balloons above the bed, alongside a giant heart made out of roses, while another gift sat on the duvet She and the Migos rapper, 31, have been married since 2017 and share two children: daughter Kulture, four, and son Wave, one. Cardi gave fans a look at their lavish Valentine's Day celebration in snapshots shared to Instagram. Pulling out all the stops, Offset treated Cardi to an extravagant display of heart shaped foil balloons, an abundance of flowers inside their sprawling Georgia estate, as well as a giant bear shape made out of roses. The couple's bedroom was given the Valentine's Day treatment as it was decked out with dozens of foil heart balloons above the bed, alongside a giant heart made out of roses, while another gift sat on the duvet. 'She my little ghetto princess,' captioned Offset as he shared snaps from the day of romance, while Cardi penned: 'Had the best Vday ever.Finally wore this dress Michelle gave Set 2 years ago!Thank you Michelle & set' Line Of Duty's eagerly-awaited return is in jeopardy as main character Martin Compston has been picked up for a big money thriller. The 38-year-old British actor, who has starred in the hit BBC series since its launch in 2012, has also starred in various series' since his character Detective Inspector Steve Arnott hit the screens of the UK. One of which has included Prime Video's The Rig - and now the bosses have signed him up for a second season. His role in the US show is as Fulmer Hamilton, one of a group of workers on a remote Scottish oil rig. The colleagues are set to make their return to the mainland when a mysterious fog 'enshrouds them' and 'supernatural forces take hold'. Jeopardy: Line Of Duty's eagerly-awaited return is in jeopardy as main character Martin Compston has been picked up for a big money thriller Hit show: The 38-year-old British actor, who has starred in the hit BBC series since its launch in 2012, has also starred in various series' since his character Detective Inspector Steve Arnott hit the screens of the UK New role: One of which has included Prime Video's The Rig - and now the bosses have signed him up for a second season. Since its launch in January this year, the series has been a hit with fans, and has reportedly a huge drive for fans of Martin's across the pond. But the role throws a spanner in the works for Line Of Duty fans as he needs to film for The Rig during the summer. It was reported in December that Line of Duty is reportedly set to return with an explosive climax to the series, with bosses reportedly considering screening it over Christmas. A source told The Sun: 'The Rig was a massive success for Prime Video, second only to Lord Of The Rings in terms of the millions who watched it around the world. 'Crucially, the show seemed to find a vast audience in the States, which provides Martin with the chance to raise his profile on the other side of the Atlantic and potentially carve out a career over there. 'It would also benefit him personally as he already has a house in the US with his American wife, Tianna Flynn, and their three-year-old son.' MailOnline has contacted Martin Compston's representatives and the BBC. Fans were unfortunately 'disappointed' by the cop show's season six finale last year. Reprising role: His role in the US show is as Fulmer Hamilton, one of a group of workers on a remote Scottish oil rig. The colleagues are set to make their return to the mainland when a mysterious fog 'enshrouds them' and 'supernatural forces take hold' Star: It was reported in December that Line of Duty is reportedly set to return with an explosive climax to the series, with bosses reportedly considering screening it over Christmas Fans: Martin, Adrian Dunbar (centre) and Vicky McClure (right) are all said to be reprising their roles for a three-part BBC special which could be transmitted as soon as Christmas 2023 Adrian Dunbar, Vicky McClure and Martin are all said to be reprising their roles for a three-part BBC special which could be transmitted as soon as Christmas 2023. An insider told The Sun in December: 'Viewers weren't satisfied with the ending of series six and were crying out for a more sensational conclusion now [writer] Jed [Mercurio] can deliver that. 'The question is whether the person we were led to believe was H really is the villain that AC-12 has been hunting or if it was another nemesis. 'The fact that they're looking at taking the unusual step of making three episodes rather than the usual six or seven is a reflection of just how special this is for the show.' Khloe Kardashian is being sued by a former household assistant who claims they were fired after returning from a leave of absence taken to recover from a leg injury. The former assistant, Matthew Manhard, claims in his lawsuit he started working for Khloe in 2019 before he was allegedly fired in November 2022, according to the lawsuit obtained by TMZ. Manhard claims he informed Khloe, 38, he was unable to work after incurring a knee injury in May 2022. However, when he attempted to return to work in November, Manhard claims he was instead sacked. During his employment, Manhard also alleged he was often so busy completing tasks for Khloe that he was unable to take his legally required breaks. This lawsuit comes just days after it emerged Khloe's fashion line Good American was also being sued. Sued: Khloe Kardashian is being sued by a former household assistant who claims they were fired after returning from a leave of absence taken to recover from a leg injury; Khloe pictured 2022 Manhard also claims she skirted paying him overtime despite him frequently working 12-hour days. DailyMail.com has contacted a representative for Khloe for comment on the lawsuit. Khloe's team has fired back and denied Manhard's claims. 'It's unfortunate to learn that a former employee would choose to go this route. Matthew was properly classified and compensated for his role,' Khloe's legal representative told TMZ. Addressing the leave of absence Manhard took, the rep said: 'Toward the end of his employment, he was on a leave of absence for an extended period of time and the role eventually needed to be replaced. We will not tolerate false accusations and will prove that this is a frivolous lawsuit.' Manhard is seeking monetary compensation from Khloe and alleges she violated numerous California labor laws. This is just the latest lawsuit filed in connection with Khloe. It emerged earlier this month that a model had sued Khloe's fashion line Good American for just over $100,0000 with claims she was not paid on time. Hitting back: 'We will not tolerate false accusations and will prove that this is a frivolous lawsuit,' Khloe's legal rep said of the lawsuit Another legal fight: Earlier this month, a model sued Khloe's fashion line Good American for just over $100,0000 with claims she was not paid on time The model, Jourdan Whitehead, alleges she was set to be paid $3,500 for the one day of work she completed on November 17, 2021, according to court documents obtained by The Blast. She alleges she was set to receive her paycheck by December 10, 2021 but did not receive payment for another three months, on March 11, 2022. Whitehead, who describes herself in the filing as a 'professional actor', is now suing the company for a penalty late fee. Whitehead says she is now entitled to get a late payment penalty under California Labor Code 203, claiming Good American's 'failure to timely pay [her] her wages was willful in that [Good American] was required to make timely payment, were able to do so, but chose not to do so.' Legal documents state 'Labor Code section 203 provides that upon an employer's failure to make timely payment of wages, the employee's wages shall continue as a penalty until paid or for a period of up to 30 days from the time the wages came due, whichever period is due,' reports The Blast. As she was compensated more than 30 days after her expected payment date, Whitehead says she is 'entitled to an award of penalties in the amount of $105,000.00, which is [her] daily rate multiplied by 30 days.' She is also seeking to have Good American pay for her attorney's fees and any other related legal costs. Just over a month after winning a Golden Globe for his portrayal of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, Evan Peters is up for another award at the 3rd Annual Critics Choice Super Awards. The Critics Choice Association (CCA) announced the nominations on Wednesday for the awards, which honor, 'the most popular, fan-obsessed genres across both television and movies, including Superhero, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Horror, and Action,' according to a press release. Peters was nominated for Best Actor in a Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV-Movie, going up against Jacob Anderson (Anne Rices Interview with the Vampire), Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows) Mike Colter (Evil), Harvey Guillen (What We Do in the Shadows) and Sam Reid (Anne Rices Interview with the Vampire). The controversial Netflix series - which has faced backlash from the LGBTQ community and the families of Dahmer's victims - was also nominated for Best Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie and Best Actress in a Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie for Niecy Nash-Betts. Leading the way on the movie side of the awards is Warner Bros.' The Batman, which landed six nominations, while HBO's House of the Dragon, Amazon's The Boys, FX's What We Do In the Shadows and CBS' Evil all tied for the most TV nominations with four apiece. Globe winner: Just over a month after winning a Golden Globe for his portrayal of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, Evan Peters is up for another award at the 3rd Annual Critics Choice Super Awards Nominee: Peters was nominated for Best Actor in a Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV-Movie, going up against Jacob Anderson (Anne Rices Interview with the Vampire), Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows) Mike Colter (Evil), Harvey Guillen (What We Do in the Shadows) and Sam Reid (Anne Rices Interview with the Vampire) Backlash: The controversial Netflix series - which has faced backlash from the LGBTQ community and the families of Dahmer's victims - was also nominated for Best Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie and Best Actress in a Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie for Niecy Nash-Betts Film leader: Leading the way on the movie side of the awards is Warner Bros.' The Batman, which landed six nominations, while HBO's House of the Dragon, Amazon's The Boys, FX's What We Do In the Shadows and CBS' Evil all tied for the most TV nominations with four apiece Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was originally ordered as a limited series, though Netflix would later renew the series for at least two more seasons, turning it into an anthology series with each new season based on the lives of, 'other monstrous figures' who have yet to be announced. The series follows Peters as the notorious serial killer - who killed and dismembered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. While the show received mixed reviews from critics, it was a huge hit for Netflix, becoming the streaming service's second most watched English-language series of all time within the first 28 days. It was also just the third Netflix series ever to pass 1 billion views in just the first 60 days of release. Still, the show was quite controversial, with family members of the victims speaking out against the show for profiting on their trauma. Netflix also removed the LGBTQ tag from the series after fan backlash, which upset series creator Ryan Murphy. 'What are the rules now? Should we never do a movie about a tyrant?' Murphy said in an interview with The New York Times. The Batman from director Matt Reeves starring Robert Pattinson as the title character lead the way for the film nominees with six, including Best Superhero Movie. Monster: Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story was originally ordered as a limited series, though Netflix would later renew the series for at least two more seasons, turning it into an anthology series with each new season based on the lives of, 'other monstrous figures' who have yet to be announced Killer: The series follows Peters as the notorious serial killer - who killed and dismembered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991 Hit show: While the show received mixed reviews from critics, it was a huge hit for Netflix, becoming the streaming service's second most watched English-language series of all time within the first 28 days Controversy: Still, the show was quite controversial, with family members of the victims speaking out against the show for profiting on their trauma Batman: The Batman from director Matt Reeves starring Robert Pattinson as the title character lead the way for the film nominees with six, including Best Superhero Movie It will go up against Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, DC League of Super-Pets, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love and Thunder for Best Superhero Movie. Pattison was also nominated for Best Actor in a Superhero Movie, while Paul Dano earned two nods for Best Actor In a Superhero Movie and Best Villain in a Movie. The Batman also earned another Best Actor in a Superhero Movie for Colin Farrell, while Zoe Kravitz landed a nom for Best Actress in a Superhero Movie. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever followed close behind with five nominations for Best Superhero Movie, Best Actor in a Superhero Movie (Tenoch Huerta), Best Actress in a Superhero Movie (Angela Bassett), Best Actress in a Superhero Movie (Letitia Wright) and Best Villain in a Movie (Tenoch Huerta). Bullet Train, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and Everything Everywhere All At Once all earned four nods apiece, while Top Gun: Maverick, international sensation RRR, Pearl and Nope earned three nominations each. On the TV side, HBO's House of the Dragon, Amazon's The Boys, FX's What We Do In the Shadows and CBS' Evil, representing various categories. House of the Dragon is up for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie, while The Boys is up for Best Superhero Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV-Movie and What We Do In the Shadows and Evil are up for Best Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie. Other top nominees on the TV side is Disney Plus' Andor AMC Plus' Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire, Netflix's Cobra Kai and Wednesday and HBO Max's Doom Patrol and Peacemaker all taking home three nominations each. All of the winners will be revealed via special announcement on Thursday, March 16. Bob's nod: Pattison was also nominated for Best Actor in a Superhero Movie, while Paul Dano earned two nods for Best Actor In a Superhero Movie and Best Villain in a Movie Black Panther: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever followed close behind with five nominations for Best Superhero Movie, Best Actor in a Superhero Movie (Tenoch Huerta), Best Actress in a Superhero Movie (Angela Bassett), Best Actress in a Superhero Movie (Letitia Wright) and Best Villain in a Movie (Tenoch Huerta) Everywhere: Bullet Train, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness and Everything Everywhere All At Once all earned four nods apiece, while Top Gun: Maverick, international sensation RRR, Pearl and Nope earned three nominations each Top: On the TV side, HBO's House of the Dragon, Amazon's The Boys, FX's What We Do In the Shadows and CBS' Evil, representing various categories Boys: The Boys is up for Best Superhero Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV-Movie Horror: What We Do In the Shadows and Evil are up for Best Horror Series, Limited Series or Made-For-TV Movie Andor: Other top nominees on the TV side is Disney Plus' Andor AMC Plus' Anne Rice's Interview With the Vampire, Netflix's Cobra Kai and Wednesday and HBO Max's Doom Patrol and Peacemaker all taking home three nominations each He is one of the ABC's most high-profile presenters. And newsreader Jeremy Fernandez says he's planning to combine work and leisure this weekend as he covers Sydney WorldPride for the public broadcaster. Fernandez told TV Tonight on Thursday he feels a part of the LGBTQIA+ community and plans to go to a few parties in between broadcast duties. However, his on-air obligations mean he won't be 'going too crazy'. 'But there might be a bit of a barbecue at my place afterwards to kind of wrap it all up and tie things together in a neat bow!' he said. ABC newsreader Jeremy Fernandez (pictured) says he's planning to combine work and leisure this weekend as he covers Sydney WorldPride for the public broadcaster Fernandez told TV Tonight on Thursday he feels a part of the LGBTQIA+ community and plans to go to a few parties in between broadcast duties The journalist will be co-hosting Friday's Live and Proud Sydney WorldPride concert, which stars Kylie Minogue (pictured) and Jessica Mauboy, from 7.30 pm on the ABC The journalist will be co-hosting Friday's Live and Proud Sydney WorldPride concert, which stars Kylie Minogue and Jessica Mauboy, from 7.30 pm on the ABC. And on Saturday, Fernandez will be taking to the streets as one of the ABC's roving reporters for the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade. The ABC's team for the parade coverage includes Nate Byrne from ABC News Breakfast, Jack Evans from Behind the News and ABC Queer's Mon Schafter. Actor Zindzi Okenyo and comedian Mel Buttle will join Fernandez to cover the action from the street. 'I'm so excited about it,' Fernandez told TV Tonight. 'The vibe in Sydney is just so vibrant, and it's almost like you've got a fear of missing out because there's so much going on. On Saturday, Fernandez will be taking to the streets as the ABC's roving reporter for the Mardi Gras Parade. (Pictured: Fernandez with the ABC's Mardi Gras broadcast team from 2022) 'I feel like that at work too, it's early mornings and late nights but I'm loving all of it.' He said he was especially looking forward to covering the world-famous parade, adding that the coverage was an uplifting and positive experience. 'It's a community that's been really good to me. It's a community that looks after each other. And it's a community that's been through a lot.' The Billionaires Who Made Our World: Jeff Bezos Rating: ** Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life Rating: **** For the first time ever, as I watched the documentary about parole for murderers this week, the dream shared by all megalomaniacs of sending rocket ships to Mars began to make sense. A colony on another planet would be the ideal solution for our overcrowded prisons. Just fire all serious criminals into space and while were about it, pack off all the poisonous social media trolls, the anarchists and the egg-throwers, and any celebrity whose attention-seeking antics become too much to bear. The world would be a much nicer place . . . and the exiles on Mars would deserve each other. Jeff Bezos, the billionaire behind Amazon, goes further. His rocket programme, Blue Origin, is aimed at moving all heavy industry off our planet, with millions of people living and working in space leaving Earth for residential use only. Jeff Bezos, the billionaire behind Amazon, with American novelist Mackenzie Scott A potted biography of Bezos, in The Billionaires Who Made Our World (Ch4), didnt bother explaining his vision, writes Christopher Stevens Elon Musk and Richard Branson look small-minded and unambitious by comparison. A potted biography of Bezos, in The Billionaires Who Made Our World (Ch4), didnt bother explaining his vision. It was more interested in sniggering at comparisons between his New Shepard rocket and a phallus. That was about the level of this documentary. It rarely went beyond shallow sneers and gripes. Spy camera of the night Robber Patrick (Warren Brown) cracked the code of a safe in Desperate Measures (Ch5) by hiding a tiny video recorder in a Remembrance Day poppy. It filmed everything . . . including the combination. In more innocent times, fake buttonhole flowers just used to squirt water. Advertisement One ex-employee imagined that his former boss wakes up in the morning and thinks, Im king of Earth . An investigative reporter called Teddy Schleifer told us that Jeffs marriage breakdown in 2019 amounted to what could charitably be called a mid-life crisis. We heard all about how the U.S. supermarket tabloid National Enquirer claimed to have below-the-belt photos but nothing of the $38 billion (31bn) divorce settlement for ex-wife MacKenzie, who is thought to have donated hundreds of millions to charity. Analysis of how Amazon has changed the world of publishing was chiefly limited to one writers remark that the idea any book is available and not out of print is pretty remarkable. Allegations of predatory and monopolistic business tactics were carefully worded, though one independent Brooklyn publisher called Amazon a thuggish company and said their business meetings were like lunch with the Godfather. Mostly, it was an hour of mocking Bezos as a nerdy guy in a cubicle with an awkward laugh, who had little idea what to do with his money. There was no interview with the man himself, of course, but we did hear a lot from a union organiser whinging about pay. For reasons that werent clear, his contributions were filmed with the edges of the picture blurred, so that it looked as if we were watching him through a hole in a frosted window. That strange visual effect mimicked conditions in the operating theatre where orthopaedic specialist Lee Van Rensburg was working to save a road accident victims leg, in Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life That strange visual effect mimicked conditions in the operating theatre where orthopaedic specialist Lee Van Rensburg was working to save a road accident victims leg, in Surgeons: At The Edge Of Life (BBC2). The consultant described his state of mind during surgery as a kind of tunnel vision: Im in the red zone, the lights come down, and its like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. This series has been unflinchingly gory but it excelled itself with graphic shots of a foot injury suffered by Joan, 75. The medics called it a degloving or being stripped of skin, which I previously imagined could only happen to a hand. Poor Joan was desocked. Another patient injured in a car crash was badly bashed about from her skull to her feet. It gives you a sense of how fragile life can be, one doctor remarked. It gave me a sense that I never want to step out of doors again, let alone go near traffic. A royal commentator has criticised Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for refusing to laugh at themselves after they were brutally mocked in a episode of South Park. Rumours swirled this week the Sussexes were planning to sue the makers of South Park - but on Wednesday they appeared to deny this by calling reports of possible legal action 'baseless and boring' in a terse public statement. Speaking to Australia's Today show on Thursday, The Daily Mirror's royal editor Russell Myers said the thin-skinned pair's statement was a perfect example of why South Park made fun of them in the first place. 'They've given the [story] publicity and come out and released a statement. I think the only two people who have been "boring" is them for not having a bit of a laugh,' Myers told host Sarah Abo. 'We've been here before. They're not the two people who like a joke,' he added. Royal expert Russell Myers (pictured on the Today show) has criticised Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for refusing to laugh at themselves after they were mocked on South Park Myers quoted a famous saying from actor George Clooney, who is a longtime fan of South Park since its early days and once voiced a character on the show. 'George Clooney once said, "You're not anyone unless you have been in South Park,"' Myer said, adding: 'I think they should take this for a time and just have a bit of a laugh. It is rather funny.' The controversial South Park episode, titled 'The Worldwide Privacy Tour', mocks the royal couple's demands for privacy while on a publicity blitz for the prince's autobiography 'Waaaah' - a dig at Harry's recent memoir Spare. Rumours swirled this week the Sussexes were planning to sue the makers of South Park - but on Wednesday they denied this by calling reports of possible legal action 'baseless and boring' Speaking to the Today show on Thursday, Myers said thin-skinned pair's statement is a prime example of why South Park mocked them in the first place The episode is filled with swipes at the Sussexes, with main character Stan Marsh branding their cartoon equivalents the 'dumb prince and his stupid wife', while Kyle Broflovski complains about the private jet parked outside their home. After the show aired, reports suggested Meghan, 41, was 'upset and overwhelmed' by the couple's less-than-flattering portrayal - and one royal commentator even claimed the Sussexes' lawyers were 'casting an eye' over the animated series. However, a spokesperson for Harry and his wife has since slammed speculation they are planning to sue over the satirical episode, blasting the rumours as 'boring and baseless' in a statement given to Newsweek. The blunt statement did not address claims the couple's lawyers will be monitoring the show to see whether South Park's creators launch any fresh attacks on the pair in the future. Similarly, no comment was made in response to claims Meghan had been left 'upset and overwhelmed' by the couple's depiction in the episode. The episode, titled 'The Worldwide Privacy Tour', mocks the royal couple's demands for privacy while on a publicity blitz for the prince's autobiography 'Waaaah' - a dig at Harry's recent memoir Spare Jennifer Garner had all eyes on her as she arrived at the Los Angeles premiere of the highly-anticipated reboot of the Starz show Party Down. The actress, 50, hit the red carpet in an elegant black jumpsuit with a notched neckline that showed off her smooth decolletage. The cap sleeves and belted waist flattered the 13 Going On 30 star's trim and toned figure. Other attendees included: Kristen Bell, James Marsden, Megan Mullally, Jane Lynch, Kate Flannery and Ryan Hansen. Party Down marks Garner's big return to TV since her series Alias went off the air in 2006. Main attraction: Jennifer Garner had all eyes on her as she arrived at the premiere of the highly-anticipated reboot of the Starz show Party Down in Los Angeles Elegant: The actress, 50, hit the red carpet in an elegant black jumpsuit with a notched neckline that showed off her smooth decolletage She strolled the premiere's step-and-repeat photo op in black patent leather heels with a pointed toe. Garner accessorized with a glitzy diamond bracelet and chandelier earrings that brushed the tops of her shoulders. The Adam Project star's light brown hair was softly curled and her hazel eyes were amped up with deep, smoky shadows. The mother-of-three caught up with co-star Kristen Bell, who also set temperatures soaring in all-black. The Veronica Mars actress modeled an off-the-shoulder wrap top styled with flared slacks - both from Lafayette 148. Her hair was worn in a sleek blonde bob and she rocked a soft glam makeup look. Bell tucked her essentials away in a leather designer bag that she kept in her clutches on the red carpet. Bell is a returning Party Down cast member as she memorably played Uda Bengt in the first two seasons. Next, Garner reunited with fellow newcomer James Marsden, who looked sharp in a black Jacquard suit. Flattering fit: The cap sleeves and belted waist flattered the 13 Going On 30 star's trim and toned figure Chic in all-black: The mother-of-three caught up with co-star Kristen Bell, who also set temperatures soaring in all-black. The Veronica Mars actress modeled an off-the-shoulder wrap top styled with flared slacks - both from Lafayette 148 Glam: The Adam Project star's light brown hair was softly curled and her hazel eyes were amped up with deep, smoky shadows Sparkling: Garner accessorized with a glitzy diamond bracelet and chandelier earrings that brushed the tops of her shoulders Big return: Party Down marks Garner's big return to TV since her series Alias went off the air in 2006 Bell tucked her essentials away in a leather designer bag that she kept in her clutches on the red carpet Hunk: Next, Garner reunited with fellow newcomer James Marsden Sharp: Marsden looked sharp in a black Jacquard suit Friendly: She later signed autographs for fans Wave: She looked in great spirits Happy: She looked in great spirits as she left Beaming: She flashed a wide smile Beauty: She looked as stunning as ever The Enchanted star's hair was brushed back off his face and he flashed a beaming smile in direction of photographers. According to Deadline, Marsden will have a 'key recurring role' as actor Jack Botty, who works as the lead protagonist in a popular superhero franchise. Megan Mullally - who returns as starstruck divorcee Lydia Dunfree - was the epitome of cool while parading around the premiere venue in platform Converse sneakers. The Will & Grace star, 64, styled her eye-catching shoes with a black blazer and pants with colorful embroidery. Jane Lynch - who returns as former actress Constance Carmell - looked stylish in a black three-piece suit worn over a royal blue satin blouse. Zoe Chao - who is a new addition to the cast as Lucy the 'food artist' - strutted her stuff in a quirky black mini dress with bows and cut-outs up the front. The Office star Kate Flannery arrived on the red carpet with her longtime boyfriend Chris Haston. According to Deadline, Marsden will have a 'key recurring role' as actor Jack Botty, who plays the lead protagonist in a popular superhero franchise Beaming: The Enchanted star's hair was brushed back off his face and he flashed a beaming smile in direction of photographers Cool factor: Megan Mullally - who returns as starstruck divorcee Lydia Dunfree - was the epitome of cool while parading around the premiere venue in platform Converse sneakers The Will & Grace star, 64, styled her eye-catching shoes with a black blazer and pants with colorful embroidery Stylish: Jane Lynch - who returns as former actress Constance Carmell - looked stylish in a black three-piece suit worn over a royal blue satin blouse Quirky: Zoe Chao - who is a new addition to the cast as Lucy the 'food artist' - strutted her stuff in a quirky black mini dress with bows and cut-outs up the front The Office star Kate Flannery arrived on the red carpet with her longtime boyfriend Chris Haston The actress rocked a black and white striped dress under a fitted black blazer. Galilea La Salvia looked sweet in a white spaghetti strap dress with coordinating sky-high heels with marabou feathers on the toes. Ryan Hansen - who returns as the overconfident multihyphenate, Kyle Bradway - sported beige blazer over a black button-up and brown trousers. Leah Lamarr, Tyrel Jackson Williams and Jess Adams rounded out the red carpet arrivals in sleek all-black getups. Party Down ran for two seasons in 2009 and 2010. It centered around a group of caterers with much bigger dreams of stardom working in Los Angeles. In the revival, Garner will portray Evie, who is a 'successful producer of studio franchise movies, who, in the wake of a breakup, is reconsidering her life choices.' As revealed by Starz, her character will also date Adam Scott's Henry Pollard in the show's run as he 'becomes a way for her to explore possible new directions.' Wowing in white: Galilea La Salvia looked sweet in a white spaghetti strap dress with coordinating sky-high heels with marabou feathers on the toes Scott, Jane Lynch, Ken Marino and Martin Starr appeared in the original series, among many other stars. Those four, along with Megan Mullally and Ryan Hansen, will come back for the revival. One notable star who won't be returning however, is Lizzy Caplan. She played Casey Klein, an aspiring comic who dated Scott's character, in the original series, but her schedule could not accommodate production for the revival. Garner isn't the only new addition to the cast. Brockmire actor Tyrel Jackson Williams, Modern Love actress Zoe Chao and James Marsden will also join the show as well. Party Down returns to Starz on Friday, February 24. The brand new season of Party Down is now available, only on Stan in Australia. Neutral: Ryan Hansen - who returns as the overconfident multihyphenate, Kyle Bradway - sported beige blazer over a black button-up and brown trousers Selfie: Hansen snapped a quick selfie with glam co-star Kristen Bell ahead of the screening Last but not least: Leah Lamarr, Tyrel Jackson Williams and Jess Adams rounded out the red carpet arrivals in sleek all-black getups Here in spirit: Series regular Adam Scott was there in spirit as his co-star Ken Marino held up a phone with his photo on it on the red carpet Tokyo Electric Power Company shows a bottle of radioactive water from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan which has been filtered by ALPS, Feb. 18. The filtering measure is, however, drawing criticism from experts in different countries as its radioactivity-cleansing feature has not been fully verified. Yonhap Seoul urged to respond firmly to Tokyo's move By Ko Dong-hwan Korean environmental activists condemned Thursday, the Japanese government's latest move to discard radioactive water from their own soil which is now stored at the tsunami-hit nuclear power plant in Fukushima. Filtered and planned for discharge into the Pacific Ocean this year, the water, according to the Japanese government, has been tested for concentration levels of radioactive nuclides that would pollute the maritime environment. What concerns the activists is that the Japanese government recently reduced the list of radioactive nuclides to measure and verify their safety levels from 64 to 30. The list has been shortened to more than half because the Japanese government believes some radioactive nuclides have half-lives that are so short that their radioactivity would thin out to a concentration level minuscule enough to be almost unmeasurable and non-influential to the environment. But the activists said the move is only an additional problem to the Japanese government's "doubtful" actions in dealing with the water, largely due to the questionable veracity of the data shared by the government with the world. "Some radioactive nuclides have very short half-lives, like iodine-131 which has only eight days. Cesium-134, which has a half-life of two years, will also be watered down almost flat in a couple of years," Choi Kyoung-sook, the coordinator from Korea Radiation Watch, a Seoul-based civic environmental activist group, told The Korea Times. "But the biggest problem with Japan's discharge plan is that the water's potential biological effect on maritime species in the ocean hasn't been fully tested yet. The Japanese government just got started with that experiment earlier this year, putting halibuts and other fish in an aquarium containing 1 becquerel of cesium to see what happens to the creatures." Choi said the Japanese government's explanation advocating the safety of the discharge is only based on its own belief that the water "appears clean enough" after being filtered by the advanced liquid processing system (ALPS) that the Japanese government claims it has used to treat the water before its discharge planned this spring. Kim Kyoung-ok from the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology explains the result of a simulation carried out by his institute which demonstrates how discharged radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan could affect Korean waters, at Ramada Plaza Jeju Hotel, Feb. 16. Yonhap The Apprentice candidate Reece Donnelly has revealed he spent time in hospital in Dubai after he became 'incredibly unwell' during filming. The theatre school owner, 25, compared his ordeal to Olivia Attwood after she left I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! with anaemia, adding that medics told him his 'levels did not match' in order for him to go out in 45 degree heat. He also claimed he had to sit between two chaperones in the flight out of Dubai making it impossible for him to drink alcohol. Reece told Go Radio: 'As some of you might have seen on air a few weeks ago, I did go to Dubai but unfortunately, when I got there, I was taken straight to a hospital. 'So, I spent the four days that they spent in the dessert and on yachts, incredibly unwell. Health: The Apprentice candidate Reece Donnelly has revealed he spent time in hospital in Dubai after he became 'incredibly unwell' during filming Ordeal: Reece said medics told him his' levels did not match' in order for him to go out in 45 degree heat (pictured in Dubai) 'When I came back to the UK, it basically came down to the idea that I could not continue the show due to a health issue that I picked up actually before I went to Dubai. I wasn't aware of it. 'As you will know, probably very similar, if anyone was aware, Olivia Attwood and what happened last year. It's all very boring.' Reece explained medics came to check on him regularly and, after speaking with Lord Sugar, it was decided he would leave the show. He said: 'We get medics that come in every few days and they go "your levels do not match in order for you to go out in 45-degree heat, you better go and get yourself sorted out." 'Long story short, I basically had a conversation with the bold big man, Lord Sugar and we made the executive decision that I was going to bow out of this year. Respondong to reports that he had been drinking on his flight home, Reece said: 'May I add, you sit in between two chaperones and you are lucky if you can get an orange juice, let alone a bottle of wine, so it's just bizarre.' 'You're sat between two chaperones and your feart (scared) to move in case info then batters you so you laugh and learn.' Reece didn't specify that he had anemia but Olivia previously told of her ordeal after she was forced to leave I'm A Celebrity. Reece told Go Radio: 'I did go to Dubai but unfortunately, when I got there, I was taken straight to a hospital' Farewell: Reece explained medics came to check on him regularly and, after speaking with Lord Sugar, it was decided he would leave the show Ill: Reece compared his ordeal to Olivia Attwood after she left I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! with anemia last year A routine blood test, which all the jungle campmates undergo randomly throughout the show, suddenly and inexplicably disclosed she was dangerously anaemic. It also flagged up worryingly low sodium and potassium levels, which prompted ITV staff to immediately take her to A&E. At the time, Olivia said: 'I was absolutely devastated. I'm not a crier but I started to cry, it was so emotional. I was heartbroken and gutted. I tried to keep my emotions in check and keep it in perspective, things could be so much worse. 'Then the show's staff told me everyone liked me and I was favourite to win, so that leaving felt like a punch to the gut. 'Just two days before, I jumped out of a helicopter which I loved. I did a trial which I loved. I was so happy and elated. It was an extreme high to an extreme low. I felt empty.' She's often praised for her flawless looks while presenting Sunrise. But Natalie Barr didn't seem thrilled by a Channel Seven wardrobe department gaffe on Thursday that lead to three of the network's stars looking like 'highlighters'. The host, 54, took to Instagram to share a picture alongside Sunrise's Edwina Bartholomew, and The Morning Show's Kylie Gillies. In the image, Edwina opted for an all-green look donning a semi-sheer shirt and wide-leg high rise pants. The beauty added small hoop earrings to the look and coiffed her blonde hair into a slick bob. She's often praised for her flawless looks while presenting Sunrise. But Natalie Barr (centre) didn't seem thrilled by a Channel Seven wardrobe department gaffe on Thursday that lead to three of the network's stars looking like 'highlighters' Meanwhile, Natalie posed in all purple with a lilac slit pencil skirt and sheer top with a vest. Finally, Kylie wore a bright pink look with a fuchsia skirt, towering heels and a scoop neck blouse. 'A pack of highlighters!!' Natalie quipped in the caption before revealing her top and skirt from Manning Cartell. Clearly taking it in good humour, Kylie likened the trio to 'post-it notes'. It comes as Sunrise's 19-year history of broadcasting from Sydney 's iconic Martin Place in the Sydney CBD is set to come to an end, with lease signs up in front of its headquarters. David Koch, Natalie Barr and everyone else working for Channel Seven in the city will soon join the rest of their colleagues at Eveleigh in the inner suburb of Redfern. But the team at Australia's most popular breakfast show is looking forward to the move, with executive producer Sean Power saying it will allow the show to 'tell stories better'. Natalie Barr (left), David Koch (right) and everyone else working for Channel Seven in the city will soon join the rest of their colleagues at Eveleigh in the inner suburb of Redfern The move to Eveleigh, which started in 2018, will for the first time in 40 years bring all divisions of Seven Sydney together in one place. Moving out of 52 Martin Place was supposed to be completed by the end of 2022, but it now looks like it will take until May for everyone to be accommodated in Eveleigh. 'Seven Eveleigh will span seven floors and include new, purpose-built, state-of-the-art studios and facilities for our news and public affairs shows and people,' Seven West Media CEO James Warburton said when the plans were announced . Mr Power said moving will allow the show to make use of a much bigger space to beef up its storytelling. Diane Kruger revealed what changed her mind about having children in her mid-thirties and admitted that she would have got pregnant 'with or without a man.' The actress, 46, who welcomed daughter Nova with fiance Norman Reedus in 2018, said she began to wonder what her life was worth before getting pregnant. Speaking in a new interview, Diane said she didn't originally plan on having children but discussed the moment that changed. In Dear Media's Divorced Not Dead podcast, she explained: 'I dont know. Maybe it is what people say about women and that time clock, just all of a sudden kicks in. 'I mean, the truth is I wouldve had a kid with or without a man attached.' Candid: Diane Kruger, 46, revealed what changed her mind about having children in her mid-thirties and admitted she would have got pregnant with or without a man (pictured last month) She continued: 'I remember starting to feel like [it] in my mid-thirties. Like, "What am I doing all this for? Why am I running so hard, trying to make money and trying to live this life? Whats it all worth it?"' 'I was in a very serious relationship at the time. We tried very hard to have a child, which didnt work out. 'And then, I was single, and I thought, "Oh, you know what? Maybe its just easier to do it on your own anyways." You dont have to ask anyone for permission on schooling or where youre gonna live. Let's do it on your own.' Diane and Norman met when they co-starred in the 2015 movie Sky and began dating in 2016, but at the time she was 'looking into way to have a child alone'. They welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Nova Tennessee, in 2018 and announced their engagement in 2021. Norman also shares son Mingus Lucien, 23, with ex-girlfriend Helena Christensen, 54. Diane continued: 'When we realised we were gonna have a baby, and naturally, it just became this. I mean, Nova truly happened when I was least expecting it and most needed it in my life. 'She was the absolute best thing thats ever happened to me, to us, to my life.' Doting mother: The actress who welcomed daughter Nova with fiance Norman Reedus in 2018, said she began to wonder what her life was worth before getting pregnant Parents: Diane and Norman met when they co-starred in the 2015 movie Sky and began dating in 2016, but at the time she was 'looking into way to have a child alone' It comes after Diane admitted that she didn't want children for a 'long time' and then thought it was too late. The actress said she didn't want children when she was younger and then 'gave up hope' in her late 30s when she wanted kids but wasn't in a place where it was 'possible'. Appearing as Tatler's January cover star, she explained: 'I didn't want children for a long time. I really liked my life the way it was. 'In my late thirties, I was starting to think about it but I wasn't in a place in my relationship at the time or whatever where that was going to be a possibility and so I had kind of given up hope and I thought it was just too late.' Rosie Huntington-Whiteley put on a gorgeous display as she posed for a slew of sizzling snaps on Wednesday. The model, 35, posed up a storm in a tiny black Scanlan Theodore crop top as she took to Instagram to share the photos with her 17.2 million followers. Rosie looked sensational as she offered the camera a sultry stare and looked down at her toned stomach. The beauty styled her long blonde tresses in loose waves. She accentuated her model looks with a stunning palette of make-up, including a subtle winged eyeliner. Hot to trot! Rosie Huntington-Whiteley put on a gorgeous display as she posed for a slew of sizzling snaps on Wednesday Gorgeous: The model, 35, posed up a storm in a tiny black Scanlan Theodore crop top as she took to Instagram to share the photos with her 17.2 million followers The mother-of-two accessorised with small gold earrings and left her chest and wrists bare to add to her natural look. It comes after Rosie made a very loved-up appearance alongside fiance Jason Statham at the Burberry Autumn/Winter 2023 fashion show at Kennington Park during London Fashion Week on Monday. The couple looked lovingly at each other before Rosie planted an affectionate kiss on his cheek. Rosie and Jason, who have son Jack, five, and daughter Isabella, 12 months, arrived hand-in-hand at the star-studded event. The model looked incredible in a black halterneck bodysuit, teamed with trousers with a belt which cinched in her waist. Jason, 55, cut a casual figure in a cool black jacket, teamed with cargo trousers and sporty trainers. Rosie recently spoke of her longing to return to her home county of Devon after living in celebrity enclave Malibu, California for years. She and Jason sold their Malibu mansion for $18.5 million to move back to south-east London in early 2021. Sultry: Rosie looked sensational as she offered the camera a sultry stare and looked down at her toned stomach Stunning: The beauty styled her long blonde tresses in loose waves Wow! The mother-of-two accentuated her model-looks with a stunning palette of make-up, including a subtle winged eyeliner Rosie was born in Plymouth before moving to market town Tavistock, also located Devon, and she admits that part of the world is still her favourite. In an interview with Great British LIFE, she said: 'I'm a country girl at heart. I spend a lot of my time living in LA which is lovely. I spend a lot of time in other major cities too. 'There might be the glamour and fun to enjoy in a city but the real beauty is in the countryside and especially in my home county where the people are so nice and ready to volunteer smile for no particular reason. 'The country air smells so fresh and I still love to see the sheep, the pigs, the ducks, chickens and, of course, the horses. 'Whenever I am here and I really don't like to be away for very long, I just find it all so relaxing and lovely. It is home to me.' Despite being engaged since 2016, Rosie and Jason are in no hurry to rush their wedding preparations. Welcoming their son, Jack, a year after her beau got down on one knee, Rosie told ET in 2018 that the wedding wasn't a 'huge priority.' She said: 'We're looking forward to that time. It's also not a huge priority for us; we're so happy. 'I think it will be fun to do it when the baby's grown up a bit and he can be involved in the wedding.' ITV was thrown into chaos on Wednesday morning after Lorraine Kelly was forced to pull out of hosting her show at the last minute. And on Thursday, Ranvir Singh, 45, revealed the 63-year-old was 'still recovering' as she helmed the show again. Addressing Ranvir, Kate Garraway said: 'Shes officially here today. Did you get a little more notice?' Ranvir joked: 'I did. Lorraine is still recovering. I got here for 6.30 today so I should be a little more prepared from yesterday.' Bosses brought in Good Morning Britain presenter Ranvir to present the show at the last minute after Lorraine had to be sent home due to illness. Ill: ITV was thrown into chaos on Wednesday morning after Lorraine Kelly was forced to pull out of hosting her show at the last minute Still unwell: And on Thursday, Ranvir Singh, 45, revealed the 63-year-old was 'still recovering' as she helmed the show again Kate informed viewers of the last-minute line-up change and praised Ranvir for agreeing to step in and host the morning chat show. Announcing the news, Kate explained: 'Usually at this point in the show we'd be chatting to Lorraine but I think in almost a first in her 30 year plus history, she's actually gone home, she's not well. 'She's got a bug! We're wishing you well Lorraine. Ranvir is to the rescue, she's on her way in.' Taking to Twitter, Lorraine revealed that she had been sent home after being 'suddenly attacked by a hideous bug'. She shared her disappointment as she admitted she had been looking forward to interviewing guest Adam Lambert but couldn't due to fears of 'infecting' him. She wrote: 'When you have to be sent home from work early in the morning because you are suddenly attacked by a hideous bug and were looking forward to interviewing @adamlambert THAT! Beyond disappointed but imagine if I had infected him !!!!!!' Ranvir also stepped in to host Good Morning Britain alongside Ed Balls on Monday while Susanna Reid is in Ukraine, giving a live interview from the war-torn country. It comes after Lorraine was left blushing earlier this month when Ben Shephard shared the very racy texts her husband of 30 years sends her during her live shows. Ben and co-host Susanna Reid were wrapping up GMB before doing a live link to Lorraine, with the presenter unable to resist bringing up an article involving her and Steve Steve. And Lorraine was clearly blindsided by her partner's saucy messages being revealed as she asked Ben: 'How did they get hold of that?' During the live link where Lorraine explained what was coming up on her show, Ben, 48, quizzed her about the newspaper article, teasing: 'It would appear he's very generous with his affections while you're on air. 'He often likes to say how wonderful you're looking in the morning in an affectionate way.' To which a red-faced Lorraine responded: 'It depends what I'm wearing. It depends how much I'm showing.' Going into further detail, she continued: 'Sometimes he does say 'Nice boobs', before asking of the story: 'How did they get hold of that? Where did that come from? Have I been talking too much again?' And while Ben suggested Steve could be the source, Lorraine did in fact spill the beans herself in an interview with Woman's Weekly magazine. Meanwhile, Susanna, 52, said of the situation: 'As we're coming up to Valentine's Day, how lovely. Your husband still texts you to say 'Nice boobs'.' Oh dear! Taking to Twitter, Lorraine revealed that she had been sent home after being 'suddenly attacked by a hideous bug' Get well soon! Kate said: 'Usually at this point in the show we'd be chatting to Lorraine but I think in almost a first in her 30 year plus history, she's actually gone home' Romantic: It comes after Lorraine was left blushing earlier this month when Ben Shephard shared the very racy texts her husband Steve Smith sends her during her live shows With Ben piping up, saying: 'Next time Lorraine's on her show and she looks down at her phone, it could be Steve sending a little message.' However, Lorraine didn't feel so sure at this as pointing to her geometric print shirt dress which was buttoned up to the neck, she said: 'This dress isn't going to get any comments from him this morning though, Ben.' As Ben replied: 'I'm sure he will send you something lovely regardless.' Concluding the light-hearted exchange, Susanna said: 'You always look fab Lorraine. There are lots of serious issues, so it's nice to have a moment of joy.' Lucy Hale has opened up on her sobriety journey for the first time as she discussed her inner journey and relationship with alcohol in an emotional chat. The Pretty Little Liars actress, 33, welled up as she appeared on The Diary of a CEO podcast with Steven Bartlett where she got candid about going to a 'dark place'. Last week, Lucy celebrated one year of sobriety in a Valentine's Day post about self-love. She announced she had hit the milestone on January 2, after deciding to give up alcohol for good in January 2022. She shared that it had mostly been a 'private' journey and took to social media to acknowledge the achievement with a cake baked for the occasion. Candid: Lucy Hale has opened up on her sobriety journey for the first time as she discussed her inner journey and relationship with alcohol 'Dark place': The Pretty Little Liars actress, 33, appeared on The Diary of a CEO podcast with Steven Bartlett where she got candid about going to a 'dark place' Addiction: Now, she has spoken about her addiction for the first time, saying it was a 'self-destructive' coping mechanism Lucy captioned her picture: 'Bear with me, this is an alternative Valentine's Day post. This is a post about self-love and about the greatest thing I've ever done. 'On January 2, 2023 I celebrated one year of sobriety.' She went on to add in the post to her 24.5 million followers: 'While this journey has mostly been private, I felt compelled tonight to let anyone who is struggling know that you are not alone and you are loved.' Now, she has spoken about her addiction for the first time, saying it was a 'self-destructive' coping mechanism. Lucy said: 'You have to go to a dark place sometimes to get to that point...Its dark, disgusting, and scary. 'I wish I could go back and tell my sixteen year old self, buckle up, girl. We're going to go through some sh*t.' Speaking on her relationship with alcohol, she said: "And then the coping mechanisms were, like, incredibly self-destructive. 'I've been working on getting sober since I was 20...I just, like, held on to that belief that that real Lucy came out when she was drinking.' 'I tried to change for my mum, I tried to change for my career.' 'One of my best friends died of alcoholism, and that still didn't make me want to get sober...None of that sh*t works.' She added: 'Alcohol isn't the problem, the problem is this feeling inside of me.' Lucy then spoke about suffering form an eating disorder, saying: 'When we have those successes in life, we have an assumption thatll fix a bunch of stuff. 'I struggled with an eating disorder, because society makes it really freaking hard to like the way you look. 'I hated myself so much that I couldn't even give it basic needs like food...I did not feel worthy of the success or the career or the people in my life.' Lucy has remained quiet about her journey with addiction over the years but previously admitted in 2017 she wanted to give up alcohol as she had 'no interest' in partying anymore and wanted to be the the 'best version' of herself possible. Celebrating: Last week, Lucy celebrated one year of sobriety in a Valentine's Day post about self-love Self-love: The actress announced she had hit the milestone on January 2, after deciding to give up alcohol for good in January 2022 She said: 'I'm just always trying to surround myself with better people and be the best version of myself possible. 'I know it sounds obnoxious to hear people say that, but why not? I go home, and my dad's like, 'You L.A. hippie with your crystals and your SoulCycle! 'I always used to make fun of those people, but now I think it's just magic. I'm almost 28, butI think I only just figured out who I was a year ago. 'I know it seems silly because it's just hair. But at a point, I was like, 'Why don't I just own that I'm different? I guess cutting my hair was like me finally saying, 'I don't give a f***.'' Dukes Of Hazzard star John Schneider has revealed his wife Alicia Allain has died at the age of 53. An obituary for the actress and producer said that she died at her home surrounded by her family as she took her last breath on Tuesday, February 21, 2023'. She had battled breast cancer for several years after being diagnosed in 2019, discovering she had just a few years to live after visiting a dermatologist when the symptoms had spread to her skin. A cause of death has not been released. Schneider, 62, paid tribute to Alicia, who he married in 2019, in a heartfelt statement he shared on Facebook, writing: 'My beautiful Smile is pain free, living in her new body alongside Jesus.' John, who often referred to his wife as 'Smile', added: 'Lastly hug those you love tight and let them know how you feel. We always did.' He also shared a photo of the couple together on his Twitter account and wrote: 'My center. My everything. My smile.' Dukes Of Hazzard star John Schneider has revealed his wife Alicia Allain has died at the age of 53 The actor, 62, paid tribute to Alicia, who he married in 2019, in a heartfelt statement he shared on Facebook (pictured together in 2017) Alicia, a well-known music producer and hairstylist, died at the couple's home in Holden, Louisiana Allain was born in 1969 in Louisiana, and worked as an actress on films including Leather Jackets, Caged Fear, Almost Hollywood and Auto Focus. Following her film career, Allain went on to create her own entertainment company, Maven Entertainment. She worked as a producer on nearly 20 films from 1995 to 2022, and currently has two further projects that are due to come out. Alongside her work as a producer, she was a hairstylist for several other films and TV shows throughout the 1990s. Allain began dating Schneider in 2015, and the couple went on to produce several small-budget films before transitioning into music producing, creating over 100 songs together in recent years. Following her 2019 diagnosis, Allain had been open with her battle against cancer, where the couple revealed on Fox and Friends in 2020 that she had been given just a few years to live. 'This past Memorial Day I was diagnosed with stage 4 HER2 negative cancer,' she said. 'She was three years into a five-year shelf life,' Schneider added. Allain said she discovered she had the disease after it began manifesting itself on her skin, which led her to visit a dermatologist who gave her the diagnosis. Speaking about he recovery, Allain said: 'I went into like a speed course of reading what path I was going to take. 'I decided to do keto for cancer, CBD oil and then ground myself in minerals. I got into a really rigid regime.' The couple began marketing CBD oil after Allain found the treatment valuable in her recovery, naming their product CBoD oil in a play on the name of his iconic Dukes of Hazzard character 'Bo Duke'. Allain was Schneider's third wife, and the couple began dating in 2015 before getting married in 2019 at the barn on their property. Prior to her marriage to Schneider, she was married to producer and actor Patrick Dollard from 1994 to 1999. Alicia, who also served as John's manager, is survived by a daughter, Jessica, a stepdaughter, Karis, and a granddaughter. An obituary published by Wilbert Funeral Home in Plaquemine, Louisiana, said; 'From Brusly to Hollywood and back, Alicia was a force that inspired others, she was kind and generous to all she met. She always put herself last. 'She was very protective of her parents. She was mama bear that protected all her cubs. She was a fighter until the end. Alicia will be missed mighty.' Allain was Schneider's third wife, while she was previously married to producer and actor Patrick Dollard from 1994 to 1999 John wrote on Facebook: 'My beautiful Smile is pain free, living in her new body alongside Jesus' (pictured in 2019) Alicia had battled cancer after being diagnosed in 2019, later revealing that she was told she had just a few years to live The actor paid a heartbreaking tribute to his wife following her death Schneider shot to fame after landing the role of Bo Duke in The Dukes Of Hazzard at the age of 18, starring on the show from 1979 to 1985. He later went on to appear in shows including Nip/Tuck, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Smallville and 90210. He launched a music career in 1981, when his Elvis Presley cover-song 'It's Now or Never' reached No. 4 in his debut single. He went on to have several No.1 hits, including 'I've Been Around Enough to Know,' 'Country Girls,' and 'You're the Last Thing I Needed Tonight.' John Schneider, pictured, starred as Bo Duke in The Dukes Of Hazzard from 1979 to 1985 The family has asked for privacy following the tragedy, but Schneider added to his post on Instagram asking his fans to share their fond memories of the couple. 'If you have any pictures of us and our obvious love and adoration for each other, please post them below,' he said. Lastly hug those you love tight and let them know how you feel. We always did. The 62-year-old's former Dukes Of Hazzard co-star Tom Wopat also paid tribute to Allain, taking to Facebook to send his well wishes to his friend. He wrote: 'My thoughts and prayers are with him, along with the thoughts and prayers of the entire Dukes nation. Alicia was a force in his life and his career, and she will be missed. 'I didn't get any details, but I don't need any to be aware of the pain and loss that John's dealing with.' Several of Schneider's Smallville co-stars sent their wishes to the actor. Tom Welling, who stars as Clark Kent on the show, added: 'So very sorry - such a light! Best wishes.' 'I am so sorry for your loss. Praying for you,' said Erica Durance, who plays Lois Lane on the show, which ran from 2001 to 2011. Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan are iconic names in Australian showbusiness history. And Jason Donovan relived a famous moment with another famous Kylie when he appeared on The Morning show on Thursday. The former Neighbours star, 54, recreated the Especially For You dance routine with Kylie Gillies as he appeared on the show to discuss his new stint in The Rocky Horror Show. Sporting a hot pink pencil skirt, matching strappy heels and a sheer blouse, Kylie held hands with a dressed down Jason who opted for blue pants, a T-shirt and yellow vintage Nike Air Jordans. Jason Donovan relived a famous moment with Kylie Gillies as he appeared on The Morning show on Thursday In a second picture, Kylie shared a side-by-side of the snap with a picture of the pair performing the classic '80s hit. Clearly getting in on the fun, Kylie also joined Jason and co-hosts Myf Warhurst and Larry Edmur to learn the dance moves from the Time Warp - the biggest hit from the Rocky Horror show. 'Kylie & Jason 2.0,' she captioned the image. 'It was especially terrific to have Jason Donovan on the @morningshowon7 today to talk all things Rocky Horror Picture Show. 'Jason is currently back home playing Frank N Furter with Myf Warhurst wonderful as The Narrator.' Sporting a hot pink pencil skirt, matching strappy heels and a sheer blouse, Kylie held hands with a dressed down Jason who opted for blue pants, a T-shirt and yellow vintage Nike Air Jordans (left). In a second picture, Kylie shared a side-by-side of the snap with a picture of the pair performing the classic '80s hit (right) Jason has taken the place of his former Neighbours co-star Craig McLachlan. As the show marked its 50th anniversary at the Theatre Royal Sydney on Friday, the soap actor, 54, blew the audience away with his performance. Donning a red corset with a black leather jacket and fishnet stockings, Donovan looked the part. With a set of pearls around his neck, dark black eye shadow and a painted pout, he belted his heart out as he owned the stage. Clearly getting in on the fun, Kylie also joined Jason and co-hosts Myf Warhurst and Larry Edmur to learn the dance moves from the Time Warp - the biggest hit from the Rocky Horror show It comes as Kylie's co-host Natalie Barr joked the pair looked like 'highlighters' after they joined Edwina Bartholomew in a monochrome look. In the image, Edwina opted for an all-green look donning a semi-sheer shirt and wide-leg high rise pants. The beauty added small hoop earrings to the look and coiffed her blonde hair into a slick bob. Meanwhile, Natalie posed in all purple with a lilac slit pencil skirt and sheer top with a vest. Finally, Kylie wore a bright pink look with a fuchsia skirt, towering heels and a scoop neck blouse. 'A pack of highlighters!!' Natalie quipped in the caption before revealing her top and skirt from Manning Cartell. Clearly taking it in good humour, Kylie likened the trio to 'post-it notes'. She was last seen plummeting head first into the Mediterranean, but The White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge appeared to be back on dry land as she attended a fashion show on Wednesday. Those in attendance as Italian brand Diesel unveiled their latest ready-to-wear womenswear collection in Milan were convinced the popular actress had graced them with her presence as a familiar looking figure swept in and occupied a front row seat. But the old adage about appearances being deceiving proved to be true, at least on this occasion, because Coolidge, who plays emotionally insecure Portia in The White Lotus, was actually 6,043 miles away from Milan on Wednesday evening. Indeed, while the real Coolidge attended the premiere of new Netflix comedy-horror We Have A Ghost in Los Angeles, drag queen Alexis Stone was impersonating the actress in the Italian fashion capital. Using a portrait photo of the actress as a guide, the British performer, real name Elliot Joseph Rentz, transformed into Coolidge with the use of a lifelike prosthetic mask, wig and false teeth. Is that who I think it is? Those in attendance as Diesel unveiled their ready-to-wear womenswear collection in Milan on Wednesday were convinced Jennifer Coolidge had graced them with her presence Lifelike: But the old adage about appearances being deceiving proved to be true, because it was actually drag queen Alexis Stone pretending to be the American actress A four minute video tutorial posted on YouTube shows the painstaking, step-by-step process required to turn Stone into a remarkably believable doppelganger. Making his way onto the red carpet after completing his transformation, Stone managed to pull off the star's trademark pout and shoulder shake while posing for photographers. Dressed in a latex denim jacket and silver cargo pants, he even found time to accost actress Haley Richardson, best known for her role as Portia's overworked and underappreciated assistant. Stone opted to portray Coolidge - who is currently enjoying a career renaissance - after pulling off more than 250 similar stunts at a variety of high-profile events. The performer as previously cosplayed the likes Madonna and Cher and Dolly Parton, with his convincing transformation into country star winning him a front row seat for Balenciaga shows New York Stock Exchange. He managed a similar feat in 2022, this time occupying a front row seat for Balenciagas Haute Couture show after arriving as cosmetically enhanced socialite Jocelyn Wildenstein. There she is: The real Jennifer Coolidge was 6,043 miles away from Milan on Wednesday evening as she attended the premier of Netflix horror-comedy We Have A Ghost in Los Angeles Ain't nothing like the real thing: Jennifer Coolidge greets photographers on the red carpet (L), while Alexis Stone dupes onlookers at the Diesel show in Milan (R) Greetings! Alexis got a hug from Diesel designer Glenn Martens during the fashion show on Wednesday evening Coolidge is coming off one of the biggest years of her career, earning both the acclaim of fans and critics alike for her portrayal of Tanya McQuoid in HBO's The White Lotus. The 61-year-old actress' character, a bizarre wealthy heiress, was the only character to return for Season 2 of the series. She earned her first Emmy, Golden Globe, back-to-back Critics Choice Awards and she's up for her first Screen Actors Guild Award this coming weekend. The actress has also taken home a Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman of the Year award, and starred in a Super Bowl commercial for e.l.f. Cosmetics. Coolidge recently opened up about her resurgent career in a wide-ranging interview with People, where she admitted why she thinks she's become so beloved of late. Fancy meeting you here! Dressed in a latex denim jacket and silver cargo pants, Stone found time to accost Haley Richardson, best known for her role as Coolidge's overworked and underappreciated assistant in The White Lotus Painstaking: A four minute video tutorial posted on YouTube shows the painstaking, step-by-step process required to turn Stone into a remarkably believable doppelganger Detailed: Using a portrait photo of the actress as a guide, the British performer, real name Elliot Joseph Rentz, transformed into Coolidge with the use of a lifelike prosthetic mask 'I think people liked that I was the underdog. played a lot of strange women, and people were amused by the comedies I've done,' she said. 'Then [show creator] Mike White put me in The White Lotus and it was a drama and comedy at the same time I never really had that.' She added: 'Something happened this awards season. I don't know if they just played clips of me so many times on the Internet or Instagram, but it doesn't matter what disguise I have on, I can be wearing a frog costume with a helmet and people know it's me. 'I was recently walking in the North End in Boston, and I couldn't make it down the street. I think it's so interesting. I guess it's the Internet. I don't know or maybe I have a weird walk.' New gnashers: The drag queen gave the look an added touch of authenticity by wearing a set of false teeth Made In Chelsea star Sophie Habboo celebrated her London hen do last weekend where she partied with her co-stars and played some very cheeky games. The reality star, 29, - who got engaged to Jamie, 34, in December 2021 - wore a pretty white veil and minidress for the celebrations with Olivia Bentley, Ruby Adler, Verity Bowditch, Melissa Tattam and Emily Blackwell. As the girls let their hair down they played a hilarious game of 'guess the bottom' after printing out snaps of all their partners' behinds. Sophie looked every inch the glowing bride to be in a silk white minidress, a heart patterned veil from Gigi & Olive and matching white cowboy boots. The blonde beauty wore her blonde tresses in loose waves and opted for a glowing makeup look to show off her pretty features. Fun! Made In Chelsea star Sophie Habboo celebrated her London Hen Do last weekend where she partied with her co-stars and played some very cheeky games Gals: The influencer, 29, wore a pretty white veil and minidress for the celebrations with (L-R) Verity Bowditch, Melissa Tattam, Ruby Adler and Olivia Bentley Pals: The blonde beauty wore her blonde tresses in loose waves and opted for a glowing makeup look to show off her pretty features as she posed with podcast co-host Melissa, 28 The group sipped on Champagne as they enjoyed a meal out at a fancy restaurant where they all had matching goodie bags with personalised fans and scrunchies in. They all then headed back in a taxi to a beautiful hotel room to play some games - including the cheeky bottom guessing competition. Sophie shared a slew of snaps from the special day writing: 'The best day!' in the caption. Jamie then revealed it was her first Hen Do out of three as he commented underneath: 'Hen 1 of 3 done'. For the party Melissa, 28, looked stunning in a black mini dress, while Verity, 27, flashed some leg in a thigh-skimming strapless number and boots. Olivia, 27, flashed her abs in a black roll-neck crop top while Ruby, 26, looked as stylish as ever in denim. Jamie asked Sophie to marry him in December 2021 with handwritten letters at London's luxury Rosewood hotel but the intimate moment was almost ruined when nearby candles came close to setting Sophie on fire. Speaking on Made in Chelsea, Sophie explained: 'Basically he was in the Rosewood, which is where we sort of had our first proper date, and he was like calm, we could just spend the night there, and I was like 'okay, fun'. Woah! As the girls let their hair down they played a hilarious game of 'guess the bottom' after printing out snaps of all their partners' behinds Gorgeous: Sophie looked every inch the glowing bride to be in a silk white minidress and a heart patterned veil from Gigi & Olive Girls, girls, girls: Ruby, 26 posed in the back of a cab with Emily Blackwell and Melissa Hen Do celebrations: The group sipped on Champagne as they enjoyed a meal out at a fancy restaurant Lovely: They all had matching goodie bags with personalised fans and scrunchies in from bridal shop Gigi & Olive 'Then I knocked and he opened the door and he like ran, opened it, and he said 'read the letters' and he ran away. Music was playing Her co-star Ruby added: 'Did you know straight away?' Sophie continued: 'I knew literally my eyes were like and I knocked all the candles over so there was wax everywhere, all over my bag, all over my trainers, I was like "oh shoot" I was reading all the letters and crying, crying 'He basically said "I want to spend my life with you" and then I walked round and he was on one knee.' Sophie previously revealed: 'The wedding is going to be next year, hopefully in April/May. It's really stressful planning everything. Having a laugh: They all then headed back in a taxi to a beautiful hotel room to play some games - including the cheeky bottom guessing competition Loving it: Sophie shared a slew of snaps from the special day writing: 'The best day!' in the caption Letting her hair down: Sophie looked like she was having a great time as she enjoyed some drinks on the Hen Do Outfits: For the party Melissa looked stunning in a black mini dress, while Verity, 27, (right) flashed some leg in a thigh-skimming strapless number and boots Sipping on Champagne: Sophie will be having two more Hen Dos, her future husband has revealed All smiles: She looked in great spirits as she celebrated ahead of her May wedding in Spain to Jamie Love: Jamie asked Sophie to marry him in December 2021 with handwritten letters at London's luxury Rosewood hotel 'As yet we haven't found a venue but I want it to be abroad. We have looked at Seville because my dad lives in Spain and I've been there a lot but it wasn't quite right. 'It could be Majorca, Ibiza, we were thinking Cape Town but we decided against it.' Jamie added: 'We have a guest list and it's a huge 220 people, which for an overseas wedding is big. Spencer, Hugo, Proudlock, Mytton, are all coming, we all grew up together, Millie, Caggie, it's an old school reunion. 'We're planning on getting married together in a registry office in Chelsea and then have the wedding and do our vows.' By Sho Chang-young Low-floor buses have no steps at one or more of their entrances. They also have a low floor for part or all of the passengers' cabins. I first became aware of low-floor buses a few years ago, when I stayed in Hawaii for academic purposes for several months, before the COVID-19 pandemic began. Hawaii's main mode of public transportation was called the bus, without distinction between the city bus, intercity bus and broad-area bus. The unique name was interesting, but what caught my attention most was that almost all of the buses were low-floor buses and were actively used by transportation-disadvantaged commuters. It was very common to see disabled people in their wheelchairs waiting at bus stops. Once the low-floor bus stopped, an extendable ramp automatically came out slowly from the entrance to the sidewalk, making it easier for wheelchair users to board. If it were not automatic, the bus driver would get out and pull out the ramp to help the disabled person get on. After boarding, the wheelchair was secured safely. When getting off, it was done in reverse order. Naturally, these processes took a considerable amount of time, but none of the passengers seemed to be uncomfortable. The deep impressions that formed in my mind then and there made me think about the low-floor buses in our country after returning home, and I discovered that lots of low-floor buses are already in operation in our country. According to the latest statistics, more than 70 percent of the buses running in the cities nationwide are low-floor buses, and the goal is to reach 100 percent by 2025. The problem is their practical use. I take low-floor buses frequently. However, I have hardly ever seen disabled people in wheelchairs, toddler moms pushing strollers or elderly people using walkers boarding the low-floor buses. In my judgment, the chief role of our low-floor buses at the moment seems to be nothing other than helping people get on and off without using steps. How did this happen? I guess there is an inconvenient truth. Unlike the social atmosphere that cares for the weak, normal members of our society do not want to endure accompanying inconvenience. It is well-known that politicians depend on these voters. Though they actively influence and promote the expansion of facilities for transportation-disadvantaged commuters that is about it. So, strongly enforcing detailed policies for the actual use of low-floor buses by the transportation-disadvantaged commuters would be a kind of belling the cat. How can we often see the "beautiful moments" on the low-floor buses, as I saw in Hawaii? It will not be easy to find the optimal solution in our existing situation. Nevertheless, we should consider feasible things, even though they look trivial. What about this policy? Let us take full advantage of our well-established internet infrastructure. Currently, an electronic signboard at each bus stop only shows whether the next bus is a low-floor bus or not. From now on, whether a transportation-disadvantaged person is on board or is about to be should be indicated in real time. Also, this information should be distributed to all who have installed the relevant app. By increasing predictability, ordinary passengers can be ready for caring for the weak, resulting in a lovely and proud low-floor bus system. Just a little extra effort from the authorities is needed for this, and it is quite possible with our level of technology. The government is funding bus companies with huge budgets to purchase low-floor buses. The correct use of low-floor buses for their intended purpose can lead to the efficient expenditure of our taxes. It is time for those actions. The writer (sochan57@naver.com) is a retired principal of Gunsan Girls' High School. Ben Stiller has denied issuing an apology on behalf of his hit comedy Tropic Thunder after it was targeted by woke millennials for perceived racist undertones and offensive depictions of the disabled. The Stiller directed film about a group of hapless actors who are forced to fend for themselves after getting lost while filming a war movie on location in Vietnamese jungle was a global hit following its release in 2008. But it has since been labelled racially offensive in some quarters due to Robert Downey, Jr's portrayal of Kirk Lazarus, an Australian method actor who surgically darkens the pigment of his skin to play an African-American soldier. Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, Stiller, 57, staunchly defended the film and insisted he has never apologized for his decision to develop the film from an original screenplay co-written by the actor and Justin Theroux. His admission was a response to one of numerous posts issued in defense of the film, in which he also starred alongside Downey, Jr, Jack Black, Brandon T. Jackson, Tom Cruise and Matthew McConaughey. Didn't happen: Ben Stiller has denied issuing an apology on behalf of his hit comedy Tropic Thunder after it was targeted by woke millennials (pictured in the film) Defiant: The actor took to Twitter to defend his film while responding to a post on Tuesday Classic: The Stiller directed film about a group of hapless actors who are forced to fend for themselves after getting lost in Vietnamese jungle was a hit following its release in 2008. Controversy: But it has since been labelled racially offensive due to Robert Downey, Jr's portrayal of Kirk Lazarus, an actor who surgically darkens his skin to play an African-American '@BenStiller Please stop apologizing for doing this movie. It was and still is funny AF... Even funnier now with cancel culture the way it is. It's a MOVIE. 'Ya'll [sic] can just get over it. I was DYING laughing when I first saw it back in the day and so was everyone else,' the post read. In response, Stiller tweeted: 'I make no apologies for Tropic Thunder. Dont know who told you that. Its always been a controversial movie since when we opened. Proud of it and the work everyone did on it.' A second social media follower drew attention to an historic tweet from actor, posted in response to a lighthearted claim that Tropic Thunder should be banned after US snowboarder Shaun White dressed as Simple Jack, a disabled character in the film, for Halloween in 2018. Commenting at the time, Stiller wrote: 'Actually Tropic Thunder was boycotted 10 years ago when it came out, and I apologized then. Big fan: His admission was a response to one of numerous posts issued in defense of the film Previously: A second social media follower drew attention to an historic tweet from actor, posted in response to a lighthearted claim that Tropic Thunder should be banned Loving it: Many Twitter users praised the film, which has been criticized for its portrayal of minority groups Concerns: Discussing the film in 2020, Downey, Jr admitted he had his own reservations about taking his role ion the film, before having a change of heart 'It was always meant to make fun of actors trying to do anything to win awards. I stand by my apology, the movie, Shaun White, And the great people and work of the @SpecialOlympics.' Following its release the film sparked a coalition of more than 20 disability advocacy groups, among them the Special Olympics, to protest against its liberal use of the word "retard." More recently Downey, Jr has been targeted by woke millennials for his role as a white actor portraying a black character, despite the self-aware nature of Stiller's script and his decision to seek approval from the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) before it as released. Discussing the film in 2020, Downey, Jr admitted he had his own reservations about taking the role, which ultimately won him a 2009 Oscar nomination, before having a change of heart. Outrage: Downey, Jr has been targeted by woke millennials for his role as a white actor portraying a black character, despite the self-aware nature of Stiller's script 'I thought: "Yeah, Ill do that. Ill do that after Iron Man,"' he told The Joe Rogan Experience. 'And then I started thinking, "This is a terrible idea." 'I thought: "Hold on, dude. Get real here. Where is your heart?" My heart is a) I get to be black for a summer in my mind, so theres something in it for me. 'The other thing is I get to hold up to nature the insane, self-involved hypocrisy of artists and what they think theyre allowed to do on occasion.' John Torode was among the high-profile names who received honours during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Thursday. The celebrity chef, 57, was made an MBE for his services to food and charity after a career which has seen him largely known for his role as a judge on MasterChef. John attended the ceremony with his wife, actress-turned-TV cook Lisa Faulkner, 50, who he was later pictured celebrating the occasion with. John has written several cookbooks and appeared on ITV's This Morning in the late 1990s before taking over as a judge on the BBC cooking show in 2005 alongside Gregg Wallace. John is also is a restaurateur and former owner of eatery, The Luxe. He has written a number of cookbooks, including some with fellow judge Gregg. John looked suave as he dressed up for the occasion in a navy blue morning suit and tails. Big honour: John Torode was among the high-profile names who received honours during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Thursday Good spirits: The celebrity chef, 57, was made an MBE for his services to food and charity after a career which has seen him largely known for his role as a judge on MasterChef The chef beamed after picking up his award at the palace. John and Lisa share five children between them: Lisa's adopted daughter Billie, 16, and John's grown-up sons Casper and Marselle, and teenagers, Jonah, 18, and Lulu, 16. The pair recently celebrated their third wedding anniversary, after first meeting when he judged her food on BBC's Celebrity MasterChef. Lisa took to Instagram to celebrate the milestone with a gushing tribute to her husband. The actress also offered her 322K followers a look at the big day with a candid throwback snap of the couple as they enjoyed a kiss after exchanging vows. She penned: 'Happy anniversary my @johntorodecooks 3 wonderful years married to you'. 'What a beautiful wedding. Have sat and looked at our wedding video and the happiness in everyone's faces. You bring me so much joy. I love you so very much. Thank you for being my husband'. The TV judge rushed to the comments section and replied: 'B****y love my wife'. Love: John attended the ceremony with his wife, actress-turned-TV cook Lisa Faulkner, 50, who he was later pictured celebrating the occasion with Achievement: John has written several cookbooks and appeared on ITV's This Morning in the late 1990s before taking over as a judge on the BBC cooking show in 2005 Dapper dude: John looked suave as he dressed up for the occasion in a navy blue morning suit and tails The couple wed at the swanky Aynhoe Park in Banbury in October 2019 with a whole host of famous faces on the guest list, including Amanda Holden and Tamzin Outhwaite. Lisa was previously married to EastEnders actor Chris Choghill, 47, from 2005 to 2011 and with whom she shares daughter Billie, 16. John split from wife Jessica in 2011, with whom he shares Jonah, 18, and Lulu, 16, and is also a father to two other older sons from a previous relationship. In an with The Sunday Times earlier this year, John admitted there has been a 'black mark' about when the pair met. The Australian explained how in his version of events, they'd met when Lisa was a contestant on Celebrity MasterChef back in 2010. Happy news: His wife Lisa Faulkner, 50, took to Instagram to celebrate the milestone with a gushing tribute to her husband Proud: The chef beamed after picking up his award at the palace Award: Lisa looked lovingly at John as they enojyed a meal after the main event Yet unearthed footage from This Morning back in 1996 showed John being introduced as the new chef, while his now-wife was being interviewed on the sofa. For London-born Lisa, their initial meet on the ITV daytime show had not escaped her memory, as she recalled complimenting one of his dishes and his brusque reply. She regaled that she thought he was arrogant, but that soon changed when their soon-found friendship after MasterChef developed into something more. Of how he'd been encouraged to ask the Brookside actress on a date, John divulged: 'I'd separated from my wife [Jessica] which was awful, and I was reluctant to approach Lisa face to face as I didn't fancy the prospect of her saying no, so I wrote her a letter. 'If I'd got no response, it wouldn't matter. Cowardly? S***, yeah. I'm as cowardly as they get.' John explained that she'd agreed to a date and from there, everything fell into place, gushing that 'we just really, really like each other.' Bradley Cooper wasn't even in the UK the night Sophie Habboo claimed he 'chatted her up' in a London bar, MailOnline can reveal. The Made In Chelsea star, 29, had said the Hollywood actor, 48, struck up a conversation with her while she was 'waiting for the loo' on a recent night out with her fiance Jamie Laing, 34. But contrary to Sophie's claims, a source has confirmed the BAFTA-winning film star wasn't in the country at the time and was across the pond in New York with his family. An insider told MailOnline: 'Bradley wasn't in London that night. He was with his family in New York and drove to Pennsylvania that day.' The reality TV personality told listeners on her NearlyWeds podcast earlier this week that she rejected Bradley's advances and 'ran away' because she was 'so nervous' about the encounter. Well, that's awkward! Bradley Cooper wasn't even in the UK the night Sophie Habboo (pictured) claimed he 'chatted her up' in a London bar, MailOnline can reveal Across the pond: Contrary to Sophie's claims, a source has confirmed the BAFTA-winning film star, 48, (pictured in 2022) wasn't in the country and was in New York with his family Admitting he found the situation 'hard' to handle, Jamie said: 'Sophie met Bradley Cooper in this bar. And he walked up to her.' Continuing, Sophie interjected: 'I said, "I'm engaged". And he said, "Where's your fiance?" and I said, "He's downstairs". 'I ran away, I got so nervous. I went bright red - my whole body. I'm not normally a nervous person. 'I was waiting in the queue to go to the loo by the way and I was so desperate but I didn't even end up going. 'My chat was shocking - I do replay it in my head sometimes - thinking, "Why didn't I say this or this?" I'm so lame. I was like, "Oh no I'm engaged", I could've just been like it's an open relationship.' Jumping in, Jamie quickly reassured listeners the pair were not in an open relationship. 'Well it would've been a good story to tell', Sophie joked back. Opening up on how he felt at the time, Jamie said: 'All of her friends were sitting around the table and just turned to me and said, "Well that is her type Jamie". Loved up: The Made In Chelsea star, 29, said the actor recently struck up a conversation with her while she was 'waiting for the loo' on a night out with her fiance Jamie Laing, 34 (pictured) Nearly-wed: Sophie and Jamie have been engaged since December 2021 and are getting married in Spain this May (Sophie pictured on her London hen party this weekend) 'Listen, I hold myself well. I'm generally not that jealous, but I was a little bit like, this is Bradley Cooper - he's up there. It was hard'. Sophie and Jamie were previously best friends, before their friendship turned to romance on Made In Chelsea and they started dating four years ago. Candy Kittens founder Jamie popped the question during a romantic proposal at London's Rosewood Hotel in December 2021. The couple are getting married in Spain in May. Jamie recently raised eyebrows by describing the first time he had sex with now-fiancee Sophie in very intimate detail during a television appearance. Detailing the encounter during a tell-all appearance on ITV2's Shopping with Keith Lemon in September, he declared: 'With Sophie, I've never loved anything more in my entire life, she is just the greatest. 'When we first had sex, we were quite drunk and we both orgasmed. When I orgasmed I was a bit drunk and I was on top of her and I said to her "Did you feel that?" It was so electric!' Meanwhile, Bradley and ex Irina Shayk, 37, fuelled reconciliation rumours in late November when they spent Thanksgiving together with their daughter Lea. The two retained a famously close co-parenting equation since their split in 2019 after a relationship that lasted four years. Reunion rumours went into overdrive late last year when they were spotted getting affectionate during a stroll in New York. At that time there was even speculation that Bradley and Irina were mulling the prospect of having another baby. Former flame: Meanwhile, Bradley and ex Irina Shayk, 37, (pictured prior to their split in 2019) fuelled reconciliation rumours in late November Family vacation: The duo set the rumour mill churning over the summer when they took Lea on vacation together (pictured) Pouring fuel on the fire, a Page Six insider alleged: 'It was a real family getaway and they are considering getting back together.' The source asserted that Irina 'would like her daughter to have a sibling,' and that Bradley was amenable to the idea. Although Bradley at the time was rumored to be dating Hillary Clinton's confidante Huma Abedin, Page Six reported they were only ever casually involved. Bradley and Irina were first linked in 2015 before going public as a couple in 2016, welcoming their little girl in 2017 and then going their separate ways two years later. Chloe Sevigny has confessed to occasionally falling back on Botox and fillers, saying: 'It's too hard to get old onscreen. It's not fun.' The 48-year-old told the latest issue of Allure that when it comes to having work done: 'I'm not opposed to bits and bobs here and there.' She mainly opts for cosmetic treatments on the right side of her face, on account of a stinging piece of advice she got while she was young. When she was a rising actress, the two iconic fashion photographers David Bailey and Richard Avedon told her to only be snapped from the left. The tip has left her insecure about the right side of her face ever since, to the point she found herself wondering if she 'might have' body dysmorphia. 'It's not fun': Chloe Sevigny has confessed to occasionally falling back on Botox and fillers, saying: 'It's too hard to get old onscreen Tweaks: The 48-year-old told the latest issue of Allure, which she covered, that when it comes to having work done: 'I'm not opposed to bits and bobs here and there' Chloe covered Allure in an evocative snap taken from her left, shooting the camera a beguiling stare while modeling a hooded Alaia frock and high-fantasy-chic makeup. She was first told about her good side in 1994 when she was 19 and Dick Avedon was photographing her for a profile in the New Yorker. The article was by the buzzy novelist Jay McInerney of Bright Lights, Big City fame, who immortally described Chloe as 'the coolest girl in the world.' However for Chloe, who was on the brink of stardom in the movie Kids, the experience included the bitter pill of Dick's advice about her left side. When she recounted the conversation to Allure, she added incredulously: 'Can you imagine saying that to a 19-year-old?' She went on to receive the same guidance about her face from David Bailey, a titan of 1960s fashion photography and a top chronicler of Swinging London. David, who had a sizzling professional and romantic link-up with Jean Shrimpton, told Chloe about her left side while shooting her for British Vogue in 1998. 'Even right now, I would have preferred to sit in that seat because then you would have been looking at my left side,' she told Allure. 'It informs so many parts of my life': Chloe revealed that in the 1990s the two iconic fashion photographers David Bailey and Richard Avedon advised her to only be snapped from her left 'It informs so many parts of my life, like, when I go to dinner, when I'm rehearsing and blocking a scene, I always favor this side. It's intense.' Her self-doubt reached the stage that 'I read this book called The Broken Mirror about body dysmorphia because I feel like I might have.' However Chloe is also able to be lighthearted about her appearance, cheekily relaying a story about trying to lose weight for a New Year's beach vacation. The Love And Friendship actress - who has a son called Vanja, two, by her dashing gallerist husband Sinisa Mackovic - was headed to the Cayman Islands this winter. 'Before we went, I was like, I'm gonna stop eating bread and not drink as much so I can get like, bikini-ready,' she dished. 'We get down there, and the two other "celebs" on the beach are Em Rata and Bella Hadid. What was even the point?' the Last Days Of Disco star quipped. Chloe has previously been candid about her Botox use, even name-checking her dermatologist David A Colbert in an interview with Into The Gloss. 'I go to Colbert every six months to a year. I get all different kinds of treatments from him - Ulthera, Botox,' she spilled. 'I think Botox is good! It's just a preventative for my 11 lines, but also he's very conservative because I'm an actress.' Throwback: David, who had a sizzling professional and romantic link-up with Jean Shrimpton, told Chloe about her left side while shooting her for British Vogue in 1998 (pictured) Euphoria star Hunter Schafer looked worlds away from her Euphoria alter-ego Jules Vaughn when she attended the Prada fashion show in Milan on Thursday. The 24-year-old transgender actress wore a prim yellow coat with matching Mary Jane heels as she posed for pictured outside the venue. She wore her darkened locks in a slick up-do and carried a small brown bag in hand. Hunter was in good company on the day because the likes of Sienna Miller, Ellie Bamber, Emma Roberts and Claire Foy were also present. Hunter first made her mark as a fashion model, working for such high-profile brands as Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Teen Vogue, who listed her in its '21 Under 21' list in 2017. Mellow in yellow: Hunter Schafer looked worlds away from her Euphoria alter-ego in prim coat as she arrived at the Prada Milan Fashion Week show on Thursday Chic: She wore her darkened locks in a slick up-do and carried a small brown bag in hand So different: She plays Jules Vaughn in the racy HBO series Euphoria Schafer would strike lightning fast in her transition to acting, landing her very first role in the hit HBO series Euphoria in 2019. Along with her lead role in the series, Schafer also co-wrote an episode with the show's creator Sam Levinson, and served as co-executive producer. In the teen drama, Schafer plays transgender high school student, Jules, who fast becomes a best friend of Ruby 'Rue' Bennett, played by Zendaya. Both Zendaya and Schafer, along with many of the other cast members, have seen their stars rise in Hollywood in the wake of being on Euphoria for two seasons. HBO has renewed Euphoria for a third season, but so far a premiere date has not been announced. Hunter is in a happy relationship with her co-star Dominic Fike who plays her love interest Elliot. In a GQ profile, Dominic said that he is so smitten that he tries to see Hunter as frequently as he can in any way possible. The Florida native recalled how he once visited the Prada store in Soho eight times over four days, not just to shop for clothes but also to see his love's face on the luxury label's ads in the store windows. 'That's the best part,' he gushed over his trips to the designer boutique. That's shoe-business; She matched her Mary Jane heels to her coat as she posed for pictures outside Make way: Models walked the runway as Prada unveiled its Fall-Winter 2023-2024 Women's Collections on Thursday Stunner: In January, Hunter was revealed as the face of Prada's Spring 2022 campaign titled 'In The Mood For Prada' Earlier this week, she announced that she is pregnant with her first child. And on Wednesday, Scarlett Moffatt, 32, took to Instagram where she shared a rare snap of her sister Ava, 16, who now looks completely different from their former Gogglebox days. The duo were enjoying lunch together, tucking into paninis and chunky chips, when the former Queen Of The Jungle posted the photograph of her sibling. Ava was dressed in a brown knit jumper and beige ribbed cardigan, while the long black strap from her handbag was worn across her body. Her shoulder length brunette tresses styled into undone waves, and the teen wore a pair of round spectacles and pretty drop-earrings. Ava? On Wednesday, Scarlett Moffatt, 32, took to Instagram where she shared a rare snap of her sister Ava, 16, who now looks completely different from their former Gogglebox days Lunch date! The duo were enjoying lunch together, when the former Queen Of The Jungle posted the photograph of her sibling Family: Ava appeared on Gogglebox alongside sister Scarlett and parents Mark and Berry from 2014-2061 (pictured on the show) Ava was sometimes seen alongside Scarlett when they starred on Gogglebox with their parents Betty and Mark from 2014 to 2016. Following the family's stint on Gogglebox Ava and the family joined Scarlett in Australia when she hosted the I'm A Celeb spin-off after winning the main show in 2016. In 2019 the family also appeared in The Tribe Next Door Channel Four documentary that saw them live alongside the Himba community in a Namibian tribal village, in an exact replica of their parents Newcastle home. But the experiment has been branded 'twisted' and 'harmful' by activist charity, No White Saviours, hours after some angry fans said the show 'screams privilege'. A spokesman for the charity told MailOnline at the time: 'It is dehumanising and harmful. They are making a mockery of African lifestyles, and more specifically, Namibian traditional ways of living. Scarlett's lunch date snap came days after she announced that she is expect her first child with boyfriend of four years Scott Dobinson. The former Gogglebox star took to Instagram on Saturday to reveal her jovial news with an adorable video of her ultrasound scan. Backlash: Ava also appeared in their family's Channel 4 documentary The Tribe Next Door In the clip, her beloved chihuahua Bonnie wore a neckerchief with the words 'I'm going to be a big sister' printed across it, while sitting beside an ultrasound scan of the unborn child. Alongside the clip, Scarlett gushed it felt like a 'dream' to be announcing her pregnancy and admitted she and Scott, 34, were 'on cloud nine'. She wrote: 'It truly feels like a dream writing this caption. 'Me & Scott are on cloud nine & we are so happy that we get to share this moment with you all. You are so loved already little one. Baby Dobinson coming soon.' Geordie Shore has reportedly been AXED after 12 years on screens. The MTV reality show - which followed the lives of partying stars such as Vicky Pattison and Charlotte Crosby in Newcastle - has been pulled amid plummeting ratings, The Sun claims. The series started in 2011 and has produced hosts of celebrities and influencers including Marnie Simpson, Holly Hagan and Sophie Kasaei. A source told the publication of the axing: 'MTV chiefs have decided the time has come to call it a day on Geordie Shore. 'The already commissioned series, which is the show's 24th, will go ahead with filming kicking off this weekend and the reunion will go ahead as planned later this summer. Sad times: Geordie Shore has reportedly been AXED after 12 years on screens (the cast are pictured) Over: The MTV reality show - which followed the lives of partying stars such as Vicky Pattison and Charlotte Crosby in Newcastle - has been pulled amid plummeting ratings, The Sun claims 'But once those have been filmed MTV have decided to rest the series and will not be commissioning any more. Think of it as resting the format rather than cancelling it out right.' The insider added that while it has been one of the most successful runs of all time it hasn't been the same for a few years so bosses thought it would be the right time. The source also claimed that the current stars of the show haven't be told the news of the axing yet and that they are expecting a 'mixed reaction' to the latest. The publication reports that while at the height of its success more than one million people viewed each episode - it is now said to be at around 100,000 viewers. An official MTV spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Geordie Shore has not been cancelled and continues to be one of MTV's biggest shows. We can't wait for fans to see what we have in store next season'. The 24th series will go ahead and so will a second reunion series this summer. Last April MTV announced that it was producing a first Geordie Shore reunion series that aired in September 2022. OG cast members including Charlotte, Holly and Sophie returned to screens together, 11 years after the reality show first aired in 2011. Bye: A source told the publication: 'MTV chiefs have decided the time has come to call it a day on Geordie Shore' (Pictured in 2011: front row L-R Charlotte, Vicky Pattison, Holly and Sophie; back row L-R Jay Gardner, Gaz Beadle and James Tindle) Iconic: The series started in 2011 and has produced hosts of stars and influencers including Marnie Simpson , Holly Hagan and Sophie Kasaei (Pictured in 2019) Original Geordie Shore paved the way for the success of its American equivalent, Jersey Shore, and follows a group of young adults from Newcastle as they move into a house together. The reunion series included a group holiday, a long-awaited wedding and a party in the Geordie Shore house. The new series was dubbed the 'ultimate Geordie throwback' as original cast members as well as Marnie - who joined the show in 2013 - made it their mission to organise the reunion. Charlotte said of the news at the time: 'I always said I would be up for taking part in a reunion show and made no secret that Geordie Shore holds a special place in my heart. 'I'm very excited to reconnect and reminisce with my favourite people and life-long friends.' The reality star originally left the show in 2016 after announcing her departure on Twitter. After the success of that reunion series it was reported there will be another this summer that will still go ahead. Popular: Last April MTV announced that it was producing a Geordie Shore reunion series that aired in September 2022 (Charlotte Crosby pictured) Throwback: Charlotte is pictured here during series one of the show which aired back in 2011 Tough: One of the main stars who didn't return for the reunion was Vicky Pattison. She recently said her time on Geordie Shore made her feel 'like I probably wasn't good for anything' One of the main stars who didn't return for the reunion was Vicky Pattison. She recently said her time on Geordie Shore made her feel 'like I probably wasn't good for anything'. The reality star, 35, shot to fame on the MTV series, but has made an effort to distance herself from the show ever since. Speaking at an event for the National Association for Children of Alcoholics (Nacoa) at Portcullis House in London last month, she said she had 'zero faith' in herself to succeed. She told the PA news agency: 'Nobody would have anticipated that a little girl from Wallsend would be in the place that I am now less than me, I had zero faith in myself. 'And my time spent on Geordie Shore just completely reinforced the idea that I probably wasn't good for anything and I'm really lucky that I've managed to parlay that time spent in reality TV into something with longevity, into using my platform for good, into having a voice and speaking for the people that need you to speak for them. 'So I would have never envisaged in my wildest dreams that I'd be here.' She added: 'It's very important, if anybody has a platform, to use it for something. Otherwise, what are you f****** famous for?' Vicky also said: 'I'm really lucky to have a big platform, I can't say I'm going to influence government, Jesus Christ, who do I think I am, but there is people within Nacoa and their ambassadors who do have that sort of power. 'So I feel super honoured to be affiliated with people who are really campaigning for change and I'm going to do so in any way I can.' Previously, Vicky has been very open about her father's battle with alcoholism, and her own, revealing her fear that she would fall into the same trap. She was known for binge drinking and wild nights on Geordie Shore, and has shared that looking back she is 'mortified' and was 'never a nice drunk'. Vicky also recalled contemplating suicide during her stint on the show, with the humiliation overtaking. Kylie Jenner cooed over her one-year-old son Aire as she posted a new picture of him to her Insta Stories this Wednesday. The 25-year-old lip kit mogul shares Aire and a five-year-old daughter called Stormi with her friendly ex, rapper Travis Scott. She uploaded a heart-melting snap this week of little Aire wearing a bib, perched in his high chair while having a bite to eat. Underneath the picture, the reality TV superstar gushed: 'i'm obsessed w this little baby' and added a string of emotional emoji. Her latest post comes after she told Vanity Fair Italy about 'perhaps the most beautiful moment' she experienced as a mother. 'Obsessed w this little baby': Kylie Jenner cooed over her one-year-old son Aire as she posted a new picture of him to her Insta Stories this Wednesday Candor: Kylie underwent postpartum depression after both her children were born, and has revealed: 'The first time was very difficult, the second was more manageable' 'During the interview, Kylie gushed about 'Finding myself in the hospital alone with a new and unknown creature in my arms. Its such a unique and special situation and its all about building with these little beings that you're learning about.' She added: 'There is another magical moment, though: when you bring your children home. It is perhaps the most beautiful moment.' Kylie underwent postpartum depression after both her children were born, and has revealed: 'The first time was very difficult, the second was more manageable.' As regards other mothers who have experienced the illness, she said: 'I would tell those women not to over-think things and to live all the emotions of that moment to the fullest. Stay inside that moment, even if it is painful.' Kylie said: 'I know, in those moments you think that it will never pass, that your body will never be the same as before, that you will never be the same.' She assured her fans with postpartum depression: 'That's not true: the hormones, the emotions at that stage are much, much more powerful and bigger than you. My advice is to live through that transition, without fear of the aftermath. The risk is to miss all the most beautiful things of motherhood as well.' Aire was originally called Wolf, before Kylie decided against the name and then months later announced the new choice this January. Despite having an on-off romance that is currently in one of its off periods, Kylie and Travis have maintained a friendly co-parenting relationship. Trio: The 25-year-old lip kit mogul shares Aire and a five-year-old daughter called Stormi with her friendly ex, rapper Travis Scott; Travis, Kylie and Stormi are pictured in June 2021 'When you bring your children home': Her latest post comes after she told Vanity Fair Italy about 'perhaps the most beautiful moment' she experienced as a mother Kylie's latest post comes after she was raked over the coals for the 'tasteless' birthday party she threw for Stormi earlier this month. Her blowout bash had a theme based on the cover of Travis' smash hit album Astroworld, which then also became the name of his musical festival. The Astroworld festival became infamous around the world in 2021 when it was the site of a disastrous stampede that claimed 10 lives. A social media user fumed: ''The f*** is up with this messed up theme? Demonic much,' while another wrote: 'kylie using astroworld branding for her children's birthday party is a bit scary to me.' One wrote: 'Kylie Jenner MOCKS Astroworld victims (including a 10-year-old that was trampled) with her ex Travis-Scott themed birthday party for her daughter, Stormi. In November 2021, when Kylie was pregnant with their son, she attended Travis' Astroworld concert where a deadly crush of bodies occurred. The death toll from the tragic incident rose to 10 when a nine-year-old boy named Ezra Blount succumbed to his injuries. Footage shows the music briefly stopped as an ambulance tried to get through the crowd, but then the music resumed and Travis vowed to make the 'ground shake.' Baby mine: Last week Kylie took her children and niece Chicago West to Disneyland, where she treated Aire to his first-ever taste of ice cream His performance, which also included a surprise spot by Drake, went on for half an hour after the fire department declared a 'mass casualty event.' The Harris County Institute Of Forensic Sciences released the autopsy results that December, revealing all of the victims died of compression asphyxia. Travis sat for an interview with Charlamagne Tha God that month and said he was only told through his earpiece to leave the stage after Drake's guest spot. He maintained he was unaware of the scale of the problem while he was onstage, and claimed to have met with some of the bereaved families. Dozens of lawsuits cumulatively worth billions of dollars were filed against Travis and the companies behind the concert in the aftermath of the deaths. It emerged last February that nearly 400 lawsuits against Travis Scott and Live Nation were rolled up into one for purposes of efficiency. A class-action suit last May claimed over 4,900 people were injured during the show, with 732 requiring 'extensive medical treatment,' according to Rolling Stone. This past October it emerged that the families of two of the victims had settled their lawsuits with Travis on terms one of the attorneys described as 'confidential.' Heather Locklear shared a very rare selfie to Instagram on Thursday. The 61-year-old Hollywood veteran actress - who has starred on Dynasty, TJ Hooker and Melrose Place - was seen in winter clothing as she stood in front of a mirror. The blonde beauty - who came out of a rough patch in 2019 - looked slender as she was seen in a gym, hinting that she has been working out plenty. In her caption the pinup had some fun. 'Finally figuring out how to take photos. Can we get back to Polaroids where I look 70 years younger?' remarked the siren. Ready to shoot: Heather Locklear shared a very rare selfie to Instagram on Thursday. The 61-year-old Hollywood veteran actress - who has starred on Dynasty, TJ Hooker and Melrose Place - was seen in winter clothing as she stood in front of a mirror She has always looked incredible: Seen here in 1985 at the start of her career Her Melrose Place co-star Daphne Zuniga said, 'Wheres the Kodak?! But u r [heart eyed emoji.' And another co-star, Marcia Cross, said, 'Here here' as she added heart emojis. Her longtime friend, TV host Jillian Barberie, added, 'So beautiful!!!" Heather had on an ivory colored sweater, beige scarf and beige sneakers with black leggings that showed off her toned shape. Locklear was memorably on TV's Melrose Place from 1993 until 1999. She also popped back on the new version of the show from 2009 until 2010. She was also known for her marriages - she was wed to Pamela Anderson's ex, Tommy Lee, as well as Bon Jovi rocker Richie Sambora, with whom she has daughter Ava. This comes after she had a rough patch as she went in and out of rebab in 2018 and 2019; the star appears to be much better these days and more stable. It was reported in 2021 that Heather 'couldn't be happier' with her fiance Chris Heisser, with sources saying the couple are 'in a really good place' as they take their relationship to the next level. The nation loved her: She played scheming Amanda Woodward on Melrose Place until the show ended in 1999 The cast: (clockwise from top left) Rob Estes, Locklear, Jack Wagner, Jamie Luner, Josie Bissett, Thomas Calabro, Kelly Rutherford, John Haymes Newton An insider said: 'Heather and Chris are in a really good place right now. They couldn't be happier. They each go out of their way to make the other feel special - she'll cook for him, he'll buy her flowers, etc.' The star and her fiance are high school sweethearts, and their romance dates back to the 70s, although they fell out of touch and only reunited in 2017. For Heather, the upcoming wedding will be her third, after her 13-year marriage to Richie Sambora from 1994 to 2007, and her first marriage to rocker Tommy Lee, which lasted from 1986 until 1993. In 2021 she said in 2021 that she was 'fearful' of her return to television. The actress appeared as Kristine Carlson in the made-for-TV film Don't Sweat the Small Stuff: The Kristine Carlson Story - which is based on the book series by Kristine and her husband Dr. Richard Carlson - and she was apprehensive about her first small screen role in four years. Early days of fame: (from top middle) Locklear, Pamela Sue Martin, Joan Collins, John Forsythe, Linda Evans, Pamela Bellwood on Dynasty (1981 until 1989) Another big TV series: The blonde beauty on TJ Hooker in 1982 with James Darren and William Shatner 'The challenging part of it was so fearful for me,' she said while speaking to reporters during Lifetime's Fall Movies press event. One emotional scene which sees Kristine learning her husband - played by Jason MacDonald - has died was shot on the second day of filming. Heather turned to Kristine herself to help research the powerful moment, and added: 'She said, "It's almost like a child dying." And that stopped me in my tracks.' Although the star wasn't sure if she'd be able to hit the right emotional level the scene called for, she settled and 'felt very safe'. And while Heather had other concerns about remembering her lines after a few years away, she found it 'so easy' to get back into old habits. She told People: 'I don't know why I was so fearful of memorizing lines, how about getting emotion across.' Paris Hilton has revealed that she already has 'seven' more embryos in the hope of having more children, after welcoming her son Phoenix with her husband Carter Reum last month. Gracing the cover of Glamour UK, the Simple Life star, 42, admitted that she and Carter decided to freeze embryos in the hope of starting a family, and that their collection are 'all boys.' Speaking in the candid new interview, Paris added that she decided to use a surrogate as she has always been 'scared' of childbirth. She also confessed that she had previously had her eggs frozen on the advice of her pal Kim Kardashian, and had been planning to have a child on her own before she and Carter met. It comes after Paris revealed she and Carter had named their son Phoenix Barron Hilton Reum after sharing that they became parents last month. Candid: Paris Hilton has revealed that she already has 'seven' more embryos in the hope of having more children as she graced the cover of Glamour UK's February Issue Paris explained that she was originally planning to have a baby on her own, and froze her eggs on the advice of her pal Kim. She said: 'I went and did the one round of IVF, because Kim had told me about it. So I had eggs frozen.' But when she and Carter met and tied the knot, they decided to start a family, and during the Covid lockdown they had embryos frozen, and they still have enough to have numerous children in the future. The heiress said: 'Carter and I had already been talking about the future and then the world was shut down, so I was like, ''What do you think about us making embryos?'' 'And he said, ''Yeah, let's do it.'' And we've done it seven times I have all boys. I have 20 boys.' Paris added that she always planned to have her baby with the help of a surrogate after developing a fear of doctors during her younger years at boarding school. She explained: 'I'm just so scared, I think, again, leading back to Provo of even being in a doctor's office, just all of that. 'The shots, the IVs that they put in [she claims they used to regularly take samples of her blood]. Stunning: The heiress admitted that she decided to use a surrogate to fulfil her dream of starting a family, as she has always been 'scared' of childbirth 'When I was in The Simple Life, I had to be in a room when a woman was giving birth and that traumatised me as well. 'But I want a family so bad, it's just the physical part of doing it. I'm just so scared childbirth and death are the two things that scare me more than anything in the world.' Paris shared the surprise news of her son's birth last month, and her interview comes just a day after revealing his mythical name for the first time. During her interview, Paris also detailed the trauma she experienced while at boarding school, and how she now sees herself as a voice for fellow survivors. She said: 'I think I've just been through so many things that I'm a warrior, I'm a fighter, I'm brave. And I'm a badass.' The star also detailed the abuse she suffered at the hands of a teacher when she was just 15 years old, while attending Provo Canyon School. She candidly said: 'To this day, I've not talked about it with my family. I've never told anyone. I don't know what it was, I just felt so ashamed by the whole situation just from the beginning at such a young age and it really stuck with me in a weird way.' The star also detailed how, when she was the same age, she was abused during her first sexual experience, which came after she was forced to consume a drink which had been spiked. 'I remembered it. I have visions of him on top of me, covering my mouth, being like, 'You're dreaming, you're dreaming,' and whispering that in my ear,' Paris said. Meet Phoenix! Paris shared the surprise news of her son's birth last month, and her interview comes just a day after revealing his mythical name for the first time The star said the ordeal was something 'she blocked from her memory,' but after hearing other survivors' stories, she started to have 'flashbacks.' She explained: 'Late at night, staff members would come in and take certain girls and bring them into this room. 'And literally you would scream and cry, they would hold you down, four of them, men and women, and literally just be putting fingers and just doing things on a regular basis to certain girls.' Later in the interview, Paris also revealed that she avoided an aggressive encounter with the now-imprisoned Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. She explained: 'I went into the bathroom and then he followed me. He tried to open the door, he was hammering on the door, banging on it. Out soon! Read the full interview in the GLAMOUR UK February Digital Issue online now 'And I wouldn't open it, because I was like, ''I'm in a stall, why do you want to come in here?'' And I just wouldn't open it. 'And security came and literally carried him away and he was like [shouting], ''This is my party,'' going nuts. It scared me and freaked me out.' Paris shocked fans last month when she revealed she had welcomed her child via surrogate. The heiress kept news of his arrival not only a secret to the public but her own family. She waited a week after Phoenix was born to share his arrival with loved ones. Paris previously spoke about her decision to keep her immediate family in the dark about her child until she was on the verge of announcing his birth. 'My entire life has been so public,' she told Harper's Bazaar. 'I've never had anything for myself. We decided that we wanted to have this whole experience to ourselves.' 'I want to protect him and to be with him every second. You have this mother instinct that kicks in, which I've never had before,' she said of her son. Read the full interview in the GLAMOUR UK February Digital Issue online now. Hong Kong: Bay area visits create extra value: CE Chief Executive John Lee met CPC Guangdong Provincial Committee Secretary Huang Kunming in Guangzhou today to talk about Hong Kongs co-operation with Guangdong in promoting high-quality development in the Greater Bay Area. Mr Lee expounded on his meeting with the Guangdong Province leader and certain details concerning their discussion while fielding questions from the media this afternoon. He has explained to me his vision as regards the overall development of the Greater Bay Area, which is something I share completely. We discussed how to promote its high valued-added development. This is not just an area we should all aim for, it is an area we must go into. Otherwise, the value of its creation will be discounted. We shared a lot of the common beliefs and also, the areas of work to be done were very quickly agreed upon. That means we now can concentrate on the actual action plans and I think that is very important. As he continues his first visit to cities in the bay area since taking office, the Chief Executive explained the importance of why organising such high-level meetings is so crucial to Hong Kongs collaboration efforts with Guangdong. A high-level meeting is not just a means of showing mutual support. It is a means of ensuring that things can be ironed out more quickly so that directions are immediately made clear and working-level staff clearly know the directions and then they will have less friction - a pure and very clear direction and aim - so as to allow them to work out their action plan. This visit also means that there will be many other visits which will eventually create extra value. This story has been published on: 2023-02-23. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Military medics help a soldier wounded in battle to get into an evacuation vehicle near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Wednesday. AP-Yonhap The diplomatic community in Seoul, including 31 ambassadors of the U.K., the U.S., EU delegation, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and all 24 EU embassies represented in Korea, co-signed this joint statement on the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A year ago today, Russia's tanks rolled into Ukrainian territory, artillery shells fell on Ukrainian civilians, and Russia's troops headed for Kyiv, Ukraine's capital. Many expected Ukraine's president to flee and Ukraine's resistance to break. It hasn't. A year on, Ukraine has fought back, regained control over half of the territory that Russia captured, and will not stop until it has defeated the full-scale invasion. We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. This last year has not just been an attack on Ukraine. It has been an attack on the foundations of the rules-based international order that has allowed countries to pursue peace and prosperity over the last few decades. It is essential that we stand up for democracy, justice and liberty. That we speak out loudly and act to protect freedom, the rule of law, and the international order. These are values that we are proud to share with the Republic of Korea and they deserve to be protected. As such, our countries have joined the vast majority of UN member states to reject Putin's war decisively and repeatedly demanded Russia to end its full-scale invasion and withdraw completely from Ukraine. The UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine's October 2022 report details just some of the horrors of Russia's war and there is no doubt as to Russia's culpability for atrocities and human rights violations and abuses. These include barbaric attacks against Ukraine's energy grid, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure. Intentionally directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects constitute war crimes and our countries are committed to hold perpetrators to account. Putin is the reason why there is no peace in Ukraine. But Russia will not win this war. Despite trying to portray Putin's unprovoked and illegal invasion as something honorable and heroic, the truth is becoming increasingly apparent Putin made a grave miscalculation when he chose to invade a sovereign neighbor. Thousands of members of Russia's forces forcibly conscripted, poorly trained, poorly equipped and poorly led - continue to be sent to their deaths by a frustrated Russian military leadership scrambling to provide numbers in place of trained fighters and effective leadership. One example is Russia's outrageous, illegal attempts to annex multiple Ukrainian regions, which is nothing but an outrageous attempt by Russia to prop up its failing war. Russia's aggression is a sustained assault on the security, democracy and freedom of Ukraine. But the war is not just a Ukrainian tragedy. It has reverberations around the globe. In the security of global food supplies, particularly to poorer countries. In the security of our energy supplies and economies. In our security as freedom-loving nations. Autocratic bullies cannot be allowed to coerce or invade their neighbors just because they are strong, or because of previous imperial claims. The international community must not and will not allow borders to be decided by violence. As the Republic of Korea knows from its own history, the trauma of war extends through generations. That is why our countries continue to work together to build peace in line with international law. This includes taking a principled stance in the UN General Assembly to defend the UN Charter. Since the start of Russia's brutal, full-scale invasion, the world has witnessed the people of Ukraine's incredible strength and bravery. In the face of Russia's onslaught, Ukraine has had no choice but to exercise its right to defend itself, consistent with the UN Charter. It has done so resolutely and successfully, but at a massive cost to its people and its resources. Providing Ukraine the support it needs to defend itself and push Russia out of its sovereign territory is the swiftest and only path to a just and sustainable peace. This includes providing crucial humanitarian assistance to the Ukrainian people and support for the largest movement of refugees in Europe since the Second World War. Despite the wrong that has been inflicted on Ukraine by Russia's aggression, the Ukrainian people have shown incredible resilience amid great suffering. We pay tribute to the Ukrainian people and military, who have shown incredible dedication, courage and determination in defending their homeland under the inspiring leadership of President Zelenskyy. Ukraine has the right to determine its own future. It has the right to choose its own allies and the right to protect its own borders. It should be able to trade with whom it wants and secure a peaceful future for its own citizens. We know that the inspiring bravery of the Ukrainian people will ultimately defeat tyranny and protect Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence. What Ukraine wants, what we all want, is peace. Cate Blanchett spoke at the Berlin International Film Festival on Thursday. The actress, 53, looked sensational in an iridescent purple top and leather trousers which accentuated her slim waist for the Berlinale Talent Talk Grand Orchestra: Conducting Tar event. She grinned with friend and fellow Tar star Nina Hoss, who looked equally glamorous in a striped blue shirt paired with a black leather midi skirt. The talk involved director Todd Field, Nina, Cate and cellist and actor Sophie Kauer as well as composer Hildur Gunadottir as they discussed how they worked in harmony to create the acclaimed film. Their collaboration allowed them to successfully portray a fictional portrait of the first female chief conductor of a major German orchestra, Lydia Tar, played by Cate. Beauty: Cate Blanchett looked sensational in an iridescent purple top and leather trousers as she posed with friend Nina Hoss at a Berlin Film Festival talk on Thursday Grins: Cate smiled and laughed as she attended the event, wearing her blonde locks in a side ponytail Cate smiled and laughed as she attended the event, wearing her blonde locks in a side ponytail. It comes after Cate, who won her third Oscar for best actress in Tar, previously admitted that she has considered an early retirement. 'Its not occasional - its continual,' Cate told the February edition of Vanity Fair. Cate went on to say that she thinks about stepping away from acting on a 'daily or weekly basis. 'Its a love affair, isnt it?' she continued. 'So you do fall in and out of love with it, and you have to be seduced back into it.' The beloved Melbourne-born actress said that since completing her part in Tar, which was nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture, she has turned down a number of roles. She told the magazine that it was time be 'be quiet', because the role was so intense it became exhausting. It comes after Cate appeared on The Sunday Project last month to discuss retirement. Stunner: Cate looked glowing as she stood up and clapped, looking into the audience at the talk in Berlin Gorgeous: The star accessorised her look with gold earrings and a few rings for her afternoon at the event 'I think it was because [Tar] was such a physical role, the echoes of it are still with me and I think I'm like a lot of audience members, I need time to process it,' she said. Cate won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2004 for Martin Scorsese's The Aviator. In 2013, the star scored a Best Actress Oscar for her role in the comedy-drama Blue Jasmine directed by Woody Allen. Previously, Cate called out cancel culture and said society will be 'destined to repeat' our mistakes if history is airbrushed. The star said she thinks it is important to have a 'healthy critique' of historical works of art and continue to study them despite the artists' actions. She used Pablo Picasso as an example as she said she could 'only imagine' what happened at the time but praised him for creating Guernica, which she deemed 'one of the greatest work of art ever'. She told Radio Times: 'You look at Picasso. You can only imagine what went on in, outside and around his studio. 'But do you look at Guernica and say that is one of the greatest works of art ever? Yes, it's a fact. I think it's important to have a healthy critique.' Friends: She grinned with friend and fellow TAR star Nina, who looked equally glamorous in a striped blue shirt paired with a black leather midi skirt Happy: Cate opted for minimal makeup, using a belt on her trousers to accentuate her slim figure She said: 'If you don't read older books that are slightly offensive because of what they say in a historical context, then you will never grapple with the minds of the time [and] we are destined to repeat that stuff.' Cate went on to say that her new movie Tar used cancel culture as a plot device to tackle 'existential' issues. Elsewhere in the interview, Cate also addressed the double standards women face in positions of power. She said: 'As a woman, when you don't wield your power in the way we see men wield their power then people think you don't know what you're doing, you don't know what you think.' Paris Hilton and her husband Carter Reum shared their first family photos with their infant son, Phoenix, who was born via surrogate last month, on Wednesday. The couple, who wed in November 2021 after more than two years of dating, looked every inch the doting parents as they unveiled their newborn's face to the world for the first time. In one image, Reum can be seen with his lips pressed against his wife's forehead as she tenderly held Phoenix in her arms with her eyes peacefully closed. Another showed the 42-year-old heiress giving her son a sweet kiss while rocking a white robe with lace sleeves, which matched her bundle of joy's beanie and onesie. The new mom looked blissful as her little one slept soundly on her shoulder with his mouth slightly agape as her spouse, 42, stood close by in a black long sleeve shirt. Mom and dad: Paris Hilton and her husband Carter Reum shared their first family photos with their infant son, Phoenix, on Wednesday Blissful: The couple, who wed in November 2021 after more than two years of dating, looked every inch the doting parents as they unveiled their newborn's face to the world for the first time Hilton sported a glamorous makeup look, consisting of a liquid black eyeliner, blush, nude lipstick and her blonde hair in loose waves that cascaded down her back and shoulders. The images come after the fragrance mogul revealed that she already has 'seven' more embryos in the hope of having more kids, less than a month after Phoenix's birth. While gracing the cover of Glamour UK, the socialite admitted that she and Carter decided to freeze embryos in the hope of starting a family, and that their collection are 'all boys.' Speaking in the candid new interview, the New York native added that she decided to use a surrogate as she has always been 'scared' of childbirth. She also confessed that she had previously had her eggs frozen on the advice of her pal Kim Kardashian, and had been planning to have a child on her own before she and Carter met. She said: 'I went and did the one round of IVF, because Kim had told me about it. So I had eggs frozen.' But when she and Carter met and tied the knot, they decided to start a family, and during the Covid lockdown they had embryos frozen, and they still have enough to have numerous children in the future. The heiress said: 'Carter and I had already been talking about the future and then the world was shut down, so I was like, ''What do you think about us making embryos?'' 'And he said, ''Yeah, let's do it.'' And we've done it seven times I have all boys. I have 20 boys.' Newborn: The images come after the fragrance mogul revealed that she already has 'seven' more embryos in the hope of having more kids, less than a month after Phoenix's birth Paris added that she always planned to have her baby with the help of a surrogate after developing a fear of doctors during her younger years at boarding school. She explained: 'I'm just so scared, I think, again, leading back to Provo of even being in a doctor's office, just all of that. 'The shots, the IVs that they put in [she claims they used to regularly take samples of her blood]. 'When I was in The Simple Life, I had to be in a room when a woman was giving birth and that traumatized me as well. 'But I want a family so bad, it's just the physical part of doing it. I'm just so scared childbirth and death are the two things that scare me more than anything in the world.' Blessed: In February, the reality star shocked fans when she revealed that she had welcomed her child via surrogate; seen earlier this month Paris shared the surprise news of her son's birth last month, and her interview comes just a day after revealing his mythical name for the first time. In February, the reality star shocked fans when she revealed that she had welcomed her child via surrogate. The heiress kept news of his arrival not only a secret to the public but her own family. She waited a week after Phoenix was born to share his arrival with loved ones. Paris previously spoke about her decision to keep her immediate family in the dark about her child until she was on the verge of announcing his birth. 'My entire life has been so public,' she told Harper's Bazaar. 'I've never had anything for myself. We decided that we wanted to have this whole experience to ourselves.' 'I want to protect him and to be with him every second. You have this mother instinct that kicks in, which I've never had before,' she said of her son. His other child: While this is her first child, Reum was revealed to have had a 'secret' daughter, named Evie, with ex Laura Bellizzi Alarming: News that he has a daughter broke just days after he married Hilton in a lavish wedding in Bel Air in November 2021; seen with wife Paris While this is her first child, Reum was revealed to have had a 'secret' daughter, named Evie, with ex Laura Bellizzi. News that he has a daughter broke just days after he married Hilton in a lavish wedding in Bel Air in November 2021. The couple had briefly dated in 2011 but split before Bellizzi, 46, discovered she was pregnant. At the time, there was speculation the baby was fathered by Mel Gibson, who Bellizzi also dated for a short time, but both sides adamantly denied that. Reum does pay child support for Evie, but has not allegedly seen her since she was an infant. He is worth an estimated $40million, after co-founding investment company M13 with his brother Courtney, 43. They also founded the liquor brand VEEV Spirits together. A source previously told DailyMail.com exclusively that: 'Carter has never once acknowledged Evie or given her so much as a birthday card or a Christmas present.' Ariana DeBose has defended her performance at the 2023 British Academy Film Awards after it was branded 'awkward' and 'painful' by viewers. The West Side Story star, 32, said she was contacted by BAFTAs bosses asking her to open the ceremony Speaking to Zoe Ball on her Radio 2 Breakfast Show, Ariana poked fun at the backlash by saying the host was 'one of the few' who loved her performance. In the interview, which will be broadcast on Monday, the Oscar winner explained that she was told her performance would 'celebrate women,' and she 'had a blast' despite viewers' negative reaction. Ariana's performance was intended to be an empowering rap about this year's female nominees, but its lyrics sparked a barrage of negative comments across social media. Breaking her silence: Ariana DeBose has defended her performance at the 2023 British Academy Film Awards after it was branded 'awkward' and 'painful' by viewers Oh dear! The Oscar winner's performance was slammed by viewers after it aired on Sunday, with many branding it 'awkward' and 'painful' Zoe told Ariana: 'Can I just say, our listeners, we all loved your performance. And that whole [reaction] I don't know what happened there?' Clearly agreeing with the host, Ariana added: 'You know what? You might be one of the few, but I'll take it because you're my people!' Continuing to heap praise on the performance, Zoe said: 'It was a woman singing and dancing, being magnificent celebrating women on a stage. Come on!' The Hollywood star added: 'That's what I wanted to do honestly it's not like I was like ''Hey BAFTA let me in''. They actually called me believe it or not (laughs). But that was the assignment, like come celebrate women, and I was like ''absolutely!'' 'And we did that and it was fun, not going to lie, I had a blast. So awesome. And then I spent the rest of the night like 'cutting a rug' with Emma Thompson it was fabulous I had a great time.' As Zoe noted: 'She has the moves doesn't she by the way?' Ariana added: 'Oh she does. Don't sleep on Dame Emma like don't! 'But Baz Lurhmann came and found me, and he was like 'no I think you're great, that was fun. I had fun' and I was like ''WERK'' that's a win you guys. And apparently gay Twitter seemed to like it. So that's good I'll take it!' On Wednesday, Ariana issued her first public statement regarding her opening performance after it sparked a flurry of memes from stunned viewers. Amusing: Speaking to Zoe Ball on her Radio 2 Breakfast Show, Ariana poked fun at the backlash by saying the host was 'one of the few' who loved her performance Banter: On Wednesday, Ariana issued her first public statement regarding her opening performance after it sparked a flurry of memes from stunned viewers The apparent outrage prompted a well-meaning DeBose to deactivate her Twitter account, but the star was back online after spotting a meme account devoted to her notorious performance on Instagram. Using one of the performance's memorable lyrics, one meme features a shot of former US President George W. Bush being told of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center by former Chief Of Staff Andy Card. The image, perhaps one of the defining moments from the 2001 tragedy, is superimposed with the words: 'Sir, Angela Bassett did the thing.' Responding to the lighthearted post on Tuesday, DeBose wrote: 'Honestly, I love this.' The performance began with a song as she was joined by dancers who tore off her skirt in impressive scenes, before going on to name check members of the star-studded audience. Racing to Twitter fans brandished the performance 'painful' and 'awkward' with one asking: 'Why did this happen?'. However later in the show Little Simz impressed audiences with her 'electrifying' performance as she took to the stage with Joan Armatrading. Unimpressed: Viewers were left stunned following Ariana's opening performance at the 76th EE British Academy Film Awards on Sunday night Following Ariana's perfomance one viewer wrote: 'P***ing myself laughing at Ariana DeBose's BAFTA song, why did this happen?'. With another adding: 'Absolutely awful she wouldn't get a ingle turn on [talent show] The Voice'. More agreed writing: 'It was awful' and 'God-awful'. Another said: 'Got a lot of time for the celebs who smiled charmingly and awkwardly during Ariana DeBose's painful BAFTA rap'. And: 'Ariana DeBose doing an absurd rap about the women up for things. She is, however such a pro (non more pro) so hardly matters'. Cringe: Racing to Twitter fans brandished the performance 'painful' and 'awkward' with one asking: 'Why did this happen?' Painful to watch: Racing to Twitter fans brandished the performance 'painful' and 'awkward' with one asking: 'Why did this happen?' Little Simz later performed her single Heart On Fire before music legend Joan Armatrading joined her on guitar in a surprise appearance. Fans gushed over the duo writing: 'Electrifying performance from Little Simz and Joan Armatrading'. With another adding: 'Little Simz and Joan Armatrading? That's more like it!' and 'Joan Armatrading is a legend'. With a fifth adding: 'Joan Armatrading playing the guitar and I'm immediately a lot more interested. Tune in to hear the full interview on Monday 27th February on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 from 6:30-9:30am. Jessica Rowe has spoken of her decision to quit her TV career to raise her family, revealing a part of her 'died' when she became a full-time housewife. The journalist and author, 52, who shares daughters Allegra, 16, and Giselle, 13, with her Channel Nine newsreader husband Peter Overton, announced in March 2018 she was leaving Studio 10 to spend more time with her family. Rowe has since made occasional guest appearances on television but has not had another high-profile hosting role. Discussing the shock she experienced after taking a break from her career to focus on motherhood, Rowe said there were times she would despair over how 'boring', 'routine' and 'exhausting' life could be as a housewife. She revealed her day-to-day conversations were becoming increasingly empty and pointless the more time she spent at home cleaning up after her children, and she feared she was losing her mind. Jessica Rowe has spoken of her decision to quit her TV career to raise her family, revealing a part of her 'died' when she became a full-time housewife. (Pictured Rowe and her husband Peter Overton with their teenage daughters Giselle and Allegra) The former Today show co-anchor said she once found herself asking, 'What has happened to me?' after having a bizarre debate with her daughters about whether or not Elmo the Muppet has a penis. 'I did feel like a part of me was dying on the inside,' she said on the Jess Rowe Big Talk Show podcast this week. 'My brain had gone on holidays and I thought, "What has happened to me? This vibrant person who could interview people." Now I'm finding I'm having debates about does Elmo have a penis?' she added. 'And, you know, I'd be having these discussions with my daughters going, "How have I gone down this rabbit hole?" 'Why did I even say yes? And they were like, "But where is it [Elmo's penis]?" And I said, "It's hiding under his fur." 'And, and I remember later going, "Why did I even say that?" Why didn't I just say, "He's a Muppet? No, he doesn't." Why didn't I say that? Instead, I had to have a debate about whether or not he had a penis.' The journalist and author, 52, who shares daughters Allegra, 16, and Giselle, 13, with her Channel Nine newsreader husband Peter Overton (all pictured), announced in March 2018 she was leaving Studio 10 to spend more time with her family While she admitted going from a busy career to being a stay-at-home mum was difficult at times, she firmly believes you can be a housewife and a feminist. 'The term housewife for me is about empowerment. It's about doing life,' she said. Rowe stepped down as a panellist on Studio 10 in March 2018 to spend more time with her family. She is now a podcaster, blogger and cookbook author. 'There wasn't a light-bulb moment in terms of making this decision, but we went on a family holiday last year [and] I started to think long and hard about how being present with them made them feel and made me feel,' she said at the time. Rowe stepped down as a panellist on Studio 10 in March 2018 to spend more time with her family. She revealed a year later she'd been close to breaking point when she decided to quit She told the Australian Women's Weekly a year later she'd been close to breaking point when she decided to quit her morning TV role. 'I could feel at the end of each show, not every day, but most days I would be close to tears,' she said. 'I'd feel that behind my eyes and was just about keeping it together. And I thought, "Why am I doing this to myself?" 'I knew that I was heading down, I knew that my anxiety was there, that I was getting depressed and that if I didn't make a change I'd start to falter.' Paul Mescal cut a dapper figure as he arrived at the Gods Creatures screening in Dublin on Thursday night. He sported a white shirt paired with a black tie and leather jacket as he took selfies with fans on the red carpet. Gods Creatures is about a windswept fishing village in which a mother is torn between protecting her beloved son and her own sense of right and wrong. A lie she tells for him rips apart their family and close-knit community in this tense, sweepingly emotional epic. Paul plays Brian O'Hara, who unexpectedly returns home after a move to Australia. Smart: Paul Mescal cut a dapper figure in a white shirt and tie paired with a leather jacket as he arrived at the Gods Creatures screening in Dublin on Thursday night Selfies: The actor smiled as he posed for selfies with fans on the red carpet at the event in Dublin The star was all smiles as he posed with Emily Watson, who plays his mother Aileen in the film. It comes after Paul broke his silence on his split from Phoebe Bridgers in an emotional new interview - after previously urging people speculating on the relationship to 'shut the f*** up'. The Oscar-nominee is featured on the cover of the latest edition of The Hollywood Reporter and opened up about the end of his romance from musician Bridgers, 28. When asked if he will ever touch on the subject of their split, Mescal said: 'Maybe at some point. But just not now. Its just difficult territory. Yeah.' It has been rumoured for months that Mescal had split from 28-year-old musician Phoebe Bridgers which he has yet to address directly. This was a much different answer to the one he gave in an interview just last week. 'Sometimes I can drown it out and then other times it makes me really mad and upset,' he told the latest issue of Vanity Fair. 'People are going to write and say things because theres a certain interest with any person whos in the public eye in how that person lives their life, and who theyre living up with, and what theyre doing and how theyre going about doing it. Grins: Other fans stood with phones for pictures and Normal People books for Paul to sign as he made his way along the carpet Poses: Separate fans watched on as Paul took more images with people gathered along the red carpet 'And look, a lot of the time people are really kind about their support for me. Thats my predominant experience.' Mescal, a self-confessed Bridgers fan prior to their first meeting, began dating the talented musician in 2020 - shortly after the remarkable BBC drama Normal People turned him into a household name. Bridgers has since been linked to comedian Bo Burnham following a reported split in December, and Mescal admits questions regarding his former relationship are unwanted. He said: 'I definitely feel the temptation to say the status of my whateverthat will always be there. But I dont think thats a wise thing to do. 'When Normal People came out, I was very forthright in interviews, and it didnt actually serve me. But the temptation still exists to be like, Shut the f**k up. This is my life. This is whats going on. Or this is whats going on. 'But moving forward as much as I can, thats going to be my life that is private. Thats a difficult thing to achieve. But giving strangers an answer about my life doesnt actually help me. 'Its like a quick boost of serotonin, being like, Ive said what I need to say. And then its just Twitter fodder.' Elsewhere in the chat, Mescal discussed his intimate first meeting with Nicole Kidman. Fun: The fan also smiled with Emily Watson on the red carpet as the anticipation built for the event in Dublin Co-stars: Paul was all smiles as he posed with Emily, who plays his mother Aileen in Gods Creatures Smiles: The star also posed with Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media As Mescal starred in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida Theatre in North London, Kidman was in attendance at one of the recent shows where she led a standing ovation. The Irish actor revealed that his first meeting with the Oscar-winner happened when he was in his underwear. The hunky actor explained: 'She came to the [mens] dressing room. We were in our pants.' The play had a successful run at the Almeida Theater and will now move on to a six-week run in London's iconic West End in March. He formed a special bond with Queen Elizabeth while commanding the Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department, becoming known as Her Majesty's 'favourite copper'. But Peter St Clair Erskine, 7th Earl of Rosslyn plain 'Peter Loughborough' to colleagues during his decades in the Metropolitan Police has now embedded himself in royal service more firmly than ever. On Wednesday, he went to Buckingham Palace where he was received by King Charles, 'kissed hands' a courtly expression rather than a literal description and received a white staff, known as 'the Wand of Office', on his appointment as Lord Steward, in succession to the Earl of Dalhousie. Rosslyn, 64, thereby becomes the 'first dignitary of the King's court' a role for which his understated charm and discretion eminently suit him, not to mention his membership of White's, grandest of gentlemen's clubs, where Charles held his stag party before his wedding to Lady Diana Spencer. Or, indeed, his ownership of Rosslyn Chapel setting of the finale of The Da Vinci Code. Arresting presence: Commander Peter Loughborough with Queen Elizabeth II The Earl of Rosslyn from Reading is decorated with The Queen's Police Medal by The Queen at Buckingham Palace Educated at Eton and Bristol University, he had already inherited his title by the time he joined the Met in 1981 and was soon patrolling the insalubrious south London streets of Peckham and Southwark. Promoted to chief inspector in the 1990s, he led Operation Troodos against crack dealing on the notorious Mozart Estate in London's north Paddington. Involving 30 undercover officers, Troodos was one of the capital's most ambitious drugs operations. It was also one of the most successful, resulting in the arrest of several dealers including one who'd been supplying Rosslyn's fellow aristocrat, the Marquess of Blandford, now the entirely reformed 12th Duke of Marlborough. King Charles talkin with Peter St Clair-Erskine on day two of Royal Ascot on June, 15, 2022 England Commander Peter Loughborough (left), King Charles and Queen Consort at The Metropolitan Police Annual Memorial Service & Reception In Hendon, London. In the following decade, months after he took charge of royal protection, Rosslyn had to contend with the aftermath of a serious security breach when Aaron Barschak, 37, gate-crashed Prince William's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle, talking his way past a number of police officers and kissing William on both cheeks. But the Earl, who is married with four children, is entirely familiar with the wheel of fortune. His thrice-married great-grandfather, James, the 5th Earl, a reckless gambler, lost the family estates, was twice bankrupted and fled abroad. Only Rosslyn Chapel remained in the family's hands. Fleabag Phoebe reveals her timely secret to success Fleabag star Phoebe Waller-Bridge has some controversial advice for women: don't undertake important work when you have premenstrual tension (PMT). Phoebe Waller-Bridge when she attended the World Premiere of 'No Time To Die' at the Royal Albert Hall on September 28, 2021 in London 'From a practical point of view, I try not to [push ideas] if I've got PMT,' the actress and screenwriter tells aspiring thespians in a talk to members of the Masterclass acting scheme at Theatre Royal Haymarket. 'I avoid doing any readings or pitches around that time.' Waller-Bridge, 37, whose company made almost 20million in 2021 after she contributed to the screenplay for the last James Bond film, No Time To Die, adds: 'When you're feeling really great, that is when you just go out and pitch your work if you can. 'It sounds really silly, but I mean it. I went into that Bond meeting when I was ovulating and I smashed it.' Eamonn Holmes claims youngsters aren't being prepared to cope with life's hardships because they're being too mollycoddled. 'What are we doing with young people today?' asks the GB News star, 63. 'When we all sat our exams in an assembly hall, you had adjudicators and invigilators. 'Now, you get kids with carers because some of them are feeling anxious. Well, that's what exams are supposed to do.' Three A&E trips for Paxo and love University Challenge quizmaster Jeremy Paxman has revealed he had to make two visits to A&E in the space of 24 hours, while his girlfriend, Jillian Taylor, was also admitted to hospital. 'I was watching a family of squirrels outside my window, when I was seized by a pain in my chest,' explains Paxo, 72, who suffers from Parkinson's disease. 'I have read enough to know heart attacks are usually accompanied by pains down the arm.' Taylor, who's 29 years his junior, returned home to walk their dog, only to fall into a hole in the road, breaking her ankle. Then, after returning home himself, Paxo fell over. 'There was an awful lot of blood on the floor and down my shirt,' he writes in Saga Exceptional. 'Back to A&E. By now [it was] the early hours of Friday the 13th.' Prince Harry's book, Spare, would no doubt have appalled his grandmother. But children's television presenter Floella Benjamin says her own memoir, What Are You Doing Here?, was on Queen Elizabeth's desk at Balmoral when she died. 'Some of you may know I was appointed to the Order of Merit last November and, apparently, it was because Her Majesty had my book on her desk,' Baroness Benjamin tells guests at the Parliamentary Book Awards, where she won Best Autobiography. 'Two days before she died, she said: 'I want to appoint Floella Benjamin to the Order of Merit to show children that anything is possible.' Party on, Helena, but it sounds barking! Supermodel Helena Christensen is determined that her faithful friend is treated like a catwalk queen. To celebrate the seventh birthday of her Australian Shepherd, Kuma, she dressed her up in a white lace cape, party hat and a blue bow tie. Supermodel Helena Christensen, 54, posing with Kuma, her Australian Shepard dog Helena Christensen is determined that her faithful friend is treated like a catwalk queen Celebrating the seventh birthday of her Australian Shepherd, Kuma, she dressed her up in a white lace cape, party hat and a blue bow tie Helena also treated her to a birthday 'cake', with a candle and a pointy party hat to celebrate Helena also treated her to a birthday 'cake', with a candle, explaining: 'All she wanted for her seventh birthday was a 20-layer lasagne.' The Danish mannequin, 54, has previously credited Kuma with 'saving' her spirit during a 'rough time' in her life. 'I never had a dog before her and had no idea how much love and joy these four-legged friends bring into our lives,' she said. 'Kuma is so smart, loyal, protective and incredibly loving. She makes us laugh all day long. 'They say we don't deserve dogs, and perhaps that's true, but I will do my damn best to deserve Kuma every single day she's with me.' Addison Rae revealed that she scored her second acting gig in Eli Roths upcoming horror film, Thanksgiving, over Instagram on Thursday afternoon. The 22-year-old social media sensation announced that she will star in the gory flick, based on a fake movie trailer from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguezs 2007 double-feature Grindhouse. Patrick Dempsey has also been cast in the movie, written by Jeff Rendel, which is being produced by Spyglass Media and directed by Roth. Shooting on the project begins in March, according to Deadline. The publication noted that Thanksgiving will be 'about a pseudo movie, in which a slasher makes his own carving board out of the inhabitants of a Massachusetts town that makes a big annual fuss over the annual turkey day.' Rising movie star: Addison Rae revealed that she scored her second acting gig in Eli Roths upcoming horror film, Thanksgiving, over Instagram on Thursday afternoon; seen in 2022 'Lets eat,' Rae captioned a screenshot of the Deadline article to her Instagram, which received mroe than 62,028 likes in an hour. The actress was flooded with support in her comment section, which was inundated with congratulations messages from fans and her celebrity pals. 'My girl,' Dance Moms star Maddie Ziegler wrote under Rae's post, to which the social media personality replied: 'my wife.' Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, who stars on Netflix's teen comedy series Never Have I Ever, commented three celebratory raising hands emojis. In 2021, she signed a multi-picture deal with with streaming giant Netflix, which included her starring role as Padgett Sawyer in He's All That. Despite the film being panned by critics, gender-swapped remake of He's All That instantly shot to the top spot on Netflix's most popular movies upon its release. While speaking about making her acting debut, , Rae said in a statement to Variety: 'Getting the opportunity to work with Netflix was such a pinch me moment and now to be able to continue the relationship is beyond my wildest dreams.' 'Im thrilled to be able to collaborate with this incredible team and am excited to develop projects while continuing to strengthen my skills as an actress,' she gushed. The original, a modern update of George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion and the musical My Fair Lady, starred Freddie Prinze Jr. as a popular high schooler who accepted a bet to turn a nerdy girl (Rachael Leigh Cooke) into that year's prom queen. Spooky: The 22-year-old social media sensation announced that she will star in the gory flick , based on a fake movie trailer from Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguezs 2007 double-feature Grindhouse 'Lets eat,' Rae captioned a screenshot of the Deadline article to her Instagram, which received mroe than 62,028 likes in an hour Star-studded cast: Patrick Dempsey also recently joined the movie, written by Jeff Rendel, which is being produced by Spyglass Media and directed by Roth In the newest version, Addison played a popular Instagram influencer and high school senior who accepts a challenge to turn an introverted photographer (Tanner Buchanan) into the prom king. The film became a smashing success as Netflix estimated that more than 55 million households watched the remake within the first month it hit the platform and reached #1 on the streaming platform in 78 countries. While He's All That is her only acting credit, she has appeare in several music videos and appeared on Hailey Bieber's second episode of Who's in my Bathroom? on YouTube. Additionally, she made a cameo on her pal Kourtney Kardashian's reality show Keeping Up With the Kardashians in 2021. She is an Instagram sensation boasting just shy of 20million followers. And Demi Rose looked sensational as she shared a slew of sizzling throwback snaps from her trip to Egypt on Wednesday. The model, 27, went underwear free in a chic white maxi skirt with a daring thigh-high split. She put on a busty display in a sheer lace bodysuit, while accessorising with several beaded necklaces. The beauty opted for a bronzed makeup palette which accentuated her natural features, teamed with a glossy nude lip. Gorgeous: Demi Rose looked sensational in an all-white ensemble as she shared a slew of sizzling throwback snaps from her trip to Egypt on Wednesday Stylish: The model, 27, went underwear free in a chic white maxi skirt with a daring thigh-high split Demi styled her long brunette locks in loose waves as she posed while sat on a couch in a historic looking building. It comes after Demi was happy to arrive back home in Ibiza earlier this month after her extended trip to Egypt - despite only now sharing these pictures from her trip. The model shared a series of photos of her last shoot in the Middle East before she headed back to Ibiza, with a quick stop off in London. She shared one last sizzling snap from her Red Sea stay, fashioning a barely-there outfit out of a piece of fabric as she posed on a balcony. 'Bliss' Demi captioned the photo as she pulled off a seductive pose and perfect pout. Then it was time to catch a flight, with Demi landing in London where she underwent some cosmetic treatments. Then finally the star was on her way to Ibiza, which she currently calls home. After touching down, the social media model couldn't resist a welcome home shoot, stripping down to black lace lingerie. Sharing selfies in the mirror, Demi flaunted her curves in a strapless bra, playfully pouting for the camera. 'There's no place like home' Demi gushed as she also shared a look at the incredible landscape near her Ibiza home. Sizzling: It comes after Demi was happy to arrive back home in Ibiza last week after her extended trip to Egypt as she posed in a lace black bra on her Instagram Story Demi, who was once romantically linked to rapper Tyga, recently opened up about her sexuality and her troubled childhood in a candid Instagram Q&A. The model has not previously discussed her sexuality but admitted to her followers that she is open to dating women. Asked 'Boys, girls or both?' by a follower, she responded: 'I went through a phase of liking girls more than guys. Now I'm more into guys. It just depends.' Detailing what she's looking for in partner she went on to share that she's on the hunt for someone 'inspiring, honest, well put together, a deep soul that's open minded, kind, ambitious and thoughtful'. Jonathan Ross' daughter Betty shared a rare photo dump to Instagram on Thursday afternoon. The celebrity offspring, 31, shared a snap of herself sat outside in her wheelchair holding her beloved pet pooch Pumpkin. Betty cut a casual figure in a pale pink checked shirt and grey joggers, while wrapping a scarf around her head. She also posted a sweet photo of her chat show host father, 62, and writer mother Jane Goldman, 52, during a day trip to the seaside. She captioned the post: 'January. It's mainly Swanage/seaside pics again, but still fun to post I think.' Sweet: Jonathan Ross' daughter Betty cosied up to her beloved pet pooch as she shared a rare photo dump to Instagram on Thursday afternoon Family: The celebrity offspring, 31, also posted a sweet photo of her chat show host father, 62, and writer mother Jane Goldman, 52, during a day trip to the seaside Late last year, Jonathan discussed his daughter Betty's battle with fibromyalgia, saying she is currently using an electric wheelchair. The TV personality opened up about her long-term illness, revealing she can't walk too far but has been 'showing some improvement. Betty also suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome and postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) which causes an abnormal increase in the heart rate after sitting or standing. Jonathan revealed his daughter's diagnosis last year, explaining that they originally believed she was suffering with long Covid. In October 2021, he cancelled his iconic star-studded Halloween bash because he didn't want create a 'superspreader' event or 'party' while Betty was 'ill upstairs'. Speaking on Friday's Loose Women, Jonathan said: 'She has fibromyalgia and she has chronic fatigue syndrome and POTS syndrome as well, which is where your heart rate shoots up.' On Betty's current treatment, he added: 'We found a good there's a thing called the Perrin treatment. The guy who invented it, he came to talk to me about it and she looked it up online because she's a smart young woman, so she has to want to do the treatment. 'You know, I mean, I can't just say to her "try this, try that" if she thinks it's wrong in some way and if she's not going to enter it one hundred per cent, of course it's not worth doing. Outing: Betty cut a casual figure in a pale pink checked shirt and grey joggers, while wrapping a scarf around her head 'But we've been having that treatment going on and she's definitely showing some improvement.' Fibromyalgia is a long-term condition that causes pain all over the body. Aside from pain, other symptoms can include muscle stiffness, headaches and problems with mental processes, known as 'fibro-fog'. Jonathan, who is also father to Honey, 25, and Harvey, 28, with his wife Jane Goldman, revealed the impact it has had on both his daughter and their family's life. He said: 'She still can't walk very far. We got her an electric wheelchair in the summer, so we can at least go out and go for walks with the dogs and that's lifted her spirits a lot. 'Because that's the problem, if anyone out there who knows or who's got someone with a long term illness, you know, it's the depression. Being stuck indoors and not being able to join in with things because even stairs are a challenge to her. 'So if we're going out we have to give her plenty of time to get ready, get downstairs and then have a rest before we go to the next step, you know. She captioned the post: 'January. It's mainly Swanage/seaside pics again, but still fun to post I think.' 'It does have an impact but the good news is she's definitely showing improvement and feeling better in herself. So we're relieved and we're happy with that.' Jonathan agreed with Loose Women co-host Kaye Adams who candidly admitted: 'As a parent you just want to fix your children, don't you?' He said: 'I'm terrible at that as well, even if my wife [Jane Goldman] tells me something's wrong in her day, I have to try and remind myself that sometimes I just need to listen. 'Because as soon as she tells me something, I go "Well, I'll phone this guy and I'll do this" and she goes "Okay, I don't I'm not interested, I just wanted to tell you I had this bad day." 'And I go "Well who did that and why" and sometimes we don't communicate Because my immediate instinct and I think this is common to a lot of people, men in particular, is if there's a problem, fix it. '[If] there's a problem, share it. Because I don't really want to be in an unhappy place ever. 'So I really struggle and I have to remind myself that sometimes what she needs in a partner is someone to listen and share it. So it's a learning thing.' Interview: Late last year, Jonathan discussed his daughter Betty's battle with fibromyalgia, saying she is currently using an electric wheelchair Jonathan jokingly added: 'And I'm still a very young man, so I've got plenty of time to master it!' In 2021, Jonathan cancelled his legendary Halloween party over fears that he would create a 'superspreader' event amid the Covid-19 pandemic after his daughter's diagnosis. He explained that his family initially believed Betty was dealing with long Covid before her fibromyalgia diagnosis. Speaking about his party at the time, he said it didn't feel right to 'party' while his daughter was 'locked upstairs'. He explained: 'One of our children isn't well... it's fibromyalgia which is quite debilitating. 'She's back home with us and we're looking after her. She's upstairs and I thought, 'I can't in good conscience have a big loud fun party downstairs and one of my kids is locked in a room upstairs'. It would be like something out of a horror novel.' Jonathan, whose annual bash is a staple of the celebrity calendar, explained that he didn't feel comfortable throwing the party while she was struggling with the condition. He said he feared any of his guests falling ill from Covid after attending the party, and so decided to cancel the event. Daughter: The TV personality opened up about her long-term illness, revealing she can't walk too far but has been 'showing some improvement Jonathan said: 'I had a feeling it wasn't going to be over yet and it does look like the figures are creeping up again. So I really am conscious that I don't want to be part of any super-spreading event. 'We always have a couple of hundred people to the party and as you know, about half of them are from showbusiness.' 'So if there was a breakout would wipe out half the shows on TV, so we don't want that, we wouldn't want to be a superspreader event.' His famous party returned in full force this October and the bash has hosted some the UK's biggest stars, including Holly Willoughby, Nicole Scherzinger, Alan Carr and Joan Collins. Paul Mescal has claimed he was recently harassed by a 'creepy fan' outside of the Almeida Theatre in Islington, north London. He was starring in a sell-out run of the Tennessee Williams classic, A Streetcar Named Desire when a fan approached him after the show. During an interview with Alexandra Jones for ES Magazine, Paul said the women 'grabbed my ass' without consent. Speaking on his experience of fame, Paul said: '97 per cent of it is really nice - then 3 per cent is somebody, like, grabbing your ass.' He then explained: 'As we posed for it [photo], she put her hand on my ass. I thought it was an accident, so I like,' he gets up from his chair and shimmies awkwardly away from an imaginary hand, 'but the hand followed. I remember tensing up and feeling just, like, fury. 'Take your hand off my ass': Paul Mescal claimed he was recently harassed by a 'creepy fan' outside of the Almeida Theatre in Islington as he spoke to ES Magazine about the incident 'I turned to her and said, "What're you doing? Take your hand off my ass". The last thing I want to do, is call somebody out in front of the theatre - it's uncomfortable for everyone involved - but it was really not okay. It was so gross, creepy.' Paul flashed his inked skin as he posed in a white tank top on the front cover of ES Magazine which was photographed by Steve Harnacke and styled by Ben Schofield. The actor, 27, then looked very dapper as he slipped into a black suit with a crisp white shirt. Paul was recently nominated for a BAFTA, but he missed out on the gong to Austin Butler for his part in Elvis. The Normal People star has also been nominated for a Best Actor Oscar next month and said: 'It's crazy right? Look, I'm not going to win. So it's kind of low-stakes pressure, I can basically just sit back and enjoy it.' Paul's mother Dearbhla, who has cancer, said it was 'amazing' to be taken to the BAFTAs on Sunday by her actor son. The star's parent is having chemotherapy for a type of bone marrow cancer and she expressed her gratitude to be part of her son's 'crazy ride' after he was nominated for Best Actor for his role in Aftersun. She told the Mirror: 'These past few days feel like I was in a movie... my heart is just so very grateful. 'What an amazing, amazing gift this was to be part of this incredible, crazy ride.' His mother also spoke out on whether she will attend the awards in Los Angeles next month. Speaking on Morning Ireland on RTE Radio 1, she said: 'If everything goes OK, I just might be. 'If not, I hope to be there with my fluffy socks... and watch it from a TV screen. 'But Id like to be on that side of the world... Life is pretty magical and you can take the hits when things are good around you.' Speaking out: During an interview with Alexandra Jones, Paul said the women 'grabbed my ass' without consent Handsome: The actor, 27, looked very dapper as he slipped into a black suit with a crisp white shirt as he posed on the cover of the Magazine It comes after it emerged film star Paul will begin filming on Gladiator 2 this summer. He is set to star in the long-awaited sequel to Sir Ridley Scott's historical epic and has now revealed that production is set to start later this year. Quizzed about the movie at the BAFTAs on Sunday, Paul told Deadline : 'In the summer. I'm not sure when the exact start date is but soon.' It was previously reported that the movie had been delayed due to Paul's theatre commitments as he is currently playing Stan Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire on London's West End. Specific details about the flick remain a closely-guarded secret but it has been confirmed that Paul will take on the role of Lucius the son of Connie Nielsen's character Lucilla and Joaquin Phoenix's Commodus from the original film. Russell Crowe has ruled out returning as Maximus Decimus Meridius in the project that is due to be released in 2024 with Scott returning as director and explained that it won't be a 'direct sequel' to the Oscar-winning original. The 58-year-old star said on the Fitzy and Wippa podcast: 'Yeah we've had dinner and talked about it and all that stuff. So I know roughly how he's shaping the story. Family affair: Paul's mother Dearbhla, who has cancer, said it was 'amazing' to be taken to the BAFTAs on Sunday by her actor son (L-R Paul, Dearbhla and her husband Paul) 'But yeah, if you remember, there was a young kid who wanted to beat the Gladiator, which leads to the 'My name is' speech. 'So that young kid has grown up, and he's now the Emperor. 'I don't know what else happens at that point, so that's the idea. 'So it's not a remake. And it's not a direct sequel. It's not like the day after, you know, 30 years later or something.' The full Paul Mescal interview comes out in ES Magazine on Thursday By Jeon Su-mi Korea-Japan relations, Korea always compares the attitudes of Japan with post-World War II Germany. While Germany adequately apologized for the past and thoroughly educates new generations about its history, in Japan's case, after the prime minister's apology, Japanese politicians continue to visit the Yasukuni Shrine every year, which honors war criminals. Besides, Germany refers to losing the war as 'defeat,' but Japan refers to its loss as 'the end of the war.' Moreover, Germany named the Allied Forces "occupation forces" at the time, but Japan referred to them by an obscure name making it impossible to know who won and who lost the war. These historical expressions are also the reason why Japan is criticized for not reflecting on its history. Korea continues to raise the issue that Japan did not make a genuine apology and contrition regarding colonization. Japan, currently, states that South Korea's raising of the issue of forced labor is a violation of the two countries' 1965 Agreement. There are voices asking why among many other Asian countries, apologies have to be repeated only to Korea. Based on these differences, what should the government do in order to improve bilateral relations with Japan by resolving the issue of forced labor and pursuing future-oriented cooperation between Korea and Japan in a new era? First, in domestic politics, the current government should adopt an objective and impartial perspective in resolving the issue of forced labor while reaffirming the differences in views and perceptions between South Korea and Japan. In this regard, Japanese politicians claim that in the 1965 Agreement, the forced labor issue was settled. The Roh Moo-hyun administration stated that the forced labor issue was included in the 1965 agreement, but the issue of detained Koreans in Sakhalin, comfort women and the victims of the atomic bomb were not. On the other hand, the 1965 Claims Settlement Agreement was a negotiation under the dictatorship of Park Chung-hee without the consent of the victims. Even if it is accepted the negotiations between Korea and Japan were concluded by the related agreement, the individual victim's right to make a claim still exists under international law. In order to resolve this issue internationally, the government needs to take a proactive approach in leading a constructive social discourse for resolving the forced labor issue within South Korea, in terms of domestic politics. One such approach is to develop an agreement between the senior representatives of the Korean and Japanese lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties, and then come to a conclusion after the victims, civic groups, and academic officials all gather together to have a discussion on the agreement between the ruling and opposition parties. Adhering to these methods can reduce wasteful arguments and gather public opinion. Subsequently, it is imperative to directly engage with each victim to ascertain their stance on the issue of compensation. This includes clarifying whether they desire remuneration through the liquidation of Japanese corporate assets, grounded in the recent verdict of the Supreme Court, or if they instead advocate for a sincere apology from the Japanese side. Finally, the Korean government needs to meet with Japanese leaders with an open mind, considering the Kim Dae-jung-Obuchi declaration as a model for Korean-Japanese bilateral relations. The Japanese government prioritizes the prevention of the monetization of Japanese corporate assets in South Korea. The Korean government should emphasize that the desired outcome for the victims of forced mobilization is a sincere apology from Japan and request it. However, so far, there has been no concrete definition of a "sincere apology" in Korea. One may have various thoughts on the matter, however, in this context, I interpret "sincere apology" to mean an apology that aligns with both the words expressing remorse and the actions following it. The past letters of apology from Japanese prime ministers to the victims have been perceived by Koreans as incongruous with their actions, such as visiting Yasukuni Shrine. In addition, the removal of content related to colonization in Japanese textbooks as per the direction of the Japanese government and as the annual statement by the Japanese foreign minister regarding the sovereignty of the island of Dokdo is observed, the Korean public' perceives the Japanese prime minister's apologies as insincere, eliciting frustration and anger among the Korean people day by day. As a result of such incidents, despite multiple instances of Japan expressing apologies towards Korea, it continues to hold Japan accountable and demands a "sincere apology." However, it is unrealistic to request a full menu including demands for acknowledging the illegality of Japan's colonization and its description in Japanese textbooks, requesting compensation to Korea, in the scope of asking for a "sincere apology." One reason is that Japan's current economic situation, characterized by a 30-year period of decline, precludes the feasibility of demands due to a lack of resources. It is also important to recognize that the Kim Dae-jung-Ohbuchi declaration was possible due to the economic and psychological leisure in Japan as a result of its bubble economy. In the end, the demand for an apology from the Korean side will also disappear when "consistent appearance," after the direct apology to the victims by the current Japanese Prime Minister, is guaranteed. Jeon Su-mi (sumijeon@ssu.ac.kr), an attorney, is an invited professor at the Soongsil Institute for Peace and Unification. She was a member of the Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation. Her areas of specialty include South Korean politics and foreign policy, North Korean politics and human rights. Country Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Canada Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cuba, Republic of Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Dominican Republic Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Haiti, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Jamaica Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Mexico, United Mexican States Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu US Virgin Islands Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland United States Minor Outlying Islands United States of America Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Lee Sang-yup, head of Hyundai and Genesis Global Design Center / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor By Park Jae-hyuk The head of Hyundai and Genesis Global Design Center defeated the BYD chairman, the Lucid Motors CEO and top engineers of BMW Group and Toyota Motor in the final round to become the World Car Person of the Year. The World Car Awards jury panel representing 100 journalists from 32 countries recently voted Hyundai Motor Executive Vice President Lee Sang-yup as this year's award winner. As a result, Hyundai Motor Group won the award for the second consecutive year. Luc Donckerwolke, the Korean automotive group's chief creative officer, was last year's winner. The jury panel recognized Lee for his creativity that was behind some of the most stunning and innovative concept and production cars unveiled in 2022, including the IONIQ 6, the new Kona and the N Vision 74. "Lee's strong design philosophy, vision and leadership have been instrumental in shaping Hyundai's new design language, as demonstrated by the brand's recent successes," the jury panel said in a press release. To be eligible for the award, candidates must have made a significant contribution to the global automotive industry with global repercussions during the period of Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2022. That contribution could include a significant impact on their brand or company, for example, or a significant safety, engineering, design or technical advancement or other significant benefits for the consumer. "This honor is not the recognition of an individual but a testament to a shared collective passion for creativity encouraged by the dedication of Hyundai top management who set us high standards to achieve," Lee said. "Hyundai is taking on many challenges, but this is just the beginning. We believe our greatest achievements lie ahead of us." Ideas Take Flight at Professional Model Makers Convention Join us for 4 days of model shop tours, workshops and speakers! On Saturday March 4 our Industry Expo will be free and open to the public from 4 to 7pm. Come find out what professional model making is and the materials, tools and equipment used in this diverse field. Everything humans make starts out as an idea. When those ideas need help to become something tangible, model makers step in to help by creating physical or virtual objects from these ideas. Model Makers working in the fields of Product Development, Architecture, TV/Film, Exhibits, Gaming, Transportation, Education and more will get training, tour facilities, meet vendors, network, and more to help advance their careers and businesses during their biennial industry conference, taking place in Dayton March 36, 2023 at the Dayton Convention Center. The Dayton Convention & Visitors Bureau is thrilled to welcome the Association of Professional Model Makers to Dayton, states Jacquelyn Y. Powell, Dayton Convention & Visitors Bureau President and CEO. This prestigious conference brings attendees from around the country, as well as international visitors, to Destination Dayton, the Birthplace of Aviation & So Much More! Its a wonderful opportunity to introduce them to everything the region has to offer. The Association of Professional Model Makers (APMM) is an international organization founded in 1993 to represent and unite model makers, managers, and business owners who turn ideas into reality for their clients or coworkers. Past conference participants have come from large corporations such as Nike, Disney, Whirlpool, Garmin, Steelcase, Bose, and Microsoft. Other participants include universities with model making programs both in the United States and United Kingdom, regional companies, independent shops, and consulting firms from around the world. A highlight of the conference will be the Industry Expo, which will be open to the public and showcases whats new in materials, methods, equipment, and tools for making models and prototypes. Visitors will also be welcome to speak with industry experts on how to pursue a future career in Professional Model Making. The Industry Expo takes place from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 4. For conference participants, the four-day schedule includes visits to model making facilities and behind-the-scenes tours of museums and other sites of interest in the Dayton, Columbus, and Cincinnati areas. They will be able to choose from 30 workshops designed to enhance their own model-making capabilities, as well as the productivity and profitability of their workplaces. There will be a variety of opportunities to network, win prizes, and have fun. Students in model making programs are especially welcome! A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier undergoes testing at POSCO International's liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, Tuesday. Courtesy of POSCO International By Park Jae-hyuk SHINAN COUNTY/GWANGYANG, South Jeolla Province A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier anchored in a dock attached to POSCO International's liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, was undergoing a test on Tuesday, ahead of its first voyage this week. Inside the Greek shipping company-owned vessel, built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, was a Korean captain and his foreign crew, who will transport the low-carbon fuel. "We had to test our ships in other countries, when there were no empty spots at LNG terminals run by the Korea Gas Corp.," a Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries official told reporters on board. "Thanks to POSCO International's LNG terminal, however, we have been able to test more vessels in Korea." The facility is Korea's first privately owned LNG terminal. POSCO International has five LNG tanks there, which can collectively store 730,000 kiloliters of gas. The company has leased the tanks to multiple energy companies in Korea, while sending certain amounts of LNG to POSCO Group's other affiliates. The terminal's No. 6 LNG tank under construction was also disclosed to the press. The construction of the dome-shaped tank which is 90 meters in diameter and 56 meters in height is supposed to be finished by June 2024. A POSCO International official in charge of the terminal's construction projects said that the tank can endure a minus 162 degrees Celsius storage temperature, thanks to the high-manganese steel encasing the tank. The material, which was developed independently by POSCO, is more affordable than 9 percent nickel steel, which is used for No. 1 to 4 tanks. "This tank can withstand a 6.5-magnitude earthquake, as well as missile attacks," the POSCO International official said. The interior of the No. 6 liquefied natural gas (LNG) tank, which is under construction at POSCO International's LNG terminal in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province / Courtesy of POSCO International Late last month, POSCO International began building a second LNG terminal next to the first one. Intending to build two 200,000-kiloliter tanks by the end of 2025, the company seeks for its Gwangyang LNG terminal to become the world's 11th-largest LNG terminal. "With a stable supply of LNG, we will offer vessel testing and bunkering services at our terminal, so as to enhance our competitiveness in the global market," POSCO International said in a press release. Shinan Green Energy's wind turbines stand in a row along the coast on Jaeun Island in Shinan County, South Jeolla Province, Tuesday. Courtesy of POSCO International Gold weighing 14.9 kg, valued at around Rs 7.89 crore was seized from 23 women passengers, all Sudan nationals at the Hyderabad international airport (Representational image: DC) Hyderabad: Gold weighing 14.9 kg, valued at around Rs 7.89 crore was seized from 23 women passengers, all Sudan nationals at the international airport here, Customs officials said on Thursday. In the recent past, this is one of the biggest seizures of gold by Hyderabad Customs at the RGI airport, they said. Based on passenger profiling and intelligence, Air Intelligence Unit of Hyderabad Customs in coordination with officers of Airport Customs, intercepted 23 passengers at RGIA who arrived from Sudan via Sharjah by a flight on Wednesday. On thorough search of passengers luggage and also the persons, it was found that the passengers had concealed the gold at different places such as small cavities created in the shoes, gold tied under the feet and also hidden folds of their clothes etc, a release from Customs said. Customs officials seized a total of 14.9063 kg gold in which 14.415 kg of 22 karat and 0.491 kgs of 24 karat gold valued at total of Rs 7,89,43,544. Based on the quantity recovered from individual passengers, four of them were arrested, it said. Further investigations are on. Union Home Minister Amit Shah. (PTI Photo) New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah will undertake a visit to Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar from Thursday during which he will address public meetings and participate in other programmes, including an interactive session in Bengaluru, a tribal congregation in Satna and a meet of farmers and labourers in Patna. Shah's visit to the three politically crucial states from February 23-25 is significant as the southern state is headed for assembly polls, expected in May, while elections are due in Madhya Pradesh later this year. The BJP is in power in both the states. The BJP is also eyeing to make political gains in Bihar by expanding its support base and partnering new allies as it seeks to turn the tables on the ruling grandalliance of the RJD, JD(U), Congress and the Left in the state after Chief Minister Nitish Kumar snapped his ties with the saffron party to make a new political formation. BJP sources said the home minister will on Thursday participate in 'Vijay Sankalp Samavesh' in Karnataka's Bellary before addressing an interactive session on "Indian Polity 65 years Scenario and Paradigm Shift Under Modi" in Bengaluru. Shah will visit Madhya Pradesh on February 24 where he will offer prayers at the Maa Sharda Shaktipeeth Temple in Satna, address a congregation of Kol tribals, an important voting segment, and inaugurate a medical college in the town. In Bihar, he will address a rally in West Champaran on February 25 and participate in a meet of farmers and labourers in Patna, and later in the day pay obeisance at the Takht Shri Harimandir Ji Patna Sahib Gurdwara, they said. The farmers and labourers meet is being held as part of the ongoing event to mark Sahajanand Saraswati's birth anniversary. Born in 1889, Saraswati was a widely respected peasants' leader who came from the influential Bhumihar community. BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Thakur is a key organiser of the event. Health minister Vidadala Rajini. (File Image) VIJAYAWADA: Health minister Vidadala Rajini on Wednesday announced that Andhra Pradesh has registered record a 99.66 percent institutional deliveries. "AP will become first in the country to reach near cent percent institutional deliveries, which has brought down mother and child mortality rate in a major way," the minister noted, while reviewing her departments performance with senior officials. She hoped institutional deliveries will reach the 100 percent mark within the days to come. Rajini pointed out that several schemes worth crores of rupees are being implemented to avoid malnutrition among children, pregnant women and lactating mothers. She asked health officials to hold a meeting with Board of Intermediate Education officials, so that free sanitary napkins could be supplied to girl students. The minister said as directed by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, a pilot project must be launched to distribute B12 tablets for checking anaemia among girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers. "Once B12 tablets are distributed regularly over three months, the anaemia issue can be resolved," Rajani underlined. She also called for conducting TB tests on suspected patients, so that incidence of tuberculosis could be checked in the state. File photo of Basar Saraswati temple. (DC Image) HYDERABAD: After transforming Telangana's famed Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple atop Yadadri into a thriving pilgrimage centre, and beginning work on the Lord Hanuman temple at Kondagattu, the state government has now begun the process of renovating another temple that occupies pride of place the Gnana Saraswati temple, one of the country's oldest Saraswati temples that is located on the banks of the Godavari in Basara mandal in Nirmal district. A team of endowment officials travelled to Sringeri, Karnataka, and met with seers, notably the Sringeri Mutt pontiff Vidhushekhara Bharati Mahaswamiji, to seek their advice on how to renovate the Basara Saraswati temple in accordance with Agama Shastra rules. They made proposals for the renovation and expansion of the main temple complex. One of the main features, apart from the renovation of the sanctum sanctorum with Krishna Shila (black stone), is a new construction which will house another idol of Goddess Saraswati. Since devotees will not have much time for darshan of the main idol in the sanctum sanctorum, they can have some time viewing the Goddess in this new construction, an official said. Other features include the construction of Rajagopuram on four sides, setting up of Dwajasthambam, and yagashala, building 'prakara mandapam,' a Shivalayam inside the 'prakaram,' shifting the Dattatreya Swamy idol and expansion of the Aniveti mandapam. The Sringeri Mutt pontiff Bharati Mahaswamiji suggested certain changes to the proposals made by the endowment officials. Meanwhile, endowments minister A.Indrakaran Reddy met with officials who had returned from Sringeri on Thursday and instructed them to submit the master plan according to the suggestions provided by the Sringeri Mutt pontiff. The officials were asked to prepare a separate master plan for setting up a queue complex, temple executive officer's office, 100 rooms of choultry and 50 cottages to be built with the help of donors. Further, he informed the officials that he wold submit the temple renovation plan and master plan to Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao for approval. The renovation works will begin as per the directions of CM, the minister stated. We should not forget that the rankings are now based on the feedback provided by the industry as a stakeholder, Jagan Mohan Reddy pointed out. DC Image Vijayawada: A Chief Minister who is just a phone call away and strong governance, besides political stability, is what we offer to the investors, said Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. Speaking exclusively to Deccan Chronicle on the eve of Global Investors Summit, 2023, being held in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam, Chief Minister Reddy exuded confidence that Andhra Pradesh, which has been ranking the top in Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) for the last three consecutive years, would succeed in attracting investments. "We should not forget that the rankings are now based on the feedback provided by the industry as a stakeholder," Jagan Mohan Reddy pointed out. "Have we ever heard earlier of the Birlas, Bangars, Adanis and the Bhajankas planning to invest here in Andhra Pradesh? But it is happening now. Inaugurating their plants is a proof that AP has won their confidence," the Chief Minister said, adding that AP, with its high GDP growth rate of 11.43 per cent, was the fastest growing state in the country. Making a strong sales pitch, the Chief Minister showcased the 970-km-long coastline of the state, six existing ports and four upcoming ones, six airports and three industrial corridors passing through the state. "Connectivity is very important and we are strong in it," he added. Known for his straight talk, the Chief Minister said he would not promise the moon to the investors but would deliver what was promised without any hassle. He was clear that the government would not make tall claims regarding investment flows without they actually taking place, unlike the previous government. "We tell the people what is happening as is," he said. The investors, according to Jagan Mohan Reddy, would normally look for basic infrastructure like roads and water. All the states more or less offer the same financial incentives, he said adding that what he could offer was strong governance and better delivery mechanisms. "I am just a phone call away if there is any issue," he said. The Chief Minister also referred to his governments focus on improving the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector which he strongly believed were the real job generators. Each MSME would create at least 10 jobs and the employment generated by them was bigger than in the government sector. "Due to Chandrababu Naidu, the pending incentives had mounted, My government cleared all the dues for 2.5 lakh MSMEs, he added. GHMC's inaction political parties demand mayor, commissioners resignation. (Twitter/@GadwalvijayaTRS) HYDERABAD: There are at least 89 stray dogs per km, according to a rough calculation that compares the number of stray dogs in the city to the number of kilometres. While GHMC authorities claim that the stray dog population has decreased, their population has actually climbed to eight lakh as the corporation has only been undertaking animal birth control operations after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The civic authority recently conducted a survey that found over eight lakh stray dogs in the city (89 stray dogs per km with the total city road length being 9,000 km) yet, on paper, the nodal agency has been managing to neuter only 60,000 to 70,000 stray dogs per year with a Rs 18 crore budget, sources claimed. The authorities, including NGOs, have allegedly been swindling around Rs 10 crore from the total Rs 18 crore. Accusing the corporation of swindling over Rs 10 crore spent in the guise of reducing the stray dog menace, corporators from all parties demanded the GHMC Mayor and commissioner's resignation. When the Congress leaders led by floor leader in GHMC Darpalli Rajashekhar sought to submit a representation, both the Mayor and the GHMC commissioner were missing from their offices, and they gave the representation to a toy dog on the GHMC premises as a symbolic protest. Further, he slammed MAUD minister K.T. Rama Rao for his "ludicrous statemebt" that the stray dog population must be "artificially controlled", which reflects "his own incompetence and inefficiency". On the other hand, Malkajgiri corporator V. Sravan, representing the BJP, accused the GHMC and its officials of miserably failing to combat the stray dog menace, while demanding that the Mayor step down as well as call for an emergency meeting to review the measures. Not to be left behind, the TRS and MIM corporators who sought anonymity claimed that they receive two to three distress calls each day related to stray dog menace, and that the GHMC had failed to resolve public grievances even while over 300 stray dog related issues have been registered by the corporators. Meanwhile, MAUD special chief secretary Arvind Kumar after the review meeting with GHMC officials asked them to intensify anti-birth control measures by engaging residential welfare associations as well as by identifying areas with dense stray dog population. To combat the city's stray dog menace, the corporation undertook dog sterilisations three years back in 2020. Despite tall claims of the civic body, the officials could barely manage to sterilise approximately 50,000 to 60,000 stray dogs each year on an average. Officials even stated that, in contrast to other municipal corporations around the country, the corporation has been conducting birth control sterilisation operations at a lower cost, with the civic body footing recovery fees following the surgery. According to field level reports, senior authorities working in the veterinary wing in connivance with doctors have been allegedly swindling the funds allocated for the birth control surgeries. In 2020, the municipal corporation enlisted the help of five non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to handle sterilisation, anti-rabies vaccination, and related issues for the stray dogs as part of a pilot project. To that end, the municipal corporation signed agreements with the five NGOs, and the organisations have already began working. This was being done as part of guaranteeing 100% sterilising of stray dogs across the GHMC limits. Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi. (Photo: Twitter) HYDERABAD: The death of a four-year-old boy mauled by a pack of stray dogs triggered outrage as well as panic among the public, who demanded that the strays be relocated from their neighbourhoods, while blaming the state government, particularly Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi, for neglecting the scourge for a long time. While MAUD minister K.T. Rama Rao asserted that dog care centres and animal birth control centres were set up in the city, the general public and netizens have stated that such centres have produced no results and that tougher implementation is required to eliminate such menace. Angered by the death of the four-year-old boy, Venesh Vijayan, an entrepreneur, stated that the boy was killed not by stray dogs but by the authorities who had failed to initiate stringent measures to eliminate the stray dog menace, while advocating that the stray dogs needed to be relocated to centres as they it is not safe to let them roam freely on the streets. Some say that the children no longer have the freedom to play outside without fear of being attacked by stray dogs. They claim that the number of stray dogs in their neighbourhoods is increasing, and that despite complaints, the dogs are released after being sterilised, posing a threat to them. Many took to social media to express their outrage about such events. While some argue that people no longer have the freedom to walk the streets, that dogs are no longer needed in society, and that sterilisation is ineffective, others argue that dogs act this way when they are denied food and water, especially as the mercury rises. On Twitter, there was a flood of comments decrying dogs running loose on the streets and being a threat to human civilization. According to Dr. Bilal Hussain, dogs in Telangana should be euthanized immediately. "A dog bite can result in rabies and a variety of other diseases. "When I was posted at Fever Hospital, dog bite cases were a regular feature. If we could avoid such a situation, time and resources could be saved, he remarked. Some demanded that parks be built to care for stray dogs. "GHMC should ensure that stray dogs' menace should not be a cause for concern for the citizens whether in Hyderabad or anywhere in Telangana," said Naveen Naidu, a Hyderabad resident. "Children, elders, no one feels secure walking on streets. We are either scared of gold chain snatchers or stray dogs roaming freely, endangering the lives of people," he remarked. Syed Zahoor Uddin stated that instead of professing to the people that they should adopt the stray dogs, the Telangana government should first set an example by adopting them. Vox Pop The dogs won't let us sleep at night and are a constant menace throughout the day. A dog bit the face of a five-year-old girl a few months ago when she was riding a bicycle, and her face was destroyed. Our neighbourhood used to have three to four stray dogs, but now their numbers have gone up to 20. When we make a complaint with the GHMC, they just take the dogs, sterilise them, and return them to the same area. My nine-year-old niece was chased by street dogs recently when she was strolling past them. She came home in tears, terrified. This must end, and the government must act by initiating stringent measures to curb the menace. Hussain Kanchwala, a businessman and a resident of Trimulgherry Stray dogs are terrifying because they can chase anyone who is in their way. I have been avoiding my morning and evening walks, scared that the dogs will bite me. I can't fathom the fact that they mauled a four-year-old boy to death, and now I am terrified of stray dogs. Madhuri Sailesh, a homemaker and a resident of West Marredpally People are frequently in a rush, especially early in the morning and late at night. The stray dogs pursue every car that speeds, and those on two-wheelers are terrified. I've seen people be hit by other vehicles while trying to outrun the dogs by driving faster. This has been going on for years, but the government has done nothing about it. Hafiz Mohd, a gym trainer and a resident of Bowenpall I am terrified of street dogs, especially when travelling with my child, because they are unpredictable. They recently bit one of my family members for strolling past them. Walking on the street with stray dogs roaming freely is simply not an option these days. Komal Kansara, MNC employee, lives in Kukatpally also owns a pet dog Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the post-budget webinar on Green Growth' via video conferencing, Thursday, Feb 23, 2023. (PTI Photo) NEW DELHI: Inviting global investment in the green energy sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that India's potential in solar, wind and biogas is no less than a goldmine or an oil field. Addressing a webinar on various "Green Growth" announcements made in the Union Budget 202324, Mr Modi said, "This Budget is not only an opportunity but also contains the guarantee of our future security." The Prime Minister noted that Indias commanding position in the renewable energy space will ensure a commensurate change in the world. "This Budget will play a key role in establishing India as a lead player in the global green energy market. That is why, today, I invite every stakeholder in the energy world to invest in India," he said. Referring to the global efforts for diversification of the energy supply chain, Mr Modi said that this Budget has given a great opportunity to every green energy investor to invest in India and this will also be very useful for the startups in the sector. "India has been the fastest when it comes to renewable energy capacity addition among major economies since 2014. Indias track record shows its capability to achieve the objectives before time when it comes to renewable energy resources," he said. The Prime Minister informed the audience that India achieved the target of 40 per cent contributions from non-fossil fuels in the installed electricity capacity nine years before the target date. Mr Modi said that India achieved the target of 10 per cent ethanol blending in petrol five months ahead of schedule and that the nation strives to achieve the 20 per cent ethanol blending target by 202526 instead of 2030. The Prime Minister also mentioned that the total renewable energy capacity of 500 GW will be achieved by 2030. Talking about the launch of E20 fuel, the Prime Minister pointed out the governments emphasis on biofuels and said that it has brought new opportunities for investors. At the webinar, the PM talked about the abundance of agri-waste in the country and urged the investors not to miss the opportunity of setting up ethanol plants in every corner of the country. "The potential in solar, wind and biogas in India is no less than any gold mine or oil field for our private sector," Mr Modi said. The Prime Minister stated that all Budgets tabled in the country since 2014 have advanced new-age reforms in addition to finding solutions to current-day challenges. The Prime Minister outlined three pillars for green growth and energy transmission. First, increasing the production of renewable energy; second, reducing the use of fossil fuels in the economy and finally, rapidly moving towards a gas-based economy in the country. The Prime Minister stated that under the National Green Hydrogen Mission, India is moving towards a target of producing five MMT of green hydrogen and an allocation of `19,000 crores has been made to incentivise the private sector in this field. The Prime Minister also said that India has the potential to produce 10,000 million cubic metres of biogas from cow dung (gobar) and 1.5 lakh cubic metres of gas, which can contribute up to 8 per cent to the country's city gas distribution system. "Because of these possibilities, the Gobardhan Yojana is today an important component of India's biofuel strategy. In this Budget, the government has announced plans to set up 500 new plants under the Gobardhan Yojana. These are not like old-fashioned plants. The government will spend `10,000 crores on these modern plants," he said. Throwing light on the countrys vehicle scrapping policy, he stressed that it is a crucial part of the green growth strategy and informed that the government has made provisions of `3,000 crores in this years Budget to scrap around three lakh vehicles owned by Central and state governments that are older than 15 years, including police vehicles, ambulances and buses. "Vehicle scrapping is going to become a huge market," said the Prime Minister, following the principle of "Reuse, Recycle and Recovery". He also emphasised that it gives new strength to our circular economy and urged the youth of India to participate in various circular economy initiatives. The Prime Minister pointed out that India has to increase its battery storage capacity to 125 gigawatt hours in the next six-seven years and informed the audience that the government has come out with a viability gap-funding scheme in this Budget to support the battery developers in achieving big goals in this capital-intensive sector. Noting that water-based transport is becoming a huge sector in India, he said that India transports only five per cent of its cargo through its coastal routes today, whereas only two per cent of cargo is transported in the country through inland waterways. He said that the development of waterways in India will give rise to many opportunities for all stakeholders in this field. The Prime Minister stated that India has enormous potential to lead the world in green energy technology, emphasising that it will advance the cause of global good in addition to creating green jobs. "This Budget is not only an opportunity, but it also contains the guarantee of our future security," the Prime Minister said. He urged all stakeholders to act quickly to implement every provision of the Budget. By Kim Hyun-bin Chey Tae-won, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), will visit three European countries Spain, Portugal, and Denmark as a presidential envoy from Feb. 28 to March 5 to seek support for Busan's bid to host the World Expo in 2030, according to the KCCI, Thursday. This is the first time Chey has become a presidential special envoy and the delegation includes KCCI Vice Chairman Woo Tae-hee, SK Hynix Vice Chairman Park Jung-Ho and SK Eco Plant CEO Park Kyung-il. KCCI Chairman Chey Tae-won Revanth Reddy along with Bhupalpally assembly segment incharge Gandra Satyanarayana on the 14th day of the 'Haath Se Haath Jodo pada yatra' . (Photo By Arrangement) WARANGAL: Telangana state is experiencing the worst rule under the BRS government, TPCC president A. Revanth Reddy has said, adding, "When stray dogs are attacking the people across the state, the government is not taking preventive steps. Ministers like K.T. Rama Rao are encouraging land grab across the state." Revanth Reddy along with Bhupalpally assembly segment incharge Gandra Satyanarayana was on the 14th day of the 'Haath Se Haath Jodo pada yatra' after offering prayers at Sri Lakshminarasimha Swamy temple at Kotancha village in Regonda mandal of Jayashankar Bhupalpally district on Wednesday. Revanth Reddy alleged that when many incidents of dogs biting the people were taking place and some of them were fatal, the government neither took steps for peoples protection and security nor sanctioned ex gratia to the victims or the family of the deceased. "Municipal administration minister Rama Rao utterly failed in giving protection to the people," he said. This apart, when Maoists installed red flags and distributed lands to the poor, ruling TRS Bhupalpally MLA Gandra Venkataramana Reddy encroached upon the distributed lands from the poor by threatening them, the Congress leader said. "In the name of the Dharani portal, the MLA grabbed 100 acres of land in Bhupalpally district." He said Rama Rao is promoting the land mafia by appointing Errabelli Dayakar Rao in Palakurthy, Ramana Reddy in Bhupalpally, Vinay Bhaskar in Hanamkonda and Nannapuneni Narendar in Warangal as his subordinates (like Samantha Rajulu) and the minister is grabbing thousands of acres of land in the erstwhile Warangal district. "There is no security for both land and property for ordinary people in Warangal district. KTR is getting his share from his subordinates, who are indulged in all types of scams and mafia. The Congress leaders of the Bhupalpally are ready to prove the irregularities indulged in by MLA Ramana Reddy and how much share KTR is taking from him. Is Rama Rao ready for an inquiry," he challenged the minister. He also said the Congress would not leave in peace the "dirty dozen MLAs" who shifted their loyalty to the then TRS after winning on Congress party ticket in the last polls. "Ramana Reddy who was among the dirty dozen is doing cheap politics without in an immoral manner. A CBI inquiry must be held into the scandalous way the then TRS took away these MLAs to the ruling party," he added. BJP state president Bandi Sanjay inquired about attack by BRS leaders on BJP leader Murali Goud residence in Tandur on Wednesday. (By Arrangement) HYDERABAD: BJP state president Bandi Sanjay Kumar alleged that atrocities by BRS leaders have been rising at an alarming rate. Even worse they were making use of known criminals and anti-social elements involved in murders, rapes, land grabbing and drugs cases, he said. Sanjay said that the rule of BRS will end by the year-end and once in power, his party would make BRS leaders pay for their atrocities. Sanjay was speaking after visiting the residence of leader Murali Goud in Tandur, along with former MP Konda Vishveshwar Reddy and other senior leaders, on Wednesday. His visit was obstructed by the Tandur police who did not want him to go to Gouds residence. Later, speaking to reporters, Sanjay said that BRS leaders had attempted to murder Gouds family members as he had exposed the wrongdoings of the ruling part MLA Rohit Reddy. While stating it was wrong to attack activists of any political party, he demanded DGP Anjani Kumar to initiate action against the police, who turned mute spectators during the attack on Gouds residence. He also demanded that a case of attempt to murder be registered against Rohit Reddy. Why didn't the Tandur police register cases against those who attacked the family members of Goud, he wondered. The BJP leader demanded the Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to react to the Tandur incident and also initiate action against the culprits. Sanjay alleged that the last rites of BRS MLA Sayanna were not conducted with state honours as he had refused to sign a paper which pertained to making K.T. Rama Rao the next Chief Minister. Congress leaders stage a protest dharna at the IGI Airport after the party leader Pawan Khera was allegedly deboarded from the plane owing to an FIR against him, in New Delhi, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. (PTI Photo) New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday claimed its leader Pawan Khera was deplaned from a flight to Raipur, where he was going to attend the party's plenary session. Several party leaders got off the plane after Khera was deboarded and staged a dharna on the tarmac. As drama escalated at terminal one of the domestic airport here, flight staff told Congress leaders there was confusion with Khera's bags. They said police was on its way and would explain the reason to him. Several Congress leaders raised slogans against the government while on the tarmac. "We are all on the @IndiGo6E flight 6E 204 to Raipur and all of a sudden my colleague @Pawankhera has been asked to deplane," Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, who was also on the flight, said on Twitter. "What sort of high handedness is this? Is there any rule of law? On what grounds is this being done and under whose order?" she said. The flight was delayed. Ukrainian Member of Parliament Vadym Halaichuk (ANI) New Delhi: Ukrainian Member of Parliament Vadym Halaichuk quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks, "This is not an era of war," regarding the Russia-Ukraine war. Earlier, on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Samarkand on September 16, PM Modi said "today's era isn't of war" while emphasising the need to find ways to address the problems of food, fuel security and fertilizers. In an interview with ANI on Wednesday, Halaichuk said, "We are grateful to the phrase of PM Modi 'This is not an era of war'. Given the weight and capabilities of India economically, politically and militarily, we are absolutely sure that Russia would have to listen to that message." "Unfortunately, they (Russians) didn't show any understanding, so we hope that message will be repeated that it becomes obvious to Russians that they don't have any support to continue the war," he added. This remark came as the Russia-Ukraine war is soon to complete one year and still, both countries are facing tremendous problems. Halaichuk recalled the February 24, 2022 time when Russia launched its special military operation in Ukraine and said that when he woke up on that day, the bombs started falling all over the country. Bombs were dropped on civilian infrastructure as Russia believed it to scare everybody in Ukraine and beat the civilians but that wasn't achieved, he said adding, "Ukraine is stronger now." "With the help of the international community, we've to fight the aggressor. We don't believe Russia has shown any seriousness in ceasing the attack. No negotiations right now about ceasefire as we don't see any desire on the Russian part for serious negotiation," a Ukrainian MP said. Referring to the Russian President's recent speech in Moscow's federal assembly, Halaichuk said that Putin's recent speech demonstrated that Kremlin doesn't have any intentions to de-escalate and start negotiations and it is threatening the world with Russia abandoning the nuclear arms restriction which is a wrong way to respond to what's going on. Meanwhile on Monday, in Ukraine, Head of the Office of the Ukrainian President Andriy Yermak, and National Security Advisor to the Indian Prime Minister Ajit Kumar Doval discussed the Ukrainian Peace Plan, a ten-point Peace Formula that provides comprehensive answers to the question of what needs to be done to end the war in a sustainable and just manner. According to Yermak, Ukraine continues to fight on the battlefield, but at the same time has proposed a peace plan. The draft resolution on support for the principles of the UN Charter, which form the basis of the Ukrainian Peace Formula, will be considered by the UN General Assembly on February 23, according to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy's official website. Afghanistan's Taliban rulers reopened a key border crossing with Pakistan on Thursday, allowing thousands of trucks carrying desperately needed food and other items to creep forward for the first time in days, officials said. The jam at the Torkham crossing between the two nations began to ease after Islamabad sent a high-level delegation to Kabul to discuss a range of issues, including the Taliban's closure of the border on Sunday. Taliban-appointed officials in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province confirmed the reopening of the Torkham border. The Afghan embassy in Pakistan also posted news of the reopening on Twitter. Also Read | Taliban demands US return $3.5 billion in assets after court ruling Thousands of vehicles, some carrying fresh produce like vegetables and fruit, began moving along the Khyber Pass in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, said Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, a director at the Pakistan-Afghanistan joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The latest development comes a day after Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif made an unannounced visit to Kabul, where he met with senior Taliban officials, including Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban-appointed deputy prime minister for economic affairs. The group discussed the closure of Torkham, which the Taliban said Sunday was shut because of immigration issues faced by sick Afghan people on the Pakistani side of the border, according to officials on both sides. Also Read | Thousands of trucks stuck as Taliban shut key Afghanistan-Pakistan border crossing On Monday, security forces from the both sides traded fire, wounding a Pakistani soldier. The Taliban government said they closed the Torkham border crossing because of Pakistan's alleged refusal to allow Afghan immigrants and their caretakers to enter Pakistan for medical care without travel documents. For Pakistan, the Torkham border crossing is a vital commercial artery and a trade route to Central Asian countries. But Pakistan has also accused the Afghan Taliban of providing sanctuary for Pakistani militants whose cross-border attacks have led to a spike in violence in this Islamic nation. A statement issued by Baradar's office Wednesday said the Afghan Taliban told the Pakistani delegation that "necessary facilities should be provided for all passengers" at Torkham and also at Spin Boldak, another trade route located to the south, across from Chaman in Pakistan's restive southwestern Baluchistan province. Baradar said special facilities should be provided for the transportation of patients needing emergency medical care, according to the statement, which said the Pakistani side promised to resolve these matters quickly. The reopening of Torkham was a relief for the traders and others on both sides who were jammed at the border for four days. It was also an indication of easing tensions between the two neighbours. Closures, cross-border fire and shootouts are common along the Afghan-Pakistan border. According to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, the Pakistani delegation during Wednesday's visit also discussed "the growing threat of terrorism in the region", particularly by Pakistani Taliban who are known as Tahreek-e Taliban-Pakistan and Islamic State. The Pakistani Taliban are a separate group, but allied with, the Afghanistan Taliban, who seized power more than a year ago as the US and NATO troops withdrew. The Taliban takeover in Afghanistan emboldened TTP, whose top leaders and fighters are hiding in the country. TTP in recent months has stepped up attacks in Pakistan, where security forces often carry out raids on their hideouts. In the latest raid in the northwestern district of Lakki Marwat, security forces on Thursday killed six Pakistani Taliban, according to police. As climate change impacts strengthen and water security becomes a growing concern in both India and Pakistan, India has proposed renegotiating a six-decade-old water sharing treaty a move Pakistan so far opposes. But renegotiation or at least tweaking the treaty may be as important for Pakistan as India, environmental experts say, as a dam-building push in both countries, rising water demand from growing populations and faster swings between drought and floods make water rights and access an ever-bigger worry. The 1960 Indus Waters Treaty mediated by the World Bank splits the Indus River and its tributaries between the South Asian neighbours and regulates the sharing of water. The treaty has withstood standoffs, skirmishes and even wars, but diplomatic relations between the two foes have been reduced since 2019 due to tensions over disputed Kashmir, and a feud over water sharing and supplies is now intensifying. While each country has dozens of hydropower projects in the Indus Basin currently operational or under construction, the ongoing water dispute centers around Pakistan's opposition to India's 330 megawatt (MW) Kishanganga project on the Jhelum river and the 850 MW Ratle project on the Chenab river. Read | UNESCO lists Odessa historical centre as world heritage site Pakistan is seeking resolution at the Court of Arbitration in The Hague over its concerns with the two projects, while India has asked its neighbour to enter into bilateral negotiations to modify the Indus Waters Treaty, to stop third parties intervening in disputes. Under the current terms of the treaty, the two countries can resolve disputes either through a neutral expert appointed by the World Bank, or at the Court of Arbitration. Pakistan has taken the latter route because it is concerned that some of India's planned and commissioned hydropower dams will reduce flows that feed at least 80% of its irrigated agriculture. India, however, says that the way it is designing and constructing the hydroelectric plants is permitted under the terms of the treaty. Analysts on both sides of the border say Pakistan is unlikely to reopen the agreement with India bilaterally because, as the smaller nation, it believes the involvement of international institutions strengthens its position. Yet, some academics think the agreement should be reviewed to factor in climate change impacts for the first time. For example, Daanish Mustafa, a professor of critical geography at King's College London, said that doing so could ultimately benefit Pakistan, as India would be expected to take warming impacts into consideration when designing hydropower projects and making decisions about water. Read | PM Shehbaz Sharif announces slew of austerity measures to save Pakistan from economic challenges A 2019 study in the journal Nature by Pakistani and Italian researchers noted that climate change was "quickly eroding trust" between the two nations and that the treaty "lacks guidelines ... (on) issues related to climate change and basin sustainability." However, Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, an environmental and development analyst based in Islamabad, said increasingly worrying climate change pressures are currently "the best instrument available for ensuring water cooperation and regional stability". Rather than "playing as victims of climate change", the two nations should work together to create policies that work for both, he said, adding that the treaty should be updated to cover climate-related concerns from melting glaciers to more intense rainfall. While communities in the Indus Basin are already dealing with the rising heat, longer droughts and erratic rainfall that are increasingly common across South Asia, the likelihood of reduced river flows related to climate change will have "significant impacts on various sectors of the economy", said glacier expert Shakil Romshoo. "Further depletion of the stream flow will jeopardise the food, energy and water security in the entire Indus basin," said Romshoo, a professor at the earth sciences department at Kashmir University. Neither Pakistan nor India's respective foreign affairs and climate change ministries responded to requests for comment on the treaty or ongoing water disputes between the two countries. Election, floods, militants Last month, proceedings Pakistan had sought to resolve the disagreements over water started at the Court of Arbitration. Pakistan is concerned about two Indian hydropower projects that it says will affect water flows on the Jhelum river and one of its tributaries, and water storage on the Chenab river. India has boycotted the case, having previously suggested appointing a neutral expert while blaming Pakistan for dragging out the complaints process. Just two days before the proceedings in The Hague began, New Delhi sent a notice to Islamabad asking it to agree to modify the Indus Waters Treaty within 90 days to guarantee that disputes would be handled between the two nations without any outside interference. Read | MP man in Pak jail since 2019 handed back to Indian authorities Neither nation can pull out of the treaty unilaterally as there is no exit clause, according to Sheikh, who said the countries "must agree over practical solutions". With Pakistan due to hold a general election this year, still recovering from devastating floods, and battling a financial crisis and an insurgency by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militants, "there is limited bandwidth to get involved in water treaty talks", said Delhi-based Omair Ahmad, an international relations analyst who has studied the treaty. Ahmad Rafay Alam, a Pakistani environmental lawyer and activist, said reopening the treaty is unlikely given Pakistan's multiplying concerns and the two nations' mutual suspicions. "But I understand (Pakistan's) Ministry of Foreign Affairs is preparing a reply," he said, adding that it was unlikely to be public as the government did not publish such documents. Climate impacts lacking Pakistan's Institute of Policy Studies said in 2017 that the Indus Waters Treaty now needs to be considered in light of other international agreements such as the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming, which Pakistan and India have both signed. "There is very little in the treaty for the best possible use of the water resources of the river system, especially when we are in an era of climate change," said Ashok Swain, a professor at Sweden's Uppsala University and U.N. cultural agency UNESCO's chair of international water cooperation. Besides above-ground water flows, the Indus Basin's underground water storage is the world's second most "overstressed", with almost no new water flowing into storage to offset extraction, a 2015 study in the journal Water Resources Research found. The Kathmandu-based International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development warned in 2019 that even if global warming can be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, glaciers that feed the Indus Basin are projected to lose a third of their total volume by the end of the century. Read | 9 states in top 50 regions at risk of climate change hazards: Report It is not just academics and analysts who have raised concerns about the water treaty's challenges in dealing with climate change impacts. In 2021, an Indian parliamentary standing committee on water resources urged the government to initiate a process for renegotiating the treaty with Pakistan as "present-day pressing issues such as climate change, global warming and environmental impacts ... were not taken into account". Yet India has yet to cite the climate or environment in any discussions around the treaty and that is unlikely to change, said Himanshu Thakkar, coordinator of the New Delhi-based South Asia Network of Dams, Rivers and People, a research group. "The way it has panned out ... with all the hostilities and lack of trust from both sides, there is little chance of an agreement on dispute resolution bilaterally," he added. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday virtually dismissed the idea of helping Pakistan to come out of its economic mess. Speaking at the annual Asia Economic Dialogue organised by the external affairs ministry, Jaishankar said he will consider the local public sentiment while making a big decision. "I would have a pulse (on) what do my people feel about it. And I think you know the answer," he said. Pakistan is grappling with an economic crisis and has not been successful in getting an agreement from multilateral institutions either. In the recent past, India has helped neighbours like Sri Lanka as it struggled to come out of its economic woes and regularly helps others in the neighbourhood as well. However, when it comes to Pakistan, the fundamental issue impacting the New Delhi-Islamabad ties is terrorism, Jaishankar said, adding that one must not be in denial of this problem. Also Read | India Inc should also share blame for trade imbalance with China: Jaishankar "No country is ever going to come out of a difficult situation and become a prosperous power if its basic industry is terrorism. Just as a country has to fix its economic issues, a country has to fix its political issues too, a country has to fix its social issues," he said without naming Pakistan. Jaishankar also made it clear that it is in nobody's interest to see a country get into severe economic difficulties, and that too a neighbour. Once a country is in the throes of a serious economic problem, it has to make policy choices to get out of it, the career diplomat-turned-politician said, adding that others cannot solve it for the country. The world can only provide options and support systems, Jaishankar said, making it clear that Pakistan will have to make "tough choices". He said India has also undergone the same challenges several times in its modern history, with the last one being 30 years ago with the balance of payment crisis. Meanwhile, Jaishankar said ever since Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, the country's approach to the neighbouring countries has undergone a perceptible change and also reminded all about the Prime Minister's decision to call heads of state for the swearing-in function to start a new relationship. Citing the case of Maldives, he said India's help in the recent past includes the Greater Male project and also added that he was present at the foundation stone laying event a few weeks ago. India is also buying or selling power with many of its neighbours, Jaishankar said, adding that it recently started buying power from Nepal. Going forward, the country is also mulling to up its focus on education and healthcare spending in the neighbourhood, Jaishankar said. He also assured that India will also be using its G20 presidency to give a voice to the problems of the 'global south' and asserted that India is the best-placed country to do that. The Prime Minister and his top ministers have spoken to 125 countries in the past month in India's effort to be an effective voice of the global south, Jaishankar said. Speaking at the same event, Maldives' Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer said climate finance is a big challenge and expected help to flow through on the commitment at the earliest. His counterpart from Bhutan, Lyonpo Namgay Tshering said an easing of global financial conditions is also the need of the hour. Jaishankar said there are multiple second and third-order impacts of the major world events and policy decisions, which India will be flagging to the world as part of its G20 presidency. The EAM also said that the G20, with nearly 200 events across the country, is a marketing of India to influential people across the world by exposing them to cultural and socio-economic changes taking place in the country. The Archbishops of Armagh have condemned the attempted murder of PSNI Officer John Caldwell in Omagh. They said: "It is with great shock and a sense of disbelief that we have learned of the horrific gun attack on a member of the PSNI in Omagh. "It is impossible to find appropriate words even to describe let alone condemn such an act of depraved violence against a police officer who, as a public servant, works for the protection and well-being of the whole community. Our thoughts and prayers at this time, along with those of our parishioners, are with the officer, and with his colleagues, family and friends. "As the Catholic and Protestant Archbishops of Armagh, we are united in our condemnation of this abhorrent attack on someone serving our community. Regardless of who they think they are, the individuals who planned and carried out this shooting represent a deep seated criminal threat to the health and peace of our society and it is important that we do everything in our power to prevent such things from ever happening again." The statement was signed by The Most Revd John McDowell, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, and The Most Revd Eamon Martin, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. Kim Byong-joon, the newly appointed acting chairman of the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), speaks of the changes set to take place during a press conference held at the FKI building in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of FKI This years National Famine Commemoration will take place in Milford in County Donegal. The event will be held on Sunday, May 21, 2023. This is the third time the State Commemoration has taken place in Ulster. The public ceremony, which will be broadcast on the RTE News Now channel, will provide an opportunity for the people of Donegal and further afield to honour the suffering and loss of the Great Famine and to remember those who fled to create new lives abroad. It will feature National flag and military honours before culminating in a solemn wreath-laying ceremony. Schools around the country will be invited to hold a minute of silent reflection on Friday, May 19 in memory of those who perished during the Great Famine. Sporting organisations will be invited to observe a minute of silent reflection at sporting and public events taking place on the weekend of the Commemoration. Speaking today Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, and Chair of the National Famine Commemoration Committee said: "The National Famine Commemoration is a special opportunity for the current generation to acknowledge the suffering, death, and anguish borne by the Irish people during that darkest time of our history. "The choice of Donegal as host for the 2023 National Famine Commemoration is particularly welcome given the deferral of the hosting of the 2020 event in Donegal due to the pandemic. "It is appropriate that the event will take place on the old site of the Milford workhouse, given the adversity endured by the people of Donegal in the face of poverty, hunger and emigration throughout the Great Famine and the 19th century. The Commemoration will reflect on this momentous event in Irish history and remember all those who suffered as a result of An Gorta Mor. Minister Martin also expressed her appreciation for the work of the members of the National Famine Commemoration Committee for their commitment in ensuring both that the events and impacts of the Great Famine are fittingly remembered, and that the survival and flourishing of those who emigrated, and of their many descendants abroad, are justly celebrated. Failte go Seachtain na Gaeilge 2023! Join the festivities in Derrys Culturlann Ui Chanain, running from March 1st - 17th with courses, concerts, and comhra to keep you and the whole family immersed in the Irish language. No matter your ability, background or age, be sure to check out the programme and get involved. The breadth of events shows just how strong the language has grown to be in Doire. From the cutting-edge modernism of Irish language theater production, Minimal Human Contact by Naoise O Caireallain (one half of hip-hop duo, KNEECAP), to a starters in bilingual yoga with Sara Kadar. Irish language weekend courses (with the option of trying to earn your fainne afterwards!), to a book launch with acclaimed author, Claire Mitchell, of The Ghost Limb; Alternative Protestants and the Spirit of 1798. A snazzy Suipear Snasta Gaelach for Gaeilgeoiri to celebrate efforts of the past year within the Irish language community, to the family-friendly La Fheile Padraig festivities which Seachtain na Gaeilge will culminate with on St. Patricks Day, March 17th. So whether youve got a cupla focal (few words) or are fully liofa (fluent), for the full programme of events and to book your tickets, visit: www.culturlann.org/events As we launch Seachtain na Gaeilge 2023, we take a moment to remember the historical year that has occurred. The passing of the Irish Language Act in December was the result of many years of campaigning and activism by our community pioneers. Culturlann Ui Chanain stood in unity alongside the 20,000 Irish language Activists who took to the streets of Belfast in May 2022 and this ethos of solidarity and activism is carried with us into the new year. The Irish language is with us everywhere we turn, and through this years program, we celebrate that Gaeilge is a language for all and is there to be embraced. As the leading Irish language and Cultural centre in the NorthWest, we are proud to showcase a wide variety of events, catering to all levels of ability. The Irish speaking population of our city is blooming - bigi linn! Be part of our events and celebrate our native language with us! - Grace Ui Niallais, Business Development Officer of Culturlann Ui Chanain To keep up to date, follow Culturlann Ui Chanain at culturlanndoire on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. For any queries email eolas@culturlann.org or call 028 7126 4132. The first stage of an inquest into the fatal shooting of a GAA official in Co Derry 26 years ago is set to open next month. Sean Brown, 61, was abducted in Bellaghy by loyalist terrorists and shot dead in May 1997. He was taken by a Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) gang as he locked the gates at Bellaghy Wolfe Tones GA Club in May 1997. No-one has been convicted of his murder. A preliminary hearing at Belfast Coroners Court, on Wednesday, heard that a date is to be set is to be set in March to hear some available evidence, including a statement from Mr Browns elderly widow, and a penned portrait about him by his daughter. Desmond Fahy KC, for the Brown family, described a most welcome development. A date for the opening of this inquest is one for which they have waited a long time and we are very heartened to hear that that date will now be identified in March, he said. However, coroner Patrick Kinney heard of a number of challenges to preparing other aspects of the inquest. These include around the disclosure of sensitive material from police and the Ministry of Defence, as well as a lack of response from an Irish Government department. Mark Robinson KC, for the PSNI, outlined demands on police resources from a number of legacy inquests taking place and being prepared, as well as other litigation demands. He said a five-year plan to hear legacy inquests has been significantly compressed due to the coronavirus pandemic as well as proposed legislation to deal with Northern Irelands troubled past. While (in this case) the material has been reviewed and directions have been issued, there are a number of outworkings from those notes that will indeed generate further sensitive material for review, and indeed create further documents that will have PII (public interest immunity) contained within those documents, he said. Asked about a timeframe, Mr Robinson said that given the number of variables, its impossible to give a timeframe. Meanwhile, counsel for the coroner described another disclosure matter in terms of a request for assistance to the Irish department of foreign affairs. It is around an advisory committee during the second police investigation into Mr Browns murder, which included representatives from that department. He said they had written a number of times to the department but, to date, have had no substantive response. We will look at what the formal process is to see if we can take that any further, he said. The coroner is also set to consider whether potential suspects in the case will be engaged with for the inquest. A number of individuals were considered suspects by the police service during the various investigations, one of the issues (the coroner) will have to determine is whether, and to what extent, the inquest wishes to engage with those individuals, the counsel for the coroner said. SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood MP has said that an attack on a police officer in Omagh this evening is a chilling attack on an individual serving his community and must be treated as an attack on the people of Ireland who have long rejected this kind of senseless violence. Colum Eastwood MP said: The brutal attack on a police officer in Omagh this evening is a chilling reminder of the horrifying violence that criminal gangs are willing to visit on the people of Northern Ireland. My thoughts and the thoughts of my SDLP colleagues are with the man and with the paramedics, doctors, nurses and police colleagues looking after him at this time. "In the face of appalling violence that has no place in modern Ireland, their bravery and selfless dedication to service is an enduring reminder that for every individual determined to tear us apart, there are hundreds more committed to defending our peace and all those who live under it. Those behind this attack are committed to the fallacy that they are at war with the British establishment. Let me say very clearly to them that they are not. "As I have said before, their fight is not with the British Government or the PSNI. Their fight is with the people of Ireland who have chosen peace. And it is a fight that they will never, never win. That an attack like this took place in Omagh, a place that bears the scars of violence more than many others but where people have shown immense strength, compassion and grace, must make this a powerful moment of reflection for all of us. This is a moment to rededicate ourselves to the primacy of peace and resistance against violence. "It is a moment for us all, one community and one people, to say we are never going back to this - not in our name. I will be speaking to the Chief Constable and the Secretary of State about this attack in the days ahead. "But for now, my thoughts remain with an officer who was serving his community and I hope that he makes a recovery. A man has been given a suspended sentence at Derry Magistrate's Court today for threatening to burn the car of a staff member at a local hostel. James Logan (32) of Crawford Square in Derry admitted a charge of threatening to damage property on September 1 last. He also admitted possessing a quantity of cocaine on October 2. The court heard that the defendant was in the forecourt of a hostel in Crawford Square and was 'making a scene'. A member of staff spoke to him and he threatened to get a an of petrol and set fire to his car. This was Logan's bail address and was subsequently withdrawn. Police were seeking to talk to the defendant but it was not until October 2 before he was located in a flat in the city. When he was searched a quantity of cocaine was found on his person. Logan made no comment to either of the charges. Defence solicitor Derwin Harvey said his client was originally from Scotland and had come here for 'a fresh start'. He said he found himself homeless and on the night in question he was intoxicated and the threat was just 'a drunken rant' with no intention of following through. Deputy District Judge Laura Ievers said that the charge was of some concern to the court. She sentenced Logan to 5 months in prison suspended 3 years. Relatives of some of those killed in the bombing of McGurks Bar have lodged a complaint of maladministration with the Police Ombudsman. Fifteen people were killed in the blast at the north Belfast bar in December 1971. The attack was carried out by the UVF but at the time security forces blamed the IRA, prompting speculation the dead might have included IRA members carrying the device. A UVF man was convicted for his part in the attack in 1978. A Police Ombudsmans report in 2011 said RUC officers had shown an investigative bias with the original misattribution of blame. On Wednesday, the families revealed they have lodged a complaint of maladministration with the Police Ombudsman, claiming discrimination and that Police Ombudsman Marie Andersons Offices withheld evidence from the families. The families also alleged delay and omissions or commissions that resulted in injustice. They said they lodged an 87-page book of new evidence, comparative analyses and research with the Police Ombudsman on Wednesday. They have requested the Police Ombudsmans office carries out an internal review and writes a supplementary report on the bombing. Ciaran MacAirt, grandson of Kathleen Irvine, who was killed in the blast, claimed the office of the Police Ombudsman is wilfully withholding information around the bombing. A spokesman for the ombudsman said: The Police Ombudsman has received the complaint, which she will fully and carefully consider before issuing a response to the serious matters alleged. UNGA Emergency Special Session on Ukraine - Statement by Minister Burke Speech Statement by Minister of State for European Affairs, Peter Burke, TD, Check against Delivery President, Ireland aligns itself with the statement of the European Union. President, We meet today to mark one year since Russias full scale invasion of Ukraine. A year of horrific death and destruction caused by Russias illegal and unjustified war. Let us be clear: this invasion was unprovoked, and entirely of Russias making. Let me also be clear: Ireland will continue to stand fully with Ukraine and its people in the face of this brutal aggression. President, This year and this war have been marked by Russias blatant disregard for human life; for the UN Charter; for broader international law, including international humanitarian law. Russia has ruthlessly targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure, seeking to starve and freeze the people of Ukraine into submission. Russias war has seen the deaths of tens of thousands of Ukrainians, men, women and children. It has forced over thirteen million people to flee their homes in search of safety. Over eight million refugees, mostly women and children, have sought protection across Europe. Over five million people have been displaced within Ukraine. Millions more have been forcibly deported to Russia, and held in contravention of international law. Yet, despite all of this, Ukraine remains steadfast in its resistance and the defence of its democratic principles. This war has also seen a generation of Russian youth sacrificed to President Putins imperialist fantasies. President, This is a war of choice. Just as Russia chose to start this war, they can choose to end it. We strongly support the tireless efforts by the UN Secretary General, as well as by Ukraine itself, to bring an end to this conflict, and for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace, based on the principles of the UN Charter. President, The effects of Russias war are being felt across the world. Russias actions have seen the worlds most vulnerable people suffer from increased food and economic insecurity, with the rising cost of energy and commodities. Ireland and the European Union are responding to the global effects of Russias senseless war, including through the EU Solidarity Lanes and the Team Europe response to global food insecurity. We will continue to stand with the people of Ukraine and the most vulnerable around the world. We support the Black Sea Grain Initiative which must be continued to allow lifesaving grain to reach those who need it. President, This is a war that has seen reckless Russian attacks on nuclear facilities in Ukraine. A year of threats by Russia to use nuclear weapons on those that might come to Ukraines aid. It is regrettable and worrying, in this regard, that Russia has now chosen to suspend its participation with the US under the New Start Treaty. President, Ireland remains fully committed to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders. Those borders have not changed, and Russias use of force will not change them. Ireland calls on the Russian Federation to immediately cease hostilities and unconditionally withdraw from the entire territory of Ukraine. We call on the Russian Federation to refrain from further threats or the use of force of any kind, including nuclear weapons, against Ukraine or any other Member State, which could have serious implications beyond the region. Russias actions are not just a threat to Ukraine. They are a threat to the entirety of the UN membership. Every State relies on the rules-based international order for their prosperity, for their independence, for their sovereignty. If we fail to hold Russia accountable, if we fail to respond to their attack on the UN Charter, we will leave the world a more dangerous place for us all. President, The international community, and the General Assembly, has repeatedly made clear its condemnation of this war, including through this Special Session. As we mark this anniversary, with no end to Russias war in sight, a further resolution is being put to the General Assembly, calling for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in line with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. We call on all Member States to support this resolution. Thank you. ENDS Previous Item | Next Item Laptops MSI Laptops MSI Pulse GL66 12UEK 12th Gen i9-12900H price in India MSI Pulse GL66 12UEK 12th Gen i9-12900H > + Compare + Compare Updated on 14-Apr-2023 +2 Market Status : LAUNCHED Release Date : 23 Feb, 2023 Official Website : MSI Key Specifications OS Windows 11 Home Display 15.6" (2560 x 1440) Processor 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900H | 5 GHz Memory 1 TB SSD/16 GB DDR4 MSI Pulse GL66 12UEK 12th Gen i9-12900H Price in India: 126,990 ( onwards ) Buy Now Available at Set Price Drop Alert See All Prices Overview PRICES Specs Photos News User Reviews MSI Pulse GL66 12UEK 12th Gen i9-12900H Price in India MSI Pulse GL66 12UEK 12th Gen i9-12900H Price In India Starts From Rs.126990 The best price of MSI Pulse GL66 12UEK 12th Gen i9-12900H is Rs.126990 on Amazon. Merchant Name Availablity Price Go to Store Available 126,990 Buy Now Disclaimer: The price & specs shown may vary. Please confirm on the e-commerce site before purchasing. Error in pricing: Please let us know. MSI Pulse GL66 12UEK 12th Gen i9-12900H Full Specifications Basic Information Model name : Pulse GL66 Launch date (global) : 23-02-2023 operating system (with version) : Windows 11 Home laptop type : Gaming Display Resolution : 2560 x 1440 display size (in inches) : 15.6 Connectivity connectivity : Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Memory ram included (in gb) : 16 GB ram type : DDR4 ram speed (in mhz) : 3200 Physical Specifications laptop weight (in kgs) : 2.47 laptop dimension (in mm) : 259 x 359 x 27 Processor processor model name : 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900H clock speed : 5 GHz graphics processor : NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 GPU Memory type : DDR6 GPU Memory amount : 6 GB Boost Clock Speed : 5 GHz Storage Storage drive type : SSD Storage drive capacity : 1 TB Power battery type : 3 Cell 53.5 WHr Sound Warranty And Manufacturer Info Details Of Pre-Installed Software Error or missing information? Please let us know. MSI Pulse GL66 12UEK 12th Gen i9-12900H Price in India Updated on 14th Apr 2023 Store Product Name Price Amazon MSI Pulse GL66 12UEK 15.6" QHD (2560*1440) Gaming Laptop - Alder Lake i9-12900H DDR IV 8GB*2 (3200MH... 126,990 Disclaimer: Digit, like all other media houses, gives you links to online stores which contain embedded affiliate information, which allows us to get a tiny percentage of your purchase back from the online store. We urge all our readers to use our Buy button links to make their purchases as a way of supporting our work. If you are a user who already does this, thank you for supporting and keeping unbiased technology journalism alive in India. Explore More Mobile Laptop Gaming Call of Duty Mobile season 2 update has launched on February 23 at 5:30 AM IST. This season revolves around a post-apocalyptic theme and it goes by the name Heavy Metal. The update brings a new multiplayer map and modes, a new Battle Royale class, and a new assault rifle named Maddox along with some seasonal challenges, rewards and a new battle pass. The new multiplayer map, Diesel, in Call of Duty Mobile has already been teased a few weeks ago and now finally it's here. Here is a list of changes that you can expect in this update: The Heavy Metal Battle Pass features a new weapon The Heavy Metal battle pass in the update features free and premium items just like other passes. The items include new Operator skins, Weapon blueprints, calling cards and additional COD points that can be spent on your next Premium Pass or Store purchase. The free Battle Pass features a new assault rifle named Maddox that gets unlocked at Tier 21. This assault rifle features a high frame rate, minimal recoil and an extended magazine which makes it perfect for mobile suppressive tactics. The free BP also offers a variety of camos, weapon blueprints and the Deadmans Hand at Tier 50. The premium pass on the other hand features post-apocalyptic operator skins which include the Marshall, Deadman, Domino and some spray paints. It also includes premium-tier weapon blueprints like the QXR, HBra3, SP-R 208 and the Koshka. New Multiplayer Map and Modes The new multiplayer map Diesel was first seen in Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War and is now introduced to CODM. The map features mid to long-ranged battles and focuses on both open and tight-situation fights. In order to survive in the battle, players need to be skilled to move around buildings, keep a check on their load-outs, switch around weapons and adjust their play style with the pace of the battle. The update also introduces us to a new mode - Goliath Clash! This mode allows players to jump in as a Goliath and fight in Domination-style mode. These Goliaths can be upgraded and buffed by picking power upgrades. The mode offers three power upgrades i.e Blue, Red and Silver where the Blue provides a melee buff and improves movement speed, Red provides a health boost and reduces incoming damage and the Silver buffs firepower along with increased damage and health boost. Seasonal challenges and other featured events The update also brings events rewarding new Operator skins, Weapon blueprints, Battle XP and a new signature under barrel attachment. The store update also introduces new legendary character draws like the Nyx - Starstruck. Along with this, some other draws that are included in season 2 are Demir - Dark Spell, Sophia - Sand Dune and Killgore - Vengeful Flames. These are some of the updates that are coming to Call of Duty Mobile on 23rd February. The new map, the weapons in the free battle pass and the upcoming draws will be interesting to play and experience. With the introduction of new weapons, the play style and gameplay will be improved and changed. And change is a good thing! For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page. A few days ago, the CAD-based renders of the Samsung Galaxy A34 and Samsung Galaxy A54 were leaked and now, we have even more specification leaks that have hit the internet. Samsung seems to be launching Galaxy A34 and Galaxy A54 rather soon. This comes after the launch of the S23 series. 91Mobiles has leaked the specs table of these two new upcoming Galaxy A series via press renders. We have the design, display, performance, battery and some more features of the Samsung Galaxy A34 and Samsung Galaxy A54. The Samsung Galaxy A54 will be the high-end mid-range phone, whereas the Samsung Galaxy A34 is going to be the more affordable smartphone. So, today we are comparing these two phones based on these rumours. Samsung Galaxy A54 vs Samsung Galaxy A34: Design Both the phones are expected to come out with a similar triple camera setup on the back much like the Samsung Galaxy S23. The phones will feature a flat display and thin bezels reportedly. The Samsung Galaxy A34 is said to feature a water-drop notch, however, the Samsung Galaxy A54 might roll out with a punch-hole cutout. The renders revealed the volume rockers and power button on the right edge in both of the phones. They will feature dual SIM, NFC, OTG, and 3.5mm headphone jacks, according to the leaks. Samsung Galaxy A54 vs Samsung Galaxy A34: Display Samsung Galaxy A54 is expected to feature a 6.4-inch sAMOLED Full HD display with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels. The display panel will reportedly support up to 120Hz refresh rate which can be changed to 60Hz as well Samsung Galaxy A34 might be rolling out with a 6.6-inch Full HD+ sAMOLED display with a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels and support a refresh rate of 120Hz. Samsung Galaxy A54 vs Samsung Galaxy A34: Performance The Samsung Galaxy A54 is said to be equipped with Samsungs own Exynos 1380 SoC which might be paired with 8GB and storage of up to 256GB. On the other hand, The Samsung Galaxy Galaxy A34 is expected to be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1080 chipset paired with RAM and storage up to 8GB and 256GB. Both phones will run on the latest OneUI 5.0 operating system which is based on Android 13. Samsung Galaxy A54 vs Samsung Galaxy A34: Camera The Samsung Galaxy A54 has been rumoured to sport a triple camera setup holding a 50-megapixel primary camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide lens and an 8-megapixel macro lens. It is also rumoured to sport a 32-megapixel selfie shooter. The Samsung Galaxy A34 has been also rumoured to sport a triple camera setup holding a 48-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens and a 5-megapixel macro/ bokeh lens. It will reportedly sport a 32-megapixel selfie shooter. Samsung Galaxy A54 vs Samsung Galaxy A34: Battery Both phones could be backed by a 5000mAh battery with 25-watt fast charging support. For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page. gettyimagesbank The South Korean government and the country's major chipmakers agreed Thursday to jointly nurture more than 2,300 top-level talents in the semiconductor field over the next decade in an effort to maintain global technology prowess, the industry ministry said. The ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with Samsung Electronics Co., SK hynix Inc. and the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, which calls for earmarking a total of 222.9 billion won ($171.72 million) together starting this year through 2032 for various research and development projects, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The projects will be led by chipmakers in cooperation with universities, through which the country is expected to secure at least 2,365 experts holding a master's degree or higher in the semiconductor field over the next 10 years, it added. The move came as the government has been extending support for the chips industry amid intensifying global competition and manpower shortages facing the sector. Semiconductors are a key export item for South Korea, accounting for around 20 percent of the country's total exports. (Yonhap) Russia will continue to pay increased attention to boosting its nuclear forces and will begin mass deliveries of Zircon sea-launched hypersonic missiles, President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday. In an address to mark Thursday's Defender of the Fatherland public holiday, Putin also said Russia would keep on equipping its armed forces with advanced equipment. Putin made his remarks two days after announcing Russia would suspend the New START treaty, its last remaining arms control agreement with Washington. The treaty limits each country's deployed nuclear warheads. "As before, we will pay increased attention to strengthening the nuclear triad," said Putin, referring to nuclear missiles based on land, sea and in the air. U.S. President Joe Biden, left, together with Polish President Andrzej Duda, center, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attend a Bucharest Nine (B9) meeting at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw on Feb. 22. AFP-Yonhap U.S. President Joe Biden met NATO and European leaders in Warsaw on Wednesday, with the allies vowing to strengthen defenses "from the Baltic to the Black Sea", as the United Nations secretary-general condemned Russia's invasion. Biden attended a meeting with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and the heads of eastern European countries in a bid to shore up support for Kyiv nearly a year after Russian forces rolled into Ukraine. The leaders of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia joined the talks amid widespread concern in their countries that the conflict could spill over. In a statement after the meeting, the leaders vowed to further "reinforce our deterrence and defense posture across the entire Eastern flank from the Baltic to the Black Sea." Stoltenberg urged allies to step up support for Ukraine, saying: "we cannot allow Russia to continue to chip away at European security." The U.N. General Assembly met for a special session Wednesday that was to debate a motion backed by Kyiv and its allies calling for a "just and lasting peace." U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the session that the invasion of Ukraine is "an affront to our collective conscience, while Moscow's U.N. ambassador took aim at the West, saying it is "ready to plunge the entire world into the abyss of war" to defeat Russia. In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin attended a patriotic rally, telling a crowd of tens of thousands that Russia was fighting "for our historical lands, for our people". United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during the 11th Emergency Session of the United Nations on the conflict in Ukraine at United Nations headquarters in New York, Feb. 22. EPA-Yonhap Earlier, Putin held talks with China's top diplomat Wang Yi, who was visiting Moscow after Washington and NATO voiced concern that China could be preparing to supply Russia with weapons. "We will not be overwhelmed by threats and pressure from third parties," Wang said. A readout following the meeting published by Chinese state news agency Xinhua quoted Wang saying China was willing to "deepen political trust" and "strengthen strategic coordination" with Russia. China would "uphold an objective and fair position and play a constructive role in solving the crisis through political means", it said. On Tuesday, Putin announced the suspension of Moscow's participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty and promised to press on with the campaign in Ukraine, during a state of the nation address. Speaking in Warsaw, Biden said the decision on the treaty was a "big mistake". Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, greets Chinese Communist Party's foreign policy chief Wang Yi during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Feb. 22. AP-Yonhap Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. A highly unique opportunity to hear the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Winners, Glasgow-based five-piece Imar, in Dundalk, will take place next Monday night at the Oriel Centre. With the incredible line-up featuring members of Manran, Mec Lir, RURA, and Talisk and a heavyweight collective haul of top prizes including a the 2018 BBC Radio 2 Musician Of The Year, 2016 BBC Radio Scotland Young Musician of the Year, BBC Radio 2 Horizon Award, Young Folk Award, nine All-Ireland and eight All-Britain titles Imars formation embodies a personal reconnection with its members formative years, dating back long before their recent camaraderie around Glasgows justly celebrated session scene. The musicians Adam Brown (bodhran), Adam Rhodes (bouzouki), Mohsen Amini (concertina), Ryan Murphy (uilleann pipes) and Tomas Callister (fiddle) all share a strong background in Irish music although only Murphy actually hails from Ireland; Rhodes and Callister are from the Isle of Man, whilst Amini is a Glasgow native, and Brown originally from Suffolk it is these foundations which underpin many of Imars distinctive qualities, in both instrumentation and material. The bands synergy centers on the overlapping cultural heritage between Scotland, Ireland and the Isle of Man. All three places once shared the same Gaelic language and a similar kinship endures between their musical traditions. Reviews include: "energy thats seemingly bursting to let loose" - The Herald "exceptional" - The Living Tradition "Genuinely jaw-dropping collective virtuosity" The Scotsman. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see and hear Imar perform up close and personal, in the intimate space of the historic Dundalk Gaol on Monday 27th February, 8:00 pm. Tickets available at www.orielcentre.ie; events@orielcentre.ie; or by calling 042 9328887. Yesterday, revenue officers examining parcels as part of a routine operation at a premises in Athlone seized over 17.9kgs of herbal cannabis worth almost 359,000. The illegal drugs were discovered in two parcels which had originated in Spain and Italy and were destined for addresses in Dublin and Louth. The find was one of three made by Revenue in the last week with 9,300 (12.3kgs) of roll your own tobacco branded Golden Virginia and Sopianie seized at Dublin Port. The smuggled tobacco was discovered in a consignment manifested as food which had originated in Poland and had arrived in a van via Cherbourg. Additionally, last Friday as a result of routine operations, and with the assistance of Revenues x-ray mobile scanner, Revenue officers seized approximately 6,000kgs of roll your own tobacco and 2,400 cigarettes at Dublin Port. The smuggled tobacco and cigarettes, of multiple brands, have an estimated retail value of over 4.5 million, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of almost 3.5 million. The contraband was discovered in a consignment manifested as PVC Resin Floor Sealer which originated in Belgium and had arrived in an unaccompanied trailer via Zeebrugge. Investigations into all seizures are ongoing. A business woman who was driving on the wrong side of the road as she approached a Garda patrol car on Hoey's Lane, was convicted of careless driving at Dundalk district court last week. Court presenter Sgt. Jimmy McGovern outlined how gardai were not satisfied with the details given at the side of the road by Idayat Ogbara (57) of Clontygora Court, Dundalk and they suspected she had given false information. The court heard the defendant, who was not in court as she is presently in Nigeria, admitted having no insurance and careless driving. The Defence explained that Ms. Ogbara has lived in this country a number of years and runs her own business selling fabrics. At the time her insurance had lapsed, on the date of the offence July 31st last, as she had returned to Nigeria to care for her mother. Judge Gerry Jones imposed a 300 fine each for both the careless driving and no insurance charges but did not disqualify the defendant from driving. Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) have announced an upcoming performance on campus themed Crossing Green Fields which celebrates the transatlantic connections in music between Ireland and America. From the endlessly celebrated Danny Boy to the energy of Riverdance, music continues to connect, inspire, and showcase cultural connections. This concert involves students from the BA (Hons) Music and BA Musical Theatre programmes at DkIT, who will perform a mixture of traditional repertoire, bluegrass-tinged ballads, and musical hits drawing on Finians Rainbow amongst others. All of the performers will join with the DkIT Choir to perform arrangements of well-known songs, including a special performance conducted by the Michael Van Dessell Choral Conducting Scholar, Dylan Thomas. Students on the new Musical Theatre programme are excited about their involvement in their first Spring concert, adding a new dimension to musical activities at DkIT. Their performances demonstrate the hugely influential role that Irish emigrants have played on the genre and evoke the memory of headline performers such as Bing Crosby, Maureen OHara, Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. Students on the BA (Hons) Music are no strangers to the USA, having previously toured to perform in New York and Kansas, as well as celebrating Irish-American musical links in past concerts. The current students follow in the path of recent graduates, such as the RTE Radio Folk Award nominees Alfi, in exploring the American influence on contemporary Irish traditional music. The rehearsals are well underway for this exciting and collaborative recital, and all the participating students are looking forward to performing some timeless and iconic pieces of music together. Crossing Green Fields takes place in the MacAnna Theatre, DkIT on Tuesday 14 March at 7pm. Tickets are free, but booking is necessary through creativearts@dkit.ie I Wish, the organisation inspiring teenage girls towards Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) careers, is encouraging female students across the city and county to sign up for their showcase hybrid event on February 28 in the RDS Dublin. The event will also broadcast live to teenage girls in Ireland and around the world, with special free trains running from Cork and Mallow to the capital on the day. The first confirmed headline speaker for what is the ninth annual event is former president Mary Robinson, who will address the audience on promoting gender equality, human rights and social justice globally. Gillian Keating, founder of I WISH Cork woman Gillian Keating, co-founder of I Wish, explained how their mission, to increase female participation in STEM by breaking down the barriers that persist, is founded in the vision of a future where girls are enabled to shape a better world through STEM. And encouragingly, change is happening. We are very proud of the progress made to date, evident in our 2022 report (see panel on page 7). It is fantastic to see that perception of gender stereotypes has changed so significantly. But at the same time, we see the need for continued and focused effort. I n 2016, only 5% of those taking engineering at Leaving Cert level were girls; now, in 2022, its 9% which is almost doubled, said Gillian. However, she did point out thats just 200-odd girls. But that is not because theyre rejecting it, but in many cases its not in their school as a subject choice. Youd have a similar situation with applied maths, so indirectly were limiting choices available to young girls. And when we do make them available, we find they respond very positively, she said. Factors that persist for female students in considering STEM careers are poor gender equality and a lack of confidence in their ability and potential to succeed in STEM. Teenage girls need a vision for a future in STEM as scientists, technologists, and engineers. This is what we work to bring through I Wish, she said. Caroline O'Driscoll, founder of I WISH CarolineODriscoll, co-founder, pointed out that a recent survey they conducted showed 84% of teenage girls want to know more about STEM careers compared with 53% in 2016. This positive sentiment is also feeding into third level participation. We are seeing a positive trend in female STEM undergraduate enrolments, with a steady increase in the number of female new entrants into STEM undergraduate programmes, from 29% in 2014 to 36% in 2021, according to HEA data (2022). Across almost all disciplines, female enrolments in engineering almost doubled during that time, albeit from a low base. However there remains a challenge in physics and the physical sciences, where female participation has gradually declined since 2014. Therefore, we need to continue with targeted interventions, such as I Wish, so that we can steer the world towards gender parity in STEM. Interestingly, Gillian pointed to an increase in parent power since the pandemic as young girls are spending more time with their parents. Teachers were the strongest influencers pre-Covid when it came to subject choice, but now parents are key influencers. So the more we enable girls that we spend a lot of time with in terms of our language, the opportunities we put before them, the subject choices we make available to them, the better it is for all of us. The I Wish showcase event is constantly evolving and this year it features a programme in collaboration with Stripe to encourage female founders. Gillian and the team reached out to schools at the start of the year, seeking business ideas. We had an amazing response with over 40 business proposals and 135 students. As part of the Stripe Programme, theyve been working together over the last few months to refine their ideas, which theyll pitch on the day, when the winners will be announced. The winning team get a cash prize and so will the school. Running the annual showcase, and all the associated events, takes huge time and commitment and its all on a voluntary basis. But Gillian says its all worthwhile. Playing a part in enabling the creators and leaders of tomorrow, who will improve the world we live in, that is magical, and its one of the most impactful things I do, and I know Caroline would say the same, she said. Schools and students may sign up via iwish.ie/register Daisy Garde. ONE YOUNG WOMANS EXPERIENCE I Wish really opened my eyes to the wide range of jobs and areas I could go into. So said Daisy Garde, who took part in the conference in 2017 during fourth year, and who is now in her final year studying Biotechnology in UCC. I was always really interested in Science, from the age of five I wanted to work in a lab with my white lab coat and I always loved biology and physics, said Daisy, from Bandon. In fourth year, I still didnt really have an idea of what I wanted to do when I was older, but I remember going around to all the stands and just thinking, Wow, these people have the best jobs ever. I think when I was younger there was this idea of working as a mad scientist but I didnt know what a job in science was really about until I Wish. The positive reinforcement and encouragement she got at the conference, boosted her confidence and made working in science seem more approachable. Getting to talk to people in career paths you may one day want to go down takes them off a pedestal and lets you see that theyre all human, and as cheesy as it sounds, that you can do it too. I think the most impactful moment for me, however, was the speeches at the beginning of the day, these were powerful women speaking about their experiences and their hopes and predictions for the future in STEM. I think it would be hard for anyone to walk away without feeling inspired. Her college class has over 50% girls, which she says is amazing. However, when I was on placement I was working on a team where I was the only girl and my lecturers in college are still predominantly male. Its getting better, I think in most areas there is at least some female representation but there is still a long way to go. And her advice to teen females unsure about pursuing a career in STEM? Dont let any subject in school define you. Just because you might not like maths or physics or biology doesnt mean you wont love another STEM subject. I saw so many of my classmates beating themselves down for low marks in different subjects and it stopped them from pursuing subjects they were interested in. If they werent good at maths, they wrote off chemistry for example, and in reality you dont need a H1 in maths to be an amazing chemist. KEY FINDINGS OF I WISH REPORT THE annual I Wish Report 22 on female TY students perspectives on STEM, has revealed significant change, with 93% of girls surveyed rejecting the stereotype that STEM careers are more suited to boys, in contrast with 78% in 2016. However, 46% cited existing stereotypes in STEM as a reason for the fact that only one in four people working in STEM are women. Some 84% of female students want to know more about STEM compared with 53% in 2016 revealing further positive change. 76% plan to study Leaving Cert Maths at higher level (66% in 2016). I Wish, asked students about perceived barriers to a career in STEM. Two thirds of female students cited insufficient information about STEM careers. A similar number (64%) highlighted persistent poor gender equality in STEM as a barrier and 61% lacked access to STEM work experience. 2,583 teenage girls took part in the I Wish 2022 survey. The survey captures students as they make subject choices and consider their careers. 55% of those surveyed were from single-sex schools, 45% from mixed schools. Nationally, some of the more positive trends are reflected in increased engagement by female students in STEM subjects at Leaving Cert higher level, with female students representing 51% taking higher level maths, 29% taking applied maths, 23% taking computer science and 9% taking engineering. Although female participation in engineering has almost doubled since 2016, the figure of 9% represents just 219 girls. 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. Southern elephant seals on the beach with King penguins and Royal penguins on Macquarie Island, Australia. Auscape / Universal Images Group via Getty Images Australias Albanese Labor Government has announced its plans to triple the size of the Macquarie Island Marine Park to protect millions of seals, seabirds and penguins in the Southern Ocean, a press release from Australias Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek said. The expansion of the marine park would protect the entire Exclusive Economic Zone surrounding the island and expand Australias marine parks to 48.2 percent of its oceans. The proposal includes a new high protection zone larger than the area of Germany, an important contribution to our commitment to protect 30 per cent of our land and 30 per cent of our oceans by 2030, Plibersek said in the press release. Macquarie Island Marine Park is a remote wildlife wonderland. Millions of penguins including southern rockhopper and royal penguins as well as southern elephant seals and subantarctic fur seals breed in the islands sub-Antarctic marine environment, which is also an essential feeding ground for them. Grey petrels and black-browed albatrosses also call the island which lies halfway between Australia and Antarctica and its surrounding waters home. The marine park has a Sanctuary Zone, providing the highest level of protection for birds and other marine life. The Sanctuary Zone is managed to minimise disturbance to the environment from human activities, so only scientific research is allowed, according to the Macquarie Island Marine Park website. The marine park also includes a Habitat Protection Zone. While some activities are allowed in the Habitat Protection Zone, others are restricted in order to protect important habitats. Macquarie Island was added to the list of World Heritage Sites in 1997, and the marine park was established in 1999. The expansion would bring the marine park up to nearly 149,808 square miles. Australian Marine Conservation Societys campaigns director Tooni Mahto said the areas wildlife was having a difficult time adapting to threats like fishing, as well as rapidly warming ocean temperatures, reported The Guardian. If approved it will provide a refuge to help the islands iconic species adapt to the changing climate, said Antarctic conservation manager with WWF-Australia Emily Grilly, as The Guardian reported. This announcement is an important contribution to conservation in the oceans of the southern hemisphere a region where dramatic climate change impacts may threaten unique wildlife. Parks Australia manages a total of 14 marine parks under the South-east Marine Parks Network Management Plan 2013-2023, the press release said. The continuation of Macquarie Island Toothfish Fishery would also be included in the new marine park design. The statutory and public consultation periods on the proposed expansion of the marine park and the intention to prepare a new South-east Network management plan will begin in the coming weeks. I encourage everyone who, like me, cares deeply about the future of our oceans and of the industries and activities that rely on their health, to provide your input on the proposal to expand the Macquarie Island Marine Park and on the future of the South-east marine park network, Plibersek said in the press release. Expanding and increasing the protection of the waters surrounding Macquarie Island will allow us to better manage this important ecosystem for the future. Poultry farmers in Ireland seeking price increase for eggs Nigel Sweetnam, the chairman of the Irish Farmers' Association's National Poultry Committee, has expressed his anger over the lack of action in response to the demand for a fair price increase in eggs from Irish egg producers, Kilkenny Live reported. Sweetnam said it is disappointing and upsetting that egg producers are unable to increase the prices of eggs by 2 cents, which is needed to sustain their operations. IFA members and egg producers protested in October, demanding that retailers pay farmers more money back through the supply chain. Discount retailers have reacted favourably to the protests, but some other retailers have fallen short of the producers' demands, he said. Egg producers have only received an average of 0.7 cents per egg out of the 2 cents they need, despite discussions on sustainability, farmer incomes, and the security of the egg supply. Sweetnam said Irish egg producers are forced to continue operating at a loss in an expanding global market, which affects their livelihoods. He said the remaining retailers and packers need to act right away to address this issue and uphold their duty to the farmers who supply their products. - Kilkenny Live University of Queensland: Vaccine created to address bovine trichomoniasis protozoa The impacts of a venereal disease that causes cattle infertility and costs the industry hundreds of millions of dollars could be mitigated by an experimental vaccine created at the University of Queensland. Professor Ala Tabor from the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation said vaccines for the bovine trichomoniasis protozoa are available overseas, but not in Australia. "When you import a vaccine, it has to be quarantined and the animals treated with it aren't allowed into the food chain, so it is more efficient and practical to manufacture the vaccine in Australia," Professor Tabor said. "If we can get local strains of the disease and develop them into a vaccine, it's effective, safer and easier there's no quarantine and the animals can enter the food chain." The work was prompted by the results from a survey for the disease led by Professor Michael McGowan from UQ's School of Veterinary Science, revealing that bulls at abattoirs from all of Australia's major beef breeding regions and more than one in 10 bulls in northern regions, were infected. "Bovine trichomoniasis is caused by a protozoa carried by bulls and is transmitted to females during mating," Professor Tabor said. "This can make cows infertile or cause them to abort." QAAFI senior research fellow Dr. Kieren McCosker helped collect samples from bulls' reproductive tracts. These samples were then cleaned and analysed. "If a successful vaccine is developed out of this, it could be an important development," Dr. McCosker said. "In North Australian beef herds, losses from confirmed pregnancy to weaning are typically in the order of 5% to 15% and are estimated to cost the industry between $60 and $100 million a year. "While not solely responsible, at the level of prevalence recently reported for bovine trichomoniasis, the disease is likely to be contributing to this reproductive inefficiency. Having a vaccine for beef producers to help manage that would be a very welcome outcome." The vaccine candidate was tested in a small group of bulls and was successful. Professor Tabor is now working with Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and commercial industry partners to conduct larger trials. The work was carried out by researchers at QAAFI's Centre for Animal Science, UQ's School of Veterinary Science and staff at Pinjarra Hills Research Facility, with the assistance of MLA. - The University of Queensland The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Picard, Season Three, Episode Two: Disengage. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 movie that arguably saved Star Trek as a going concern. It was a cheap movie, but writer-director Nicholas Meyer made thriftiness a virtue, building a paranoid submarine thriller out of steely glances and jousting phone calls. Despite having no love of Trek, Meyer painted a broad sweep of an older Jim Kirk, his life, death and rebirth with the help of a son he never knew he had. Its a sumptuous movie, full of smart dialogue and characterisation, with a drum-tight plot and great acting, not just a great Star Trek film, but a great film, period. And sometimes, I feel that its critical and commercial success was so big that its been to Star Treks overall detriment. Whenever the creative well runs dry, Trek runs back to old comforts, and the Next Generation movies were perpetually looking for its own Khan. First Contact flipped the Moby Dick narrative, making Picard the Ahab against the Borgs white whale. Insurrection borrowed the setting of Khans climatic finale, while Nemesis borrowed its plot beats; a wounded ship only saved by the heroic sacrifice of each series Tin Man character. Into Darkness then winkingly inverted those same plot beats, with Kirk nobly dying in place of his best friend. Picards been telegraphing its intentions from the get-go, dropping every nod to fans about where wed wind up. The Bennett-era movie callbacks remain en vogue here, and to my memory this is the first use of the Blaster Beam, or a soundalike, in a streaming era soundtrack. Much like all of the other nods, were watching a cargo cult being assembled in real time, boldly serving us up something weve only seen, oooh, four or five times at this point. So: Wounded hero ship facing off against a more powerful enemy? Check. Inside a nebula thats disrupting normal starship functions? Check. With our lead suddenly presented with the news he has a son he never knew about? Check check check. Subscribe to the Engadget Deals Newsletter Great deals on consumer electronics delivered straight to your inbox, curated by Engadgets editorial team. See latest Subscribe Please enter a valid email address Please select a newsletter By subscribing, you are agreeing to Engadget's Terms and Privacy Policy. This week, Picard and Riker make it to the Helios to find Beverley in her stasis pod, guarded by her son, Jack. Hes a rakish Englishman who has already spoken two whole words in French while negotiating with a corrupt Fenris Ranger. After being rescued by the Titan, Riker starts hinting about the younger Crushers parentage, as if being the worlds most English Frenchman is a genetic trait. It isnt long before Crusher is outed as an intergalactic con man and fugitive, and Shaw has him sent to the brig. He also, after several hours of allowing her to remain on the bridge giving orders to people, dismisses Seven for indulging two people we keep being told are legends and heroes. Theres plenty of furrowed brows as Picard initially refuses to consider that he might have a son, and at no point does anyone suggest running a paternity test. You might expect it would be easy enough to whip out a tricorder or hypospray, or even the transporter records, and find the truth. But, you know, that would be too efficient, so were left with Picard and Jack facing off in the brig. Now, credit where due, Patrick Stewart and Ed Speelers sell the hell out of this scene, the first that feels in any way real so far. All the while, the Titan is menaced by Amanda Plummers villain, who we know is evil because shes smoking on the bridge of her ship, the Shrike, indoors! I wonder if this, too, is another nod to those older films given Plummers father faced off against Kirk in The Undiscovered Country. Maybe this is why Im so out of step with so much of the (positive) critical consensus around this run. I find this raiding of Star Treks own text and paratext to be insular and repetitive, with it more interested in placating disaffected fanboys than telling a story with a point of view. If you want strange new worlds, new life forms and new civilizations, youll need to watch the show set 142 years earlier. Then theres Raffi. Last week, she uncovered that some nefarious type had stolen some deep tech from Aperture Science Starfleet. At the end of that episode, a Starfleet recruitment building big enough to fill the donut hole in Apple Park gets Portal-ed into dust, killing (just) 117 people. Now, looking to make amends for her, uh, failure? Shes looking into local crims in order to find out who exactly was responsible for the seemingly-unwarranted attack. Now, this is the plot beat I alluded to in my preview, when Raffi, who is in recovery, is forced to do drugs in order to prove shes not an undercover agent. The portentous music and Michelle Hurds acting sells the notion this isnt a great idea, but Raffis committed to the cause. But while shes incapacitated, her handler comes in to rescue everyone with some good, old-fashioned Mekleth carnage. I couldn't help but feel a punch in the air when Worf popped up in all his glory, but the tonal jump doesn't sit well with me. You could be wondering why the Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire is doing covert intelligence work. But, by the end of the Next Generation movies, it was clear that Worf would just show up for a visit whenever the plot required. And even Im not going to harp on about this too much, because it is never a chore to watch Michael Dorn do his work. As EWs Darren Franich said in his definitive Star Trek essay series, Michael Dorn knew Worf only got cooler when the show made him look goofy. As goofy as he is here, hes still Worf, and you just wish that Paramount had greenlit a Worf show three years ago instead. I had hoped this episode, for its laggy table-laying, may be looking for a way to attack a well worn but fundamentally strong Star Trek trope. That being if its right and proper to hand over a potentially-innocent man to frontier justice, and if not, why not? Theres plenty of angles for the argument given the many shades of gray that most people can now comprehend. After all, the Titan is outside Federation space, and so you cant, or shouldnt, impose your values on those beyond your worldview. That can be countered by someone saying that natural justice is, or should be a universal virtue. And that these debates must sit side-by-side with the notion that the needs of the many (the 500-plus souls on the USS Titan) outweigh the needs of the few, or the (Jack Crusher) one. You could even have the supposedly right argument, the one aping Spocks famous aphorism, espoused by the character most seen as an asshole, too. But no. Unfortunately, Picard remains bad for all of the same reasons that pretty much every other Khan copy is bad: It has almost nothing to say. In fact, this episode seems to hinge on every person in the narrative suddenly becoming incapable of doing even the basic parts of their jobs. Since when would a security officer not search a prisoner for hidden technology before putting them in the brig? Since when would a ship at Red Alert be taken by surprise when a hostile vessel in front of them starts attacking? And why did nobody have the presence of mind to run a paternity test, which surely at this point in history could be done with the ships internal sensors? Not to mention, why didnt Jack just tell the security guard hed like to hand himself over rather than knocking him out? Maybe so we could have a few more moments of tension before the Titan chooses to make a break for the nebula and we roll the credits. You may think Im banging on unnecessarily about The Wrath of Khan but I think its justified here. If the production team werent looking to invite comparisons to a vastly superior project then they were unwise to take so many of its plot beats as its own. I mean, in Wrath of Khan, Kirk has sixty seconds to find a way to even things up between the wounded Enterprise and the Reliant. And he does so with a little bit of theatrics, some ingenuity, and by showing that he was a little cleverer than anybody gave him credit for being. When this version of Picard is placed in the same situation but given a whole hour to come up with something, what does he do? He marks time on the bridge while the younger actors with plausible-looking stunt performers can do the now obligatory punch fight so that the audience at home doesnt start getting bored. All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices are correct at the time of publishing. Uber has rolled out an update for its iPhone app that gives you the capability to see at a glance whether it's time to head out the door and meet the ride you ordered. The company has launched support for Live Activities, an iOS 16 feature that puts real time events from compatible apps on top of the lock screen and on the iPhone 14 Dynamic Island when your device is unlocked. Uber's take on Live Activities is a window that includes the live progress of a ride, its latest estimated time of arrival and the trip status, such as whether your driver is already waiting for you and if the ride has been completed. It also shows the vehicle type and the license plate number of the ride you're waiting for. As MacRumors notes, Apple announced that Uber would support Live Activities at WWDC last year, and the feature has been in testing in select regions over the past months. This is a wide release that gives you access to the feature anywhere in the world. A company spokesperson also told the publication that the Uber Eats app will support Live Activities in the coming months. In addition to Live Activities, Uber has updated its app to simplify the homescreen experience, as well. It has a new Services tab where you can find all of the company's services available in your city, as well as a new Activity Hub that tracks past and upcoming rides and Eats orders. All products recommended by Engadget are selected by our editorial team, independent of our parent company. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. All prices are correct at the time of publishing. (Informacion remitida por la empresa firmante) LUND, Sweden, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- October-December 2022 Net sales amount kSEK 502 (305) divided by sales of tests kSEK 190 (278) and royalties kSEK 312 (27). Net earnings amount MSEK -67 (-47) and earnings per share before and after dilution were SEK -2.97 (-2.08). (-2.08). Cash Flow from operating activities amount MSEK -51 (-50). Cash and equivalents at the end of the period amounted to MSEK 106 (287). On October 12 , the Company announced a positive update on its physician experience program with IMMray PanCan-d. Thus far the program has included 23 high risk surveillance centers around the U.S. thus far and physicians have showed substantial interest in the use of IMMray PanCan-d to detect early-stage pancreatic cancer. , the Company announced a positive update on its physician experience program with IMMray PanCan-d. Thus far the program has included 23 high risk surveillance centers around the U.S. thus far and physicians have showed substantial interest in the use of IMMray PanCan-d to detect early-stage pancreatic cancer. On October 17 , the Company announced a strategic partnership with Proteomedix to leverage the joint R&D efforts skills of both companies allowing for increased focus on commercialization within Immunovia. , the Company announced a strategic partnership with Proteomedix to leverage the joint R&D efforts skills of both companies allowing for increased focus on commercialization within Immunovia. On October 19 , the Company announced executive management team changes to accelerate the execution of strategic priorities. , the Company announced executive management team changes to accelerate the execution of strategic priorities. On October 20 , the Company announced that the Nomination Committee had been appointed for the 2023 Annual General Meeting and consist of Ranny Davidoff, Carl Borrebaeck, Peter Lindvall and Mats Leifland, who together represent 13.46 percent of the number of shares and votes in the company as of September 30, 2022 . , the Company announced that the Nomination Committee had been appointed for the 2023 Annual General Meeting and consist of Ranny Davidoff, Carl Borrebaeck, and Mats Leifland, who together represent 13.46 percent of the number of shares and votes in the company as of . On November 16 , it was announced that CEO, Philipp Mathieu , had purchased 150,000 warrants of the 2022/2026 scheme for approximately 297 kSEK. , it was announced that CEO, , had purchased 150,000 warrants of the 2022/2026 scheme for approximately 297 kSEK. On November 30 , the Company announced that Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized its payment determination and had set a rate of $897 for Immunovia's IMMray Pan- Can-d test. , the Company announced that Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized its payment determination and had set a rate of for Immunovia's IMMray Pan- Can-d test. On December 5 , the Company announced that its U.S. subsidiary, Immunovia Inc., had appointed Jon Hager as new National Sales Director. Significant events after the period On January 17 , the Company appointed Lara E. Sucheston-Campbell as Head of Clinical and Medical Affairs to Accelerate Commercial strategy of IMMray PanCan-d test in the US market. , the Company appointed Lara E. Sucheston-Campbell as Head of Clinical and Medical Affairs to Accelerate Commercial strategy of IMMray PanCan-d test in the US market. On January 19 , the Company informed about the realignment of the Swedish operations and that a union consultation process had been initiated with the aim of reducing the number of employees within R&D and Operations in Lund . , the Company informed about the realignment of the Swedish operations and that a union consultation process had been initiated with the aim of reducing the number of employees within R&D and Operations in . On February 8 , the Company announced that the consultation process regarding realigning its Swedish operations, announced on 19 January 2023 , has been completed. , the Company announced that the consultation process regarding realigning its Swedish operations, announced on , has been completed. On February 20 , the Company announced a rights issue of approximately SEK 202.2 million and postponed the publication of the quarterly report for the first quarter and the annual general meeting. CEO's comments In Q4, Immunovia continued to execute on its unique position as a leader in innovative early detection of pancreatic cancer. Immunovia's IMMray PanCan-d test is the first ever blood test dedicated to early detection of pancreatic cancer, addressing a significant unmet medical need. We reached important milestones in 2022: the first full year that IMMray PanCan-d was commercially available in the US, significant progress in driving adoption and important advancements in pursuing reimbursement for our test. We remain committed to changing the paradigm for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer by further advancing and improving our commercial and operational capabilities in the US market to ultimately increase the survival rates for one of the deadliest types of cancer. Looking back at 2022, our team delivered on all our strategic priorities and built out the commercial team supporting a successful product launch in the US, which is our core market. Our commercial teams' expansion included the addition of Jeff Borcherding, who joined Immunovia in April as the CEO of our US business and brings extensive experience in growing diagnostic businesses from a broad range of commercial leadership roles in the US market. We made additional key recruitments including a new Head of Market Access as well as a Head of Clinical and Medical Affairs more recently. Our expanding commercial team will broaden the market access to IMMray PanCan-d and ensure its affordability for as many individuals as possible. We are focused on ensuring as many patients as possible can benefit from our test. Enabling patient access to our test by broadly rolling it out and securing reimbursement are key in this mission. We are actively pursuing reimbursement for our test with both private, commercial insurances as well as public healthcare insurance schemes in the US. Attaining reimbursement for our test requires both regulatory steps (such as obtaining the required approvals for our laboratory, a unique identifier code etc.) as well as technology validation, demonstrating clinical utility and ensuring physician advocacy for our test with insurances. We have made significant progress on all those aspects over the last year and are currently in advanced reimbursement discussions with various health insurances. Progress over the past year included receiving Clinical and Public Health Laboratory licenses in all except one state in the US. As of today, only the license in New York state is outstanding, which we are aiming to secure. Licenses enable physicians in a particular state to order the IMMray PanCan-d test for their patients and are an important step towards increasing the availability and adoption of our test. In March, our laboratory in Marlborough, Massachusetts, received accreditation from the College of American Pathologists. In June, we received approval for a Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) Proprietary Laboratory Analyses (PLA) code from the American Medical Association (AMA) for the IMMray PanCan-d test. The PLA code became effective on October 1, 2022. CPT codes are the most widely accepted medical nomenclature used in the US to report physician and healthcare professional services, including laboratory tests under public and private health insurance programs and are a necessary and important step on the path towards reimbursement. Following the approval of the PLA code, we entered the process with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to obtain a payment determination for our test. In November, we received the final payment determination at a rate of $897 from CMS for our IMMray PanCan-d test which brings us one step closer to reimbursement. CMS' payment determination not only appropriately values our test at an attractive rate for Immunovia but also serves as a price reference point in future pricing discussions with commercial payers. Our test has now been included in the 2023 CMS Clinical Lab Fee Schedule at that price, which became active at the beginning of 2023. This price level highlights the value of the market niche Immunovia is targeting and was a welcome approval. In our mission to drive patient access and physician advocacy for our test during 2022 Immunovia also continued to drive adoption and familiarity with IMMray PanCan-d amongst physicians by conducting a physician experience program. The program was designed for providers to gain clinical experience using the IMMray PanCan-d test and to collect additional data supporting clinical utility of our test. Feedback from participating physicians suggests IMMray PanCan-d is an important test for the early detection of pancreatic cancer that could be integrated into regular patient care. The program included twenty-three high risk surveillance centers around the U.S. We reported updates from our clinical programs, including results from our PanFAM-1 study and our PanDIA-1 study. The PanFAM-1 study was a prospective, multi center, investigational study, designed to assess the performance of the IMMray PanCan-d test in early detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in high-risk populations. The IMMray PanCan-d test met its primary endpoint of test specificity comparable to imaging in the study. Sensitivity, however, could not be evaluated due to the low number of PDACs among study participants. We also provided an update on the PanDIA-1 study which moved into its next phase using one of the largest, comprehensive prospective sample collections for early detection of pancreatic cancer in new onset type 2 diabetics to further develop and validate our test for this large risk group. In the current phase of being an early commercial company it is critical for Immunovia to focus internal resources on strengthening its commercial development in the US and accelerate the rollout of IMMray PanCan-d while maximizing R&D productivity. For this reason we launched a strategic partnership with Proteomedix, a Switzerland-based proteomics company and an expert in proteomics-based oncology diagnostics. This collaboration leverages the substantial joint development experience in diagnostic technologies for the detection of cancer and provides Immunovia with a more flexible and efficient R&D organization. To summarize 2022, we sharpened our focus on pancreatic cancer and commercializing the IMMray PanCan-d test in the US market and I am very proud of what the Immunovia team has achieved, delivering on our strategic priorities by: Substantially strengthening our US organization to enable rapid commercial growth Receiving a Clinical Laboratory License in all US states but one Receiving a CPT PLA code for our test Receiving a final payment determination of $897 from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which appropriately values our innovative test from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which appropriately values our innovative test Launching a strategic R&D partnership with Proteomedix All of the above are critical and very promising milestones in the US market development for our test paving the way for rapid, future growth. Looking into 2023, I am very confident that the continued execution of our strategy will result in further increasing adoption of our test through heightened awareness and initial successes in obtaining reimbursement as well as a broadening of the clinical validation of our test for the current and additional risk groups within pancreatic cancer. I want to thank our stakeholders for their continued support and look forward to a new year with further major milestones in improving pancreatic cancer survival rates. February 23, 2023Philipp Mathieu, CEO and President Immunovia AB For more information, please contact:Philipp MathieuCEO and Presidentphilipp.mathieu@immunovia.com Karin Almqvist LiwendahlChief Financial Officerkarin.almqvist.liwendahl@immunovia.com+46 70 911 56 08 The information in this report is information that Immunovia AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08:30 am CET on February 23, 2023. Conference call Immunovia will hold a webcast tele conference at 11:00 pm CET on February 23 with President and CEO Philipp Mathieu and CFO Karin Almqwist Liwendahl. To take part of the presentation, please dial one of the numbers or watch via the web link below. Sweden: +46 8 5051 0031 United Kingdom: +44 207 107 06 13 United States: +1 631 570 56 13 Link to the webcast: https://link.edgepilot.com/s/94d445d8/kGg7TnRc0kW8IMCMe-92zw?u=http://creo-live.creomediamanager.com/d1d6a3da-b961-48c9-beb8-3d4026f05d6f About Immunovia Immunovia is a diagnostic company with the vision to revolutionize blood-based diagnostics and increase survival rates for patients with cancer. Our first product, IMMray PanCan-d is the only blood test currently available for early detection of pancreatic cancer. The test has unmatched clinical performance. Commercialization of IMMray PanCan-d started in August 2021 in the USA and IMMray PanCan-d is offered as a laboratory developed test (LDT) exclusively through Immunovia, Inc. For more information see: www.immunoviainc.com. Immunovia collaborates and engages with healthcare providers, leading experts and patient advocacy groups globally to make this test available to all high-risk pancreatic cancer groups. The USA, the first market in which IMMray PanCan-d is commercially available, is the world's largest market for the detection of pancreatic cancer with an estimated, addressable market size of 1.8 million individuals per year who could benefit from our test. Immunovia's shares (IMMNOV) are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm. For more information, please visit www.immunovia.com. The following files are available for download: View original content: https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/immunovia-publishes-full-year-report-for-2022-301754118.html Theres a world of difference in the abilities of elementary school students in the Trotwood-Madison City School District, outside Dayton, Ohio. Some low-performing fifth graders are only capable of reading first-grade picture books with basic words like dog and cat, says Angie Fugate, a district specialist focusing on gifted education. In the same classrooms, the aces read at a sixth-grade level, devouring thick novels that adults also enjoy, including the Harry Potter series. It's like we have gone back to the days of the one-room schoolhouse, Fugate says. The gap is really huge and yet we are supposed to teach them all the same curriculum. Its a very difficult thing to do. For some teachers, its just overwhelming. This remarkable learning gap of about five grade levels exists today in many if not most K-8 classrooms in the U.S., according to researchers. They say it makes teaching everyone in a classroom extremely difficult and may help explain the poor performance of many public schools. The gap partly reflects reformers decades-long push against grouping students by ability thats only intensifying now in a renewed clamor for diversity in classrooms. Although much attention has focused on dropping selective admissions at academically competitive public schools, the diversity movement has also rolled back gifted programs and honors classes at more schools, from New York to Seattle. Even educational experts who support diversity warn that the dismantling of accelerated instruction will likely add to the learning gap problem as advanced students are increasingly tossed into general education classrooms. The learning gap already exists in big cities, suburbs, and small towns. A 2021 study found that in about 70% of fourth-grade classrooms, student performance varied widely, with pupils placing in four or more different math benchmarks from low to advanced or from about the second- to sixth-grade levels. The pandemic lockdowns widened the spread even more. It was particularly harmful to low-income students of color who spent more time in remote instruction and dropped even further behind their white peers, according to a 2022 study. Diverse, but at What Cost in Learning? To learn, students need challenging instruction calibrated just beyond what they already know. But the wider the learning gap in a classroom, the more likely that a teacher wont provide everyone with appropriate levels of instruction, says Scott Peters, a senior research scientist at school assessment group NWEA who focuses on the achievement gap. What schools are doing today is so inefficient and ineffective, Peters says. Equity should be about giving every kid what they need to grow. But we are teaching every kid the same thing, despite the big achievement gaps among them, and thats the definition of inequity. For diversity advocates, the priority is integrating classrooms of high-achieving whites and Asians with more blacks and Latinos despite the disparity in skill levels that often exists among these students. They argue that mixed classrooms are essential in a country with a population thats become much more diverse over the past two decades. Halley Potter at the Century Foundation, a progressive think tank, says that while ability grouping almost always produces classrooms skewed by race and class, mixed classrooms create learning environments that build empathy, reduce racial bias, and prepare students to thrive in a diverse world. But what about academic performance? Years of research to find out if mixing students from different economic backgrounds improves the performance of low achievers is inconclusive, according to a review of the studies by Sarah Cordes at Temple University. Several studies suggest that struggling students do see gains in more prosperous schools a but a few studies suggest they dont. The bigger issue, Cordes points out, is that its unclear whats causing the improved performance: Is it the exposure to high-achieving peers or the family background of the struggling students? If mixed-ability classrooms work, its not reflected in the nations report card. The national testing scores of fourth and eighth graders in math and reading showed almost no progress from 2009 to 2019. More telling, the divergence between the high and low performers widened significantly. Scores for the weakest students fell in both subjects and in both grades. But researchers who say lumping students together isnt working and its time to consider new approaches sometimes face a hostile reception in todays racially charged fight over public education. If you want to be called a racist, go out and say that you're for ability grouping, says Jonathan Plucker, a professor of education at Johns Hopkins University who studies and consults with schools on this issue. And people will say it to your face. But Ive spent my career trying to help every kid grow academically, and I think the research says that ability grouping is a better way to do it. The learning gap takes shape even before kids enter kindergarten. A 2022 study looked at math and science skills among kindergartners of different races. Researchers found that about 16% of white students and only 4% of blacks and Latinos showed advanced abilities, a spread that they attributed mostly to differences in family income and early educational opportunities for children. As students move through elementary school, so does the learning gap. In a study of sixth graders, researchers examined math and reading test data from two large and racially diverse urban school districts with more than 22,000 students in the 2014-2015 school year. They found that 59% of math classrooms and 82% of English classrooms had a gap of five or more grade levels. Tracking and the Reformers' Track Record School reformers have arguably helped to maintain if not widen the gap by dismantling ability grouping practices like tracking, according to Tom Loveless, a former senior fellow at Brookings Institution who wrote a book on tracking. This system that typically places students in low-, average- and high-performance classrooms for most of their schooling was the dominant way to organize students in the late 1980s, when it first came under attack by liberal-minded educators and academics. They were inspired by the work of Jeannie Oakes, an educational theorist at UCLA whose research focused on school inequalities and social justice. While research showed that top students benefited from the high tracks, those in the lower tracks, composed of many black and Latino students, were being neglected. Oakes found that the low tracks were filled with less-experienced teachers, ineffective rote instruction, and unruly behavior that undermined students ability to learn. Reformers succeeded in sharply reducing tracking in English, history, and social science courses across the county, but not in advanced math, according to Loveless. They also rolled back remedial education, in which struggling kids were pulled out of class and placed in groups for special interventions in subjects such as reading. Since then, the opposition to tracking has expanded into a broader movement that has toppled other forms of ability grouping in several cities. San Francisco was among the early cities to target advanced programs, ending accelerated math in middle school and early high school in 2014. Seattle abolished honors programs in 2020 in middle schools, stirring protests from parents who want advanced classes for their kids. In October, New York City went much further. It eliminated grade- and test-based admissions in most middle schools after years of pressure from advocacy groups. In one prominent Manhattan district, a majority of parents had urged the superintendent at several community meetings to retain selective admissions to ensure their children would be in challenged in class. The superintendent rejected those pleas from parents, some of whom are now considering leaving public schools. The Learning Gap Loss To see how the learning gap can hamper education, consider a typical third-grade math class. The focus is simple multiplication and division. Peters says struggling third graders are probably working at a first-grade level and still learning single-digit addition. Multiplying 7 x 5 will be a leap too far for them. The best students mastered multiplication tables a year or two ago and are ready for fifth grade work, with fractions and decimals. But they are stuck in third-grade math. Making matters worse, teachers nationwide are given a one-size-fits-all curriculum for general education students in the same grade, no matter their skill level. The upshot: Its often next to impossible for teachers to hit the educational sweet spot where instruction is most effective for each student. This target is based on a theory by Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky, who wrote that instruction needs to be just slightly beyond the grasp of what students can learn on their own if they are to progress. But teachers are missing the mark by a wide margin today. Students who are several years behind are exposed to lessons and assessments that are too advanced in the push to bring them to grade level. So they dont learn the skills they need and struggle year after year until they become too discouraged to push on and they give up, according to researchers. Advanced students, on the other hand, are bored in class because they are not being pushed enough. While teachers are often less concerned about top students since they are already beyond grade level, the boredom they experience can have serious consequences, including a loss of interest in learning and even behavior problems in class, according to Richard Cash, a former teacher and administrator and now a consultant for public schools. A 2021 study led by Karen Rambo-Hernandez shows the harm to high achievers. The study found that above-average third graders, who might be three years ahead of their peers, didnt progress as much as average students in reading during the school year. Average students charged ahead apparently because they were properly challenged while advanced students slowed down because the material was too easy. We are losing our brightest students who rarely develop their full potential because we're not giving them intellectually stimulating experiences, Cash says. And the long-term effect is the loss of intellectual capital for the country. Four Classes in One In the Trotwood-Madison City district and around the country, teachers use what seems like emergency triage to get closer to that sweet spot. At the start of the school year, teachers assess their students grade-level proficiency and then break them into as many as four smaller ad hoc groups within a classroom, according to the districts Fugate. Its a kind of informal ability grouping on the low-down, without enough teacher training and curriculum development to make it work. On their own, teachers tweak the curriculum with materials from the Internet to create somewhat distinct assignments for each group a contortion called differentiation. For a lesson about finding evidence in a story to support a theme, each group will be given very different readings and worksheets appropriate to students abilities. It's the near equivalent of an instructor trying to teach four different classes at once. To make the job more manageable, something must be cast aside. That would be the advanced students. Teachers say the best students are typically given independent study projects and must fend for themselves with little instruction on the assumption that they already understand the lesson or can figure it out on their own. This allows teachers to spend most of their time with the lower achievers who are failing to reach grade-level proficiency. Although teachers are often judged on how many students reach grade-level a a goal enshrined by the No Child Left Behind Act of the early 2000s a its an ill-suited approach for addressing the learning gap. It incentivizes teachers to focus on students with the best chance of hitting that mark, at the expense of those who have already surpassed it and those who dont stand a chance of reaching it. Lisa McNally, a former New York City ninth-grade teacher, estimates that she spent at least 75% of her time with weaker students to help them pass a state-mandated exam that was a priority of the Department of Education. I focused especially on the students that were on the borderline of passing the exam, McNally says. And yes, the advanced students were essentially being cheated. But teacher performance was tied to the exam pass rate. In a sign of the desperation in todays mixed-ability classrooms, teachers sometimes ask their top pupils to help instruct the kids who dont understand the assignments a a questionable practice. Just because a student understands a lesson doesn't mean they know how to teach it or want to teach it, Fugate says. In the Trotwood-Madison district, the triage isnt producing strong results. The overall test scores for elementary grades began to drop before the pandemic and continued their decline after students returned to classrooms, Fugate says. What we are doing in this district and country is not working, and the data keeps proving it, she says. But the system doesnt allow schools and educators to make changes and try new approaches. Halley Potter at the Century Foundation understands the difficulties of mixed-ability classrooms, but says that schools shouldnt give up on them. In Potters calculation, the benefit to students of learning from peers of different racial and economic backgrounds is worth the struggle. If differentiation sounds challenging, it is, she says. But its at the heart of what great teachers do. A Third Way Researchers say a newer approach to grouping students by abilities overcomes the problems with tracking, which could lock students into lower levels, while allowing teachers to more easily find the right level for each pupil. It goes by the jargony name of schoolwide cluster grouping. A small number of schools are trying the method, which divides students into about five ability groups and gives them the opportunity to move up a notch every year, providing motivation for strivers. Each classroom has both above- and below-average groups, providing the benefit of role models for weaker students and avoiding the stigma that came with tracking them together in separate classes. Heres the most important piece: Each classroom has either a narrower learning gap of only perhaps three grade levels, or fewer grade levels represented. Teachers then can better engage all students in their classroom, with the support and resources of their administration. Researchers shows that schoolwide cluster grouping can pay off in the classroom, particularly by motivating lower achieving students to advance to higher levels. The approach is also backed by an important paper that synthesized the results of 13 meta-analyses on ability grouping. The Montana Senate hears bills on second reading during the floor session on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan) The Senate on Wednesday narrowly voted down a bill that would have effectively prohibited physician-assisted aid-in-dying in Montana, along with another that would have reduced the number of Montana Supreme Court justices both of which had seen heavy opposition in their respective committee hearings. Senate Bill 210, sponsored by Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila, was voted down on third reading, 24-26. The bill would have removed the ability for doctors to use a patients consent as a defense after prescribing lethal drugs to help a terminally ill patient end their own life. The bill passed second reading on Tuesday 26-24. On Wednesday, Senate President Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, Sen. Walt Sales, R-Manhattan, and Sen. Dan Salomon, R-Ronan, voted against the bill after voting for it Tuesday. Sen. Daniel Zolnikov, R-Billings, voted against the bill Tuesday but for it on Wednesday. Glimm had argued allowing the practice to continue in Montana was a slippery slope and said it could lead to more people who are not terminally ill using medication to end their lives. Sen Jen Gross, D-Billings, argued there was no evidence that was occurring in Montana and that people with terminal illnesses should be able to die with dignity if they so choose. I dont think any of us really know how wed deal with that situation until were faced with it, she said. I dont think we should take away that freedom from people who are terminally ill and suffering. Bill to reduce number of Supreme Court justices goes down on third reading The Senate also voted down a bill from Sen. Barry Usher, R-Yellowstone County, that aimed to reduce the number of associate Supreme Court justices from six to four over the next few years. It potentially would have also left the court with five associate justices for two years and the possibility for tied court decisions when factoring in the chief justices vote. Senate Bill 311 failed on its second reading in a 24-26 vote, after which the Senate voted to indefinitely postpone the measure. The bill would have led to the removal of an associate justice in 2025 and 2027, or if the bill was found unconstitutional, vacate the 2028 election for both positions leaving the court with four associate justices and the chief justice either way. No one spoke in favor of the bill during its committee hearing, and a legal review note attached to the bill said its constitutionality was in question because the Montana Constitution allows the legislature to increase the number of associate justices from four to six, but says nothing about whether it can reduce the number. Most of the discussion on the Senate floor was similar to what was said in the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. Usher argued the court did not need seven justices to continue to decide cases in 180 days. Gross, also on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula, said the court had no justices sitting on the sidelines because of the caseload since Montana does not have an intermediate appellate court. Ten Republicans joined all Democrats in voting against the bill. It was indefinitely postponed in a 35-15 vote. Charlie Brereton confirmed as DPHHS director The Senate voted 33-17 to confirm Charlie Brereton as the director of the Department of Public Health and Human Services. Sen. Brad Molnar, R-Laurel, joined Democrats in voting against his confirmation. Glimm and Sen. Tom McGillvray, R-Billings, praised Brereton for being engaged in budget talks and said he had been transparent and willing to work with the legislature. McGillvray said he felt Brereton was committed to helping Montanans get the support they need when it comes to health care and that he believed Brereton would help make DPHHS one of the best in the nation. Water Court overhaul passes second reading Sen. Steve Fitzpatricks bill to overhaul the Montana Water Court was amended again on the floor Wednesday before it passed second reading in a 28-22 vote. Twelve Republicans joined all 16 Democrats in voting for Senate Bill 72, while 22 Republicans voted against it. The bill, which was amended several times in committee since its initial hearing on Jan. 10, aims to get ahead of final adjudication of water rights that has been ongoing for nearly 50 years. Proponents say it would streamline water rights battles moving forward, while opponents have said it would take away more local control from water rights owners who like to use local district courts to make decisions. Some of those arguments were again made on the floor Wednesday, and some opponents said they believed there was still time for future legislatures to address the issue before the final adjudications are complete. I think this is a well-intentioned bill, but its just not ready for prime time at this point, argued Sen. Forrest Mandeville, R-Columbus. Fitzpatrick, a Great Falls Republican, said the bill had gone through lengthy discussions with water rights holders, agricultural groups and more. Not everybody likes it, but thats compromise, he said. Sometimes you have to give something up. PL280 funding bill clears initial hurdle Polson Republican Sen. Greg Hertzs Senate Bill 127 to address Public Law 280 funding for criminal justice in Lake County moved forward, passing 34-16 on second reading Wednesday. The county has been handling felony cases under the law, which allows the state to be responsible for criminal justice on reservations, but it has not received funding from the state. If the state doesnt agree with the county on a funding mechanism, the state would be on the hook for up to $100 million to create a new judicial system, Hertz said. He said he had been working with the administration and the county to try to come to some sort of funding agreement with the bill. Opponents said they felt the measure would provide a windfall, as Gross put it, to Lake County but not to other counties that would like to see extra funding for various law enforcement needs. Several senators who supported the measure said the federal government needed to help, but the bill is something that needs to get done this session to address the funding issue before the county withdraws from PL280 in May. If we dont get help the devastation this could cause might be irreparable, said Sen. Mark Noland, R-Bigfork. The bill passed second-reading on a party-line vote, with Democrats voting against it. The post Montana Senate votes down aid-in-dying and Supreme Court justices bills appeared first on Daily Montanan. Traffic is down to one lane on Highway 22 in New Sit To mark 10,000 streams, this weeks special episode of International Marxist Radio (IMR) features a gem from the archives: a rare recording of a 1974 speech by Ted Grant celebrated Marxist theoretician and founder of what was to become the International Marxist Tendency. This fascinating speech on the world political situation came at a key juncture in history, when the decades of postwar capitalist upswing were drawing to a close marking the beginning of a new world crisis, and revolutionary developments in one country after another. Included amongst these developments were revolutionary movements in Europe, such as the Portuguese revolution of 1974 which, as Ted points out, had the potential to spark an all-Iberian, all-European and possibly even world revolution, given the right leadership. Although not every detail of this speech was borne out by events, the general thrust is remarkably prescient, offering comrades a valuable example of the Marxist method in practice, which, as Trotsky once said, provides us with "the advantage of foresight over astonishment". Listen and subscribe below Spotify Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Marxist.com Podcasts: https://podcast.marxist.com/2023/02/22/ted-grant-speaks-the-1970s-a-world-in-turmoil/ Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, speaks before the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 22, 2023. (Photo by Nicole Girten/Daily Montanan) A Great Falls victim was still recovering from serious injuries after a man who yelled the person was trans drove his car into them at a bar on Friday, according to a court affidavit and the Cascade County Attorneys Office. County Attorney Josh Racki said Wednesday he did not know if the victim was still hospitalized after the Friday incident; the affidavit said the victim was bleeding internally after an attacker pinned the person against a wall with his car and left the victim with a fractured pelvis and severe leg wound. However, Racki said he understands the person is still recovering from severe injuries. The affidavit said first responders saw fluid coming out of the mouth of the victim, who was found on the ground. John P. Carr, 57, has been charged with felony criminal endangerment and a misdemeanor for fleeing the scene in connection with the incident. Racki said Carr posted a $10,000 bail and will be arraigned in coming weeks. The Daily Montanan could not confirm the victims gender identity Wednesday. The court affidavit refers to the victim as female. It said Carr confronted the victim after yelling at the person about being trans. Citing the incident in Great Falls and other assaults, Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, said Wednesday attacks against the LGBTQ community are not new. In the House Judiciary Committee, she presented a bill to prohibit the panic defense in relation to violent crimes against LGBTQ people. The panic defense is defined by the LGBTQ+ Bar as a legal strategy that asks a jury to find that a victims sexual orientation or gender identity/expression is to blame for a defendants violent reaction, including murder. House Bill 552 would make evidence of a defendants discovery of a victims sexual orientation or gender identity, including if they made a non-criminal romantic advance, inadmissible in court. Zephyr said the first attempt at the panic defense in Montana was in 1980, when a man on trial for murder accused his victim of stealing his truck. When that defense didnt stand, she said, the defendant tried to defend himself by arguing he had discovered the man was gay. One of the most famous cases of LGBTQ+ violence and use of the panic defense happened in neighboring Wyoming to 21-year-old Matthew Shepard, who was beaten, tied to a fence and left to die in Laramie in 1998. Two men accused Shepard, a gay man, of making advances on them as part of their defense. The judge dismissed that argument, and two defendants were ultimately sentenced to a double life sentence. At the hearing, four proponents testified, including the ACLU of Montana, Montana Women Vote and the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. The bill heard had no opponents. Hannah Pate of Montana Women Vote said women and female-presenting LGBTQ people are five times more likely to experience violence. Zephyr, the first openly transgender woman elected to the statehouse, said the panic defense is banned in 17 states and a ban is being considered in another dozen states. Legislation banning the panic defense was introduced at the federal level in 2021. The reality is our legal system should never be used to make people feel like they are responsible for something heinous that has happened to them because of who they are, said Maggie Bornstein, with the ACLU of Montana. The committee did not have questions on the bill. Zephyr said in an interview following the hearing that in talking with members of the committee, she believes theres an understanding, despite the strong opinions on LGBTQ issues, that LGBTQ people deserve the same rights in the court system. The committee did not immediately take action on this bill. ABC Fox said Tuesday the victim of the Great Falls attack had not been released from the hospital. Benefis Health System said Wednesday it could not release the status of the patient. The suspect has not pleaded in court yet. However, Racki said he did not believe the details of the case would necessarily apply to the panic defense, and he didnt believe such an argument would hold water in court. The post Patient recovering after attack in Great Falls; Missoula rep said bill would help LGBTQ victims appeared first on Daily Montanan. Cambridge Student Union have been criticised after voting to push for a completely vegan menu across its catering services. The union voted earlier this week to initiate talks with central catering services about removing all animal products from its cafes and canteens, creating a sustainable and 100% plant-based menu. The decision came after lobbying from Cambridges Plant Based Universities campaign, which is supported by Animal Rebellion, an offshoot of Extinction Rebellion. However, the decision does not guarantee that all of Cambridges catering services will go fully vegan, as the power to change food policies lies with the university. The vote also does not directly apply to the universitys 31 colleges, although the campaign said that it provided an extremely strong mandate for colleges to begin transitioning to 100% plant-based menus. In 2016, the university's catering services removed beef and lamb from all its menus citing environmental concerns. However, in 2019, it was accused of hypocrisy after an FOI request revealed that at the same period of time since banning red meat, they spent some nearly 13.5m on flights, amounting to 17,545 take-offs. 250 flights were to cities reachable by train from Cambridge or London, including Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Brussels and Paris. Shortly before the figures were released, speaking in September 2019, Prof Andrew Balmford a professor of Conservation Science at the University, said it had 'dramatically reduced their environmental footprint'. He said: It is hard to imagine any other interventions that could yield such dramatic benefits in so short span of time. Responding to the recent vote, Mo Metcalf-Fisher, a spokesperson for the Countryside Alliance said it was an attack on freedom of choice. [It] sadly shows a misunderstanding about the reality of livestock farming in the UK, he added. Its often the case that radical motions passed by students unions are made up of a small minority of the wider student body, so I wouldnt be surprised if the vast bulk of students felt alienated by this decision He added: Cambridge Student Union would be much better off sourcing local meat and dairy produce instead, rather than adopt a policy which could likely see highly processed plant-based alternatives transported in from across the globe. Cambridge University should demonstrate their support for sustainable UK farmers by ensuring they continue to supply meat and dairy, irrespective of what its students union decide to do. The NFU has launched its vision for boosting farm business resilience across all British farming sectors. The sector-specific plans, launched at the NFUs annual conference, outline how farms can unlock the benefits of increased efficiency and lower costs while improving sustainability. The plans map out the different priority areas for each sector, including increasing business resilience, and identifies what government policies are needed to overcome key challenges. This includes incentivising recognised carbon and nutrient benchmarking and accounting, to supporting climate-friendly farming. NFU Deputy President Tom Bradshaw said that in the current economic climate, the production of affordable, climate-friendly food, energy and fibre was more important than ever. Yet British farmers faced huge challenges, he warned, from extreme weather events to crippling energy, feed and fertiliser costs. To overcome these barriers, we need to build resilience into our agri-food supply chains by improving efficiency, increasing on-farm carbon storage and producing more renewable energy, Mr Bradshaw said. This will enable a more sustainable future for farm businesses, both financially and environmentally, and a more secure supply of British food, fuel and fibre for the country. Smart and efficient farming is at the heart of building business resilience with the potential to help farmers reduce costs, increase market access and build the sustainability credentials of British food, all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And if we want British food to continue to be the product of choice for people at home and abroad, it is essential that we have the data and evidence to show we really are producing climate-friendly food. Mr Bradshaw added: These sector plans are just a starting point and there is much more work to do within government, the industry, and research and development, if we are all to be successful in our collective ambition to reach net zero. A new 22.9m Farming Connect programme will be available for farmers in Wales over the next two years to support them as they prepare to move to the new Sustainable Farming Scheme. Farming Connect offers business support, improves resilience, provides access to the latest innovations and helps develop farm businesses. It plays a key role in helping farms reach net zero carbon emissions through advice and support. Since its launch in 2015 the current Farming Connect programme has supported over 26,500 individuals, including 12,615 businesses. The new programme will run for two years until March 2025 and will focus on preparing farmers to transition to the new Sustainable Farming Scheme. The over-arching themes for the new programme will be sustainability, improved environmental performance and greater global competitiveness. Minister for Rural Affairs Lesley Griffiths made the announcement on a farm which has benefited from Farming Connect. She said: The new Farming Connect programme I am announcing today will support farmers in Wales at a key time. The new Sustainable Farming Scheme will begin in 2025, and Farming Connect will provide the support farmers need to prepare for the new scheme. Farming Connect is valued by the industry and I know its services will be crucial in the next two years as we prepare the way for the SFS. It will provide advice on how farming businesses can adapt and remain competitive. For the first time it will include a horticultural programme providing sector specific support for all rural growers, and a new sheep genetics programme has been developed for sheep farmers. Agricultural supply group Wynnstay has established its first regional demonstration site in the East Midlands to help arable growers select more robust varieties based on their location. The site, in Melbourne, Derbyshire, will become a testbed for recommended varieties of winter wheat and winter barley, with this years trials focussing on fungicide treatments. It will demonstrate comparative varietal performance to agronomic pressures including disease resistance and lodging performance. The demonstration plots will be overseen by Wynnstay agronomist, Ellie Edwards, and combinable seed product specialist, Danny Richardson. Mr Richardson says the site will give growers in the East Midlands a guide of how varieties perform based on geography and soil type. He said this was important given how these factors can influence crop performance. Resistance to different diseases is a key reason for variety choice, so this was the first test chosen to demonstrate to growers, Mr Richardson explains. Local farmers will be invited to attend a site open evening at Pool Farm, Melbourne Ms Edwards home farm in June. Attendees will be able to view the plots, listen to independent speakers and plant breeders who will give advice on crop management. Future plans for the new site include further seed treatments trials and fungicide programmes. Image: Instagram/@jz_infreetime The Eurostar leaves Londons St Pancras (above) at 3.30 pm and gets into Brussels Midi at 6.04 pm. The European Sleeper will then roll them to Berlin Hauptbahnhof at 6.48 am the next morning after breakfast on board. Stops along the way include Antwerp, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Hanover, plus five others. Seats on the European Sleeper from Brussels to Berlin start at 49, couchettes at 79, and berths in a sleeper compartment at 109 per person. You can also transport a bike at a 24 fee, and a pet if you book a private compartment. However, you will then need to board in Brussels as pets are not allowed on the Eurostar. Children from four to 11 years of age have reduced fares, and children under the age of four travel free. The night train revolution is part of Europes commitment to offering passengers a more sustainable way to travel as an alternative to short-haul flights, in response to concerns about the climate heightened by the summer heatwaves the continent has been facing for the last few years. Images: Shutterstock Also Read: Now You Get 96 Hours To Explore Saudi Arabia With A Free Stopover Visa Next Story : This Entrepreneur Is Committed To Organic Farming & Ayurvedic Way Of Life A biomedical researcher from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia Rayyanah Barnawi became the countrys first female astronaut who will be sent into spaceRayyanah, 33, a cancer stem-cell researcher with over nine years of experience, made headlines when she was chosen to go on a ten-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) as a crew member of the AX-2 mission. While on the space station, she will participate in mission experiments.Rayyanah has a bachelors degree in Reproductive Science, Genetic Engineering, and Tissue Development from the University of Otago in New Zealand, as well as a Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences from King Faisal University, and has worked in the field of cancer stem cells for nine years. Rayyanah will travel to the International Space Station with another Saudi Arabian astronaut, Ali Al-Qarni, on a mission that will launch in the second quarter of 2023.The space flight launch is expected to take place in the United States, and the mission will also include other astronauts such as Mariam Fardous and Ali Al-Ghamdi, who will also be trained on all mission requirements as backup astronauts. The goal of the space mission is to support their national scientific research, which will advance both the space industry in the developing nation and the nation's overall development.Saudi Arabia has previously launched two space missions, but the AX-2 mission will be particularly significant in history because it is the first for the country to send a female astronaut into space, opening doors for women to explore the non-traditional job roles. Chinas apparel exports to the US continued to grow in 2022 after sharp recovery in 2021. However, the growth rate could not be maintained in the last quarter. The two largest economies of the world are involved in a number of geo-political disputes and also trade war. But they also know mutual economic value, and trade mutually for their own benefit. Chinas apparel exports reached at $36.547 billion in 2022 from $34.772 billion of 2021, when there was a sharp recovery after the COVID-19 disruption. The outbound shipment had witnessed sharp fall in 2020 to $25.369 billion from $32.046 billion of 2019. The trade stood at $34.735 billion in 2018 and $32.352 billion in 2017, according to Fibre2Fashions market insight tool TexPro. China's apparel exports to the US continued to grow in 2022 after sharp recovery in 2021. However, the growth rate could not be maintained in the last quarter. The two largest economies of the world are involved in a number of geo-political disputes and also trade war. But they also know mutual economic value, and trade mutually for their own benefit. But quarterly figures present a contrasting picture. Chinas apparel exports to the US fell to $7.195 billion in last quarter of 2022 from $11.042 billion of Q3, 2022. The shipment was $10.581 billion in Q2, 2022, $7.728 billion in Q1, 2022, $9.647 billion in Q4, 2021 and $11.649 billion in Q3, 2021, as per TexPro. It is interesting to note that cotton exports from the US to China have increased last year despite the former banning the import of cotton and cotton products originating from the Xinjiang region of China. Cotton exports from the US to China jumped to $2.902 billion in 2022 from $1.330 billion in 2021. The trade was $1.820 billion in 2020, $705.069 million in 2019 and $920.496 million in 2018. On quarterly basis, US cotton exports to China were $959.613 million in Q1, 2022 and $993.916 million in Q2, 2022, which decreased in the next two quarters to $525.120 million in Q3, 2022 and $423.983 million in Q4, 2022. The export was $288.950 million in Q4, 2021. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL) Hema Malini in Andha Kanoon Rani Mukerji in Mardaani Tabu in Drishyam Sushmita Sen in Samay Neha Dhupia in A Thursday Priyanka Chopra in Jai Gangaajal Adah Sharma in Commando Preity Zinta in Sangharsh Men predominate in the Bollywood cop realm, with a few women showing up sometimes. Over the years, prominent actors in Hindi movies have cultivated their tough-guy personas by playing police officers. The male cops in Hindi cinema, whether portrayed by Amitabh Bachchan in Zanjeer or Ajay Devgn in the Singham series, are angry, skilled, and always prepared for action. So how do women who wear uniforms fit into this?For a very long time, only the film industry's alpha males portrayed the roles of upright police officers delivering justice to the wronged.are emerging to play these roles just as successfully, demonstrating that not only men but also women can be equally strong and resilient to play such difficult roles. Even though female performers have frequently played police officers in movies and television shows and have done an excellent job at it, we still imagine a male police officer. In time, the Hindi film industry started to produce movies with female cops who had achieved some level of notoriety. Although other characters emphasise the altruistic aspect of police, others portray strong, independent female officers. Look at the best female actresses who made an impression on the audience as police officers.Two things make the movie Andha Kanoon by director Tatineni Rama Rao famous: the title song and the precious Amitabh Bachchan-Rajinikanth chemistry. But Hema Mailini's portrayal of a cop in the movie was a novelty. She was able to portray her persona accurately by exuding assurance and aura. Despite the presence of Big B and Rajinikanth, Malini still managed to stand out.The action-thrillerwas made by Aditya Chopra and directed by Pradeep Sarkar. Jisshu Sengupta, Tahir Raj Bhasin, and Saanand Verma play supporting roles alongside Rani Mukerji in the movie. Shivani Shivaji Roy is a police officer who stumbles onto riddles of human trafficking committed by the Indian mafia while looking into the kidnapping of a teenage girl. Rani Mukerji defied all expectations with her fearless performance in Pradeep Sarkar's Mardaani. The use of brutal fight sequences by a female character caught the audience off guard as well.is a 2015 thriller and it was directed by Nishikant Kamat. The movie is an adaptation of the 2013 Malayalam film of the same name. In Drishyam, Tabu presented Bollywood's most lifelike portrayal of a female police officer. She was complimented for playing her character and conveying emotion through her expressions and body language despite entering the scene mid-scene. Tabu's portrayal of a female police officer was the most intense. Despite coming into the scene after the intermission, she was praised for playing her character subtly and conveying emotion through her gestures and body language. As actress Asha Sarath, who performed the same part in the original Malayalam film, was well-liked, Tabu had her work cut out for her.and Sushant Singh feature in the action-thriller movie Samay: When Time Strikes from 2003. The plot is inspired by the Hollywood blockbuster Se7en. Malvika Chauhan, an ACP played by Sushmita Sen, is a widow with a 10-year-old daughter. Because the murderer left no proof, she is forced to handle the case of a reputable businessman who was murdered. You'll be left in suspense till the very end of the film. Sen most likely wouldn't have been able to portray Malvika Chauhan's rough persona any better than anyone else. Sushmita performed admirably in the part, maintaining her stern cop persona while displaying her maternal softness.The recently released crime thriller A Thursday features actors Yami Gautam, Atul Kulkarni, Neha Dhupia and Karanvir Sharma among others in prominent roles. The film follows the story of a play school teacher (Yami Gautam) who takes her students hostage and demands to meet the Prime Minister.the role of a tough cop in the film who attempts to foil the kidnappers mission. Dhupia was actually 8 months pregnant with her second child while filming A Thursday. But instead of casting another actor, her pregnancy was weaved into her role, making this a pathbreaking film to feature a heavily pregnant cop working full time.The Quantico actress has consistently dazzled her audience with her portrayal of tough & fierce women's power, beginning with Don with Shahrukh Khan to Gunday and Jai Gangajal. In the 2006 movie Don, Priyanka is on a quest to apprehend the most wanted person; in the 2013 film Gunday, she goes undercover and plays the love interest of Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh, who the police have been after for a while. Priyanka Chopra plays a senior inspector in Jai Gangajal. As the cop begins her job, she realises that the system is crooked from the top down and that she must struggle against all odds to bring individuals who have been harmed to justice. A sequel to the 2003 movie Gangaajal, which was again directed by Prakash Jha, was released in 2016 with the title Jai Gangaajal.In the Commando trilogy, Adah Sharma earned as many hearts as Vidyut Jamwal with his high-octane action scenes as police officer Bhavna Priya. In addition, very few people are aware that Adah has training in the traditional Kerala martial art of Kalaripayattu, which greatly aided her when filming the movie's battle scene.Sangharsh is the tale of a CBI agent played by Preity Zinta who accepts a challenging but crucial mission to find a psychopath killer who has escaped from custody and who kills young children as part of a religious rite. Only one personAkshay Kumarcan assist her in finding the murderer, and that person is inside the prison. He has an amazing memory and is a genius. He warms Preity and promises to aid her, but only she will receive his assistance; the police, who are also looking for the murderer, will be excluded. The rest of the story showcases how the rookie and the genius are able to track down the murderer and save a child just in time.The characters have been developed in a distinctive way without using stereotypes, and they are portrayed as women from various backgrounds. Such characters become considerably more credible when they are shown as more human and as people outside of their line of work. With such powerful and compelling depictions, we expect to see more female actors playing police officers in the ensuing years across a variety of media. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Whitehorse Gold Corp. (TSXV: WHG) (OTCQX: WHGDF) ("Whitehorse Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has filed a Notice of Alteration to change its name from "Whitehorse Gold Corp." to "Tincorp Metals Inc.", effective February 27, 2023. There is no change in the capitalization structure of the Company as a result of this change of name. The decision to change the name reflects the Company's focus on its new Bolivian tin projects. The company holds a 100% interest in the SF Tin project and a 51% interest in the Porvenir Project. The company has the right to acquire the remaining 49% of the Porvenir project in August 2023. "This name change signifies a pivotal shift for our company," said Gordon Neal, Whitehorse Gold CEO. "Our team has a history of success in Bolivia. That success has led us to the acquisition of two highly prospective tin projects. Tin is a critical element in global decarbonization, and Bolivia, in my opinion, is one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world." Effective as of market open on Monday, February 27, 2023, the Company's common shares will commence trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the new stock symbol "TIN". Effective Date: February 27, 2023 Trading Symbol: TIN New CUSIP: 88749D102 New ISIN: CA88749D1024 In connection with the name change, the Company will adopt a new logo and has launched a new website which can be accessed at www.tincorp.com. The Company's office location and phone number remain the same. About Whitehorse Gold Whitehorse Gold is a mineral exploration and development company focusing on tin projects in Bolivia and a gold project near Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. The Company has recently signed agreements to acquire up to a 100% interest in the Porvenir Project and SF Tin Project, which are 70 km southeast of Oruro, Bolivia. The Company's 100% owned Skukum Gold Project is approximately 84 km south of Whitehorse by road. An independent mineral resource estimate update in respect of the Skukum Gold Project was completed in October 2022. On Behalf of Whitehorse Gold Corp. signed "Gordon Neal" Gordon Neal, CEO & Director For further information, please contact: Investor Relations, Whitehorse Gold Corp., Phone: +1 (604)-336-5919 Email: info@whitehorsegold.ca www.whitehorsegold.ca Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collective, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the terms of the Agreement, the payment of a finder's fee and the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange are forward-looking statements. Estimates of mineral reserves and mineral resources are also forward-looking information because they incorporate estimates of future developments including future mineral prices, costs and expenses and the amount of minerals that will be encountered if a property is developed. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "expects", "is expected", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategies", "targets", "goals", "forecasts", "objectives", "budgets", "schedules", "potential" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions, assumptions, factors and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. The opinions, assumptions, factors and estimates which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to: that the Company will be able to pay all amounts payable pursuant to the Agreement and in connection with the Transaction; the TSX Venture Exchange will grant approval of the Transaction; market fundamentals will result in sustained precious metals demand and prices; that there are no significant disruptions affecting operations, including labour disruptions, supply disruptions, power disruptions, security disruptions, damage to or loss of equipment, whether due to flooding, political changes, title issues, intervention by local landowners, environmental concerns, pandemics (including COVID-19) or otherwise; that the Company will be able to obtain and maintain governmental approvals, permits and licenses in connection with its current and planned operations, development and exploration activities, including at the Skukum Gold Project; that the Company will be able to meet its current and future obligations; that the Company will be able to comply with environmental, health and safety laws; and the assumptions underlying mineral resource estimates and the realization of such estimates. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others: the risk that the Company will not be able to pay all amounts payable pursuant to the Agreement and in connection with the Transaction; the TSX Venture Exchange will not grant approval of the Transaction; social and economic impacts of COVID-19; actual exploration results; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; results of future Mineral Resource estimates; future metal prices; availability of capital and financing on acceptable terms; general economic, market or business conditions; uninsured risks; regulatory changes; defects in title; availability of personnel, materials and equipment on a timely basis; accidents or equipment breakdowns; delays in receiving government approvals; unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same; and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause such actions, events or results to differ materially from those anticipated. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and accordingly readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law. Additional information in relation to the Company, including the Company's most recent annual information form, can be obtained under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.whitehorsegold.ca. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155858 Prague, Czech Republic--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Visit Subarctic Exploration Group a.s. at Booth #3240 at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada's (PDAC) Convention at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) from Sunday, March 5 to Wednesday, March 8, 2023. About Subarctic Exploration Group a.s. SEGAS, a privately owned investment holding based in the Czech Republic, is an umbrella platform consisting of several junior exploration companies with diversified exploration portfolio across Nordics (Greenland, Norway, Sweden and Finland). SEGAS is advancing its 2 titanium exploration flagship projects located in Sunnjford province in Norway. About PDAC PDAC 2023: The World's Premier Mineral Exploration & Mining Convention is the leading event for people, companies and organizations connected to mineral exploration. This annual convention in Toronto, Canada is known for attracting up to 30,000 attendees from over 130+ countries for its educational programming, networking events, outstanding business opportunities and fun. Since it began in 1932, the PDAC Convention has grown in size, stature and influence. Today, it is the event of choice for the world's mineral industry hosting more than 1,100 exhibitors and 2,500 investors. For more information and/or to register for the conference please visit: https://www.pdac.ca/convention/attend/registration. We look forward to seeing you there. For further information: Subarctic Exploration Group a.s. Ester Farska +420724689564 info@segas.eu www.segas.eu Quebec City, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - February 22, 2023) - Visit Englobe Corp. at Booth TS7028N at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada's (PDAC) Convention at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) from Sunday, March 5 to Wednesday, March 8, 2023. About Englobe Corp. Englobe Corp. (Englobe) is one of Canada's premier specialty engineering and environmental services firm. For more than 60 years, we have conducted rigorous investigations, inspections, tests, analyses, and assessments, and supervised and monitored work on behalf of our clients. Over that time, our skilled, multidisciplinary teams have demonstrated integrity, excellence, credibility, and radical care for our clients, our communities, and the environment. We have extensive experience delivering a host of professional and technical services to clients in a broad range of public and private sectors, including transportation, infrastructure, energy, government (federal, provincial, and municipal), telecom, mining and petrochemical, as well as industrial, commercial, and institutional sectors. About PDAC PDAC 2023: The World's Premier Mineral Exploration & Mining Convention is the leading event for people, companies and organizations connected to mineral exploration. This annual convention in Toronto, Canada is known for attracting up to 30,000 attendees from over 130+ countries for its educational programming, networking events, outstanding business opportunities and fun. Since it began in 1932, the PDAC Convention has grown in size, stature and influence. Today, it is the event of choice for the world's mineral industry hosting more than 1,100 exhibitors and 2,500 investors. For more information and/or to register for the conference please visit: https://www.pdac.ca/convention/attend/registration. We look forward to seeing you there. For further information: Englobe Corp. Philippe Rio Roberge 450-641-2059 x151022 philippe.rioroberge@englobecorp.com https://www.englobecorp.com/ Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. First phase helps partners earn more and upskill, and introduces new partner events New incentives give partners the opportunity to earn up to 2x or more with multiple ways to generate revenue Global certification program helps partners upskill and demonstrate their technical expertise More opportunities for partners to grow their network and build with Shopify, including new partner events and simplified tools Internet, Everywhere--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - (NYSE, TSX: SHOP) Shopify partners play a critical role in Shopify's mission to make commerce better for everyone. Since the inception of the Shopify Partner Program over a decade ago, Shopify's partner network has become the largest commerce ecosystem in the world, a powerful community helping merchants grow faster. As Shopify enters its next era of growth, it is launching the first phase of a multi-year engagement in Shopify's partner program. To make it easier for every partner to build their business with Shopify, the enhancements focus on three areas: exceptional rewards, skills building, and a simplified, engaging partner experience. "Our partners add unparalleled value to Shopify and our merchants. To recognize and enhance their offerings, we're making a commitment to include partners in every possible engagement," says Bobby Morrison, Chief Revenue Officer of Shopify. "Our continued engagement in our partner ecosystem is anchored by a singular goal: helping our partners win more business, based on what they've told us they need most." New incentives built to accelerate partner growth Shopify is significantly expanding program incentives to recognize and reward partners. Partners now have the opportunity to earn up to 2x or more in 2023 through revenue share and promotions from referrals to re-invest back into their business. Shopify is also focused on helping partners close more deals through joint marketing and co-selling programs. "Shopify's investment in its Partner Program opens up immediate opportunities for us to grow our business. The partnership team has focused on building a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship with us and truly listens and responds. The new rewards and incentives are a perfect example of them responding to the voice of their partners." - Mary Krause, Strategic Alliances Manager at CQL "The Partner Program investments are another example of what makes Shopify such an innovative company and powerful platform. The transformation of Shopify's Partner Program, particularly with more earning potential, will help fuel our growth and support our customers' goals." - Isaac Newton, Co-Founder of Pattern Comprehensive education and enablement Shopify continues to lead the commerce market in innovation, including the recent release of over 100+ new product updates in Winter '23 Edition. To ensure partners are equipped to bring those innovations to their clients, Shopify is launching the first-ever certification program for Shopify partners, with both business foundation and technical certifications. Shopify Certification courses and specialization badges will help partners demonstrate product expertise, and quickly upskill their teams. "Shopify's pace of product innovation is unprecedented, and their exciting new vision for training and education will unlock more capabilities for EY teams to deepen skills faster and more efficiently," says Warren Tomlin, EY Global Shopify Alliance Leader. "Having access to these tools will accelerate the ability to help EY clients react faster, do more and exceed new consumer expectations." Partners now have access to an expanded product and sales enablement resource library in their partner dashboard. These assets, along with ongoing live enablement webinars, are built specifically to support partners and help them grow their business. More ways to engage with Shopify How partners engage with Shopify and build relationships within the Shopify ecosystem will also be reimagined. Shopify has increased its focus on supporting partners' education and earnings potential with expanded virtual and in-person events starting with Partner Education Day on April 4. There will also be an in-person event this fall to celebrate and recognize top-performing commercial partners. "Shopify's continued innovation in the program has played a crucial role in our company's success. That includes their readiness for enterprise-scale commerce, which is the foundation that enables our agency to build world-class websites for some of the largest brands on the planet. Like Shopify we're committed to constant iteration, and these updates to rewards, education and networking reflect that desire to continue learning and improving together." - Piers Thorogood, Co-Founder, We Make Websites "At Imag/nary we invest in iconic, generationally defining brands and the technology solutions that empower them. We have loved working alongside Shopify as they have built out the partner program. The team at Shopify have always gone the extra mile to make sure our portfolio companies have the resources, platform, and attention they need to scale to their maximum potential. We're thrilled to see Shopify evolve the program and invest further in the partner experience. We are excited to deepen our relationships within this great community." - Natalie Massenet, Co-founder and Partner of Imag/nary Building for the long term, together Shifting consumer expectations, the rapid pace of commerce innovation, and a changing economic landscape all significantly increase the value Shopify partners add to merchants navigating constant change. This evolution of the program is designed to empower our network of development and digital marketing agencies, system integrators, technology, venture capital and private equity partners to meet the needs of merchants together. "Our merchant needs are continuously evolving. At Shopify, we're building new tools to ensure partners have the resources to meet these needs. Together, we will help merchants navigate the next era of commerce." - Ritu Khanna, VP, Partnerships of Shopify To stay up to date on the continued improvements to the Shopify Partner program, follow the Shopify Partner blog for updates. About Shopify Shopify is the leading global commerce company that provides essential internet infrastructure for commerce, offering trusted tools to start, scale, market, and run a retail business of any size. Shopify makes commerce better for everyone with a platform and services that are engineered for speed, customization, reliability, and security, while delivering a better shopping experience for consumers online, in store and everywhere in between. Shopify powers millions of businesses in more than 175 countries and is trusted by brands such as Mattel, Gymshark, Heinz, FTD, Netflix, Kylie Cosmetics, SKIMS, Supreme, and many more. For more information, visit www.shopify.com. Contact INVESTORS: IR@shopify.com MEDIA: press@shopify.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155811 Results of New Preliminary Economic Assessment for Riotinto Demonstrates the potential for strong economics and production growth NICOSIA, CYPRUS / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Atalaya Mining Plc (AIM:ATYM)(TSX:AYM) is pleased to announce the results from a new preliminary economic assessment ("PEA") for the Cerro Colorado, San Dionisio and San Antonio deposits at its Proyecto Riotinto ("Riotinto") operation in Spain. Riotinto is Atalaya's flagship asset and currently consists of the operating Cerro Colorado open pit mine, a modern 15 Mtpa processing plant and significant supporting infrastructure. The San Dionisio and San Antonio deposits are located adjacent to the Cerro Colorado pit and the objective of the PEA was to incorporate these deposits into a new integrated mine plan for Riotinto. PEA Highlights Strong potential economic results over a range of metals price assumptions ? $1.07 billion NPV(8%) after-tax at $3.50/lb Cu, $1.20/lb Zn and $0.95/lb Pb ("Base Case" metals prices) ? $1.57 billion NPV(8%) after-tax at $4.03/lb Cu, $1.20/lb Zn and $0.95/lb Pb ("Sensitivity Case" metals prices) ? Economics benefit from significant in-place infrastructure at Riotinto Potential uplift in production as a result of processing higher grade material ? ~60 ktpa Cu during copper stockwork-only phase (2023-2026) ? ~90 ktpa CuEq during polymetallic massive sulphide phase (2027+) Potential reduction in cash costs due to higher grades and by-product credits ? $2.00/lb Cu payable Cash Costs (LOM average) ? $2.03/lb Cu payable Cash Costs + Sustaining (LOM average) Mineralised material of ~241 Mt supports a potential mine life of 15.6 years ? Provides significant long-term optionality to rising metals prices The PEA is preliminary in nature, and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorised as Mineral Reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realised. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Optimisation Opportunities and Other Riotinto District Highlights PEA serves as a foundation for continued optimisation ? E-LIX System has the potential to unlock additional value by increasing recoveries, reducing offsite costs and lowering the carbon footprint ? Revised mining sequence could bring forward highest value material ? Unused processing equipment at Riotinto could be refurbished, potentially lowering capital costs associated with the Zn and Pb circuits Results reinforce the strategic nature of Atalaya's assets in the Riotinto District ? Uniquely positioned to deliver low capital intensity growth due to Atalaya's large resource base and significant infrastructure in the region ? High quality mining jurisdiction, with access to the critical inputs required for modern and sustainable operations, including experienced labour and renewable sources of electricity and water ? Atalaya's other projects in the Riotinto District, such as Masa Valverde, could become further sources of mineralised material PEA Summary Table 1: Key Data Unit CuSW(1) PolyMS(1) Total Material Mined Tonnage kt 195,890 45,601 241,491 Copper Grade % 0.42 0.98 0.53 Zinc Grade % 1.69 Lead Grade % 0.45 Mine Life Years 15.6 Unit 2023-2026 2027-2036 LOM Total Production(2) Copper kt 1,004 Zinc kt 575 Lead kt 76 Copper Equivalent(3) kt 1,221 Average Annual Production(2) Copper kt 59 69 Zinc kt - 57 Lead kt - 8 Copper Equivalent(3) kt 59 91 Cash Costs Net of Zn & Pb Credits(4) Cash Costs $/lb Cu payable 2.56 1.77 2.00 Cash Costs + Sustaining Capex(5) $/lb Cu payable 2.60 1.81 2.03 Base Case Financial Summary $3.50 Cu, $1.20 Zn and $0.95 Pb EBITDA $m 464 2,522 3,176 Capital Expenditures $m (186) (341) (566) Cash Flow After Tax $m 201 1,844 2,152 NPV after-tax (10%) $m 915 NPV after-tax (8%) $m 1,069 Sensitivity Case Financial Summary(6) $4.03 Cu, $1.20 Zn and $0.95 Pb EBITDA $m 724 3,289 4,288 Capital Expenditures $m (186) (341) (566) Cash Flow After Tax $m 413 2,473 3,064 NPV after-tax (10%) $m 1,360 NPV after-tax (8%) $m 1,573 (1) CuSW = copper stockwork (Cerro Colorado and San Dionisio copper); PolyMS = polymetallic massive sulphide. (2) Recovered metal in concentrate. (3) Copper Equivalent ("CuEq") production is calculated from results presented in the PEA and based on $3.50/lb Cu, $1.20/lb Zn and $0.95/lb Pb. CuEq = Cu + (Zn x 1.20 / 3.50) + (Pb x 0.95 / 3.50). (4) Based on $1.20/lb Zn and $0.95/lb Pb. (5) Excludes head office costs typically included in AISC figures. (6) See Table 9 for Downside Case financial summary. Table 2: NPV After-Tax ($m) Sensitivity to Copper Price ($/lb) and Discount Rate(1) 2.80 2.98 3.15 3.33 3.50 3.68 3.85 4.03 4.20 0% 928 1,240 1,545 1,848 2,152 2,456 2,760 3,064 3,368 5% 539 750 957 1,163 1,369 1,575 1,781 1,987 2,193 8% 392 564 733 901 1,069 1,237 1,405 1,573 1,741 10% 318 470 619 767 915 1,064 1,212 1,360 1,508 12% 258 393 526 658 790 922 1,053 1,185 1,317 (1) Assumes $1.20/lb Zn and $0.95/lb Pb. Alberto Lavandeira, CEO, commented: "We are pleased to announce the outcome of the PEA, which demonstrates strong economics and confirms the results of prior internal studies on the future of our flagship Riotinto operation. After delivering a major expansion of processing capacity at Riotinto in recent years and announcing new mineral resource estimates for San Dionisio and San Antonio in 2022, we set out to quantify the significant value of an integrated Riotinto approach. The Riotinto District has many advantages over more remote mining regions around the world, where the ability to bring assets into production in a sustainable and economic manner is becoming increasingly difficult. Our region has a long mining history, the workforce is highly experienced, infrastructure is modern and we benefit from good access to sustainable sources of water and energy. Together, these advantages reduce execution risk, capital intensity and development timelines. As we progress the permitting process for San Dionisio, we shall continue to evaluate ways to further optimise the development plan for Riotinto. This is an exciting time for Atalaya, and we look forward to leveraging our execution capabilities to grow our copper production and deliver further value for our shareholders." Background Riotinto District Portfolio Atalaya controls a strategic portfolio of assets in the Riotinto District of the Iberian Pyrite Belt, including: Operating Cerro Colorado open pit mine 15 Mtpa processing plant and supporting infrastructure San Dionisio and San Antonio deposits, which were mined historically Proyecto Masa Valverde ("PMV") Exploration permits, including at Proyecto Riotinto East ("PRE") The Company's focus is to develop its existing facilities into a centralised processing hub for ore sourced from its various projects in the region. Mineral Resource Estimates and PEA Objectives Atalaya announced new independent mineral resource estimates for the San Dionisio and San Antonio deposits in April 2022. These estimates confirmed prior internal estimation work on the deposits and quantified their significant contained metal as well as their higher grades compared to the material currently being mined at Cerro Colorado. The objective of the PEA was to develop a new integrated mine plan based on existing Riotinto mineral resources that considers concurrent mining of Cerro Colorado, San Dionisio and San Antonio and the processing of polymetallic massive sulphide ("PolyMS") material in addition to the copper stockwork ("CuSW") material currently being processed. Other operations in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, including MATSA and mines in Portugal, currently process similar PolyMS material. The production plan includes Inferred Mineral Resources, which are too speculative in nature to be classified as Mineral Reserves. Regional Advantages Atalaya is well positioned to execute on its "central processing hub" growth strategy due to several factors: Experience gained from operating the large Cerro Colorado open pit mine and Riotinto processing plant since 2016 The 15 Mtpa processing plant at Riotinto is the largest mill in the region Riotinto's existing tailings storage facility has significant capacity, with land available for future expansion The Company has access to multiple sources of water via nearby reservoirs Riotinto is connected to the national power grid, where the share of electricity from renewable sources continues to grow Highly experienced workforce lives in close proximity to Atalaya's operations The long history of mining in the region has developed a strong network of suppliers and service providers, including open pit and underground mining contractors with vast experience at similar deposits Combined, these attributes are expected to allow Atalaya to continue to increase the scale of its operations while avoiding many of the well-publicised challenges that miners are facing in other minerals districts. PEA Independent Consultant Tetra Tech was retained by Atalaya to develop a PEA of the Cerro Colorado, San Dionisio, and San Antonio deposits at Riotinto. Tetra Tech prepared its report (the "Technical Report") in accordance with the Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101) guidelines. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are too speculative in nature to be classified as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the economic results presented in this PEA will be realized. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and therefore do not have demonstrated economic viability. The Technical Report has an effective date of 31 October 2022 and incorporates project information developed by Atalaya and its consultants. The Technical Report will be made available on the Company's website at www.atalayamining.com and under the Company's corporate profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. For readers to fully understand the information in this announcement, they should read the Technical Report in its entirety, including all qualifications, assumptions and exclusions that relate to the PEA. The Technical Report is intended to be read as a whole, and sections should not be read or relied upon out of context. Mining A production plan for Riotinto was developed based on the existing mineral resources for Cerro Colorado, San Dionisio and San Antonio. Mining at Cerro Colorado is currently conducted by a contractor using conventional open pit mining methods and produces CuSW material. The PEA contemplates continued open pit mining at Cerro Colorado, but at a reduced annual rate to provide capacity for material mined from the San Dionisio and San Antonio deposits. At San Dionisio, mining will begin using the same open pit methods, equipment and contractors as Cerro Colorado. The conceptual open pit design includes two phases, with Phase 1 containing primarily CuSW mineralised material and Phase 2 containing a majority of PolyMS mineralised material. During Phase 1, PolyMS material is assumed to be stockpiled until the necessary plant modifications are implemented. Photo 1: Riotinto Site Layout Looking East Underground mining at San Dionisio and San Antonio is planned to be completed using the blasthole stoping method to produce PolyMS mineralised material. Underground mining activities have been carried out historically at both deposits. Development requirements include dewatering and rehabilitation of old shafts and drifts as well as the development of any required new underground openings. The concurrent open pit and underground mining of Cerro Colorado, San Dionisio and San Antonio is planned to produce an aggregate of 15.5 Mtpa of CuSW and PolyMS mineralised material. Chart 1: Mining Schedule by Mineralised Material Source (Mt) Table 3: Summary of Mining Inventory Unit LOM CuSW Tonnage kt 195,890 Copper Grade % 0.42 PolyMS Tonnage: Open Pit kt 27,046 PolyMS Tonnage: Underground kt 18,555 PolyMS Tonnage: Total kt 45,601 Copper Grade % 0.98 Zinc Grade % 1.69 Lead Grade % 0.45 Total Tonnage kt 241,491 Copper Grade % 0.53 Total Waste kt 555,638 Strip Ratio: Cerro Colorado & San Dionisio w:o 2.5 Mine Life Years 15.6 Processing The existing plant at Riotinto has a nameplate capacity of 15 Mtpa and currently processes CuSW sulphide material using conventional froth flotation to produce a copper concentrate. Photo 2: Existing 15 Mtpa Plant at Riotinto In order to process the PolyMS material associated with the San Antonio deposit and portions of the San Dionisio deposit, a modified recovery circuit is required. Preliminary testwork indicates that ultra-fine grinding followed by differential flotation may be required to achieve acceptable metal recoveries and produce three separate saleable concentrates - copper, zinc and lead. The PEA assumes the installation of a differential flotation circuit, however, additional processing options are being studied that may achieve higher metallurgical recoveries. The PEA contemplates that mineralised material from Cerro Colorado will be blended with higher grade CuSW material from San Dionisio beginning in mid-2024. Starting in 2027, a portion of the plant feed will include PolyMS material sourced from San Dionisio and San Antonio, further increasing the blended head grade. Chart 2: Processing Schedule by Mineralised Material Type and Grade Production At present, Riotinto produces a copper concentrate with silver by-product credits, which it sells at commercial terms to its offtake partners. As contemplated in the PEA, Riotinto would continue to produce a single copper concentrate in the initial years when only CuSW material is processed. Beginning in 2027 and the start of PolyMS material processing, three separate copper, zinc and lead concentrates would be produced and sold internationally. As a result of the higher copper grades and by-product credits from the PolyMS material at San Dionisio and San Antonio, the future blended head grade is expected to provide an increase in production at Riotinto, which produced 56 kt Cu in 2021 and 52 kt Cu in 2022. The PEA assumes that all mineralised material mined from Cerro Colorado is immediately processed, therefore no stockpiling of lower grade mineralised material is contemplated. In certain recent periods, however, stockpiling has been implemented in order to prioritise higher grade material for processing. In addition, the effective date of the PEA is 31 October 2022, which was before the publication of the Company's production guidance for 2023. As a result, the production profile shown in Chart 3 below should not be interpreted as formal production guidance for the near term. Chart 3: Production Profile(1)(2) (1) Recovered metal in concentrate. (2) d CuEq production is calculated from results presented in the PEA and based on $3.50/lb Cu, $1.20/lb Zn and $0.95/lb Pb. CuEq = Cu + (Zn x 1.20 / 3.50) + (Pb x 0.95 / 3.50). Table 4: Summary of Production Unit 2023-2026 2027-2036 LOM Total Production(1) Copper kt 1,004 Zinc kt 575 Lead kt 76 Copper Equivalent(2) kt 1,221 Average Annual Production(1) Copper kt 59 69 Zinc kt - 57 Lead kt - 8 Copper Equivalent(2) kt 59 91 (1) Recovered metal in concentrate. (2) Copper Equivalent production is calculated from results presented in the PEA and based on $3.50/lb Cu, $1.20/lb Zn and $0.95/lb Pb. CuEq = Cu + (Zn x 1.20 / 3.50) + (Pb x 0.95 / 3.50). Capital Costs Capital expenditures included in the PEA relate to mine development costs for San Dionisio (pre-strip to access CuSW material, followed by underground development) and San Antonio (underground development), modification of the processing plant to include new zinc and lead circuits, as well as sustaining capital, tailings dam expansion and closure costs. Mine equipment is not included in capital costs as all equipment will be provided by the mining contractor. Table 5: Capital Cost Summary Unit 2023-2026 2027-2036 LOM By Mineralised Material Type Related to CuSW Material $m 44 - 44 Related to PolyMS Material $m 98 154 252 Related to Overall Operations $m 20 142 196 Subtotal $m 162 297 492 Contingency of 15% $m 24 44 74 Total $m 186 341 566 By Expenditure Type Mine Equipment $m - - - Mine Development $m 68 136 204 Plant Capital $m 74 18 92 Surface Infrastructure $m - 93 93 Sustaining Capital $m 20 49 71 Closure $m - - 32 Subtotal $m 162 297 492 Contingency of 15% $m 24 44 74 Total $m 186 341 566 Operating Costs Operating cost estimates are based principally on actuals from the existing operations at Riotinto. Open pit mining costs continue to assume the contractor mining model, including when mining begins at San Dionisio. Processing costs for CuSW material are also based on actuals. For the planned underground mining at San Dionisio and San Antonio, costs are based on estimated mining contractor rates in the region, where key neighbouring mines are operated under a similar model. Processing costs for PolyMS material include additional costs compared to the current copper circuit. Table 6: Operating Cost Summary Unit 2023-2026 2027-2036 LOM Site Operating Costs Mining $m 435 1,371 1,875 Processing $m 492 1,275 1,962 G&A $m 71 177 275 Subtotal $m 998 2,822 4,112 Contingency of 5% $m 50 141 206 Total $m 1,048 2,963 4,318 Total Site Operating Costs $/t processed 16.91 19.12 17.88 Cash Costs Net of Zn & Pb Credits(1) Cash Costs $/lb Cu payable 2.56 1.77 2.00 Cash Costs + Sustaining Capex(2) $/lb Cu payable 2.60 1.81 2.03 (1) Based on $3.50/lb Cu, $1.20/lb Zn and $0.95/lb Pb; assumes nil Ag production. (2) Excludes head office costs typically included in AISC figures. Economic Analysis The PEA shows strong potential economic results over a range of metals price assumptions for copper, zinc and lead. Base Case prices represent consensus long term forecasts published by a wide selection of financial institutions, while the copper price assumed in the Sensitivity Case is based on the recent prevailing copper spot price. The PEA is preliminary in nature, and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorised as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realised. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Table 7: Economic Summary at Base Case Metals Prices $3.50/lb Cu, $1.20/lb Zn, $0.95/lb Pb Unit 2023-2026 2027-2036 LOM Gross Revenues $m 1,735 6,549 8,855 Offsite Costs $m (223) (1,064) (1,361) Net Smelter Return $m 1,512 5,486 7,494 Site Operating Costs $m (1,048) (2,963) (4,318) EBITDA $m 464 2,522 3,176 Change in Working Capital $m (18) (1) (50) Capital Expenditures $m (186) (341) (566) Cash Flow Pre-Tax $m 259 2,180 2,561 Income Tax $m (58) (336) (408) Cash Flow After-Tax $m 201 1,844 2,152 NPV Pre-Tax (10%) $m 1,105 NPV After-Tax (10%) $m 915 NPV Pre-Tax (8%) $m 1,286 NPV After-Tax (8%) $m 1,069 Table 8: Economic Summary at Sensitivity Case Metals Prices $4.03/lb Cu, $1.20/lb Zn, $0.95/lb Pb Unit 2023-2026 2027-2036 LOM Gross Revenues $m 1,995 7,316 9,967 Offsite Costs $m (223) (1,064) (1,361) Net Smelter Return $m 1,772 6,252 8,606 Site Operating Costs $m (1,048) (2,963) (4,318) EBITDA $m 724 3,289 4,288 Change in Working Capital $m (20) (1) (50) Capital Expenditures $m (186) (341) (566) Cash Flow Pre-Tax $m 518 2,947 3,672 Income Tax $m (105) (474) (609) Cash Flow After-Tax $m 413 2,473 3,064 NPV Pre-Tax (10%) $m 1,647 NPV After-Tax (10%) $m 1,360 NPV Pre-Tax (8%) $m 1,901 NPV After-Tax (8%) $m 1,573 Table 9: Economic Summary at Downside Case Metals Prices $2.98/lb Cu, $1.20/lb Zn, $0.95/lb Pb Unit 2023-2026 2027-2036 LOM Gross Revenues $m 1,475 5,783 7,744 Offsite Costs $m (223) (1,064) (1,361) Net Smelter Return $m 1,252 4,719 6,383 Site Operating Costs $m (1,048) (2,963) (4,318) EBITDA $m 203 1,756 2,065 Change in Working Capital $m (16) (1) (50) Capital Expenditures $m (186) (341) (566) Cash Flow Pre-Tax $m 1 1,413 1,449 Income Tax $m (14) (195) (209) Cash Flow After-Tax $m (13) 1,218 1,240 NPV Pre-Tax (10%) $m 562 NPV After-Tax (10%) $m 470 NPV Pre-Tax (8%) $m 671 NPV After-Tax (8%) $m 564 Table 10: NPV After-Tax ($m) Sensitivity to Copper Price ($/lb) and Discount Rate(1) 2.80 2.98 3.15 3.33 3.50 3.68 3.85 4.03 4.20 0% 928 1,240 1,545 1,848 2,152 2,456 2,760 3,064 3,368 5% 539 750 957 1,163 1,369 1,575 1,781 1,987 2,193 8% 392 564 733 901 1,069 1,237 1,405 1,573 1,741 10% 318 470 619 767 915 1,064 1,212 1,360 1,508 12% 258 393 526 658 790 922 1,053 1,185 1,317 (1) Assumes $1.20/lb Zn and $0.95/lb Pb. Next Steps Atalaya continues to advance the permitting process associated with expanding the Cerro Colorado pit into the San Dionisio area, which will require the relocation of the public road, power lines and water lines that run between the two deposits, as well as the fulfilment of other regulatory matters. Opportunities for Additional Optimisation Atalaya believes the PEA provides a clear path for the long-term development of Riotinto. The PEA will now serve as a foundation for continued optimisation work that will be completed, including during the permitting process for San Dionisio. Testwork related to improving the metallurgical recoveries for the PolyMS material will be an ongoing focus. The E-LIX System has the potential to unlock value from this complex material, including by increasing recoveries, reducing offsite costs and also lowering the carbon footprint associated with downstream transportation and smelting. Further testwork is planned once the E-LIX Phase I plant is operational. In addition, historical third-party testwork using conventional flotation, including by Lakefield in 1985-1986, resulted in higher recoveries than assumed in the PEA, therefore additional testing will be completed using alternative approaches. Other areas of potential optimisation include revising the mining sequence of the various deposits in order to bring forward the highest value material, as well as potential capital cost savings via the study of refurbishing unused processing equipment at Riotinto as an alternative to purchasing new equipment for the new zinc and lead recovery circuits. Finally, exploration and evaluation work continues at Atalaya's other projects in the Riotinto District, including PMV and PRE. In particular, deposits at PMV have the potential to become further sources of mineralised material that could be processed at Riotinto and integrated into a regional operating model. Qualified Person Statement The PEA for Riotinto was prepared by Tetra Tech in accordance with CIM guidelines and with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). The report was prepared by Tetra Tech Qualified Persons Dr. Guillermo Dante Ramirez-Rodriguez, PhD, MMSAQP, Jaye Pickarts, MMSA QP, and Ms. Kira Lyn Johnson, MMSAQP, who are Qualified Persons as defined under NI 43-101 and the AIM Rules, and are independent of the Company. The Qualified Persons have reviewed and approved this announcement regarding the results of the PEA in the form and context it appears. This announcement contains information which, prior to its publication constituted inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014. Glossary of Terms Ag Silver CIM Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Cu Copper CuEq Copper Equivalent g/t Grams per tonne Indicated Mineral Resources An Indicated Mineral Resource is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade or quality, densities, shape and physical characteristics are estimated with sufficient confidence to allow the application of Modifying Factors in sufficient detail to support mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Geological evidence is derived from adequately detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing and is sufficient to assume geological and grade or quality continuity between points of observation. An Indicated Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to a Measured Mineral Resource and may only be converted to a Probable Mineral Reserve. Inferred Mineral Resource An Inferred Mineral Resource is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. Geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade or quality continuity. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration. kt Thousand tonnes Massive Sulphide Mineral deposit characterised by a great concentration of ore in one place, as opposed to a disseminated or veinlike deposit. Measured Mineral Resources A Measured Mineral Resource is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade or quality, densities, shape, and physical characteristics are estimated with confidence sufficient to allow the application of Modifying Factors to support detailed mine planning and final evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Geological evidence is derived from detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing and is sufficient to confirm geological and grade or quality continuity between points of observation. A Measured Mineral Resource has a higher level of confidence than that applying to either an Indicated Mineral Resource or an Inferred Mineral Resource. It may be converted to a Proven Mineral Reserve or to a Probable Mineral Reserve. Mineral Resources A concentration or occurrence of material of intrinsic economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such a form and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The location, quantity, grade, geological characteristics and continuity of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge. Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories. Mt Million tonnes Mtpa Million tonnes per annum n.a. Not available NI 43-101 Canadian National Instrument for the Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects Pb Lead PEA Preliminary Economic Assessment Polymetallic Deposits that contain economically important quantities of three or more metals. PPM Parts per million Stockwork Mineral deposit consisting of a 3D network of planar to irregular veinlets closely enough spaced that the whole mass can be mined. They are also referred to as stringer zones. VMS Volcanic Massive Sulphide Zn Zinc Contacts: SEC Newgate UK Elisabeth Cowell / Axaule Shukanayeva + 44 20 3757 6882 4C Communications Carina Corbett +44 20 3170 7973 Canaccord Genuity (NOMAD and Joint Broker) Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor / James Asensio +44 20 7523 8000 BMO Capital Markets (Joint Broker) Tom Rider / Andrew Cameron +44 20 7236 1010 Peel Hunt LLP (Joint Broker) Ross Allister / David McKeown +44 20 7418 8900 About Atalaya Mining Plc Atalaya is an AIM and TSX-listed mining and development group which produces copper concentrates and silver by-product at its wholly owned Proyecto Riotinto site in southwest Spain. Atalaya's current operations include the Cerro Colorado open pit mine and a modern 15 Mtpa processing plant, which has the potential to become a centralised processing hub for ore sourced from its wholly owned regional projects around Riotinto that include Proyecto Masa Valverde and Proyecto Riotinto East. In addition, the Group has a phased earn-in agreement for up to 80% ownership of Proyecto Touro, a brownfield copper project in the northwest of Spain, as well as a 99.9% interest in Proyecto Ossa Morena. For further information, visit www.atalayamining.com Forward Looking Statements This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "achieve", "could", "believe", "plan", "intend", "objective", "continuous", "ongoing", "estimate", "outlook", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should" or similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause the Company's actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the PEA and the associated increases or improvements in production, metallurgical recovery, capital costs, operating costs, project economics and financial metrics, future permitting activities, all of which are based on various assumptions including that the new development plan will proceed on schedule, that the development deposits are mineable as described, that metals prices will be at levels that render Riotinto economic and that internal data and analyses prove to be accurate. Forward-looking statements also include those relating to the future financial and operating performance of the Company and Riotinto, the estimates and realisation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, the timing and amount of estimated future production, plans relating to future exploration, expansion, development and production activities and the realisation of expected production and life of mine economics of Riotinto. Certain risks, uncertainties and factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from forward-looking statements include, among others, general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the actual results of current exploration, production and expansion activities; the actual results of reclamation activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of metals; the future costs of capital to the Company; possible variations of ore grade or recovery rates; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; environmental risks; uncertainties regarding reclamation expenses, title disputes or claims, limitations of insurance coverage, and the timing and possible outcome of litigation and regulatory matters; political instability, terrorist attacks, insurrection or war; and delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of development, construction or expansion activities. The reader is cautioned that such forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and may prove to be incorrect. These forward-looking statements are statements regarding the Company's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things, the Company's and/or its subsidiaries' results of operations, financial condition, prospects, growth, strategies, the industry in which the Company and its subsidiaries operate and are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made and should not be unduly relied on. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this announcement and the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, except as required by applicable securities laws. Non-GAAP Measures Atalaya has included certain non-IFRS measures including "EBITDA", "Cash Costs" and "Cash Costs + Sustaining Capex" in this report. Non-IFRS measures do not have any standardised meaning prescribed under IFRS, and therefore they may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. These measures are intended to provide additional information and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for indicators prepared in accordance with IFRS. EBITDA includes gross sales net of treatment and refining charges ("TC/RC"), freight and distribution costs and all operating costs, excluding finance, tax, impairment, depreciation and amortisation expenses. See Table 7 for further details. Cash Costs per pound of payable copper includes cash operating costs, including TC/RC, freight and distribution costs and net of by-product credits. Cash Costs per pound of payable copper is consistent with the widely accepted industry standard established by Wood Mackenzie and is also known as the C1 cash cost. Cash Costs + Sustaining Capex per pound of payable copper includes C1 Cash Costs plus recurring sustaining capital expenditures but excludes one-off sustaining capital projects, such as tailings dam expansion. Cash Cost Calculation Unit 2023-2026 2027-2036 LOM Copper Payable kt 225 662 960 Site Operating Costs Mining $m 435 1,371 1,875 Processing $m 492 1,275 1,962 G&A $m 71 177 275 Subtotal $m 998 2,822 4,112 Contingency $m 50 141 206 Total $m 1,048 2,963 4,318 Offsite Costs $m 223 1,064 1,361 By-Product Credits $m - (1,438) (1,444) Total Cash Costs $m 1,271 2,588 4,235 Total Cash Costs $/lb Cu payable 2.56 1.77 2.00 Sustaining Capex $m 20 49 71 Cash Costs + Sustaining Capex $m 1,291 2,637 4,306 Cash Costs + Sustaining Capex $/lb Cu payable 2.60 1.81 2.03 This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com. SOURCE: Atalaya Mining PLC View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740466/Atalaya-Mining-PLC-Announces-Results-of-New-PEA-for-Riotinto NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES Gensource Potash Corporation ("Gensource" or the "Company") (AIM/TSXV: GSP), a fertilizer development company focused on sustainable potash production, is honoured to announce a new business relationship with and direct strategic investment by Nekaneet First Nation. The relationship encompasses equity ownership in Gensource and therefore a direct interest in the development of the Gensource potash projects in Saskatchewan. The Company's strategic relationship with Nekaneet First Nation was formalized through its participation in Gensource's recently closed private placement (see news release dated January 31, 2023). Gensource is proud to welcome Nekaneet as a business partner in its goal to implement environmentally-leading modular and scalable potash production systems. Being a partner in sustainable resource development means participating in making business decisions for the creation of wealth to the benefit of a growing Indigenous community and growing province. "Part of truth and reconciliation means working together as a community and as leaders in local development opportunities. In this case, the opportunity is to participate together in the ownership and development of resource projects in Saskatchewan to the direct benefit of our communities. Against this backdrop, we are very pleased to have Nekaneet First Nation join us in our efforts to evolve the potash industry," said Mike Ferguson, President CEO of Gensource. "Our goal is to implement a Saskatchewan project that will bring multi-generational benefits to our shareholders and the local community. Gensource's Tugaske potash project is located on Treaty 4, encompassing the lands of the Cree, Saulteaux, Dakota, Nakota and Lakota, and homeland to the Metis Nation, and lands included in the traditional territory of Nekaneet First Nation. We are all part of this Treaty and we must take our corporate responsibility seriously to create real change through reconciliation. Nekaneet First Nation is a leader in so many ways, and it is that leadership sensibility that aligns so well with Gensource and its goals." "Equity ownership in a strategic asset that will produce a commodity the world needs provides a direct connection and benefit to First Nations in Saskatchewan's potash industry rather than the status-quo model of ancillary participation in resource projects," said Alvin Francis, Chief of Nekaneet First Nation. "It creates real ownership, early in the development of the Company where growth can potentially bring multi-generational prosperity to growing communities like Nekaneet First Nation." Tugaske Update A brief update on the development of the Company's Tugaske potash project (the "Tugaske Project") is provided below. Emerging through the bridge engineering work, significant opportunities have been identified in a number of areas where the Company believes it can improve the overall financial and operational performance of the Project. Of these, two specific areas are being investigated where process and technology improvements have the potential to yield significant optimizations, simplifications and cost savings: underground cavern design and wellfield configuration, and; optimization of the crystallization process in the surface plant. The Company's work in these areas has presented opportunities for material cost reduction and simplification and these opportunities are being pursued aggressively. Recall that the bridge engineering is based on the FEED study completed in late 2021 and disclosed in the Company's NI 43-101 Technical Report dated October 14, 2021. The bridge engineering was initiated to: Investigate the impacts of: global cost escalation witnessed since very early in 2022, and supply chain problems resulting in both cost escalation and time delays and delivery difficulties. Review redundancies, design factors and overall plant life design basis. Bring all of the above together into an updated construction plan including capital and operating cost estimates. The final deliverables will include an updated NI 43-101 Technical Report detailing the Tugaske Project. Early indications suggest significant savings can be obtained in both capital expenditures and operating expenditures in addition to significant simplifications of the Tugaske Project and its systems. Plans for the coming months include completing engineering followed by actual test work of the potential changes to confirm process workability and equipment function. Further, the Company is looking into the feasibility of drilling the first cavern at the Tugaske Project as early as possible in the pre-construction phase, in order to confirm the cavern placement and layout and re-confirm the design parameters being employed in the design of the full cavern system. Exciting times ahead for the Tugaske Project. About Nekaneet First Nation Nekaneet First Nation has a long history in the Cypress Hills, located in southwest Saskatchewan. When Treaty 4 was signed on September 16, 1874 in Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan with First Nations across southern Saskatchewan, Nekaneet and approximately 100 followers decided to stay in their ancestral land in the Cypress Hills, where the First Nation calls home. About Gensource: Gensource is a fertilizer development company based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and is on track to become the next fertilizer production company in that province. With a modular and environmentally leading approach to potash production, Gensource believes its technical and business model will be the future of the industry. Gensource operates under a business plan that has two key components: (1) vertical integration with the market to ensure that all production capacity built is directed, and pre-sold, to a specific market, eliminating market-side risk; and (2) technical innovation which will allow for a modular and economic potash production facility, that demonstrates environmental leadership within the industry, producing no salt tailings, therefore eliminating decommissioning. For any press enquiries please contact us on gensource@camarco.co.uk Further information on Gensource Potash Corporation can be found at www.gensourcepotash.ca Follow us on twitter @GensourcePotash Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain forward looking information and Gensource cautions readers that forward- looking information is based on certain assumptions and risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations of Gensource included in this news release. This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements", which often, but not always, can be identified by the use of words such as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". These statements are based on information currently available to Gensource and Gensource provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward looking statements include estimates and statements with respect to Gensource's future plans, objectives or goals, to the effect that Gensource or management expects a stated condition or result to occur, including any offering of securities by Gensource. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements for many reasons such as: failure to finance the Tugaske Project or other projects on terms which are economic or at all; failure to settle a definitive joint venture agreement with a party and advance and finance the Tugaske Project; changes in general economic conditions and conditions in the financial markets; the ability to find and source off-take agreements; changes in demand and prices for potash; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological and operational difficulties encountered in connection with Gensource's activities; an inability to predict and counteract the effects of COVID-19 on the business of Gensource, including but not limited to the effects of COVID-19 on the price of commodities, capital market conditions, restriction on labour and international travel and supply chains, failure to obtain required regulatory approvals; and other matters discussed in this news release and in filings made with securities regulators. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of Gensource's forward-looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on Gensource's forward-looking statements. Gensource does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by Gensource or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005958/en/ Contacts: For further information on Gensource Potash, please contact: Gensource Potash Corporation Mike Ferguson President CEO +1-306-974-6414 Strand Hanson Limited (Nominated Financial Adviser) Ritchie Balmer Rory Murphy Charles Hammond +44 (0) 20 7409 3494 Peel Hunt LLP (Broker) Ross Allister David McKeown Georgia Langoulant +44 (0) 20 7418 8900 Camarco (Financial PR) Gordon Poole Charlotte Hollinshead Lily Pettifar +44 (0) 20 3757 4997 Longstop Date of Accession to the Lock-Up Agreement Fixed on 10 March 2023 Regulatory News: ORPEA S.A. (Paris:ORP) (the "Company") announces that the amicable conciliation procedure opened on October 25, 2022 by the President of the specialized Commercial Court of Nanterre, under the aegis of Helene Bourbouloux as conciliator, and initially scheduled to end after a 4-month Period (i.e. 25 February 2023), has been extended for an additional period of one month at the request of the conciliator, until 25 March 2023. It is specified that no further extension can be implemented. The extension of the amicable conciliation procedure will, in particular, allow the Company to continue to expand support of unsecured financial creditors who have not yet been able to accede to the lock-up agreementsigned on 14 February 2023 (the "Lock-Up Agreement"), as well as its discussions with creditors concerned by requests for waiver and adjustment of contractual clauses provided for in the financing documentation concluded by the Company or its subsidiaries, in order to enable the completion of the financial restructuring. Within this extended period, the Company envisages to submit a request to initiate an accelerated safeguard procedure in March to allow the implementation of the agreement in principle on its financial restructuring announced on 1 February 2023. It is recalled that the Company entered into the Lock-Up Agreement on 14 February with, on the one hand, the group of French long-term investors led by the Caisse des depots et Consignations, accompanied by CNP Assurances, and also including MAIF, accompanied by MACSF (the "Groupement"), and, on the other hand, five institutions holding unsecured debt of ORPEA S.A. (the "SteerCo The current process of accession to the Lock-Up Agreement aims in particular at obtaining before the opening of the accelerated safeguard proceedings the support of a maximum of unsecured creditors of ORPEA S.A., some of whom, who are coordinated by the SteerCo, could hold approximately 45% of the unsecured debt of ORPEA S.A. (comparing to the 50% percentage communicated on 1 February 2023 by the Company on the basis of the elements available to it at that time). It is recalled that creditors holding unsecured debt of ORPEA S.A. have the possibility to accede to the Lock-Up Agreementby contacting Kroll, acting as agent for the Lock-Up (attention: Victor Parzyjagla and/or Thomas Choquet, orpea@is.kroll.com), subject to compliance with the terms and conditions of the Lock-Up Agreement. Unsecured financial creditors wishing to obtain more information on the procedures and conditions for acceding the Lock-Up Agreement are also invited to read the provisions of paragraph 2 of the press release issued by the Company on 14 February 2023. It is also recalled that unsecured financial creditors who have not yet acceded to the Lock-Up Agreement have until the end of the second Business Day (closing of the Paris Stock Exchange) before the hearing to initiate the accelerated safeguard procedure before the Nanterre Commercial Court, to accede to the Lock-Up Agreement. In light of the extension of the conciliation procedure, the longstop date for acceding to the Lock-Up Agreement and being eligible to the payment of the support fee of 75 basis points provided for in the Lock-Up Agreement (calculated on the nominal value of the relevant amounts of the unsecured debt held)1,has been set on 10 March 2023, 5:00 p.m. (Paris time)2 However, in order to optimize the treatment by the lock-up agent of requests for acceding to the Lock-Up Agreement, unsecured financial creditors wishing to accede to the Lock-Up Agreement are invited to contact the Lock-Up agent as soon as possible and in any case before 1 March 2023 in order to ensure that their accession is taken into account in a timely manner, and to allow for potential feedback from the Lock-Up agent in case of an incomplete request. The Company will keep the market informed of the next steps of the financial restructuring. The Company confirms that information that could be qualified as inside information within the meaning of Regulation No. 596/2014 of 16 April 2014 on market abuse and that may have been given on a confidential basis to the various stakeholders in the context of the negotiations has indeed been published to the market, either in the past or in the context of this press release, with the aim of re-establishing equal access to information relating to the Group between the investors. About ORPEA ORPEA is a leading global player, expert in the care of all types of frailty. The Group operates in 22 countries and covers three core businesses: care for the elderly (nursing homes, assisted living, home care), post-acute and rehabilitation care and mental health care (specialized clinics). It has more than 72,000 employees and welcomes more than 255,000 patients and residents each year. https://www.orpea-group.com/ ORPEA is listed on Euronext Paris (ISIN: FR0000184798) and is a member of the SBF 120, STOXX 600 Europe, MSCI Small Cap Europe and CAC Mid 60 indices. _____________________________ 1 For more details, please refer to paragraph 2 of the press release published by the Company on 14 February 2023. 2 Subject to any future extension of the longstop date for acceding to the Lock-Up Agreement communicated by the Company in accordance with the Lock-Up Agreement. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222006069/en/ Contacts: Investor Relations ORPEA Benoit Lesieur Head of Investor Relations j-b.roussille@orpea.net Benoit Lesieur Investor Relations Director b.lesieur@orpea.net Toll free nb. Shareholders: +33 (0) 805 480 480 Investor Relations NewCap Dusan Oresansky Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 ORPEA@newcap.eu Media Relations ORPEA Isabelle Herrier-Naufle Media Relations Director Tel.: +33 (0)7 70 29 53 74 i.herrier-naufle@orpea.net Image 7 Charlotte Le Barbier Tel.: +33 (0)6 78 37 27 60 clebarbier@image7.fr Laurence Heilbronn Tel.: +33 (0)6 89 87 61 37 lheilbronn@image7.fr Appointment for three years at the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences Schijns published over 120 scientific papers in the field of immunology and adjuvants BILTHOVEN, Netherlands, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Intravacc, a world leader in translational research and development of preventive and therapeutic vaccines, today announced the appointment of Prof. Dr. Virgil Schijns as Visiting Professor at the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences (SIPBS) of the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, for a period of three years effective February, 2023. The University of Strathclyde in Glasgow is recognized as a leading international technological university based in the centre of Glasgow. The appointment of Prof. Schijns will be in the context to further strengthen the pharmacy & biomedical sciences education and research capabilities, affirming its position as one of the foremost leading biomedical science schools in the world. With the overarching aim to build up specialist knowledge and deepen expertise within the field of immunological understanding and intervention of infectious diseases and cancer, during his three years assignment as Visiting Professor Schijns, will teach several courses. He will partake in research discussions and speak during lectures on the relevant areas, as well as participate in series of engagements with students, and academic colleagues. Prof. Duncan Graham (Distinguished Professor, Associate Principal & Executive Dean of Science Faculty of Science) says: "We're delighted to appoint Prof. Schijns as a Visiting Professor to the University and to be based within our Institute for Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences where his interactions and engagements will be hugely beneficial to all involved." Virgil Schijns studied Biomedicine at Utrecht University. He obtained his PhD in 1990 at the Utrecht University on 'The Antiviral Activity of Interferon-gamma'. After working in Academia, at the Institute of Virology (Utrecht University), he joined the medical branch of AKZO-NOBEL (Intervet and Nobilon) as department head in 1997. Since 2013 he is the CSO at Epitopoietc Research Corporation (ERC), a clinical stage company which produces an immunotherapy for glioma brain cancer patients. In November 2020 he made the move to Intravacc, where he is the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board. Since 2000, Schijns has also been a frequent lecturer at North Carolina State University (USA) as Visiting Professor, and at Wageningen University as Special Professor, for various courses in the field of immunology and adjuvants. Virgil has published over 120 scientific articles in leading scientific journals. Prof. Dr. Virgil Schijns, Intravacc's CSO, says: "I'm honoured and grateful to be appointed as Visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde and thrilled to have the chance to work with Strathclyde students and the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences (SIPBS)." About Intravacc Intravacc, located at Utrecht Science Park Bilthoven in the Netherlands, is a leading global contract development and manufacturing organization for infectious diseases and therapeutic vaccines. As an established independent CDMO with many years of experience in the development and optimization of vaccines and vaccine technologies, Intravacc has transferred its technology world-wide for many vaccines including polio, measles, DPT, Hib and influenza. Around 40% of childhood disease vaccines are based on Intravacc's know-how and proprietary technology. Intravacc offers a wide range of expertise for independent vaccine development, from concept to Phase I/II clinical studies for partners around the world, including universities, public health organizations (WHO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), biotech and pharmaceutical companies. For more information, please visit www.intravacc.nl. About the University of Strathclyde A leading international technological university based in the centre of Glasgow, the University of Strathclyde was named the Times Higher Education UK University of the Year 2019, the Sunday Times Good University Guide Scottish University of the Year 2020, and has received two Queen's Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education awards for its excellence in energy innovation in 2020 and in advanced manufacturing 2022. The University of Strathclyde integrates academics, research capabilities and deep engagement with industry, government and the third sector to fulfill its mission of making a positive difference in the lives of its students' society and the world. Contact info Intravacc Dr. Jan Groen, CEO P: +31 30 7920 454 Media relations P: +31 6 115 969 94 E: press.office@intravacc.nl LifeSpring Life Sciences Communication, Amsterdam Leon Melens P: +31 6 538 16427 E: lmelens@lifespring.nl Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2007937/Prof_dr_Virgil_Schijns.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1334670/Intravacc_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/intravaccs-cso-virgil-schijns-appointed-as-visiting-professor-at-the-scottish-university-of-strathclyde-in-glasgow-301754021.html Newsroom Now Generally Available in Darktrace PREVENT Product CAMBRIDGE, England, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Darktrace, a global leader in cyber security artificial intelligence, today announces the general availability of Darktrace Newsroom, an AI-driven system that continuously monitors open-source intelligence sources for new critical vulnerabilities and assesses each organization's exposure through its in-depth knowledge of their unique external attack surface. Darktrace's knowledge of "self" means it can quickly assess which assets are potentially affected by the emerging critical vulnerability and can provide mitigation advice specific to the organization so that it stays protected. New critical vulnerabilities, such as Log4J and ProxyLogon, make news headlines regularly and the average time to exploitation has shrunk to just fifteen days. Cyber security teams need to be able to quickly answer the question, "Are we vulnerable? And where?". Traditional vulnerability management programs are typically resource intensive, involving the constant monitoring of security news feeds and intelligence sources. Meanwhile, exposure tests from vulnerability scanners take time, leaving IT security teams exposed in the absence of a quick initial indicator of their unique exposure to the emerging threat. Darktrace Newsroom uses AI to monitor threat feeds and OSINT sources for new critical vulnerabilities and publishes them on the Darktrace PREVENT dashboard as part of the Newsroom feed. Newsroom shows a summary of the vulnerability, the affected software, and reveals how many assets have been found to run this software within the organization. This capability augments the human security team by quickly determining whether an organization is affected by a new vulnerability, alleviating lengthy, labor-intensive manual processes. Traditionally, security teams had to take longer periods of time to work out whether they were affected when a vulnerability emerged, allowing a window for aggressive, fast-moving attackers to breach their organizations, often within hours. "From the moment a new vulnerability hits the headlines, it effectively sets off a ticking time-bomb which any security team will need to scramble to diffuse. The cadence of new vulnerabilities has made it impossible for human teams alone to keep up," says Jim Webber, VP Enterprise Security and Fraud Management, Direct Federal Credit Union, a fast-growing, progressive financial co-operative which provides savings, loans and a range of services to its members located in the heart of the N2 Innovation District in Needham, MA. "As a security leader, the thing I want to know when a new vulnerability hits the headlines is, 'Is my organization vulnerable? And if so, which assets are affected and how do I protect them?' Historically, there was no way to do this quickly and accurately. Newsroom is a game-changer because it delivers those answers on a plate for you, fast." "Against the backdrop of rapidly expanding attack surfaces and rising numbers of new, critical vulnerabilities, Newsroom is a vital component in a security team's arsenal of proactive capabilities," commented Pieter Jansen, SVP of Cyber Innovation, Darktrace. "When news of a vulnerability hits, security leaders need to know how it affects them specifically before their CISO, or the Board, demands answers. This latest innovation shows our continued commitment to augmenting human capabilities by combining the intelligence of always-on, self-learning AI with the unique skills of human security teams." Darktrace Newsroom is part of the Darktrace PREVENT product family launched last summer. For early adopters of the capability, Newsroom provided critical insights on several emerging vulnerabilities such as: An unauthenticated RCE vulnerability found in Citrix Gateway and Citrix ADC. This would allow attackers to remotely execute commands to place malware or other malicious code on a computer or network without any need for input from the victim. RCE flaw, often used in shadow IT, found in CentOS Web Panel 7 Servers which allows attackers to execute malicious commands during the login process. Unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability affecting almost all Zoho ManageEngine products which is a blind spot for most organizations. In the worst-case scenario, attackers could use this vulnerability to gain complete control of the system running the product, pivot to other systems in the organization, dump credentials and deploy ransomware. Successful exploitation of any one of these vulnerabilities can lead to data breaches with accompanying large fines. The insights provided by Darktrace Newsroom allowed the security teams to understand, within an average of two and a half hours, if and where on their attack surface those vulnerabilities were likely to manifest. As a result, these organizations were able to carry out timely mitigation actions and prevent any exploits. About Darktrace Darktrace (DARK.L), a global leader in cyber security artificial intelligence, delivers complete AI-powered solutions in its mission to free the world of cyber disruption. Breakthrough innovations from the Darktrace Cyber AI Research Centre in Cambridge, UK and its R&D centre in The Hague, The Netherlands have resulted in over 125 patent applications filed and significant research published to contribute to the cyber security community. Darktrace's technology continuously learns and updates its knowledge of 'you' for an organization and applies that understanding to achieve an optimal state of cyber security. It is delivering the first ever Cyber AI Loop, fueling a continuous end-to-end security capability that can autonomously prevent, detect, and respond to novel, in-progress threats in real time. Darktrace employs over 2,200 people around the world and protects over 8,100 organizations globally from advanced cyber-threats. It was named one of TIME magazine's 'Most Influential Companies' in 2021. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/darktrace-newsroom-capability-shortens-time-from-news-headline-to-cyber-security-action-301753838.html Regulatory News: TotalEnergies (Paris:TTE) (LSE:TTE) (NYSE:TTE) has signed Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPA) with Sasol South Africa and Air Liquide Large Industries South Africa for the supply of 260 MW capacity of renewable electricity over 20 years. TotalEnergies will develop a 120 MW solar plant and a 140 MW windfarm in the Western Cape province to supply around 850 GWh of green electricity per year to the Sasol's Secunda site, located 700 kilometers further North-East, where Air Liquide operates the biggest oxygen production site in the world. The two projects will provide competitive and available renewable electricity to decarbonize Sasol and Air Liquide's production. These agreements demonstrate TotalEnergies' positioning to contribute to the evolution of the energy mix in South Africa. The projects will have a direct impact on the local community through job creations. "Power generation in South Africa is still 80% based on coal and power cuts occur daily. With these developments we are proud to support Air Liquide and Sasol for their supply of green electricity. Meanwhile, we are pleased to contribute to South Africa's energy transition which consists of increasing its share of renewables and gas as an alternative to coal" said Vincent Stoquart, Senior Vice President, Renewables at TotalEnergies.There is a dynamic market for corporate PPAs in South Africa and we want TotalEnergies to take a strong leadership position." The two projects are expected to be operational in 2025. The CPPAs with SASOL and Air Liquide were signed with a consortium of TotalEnergies Marketing South Africa1 (70%), its partner Mulilo (17%) and a to-be-announced B-BBEE partner (13%). These projects are subject to regulatory approvals. TotalEnergies and renewables electricity As part of its ambition to get to net zero by 2050, TotalEnergies is building a portfolio of activities in electricity and renewables. At the end of 2022, TotalEnergies' gross renewable electricity generation installed capacity was 17 GW. TotalEnergies will continue to expand this business to reach 35 GW of gross production capacity from renewable sources and storage by 2025, and then 100 GW by 2030 with the objective of being among the world's top 5 producers of electricity from wind and solar energy. About TotalEnergies TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity. Our more than 100,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, cleaner, more reliable and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people. @TotalEnergiesTotalEnergiesTotalEnergiesTotalEnergies Cautionary Note The terms "TotalEnergies", "TotalEnergies company" or "Company" in this document are used to designate TotalEnergies SE and the consolidated entities that are directly or indirectly controlled by TotalEnergies SE. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" may also be used to refer to these entities or to their employees. The entities in which TotalEnergies SE directly or indirectly owns a shareholding are separate legal entities. This document may contain forward-looking information and statements that are based on a number of economic data and assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TotalEnergies SE nor any of its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends contained in this document whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Information concerning risk factors, that may affect TotalEnergies' financial results or activities is provided in the most recent Universal Registration Document, the French-language version of which is filed by TotalEnergies SE with the French securities regulator Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF), and in the Form 20-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 1 TotalEnergies Marketing South Africa is a South African registered company of TotalEnergies (50.1%) and a number of South african BBBEE investors (49.9%). View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222006138/en/ Contacts: TotalEnergies Media Relations: +33 (0)1 47 44 46 99 l presse@totalenergies.com l @TotalEnergiesPR Investor Relations: +33 (0)1 47 44 46 46 l ir@totalenergies.com LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Global animal genetics company Genus plc (GNS.L), on Thursday, announced that Stephen Wilson, Chief Executive, has informed the Board of his intention to retire after ten years with the company, the last four of which as Chief Executive Officer. The company stated that Stephen has committed to remain with Genus until 30 September 2023 in order to achieve a smooth transition to a successor, while continuing to drive business strategy and performance. A formal search for Stephen's successor has been initiated with an executive search agency and a further announcement will be made in due course, the company added. Iain Ferguson, the Chairman of Genus said, 'During Stephen's time at Genus, including six years as Chief Financial Officer and four years as Chief Executive, the Company has made great strategic progress as a world-leading animal genetics company, making great strides in its vision to sustainably pioneer animal genetic improvement to help nourish the world...' Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Genus Plc (GNS.L), a British bio-technology firm, on Thursday reported a decline in pre-tax profit for the six-month period to December 31, 2022. However, the company recorded a rise in revenue, reflecting a firm performance. For the first-half, the UK-based company reported a pre-tax income of 15 million pounds, lesser than 24.4 million pounds, reported for the same period of 2021. This decline shows a 17.2 million pounds non-cash decrease in the net IAS 41 biological assets fair value, reflecting an increase in discount rates applied in the valuation calculation as well as offsetting movements in other key inputs. However, adjusted pre-tax income stood at 42.2 million pounds, higher than 37 million pounds of previous year. After tax, profit was at 13.4 million pounds or 20.3 pence per share, compared with 19.9 million pounds or 30.2 pence per share, a year ago. Operating earnings were at 14.7 million pounds as against last year's 23.9 million pounds. Excluding items, operating earnings moved up to 41.2 million pounds from 35 million pounds of 2021. Genus generated revenue of 350.2 million pounds, compared with 281.2 million pounds of last year. The Board has declared an interim dividend of 10.3 pence per share, unchanged from last year's 10.3 pence per share, which is to be paid on March 30, to shareholders of record on March 3. Looking ahead, Stephen Wilson, Chief Executive of Genus, said: 'The Board remains confident in the Group's strategy and the many opportunities for Genus. Expectations for the 2023 fiscal year remain unchanged.' Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Spectris PLC (SEPJF.PK, SXS.L) reported profit before tax of 151.5 million pounds for the year ended 31 December 2022 compared to 373.8 million pounds, prior year. Earnings per share from continuing operations was 106.0 pence compared to 294.1 pence. Adjusted operating profit was 222.4 million pounds, up 14% on a like-for-like basis. Adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations increased to 159.9 pence from 127.4 pence. Fiscal year sales increased by 14% to 1.33 billion pounds on a continuing basis. Like-for-like sales growth was 14%. Andrew Heath, Chief Executive, said: 'Our expectation for 2023 is to deliver organic growth, consistent with our medium-term objectives of 6-7%, alongside strong progress on expanding margins and driving forward with our ambition to be a leading sustainable business.' For more earnings news, earnings calendar, and earnings for stocks, visit rttnews.com. Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Partnership reflects StarCompliance's expanding client footprint in the United Kingdom YORK, England, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- StarCompliance ("Star"), a leading provider of employee compliance technology solutions, announced today it has been selected by Admiral to provide its market-leading Individual Accountability Regime (IAR) SaaS solution to ensure Admiral's compliance with the UK Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) Senior Management & Certification Regime ( SMCR ). Admiral, a financial services company offering car, home, pet, and travel insurance, as well as finance and loans, with headquarters in Cardiff, Wales, will use Star's SaaS compliance platform to support more than 7,500 of its employees in the UK. Mark Oram, Regulatory Advice Manager at Admiral said, "We undertook a review of the market and selected StarCompliance's IAR solution based on its functionality and ease of use. The StarCompliance team have been knowledgeable and responsive throughout the implementation process, and we look forward to working with them." Star's IAR solution enables firms such as Admiral to effectively manage their obligations under the SMCR regulations. It streamlines and delivers consistent business processes by automating checks and workflows, ensuring that key information is accurately captured in a central repository. The solution also provides a clear, accurate accountability trail for both internal and external audit purposes, delivering access to all individual accountability compliance information via a single, integrated platform. "Our new partnership is a significant milestone for Star," said Gary Muchmore, Star's Head of International Business Development. "We are experiencing a period of record growth in the UK and it's thrilling to be able to include Admiral amongst our list of over 300 global clients." Star has more than 20 years' experience building configurable compliance technology, supporting a global client base across a broad range of financial services and corporate clients. Star's employee conflicts of interest monitoring platform is scalable and easy to use for employees at all levels of an organization - helping financial firms reduce risk, gain efficiencies and drive adoption of their employee compliance programs. About Admiral Admiral is a leading Financial Services company covering services such as motor, home, pet, travel insurance, Insurtech, personal loans, car finance and legal services. Admiral is part of Admiral Group, a FTSE100 Financial Services company with businesses in the UK, Europe and America. and America. It's proud to have its headquarters and UK offices in South Wales , with support from colleagues in Halifax, Canada , and Delhi, India . , with support from colleagues in , and . In the UK it has over 7,500 colleagues and over 6.4 million customers. Admiral's website address is www.admiral.com About StarCompliance StarCompliance is a leading provider of employee compliance technology solutions. Trusted globally by forward-thinking companies in 114 countries, Star's future-ready compliance platform delivers on-demand configurability, multi-jurisdictional integrity, and the actionable intelligence you need to monitor for conflicts, meet regulatory obligations and reduce risk. Compliance no longer needs to be complex. Check out Star's intuitive, straightforward UX and give your employees the multi-layered protection they need to comply with confidence. www.starcompliance.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/admiral-partners-with-starcompliance-to-implement-saas-smcr-compliance-solution-301753605.html LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Shares of Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (HIK, HIK.L) were gaining around 4 percent in the early morning trading in London after the company on Thursday said it is confident of fiscal 2023, despite reporting weak results in FY22. Further, the company lifted its full-year dividend. The company's fiscal 2022 profit attributable to shareholders fell 55 percent to $188 million from last year's $421 million. Basic earnings per share were 83.9 US cents, down 54 percent from 182.3 US cents a year ago. Core profit attributable to shareholders was $406 million or 181.3 US cents per share, compared to $450 million or 194.8 US cents per share last year. Revenue edged down 1 percent to $2.52 billion from prior year's $2.55 billion. Revenues at constant currency rates remained flat with last year. The company noted that a good performance from Injectables and Branded was offset mainly by the effect of severe competitive pressures in Generics. Further, the company announced a full-year dividend of 56 cents per share, up 4 percent from 54 cents per share in 2021. Said Darwazah, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hikma, said, 'Looking ahead, we are confident that we will deliver good growth across all three of our businesses in 2023 as we continue to expand our product portfolio and enhance our manufacturing and commercial footprint.' For fiscal 2023, Injectables revenue growth is projected in the range of 7 percent to 9 percent, with core operating margin in the range of 36 percent to 37 percent. The company sees Branded revenue growth in the mid to high-single-digits in constant currency, and Generics revenue growth in the low double-digits, core operating margin in the range of 16 percent to 18 percent. In London, Hikma Pharma shares were trading at 1,820 pence, up 3.79 percent. For more earnings news, earnings calendar, and earnings for stocks, visit rttnews.com. Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Issuer: SphingoTec GmbH / Key word(s): Corporate Action/Personnel SphingoTec Appoints Dr. Florian Uhle as Medical Director 23.02.2023 / 10:00 CET/CEST The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Hennigsdorf/Berlin, Germany, February 23, 2023 - Diagnostic company SphingoTec is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Florian Uhle as the company's new Medical Director. Dr. Uhle is a subject matter expert in translating innovations into routine clinical practice with a broad experience in both clinical and corporate settings. Dr. Uhle brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role, having spent 15 years in healthcare. In his new position, he will work cross-functionally to perfect the clear applications of the company's innovative diagnostic biomarkers while focusing on expanding their use for added value in clinical practice. SphingoTec recognizes the importance of addressing unmet needs in critical care settings with clear applications that can improve decision-making and patient management while reducing healthcare cost. Jorg Menten, Managing Director and CEO of SphingoTec, comments, "We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Uhle to our team as our new Medical Director. His experience in the medical field and passion for innovation make him the perfect candidate for this role. He will support our goal of increasing awareness and demand for our biomarker-based diagnostic innovations within the acute and critical care community." Dr. Florian Uhle said, "I am excited to join SphingoTec and work with such a talented and innovative team. The company's diagnostic portfolio has the potential to meet the growing need for effective diagnostic tools in critical care settings. I am eager to apply my knowledge and expertise to help bring the company's biomarkers to the forefront of clinical practice and to work towards improving patient outcomes." Before joining SphingoTec, Florian Uhle, Ph.D., was Director of Medical Affairs at Inflammatix Inc., a development-stage diagnostic company focusing on acute and critically ill patients. Prior to that, he held several leadership roles within the University Hospitals Heidelberg and Giessen, focusing on leading diagnostic research activities and innovation-oriented initiatives. He has a diploma in Biology from the Justus-Liebig University, a Master of Science from the University of Leipzig in Clinical Research and Translational Medicine, and a Ph.D. in Human Biology from the Justus-Liebig University. He completed the International Graduate School "Molecular Biology and Medicine of the Lung" at the Universities of Giessen and Marburg Lung Center. About SphingoTec SphingoTec GmbH ("SphingoTec"; Hennigsdorf near Berlin, Germany) is a commercial-stage diagnostic company focusing on innovative critical care biomarkers for the diagnosis, prediction, and monitoring of acute medical conditions. SphingoTec's innovative markers are made available on different IVD platforms. SphingoTec's proprietary biomarker portfolio includes Proenkephalin A 119-159 (penKid), a biomarker for the assessment of kidney function in critical diseases, and bioactive Adrenomedullin 1-52 (bio-ADM), a biomarker for the assessment of endothelial function in conditions like sepsis. Media contact: Ruxandra Lenz Head of Marketing and Communication SphingoTec GmbH Neuendorfstr. 15 A 16761 Hennigsdorf Tel. +49-3302-20565-0 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The EQS Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.eqs-news.com Nordea Bank Abp / Key word(s): AGMEGM Nordea Bank Abp: Notice to the Annual General Meeting of Nordea 23.02.2023 / 10:00 CET/CEST Notice to the Annual General Meeting of Nordea Bank Abp Nordea Bank Abp Stock exchange release - Notice to general meeting 23 February 2023 at 09.00 EET Nordea Bank Abp's shareholders are hereby summoned to the Annual General Meeting to be held on Thursday 23 March 2023 at 14.00 EET at Messukeskus, Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre. Nordea Bank Abp's ("Nordea" or the "Company") Annual General Meeting will be held on Thursday 23 March 2023 at 14.00 EET at Messukeskus, Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre, Messuaukio 1, 00520 Helsinki, Finland. The reception of persons who have registered for the meeting will commence at 12.30 EET. To ensure the health and safety of the participants, shareholders are asked not to attend the meeting in person if they are feeling unwell. Shareholders can also exercise their voting rights in the Annual General Meeting by voting in advance. Instructions on advance voting are set out in Section "C. Instructions for the participants in the Annual General Meeting" of this notice. The meeting can be followed online via a live webcast on Nordea's website. It will be possible to submit questions to the Q&A session with senior management before and during the webcast. Such questions do not constitute questions referred to in Chapter 5, Section 25 of the Finnish Companies Act, and following the meeting via webcast is not considered as participation in the Annual General Meeting. Instructions on how to join the webcast and submit questions are set out in Section "C. Instructions for the participants in the Annual General Meeting" of this notice and can also be found on Nordea's website at www.nordea.com/agm. A. Matters on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting Information and proposals concerning the formal organisational matters in agenda items 1 to 5 are included in a separate organisational document published on Nordea's website at www.nordea.com/agm, which document also constitutes a part of this notice. The document will be supplemented at the meeting with such information that is not available before the Annual General Meeting. At the Annual General Meeting, the following matters will be considered: 1. Opening of the meeting 2. Calling the meeting to order and related decisions 3. Election of persons to scrutinise the minutes and to supervise the counting of votes 4. Recording the legality of the meeting 5. Recording the attendance at the meeting and adoption of the list of votes 6. Presentation of the annual accounts, the report of the Board of Directors and the Auditor's report for the year 2022 - Review by the President and Group CEO - Q&A session with senior management 7. Adoption of the annual accounts 8. Resolution on the use of the profit shown in the annual accounts and the related authorisation of the Board of Directors The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting authorise the Board of Directors to decide on a dividend payment of a maximum of EUR 0.80 per share based on the annual accounts to be adopted for the financial year ended on 31 December 2022. The authorisation will remain in force and effect until the beginning of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company. It is intended that the Board of Directors decides on a dividend payment in a single instalment based on the authorisation immediately after the Annual General Meeting. The intended record date for such dividend payment would be 27 March 2023 whereby the earliest dividend payment date would be 3 April 2023 or as soon as possible after that day. The dividend will be paid to shareholders who on the applicable record date for the dividend payment are recorded in the Company's shareholders' register maintained by Euroclear Finland Oy in Finland, Euroclear Sweden AB in Sweden and VP Securities A/S in Denmark. Dividend will not be paid to shares held by the Company on the dividend record date. 9. Resolution to discharge the members of the Board of Directors and the CEO from liability 10. Advisory resolution on the adoption of the Company's remuneration report for governing bodies The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that the Company's remuneration report for governing bodies for the year 2022 is adopted through an advisory resolution. 11. Resolution on the remuneration for the members of the Board of Directors The Shareholders' Nomination Board proposes to the Annual General Meeting that the following annual remuneration is paid to the members of the Board of Directors elected by the Annual General Meeting: Role 2023 proposed (EUR) 2022 (EUR) Increase Chair 352,000 340,000 3.5% Vice Chair 165,500 160,000 3.4% Other members of the Board of Directors 105,500 102,000 3.4% The Shareholders' Nomination Board also proposes the following additional annual remuneration for committee chairs and committee members: Role 2023 proposed (EUR) 2022 (EUR) Increase Board Remuneration and People Committee Chair 49,500 48,000 3.1% Board Remuneration and People Committee members 29,000 28,000 3.6% All other committee chairs 67,000 65,000 3.1% All other committee members 33,500 32,500 3.1% No remuneration is paid to members of the Board of Directors employed by the Nordea Group. In addition, Nordea covers or reimburses the members of the Board of Directors all costs and expenses related to or arising from the Board membership, including travel, logistics and accommodation as well as consultative, legal and administrative costs. The legal costs can e.g. include required costs of legal defence and claims made (during and after their period of office) against Board members in cases where Board members are not found liable or guilty of any intentional wrongdoing or grossly negligent behaviour. 12. Resolution on the number of members of the Board of Directors The Shareholders' Nomination Board proposes to the Annual General Meeting that for a period until the end of the next Annual General Meeting, the number of members of the Board of Directors to be elected by the Annual General Meeting is set at ten. Furthermore, the Board of Directors has three ordinary members and one deputy member appointed by the employees of the Nordea Group. 13. Election of the members of the Board of Directors and the Chair of the Board of Directors The Shareholders' Nomination Board proposes to the Annual General Meeting that for a period until the end of the next Annual General Meeting, the following persons are elected to the Board of Directors so that each proposed member of the Board of Directors is considered separately in an election: a.Stephen Hester (present member), also to be elected as Chair of the Board of Directors b.Petra van Hoeken (present member) c.John Maltby (present member) d.Lene Skole (present member) e.Birger Steen (present member) f.Jonas Synnergren (present member) g.Arja Talma (present member) h.Kjersti Wiklund (present member) i.Risto Murto (new member) j.Per Stromberg (new member) Torbjorn Magnusson and Robin Lawther are not available for re-election. Risto Murto (59), Finnish citizen, has extensive experience within pensions, insurance, investments and financial markets, both as a Board member and a member of the executive management. Risto Murto is since 2014 the President and Chief Executive Officer of Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company, Finland's largest earnings-related pension insurance company. Prior to this, Risto Murto was the Executive Vice President, Investments, and Chief Investment Officer of Varma. He is currently also a Board member of Sampo plc as well as the Vice Chair of the Board of Wartsila Corporation until its next Annual General Meeting. Per Stromberg (59), Swedish citizen, has served as the Chief Executive Officer of several companies over the past 16 years and has a wide range of experience within retail, consumer goods, brand and digitalisation. For the past 10 years he held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer at ICA Gruppen, a leading Swedish retail company. Prior to that he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Lantmannen and held several leading positions at Kraft Foods. As of 31 December 2022, Per Stromberg stepped down from the role as President and Chief Executive Officer to continue as a Board member at ICA Gruppen. The biographical details of the current Board members are available at www.nordea.com/en/about-us/corporate-governance/board-of-directors. The CVs of the proposed new members of the Board of Directors are available at www.nordea.com/agm. All proposed Board members have given their consent to being elected as members of the Board of Directors and Stephen Hester has given his consent to being elected as Chair of the Board of Directors. Relevant authority approvals for the proposed new Board members are pending. In addition to the above proposed Board members, the Board of Directors has three ordinary members and one deputy member appointed by the employees of the Nordea Group. As of the end of the Annual General Meeting on 23 March 2023 and until the end of the next Annual General Meeting, the employees have appointed Dorrit Groth Brandt, Gerhard Olsson and Hans Christian Riise as ordinary members of the Board of Directors and Joanna Koskinen as a deputy member of the Board of Directors. It is the collective opinion of the Shareholders' Nomination Board and Nordea Bank Abp that the proposed Board of Directors and its members are suitable for the assignment both collectively and individually and that Stephen Hester is suitable for the position as Chair of the Board of Directors. All proposed Board members are, in accordance with the Finnish Corporate Governance Code, independent of Nordea's significant shareholders and, excluding Board members appointed by the employees, also considered independent of the company. The ordinary members and the deputy member of the Board of Directors appointed by the employees are employed by the Nordea Group and, therefore, they are not independent of the company. 14. Resolution on the remuneration of the auditor The Board of Directors proposes, on the recommendation of the Board Audit Committee, to the Annual General Meeting that the remuneration of the auditor is to be paid according to the invoice approved by the Company. 15. Election of the auditor The Board of Directors proposes, on the recommendation of the Board Audit Committee, to the Annual General Meeting that authorised public accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy be re-elected as the Company's auditor until the end of the following Annual General Meeting. PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy has notified the Company that the authorised public accountant Jukka Paunonen would act as the responsible auditor. 16. Resolution on the amendment of the Articles of Association The Board of Directors proposes that Article 10 of the Articles of Association be amended by replacing the second paragraph to enable also holding a general meeting without a meeting venue as a so-called virtual meeting as an alternative to a physical meeting or a hybrid meeting. The Finnish Companies Act was amended in 2022 to enable limited liability companies to hold virtual general meetings. Such meeting, as defined by the Finnish Companies Act, is a meeting held without a physical meeting venue, where shareholders can exercise their full decision-making powers, including the right to speak, make counterproposals and vote, in real-time, using a telecommunication connection and technical means. By having the option to also summon virtual general meetings, Nordea wishes to ensure that it has the opportunity to summon general meetings in all formats permitted under Finnish law so that general meetings can be organised in a predictable manner in various circumstances with equal means for shareholders to participate. The possibility to organise virtual general meetings also enables Nordea to be prepared for unforeseen or exceptional circumstances in Nordea's operating environment or society in general, such as pandemics. The new legislation requires that in a virtual general meeting, all shareholders have the right to use their shareholders' rights in full, including the ability to vote in real-time and comment and ask questions orally during the meeting. Virtual general meetings under Finnish law are stringently regulated to ensure full protection of shareholders' rights. Especially taking into consideration that Nordea is listed on stock exchanges in Finland, Sweden and Denmark, and has a significant number of shareholders outside of Finland, it is the view of the Board of Directors and the Company that virtual meetings support the equal exercise of shareholders' rights. Virtual meetings enable all shareholders to participate in the decision-making of Nordea and to engage with the management regardless of the shareholders' geographical location. In its amended form, said provision of the Articles of Association would read as follows: " 10 Participation in the General Meeting In order to be able to participate in a general meeting, a shareholder shall inform the company not later than the specific date stated in the notice convening the meeting. This date may be a maximum of ten days prior to the general meeting. The board of directors can decide on organising a general meeting without a meeting venue whereby shareholders can exercise their decision-making power in full and in real time during the meeting using telecommunication connection and technical means." Additionally, the Board of Directors proposes that Article 11 of the Articles of Association be amended in accordance with the requirements of the Finnish Companies Act in a way that the matters to be decided at an annual general meeting include deciding on the adoption of the remuneration policy when necessary and deciding on the adoption of the remuneration report, and that the numbering of current subsections 6-10 be changed accordingly due to the above-mentioned amendments. In its amended form, said provision of the Articles of Association would read as follows: " 11 Annual General Meeting At an annual general meeting, which shall be held annually before the end of May, the following shall be presented: 1. the financial statements and the consolidated financial statements as well as the report by the board of directors; 2. the auditor's report; decided: 3. on the adoption of the financial statements and the consolidated financial statements; 4. on the use of the profit indicated in the balance sheet and the consolidated balance sheet; 5. on discharging the members of the board of directors and the managing director from liability; 6. on the adoption of the remuneration policy, when necessary; 7. on the adoption of the remuneration report; 8. on remuneration for members of the board of directors and the auditor; 9. on the number of members of the board of directors; elected: 10. members of the board of directors; 11. an auditor; as well as attended to: 12. other issues mentioned in the notice convening the meeting." It is proposed that the Articles of Association remain unchanged in other respects. 17. Resolution on the authorisation for the Board of Directors to decide on the issuance of special rights entitling to shares (convertibles) in the Company Nordea Bank Abp is required to satisfy certain capital requirements pursuant to EU and Finnish legislation. Within this legislative framework, capital instruments that absorb losses by converting into shares can be used to meet parts of the capital requirements. The Board of Directors proposes that the Annual General Meeting authorises the Board of Directors to decide on the issuance of such capital instruments. The purpose of the authorisation is to facilitate a flexible and efficient adjustment of the Company's capital structure to the capital requirements. The authorisation enables the Board of Directors to swiftly carry out issuances without first holding an Extraordinary General Meeting, which the Board of Directors considers appropriate given that these capital instruments are principally intended to be issued in the international capital markets. The Board of Directors intends to use the authorisation if the Board of Directors determines that the capital trigger level at which conversion shall take place is at such a level that gives the shareholders and the Board of Directors the possibility to act in good time and propose alternatives to conversion. In light of the above, the Board of Directors of the Company proposes to the Annual General Meeting to resolve to authorise the Board of Directors to decide, on one or several occasions, on the issuance of special rights entitling to either new shares in the Company or treasury shares, against payment (convertibles) in accordance with or in deviation from the shareholder's pre-emptive subscription rights. The maximum number of shares that may be issued based on this authorisation shall be 350,000,000 shares, which corresponds to approximately 9.6% of all the shares in the Company on the date of this notice to the Annual General Meeting. The Board of Directors shall be authorised to decide on all other matters relating to the issuance of the special rights entitling to shares in the Company. The issuance of the special rights entitling to shares by virtue of this authorisation shall be made on market terms and principally be issued in the international capital markets. The authorisation shall remain in force and effect until the earlier of (i) the end of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company or (ii) 18 months from the resolution of the Annual General Meeting of the Company. If this authorisation is granted, it will revoke the authorisation to decide on the issuance of special rights entitling to shares (convertibles) in the Company granted to the Board of Directors by the Annual General Meeting on 24 March 2022. 18. Resolution on the repurchase of the Company's own shares in the securities trading business In its securities trading business, Nordea Bank Abp, among other things, acts as a market maker in its own shares on the relevant stock exchanges and in indices in which the Company's shares form a significant part, as well as offers share-related products. Should the Company not be able to trade in its own shares, the Company would not be able to provide a full range of products in the same manner as its competitors, which would lead to the Company losing market shares, and it would not be able to fulfil its current market maker undertakings towards relevant stock exchanges and the financial markets at large. The Company's holdings of its own shares in the trading book shall not at any time exceed the applicable limits decided by the European Central Bank. In light of the above, the Board of Directors of the Company proposes to the Annual General Meeting to resolve that the Company, for the purpose of the ordinary course of its securities trading business as a credit institution, may repurchase its own shares as follows. The Company's own shares are repurchased otherwise than in proportion to the existing shareholdings of the Company's shareholders (directed repurchases). The facilitation of the Company's securities trading business, in which the ability to also trade in the Company's own shares is required, forms a weighty financial reason for directed repurchases. The maximum number of the Company's own shares to be repurchased shall not exceed 175,000,000 shares, which corresponds to approximately 4.8% of all the shares in the Company on the date of this notice to the Annual General Meeting. The Company's own shares may be repurchased on any trading venue or in transactions with counterparties of the securities trading business outside of a trading venue or through the use of derivative instruments, in each case, at arms-length market terms and price prevailing at the time of the repurchase or the time of entry into the relevant derivative instrument, as the case may be. The Company's own shares to be repurchased shall be offered to the Company no later than at the time of the repurchase and shall be paid for no later than upon the delivery of such shares. The Company's own shares are repurchased using the unrestricted equity of the Company. The Company's own shares under this resolution shall be repurchased before the end of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company. 19. Resolution on the transfer of the Company's own shares in the securities trading business In its securities trading business, Nordea Bank Abp, among other things, acts as a market maker in its own shares on the relevant stock exchanges and in indices in which the Company's shares form a significant part, as well as offers share-related products. Should the Company not be able to trade in its own shares, the Company would not be able to provide a full range of products in the same manner as its competitors, which would lead to the Company losing market shares, and it would not be able to fulfil its current market maker undertakings towards relevant stock exchanges and the financial markets at large. In light of the above, the Board of Directors of the Company proposes to the Annual General Meeting to resolve that the Company, for the purpose of the ordinary course of its securities trading business as a credit institution, may transfer its existing own shares for consideration as follows. The Company may transfer its own shares in the ordinary course of its securities trading business in deviation from the shareholders' pre-emptive subscription rights by way of a directed share issuance. The facilitation of the Company's securities trading business, in which the ability to also trade in the Company's own shares is required, forms a weighty financial reason for a directed issuance. The maximum number of the Company's own shares to be transferred shall not exceed 175,000,000 shares, which corresponds to approximately 4.8% of all the shares in the Company on the date of this notice to the Annual General Meeting. The Company's own shares may be transferred through any trading venue or in transactions with counterparties of the securities trading business outside of a trading venue or through the use of derivative instruments, in each case, at arms-length market terms and price prevailing at the time of the transfer or at the time of the entry into the relevant derivative instrument, as the case may be. The Company's own shares that may be transferred shall be subscribed for no later than at the time of the transfer and shall be paid for no later than upon the delivery of such shares. The subscription price shall be recorded in the invested unrestricted equity of the Company. The Company's own shares shall be transferred before the subscription period expires, which will be at the end of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company. It is proposed that the Annual General Meeting resolves to approve all subscriptions that will be made in accordance with the terms and conditions of the directed issuance. 20. Resolution on the authorisation for the Board of Directors to decide on the repurchase of the Company's own shares Pursuant to its dividend policy Nordea Bank Abp will continuously assess the opportunity to use share buy-backs as a tool to distribute excess capital. In line with these considerations, the Board of Directors of the Company proposes to the Annual General Meeting to resolve to authorise the Board of Directors, on one or several occasions, to decide on the repurchase of an aggregate of not more than 350,000,000 shares in the Company, which corresponds to approximately 9.6% of all the shares in the Company on the date of this notice to the Annual General Meeting, subject to the condition that the number of own shares held by the Company together with its subsidiaries at any given time may not exceed 10% of all the shares in the Company. The Company's own shares may be repurchased as follows: a) Not more than 350,000,000 shares may be repurchased to distribute excess capital in order to optimise the capital structure of the Company. The purpose of such repurchase is to optimise the capital position and to increase sustainable shareholder return to the benefit of all shareholders. b) Not more than 8,000,000 shares may be repurchased to be used in the Company's variable pay plans in accordance with regulatory requirements and/or as required for new variable pay plans for executive officers, senior management, other material risk takers and other employees, as appropriate. The Company's own shares may only be repurchased using the unrestricted equity of the Company. The shares may be repurchased either through an offer to all shareholders on equal terms or through other means and otherwise than in proportion to the existing shareholdings of the Company's shareholders (directed repurchases). The highest purchase price per share shall be no more than the higher of (i) the highest price paid for the Company's shares in public trading on the day of repurchase or alternatively (ii) the average of the share prices (volume weighted average price on the regulated markets where the Company's share is admitted to trading) during the five trading days preceding the repurchase or the offer to repurchase own shares, and the lowest purchase price per share shall be the price that is 20% lower than the lower of (i) the lowest price paid for the Company's shares in public trading on the day of repurchase or alternatively (ii) the average of the share prices (volume weighted average price on the regulated markets where the Company's share is admitted to trading) during the five trading days preceding the repurchase or the offer to repurchase own shares. Furthermore, in connection with the repurchases of its own shares, the Company may enter into derivative, share lending or other similar arrangements. The Board of Directors shall be authorised to decide on all other terms relating to the repurchases of the Company's own shares. The authorisation shall remain in force and effect for 18 months from the resolution of the Annual General Meeting of the Company. If this authorisation is granted, it will not revoke the authorisation to decide on the repurchase of the Company's own shares granted to the Board of Directors by the Annual General Meeting on 24 March 2022 which, in accordance with that authorisation, will remain in effect until 24 September 2023. In addition to the above terms, it is noted that any resolution by the Board of Directors to repurchase shares based on the proposed authorisation will also be subject to the condition that the Company has obtained the necessary regulatory permissions from the European Central Bank. 21. Resolution on the authorisation for the Board of Directors to decide on share issuances or transfers of the Company's own shares The Board of Directors of the Company proposes to the Annual General Meeting to resolve to authorise the Board of Directors, on one or several occasions, to decide on the issuance of new shares or transfer of the Company's own shares of not more than 30,000,000 shares in the Company, which corresponds to approximately 0.8% of all the shares in the Company on the date of this notice to the Annual General Meeting. The shares may be issued or transferred in proportion to the Company's shareholders' existing shareholdings in the Company or in deviation from the shareholders' pre-emptive subscription right by way of a directed issuance. The shares to be issued or transferred in this way may be used (a) to implement the Company's variable pay plans in accordance with regulatory requirements and/or as required for new variable pay plans for executive officers, senior management, other material risk takers and other employees, as appropriate, or (b) as payment in connection with corporate acquisitions. The Board of Directors shall be authorised to decide on all other terms relating to the issuance of new shares in the Company or transfers of the Company's own shares. The authorisation shall remain in force and effect until the earlier of (i) the end of the next Annual General Meeting of the Company or (ii) 18 months from the resolution of the Annual General Meeting of the Company. If this authorisation is granted, it will revoke the authorisation to decide on share issuances or transfers of the Company's own shares granted to the Board of Directors by the Annual General Meeting on 24 March 2022. 22. Closing of the meeting B. Documents of the Annual General Meeting This notice which includes the agenda of the Annual General Meeting, the resolution proposals and the organisational document of the Annual General Meeting are available on the Company's website at www.nordea.com/agm. The annual report, containing the annual accounts, the Board of Directors' report and the Auditor's report, and the remuneration report for governing bodies are available on the said website as of 2 March 2023 at the latest. These documents will also be viewable at the meeting. The minutes of the Annual General Meeting will be available on the said website as of 6 April 2023 at the latest. C. Instructions for the participants in the Annual General Meeting Instructions on registration for the Annual General Meeting for shareholders wishing to participate in the meeting at the meeting venue are set out in subsections 1, 2 and 3 below. In connection with the registration and advance voting, at least the following information is requested: the shareholder's name, national identification number or business ID, email address, address, telephone number and information on a possible authorised representative. Strong electronic identification of private persons for registration on the Company's website requires the use of Finnish, Swedish or Danish online banking IDs or mobile certificates. Instructions for holders of nominee registered shares are set out below under subsection "6. Holders of nominee registered shares". For shareholders that are Finnish legal persons, electronic registration requires providing the entity's Business ID and that the relevant authorised person uses strong electronic identification for the registration. For shareholders that are legal persons with shares registered with Euroclear Sweden AB in Sweden or with shares registered with VP Securities A/S in Denmark, registration requires providing the entity's Business ID, name of the shareholder, name and birthdate of the authorised representative, and an email address, address and telephone number as contact information. Information on proxy documents and Suomi.fi authorisations is set out in subsection 5 below. The personal data given by the shareholders to the Company is only used in connection with the Annual General Meeting and the processing of related registrations. For further information on how Nordea Bank Abp processes your personal data, please visit www.nordea.com/en/privacy-policy. The Company encourages shareholders to make use of the option to vote in advance. The instructions for advance voting are set out in subsection 4 below. More information on registration for the meeting and advance voting is available until 16 March 2023 by phone from Innovatics Ltd at +358 10 2818 909 from Monday to Friday between 9.00 and 12.00 EET and between 13.00 and 16.00 EET. The meeting can also be followed online via a live webcast on Nordea's website. It is possible to submit questions to the Q&A session with senior management before and during the webcast. Such questions do not constitute questions referred to in Chapter 5, Section 25 of the Finnish Companies Act, and following the meeting via the webcast does not constitute official participation in the Annual General Meeting. More information on the webcast and submitting questions before the Annual General Meeting is set out in subsection 7 below. 1. Shareholders with shares registered with Euroclear Finland Oy in Finland Each shareholder who is registered on 13 March 2023 in the shareholders' register of the Company held by Euroclear Finland Oy has the right to participate in the Annual General Meeting. A shareholder whose shares are registered on the shareholder's personal Finnish book-entry account is registered in the shareholders' register of the Company. A shareholder who is registered in the Company's shareholders' register and who wishes to participate in the Annual General Meeting shall notify the Company thereof according to the instructions set out below. Notification of participation shall be made no later than by 23.59 EET on 16 March 2023 - electronically on the Company's website: www.nordea.com/agm - by email to agm@innovatics.fi or - by regular mail: Innovatics Ltd, AGM/Nordea, Ratamestarinkatu 13 A, FI-00520 Helsinki, Finland. 2. Shareholders with shares registered with Euroclear Sweden AB in Sweden Shareholders must be registered in the shareholders' register held by Euroclear Sweden AB on 13 March 2023 to be entitled to participate in the Annual General Meeting. Such shareholders are re-registered by the Company in the shareholders' register held by Euroclear Finland Oy provided that the shareholder has notified the Company thereof in accordance with the instructions set out below. Notification of participation shall be made no later than by 23.59 EET on 15 March 2023 - electronically on the Company's website: www.nordea.com/agm - by email to agm@innovatics.fi or - by regular mail: Innovatics Ltd, AGM/Nordea, Ratamestarinkatu 13 A, FI-00520 Helsinki, Finland. Shareholders whose shares are held in trust in Sweden must instruct the trustee to re-register their shares in the shareholders' own name in the shareholders' register held by Euroclear Sweden AB in good time prior to 15 March 2023 which is the deadline for re-registration. 3. Shareholders with shares registered with VP Securities A/S in Denmark Shareholders must be registered in the shareholders' register held by VP Securities A/S on 13 March 2023 to be entitled to participate in the Annual General Meeting. Such shareholders are re-registered by the Company in the shareholders' register held by Euroclear Finland Oy provided that the shareholder has notified the Company thereof in accordance with the instructions set out below. Notification of participation shall be made no later than by 23.59 EET on 16 March 2023 - electronically on the Company's website: www.nordea.com/agm - by email to agm@innovatics.fi or - by regular mail: Innovatics Ltd, AGM/Nordea, Ratamestarinkatu 13 A, FI-00520 Helsinki, Finland. Shareholders whose shares are held in trust in Denmark must instruct the trustee to re-register their shares in the shareholders' own name in the shareholders' register held by VP Securities A/S in good time prior to 13 March 2023 which is the deadline for re-registration. 4. Advance voting A shareholder can vote in advance on certain items on the agenda of the Annual General Meeting. Advance voting commences on 2 March 2023 and ends on 16 March 2023 at 23.59 EET. Each shareholder who is registered in the shareholders' register of the Company held by Euroclear Finland Oy as described in subsection 1 above, in the shareholders' register held by Euroclear Sweden AB as described in subsection 2 above, or in the shareholders' register held by VP Securities A/S as described in subsection 3 above can vote in advance: electronically on the Company's website: www.nordea.com/agm by emailing the advance voting form available on the Company's website to: agm@innovatics.fi or by regular mail by sending the advance voting form available on the Company's website to: Innovatics Ltd, AGM/Nordea, Ratamestarinkatu 13 A, FI-00520 Helsinki, Finland. Shareholders whose shares are held in trust in Sweden or Denmark and who wish to vote in advance are advised to instruct the trustee to vote in advance on behalf of such shareholders by 23.59 EET on 16 March 2023 at the latest according to the instructions set out in this notice. A shareholder who has voted in advance may request information under the Finnish Companies Act, request a vote at the Annual General Meeting or vote on a possible counterproposal if they are present or represented at the Annual General Meeting at the meeting venue. Further instructions for advance voting will be available on the Company's website at www.nordea.com/agm on 2 March 2023 at the latest. 5. Proxy representative and powers of attorney A shareholder of the Company may participate in the Annual General Meeting and exercise their shareholders' rights at the meeting and/or vote in advance through a proxy representative. A proxy representative shall produce a dated proxy document or otherwise in a reliable manner demonstrate their right to represent the shareholder at the Annual General Meeting and/or vote in advance. When a shareholder participates in the Annual General Meeting or votes in advance through several proxy representatives representing the shareholder with shares on different securities accounts, the shares by which each proxy representative represents the shareholder shall be identified in the proxy documents. The proxy documents shall be delivered primarily as attachments in connection with registering on the Company's website at www.nordea.com/agm, or by email to agm@innovatics.fi , or mailed or delivered as originals to: Innovatics Ltd, AGM/Nordea, Ratamestarinkatu 13 A, FI-00520 Helsinki, Finland, in good time and they must arrive by 23.59 EET on 16 March 2023 at the latest. The original proxy documents shall be presented to the Company upon request. Further instructions, including a proxy template, will be available on the Company's website at www.nordea.com/agm. Shareholders that are legal entities can also use the electronic Suomi.fi authorisation service for authorising proxies. For such authorisation, a shareholder authorises a representative in the Suomi.fi service at www.suomi.fi/e-authorizations (using the authorisation topic "Representation at the General Meeting"). When registering, the representative must identify themselves with strong electronic identification using their personal Finnish online banking IDs or a mobile certificate, after which the electronic mandate is automatically checked. For more information, see www.suomi.fi/e-authorizations. 6. Holders of nominee registered shares A holder of nominee registered shares has the right to participate in the Annual General Meeting by virtue of the shares based on which they on the record date of the Annual General Meeting on 13 March 2023 would be entitled to be registered in the shareholders' register of the Company held by Euroclear Finland Oy. The right to participate in the Annual General Meeting requires, in addition, that the shareholder on the basis of such shares has been registered in the temporary shareholders' register held by Euroclear Finland Oy by 10.00 EET on 20 March 2023 at the latest. In terms of nominee registered shares, this constitutes due registration for the Annual General Meeting. A holder of nominee registered shares is advised to request without delay the relevant instructions regarding the registration in the temporary shareholders' register of the Company, the issuing of proxy documents and registration for the Annual General Meeting from their custodian bank. The account management organisation of the custodian bank shall register a holder of nominee registered shares who wants to participate in the Annual General Meeting in the temporary shareholders' register of the Company and vote in advance on behalf of the nominee registered shareholder by 10.00 EET on 20 March 2023 at the latest. For the avoidance of doubt, instructions for shareholders whose shares are held in trust in Sweden or Denmark are set out above in subsection "2. Shareholders with shares registered with Euroclear Sweden AB in Sweden" and in subsection "3. Shareholders with shares registered with VP Securities A/S in Denmark", respectively. Further instructions are available on the Company's website at www.nordea.com/agm. 7. Webcast of the Annual General Meeting and other information The meeting can be followed online via a live webcast. Detailed instructions on following the webcast will be available on the Company's website at www.nordea.com/agm before the Annual General Meeting. It will be possible to submit questions to the Q&A session with senior management before and during the webcast. Before the meeting, questions can be submitted by email to agm@nordea.com or by regular mail to Nordea AGM / Group Legal SATA V5A, Satamaradankatu 5, FI-00020 Nordea, Finland. The Company will strive to answer all questions that are received before the Annual General Meeting. Questions submitted before the meeting or through the webcast will not constitute questions referred to in Chapter 5, Section 25 of the Finnish Companies Act. Following the meeting via webcast is not considered as participation in the Annual General Meeting. Shareholders following the meeting via webcast can exercise their voting rights by voting on the matters on the agenda in advance in accordance with the instructions provided in subsection 4 above. To ensure the health and safety of the participants, shareholders are asked not to attend the Annual General Meeting in person if they are feeling unwell. Shareholders are kindly asked to take into account that there is no reserved parking space available at the Annual General Meeting venue or its vicinity and that the Company will not cover any parking fees. The Company therefore encourages shareholders who wish to attend the Annual General Meeting at the venue to arrive with public transport, or alternatively make use of the advance voting and webcast. The Annual General Meeting will be conducted mainly in Swedish, and partly in Finnish and English. Simultaneous interpretation will be available into Swedish, Finnish and English. Shareholders, assistants and proxy representatives must be able to prove their identity and/or right of representation at the meeting venue. Information on the Annual General Meeting required by the Finnish Companies Act and the Securities Markets Act is available on the Company's website at www.nordea.com/agm. Pursuant to Chapter 5, Section 25 of the Finnish Companies Act, a shareholder who is present at the Annual General Meeting has the right to ask questions and request information with respect to the matters to be considered at the meeting. Changes in shareholding after the record date do not affect the right to attend the Annual General Meeting or the number of votes. On the day of this notice to the Annual General Meeting, 23 February 2023, the total number of shares in the Company is 3,627,595,959, which equals 3,627,595,959 votes. Helsinki on 23 February 2023 Nordea Bank Abp Board of Directors This notice is published in English, Swedish and Finnish. In the event of any inconsistencies between the language versions, the Swedish version shall prevail. For further information: Matti Ahokas, Head of Investor Relations, +358 9 5300 8011 The information provided in this stock exchange release was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact set out above, at 9.00 EET on 23 February 2023. This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com. End of Media Release BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - German stocks rose on Thursday as investors reacted to the FOMC meeting minutes released overnight and a slew of encouraging earnings results. Following the release of the minutes from the U.S. central bank's Jan 31-Feb 1 policy meeting, Fed funds futures now price in three more quarter-percentage-point rate hikes at upcoming meetings this year The benchmark DAX was up 0.7 percent at 15,510 after finishing marginally higher on Wednesday. Freenet AG, a telecommunications and web content provider, rose about 1 percent after posting EBITDA growth of 7.0 percent in financial year 2022. Reinsurer Munich Re plunged 5.2 percent despite delivering a surprisingly strong annual profit in a difficult year for the industry. Krones AG added 2 percent after reporting a rise in preliminary earnings and revenue. Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning with the establishment of ETSI ISG NFV, the telecom industry has developed by leaps and bounds over the last decade. VM-based NFV architecture has achieved tremendous business success. Cloud core networks are globally recognized by telcos. VoLTE, IMS, and PS network functions have been cloudified and telco cloud has become one of the most important infrastructures in the mobile communications field. In light of ICT convergence and development of cloud native, the open-source ecosystem is progressively improving; containerization has become a new trend but also brings new challenges to the telecom industry. Container technologies, yet to be improved to meet carrier-grade requirements It is well known that the interruption of core services on telecom networks, the infrastructure of communications, will significantly affect social, economic, and production activities. Carrier-grade reliability and performance are the most distinct characteristics that distinguish CT networks from IT ones. However, container technologies derive from open source organizations and there are no telecom-oriented optimizations. Though containers are elastic and agile, such advantages are not fully utilized to meet the high performance requirements of telecom services for ultra-distributed and massive connections. Different from VMs, containers focus on applications and are unable to detect underlying hardware faults. As such, applications deployed on containers cannot detect service subhealth issues timely and thus have lower reliability. Containers on the same server share the OS kernel, which makes the CNFs and CaaS tightly coupled. A platform upgrade requires correlative NE upgrades, increasing the O&M complexity. Uncertain containerization evolution path First, telecom services of different generations coexist on live networks, and the new and old hardware devices of different RATs need to work together. To introduce containers without affecting live network services, operators have to deploy new networks, posing huge investment and complex construction. Operators' existing assets are not fully used because network and storage resources on the live network cannot be shared. Second, open-source organizations in the industry and the ETSI standards team are promoting container technologies. Container-related standards have not been unified and are developing in a fragmented manner. Unified resource management is not considered in the de facto standards established by open source organizations in the industry. As a result, VMs and containers run on separated clouds, and resources cannot be shared among different container platform clusters. The siloed architecture does not support unified management. Finally, there are various requirements on telecom services. Containers are further classified into VM containers and bare metal ones. Bare metal containers are unsuitable for certain telecom services. Therefore, there are multiple possible directions for container-based evolution of telecom networks, and the evolution path is uncertain. Full-stack containers, the next step ahead for Telco Cloud Huawei calls on the industry to reach a consensus on ETSI-defined standards, jointly promote the evolution of cloud native standards, and keep align with industry best practices. To deliver carrier-grade networks featuring high reliability, high performance, and easy O&M, we should continuously improve the capabilities of the core network to ensure that user services are always online, voice and data services are not interrupted, and agile O&M is achieved. With full convergence, we can realize a smooth evolution from VMs to containers with a deterministic architecture. MWC Barcelona 2023 runs from February 27 to March 2 in Barcelona, Spain. At the conference, Huawei will further elaborate on full-stack containers and release innovative products and solutions. Huawei will continue working with its customers to develop optimal full-stack container solutions, helping operators achieve new business success in the 5G/5.5G era. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/building-full-stack-containers-to-drive-the-evolution-of-telco-cloud-native-301754234.html BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks opened on a positive note Thursday after the minutes from the recent meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve minutes contained few surprises. Following the release of the minutes from the U.S. central bank's Jan 31-Feb 1 policy meeting, Fed funds futures now price in three more quarter-percentage-point rate hikes at upcoming meetings this year. The pan-European STOXX 600 edged up 0.2 percent to 463.19 after declining 0.3 percent on Wednesday ahead of the publication of FOMC minutes. The German DAX gained half a percent and France's CAC 40 index inched up 0.3 percent while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 was down 0.4 percent as a result of ex-dividend trades. ASM International jumped 2.7 percent, BE Semiconductor added 1.5 percent and Aixtron 1.3 percent after U.S. semiconductor designer Nvidia forecast first-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates. Healthcare stocks traded lower in London, with AstraZeneca declining 2 percent and GSK falling 1.3 percent on going ex-dividend. Likewise, lender Barclays dropped 0.8 percent and Standard Chartered fell over 1 percent on going ex-dividend. Advertising group WPP soared 4.7 percent after it forecast sales above analyst expectations in the coming year. Defense company BAE Systems fell 2.5 percent despite reporting a rise in underlying profit and sales in FY22. Engineering firm Rolls-Royce Holdings jumped more than 18 percent after reporting higher profit and forecasting more profit growth in 2023. Recruiter Hays fell over 1 percent after reporting a fall in half-year profit and flagging rough conditions in its recruitment of permanent roles. French luxury eyewear maker Essilor Luxottica tumbled 3 percent in Paris. After reporting a rise in fourth-quarter revenues, the company struck a cautious tone for 2023. Railway firm Getlink declined 3.7 percent despite turning to profit in FY22 versus a loss in 2021. Insurer AXA rallied 3.7 percent on share buyback news. Freenet AG, a telecommunications and web content provider, rose over 2 percent after posting EBITDA growth of 7.0 percent in financial year 2022. Reinsurer Munich Re plunged 5 percent despite delivering a surprisingly strong annual profit in a difficult year for the industry. Groupe SEB, a consortium that produces small appliances, jumped 4.7 percent after forecasting an increase in Group operating margin for fiscal 2023. Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Lead, South Dakota--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - Dakota Gold Corp. (NYSE American: DC) ("Dakota Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the results of RH22C-006, RH22C-007, RH22C-009, and RH22C-012 drill holes which tested the Twin Tunnels Breccia Pipe on the Richmond Hill Gold Project ("Richmond Hill"). The Twin Tunnels Breccia Pipe is one of six known breccia pipes exposed at the Richmond Hill Gold Project. All of the known breccia pipes on the Richmond Hill Gold Project remain open and lack drill testing to depth. These breccia pipes are associated with the Tertiary alkalic magmatism that generated the Tertiary-aged gold deposits in the Homestake District. Gold mineralization had previously been identified in the Richmond Hill, Richmond Hill North, Twin Tunnels, and Turnaround Breccia Pipes by LAC Minerals (USA) LLC ("LAC"). A portion of the near surface oxide mineralization in the Richmond Hill Breccia Pipe was previously mined by LAC that produced 175,000 ounces from 1988 to 1994. LAC focused the majority of its historical exploration on oxidized, near surface mineralization mostly hosted in carbonate replacements and zones of brecciation. Drill Hole Highlights: RH22C-012 intersected 0.074 oz/ton Au over 130.6 feet (2.55 grams/tonne over 39.8 meters), and was designed to confirm near surface, gold mineralization on the east side of the Twin Tunnels Breccia Pipe. This hole confirms the presence of higher-grade areas within and adjacent to the breccia pipes. RH22C-007 intersected 0.093 oz/ton Au over 30.9 feet (3.20 grams/tonne over 9.4 meters) and 0.040 oz/ton Au over 48.9 feet (1.39 grams/tonne over 14.9 meters). RH22C-006 intersected 0.027 oz/ton Au over 64.9 feet (0.92 grams/tonne over 19.8 meters) and 0.032 oz/ton Au over 44.9 feet (1.09 grams/tonne over 13.7 meters) at the Twin Tunnels Breccia Pipe. RH22C-009 intersected 0.020 oz/ton Au over 55.2 feet (0.68 grams/tonne over 16.8 meters) and 0.022 oz/ton Au over 76.9 feet (0.77 grams/tonne over 23.4 meters) at the Twin Tunnels Breccia Pipe. James M. Berry, Vice President of Exploration of Dakota Gold, said, "The exploration team continues to expand zones of mineralization with a focus on identifying higher gold grade intervals within the breccia pipes at Richmond Hill. The results thus far, are mainly from drilling in the Twin Tunnels Breccia Pipe area. The RH22C-012 intercept demonstrates the presence of better grade within the system. We are looking forward to testing the other known breccia pipes at Richmond Hill at a greater depth since most of the historical drilling was completed with shallow reverse circulation drilling (less than 400 feet or 122 meters). We feel that the potential size of the breccia pipes is an excellent opportunity for new gold mineralization." The Company currently has four drills operating on our properties in the Homestake District with two drills operating at the Maitland Gold Project ("Maitland") targeting Homestake-hosted and Tertiary gold mineralization. Two drills operating at Richmond Hill are targeting Tertiary breccia and replacement gold mineralization, as well as conducting infill and step-out drilling designed to convert and expand the mineralization identified by 880 historical drill holes, to S-K 1300 compliant resources. In light of the recent Unionville Discovery (see February 8, 2023 press release) at the Maitland Gold Project located 2.3 miles east of Richmond Hill, the Company is reviewing the Richmond Hill drilling data for indicators of higher grade gold mineralization similar to those found at Maitland. The gold bearing breccia zones at Maitland consist of crackle and mosaic breccias with Precambrian clasts. The breccia cement is composed of carbonates, quartz, and pyrite. Open-spaced fractures with carbonate-quartz-pyrite lining are also associated with the breccia zones. Exploration Update: RH22C-006 RH22C-006 was drilled to extend the Twin Tunnels Breccia Pipe mineralization to the north as shown in Figure 1, Figure 2, and Figure 3. The drill hole encountered several breccia zones, Tertiary intrusive rocks, Precambrian phyllite, and Precambrian greenstone. Much of the mineralization in RH22C-006 was hosted within Precambrian phyllites that were adjacent to the main breccia body. The gold mineralization is associated with open fractures with carbonate-quartz-pyrite-clay linings. RH22C-007 RH22C-007 was drilled to further expand the Twin Tunnels Breccia Body below Paleozoic and Tertiary cover as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 4. The breccia zone was thinner at RH22C-007 than at RH22C-006. The western portion of the drill hole passed below the Cambrian Deadwood Formation hosted Cole Creek mineralization area. RH22C-007 intersected 0.093 oz/ton Au over 30.9 feet (3.20 grams/tonne over 9.4 meters) within fracture associated Precambrian phyllite and Tertiary intrusive rocks. The drill hole intercepted 0.040 oz/ton Au over 48.9 feet (1.39 grams/tonne over 14.9 meters) within Tertiary altered, Precambrian greenstone beginning at 2,114.9 feet down the drill hole. This intercept is beneath the Cole Creek mineralized zone and may represent a feeder to the Deadwood Formation hosted, replacement mineralization. RH22C-009 RH22C-009 was drilled to test the Twin Tunnels Breccia Pipe north of RH22C-005 (see the December 8, 2022 press release) as shown in Figure 5. This drill hole intersected 0.035 oz/ton Au over 16.8 feet (1.21 grams/tonne over 5.1 meters) within Deadwood Formation hosted replacement mineralization. RH22C-009 intersected two zones of fracture associated gold mineralization in the Flagrock Formation which included 0.026 oz/ton Au over 19.5 feet (0.91 grams/tonne over 5.9 meters) and 0.020 oz/ton Au over 55.2 feet (0.68 grams/tonne over 16.8 meters). Several intervals of breccia hosted mineralization were intersected in RH22C-009 including 0.025 oz/ton Au over 15.8 feet (0.87 grams/tonne over 4.8 meters), 0.022 oz/ton Au over 76.9 feet (0.77 grams/tonne over 23.4 meters), 0.019 oz/ton Au over 40 feet (0.64 grams/tonne over 12.2 meters), and 0.022 oz/ton Au over 38.6 feet (0.77 grams/tonne over 11.8 meters). RH22C-012 RH22C-012 was drilled to confirm the gold mineralization encountered in the historical drill hole TT-86-26 drilled by LAC Minerals (USA) LLC. TT-86-26 was a reverse circulation drill hole that intersected 0.179 oz/ton Au over 125 feet (6.13 grams/tonne over 38.1 meters). RH22C-012 intersected 0.074 oz/ton Au over 130.6 feet (2.55 grams/tonne over 39.8 meters) and is shown in Figure 6. The mineralization was oxidized breccia consisting of angular Precambrian phyllite clasts. The location and thickness of the mineralization correlated reasonably well. The difference in gold grade could be due to down hole contamination in the reverse circulation drill hole or grade variance between the drill hole locations. Table 1. RH22C-006, RH22C-007, RH22C-009 and RH22C-012 Drill Results (Imperial / Metric Units) Hole # From To Depth Interval* Gold From To Depth Interval* Gold Mineral Type ft ft ft ft oz/ton m m m m g/t RH22C-006 170.9 189.3 100.0 18.4 0.017 52.1 57.7 30.5 5.6 0.59 243.1 265.8 143.0 22.7 0.027 74.1 81.0 43.6 6.9 0.91 Tert 657.0 664.9 396.0 7.9 0.044 200.3 202.7 120.7 2.4 1.51 Tert 751.0 762.0 460.0 11.0 0.035 228.9 232.3 140.2 3.4 1.20 Tert 926.4 991.3 565.0 64.9 0.027 282.4 302.2 172.2 19.8 0.92 Tert 1055.3 1100.2 637.0 44.9 0.032 321.7 335.4 194.2 13.7 1.09 Tert 1125.6 1144.3 674.0 18.7 0.025 343.1 348.8 205.4 5.7 0.84 Bx RH22C-007 206.5 230.5 127.0 24.0 0.023 62.9 70.2 38.7 7.3 0.80 259.0 289.9 162.0 30.9 0.093 78.9 88.3 49.4 9.4 3.20 Tert 2114.9 2164.8 1323.0 48.9 0.040 644.6 659.5 403.3 14.9 1.39 Tert RH22C-009 81.2 98.0 39.0 16.8 0.035 24.8 29.9 11.9 5.1 1.21 485.5 505.0 226.0 19.5 0.026 148 153.9 68.9 5.9 0.91 Tert 542.7 597.9 252.0 55.2 0.020 165.4 182.2 76.8 16.8 0.68 Tert 706.1 721.9 322.0 15.8 0.025 215.2 220.0 98.1 4.8 0.87 Bx 955.4 1032.3 420.0 76.9 0.022 291.2 314.6 128.0 23.4 0.77 Bx 1894.5 1934.5 1250.0 40.0 0.019 577.4 589.6 381.0 12.2 0.64 Bx 2042.8 2081.4 1388.0 38.6 0.022 622.6 634.4 423.1 11.8 0.77 Bx RH22C-012 15.8 146.4 13.0 130.6 0.074 4.8 44.6 4.0 39.8 2.55 Bx Incl. 15.8 29.5 13.0 13.7 0.122 4.8 9.0 4.0 4.2 4.18 Bx 343.0 351.5 290.0 8.5 0.028 104.5 107.1 88.4 2.6 0.95 Tert 387.4 395.5 336.0 8.1 0.037 118.1 120.6 102.4 2.5 1.26 Tert *True thickness is unknown. Abbreviations in the table include ounces per ton ("oz/ton"); grams per tonne ("g/t"); feet ("ft"); meter ("m"); Tertiary ("Tert"); Cambrian (""); Breccia (Bx) and Precambrian ("p"). Figure 1. Plan View of Dakota Gold Corp. Richmond Hill Drill Holes with Highlighted Gold Intercepts. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8218/155859_1927c874a4a98a7b_002full.jpg Figure 2. Oblique View of Dakota Gold Corp Drilling and Richmond Hill Area Breccia Pipes To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8218/155859_1927c874a4a98a7b_003full.jpg Figure 3. Cross Section along RH22C-006 Looking Northwest To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8218/155859_1927c874a4a98a7b_004full.jpg Figure 4. Cross Section along RH22C-007 Looking North. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8218/155859_1927c874a4a98a7b_005full.jpg Figure 5. Cross Section along RH22C-009 Looking Northwest To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8218/155859_1927c874a4a98a7b_006full.jpg Figure 6. Cross Section along RH22C-012 Looking Northwest To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8218/155859_1927c874a4a98a7b_007full.jpg About Dakota Gold Corp. Dakota Gold (NYSE American: DC) is a South Dakota-based responsible gold exploration and development company with a specific focus on revitalizing the Homestake District in Lead, South Dakota. Dakota Gold has high-caliber gold mineral properties covering over 45 thousand acres surrounding the historic Homestake Mine. The Dakota Gold team is focused on new gold discoveries and opportunities that build on the legacy of the Homestake District and its 145 years of gold mining history. Subscribe to Dakota Gold's e-mail list at www.dakotagoldcorp.com to receive the latest news and other Company updates. Shareholder and Investor Inquiries For more information, please contact: Jonathan Awde, President and Chief Executive Officer Tel: +1 604-761-5251 Email: JAwde@dakotagoldcorp.com Qualified Person and S-K 1300 Disclosure James M. Berry, a Registered Member of SME and Vice President of Exploration of Dakota Gold Corp., is the Company's designated qualified person for this news release as defined in Subpart 1300 - Disclosure by Registrants Engaged in Mining Operations of Regulation S-K and has reviewed and approved its scientific and technical content. The ranges of potential tonnage and grade (or quality) disclosed above in respect of the Richmond Hill Gold Project are conceptual in nature and could change as the proposed exploration activities are completed. There has been insufficient exploration of the Richmond Hill Gold Project to allow for an estimate of a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a mineral resource. The disclosure above in respect of the Richmond Hill Gold Project therefore does not represent, and should not be construed to be, an estimate of a mineral resource or mineral reserve. Quality Assurance/Quality Control consists of regular insertion of certified reference materials, duplicate samples, and blanks into the sample stream. Check samples will be submitted to an umpire laboratory as the drill program progresses. Assay results are reviewed, and discrepancies are investigated prior to incorporation into the Company database. Samples are submitted to the ALS Geochemistry sample preparation facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Gold and multi-element analyses are performed at the ALS Geochemistry laboratory in Vancouver, British Columbia. ALS Minerals is an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited lab. Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and expectations that may not be realized and are inherently subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the execution and timing of our planned exploration activities, our use and evaluation of historic data, our ability to achieve our strategic goals, the state of the economy and financial markets generally and the effect on our industry, and the market for our common stock. The foregoing list is not exhaustive. For additional information regarding factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in our forward-looking statements, we refer you to the risk factors included in Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2022, as amended, as updated by annual, quarterly and other reports and documents that we file with the SEC. We caution investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this communication. These statements speak only as of the date of this communication, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. We do not give any assurance that we will achieve our expectations. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155859 TWOTHIRDS, the Barcelona-based fashion brand dedicated to making "goods for a better future" has partnered with leading materials science company, Recover, to produce responsibly-designed pieces including ocean-inspired tees, beach towels and high-quality basics. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005085/en/ Recover transforms textile waste into recycled fiber (Photo: Recover) Both RecoverTM and TWOTHIRDS are dedicated to bringing low-impact fashion to consumers and understand the importance of choosing responsible raw materials to do so. Aligned with TWOTHIRDS' "Ocean at heart, Eco in mind" motto, pieces from this collaboration are made with up to 70% RecoverTM recycled cotton fiber, made from post-industrial textile waste. The TWOTHIRDS design team maximises the amount of recycled materials featured in its products, to create durable pieces that never sacrifice on quality. As well as opting for lower-impact recycled materials, sustainability was also prioritised in the value chain. Thanks to Recover's strategic partnership with FERRE Yarns, based locally in Alicante, the transportation impact connected to the TWOTHIRDS range was minimised. Lutz Schwenke, the Founder and CEO of TWOTHIRDS, commented, "TWOTHIRDS was founded to make goods for a better future, to craft clothes that take care of what my family and I love most: the ocean. Recover helps us reduce our use of high-impact virgin fabrics, without ever compromising on quality or style." Alfredo Ferre, CEO at Recover, stated, "We are proud to partner with TWOTHIRDS, an eco-conscious brand that shares our vision of a more sustainable future, one in which high-quality fashion is still a priority." For more information about the collaboration, visit recoverfiber.com and twothirds.com. Recover Recover is a leading materials science company and global producer of low-impact, high-quality recycled cotton fiber and cotton fiber blends. Its premium, environmentally friendly, and cost-competitive products are created in partnership with the supply chain for global retailers and brands, offering a sustainable solution to achieve circular fashion for all. As a fourth-generation, family-owned company, and backed by recent investment from STORY3 Capital and Goldman Sachs, Recover is on a mission to scale its proprietary technology to make a lasting positive impact on the environment and partner with brands/retailers and other change-makers to meet the industry's sustainability targets. For more information, visit www.recoverfiber.com and follow @recoverfiber on social media. TWOTHIRDS Founded in 2010 to protect what we love most: the ocean, TWOTHIRDS has since evolved into a community of like-minded people. Together we strive to create clothes that have zero impact on the environment. We use fabrics that save water, turn plastic waste into quality garments, and wrap orders in sustainable paper packaging. TWOTHIRDS is a Climate Neutral company. This is made possible by our pioneering PRE-ORDER system and our constant search for more sustainable materials. The company has recently grown to become a crew of 50. This same crew creates timeless fashion pieces, designed in Barcelona, crafted in Portugal. On top of all this, we actively encourage our suppliers to make a full green (or blue) energy transition. For more information, visit www.twothirds.com and @twothirds_bcn. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005085/en/ Contacts: Recover press@recoverfiber.com TWOTHIRDS press@twothirds.com To acquire 100% stake in all-cash deal The biggest-ever acquisition in Sonata Software's history, accelerates Sonata's capabilities in Modernization and Digital Engineering space BANGALORE, India, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sonata Software, a leading Modernization and Digital Engineering company, has announced that Sonata Software North America Inc., (SSNA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Sonata Software Limited (SSL), has signed a definitive agreement with the Shareholders of Quant Systems INC., a Texas (USA) based IT Solutions and Software company, to acquire 100% stake. This acquisition is in line with Sonata's strategy to accelerate the growth curve and build scale. It will accelerate Sonata's capabilities in Enterprise Data Analytics, Cloud modernization, Cyber security, Salesforce, Data Privacy, Adobe, and Digital & Mobile App solutions, including differentiated IPs for Salesforce (workbox.io) and Chatbot (LISA) technologies. It will expand Sonata's domain expertise in Banking and Financial Services, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Consumer/Retail and others. Its strong leadership team has rich experience and a successful track record in client services, and technology innovation in the areas of Digital transformation, Enterprise Data, Salesforce, Data Privacy, Snowflake and Adobe "We aim to be the fastest-growing next-gen Digital firm delivering Modernization & Digital outcomes for enterprises through our Platformation Framework. To achieve this vision, we have outlined some key strategic drivers to build scale through service offering expansion in Modernization, invest in BFSI and Healthcare & Life Sciences verticals, and build global centres. Quant Systems aligns to our strategic drivers and will enable us to win larger deals in our focus-verticals and adds two large clients to our top 5 clients list," said Samir Dhir, MD & CEO, Sonata Software Limited. Founded in 2008, Quant Systems has shown tremendous growth year-on-year. It has a team of over 300 Engineers in delivery centres across India (Hyderabad) and Costa Rica along with Onshore presence in North America to deliver high-quality client service. Quant boasts of marquee logos in BFSI, Healthcare & Life Sciences and Consumer & Retail. It has built a strong partner ecosystem of industry leading players including, AWS, Adobe, Salesforce, Snowflake, and Google Cloud. Quant's innovative IPs - Workbox.io and LISA Chatbot - broadens Sonata Software's offerings as part of its Platformation strategy. LISA enables true Omni-channel experience by integrating Enterprise systems, Contact Centre and support system solutions, while Workbox simplifies Digital Document Management. "We are proud of our growth and the results we have delivered over the past 15 years for which we are thankful to our clients. Joining the Sonata family will enable us to take our innovative IPs and deep expertise to a broader clientele to solve complex cloud and data management challenges. This will also open up more growth avenues for our people and deepen the bench of valuable skills," said Srini Veeravelli, CEO, Quant Systems Inc. About Sonata Software For more information, press only : Nandita Venkatesh, Sonata Software Limited CIN- L72200MH1994PLC082110 A.P.S. Trust Building, Bull Temple Road, N.R. Colony Bangalore 560004, India Tel:+91806778199 Nandita.v@sonata-software.com Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2008362/Sonata_Software.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/689012/Sonata_Software_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/sonata-software-signs-definitive-agreement-with-quant-systems-inc-an-enterprise-data-analytics-and-cloud-modernization-company-301754297.html (In United States dollars, except where noted otherwise) TORONTO, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Quantum Minerals Ltd. ("First Quantum" or "the Company") (TSX: FM) today announced that its subsidiary, Minera Panama S.A. ("MPSA"), has suspended ore processing operations at the Cobre Panama mine. This interruption to operations is the result of the Panama Maritime Authority's ("AMP") refusal to permit copper concentrate loading operations at the mine's port, Punta Rincon, in accordance with its Resolution No. 007-2023 (the "Resolution"). The Company believes that all of AMP's requirements under the Resolution have been duly met and exceeded, however, the AMP has continued to block MPSA's export operations. MPSA will begin a partial demobilization of its workforce of over 8,000 employees and contractors, of which the impact is expected to increase significantly in the coming weeks if concentrate shipments do not resume. In addition to workforce reductions, the mine has ceased purchasing supplies and services that are equivalent to $20 million in weekly revenues to more than 2,000 Panamanian companies. Cobre Panama contributes to approximately 5 percent of Panama's GDP, makes up 75 percent of the country's export of goods and has created at least 40,000 jobs, directly and indirectly, that supports an estimated 100,000 or more Panamanians. MPSA is taking a systematic approach to reducing operations to ensure the safety of its workforce, prevent damage and degradation of equipment, and preserve the integrity of the mine. In the short term, certain planned maintenance work will be scheduled earlier where possible along with commissioning work on the CP100 Expansion and waste stripping in the mine. Essential safety and environmental work will continue, including care of the tailings management facility. Excess power generated by the power plant will be offered for dispatch to the national grid. The Company and MPSA note that the above actions may vary in magnitude depending on the duration that the operation will be halted. Should permission from the AMP allow it, MPSA could begin shipping concentrate and resume operations at the mine within hours. Negotiations with the Government of Panama on a refreshed contract are continuing. The Company remains committed to achieving an outcome that will be to the benefit of all stakeholders and support the long-term operations of the Cobre Panama mine. The Company considers that the suspension of ore processing operations as a consequence of the Government of Panama's actions is unnecessary given ongoing progress in this regard. The Company will provide further updates as more information becomes available. For further information, visit our website at www.first-quantum.com (http://www.first-quantum.com) or contact: Bonita To, Director, Investor Relations (416) 361-6400 Toll-free: 1 (888) 688-6577 E-Mail: info@fqml.com CAUTIONARY STATEMENT ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION Certain statements and information herein, including all statements that are not historical facts, contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements in this news release include statements as to timing, duration and impact of the suspension of ore processing at Cobre Panama mine; the demobilization of the workforce and provision of paid leave for the Company's employees; the cessation of purchase of supplies and services from local companies; the continuation of maintenance work, removal of ore waste, commissioning works on the CP100 expansion, the pre-strip of the Colina pit, critical environmental work, including maintenance of the tailings management facilities, and operation of the Cobre Panama power plant. With respect to forward-looking statements and information contained herein, the Company has made numerous assumptions, including as to the duration of the AMP's refusal to permit copper concentrate loading operations at Punta Rincon; the timing of scale of reductions in workforce at Cobre Panama if concentrate shipments do not resume; the timing and sequence of ramp-down of processing trains; the ability to continue maintenance operations, removal of waste ore, commissioning works on the CP100 expansion and critical environmental work; and the permission for continued coal imports at Punta Rincon. Forward-looking statements and information by their nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. These factors include, but are not limited to, political stability in Panama, potential social and environmental challenges, and events generally impacting global economic, political and social stability. There may also be other factors that cause actual results, performance, achievements or events not as anticipated, estimated or intended, including the risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed in the Company's Annual Information Form. The Company undertakes no obligation to reissue or update forward-looking statements or information as a result of new information or events after the date hereof except as may be required by law. Sudbury, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - Magna Mining Inc. (TSXV: NICU) ("Magna" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that drilling has confirmed a new zone of near surface sulphide mineralization approximately 1000 metres east of the Crean Hill Main Zone (Figure 1). To date, four holes have been completed and have intersected disseminated to locally semi-massive sulphides within a narrow embayment structure at the Sudbury Igneous Complex ("SIC") contact (Figure 1). The recent drilling was targeted near historical drill hole LM01800, which intersected 0.58% Cu, 0.72% Ni over 33.2 metres and 0.39% Cu, 0.67% Ni over 20.2 metres starting at 10.3 metres downhole. Historical drill hole LM01800 was drilled beneath a mineralized outcrop at surface and was not previously followed up with subsequent drilling. Magna drill holes MCR-23-014 to MCR-22-17 intersected between 25 and 60 metres of disseminated sulphides, including narrow semi-massive intervals of less than 1 metre. The highest concentration of sulphide mineralization, over 5.2 metres in drillhole MCR-23-014, is shown in Figure 2. This zone remains poorly tested down-dip, with historical drilling on spacings between 75 and more than 150 metres. Dave King, SVP of Magna, stated, "We are encouraged to intersect near surface mineralization along strike of the known Crean Hill mine ore zones. The widths of mineralization intersected are significant, and if the copper and nickel grades are consistent with the historical drill hole, LM01800, with further definition drilling this zone may potentially be amenable to open pit mining. We expect to have assay results for this initial drilling within four weeks and will report results soon after they are received." Figure 1: Denison Surface Geology Showing the Location of the East Embayment. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8002/155881_04d54d8d14fcdb6a_002full.jpg Figure 2: Drill Hole MCR-23-014 Mineralized Interval From 13.8 to 19.0 metres. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8002/155881_04d54d8d14fcdb6a_003full.jpg SHAKESPEARE ASSAY RESULTS Magna Mining is also pleased to report that assay results from the second phase of 2022 drilling at the Shakespeare deposit have now been received. A total of 1,902 metres of drilling across nine drill holes was completed in this phase of the 2022 drill program, the results of which are summarized below. Drill hole locations are shown in Figures 3 and 4, and assay results are summarized in Table 1. A summary of the pertinent conclusions from these results is as follows: Drilling has successfully expanded the West Zone mineralization both down-plunge, and closer to the surface in areas which were previously undrilled. The West Zone remains open along the strike and down-dip to the south. The results confirm the potential to add near surface resources around the West Zone. Further successful drilling in the area between the East and West zones (MMC-22-47) supports the hypothesis that the Shakespeare open pit could be optimized in the future through incorporating East and West Zone mineralization into a single open pit design. Mineralized intercepts are consistent with grades and tenors that are reported in the existing NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource and reserve estimates for Shakespeare. Highlights of the Shakespeare 2022 Phase 2 drilling include: MJU-22-01 intersected 0.25% Ni, 0.32% Cu, 0.81 g/t Pt + Pd + Au over 36.1m. This hole was targeting a near surface area of the West Zone, which was within the feasibility study pit shell, but previously undrilled and interpreted as waste rock. MMC-22-45 intersected 0.30% Ni, 0.58% Cu, 1.04 g/t Pt + Pd + Au over 16.6m , extending known mineralization in the West Zone near the "S-13 Zone", and extends the newly identified shallow dip of mineralization further to the south. MMC-22-47 intersected 0.34% Ni, 0.40% Cu, 1.01 g/t Pt + Pd + Au over 11.2m in an area below historical drilling and demonstrates continuity of the mineralization in this brecciated area. This area of mineralisation remains open to west. MMC-22-48, intersected 0.23% Ni, 0.28% Cu, 0.80 g/t Pt + Pd + Au over 34.0m down-plunge of the current West Zone resource, further extending the known depth extent of mineralization in the West Zone. Mynyr Hoxha, Vice President Exploration, commented "We are very pleased to report that this diamond drill program was successful in identifying a wide zone of mineralization between the existing resource and surface in the West Zone, in an area previously interpreted as waste in the 2022 feasibility study. Results from the additional 2022 exploration drilling have also demonstrated that the West Zone remains open for expansion along strike to the west and down-dip to the south, where the dip of the mineralization is shallower than previously interpreted. Having intersected this zone of shallow-dipping mineralization cutting through the gabbros in multiple holes now, we believe this could be the feeder system for the entire mineralized Shakespeare deposit." A total of 4,020m of drilling across 15 drill holes was completed at Shakespeare in 2022. The 2022 exploration program has been successful in testing and expanding the West Zone mineralization, refining the geological model, and identifying new exploration targets that could represent areas for further expansion of the Shakespeare Deposit. The 2023 exploration and drilling program at Shakespeare is scheduled to commence in Q2 2023. Figure 3: Longitudinal Section Showing the Location of 2022 Drilling To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8002/155881_04d54d8d14fcdb6a_004full.jpg Figure 4: Vertical Section MJU-22-01 (For location see Figure 3) To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8002/155881_04d54d8d14fcdb6a_005full.jpg Table 1: Selected 2022 Shakespeare Drilling Assay Results DDH From (m) To (m) Length (m) Ni (%) Cu (%) Co (%) Pt (g/t) Pd (g/t) Au (g/t) MMC-22-45 220.14 236.74 16.60 0.30 0.58 0.02 0.35 0.42 0.27 including 226.49 233.91 7.42 0.41 0.56 0.02 0.47 0.57 0.37 MMC-22-46 241.25 244.73 3.48 0.28 0.42 0.02 0.26 0.35 0.23 MMC-22-47 14.65 15.34 0.69 0.04 1.83 0.01 0.00 0.01 0.12 and 141.00 144.99 3.99 0.24 0.36 0.01 0.26 0.36 0.16 and 151.81 163.01 11.20 0.34 0.40 0.02 0.35 0.46 0.20 including 157.94 163.01 5.07 0.51 0.54 0.03 0.54 0.66 0.28 MMC-22-48 214.82 248.83 34.01 0.23 0.28 0.02 0.25 0.32 0.23 including 214.82 222.71 7.89 0.48 0.50 0.03 0.51 0.67 0.45 MMC-22-49 112.04 116.65 4.61 0.18 0.00 0.02 0.78 0.74 0.01 and 123.24 123.62 0.38 0.19 0.79 0.01 0.40 0.41 0.10 MMC-22-50 85.00 93.00 8.00 0.26 0.25 0.02 0.23 0.27 0.19 and 99.22 110.13 10.91 0.21 0.23 0.02 0.17 0.23 0.12 including 99.22 106.59 7.37 0.28 0.29 0.02 0.22 0.30 0.15 MMC-22-51 115.07 150.00 34.93 0.41 0.40 0.03 0.39 0.44 0.23 including 117.88 125.11 7.23 0.50 0.55 0.03 0.49 0.62 0.31 and 160.25 182.63 22.38 0.20 0.20 0.01 0.20 0.24 0.08 MJU-22-01 23.89 60.00 36.11 0.25 0.32 0.02 0.28 0.37 0.16 including 23.89 35.71 11.82 0.35 0.40 0.02 0.38 0.48 0.24 MJU-22-02 78.74 80.68 1.94 0.27 0.23 0.01 0.30 0.34 0.13 and 95.93 99.10 3.17 0.27 0.25 0.01 0.30 0.34 0.05 1. Drill hole intersection lengths are downhole length. Qualified Person The technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Mynyr Hoxha, Ph.D., P.Geo., the Company's Vice President of Exploration. Dr. Hoxha is a qualified person under Canadian National Instrument 43-101. QA / QC Sample QA/QC procedures for Magna have been designed to meet or exceed industry standards. Drill core is collected from the diamond drill and placed in sealed core trays for transport to Magna's core facilities. The core is then logged, and samples marked in intervals of up to 1.5m and cut with a diamond saw. Samples are then bagged in plastic bags with 10 bagged samples being placed into rice bags for transport to AGAT Laboratories in Mississauga Ontario. Samples are submitted in batches of 50 with 5 QA/QC samples including, 2 certified reference material standards, 2 samples of blank material and 1 duplicate. About Magna Mining Inc. Magna Mining is an exploration and development company focused on nickel, copper and PGM projects in the Sudbury Region of Ontario, Canada. The Company's flagship assets are the past producing Shakespeare and Crean Hill Mines. The Shakespeare Mine is a feasibility stage project which has major permits for the construction of a 4,500 tonne per day open pit mine, processing plant and tailings storage facility and is surrounded by a contiguous 180km2 prospective land package. Crean Hill is a past producing nickel, copper and PGM mine with a technical report dated August 2022. Additional information about the Company is available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and on the Company's website (www.magnamining.com). For further information, please contact: Jason Jessup Chief Executive Officer or Paul Fowler, CFA Senior Vice President Email: info@magnamining.com Cautionary Statement This press release contains certain forward-looking information or forward-looking statements as defined in applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts and are subject to several risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's control, including statements regarding the production at the Shakespeare and Crean HIll Mines, the economic and operational potential of the Shakespeare and Crean Hill Mines, potential acquisitions, plans to complete exploration programs, potential mineralization, exploration results and statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions of the Company. Resource exploration and development is highly speculative, characterized by several significant risks, which even a combination of careful evaluation, experience and knowledge may not eliminate. All forward-looking statements herein are qualified by this cautionary statement. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155881 Fourteen research projects will focus on antiviral research and drug development for henipaviruses, a subgroup of viruses with pandemic potential COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the partners in Pandemic Antiviral Discovery (PAD) initiative announced grants totalling more than USD 26 million for 14 research projects aimed at facilitating early-stage development of drugs to treat henipavirus infection and disease in humans. These grants mark the majority of the first investments to come from the PAD initiative, a global philanthropic collaboration launched in 2022 by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, Open Philanthropy, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its purpose is to accelerate the discovery and development of antiviral drugs for future pandemic threats. With equitable access as a core principle of the initiative, PAD is focused on ensuring these interventions are accessible to people in low- and middle-income countries. "Safe and effective antiviral treatments are a critical tool in responding to infectious disease outbreaks, but medicines to treat COVID-19 weren't available until late in the pandemic," said Ken Duncan, Deputy Director of Discovery & Translational Sciences at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "Preparing for future pandemics means investing in the discovery of lifesaving interventions before viruses of concern escalate into deadly pandemics and ensuring those tools will be readily available to anyone who needs them." Viruses with pandemic potential PAD's first Request for Proposals (RfP) was issued in March 2022 with a focus on henipaviruses, a subfamily of Paramyxovirus that includes Nipah virus, which has an estimated fatality rate of 40% to 75%. Henipaviruses can be transmitted to humans from small mammals such as fruit bats and cause respiratory illness, often accompanied by severe neurological complications. There is evidence of person-to-person transmission elevating concerns for pandemic potential. "The current outbreak of a highly lethal Nipah virus in Bangladesh is a timely example of the reasons why the PAD initiative chose to do a first request for proposals to develop new antiviral drugs for henipaviruses," said Chris Somerville, Senior Program Officer at Open Philanthropy. To pave the way for the development of such antiviral drugs, greater knowledge of the henipavirus subfamily is needed. "Nipah and Hendra virus give rise to very severe disease with high mortality and pandemic potential, and right now we simply don't have a good enough understanding of these viruses to effectively fight them," said Peter Lawtz Andersen, Senior Vice President, Infectious Diseases, Novo Nordisk Foundation. Diverse but complementary in scope PAD's Henipavirus Request for Proposals attracted a total of 99 proposals from researchers and research teams across 28 countries. The projects that have been selected for grants cover a broad range of research activities, from exploratory research to identify the molecular determinants for replication and pathogenesis of henipavirus to the development of new tools in support of drug discovery. The projects also include high-throughput screening to search for hit molecules or later-stage optimization and validation of hit molecules for therapeutic development. Visit the PAD website to read more about all the supported projects. About the PAD initiative Pandemic Antiviral Discovery (PAD) is a global philanthropic initiative launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Open Philanthropy, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. PAD's mission is to help researchers worldwide identify and develop phase 2-ready antiviral drug candidates targeting pandemic threat viruses, including coronaviruses, paramyxoviruses, and orthomyxoviruses. With equitable access as a core principle of the initiative, the founding partners are committed to ensuring that discoveries and innovations supported by PAD are accessible to people in low- and middle-income countries. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/pandemic-antiviral-discovery-pad-makes-first-investments-to-support-the-development-of-new-antiviral-medicines-for-future-pandemics-301754306.html Rise in research & development activities associated with drug discoveries has resulted in a steep surge in the adoption of lab information management solutions across the world, which in turn drives the global lab information management systems market. PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Lab Information Management Systems Market by Product Type (Broad- Based/Multipurpose LIMS, Industry Specific LIMS), by Component (Software, Services), by Delivery Mode (Web-Based and Cloud-Based, On-Premises), by Industry Type (Life Science, Chemical and Energy Industries, Food and Beverage and Agriculture Industries, Clinical Research Organization (CRO)/Contract Manufacturing Organizations (CMO), Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031." According to the report, the global lab information management systems industry was estimated at $1.47 billion in 2021, and is anticipated to hit $4.15 billion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 10.9% from 2022 to 2031. Download Free Sample of the Report- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/53955 Drivers, restraints, and opportunities: Rise in research & development activities associated with drug discoveries has resulted in a steep surge in the adoption of lab information management solutions across the world, which in turn drives the global lab information management systems market. On the other hand, high costs associated with the same and lack of skilled professionals in the industry impede the growth to some extent. However, rapid development of healthcare infrastructure along with the government's support to digitalized services in developing countries such as China, India, and others has paved the way for lucrative opportunities in the industry. Impact of Covid-19 on Lab Information Management Systems Market: The outbreak of the pandemic gave way to a significant surge in demand for lab information management systems in clinical laboratories for Covid-19 testing across the world, which impacted the market positively. Incorporation of automated solutions such as LIMS for hospitals and clinical laboratories was expected to alleviate stress by endorsing efficient testing of ample samples. For example, during the Covid-19 pandemic, in December 2020 , Indian Railways introduced an integrated hospital management information system (HMIS) in South Central Railways and Northern Railways. Procure Complete Report (297 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) https://tinyurl.com/yh4rfzex The broad- based/ multipurpose LIMS segment to dominate by 2031: By product type, the broad-based/ multipurpose LIMS segment contributed to the major share in 2021, holding around three-fifths of the global lab information management systems market revenue. The same segment would also showcase the fastest CAGR of 11.2% throughout the forecast period. This is attributed to the rise in the adoption of broad-based/ multipurpose LIMS across the world. They can collect and share data securely and instantaneously from anywhere to any device. The web-based and cloud-based segment to rule the roost: By delivery mode, the web-based and cloud-based segment accounted for nearly three-fifths of the global lab information management systems market share in 2021, and is expected to maintain the lion's share by 2031. This is because it provides users with the required access to their data from any location and from any device and enables them to store and share data with other users securely. The life science segment to retain its dominance by 2031: By industry type, the life science segment garnered the major share in 2021, contributing to around two-fifths of the global lab information management systems market revenue. The same segment would also display the fastest CAGR of 11.3% during the forecast period. This is due to the increased research and development activities in biopharmaceutical industries worldwide. For Purchase Inquiry- https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/53955 North America garnered the major share in 2021 - By region, North America held the major share in 2021, accounting for around two-fifths of the global lab information management systems market revenue. This is owing to the high adoption rate of technologically advanced lab information management system, rise in healthcare expenditure, and the presence of major key players across the region. The Asia-Pacific region, on the other hand, would portray the fastest CAGR of 11.9% from 2022 to 2031. The presence of biotech/pharma laboratories and contract research organizations in this province has increased the demand for laboratory information management systems, which has fueled the market growth. Key players in the industry: Agilent Technologies Inc. Illumina Inc. Siemens AG LabLynx Inc. Genetic Technologies Inc. PerkinElmer Inc. CrelioHealth Inc. LabWare Inc. Abbott Laboratories Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. The report analyzes these key players in the global lab information management systems market. These players have adopted various strategies such as expansion, new product launches, partnerships, and others to increase their market penetration and strengthen their position in the industry. The report is helpful in determining the business performance, operating segments, developments, and product portfolios of every market player. Similar Research Reports for Information, Communication and Technology: Companion Diagnostic Technologies Market- Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 Ultrasound Devices Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 Pharmaceutical Packaging Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 Medical Device Outsourcing Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 Ultrasound Devices Market for Pediatric Radiology - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 AVENUE- A Subscription-Based Library (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model): AMR introduces its online premium subscription-based library Avenue, designed specifically to offer cost-effective, one-stop solution for enterprises, investors, and universities. With Avenue, subscribers can avail an entire repository of reports on more than 2,000 niche industries and more than 12,000 company profiles. Moreover, users can get an online access to quantitative and qualitative data in PDF and Excel formats along with analyst support, customization, and updated versions of reports. Get an access to the library of reports at any time from any device and anywhere. For more details, follow the link: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access About Allied Market Research: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domains. AMR offers its services across 11 industry verticals including Life Sciences, Consumer Goods, Materials & Chemicals, Construction & Manufacturing, Food & Beverages, Energy & Power, Semiconductor & Electronics, Automotive & Transportation, ICT & Media, Aerospace & Defense, and BFSI. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-855-550-5975 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/lab-information-management-systems-market-to-reach-usd-4-15-billion-globally-by-2031-at-10-9-cagr-allied-market-research-301754326.html THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO THE UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Cielo Waste Solutions Corp. (TSXV:CMC)(OTCQB:CWSFF) ("Cielo" or the "Company"), a waste-to-fuel environmental technology company, is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement for the settlement of the $4,500,000 principal outstanding on a secured mortgage loan initially obtained to acquire the Company's Fort Saskatchewan property, held by First Choice Financial Incorporated ("FCF") and KV Capital Partners ("KV"), through the issuance of securities of the Company (the "Securities for Debt Transactions"). As disclosed in the Company's news release on February 13th, 2023, which provided an update on the Company's proposed private placement (the "Financing") with Crestmont Investments, LLC ("Crestmont"), management believes these transactions will enhance Cielo's financial position and support the continued progress in advancing the research and development facility (the "R&D Facility"), targeted for commissioning by calendar Q2 2023, and further the goal of providing investors with long-term economic sustainability. "FCF is proud to be a committed partner of Cielo and to continue providing innovative financing solutions that support the team's core strategy, including through this strategic debt repayment structure," commented Vikas Sharma, Chief Executive Officer of FCF. "As a firm believer in Cielo's management team and strategy, we are prepared to reinvest in the Company, including demonstrating our support through the warrants being issued at a premium to the common share's current market value, reflecting our belief in where Cielo is headed in the long-term and the ultimate value offered by its business model." Ryan Jackson, CEO of Cielo, commented, "Cielo and FCF have been long time partners and we sincerely appreciate the vote of confidence that a conversion of this magnitude conveys. Moving forward, with the support of Crestmont and FCF, we believe that we have the resources necessary to continue on our path to commercialization." Strategic Benefits of the Transactions The completion of the proposed Securities for Debt Transaction as well as the proposed Financing are expected to provide Cielo with benefits to its long-term financial stability, including: Crestmont's election to invest in equity rather than debt at close to an 80% premium to the current market price in addition to FCF's agreement to accept equity as consideration for the outstanding debt demonstrates confidence in the Company's growth strategy and the desire for exposure to Cielo's longer-term upside potential, in management's view; Repaying the outstanding balance on the mortgage loan will eliminate $4.5 million of the Company's outstanding debt. While both common shares and warrants will be issued, close to an equal number of warrants previously issued to FCF will be surrendered and cancelled, mitigating the dilutive impact of a shares for debt transaction; The Aldersyde Property, where the R&D Facility will be located, will no longer be used as security for debt (for either Crestmont or FCF); Retiring the outstanding loan for non-cash consideration is expected to significantly improve the Company's liquidity while conserving cash, supported by a meaningful monthly interest savings; and The potential future exercise of warrants to be issued to FCF and to Crestmont would result in improved cash position and demonstrate, in management's view, the desire of both FCF and Crestmont to invest in management's long-term vision and strategy. SECURITIES FOR DEBT TRANSACTION Terms of Securities Issuance The agreement executed by the Company, FCF and KV (FCF and KV collectively the "Lenders") provides for the repayment of CAD 4,500,000 (the "Loan"), the balance of a secured mortgage loan provided by the Lenders in August 2021, by way of securities issuance. As a condition of the Financing (as noted above), and in a continued effort to improve the Company's financial position, the Company has agreed, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"), to repay the balance of the Loan in full, which is secured by the Company's property in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta (the "FS Property"), and its property in Aldersyde, Alberta (the "Aldersyde Property"). Completion of the Securities for Debt Transaction will result in the elimination of the Loan in exchange for the issuance of 64,285,714 units (each a "Repayment Unit", collectively the "Repayment Units"), at $0.07 per Repayment Unit, each Repayment Unit consisting of one common share of Cielo (each a "Repayment Unit Share" and collectively the "Repayment Unit Shares") and one common share purchase warrant (each a "Repayment Unit Warrant" and collectively the "Repayment Unit Warrants"), each Repayment Unit Warrant exercisable for a period of 3 years upon prior notice in accordance with the terms of the Warrants at CAD $0.125 per common share (each a "Repayment Warrant Share" and collectively the "Repayment Warrant Shares"). The Securities for Debt Transaction is subject to the approval of the TSXV. All securities issued in connection with the Securities for Debt Transaction will be subject to statutory hold periods in accordance with applicable securities legislation. Termination of Bonus Warrants 12,000,000 non-transferable bonus warrants (the "2021 Bonus Warrants") had been issued in August 2021, exercisable at $1.00 per share, as an inducement for the Loan. In addition, pursuant to a previously announced second secured mortgage loan provided by FCF in February 2022 in a principal amount of $11,000,000 (the "Second Loan"), 50,000,000 non-transferable bonus warrants (the "2022 Bonus Warrants") had been issued in February 2022, exercisable at $0.22 per share, as an inducement for the Second Loan. FCF has agreed to surrender for termination the 2021 Bonus Warrants and the 2022 Bonus Warrants, which will reduce the common shares reserved for issuance by the Company by 54,500,000. Partial Discharge of Security Both the Loan and the Second Loan have been secured in part by the FS Property and the Aldersyde Property. In addition to the full discharge of the security held by the Lenders upon the repayment of the Loan, FCF has agreed to a partial discharge of security in connection with the Second Loan. As a result, the Second Loan will be secured by the FS Property as well as a site-specific general security agreement. The Aldersyde Property will no longer be subject to a mortgage or otherwise be considered security for the Second Loan. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities of the Company in the United States nor shall there be any sale of securities of the Company in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities described herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the securities laws of any state of the United States. Accordingly, any of the securities described herein may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. persons unless an exemption from registration is available. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. ABOUT CIELO Cielo Waste Solutions Corp. was incorporated under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) on February 2, 2011. Cielo is a publicly traded company with its shares listed to trade on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") under the symbol "CMC," on the Frankfurt Exchange ("DAX") under the symbol "C36", as well as on the OTC Venture Market ("OTCQB"), under the symbol "CWSFF." The Company's strategic intent is to become a leading waste-to-fuel company using economically sustainable technology while minimizing the environmental impact. Cielo has a patented process that can convert waste feedstocks, including organic material and wood derivative waste, to fuel. Having demonstrated its ability to produce diesel and naphtha from waste, Cielo's business model is to construct additional processing facilities. Cielo's objective is to generate value by converting waste to fuel, while fueling the sustainable energy transition. For further information please contact: Cielo Investor Relations Phone: (403) 348-2972 Email: investors@cielows.com RB Milestone Group LLC Email: cielo@rbmilestone.com CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements other than statements of present or historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "achieve", "could", "believe", "plan", "intend", "objective", "continuous", "ongoing", "estimate", "outlook", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should" or similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes. Forward-looking statements are subject to both known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Cielo is making forward looking statements, with respect to, but not limited to: the Securities for Debt Transaction, including the terms thereof; the termination of the 2021 and the 2022 Bonus Warrants; the discharge of security related to the Loan and the partial discharge of the Aldersyde Property in connection with the Second Loan, the impact of the Securities for Debt Transaction as well as the Financing on the Company; the hold period on the securities to be issued pursuant to the Securities for Debt Transaction; the timing for the commissioning of the R&D Facility; the potential impact on the Company of the potential exercise of warrants to be issued to Crestmont and FCF (pursuant to separate transactions); the eliminated requirement to use the Aldersyde Property as security for any loan. Investors should continue to review and consider information disseminated through news releases and filed by the Company on SEDAR. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, some of which are described herein. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause the Company's actual performance and results to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise such statements to reflect new information, subsequent or otherwise. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV), nor OTCQB nor WKN, have reviewed, and do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of, the content of this news release. SOURCE: Cielo Waste Solutions Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740454/Cielo-Announces-Settlement-of-Debt-and-the-Resulting-Discharge-of-Aldersyde-Security CRANBROOK, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. (TSXV:EPL) is pleased to announce that it has been notified by SKRR Exploration Inc. (TSXV: SKRR; FSE: B04Q) ("SKRR") that SKRR has completed the earn-in requirements to hold a 75% interest in the Olson property (the "Olson Project") and an undivided 100% interest in the Cathro property (the "Cathro Project"). Eagle Plains will retain an underlying 2% NSR on the Cathro property. The Olson Project area covers 11,219 hectares located within the Trans Hudson Corridor, 20km northwest of Deschambault Lake, Saskatchewan and 80km south of SSR Mining's Seabee Gold Operation. The Cathro Project area covers 3,277 hectares located approximately 50km northeast of La Ronge, Saskatchewan. About the Olson Project The Olson Project area overlies regionally sheared, highly strained meta-volcanic and intrusive rocks which are considered to be prospective for orogenic gold mineralization. The Olson Project are is host to 29 mineral occurrences defined by historical geological mapping, prospecting, trenching and 4700m of diamond drilling, with the last drilling by third party operators reported in 2008. Historical drilling at Olson Lake intersected 7.5 m grading 2.07 g/t Au including 13.00 g/t Au over 0.65 m, and grab samples of up to 105.52 g/t Au have been collected at the Kalix occurrence. 2018-2019 fieldwork completed by EPL and a previous partner consisted of a detailed compilation of historical data, geological mapping, soil geochemical work and prospecting. The fall 2020 drill program by SKRR at the Olson Zone intersected significant gold mineralization including new discoveries at the previously undrilled Point, Jena and Michael's Lake zones, high grade mineralization in a step out hole at the historic Olson showing and wide intercepts of near surface mineralization at the Siskin Zone. Follow-up drilling in 2021 extended known mineralization at historical occurrences and resulted in a new gold discovery at the previously undrilled Ackbar Zone. To date, SKRR has conducted 3 drill programs at Olson; the first program was conducted in October 2020 followed by a second phase drilling program in March 2021 and a third phase program in February 2022. Drilling summary and assay results for all 3 programs have all been disclosed in news releases between October 2020 to May 2021. About the Cathro Project The 3,277 ha Cathro Project covers a suite of LaRonge Greenstone Belt volcanic rocks known to host structurally-controlled gold mineralization including the historic Contact Lake Deposit (SMDI 0619), located approximately 10km south of the property. The first mineralization in the area was identified by prospectors in 1958. During the 1960's Great Plains identified Au-bearing quartz shears associated with metavolcanic rocks. They completed airborne electromagnetic and magnetic geophysical surveys, followed up by geological mapping and trenching and a shallow 7-hole diamond drilling program. The area was mostly dormant until the late 1980's when Cogema became active in the area. The last significant work program was in 1994 by Uranerx Exploration who identified a number of target area using soil sampling and prospecting. There are four documented gold occurrences within the claim boundaries. Vidgy Lake (SMDI 2294) has seen the most historic work. The Vidgy Lake mineralization is associated with a 100m-wide by 2km- long shear zone developed along an intrusive -metavolcanic contact. In June 2022, SKRR completed a geological mapping and sampling program on the Cathro Project. Lithological data was collected from eight locations, along with 47 rock samples. Additionally, 430 soil samples were collected from 15 east-west trending soil lines, with samples spaced 25 m apart. Soil samples returned gold values ranging from 0.1 to 320 ppb Au. The most significant values were obtained between 230m to 1200m north-northwest of the Vidgy zone. Of the 47 rock samples collected, the highest gold (2,490 ppb), silver (4.59 ppm) and copper (5,400 ppb) were returned from sample MHCTR009, which sampled a granodioritic unit cross-cut by a 2-5cm wide quartz vein near the Bartlett Lake showing. Overall results show a number of anomalous areas in several areas of the property, and further follow-up work of mapping and sampling, followed by drilling is recommended. Terms of the Option Agreements Pursuant to the Olson option agreement between EPL and SKRR dated October 24, 2019 (the "Olson Agreement"), SKRR acquired an initial 51% interest in the Olson Project by making certain staged cash payments, share payments of common shares in the capital of SKRR to EPL and exploration expenditures over a period as follows: (i) $10,000 in cash upon execution of a letter of intent; (ii) $20,000 in cash and 200,000 common shares upon TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange") approval of the Olson Agreement; (iii) $40,000 in cash, 200,000 common shares and $200,000 in exploration expenditures on or before December 31, 2020; (iv) $80,000 in cash, 200,000 common shares and $500,000 in exploration expenditures on or before December 31, 2021; and (v) $100,000 in cash, 200,000 common shares and $800,000 in exploration expenditures on or before December 31, 2022. SKRR acquired an additional 24% (75% total) interest in the Olson Project by making additional exploration expenditures of $1,500,000 on the Olson Project and issuing 200,000 common shares of SKRR to EPL. Pursuant to the Cathro option agreement between EPL and SKRR dated February 10, 2020 (the "Cathro Agreement"), SKRR acquired an undivided 100% interest in the Cathro Project by making certain staged cash payments and share payments of common shares in the capital of SKRR to EPL over a period as follows: (i) $4,000 in cash and 250,000 common shares upon Exchange approval of the Cathro Agreement (the "Approval Date"); (ii) 250,000 common shares on or before the first anniversary of the Approval Date; (iii) 100,000 common shares on or before the second anniversary of the Approval Date; (iii) 100,000 common shares on or before the third anniversary of the Approval Date; (iv) 100,000 common shares on or before the fourth anniversary of the Approval Date; and (v) 100,000 common shares on or before the fifth anniversary of the Approval Date. Eagle Plains will retain an underlying 2% NSR on the Cathro property. Qualified Person Charles C. Downie, P.Geo., a "qualified person" for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has prepared, reviewed, and approved the scientific and technical disclosure in the news release. Charles Downie is a director of EPL, and is independent of SKRR. About Eagle Plains Resources Based in Cranbrook, B.C., Eagle Plains is a well-funded, prolific project generator that continues to conduct research, acquire and explore mineral projects throughout western Canada. The Company was formed in 1992 and is the ninth-oldest listed issuer on the TSX-V (and one of only three that has not seen a roll-back or restructuring of its shares). Eagle Plains has continued to deliver shareholder value over the years and through numerous spin-outs has transferred over $100,000,000 in value directly to its shareholders, with Copper Canyon Resources and recently Taiga Gold being notable examples. The Company is committed to steadily enhancing shareholder value by advancing our diverse portfolio of projects toward discovery through collaborative partnerships and development of a highly experienced technical team. In late 2022 Eagle Plains announced the formation of a separate division within the Company; Eagle Royalties Ltd. ("ER") which will hold many of Eagle Plains' diverse portfolio of royalty assets. The restructuring will enhance the valuation of Eagle Plains' extensive royalty interests, enabling ER to market and develop its royalty assets while seeking additional royalty acquisition opportunities. Eagle Plains' royalties cover a broad spectrum of commodities on projects controlled by Cameco Corp., Iso Energy Corp., Denison Mines Corp., Skeena Resources Ltd. and Hecla Mining Co./Banyan Gold Corp., among others. Eagle Plains will continue to focus on its core business model of acquiring and advancing grassroots critical- and precious-metal exploration properties. Expenditures from 2011-2022 on Eagle Plains-related projects exceed $30M, the majority of which was funded by third-party partners. This exploration work resulted in approximately 45,000m of diamond-drilling and extensive ground-based exploration work facilitating the advancement of numerous projects at various stages of development. Throughout the exploration process, our mission is to help maintain prosperous communities by exploring for and discovering resource opportunities while building lasting relationships through honest and respectful business practices. On behalf of the Board of Directors "C.C. (Chuck) Downie" V.P. Exploration For further information on EPL, please contact Mike Labach at 1 866 HUNT ORE (486 8673) Email: mgl@eagleplains.com or visit our website at https://www.eagleplains.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. SOURCE: Eagle Plains Resources Ltd View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740452/Eagle-Plains-Partner-SKRR-Acquires-75-of-the-Olson-Gold-Project-and-100-of-the-Cathro-Gold-Project All monetary amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - IAMGOLD Corporation (TSX: IMG) (NYSE: IAG) ("IAMGOLD" or the "Company") announces that the Company has filed a technical report for the Nelligan Joint Venture Project ("Nelligan") (IAMGOLD: 75%, Vanstar Mining Resources Inc. ("Vanstar"): 25%), titled "Independent Technical Report for the Nelligan Gold Project, Quebec, Canada" (the 2023 Technical Report) dated February 22, 2023. The 2023 Technical report was prepared by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. ("SRK") in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), as reported in the Company's news release dated January 12, 2023. The 2023 Technical Report supersedes the technical report on the Nelligan project dated December 4, 2019. The 2023 Technical Report can be found on the Company's website at www.iamgold.com, on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. Subsequent to a review of the pit optimization parameters used to derive a pit shell to constrain Mineral Resource reporting and benchmarking against comparable projects, amendments were made to the mining cost applied to waste material and to the percentage of payable metal applied relative to the Mineral Resource Estimate reported on January 12, 2023. These parameters were reviewed by both IAMGOLD and SRK, and are considered suitable to test the "reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction" of the Mineral Resource model. The changes resulted in a 21,000 ounce increase in estimated Indicated Mineral Resources and 362,000 ounce increase to Inferred Mineral Resources. The table below shows the resultant Mineral Resource Statement: MINERAL RESOURCE STATEMENT - NELLIGAN PROJECT, CANADA As at February 10th, 2023 (100% Basis) Category Cut-off Grade (g/t Au) Tonnage (Mt) Grade (g/t Au) Contained Au (koz Au) Indicated 0.35 73.5 0.84 1 991 Inferred 0.35 129.5 0.87 3 600 Notes: 2014 CIM definitions were followed for classification of Mineral Resources. Mineral resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 0.35 g/t Au. Mineral Resources are reported using a gold price of US$1,500 per ounce and a US$:C$ exchange rate of 1:1.2 and gold recoveries of 83%. Mineral Resources are constrained by a Datamine Studio NPVS Scheduler optimized pit shell using a 0.35 g/t Au cut-off grade and are considered to have reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. High grade assay values have been capped from 7 g/t Au to 40 g/t Au in the main mineralized domains of Renard and Footwall, respectively, and from 3 g/t Au to 12 g/t Au in the other domains. The spatial influence of high-grade samples within Footwall, Renard and Liam domains were further controlled using high grade restriction distance parameters within the respective search ellipsoids. Bulk density values were determined by measurements on core and range from 2.70 to 2.75 g/cm3 for the different domains and host lithologies, to 2.00 g/cm3 for overburden. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. All figures have been rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimates. Qualified Persons, Technical Information and Quality Control Notes The mineral resource estimate, including verification of the data disclosed, has been completed by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. and has been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and CIM Estimation Best Practice Guidelines. The resource estimate was prepared by Sandeep Prakash, M. Sc., P. Geo., a Senior Consultant (Resource Geology) with SRK, with review provided by Oy Leuangthong, Ph.D., P.Eng., Corporate Consultant, Geostatistics with SRK. Mr. Prakash is an independent "qualified person", as defined by NI 43-101 (a "QP"), and has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release. The QPs responsible for the supervision of the supporting drilling programs, data validation and verification (including sampling, analytical and test data), deposit modelling and review of the technical information in this news release are Maxime Douellou, P. Geo, Consultant Geologist and Shana Dickenson, P. Geo, Senior Geologist both attached to the IAMGOLD Val-d'Or Regional Exploration Office, Quebec. Each of Mr. Douellou and Mrs. Dickenson is a QP for the purposes of NI 43-101 with respect to the technical information being reported on in this news release. The technical information has been included herein with the consent and prior review of the above noted QPs. The information in this news release was also reviewed and approved by Marie-France Bugnon, P.Geo., General Manager Exploration for IAMGOLD, who is also a QP. The sampling of, and assay data from, the drill core is monitored through the implementation of a quality assurance - quality control (QA-QC) program designed to follow industry best practice. Drill core (NQ size) is logged and samples are selected by the IAMGOLD geologists and sawn in half with a diamond saw at the project site. Half of the core is retained at the site for reference purposes. Sample intervals may vary from 0.5 to 1.5 metres in length depending on the geological observations. Half-core samples are packaged and transported in sealed bags to ALS Minerals Laboratory ("ALS") located in Val-d'Or, Quebec. A formal chain-of-custody procedure was adopted for security of samples until their delivery at the laboratory. Samples are coarse crushed to a -10 mesh and then a 1,000 gram split is pulverized to 95% passing -150 mesh. ALS processes analytical pulps directly at their facilities located in Val-d'Or which is ISO / IEC 17025 certified by the Standards Council of Canada. Samples are analyzed using a standard fire assay with a 50 gram charge with an Atomic Absorption (AA) finish. For samples that return assay values over 5.0 grams per tonne, another pulp is taken and fire assayed with a gravimetric finish. Core samples showing visible gold or samples which have returned values greater than 10.0 grams per tonne are re-analyzed by pulp metallic analysis. IAMGOLD inserts blanks and certified reference standards in the sample sequence for quality control. In accordance with our QA-QC program, additional check analyses are also re-assayed at a secondary (umpire) laboratory. About IAMGOLD IAMGOLD is an intermediate gold producer and developer based in Canada with operating mines in North America and West Africa. The Company is building the large-scale, long life Cote Gold project in Canada in partnership with Sumitomo Metals & Mining of Japan, which is expected to commence production in early 2024. In addition, the Company has an established portfolio of early stage and advanced exploration projects within high potential mining districts in the Americas. IAMGOLD employs approximately 3,300 people and is committed to maintaining its culture of accountable mining through high standards of Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") practices, including its commitment to Zero Harm, in every aspect of its business. IAMGOLD is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: IAG) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: IMG) and is one of the companies on the Jantzi Social Index ("JSI"), a socially screened market capitalization-weighted consisting of companies which pass a set of broadly based environmental, social and governance rating criteria. IAMGOLD Contact Information Graeme Jennings, Vice President, Investor Relations Tel: 416 360 4743 | Mobile: 416 388 6883 Toll-free: 1 888 464 9999 info@iamgold.com CAUTIONARY NOTE TO U.S. INVESTORS REGARDING DISCLOSURE OF MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATES The mineral resource estimates contained in this news release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101. These standards are similar to those used by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") Industry Guide No. 7, as interpreted by the SEC staff. However, the definitions in NI 43-101 differ in certain respects from those under Industry Guide No. 7. Accordingly, mineral resource information contained in this news release may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by United States companies. As a result of the adoption of amendments to the SEC's disclosure rules (the "SEC Modernization Rules"), which more closely align its disclosure requirements and policies for mining properties with current industry and global regulatory practices and standards, including NI 43-101, and which became effective on February 25, 2019, the SEC now recognizes estimates of "measured Mineral Resources", "Indicated Mineral Resources" and "Inferred Mineral Resources." In addition, the SEC has amended definitions of "proven Mineral Reserves" and "probable Mineral Reserves" in its amended rules, with definitions that are substantially similar to those used in NI 43-101. Issuers must begin to comply with these SEC Modernization Rules in their first fiscal year beginning on or after January 1, 2021, though Canadian issuers that report in the United States using the Multijurisdictional Disclosure System ("MJDS") may still use NI 43-101 rather than the SEC Modernization Rules when using the SEC's MJDS registration statement and annual report forms. United States investors are cautioned that while the SEC now recognizes "measured Mineral Resources", "Indicated Mineral Resources" and "Inferred Mineral Resources", investors should not assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into a higher category of Mineral Resources or into Mineral Reserves. These terms have a great amount of uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. Under Canadian regulations, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in limited circumstances. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any "measured Mineral Resources", "Indicated Mineral Resources", or "Inferred Mineral Resources" that the Company reports in this news release are or will be economically or legally mineable. Further, "Inferred Mineral Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that any part or all of an Inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. The mineral resource data set out in this news release are estimates, and no assurance can be given that the anticipated tonnages and grades will be achieved or that the Indicated level of recovery will be realized. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by, but not limited to, the use of the words "may", "will", "should", "would", "continue", "expect", "expected", "budget", "forecast", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "appear" "plan", "schedule", "guidance", "outlook", "potential", "favourable", "plans", "targeted", or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, without limitation, differences in the mineral content within the material identified as Mineral Resources or Mineral Reserves from that predicted, the failure to accurately estimate Mineral Resources or Mineral Reserves, unexpected increases in capital expenditures, operating expenditures and exploration expenditures, changes in development or mining plans due to changes in logistical, technical or other factors, the possibility that future exploration results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, changes in world gold markets and other risks disclosed in IAMGOLD's most recent Form 40-F/ Annual Information Form on file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission at https://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml and Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com, which are incorporated herein. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement. 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 applicable law. All material information on IAMGOLD can be found at www.sedar.com or at www.sec.gov. Si vous desirez obtenir la version francaise de ce communique, veuillez consulter le www.iamgold.com/French/accueil/default.aspx. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155856 Healthcare real estate platform created alongside Elliott Bay, a leading investor and manager of mission-critical healthcare facilities across the US Exclusive partnership will assemble a diversified portfolio of outpatient healthcare assets leased to leading specialty providers, hospitals, and health systems nationwide Marks the third real estate platform established by Pantheon since inception of its real estate strategy in 2021 Jonathan Lulu, Managing Director, hired to focus on strategic capital formation and business development for Pantheon's growing real estate strategy Pantheon, a leading, diversified global private markets investor, today announces the formation of a strategic real estate platform with Elliott Bay Capital Trust ("Elliott Bay"), a privately held healthcare-focused real estate company. The partnership is consistent with Pantheon's real estate strategy, which is focused on creating specialized operating platforms in needs-based property sectors. David Elliott, Managing Director in Pantheon's real estate group, commented: "We see tremendous long-term opportunity in the healthcare real estate space and are excited to partner with Elliott Bay to launch a platform targeting a specific segment of the market; smaller format outpatient facilities that are crucial to the patients and communities they serve. The partnership will aim to support the growing real estate footprints of healthcare providers that are expanding their networks to accommodate the needs of an aging US population and offering care in more convenient settings." Leveraging Elliott Bay's significant experience investing in properties that are mission-critical to healthcare providers, the platform will prioritize single- and multi-tenant outpatient healthcare facilities leased to leading national and regional health systems, as well as specialized medical service providers with dominant market positioning and strong operating fundamentals. Growing momentum in Pantheon's value-add real estate strategy This is the third transaction completed by Pantheon's real estate team since its dedicated strategy was launched in 2021 and follows platform investments in single-family rental housing and grocery-anchored, neighborhood retail. All three transactions follow Pantheon's strategy of targeting needs-based property sectors that we believe can benefit from portfolio aggregation and specialized asset management. In addition, this month Pantheon made a key hire in the real estate team with the addition of Jonathan Lulu as Managing Director, based in Chicago. Jon brings 30 years of experience to Pantheon, with a focus on building, growing, and managing real estate platforms through portfolio optimization, strategic business development and capital formation. He was most recently at Jaguar Growth Partners, a specialist real estate private equity firm, where he led all capital formation, product strategy, investor relations activity, and was a member of the firm's investment committee. Jon joins a seasoned team that also includes Bradley Guz, who was recently promoted to Principal in Pantheon's real estate group. Roman Braslavsky, Partner, and Pantheon's Head of Real Estate, said: "We are pleased with the platform investments in our portfolio and the quality of additional investment prospects in our pipeline to continue to execute on our strategy. As liquidity remains challenging in the real estate capital markets, Pantheon is well-positioned to be a preferred partner on recapitalizations, growth capital and operating company support. Looking ahead, we see a growing opportunity to partner with specialized owner-operators to provide flexible, programmatic capital solutions in sectors benefiting from strong secular tailwinds and that offer defensive characteristics across market cycles. He continued: "I'm thrilled to welcome Jon to our team. Jon brings a wealth of experience that will be extremely valuable to us and our clients as we continue to build and scale our business." ***Ends Notes to Editors About Pantheon Pantheon Group* ("Pantheon") is a leading, diversified global private markets specialist currently investing on behalf of more than 1,000 investors, including public and private pension plans, insurance companies, endowments, foundations and private wealth clients. Founded in 1982, Pantheon has an established reputation across private market asset classes, covering all stages and geographies, and provides investment solutions that include flagship fund offerings, as well as integrated programs and customized solutions. As of September 30, 2023 Pantheon had $88.9 billion assets under management and advice and the firm currently has more than 460 employees located across its offices in London, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, Seoul**, Bogota**, Tokyo, Dublin and Berlin. Its global workforce includes more than 140 investment professionals. Pantheon is majority-owned by Affiliated Managers Group Inc. (NYSE: AMG), a leading partner to independent active investment management firms globally, alongside senior members of the Pantheon team. The ownership structure, with Pantheon management owning a meaningful share of the equity in the business, provides a framework for long-term succession and enables Pantheon management to continue to direct the firm's day-to-day operations. Pantheon Group refers to the subsidiaries and subsidiary undertakings of Pantheon Ventures Inc. and AMG Plymouth UK Holdings Limited and includes operating entities principally based in the US (San Francisco and New York), UK (London), Hong Kong, Guernsey, Tokyo and Dublin. Pantheon Ventures Inc. and Pantheon Ventures (US) LP are registered as investment advisors with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"); Pantheon Securities, LLC is a broker dealer registered with the SEC and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA"). Pantheon Ventures (UK) LLP is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") in the United Kingdom. Pantheon Ventures (HK) LLP is regulated by the Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong. Pantheon Ventures (Guernsey) Ltd and a number of other Pantheon entities incorporated in Guernsey are regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission. Pantheon Ventures (Asia) Limited is registered as a Type II Financial Instruments Business and Investment Advisory and Agency Business Operator with the Kanto Local Finance Bureau in Japan (KLFB). ** Please note that the Bogota office is a representative office of Pantheon Ventures (US) LP ("PV US"), and that a Korean subsidiary of PV US has opened the office in Seoul. This press release is not an offer of securities for sale. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration. 2023 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005844/en/ Contacts: Pantheon Ashley Wassall, Head of Client Communications Tel: +44 20 3356 1763 C: +44 7776 778 620 Email: ashley.wassall@pantheon.com Businesses fall short on customer expectations on price, speed, convenience, choice and sustainability HAMBURG, Germany, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Managing peaks in today's digital economy continues as a top priority for supply chains worldwide. The latest peak season has come to an end, but growing consumer expectations require flexible fulfillment strategies at any time. The Korber Supply Chain Benchmarking Report reinforces the mission-critical role of the supply chain. However, while 92% of supply chain professionals recognize that supply chain performance has a critical impact on customer satisfaction, only 28% excel in end-customer experience. Customers want to pay less, receive their items faster and utilize easy buying and returns processes, reveals the Korber report. The results provide detailed insight into the state of the industry and the mechanics to respond to ever increasing consumer expectations on price, speed, convenience and choice. The survey grouped participating companies into four maturity levels (leader, advanced, developing and initiating) and indicated that 72% of companies struggle to keep pace with end customer demand. Leading companies, in contrast, look beyond warehouse and transportation operations with technologies to address their end-to-end operations, especially through the use of order management systems (OMS) to optimize order orchestration and fulfillment across locations at the network level. Additionally, businesses are starting to address sustainability aspects across the supply chain, especially with a key focus on transportation optimization, which has a strategic or high priority for 89% of businesses overall. "Investing in technology that enhances the end-customer experience is becoming more critical to meet the overall demand of an increasingly complex and fluid supply chain environment, explains Rene Hermes, EVP and CMO Software at Korber Business Area Supply Chain. "Successful companies need to conquer a highly competitive, crowded marketplace where the customer has many options to quickly move on from companies that can't deliver. The right digital tools and technologies are pivotal to add speed, reliability, and agility to their end-to-end operations to consistently exceed customer expectations." Korber turns challenges into opportunities with a depth and breadth of technologies and expertise to conquer supply chain complexity. This includes an order management system plus point of sale (POS), product information management (PIM), dropship, and more, together with warehouse management, warehouse control, robotics, voice and simulation technologies to help streamline supply chain processes and elevate the end-customer experience . The Korber Benchmarking Report surveyed more than 200 companies in North America and Europe with greater than 500 employees and is part of a broader research initiative in cooperation with leading international analysts. Full findings are available at benchmarking.koerber-supplychain.com. The site also offers a rapid self-assessment to provide visitors a view into the maturity of their own supply chain operations. About the Korber Business Area Supply Chain Supply chains are growing more complex by the day. Korber uniquely provides a broad range of proven, end-to-end supply chain solutions fitting any business size, strategy or appetite for growth. Our customers conquer the complexity of the supply chain thanks to our portfolio that includes software, automation, mail and parcel solutions, voice solutions, robotics, and materials handling - plus the expertise to tie it all together. Korber helps to manage the supply chain as a competitive advantage. Conquer supply chain complexity - with Korber. The Business Area Supply Chain is part of the global technology group Korber. Find out more on www.koerber-supplychain.com Contact: Mary-Jane Wurker Corporate Communications Manager Korber Business Area Supply Chain Mary-Jane.Wuerker@koerber-supplychain.com T +49 6032 348-2921 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2007762/Korber_Supply_Chain.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1098713/Korber_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/customer-expectations-at-an-all-time-high-only-28-of-businesses-excel-301753350.html The leading music video network chose Amagi's cloud solutions to create, distribute and monetize a slew of channels on FAST platforms LONDON, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Amagi, the global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV, today announced that it has created 21 new FAST channels for music video brand XITE. These channels cater to various genres of music - pop, rock, country, r&b and more. Amagi is distributing the channels to the Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (FAST) platform, Amazon Freevee, in the USA and Europe. "The partnership with XITE has been exhilarating for Amagi. They share our passion for reimagining and reshaping the content ecosystem," said Srinivasan KA, Co-founder & Chief Revenue Officer, Amagi. "XITE's channels will elevate content experiences for CTV audiences and pave the way for more brands to follow in their footsteps." Amagi created the new channels for XITE within a short span of time (4 to 5 weeks) and primed them for distribution using its flagship solution, Amagi CLOUDPORT. The company also provided extensive customization to help XITE monetize their content better not only on Amazon Freevee, but also on other leading FAST platforms, enabling them to insert contextually relevant ads into their content. In the coming months, XITE will distribute the new channels to other leading FAST platforms using Amagi's comprehensive distribution network. "Amagi has always provided us with great service and we're confident in their ability to deliver on this ambitious distribution strategy. Amagi exceeded our expectations at every level," Niels Daalhuizen, Chief Product Officer at XITE "We look forward to bringing our content to more platforms and viewers in the CTV universe with Amagi." Amagi provides a complete suite of solutions for channel creation, distribution and monetization. Amagi's global clients include AccuWeather, Cinedigm, Cox Media Group, Crackle Plus, Fremantle, Gannett, Gusto TV, Tastemade, The Roku Channel,and Vice Media among others. For more information about Amagi and its streaming TV solutions, visit www.amagi.com . About XITE XITE is dedicated to building the best music video experience in the world. Based in Amsterdam, XITE now reaches 100 million households across multiple territories through linear networks, interactive TV apps and on-demand streaming services. XITE has a full music video catalog through agreements with all major and top independent music labels and distributors, and works to expand this offering every day. About Amagi Amagi is a next-generation media technology company that provides cloud broadcast and targeted advertising solutions to broadcast TV and streaming TV platforms. Amagi enables content owners to launch, distribute and monetize live linear channels on Free Ad-supported Streaming TV and video services platforms. Amagi also offers 24x7 cloud-managed services bringing simplicity, advanced automation, and transparency to the entire broadcast operations. Overall, Amagi supports 700+ content brands, 800+ playout chains, and over 2100 channel deliveries on its platform in over 40 countries. Amagi has a presence in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, London, Paris, Melbourne, Seoul, Singapore, and broadcast operations in New Delhi, and an innovation center in Bangalore. Agency Contact: Joseph Lesieutre Wall Street Communications Email: joseph@wallstcom.com Amagi Contact: Sanjay Kirimanjeshwar Vice President - Corporate Marketing Email: sanjay@amagi.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/xite-goes-on-a-fast-spree-with-amagi-301754153.html The Advanced Anticonvulsant System (AAS) - Midazolam autoinjector, delivers enhanced capability to warfighters. This first in market product was developed by Rafa in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense JERUSALEM, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rafa Laboratories LTD. ("Rafa") was awarded a follow-on production agreement for a total value of over $45 million (W911SR2390004) from the Defense Department's (DOD) Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND). Under this follow-on production agreement, Rafa has manufactured and began delivering 10mg Midazolam Injection autoinjectors to the Joint Force since December 2022. The Midazolam Injection autoinjector is indicated for the treatment of status epilepticus in adults. As such, this new Advanced Anticonvulsant System (AAS) autoinjector can be used to treat seizures resulting from nerve agent exposure. According to JPEO-CBRND, "the AAS improves upon, and will eventually replace, the currently fielded Convulsant Antidote for Nerve Agent (CANA) diazepam autoinjector. Fielding the Midazolam Injection autoinjector gives the warfighter and the Nation access to a life-saving medical countermeasure in CBRN environments." This production agreement is a follow-on to a prototype other transaction agreement (W911QY2090014) between the two parties that led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the Midazolam Injection autoinjector on 2022. According to guidelines of the American Epilepsy Society, Midazolam Intramuscular is a first-line therapy for Status Epilepticus. Rafa's innovation resides in the use of an autoinjector to be administered intramuscularly to the thigh (can be administered through clothes as well), in a simple and fast manner which does not require an intravenous line. This is a significant advantage in a field setting during an emergency, when fast treatment reduces the likelihood of permanent damage that could result from a continuous seizure. The product was developed and is currently being manufactured at Rafa's site located in Jerusalem, Israel. It is already sold for emergency purposes to NATO member states and is an important addition to Rafa's expanding autoinjector portfolio, which includes various formulations for emergency use. This production agreement demonstrates further cooperation between Rafa and the JPEO-CBRND, having previously collaborated on the production of Rafa's Atropine autoinjector that was launched in the U.S. in 2017. About Rafa Founded in 1937 and headquartered in Jerusalem, Israel, Rafa is among the leading pharmaceutical companies in Israel and a global player in emergency solutions - medical countermeasures, supplying reliable and robust auto-injectors to government agencies, military forces and civilian populations- at scale. Rafa's competencies span over the entire value chain from R&D and manufacturing by international standards (e.g. FDA, EMA) all the way through sales and marketing. With a proven track record of successful commercialization of niche and orphan products, Rafa has been privileged to nurture long-lasting alliances with leading innovative companies such as United Therapeutics, Helsinn, Zambon, Dr. Falk and Mundipharma, in a variety of therapeutic areas including oncology, hematology, respiratory, gastroenterology, and dermatology. Rafa's controlling shareholder, FIMI Opportunity Funds, is the leading private equity fund in Israel with a track record of success spanning over 25 years and assets under management of $7b. Since its inception, FIMI's performance has been exceptional by both local and global standards after having completed close to 100 investments." For additional information, please contact Roy Shay, Head of Emergency Solutions at Rafa, roys@rafa.co.il View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/us-department-of-defense-awards-rafa-laboratories-production-follow-on-agreement-of-over-45-million-301754177.html Following are the latest Corporate Social Responsibility news releases and story ideas available from Business Wire. These recaps, curated by Business Wire, provide reporters and bloggers around the globe instant access to the latest news releases, providing relevant and trending content to share with their audiences. Discover more news via Business Wire's Hot Topic recaps or create a custom news feed specific to your needs here. This service is provided at no charge to members of the media and financial communities. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005148/en/ PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Ken Frazier to Chair Transcarent Board of Directors Issuer: Transcarent BOSTON -- Fidelity Charitable donors recommend a record $11.2 billion in grants during 2022-bolstering nonprofits with $1 billion more during a year of economic downturn Issuer: Fidelity Charitable LONDON -- NatureAlpha Announces Collaboration With MSCI Issuer: NatureAlpha IRVINE, Calif. -- Non-Profits Shine at NASCAR: Jessie Rees Foundation Partners With Spire Motorsports to Bring National Attention to Kids Fighting Cancer Issuer: Jessie Rees Foundation MILWAUKEE -- Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Publishes 2022 Sustainability Report; Product Donations Provide Safer Drinking Water for School Children Issuer: Zurn Elkay Water Solutions LUGANO, Switzerland -- The Second Season of Sailing into the Future. Together Is About to Start Issuer: IBSA MUMBAI HYDERABAD BENGALURU PUNE, India -- Wellness, Inclusive Camaraderie and Community Impact Take Center Stage at J.P. Morgan Run Issuer: JPMorgan Chase Co. PARIS -- Teleperformance: 2022: Robust Growth and Record Profitability in a Highly Challenging Year Issuer: Teleperformance SE NEW YORK -- Colgate Women's Games Returns for 48th Season Issuer: Colgate-Palmolive Company MONTERREY, Mexico ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. LUGANO, Switzerland -- CEMEX, Sandia Labs, and Synhelion to Scale Solar Energy Technology to Produce Cement Issuer: CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. and Sandia National Laboratories and Synhelion TORONTO -- Xaba Closes Seed Funding to Drive Intelligent Automation for Sustainable Manufacturing Issuer: Xaba LONDON -- GSR Launches Foundation with $10m Pledge Celebrating 10 years of Business Issuer: GSR PITTSBURGH -- PPG, PPG Foundation invested $16.2 million in communities worldwide in 2022 Issuer: PPG EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Berry Appoints New VP of Global Diversity and Inclusion to Develop Leading D&I Strategy Issuer: Berry Global Group, Inc. DENVER -- CSG Publishes Inaugural Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures Report Issuer: CSG CHICAGO -- Motorola Solutions Foundation Sets a New Record of Giving Through Employee Volunteerism and Strategic Grants Issuer: Motorola Solutions OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Black Veatch Appoints Industry Thought Leader to Sustainability Leadership Role Issuer: Black Veatch MIAMI DALLAS -- Southern Glazer's Wine Spirits Launches Incubator Academy Education Program for Diverse- and Women-Owned Brands Issuer: Southern Glazer's Wine Spirits NEW YORK -- Moody's Seeking Nonprofit Partners Aligned with Community Impact Strategy Issuer: Moody's Corporation Investor Relations CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. -- Aptar Again Receives Platinum Rating from EcoVadis Issuer: AptarGroup, Inc. WYOMISSING, Pa. -- UGI Launches Joint Venture with Archaea Energy to Develop Renewable Natural Gas Project in Pennsylvania Issuer: UGI Corporation PARIS -- After Colombia, Teleperformance Receives Independent Assurance from Bureau Veritas Regarding Use and Inclusion of International Standard ISO 26000 Guidelines in Six Countries Issuer: Teleperformance Group FREMONT, Calif., CLEARWATER, Fla. -- TD SYNNEX Unveils First Corporate Citizenship Report Issuer: TD SYNNEX HERZOGENAURACH, Germany -- PUMA Joins Zero100 to Find Industry-wide Solutions to Reduce Carbon Emissions in the Supply Chain Issuer: PUMA MONTERREY, Mexico -- Volvo Trucks and CEMEX Unveil First Fully Electric Heavy Concrete Mixer Truck Issuer: CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. VANCOUVER, Canada -- Global Partners Announce Innovations for Marine Managers to Help Our Oceans With Private Sector Support From Mary Kay Inc. Issuer: Mary Kay NEWARK, Del. -- Application Window Open for The Sallie Mae Fund's Bridging the Dream Scholarship Program Issuer: Sallie Mae CHICAGO -- American Dental Association Foundation Kicks Off the 21st Year of Give Kids A Smile With Exclusive National Sponsors, Henry Schein and Colgate-Palmolive Issuer: ADA Foundation and Henry Schein, Inc. and Colgate-Palmolive Company LOS ANGELES -- Next Level Apparel and GK Global Form Strategic Nearshore Fabric Supply Partnership Issuer: Next Level Apparel CINCINNATI -- Cintas Kicks Off Heart Health Month with TJ McMahon's Life-Saving Story Issuer: Cintas Corporation JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Rayonier Advanced Materials Publishes 2022 ESG Progress Update Issuer: Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. HAMILTON, Bermuda -- Bacardi Plants a Tree for Every Employee to Celebrate 161st Anniversary With a Gift to the Planet Issuer: Bacardi Limited SWORDS, Ireland -- Trane Technologies Named to FORTUNE Magazine World's Most Admired Companies List for Eleventh Consecutive Year Issuer: Trane Technologies DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Ingersoll Rand Acquires Paragon Tank Truck Issuer: Ingersoll Rand Inc. BROOKWOOD, Ala. -- Warrior Met Coal Publishes 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report Issuer: Warrior Met Coal, Inc. NEW YORK -- Moody's Named to Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for Fourth Consecutive Year Issuer: Moody's Corporation Investor Relations NEW YORK -- Church Pension Group Hosts Conversation on 2023 Sustainable Investing Landscape and Strategies Issuer: The Church Pension Group CHICAGO -- Hyatt Named to Institutional Investor 2023 All-America Executive Team Issuer: Hyatt Hotels Corporation PARIS -- Teleperformance Announces Results of Trust and Safety Global Employee Experience Survey Issuer: Teleperformance CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Leader of Impact: Cintas' Katie Gough-Edwards Issuer: Cintas Corporation DALLAS -- Colossal Biosciences Secures $150M Series B and Announces Plan to De-Extinct the Iconic Dodo Issuer: Colossal Biosciences PHILADELPHIA -- Aramark Publishes Annual ESG Progress Report: Company's Be Well. Do Well. Platform Provides Update on Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance Performance Issuer: Aramark NEW YORK -- Tapestry, Inc. Highlights Commitment to Sustainability and Inclusion in FY2022 Corporate Responsibility Report Issuer: Tapestry, Inc. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- PPG global leaders transform Boys Girls Club in Florida with COLORFUL COMMUNITIES project Issuer: PPG CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. -- Aptar Pharma Launches First Metal-Free Nasal Spray Pump, Meeting Growing Need for Highly Recyclable Packaging Issuer: AptarGroup, Inc. PARIS -- Teleperformance Commended by the OECD French National Contact Point for Implementing Its Recommendations and Maintaining Duty of Care Issuer: Teleperformance LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- GEA Debuts Launchpad Program for Diverse-Owned Suppliers Issuer: GE Appliances NEW YORK -- The BuildESG Membership Expands Features to Include Benchmarking of Private Equity and Venture Capital Firms' ESG Programs Issuer: BuildESG PARIS -- Teleperformance Opens Its Sites to Investors in Six Countries Across Four Continents Issuer: Teleperformance EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Berry, Coca-Cola Collaborate to implement Tethered caps in EU markets Issuer: Berry Global Group, Inc. BENSHEIM, Germany -- CBM Distributes 600 Millionth Drug Dose to Protect Against Neglected Tropical Diseases Issuer: Christian Blind Mission About Business Wire Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is the global leader in news release distribution and regulatory disclosure. Public relations, investor relations, public policy, and marketing professionals rely on Business Wire for secure and accurate distribution of market-moving news and multimedia. Founded in 1961, Business Wire is a trusted source for news organizations, journalists, investment professionals, and regulatory authorities, delivering news directly into editorial systems and leading online news sources via its multi-patented NX Network. Business Wire's global newsrooms are available to meet the needs of communications professionals and news media worldwide. For more information about Business Wire, please email us at info@businesswire.com or call 888.381.9473. Subscribe to our blog for communications industry trends and tactics delivered straight to your inbox, and follow Business Wire on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005148/en/ Contacts: Business Wire 212-752-9600 Abler Nordic is the new name of Nordic Microfinance Initiative, a public-private partnership investing in companies in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia supporting low-income households with financial services. The new name was launched locally at an event in Nairobi on February 21 by Managing Director Arthur Sletteberg, along with the announcement of the start of fundraising for their latest Fund V in 2023. Sub-Saharan Africa is one of our key regions, and we are are excited to continue our growth under our new name and our new fund. Global poverty has risen for the first time in 20 years and low-income people in Africa are among the hardest hit by climate threats, despite contributing very little to global greenhouse gas emissions. Access to a wide range of financial services such as savings, agricultural financing, and insurance in addition to microcredit helps low-income people adapt and manage economic and climate shocks. Our new name reflects our companys overall goal: to help low-income households gain access to these types of relevant financial services so that they can lay a foundation for a better life, said Arthur Sletteberg, Managing Director of Abler Nordic. At Abler Nordic, public investment capital from the Norwegian and Danish governmental funds for developing countries, Norfund and IFU respectively, is blended with commercial capital from private investors. Abler Nordic has invested a total of over USD 34 million in Sub-Saharan Africa, with current investments of USD 17.5 million. Foreign Exchange Facilities, funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, enables Abler Nordic to provide capital in local currency and have been instrumental in securing both equity and debt investments in Sub-Saharan Africa of USD 27 million where hedging conditions otherwise would limit such investments. The opportunities for inclusive economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa are vast, but more risk-willing investment capital is needed. At Abler Nordic we do not invest where it is easiest or where risk is lowest, but where we believe we can achieve the biggest social impact alongside sustainable financial returns. I am looking forward to continuing to partner with our African portfolio companiesalongside our Kenya-based teamand seeking new investment opportunities as we continue to grow in Africa, said Godfrey Kaindoh, Investment Director and Head of Abler Nordics Africa office. A committed and long-term investor with a tailor-made approach, Abler Nordic plays an active role in the development of the five Sub-Saharan African financial inclusion organisations it is currently directly invested in: Juhudi Kilimo (Kenya), Kenya Women Microfinance Bank, Baobab Group (Senegal, Ivory Coast, Mali, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Tunisia, DRC, and Madagascar), Baobab Senegal, and Tugende (Uganda and Kenya). Abler Nordic holds board seats at all their equity investments and partners with portfolio companies to create value and support sustainable growth to help them achieve their mission. Today, Abler Nordics global portfolio companies reach 9.4 million customers, 93 percent of whom are women and 71 percent living in rural areas. Women often face systemic barriers in accessing formal financial products, and rural areas are often the last to be financially served, due in part to infrastructure challenges. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 90 percent of loans are given for income generating purposes, which allow both rural and urban households to start and grow small businesses and improve their quality of life through increased spending on healthcare, education, and home improvements. Since inception in 2008, over 12 million customers globally have been supported with access to responsible financial services through Abler Nordics investments. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Lotus Ventures Inc. (CSE:J)(OTC PINK:LTTSF) ("Lotus" or the "Company") a North Okanagan based licensed cannabis producer and the owner of Lotus Cannabis Co., a premium-craft consumer brand in Canada announced the financial results for the period ending August 31, 2022. CORPORATE HIGHLIGHTS The primary feature of Fiscal 2022 was the diversification of sales channels from an almost exclusive business-to-business ("B2B") sales model to adding additional business-to-consumer ("B2C") channels. Difficulties in the B2B market generated a steep decline in sales volume and pricing which culminated in a large year-end loss of $4,792,759 after significant inventory and fair value accounting write-downs. Overhead and operating expenses are lean, and the Company has obtained short-term debt from related and other parties during this transition period. At the date of this news release, sales are recovering as we implement the marketing and sales evolution strategy initiated last year. The highlights of our efforts during the year-end August 31, 2022 are as follows: Lotus received approval for the Direct Delivery sales program in British Columbia for cultivators producing under 3,000kg per year. Subsequent to year-end, the Company started utilizing the program through wholesale relationships in BC. Building on the evolving sales diversification strategy detailed in the news release dated July 27, 2022, Lotus has made progress in the B2C channels by applying for provincial product calls in BC, Ontario and Atlantic Canadian provinces, and by diversifying wholesale partners in BC. Lotus continued the development of its product portfolio of exclusively grown strains in the legal Canadian market. Lotus added three premium strains to its production which are first-to-market strains in the legal Canadian market. As of the date of this news release, the Lotus Keylime Kush 3.5g flower and 3 x 0.5g pre-rolls are being sold in British Columbia with additional announcements expected in 2023. SALES AND MARKETING HIGHLIGHTS In April 2022, following on the successful launch of the Kalifornia, Lotus launched the Tranquil Elephantizer in collaboration with Kolab Project. During the year-end period, the Tranquil Elephantizer was sold in a 3.5 gram format in British Columbia and Ontario. Lotus continued sales efforts for the Kalifornia and Tranquil Elephantizer with both products listed in British Columbia and Ontario during the year. The Company sold a total of 1,013kg of cannabis in the 12-month period, generating revenue of $1.6 million. Bulk wholesale of cannabis accounted for 100% of revenue during the 12-month period. The Lotus flower was sold primarily in British Columbia and Ontario during the year compared to in several provinces in previous years. During the year, the wholesale selling price of flower was between $1.25 and $3.50 per gram. The overall market has become oversaturated which has resulted in price compression. OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS During the year, Lotus completed its 100 th consecutive production harvest since commencing operations in 2018. The Company has found operational success with its Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) method of indoor hydroponic cannabis cultivation. consecutive production harvest since commencing operations in 2018. The Company has found operational success with its Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) method of indoor hydroponic cannabis cultivation. Lotus harvested its largest single LOT of the Tranquil Elephantizer with over a 50% greater yield than original expectations. Tranquil Elephantizer has been grown with THC ranging between 21% to 28% and terpene content between 2.0% and 3.3%. The Company produced 2,008kg during the 12-month period ending August 31, 2022 compared to 2,200kg in the prior year period. As at August 31, 2022, the Company had approximately 1,439kg of cannabis available for sale consisting of the Kalifornia and Tranquil Elephantizer strains. Lotus finished developing its subsequent premium cannabis strains, following strong launches of the Kalifornia and Tranquil Elephantizer. Building on tradition, the recently grown Lotus strains are again expected to be first-to-market in Canada and are expected to be in the range of 24% to 30% in THC content and between 2.5% and 3.1% in terpene content. SELECTED ANNUAL INFORMATION The following selected financial information is derived from the Company's audited consolidated financial statements for the years ended August 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020. Description Year ended August 31, 2022 Year ended August 31, 2021 Year ended August 31, 2020 Revenues $1,689,783 $5,481,479 $4,629,743 Net income (loss) Income (loss) per share, basic and fully diluted ($4,792,759) ($0.05) $241,097 $0.00 $1,494,002 $0.02 Total assets $13,471,193 $16,907,742 $16,908,437 Total long-term liabilities $Nil $Nil $Nil Cash dividends declared $Nil $Nil $Nil SUMMARY OF QUARTERLY RESULTS During the year ended August 31, 2022, the Company had net loss of $4,792,759 (2021 - $301,797 net income). The financial results of the Company for the eight most recent quarters are summarized below: Description Three months ended Aug 31, 2022 Three months ended May 31, 2022 Three months ended Feb 28, 2022 Three months ended Nov 30, 2021 Revenues $449,574 $459,090 $370,551 $410,568 Net income (loss) ($4,930,606) ($103,573) $176,127 $65,293 Income (loss) per share, basic and diluted ($0.05) $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 EBITDA ($4,633,554) $122,671 $399,757 $279,830 Total assets $13,471,193 $17,640,121 $17,678,148 $17,172,703 Total long-term liabilities $Nil $Nil $Nil $Nil Cash dividends / share $Nil $Nil $Nil $Nil Description Three months ended Aug 31, 2021 Three months ended May 31, 2021 Three months ended Feb 28, 2021 Three months ended Nov 30, 2020 Revenues $1,235,937 $1,437,763 $1,431,509 $1,376,270 Net income (loss) $42,625 $208,893 $329,414 $(339,835) Income (loss) per share, basic and diluted $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 EBITDA $264,876 $433,488 $547,044 $(116,506) Total assets $16,907,742 $16,845,615 $16,841,875 $16,413,969 Total long-term liabilities $Nil $Nil $Nil $Nil Cash dividends / share $Nil $Nil $Nil $Nil During the three months ended August 31, 2022 the Company recognized a net loss of $4,930,606, compared net income of $42,625 for the three months ended August 31, 2021. Net income for the three months ended August 31, 2022 decreased by $4,962,812 as a result of the decline in sales and gross margin, and impairment of inventory in the current period as compared to the prior comparative period. Loans payable at year-end, primarily from related parties totalled $1,011,020 up from $319,704 the previous year. As at December 31, 2022 the amount outstanding totalled approximately $2,920,508. For details see Note 9 and Note 13 of the Audited Statements. Significant items making up the change for the three months ended August 31, 2022 as compared to the three months ended August 31, 2021 were as follows: Gross margin before fair value adjustments decreased by $838,566 as a result of the decrease in sales and impairment of inventory. Impairment of $1,437,000 in harvested cannabis inventory was recognized due to the capitalized costs exceeding the estimated net realizable value of that inventory in the three months ended August 31, 2022. Loss for changes in fair market value of biological assets increased by $2,455,985 due to a decline in market prices. Bank fees and interest increased by $122,597 as a result of an increase in interest on outstanding loans received. For more information about the Audited Financial Statements, please visit lotuscannabis.ca/investors or SEDAR.com. ON BEHALF OF LOTUS VENTURES INC: Lotus Ventures Inc. "Dale McClanaghan" Dale McClanaghan, President and CEO About Lotus Ventures Inc. Lotus Ventures Inc. is a BC-based licensed producer of premium cannabis. Lotus owns the premium-craft consumer brand Lotus Cannabis Co. which has had its cannabis flower sold by wholesale partners in all provinces to date. Lotus is an experienced cultivator on a mission to produce the cleanest and most consistent premium cannabis in Canada. With operations in the North Okanagan B.C., the Lotus Cannabis team has launched popular cultivars like the Keylime Kush, Black Blossom, Tranquil Elephantizer and Kalifornia and currently has flower being sold in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario. To invest in the Company, Lotus Ventures Inc. is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE:J), on the OTC Markets (OTC:LTTSF) and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FRA:LV9). For More Information: President & CEO Dale McClanaghan (604) - 644 - 9844 Investor Relations & Communications Daniel McRobert investors@lotuscannabis.ca (604) - 842 - 4625 General Information info@lotuscannabis.ca (604) - 842 - 4625 To learn more, visit lotuscannabis.ca and follow the Lotus Cannabis Co. brand on social media. Instagram: @lotuscannabisco Twitter: @lotuscannabisco LinkedIn: @lotuscannabisco Facebook: @lotuscanna Forward-Looking Information: This document includes certain statements that are not descriptions of historical facts but are forward-looking statements. Such statements include, among others, those concerning our expected financial performance and strategic and operational plans, our future operating results, our expectations regarding the market for medical and recreational cannabis products, our expectations regarding the continued growth of the medical and recreational cannabis market, as well as all assumptions, expectations, predictions, intentions, or beliefs about future events. Users are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that a number of risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties have not been documented or mentioned in this document nor other communications made by the company. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "targets," "optimistic," "intend," "aim," "will" or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Lotus Ventures, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740465/Lotus-Announces-Financial-Results-for-Fiscal-Year-2022 The bootcamp is meant for aspiring and existing designers It will be held for a period of 5 months and will take place in a live, virtual format Post-completion, learners will receive a University of Massachusetts certificate SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Simplilearn, the world's #1 online bootcamp for digital economy skills training, has partnered with The University of Massachusetts Amherst Isenberg School of Management - Continuing & Professional Education to launch a UI UX bootcamp . The bootcamp is designed to help learners emerge as professional UI UX designers and get an in-depth understanding of the UI UX design field by prospecting topics like UX research, design thinking, user interface design, and more. The bootcamp is ideal for Aspiring UX Designers from any background and Existing Designers wishing to upskill themselves. Having the aspiration to become a UX designer and looking at enhancing one's current UI UX design experience is an advantage. Speaking on the bootcamp, Mr. Anand Narayanan, Chief Product Officer, Simplilearn, said, "In today's world, the website of a company is the face of the brand. With the advancement of digital domains across sectors, UI UX has become a lucrative career option for many. With user experience design becoming more popular, the need to enhance skills becomes more important. For budding UI UX designers, it is crucial to take up the right courses that will help them in polishing their skills. With this in mind, we are happy to partner with the prestigious University of Massachusetts for this bootcamp on UI UX that will enable learners looking at kick-starting a career in the field. The program will help them understand UI UX concepts better to hone the required skills and stay ahead of the industry curve." Sharing thoughts on the partnership with Simplilearn, Dr. Traci J. Hess, Associate Dean, UMass Amherst,University of Massachusetts Amherst Isenberg School of Management - Continuing & Professional Education, said, "We see a rise in interest among students and young professionals to set foot in the UI UX industry, given the rise of the digital economy. UI UX is currently one of the most sought-after career choices because of its creativity, relevance, and promising growth prospects that are being offered to those skilled in the field. Understanding the demand, we have partnered with Simplilearn to curate this bootcamp in UI UX that contains all the topics and modules which an aspiring UI UX designer needs to learn before entering the industry." The bootcamp will be held for a period of 5 months and will take place in the format of live, virtual classes. It will consist of 100% live online learning, Job Assistance, 3 credit transfer to online MBA and MS BA, hands-on learning via assignments and course-end projects and capstone projects, portfolio creation on Dribbble, top design tools, 8x higher engagement in live online classes by Simplilearn's expert instructors and industry recognized certification from University of Massachusetts Amherst Isenberg School of Management - Continuing & Professional Education. The capstone projects from Simplilearn will help in industry problem-solving in e-commerce, fitness, and technology domains. The bootcamp will also cover industry tools such as Balsamiq, Invision, Sketch, and Figma. Post the completion of the bootcamp, learners will receive University of Massachusetts Amherst Isenberg School of Management - Continuing & Professional Education certificates. With the help of Simplilearn's Job Assistance, learners will receive extended support to secure a job after completing the bootcamp. The program will begin with an orientation session and will be followed by sessions on user experience design, user interface and design principles, UI prototyping and styling, UX research and testing, and portfolio building - capstone projects. About The University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst ranks among the top 25 premier public universities by U.S. News Education Rankings. The Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst is consistently ranked in the top 50 business schools in the USA. UMass Amherst: Isenberg School of Management - Continuing & Professional Education has chosen to partner with Simplilearn for these online professional programs. Simplilearn's award-winning immersive learning model delivered via live virtual classes focuses on applied learning to create immediate career impact. In addition to world-class learning, program graduates also gain membership in UMass Amherst Alumni Association. About Simplilearn Founded in 2010 and based in San Francisco, California, and Bangalore, India, Simplilearn, a Blackstone company is the world's #1 online Bootcamp for digital economy skills training. Simplilearn offers access to world-class work-ready training to individuals and businesses around the world. The Bootcamps are designed and delivered with world-renowned universities, top corporations, and leading industry bodies via live online classes featuring top industry practitioners, sought-after trainers, and global leaders. From college students and early career professionals to managers, executives, small businesses, and big corporations, Simplilearn's role-based, skill-focused, industry-recognized, and globally relevant training programs are ideal upskilling solutions for diverse career or/and business goals. For more information, please visit www.simplilearn.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1100016/Simplilearn_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/simplilearn-collaborates-with-the-university-of-massachusetts---amherst-isenberg-school-of-management---continuing--professional-education-to-launch-ui-ux-bootcamp-301754388.html VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Aztec Minerals Corp. (TSXV:AZT)(OTCQB:AZZTF) ("Aztec" or the "Company") announces that it has closed a CAD$1.1 million non-brokered private placement equity financing. The private placement consisted of 4,378,168 million common shares of the Company (the "Shares") priced at CAD$0.25 per Share for gross proceeds of CAD$1,094,542 (the "Private Placement"). No warrants were issued, and no finders fees were payable with respect to this Private Placement. The Private Placement included participation by Alamos Gold Inc., sophisticated investors, existing shareholders and a director of Aztec. Alamos Gold Inc. ("Alamos") (TSX:AGI, NYSE:AGI) participated in the Private Placement with a subscription for 400,000 Shares, for aggregate consideration of $100,000. Prior to the closing of the Private Placement, Alamos held 7,926,089 common shares and 7,926,089 warrants to purchase common shares of the Company. Since Alamos' last Early Warning Report, Aztec completed an acquisition whereby the Company issued 10,000,000 common shares, dropping Alamos' security holding percentage. Consequently, immediately prior to the closing of the Private Placement, Alamos' security holding was 16.16%, on a partially diluted basis, an overall decrease of 1.84% in its security holdings because of Aztec's issuer event. Following the closing of the Private Placement, Alamos holds 8,326,089 common shares and 7,926,089 warrants to purchase common shares of the Company, for a security holding percentage of 15.86% on a partially diluted basis, a further decrease of 0.30% in its security holding resulting in an overall decrease of more than 2% since its last Early Warning Report. Alamos acquired the common shares for investment purposes, which will be evaluated and may be increased or decreased from time to time at Alamos' discretion. A copy of Alamos' Early Warning Report will be available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com or can be requested by contacting Scott K. Parsons, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations, at SParsons@alamosgold.com, 416-368-9932 (ext. 5439) or by mail at Brookfield Place, 181 Bay Street, Suite 3910, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2T3. Two insiders of the Company subscribed for an aggregate 440,000 Shares under the Private Placement, which constitutes a "related party transaction" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company has relied on the exemption from the formal valuation requirement in Section 5.5(b) of MI 61-101, as the Company's common shares are not listed or quoted on any of the markets enumerated therein. The Company has also relied on the exemption from minority shareholder requirement in Section 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as the fair market value of the subscriptions for Shares by the insiders of the Company do not exceed, in aggregate, 25% of the Company's market capitalization. Aztec intends to use the proceeds of the Private Placement to conduct exploration work on its Cervantes porphyry gold-copper project in Sonora, Mexico, and its Tombstone epithermal gold-silver & CRD silver-lead-zinc-copper-gold project in Arizona, USA, as well as for general working capital purposes. The Private Placement is subject to the final acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Shares issued pursuant to the Private Placement are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day from the closing of the Private Placement. About Aztec Minerals - Aztec is a mineral exploration company focused on two emerging discoveries in North America. The Cervantes project is an emerging porphyry gold-copper discovery in Sonora, Mexico. The Tombstone project is an emerging gold-silver discovery with high grade CRD silver-lead-zinc potential in southern Arizona. Aztec's shares trade on the TSX-V stock exchange (symbol AZT) and on the OTCQB (symbol AZZTF). Contact Information - For more information, please contact: Simon Dyakowski, President & CEO, Director Tel: (604) 619-7469 Fax: (604) 685-9744 Email: simon@aztecminerals.com Website: www.aztecminerals.com This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements under Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects" or "it is expected", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from results contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Accordingly, the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. SOURCE: Aztec Minerals Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740437/Aztec-Minerals-Closes-11-Million-Private-Placement-Financing Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - Silk Road Energy Inc. (TSXV: SLK), doing business under the name Record Gold, reports that it is presently initiating an independent geological report on the Grenfell gold property which is subject to an option agreement held by a private company with which it is transacting. Record Gold Corp is commencing a NI 43-101-compliant geological report on Grenfell, a gold property located near Kirkland Lake, Ontario, in order to meet TSX Venture Exchange policy conditions in regards to non-arms length asset sales. The report is expected to be ready for regulatory submission in two weeks. As previously disclosed (Silk Road News Release, September 7, 2022), the non-arms-length transaction with Pelangio Exploration Inc pursuant to a conveyance agreement executed on August 23, 2022, is with Record Gold Corp ("Record Gold"), an Ontario-based private exploration company. The transaction is a "related party transaction" as defined under MI 61-101 as Michael C. Judson is CEO, director and shareholder of Silk Road and President, director and shareholder of Record Gold. David Johnson is Corporate Secretary, director and shareholder of Silk Road and Corporate Secretary and shareholder of Record Gold. Dr. Paul Craig is a director and shareholder of Silk Road and a shareholder of Record Gold. Record Gold Corp has agreed to exchange its option agreement with Pelangio Exploration Inc. (PX.V) in return 40 million shares of Silk Road at a price of $0.05 per share. Following the transaction Silk Road will have 70,871,684 issued and outstanding shares. The Grenfell transaction requires the approval of the company's disinterested shareholders. This vote would follow the submission of the NI 43-101-compliant geological report to the TSX Venture Exchange and shareholders. Silk Road did receive approval for a corporate name change by the majority vote of disinterested shareholders (non-conflicted, non-insiders) following the special mailing to shareholders concluded on December 21, 2022. Following approval from the TSX Venture Exchange, the company's new name will be Record Resources Inc. The Grenfell gold property is comprised of 38 mining cells and eight leased claims covering an area of approximately 6.7 square kilometres and is located 10 kilometers northwest of Agnico Eagle's Macassa Mine in Kirkland Lake Ontario. Grenfell is also located five kilometres west of Record's Kenogami East property (see August 10, 2022 news release) Following the conveyance of the option agreement to Record, the option agreement with Pelangio will have the following terms: Record Gold has the right to earn an undivided 80% interest in Grenfell by completing a total of $2,000,000 in work costs or exploration expenditures to be incurred within five years and by making one-time cash payment to Pelangio. The work costs shall be completed in accordance with the following schedule: $250,000 must spent on the property twenty-four (24) months from the date of the signing of the Agreement; $500,000 on or before the third anniversary; $750,000 on or before the fourth anniversary; and, $500,000 on or before the fifth anniversary. In addition to the work costs associated with the earn-in agreement, Record Gold shall pay to Pelangio a one-time $60,000 payment in twenty-four (24) months. In other news, the company reports closing the first tranche of its private placement of shares. The company has issued 795,580 common shares at a price of $0.05 per share and half of a common share warrant exercisable at $0.10 per share for two years. The first tranche of this private placement raised $39,779 in proceeds before broker compensation. The company paid a commission of $700 and issued broker warrants amounting to 14,000 in connection with the financing. The company reports that, following this financing, it will have 70,871,684 shares outstanding (this includes 40 million following the Grenfell transaction). This financing and the Grenfell transaction are both subject to TSX Venture Exchange, regulatory and board approvals. As previously disclosed (Silk Road News Release, September 7, 2022), below is selected assay data from historic drilling on Grenfell: Table part 1 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/1769/155838_8b92dbba24db0852_001bfull.jpg Table part 2 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/1769/155838_8b92dbba24db0852_002bfull.jpg Qualified Person: Edward Procyshyn, P.Geo, a qualified person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. For more information please contact: Michael C. Judson, Chairman & CEO, Record Gold Corp. T. +1-514-865-5496 Website: www.recordgoldcorp.com Cautionary Statements This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes", an or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would" , "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: approval of the Private Placement and obtaining a full revocation order. This forward-looking information reflects the Company's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to the Company and on assumptions the Company believes are reasonable. These assumptions include, but are not limited to: the market acceptance of the Private Placement; the ability of the Company to obtain a full revocation order and the receipt of all required approvals in connection with the foregoing. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; general capital market conditions and market price for securities; and the delay or failure to receive board, shareholder, court or regulatory approvals. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law the Company does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change. The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. The Units and the securities comprising the Units have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirement. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities nor shall there be any sale of securities in the Unites States, or any other jurisdiction, in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Not for distribution to U.S. Newswire Services or for dissemination in the United States. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of U.S. Securities laws To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155838 SOL Global Invests $825,000 to Increase its Position in Simply Better Brands Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - SOL Global Investments Corp. (CSE: SOL) (OTC Pink: SOLCF) (FSE: 9SB) ("SOL Global" or the "Company") a diversified private equity firm targeting best-in-class companies that operate in high-growth industries is pleased to announce that it has completed an investment in Simply Better Brands Corp. (TSXV: SBBC) (OTCQB: PKANF) ("Simply Better"). SOL Global acquired 3.3 million units of Simply Better (each a "Unit") at a price of $0.25 per Unit, representing approximately 4.69% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Simply Better. Each Unit consists of one common share of Simply Better (each a "Common Share") and one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant (each a "Warrant"). Each whole Warrant is exercisable for a period of two years at an exercise price of $0.45 per Common Share. Following the transaction, the Company's holding percentage of Simply Better was 8.0% on a non-diluted basis and 7.9% on a fully diluted basis. Simply Better Brands Corp. leads an international omni-channel platform with diversified assets in the emerging plant-based and holistic wellness consumer product categories; focused on leading innovation for the informed Millennial and Gen Z consumers in the rapidly growing plant-based, natural, and active lifestyle space. The Simply Better business model creates high-impact synergies, such as data sharing to enhance ecommerce platforms conversion optimization, cross-brand consumer journey migration, and "back end" infrastructure leverage. Expansion is expected into high-growth consumer product categories including CBD, plant-based food and beverage, and the global pet care and skin care industries. Kevin Taylor, CEO and Chairman, stated, "The Simply Better team has tremendous conviction in the business, and we are excited to increase our stake in the company to help Simply Better grow rapidly and capture market share." About SOL Global Investments Corp. SOL Global is a diversified investment and private equity holding company engaged in the small and mid-cap sectors. SOL Global's investment partnerships range from minority positions to large strategic holdings with active advisory mandates. The Company's seven primary business segments include Retail, Agriculture, QSR & Hospitality, Media Technology & Gaming, and New Age Wellness. The Company's head office is located at 100 King Street West, Suite 5600, Toronto, Ontario, M5X 1C9. CONTACT INFORMATION SOL Global Investments Corp. Paul Kania, CFO Phone: (212) 729-9208 Email: info@solglobal.com Cautionary Statements This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by words or phrases such as "may", "will", "expect", "likely", "should", "would", "plan", "anticipate", "intend", "potential", "proposed", "estimate", "believe" or the negative of these terms, or other similar words, expressions and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" happen, or by discussions of strategy. The forward-looking information contained in this press release includes, without limitation, the Company's strategic investment plans in Simply Better. By their nature, forward-looking information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. A variety of factors, including known and unknown risks, many of which are beyond our control, could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information in this press release including: Simply Better's future business and financial position, the price levels and trading volume of Simply Better's common shares, conditions in the securities markets and general economic and industry conditions, reliance on management; the ability of the Company to service its debt; the Company's ability to obtain additional financing from time to time to pursue its business objectives; competition; litigation; inconsistent public opinion and perception regarding the medical-use and adult-use marijuana industry; and regulatory or political change. Readers are cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties and potential events carefully and not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date of this press release and is based on the beliefs, estimates, expectations and opinions of management on the date such forward-looking information is made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155877 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - ShiftCarbon (formerly Tracesafe) (CSE: SHFT) (OTC PINK: SHIFF) (the "Company"), a global leader in the Internet of Things (IoT) platforms and an innovator in end-to-end decarbonization solutions, is pleased to announce its first revenue-generating engagement with solutions by stc. The first phase of revenue from this project is estimated to be US$5 million with the potential for additional revenue in the form of a long-term supply of goods as the smart city becomes operational. In August 2022, the company announced its partnership with Saudi Arabian's publicly-listed technology giant to build and offer innovative technology solutions to customers across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The two companies have now started working together to deliver a full suite of Smart City infrastructure to one of the most ambitious luxury regenerative tourism destinations in the world that aims to set new standards in sustainable development. "It is an honor to finally kick off this historic engagement with our partners at solutions by stc. We are grateful to have been selected to participate in such a massive undertaking that aims to set new standards in sustainable development and further strengthen the position of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the global tourism map. We are thrilled to have our vision for smart cities embraced by the most valuable telecom brand in the Middle East," said Wayne Lloyd, CEO of ShiftCarbon. Creating sustainable tourism destinations is closely aligned with Saudi Vision 2030, a goal to develop the economy with a commitment to invest US$150B into local real-estate projects. Through this project, the Kingdom aims to protect and enhance the natural environment and create a net positive increase in conservation value by 2040. The Green Finance accredited facility is set to run solely on renewable energy and has the highest Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating for sustainable urban planning. Studies indicate that the Smart Cities market in Saudi Arabia is expected to reach US$14 billion by 2027, exhibiting a growth rate of 19.6% from 2020 to 2027. The implementation of smart cities in the region aims to tackle urbanization challenges and promote sustainable economic growth and improved quality of life through the integration of Information and Communication Technologies in various aspects such as economy, environment, mobility, health, living, and governance. About ShiftCarbon Shiftcarbon provides an innovative platform for carbon accounting, offsets, and MRV (Measurement, Reporting, and Verification) automation. Businesses can use Shiftcarbon Measure to view a complete picture of their carbon emissions, without the need to hire external consultants or use manual calculations. Shiftcarbon Offset provides enterprises with powerful APIs that allow customers to embed carbon offsets into their business. Find more details on www.shiftcarbon.io. ShiftCarbon also operates TraceSafe, a leading IoT cloud platform. The solution uses sensor technology to deliver precise and timely information, powering safer and smarter enterprise environments. With a presence across North America, Asia, and Europe, TraceSafe is trusted by leading organizations in healthcare, hospitality, construction, events, education, and government. Find more details on www.tracesafe.io. About solutions by stc Solutions by stc is a Saudi-listed company and the Kingdom's leading enabler of digital transformation and the number one IT service provider in the Kingdom, enabling the public and private sectors to transform, reach and scale into a new digital age. Solutions by stc provides clients integrated technology solutions through a broad portfolio that enhances their day-to-day operations. Its core ICT services are designed to enable, manage and scale businesses. Solutions by stc launched its operations two decades ago and to date has serviced almost 24,000 clients across 35 cities in Saudi Arabia and in key sectors, including financial services, healthcare and education. solutions by stc has approximately 1500 employees with over 1,000 certified on key technologies and business domains. www.solutions.com.sa For further information, please contact: Wayne Lloyd, CEO +1 (604) 629-9975 wayne@shiftcarbon.io Mark Leung, CFO +1 (778) 655-4242 mark@shiftcarbon.io The Canadian Securities Exchange has in no way approved or disapproved the contents of this news release. Statements in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on ShiftCarbon's expectations, estimates and projections regarding its business and the economic environment in which it operates, including with respect to expectations regarding the ShiftCarbon assets and their application, future business plans and relationships, future developments in respect of carbon and climate risks and solutions adopted in response to climate change, the deployment and acceptance of the ShiftCarbon technology, and the risk of non-performance on subcontracting obligations. Although ShiftCarbon believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict, including the suitability of our products to help businesses and governments respond to climate change and impact of carbon emissions and government responses thereto and general economic and market conditions. Therefore, outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements and readers should not place undue reliance on such statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and ShiftCarbon undertakes no obligation to update them publicly to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances unless otherwise required to do so by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155903 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - African Energy Metals Inc. (TSXV: CUCO) (FSE: BC2) (OTCQB: NDENF) (WKN: A3DEJG) ("African Energy Metals" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update on the transformative Mali polymetallic acquisition announced in a news release dated January 18, 2023. The proposed acquisition is of all the issued and outstanding shares of Delta Exploration Mali SARL from a wholly owned subsidiary of GoviEx Uranium Inc. Delta holds three exploration licenses in Mali, West Africa totalling 225 kms (the "Licenses") known as the Falea project. The Licenses have significant uranium, copper, and silver resources in the Indicated and Inferred categories and remain open for expansion in most directions.1 Over 235,000 m of drilling has been completed by previous owners and only 5% of the Licenses have been explored. Falea is in the proximity of the B2 Gold Fekola mine and the IAM Gold Siribaya deposit. The Company has made substantial progress on the acquisition. The conditional approval of the TSX Venture Exchange was received on January 31, 2023, and the Company is confident it will be able to satisfy the TSXV's conditions prior to the March 15, 2023 anticipated closing date. The Company is in the process of having the 2015 NI 43-101 Technical Report on Falea updated as requested by the TSXV. After closing the acquisition, African Energy Metals will retain Mineral Management Consulting SARL ("MMC") to advise on all matters relating to operations and compliance in Mali. MMC is in the capital city Bamako and is owned and operated by an experienced senior consultant with expertise in governmental relations and mining license renewals in Mali. Mr. Stephen Barley, Executive Chairman commented: "We are pleased with our progress to date on the Falea acquisition and will continue working towards a successful conclusion." About African Energy Metals African Energy Metals is a natural resource company with a focus on the acquisition, exploration, development, and operation of uranium, copper, cobalt, and lithium energy metals projects in Africa. African Energy Metals has the intention of acquiring interests in additional concessions or relinquishing concessions in the normal course of business. African Energy Metals has an experienced management team located in the DRC. For further information, please contact: Stephen Barley, Executive Chairman Phone: +1-604-428-7050 Email: info@africanenergymetals.com Website: www.africanenergymetals.com Reader Advisory Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Although the Company believes, considering the experience of its officers and directors, current conditions and expected future developments and other factors that have been considered appropriate, that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on them as the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct including the closing of the acquisition and satisfying TSXV requirements. The statements in this press release are made as of the date of this release. The Company undertakes no obligation to comment on analyses, expectations or statements made by third parties in respect of the Company its securities, or its financial or operating results. 1 "Technical Report on the Falea Uranium, Silver and Copper Deposit, Mali, West Africa dated October 26, 2015 authored by Mark B. Mathisen, C.P.G. " To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155884 WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Health insurance company Humana Inc. (HUM) said on Thursday that it is exiting the Employer Group Commercial Medical Products business in a phased manner over the next 18 to 24 months. 'Following a strategic review, the company determined that the Employer Group Commercial Medical Products business was no longer positioned to sustainably meet the needs of commercial members over the long term or support the company's long-term strategic plans,' the company said in a statement. The business includes all fully insured, self-funded and federal staff health benefit medical plans, as well as associated wellness and rewards programs. The company does not expect the decision to impact its earnings outlook for 2023 or any other health plan offerings. Copyright(c) 2023 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Former Authority Brands CEO Brings Firsthand Franchising Perspective to Thriving M&A Advisory Firm JUPITER, FL / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Boxwood Partners, a trusted mid-market investment bank with significant experience in franchising, proudly announces the addition of Rob Weddle as Managing Director, effective immediately. Weddle, the former CEO of the leading home services platform Authority Brands, will provide strategic advisory to franchisors and other consumer service brands preparing for growth and eventual liquidity. Boxwood has a long-standing relationship with Authority Brands across several deals, including acting as Authority Brands' co-advisor last year on its sale to British Columbia Investment Management Corporation ("BCI") and Funds Advised by Apax. In addition, several Boxwood clients have joined the Authority Brands platform over the past few years, including Monster Tree Service, STOP Restoration, DoodyCalls and Color World Painting. Boxwood Partners has also been active within the franchisee base of Authority Brands, having advised Altamont Capital Partners on their 2022 acquisition of Service Minds, the largest franchisee of Mister Sparky. "Having a successful executive with an entrepreneurial journey in franchising such as Rob's join our team cements us as trusted leaders in the franchising advisory and M&A space," said J. Patrick Galleher, Managing Partner of Boxwood Partners. "Rob has experienced the Boxwood process and client service firsthand from both sides of the table. His decision to join our team speaks volumes to current and prospective clients as well as the broader franchise community about the value he sees in our services." In addition to assisting company owners to prepare for sale, Weddle will also provide advisory around partnering with private equity to accelerate growth. As a former franchise executive and investor, Weddle has extremely relevant experience for entrepreneurs, families and executives who are seeking the best outcomes. "I'm looking forward to joining forces with the M&A advisory firm that I have personally trusted and partnered with in past deals," Weddle said. "Boxwood has established themselves as the leading investment bank in the franchise space, and my knowledge and background will be a great benefit to franchisors looking for growth opportunities organically, or within the private equity sector." From Franchisee to Franchisor, Investor and Franchise Advocate Weddle has been in franchising since 2002, where he started as a franchisee of The Cleaning Authority. In 2005, he joined the franchisor and eventually was named as CEO in 2014. In 2017, Rob led the formation of Authority Brands and oversaw the company's evolution as the leading multi-brand services franchisor. Rob and his team executed 11 brand acquisitions, led the business through a whole business securitization, oversaw substantial gains in unit counts, system sales, and earnings growth, and took the company through two successful exits alongside PNC Riverarch Capital and Apax Partners. He left his role as CEO in late 2022, as Apax Partners transitioned the business to BCI and another Apax fund. Weddle remains an active franchise investor and is still a multi-unit franchisee of The Cleaning Authority. Boxwood Partners has advised on 25-plus franchise transitions since 2019, across a variety of sectors including home and commercial services, health and wellness, food and beverage, QSR and franchise services. "We have a deep understanding of the value drivers within franchise models and take the time upfront to help founders position their platforms accordingly," said Brian Alas, Manager Director of Boxwood Partners. "Rob's experience only furthers our credibility within franchising while also being able to leverage his deep experience as both an operator and C-suite executive." About Boxwood Partners Boxwood Partners, LLC is a boutique investment bank based in Jupiter, Florida with offices in Richmond, Virginia. Boxwood Partners combines a unique blend of senior-level transaction advisory, business operating experience, and proven process execution skills to give its clients a distinct advantage in the market. The firm's extensive relationships within the global capital and buyer communities (including U.S. and international private equity groups, corporations, and lenders) and other important transaction-related service providers such as consultants, attorneys, and accountants, ensure that the firm's clients receive the attention, service, and results they deserve. For more information about Boxwood Partners, please visit www.boxwoodpartners.com. Media Contact: Angelic Venegas avenegas@fishmanpr.com 847-945-1300 SOURCE: Boxwood Partners LLC View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740432/Boxwood-Partners-Announces-Rob-Weddle-as-Managing-Director Discovery Drilling focusing on Zata and Benjamin Targets Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - Minera Alamos Inc. (TSXV: MAI) (the "Company" or "Minera Alamos") is pleased to announce that further to its news release dated January 31st, 2023, this year's exploration plans at Santana are underway. The focus on this year's drilling plan will be led by discovery drilling on a number of gold bearing breccia pipes in the cluster that comprise the Santana project. Some of these priority targets like Zata and Benjamin West have never been drilled before but have been shown to be gold bearing from several passes of surface sampling programs completed in recent years. Up to 80 holes totaling 10,000 m of drilling have been laid out by the Company's exploration team with the first phase of the drilling commencing at Benjamin Hill (5-6 holes) and Benjamin West (2 holes) before moving to Zata (5-8 holes). With two active areas of drilling the Company expects to have the initial assays back from the Benjamin area while drilling continues at Zata enabling the next round of Benjamin drilling to be properly informed by the results received. Benjamin West is several hundred meters west of the Benjamin Hill target and has never been drilled. Several passes of surface sampling of the outcropping breccia have returned grab assays as high as samples MC-1945 (15.28 g/t Au) and MC-1942 (20.88 g/t Au) within a cluster of 28 samples greater than 0.12 g/t Au that averaged 1.59 g/t Au. The target sits close to the andesite, quartz monzonite and tertiary sediment contacts that appear to be a highly prospective contact across the property. Zata has a surface expression of roughly 400m by 400m where surface rock chip samples have confirmed mineralization with grades up to 2 g/t gold. The zone appears to be consistent with the type of feldspar porphyry system exposed at the Nicho Norte starter pit area. Total meterage will depend on results received but the planned program is well within the Company's budgets aided by a low cost of drilling due to the utilization of Minera's own drill rig at site. Photo: Company-owned drill rig at the first Benjamin drill hole To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4183/155915_e9c9433154e0eb8a_002full.jpg Stock Option Grant The Company also announces that for the first time in almost 2 years, it is making a Company wide grant of stock options to its management team, board of directors and certain consultants. In future, consideration will be made annually following the Annual General Meeting of shareholders of the Company in determining option grants. As with the previous grant of March 2021, these options are set at a premium to the current market. The Board of Directors of Minera Alamos has approved the issuance of stock options to Management, Directors, Employees and Consultants pursuant to its stock option plan. In total, 2,250,000 options have been granted at an exercise price of $0.51 and 6,900,000 options have been granted at an exercise price of $0.45. All the options shall expire in 5 years and vest 50% on the first anniversary of their grant and 50% on the second anniversary. About Minera Alamos: Minera Alamos is a gold production and development Company undergoing the operational startup of its first gold mine that produced its first gold in October 2021. The Company has a portfolio of high-quality Mexican assets, including the 100%-owned Santana open-pit, heap-leach mine in Sonora that is currently going through its operational ramp up. The 100%-owned Cerro de Oro oxide gold project in northern Zacatecas has considerable past drilling and metallurgical work completed with plans to enter the permitting process. The La Fortuna open pit gold project in Durango (100%-owned) has a robust and positive preliminary economic assessment (PEA) completed and the main Federal permits in place. Minera Alamos is built around its operating team that together brought 3 mines into successful production in Mexico over the last 13 years. The Company's strategy is to develop very low capex assets while expanding the projects' resources and continuing to pursue complementary strategic acquisitions. For Further Information Please Contact: Minera Alamos Inc. Doug Ramshaw, President Tel: 604-600-4423 Email: dramshaw@mineraalamos.com Victoria Vargas de Szarzynski, VP Investor Relations Tel: 289-242-3599 Email: vvargas@mineraalamos.com Website: www.mineraalamos.com NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155915 outh Africa and the rest of the African continent are not immune to the dangers of disinformation campaigns, and the impact is felt even more now than ever. This was the focal point for the forum today, as these critical players examined the intersection between cyber security and disinformation campaigns in Africa. Over the last three years, the digital presence of private and public entities has increased exponentially. The increased scope and opportunity for malicious actors to disseminate disinformation have resulted in reputational damage and financial loss for organisations and entities. Professor Sibusiso Vil-Nkomo, Executive Dean of the Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs, opened the conference, followed by the Spanish Ambassador to South Africa, H.E. Raimundo Robredo Rubio, who reflected on the evolving disinformation challenges and the need for closer cooperation between governments, academia and the private sector. We need to prepare for the conflicts of the future, and disinformation will be the main weapon of these conflicts. Democracy, prosperity and even human rights might be object of hybrid threats. We need to understand how these threats work if we want to safeguard our societies. Andre Pienaar, C5 Capital Founder and CEO, a major player in the cyber security, space and nuclear power sectors, facilitated a panel with Lord Robin Renwick, previous British Ambassador to South Africa and the United States, who also authored a book on the threat of disinformation. Andre Pienaar, CEO and Founder at C5 Capital, commented: Disinformation is increasingly a tactic used by hackers to deceive individual targets, enterprises, governments and nations. Our conference today brought together experts with journalists, civil society, business and governments to raise awareness of this serious threat in South Africa and Africa. The best antidote for disinformation is an open conversation in South Africa, journalists with integrity and a society capable of critical thinking. Most recently, disinformation campaigns have been used to influence the outcome of elections, spread false medical data about COVID-19 vaccine drives, and lay the groundwork for cyber-attacks on the continent. In South Africa, disinformation campaigns and ever-increasing cyber-attacks have negatively impacted local economic and social growth. The Disinformation Conferences purpose was to start a dialogue between the public and private sectors on this crucial topic, creating awareness around disinformation while investigating its root causes. There is growing concern about the lack of awareness about cyber-attacks and the role that misinformation campaigns on media platforms play to polarise and mislead narratives on the African continent. African countries are increasingly becoming the targets of sophisticated nation-state level disinformation campaigns and cyber-attacks, the effects of which can undermine the trust needed to bring much-needed international investment to the continent. In order for any company that operates in the online space to protect itself, and its stakeholders, a robust partnership to combat the effects of cybercrime and disinformation is vital. We at Liquid are proud to be part of this important forum to raise awareness, said Deon Geyser, CEO of Liquid Intelligent Technologies, South Africa. This is a significant step towards cultivating public awareness that will see private sector and government officials joining efforts to probe the impact of threats in the online space and find ways to combat disinformation. But unfortunately, disinformation and the damage it can cause is a reality. Todays conference was a much-needed initiative to address this growing concern that can destroy the social fabric of societies and sovereign democracies on the African continent and beyond. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires Data from the RESKUE Phase 1/2 clinical trial continues to demonstrate safety and efficacy post-FBX-101 systemic administration in patients recently receiving hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), including normalization of motor function and brain development First FBX-101 patient dosed in the REKLAIM Phase 1b clinical trial for patients more than 90 days post-HSCT Dr. Maria Escolar to present the updated FBX-101 clinical data on Saturday, February 25, 2023, during the 9:00-10:00 a.m. ET session at the WORLDSymposium in Orlando, Florida Forge Biologics, a genetic medicines development and manufacturing organization, announced today that Maria Escolar, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, will present updated data from the RESKUE Phase 1/2 clinical trial for FBX-101, the Company's novel AAV gene therapy for the treatment of patients with Krabbe disease, during the 19th Annual WORLDSymposium being held February 22-26, 2023, in Orlando, Florida. Forge has also dosed the first FBX-101 subject in the REKLAIM Phase 1b clinical trial at the University of Michigan Medical Center. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005450/en/ Dr. Maria Escolar, Chief Medical Officer, Forge Biologics (Photo: Business Wire) Patients with infantile Krabbe disease have mutations in the gene encoding the lysosomal enzyme galactocerebrosidase (GALC), which is essential for normal metabolism of myelin components. Absence of GALC results in the accumulation of psychosine, a toxic substrate in cells making myelin, which then causes inflammation, rapid nerve demyelination, and progressive deterioration of the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS). This results in progressive motor disease and often early death of patients by two years of age. "We are encouraged by the continued safety and efficacy observed in FBX-101 treated patients. Notably, some of the patients were identified by newborn screening, which enabled early disease intervention," stated Dr. Escolar. "All patients to date have exhibited normal motor function and brain development six and 12 months post-FBX-101 administration, which would not be anticipated in the absence of systemic gene transfer of the GALC gene. We also observed up to 170-fold and 10-fold increases in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) GALC levels, respectively, during the six and 12 months follow-up milestones, demonstrating sustained, high expression of the GALC transgene. Importantly, no treatment-related serious adverse events, liver enzymes elevations, nor development of anti-AAVrh10 antibodies have been observed after FBX-101 systemic administration. These results are very encouraging and provide hope for the families impacted by Krabbe." Forge has also dosed one subject in the REKLAIM Phase 1b clinical trial for FBX-101 at the University of Michigan Medical Center. The REKLAIM trial is evaluating the safety and efficacy of FBX-101 in asymptomatic infantile or symptomatic late infantile Krabbe disease patients that received HSCT at least 90 days before FBX-101 administration. Children assessed in REKLAIM have received the standard of care (HSCT) and are partially or fully immuno-competent, but are at risk of developing progressive peripheral nerve disease. Dr. Escolar's presentation, "First in Human Phase 1/2 Trial of Intravenous FBX-101 (AAVrh10.hGALC) During Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Increases GALC Activity, Supports Brain Development and Improves Motor Function in Patients with Infantile Krabbe Disease: RESKUE Clinical Trial," will be delivered at the WORLDSymposium on Saturday, February 25, 2023, during the 9:00-10:00a.m. ET session. The session is also available on demand after February 27, 2023, for people registered who are not able to attend the meeting. A digital poster version will be on display Saturday, February 25, 2023, during the 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET session. For more details on the conference, please visit: https://worldsymposia.org/. About Krabbe Disease Krabbe disease is a rare neurodegenerative disease affecting about 1-2.5 in 100,000 people in the U.S. Krabbe disease is caused by autosomal recessive mutations in the galactocerebrosidase (GALC) gene, an enzyme responsible for the breakdown of certain types of sphingolipids, such as psychosine, associated with myelination of the nervous system. Without functional GALC, psychosine accumulates to toxic levels in cells, specifically in cells insulating the nerves in the brain and peripheral nervous system, causing rapid demyelination. Krabbe disease initially manifests in young patients as irritability, developmental delay, and progressive muscle weakness. Symptoms rapidly advance to difficulty swallowing, breathing, and regression of neurodevelopment followed by seizures, vision and hearing loss. Infantile Krabbe disease (0-12 months of age at onset) usually leads to death in untreated patients by two years of age. Late Infantile patients (12-36 months of age at onset) usually die by the age of six. The current standard of care, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), has been shown to stabilize cognitive decline and significantly improve long-term neurological outcomes when performed prior to symptom onset. However, HSCT does not correct the peripheral neuropathy that is progressive as the patient grows, leading to loss of gross motor skills and eventually death. Early diagnosis is key for treating patients with Krabbe disease before symptoms are evident and significant neurological damage has occurred. Currently, 10 states in the U.S. are conducting newborn screening for Krabbe disease. Infants who screen positive due to insufficient GALC activity undergo psychosine testing and mutation analysis to confirm the diagnosis and determine which infants need immediate treatment because they are at high risk to progress. About FBX-101 FBX-101 was developed to treat children with Krabbe disease. FBX-101 is an adeno-associated viral serotype rh10 (AAVrh10) gene therapy that is delivered intravenously after HSCT infusion. The vector delivers a functional copy of the GALC gene to cells in both the central and peripheral nervous system, and has shown to functionally correct the central and peripheral neuropathy, improve myelination and gross motor function, and significantly prolong lifespan in animal models. This approach also has the potential to overcome some of the immunological safety challenges observed in traditional AAV gene therapies and extend the duration of gene transfer. The FDA has granted FBX-101 Fast Track Designation, Orphan Drug Designation, and Rare Pediatric Disease Designation; the EMA has granted FBX-101 Orphan Drug Designation and Priority Medicines (PRIME) designation. About the RESKUE Trial RESKUE is a Phase 1/2 clinical trial to investigate the safety and efficacy of FBX-101 in patients with infantile Krabbe disease. It is a nonblinded, non-randomized dose escalation study in which subjects receive a single intravenous infusion of FBX-101 within 21 to 60 days of HSCT, the current standard of care. Data from extensive natural history subjects will be used to compare as the control group. More information on the RESKUE trial can be found online at https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04693598. About the REKLAIM Trial REKLAIM is a Phase 1b, nonblinded, non-randomized dose escalation clinical trial currently enrolling children with asymptomatic infantile and symptomatic late infantile Krabbe disease to investigate the safety and efficacy of a single intravenous infusion of FBX-101 administered more than 90 days after HSCT, the current standard of care, when the patient is partially or fully immuno-competent. Data from extensive natural history subjects will be used to compare as the control group. More information on the REKLAIM trial can be found online at https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05739643. About Forge Biologics Forge Biologics is a hybrid gene therapy contract manufacturing and clinical-stage therapeutics development company. Forge's mission is to enable access to life-changing gene therapies and help bring them from idea to reality. Forge's 200,000 square foot facility, the Hearth, utilizes 20 cGMP suites in Columbus, Ohio, to serve as its headquarters. The Hearth is a custom-designed cGMP facility dedicated to AAV manufacturing and hosts scalable, end-to-end manufacturing services. Offerings include process and analytical development, plasmid DNA manufacturing, viral vector manufacturing, final fill, as well as regulatory consulting support to accelerate gene therapy programs from preclinical through clinical and commercial stage manufacturing. By taking a patients-first approach, Forge aims to accelerate the timelines of these transformative medicines for those who need them the most. To learn more, visit www.forgebiologics.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005450/en/ Contacts: Media Inquiries Marina Corleto Associate Director, Marketing and Communications mcorleto@forgebiologics.com Families and Clinician Inquiries Maria Escolar, M.D. Chief Medical Officer advocacy@forgebiologics.com Business Development Magdalena Tyrpien Senior Vice President, Head of Business Development BD@forgebiologics.com World-leading customer-centric approach further strengthens an already-solid customer base ST. LOUIS, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Momentus Technologies, the global leader in venue and event management technology, is proud to announce the addition of new customers across all key industry verticals. Joining the already established marquee customer base are notable additions that include Nashville Convention Center, World Trade Center, DC, Netball Queensland - Nissan Arena, and Orpheum Theater Memphis. The continued growth with such a diverse customer base is a testament to decades of expertise in designing solutions to meet customer needs. Momentus Technologies works with organizations around the world looking to leverage our purpose-built, innovative venue management solutions to manage their end-to-end operations. The company's best-in-class customers range across verticals, including: Higher education, with the likes of Duke University , Harvard University and Boston College . , and Convention and exhibition centers like Columbus Convention Center , New Zealand International Convention Centre and ExCeL London . , and . Stadiums and arenas such as Allegiant Stadium , Levi's Stadium and Mercedes-Benz Stadium. , and Corporate clients like Nike and The International Monetary Fund . and . Arts and culture organizations, among them the Apollo, Kimmel Cultural Campus and Walt Disney Concert Hall. "Entering into 2023 on the heels of a global brand launch, the establishment of the Innovation Lab and welcoming such a premier list of global customers is exciting. So many unique venues turn to Momentus Technologies to help them run their business and create extraordinary events," said Alex Alexandrov, CEO, Momentus Technologies. "For decades, our mission has been focused on driving innovation to empower venues around the world." The company announced in January 2023 a new brand identity built upon a foundation of the industry's most intuitive platform designed with over three decades of experience and best practices. Momentus Technologies' healthy growth in each of its verticals reflect the increasing need for intelligent, data-driven solutions for venue management as complexities around costs, labor, risk management and sustainability intensify. "Our success is steeped in the understanding that our customers are the heartbeat of our organization. The amazing growth in customer acquisition is a testament to the strength of our commitment to understanding the needs of our clients and delivering solutions that deliver successful outcomes," said Mike Besecker, CRO, Momentus Technologies. "We are constantly striving to build strong relationships that deliver enterprise value to our customers, and our efforts have paid off with a growing roster of new customers and satisfied clients. We are proud of the work we have done to attract and retain our customers, and we remain dedicated to ensuring that they receive the highest level of service and support." To learn more, visit www.gomomentus.com . About Momentus Technologies Momentus Technologies is a global provider of industry-leading venue and event management solutions that empower organizations to create extraordinary moments. With over 50,000 users in more than 50 countries, Momentus serves the needs of convention and exhibition centers, higher education, corporate, stadiums and arenas, and arts and culture centers. Its powerful intuitive platform alongside intelligent data-driven solutions and unparalleled expertise provides customers a view of past, present and future event operations to increase end-to-end visibility, optimize efficiency and achieve business goals. Founded in 1985, Momentus is headquartered in the United States. The company's employees work across the globe in Momentus offices and remotely. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1991474/Momentus_Technologies_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/momentus-technologies-continues-unparalleled-momentum-with-an-80-increase-year-over-year-in-new-customer-acquisitions-across-all-key-verticals-301754110.html ~ Data follow the historic approval of the first gene therapy for hemophilia B, which has been shown in clinical trials to reduce the rate of annual bleeds, reduce or eliminate the need for prophylactic therapy and generate elevated and sustained factor IX levels for years after a one-time infusion ~ ~ 18-month data support the ongoing benefit of HEMGENIX ~ ~ HEMGENIX is approved for adults with hemophilia B in the United States, European Union and European Economic Area ~ LEXINGTON, Mass. and AMSTERDAM, Feb. 23, 2023N.V.(ASX: CSL) today announced the publication in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) (Vol. 388 No. 8) of results from the pivotal HOPE-B clinical study evaluating the efficacy, durability and safety of HEMGENIX (etranacogene dezaparvovec-drlb). HEMGENIX is the first and only gene therapy approved for the treatment of adults with hemophilia B who currently use factor IX prophylaxis therapy, or have current or historical life-threatening bleeding, or have repeated, serious spontaneous bleeding episodes. The multi-year clinical development of HEMGENIX was led by uniQure and sponsorship of the clinical trials transitioned to CSL after it licensed global rights to commercialize the treatment. HEMGENIX was approved in November 2022 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and in February 2023 by the European Commission (EC) for the European Union. Results from the HOPE-B trial, the largest gene therapy study in hemophilia B to date, were considered by the authors to demonstrate that HEMGENIX is superior to routine factor IX prophylaxis in Annualized Bleeding Rate (ABR), factor IX activity, factor IX therapy consumption, factor IX infusion rate, and spontaneous and joint bleeding ABR. Increased factor IX activity was also apparent from week 3 and maintained over 18 months. There were no reported serious adverse events related to treatment with HEMGENIX. Notably, the results published in NEJM show the ABR of spontaneous bleeding episodes and all joint bleeding episodes decreased by 71% (95% CI: 0.12, 0.71) and 78% (95% CI: 0.10, 0.46), respectively, from lead-in period to post-treatment. Further, 96.3% of patients discontinued factor IX prophylaxis from day 21 through month 18 post-treatment. Annualized factor IX infusions also significantly decreased from 72.5 infusions per participant during lead-in period (95% CI: 63.6, 82.7) to 2.5 infusions (95% CI: 0.92, 6.96) post-treatment. The most common adverse reactions (incidence =5%) were elevated ALT, headache, blood creatine kinase elevations, flu-like symptoms, infusion-related reactions, fatigue, malaise and elevated AST. "The results published in NEJM add to the established body of evidence demonstrating the long-term efficacy and safety of HEMGENIX and confirm that this innovative new medicine not only restores blood clotting factor to near normal levels and significantly reduces factor use, but also that gene therapy may reduce the burden of care and improve quality of life for people living with this life-long condition," said Dr. Steven Pipe, Professor and the Laurence A. Boxer Research Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Pathology at the University of Michigan and lead investigator of the HOPE-B study. "HOPE-B was also the first and only phase 3 study to demonstrate efficacy of a gene therapy for hemophilia B in individuals with circulating neutralizing antibodies that have the potential to interfere with the effects of treatment. Results from HOPE-B suggest that HEMGENIX may be effective in a broad range of hemophilia B patients, regardless of prior exposure to common adeno-associated viruses." "We at uniQure are incredibly pleased to have the clinical results from the global HOPE-B pivotal trial featured in such a prominent peer-reviewed journal," said Ricardo Dolmetsch, Ph.D., president of research and development at uniQure. "These results highlight the potential benefits of this novel gene therapy approach and further reinforce that those treated with HEMGENIX in clinical trials have achieved durable factor IX activity levels and remained free of prophylactic factor IX replacement for years following a single administration. uniQure is immensely proud to have led the multi-year clinical development program for HEMGENIX that included the HOPE-B pivotal trial." About Hemophilia B Hemophilia B is a life-threatening rare disease. People with the condition are particularly vulnerable to bleeds in their joints, muscles, and internal organs, leading to pain, swelling, and joint damage. Current treatments for moderate to severe hemophilia B include life-long prophylactic infusions of factor IX to temporarily replace or supplement low levels of the blood-clotting factor. About HEMGENIX HEMGENIX is a gene therapy that reduces the rate of abnormal bleeding in eligible people with hemophilia B by enabling the body to continuously produce factor IX, the deficient protein in hemophilia B. It uses AAV5, a non-infectious viral vector, called an adeno-associated virus (AAV). The AAV5 vector carries the Padua gene variant of Factor IX (FIX-Padua) to the target cells in the liver, generating factor IX proteins that are 5x-8x more active than normal. These genetic instructions remain in the target cells, but generally do not become a part of a person's own DNA. Once delivered, the new genetic instructions allow the cellular machinery to produce stable levels of factor IX. HEMGENIX is a registered trademark of CSL Behring. About the Pivotal HOPE-B Trial The pivotal Phase III HOPE-B trial is an ongoing, multinational, open-label, single-arm study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of HEMGENIX. Fifty-four adult hemophilia B patients classified as having moderately severe to severe hemophilia B and requiring prophylactic factor IX replacement therapy were enrolled in a prospective, six-month or longer observational period during which time they continued to use their current standard of care therapy to establish a baseline Annual Bleeding Rate (ABR). After the six-month lead-in period, patients received a single intravenous administration of HEMGENIX at the 2x10^13 gc/kg dose. Patients were not excluded from the trial based on pre-existing neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) to AAV5. A total of 54 patients received a single dose of HEMGENIX in the pivotal trial, with 53 patients completing at least 18 months of follow-up. The primary endpoint in the pivotal HOPE-B study was ABR 52 weeks after achievement of stable factor IX expression (months 7 to 18) compared with the six-month lead-in period. For this endpoint, ABR was measured from month seven to month 18 after infusion, ensuring the observation period represented a steady-state factor IX transgene expression. Secondary endpoints included assessment of factor IX activity. No serious treatment-related adverse reactions were reported. One death resulting from urosepsis and cardiogenic shock in a 77-year-old patient at 65 weeks following dosing was considered unrelated to treatment by investigators and the company sponsor. A serious adverse event of hepatocellular carcinoma was determined to be unrelated to treatment with HEMGENIX by independent molecular tumor characterization and vector integration analysis. No inhibitors to factor IX were reported. Long-term 24-month data presented at the 54th American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2022 Annual Meeting and Exposition and at The European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders (EAHAD) 2023 Annual Meeting continue to reinforce the potential long-lasting efficacy and safety of HEMGENIX and the ongoing benefit of this treatment for people living with hemophilia B. Important Safety Information (ISI) What is HEMGENIX? HEMGENIX, etranacogene dezaparvovec-drlb, is a one-time gene therapy for the treatment of adults with hemophilia B who: Currently use Factor IX prophylaxis therapy, or Have current or historical life-threatening bleeding, or Have repeated, serious spontaneous bleeding episodes. HEMGENIX is administered as a single intravenous infusion and can be administered only once. What medical testing can I expect to be given before and after administration of HEMGENIX? To determine your eligibility to receive HEMGENIX, you will be tested for Factor IX inhibitors. If this test result is positive, a retest will be performed 2 weeks later. If both tests are positive for Factor IX inhibitors, your doctor will not administer HEMGENIX to you. If, after administration of HEMGENIX, increased Factor IX activity is not achieved, or bleeding is not controlled, a post-dose test for Factor IX inhibitors will be performed. HEMGENIX may lead to elevations of liver enzymes in the blood; therefore, ultrasound and other testing will be performed to check on liver health before HEMGENIX can be administered. Following administration of HEMGENIX, your doctor will monitor your liver enzyme levels weekly for at least 3 months. If you have preexisting risk factors for liver cancer, regular liver health testing will continue for 5 years post-administration. Treatment for elevated liver enzymes could include corticosteroids. What were the most common side effects of HEMGENIX in clinical trials? In clinical trials for HEMGENIX, the most common side effects reported in more than 5% of patients were liver enzyme elevations, headache, elevated levels of a certain blood enzyme, flu-like symptoms, infusion-related reactions, fatigue, nausea, and feeling unwell. These are not the only side effects possible. Tell your healthcare provider about any side effect you may experience. What should I watch for during infusion with HEMGENIX? Your doctor will monitor you for infusion-related reactions during administration of HEMGENIX, as well as for at least 3 hours after the infusion is complete. Symptoms may include chest tightness, headaches, abdominal pain, lightheadedness, flu-like symptoms, shivering, flushing, rash, and elevated blood pressure. If an infusion-related reaction occurs, the doctor may slow or stop the HEMGENIX infusion, resuming at a lower infusion rate once symptoms resolve. What should I avoid after receiving HEMGENIX? Small amounts of HEMGENIX may be present in your blood, semen, and other excreted/secreted materials, and it is not known how long this continues. You should not donate blood, organs, tissues, or cells for transplantation after receiving HEMGENIX. Please see full prescribing information for HEMGENIX. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088. You can also report side effects to CSL Behring's Pharmacovigilance Department at 1-866-915-6958. uniQure Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, which are often indicated by terms such as "anticipate," "believe," "could," "establish," "estimate," "expect," "goal," "intend," "look forward to", "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "seek," "should," "will," "would" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and on information available to management only as of the date of this press release. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about whether HEMGENIX may be effective for people living with hemophilia B. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements for many reasons, including, without limitation, risks associated with the impact of the postponement in our clinical trial for Huntington's disease, the impact of financial and geopolitical events on our Company and the wider economy and health care system, our Commercialization and License Agreement with CSL Behring, our clinical development activities, clinical results, collaboration arrangements, regulatory oversight, product commercialization and intellectual property claims, as well as the risks, uncertainties and other factors described under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's periodic securities filings, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K filed February 25, 2022. Given these risks, uncertainties and other factors, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, and the Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. uniQure Contacts: FOR INVESTORS: FOR MEDIA: Maria E. Cantor Chiara Russo Tom Malone Direct: 339-970-7536 Direct: 617-306-9137 Direct: 339-970-7558 Mobile: 617-680-9452 Mobile: 617-306-9137 Mobile: 339-223-8541 m.cantor@uniQure.com (mailto:m.cantor@uniQure.com) c.russo@uniQure.com (mailto:c.russo@uniQure.com) t.malone@uniQure.com (mailto:t.malone@uniQure.com) Legal row over 22 Bishopsgate ensnares Sir Stuart Lipton, founder of Stanhope and Chelsfield Former business associate claims Lipton promised him fee worth up to 11 million for help in securing deal to build the Square Mile's tallest building Dispute recounts years-long efforts by wealthy investors to make a success of the troubled project 1 billion skyscraper was finally completed December 2020, years behind schedule and in the midst of Covid lockdown Sir Stuart Lipton, grandee of the UK construction industry, faces a multimillion-pound legal fight with a former business associate over 22 Bishopsgate, the City of London's tallest building. Hamid Alqumairi claims he is owed a fee worth up to 11.05 million after Lipton and AXA bought the high-profile project from a Saudi consortium in 2015. He says Sir Stuart promised him the fee as payment for what he claims is the crucial role he played in helping Lipton's firm work up the 22 Bishopsgate project and secure the deal. He alleges Sir Stuart later reneged on this agreement. Mr Alqumairi is a real estate veteran with Saudi connections who says he commissioned and won planning support for the designs that were ultimately implemented as the skyscraper took shape. He also claims to have originated the acquisition structure, and that he was a crucial middleman between Lipton and 22 Bishopsgate's previous Saudi owners. Email evidence will be adduced in support of his claim in a case that could be reputationally challenging for Sir Stuart founder of Stanhope and Chelsfield, Conservative Party donor and one of UK business's most respected figures. A lawsuit has been filed at the High Court against Lipton Rogers LLP, Sir Stuart's firm. The firm and Sir Stuart contest the legal claim, dispute Mr Alqumairi's version of events and deny owing him money. The dispute marks another dramatic turn in the skyscraper's troubled history. Originally earmarked for development in the 2000s, its construction was stalled for years, leaving only an unfinished seven-storey structure nicknamed "the stump". It was finally completed under Lipton Rogers December 2020, at an estimated total cost of just over 1 billion in the depths of the Covid crisis and with the future of tall office buildings in renewed doubt. A legal row may also be unwelcome for AXA, the French financial group that funded the 2015 deal. AXA is not a party to the litigation but has spent hundreds of millions of pounds on the landmark building and is one of its anchor tenants. Hamid Alqumairi said: "I have been pressing Sir Stuart Lipton for more than five years now to keep his word to me. What I am seeking is fair compensation for the role I played in helping him, AXA and London bring this wonderful building into existence. "More to the point, I am seeking fulfilment of a deal that was explicitly agreed. When I first knew Sir Stuart, I believed he was a man who honoured his agreements. It pains me to have to take this action." "This project could not have been completed without me. The previous plan was too expensive to build, in part due to cladding, and the design of floor plates was not suitable for tenants. I was instrumental in getting a workable design agreed, getting planning support and therefore getting the project funded, and winning the mandate for Lipton Rogers as development manager. I had a fair deal to reward me for these efforts, which needs to be honoured." The legal action has been filed by Middle East Real Estate, Hamid Alqumairi's company, and by Mr Alqumairi himself, represented by BBS Law. The defendant is Lipton Rogers Development LLP. The claim number is BL-2021-000266. ENDS View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005630/en/ Contacts: Media enquiries Palatine Communications Conal Walsh conal.walsh@palatine-media.com VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apollo Silver Corp. ("Apollo" or the "Company") (TSX.V:APGO, OTCQB:APGOF, Frankfurt:6ZF0) is pleased to report preliminary results for silver recovery via bottle roll testing from its 2022 Metallurgical Test Program (the "2022 Test Program") for the Waterloo deposit. The 2022 Test Program, which is one component of the 2022 Calico Technical Program, is an initial investigation in the overall metallurgical program for the Calico Silver Project ("Calico" or the "Project"), located in San Bernardino County, California. Up to 61% silver recovery using conventional cyanide leaching (bottle roll testing) for ball mill fine grind material (P 80 -45 m). Recovery of up to 72% achieved using a fluoride-assisted leach. Up to 80% silver recovery from ultra-fine grinding (P 10 0 -25 m) of the material. High Pressure Grinding Roll ("HPGR") product (P 80 -1.7 mm) showed a 50 to 100% percent increased silver recovery over conventional crushed material (P 80 -6.3mm). Silver recoveries are favorable and in line with those of an active operation for a similar style deposit. These results will be incorporated into the ongoing work to update the Waterloo Property 2022 Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE")1, which forms part of the Calico Project MRE1. The resource update is expected to be completed as scheduled in early March. "These initial metallurgical test program results from the Waterloo property are positive," commented Apollo's President and CEO Tom Peregoodoff. "The results show that mineralization at Waterloo responds well to typical processing and recovery technologies, and they are consistent with recoveries at a currently operating silver mine. These results are being incorporated into the ongoing resource estimation work program which we anticipate will be complete in early March. Final results and reporting for the remaining test work for the program are pending, however we expect these to be available in March." METALLURGICAL TEST PROGRAM The 2022 Test Program began in early 2022 using 2 tonnes of material acquired from three diamond drill holes completed on the Waterloo property in 2012 by a previous operator (see news release dated May 3, 2022). The three drill holes are geologically and mineralogically representative of the Waterloo deposit and were collected in three separate areas across the deposit. Objectives of the test work are to assess and verify silver recovery using various communition and extraction methods. This is to provide insight into possible processing methods and to compare results to historic work completed by previous operators in the 1960's and 1970's. This test work is one component of the 2022 Calico Technical Program that aims to upgrade and expand the previously announced maiden Inferred MRE at Waterloo of 116 million ounces of silver contained in 38.9 million tonnes at an average grade of 93 g/t, which forms part of the Calico maiden Inferred MRE of 166 million ounces of silver contained in 58.1 million tonnes at an average grade of 89 g/t (see news release dated February 9, 2022)1. The 2022 Test Program was designed with input from professional metallurgists at both McClelland Laboratories Inc., ("McClelland") and Samuel Engineering Inc., in cooperation with Stantec Consulting Ltd., ("Stantec"). All processing and testing was performed at McClelland, with the exception of processing for the HPGR product which was produced by Kappes Cassidy and Associates in Reno, Nevada using a ThyssenKrupp Polycom (PILOTWAL HPGR) unit. The 2022 Test Program comprises bond work index, abrasion index, barite flotation, bottle roll testing using cyanide and a fluoride-assisted cyanide leach, and column leach testing using cyanide. Bottle roll and column leach testing both utilized conventionally crushed, fine grind and ultra-fine grind ("UFG") crushed material and HPGR product. Results reported today are those for bottle roll testing; the Company will be reporting on remaining components of the 2022 Test Program, including column testing and barite analysis upon receipt of final data and reports. The drilling material had been securely stored at McClelland in Sparks, Nevada in the form of -1.5 inch (-38.1 mm) and -10 mesh (-2 mm) size fractions. Due to the oxidized nature of mineralization, confirmed with detailed mineralogical studies, it was determined this material remained useful for test work. Five composites were created from the -1.5 inch material based on lithological, mineralogical and multi-element geochemical features of the rocks and spatial representation across the deposit (see Table 1). All mineralized rock comprises Barstow formation sandstones and siltstone of varying quartz, barite, and silver contents. Composites were then split for individual tests. Silver recovery results for bottle roll tests, which simulate an agitated leach system, are shown in Table 2. A total of seventeen (17) bottle roll tests were completed using cyanide as a leachant across four size fraction feed sizes (see Table 2). Results indicate that a fine-grind conventional ball milling product (P 80 -45 m) had silver recoveries ranging from 40-61%, with generally low cyanide and lime requirements. The Company's bottle roll test results are encouraging, and the corresponding column tests will be published after the final reporting is available. For HPGR product feed, bottle roll test results showed an improvement in silver recoveries of approximately 50-100% over recoveries from conventionally crushed material (P 80 -6.3 mm feed). HPGR silver recovery ranged from 19 to 38% over 336 hours of leaching. Further work is required to assess the potential value HPGR may add to increased silver recoveries, as these results are encouraging. Similar HPGR technology is utilized at Coeur Mining's Rochester silver mine in Nevada where silver recovery via heap leach methods is approximately 60%2. 1The 2022 MRE was prepared by Derek Loveday, P. Geo., of Stantec Consulting Services Ltd., in conformance with Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy's "Estimation of Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves Best Practices" guidelines and are reported in accordance with the Canadian Securities Administrators NI 43-101. It is effective January 28, 2022. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that any mineral resource will be converted into a mineral reserve. Mr. Loveday is an independent Qualified Person for Apollo's MRE. Please refer to the Company's news release dated February 9, 2022, for more information. 2Refer to Coeur Mining's Rochester Operations Technical Report Summary, dated December 31, 2021. Table 1: Diamond Drill Hole Composites used for the 2022 Metallurgical Test Program, Calico Project. Composite No. Hole From (m) To (m) Weight (kg) 001 W-0012 0 28 100 002 W-0012 28 56 118 003 W-0012 56 90 137 004 W-0013 0 108 436 005 W-0014 0 53 228 Additional bottle roll test work was completed using fluoride-assisted leach on composites 001 and 005 to assess if improved silver recoveries would be realized. Fluoride assisted leach uses Ammonium Bifluoride (ABF) (NH 4 HF 2 ) and Hydrochloric Acid (HCl) that has produced slightly improved silver recoveries over those of cyanide only, with recoveries ranging from 60.8 to 72% (see Table 3). Further, the pregnant fluoride leach solution was filtered and then run through activated carbon to generate carbon-in-column circuit design data. The silver loaded directly onto the carbon without neutralizing any of the acid in solution, indicating that the leach solution could be recycled and that this method may be a viable way to recover silver from the solution. Results indicate a 97% silver recovery onto carbon. Table 2: Results for bottle roll test using cyanide leach solution. Composite No. Realized P 80 Grind Size Ag Recovery (%) NaCN Consumption (kg/t) Lime Added (kg/t) 001 P 80 -6.3mm 17.9 0.06 0.5 P 80 -1.7mm (HPGR) 31.1 0.21 0.5 P 80 -45m 54.7 0.64 0.8 P 100 -25m (UFG) 63.8 0.35 1.2 002 P 80 -6.3mm 15.6 0.28 0.6 P 80 -1.7mm (HPGR) 26.0 0.40 0.7 P 80 -45m 51.6 0.34 1.0 003 P 80 -6.3mm 10.0 0.16 0.5 P 80 -1.7mm (HPGR) 19.0 0.29 0.5 P 80 -45m 40.0 0.32 0.7 004 P 80 -6.3mm 24.7 0.26 0.5 P 80 -1.7mm (HPGR) 38.0 0.52 0.4 P 80 -45m 61.0 0.76 0.5 005 P 80 -6.3mm 18.0 0.17 0.5 P 80 -1.7mm (HPGR) 36.3 0.31 0.6 P 80 -45m 60.0 0.33 0.5 P 100 -25m (UFG) 80.0 0.76 1.5 Table 3: Results for bottle roll test using fluoride-assisted cyanide leach solution. Composite No. Realized P 80 Grind Size Ag Recovery (%) HCl Conc. % ABF (kg/t) 001 -53m 60.8 5.0 4.7 69.0 10.0 17.0 005 -53m 67.0 5.0 4.7 72.0 10.0 17.1 SAMPLING AND QUALITY ASSURANCE/QUALITY CONTROL Whole-core PQ-diameter diamond drill core used in the 2022 Test Program was collected by Pan American in 2012 and was drilled by Diversified Drilling, of Anaheim, CA. Core was logged (lithology, alteration, mineralization and geotechnical), photographed in detail by Pan American and crushed to -1.5 inch and -10 M by McClelland. The material has been securely stored by McClelland in Sparks, Nevada, since that time. In 2022, the -1.5 inch reject material was separated into 2 m intervals, each of which was coarsely crushed to ~38 mm before being thoroughly blended and split in half. One half was further crushed to -1.7 mm and a 250 g split was taken using a rotary-type splitter. The 250 g splits were pulverized to better than 90% passing 106 microns. McClelland maintains its own comprehensive guidelines to ensure best practices in sample preparation. For pre-testing interval assays, pulp samples were sent by McClelland by secure transport to ALS Global-Geochemistry in Reno, Nevada ("ALS Reno") for analysis of 48 elements via ICP-MS following a four-acid digestion with reportable ranges for silver of 0.01 to 100 ppm (method ME-MS61). Over-range samples were re-submitted for analysis using a four-acid digestion and ICP-AES finish with a silver range of 1 to 1,500 ppm (method Ag-OG62) and by fire assay with a gravimetric finish using a 30 g nominal sample weight with reportable silver range of 5 to 10,000 ppm (method Ag-GRA21). Major elements were analyzed using fused-disc X-Ray Fluorescence (method ME-XRF26). Gold was analyzed by fire assay with atomic absorption finish (method Au-AA26) with a reportable range of 0.01 to 100 ppm Au. All analyses were completed at ALS Vancouver with the exception of gold by fire assay, which was completed at ALS Reno for the pre-testing interval assays. For bottle roll testing all heads and tails assays were performed by McClelland, an ISO 17025 certified facility, via AAS following a four-acid digestion with reportable ranges for silver of 1 to 200 ppm. ABOUT THE PROJECT Location The Project is located in San Bernardino County, California and comprises the adjacent Waterloo and Langtry properties which total 2,950 acres. The Project is 15 km (9 miles) from the city of Barstow and has an extensive private gravel road network spanning the property. There is commercial electric power within 5 km (3 miles) of the Project. Geology and Mineralization The Calico Project is situated in the southern Calico Mountains of the Mojave Desert, in the south-western region of the Basin and Range tectonic province. This 15 km (9 mile) long northwest- southeast trending mountain range is dominantly composed of Tertiary (Miocene) volcanics, volcaniclastics, sedimentary rocks and dacitic intrusions. Mineralization at Calico comprises high-level low-sulfidation silver-dominant epithermal vein-type, stockwork-type and disseminated-style associated with northwest-trending faults and fracture zones and mid-Tertiary (~19-17 Ma) volcanic activity. Calico represents a district-scale mineral system endowment with approximately 6,000 m (19,685 ft) in mineralized strike length controlled by Apollo. Silver and gold mineralization are oxidized and hosted within the sedimentary Barstow Formation and in contact with the upper volcaniclastic units of the Pickhandle formation. The current inferred MRE at Calico comprises 166 million ounces of silver contained in 58.1 million tonnes at an average grade of 89 g/t, at a cut-off grade of 50 g/t Ag (see news release February 9, 2022). QUALIFIED PERSONS The scientific and technical data contained in this news release was reviewed, and approved by Eric Hill, P.E. of Samuel Engineering, and Derek Loveday, P. Geo., of Stantec, both Qualified Persons as defined by the Canadian Securities Administrators National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Minerals Projects. Mr. Hill is a registered Professional Engineer in the United States and Derek Loveday is a registered Professional Geoscientist in Alberta, Canada. Both Mr. Hill and Mr. Loveday are independent of the Company. This release has also been reviewed and approved by Cathy Fitzgerald, M.Sc., P.Geo., Apollo's Vice President of Exploration and Resource Development. Ms. Fitzgerald is a registered Professional Geoscientist in British Columbia, Canada and is not independent of the Company. Please visit www.apollosilver.com for further information. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Tom Peregoodoff Chief Executive Officer About Apollo Silver Corp. Apollo Silver Corp. has assembled an experienced and technically strong leadership team who have joined to advance world class precious metals projects in tier-one jurisdictions. The Company is focused on advancing its portfolio of two significant silver exploration and resource development projects, the Calico Project, in San Bernardino County, California and Silver District Project in La Paz County, Arizona. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statement Regarding "Forward-Looking" Information This news release includes "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements with respect to the potential of the Calico Project; the potential for identification of gold and barite resources at Calico; the potential to expand the resource estimate and upgrade its confidence level, including prospective mineralization on strike and at depth; geological interpretations; future silver recoveries; timing and execution of future planned drilling and exploration activities; timing of completion of the updated mineral resource estimate and 2023 preliminary economic assessment. Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "potential", "target", "budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof. Forward-looking statements are based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis, and opinions of the management of the Company made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management of the Company believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made. Forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions that have been made by the Company as at the date of such information and is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may have caused actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: risks associated with mineral exploration and development; metal and mineral prices; availability of capital; accuracy of the Company's projections and estimates; realization of mineral resource estimates, interest and exchange rates; competition; stock price fluctuations; availability of drilling equipment and access; actual results of current exploration activities; government regulation; political or economic developments; environmental risks; insurance risks; capital expenditures; operating or technical difficulties in connection with development activities; personnel relations; contests over title to properties; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing, or other relevant issues. The quantity and grade of reported inferred mineral resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to define these inferred mineral resources as an indicated or measured mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to an indicated or measured mineral resource category. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to the price of silver, gold and barite; the demand for silver, gold and barite; the ability to carry on exploration and development activities; the timely receipt of any required approvals; the ability to obtain qualified personnel, equipment and services in a timely and cost-efficient manner; the ability to operate in a safe, efficient and effective matter; and the regulatory framework regarding environmental matters, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results, and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information contained herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. The forward-looking information contained herein is presented for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company's expected financial and operational performance and the Company's plans and objectives and may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Winnipeg, Manitoba--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - Beyond Minerals Inc. (CSE: BY) (OTCQB: BYDMF) (the "Company" or "Beyond Minerals") is pleased to announce it has appointed Allan Frame as President and CEO. Mr. Frame recently retired from the investment business. During his successful 47 year career, Mr. Frame focused primarily on junior resource company financings. His relationships in the mining industry are extensive. He helped them raise several hundreds of millions of dollars during his time spent in the securities business and has had the benefit of being associated with multiple major discoveries, including the original Snip and Eskay Creek discoveries now owned by Skeena Resources. Mr. Frame is also Director of Business Development for Prismo Metals Inc and DLP Resources Inc., both of which are listed on exchanges in Canada and the U.S OTC markets. "I have followed the progress on Beyond Minerals since inception as I led their initial public offering in 2022 when I was a broker at Haywood Securities. I am impressed by the quality of lithium assets they have recently staked around Frontier Lithium Inc. and acquired nearby Green Technology Metals Limited," said Allan Frame. He added: "Under my leadership, we will accelerate the acquisition and optioning of additional lithium assets and make plans for a robust exploration season in the current calendar year. Our acquisition and optioning plan rests on four pillars: (i) focus on quality assets for which extensive geological data is available, (ii) financial discipline in all aspects of our business, including acquisition and options terms and conditions, (iii) concentrate on Ontario assets, while being open to strategic transactions in other jurisdictions and (iv) maintain a share structure that is favorable to value creation for our shareholders." The Company also announced that Michelle DeCecco has been appointed director. Michelle is the Vice President & COO of Lithium Chile Inc. and a Director of Monumental Minerals Inc. She has over 20 years of experience in the public mining sector specializing in capital markets, security regulations and corporate development and holds a Master's in Business Administration. Throughout her career, Ms. DeCecco has been responsible for developing and executing overall corporate strategy including mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, and strategic partnerships. Ms. DeCecco spent over 10 years as a Rotarian with the Rotary Club Calgary, working closely with the Stay in School Program and at-risk youth in Alberta. She commented: "Beyond Minerals has the right elements to garner an important place in the Canadian lithium mining sector; it is my honor to join the Board. I look forward to this opportunity to support a strong leadership team and contribute to the value and strategic plans of the Company." Commenting on Ms. DeCecco's appointment, Mr. Frame said: "Lithium Chile is a true Canadian success story in the lithium industry. Having Michelle on our board of directors is invaluable. Many significant lithium discoveries have taken place in Ontario and Quebec in the past two years. It is our belief that more discoveries will take place in the coming years. We look forward to Michelle's input in this critical phase of our company's development." Dr. Craig Gibson, the former President and CEO of Beyond Minerals and a "qualified person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, will continue to serve as a director of the Company. Dr. Gibson was the founding President and CEO of Beyond and played a key role in getting the Company funded and listed on the CSE in Canada and the OTCQB in the U.S. He commented: "I look forward to continuing to work with Board of Beyond. I fully support Mr. Frame's vision of building a successful lithium exploration company focused on Canadian assets." The Company has granted a total of 535,000 incentive stock options to Mr. Frame and Ms. DeCecco and an additional 50,000 options to a consultant of the Company in connection with the option grant announced on February 16, 2023, pursuant to the Company's incentive stock option plan. Each option is exercisable into one common share of the Company at a price of $0.34 per share. The options granted to Mr. Frame and Ms. DeCecco vest immediately and are exercisable for a period of three years from the date of grant. The options granted to the consultant shall vest in four equal tranches on the date of grant, May 15, 2023, August 15, 2023, and November 15, 2023, respectively, and shall expire on February 15, 2025. About Beyond Minerals Inc. Beyond Minerals Inc. is engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets in Canada. Its objective is to locate and develop critical mineral properties, including lithium assets, and other economic precious and base metal properties of merit, starting with the exploration of its Fabie-Easterchester project in the province of Quebec and its Peggy Group Lithium project and other properties in the Borland Lake, Favourable Lake, and Gorman River areas of Northwestern Ontario. Please follow @BeyondMinerals on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. For more information, please refer to the Company's website at www.beyondminerals.ca. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release includes certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding future capital expenditures, anticipated content, commencement, and cost of exploration programs in respect of the Company's projects and mineral properties, anticipated exploration program results from exploration activities, resources and/or reserves on the Company's projects and mineral properties, and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, are forward-looking information. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "will", "may", "should", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In stating the forward-looking information in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that market fundamentals will result in sustained precious and base metals demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future exploration of the Company's properties, the availability of financing on suitable terms, and the Company's ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements of forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, statements as to the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company, the proposed expenditures for exploration work on its properties, the ability of the Company to obtain sufficient financing to fund its business activities and plans, delays in obtaining governmental and regulatory approvals (including of the Canadian Securities Exchange), permits or financing, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, the Company's limited operating history, currency fluctuations, title disputes or claims, environmental issues and liabilities, as well as those factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's prospectus dated February 23, 2022 and other filings of the Company with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, copies of which can be found under the Company's profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking information in this news release except as otherwise required by law. For further information, please contact: Allan Frame President and CEO Tel: 403-470-8450 Email: allan.frame@beyondminerals.ca Jason Frame Manager of Communications Tel: 587-225-2599 Email: jason.frame@beyondminerals.ca To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155862 Signs lease and purchase option agreements covering two strategic blocks of land joining the Company's existing holdings. First company to consolidate land into one contiguous block covering much of the manganese-iron deposition previously drilled by US Steel and Pickands Mather. NSC to review drill program now underway to include additional holes to cover high-grade historical intercepts on this newly acquired ground. TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Nevada Silver Corporation ("NSC" or the "Company") (TSXV:NSC)(OTCQB:NVDSF) a US-based mineral development company with manganese and silver projects geared to supporting the transition to clean energy, is pleased to announce that the Company's Minnesota subsidiary, North Star Manganese Inc ("NSM") has signed lease and purchase option agreements with two private landowners in Emily, Minnesota on two adjacent blocks of land covering approximately 77 acres of surface and mineral rights. The Emily Project is located in the Cuyuna Iron Range of central Minnesota, USA (Figure 1), an area with a rich mining history and supported by well-established local infrastructure, a skilled mining workforce and abundant power and gas. Figure 1. The Emily Project is part of the Emily District of the Cuyuna Iron Range in Crow Wing County, Central Minnesota. The Emily District contains the highest-grade source of Manganese in North America. As Figure 2 below shows, these two acquisitions are significant as they join with the Company's existing holdings to form one contiguous land block covering much of the manganese-iron deposition previously drilled by Pickands Mather and US Steel in the 1940s and 1950s. Further, NSC now has control over most of the footprint of the planned US Steel designed West Ruth Lake Mine, which was targeting 24,012,200 tons @ 15.29% Mn and 23.4% Fe (Strong 1959). Figure 2. Location map showing additional land now under NSC control (white rectangle), bedrock in and around the Emily Project area, as well as historic drill holes by various parties (Peterson 2019). NSC's CEO Gary Lewis commented, "securing these additional lands represents a significant milestone for the Company and its shareholders. Our Minnesota team has spent many months on the ground finalizing these deals, and the impact will be immediate and considerable. Having recently announced the commencement of drilling at the Emily Manganese Project, our technical team are reviewing the program to include additional holes to cover high-grade historical intercepts and to infill significant areas that were never explored on this newly acquired ground." "As reported in the 2022 NI 43-101 technical report, 'the [2022] resource defined by Barr Engineering represents only a small portion of a much larger area of manganese-iron disposition along strike and down-dip that was previously drilled by Pickands Mather and U.S. Steel in the 1940s and 1950s', and we have now secured the majority of this manganese-iron disposition." We look forward to updating shareholders further as the program advances." Qualified Person The scientific and technical data contained in this news release was reviewed and approved by Ian James Pringle PhD, who is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. About Nevada Silver Corporation Nevada Silver Corporation (TSXV:NSC) (OTCQB:NVDSF) is a U.S.-based mineral development company with manganese and silver projects geared to supporting the transition to clean energy. NSC's principal asset is the Emily Manganese Project in Minnesota, which has been the subject of considerable technical studies, with US$24 million invested to date. The Company's mission in Minnesota is to become a domestic U.S. producer of high-purity, high-value manganese metal and chemical products for supply to U.S. energy, technology and industrial markets. With manganese playing a critical and prominent role in lithium-ion battery formulations, and with no domestic supply or active mines in North America, this represents a significant opportunity for NSC shareholders. In addition, NSC owns and operates the Corcoran Silver-Gold Project in Nevada. Both Corcoran and Emily have been the subject of National Instrument 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimates. NSC will seek shareholder approval to change its name to Electric Metals USA Limited at the Company's Annual General Meeting in May 2023. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. For further Information please contact: Gary Lewis, Group CEO & Director: (647) 846 5299 - gl@nevadasilvercorp.com Forward-Looking Statements: Information set forth in this news release may involve forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements contained herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements included in this document are made as of the date of this document and Nevada Silver Corporation 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 expressly required by applicable securities legislation. Although management believes that the expectations represented in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any securities that may be described herein and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such. SOURCE: Nevada Silver Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740450/Nevada-Silver-Announces-Major-Land-Acquisition-in-Minnesota-to-Significantly-Expand-the-Emily-Manganese-Exploration-Footprint Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - Tower Resources Ltd. (TSXV: TWR) ("Tower" or the "Company") is pleased to announce completion of the till sampling and gold grain testing component of the Company's current 2000 m diamond drilling program (see press release from February 2, 2023) on the Company's Rabbit North property near Kamloops, British Columbia, between New Gold's New Afton underground Cu-Au mine and Teck's Highland Valley open pit Cu-Mo mine (see Fig. 1). The gold grain results obtained from the till samples will be used to guide diamond drill testing of the large Dominic Lake gold grain dispersal train as soon as drilling is completed at the source of the smaller but higher-grade Central Train. Gold Grain Results As explained in Tower's December 21, 2022 press release the Lightning Zone that Tower discovered in December, 2021, 300 m glacially up-ice from the Dominic Lake Train, has been yielding attractive gold Au grades of up to 1.55 g/t over 132 m but its glaciated footprint appears to be too small to account for such a large gold grain dispersal train. Additionally, Tower's diamond drilling has shown that the untested 300 m gap between the Lightning Zone and the previously sampled segment of the dispersal train is underlain by a plug of unprospective (pre-mineralization) Durand diorite (see Fig. 2) rather than the gold-prospective Nicola tuff that hosts the Lightning Zone. In the current program, 11 till samples were collected in the gap. The samples were obtained beneath 1 m of snow using an excavator and were collected at the same depth as the original hand-dug samples that identified the Dominic Lake Train. As anticipated, the gold grain content of most of the till samples from the gap, including those directly down-ice from the Lightning Zone, is significantly lower than that of the samples from the Dominic Lake Train (generally less than 150 grains per sample versus 200-600 grains per sample), confirming that the main gold source is probably on the south rather than north side of the diorite plug. Two till samples collected further north over the northeastern part of the diorite plug did contain more than 200 gold grains. However, this anomaly is probably related to an underlying zone of the earlier, low-grade, Durand-type porphyry Cu-Au mineralization that Tower intersected in Hole 035 in December, 2021 (0.09% Cu and 0.31 g/t Au over 79.8 m; see March 10, 2022 press release. Three till samples were collected to verify an isolated 609-grain gold anomaly that was identified 200 m northeast of the Lightning Zone in the initial May, 2021 till survey. These samples yielded much lower gold grain values, indicating that the original anomaly was spurious rather than indicative of a systematic dispersal train like the initial till sample from the Central Train, see October 5, 2022 press release. Such anomalies are generally produced post-glacially by weathering of gold inclusions from auriferous sulphide grains in a mineralized till pebble. One till sample was collected over the band of young basalt flows at the head of the Central Train. It yielded only 43 gold grains, confirming that the Central Train is sourced entirely from the Nicola volcanics on the south side of the basalt. Central Train Drilling Corroborates Interpretation of Dominic Lake Train While the till samples at the head of the Dominic Lake Train were being collected and evaluated, diamond drilling commenced at the head of the Central Train to locate its source. The anomalous till samples from this dispersal train contain only half as many gold grains as those from the Dominic Lake Train but three times more gold by weight because the gold grains are larger. This suggests a source Au grade three times higher than the grade of the Lightning Zone. The drilling has been progressing rapidly, with approximately 1400 m completed in four holes. It has revealed that the Nicola volcanics at the Central Train are less disrupted by faults than those at the Lightning Zone, facilitating determination of the orientation of other structures. Importantly, the mineralized shear zone responsible for the Central Train has been determined to strike roughly parallel to the south-southeast ice flow trend and to directly underlie the dispersal train, reinforcing the probability that the main source of the Dominic Lake Train also trends south-southeast and underlies the train. While more drilling is needed on the Central Train, the drill is now being moved to the Dominic Lake Train where at least two holes will be drilled to assess the gold potential of the rocks beneath the train. Methods and Qualified Person Overburden Drilling Management Ltd. (ODM) collected the till samples and processed them at the company's heavy indicator mineral laboratory in Ottawa, Ontario. The samples were collected by Michael D.J. Michaud from small pits dug with a tracked excavator. They were obtained from compact subglacial till within the C-horizon of the post-glacial soil profile at a depth of 0.5 to 1 m to match the samples that were collected previously from hand-dug pits. The till from each pit was sieved at 8 mm to obtain approximately 12 kg of -8 mm material which, when further screened in the laboratory, typically yields approximately 10 kg of -2 mm fine sandy silt, the particle size fraction in which most gold grains reside. Prior to extracting the heavy mineral fraction from the samples, ODM removed a representative 500 g split and further sieved it at 0.063 mm to separate the fine silt + clay fraction. This fraction will be analyzed geochemically in Kamloops by Actlabs Ltd., a laboratory certified as ISO/IEC 17025 Accredited (Lab 790) by the Standards Council of Canada. The samples are digested in aqua regia, then analyzed by FA/AA for Au and 34 other elements by ICP/OES. ODM normally includes in each submitted sample batch one or more splits of a blind (visually indistinguishable) quality assurance sample from a natural till section that contains consistently elevated levels of Au, Cu, Mo and other key elements. Heavy mineral concentration was effected on the bulk of each sample using a shaking table modified by ODM to recover the fine, silt-sized gold particles that normally comprise 95% of the gold grains in till. The dimensions of each recovered gold grain were measured and the grain was classified as being still pristine, partially modified (physically deformed) or completely reshaped to gauge its relative distance of glacial transport. The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Stuart Averill, P.Geo., a Director of the Company, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Tower Resources Tower is a Canadian based mineral exploration company focused on the discovery and advancement of economic mineral projects in the Americas. The Company's key exploration assets, both in B.C., are the Rabbit North copper-gold porphyry project located between the New Afton copper-gold and Highland Valley copper mines in the Kamloops mining district and the Nechako gold-silver project near Artemis' Blackwater project. On behalf of the Board of Directors Tower Resources Ltd. Joe Dhami, President and CEO (778) 996-4730 www.towerresources.ca Reader Advisory This news release may contain statements which constitute "forward-looking information", including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, fluctuations in market prices, successes of the operations of the Company, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such information will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws. Figure 1 - Location of Tower's Rabbit North property relative to the active mines of the Kamloops district. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5023/155843_4046e64624faf98b_002full.jpg Figure 2 - Gold grain content per 10 kg sample of the till southwest of the Durand Stock. Gold grain counts greater than 200 are shown individually. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5023/155843_4046e64624faf98b_003full.jpg To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155843 FLORHAM PARK, N.J., Feb. 23, 2023, the U.K. based airline that flies to 27 destinations across four continents, to provide customer experience management (CXM). A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by selecting the image or link below: Conduent CXM teams are managing rebookings and providing general customer support, which includes flight changes and cancellations. These are some of the most challenging issues for travelers, so Virgin Atlantic is leveraging Conduent's human-centric approach to CXM to achieve a high level of customer satisfaction. "Our vision is to become the most loved travel company, and we strive to ensure that when our customers need to speak to us, our contact center always provides a prompt and exceptional customer service experience," said Louise Phillips, Vice President, Customer Centres at Virgin Atlantic. "Conduent's strong experience in travel and hospitality, along with their talented people and processes, gave us the confidence they were the right partner to support our vision and become an extension of our contact center team." The CXM teams are providing live agent support, primarily for Virgin Atlantic's United Kingdom and United States customers, Virgin Atlantic's two primary markets. It is anticipated in the coming months that Conduent may expand its services to support additional client needs. "Conduent recognizes the importance and value of customer loyalty, which is earned with every customer interaction," said Jeff Weiner, Vice President, General Manager for Customer Experience Management at Conduent. "With more than 15 years of experience in the travel and hospitality sector, we have developed the training, technology and processes to empower our agents to empathetically work with customers to address their needs and help strengthen their relationship with exceptional brands like Virgin Atlantic." Conduent provides mission-critical omnichannel customer experience management services and solutions, both human and digital, via its more than 37,000 customer experience associates delivering services from a blend of 100 global sites and work at home locations. Conduent CXM teams, who support 20 languages and manage more than one billion customer interactions annually, are working with clients across a range of industries. About Conduent Conduent delivers technology-led business process solutions for businesses and governments globally - creating exceptional outcomes for its clients and the millions of people who count on them. Through a dedicated global team of approximately 60,000 associates, process expertise, and advanced technologies, Conduent's solutions and services digitally transform its clients' operations to enhance customer experiences, improve performance, increase efficiencies, and reduce costs. 80 percent of Fortune 100 companies and more than 600 government entities count on Conduent as a strategic partner. Conduent adds momentum to its clients' missions in many ways including delivering 43 percent of nutrition assistance payments in the U.S., enabling 1.3 billion customer service interactions annually, empowering more than 11 million employees through HR services every year, or processing nearly 12 million tolling transactions every day. Learn more at www.conduent.com. About Virgin Atlantic? Virgin Atlantic was founded by entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson in 1984, with innovation and amazing customer service at its core. In 2022, Virgin Atlantic was voted Britain's only Global Five Star Airline by APEX for the sixth year running in the Official Airline Ratings. Headquartered in London, it employs over 7,500 people worldwide, flying customers to 27 destinations across four continents. Virgin Atlantic recently continued its expansion in the US, announcing a new route to Tampa from November 2022, following the launch of flights to Austin in May 2022. Alongside shareholder and Joint Venture partner Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic operates a leading transatlantic network, with onward connections to over 200 cities around the world. On 3 February 2020, Air France-KLM, Delta Air Lines and Virgin Atlantic launched an expanded Joint Venture, offering a comprehensive route network, convenient flight schedules, competitive fares and reciprocal frequent flyer benefits, including the ability to earn and redeem miles across all carriers.? Virgin Atlantic is also set to join the global airline alliance SkyTeam in 2023. Virgin Atlantic will become SkyTeam's first and only UK member airline, enhancing the alliance's transatlantic network and services to and from Heathrow and Manchester Airport. Sustainability remains central to the airline, which is committed to achieving net zero by 2050. To meet this goal, Virgin Atlantic welcomed the first of 16 A330-900neos in October 2022. The A330-900neos are equipped with the most fuel-efficient engines and designed to be 11% more fuel and carbon efficient than the A330-300s that they replace and deliver a 50% reduction in airport noise contour. These investments reaffirm the airline's dedication to flying one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient fleets in the skies, resulting in the reduction of carbon emissions by 20%, increasing to 30% in 2027. Media Contacts: Robert Corbishley, Conduent, +44 Lisa Patterson, Conduent, +1-816-305-4421, lisa.patterson@conduent.com Investor Relations Contact: Giles Goodburn, Conduent, +1-203-216-3546, ir@conduent.com Note: To receive RSS news feeds, visit www.news.conduent.com. For open commentary, industry perspectives and views, visit http://twitter.com/Conduent, http://www.linkedin.com/company/conduentor http://www.facebook.com/Conduent. Trademarks Conduent is a trademark of Conduent Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. The new U.S. Ambassador to Mauritius, Henry V. Jardine, presented his Letter of Credence to the President of the Republic of Mauritius, Prithvirajsing Roopun, in the morning of the 22th February 2022, at the State House in Reduit. Ambassador Jardine also paid a courtesy call on Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and National Assembly Speaker Sooroojdev Phokeer in the afternoon. Ambassador Jardine arrived in Mauritius last week with his wife, Kathleen. Mr. Jardine took the oath of office as the U.S. Ambassador to Mauritius in a ceremony at the National Museum of American Diplomacy in Washington, D.C. on January 19, 2023. The ceremony was officiated by Acting Deputy Secretary of State John Bass. Ambassador Jardine is a member of the U.S. Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister Counselor. Prior to assuming his position, Ambassador Jardine served as the Director for the Office of Career Development and Assignments, Acting Director and Principal Deputy Director for the Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO); Executive Director in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (WHA); Management Counselor for the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand; Deputy Chief of Mission for the U.S. Embassy in Tirana, Albania; Director for the Regional and Security Policy Office (RSP) in the Bureau for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP); Consul General in Calcutta, India; Management Officer in Chiang Mai, Thailand; and rotational assignments as Political and Consular Officer in Bridgetown, Barbados and Dhaka, Bangladesh. Before beginning his career at the U.S. State Department, Ambassador Jardine was a Captain in the U.S. Army. Following the presentation of his credentials to President Roopun, Ambassador Jardine said, It is a great honor to be representing the United States to the Republic of Mauritius and I have to thank the President for his warm welcome so soon after my arrival. As the new U.S. Ambassador takes office at U.S. Embassy Port Louis, Mr. Satrajit Sardar, who was Charge dAffaires since July 2022, will resume his position as Deputy Chief of Mission. Partager et informez vous aussi...... 0 shares Share Tweet LinkedIn Articles similaires Originally published on Nielsen News Center NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / At Nielsen, all employees are encouraged to get involved with skills-based volunteering through our Data for Good program. These projects and initiatives share pro bono Nielsen data, solutions and talent with nonprofit organizations to make a positive impact, especially to increase representation and encourage inclusion. Data for Good projects are also critical to advance Nielsen's 2024 goal to contribute $30 million in total in-kind value for pro bono data donations, public reports and other support for organizations and topics that are powering a better media future for all people. Last fall, the company's Corporate Citizenship team asked all employees to share their ideas on how our data and insights could help solve some of the most pressing challenges that the media industry is currently facing. The 2022 Data for Good Idea Challenge provided an opportunity for dozens of Nielsen employees from around the world to share their ideas for how Nielsen data, solutions and talent can creatively power a more inclusive media future that works for and represents all people. Our employees certainly stepped up to the challenge! Ideas, submitted by teams across 10 countries, explored how to measure audience and influencer diversity, how to assess the credibility of news sources, how to account for the media's influence on mental health and much more. The Idea Challenge culminated with six finalist teams presenting their ideas in a live event to a panel of senior leader judges. The winning ideas included: "The Nielsen Climate Content Rating" proposes a report and content metric on scientific content in extreme weather reporting. The idea was submitted by Jocelyn Azada, Director, Business Diversity, ESG, and Risk; Dana Siler, QA Engineer, Product Leadership; and Emily Baker, Data Scientist, Local TV Panels. "Non-Binary Genders in Survey-Based Products and Models" proposes a framework for how to collect, use and report on non-binary genders in surveys. The idea was submitted by Bert de Bruijn, Lead Data Scientist, Campaign Analytics. "Making Mental Health a Media KPI" proposes a new metric to make mental health a standard media KPI. The idea was submitted by Maria Daniela Isea, Client Services Manager Measurement; Cory Weeks, Director of International Expansion, TVTY; and Maira Barcellos, Country Leader Measurement Spain and Portugal. "We are always looking for new ways to power a better media future for all people," said Christine Pierce, Chief Data Officer, and one of the executive sponsors of the Cares Business resource group, who served as a judge for the Challenge. "The Data for Good Idea Challenge was an exciting opportunity to hear creative ideas from across the company. It was truly inspiring!" For more information on our community efforts, visit our Responsibility & sustainability page and our 2022 ESG report. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Nielsen on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Nielsen Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/nielsen Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Nielsen View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740497/Nielsen-Employees-Share-Innovative-Ideas-Through-the-2022-Data-for-GoodR-Idea-Challenge NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Cisco and Mercy Corps recently completed a five-year Technology for Impact partnership centered on delivering humanitarian aid and development assistance faster, better and to more people around the world by accelerating digital solutions. There's a lot to celebrate and reflect on, especially as we center our energy on our new partnership focused on fostering climate adaptation and resilience in the Horn of Africa. Below is a conversation I had recently with Carolyn Florey, Senior Director of Mercy Corps' Technology for Development Team, reflecting on our transformational partnership, and looking forward to what's next. Carolyn: Mercy Corps and Cisco have been partnering for 15 years! Our most recent five-year Technology for Impact partnership reached more than 12 million people across 45 countries, and it has also influenced the broader humanitarian and development sector, and Mercy Corps' capacity as an organization. What results are you most proud of? Erin: I have loved seeing the programs evolve over the years - from the earliest proof of concepts and pilots, to some initiatives being replicated across other regions and scaled across the organization. The benefit of a multi-year partnership is that it has afforded us the time to test solutions, to pivot and adapt when things don't go as planned, and to scale initiatives that gained traction and had an impact. In many cases, we have identified new applications and opportunities to apply these solutions to challenges we hadn't even anticipated at the partnership's outset. When COVID-19 hit in 2020, for example, we saw how critical technology solutions were to continue supporting vulnerable populations. Mercy Corps was well positioned to respond, leveraging our work building digital communities to deliver trusted and reliable information on COVID-19, and our initiatives to digitize cash and vouchers to deliver cash assistance quicker and more efficiently to those in dire need. We see our funding as catalytic, so it has been gratifying to see this borne out by our Technology for Impact partnership. Our support has allowed Mercy Corps to invest in its people, tools, and tech-based programming to drive greater efficiency and impact. In doing so, Mercy Corps has been able to demonstrate the value of this support, resulting in greater institutional investment, additional funding and new partnerships that have helped further scale these efforts. It's incredible to see Cisco-supported technology initiatives now embedded in 116 Mercy Corps programs in 45 countries! Erin: How about you, Carolyn? Which initiatives do you feel have especially moved the needle for Mercy Corps' work? Carolyn: The Technology for Impact partnership was incredibly unique in that it touched everything from operations to innovation. You used the word "catalytic" to describe Cisco's funding - and it has truly been a catalyst for improving how Mercy Corps operates as an organization. Our monitoring and evaluation (MEL) work is a strong example of this. As humanitarians, we work in very complex and fragile environments. These include communities experiencing conflict from armed groups, acute hunger, and much uncertainty. Program monitoring and evaluating is essential to the success of our work, because it allows us to understand if our programs are creating the intended impact we seek, and truly supporting people in rapidly evolving situations. Digitizing and automating our MEL processes has been a game changer for our program teams, allowing us to have a richer, more complete understanding of our programs' impact much faster. Carolyn: In what ways are you hoping to see the partnership build on its successes and learnings as we focus on one of the most pressing issues we collectively face: climate change? Erin: I believe there is a direct link between climate change and humanitarian crises. We know that communities in low-income countries are disproportionately affected by climate change and lack the resources to adapt and respond to an increasing number of crises that can be exacerbated by climate change, such as floods and drought. Mercy Corps' new 10-year Pathway to Possibility strategy, centered around building resilient communities, resonated with Cisco and mirrored our increased focus on addressing climate change and building resilience. Mercy Corps works on some of today's toughest challenges, with communities that are at the forefront of the climate crisis. Over the course of our Technology for Impact partnership, Mercy Corps has tested, adapted, and applied innovative technology solutions to improve the way they deliver aid. It therefore made sense that we expanded our partnership, building on what we've learned and developed, and see how we can apply this approach and technology to help communities adapt and build resilience to their changing environments. I'm hoping that, as with our Technology for Impact partnership, we will be able to leverage the activities and technologies from our work in the Horn of Africa, and apply these to other regions and communities similarly affected by climate change. Erin: Carolyn, I'd love to hear your perspective on this. How do you see technology playing a role in Mercy Corps' climate resilience work? Carolyn: There are multiple ways our existing work can be expanded and adapted to build climate resilience. For example, we can combine digital cash payments with our crisis analysis work to make automatic payments in advance of severe weather. We can provide digital early warning alerts before these crises occur, and also digital information afterwards so that the communities we work with have the information they need to access services and support. Technology opens the door for us to build and achieve climate resilience from multiple angles, many of which are already reflected in our work. In Kenya, through our new partnership with Cisco, we are increasing the uptake and use of digital information services and tools among key decision-makers so they can make data-informed decisions to combat the effects of climate change - which in Kenya, looks like severe drought. We see potential in scaling this approach to the broader Horn of Africa region and beyond. Carolyn: We recently had the opportunity to visit Wajir, Kenya together and see some of our climate adaptation programming in action. What were some highlights of that experience for you? Erin: The highlight of these visits is always meeting the people: the local Mercy Corps team, their government and community partners, and probably most important, the agropastoralists, whose lives and livelihoods are most impacted by climate change. It was incredibly moving to see the drought firsthand, and to listen to the stories and perspectives of those affected. While in some ways disheartening, it was also inspiring to see the many ways in which Mercy Corps is partnering with these communities to adapt to their changing environment, and innovate to improve their livelihoods. Another highlight (for the experience, not necessarily the taste): trying warm camel milk, a Wajir staple! Carolyn: Combating climate change might be the most important challenge of our lifetime, and one that obviously can't be solved by one organization alone. How is Cisco addressing climate change? What role do you think these partnerships play in tackling global issues? Erin: Cisco's purpose is to "Power an Inclusive Future for All" - and that also means by and with all. Collaboration with partners large and small, global and local, has always been part of our approach to driving lasting and systemic change. One area where Cisco has the potential to make a meaningful impact is with our customers. How can we help them use our products and solutions to reduce their environmental footprint and achieve their sustainability goals? We are working to reduce the energy consumption of our products, and build them using circular design principles that can extend their life cycle and reduce the amount of materials they require. But beyond that, we will continue to look at how we can continue to partner with organizations like Mercy Corps - because we have seen that when we combine the strength of the humanitarian sector's expertise with our core competencies in technology and connectivity, we can have a deeper and longer-lasting impact. View original content here. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Cisco Systems Inc. on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Cisco Systems Inc. Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cisco-systems-inc Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Cisco Systems Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740505/Cisco-and-Mercy-Corps-Cultivating-Climate-Adaptation-and-Resilience-in-Kenya Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - Global Care Capital Inc. (CSE: HLTH) (FSE: L6V2) (the "Company" or "Global Care") announces the appointment of Mr. Simon Ma as Chief Financial Officer, taking the place of Bryce Clark, who has resigned (see news release February 13, 2023). Mr. Ma is a Chartered Professional Accountant and has extensive experience with private companies, as well as public companies in the resource sector. Mr. Ma graduated from the University of British Columbia in 1987 and obtained a degree of Bachelor of Arts in Economics, after which he worked in the industry as a Controller to 1990. He began articling in 1990 and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1994. Simon Ma has been a sole public practitioner since 1997 and is practicing under the name of Tierone Consultancy Corporation (previously known as "Simon S. Ma Corporation"). He concurrently serves as Chief Financial Officer of several public companies listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, or Canadian Securities Exchange. These companies include North American Potash Inc., Gem International Resources Inc., E-Energy Ventures Inc., United Coal Holdings Ltd., Quanta Resources Inc., Berkley Renewables Inc., DGS Minerals Inc., and Replicel Life Sciences Inc. ("Replicel"). Mr. Ma was also the Director of Finance for Replicel from 2016 to 2020. Global Care welcomes Mr. Ma to the Company and the management team. About Global Care Global Care Capital is a global investment company which specializes in providing early-stage financing to private and public companies. The Company engages in new, early-stage investment opportunities in previously underdeveloped assets and obtaining positions in early-stage investment opportunities that adequately reflect the risk profile. GLOBAL CARE CAPITAL INC.: Company Contact: Mr. Hugh Maddin, Interim CEO "Hugh Maddin" 604-687-2038 info@globalcarecapital.com The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155883 Arkerobox introduces an innovative education model to teach children about cultural heritage. Its educational board games will be launched on Kickstarter New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - Selected by UNESCO, a part of the United Nations, World Heritage Sites are places in the world that are very important from a cultural or natural perspective. Arkerobox, the company that produces educational board games that teach children about the world's cultural heritage through experience, announced the launch of its new products on the global crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. Arkerobox introduces an innovative education model to teach children about cultural heritage To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8552/155917_beb91f29b4890823_001full.jpg The latest products bring six different heritage sites to life to spark children's imagination. With the support it will receive from Kickstarter, Arkerobox will add the Mayan city Chichen Itza from Mexico, the Inca ancient city Machu Picchu from Peru, and the Petra Ancient City from Jordan, which are among the 7 wonders of the world. It will also gamify the Mount Rushmore Monument from the USA, the Terracotta Army from China, and the Moai Heads from Chile. "We are excited to launch our new products on Kickstarter and bring the world's cultural heritage to life for children," said Ilker Vardarli, Co-Founder at Arkerobox. "Our educational games provide children a fun and interactive way to learn about the heritage sites. We believe this will inspire future generations' love for history and cultural heritage. We think this is a campaign not to be missed to protect our heritage. We thank those who support the values from the past today for a better future." The latest products bring six different heritage sites to life To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8552/155917_beb91f29b4890823_002full.jpg Arkerobox's mission is to develop innovative education models that improve children's awareness of cultural heritage. With the new products, children will learn about the world's cultural heritage in a fun and interactive way, developing a love for history and heritage. The educational games also support children's mental and physical development, providing a unique and innovative learning method. Click for more information about the Arkerobox Kickstarter campaign. Contact: Ilker Vardarli ilker@arkerobox.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155917 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) -Tevano Systems Holdings Inc. (CSE: TEVO) (FSE: 7RBA) ("Tevano", or the "Company"), is very pleased to announce that it has signed a non-binding letter of intent dated and signed by all the parties on February 22, 2022 ("LOI") for the acquisition of green Lithium technology company Aqua-Eo Ltd. ("Aqua-Eo") (the "Proposed Transaction"). Under the terms of the LOI, Tevano will acquire 100% of Aqua-Eo which will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Tevano. To complete the Transaction, Tevano has agreed to issue 18,995,000 common shares at a deemed price of $0.06 per share (the "Transaction Shares") (the aggregate value of the Transaction Shares is $1,139,700) to the existing shareholders of Aqua-Eo. The Transaction Shares will be allocated to the Aqua-Eo shareholders on a pro rata basis on the issuance date. The final structure of the Proposed Transaction will be determined by Tevano and Aqua-Eo to accommodate tax considerations, accounting treatment, and applicable legal and regulatory requirements. Aqua-Eo is a pre-revenue company (it has modest revenues in 2022) and receipt of financial information is pending. The Company does not anticipate any new board members will be added to its board of directors as a result of the Proposed Transaction. The Company is actively looking for a new Chief Technical Officer or Chief Operations Officer since those roles were vacated earlier this financial year. A finder's fee of up to 10% of the value of the transaction is expect to be paid to an arm's length party in connection with the Proposed Transaction. Aqua-Eo is an environmentally focused industrial technology and engineering company, developing commercial extraction solutions for Lithium and other strategic metals, industrial wastewater remediation and oil and gas effluent treatment. The Proposed Transaction is subject to receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including, as applicable, approval of the CSE, completion of due diligence reasonable or customary in a transaction of a similar nature, and entering into a definitive agreement, among other conditions. The Proposed Transaction is an arms-length transaction for the Company and would not constitute a fundamental change or result in a change of control of the Company, within the meaning of the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange. The Proposed Transaction is expected to close on or before June 30, 2023. Upon entering into the definitive agreement, the Company intends to issue a further press release which will disclose the finalized terms of the transaction. About Tevano Tevano is a hardware and software business solutions company. Its initial product Health Shield, is an innovative AI-driven electronic device which provides instant body temperature scanning and notifies users if they need to wear a face mask. Health Shield devices can be placed at all entrances where patrons and/or employees gain access to buildings. The Health Shield device is supported by a cloud software solution that can manage multiple devices and provide detailed reporting and analysis. For more information, please visit www.tevano.com On behalf of the Board of: TEVANO SYSTEMS HOLDINGS INC Eugene Hodgson, Chief Financial Officer eugeneh@tevanosystems.com 604-805-6600 CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements or information. More particularly and without limitation, this news release contains forward-looking statements and matters. The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by management of the Company. Although management of the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements and information since no assurance can be given that they will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements and information are provided for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations and plans of management of the Company relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such statements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes, such as making investment decisions. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, completion of due diligence, negotiation of definitive agreements, receipt of applicable approvals for the Proposed Transaction, the Company's ability to raise further capital, the close of the Proposed Transaction and the ability of Aqua-Eo to reach its financial milestones. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and no undertaking is given to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Neither the CSE nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155922 CHARLOTTE, NC / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / After a year where the company made outstanding progress executing its strategy, strengthening its clean energy commitments, and responding effectively to the urgency of external events, Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) has been named one of the World's Most Admired Companies by Fortune Magazine for the sixth year in a row. Duke Energy moved up four spots and was ranked 4th among gas and electric utilities. "This recognition reflects the dedication of over 27,000 employees who execute on our strategy every day to provide clean, reliable, and affordable energy for our customers," said Lynn Good, Duke Energy chair, president and CEO. "We're leading the industry's most ambitious clean energy transformation and continuing to make progress on our mission." In determining the industry rankings, executives, directors and industry analysts are independently surveyed and companies are rated on nine attributes: innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment, quality of products/services and global competitiveness. Recent company performance highlights Expanding emissions goals - Established new interim carbon emissions reduction targets of 80% for Scope 1 emissions by 2040 and 50% for Scope 2 and 3 (upstream and downstream emissions) by 2035. The company had previously set a net zero by 2050 target for Scope 1 and certain Scope 2 and 3 emissions. Currently, 95% of the company's greenhouse gas emissions are now tied to a measurable net-zero goal. - Established new interim carbon emissions reduction targets of 80% for Scope 1 emissions by 2040 and 50% for Scope 2 and 3 (upstream and downstream emissions) by 2035. The company had previously set a net zero by 2050 target for Scope 1 and certain Scope 2 and 3 emissions. Currently, 95% of the company's greenhouse gas emissions are now tied to a measurable net-zero goal. Investing in renewables - By 2035, the company anticipates 30,000 megawatts of regulated renewables on its system, which is more than five times what the company currently operates today. - By 2035, the company anticipates 30,000 megawatts of regulated renewables on its system, which is more than five times what the company currently operates today. Transitioning to cleaner energy - Accelerated coal retirements, targeting energy generated from coal to represent less than 5% of total generation by 2030 and planning a full exit from coal by 2035, subject to regulatory approval. - Accelerated coal retirements, targeting energy generated from coal to represent less than 5% of total generation by 2030 and planning a full exit from coal by 2035, subject to regulatory approval. Powering communities - Supported its communities with more than $49 million in charitable giving in 2021. In addition, the company's employees and alumni volunteered more than 98,000 hours with nonprofits in local communities. Duke Energy Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 7.9 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 51,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,500 people. Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy strategy to create a smarter energy future for its customers and communities - with goals of at least a 50 percent carbon reduction by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The company is a top U.S. renewable energy provider, on track to own or purchase 16,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2025. The company also is investing in major electric grid upgrades and expanded battery storage, and exploring zero-emitting power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear. Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2022 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "America's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. 24-hour media line: 800.559.3853 View original content here View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Duke Energy on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Duke Energy Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/duke-energy Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Duke Energy View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740509/Duke-Energy-Named-One-of-the-Worlds-Most-Admired-Companies-for-Sixth-Consecutive-Year In partnership with the Turkish Ministry of Interior Department of Disaster and Emergency Management, the Turkish Red Crescent, the World Health Organization, Besiktas J.K. and the Turkish Pharmacists' Association, MNG Airlines is working to supply rescue and relief supplies to southeast Turkey. Earthquake victims and rescue and relief workers remain in dire need of supplies. Donors can find additional information and support the efforts at the following sites: https://en.afad.gov.tr/ https://www.kizilay.org.tr/ MNG Havayollari ve Tasimacilik A.S. ("MNG Airlines" or "MNGA"), a global logistics provider and e-commerce enabler, is providing ground transport, logistics and air cargo services to aid victims of the devastating February 6th earthquakes. MNGA has mobilized a fleet of cargo trucks to support the Turkish Ministry of Interior Department of Disaster and Emergency Management to deliver supplies from Istanbul directly to Malatya and Gaziantep. Starting on February 7th, the MNGA's trucks began delivering emergency aid to the region. On February 8th,MNG Airlines volunteered an A300-600 aircraft to transport relief goods including 44 tons of supplies donated by MNG Airlines staff. After the first flight, MNGA operated 4 flights to Malatya and 2 flights to Adana to provide transportation for donations from Besiktas JK, the Turkish Pharmacists' Association and other donors. MNG Airlines has also partnered with the Turkish Red Crescent to collect and transport emergency donations from across Europe to Malatya and Adana. Starting on February 9th, and working alongside international embassies and consulate staff, airport staff and our ground handling partner DNATA CGN, MNG Airlines loaded emergency relief donations at the Cologne, Amsterdam, and Charles de Gaulle airports for transport to Istanbul Airport. MNG Airlines' collaboration with the Red Crescent is ongoing, and as of today, MNG Airlines has transported 240 tons of aid. On February 8th, 16th and 23rd, MNG Airlines operated an A300-600 cargo plane on behalf of the World Health Organization ("WHO") to transport 120 tons of emergency medical kits from Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai to Istanbul, where the WHO's emergency response teams began transporting the kits to areas most in need. On February 18th, MNG Airlines operated an A300-600 cargo plane on behalf of UNICEF to transport 37 tons of relief goods. MNG Airlines and Golden Falcon Acquisition Corporation stand with friends, family, and fellow Turkish citizens whose lives have been impacted by the earthquakes, and will continue supporting our disaster relief and recovery partners during this difficult time. About MNG Airlines MNG Airlines is a global logistics provider. MNG Airlines started operations in 1996, having conducted its first transatlantic flight in 1998, and now services over 15,000 corporate customers across 41 countries through over 3,500 flights per year. MNG Airlines offers charter services with customized plane and capacity options in addition to scheduled flights and aircraft, maintenance, crew and insurance (ACMI) services. MNG Airlines also has a fully equipped and EU standards-compliant warehouse since 2000. About Golden Falcon Acquisition Corp. Golden Falcon Acquisition Corp. (Golden Falcon) is a New York Stock Exchange-listed special purpose acquisition company. Golden Falcon management's combined experience includes over 100 years of investment banking, private equity and executive management experience and over 230 transactions with an aggregate value of over $450 billion globally. Golden Falcon brings a transatlantic network of relationships with entrepreneurs, family-owned businesses, large corporations, sovereign wealth funds, private equity, venture capital and asset management firms to help finance, support and grow its business combination partner. In addition, Golden Falcon's board members and strategic advisory group bring extensive expertise in operating, financing, and investing in leading companies. They have held leadership positions with multinational corporations, where they established a proven track record of creating shareholder value, organically as well as through strategic transactions. Important Information About the Proposed Transaction and Where to Find It In connection with the proposed transaction between Golden Falcon and MNGA, MNGA intends to publicly file a registration statement on Form F-4 (the "Form F-4") with the SEC, which will include a proxy statement/prospectus and certain other related documents, which will be both the proxy statement to be distributed to holders of shares of Golden Falcon's common stock in connection with Golden Falcon's solicitation of proxies for the vote by its stockholders with respect to the proposed transaction and other matters as may be described in the definitive proxy statement, as well as a prospectus relating to the offer and sale of the securities of MNGA to be issued in the proposed transaction. The definitive proxy statement/prospectus will be sent to all Golden Falcon stockholders as of a record date to be established for voting on the transaction. Golden Falcon also will file other documents regarding the proposed transaction with the SEC. Before making any voting decision, investors and security holders of Golden Falcon are urged to read the registration statement, the proxy statement/prospectus, and amendments thereto, and the definitive proxy statement/prospectus in connection with Golden Falcon's solicitation of proxies for its stockholders' meeting to be held to approve the transaction, and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction as they become available because they will contain important information about Golden Falcon, MNGA and the proposed transaction. Investors and securityholders will be able to obtain free copies of the registration statement, the proxy statement/prospectus and all other relevant documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC by Golden Falcon and MNGA through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. The documents filed by Golden Falcon with the SEC also may be obtained free of charge at Golden Falcon's website at www.goldenfalconcorp.com or upon written request to: Golden Falcon Acquisition Corp., 850 Library Avenue, Suite 204, Newark, DE 19711. NEITHER THE SEC NOR ANY STATE SECURITIES REGULATORY AGENCY HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THE TRANSACTIONS DESCRIBED IN THIS COMMUNICATION, PASSED UPON THE MERITS OR FAIRNESS OF THE TRANSACTION OR RELATED TRANSACTIONS OR PASSED UPON THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE DISCLOSURE IN THIS COMMUNICATION. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY CONSTITUTES A CRIMINAL OFFENSE. Forward-Looking Statements This communication contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this communication are forward-looking statements. Some of these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking words, including "may," "should," "expect," "intend," "will," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "predict," "plan," "targets," "projects," "could," "would," "continue," "forecast" or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar expressions. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are based upon estimates, forecasts and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Golden Falcon and its management, and MNGA and its management, as the case may be, are inherently uncertain and many factors may cause the actual results to differ materially from current expectations which include, but are not limited to: our expectation that we will continue to provide disaster aid relief to those impacted by the earthquake; the risk that MNGA is not able to expand its network coverage or efficiently use its fleet; the risk that MNGA Airlines does not become a global logistics provider; the risk that the market does not receive MNGA as a high-quality business; the risk that the proposed transaction may not be completed in a timely manner or at all, which may adversely affect the price of Golden Falcon's securities; Golden Falcon's potential failure to obtain an extension of the deadline for the proposed transaction; the failure to satisfy the conditions to the consummation of the proposed transaction, including the adoption of the business combination agreement by the stockholders of Golden Falcon; failure to satisfy the minimum cash amount following redemptions by Golden Falcon's public stockholders in connection with the stockholder vote to extend the business combination deadline and the stockholder vote to approve the business combination agreement and the transactions contemplated thereby; failure to receive certain governmental and regulatory approvals; the lack of a third party valuation in determining whether or not to pursue the proposed transaction; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the business combination agreement; costs related to the proposed transaction; actual or potential conflicts of interest of Golden Falcon's management with its public stockholders; the effect of the announcement or pendency of the proposed transaction on MNGA's business relationships, performance, and business generally; risks that the proposed transaction disrupts current plans of MNGA and potential difficulties in MNGA's employee retention as a result of the proposed transaction; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against MNGA or against Golden Falcon related to the business combination agreement or the proposed transaction; failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction; the inability to meet and maintain the listing of Golden Falcon's securities (or the securities of MNGA) on the NYSE; the risk that the price of Golden Falcon's or MNGA's securities may be volatile due to a variety of factors, including macro-economic and social environments affecting MNGA's business and changes in the combined capital structure; the inability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations after the completion of the proposed transaction, and identify and realize additional opportunities; the risk that MNGA will need to raise additional capital to execute its business plan, which may not be available on acceptable terms or at all; the risk that the post-combination company experiences difficulties in managing its growth and expanding operations; negative economic conditions that could impact MNGA and the air cargo business in general; factors that affect air cargo companies generally; changes in, and MNGA's ability to comply with, laws and government regulations, particularly, the civil aviation regulatory framework; competition in the air cargo industry; reduction in demand for MNGA's cargo or charter operations, including as a result of reductions in global trade growth or e-commerce activity, government reduction or limitation of operating capacity; risks associated with MNGA doing business in emerging markets; conflict and uncertainty in neighboring countries; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in Golden Falcon's Annual Report on Form 10-K which was filed by Golden Falcon on March 31, 2022 (the "2021 Form 10-K"), and subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, as such factors may be updated from time to time in Golden Falcon's filings with the SEC, the Form F-4 and the proxy statement/prospectus contained therein. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Golden Falcon and MNGA caution that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. Nothing in this communication should be regarded as a representation by any person that the forward-looking statements set forth herein will be achieved or that any of the contemplated results of such forward-looking statements will be achieved. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Neither Golden Falcon nor MNGA gives any assurance that either Golden Falcon or MNGA or the combined company will achieve its expected results. Neither Golden Falcon nor MNGA undertakes any duty to update these forward-looking statements, except as otherwise required by law. Participants in the Solicitation MNGA and Golden Falcon and their respective directors and officers and other members of management may, under SEC rules, be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Golden Falcon stockholders with the proposed transaction and the other matters set forth in the proxy statement/prospectus. Information about Golden Falcon's directors and executive officers is set forth in Golden Falcon's filings with the SEC, including the 2021 Form 10-K. Additional information regarding the direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, of those persons and other persons who may be deemed participants in the proposed transaction may be obtained by reading the proxy statement/prospectus regarding the proposed transaction when it becomes available. You may obtain free copies of these documents as described above under "Important Information About the Proposed Transaction and Where to Find It." No Offer or Solicitation This communication is for information purposes only and shall not constitute a proxy statement or solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the proposed transaction and is not intended to and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, sell or solicit any securities or any proxy, vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be deemed to be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act, or an exemption therefrom. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005688/en/ Contacts: Ipek Akyildiz, Corporate Communications Manager, ipek.akyildiz@mngairlines.com Michael Bowen, Managing Director, ICR Inc, MNGAirlines@icrinc.com MUNICH and PFORZHEIM, Germany, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Skyrocketing prices for electricity and fossil energy carriers, the climate protection debate and - not least - sustainability: All these aspects are fueling the demand for photovoltaic installations by agricultural operations. On top of that, regulatory improvements, such as the scrapping of the EEG levy in Germany, are deepening the interest of farmers in decentralized photovoltaic installations. Intersolar Europe and the French-German Office for Energy Transition (DFBEW) will be giving a free webinar on Agrivoltaics in Germany and France: Potentials and Challenges on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, from 11am-noon. Participants will learn about synergies, economic benefits as well as the social and ecological effects of agrivoltaics. Agricultural PV (Agrivoltaics) is a trend in the energy industry that describes the merger of farming and energy generation using photovoltaic installations. Large-scale photovoltaic (PV) installations generate electricity at a financially relevant scale. In these times of energy and resource crisis, becoming involved in the energy industry can offer attractive options to agricultural operations in Germany, France, and Europe in general. The options include autonomous electricity and energy supply, significantly lower costs and new business models based on power grid feed-in. However, becoming a producer of renewable energy requires financial, technical and administrative know-how. EEG reform creates new potential Until July of 2022, the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG) provided for a levy for producers of solar power, the so-called EEG levy, which applied to all photovoltaic installations except installations for self consumption whose output was below 30 kilowatts (kW). In 2022, the levy was 3.72 Euro cents per kilowatt hour (ct/kWh). Any installations for self consumption with an output above this level were subject to a 40 percent levy. As a result, many farmers only installed PV systems below 30 kW, even though their electricity consumption for the ventilation of stables, milk cooling, milking robots and water purification systems as well as electric vehicle far exceeded this volume. Now that the EEG levy has been eliminated, it is worth investing in photovoltaics or expanding existing systems and storage devices. Without the EEG levy, switching larger photovoltaic installations to self consumption is also becoming more attractive. It can make sense for farmers to use excess solar power for electrical heating (power-to-heat). In view of the high heating costs, it is often lucrative even if electrical heating rods are used without the support of a heat pump. A pellet heating system, a woodchip stove or a cogeneration plant can be shut down over the summer. With tractor and tracker - a trend towards dual use While most farmers still stick to the use of PV on roof surfaces, there is a growing trend towards using agricultural surfaces to produce food and solar power at the same time. One way of doing this is with free-standing solar installations on fields and meadows. These installations are equipped with trackers that follow the sun, which increases the yield compared with conventional, fixed modules, by around 20 percent. The solar panels can also be moved out of the way of any working agricultural machinery. Another option is elevated photovoltaics (PV), where the modules (partially) cover crops. This technology is interesting for growing fruit, berries, wine or herbs, and any plants that grow better in the partial shade. There is a number of pilot projects across a total of one hectare of land with semitransparent PV modules at a height of six meters. These "solar roofs" have the added benefit of doing away with conventional protection equipment such as hail netting and polytunnels, and of protecting the crops from drying out. Free agricultural PV webinar The free webinar Agricultural PV in Germany and France: Potentials and Challenges will be held on March 14, 2023 from 11pm-noon. "The speedy deployment of photovoltaics in Germany and France is essential in order to achieve the set targets for the expansion of renewable energies," explains Catherine Rollet, webinar host and speaker at the French-German Office for Energy Transition (DFBEW). "Over the coming years, solar energy is going to play an important role in agriculture, too. Agricultural PV not only contributes to making the energy transition happen - it also has benefits for agriculture and for farmers." Click here to register for the webinar. Agricultural PV: Hot topic at Intersolar Europe Join us at Intersolar Europe from June 14-16, 2023 in Munich to get up close and personal with photovoltaics in agriculture. On June 15 from 3.30pm-5pm, the session Agricultural PV in France and Germany: Potential, Business Models and Best Practice at the Intersolar Forum, booth A3.150 will be offering visitors an extensive overview of solutions and applications that already work. The many agricultural PV exhibitors at Intersolar Europe will provide an even more hands-on experience. Exhibitors include BayWa r.e. AG, Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), Next2Sun GmbH, Goldbeck Solar GmbH, SunFarming GmbH and many more. For the complete exhibitor list, please click here. Intersolar Europe will be held from June 14-16, 2023 as part of The smarter E Europe 2023 at Messe Munchen. For more information, please visit: www.intersolar.de www.TheSmarterE.de Intersolar Europe Intersolar Europe is the world's leading exhibition for the solar industry. It takes place as part of The smarter E Europe - the continent's largest platform for the energy industry - and focuses on the photovoltaic, solar thermal technology and solar power plant sectors. Under the motto "Connecting solar business," manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, service providers, project planners and developers as well as start-ups from around the world meet in Munich every year to discuss the latest developments and trends, explore innovations firsthand and meet potential new customers. Intersolar Europe will take place from June 14 to 16, 2023 at Messe Munchen. It is held in parallel to three more energy exhibitions as part of the innovation hub for new energy solutions: ees Europe, Europe's largest and most international exhibition for batteries and energy storage systems, Power2Drive Europe, the international exhibition for charging infrastructure and e-mobility, and EM-Power Europe, the international exhibition for energy management and integrated energy solutions. At the accompanying Intersolar Europe Conference, renowned experts shed light on hot topics in the international solar industry. After three decades of working towards a sustainable energy supply for the future, Intersolar celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2021. Having started off as the local "Solar '91" exhibition, Intersolar has evolved to become the most important solar industry platform in the world. The exhibition brings together pioneers and drivers of innovation within the solar industry, since 2018 under the umbrella of The smarter E Europe innovation hub. For more information on Intersolar Europe, please visit: www.intersolar.de Intersolar Europe is organized by Solar Promotion GmbH, Pforzheim, and Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. KG (FWTM). Contact: Solar Promotion GmbH | P.O. Box 100 170 | 75101 Pforzheim, Germany Horst Dufner | Tel.: +49 7231 58598-0 | Fax: +49 7231 58598-28 info@intersolar.de Press contact: fischerAppelt, relations | Otl-Aicher-Str. 64 | 80807 Munich, Germany Juliane Heermeier juliane.heermeier@fischerappelt.de View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/agrivoltaics-more-sustainability-and-cost-efficiency-for-agriculture-301754604.html The tinnitus medical devices market is expanding due to factors such as the increasing prevalence of tinnitus, as well as its causative and risk factors such as meningitis, hearing loss, deafness, otosclerosis, Meniere's disease, and others. Furthermore, the growing burden of geriatric patients will drive the tinnitus medical devices market, as the elderly are more prone to auditory disorders LAS VEGAS, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DelveInsight's Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Insights report provides the current and forecast market analysis, individual leading tinnitus medical devices companies' market shares, challenges, tinnitus medical devices market drivers, barriers, and trends, and key tinnitus medical devices companies in the market. Key Takeaways from the Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Report As per DelveInsight estimates, North America is anticipated to dominate the global tinnitus medical devices market during the forecast period. is anticipated to dominate the global tinnitus medical devices market during the forecast period. Notable tinnitus medical devices companies such as Starkey Laboratories, Inc., Neuromod, Neuromonics, Demant A/S, Puretone Ltd., GN Store Nord A/S, WS Audiology A/S, Sonova, MDHearing, Elkon Pvt. Ltd., Audina Hearing Instruments, Inc., Arphi Electronics Private Limited, Foshan Vohom Technology Co., Ltd., KIND GmbH & Co. KG, RION Co., Ltd., Istok Audio Trading LLC, Eargo Inc., AlgorKorea Co., Ltd., Lisound Hearing Aid ( Fuzhou ) Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Melison Medical Instrument Co., Ltd., and several others are currently operating in the tinnitus medical devices market. and several others are currently operating in the tinnitus medical devices market. In February 2023 , the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) approved Silentium Tech to import a new tinnitus treatment developed by the European manufacturer Cleanhearing GmbH. Cleanhearing Sono has been approved as a Class IIa medical device for tinnitus in the EU and the United Kingdom , and it will be available in South Africa in February 2023 . the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) approved Silentium Tech to import a new tinnitus treatment developed by the European manufacturer Cleanhearing GmbH. Cleanhearing Sono has been approved as a Class IIa medical device for tinnitus in the EU and the , and it will be available in in . In September 2022 , Neuromod Devices Ltd. , an Irish medical device company specializing in tinnitus treatment, reached an agreement with Tinnitus Klinika kft, a specialist tinnitus care provider, to make its Lenire device available in Hungary . , an Irish medical device company specializing in tinnitus treatment, reached an agreement with Tinnitus Klinika kft, a specialist tinnitus care provider, to make its Lenire device available in . In August 2022 , GN Hearing , a global leader in intelligent audio solutions, announced the launch of ReSound OMNIA, which provides significantly better hearing in noisy environments, with optimal comfort, having a seamless connection to the devices. , a global leader in intelligent audio solutions, announced the launch of ReSound OMNIA, which provides significantly better hearing in noisy environments, with optimal comfort, having a seamless connection to the devices. In May 2022 , Neuromod Devices Ltd, develop and commercialize a treatment for chronic tinnitus, reached an agreement with HR AS, Norway's largest private hearing and tinnitus care provider, to make its Lenire tinnitus treatment device available in Norway . develop and commercialize a treatment for chronic tinnitus, reached an agreement with HR AS, largest private hearing and tinnitus care provider, to make its Lenire tinnitus treatment device available in . In March 2022 , Starkey, a privately held, global hearing technology company headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota , announced that its newest and most advanced family of hearing aids, Evolv AI, is available for people in the market. To read more about the latest highlights related to the tinnitus medical devices market, get a snapshot of the key highlights entailed in the Global Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Report Tinnitus Medical Devices Overview Tinnitus is the perception of noise in the ears, such as roaring, ringing, or buzzing. It can be soft or loud, high or low pitched, and heard in either one or both ears. It is frequently misdiagnosed as a disease, but it is actually the symptom of other conditions such as circulatory system disorders, ear injury, and age-related hearing loss. Tinnitus has affected approximately 10% of the US population for at least 5 minutes, but it has now reached nearly 25 million. Tinnitus medical devices are devices that can help people manage their condition by reducing the perceived intensity, omnipresence, and burden of tinnitus. These devices are available in various product types with various features to help with tinnitus. Wearable sound generators, tinnitus masking devices, hearing aids, tinnitus relief pillows, notched-music devices, and other products are examples of different product types. Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Insights North America dominated the global tinnitus medical devices market in 2021 and will continue to do so during the forecast period (2022-2027). The rising prevalence of hearing disorders, the rising burden of the geriatric population, as well as the rising number of government initiatives for the safety and well-being of the population's hearing healthcare in North America are expected to drive demand for the North American tinnitus medical devices market between 2022 and 2027. In addition, the increasing number of product launches in the region is also expected to boost the tinnitus medical devices market growth. For instance, in August 2022, GN Hearing, a global leader in intelligent audio solutions, announced the launch of ReSound OMNIA, which provides significantly better hearing in noisy environments, with optimal comfort, having a seamless connection to the devices. To know more about why North America is leading the tinnitus medical devices market growth, get a snapshot of the Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Outlook Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Dynamics The rising prevalence of tinnitus and hearing loss worldwide is a major driver of the tinnitus medical devices market. In addition, the increasing risk factors for tinnitus, such as traumatic brain injury, Meniere's disease, sclerosis, head injury, vestibulocochlear nerve damage, and others, will drive up demand for tinnitus medical devices. Furthermore, the rising prevalence of meningitis, which causes tinnitus in severe cases, is a factor driving the growth of the tinnitus medical devices market. However, the high cost of the device, limitations associated with tinnitus medical devices, and other factors may impede the growth of the global tinnitus medical devices market. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a minor impact on the tinnitus medical devices market. The pandemic's outbreak resulted in the cancellation of outpatient visits and the suspension of non-emergency hospitals, and ENT departments, ENT clinics, audiology centers, and others were closed during the pandemic to prevent the disease from spreading among patients and hospital staff. Furthermore, the manufacturing of the devices was halted due to a lack of resources and manpower. Moreover, tinnitus medical devices such as hearing aids and others were not classified as emergency needs and were thus inaccessible to tinnitus patients. During the pandemic, this reduced the demand for tinnitus medical devices. However, during the lateral stage of the pandemic, the market for most medical devices, including tinnitus medical devices, began to recover due to the resumption of activities in industries such as the healthcare sector, bringing device demand back on track in the tinnitus medical devices market. Get a sneak peek at the tinnitus medical devices market dynamics @ Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Dynamics Analysis Report Metrics Details Coverage Global Study Period 2019-2027 Base Year 2021 Tinnitus Medical Devices Market CAGR ~3% Projected Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Size by 2027 USD 2.25 Billion Key Tinnitus Medical Devices Companies Starkey Laboratories, Inc., Neuromod, Neuromonics, Demant A/S, Puretone Ltd., GN Store Nord A/S, WS Audiology A/S, Sonova, MDHearing, Elkon Pvt. Ltd., Audina Hearing Instruments, Inc., Arphi Electronics Private Limited, Foshan Vohom Technology Co., Ltd., KIND GmbH & Co. KG, RION Co., Ltd., Istok Audio Trading LLC, Eargo Inc., AlgorKorea Co., Ltd., Lisound Hearing Aid (Fuzhou) Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Melison Medical Instrument Co., Ltd., among others Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Assessment Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Segmentation Market Segmentation By Product Type: Sound Masking Devices, Notched- Music Devices, Hearing Aids, and Others Sound Masking Devices, Notched- Music Devices, Hearing Aids, and Others Market Segmentation By Distribution Channel: Hospital and Retail Pharmacy, Specialty Clinics, and Others Hospital and Retail Pharmacy, Specialty Clinics, and Others Market Segmentation By Geography : North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and Rest of World : , , , and Rest of World Porter's Five Forces Analysis, Product Profiles, Case Studies, KOL's Views, Analyst's View Which MedTech key players in the tinnitus medical devices market are set to emerge as the trendsetter explore @ Tinnitus Medical Devices Companies Table of Contents 1 Report Introduction 2 Executive summary 3 Regulatory and Patent Analysis 4 Key Factors Analysis 5 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 6 COVID-19 Impact Analysis on Tinnitus Medical Devices Market 7 Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Layout 8 Global Company Share Analysis - Key 3-5 Companies 9 Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Company and Product Profiles 10 Project Approach 11 About DelveInsight Interested in knowing the tinnitus medical devices market by 2027? Click to get a snapshot of the Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Trends Related Reports Tinnitus Market Tinnitus Market Insights, Epidemiology, and Market Forecast - 2032 report delivers an in-depth understanding of the disease, historical and forecasted epidemiology, as well as the market trends, market drivers, market barriers, and key tinnitus companies, including Otonomy, Auris Medical, Gateway Biotechnology, Cognosetta, Knopp Biosciences, among others. Tinnitus Pipeline Tinnitus Pipeline Insight - 2023 report provides comprehensive insights about the pipeline landscape, pipeline drug profiles, including clinical and non-clinical stage products, and the key tinnitus companies, including Otonomy, Auris Medical, Gateway Biotechnology, Cognosetta, Knopp Biosciences, among others. Hearing Aid Devices Market Hearing Aid Devices Market Insight, Competitive Landscape, and Market Forecast - 2027report delivers an in-depth understanding of the market trends, market drivers, market barriers, and key hearing aid devices companies, including Amplifon, Audina Hearing Instruments, Inc., Sonova, Demant A/S, audifon GmbH & Co. KG, GN Store Nord A/S, among others. Hearing Aid Adjustment System Market Hearing Aid Adjustment System Market Insight, Competitive Landscape and Market Forecast - 2027report delivers an in-depth understanding of the market trends, market drivers, market barriers, and key hearing aid adjustment system companies, including INVENTIS SRL, Natus Medical Incorporated, Frye Electronics, Inc, among others. ENT Handheld Instrument Market ENT Handheld Instrument Market Insight, Competitive Landscape and Market Forecast - 2027report delivers an in-depth understanding of the market trends, market drivers, market barriers, and key ENT handheld instrument companies, including Integra Lifesciences, Stryker, Medtronic, SPIGGLE & THEIS Medizintechnik GmbH, Olympus, among others. Hearing Screening Devices Market Hearing Screening Devices Market Insight, Competitive Landscape and Market Forecast - 2027report delivers an in-depth understanding of the market trends, market drivers, market barriers, and key hearing screening devices companies, including Sivantos Pte. Ltd., Amplivox Limited, Otodynamics Ltd., Inventis srl, among others. Other Trending Reports Tay-sachs Disease Or Gm2 Gangliosidosis Market | Onycholysis Market | Diagnostic Imaging Equipment Market | Chemotherapy-induced Peripheral Neuropathy Market | Global Electrophysiology Devices Market | Anaphylaxis Market | Atherectomy Devices Market | Helicobacter Pylori Infections Market | Ophthalmic Imaging Equipment Market | Androgenetic Alopecia Market | Allergic Rhinitis Market | Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy Market | Chronic Inflammtory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy Market | Colorectal Cancer Crc Market | Opioid Induced Constipation Market | Vertigo Market | Bone Anchored Hearing Systems Market | Wound Closure Devices Market | Hip Replacement Devices Market | Hemodynamic Monitoring Systems Market | Egfr Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Market | Helicobacter Pylori Infection Market | Hyperkalemia Market | Polycythemia Market Neurostimulation Devices Market | Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Market | Ventilator Market | Cerebral Aneurysm Market | Alpha Antitrypsin Market | Binge Eating Disorder Market | Bunion Market | Concussions Market Size | Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency Market | Healthcare Due Diligence Services | Minimal Residual Disease Market | Hypertrophic Scar Market | Lung Fibrosis Market | Anterior Uveitis Market | 22q11.2 deletion syndrome Market | X-Linked Retinitis Pigmentosa (XLRP) Market | Acute Radiation Syndrome Market | Alpha-1 Protease Inhibitor Deficiency Market | Androgenetic Alopecia Market | Hyperlipidemia Market | Cardiotoxicity Market | Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Market | Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorders (FAODs) Market | Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Market | Emphysema Market | Canaloplasty Market | Dravet Syndrome Market | Celiac Disease Market | Chlamydia Infections Market | Syphilis Market | Renal Tubular Acidosis Market | Palmoplantar Pustulosis (PPP) Market | Aplastic Anemia Market | Bacterial Pneumonia Market | B cell Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Market | B cell Lymphomas Market | Behcets Disease Market Neoantigen-based Personalized Cancer therapeutic Vaccines Competitive Landscape and Market Forecast-by 2035 | Glioblastoma Market Related Healthcare Blogs Hearing Loss Treatment Market Hearing Loss Market Age-related Hearing Loss Market Hereditary Deafness Market Related Healthcare Services Healthcare Consulting Healthcare Competitive Intelligence Services Healthcare Asset Prioritization Services About DelveInsight DelveInsight is a leading Business Consultant and Market Research firm focused exclusively on life sciences. It supports pharma companies by providing comprehensive end-to-end solutions to improve their performance. Get hassle-free access to all the healthcare and pharma market research reports through our subscription-based platform PharmDelve. Connect with us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter Additionally, get in touch with our business executive to explore @ Healthcare Due Diligence Services Contact Us Shruti Thakur info@delveinsight.com +1(919)321-6187 https://www.delveinsight.com/medical-devices Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082265/DelveInsight_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/the-global-tinnitus-medical-devices-market-to-register-growth-at-a-paltry-cagr-of-3-by-2027--delveinsight-301754169.html Lunaphore, a Swiss life sciences company developing technology to enable spatial biology in every laboratory, and Sirona Dx, a leader in multi-omics, single-cell analytical services, today announced a strategic collaboration in which Sirona Dx will become the first US-based Contract Research Organization (CRO) to offer Lunaphore's flagship COMET spatial biology platform as a service. COMET will complement Sirona Dx's portfolio of research service offerings to meet the needs of researchers and biopharma teams across various disciplines. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005618/en/ Lunaphore's COMET platform is the only fully automated, high-throughput, hyperplex platform with superior tissue profiling capabilities. Its capacity allows the generation of high-quality and reproducible data on large cohorts of samples in days. In contrast to other spatial biology solutions, COMET works with off-the-shelf, label-free primary antibodies, enabling customers to use their trusted antibodies and making panel design fast and flexible. Thanks to its versatility, COMET has a wide range of research applications across multiple disciplines and all stages of research and drug development. Sirona Dx is a highly-specialized technical CRO and pioneer of single-cell and spatial biology, having launched ultra-high parameter, multiplexed single-cell services to biopharma in 2018. Their innovative, technology-agnostic service capabilities contributed to their selection as a Top 10 CRO of 2021 by Medhealth Outlook. "Platform selection is one of the most important decisions to make when developing multiplexed tissue imaging panels for our clients", said Andrew Brown, Ph.D., Chief Commercial Officer at Sirona Dx. "We are extremely pleased to partner with Lunaphore to integrate the COMET platform into our spatial-omics operations. The ability to select off-the-shelf, label-free primary antibodies is highly advantageous and reduces the time required to develop robust, highly reproducible assays. "The deployment of COMET at Sirona Dx is particularly meaningful for Lunaphore as it helps to address the large demand from US-based biotech and biopharmaceutical companies to access highly reproducible hyperplex data," said Deborah Heintze, Chief Marketing Officer at Lunaphore. "Furthermore, Sirona Dx's CLIA certification and deep understanding of pharmaceutical regulatory requirements add significant value for scientists looking to adopt spatial biology tools to accelerate translational research". To learn more about the COMET platform, please visit: https://lunaphore.com/products/comet/ To learn more about Lunaphore, please visit: https://lunaphore.com/ About Lunaphore Lunaphore Technologies S.A. is a Swiss company born in 2014 with the vision of enabling spatial biology in every laboratory. Lunaphore provides solutions based on a game-changing chip technology that can extract spatial proteomic and transcriptomic data from tumors and other tissues, transforming any assay into multiplex spatial biology with an intuitive approach. Lunaphore empowers researchers in immunology, immuno-oncology, and neuroscience to push the boundaries of scientific discovery and drug development. Lunaphore's technology enables the identification of biomarker "signatures" with clinical relevance to support the development of diagnostic tools and streamline clinical trials, to ultimately improve patient outcomes. For further information on Lunaphore and its products, please visit: www.lunaphore.com About COMET COMET is a fully automated, sequential immunofluorescence (seqIF) instrument, able to perform hyperplex staining and imaging, producing high-quality data in a robust and reproducible manner. With superior tissue profiling capabilities, the system allows multiplex analysis of 40 different spatial markers per automated run on a tissue slide. COMET has a wide range of research applications, allowing for a dramatic improvement in the understanding of disease pathology in areas such as immuno-oncology, neuroscience, and infectious diseases. To learn more about the COMET platform, please visit: https://lunaphore.com/products/comet/ About Sirona Dx Sirona Dx is a technical CRO, founded in 2016 to accelerate the pace of immunotherapy and targeted therapy development. Bridging silos between diagnostics manufacturers and translational clinical research, Sirona Dx offers specialized high complexity, single-cell services supporting exploratory biomarker programs and advanced precision medicine initiatives to deliver safer and more effective treatment solutions. Learn more at Sironadx.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005618/en/ Contacts: For further information contact: Irene Tamayo Lunaphore Corporate Communications Email: communications@lunaphore.com Andrew Brown, PhD Chief Commercial Officer, Sirona Dx Email: abrown@sironadx.com VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Granite Creek Copper Ltd. (TSX.V:GCX)(OTCQB:GCXXF) ("Granite Creek" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it will be participating in the inaugural Yukon Mining Alliance ("YMA") Invest Yukon Core Shack to be held in the main Investors Exchange exhibit hall at the Prospectors and Developers Annual Convention ("PDAC") in Toronto. The Invest Yukon Core Shack will be located at Booth #3314, adjacent to the main PDAC Core Shack and Granite Creek will be displaying core from its flagship Carmacks Copper-Gold-Silver project in Yukon, Canada from March 5 and 8th. The Company will also have a presence in the main Investors Exchange from March 5-8 and investors are invited to visit booth # IE3024 to meet the team in person. Invest Canada North Reception The Metallic Group of Companies is proud to be a sponsor of the 2023 Invest Canada North reception to be held March 6 in MTCC North Room 106 from 4pm - 7pm EST. Leaders from its members, Granite Creek Copper, Stillwater Critical Minerals and Metallic Minerals will be in attendance and the Group will have a display table where guests are invited to meet the team. For more information, visit here. About Yukon Mining Alliance Yukon Mining Alliance - the globally recognized Invest Yukon brand - is a strategic alliance of Yukon's leaders in exploration and mining who, in partnership with the Government of Yukon, connect investors with Yukon's competitive advantages through innovative capital attraction initiatives. For more information visit InvestYukon.ca. Invest Canada North connects global investors with the competitive advantages and opportunities in Canada's North, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, at one of the world's biggest annual mining conferences, the PDAC Convention. Our unique initiatives showcase each region, through keynote presentations, panels and special sessions, highlighting the leaders in exploration, development and production, as well as the mining ecosystem that is supported by significant geological potential, strong geopolitical stability and progressive Indigenous and community partnerships. Through our Invest Canada North mining portal catch up on the latest news in the north or dive into each region to discover your next great opportunity. To learn more visit https://investcanadanorth.ca. About Granite Creek Copper Granite Creek, a member of the Metallic Group of Companies, is a Canadian exploration company focused on the 176-square-kilometer Carmacks Project in the Minto Copper District of Canada's Yukon Territory. The Project is on trend with the high-grade Minto copper-gold mine, operated by Minto Metals Corp., to the north, and features excellent access to infrastructure with the nearby paved Yukon Highway 2, along with grid power within 12 km. More information about Granite Creek Copper can be viewed on the Company's website at www.gcxcopper.com. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Timothy Johnson, President & CEO Telephone: 1 (604) 235-1982 Toll-Free: 1 (888) 361-3494 E-mail: info@gcxcopper.com Website: www.gcxcopper.com Twitter: @yukoncopper Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Granite Creek Copper Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740529/Granite-Creek-Copperto-Display-at-Yukon-Mining-Alliances-Invest-Yukon-Core-Shack-During-PDAC Click here to view a video summary of this press release Come visit us at booth #2130 at PDAC March 5-8 Soil results return strong gold trends in newly explored Grid 3, to be drilled in 2023 Reinforces an additional 4 km of strike length potential, west of the 3.5 km-long McKinnon Resource Reveals new gold target south of the McKinnon Zone trend and confirms target viability of two magnetic anomalies to the north TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / E2Gold Inc. (TSXV:ETU)(OTCQB:ETUGF) recently received soil results on the newly explored Grid 3, suggesting the westward continuation of the McKinnon Zone Inferred Resource.1 This along-strike trend could potentially double the strike length of the Resource. Further, soils have revealed three new targets independent of McKinnon, all which the Company intends to drill later in 2023. The McKinnon Zone, on the Hawkins Gold Project in north central Ontario, is a shallow 3.5km long, 328,000 oz Au Inferred Resource, exposed in surface trenches and defined down to 150m. It is open at depth and along strike and sits on a magnetic anomaly and geologic contact that trends 13 km across the Central Hawkins Corridor. The contact has been further identified at locations up to 40 km away to the southeast, and will be further evaluated during the 2023 field season. Eric Owens, CEO, stated, "Grid 3 is a new target area to the west of the McKinnon Zone which now shows significant potential for new discovery and expansion of the Resource beyond the McKinnon footprint. With consistent mineralization having been intersected down to 700 m depth in step-out drilling at McKinnon, we have demonstrated that the footprint extends much deeper than the current Resource. The work we are undertaking on Grid 3 provides new evidence that could double the strike-length of gold mineralization up to 4 kilometers beyond the Resource." Additional Findings The long lengths and orientations of the anomalies, together with a correlation with pathfinder elements, suggest an in-situ formation of anomalies as opposed to glacially transported anomalies. formation of anomalies as opposed to glacially transported anomalies. Pathfinder elements associated with the gold anomalies are are similar to those at the Hemlo deposit. Discovery of an entirely new target in granodiorite south of the McKinnon Zone trend. Dr. Dave Good, Chairman of E2Gold, noted, "Soil and till analysis have made significant advancements in the past 20 years, with several deposits being discovered using this type of geochemical survey." Dr. Good added, "This is how we add value to properties like Hawkins: methodical and inexpensive surface work to identify high priority drill targets. Soil surveys are rapidly becoming the 'new' way forward for exploration globally." Next steps will be surface sampling through till and stripping, with a follow up drill program planned for later this year. Further Detail on Anomalies Soil sampling took place in a 6 km2 area (referred to as Grid 3), just west of and along strike of the McKinnon Zone. Over 1,300 samples were taken along16 north-south lines between 1.5 and 2 km long. Samples were taken at 25 m spacing. At least 4 east-west trends were identified. They are parallel to chargeability and resistivity anomalies identified during our previous Induced Polarization survey. Additionally, these trends are coincidental with pathfinder elements including arsenic, molybdenum, antimony, bromine, lead, zinc and vanadium, many of which are associated with soil anomalies at the Hemlo deposit along the same regional gold belt to the west. Sets 1 and 2 exhibit the strongest associations with the pathfinder elements. Our geologists interpret Set 1 to reflect the western extension of the McKinnon Inferred Mineral Resource. Chargeability highs and gold soil anomalies follow the magnetic anomaly associated with the McKinnon Zone and provides evidence for westward continuity to the McKinnon Zone for an additional 4 km, a distance that is more than double the length of the current Resource. Set 2 lies south of the McKinnon Zone trend, within a granitic rock. This discovery is a brand new geologic target in the Central Hawkins Corridor, and corresponds with a relative magnetic low, which may indicate alteration. Finally, Sets 3 and 4, located on the north edge of this survey area, lay along magnetic highs outcropping to the east that reveal peridotite and iron formation, two rock-types associated with gold and base metal targets. Qualified Person : Eric Owens, Ph.D., P.Geo. acts as a Qualified Person for E2Gold, and has reviewed the content of this press release. ABOUT E2GOLD INC. E2Gold Inc. is a Canadian gold exploration company with a large flagship property, the 80 km long Hawkins Gold Project in north-central Ontario, about 140 km east of the Hemlo Gold Mine, and 75 km north of the Magino and Island Gold Mines. The property is anchored by the McKinnon Zone Inferred Resource of 6.2 Mt grading 1.65 Au g/t, for 328,800 ounces of gold.1 E2Gold is committed to increasing shareholder value through the development of targets at Hawkins and future potential of the Band-Ore property. Note 1: NI 43-101 Technical Report and Updated Mineral Resource Estimate on Hawkins Gold Project, Ontario, by P&E Mining Consultants, effective date September 10, 2020. For further information please contact: Jeff Pritchard Investor Relations info@e2gold.ca Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward Looking Statements - Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of E2Gold, including with respect to the receipt of all regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. SOURCE: E2Gold Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740525/E2Gold-Develops-New-Drill-Targets-Along-Strike-With-The-Mckinnon-Zone NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) has been recognized in Chemours' third annual Responsible Supplier Awards. The Chemours Company (NYSE: CC) is a global leader in Titanium Technologies, Thermal & Specialized Solutions, and Advanced Performance Materials. Rockwell was recognized for achieving the biggest improvement in its EcoVadis sustainability assessment overall score compared to 2021 in the Indirect Materials category. "Sustainability is a key strategic imperative for Rockwell Automation, and we are honored to be recognized by Chemours for the progress we are making in this important area," said Rockwell's Tom O'Reilly, vice president of Sustainability. The Chemours Responsible Supplier Awards acknowledge the companies that have distinguished themselves by driving quality, innovation, and sustainability improvements in Chemours' supply chain. Recipients are selected from among more than 10,000 suppliers around the world. "As a trusted supplier for more than 30 years, Rockwell Automation has made significant progress on its EcoVadis scorecard, earning a coveted 2022 Chemours Responsible Supplier Award for sustainability. We appreciate the quality of service, responsiveness, and commitment to improving sustainability which aligns with Chemours' 2030 Corporate Responsibility Commitment. Rockwell has become more flexible to adapt to the needs of Chemours and adjust to the demands of our operations. They also have gone above and beyond in light of the challenges faced in 2022," stated Tim Duprey, procurement category manager - Rotating, Electrical and Control Equipment at Chemours. Read the Chemours press release. Rockwell Automation recently published its 2022 Sustainability Report. Learn more about how this provider of industrial automation and digital transformation solutions is helping to enable sustainability for manufacturers worldwide. Read the report. About Rockwell Automation Rockwell Automation Inc. (NYSE:ROK), is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. We connect the imaginations of people with the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible, making the world more productive and more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 26,000 problem solvers dedicated to our customers in more than 100 countries. To learn more about how we are bringing the Connected Enterprise to life across industrial enterprises, visit www.rockwellautomation.com. About The Chemours Company The Chemours Company (NYSE:CC) is a global leader in Titanium Technologies, Thermal & Specialized Solutions, and Advanced Performance Materials providing its customers with solutions in a wide range of industries with market-defining products, application expertise and chemistry-based innovations. We deliver customized solutions with a wide range of industrial and specialty chemicals products for markets, including coatings, plastics, refrigeration and air conditioning, transportation, semiconductor and consumer electronics, general industrial, and oil and gas. Our flagship products are sold under prominent brands such as Ti-Pure, Opteon, Freon, Teflon, Viton, Nafion, and Krytox. The company has approximately 6,600 employees and 29 manufacturing sites serving approximately 2,900 customers in approximately 120 countries. Chemours is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware and is listed on the NYSE under the symbol CC. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Rockwell Automation on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Rockwell Automation Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/rockwell-automation Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Rockwell Automation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740527/The-Chemours-Company-Recognizes-Rockwell-Automation-in-Its-2022-Responsible-Supplier-Awards Midland, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - Primo Field Services today announces it has acquired 4 brand new, zero hour rigs to the company's portfolio, and has entered into a credit facility of up to $6 million. This funding completes Primo Field Services' Stage 1 financing plan for the organic development and growth of Primo's West Texas operations. Primo Field Services is a hands on field services company serving some of the Permian Basin's largest Oil & Gas Operators, providing clients with cellar, conductor and mouse hole drilling and preset surface drilling. The acquisition of these 4 rigs will enable Primo Field Services to drill over 1,500 new wells in the Permian Basin. The secured credit facility of up to $6 million is through a Senior Secured credit agreement and will accrue interest at a rate equal to the Prime Rate plus 4.0% per annum. The investment is provided by a large and top tier debt fund. Jeff Harber, CEO and President of Primo Field Services, said, "We are pleased to announce these 2 major milestone transactions, which will allow Primo Field Services' operational team to scale and grow aggressively because of the expected long-term demand of oil and natural gas - both domestically and internationally. This funding provides the financing to meet our growth projections organically, it allows us to evaluate strategic joint ventures and acquisitions, and it allows us to see clearly into the future so that we can best serve the top Operators in the Permian Basin, and across America." Josh Cohen, CEO and President of Controlled Capital, an advisor to Primo Field Services, leading the company through its capital initiatives together with Jeff, said, "This is a great accomplishment for Jeff and our whole team at Primo, and will set the stage for Primo Field Services to do what we do best - grow sustainably and consciously, while putting the needs of our Operators, and the company's employees first and for the betterment of American Energy." For more information of Primo Field Services, please visit https://www.primofieldservices.com/ . Josh Cohen Controlled Capital, (917) 584-7042 josh@controlleddev.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155939 Finsbury Growth & Income Trust Plc - Transaction in Own Shares For immediate release 23 February 2023 FINSBURY GROWTH & INCOME TRUST PLC (the "Company") MARKET PURCHASE OF COMPANY'S OWN SHARES The Company announces that it has today purchased 35,588 of its own shares ("Ordinary Shares") at a price of 889 pence per Ordinary Share. Such shares will be held in treasury by the Company. The transaction was made pursuant to the authority granted at the Annual General Meeting of the Company held on 17 January 2023. Following this transaction, the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury is 15,050,803; the total number of Ordinary Shares that the Company has in issue, less the total number of Ordinary Shares held by the Company in treasury following such purchase, and therefore, the total number of voting rights in the Company is 209,940,500. The figure of 209,940,500 may be used by shareholders as the denominator for calculations of interests in the Company's voting rights in accordance with the FCA's Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules. For and on behalf of Frostrow Capital LLP Company Secretary For further information, please contact: Victoria Hale Frostrow Capital LLP Tel: 020 3 170 8732 NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO ANY U.S. PERSON OR ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR IN ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE IT IS UNLAWFUL TO DISTRIBUTE THIS ANNOUNCEMENT Amsterdam, 23 February 2023 - Arcadis N.V., (Euronext: ARCAD), today announced the successful pricing of its inaugural Eurobond Offering. The senior unsecured fixed rate notes of 500 million have an annual coupon of 4.875%, a preliminary rating of BBB- from Standard & Poor's and are due in 2028. The net proceeds of the notes will be used towards refinancing the bridge facility used to finance the acquisitions of IBI Group and DPS Group. The offering was multiple times oversubscribed, attracting strong interest from a broad institutional investor base. Commenting on the announcement, Virginie Duperat-Vergne, CFO Arcadis said: "We are extremely pleased with the successful issuance of our inaugural Eurobond and the interest shown by investors in Arcadis. This marks an important milestone in development of our company and financing strategy by further diversifying our financing sources and investor base." Settlement and issue of the notes is scheduled for February 28, 2023. Application has been made for the notes to be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and for trading on the unregulated market of EuroMTF. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: INVESTOR RELATIONS Christine Disch Mobile: +31 (0)6 1537 6020 E-mail: christine.disch@arcadis.com CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS Tanno Massar Mobile: +31 (0)6 1158 9121 E-mail: tanno.massar@arcadis.com ABOUT ARCADIS Arcadis is a leading global Design & Consultancy organization for natural and built assets. Applying our deep market sector insights and collective design, consultancy, engineering, project and management services we work in partnership with our clients to deliver exceptional and sustainable outcomes throughout the lifecycle of their natural and built assets. We are 36,000 people, active in over 70 countries that generate 4.0 billion in revenues. We support UN-Habitat with knowledge and expertise to improve the quality of life in rapidly growing cities around the world. www.arcadis.com . DISCLAIMER This announcement is not for release, distribution or publication, whether directly or indirectly and whether in whole or in part, to U.S. persons or into or in the United States, Australia, Canada or Japan or any (other) jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the relevant laws of such jurisdiction. This press release is not an offer of the Bonds for sale in the United States, Australia, Canada or Japan or any (other) jurisdiction where to do so would constitute a violation of the relevant laws of such jurisdiction. The Bonds are not and will not be registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "US Securities Act") and will also not be registered with any authority competent with respect to securities in any state or other jurisdiction of the United States of America. The Bonds may not be offered or sold in the United States of America without either registration of the Bonds or an exemption from registration under the US Securities Act being applicable. There will not be a public offering of the Bonds in the United States of America. Attachment The Spanish multinational is also finalising its new plant in Wroblowice. SEVILLE, Spain, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Persan closed 2022 with a new record turnover of 665 million and a consolidated EBITDA of 26 million euros. The growth in turnover represents an increase of 32% in relation to 2021, marking record sales for the Spanish company with a presence in Poland and France. The multinational has invested more than 65 million euros in 2022, especially in improving and expanding its production capacity at its three factories in Wroclaw (Poland), Seville (Spain) and Saint-Vulbas (France), and has created more than 500 jobs over the last three years. In addition to the growth of its industrial staff at its Wroclaw, Seville and Saint-Vulbas plants, the company has also strengthened its sales teams. In fact, the company is completing its modernisation process and increasing its activities in the new plant in Wroblowice, close to its current plant in Wroclaw, which aims to become a benchmark for respect for the environment both in the sector and in the country. The plant will be a centre of excellence for personal care and is a long-term commitment by Persan, which will allow it to consolidate its leadership position in Europe. Also, it has launched corporate social responsibility actions in Poland, providing financial support to an orphanage in Wroclaw and Ukrainian refugees residing in the country. A benchmark in sustainability The sustained growth of Persan is a true reflection of the international expansion plan that the company launched in 2019. Growth is occurring in all the categories of clothing and home cleaning products, as well as in personal care. Particularly noteworthy is its development in laundry capsules, where it has become the European benchmark. In terms of sustainability, Persan has made progress on the implementation of its model in Europe, adding new certifications that endorse its commitment to "zero emissions", thanks to the sustained reduction of its carbon footprint since 2018, based on improved efficiency in processes and the use of more sustainable packaging and raw materials. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/persan-surpasses-665-million-in-turnover-in-2022-and-increases-production-in-wroclaw-and-saint--vulbas-301754807.html Experienced, Youthful Mentors Help Singaporean Students Transform Study Habits and Build Disciplined Exam Skills Singapore, Singapore--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - First Principles Education has launched the country's top study skills mentoring programme for students, aimed at nurturing long-term consistent study habits such as memory skills, note-making skills, examination skills, stress management skills and more. Backed by neuroscience research and artificial intelligence tools, the programme is designed to help students aged 9 to 16 improve their academic performance and set them up for success beyond just in school. First Principles Education conducting study skills workshops for MOE teachers and principals To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9405/155779_93149a43147b58f2_001full.jpg "Our mentoring program is personalized to the unique needs of each student and is compiled from the best study habits used by the Top 1% of high performing students in Singapore," said Emil, Founder of First Principles Education. "I used these study skills as a student in Hwa Chong Institution and these are the same skills that I used to graduate top of my cohort and as Valedictorian at the National University of Singapore. Our team provides the highest level of support to all our students, and helps them develop the skills they need to succeed in school and beyond." Young and energetic study skills specialists will mentor students to nurture study habits To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9405/155779_93149a43147b58f2_002full.jpg The mentoring program is conducted by a team of MOE-registered study skills mentors who are all current University scholars and honor students. The programme is 12-weeks long and is conducted fully online with students receiving weekly one-on-one study skills mentorship with their own dedicated study skills mentor. The mentors keep each online session engaging by creating customized study plans for each student, facilitating discussions and using activities to teach the study skills. Using First Principles Education's proprietary C.H.E.A.T framework (Consistent Habits Enforced Active Tracking), mentors will arrange for follow up calls in the middle of the week to actively track their students' progress and enforce the completion of the assigned study skills tasks. Students are rewarded for completing the tasks to show their personal accountability in applying the study skills properly and consistently. "I take pride in being a study skills mentor because it allows me to share real-life experiences with my students and be like an elder sister to them," shared Marsya, a current honor student and study skills mentor with First Principles Education. "My students show up to all our online sessions on time because they get excited about the life lessons they will be learning from me. It's incredibly rewarding to see them open up to me and share with me about their struggles in school." Launched in February 2023, Thyme is a digital timetable optimiser that uses neuroscientific principles and Artificial Intelligence to help students stick to their timetable. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9405/155779_93149a43147b58f2_003full.jpg Parents in Singapore can expect their children to nurture long-term consistent study habits in note-making, time management, examination skills and more as a result of the programme. First Principles Education's study skills mentoring programme is supported by Enterprise Singapore, which has provided funding to develop study skills tools powered by Artificial Intelligence. These tools found great success in government schools and help teachers and parents take a hands-free approach to students having better time management, memory skills and understanding their study skills strengths and weaknesses. "I've witnessed firsthand the impact I had on my students in helping them reduce their reliance on tuition," said Yee Kai, a senior study skills mentor with First Principles Education. "Our focus on nurturing consistent study habits, coupled with the personalized attention each student receives, makes for an incredibly effective programme. I'm proud to be a part of a team that prioritizes the long-term success of our students." To learn more about First Principles Education's study skills mentoring programme and to sign up, visit https://firstprinciples.com.sg/ Contact Information: Company Name: First Principles Education Name of CEO: Emil Lim Email: emil@firstprinciples.com.sg Website: https://firstprinciples.com.sg/ Note to Editors: For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Emil with the email address above. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155779 Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - Visit Grizzly Discoveries Inc. (TSXV: GZD) (OTCQB: GZDIF) at Booth #3020 at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada's (PDAC) Convention at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC) from Sunday, March 5 to Wednesday, March 8, 2023. About Grizzly Discoveries Inc. Grizzly is a diversified Canadian mineral exploration company with its primary listing on the TSX Venture Exchange focused on developing its approximately 66,000 ha (approximately 165,000 acres) of precious and base metals properties in southeastern British Columbia. Grizzly is run by highly experienced junior resource sector management team, who have a track record of advancing exploration projects from early exploration stage through to feasibility stage. About PDAC PDAC 2023: The World's Premier Mineral Exploration & Mining Convention is the leading event for people, companies and organizations connected to mineral exploration. This annual convention in Toronto, Canada is known for attracting up to 30,000 attendees from over 130+ countries for its educational programming, networking events, outstanding business opportunities and fun. Since it began in 1932, the PDAC Convention has grown in size, stature and influence. Today, it is the event of choice for the world's mineral industry hosting more than 1,100 exhibitors and 2,500 investors. For more information and/or to register for the conference please visit: https://www.pdac.ca/convention/attend/registration. We look forward to seeing you there. For further information: Grizzly Discoveries Inc. Nancy Massicotte 1-604-507-3377 nancy@grizzlydiscoveries.com www.grizzlydiscoveries.com Dieppe, New Brunswick--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - Colibri Resource Corporation (TSXV: CBI) ("Colibri" or the "Company") is pleased to report that its option partner Tocvan Ventures (CSE: TOC) has announced a series of high grade gold assays retrieved in trenches as part of its preparations to complete the forthcoming bulk sample at the Pilar Gold & Silver Project in Sonora, Mexico. "Our option partners have again demonstrated widespread, consistent, and well above average grades of gold in oxidized material at Pilar. A baseline has been set for the near term bulk sample test at Pilar and we look forward to reviewing the results over the coming months," said Ron Goguen, Chairperson & CEO of Colibri. Tocvan is in year 4 of a 5-year agreement to earn an initial 51% of Colibri's Pilar Gold & Silver Project. For full details of Colibri's agreement with Tocvan please see the Company's news release dated September 24th, 2019 . Tocvan News Release: (February 23, 2023 - Select excerpts) Highlights Gold values averaging 1.4 g/t, reported up to 8.3 g/t Au Silver values averaging 11 g/t, reported up to 65 g/t Ag Results will guide Bulk Sampling to produce a representative blend of material from surface at Pilar Calgary, Alberta - February 23, 2023 Tocvan Ventures Corp. (CSE: TOC) (OTCQB: TCVNF) (FSE: TV3) (the "Company"), is pleased to announce the results from surface channel sampling across areas being prepared for the excavation of material for a Bulk Sample at its Pilar Gold-Silver Project in Sonora, Mexico. Channel sampling was completed every 5-meters perpendicular to exposed mineralization and alteration at surface along the Main Zone and 4-T trends. Eight locations were sampled to test varying levels of exposed mineralization, all eight trench locations returned anomalous gold and silver values. At the Main Zone, trench TR-2023-01, seven samples over a 35-meter trend returned an average grade of 2.2 g/t Au and 14.2 g/t Ag, ranging from 8.3 g/t to 0.1 g/t Au (see Table 1 and Figure 1). Along trench TR-2023-02, five samples over a 20-meter trend returned an average grade of 2.8 g/t Au and 9.5 g/t Ag, ranging from 7.1 to 0.7 g/t Au. Trench TR-2023-07 consisted of five samples along a 25-meter trend which returned an average grade of 2.2 g/t Au and 30.5 g/t Ag, ranging from 7.3 g/t to 0.1 g/t Au. Along the Main Zone south trend anomalous values of gold and silver were returned at surface where mineralization is known to be more pronounced at depth confirmed by drill hole JES-22-62, which returned 108.6m of 0.8 g/t Au. In total, 37 channel samples were collected across the property; 22 samples returned values above 0.15 g/t Au, including 12 samples above 1.0 g/t Au (see Figure 1 and Table 1 for full results). "The results from channel sampling at Pilar are extremely encouraging, exceeding our expectations and showcasing the potential for consistent high-grade gold with silver values for our bulk sampling" stated Brodie Sutherland, CEO. "As we get set for our first bulk sample at Pilar this provides us with confidence in extracting significant grade over the already exposed portions of the mineralization not only at our established Main Zone but also along the 4-T trend." Up to 1,000 tonnes of oxide-gold material will be extracted from select areas exposed at surface across the project area, focusing on the Main Zone and 4-T Trends where preliminary column leach studies have returned promising head-grade and recovery results. Bulk Sample material will be extracted and prepared for processing by heap-leach method at a private mining operation less than 25 kilometers to the west of Pilar. Information from the sample will aim to provide a more detailed account of expected head-grade and recovery percentage of gold along with providing key information to optimize future production facilities. In coordination with the Bulk Sample, additional metallurgical sampling will be completed to identify gold characteristics to further improve gold extraction techniques. The process will be managed by an independent qualified professional specializing in the metallurgy of oxide-gold deposits. Total duration of the processing and analysis of the bulk sample is expected to span three to four months depending on the rate of precious metals actively recovered through the heap-leach process. The information provided from the sample will be used for planning in coordination for permitting of full-scale mine and process facilities on-site at Pilar. Figure 1. Map of Channel Sampling Results from Bulk Sample Program at Pilar Project To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4269/155960_76f44449b4058a8b_001full.jpg Table 1. Channel Sampling Results from Bulk Sample Program at Pilar Project TARGET TRENCH ID SAMPLE ID Easting Northing Elevation (m) Weight (kg) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t) MAIN ZONE TR-2023-01 494701 617429 3144559 415 3.85 8.30 37.9 TR-2023-01 494702 617431 3144553 407 6.70 6.62 45.5 TR-2023-01 494703 617432 3144549 403 6.64 0.16 5.0 TR-2023-01 494704 617435 3144547 401 5.40 0.18 5.3 TR-2023-01 494705 617437 3144541 404 6.29 0.23 3.9 TR-2023-01 494706 617434 3144536 408 6.70 0.04 1.3 TR-2023-01 494707 617435 3144530 404 5.02 0.07 0.8 TR-2023-02 494708 617426 3144564 399 6.38 0.69 5.5 TR-2023-02 494709 617426 3144569 398 7.00 7.06 8.7 TR-2023-02 494710 617422 3144574 398 4.93 1.67 14.0 TR-2023-02 494711 617422 3144579 399 5.72 2.36 13.8 TR-2023-02 494712 617418 3144565 397 7.73 2.30 5.3 TR-2023-03 494738 617394 3144631 395 5.56 4.39 7.9 TR-2023-03 494739 617404 3144679 400 6.62 0.52 1.5 TR-2023-03 494740 617411 3144629 400 6.66 0.02 0.3 TR-2023-04 494713 617405 3144592 396 6.69 0.04 1.3 TR-2023-04 494714 617401 3144596 396 5.98 0.03 2.5 TR-2023-04 494715 617399 3144601 396 6.54 0.03 1.7 4-T TR-2023-05 494735 617763 3144650 430 5.57 2.47 23.0 TR-2023-05 494736 617762 3144658 431 5.70 1.14 33.0 TR-2023-05 494737 617751 3144674 425 6.23 0.28 8.2 TR-2023-06 494734 617794 3144639 426 6.09 0.41 3.4 TR-2023-07 494729 617912 3144648 445 7.38 0.06 1.4 TR-2023-07 494730 617905 3144653 446 7.70 7.27 64.5 TR-2023-07 494731 617903 3144658 445 5.19 1.83 20.9 TR-2023-07 494732 617897 3144660 445 7.63 0.97 6.1 TR-2023-07 494733 617893 3144660 445 6.54 0.89 59.8 MAIN ZONE SOUTH TR-2023-08 494719 617578 3144454 491 7.26 0.61 10.9 TR-2023-08 494720 617507 3144450 491 6.73 0.03 11.2 TR-2023-08 494721 617508 3144461 491 5.76 0.04 2.1 TR-2023-08 494722 617508 3144467 494 5.52 0.07 3.6 TR-2023-08 494723 617510 3144472 448 6.27 0.10 2.7 TR-2023-08 494724 617514 3144478 447 5.88 0.02 2.1 TR-2023-08 494725 617509 3144487 441 6.59 0.17 3.2 TR-2023-08 494726 617501 3144494 439 5.48 0.01 2.0 TR-2023-08 494727 617501 3144494 440 5.14 0.01 4.4 TR-2023-08 494728 617505 3144497 436 5.57 0.05 0.7 Channel samples were taken approximately 5-meters apart, perpendicular to the trend of trench locations. Coordinates are in UTM NAD 27. About the Pilar Property The Pilar Gold-Silver property has recently returned some of the regions best drill results. Coupled with encouraging gold and silver recovery results from metallurgical test work, Pilar is primed to be a potential near-term producer. Pilar is interpreted as a structurally controlled low-sulphidation epithermal system hosted in andesite rocks. Three primary zones of mineralization have been identified in the north-west part of the property from historic surface work and drilling and are referred to as the Main Zone, North Hill and 4-T. The Main Zone and 4-T trends are open to the southeast and new parallel zones have been recently discovered. Structural features and zones of mineralization within the structures follow an overall NW-SE trend of mineralization. Mineralization extends along a 1.2-km trend, only half of that trend has been drill tested so far. To date, over 23,000 m of drilling has been completed. 2022 Phase III Diamond Drilling Highlights include ( all lengths are drilled thicknesses ): 116.9m @ 1.2 g/t Au, including 10.2m @ 12 g/t Au and 23 g/t Ag 108.9m @ 0.8 g/t Au, including 9.4m @ 7.6 g/t Au and 5 g/t Ag 63.4m @ 0.6 g/t Au and 11 g/t Ag, including 29.9m @ 0.9 g/t Au and 18 g/t Ag 2021 Phase II RC Drilling Highlights include ( all lengths are drilled thicknesses ): 39.7m @ 1.0 g/t Au, including 1.5m @ 14.6 g/t Au 47.7m @ 0.7 g/t Au including 3m @ 5.6 g/t Au and 22 g/t Ag 29m @ 0.7 g/t Au 35.1m @ 0.7 g/t Au 2020 Phase I RC Drilling Highlights include ( all lengths are drilled thicknesses ): 94.6m @ 1.6 g/t Au, including 9.2m @ 10.8 g/t Au and 38 g/t Ag; 41.2m @ 1.1 g/t Au, including 3.1m @ 6.0 g/t Au and 12 g/t Ag ; 24.4m @ 2.5 g/t Au and 73 g/t Ag, including 1.5m @ 33.4 g/t Au and 1,090 g/t Ag 15,000m of Historic Core & RC drilling. Highlights include: 61.0m @ 0.8 g/t Au 16.5m @ 53.5 g/t Au and 53 g/t Ag 13.0m @ 9.6 g/t Au 9.0m @ 10.2 g/t Au and 46 g/t Ag Brodie A. Sutherland, P.Geo., CEO for Tocvan Ventures Corp. and a qualified person ("QP") as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this release. ABOUT COLIBRI RESOURCE CORPORATION: Colibri is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company listed on the TSX-V (CBI) and is focused on acquiring and exploring prospective gold & silver properties in Mexico. The Company holds six highly prospective precious metal projects of which five have planned exploration programs for calendar 2023. For more information about all Company projects please visit: www.colibriresource.com. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains "forward-looking statements". Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be accurate. For information contact: Ronald J. Goguen, President, Chairperson and Director, Tel: (506) 383-4274, rongoguen@colibriresource.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155960 CHICAGO, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Arizton's latest research report, the Colombia data center market will grow at a CAGR of 8.17% from 2022-2028. Colombia expects to invest significantly in data center development between 2023 and 2028. An increase in cloud migration, deployment of 5G technology, procurement of renewable energy, increase in submarine cable connectivity will increase investment opportunities. Retail colocation dominates the Colombia data center market by generating over 90% of revenue, followed by wholesale colocation. Colombia is likely to add around 628 thousand square feet of data center space between 2023 and 2028. Most data centers will be built by global colocation operators having a presence in the country. Colombia Data Center Market Report Scope Report Attributes Details Market Size (2028) USD 705 Million (2028) Market Size (Area) 128 thousand sq. Feet (2028) Market Size (Power Capacity) 26 MW (2028) CAGR Investment (2022-2028) 8.17 % Historic Year 2021-2022 Base Year 2022 Forecast Year 2023-2028 Market Dynamics Improved Digitalization through Submarine Cables The Advent of Big Data & IoT Technologies Driving Data Center Investments Page Number 95 Key Leading Vendors IT Infrastructure Providers: Arista Networks, Broadcom, Cisco Systems, Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Huawei Technologies, IBM, Lenovo, and Pure Storage Data Center Construction Contractors & Sub-Contractors: AECOM, Fluor Corporation, ZFB Group, and Quark Support Infrastructure Providers: ABB, Alfa Laval, Armstrong Ceiling Solutions, Assa Abloy, Caterpillar, Cummins, Delta Electronics, Daikin Applied, Eaton, Flex, Generac Power Systems, Johnson Controls, Legrand, Mitsubishi Electric, Piller Power Systems, Rittal, Schneider Electric, Stulz, Siemens, and Vertiv Data Center Investors: Equinix, GlobeNet, HostDime, IPXON Networks, and ODATA New Entrants: Ascenty, DHAmericas, and Scala Data Centers Customization Available If our report does not include the information you are searching for, you may contact us to have a report tailored to your specific business needs https://www.arizton.com/customize-report/3730 Click Here to Download the Free Sample Report Market Insights The ongoing digital transformation and adoption of technologies such as big data, IoT, AI & ML by organizations in the country are driving huge investments from local and global colocation operators in the Colombia data center market. data center market. The capital Bogota hosts the maximum number of data centers in the country. The city has around 80% of Colombia's total existing data center capacity. The capital provides high-bandwidth capacity while great connectivity to the countries such as the U.S., making it a prominent location for data center investments. hosts the maximum number of data centers in the country. The city has around 80% of total existing data center capacity. The capital provides high-bandwidth capacity while great connectivity to the countries such as the U.S., making it a prominent location for data center investments. The country has a presence of colocation providers of both local and global scales, such as ODATA, HostDime, GlobeNet, and Equinix, among others. In 2022, Colombia witnessed the entry of many new operators, including DHAmericas, Scala Data Centers, and Ascenty. witnessed the entry of many new operators, including DHAmericas, Scala Data Centers, and Ascenty. There is significant scope for 5G in Colombia . The increasing deployment of fiber optics is a prominent driver for implementing 5G services in the country. Currently, 5G is in the testing phase in the country, which will eventually drive edge data center deployments. . The increasing deployment of fiber optics is a prominent driver for implementing 5G services in the country. Currently, 5G is in the testing phase in the country, which will eventually drive edge data center deployments. The regional operators are procuring renewable energy for their operations. For instance, Scala Data Centers signed a PPA with Enel Americas for delivering 1.6 GW of renewable power in its data centers across Colombia , Chile , & Peru . Why Should You Buy This Research? Market size available in the investment, area, power capacity, and Colombia colocation market revenue. colocation market revenue. An assessment of the data center investment in Colombia by colocation, hyperscale, and enterprise operators. by colocation, hyperscale, and enterprise operators. Investments in the area (square feet) and power capacity (MW) across states in the country. A detailed study of the existing Colombia data center market landscape, an in-depth industry analysis, and insightful predictions about industry size during the forecast period. data center market landscape, an in-depth industry analysis, and insightful predictions about industry size during the forecast period. Snapshot of existing and upcoming third-party data center facilities in Colombia Facilities Covered (Existing): 19 Facilities Identified (Upcoming): 5 Coverage: 04+ Locations Existing vs. Upcoming (Area) Existing vs. Upcoming (IT Load Capacity) Data center colocation market in Colombia Colocation Market Revenue & Forecast (2022-2028) Wholesale vs. Retail Colocation Revenue (2022-2028) Retail Colocation Pricing Wholesale Colocation Pricing Colombia's market investments are classified into IT, power, cooling, and general construction services with sizing and forecast. market investments are classified into IT, power, cooling, and general construction services with sizing and forecast. A comprehensive analysis of the latest trends, growth rate, potential opportunities, growth restraints, and prospects for the industry. Business overview and product offerings of prominent IT infrastructure providers, construction contractors, support infrastructure providers, and investors operating in the industry. A transparent research methodology and the analysis of the demand and supply aspects of the industry. The report includes the investment in the following areas: IT Infrastructure Servers Storage Systems Network Infrastructure Electrical Infrastructure UPS Systems Generators Switches & Switchgears PDUs Other Electrical Infrastructure Mechanical Infrastructure Cooling Systems Rack Cabinets Other Mechanical Infrastructure Cooling Systems CRAC & CRAH Units Chiller Units Cooling Towers, Condensers & Dry Coolers Economizers & Evaporative Coolers Other Cooling Units General Construction Core & Shell Development Installation & commissioning Services Engineering & Building Design Fire Detection & Suppression Systems Physical Security Data Center Infrastructure Management (DCIM) Tier Standard Tier I & Tier II Tier III Tier IV Major Vendors IT Infrastructure Providers Arista Networks Broadcom Cisco Systems Dell Technologies Hewlett Packard Enterprise Huawei Technologies IBM Lenovo Pure Storage Data Center Construction Contractors & Sub-Contractors AECOM Fluor Corporation ZFB Group Quark Support Infrastructure Providers ABB Alfa Laval Armstrong Ceiling Solutions Assa Abloy Caterpillar Cummins Delta Electronics Daikin Applied Eaton Flex Generac Power Systems Johnson Controls Legrand Mitsubishi Electric Piller Power Systems Rittal Schneider Electric Stulz Siemens Vertiv Data Center Investors Equinix GlobeNet HostDime IPXON Networks ODATA New Entrants Ascenty DHAmericas Scala Data Centers Click Here to Download the Free Sample Report Check Out Some of the Top-Selling Research Related Reports: Brazil Data Center Market - Investment Analysis & Growth Opportunities 2023-2028: The Brazil data center market is expected to reach USD 4.43 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 8.26% from 2022-2028. Brazil contributes around 50% of data center investments in the Latin American region. In Brazil, Sao Paulo is the most connected city, with the high availability of digital business and financial centers in the country, making the city a favorable location for facility development. Mexico Data Center Market - Investment Analysis & Growth Opportunities 2022-2027: Mexico data center market is projected to reach USD 1,082 million by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 9.37% during 2022-2027. Mexico is one of the leading data center markets among Latin American countries. Queretaro is the primary location in Mexico for the development of colocation data center facilities, hyperscale facilities, and cloud regions. Chile Data Center Market - Investment Analysis & Growth Opportunities 2022-2027: Chile data center market size will witness investments of USD 617 million by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 5.84% during 2021-2027. Cloud adoption is driving demand across data centers in Chile. Cloud service providers such as Microsoft, Huawei Technologies, Google, and Oracle are operating/developing cloud regions in Chile. Latin America Data Center Market - Industry Outlook & Forecast 2022-2027: Latin America data center market will witness investments of USD 9.11 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 7.13% during 2022-2027. Latin America's data center market has been attracting significant investments in recent years, led by countries such as Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Bolivia, And Argentina. Table of Content Chapter 1: Existing & Upcoming Third-Party Data Centers In Colombia Historical Market Scenario 19+ Unique Data Center Properties Data Center IT Load Capacity Data Center White Floor Area Space Existing Vs Upcoming Data Center Capacity by Cities Cities Covered Bogota o Other Cities List of Upcoming Data Center Facilities Chapter 2: Investment Opportunities in Colombia Microeconomic and Macroeconomic factors of the Colombia Market Data Center Investments Investment by Area Investment by Power Capacity Chapter 3: Data Center Colocation Market in Colombia Colocation Services Market in Colombia Retail vs Wholesale Data Center Colocation Colocation Pricing (Quarter Rack, Half Rack, Full Rack) & Add-ons Chapter 4: Market Dynamics Market Drivers Market Trends Market Restraints Chapter 5: Market Segmentation IT Infrastructure: Market Size & Forecast Electrical Infrastructure: Market Size & Forecast Mechanical Infrastructure: Market Size & Forecast General Construction Services: Market Size & Forecast Chapter 6: Tier Standard Investment Tier I & II Tier III Tier IV Chapter 7: Key Market Participants IT Infrastructure Providers Construction Contractors Support Infrastructure Providers Data Center Investors New Entrants Chapter 8: Appendix Market Derivation Quantitative Summary About Us:?? Arizton Advisory and Intelligence is an innovative and quality-driven firm that offers cutting-edge research solutions to clients worldwide. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services. We offer comprehensive market research reports on consumer goods & retail technology, automotive and mobility, smart tech, healthcare, life sciences, industrial machinery, chemicals, materials, I.T. and media, logistics, and packaging. These reports contain detailed industry analysis, market size, share, growth drivers, and trend forecasts.? Arizton comprises a team of exuberant and well-experienced analysts who have mastered generating incisive reports. Our specialist analysts possess exemplary skills in market research. We train our team in advanced research practices, techniques, and ethics to outperform in fabricating impregnable research reports.? Click Here to Contact Us? Call: +1-312-235-2040? ?????? ??? +1 302 469 0707? Mail: enquiry@arizton.com Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2008668/Colombia_Data_Center_Market.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/818553/Arizton_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/colombia-data-center-market-investment-to-reach-705-million-in-2028-colombia-is-likely-to-add-around-628-thousand-sq-ft-of-data-center-space-between-2023--2028--arizton-301754487.html NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Zimtu Capital Corp. (TSXv:ZC; FSE:ZCT1) (the "Company" or "Zimtu") announces that it has entered into an agreement with Strata Geodata Services Ltd. ("Strata") to sell six (6) mineral claims in the Harrison Lake area in the New Westminster District of Southwest British Columbia (BC) for $20,000 cash and 100,000 shares in a private company. Doctors Point Purchase Agreement The Company has entered into a purchase agreement ("Harrison Lake Agreement") with Strata, whereby the Company will sell a 100% undivided interest in six (6) mineral claims currently held by Zimtu, known as the Doctors Point Claims, near the town of Harrison Lake in southwest BC. Under the terms of the Doctors Point Agreement, Strata will acquire the Doctors Point claims for a cash payment of $20,000, of which $5,000 is payable immediately upon closing, with three (3) additional quarterly payments of $5,000, and the issuance of 100,000 common shares of a private non-reporting issuer to Zimtu. The Doctors Point Agreement is subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. Common shares of the Company issued under the Doctors Point Agreement are from a private company. The Doctors Point claims were recently acquired by Zimtu from the estate of David Heyman, as part of a much larger package of mineral claims. The Doctors Point claims are situated on the western bank of Harrison Lake, approximately 55 kilometres from the town of Harrison. The claims are accessible by a well-maintained forestry service road which also provides access to the BC Hydro Trio Creek generation site also located within the claims area. There are two dominant styles of mineralization at Doctors Point; stratabound volcanogenic sulphides and gold- and silver-hosting quartz veins. The quartz veins are long, narrow, and gently dip at 10-35 degrees away from the edge of dioritic pluton margins. Up to five plutons have been observed on site and are thought to be smaller upwellings of magma from a major intrusion at depth. These veins are vuggy and contain sulphides of which pyrite and arsenopyrite are the most common. The veins have been observed in both surface road cuts and historical diamond drilling. At surface they can be traced for 200m and remain open along strike. Underground, veins have shown a thickness of 3m in historical diamond drill core. The diamond drilling campaigns have all been shallow holes less than 100m in depth and suggestions in historical assessment filings are to drill deeper to investigate the source of the veins and possible increased concentrations of these structures at depth. A non-compliant resource was calculated from drill data in the Main Zone in 1986 using closely spaced drill holes resulted in 113,600 tonnes grading at 2.16 grams per tonne ("gpt") gold and 6.2 gpt silver (Assessment Report 18365), and since then several other zones have been identified along strike but have yet to be extensively drill tested. Quartz vein samples collected historically (1988) 300m to the north of the Main Zone returned grades up to 361 gpt gold and 1,328 gpt silver, and in 2007 additional sampling 1,400m to the northwest (North Swamp Zone) of the Main Zone returned values up to 27.13 gpt gold and 78.24 gpt silver from twelve vein samples. The current Doctors Point claims cover this area of historical drilling and resource estimation. It should be noted that these grades are historical, and Strata intends to collect check samples during Spring 2023. Strata also holds the "Providence" claims 4km southeast of the central Doctors Point discovery area. Preliminary fieldwork in late 2022 returned grades up to 2.88 gpt gold and 27 gpt silver from a sample of quartz vein situated close to the old Providence Mine portal (now decommissioned). The sample also had anomalous copper, lead, and zinc values like what has been historically described at Doctors Point. It is proposed that these veins at Providence are an along-strike extension of the veining seen at Doctors Point and so by uniting the two land-packages which shows evidence of potential continuity of mineralization along 7km of strike between the Providence project and the North Swamp Zone extension at Doctors Point. The occurrence of gold in the area is typified by Bear Mountain on the east side of Harrison Lake which is proposed to be the lateral offset of the Doctors Point system along the Harrison Lake Shear Zone. Bear Mountain has two underground portals which have provided historical access for drilling into dioritic bodies that up well into the Cretaceous volcanogenic country rock. Quartz veins are found around the 25-million-year-old diorite intrusive, with at least four zones of mineralization identified through drilling (the Breccia Zone, Hill Stock, Jenner Stock and Lake Stock). Based on surface and underground drilling completed by BKA above the 50-meter ASL level, Norman (1989), using a one-gram cutoff grade for the Jenner Zone and a 2-gram cut-off grade for the Portal Zone, estimated that the Jenner and Portal Zones contain 2,458,674 tonnes at an average grade of 2.79 g/t gold, for 220,300 ounces. The Company advises that all grades and resource estimates in this release are of a historic nature. Historic drill holes, resource estimates and grades reported have not been verified. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to verify the historical estimates nor classify the historic estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves, and the Company is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. Additional resampling and drilling by a Qualified Person will be required to designate a current resource under National Instrument 43-101 standards. David Hodge, President and a director of the Company, comments: "The selling of these Doctors Point Claims represents our second transaction from our large set of mineral claims purchased from the estate of David Heyman, a prolific British Columbia prospector. Strata's technical team led by Andy Randell PGeo and CEO recognized the opportunity for additional exploration upside within the Doctors Point Claims. This transaction continues our commitment in supporting British Columbia exploration industry. We welcome interested parties to review our inventory of prospective British Columbia wide claims with minerals such as, gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc." Andy Randell, CEO of Strata also comments "We are looking forward to starting work at Doctors Point and bringing a fresh look at the geological systems and mineral potential of the project. Since it was first discovered in 1975, advances in technology and local geological knowledge will allow us to unify the mineralized zones and look to extend them laterally and at depth." About Zimtu Capital Corp. Zimtu Capital Corp. is a public investment issuer that aspires to achieve long-term capital appreciation for its shareholders. Zimtu Capital companies may operate in the fields of mineral exploration, mining, technology, life sciences or investment. The Company trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "ZC" and Frankfurt under symbol "ZCT1". For more information, please visit https://www.zimtu.com. On Behalf of the Board of Directors ZIMTU CAPITAL CORP. "David Hodge" David Hodge President & Director Phone: 604.681.1568 NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS RELEASE. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements., which include any information that addresses activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Forward looking statements in this press release include that the Closing will occur and that the Company will receive requisite approval from the TSXV, if required. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed, implied by or projected in the forward-looking information or statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: adverse market conditions, the inability of the Company to complete the proposed sale of the Property, or the TSXV not approving the sale of the Property on the terms announced or at all. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to revise or update these forward-looking statements after the date of this document or to revise them to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated events. SOURCE: Zimtu Capital Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740604/Zimtu-Capital-Corp-Vends-Doctors-Point-Claims-to-Strata-Geodata-Services-Ltd HOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Evolution Petroleum (NYSE American:EPM) ("Evolution" or the "Company") today announced that the Board of Directors has appointed J. Mark Bunch as Chief Operating Officer, a newly created position intended to broaden the Company's management team and support their ongoing efforts focused on enhancing near- and long-term value for shareholders. Kelly Loyd, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, stated "We are thrilled to welcome Mark to the Evolution team. His extensive operational and managerial experience as well as vast relationships in the energy industry make him a highly valuable addition to the management team. In this new role, Mark, with his technical expertise, will drive efforts to maximize the value of Evolution's existing cash flow producing properties, build strategic relationships with our operating partners and be instrumental to realizing our strategic vision as we evaluate and prudently execute on targeted future growth opportunities." Mr. Bunch said, "I look forward to teaming up with the talented staff at Evolution to help the Company achieve its strategic goals." Mr. Bunch has more than 40 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. Prior to joining the Company and since 2020, Mr. Bunch was a Senior Vice President and founding partner of Alamo Resources III, LLC. Additionally, since 2016 he has provided independent consulting services to a variety of upstream energy companies, including Evolution, through his wholly-owned firm, Dantoria Energy, LLC. From 2012 to 2016, he served as Asset Manager at Davis Petroleum Corp. Mr. Bunch began his oil and gas career in 1981 at Arco Oil and Gas Company where he held positions of increasing responsibility in reservoir and production engineering. Mr. Bunch is a registered professional engineer in Texas and earned a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1981. About Evolution Petroleum Evolution Petroleum Corporation is an independent energy company focused on maximizing total returns to its shareholders through the ownership of and investment in onshore oil and natural gas properties in the United States. The Company's long-term goal is to maximize total shareholder return from a diversified portfolio of long-life oil and natural gas properties built through acquisition and through selective development, production enhancement, and other exploitation efforts on its oil and natural gas properties. Properties include non-operated interests in the Delhi Holt-Bryant Unit in the Delhi Field in Northeast Louisiana, a CO2 enhanced oil recovery project; non-operated interests in the Hamilton Dome Field located in Hot Springs County, Wyoming, a secondary recovery field utilizing water injection wells to pressurize the reservoir; non-operated interests in the Barnett Shale located in North Texas, a natural gas producing shale reservoir; non-operated interests in the Williston Basin in North Dakota, a producing oil and natural gas reservoir; non-operated interests in the Jonah Field in Sublette County, Wyoming; and small overriding royalty interests in four onshore Texas wells. Additional information, including the Company's annual report on Form 10-K and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, is available on its website at www.evolutionpetroleum.com. Cautionary Statement All forward-looking statements contained in this press release regarding current expectations, potential results and future plans and objectives of the Company involve a wide range of risks and uncertainties. Statements herein using words such as "believe," "expect," "plans," "outlook," "should," "will," and words of similar meaning are forward-looking statements. Although the Company's expectations are based on business, engineering, geological, financial, and operating assumptions that it believes to be reasonable, many factors could cause actual results to differ materially from its expectations and can give no assurance that its goals will be achieved. These factors and others are detailed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in our periodic documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement. Company Contacts Kelly Loyd, President and Chief Executive Officer Ryan Stash, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer (713) 935-0122 KLoyd@evolutionpetroleum.com RStash@evolutionpetroleum.com SOURCE: Evolution Petroleum Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740600/Evolution-Petroleum-Announces-Appointment-of-New-Chief-Operating-Officer Farfetch Limited (NYSE: FTCH) ("Farfetch" or the "Company"), the leading global platform for the luxury fashion industry, today announces that Elliot Jordan will step down by the end of 2023, after more than eight years as Chief Financial Officer. The Company will initiate a search process to identify his successor, and Mr. Jordan has agreed to serve as the Company's Chief Financial Officer through the remainder of 2023. Mr. Jordan joined FARFETCH in January 2015. Since that time, FARFETCH has grown its annual GMV from $380 million to $4.1 billion for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2022, respectively, now serving over 190 countries and territories. Mr. Jordan has helped guide FARFETCH through its transformation from a private company to a publicly traded company, including FARFETCH's listing on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2018. A member of the Executive Leadership Team, Elliot is also FARFETCH's Executive sponsor of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Jose Neves, FARFETCH Founder, CEO and Chairman, said: "Elliot has been a fantastic CFO, and I very much appreciate his continued commitment to the business until the end of the year. I look forward to working with Elliot to ensure a smooth transition. We are some way off from saying our 'goodbyes' but his legacy will be formidable finance and business services teams that are part of a company that we believe is extremely well placed to continue to lead the industry and drive profitable growth and Elliot has been an important building block of our success." Elliot Jordan, FARFETCH CFO, said: "I have thoroughly enjoyed the last eight years as Chief Financial Officer of FARFETCH and couldn't be more proud of all we've achieved in that time. I want to thank Jose and all the talented people I have worked with in building this incredible company and will miss working with the highly passionate and knowledgeable members of my team who have supported this company to scale to where it is today. FARFETCH is at an exciting moment in its history with the business poised to achieve significant milestones in the next few years and I look forward to handing over a company with such a strong balance sheet and robust cash generation potential." Forward-Looking Statements This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements contained in this release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding our expectations in relation to Mr. Jordan's departure and timing thereof, planned activities and objectives, and anticipated profitability and growth. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the important factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our other filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, to be filed with the SEC, accessible on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov and on our website at http://farfetchinvestors.com. In addition, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements that we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release are inherently uncertain and may not occur, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. In addition, the forward-looking statements made in this release relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in this release. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. About Farfetch Farfetch Limited is the leading global platform for the luxury fashion industry. Founded in 2007 by Jose Neves for the love of fashion, and launched in 2008, Farfetch began as an e-commerce marketplace for luxury boutiques around the world. Today, the Farfetch Marketplace connects customers in over 190 countries and territories with items from more than 50 countries and over 1,400 of the world's best brands, boutiques and department stores, delivering a truly unique shopping experience and access to the most extensive selection of luxury on a global platform. Farfetch's additional businesses include Browns and Stadium Goods, which offer luxury products to consumers, and New Guards Group, a platform for the development of global fashion brands. Farfetch offers its broad range of consumer-facing channels and enterprise level solutions to the luxury industry under its Luxury New Retail initiative. The Luxury New Retail initiative also encompasses Farfetch Platform Solutions, which services enterprise clients with e-commerce and technology capabilities, and Future Retail, which develops innovations such as our Connected Retail solutions. For more information, please visit www.farfetchinvestors.com. We use this investors section of our website as a means of disclosing material, non-public information. Accordingly, investors should monitor such sections of our website, in addition to following our press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. Investors may also receive email alerts and other information about us by enrolling your email address under "Investor Resources" of our investors page. We have included our website address in this release solely for informational purposes, and the information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference in this release. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005741/en/ Contacts: Investor Relations Contact: Alice Ryder VP Investor Relations IR@farfetch.com Media Contacts: Susannah Clark Executive VP, Communications susannah.clark@farfetch.com +44 7788 405224 Brunswick Group farfetch@brunswickgroup.com US: +1 (212) 333 3810 UK: +44 (0) 207 404 5959 NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / CNH Industrial Canvey Bay Watch volunteers work with CASE TV370B B Series Compact Track Loader on the beach CNH Industrial has brought its Beach Care Project to the United Kingdom. The company's global initiative, which has previously stopped in Italy, France and Spain, aims to keep coastlines clean. It raises awareness of the damaging impact plastic has on the marine environment and promotes conscious management of the beach ecosystem. Beaches are of great environmental, social, touristic and economic importance. So, CNH Industrial is resolved to protect them. And encourage others to do the same. The project combines research and education with collective action. Initially developed in partnership with several European academic institutes, it has since entered schools across the continent. So far, it has brought educational kits and lessons on environmental conservation to over 10,000 children. At Thorney Bay Beach, Canvey Island, Essex, CNH Industrial supported the work of Canvey Bay Watch - a volunteer group made up of local residents. Every week for over eight years the dedicated Canvey Bay Watch volunteers have engaged in various beach cleaning and beautification activities. Previously, the south-coast location was spoiled by waste flowing from London via the River Thames. Now, it is a safe, attractive and sustainable community hub. CNH Industrial provided a CASE TV370B B Series Compact Track Loader to assist the volunteers. The machine carried algae - brought ashore by the tides - to an identified section of the beach, creating a natural protective barrier against storm surges and erosion. This tough task - usually done by hand - was completed more efficiently. Barry Campagna, Chairman of Canvey Bay Watch, said: "When the beach is clean, people show it more care and respect. Our efforts make people further appreciate the marine environment. It also enables other opportunities for local children to learn about the positive ecological impact they can make. CASE's machine certainly made our work easier today." Phil Palmer, the legendary English musician best known for his work with Dire Straits, is a supporter of the Beach Care Project. He said: "I have always been a great lover of the sea and feel that it is essential for all of us to care for the planet. We must protect the environment from contamination and preserve it for ourselves - and for our children who will inherit it. The Beach Care project has this purpose. And I think it is important to promote it." Daniela Ropolo, Head of Sustainable Initiatives at CNH Industrial, commented: "At CNH Industrial, sustainability informs everything we do. Through this important international project, we are promoting the protection of the environment across generations. And its impact is getting bigger and bigger with each country we visit." CNH Industrial plans to maintain its link with Canvey Bay Watch. The volunteers have been invited for a tour of the company's Basildon tractor plant. There, they will discover how the company is driving a sustainable future, both through its community initiatives and innovative products. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from CNH Industrial on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: CNH Industrial Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cnh-industrial Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: CNH Industrial View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740605/CNH-Industrials-Beach-Care-Project-Comes-to-the-United-Kingdom Los Angeles, California--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - Barr Business School, a prominent provider of online business education, has recently launched the 17-Day St. Patrick's Day Challenge, an initiative focused on current entrepreneurs and veterans desiring to be entrepreneurs. The program motivates students to develop the discipline of continuous learning and growing. The course is complementary, and upon completing a course, participants will receive a certificate of completion and can then offer another complementary course to a colleague, family member, or team member. 17-Day St. Patrick's Day Challenge To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8397/155886_image2barr.jpg The 17-Day St. Patrick's Day Challenge is based on the concept that it takes around 17 days to form a new habit. The purpose of this challenge is to give participants an opportunity to complete a course and develop a habit of lifelong learning by the end of the challenge. All entrepreneurs, regardless of their level of experience or industry expertise, are invited to join this learning community. Dr. Frumi, founder of Barr Business School, found inspiration for the challenge in the story of her father, Soldier Sam, who overcame his fears and volunteered for a special unit despite his doubts. As a first aid man in The Devil's Brigade, Soldier Sam witnessed the heavy casualties sustained during the mountain campaigns, including the assault on Monte Sammucro, Monte Cassino, and other fortified German strongholds. The focus on veterans was created to honor their bravery, sacrifice, and the challenges we all face, while also helping entrepreneurs develop the discipline to continue learning and growing in their business endeavors. Barr Business School has also recently launched a new program that provides entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge they need to scale their businesses safely and sustainably. The courses are designed to help entrepreneurs overcome common challenges that arise when growing a business. By enrolling in these courses, entrepreneurs can learn best practices for managing employees, creating efficient processes, and staying on top of financials. They can also learn how to manage their time and energy effectively so they can focus on what matters most. To sign up and learn more about the 17-Day St. Patrick's Day Challenge, visit Barr Business School's website or contact Dr. Frumi Rachel Barr Ph.D. via email at hello@barrbusinessschool.com. Dr. Frumi Rachel Barr Ph.D. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8397/155886_c29c3c7d746b1b0e_002full.jpg Press Contact: Name: Dr. Frumi Rachel Barr Ph.D. Email: hello@barrbusinessschool.com Website: https://www.barrbusinessschool.com/ To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155886 Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - OBSIDIAN ENERGY LTD. (TSX: OBE) (NYSE American: OBE) ("Obsidian Energy", the "Company", "we", "us" or "our") announces that it has filed with Canadian securities regulatory authorities its audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2022, and related Management's Discussion and Analysis. Obsidian Energy has also filed its Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2022, which includes the disclosure and reports relating to reserves data and other oil and gas information required pursuant to National Instrument 51-101. Obsidian Energy's Annual Report on Form 40-F for the year ended December 31, 2022, will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to its rules and regulations. Copies of these documents may be obtained electronically via www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml (for the Form 40-F) or through Obsidian Energy's website at www.obsidianenergy.com. Hard copies of Obsidian Energy's audited Consolidated Financial Statements and related MD&A are also available upon request, free of charge, by contacting our Investor Relations group or by requesting them through our website. CONTACT OBSIDIAN ENERGY Suite 200, 207 - 9th Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P 1K3 Phone: 403-777-2500 Toll Free: 1-866-693-2707 Website: www.obsidianenergy.com; Investor Relations: Toll Free: 1-888-770-2633 E-mail: investor.relations@obsidianenergy.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155936 With experienced leaders and dynamic solutions in place, UST builds on positive 2022 results and will expand operations in the rapidly transforming market MELBOURNE, Australia, Feb. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UST, a leading digital transformation solutions company, is proud to announce its continued growth and success in the banking and financial services industry. Today, UST is a trusted partner in the sector, supporting operations for two of the top three U.S.-based asset and wealth management companies. UST has seen significant traction in its client base and revenue in the past year due to its innovation and personalized approach to financial services. UST's unique blend of technology and industry expertise has allowed it to provide clients with comprehensive solutions tailored to meet their customers' specific needs. Furthermore, UST is expanding its global impact in the dynamic banking and finance sector, leveraging two decades of deep domain experience to provide technology solutions to some of the most prominent companies in the industry. In recent months, UST has expanded its transformation offerings with several initiatives including: The launch of UST FinX , UST's Financial Services Platform and Fintech Partner Ecosystem which helps financial institutions rapidly transform, deploy products and optimize services. Clients include banks, building societies, credit unions, new challengers and other firms that require financial services. , UST's Financial Services Platform and Fintech Partner Ecosystem which helps financial institutions rapidly transform, deploy products and optimize services. Clients include banks, building societies, credit unions, new challengers and other firms that require financial services. The acquisition of Canada -based Prodigy Labs , a leading provider of innovative technology solutions designed to help financial services firms deliver comprehensive digital transformations. The acquisition significantly strengthens UST's position in the financial services sector and the Canadian market. -based , a leading provider of innovative technology solutions designed to help financial services firms deliver comprehensive digital transformations. The acquisition significantly strengthens UST's position in the financial services sector and the Canadian market. A strategic collaboration with AWS and Mendix , a Siemens business to develop comprehensive solutions and go-to-market strategies for the financial services industry. This initiative helps firms expedite digital transformations by leveraging UST's expertise within the financial services sector. UST will be able to offer a greater array of technologies to help customers achieve operational excellence and modernize legacy applications. and a Siemens business to develop comprehensive solutions and go-to-market strategies for the financial services industry. This initiative helps firms expedite digital transformations by leveraging UST's expertise within the financial services sector. UST will be able to offer a greater array of technologies to help customers achieve operational excellence and modernize legacy applications. UST's Partnership with TreasuryPay accelerates innovation in the financial sector while also driving the transformation and optimization of treasury and trade functions. The exciting collaboration puts UST in a leadership position at the forefront of a dynamic field. accelerates innovation in the financial sector while also driving the transformation and optimization of treasury and trade functions. The exciting collaboration puts UST in a leadership position at the forefront of a dynamic field. Development of advanced Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning solutions to deliver seamless, personalized results for financial advisors to generate impact and unlock value. solutions to deliver seamless, personalized results for financial advisors to generate impact and unlock value. Recognition by ISG Paragon Awards for 'Excellence in Outstanding Delivery by a Technology or Service Provider' for the transformative customer service solution developed for Wolters Kluwer . By building a bespoke solution, UST was able to create IT savings of 40% over five years while also increasing user satisfaction. In addition, UST has worked to modernize the platforms of one of the largest payments companies in the world, developing microservices and migrating applications to the cloud. Other exciting work includes driving efficiency gains and developing new products for consumer finance giants, transforming platforms in the B2B payments sector and advising a leading telecommunications firm on payments infrastructure modernization. These recent wins demonstrate UST's ability to deliver value in diverse areas including architecture, data integration and implementation services. Moving forward, UST will further evolve the scope of its consulting, service, platform, and product engineering offerings to create new efficiency and growth opportunities for sector clients. This success has been made possible by the talented team of professionals that UST has assembled to lead its growing banking and finance team. Mehmet Pasa is General Manager of Banking and Payments at UST. In this role, he oversees strategy and digital transformation in the financial services, payments, and retail sectors. Pasa has extensive experience across the globe in various industries and settings, leading and helping companies of all sizes. "Our dynamic range of innovative solutions has reimagined and redefined digital transformation in the finance and banking industry and we will continue working to build on this legacy of success. In addition to our efforts to prioritize innovation, we are partnering with other dynamic leaders in this sector so that we are equipped to meet the growing demand for tangible digital transformation impact," said Mehmet Pasa, General Manager - Banking & Payments, UST. Maureen Doyle-Spare is General Manager for Asset & Wealth Management and Insurance at UST. She is an experienced consulting and solution leader who delivers innovation through the intersection of business strategy, domain and technology to develop disruptive solutions that drive business impact in our constantly changing world. Doyle-Spare has worked extensively in the US, Europe and the UK. "We have found success in this sector because we build all our solutions with end users in mind; we want to exceed expectations in all that we do so that they are empowered to deliver exceptional service. UST is committed to nimble innovation and offering digital transformation solutions that scale efficiently and streamline all areas of operation," said Maureen Doyle-Spare, General Manager - Financial Services, UST. Over the past two decades UST has established itself as a key business transformation partner in the banking and financial services sector. The company will build on recent momentum to expand its presence in this rapidly evolving industry by leveraging the team's deep expertise in delivering strategic consulting, human-centered design, transformation and technology solutions. About UST For more than 23 years, UST has worked side by side with the world's best companies to make a real impact through transformation. Powered by technology, inspired by people, and led by our purpose, we partner with our clients from design to operation. Through our nimble approach, we identify their core challenges, and craft disruptive solutions that bring their vision to life. With deep domain expertise and a future-proof philosophy, we embed innovation and agility into our clients' organizations-delivering measurable value and lasting change across industries, and around the world. Together, with over 30,000 employees in 30+ countries, we build for boundless impact-touching billions of lives in the process. Visit us at www.UST.com Media Contacts, UST: Tinu Cherian Abraham +1 (949) 415-9857 Merrick Laravea +1 (949) 416-6212 Neha Misri +91-9284726602 media.relations@ust.com Media Contacts, U.S.: S&C PR +1-646.941.9139 media@scprgroup.com Makovsky ust@makovsky.com Media Contacts, Australia: Team Lewis ust@teamlewis.com Media Contacts, U.K.: FTI Consulting UST@fticonsulting.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1422658/UST_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ust-continues-building-momentum-in-the-financial-services-sector-with-key-business-transformation-initiatives-301754561.html Organizations support students and their families with Community Resource events ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Americold and Feed the Children are teaming up to provide support to Atlanta students and their families through food distribution and community resource events this spring with an aim of alleviating the stress of those facing food insecurity daily. The four-month program will kick off on March 1 with a community event serving 300 families. Events will be held monthly throughout the city through June. An increasing number of children in Georgia do not have consistent access to enough food, 1 in 7 children in Georgia are food insecure. This can have long-term effects on their health and future. Children who are food insecure are more likely to struggle in school, and to have growth and developmental issues. Atlanta-based Americold and Feed the Children are working together with the Mayor's Office of International and Immigrant Affairs - Welcoming Atlanta to deliver hope through four community resource events that will provide access to food, essential items, books and additional resources. Americold and Feed the Children hope to help bring awareness to the need for additional resources in the community as many Atlanta residents reside in food deserts and have difficulty accessing enough food to support their families. Georgia has one of the highest shares of low-income areas whose residents also lack adequate access to supermarkets. At each event families will receive a 25-pound box of food and a 15-pound box of essentials including soaps and self-care items, and a 5-pound action box that includes fun and healthy activities for children. Community partners including Atlanta Public Schools, CORE, Department of Parks and Recreation, Children's Museum Atlanta, and the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library will be on-site to share information on additional support services and programs that are available for children and their families. The partnership will also directly support Atlanta Public Schools, providing over 20 schools throughout the district, each school will receive items to help stock resource rooms where students will have access to food and essentials. With schools closing soon for spring break the need for accessible food increases. Thousands of students in Atlanta rely on free or reduced lunches and families must make impossible choices between buying food and paying utility bills or other necessary costs like transportation and childcare when this resource is not available. Americold has a passion for defeating hunger, they recently partnered with Feed the Children to distribute 8,000 ready-to-eat meal kits to students throughout the month of December 2022 to help support students with access to food during the holiday when families struggle to provide enough food without free, or reduced cost meals available while schools are closed winter break. These meals were distributed at Community Resource events across Atlanta neighborhoods including Adamsville, Morningside, Lindbergh, Orchard Knob, Lenox, Virginia Highlands, Perkerson, Bolton and Underwood Hills. Americold plays an integral role in the food supply chain, owning and operating 250 temperature-controlled warehouses around the world, with approximately 1.5 billion cubic feet of storage. Its facilities connect food producers, processors, distributors and retailers to consumers, ensuring that food is preserved and protected on its journey from farm to fork. "Our partnership with Feed the Children is incredibly meaningful because it is one way that we show our commitment to fighting hunger and to giving back in the communities where we live and work. We're especially proud of these events in Atlanta because our company headquarters are here. We also own and operate a dozen cold storage facilities in the area to deliver on our mission to help our customers feed the world," said George Chappelle, CEO of Americold. During the five-year partnership, Americold has donated critical funds to Feed the Children as well as travelled hundreds of thousands of miles providing complimentary temperature-controlled transportation services of chilled and frozen goods. Together, the organizations have helped feed hundreds of thousands of families across America. Feed the Children believes it takes everyone - the nonprofit sector, corporations, community organizations, government officials and food suppliers - to come together to do good for those who need it. When efforts are combined, a greater impact is achieved. "Children cannot thrive unless their basic needs are met," said Travis Arnold, president and CEO of Feed the Children. "A widespread issue like childhood hunger will only be solved when enough people work together. Partners like Americold are vital to our mission as we serve vulnerable communities in cities across the United States." About Americold Americold is the world's largest publicly traded REIT focused on the ownership, operation, acquisitions and development of temperature-controlled warehouses. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Americold owns and operates 250 temperature-controlled warehouses, with approximately 1.5 billion cubic feet of storage, in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and South America. Americold's facilities are an integral component of the supply chain connecting food producers, processors, distributors, and retailers to consumers. Visit www.americold.com for more information. About the Mayor's Office of International & Immigrant Affairs - Welcoming Atlanta The Mayor's Office of International & Immigrant Affairs - Welcoming Atlanta is committed to positioning Atlanta as a welcoming City-a connected, inclusive community that uplifts our foreign-born population and provides an opportunity for all-and a global hub for diplomacy, business, innovation, education, culture, and sports. MOIIA's mission is to develop and foster relationships between Atlanta's international communities, City departments, and external partners to empower our foreign-born population through access to information, to identify economic opportunities, and to address local and global challenges. About Feed the Children At Feed the Children, we feed hungry kids. We envision a world where no child goes to bed hungry. In the U.S. and internationally, we are dedicated to helping families and communities achieve stable lives and to reducing the need for help tomorrow, while providing food and resources to help them today. We distribute product donations from corporate donors to local community partners, we provide support for teachers and students, and we mobilize resources quickly to aid recovery efforts when natural disasters strike. Internationally, we manage child-focused community development programs in eight countries. We welcome partnerships because we know our work would not be possible without collaborative relationships. To learn more about Feed the Children visit feedthechildren.org and follow us on Instagram @feedthechildrenorg For more information, please contact: Kelly Frey | 405-945-4064 kelly.frey@feedthechildren.org Carrie Snodgrass | 405-213-9757 carrie.snodgrass@feedthechildren.org SOURCE: Feed The Children View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/740614/Americold-Feed-the-Children-Partner-with-Atlanta-Mayors-Office-to-Provide-1200Families-with-Hunger-Relief-this-Spring Altai Ventures, a Westport, CT- and New York City-based early-stage venture capital firm, closed Altai Ventures Fund II, LP, at $53m. Investors included Bain Capital Ventures, Century Equity Partners, and other LPs across property and casualty insurance, life insurance and retirement, insurance brokerage, and commercial banking. Founded by Oleg Ilichev, Altai Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm specializing in InsurTech, FinTech, and enterprise software for financial services. The firm mainly invests in Series Seed and Series A rounds, where it can leverage its operating expertise, deep industry knowledge, and strategic LPs to drive immediate, meaningful value creation. The investments are primarily focused on the North American market, with a range of $200K $500K for Seed rounds and $1M $3M for Series A rounds. Along with its core venture capital strategy, Altai also incubates businesses focused on pain points not addressed in the marketplace. Last year, Altai partnered with Accelerant, Bain Capital Ventures, and Runyon Design to launch Reserv, a third-party claims administrator (TPA) using AI and automation technology to bring efficiency and simplicity to the labor-intensive claims handling process. Some of the companies Altai has backed and has provided strategic guidance to include: EvolutionIQ, a leader in AI-driven claims guidance that helps injured and disabled individuals return to the workforce (tripled its revenue three years in a row) LULA, an integrated suite of insurance infrastructure tools used to build and maintain insurance programs (recorded over 900% year over year revenue growth in 2022) Newfront, a tech-enabled commercial insurance and benefits brokerage, which raised $200M in its Series D round ($2.2B Valuation) FinSMEs 23/02/2023 Earthly Technologies, a San Francisco, CA-based company behind the open source developer tool Earthly, raised $6.5m in seed+ funding round. The round, which brought total funding raised to $8.6M, was led by Innovation Endeavors with participation from existing investors 468 Capital and Uncorrelated Ventures. The company will use the funds to improve and add more enterprise-friendly features to its open source product, Earthly, and its subscription SaaS products, Earthly CI and Earthly Satellites. Led by Vlad A. Ionescu, founder and CEO, Earthly Technologies provides an open source developer tool called Earthly, a CI/CD framework with repeatable builds that users write once and run anywhere. The company also announced the general availability of its software-as-a-service CI/CD platform, Earthly CI. With Earthly CI, pipelines are consistent and repeatable. It isolates execution from the computer its running on by executing all CI pipelines in containers. Earthly CIs build runners, called Earthly Satellites, are designed to make pipelines fast and efficient, thanks to an automatic and instantly available build cache. All CI pipelines are defined in Earthfiles using Earthlys recognizable syntax and stored in the project repository. FinSMEs 23/02/2023 MikMak, a New York-based provider of an eCommerce acceleration platform for multichannel brands, acquired Swaven, a Paris, France-based eCommerce enablement and analytics software company across EMEA, APAC, and LATAM. The amount of the deal was not disclosed. With the acquisition, MikMak will expand its offerings. MikMaks North American retailer marketplace combined with Swavens international network enables a value proposition for both local and global brands with 3000+ retailer integrations across over 20 industries and 80 countries. The combined global entity will now service a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of $2.4 trillion with an increased foothold in the EMEA, APAC, and LATAM markets. Led by CEO Laurent Quatrefages and COO Sebastien Thiberge, Swaven offers omnichannel where to buy technology and a conversion funnel management platform. It allows multi-channel consumer brands to accelerate and measure consumer journeys from any acquisition channel to purchase at online & offline retailers. Its PoP (Point of Purchase) solutions integrate within any branded organic and sponsored content to accelerate sales. Led by CEO Rachel Tipograph, MikMak is a provider of a platform for eCommerce acceleration for multichannel brands and offers analytics and eCommerce enablement software to help product manufacturers and CPG companies understand their consumers online behavior, determine the use of marketing dollars, and drive sales. Its patented technology is used to power multi-retail selection and checkout within online video marketing campaigns. Investors include Wavecrest Growth Partners, Luminari Capital and VaynerMedia. Expected early this summer, MikMak 3.0 will enable more advanced analytics, and direct integrations with multiple third-party data visualization, analytics and product information management (PIM) platforms. Additionally, shopper experiences will be enhanced with features such as embedded ad units and integrated coupons, accelerating the path to purchase. FinSMEs 23/02/2023 Sprout, a London, UK-based provider of a platform for underserved private investors to access a curated selection of venture capital funds, raised $1M in Pre-Seed funding. Contributors to the round include a selection of family offices and angel investors most notably Latin Americas largest private market placement agent, and early backers of Wise, Pipe and Betway. The company intends to use the funds to scale its platform and accelerate growth. Co-founded by private market specialists Jonny Blausten, Daniel Lehmann, and PwC Raise Ventures founding member Rich Abrahams, who earlier this month took up the role as Chief Investment Officer, Sprout provides a platform that gives underserved investors access to venture capital funds. By providing this access, the company empowers investors to, from as little as 5,000 but with no maximum, benefit from the upside potential of private markets, helping them to build diversified portfolios that mitigate the risk of investing in individual businesses. Underserved investors include professionals who are typically priced out by the high minimums required for VC investment, Ultra High Net Worth or High Net Worth individuals who lack access to VC funds through their wealth managers or private banks, and Family Offices who seek education on how to choose the best VCs. In just over a year, Sprout has already partnered with a diverse portfolio of leading venture capital firms on its platform, including Speedinvest, G Squared and Episode 1 Ventures, and has facilitated millions of pounds of investment from a community of more than 500 private investors. FinSMEs 23/02/2023 Spanish wine and how to taste it: Q&A with visiting wine expert, educator Ahead of the highly-anticipated St. Augustine Spanish Food & Wine Festival, we talked with Shaun Wright, the wine expert for Friday nights Cava Reception and Dinner. This VIP evening starts with a Cava reception in the historic Ponce de Leon Hall Flagler Room, progresses to the Solarium for three plated courses and a private musical performance, and concludes with a dessert social on the Solarium terrace. Wright, who is a Master of Wine student and Fine Wine Manager for North Florida at Southern Glazers Wine and Spirits, gave advice to those looking to learn more about the world of wine and discussed his role in curating the Spanish wine pairings for the Cava Reception and Dinner. Whats the difference between a Sommelier and your profession, a Wine Educator? A sommelier is a French term meaning wine steward, its really a classification of folks working in a restaurant servicing a wine program and selling them directly to guests. The reason I make that distinction is out of respect for my sommelier colleagues that are actually in restaurants running programs. I'm a wine educator. I'm a wine salesperson. I'm a communicator. But I don't work in restaurants anymore, and I think thats an important distinction. I think some of the greatest wine educators and greatest sommeliers in the world do not hold any particular type of certification from a certification body. However, it's a good way to get a foundation. How did you work with the chef for the Cava Reception & Dinner to curate a Spanish wine experience? Were celebrating wine throughout Spain starting with a Cava Rose & Brut, a rose, two versions of Tempranillo for the two main courses, and then finishing off with a Spanish-inspired cocktail for dessert. When I put together a Spanish wine dinner, I want to pay homage to the classics. So, were pouring a classic Rioja on the main course, but were also looking to more modern contemporary facing regions with the Quinta Sardonia Sardon. Were also looking at Spains most celebrated grape, Tempranillo, but were looking at it through two different lenses: modern and traditional. In collaboration with the chef, we looked at what kinds of dishes and regions they wanted to celebrate and then picked through Spains vast offerings to select a good blend of wine that pays respect to tradition but also gives attendees a look into modern Spain. What are some of the distinguishing characteristics of Spanish wine? It tends to be that European wines, especially French, Italian, and Spanish, are very linked to local cuisine and local agriculture. Spain is pretty large for a European country, meaning there is a vast difference between its regions. In the central area where it's very hot and high desert, the wines produced around Madrid are different from those produced in the North from La Rioja. The wines coming out of the northwest in Rias Baixas will be very different from the warm and airy southwest Sherry country where theyre making one of the world's most unique wines. They're just very different as you move throughout the regions. What advice would you give to someone new to wine tastings? Approach it with an open mind. I see wine as food, you want to approach it just like you would when you go to a new restaurant. You might see some new foods and some interesting things on the menu that you might not have normally ordered, but are going to try new things and be excited about it. I would suggest the same thing with the wine. Just approach it with an open mind. As a starting point, you can look for familiar flavors. But also look for flavors and aromas that you might not be familiar with. Ask questions, discuss, and enjoy the journey. What are some basics of wine vocabulary that can consumers use to communicate their taste preferences? First and foremost, you want to be truthful with yourself about what you like. Meaning, if you like dry wines, meaning wines in the absence of sugar- that have been fermented to dryness, then you need to be able to say, "I like dry wines that are not sweet." If you like wines that are slightly sweet, have the confidence to say "I like wines that have a little bit of sweetness to them" Don't be afraid to say that. If you like rich, full-bodied wines that do not dry out your mouth, which is a result of the tannins, you can learn to say, I like low tannin wines that are fruit-forward and rich. How can someone get started on a journey of exploring wine? As a consumer, find your local wine shop. Be friends. Have a conversation with the person that's behind the counter. Go to that same wine shop whenever you go to purchase wine. They will learn your preferences. The dialogue creates a greater bank of dialogue for them to help you find what you're looking for. They learn your taste, it's the best thing. They become your wine expert and your tour guide through the world of wine. I had this relationship when I was first starting out. Sometimes when you're buying your groceries, youve got to pick up your bottle of Pinot, I get it. But consistently going, going back to your local wine retailer and having a conversation telling them what you disliked about the prior purchase and what you really liked about the prior purchase will help you find what you like in and develop that vocabulary. Its not too late to explore the world of Spanish wine at the festivals Grand Tasting Saturday, Feb. 25 from 2 to 5 p.m. Guests have the opportunity to experience over 100 authentic Spanish wines originating from the regions of Rioja, Penedes, Catalonia, and more. While theyre still available, buy your tickets for Saturdays Grand Tasting here. Tagged As Microsoft has announced the arrival of its new Bing preview experience, now available on Bing and Edge Mobile apps. Additionally, the firm has integrated Bing into Skype. Earlier this month, they unveiled the AI-powered Bing and Microsoft Edge, describing it as your copilot for the web. Microsoft announces Preview of New Bing and Edge Mobile Apps Microsoft will begin roll out of the capabilities of the new Bing and Edge on the smartphone, such as voice input, and creating a new chat experience with Skype to enhance your social communications. Introducing Mobile Bing and Edge with Voice Access The new mobile apps for Bing and Edge are designed to help you get the most out of the web even when away from your desktop, says Microsoft. With 64% of searches now taking place on mobile phones, these apps make it easy to plan trips, store luggage, navigate metro systems and even translate as you go. As an example, imagine you have an unexpected layover in a new city. With just a few hours to explore, you can ask Bing to help you find a place to store your luggage, and it will provide you with a short itinerary to get the best out of your visit. Voice Search on Bing Mobile App: Microsoft has added one of their communitys most requested features, voice search, to their new Bing mobile app. This feature is available on both mobile and desktop devices, providing more flexibility in how users can search and receive answers from Bing. Microsoft has added one of their communitys most requested features, voice search, to their new Bing mobile app. This feature is available on both mobile and desktop devices, providing more flexibility in how users can search and receive answers from Bing. Microsoft Edge Mobile App: The preview version of the new Bing experience can also be accessed from the homepage of the Microsoft Edge mobile app. Bing and Skype Connect for a More Social Experience To improve collaboration with friends and family, we are launching AI-powered Bing for Skype. Over 36 million people use Skype daily to communicate across borders, and the new Bing will enable helpful and entertaining new scenarios. Chat with Bing in Skype, or add it to any chat and enjoy web searches, suggestions, and creative content. Bing speaks your language and gives you smart insights. Download Skype and let us know what you think! https://t.co/8IDufbtP53#Bing #Skype Skype (@Skype) February 22, 2023 Features Add Bing to a group chat, like any Skype contact. Ask Bing questions and get access to information for the whole group. Fetch web results like news or awards. As an example; When planning a family reunion, ask Bing for travel destinations, weather forecasts, and events around your travel date. Bing can display your answers in bullet points, text, or a simplified response and is available in over 100 languages with the ability to translate between them, offering unique value to global communications. The user experience with Skype may differ at first due to the initial rollout. Bing Preview Testing The features of the Bing preview experience are available as of today. However, during the initial testing period, there may be occasional issues with connectivity in low-bandwidth areas. Microsoft is aware of this and is working on a fix. Availability The Bing mobile app with a fresh look and experience is now available on iOS and Android. The new Bing in Skype provides helpful, real-time answers to all your questions and is available worldwide in preview today. Microsoft Working to Onboard More People Every Day We thank you for your patience and enthusiasm if you are one of those awaiting access. Microsoft is doing its best to bring more people on board daily. Sign up for the Bing preview now if youre interested in trying it out. Speaking on the announcement, Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President & Consumer Chief Marketing Officer, said, March Happenings: Whats on the Calendar for the First Month of Spring WARSAW, Poland President Joe Biden closed out his wartime visit to Europe on Wednesday, working to shore up partnerships with allies on NATO's perilous eastern flank even as Russia's Vladimir Putin drew closer to China for help as his invasion of Ukraine neared the one-year mark. Biden's meeting with leaders of the Bucharest Nine nations in Warsaw came at the conclusion of a four-day visit to Ukraine and Poland meant to reassure allies that U.S. support in fending off Russia isn't at risk of waning. In dramatic counterpoint, Putin on Wednesday played host in Moscow to Wang Yi, the Chinese Communist Party's most senior foreign policy official, as U.S. intelligence warned that Beijing is considering supplying arms and ammunition to the worn-down Russian military. The flexing of alliances was a fresh indication that both sides are digging in for prolonged conflict in Ukraine with the fighting expected to intensify with the arrival of spring. Biden's trip provided yet another moment of telling counterprogramming on Tuesday when he delivered a ringing speech on Western unity in Warsaw, a day after he swept into Kyiv unannounced for a visit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. As Biden spoke in Poland, Putin announced that Russia suspended its participation in the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty. Biden called that departure "a big mistake." The exit is expected to have an immediate impact on U.S. awareness of Russian nuclear activities. However, the pact known as New START was already on life support after Moscow's cancellation late last year of talks that were intended to salvage an agreement that each side accused the other of violating. Both houses of Russias parliament on Wednesday quickly endorsed Putins move. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russias Security Council, which is chaired by Putin, emphasized Wednesday that the suspension of Russias participation in the pact was a signal to the U.S. If the U.S. wants Russias defeat, we have the right to defend ourselves with any weapons, including nuclear, Medvedev said on his messaging app channel. Let the U.S. elites who have lost touch with reality think about what they got. If the U.S. wants Russia to be defeated, we are standing on the verge of a global conflict. Biden met Wednesday with leaders of the Bucharest Nine, the nations in the easternmost parts of the NATO alliance that came together in response to Putin's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. They include Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. "You're the front lines of our collective defense," Biden told them. "And you know, better than anyone, what's at stake in this conflict. Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world." These countries worry Putin could take military action against them next if he's successful in Ukraine. Biden responded to that anxiety by pledging that NATO's mutual defense pact is "sacred" and that "we will defend literally every inch of NATO." NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who attended the meeting, pointed to past Russian actions in Georgia and Ukraine and said, "We cannot allow Russia to continue to chip away at European security. We must break the cycle of Russian aggression." It was unclear how the U.S. and its allies intend to do that, other than by continuing to arm Ukraine's military, which allowed it retake about half of the territory it lost in the opening days of the war. After the Russian military's battlefield shortcomings were revealed at the start of the conflict, Putin, too, has been seeking rearmament, drawing on Iran and North Korea for assistance and potentially China. Administration officials don't yet have an indication that China has decided to send Moscow weaponry, but Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week it would be a "serious problem" should Beijing follow through. Throughout the conflict, China has cautiously weighed the pros and cons of directly aiding Russia. But a year into the war, Beijing now seems increasingly concerned that Russia one of its closest allies is teetering toward something that could approximate a loss in Ukraine. The U.S. and its allies have threatened secondary sanctions on countries that support the Russian war effort. But there was no consensus this week on potentially steeper sanctions for China, which could have global economic implications, should it decide to rearm Putin's forces. One European official described the intelligence regarding Chinese consideration of supplying Russia with weapons as "unambiguous." Western officials do not know whether the possibility is currently being studied only by China's military or some other single branch of the government, or by the Chinese government as a whole, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity. Western intelligence indicates that the kind of supplies China is considering giving Russia would be aimed at backfilling stocks of weapons that Russia lost on the battlefield in Ukraine, the European official said. MELBOURNE, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Data Bridge Market Research completed a qualitative study titled " Stem Cell Therapy Market " with 100+ market data tables, pie charts, graphs, and figures spread across Pages and an easy-to-grasp full analysis. The competitive landscape section of the dependable Stem Cell Therapy market report gives a clear insight into the market share analysis of key industry players. The company profiles of all the major market players and brands that are dominating the Stem Cell Therapy market with moves like product launches, joint ventures, merges, and accusations which in turn is affecting the sales, import, export, revenue, and CAGR values have been cited in the report. The study consists of a market attractiveness analysis, wherein each segment is benchmarked based on its market size, growth rate, and general attractiveness. The Stem Cell Therapy market research report brings into light key market dynamics of the sector. The Stem Cell Therapy market report contains the drivers and restraints for the market that are derived from SWOT analysis, and also shows what all the recent developments, product launches, joint ventures, mergers, and acquisitions by the several key players and brands that are driving the market are by systemic company profiles. The report is based on the market type, organization size, availability on-premises and the end-users organization type, and the availability in areas such as North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. The company profiles of all the key players and brands that are dominating the Stem Cell Therapy market have been taken into consideration here. Data Bridge Market Research analyses that the stem cell therapy market, which is USD 257 million in 2022, is expected to reach USD 921.12 million by 2030, at a CAGR of 17.3% during the forecast period 2023 to 2030. In addition to the insights on market scenarios such as market value, growth rate, segmentation, geographical coverage, and major players, the market reports curated by the Data Bridge Market Research also include depth expert analysis, patient epidemiology, pipeline analysis, pricing analysis, and regulatory framework. Download a PDF Sample of the Stem Cell Therapy Market @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-stem-cell-therapy-market Stem cell therapy is regenerative medicinal therapy used to repair damaged cells by lowering inflammation and controlling the immune system. This makes stem cell therapy an effective remedy for several illnesses. Studies on stem cell therapies for Crohn's disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, COPD, Parkinson's, ALS, stroke recovery, and more have been undertaken. Stem cell therapies have also been utilized to treat autoimmune, inflammatory, neurological, orthopedic, and traumatic disorders. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates cerebrovascular diseases and neurological disorders account for around 7.1% of the global disease burden. As a result, businesses are carrying out fundamental research and preclinical studies to examine stem cells' ability to regenerate in treating neurological diseases. Cellular treatments for cancer are currently receiving significant financing from companies, which is expected to support market expansion. Recent Developments In 2021, A worldwide licensed agreement and strategic collaboration between Minovia Therapeutics, Ltd. and Astellas Pharma, Inc. was established for the development of cutting-edge stem cell therapy programs for illnesses brought on by mitochondrial malfunction. The partnership intends to accelerate the development of allogeneic mitochondrial cell therapy initiatives. The two businesses will collaborate to investigate potential cell treatment program prospects using Astellas' genetically modified, induced pluripotent stem cells and Minovia's MAT platform technology. The Global Market Is Analyzed in Depth in the Latest Study. Taking into account the current level of competition and its projected evolution over the next few years. Rapidly increasing demands, a rise in industrialization, consumer awareness, growing sectors, and technical improvements are fueling the expansion of the global Stem Cell Therapy market. Sales and revenue in this sector have increased at an exponential rate. The market's size and growth are both expected to increase thanks to the factors driving the market's expansion over the projected period. Leading businesses in the worldwide Stem Cell Therapy market are investing heavily in R&D in order to build a larger client base and expand their share of the market by reintroducing improved products to consumers. All of the companies' strategy, as well as their financial health, revenue, gross margin, and growth rate, are detailed in the study. Fundamental Aim of Stem Cell Therapy Market Report In the Stem Cell Therapy market, every company has goals, but this report focus in on the most important ones, allowing you to gain insight into the competition, the future of the market, potential new products, and other useful information that can boost your sales significantly. Factors influencing the Stem Cell Therapy Market Size and growth rate. Major alterations to the Stem Cell Therapy Market in the near future. Notable Market rivals around the world. The Stem Cell Therapy Market's Future Scope and Product Outlook Future-promising emerging markets. The Market Presents Difficult Challenges and Threats. Sales data and profiles of the world's leading Stem Cell Therapy manufacturers The Stem Cell Therapy Market is Dominated by Firms Such as Athersys Inc. (U.S.) Mesoblast Ltd (Australia) Biorestorative Therapies Inc. (U.S.) Pluristem Inc. (Israel) Brainstorm Cell Limited. (U.S.) ViaCyte Inc. (U.S.) Gamida Cell (U.S.) HOPE BIOSCIENCES (U.S.) Cellular Biomedicine Group (U.S.) Smith+Nephew (U.K.) MEDIPOST (South Korea) ANTEROGEN. C.O., LTD. (South Korea) NuVasive Inc. (U.S.) RTI Surgical (U.S.) AlloSource (U.S.) JCR Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. (Japan) Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Japan) Download the Complete Research Study Here in PDF Format @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/checkout/buy/enterprise/global-stem-cell-therapy-market Opportunities for Key Players: An increase in R&D activities will act as an opportunity Additionally, the increase in R&D activities and rising investments from public and private organizations will open up new possibilities for the market's growth rate. For instance, U.S. healthcare spending increased by 3.4% in 2021, per the Health Care Price Index (HCPI). The rise in growth indicates that federal spending fell sharply the year before, from USD 287,000 million in 2020 to USD 170,000 million in 2021. The prompt treatment of chronic illnesses has increased the demand for stem cell therapy in the U.S. and Europe. Due to these positive elements, there is a greater need for drugs, and both major and minor market players are employing various techniques to meet this demand. A strategic initiative by market players will widen the scope of growth The leading companies are also working to develop targeted strategies, including product launches, acquisitions, approvals, expansions, and partnerships, to ensure the smooth operation of the business, minimize risks, and boost the market's long-term growth in sales. For instance, To create and market the search-use-only (RUO) microfluidic intracellular delivery technology, ViaCyte, Inc. teamed up with SQZ Biotechnologies in May 2022. Through the agreement, both market participants will be able to share fresh cell engineering research in hematopoietic stem cells using Key Market Segments Covered in Stem Cell Therapy Industry Research Product Type Bone Marrow Derived Mesenchymal Cells Placental or Umbilical Stem Cell Adipose Tissue Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Type Allogenic Stem Cell Therapy Autologous Stem Cell Therapy Application Musculoskeletal Disorders Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease (AGVHD) Wounds and Injuries Cardiovascular Diseases Surgeries Gastrointestinal Diseases End User Hospitals Surgical Centers Therapeutic Companies Services Companies Distribution Channel Direct Tender Third Party Distributors Key Growth Drivers: The rise in prevalence and incidence of chronic diseases will drive the market growth The majority of people around the world suffer from chronic ailments. One in three adults worldwide has a chronic illness. Chronic diseases have impacted the health and quality of life of many people. Chronic illnesses, such as cancer, musculoskeletal and neurological conditions, chronic injuries, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal conditions, and cancer, can result in hospitalization, long-term incapacity, a decline in quality of life, and even death. The mesenchymal stem cells penetrate and integrate into several organs, treat lung, spinal cord, autoimmune disorders, liver, bone, and cartilage diseases, and treat multiple organ damage. Using stem cells in the therapy of inflammatory, immune system, and degenerative tissue illnesses is an effective strategy. The growing need for potent treatments will propel the market growth One of the key drivers of market expansion is significant R&D investments. In addition, the growing need for potent treatments to reduce disease burden during the forecast period is another factor fuelling the growth. For instance, the 5-year exploratory study on Parkinson's illness by Celavie Biosciences is still ongoing as of May 2020. For the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other illnesses of the central nervous system, the business is developing regenerative stem cell therapies. Ok99 stem cell-based exploratory clinical studies for Parkinson's disease were effective, according to Celavie Biosciences. Browse a Detailed Summary of the Research Report @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-stem-cell-therapy-market Stem Cell Therapy Market Regional Analysis/Insights: The countries covered in the stem cell therapy market report are U.S., Canada and Mexico in North America, Germany, France, U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Russia, Italy, Spain, Turkey, Rest of Europe in Europe, China, Japan, India, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific (APAC) in the Asia-Pacific (APAC), Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa (MEA) as a part of Middle East and Africa (MEA), Brazil, Argentina and Rest of South America as part of South America North America dominates the stem cell therapy market because of the region's well-developed healthcare infrastructure and favourable reimbursement policies. Another factor contributing to the region's growth is the number of government initiatives to promote stem cell therapy Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at the highest growth rate in the forecast period of 2023 to 2030, owing to the growing incidence of cancer cases, rising technological advancements, and rising prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and neurological disorders. This Market Intelligence Report Analyses Some of the Most Crucial Concerns: How will the major segments of this international market develop over the next few years? Who are the major players that will dominate the market in the future? When it comes to this industry, who are the top suppliers and producers? How have the most successful companies in the industry planned for future growth and expansion? In what sectors might we expect to see the greatest increase in demand over the coming years? How many distinct subsets of buyers make up this market? Which regional powerhouse do you foresee as becoming the largest player in the international market? Does a new coronavirus pandemic have any consequences? In what ways are established actors stymied by the entry of newcomers, and how may they be overcome? Table of Contents: Introduction Market Segmentation Executive Summary Premium Insights Global Stem Cell Therapy Market : Regulations Market Overview Global Stem Cell Therapy Market, By Product Type Global Stem Cell Therapy Market, By Type Global Stem Cell Therapy Market, By Application Global Stem Cell Therapy Market, By End User Global Stem Cell Therapy Market, By Distribution Channel Global Stem Cell Therapy Market, By Region Global Stem Cell Therapy Market: Company Landscape SWOT Analyses Company Profile Questionnaires Related Reports Get the Full Table of Contents @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-stem-cell-therapy-market Explore More Reports: Allogenic Stem Cell Therapy Market , By Product Type (Adult Stem Cells, Human Embryonic Stem Cells, Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells), Cell Source (Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Cord Blood/Embryonic Stem Cells, Others), Applications (Musculoskeletal Disorders, Wounds, Injuries, Cardiovascular Diseases, Surgeries, Gastrointestinal Diseases, Other), End Users (Therapeutic Companies, Cell, and Tissues Banks, Tools and Reagent Companies, Service Companies) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-allogenic-stem-cell-therapy-market Cancer Stem Cell Therapy Market , By Type (Cell Culturing, Cell Separation, Cell Analysis, Molecular Analysis, Others), Cancer Forms (Breast Cancer, Blood Cancer, Lung Cancer, Brain Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, Bladder Cancer, Liver Cancer, Other Cancer), Application (Stem Cell Based Cancer Therapy, Targeted CSCs), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-cancer-stem-cell-therapy-market North America Stem Cell Therapy Market , By Product Type (Bone Marrow Derived Mesenchymal Cells, Placental or Umbilical Stem Cell, Adipose Tissue Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells, and Others), Type (Allogenic Stem Cell Therapy and Autologous Stem Cell Therapy), Application (Musculoskeletal Disorders, Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease (AGVHD), Wounds and Injuries, Cardiovascular Diseases, Surgeries, Gastrointestinal Diseases, and Others), End User (Hospitals and Surgical Centers, Therapeutic Companies, Services Companies, and Others), Distribution Channel (Direct Tender, Third Party Distributors) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/north-america-stem-cell-therapy-market Europe Stem Cell Therapy Market , By Product Type (Bone Marrow Derived Mesenchymal Cells, Placental or Umbilical Stem Cell, Adipose Tissue Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells, and Others), Type (Allogenic Stem Cell Therapy and Autologous Stem Cell Therapy), Application (Musculoskeletal Disorders, Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease (AGVHD), Wounds and Injuries, Cardiovascular Diseases, Surgeries, Gastrointestinal Diseases, and Others), End User (Hospitals and Surgical Centers, Therapeutic Companies, Services Companies, and Others), Distribution Channel (Direct Tender, Third Party Distributors) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/europe-stem-cell-therapy-market Asia-Pacific Stem Cell Therapy Market , By Product Type (Bone Marrow Derived Mesenchymal Cells, Placental or Umbilical Stem Cell, Adipose Tissue Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells, and Others), Type (Allogenic Stem Cell Therapy and Autologous Stem Cell Therapy), Application (Musculoskeletal Disorders, Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease (AGVHD), Wounds and Injuries, Cardiovascular Diseases, Surgeries, Gastrointestinal Diseases, and Others), End User (Hospitals and Surgical Centers, Therapeutic Companies, Services Companies, and Others), Distribution Channel (Direct Tender, Third Party Distributors) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/asia-pacific-stem-cell-therapy-market Autologous Stem Cell and Non-Stem Cell Based Therapies Market , By Type (Autologous Stem Cells, Autologous Non-Stem Cells), Product (Blood Pressure (BP) Monitoring Devices, Pulmonary Pressure Monitoring Devices, Intracranial Pressure (ICP) Monitoring Devices), Applications (Neurodegenerative Disorders, Autoimmune Diseases, Cancer and Tumors, Cardiovascular Diseases), End User (Hospitals, Ambulatory Surgical Center), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherland, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia- Pacific, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-autologous-stem-cell-and-non-stem-cell-based-therapies-market North America Autologous Stem Cell and Non-Stem Cell Based Therapies Market , By Type (Autologous Stem Cells, Autologous Non-Stem cells), Product (Blood Pressure Monitoring Devices, Pulmonary Pressure Monitoring Devices, Intracranial Pressure Monitoring Devices), Applications (Eurodegenerative Disorders, Autoimmune Diseases, Cancer and Tumors, Cardiovascular Diseases), End User (Hospitals and Ambulatory Surgical Center), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/north-america-autologous-stem-cell-and-non-stem-cell-based-therapies-market Cord Stem Cell Banking Market , By Storage Type (Private Banks, Hybrid Banks, Public Banks), Product Type (Cord Blood, Cord Blood, Cord Tissue), Service Type (Collection & Transportation, Processing, Analysis, Storage), Source (Umbilical Cord Blood, Bone Marrow, Peripheral Blood Stem, Menstrual Blood), Indication (Cerebral Palsy, Thalassemia, Leukemia, Diabetes, Autism), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia- Pacific, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East & Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-cord-stem-cell-banking-market Stem Cell Banking Market , By Source (Placental Stem Cells (PSCs), Human Embryo-Derived Stem Cells (hESCs), Bone Marrow-Derived Stem Cells (BMSCs), Dental Pulp-Derived Stem Cells (DPSCS), Adipose Tissue-Derived Stem Cells (ADSCs), Other Stem Cell Sources), Product (Adult Stem Cells, Human Embryonic Cells, IPS Cells), Bank Type (Private, Public), Service Type (Sample Collection and Transportation, Sample Processing, Sample Analysis, Sample Preservation, Storage), Utilization (Used, Unused), Application (Personalized Storage, Clinical, Research) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-stem-cell-banking-market Stem Cell Manufacturing Market , By Products (Stem Cell Lines, Instruments, Consumables and Kits), Application (Research Applications, Clinical Applications, Cell and Tissue Banking and Others), End User (Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Companies, Research Institutes and Academic Institutes, Cell Banks and Tissue Banks, Hospital and Surgical Centers and Others), Distribution Channel (Direct Sales and Third Party Distributor) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-stem-cell-manufacturing-market Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) Market , By Cell Source (Skin Cells and Blood Cells), Type (Human IPSCs and Mouse IPSCs), Product (Instruments, Consumables & Kits and Services), Applications (Academic Research, Regenerative Medicine, Cellular Therapy, Toxicology Screening, Drug Discovery and Development, Disease Modelling, Stem Cell Banking, 3D Bio printing and Others), End User (Biotechnology & Pharmaceutical Companies, Research Laboratories, Diagnostic Laboratories and Others), Distribution Channel (Direct Tender and Retail Sales), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, U.K., Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland, Russia, Turkey, Belgium, Netherlands and Rest of Europe, Japan, China, South Korea, India, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Rest of Asia-Pacific, Brazil, Argentina and Rest of South America, South Africa, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, Israel and Rest of Middle East And Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-induced-pluripotent-stem-cells-market Human Embryonic Stem Cell Market , By Type (Totipotent Stem Cells, Pluripotent Stem Cells, Unipotent Stem Cells), Application (Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cell Biology Research, Tissue Engineering, Toxicology Testing), End User (Research, Clinical Trials, Others), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherland, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia- Pacific, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East & Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-human-embryonic-stem-cell-market Stem Cell and Progenitor Cell-based Therapeutics Market , By Disease Type (Parkinson Disease, Huntington Disease), Applications (Tissue Engineering, Stem Cells, Gene Therapy, Drug Discovery, Nanotechnology), End- Users (Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology Industries, Hospitals, Research Institutes, Biotechnology Companies, Others), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Israel, Rest of the Middle East & Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-stem-cell-and-progenitor-cell-based-therapeutics-market Placental Stem Cells (PSCS) Market , By Service Type (Sample Preservation and Storage, Sample Analysis, Sample Processing, Sample Collection and Transportation), Application (Personalized Banking Applications, Research Applications, Clinical Applications) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-placental-stem-cells-pscs-market Bone Marrow-Derived Stem Cells (BMSCS) Market , By Service Type (Sample Preservation and Storage, Sample Analysis, Sample Processing, Sample Collection and Transportation), Application (Personalized Banking Applications, Research Applications, Clinical Applications) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-bone-marrow-derived-stem-cells-bmscs-market Adipose Tissue Derived Stem Cells (ADSCS) Market , By Cell Line (Human Adipose Tissue-Derived Stem Cells, Rat Adipose Tissue-Derived Stem Cells), Reagents (Media, Sera, Kits), Application (Regenerative Medicine, Tissue Engineering, Cell Therapy, Others), End User (Biotechnology Companies, Academic and Research Institutes) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-adipose-tissue-derived-stem-cells-adscs-market About Data Bridge Market Research: An absolute way to forecast what future holds is to comprehend the trend today! Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavours to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process. Data Bridge is an aftermath of sheer wisdom and experience which was formulated and framed in the year 2015 in Pune. Data Bridge Market Research has over 500 analysts working in different industries. We have catered more than 40% of the fortune 500 companies globally and have a network of more than 5000+ clientele around the globe. Data Bridge adepts in creating satisfied clients who reckon upon our services and rely on our hard work with certitude. We are content with our glorious 99.9 % client satisfying rate. Contact Us: Pune, India, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global autonomous mobile robots market size was valued at USD 1.67 billion in 2020 and its expected to grow from USD 1.97 billion in 2021 to USD 8.70 billion by 2028, exhibiting a CAGR of 23.7% during the forecast period. The high dependency on automation to manage supply chain ecosystem coupled with booming e-commerce industry will bolster the autonomous mobile robots market growth in the forthcoming years. Fortune Business Insights presents this information in its report titled Autonomous mobile robots Market, 2021-2028. Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) are self-navigating robots that can perform various tasks in a range of industries, including manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, and healthcare. These robots use sensors, cameras, and artificial intelligence to navigate and interact with their surroundings, making them an efficient and cost-effective solution for businesses to improve productivity and reduce labor costs. Request a Sample Copy of Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/request-sample-pdf/autonomous-mobile-robots-market-105055 Report Highlights: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2021-2028 Forecast Period 2021 to 2028 CAGR 23.7 2028 Value Projection USD 8.70 billion Base Year 2020 Market Size in 2021 USD 1.97 billion Historical Data for 2017-2019 No. of Pages 104 Segments covered Autonomous Mobile Robots Market Size, Share & COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Type (Goods-to-person Picking, Self-driving Forklifts, Autonomous Inventory Robots and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), By Application (Sorting, Pick & Place, Tugging, Warehouse Fleet Management and Others), By End-User (Warehouse & Distribution Centers and Manufacturing) and Regional Growth Drivers Rising E-commerce Industry to Boost Industry Growth Introduction of Sophisticated Technologies Embedded in Robots is a Prominent Trend Drivers and Restraints: Surging E-commerce Industry to Foster Growth The flourishing e-commerce is expected to create lucrative opportunities for the global market. The E-commerce industry allows warehouses and distribution center owners to improvise their operational workflow from manual to automation to meet the changing consumers buying patterns. For instance, In February 2020, The U.S. Department of Commerce reported 16.0% of total retail sales on the online platform. Also, data showcased from online sales data, e-commerce sales from May to June were approximately 40% higher than the pre-pandemic benchmark week of February to March. Furthermore, the integration of autonomous mobile robots in the supply chain by major e-commerce companies will augur well for the autonomous mobile robots market. For instance, in December 2020, a Southern California Fulfillment Center, Sam's Club integrated GreyOrange autonomous mobile robots in its e-commerce orders. This would help to optimize the processes allowing associates more time to upscale their skills for other applications. According to Sam's Club's estimation, e-commerce sales of the firm will hit USD 363 million at the end of the third quarter of 2020, compared to USD 277 million the previous year. COVID-19 Impact: Essential Strategies Adopted by Companies to Favor Market amid Coronavirus The shortage of workforce due to coronavirus has disrupted many industries' supply chain, which has affected the global market. Companies are continually striving to educate their employees with robotics to utilize robots in operations seamlessly. Moreover, prominent players have adopted marketing strategies such as mergers & acquisitions, joint ventures, collaborations, and advanced robotic solutions to generate revenue during the pandemic. For instance, in February 2021, Verizon, an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate, announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire incubed IT, a software platform creator to administer, manage and optimize mixed fleets robots in industrial settings. This agreement will help the companies to utilize new efficiencies in their autonomous mobile robot fleets. To get to know more about the short-term and long-term impact of COVID-19 on this market, Please Visit: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/autonomous-mobile-robots-market-105055 Report Coverage: The report has been prepared meticulously through quantitative and qualitative assessments to offer a comprehensive market view. Notably, many primary interviews have been conducted with major stakeholders and suppliers. Primary data has been collected through questionnaires, telephonic conversations and emails. Moreover, the report also includes secondary sources, such as government websites, SEC filings and press releases. The report also gives an in-depth view of market size, share, revenue, volume and delves into SWOT analysis. Segmentation: Self-driving Forklifts to Dominate the Market Based on the type, the market is classified into goods-to-person picking robots, self-driving forklifts, autonomous inventory robots, and unmanned aerial vehicles. The self-driving forklifts segment is expected to rise exponentially during the forecast period due to the rising e-commerce industry. Also, rapid technological advancement in data connection boosts the demand for real-time delivery and smart mapping, in turn aiding the segments growth. Based on application, the market is divided into sorting, pick & place, tugging, warehouse fleet management, and others. Pick & place segment is expected to hold the highest share owing to rising labor costs in developed and developing economies. Based on the end-user, the market is categorized into warehouses & distribution centers, and manufacturing. Warehouses and distribution centers segment are expected to grow at a significant rate due to increasing e-commerce sales. Regional Insights: Adoption of Advanced Technologies to Enable Growth in Asia Pacific Geographically, the market is classified across five major regions, namely, North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and Asia Pacific. Asia Pacific is expected to experience a rapid growth rate during the forecast period. The growth is attributed to the presence of players in the region. China, Japan, South Korea, India, and others are integrating advanced technologies, mainly 5G networks, AI-based route mapping and localization, and others are creating opportunities for the market in Asia Pacific. Europe is expected hold a significant autonomous mobile robots market share during the forecast period due to the increasing sales, service and support, deployment, and training services in the European countries. For instance, in December 2020, AutoGuide Mobile Robots expanded its European operations and setup office in Munich, Germany, to deliver the highest level of support for their distributors and customers. Moreover, massive investments by governmental agencies for smart factories and Industry 4.0 will aid growth in Europe. Quick Buy Autonomous Mobile Robots Market Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/checkout-page/105055 Key Industry Development: July, 2020: Omron Automation Americas expanded its autonomous material transport solutions by introducing heavy-duty mobile robots for large payload capacity applications. The Report Lists the key Players in the Autonomous Mobile Robots Market: Material Handling Systems. (United States) Fetch Robotics, Inc. (United States) IAM Robotics (United States) NextShift Robotics (United States) Stanley Robotics (United States) Robotnik. (Spain) SESTO Robotics. (Singapore) HAHN Robotics GmbH (Germany) Vecna Robotics (United Kingdom) AutoGuide Mobile Robots (England) SoftBank Robotics (Paris) Autonomous Mobile Robots Market Segmentation: By Type: Goods-to-person Picking Robots Self-driving Forklifts Autonomous Inventory Robots Unmanned Aerial Vehicles By Application: Sorting Pick & Place Tugging Warehouse Fleet Management Others By End-User Warehouse & Distribution Centers Manufacturing Have Any Query? Ask Our Experts: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/autonomous-mobile-robots-market-105055 Major Table of content: Introduction Definition, By Segment Research Approach Sources Executive Summary Market Dynamics Macro and Micro Economic Indicators Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities and Trends Impact of COVID-19 Short-term Impact Long-term Impact Competition Landscape Business Strategies Adopted by Key Players Consolidated SWOT Analysis of Key Players Porters Five Force Analysis Global Autonomous Mobile Robots Market Share Analysis and Matrix, 2020 Key Market Insights and Strategic Recommendations Profiles of Key Players (Would be provided for 10 players only) Overview Key Management Headquarters etc. Offerings/Business Segments Key Details (Key details are subjected to data availability in public domain and/or on paid databases) Employee Size Key Financials Past and Current Revenue Gross Margin Geographical Share Business Segment Share Recent Developments Primary Interview Responses Annexure / Appendix Global Autonomous Mobile Robots Market Size Estimates and Forecasts (Quantitative Data), By Segments, 2017-2028 By Type (USD Bn) Good-to-person Picking Robots Self-driving Forklifts Autonomous Inventory Robots Unmanned Aerial Vehicles By Application (USD Bn) Sorting Pick & Place Tugging Warehouse Fleet Management Others By End-User (USD Bn) Warehouse & Distribution Centres Manufacturing By Region (USD Bn) North America South America Europe Middle East and Africa Asia Pacific North America Autonomous Mobile Robots Market Size Estimates and Forecasts (Quantitative Data), By Segments, 2017-2028 By Type (USD Bn) Good-to-person Picking Robots Self-driving Forklifts Autonomous Inventory Robots Unmanned Aerial Vehicles By Application (USD Bn) Sorting Pick & Place Tugging Warehouse Fleet Management Others By End-User (USD Bn) Warehouse & Distribution Centres Manufacturing TOC Continued Get your Customized Research Report: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/ask-for-customization/autonomous-mobile-robots-market-105055 About Us: Fortune Business Insights offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in. Contact Us: Fortune Business Insights Pvt. Ltd. US: +1 424 253 0390 UK: +44 2071 939123 APAC: +91 744 740 1245 Email: sales@fortunebusinessinsights.com Attachment DUBLIN, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A global Automotive and Transportation business-consulting firm, Maximize Market research, has published a market intelligence and competitive landscape report on the Automotive Acoustic Material Market , which is a combination of primary and secondary data. The total market opportunity for Automotive Acoustic Material was USD 3.15 Bn in 2021 and is expected to grow at a CAGR 5.05 percent through the forecast period by reaching USD 4.67 Bn by 2029. The bottom-up approach has been used to estimate the Automotive Acoustic Material Market size. Automotive Acoustic Material Market Report Scope Market Size in 2021 USD 3.15 Bn. Market Size in 2029 USD 4.67 Bn. CAGR 5.05 percent (2022-2029) Forecast Period 2022-2029 Base Year 2021 Number of Pages 285 No. of Tables 119 No. of Charts and Figures 111 Segment Covered Vehicle Type, Material Type, Application and Components Regional Scope North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, South America Report Coverage Market Share, Size & Forecast by Revenue | 20222029, Market Dynamics, Growth Drivers, Restraints, Investment Opportunities, and Key Trends, Competitive Landscape, Key Players Benchmarking, Competitive Analysis, MMR Competition Matrix, Competitive Leadership Mapping, Global Key Players Market Ranking Analysis. Request For Free Sample Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-sample/11403 In 2021, the Asia-Pacific region dominated the global Automotive Acoustic Material Market with a share of 45.56 percent The growth in the APAC region was followed by Europe and North America. The region held the largest Automotive Acoustic Materials Market share majorly due to the presence of major companies in the region. The market in the region has also witnessed growth due to the high vehicle production, which further offers tremendous growth opportunities too. The Europe region held the second largest position in terms of Automotive Acoustic Material Market growth The market in the Europe region is growing mainly due to the increasing sales of premium, luxury and high end cars. In the region, customised premium vehicles are offered by many automobile manufacturers with superior interior features mainly focused on infotainment and acoustics which is expected to drive the regional Automotive Acoustic Material Market over the forecast period. Get a Sample Copy of the Report: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-sample/11403 Automotive Acoustic Material Market Segmentation By Vehicle Type Passenger Cars LCV HCV By Material Type Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) Fiberglass Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) Polyurethane (PU) foam Polypropylene Textiles By Application Underbody & engine bay acoustics Interior cabin acoustics Exterior acoustics Trunk panel acoustics By Components Arch Liner Dash Fender & Floor Insulator Door Head & Bonnet Liner Engine Cover Trunk Trim Parcel Tray Other By Vehicle Type, the HCV segment is expected to grow at the rapid CAGR during the forecast period because of its uses in the acoustic material for door trim, cabin rear trim, wheel arch liners, engine encapsulation and headliners. Get a Sample PDF Brochure: https://www.maximizemarketresearch.com/request-sample/11403 By the Material Type, Polyurethane and Polyurethane (PU) foam are the largest segments. They are increasingly gaining importance in the Automotive Acoustic Materials Market. Polyurethane is mostly used in the interior of the vehicles and Polyurethane (PU) foam is used in the exterior of the vehicles. In the future, the demand for the Polyurethane and Polyurethane (PU) foam is expected to increase because of many benefits such as versatility, better sound absorption, reduced weight, improved aesthetics, and cost-effective features. By the Application, Interior Cabin Acoustics segment is expected to hold the largest market share due to the increasing demand for the quiet and noiseless vehicle cabins for comfortable driving. By Component, the Door segment is expected to grow at the high CAGR during the forecast period because door trim is one of the important interior applications used in all vehicle categories. Automotive Acoustic Material Market Key Competitors include: Bayer AG (Germany) Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Germany) Covestro AG (Germany) J. H. Ziegler GmbH (Germany) BASF SE (Germany) Huntsman International LLC (US) Auralex Automotive Acoustics, Inc. (US) Johns Manville (US) E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (US) FABRI-TECH COMPONENTS, Inc. (US) Thomas Publishing Company. (US) Owens Corning (US) HARMAN International. (US) UFP Technologies, Inc. (US) 3M Company (US) Soundproof Cow (US) Sumitomo Riko Company Limited. (Japan) NIHON TOKUSHU TORYO CO.,LTD. (Japan) Toray Industries (Japan) Tex Tech Industries (India) H.S. Engineers (India) Alfa Acoustics (India) Rockwool International A/S (Denmark) Knauf Insulation (Belgium) Saint-Gobain (France) Fletcher Insulation (Australia) LyondellBasell Industries Holdings B.V. (Netherlands) Easy Noise Control B.V. (Netherlands) Acoustic & Insulation Techniques, S.L. (Spain) Tecman Speciality Materials Ltd. (UK) Sika AG (Switzerland) Key questions answered in the Automotive Acoustic Material Market are: What is Automotive Acoustic Material? What are the segments in which the Automotive Acoustic Material Market is divided? What are the global trends in the Automotive Acoustic Material Market? What are the factors contributing to the final price of Automotive Acoustic Material? What are the recent industry trends that can be implemented to generate additional revenue streams for Automotive Acoustic Material Market? How is the intervention from regulatory authority shaping the Automotive Acoustic Material Market? What growth strategies are the players considering to increase their presence in the Automotive Acoustic Material Market? Who are the leading companies and what are their portfolios in the Automotive Acoustic Material Market? What are the major challenges that the Automotive Acoustic Material Market could face in the future? Who held the largest market share in the Automotive Acoustic Material Market? Key Offerings: Past Market Size and Competitive Landscape (2018 to 2021) Past Pricing and price curve by region (2018 to 2021) Market Size, Share, Size & Forecast by different segment | 20222029 Market Dynamics Growth Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, and Key Trends by region Market Segmentation A detailed analysis by Vehicle type, Material Type, Application, Components and Region Competitive Landscape Profiles of selected key players by region from a strategic perspective Competitive landscape Market Leaders, Market Followers, Regional player Competitive benchmarking of key players by region PESTLE Analysis PORTERs analysis Value chain and supply chain analysis Legal Aspects of business by region Lucrative business opportunities with SWOT analysis Recommendations Maximize Market Research is leading Automotive and Transportation research firm, has also published the following reports: Foam Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 137.17 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 4.81 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the increase in demand for polyurethane foam in the building insulation for the energy conservation and increasing demand for foam in the electronics packaging. Bio-based Polyurethane Foam Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 58.18 million by 2029 at a CAGR of 5.9 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the increasing demand for bio-based polyurethane from the automotive industry and high demand for green buildings. Fiberglass Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 44.73 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 7.2 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the increasing demand for high tensile strength, durable and lightweight materials for use in the automotive, aerospace & defence, electrical & electronics industries and wind energy. MDI, TDI, and Polyurethane Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 118.87 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 6.14 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by increasing demand for the MDI, TDI, and Polyurethane based products in the automotive industry. Polyurethane Market - The market size is expected to reach USD 151.79 billion by 2029 at a CAGR of 5.2 percent during the forecast period. The market is expected to be driven by the increasing demand in the automotive and construction industries. About Maximize Market Research: Maximize Market Research is a multifaceted market research and consulting company with professionals from several industries. Some of the industries we cover include medical devices, pharmaceutical manufacturers, science and engineering, electronic components, industrial equipment, technology and communication, cars and automobiles, chemical products and substances, general merchandise, beverages, personal care, and automated systems. To mention a few, we provide market-verified industry estimations, technical trend analysis, crucial market research, strategic advice, competition analysis, production and demand analysis, and client impact studies. Luton, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Exactitude Consultancy, the market research and consulting wing of Ameliorate Digital Consultancy Private Limited has completed and published the final copy of the detailed research report on the Plastic Pallet Market. The plastic pallet market is expected to grow at 6.9 % CAGR from 2023 to 2029. It is expected to reach above USD 11.76 billion by 2029 from USD 6.45 billion in 2022. Plastic Pallets are stable and flat plastic platforms which are used to package and transport goods and materials. Plastic Pallets are used in processing and manufacturing units, conveying systems, distribution centers, static storage, and for transportation of heavy items to production units. Plastic Pallets are expensive as compared to wooden pallets, which leads to the risk of theft. This in turn increases the overall cost of material handling. Plastic Pallets are utilized for multiple trips without being disposed of, which eliminates the amount of packaging waste going into landfills. Get a Sample PDF of the report https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/12123/plastic-pallets-market/#request-a-sample Market News In January 2022, Greystone Logistics, Inc. commenced shipping pallets for a recently USD 13.5 million purchase order to provide 100% recycled 48x40 plastic shipping pallets for a nationwide retailer at one of their U.S. warehouse distribution centers. In March 2022, Cabka Group GmbH (together with its subsidiaries, "Cabka"), a leading integrated circular production company, and Dutch Star Companies TWO B.V. ("DSCT"), a particular purpose acquisition company listed on Euronext Amsterdam, reached an agreement on forming a business combination to list as Cabka N.V. Plastic Pallets Market Report Highlights High-density polypropylene (HDPE) accounted for the largest share of 68.2% in terms of revenue in 2022, owing to its sturdiness, wide availability, and low cost as compared to PP skids The nestable pallets segment led the type segment with a share of 43.6% by revenue in 2022 and is expected to witness significant growth from 2023 to 2029. Nestable skids can be nested into each other, due to which they occupy lesser space during return freight and proves to be cost-efficient as compared to other pallet types. Besides, the low cost of nestable pallets as compared to other type also attributed to their higher adoption by end-use companies The food and beverage end-use segment led the market in 2022 and accounted for more than 23.3% of the global revenue share. In the food and beverages industry plastic skids are utilized by farmers to handle fresh produce and by the bakery, dairy, beverage, meat, and other food processing companies. The steady expansion of packaged food sector is expected to increase the penetration of plastic skids within the food and beverage industry Asia Pacific emerged as the leading regional market and accounted for over 44% of the total revenue in 2022 and is expected to witness the highest CAGR from 2023 to 2029. Increasing manufacturing sector in developing countries such as China and India owing to the low cost of production coupled with growing penetration of e-commerce is primarily attributing to the growth of the market in the region The market is moderately fragmented with the presence of several small and medium-sized companies. Key players are focusing on acquisitions and also incorporating novel tracking devices to efficiently track product movement throughout the supply chain There is a rising global need for plastic pallets across all industry sectors which will help the market grow: Due to their durability and simple manufacturing procedures, wooden pallets have been used for the past three decades. On the other hand, it has a lot of drawbacks, including a lack of durability, a propensity to absorb moisture, issues with hygiene, and a propensity to splinter and shatter easily. To stop the spread of insects and diseases, the wooden pallets must go by rules such International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15). Due to its benefits, such as being lighter and more environmentally friendly than timber pallets, logistics and shipping organisations are now gravitating more toward plastic pallets. Additionally, as people become more aware of the need to lessen their carbon footprint, there is an uptick in the demand for plastic pallets, which will support the growth of the worldwide pallets market. Report Scope: Report Attribute Details Market Size in 2029 USD 11.76 billion CAGR 6.9% (20232029) Base Year 2021 Forecast Period 20232029 Historical Data 2022 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered By Type, Product, End-User, and Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW) Key Market Drivers The global market for plastic pellets will increase as a result of the high demand for plastic from various end-use industries. The market is anticipated to be driven by rising demand from the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and chemical sectors for hygienic. Key Plastic Pallets Market Driver The benefits associated with the use of plastic pallets is one of the key drivers fueling the market growth. Compared to other kinds of pallets, such as material (or load) handling tools, plastic pallets offer greater longevity, dependability, and space economy. These advantages are encouraging the use of plastic pallets, which is growing the market's revenue production. The three most popular kinds of pallets used as cargo or material processing tools are made of wood, plastic, and metal. Additionally, plastic crates typically cost less than metal or hardwood pallets. When they are piled, plastic pallets are more efficient in terms of conserving room. They are also more durable than other materials because they do not fracture or shatter. Compared to wooden or metal pallets, plastic pallets can hold a wider variety of products with various forms and sizes because they are more flexible in their construction. Additionally, because they don't have sharp edges or set structure, they are safer to handle. These elements significantly contribute to the industry under consideration's expansion. Key Plastic Pallets Market Trend Manufacturing plastic pallets using 100% recyclable plastics is one of the key market trends propelling market growth. Vendors have been trying to produce more plastic containers that are made entirely of recyclable plastic . This is due to the ongoing emphasis on cutting back on environmental waste and carbon impact. It has a significant potential for energy savings, which is made possible by its inherent recyclable nature. . This is due to the ongoing emphasis on cutting back on environmental waste and carbon impact. It has a significant potential for energy savings, which is made possible by its inherent recyclable nature. The majority of well-known suppliers in the international market are striving to produce plastic pallets that are completely ecologically friendly. Prominent sellers distinguish their plastic container products and reduce their carbon impact by using 100% recyclable business plastic and domestic refuse plastics. During the production of plastic containers, the goal is to use less energy and emit as little carbon dioxide as possible. Thus, manufacturing plastic containers from 100% recyclable plastic contributes to environmental stewardship while also ensuring cost effectiveness. Key Plastic Pallets Market Challenge Regulatory norms and standards on the use of plastic pallets is one of the factors limiting the market growth. Regulations are in place to control the use of plastic pallets in certain sectors to guarantee adherence to the necessary safety standards and environmental sustainability. These legal requirements are clearly visible in the food manufacturing and packing sectors. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US developed a number of guidelines for the management, processing, and shipping of food. A collection of rules called the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) aims to stop germs, chemicals, and other dangerous outside agents from contaminating food. This implies that those involved in the US food manufacturing business should use hygienic food transportation gear. To fully comprehend market sellers' impact on carbon footprint, it is crucial that they participate in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Vendors should also make sure that the making of plastic pallets uses the least amount possible of dangerous chemicals like lead, mercury, cadmium, and polybrominated biphenyls. Such regulation requirements impose design and production limitations on market sellers, which serves as a market restraint. Plastic Pallet Market Players The Plastic Pallet market key players include Agrico Plastiques Ltee, Allied Plastics Inc., Brambles Ltd., CABKA Group GmbH, CTC Plastics, DIC Corp, Enlightening Pallet Industry Co. Ltd., Greif Inc., Greystone Logistics Inc., Kamps Pallets Inc., Litco International Inc., Loscam International Holdings Co. Ltd., Monoflo International Inc., Myers Industries Inc., Nefab AB, Perfect Pallets Inc., PGS Group, Polymer Solutions International Inc., PURUS PLASTICS GmbH, Rehrig Pacific Co., Schoeller Allibert BV, SDI Packaging Inc., T.M. Fitzgerald and Associates, TranPak Inc., and Vierhouten Groep BV among others. View Detail Information with Complete TOC@ https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/12123/plastic-pallets-market/ Key Market Segments: Plastic Pallet Market Plastic Pallet Market by Type, 2023-2029, (USD Billion) Kilotons Nestable Rackable Stackable Others Plastic Pallet Market by Raw Materials, 2023-2029, (USD Billion) Kilotons High-Density Polyethylene Low-Density Polyethylene Polypropylene Others Plastic Pallet Market by End User Industry, 2023-2029, (USD Billion) Kilotons Food and Beverages Chemicals Pharmaceutical Petroleum and Lubricants Others Key Question Answered What is the current size of the Plastic Pallet market? What are the key factors influencing the growth of Plastic Pallet? What are the major applications for Plastic Pallet? Who are the major key players in the Plastic Pallet market? Which region will provide more business opportunities for Plastic Pallet in future? Which segment holds the maximum share of the Plastic Pallet market? Have a Look at Exactitude Consultancy Reports: Recycled Plastic Market The global recycled Plastic market size is expected to grow from USD 25.52 billion in 2022 to USD 56.81 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 9.3% during the forecast period. https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/5864/recycled-plastic-market/ Micro Injection Molded Plastic Market The global micro injection molded plastics market is expected to grow at 11.06% CAGR from 2023 to 2029. It is expected to reach above 2258.12 USD million by 2029 from 890.00 USD million in 2022. https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/10454/micro-injection-molded-plastic-market/ 3D Printing Plastic Market The global 3D printing plastic market is expected to grow at more than 25% CAGR from 2023 to 2029. It is expected to reach above USD 17.81 billion by 2029 from USD 2.39 billion in 2022. https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/5451/3d-printing-plastic-market/ Construction Plastics Market The global construction plastics market is expected to grow at 7% CAGR from 2023 to 2029. It is expected to reach above 153.49 USD billion by 2029 from 86.09 USD billion in 2022. https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/7593/construction-plastics-market/ About Exactitude Consultancy Exactitude Consultancy is a market research & consulting services firm which helps its client to address their most pressing strategic and business challenges. Our market research helps clients to address critical business challenges and also helps make optimized business decisions with our fact-based research insights, market intelligence, and accurate data. New York, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Defense Cyber Security Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By Deployment, By Type, By Offering, By Application, By Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2022 - 2028" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422353/?utm_source=GNW Presently, cyber threats are more persistent, smarter and concentrated on high-value assets, which have increased the demand for a strong and high-tech cyber security system for defense industry. Furthermore, the growing risk of the cyber threat to critical infrastructures by criminal organizations and the technological enhancement in the cyber security industry is the major driving factor in its increased utilization throughout defense organizations. A more connected defense & intelligence world would ensure that the soldiers get information with precision and in less time. But increased connectivity also means more ways for cyberattacks, data leaks, and other breaches in IT (information & technology) security. This remains the issue at the crux of modern cybersecurity problems. However, technological developments would give organizations more techniques and tools to protect themselves from any significant cyberattack on their networks. Various cybersecurity companies are introducing new and enhanced products which can aid cybersecurity professionals in defending legacy and cloud networks, which can help the defense forces to work soundly while keeping their networks safe. COVID-19 Impact Organizations are speeding up their digital transformation and cyber security as much of the work starts to get online. With this, the operational, legal, reputational, and compliance implications would be significant if the cybersecurity risk is neglected. Out of these organizations, defense is among the top most sector to adopt cyber security solutions to safeguard their confidential data from cyberattacks. Many governments have increased funding for adopting cyber security in the military, which aids the government & military in blocking any upcoming threats and sharing intelligence about the cyber activity. The defenses increasing adoption of cyber security to secure their database and information has propelled the market growth during the pandemic. Market Growth Factors Rising IT expenditure for defense Defense IT expenses are on the surge across many developed nations. The growth of IT software, hardware, and services has implemented several changes in the defense sector, including live combat surveillance, superiority in air & space, smart weapons and battlefield management in network-centric environments, and force multipliers-related software. In addition, implementing IT solutions has become significant in defense operations due to the increasing evolution in the type and occurrence of attacks globally. The rapidly increasing usage of autonomous aircraft The rising number of artificial intelligence applications in aircraft may require reliable and high-tech defence cyber security solutions. New technological advancements like the maintenance capability are used to defend the aircrafts onboard systems from cyber-attacks. These new systems aid in increasing the aircraft defence against cyber threats and give the flight-critical abilities to verify and install multiple software and mission data files onto the aircraft. This development of autonomous aircraft to protect them from cyberattack and ensures their proper operation while being efficient by the military is expected to boost the defence cybersecurity markets growth. Market Restraining Factors Less awareness regarding cybersecurity Against any intrusion by offenders, criminals, or antagonistic countries, the government workforce is the first line of defence. The internet has made it easier for the antagonist to attack any department, municipality, agency, or department of any nation. Nations with IT technology are easily targeted for malware infections or ransomware attacks. That is why attacker targets under-prepared government bureaucrats with malware, email phishing scams, or stolen passwords to enter and steal confidential government data or lock up critical systems needed for the services and operations. For instance, phishing scams utilize fake emails or text messages to lure individuals into clicking on sketchy website links to steal personal information. Deployment Outlook By deployment, the defense cyber security market is classified into on-premise and cloud. The cloud segment projected a prominent growth rate in the defense cybersecurity market in 2021. This is because cloud-based technology operates on remote system servers over the internet, which dont require any dedicated server specialist for maintenance. The cloud-managed services are generally available as SaaS (security as a service) models with annual or monthly charges. These charges cover the monitoring, supervision of network servers, cloud storage for all data, backup recovery, system optimization, etc. Type Outlook On the basis of type, the defense cyber security market is divided into endpoint security, network security and content security. The endpoint security segment held the highest revenue share in the defense cyber security market in 2021. The growth is due to the increasing usage of behavioral and automation analysis for threat detection. These solutions are considered to be an essential asset of the defense sector. Also, many key players have started to invest heavily in these solutions. Hence, the rising investments, with the growing amount of data across different verticals within the defense sector have surged the segments market expansion in the forecasted period. Offering Outlook Based on offering, the defense cyber security market is bifurcated into solutions and services. The services segment held the highest revenue share in the defense cyber security market in 2021. This is due to their assistance in identifying vulnerabilities, ensuring security, and closing protection gaps, which work efficiently to prevent any cyber breach. With cyber security, organizations attain a synergistic balance from all three facets of defense in depth strategy, which are operation, people, and technology. This would support the market expansion in this segment. Application Outlook Based on application, the defense cyber security market is segmented into military, public utilities, communication networks and others. The military segment dominated the defense cyber security market with the maximum revenue share in 2021. This is because various defense groups can only operate efficiently if the information is shared securely. Using cyber security systems, the military can send messages, media, reports, and broadcasts while also being able to make secure calls. As a result, security officers may access needed information securely. Regional Outlook Region-wise, the defense cybersecurity market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and LAMEA. The North America region held the highest revenue share in the defense cyber security market in 2021. This is due to the robust presence of various market incumbents, combined with the regions recent threats. The defense sector in many nations across the region are increasing their spending, which has surged the requirement for defense cyber security. As many developed countries depend on the internet for their daily work and various other operations, cybersecurity applications have increased and thereby boosted the market growth in the region. The major strategies followed by the market participants are Partnerships. Based on the Analysis presented in the Cardinal matrix; AT&T, Inc., Intel Corporation and Cisco Systems, Inc. are the forerunners in the Defense Cyber Security Market. Companies such as Thales Group S.A., BAE Systems PLC, and IBM Corporation are some of the key innovators in Defense Cyber Security Market. The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include Intel Corporation, AT&T Inc., IBM Corporation, BAE Systems plc, Thales Group S.A., DXC Technology Company, Cisco Systems, Inc., Raytheon Technologies, Corporation (Collins Aerospace), Lockheed Martin Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation. Recent Strategies Deployed in Defense Cyber Security Market Partnerships, Collaborations and Agreements: Nov-2022: Raytheon Technologies came into collaboration with Microsoft, a global IT technology company. This collaboration would aim to upgrade the aerospace and defense businesses employees with cloud-based tools, technologies, and platforms to increase collaboration, enhance operations and discover insights that propel larger value for customers. Nov-2022: Lockheed Martin signed an agreement with Microsoft, a global Information technology company. This agreement would aim to help power the next generation of technology for the Department of Defense. The agreement would operate in four critical areas that include Classified Cloud Innovations, 5G.MIL Programs, and Digital Transformation. Oct-2022: Cisco announced a partnership with DGC, a company engaged in offering cybersecurity solutions. Under this partnership, the latest cybersecurity package consists of a subset of managed security services that had been created to deliver critical data protection and risk detection abilities with the potential of coping with emerging complex cyber threats in the region. Oct-2022: Thales announced a partnership with Monaco Cyber Securite, the security player in the principality. Through this partnership, Thales would bring cyber incident feedback to customers in the zone and beyond. Jun-2022: BAE Systems teamed up with Clavister, a Europe-based cyber security specialist. This collaboration would aim to enhance the cyber security of its CV90 IFV solution. Additionally, BAE Systems and Clavister integrated its battle-proven technology and years of specialization in cyber security with the new European research and developments in AI technology. Mar-2022: Lockheed Martin teamed up with SpiderOak Mission Systems, a U.S.-based software company that creates cybersecurity products and solutions. In this collaboration, both collaborations are developing and testing a zero-trust cybersecurity platform to secure data in the space data supply chain. Feb-2022: Northrop Grumman Corporation came into an agreement with Echodyne, the radar platform company. In this Agreement, the companies would work to determinate additional applications for Echodynes line of commercially advanced radars. Jan-2022: IBM partnered with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). In this partnership, IBM would participate as an Alliance partner in the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative and its critical mission to build a coordinated and collective defense against cybercrime. Dec-2021: IBM formed a partnership with Du, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company. Under this partnership, Du would leverage IBMs security software and solutions across its Digital Trust portfolio and its Cyber Defense Centre. Dec-2021: Thales partnered with Du, an Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company. The team-up would make sure the DU aligns with Thales technology to improve the du Cybersecurity Defense Centre and Digital Trust offering. Data breaches evolving in frequency across the digital landscape and regulatory needs mandating related compliance. Oct-2021: Raytheon Technologies collaborated with IBM, a global hybrid cloud and AI and business services provider. In this collaboration, both companies would develop artificial intelligence, quantum, and cryptographic solutions for the intelligence, defense, and aerospace industries, consisting of the federal government. Moreover, with the combined expertise of IBMs breakthrough commercial research with Raytheon Technologies research plus defense and aerospace expertise, both companies would be able to solve challenges. Jan-2021: Thales signed an agreement with TT Electronics, a provider of engineered electronics for performance-critical applications. Under this agreement, both companies would allow the future development of operational technology-based cybersecurity research and initiatives. This agreement makes sure TT delivers an additional level of security assurance for its aerospace, medical, industrial, and defense customers who rely on Thales to produce highly complex systems. Feb-2020: Raytheon Company collaborated with IronNet Cybersecurity, Inc. a network security company that enables nations and enterprises to defend against emerging threats in real-time. The integrated solutions are created to be part of a combined defense portfolio for important infrastructure and national security systems and networks. Product Launches and Expansions: Oct-2022: BAE Systems unveiled the Viper Memory Loader Verifier II (MLV II), the latest version of maintenance ability that would decrease vulnerability to cyber-attacks for F-16 aircraft. This latest version of the product would consist of cyber-hardened aircraft mission capabilities with an open system architecture that decreases lifecycle costs. Nov-2021: AT&T introduced a combined, controlled cybersecurity solution to help U.S. Federal agencies upgrade and secure their IT infrastructure in compliance with TIC 3.0 cybersecurity guidance. AT&T Government trusted Internet integrates and provides fiber connectivity, security capabilities, and software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) technology through a single provider. Acquisitions and Mergers: Oct-2022: Thales acquired S21sec, a European cybersecurity company based in Spain and Portugal, and Excellium, a European cybersecurity company based in Luxembourg and Belgium. Through this acquisition, Thales would add value to the companys cyber solutions portfolio as well as make sure S21sec and Excellium customers from long-term continuity, improved high-performance solutions, and long-term continuity. Jul-2022: Thales took over OneWelcome, a company involved in Customer Identity and Access Management. Under this acquisition, Thales would strengthen its leading place as a global cybersecurity player and a provider of trusted and secure digital identities. Mar-2022: BAE Systems acquired Bohemia Interactive Simulations, a global software company at the forefront of simulation training solutions for military and civilian organizations. This acquisition would place BAE Systems to fulfill its customer evolving requirements in the quickly rising market for global military training and provide next-generation virtual systems to help the U.S. military and its allies successfully prepare for future scenarios. Geographical Expansions: Apr-2022: Thales expanded its business to Morocco by opening a Cyber Security Operations Center. This facility would offer real-time security against cyber-attacks in Morocco and across the African Continent. With this facility, Thales strengthen its position as a cybersecurity leader with the creation of the latest security operations center across the African continent. Feb-2022: IBM opened a new cyber-security facility in Bengaluru, India. This expansion would address the issues of its clients across the Asia Pacific region and help enterprises plan for and manage the rising threat of cyberattacks to businesses. The Center would operate as a strategic hub for IBMs cybersecurity activities in the region, consisting of IBM Research, IBM Garage, and IBM Consulting. Scope of the Study Market Segments covered in the Report: By Deployment On-premise Cloud By Type Endpoint Security Network Security Content Security By Offering Solution o Identity & Access Management o Security & Vulnerability Management o Data loss Prevention Management o Threat intelligence & Response Management o Unified Threat Management o Enterprise risk & Compliance o Managed Security o Others Services By Application Military Communication Networks Public Utilities Others By Geography North America o US o Canada o Mexico o Rest of North America Europe o Germany o UK o France o Russia o Spain o Italy o Rest of Europe Asia Pacific o China o Japan o India o South Korea o Singapore o Malaysia o Rest of Asia Pacific LAMEA o Brazil o Argentina o UAE o Saudi Arabia o South Africa o Nigeria o Rest of LAMEA Companies Profiled Intel Corporation AT&T Inc. IBM Corporation BAE Systems plc Thales Group S.A. DXC Technology Company Cisco Systems, Inc. Raytheon Technologies Corporation (Collins Aerospace) Lockheed Martin Corporation Northrop Grumman Corporation Unique Offerings Exhaustive coverage Highest number of market tables and figures Subscription based model available Guaranteed best price Assured post sales research support with 10% customization free Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422353/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ HIGHLIGHTS Liatam Mining Pty Ltd (" Liatam "), Novos battery minerals joint venture partner at the Quartz Hill project 1 in the Mosquito Creek Basin, Western Australia, has outlined its 2023 exploration program "), Novos battery minerals joint venture partner at the Quartz Hill project in the Mosquito Creek Basin, Western Australia, has outlined its 2023 exploration program Liatams board has approved an aggressive 2023 exploration budget of A$4 million focusing efforts on systematic and scientific exploration, demonstrating Liatams strong commitment and belief in the Quartz Hill project considering the 24-month, A$1.5 million earn-in requirement to earn an 80% interest in battery mineral rights in the Quartz Hill project Mike Spreadborough, Novos Executive Co-Chairman and Acting Chief Executive Officer, said Liatams significant budget confirms their commitment to the region and supports Novos strategy of working with reliable partners with whom non-gold and silver Pilbara prospectivity can be advanced. Novos ultimate retention of a 20% residual interest in battery mineral rights at the Quartz Hill project complements Novos traditional gold and silver portfolio and provides Novo with exposure to the diverse array of minerals available in the Pilbara. We are excited to assist Liatam with their battery minerals exploration efforts at the Quartz Hill project. Figure 1: Quartz Hill tenement map highlighting 2023 exploration areas on high-resolution aerial photography. Note the outcropping pegmatite swarms (pink polygons) in the western tenements and areas for planned geological reconnaissance in the east. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/66b9cbf6-249f-4a81-861f-d46978d37b88 VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Novo Resources Corp. (Novo or the Company) (TSX: NVO, NVO.WT & NVO.WT.A) (OTCQX: NSRPF) is pleased to provide an update on Liatams exploration efforts at the Quartz Hill project (Quartz Hill) in the Mosquito Creek Basin of Western Australia, as advised by Liatam. The Quartz Hill area is comprised of three granted Exploration Licenses (ELs), thirteen Prospecting Licences (PLs) and one Exploration Licence Application (ELA) covering approximately 615 sq km (Figure 1). The area is considered highly prospective for lithiumcaesiumtantalum (LCT) style pegmatite mineralisation. Previous exploration by Novo and the Creasy Group has identified numerous lepidolite-rich pegmatite dyke swarms requiring systematic, scientific, and detailed geological mapping and sampling2 (Figure 1). The eastern most ELs (E46/795 & E46/796) have seen very little previous lithium exploration, however hyperspectral data and ultra-detailed aerial photography supports the prospectivity for LCT pegmatite formation2. Outcropping lepidolite-bearing pegmatite swarms occur within the western tenements2 (E46/794 & PLs). Liatams exploration activities will be coordinated from Novos Golden Eagle exploration office which is located approximately 30 kms from the centre of the Quartz Hill area and serviced by several access tracks. Liatam have engaged an experienced soil sampling contractor to commence orientation and first pass reconnaissance soil sampling commencing late March 2023, conditional to access becoming available post cyclone season. Detailed geological mapping and rock chip sampling is scheduled to run concurrently with soil sampling and is designed to map pegmatite outcrop distribution, geometry, mineralogy, and zonation patterns. Soil sampling and mapping will be supported with the use of a portable XRF instrument allowing for rapid field data collection. Heritage and ethnographic surveys are expected to occur in mid-2023 and drilling is expected to commence in Q4 2023 to test high-priority targets identified through soil and geological mapping results generated by the work undertaken in the first half of 2023. QP STATEMENT Dr. Garry Adams, MAIG, MAusIMM, is the qualified person, as defined under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Minerals Projects, responsible for, and having reviewed and approved, the technical information contained in this news release. Dr. Adams is Liatams Group Manager Exploration & Business Development. ABOUT LIATAM Liatam Mining Pty Ltd is a privately owned mining services company based in Perth, Western Australia, providing exploration, contract mining services, mobile maintenance, technical services and Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) services. Liatam is focused on development of lithium deposits through exploration, partnerships and acquisitions in Australia and North America and is advancing strategy to develop downstream processing and participate in the fast-growing electric vehicles and battery supply chain. ABOUT NOVO Novo explores and develops its prospective land package covering approximately 10,500 square kilometres in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, including the Beatons Creek gold project, along with two joint ventures in the Bendigo region of Victoria, Australia. In addition to the Companys primary focus, Novo seeks to leverage its internal geological expertise to deliver value-accretive opportunities to its stakeholders. For more information, please contact Leo Karabelas at (416) 543-3120 or e-mail leo@novoresources.com. On Behalf of the Board of Directors, Novo Resources Corp. Michael Spreadborough Michael Spreadborough Executive Co-Chairman and Acting CEO Forward-looking information Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information (within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation) including, without limitation, that Liatams A$4 million 2023 exploration budget will focus efforts on systematic and scientific exploration, that Liatams exploration activities will be coordinated from Novos Golden Eagle exploration office, that orientation and first pass reconnaissance soil sampling will commence in late March 2023 conditional to access becoming available post cyclone season, that detailed geological mapping and rock chip sampling is scheduled to run concurrently with soil sampling and is designed to map pegmatite outcrop distribution, geometry, mineralogy, and zonation patterns, that soil sampling and mapping will be supported with the use of a portable XRF instrument allowing for rapid field data collection, that heritage and ethnographic surveys are planned for mid-2023, and that drilling is scheduled in Q4 2023 to test high-priority targets identified through soil and geological mapping results in the first half of 2023. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, without limitation, customary risks of the resource industry and that the statements concerning intentions of Liatam as communicated to Novo. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date those statements are made. Except as required by applicable law, Novo assumes no obligation to update or to publicly announce the results of any change to any forward-looking statement contained or incorporated by reference herein to reflect actual results, future events or developments, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting the forward-looking statements. If Novo updates any forward-looking statement(s), no inference should be drawn that the Company will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. ____________________ 1 Refer to the Companys news releases dated December 15, 2022 and December 22, 2022. 2 Refer to the Companys news release dated May 24, 2022. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES VANCOUVER, British Columbia and HONG KONG, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reyna Silver Corp. (TSXV: RSLV; OTCQB: RSNVF; FRA: 4ZC) (Reyna or the "Company") is pleased to announce the closing of the second tranche of its previously announced bought deal private placement (the Offering) of units for gross proceeds of C$3,011,916 (the AI Tranche). Under the AI Tranche, the Company sold 10,039,720 units of the Company (the "Units") at a price of C$0.30 per Unit. The Offering is being completed pursuant to an underwriting agreement dated February 13, 2023, as amended by an amending agreement dated February 21, 2023 (the Underwriting Agreement) with Eight Capital, as lead underwriter and bookrunner, and a syndicate of underwriters (collectively, the Underwriters). Each Unit issued in the AI Tranche is comprised of one common share of the Company (each, a "Common Share") and one common share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"), with each Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one additional Common Share at a price of C$0.40 per Common Share at any time on or before February 23, 2026. Pursuant to the Underwriting Agreement, under the AI Tranche, the Underwriters received a cash amount of $126,102.90 and were issued 517,009 compensation warrants (Compensation Warrants). Each Compensation Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one unit (a Compensation Unit) of the Company at a price of C$0.30 per Compensation Unit at any time on or before February 23, 2025. Each Compensation Unit is comprised of one common share of the Company and one common share purchase warrant (a Compensation Warrant). Each Compensation Warrant is exercisable to acquire one common share of the Company (each, a Compensation Warrant Share) for a period of 36 months following the date of issue at an exercise price of $0.40 per Compensation Warrant Share. The Company also paid cash finders fees totaling $51,743.62 to certain arms length finders. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering for ongoing exploration and drilling at the Companys Medicine Springs, Guigui and Batopilas projects, and for general corporate purposes. "We thank our long-term investors as well as the new institutional and high-profile investors whose enthusiasm and support made the $8M CAD over-subscribed bought-deal financing with Eight Capital and syndicates Canaccord and Echelon a success," said Jorge Ramiro Monroy, CEO of Reyna Silver. "The proceeds of the raise enable Reyna Silver to move all three of our district-scale projects forward." The 10,039,720 Units sold pursuant to the AI Tranche were offered for sale to purchasers pursuant to the accredited investor exemption under section 2.3 of NI 45-106 and are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day. The Company closed the first tranche of the Offering on February 13, 2023 for gross proceeds of C$4,999,800 (the LIFE Tranche). Under the LIFE Tranche, the Company sold 16,666,000 units on the same terms of the Units in the AI Tranche, other than in relation to the statutory hold period, as described below. In compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and in accordance with National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions (NI 45-106), the 16,666,000 units sold pursuant to the LIFE Tranche were offered for sale to purchasers resident in Canada, except Quebec, and/or other qualifying jurisdictions pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of NI 45-106 and are not subject to a statutory hold period. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction. No securities may be offered or sold in the United States or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer or sale would be unlawful absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or an exemption therefrom or qualification under the securities laws of such other jurisdiction or an exemption therefrom. On Behalf of the Board of Directors of Reyna Silver Corp. Jorge Ramiro Monroy Chief Executive Officer For Further Information, Please Contact: Jorge Ramiro Monroy, Chief Executive Officer info@reynasilver.com www.reynasilver.com About Reyna Silver Corp. Reyna Silver Corp. (TSXV: RSLV) is a growth-oriented junior exploration and development company focused on exploring for high-grade, district-scale silver deposits in Mexico and USA. Reynas principal properties are the Guigui and Batopilas Properties in Chihuahua, Mexico. Guigui covers the interpreted source area for the Santa Eulalia District and Batopilas covers most of Mexicos historically highest-grade silver system. The Company also has an option to acquire 100% of the Medicine Springs property in Nevada, USA as well as the early stage La Durazno and Matilde and La Reyna mineral properties in Mexico. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release includes forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking, including, but not limited to, statements relating to the use of proceeds from the Offering, the completion of the AI Tranche, and the receipt of all required regulatory approvals. Although Reyna believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of capital and financing, general economic, market or business conditions and regulatory, shareholder and administrative approvals, processes and filing requirements. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required under applicable laws. MARKHAM, Ontario, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To mark the one-year anniversary of the Ukraine war on Feb. 24, humanitarian and development organization Children Believe is urging the Government of Canada and all Canadians to continue to help address the pressing needs of Ukrainian children forced from their homes and the estimated 450 million children living in conflict around the world. The agency a Canadian charity that has helped more than one million children globally to overcome barriers to education since 1960 warns that more than 17 million Ukrainian people require humanitarian assistance, including child protection and educational support are critically needed for the five million2 children whose education has been disrupted. During the day there is no electricity for 15 hours, it is dark and cold, says David, 11, who was forcibly displaced from his home in Ukraine. It has become almost impossible for us to attend school online. The Ukraine war is a clear example of a much larger, global crisis of approximately 450 million children living in conflict zones3 a crisis that severely impacts the development of future generations, according to Children Believe. The agency has supported local relief partners on the ground in conflict zones in Ukraine, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso to improve the lives of children by providing access to safe, quality education. Children Believe is calling on the Government of Canada to signal its ongoing commitment to global education and build on the Charlevoix Initiative in advance of finalizing the 2023 Federal Budget. The charity is also urging Canadians to sign this petition to demand the government keeps its promise to invest in international development assistance every year, until at least 10 per cent of its bilateral assistance is dedicated to global education. For children in conflict zones, their entire lives may be spent living in crisis and uncertainty, compounding the learning losses due to the pandemic with ongoing risk of violence and exploitation of their basic human rights, says Fred Witteveen, CEO of Children Believe. We are urging Canadians and the government to help Children Believe and our partners to continue to prioritize access to education for these vulnerable boys and girls so they too can dream fearlessly and become catalysts for success. Education: Caught in the Line of Fire As of 2022, there were an estimated 222 million school-aged children impacted by crises, including armed conflict, requiring educational support4. Keeping dreams alive for thousands of these children is crucial. At the end of 2021, more than 450 million children or one in six were living in a conflict zone, the highest number in 20 years; and a record 36.5 million children were displaced from their homes as a result of conflict, violence and other crises3. The destruction of schools, widespread blackouts affecting infrastructure, and arrival of winter leave access to learning hopeless for many. Staggering findings from the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack revealed that over 5,000 reported attacks on education and cases of military use of schools and universities in 2020 and 2021, with 9,000 students and educators abducted, arbitrarily arrested, injured, or killed in these events5. There is Hope: Act for Education Children Believe is a member of ChildFund Alliance, a global network of 11 child-focused development and humanitarian organizations. Members such as Children Believe have contributed funds, enabling Alliance member, ChildFund Germany, to deliver support on the ground in Ukraine together with WeWorld. To date, 60,000 people affected by the Ukraine crisis, half of whom are children, have received aid from their efforts. Canadian donations have directly supported children and their families by providing food, shelter, medications, basic needs and access to education and psychosocial services. Details of relief activities and ongoing progress is discussed in the organizations new Ukraine Crisis: One year of Conflict report. Children in some of the most volatile regions of the world are denied access to education, but the support to give them the tools to dream fearlessly may be closer than you think. Funding for global education pledged at the G7 Summit in 2018 has ended, which threatens the dreams of millions of schoolchildren around the world. However, Canadians can sign a new online petition and join Children Believe in demanding that the federal government keep its promise to increase international development assistance every year and that at least 10 per cent of its bilateral assistance is dedicated to global education in the upcoming 2023 Budget. Canadians can sign the petition and find out more information here. About Children Believe Children Believe works globally to empower children to dream fearlessly, stand up for what they believe in and be heard. For 60+ years, weve brought together brave young dreamers, caring supporters and partners, and unabashed idealists. Together, were driven by a common belief: creating access to education inside and outside of classrooms is the most powerful tool children can use to change their world. Learn more: www.childrenbelieve.ca - 30 - For more information or to arrange an interview with Fred Witteveen, please contact: Emily Leak, Senior Consultant, Strategic Objectives Telephone: 647.368.6589 Email: eleak@strategicobjectives.com Or Dave Stell, Communications Manager, Children Believe Telephone: 416.898.6770 Email: dstell@childrenbelieve.ca Attachment English Dutch Lochem, 23 February 2023 ForFarmers publishes agenda Annual General Meeting of Shareholders 2023 ForFarmers N.V. publishes the agenda for the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders today. The Annual General Meeting of shareholders will be held on Thursday 13 April 2023, starting at 10.00 am (CET), in Cafe-Restaurant-Zalencentrum Witkamp, Dorpsstraat 8, 7245 AK Laren (Gelderland, the Netherlands). There will also be a possibility to follow the meeting (in Dutch) via a livestream. The convocation announcement and the agenda and explanatory notes to the agenda are available via the corporate website of ForFarmers ( www.forfarmersgroup.eu/en ) under Investors / General Meeting of Shareholders. Note to the editor / For additional information: Caroline Vogelzang, Director Investor Relations M: +31 6 10 94 91 61 E: caroline.vogelzang@forfarmers.eu Company profile ForFarmers N.V. (ForFarmers, Lochem, the Netherlands) is an internationally operating feed company that offers total feed solutions for conventional and organic livestock farming. ForFarmers gives its very best For the Future of Farming: for the continuity of farming and for a financially secure sector that will continue to serve society for generations to come in a sustainable way. By working side-by-side with farmers ForFarmers delivers real benefits: better returns, healthier livestock and greater efficiency. This is achieved by offering tailored and Total Feed solutions and a targeted approach with specialist and expert support. With sales of around 9 million tonnes of feed, ForFarmers is a leading feed producer in Europe. ForFarmers has approximately 2,500 employees and is active in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Poland and the United Kingdom. In 2022, revenues amounted to approximately 3.3 billion. ForFarmers N.V. is listed at Euronext Amsterdam. Vaughan, ON, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fulfil investments for new critical infrastructure, fund state-of-good-repair work for existing infrastructure, and reform the immigration system to welcome more skilled trade workers to Ontario. This was the Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontarios (RCCAO) message to the Government of Ontario as part of the 2023 provincial budget consultations. Nadia Todorova, Executive Director of RCCAO took part in the regional pre-budget consultations in Toronto, as a part of the Ministry of Finances consultations touring the province. Nadias remarks expanded on three priorities: Fulfill investments for Ontarios new critical transportation projects, such as the Bradford Bypass, Highway 413, and Ontario Line. Fund state-of-good-repair work to maintain infrastructure and maximize its lifespan, including roads, water, and transit across Ontario. Enact immigration reform to welcome more skilled trades workers to Ontario. Ontario needs more skilled trades and construction workers, said Todorova. Enacting immigration reforms to at least double the allocations for the NOC-C Pilot will have an immediate impact to expand industrys capacity to meet the needs of the province and get more people working to help build Ontario. The GTA is among the fastest growing regions in North America and expects to welcome an additional 2.8 million people over the next 25 years, with 58% of that growth destined for York, Halton, and Peel regions. This growth will increase demand for critical infrastructure on everything from water, housing, transit systems, highways and roads. It is also imperative for the Government of Ontario to remain focused on providing financial assistance for the maintenance of infrastructure assets. Investing in state-of-good-repair work is a foundational element to keeping regional economies strong and ensuring Ontarios economic growth and competitiveness. RCCAOs full submission can be viewed here. RCCAO Executive Director Nadia Todorova is available for interviews. Background on RCCAO: The Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario (RCCAO) is a labour-management construction alliance. Since its formation in 2005, RCCAO has been a leading industry advocate for infrastructure investment. It has commissioned 60 independent, solutions-based research reports to help inform decision makers. www.rccao.com Attachment NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces an investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Credit Suisse Group AG. (NYSE: CS) resulting from allegations that Credit Suisse may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public. SO WHAT: If you purchased Credit Suisse securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses. WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=12359 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@rosenlegal.com or cases@rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. WHAT IS THIS ABOUT: On February 9, 2023, Credit Suisse reported that clients had withdrawn over $119.6 billion in the last three months of 2022, exceeding market expectations. On this news, the price of Credit Suisse ADRs fell over 15.6%. On February 21, 2023, Reuters published an article entitled Exclusive: Credit Suisse chairmans comments draw scrutiny from financial watchdog- sources. The article stated that the Swiss financial regulator was probing the extent to which Credit Suisses Chairman, and other Credit Suisse representatives were still withdrawing funds when he said in media interviews that outflows had stopped. In early December, 2022, Credit Suisses Chairman, Axel Lehmann, had said in media interviews that outflows had completely flattened out, partially reversed, and basically stopped. On this news, the price of Credit Suisse ADRs fell as much as 4% in intra-day trading before closing down 3.3% at $2.92 on February 21, 2023. WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs Bar. Many of the firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. ------------------------------- Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Tel: (212) 686-1060 Toll Free: (866) 767-3653 Fax: (212) 202-3827 lrosen@rosenlegal.com pkim@rosenlegal.com cases@rosenlegal.com www.rosenlegal.com MELBOURNE, Australia, Feb. 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to leading machine monitoring consultants Applied Measurement, regardless of the kind of infrastructure being managed, the ability to measure flow on a continuous basis is critical. Flow meters provide businesses with the information needed to maintain smooth operations and meet regulatory requirements. Applied Measurement explains that as a flow meter measures how much liquid or gas moves through a pipeline in a given time period, the device provides crucial visibility into what's flowing where and helps operators determine whether systems are properly balanced. There are several different types of flow meters that all perform the same basic job but each uses a different approach for tracking flow, says Applied Measurement. The degree of accuracy required from a flow meter varies, however in general, better accuracy is more valuable. A number of industries require accurate flow readings to ensure smooth business operations including agriculture, wastewater, drinking water, cooling water, industry, oil and gas. Applied Measurement explains that given the varying levels of accuracy and maintenance required from different types of flow meters, it can be challenging to choose the most suitable one for a given application. When evaluating flow meter options, Applied Measurement says top consideration should be given to understanding the exact process and the media being measured as well as the accuracy, range and certification requirements, the meter location and installation needs, plus the type of output needed. Applied Measurement recommends consulting with a technical partner to determine the best type of flow meter as they can help understand installation requirements, maintenance costs, reporting accuracy and other crucial factors for effective operation. As the industry leaders in measurement, Applied Measurement has been providing innovative and effective solutions since 1976. As a "one-stop shop," Applied Measurement designs, manufactures, distributes, supports and calibrates everything it supplies, from individual humidity sensors to complete data logger systems. To learn more and explore the product portfolio, visit Applied Measurement online today. Contact Information: Applied Measurement Marketing Manager sales@appliedmeasurement.com.au (03) 98745777 Related Images Image 1: Applied Measurement Applied Measurement This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment BATAVIA, Ill., Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- High Wire Networks, Inc. (OTCQB: HWNI), a leading global provider of managed cybersecurity and IT enablement services, has been named by CRN Magazine to its MSP 500 and Elite 150 lists for 2023. CRN has long been recognized by the IT industry as the No. 1 trusted source for IT channel news, analysis and insight delivered online and in print. The CRN MSP 500 recognizes the nations leading managed service providers whose forward-thinking approach to providing managed services is changing the landscape of the IT channel. Honorees selected for the MSP Elite 150 category have an extensive managed services portfolio, including on-premises and off-premises capabilities, weighted toward midmarket and enterprise customers. According to Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company, the publisher of CRN: Managed services offer a path for businesses of all sizes to remain efficient and flexible as they grow. The solution providers on our 2023 MSP 500 list are bringing innovative managed services portfolios to market, helping their customers win by doing more with the IT budgets they have and freeing up resources to focus on mission-critical activities to drive future success. The listings follow High Wires recent ranking by Frost & Sullivan as a Top 12 Managed Security Service Provider in the Americas and the companys onshoring of 100% of its network and security operation centers to Batavia, Illinois. The security operation center is powered by the companys award-winning Overwatch managed cybersecurity platform. Over the past year, Overwatchs userbase has expanded by more than 430% to nearly 1,000 SMBs and enterprise customers worldwide, including a number of Fortune 500 global companies. This valued recognition by CRN reflects the dedication and superior capabilities our managed service teams deliver everyday for our channel partners and end-customers worldwide, commented High Wire CEO, Mark Porter. Our Elite 150 ranking highlights how our flexibility and focus on vendor-agnostic integration closely aligns with current market needs. It also shows how our vision and mission aligns with MSPs, VARs and IT providers that are looking to capitalize on their existing security stack while receiving the best guidance on their security journey. We see this vendor-agnostic integration approach with these channel partners as a key differentiator that allows us to consolidate their existing security stack and provide a comprehensive managed services solutions that is second to none, added Porter. We believe this advantage will continue to drive our rapid growth and market expansion. Membership of the companys innovative channel partner program now totals more than 600 worldwide, including companies that make up the Fortune 500. It is comprised of leading MSPs, IT firms, Telcos, hardware and software manufacturers, global system integrators, value added resellers and distributors, and strategic consulting firms. These partners have turned to High Wire to better address their customers growing demand for more manageable and effective IT and cybersecurity solutions. The MSP 500 and Elite 150 lists will be featured in the February 2023 issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.crn.com/msp500. This was the third award from CRN that High Wire has received over the last few years. In 2022, High Wires vice president of sales, Kim Stoltz, was featured on CRNs list of Power 70 Solution Providers, an elite subset of honorees chosen from the annual CRN Women of the Channel list. In 2021, High Wires VP of communications and marketing, Susanna Song, was also named to CRNs Women of the Channel. Stephan Tallent was named a 2022 CRN Channel Chief, prior to joining High Wire as its chief revenue officer of Overwatch Managed Security in December. To learn more about High Wire Networks and its award-winning managed cybersecurity and IT enablement services, go to HighWireNetworks.com or view the companys free video series on YouTube. About CRN CRN, a media brand of The Channel Company, is the No. 1 trusted source for IT channel news, analysis and insight online and in print. The CRN editorial staff provides objective reporting on daily technology and channel news, events and trends, empowering solution providers such as systems integrators, value-added resellers, managed service providers (MSPs), strategic service providers and IT consultants to maintain a competitive advantage and deliver the business outcomes their customers need. Its coverage can be found at CRN.com and in CRN magazine, which prints six times per year plus special issues. Since 1982, CRN's talented team of editors has reported on the news solution providers need to build successful businesses. CRN is the go-to source for breaking news on the IT channel, including technology vendors channel programs, channel management executives and product and services portfolios; distributors and cloud distributors; MSP platform vendors and solution providers themselves. Coverage crosses over a variety of technology areas, including cloud, security, data center, networking, software, storage, managed services, computing and components and peripherals. About High Wire Networks High Wire Networks, Inc. (OTCWB: HWNI) is a fast-growing, award-winning global provider of managed cybersecurity and IT enablement services. Through more than 600 channel partners, it delivers trusted managed services for nearly 1,000 managed security customers and tens of thousands of technology customers. Its end-customers include hundreds of Fortune 500 companies and the nations largest government agencies. The companys Overwatch by High Wire Networks platform offers a range of subscription services for threat prevention, detection and response to meet the security and compliance requirements of organizations large and small. The companys IT enablement services provide the foundation for growing its higher-margin Overwatch business. High Wire has 350 employees worldwide and seven U.S. offices, including a U.S. based 24/7 Network Operations Center and Security Operations Center in Chicago, with additional regional offices in Toronto, Puerto Rico and UK. Learn more at HighWireNetworks.com. Follow the company on Twitter, view its extensive video series on YouTube or connect on LinkedIn. Forward-Looking Statements The above news release contains forward-looking statements. The statements contained in this document that are not statements of historical fact, including but not limited to, statements identified by the use of terms such as "anticipate," "appear," "believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "hope," "indicate," "intend," "likely," "may," "might," "plan," "potential," "project," "seek," "should," "will," "would," and other variations or negative expressions of these terms, including statements related to expected market trends and the Company's performance, are all "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on assumptions that management believes are reasonable based on currently available information, and include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company and its management. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performances and are subject to a wide range of external factors, uncertainties, business risks, and other risks identified in filings made by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in the company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances upon which any statement is based except as required by applicable law and regulations. CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Company Contact Mark Porter, CEO High Wire Networks Tel +1 (952) 974-4000 Email contact Media Relations Susanna Song VP of Marketing and Communications High Wire Networks Tel +1 (952) 974-4000 Email contact Tim Randall CMA Media Relations Tel +1 (949) 432-7572 Email contact Investor Relations Ronald Both or Grant Stude CMA Investor Relations Tel +1 (949) 432-7557 Email contact An image accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4bb4d0c9-d294-41d3-a8d3-78f8834d0638 SYDNEY, Feb. 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Building a beautiful, functional outdoor space can add value to any home and provide an elevated living and entertaining experience for homeowners. However, family-owned South Australian company and decking experts Softwoods explain that sustainability is becoming an increased priority for many renovators and homeowners. Here, Softwoods shares their top tips for creating a sustainable outdoor space. According to Softwoods, beginning with an overall design plan will ensure the outdoor space looks good and functions in a way that meets the family's needs and supports their hobbies. Having a solid plan in place will also ensure the overall design is cohesive and will help to determine a budget. Softwoods explains that in general, renovators and landscapers should opt for sustainable or recycled materials for al fresco features when building a sustainable outdoor area. This includes using timber products as much as possible as the energy required to manufacture them is minimal and they have a very low carbon footprint. Pergolas and decking areas can also feature recycled materials where possible. Including low maintenance and low water grass alternative ground covers such as gravel, bark, wood chips and mulch is an eco-friendly move. For those who prefer a living ground cover, Softwoods suggests looking for low water options to lower the water bill and reduce overall water consumption. Landscape lighting is an important part of designing an outdoor living area. Softwoods says it is very easy to make greener choices with outdoor lighting by avoiding older, halogen lights and choosing either solar lights or LED outdoor lights. When it comes to outdoor furniture, Softwoods suggests looking for quality products that are built to last and made from sustainable or recycled materials. Wherever possible, seek out local companies to support the local economy. There are plenty of ways to build a stunning, yet practical outdoor living area without compromising on sustainability. For more information on environmentally conscious outdoor building practices or to get started on a project, contact Softwoods today. Contact Information: Softwoods Australia Marketing Manager (08) 8346 1499 Related Images Image 1: decking This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Ghana debt restructuring: Special talks with China shifted to 3rd week of March Graphic.com.gh Business News Feb - 23 - 2023 , 13:59 Ghana has shifted its meeting with Chinese creditors over debt restructuring to the third week of March, raising concerns over how long it will take to conclude an external debt restructuring. An earlier meeting that was scheduled for the last week of February was cancelled on Wednesday, February 22, Graphic Business has learnt. Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, was due to meet representatives of the Chinese government and its quasi agencies in Beijing from February 26 on how the Asian giant could support the worlds second biggest cocoa grower with softer debt repayment terms. A source, however, said that meeting has been shifted forward to allow the Chinese government to concentrate on their annual National People's Congress (NPC), which opens on March 5 in Beijing. The turn of events could affect Ghanas timelines for an IMF-assisted programme of up to $3 billion to resuscitate the economy. The country needs to conclude debt restructuring negotiations with its creditors to be able to secure an Executive Board approval for the programme. Mr Ofori-Attas team of negotiators are asking the countrys external creditors to allow for interest payment suspension for the public debt stock to come under sustainable levels. A similar exercise was concluded with domestic creditors during which a total of GH83 billion costly and short-term bonds were swapped for cheaper and long-term. China and its agencies hold about $1.7 billion of Ghanas $5.5 billion bilateral debt and the specialised nature of their lending windows means that Ghana cannot add them to the model used to negotiate with the G20 and the Pari Club members. It is not clear what a delayed meeting with Chinese creditors will mean to Ghanas hope of securing an IMF programme in March. The IMF Executive Board is due to meet in March to consider similar requests from member countries. AU adopts compact for private sector inclusion in AfCFTA Maclean Kwofi Feb - 23 - 2023 , 07:53 THE African Union (AU) has adopted the action compact of the Africa Prosperity Dialogues (APD) to champion private sector inclusion in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The decision was arrived at after member states unanimously endorsed the compact action at the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU, which took place from February 18 to 19, 2023, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The assembly is the AUs supreme policy and decision-making organ and comprises all Heads of State and Government of AU member states. The summit was on the theme: "The year of AfCFTA: Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area implementation". Shared ownership A statement issued by the Africa Prosperity Dialogues yesterday said the action compact was a shared ownership approach initiated by the Africa Prosperity Network in partnership with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the Government of Ghana, the host nation of the AfCFTA Secretariat. Per the statement, member states recognised that the AfCFTA agreement would contribute significantly to sustainable economic growth, employment generation, inflow of foreign direct investment, industrial development, better integration of the continent into the global economy and prosperity for all Africans. We discussed how to overcome critical challenges impeding the promotion of intra-African trade such as inadequate infrastructure, transport, communications, energy, information technology, poor trade facilitation processes, access to finance, and free movement of persons the statement said. It said the business leaders committed to take concrete steps in four thematic areas--business community, government, AfCFTA Secretariat and partners. On the business community, the statement said member states agreed to advocate and utilise the AfCFTA preferential regime under its various instruments. We agreed to increase investment in science technology and innovation to power value-added made-in-Africa production and industrialisation, advocate full ratification and implementation of the AU protocol on free movement of persons, right of residence and right of establishment. We will work closely with the governments in the implementation of the agreement establishing the AfCFTA business community, it said. Industrialisation According to the statement, African governments were also called upon to pursue commodity-based industrialisation to facilitate the production of high-quality goods and services within the African single market. Establish community-level incubation centres and adopt an entrepreneurial approach to education, including technical and vocational education and training, as well as mainstream applied science, technology and innovation in the curriculum of our schools," it added. The compact also urged member states to "set up special measures for women entrepreneurs to take full advantage of the AfCFTA, including supporting the #HERAfCFTA initiative and developing tailor-made programmes, including offering special incentives for youth-owned enterprises. Provide tailor-made programmes for African micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with incentives to strengthen capabilities, and capacities to accelerate industrialisation and trade. Lastly, ratify the AU Protocol on the free movement of people and select a champion to ensure early entry into force, it said. Childhood vaccine shortage: Some will be available in two weeks - GHS assures Getrude Ankah Nyavi Feb - 23 - 2023 , 11:16 The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye says efforts are underway to replenish vaccines used for routine immunization of babies from birth to at least 18 months, which are currently in short supply. Reacting to a Daily Graphic publication on the shortage, he gave the assurance that Ghana will receive new stocks of the childhood vaccines in the next two weeks. "We have acknowledged that there has been a shortage, we were anticipating we will get it much earlier [but] it was delayed ...we are working with UNICEF and their other partners to ensure that within the next two weeks, we are able to bring you the vaccines", he said. He was reacting to the publication in a radio interview with Accra-based Citi FM,. It followed a Daily Graphic report about the nationwide shortage of childhood vaccines on Thursday, February 23, 2023. Under the routine vaccination programme, Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG), a vaccine for tuberculosis (TB) disease; oral polio vaccine 0 (OPV); Measles-Rubella; Meningitis and Diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough) are administered. Vaccines against polio, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenza type B (DPT/Hep B/ Hib 1) and six infectious diseases that are particularly dangerous to babies are also among those administered. Mr Aboagye who said it was only three of the vaccines that have shortage attributed it to the depreciation of the cedis, "Its three key traditional vaccines that we have run out towards the end of the year. Polio vaccine 0 (OPV), Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG0 and then the Measles-Rubella vaccines were supposed to be procured in the first quarter of the year but due to the currency depreciation the amount that was available could not pay". According to Mr. Aboagye, once the vaccine comes in those who need the vaccination will be vaccinated. He added that there will be community announcements to ensure the information on the availability of the vaccines is known. It is illegal to cut or prune your own tree - former EPA boss Zadok Kwame Gyesi Feb - 23 - 2023 , 16:45 A former Acting Director of the Air Quality Unit of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Emmanuel Appoh, says it is illegal to either cut down or prune your own tree in Ghana without a permit from the EPA. He has, therefore, urged the public not to disregard the essence to obtain permit before felling any tree in Ghana. He said when you plant a tree, it does not belong to you anymore, hence the need to get permit before doing anything to the tree. There is the need for people to plant trees in their house and when you plant a tree, it doesnt belong to you, you cant cut it; you cant even prune it, he explained. EPA Speaking to Graphic Online in Accra on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, on the sidelines of a workshop organised by Ghana Urban Air Quality Project (GHAir), to promote quality air, Mr Appoh said, many people have disregarded the tree cutting law and are felling trees indiscriminately without permit. The GHAir Project The GHAir, which is being funded by the Clean Air Fund, focuses on deploying a mixture of low cost sensors and reference grade monitors in urban areas of Ghana (Accra) to provide high spatio-temporal air pollution data for bridging important data gaps, epidemiologic research and community advocacy. The workshop brought together environmental health officers from the various municipalities in the Greater Accra Region to be trained on how to monitor air quality in their respective areas. Why the permit? The former EPA boss said both Local Governance Act and the EPA Act all prohibit people from the felling of trees without permit, explaining that the law on the prohibition of the felling of trees without a permit was made to protect the environment. He said once a tree is destroyed, it causes a lot of imbalance to the ecosystem, stressing that trees play important role in regulating the air quality and temperature. For Mr Appoh, there are clearly stated sanctions against persons who fell trees without permit, noting that because people are not being punished for the indiscriminate felling of trees, many people are unaware that there is law on practice. Trees absorb the gases in the atmosphere so that we can get a clear air to breath, he explained, noting that "tree is something that all living organisms rely on, especially we the advanced primates. He said when you remove one tree, you cause a lot of imbalance in the ecosystem. Once you are going to remove a tree, there is the need to have a replacement so that future generations can also survive. Mr Appoh, however, encouraged the public to prioritise tree planting, especially in their homes and around their homes. Data on air critical The Lead for the Ghana Urban Air Quality Project, Professor. Adeladza Kofi Amegah, who is also an environmental and nutritional epidemiologist, called on the government to have an accurate data on its air quality to inform clinical decisions. He said there was the need for the government to invest more in procuring facilities that will enable the EPA and the various Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to monitor and gather data on air quality. For him, having data on the air quality will also inform policy and actions that will help the country to improve its air quality. Its a fallacy to think Bawumia and Alan are the lead candidates for NPP Kwabena Agyapong Zadok Kwame Gyesi Politics Feb - 23 - 2023 , 12:54 Flagbearer aspirant of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwabena Agyei Agyapong, has urged the media not to fall for the propaganda that the presidential race for the party is between the current Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and former Trade and Industry Minister, Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen. He said anybody who thinks along the lines that Dr Bawumia and Alan Kyeremanten are the lead candidates in the NPPs presidential race, is detached from reality. In a radio interview with Accra-based Citi FM on Thursday (February 23, 2023) Mr Agyapong said, his own tours and engagements with the party members indicate that the two candidates are not the preferred ones. For him, Ghanaians are yearning for someone who could change the political heartbeat of the country and ensure development and that person is himself--Kwabena Agyei Agyapong. Fallacy The former Presidential Spokesperson and General Secretary of the ruling NPP, said he stands a better chance to win the election than the two candidates being projected by the media--Dr Bawumia and Alan Kyeremanteng. Mr Agyapong also said the cost of running government in the country is too big and needed to be reviewed. For him, his government will not have more than 19 Ministers, pointing out that there was no point having more than two deputy ministers in one Ministry. The NPP presidential hopeful also said there was the need to consolidate some of the ministries to save the country from the huge cost of running the government. Bawumia Currently, more than five people in the party, including Dr Bawumia, Alan Kyeremanteng; former Agric Minister, Dr Afriyie Akoto; former Energy Minister, Boakye Agyarko; and a former Member of Parliament for Asante Mampong, Francis Addai-Nimoh, have all declared their intentions to contest the flagbearer race. Nigeria Elections: Baba Kamara appointed Deputy Head of 250 Member ECOWAS Observer Mission Mary Mensah Politics Feb - 22 - 2023 , 19:26 A former National Security Advisor and High Commissioner to Nigeria, Alhaji Baba Kamara, has accepted an invitation from the President of the ECOWAS Commission to be the Deputy Head of a 250-member ECOWAS Election Observation Mission to Nigeria for this weekend's general election. The mission headed by the former President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Koroma, is expected to observe the Presidential Election scheduled to be held in Nigeria on February 25, 2023. The team will be in Nigeria from February 22 to 28, 2023. Alhaji Baba Kamaras appointment is pursuant to the provisions of the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, which seeks to harness specialised skills in the field of diplomacy and good governance for the benefit of nation-states in the sub-region. The election Nigerians will head to the polls on Saturday in a fiercely-contested presidential vote that analysts say is too close to call. It will be the largest democratic exercise on the continent as Africas most populous nation picks a new president. Eighteen candidates are in the running for Nigerias highest office, each confident they can turn the countrys fortunes around if voted into power, but opinion polls suggest three are leading the race for the popular vote. One of the key contenders is Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the candidate of Buharis party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). Another is the main opposition leader and a former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Nigerias presidential elections have typically been two-horse races between the ruling and opposition parties, but this years vote has a third strong contender, Peter Obi, who is running under the lesser-known Labour Party. Electra Vehicles, a B2B electric vehicle AI software company headquartered in Boston that produces Cloud and onboard software to optimize the performance of electric vehicle battery systems, raised $21 million in an oversubscribed investment round. The round is led by United Ventures, the Italian venture capital firm specializing in digital technologies, through the fund UV T-Growth; and it includes additional investment from Stellantis Ventures, the venture capital fund of Stellantis. Existing investors LIFTT S.p.A., Club degli Investitori, and BlackBerry Limited also participated in the round. Electra Vehicles was founded in 2015 by energy storage expert Fabrizio Martini, following his work with NASA, where he developed a novel battery system for Venus-bound spacecraft. The company provides AI-based software solutions to electric vehicles, electric fleets, and multiple battery-electric verticals for improved battery pack range, lifetime, and safety performance across applications. The company has recently opened an Italian branch based in Turin, Italy, to expand its presence in the Italian and European markets. Since raising an investment round of $3.6 million in 2021, Electra Vehicles has seen strong revenue growth due to a growing customer base of leading Tier 1 and 2 Suppliers who seek to improve their battery pack performance. The company has grown its library of battery and vehicle data models and built upon an extensive dataset of 300+ battery and capacitor chemistries. In January 2023, Electra announced a Design Win in partnership with BlackBerry IVY to deploy their joint technology in the PATEO digital cockpit on a Dongfeng Motor Voyah EV. The new funding will support scaling operations and continuing to deploy innovative software technology that solves the electrification industry's largest problems, including range, lifetime, and safety concerns. Expansion plans include targeted growth into European markets and expanding the office in Turin, Italy, as well as rapid growth of both technical and sales teams to meet the increasing demand for Electras offerings. The company has developed three main products for optimal battery management that address the entire lifecycle of the battery system from when it rolls off the production line to when it is decommissioned. The patented core of the technology, the Adaptive Battery Digital Twin, leverages AI and ML to provide design insights, real-time onboard controls, and fleet-wide data analytics for reduced total cost of ownership. French start-up Hyliko plans to integrate Toyotas second-generation hydrogen fuel cell modules into heavy-duty trucks for their zero-emission fleet offering. This latest cooperation into the truck sector further expands Toyotas portfolio of partnerships where it provides its fuel cell technology for hydrogen solutions across diverse sectors including trains, buses, generators and various marine applications. Hyliko will offer two models of fuel cell trucks: a 44t tractor and a 26t straight truck (available in 6x2 and 6x4 variants). Each of these vehicles will be equipped with two Toyota fuel cell modules. As part of its truck leasing offering, Hyliko plans to introduce its own green hydrogen infrastructure, including fuel production, storage and distribution. Toyota Motor Europes (TMEs) Fuel Cell Business is looking to expand further into the wider commercial vehicle sector as a means to accelerate the growth of zero emissions hydrogen mobility. Specifically, it sees great promise in trucks, which are responsible for 77% of all freight transported on European roads. While the lower mass of hydrogen systems allows for heavier payload, the fast refueling of hydrogen is also essential for heavy commercial transport with high utilization. Commercial trucks usage patterns and their demand for larger volumes of hydrogen position them as key contributors in developing sustainable infrastructures. Globally, Toyota is already working with multiple truck partners to integrate fuel cell technology in heavy-duty transport. The ZANZEFF Shore to Store project in US, which started back in 2019, recently showed that fuel cell electric trucks can match diesel performance and provide a zero-emissions alternative ready for commercial deployment. (Earlier post.) The partnership with Hyliko also marks another step towards TMEs vision for hydrogen ecosystems in Europe, stimulating both supply and demand to expand into viable business models. As hydrogen energy is a key pillar of Europes energy strategy, TME is prioritizing the expansion of different types of fuel cell applications within hydrogen ecosystems to support their growth. TMEs partnership strategy aims to develop synergies between the different business sectors and supports communities that want to further expand into fully fledged hydrogen corridors. Norm Analista is the founder of Analista & Co. (A&C), a Guam-based brand specializing in stand-out bespoke apparel. A&C is located in the second floor of the Tumon Sands Plaza. Follow @analista_co on Instagram and TikTok and Analista & Co. on Facebook. For behind the scenes content related to this columns topic, visit @tastemaker671 on Instagram. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood on Thursday dismissed a former Father Duenas Memorial School students clergy sexual abuse case against the Holy See, or the Vatican. The former student wanted the court to hold the Vatican liable for the actions of former Archbishop Anthony Apuron, who allegedly raped and abused him multiple times when he was 14 or 15 years old in 1994-1995. The judge, in a 35-page ruling, granted the Vaticans motion to dismiss for insufficient service of process and for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction under the (Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act). The act, a U.S. law, allows foreign states to avoid being sued in court unless one of several enumerated exceptions to immunity applies. Courts have treated the Holy See as a foreign state. The court orders that the plaintiffs claims against the Holy See be dismissed with prejudice, Tydingco-Gatewood said in her order. The plaintiff in the case is identified in court documents only as D.M. to protect his privacy. D.M.s case is the latest in a string of clergy sex abuse lawsuits against the Vatican dismissed by the court. Courts have consistently held that misconduct, such as sexual abuse, falls outside the scope of a priests employment. The Guam case caught the Vaticans attention when D.M.s counsel, Guam-based Charles McDonald, sought the federal courts assistance in reaching out to the U.S. Department of State to serve papers on the Holy See after prior attempts failed. McDonald is working with other lawyers on the case. The Vatican hired a team of attorneys, led by California-based Jeffrey Lena, on whom the Holy See calls when it needs defending in lawsuits on American soil. The Vatican lawyers asked the court to dismiss the Guam case. Deficient service Tydingco-Gatewood, in her order, said because the service of process was deficient, the court lacked jurisdiction. While the court recognizes the plaintiffs earnest attempts to serve the Holy See, the court must quash the purported service on the Holy See, the judge said. The judge also addressed the remaining arguments raised in the Holy Sees motion. D.M. alleged Apuron was an employee of the Holy See and that Apuron was appointed by and later removed by the pope. The court finds that the plaintiff has failed to satisfy his burden of production to show that the requirements of the tortious act exception applies to Apurons alleged sexual abuse of the plaintiff because any such misconduct fell outside the scope of Apurons employment with the Holy See, the judge said. The Vatican stripped Apuron of his title as archbishop of Guam and banned him from returning to Guam after a tribunal found him guilty of sexual assault of multiple minors. Apuron appealed the decision but lost. D.M. sued the Vatican for its own alleged negligence as well as the acts of Apuron, the Archdiocese of Agana, the Capuchins and Father Duenas Memorial School, all alleged to be the Holy Sees agents or employees. The Vatican argued the court may not consider these entities alleged acts or omissions because the plaintiff didnt alleged facts that would overcome the presumption of separate juridical status, such that the acts could be attributed to the Holy See. D.M. is one of more than 270 survivors of Guam clergy sexual assaults. The Archdiocese of Agana agreed to compensate them under a court-approved reorganization plan as part of the archdiocese bankruptcy process. Court documents said D.M. grew up on Saipan and attended Father Duenas Memorial School on Guam during the 1994-1995 academic year. The judge also dismissed D.M.s request for punitive damages against the Vatican. The case against other defendants remains. Hundreds of pandemic-hit businesses that are still struggling mainly from the slow return of Japanese tourism could receive more financial assistance similar to the Local Employers Assistance Program, or LEAP, Guam Economic Development Authority Administrator Melanie Mendiola said at a Thursday GEDA board meeting. The GEDA board also voted to revoke a special hotel qualifying certificate it issued to JSMH LLC since several years have passed without any development on the companys plan to build a $133 million Guam hotel in Tumon. Sen. Joe San Agustin, appropriations committee chairman, confirmed working with GEDA on extending assistance to still struggling businesses through a program with a similar funding mechanism as the LEAP. San Agustin said 50% of the funding will come from Adelup and the Legislature will match that but he said it will be up to senators to support the proposal. It will not be as huge as the total $62 million that was used for LEAP, San Agustin said. He said it could only be about $10 million, split between Adelup and the Legislature. The senator said this is a rough estimate and is awaiting a final assessment from GEDA. Mendiola said the program wont be called LEAP 2.0. The Guam Travel & Tourism Association and businesses mostly relying on Japanese tourism are the ones doing the heavy lifting on this assistance program, Mendiola said, with support from Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, GEDA and San Agustin. Revoked tax breaks In a unanimous vote, the GEDA board approved a recommendation to revoke JSMH LLCs special qualifying certificate for its hotel project. In 2015, JSMH LLC applied for tax breaks as part of its plan to build a $133 million hotel, the Citta De Mare, according to PDN files. GEDA Board Chairman David John said the company ran into problems, including difficulty in hiring construction workers, followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which are factors beyond the developers control. But he said GEDA has to clear the books on the QC program. They can always reapply in the future if the project becomes active again, John said at the board meeting. The Guam Police Department has launched an internal investigation after recently unsealed federal court documents from 2018 point to alleged corruption involving two high-ranking police officers. One of the two officers Capt. Kenneth Mantanona retired in 2019, GPD Chief Stephen Ignacio said during a press conference Thursday. The other officer, Capt. Kim Santos, still is with the department, in charge of its auxiliary services division. Ignacio said he spoke with the FBI, who informed him there is no federal criminal investigation involving any active police officer. Ignacio said the departments internal investigation will examine only the actions of police officers still employed by GPD and the department will refer any findings of illegal activity to the attorney generals office. FBI affidavit The 2018 affidavit, which was unsealed in the District Court of Guam on Jan. 23, alleges that drug dealers paid former police officer John Boom Mantonana for protection and for information about law enforcement investigations, and that police Capt. Mantanona and police Santos gave confidential police information to John Mantanona. The affidavit was written by FBI special agent Patrick Ernst to support the FBIs request at the time to seize additional cell phone records related to a drug trafficking investigation. According to the affidavit, Kenneth Mantanona John Mantanonas cousin was in charge of the departments criminal investigations division, which oversaw the departments Mandana Drug Task Force. The task force was dissolved in 2019. The federal drug trafficking investigation targeted Audrey Wolford, Jeffrey Aguigui and others, but the affidavit states federal investigators also were investigating public corruption involving Wolford, John Mantanona and the two police captains. I believe that Mantanona requests sensitive law enforcement investigative information from Capt. (Kenneth D. Mantanona) and some of the information requested by Mantanona pertains to drug investigations, the FBI affidavit stated. Additionally, I believe that Mantanona makes payments to Captain (Kenneth D. Mantanona). Common practice The affidavit states Capt. Kenneth Mantanona ran license plate numbers for his cousin and told him the location of a drug house in Inalahan that was under police surveillance. The affidavit states Santos provided police clearances for two people after being asked by John Mantanona, but Ignacio on Thursday said its common practice for police officers to field and facilitate requests for police clearances. Ignacio said hes done it many times himself. The FBI affidavit doesnt allege that Santos provided John Mantanona with any information related to investigations or that Santos was paid. I believe that Mantanona requests sensitive information from Capt. Santos, the affidavit states, adding the FBI agent believed Santos provided Mantanona with the requested information by text message or made it available for him to pick up. John Mantanona hasnt been charged with drug crimes, but faces federal charges that he tampered with a jury during a drug trial in 2018. Mantanona pleaded not guilty to those charges and his case has not yet gone to trial. New nominations to the Guam Visitors Bureau board of directors will be accepted prior to voting at a membership meeting today, GVB President and CEO Carl Gutierrez said. Meanwhile, questions remain whether GVB violated budget law bans on government-funded travel when the bureau paid for 20 off-island trips of mayors, vice mayors and senators in fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2023. Attorney General Douglas Moylan on Thursday said hes aware of the GVB trip questions but cannot confirm or deny possible corruption investigations. The government of Guams budget laws for fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2023 prohibit government-funded travel. While GVB is allowed to travel to promote tourism on Guam, there are restrictions. The travel should be paid for by the Tourist Attraction Fund and is restricted to the GVB general manager or his designee and appropriate GVB staff and cultural performers, as identified by the board as necessary to accomplish the goal of the travel. Gutierrez on Thursday said the travel overseas was paid for by GVBs membership funds. The justification for bringing members of the Mayors Council is tied to the ultimate vision of achieving a visa waiver for the Philippines. They are cultural ambassadors of our island and are held in high regard when they are representing Guam overseas, he said. He added that the mayors have a very vital role in building sister-city relations. It is through building these relationships with their counterparts that Guam can build a better case for the president of the Philippines and Congress to show the United States a visa waiver is beneficial for both countries, including improved military relations. The Mayors Council is part of a bigger goal to create an organized group of officials between Guam and the Philippines that can put together a petition that supports this effort to lobby for a visa waiver, he added. The mayors also had a purpose in going to Taiwan as Guam commemorated the 50th anniversary of the sister city signing between Taipei City and Guam, he said. Board members Gutierrez said the GVB board has eight valid members, which is the minimum to meet a quorum. Four elected directors two-year terms ended after Feb. 5. Theres been an ongoing leadership conflict between GVB management and the board over board appointments, terms and roles, as well as allegations of unethical practices and alleged violations of the Open Government Act. Speaker Therese Terlaje appointed Mary Rhodes to the GVB board Jan. 31. The speaker also appointed Ho Eun, whos still a member of the board, as well as Laura Nelson-Cepeda as an alternate director. That appointment requires legislative approval. Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, meanwhile, appointed Kyona Rivera on Jan. 31 as the youth member on the GVB board. Riveras appointment, however, requires legislative approval. Michael Lujan Bevacqua is an author, artist, activist and the curator for the Guam Museum. Members of the tourism committee display frustration with committee chair Sen. Amanda Shelton over the cancellation of a Guam Visitors Bureau oversight hearing at the Guam Congress Building in Hagatna on Feb. 10, 2023. Robert Underwood is the former president of the University of Guam and Guams former delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives. Published on 2023/02/22 | Source On the 22nd, Jang Ki-yong will return to society after completing his military duties. It has been a year and a half since he joined the army on August 23rd, 2021. Advertisement Jang Ki-yong, who joined the army right after filming the drama "Now, We Are Breaking Up". The appearance of actors such as Song Hye-kyo, Choi Hee-seo, and Kim Joo-hun visiting Jang Ki-yong drew attention. Active activities continued within the army. He appeared with the group EXO Chanyeol and ONF Hyo-jin in the army's creative musical "Blue Helmet: Meisa's Song". Meanwhile, Jang Ki-yong made his debut as a model in 2012. In 2014, he began his career as an actor with the SBS drama "It's Okay, That's Love". Then he starred in leading roles for dramas such as "Go Back Couple", "My Mister", "Come and Hug Me" and "Search: WWW". He starred in WWW', "My Roommate Is a Gumiho" and "Now, We're Breaking Up". Published on 2023/02/23 | Source New photos added for the Korean drama "Poong, the Joseon Psychiatrist - Season 2" (2022). Advertisement Directed by Kang Hee-ju, Park Won-gook Written by Choi Min-ho-II, Lee Bom-I, Park Seul-gi-I Network: tvN With Kim Min-jae-I, Kim Hyang-gi, Kim Sang-kyung, Ahn Chang-hwan, Jeon Guk-hyang, Yeon Bo-ra,... 10 episodes - Wed, Thu 22:30 Synopsis Adapted from a novel and follow-up to "Poong, the Joseon Psychiatrist" Yoo Se-poong, a well-known physician of the medical center, was kicked out after being involved in a royal conspiracy. He turns into a true physician from the heart after meeting Gye Ji-han and Seo Eun-woo. Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2023/01/11 Two devastating earthquakes at magnitudes of 7,7 and 7,6 respectively, struck southeast of Turkiye on 6 February 2023. Another two at magnitudes of 6,4 and 5,8 hit Hatay province on 20 February. In the meantime, quake-stricken region was shaken by over 6.000 aftershocks since 6th February. In this respect, I would like to share information on the scope of the disaster, as well as subsequent search and rescue operations and international assistance sent to Turkiye. The earthquakes have affected a vast area, comprising of 10 cities, which bears a total population of 13,5 million people, in other words almost 1/6th of the country's total population. In order to provide you a better perspective of the earthquake, let me express that the earthquake zone is bigger than various European countries such as Austria, Switzerland or Bulgaria, and earthquake-stricken people are more populous than the population of for instance Belgium, Greece or Portugal. It is the most destructive and comprehensive natural disaster that ever took place within NATO territories since the inception of the Alliance. I have to inform you with deep sorrow that the two consecutive earthquakes together have constituted the deadliest seismic event in the whole history of the Republic of Turkiye with a death toll of 42.310 people as of 21 February 2023, according to latest statistics. Following the disaster, Turkiye has declared a "level 4 alarm" which is an alarm condition that includes international call for help. The Turkish Parliament declared a three-month state of emergency in earthquake affected provinces and mobilized all its emergency response capabilities. The rescue efforts were also complemented by international support. Many governments dispatched medical/rescue personnel, funds and equipment. Approximately 35000 search & rescue staff have worked in the earthquake zone so far. As of 21 February, 102 countries offered to send expert teams, 90 of which have taken part in search & rescue operations. 67 of them have completed their task and returned to their home countries. As of today, 23 countries are still present on the ground with their international personnel. In the wake of the disaster, like all Turkish diplomatic missions all over the World, our Embassy has coordinated in-kind donations in Finland. National mourning was declared as of 6 February 2023 for one week. Every Turkish Mission abroad also opened condolence books and many high-level officials, including Presidents and Prime ministers were first to sign in numerous countries. For instance, the condolence books in countries, among them Germany, Romania, Ireland, Latvia, were signed at Presidential level and those in Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands were signed at Prime Ministerial level. The Turkish-Finnish community spared no efforts, to extend their helping hand to their brothers and sisters in Turkiye. We have also observed, with gratitude, close affinity of the Finnish people, who sincerely shared the grief of earthquake victims and exhibited compassion towards them. Finnish Government sent to Turkiye a team of experts via EU Civil Protection Mechanism, as well as, allocating humanitarian assistance materials (winterized tents, blankets, sleeping bags, stoves etc.) worth of 1 million Euros through Finnish Red Cross and NGOs, other aid materials sent vie NATO's Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EARDCC). We have recently been informed that Finnish Business circled have also pledged substantial contributions. We thank them all. Quake stricken areas and Turkish people are undergoing hard times which will not come to an end in a while. On the other hand, amidst the disaster, we have observed under the rubbles that how diverging fault lines simultaneously converged the hearts and minds of people from different corners of the world. We have also experienced many instances where humanitarian solidarity surpasses the mundane limits of international politics. Earthquake wounds will eventually heal, bitter memories will slowly dwindle, if not totally die away: nevertheless, the friendship and solidarity shown in the aftermath of this disaster will always be remembered. Deniz Cakar Ambassador of the Republic of Turkiye in Helsinki HT Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) has announced the reform of its guidelines for the application of law that impact its decisions. The guidelines for the application of law are used in the decision-making process when the decision-maker cannot find a direct answer to a case under processing in legislation. The reform work will include extensive cooperation with various parties such as the Finnish Tax Administration, the Social Insurance Institution (Kela), the Office of the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman and the Finnish Refugee Advice Centre. The customer-oriented approach to the guidelines will be developed with these partners. The guidelines will be updated to be more customer-oriented and better support the work of the Finnish Immigration Service's decision-makers. The reform work will start immediately, and the first changes will take effect in the spring and summer of 2023. Furthermore, Chapter 5 of the Aliens Act has been amended, and it will particularly affect those applying for a residence permit on the basis of work and their employers. In practice, the changes will make the application and decision-making process of residence permits issued on the basis of work easier. The amendment stems from a more extensive concept aiming to cut the processing time of work-based permits down to an average of one month. The changes to Chapter 5 of the act support previous measures designed to expedite processing, and the new provisions also enable more extensive use of automation. The amendment clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the customers, employer and the Finnish Immigration Service in applications based on work. The employer will have more responsibility concerning the application. The new principle is that the employer will have checked the competence and professional skills of the employee, and the employee will not need to prove them again to the Finnish Immigration Service. The employee will not be required to deliver any degree or certificate that is not relevant to their work duties. These amendments and developments will make it easier for people to apply for residence permits for employed persons, and it will also make the decision-making process faster and more efficient. Both the guidelines reform and amendments to the Aliens Act will help the Finnish Immigration Service to implement its new strategy, which focuses on quality, smoothness, efficiency, predictability, and customer orientation. The reform will ensure that, moving forward, the Finnish Immigration Service's decisions will better take into account the overall situation of the customer. These measures indicate that the Finnish Immigration Service is moving towards a more streamlined, automated, and customer-centric service that will make the process of applying for and obtaining residence permits smoother and more efficient. HT President Sauli Niinisto of Finland is embarking on a trip to the United States from 6th to 10th March 2023. The President is set to focus on foreign and security policy issues, as well as closer economic and technological cooperation. During his trip, he will be accompanied by a business delegation comprising representatives from various industries. On the first day of his visit, President Niinisto will arrive on the West Coast in Seattle, where he will meet with Governor Jay Inslee and address a joint session of the State Senate on transatlantic cooperation in the areas of security, technology, and economy. ON a chilly November night in 2006, I accidentally spilled a pint over a tall, dark-haired gentleman in the Angel on the Bridge pub. I wasnt supposed to be in Henley that night but a twist of events led to me popping in to meet a friend in need a real sliding doors moment. I was a former Henley girl, having just moved to London and the stranger in question, Phil, was visiting from Leicestershire. Luckily for me, he saw the funny side of pint-gate and we began chatting and laughing. Little did I know that the tall dark gentleman and I would be getting engaged by the river two years later and saying I do in St Marys Church a few doors down and then having a family of our own in Henley. I remember taking the marriage preparation classes with Father Martyn(the then vicar of St Marys) and taking heed to his words, marriage is a unique friendship that needs nurturing. Weve been inseparable since our wedding day in September 2008 and have supported each other through many of lifes big events, births, bereavements, house moves and we still like each other! I couldnt believe it when I saw this competition, I lost my engagement ring six years ago when swimming in the sea. I panicked about telling Phil as I knew how upset he would be. The plan was always to try to replace it but we never got round to it and my finger has always felt a little naked since. Phil always said he would pretend to propose to me again if we ever got around to it so it would be a dream come true to recreate that moment by the riverbank as we did all those years ago and with such a beautiful ring, which I promise I would not lose! NICK STEELE had a slightly sticky start to his new job. The new executive headteacher of Stoke Row Primary School took part in the villages annual Shrove Tuesday pancake race. But he dropped his pancake and came last in the adults race. I didnt do very well, did I? laughed Mr Steele, who started his new job this week in addition to his existing role as head of Peppard Primary School. Pupils, teachers and parents took part in the races on the village common, which were being staged for the first time since 2020 due to the covid pandemic. The children competed in their year groups, running across the grass and flipping their pancakes as they went. They were cheered on by their families and villagers who watched from the sidelines. Each child was given a gold star sticker as they made it across the finish line. Races were then held for younger siblings and parents, teachers and other members of the community. The children enjoyed eating pancakes provided by the Friends of Stoke Row School before heading back to their classrooms. Tracy Westall-Reece, 41, watched her two younger children, Dylan, 11, and Allegra, six, take part. Her eldest child, Noah, 14, now attends Langtree School but used to go to the primary school and competed in the races every year. She said: Its so nice to get back to things like this which were part of school life before lockdown. Its a lovely old world tradition. When the teachers run, the kids go berserk. Josette Feddes, whose eight-year-old son Boris recently started at the school, was holding up one end of the finish line. She said the event was a great way for children to integrate and feel part of the community, adding: It doesnt matter if you win or lose, its great. The races were started 30 years ago by Judy Fox, 80, and Tilly Smith, 74, who both competed in this years final race. Mrs Smith, a former teacher at the school, said: Its the first time Ive beaten Judy, so Im very proud of that. Its a good village event. Mr Steele, who has been the headmaster of Peppard primary for 10 years, said the event was fantastic. The childrens behaviour has been impeccable, he said. The staff are very welcoming. Im looking forward to the next part of the adventure. The Philippines joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, the world's largest free trade agreement, will boost the Southeast Asian country's economy and inject fresh energy into regional economic integration, experts and business executives said on Wednesday. The economic and trade cooperation between China and the Philippines is also expected to reach new heights, they said. On Tuesday, the Philippines became the last signatory member to ratify the trade pact, involving 15 economies in the Asia-Pacific region, which came into effect on Jan 1 last year. "As a developing country with a large population, the Philippines has huge economic growth potential, and is expected to integrate (itself) deeper into regional industrial and supply chains when the RCEP is implemented in the country," said Zhang Jianping, head of the center for regional economic cooperation at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. "That will add growth impetus to not only the Philippines, but also to regional and world economies," he added. The free trade agreement will come into force in 60 days in the Philippines after the country officially deposits the instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval to the ASEAN Secretariat, the agreement's depositary. With the full implementation of the RCEP, around 90 percent of goods traded in the region will eventually enjoy zero tariff. The RCEP cumulative rules of origin allow products to have just 40 percent of their value to be added within the region to enjoy lower or zero tariffs. Xu Ningning, executive president of the China-ASEAN Business Council, said the implementation of the RCEP in the Philippines is expected to boost its exports and foreign direct investment influx to shore up the country's economic recovery. "Multiple aspects of the Philippines' economy, including sectors such as agricultural product processing, electrical machinery and digital economy, will gain growth momentum," he said. Xu, who is also chairman of the RCEP Industry Cooperation Committee, said that more Chinese enterprises are expected to invest in the Philippines as a gateway to international markets, while the two countries will also likely strengthen industrial chain cooperation in various sectors, including construction. Feng Guan, an executive of Optima Integration Group, a leading frozen products import service platform in China, said the company is eager to tap into new business opportunities arising from expansion of Chinese imports from the Philippines. The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade said on Wednesday that the RCEP certificates of origin it issued in January increased 137 percent year-on-year. With these certificates, enterprises can enjoy favorable tariff treatment in accordance with the RCEP rules. China is the Philippines' largest trade partner and second-largest export market. Their bilateral trade surged 10.6 percent on a yearly basis to 585.28 billion yuan ($84.91 billion) in 2022. The State Council, China's Cabinet, recently approved the establishment of the China-Philippines joint demonstration zone for economic innovative development in Zhangzhou, Fujian province, to tap into the potential of mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation. On June 1, 1982, Israel undertook Operation Peace for Galilee, the second of its Lebanon invasions. Its goal was the elimination of Yasser Arafat and the PLO. Ultimately, public pressure and the Reagan administrations US Special Envoy Philip Habib, enabled the PLO to survive and relocate to Tripoli. US press and TV news were fostering stories of Israels inhumane targeting of schools, hospitals, and indiscriminate bombing of civilian population. The press distortions were undermining US public support, as well as that of the American Jewish community, for Israels military action... Ho Feng-Shan poses for a photo taken while he was a Chinese consul in Egypt. TAIPEI (JTA) - Ho Feng-Shan, the Chinese diplomat stationed in Vienna who helped thousands of Jews escape from Europe during World War II, never met Adolf Eichmann. But in "Night Angels," a novel based on his life, Feng-Shan comes face to face with Eichmann several times - and his wife Grace's Jewish tutor, Lola, tries to kill the architect of the Holocaust. That detail is one of many that has spurred Ho Manli, Feng-Shan's daughter, to speak out against "Night Angels," the fourth novel by the Chinese-American author Weina Dai Randel. Manli says the book distorts elements of her father's st... Brasch, who has muscular dystrophy, walked the runway at New York Fashion Week for the South Asian brand Randhawa. (New York Jewish Week) - When disability activist Lily Brasch was asked if she would walk the runway as a model for New York Fashion Week, she didn't know if she would be able to do it. That's not because she has a rare form of muscular dystrophy, which weakens muscles and limits her ability to walk. Rather, it was unfortunate timing: The show was set for Friday evening, when the weekly Jewish holiday of Shabbat begins. But Brasch, who is Orthodox and goes by the stage name Lily B., quickly devised a workaround: She took her turn on the catwalk in Midtown at 5 p.m. and, instead of schle... Submitted by his wife, Debbie Kantor It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of Joseph (Yossi) Kantor on Feb. 8, on his 80th birthday, his family by his side. Joe was a pillar of strength, a joy to be with, a giant of a man, and always an optimist! Family came before anything else as he looked forward to his Shabbat calls from his children and grandchildren. He loved to travel and he and Debbie went to Israel, France, England, Italy, Brazil and throughout the U.S. Together they loved theatre and music and never missed an opportunity to travel to NYC for shows and great food! Joe was born in Tel Aviv, Israel, to Avraham and Miriam (Wohlfeld) Spanbock. After his fathers untimely death his mother remarried Dr. Zwi Kantor who legally adopted Joe and his sister Miki. Joes long and eclectic life was one of adventure. His adopted father was active in the exclusive political party Harute. It was here that he met Menachim Begin who became a life long friend of the family. Joe was proud to know Shimon Peres and Ben Gurion and told stories of how they met. Coming to the United States in 1956, the Kantor family set up home in Buffalo, NY where Joe attended High School. After graduation he left for Israel to serve in the Israeli army. After the army Joe studied computers, working for a computer company in Israel. He soon realized that college was in his future, and wanting to return to the U.S., he applied and got accepted to the Philadelphia College of Textile and Science where he earned his degree in Textile Engineering. After graduation, Joe landed a job with Burlington Industries and was asked by them to open a textile factory in Ashkelon, Israel. When the Yom Kippur War started he had to close the factory and moved back to the U.S. A dreamer among dreamers, Joe moved to Detroit, Michigan, learned the building business, creating the unusual and original idea of shell home building. His success led him to Central Florida where the home building business was booming in the 1980s. Joes pride in land development and home building is shown in more than the 2000 homes he designed and built throughout Detroit and Central Florida. He received numerous first place awards from the Home Builders Association for his architectural and interior designs, creativity and innovative residential home ideas. Joe leaves behind his wife and best friend of 37 years, Debbie (Wolkind) Kantor of Sanford, Florida; sons, Avi (Rachel) Kantor, Ori Kantor and Jonathan (Alyson) Brooks; daughters, Galit Green and Heather (Jeffrey) Barkin; sisters, Miki (Luci) Moshe and Loli (Scott Ferree) Kantor; and his 11 grandchildren. Funeral Services were held at CRJ Orlando with Rabbi Engel officiating, and graveside at the CRJ cemetery in Gotha with Rabbi Majesky officiating. Those who knew Joe have been changed for the better. In lieu of flowers please donate to: JNF Trees for Israel, Congregation of Reform Judaism, Orlando or Chabad North Orlando (Nates Shul) in Longwood. (JNS) American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch said he is working with his Israeli friends to prevent the government in Jerusalem from changing the Law of Return. Under the current law, an individual with a single Jewish grandparent is eligible for automatic Israeli citizenship. We want the Israeli government and our friends to understand that we will act to prevent anything from happening to cause rifts within Diaspora Jewry, Deutch said. We dont want anything to happen that could stop people from seeing Israel as their place of refuge, especially now, during a period of he... (JNS) Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday appealed to politicians and the general public to tone down the rhetoric amid threats that the governments judicial reform proposal will ignite a civil war. The values of the [1948] Declaration of Independence are the compass of our countryI will not let anyone harm them. This is a sensitive and explosive time in the public sphere. I am aware of the voices from both sides, of all the pain, worries and anxieties. I do not ignore this and it is on my mind constantly, Herzog wrote in a lengthy post on Twitter. During rece... MKs Yuli Edelstein and Minister Orit Strock raise a toast with Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan and others on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. (JNS) - The Knesset approved on Wednesday in first reading a bill to abolish the Disengagement Law by a vote of 62-36. The Disengagement Law led to the destruction and evacuation of four Jewish communities in northern Samaria-Sa-Nur, Homesh, Ganim and Kadim-and 21 in the Gaza Strip. The law would restore freedom of movement to Israelis in the four Samaria communities. Knesset member Yuli Edelstein and National Missions Minister Orit Strook sponsored the measure at the request of Samaria Regional Council chairman Yossi Dagan, who was himself among those expelled from the Samaria communitie... Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, walks to the Senate Chambers during a series of the votes at the U.S. Capitol Building, Feb. 13, 2023. WASHINGTON (JTA) - Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Jewish Democrat from California who has been in office for more than three decades, will not run in 2024. "I am announcing today I will not run for reelection in 2024, but intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends," she said Tuesday in a statement. Feinstein, 89, has been in the Senate since 1992 and has been closely watched in recent years because of concerns about her health and declining mental acuity. She stepped down as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee in November 2020 becau... (JTA) A recent study of the Dutch population conducted by the Conference of Jewish Material Claims Against Germany showed an alarming lack of education around the Holocaust in the Netherlands. For one, a majority of Dutch respondents, across all age groups, did not cite their own country as a place where the Holocaust took place, despite the fact that the Netherlands was the setting of the worlds most widely-read Holocaust memoir Anne Franks The Diary of a Young Girl, which has been translated into over 70 languages. About 75 percent of the countrys Jews were killed d... If it feels like theres an overload of news out of Israel a sea of flags at a Jerusalem protest, police sirens outside of a synagogue thats because there is. Israel has been consumed by two escalating crises that both appear to be crescendoing at the same time. And even though they feel separate, theyre intertwined in at least one big way. Allow us to explain: Israel is simultaneously contending with two things: a wave of Palestinian terror attacks and Israeli military raids in the West Bank, and massive protests of a government plan to constrain the courts. Each of the... (JTA) The Israeli minister responsible for relations with Jews in the Diaspora has a message for the government of the country where most of them live: Mind your own business. Amichai Chikli made the comment Sunday in a radio interview in Israel, where he was asked to address recent comments by U.S. ambassador Tom Nides, who said he was urging Israeli leaders to pump the brakes on their controversial effort to change the countrys judiciary. Nides was echoing sentiments expressed by U.S. President Joe Biden about the judicial reform proposal, which would give the Knesset,... Moms and their children enjoying the fun at Jewish Beginnings Preschool. Jewish Beginnings Preschool, a boutique Reggio-inspired program in Altamonte Springs, hosted a Mommy & Me with a Jewish Twist: Purim Edition! Young mothers and their babies, ages 0-3, gathered to enjoy Purim-themed sensory play activities, a sing-along circle time and delicious snacks. From playdough hamantashen to decorating clowns using colored spaghetti, each activity was designed to foster the child's creative spirit and sense of curiosity. A second session will be held next Sunday, March 26. RSVP at www.JewishAltamonte.com/mommy (Photos Here) Jewish Beginnings Preschool, now i... Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks to guests at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nov. 19, 2022. (JTA) - Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who became a pro-Israel favorite during her two years as the Trump administration's ambassador to the United Nations, announced her bid for the presidency, becoming the first Republican to challenge the former president ahead of 2024. In a video released Tuesday, Haley did not name Donald Trump, but alluded to him as a polarizing figure, emphasizing her efforts as governor at tamping down racial tensions and also suggesting that the Republican Party was alienating moderate Americans. "We turned away from fear toward God and the values... (JTA) Florida Republican Anna Paulina Luna beat a Jewish Democrat to represent her district in Congress last fall, but she had Jewish ancestry, too or so she claimed at the time. The freshman representative told Jewish Insider during her campaign that she was a small fraction Ashkenazi, in addition to having been raised as a Messianic Jew by my father. While mainstream Judaism does not consider Messianic Jews, who believe in the divinity of Jesus, to be Jewish, Lunas additional claim of Ashkenazi heritage was of interest enough for her to use it to deflect accusations... Dear Editor: I notice that most of your opinion pieces and world news briefs come from the right-wing Jewish News Service. Perhaps you should balance these articles with an equal amount of material from center and center-left Jewish publications. When writers like Jonathan Tobin and Mitchell Bard (see Heritage Jan. 20, 2023) accuse Jewish Democrats and liberals of being Jewish antisemites, one has to wonder, since the majority of Jews are Democrats and liberals, who the Jewish antisemites really are. Burt Whiteman Endicott, N.Y. ... (JNS) Earlier this month, Israels Foreign Minister Eli Cohen paid a diplomatic visit to Khartoum, where he met with the leader of Sudans transitional government, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. They finalized the terms of a normalization agreement between the two countries, which will be signed later this year following Sudans official transfer of power to civilian authority. On the same day as Cohens visit, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood alongside the President of Chad, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, as they inaugurated Chads embassy in Israel. This move builds... Warriors guard Jordan Poole recently spoke with Mark Medina of NBA.com about how he feels he has been performing since signing his four-year rookie contract extension last summer, worth up to $140MM with incentives. In order for (Golden States front office and ownership) to make a decision like that and for me to make a decision like that, they obviously thought I deserved it, Poole said. They like the character that I have, the way I can lead a team and everything else I bring on and off the court. With being able to be me in an organization like this, I try to bring positive energy. Im grateful and appreciative. I wouldnt necessarily say theres pressure. If anything, its more exciting to know Im locked into the Bay for the next five (years), Poole noted. We can go through the highs and lows of whatever it is. I embrace that. At 23 years old, its a pretty cool challenge. Through 58 games for the 29-29 Warriors, the 64 combo guard is averaging career highs of 20.9 PPG and 4.5 APG, along with 2.8 RPG and 0.8 SPG, across 30.7 MPG this season. Hes posting respectable shooting splits of .440/.335/.860 at volume. Here are a few more interesting quotes from their conversation, which is worth checking out in full: On his increased role on the team this season: Its cool. I try to do anything I can to try to help the team win. Whenever were winning games, I feel like Im playing better. Im able to be versatile and play in different situations. I start sometimes. Or I come off the bench and play the 1 or 2. Playing with different lineups adds to my versatility. Im a big believer in trying to find ways to get better every day, whether its watching film, working on something in the gym or asking questions. I always think Ill find ways to get better, whether Im playing good or bad. On dealing with more defensive attention: Ive loved it, honestly. To get the second team or the (first) teams best defender and be the main focus of the game plan and coverage is awesome. Its stuff that you dream about as a kid. I get to ask Steph what he sees and what he went through (earlier in his career). Hes one of the greatest players of all time. He has seen as many coverages, if not more, than some of the greatest players. Its awesome to blend his perspective into my own personal style of play. It helps me learn and find ways to grow. On his future beyond this year: Im trying to learn as much as I can with the greatness Im around now. With the way basketball and life goes, I may not be on the same team with these guys forever. So, Im trying to collect as much knowledge as I can. Whether its playing without these guys and playing with these guys, Im embracing everything that I do. WASHINGTON, DC The International Trade Administration (ITA) today released the U.S. federal governments official forecast of international visitation to the United States. ITAs National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) forecasts the total volume of international visitation to the United States to increase to 62.8 million in 2023, up 11 million, or 21.2%, from a total 51.8 million visitors in 2022. The forecast also estimates international visitation to reach 82.4 million in 2025, surpassing pre-pandemic 2019 visitation of 79.4 million. Additionally, international visitation is forecasted to reach 91 million in 2027. If reached, this would exceed the 90 million five-year visitor goal set by the 2022 National Travel and Tourism Strategy to rebuild and strengthen the industry. It is estimated that 90 million international visitors would spend $279 billion across the nation. Todays announcement is welcome news for so many Americans across the country whose jobs depend on a strong travel and tourism sector and underscores that this Administrations plans for economic recovery is on the right track, said Mark Keam, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Travel and Tourism. The international visitation forecast includes actual annual visitation for years 2019-2022 and forecasted annual visitor volume for years 2023-2027. The forecast covers: Total All Countries; Overseas (which excludes Canada and Mexico); and the 18 largest source markets based on 2019 visitor volume. The forecast of international visitation includes three measurements: volume (in thousands); annual percent change; and share of 2019 volume for each covered source market. Download NTTOs full data forecast. About The International Trade Administration (ITA) The International Trade Administration (ITA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce is the premier resource for American companies competing in the global marketplace. ITA has more than 2,200 employees assisting U.S. exporters in more than 100 U.S. cities and 80 markets worldwide. For more information on ITA visit www.trade.gov. Keep up-to-date on the travel and tourism industry by visiting TI News. NEW YORK - Ennismore, the fastest-growing lifestyle hospitality company, today announces a new collaboration with the Kraft Heinz Company. The Ennismore Partnership Studio will collaborate with the HEINZ brand on a global program inclusive of on-property experiences, activations and digital content in the luxe lifestyle space that highlight the iconic brand's latest and greatest innovations, including the chef-inspired HEINZ 57 Collection line. In celebration of the collaboration, on February 23rd and 24th at HYDE Beach at SLS South Beach, the brands will launch an exclusive HEINZ tasting lounge: an immersive pop-up that will provide SLS guests and savvy clientele unique tastings, samples and giveaways on Miami's iconic beach, coinciding with South Beach's much anticipated Food & Wine Festival. The lounge will showcase the integration of the HEINZ 57 Collection coupled with the culinary expertise of the SLS Miami team. Located at Hyde Beach, renowned for its signature mixology and music talent, the tasting lounge will bring a true moment of surprise and delight for all guests. Ennismore is proud to work with the HEINZ brand for a new sensory experience for our audiences. The new collaboration will introduce hotel guests globally at Mondrian, SLS and House of Originals hotels to the latest HEINZ products, including the chef-inspired HEINZ 57 line, at food & beverage venues as well as via in-room dining. Similarly, there will be a series of unique on-property activations throughout the year exclusively for guests at these properties. Rohit Anand, Executive Vice President of Global Partnerships at Ennismore Over the last several years, we noticed a rise in 'curious foodies' culture people who seek new and elevated eating experiences and saw an exciting white space for the HEINZ brand to join the narrative. At Kraft Heinz, we are always innovating to please our fans' evolving palettes. We created the HEINZ 57 Collection line to deliver the multi-sensorial eating experiences our fans are craving, and Ennismore is the perfect group to help bring those experiences to life across a variety of dayparts and eating occasions. We're excited to see how their chefs will leverage the flavors and textures of the HEINZ 57 Collection line to create mouth-watering dishes. Nick Guerten, Vice President, Marketing, Away from Home Whether poolside, ordering room-service, sipping cocktails at the lounge or having dinner with friends, guests will be able to indulge in the very latest culinary line from HEINZ 57 Collection line of products. Participating hotels include: Mondrian Los Angeles, SLS Brickell, SLS LUX Brickell and SLS South Beach. Launched in July of 2022, the HEINZ 57 Collection is a line of elevated sauces and spreads designed to add magic to the culinary experience, one spoonful, drizzle or spread anywhere, anytime. Aiming to make culinary trends more accessible, the HEINZ brand looked to the culinary expertise of award-winning Chefs, Lee Wolen and Joe Frillman, for inspiration in developing the collection. The chef-inspired line strives to accelerate culinary exploration by transforming simple dishes into mouth-watering creations. The collection includes infused honeys - Hot Chili and Black Truffle and crunch sauces Chili Pepper Crunch, Roasted Garlic Crunch and Mandarin Orange Miso Crunch. Through its newly formed Partnership Studio, Ennismore continues to expand its strategic partnerships with international brands including Fortune 500 companies across automotive, communications, beverage and financial services to deliver innovative and bespoke benefits, products, and experiences. More information about the Partnership Studio can be found on Ennismore's website . ABOUT ENNISMORE Ennismore is a creative hospitality company with a global collective of entrepreneurial and founder-built brands with purpose at their heart. It curates and manages unique properties and experiences in some of the most exciting destinations worldwide. Founded in 2011 by entrepreneur Sharan Pasricha, Ennismore and Accor entered a joint venture in 2021 to create a new autonomous entity, with Accor holding a majority shareholding. Creating the world's fastest-growing lifestyle hospitality company, it brings together Ennismore's know-how in building brands with creative storytelling, design, and authentic experiences, with Accor's wealth of knowledge in delivering scale, network growth and distribution. Under Sharan Pasricha, Founder & Co-CEO, and Gaurav Bhushan, Co-CEO, Ennismore comprises 14 brands - with over 100 operating properties and a further 140+ in the pipeline - and a collection of over 190 culturally relevant and diverse restaurants and nightlife destinations. Ennismore puts innovation at the center of everything it does, with four dedicated in-house specialist studios, which obsess every guest touchpoint, including Carte Blanched a fully integrated F&B concept platform; a creative studio of interior and graphic designers; a digital product and tech innovation lab, and a partnerships and collaborations division. Ennismore has been included in Fast Company's World's Most Innovative Companies lists in 2020 and 2021; ranked#29 in FT1000: Europe's Fastest-Growing Companies; and is part of FT Future 100 - the UK's fastest-growing businesses that are shaping the future of their sector. The Ennismore brands: 21c Museum Hotel, 25hours Hotels, Delano, Gleneagles, Hyde, JO&JOE, Mama Shelter, Mondrian, Morgans Originals, SLS, SO/, The Hoxton, TRIBE and Working From. IHG Hotels & Resorts, one of the worlds leading hotel companies, is pursuing an ambitious expansion plan in Greater China that explores popular and emerging destinations. Leveraging its global experience, deep local insights, and a rich brand portfolio, the company is well-positioned to respond to increasing domestic travel demand and is ready to welcome Chinese and international travelers alike in the new era of travel. With open borders between Hong Kong, Macao, and Mainland China, as well as increased international travel and favorable government policies, Chinas culture and tourism industries are embracing rapid development. According to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, domestic trips during Chinese New Year increased by 23.1% YoY, with revenue increasing 30% YoY*, highlighting strong recovery and potential for the domestic tourism market. With multiple domestic travel incentives and the steady recovery of the tourism industry, we believe that the Chinese market is poised for strong growth. The recent boom in travel for Chinese New Year has laid a strong foundation for the continued development of the culture and tourism sector this year. With a long-standing commitment to being 'In China, for China', IHG remains confident in the market and strives to lead the industry with our portfolio of LUXURY & LIFESTYLE, PREMIUM, AND ESSENTIAL brands, offering high-end modernity and quality accommodation. We are continuously enriching our brand portfolio through partnerships, delivering distinctive new hotels that showcase the beauty of China to travelers. Daniel Aylmer, Managing Director, IHG Greater China IHG currently has 12 brands in Greater China, with a total of more than 1,000 hotels operating or under the pipeline. This year, it will continue to expand its footprint in Greater China, covering more than 200 cities and offering guests unforgettable journeys with its diverse range of distinctive brands. New Luxury & Lifestyle hotels turn journeys into extraordinary experiences As Greater Chinas high-end consumers and tourism market grow more refined, IHG has closely followed regional development strategies and strengthened the presence of its Luxury & Lifestyle brands in first-tier cities and popular tourist destinations. This year, REGENT, a global top-tier luxury hotel brand that is focused on Asia expansion, has revealed a brand remodeling plan that will define its ongoing legacy at landmark destinations. With innovative concepts, breathtaking scenery, and exceptional guest services, Regent creates an unparalleled travel experience for its guests. Following its re-imagined design and visual identity, the brand has returned to a classic landmark on the shores of Victoria Harbour with Regent Hong Kong, ushering in a new chapter of elegance and tradition. The brands second Shanghai hotel, Regent Shanghai on The Bund, will open its doors in the second half of this year, inheriting classic historical and artistic value with unique new luxury travel experiences. InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, IHGs flagship brand, will also continue to expand its footprint this year. With a focus on resort destinations near important economic areas, it will be enhancing its competitiveness in the local and short-haul travel markets. As a new landmark in Shanghai Lingang, the newly upgraded InterContinental Shanghai Harbour City offers one-stop vacation services that maximize guests experiences around Dishui Lake. InterContinental Shenzhen WECC is set to open in a grand manner in the third quarter of this year, offering high quality accommodations for MICE guests from around the globe. Driven by an improving consumer environment, IHG has been strategically expanding the boutique hotel sector, led by Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants. Following Kimptons first mainland China opening in Suzhou, the highly anticipated Shanghai Kimpton Qiantan is scheduled to open in the second half of this year, bringing the brands service excellence, design leadership, and luxury without attitude to the vibrant Lujiazui commercial and financial district. No two neighborhoods are alike. Neither are any two Hotel Indigo properties. Boutique lifestyle brand Hotel Indigo draws inspiration from the local neighborhood, culture and trends to ensure no two travel experiences are alike. It seeks out the worlds most inspiring cities, including Zhejiang Province, which will welcome three hotels from the brand this year. In Guangzhou, the Hotel Indigo Guangzhou Haixinsha will open its doors to guests this summer, offering 360-degree waterfront views that seamlessly combine natural and cultural landscapes with the vibrancy of the city. Refreshed premium offerings with personal and purposeful trips With the rise of "bleisure, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts is becoming the preferred choice for business travelers. With sincere service and high-quality facilities, Crowne Plaza is continually evolving with the modern work era to be more digital, flexible, and connected. This year, the brand will focus on openings in popular tourist cities such as Hangzhou and Xi'an, as well as key cities in the Greater Bay Area such as Jiangmen, and Guangdong. It will continue to remain the strong growth in both the business and leisure travel market, providing consistent high-quality accommodation experiences that keep guests productive, connected, and rested during their stay. Crafted with the customs of Chinese consumers in mind, the upgraded HUALUXE Hotels and Resorts 2.0 will continue to provide guests with immersive Chinese cultural experiences. This year, the brand will open hotels in Sanya, Handan, and other popular destinations, breathing life into the Chinese aesthetic lifestyle as guests take on a new understanding of sophistication. voco invites guests to join in a sustainable living offering diverse and delightful experiences, will continue its ease of conversion in this year, voco Guangzhou Shifu, which starts at the smallest details, will welcome guests with joy and comfort, enabling guests to feel the joy of being welcomed. To meet consumer demands for a healthy lifestyle, the newly rebranded EVEN Hotels is accelerating its Greater China network this year. The EVEN Hotel Suzhou Grand Canal recently opened its doors, and additional hotels will continue opening in first-tier cities and the Greater Bay Area, with locations in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Zhongshan. Advanced fitness facilities, healthy and delicious food concepts, natural and soothing resting spaces will help guests find a balance between business travel and healthy living. Iconic essential brands that bring True Hospitality to the local market As the award-winning global icon for its heartfelt hospitality, Holiday Inn will continue its local focus with new openings in popular cities and destinations such as Sanya, Beihai, Xi'an, and Chengdu. Holiday Inn hotels can also be found in niche destinations, such as Holiday Inn Deqing Xinshi Ancient Town. Whether for a family vacation or business trip, guests can continue to enjoy the welcoming comfort of a Holiday Inn. As IHGs one of the most powerful growth engines, Holiday Inn Express will continue to expand its footprint with a consumer focus in 2023. By taking on local market characteristics, it will accelerate reach to lower-tier cities. Its trusted high-quality guest experience, strong commercial performance for owners, and customized franchise model for the China market will continue to strengthen its leading position in the upper midscale hotel market. Openings from the brand in 2023 will cover more than 15 provinces and municipalities, including Shenzhen, Shantou, and Guangzhou in the south, as well as Wuhan, and Changsha in the central region. The western region will encompass cities such as Chongqing and Kunming. Holiday Inn Express will continue to adapt to major transportation hubs in Greater China with openings near the Shanghai Pudong Airport and Hangzhou Airport. Third- and fourth-tier cities such as Zhenjiang, Jiangmen, and Weifang, as well as niche tourist destinations such as Wawu Mountain and Taizhou, will also welcome more Holiday Inn Express hotels, allowing guests to get simple and wise experiences during their stay, anytime and anywhere. Highly anticipated global openings As outbound travel policies gradually relax for China, IHG Hotels & Resorts is expanding into more destinations worldwide, helping guests to experience unique and exciting cultures. The Carlton Cannes, a Regent Hotel, underwent two years of meticulous renovation and will soon debut in Cannes, France, continuing its legend of luxury. InterContinental Rome Ambasciatori Palace presents the perfect fusion of Italys rich heritage in luxury, art, and architecture with modern sophistication, delivering hospitality excellence to guests with timeless theatrical elegance. Vignette Collection, Casa da Companhia, located in the center of the historic old town of Porto, Portugal, not only retains its original 18th-century design but allows guests to stroll through the streets of the ancient city, savoring the city's every brick and tile. Hotel Indigo Shibuya in Tokyo, Japan, incorporates the city's rhythm into hotel design, bringing the unique neighboring culture to life. Kimpton Roatan will allow guests to explore the world's second-largest coral reef located in Honduras at Roatan Island, where they can witness the spectacular coral reefs and marine life About IHG IHG Hotels & Resorts [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global hospitality company, with a purpose to provide True Hospitality for Good. With a family of 17 hotel brands and IHG Rewards, one of the world's largest hotel loyalty programmes, IHG has over 6,000 open hotels in more than 100 countries, and a further 1,800 in the development pipeline. InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated and registered in England and Wales. Approximately 350,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally. Visit us online for more about our hotels and reservations and IHG Rewards. For our latest news, visit our Newsroom and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. LONDON Sustainable, nature-focused hospitality group Unyoked has secured a new round of capital to extend its immersive off-grid experiences throughout the U.K. and European markets. Unyoked is the market leader in Australia, New Zealand, and the U.K., offering unrivalled yet convenient access to nature. To meet high customer demand, the globally recognized eco-hospitality brand has concluded a financing round of EUR 18 million (AUD 28 million). Lead investors are SURPLUS Equity Partners GmbH (SEP) from Munich Germany and Realside Financial Group from Sydney Australia. The proceeds from this financing will be used to significantly expand its presence in Europe and add further locations to Unyokeds impressive offering in the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. The Unyoked team will prioritize this expansion in the U.K., Scandinavia, Germany, BeneLux, Austria, and Switzerland. We believe in a world where people see and use nature like they do the gym. Spending time outdoors is an important balance to our lives in an increasingly noisy and hectic environment. Many of us still don't understand just how powerful it can be. The current round of funding is an important step in our journey to help change that and make it easier for people to access the many benefits of nature more often. Chris Grant, Co-founder, Unyoked Unyokeds locations are carefully hand-picked to be totally secluded and uniquely immersive to help maximize travellers ability to connect with the outdoors and leave the experience feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, and unyoked. Visitors to Unyoked cabins will find themselves in remote, rolling countryside, ancient woodlands, and vast landscapes with breath-taking views. All locations are within easy reach of heavily populated cities to allow travellers to leave the stresses of everyday life behind while living conveniently in their own private cabin in the forest. This is especially important as global workforce phenomena like The Great Resignation, Quiet Quitting, and the Lie Flat movement persist amid growing employee burnout rates. Unyokeds unconventional approach to inspiring more people to access nature habitually has allowed them to explore many creative avenues unavailable to their competitors. They count Matthew McConaughey as a collaborator, have released vinyl with the music company Future Classic, collaborated with Apple showcasing artists inspired by the creative benefits of the wilderness, and have published a Writers Anthology, which attracted hundreds of submissions from the public. For Europe, SEP CEO Ludke sees a large opportunity for partnerships between Unyoked and companies that want to offer their employees recreational stays in nature in order to boost creativity and productivity. Sustainable travel in the post-Covid world is an important investment hypothesis for us. We are convinced that travel will become more regional and sustainable. This is exactly what Unyoked offers. The company is very successfully addressing a trend that is becoming increasingly popular, especially among 25-45-year-olds with a heavy workload: spending time in nature has a positive effect on the psyche, the body, and creativity. The occupancy and customer loyalty show that Unyoked has found the right approach to meet the growing demand for outdoor experiences. Sebastian A. Ludke, CEO of SEP Unyoked was founded in 2016 and currently operates around 100 off-grid cabins in Australia, New Zealand, and since its successful launch in 2022, also in the UK. So far, the startup has hosted around 35,000 overnight stays in nature, with high occupancy. Unyoked places fully off-grid hideaways in the most beautiful pieces of nature, which are hand-picked by the team, always within a 2-hour distance from major cities. Cabins measure around 3m x 9m, are built with high-quality materials, and are equipped with a compact kitchen and exquisite bathroom. They are individually optimized for each target market and tailored to different climate and weather conditions. The hideouts use only solar power, making them independent from the electrical grid (off-grid"), and their own rainwater tank, wood fire, and composting toilets, with minimal environmental footprint. The booking process is based on an in-house developed back-end system, additionally, the housekeeping processes and quality controls are digitally tracked. Those interested in learning more can visit www.unyoked.co. Click here for a Print Subscription with Online Digital included. Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition. If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create. Below you will see test that reads Print Subscribe Access. Click this to then Get Started attaching your account number and zip code to you online user account. Click on the banner above if you would like to become a print subscriber with digital access. If you simply want online access without print click get started below. Subscribers to Register-Star or The Daily Mail are eligible to receive full access to HudsonValley360. If you have an existing print subscription, please make sure your email address on file matches your HudsonValley360 account email. An illustration of the proposed HVAC building drawn up by McCann students. McCann Moves Forward With Designer for New HVAC Building NORTH ADAMS, Mass. The McCann School Committee has hired Bradley Architects of Pittsfield to draw up the plans for a 5,600 square foot building that will house the new heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration program. The committee last week approved the bid of $241,880. The vocational school is the recipient of a $3.1 million state Skills Capital Grant to provide training HVAC. This will cover the construction of the building and the development of the program. The recommendation was made by the facilities subcommittee, which reviewed three bid submissions. Subcommittee Chair Richard "Bucky" Bernardi said one bid was dismissed for not providing everything that was required. "The other two firms, Hill Engineering and Bradley, are very close in dollars but Bradley far exceeded Hill in the timing that we were looking for," he said, referring to the timeframe from design to construction. Subcommittee member David Westall, an architect, in response to questions, said the third company was not considered seriously. "So there was a huge difference in the quality of their performance. Bradley and Hill were extremely good, extremely close," he said. "I think, and the other facility subcommittee members would agree, that the schedule and timeline for Bradley doing their work to get to the point of beginning of construction versus Hill's was a huge, like three months difference." "As long as they can do it," said Bernardi. "Only time will tell." The structure will be completely separate from the school and be located on the northwest side of the campus, taking up part of the parking lot near the automotive shops. Because of the loss of 27 parking spots on the west side, the school is reconfiguring the east side parking lot to accommodate 57 more spots. Hill Engineers is designing the new parking lot and Superintendent James Brosnan said he and Principal Justin Kratz had done a walkthrough. "It's going back for a couple little tweaks here and there little changes," he said. "It was a great plan and it increases to approximately 57 parking spaces. So what we're going to lose with the building of the new HVAC building here, we will have to replace here." Brosnan anticipated the design to be completed for requests for proposals to go out in March. "We can't do anything until school's done," he said. "But we want to get ahead of anybody else." In other business, the committee approved the replacement of two dentist chairs for the dental hygeine program at a total cost of $31,624, using funds from an existing account. The matching chairs, from Henry Schein Dental, will be installed by the company but Brosnan said it will off an opportunity to change out or upgrade the water, electrical and air connections. The committee heard about the designs drawn up by students in the computer assisted drawing program for the proposed restaurant at the Harriman & West Airport building. The designs were presented to Mayor Jennifer Macksey. Brosnan said he anticipated firmer Chapter 70 state education aid number by the beginning of March. "I've got a plan, I've got a budget ready to go when we see what the funds are," he said. "We're still in a good place to move expeditiously." Pittsfield Parks Commissions OKs New, Returning Events The 'missing soldier table' as a memorial to POW/MIA at last year's Park of Honor. This year, it will be used at the ceremony for Vietnam veterans in September. PITTSFIELD, Mass. The Parks Commission approved a dozen park event requests on Tuesday, ushering in a year of diverse happenings. Among the approvals is a seemingly new event in the fall: the Mayflower Portuguese Water Dog Trial that will be held on Sept. 16 and 17 at Burbank Park from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. "We're trying to keep the water dog instinct alive in our breed," said Patrice Lattrell, vice president of the Mayflower Portuguese Water Dog Club. "They were bred to work on the fishing boat in Portugal so they were, they are, a working dog and these trials test the skills that the dogs would be required to do on working boats." The trial will have between 30 and 40 dogs and they will be in a fenced-off area throughout the trials when they are not crated. Lattrell said there are only two of these events held in the Northeast, with the others in Connecticut and in Maine. The event is expected to attract enthusiasts of the breed from all over New England and as far as Georgia and South Carolina. Local veterans will present a new, Prisoner of War (POW) or Missing in Action (MIA) remembrance service. This was one of five veterans' events approved. It will be held by Charles Persip American Legion Post 68 at the South Street Memorial park on Sept. 15 at 10 a.m. Henry Morris attended a fellow Vietnam veteran's funeral in Albuquerque, N.M., last year and was inspired to hold this ceremony. "I did not realize what a big ceremony this is," he said. "Albuquerque's veteran park, it's about an eighth of a mile going into the park, they had POW/MIA flags posted all the way into the park. I kept thinking this is really nice. It looks really nice and I was told this is Sept. 15, well it's the third Friday, it was the 16th this year." He explained that the American Legion has a missing soldier table accompanied by a reading that details a plate that nobody eats from, a glass that nobody drinks from, and several other significant items. This will be done during the service. The Eagles Band concerts in the park at The Common on June 20, July 11, and July 18 and at Springside Park on Aug. 22 from 7 to 9 p.m. The Striking Out Cancer in the Berkshires fundraiser at Clapp Park on June 24 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Vietnam Veterans Day ceremony at Park Square on March 25 from 10 to 11 a.m. The Afghanistan/Iraq 9/11 memorial service at the South Street Memorial Park on Sept. 11 from 10 to 11 a.m. Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day at the South Street Memorial Park on Dec. 7 from 10 to 11 a.m. The Veterans Day parade and ceremony at the South Street Memorial park on Nov. 11 from 10 to noon. Springside Park annual cleanups by the Friends of Springside Park and the Springside Park Conservancy on April 22 and Sept. 23 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Pittsfield Farmers Market by Roots Rising at The Common on Saturdays from May 13 to Oct. 14 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Weeks after the US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said in a report that the United States Navy was involved in the Nord Stream explosions last year, Western mainstream media have remained largely silent, let alone done follow-up reports, experts say. This, they say, demonstrates the hypocrisy and bias of Western news coverage. Hersh, a Pulitzer Prize winner renowned in particular for uncovering the My Lai Massacre during the Vietnam War, wrote on the US portal Substack on Feb 8 that the Nord Steam pipelines attacks were orchestrated by the White House. The US Navy and the CIA were also involved, he said, citing an unnamed source. If true, it could be "a terrorist act" committed by the US government against vital German infrastructure, Stephan Ossenkopp, a German scholar with the think tank Schiller Institute, told CGTN. The US has dismissed Hersh's allegations as "utterly false and complete fiction". Denmark, Germany and Sweden said on Tuesday that blast inquiries have not yet concluded. Russia has called a United Nations Security Council meeting over the attacks. US mainstream media have by and large remained silent on Hersh's claims. A week after the revelation, US online news portal Mint-Press reported that the 20 most influential news publications in the US, including CNN, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, have essentially disregarded Hersh's story. Four media outlets gave scant attention to it, such as a report of 100 words or so by Bloomberg. European outlets including the BBC, The Guardian and most German newspapers have ignored it, the Washington-based online magazine Responsible Statecraft said on Feb 16. Hersh told the US broadcast Democracy Now!, published on Feb 15, that "I wasn't even thinking of taking a story like this to The New York Times", which he had worked for. Western mainstream media "intentionally ignores" Hersh's report, said Ding Yifan, a research fellow at the Development Research Center of the State Council's Institute of World Development in Beijing. "Any story that goes beyond their values and stance will not be published," Ding said. "Misinformation, or even disinformation, abounds in Western media, which is part of their public opinion war, or propaganda war. These are their tactics." Responsible Statecraft quoted Mark Ames, who interviewed Hersh on the US Radio War Nerd program on Feb 11, as saying: "The corporate media is ignoring Hersh's story because they're deeply invested in the US empire and don't like stories that make the US empire look bad." However, European media were "caught in a dilemma" on this matter, said Wang Zhen, a research professor of international politics at the Institute of China Studies, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. "Dramatizing the issue will only make Europe, especially Germany, look awkward." 'Biased' coverage The Russia-Ukraine conflict has been politicized in the US, Wang said, pointing to "one-sided and biased" news coverage. "Westernled media are intentionally amplifying any information that is unfavorable to Russia, but disseminating news favorable to Ukraine." The West simply uses the media as a tool to serve their purpose in geopolitical wrestling, Ding said. Early in the Russia-Ukraine conflict the West imposed economic and political sanctions on Russia, and Russian media organizations such as RT and Sputnik were targeted. "Western media proclaim that they support freedom of speech and being impartial in their reporting, but this is total self-deception," Wang said, echoing Ding's view. China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Monday that the Nord Stream pipeline explosions dealt a severe blow to the global energy market and the global natural environment. An objective, impartial and professional investigation into the explosions is called for, he said. As the conflict in Ukraine enters its second year, Russian journalists critical of the Kremlin know that anything can happen to them. Exiled to Latvia since the invasion of Ukraine, Russian independent media have made it their mission to provide independent information to millions of their compatriots. Credit: Gints Ivuskans / AFP The war has led to an intensified clampdown on Russian media, the rise of propaganda and disinformation and the shutting down of independent Russian news outlets. Hundreds of journalists have left the country and relocated to the Baltic states, other Eastern and Central European countries, Germany and the South Caucasus. Four major Russian media outlets are now working in exile: TV Dozhd, Echo (radio), Meduza.io and Novaya Gazeta-Europ, as well as more than two dozen independent media , including investigative and regional media. Most of these media are blocked in Russia. Moreover, Meduza, The Insider, Vazhnie istorii and Projekt have been labelled "undesirable organisations" and any quotation or link to these sites may result in criminal prosecution. The IFJ/EFJ have been active in supporting journalists in exile. The Federations remain in regular contact with their affiliate the Journalists and Media Workers Union (JMWU), an independent representative organisation of Russian journalists and media workers. On 14 September 2022, the Moscow City Court dissolved JMWU and the union is now trying to register in France with the support of the French union SNJ-CGT to resume its activities but is facing delays caused by technical formalities. The Russian censorship law adopted after the invasion of Ukraine criminalises false information about the countrys armed forces, and new and even more restrictive provisions have entered into force to control the narrative. Independent journalists remaining in Russia face daily censorship challenges. Some have decided to avoid covering certain topics. Others have stepped down from their profession. A well known journalist has left his job so as not to be forced to cover the war from Russia. He now works as a delivery man, JMWU International Secretary Andrei Jvirblis says. The IFJ has supported a dozen journalists via its regular Safety Fund, providing subsistence and travel support to journalists blocked in Istanbul or Tbilissi and Russia's neighboring countries. All requests came from journalists working for independent media who could no longer work in Russia following the new law on Fake news, said Ernest Sagaga, the Head of IFJs Safety Department. Beyond the subsistence and travel support, one of the most pressing needs for colleagues in exile is to get the IFJ International Press Card, Andrei Jvirblis recalls. Colleagues are also asking for visas but requirements for visas are constantly changing. Solidarity is very important. Many of our colleagues suddenly found themselves in a very difficult and precarious situation when, after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, they were forced to leave the country in a hurry. The support of the IFJ Safety Fund was very valuable to them." The federations and their members have written to chancelleries to speed up visa processes in Estonia, Luxembourg and France. How to help independent Russian journalists in exile? While our solidarity fund dedicated to Ukraine is not aimed to support those journalists, our regular Safety Fund continues to support journalists in need and we will consider demands for help from Russian journalists at risk with all our care, said IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger. The IFJ and EFJ are also supporting a Council of Europe initiative to create a self-help network of Russian media and journalists in exile in Europe. Donate to the IFJ safety fund to support Russian journalists in exile. The Philippines remains one of the leading countries for new data center hubs. According to the Philippines Data Center Market - Investment Analysis & Growth Opportunities 2023-2028 report, the market is expected to grow at a compounded of 11.01 percent. This growth rate will continue to rise steadily from 2022 to 2027. This is mainly driven by the boom of 5G network connectivity, sustainable initiatives by data center investors, the rise in submarine cable deployment, and the emergence and adoption of advanced IT workloads in the country. "The growing number of data center facilities in the Philippines proves that the country is ready for digitization and digital transformation. But operators should know the data center trends in 2023 for more effective efforts to grow the facilities and infrastructure in the Philippines," said Jason Lim, Country Manager, Vertiv Philippines. Here are some of the data center trends that will shape 2023 as shared by Vertiv: More demand means more regulations. Data center markets are hungry to expand their reach and services because operators are pressured to meet consumers' demands. They must double up building data center hubs and their energy consumption. However, this poses a huge problem related to sustainability and their excessive consumption of natural resources (energy and water). With this reality, government and the public will demand operators to control and regulate their consumption which will slow the deployment. It started last year when Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) released a statement wherein they are eager to study and investigate the massive energy use of data centers. This 2023, government regulations will heighten, but that does not mean that hubs do not have potential growth this year. Data center operators must be more careful and strategic in constructing their hubs and expanding their nationwide network. To do so, they need to integrate high-efficiency UPS systems, lithium-ion batteries, and water-free cooling into their systems which Vertiv offers. Metaverse arrives, the use of AI rises, and the 5G network strengthens. In a world where convenience and technology join forces, the metaverse becomes a key player in new and existing industries. The concept behind the metaverse is a world where everyone can live, work, shop, learn, interact, and more using technology and the internet in the comforts of their physical world. Under the existence of the metaverse is virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), social media, digital currency, and of course, artificial intelligence (AI). AI is slowly being integrated into Filipino's daily lives, and businesses and operators are looking into it as part of their new technologies this year. With this, the Philippines need to keep up with the growing expansion of the metaverse by increasing and strengthening the reach of 5G networks because only 5G can support metaverse to provide ultra-low latency features that the application demands. Vertiv offers the technologies needed to support this: integrated rack, row, and room modules, intelligent high-efficiency UPS systems with lithium-ion batteries, air and liquid cooling solutions, intelligent monitoring and management systems enabling remote management, control, and service, and DC power systems and controls. New thermal strategies for higher densities. Now that the Philippines expects rapid growth in data centers, the operators foresee using more power in data centers. But as a technology that uses high amounts of energy, operators are now exploring new thermal technologies to make it more sustainable. One of these is liquid-cooling technology because it can keep up with the growing server power consumption. While this is not technically a new technology, operators have seen its potential and efficiency in high-density environments. Moreover, they can explore Vertiv's technologies like rear-door heat exchangers, direct-to-chip liquid cooling, immersion cooling, and intelligent controls. Indeed, the data center market is expected to present new developments in technologies, simplicity, and sustainability this year. And, as the country strives for digitization and digital transformation, Vertiv is here to assist operators in expanding data center hubs and participate in ongoing infrastructure growth. The company provides solutions for the organization's application by pre-engineering, pre-configuring, pre-testing, and pre-validating it against its unique requirements. It also offers cutting-edge, sustainable, and innovative solutions that improve the performance and scalability of data centers, communication networks, and other critical IT facilities. To learn more about how Vertiv supports the continuity of today's vital business, visit Vertiv.com. Sushant Singh Rajput left for his heavenly abode on 14th June 2020. His loss remains still unbearable for his fans and family. In a recent incident, fans were reminded of the late actor when a stuntmans picture from the sets of Vikram Vedha went viral. The uncanny resemblance between Mansoor Ali Khan and SSR has left the fans emotional. BH Paparazzi Viral Bhayani shared the viral photo on Instagram that featured Vikram Vedha star Hrithik Roshan posing with stuntman Mansoor. The duo dressed similarly in a black outfit with a beard and long hair. Where Hrithik was supposed to be the pictures highlight, Mansoor caught everyones attention with his uncanny resemblance with the late Sushant Singh Rajput. Also Read: From Vaishali Takkar To Sushant Singh Rajput, 15 TV Actors Who Died By Suicide And Left Us Void Lets see how netizens reacted to this viral picture:- Instagram Instagram Instagram Instagram 2013s film Kai Po Che which launched Sushant on the big screen completed its 10 years of release recently. Films director Abhishek Kapoor talked about the milestone and said, When a movie hits a decade and still finds a place in peoples hearts it gets termed a Classic. I had the good fortune to work with 3 exceptional actors Sushant, Rajkummar Rao and Amit Sadh. These boys were just dynamite together, throw in a thespian like Manav Kaul and u have a recipe for an explosion that will reverberate a lifetime. Films actor Amit talking about the film told HT, Kai Po Che! will always remain a special film. I fondly remember those days. Gattu wanted to show us (Sushant, Raj, and me) as raw, honest, and natural. And he did it, and as a result, audiences loved the movie wholeheartedly. We three were fairly new to the industry during those days, which helped us bond well, understand each others working styles and blend them well to make a movie that is iconic today. When asked if the films 10th anniversary was a reminder of the harsh truth that Sushant is no more with us, Sadh replied, Yes, its the bitter truth, and no one has forgotten him. I celebrate him through movies and keep his memories alive inside me. SSR was last seen in Dil Bechara which was posthumously released after his death in 2020. Also Read: Anurag Kashyap Says Sushant Singh's Death Made Him Apologise To Abhay Deol Over Dev D Incident The few other successful films in his credit are Shudh Desi Romance, PK, Raabta, Kedarnath, Sonchiriya, Chichchore, Drive, Welcome To New York and MS Dhoni. (For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment, and let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments below.) People forgetting to wish their partners on wedding anniversaries is not uncommon and it surely might lead to resentment among couples. But what if the situation escalates into a beating affair? That's precisely what happened in Mumbai. Representational Image Man and his mother assaulted The strange incident occurred in Ghatkopar, where a 27-year-old woman and her brother and parents bashed up her husband and his mother over fights that originated after the man failed to acknowledge the couple's wedding anniversary on February 18. Police officials revealed that the enraged woman allegedly asked her parents and brother to come to her matrimonial home after her husband didn't remember to wish her. Following this, her brother and parents arrived at the house. Together, all four individuals assaulted her husband and his mother. They did not stop at this and damaged the man's vehicle too. Couple tied the knot in 2018 The 32-year-old victim, Vishal Nangre, is employed as a driver in a courier company. And, his wife Kalpana works in a food outlet. The couple got married in 2018 and live together in Baiganwadi, Govandi. Representational Image How the matter got escalated As per Nangre's allegations, his wife Kalpana got furious and fought with him on Saturday, February 18, as he forgot their wedding anniversary. The FIR, in which the police booked Kalpana and her aiding family members, states that the following evening, the matter spiralled even further. At that moment, Nangre, who was washing his vehicle near his house, saw Kalpana, who was returning from her office. She then started abusing him and his mother, saying she didn't want to live with him anymore. This was when Kalpana summoned her brother and parents and an argument between parties happened upon their arrival. During the quarrel, Kalpana's brother even damaged Nangre's vehicle and broke the window pane of his house. Thereafter, Kalpana, her parents and brother came to her mother-in-law's residence in Ghatkopar West to discuss the issue. They were accompanied by Nangre as well. Later at 9:30 pm, while arguing, Kalpana slapped her mother-in-law, which caused further escalation, leading to the beating of both Nangre and his mother. Case against Kalpana and her family Mumbai Live The aggrieved individuals then headed to Rajawadi hospital and, after collecting their medical reports, approached the Ghatkopar police. Nangre, in his complaint to cops, claimed that his wife's brother and parents assaulted him. He alleged that his wife's brother even bit on his hand and face. In response, the police registered a case under sections 323, 324, 327, 504 and 506 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code against his wife, brother and her parents. "The four have been booked for assault. We have given them notice and will inquire about the matter and will take legal action against them," Senior inspector Sanjay Dahake told Hindustan Times. For more on news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. A 47-year-old non-resident Indian (NRI) was motivated to develop a revolutionary bed after seeing his bedridden father's challenges in obtaining a good night's rest without developing infections and sores. Open Digest, a Kerala news website, reported that Australian resident Dileep Kumar developed and constructed the bed with the help of his house manager, Sadasivan Krishnankutty. Screenshot Kumar has no formal engineering training. This guy worked hard to ease his mother's suffering, who takes care of his ailing father at their house in Alappuzha. screenshot "After months of hard work, I finally made a bed with the features to enable a physically disabled patient to have a comfortable sleep on it and, if in need, can carry out primary needs on it. The bed also has the feature to wash, clean, and dry the patient without moving the patient off the bed, and that too at the press of a switch," Kumar said in Open Digest's Instagram post. In July 2022, he began working on the model. He spent much time traveling throughout the country to understand the nuances of different mattresses better. After receiving a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease and dementia, his father Radhakrishna Pillai's health started to worsen rapidly. His mother was hesitant to hire a nurse to take care of Pillai due to the financial burden it would entail. "I wanted to give as much comfort for my dad when he is on the bed, which causes no discomfort to him. We stopped using diapers and removed the urine catheter as he can pass urine and stool in the lying position. He can be washed and cleaned on the bed by pressing a button. After I started using this bed, my dads ongoing urinary tract infection got cured. I thank Sadasivan and others who helped me make such an innovative bed for my father," Kumar told Open Digest. (To get the latest updates from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment) On Wednesday, a woman from Bangana town in the Una district of Himachal Pradesh refused to marry a guy and returned the Baraat when he demanded dowry from her parents, as reported by police. According to a member of the woman's family, she was supposed to marry a man from Galore in Hamirpur. When the man arrived with the Baraat, he wanted a car, a large amount of money, and gold jewelry from the woman's family. According to a family member, the bride called off the wedding when she found out that a dowry would be expected of her, and she also returned the Baraat. Unsplash The bride's sister has allegedly filed a dowry complaint against the groom's family at that location, according to Baburam, the head of the Bangana Police Station. He went on to say that they are looking into the problem. Unsplash According to a family member, the woman called off the wedding when the celebrations to welcome Baraat were in full flow, and all guests were there to join. On February 19, the groom, who lives in another country, traveled to the bride's house to perform the ritual of offering chunni to the bride. But, the groom did not make clear what he required of the bride during this visit. A member of the woman's family said he did not behave in the same manner on Tuesday when the woman's family performed another ceremony at his house. (With PTI inputs) (For more trending stories, follow us on Telegram.) Expertise, resources, and proven models The first two weeks of January saw Fiji experiencing heavy rainfall, resulting in a trigger payment of the parametric insurance product. Payments were transferred digitally to 536 beneficiaries, all of them receiving payouts in their mobile wallets 10 days after getting the final verified data from the Fiji Meteorological Office and the index monitor, thereby demonstrating the value of the parametric risk transfer. Professional liability insurance covers a broad range of claims, from professional negligence, to breaches of contract, the occasional malpractice claim, and even professional misconduct. Because there are so many potential claims types that professional liability insurance can cover, it becomes important for professionals and business owners to understand just how much coverage they need. If were being fair with everybody, let everybody pay the rates they should be paying. And I think thats the best thing to do, Luneau said. Why are we discriminating against women in Louisiana when it comes to automobile insurance rates, when there are actuarial studies that show that women tend to get less speeding tickets than men they need, they tend to be involved in less fatal accidents than men. We are robust, both financially and in terms of capital, he said. Our broadly diversified business portfolio not only makes us more resilient, but also opens up new earnings prospects. In times of great uncertainty due to war and volatile capital markets, our clients value reliability. Our shareholders will benefit from both an increased dividend and a new round of share buy-backs. The European Commission has banned employees from using social media app TikTok on all corporate devices. The decision comes amid rising security concerns surrounding Chinese technology companies, prompted by rumours of data gathering via applications such as TikTok. According to Politico, all employees were instructed to delete TikTok from their work devices. They were also asked to remove the app from their personal devices if they had work-related applications on the phone. Staff were also given the choice to delete all work-related apps from their personal phone so they could carry on using the app. An email sent to staff on Thursday morning read: To protect Commissions data and increase its cybersecurity, the EC Corporate Management Board has decided to suspend the TikTok application on corporate devices and personal devices enrolled in the Commission mobile device service." As of 15 March, devices with the app installed will be considered non-compliant with the corporate environment," they added. In a statement released today the European Commission said they are "committed to ensuring that its staff is well protected against increasing cyber threats and incidents. It is, therefore, our duty to respond as early as possible to potential cyber alerts. "Today's suspension is an internal corporate decision which is strictly limited to the use of devices enrolled in its mobile service," they said. In Norway, which is not a member of the 27-nation EU, the justice minister was forced to apologise this month for failing to disclose that she had installed TikTok on her government-issued phone. TikTok has also come under pressure from the EU to comply with upcoming new digital regulations aimed at getting big online platforms to clean up toxic and illegal content along with the blocs strict data privacy rules. The company has said it plans to open two more European data centres to allay data privacy fears. The European Commission declined to comment further on the topic. One of the high-profile investigations headed up by John Caldwell was the murder of PSNI officer Ronan Kerr in the same town where the senior detective was gunned down. The killing of Constable Kerr was blamed on dissident republicans styling themselves as the New IRA the same renegade group police suspect of shooting Detective Chief Inspector Caldwell on Wednesday night. Mr Kerr, a 25-year-old recently graduated police recruit, died when a booby trap bomb detonated under his car outside his home in Omagh in April 2011. Making an appeal for information on the 10th anniversary of the murder in 2021, Mr Caldwells words now assume a chilling poignancy given what happened to him in the same Co Tyrone town. His job was to protect the community, he said. Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell has led several high-profile murder investigations (PA) Despicably, people living in his own community planned and plotted to kill him simply because he was a police officer bravely going out every day to protect people and make communities safer places to live and work. Given the ever-present security risk, the PSNI strive to protect the identities of the majority of their officers in the public sphere. However, high-ranking officers do have more of a public profile and they often front media appeals related to major investigations. Mr Caldwell is a familiar face on the TV news in Northern Ireland and is accustomed to giving press conferences and interviews. In December he was involved in the investigation following the murder of expectant mother Natalie McNally. Ms McNally, 32, who was 15 weeks pregnant, was stabbed at her home in Silverwood Green, Lurgan, Co Armagh. Earlier in December, Mr Caldwell took on the case of Mark Lovell. Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was involved in the investigation into the murder of Natalie McNally last December (family handout/PA) The 58-year-old was shot a number of times at close range while in his car outside his home in Newry. A month later, the DCI assumed the role of senior investigating officer when Shane Whitla, a 39-year-old father-of-four, was shot dead in Lurgan, Co Armagh. In October 2022, he headed the probe into the murder of Ryan McNab in Co Antrim. Mr McNab, 31, from north Belfast, was killed in an attack in the Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey. In January of that year, Mr Caldwell fronted public appeals following the fatal stabbing of Martin Gavin, 47, in Belfast. The previous year, Mr Caldwell led the probe into the murder of Katie Brankin, who was murdered by her partner at a glamping site in Limavady, Co Derry. A Chinese pangolin has been born at Prague Zoo, the first birth of the critically endangered animal in captivity in Europe. The park said it is doing well after initial troubles. For the first few days after the baby female was born on February 2, park keepers were worried because it was losing weight. The reason was found to be that the mother, Run Hou Tang, did not have enough milk. A baby Chinese pangolin being weighed at Prague Zoo, Czech Republic (Petr David Josek/AP) Following consultations with experts from Taiwan, a programme of artificial feeding with milk from a cat was introduced and the mother was stimulated to produce more of her own. That turned things around, with the zoo now expressing cautious optimism about the pup, which still has no name but has been nicknamed Little Cone because it resembles a spruce cone. Prague received the rare animals from Taiwan last year, becoming only the second European zoo to keep the species. Guo Bao, the male pangolin, and Run Hou Tang both came from Taipei Zoo, the leading breeder of the mammals that are hunted heavily for their scales and meat. It is estimated that almost 200,000 were trafficked in 2019 because of the scales that are used in traditional medicine in Asia and elsewhere. A keeper holds a baby Chinese pangolin for it to be weighed at Prague Zoo (Petr David Josek/AP) The pangolins arrival in Prague came after relations with China became strained, among other reasons, after Prague decided to revoke a sister city agreement with Beijing and signed a similar deal in 2020 with the Taiwanese capital Taipei. That agreement also included co-operation between the zoos of the two cities. Taiwan split from mainland China amid a civil war in 1949, but Beijing considers the self-ruled island part of its territory. The Czech government recognises the one-China principle but Prague officials said they wanted to focus on cultural and other co-operation, not on politics. Interview We Are Developing the Ability to Make Changes and Build the Future Students, teachers and residents of Launglon in Dawei on strike against the regimes education system in May 2022. / LLBESU The military coup of 2021 did more than just destroy Myanmars political system. The damage it has wrought extends to every sector, not least the education system. The sector has suffered dire consequences, with 80 percent of Myanmars nearly 10 million students rejecting the regimes education system, according to the Education Ministry of the parallel National Unity Government (NUG). The takeover came as a particularly devastating blow for one group: Students who passed the matriculation exam in 2020 and refused to study under the regimes education system lost their opportunity to continue their education. For the striking students, Myanmar Nway-Oo University, a public university, was established in October 2022 under the guidelines of the NUG to provide undergraduate and postgraduate courses as well as vocational courses for striking students. It has an affiliation with Interim University Councils (IUCs), which were founded by striking students and teachers across the country. Dr. Sai Khaing Myo Tun, the NUGs deputy minister of education, talked to The Irrawaddy about the shadow governments plans to meet the education needs of Myanmars striking students. He also delineated the promising future of a new education system under a federal democracy and other education policies that will benefit Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) students, resistance forces and disabled persons after the revolution. What are the Ministry of Education (MOE)s priorities for filling the education gap for striking students? We implemented the online education system as the first stage because of the regimes atrocities on the ground. Initially, we organized and gathered teachers and academic staff for basic education. We urged them to form township education boards and now we have 300 across the country. For higher education, we have 246 Interim University Councils (IUCs) under our authority. The major change is that the MOE gives autonomy to all academic institutions. This is also part of our policy. All schools have their own administration and management rights. From our side, we provide an up-to-date curriculum and amend it in line with the values of federal democracy. Now, we have 70 online federal schools operating under the MOEs guidelines across the country. In addition, we have also set a policy that allows students to pursue education in accordance with their age. Most important, the MOE has drafted a Federal Democracy Education Policy with the help of experts and the draft policy has already been approved by the NUG. We are now discussing it with the Education Committee of the National Unity Consecutive Council (NUCC). We are also seeking different opinions and voices from ethnic associations, educational institutions and religious organizations. This policy will be out in the near future. What changes will the Federal Democracy Education Policy bring? Myanmars education was a centralized system in the past. Under a federal democracys education system, each school in every state and region will have the authority to implement its own education system. Ethnic people will have the right to learn in their mother tongue and their own curriculum. There will be more freedom in the education system as it is decentralized. What challenges does the MOE face in implementing the Federal Democracy Education Policy? The first challenge is the issue of teacher safety. Secondly, we face a budget shortage as we are an interim government. So, we cannot provide monthly financial support to teachers, but we are trying to find ways to solve this problem. We are seeking help from the international community. The next challenge is that teachers should have a deep understanding of federal democracy, as they will experience changes in the education system. Is there any possibility of implementing the Federal Democracy Education Policy throughout the country? There will be some difficulties in regions under the control of the military regime. However, we will implement the education system of a federal democracy in the regions under the control of the NUG, resistance forces and EAOs [ethnic armed organizations]. On the other hand, we dont see any problem with that because online schools are spreading across the country. So, students will see the gap between the values of our education system and those of the regimes education. We have already made a good start. Will Myanmar Nway Oo University (MNOU) and its affiliated IUCs offer degrees ? Certificates of Completion will be issued to students who finish the formal course by MNOU and the IUCs. The NUG will issue a degree certificate if all parties such as student unions and teacher unions taking part in the revolution agree to it. Meanwhile, all parties agree to celebrate the convocation on the same day after the revolution. How will the MOE ensure the credibility of certification issued by public universities and Interim University Councils for students who want to continue their academic journey abroad? The authority to issue completion certificates rests with the public universities and IUCs. There might be some difficulties for students who dont have their previous education records on hand. If necessary, the MOE is willing to provide letters of recommendation for students looking to further their studies abroad. We also have a department to deal with international affairs. The good news is that the European Union and the US will help the NUG and resistance forces. We are making connections with them and we are going to negotiate this issue. Weve already offered courses taught by foreign professors from international universities. I dont mean to suggest there wont be difficulties, but all parties will figure this issue out and reach a consensus. We will make it better in order to create more education opportunities for students. How will the NUG help IUCs that are not able to implement courses? The NUG has a Board of Education that is responsible for developing curriculums and lessons for students. We can share this teaching content with them. MNOU is also using these lessons. If ICUs cannot implement this on their own, we can form a coalition of universities, the way Kachin State Comprehensive University does. Besides, there are also NUG-accredited private universities, like Spring University Myanmar. We are still in the stage of preparation and we are going step by step. What are the plans of the NUG to provide education for resistance forces after the revolution? The MOE has a plan to implement a bridge program for students who cannot access education during the revolution. We will provide an interim program for different students after the revolution. For students who joined the resistance forces, we will allow them to study at a defense university if they want to do so. We will also send them to foreign defense universities. If they want to study abroad, we will organize it for them. Or if they want to enter the workforce, we will provide vocational training for them. Next, we also have a plan to provide education for disabled persons who lost limbs [or other faculties] during the revolution or prior to the coup. The allocation of government expenditures for education may increase to 20 percent after the revolution. It will take time to reach a consensus because we are following democratic principles. On the one hand, there are losses because of the revolution, but on the other hand, we are developing the ability to make changes and build the future. Burma Myanmar Junta Burned 55,484 Houses Since Coup Htoo Gyi village burned down by the junta troops. / S&C Myanmar junta troops have burned down 55,484 houses since the 2021 coup, according to independent research team Data For Myanmar. Data For Myanmar collected reports of arson attacks until January 31. It said 80 percent of the destroyed houses were in Sagaing Region. On February 20, junta troops burned down Htoo Gyi village in Shwebo Township, Sagaing Region, according to educational and emergency rescue team S&C. Troops raided in the afternoon although there had been no fighting in the area. We all left the villages in the morning as we heard they were coming. They torched all the houses, said U Mya, 52, of Htoo Gyi. All of the 200 houses in Htoo Gyi were burned down and the residents are sheltering in other villages and forests where an S&C team is trying to supply them. The villagers escaped without being arrested or killed but their properties are gone, said a member of S&C. Troops also destroyed all food and crops stored in the villages and killed all the livestock, according to S&C. Junta troops burned 248 houses in Kantbalu District in three days this week. On February 19 and 20, Light Infantry Battalion 369 burned 219 houses in Myay Mon and Tayaw Kaing villages in Kantbalu. On Tuesday troops and Pyu Saw Htee militia members destroyed 28 houses in Chaung Kyar village in Kantbalu. Magwe Region suffered the second-most arson attacks, followed by Chin State. Data For Myanmar reported that 8,863 houses were burned down in Magwe Region and 1,484 in Chin State in junta arson attacks and shelling. Burma Myanmar Land-Mine Casualties Surge Two Years After Coup: UN An M14 land mine found by de-miners in Kayah State in eastern Myanmar in 2022 / AFP BANGKOK Land mines and unexploded munitions injured or killed more than one person every day in Myanmar last year, the United Nations said, pointing to a 40 percent spike in casualties compared to 2021. The militarys toppling of Daw Aung San Suu Kyis government in 2021 sparked renewed fighting with ethnic rebel groups and the formation of dozens of Peoples Defense Forces in areas previously untouched by decades of conflict in Myanmar. The Southeast Asian nation is not a signatory to the United Nations convention that prohibits the use, stockpiling or development of anti-personnel mines. The United Nations Childrens Fund, UNICEF, on Tuesday reported that 390 people were wounded or killed by land mines or unexploded ordnance in 2022, an almost 40 percent spike compared to the previous year. Around two-thirds of the incidents were reported in border areas where ethnic rebels have battled the army and each other for decades over autonomy and control of resources like timber, jade and the drugs trade. And almost one-fifth of the casualties were reported in northern Sagaing Region, an area that was largely peaceful before the coup but has since emerged as a hotspot of resistance to military rule. In 2020, the year before the coup, there were 254 victims, according to UNICEF. Myanmars military has been repeatedly accused of atrocities and war crimes during decades of internal conflict. Last year Amnesty International said the military was laying land mines on a massive scale as it battled anti-coup fighters, including around churches and on paths to rice fields. The UNICEF figures did not include casualties resulting from the targeting of local administrations and security forces by anti-junta fighters, the agency said. More than 5,000 people were killed by anti-coup fighters and allied ethnic rebels between the coup and January this year, according to the junta. A local monitoring group says more than 3,000 people have been killed by junta security forces, while over 19,000 have been arrested in the militarys crackdown. Burma NUG Rights Minister Demands Justice for Rohingya NUG human rights minister U Aung Myo Min speaks at Wednesdays event in Geneva. Myanmars civilian National Unity Governments (NUG) human rights minister U Aung Myo Min says the crimes of genocide against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar committed six years ago must be acknowledged and justice sought for the victims. The minister attended an event to mark the second anniversary of the launch of the Spring Revolution against the regime and the sixth anniversary of the Rohingya massacres, held at the United States Embassy in Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday. U Aung Myo Min told the event that the crimes of genocide committed against Rohingya in Rakhine State in 2017 cannot be denied. It is required to acknowledge those crimes and work to ensure that justice is served, the minister said. The event was hosted by the US representative to the United Nations Human Rights Council Michele Taylor and Naomi Kikoler, director at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, and attended by diplomats and Rohingya activists. The US has said Myanmars 2017 crackdown on Rohingya constituted genocide. In 2017, Myanmars military carried out a brutal campaign against the Rohingya in northern Rakhine State, forcing over 700,000 to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. Those who fled said civilians were subjected to extrajudicial killings, rape and arson attacks by the security forces. UN investigators said the operation had genocidal intent. The NUG expressed great shame over the historic exclusionary and discriminatory policies, practices and rhetoric against the Rohingya and other ethnic groups, which laid the groundwork for the military to escalate its atrocities. The NUG declared that the Rohingya should have full citizenship rights in Myanmar and pledged it would pursue accountability in a policy announced on June 2021. But these actions face significant obstacles as they are contingent on the establishment of democracy, the ending of other atrocities and the defeat of the junta, said the NUG. U Aung Myo Min discussed some steps that the NUG has taken, including recognizing the extent and scale of the atrocities against the Rohingya, cooperating with the International Court of Justice and the UNs Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar to pursue justice, working for a complete overhaul of discriminatory laws and a new Citizenship Act that bases citizenship on birth in Myanmar or birth anywhere as a child of a citizen, and to repeal the Race and Religion Protection Laws of 2015. The minister also met Rohingya representatives, including women and young people from refugee camps in Cox Bazar in eastern Bangladesh. He tweeted on Wednesday, Justice for all including Rohingya is a must. Urgent action and #justice needed now in Myanmar! Burma Ta-ang Girls Return From Yangon Nunnery Showing Signs of Torture Lway Nwan Khan with her mother. Credit - Shwe Phee Myay Five ethnic Taang girls from a group being educated at a Buddhist nunnery in Yangon Region have arrived back in Shan State showing signs of torture. The girls, aged 10 to 14, were severely abused by a senior nun at Thukhitaryarma nunnery in Yangons Kyauktan Township, according to their parents. They added that two of the victims had to be treated in hospital after returning to their home township of Kyaut Mae in northern Shan State earlier this month. Sixteen girls left their homes in Khon Ngin and Kyaung Khan villages in April last year in the care of a Taang nun. The nun told the parents that their children would be educated at the Yangon monastery as novice nuns. But the girls said that instead of being schooled, they were forced into hard labor on the nunnery construction site by the assistant abbess, Daw Eaindra Thiri. They were beaten if they fell sick and were not able to work, they added. The novices said they were also forced to wander the streets of Yangon asking passersby for cash donations, all of which had to be returned to the nun in charge. Those who refused were bound with rope as a punishment. Five of the 16 girls Lway Mya Aung, 11, her younger sister Lway Mya Han, 9, Lway Win Khaing, 14, Lway Nwan Khan, 9, and Nan Li (age unknown) arrived back in Shan State suffering ill health and various wounds. Lway Mya Aung is emaciated and cant even walk properly, said her father U Kyaw Khin. She also had wounds from being tied up with a rope and was unable even to hold his waist as he carried her home by motorcycle, he added. Her condition now is completely different from when we sent her away. Our daughter was in good health and she didnt have any health issues before she went to the Yangon nunnery, U Kyaw Khin told The Irrawaddy. When I saw her, I was so devastated that I didnt know what to say, he added. Wounds from frequent beatings Lway Mya Aung and Lway Nwan Khan had to be hospitalized on February 20. Lway Mya Aung remains in hospital. Lway Nwan Khan, from Khon Ngin village, had wounds on her legs and thighs from frequent beatings she received at the nunnery, according to villagers. They said the other two victims, Lway Win Khaing and Nan Li, also had injuries from being tortured. U Kyaw Khin said his daughter was also forced to eat her own feces and beaten when she refused. She was very weak and unhealthy, so couldnt control her bodily functions and could no longer clean herself up. And then she was treated like this, he said. My daughter said she was sick and fainting. However, she was beaten with a brick and accused of faking illness and being lazy. She and the other novice nuns were also tied with cable the whole day and denied any food. They were being treated like this very frequently, U Kyaw Khin explained, citing testimony from his daughter. The Irrawaddy contacted Daw Eaindra Thiris mobile phone at least five times but she didnt answer the calls. Parents of 11 remaining girls anxious U Aung Htoo, 46, a resident of Kyaung Khan village and father of two of the 11 girls who are still at the nunnery, is concerned after hearing the reports of abuse. He sent his two daughters, Cherry Khaing, 10, and Lway Mo Mo, 11, to the nunnery last year. We are really worried about our children, he said. The nunnery called him in early February and said his daughters were happy and would not be returned home. We dont believe their words, Aung Htoo told The Irrawaddy. Another parent, Kyaw Khaing, 42, said he wasnt able to contact his 13-year-old daughter Nay Win Hlaing at the nunnery after he heard about the five returnees. I am afraid my daughter may be being abused in Yangon. We have called the abbess, but her phone is switched off, he said. Taang agencies contact nunnery Representatives from the Taang Sangha and Taang Literature and Culture organizations held talks with nunnery officials on February 20. They agreed to send back the other 11 nuns to their parents, according to Sayardaw Taikkhanyarna, secretary of the Taang Sangha (central). The nunnery must also pay the medical expenses of the victims, the monk added. Sayardaw said the treatment of the novice nuns would be investigated when the abbess sends back the remaining 11 girls to Kyaut Mae Township. The investigation may lead to legal action, he added. We strongly condemn this abuse, which came to our attention via social media. There might be other cases of abuse we dont know about, Sayardaw told The Irrawaddy. Exactly when the 11 remaining girls will be sent back from the nunnery is still not known. However, the parents are anxious to see their children return as soon as possible. We miss them every day. All of us are looking forward to the day they will return, Aung Htoo said. News Myanmar Junta Extends Martial Law in Resistance Stronghold Sagaing Region member of anti-regime resistance Black Wolf Army in Sagaing Region./ Nway Oo Photography Myanmars junta has imposed martial law on three more townships, meaning 40 townships have been placed under direct military control this month in a move that observers say shows the regimes weakness. On Thursday, the regime announced martial law in Shwebo, Ayadaw and Wetlet townships in Sagaing Region, a resistance stronghold. Earlier this month, the regime introduced martial law in 37 townships in eight regions and states. Junta boss Min Aung Hlaing told the National Defense and Security Council in early February that security needed to be tightened in 65 of the countrys 330 townships to restore the rule of law. Including some townships in Yangon and Mandalay regions and Chin State where the regime imposed martial law in the wake of the putsch in February 2021, around 50 townships are now under the direct control of regional commanders. Sagaing has 14 townships under martial law, the largest number in Myanmar. They are under the direct control of Northwestern Commands Major General Than Htike. Military courts will hear any case deemed critical of the regime. The junta warned that the death penalty and life sentences would be handed down. No appeals are available except for death sentences where appeals can be submitted to Min Aung Hlaing for a final decision. Two years after the takeover, the regime is far from gaining control of the country and the resistance movement gathers momentum. Burma Rival Ethnic Karen Groups Urged to Stop Fighting Each Other in Southern Myanmar KNLA troops parade in Karen State in 2018. / The Irrawaddy The International Karen Organization (IKO), a network of Karen expatriates, has urged the Karen National Unions (KNU) Brigade 4 and the Kaw Thoo Lei Army (KTLA) to cease fighting, following months of rising military tension between the two rival groups in southern Myanmar. In a statement issued February 22, the IKO said it was sad to see fighting between the two ethnic Karen armed groups in southern Myanmars Tanintharyi Region. The organization urged them instead to take advantage of the rising tide of revolution against the Myanmar military, and turn their gun barrels towards the regime instead of fighting each other. It also urged the KTLA and KNU Brigade 4 to stop fighting in consideration of all oppressed Karen people. KNU Brigade 4 soldiers attacked a KTLA base on Monday in an area known as Khay Ma Khee in Tanintharyi Region. Three KTLA members died, while one KNU fighter was injured in the clash. The base was also captured by KNU Brigade 4, according to a Karen language statement from KNU Brigade 4. The KNU statement claimed that the attack was launched because KTLA troops abducted a KNU private on February 5 and refused to return him. In January, KTLA troops reportedly ambushed KNU Brigade 4 fighters. An administrative officer of KNU Brigade 4s Myeik-Dawei District administrative branch and the deputy commander of the Karen National Liberation Armys (KNLA) Battalion 12 were seriously wounded. The KNLA is an armed wing of the KNU. The KTLA was formed in July 2022 and is led by Brigadier General Saw Nedah Mya, who split from the KNU. He is the second son of the late General Saw Bo Mya, who was the long-standing chairman of the KNU and one of the most prominent ethnic revolutionary figures in Myanmar. Analysis Myanmar Juntas Rakhine Poll Plan Hinges on Arakan Army Arakan Army troops on parade. / The Irrawaddy The military coup in February 2021 triggered an armed uprising across the country, with fighting raging in both towns and villages but Rakhine State has been relatively stable. This is partly because the ethnic rebel Arakan Army (AA) reached a ceasefire agreement with Myanmars military three months before the coup thanks to mediation by Japans Sasakawa Foundation. Rakhine State had experienced two years of fierce fighting before the putsch, but during that time Rakhine lawmakers were able to help displaced civilians through Parliament. On the political stage, the Arakan National Party (ANP) won popular support in northern Rakhine while the National League for Democracy (NLD) was strong in southern Rakhine. But following the coup, the majority of Rakhine people, who have long been oppressed by Myanmars military, began to prefer armed struggle to party politics. AA leaders were at first quiet about the new military regime, and even spoke out against the civil disobedience movement (CDM) in Rakhine. However, the armed group has since begun providing basic military training for Peoples Defense Forces (PDFs) fighting the regime, and supplied arms to Chin resistance groups. It has also engaged in talks with the parallel civilian National Unity Government. Political situation since coup The junta is now planning to hold an election in a bid to establish legitimacy. It recently amended the Political Parties Registration Law and extended emergency rule for another six months. In February last year, the regime released Rakhine politician Dr. Aye Maung, who had been handed a long jail sentence for high treason under the now-ousted NLD government, in a bid to resurrect party politics in Rakhine. There are three major local parties in Rakhine State and each holds a different opinion of the juntas proposed poll. Dr. Aye Maung, chairman of the Arakan Front Party (AFP), agrees that the new Political Parties Registration Law is restrictive, but insists parties have an important role to play in solving the political crisis and says an election is crucial to breaking the impasse. The Rakhine politician reportedly advised the United Democratic Party, known as the Rose party for its logo, to re-register under a new name with the junta-appointed Union Election Commission. The party was dissolved ahead of the 2020 election after its chairman Michael Kyaw Myint was accused of money laundering, flouting business laws and fleeing a prison sentence handed down under a previous military regime. The party re-registered as the Union Democracy Party this month. Dr. Aye Maung says he will re-register his own AFP as a Rakhine State-based party, but also try to contest in Yangon and Ayeyarwady regions and Chin States Paletwa. We need a political platform where we can raise political issues. We have decided to re-register to assert the identity of Rakhine ethnic people, he told The Irrawaddy. Meanwhile, the Arakan National Party (ANP), from which Dr. Aye Maung split, says it has not yet decided whether to contest the planned poll as it is still watching the regimes moves. ANP policy steering committee member U Tun Aung Kyaw said: Political parties must do what is beneficial to the people. I think parties will think differently if there are too many restrictions and people cant benefit. The Arakan League for Democracy (ALD) has condemned the new Political Parties Registration Law as the militarys plot to cement its grip on power. Its general secretary U Myo Kyaw said the ALD will not register under laws that would perpetuate dictatorship and has no plan to contest the poll. U Myo Kyaw has been in hiding after the regime opened an incitement case against him. The junta has also arrested the head of ALDs Taungup Township chapter, U Kyaw Kyaw Lin, and a member from Thandwe. Meanwhile, vice chairman U Kyaw Zaw Oo and a central executive committee member of the AFP have been abducted and detained by the AA. Rakhine residents lost interest in political parties after they failed to intervene to halt the militarys war crimes, including abduction and killing of civilians and arson attacks on villages during two years of fighting before the coup. Some party members have even joined the AA and its political wing, the United League of Arakan. Dr. Aye Maung insists that not all Rakhine people will take the path of armed struggle, and political parties still have a role to play. Ultimately, people will decide how to overcome the current crisis, he says. Junta restrictions targeting AA and Rakhine people During the two years of intense fighting from late 2018 to November 2020, the military restricted supplies of building materials, pharmaceuticals and basic foodstuffs to Rakhine after losing public support there and suffering heavy losses in clashes with the AA. The resulting shortages saw food prices soar in the state. Ahead of the November 2020 general election, the Myanmar military and the AA reached an informal ceasefire brokered by Japans special envoy for national reconciliation. Rakhine State was relatively calm even as the whole country was thrown into chaos by the coup in February 2021. But tensions soon flared again, and the two sides engaged in fierce fighting on the borders of Bangladesh and India in August 2022. Despite its air superiority, the regime lost bases to the AA. According to military analysts, the latest clashes saw regime troops ousted from almost all their bases in Maungdaw, which borders Bangladesh. It also lost several bases in Paletwa in neighboring Chin State. The regime has applied the same tactic in the latest fighting in Rakhine, imposing travel restrictions on both roads and waterways, and restricting supplies of food and pharmaceuticals. It only lifted restrictions gradually after a fresh truce in late November last year. U Maung Saw Win, chairman of Mayu Region Development Association in Rathedaung Township, said: Currently, the AA has control over the area. The Myanmar military has not been able to re-establish outposts that it lost to the AA. Economic and social issues in Rakhine have only worsened since the coup. Most people still cant return to their villages from displacement camps. And others cant earn a livelihood because of the presence of troops around their villages. Junta, AA trade arrests In the months before the latest fighting, the regime arrested civilians on suspicion of having ties to the AA. The AA, in turn, arrested junta personnel. The regime arrested around 20 civilians in Taungup, at least 30 civilians in Thandwe, and over 30 including civil servants, police, administrators and civilians in Kyaukphyu. It also detained civilians and administrators in Maungdaw, Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U and Minbya townships over their alleged ties to the AA. Of the 324 civilians detained during the latest fighting, only 85 had been released, AA spokesman Khaing Thukha told a press conference in November last year. Over 30 civilians were killed and more than 70 injured in Kyauktaw, Mrauk-U, Maungdaw, Ponnagyun and Minbya townships by junta artillery strikes and arson attacks in the latest fighting. Second ceasefire The AA ambushed a junta vehicle on Sittwe-Ponnagyun road on November 10 last year. In retaliation, the regime killed 11 residents and torched houses in two villages along the road. AA troops then besieged Light Infantry Battalion 550, the only military unit in Ponnagyun, some 25 miles from Sittwe. The regime also blockaded Sittwe, Rakhines capital and economic hub, on November 10. Faced with tough choices, the two sides agreed an informal truce again on November 26, through the mediation of Sasakawa. The AA called it a humanitarian ceasefire while the regime lifted travel restrictions. The AA urged village administrators in Rathedaung and Ponnagyun townships who had resigned amid tensions between the two sides to return to work. The junta welcomed their reinstatement. Potential for election in Rakhine The regime has been updating voter lists in Rakhine since January 9. However, residents are taking no notice of the process, which is going on undisturbed. Meanwhile political parties are not campaigning in the state. Rakhine ethnic politician U Pe Than said: There have been no disturbances in the preparation of voter lists. The AA has allowed it, but this does not mean it will also allow the poll. It will depend on public opinion about the election across the country, and whether the ceasefire holds until then. Rakhine people have no interest in the junta-proposed poll and are also waiting to see how the AA responds to the regimes efforts to hold the election in Rakhine. The world's first ad-free and private subscription search engine, Neeva, has launched in Australia seeking to bring a trustworthy, honest and tracking-free search experience to our shores. The platform was founded by former Google and YouTube executives and has gained more than a million users overseas. Neeva has Google in its sights, aiming to provide a trustworthy and secure experience, striking at the biggest grievances users have with the search giant. When you search through Neeva it provides a synthesised single answer with linked sources pulled together from the most relevant sites for a query and allows users to determine the authenticity and reliability of the cited source. Further, these are delivered without tracking, without advertisements, and without affiliate links. Australian users also have access to NeevaAI which harnesses artificial intelligence to deliver an experience that combines the best of ChatGPT with the authority and timeliness of search, and which provides verifiable answers, not simply links. Neera has already been running since 2021 and has gained over a million users. It was founded by ex-Google SVP of ads Sridhar Ramaswamy and ex-YouTube VP of monetisation Vivek Raghunathan with the goal of delivering the best results as quickly as possible. Neeva is a user-first platform focused on private, transparent searches versus a search engine serving advertisers. The internet should be your private corner of the web instead of a barrage of ads, SEO spam and irrelevant information. Were reinventing search by leveraging the most cutting-edge AI, giving users control over sources; providing accurate and transparent results as well as private and customised experiences without the influence of corporate bias, tracked around the web," Ramaswamy said. Neeva is available in Australia now using a freemium model that provides a basic service for free, as well as a premium subscription option that includes extra features such as a VPN and password manager. This is available for $7.99 per month, or a discounted rate of $69.99 per annum. A seven-day trial is available to help you decide if you like the paid-for features. Private search and tracker blocking is available for all users, including free users. Nicely, the paid version can also search across your own private data if you provide access - including Outlook, Dropbox, Google Drive, Notion, Slack, Figma, GitHub, Jira, Confluence, and many other applications. Free users are limited to only Google services, Outlook, and Dropbox. It's pretty impressive to think you can have your search engine provide web results as well as information from your own email history, source code, projects, and other items. Free users are also limited to 15 searches per month and two devices, while paid users have no restrictions. Neeva pledges to donate 1% of profits to fighting climate change, though right now until it reaches profitability it will still donate $5,000 per year. Google has dominated the search engine market, maintaining over 90% market share. Neeva will challenge this supremacy by creating a better search and browse experience that delights users, Ramaswamy said. Users should expect answers from their queries, not the ads or information that one company decides they should see online. The ad-supported internet has created vastly misaligned incentives that have made Big Technology monopolies and advertisers richer while exploiting the privacy and personal data of users. Its time for a new approach to search that puts people first. In fact, using Neeva myself, I now have a definitive answer to the identity of the Scranton Strangler, the murky criminal behind the scenes in The Office (US): You'll note the nice, clean interface - with no ads or affiliate links, and that it automatically picked up dark mode from my operating system. And, what's more, you can save results to a categorised collection of spaces that you create and manage. You aren't pressured to register or sign in to use spaces, but if you do then they can follow you around your devices and always be at hand. Signing up for an account is easy; you can register with your email address or via Google, Microsoft, or Apple, thus using your existing credentials with any of those providers. Once you have a Neeva account you get a load of options including being able to have Neeva use your behaviour to improve future interactions but, in the spirit of being privacy first, this is disabled by default and you thus choose to opt-in. You can later erase what Neeva remembers about you right from the Settings menu. There really is a lot to like about Neeva, and you definitely can't go wrong with trying it out on the free plan. Say no to tracking and say yes to ad-free, fast, reliable searches that provide answers. Nicely, you can also search directly from your address bar with a free Chrome add-on. Investors include Sequoia Capital, Greylock Ventures, Inovia Capital, and Neythri Futures Fund, and Neeva has raised over $US 80m from its investors to date. The group, which operated initially as a special force's unit under Killnet, is building Mirai variants to increase the attack power of the DDoS botnet it uses to perform attacks on the West. Zarya's propaganda website, known as Zarya - CyberFront, as well as its attack campaign log, and malware are hosted by Akur Group, a hosting provider for pro-Russian hacktivist groups. With the Russian/Ukrainian conflict going into its second year on 24 February 2023, this recent activity is significant because it demonstrates how pro-Russian hacktivists have evolved their tools, techniques, and procedures during the past year. Malicious activities have increased and sophisticated tools and techniques have spread across the internet, sometimes supporting criminal activities, such as the sale and purchase of stolen data or the hosting of malware for cyberattacks. Radware's threat intelligence division head of research Daniel Smith provides some additional insights: "Pro-Russian hacktivists have moved beyond basic denial-of-service scripts and crowdsourced attacks to more advanced and potent techniques. "The significant impact of Zarya's recent activities offers just one case in point. The group's CyberFront website currently features links to 48 different hacking campaigns carried out by the group, along with the corresponding leaked data allegedly 655 Gigabytes worth of data." For more details on Zarya's campaigns see Radware's full advisory. A new monitoring system developed by Monash University researchers uses artificial intelligence (AI) to track bees movement to help improve pollination and crop yield. The research, published in the International Journal of Computer Vision, involved recording pollinators like honey bees, hover flies, moths, butterflies and wasps, to build a database of over 2000 insect tracks at a commercial strawberry farm in Victoria. The recordings were then analysed using Computer Vision and AI to track individual movements of individual insects, to count them, and to monitor their flower visits - enabling farmers and researchers to understand the contributions of different species to pollination. Monash Uiversity says optimal pollination requires the right number of pollinator visits to flowers, and too few or too many visits, or visits by ineffective insect pollinators, can reduce the quality of food a flowering plant produces ultimately impacting the yield. Research co-author, NativeBee+Tech Facility Lab Director Associate Professor Alan Dorin, from the Faculty of Information Technology, said traditional methods of insect monitoring on farms are time-consuming, labour intensive and can produce inaccurate or unreliable data. The monitoring system developed through this study can generate same-day data of crop pollination levels and provide farmers the evidence they need to inform decision-making, Associate Professor Dorin said. Knowing the extent to which a crop has been pollinated allows growers to alter hive locations and numbers to boost pollination levels. Farmers might also open or close greenhouse sidewalls to encourage or discourage insect visits from particular directions. They may decide to add flowers to entice insects to explore crop regions that have not been pollinated adequately. These simple interventions can ensure a better rate of successful pollination, and a higher yield of market-quality fruit. We believe that this system will serve as a benchmark for future research in precision pollination. Monash University notes thatfFor the monitoring system, the researchers developed customised software to analyse the huge volume of data and reliably track individual insects flying through complex foliage. The studys lead researcher Dr Malika Ratnayake said a key challenge during the research was to identify the movement of individual insects within a video so that the same insect path is not accidentally counted multiple times. The advanced software developed for the system combines AI-based object-detection capabilities with separate foreground detection algorithms to identify the precise positions of insects and the flowers they visit in the recorded videos, Dr Ratnayake said. The software also includes features to make data processing more efficient and save on computer power. We have opted to keep this software open-source so it is accessible to anyone who wants to build similar monitoring systems or other applications to optimise and analyse different data points captured through videos. Looking to the future, the researchers say they are using the monitoring system to study long-term impacts and results of precision pollination techniques, and how it changes the quality of food production and yield over several crop cycles. Building on this study, the researchers will be collaborating and working with the Australian Blueberry Growers Association, Costa Groups berries division, CSIRO, Western Sydney University and University of New England, Monash University, said. The team is also exploring links to European insects via collaborations with the University of Trento, Italy and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Germany. The research was supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Projects grant, the Monash-Bosch AgTech Launchpad Primer Grant, AgriFutures and the ARC Research Hub. To know more about the NativeBee+Tech Facility at Monash Universitys Faculty of Information Technology,visit: https://www.monash.edu/it/nativebee and to see an example video tracking the path of different insects in a strawberry patch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyU7Yf6axco 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. Monticello, IL (61856) Today Thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. A few storms may be severe. Low around 45F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Thunderstorms this evening followed by occasional showers overnight. A few storms may be severe. Low around 45F. Winds SSW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 80%. How to Clip Click and hold your mouse button on the page to select the area you wish to save or print. You can click and drag the clipping box to move it or click and drag in the bottom right corner to resize it. When you're happy with your selection, click the checkmark icon next to the clipping area to continue. Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska urged the United Nations Wednesday to establish a special tribunal to try Russia for crimes of aggression to ensure Moscow's invasion "never will be repeated" anywhere. Ukraine has pushed for several months for the creation of the tribunal to hold responsible those behind Russia's invasion of the country one year ago. "I think you will agree... that regardless of our country or nationality, we have the right not to be killed in our own homes," Zelenska told a special meeting at the UN on human rights violations in Ukraine. "However, Ukrainians are being killed in front of the whole world for the whole year in their own cities, villages, apartments, hospitals, theaters," she told a panel of UN diplomats by video. "That's why we call on the United Nations to establish a special tribunal for the crimes of Russian aggression," she said. Ukraine had envisaged presenting a formal resolution on a tribunal for the anniversary of the invasion on Friday, but the initiative has been postponed, according to diplomats. Instead, the UN General Assembly will consider Wednesday a resolution calling for a "just peace" in Ukraine, which could gain broader support from member states. The Hague-based International Criminal Court launched an investigation in February into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine. But while changes to the ICC's governing Rome Statute gave it powers to prosecute aggression from 2018, it still cannot do so for non-member states, and neither Russia nor Ukraine are members. "Russia has committed all kinds of crimes against the Ukrainian people," said Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, citing attacks on civilians, summary executions, exfiltration of populations in occupied zones, and rape and torture. "The most deplorable crime is the forcible transfers and deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia, away from their families," he said. He called for "comprehensive" accountability of all Russians involved in alleged crimes in Ukraine, including Moscow's political and military leadership. The European Union and Kyiv are supporting plans to set up an international office in The Hague to help investigate Russia for the "crime of aggression" in Ukraine. That could be an interim step toward the creation of a dedicated tribunal as Ukraine is proposing. Zelenska said the tribunal would serve global interests and not just Ukraine. "It is not only us who need that, we need that for everyone. So that never will it be repeated again," she said. JUSTICE INFO IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS Frederic Megret Professor and co-director of the William Dawson Chair in Human Rights and Legal Pluralism One year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, its leaders remain largely immune from international justice, while Kyiv continues to make use of the legal ammunition at its disposal. Its lawfare goes hand in hand with unprecedented efforts by the international community to respond to the aggression and allegations of war crimes in ways that are sometimes innovative and cause "stress" for lawyers, says Frederic Megret, co-director of the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism at the Law faculty of McGill University in Canada. JUSTICE INFO: A few days after the start of the Russian Federations invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, we asked ourselves the question "Can justice come to Ukraine's rescue? One year later, what can we say? FREDERIC MEGRET: One thing can be said: justice is a bit slow. This is not entirely surprising, even if legal experts dont often say so, since the fate of justice in Ukraine is partly dependent on the outcome of the fighting. A Ukrainian victory would greatly increase hopes for justice. A Russian victory would be catastrophic. And a peace agreement could have an ambiguous effect on the continuity of these justice efforts. Among Ukraine's Western backers there is a certain wait-and-see attitude and ongoing assessment of the consequences that more lawfare might have on the political and military dynamics of the conflict." One senses that this is not happening very quickly because, in particular, among Ukraine's Western backers there is a certain wait-and-see attitude and ongoing assessment of the consequences that more lawfare might have on the political and military dynamics of the conflict. To put it plainly, if the West puts all its efforts behind the creation of an ad hoc criminal tribunal to try [Russian President] Vladimir Putin for the crime of aggression, it also puts itself in a situation where it becomes very difficult to have conversations with the Russian leadership. We know that these conversations are still taking place a bit, and that they may have reason to take place in the future. So I think there is a bit of caution, which is drowned out by technical debates, the whole thing being in any case linked to the availability of defendants, which is very far from being guaranteed. Because even if we were to go quickly and create a beautiful new judicial institution, we could spend years in a virtual state, waiting for the accused, like the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. That said, some things have been done, because Ukraine took the initiative. The first is that there have been prosecutions by the Ukrainians themselves for war crimes. Even if this is largely symbolic, it is not nothing. Secondly, the cases before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) are proceeding, albeit slowly. In the case of the ECHR, though, Russia's withdrawal from the Council of Europe [on March 16, 2022] does not bode well for what these cases could accomplish. The only courts that are actually conducting trials are Ukrainian. Did it surprise you that trials were held so soon in a country at war? No. I think that when it comes to "ordinary" war crimes, we are dealing with the proper functioning of national justice, whose objective is to react quickly and continuously to violations. There may be some hesitation regarding the qualification of crimes, and we feel that some Ukrainian judges or prosecutors are struggling a little in this exercise, but we have had trials that reflect a functioning of justice that may not be perfect but is correct. Their only real weakness is that they only concern minor executors. Isn't the outcome of the fighting and, in particular, the exchange of prisoners what hampers the trials of senior military officers in Ukrainian courts? Yes, but the issue of prisoner exchanges should only concern those who are not accused of war crimes. Many have simply been involved in combat in accordance with the law of armed conflict. Russians who were captured with weapons in their hands are prisoners of war and should not be tried. That is the principle. Is the fact that they are being exchanged because they are officers, or because the evidence and cases are more difficult to build in these particular cases? We don't really know. When you see the Ukrainians rhetoric and willingness to point the finger at Russian abuses, I would be really surprised if they had a senior officer in their custody against whom they had credible evidence and they thought their interests better served by exchanging this individual rather than trying him. On the Russian side, we had the example of the Ukrainian fighters of the Azov battalion taken prisoner by the Russians, whom Moscow announced it wanted to try in Mariupol but who were finally exchanged... The Russians, a priori, did not have any credible accusation to hold against these soldiers, who fought between combatants, which is entirely part of the law of war. What the Russians said was that they were going to try them for terrorism, for offences that do not fall under international humanitarian law. This played a propaganda role, to say that the Azov battalion is composed of extremists, fascists. The international community loses nothing by this exchange of prisoners, even if, in fact, Russia had the obligation, not just the ability, to try soldiers it captured that committed war crimes. The Geneva Conventions are very clear on this. But in this case, we are still waiting for proof. Since the beginning of this war, Russia has withdrawn completely from the judicial field. Is this a strategy that is bearing fruit? They are completely withdrawing from this field, yes. We saw this very early on when they did not even appear before the ICJ to support their arguments. We are in a situation where Russia is reaping the fruits of a long-term strategy of protecting itself from the jurisdiction of international courts. It has not recognized the compulsory jurisdiction [agreement given in advance that makes referral to the ICJ automatic] of the ICJ, for example, which has obliged Ukraine, in a rather paradoxical manner, to try to engage Russia's responsibility for its aggression through the Genocide Convention, which contains an arbitration clause [that makes referral to the ICJ compulsory]. And of course, Russia's veto power in the UN Security Council blocks any possibility of creating an ad hoc tribunal or referring the situation to the International Criminal Court (ICC). From this point of view, the cards are pretty much dealt in Russias favour. The great strength of Ukraine is that it has recognized the jurisdiction of the ICC on its territory since 2014. This cannot be taken away from it. Ukraine has the right to transfer jurisdiction to the ICC over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Russia is not immune from a UN General Assembly resolution condemning it, but it is largely immune from international justice, and it has always understood that. There is no surprise. The Russians are not in a logic of turning their backs entirely on international law, they are in a logic of having a quite particular and fantasist interpretation of it." Is this a denial of international law on the part of Moscow? It is the policy of the empty chair. The irony, of course, is that the Soviet Union was one of the organizing powers of the Nuremberg Tribunal [in 1945]. But, like many great powers, no one really believed that it would then voluntarily submit to international justice. Does this strategy work? In concrete terms, it is a strategy of avoidance that is not very complicated to implement, since the international system is still largely based on the will of states. Russia is not entirely a revisionist power that would make a mockery of international law. What is quite interesting, listening to the statements of the Russian leaders, is that there is a constant reactivation of the memory of Nuremberg and a justification for the invasion of Ukraine by an alleged commission of genocide by Ukraine against the Russian minority. So the Russians are not in a logic of turning their backs entirely on international law, they are in a logic of having a quite particular and fantasist interpretation of it. One can also say the Russians rely on gaps and contradictions in international law and the Wests rather cavalier use of force in the past, notably the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but also the bombing of Serbia in 1999 and Libya in 2011. In the latter case, China and Russia felt they had been duped into supporting a Security Council resolution that was interpreted by the West as authorizing them to bomb Libya. We're paying the price for some of those mistakes. But it is interesting that Russia feels compelled to justify its aggression in terms of international law, even if its argument is biased. The nature of the fighting at the moment is not such that there is room for really serious accusations of war crimes by Ukrainians. Aren't we once again in a situation where international justice is likely to be perceived as a judicial tool of the West, and as unfair? There are several dimensions to this. There is a dimension of fairness between Russia and Ukraine, and a dimension of fairness between the attention given to Ukraine and to other situations. On the first question, we are well aware that the armed conflict is taking place on the territory of Ukraine. There are no Russian civilians against whom the Ukrainians could commit war crimes, and the nature of the fighting at the moment is not such that there is room for really serious accusations of war crimes by Ukrainians. We must not forget that there is a threshold, especially in the Rome Statute [and therefore for the ICC]: these crimes must be the result of a policy and they must be widespread. It is Russia that is committing all the crimes on Ukrainian territory and not the other way around. I dont have the impression that the ICC Prosecutor is indulging in gratuitous political statements that would call into question his neutrality. And then you have to know what you want: for 20 years, we deplored the fact that the ICC focused on African defendants. Now, we can congratulate ourselves on the fact that it is diversifying international criminal action. In practice, does this serve the Western and Ukrainian strategy? Absolutely. But this is not the problem of the Prosecutor, as long as he conducts his investigations independently. The idea that he should investigate a case [against Ukrainians] to show that he is fair would, in my opinion, be to enter into a false logic of trying to be fair. Would you say that this whole year has been a practical exercise in "lawfare", in war through law, on the part of Ukraine? I still feel ambivalent about this concept, because in the United States and in Israel it has often been used to denigrate parties to armed conflicts who are accused of claiming they have been victims of violations of the law of war and using this law to their advantage. I have no problem with this, I am not naive: everyone manipulates the law, rhetorically at least, to gain some advantage. But here, the Ukrainians are firing on all cylinders with the little ammunition they have legally and they are not inventing anything. They are not putting their civilians in vulnerable situations a priori in order to accuse the Russians of committing crimes. They do not put themselves in ambiguous situations where, for example, they would put hospitals near military installations to protect their equipment. This is not Hamas. Ukraine is a state that respects the law, and when the law is violated against it, it is the first to say so. This is not lawfare. It is law. It's applying the law. If I sue someone because they violated my rights, that's not an abuse of process, that's just completely normal. Ukraine, however, in seeking to fill the blind spot of the crime of aggression, leaves nothing to chance... Of course, the Ukrainians have good lawyers, they are perfectly integrated into international law and one cannot really blame them. But we cannot reinvent international law. As for the aggression tribunal, I would say that Ukraine is still cautious. It is not very clear whether it is more in favour of a revision of the Rome Statute, the creation of a special court or a hybrid court. Ukraine realizes that an international judicial solution involves other states and that, therefore, there is no point in taking a strong stand for one of these options without knowing what consensus will emerge among the main states involved at the international level. There is an aggressive, dynamic judicial strategy, but there is also a certain wait-and-see attitude, if only because not everything is in the hands of Ukraine. What the ICC Prosecutor does is not in Ukraine's hands, the creation of an international court for aggression is not in Ukraine's hands. There are limits to what it can do. Today, the creation of this tribunal still seems to be dependent on a draft resolution before the UN General Assembly. What do you think of this option? It has been talked about for some time, but it does seem that this unprecedented direction is being taken. The ad hoc international tribunals for Rwanda and former Yugoslavia were created by the UN Security Council. This power of the General Assembly exists, but we will have to see how it is implemented, if at all, and whether it will calm all the concerns of the legal community. In my opinion, this tribunal will not have any enforceable power against Russia. And so the issue of immunities would remain largely untouched. The immunity of state officials has never been considered historically, either at Nuremberg or by contemporary international tribunals... Yes, but you have to see that Nuremberg was created by an occupying force, and that the tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia were created by the Security Council on behalf of all nations. So if two states got together and created an international tribunal, could they try the sitting head of a third state and say "this is an international tribunal so there is no immunity"? This is not a blocking point, but it is a point of stress, of anxiety for international lawyers. If we say that Putin has no immunity before a tribunal created by the West, tomorrow some states in the South, for example, will say: we too can create an international tribunal that is not obliged to respect the immunities of the American or French president. In international law, one must be prepared to live with the rules that one claims to impose on others. Beyond the technical question, there is also the political question of knowing if we want to create a precedent where an international tribunal can be created between a group of states, without a Security Council resolution and without universality, and impose it de facto. There is a need, for the Ukrainian population, not to promise something that is completely improbable. Creating a court and not being able to get the suspects arrested is not very interesting." Is this not the only possibility for this crime to be judged, in the Ukrainian context? There would be another possibility, that of prosecuting the aggression as a form of crime against humanity in the broad sense. There would be no doubt that the ICC has jurisdiction. Aggression as a whole is also a generalized or systematic attack against the civilian population. It is an idea that has been circulating for the last 20 years to judge aggression through crimes against humanity. This option would have the advantage that it would not require reinventing the wheel, that there would be no need for a new tribunal. But we are, as is often the case in the international system, in a difficult situation where all solutions have drawbacks. And there is a need, for the Ukrainian population, not to promise something that is completely improbable. Creating a court and not being able to get the suspects arrested is not very interesting. Between an ineffective tribunal and no tribunal at all, I think that the international community will opt for an ineffective tribunal." In your opinion, will this tribunal finally exist? I find that in recent months states have been keeping their cards remarkably close to their chest. Everyone wants to be seen as supporting Ukraine and, at the same time, not creating things that are unlikely to work. But I think that in the end, this tribunal will be created because, at some point, something has to be done, there is a symbolic stake and, in the end, between an ineffective tribunal and no tribunal at all, I think that the international community will opt for an ineffective tribunal. With the aggression, it is not only Putin and Lavrov [his foreign minister] who are targeted, but a few hundred individuals at the highest level of the state, who are in a position where they can control the aggression and are involved in decisions concerning it. It is the value and centrality of the norm against aggression that is at stake. If the international community is perceived to be soft on aggression, it would also be a sign to others who might be tempted to follow the same path as Russia. This is a long-term job. Isn't it a bit like the fate of Ukraine to have entered both the long perspective of war and the long perspective of justice? Yes, the perspective is very long. We know that no Russian is going to stop committing acts of aggression or even war crimes just because the ICC or a special court is seized. So we are laying the foundations for something longer term. The problem is that the creation of ad hoc jurisdictions to judge a crime committed by a country certainly remedies the blockage of the international legal system, but also pays the price of its selectivity and of continuing to make international justice seem like a kind of constant political tinkering, reflecting the will of coalitions of states that do not represent the entire international community. The whole trajectory of international criminal justice over the past 30 years has been to say that we need to move away from the Nuremberg precedent, which was fundamentally victors justice. In 1998, with the adoption of the Rome Statute [which created the ICC], there was this hope of a universal court that pre-exists the crime and is based on the sovereignty of states. But Russia, like others, never became a party to the Rome Statute and a band aid is being sought to make up for the ICC's deficiencies. There is a danger of discrediting the ICC, considering that it is a court that serves us until it does not serve us in this or that conflict, and then we say in this case it is not serious, we will create a new court that will allow us to achieve our objectives. But maybe it is not serious, maybe it is just the right thing to do. Maybe that is the right division of labour: the ICC is there for a good part of the crimes and then, from time to time, we must be ready to put a patch on it. There is a lot of cynicism on the Russian side, but they try to drape their actions in the language of law." In recent months, Russia also seems to be more and more unconcerned that it is attacking civilian targets... Yes, completely. But we must recognize one thing: there is a front line. We attack civilian infrastructure but the Russians say it is because the Ukrainian army needs electricity. It is true that Putin had one or two statements where he said in substance "you want to beat us on the battlefield, your civilians will pay the price". At the same time, there is a form of restraint. It's not the Battle of London [by Nazi Germany in 1940], it's not [the 1945 Allied bombing of] Dresden, there are no such massive bombings. Kyiv or cities that are far from the front have not been bombed massively. Yes, electricity installations have been bombed, and missiles fell on civilian targets either on purpose or because they deviated from their trajectory. But we are in a kind of in-between. There is a lot of cynicism on the Russian side, but they try to drape their actions in the language of law. And on dual-use targets, its an old debate that took place with Kosovo and Iraq. Today, all cyber space is shared between the civilian and the military, this is also true of roads and bridges, of all kinds of infrastructure. It is difficult to determine whether they have an exclusively civilian vocation. This is often not the case. For the ICC, the choice is always going to be that if they have relatively clear cases where civilians have been targeted directly, they will prioritize those cases because it's going to be much easier to prove guilt than when mixed targets have been hit. Of course, if you have a commander or a political leader who has the stupidity to say "we are doing this to terrorize civilians", then it is indeed much easier to envisage a trial. We are in an almost genocidal logic." What do you find the most characteristic thing about justice in Ukraine? Knowing what, finally, is the most serious crime today. Is it aggression? Is it the way in which the war is being committed, and therefore war crimes? Is it an accusation of crimes against humanity, when it comes to Ukrainian civilians and the destruction of infrastructure? We must realize that for most people in Ukraine today of course there is the violation of their sovereignty, but there is also the fact of infamous and cowardly attacks on civilians on a large scale. One gets the impression that there is a real desire to deny the existence of the Ukrainian people as such and that, in the end, the armed conflict is just a means to attack a civilian population, to subjugate it, to exterminate it in some cases. Yes, of course, it looks like a classic war, one state attacking another. But if we look at the "big picture", can't we begin to wonder about the deeper meaning of the Russian plan in Ukraine? We are in an almost genocidal logic, potentially. The future will tell. Interviewed by Franck Petit As K-content continues to gain popularity worldwide, thanks to outstanding K-dramas and reality shows like "Squid Game," "Physical: 100," "All of Us Are Dead" and more, viewers are also drawn to rising stars who captured the attention of the public. Interestingly, these four up-and-coming actresses might be the next sought-after star that viewers should keep our eyes on this 2023. Joo Hyun Young The 27-year-old beauty made her debut in 2018, playing a supporting role in Naver TV series "Govengers." Although she has been in the industry for quite some time, Joo Hyun Young rose to stardom after joining the cast of "Extraordinary Attorney Woo," playing Woo Young Woo's best friend Dong Geu Rami. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Joo Hyun Young Celebrates 27th Birthday in a Remarkable Way Viewers loved her tandem with Park Eun Bi hence why their signature greeting became so popular that it had a TikTok challenge. Due to her outstanding skills, she also joined "Saturday Night Live Korea Season 12" and the rom-com series "Behind Every Star." Interestingly, she will reprise her role in the much-awaited "Extraordinary Attorney Woo Season 2" and will have her big screen debut through "2 O'Clock Date." Park Ji Hu Netflix welcomed 2022 with a bang as "All of Us Are Dead" took the world by storm, creating huge buzz on social media. Interestingly, one of the main characters in the K-zombie series is none other than Park Ji Hu, who took the role of Nam Oh Jo, one of the survivors and students of Hyosan High School. Viewers were delighted with how her character perfectly suits Park Ji Hu as well as her team-up with Yoon Chan Young. From hit series to another, the rising star appeared in the novel-based drama "Little Women" playing the youngest sister of Kim Go Eun and Nam Ji Hyun. Interestingly, she is set to reprise her role as Nam Oh Jo in the upcoming "All of Us Are Dead Season 2." Adding to the list of her new projects this 2023 is the movie "Concrete Utopia" starring Park Seo Joon, Lee Byung Hun, and Park Bo Young. Kim Min Ha As soon as "Pachinko" became a trending topic in, viewers and media have been praising the rookie actress Kim Min Ha as she took a significant role in the Apple TV+ series. She portrayed the role of the teenage Kim Sun Ja, played by the Academy Award-winning Youn Yuh Jung. Her career skyrocketed thanks to her remarkable acting in the series and even graced fashion magazines and was selected as a brand ambassador by brands. Go Yoon Jung Joining the list of rising Korean actresses is Go Yoon Jung. She might be in the industry for several years, but it was the historical romance drama "Alchemy of Souls" that gave her career a major boost. Interestingly, she recently return to the K-drama's hit sequel. KDramastars owns this article Written by Geca Wills New works are coming your way with a wide array of genres to choose from. Romance, mystery, melodrama and even suspense are all available on screen, decorating the month of March! Here are five South Korean K-Dramas that will make their television debut this week that you shouldn't miss! 1. 'Island' Kim Nam Gil, Lee Da Hee and Cha Eun Woo's "Island" returns this month with its Part 2, much to fans' delight! The series follows the three different individuals who have one goal: to take down the evil that plans to destroy the world. During the release of Part 1, the drama received critical acclaim from fans all around the world. The second part of the series guarantees to show the maturity and growth of the characters. "Island Part 2" will be broadcasted on February 24 on TVING and Amazon Prime. Watch the teaser here: 2. 'Call It Love' Lee Sung Kyung finally returns to the small screen with her new drama "Call It Love"! The actress couples up with Kim Young Kwang to tell the story of how a man and a woman, who were bound to be step-siblings, found romance in each other. "Call It Love" is an ironic and silly romance drama and it will air on February 22 on Disney+ Korea. Catch the teaser below: 3. 'Oasis' Seol In Ah, Jang Dong Yoon and Chu Young Woo work for the first time in the upcoming series "Oasis"! The youth drama follows three friends who navigate their lives, relationships and dreams amidst the turbulent South Korea in the 1980s. In the series, the three actors will depict the young love triangle between friends, causing them pain that will change their lives upside down forever. "Oasis" hits the screen on March 6 on KBS2! Watch the teaser below: 4. 'Delivery Man' Girl's Day Minah and Yoon Chan Young meet for the first time in the comedy fantasy series "Delivery Man"! The TVING drama focuses on the life of a taxi driver whose customers are from the afterlife. His "ghost only" taxi service also delivers the last wishes of the lost souls. His life changes when a female ghost who lost her memory rides his taxi. Witty and charming, "Delivery Man" is set to deliver a comical drama on March 1! Watch the teaser here, ICYMI: 5. 'The Glory' Last but not the least is Song Hye Kyo's revenge drama "The Glory"! First released in December 2022, the Netflix series follows the life-long revenge plan of a school violence victim who becomes her perpetrators' child's homeroom teacher. Since its release, fans couldn't stop watching the work. Excitement is also doubled as its Part 2 is about to dominate the screen to bring Song Hye Kyo's best laid plan to reality. Don't miss "The Glory" this March 10. Watch the teaser here: KDramaStars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. Go Bo Gyeol's adorable face and deceiving age will surely be the first one to be noticed by viewers but underneath her charming visuals is her unstoppable skill in acting! She's back with the romantic comedy series "The Heavenly Idol" this 2023, teaming up with "Business Proposal" actor Kim Min Gyu. If you're loving her performance in the series so far, this list is for you! Here are Go Bo Gyeol's previous works that are worthy of checking out! 'Goblin' Unbeknownst to many, Go Bo Gyeol participated in Gong Yoo, Lee Dong Wook and Kim Go Eun's international blockbuster drama "Goblin"! Though she only had a minor role in the work, it still was a catalyst for her to star more in high scale projects. In "Goblin," Go Bo Gyeol played the role of Kim Yoon Ah, the class president who defends Kim Go Eun from bullies and later becomes her only friend. 'Go Back Couple' In 2017, Go Bo Gyeol starred in Son Ho Jun and Jang Na Ra's romance comedy drama "Go Back Couple." She wowed every viewer with her impressive skills in ballet. Prior to the release of the drama, Go Bo Gyeol enrolled in ballet classes to prepare for her role, showing her dedication. In particular, the actress also got on some of the viewers' nerves after she shakes the main couple's relationship as an ex-lover. 'Cinderella with Four Knights' Among the mentioned works, "Cinderella with Four Knights" is without a doubt Go Bo Gyeol's most notable drama. Go Bo Gyeol proved her versatility and transformed into a villain as Park So Dam's naughty step-sister. If she didn't anger the viewers in "Go Back Couple," Go Bo Gyeol certainly made everyone's blood boil in this project. Not only is her character selfish but she's also immature who only thinks about herself. Go Bo Gyeol was able to diversify her acting spectrum through this drama, much to the fans' delight. 'Hi Bye, Mama!' "Hi Bye, Mama!" marks Go Bo Gyeol's most recent series which also stars Kim Tae Hee and Lee Kyu Hyung. In the 2020 melodrama, she showed off her emotional acting as Lee Kyu Hyung's new wife. Many viewers sympathized with her character after she was forced to accept things that were out of norms. By far her most polarizing character, Go Bo Gyeol also made everyone mad with her character in the series. This earned her high praises from avid K-Drama fans and critics around the world. Have you seen these Go Bo Gyeol dramas yet? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below! KDramaStars owns this article. Written by Elijah Mully. A traveller makes their way through Pearson International Airport in Toronto Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. Airlines are warning that travel in and out of Central Canada may be affected by a winter storm sweeping in from the west.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston A person pushes a stroller past the shelter of an unhoused person in Toronto on Tuesday Jan. 31, 2023. The federal housing advocate is launching a review of homeless encampments in Canada, calling the situation a human rights crisis fuelled in part by the failure of all levels of government to provide adequate housing. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn Indonesian President Joko Widodo meets with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Jakarta, Indonesia, Feb. 22, 2023. (Presidential Press Bureau/Handout via Xinhua) Indonesian President Joko Widodo met with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang here on Wednesday, as both sides promised to jointly maintain regional peace and stability. Widodo, during the meeting, wished a successful outcome of the upcoming sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He expected both sides to step up the implementation of the consensus reached at the Bali meeting between the two heads of state and duly prepare for the next phase of high-level exchanges. The Indonesian president said Indonesia and China have seen fruitful practical cooperation in recent years, with bilateral trade and investment growing rapidly and China becoming the second largest source of foreign investment in Indonesia. He said the two sides should speed up key projects including the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, the North Kalimantan Industrial Park and the construction of the new capital, and expand cooperation in industrial chains and new energy. Widodo said Asia is the center of global economic growth and should not be an arena of power struggle. Indonesia is willing to work with China to maintain regional peace and stability, and to facilitate the economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, Widodo said. He said Indonesia appreciates China's support for ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) centrality and will address the Myanmar issue in line with the five-point consensus. For his part, Qin said the Chinese side is willing to work with the Indonesian side under the guidance of the important consensus reached between the two leaders, adhere to high-level guidance, strategic alignment and collaboration as major countries, and seek joint development in the pursuit of modernization. The two sides should make every effort to ensure the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway to be completed and opened to traffic as scheduled, and create more flagship projects of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), said the Chinese foreign minister. Qin said China is willing to import more bulk commodities and quality agricultural and fishery products from Indonesia, and encourage outstanding Chinese enterprises to participate in Indonesia's major infrastructure projects. Changes unseen in a century have seriously affected the Asia-Pacific region. Situations of great complexity call for stronger unity and cooperation between China and ASEAN to safeguard regional peace, stability, development and prosperity, he noted. The Chinese side fully supports Indonesia playing its role as the ASEAN rotating chair to lead and push the construction of the ASEAN Community with a shared future and East Asia cooperation to reap greater fruits, Qin said, adding that the Chinese side will continue its support for ASEAN centrality and solving the Myanmar issue in "the ASEAN way". During his visit, Qin and his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi jointly chaired the fourth meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation between the two countries. He also met with Indonesia's Coordinator for Cooperation with China and Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn separately. Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles speaks for the first time as party leader as the legislature resumes at Queen's Park in Toronto on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. Stiles is asking Ontario's integrity commissioner to issue an opinion on whether Premier Doug Ford's actions surrounding his daughter's stag-and-doe event were improper. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn More than 8,000 We Energies customers across Kenosha County are without power as of late Wednesday night, a number that is expected to continue to change as utility crews respond to outages into Thursday, according to We Energies officials. The We Energies outage map at 11:42 p.m. reported 8,185 customers were without power in the county. The vast majority of those customers were in the Kenosha, Somers, with a large concentration just east of the University of Wisconsin- Parkside and the Village of Pleasant Prairie. Dispatchers with Kenosha Joint Services fielded many calls regarding downed wires and poles on fire Wednesday afternoon and evening during the ice storm. According to We Energies, as many as 29,653 customers in the Southeast regional service area remained without power late Wednesday into early Thursday. Crews working through the night Brendan Conway, a spokesperson for We Energies said crews continue to make "steady progress restoring power." Crews, he said have restored power to approximately 10,000 customers since the storms first moved in earlier in the day. "We are finding extreme ice covering trees and branches and that is coming into contact with our power lines. Some of our equipment is also coated in ice causing outages," Conway said. "We expect, even though we are restoring power, we will continue to see new outages overnight as branches and trees continue to fall and come into contact with our equipment." He said all available crews and contractor crews are working and that We Energies would be "bringing in fresh crews overnight and into the early morning hours." "We will work nonstop until power is restored to all customers," he said." We would encourage customers to report their outage to us through our app, online or by giving us a call," he said. "We would also remind customers to stay at least 25 feet away from any downed lines and report them to us and their local police department right away." Any power outages should be reported, either through the company's app, online or by calling 800-662-4797. Capt. Dale Howser, a battalion chief with the Kenosha Fire Department, also warned residents to stay away from downed power lines and to call 911 if one is spotted. Traffic signal outages Law enforcement reported no major crashes Wednesday evening, but the outages have been widespread throughout the county. In the city of Kenosha, the loss of power has darkened a 20-block swath from French Drive, or 51st Avenue, to westbound Green Bay Road which has affected traffic lights, according to Lt. Matthew Strelow of the Kenosha Police Department. "We have officers manning a couple of intersections," he said. Schools, meetings and religious services were canceled and closed Wednesday following the ice storm warning issued by the National Weather Service, which commenced at 9 a.m. Wednesday. The warning is expected to continue through noon Thursday, according to meteorologist J.J. Wood. The worst of the storm's icing was expected to continue through the very early morning hours before tapering off, which could lead to an earlier expiration for the weather warning. "Then, the bulk of the heavier precipitation is going to move off to the north and northeast," he said. "After that, we'll probably continue to see some light freezing drizzle as we get into (Thursday) morning." Due to dangerous conditions, the front counter of the Kenosha Police Department was closed at noon Wednesday. The Kenosha Police Department remains open. "If you call for police services, we are still out there and will respond," the department posted on social media. Wood said the Kenosha and Racine county areas saw ice accumulations of a quarter to a half inch, as predicted. The forecast Thursday calls for a possible rain shower during the morning commute around 8 a.m., and cloudy most of the day with high temperatures in the mid-30s and lows in the mid-teens Thursday night. Friday expect a slight chance of snow with partly cloudy to cloudy skies during the morning into the afternoon with temperature highs in the low to mid-20s, holding steady later into the evening. For Saturday and Sunday, partly cloudy skies are also in the forecast with highs in the upper 30s, possibly touching 40 on Sunday, and lows in the mid-20s to upper 30s. 15 photos from the 2023 U.S. National Snow Sculpting Championship held in Lake Geneva Team North Dakota: The Nemean Lion Team Alaska: When Love Hurts Team Wisconsin 1: You Are Not Alone Team Wisconsin 2: Gracious Struggle Team Colorado: Koi Team Illinois 1: Otterly Loud Team Illinois 2: The Quest for Bachelorette Team Iowa 1: Lizard Habitat Team Iowa 2: Backwater Shenanigans Team Michigan: Over the Moon Team Minnesota 1: Ngig Nibi Ganawendan (Otter Water Protector) Team Minnesota 2: Becoming Bjorn Team Vermont: One Bear Band Team New York: Open Mind Team: Vermont: Release 66 Shares Share Timmys eyes were rolling side to side in his head as his limp body did not respond to his mothers calling. He was rushed to the hospital and admitted to the ICU. The 4-year-old ate one of his mothers cannabis-infused, rainbow-sherbet-flavored gummies and ended up with marijuana poisoning and in a coma. There is no antidote to THC, the psychoactive chemical in cannabis, so Timmy had to wait and detoxify over the next couple of days. Timmy is one of 7,043 children under the age of 6 exposed to cannabis in the United States between 2017-2021. According to the National Poison Data System, pediatric exposures increased by 1,375%. Diagnosis data from Childrens Hospitals found 15% of marijuana-related hospital encounters required hospitalization, and 4% required mechanical ventilation. Fruity candy was responsible for 73% of pediatric poisoning, according to preliminary data from Rady Childrens Hospital in San Diego from 2014-2022. This was followed by chocolate at 12%, brownies at 9%, and cookies at 3%. Increased marijuana poisoning in children follows increased availability and increased potency. The percentage of THC in cannabis samples seized by the DEA increased from 4% in 1995 to 15.3% in 2021. But these data are misleading, visit any cannabis store in person or online, and you will find concentrates at over 90% THC. High-potency THC can behave like a hard drug, like methamphetamine. In December 2022, four kids at a California middle school ingested an unknown substance. Three of them were rushed to the hospital for a possible overdose of what doctors feared was fentanyl. While they were relieved, it was not fentanyl, just marijuana-infused gummies. These kids were poisoned while at school and suffered severe reactions. Dosing in children is a major concern. One gummy of 10 mg THC for an adult can cause psychosis. For a child, it can cause altered mental status, encephalopathy, or delirium. Perhaps more disturbing is that children are susceptible to exposure based on their cognitive development. Babies go through a stage where everything goes in their mouths indiscriminately. Children are naturally attracted to candy, sweet flavors, and pretty packaging. They do not have the developmental capacity to smoke a vape, so it is not surprising that they are poisoned by edibles. Another problem with edibles is that they deliver a dose much more slowly than smoking. It takes longer for edibles to take effect, 30-60 minutes, because THC, like most oral drugs, must pass through the stomach and liver and get into the blood before reaching the brain. This delay can cause children to consume more gummies before symptoms take effect. It also takes longer to metabolize edible versus smoked products. The symptoms of cannabis poisoning in children show up as effects on the brain. THC is a lipophilic drug, meaning it is attracted to the fatty part of the brain, and one of the fattest organs is the brain. Children can have changes in consciousness, seizures, lack of coordination, lethargy, irritability, or excess sleep. Tanner Clements, a 4-year-old boy, ate his mothers THC delta-8 gummies on May 6. His mother called poison control, but it was too late. Tanner was placed on life support and died two days later. Delta-8 THC and a host of hemp-derived psychoactive cannabinoids were declared legal, despite a lack of safety. Hemp seeds on salad or hemp fabric is one thing but making psychotic drugs available in candy form on Amazon makes our legislative system guilty of child abuse. Brain development can be altered by cannabis exposure. We also know that the human brain continues to grow until age 25 and starts growing at the third week of gestation. A longitudinal study of Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) showed an increased mental health burden with prenatal cannabis exposure that persists from childhood to early adolescence. This follows the evidence that cannabis has genotoxic effects on sperm and human development. THC is an established risk factor for mental health risk, just like tobacco is a risk factor for lung cancer and heart disease. That is why the U.S. Surgeon General published an Advisory on Marijuana Use and the Developing Brain. We learned from tobacco that if kids start young, they are more likely to continue using as adults. During those developing years, addiction is up to 7 times more likely than in an adult brain. Getting kids hooked young creates lifelong consumers. The FDA was proud to propose a rule prohibiting flavored cigars and menthol cigarettes and preventing youth initiation. California passed a law banning flavored tobacco products. Where is the protection for kids with flavored and candied pot? In Quebec, Canada, child poisoning of marijuana edibles did not spike when they introduced child protection laws with THC potency caps and no legal edibles. Why does the world have Wheetos that look like Cheetos, Stoney Patch that looks like Sour Patch, Stoneo that looks like Oreos, or cute colorful gummy bears? Adults who want to use recreational drugs can do so without jeopardizing children. They dont need lollipops. There are plenty of other ways for adults to get their THC. As a society, we need to protect our children, and having psychotropic candy lying around is a guaranteed recipe for trouble. To protect children, The International Academy on the Science and Impact of Cannabis, IASIC recommends: 1. Childproof packaging, not just child-resistant, but childproof. Childproofing medication was initiated because of pediatric poisoning, just like what is happening now with cannabis products. 2. Limiting THC potency. 3. Banning cannabis candies, flavors, and packaging attractive to kids, including all THC isomers, such as THC-8, produced from hemp. Roneet Lev is an emergency physician. Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! In this episode, were joined by Emmanuel K. Konstantakos, an orthopedic surgeon, and Jeff Morris, an attorney and CEO of the American Board of Physician Specialties. They discuss the ongoing debate about physician board certifications and the role of monopolistic practices in limiting patient access to care. During the COVID-19 crisis, discriminatory hiring practices left many highly skilled, dual-board certified physicians unable to provide emergency and telemedicine services. The guests will explore the dangers of monopolies in health care, the reasons behind these practices, and the impact on patient safety and care. The guests will ask important questions about the true motives behind these practices and the need for change in how we approach physician board certifications. Emmanuel K. Konstantakos is an orthopedic surgeon. Jeff Morris is an attorney and CEO, American Board of Physician Specialties. They share their stories and discuss the KevinMD article, Stop the ABMS monopoly. 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. VISIT SPONSOR https://nuance.com/daxinaction SUBSCRIBE TO THE PODCAST https://www.kevinmd.com/podcast RATE AND REVIEW https://www.kevinmd.com/rate FOLLOW ON INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/kevinphomd FOLLOW ON TIKTOK https://www.tiktok.com/@kevinphomd GET CME FOR THIS EPISODE https://earnc.me/7TBRT6 Powered by CMEfy. 83 Shares Share Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease killed 314,186 women in 2021. This means that approximately one out of every five female deaths was due to heart disease, with the worst mortality burden on African American women. It is abundantly clear that we are not where we need to be in terms of preventing and treating heart disease in women and raising awareness about how heart disease impacts women in both the public and medical communities. Again, women cant wait. And neither can our approach to better address heart disease in women. Because of the female lives heart disease claims, we all have our personal, and oftentimes tragic, stories of a loved one. My story inspires me and will be with me forever. As a physician, my mother was diagnosed with heart disease on the heels of completing my heart failure fellowship. How could I have missed the signs that she was suffering? This is what I trained to do. The signs were there but, unfortunately, were not recognized. This experience shook me to my core. It also demonstrated to me the urgent need for more education in both the medical community and among the general public about womens heart disease risk. Highlighted by the American Heart Association in 2016, common symptoms of heart attacks in women, including fatigue, shortness of breath, indigestion, vomiting, and nausea, are too often dismissed by both patients and medical professionals. A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association in May 2022 showed that women experiencing chest pain waited longer than men to be seen by physicians in the emergency department and were less likely to be admitted to the hospital on account of their chest pain. And a study published in the Journal of Womens Health in 2009 showed that women experiencing heart disease symptoms (chest pain) were twice as likely to be diagnosed with a mental illness compared to men who reported the same symptoms. This is unacceptable, and we need to do more and improve. How can we make progress? Prioritize education and outreach focused on womens heart health for medical students, physicians in training, and practicing physicians. Research published in Women and Cardiovascular Health in 2022 highlights a lack of sex-specific training for cardiology fellowship programs in the U.S. Formal programs dedicated to womens cardiovascular health are rare and elective. Lets make those mandatory. Focus on heart health in more health care settings. While there are many great heart care centers throughout the U.S., we are missing opportunities to prevent heart disease. Primary care and emergency physicians, among others, must play a significant role in this effort. We can arm them with the training and tools to better identify risks and help prevent heart disease. Educate women about their heart disease risks more often and more consistently during medical visits. A survey from the American Heart Association shows that while most women are aware that heart disease is the leading cause of death in women, only 13 percent believe it is their greatest health risk. This must change. Too much education is not possible. We know that annual primary care visits are not long enough to address each and every health issue, but given the overwhelming evidence on the risk of heart disease in women, heart health must be a priority. The American Heart Association has many valuable resources available for free that can be shared with patients so that they leave the appointment armed with information to know their risk and recognize if they are in need of medical attention. Invest in clinical trials focused on women and heart disease. There continues to be profound underrepresentation of women in cardiovascular disease clinical trials, which a 2020 study published in Circulation demonstrates. This could be causing patient harm as the data derived from these studies, which we use to inform treatment decisions for women, is based on studies where a majority of the participants were male. At the American College of Cardiologys 71st Annual Scientific Session, a study found that there are too few women in cardiovascular clinical trial leadership but that female-led clinical trials increase female trial participants. Lets use this data to our advantage and improve the engagement of female physicians in clinical trial leadership to increase female participant enrollment. As we continue our work to better understand the differences in how heart disease presents and impacts men and women, its critical to share this knowledge. We know a lot now, but were still not sharing that knowledge broadly and comprehensively. While there has been progress made in decreasing mortality related to heart disease in both men and women, one important fact remains heart disease can be prevented. I want change now. Women cant wait. My mother should not have needed to wait. We must act collectively and aggressively now to help save lives. Roberta (Bobbi) Bogaev Chapman is a cardiologist and vice president for heart failure, Abiomed, Inc., Danvers, MA. She can be reached on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter @HeartRecovery and @abiomed. She leads the Womens Heart Initiative and works collaboratively on all Abiomed-sponsored clinical trials, education, patient advocacy, and developing best practices for patients with heart failure. In the latest issue of Clinical Endocrinology News, I found an interesting article reporting a proposal to change the name of a hormone. The rationale for the proposed change was patient safety. In 2009, a patient with known panhypopituitarism was admitted to a U.K. hospital for elective surgery. Diagnosis included panhypopituitarism with diabetes insipidus. The patient developed hypernatremia and volume depletion, tragically leading to pronounced hypotension and death. The author attributes this adverse outcome to a misunderstanding caused by nomenclature. According to the article, the nurses caring for the patient apparently construed diabetes insipidus as diabetes mellitus, and consequently, in the face of normal blood glucose concentrations, failed to recognize an impending crisis, thus, directly leading to the patients unfortunate death. The article, supported by the opinion of an expert endocrinologist, posits that the patient might have been saved had the diagnosis been categorized differently. Dr. Joseph Verbalis, a major proponent of the name change, proposes changing the terminology from central diabetes insipidus to AVP-D, Arginine Vasopressin Deficiency. At the same time, AVP-R would replace its current designation (nephrogenic diabetes insipidus). An abbreviated yet interesting review of the history of diabetes informs the reader that the word diabetes is derived from the Greek term , meaning to pass through as a siphon and was described by Apollonius of Memphis in the 3rd century BCE. The article pointed out that our current knowledge base is far superior to the ancient physicians of Greece and Rome; therefore, our terminology could use an update. Finally, Dr. Verbalis scores virtue points by pointing out that the American College of Rheumatology has canceled Dr. Wegeners eponym in favor of granulomatosis with polyangiitis because Wegener had been a card-carrying member of the National Socialist Party during WWII. Why would an old country endocrinologist curmudgeonly object to changing central diabetes insipidus to AVP-D and nephrogenic di to AVP-R? We are accustomed to name changes, after all. And such events are a valid reason to gather a conclave of experts at an agreeable locale to exchange views and party. Consider how many times Graves ophthalmopathy has been renamed: thyroid eye disease, Graves eye disease, dysthyroid orbitopathy, and more). First, the proffered case report occurred in 2009, before medical reconciliation was widely employed. Second, there has been no known reprise of this tragic scenario over the last decade. Third, one has to wonder why an endocrinologist was not following the patient. Is it the policy of the NHS to refuse inpatient consultations? Fourth, the cynical amongst us might suspect that Dr. Verbalis, who acknowledges receiving funds from Otsuka Pharmaceuticals (manufacturers of DDAVP), might be attempting to draw attention to the target product through the new designation. Changing the diagnosis from DI to AVP-D might have no effect or even confound the problem further. I can recall when omeprazole 20mg was first released as Losec but revised to Prilosec because of the similarity to Lasix only to become confused with Prozac. I can recall personal experience with these products. (Disclaimer: It was before the age of electronic Rx was instituted.) I hope the reader will not misconstrue my comments. Any measure that is practical and prevents bad outcomes should be implemented. And there may be sound scientific reasons for changing the name. Fine. On reflection, though, will this maneuver really prove to be effective? Can the complexity of human biology truly be distilled into words of one syllable? The words of the great Gilda Radner of SNL as Roseanne Roseannadanna remind us: Its always something. So, have the enclave, enjoy the party, and have a great time. But dont insult us by claiming this will protect patient care and ensure safety only well-educated doctors and vigilant nurses can do that. Charles Sharp is an endocrinologist. After 32 years of wonderful service poet Mark Roper has retired as lecturer of the Kilkenny Liberal Studies Group. The group recently hosted a lunch to mark the occasion. Mark was born in Derbyshire, England and moved to Ireland with his partner, Jane Keen, in 1980, settling near Piltown. Kilkenny Liberal Studies Group began in 1986 when a small group of women got together to explore their interest in the liberal arts. They called their original endeavour A Taste of University under the umbrella of the Adult Education Services. Mark began his association with the group in 1990 when the then committee asked him to teach a class on punctuation. Mark, in his own inimitable way, chose D.H.Lawrences Sons and Lovers as his text. From small beginnings, the group has gone from strength to strength, now boasting 150 members with a waiting list. In his 32 years, Mark has covered 150 works of fiction and poetry, from Anton Chekov to James Joyce, from Sylvia Plath to Mary Oliver. The group grew in maturity as readers under his leadership. He has brought so much to their literary table, enhancing their understanding of the works in question without telling them how to think. Mark has several volumes of poetry published from The Hen Ark in 1990 to his latest publication Beyond Stillness and has a litany of literary awards to his name. There have been three publications of his collaborative works of poetry and photography with Paddy Dwan. He has written librettos for the late Eric Sweeneys operatic works. He has taught creative writing with the Adult Education Services in both Kilkenny and Waterford. One of Kilkennys best-known faces, celebrity chef, teacher, actor and radio presenter, Edward Hayden, has been announced as the Grand Marshall of this years St. Patricks Day parade in the Marble City. The announcement was made by the Chairperson of the St. Patrick's Festival committee, Cllr. Joe Malone, who said that it is an honour richly deserved. "Edward Hayden has been at the centre of all that is best in Kilkenny life over the last few decades. From his early days as a budding chef, to his appointment as lecturer and culinary course leader in South East Technological University teaching across all of the culinary programmes from certificate to honours degree level." The Ireland AM team "With his emergence as a major media star, locally with his The Saturday Show with Edward Hayden on KCLR96FM and of course, his long-standing cookery slot on the daily breakfast show, 'Ireland AM' on Virgin Media, Edwards star has continued to rise," added Cllr. Joe Malone at today's annoucement. Kilkenny's Grand Marshall for St Patricks Day Edward Hayden with Mayor Cllr David Fitzgerald Launching the 2023 St. Patrick's Festival in Kilkenny, Mayor Cllr David Fitzgerald said he was delighted that Edward had been chosen to be this years Grand Marshall. "Edward had published three cookery books over the years, as well as contributing to most national and regional publications and is the resident cookery writer with the People Newspapers group. He also is a member of the Guild of Irish Food Writers, as a respected voice in food writing." Edward Hayden at home in his cookery school in Graiguenamanagh Mayor Cllr David Fitzgerald also said at today's annoucment how "Edward has played a central role in the continuation of the Savour Kilkenny food festival and his cookery demonstrations at the festival and at festivals and events all over Ireland, serve as evidence of his popularity and abilities. He has also given of his talents freely for many community and voluntary groups through the years." Edward is also an astute businessperson; the establishment of The Edward Hayden School of Cookery in Graignamanagh has added enormously to the attractions of the town on the Barrow that he loves so well. On stage & in character with the New Ross Drama Group Edward also regularly treads the boards as an actor with local drama groups in Kilkenny, Wexford and beyond. His one-man show An evening with John B. Keane, has graced the stages of his native county, but was given the particular honour of being invited to perform it in St. Johns Theatre in Listowel, where Keanes family and neighbours gave it glowing reviews. Edward currents serves on the National Executive Board of The Drama League of Ireland, which promotes the advancement of quality in amateur Drama. At today's anoucement of Kilkenny's Grand Marshall for St Patricks Day Parade: Edward Hayden, Marian Flannery, Mayor Cllr David Fitzgerald, Siobhan Donohoe & Nevin from Shenanigans Walks Festival Manager, Marian Flannery, said she was delighted with the committees decision - "Edward has been a wonderful friend and colleague over many years and is truly passionate about everything to do with Kilkenny. As well as that he has hugely high standards of excellence and gives 100% to everything he does. We have no doubt but that that will be the case in his role as Grand Marshall. He is also a bit of a style icon too, so were sure that the selection of his outfit from one of Kilkennys leading fashion emporiums will be keenly watched by the fashionistas!" "Above all though, Edward makes us all laugh. His first cookery book was called Edward Entertains and never was a book so appropriately named. The first thing you hear when you come close to Edwards company is his hearty laugh and some bit of mischief is never too far away! We really are looking forward to seeing the craic that will surround a parade led by Edward," she added. Edward will lead the parade, which will start from John Street at 1.30 pm and follow the traditional route through John Street, Rose Inn Street, before turning at the parade onto High Street and finishing in the Market Yard. Dozens of community, sporting, cultural and international groups are expected to take part, celebrating this years themes of Myths and Legends and the committee is still inviting people to get involved, with all details and application form available on stpatricksfestivalkilkenny.com Tanaiste and Minister for Defence Micheal Martin has awarded a million euro to drone and satellite technology it is hoped will be used to help tackle wildfires. A team at Maynooth University were announced as winners of the first Organisation Innovation Challenge, a joint initiative between Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Department of Defence. Over a period of 18 months, 10 teams competed for funding to develop disruptive solutions that could be used across the Defence Forces against key challenges. The winning pitch uses machine learning and observations from satellites and drones to help aerial crews fight wildfires by sharing footage in real time. Announcing the winners at Casement Aerodrome in Dublin, Mr Martin said: To witness the innovation and creative problem-solving by so many of the teams involved in this challenge is really encouraging. The Defence Organisation RTI Unit is increasing the use of research, innovation and technology in support of our Defence Forces capabilities, and as a recent creation, its progress is really impressive. Being able to engage directly with research allows everyone to understand the problems they are trying to solve. I congratulate the winning team, and Im equally encouraged to see how other teams will contribute to missions, and capabilities aligned with national defence policy. I thank those members of the Defence Organisation who worked on these projects and really look forward to seeing how this work develops into the future. Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris said the researchers had broken the mould of innovation in Ireland. The winning team has shown the power of new technologies to help in the work of the Defence Forces, with applications that may reach far beyond the original challenge, he said. This was a pioneering scheme and I look forward to seeing more and more benefits coming from the National Challenge Fund and the Sustainable Development Goal challenges, showing that Ireland is ready to tackle the hardest problems and provide solutions. Team leader Professor Tim McCarthy said the funding would help prepare for the future when wildfires were expected to become more frequent and intense events. The reality is that wildfire events are now likely to affect us all either directly or indirectly because of climate change, he said. The interdisciplinary team included co-principal investigator Professor John McDonald, research strand leader Dr Charles Markham and additional researchers drawn from the Department of Computer Science, the National Centre for Geocomputation in Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute. The team also worked closely with Commandant Jay OReillys aerial firefighting team, as well as members of the Fire Service, National Parks and Wildlife Service and Coillte. Prof McCarthy said: Over 18 months, we designed, built and tested an intuitive Common Operational Picture platform to improve how digital data from satellites, aircraft and drones sensors can be captured, pooled and shared in real time between various responder agencies. A Dublin university has decided to return 400-year-old human skulls that were stolen from an island off the west coast of Ireland more than 100 years ago. Thirteen skulls were taken from a monastery on the island of Inishbofin off the west coast of Ireland by two Trinity University-affiliated academics in 1890. After sketching the skulls in the nook of St Colmans monastery, considered sacred by the islanders, Alfred C Haddon and Andrew F Dixon took the skulls in the middle of the night. Haddens diary entry stated that when asked by sailors to hand over the satchel, Dixon would not give it up and told the men it contained poitin a distilled Irish alcohol. Trinity University is formally reviewing legacy issues since its foundation in 1592, which included the request to return the skulls and whether its Berkeley Library should be renamed. Trinitys main library was named in 1978 after the renowned philosopher George Berkeley, who was a slave-owner. The Trinity Legacies Review Working Group carried out research and analysis of the stolen skulls, and then offered a number of options to the board of Trinity University on what action it could take. On Wednesday, the universitys board agreed to return the skulls. Senior Dean at Trinity Eoin OSullivan, head of the working group, told PA previously this was chosen as the first case for the legacy group to examine because it was clear what had happened. The provenance is very clear: we have his diary, we know he took those skulls without the consent of the islanders and bundled them into a satchel, and put them on the boat and back to Trinity with them, he said. Following the decision to return the skulls, Mr OSullivan said the approach Trinity has taken proved its worth. Further engagement will now take place with the Inishbofin community to find an appropriate way of returning the remains. Trinity Provost Dr Linda Doyle apologised to the islanders and said the university would work with the community to ensure the remains are returned in an appropriate way. I am sorry for the upset that was caused by our retaining of these remains and I thank the Inishbofin community for their advocacy and engagement with us on this issue, she said. We will now work with the community to ensure that the remains are returned in a respectful manner and in accordance with the communitys wishes. I want to thank everyone who engaged with the process that we have put in place to address issues of this nature. I am glad that we have made an evidence-based decision and that our process allowed all points of view to be heard. A proposed law to give compensation to mother and baby home survivors has been passed to its next stage by a narrow margin by the Dail. TDs voted 73 to 62 for the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme Bill 2022 on Wednesday evening. It will now go to the Seanad. The proposed law was earlier branded cruel by Sinn Fein because it excludes those who spent less than six months in the institutions. The Government anticipates 34,000 applications for redress and a form of enhanced medical card, with many expected to come from people who now live outside Ireland. Minister for Children Roderic OGorman was urged during a Dail debate on Wednesday evening to take the last opportunity to address concerns in the legislation. Social Democrat Holly Cairns said institution survivors asked for a universal inclusive scheme where all mothers and babies would be eligible for redress, regardless of the year or duration of their stay. You have ignored this, she said, describing a deeply insulting and harmful scheme. She also criticised Government for not pursuing pharmaceutical companies over vaccine trials and milk formula trials in homes, and said assets should be seized from religious orders which ran the institutions, rather than kindly requesting a contribution. Labour TD Sean Sherlock said that 40% of survivors are not eligible for the scheme due to an arbitrary requirement that they must have been a resident of a home for at least six months, which he said is completely unfair. He added it is likely to be challenged in the courts. At this eleventh hour I ask the minister, please, to have regard for those babies, those people, those human beings, who were resident for that period of time from birth to six months to please to be included in the scheme on the basis of fairness, justice and equity, he urged. Institution survivors watched on from the public gallery as Mr OGorman defended the Bill. He said while the state has surviving records from the institutions, some may need to provide evidence they were residents in a home by way of an affidavit. He also stated that all applications will be processed as quickly as is possible. Earlier, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald challenged Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to intervene to drop the six-month rule. Mrs McDonald told TDs: Today, the Government wants to pass through the Dail, legislation establishing the mother and baby homes redress scheme. This despite the fact that the Bill shamefully excludes children who spent less than six months in a mother and baby institution or a county home. As a consequence, 24,000 survivors will be left behind by the Governments proposed scheme. It is scandalous that this exclusionary, discriminatory provision remains in the legislation. The scheme creates a hierarchy of victims by taking the view that some mothers and their children suffered less than others. The very idea that a child who spent less than six months in a home suffered no damage or injury and is not entitled to redress is just unacceptable. The proposed scheme is a botched scheme. It doesnt meet the needs of survivors in an equal and fair way. The scheme that comes before the Dail today is an insult to those survivors and to the hard road they have walked. Somebody needs to listen and that somebody must be you, Taoiseach. I am asking you as head of Government to intervene and drop this discriminatory six-month rule. The Taoiseach responded: The Mother and Baby Home Institutions Payment Scheme is currently being debated by the Oireachtas. It will include payments to an estimated 34,000 people. It is one of the biggest schemes of its type as we seek to put right some of the wrongs of the past. While no measure could hope to make up for the traumas and wrongs committed in institutional settings, the Government has engaged and responded in a meaningful way. The scheme will open as soon as possible in 2023 once the legislation is passed by the Oireachtas. In relation to children who spent less than six months in institutions, who were adopted or otherwise separated from their birth family, the overwhelming priority need which has been expressed is access to records, information about their identity. Mrs McDonald said: In an arbitrary way you have decided that those who were separated from their mother, if they happened to be in the institution for less than six months, are not to be covered by this redress scheme. That is arbitrary, I put it to you that it is cruel. Mr Varadkar said: I dont think it is fair to describe the decision of Government as being arbitrary in this matter. Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Mostly cloudy. Gusty winds this evening. Low around 35F. Winds NW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Mostly cloudy. Gusty winds this evening. Low around 35F. Winds NW at 20 to 30 mph. Higher wind gusts possible. The European Commission has banned TikTok from official devices because of concerns about cybersecurity. Kendallville, IN (46755) Today Partly cloudy skies during the evening giving way to a few showers after midnight. Low 59F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies during the evening giving way to a few showers after midnight. Low 59F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%. (The Center Square) Sheriffs nationwide are calling on government leaders to demand that President Joe Biden, members of Congress and other elected officials do whatever it takes to eradicate two Mexican cartels responsible for unprecedented volumes of fentanyl pouring into the U.S.: the Sinaloa and the Jalisco New Generation Cartels (JNGC). The American Sheriff Alliance includes sheriffs represented by the National Sheriffs Association, Western States Sheriffs Association, Major County Sheriffs of America, Southwestern Border Sheriffs Coalition, and Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition. They issued a statement imploring the public to demand their elected officials use every available sanction and accountability tools at their disposal in combating the atrocities committed against our country and its citizens. They did so as 22 attorneys general have called on Biden to designate the two cartels as foreign terrorist organizations after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott did so last September. Other governors have yet to follow his lead. The sheriffs argue the cartels have caused the deaths of 35 times more Americans than those killed by terrorists on 9/11, citing over 100,000 Americans whove died from opioid poisonings, including fentanyl, in one years time. The opioid and fentanyl crisis, they argue, has caused 35 more times the amount of death to American citizens in a one-year period than was inflicted upon the U.S. on September 11th by Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden. Despite the incredible number of deaths, which can be directly attributed to the trafficking of illegal narcotics into the United States by the Mexican Cartels, there has been little call to action or change in foreign policy to address this alarming issue, they said. The Sinaloa and JNGC cartels oversee sophisticated transnational criminal operations fueled by fear, terror, intimidation, extortion, and murder, the sheriffs argue, and are directly responsible for the increases in deaths, human trafficking, sex trafficking, and unprecedented violence occurring in cities and counties across our nation. These cartels arent just operating at the southern border, the sheriffs argue, their influence can also be felt across our northern border and maritime borders as they seek to exploit all avenues to deliver lethal narcotics and violent criminals into our communities. President of the National Sheriffs Association, St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, Sheriff Greg Champagne, said, We can no longer allow these murderers to terrorize our communities. We need every American to join us in demanding our government focus on this crisis and take whatever actions are necessary to eliminate these criminal networks and operations. Santa Barbara County, California, sheriff and vice president of the Major County Sheriffs of America, Bill Brown, emphasized, This is not a partisan issue. This is a life-and-death issue. Brown, like Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, argues Americas foreign policy with Mexico must change. She called on the president to hold the Mexican government accountable when Biden met with the Mexican president in January and received no response. The federal government must put greater pressure on the Mexican government to take aggressive action to disrupt and destroy these unlawful cartels, Brown said. The current situation is intolerable and cannot stand. Western States Sheriffs Association president and Grand County, Colorado, Sheriff Brett Schroetlin also reiterated that the cartels arent solely operating in Mexico they are operating in every part of our nation. Its not an urban, suburban, or rural issue. He also points out that their network is so extensive and well-financed that cartels kill, enslave, and destroy families and communities not just in Mexico but also in the U.S. We need the people of the United States to demand that our government commit the necessary resources to eliminate these organizations here and abroad as they did following the horrific events of 9/11, he said. Chairman of the Southwestern Border Sheriffs Coalition, Hidalgo County, Texas, Sheriff Eddie Guerra said fighting the cartels isnt an immigration issue, its a public safety and public health issue. Its not just the violence and drugs, its the sexual assaults, human trafficking, enslavement, and fear and terror that are destroying neighborhoods here in the United States, he added. Chairman of the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition, Zavala County, Texas, Sheriff Eusevio Salinas, said, Americans can save lives by calling on the president and members of Congress to demand immediate, comprehensive action to identify and destroy these criminal operations, wherever they may exist. Until our elected officials stand up to fight this epidemic sweeping the nation, we will continue to set records related to the number of our loved ones we continue to lose each year at the hand of these violent cartels. Indiana small business owners are being encouraged to consult their accountant or tax preparer to see if a new state law can immediately help reduce their federal tax obligations. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb signed into law Senate Enrolled Act 2 Wednesday after it won unanimous approval by the Indiana Senate and House earlier this month. The statute creates a substitute for the state income tax by establishing a new, voluntary pass-through entity tax that's not subject to the $10,000 maximum federal income tax deduction for payment of state and local taxes (SALT). The SALT deduction cap primarily impacts smaller businesses where the owners or shareholders pay their own individual income taxes, such as partnerships and S Corps. Businesses that pay federal income tax as a corporation typically are entitled to an unlimited SALT deduction. Under the law, the opportunity for Indiana small business owners to pay the pass-through entity tax is retroactive to Jan. 1, 2022, potentially providing immediate tax benefits to eligible Indiana businesses. State Sen. Scott Baldwin, R-Noblesville, the sponsor of the measure, estimated the federal tax savings for Hoosier business owners could amount to $50 million a year without negatively impacting state tax receipts. "This new law builds on our already strong business climate and continues to make Indiana a great place to live and work," Baldwin said. "I am really appreciative of the effort that went into passing this piece of bipartisan legislation. Seeing the commitment to moving this forward in a timely manner reinforces the Legislature's and state's commitment to helping Hoosier small businesses," he added. Natalie Robinson, state director for the National Federation of Independent Business, applauded Hoosier lawmakers for joining the 29 other states offering a workaround to the federal SALT deduction cap enacted in 2017. "Small business owners are thankful today that the Legislature passed this important legislation which provides significant tax relief to Hoosier small businesses and levels the playing field by allowing small businesses to qualify for tax deductions that large corporations already receive," Robinson said. The new law was cosponsored by state Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, among others. It's the first legislative proposal to be approved by the 2023 Indiana General Assembly and signed by the governor. The Korean Research Business Research Institute has announced February's brand reputation rankings for girl group members! February has always been a splendid month for K-pop, and this year is no different. Here are the 10 most popular K-pop female idols for February 2023! 1. NewJeans Minji NewJeans Minji dominated the list's top 10 with a brand reputation index of 4,866,970. The NewJeans member held strong on the No. 1, with her popularity and activities. The keywords related to her were "Chanel ambassador," "Billboard," and "Seoul ambassador." Her positivity-negativity results uncovered a 90.65 positive sum. 2. BLACKPINK Jennie On the second place, BLACKPINK Jennie maintained her place on No. 2, where she gained a brand reputation index of 4,485,463. This is due to her 1.56 percent increase, surpassing her previous score in January. 3. SNSD Taeyeon SNSD Taeyeon gathered an index of 3,825,003, which accumulated from a 15.17 percent increase. 4. NewJeans Haerin NewJeans Haerin made it on the top 4, where she amassed 3,625,927 in terms of brand reputation index. Since NewJeans are rising rookies, it's understandable that each member are also gaining popularity individually. 5. NewJeans Hanni NewJeans Hanni followed Haerin, rounding up the top 5. For February, the idol gained a brand reputation index of 3,511,444. According to most fans, Hanni owned their "OMG" era, explaining her popularity. 6. BLACKPINK Jisoo BLACKPINK Jisoo accumulated an index of 3,401,226. BLINKs are assured that 2023 will be Jisoo's year, since she will soon release her first solo album! 7. aespa Karina With a brand reputation index of 2,307,740, aespa Karina has also stormed the K-pop community with her activities. During aespa's performance in Circle Chart Music Awards 2022, the idol has gained attention for her charisma. 8. Red Velvet Joy Red Velvet's "Dynamite" Joy collected an index of 2,236,742 for February, proving her massive recognition. Fans also noticed her activeness in her Instagram account, where she posted her photoshoot with Marie Claire Korea and other daily updates. 9. SNSD Seohyun SNSD's maknae Seohyun garnered a total count of 2,222,892 brand reputation index. Seohyun wasn't only active in her social media updates, but is also seen working hard on tvN's "Amazing Saturday - Doremi Market." 10. NewJeans Hyein Lastly, NewJeans Hyein rounded the top 10, with an index of 2,200,650 for February! Who's your ultimate bias on the list? Let us know in the comments below! Read KpopStarz for more K-pop news. KpopStarz owns this article Written by Israel Monte NewJeans Hanni caught Bunnies' eyes with her modern outfit, which is based on a men's collection. Here's what people are saying about her look! NewJeans Hanni Gains Attention From Bunnies For Her Fashion Sense On February 22, NewJeans Hanni made a jaw-dropping appearance on her way to Milan Fashion Week 2023. Hanni made headlines with her clothing, which is based on men's fashion. Netizens couldn't contain their amazement for the idol and proceeded to discuss it online. In a forum, their fandom, Bunnies, placed a series of photos featuring Hanni with the outfit. They discovered that it was a tweed jacket from Gucci's 2023 Spring Collection. According to Gucci's official website, the jacket is a retro tweed with embroidery, showcasing gold-toned anchor buttons, and is also made in Italy. Eagle-eyed fans also noticed that Hanni didn't only sport mean's wear for her top, but also on her footwear. They found out that Hanni's shoes are also from Gucci's men fashion roster, namely, GG embossed men's sneakers. Bunnies also spotted her Gucci bag with Hanni's name decorated on the accessory. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: NewJeans Hanni Announced As Global Ambassador For Armani Beauty In October 2022, it was reported Hanni has become Gucci's latest brand ambassador. From there, she has represented the brand with poise, and the Milan event will be her first official fashion week appearance as Gucci's representative. Fans complimented Hanni for pulling off the style successfully. She was also praised for her visuals and cuteness. Others commended her for making the apparel look catered to both genders. Read their comments below: "Heol, she wears it well, so pretty." "It suits her. Our small and precious Hanni." "She's so lovely but I want them to let her hair down. I think she'll look even cuter." "Her hair styling. She pulled it off. Pham Hanni!" "Even in the model's cut, the clothes look like women's clothes. It's pretty and she looks good." "The tweed jacket she wore today was from the 2023 Spring Collection and it was a men's collection product. She wore it like a dress!" "Personally, it suits Hanni's image, and it matched her well." NewJeans Hanni Becomes Global Ambassador For Armani Beauty Aside from Gucci, Hanni is also Armani Beauty's newest global ambassador. On February 8, the luxury brand announced her for the role, reaching out through their official SNS. Giorgio Armani himself expressed his amazement on Hanni's ability to influence fans with her personality and artistry. He also added that personality will always be number one when it comes to showcasing the brand. "Hanni is a very young artist with a great expressive power and an irresistible and captivating individuality: a contrast that I find interesting. She has personality, which for me is the most fascinating trait, always.' Giorgio Armani." What do you think of Hanni's outfit? Tell us in the comments below! Read KpopStarz for more K-pop news. KpopStarz owns this article Written by Israel Monte A recent report by The Wall Street Journal, targeting several China-built global mega-projects, was filled with distorted facts, one-sided stories, and unfounded accusations -- an attempt to discredit the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. What's the real picture of these projects? Are they really "falling apart" as sensationally claimed by the WSJ? Xinhua reporters traveled there, studied the cases and talked to authorities, experts and engineers. Here is what we found. by Xinhua writers Zhao Bochao, Li Li QUITO/ISLAMABAD/KAMPALA/LUANDA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Adriana Carranza, a resident in the San Luis village in northern Ecuador, has fond memories of her days working with a Chinese company at the Coca Codo Sinclair (CCS) hydroelectric project from 2012 to 2015. "Thanks to the work I had done for (a subcontractor of) the Sinohydro Corporation, I was able to save money," the former cook at the company told Xinhua. The job was well paid with good working conditions. Carranza is among the thousands of Ecuadorians who have worked at the Chinese-constructed project, some 150 km east of the capital Quito. As the country's biggest hydropower project, the 1,500-megawatt CCS has been running smoothly for over six years, generating around 42 billion kWh of clean and renewable hydroelectricity, becoming the largest power source for Ecuador. However, a recent report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which also spoke to Carranza, painted a gloomy picture of the CCS project with distorted facts and unfounded accusations. This undated aerial photo shows the intake dam of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant between Ecuador's provinces of Napo and Sucumbios. (Sinohydro/Handout via Xinhua) This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). With infrastructure construction a key priority, 81 Chinese central state-owned enterprises have been involved in over 3,400 projects in countries along the Belt and Road by January 2021. The cumulative amount of China's direct investment in these nations reached 161.3 billion U.S. dollars from 2013 to 2021. A World Bank report estimated that when fully implemented, the BRI could help nearly 40 million people in relevant countries leave poverty behind. Turning a blind eye to such achievements, the WSJ article dated Jan. 20 criticized several Chinese-built mega-projects in Latin America, Asia and Africa in an attempt to smear the China-proposed initiative. FALSEHOODS & MISREPRESENTATION "The 14-hour days were long, and her Chinese boss didn't speak Spanish," wrote the WSJ about Carranza's experience working for Sinohydro's sub-contractor. Contrary to what was described in the report, Carranza told Xinhua she was well paid for working extra hours. During her pregnancy, her boss and colleagues treated her "as if I was their daughter." "We usually want to work (extra hours)" and "I'm satisfied with my salary," said Graciela Quirina, who also worked in a Sinohydro kitchen. The WSJ's misrepresentation went further. Citing unnamed government engineers, the U.S. daily alleged that the CCS plant has thousands of cracks in its "eight turbines" due to "faulty steel imported from China" and boldly speculated that it could soon "break down." Miguel Calahorrano, Ecuador's former Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, receives an interview with Xinhua in Quito, Ecuador, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Guorong) In an interview with Xinhua, Miguel Calahorrano, Ecuador's former Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, said the WSJ article lacks veracity and "has a political intention." "How can a plant that is of no use to us have come to produce almost 42,000 gigawatt hours of energy? I'm sure these people don't even understand what 42,000 gigawatt hours of energy means," the former minister said. "It clearly has the political intention of trying to devalue the relationship" between China and Latin American countries, he said. Regarding the cracks, Sinohydro and the Ecuadorian State Electricity Company hired the German testing agency TUV SUD in 2018 as an international independent third party, which concluded in its risk assessment report that these cracks will not affect the operation and safety of the plant for its design life of 50 years. This undated photo shows the hydroelectric power generators of the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant between Ecuador's provinces of Napo and Sucumbios. (Sinohydro/Handout via Xinhua) As to the suitability of the steel, the TUV SUD report indicated that the base materials are within the values required by the specifications. Furthermore, the WSJ associated erosion along a section of the Coca River and the disappearance of a waterfall with the Chinese-built project to hype up its environmental consequences. Ecuadorian government-commissioned research conducted by Swiss consulting company Lombardi concluded that the disappearance of the waterfall was a natural phenomenon and had nothing to do with the construction of the CCS -- a view shared by many geologists, local media reports said. Ecuador has never lodged the issue with Sinohydro, which was tasked with the construction, according to the Chinese company. Calahorrano said that the CCS plant has managed for the first time in the country's history, together with other hydropower plants, to raise hydroelectricity in the electrical matrix to more than 93 percent, reducing the use of fossil fuels, saving the country about 1.3 billion U.S. dollars a year from fossil fuel imports and cutting carbon dioxide by about 18 million tons a year. ONE-SIDED STORY Under the sensational headline "China's Global Mega-Projects are Falling Apart," the WSJ article went on to bring in Pakistan's Neelum Jhelum hydroelectric project, and again blamed "flaws" in Chinese construction for its shutdown in July 2022. The accusation is far from the truth. The quality of the Chinese construction, as evaluated by local authorities during its handover in 2018, was impeccable and up to standard. Sajjad Ghani, chairman of the Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority, told Xinhua that the WSJ report is unjustifiable. "The quality of construction of the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project has been fair," said Ghani. The engineers of CGGC work at Pakistan's Neelum Jhelum hydropower project on Jan. 3, 2023, under a new contract between NJHPC and CGGC to repair the tunnel. (CGGC/Handout via Xinhua) There is no doubt that the China Gezhouba Group Co, the main contractor for the project's civil work, "has done all these things successfully," said Muhammad Irfan, CEO of the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Company, which now operates the plant. The root cause for the shutdown, Irfan told a parliament meeting in November, was pressure from a mountain on the underground tunnel, resulting in partial collapse and a blockage. This photo taken on Jan. 3, 2023 shows a construction site at Pakistan's Neelum Jhelum hydropower project, under a new contract between NJHPC and CGGC to repair the tunnel. (CGGC/Handout via Xinhua) The problem emerged when Pakistan was ravaged by floods seen as the "worst in history," while earthquakes were recorded in the surrounding areas of the plant. Irfan said Neelum Jhelum has signed a new contract with the Chinese constructor to repair the tunnel, with the civil work contract already completed. In Uganda, another Chinese-constructed project -- the Karuma hydropower plant -- also came under harsh criticism from the WSJ, which blamed "cracked walls" for delays. This photo taken on Feb. 4, 2023 shows the Karuma dam at Karuma Hydroelectric Power Station in Kiryandongo, Uganda. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua) The Chinese constructor Sinohydro told Xinhua that the problem was discovered in 2016 but not substantial enough to compromise the stability of the structure, and has been dealt with properly to the satisfaction of all parties. "In order to provide a standard power plant, we are always liaising with experts in all fields of the power plant construction to achieve high quality standard plant," said Bless Ayebazibwe, head of the Ugandan technical team at Sinohydro, adding that they have worked with an architectural expert from Canada, manufacturers from all over the world who always visit the site when called upon, as well as local experts. People work inside the main switchyard at Karuma Hydroelectric Power Station in Kiryandongo, Uganda, on Feb. 4, 2023. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua) Local and international engineers who supervise the construction of the 600-megawatt plant along the River Nile said the project is being built to international standards, despite insurmountable challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and "rampant vandalism" which have impacted the project's timeline, according to Sinohydro. Vandalism has been a threat to Uganda's electricity infrastructure. More than 300 tons of parts have been stolen from the Karuma plant and more than 50 km of conductors cut off and stolen, according to Sinohydro. Delays in compensating landowners affected land acquisitions, impacting the project's timeline. This photo taken on Feb. 4, 2023 shows the Karuma dam at Karuma Hydroelectric Power Station in Kiryandongo, Uganda. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua) The Chinese company said it would overcome all these challenges and hand over a high-quality plant to Uganda. The Isimba Hydro Power Plant in Uganda, built by China International Water & Electric Corporation, was also targeted. The company said the WSJ report was "misleading." There is "a lack of inquiring first-hand information" in the report, said Muhammad Idrees, a Pakistani civil engineer working at the project site. Niu Hongtao (L), assistant project manager of Isimba Hydro Power Plant, and Muhammad Idrees, a Pakistani civil engineer working at the project site, interact during a tour at Isimba Hydro Power Plant in Kayunga, Uganda, on Feb. 9, 2023. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua) "We can see that this is just to exaggerate the scenario whereas the project is running well, generating power, heading to the national grid," he said, calling the project "a successful commission." Meanwhile, the WSJ reported that the Chinese side "failed to build a floating boom to protect the dam from water weeds and other debris, which has led to clogged turbines and power outages." The company dismissed the accusation, given that the problem never occurred at Isimba. "The WSJ report is pure slander," it added. This photo taken on Feb. 9, 2023 shows Isimba Hydro Power Plant switchyard in Kayunga, Uganda. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua) Also in Africa, the vast Social Housing Project Kilamba Kiaxi, built by China's CITIC Construction outside the capital of Luanda, Angola, was criticized by the WSJ for alleged poor construction quality. However, Fan Juntao, general manager of the Chinese company's Angolan division, told Xinhua that there is no construction problem, as the issues of cracked walls and humidity mentioned in the WSJ report are quite rare and result from some tenants' improper renovations. The substandard renovations have destroyed the original water and electricity pipelines, leading to water leakage in some houses, Fan said. "The Kilamba Kiaxi (project) has been completed with good quality," said Carlos Augusto, an Angolan engineer who is working on Phase II of the project, adding that the apartments are at full occupation and no major complaints have been lodged by the residents. Niu Hongtao (L), assistant project manager of Isimba Hydro Power Plant, and Muhammad Idrees, a Pakistani civil engineer working at the project site, tour the switchyard at Isimba Hydro Power Plant in Kayunga, Uganda, on Feb. 9, 2023. (Photo by Hajarah Nalwadda/Xinhua) ENORMOUS BENEFITS Overcoming power shortages is critical if Uganda is to grow its economy and industrialize. The 183-megawatt Isimba plant now accounts for roughly 14 percent of the East African country's total installed capacity. The Karuma plant is expected to increase capacity by 40 percent upon completion. Solomon Acaye (R) employed by the Karuma project works with his colleagues at Karuma Hydroelectric Power Station in Kiryandongo, Uganda, on Feb. 5, 2023. Solomon Acaye is one of around 15,000 Ugandans employed by the Karuma project. He joined it as a mason but now leads a construction team. "I came with only the skill of house construction, but as soon as I joined here, I've learned a lot -- carpentry, steel fixing," he told Xinhua, noting that his newly acquired skills would prove helpful once the project ends. As part of the projects, roads were paved and widened, and schools and health service buildings were constructed. Hamis Muzinga, who lives near the Isimba project, noted that workshops are mushrooming in nearby towns, "basically set up by former workers of Isimba." Neighboring communities near the Karuma plant are happy to have the large project in their area, said Ismail Bongomin, chairman of the Karuma Town Council. "Because this one is going to (benefit) generation after generation. It's not just like a thing for today only," he said. With a total of 20,002 housing units and the support of municipal works, the Angolan Kilamba Kiaxi project has become home to around 120,000 residents in Luanda. Costa Sebastiao, a Kilamba Kiaxi resident for seven years, said the condominium has changed his life in many ways. The Chinese company has brought positive changes to the city, especially for young people, he said, adding "a good number of young people did not have homes, and with the construction of the project, they managed to get a house." From the China-Laos Railway that transformed the landlocked Laos into a land-linked hub to Kenya's Mombasa-Nairobi Railway contributing more than 0.5 percent to the African nation's economic growth, the Belt and Road Initiative has helped many developing nations embrace fast development. Kenyans sing and dance beside one of the first batch of locomotives for the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Mombasa, Kenya, Jan. 11, 2017.(Xinhua/Sun Ruibo) But the initiative has fallen prey to a Western-led smear campaign. Denis Mwaba, lecturer in Civil Engineering at the University of Zambia, noted that U.S. media have been publishing "damaging" reports to "blacken the efforts of China." The WSJ article is heavily biased and "not a proper articulation of the facts," he said. Mwaba said the ubiquitous success of the global infrastructure program has gained Africa's favor. Projects under the Initiative are meeting the continent's needs, revolutionizing infrastructure and shifting the African development landscape, said Gideon Chitanga, associate researcher at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. This photo taken on May 8, 2022 shows a section of the Nairobi Expressway built by China Road and Bridge Corporation in Nairobi, Kenya. (Xinhua/Dong Jianghui) Belt and Road cooperation is also in full swing in Latin America. "China currently offers an alternative to traditional financing schemes, which has led to more prosperous and realistic development aid," said Argentine economist Pablo Levinton, who believes there is a vast difference in how the Chinese invest compared to the West. "Any Western investment is based on a simple calculation of expected profit that results from subtracting planned expenses from expected revenues," he explained. "In China's case, while that is the basis for any type of investment, it is not summed up as a mere profit margin, but rather as a 'win-win' concept." Photo taken on Aug. 24, 2018 shows the Punta Sierra wind farm in Coquimbo region of Chile. (Xinhua/Wang Pei) The best proof that the CCS plant works is the production of clean energy and its economic, social and environmental benefits for Ecuador, which have yet to be evaluated by those who criticize the project and try to disqualify it, said Calahorrano, the former Ecuadorian minister. The hydroelectric plant has also bolstered the country's energy sovereignty and sustainability, with Ecuador no longer depending on imported energy. On the contrary, it has become an energy exporter in significant quantities to Colombia and Peru. Speaking with Xinhua, Nancy Chicaiza, a shopkeeper in San Luis who was also quoted in the WSJ report, said she missed the days when the Chinese company was present. "I am grateful because Sinohydro has helped us a lot," she said. Enditem Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 23 (ANI): Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday met US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ahead of the first G20 Finance Minister and Central Bank Governors meeting to be held in Bengaluru, starting Friday. The two leaders exchanged views on G20 FinanceTrack priorities under India's G20 presidency. Also Read | Visiting #Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian Held Meetings with #Iraqi Latest Tweet by IANS India. They also discussed their perspectives on strengthening multilateral development banks (MDBs), global debt vulnerabilities, crypto assets, and health, besides the just energy transition partnership (JETP) and possible takeaways for the two sides. "Both sides agreed that lessons learnt from the COVID19 pandemic should not be lost sight of and there is a need for enhancing preparedness for future pandemic type shocks," the Ministry of Finance tweeted. Also Read | WhatsApp Survey: 95% Meta-Owned Messaging Platform Users in India Bombarded With Pesky Messages Daily, Says Report. The second Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting under India's G20 Presidency is underway in Bengaluru. The meeting began on Wednesday. Road to policy for crypto assets, a symposium of digital public infrastructure, and enhancement of cross-border payment arrangements are among the agenda to be discussed on Thursday. The deputies' meet will be followed by the first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, scheduled to be held between February 24 and 25 in the same city. The meeting will be jointly chaired by Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. The meeting will be spread over three sessions, covering issues such as strengthening multilateral development banks to address shared global challenges of the 21st century, financing for resilient, inclusive, and sustainable 'cities of tomorrow', leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for advancing financial inclusion and productivity gains, an official release said earlier. The sessions will also cover issues related to the global economy, global health, and international taxation, and discussions in the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting are intended to provide a clear mandate for the various workstreams of the G20 Finance Track in 2023. (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 23: A 56-year-old labourer died allegedly after jumping off the balcony of a building in northwest Delhi's Netaji Subhash Place (NSP) area, police said on Thursday. According to statements of his family members, Khemchand, a resident of Shakurpur, had depression and was receiving treatment at the LNJP Hospital for the past four-five years. Also Read | Maharashtra Shocker: Trio Kills Man for Harassing Girl From Their Family in Nashik. Police said the Subhash Place police station received information around 6.15 pm Wednesday that a person has "fallen" from a building in NSP complex. They said a team reached there and the injured was shifted to a hospital where he was declared brought dead with multiple injuries, a senior police officer said. Also Read | Hyderabad Shocker: Two Men Con Women, Claim Godman Will Perform Rituals Using Their Nude Photos To Make Them Rich Quickly; Accused Booked. CCTV footage purportedly show that he was roaming in the balcony, the officer said, adding he seemed tense. In one of the footage, he was seen jumping off the balcony, the officer said. Khemchand's family also said he had attempted suicide three-to-four times earlier as well, police said, adding legal proceedings have been initiated. (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 23 (PTI) Najih Sarfraz Khalid's 99.3 percentile NEET scores meant he could get admission in any top university, which he did, when he got himself into a prestigious medical college in Puducherry. It was all right till another student, Saminathan S, found a glitch in his application and approached authorities. Khalid was found to have claimed residency in two states Kerala and Puducherry a fact which as per Union Territory admission norms rendered his admission liable to be cancelled. When the authorities did not pay heed to Saminathan's complaint, he approached the Madras High Court. Also Read | Yogi Adityanath and His Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Approve the New UP Film Policy. A single judge bench of Madras High Court on Wednesday asked the Puducherry government and the Union Health Ministry to take an "appropriate decision" on his admission. As of now, Khalid's fate at college still hangs in balance. Citing the reason for reverting the matter back to the admission authorities, Justice CV Karthikeyan, the presiding judge, said in the judgment, "They had offered him a seat. Now they will have to take an appropriate decision. It is not for the Court to advise a public servant regarding their duty. They will have to abide by their rules." Also Read | Delhi: Engineering Student, Friend Killed in Train Accident While Making Video. Khalid is currently a first year MBBS student in Puducherry campus of Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER). His admission came under question when 18-year-old Saminathan alleged that Khalid had claimed nativity in Puducherry as well as Kerala for admission before the concerned authorities. According to the admission norm, a student cannot claim nativity in more than one state in an academic year while applying for admission to medical colleges. Saminathan, who secured a seat in Karaikal campus of JIPMER, considered secondary to the Puducherry campus, demanded that Khalid's admission should be cancelled because he misled the authorities by filing a false affidavit. Saminathan also demanded his transfer to Puducherry campus on the seat presently occupied by Khalid. Though Khalid had denied any wrongdoing, when it was established that he violated the nativity norm, the Department of Medical Education (DME) of Puducherry filed an affidavit and said that only the Directorate General of Health Services, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) could cancel the admission. The MoHFW pleaded to the court to take an appropriate decision. Now the high court has put the issue back to both the authorities saying, "A student, a native of Puducherry had been denied medical education only owing to the careless attitude of the respondents herein. This Court cannot cancel the seat of the said student but can direct the respondents to take necessary action on the basis of the declaration that the fifth respondent (Najih Sarfraz Khalid) had obtained a seat through a false declaration." The court asked both the authorities to take appropriate action both with respect to Khalid as well as Saminathan and communicate it to them within a period of 10 working days from the date of receipt of a copy of the order. In 2022, the Madras High Court, while adjudicating a similar matter, had asked the Centralised Admission Committee (CENTAC) of Puducherry to publish in its prospectus that a specific undertaking must be given by both the candidate and the parent/guardian that the candidate had not opted and claimed the benefit of residence of admission in Undergraduate medical in any other State or Union Territory other than Puducherry. Khalid had given the said undertaking but it turned out to be misleading as he had made a claim of being native of Kerala as well. Medical education counsellors say that students should be aware of the consequences of claiming nativity in more than one state as such activities block medical seats and create hindrance in the admission of other eligible candidates. "As a certain percentage of seats are reserved under residency quota for the benefit of local students, many students claiming to have dual nativity try to take that advantage in more than one state. Students should learn from the Najih case that misleading and false undertakings might ruin their career," Panchapakesan Ganesan, a Puducherry-based medical education counsellor, 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 23 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken stock of the situation after an earthquake hit Tajikistan on Thursday, official sources said. The earthquake of 6.8 magnitude hit eastern Tajikistan in the morning. They said India is in touch with Tajik authorities for any possible requirement of assistance. Also Read | What Is National Science Day 2023 Theme? Know Significance of the Day Commemorating the Discovery of the Raman Effect. "The Prime Minister has taken stock of the situation and is monitoring developments relating to the impact of the earthquake in Tajikistan," said a source. "We are in touch with Tajik authorities and relevant Government of India bodies are closely coordinating any required assistance," the source said. Also Read | Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath Says Drone Survey of Villages Will Be Completed by June 2023. Earlier this month, India sent relief materials as well as medical and rescue teams to Turkiye after a powerful quake struck it. As part of quake assistance, India also sent relief materials and medicines to Syria which was also hit by the quake. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Guwahati (Assam) [India], February 23 (ANI): In a significant boost to Indian Army's Air Defence and Capability development along Northern Borders, the first Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) Regiment is being raised in the Eastern Theatre. The Regiment has been equipped with MRSAM Weapon System indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Also Read | West Bengal: Missing Teen Vlogger's Body Found in Howrah Canal. "The MRSAM weapon system which is also called the 'Abhra' Weapon System is a state of the art medium range air defence weapon system and is a joint venture of DRDO and Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) with active participation from Indian public and private defence industry partners including MSMEs," stated an official release. Lt Gen RP Kalita, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, GOC-in-C, Eastern Command during the first visit to MRSAM Regiment highlighted that with such giant leap towards indigenisation in defence sector, India will soon become self-reliant in defence manufacturing in line with the national aim of "Atmanirbhar Bharat." Also Read | Yogi Adityanath and His Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Approve the New UP Film Policy. As per an official release, the first Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) Regiment is raised in the Eastern Command. The Regiment has been equipped with MRSAM Weapon System indigenously developed by DRDO. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], February 23 (ANI): Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Gulam Nabi Azad on Thursday appealed to the Centre not to impose a property tax on the union territory as it will be an "extra burden" for the people. "People of Jammu and Kashmir have suffered in the last 32 years and they are still facing many challenges. In this situation, imposing property tax on them and snatching of land is an injustice to the people of JK. I appeal to the government to stop this property tax order for a few years," Azad said. Also Read | What Is National Science Day 2023 Theme? Know Significance of the Day Commemorating the Discovery of the Raman Effect. On Tuesday, the Jammu and Kashmir administration ordered the imposition of property tax across its municipal areas from April 1. The tax rates will be 5 per cent of annual taxable value (TAV) for residential properties and 6 per cent for commercial properties, it had said Also Read | National Science Day 2023: 95th Anniversary of Raman Effect, the Flavour of Weeklong Celebrations Kicked Off by Nehru Science Centre. The residential and non-residential properties have been included in the collection of the property tax. The imposition has drawn flak with almost every political party except BJP denouncing the government order saying that it is an attempt to overburden the people who are already reeling under economic difficulty due to decades of turmoil. Junaid Azim Mattu Srinagar city Mayor claimed that the decision was not approved by elected ULBs and that the SMC will explore ways to contest what he called an 'arbitrary move'. While, Omar Abdullah, former Chief Minister and National Conference Vice President took to Twitter and asked why the people in J-K will pay the state taxes including the property tax when they have no say in how the government is run and other decision-making. "No Taxation Without Representation. Why should people in J-K pay state taxes including the proposed property tax when we have no say in how our government is run and no say in the decision-making of J-K? We are expected to be mute spectators to all unjust decisions by Raj Bhavan," Omer Abdullah tweeted. (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 23 (PTI) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested six people, including a close aide of a designated terrorist, in connection with its cases related to unholy nexus between criminal gangs, terror groups and drug mafia, an official spokesperson said on Thursday. The arrests came after the NIA carried out raids at 76 locations in eight states on Tuesday to bust the nexus. Also Read | AIADMK Leadership Row | Supreme Court Affirms Madras High Court Division Bench Decision Latest Tweet by ANI. Those arrested include Lucky Khokhar alias Denis, a close associate of Canada-based 'designated terrorist' Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh Dala. Others arrested in the raids, which were carried out in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi-NCR, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh, included associates of gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Goldy Brar. Also Read | UP IPS Officer Transfer News Update: 15 IPS Officers in Uttar Pradesh Transferred by Yogi Adityanath Government. Khokhar, a resident of Bathinda, Punjab, was nabbed from Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan on Tuesday. He was in direct and frequent contact with Arsh Dala and had carried out recruitment for him, besides receiving funds for terror-related activities, the NIA said. He had also provided arms and ammunition to Arsh Dala's associates in Punjab that were also used for carrying out a murder recently in Jagraon on the directions of the Canada-based terrorist. The NIA had registered a suo moto case on August 20 last year against seven people, including Harwinder Singh alias Rinda, Lakhbir Singh Sandhu alias Landa, and Arsh Dala. One person, Deepak Ranga, was earlier arrested in the case by the NIA. According to a NIA spokesperson, Khokhar was working for Dala, who has been involved in smuggling arms, ammunition, explosives, IEDs across international and inter-state borders in India for several banned terror outfits, including the Khalistan Liberation Force, Babbar Khalsa International and International Sikh Youth Federation. Besides Khokhar, the NIA also arrested Lakhvir Singh, Harpreet, Dalip Bishnoi, Surinder alias Chiku Chaudhary, and Hari Om alias Titu, the spokesperson said. While Hari Om alias Titu was arrested on Tuesday, Lakhvir Singh, was nabbed a day later in connection with a case registered against them and their associates in August last year for allegedly attempting to motivate and recruit youth for terror activities through using social media. They were also using social media to "publicise" their crimes in a bid to create fear among the general public, the NIA said. Nine weapons were seized from Lakhvir Singh's possession, who is termed a notorious criminal and associate of Chhotu Ram Bhaat, earlier arrested in the case. The NIA has so far arrested nine accused, including Kaushal Choudhary, Amit Dagar, Sukhpreet Singh, Bhupi Rana, Neeraj Bawana, Naveen Bali and Sunil Balyan, in this case. According to the spokesperson, Surender Chaudhrary and Dalip Bishnoi are known associates of gangsters Lawrence Bishnoi and Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Canada-based criminal Goldy Brar. They were arrested for raising funds, recruiting youth and carrying out terrorist acts on behalf of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. This case was also registered by the NIA in August last year and 10 accused, including Lawrence Bishnoi, Jaggu Bhagwanpuria, Kala Jatheri, Kala Rana, Joginder Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Raju Basoudi, Anil Chippi, Naresh Yadav, and Shahbaz Ansari have been arrested, the spokesperson said. Surinder Chaudhry, who was arrested on Tuesday, faces several cases under the NDPS Act, for attempt to murder and extortion. He has been involved in illegal liquor contracts, smuggling and extortion from liquor and mining contractors in Haryana and has been one of the main financers of terror-gangster syndicates. Dalip Bishnoi, who was arrested on Wednesday, is a "habitual criminal" having 13 cases against him. He has been one of the main financers of this terror gang and was providing logistics support to the gangs in Punjab and Rajasthan, the spokesperson said. The NIA investigations have so far shown that many criminals, who were leading gangsters in India, had fled to countries like Pakistan, Canada, Malaysia, Philippines and Australia and were planning their terror and criminal acts from there, in association with criminals lodged in jails in different states. These groups were carrying out targeted killings and raising funds for their nefarious activities through smuggling of drugs and weapons, hawala and extortions. Further investigations are on to dismantle such terror networks and their funding and support infrastructure, the spokesperson said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 23 (ANI): Police on Thursday detained a woman outside the state secretariat Mantralaya in Mumbai where she had allegedly planned to set herself on fire. According to officials, a bottle of petrol and a matchbox were recovered from her possession, and she was taken to Marine Drive Police station. Also Read | Madhya Pradesh Road Accident: Speeding SUV Hits Two Motorbikes in Dhar District; Four Killed and Two Injured. "Marine Drive Police detained the woman, identified as Lata Bai Patil, for trying to set herself ablaze," an official said. More details awaited. (ANI) Also Read | Uttar Pradesh: STF Arrests Four for Selling Fake Sex Stimulants in Lucknow. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Raipur, Feb 23 (PTI) Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Thursday called police action against party spokesperson Pawan Khera a new example of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's politics of "vendetta, harassment and intimidation." Also Read | #Swiggy Announced the Integration of Dineout Offerings on Platform, Making It Available Latest Tweet by IANS India. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was worried due to Congress's successful Bharat Jodo Yatra, and now it is scared of the 85th plenary session of the Grand Old Party which will start from Friday, he told reporters here. Also Read | What Is National Science Day 2023 Theme? Know Significance of the Day Commemorating the Discovery of the Raman Effect. The BJP also tried to detail the plenary session, he alleged, referring to the Enforcement Directorate's recent raids on Congress leaders in Raipur, and Khera's detention on Thursday. Freedom of speech is under threat, but more importantly freedom after speech is also under threat, Ramesh quipped. Talking about opposition unity, Ramesh said it would be strengthened when the Congress becomes strong. Khera was on Thursday arrested by the Assam Police at the Delhi airport after he was deplaned from a Delhi-Raipur flight in connection with alleged derogatory remarks against the prime minister. Khera had recently called him "Narendra Gautamdas Modi", in an apparent swipe at the prime minister over the row involving business tycoon Gautam Adani. The prime minister's full name is Narendra Damodardas Modi, with the middle name standing for his father's name. The BJP accused the Congress spokesperson of insulting the prime minister. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Agartala, Feb 23 (PTI) The High Court of Tripura has granted bail to Tripura State Rifles' former commandant Tapan Debbarma, the prime accused in the murder of journalist Sudip Datta Bhowmik in 2017. Debbarma's former personal security guard Nanda Kumar Reang also got bail. Also Read | What Is National Science Day 2023 Theme? Know Significance of the Day Commemorating the Discovery of the Raman Effect. The court granted bail to both on the ground of delay in disposing of the case. The journalist was shot dead at the headquarters of Tripura State Rifles second battalion in RK Nagar in West Tripura district on November 21, 2017. Also Read | National Science Day 2023: 95th Anniversary of Raman Effect, the Flavour of Weeklong Celebrations Kicked Off by Nehru Science Centre. Initially, the police constituted a special investigation team to probe into the murder of the journalist but later the case was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Earlier, three more accused - Swrupananda Biswas, Dharmendra Singh and Amit Debbarma - got bail. They were TSR personnel. The CBI submitted a chargesheet in the case before the Additional District & Sessions Court last year. Notably, Debbarma along with other accused persons had earlier been granted bail by the district court, but it was challenged by the CBI in the high court. The high court had, in September 2022, rejected Debbarma's bail granted by the district court. The former TSR commandant had then moved the Supreme Court, challenging the High Court's order and sought bail since he has already spent five years in custody, Debbarma's counsel Pujan Biswas said on Thursday. The apex court had requested the high court to consider the pros and cons of the accused's previous records. Accordingly, Justice T Amarnath Goud took up the case for hearing on Wednesday and heard the counsels of both sides. He granted bail to Debbarma and another one (Nanda Kumar Reang), he said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Amritsar (Punjab) [India], February 23 (ANI): Punjab police have decided to release Lovepreet Toofan, a close aide of 'Waris Punjab Ke' chief Amritpal Singh. On Thursday, thousands of supporters of the group broke barricades at a police station in Amritsar using guns and swords and threatened to disturb law and order. Also Read | What Is National Science Day 2023 Theme? Know Significance of the Day Commemorating the Discovery of the Raman Effect. Senior Superintendent of Police said, "As per the evidence presented before us, Lovepreet Toofan will be discharged. SIT constituted to investigate the case." They have given enough proof that he (detained Lovepreet Toofan) is innocent. SIT has taken cognizance of it. These people will peacefully disperse now and the law will take its own course, said the SSP. Also Read | Rajasthan Government Approves Rs 1745 Crore for Improving Roads, Bridges in Rural Area. Talking on the matter, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) Harpal Singh Blair said, 'We had come to talk to the administration that an FIR has been lodged against Lovepreet Toofan. Amritpal Singh's name is also included in this. No false case should have been registered. The administration accepted that Lovepreet was not involved, so they will release him tomorrow and cancel the FIR." Waris Punjab De' chief Amritpal Singh says, "...FIR registered only with a political motive. If they don't cancel the case in 1hr, Admin will be responsible for whatever happens next...They think we can't do anything, so this show of strength was necessary..." "False news being circulated that police personnel was injured. The truth is that he was injured after he took a fall. In fact,10-12 of our people were hurt. Within 24hrs, Tufan Singh should be released. We won't even wait for 24 hrs," he added. Amritpal Singh is the head of 'Waris Punjab De', a radical group founded by activist Deep Sidhu, who died in a road accident in February last year. (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 23 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered grant of interim bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera till February 28 in a case related to his alleged objectionable remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which the Assam Police arrested him after having him deplaned at the Delhi airport amid chaotic scenes. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said Khera will be produced before the competent magistrate in Delhi and released on interim bail. Also Read | Delhi: Engineering Student, Friend Killed in Train Accident While Making Video. "In order to enable the petitioner (Khera) to apply for regular bail before the jurisdictional court, upon the FIRs being transferred to one jurisdiction, we direct that the petitioner shall be released on interim bail by the court of the competent magistrate at Delhi where he is to be produced this evening," said the bench, also comprising Justices M R Shah and P S Narasimha. "The above order shall remain in operation till February 28, 2023," the bench said, while making it clear that it was passing the order in connection with the case lodged in Assam. Also Read | What Is National Science Day 2023 Theme? Know Significance of the Day Commemorating the Discovery of the Raman Effect. The apex court, which listed the matter for hearing on February 27, issued notices to the states of Assam and Uttar Pradesh seeking their responses to Khera's plea for transferring and clubbing together three separate FIRs lodged against him in Assam, and Uttar Pradesh cities of Lucknow and Varanasi for his alleged offensive remarks against the prime minister. After dictating the order, the CJI, apparently displeased with the Congress leader's remarks, told senior advocate A M Singhvi, who was representing Khera, "We have protected you (Khera) but there has to be some level of discourse." In its order, the apex court noted that today, Khera was deboarded from a flight travelling from Delhi to Raipur on the ground that he was to be arrested by the Assam Police. It noted that a communication was addressed by the Assam Police to the station house officer of domestic airport police station in New Delhi stating that Khera is required to be apprehended in connection with the case lodged there. The bench said the apex court's jurisdiction has been invoked for diverse reliefs, including -- quashing of the complaints; in the alternative, transfer and clubbing of the FIRs at one jurisdiction and restraint on all coercive steps, and to provide security to the petitioner and his family. "At the outset, we have indicated to counsel for the petitioner that a petition under Article 32 cannot be entertained for quashing the FIRs since the petitioner has an alternate remedy under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, before the jurisdictional high court. Moreover, the petitioner will have to seek regular bail before the competent court," the bench said. It noted Singhvi's submission that Khera will not press the prayer for quashing of FIRs since the petitioner would be advised to pursue the remedies which are available to him in accordance with law before the appropriate high court. "However, the petition has been pressed for clubbing of the FIRs in one jurisdiction since it has been urged that the gravamen (the essence) of all the FIRs (lodged presently at Lucknow, Varanasi and Dima Hasao) is one and the same, namely, the press conference at which certain objectionable words were used," the bench noted. It noted in the order that Singhvi has stated that the petitioner has since clarified that the use of the language was "inadvertent, though inappropriate", and that he would not stand by the use of such language. "However, Singhvi states that the petitioner tenders an unconditional apology," the bench said, adding, "Apart from the above submission, it has been urged that the words taken at their face value, as reflected in the FIRs, do not establish any offence punishable under the sections of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) which have been invoked, including sections 153A, 153B, 295, 500, 504 and 505 of IPC." The bench noted Singhvi has also urged that recourse to the power of arrest under section 41A of the CrPC was not warranted where the offence is punishable for a term not exceeding seven years. It said Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for Assam, has submitted, after adverting to the live replay of the offending video, that the expression which was used by Khera was not unintentional and, on the contrary, a "deliberate attempt to denigrate a constitutional functionary has been made". "The Additional Solicitor General has also urged that the petitioner, having been arrested at Delhi Airport, would be produced before the court of the competent jurisdiction for transit bail and the petitioner may seek his remedies before that court," the bench noted. The apex court said it is inclined to entertain the petition confined to the issue as to whether the FIRs should be clubbed into one and the same jurisdiction and such a course of action has been previously adopted by the top court in journalist Arnab Goswami's case. "We pass the following ad-interim order: (i) Issue notice on the prayer of the petitioner for transferring and clubbing of the FIRs which have been registered in respect of the press conference in question in one jurisdiction; (ii) For that purpose, notice shall issue, at this stage, to the states of Assam and Uttar Pradesh," it said. In fast-paced developments, Khera, who had boarded a flight from New Delhi to Raipur to attend the Congress plenary session, was deplaned, detained and finally arrested by the Assam Police in connection with an FIR lodged in Haflong. As the hearing got underway, Singhvi told the apex court that Khera had already apologised for his remarks made at a press conference on February 17 in Mumbai and the offences alleged against him in the cases did not require arrest. "It will have straightaway impact on the latitude of free speech," Singhvi said, adding, "This should not have led to arrest. The offences entail maximum sentence of three or five years and no prior notice was served upon him." He said Khera had already acknowledged the very same day that the remarks were a mistake. He said FIRs have been lodged and offences, including those under sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 295-A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the IPC have been invoked against him. Terming it a "calculated statement", Bhati played the audio-video clip of Khera's alleged remarks, in the open court and said he cannot use such "derogatory words" against a democratically elected prime minister of the country. When Singhvi pointed out that Khera has already apologised for his remarks, Bhati said, "Please see the video whether it is a mistake or a deliberate act. It is the demeanour which counts. There was laughter all around after these remarks." "The entire press conference has to be seen....It is a very calculated statement. It is a statement which not just insults the prime minister but invites disaffection and disloyalty. After all, he is the duly elected prime minister of the largest democracy in the world," Bhati said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Kohima, Feb 23 (PTI) Senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor has said the solution to the Naga peace talks was long overdue, and that his party wants to see it resolved. Addressing an election rally at Congress Bhavan here, he said Nagaland lacks basis amenities such as water, electricity, health and road infrastructure even after 60 years of attaining statehood, and that Congress is the hope for development and progress in the northeastern state. Also Read | Be It Ethanol Blending, PM KUSUM Yojana, Incentivising Solar Manufacturing, Rooftop Solar Latest Tweet by Prasar Bharati News Services. "Nagas deserve better than this kind of deception, corruption, dishonesty and inefficiency," Tharoor said on Wednesday. "The Narendra Modi government had in 2015 announced that a Naga accord was achieved, but later backtracked saying it was only a framework agreement. They are now saying that talks are underway," he said. Also Read | UP IPS Officer Transfer News Update: 15 IPS Officers in Uttar Pradesh Transferred by Yogi Adityanath Government. In 2019, the then Nagaland Governor and Centre's interlocutor for Naga peace talks, R N Ravi, had declared that the issue would be resolved in only three months but four years have passed since then, Tharoor said, while blaming the BJP for "deceiving" the people. On basic amenities, the MP from Kerala said the government must provide regular power supply, serviceable roads, quality drinking water and good healthcare and education. "Such basic essentials are the core need of any human being in any area, but the government of the day has failed to provide these," he said. The Congress leader alleged that the BJP has been "fooling" the Nagas by saying one thing in the northeastern state and something else in other parts of the country. "The BJP should not be allowed to conceal its basic orientation, that is the belief in 'one nation, one religion, one language, one culture and one leader'," he said, citing alleged attacks on religious minorities and wondering why the state government remained silent. On how the Congress would form government by contesting only 23 seats in the 60-member Nagaland assembly, he said it was an era of coalition and hoped that if his party wins enough seats, other like-minded parties will come together to bring a change. "Currently, we don't have any MLA in the assembly but Congress is the hope for development and solution to long-pending problems to make a better Nagaland," he added. The assembly elections will be held on February 27 and votes will be counted on March 2. (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 23 (PTI) The government on Thursday said it has proposed to set up an India centre for lab-grown diamond (InCent-LGD) at IIT Madras with an estimated cost of Rs 242.96 crore. The budget support will be provided during the course of the next five years. Also Read | BSE Sensex Crashes 927 Points Amid Weak Global Cues; Settles at 59,745 Points. The commerce ministry said that the aim of this project is to provide technical assistance to the industries and entrepreneurs in the sector. It would help promote indigenous manufacturing of both chemical vapour deposition and high-pressure and temperature systems along with the recipes for expanding the LGD business, it added. Also Read | Indian Workers With Digital Skills Contributing USD 508 Billion to Country's GDP, Says Report. Research efforts would make the technology available for startups at an affordable cost, increase employment opportunities and increase exports of LGD. In the Union Budget 2023-24, a five-year research grant for one of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) was announced to encourage the indigenous production of lab-grown diamonds (LGD) machinery, seeds and recipe. "It is proposed to establish an India Centre for Lab-grown Diamond (InCent-LGD) at IIT Madras with the estimated cost of Rs 242.96 crore over 5 years," it said. Besides the jewellery industry, lab-grown diamonds are used in computer chips, satellites and 5G networks, as they can be used in extreme environments due to their potential to operate at higher speeds while using less power than silicon-based chips. LGD has vast applications in the field of defence, optics, jewellery, thermal and medical industries. Globally, its market stood at USD 1 billion in 2020. The lab-grown diamond jewellery market is expected to rapidly rise to USD 5 billion by 2025 and exceed USD 15 billion by 2035, the ministry said. Lab-grown diamonds are produced through two technologies - High-Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) and Chemical Vapour Deposition. India is one of the leading producers of these diamonds using CVD technology. As per industry estimates, India's share in global trade in 2021-22 was 25.8 per cent. "However, we have to depend on other countries for the supply of critical machinery components and 'seeds' -- which are the raw material for producing synthetic diamonds," the ministry said. It is, therefore, imperative that India develops its own, indigenous technology for producing the critical machinery components seeds to remove the import dependence. Good quality lab-grown diamonds with qualified certification, produced from the developed equipment and process parameters will attract many foreign customers, increasing the export volume of lab-grown diamonds and the scalability of production. The documented process parameters and the developed recipe will encourage new entrepreneurs to enter the lab-grown diamond business, making it easier and cost-effective to set up the facility, start the business and generate employment, it added. (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 23 (PTI) COAI's demand for revenue sharing by OTTs for using telecom infrastructure is "a covert attempt" to dilute net neutrality in India and will sound a "death knell" for the digital ecosystem, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) said on Thursday. The comment assumes significance as telecom operators' body COAI has been making a plea for OTT (over-the-top) players to directly compensate telcos for data traffic they are driving onto the networks. Also Read | BSE Sensex Crashes 927 Points Amid Weak Global Cues; Settles at 59,745 Points. IAMAI, however, argues that the call for a sending-party-network-pays (SPNP) mechanism has re-emerged even though the demand for telecom services entirely hinges on the ability of OTT services to attract users. IAMAI, in a statement, said bodies such as the Cellular Operators' Association of India have been advocating for a model where the sending party network pays (SPNP), which would allow telecom service providers to exploit internet businesses by formalising rent seeking. Also Read | Indian Workers With Digital Skills Contributing USD 508 Billion to Country's GDP, Says Report. A 'revenue sharing' mechanism, said IAMAI, is an "underhanded attempt" to violate net neutrality. The SPNP model would also be a "death knell" for the digital economy and the creative ecosystem which it sustains, IAMAI said. It pointed out that levying additional cost on OTTs, without providing any additional services, would be akin to exacting tribute. "This would also have a chilling effect on investment and entrepreneurship on an emerging sector, where businesses typically take a few years to monetise," IAMAI statement added. Over-the-top service providers have flourished in India's current regulatory regime as they were empowered to distribute high quality content for little to no cost to users. This, in turn, has promoted internet adoption, economic activity, and added value to the data package products sold by Telecom service providers. In its arguments, IAMAI said an SPNP mechanism would effectively reverse this phenomenon by disincentivising growth for OTT-based businesses "for whom a volume-based revenue sharing mechanism would be a glass ceiling for continuing growth and may even act as a barrier to entry for new startups". According to IAMAI, it would also be adding a cost to accessing free or cheap content, which would inevitably be transferred to the consumer, effectively raising the cost of internet usage. It would also allow carriage regulation to become content regulation. As "different formats of content have different implications on volume, traffic and value, this mechanism would in-effect become a determining factor for individuals and businesses developing and consuming content", it said. India's internet success has been hugely dependent on affordable access to data, and instilling a rent paying (SPNP) mechanism would effectively raise costs for users, albeit indirectly, and have the same impact as raising the cost of data itself, as per IAMAI. "A higher cost associated with internet usage would lower overall revenues of internet businesses and may even reduce the amount of data consumers would use," it said. This would result in a scenario where there may be no meaningful growth in the revenue of telcos, despite the massive price paid by the digital economy. Netizens in India and abroad have repeatedly chosen to maintain net neutrality, the rewards of which may be reaped for decades to come. "However, the reignition of this debate threatens the stable and flourishing tech ecosystem which India has developed over the last decade and will weaken India's position as a leader of the Global Digital Economy," IAMAI said. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi [India], February 23 (ANI): Czech Republic Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky will visit India from February 26 to March 1. During his visit, Lipavsky will attend the inaugural session of the India-EU Business and Sustainability Conclave on February 28. During his visit to India, Jan Lipavsky will be accompanied by Czech Republic's Members of the Parliament, the Deputy Minister for Science, Research and Innovation and a high-level official and business delegation, the Ministry of External Affairs said in the press release. During his visit, Lipavsky will hold a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues. Also Read | India Should Urge Restraint and Encourage Russia, US To Return to Negotiations, Say Experts. "During the visit, Foreign Minister Lipavsky will hold bilateral talks with External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar where the two leaders are expected to discuss the entire range of bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest," the Ministry of External Affairs said in the press release. It further said, "Foreign Minister Lipavsky will also be attending the inaugural session of the India-EU Business and Sustainability Conclave organized by CII on 28 February 2023. He will then travel to Mumbai on the same day and will depart on 01 March 2023 from Mumbai." Also Read | Humein Sirf PM Modi Chahiye: Pakistani Mans Desperate Plea Goes Viral As He Slams Shehbaz Sharif Government for Poor State of Affairs (Watch Video). Lipavsky's visit to India is expected to provide further momentum to India's bilateral ties with the Czech Republic. The MEA noted, "India and Czech Republic have historically enjoyed warm and friendly relations which have been strengthened in the last several years through high level exchanges and enhanced cooperation across sectors." The visit of Lipavsky to India follows the visit of EAM S Jaishankar's visit to the Czech Republic in June 2022 where they held delegation-level talks. In January this year, the two leaders held a meeting in Vienna during Jaishankar's visit to Austria. Sharing details regarding his meeting, Jaishankar tweeted, "Glad to meet FM Jan Lipavsky of Czech Republic on sidelines of the Slavkov meeting today afternoon. Discussed further intensification of our bilateral partnership and expanding multilateral cooperation." (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 23 (ANI): Olaf Scholz's visit to India is the first standalone one by any German Chancellor since the commencement of the Inter-Governmental Consultation (IGC) mechanism between the two countries in 2011. His visit coincides with the completion of one year of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and comes after the recent Chinese spy balloon episode that has created ripples in world geopolitics. Many things, including economic cooperation, the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP) and Indo-Pacific are on the agenda when he meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi this weekend. Also Read | India Should Urge Restraint and Encourage Russia, US To Return to Negotiations, Say Experts. The IGC is a whole-of-government mechanism which brings together ministers and officials from both sides, who hold discussions in their domain areas and then report on the discussions during a plenary session chaired by PM Modi and Chancellor Scholz. The Chancellor's visit comes after a year of renewed engagement between India and Germany. PM Modi and Chancellor Scholz met on three occasions in 2022: For the 6th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations (May 2, 2022) when PM visited Berlin, with his delegation (Finance Minister, EAM, NSA, MOS (I/C) DST and Secretary DPIIT); Chancellor invited PM for the G7 Summit held under German Presidency in June 2022 in Schloss Elmau, Bavaria, for which India was a partner country and the two leaders interacted on the sidelines of the G20 Summit held in Bali in November 2022. Also Read | Humein Sirf PM Modi Chahiye: Pakistani Mans Desperate Plea Goes Viral As He Slams Shehbaz Sharif Government for Poor State of Affairs (Watch Video). India and Germany share a strong economic partnership. Germany is India's largest trade partner in the European Union and has consistently been among India's top 10 global trade partners. It is also one of the largest foreign direct investors in India. As a symbol of close economic ties and the strong potential for enhanced cooperation, Chancellor Scholz will be accompanied by a high-powered business delegation. During the visit, PM Modi and Chancellor Scholz will also address a Business Roundtable, comprising top industry leaders from both sides. The visit will see the conclusion of B2B agreements. India and Germany launched the GSDP during the PM's visit to Berlin for the 6th IGC. The GSDP is an umbrella partnership that provides political guidance and steers to robust ties in climate action and SDGs. Under this, Germany will also place 10 billion euros in new and additional commitments under their development cooperation portfolio in India. Around 983 million euros of new commitments were finalized during the Annual Negotiation Meeting (ANM) held on November 28, 2022, in Delhi. During the IGC, India and Germany also agreed to cooperate on Green Hydrogen. The Indo-German Green Hydrogen Task Force was constituted in September 2022 and an Action Plan is close to finalization. During the 6th IGC, India and Germany agreed to work on development projects in third countries under the framework of Triangular Development Cooperation. The four projects announced in May 2022 are now in different stages of implementation - a) Cameroon: Potato Seed Production through Rooted Apical Cuttings (RAC) Technology b) Malawi: Agri-Business Incubator Models for Women in Agriculture & Food Systems c) Ghana: Developing Bamboo-Based Enterprises for Sustainable Livelihood and Income Generation in Ghana d) Peru: Development of a geospatial portal prototype for planning, monitoring, and evaluation of Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion of Peru (MIDIS) interventions and social programs Meanwhile, Germany has boarded the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI). German naval frigate Bayern was on a 7-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific from August 2021 and made a port call in Mumbai on January 21, 2022. Scholz's visit in 2023 will imbue fresh momentum to the bilateral relations, which saw renewed engagement and focus in 2022. Apart from PM Modi's meetings with Chancellor, the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited India on 05-06 December 2022. There have been several Parliamentary delegations from Germany, including the India-Germany Parliamentary Friendship Group (January 29-February 4, 2023) and the Budget Committee of the German Parliament (February 13-17, 2023). (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 [US], February 23 (ANI): The healthcare and tech sector entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy's nomination for the US Presidential election bid is another example of Indian Americans making a mark in the political arena, Sanjeev Joshipura, Indiaspora's Executive Director said. "Vivek Ramaswamy is not a conventional politician, to put it mildly. It will be interesting to see how America reacts to his candidacy," Indiaspora's Executive Director said. Also Read | Chinese Spy Balloon: Pentagon Releases Selfie Taken by US Pilot of Suspected Spy Balloon. "His jumping into the presidential fray is another example of Indian-Americans making a mark in the political arena. As the Indian diaspora becomes more established and integrated into American life, we have seen this trend steadily increasing across all levels of government. Our diaspora is civic-minded and wanted to engage in the nation's public life," he added. Earlier, on Wednesday, Ramaswamy announced his 2024 US presidential election bid. Also Read | G20 Foreign Ministers' Meet: Russian FM Sergei Lavrov To Attend Meeting in India From March 1-3. "We've celebrated our "diversity" so much that we forgot all the ways we're really the same as Americans, bound by ideals that united a divided, headstrong group of people 250 years ago. I believe deep in my bones those ideals still exist. I'm running for President to revive them," tweeted Ramaswamy in a video announcing his intention to run for president. He reiterated that this was not just a political campaign, "but a cultural movement"."Faith, patriotism and hard work have disappeared. Wokeism, climate and gender ideology have replaced them. We hunger for purpose yet cannot answer what it means to be an American. We long for that answer," he added. 37-year-old Vivek Ramaswamy is a native of southwest Ohio. His mother was a geriatric psychiatrist and his father worked as an engineer at General Electric."Diversity" is not our strength. Our strength is the set of ideals that unify us across our differences. Without that, "diversity" is meaningless," said Ramaswamy. "We live in a culture that rejects truth and embraces relativism; that rejects equality and embraces "equity"; that rejects excellence and embraces victimhood. I'm all-in for America First, but we must first rediscover what America is," he added.Ramaswamy was born on August 9, 1985, and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. His parents migrated to the US from Kerala. He is the second Indian-American to enter the 2024 Republican presidential primary after Nikki Haley. He is the fourth Indian-American ever to run for the White House --Bobby Jindal ran in 2016 and Vice President Kamala Harris in 2020.He attended Harvard University for his undergrad and later got a law degree from Yale University. Ramaswamy is the author of "Woke, Inc: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam" and has been dubbed "the CEO of Anti-Woke Inc" by The New Yorker.Ramaswamy joins the Republican field following ex-US President Donald Trump and former South Carolina governor and former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley's presidential bid announcement. A second-generation Indian American, Ramaswamy founded Roivant Sciences in 2014 and led the largest biotech IPOs of 2015 and 2016, eventually culminating in successful clinical trials in multiple disease areas that led to FDA-approved products, according to his bio. He has founded other successful healthcare and technology companies, and in 2022, he launched Strive Asset Management, a new firm focused on restoring the voices of everyday citizens in the American economy by leading companies to focus on excellence over politics. Ramaswamy is married to Apoorva Tewari Ramaswamy, an Assistant Professor at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Before entering the presidential ballot, Ramaswamy and Haley have to win the Republican Party's presidential primary which will start in January next year. The next US presidential election is scheduled to be held on November 5, 2024. (ANI) (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Actress Monica Bellucci and Tim Burton, the director of Edward Scissorhands seem to be dating, and have been for months under the radar. The Italian actress, 58, and the 64-year-old film mogul first met 16 years ago, but have been claimed to have started secretly dating four months ago, reports Mirror.co.uk. Not Johnny Depp, But Dwayne Johnson Was The First Choice to Play Willy Wonka in Tim Burton's Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. It has been said that the pair decided to make their relationship official around the time of the Lumiere Film Festival in Lyon this October, when Monica presented Tim with the Lumiere lifetime achievement award on stage. As per Mirror.co.uk, after Monica handed over the prize to her reported beau, Tim said during his speech: "All my life put together, I have never felt so much love as tonight. Welcome to the best funeral I ever had!" Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny Spark Dating Rumours After The Duo Make Out at Club in LA!. The couple were also reportedly spotted together watching the reproduction of Silent Documentary Film, which was directed in 1895 by the late French filmmaker Louis Lumiere. Paris Match reported that the pair "briefly met on the steps of the Palais des Festivals in Cannes in 2006, but it was only sixteen years later, behind the scenes of another festival, that they got closer." Prior to her alleged relationship with Tim, Monica has not been on the dating since 2019, when she split from artiste Nicolas Lefebvre. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 23, 2023 12:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Miami, February 23: A TV reporter and a nine-year-old child were among the three people who were killed during a shooting spree in the US state of Florida, authorities said. Addressing a news conference late Wednesday, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said that Keith Melvin Moses, 19, has been arrested and charged with murder in connection to the shooting earlier in the morning in Orlando city, CNN reported. US Shooting: Gunman Kills Three Teenage Girls, Sexually Assaults 12-Year-Old Girl and Later Shoots Self in Texas. Moses is expected to be charged in four other shootings that occurred later in the day, including the killing of the Spectrum News 13 journalist, the Sheriff added. A second reporter and the child's mother were also shot and injured by the same gunman. Mina said Moses has a lengthy criminal history that includes gun charges, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon. He added that deputies responded to the 6100 block of Hialeah Street at around 11 a.m. Wednesday where they located a woman in her 20s who was shot and died from her injuries. US Shooting: One Dead, 10 Injured in Overnight Shootings at Nightclub, Say Memphis Police. "At 4.05, we received 911 calls about another shooting at that location and a shooting nearby," CNN quoted Mina as saying. He added that two journalists -- a photographer and reporter -- were on the scene to cover the homicide that took place in the morning and were shot in or around their vehicle. Shortly after that, police went to the scene of a third shooting and found a woman on Harrington Street and her nine-year-old daughter were also shot inside of a home, the Sheriff said, adding that the child died. The motive behind the shootings remain unknown. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 23, 2023 10:22 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). Former U.S. President Donald Trump has visited the town in Ohio affected by the toxic train derailment. Trump claimed his visit to East Palestine, Ohio has prompted U.S. President Joe Biden's administration to allot more resources to the crash causing a toxic spillage. The former president met East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway and donated water bottles and cleaning supplies while also criticizing the federal government and describing the government's response to the town as "betrayal," according to BBC News. Trump was accompanied by his son Donald Trump Jr., and Ohio Republican Senator JD Vance, with Rep. Bill Johnson. The former president said that the town's "goodness and perseverance" are met with "indifference and betrayal." Trump went on to say that the federal government "changed their tune" when they found out that he was coming to East Palestine, Ohio. His short speech also noted that the town residents will not be forgotten and that what the community needs are "not excuses" but answers and results. READ NEXT: Donald Trump Jr. Testifies Before January 6 House Committee Investigating Capitol Riot White House Hits Back on Donald Trump's Visit The White House has replied to Trump's criticisms by pinning the blame on the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress for withdrawing the rail safety measure imposed during former President Barack Obama's administration. The rail safety measures were designed to prevent such disasters, according to the White House spokesman Andrew Bates's statement to USA Today. Bates was pertaining to the 2015 proposal the Trump administration withdrew, which required advanced braking systems on trains carrying highly flammable materials. The Trump administration also ended regular safety audits of railroads and trashed a proposal to require at least two crew members on freight trains. However, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, Jennifer Homendy, said that the brake rule would not have prevented the train derailment as it was meant for highly flammable containments, In addition, she argued that the train did not meet the requirement of carrying 20 or more loaded tank cars. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will be visiting the Ohio town on Thursday. Ohio Train Derailment Residents were temporarily evacuated from the area two days later for the controlled burn of the chemicals, which sent visible black smoke into the sky. Health officials have also been monitoring the air and water in the area. Some residents have reported experiencing nausea, headache, red eyes, and rashes. A local doctor, Nicholas Proia, known to be a pulmonologist in the area and a clinical professor of internal medicine at Northern Ohio Medical University, said that the main thing to monitor now and in the future was water. The chemicals causing concern were reported to include butyl acrylate and vinyl chloride, which authorities believe could set off a major explosion. In addition, vinyl chloride is a carcinogen used to make the hard plastic resin, known as PVC, used for car parts, wires, and cables. Many of the residents said they are still afraid and anxious despite assurances from government officials that the air and drinking water are safe. READ MORE: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Seeks Grand Jury Probe Over COVID-19 Vaccines This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Trump vows to stand with East Palestine community after Ohio derailment tragedy - from Fox News Brazil floods and mudslides have isolated villages in the rain-soaked Sao Paulo, leaving hundreds of people struggling for water and necessities on Wednesday. Despite efforts by both official and private humanitarian organizations, delivering supplies to the region's remote settlements has proven to be a formidable challenge, AP reports. Authorities have restored several damaged roads, but it will take time for the region to recover fully. Firefighters, police, and volunteers are still searching through the wreckage of landslide-damaged homes for survivors. Around 1,730 people were displaced, and 1,810 have lost their homes, per Sao Paolo state government reports. Sao Sebastiao has a large homeless population, and many of the city's churches, schools, and daycares have opened their doors to them. Sao Paulo has already provided 7.5 tons of relief to the victims, which includes food, water, and hygiene kits. However, not all aid had reached its designated destination due to thieves taking advantage of the commotion and robbing vehicles bringing donations, said Governor Tarcisio de Freitas. Brazil's Environment Minister Marina Silva went to Barra do Sahy on Wednesday. Reuri Nascimento, a local, has removed 22 bodies using his quadbike, according to Silva. Nascimento voiced his concern that relief was not being distributed to those affected by Brazil floods and landslides. "Why aren't the police here to help us? There's food trafficking; we don't know where the food is going," he said. Silva assured the public that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's administration tried to rectify the situation. "We're going to have to work to adapt the city, focusing on the poorest, those who live near the hillside," Silva said. READ NEXT: Brazil: Rescue Efforts Continue as Death Toll Rises Brazil Floods and Rains Death Toll Reaches 48 Heavy rains in Brazil's southeastern Sao Paulo state have killed at least 48 people, and dozens more are still missing despite ongoing search and rescue operations, according to official numbers released on Wednesday. "We are currently working with a tally of at least 38 missing people," de Freitas told reporters as weather forecasters cautioned more rain was expected later in the day. Forty-seven people lost their lives in Sao Sebastiao, a city about 200 kilometers (124.3 miles) from Sao Paulo, Reuters noted. However, Ilhabela, Caraguatatuba, Bertioga, and Ubatuba were also severely impacted due to their proximity. With "moderate to heavy rains" predicted to fall until early evening, the state administration said the rain was anticipated on Wednesday as a new cold front encourages the development of heavy clouds over the region. Cities in Sao Paulo Brazil Are in a State of Calamity Several cities in Sao Paulo were placed in a calamity for 180 days following an extreme weather event that experts called unprecedented. Meanwhile, the Carnival celebrations in Sao Sebastio and Bertioga were canceled while rescue workers looked for people who were missing, injured, or thought to be dead. After getting a request for help from de Freitas, Brazil's military sent two planes and rescue crews to the area. The Sao Paulo governor placed the cities of Sao Sebastiao, Bertioga, Ubatuba, Ilhabela, and Caraguatatuba under a state of calamity. READ MORE: Nipsey Hussle's Death This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Bert Hoover WATCH: Heavy rain triggers deadly flooding, landslides in Brazil - From CBC News: The National A Sinaloa Cartel network involved in the operations of fentanyl "super labs" was sanctioned by U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday as part of the government's effort to stop the smuggling of fentanyl and methamphetamine into the U.S. The Treasury has sanctioned brothers Ludim Zamudio Lerma and Luis Alfonso Zamudio Lerma, who were allegedly running the network, and four other Mexican nationals and Sinaloa Cartel members, as well as six Mexico-based companies. According to Fox News, the sanctions reportedly block the U.S.-based assets of those sanctioned and prohibit all transactions with them by those based within or transiting the U.S. In a statement, the Treasury noted that the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) continued to coordinate with its U.S. government partners and foreign counterparts to "target and pursue accountability for foreign illicit drug actors." The Treasury said the Zamudio Lerma brothers were supplying Sinaloa Cartel members with precursor chemicals used in "super labs" to create illegal drugs in large quantities for the cartel. READ NEXT: Mexico: Former Security Chief Genaro Garcia Luna Embezzled $745.9 Million From Government Contracts Sinaloa Cartel Network and Fentanyl 'Super Labs' Andrea Gacki, director of the OFAC, said the Zamudio Lerma brothers and their network allow the production of synthetic drugs that destroy American lives while the Sinaloa Cartel leaders make a fortune. The other sanctioned Sinaloa Cartel members include Luis Gerardo Flores Madrid, Ludim Zamudio Lerma's son Ludim Zamudio Ibarra, and two lab operators, Ernesto Machado Torres and Jose Santana Arredondo Beltran, CNN reported. In a statement, U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken said that the production and trafficking of illegal drugs is a global problem. In 2019, China was the primary source of illegal fentanyl in the U.S. before it changed because the Chinese implemented stricter controls on the drug trade. Since then, Mexican drug cartels have taken the lead and sourced precursor chemicals from China and then produced the illegal drugs in Mexican labs. The U.S. Treasury sanctions were announced after President Joe Biden vowed to impose "strong penalties" in busting fentanyl trafficking. Biden previously said that "fentanyl is killing more than 70,000 Americans a year." Sinaloa Cartel Last week, Mexico's security forces arrested a suspected top Sinaloa Cartel member accused of leading the region's production of fentanyl, NBC News reported. The arrest occurred in Mexico's state of Sinaloa just days after Joe Biden visited Mexico and followed the high-profile arrest of Sinaloa Cartel leader Ovidio Guzman Lopez. In a statement, the country's defense ministry said the accused is considered the leading producer of fentanyl and methamphetamine pills. Sinaloa Cartel was led by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera before he was arrested and extradited to the U.S. The Sinaloa Cartel has also been involved in territory wars. The Jalisco Cartel New Generation is currently the Sinaloa Cartel's main rival. Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera is currently leading the Jalisco cartel. The four sons of El Chapo had also assumed leadership roles in the Sinaloa Cartel after their father was arrested. El Chapo's sons, namely Ovidio Guzman Lopez, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar, and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, are collectively known as Los Chapitos. The U.S. State Department has already offered $5 million rewards for any information that could help federal agents arrest El Chapo's four sons. Ovidio Guzman was already arrested in Sinaloa last month. U.S. investigators noted that the Los Chapitos manage around 11 laboratories in their home state of Sinaloa that produce up to 5,000 pounds of methamphetamine monthly. READ MORE: El Chapo's Wife Emma Coronel Could Dismantle Sinaloa Cartel This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: How Sinaloa Became Mexico's Biggest Cartel | The War on Drugs - From Vice The Ohio train disaster has become one of the worst toxic train disasters in recent U.S. history, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has now issued an ultimatum to Norfolk Southern. According to CNN, the head of the EPA warned of costly consequences if the rail company failed to fully clean up its toxic train wreck in East Palestine, Ohio, and pay for all cleanup costs. EPA has the power to fine or sanction firms over environmental concerns. The February 3 derailment of one of the company's freight trains has unleashed toxic chemicals that brought the town of East Palestine to a standstill. The new EPA order is legally binding and will take effect on Thursday. EPA Administrator Michael Regan told CNN that this order "will ensure that Norfolk Southern pays for the mess that they've created." Regan said Norfolk Southern should "clean up every single piece of debris, all of the contamination, to EPA specifications and satisfaction" and must "fully pay for it." "At any moment, if we have to step in because they refuse to do anything, we will do the cleaning up ourselves. We can fine them up to $70,000 a day," Regan told the outlet. "And when we recoup our total costs, we can charge them three times of the amount of the cost of the federal government. That is what the law provides," he added. The order comes as Ohio residents have reported various health problems since the Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed. The company's personnel reportedly released vinyl chloride gas from five train cars and burned it in order to avoid a deadly explosion. However, it emitted black clouds of smoke over the town of about 5,000 people. READ NEXT: Ohio Town Evacuated After Toxic Train Disaster Pennsylvania AG to Investigate Norfolk Southern After Ohio Train Disaster Norfolk Southern is facing another problem as Pennsylvania's attorney general is also looking into the freight rail company. The state's attorney general's office said they will conduct an investigation after receiving a criminal referral from state environmental officials. In a statement released on Tuesday, the office of acting Attorney General Michelle Henry noted that they have been monitoring the train derailment in East Palestine. Pennsylvania was also affected by the train crash, as it happened near the Pennsylvania-Ohio border, leading to an evacuation in some areas in both states. CNN reported that the AG's office received a criminal referral from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The AG's office vowed to "act quickly to investigate this incident, gather the facts, and then evaluate the evidence to make a determination under Pennsylvania law." Following the Pennsylvania announcement, Norfolk Southern spokesperson Katie Byrd told CNN that their actions to work with local, state, and federal leaders from the beginning, support the community, and lead on environmental remediation speak for themselves for the moment." Norfolk Southern Train Wreck Contaminated 15,000 Pounds of Soil in Ohio The company seemed to admit that the train wreck had done environmental harm in Ohio. In a statement released Monday, Norfolk Southern said thousands of pounds of soil and water had been removed from the crash site due to "substantial contamination," CBS reported. The company noted that about 15,000 pounds of soil and 1.1 million gallons of water had been removed because of contamination. However, it did not specify which hazardous materials were found in the soil and water. Norfolk Southern did assure that the material will be "transported to landfills and disposal facilities" designed to accept "it safely in accordance with state and federal regulations." READ MORE: Donald Trump's Save America PAC Spent $16 Million on His Legal Battles in 2022 This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: EPA Orders Norfolk Southern to Clean up Ohio Train Derailment and Pay for It - From NBC News Some leaders of the far-right extremist group Proud Boys are now on trial for seditious conspiracy and several revelations have come out as they testified. Jeremy Bertino, one of the leaders of Proud Boys, testified Wednesday that he was at home in North Carolina as his group stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021. According to the New York Times, Bertino noted that at the time, he was watching the riot's livestreams and offering advice to fellow Proud Boys on the ground. The former Proud Boys leader was unable to join the group as he was still recovering from stab wounds. Bertino said he believed that the January 6 riot was another American Revolution. Bertino was barking orders from home as he watched things unfold and admitted in court that he was excited. "I thought I was watching history and watching the guys about to go into the building," he testified at the seditious conspiracy trial of five members of the Proud Boys in Federal District Court in Washington. As he took the stand against his former associates, Bertino gave jurors an insider's look into the organization's growing sense of desperation in the weeks leading up to the Capitol insurrection. He said he and the other group leaders came to believe that "time was running out to save the country," so the Proud Boys must take the lead in making other Trump supporters into realizing an "all-out revolution." "We were desperate at this point for anything else that could have changed the outcome of the election," Bertino noted as USA Today reported. However, he said other Capitol rioters had failed to follow the group's leaders. The five defendants were Proud Boys leaders Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl, Dominic Pezzola, and Henry "Enrique" Tarrio. Bertino admitted that he swapped texts with Tarrio on January 6 as they hoped that they would track down former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. READ NEXT: Proud Boys Attack on January 6 Was Coordinated Lawyers for Proud Boys Plan to Subpoena Donald Trump Defense lawyers for the five Proud Boys leaders are planning to get former President Donald Trump to testify as a witness for the defense. However, CNN reported that this might be a longshot as judges have previously rejected subpoenas for the former president. The defense lawyers have previously presented arguments that the rioters were acting on Trump's orders. However, District Judge Timothy Kelly rejected the argument, saying that the former president had no authority to order a mob to storm the Capitol. Proud Boys Membership Surged After Donald Trump's 'Stand Back and Stand By' Message During his 2020 presidential debate against Joe Biden, Donald Trump was asked if he could condemn white supremacist groups like the Proud Boys who support him. To this, Trump said on air: "Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. But I'll tell you what: Somebody's got to do something about antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem... this is a left-wing problem." Bertino testified that when Trump delivered that message, he said he was "stunned and excited" to hear Trump mention the group. According to ABC News, the former Proud Boys leader said that membership requests to join the group surged after Trump's message. In his testimony, Bertino also admitted that his baseless belief that the 2020 election was stolen grew in the months and weeks leading up to the January 6 insurrection. He said he shared this view with other members of the Proud Boys. Bertino was the only Proud Boys leader who pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy. READ MORE: Oath Keepers Founder Found Guilty of Seditious Conspiracy This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Rick Martin WATCH: 'The Revolution Had Failed' | Ex-Proud Boy Says Group Wanted War After January 6 - From WUSA-9 Sandra Avila Beltran, the narco queen dubbed as Mexico's "The Queen of the Pacific," has recently opened up about the day her son was kidnapped in 2002, which led to her arrest. Infobae reported that the narco queen's only son, Jose Luis Fuentes Avila was only 15 years old when an armed person abducted him on April 18, 2002. The kidnapper reportedly arrived at a Puerta de Hierro gym in Guadalajara City in Jalisco state and kidnapped Avila Beltran's son. In an interview with The Daily Beast, the narco queen said: "It was the greatest pain I have ever been through in my life." Avila Beltran noted that the kidnapper was a friend of her and her son's father. She told the outlet that "almost always the kidnappings come from the escort, the cousin, there have even been children who have kidnapped their parents... They are the people closest to you." At the time, Avila Beltran reportedly panicked and went to the Jalisco Attorney General's Office instead of asking for assistance from a criminal group. "The Queen of the Pacific" told authorities that the kidnapper demanded $5 million from her for her son's release, and this reportedly triggered an investigation. The probe revealed that Avila Beltran did not have a successful business track record but still had large sums of money, which alerted authorities. The state's anti-kidnapping unit then started to monitor the narco queen's phone calls, and that's when they discovered she had connections with Sinaloa Cartel leaders Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel Villarreal and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, as well as Colombian cocaine dealer Juan Diego Espinosa Ramirez, alias "El Tigre," who was her lover at the time. The narco queen's son was released after 17 days. Mexican officials said she paid the kidnappers $1.4 million. However, some reports noted that she may have paid as high as $3 million financed by El Mayo and Nacho. After her son was freed, the newly created Federal Investigation Agency of Mexico began to follow the trail of both The Queen of the Pacific and El Tigre. The couple reportedly moved tons of cocaine from Colombia into the United States. However, they met their downfall in September 2007, when they were arrested in Mexico City. Avila Beltran believed that a business partner sold her out after she demanded he returns an investment she had made. She claimed her business partner tipped off authorities about their breakfast meeting. READ NEXT: Mexico's Top Female Narco Suing Netflix and Telemundo for Show Based on Her Life Narco Queen Sandra Avila Beltran Says Life With Drug Lords Was No Different From Marrying a Politician Sandra Avila Beltran was never convicted of direct participation in drug trafficking. However, she spent time in U.S. and Mexican prisons for being an accessory to criminal activity and money laundering. During The Daily Beast interview, the narco queen said she should never have been jailed simply for handling the money or assets obtained through criminal activities. Avila Beltran said her relationships with cartel officials were no different from being married to a politician. She told the outlet: "If I have a husband and he buys me a house, I'm not going to ask him where he got [the money] from, nor do I care. And if someone comes right now and gives me a house or a car, I'm not going to ask them how where they got it from. I don't care." She went on to say just how many women the Mexican government would incarcerate if they talked about money laundering, even citing the wife of former Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Angelica Rivera, and the wife of another former President Vicente Fox Quesada, Marta Sahagun. Who Is Narco Queen Sandra Avila Beltran Dubbed 'The Queen of the Pacific'? Sandra Avila Beltran is one of the most infamous names in the Mexican and Colombian drug trade. She is often considered a narco royalty, as her father, Alfonso Avila Quintero, is also a well-known drug kingpin. Her narco relations don't stop there, as she is also the niece of Guadalajara Cartel founder Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo. The Guardian reported that as a child, Avila Beltran lived a life of luxury, attending a private school, having piano and dance lessons, and frequently going to SeaWorld and Disneyland. She would often see piles of money in her home and spent hours counting cash as a child. She also usually swiped some of the bills for herself. However, even as she lived a life of luxury, violence was not far behind, witnessing her first shootout at the age of 13. Her childhood friends also became embroiled in crime, soon growing up to become leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel. Avila Beltran studied journalism at the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara. However, her dreams ended when a jealous boyfriend with powerful cartel connections kidnapped her. She left town, ending her dream of becoming an investigative reporter. This was when she decided to finally join the family business. Avila Beltran quickly rose in the ranks, privately meeting with the drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes, also known as El Senor de Los Cielos, at age 21. She was beautiful and was reportedly not afraid to use her flirting skills to get ahead. The Mexican narco queen dated a top Sinaloa cartel leader and even became good friends with none other than Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman himself. Avila Beltran was also known as an expert marksman, even beating the head bodyguard to Guadalajara Cartel leader Rafael Caro Quintero in a shooting competition. She was eventually known as "The Queen of the Pacific," handling deals between the Sinaloa Cartel and Colombia's Norte del Valle cartel. It led to another life of luxury for herself, as she often showed off expensive jewelry with her lavish lifestyle. However, her illegal activities came to haunt her, as she became one of the most wanted women in Mexico. Avila Beltran spent more than seven years in prison. But even in prison, she reportedly still had a lavish lifestyle. She was allowed maids to serve her food, cigarettes, and alcohol. The narco queen was even wearing bejeweled heels while serving time. Sandra Avila Beltran was released in February 2015 and was not heard of for a while. She surfaced last year to sue Telemundo and Netflix for launching the series "La Reina Del Sur," which reportedly used her image to promote the show without her consent. READ MORE: Top 5 'Queens' of the Most Notorious Mexican Drug Cartels in Mexico and El Chapo's Wife Is Among Them This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Mary Webber WATCH: Mexico's Former 'Queen of Cocaine', Sandra AVila Beltran, Speaks out - From the Guardian Authorities on Wednesday publicly identified the three mountain climbers who died in a Washington avalanche that highlighted the extreme danger of alpine climbing in the middle of winter. According to the Chelan County Sheriff's Office, Seong Cho, 54, Jeannie Lee, 60, and Yun Park, 66, all died following the avalanche on Colchuck Peak near Leavenworth on Sunday. They were reportedly part of a Korean climbing club in New York. According to Seattle Times, their bodies are still at the scene. The sheriff's office said avalanche experts visited the area on Wednesday to evaluate the threat. A sheriff's sergeant previously said authorities must wait until the area is deemed safe and the weather improves before recovering the bodies. The three mountain climbers were part of a party of six making their way up a steep gully called a couloir when the avalanche occurred. Four climbers reportedly slid about 500 feet, and one of them survived. The sheriff's office said the group planned to summit the 8,705-foot Colchuck Peak when one of them unintentionally triggered an avalanche. It was reportedly the deadliest Washington avalanche since 2014. READ NEXT: Washington Avalanche Kills 3 Mountain Climbers Mountain Climbers Are Not Aware of the Washington Avalanche Forecast According to Rich Magnussen, the emergency management program specialist for the Chelan County Sheriff's Office, who spoke to the three survivors on Tuesday, the group was unaware of the avalanche forecast for Sunday morning and had not trained to face one while on the mountain. The New York Times reported they dealt with heavy snowfall and powerful winds as they tried to reach the peak. "It's real extreme conditions up there," Magnussen said. "So when you get snow down here in the valley, you can times it by ten up there." Mountain Climbers Lack Equipment According to KOMO News, the Chelan County Sheriff's Office said none of the six mountain climbers had a beacon, an essential piece of equipment that constantly transmits the wearer's location. Aside from a beacon, Sam McCann of Ascent Outdoors in Ballard recommends always carrying an avalanche shovel and a probe when climbing mountains. "You should always have this on you," said McCann. "You're turning it on from the moment you step off the trailhead to the moment you're getting back. It's constantly transmitting a signal." Some systems can communicate for weeks without recharging, according to McCann, saying that some shops even provide rentals of the equipment, despite their high price. She also recommended carrying GPS satellite communications equipment for making manual calls to get help in an emergency. McCann added that Washington state's snowpack may be different from other places. "There's a lot of snow that's in our mountains, especially in the winter, and that snowpack is constantly evolving," said McCann. Moreover, she noted that checking the avalanche forecast is important, but circumstances can change quickly, so mountain climbers should be prepared for everything. READ MORE: Kendall Jenner, Devin Booker Unfollow Each Other on Instagram This article is owned by Latin Post. Written by: Bert Hoover WATCH: Colchuck Peak Avalanche Victims Identified; Recovery Efforts Will Depend on Conditions - From KING 5 Seattle A year and a half after Facebook announced it was gambling on the metaverse (even changing the name of its parent company to Meta), this technology remains in its infancy. Consumers are far from living in a parallel reality, where they can go to work or consume goods in the same way as they would in the physical world. In the meantime, the closest experiences to this virtual world are still provided by tech that has been on the market for years: virtual reality, a scenario in which the user feels fully immersed; augmented reality, which adds layers of virtual elements in the physical world; 3D technology, which recreates an object or image in three dimensions as if it were real; and NFT technology, which enables the creation of unique works of art through blockchain technology. "There are companies that claim to offer experiences in the metaverse but they're not there yet: the technology is not fluid, continuous and open, but exists in a specific and limited way," says Enrique San Juan, a consultant specializing in social networks and technology, who explains that access to these experiences is still within the reach of very few. In fact, the glasses that allow us to access a virtual experience carry a price tag of more than 1,000 euros. Nevertheless, the industry continues to move into the metaverse. In recent months, Microsoft and Meta have announced a joint plan to create the virtual office of the future. Meta has teamed up with Microsoft, and a consortium of 600 large companies has been set up to create an open platform What's more, 600 major companies from the world of technology and consumer goods have formed a consortium to launch an open metaverse onto the market. These include Meta itself as well as Alibaba, the World Wide Web consortium, Ikea, Huawei and Epic Games. On a technological level, more advanced versions of glasses that enable immersive experiences have also been released. Among them, are the Oculus Quest Pro Meta's favorite. "In the industry, advancements are moving at an anticipated pace. In fact, Mark Zuckerberg said on the day he announced his wager on the metaverse that reaching the general public would take another 10 years and that the development of the technology would be slow," asserts San Juan. In addition, he believes that the metaverse has lost some appeal since ChatGPT, the platform that has popularized generative artificial intelligence (which generates words or images intuitively and fluidly), burst onto the scene at the end of last year. "This technology has displaced the media attention that the metaverse generated. Now, it is no longer the next big thing, but that does not mean that the industry is not moving forward or that it has ceased to be important. At least, thats the case with Meta, which made such a big commitment that it is now very difficult for it to back out," says the consultant. In fact, this tech giant insisted that it was going to invest around 36 billion dollars in the development of a parallel virtual reality. Mainstream cross-cutting use is not expected until 2030, and will reach from healthcare and industry, to leisure and tourism Nor does San Juan believe that the wave of cutbacks being experienced by major tech firms is significantly dampening investment in this technology. "The digital sector oversized its workforce during the coronavirus pandemic due to the boom in online commerce during the months of confinement. As a result, the industry is now experiencing a period of correction marked by massive layoffs. However, its innovation plans remain in place because its future success depends on it. The exception is the cryptoassets sector, which has seen its ratings plummet due to a deep reputational crisis with the bankruptcy of the FTX platform and other smaller companies. As a consequence, the NFT industry (whose exchange is carried out in the metaverse) is curbing its momentum. According to data from the consultancy Chainalysis, at the beginning of 2021 these cryptoassets generated around one million transactions, but by the end of 2022 the figure had fallen by more than half (491,000). In any case, it seems clear that the technologies linked to the metaverse will continue to advance without generating as much noise as they did at the beginning. And proof of this can be found at this year's MWC, which is being held this week at the Fira de Barcelona exhibition center in l'Hospitalet de Llobregat in an edition that hopes to restore momentum following the pandemic. According to consulting firm McKinsey, the metaverse could generate a turnover of five trillion dollars by 2030, when the technology will have evolved to reach the mainstream public The Mobile World Capital Barcelona foundation is convinced of its potential and will showcase various use cases at the congress. "The metaverse will be one more piece in the Internet and will have cross-cutting applications. In the healthcare sector we can already experience remote assistance for operations, in the industrial world digital twin technologies are being applied, and in the coming years experiences in leisure and tourism will grow," says Eduard Martin, director of smart connectivity at the foundation. Although the uses of the technologies that support the metaverse are limited, the market has high hopes for this innovation. According to data from consulting firm McKinsey, the industry has the potential to generate a business value of five trillion dollars by 2030, by which time it will have reached the general public. More than 150,000 is on its way to Laois as part of a national 6.1 million investment creativity across Ireland. Under the 2023 Creative Ireland Programme Creative Communities initiative, 161,161 is being allocated to Laois for new five-year Local Authority Creative Ireland Culture and Creativity Strategies. The news was announced as the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media announced the completion of new strategies to be supported by the Creative Ireland Programme 2023-2027. It says there will be a greater focus on health and well-being, creative industries, climate action, the development of the Irish language and social sustainability. The Department says creative opportunities for marginalised communities and those at risk of disadvantage will also be prioritised. A statement said Culture and Creativity teams in Laois and other counties reviewed the original strategies that were devised in 2017 and made changes that reflected the evolving priorities of their communities. It said each team incorporated contributions from community stakeholders that will encourage people to engage, participate and enable their creative potential. Laois is getting the same money as Offaly County Council. It was welcomed by Laois Offaly Minister of State Pippa Hackett. I welcome the amount of 161,161.00 to be allocated to both Laois and Offaly County Councils for 2023 Creative Ireland initiatives. The true impact of culture and creativity is hard to quantify or define but I think we all see and feel its importance. At a time of immense challenges facing our society, the arts can help us make sense of them, develop responses and build community, she said. The Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin TD and Minister of State with responsibility for Local Government and Planning Kieran ODonnell TD announced the rollout of the new Local Authority Creative Ireland Culture and Creativity Strategies ( 2023-2027) at an event at Farmleigh in the Phoenix Park on February 23. Your teams are the key strength of the Creative Communities initiative and the engine that drives our collective efforts. The agility of the local authority teams has facilitated a collaborative and flexible approach to reshaping how creativity and culture is valued within and across local authorities. Through the Creative Ireland Programme, my Department will continue to work with collaborators across Government to activate the power of creativity in every community," she said. Between 2017-22 Creative Ireland allocated 29.8 million to support thousands of local authority initiatives focused on creativity. The HSE has appealed to the public not to attend Portlaoise hospital's Emergency Department (ED / A&E) for care unless it is an emergency. The HSE's Dublin Midland Hospital Group made the appeal on Thursday evening, February 23 due to the large number of people who needed to be admitted for care. On the eve of the plea there was just one general bed available at the hospital but no ICU beds available. Nursing figures published on Thursday morning said five people were on trollies. "The Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise is experiencing high attendances with many patients requiring admission," it said. The hospital team wants people to seek alternatives. "Where possible management is asking patients with non-emergency conditions to seek assistance from other parts of the health service such as their local Pharmacist, GP, GP out-of-hours service, or a local injury unit," said a statment. The HSE says those who do attend without an emergency face a long wait. "Unfortunately, patients who are presenting at the ED in Portlaoise Hospital with non-urgent conditions are experiencing very long waiting times to be seen," they said. However, the team at the hospital insists that people who need help urgently should not think twice about coming in to the hospital on Portlaoise's Dublin Road. "Any patient who needs emergency hospital care will be seen and Midland Regional Hospital Portloiase would urge such patients not to delay attending the ED. "Do not delay in seeking medical attention if you suspect you are having a heart attack or stroke, please dial 999 or 112 in an emergency, said the advice. The HSE also reminded anyone who does have to attend the ED in an emergency to wear a mask and practice social distancing and ensure you tell the triage personnel if you have any signs/symptoms of Covid-19. The HSE said the hospital apologises for any inconvenience caused and once again thanks the public for their support and understanding. The COVID-19 Daily Operations Update report on Acute Hospitals is produced by the HSE's Performance Management and Improvement Unit. Its report compiled up to 8pm on Wednesday evening, February 22 showed that there were no cases of Covid-19 in the hospital. However, there was just one general bed staff could deploy as of 8am on Wednesday morning. The report also showed that there were no ICU or HDU beds free for new patients. The Laois hospital's partner hospitals in Naas and Tullamore had no general beds either on Wednesday morning. Like Portlaoise, neither had ICU / HDU beds to deploy. Nationally there were just 41 general beds and 13 ICU / HDU beds available across Irish hospitals. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation INMO reported that there were 549 people on trollies in Ireland on Thursday morning. Of these, five were waiting in Portlaoise. The INMO said later in the day that the HSE and Department of Health must heed warnings on insufficient nurse and midwife staffing. A syndicate from Laois were celebrating as they collected a massive 200,000 lotto win in Dublin. The jubilant syndicate were celebrating their 200,000 win on a 10 All Cash Spectacular scratch card. The winning scratch card was purchased at Breslins SuperValu store in Abbeyleix. Staff at the Breslins posed for photographs as they celebrated selling the massive prize winning ticket. Celebrations continued at Lotto HQ in Dublin as a second syndicate from Dublin claimed their prize. The biggest winners of the day was a syndicate comprised of a group of friends from Dublin who won Wednesdays Lotto Match 5 + Bonus prize which was worth an incredible 364,219. The syndicate, which is headed up by a retired professional soldier, relived the excitement they experienced when they found out about their huge win late on Wednesday night. You will never meet a more deserving group of people to win a prize like this and Im thrilled for the group, said the head of the syndicate. I organise the Lotto tickets through my online lottery account and shortly after the draw, I received an email from the National Lottery telling me that I had some good news about my ticket. I didnt get too carried away at first but once I opened the email and seen that the prize was worth over 350,000 I was in complete shock! I knew they wouldnt believe me at first so I took a picture of the screen on my phone and dropped it straight into the WhatsApp group so that they could share in the excitement straight away, he said. A team at Maynooth University has been awarded 1m for a new initiative which uses machine learning and observation from satellites and drones to help aerial crews to fight wildfires. Tanaiste and Minister for Defence Micheal Martin and Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris have announced the winners of the first SFI-Defence Organisation Innovation Challenge. Over a period of 18 months, 10 teams competed for funding to develop disruptive solutions to key Defence Organisation challenges for use across the Defence Forces. The winning project, which receives 1 million to continue its work, was devised by a team at Maynooth University and uses machine learning and observation from satellites and drones to help aerial crews to fight wildfires. Announcing the winning team, Tanaiste Micheal Martin said: To witness the innovation, and creative problem-solving by so many of the teams involved in this challenge is really encouraging. The Defence Organisation RTI Unit is increasing the use of research, innovation and technology in support of our Defence Forces capabilities, and as a recent creation its progress is really impressive. Being able to engage directly with research allows everyone to understand the problems they are trying to solve. I congratulate the winning team, and Im equally encouraged to see how other teams will contribute to missions, and capabilities aligned with national defence policy. I thank those members of the Defence Organisation who worked on these projects and really look forward to seeing how this work develops into the future. Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris added: The researchers involved have broken the mould of innovation in Ireland and shown that we can be disruptive not just in our ideas but in how we deliver them and improve everyday life in Ireland. The winning team has shown the power of new technologies to help in the work of the Defence Forces, with applications that may reach far beyond the original challenge. This was a pioneering scheme and I look forward to seeing more and more benefits coming from the National Challenge Fund and the Sustainable Development Goal challenges showing that Ireland is ready to tackle the hardest problems and provide solutions. Professor Philip Nolan, Director General SFI said: At SFI, we are guiding people into challengebased research because we know it can transform the work being undertaken. Every team involved in this challenge has had a chance to gain not only funding, but unique experience in engaging with those whose problems they want to solve. I hope this is just the beginning for these teams, and for the teamwork between researchers and the Defence Organisation. Team leader Professor Tim McCarthy said this research funding will help prepare for the future when wildfires are expected to become more frequent and intense events, and autonomous sensor technologies and AI will play an increasing role in responding to these emergencies. He added: The reality is that wildfire events are now likely to affect us all either directly or indirectly because of climate change. Our CoPilot AI project brought together an interdisciplinary team including Co-Principal Investigator, Prof. John McDonald, research strand leader Dr Charles Markham and additional researchers drawn from the Department of Computer Science, the National Centre for Geocomputation in Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute, working closely with Commandant Jay O'Reilly's aerial firefighting team and key stakeholders from the Fire Service, National Parks and Wildlife Service and Coillte. Over 18 months, we designed, built and tested an intuitive Common Operational Picture platform to improve how digital data from satellites, aircraft and drones sensors can be captured, pooled and shared in real time between various responder agencies. BACKGROUND The Department of Defence and the Defence Forces make up the Defence Organisation. In 2021, they selected five challenges that needed solutions as well as leaving an open category for research teams to propose new ideas. The Challenge pioneered a new way of working, connecting the teams with members of the Defence Forces to embed with them and develop solutions to the challenge. A live exercise to demonstrate the winning system took place in the Dublin Mountains with more than 40 multi-agency personnel working together. The team will use the prize to continue their work to the pre-operational stage of the system, with a view to supporting responder organisations not only in Ireland but across the European Union and further afield. Professor Holger Claussen led the runner-up MISTRAL team, from Tyndall National Institute based at University College Cork, and Trinity College Dublin receiving 500,000 in continued funding. The team worked closely with Captain Ken Lyons from the Communications and Information Services Corps, and the Irish drone manufacturer A-techSYN. They proposed a new system for using drones to relay radio signals, showing that a small number of high-flying drones could ensure safe communications for Defence Forces operating in remote areas, including those on peacekeeping duties overseas. There has been an exponential increase in the volume and frequency of protests this year compared with previous years, Gardai have said. The vast majority of these demonstrations are of an anti-immigration sentiment, and the increase is particularly pronounced in Dublin, the Policing Authority was told by senior Garda members. They said that the force has faced various challenges in attending and monitoring the protests. Assistant Commissioner Angela Willis said there have been 115 protests in Dublin this year up to yesterday, compared to 30 in the same period last year, which she called an exponential increase. There were a total of 307 protests attended by Gardai in the capital last year. Garda Commissioner Drew Harris said attending such a huge volume of protests is an additional demand. He said the protests are expected to continue due to the numbers that are consistently appearing at the protests. These are policing resources that we would use for other things. There are policing resources, therefore, that are denied for other pressing social problems Ive heard a lot today about anti-social behaviour and street-level dealing. The uniform resources that we use for protests are being directed from those. Secondly, then there is a financial cost, but Im more concerned about the operational cost in terms of just members having to work long hours. Ms Willis said it was a significant additional cost to attend the protests, particularly as public order units need to be on standby. She said that one of the more challenging aspects is where there is a counter protest, where were trying to keep two opposing sides apart. We have deployed an additional 400 members since January in support of protests, she said, adding that this involved overtime or bringing in Gardai from different areas. Were stretched, but I suppose we are still managing at the moment. She said that while the vast majority of protests are peaceful, they are very challenging for Gardai and provide for very unpleasant scenes for our members. The Authority was told that a number of prosecutions are before the courts about alleged incidents that have arisen either during protests or on the fringes of protests. Ms Willis said that there were currently less than 10 incidents before the courts, but other investigations are under way. She said: Im confident that there will be further prosecutions, but again, the vast majority of people that are engaged in protest activity are exercising their right to do that, and its in a peaceful manner. Deputy Commissioner Anne Marie McMahon said that an initial attempt is always made to get in contact with the organisers of the protest, and where they do, they try to reach some common ground, and it works very well. She said this is not always possible because it is not clear who is organising the protest. Mr Harris added: We actually have long experience of dealing with protests, its just that the subject matter in this occasion is different. Peaceful is not just the only issue because one has to consider whats being shouted, the intimidation effects of that. So we want to make sure that protests are lawful and peaceful. A disaster of astronomical proportions is how Ros OSullivan, Head of Emergency Operations with Concern Worldwide, described the scenes in Turkey, during an interview from south-east Turkey with Joe Finnegan on Shannonside Radio last Friday. Ros, who has been living in Leitrim Village for the past fifteen years, grabbed his ever-ready travel bag for Turkey and said goodbye to his partner Una and their three young children, within hours of the first earthquake, on the morning of February 6th. Ros explained to listeners the vastness of the area damaged, by likening the epicentre to an area stretching from Letterkenny to Cork. Ann Guckian, Una McGoldrick with her daughters Eva and Isa and her son Joe, and Jennifer Grimes. Photo: Willie Donnellan Tragically, he said what has happened in that area is as bad as anything he has ever seen. Given that Ros has been working with Concern for almost 30 years, (for many years in Africa, in the Philippines in 2013 after Typhoon Haiyan, in Nepal following the earthquake in 2015 and in Ukraine for much of the past 12 months) the magnitude of this crisis is put into context. Almost as soon as the members of St Josephs Rosary Group in Leitrim Village became aware that Ros was heading up operations in Turkey, they set about organising a Coffee Morning Fundraising Event, to both support Ros and to assist Concern in their vital work in Turkey and Syria. The event was held last Sunday after Mass, in St Josephs Centre, adjoining St Josephs Church in Leitrim Village. The hard-working group was overwhelmed by the generosity of local businesses who both contributed financially and sponsored raffle prizes (MACE, Leitrim Village; Leitrim office Supplies; Electric Bike Trails, The Leitrim Inn and Blueway Lodge, On The Edge Sharpening and Leitrim Surf Company), The Sign Warehouse in Drumshanbo for sponsoring wonderful signage to advertise the event, those who kindly donated many other raffle prizes, those who provided the home baking, served food and beverages, set up the centre etc. Dan, Alicia and Mason Quinn pictured with James and Sonny Keane, Liam, Paschal and Michael Flynn and Joe Farrell. Photo: Willie Donnellan St Josephs Rosary Group announced a staggering total raised of 4,750 to those in attendance at the Coffee Morning and as of Sunday night, it had climbed to 5,000 and money is still coming in! Ross partner, Una, spoke to the packed hall and recalled how, during the famine, the Ottoman Sultan Abdulmecit sent 1000 to Ireland and furthermore, the Ottoman Empire sent five ships from Istanbul to Drogheda, carrying grain and food to us during our time of need. It is indeed appropriate that Ireland should return some of this generosity, she said. A message from Ros Una read to the gathering, from a very poignant email from Ros in Eastern Turkey: I reached Eastern Turkey three days after the huge earthquake that shook and rocked an area the size of Ireland. The devastation I found here is both immense and staggering. Tens of thousands of buildings collapsed, burying entire families and leaving in excess of 50,000 people dead, both in Turkey and across the border in NW Syria. The stories we have been hearing are heart-rending. Over 2 million people have been left homeless, struggling to find shelter, food, and water. People are traumatized and move around in a daze. The scale of this tragedy is shocking and almost overwhelming. Concern has an amazing team on the ground in Turkey. We have been in this region for years, working with Syrians displaced by war, so we know the context, we have the networks, we have the relationships, we have the contacts and we are very well positioned to respond. Jenny Gilmartin, Alicia Keane, Marella Feely and Mary Mullaney at the coffee morning in Leitrim Village. Photo: Willie Donnellan On the very day of the earthquake, Concern staff were already cooking and distributing hot food, water, and shelter materials to people in need and they have been working flat out ever since. As part of the response, Concern has flown in a team of experienced emergency professionals from around the world to quickly help scale up the aid effort. I am proud to count myself amongst that motley crew! Just this weekend, we have received two Boeing 747s cargo planes loaded with tents, blankets, hygiene and sanitation kits, and other essential supplies, paid for by the Irish government and we have much more on the way. We are already delivering them to families and communities around the affected region. In the coming weeks we aim to reach over 25,000 families who need help. And its not just Turkey. Northwest Syria has also been really badly affected, and because of a decade of war in that country, people there are much more vulnerable. Concern is working with a well-established partner organisation to get vital supplies to affected communities and we will continue to scale up. Over the weeks and months ahead, we will support Turkey and Syria with shelter, water and sanitation, food, hygiene items and, very importantly, psychosocial support for the huge numbers of people left traumatized by this terrible event, especially the children. Here in Turkey, school children in their history classes learn about our own Gorta Mor, our great Irish famine and how, at that time, the Turkish people sent five ships loaded with food for those in Ireland who were hungry and afraid. I am immensely proud to be here right now and involved in returning that generosity, now that it is their time of need. The response so far from Irish people to this terrible tragedy is astounding. Their generosity towards people in need never ceases to amaze me, never ceases to humble me. Id like to thank my friends and neighbours in Leitrim Village for stepping out and supporting our emergency appeal. Concern will use your money wisely and well to help relieve the suffering of earthquake affected families in Turkey and Syria. - Ros OSullivan 18/02/2023 The community of Leitrim Village and its surrounds is with Ros in spirit and goodwill, and indeed with all aid workers, and is cognisant of the sacrifice that they and their families make, in working in such difficult and challenging conditions. Those at home, who give so generously to organisations such as Concern, make this vital work possible. Cecile Duflot, president of Oxfam France, Lorette Philippot, campaigner with Friends of the Earth and Justine Ripoll, campaigner with Notre Affaire a Tous, protest in front of a BNP Paribas branch office in Paris, on October 26, 2022. EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP A little more than three months after BNP Paribas was given formal notice to cease all financial support for new fossil fuel projects, the associations Notre affaire a tous, Oxfam and Friends of the Earth took the French banking group to court on Thursday, February 23. Following the condemnation of the French state for "climate inaction" and the prosecution of TotalEnergies for its oil megaproject in Uganda and Tanzania, the non-governmental organizations now seek to bring about the first "trial of a financial sponsor of climate chaos." It will be up to the Paris judicial court to investigate the case, according to a timeframe that has yet to be determined. NGOs are already talking about the prospect of a "historic trial." "This climate litigation against a commercial bank is undoubtedly the first of many, all over the world," Justine Ripoll, with Notre affaire a tous, said. In the lawsuit, which Le Monde was able to access, the associations invoke a law on the duty of care as a basis for their action. Adopted in 2017 after the Rana Plaza tragedy (more than a thousand workers of multinational textile companies had died in 2013 in the collapse of a building in Bangladesh), it requires large French companies to identify risks and prevent serious environmental and human rights abuses that may result from their activities. In this case, the NGOs criticize BNP Paribas for not applying it to climate change by pursuing its financing of companies developing new oil and gas projects. "A huge responsibility" "The financial sector has a huge responsibility in our collective ability to comply or not with the Paris Agreement," which sets the goal of keeping global warming below 1.5C, Justine Ripoll, said. Why target BNP Paribas? Because the French bank is "the leading European contributor in the expansion of fossil fuels," said Lorette Philippot, a specialist in climate and financial issues with Friends of the Earth. Between 2016 (after the Paris agreement was reached) and 2021, it provided $55 billion in financing in the form of loans, equity or bond issues to oil and gas majors like TotalEnergies, BP or Shell. According to data compiled in the 2022 edition of Banking on Climate Chaos, a benchmark report directed by a dozen NGOs, including Reclaim Finance, these companies are still developing oil and gas projects. According to the report, BNP Paribas ranks ahead of Britain's HSBC and Barclays ($54 billion each) as well as ahead of France's Societe Generale and Credit Agricole, 16th and 17th in this list, with $33 billion and $32 billion respectively. You have 53.81% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only. French journalist Rachid M'Barki on December 2, 2016 FADEL SENNA / AFP France's leading rolling news channel BFM-TV on Thursday, February 23, said it has sacked an anchor after a probe into alleged external influence in his work, according to a company message seen by Agence France-Presse (AFP). Rachid M'Barki was sacked this week after the probe revealed that due editorial process had not been followed in several segments aired between 2021 and 2022, its director general Marc-Olivier Fogiel said in the message. In the reports concerned, "these shortcomings were the sole responsibility of one journalist who has not respected the rules in force within the editorial staff," Fogiel said in the message. He added that the channel has also filed a legal complaint not targeting the journalist personally over the influence-peddling to which the channel had fallen victim. The channel would now "further reinforce" its editorial controls, he said. On January 11, M'Barki was taken off the air after he was suspected of having broadcast, on a number of occasions during the past year, segments that had not been approved by the channel's editors, possibly on behalf of foreign governments. The presenter claimed not to have been paid and told the channel that he only aired these segments to do a favor to an acquaintance, Jean-Pierre Duthion, a French intermediary who specializes in influence campaigns. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes #StoryKillers: The links between Israel-based 'Team Jorge' and a French TV presenter who aired fake news The segments concerned issues including Russian oligarchs, Qatar and Western Sahara. The Forbidden Stories reporters collective has linked the case to an Israeli firm dubbed "Team Jorge" which seeks to manipulate information on behalf of its clients. For several months, the consortium of investigative journalists from the Story Killers project, coordinated by Forbidden Stories and including Le Monde, investigated this mysterious company, which seems to have no legal existence and was created by former Mossad and Israeli army officers. The consortium identified about 20 disinformation operations for the benefit of states, companies and rich individuals. Among these, two series of videos that were shared on a large scale by fake Twitter and Facebook accounts controlled by Team Jorge were particularly intriguing for French journalists. Presented as excerpts from a BFM-TV newscast, they repeat the same arguments as two Team Jorge campaigns: one criticizing the seizure of Russian yachts, the other attacking Qatar's former attorney general Ali bin Fetais Al-Marri. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes From YouTube to French TV, an intricate web of lies about Russian oligarchs' yachts in Monaco Le Monde with AFP The UN General Assembly votes in favor of a resolution upholding Ukraine's territorial integrity and calling for a cessation of hostilities after Russia's invasion, Thursday, February 23, 2023, at United Nations headquarters. JOHN MINCHILLO / AP Ukraine earned strong backing in a nonbinding vote that saw 141 of the 193 UN members in support, seven opposed and 32, including China and India abstaining. Coming on the eve of the first anniversary of the brutal war, support for Kyiv was little-changed from that of last October when 143 countries voted to condemn Russia's declared annexation of four Ukraine regions. "Today, United Nations General Assembly has just spoken very clear," said European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. "This vote shows that the international community stands with Ukraine." US President Joe Biden's national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, called the vote "a powerful call for a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with the principles of the UN Charter." Read more The war in Ukraine reveals changing global dynamics The vote came after two days of debate during which Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the international community to choose "between good and evil." He rejected the idea that Kyiv only enjoyed the support of the West the European Union, the United States and their key allies. "The vote defies the argument that the Global South does not stand on Ukraine's side, because many countries representing Latin America, Africa, Asia voted in favor today," Kuleba said. "The support is much broader, and it will only continue to be consolidated and to be solidified," he added. Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, expressed gratitude to all those "who stood up for Ukraine on the anniversary of the unprovoked Russian aggression." "The world understands whose side the truth is on," he said. 'Imperialist plan' The resolution reaffirmed support for Ukraine's "sovereignty" and "territorial integrity," rejecting any Russian claims to the parts of the country it occupies. It also demanded "that the Russian Federation immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders," and called "for a cessation of hostilities." The vote showed Moscow's continued isolation on the world stage after 12 months of war. It only earned support from six other nations: Belarus, Syria, North Korea, Mali, Nicaragua, and Eritrea. Despite its limited backing, Russia has used its veto power to block any binding motions against it in the UN Security Council. Instead, the UN General Assembly has taken up the issue, displaying solid support for Kyiv in successive votes. "Next year, we should not meet here to mark the second anniversary of this senseless war of aggression," said Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi during the debate. "Russia can and must stop, tomorrow," French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said. "This war waged by Russia is everybody's business because it threatens the existence of a state, because it represents a domineering and imperialist plan, and because it denies the existence of borders." But Russia dismissed the resolution, with its UN representative Vasily Nebenzya calling Ukraine "neo-Nazi" and accusing the West of sacrificing the country and the developing world in their desire to beat Russia. "They are ready to plunge the entire world into the abyss of war" to maintain their own "hegemony," Nebenzya said. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Putin glorifies a Russia under attack in his address to the nation China, India still abstain The vote showed India and China had not been swayed to outright condemn Moscow's invasion, even while both have criticized Moscow's threats to deploy nuclear weapons in the conflict. Before the vote Dai Bing, China's deputy representative at the United Nations, took a neutral stance, calling on both sides to cease fighting and enter peace talks. "We support Russia and Ukraine moving towards each other, resuming direct dialogue as soon as possible," he said. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes War in Ukraine: Russia and China further strengthen ties But he also gave voice to one of Russia's justifications for the invasion, that its own security was under threat by Ukraine's tilt toward Western Europe and NATO. Any settlement, he said, should give "due regard to ... the reasonable security concerns of all countries, thereby properly addressing their legitimate security aspirations." Le Monde with AP and AFP Members of a Ukrainian tank crew prepare their tank for operation in the Donetsk region, on February 22, 2023, amid Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. ANATOLII STEPANOV / AFP As the conflict in Ukraine approaches its first anniversary this week, Sylvie Kaufmann, a member of Le Monde's editorial board and a former correspondent in Moscow, answered questions from readers during a live chat on Wednesday, February 22. Jetmille: Was US President Biden's speech in Warsaw as anticipated as his surprise visit to Ukraine? Biden's speech in Warsaw was planned. The visit to Kyiv wasn't. In fact, both visits reaffirm the leadership of the United States in NATO. Europe stands with the US, but within NATO, Washington is in control. Malher: Currently, is there a grouping of two blocs plus another (the undecided) with regard to the war? During the Cold War, we had a situation where there were two blocs, the American bloc and the Soviet bloc. Today, there is a Western bloc (comprising the US and Europe, along with the G7, which includes Japan, to put it simply), but on the other side, the picture looks very fragmented. Russia is not surrounded by a bloc, it has partners acting according to their own interests. And, most importantly, there is China, which is a friend of Russia, although we don't know for certain whether it is helping Russia militarily in the conflict. Doud46: Do you think China's forthcoming involvement in the conflict is inevitable or unlikely? That's the big question. China's concrete involvement alongside Russia in the war in Ukraine, namely supplying Moscow with lethal weapons, would take the conflict into a new dimension. It doesn't look as though we're at that point yet but Washington has stepped up warnings to Beijing to show that it is watching this process very closely. For now, Beijing is being rather cautious, while undoubtedly providing assistance to Russia to some level, particularly in terms of technology, and sticking to a very tough line against the US. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes 'Every step taken by Ukraine's allies raises the question, Then what? And most of these questions are unanswered' Ben: Can we speak of an 'imperial' war being waged by Russian President Vladimir Putin and if so, aren't the Central Asian countries also on the list of his Russian (Soviet) Empire reestablishment effort? Yes, we can describe Putin's war as an imperial one, insofar as he sets his actions within a historical context and has repeatedly lamented the Soviet Empire's collapse. There is even nostalgia for the Russian Empire in his speeches. Some experts speak of a colonial war. As such, the Central Asian countries are naturally very suspicious and are closely monitoring what is happening in Ukraine. Kazakhstan, for example, has kept its distance from Russia since the beginning of the conflict. Bruno: There seems to be a geopolitical alignment of the Russian and Chinese planets, for different reasons, but with a shared objective and interest: To weaken the United States. Do you agree? Yes, you are right, it's in the interests of both China and Russia to weaken the US. But China's power is far superior to Russia's, especially in economic terms. China, for the time being, uses different methods and actions, which are less overtly aggressive than Russia especially in military terms, even though it keeps threatening Taiwan. A reader: Are we not witnessing a Second Cold War, in the same way there was a Second World War? China seems to be annoyed by the US admonitions and it looks like it wants to intensify its support for Russia. The Chinese foreign is visiting Hungary and Russia, while Chinese President Xi Jinping is about to visit Iran. The blocs are consolidating and Europe is now fully arming Ukraine, with its factories running at full speed. Aren't calls for peace and unity already empty gestures? This is not a cold war, because the current confrontation is playing out in an active conflict a "Hot War" on the European continent. It has been triggered by a country, Russia, which is a nuclear power and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. This did not happen during the Cold War. The Cold War had its codes and rules, which the two superpowers (the US and the USSR) abided by for the most part. Today the international order inherited from WWII is collapsing, the UN Security Council is paralyzed and competition between both large and medium powers is in full swing. Indeed, these are not the best conditions for calls for peace. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes At Munich conference, Ukraine's allies show will to restart ammunition production Pierre: Is the role of the US as the world's police officer over? For some time now, the US has stopped wanting to be the world's police officer. After the Iraq war fiasco, it retreated under Barack Obama's presidency to focus on its rivalry with China. This withdrawal continued under Donald Trump. But the Russian invasion of Ukraine brought it back to Europe because it considered that the Atlantic Alliance's interests, and therefore those of Europe as well as its own interests, were at stake. This does not mean that the US is willing to intervene anywhere. Its priority remains Asia. Gael: Can a country ask for another country's military presence to help it beef up its own security? I am thinking of Moldova, which has been afraid (obviously rightly so) for the past year that it would suffer the same fate as Ukraine. Could Chisinau negotiate with the Europeans (or NATO) the presence of armed forces on its soil to dissuade any invasion attempt? Moldova is very important! It is not a NATO member, and nor is Ukraine, which means that NATO would not be forced to defend it in the case of a Russian attack. But Europe and the US are monitoring what is happening there very closely and have noticed that Russian pressure has increased in recent weeks. Moldova, like Ukraine, was granted candidate status to the European Union and this is a strong sign of support. The Moldovan president, Maia Sandu, was in Warsaw [earlier this week] on the podium alongside the president of Poland to listen to Biden's speech, which is another sign. I don't see the West sending troops to Moldova since they are not sending any to Ukraine but they would probably help Chisinau in another way if the situation was to deteriorate. Walter Dulot: Why is it safer for foreign leaders (such as Biden, EU President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron) to travel to Kyiv by train rather than with a long escort of anonymous cars or even by plane? Ukrainian airspace is closed to civilian planes, it is too dangerous. The train from the Polish border to Kyiv runs at night with all lights switched off, something which is impossible for a motorized convoy. The train is the safest way to travel. Chloe: Should we be concerned about a global extension of the conflict? This is not the most likely hypothesis and Western countries are trying to do everything to avoid it. For now, Russia has been careful not to extend the conflict by spilling over into a NATO country (both Ukraine and Russia border NATO-member countries) and the US ensures that the weapons it supplies to Ukraine are not used to attack Russia. This is also why China's attitude is being watched closely by everyone. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes War in Ukraine: 'Why are Europe's munition factories not running at full capacity?' Bernard: Biden's term ends next year. Do you think that if the Republicans win, the US involvement in Ukraine and in NATO could change to Russia's advantage? It depends on which Republicans. If it's Trump, anything goes. If it's Nikki Haley, a former ambassador to the UN, we can hope for a little more common sense. But there are others whose positions are not yet clear. This is one of next year's significant unknowns. Dom: Does the US has the means to face two simultaneous crises, in Ukraine and in Taiwan? And well done on your contributions which are consistently well-researched and clear. Yes, these two simultaneous crises would be a lot. This is why the US has been asking Europe, for several years now, to "share the burden," in other words, take on a greater share of NATO's expenses in order to better contribute to the continent's defense. This is a huge subject, full of unspoken words, particularly on an industrial level, but the Europeans have begun undertaking a major effort as a result of the war in Ukraine, especially Germany. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes There are too many Russian skeletons in France's closets Sans_Reponse: Before the war, Macron was a vocal advocate of a 'European defense,' probably to promote the French military industry. With the feedback from Ukraine and the Sahel, is his project still credible in the eyes of Europeans, especially those in the East, such as Poland, Lithuania, etc? The war in Ukraine is indeed heavily changing the dynamics of strategic autonomy, or the one of European sovereignty that Emmanuel Macron has been trying to push since 2017. The power of the US has become obvious in this crisis: Without its immediate financial and military assistance, Ukraine would be in a very bad position today. This has provided an additional argument to countries like Poland and those in the Baltics. They have always trusted the US much more than European defense and did not like the concept of strategic autonomy. At the same time, this conflict also reaffirms the need to strengthen European defense capabilities, hence the European pillar of NATO. This is a question that will arise in the medium term as a consequence of this war. Pierre: Do you think that Belarus will end up unable to resist Russian pressure and get involved in the conflict in the medium term? Obviously, Lukashenko, the man who rules Belarus, is trying to delay this prospect as much as possible, despite his bowing to Moscow. The reason often cited is that most of his military would refuse to physically intervene in Ukraine. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Ukrainian General Kyrylo Budanov: 'We are approaching the end of the war' Le Monde People work on a damaged building, in Mananjary district, Madagascar, Wednesday Feb. 22, 2023 after cyclone Freddy reached Madagascar. SOLOFO RASOLOFOMANANA / AP A powerful cyclone was barrelling towards Mozambique on Wednesday, February 22, after battering Madagascar where it killed five people but left less devastation in its wake than feared, emergency officials said. Authorities gave a provisional toll of five dead after Cyclone Freddy made landfall on the Indian Ocean island late Tuesday, packing winds of around 130 kilometers per hour. More than 16,700 people were affected and around 4,500 homes flooded or damaged, the National Risk Management Office (BNGRC) said in an update. France's weather service Meteo-France said Freddy weakened as it tracked across Madagascar, dropping to an average wind speed of 55 kph. But, the agency warned, the storm would pick up strength from the warm Mozambique Channel as it headed towards the African mainland. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Cyclone Freddy: 'A monster with atypical characteristics' threatens Madagascar Cyclone Freddy is expected to land Friday in regions between central and southern Mozambique, more than 500 kilometers north of the capital Maputo, and could reach Zimbabwe. Mozambique's government has declared a red alert to allow agencies to prepare for a potential emergency. Freddy had developed into one of the biggest cyclones in recent years to threaten Madagascar, which is typically lashed several times during the annual November-April storm season. In the end, it brought less rain than feared but still ripped roofs off buildings and flattened rice fields and fruit trees. It made landfall north of Mananjary, a coastal town of 25,000 people that remains devastated by last year's Cyclone Batsirai, which killed more than 130 people. "It's a dry cyclone compared to Batsirai, so it brought fewer rains, but the winds were stronger, this is why infrastructure was badly affected," risk management senior official Faly Aritiana Fabien told Agence France Presse (AFP). "The recorded damage is almost only related to the wind." Le Monde with AFP French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the French Tech event at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on February 20, 2023. MICHEL EULER / AFP French President Emmanuel Macron will next week undertake a four-nation tour of central African countries, the presidency said on Thursday, February 23, as Paris seeks to counter growing Chinese and Russian influence in the region. Macron is to visit Gabon for an environmental summit, followed by Angola, then the Republic of Congo, and finally the Democratic Republic of Congo. His visits come as alarm grows in Paris over the growing role of Russia in French-speaking African countries, alongside a Chinese push for influence that has been apparent for some years. France and its Western allies accuse the Russian Wagner mercenary group, notorious for its activities in Syria and Ukraine, of being active in Mali, forcing France to pull out troops on anti-jihadist missions, and the Central African Republic. Paris has also accused Russia of spreading disinformation to undermine French interests in its former colonies. Read more Article reserve a nos abonnes Macron's juggling act between Algeria and Morocco proves increasingly precarious Macron will arrive in Gabon on March 1 to attend the One Forest Summit seeking to preserve forests along the vast Congo river basin, said a French presidential official, asking not to be named. He will then head to the former Portuguese colony of Angola as part of a drive to enhance French ties with anglophone and lusophone parts of Africa. After the Republic of Congo, he will wind up his trip in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo on March 3-4. The Congo was ruled by Belgium in the colonial era. Macron has insisted Africa is a priority of his second mandate in power and in July undertook a trip to Cameroon, Benin and Guinea-Bissau. Pointing to the invasion of Ukraine, he then accused Russia of being "one of the last colonial imperial powers" and of waging a new form of "hybrid warfare" in the world. To the frustration of the West, a number of powers in Africa, anxious to preserve their interests and keep a distance from the conflict, have joined China and India in refusing to take a position on the Russian offensive. Read more Ethiopia's prime minister wants Paris to invest Le Monde with AFP InvestigationAfter our data collection on an unprecedented scale, this map is the first to illustrate the widespread contamination of Europe by these toxic and persistent substances. The Forever Pollution Map was created by Le Monde and its 17 partners from the cross-border investigation, the Forever Pollution Project. It is the first map to show the extent of Europe's contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a family of ultra-toxic compounds used for a multitude of products and applications. Persistent in the environment, these "forever chemicals" will accompany humanity for hundreds of years maybe even thousands. What the map shows Our map shows PFAS production facilities, some sites where PFAS are used, as well as sites where contamination has been detected and those that are likely to be contaminated. 20 PFAS producers These chemical plants synthesize PFAS, which are then used in many sectors. Over 17,000 sites where PFAS contamination has been detected: Each of these sites has been sampled for PFAS in water, soil or living organisms by scientific teams and environmental agencies between 2003 and 2023. These measures have found PFAS at levels equal to or greater than 10 nanograms per liter (ng/L). 232 PFAS users These industrial sites use PFAS to manufacture "high-performance" plastics, paints and varnishes, pesticides, waterproof textiles, other chemicals, etc. Over 21,000 presumptive contamination sites These are sites with current or past industrial activity documented as both using and emitting PFAS. Military bases, for example, are major users of "AFFF" firefighting foams, which contain PFAS. The manufacturing of certain plastics called fluoropolymers also requires the use of PFAS. While contamination of these sites is likely, no environmental sampling has been conducted to confirm this. Over 2,100 hotspots The term "hotspot" is used when the concentration of PFAS detected at a site reaches a level that experts consider hazardous for health (100 ng/L). The problem is that dozens, sometimes hundreds of samples are taken by the authorities around a location identified as the "epicenter" of contamination this is the case, for example, at the 3M plant in Zwijndrecht (Belgium) and the Chemours plant in Dordrecht (Netherlands) but this does not make each of these points a hotspot in itself. In order to reduce the number of these possible "false positives" as much as possible, we grouped geographically close points into "clusters". This calculation led us to estimate the number of hotspots at more than 2,100 throughout Europe. Forever Pollution Project - Definitions An unprecedented data collection To build our map, we aggregated data from multiple sources of information, some of which were not public. These data allowed us to locate known contamination. To identify presumptive contamination sites, we adapted the methodology of a group of researchers who have done similar work to map contamination in the United States: the PFAS Project Lab (Boston) and the PFAS Sites and Community Resources Map. As our guides and advisors, seven experts accompanied us in this unprecedented experiment of peer-reviewed journalism to carry out this new kind of investigation. A peer-reviewed methodology The purpose of the Map of Forever Pollution is to provide data about sites known to be contaminated or likely to be contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Europe. Our primary goal is to inform the public and to provide data to impacted community members, researchers and regulators, and to contribute to building knowledge on PFAS contamination for the public interest. Potentially contaminated sites could therefore be prioritized by governments to conduct sampling campaigns and tailor action plans to protect the public. This map reflects information gathered to the best of our knowledge and journalistic resources. Due to the lack of widespread environmental testing for PFAS, the true extent of contamination is significantly underrepresented. The number of sites identified in each country or area reflects the amount of testing conducted by the authorities or scientists, as well as the extent of PFAS contamination. Some known contamination sites, although identified with monitoring data, have no identified source of pollution. Some countries or areas appear to have many contamination sites due to comprehensive monitoring efforts to identify and address contamination. Conversely, countries or areas that have few known sources of contamination have likely done less testing and thus are unaware of other contamination sites in their area. Some sites may have incomplete or missing data due to a lack of publicly available information. Consequently, some of the presumptive sites on the map are not contaminated with PFAS, and other sites that are contaminated are not included in the map. If you reference information from the map, please credit the Forever Pollution Project and include the website address of this mapping project. Our map will not be systematically updated beyond March 1, 2023. If you would like to correct inaccurate, incorrect or outdated information or to provide additional data, please contact Stephane Horel at horel[@]lemonde.fr. Acknowledgements Our research methodology was based on the peer-reviewed methodology developed by the PFAS Project Lab (Boston, USA) and colleagues for the PFAS Sites and Community Resources Map (a joint effort of the PFAS-REACH research team that includes Northeastern, Silent Spring Institute, Michigan State University, Testing for Pease, Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, and Slingshot), as well as on advice and feedback from the following scientists: Alissa Cordner (Whitman College, Walla Walla, USA), Derrick Salvatore (Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, USA), Phil Brown and Kimberly K. Garrett (Northeastern University, Boston, USA), Ian Cousins (Stockholm University, Sweden), Gretta Goldenman (Global PFAS Science Panel, Brussels), Martin Scheringer (ETH Zurich, Switzerland). See more See less It is important to note that we have systematically adopted the most conservative approach possible. In addition, there is a lack of data and a lack of comprehensive sampling in each of the European countries. Therefore, as impressive as it is, the number of contaminated and presumptive contamination sites shown on our map is greatly underestimated. This map would not have been possible without the major contributions of our colleagues Sarah Pilz (Germany), Catharina Felke (NDR, Germany), Nadja Tausche (Suddeutsche Zeitung, Germany), Gianluca Liva (Radar Magazine, Italy), Leana Hosea and Rachel Salvidge (Watershed Investigations, UK). Our full methodology can be found here. Open and reusable data You can download the dataset we have put together to develop the map. The spreadsheet includes all geolocation coordinates and sources. We have corrected errors since publication. Please make sure you download the most recent versions of the dataset and of the methodology. "This data is freely reusable provided that you reference the 'Forever Pollution Project' and this page, that no commercial use is made of it, and that you inform us at horel[@]lemonde.fr. FOR MANY, being a young adult comes with its own stressors: balancing college exams with part-time work and the pressure to excel in life. Twenty-year-old TUS student Alannah Russell had all of these worries plus one more - she had now been diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. Now 21, the Foynes native shared her raw and candid story with the Limerick Leader. She did so in a restaurant which felt familiar to her, The Foynes Inn where she previously spent many hours working. With her grandmother and aunt behind the bar, Alannah took a sip of her cappuccino and began to recount the toughest year of her life. In Ireland, about 150 people are diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma every year, most often occurring in young people aged 15 to 30, and over 65s. Alannah is almost right in the middle of the earlier age category, and never expected to receive her diagnosis. It all began with a pain in my armpit, which I thought was weird because I obviously didnt hit my armpit off anything, she explained. After being asked by family to go to A&E, she was adamant there was no need. I just put it down to carrying a heavy college bag, and I worked in a bar so I thought I just pulled a muscle pulling a barrel. I thought it would go away. She then found a rash on her lower leg, which again, was easily brushed off by a sudden scabies outbreak at her college. I had been staying at my friends accommodation for a couple of weeks, so then we all thought I had scabies. Doctors and pharmacists corroborated her thoughts and Alannah again went home unaware of the real reason for her symptoms. Collectively, she is one of 27 grandchildren, with no history of Hodgkin's lymphoma on either side. Because of this, she also put her symptoms down to college stress and believed they were easy to explain away. Deteriorating day by day, her grandmother brought her to the GP and demanded: Send her to the hospital now. At St Johns Hospital, the business and event management student underwent tests of all types; urine, blood and even bone marrow. Red flags immediately went up for the doctors and they ordered a CT scan after suspecting either Hodgkin's Lymphoma or leukaemia. Candidly she admitted, I hadnt a clue what either were. The ultimate question ran through her mind: Am I going to die? Receiving a cancer diagnosis is unimaginable until it happens, and for Alannah, she found it hard to process why she was now going to be affiliated with one of the worst words in the English language, for the rest of her life. I am the last person I ever thought would get cancer. Guilt often surrounds a diagnosis of any kind, and Alannah was no different. I was a student, she reasoned. I went out quite a bit, socialising, and had been smoking for only two years. It's a terrible habit, theres no denying, but I am just like every other student in the country - why do I have this and nobody else does? Am I supposed to live my life thinking I am unlovable just because I have this? she wondered. Am I ever going to experience getting engaged, or having a baby? she asked herself before yet another unimaginable journey for a 20-year-old - IVF. Chemo does affect your fertility, she said, but I didn't want to do it (IVF) because I was so sick at the time I could barely even walk to the toilet. After being convinced, she travelled to Dublin to undergo what she believed was her first step to getting better. Unfortunately, another blow soon came for the young woman as, after undergoing the process, they were unable to harvest her eggs. Alternative medication was prescribed to protect her ovaries from the effects of chemo, as she would not have another chance to undergo IVF before she soon became the youngest person on the chemo ward. Discussing treatment, Alannah paused for a moment before stating, it was heartbreaking on the dayward, because I never thought I would be sitting here with these people receiving treatment. I mean, 20-years-old and getting cancer? With life seemingly screeching to a halt before her very eyes, she did her best to keep the bright side out and maintain a normal life by keeping up friendships, even on her low days. After benefitting from people sharing their own stories, very similar to her own, she decided that she wanted to speak out about her journey, to try and educate others who might be in the same situation. Hoping that nobody ever has to use it, Alannah shared some advice for anyone going through a situation like hers. If you have worries, get them checked! 50 to go to the doctor is nothing compared to the amount of medical bills you may have to face, she stated. Showing a scar stretching across her collar she urges readers to always err on the side of caution. If I had caught it sooner, would I have had bone marrow tested, or even been on such intense chemo? That was a lump under my armpit, but it was too far in for me to feel it, before it eventually got infected. The week I went to the hospital a lump popped up here, she said, tracing the lesion. Luckily, Alannah had a medical card to aid her financial burdens, but added, I would pay 50 over and over if it meant I could have came back okay, so go get checked. Looking to the future, Alannah continues to live a life full of study and fun, heading off to concerts and celebrating turning 21 with loved ones. Dreaming of remission, travel and her dream job, she now advocates for health, and no longer puts off until tomorrow what can be cared for today. After finishing chemo only weeks ago, Alannah is now looking forward to her next scan, which will give her answers on whether she is cancer free. With fingers and toes crossed, Alannah says I don't want any regrets. A COUNTY Limerick swimming club hasnt ruled out exploring legal options in their quest to avoid closure of the local pool. Askeaton Swimming Club have this week continued to apply pressure on key decision makers ahead of proposed March 16 closure. The club has again appealed to local politicians to find a swift solution to their concerns over the sudden shutdown which is scheduled, and the Chairperson, Sandra Houlihan, says this appeal comes after very little progress has been made. Ms Houlihan said: We find ourselves with no alternative but to explore all options available to us, including litigation (which we can ill afford and should not have to resort to), public meetings, local, national and social media and further direct engagement with local and national public representatives. Accordingly we, Askeaton Swim Club, feel that we are left with no option (as a 49% shareholder) but to increase the intensity of our objections on behalf of our members and the entire county Limerick community who regularly enjoy these facilities, Ms Houlihan continued. To avoid legal action, the Askeaton Swimming Club are now calling on LCCC to immediately call off the purported closure of Askeaton Pool and engage with them, to arrive at a more coordinated solution. The two prominent reasons for what Ms Houlihan describes as the subsequent outpouring of public condemnation are as follows: the total lack of engagement with the joint shareholders, club members, other users and the lack of a credible plan to complete the proposed works. The swimming pool is said to be used by approximately 2,000 children per week from at least 35 Limerick schools and the suddenness of the shutdown notice is not being accepted. Ms Houlihan said: Unfortunately, while some meetings have been requested, very little actual progress has been made as we quickly move closer to the proposed closure date. All the while, support continues to pour in from local schools, businesses and other user groups who depend on this facility for their weekly activities. According to Limerick City and County Council, the works are crucial due to flooding of the river in close proximity. IF IT MEANS marching every week, were prepared to do that, a passionate Mike Daly said following the announcement of a second UHL Protest to be organised this year. The previous UHL Protest held in January was organised by Mr Daly and saw 11,000 people take to the streets of Limerick city centre against the conditions at UHL. The plan for the upcoming protest is to have marchers start at the Crescent Shopping Centre and march all the way out to UHL rather than congregate in Arthurs Quay Park like the previous demonstration. Mr Daly said that the upcoming protest has been planned as the government promised the partial reopening of Ennis and Nenagh A&Es but that promise has not been fulfilled. The figures out there [in UHL] are still rocketing with 102 people on trolleys yesterday (Wednesday), Mr Daly said. Theres nothing changing and as well as that, Leo Varadkar gave two contradictory stories, one to Mid-West Hospital Campaign (MWHC) about the possibility of reopening the A&Es and one to the media on the same day. Theyre playing games and they took no notice of the 11,000 that came out the first time, Mr Daly said. Emotional and powerful speeches about personal experiences regarding overcrowding at UHL were shared at the previous protest. According to the Protest of UHL Limerick Facebook page the upcoming protest wont be a big fanfare like last time, probably no bands, no big speeches afterwards, just a mass of people in town marching and congregating at UHL. Mr Daly believes in order to get something done, you have to commit to something. We have to push them over the line with this now because the government are ignoring the 11,000. If it means we have to go to the hospital doors every week on a weekly protest, well its all down to the people of Limerick now if they want to get behind that and show that we want the A&Es opened, Mr Daly added. Starting from Saturday, March 25, weekly protests against the current conditions at UHL will be organised. A TEACHER from County Limerick whose careless driving caused serious harm and led to the "gravest consequences" for another motorist has had her four-year driving ban halved by the Court of Appeal, In a decision handed down this Thursday, the three-judge court found the sentencing practice relating to mandatory bans for first time offenders was flawed. Norma Kiely of Coolaboy, Dromcollogher was a 24-year-old college student when she was involved in a head-on collision with another motorist and had been originally charged with dangerous driving causing serious harm arising from a collision in Limerick in April 2018. However, she pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of careless driving causing serious harm which was accepted by the State. She received a one-year suspended sentence, was fined 5,000 and received a four-year driving ban from Judge Patrick Meghan sitting at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court in October 2021. The male driver of another car had to be air-lifted to hospital following the head-on collision which occurred at Clonmore, Dromcollogher, County Limerick, on April 11, 2018. The two-car collision occurred shortly after 4.30pm on the R522 regional road between Dromcollogher and Feohanagh. Ms Kiely appealed the severity of the driving ban but not the suspended sentence nor the fine. At the Court of Appeal, Liam Carroll BL submitted the sentencing judge was under the impression that a driving ban was mandatory, which was not the case for first-time offenders. In a separate case last December, the Court of Appeal found that the law does not require a mandatory driving ban for those convicted of careless driving causing death or serious harm if it is their first offence. Mr Carroll said his client, who had apologised in writing, has no previous convictions, is a qualified secondary school teacher and is working abroad. He said Ms Kiely had served her suspended sentence, was fully insured and licenced at the time and that there had been no issue regarding the vehicle's roadworthiness. In halving the length of the ban, Mr Justice George Birmingham, presiding, said it appeared the sentencing judge was operating on the basis that there was a mandatory ban of four years involved after Ms Kiely's guilty plea to careless driving causing serious harm. He said there was no criticism of the sentencing judge as he was acting on what appeared to be established law at the time but that this subsequently turned out to be an error of law. Mr Justice Birmingham added that, in fact, the decision regarding any disqualification was a matter for the sentencing judge's discretion. The judge commented that the offence was a "significant" one involving a "considerable lack of attentiveness that led to consequences of the gravest kind for the unfortunate victim of this accident, whose whole life has been turned upside down". However, he said that even if the ban was not mandatory in nature it was a case where a disqualification had to be considered. Mr Justice Birmingham said the Court of Appeal would therefore substitute the four-year ban and put in place a two-year ban. The court did not intervene regarding the suspended sentence or fine. LENT IS the forty days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. Up to the 1960s, on Ash Wednesday at least one person from every household went to the church to receive a cross of ashes on their foreheads. The person who went to church brought home a small envelope of ashes for the rest of the family. When I was attending primary school, we would visit the nearby church to receive the ashes, which remained on all day until we washed them off before going to bed. This custom has been in decline since with the drop off in church attendances. During Lent all adults were bound to fast and abstain from meat or any animal products, unless they were very young sick or very old. The fasting consisted of eating one full meal and two small meals, "collations" as they were called. At one time fasting meant abstinence from meats, eggs butter and milk. As well as that, people were expected to abstain from meat every Friday throughout the year. The restrictions eased in the 1950s so people could eat meat at the main meal or the ''collations.'' Ash Wednesday and Good Friday were the days of the "Black Fast", when people ate practically nothing and drank only water. For the average farming family in the 1950s the Lenten fast meant a small meal of bread or porridge in the morning, a midday dinner of potatoes with some meat and vegetables, with another small meal in the evening. Around the coast and in the islands fish, shellfish and edible seaweeds were consumed. When I was school going we always had fish on a Friday. A meal of herrings or haddock with potatoes and onion sauce was delicious. There was no merrymaking during Lent, no music, dancing or card playing, and the musical instruments were stored away. Drama groups put on plays in the local halls to fill the void. In the early 1900s most men smoked a pipe and some women took snuff. As the century progressed, fags (cigarettes) partly replaced the pipe and snuff for both men and women. Many people gave up smoking, and some men gave up alcoholic drink despite the saying: " Good luck and long life to the Council of Trent, it took away meat but it left us drink". The time from Christmas to Shrove Tuesday was the time of year when most couples got married. For couples who were inclined to delay about taking the plunge there was a strong likelihood that they would find their names on the Skellig List. This list came about because there was a difference of opinion between the Church in Ireland and the Mother Church regarding the date for Easter Sunday. In Europe it was fixed for the first Sunday after the first full moon, and in Ireland it was dated up to two weeks later. In time the Irish Church fell into line with Rome. The community of monks on Skellig Rock Kerry however stayed with the original later date. The list was in fact a long poem pieced together by a few local artists. In the poem certain couples were named, and matched and usually had some personal remarks thrown in for good measure. The list was highly embarrassing for the people named but great fun for the composers who incidentally remained anonymous in the interest of their own safety. The suggestion was of course that these couples should travel to Skellig where they had another fortnights respite. The first Sunday in Lent was called "Chalk Sunday" when those who remained unmarried at Shrove had their clothes decorated with stripes and squiggles of chalk. In rural Ireland at the time the unmarried person never had the same status as those who were married. An unmarried man of fifty was still a boy while his married nephew was a man. The young wife of twenty had the full status of a matron, while the spinster of forty five was practically a nobody. The position of the unmarried was emphasized at Shrovetide and became rural comedy for the wits and tricksters. In several parts of Ireland there were customarily accepted ways of showing this popular condemnation of the unmarried state. A visitor to almost any village or small town in Munster in the latter part of the nineteenth century might be surprised at seeing people being marked with chalk when on their way to or from the Church. Small boys rushed from doorways and made their mark; young men and girls whipped out concealed bits of white or coloured chalk and did the same. For the most part the victims took the chalking cheerfully if somewhat sheepishly. The younger men and women could afford to laugh it off with some remark about their chances in the following year, but a hardened old bachelor might round on his tormentors with vocal abuse and flourishing a stick. And, naturally, the more disagreeable individuals were singled out for special attention, so that by the time they escaped from the village the backs of their coats were plentifully ornamented. In the 1920s and 1930s the custom was dwindling in most areas, with the children only chalking each other in fun. Collectivism means we are all in the same boat together as human beings. We are all trying to live for as long as we can and with as much happiness and well being as we can. By concentrating too much on individual difference we can open the gates for exclusion. We cannot label and marginalise people we perceive to be different. The road to well being can be found in the following ways: Stay connected with others, and take time at every opportunity to have a few words be they friend or foe. Never stop learning and keep adding to our store of knowledge, as this is a constant prescription for health. Take notice of things and don't let it be the negative part in people or situations. Enjoy the nature that is all round us, and the satisfaction got from our pets, and home comforts. Be active and get out and enjoy what our countryside has to offer. If you are not able to get out open the door and let the air and sounds in. Lent can be a time for soul searching and giving up things that we like for the seven weeks. There are many forms of giving all inter-connected that make for very good ways to relate to others and to one's self. We can give way, give ground, give credit, and give praise. We can give away some of our deeply held convictions, and generously allow for the feelings, viewpoints, and dispositions of others. By giving ground we can make space, and move over a bit for someone else. We can give people credit and praise if they are deserving of it, and don't hold back and deny them with faint praise. The best gift of all to give is of our time and talents, to the many clubs and organisations seeking volunteers. WE HAD an absolute ball at the Mid-West Bridal Exhibition which took place in Limerick Racecourse, Patrickswell. Almost 100 exhibitors featured in the showstopper event, with a huge number of people of all ages flocking to the racecourse on the beautiful sunny Sunday morning that we were blessed with. The day got off to a flying start with the fine crowd of people who entered the turnstile being first met with the sight of vintage wedding cars parked outside leading up to the stairs where the magic began. Miss Ireland, Dr Ivanna McMahon, poses on stage at the Mid-West Bridal Exhibition fashion show Upon arrival guests were met with three magnificent floors of all things wedding - from cake stands to decorative floral arrangements, to wedding ring selections and makeup / hair stands - anything you could possibly need for your big day was available under one roof. On the bottom floor we kicked off the first bridal fashion show just after 1:30pm, and it went down a treat! I MCed it and was honoured to do so. Both male and female models strutted their stuff on the catwalk, thanks to the Holman Lee Agency, and the crowd were brilliantly receptive of the bride and grooms styles which were shown. As well as this, looks for guests and mother of the bride/groom were showcased, as were award-winning milliners. Various boutiques were delighted to have been featured on the day and the people who attended were able to browse all the stalls between the first and second fashion show, which took place at 4:30pm. I am delighted that this years Mid-West Bridal Exhibition went off so well, and I am hoping for every bit of success to carry on in the years to come. A huge thank you to all retailers and exhibitors who participated and booked stalls to showcase their products, as well as all of you wonderful people who travelled far and wide to be there on the day and experience the magic of what we had to offer. Chat next week! Xx Celia Stephanie Cobian | With elite recognition comes responsibility for Lincoln University of Missouri (LU) seniors Obadiah Amponsah and Marlan Johnny Myers. The two hold the honor of serving as LUs 2022-23 HBCU Scholars for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity. Each year, this national scholar recognition program honors top HBCU students for their excellence and tasks them with serving as representatives of their respective institutions, communities and to the Initiative. Amponsah and Myers are among the ninth HBCU Scholars cohort 86 undergraduate, graduate and professional students from 56 HBCUs recognized for their accomplishments in academics, leadership, civic engagement and other areas. The goal of the HBCU Scholar Recognition Program is to help form the next generation of leaders who exhibit and champion HBCU excellence. Throughout this academic year, Amponsah and Myers have represented Lincoln through outreach to high school students, promoting LU. They have also continued serving as ambassadors by actively connecting their peers to organizations and companies with the goal of creating awareness of the opportunities available to HBCU students. As HBCU Scholars, Amponsah and Myers participated in the 2022 HBCU Week International Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. last September. Both students spoke highly of their experience at HBCU Week. During the conference, they participated in sessions to engage a spirit of entrepreneurship, innovation and personal and professional development. Scholars also had the opportunity to engage with one another and showcase their individual and collective talent. Additionally, they partnered with NASA to foster innovation, and cohorts worked together to develop ideas to commercialize technology derived from NASAs intellectual property. LU President Dr. John B. Moseley had the opportunity to attend HBCU week and was impressed by the numerous contacts and exposure to career opportunities. It's a great recognition for the students to have this opportunity to represent the institution, said Dr. Moseley, continuing to build upon the legacy of the soldiers of the 62nd and 65th infantry. Amponsah, a first-generation college student from Ghana, is graduating in May with a degree in computer information systems with minors in pre-engineering, computer science and mathematics. Capitalizing on opportunities to gain experience, Amponsah has interned at Lincoln University, Unilever, Accenture Liquid Studios and Oracle working alongside engineers, nurses and professors in technology-related fields. Amponsah also sings in the Lincoln University Vocal Ensemble and serves as a student leader with the HBCU Coding and Creativity initiative. Although Amponsahs passion is in the technology realm, he is particularly interested in pursuing a career in cybersecurity after graduation. As technology continues to advance, he hopes to inspire others to explore its possibilities. I aim to ignite a spark of excitement and curiosity in the field of technology to the world, especially to those who look like me or come from my background, said Amponsah. Professor of computer science and electrical engineering, Dr. David Heise, recommended Amponsah for being a model scholar maintaining a 3.72 GPA while taking courses beyond the minimum requirement, pursuing multiple majors and courses of broad interest. As a White House HBCU Scholar, Amponsah said, Im a product of Lincoln and want to shine more light on it. There are other accomplished scholars, exceptional teachers and abundant opportunities at Lincoln, and I encourage students to take advantage of these resources to reach their full potential. By sharing his own experiences and success at Lincoln, Amponsah hopes to inspire other students to achieve their own academic and personal goals. LU senior, Marlan Johnny Myers, was recommended for the HBCU Scholar honor for his high academic work and time spent mentoring younger students. Meanwhile, senior, Marlan Johnny Myers, has also been working to encourage other students to participate in the numerous opportunities that Lincoln University provides. I plan to link up and network with as many people that share the same passion to make human life better with any of the resources provided to me as an HBCU Scholar, said Myers. Myers, the second person in his family to pursue a higher education, is graduating this May with a degree in psychology. After a string of traumatic events and suffering great losses, Myers turned to education to learn the skills to heal and enrolled at LU later in life. Myers now seeks to help others heal from traumas in their pasts. Myers professor of psychology, Dr. Mara Aruguete, recommended Myers for the HBCU Scholar honor. In spite of his difficult circumstances, Myers sought the support he needed, completed his studies with a 4.0 GPA and has helped mentor younger students, said Aruguete. Among his activities, Myers is the president of the Psych Club on campus, was inducted into the Psychiatry International Honor Society, served as an intern at a local organization as an educational group leader and participated in Project Clotheslinea program geared at reducing power crimes and sexual violencethrough the Green Dot Program. After graduation, Myers will pursue his dream of opening the first retreat center at the Lake of the Ozarks. His treatment methods will focus on the root of trauma and capturing the core of destructive behavior through a combination of digital detox, classes, meetings and medication. The HBCU Scholars announced have dedicated themselves to their learning and exemplify the talent that our nations Historically Black Colleges and Universities have nurtured for generations, said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. The Biden-Harris administration is committed to supporting these leaders, and I cannot wait to learn from them while they serve as ambassadors for the White House Initiative and their institutions. LU is currently accepting nominations for 2023 HBCU Scholar applicants. Eligible applicants must be nominated by faculty before completing an application. Nominated students must be current undergraduate, graduate or professional students at a Historically Black College or University. For more information, visit https://sites.ed.gov/whhbcu/whihbcu-competitiveness-scholars/. Tata Motors is reportedly planning to raise $1 billion to strengthen its electric vehicle business in the country. According to a report by Reuters, citing Economic Times, the automaker has begun to talk with sovereign wealth funds and private equity investors to raise funds via stake sale. The funds and investors include the UAE-based Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and Mubadala Investment Company, the Saudi Arabia-headquartered Public Investment Fund, Singapore's Temasek Holdings, and KKR and General Atlantic. The daily claimed that Tata Motors might sell a significant minority stake, eyeing a valuation of about $10.5 billion. Mint couldn't independently verify the report. In 2021, Tata Motors raised $1 billion from TPG and Abu Dhabi state holding company ADQ for its EV unit at a $9 billion valuation, pledging to invest more than $2 billion in its EV business over five years. This week, the Mumbai-based auto major signed an MoU with ridesharing app Uber to bring 25,000 XPRES-T EVs into their premium category service. Aligned towards its goal of a clean and green environment, Tata Motors will be aiding Uber in electrifying its services across Delhi-National Capital Region, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad. The company will begin the deliveries of the cars to Uber fleet partners in a phased manner, starting this month. Tata XPRES-T EV, a budget electric sedan car, was launched in 2021 in India. Tata Motors said it is leading the e-mobility wave in India with over 50,000 Tata EVs rolled out from the plant to date in the personal and fleet segment. In July 2021, Tata Motors launched the 'XPRES' brand exclusively for fleet customers, and the XPRES-T EV is the first vehicle under this brand. The new XPRES-T electric sedan comes with 2 range options -- 315 km and 277 km, according to Tata Motors. The shares of Tata Motors were up 1.40 points at 0.34% in the initial trade (at 10.10 am) on Thursday. Kalyani Group-backed forging company, Bharat Forge on Thursday received approval for housing all its defense-related investments under one entity. To do so, the company will transfer the stake in Aeron Systems (Aeron) to Kalyani Strategic Systems (KSSL). Both are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Bharat Forge. In its regulatory filing on Thursday, Bharat Forge said, "the Company has decided to house all its defense-related investments under KSSL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, for a better strategic alignment." It added, "the company has thus approved the transfer of the Companys stake in Aeron to KSSL in consideration of subscription of equity shares of the KSSL by the Company." Currently, Bharat Forge holds 1,36,500 equity shares having a face value of 10 each, aggregating to around 37.14 % of total paid-up capital in Aeron. These equity shares will be transferred to KSSL. Further, KSSL, as a consideration for acquiring the said stake at fair value, will issue and allot 1,37,18,250 equity shares having a face value of 10 each at par to Bharat Forge. Bharat Forge said, there is no benefit to the promoter/promoter group/group companies from the proposed internal restructuring. That is because, both KSSL and Aeron are wholly-owned subsidiaries and associates of the company respectively. Subsequently, post the transfer of equity shares, Aeron will become an associate of the KSSL. Also, Bharat Forge mentioned that there will be no change in the shareholding pattern of any of the entities involved. Except that Bharat Forge will have NIL shares in Aeron post the transaction, while KSSL will hold 37.14%. On BSE, Bharat Forge's share price closed at 829.90 apiece down by 1.40%. The company's market cap is nearly 38,632 crore. With the resignation of Arvind Subramanian as Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer and as a Director of the company -- effective from 22 May, 2023 -- Mahindra Lifespace Developers has announced its MD designate as Amit Kumar Sinha. Sinha will join as Additional Director on the Board of Directors of the company with effect from 23 February, 2023, the firm said in a stock filing. His appointment has been made for a period of 5 years with effect from 23 May, 2023 to 22 May, 2028. ALSO READ: Mahindra Lifespace acquires nearly 8 acres of land in Bengaluru On 1 November 2020, Amit joined the Mahindra Group as President - Group Strategy and became a member of Group Executive Board from 1 April 2021. Amit is on the Board of Mahindra Finance, Mahindra Logistics, Mahindra Susten, Mahindra First Choice, Mahindra Rural Housing Finance and Fifth Gear Ventures. Prior to joining the Mahindra Group, Amit was a senior partner and Director with Bain & Company. Apart from holding 18-plus years of experience across India and US, Amit holds dual MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, specializing in Finance and Strategy. He also holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical and Electronics) from the Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi. IN 1987 PANASONIC made an adventurous bet on China. At the time the electronics giants home country, Japan, was a global manufacturing powerhouse and the Chinese economy was no larger than Canadas. So when the company entered a Chinese joint venture to make cathode-ray tubes for its televisions in Beijing, eyebrows were raised. Before long other titans of consumer electronics, from Japan and elsewhere, were also piling into China to take advantage of its abundant and cheap labour. Three-and-a-half decades on, China is the linchpin of the multitrillion-dollar consumer-electronics industry . Its exports of electronic goods and components amounted to $1trn in 2021, out of a global total of $3.3trn. These days, it takes a brave firm to avoid China. Increasingly, however, under a weighty combination of commercial and political pressure, foreign companies are beginning to pluck up the courage if not to leave China entirely, then at least to look beyond it for growth. Chinese labour is no longer that cheap: between 2013 and 2022 manufacturing wages doubled, to an average of $8.27 per hour. More important, the deepening techno-decoupling between Beijing and Washington is forcing manufacturers of high-tech products, especially those involving advanced semiconductors, to reconsider their reliance on China. Between 2020 and 2022 the number of Japanese companies operating in China fell from around 13,600 to 12,700, according to Teikoku Databank, a research firm. On January 29th it was reported that Sony plans to move production of cameras sold in Japan and the West from China to Thailand. Samsung, a South Korean firm, has slashed its Chinese workforce by more than two-thirds since a peak in 2013. Dell, an American computer-maker, is reportedly aiming to stop using Chinese-made chips by 2024. The question for Dell, Samsung, Sony and their peers is: where to make stuff instead? No single country offers Chinas vast manufacturing base. Yet taken together, a patchwork of economies across Asia presents a formidable alternative. It stretches in a crescent from Hokkaido, in northern Japan, through South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangladesh, all the way to Gujarat, in north-western India. Its members have distinct strengths, from Japans high skills and deep pockets to Indias low wages. On paper, this is an opportunity for a useful division of labour, with some countries making sophisticated components and others assembling them into finished gadgets. Whether it can work in practice is a big test of the nascent geopolitical order. This alternative Asian supply chaincall it Altasialooks evenly matched with China in heft, or better (see chart). Its collective working-age population of 1.4bn dwarfs even Chinas 980m. Altasia is home to 154m people aged between 25 and 54 with a tertiary education, compared with 145m in Chinaand, in contrast to ageing China, their ranks look poised to expand. In many parts of Altasia wages are considerably lower than in China: hourly manufacturing wages in India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are below $3, around one-third of what Chinese workers now demand. And the region is already an exporting power: its members sold $634bn-worth of merchandise to America in the 12 months to September 2022, edging out Chinas $614bn. View Full Image (The Economist) Altasia has also become more economically integrated. All of it bar India, Bangladesh and Taiwan has, helpfully, signed on to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP, which also includes China). By harmonising the rules of origin across the regions sundry existing trade deals, the pact has created a single market in intermediate products. That in turn has eased regulatory barriers to complex supply chains that run through multiple countries. Most Altasian countries are members of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, a newish American initiative. Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam belong to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which also includes Canada, Chile, Mexico and Peru. View Full Image (The Economist) A model for the Altasian economy already exists, courtesy of Japanese companies, which have been building supply chains in South-East Asia for decades. More recently Japans rich Altasian neighbour, South Korea, has followed its example. In 2020 South Korean firms total stock of direct investments in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnamwhich together with unstable Myanmar make up the Association of South-East-Asian Nations (ASEAN)and Bangladesh reached $96bn, narrowly outstripping Korean investments in China. As recently as a decade ago the stock of Korean companies investments in China was nearly twice as large as in Altasia. Samsung is the biggest foreign investor in Vietnam. Last year Hyundai, a South Korean carmaker, opened its first ASEAN factory, making electric vehicles in Indonesia. Now more non-Altasian firms are eyeing the region, often via their Taiwanese contract manufacturers. Taiwans Foxconn, Pegatron and Wistron, which assemble gadgets for Apple, among others, are investing heavily in Indian factories. The share of iPhones made in India is expected to rise from around one in 20 last year to perhaps one in four by 2025. Two Taiwanese universities have teamed up with Tata, an Indian conglomerate with ambitious plans in high-tech manufacturing, to offer courses in electronics to Indian workers. Google is shifting the outsourced production of its newest Pixel smartphones from China to Vietnam. More sophisticated manufacturing, especially of geopolitically fraught semiconductors, is also moving to Altasia. Malaysia already exports around 10% of the worlds chips by value, more than America. ASEAN countries account for more than a quarter of global exports of integrated circuits, easily surpassing Chinas 18%. And that gap is growing. Qualcomm, an American fabless" chipmaker, which sells microprocessor designs for others to manufacture, opened its first research-and-development centre in Vietnam in 2020. Qualcomms revenues from Vietnamese chip factories, many of which belong to global giants like Samsung, tripled between 2020 and 2022. Earlier this month the local government of Ho Chi Minh City announced that it was courting a $3.3bn investment from Intel (though it later struck the American chip giants name from the statement online). Chinas huge advantage has historically been its vast single market, knit together with decent infrastructure, where value could be added without suppliers, workers and capital crossing national borders. For Altasia to truly rival China, therefore, its supply chain will need to become far more integrated and efficient. Although RCEP has greased the wheels of intra-Altasian commerce somewhat, the flow of goods faces more obstacles than it does within China. Its member countries will need to play to their comparative advantage. For now the infrastructure that connects them is shabby, at best. Finicky regulations and national ambitions can easily gum up the alternative supply chain. Altasias poorer countries are also not necessarily keen on the logical division of labour, which would see them with a bigger role in the more menial parts of the electronics supply chain. And forgoing all Chinese-made parts is next to impossible. Thamlev, an American electric-bike startup, moved production from China to Malaysia in 2022 in order to avoid a 25% American tariff, but still needed to import Chinese components. As a result, it took a month longer for its e-bikes to reach American riders. Prospects for deeper integration are hazy, both within Altasia and with big consumer markets in the rich world. India, on whose 1.4bn people Altasias future may depend, seems in no rush to become part of RCEP. Although the country has, with other Altasian neighbours, signed up to Americas Indo-Pacific framework, it has opted out of the initiatives trade provisions. And these anyway lack bite: America is in a protectionist mood and has offered no tariff cuts or better access to its vast market. One ASEAN policymaker likens it to a doughnut, lacking substance in the middle. Altasia will certainly not replace China soon, let alone overnight. In January, for example, Panasonic announced a big expansion of its Chinese operations. But in time China is likely to become less attractive to foreign manufacturers. Chinese labour is not getting any cheaper and its graduates are not getting much more numerous. America may yet realise that reducing its reliance on China in practice requires closer ties with friendly countries, including membership of the CPTPP, the precursor of which collapsed after America pulled out in 2017. And as a budding alternative to China, Altasia has no equal. 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved. From The Economist, published under licence. The original content can be found on www.economist.com Amidst vulnerabilities, illiquidity and bankruptcies that cryptocurrencies currently face, the US Federal Reserve along with other regulators have warned banks over liquidity risks that are related to certain sources of funding from crypto-asset-related entities. In a joint statement on Thursday, the regulators reminded banks to apply existing risk management principles. The board of governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) (collectively, the agencies) issued a statement about the liquidity risks presented by certain sources of funding from crypto-asset-related entities, and some effective practices to manage such risks. In the statement, the regulators reminded banking organizations to apply existing risk management principles --- which means it does not create new risk management principles. However, banking organizations are neither prohibited nor discouraged from providing banking services to customers of any specific class or type, as permitted by law or regulation. Jointly, the regulators highlighted key liquidity risks associated with crypto-assets and crypto-asset sector participants which banks should be aware of. Firstly, it would be deposits placed by a crypto-asset-related entity that is for the benefit of the crypto-asset-related entitys customers (end customers). The regulators said, the stability of such deposits may be driven by the behaviour of the end customer or crypto-asset sector dynamics, and not solely by the crypto-asset-related entity itself, which is the banking organizations direct counterparty. Also, the stability of deposits can be influenced for example by periods of stress, market volatility, and related vulnerabilities in the crypto-asset sector --- which may or may not be specific to the crypto-asset-related entity. "Such deposits can be susceptible to large and rapid inflows as well as outflows when end customers react to crypto-asset-sector-related market events, media reports, and uncertainty," the regulators added. Further, they said, this uncertainty and resulting deposit volatility can be exacerbated by end-customer confusion related to inaccurate or misleading representations of deposit insurance by a crypto-asset-related entity. Second would be the deposits that constitute stablecoin-related reserves. As per the regulators, the stability of such deposits can be linked to demand for stablecoins, the confidence of stablecoin holders in the stablecoin arrangement, and the stablecoin issuers reserve management practices. On this, they said, "such deposits can be susceptible to large and rapid outflows stemming from, for example, unanticipated stablecoin redemptions or dislocations in crypto-asset markets." In a broader spectrum, the regulators also said, when a banking organizations deposit funding base is concentrated in crypto-asset-related entities that are highly interconnected or share similar risk profiles, deposit fluctuations may also be correlated, and liquidity risk therefore may be further heightened. Hence, the regulators' direct banks to actively monitor the liquidity risks inherent in such funding sources and establish and maintain effective risk management and controls commensurate with the level of liquidity risks from such funding sources. Some of the practices that the banks could use as per the regulators are: - Understanding the direct and indirect drivers of the potential behaviour of deposits from crypto-asset-related entities and the extent to which those deposits are susceptible to unpredictable volatility. - Assessing potential concentration or interconnectedness across deposits from crypto-asset-related entities and the associated liquidity risks. - Incorporating the liquidity risks or funding volatility associated with crypto-asset-related deposits into contingency funding planning, including liquidity stress testing and, as appropriate, other asset-liability governance and risk management processes. - Performing robust due diligence and ongoing monitoring of crypto-asset-related entities that establish deposit accounts, including assessing the representations made by those crypto-asset-related entities to their end customers about such deposit accounts that, if inaccurate, could lead to rapid outflows of such deposits. Lastly, the regulators asked banks to comply with applicable laws and regulations. The year 2022 has gone down the history with bitter shocks for crypto markets with the collapse of major stablecoins, illiquidity, bankruptcies of leading crypto exchanges, free fall in trading volumes, and extreme volatility among others. The latest bankruptcy that has rocked the crypto market would be of FTX Group. Shares of NMDC Steel Ltd fell more than 3% to 33 apiece on the BSE in Thursday's early trading session, after hitting back-to-back upper circuit for three straight days since its listing on Monday, February 20, 2023. The company's market valuation stands at over 9,905 crore on the BSE. NMDC Steel is witnessing surge in stock prices since the demerger of its steel business after which it is expected that the company would be able to reduce its capital intensity now and improve the dividend payout ratio. On technical setup, the stock is showing strength on momentum indicators with an immediate target of 44 levels in high volatility," said Ravi Singh, Vice-President and Head of Research at Share India. NMDC Steel is a newly formed entity post its demerger from mining giant NMDC Limited. Currently, the government holds a 60.79% stake in NSL, which is the steel manufacturing facility of India's largest iron ore producer NMDC located in Nagarnar, Chhattisgarh. The company is up for privatisation with the government looking to sell 50.79% of its shareholding, along with management control. DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on January 27 that the government has received multiple preliminary bids for the privatisation of NMDC Steel and the transaction will now move to the second stag. In July last year, NMDC said its board approved scheme of arrangement between the company, NMDC Steel, and their respective creditors and shareholders, which entailed inter-alia demerger of Nagarnar Iron & Steel Plant (NISP). Under the Scheme, the NISP plant at Nagarnar, Chhattisgarh would be demerged from NMDC to NMDC Steel (NSL),a wholly owned subsidiary of NMDC. The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. Know your inner investor Do you have the nerves of steel or do you get insomniac over your investments? Lets define your investment approach. Take the test The National Stock Exchange or NSE on Thursday restricted members and authorised persons from using names such as advisor, mutual funds, mutual fund services, capital manager, fund advisor, and asset/wealth/portfolio management among others. The Mumbai-based stock exchange said it creates a wrong impression among investors. It is observed by Exchange that Trading Members/Authorized Persons are using words such as Advisors, Asset/Wealth/Portfolio Management etc. in their name which is misleading and may indicate to the clients/investors that the Trading Members/Authorized Persons are registered for offering services other than broking services without having the applicable registration for those services with SEBI/other regulators," NSE said in a statement. "The name of Trading Member/Authorized Person should reflect the registration held by the entity and should not in any way create an impression of performing a role for which the entity is not registered," the circular read. The reason behind this development is to prevent investors from getting misled to the fact that the traders are registered for offering services other than broking services without having the applicable registration. After this order, the members can only use the listed nomenclatures only if they have registered themselves in that capacity with SEBI or with other regulators. However, it may be noted that the list provided is illustrative and not exhaustive, the circular clarified. Here are the 61 words that the exchange has listed that are not permitted to be used by traders. Full list below: 1. Adviser/Advisor 2. Advisory Services 3. Asset 4. Asset Advisory 5. Asset consultancy 6. Asset distribution 7. Asset management 8. Asset manager 9. Asset services 10. Asset consultants 11. Capital Adviser/Advisor 12. Capital management 13. Capital services 14. Corporate advisory 15. Financial planner/s 16. Financial planning 17. Fund Adviser/Advisor 18. Fundmart 19. Independant Financial Adviser/IFA 20. Investmart 21. Investment Adviser/Advisor 22. Investment consultancy 23. Investment consultancy services 24. Investment consultant/s 25. Investment consulting 26. Investment manager/s 27. Investment planners 28. Investment solutions 29. Money manager 30. Multi Wealth investments 31. Mutual fund services 32. Mutual funds 33. Portfolio 34. Portfolio advisory 35. Portfolio consultancy 36. Portfolio consultants 37. Portfolio management 38. Portfolio manager 39. Portfolio services 40. prime wealth 41. wealth 42. wealth adviser/s or wealth advisor/s 43. wealth advisory 44. wealth advisory services 45. wealth care 46. wealth chanakya 47. wealth consultancy 48. wealth consultants 49. wealth consulting 50. wealth creator/s 51. wealth express 52. wealth investment 53. wealth mall 54. wealth management 55. wealth manager/s 56. wealth planner 57. wealth plus 58. wealth services 59. wealth solution/s 60. wealth vision 61. wealth yantra Further, the NSE has advised traders to comply with this order in the exchange and also with the Registrar of Companies by 31 March, 2023 in case the listed nomenclatures are being used. Know your inner investor Do you have the nerves of steel or do you get insomniac over your investments? Lets define your investment approach. Take the test From being just an identity proof, aadhaar number has become a magic number on which the daily existence of millions of people depends upon, said Union Minister of Foreign Affairs, S Jaishankar on Thursday. He also added that India's digital image is growing and countries like Japan, UK, Denmark, Germany and Portugal are coming for us for our talent. The aadhaar number has become like a magic number. It is the backbone on which the daily existence of millions depends. Our digital image is growing. Countries including Japan, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Germany, and Portugal are coming to us for our talent," said EAM Dr S Jaishankar at an event. Also Read: Ex-diplomat takes dig at Jaishankar, shares quote of his father on Gujarat riot He also said that the main aim of the G20 summit is to promote economic development and growth. He also expressed confidence that the world sees 15% of the global growth to come from India this year. I would say the world sees that 15% of the world's growth this year is to come from India. We are 15% of solution that G20 is looking for," added Dr S Jaishankar. Also Read: Jaishankar's viral comment echoes in Germany, chancellor says has a 'point' As India is the G20 host for this year, S Jaishankar said India is sharing a huge responsibility. "It is not just a collection of 20 nations, but it is a very special responsibility at a very difficult moment in international relations. And what India could do, will do in this one year and it will make a big difference in world politics" he said. Also Read: Instead of showing lal ankh, your govt extends..: Congress on EAM Jaishankar's LAC remark S Jaishankar laid stress on the fact that convenience should not become a vulnerability for India. While addressing the 'G-20 Festival of Thinkers Summit,' he also said that the word economies are trying to cope up from the effects of the pandemic. 'Data is the new oil' After addressing the dominance of data and digitalisation, EAM warned that its dominance could also lead to a deadly situation. He called 'data' as the new oil and expressed it to become an indicator to determine power among nations in the coming generations. Also Read: Old, rich opinionated, and dangerous..: S Jaishankar on George Soros "Centuries ago it was about wealth, military power, and gold, some also said that it was oil. Data is the new oil. It means, that every digital transaction contributes to artificial intelligence, contributes to the creation of capabilities which will determine the balance of power among nations" he said. Also Read: Australian PM Anthony Albanese maiden India visit in March, likely to attend cricket match with PM Modi He mentioned the challenge of today's world in handling data. The main challenge in today's time is data security and data privacy. It is more about knowing who sees our data, who monitors our data, who utilises our data, and what power do they have over you" opined S Jaishankar. 'Convenience of life don't become a vulnerability' S Jaishankar also asked the people to be vary of their practices and habits so that conveniences of life don't become a vulnerability for everyone. He stressed upon the need to have more reliable, resilient supply chains, and have more trusted and transparent practices in the digital world. "In terms of goods, we need more reliable, resilient supply chains, in the digital world, we need more trusted, more transparent practices, to ensure privacy-respecting data. We have to make sure that the conveniences of life don't become a vulnerability for each one of us, and particularly for our nation," Jaishankar said. World is in a difficult state," EAM on COVID pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war S Jaishankar also stated that the world is in a difficult state, mainly because of COVID pandemic and Russia-Ukraine conflict. Due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the world witnessed an energy and food crises more than double for some countries. "When we say that the world is difficult, it is not an exaggeration but an understatement," the EAM stated. The pandemic left every corner of the world hugely affected, said Jaishankar. He said that the socio-economic cost of the pandemic is very big and the world is still trying to absorb its terms. S Jaishankar said that the world already had a lot of problems before the pandemic, but the COVID pandemic and Ukraine conflict made things worse for across the world. (With agency inputs) EDGE, UAE's leading defence group signed a Memorandum of Understanding with India's aerospace firm Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) on Wednesday at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX). The MOU is signed to explore the areas of cooperation that include joint design and development of missile systems and Unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). Additionally, both companies will explore the utilisation of HAL's small gas turbine engines on EDGE's guided weapons, the utilisation of EDGE's GPS jamming and spoofing equipment on HAL's platforms, and opportunities for further knowledge sharing. The two companies will also explore cooperation on mission computers, training programmes, and utilisation of additive manufacturing of metallic parts will also take place at EDGE's and HAL's world-class facilities in the UAE and India. Dubai's EDGE and India's HAL signed the MOU at INDEX, touted to be one of the world's largest tri-service defence exhibitions. IDEX-2023 exhibition will be held in Abu Dhabi, UAE from 20- 24 February. Indian envoy to UAE Sunjay Sudhir visited IDEX-the the flagship defence expo of the UAE yesterday. Other companies have also signed agreements in the ongoing defence exhibition. For instance, ICOMM, a group company of Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) signed an agreement with UAE-based EDGE entity CARACAL for the first-ever Transfer of Technology (ToT) in defence articles. ICOMM will locally manufacture CARACAL's complete line of small arms for the Indian market under the 'Make in India' and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. This week Reuters reported that UAE signed defence deals worth 8.14 billion dirhams ($2.22 billion) on 21 February at IDEX. EDGE, whose book value last year was roughly $5 billion, won the biggest deal, a 4.7 billion-dirham contract for its subsidiary Halcon to supply Desert Sting P5 systems, Tawazun Council. Another EDGE subsidiary, ADASI, clinched a 1.33 billion-dirham deal for its Shadow system. EDGE has clients in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. AIIMS is planning collaboration with institutions like IITs, IIMs, ISB with the aim of making learning more accessible said AIIMS Director Dr M Srinivas on Wednesday. A statement was issued and in it was stated that"Undersigned is glad to announce that institutional collaborations are being planned by AIIMS with institutions like IIT's, IMs, ISB (India School of Business), etc. for making inter-sectoral learning more accessible, and with corporations like McKinsey, BCG, Bain, etc. to provide students with some exposure to the world of management, something outside the routine medical education, patient care and research." The statement further added that 'Start-Up policy' for students is also intended to be drafted. "Some active measures are also being planned to promote entrepreneurship in AIIMS actively. The 'Start-Up policy' for students is also intended to be drafted," it stated. The statement further added, "To facilitate the conversation on this, a meeting is scheduled with the undersigned on Sunday, February 26, 2023, at 8 AM in the committee room. Interested students and residents are requested to attend the meeting with the undersigned." Meanwhile, with an aim to increase synergy and enhance research between AIIMS, ICMR, DHR, DBT and DST, a meeting has been planned on monthly basis, AIIMS Director Dr M Srinivas informed on Wednesday. "AIIMS, New Delhi is running a multitude of research projects funded by ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research)/ DHR (Department of Health Research)/ DBT (Department of Biotechnology)/ DST (Department of Science & Technology)including many Centers of Excellence. Faculty from AIIMS have been at the forefront of many research objectives linked to National research priorities which is also the primary focus of apex biomedical research institutes of the country," the statement read. The statement also mentioned in the memorandum that the purpose of organising meetings every month is to initiate research projects and address roadblocks. "The purpose of this interaction will be to brainstorm next-generation research initiatives, research proposals synchronous with national thrust areas, facilitate existing research projects, and address roadblocks which come in the implementation of research projects and funding issues," the statement read. The statement further added, "With an aim of increasing synergy between AIlMS and organizations like ICMR, DST, DBT etc. for mutual collaboration, it is proposed that starting from March 2023, every second Saturday there will be an open house at AlIMS, which will be attended by the undersigned and representatives from ICMR, DST and DBT." Bengaluru police have announced a set of restrictions in certain parts of the city and the movement of the traffic will be curtailed due to a VIP visit. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will undertake a visit to Karnataka, from Thursday during which he will address public meetings and participate in other programmes, including an interactive session in Bengaluru. BJP sources said the home minister will on Thursday participate in 'Vijay Sankalp Samavesh' in Karnataka's Bellary before addressing an interactive session on "Indian Polity 65 years Scenario and Paradigm Shift Under Modi" in Bengaluru. Union Home Minister Amit Shah would address a public meeting in poll-bound Karnataka, and discuss strategy with senior BJP leaders on Thursday, seeking to give a fresh impetus to the party's preparations for the elections due by May. Ami Shah will address a public meeting at Sandur in Ballari district and later visit Bengaluru, where he would take part in an interactive programme. According to party sources, he would also hold a series of meetings with senior party functionaries including Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Karnataka BJP strongman B S Yediyurappa and BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel on the election preparations. Sources said BJP general secretary and Karnataka in charge Arun Singh will also attend the meetings. The officials have said that movement of traffic will be restricted in the Lalbagh Road, Minerva Road, JC Road, NR Chowk, Mysuru Bank Circle, Palace Road, CID Junction, Basaveshwara Junction, Ali Asker Road, Infantry Road, Coffee Board Junction (BR Road), Manipal Junction, MG Road, Trinity Circle, Command Hospital, Domlur Water Tank, Indiranagar 100 feet Road, ISRO Junction, HAL and Airport Road Ballari Road, Mekhri Circle, Kaveri Theatre junction, Race Course Road, Taj West End and Town Hall. It is advised that commuters plan before hand about their commute in those restricted areas. Pakistan is struggling with its worst economic crisis in decades with its foreign exchange reserves, at their lowest in 10 years. China and Iran have come forward to help the crisis-hit Pakistan to come out of the financial collapse, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is delaying unlocking the next tranche of a $6.5 billion loan. The country has been modifying its policies according to the conditions laid down by IMF, in an effort to get funding. The Washington-headquartered financial body has suggested raising tax revenues and a fairer distribution of precious resources by taking subsidies away from people who don't need them. Following this, the national assembly of Pakistan unanimously approved the governments Finance (Supplementary) Bill 2023 or mini-budget, and increased taxes on luxury goods and services. The country has also raised the prices of fuel, and essential commodities, making it difficult for common people to fulfill their basic needs. Amid this unstable economic situation, Iran is promoting trade with Pakistan, while China has granted a new $700 million loan to the country. China lends $700 loan to shore up foreign reserves This week, Pakistan has received a new $700 million loan from China to help shore up its foreign exchange reserves, in another step to help the South Asian nation recover from an economic crisis, according to Reuters. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced the news on Twitter and referred to the deposit as a "lifeline" for Pakistan. AlhamdoLilah! Funds $700 million [were] received today by [the] State Bank of Pakistan from [the] China Development Bank." The credit facility, made through the state-owned China Development Bank will boost Pakistan's forex reserves by about 20% and comes as the country is thrashing out a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to unlock funds from a $6.5 billion bailout. China is already Pakistan's single largest creditor with its commercial banks holding about 30% of its external debt. Iran promotes trade with Pakistan amid financial crisis Iran has established six border markets to promote trade with crisis-hit Pakistan, said Iranian Consul General Hasan Noorain as quoted by pkrevenue. In the last 10 months, the volume of bilateral trade reached $2 billion dollars, he said, adding that the target has been set at $5 billion. Noorain also said that trading is facing difficulty due to the absence of banking channel. He added that the visa policy has also been relaxed, and progress is also being made in barter trade with Pakistan. He said that Pakistan and Iran have friendly relations, however, the trade between the two sides has not developed as it should have so far. Uzbekistan signs $1 billion trade with Pak Uzbekistan has also inked a $1 billion deal to increase bilateral trade with Pakistan at the 8th meeting of the Pakistan-Uzbekistan Inter-governmental Commission on Trade-Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation (IGC) held in Tashkent on Friday. Both countries have signed the agreement to encourage the exchange of goods and services, the Economic Affairs department of the Pakistan government said in an official statement. Any investment opportunity will come as a lifeline to Pakistan's economy which is struggling with its worst financial crisis. New Delhi: As the Ukraine war enters its second year, the European Union (EU) and Ukraine are looking to Indias active engagement in efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis and to counter the impact on global food and energy prices, including through the G20 process. EU Ambassador Ugo Astuto and Ukrainian charge daffaires Ivan Konovalov said in a joint interview that Russia could end the crisis by withdrawing its troops from Ukraine and ending hostilities. They also acknowledged this is unlikely to happen at present, pointing to an escalation of rhetoric and violence by the Russian leadership. Astuto said the EU and its partners in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will continue supporting Ukraine, including through military training and supply of weapons and munitions, while putting the squeeze on Russias economy and war-fighting capabilities through more deep and comprehensive" sanctions. The EU is currently finalizing its tenth package of sanctions against Russia. We understand the position of India, we understand its constraints but we also greatly value what the prime minister said about the fact that this is not the time for war. The active engagement of India for peace is extremely important. Its a conversation we continue to have with India and we respect and value the contribution that India can offer," Astuto said. Referring to the Indian leaders remarks to Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting last September that todays era is not of war"Konovalov added: Definitely, the words of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modiji are the leitmotif of 2023 and the Indian presidency of the G20. That is the right definitionone earth, one family and one future. We still count on Indias support and we see this G20 presidency as a window of opportunity for all peaceful nations." Astuto emphasized the importance of the world community acting together to stop the aggression. What we say is that we cannot look at the current situation as business as usual. Its not. And inevitably this will also have an impact on the G20 proceedings," he said. At the same time, Astuto acknowledged Indias efforts to deal with the concerns of developing countries through its G20 presidency. I think the G20 is an excellent tool to act on the needs and grievances of the Global South. Thats what India has been trying to do from the very beginning, with its Voice of Global South Summit," he said. Konovalov pointed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys 10-point peace formula of 2022 and proposed India could act as a co-sponsor or participant for its implementation. Indias role in the implementations of the peace formula will be very crucial because India is a leader of the Global South. The role of India to provide us a platform and support, and to stop this Russian war in our country would definitely be much important," he said. Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, New Delhi has refrained from publicly censuring Moscows actions while calling for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries to be respected. Modi had pointed to the problems of food and energy security faced by developing countries while nudging Putin to end the war and return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue. India has also snapped up discounted Russian oil and fertilisers, making Russia one of the biggest energy suppliers for the country, in the face of calls from the West to scale down such purchases. Both Astuto and Konovalov said they understood the reasons behind Indias energy purchases. Konovalov said: This is a sovereign right of every country, to do whatever according to the framework of international law. Definitely, we understand the needs of Indian national energy security, we understand the long and maybe very friendly relationship with Russia and the strategic partnership." Konovalov further expressed the hope that India will provide more humanitarian aid to Ukraine. We [hope] that India will increase the volume of any type of aid, which is necessary for our country to survive...," he said. Astuto responded to suggestions that the Ukrainian conflict is a European war" by saying: From our perspective, what is happening today in Europe is of relevance for the whole international community. As we all believe in a rules-based system of international governance and we all believe that we need to uphold the values and principles of the UN Charter, we need to do that in Europe now and tomorrow elsewhere." He added, If an aggression went unheeded, the risk of further aggressions taking place in Europe and beyond would definitely be higher. I think there is something at stake here which is of interest to the whole international community." Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday met US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen ahead of the first G20 Finance Minister and Central Bank Governors meeting to be held in Bengaluru, starting tomorrow. The two leaders discussed strengthening multilateral development banks, global debt vulnerabilities and cryptocurrency assets on the sidelines of the G20 finance chiefs meeting. "The two leaders discussed their perspectives on strengthening MDB (multilateral development banks), global debt vulnerabilities, crypto assets besides the Just Energy Transition Partnership," the finance ministry said in a tweet. "Both sides agreed that lessons learnt from the COVID19 pandemic should not be lost sight of and there is a need for enhancing preparedness for future pandemic type shocks," the tweet noted. Road to policy for cryptocurrency assets, a symposium of digital public infrastructure, and enhancement of cross-border payment arrangements are among the agenda to be discussed today. The US Treasury Secretary will likely brief reporters later today and take part in a meeting of Group of Seven (G7) nations on the sidelines of the G20 meet. Earlier, FM Sitharaman met Italian Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti ahead of the meet. According to the Finance Ministry, the Italian Finance Minister extended his full support for a successful G20 India Presidency in 2023. "FM said that under the leadership of PM Shri @narendramodi, India hosted the Voice of the #GlobalSouthSummit & India would put forth perspectives of the #GlobalSouth. Mr. Giorgetti indicated that Italy would continue to be a bridge between Global North and the Global South," it said in a tweet. India is hosting the first major G20 event under its year-long presidency at the summer retreat of Nandi Hills near tech hub Bengaluru. Under the partnership, the US and its allies, as well as multilateral development banks and agencies, provide funding to developing economies to move away from coal production and consumption. With agency inputs Pakistani YouTuber Sana Amjad recently posted a video where a Pakistani man expressed frustration with the current state of affairs in his country and stated that he wishes Prime Minister Narendra Modi was ruling Pakistan instead of Shehbaz Sharif. The man argued that if Modi were in charge, Pakistanis would be a better place to live in. Within hours, the video went viral. "Hamen Modi Mil Jaye bus, Na hamen Nawaz Sharif Chahiye, Na Imran, Na Benazir chahiye, General Musharraf bhi nahi chahiye" Ek Pakistani ki Khwahish pic.twitter.com/Wbogbet2KF Meenakshi Joshi ( ) (@IMinakshiJoshi) February 23, 2023 The man expressed that he believes that Modi is a great leader and a good person, and that Indians are able to buy food articles at reasonable rates. "I wish Pakistan wasn't separated from India. We would then be purchasing tomatoes at PKR 20/kg, chicken for PKR 150/kg, and petrol at PKR 50 per litre," he said in the viral video. He lamented that Pakistanis cannot feed their children at night and that they have not been able to establish Islam in their country. "It is unfortunate that we got an Islamist nation but we could not establish Islam here," he added. He argued that Pakistanis need to stop comparing themselves to India because there is no comparison between the two countries. He said "Modi is much better than us, his people respect and follow him so much. If we had Narendra Modi, we wouldn't need Nawaz sharif or Benazir or Imran, not even (late former military ruler) General (Parvez) Musharraf. All we want is Prime Minister Modi, as only he can deal with all mischievous elements in the country. India is currently the fifth-biggest economy in the world while we are nowhere." "I am ready to live under Modi's rule. Modi is a great man, he is not a bad human being. Indians are getting tomatoes and chicken at reasonable rates. When you cannot feed your children at night, you start ruing the country you were born in," he added. "I pray to Almighty to give us Modi and have him rule our country," he said, with tears in his eyes. He said the Pakistanis need to stop comparing themselves with India "because there is no comparison" between the two countries. Hours after the Supreme Court granted interim relief to Congress leader Pawan Khera on 23 February, Khera said that he was deboarded from aircraft and arrested illegally. Speaking to the media, Khera said, "Without furnishing a copy of FIR and notice, I was deboarded from the aircraft and arrested by Assam Police in an illegal manner. I have complete trust in the judicial system which protected my freedom of expression today." "Our struggle to protect this nation, protect constitutional values - my leader Rahul Gandhi is carrying on his struggle fearlessly, I will strengthen his effort," he added. ALSO READ: Pawan Khera deplaned, arrested for remarks against PM Modi, gets Supreme Court relief: Top points Our struggle to protect this nation, protect constitutional values - my leader Rahul Gandhi is carrying on his struggle fearlessly, I will strengthen his effort: Congress leader Pawan Khera pic.twitter.com/LDHzonu4Jm ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2023 Khera was granted interim bail on furnishing a bond of 30,000 after he was deplaned by Police at Delhi Airport and presented before Dwarka court where the Delhi Police was supposed to Assam Police on transit remand. However, after the apology by the Congress leader for allegedly making derogatory" remarks against PM Narendra Modi, the Supreme Court directed the Dwarka court to grant interim relief to Khera till 28 February. Also, the apex court issued notice to Assam Police and UP Police on Congress leader Pawan Khera's plea seeking clubbing of FIRs. The bench said that till the next date of hearing, the petitioner will be released on interim bail by Dwarka court. With agency inputs. The UK has surpassed India as the worlds sixth-largest equity market for the first time in almost nine months as a weaker pound boosted the appeal of heavyweight exporters trading in London and Adani Group-led jitters weighed on stocks in Mumbai. The combined market capitalization of primary listings in the UK, excluding ETFs and ADRs, reached about $3.11 trillion on Tuesday, some $5.1 billion higher than their Indian equivalents, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That hasnt happened since May 29. James Athey, investment director at Abrdn, said investors are seeing a deep value opportunity in the UK" following the declines in sterling and with government policy that is less experimental." Furthermore, the FTSE 100s makeup of financials, commodities and defensives stocks is almost the perfect combination for now," he said. After outperforming global equities last year, the UKs FTSE 350 Index which comprises stocks in the FTSE 100 and the domestically focused FTSE 250 has gained 5.9% so far this year, outpacing a 4.7% increase in the MSCI All-Country World Index. Thats partly been driven by record highs for the blue-chip FTSE 100, which topped 8,000 points for the first time last week as its dominance by internationally-focused companies helps the benchmark benefit from weaker sterling. Still, the UKs equity market capitalization remains behind France after losing its place as Europes biggest stock market last year. Meanwhile, Indias stock market is grappling with a weaker rupee as well as the fallout of a rout in the share prices of companies in the Adani Group amid allegations of stock manipulation and accounting fraud by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research. The MSCI India Index has dropped 6.1% this year, while the group of companies owned by Gautam Adani among Asias richest men has lost about $142 billion in market capitalization since the Hindenburg report was published on Jan. 24. Adani has repeatedly denied the claims and has also cut expenses and repaid debt as he seeks to calm traders concerned about the groups access to financing. Declines in Indian stocks have taken losses in index from a Dec. 1 peak to more than 10% as of Wednesday, putting it on course to enter a technical correction. Even so, market participants have said that investor concerns around the Adani companies are focused on the group, rather than the broader Indian market. The negative Adani headlines have caused some concerns among international investors, but theyre mainly focused on the group," said Jian Shi Cortesi, a fund manager at Zurich-based GAM Investments. This could cause investors to be more selective in India, but we are not seeing investors avoiding Indian stocks in general." This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address 12 post-Budget webinars as part of efforts by the union ministries to build on the "Saptarishi" priorities outlined in the Union Budget presented in Parliament on February 1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the first post-budget webinar on Green Growth on 23rd February 2023 at around 10 AM. It is the first of a series of 12 post-budget webinars being organized by the government to seek ideas and suggestions for effective implementation of the initiatives announced in Union Budget. The webinar will have six breakout sessions covering both energy and non-energy components of Green Growth. Union Ministry of Power is the lead ministry for this webinar. Besides Ministers and Secretaries of concerned Central Government Ministries, a host of stakeholders drawn from state governments, industry, academia & research institutions and public sector would attend these webinars and contribute through suggestions for better implementation of budgetary announcements. Green growth is one of the seven top priorities of the Union Budget 2023-24 for ushering in the country green industrial and economic transition, environmentally friendly agriculture and sustainable energy. It will also generate large number of green jobs. The Union Budget has envisaged a number of projects and initiatives spread across various sectors and ministries viz. Green Hydrogen Mission, Energy Transition, Energy Storage Projects, Renewable Energy Evacuation, Green Credit Program, PM-PRANAM, GOBARdhan Scheme, Bhartiya Prakritik Kheti Bio-Input Resource Centres, MISHTI, Amrit Dharohar, Coastal Shipping and Vehicle Replacement. Each post-budget webinar will have three sessions. It will start with a plenary opening session which would be addressed by the Prime Minister. This session will be followed by separate breakout sessions on various themes which would take place in parallel. Finally, the ideas from the breakout sessions would be presented during the plenary concluding session. Based on inputs received during the webinar, concerned ministries would prepare a time-bound action plan for implementation of budget announcements. The webinars will be focussed on synergizing efforts of various ministers and departments and all concerned stakeholders towards the preparation of action plans with quarterly targets so that the implementation is front-ended and smooth with the timely achievement of intended outcomes. The idea of post-budget webinars was conceptualized by PM Modi to bring together all stakeholders for bringing synergy in the implementation of Budget announcements. These webinars are being organised by various Ministries and departments to build on the "Saptarishi" priorities outlined in the Union Budget 2023-24. The government has undertaken several budgetary reforms in the past few years including preponing the budget to February 1 so that ministries and departments get sufficient time for utilization of the funds on the ground before the onset of monsoons. The post Budget webinars bring together experts from the public and private sectors, academia, industry and practitioners on the field on a single platform and collaboratively work on implementation strategies across sectors. These webinars were started in 2021 in the spirit of Jan Bhagidari and encourage involvement and ownership of all concerned stakeholders in effective, quick and seamless implementation of the Budget announcements. An official release said the webinars are being held virtually to ensure wide participation. The webinar on February 24 will be 'Agriculture and cooperatives'. The webinar on February 25 will be on 'Harnessing youth power -- skilling and education', the webinar on February 27 on 'Reaching the last mile/leaving no citizen behind' and webinar on February 28 is themed 'Unleashing the potential: Ease of living using technology'. The webinar on March 1 will be on 'Urban Development with focus on planning', March 3 webinar will be focused on 'Developing tourism in mission mode' and March 4 webinar is themed 'Infrastructure and investment: Improving logistic efficiency with PM Gatishakti National Master Plan'. March 6 webinar is titled 'Health and Medical Research'; March 7 webinar will be on 'Financial sector', March 10 webinar will be on 'Women empowerment' and March 11 will highlight 'PM Vishwakarma Kaushal Samman'. The government had proposed to increase capital expenditure outlay by 33 per cent to 10 lakh crore in 2023-24, which would be 3.3 percent of the GDP in the budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. "(This outlay) would be 3.3 per cent of GDP, almost three times the outlay made in 2019-20. With substantial increase, it is central to government's efforts to enhance growth potential and job creation, crowd in private investments and provide cushion against global headwinds," Sitharaman said in her Budget speech in Parliament Further, the government proposed to increase the agricultural credit target to 20 lakh crore with a focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries, Sitharaman said. The agriculture sector of the country has been growing at an average annual growth rate of 4.6 per cent in the last six years. In her Budget speech, Sitharman announced that an Agriculture Accelerator Fund will be set up to encourage agri-startups by young entrepreneurs. The government proposed to increase the agricultural credit target to 20 lakh crore with a focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries, Sitharaman told Parliament. The agriculture sector of the country has been growing at an average annual growth rate of 4.6 per cent in the last six years. "Will launch a sub-scheme of the existing PM Matsya Sampada Yojana scheme to improve value chain efficiencies," she had said. The government proposed a capital outlay of about 2.40 lakh crore for railways, said Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2023-24 in Lok Sabha.This budgeted outlay for the railways, Sitharaman told Parliament, is the highest ever and nine times of what it was in 2013. Overall, the government proposed to increase capital expenditure outlay by 33 per cent to 10 lakh crore in 2023-24. Sitharaman also announced that 50 additional airports, helipads, water aero drones, and advanced landing grounds will be revived to improve regional air connectivity in the country. She said the government proposes an extension of the date of incorporation for income tax benefits to start-ups from March 31, 2023, to March 31, 2024. The Supreme Court has directed a Delhi court to grant interim bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera, who was arrested by the Assam police for allegedly making derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a recent press conference. Khera was on his way to Raipur for the Congress plenary session when he was asked to disembark from the IndiGo flight at Delhi airport and was subsequently detained by Delhi police. He was later arrested by Assam police over a case registered at Haflong police station under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 153A, 153B, 500, and 504, for his alleged remarks against the prime minister. Senior Congress leader had approached the Supreme Court seeking relief in multiple FIRs lodged against him. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Khera, submitted that the language used during the press conference was erroneous, and Khera wouldn't stand by it. "He (Khera) has made statements in a press conference. He has made certain statements which I cannot say in the court but I personally would not have made." Singhvi also argued that the multiple FIRs in different states were deliberate harassment and urged the apex court to consolidate all FIRs into one jurisdiction. There has to be some level of discourse: SC to Khera A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud granted interim bail to Khera upon being produced before the competent magistrate in Delhi. The apex court issued notices to the states of Assam and Uttar Pradesh, seeking their responses on Kheras plea seeking the clubbing of multiple FIRs lodged against him. Chandrachud also told Singhvi that while his client has been granted protection, there has to be some level of discourse." Apparently, Khera had recently distorted Prime Minister Modi's full name, in an apparent swipe over the row involving business tycoon Gautam Adani. While demanding a joint parliamentary probe into the Adani-Hindenburg row, Khera said in the press conference, "If Narasimha Rao could form a JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee), if Atal Bihari Vajpayee could form a JPC, then what problem does Narendra Gautam Das...sorry Damodardas...Modi have?" he said, appearing to confirm the middle name with a colleague. However, he maintained that it was merely a slip of the tongue, and one should not read much into it. (With inputs from agencies) A helicopter carrying Iran's sports minister crashed Thursday in the country's south, killing one of his aides and injuring him as well as 15 other people, state media reported. The minister, Hamid Sajjadi, suffered a head injury in the accident which occurred when the helicopter was landing at a stadium in Baft, a town in Kerman province, the official IRNA news agency said. His adviser, Esmail Ahmadi, died and another 16 people including the minister, four crew members and other officials were injured, IRNA added, citing the Red Crescent. "The minister has a brain haemorrhage, but his general condition is stable," Mohammad Saberi, the head of the Red Crescent in the province, said on television. "The Red Crescent helicopter hit the ground when it was landing and had been a few meters (yards) off the ground," IRNA said. Sanctions-hit Iran has suffered several air disasters in recent years, with officials complaining of difficulties in acquiring spare parts to keep its ageing fleets in the air. Congress leader Pawan Khera, who was deplaned from an IndiGo flight and taken into custody for allegedly making derogatory" remarks against PM Narendra Modi, has told the Supreme Court that he had apologised for the statements. Following the apology by the Congress leader, the Supreme Court directed the Dwarka court to grant interim relief to Khera. Also, the apex court issued notice to Assam Police and UP Police on Congress leader Pawan Khera's plea seeking clubbing of FIRs. The bench said that till the next date of hearing, the petitioner will be released on interim bail by Dwarka court. Earlier in the day, senior advocate AS Singhvi, representing Pawan Khera, told the Supreme Court that making those statements (against PM Modi) was a mistake, a slip of tongue". Senior Advocate AS Singhvi had also sought interim relief for Pawan Khera and consolidation of FIR since several are being registered across the country. ALSO READ: 'It's a long battle, I'm ready to fight': Congress' Pawan Khera after being held at Delhi airport | Video Defending the action against the Congress leader, Assam Police has told the Supreme Court that Pawan Khera used "derogatory remarks" against the democratically elected prime minister. The lawyer appearing for Assam Police told the Supreme Court that he (Pawan Khera) has been arrested and will be presented before the court for transit remand. Pawan Khera was on Thursday deboarded from an IndiGo airplane while on way to Raipur in Chhattisgarh and arrested for allegedly making some derogatory" remarks against the prime minister. The Congress leaders travelling with Pawan Khera protested on the tarmac as he was deboarded from the airplane. Pawan Khera was later taken into custody. Reacting to the swift action by Delhi Police, the Congress spokesperson said that the authorities flat out lied to him while trying to get him off a plane. He even called it brazen violation of rules and his personal liberty. "I was told that there is an issue with my baggage, though I only had hand baggage. They told me you can't fly. Then they said the DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police) will meet you. I have been waiting for a long time. There is no sign of law and order," Congress tweeted Khera as saying. However, while being arrested, Khera said "We will see (in which case they are taking me). It's a long battle and I'm ready to fight." #WATCH | "We will see (in which case they are taking me). It's a long battle and I'm ready to fight," says Congress leader Pawan Khera as Delhi Police takes him after he was deboarded from an aircraft at Delhi airport pic.twitter.com/cKXeo6kSb4 ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2023 Accusing BJP government of "dictatorship", Congress leader Supriya Shrinate alleged that the Congress leaders were en route to Chhattisgarh's Raipur to attend the party's 85th Plenary Session when Khera was asked to deboard. "We were going from Delhi to Raipur by Indigo flight 6E-204. Pawan Khera, KC Venugopal, Randeep Surjewala was also with us. We were heading to Raipur for the Congress Plenary Session. Pawar Khera was taken away stating that his bag has been exchanged but he was not carrying check-in baggage. He was then told that he had been deplaned and a DSP of CISF would come and serve him notice. If this is not a dictatorship, then what is it? Would you stop people from boarding the flight? The dictator got ED raids done before the session and now the government has come down to this kind of act," she said in a video tweeted by the Congress party. With agency inputs. The Supreme Court directed the Dwarka court to grant interim" bail to Pawan Khera till 28 February hours after the Congress leader was deplaned and arrested for his derogatory" remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Supreme Court also issued notices to Assam Police and Uttar Pradesh Police on Pawan Kheras petition seeking clubbing of the FIRs. The Supreme Court has directed the Dwarka court to grant interim relief to Pawan Khera. Supreme Court said, "Till the next date of hearing, the petitioner [Pawan Khera] will be released on interim bail by Dwarka court." Pawan Khera was on Thursday deboarded from an IndiGo airplane while on way to Raipur in Chhattisgarh and arrested for allegedly making some derogatory" remarks against the prime minister. The Congress leaders travelling with Pawan Khera protested on the tarmac as he was deboarded from the airplane. Pawan Khera was later taken into custody. During the hearing, Pawan Khera told the Supreme Court that he had apologised for the statements against PM Modi. Senior Advocate AS Singhvi, representing Pawan Khera, told the Supreme Court that statements [against PM Modi] were a mistake, a slip of tongue". Defending the action against the Congress leader, Assam Police said during the hearing that Pawan Khera used "derogatory remarks" against democratically elected prime minister. After his arrest by the Assam Police, Pawan Khera said he is "ready to fight the long battle". "We will see [in which case he has been arrested]. It's a long battle and I'm ready to fight," said Pawan Khera as Delhi Police took him after he was deboarded from an aircraft at Delhi airport. Delhi Police said a request was received from Assam Police for assistance in the arrest of accused Pawan Khera in case FIR No. 19/2023, PS Dima Hasao, District Haflong, Assam. "Based upon the same, requisite local assistance was provided and upon the requisition of Assam Police, accused Shri Pawan Khera was detained from Terminal 1 of IGI Airport and has been subsequently arrested by the IO concerned of Assam Police," a Delhi Police official told ANI. The goal of this secret endeavor dubbed E5 is to measure how much glucose is in someones body without needing to prick the skin for blood. After hitting major milestones recently, the company now believes it could eventually bring glucose monitoring to market, according to people familiar with the effort. If perfected, such a breakthrough would be a boon to diabetics and help cement Apple as a powerhouse in health care. Adding the monitoring system to the Apple Watch, the ultimate goal, would also make that device an essential item for millions of diabetics around the world. Theres still years of work ahead, but the move could upend a multibillion-dollar industry. Roughly 1 in 10 Americans have diabetes, and they typically rely on a device that pokes the skin for a blood sample. There are also patches from Dexcom Inc. and Abbott Laboratories that are inserted into the skin but need to be replaced about every two weeks. Apple is taking a different approach, using a chip technology known as silicon photonics and a measurement process called optical absorption spectroscopy. The system uses lasers to emit specific wavelengths of light into an area below the skin where there is interstitial fluid substances that leak out of capillaries that can be absorbed by glucose. The light is then reflected back to the sensor in a way that indicates the concentration of glucose. An algorithm then determines a persons blood glucose level. Hundreds of engineers are working on the project as part of Apples Exploratory Design Group, or XDG, a previously unreported effort akin to X, the moonshot division of Alphabet Inc. Its one of the most covert initiatives at the famously secretive Apple. Even fewer people are involved in it than the companys self-driving car undertaking, overseen by the Special Projects Group, or the mixed-reality headset, which is being developed by its Technology Development Group. The news weighed on shares of diabetes technology companies on Wednesday, with both Dexcom and Abbott falling more than 3% before recovering. Apple gained 0.3% to $148.91 by the close in New York. A spokesperson for Cupertino, California-based Apple declined to comment. A representative for Abbott, meanwhile, said its also developing new glucose monitoring products. Continued innovation in health tech is critical," Abbott spokesman Scott Stoffel said. Its also complex and must be accurate, easy and affordable. Abbott is the worlds leader in continuous glucose monitoring because our FreeStyle Libre products address those needs." Apple has tested its glucose technology on hundreds of people over the past decade. In human trials, it has used the system with people who dont know if theyre diabetic, as well as people with prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes. It has compared its own technology to standard tests on blood drawn from veins and samples taken from a prick in the skin, known as capillary blood. Apples system more than 12 years in the making is now considered to be at a proof-of-concept stage, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the project is confidential. The company believes the technology is viable but needs to be shrunk down to a more practical size. Engineers are working to develop a prototype device about the size of an iPhone that can be strapped to a persons bicep. That would be a significant reduction from an early version of the system that sat atop a table. One of Apples goals for the technology is to create a preventative measure that warns people if theyre prediabetic. They then could make lifestyle changes to try to avoid developing Type 2 diabetes, which occurs when a persons body doesnt use insulin properly. Apples regulatory team has already held early discussions about getting government approval for the system. But theres a reason its considered a moonshot goal. Numerous startups and some of the worlds largest companies have tried and failed to develop a noninvasive monitoring system. In 2014, Google announced plans to make smart contact lenses that could measure blood glucose through teardrops. It shelved the complex project in 2018. Apples senior executives believe this problem is one that theyre uniquely positioned to crack, given the companys expertise in hardware and software integration along with its deep pockets. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook, Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams and Apple Watch hardware head Eugene Kim all have a hand in the project, and its already cost hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the people familiar with the situation. The Apple Watch has gradually become more of a health tool. The first model, launched in 2015, included a heart-rate sensor but was more focused on fitness tracking. The device gained the ability to take electrocardiograms, or ECGs, from the wrist in 2018. It also can now sense body temperature for womens health tracking and calculate blood oxygen levels. The glucose system will rely on a slate of Apple-designed silicon photonics chips and sensors. The company tapped Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to build the main chip to power the feature. TSMC, a key Apple partner, already builds the main processors inside of iPhones, iPads and Macs. Before shifting to TSMC, Apple had worked with Rockley Photonics Holdings Ltd. to develop the sensors and chip for the technology. In 2021, Rockley publicly disclosed its work with Apple, stoking interest in the supplier. Apple later ended the partnership, and Rockley filed for bankruptcy last month. While Apple has made major technology strides on the glucose effort, it suffered a recent setback: The groups leader, longtime scientist and engineering executive Bill Athas, passed away unexpectedly at the end of 2022. The work is now led by a few of Athass top deputies, including managers Dave Simon and Jeff Koller. They report to Johny Srouji, Apples chips chief. Before becoming part of the XDG team, the project was cloaked in even more secrecy: It operated as its own startup called Avolonte Health LLC that was, to any outside observer, unaffiliated with Apple. The startup was run out of a small office building in Palo Alto, about 12 miles from Apples headquarters. Team members had Avolonte employee badges, rather than ones from Apple. That strategy kept Apples work under wraps during human trials, as well as its efforts to gain patents and line up partners. The project began in 2010 when Apple purchased a startup named RareLight that touted an early approach to noninvasive blood glucose monitoring. Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, dealing with his own health problems, directed the iPhone maker to buy the company. Apple tapped Bob Messerschmidt, RareLights founder, to kick off its own work on a glucose monitor, which was initially codenamed E68. Messerschmidt now runs a health company called Cor Health. The deal ultimately happened because of Jobss vision of health care combined with technology," he said in an interview. Former senior Apple hardware executives Bob Mansfield and Michael Culbert were also driving forces behind the project, people involved said. Messerschmidt was replaced as the project head in 2011 by Apple veteran Michael Hillman, who left in 2015. Upon his departure, Avolonte Health wound down and the endeavor became part of Athass XDG. The team now works near the Apple Park headquarters. --With assistance from Madison Muller. (Updates with Abbott response in eighth paragraph.) More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Amid the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman discussed global debt vulnerabilities and cryptocurrency assets on the sidelines of the G20 finance chiefs meeting, a new report on countries willing to adopt and legalise the currency to increase its accessibility has arrived. According to HedgewithCrypto research, Australia is the biggest country when it comes to the adoption of cryptocurrency in 2023 with a score of 7.37 out of 10. The sale of cryptocurrency and other digital assets is legal and regulated in Australia. India emerged as 7th biggest nation ready to adopt crypto in 2023. ALSO READ: FM Sitharaman, US Treasury's Yellen discuss debt, crypto assets Following this, USA ranks as the second biggest country in crypto adoption with a score of 7.07 out of 10. Currently, there 33,630 crypto ATMs throughout the country. Ranking wise, Brazil comes third with a score of 6.81/10 and has seen a huge increase in average monthly searches for crypto of 355%. A new bill signed in December 2022 legalizes cryptocurrency throughout Brazil. Here's 10 countries ready for crypto adoption: Rank Country Crypto adoption rate (%) Crypto ATMs Increase in google searches since 2020 (%) Crypto ready score out of 10 1 Australia 18 240 196 7.37 2 USA 16 33,639 166 7.07 3 Brazil 24 25 355 6.81 4 United Arab Emirates 34 6 261 6.41 5 Hong Kong 16 146 209 6.4 6 Taiwan 14 40 278 6.2 7 India 25 2 316 6.12 8 Canada 14 2,640 185 6.1 9 Turkey 40 14 123 6.07 10 Singapore 25 0 234 6.02 On February 23, the Group of Seven (G7) financial chiefs will gather to discuss sanctions against Russia that will put pressure on it to cease the war in Ukraine. The G7 countries' finance ministers and central bank governors will gather in Bengaluru under the leadership of Japan. The gathering will take place over a year after Russia invaded Ukraine, referring to it as a "special military operation." Since Russian forces destroyed large portions of the country's industrial base, grain exports and essential infrastructure a year into the war, Ukraine is under intense pressure to acquire funds. As a result, the economy shrank by about 30% in 2022, and the government was left without the funds necessary to meet its fundamental obligations. In the run-up to the G7 leaders' summit meeting in Hiroshima on May 1921, Japan is hosting the ministerial meetings of the G7 in 2023. Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States make up the G7. Also Read: Russia vows to burn German, US tanks in Ukraine As IMF officials have started talks with the US, the G7 nations want to provide crucial support for Ukraine's efforts to secure money from the IMF by the end of March, according to persons familiar with the situation who spoke to Bloomberg. In order to achieve an ambitious programme, the G7 states are anticipated to formally charge their officials with boosting up involvement with the IMF and Ukraine. One of several IMF requirements for concluding an agreement is the G7's approval. Also Read: Air offensive soon? Russia, Ukraine prepare for escalating onslaught, US intelligence says The G7 conference in Bengaluru will be followed by a larger gathering of G20 finance leaders from the major countries of the globe in Bengaluru, which will be hosted by India, which is now holding the G20 presidency. "Support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia will be the main topics of discussion," Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki earlier said at a news conference. "We will continue to closely coordinate with G7 and the international community to enhance the effect of sanctions to achieve the ultimate goal of prompting Russia to withdraw." (With agency inputs) US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin bolstered their respective alliances with NATO and China, days before the first anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Global tensions between superpowers were highlighted on a day of diplomacy in Warsaw and Moscow on Wednesday. Biden promised that the United States "will defend literally every inch of NATO", the military alliance that includes some Eastern European countries bordering Russia. Putin said Chinese leader Xi Jinping would visit Russia, saying relations had reached "new frontiers." Washington is concerned Beijing could provide material support for Moscow's war in Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24 last year and has become the biggest land conflict in Europe since World War Two. The war has displaced millions, left Ukrainian cities, towns and villages in ruins and disrupted the global economy. Putin, in an address to mark Thursday's Defender of the Fatherland public holiday, said Russia will continue to pay increased attention to boosting its nuclear forces and will begin mass deliveries of Zirkon sea-launched hypersonic missiles. Russia is due to begin military exercises with China in South Africa on Friday and has sent a frigate equipped with hypersonic missiles. Russia would also keep equipping its armed forces with advanced equipment and is boosting the production of conventional weapons, Putin said in the remarks issued by the Kremlin early on Thursday. On Wednesday, Putin welcomed China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, to the Kremlin, and Wang also met separately with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. TASS news agency quoted Wang as saying China would "firmly adhere to an objective and impartial position and play a constructive role in the political settlement of the crisis". Lavrov and Wang had not discussed a reported Chinese peace plan, the Russian foreign ministry said. The relationship between China and Russia, Wang said through an interpreter, was not directed against any third party but in a clear jab at the United States he said the countries would "not succumb to pressure from third parties." Eastern flank of NATO In Warsaw, Biden met with leaders of nine Eastern European countries that during the Cold War were either aligned with Moscow or part of the former Soviet Union. Some of them now are among the strongest supporters of military aid to Ukraine. "As NATO's eastern flank, you are the front line of our collective defence. You know better than anyone what is at stake in this conflict. Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world," Biden said. The Kremlin says it regards NATO, which could soon expand to include Sweden and Finland, as an existential threat to Russia. On his trip this week, which included a visit to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Biden rejected Russia's contention that the West wants to control or destroy it. Meanwhile, at a meeting on Wednesday of the 193-member United Nations General Assembly to mark the Ukraine war's anniversary, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced Russia's invasion as a violation of the founding U.N. Charter and international law and called out Moscow's threats about possible use of nuclear weapons. In two speeches last September Putin indicated that he would, if needed, use nuclear weapons to defend Russia. "We have heard implicit threats to use nuclear weapons. The so-called tactical use of nuclear weapons is utterly unacceptable. It is high time to step back from the brink," Guterres said. Putin suspended the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) on nuclear arms control with the United States on Tuesday, accusing Washington of turning the war into a global conflict by arming Ukraine. Moscow would stick to agreed limits on nuclear missiles and keep informing the United States about changes in its deployments, a senior Russian defence ministry official said. Biden said in an ABC News interview that he saw no change in Moscow's nuclear posture and did not think Putin's remarks meant Russia was thinking of using nuclear weapons. Asked about Russia's suspension of participation in New START, Biden called it "a big mistake" but said, "I don't read into that that he's thinking of using nuclear weapons or anything like that." Battlefield Russia, trying to secure full control of two eastern provinces forming Ukraine's Donbas industrial region, has launched repeated assaults. Russian troops managed to break through Ukrainian defences near the town of Kreminna on Tuesday but were pushed back and lost some of their heavy equipment, a senior Ukrainian official said on Wednesday. Kreminna is about 70 km (43.5 miles) north of Bakhmut, focus of the fiercest Russian attacks. Russia controls around a fifth of Ukraine a year after starting what it called a "special military operation" to protect Russian security. Ukraine and its Western allies have described the invasion as an imperial-style land grab. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. A heavy winter storm has knocked out power in California, blocked highways from Arizona to Wyoming, and canceled more than 1,500 flights on Wednesday. Schools, offices, Minnesota Legislature have also been closed down due to the storm. Traveling has also become difficult. The stormy weather has also delayed about 5,000 flights across the country. Taylor Dotson, her husband, Reggie, and their 4-year-old daughter, Raegan, faced a two-hour flight delay at Denver International Airport on their way home to Belvidere, Tennessee, according to The Associated Press. On Facebook, the State Transportation Department said that a major winter storm and multi-day closures are likely on Interstates and secondary roads throughout Wyoming. View Full Image Passengers wait in a security line at Denver International Airport on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. A brutal winter storm knocked out power in California, closed interstate highways from Arizona to Wyoming and prompted more than 1,500 U.S. flight cancellations. (AP) In the Pacific Northwest, high winds and heavy snow in the Cascade Mountains prevented search teams from reaching the bodies of three climbers killed in an avalanche on Washingtons Colchuck Peak over the weekend, as per AP reports. Two experts from the Northwest Avalanche Center were hiking to the scene on Wednesday to determine if conditions might permit a recovery attempt later this week. Powerful winds were the biggest problem in California, toppling trees and power lines. By Wednesday afternoon, more than 65,000 customers in the state were without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us. A 1-year-old child was critically injured when a redwood crashed into a home in Boulder Creek, a community in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco, KTVU reported. View Full Image Police and emergency workers try to free vehicles from the snow on Mountain View Parkway in Lehi, Utah, on February 22, 2023. - 29 US states are under winter weather alerts as people brace for a winter storm expected to bring heavy snow, wind, and freezing temperatures from the west to east coast. (AFP) A blizzard warning was issued for the mountains of Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, effective from 4 am Thursday to 4 pm. Saturday, the National Weather Service said. A more than 200-mile (320-kilometer) stretch of Interstate 40 from central Arizona to the New Mexico line closed due to snow, ran and wind gusts of up to 80 mph (129 kph). Thousands were without power in Arizona. In the northern US, more than 20 inches (50.8 centimeters) may pile up in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin, the National Weather Service said. Temperatures could plunge as low as minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 29 degrees Celsius) Thursday and to minus 25 F (minus 32 C) Friday in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wind chills may fall to minus 50 F (minus 46 C), said Nathan Rick, a meteorologist in Grand Forks as quoted by AP. Wind gusts may reach 50 mph (80 kph) in western and central Minnesota, resulting in significant blowing and drifting snow with whiteout conditions in open areas," the weather service said. View Full Image A person walks through Bde Maka Ska Park during a snowstorm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on February 22, 2023. (AFP) Later this week, the winter storm will make its way toward the East Coast. The weather even prompted about 90 churches in western Michigan to cancel Ash Wednesday services. As the northern U.S. deals with a winter blast, National Weather Service Meteorologist Richard Bann said some mid-Atlantic and Southeastern cities set new high-temperature marks by several degrees. The high in Lexington, Kentucky, reached 76 F (24 C), shattering the Feb. 22 mark of 70 F (21 C) set 101 years ago. Nashville, Tennessee, reached 78 F (26 C), topping the 1897 record by 4 degrees. Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Atlanta and Mobile, Alabama, were among many other places seeing record highs. In Fargo, North Dakota, the Wednesday morning temperature was minus 11 F (minus 24 C), so server Michelle Wilson wasn't surprised by the small crowd at the Denny's where she works. (With AP inputs) Turkish authorities have expanded a criminal probe into individuals responsible for buildings levelled by a deadly earthquake with 564 suspects identified, the interior minister has announced. A 7.8-magnitude tremor on February 6 and its aftershocks have killed more than 43,000 people in Turkey and left millions without homes. Also Read: New 6.4 magnitude quake hits Turkey-Syria border area "160 of them have been detained, 18 are in police custody and 175 have been released on bail," Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in an interview on the state-run TRT Haber channel late Wednesday. "We have banned all of those under investigation from travelling. Nothing is more precious than human life. "We are being thorough." Tens of thousands of buildings collapsed without warning following the violent tremor as many people slept. Also Read: Greater earthquake possibility: NGRI chief scientist warns of disaster at any time' Turkish media has vocally criticised developers for using shoddy materials and failing to comply with construction codes. In the face of growing anger, several developers were arrested in the first days following the earthquake. "1,250,000 buildings were examined in 11 provinces. 164,321 buildings made up of 520,000 independent units have already been destroyed, severely damaged or urgently need to be destroyed," Environment Minister Murat Kurum announced on Thursday. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced plans to rebuild 270,000 homes in the devastated provinces within one year. "We are making plans taking into account the cultural landscape, our children's future and guaranteeing our towns are on safe ground," Kurum added. "We will build the new housing with this in mind." This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. On 24 February, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, not only provoking the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II, but also setting in motion geopolitical trends that are likely to change the contours of the post-Cold War global order. Putins misadventure has once again proved that it is easier to start a war than bring it to a conclusion, as one year into the conflict, there is no sign of an end game. Russian forces are struggling even as the Ukrainian resistance aided by Western weaponry has been able to hold its defences. But the human costs remain high, with Russian forces now resorting to indiscriminate bombing of urban spaces and infrastructure. Writing in Foreign Affairs, Ukrainian historian Georgiy Kasianov underlines how contrasting historical narratives have shaped the causes and consequences of this war: Russian forces have been smashing their way through Ukraine spurred in large part by historical fiction," even as history also propels the fierce Ukrainian resistance. Ukrainians, too, harbour a particular understanding of the past that motivates them to fight. In many ways, this war is the collision of two incompatible historical narratives." A year on, neither side has been able to make a decisive breakthrough. The stalemate is quite obvious on the ground, with the outcome of the war remaining highly uncertain, but in a short period of 12 months, the strategic contours of Europes post-Cold War security landscape have been radically transformed. The Trans-Atlantic alliance Nato has been revived and Europe is once again seeing the virtues of geopolitics. Most significantly, in a decisive break from its post-World War II foreign policy of caution, Germany today is at a turning point (zeitenwende) in European history. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was forced to confront the consequences of European reluctance to engage with the changing strategic landscape, and he had to accept that with the invasion of Ukraine, we are now in a new era." Once one of the strongest proponents of close ties with Russia, Berlin has not only managed to significantly curtail its energy dependence on Russia, but has also announced a massive increase in defence spending to build a powerful, state of the art, the advanced army that protects [Germany] reliably." Within the EU, there has been an interesting shift in power to the east, with eastern European nations asking and getting a more robust pushback against Russia. And Nato is back in demand, with its frontiers now actually reaching Russian doorsteps, something that was Putins ostensible reason for starting the war. For Russia, it has been a year of disastrous displays of incompetence at multiple levels. The last vestige of being a major powerits military mightwas shown to be of little value. An initial blitzkrieg that was supposed to end the war in days failed due to serious command-and-control as well as logistical frailties, forcing Putin to go in for partial mobilization" that led to domestic discontent. Now the Russian strategy is to wait and sap Western support for Ukraine as waves of aerial bombardment wreak havoc on hapless civilians. With Ukrainian forces trying to consolidate for an offensive, a major escalation is likely without certainty of a resolution. Diplomatically, Russia is also losing ground, with its prestige melting away along its periphery in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Apart from Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Eritrea, Russia has found little explicit support. Most nations have been keen to balance their ties between Russia and the West, while China, despite its declaration of a no-limits friendship", made it clear that it wont provide one bullet to Moscow. A year on, though, China is said to be considering supplying lethal aid to Russia and the West has warned that such a move would mean crossing a red-line. For much of the world, the food, fuel and broader economic crisis brought on by the war has taken a huge toll. The world was just beginning to recover from the pandemic when Putin struck. The developing world has been the biggest loser, with economic distress visible in many countries. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, for example, have all struggled to pay their import bills. India, too, is fast learning that its extreme dependence on Russia for defence supplies has shrunk its strategic autonomy. Though New Delhi has been a net beneficiary of a leadership vacuum in the global order over the last few years, allowing it to showcase its leadership credentials, global polarization and continuing major power rivalry will also exact costs on Indias ability to pursue multi-alignment effectively. Harsh V. Pant is professor of international relations, Kings College London, and vice president for studies at Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi On Tuesday, Russia announced it was suspending participation in the New Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (New START). the last nuclear arms regulation agreement it has with the United States. Mint breaks down the implications of Russias move. Russia and the United States are the worlds pre-eminent nuclear powers, controlling over 90% of nuclear weapons on the planet. Both sides have signed a number of treaties over the decades to limit increases in nuclear stockpiles in order to prevent conflict and ensure stability. Washington and Moscow signed New START in 2010 and it came into effect in February 2011. The treaty limited the number of strategic weapons both sides could deploy and allowed for mutual inspections of nuclear facilities to ensure compliance. New START initially ran until 2021 and was extended by presidents Biden and Putin for another five years. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the country's foreign ministry announced on Tuesday that Moscow was suspending participation in the treaty. Russia blamed the United States for its decision. There is every reason to conclude that the United States policy aims to undermine Russias national security, which directly contradicts the fundamental principles and understandings set forth in the New STARTs preamble and forming its foundation," read a statement by the Russian foreign ministry. However, it also made clear that this decision could be reversed and that Moscow was not looking to add to its already massive nuclear arsenal. America decried the decision as irresponsible and the leaders of several European nations called on Russia to reverse it. Tensions had been building up over the treaty for some time the US earlier accused Russia of refusing to allow inspections of its nuclear facilities. Experts worry that Russias decision sharply reduces global stability. Arms limitation commitments and inspections helped create transparency and accountability. Uncertainty, tension and instability, especially when it comes to nuclear weapons, signal a far more unsettled world. G20 finance ministers and central bank governors go into a huddle on Friday and Saturday. G20 chair India, and the International Monetary Fund, say debt restructuring of low-income countries (LICs) and emerging economies will top the agenda of the sessions. Now, most LICs are African nations, a natural resource-rich continent patronized by China over more than a decade. Any effort by India and its allies, such as the US, to widen their influence in Africa, directly or through multilateral bodies like the IMF and the World Bank, will be resented by Beijing. China is the largest bilateral lender for public sector projects in Africa. IMF wants to be at the centre of a global financial safety net". It may become another flashpoint between the West and China. The G20 agenda may be divisive The G20 finance ministers will debate issues from slowing global growth to regulating cryptos. Mounting debt of LICs and emerging economies will top the agenda, according to India and the IMF. IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva estimates "15% of low-income countries (LICs) are in debt distress and an additional 45% are at high risk of debt distress. And among emerging economies, about 25% are at high risk and facing default-like" borrowing spreads." Since most LICs are African nations, the continent will have to be at the heart of these discussions. And that may not go down well with China. In fact, it may even see it as an attempt by India and allies, including the US, to curtail its influence in Africa. Beijing has emerged as the leading bilateral lender to Africa in recent years. In 2020, almost 9% of Africa's external debt was owed to China. Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Cameroon and Zambia are the countries with the maximum exposure to Chinese debt, ranging from 15% to 40% of their total external debt. In the recent past, western leaders have repeatedly taken potshots at China for delaying country debt restructurings, a charge Beijing has angrily denied. In fact, there is a school of thought that China competes with the IMF in giving credit to new markets, and extending its strategic influence globally. Africa may just emerge as the new battleground for China and the West. So, a well-resourced global financial safety net, with the IMF at its centre, is more important than ever," says IMFs Georgieva. Why China is interested in Africa The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) a rich-country club, sees China's interest in Africa as an attempt to sustain its high growth rates. "China needs, first and foremost, natural resources, oil, industrial metals, and increasingly, agricultural resources," OECD said in a paper. But in recent years, a clearer picture of the Chinese footprint in Africa is emerging. According to Washington-based think-tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, more than 65% China's of lending goes to infrastructure projects. While initially some Chinese lenders offered government-subsidized concessional loans, now most Chinese creditors offer loans at commercial or non-concessional rates. Carnegie Endowment further says, "The controversial resource-backed lending model persists" in some cases. Essentially, it's a model for financing infrastructure projects the borrowing nation promises to repay Chinese loans from the share of revenues earned from its natural resource exports. Of course, volatile commodity markets can disturb this debt repayment arrangement, and borrowers have on occasions had to seek help from other entities, such as the IMF. Africa is capital-starved Many African countries have been roiled by the pandemic and need debt restructuring to tide over the crisis in the near term, and cheaper long-term debt. Zambia has already sought a bailout programme from the IMF. Many other countries, including Zambia, Ghana, Mozambique, Rwanda and Sudan too have mountains of debt. It's not that the rest of the world has ignored Africa in the past. In fact, Africa's debt shrank in the 2000s after waivers under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative of the World Bank and the IMF. The US is the leading shareholder in both multilateral institutions. But many believe the West has not done enough in Africa in recent years, a vacuum China has filled. Africa is mineral-rich, from oil in Niger and Chad to natural gas in Mozambique. It has not gone unnoticed. IMFs Georgieva has said that the multilateral body has taken "unprecedented action" in Africa recently. In 2021, IMF lending in Africa was 13 times higher than the annual average of the previous decade, she asserted. But Africa needs much more. India is also expanding in Africa In recent years, India too has been expanding its footprint in Africa. In fact, its among the top five investors in the continent. Across Mozambique, Sudan, Ghana and Nigeria, India has been spreading its footprint in agribusinesses, IT, energy and pharma. President Vladimir Putin said hes waiting for his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to visit Russia as he hailed deepening ties with Beijing at talks with Chinas top diplomat. Cooperation between Russia and China is very important for stabilizing the international situation," Putin told Chinese State Councilor Wang Yi at talks in Moscow on Wednesday, asking him to pass on greetings to my friend" Xi. Russia and China are reaching new milestones" including in trade, which may grow to $200 billion sooner than their goal of 2024, Putin said. The current international situation is indeed critical and complex but the relationship between China and Russia is solid as a mountain and can stand the test of international risks," Wang replied, adding that the strategic" ties between Moscow and Beijing wont be subject to pressure from any third parties. Wangs visit to Moscow roughly a year after Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine shows that China has little intention of abandoning its staunch diplomatic partner despite Beijings efforts to limit the damage caused by the war. China has said it will soon release details of a plan to bring peace in Ukraine, a proposal met with skepticism in the US and Europe. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Wang at weekend talks in Munich against China providing lethal aid to Putins war, even as Beijing moves to portray itself as a neutral actor that can broker peace in Ukraine. Wang and Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev affirmed at talks on Tuesday that their nations are aligned in pushing back against the US and allies, pledging to jointly practice true multilateralism, oppose all forms of unilateral bullying, and promote democracy in international relations and a multi-polar world." Patrushev was present with Putin at the Kremlin meeting along with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whod held separate talks with Wang earlier Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal reported that Xi was preparing to visit Moscow in the coming months to push for multiparty peace talks and allow China to reiterate its calls that nuclear weapons not be used. A potential visit has been floated for months, with Putin telling Xi during a December video call that he looked forward to welcoming the Chinese leader to Russia in the spring. Xi has yet to talk with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy since the invasion despite speaking with Putin some four times in that span. Beijing has also repeatedly defended some of Russias reasons for going to war most prominently to resist the expansion of NATO while insisting it doesnt support the invasion itself. While Beijing remains close to Russia, the costs of their partnership have become more apparent of late. Beyond the near-term damage to the global economy, China is also increasingly seen in the US and Europe as a strategic competitor that must be deterred from its own ambitions to take control of Taiwan a prospect that makes Beijing more vulnerable to multilateral export controls, investment restrictions and other measures that could thwart its long-term growth prospects. In a phone call with Lavrov in early January, new Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said ties were based on Three Nos:" no alliance, no confrontation and no targeting of any third party. Chinese participants at a security conference in Germany last weekend also sought to downplay the significance of a no-limits" partnership that Xi and Putin agreed to last year just weeks before the Russian leader invaded Ukraine. Japan, a key US ally in Asia, expressed concern about Chinas joint military exercises with Russia around its shores in the first security dialog between officials from Tokyo and Beijing since 2019, according to a statement issued by Japans Ministry of Defense. China and Russia conducted joint drills in waters off Japan several times last year. For their part, the Chinese officials said they were extremely worried about what they saw as negative Japanese actions regarding Taiwan in collusion with forces outside the region, public broadcaster NHK reported. The two Asian neighbors did agree to continue to work toward bringing a military hotline into operation in the spring, the ministry said. Xiaomi is all set to launch the Xiaomi 13 series in the global market on February 26 at MWC 2023. The Xiaomi 13 series was first introduced in China last year and includes the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro. The Xiaomi 13 Lite is the latest addition to the series and has been listed on a German e-commerce website, which has revealed its specifications. The Xiaomi 13 Lite appears to be a rebadged version of the Xiaomi Civi 2, which was launched in China last year. The Google Play Console listing also supports this claim. It is expected that the Xiaomi 13 Lite will share many similarities with the Xiaomi Civi 2, including its design and specifications. At this time, the specific details about the Xiaomi 13 Lite's design and specifications have not been officially confirmed by Xiaomi. However, based on the leaked information, it appears that the Xiaomi 13 Lite will be a mid-range smartphone with a modern design, a high-quality camera system, and a powerful processor. As the launch event approaches, more information about the Xiaomi 13 series is likely to surface, and we can expect Xiaomi to provide more details on the specifications and features of the Xiaomi 13 Lite. The Xiaomi 13 Lite smartphone is likely to feature a 6.55-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels. The display is expected to have a 120Hz refresh rate, a 240Hz touch sampling rate, and support for HDR10+. Additionally, it will support 1920Hz high frequency PWM dimming technology. Under the hood, the Xiaomi 13 Lite is expected to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset with Adreno 662 GPU. It may also feature 8GB of RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of internal storage. The smartphone is expected to run on MIUI 13, which is based on Android 12. The Xiaomi 13 Lite is likely to come with an in-display fingerprint sensor and an infrared sensor. As for the battery, it could have a capacity of 4500mAh. It is expected that the upcoming smartphone will support fast charging of up to 67W. The device is rumored to feature a triple camera system, led by a 50MP rear camera with a Sony IMX766 sensor, f/1.8 aperture, and LED flash. The other two rear cameras are expected to be a 20MP 115-degree ultrawide-angle lens with f/2.2 aperture and a 2MP macro camera with f/2.4 aperture. The front-facing camera is said to be 32MP. The Xiaomi 13 Lite is expected to launch on February 26th, alongside other flagship models of the Xiaomi 13 series. The 8GB + 128GB variant will reportedly be available in Black and Pink color options for 499.90 (around Rs. 44,135), while the 256GB model is expected to cost 549.90 (around Rs. 48,555). Coca-Cola United is partnering with 17 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, also known as HBCUs in the southeast, to allow students to learn more about the organization and broaden their skills. To put more eyes in the sky, Patrick Kellam and another drone pilot with Hamilton County Emergency Management Services drove up to North Carolina to help. Check out our latest E-Edition Accessible anytime and anywhere on your desktop, tablet and smart phone devices. The Lodi News e-Edition is enhanced with the latest digital tools, including RSS feeds, social networking and much more. Check out our latest E-edition! New legislation is likely to be required in order to facilitate the opening of a Civil Defence headquarters in Longford town. Tanaiste and Minister for Defence Micheal Martin made the admission last week in the Dail when responding to a request from party colleague and Longford Westmeath Fianna Fail TD Joe Flaherty. Mr Martin said the necessity for debate to be undertaken on how best to draft new laws was best suited to talks at committee based level. Those comments, made during the unveiling of the Civil Defence Bill 2023 came on foot of an address from Deputy Flaherty. Longford Civil Defence deserves a headquarters that befits its stellar efforts, he said. In noting his own desire to see a specified Civil Defence headquarters realised during the lifetime of the current coalition government, Deputy Flaherty took time to single out the ongoing efforts its members continue to make at local level. No event, be it community, sporting or local authority, takes place in Longford without the involvement of the Civil Defence, he said. Members do their duty with a constant smile and a sense of community that leaves us in no doubt as to the values and qualities that define this great country of ours. We saw the Civil Defence at its best last year, as the war in Ukraine unfolded, when members were to the fore in the humanitarian operation here. They continue to provide ongoing assistance for those fleeing the war in Ukraine, with Longford Civil Defence assisting with 43 specific duties last year, most of which involved the provision and management of a rest centre. According to the Lanesboro native, no fewer than 100 engagements were overseen by the organisation, ranging from the likes of the Longford Show, Royal Canal Run and Dead of Night Festival. Longford Lights Festival, Irelands largest community based lantern festival, takes place in Connolly Barracks in Longford Town at 5.30-8.30pm from Friday, February 24 to Sunday, February 26. Longford County Council Cathaoirleach Cllr Turlough McGovern will open the festival at 6pm on Friday, February 24. Longford Lights Festival is a partnership between artist Tom Meskell and Longford County Council Arts Office. It is co-funded through the Arts Council of Ireland and its Project Award Scheme. Over 200 local Longford people from various community groups have so far participated in the making of the Longford Lights. These include local schools, Drumlish and Killoe Men Sheds, Longford Irish Countrywomens Associations, Longford Womens Link, St Christophers and the Ethnic Minority Hub. This new festival was also made possible with expertise from Macnas from Galway and the Liverpool Lantern Company, both acclaimed and award-winning spectacle theatre companies. The festival builds on the success of last years The Light Brigade event also by artistic director Tom Meskell which attracted over 2,000 people to Longford. This previous event saw magnificent, illuminated horse sculptures taking pride of place in Connolly Barracks. Longford County Council Cathaoirleach Cllr Turlough McGovern said, Having attended the Light Brigade, I am very much looking forward to opening the Longford Lights Festival, the latest collaboration between Longford County Council Arts Office and Tom Meskell. This ambitious project, held at this scale in a beautiful setting, is something which Longford people as well as people from further afield should come to experience. Congratulations to all on their tremendous work. I cannot wait to see you all there. Longford County Council Chief Executive Paddy Mahon added, Longford County Council is proud to get behind this new festival, the largest of its kind in Ireland. It shows great collaboration between the Council, artists and community groups. It shows how creativity and art can bring people together for the betterment of their area and shows how the Councils investment in the arts can attract visitors to County Longford. Following this success, Tom Meskell is confident Longford Lights Festival will be a must-see event: Visitors to Longford Lights Festival Art Illuminated, will be greeted by original sculptures in lantern form made by Irish artists along with projections, specially commissioned music, drumming and fire sculptures. All of this work has been produced by local, national and international artists. We are working on making this one of the biggest community lantern events in Ireland and we are expecting crowds of up to 5,000 people over the weekend. Longford Lights Festival is a free and fully-accessible, public event which takes place in Connolly Barracks in Longford town between 5.30-8.30pm from Friday to Sunday, February 24 - 26. I kept shooting until the gun finished and there was no ammunition left, Stephen Silver has told the Central Criminal Court, describing the moment that he killed Garda Colm Horkan with the gardas own gun. The jury in the trial of Mr Silver (46), of Aughavard, Foxford, Co Mayo, also heard that Mr Silver struck Gda Horkan with the butt of the gun after the first shots were fired, saying he believed the garda was a heavy down from Dublin who was trying to kill him. Mr Silver has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Gda Horkan knowing or being reckless as to whether he was a member of An Garda Siochana acting in accordance with his duty at Castlerea, Co Roscommon on June 17, 2020. He has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and the jury have been told the main issue in the trial is Mr Silvers state of mind at the time of the shooting. Mr Silver yesterday (Wednesday) told the trial that he had his first mental health episode when he was 19, had been admitted to hospital 16 or 17 times and was told that he had schizoaffective disorder. Mr Silver today (Thursday) gave evidence to defence counsel Maurice Coffey SC that he and his friend James Coyne were walking up Patrick Street on the night of June 17 when he noticed a car with a Dublin registration plate cruising behind them. There was one man in the car staring at me. He stopped and asked me who I was, and I said, Who are you? and he said, Whats your name? I said my name and he said, Im a guard. I didnt believe he was a guard, he didnt come across as one. He was wearing a Hilfiger jacket. It didnt look like a jacket worn by a guard. I wondered what he wanted. He was right up to me, very close to me, and I said, Stand back. Mr Silver demonstrated in the witness box the move he used, and Mr Coffey described it as a martial arts stance with the left hand out palm facing. Mr Silver confirmed that this was a defensive move. He moved back and I relaxed my stance, and then he stepped in and grabbed my left arm with his right hand. James said, Jesus, Stephen, stop, and the guard said, James, as he grabbed me. I thought he was a drug dealer. I thought he was a heavy down from Dublin, he knew James. I didnt know what was happening, said Mr Silver. He said that he and Gda Horkan struggled for a bit before Mr Coyne grabbed Mr Silver from behind and tugged at him. I fell to the ground on one knee. I was in the process of getting up and had my hand on his hip, and I felt the gun. I thought, Oh shit, Im going to be shot here. I pulled my hand away, and I put my hand on the gun getting up. His hand was now on the gun. We were both upright. He had his hand on the gun and I had my hand on the gun and we wrestled. The gun came out; I couldnt tell you who took it out, said Mr Silver. He continued: I pulled the trigger first and nothing happened. We both had a hold of the gun together. I pulled the trigger and nothing happened, then I pulled it again and there was a loud pop noise. I fired once again, then I pulled my finger off, then he fired it twice, and then it went off another two times after that. Our hands were on the gun at the same time. Then he started falling, he lost the power in his hands. He was falling backwards and I hit him on the head with the butt of the gun. I was the only one who had the gun at that stage. He released my arm and fell backwards and I started firing the gun at him. I was just afraid, full of adrenaline. I felt he was trying to kill me. I still thought he was an assailant. I kept shooting until the gun finished and there was no ammunition left. It happened so quickly. He said that the gardai then arrived and he threw the gun away. After I finished shooting, I walked away. I could tell the gun was empty. I looked at it with disgust and threw it away. I was all over the place. Its too hard to explain what was going through my mind, he said. Mr Silver said that he was not truly aware of the gravity of the situation until he was brought to the Central Mental Hospital. He told the court that a week after being brought to the Central Mental Hospital, he started getting better and his thoughts were clearer. He said that he is now on medication and given an antipsychotic injection every two weeks. During cross-examination by counsel for the prosecution, Michael Delaney SC, Mr Silver confirmed that when he was being arrested, he said to gardai, I know what ye did to the black man in America. Mr Silver confirmed that this was a reference to the death of George Floyd but denied that he was making this reference in an attempt to put the gardai on the same plane as the police killing an innocent man in America. Mr Delaney asked him about remarks he made outside Mr Coynes house in the Knockroe estate in Castlerea on the night of 17 June. Mr Silver said he accepted witness evidence that he had shouted, I dare the armed squad to come down here now. Another witness heard you say they would need a sniper to get a good shot, said Mr Delaney. I dont remember that, replied Mr Silver. Mr Delaney put it to him that his behaviour in Knockroe on the night, when he and Mr Coyne were riding a motorbike around the estate with no lights on and causing enough noise to disturb a number of residents, was designed to bring the gardai down to Knockroe. No, it was seriously stupid childish behaviour, said Mr Silver, going on to deny Mr Delaneys assertion that he had been itching for a confrontation with the guards. Mr Delaney referenced a statement made by James Coyne in which Mr Coyne said that Gda Horkan told Mr Silver he was arresting him. I agree that was probably what he was trying to do. I didnt hear him say it, said Mr Silver. Mr Delaney said that during an interview in the garda station, Mr Silver agreed with Mr Coynes statement that Gda Horkan had said he was arresting him. During interview, I wasnt my full self. I was making mistakes. I just wanted out of there, I just wanted everything to be over, said Mr Silver, going on to say that he agreed with Mr Delaney that what he said in the garda station was different from what he was now telling the jury. Mr Delaney put it to Mr Silver that in the struggle with Gda Horkan, Mr Silver was going to get the better of this man whom he knew was a garda trying to arrest him. I didnt know he was a guard, said Mr Silver. Mr Silver went on to agree with Mr Delaney that it is far more likely that it was Mr Silver who drew the gun from the holster and not Gda Horkan. He told Mr Delaney that he shot Gda Horkan ten times using every bullet that was left in the gun. Mr Delaney said it was well known that detectives wear plain clothes on duty, to which Mr Silver agreed that this had alerted me to the possibility that Gda Horkan was a detective. Mr Delaney put it to him that in the course of the struggle, Mr Silver became aware of the gun on Gda Horkans hip. Who else but a guard would carry a gun in that way? asked Mr Delaney. I dont know, Ive never experienced anything like that before, replied Mr Silver. Mr Delaney asked Mr Silver about losing his glasses in the struggle with Gda Horkan and how he said he could not see without them. Your eyesight couldnt be impaired that much because you managed to shoot him ten times, you didnt miss the target, said Mr Delaney. I can see shapes, said Mr Silver. Mr Delaney referenced an occasion in the garda station when Mr Silver seemed to be pretending to be asleep during an interview. He put it that Mr Silver had been showing the guards who was in charge. That was not my intention at all. I tried to rest my eyes, said Mr Silver, going on to say that he was being an asshole by doing this. Mr Delaney put it to him that this had been an attempt to control the interviews, an assertion that Mr Silver denied. Mr Delaney said that Mr Silver on many occasions tried to put the gardai down during the interviews. I wasnt behaving very well at all, replied Mr Silver, admitting that he had been very ignorant to younger gardai at the station. The trial continues tomorrow (Friday) before Ms Justice Tara Burns and the jury of seven men and five women. Food, Wine, & Dining By Ls Cohen Published: February 23 2023 Serving up Vietnamese dishes. People in Hicksville will not have to travel far for Vietnamese food anymore with Top Pho opening at the beginning of the year. Pho, a broth with rice noodles comes in many varieties. On the menu at Top Pho is the Pho with fresh beef slices, Pho with beef balls, Pho with beef flank brisket and Pho with beef tendon (All $14.95). Appetizers include Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Vietnamese Deep Fried Shrimp Rolls and Shrimp Summer Rolls. On Yelp, Tammy K gave it five stars. Got the Vietnamese coffee, delicious, she wrote. Also tried the salt and pepper chicken and spring rolls. Both fried to just the right crunch, not too oily. I had the beef pho, the noodles were cooked just right. Broth is flavorful. Ashley K, from Wantagh, also gave Top Pho some love. Loveddddd the Pho we ordered today, she said. Perfect for this ice cold day. We will 100% be ordering again. Location: 482 Plainview Road, Hicksville, (516) 490-3416. Prudential PLC - London-based, Asia-focused insurer - Appoints Anil Wadhwani as chief executive from February 25. Accordingly, current Chief Executive Mark FitzPatrick will step down from the role on Friday. He will remain available as an adviser "for a period". Wadhwani was most recently chief executive officer of Manulife's Asia region. Prior to this, he spent 25 years with Citigroup Inc. Chair Shriti Vadera says: "On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Mark for his dedication, hard work and for the significant impact he has had on the progress and transformation of Prudential during his time as [chief financial officer] and [chief operating officer], and in particular in leading the company as interim chief executive. With Anil's appointment, Prudential has now completed the move of its entire senior management team to Asia. We are delighted to welcome Mr Wadhwani." Current stock price: 1,245.00 pence, up 0.1% in London on Thursday morning 12-month change: up 6.9% By Holly Beveridge; Alliance News reporter Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved. (Alliance News) - International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, parent company of British Airways and Iberia, on Thursday announced the acquisition of Air Europa for EUR500 million from the Spanish company Globalia. "The board of IAG believes that the acquisition remains strategically important for the group and positions it to benefit from growth opportunities in the Latin America and Caribbean market, as well as to increase connectivity to Asia," it said in a statement. IAG announced last August it had taken a 20% stake in Air Europa after converting a loan. It will acquire the remaining 80% for EUR400 million, the group said, adding that the agreement is "subject to regulatory and other approvals, which could take around 18 months". IAG announced in 2019 a proposed merger with Air Europa, at the time estimated at EUR1 billion. The group, which also owns the Spanish low-cost airline Vueling, hopes to strengthen its links to the American continent and make Madrid a main European hub. But the project was hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic, which led IAG to halve its initial offer, then by the reluctance of the European Commission, worried about a reduction in competition in the Spanish market. These difficulties led IAG to announce in late 2021 the termination of the 2019 purchase agreement. The revised deal will "enable IAG's Madrid hub to compete on an equal footing with other European hubs and consolidate its position in the South Atlantic" IAG chief executive Luis Gallego was quoted as saying in the statement. "Madrid is the main gateway between Latin America and Europe and there are opportunities to expand its network, providing significant benefits to our customers, employees and shareholders," he added. A sum of EUR400 million would be paid in the form of EUR100 million in IAG shares and EUR100 million in cash up on closing the deal, followed by an additional EUR100 million payable in cash on both the first and second anniversary of the final deal, the statement said. The Air Europa brand will be retained under the management of Iberia. IAG, which also controls the Irish company Aer Lingus, is the third largest airline group in Europe behind Ryanair and Lufthansa. source: AFP Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Want to know what the British consul gets up to in Barcelona? Well all will be revealed when a new action-packed series The Diplomat goes to air on Alibi on Monday night. The BBC series gives an alternative and interesting insight into the work of the British consular staff in Spain. The six-part series is set in the heart of Barcelona, The Diplomat sees Gentleman Jack and Peaky Blinders star Sophie Rundle playing consular worker Laura Simmonds helping Britons who get into trouble abroad. Part lawyer, part counsellor and part cop, Laura will fight to protect those who come through the doors of the British Consul in Barcelona but sometimes her diplomatic skills are stretched to the limit. The crime series also stars Killing Eves Danny Sapani and Serena Manteghi (Mrs Wilson). Executive producer and UKTV drama commissioner, Philippa Collie Cousins stated that both main characters are contrasting professional working women dealing with murder, abductions and organised crime alongside managing their careers and love lives. In regards to the writing and storyline, Cousins stated that it is The Good Wife meets Spooks, a feisty workplace drama set in Barcelona with cracking dialogue, abundant crime and a surprising series arc. Television to stay in for by the very talented Ben Richards. If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. Visit the first-ever interactive beauty room that glows up as you transform into a LazBeauty Bestie at the SM Mega Fashion Hall! Nothing compares to spending quality time with your besties as you share beauty tips, secrets, and more. Get the chance to bond with those just as passionate about looking good and feeling great by visiting the LazBeauty Room at SM Mega Fashion Hall from February 22-26, 2023. Designed to display what makes #LazBeautyPH the top destination you can rely on for quality and trendy products in hair care, makeup and skin care, the LazBeauty Room celebrates beauty and confidence, inviting beauty lovers like you to drop by and explore how to feel your best anytime, anywhere. "We're constantly finding new ways of delivering on our customers' needs at Lazada, and with LazBeauty, we're proud to share that every Filipino now has better access to quality and trendy beauty products on our platform. Our teams, partners and sellers have been working hard to help make LazBeauty as the country's top online beauty destination, where we have more local and international brands than anyone, always offered at the best prices. It's an exciting time here because with each LazBeauty purchase, our customers enjoy CashBack, and Fast and FREE Shipping. Today's LazBeauty Room reveal, the first interactive room that glows up as you enter and celebrate your confidence, is just the first of many fresh and innovative experiences that we have in store for our "LazBeauty community"; said Lazada Philippines CEO Carlos Barrera. With the LazBeauty Room, we wanted to create a fun space for all beauty connoisseurs to promote and share their beauty stories and must-haves, shared Kitty Calderon, Lazada PHs Head of Marketing. To help you find the perfect beauty item for you, the LazBeauty Room will be segmented into three themes to help you be your truest self for whatever life has in store for you! Sobrang daming choices of trendy products and trusted brands like Kiehl's, MAC Cosmetics, Unilever, Clocheflame, and Colourette, to try and buy at the LazBeauty Room. All of which is powered by Fast and Free Shipping, the best beauty deals, and even more exclusive deals when you sign up as a LazBeauty Club member! Meanwhile, set to take LazBeautys celebration to the next level is the brands newest face, Gabbi Garcia. As someone who has learned to overcome her insecurities, #LazBeautyBestieGabbiGarcia joins the brand in its mission to redefine Filipina beauty. Im looking forward to having this community of Beauty Besties with the LazBeauty Room wherein people will celebrate and support each other in being their most confident selves. Just a group where you can have fun, share anything, and be yourself. Gabbi shared. LazBeauty presents #SobrangDamingChoices that allow you to enjoy the best brands, both local and international. There are #SobrangDamingDeals as well, including up to 80% off on beauty deals, fast and free shipping (as quick as three days in Metro Manila with 0 minimum spend, no cap), and exclusive deals when you sign up as a #LazBeautyClub member. As a tight-knit community, you will also find on LazBeauty #SobrangDamingBeautyBesties you can learn from with their reliable ratings and reviews on LazBeauty products. Shop at LazBeauty now at lzd.co/LazBeauty and sign up as a LazBeauty Club member to get exclusive beauty perks, deals, and more. #AddtoCartAddtoLife with #LazadaPH by visiting lazada.com.ph and following facebook.com/LazadaPhilippines and instagram.com/LazadaPH. A Barcelona court has decided that Dani Alves will remain in custody without bail until the start of his trial. Alves has been in jail for roughly a month after being accused of allegedly raping a girl in a nightclub in Barcelona on December 30, 2022. Joana Sanz's reaction to the latest Dani Alves setback In response to this decision, his wife Joana Sanz has opted to leave the country after learning that Dani Alves remains in jail. Joana Sanz announced to her followers that she has decided to leave Spain, although only temporarily. "Moving my ass to another country, ready for the next 11 days of work," Sanz shared via an Instagram story from the Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport. The model was recently seen in Madrid with Lola Casademunt. Work is her best way of disconnecting from reality in a year where she is suffering the repercussions of the Alves case, as well as the recent loss of her mother. News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Ram Charan is one celebrity who always has his grooming game in sync with his fashion moves. He not only has a tasteful sense of style but is also never not seen making a public appearance with scruffy facial hair. His beard is always well-defined and hair gelled-up and side-swept to perfection. Currently in Beverly Hills, California for the Golden Globes, the actor is having the biggest fashion moment of his life. His red carpet outings so far have been about embracing his love for Indian and traditional silhouettes. After turning heads in a rather dapper black Bandhagala jacket at the awards night, now for another outing, the South superstar has once again rocked an Indian fit and worn an ivory kurta with white trousers. Arif Minhaz Arif Minhaz He paired his Tarun Tahiliani ivory number with a pair of tan brown penny loafers and tinted sunglasses, an accessory that added a layer of royalty to his look. However, what really stood out for us is the way Ram trimmed his beard down to a 5 oclock stubble and sported a bold chevron mustache to ace the ethnic look. Like we mentioned that the celeb is all about a kickass upkeep, so while his black bandhgala required a fuller beard, the ivory look for him was about just letting his mustache do the talking. His long mop of hair neatly combed to one side made the appearance further natty. The actor attended the event with Jr NTR and SS Rajamouli as their film RRR was nominated in two categories - Best Motion Picture - Non-English Language and Best Original Song for Naatu Naatu. The film bagged the Best Original Song award for Naatu Naatu at the celebrated awards and made history for India. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. By February 1945, the cruel and inhumane treatment by the Japanese against their enemies was well known. As the Allies liberated the Philippines, the decision was made to attempt a rescue effort at the Cabanatuan Prison. This rescue, often referred to as the Great Raid, liberated over 500 prisoners from Cabanatuan on Jan. 30, 1945. These prisoners then described their horrific treatment as well as the atrocities of the Bataan Death March. This convinced the Allied commanders to attempt more rescue operations in order to save the lives of those held by the Japanese. POWs interned by the Japanese in the Philippines were malnourished and subject to brutal conditions. (Photo: U.S. Army Signal Corps) A plan was quickly drawn up, this time using paratroopers from the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment. The target would be the University of the Philippines campus-turned POW camp at Los Banos. There the Japanese were holding over 2,000 Allied personnel, mostly civilians who were caught up in the Japanese onslaught of late 1941. The plan was divided into four phases. The first phase involved inserting the 11th Airborne's divisional reconnaissance platoon along with Filipino guerrillas as guides. Prior to the attack they would mark the drop zone for the paratroopers and landing beach for the incoming Amtracs. Others from the platoon would attack the sentries and guard posts of the camp in coordination with the landing of the paratroopers. The second phase consisted of the landing and assault by the paratroopers. These men were from Company B, 1st Battalion, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment along with the light machine gun platoon from battalion headquarters company. They were led by 1st Lt. John Ringler. U.S. paratroopers awaiting orders to jump. (Photo: U.S. Army Signal Corps, 1942) Simultaneous to the landing of the paratroopers, Filipino guerrillas from the 45th Hunter's ROTC Regiment would attack the prison camp itself. Together these two groups would eliminate the Japanese within and the Americans would gather them for transport from the camp. The third phase of the operation would bring the remainder of the 1st Battalion, 511th PIR across the Laguna de Bay in Amtracs. These would then be used to transport the prisoners to safety. Finally, another 11th Airborne element, the 188th Glider Infantry Regiment, would make a diversionary attack along the highway leading to the camp. The intent would be to draw the Japanese attention away allowing the paratroopers to escape with the prisoners. All of this would happen nearly simultaneously. The amount of coordination of forces was tremendous. Everything was set to go off at 7 AM on Feb. 23, 1945. The first to depart for the mission were the men of the division reconnaissance platoon who set out the night of Feb. 21 in small Filipino fishing boats. Once across the Laguna de Bay, they entered into the jungle and made their way to hide sites to wait for the assault to begin. On the morning of the 23rd at 0400, the 1st Battalion minus B Company boarded the 54 Amtracs of the 672nd Amphibian Tractor Battalion and set out across the bay toward their landing beach. At 0530 the men of B Company boarded the C-47's for the short flight to Los Banos. By 0640 they were in the air toward their destination. At 0700 on the morning of Feb. 23, 1945, the coordinated assault on the prison camp at Los Banos began. Lt. John Ringler was the first man out the door of the lead C-47 coming low at 500 feet. Having already marked the drop zone, the reconnaissance platoon and their accompanying guerrillas, spotting the incoming troop transports, sprung from their hide sites and attacked the Japanese guard post and sentries. Many were quickly overwhelmed. At the same time, the 45th Hunter's ROTC Regiment of Filipino guerrillas attacked three sides of the camp. As this was happening, the paratroopers were assembling on the drop zone and the lead elements were breaching the outer perimeter of the camp. Filipino guerrillas worked with the U.S. Marine Corps across the Pacific during WWII. (Photo: U.S. Marine Corps) The assault had been perfectly timed to coincide with not only a changing of the guard shift but also morning formation for both the prisoners and Japanese soldiers. Many Japanese were caught in the open, unarmed, preparing to conduct morning physical training. They were cut down by the gunfire of the assaulting forces. Some Japanese were able to mount a defense but many simply fled in the face of the charging Americans and Filipinos. By the time the balance of the 1st Battalion arrived at the camp in their Amtracs, the fight was all but over. In very short order the raiding force had overwhelmed and secured the prison. Out on the highway, the 188th GIR was making good progress against the Japanese and had successfully established blocking positions by late morning. The sound of their battles reminded the men at the camp that time was of the essence the Japanese were still nearby. Due to their harsh treatment, many of the prisoners were malnourished and extremely weak. Those that could walk began making their way towards the beach for evacuation. Others were loaded into the Amtracs at the camp and transported back across the lake. It took two trips to get all the internees across the lake and a third to evacuate the last of the assault troops, but at the end of the day 2,147 prisoners were liberated from the Los Banos prison camp. The cost to the Americans and Filipinos was just a handful of casualties no paratroopers were killed in the raid. Among those evacuated was Frank Buckles, a World War I veteran, who would go on to be the last living veteran from the conflict. "I doubt that any airborne unit in the world will ever be able to rival the Los Banos prison raid," said Gen. Colin Powell. "It is the textbook airborne operation for all ages and all armies." MORE POSTS FROM WE ARE THE MIGHTY: This carrier, a veteran of the Doolittle Raid, was just rediscovered after 76 years 7 things only siblings of military personnel know This was the Nazi plan to invade Great Britain We Are The Mighty (WATM) celebrates service with stories that inspire. WATM is made in Hollywood by veterans. It's military life presented like never before. Check it out at We Are the Mighty. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. A Navy sailor grabbed the barrel of a gunmans rifle and an Army veteran rushed in to help as they ended the deadly mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs in November, a police detective testified Wednesday. As panicked patrons fled from the dance floor at Club Q, Petty Officer Second Class Thomas James tumbled off a landing with the 22-year-old gunman, Anderson Lee Aldrich. James, whose hand had been burned from grabbing the hot barrel of the rifle, then struggled with Aldrich over a handgun. Aldrich fired at least once, shooting James in the ribs, Detective Ashton Gardner said at the start of a three-day hearing to determine if theres enough evidence to warrant a hate crime charge against Aldrich in the Nov. 19 attack. After being shot, it is clear from the video that James was tiring, but he continues to do what he can to subdue the suspect until police arrive, Gardner testified, noting that James later gave up his spot in an ambulance to someone else who was injured. As James was grappling with Aldrich, Army veteran Richard Fierro rushed over to help, grabbing the rifle and throwing it, Gardner said. Fiorro then used the handgun to beat Aldrich, telling officers, I kept hitting him until you came. Aldrich, who is nonbinary and uses the pronouns they and them, shook during the testimony about those they shot. Wearing an orange jumpsuit, Aldrich cried while being led out of court for the lunch break. James, who issued a statement days after the attack saying he simply wanted to save the family that I found, didnt appear to be at Wednesdays hearing. Fierro, who sustained scrapes and bruises, sat in the back row. His daughter's boyfriend was killed in the attack. After the gunfire ended and police arrived, Aldrich tried to pin the shooting on one of the patrons who subdued them while also claiming that the shooter was hiding, Officer Connor Wallick testified. Officers didnt believe it and shortly afterward confirmed that Aldrich, 22, was the shooter, he said. Police found several high-capacity magazines at the scene, including a drum-style one that carries 60 rounds and was empty and others that carry 40 rounds, Gasper said. A state law passed after the 2012 Aurora, Colorado, theater shooting bans magazines that carry more than 15 rounds. Unlike the other charges Aldrich faces, including murder and attempted murder, hate crime charges require prosecutors to present evidence of a motive that Aldrich was driven by bias, either wholly or in part. That could include statements Aldrich made on social media or to other people, said Karen Steinhauser, a trial lawyer, former prosecutor and current University of Denver law professor who isnt affiliated with the case. Coming into the hearing, prosecutors hadn't revealed anything about why they charged Aldrich with a hate crime. Although Aldrich identifies as nonbinary, someone who is a member of a protected group such as the LGBTQ-plus community can still be charged with a hate crime for targeting peers. Hate crime laws are focused on the victims, not the perpetrator. Prosecutors usually win preliminary hearings since the standard of proof is lower than at trial and the evidence must be viewed in a light most favorable to them. But defense lawyers sometimes still want to proceed with preliminary hearings because they offer the chance to question witnesses under oath, including investigators, and to learn more about the governments case than might be available in the reports that likely have already been turned over to them, Steinhauser said. The shooting was captured on surveillance video. It showed Aldrich entering the club wearing a red T-shirt and tan ballistic vest while holding an AR-style rifle, with six magazines for the weapon and a pistol visible, said police Detective Jason Gasper. Soon after entering, Aldrich opened fire indiscriminately, authorities have said. At Aldrichs apartment, investigators found gun-making materials, receipts for weapons and a drawing of the club. In Aldrich's mother's room, they found round gun range targets with holes in them, Gasper said. She had taken him to the gun range. During cross-examination, Gasper said investigators found concerning writings." But he said they didn't find a manifesto or a plan to target members of the LGBTQ community either on Aldrich or in his home. The night of the attack wasn't Aldrich's first visit to the club. An identification scanner showed that Aldrich had been there six times before the shooting, Detective Rebecca Joines testified. Aldrich's attorney also revealed during a recent hearing that Aldrich was at the club earlier on the night of the shooting for about 1 1/2 hours, but he didn't say why or elaborate. Questions also remain about how Aldrich got the gun or guns used in the shooting, but experts say how and where Aldrich obtained them doesn't have to be discussed in order to persuade the judge to rule that there's enough evidence to take the case to trial. Questions were raised early on about whether authorities should have sought a red flag order to stop Aldrich from buying guns after Aldrich was arrested in 2021, when they threatened their grandparents and vowed to become the next mass killer, according to law enforcement documents. Authorities said two guns seized from Aldrich in that case a ghost gun pistol and an MM 15 rifle weren't returned. That case was dropped, in part because prosecutors couldn't track down Aldrich's grandparents and mother to testify, so Aldrich had no legal restrictions on buying guns. Former District Attorney George Brauchler, who prosecuted the Aurora theater mass shooting case but who isnt affiliated with the case against Aldrich, said if Aldrich illegally obtained the gun or guns used in the attack, that would make it harder to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, if that's what Aldrich chooses to do. Circumventing gun laws would show that Aldrich knew right from wrong, as would showing that Aldrich was motivated by bias, he said. Hate isnt insane. Hate is a choice, Brauchler said. Defense attorneys have not publicly raised insanity or Aldrichs mental health as an issue and they haven't been asked to enter a plea yet. However, an insanity plea is one of the few options Brauchler said he sees for the defense. Its not a whodunit. Its not a what happened. Its a why did it happen, he said. WARSAW, Poland NATO's chief said Wednesday that the military alliance has seen some signs that China may be planning to support Russia in its war in Ukraine, and strongly urged Beijing to desist from what would be a violation of international law. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also told The Associated Press in an interview that the alliance, while not a party to the war, will support Ukraine for as long as it takes. Asked whether NATO has any indication that China might be ready to provide arms or other support to Russias war, Stoltenberg said: We have seen some signs that they may be planning for that and of course NATO allies, the United States, have been warning against it because this is something that should not happen. China should not support Russias illegal war. Stoltenberg said potential Chinese assistance would amount to providing (direct) support to a blatant violation of international law, and of course (as) a member of the U.N. security council China should not in any way support violation of the U.N. charter, or international law. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted the Chinese Communist Party's most senior foreign policy official Wang Yi raising concern in the West that Beijing might be ready to offer Moscow stronger support in the almost year-old war. China has pointedly refused to criticize the invasion of Ukraine while echoing Moscows claim that the U.S. and NATO were to blame for provoking the Kremlin. China, Russia and South Africa are holding naval drills in the Indian Ocean this week. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said any Chinese involvement in the Kremlins war effort would be a serious problem. Ties between China and the U.S. are under severe strain over Taiwan and other issues. Stoltenberg spoke to The Associated Press in Warsaw, following a meeting of NATO's nine eastern flank members with U.S. President Joe Biden on the region's security. He stressed that while NATO is no party to the Ukraine conflict its tasks are to ensure that Ukraine prevails and to prevent this war from escalating beyond Ukraine and becoming a full-fledged war between Russia and NATO. He said the main message from the meeting in Warsaw was that we will provide support to Ukraine for as long as it takes. It would be a "tragedy for the Ukrainians if President Putin wins in Ukraine, Stoltenberg said, and also dangerous for all of us because it would send the message to all authoritarian leaders that when they use military force, they get what they want. The Russian attack on Ukraine has prompted Sweden and neighboring Finland to abandon decades of nonalignment and apply to join the 30-nation alliance. But their bids particularly Sweden's are being delayed by Turkey, which wants the two countries to crack down on mostly Kurdish groups Ankara regards as terrorists. Stoltenberg told the AP that following talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week he could see Turkey is moving closer to being ready to ratify and (to) welcome Finland into the alliance. But (Ankara continues) to have some challenges with Sweden. He said he welcomed the fact that he and Erdogan agreed to a meeting soon of experts and officials in Brussels from the three countries involved to look into how we can make progress also on the ratification of Sweden as a full NATO ally. A Navy investigation is placing blame on a mistake by a pilot for causing the crash of an F-35C Lightning II fighter jet aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in the South China Sea last year. The Jan. 24, 2022, crash, which spurred attention with leaks of dramatic video of the accident as well as speculation over the aircraft's recovery, was the result of the pilot choosing to perform a specialized landing but failing to switch on electronic aides in the plane designed to help, the investigators concluded. The crash injured the pilot, as well as five sailors on the carrier's flight deck. It also caused millions of dollars in damage to another plane and hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to the deck of the carrier, the report said. Read Next: Trading on Patriotism: How Extremist Groups Target and Radicalize Veterans The report, which was provided to Military.com by the Navy, said that the pilot, identified only by his rank of lieutenant, wanted to try an "expedited recovery maneuver" that naval aviators know as the "Sierra Hotel Break" or SHB. The report describes it as "when an aircraft initiates a turn to downwind from either behind the ship or over the top of the ship [using] G-forces to decelerate over the course of a 360-degree turn, dropping the landing gear when the aircraft is below landing gear transition speed." However, former Navy fighter pilots tend to describe the move -- which has a flamboyant reputation -- as "a real loud show of force," as Cmdr. Guy Snodgrass told Business Insider in 2020. According to Snodgrass, in an SHB, "you go screaming over the aircraft carrier, and then, right as you reach the end of it, that's when you peel away and come around to land." The report notes that the move means "a pilot has a reduced amount of time to configure the aircraft and conduct landing checks." The pilot in this incident "wanted to try a 'benign first attempt' at breaking overhead the ship" and told others in his squadron that, since other junior officers had performed the maneuver, "he wanted to attempt it before the end of deployment." As the nearly four-hour flight came to an end, the pilot began maneuvers to execute the break. However, the report notes that he didn't get a chance to finish the landing checklist, the report said. Crucially, the lieutenant reportedly didn't turn on the Approach Power Compensation Mode (APC), which maintains the jet at the right angle, or the Delta Flight Path (DFP), which automatically adjusts the throttle. As a result, the investigation found that, while the pilot was making the right corrections in the cockpit, "these corrections did not engage the engine to provide additional thrust." Just shy of 90 seconds after the plane began its break maneuver, the landing signals officer aboard the carrier told the pilot his speed was too low. A second later, they were waiving the pilot off the landing and repeatedly telling him to hit the afterburners. This moment was captured in video clips shot by the ship's flight deck cameras, which were subsequently leaked online. Audio from the clips captured the moment the "waveoff" and repeated "burner" calls went out. The plane struck the rear of the Carl Vinson four seconds after those orders went out. According to the report, the plane hit the carrier's ramp with its belly, shearing off the main landing gear. Then, a missile bracket on the plane's wing caught one of the landing wires on the carrier's deck, sending the jet into a spin. Investigators said that this was a fortunate turn of events for those on the flight deck since the snag and spin "likely kept the [aircraft] fuselage wreckage from impacting other personnel, ground equipment and aircraft parked on the four row [sic] of CVN 70's bow." The pilot ejected before the plane careened off the side of the ship and into the South China Sea. The entire incident took about five minutes. Four minutes later, the pilot landed in the water, where he was recovered by a rescue helicopter. The report notes that on deck, crews sprang into action, dousing bits of the wreckage with firefighting foam and responding to injuries. At least one of the injured sailors was on the platform where the landing signals officers sit. Ultimately, in addition to the pilot, a lieutenant commander, a chief petty officer, a petty officer first class and two airmen were injured in the mishap. Three sailors had to be evacuated ashore; none is named in the report. The damage the plane caused was significant. A nearby EA-18G Growler was showered with debris that damaged its radome, several control surfaces and fuselage. The report concluded that the repair cost would "likely cross the $2.5 million threshold of a class A aviation mishap." The crash also meant flight crews had to replace all the arresting wires on the flight deck right away, and the ship was left with several gouges and scrapes. Investigators said the repairs to the flight deck alone would likely cost around $120,000, and the sum of all the damage to the carrier was probably not more than $600,000. The plane, which sank into the ocean, was eventually salvaged by the Navy in March 2022. The report said that the plane -- which cost $115,395,938 -- was a loss. "Multiple weeks of saltwater intrusion at depth will likely result in the lack of salvage potential for any aircraft components," the report said. Before the incident, the pilot -- a junior officer who had logged 650 flight hours, 370 of them in the F-35C -- was judged as "exceptional for a first-tour junior officer," the report said. It noted that the lieutenant won the "Top-5 Nugget and a Top-10 ball-flyer" awards within his air wing. "It is the opinion of this board that pilot error was the cause of the mishap," the report noted. "However, the error was not conducted in a reckless manner nor with malicious intent." Navy spokesman Cmdr. Zach Harrell told Military.com in an email that, since the incident, "the pilot is no longer in a flying status in the U.S. Navy, but will continue to serve as a Naval officer." Investigators also issued a series of recommendations to prevent further incidents. Those included the change to always use Approach Power Compensation Mode (APC)/Delta Flight Path (DFP) throttle assists and that head-up displays inside the cockpit include indicator lights showing when the two flight aids are on. However, the report specifically says that the Navy is not recommending an end to expedited recovery maneuvers or SHBs. "Although the expedited recovery was a factor in time compression," the report notes, "this mishap occurred because the [pilot] failed to select APC/DFP at any point during the 27 seconds between the lowering of the landing gear and subsequent impact with the flight deck." -- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin. Related: Another Leaked Video Offers a Dramatic View of F-35C Crash Aboard Carl Vinson Its been decades in the making but its finally happened: Paschal Conley has been promoted to second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. The promotion came posthumously for Conley, a Madison County native who died in 1919, after he served in the 10th Cavalry Regiment as a member of the famed Buffalo Soldiers during the Spanish-American War - in 1898 - from as part of his military career. U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville presented a certificate acknowledging the promotion to Conleys family Wednesday at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville. Mayor Tommy Battle also declared Wednesday to be Paschal Conley Day in the city. This was long overdue, Tuberville said. He was recommended years ago and, as a Buffalo Soldier, to go from rank from sergeant to Lieutenant. And for some reason, the ball was dropped. And so for many, many years, its been kind of a stalemate. We started working on this about six months ago and we were able to get the promotion. We presented it to his family today. We had some people here that were very excited about it, because they had tried for a long, long time to get this promotion done. So were, were glad to be just a small part of it. This was obviously not given. It was earned. And so were glad to see this happen. The Buffalo Soldiers became a nickname for Black cavalry troops and a monument stands in their honor in Huntsville. Ollie Conley of Huntsville said there were about 30 family members who made the trip for the ceremony for all over the country. She said Paschal was her husbands grandfathers first cousin. Legendary Gen. George Pershing, then a first lieutenant, was among those who lobbied for Conleys promotion. Former Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions worked in 2012 for Conleys promotion as well. Its almost indescribable, Ollie Conley said. The fact that we have waited all this time, we know that he was recommended 124 years ago. We have been working on it approximately 30 years. So we are so excited and so delighted to be able to say to this generation, and hopefully the generations to come, that Paschal Conley was promoted to second lieutenant. Ollie Conley noted that the promotion, albeit more than a century late, was a rare acknowledgment for a soldier of color. For that period of time its very important because many African Americans were not made officers in the U.S. Army, she said. And so the fact that he was moving up from sergeant to second lieutenant, that was really quite an accomplishment. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit al.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. An incident earlier this month in which 700 gallons of fuel were spilled at a Space Force observatory nestled atop a sacred Hawaiian volcano not only harmed the local community but also the Department of the Air Forces reputation, Secretary Frank Kendall said Wednesday. Kendall made the nearly 5,000-mile trip from Washington, D.C., to discuss cleanup plans after a generator failure late last month leaked diesel fuel at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex, located on the 10,023-foot summit of Haleakala -- a culturally and religiously significant site for native Hawaiians, according to the National Park Service. "This incident hurts the environment. It harmed our reputation, calls into question the trust placed on us by our local communities," Kendall said during a press conference. "To be clear, I apologize for what has happened, and this department will put our full, sustained effort in repairing what has been done." Read Next: Air Force Expands Investigation into Possible Cancer Link to Missile Bases and Jobs Even though weeks have passed since the Jan. 29 spill, the Air Force and Space Force still don't have a sense of how much damage has been caused to the environment on Haleakala. Part of that delay is tied to the process of creating a plan that takes into account the cultural and religious significance of the soil, and communicating a plan to local agencies and groups for how to excavate the dirt. Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir, commander of the United States Space Forces Indo-Pacific, told reporters Wednesday that a plan is awaiting approval and could be put into place as soon as this week. "I expect to get word back either today or tomorrow," Mastalir told reporters at the press conference. "At that point, we are ready to begin excavation." In the days following the diesel leak, there was a significant amount of outrage from lawmakers and native groups. Kako'o Haleakala, a local protest group, demonstrated at the site carrying numerous signs, some that read "U.S. Department of Defense Death" and "Time To Haalele" -- which translates to "Time To Desert," according to Ulukua, a Hawaiian electronic library service that provides a dictionary. The group also posted an online petition titled "End the Maui Space Surveillance Site (MSSS) lease renewal in 2031," which had garnered upward of 500 signatures as of Thursday morning. Mastalir has been trying to rebuild trust with the native Hawaiian community. He held a Feb. 10 meeting with lineal descendants of King Kamehameha, the revered leader who united the islands. The Space Force also hired Dane Uluwehiokalani Maxwell, a local born in Pukalani on the slopes of Haleakala, to monitor the excavation and provide cultural advice. Maxwell's grandfather was a notable critic of the space telescopes' early development atop the volcano, according to a Feb. 15 press release from U.S Space Force indo-Pacific. "Dane will hold us accountable for actions at the site and ensure we are taking the culturally appropriate steps to remediate, while rebuilding trust with the local community at this sacred location," Mastalir said in the press release. The spill was blamed on a diesel fuel pump for a backup generator that failed to shut off on the evening of Jan. 29, according to the Space Force. A float -- a piece that helps monitor fuel levels -- inside the fuel tank was defective. Mastalir told reporters Wednesday that teams have been sent to conduct on-site inspections of generators at military installations across the state of Hawaii. The Space Force has six such generators at bases and installations throughout the area. "We have thoroughly checked out all six of those generators to make sure that they were operating in compliance and that we don't see any issues similar to what we have found here at Haleakala," Mastalir said at Wednesday's press conference. The 700-gallon fuel spill at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex, which is home to the Defense Department's largest optical telescope, according to the Space Force's website, was only a fraction of the 20,000 gallons of jet fuel spilled at the Navy's Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility near Honolulu in 2021. At least 93,000 people living in military housing on and around Pearl Harbor were affected by the massive jet fuel spill. More than 5,000 gallons eventually seeped into the ground and tap water. That contamination forced thousands to leave their residences, and those who stayed had to rely on bottled water to get by. In 2022, the Pentagon announced that the World War II-era bulk fuel farm would be closed and drained. -- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly. Related: Space Force Still Assessing Damage Caused by Fuel Spill at Hawaiian Volcano This story was originally published by ProPublica. Co-published with The Wichita Eagle. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. On June 14, 2017, just before noon, a doctor made an incision near a patients groin. Kari Kirk, a representative for the worlds largest medical device company, Medtronic, looked on and began texting her colleague a play-by-play. Fixing both legs from the ankles, she wrote. It was a fairly common procedure at the Robert J. Dole Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas, performed to treat blockages in the leg vessels. Within reach were an array of Medtronic products: tubes with blades attached to shave hardened deposits off of artery walls; stents to widen blood vessels; balloons coated with therapeutic drugs. Each time a doctor puts a foreign device in someones body, it carries a risk of complication, which can include clots or even require amputation. So medical experts, research and even Medtronics own device instructions urge doctors to use as few as are necessary. But, as revealed in Kirks text messages, this doctor took an aggressive approach. Just used 12 [drug-coated balloons]!! Kirk texted her colleague. Does that mean I owe u $$, he responded. Thats what I'm thinking!!! , she said. And now 14 balloons! - but only one stent so far?? So far! As the texting continued, her colleague replied, U are going to want to start going to the VA all the time. The messages, recently unsealed in an ongoing whistleblower lawsuit, give a window into the way money and medicine mingle in the booming business of peripheral artery disease, a condition that afflicts 6.5 million Americans over age 40 and is caused when fatty plaque builds up in arteries, blocking blood flow to the legs. Representatives from companies are often present during vascular procedures to guide doctors on how to use their complex devices. This kind of access has the potential to influence treatment plans, as companies and their representatives profit when more of their product is used. The suit, filed in 2017 by a sales representative for a competing medical device firm, alleges an illegal kickback scheme between Medtronic and hospital employees. According to the complaint and documents released in the suit, between 2011 and 2018, VA health care workers received steakhouse dinners, Apple electronics and NASCAR tickets, and in turn, Medtronic secured a lucrative contract with the hospital. Meanwhile, the company's representatives allegedly groomed and trained physicians at the facility, who then deployed the companys devices even when it was not medically indicated. Independent from the whistleblower suit, internal investigators at the Wichita facility have also examined the treatment patterns of its vascular patients in recent years and found numerous cases where medical devices were used excessively. While its not uncommon to deploy several devices, a medical expert on the investigation team found that the VA doctors sometimes used more than 15 at a time one used 33 deviating from the standard of care. It is unconscionable there can be no valid medically acceptable basis to cram so many devices into a human being, wrote attorneys representing the whistleblower in legal filings from January 2023. This is not medical treatment. This is abuse. Dr. Kim Hodgson, former president of the Society for Vascular Surgery and an expert retained by the plaintiff, said the findings of the internal review of patient data raise a high level of concern regarding necessity of treatment provided, according to case documents. Medtronic declined to respond to ProPublicas questions, citing the ongoing litigation. These allegations are false and Medtronic is defending against these claims in court, said Boua Xiong, a spokesperson for the company. Medtronic representative Kirk declined to respond to ProPublicas request for comment. The hospital investigation found that amputations increased sixfold in the same time frame as the procedures in question, according to internal emails, but made no conclusion about whether those two things were connected. ProPublica reached out to the VA to ask whether any patients had been harmed. The VA is conducting an extensive review of patient care at the Kansas hospital, including the number of devices used on patients to make sure that Veterans were not harmed by any procedures, press secretary Terrence Hayes said. So far, the VAs investigation has found no quality of care issues, he said, and the investigation will continue until every Veterans case has been reviewed. (Read the full statement here.) Neither the department nor the hospital has taken formal action against the medical providers, Hayes said. The medical group that had a contract with the VA for vascular interventions, Wichita Radiological Group, did not respond to ProPublicas requests for comment, nor did the doctors named in the suit: Dr. Shaun Gonda, Dr. Bret Winblad and Dr. Kermit Rust. It is unclear from the case documents which doctors conducted which procedures. Eric Barth, an attorney for the medical group, denied the allegations in recent legal filings, calling the claims baseless and the lawsuit a witch hunt. The lawsuit comes amid growing concern about one of these procedures atherectomies after researchers and doctors have uncovered patterns of excessive and inappropriate use. Recent research has found that this procedure, a common but costly treatment to shave or laser plaque from blood vessels, is not more effective than cheaper alternatives and may even be associated with a higher risk of complications including amputation. In recent years, several doctors and clinics have been investigated for allegedly takingadvantage of Medicares reimbursement rates, and one study found that many doctors are resorting to atherectomies in the earliest stages of peripheral artery disease, against best practices that urge noninvasive treatment. Atherectomy is important in certain settings. But its being used in a way that is entirely inappropriate and its largely driven by the incentive structure, said Dr. Caitlin Hicks, the lead author of the study and an associate professor of surgery at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Although different payment structures govern the care of veterans, the whistleblower lawsuit alleges that outside physicians, paid hourly by the Dole VA, were motivated to conduct longer and more complex procedures that would earn them higher payment. Under different circumstances, the patient in the procedure room on that summer day could have been done after two hours. But, 150 minutes in, those Medtronic representatives were still texting. At that point, more than 15 of their vascular devices had been used, including stents, balloons and those for atherectomy. Long case! Kirks colleague texted. Is it looking ok?? It is, she said. Thought we were done a few times! Now hes going back in to cut again! A little while later, she texted: ....17! He texted back: Hospital leaders had been scrutinizing the use of these procedures at the Dole VA for years. In 2017, shortly after Rick Ament was hired to lead the facility, he noticed something was amiss. While the longtime hospital administrator was poring over the finances, he was alarmed to discover that the relatively small Dole VA had one of the most expensive cardiac programs in the country. As Ament dug deeper, he realized vascular interventions were the reason. It just did not make sense that the acuity level of our patients would generate such extreme cost variances from the norm, he testified in December, in a deposition for the whistleblower case. It was so significant, we needed to get to the bottom of it. Ament, a second generation Air Force veteran, quietly assembled a task force to investigate why the facility had purchased so many medical devices for these procedures. After they examined inventory records, calculating the total number of medical devices and the cost of devices per patient, they grew concerned. We were more expensive than, I believe it was, the top 10 hospitals in the VA combined, he said. My feeling was that we either had very, very bad providers or we had product walking out the door. Ament enlisted experts from other VA hospitals to help his team investigate, including an administrative officer who could understand finances and a respected interventional radiologist who could examine records. The task force gathered a list of patients from 2016 to 2018, according to internal emails, and analyzed their medical charts. According to internal VA documents released through the whistleblower suit, the review found a number of clinical failings: Evidence-based medicine had not been followed in the majority of cases reviewed. Procedures were over-aggressive, treating lesions that should have been left alone. And there was a total disregard for established best practices for treating peripheral artery disease. One of the experts on the investigative team explained to Ament that while it was not uncommon for doctors to use a couple of devices in one intervention, the total number of devices in many of the procedures at his facility went into the double digits, sometimes five times the expected amount. In one encounter, a doctor deployed 33 devices in one procedure three atherectomy devices, nine stents and 21 balloons. This use of devices was exorbitant, Ament came to understand. I want to say the term egregious was used, he testified. It was kind of like validation, but I really wish I was wrong. Did it make you concerned for patient care? a lawyer asked during the deposition. It did, Ament replied. A member of his task force pulled data for veterans who had leg amputations due to vascular disease. Over five years, the number of veterans who had amputations increased, from about six in 2013 to 38 in 2018, according to internal emails released in the suit. The VA did not respond to ProPublicas questions about the rise in amputations or whether it was due to complications from the procedures. Even though Ament testified in December 2022 that he became aware of the excessive use of devices during his investigation that began about five years ago, neither he nor the VA have publicly acknowledged these findings outside of the lawsuit. It is unclear whether VA representatives informed the patients whose records were reviewed about their findings. ProPublica reached out to more than half a dozen veteran community groups in the Wichita area and none were aware of the investigation nor the allegations of overuse of vascular procedures at the facility. The VA says that if its ongoing review finds instances of substandard care, it will reach out to affected patients and inform them about possible complications and benefits they may be entitled to. The press secretary said the review will take several months. Ament declined to respond to ProPublicas questions, citing the ongoing case. In 2018, Ament turned over his findings to the criminal division of the VAs Office of Inspector General. He also shut down interventional radiology procedures at the facilitys catheter lab. Federal agents separately opened an investigation into the same unit in the facility, looking into allegations of kickbacks. More than 40 pages of expense reports from Medtronic, revealed in the whistleblower case, show sales representatives treating Dole health care workers to hundreds of meals over several years lunches at Dempseys Biscuit Co.; business meals at the Scotch & Sirloin steakhouse; dinner at Chesters Chophouse & Wine Bar, price per attendee: $122.39. Federal agents obtained the receipts. Robert J. Dole VAMC employees may have received improper gratuities, in the forms of paid lunches, dinners, etc., from sales representatives from Medtronic, wrote Nathen Howard, a special agent in the VA OIG, in an investigation memo from February 2019. This kind of relationship could violate VA policy, which forbids federal employees from receiving any gifts, including meals, from people who do business or seek to do business with a federal institution. For health care workers, violating this policy could have serious implications for patients. Numerous studies have shown that even modest industry-sponsored gifts, including meals, may influence prescribing or treatment behavior of health care professionals. The agents opened their investigation into kickbacks at the Wichita facility in response to the whistleblower lawsuit, which was filed by Thomas Schroeder in 2017. The VA OIG would not confirm or deny whether it was continuing to investigate kickbacks at the facility. The VA did not directly answer ProPublicas questions about kickbacks at the Dole VA, but it said that every employee must complete an annual ethics training, which covers gift rules. In recent years, Medtronic has settled a handful of other cases that have alleged kickbacks between company representatives and health care professionals. In 2018, Medtronics subsidiary Covidien paid $13 million to settle claims with the U.S. Department of Justice that it paid kickbacks to health care institutions that used its mechanical blood clot devices. In 2019, the same subsidiary paid $17 million to resolve allegations that it provided in-kind marketing support to doctors using its vein products. And in 2020, Medtronic paid more than $8 million to settle claims that representatives had paid kickbacks to a neurosurgeon, including scores of lavish meals at a restaurant that the doctor owned, to induce him to purchase the companys medication pumps. Schroeders lawsuit is not the first time Medtronics vascular devices were named in an alleged kickback scheme. In early 2015, Medtronic acquired Covidien, and shortly after the merger, its subsidiary ev3 Inc.agreed to pay $1.25 million to resolve allegations that it had paid doctors who were high volume users of its atherectomy devices to act as evangelists for the company, and had provided physicians with company shares to participate in clinical trials for their tools. The whistleblower in this earlier case, a former sales representative for the company, also alleged that the subsidiary was gaming Medicares payment system. Hospitals were often hesitant to conduct atherectomy procedures because of the low reimbursement rates. According to the suit, sales representatives encouraged doctors to admit patients for longer stays to reap greater reimbursements and make a profit, even though such stays were often not medically indicated. Medical device makers that try to boost their profits by causing patients to be admitted for unnecessary and expensive inpatient hospital stays will be held accountable, special agent Thomas ODonnell, from the Office of Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in a press release for the settlement. Both patients and taxpayers deserve to have medical decisions made based on what is medically appropriate. Medtronic spokesperson Xiong said that in each case, the company cooperated fully with the DOJ to resolve its concerns and, where wrongdoing was found, took appropriate remedial action. Seton Hall Law School professor Jacob Elberg, a former assistant U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey who led its health care and government fraud unit, is concerned by the frequency of such settlements in the last two decades. There are, at this point, real questions as to whether the sanctions imposed by DOJ are sufficient to deter wrongdoing and to lead to meaningful change, especially within the medical device industry. Although the Department of Justice has declined to intervene in the lawsuit involving the Dole VA at this time, the case is ongoing and further depositions with Medtronic sales representatives and a former VA employee are scheduled for this month. VA employees and doctors named in the suit declined to comment or did not respond to ProPublicas questions about the alleged kickbacks and whether sales representatives may have influenced veterans treatment plans. In interviews with federal investigators, according to released transcripts, several of the employees who were questioned denied receiving frequent meals from sales representatives, contradicting Medtronics expense reports. Their statements also stand in contrast to Medtronic representative Kari Kirks final text messages during that procedure in June 2017, which ultimately lasted more than three hours. Now u done?? her colleague asked. Just finished, she texted. Running to get them lunch! WASHINGTON The Defense Department and Microsoft Corp. are investigating an error that exposed at least a terabyte of military emails including personal information and conversations between officials, people familiar with the matter said, an episode that highlighted the security risk of moving sensitive Pentagon data to the cloud. The Pentagons Cyber Command has taken the lead on the investigation with Microsoft, which operates the Azure cloud-computing service that stored the data. Information on a U.S. Special Operations Command server was accessible without a password, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing information that hasnt been publicly released. Investigators have no sign yet that the exposed data was accessed but were still working to assess the fallout from the leak, the people said. A US Cyber Command spokesperson declined to comment but said defensive cyber operators scan and mitigate the networks they manage. The emails contained conversations between Pentagon officials as well as completed SF-86 forms, which government employees are required to fill out to obtain security clearances, according to screenshots of the emails shared by Anurag Sen, an independent security researcher who discovered the leak. The incident was first reported Tuesday by TechCrunch. The exposure may have resulted from a configuration error with Microsofts server that left it publicly accessible, two of the people said. They had differing assessments on who was at fault, with one saying it was the fault of a Pentagon employee and another saying Microsoft was to blame. The leak will draw new scrutiny to the Pentagons push to move much of its data over to commercial cloud-computing. On Feb. 15, the Pentagon inspector general issued a report saying agency staff may be unaware of vulnerabilities and cybersecurity risks linked to storing data in the cloud. The leak may also complicate Microsofts bids for future government contracts. Microsoft is one of four companies, along with Alphabet Inc., Oracle Corp., and Amazon.com Inc., that the Pentagon selected to compete for orders under a potential $9 billion cloud-computing contract. Microsoft initially won an earlier contract worth $10 billion but that was canceled after a legal challenge from Amazon. Micorsoft was dealt a blow last month after Congress rejected the Armys request for $400 million to buy as many as 6,900 of Microsofts combat goggles, which were found to cause headaches, eyestrain and nausea. (With assistance from Katrina Manson, Tony Capaccio, Jennifer Jacobs and William Turton.) ___ 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The election of 1976 was the first presidential election since the end of the Vietnam War. The war had been over for Americans since 1973; North Vietnam defeated South Vietnam, reuniting the country by force in 1975. Still, Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter believed the fates of thousands of war resisters, draft evaders and deserters were the war's "unfinished business." In August 1976, Carter addressed the American Legion National Convention in Seattle, where he announced the promise of a blanket pardon for those who evaded the draft during the war in his first week in office. Deserters would be considered on a case-by-case basis. True to his word, it was his first official act as president of the United States. The result was a presidential proclamation that left everyone feeling slighted, left out or otherwise betrayed. Between August 1964 and March 1973, 209,517 American men violated the Military Selective Service Act were charged with failing to register with local draft boards or leaving the country to avoid military service, relocating to places like Canada or Sweden. Another 360,000 were never formally charged. Returning to the U.S. meant a likely prison sentence, so 50,000 of the 100,000 evaders who left the country stayed in Canada permanently. Carter's predecessor and opponent in the 1976 election, Gerald Ford, offered conditional clemency, allowing evaders to avoid prison time by working in public service for two years. What to do about these war resisters was still a controversial issue in 1976. Ford's clemency program faltered due to low participation. Only 15% of the evaders eligible for clemency actually applied, meaning a better solution was necessary. Carter wanted to "get the Vietnam War over with" by issuing the blanket pardon. Researchers L. Amber Roessner and Lindsey Bier break down why a pardon failed to achieve Carter's stated goal. A pardon was still a touchy subject, even within the Democratic Party. Party leaders were vocal opponents, while only a slim majority, 56%, of Americans supported it. Veterans groups saw the evaders as unpatriotic lawbreakers, and even expelled members for supporting them. Carter, a Navy veteran and member of the American Legion, called his support for the pardon "the hardest decision of his campaign." He was a supporter of the Vietnam War until 1973, when he claimed the war "lacked moral principle." During his campaign, Carter said he wanted the war to be over in the hearts and minds of Americans" and "heal the domestic wounds of Vietnam." Carter was a dark-horse candidate from the beginning, and few Americans knew who he was when he announced his bid for the presidency. In March 1976, he told The Washington Post, "I don't have the desire to punish anyone, I'd just like to tell the young folks who did defect to come home." His stance on the issue was derided by journalists and politicians, while drawing wide support on opinion pages and letters to the editor from everyday Americans. Even The Wall Street Journal's editorial board applauded Carter for "his ability to treat the topics of abortion and amnesty with the complexity they deserve." Carter's political opponents, like vice-presidential candidate Bob Dole, were against any kind of blanket amnesty, criticized Carter's support for it and campaigned against it. Others criticized Carter's plan, because it didn't go far enough: It did not address the problem of deserters or veterans with less than honorable discharges. The election of 1976 was one of the closest in modern U.S. history, with Carter edging out Ford by 57 electoral votes. As president-elect Carter, he heard more voices than ever who wanted him to adhere to his campaign promise, and more voices compelling him to extend the pardon to deserters, those who resisted the war after seeing combat in Vietnam. On Jan. 21, 1977, the day after his inauguration, Carter issued Executive Order 11967, granting a pardon to all Vietnam War draft dodgers. It included those who failed to register for the draft, but did not address the fate of deserters. After the pardon was issued, polling revealed only 20% of Americans supported the executive order. President Jimmy Carter in the White House, 1977. (Library of Congress) Some reporters commented that it would set a precedent for future military desertions during wartime; others believed it fell short of healing the wounds caused by the war. The U.S. military continued to search for deserters, such as Allen Abney, who deserted from the Marine Corps in 1968 and was arrested in 2006. Veterans and veterans groups expressed outrage and resentment. Deserters and supporters of deserters were disappointed. Only 85 of those deserters who were eligible for the case-by-case pardon actually returned to the U.S. Many stayed in their new homes abroad. The United States ended the draft in 1973 under President Richard Nixon, switching to the all-volunteer force the U.S. has today. Ford ended the Selective Service registration requirement for male citizens between ages 18 and 25 in 1975. It was Carter who reimplemented mandatory registration for males between ages 18 and 26 in 1980. -- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on LinkedIn. Want to Learn More About Military Life? Whether you're thinking of joining the military, looking for post-military careers or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com to have military news, updates and resources delivered directly to your inbox. "The destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines on Sept. 26, 2022, constitutes an act of international terrorism and represents a threat to the peace," economist Jeffrey Sachs said An investigation by the UN Security Council into the explosions that blew up the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines in September 2022 is a high global priority, said Jeffrey Sachs, a world-renowned economist, on Tuesday. "The destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines on Sept. 26, 2022, constitutes an act of international terrorism and represents a threat to the peace," Sachs told the Security Council in a briefing. Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) of Columbia University's Earth Institute, speaks during a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York, on July 8, 2014. [ Photo Credit: Xinhua/Niu Xiaolei] "It is the responsibility of the UN Security Council to take up the question of who might have carried out the act in order to bring the perpetrator to international justice, to pursue compensation for the damage parties, and to prevent future such actions," he said. The consequences of the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines that linked Russia and Germany are enormous. They include not only the vast economic losses related to the pipelines themselves and their future potential use, but also the heightened threat to transboundary infrastructure of all kinds -- submarine internet cables, international pipelines for gas and hydrogen, transboundary power transmission, offshore wind farms and more, said Sachs, who is the director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. "The global transformation to green energy will require considerable transboundary infrastructure, including in international waters. Countries need to have full confidence that their infrastructure will not be destroyed by third parties. Some European countries have recently expressed concern over the safety of their offshore infrastructure," he noted. There is only one detailed account to date of the Nord Stream destruction -- the one recently put forward by U.S. investigative journalist Seymour Hersh ostensibly based on information leaked to Hersh by an unnamed source, said Sachs. Hersh attributes the Nord Stream destruction to a decision ordered by U.S. President Joe Biden and carried out by U.S. agents in a covert operation. The White House has described Hersh's account as "completely and utterly false," but did not offer any information contradicting Hersh's account, and did not offer any alternative explanation, he said. Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and some other senior U.S. officials made statements before and after the Nord Stream destruction that showed the U.S. animus toward the pipelines, he noted. The destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines required a very high degree of planning, expertise, and technological capacity, he said, adding that as a number of senior officials have publicly confirmed, an action of this sort must have been carried out by a state-level actor. Only a handful of state-level actors have both the technical capacity and access to the Baltic Sea to have carried out this action. They include the United States, Russia, Britain, Poland, Norway, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden -- either individually or in some combination. A recent report by The Washington Post revealed that the intelligence agencies of NATO countries have privately concluded that there is no evidence whatsoever that Russia carried out this action. It is also in concord with the fact that Russia had no obvious motive to carry out this act of terrorism on its own critical infrastructure. Indeed, Russia is likely to bear considerable expenses to repair the pipelines, said Sachs. Three countries have reportedly carried out investigations of the Nord Stream terrorism -- Denmark, Germany, and Sweden. These countries presumably know much more about the circumstances of the terrorist attack. Sweden, in particular, has perhaps the most to tell the world about the crime scene, which its divers investigated. Yet instead of sharing this information globally, Sweden has kept the results of its investigation secret from the rest of the world. Sweden has refused to share its findings with Russia and turned down a joint investigation with Denmark and Germany, he said. "In the interests of global peace, the UN Security Council should require these countries to immediately turn over the results of their investigations to the UN Security Council," Sachs said. - Xinhua Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said yesterday that he expects star Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds and club officials to resume discussions regarding a possible extension at some point soon. That Reynolds and the Pirates would resume talks is of little surprise. While the sides were around $50MM apart in previous discussions and Reynolds went as far as to request a trade back in December, since reporting to camp last week Reynolds has reiterated that he would still be interested in extending his stay in Pittsburgh, so long as a deal thats fair for all parties is presented. Whether Reynolds ultimately signs an extension with the Pirates or departs, either by trade or as a free agent following the 2025 season, he seems likely to find his payday somewhere. The 28-year-old outfielder has largely looked the part of an All Star-caliber player since his debut in 2019, barring the shortened 2020 campaign where Reynolds struggled thanks in large part to a deflated .231 BABIP and an anomalous uptick in strikeout rate. The 2021 season in particular was a stellar one for Reynolds, as he slashed .302/.390/.522 (good for a 141 wRC+) while playing strong defense in center field and accumulating 6.1 fWAR throughout a campaign that would ultimately see him garner down-ballot MVP votes. That could prove to be a ceiling, particularly if defensive metrics continue to sour on his glovework in center (as was the case in 2022), but the widespread trade interest in Reynolds and the Buccos own interest in extending him speak to the caliber of player hes become in his four big league seasons. More from around the NL Central The film Tirailleurs by Franco-Senegalese Omar Sy looks back on the history of the Senegalese rifle corps during the Great War (1914-1918). If their commitment, 200,000 men, was indeed significant there, their history covers more than a century and was built on three continents. If the participation of soldiers from sub-Saharan Africa in the two world wars is often highlighted in films, novels and comics, these men also played a role during the conquest, then the occupation of African spaces and in the repression of independence movements. This story is therefore complex. The proto-tirailleurs can first be considered as intermediaries who ensure the translation and exchanges within the framework of the counters of Senegal. Over the course of the 19th century, and within the framework of the abolition of slavery, the governor of Senegal, Louis Faidherbe, decided, under pressure from the trading companies of Saint-Louis, a city in northern Senegal, to set up establishes a corps with an exclusively military vocation. The first battalion of Senegalese skirmishers was therefore created by Napoleon III in July 1857. These 500 men were partly former slaves, whose freedom the army had bought and who owed a service of fourteen years to repay this sum. At first, they are mixed with the white soldiers but tend to focus on chores only, so Faidherbe decides to separate them so that they can focus on their military training. From then on, the Senegalese skirmishers took part in all the missions alongside the French troops. Battle against Samory Toure Their first battles took place against the Toucouleur leader El Hadj Omar Tall, under the command of Captain Joseph Gallieni, then Lieutenant-Colonel Gustave Borgnis-Desbordes. Their most emblematic battles in West Africa remain those waged against the founder of the Wassoulou Empire, Samory Toure, whose numbers peaked at 30,000 men, before he was captured on September 29, 1898 by Captain Henri Gouraud in Guemelou, Ivory Coast. The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century were marked by their use outside French West Africa (AOF) and French Equatorial Africa (AEF). Madagascar in 1895 and Morocco from 1908 are genuine experiences for supporters of more sustained recourse to Senegalese skirmishers, including on the most distant battlefields. Charles Mangin then appears as one of these partisans and writes La Force noire in 1910. A veritable collection of cliches and errors on the African continent, he defends the idea of a black man whose proximity to nature would have preserved his fighting capacity, while the European man gave in to the comfort of industrialization. African societies would also constitute, according to him and wrongly, a veritable demographic reservoir capable of compensating for the difference with Germany. Indeed, it is not based on any figures and at this time, no precise census has been established. His work is therefore part of a context of reflection within the circle of colonial officers on the employment of Africans, Malagasy and Indochinese in a broader geographical context. Hubert Lyautey, after having observed them in Morocco, thus considers the Senegalese skirmishers as "seasonal soldiers", whom it is better to avoid mixing with metropolitan troops, because their wintering period, six months during which they are withdrawn from the front (October to April) to protect them from the rigors of winter and train them, engenders jealousies. Requested in all fights In any case, the French were the only ones to bring soldiers from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe as early as 1914, which the German authorities strongly condemned. The Senegalese skirmishers were in all the fights in Africa, from Togo to Cameroon, but also in Europe where they distinguished themselves during the recapture of Fort Douaumont in 1916, the defense of Reims in 1918 but also in the Dardanelles from 1915. 200 000 African soldiers therefore participated in the Great War and nearly 22% of them lost their lives in combat but also because of illnesses, in particular lung infections and the Spanish flu. In the aftermath of the First World War, when the French army had suffered terrible losses and pacifism permeated public opinion, soldiers from the colonies took a particularly important place within the colonial troops and therefore took part in the occupation of the Rhine area, operations in the Levant and the Rif War. As early as 1937, soldiers from French West Africa (AOF) and French Equatorial Africa (AEF) were foreseen in a potential war against Nazi Germany. In May-June 1940, during the campaign in France, 1,500 to 3,000 of them were massacred by the Wehrmacht, the German army. From then on, their destiny followed the diversity of the French army, some remained in the service of the Vichy army, others were imprisoned in the frontstalags German army prison camps and a significant part of France free is made up of soldiers recruited in AEF. They participated in operations in North Africa, the battle of Bir Hakeim and the landing in Provence, but their effort was not recognized since in France, On December 1, 1944, the massacre of Thiaroye, in a camp located on the outskirts of Dakar, illustrates this tragic history and this abandonment. Their story ends with independence when 60,000 African soldiers are sent to Indochina and 5,000 to Algeria. They then appear as the armed wing of an empire in decline and are despised by the peoples who are fighting for their independence. The body ends between 1958 and 1962, before giving way to a new fight for their just recognition on the memorial level and the payment of pensions. Anthony Guyon 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. By Anthony Guyon, Associate Researcher at the CRISES laboratory, Paul Valery University Montpellier III The Ukraine War has further damaged the frail Russian military aircraft production industry. Economic sanctions and loss of many export customers resulted in Russia building only 27 aircraft in 2022. China was producing much more than that and the United States was delivering about 150 F-35s a year, in three models. Most of this was for American forces but more and more are going to export customers. The F-35 is a combat proven success and very popular with pilots. A thousand have been built so far and there are orders for 2,000 more, to be delivered at the rate of about 150 a year to American and export customers. Russia used to be a major producer of military aircraft. Late in the Cold War the Soviet Union was still producing several hundred combat aircraft a year. The Soviet Union collapsed and dissolved in 1991. So did Russian production of combat aircraft. During the 1990s, production of a hundred combat aircraft a year was only possible by obtaining many export sales. Twenty years after the Soviet Union collapsed, Russian warplane production was increasing because exports were still strong and Russia could afford to buy more aircraft for itself. The Soviet Air Force had 10,000 warplanes in 1991 and most of those went to the fourteen new countries where they were based. Russia could not afford to maintain the few thousand combat aircraft it was left with after 1991 and, by 2000, found it could not maintain more than a thousand combat aircraft. Another loss during the 1990s was the ability to design and build new aircraft. Most Russian defense firms went out of business in the 1990s while some managed to switch production to items that were still sold. In the last decade most Russian producers of military aircraft were merged into one state-owned United Aircraft Corporation. A similar merger created a similar company for helicopters. UAC had a lot of work to do producing new model aircraft as well as older designs that were still popular, especially with export customers. UAC could produce over a hundred aircraft a year and until 2014 it looked like the Russian demand for military aircraft would keep growing along with export sales. UAC had to be profitable and achieved that by shutting down many of the facilities it acquired via all those mergers. Aircraft design and production was concentrated in three facilities and MiG finally disappeared, leaving only Sukhoi (Su) warplanes in production. The Su-27 and MiG-29 appeared late in the Cold War and while the Su-27 kept evolving and improving, the MiG-29 did not. That eventually put MiG out of business. The United States still has two major producers of war planes and there are several in Europe. Japan and South Korea have begun designing and producing modern combat aircraft. Japanese and European firms have formed a consortium to design and build Tempest, a next generation (after the F-35) warplane. China has two firms producing modern warplanes. All this is more competition for Russia,which, because of sanctions and canceled export orders, was able to deliver only 27 aircraft (four Su-30SM2s, ten Su-34Ms, seven Su-35Ss, and six Su-57s) last year. That was below average for UAC but not by much. From 2008 to 2021 UAC delivered about 40 aircraft a year. Production was disrupted in 2022 because of the sudden and massive economic sanctions imposed on Russia after Ukraine was attacked. Export sales were hurt by the poor performance of UAC aircraft in Ukraine. So far Russian forces have lost 302 military aircraft in Ukraine. This includes transports and helicopters as well as modern combat aircraft. These losses include seventeen Su-34s, eleven Su-30SMs, one Si-35S, twenty-five Su-25s and nine Su-24s. Ukraine has lost 142 combat aircraft. The higher Russian losses were due to the unexpectedly effective Ukrainian air defense system. The Russian air force was unable to shut down the Ukrainian air defenses and had to halt operation of Russian aircraft inside Ukraine. The Ukrainians were using older models of Russian designed air defense systems and combat aircraft to defend their air space. Some Western air defense systems were available at the start of the war and more kept arriving to supplement and then replace Ukrainian losses. Russian occupied Ukrainian territory is defended by Russian anti-aircraft systems which have proved effective enough to reduce Ukrainian air operations in these areas. The air war in Ukrainian was a revelation because, if both sides use modern warplanes and air defense systems, the result was expected to be stalemate rather than air superiority for the side with more combat aircraft and lots of air defense systems. The American air forces have maintained air dominance wherever they have fought since World War II. A lot of American aircraft lost over Vietnam in the 1960s into the early 1970s but American air superiority was still achieved. During the Cold War the NATO alliance, especially the United States, expected heavy aircraft losses if the Russians attacked. The Americans and their NATO allies expected to prevail but that battle was never fought. That had to wait until 2022 when a version of that NATO/Russia air campaign took place in Ukraine. Warplane production is only one of several types of weapons production that Russia is trying to sustain and increase under all the sanctions. This includes tanks and other armored vehicles as well as artillery and electronic warfare systems and UAVs. Russia ended up buying UAVs from Iran and artillery ammunition from North Korea. Cut off from key Western suppliers of components, Russia has to set up production of some of these items or smuggle some of them in. No matter how energetic these Russian efforts are, it takes time to restore pre-war production levels and that may not be possible for anything requiring sophisticated Western electronics. The United States' top court is considering whether tech companies can be held accountable for content posted by users, after a case brought by the family of an American woman killed in the 2015 Paris attacks, who argued that the terrorists had been recruited to the Islamic State armed group in part because of videos they were shown via YouTube's algorithm. The Supreme Court on Wednesday is set to hear a case brought against Twitter by the American relatives of a Jordanian man killed in a massacre at a Turkish nightclub on 1 January 2017, who argue the platforms assisted in fueling the growth of the terrorist organisation, which claimed responsibility for the attack. On Tuesday the court heard arguments in an appeal in a second lawsuit specifically against YouTube, owned by Google's parent company, Alphabet, brought by the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, an 23-year-old American citizen who was studying in France and was one of the 130 people killed in the November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris that were claimed by the Islamic State. The argument in that case was that the Islamic State used YouTube to spread its message and recruit people, and that the platform's algorithm, which recommends videos to users based on their previous choices and profile, was critical to the growth of the terrorist organisation. Both lawsuits were brought under a US law that enables Americans to recover damages related to "an act of international terrorism." Current law shields internet companies At the heart of the cases is Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act, which currently gives internet platforms immunity from content that comes from a third party, even if it is presented as a recommendation by the site. In a 2.5 hour session on Tuesday, the nine justices targeted their questions on better understanding Section 230, which was signed in 1996, before Google was created. They acknowledged that the legal shield was probably no longer appropriate, given the changes in the online world since it was put into effect, but they said that court may not be the best place to fix the law, even as the politically-divided Congress has been unable to pass legislation that would update it. "We're in a predicament here because this is a statute that was written at a different time when the internet was completely different," said Justice Elena Kagan. "We're a court, we really don't know about these things. These are not like the nine greatest experts on the internet." The justices suggested that changing the rules would open the door to many other lawsuits, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh said it would invite "economic dislocation" and "really crash the digital economy with all sorts of effects on workers and consumers." Lawyers representing the plaintiffs insisted that the impact could be limited by the way the law could be rewritten. The Supreme Court declines to hear the vast majority of cases, and some experts believe that by deciding to hear these two cases, they could be willing to modify the law. Rulings in both cases are due by the end of June. (with newswires) China remains one of Ghanas and Africas responsible partners, according to Paul Frimpong, the Executive Director of the Africa-China Centre for Policy and Advisory- a Sino-African research and policy think tank and advisory firm. Ghana is currently undergoing a debt restructuring both domestically and externally. The program is designed to help Ghana restructure its debt and is part of efforts towards securing a loan from the International Monetary Fund. Ghana's Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, is expected to be in Beijing to begin bilateral talks with China concerning Ghana's debt forgiveness. Without China's help, it will be hard to restructure Ghana's external debt, says the country's Finance Minister, who estimates that China holds about a third of the country's external debt. In an interview with Winston Tackie on Metro TV, Paul Frimpong, the Executive Director of the Africa-China Centre for Policy and Advisory opined on Ghana's talks with China might turn out. According to Mr. Frimpong, China has proven to be a responsible partner when it comes to debt relief and restructuring, especially with African countries. "Looking at China's track record in handling and dealing with the debt situation as it has become known, China has been a very responsible partner to many African countries," he stated. This, according to him, can be traced back to when countries like Ghana and many others across the African continent were in need of critical infrastructure, and China was there to provide the needed funding for these investments. Paul also mentioned that China has recently waived debt for over 12 African countries totalling billions of dollars, as well as an option to withdraw from their Special Drawing Rights (SDR) with the IMF. Source: The Economy360 22.02.2023 LISTEN Nana Adom Busia, a leading member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Wenchi constituency of the Bono Region, says endorsing Mr Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen as a presidential candidate will enhance NPP's chances to break the eight in the Election 2024. He, therefore, called on the delegates, preparing for the party's impending presidential primaries to remember and 'stick' to the NPP's tradition and give Mr Kyeremanten the nod to lead the party to election victory. In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Wenchi, Nana Busia said the NPP would be ungrateful to Mr Kyerematen, if the delegates failed to endorse him, saying that will also cause doom for our great party. He said Mr Kyeremanten had remained loyal, served the NPP wholeheartedly, after conceding defeat to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the party's last presidential primaries, stressing we all know this is time for Mr Kyeremanten to lead us to retain political power in the next general election. For us to break the eight, I think Vice President Dr Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia has contributed his quota, and it's appropriate for him to retire with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. His retirement with the president will build and strengthen the internal unity we need to go for the elections. Other than that, it will be politically suicidal for the NPP in the 2024 general election, he added. Describing Mr Kyerematen as the choice for all, Nana Busia said as a great party we can't overlook our political history and pick any wrong choice to lead us because posterity would not spare us if we do so. GNA The Communications Director of the New Patriotic Party (NPP ) Mr. Richard Ahiagbah has said the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) is a better manager of the economy than the National Democratic Party (NDC). He noted that the NDC cannot be better managers of the economy than the NPP indicating that, data and analysis have shown the NPP administration has done tremendously well. "This NPP government has not mismanaged the economy. Anybody who tells you that and you dare believe that then you are failing to appreciate the data we have shown you. Under the NPP on all fronts, the economy grew and perform well and Ghanaians were given the real sector performance until the destruction in our lives by Covid-19 in this country," he stated. In a press conference responding to claims by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the NPP government has mismanaged the economy, Mr. Richard Ahiagbah said the claims are false and cannot be backed by evidence. The NDC, he stressed, by contrast, has always been the party that disproportionately presides over a shrinking economy. According to Mr. Ahiagbah, despite the challenges faced by the current government, it has managed the economy better than the previous NDC John Dramani Mahama's administration. Mr. Richard Ahiagbah added that the NPP is ready to march the formal President John Dramani Mahama in the 2024 general elections boot-for-boot. We are ready for him, we are interested in how we can build the economy. What we are interested in is whether or not he has the solution because we saw him vanquished gains that he got, we saw him collapse our economy, we saw him collapse our banking sector, we saw him cause Ghanaians to live in absolute difficulties in this country without electricity, Mr. Ahiagbah stated in reaction to report of former President picking nomination forms to contest the NDC flagbearership race. Malawian authorities should immediately drop defamation and cyber-related charges against Maravi Post journalist Dorica Mtenje and allow her to report free from legal harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On February 8, police in the capital Lilongwe summoned Mtenje via phone to appear the following day for questioning over a Maravi Post story she did not write or publish, according to news reports, a statement by the Malawi chapter of the regional press freedom body Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), a bail form that CPJ reviewed, and a CPJ interview with the journalist. When Mtenje arrived at the station the next day, police detained her for 12 hours and charged her with defamation and offensive communication following a complaint by National Intelligence Service Director General Dokani Ngwira. The detention, confiscation of her phone, and charging of Malawian journalist Dorica Mtenje following a complaint from the countrys intelligence chief about an article that was not bylined and that she did not write is a fishing expedition to intimidate the press, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator, in New York. We urge Malawian authorities to immediately drop the charges against Mtenje and ensure that criminal defamation is repealed, in the same way that sedition and insulting the president are no longer crimes in Malawi. On February 18, President Lazarus Chakwera assented to the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill of 2022, which repeals the crimes of sedition and insulting the president. On February 9, Mtenje appeared at police headquarters in Lilongwe at around 8 a.m. and was formally charged and detained at about 5 p.m., according to a news report and the journalist. Mtenje said her mobile phone was confiscated but returned upon her release three hours later. Her supervisor, Lloyd Mbwana, was also summoned for questioning over the same story but he did not appear, according to MISA, Mtenje, and Mbwana, who spoke to CPJ. Mbwana told CPJ he did not go because he did not receive an official summons, only a call from police. Mtenje is charged with offensive communication, under to Section 87 of the Electronic Transactions and Cyber Security Act, and defamation, under Section 200 of the countrys penal code. If found guilty of offensive communication, Mtenje faces up to a year in prison or a fine of 1 million Malawian kwacha (US$975), while the defamation charge carries an undefined fine, a two-year imprisonment, or both. Mtenje told CPJ that she appeared before police on her own and was not accompanied by a lawyer. I asked the officer why they summoned me after showing me the story I didnt even write, but I was told they suspect that me and my boss could have written it, Mtenje told CPJ. They took away my phoneat some point, one officer went away with it. It has no password. Information Minister Moses Kunkuyu told CPJ he had secured Mtenjes release and that her case was closed. However, the officer who handled the matter claimed to be unaware of the closure after her release, according to Mtenje. When reached by CPJ via messaging app, Ngwira said he had not made any complaints against a journalist, but he alleged thata tabloid had been writing lies against my person and the National Intelligence Service without even a single attempt to seek our side of whatever they write. Ngwira said a police investigation was what led to the summoning and arrest of Mtenje. I believe they are still investigating, and even for her to be released quickly was because MISA Malawi through their [chairperson] reached out, he told CPJ. Malawi Police Service spokesperson Peter Kalaya did not immediately respond to CPJs request for comment sent via messaging app. He is quoted by the MISA statement as saying police were only acting on a complaint by the National Intelligence Service Director. A Political Scientist, Dr Kwame Asah-Asante has said Ghana has done well in terms of election organization since the Fourth Republic started in 1992. He said vanquished have always resorted to the courts to settle electoral disputes, a mark of political maturity. The courts on the other hand, he added, have also acted as the bastion of the law and give verdicts that serve as guides. in terms of elections, we have done so well. those who have never been happy with the results had the opportunity to go to court and nor resort to violence, he said on the Ghana Tonight show on TV3 regarding the 30-year Parliamentary democracy in Ghana. On this matter, the Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu called for an amendment to the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. Although the Constitution has served well, he said, there are aspects that are no more relevant to the current realities. The 1992 constitution has no doubt served some good in the last three decades, I must, however, admit that some assumptions underpinning some reformations no longer hold or are not supported by current social-political realities, the Minister for Parliamentray Affairs said while speaking at a ceremony to mark 30 years of Parliamentary Democracy in Ghana. He added This underlines the calls by various stakeholders for the review of the 1992 Constitution. It is time to re-engineer our constitutional architecture to conform to today's realities. We need a constitutional order that frowns on a winner-takes-all syndrome and promotes collaboration, collectiveness and consensus building, he said on Wednesday. We need a constitutional order that would mitigate the winner takes all attitude and prevent the do-or-die combat associated with our elections. We need a new constitutional order that would prevent the constant increase in the number of seats in Parliament. The Suame lawmaker stressed that We need a new constitutional order that would put a cap in the number of ministers of state. We need a new constitutional order that would ensure that the Speaker of Parliament is a serving member of Parliament. The 1992 constitution, as the supreme law of the land, provides for the sharing of powers among a president, a parliament, a cabinet, a Council of State, and an independent judiciary. Through its system of checks and balances, it avoids bestowing preponderant power on any specific branch of government. 3news.com The Anona Royal Family of the late overlord of Ahanta say it is uncustomary and untraditional for a woman to be imposed on the royal stool and the family as acting president of the Ahanta Traditional Council. They have therefore, threatened to resist any attempt by any person or group of persons to violate their tradition and custom in the selection and appointment of the President of the Ahanta Traditional Council It would be recalled that the position of the president of the Ahanta Traditional Council has become vacant following the demise of the Overlord of Ahanta, Baidoe Bonsoe XV. According to the royal family, the stool is a male one and therefore, it would be a complete disrespect if a woman is made to ascend the stool in a capacity as acting president or substantive president. Addressing a press conference, Ebusuapayin Bolo Kwaw stated that as the head of the royal family, he would not allow the custom and tradition governing the Busua stool to be twisted. The royal family have pointed accusing fingers at some chiefs for being responsible for what they call a scheme to have their tradition and customs changed in order to favour Eunice Jacqueline Buah Asomah-Hinneh, owner of Labianca Company Limited and a Council of State member. Accusers deny However, Nana Etsin Kofi, Nana Engodzi Essoun, chiefs of Aboade and Kwesimintsim respectively who have been accused of plotting to favour the Council of State Member have denied any wrongdoing. According to them, Madam Eunice Buah is a gazetted divisional chief from Princess Town therefore, she is eligible to be appointed as the president of the Traditional Council. Roya family insist In a sharp contrast, the family of the late overlord of Ahanta stated that it would be a flagrant disregard for their tradition and custom to consent to the appointment of a woman to act as president of the ATC. According to them, the long-held tradition, custom , culture of the people and precedence regarding who is to act as president in a situation like the present one must be upheld and respected. After a near chaotic scene, the family, with the support of some divisional chiefs performed a ritual in the open as they were vehemently prevented from performing the ritual at the shrine. We the royal family of Baidoe Bonsoe do not agree to the imposition of Labianca as acting president of the Council, they said. Procedure for installation The royal familys spokesperson, Ebusupayin Kumi of Akwidaa highlighted how the procedure, precedence, custom and tradition regarding a successor must be selected in case of a vacant position. He explained that in case the Busua stool becomes vacant in the absence of a substantive overlord, the royal family has the sole responsibility to enstool a chief to fill the vacancy. The Spokesperson explained that by statutes, when a vacancy was created as a result of the absence of overlord, it was the Adontehene who should act on behalf of the overlord. In the absence of the Adontehene, he said, it was either the Apakahene, Kyeamehene or the Gyasehene who could be selected to act in the absence of the overlord. Nigerian tech entrepreneur Fred Oyetayo relocated to Britain last year, but the 29-year-old plans to fly back home to cast his vote in presidential elections on Saturday. "We all want change," he told AFP, blaming Nigeria's current and past leaders for the country's myriad problems, from a disastrous economy to the biggest security crisis in years. Despite the stream of grim developments in Africa's most populous nation, millions of energetic, creative, and successful young people are itching for the country to advance. Almost 40 percent of registered voters are under the age of 35 and many are hoping to finally trigger change by casting a ballot to replace President Muhammadu Buhari, who is stepping down after his two terms allowed by the constitution. Presidential candidate of Labour Party Peter Obi looks on during the party campaign rally in Lagos, on February 11, 2023.. By PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (AFP) "For the first time we have the usual terrible people and a good person," said 28-year-old Temidayo Oniosun who works in the space industry and has invested in dozens of early-stage startups. That "good" person according to the Lagos-based entrepreneur is 61-year-old Peter Obi, who represents the first credible challenge the country's main two parties have ever had. The ruling party's candidate is 70-year-old Bola Tinubu while the main opposition's candidate is 76-year-old Atiku Abubakar. Both are perceived by many as being corrupt though they have never been convicted of any charges and both deny any wrongdoing. 26 million students Supporters chant party slogans next to a banner of the candidate of the Labour Party Peter Obi during a campaign rally of the party in Lagos, on February 11, 2023.. By PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (AFP) Successful young professionals are not the only ones supporting Obi, who is also popular with students, a large pool of 26 million registered voters. On the campus of the University of Abuja in the capital, Brandon Okori and Daniel Ononaye are rushing to their political science class. "I am definitely voting (for) Obi," said 23-year-old Okori, while his friend Ononaye, 22, nods and adds: "Obi is not there for the money or the power, like the two others." A combination of factors have energised Nigeria's youth in these elections. For one, economic hardship has reached extreme levels, with months of university strikes and youth unemployment at more than 40 percent, leading to a rise in criminality. There is also a newfound belief that young people's voice matters, especially since youth-led protests erupted in late 2020. For the first time since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999, young people massively took to the streets across the country, demonstrating in a peaceful and organised way against police brutality and demanding better governance. Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu looks on as he attends a party campaign rally at Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos, on November 26, 2022.. By PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (AFP) The movement was violently repressed, revealing "the ruptured social contract between the Nigerian state and society," according to Leena Koni Hoffmann, a fellow at the British think tank Chatham House. "There is a lingering sense of political betrayal," she wrote, and late last year, the electoral commission announced that 76 percent of newly registered voters for 2023 were under the age of 34. It remains to be seen if this cohort of young people will actually turn out to vote -- many did not pick up their voters card and therefore will not be able to cast a ballot. And while Obi leads in several pre-elections polls, Tinubu and Abubakar have access to more resources and control governors and other leaders who hold considerable sway in their constituencies. In addition, vote buying is common and voting patterns along religious and ethnic lines remain strong. Zahra Abba is a student at the University of Maiduguri in northeast Nigeria, which along with the northwest have a majority-Muslim population and have traditionally had the highest turnout during elections. "Who is Peter Obi? From which state? Anambra (a southern, mostly Christian state)? I don't like him," said the 22-year-old biology student, adding that she would have voted for Buhari if he was running again but will likely settle for Abubakar. 'Messiah' Candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar gestures during a campaign rally in Kano, northwest Nigeria, on February 9, 2023.. By PIUS UTOMI EKPEI (AFP) But the northern vote is split. "We are trying not to see Obi as a messiah because we had a terrible experience with perceiving politicians in that sense," said 30-year-old Fakhrriyyah Hashim from the northern city of Kano and works in social development. "But he has the stature of a messiah in the minds of young people and everybody believes this is someone who is going to turn the tide around," said the young woman. She is aware of the risk of voting for a third party in a country where two largely dominate, and is still weighing her decision. "I don't want to cast my vote for someone who may lose, and just hand the victory to the ruling party, so I might vote Atiku (Abubakar), I might vote Obi, it depends on what their chances look like in the next few days." "End Bad Government" was sprayed on a wall with the faces of Nigerians past fallen heroes during ongoing protest against the unjust brutality of The Nigerian Police Force Unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), in Ikeja, Lagos on October 19, 2020.. By Benson Ibeabuchi (AFP) For many entrepreneurs like Fred Oyetayo, the election will have direct consequences on their burgeoning businesses but also on the lives of those around them. "I know a lot of people who will leave (the country) if the right candidate does not win," said Oyetayo. Temidayo Oniosun is optimistic. While the old guard "joke about the Obidient movement" that supports Obi, he and many others are readying to send them a wake up call. Students from the University of Johannesburg: finding jobs even for graduates is tough in South Africa. - Source: Photo by Luba Lesolle/Gallo Images via Getty Images 23.02.2023 LISTEN The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the unemployment crisis in South Africa . In the second quarter of 2021, unemployment rates were the highest ever officially recorded . Many people who lost their only source of stable income fell into poverty as a result. Social grants provide income that helps people to survive the short term economic hardship of unemployment. In the long term, new opportunities must be created to get people back into work. However, National Treasury's emphasis on fiscal restraint has led to debates about which of these policies to prioritise. This has been particularly evident in the debate around the extension of a grant introduced during the pandemic, known as the Social Relief of Distress grant . Treasury extended the grant for another year in November 2022, but warned that financing the it would require additional revenue or reprioritising existing spending. Much of the discussion on the merits of the grant treats it as a competitor to employment-creation schemes in the budgetary allocation. However, the evidence compiled in our review of the job search assistance literature suggests that with careful design, the relief grant can help to support the policy priority of getting young people into work. Our research also suggests that the South African government should combine whatever replaces the grant with job search assistance programmes. Researchers have tested a number of job search programmes in South Africa and found promising evidence that they can increase employment. Further testing at a national scale could improve the design of these policies. Cash grants Research shows that cash grants can increase job-search . Simply receiving a cash grant encourages recipients of the grant, and other members of their household, to increase their search for jobs. This is in part because cash grants can be used to cover the costs of job search. One study of the labour market effects of the relief grant in South Africa found that the transfer increased the probability that a recipient would be active in the labour market by 25 percentage points . Increased job-search can't address the structural lack of jobs. Nevertheless, increasing the number of applications that job-seekers submit can translate into improved employment outcomes . We argue the relief grant should be combined with enhanced job-search assistance programmes because they reduce unemployment by helping the labour market function better. Labour markets often don't work optimally: job-seekers face barriers in looking for jobs and employers struggle to identify the right workers. These barriers can reduce employment rates as vacancies go unfilled. Job-search assistance programmes can reduce these search frictions, potentially improving employment rates, employment quality and earnings for workers. What works Job-search assistance covers a wide range of programmes that help people search for jobs, such as providing information about jobs, subsidies to cover search costs, job-search training or matching platforms like LinkedIn. A number have been tested in South Africa. Formal certification of communication and numeracy skills was found to substantially increase job search, employment and earnings. The low-cost testing and certification of the results provided job-seekers with a new method to share information about their abilities with potential employers. A scheme that encouraged young job-seekers to include a reference letter with their job applications and provided them with a simple template letter substantially increased employer call-backs, particularly for women. Training job-seekers to join and use LinkedIn increased employment for at least 12 months because workers gained better information about employers and were better able to communicate their skills. Encouraging young people to create an action plan for their job search increased job offers and employment by helping job-seekers to search more efficiently. There is international evidence supporting a range of job-search assistance programmes that could be implemented on South Africa's National Youth Employment Platform, sayouth.mobi . This is a job-seeker database created and managed by the NGO Harambee. Delivering job-search assistance programmes through the platform could be an effective way to reduce costs and the administrative burden, and allow the government to reach a greater number of job-seekers. Programmes that provide job-seekers with information about the job market have been shown to encourage job seekers to obtain new training, consider new employment opportunities and increase interviews, earnings and employment . Policies delivered offline may further encourage job search. Providing airtime to job-seekers who are active on sayouth.mobi could increase job search. Workshops can be used to help participants prepare CVs and cover letters that effectively showcase their skills. In one study , workshops improved the quality of employment, but not employment rates. Peer group job-search clubs may also improve outcomes because job-seekers can support each other with the job search process, and because these clubs may decrease feelings of isolation, depression and low self-esteem, which are made worse by unemployment. In France, job search clubs with participants' peers were more effective than one-on-one sessions with caseworkers. Mental health services for job-seekers could also be valuable to combat depression and low self-esteem. Moreover, depression may reduce job search effort. So, mental health services could be used to offset this effect. Next steps We argue that the extended grant should not have conditions attached. Conditions are difficult and expensive to set, monitor and implement. But labelling the grant as a job-seekers grant might be effective. It could encourage recipients to use the grant for job search without the need for stringent conditions that might reduce take-up. Related studies in Kenya and Morocco found that a labelled grant was as effective as a conditional grant. Our recommendation of combining cash grants and job-search assistance services is made on the basis of the best available evidence, but the policy has not been empirically tested at a national scale. We recommend that programmes be rigorously evaluated and phased in over time, based on the strength of their evidence base and the costs associated with implementing them. Kate Orkin receives funding from the Accelerating Adolescent Achievement Hub from UK Research and Innovation. Ingrid Woolard has previously worked at and consulted for the National Treasury. Maya Goldman is a researcher at the Southern African Labour and Development Research Institute at the University of Cape Town, a member of the World Bank's Equity and Poverty Lab, and a research associate at the Commitment to Equity Institute at Tulane University. Murray Leibbrandt is the Director of the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit at the University of Cape Town and UNU-WIDER Non-Resident Senior Research Fellow. Alice Cahill, Aliya Chikte, Brynde Kreft, and Desmond Fairall do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. By Kate Orkin, Associate Professor in Economics and Public Policy, University of Oxford And Ingrid Woolard, Dean, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, Stellenbosch University And Maya Goldman, Resesarcher, SALDRU, University of Cape Town And Murray Leibbrandt, NRF Chair in Poverty and Inequality Research; Director of the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town Joseph Osei-Owusu, the first Deputy Speaker of Ghanas Parliament has opined about the quality of members in the 8th Parliament. The lawmaker noted that the fine brains he met in his first term in Parliament are not the same as the current crop of members. Contributing on Accra-based JoyNews Upfront program, dedicated to analyse the services of Parliament amid its 30th anniversary observation, the Bekwai legislator averred that the quality of members is getting bad. He further bemoaned that the situation is affecting the general role of the legislature. The quality of people in the Parliament I joined is practically missing in this 8th Parliament. Probably too many people are in here. I think that by and large, decorum, decency and the nobility that should attend the work of the house of Parliament are gradually fading, he said. He stressed that, it has become very difficult to build consensus in the current Parliament due to partisanship. The first Deputy Speaker doubted if some MPs have been consulting their constituents on issues in Parliament. According to him, they only do the bidding of their party. I would love to see the evidence of those who said they held meetings and their constituents called for the head of the Finance Minister. These are mere speculations, he stated. Libya may not have an internationally recognized government yet, but one member of Libyan Presidential Council that is leading the effort to hold national elections is already seeking to make lucrative deals with other African governments. Abdullah Al Lafi is a deputy of the Presidential Council and attended a summit meeting of African leaders in Ethiopia on February 19th and discussed Libyan making investments in CAR (the Central African Republic) with CAR president Faustin Touadera. Libya has lots of cash from its oil and natural gas exports and CAR needs some outside investors. Touadera was interested and invited Al Lafi to visit CAR to discuss the matter further. Al Lafi also met with UN officials at the Ethiopia summit. The UN sees Al Lafi as playing an important role in organizing elections to finally form a united Libyan government. This UN support for Al Lafi at the Ethiopian Summit meeting reassured other African leaders that Libya may finally be putting years of internal disputes behind them and forming a stable national government. Until this new government is actually in power, Libyan unity is still a work in progress. The United States and European countries, as well as neighbors like Egypt and Algeria continue to actively support the reconciliation process in Libya. The primary obstacle to unity is the difficulty in establishing voting rules that will ensure elections accepted as fair by the two main factions in Libya. Both major factions, and several minor ones, fear that an elected government could turn into another dictatorship. The decades-old Kaddafi dictatorship was overthrown in 2011 and creating an acceptable democratic government to replace Kaddafi has been creeping closer to reality ever since. The only agreement achieved so far is to keep the oil and natural gas exports going because that is the main source of income, employment and necessities for most Libyans. The UN backed a 2020 ceasefire agreement that was supposed to lead to national elections by the end of 2021. That failed because the Turks refused to withdraw their forces unless certain illegal conditions were met. These Turkish demands are the reason the Russian Wagner Group still maintains some troops in Libya. Most of the other foreign mercenaries are gone while the Turks remain. That means the primary obstacle to national unity is the continued presence of Turkish military and mercenary forces in Libya which block efforts to hold national elections and bring an end to over a decade of civil war. They do so to enforce an illegal treaty signed by one of the Libyan factions in 2019. This treaty, backed only by the Tripoli based GNA (Government Of National Accord) faction, granted Turkey some of Greeces offshore oil and natural gas rights in an area between Libya and Turkey that ignores existing, and internationally recognized, claims on that area. Turkey and Greece are both NATO members and NATO backs Greece in this matter. Turkey wont withdraw its forces from Libya until a new national Libyan government assures the Turks that the illegal agreement is confirmed by a national Libyan government. This Turkish interference in Libyan internal affairs is making the formation of a Libyan national government even more difficult. The UN agrees that the Turkish demands are illegal but refuses to do much about it. That is actually normal for the UN. The United States and European governments are demanding that the UN act but the UN refuses without admitting that it is simply impossible for the UN to obtain enough international support to pressure the Turks to get out of Libya. UN efforts in Libya to help establish a national government have failed and are now seen as part of the problem. The UN still considers its efforts as a positive force in Libya. While most Libyans are ready to form a national government, the UN and Turkey remain the primary obstacles to achieving that. There are other obstacles, like Egypt, which has long been a major factor in Eastern Libya politics because the Egyptians want to look after the many Egyptians who work in Libya as well as keeping Islamic terrorists in Libya from getting into Egypt or smuggling weapons into Egypt. February 21, 2023: Britain is one of the countries where cash from Libyan oil wealth is banked as part of the Libyan Sovereign Wealth Fund. This keeps it away from Libyan money managers who are still notoriously corrupt. Corruption was always a major problem inside Libya. The Annual Transparency International Corruption reports track Libyan corruption on an annual basis. These annual reports have never been good news for Libyans because Libya has been one of the ten most corrupt nations in the world for decades. One of the major problems is the Libyan inability to clean up its own massive internal corruption. In 2018 there was some progress, driven by the increasing poverty caused by years of civil war. That has since reversed as the UN backs the Islamic factions. In 2022 Libya ranked 171 out of 180 nations. That means Libya continued to be one of the ten most corrupt nations. In 2020 Libya ranked 173 out of 180 nations. In 2018 it was 170 out of 180. Thats up from 175 in 2017 and 170 out of 176 countries in 2016. Progress, or lack thereof, can be seen in the annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index where countries are measured on a 1 (most corrupt) to 100 (not corrupt) scale. Libyas current score is 17, down from 21 in 2021, as Libya began trying to form a new, democratic government. The nations with the lowest score are currently Syria, South Sudan and Somalia with scores of 14 or 15. The least corrupt nations are currently Denmark and New Zealand, each with a score of 88. Most European nations are in the top ten or twenty least corrupt. That has made Europe a relatively safe place to park Libyan Sovereign Wealth Fund cash. That has proved to be the case, but there are occasional problems. That was the recent case in Britain where three bankers were convicted of stealing $8.5 million of Libyan money via a complex scheme that survived annual audits for several years until the theft was finally detected and the guilty parties identified, prosecuted and sent to prison. That rarely happens back in Libya where the guilty will usually find corrupt officials in the judicial system that makes it possible to bribe your way out of a prison sentence. That, along with corrupt practices in general, is less likely to happen in Europe. There is corruption in Europe but it is not as common or blatant as what takes place in Libya and the Middle East in general. February 11, 2023: Russia is taking advantage of the deadlock in Libya because it presents opportunities to disrupt oil and natural gas exports to Europe, mainly Italy. Without those energy imports, Italy is less interested in opposing Russia in Ukraine. Italy believes Russia has sent operatives to Libya to disrupt oil exports to Italy. Russia is not doing this openly but Russian mischief is seen as yet another disruptive influence in Libya. Russia still has Wagner Group personnel stationed near some Libyan oil fields where there are still occasional disruptions in production. Russia says it will withdraw the Wagner Group personnel once the Turks agree to leave. The Russians enjoy the irony of this because Turkey is a NATO member and technically supports the Ukrainians in their fighting against Russian invaders in Ukraine. The Turks still sell weapons to the Ukrainians and assist in getting grain ships out of the Black Sea. In return the Turks expect some support for their position in Libya. February 10, 2023: In Tripoli, two local police were wounded when attacked by one of the many armed gangs that continue to operate in the city. Tripoli was long occupied by several local militias that were recognized as local government security forces. In fact many of these militias were outlaws themselves and this was more common after the Turks entered Tripoli in 2019. February 7, 2023: A Day after a major earthquake near the Syrian border, the extent of the Turkish losses became clear. Over 40,000 died and many more were injured. Several hundred Turks were left homeless and the financial cost was estimated at over $80 billion. This disaster puts more pressure on the Turkish government to pull their forces out of Libya. While most nations sent emergency aid to Turkey, international pressure is still on to get the Turks out of Libya. The Turks never had many Turkish troops in Libya because if any of these were killed it would cause a political crisis back in Turkey. The actual combat in Libya took place during the first ten months of 2020 and caused about 2,000 deaths, most of them Libyans. Since then, a handful of Turks and several thousand Arab mercenaries have, at a cost of over five million dollars a year, remain in Libya. With the earthquake, just having these expensive forces in Libya is a problem. National elections in Turkey this year mean that if current leader Erdogan fails to get reelected, that would probably lead to the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Libya. Even before the earthquake, Turkish voters were angry with Erdogans economic failures. Maintaining troops in Libya is not only expensive but has produced no economic benefits for Turkey and caused growing international criticism, including disputes with NATO allies and Western economics in general. February 6, 2023: The British ambassador to Libya met with Libyan officials in Tripoli to discuss British assistance in training Libyan officers and enlisted personnel as part of an effort to unite all the military forces of various Libyan factions. This effort has been underway for several years. If a large enough force of Libyan troops can be created, they might be able to force the Turks out. Most of the Turkish forces in Libya are Syrian Arab mercenaries who are there for the money and are capable enough to intimidate Libyan civilians and irregular Libyan gunmen. January 21, 2023: Turkish president Erdogan is accused of using Turkish firm SADAT PMC (Private Military Contractors) t0 threatened or otherwise disrupt and weaken political opposition (individuals, political parties or media) to Erdogan in the upcoming presidential elections. Erdogan and SADAT deny the accusations. Nevertheless, Erdogan and SADAT are closely linked. SADAT was founded in 2012 by a pro-Erdogan retired Turkish army general Adnan Tanrverdi. who saw business opportunities supplying training services for Middle Eastern and other Moslem majority nations. Training, usually conducted by Turks with police or military experience, covered police work, special operations and military training in general. This included weapons training as well as training on the use of just about any weapons. If you could afford the fees, SADAT would take care of your training needs. During the 2016 attempted coup against Erdogan Tanrverdi ordered SADAT personnel to actively oppose the coup, often with physical violence. After this, Tanrverdi was appointed a presidential advisor. That led to SADAT getting a lot of government contracts for things like training Syrian Arab mercenaries working for Turkey inside Syria and Libya. The SADAT work in Libya was criticized by the UN for violating military sanctions. Now SADAT is thought of as Erdogans private army. SADAT leader Tanrverdi was not the first one to found an independent contractor that operated in Libya. The first was Major Vladimir "Popski'' Peniakoff who worked for the British, not Turkey and created a special forces unit in 1942 called the No. 1 Demolition Squad. He did this for the British Army in Egypt and was tasked with going behind German lines and attacking their fuel supplies. Peniakoff got the nickname Popski because British telegraph operators had problems spelling or pronouncing his name correctly. All this began after the 42-year-old Peniakoff joined the British army and was assigned to rear area duty in Libya with the Libyan Arab Forces because he spoke Arabic. Bored with his dull assignment, he formed the LAFC (Libyan Arab Forces Commando), which was a small raiding group of British and Libyan troops who successfully operated behind German lines. This was noted by British special forces command in Egypt who asked him to join the LRDG (Long Range Desert Group), which was the first British special operations unit, and carry on his raiding activities as the 23-man No. 1 Demolition Squad to destroy German fuel supply storage sites before the crucial Battle of El Alamein. Without that fuel the Germans were crippled when they lost at Alamein and lost a lot of their mobility as they sought to retreat. Peniakoff continued leading his group and unofficially expanded his Demolition Squad to the point where it became officially known as Popskis Private Army. The British looked the other way as he added British soldiers and civilians as well as captured vehicles to his unit, and continued to be the scourge of German support units, often attacking at night and constantly sending intelligence reports back to the British 8th Army headquarters. Peniakoffs small raiding force was the first to make contact with American forces in Tunisia during early 1943. At one-point Peniakoff's force captured 600 Italian troops. Peniakoff then expanded his force to 35 men and could then deploy two raiding parties at the same time. Popskis Private Army was sent to Taranto in southern Italy to scout the location of German forces and found a gap in the German lines that American troops exploited and caused the Germans to retreat. At this point Popskis Private Army was organized into three 18-man raiding parties, each equipped with six jeeps armed with .30 caliber and .5o caliber machine-gun. These raiding parties had enormous firepower for such small units, and performed admirably against the Germans, who feared the British special operations units, especially Popskis Private Army. It never had more than 80 men assigned to it, although that number was often exceeded by adopting useful Russian, Italian and German prisoners of war as well as some local partisans. Now SADAT, a private army led by a retired Turkish general has become a major factor in Libyan politics. At the same time there are still some Russian Wagner Group mercenaries in Libya. Private armies are nothing new in Libya. An aid to former president John Dramani Mahama, Felix Kwakye Ofosu has backed calls for his boss to go unopposed in the National Democratic Congress upcoming presidential primaries. Mr. Kwakye Ofosu said though the rules of the NDC permit an open contest for all qualified members of the party, allowing Mahama to go unopposed will both save the party resources and time. As a deeply democratic party, competition is welcomed and as far as anybody who has observed our processes can testify, nobody has been disadvantaged in any shape or form. The rules are that anyone interested can contest for the position because it is an open contest. But in the same vein, if anybody believes that a contest should be avoided, so we dont waste time and resources on a contest because the outcome is already known, that is not farfetched. It was Dr. Obed Asamoah who once said that consensus building is the best form of democracy and democracy has as one of its cardinal principles and dictates, competitive elections. But it does not mean that if there is room to sit around the table and reach a consensus on matters of mutual benefit, it should not be explored. So, anybody who holds the view that anybody or a particular candidate who appears to be the overwhelming favourite and has the vast majority of Ghanaians behind him and people are yearning for his return to salvage the fortunes of this country, they are within their right to expound that position of going unopposed. John Dramani Mahama declared his intention to run for the NDCs flagbearership on Tuesday. His nomination form was picked on his behalf by his former campaign manager, Joshua Alabi and other executives of the NDC. By Citi Newsroom John Dramani Mahama has resurrected the discussion on the payment of his emoluments as a former President. According to Mr Mahama, he is entitled to some benefits according to Parliament but those entitlements have been withheld because he is politically active. Mr Mahama reiterated this in his interaction with his former appointees in Accra on Wednesday, 23 February 2023, where he called on them to come out of retirement and join him in the fight to reclaim power in 2024 He told the former appointees that Ive been Vice President before, Ive been President of this country before, according to parliament, Im supposed to receive all kinds of emoluments to pay my fuel and my electricity bill, my water bill, medical bills, air travel, vehicles, everything but I can assure you that all those emoluments have been withheld because Im politically active. He said If I was retired and not commenting on national issues, I would have all those emoluments paid but it doesnt bother me, because of my new granddaughter and my children, I believe that the future of this country is one that we must rescue form the hands of this looting brigade and reset the Ghanaian project, bring back good governance, strengthen the fight against corruption, put in place the things that will make it impossible for another president to come and land us in the same ditch that we currently are, and so Im the first to announce to you that even though I was retired in 2016, Ive come out of retirement and Im available for the task ahead. Last year, Mr Mahama made similar comments about his emoluments. He had said in an interview with Accra-based TV3 on Monday, 12 September 2022, that: I receive only my monthly pension, like President Kufuor or President Rawlings was receiving until he died. That is all I get. I pay the electricity bill for my house, for my office. I pay the water bill for my house and my office. I live in my own accommodation so the state does not pay me anything for accommodation. He had noted that the only lump sum he received was 230,000 as salary arrears in 2013. However, the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) described Mr Mahamas claims as false. The party at the time said it had evidence of correspondence between former President Mahamas office and the Chief of Staff contradicting his claims. Find below details of that story published by this website on September 14, 2022. Its a lie; Mahama being paid all emoluments due him: Hes becoming a threat to democracy NPP The governing New Patriotic Party has described as false, claims by former President John Mahama that his emoluments are not being paid him by the state. A few days ago, Mr Mahama said he pays his own utility bills and receives nothing from the state for his accommodation contrary to claims made by the governing New Patriotic Partys Bono regional chairman Kwame Baffoe (Abronye DC) about a week ago that the 2020 flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has, since 2017, swallowed 15.6 million of state funds as part of his emoluments apart from receiving 14 million as ex gratia in 2013. Mr Mahama, in an interview with Accra-based TV3 on Monday, 12 September 2022, said: I receive only my monthly pension, like President Kufuor or President Rawlings was receiving until he died. That is all I get. I pay the electricity bill for my house, for my office. I pay the water bill for my house and my office. I live in my own accommodation so the state does not pay me anything for accommodation, Mr Mahama said. According to the former President, contrary to the tall list of expenses Abronye DC claimed the state is making on him, the only lump sum he received was 230,000 as salary arrears in 2013. Normally, when you leave, they approve what should be done for you, but it is not being done for me, he added. However, at a press conference addressed by the partys director of communication, Dr Richard Ahiagbah, the NPP said: We have evidence of correspondence between former President Mahamas office and the Chief of Staff contradicting his claims on the Ghana Tonight Show. We also have a letter from the former Presidents office introducing his staff and who the state should pay. We have correspondences from the office of the Chief of Staff facilitating the payment of these salaries. The party added: There is something very cynical about the former Presidents blatant falsehoods about his enjoyment of the privileges of Article 71 of the 1992 Constitution. Ladies and gentlemen, we have assembled the relevant documentation that suggests former President Mahama is enjoying and has not been denied any of his article 71 guaranteed benefits. Read the full statement below: PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE NPP, ADDRESSED BY THE NATIONAL COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, MR RICHARD AHIAGBAH 1. Ladies and gentlemen of the press, we have invited you to this press conference to expose the insincerity, inconsistency and lack of seriousness of former President John Dramani Mahama about governance issues (hereafter Mahama). 2. Unfortunately, for Ghanaians, former President Mahama has brought his posturing to the Article 71 issues, creating the impression that given the political opportunity, he will amend it. However, this posturing on the repeal of Article 71 is inconsistent with the opportunities he had gotten to amend it when he had power as the Vice-President and President of this Republic effectively between 20092017. 3. Members of the press, on this matter, former President Mahama is all talk and no action because he has had every opportunity to repeal Article 71 as President of this Republic, but he failed to do so. 4. Recall that the Constitution Review Commission set up by the Mills-Mahama administration submitted its report on 20th December 2011, and the government issued a white paper accepting, among other things, the portion of the review relative to the provisions of Article 71. 5. Permit me to quote from the white paper an item captured under issue eight: Determinization of the Conditions of Service of Some Public Officers by the President. Government accepts the recommendation that an Independent Emoluments Commission should be established to determine the salaries, allowances and emoluments of all public officers, from the President to the lowest ranking public officer. 6. Mahama became President in 2012, barely a year after the acceptance of the recommendations of the Constitution Review Commission. All President Mahama needed to do was to present a draft bill to parliament, per Article 290 (2), to trigger the amendment process. But as the talk master general, former president Mahama did not act on the white paper. Instead, he ignored the white paper to create and benefited from emolument committeestwo of them. 7. Indeed, former President Mahama is the first living and serving President who added his spouse to the under-table payments, which used to be for widows of former Presidents only. How insincere and confused can a former President be if not for political mischief? 8. So, from all indications, former president Mahama loves Article 71 because he preserved it for himself when he got the golden opportunity to repeal it. In other words, what former president Mahama is saying today cannot be taken seriously because he has already failed Ghanaians on this matter. However, if former Mahama wants to be taken seriously, he should go ahead and repudiate all the Article 71 benefits he has gladly enjoyed from 2013 to date. But trust me, former president Mahama will not renounce these benefits because he loves the provisions of Article 71. 9. Ladies and gentlemen of the media, I am sure you watched former president Mahamas interview with Alfred Ocansey on TV3s Ghana Tonight show, where he said that the government does not take care of his expenses as a former president and beneficiary of Article 71. He said he takes care of all his bills, including his rented office and staff salaries. But is it true that the former President is denied his entitlements as provided for by law? 10. We have evidence of correspondence between former President Mahamas office and the Chief of Staff contradicting his claims on the Ghana Tonight Show. We also have a letter from the former Presidents office introducing his staff and who the state should pay. We have correspondences from the office of the Chief of Staff facilitating the payment of these salaries. 11. There is something very cynical about the former Presidents blatant falsehoods about his enjoyment of the privileges of Article 71 of the 1992 Constitution. Ladies and gentlemen, we have assembled the relevant documentation that suggests former President Mahama is enjoying and has not been denied any of his article 71 guaranteed benefits. 12. Ladies and gentlemen, the conduct of former President Mahama threatens our democracy, peace and security. So, the question is, what does former President Mahama want to achieve with these needless falsehoods? Could it be so that he can pretend to champion the clamour for the repeal of Article 71? Evidence of this rather unholy politics of former President Mahama abound. 13. Former President Mahamas denial that he is actively accessing his emolument benefits simply exploits the sympathies of unsuspecting Ghanaians. There is no record anywhere that former President Mahama has been renounced or that the government has denied former President Mahama his emolument or entitlement. These bizarre and downright false claims by the former President speak to a grand electoral strategy driven by desperation and deception. 14. You recall that on 22nd October 2020, Mahama promised to grant galamseyers amnesty if he won the election for President. Now contrast this amnesty position with what former President Mahama said on the Ghana Tonight show about President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo needing to resign because he vouched to fight galamsey, whatever the cost. 15. In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to ask a favour; please inquire from former President Mahamahow does granting amnesty to galamseyers contribute to the fight against galamsey? But do not hold your breath because this talk about amnesty is no different from the NDCs promise to offer a one-time NHIS premium. 16. We believe that former President Mahama is pounding the pavements about article 71 because he is trying to exploit the difficulties related to the global cost of living crisis. When former President Mahama addresses international fora, he concedes that Africas economy has virtually been collapsed by the twin factors of Covid-19 and Russia-Ukraine war. However, in Ghana, former President Mahama pretends that the Covid-19 and Russia-Ukraine war has nothing to do with the cost-of-living difficulties. As a champion of the IMF, he is now fighting the IMF for confirming that Ghanas economic challenges are not due to bad policy choices but to the severe impact of Covid-19 and the war. This is the insincerity of former President Mahama continuing to make political promises he does not intend to keep. 17. So, you understand that all former President Mahama is doing is what he has always done: to prey on the emotions of Ghanaians and leverage the resulting fear and worry for his politics. Mahama is not about the work; he is only about the talk. 18. Thank you classfmonline.com Former President John Dramani Mahama has appealed to his former appointees to come out of retirement and join him in the fight to reclaim power from the NPP in 2024. The Former President on Wednesday, 22 February 2023, picked forms to contest the Presidential Primaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). The forms were picked on his behalf by Prof Joshua Alabi, a former Greater Accra Regional Minister under Mr Mahama. Interacting with the former appointees in Accra shortly after the forms were picked, Mr Mahama charged them to begin the campaign to bring back the NDC to power. He told them Now that we are all growing up the cost of medicine alone is not easy and so are we going to sit down and watch our lives work flash down the drain when we have children, we have grandchildren that we need to sacrifice for? So even though you might be in retirement, Im urging you to put those walking sticks down and come out of retirement because this is something we must do together, it cannot be the chairman of the party, it cannot be just the minority leadership, it cannot be whoever is the flagbearer who are going to win this election for us, all of us would have to put our walking sticks down and come out of retirement and rescue this country. Mr Mahama further told the former appointees that It is easy to just take a rest and say Im old now I wont take part let the young people do it, but you all command respect where you live and the constituencies from which you come and, so, all of us need to put our shoulders to the wheel and we must do it by example. He reiterated that the governing New Patriotic Party has performed abysmally and that the NDC from the records have proven to be the best party that ends up cleaning the mess created by the NPP whenever they come to power and leave. classfmonline.com Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei Kyei Mensah-Bonsu says the 'winner takes all' system of governance in Ghana as worrying. He noted that the system where political parties who win elections form a government within it own confines needs to be changed. Speaking on the floor of Parliament during the 30-year observation of Parliamentary democracy, the Suame lawmaker proposed a new constitution which will frown on the one-party dominance of governance. We need a constitutional order that would mitigate the winner takes all attitude and prevent the do-or-die combat associated with our elections, he said. Aside from that, the Majority Leader proposed that Ghana will need a new constitutional order that would prevent the constant increase in the number of seats in Parliament. Also on calls to downsize the government, Mr. Kyei Mensa-Bonsu asserted that there must be a new constitution that will place a cap on number of ministers needed to form a government in the country. We need a new constitutional order that would put a cap in the number of ministers of state. We need a new constitutional order that would ensure that the Speaker of Parliament is a serving member of Parliament, he emphasized. 23.02.2023 LISTEN Richard Ahiagba, the National Director of Communications for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) has told Ghanaians to reject former President Mahamas second coming. He said the one-time president has nothing good to show for the first chance he was given the mandate by Ghanaians. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, February 22, he claimed Mr. Mahama's administration was disastrous including the collapse of banks, electricity crisis and several other issues. On the score, Mr. Ahiagba noted that the NPP is always ready to defeat John Dramani Mahama in any election because they have already defeated him twice. We are ready for him, we are interested in how we can build the economy. What we are interested in is whether or not he has the solution because we saw him vanquished gains that he got, we saw him collapse our economy, we saw him collapse our banking sector, we saw him cause Ghanaians to live in absolute difficulties in this country without electricity," he said. Meanwhile, the former President has finally declared his intention to contest the partys flagbearer race. Mr. Joshua Alabi, a former presidential candidate aspirant picked the NDCs flagbearership nomination forms on his behalf and said the one-time president is a well-experienced leader who can restore the nation. Ghanaians are asking for a well-experienced leader; leadership counts, Mr. Alabi said. Election observers keep watch over polls throughout the world. Their job is to support efforts to improve electoral quality and to provide transparency. In African countries, both local citizen and international observers have been deployed regularly since the 1990s. During several recent elections across the continent, however, questions have arisen about the competence and impartiality of observation missions. This has led to concerns about the future of observation, both in Africa and elsewhere. In 2023, more than 20 African countries are scheduled to go to the polls. It will be a busy year for observers who'll be present at the majority of these elections. When done well, election observation detects ballot-box stuffing, voter suppression and political violence. Observers' presence at polling stations deters election-day fraud . Observers also provide public statements about election quality and offer recommendations on how electoral processes could be improved. Yet some observers have been criticised for a reluctance to point out flawed processes , for holding biases and for weaknesses in their methodologies. The perception that observation missions' verdicts were proved wrong by court judgements in Kenya (2017) and Malawi (2019) has been particularly damaging. In both cases, many commentators (mis)interpreted international observers' statements as endorsements of electoral processes that the courts later annulled. Read more: How Kenya's judiciary can break the cycle of electoral violence It's not clear how widely held these critical views are. The perspectives of the broader public in countries holding elections are often missing from discussions on observation. So we set out to get a sense of what voters in three African countries thought. We found that people wanted to know more about election observers, but couldn't easily get the information. Both the media and observers need to do more to provide it. Knowledge of observers' goals and statements is essential if they are to play the role of public arbiters of election quality. What citizens think Our research into citizen perceptions and media representations of election observation took place in Zambia, The Gambia and Kenya. These three countries have had varying experiences of election observation. We interviewed 520 citizens about topics relating to their perceptions of election observation. In each country, we conducted in-depth interviews in both urban and rural areas, and in constituencies that supported the opposition and the incumbent. Ordinary citizens in our case study countries rarely offered criticisms of election observation. For example, we asked 120 Kenyans to evaluate the past performance of election observers during the run-up to the country's 2022 election. Only one person referred to the controversy surrounding observation in 2017 and the supreme court's annulment of the presidential election. Instead, we found strong support for election observation among citizens. This was the case in all three of our case study countries, which cover east, southern and west Africa. Our respondents tended to have concerns about the electoral process in their own country. They spoke favourably about the potential of observation to improve overall electoral quality and transparency. They also felt that observers contributed to reducing the potentially destabilising effects of elections, such as violence. In both Zambia and Kenya, support for the presence of international observers was higher than support for citizen observers. Respondents in The Gambia, however, tended to prefer citizen observers. Read more: What the rest of Africa can learn from The Gambia's transition to democracy The explanations from those who chose international observers highlighted a perception that they were more impartial than citizen observers, who were often viewed as being biased or corruptible. Perceptions in Zambia and Kenya may be influenced by: political polarisation a perception that political corruption is high the prominence of ethnicity in politics. These factors appear to reduce confidence in citizen observers. Despite the popularity of election observers in our case study countries, we found that citizens knew little about their roles. Few could name any specific observation missions. Citizens often confused observers with other electoral actors like polling station staff, the electoral management body and party agents. It's common for citizens to believe observers can and should intervene in the electoral process. Yet, non-interference should be a key principle for both citizen and international election observers . The information gap Our interviews made it clear that citizens especially those in rural areas found it difficult to get information about the activities and statements of election observers. Few of the respondents heard this information when missions issued their preliminary statements. The media can bridge this information gap by providing more coverage of election observation. The quality of this coverage could also be improved, as observers' preliminary statements are often mischaracterised . Observers' statements tend to be complex and nuanced because they are commenting on numerous aspects of an ongoing process. In media coverage, these statements are often reduced to simple either/or judgements (such as free and fair). Way forward Our project has drawn upon interviews with African journalists and editors to create a short list of tips on covering election observation. These are designed to improve the circulation of accurate information. The tips include getting a range of perspectives from observer missions and reaching out to them early. Observer missions could also be more active in raising the profile of their work. We created a list of suggestions from the media in our three case study countries to help them do this. One of the tips is to interact with the media in local languages. Citizens are more likely to criticise observers for the poor flow of information than for anything else. This doesn't invalidate other criticisms of observers. In fact, if citizens begin to get more information, these criticisms may become more common. Our research suggests the media and observers need to provide it anyway. Thomas Molony receives funding from the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), for the 'Local Perceptions and Media Representations of Election Observation in Africa' research project, under grant reference ES/T015624/1. Robert Macdonald receives funding from the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), for the 'Local Perceptions and Media Representations of Election Observation in Africa' research project, under grant reference ES/T015624/1. By Thomas Molony, Senior Lecturer in African Studies, The University of Edinburgh And Robert Macdonald, Research Fellow in African Studies, The University of Edinburgh The Dean of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Prof. Vladimir Antwi-Danso is calling for a total replacement of the 1992 constitution of Ghana. Unlike the popular calls for amendment, Mr. Antwi-Danso said the entire constitution needs to be rewritten to include provisions that can aid the countrys progress. To him, a new constitution is what will push the leaders of the country to perform to the benefit of the citizens. Speaking at a programme organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), the security expert bemoaned the excessive partisanship in Parliament. According to him, he thought the hung parliament will work to meet the needed expectations but that has failed in the face of partisanship. In our current situation, I was happy to see the hung parliament, but it has not served its purpose because everything has been reduced to partisanship. I believe that if we have something new (new constitution), politicians will jump to it to serve a better purpose," he said. The Vice President of the Republic, H.E Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia on Wednesday, February 22, received the leadership of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. During his engagement with the leadership of the church, the Vice President stressed his belief that harmonious religious diversity and acceptance are vital for Ghanas development. In that regard, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia also applauded the leadership of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church for being a good leader in that course. Harmonious religious diversity and acceptance is vital for our nation's development. I commend the leadership of the EP Church, and all religious leaders, for their continued efforts in nation-building, the Vice President said. The delegation of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana was led by the Moderator, Rt Rev Lt Col Bliss Divine Kofi Agbeko (Rtd). The delegation was at Jubilee House to among others, express appreciation for the Vice Presidents active participation in the launch of the Church's 175th Anniversary celebrations, and to pray for the nation. The Executive Director for the Institute of Energy Security (IES), Nana Amoasi VII has kicked against plans by government to work with only selected Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in the Gold for Oil programme. The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Chief Executive Officer Mustapha Hamid addressing the press on Wednesday said his outfit will only sell oil to Oil Marketing Companies with more than 45 outlets across the country under the Gold for Oil Programme. He reiterated that the ultimate objective of the government in introducing the program is to ensure that fuel is affordable Speaking to Starr FM on the plans of government, Nana Amoasi VII said this has the likelihood of collapsing some of the OMCs. So it comes as a surprise for the government to be selective in this process and we believe that it will bring about unfair competition among the Oil Marketing Companies. If you choose to elect a few when you are talking about OMCs with at least 45 outlets across the country then you are talking about just about 36 percent of the players in the market. To select just a few and you give them a product that is supposedly affordable one. Then what you are trying to do is you are trying to kick others out of business, the IES Executive Director indicated. According to him, the stand taken by government is wrong, retrogressive, and inefficient. Agriculture, they say is the wealth of a man, to this effect, Queen Mothers who are changing the negative narrative of agriculture in their various communities in Ghana have called on the government and stakeholders to support women in agriculture to make it attractive to the youths. According to them, venturing into agriculture has helped supported their wards and families, hence believed that when strategic measures are put in place, agriculture will be very attractive to the youth. Highlighting some of the challenges they are confronted with; access to finance, bad roads, unavailable markets, and illicit dealers selling fake agrochemicals and seeds to them have become the order of the day. They made this observation at the 5th edition of Gathering of the Royals from the length and breadth of the country organized by AgricHouse Foundation under the theme: "Championing Agric -growth through our Queen mothers: The Agricbooster module in Accra." Madam Evelyn Andoh, 2022 gold in the soil award winner and coffee farmer lamented that the unavailable of a ready market for coffee had compelled her no drink the coffee with her family daily and the rest goes to waste. Other Queen mothers called on financial institutions to make access to finance accessible to women. Addressing the press, the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, Hon. Yaw Frimpong commended Queen mothers for contributing hugely to the Agriculture sector by eliminating cultural barriers such as gender biases, insecurity and seasonal farming. He said it is very important to be committed to ensuring a paradigm shift of Agriculture from a way of life to a serious business. He indicated that Agriculture in any form should no longer be constrained or limited by socioeconomic, cultural, and other factors. Reacting to challenges outlined by the Queens, the Deputy Minister said the Agrihouse foundation has set the agenda to reap the full potential of agriculture by transforming and giving meaning and practical expression to Agriculture. Reacting to illicit agrochemist dealers, he said the ministry is trying its best to fish them out. "We going to embark on intensive education and we will need the media to help us," he lamented. The Executive Director of AgricHouse Foundation, Alberta Nana Akyaa Akosa on her part added that the purpose of the workshop is to bring together all Queenmothers across the country who have made an impact in the agricultural sector to help improve the sector. "These queen mothers are pivotal to grow of agribusiness in their communities over the years, as I worked at the Agrihouse Foundation and had the great privilege to travel across these communities and had an engagement with the Queen mothers over the years. I realised that they are instruments of growth and it's important to have an intervention that would bring both the Queen mothers and agribusiness together. "We see these Queen mothers as influencers of growth, for the fact that they are farmers and understand the sector very much which we see to have a key dialogue such as this to support growth at the community level. We believe that that will contribute to driving the agric calendar a boost if we go towards this direction. She said a common solution to address the challenges women faced in the sector will be a great relief to them. This is a follow-up to last year's engagement," she explained. In Ukraine, Russian and Ukrainian forces are using very different tactics. While Russia started the war by invading Ukraine, the Ukrainians have been winning by using different tactics and better leadership in general. These differences have led to Russia suffering more combat deaths in the last year than they suffered in all the wars and conflicts their troops were involved in since the end of World War II in 1945. The original plan was to make a massive attack from many directions on an unprepared Ukraine. That failed in a spectacular fashion because the Ukrainians were prepared, more prepared than the invading Russians. It was more a case of the Russians being unprepared. Ukrainian war preparations were no secret and Russian intel (FSB and GRU) had lots of people inside Ukraine observing and reporting back to the Russian government. These reports were accurate but, by the time they reached senior leaders, especially Vladimir Putin, they had been modified to give Putin what he wanted to hear. Putin believed the Ukrainians were incapable of organizing an effective resistance, that his planned massive land and air attack would paralyze and demoralize them, and that his forces could then take control of the country in a matter of days. A year later Russian military operations are still crippled by similar delusions which probably only Putin believes, with any senior dissenters reported as suffering fatal falls from windows. Russia had a hard time accepting the fact that the Ukrainians were better trained, armed and led. They have two primary problems with their military. The most obvious is continued use of Soviet-style planning and command. Plans are created to be followed precisely by subordinates who make no deviations without orders from above. This works if you use overwhelming force against a foe who does not react in an unanticipated fashion (which Hitler conveniently ordered many times and is one of the reasons for this Russian military style). It did not work against the more flexible Ukrainians, who were using planning methods and tactics developed in the West and proven effective many times during and after World War II. The Russians recognized the different planning and leadership concepts used in the West but did not believe they were suitable for Russian troops. In part, this was a cultural thing. Russians believed that they performed best under the control of a powerful leader. Vladimir Putin presented himself as that kind of leader. Some Putin associates noted that this traditional approach was not working and that the Ukrainians and Russians and many shared cultural behaviors and that Russians ought to be able to do what the Ukrainians were doing. This sort of thinking was not acceptable to Putin so Russian failures in combat continue. The other problem is corruption. The Ukrainian leader, Volodymir Zelensky got himself elected president in 2019 by promising to go after corruption. That he did, and still does, because there was a lot of it in Ukraine and even more in Russia where there is more tolerance for corruption. Zelenskys anti-corruption efforts accelerated after the Russians invaded a year ago because suddenly the country was receiving billions of dollars in military and economic aid a month and corruption, unlike in Russia, was publicized and foreign donors were discouraged from giving, or giving more, if they found that a lot of the aid was stolen. Initially most of the aid was weapons and those went straight to the troops. But any less specialized supplies could be diverted by corrupt officials for personal profit, and often was. Zelensky was most zealous with officials he worked closely with and it soon became known that if you wanted a senior job in the government, youd better be clean. Unlike Russia, Ukraine has free media, which was encouraged to go looking for corrupt practices and report on them. This turned thousands of Ukrainians into sources for stories the journalists were looking for. Zelensky responded to these news reports, even if the stories disrupted a larger anti-corruption investigation. The very wealthy (the oligarchs) who had backed Zelenskys first election campaign thought this gave them some immunity from the anti-corruption efforts. Early on Zelensky hesitated going after some major donors but that soon changed when it became clear that tolerating corruption by anyone close to him hurt all his anti-corruption efforts. Improvements in Ukrainian anti-corruption efforts are measured by Transparency International, an organization that began compiling and publishing corruption scores for all the worlds nations in the 1990s and by 1999 was regularly monitoring most of the worlds nations. This was made possible by the end of the Cold War in 1991. With the collapse of most communist nations, it was possible to gather data on corruption from just about every country. For countries providing foreign aid or active in international trade and manufacturing, the Transparency International reports were extremely useful. It was the same for countries seeking to reduce corruption and attract for foreign business or foreign aid. Its no coincidence that the least corrupt nations are the most successful. The most corrupt nations (currently Yemen, Venezuela, South Sudan, Syria and Somalia) are the poorest and often mired in civil war or chronic violence. The least corrupt nations (currently Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway and Singapore) are peaceful and prosperous. Zelensky and most Ukrainians recognize that and also realized that Ukrainian efforts to join the EU (European Union) and NATO depend on reducing corruption. So does the amount of foreign aid and investment Ukraine receives after the war to rebuild its economy. Zelensky offers all this as a worthy goal that will be made possible by reducing corruption in Ukraine. In the 1990s Russia and Ukraine were both found to be quite corrupt. The 1999 Transparency International report had Ukraine at 75 out of 99 nations while Russia was worse at 82nd place. Corruption was a major factor in the collapse of the Soviet Union and most other communist states. Even after adopting democracy, it was difficult to reduce corruption. Democracy and free media did not survive in Russia and were gone by 2000 as Vladimir Putin sought to take Russia back to its Soviet ways. Ukraine had to struggle to hang onto its democracy and free press, which Putin and his neo-Soviets were out to sabotage as part of their plan to rebuild the Soviet Union. None of the regions of the Soviet Union that went independent in 1991 were receptive to Putins empire revival project. That became quite obvious when he invaded Ukraine. The greater incidence of corruption in Russia made it difficult to recruit or even conscript more troops. In contrast Ukraine had about a million regular and reserve troops a year after the invasion began. In Russia, corruption in the recruitment and training process is common and discourages new soldiers from fighting. Desertion in the combat zone is also common. Those who dont desert face almost certain death or injury making advance or be shot right here unsupported frontal attacks on well prepared and determined Ukrainian defenders. The Russian plan is to keep the war going for as long as it takes and wear the Ukrainians and their NATO supporters d0wn. The Russian people are suffering most from all this and Putin believes the Russian people will put up with this because Russians are like this. This ignores the growing number of Russians trying to get out of Russia or staying and sabotaging the war effort. The Ukraine War is between two very different views of how the world works. The strong man cult still has its supporters worldwide. Some have traveled to Russia and joined a combat unit of foreigners. This force, with several hundred men, is far smaller than the Ukrainian version, which has over 20,000 foreign volunteers. What China learns from this is that the ancient military wisdom of Sun Tzu covered this possibility and advised concentrating on weakening your enemy by corrupting key enemy leaders with bribes, blackmail or whatever worked. This takes longer and even the Russians tried this against Ukraine for years, but ran out of patience and attacked. Thats always a bad idea when the victim is prepared and more determined to prevail. Mr Yohane Amarh Ashitey, Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive has called for a radical approach to reduce the incident of maternal mortality in the metropolis. He said it was not enough for health officials to ask stakeholders to support without specifically pinpointing what each stakeholder must do to help reduce the mortality Mr Ashitey stated during the Tema Metropolitan Health Directorates annual performance review for 2022 with a call on stakeholders to help the directorate improve maternal and adolescent health care. The review saw presentations covering the activities of the directorate on adolescent health, maternal issues, breastfeeding, malaria, tuberculosis and covid-19. Reviews from the Tema Regional Hospital, Manhean Polyclinic, Port Health, Tema Health Centre, National Ambulance Service, and the VALCO Hospital. Mr Ashitey urged the directorate to make a case for the need for urgent help from stakeholders. Dr Sally Quartey, Director of Health Service, Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate said the Health Directorates aim at building a resilient health system in a post-COVID-19 era to ensure the continuity of essential services, maintain effective responses to infectious diseases, and good governance. She said the COVID-19 pandemic brought some setbacks to health delivery as in a bid to battle the pandemic some activities were put on hold including the relegation of some other infectious diseases. She said the review was to analyse the work done in the health sector in the Metropolis for the year 2022 which was based on the Greater Accra Regional. Dr Quartey said that based on the 2022 theme the directorate last year refocused its attention on essential services, such as childhood immunization, early detection of medical conditions, and sharpening response to other infectious diseases, such as monkeypox, and rabies. She added that they also put in place strategies to ensure good governance in the various areas, and therefore commended health workers and stakeholders for the hard work and commitment they put into the work in the year under review. The Tema Metro Health Director said the Greater Accra Regional Health Directorate which the Tema Directorate is under would work under the theme; Addressing healthcare delivery gaps for equity in health coverage through; intensifying health promotion interventions, optimizing the use of data and technology to improve access to quality healthcare, and strengthening preventive and control measures for emergent and re-emergent public health events. Dr Quartey explained that a lot of the time it was far easier to prevent a disease than cure it. She added that the phase of fast-growing communities all around the region, compared to the slow expansion of existing health facilities to accommodate the huge number of clients made sound reason to put emphasis on health prevention, and disease prevention interventions. She said this could be achieved through promoting good health lifestyles, screening to detect some diseases early so that they could be worked on early, improving upon hygiene, sanitation and environment, promoting wellness clinics and ensuring that people immunize and their babies. She said the increased use of data and technology in promoting health care globally could not be emphasized and expressed the hope that access to quality health would be improved this year through technology and data use. The Director of Health Services said there was a need for support from stakeholders to help the directorate tackle issues of maternal mortality, anaemia in pregnancy, late initiation of breastfeeding, adolescent health, and other shortfalls seen from the assessment of 2022 health activities. Dr Quartey said this year, the Tema Health Directorate would prioritize community durbars to ensure that community members understand the various health initiatives to help solve the various health challenges they faced especially in Tema Manhean, where for instance anaemia in pregnancy was prevalent. CDA Consult || Contributor Two cheers for democracy: one because it admits variety and two because it permits criticism -E. M. Forster Ezekiel 3:19: Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Will someone clap for Jesus! Will someone shout: 'Amen'! will someone pray with me! We are so consumed by Christianity (or rather religiosity) that every celebration is started and ended with a prayer. Whoever speaks against the practice is an anti-Christ, a demon, a devil, a friend, an incubus so we all pretend, feign, and disguise. When Ghana Airways was tottering as a result of mismanagement, in 2003, a London-based Ghanaian evangelist was invited to lead a healing and deliverance service aimed at exorcising evil spirits from the affairs of the Airline-1500 employees with more drivers than vehicles, more typists than typewriters. And when we sat back for 'galamsey' to wreak havoc, a deanery of pastors went to a 'galamsey' site to pray for 'redemption'. Meanwhile, the clerks at the Ministry responsible for land were signing off land for people to do 'galamsey'. Sorry, we were talking in our dream-sleep walking, day dreaming, perhaps we need an oneirocratic- one who interprets dreams. The ex-Chief Justice, Her Ladyship Sophia Akuffo, stirred up a hornet's nest when she joined the individual bondholders picketing at the Ministry of Finance. Unprecedented! She had played an important role before as Chief Justice but now that she had been ungagged by the ethics of the profession, she felt free to articulate her personal opinions. Look, Matthew says in Chapter 7:1-3: Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? On 18/02/23, the ex-Chief Justice granted an interview to Joy News. To the Q: Why did you join the picketing? A: EmpathyLove your neighbour as yourself. It struck me deep. Q: Why now A: Why not now? The 73-year-old Sophia attended Wesley Girl's High School, Cape Coast (after her primary education at Parliament Hill School, Hampstead, London) and earned LLB Degree from the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana in 1975. She worked with various Law firms (Campbell, Fugar) and various corporations: Ghana Airways, Mobil Oil and established her own Legal firm, Akuffo Legal Consultancy (now Apex Law Consult). After private practice, Flt Lt Rawlings elevated her to the Supreme Court in 1995. She served under Rawlings, Kuffuor, Atta Mills and Mahama as one of the pioneering judges of the African Court on Human and People's Rights. In June 2017, the President Nana Addo appointed her as the Chief Justice of Ghana, in accordance with Article 144 (1) of the 1992 Constitution. At the swearing-in of the Chief Justice Akuffo these were the words of President Nana Addo: Their Excellencies Jerry John Rawlings and John Agyekum Kuffuor (President Mahama was out of the jurisdiction) the decision in favour of multi-party democracy our unhappy experience with authoritarian rule, the final judicial power is in the judiciary with jurisdiction in all matters of the breach of the law, civil and criminal Ghanaian democracy was enhanced by the decision of the then Chief Justice, Georgina Wood to broadcast the proceedings of the petition on television. It helped in the process of demystifying judicial proceedings and helped send the clear message from the majority on the court that the controlling principle of judicial intervention in elections was the result delivered at the Polling Stations which would not be easily reversed by a court. I am confident that Justice Sophia Abena Boafoa Akuffo will be an effective leader of the judiciary, and will guard jealously its independence. Her attributes, befitting the offspring of a prominent Presbyterian priest, hard work, discipline, capacity for detailed research, intimate knowledge of the law, independence of mind and spirit, honesty and integrity, deep-seated respect for the rule of law and for the best traditions of the legal profession. She is a member of various commissions and committees, including the national Covid-19 Trust Fund, whose board she chairs. Justice Akuffo, ex-Chief Justice in the Joy News interview stated that she gets irritated when people associate her name with that of the President Akuffo, thinking therefore that she got her appointment as Chief Justice for nepotistic considerations. She had capacity She remained a friend of everyone and enemy to none. To her, a contract is a contract. Yes, we took a debt what was it used for? Where is accountability? Gabby Otchere-Darko who was described by ex-Chief Justice Akuffo as a disturbance has noted that he did not insult the former Chief Justice; and Finance Minister Ofori-Atta says the government will not punish any bondholder who did not participate in the DDEP. Dr. Adu Anane who led the team was in Ofori Atta's office to thank the minister for this show of magnanimity. And, as Malcolm notes in 'Macbeth': Angels are bright still, though the brightest (Lucifer) fell. Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace, yet grace must still look so. Does it fit Sophia Akuffo? The nagging question remains: What would have been the fate of the individual bondholders who refused to sign into the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme, had the former Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo not waded in? We cannot boldly give a yes or no answer. She says she joined those who were picketing in solidarity. The motive? To solidarize with the elderly individual bondholders who depended on the earnings from the bond to pay their electricity, water and ancillary bills-not least the medical ones! And, you know, the agony of old age: lower back pain, kidney problems, persistent fever, osteoarthritis, non-arthritis/with wear-and-tear of the cartilage, pelvic pain, carpal tunnel, muscle strain, rheumatism, prostate. And as Lord Tennyson (Morte d' Arthur) puts in The old order changeth yielding place to new Last scene of all that ends this strange, eventful history, is second childishness and mere oblivion sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything John F. Kennedy said in 1962: Democracy may not be perfect but at least I don't have to build a wall to keep my people in, and Winston Churchill noted in 1953: The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter But Matthew says in 5:43-45 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. Like Timothy Winters, we say Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen Amen. Africanus Owusu-Ansah [email protected] The General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Frimpong Koduah on Wednesday, February 22, led a delegation of the party to visit the family of Christian Atsu. During the visit, sources disclosed that the NPP made a cash donation of GHS10,000 to support the family of the late Black Stars forward. The NPP General Secretary Justin Frimpong Koduah visited the family house of Christian Atsu in the company of Lawyer Henry Nana Boakye (National Organizer), Abdul Aziz Haruna Futa (National Nasara Co-Ordinator), Mr. William Yamoah (Director of Finance & Administration), Haruna Mohammed (Deputy General Secretary), Kwabena Frimpong (Deputy Director of Protocol) and other party faithfuls. According to Justin Frimpong Koduah, the visit on Wednesday was for the party to express its condolences and sympathies to the family of Christian Atsu after losing the adored player. Since Monday, a number of people including government officials, players, Ghana FA Executive Council members, friends, and sympathisers have been to the family house of Christian Atsu to support the family. Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia said government will play a key role in giving the late national team player a befitting burial. An economist has stated that the governments strategies towards obtaining cancellation of its debts could be likened to that of a Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) methodology which is anachronistic. The Reverend Dr. Samuel Worlanyo Mensah said Ghana could only appeal to its creditors to cancel its debt due to the current economic crises adding that such cancellation was what helped the country when former President John Agyekum Kufuor declared the country as HIPC. Rev. Dr. Mensah said Ghana could not be declared HIPC again because, it has been less than 20 years since the nation came out of the programme, and that was part of its conditionality. The Economist also stressed that it was not enough for Ghana to always run to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout as that could not solve Ghanas perineal economic hardships. Rev. Dr Mensah who is the Executive Director of the Centre for Greater Impact Africa said even though Ghana does not qualify to be declared as a HIPC state due to its lower middle-income status since 2010, the strategies being adopted by the government were those associated with HIPC countries. He said this when addressing some economic-related issues in Ghana when the Centre appeared on the Ghana News Agency, Tema Industrial News Hub Boardroom Dialogue platform. The Economist said that if embezzling, misapplying, and mismanagement does not end all the solutions to revamp the economy was going to be an action in futility. Rev. Dr. Mensah advised the government to empower anti-corruption agencies to function properly to fight corruption as that was the only solution to the problem. He said, the country lacks financial discipline and the only way out of the economic decadency was to fight crime and ensure value for money. He revealed that Ghana has many corrupt systems that gave birth to dishonest practices and no amount of money given to Ministries, Departments, and Agencies would be applied for its purpose. Rev. Dr. Mensah noted that the Auditor General's report for the past 15 years after coming out of the HIPC programme, showed that funds had been misappropriated more than the bailout the country was seeking from the IMF. CDA Consult || Contributor The tiny Horn of Africa state of Djibouti heads to the polls on Friday for a parliamentary election boycotted by the main opposition parties, which have branded the vote a sham. Only two parties are contesting seats in the 65-member National Assembly, where veteran President Ismael Omar Guelleh's ruling Union for Presidential Majority (UMP) is assured of victory. Despite its diminutive size, Djibouti enjoys a strategically crucial position at the mouth of the Red Sea, using it to woo trade investors and foreign military powers. The opposition charges that the poll, which follows a presidential ballot in April 2021 that saw Guelleh re-elected for a fifth term with 97 percent of the vote, will not be free and fair. "This election is only a formality, nothing will change," said a 32-year-old unemployed man who gave his name only as Ali. Guelleh, 75, has ruled Djibouti with an iron fist since 1999 and the country has seen an erosion of press freedom and a crackdown on dissent. The economy took a hit in 2022 from the war in Ukraine, a regional drought and fallout from the two-year conflict in neighbouring Ethiopia, but is expected to grow by around five percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 'Single party' The main opposition parties, including the Movement for Democratic Renewal and Development (MRD) and the Republican Alliance for Democracy (ARD) have announced they will not take part. "Elections in our country are still not free, not transparent and not democratic," the MRD said in a statement in January, describing Friday's vote as nothing more than a "charade". "The people of Djibouti are deprived of their right to freely choose their leaders," it added, denouncing the country's "single party" system. Djibouti's 230,000 voters will choose MPs for a five-year term, with the law stipulating that 25 percent of the 65 seats must go to women. In the last legislative ballot in 2018, the UMP -- which emerged from a party that ruled Djibouti since independence from France in 1977 -- won 58 seats. The Union for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), the only other party running on Friday, took five of the remaining seven. "This election, similar to the presidential polls in 2021, are not really taken seriously by the population anymore -- the public interest is very, very limited," Benedikt Kamski, Horn of Africa researcher for Germany's Arnold Bergstraesser Institute, told AFP. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional bloc, said it would be sending an observer mission. Strategic position Djibouti. By Tupac POINTU (AFP) Under Guelleh, the country of one million people has exploited its prime geographical advantage, investing heavily in ports and logistics infrastructure. Flanked by Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, and across the sea from Yemen, the desert nation has remained stable in a volatile neighbourhood. Foreign military powers including colonial ruler France, the United States and China, as well as Italy and Japan, have established bases or support facilities, there. It dreams of becoming the "Dubai of Africa" with the help of foreign investment, notably from China. The Asian giant helped fund a rail link between Djibouti and the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa which opened in 2017. It is also financing Africa's biggest free trade zone. In January, the government announced a memorandum of understanding with a Hong Kong-based company to build a $1 billion commercial spaceport expected to take five years to build. A former National Vice Chairman of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), H.E. Alhaji Said Sinare has said all the challenges facing the country will be solved when former President John Dramani Mahama becomes President again. In a Facebook post after former President Mahama picked the nomination forms to run for the flagbearer, Mr. Sinare indicated that the former President knows what is wrong with the country and will solve it without stress if given the mandate to lead the party into 2024 general elections. According to him, with the country facing multiple economic challenges, former President Mahamas experience will be most vital to rescue the suffering Ghanaians. Speaking to the media, H.E. Alhaji Said Sinare added that giving Mahama a 99% endorsement will be a good decision for the party ahead of election 2024. "He is not going to be thinking of how to form a government," he said on Wednesday while speaking to the media. The Executive Director of the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Bramiah has posed a very critical question as to who should be blamed for the poor state of the Ghanaian economy. In a post on social media, he argues that not only has the Ghanaian economy been crushed under the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government but the public purse has been milked dry. Sulemana Braimah in his post is asking whether Members of Parliament should be blamed for the current situation or institutions set up to prevent the looting. The People of Ghana elected 275 people as their representatives to make laws and to protect the public purse on their behalf, the MFWA said in a post on Twitter. He further questioned, The public purse has been milked dry and the economy crushed. Who must we blame? The looters or those who ought to have prevented the looting? Ndoo, our people say that it is not a new thing when a dog bites a man; it is rather a shock when we hear that a man has bitten a dog. For Mr Akuffo Addo and his legionnaires, I have never expressed surprise at anything. Why? Blood runs through and deep. Genes hardly miss targets. For those who do not know the relevant history of the men who today claims to uphold the law above customary considerations and traditions as well, I would not blame them. However those who know this government and its leaders, know that there was a time the forebears of Mr Akuffo and his legionaries sought this consideration. Those who know and read, know that in the 1940s, when the Omanhene of Akyem Abuakwa touched the gods' feet, the Odikro of Apedwa, Nana Akyea Mensah was murdered in brutal ritual at the forecourt of the late chief in Kyibi. The facts as presented at the trial was that the Odikro was first struck with a sharp knife through his teeth. This act was done to first of all prevent the Odikro from screaming, and to prevent him from invoking a curse on his murderers. He was then dragged to a secret location where his blood was drained and his body dismembered. And to think that the Odikro was on his way to the Palace to perform the traditional custom of Wirempe the consecration of the stool of the deceased Omanhene with a mixture of soot, eggs, and the blood of a dog and brown sheep, was the shocker. Truly, the people of Apedwa never saw their Odikro again. And they never got justice. Who was the man who came to the rescue of the accused murderers? The man whom this particular party is built on, JB Danquah. And which people did he ensemble to defend the murderers in court? Nii Amaah Ollenu (later to become Speaker ofParliament in Ghanas Second Republic), Edward Akufo-Addo (father of the current President, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo) and Sarkodee-Addo (both of whom went on to be Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Ghana. The plea of these respected people or so we thought was for the colonial government led by Allan burns to factor in the rule of exceptionalism for the murderers, who were mainly chiefs of the Akyem area. It was for the courts to respect the status of the murderers and grant them respite. The rest is history as the so called doyen of Gold Coast politics together with the forebears of this government lost the case terribly in all angles: from Gold coast to British Parliament;the details which we will narrate some other day. However, the worry is that if the party whose forebears rode on this exception and respect for customary rites no matter how it contravenes the laws of the land, why wasn't same granted the Nayiri, king of modern day Mamprugu? Our people say that we do not tell the old they are wrong when they err, we rather remind them of what they already know. Why couldn't the government just "remind" the king if indeed he erred in his discretion on the Bawku chieftaincy fued? Or is it a matter of respect for traditional authority being relative and limited to some parts of the country? For people like Yours Truly, I have always known that it was only a matter of time we saw the monkey's buttocks as it climbed higher. And as the dying embers of Mr Akuffo Addo's reign nears, we can only but see him in his true colors: no respect for the man and tribe who helped him win the elections. I shall be back. Mr Abraham Koomson, General Secretary of the Ghana Federation of Labour has called on the government to stop the knee-jerk economic strategies. The government cannot be seeking to implement a knee-jerk economic policy such as the Excise Duty Amendment Bill currently before Parliament, it is dangerous and unhealthy for the economic recovery efforts, Mr Koomson noted. Mr Koomson called Parliament to save the country stressing Ghana is on an economic war front, and it is required that the commander in chief and other lieutenants keep a level head, but unfortunately we see traces of the governments economic management team panicking and sometimes running around confused. Strategies such as Excise Duty Amendment Bill 2022 which seeks to amend the Excise Duty Act 2014 (Act 878) are another signal to the investor community that the ground is no longer fertile for doing business in Ghana. Mr Koomson noted that Some manufacturers are folding up, others are considering cutting down on the number of staff or reducing production, as leaders in the labour front, we must warn the government, and appealed to Parliament to suspend discussion on the Bill for broader consultation and input from industry players. The GFL General Secretary stated at the Ghana News Agency Tema Industrial News Hub Boardroom Dialogue on measures to secure the economy without sacrificing the manufacturing sector. He reiterated that too many taxes imposed on the importation of raw materials form part of the unstable and knee-jerk policies which are now frightening investors away from the country and subsequently crippling the manufacturing sector. The GFL, therefore, cautioned the government and Parliament that with such huge taxations, the manufacturing industries could not produce at competitive prices. He noted it was time the government support investors and help local companies grow instead of bombarding them with too many taxes. Mr Koomson noted that the over-taxation of raw material importation was gradually killing the manufacturing sector and something must be done about it urgently. He indicated that the GFL was in talks with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) to jointly tackle the issue; adding that other stakeholders would also be contacted for their inputs on the overburdened taxes on raw materials. The GFL General Secretary disclosed that the Federation had already written to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) for a meeting to discuss the issue among others. He added that they have also petitioned Parliament on the taxes to ensure that the industries survived and provided the needed jobs for the large number of unemployed youth. If nothing is done about the Excise Duty Amendment Bill 2022 and Parliament goes ahead to pass it, the manufacturing sector will suffer, and the whole system will collapse and unemployment will continue to increase, he added. Mr Koomson explained that the incessant mismanagement of the economy was the reason for the various challenges confronting the economy saying the government should desist from imposing additional taxes on companies. Dr. Kwabena Duffuor 23.02.2023 LISTEN Former Finance Minister of Ghana, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor is all set to give ex-President John Dramani Mahama a good run for his money in the presidential primaries of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). On Thursday, February 23, Dr. Duffuor formally picked his nomination form to contest in the presidential primaries. Today, the form was picked on behalf of the formal Bank of Ghana Governor by the Ashanti Regional Womens Organiser, Gloria Huze in the morning. Later addressing the press, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor expressed his delight to the delegation that stormed the party headquarters in Accra to pick up the form on his behalf. Since last year, he has made it clear his intention to contest for the flagbearer position of the opposition NDC. Ahead of the primaries, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor is set to rival ex-President John Dramani Mahama whom many have described as the favourite to win the election. On Wednesday, February 22, the leading member of the NDC picked his nomination form to contest the NDC presidential primaries. According to information gathered today, former Kumasi Mayor Kojo Bonsu will be picking forms before the close of Friday, February 24. The Ashiaman Circuit Court has sentenced Emmanuel Tetteh, a 24-year-old driver who resides at Santeo near Ashiaman to ten years imprisonment in hard labour for stealing an unregistered Royal motorbike valued at GHC4,000.00. The court presided over by Mr. Simon Gaga sentenced the accused after he had pleaded guilty to the charges. The prosecutor, Chief Inspector Samuel Aperweh said the complainant Mr. Samuel Abayatey, 25-year-old who is a mason who resides in Kasoa. Chief Inspector Aperweh said on January 1, 2023, at about 19:30 hours, the Ashaiman District Police Patrol Team on night patrol duties intercepted the accused with an unregistered royal motorbike at Adjei Kojo underbridge. The Prosecutor said the accused was spotted pushing the said motorbike with one Francis Osusey who is a witness in the case. Chief Inspector Aperweh said the team questioned the accused about the owner of the motorbike but he gave conflicting responses which made the team suspected that the accused might have stolen the motorbike. The Patron Team subsequently arrested the accused and brought him to the Ashaiman Police Station where a formal complaint was lodged. The Prosecution said during investigations, it was discovered that in December 2022, the complaint was riding the said motorbike from Accra to Ada, and on reaching a section of the Tema motorway around Klagon, the motorbike developed a mechanical fault. The prosecution said the complainant left the motorbike at the shop of Philip Aderko an Auto Welding Mechanic at Klagon who is also a witness in the case and assured him that he will come for it later. The Prosecution said on January 27, the accused who also had his vehicle at the same auto mechanic shop went there and in the cause of a conversation with the owner of the shop had information that the motorbike owner had not returned since December to pick up the motorbike. Mr Apreweh said the accused capitalized on the information and on January 31 called the shop owner with an unknown phone number and posed as the owner of the motorbike and thereafter sent one Francis Osusey to go for the motorbike. The accused later met Francis Osusey at AdjeiKojo underbridge with the motorbike and they both headed towards Ashaiman. The investigation concluded that the accused dishonestly appropriated the said motorbike by false pretenses and was charged with the offense and put before the court. 23.02.2023 LISTEN Justice Clemence Honyenuga, the judge presiding over the COCOBOD case involving former CEO, Dr Stephen Opuni and Businessman Seidu Agongo, has been asked to refer the case to the Chief Justice (CJ) for a new judge. The directive came from the Office of the Attorney General today, Thursday, 23 February 2023. According to the AG, it is practically impossible for the retired judge to sit and conclude the matter. A new judge, therefore, is expected the take over the case. Justice Honyenuga, a Justice of the Supreme Court sitting as an additional High court judge, has been on the case since 2018. He has retired but was given six-month extension to finish this case. However, the case has delayed further forcing the AGs office to issue the latest directive. In court today, Thursday, February 23, when the matter was called, Deputy Attorney General Alfred Tuah-Yeboah said considering the extremely limited time available for Justice Hunyenuga, he should refer the matter to the CJ for it to be reconstituted. He said Pursuant to article 145(4) of the Constitution my lord was granted a limited mandate to conclude the hearing of this matter Today is February 23, 2023, the time left for that mandate to expire is extremely limited in the sense that the first accused person has not closed his case for the second and third persons to open theirs and call their witnesses. Considering the time left, it is practically impossible to conclude, in the circumstance we respectfully pray that my lord refers this matter to the Chief Justice to be reconstituted. Meanwhile, the case has been adjourned to 1 March 2023. The accused persons are facing 27 counts including defrauding by false pretences, corruption of a public officer and causing financial loss to the state in the supply of Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser to COCOBOD during Dr Opunis era as CEO of the state-owned cocoa company. They are on self-recognisance bail of GHS300,000 each. At the previous adjournment date, the trial judge, Justice Clemence Honyenuga, announced to the court the Supreme Court would make a judgment on an application for review filed by the defence team. During the hearing on Thursday, 23 February 2023, Justice Honyenuga said having heard from the Deputy AG and counsel for the first, second and third accused, it is my humble opinion that I will adjourn this matter to await the reasons from the Supreme Court. Indeed, you [are] the first person to make this suggestion considering the numerous applications filed in this court to the Supreme Court and also the Court of Appeal, he said. So, I will adjourn the matter to Wednesday so that we get the full import of the judgment of the Supreme Court so that we all abide by it. Consequently, I will adjourn this case to Wednesday, 1 March at 12 pm, the judge said. Ahead of Thursdays hearing, Mr Agongo had said in a recusal application to the High Court that I was simply terrified to have read the sentiments expressed and the threat issued by Justice Honyenuga about his (Mr Agongos) recent absence from the trial over ill health. Mr Agongo argued that Justice Honyenuga, obviously did not care whether or not I was unwell because he must, by all means conclude this matter, and considers my ill health as an impediment to his goal. About a week ago, Justice Honyenuga said the medical excuses of Mr Agongo (second accused person) who is being tried with the ex-chief executive officer of the Ghana Cocoa Board, Dr Stephen Opuni (first accused person), for criminal offences, were delaying him from concluding the case within the limited time granted him by the Chief Justice. Justice Honyenuga reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 in September 2022 but was granted limited time by the Chief Justice, per the 1992 Constitution, to wrap up the almost-five-year-old trial. Mr Agongo presented two excuse duties to the court from two hospitals within a space of about two weeks. The situation compelled Justice Honyenuga, who started hearing the case in May 2018, to adjourn the hearing on a few occasions, much to his chagrin. While adjourning the matter to 20 February 2023 due to Mr Agongos medical excuse, Justice Honyenuga told the court on Tuesday, 14 February 2023: Yesterday [Monday, 13 February 2023], I adjourned the matter on the medical report to await the Registrars report. Now, as I indicated yesterday, the second accused has caused this court to adjourn proceedings for some time now. A reference to his medical report from the National Cardiothoracic Centre indicates that: Assessment was done and a diagnosis of stress-induced anxiety was made, for which treatment was commenced. He reported for a review on 30 January 2023 with complaints of difficulty in sleeping, easy fatigue and worrying thoughts of over two weeks duration and high blood pressure readings. Now, the second accused, again, has brought a medical report which now indicates that he is diagnosed with acute lumbago and radiculopathy from the 37 Military Hospital and was given an excuse duty for one whole week, Justice Honyenuga said. He added: At the last adjourned date, I expressed my difficulty in having to adjourn the case because of the absence of the second accused on medical excuse duty. As I indicated, I have limited time to conclude this matter but such medical excuses are delaying the trial of this case, he complained, warning: I must state emphatically that this court has the discretion to accept or reject medical evidence and I must also add that the second accused is on bail and he is still subject to this courts discretion. And, I must also add that this court has enormous powers to deal with any situation in this court. Mr Agongo, in his application, said apart from feeling threatened by Justice Honyenugas words on Valentines Day, he also sees the whole trial as a charade. He argued that by rejecting several pieces of exculpatory evidence tendered by his lawyers during the trial and marking them as rejects, the trial judge ensured that we can never rely on the said exhibits at the trial while, at the same time, calling on us to open our defence in respect of the very same matters. This, Mr Agongo noted, means that this court has already sealed our fate and only wants us to go through a sham of a trial when it has already predetermined our guilt even before we were heard, especially when similar evidence tendered by the prosecution was spared the wrath of this court. In the application, Mr Agongo said: The court dismissed our submission of no case and ordered us to open our defence in respect of counts 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 21, 25, 26 and 27, as, according to the court, the prosecution had proved the ingredients of the offences so charged in those counts and also because the case is a sensitive one. In order to arrive at its said decision, the trial court, presided over by Justice C J Honyenuga (JSC), rejected and marked as rejects, exhibits 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 and 75, being exculpatory evidence and which were police caution statements provided to the accused persons by the prosecution on the orders of the very same court and were tendered at the trial through the police investigator without any objection from the prosecution, on the ground that this court was wrong in admitting the said exhibits, as the said exhibits violated the hearsay rules of evidence, Mr Agongo argued. However, he pointed out, similar documents, also being police caution statements, tendered by the prosecution at the trial, through the same investigator, were, curiously not rejected but actually relied on by the said court in concluding that a case was made against us, for which reason, we needed to open our defence; and there was no explanation whatsoever as to why this court discriminated against us. For example, he cited: Exhibits 69 and PP were police investigative caution statements obtained from the only farmers spoken to by the investigators during the investigations and were tendered through the investigator while the defence, on 11 March 2021,tendered exhibit 69 in which the farmer confirmed that he found the Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser very good for young and old cocoa, the prosecution tendered exhibit PP in which the other farmer complained that he harvested only 52 bags of cocoa after applying the said fertiliser instead of the 50 bags of cocoa he used to harvest and, as such, he did not find the fertiliser as good as the extension officers had claimed. He said while the court rejected the marked exhibit 69 as reject, it preserved exhibit PP, which was tendered by the prosecution through the same police investigator, without any explanation. Further, he said another key evidence that was rejected by this court was exhibit 67 tendered without objection on 1 March 2021 through the police investigator, which exhibit is also a police caution statement taken form Dr Baah, the head of the Cocoa Health and Extension Division of Cocobod (CHED) at the time, who confirmed that, through a farmer perception survey conducted by CHED, farmers had expressed preference for the Lithovit Fertiliser that CHED had distributed to them, so, he asked that this be documented. Also rejected by this court and marked as reject is exhibit 63, a police caution statement obtained from the then-Chairman of the Board of Cocobod, which was, again, tendered without objection through the police investigator on 1 March 2021, wherein the said Board Chairman had confirmed to the investigators that all purchases and contracts carried out at the material time, were approved by the Board of Cocobod and that all the necessary rules and procedures for the procurement of chemicals and fertilisers by COCOBOD, were strictly adhered to. Again, he mentioned that: A vital piece of evidence rejected by this court is exhibit 75, which is a handing-over statement made by the head of the investigative team at the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), the entity which commenced the investigations into the matter at the time when the investigations were being handed over by EOCO to the Ghana Police to continue, wherein the EOCO official confirmed that we (the applicants herein) new nothing about the source of the sample of Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser used to conduct the first tests at the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) and the Chemistry Department of the University of Ghana but that the only sample of the Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser picked from Cocobods warehouse jointly by the investigators together with the officers of Ghana Cocoa Board in my presence and used for a second test at the GSA, confirmed that the second sample tested was, indeed, fertiliser. Mr Agongo continued: This court also rejected and marked as rejects, exhibits 71 and 72 tendered through the police investigators on 15 March 2021 without objection, being police caution statements obtained from the head of the Material Science Department of the GSA, who were the persons who actually carried out the test on the second sample of Lithovit Liquid Fertiliser received from EOCO at the GSA and concluded that it was, indeed, a fertiliser; a material piece of evidence which the trial court has now put beyond our use at the trial by the singular act of marking same as rejects at the submission of no case stage while finding that the prosecution has proved that we had sold adulterated fertiliser to COCOBOD. He stressed that the exhibits rejected and marked as rejects by this court at the submission of the no case stage were police caution statements relating to key matters, were exculpatory in nature and their rejection by the trial court at this stage without having [accorded] us the opportunity to be heard before doing so, has, no doubt, prejudiced our case and hampered our ability to make any meaningful defence to the charges we face at the trial. I am advised by counsel, and I verily believe the same to be true that this court could not have come to the conclusion that the prosecution had proved the offences so charged without curiously rejecting and marking as rejects, exhibits 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 and 75. He added: I am further advised by counsel, and I verily believe the same to be true, that this court exceeded its jurisdiction by acting contrary to constitutional and statutory provisions when it rejected exhibits 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 and 75 on the ground that they offended the hearsay rules when those exhibits were, in fact, tendered with the consent of the prosecution signified by the prosecution not objecting to their tendering and, therefore, and exception to the hearsay rules. He continued: I am, again, advised by counsel, and I verily believe the same to be true, that this court exceeded its jurisdiction by acting contrary to constitutional provisions when it unfairly, capriciously, discriminately and prejudicially purported to apply the hearsay rules only against the accused persons in not rejecting the police caution statements tendered by the prosecution, which were similar in character to exhibits 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 and 75 at the trial. I am further advised by counsel and I verily believe the same to be true, that the court acted erroneously and contrary to statutory provisions in rejecting exhibits 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 and 75, which were, otherwise, admissible, as an exception to the hearsay rules being police caution statements taken by investigators during their official duties in investigating this matter, thereby, exceeding its jurisdiction. I am advised by counsel and I verily believe the same to be true that for this court to have to reject exhibits 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74 and 75 in order to be able to come to the conclusion that we have a case to answer, means that the said court failed to exact the appropriate burden of proof from the prosecution contrary to the constitutional and statutory provisions, Mr Agongo indicated. I am advised by counsel and I verily believe the same to be true that a fair-minded trial court in a criminal matter must be interested in evidence that [inures] to the benefit of an accused person and not seek to capriciously put such evidence beyond the use of an accused, as this court had done in rejecting and marking as rejects, all these documents, to the effect that we cannot rely on them in our defence at the trial. The businessman noted: I am advised by counsel and I verily believe the same to be true that when this court, presided over by Justice CJ Honyenuga (JSC) suo moto decided to reject the exhibits, all of which had been admitted at the trial with the agreement of the prosecution, in not objecting to their being tendered, the said court ought to have given the accused persons, including the applicants herein, a hearing on the matter prior to making a decision, which the said judge failed to do. In his view, for the trial court on its own to exclude all the exculpatory evidence without giving us a hearing is clearly and assault [on] our constitutional rights to fair trial and against the rules of natural justice, and, as a result, disqualifies the said trial judge from continuing with the further conduct of the proceedings in this matter. He noted: While this court did not explain what it meant by saying in its ruling that because the matter is a sensitive one, we should open our defence, I am advised by counsel and I verily believe the same to be true that the sensitivity of a criminal case is not a legally recognised ground on which to call upon an accused person to open a defence in a criminal matter and to that extent, the trial judge has shown that he is clearly being influenced by extrajudicial considerations in this matter. Mr Agongo said apart from having unlawfully excluded those exhibits, as this court did, this court, in its ruling of 7 May 2021, also made sweeping, definitive, final and conclusive findings against us, the applicants, at the stage of submission of no case, to answer as though the said ruling was the final judgment of this court after full trial, when the said court was yet to hear us; demonstrably leaving no room in this courts mind for the statutory reasonable doubt that we are required to raise, as to our guilt on the charges laid against us. For instance, quoting from page 54 of that ruling, Mr Agongo said Justice CJ Honyenuga (JSC) stated that: All these were perpetuated to facilitate the 2nd and 3rd accuseds [applicants herein] business and defraud COCOBOD. Indeed, these acts were all perpetuated to facilitate and intentionally, voluntarily, to aid the 2nd and 3rd accused [applicants herein] to perpetrate fraud on COCOBOD by supplying a different product from what was tested approved However, the 1st accused, although he knew the correct state of affairs and knowingly facilitated and aided the 2nd and 3rd accused [applicants herein] to defraud COCOBOD there was no way COCOBOD would have been defrauded of such huge amounts. I am convinced beyond any doubt that with the above categorical and determinative statements made by Justice CJ Honyenuga (JSC) even before we could be heard, after he found ways of putting very vital evidence that would have assisted us to raise any doubts as to our guilt beyond our use at the trial by marking them as rejects, at the submission of no case stage, we [applicants] stand no chance before him, no matter what manner of evidence we adduce before the said court, for all practical purposes, our fates are sealed and any further trial proceedings before the same judge will just be an academic exercise. Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, the Speaker of Parliament, on Wednesday advocated the strengthening of democratic institutions in Ghana to ensure sustainable democracy. Ghana had had eight successive elections and four government changeovers between the two major political parties the New Patriotic Party and National Democratic Congress and on that account, Ghanaians could confidently say they were enjoying a consummate democratic dispensation, he said. Speaker Bagbin said this when he launched the year-long celebration of the 30th Anniversary of Ghanas Parliamentary Democracy in Accra, on the theme: The Fourth Republic: The Journey Thus Far. It was attended by Madam Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, the Chief of Staff, and two former Speakers: Mr Edward Korbly Doe Adjaho, and Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye. Speaker Bagbin said they were, this year, observing the combined 30th Anniversary of the nations Constitution, Parliament, and the Fourth Republic. . It is always good to recognise and celebrate achievements, it serves as a tonic for revitalisation and re-focusing. However, elections and successful government changeovers were not the only determinants of a working democracy, he said. We must focus on strengthening our democratic institutions if we want to have a sustainable democracy. Remembering the forebearers of Ghana's parliamentary democracy, Speaker Bagbin paid tribute to the past speakers of the Fourth Republic, who had been pivotal in strengthening the pillars of democracy through their contributions and sacrifices. They include Mr Justice Daniel Francis Annan, the pioneering Speaker of the First Parliament of the Fourth Republic, who served from 7th January 1993 to 6th January 2001. The rest are Mr Peter Ala Adjetey (7th January, 2001 to the 6th January, 2005), Mr Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi-Hughes (7th January, 2005 to 6th January, 2009), Justice Joyce Adelaide Bamford-Addo (7th January 2009 to 6th January 2013), Mr Edward Doe Adjaho (7th January 2013 to 6th January 2017), and Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, from 7th January 2017, whom I succeeded on 7th January, 2021. Speaker Bagbin said the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) would hold its annual conference here in Accra from 30th September to 6th October. Selecting Ghana to host this prestigious conference in itself is an honour and a proof of how the world sees and rates the nations parliamentary democracy. We have indeed come very far as a democratic country. We should keep this in mind as we prepare to host the CPA in Accra. Mr Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the Majority Leader, advocated a new constitutional order that frowns upon a winner-takes-all syndrome. Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Minority Leader, urged Ghanaians to take stock of the successes and challenges chalked, over the last three decades, and continue to cherish their parliamentary democracy, while working to build a strong and independent Parliament. Mr Paul Aborampah-Mensah, the Programmes Manager, Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, in a solidarity message, said a substantial part of making the nations democracy work rested on the shoulders of Parliament. GNA French pop giant Aya Nakamura was fined 10,000 euros ($10,600) on Thursday and her former partner Vladimir Boudnikoff 5,000 euros, over a dispute in which the pair came to blows in August 2022. Neither the defendants nor their lawyers attended the criminal court in Bobigny, in Paris' northeastern suburbs, for the sentencing hearing. Both of their lawyers said they would consider appealing the decision. During earlier hearings, the former couple described their fight on the night of August 6-7, 2022, boiling over because of jealousy over Boudnikoff's invitation -- without Nakamura -- to a wedding that was also attended by an ex-girlfriend of his. At their home in Rosny-sous-Bois, where they lived at the time with their infant daughter, the pair yelled, hurled objects and struck each other in their basement music studio. "He got angrier and angrier, held me tight, trying to calm me down in his own way," Nakamura said. For her part, she knocked Boudnikoff off-balance with a slap and he fell to the floor. Boudnikoff acknowledged that he had lost control when Nakamura returned to their home with two male friends later the same night to retrieve some of her belongings. He said he was afraid of the men and threatened them with a replica weapon. The couple say they are now separated but have kept up relations for their daughter's sake. Born Aya Danioko in Mali, Nakamura is one of the biggest-selling francophone artists in the world, with her 2018 sensation "Djadja" racking up over 900 million views on YouTube. She has been hailed for rapping and singing about women's empowerment and black identity, mixing French, slang, Arabic and her family's native Bambara language. Her latest album, named DNK for the consonants of her family name, was released last month. Boudnikoff, a producer, directed one of Nakamura's videos for her song "Pookie", which has racked up 338 million views on YouTube since its 2019 release. Former President of the Republic, John Dramani Mahama has received a boost in his bid to become president once again in 2024. A group identified as the Bole Youth for JM Movement 2024 has donated 20,000 Ghana cedis to support his presidential primaries campaign. The donation was made on Thursday February 23, 2023 at the former presidents office in Cantonment, Accra. The group promised to support him in whichever way possible to achieve his goal of becoming the president of Ghana. The Bole Youth for JM Movement 2024 is a grassroots organization that aims to promote Mahama's candidacy for the presidency in the upcoming elections. Speaking at the donation ceremony, the group's spokesperson Abdul Rafiu Haruna stated that they believed in Mahama's vision for the country and were committed to supporting him. Julius Debrah, a former chief of staff who received the donation expressed his gratitude to the group and thanked them for their support. He stated that their contribution was a demonstration of the confidence Ghanaians had in Mr. Mahama and his vision for the country. He also spoke about the former Presidents plans for the country, highlighting his commitment to creating jobs, improving healthcare and education as well as economic growth. He emphasized the need for unity and urged all Ghanaians to come together to work towards a brighter future for the country. The donation from the Bole Youth for JM Movement 2024 comes as Mahama prepares for the presidential primaries, which are set to take place later this year. The primaries will determine the candidate who will represent the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2024 presidential elections. Mahama, who previously served as president from 2012 to 2017, is seen as a strong contender for the presidency come 2024. He has been vocal in his criticism of the current government's policies and has promised to offer alternative policies for the country if elected. New Juaben north constituency youth organiser of the New Patriotic Party, Samuel Osei Sarkodie made a presentation on Thursday morning in support of the Catholic Educational Week celebration at the Catholic Cluster of schools in Koforidua in the Eastern Region. In a brief remark, he pledged to continue to support the youth in the region. He also used the opportunity to encourage the Headteacher and teachers to continue to show commitment to the upbringing of young ones to become responsible citizens. He indicated that "For a better future, we have to be committed to training the young ones to be able to uphold good morals and leadership. "May God continue to Bless all teachers and every individual or group who is helping in the upbringing of young people in the society". "This donation is dedicated to my little sister Mary Osei Gyamfi who completed this school. May God continue to bless her and make her a greater inspiration to the students of this cluster of schools," Samuel Osei Sarkodie added. Items donated include soft drinks, packs of bottled and sachet water among others. The General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr. Titus Beyuo has confirmed that he has resigned from the position to run for public office. In a statement, he has explained that although painful, he has embraced the decision to enable him to contest in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries. Dr. Titus Beyuo notes that he wants to be given the mandate to run for Member of Parliament for the people of Lambussie Constituency in the Upper West Region. After a prolonged period of introspection and extensive consultations with my family, friends, and critical stakeholders, and in response to clarion calls from constituents as well as party members and sympathizers, I have decided to run for public office to serve the good people of the Lambussie Constituency. In furtherance of this decision, I have today Wednesday 22nd February 2023, picked up nomination forms to contest the Parliamentary Primaries of the great National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Lambussie Constituency, Dr. Titus Beyuo said in a post on Facebook. Meanwhile, the outgoing General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association has apologised to members of the association for any disappointment caused. Dr. Beyuo notes that he enjoyed working with the GMA and will always be thankful to his colleagues for their massive support. I have submitted a letter to the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) to resign from my position as the General Secretary of this noble organization that I have faithfully served over the last decade. I cherish my time with the GMA, the confidence reposed in me by my colleagues, and opportunity given me to serve. While apologising to those disappointed by my decision to exit the GMA at this time, I want to thank all colleagues for their support during my tenure, Dr. Titus Beyuo indicated. Burkina Faso's former leader and anti-colonial icon Thomas Sankara and 12 of his followers were buried at the site of their 1987 assassination in Ouagadougou on Thursday. Senior government officials including Prime Minister Apollinaire Kyelem de Tembela joined around a hundred relatives who gathered in the capital by 13 coffins draped in the national flag. The coffins were then placed in tombs behind a giant statue of Sankara erected at the site of his murder. Sankara's widow Mariam Sankara and his two children, who opposed the choice of location for the burial, were absent, but other family members attended the ceremony, AFP journalists saw. A Marxist-Leninist Pan-African icon and a hero of anti-imperialist causes, Sankara seized power in a 1983 coup and was gunned down with a dozen other leaders in another putsch led by his number two Blaise Compaore on October 15, 1987. The bodies were initially buried on the outskirts of Ouagadougou and exhumed in 2015 for a judicial investigation. "We are happy that our martyrs can finally rest in peace with a fitting grave because their souls had been wandering for eight years," said Joseph Saba, a representative of the 13 families. Sankara remains a revered figure today among leftwing radicals and pan-Africanists. By DOMINIQUE FAGET (AFP) "It's a historic day, a solemn moment. They were killed, but they (the assassins) didn't kill the vision, they didn't snuff out the mission," a chaplain said on Wednesday after the blessing of the bodies. Benewende Sankara, a lawyer for the Sankara family with no relation to them, said the ceremony was "the culmination of the quest for justice." "It's a joy for all young people because it's like a recognition," said Stanislas Damiba, president of the Sankara Orphans Association, which sent hundreds of Burkinabe youngsters to communist Cuba for professional training in the 1980s. The government has said an international ceremony will be organised on October 15 this year to honour the victims. Sankara came to power in August 1983 as an army captain, aged just 33. Nicknamed Africa's Che Guevara, he blasted the West for neo-colonialism and hypocrisy and carried radical reforms. Map of Burkina Faso locating the capital Ouagadougou. By (AFP) He changed the country's name from the colonial-era Upper Volta to Burkina Faso -- "the land of honest men" -- and pushed through a range of changes,including promoting vaccination and banning female genital mutilation. Compaore, his successor and former comrade-in-arms, remained in power in the West African nation until a popular uprising ousted him in 2014. A Burkinabe court convicted him to life in prison in absentia last year for his role in the assassination. Thomas Sankara, the army captain turned revolutionary who led Burkina Faso in an anti-imperialist coup, was reburied on Thursday at the site in Ouagadougou where he and 12 comrades were murdered in 1987. Draped in the Burkinabe flag, the remains of the 13 men were reinterred in a private funeral ceremony nearly eight years after they were exhumed as part of the long-delayed investigation into their deaths, which former president Blaise Compaore was last year convicted of plotting. The reburial, which had been announced earlier this month, was attended by Prime Minister Apollinaire Joachimson Kyelem de Tambela as well as relatives of the 13 men, though some family members notably Sankara's widow chose to stay away. Mariam Sankara and other relatives of the late leader object to the choice of location: the former offices of his National Revolutionary Council, which were stormed by a hit squad on 15 October 1987. 'Nothing but a circus' Sealing the souls of the people we have lost in blood, in that pain, in the place where they fell, it forces us to walk through their blood to pay our respects, Blandine Sankara, the sister of the late leader, told RFI. The families had requested that the remains be buried elsewhere, she said, not at the site of their deaths which today serves as the Thomas Sankara Memorial, watched over by a larger-than-life bronze statue of the leader that typically attracts hundreds of visitors each day. These days it's like people are trying to claim the name, the memory of Thomas, said his sister, who dismissed the reburial ceremony as nothing but a circus. Counter-coup Sankara continues to loom large in Burkina Faso and beyond. The progressive policies he enacted in the four years that he and his junta ruled the country from 1983 until his death promoting women to government jobs, planting millions of trees, and pushing school attendance and literacy combined with his assertiveness towards former colonial powers, who he demanded cancel African countries' debt, have led many to consider him one of the great lost heroes of pan-Africanism. But his leadership was authoritarian and opponents were suppressed. That left him vulnerable to power grabs by other would-be strongmen. As Sankara and his allies were gunned down, Compaore, his former friend and righthand man, seized control of the country, which he would rule for the next 27 years. After protests forced Compaore from power in 2014, the remains of Sankara and his comrades which had been buried until then in a cemetery on the outskirts of the capital were exhumed to gather evidence that might finally allow those responsible for the killings to be brought to trial. In April 2022 Compaore, along with Gilbert Diendere, an army commander at the time of the assassination, were found guilty of conspiring to murder the men. Hyacinthe Kafando an officer believed to have led the hit squad that killed Sankara was convicted of murder. All three were sentenced to life in prison, while another eight people received lesser sentences. Neither Compaore nor Kafondo are serving time, however, the former president living in exile in Cote d'Ivoire and Kafondo having gone on the run in 2016. After the verdict, Compaore issued a statement of apology and asked the people of Burkina Faso for forgiveness, especially the family of my brother and friend Thomas Sankara. Many saw the move as a cynical bid to earn a pardon and return home a free man. The country's current government plans to hold a national and international ceremony to honour the victims on the 36th anniversary of the killings this year, it announced earlier this month. The founder of Techpreneurs Union of Ghana, Mr. Isaac Quarcoo has stated that the Ghanaian tech industry requires more investment and attention just like the Ghana music industry. He made this statement in an interview with Gh Articles TV, where he outlined three strong positive points on why the Ghanaian tech industry has an even better potential for growth than the music industry, especially since todays music business cannot be separated from tech. According to Mr Quarcoo, the tech industry has an even better potential to create more jobs than the music industry. With the rise of technology, many companies are now leveraging digital tools and solutions to optimize their operations, which has created a high demand for tech-savvy talents. By investing in the tech industry, the country can create more jobs, which will ultimately contribute to the growth and development of the Ghanaian economy, he noted. He added that, Technology is rapidly evolving, and with that comes new and innovative ways to solve problems. By investing in the tech industry, the country can encourage more innovation, which can lead to the development of products and services that can have a positive impact on society. I believe that Ghana has a lot of untapped potential in technology and we need to invest in it to realize its full potential. Mr Quarcoo also argued that the tech industry has a higher potential for scalability than the music industry, insisting that, "While the music industry is an important part of the Ghanaian culture, it has limited scalability potential, as it is primarily driven by individual artists and their performances. On the other hand, the tech industry can be scaled up by leveraging the power of digital tools and solutions, which can be easily replicated and distributed globally. This means that investments in the tech industry can have a much larger impact on the Ghanaian economy than investments in the music industry. The Techpreneurs boss, who is a huge campaigner for the success of the Ghanaian tech industry, says he is pushing so hard because he believes the tech industry has the ability to create more jobs, drive innovation and has a higher scalability potential. He stressed that the tech industry should be prioritized by investors and policymakers alike. Parliament has summoned Health Minister Kwaku Agyeman Manu to appear before the Health Committee over the vaccine shortage in Ghana. Parts of the country have been experiencing vaccine shortages recently. The Health Minister is also respected to explain measures that have been put in place to address the situation The Clerk of Parliament's Health Committee in a letter to the Health Minister said I have the direction of the Chairman of the Committee on Health to invite you to an emergency meeting to brief the Committee on the cause of vaccine shortage in Ghana and the measures being put in place to address the situation, on Tuesday, 28th February 2023 at 9:00 a.m. at the Committee Room 1&2, New Administration Block, Parliament House. The Committee also requests the presence of the following institutions' heads and relevant officers: the Ghana Health Service, the National Health Insurance Authority , the Global Fund, the Ministry of Finance, and the Vaccine Control Programme. 3news.com An Accra Circuit has remanded two persons for unlawful possession of 160 wrappers and one and a half kilograms of compressed dried leaves, suspected to be Indian hemp. The accused persons, Caleb Amoah, a 31-year-old plumber and Richmond Tawiah, 23-year-old repairer, also had in their possession six packets of tramadol tablets and 45 pieces of whitish powder suspected to be cocaine. Amoah and Tawiah pleaded guilty to the unlawful possession of drugs. The Court remanded the pair into custody to reappear on March 8, 2023, as it awaits the result from the forensic laboratory. The prosecution, led by Police Inspector Ansah Dacosta, told the Court presided over by Mrs Kizita Naa Koowa Quarshie, that the complainants were Police personnel from the La District, whilst the accused persons were residents of La Spare-Part and Apaapa, respectively. The prosecution said the La Police, upon intelligence, organized a swoop on suspected drug dealers in the area and two were arrested in the process. Tawiah was apprehended at his hideout at a ghetto at Apaapa and 45 pieces of whitish substances suspected to be cocaine tied in a white plastic bag were retrieved from him. Amoah was also arrested at his ghetto at La Spare-Parts and 106 pieces of dried leaves suspected to be Indian hemp, one and a half kilograms of compressed dried leaves and sis packets of 120mgs tramadol was retrieved from him. The prosecution said the accused persons were interrogated and in their caution statements, admitted the offences and told Police that they joined the drug business due to the economic hardship. It said the case was still under investigation. GNA President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says Africa must be willing and able to uphold the Maputo Protocol on the Rights of Women. It is time for action, he echoed, saying the remaining member states yet to ratify the Maputo Protocol ought to do so, and submit their instruments of ratification to the AU Commission. We should stand together to create a boldly visible force for gender equality, saying no to acts and threats of violence against women and girls, he stressed. President Nana Akufo-Addo made the call at the recent Presidential High-Level Advocacy Breakfast Meeting on Gender, organised by the Women Gender Youth Directorate of the African Union (AU) Commission, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This was on the sideline of the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU. The AU states which have neither signed nor ratified the protocol are Botswana, Egypt, and Morocco. Those which have signed but not yet ratified it include: Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Madagascar, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan. The Maputo Protocol is one of the most progressive legal instruments providing a comprehensive set of human rights for African women. It details wide-ranging and substantive human rights for women, covering the entire spectrum of civil and political, economic, social and cultural as well as environmental rights. Since its adoption 13 years ago, the Maputo Protocol has contributed in shifting the trajectory on the promotion and protection of women's human rights on the continent. It challenges the old stereotypes about the role of women in society, and places a moral obligation on AU Member States to promote equal opportunities for men and women to play meaningful roles in society. Under it, women are full, effective and equal partners with men in the development of their communities. Let us remind ourselves that discrimination and inequality have unbearable burdens and costs on our economies, societies, and the development of the African continent, President Nana Akufo-Addo said. President Akufo-Addo asked his colleague Heads of State whose nations were yet to ratify the protocol, to do so this year, particularly as the protocol would turn 20 in July, 2023. The Protocol, popularly referred to as the Maputo Protocol, turns 20 this year, and requires us to take stock of how well we have fared toward achieving the goals, the President noted. Adopted by Heads of State and Government in Maputo, Mozambique, on 11 July 2003, the Protocol advances African women's rights and guarantees extensive rights to women and girls. It provides progressive provisions on harmful traditional practices, such as child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM), reproductive health and rights, roles in political processes, economic empowerment, and ending violence against women. GNA Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners has arrested 29 illegal miners operating in the Kwaebibirim Municipality of the Eastern Region. The illegal miners who were arrested in a swoop at 3 separate sites at Akyem Pramkese and Akyem Abodom had destroyed several acres of cocoa and palm plantations belonging to innocent farmers. When the Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners taskforce zoomed in on them at a site, the illegal miners had diverted the flow of the Birim River and were mining in it. Some of the illegal miners managed to swim across the Birim river to the other side to escape being arrested. Others who were arrested were initially kept at the Pramkese police station before being transported to the Kibi Divisional Police command where they will be processed for court. Two pump action guns were retrieved from the illegal miners. The commanding officer in charge of the taskforce, Major Patrick Don-Chebe who spoke to Citi News about todays exercise expressed frustration with the interference of some politicians and opinion leaders. Its been very successful, we have been able to arrest some illegal miners, and we have detained them at the Pramkese police station. We will take them to Kibi for further investigations. There are big men involved in illegal mining and when we get them, we will publish their names. There are others too who keep interfering in our work when we make arrests, Major Don-Chebe said. Some farmers in the area who commended the efforts of the taskforce raised concerns about how their farmlands are forcefully being taken away from them by illegal miners. Its difficult to have potable water here, we are unable to voice our frustrations. They should keep arresting illegal miners, he stated. They have been destroying our farmlands. They have destroyed my palm oil plantations. We want the government to stop them from engaging in galamsey, Kofi Asaga, another farmer said. citinewsroom February 23, 2023 Open (Not Ukraine) Thread 2023-44 News & views (not related to the war in Ukraine) ... Posted by b on February 23, 2023 at 14:43 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page February 23, 2023 The Buildup To War In Ukraine - Wednesday, February 23, 2022 February 23 2022 was a holiday in Russia, the Defender of the Fatherland Day. It is a annual memorial day for all the people who, over the centuries, have fought for Russia in its wars. As usual Russia's president Vladimir Putin addressed veterans, Armed Forces personnel and the people of Russia: President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Comrade officers, veterans, Please accept my warmest greetings on this holiday, Defender of the Fatherland Day, which is celebrated all over the country not only by tradition but also by right. It embodies the feelings of respect our citizens feel for their noble defenders, our pride in all those who served and serve in the Army and the Navy, recognition of their heroic merits to the Fatherland to assert our national interests, sovereignty and independence. Patriotism and the unity of our nation, the exploits of its devoted sons and daughters have always been the foundation of the martial history of our thousand-year-old country, its glory and victories. We are proud of the many generations of its defenders: the guards of Alexander Nevsky and Dmitry Donskoy, the warriors of Minin and Pozharsky and the heroes of Poltava and Borodino, Stalingrad and the unstoppable assault on Berlin, all those who brought glory to our Fatherland according to the great traditions of our ancestors. ... We can see the difficult international situation and the threats posed by current challenges, such as the erosion of the arms control system and NATOs military activities. And yet, Russias appeals to build a system of equal and indivisible security that would reliably defend all countries, remain unanswered. Our country is always open to a direct and honest dialogue and ready to search for diplomatic solutions to the most complicated issues. But I want to repeat that Russias interests and the security of our people are an indisputable priority. ... Putin also laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. The only diplomacy involving Moscow that happened during the day was a call with the president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan: The leaders exchanged views on the situation with Russias recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk peoples republics. Vladimir Putin stressed the objective necessity to take that decision based on the Ukrainian authorities aggression in Donbass and their categorical refusal to implement the Minsk Agreements. Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave his well-known views on the matter. The issues of working out long-term legally binding security guarantees for the Russian Federation were also discussed. In this context, Vladimir Putin expressed his disappointment with the US and NATO response which came down to an attempt to ignore Russias legitimate concerns and demands. The presidents agreed to continue Russian-Turkish contacts in various formats. CNN's coverage on February 23 2022 was mostly related to new sanctions imposed on Russia as well as about various political voices warning of the imminent war. Ukraine introduced a state of emergency. In the evening some Ukrainian government web sites went down after a number of run-of-the-mill cyberattacks. CNN also reported that the separatist regions in Donbas had asked the Kremlin for help repelling Ukraine forces: The heads of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic (DPR) and Luhansk Peoples Republic (LPR), two separatist regions in Ukraine, recently recognized by Russia as independent, have formally asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for help repelling the aggression of Ukrainian Armed Forces, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti on Wednesday. "The president of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin received letters of appeal from the head of the Luhansk People's Republic Leonid Pasechnik and the head of the Donetsk People's Republic Denis Pushilin, Peskov said, according to RIA. According to Peskov, the appeal said: Kyiv continues to build up its military presence on the line of contact, while receiving comprehensive support, including military support, from the United States and other Western states. The Kyiv regime is focused on resolving the conflict by force. Given the foregoing, the heads of the two republics, in connection with the current situation, as well as in order to prevent civilian casualties and a humanitarian catastrophe, on the basis of Articles 3 and 4 of the treaties on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance between the Russian Federation and the republics, ask the president of Russia to assist in repelling aggression of the armed forces and formations of Ukraine," Peskov added, according to RIA. This was the last formal step for Russia to enter the war in Ukraine. Soon Russia troops moved into the separate Donbas region: Russian troops have moved into the eastern region of Ukraine that Russia has now recognized as independent, according the prime minister of NATO member Latvia and sources familiar with US intelligence. According to the information at my disposal, Putin is moving additional forces and tanks into the occupied Donbas territories, Latvian Prime Minister Arturs Krisjanis Karins told CNNs Jim Sciutto on Wednesday. By any definition thats a crossing of a sovereign territory into a neighboring country. Pressed specifically on whether he was referring to the entry of additional Russian troops since Moscow recognized the two separatist regions earlier this week, Karins replied: Yes, according to the information at my disposal, this is exactly what were seeing. At midnight Moscow time Russian troops moved towards Ukraine from several directions. On February 24, at 6:00 am Moscow time, Putin addressed Russia. The Russian airforce started operating in Ukraine, Russian troops moved in. The war was on. Curiously the OSCE Special Observer Mission at the ceasefire line in southeast-Ukraine issued no report that covers whatever happened on the ground on Wednesday, February 23 2022. Its Daily Report 42/2022 issued on 23 February 2022 covers what happened on Tuesday, February 22 2022. Its Daily Report 43/2022 issued on Tuesday, February 24 2022 covers only things that happened all over Ukraine on Thursday, February 24 2022. The later report seems confused: Based on information from the Monitoring Teams as of 19:30 23 February 2022. All times are in Eastern European Time. Since the early hours of 24 February, at various locations across Ukraine, the SMM observed a severely deteriorated security situation. The Mission heard multiple explosions, including multiple launch rocket system fire. The SMM saw military aircraft overflying Kherson and Kyiv cities. The Mission recorded a spike in shelling in government-controlled areas of Luhansk region. In various locations across Ukraine, the SMM saw fewer people in the streets and long queues at shops, pharmacies, ATMs and petrol stations. Donwload the full report While the first line states that the observations for the report ended "as of 19:30 23 February 2022" all reporting in the intro as well as in the full report seems to be of observations and incidents that happened on February 24. There is no count of ceasefire violations and no map of incidents and impacts for the 23rd. We thus do not have any record from the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission on ceasefire violations, explosions and military movements along the ceasefire line in Donbas for Wednesday, February 23 2022. I have found no explanation for this. Posted by b on February 23, 2023 at 16:56 UTC | Permalink Comments next page next page February 23, 2023 Ukraine Open Thread 2023-45 Only for news & views directly related to the Ukraine conflict. The current open thread for other issues is here. Please stick to the topic. Contribute facts. Do not attack other commentators. Posted by b on February 23, 2023 at 14:44 UTC | Permalink Comments next page One of the VUP Suites planned for Pet Paradise pet care facility in in Murfreesboro to open this summer. SUBMITTED The Tiny Town small dog area planned for Pet Paradise pet care facility in in Murfreesboro to open this summer. SUBMITTED The outdoor pool planned for Pet Paradise pet care facility in in Murfreesboro to open this summer. SUBMITTED Rutherford County pet parents will soon have a new option for pet care. Pet Paradise is under construction at 2500 Rideout Lane in Murfreesboro near the AMC Murfreesboro 16 movie theater with plans to open this summer. The Murfreesboro pet care facility will be the first of two Pet Paradise locations to open in Tennessee. A second location also under construction in Chattanooga, according to Pet Paradise Chief Executive Officer Fernando Acosta-Rua. Boarding and day camp for both dogs and cats, grooming, veterinary care and dog training services are available. Its really a one-stop shop for all your pets healthcare needs, Acosta-Rua said. The Jacksonville, Fla.-based pet resort chain has 52 locations, mostly across the Southeast, with nine more under construction. Weve been doing this now for 20 years and really have developed our prototype over the years to really keep in mind the pet as the number one concern, Acosta-Rua said. The Murfreesboro facility will have 170 large indoor/outdoor suites for dogs and 20 multi-level cat condos. Dogs also have access to large artificial turf play yards and an in-ground swimming pool. Other Pet Paradise locations have a full-time caretaker who lives on-site for 24-hour supervision. What we pride ourselves on is a really safe, clean and fun environment, said Acosta-Rua. The top-notch customer service really keeps the pet at the forefront of everything we do. We really try to make it a nice home away from home for the pets and for the owners. Acosta-Rua said pets are highly supervised, with an employee to pet ratio of 1 to 20-25. There is also Tiny Town, an area specifically for small dogs. At the end of the day, the buildings are beautiful, and the grounds are great, but its really the people that sets us apart, said Acosta-Rua. We have really passionate pet care people that have been on our team and have grown with the company and are able to go from location to location and really grow their careers. Acosta-Rua encourages pet parents to visit and tour the facility when it opens this summer. We really recommend anyone to come visit and take a tour to see it for yourself because there really isnt anything like this out there, Acosta-Rua said. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Bird Song of the Day I thought of jackdaws because of Konrad Lorenzs wonderful King Solomons Ring, which I read when I was quite young (and unaware of Lorenzs views on social decline). EUrasian Jackdaw, Nord-Pas-de-Calais (retired), France. Call, flight call. And breaking waves? * * * Politics But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? James Madison, Federalist 51 Heres food for thought, had Ahab time to think; but Ahab never thinks; he only feels, feels, feels. Herman Melville, Moby Dick So many of the social reactions that strike us as psychological are in fact a rational management of symbolic capital. Pierre Bourdieu, Classification Struggles Biden Administration Jill Biden says the US and Namibia face many of the same challenges' [The Hill]. After the visit, the first lady and granddaughter Naomi Biden handed out boxes of White House M&Ms to a group of about 40 children standing outside in Katutura. Hello, how are you? Candy from the White House! the first lady said. When she ran out of candy and a little boy came up to her, she gave him the tote bag the candy came in. The Yalies take the wheel [Politico]. When President JOE BIDEN took office, he vowed to get rid of the buttoned-up, elitist culture that often defines Washington and, more specifically, White House hiring the pale, male and Yale flavor, as the old saying goes. Biden has made progress on the pale and male fronts, naming an all-female communications team when he first took office and elevating Black and Latino staffers to key decision-making roles. But he cant seem to shake the Yale part. Or, more specifically, Yale Law School. Goodness, it almost makes you think class > identity, where results are concerned. More; Out of roughly 140 lawyers in the White House, approximately 36 hold degrees from Yale Law School, more than any other law school, according to a West Wing Playbook analysis. That figure doesnt include the dozens of Yale Law graduates who have been appointed to agency positions throughout the Biden administration. The density of Yale lawyers on the White House campus has become a bit of a joke among some staffers who say its hard to go into a room without bumping into at least one alumni. George W. Bush, DeSantis, the Biden Administration. I dont think its fair, though, to remark on the density of Yale lawyers. Some of them are pretty bright, at least in their narrowly specialized fields. 2024 Watch: Trump stops at McDonalds during East Palestine visit [Fox8]. While visiting the site of the horrific train derailment in East Palestine Wednesday, former President Donald Trump stopped in at a local restaurant McDonalds. Is everyone willing to accept free food from Trump? he asked as he walked into the fast food spot, saying he planned to also purchase food for the local fire and police departments. He told the employees he knew the menu better than them and asked for a nice array of things, while refraining to make an order for himself. Fielding questions from reporters, while getting his photo taken by nearby customers and employees alike, the President said he did not believe deregulation had anything to do with the train incident and that he had traveled to the area to make sure residents were taken care of. On regulation, see under Class Warfare; note that none of the reporters asked him about Precision Scheduled Railroading (and Trump, not being a detail person to say the least, probably doesnt even know). Two Democrats react: Combined IQ roughly 50 in the entire town. Trump trashed train safety rules. Now their water and land, not to mention themselves, are poisoned. I live 50 miles away from East Palestine, OH. I'm sorry for the people, but they made their own beds. https://t.co/KJE0L761AS Lincoln Belongs To The Ages (@Mr_Lincoln) February 22, 2023 Always good to see liberal Democrats calling for the deaths of their political opponents; its an ever-green trope! Note also the focus on being smart (vs. IQ of 50), the deregulation talking point (its Trumps fault the brake systems are bad, not Precision Scheduled Railroading and the hot box). Then theres the usual refusal to accept reponsibility (Trump and Biden killed a million people between them, Biden killed more, and in my view has the greater culpabiliity, because he should have known better than to adopt a policy of mass infection without mitigation). Personally, I think this is a good look for Trump, and not just because Biden was off swanning about in Kiev; Trump looks good striding around on the February grass in the black coat and red hat, no tie; its a much better look than the pomp of Air Force One. Still waiting for quondam Presidential hopeful and Democrat, Sherrod Brown, to show up. Then again, why would be? Theyre only citizens. DeSantis wades into foreign policy, Ukraine [The Hill]. During an appearance on Fox & Friends on Monday, the Florida governor and prospective White House contender blasted the Biden administrations aid to Ukraine as a blank-check policy and played down the threat that Moscow poses to NATO member countries in Europe. They have effectively a blank-check policy with no clear strategic objective identified, DeSantis said. These things can escalate. And I dont think its in our interest to be getting into a proxy war with China getting involved over things like the borderlands or over Crimea.' Not the most coherent sentence. And not correct, either. There is a clear strategic objective in Ukraine: Regime change and the breakup of Russia. Not that were anywhere near achieving either of those things. The Forgotten Ron DeSantis Book [The Atlantic]. Dreams From Our Founding Fathers (2011), a clear reference and contrast to Obamas Dreams From My Father (the dude wrote two autobiographies; that should have told us something, in retrospect). Its paywalled, but theres this nugget: Two of his children are named Madison and Mason presumably after James Madison and George Mason, the most intellectually interesting of the Virginians who helped fashion the Constitution. I guess I cant make jokes about how the PMC fights the battle against intergenerational precarity by sending little Madison to violin lessons. Oh well. Republican Funhouse Why Are Republicans Going After Wokeness Instead of Going After Biden? [Amy Walter, Cook Political Report]. For the last couple of years, but especially so this year, Republicans have used a war on woke to rally their voters. It feels as if theres more energy on the right for defeating the ideology of wokeness than in defeating President Biden. Talk to a bunch of GOP voters and many, if not most, describe the president as mentally compromised. Many think the 80-year-old president is simply a puppet who is being manipulated by liberal leaders to do their bidding. This isnt to say that Republicans dont want to see Biden defeated. They do. But, Biden himself doesnt garner the same sort of intense seething and gnashing of teeth from Republicans that the prospect of another Trump term brings out in Democrats. One of the biggest targets for anti-woke legislation is transgender issues and kids. According to the website Track Trans Legislation, 38 states have seen anti-trans bills proposed in 2023, including 107 bills that focus on health care restriction for youth and 75 bills that address school/curriculum issues. On its face, this is an issue that not only gets support from conservatives, but also finds acceptance across a more broad cross-section of the public. Washington Post columnist David Byler wrote that the public has recently become less open to transgender rights quoting surveys showing that sixty percent of American adults reported last summer that they oppose including options other than male and female on government documents. Fifty-eight percent favor requiring transgender athletes to compete on teams that match their sex at birth. Forty-one percent say transgender individuals should be required to use the bathroom corresponding to their sex at birth (31 percent disagree and 28 percent dont have a position). And Americans are roughly evenly split on whether public elementary schools should teach about gender identity. One of the reasons to talk this up, of course, is not simply to motivate the base, but to lure Democrats into a fight on terrain that is more challenging for them. Democrats would rather fight Republicans on issues where they have a noted advantage, like protecting Social Security and Medicare, than on things like gender identity where their coalition is divided. It has been my view for some time that sex and gender would be an issue in 2024; and that it would be ugly. Republican governors Youngkin, DeSantis are well-positioned to exploit this issue, since its mostly being fought out at the school board level. I also dont know if the Democrats are that divided. The NGOs are not; the elected leadership is not. Democrats en Deshabille Patient readers, it seems that people are actually reading the back-dated post! But I have not updated it, and there are many updates. So I will have to do that. lambert I have moved my standing remarks on the Democrat Party (the Democrat Party is a rotting corpse that cant bury itself) to a separate, back-dated post, to which I will periodically add material, summarizing the addition here in a live Water Cooler. (Hopefully, some Bourdieu.) It turns out that defining the Democrat Party is, in fact, a hard problem. I do think the paragraph that follows is on point all the way back to 2016, if not before: The Democrat Party is the political expression of the class power of PMC, their base (lucidly explained by Thomas Frank in Listen, Liberal!). It follows that the Democrat Party is as unreformable as the PMC is unreformable ; if the Democrat Party did not exist, the PMC would have to invent it. If the Democrat Party fails to govern, thats because the PMC lacks the capability to govern . (PMC modulo class expatriates, of course.) Second, all the working parts of the Party reinforce each other. Leave aside characterizing the relationships between elements of the Party (ka-ching, but not entirely) those elements comprise a network a Flex Net? An iron octagon? of funders, vendors, apparatchiks, electeds, NGOs, and miscellaneous mercenaries, with assets in the press and the intelligence community. Note, of course, that the class power of the PMC both expresses and is limited by other classes; oligarchs and American gentry (see industrial model of Ferguson, Jorgensen, and Jie) and the working class spring to mind. Suck up, kick down. * * * What a great quote from SBF: SBF's straw donations involved "woke shit for transactional purposes" (per one political consultant) and "dark" Republican spending, per new indictment pic.twitter.com/hZhuIHCcLs Andrew Prokop (@awprokop) February 23, 2023 [W]oke shit for transactional purposes. Surely not? Atrios is 100% correct: every weird heel turn, every seemingly decent person who suddenly was a big asshole, SBF BUCKS! Atrios (@Atrios) February 23, 2023 Still waiting for the blockbuster stories! Moderate PAC is latest big-money push to keep Democrats in line on Israel [MondoWeiss]. A new Democratic political action committee (PAC) has arisen, dedicated to cultivating what it refers to as moderate policies. It stands against Republicans, as it supports only Democrats, but primarily, it aims to move the Democratic party to the right. Its the latest iteration of conservative efforts to revive the classical conservatism that has been drowned by right-wing fanaticism, creating the so-called Never-Trump Republicans who dont have a political home for the moment. The new PAC, which intends to raise at least $20 million to target progressive candidates in the 2024 election, currently has only one major donor: billionaire Jeffrey Yass. That name may not be familiar to most Americans, but its one we need to get to know better. Yass, often referred to as the richest person in Pennsylvania, is the driving force behind funding for the Kohelet Forum, an organization that bears a great deal of responsibility for pushing Israeli policy to the far right, and whose network expands not only throughout Israel but also deep into the United States. In the U.S., Yass is a major figure in the background of Republican donations. He is a leading funder of Club for Growth, which supports the Trump base of the Republican party, including many who sought to overturn the 2020 election. Oh good. More on Yass from (sigh) WikiPedia: He is the co-founder and managing director of the Philadelphia-based Susquehanna International Group (SIG) and an early investor in TikTok. In 2001, he joined the executive advisory council of the Cato Institute. Realignment and Legitimacy Will the Left Stand Up to the Deep State? [Compact]. In 2020, Mickey Windecker showed up in Denver smoking cigars, driving a hearse loaded with guns, and talking ultra-radical claptrap about having served with Marxist Kurdish guerrillas in Syria. Despite his preposterous persona, Windecker managed to entrap one BLM activist into pleading guilty on weapons charges. He also worked to inflame peaceful demonstrations by encouraging people to break windows and leading marches directly into police traps. Windecker and his FBI handlers even attempted to recruit BLM activists into an assassination plot against Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser. Ultimately unsuccessful, this scheme shows the outrageous lengths to which the bureau will go to manufacture threats. It is reasonable to assume this was not the only recent FBI infiltration of a left political movement. So, the Democrats have a very clear choice here: Supporting BLM, or the organs of state security. I wonder why their choice will be? #COVID19 Looks like leveling off to a high plateau across the board. (I still think Something Awful is coming, however. I mean, besides what we already know about.) Stay safe out there! Readers, since the national data systems in the United States are being vandalized, lets start collecting links to state data, too. If readers would send me links (see Plant below) to their favorite State and local dashboards/wastewater sites, that would be great. Canadians, too! Or leave a link in Comments. Resources, United States (National): Transmission (CDC); Wastewater (CDC, Biobot); Variants (CDC; Walgreens); Iowa COVID-19 Tracker (in IA, but national data). Resources, United States (Local): CA (dashboard), Marin; CO (wastewater); CT (dashboard); DE (dashboard); IL (wastewater); IN (dashboard); LA (dashboard); MA (wastewater); MD (dashboard); ME (dashboard); MI (wastewater; wastewater); MT (dashboard); NC (dashboard); NH (wastewater); NM (dashboard); NY (dashboard); OH (dashboard); RI (dashboard); SC (dashboard); TN (dashboard); TX (dashboard); VA (dashboard); VT (dashboard); WA (dashboard; dashboard); WI (wastewater). No longer functional: UT (dashboard). Resources, Canada (Provincial): ON (wastewater); QC (les eaux usees); BC, Vancouver (wastewater). Hat tips to helpful readers: Art_DogCT, B24S, CanCyn, ChiGal, Festoonic, Gumbo, hop2it, JB, JF, Joe, John, JM (2), JW, Michael King, LaRuse, mrsyk, otisyves, Petal (5), RK, nRL, RM, Rod, tennesseewaltzer, Utah, Bob White. (Readers, I am not putting your handle next to your contribution because I hope and expect the list will be long, and I want it to be easy to scan. (If you leave your link in comments, I use your handle. If you send it to me via email, I use your initials (in the absence of a handle.) More like this, please! Total: 1 6 11 18 20 22 26/50 (52% of US states). We should list states that do not have Covid resources, or have stopped updating their sites, so others do not look fruitlessly. Thank you! * * * Look for the Helpers Inside these parents long, nerdy struggle over how to improve air quality in Calgary schools [CBC]. [T]his stuff matters, especially for Canadians, who spend so much time indoors during the winter months. These systems deliver the majority of the air we breathe. School administrators say theyve upgraded the filters in these systems wherever possible to a higher standard, known as MERV-13. These filters are much better at trapping tiny particles, such as viruses, in the air. Both the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) and the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) say theyve put ventilation upgrades at the core of their strategy to improve air quality in schools. In addition to MERV-13 filters, they say they have taken additional protective steps, such as setting the systems to maximize fresh-air intake and running them in occupied mode before and after school each day to further flush out stale air and replace it with clean air. In Edmonton, however, the public school board has gone a step further. It made similar upgrades to its ventilation systems, but it didnt stop there. It also purchased nearly 6,000 portable HEPA filter units enough for every classroom and office as an additional layer of protection from viruses, allergens and other airborne particles that can make people sick. We invested in these measures in an effort to provide the safest possible learning and working environments for our staff and students, said Veronica Jubinville, a spokesperson with Edmonton Public Schools. Those portable HEPA filters were installed in Edmonton last spring. Ever since, the group of concerned parents here in Calgary have been wondering why the same cant happen in their kids classrooms. I cant understand why anyone would block these measures, said Lacey Elliot, who has one child in kindergarten and another in Grade 2. We all breathe air. We know how viruses are transmitted. We have the resources to keep our kids healthy and further help alleviate this public health issue. Why would we not do this?' Worth reading in full. The parents smuggled in CO2 meters! Maskstravaganza More than $200 Million in City-Purchased COVID Gear Auctioned Off For Just $500,000 [The City]. An investigation by THE CITY has determined that since last summer, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) has systematically tried to auction off millions of dollars worth of COVID-related personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies gowns, face shields, hand sanitizer, KN95 masks, N95 masks that the department decided are no longer needed. Many of these supplies remain in their original packaging and are brand-new. The City was able to connect specific auctions to 20 COVID-related medical supply contracts and confirmed the sales with a source familiar with the agencys auction efforts who spoke to THE CITY on the condition of anonymity. About 9.5 million items purchased by the city government from $224 million in COVID-related contracts at the pandemics 2020 peak have been auctioned so far, garnering about $500,000. Why on earth didnt the City just give it all away, to protect its own citizens? Another flawless victory for scientific communication from the public health establishment: This fall we had a few days of very poor air quality from smoke. I went to a parent-teacher council meeting where ppl waited outside masked, then ripped their masks off once let in, even though it was still visibly smoky inside and community COVID levels were high. Dr. Rachel Rochester (@RaRaRhapsody) February 23, 2023 Elite Malfeasance The COVID-19 Pandemic Will Be Over When Americans Think It Is [Steven Phillips, Time]. [T]he country will not fully emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic until most people in our diverse nation accept the risk and consequences of exposure to a ubiquitous SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Rule #2. Hilarity ensues: Once again, personal risk assessment is an enormous tax on time. Further, the powers-that-be are systematically removing all the data sources the general public would use to perform risk assessments; Johns Hopkins shutting down its laudable efforts being only the most recent. Finally, elites have no inclination whatever to accept the risks and consequences of exposure; hence Davos Man ventilating and filtering his air; Biden ventilating and filtering his gymnasium appearance; and Jha and Walenskys wealthy community spending millions to ventilate its school system. More: A recent national poll demonstrates a strikingly divided public, not ready to make peace with the virus: while nearly half say that they have returned to their pre-COVID life, one-third still believe this is more than a year away or never. Make peace with the virus? Did this dude really write that? Make peace with the vascular and neurological damage? Make peace with Long Covid? Also, one-third is a remarkably high number, given the enormous wave of eugenicist propaganda that daily engulfs us. Finally: Instead a sharper understanding can be gained through an agnostic evaluation of the evidence and science. Today, this strongly supports a new paradigm of living with the virus through accepting exposure for most Americans. What a vile screed. Phillips is a member of the American College of Epidemiology. I wonder if they support his view? Or have they joined what can only be characterized as a death cult? (Not for elites, of course; just for the rest of us.) Phillips is quite a character: The author of this piece, Steven Phillips, has written numerous other pieces promoting unmitigated infection is an operative for Chatham House,a British led org., which dictates orders through the CFR to the US. He's also linked to ExxonMobil.https://t.co/5z53lrusRq pic.twitter.com/VkoreWpKeM Brewster (@Brewsterlala) February 23, 2023 I dont accept dictates; thats not how Flex Nets work. Still, its good to know that Phillips is Blob-adjacent. The Flu-ification of COVID Policy Is Almost Complete [The Atlantic]. The deck: The government is pushing harder than ever to make yearly COVID shots a thing. Fortunately, the Covid variant train only leaves once a year. A seasonal strategy works best for a seasonal virusand SARS-CoV-2 just isnt there yet, says Hana El Sahly, an infectious-disease physician at Baylor College of Medicine. Though flu viruses tend to hop between the globes hemispheres, alternately troubling the north and the south during their respective cold months, this new coronavirus has yet to confine its spread to one part of the calendar. (Marks, of the FDA, tried to address this concern at todays meeting, asserting that were starting to see some seasonality and that fall was indeed very sensible for an annual rollout.) SARS-CoV-2 has also been spitting out concerning variants and subvariants at a faster rate than the flu (and flu shots already have a hard time keeping up with evolution). The FDAs new proposal suggests picking SARS-CoV-2 variants in June to have a vaccine ready by September, a shorter timeline than is used for flu. That still might not be fast enough: By the time we detect a variant, it will have ripped through the global population and, in a few more weeks, died down, El Sahly told me. The world got a preview of this problem with last years bivalent shot, which overlapped with the dominance of its target subvariants for only a couple of months. A flu model for COVID would make more sense if we had stable, predictable dynamics, says Avnika Amin, a vaccine epidemiologist at Emory University. I dont think were at that point. The Jackpot * * * Case Data NOT UPDATED BioBot wastewater data from February 21: For now, Im going to use this national wastewater data as the best proxy for case data (ignoring the clinical case data portion of this chart, which in my view goes bad after March 2022, for reasons as yet unexplained). At least we can spot trends, and compare current levels to equivalent past levels. Lambert here: Once again, what happened on or before March 16? Ive marked the date on the chart, because at least one other person has an answer: I dont think theres just one factor, though. Walenskys scarlet letter remark was February 24, 2022 (which speaks to keeping the case rate high, no matter that the case count is low). Positivity From the Walgreens test positivity tracker, published February 23: -1.8%. Still high, but at last a distinct downturn Deaths Death rate (Our World in Data): Total: 1,143,760 1,142,981 1,142,704 = 779 (779 * 365 = 284,335 deaths per year, todays YouGenicist number for living with Covid (quite a bit higher than the minimizers would like, though they can talk themselves into anything. If the YouGenicist metric keeps chugging along like this, I may just have to decide this is what the powers-that-be consider mission accomplished for this particular tranche of death and disease). Well, the total wasnt 192 again. Not that I feel better about it. Its nice that for deaths I have a simple, daily chart that just keeps chugging along, unlike everything else CDC and the White House are screwing up or letting go dark, good job. (Though CDC may be jiggering the numbers soon. Lower, naturally.) Why the Covid-19 Death Toll in the U.S. Is Still Rising [Wall Street Journal]. The U.S. averaged about 400 deaths a day in a three-month span covering November through January, based on weekly Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counts of death certificates listing Covid-19 as the underlying or contributing cause. Data from the most recent weeks are incomplete. There has been significant improvement: The country averaged roughly 1,700 deaths a day in the same period a year before. The same wintertime period two years ago was even worse: about 2,800 daily deaths. The current pace, however, is still enough to keep Covid-19 among the major causes of death in the U.S. The disease ranked at No. 3 in 2020 and 2021, behind heart disease and cancer, and might rank there again in 2022 Deaths caused by Covid are heavily concentrated among the elderly, an analysis of CDC data shows. In recent weeks people 75 years and older have represented about seven of every 10 Covid-19 deaths. This age group peaked at 64% of the total during the severe winter surge two years ago and tumbled as low as a one-third of deaths when the Delta variant struck in 2021. Well, at least were helping to keep the Social Security trust fund solvent. Everyone must do their part! Stats Watch There are no official statistics of interest today. * * * The Bezzle: Science Fiction Magazines Battle a Flood of Chatbot-Generated Stories [New York Times]. The editors of three science fiction magazines Clarkesworld, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Asimovs Science Fiction said this week that they had been flooded by submissions of works of fiction generated by A.I. chatbots. [Neil Clarke, the editor of Clarkesworld] declined to be more specific, saying he did not want to give those submitting the stories any advantages. The writing is also bad in spectacular ways, Mr. Clarke said. Theyre just prompting, dumping, pasting and submitting to a magazine. He wrote on Twitter that the submissions were largely driven by side hustle experts making claims of easy money with ChatGPT. Its not just going to go away on its own, and I dont have a solution, Mr. Clarke wrote on his blog. Im tinkering with some, but this isnt a game of whack-a-mole that anyone can win. The best we can hope for is to bail enough water to stay afloat. (Like we needed one more thing to bail.)' So OpenAI has enabled bottom-feeder tech hustlers to cream off the margin of small literary magazines. Swell. Good job. Progress. * * * Todays Fear & Greed Index: 64 Greed (previous close: 63 Greed) [CNN]. One week ago: 72 (Greed). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Feb 22 at 1:58 PM ET. Photo Book Healthcare Protecting the Legitimacy of Medical Expertise [New England Journal of Medicine]. Medical licensing gives doctors something uncommon in the United States: monopoly protection precluding unlicensed people from competing to provide services. In upholding the legality of state licensing of doctors in 1889, the Supreme Court observed that because comparatively few can judge of the qualifications of [a physicians] learning and skill, the public must rely on the assurance given by his license, issued by an authority competent to judge in that respect, that he possesses the requisite qualifications. Licensing boards composed largely of physicians, with some representation from the lay public therefore have an obligation to ensure that the practitioners they license meet certain minimum standards. Additional privileges are conferred by certifying boards, which provide assurance that the specialized physicians they certify have met professionally determined standards at the end of training and over the course of their career; board certification is commonly relied on as part of hiring and privileging decisions in health care settings. [E]xpertise and authority are increasingly seen as means for elites to establish and support existing hierarchies. Perhaps the most substantial threat to expertise is that members of the public are coming to believe that facts dont exist that all facts are political and therefore a matter of opinion. The immediate stimulus for this article is state legislation prohibiting doctors from perscribing Ivermectin. That controversy aside, a remarkable number of M.D.s are swerving out of their lanes (see here) and leveraging their credentials to take eugenicist views on masking, epidemiology, public health, and so forth. If ever there is an example of establishing and supporting existing hierarchies, this is it. Ditto facts dont exist, of which anti-masker doctors provide many fine examples. And speaking of IVM: Shades of Dr Seuss here. https://t.co/rinefdPW8n Trisha Greenhalgh (@trishgreenhalgh) February 22, 2023 Note once again the hospital-centric viewpoint: Prophylaxis isnt considered in Swaminathans little joke. And I like Greenhalgh; shes done some great work! Groves of Academe Our Famously Free Press Class Warfare East Palestine: Railroaded Part Four NTSB report day in East Palestine and my interview about it with The Lever (interview) [The Holler]. John Russell of The Holler is interviewed by Frank Capallo of The Level: [CAPALLO]: Youve also been speaking to the rail workers about this specific derailment, which they are saying was caused by a wheel bearing issue rather than the brake system. So can you go into a little bit of detail about that? Because I dont think this is something that our audience has really heard about yet. [RUSSELL:] But theres video of this wheel bearing glowing white hot for as much as 20 miles before the derailment. And this was caught by ring doorbell cameras, security footage, etc. Because had these braking system has been updated and the chemicals classified accurately this disaster and the response likely would have been much less terrible. Rail workers have been telling me about this wheel bearing since I arrived here. And theyve also told me that PSR, precision scheduled railroad, has put pressure on every aspect of how the railroads are run, including inspection and maintenance on things like wheel bearings. Well, Im glad that finally somebody at The Level knows about the bearing (the hot box). (It has occurred to me that the immediate focus on regulating braking systems + regulation vs. bearings + Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) has appeal for liberal Democrats, (a) because they could focus on blaming Trump (correctly) for deregulation, while (b) not talking to actual rail workers, who they just screwed over with their anti-strike legislation, and (c) definitely avoided talking about worker empowerment, let alone nationalization, which talking about PSR would have entailed. I was surprised to see Lever News erasing the views of rail workers, but these are strange times). However, I dont see a reason to split the difference on braking systems. Again, if you investigate what rail workers have to say, you will find that the East Palestine train was improperly blocked, with the heavy cars at the front. I would need to know that new braking systems would bring an improperly blocked train to a safe stop. This is naturally not addressed More on Norfolk Southern: The company whose train derailed in East Palestine, OH has a policy that allows staffers to instruct crews to ignore alerts from track sensors that flag possible mechanical issues. Its in the company rulebook. ProPublica (@propublica) February 23, 2023 The thread also details another Norfolk Southern hot box incident, this time on an engine, which led to a derailment in which dumped thousands of gallons of molten paraffin wax in the city of Sandusky, also in Ohio. Norfolk Southern CEO to East Palestine residents: I understand the anger' [The Hill]. No, you dont. You really dont. Jim Stewart, who said he has lived in East Palestine for 65 years, said that he no longer feels safe in the town, and is worried about the value of his home. He said he has had a lingering cough since the derailment and has developed a rash on his cheek. Did you shorten my life, now? I want to retire and enjoy it. How are we gonna enjoy it? You burned me, he said. We were going to sell our house. Our value went poof. Do I mow the grass? Do I can I plant tomatoes next summer? What can I do? Im afraid to.' Ohio train derailment: Residents confront officials as Norfolk Southern announces new cleanup plan [ABC]. [Norfolk Southern Railway President and CEO Alan Shaw.] told East Palestine residents that Norfolk Southern is absolutely focused on safety and the company invests more than $1 billion each year toward maintenance and equipment. But he admitted that clearly this is a situation where our safety culture and our investments didnt prevent this accident.' Nor did your bonuses, stock buybacks, or Precision Scheduled Railroading. Safety culture my Sweet Aunt Fanny. So guys like Shaw, that means having one man drive a two-mile long train. Thats what theyre aiming for, and its ridiculous. Norfolk Southern, in wake of toxic derailment, gives in on sick days for one of its unions [CNN]. Norfolk Southern has agreed to give one of its unions the paid sick days it demanded for members in negotiations last year, and is in talks to grant sick days to its other unions as well. The announcement comes hours after the companys chief financial officer, Mark George, told investors that it is still struggling to fill the open positions it has at almost all 95 locations where staff is based. George also said the company may have cut staff too deep during the early days of the pandemic, and that it has had trouble bringing back laid-off staff members. Norfolk Southerns success is built upon the incredible work our craft railroaders perform every day , and we are committed to improving their quality of life in partnership with our union leaders, said Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw in a statement announcing the deal. Sounds like Shaw doesnt want the railroads to be nationalized. We should do that whether he wants it or not. News of the Wired He created something magical: Calvin and Hobbes fans rejoice as creator plans first work in decades [Guardian]. Last weeks announcement of Wattersons first major work in nearly 30 years The Mysteries, a vibrantly illustrated fable for grown-ups stunned fans and called for celebration. This is pretty exciting and monumental that hes releasing a whole book, says Nevin Martell of Washington DC, a lifelong reader and the author of Looking for Calvin and Hobbes, a story of the strip and Watterson thats also part memoir. Im surprised and yet not surprised surprised in the sense that hes putting something out, not surprised that since he is putting something out, its so wildly different from what he did on Calvin and Hobbes. The book is a collaboration between Watterson and the celebrated caricaturist John Kascht, and it appears far bleaker than either illustrators earlier work. The few published panels are sombre and foreboding, presented in shades of gray. The style of the writing, the style of the art is intensely different from Calvin and Hobbes. And I think thats a very conscious decision on [Wattersons] part. He would not ever want to be pigeonholed as just the Calvin and Hobbes guy, Martell says. * * * Contact information for plants: Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, to (a) find out how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal and (b) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. From KR: * * * Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the annual NC fundraiser. So if you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldnt see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know Im on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for five or ten days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals: Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated: If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you! Yves here. The Conversation catches up with Naked Capitalism more than six years after the fact. From the top of Jerri-Lynn Scofields January 2017 Waste Not, Want Not: Right to Repair Laws on Agenda in Some States: Motherboard reports that five states have resurrected legislation that would mandate a right to repair consumer electronics. These states are Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, and New York. The bills would require companies to make replacement parts available to independent repair shops, as well as make public diagnostic and servicing manuals, and are aimed to dismantle the exclusive aftermarket repair market that limits repairs to the original manufacturers. Allowing such monopoly arrangements to continue unchallenged allows original manufacturers to dominate aftermarket repairs. And this status quo imposes more than mere economic costs on consumers. It also creates unnecessary electronics waste that burdens the environment: first in consuming more resources to produce unnecessary products, and in requiring disposal of devices that are at best imperfectly recycled and contain many hazardous materials. Manufacturer control over original spare parts forces independent repair shops either to scavenge broken devices for parts, or to turn to grey market sources of supply. As another Motherboard piece, How to Fix Everything, describes, the Department of Homeland Security and federal customs agents have conducted raids on such shops for using allegedly counterfeit parts in their repairs. This is not the first time that state legislatures have considered right to repair legislation. In 2012, following a direct ballot initiative that saw 86% of those voting supporting the measure, Massachusetts passed the first automotive right to repair bill, and that eventually became the basis for a nationwide policy. Auto manufacturers themselves promoted a federal policy out of concern that otherwise they might have to deal with 50 competing state statutory variants on the same theme. The post then turns to seed patentswhich weve been covering since at least 2012 (Property Rights and Growth: Lessons from Slavery). See this 2012 post: Copyright Infringement Is Being Treated as Terrorism by George Washington. By Leland Glenna, Professor of Rural Sociology and Science, Technology, and Society, Penn State. Originally published at The Conversation As tractors became more sophisticated over the past two decades, the big manufacturers allowed farmers fewer options for repairs. Rather than hiring independent repair shops, farmers have increasingly had to wait for company-authorized dealers to arrive. Getting repairs could take days, often leading to lost time and high costs. A new memorandum of understanding between the countrys largest farm equipment maker, John Deere Corp., and the American Farm Bureau Federation is now raising hopes that U.S. farmers will finally regain the right to repair more of their own equipment. However, supporters of right-to-repair laws suspect a more sinister purpose: to slow the momentum of efforts to secure right-to-repair laws around the country. Under the agreement, John Deere promises to give farmers and independent repair shops access to manuals, diagnostics and parts. But theres a catch the agreement isnt legally binding, and, as part of the deal, the influential Farm Bureau promised not to support any federal or state right-to-repair legislation. The right-to-repair movement has become the leading edge of a pushback against growing corporate power. Intellectual property protections, whether patents on farm equipment, crops, computers or cellphones, have become more intense in recent decades and cover more territory, giving companies more control over what farmers and other consumers can do with the products they buy. For farmers, few examples of those corporate constraints are more frustrating than repair restrictions and patent rights that prevent them from saving seeds from their own crops for future planting. How a Few Companies Became So Powerful The United States market economy requires competition to function properly, which is why U.S. antitrust policies were strictly enforced in the post-World War II era. During the 1970s and 1980s, however, political leaders began following the advice of a group of economists at the University of Chicago and relaxed enforcement of federal antitrust policies. That led to a concentration of economic power in many sectors. This concentration has become especially pronounced in agriculture, with a few companies consolidating market share in numerous areas, including seeds, pesticides and machinery, as well as commodity processing and meatpacking. One study in 2014 estimated that Monsanto, now owned by Bayer, was responsible for approximately 80% of the corn and 90% of the soybeans grown in the U.S. In farm machinery, John Deere and Kubota account for about a third of the market. Market power often translates into political power, which means that those large companies can influence regulatory oversight, legal decisions, and legislation that furthers their economic interests including securing more expansive and stricter intellectual property policies. The Right-to-Repair Movement At its most basic level, right-to-repair legislation seeks to protect the end users of a product from anti-competitive activities by large companies. New York passed the first broad right-to-repair law, in 2022, and nearly two dozen states have active legislation about half of them targeting farm equipment. Whether the product is an automobile, smartphone or seed, companies can extract more profits if they can force consumers to purchase the companys replacement parts or use the companys exclusive dealership to repair the product. One of the first cases that challenged the right to repair equipment was in 1939, when a company that was reselling refurbished spark plugs was sued by the Champion Spark Plug Co. for violating its patent rights. The Supreme Court agreedthat Champions trademark had been violated, but it allowed resale of the refurbished spark plugs if used or repaired was stamped on the product. Although courts have often sided with the end users in right-to-repair cases, large companies have vast legal and lobbying resources to argue for stricter patent protections. Consumer advocates contend that these protections prevent people from repairing and modifying the products they rightfully purchased. The ostensible justification for patents, whether for equipment or seeds, is that they provide an incentive for companies to invest time and money in developing products because they know that they will have exclusive rights to sell their inventions once patented. However, some scholars claim that recent legal and legislative changes to patents are instead limiting innovation and social benefits. The Problem with Seed Patents The extension of utility patents to agricultural seeds illustrates how intellectual property policies have expanded and become more restrictive. Patents have been around since the founding of the U.S., but agricultural crops were initially considered natural processes that couldnt be patented. That changed in 1980 with the U.S. Supreme Court decision Diamond v. Chakrabarty. The case involved genetically engineered bacteria that could break down crude oil. The courts ruling allowed inventors to secure patents on living organisms. Half a decade later, the U.S. Patent Office extended patents to agricultural crops generated through transgenic breeding techniques, which inserts a gene from one species into the genome of another. One prominent example is the insertion of a gene into corn and cotton that enables the plant to produce its own pesticide. In 2001, the Supreme Court included conventionally bred crops in the category eligible for patenting. Historically, farmers would save seeds that their crops generated and replant them the following season. They could also sell those seeds to other farmers. They lost the right to sell their seeds in 1970, when Congress passed the Plant Variety Protection Act. Utility patents, which grant an inventor exclusive right to produce a new or improved product, are even more restrictive. Under a utility patent, farmers can no longer save seed for replanting on their own farms. University scientists even face restrictions on the kind of research they can perform on patented crops. Because of the clear changes in intellectual property protections on agricultural crops over the years, researchers are able to evaluate whether those changes correlate with crop innovations the primary justification used for patents. The short answer is that they do not. One study revealed that companies have used intellectual property to enhance their market power more than to enhance innovations. In fact, some vegetable crops with few patent protections had more varietal innovations than crops with more patent protections. How Much Does This Cost Farmers? It can be difficult to estimate how much patented crops cost farmers. For example, farmers might pay more for the seeds but save money on pesticides or labor, and they might have higher yields. If market prices for the crop are high one year, the farmer might come out ahead, but if prices are low, the farmer might lose money. Crop breeders, meanwhile, envision substantial profits. Similarly, it is difficult to calculate the costs farmers face from not having a right to repair their machinery. A machine breakdown that takes weeks to repair during harvest time could be catastrophic. The nonprofit U.S. Public Interest Research Group calculated that U.S. consumers could save US$40 billion per year if they could repair electronics and appliances about $330 per family. The memorandum of understanding between John Deere and the Farm Bureau may be a step in the right direction, but it is not a substitute for right-to-repair legislation or the enforcement of antitrust policies. For readers in Europe, Asia and Africa, and night owls in the Americas: We will be doing a Roundtable with Gonzalo Lira tomorrow, February 24, at 2 AM EST. We will post it on the site so you dont have to run around finding it. You will also be able to watch it later at your leisure. * * * Apologies for the lack of original posts. Yours truly and Lambert got wrapped around the axle of what to say about Chinas newly-released Global Security Initiative Concept Paper. Its a poorly written document (and this is unlikely to be an artifact of translation; Xis readouts, published by the same agency, are crisp and clear) and treats quite a few things as factual or givens that arent. Its also exhortative, which comes off as China bossy. Having said that, it also contains some promising bits. I had mistakenly assumed this was the China position paper promised for the week of the SMO anniversary. Alexander Mercouris made great hay over the freakout at the Munich Security Conference of various leaders over the idea that China would be presenting a peace proposal, when China had purportedly only spoken of a position paper. Wellie, it looks like the Munich Security Conference type were right. From Chinas English language organ, Global Times, today: And: So no point in dealing with the turgid Global Security Initiative Concept Paper, although it does sound as if some of its ideas will also show up in the peace scheme. * * * Meteorite crater discovered in French winery PhysOrg Worlds largest fog harvester produces water from fog. Wasser Stiftung#engineering pic.twitter.com/tdIevMo8f0 Interesting Engineering (@IntEngineering) February 23, 2023 Dusseldorf patient cured of HIV in Germany after stem cell transplant Washington Post (furzy) Science Falls Behind as Syphilis Stages Another Comeback TheScientist (guurst) Big Tobaccos harm reduction: Is it for real, or a sham? STAT (Dr. Kevin) Meet the people who literally feel no fear ZMEScience (Dr. Kevin) Vibrating Pill for Constipation Now Available Medscape (Dr. Kevin) There is a worrying amount of fraud in medical research Economist (Dr. Kevin). Gee, ya think? Climate/Environment China? There's a lot of ridiculous commentary these days on China's relationship with Russia. When you do not even attempt to understand China's context, you obviously won't understand its position. Small to put things back into context. Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) February 22, 2023 U.S. Considers Release of Intelligence on Chinas Potential Arms Transfer to Russia Wall Street Journal. Thought crimes? Seriously? This will not score any points with the Global South, and the EU needs to trade with China. So where does the US think trying to interfere in Chinas relations with Russia, which China said is none of Americas business, will go? China Tells Big Tech Companies Not To Offer ChatGPT Services Nikkei Old Blighty South of the Border Trial of Mexicos Former Top Cop Neglected U.S. Role in War on Drugs Intercept. Resilc: I like the Hillary photo. New Not-So-Cold War Syraqistan Big Brother is Watching You Watch Imperial Collapse Watch Supremes Norfolk Southern Chemical Bomb Gov. Tate Reeves unsure whether providing mothers health care would help their health Mississippi Today (Paul R). Only in America. Governors form Reproductive Freedom Alliance to guard abortion rights USA Today (furzy) Laffaire Jeffrey Epstein Our No Longer Free Press PATRICK LAWRENCE: Totalized Censorship Consortium News (furzy). Important. Gunz Alabama star Miller delivered gun used in killing of young mother, police say Guardian (resilc) AI The Bezzle Electric Vehicles Are a Status Symbol Now Atlantic (resilc) How Much Money Do Pediatricians Really Make From Vaccines? Wellness and Equality (Kevin W) Class Warfare Antidote du jour. A vintage pic taken by Marc B that has been marinading in my inbox. Please send images! See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. Yves here. Finance people will immediately recognize that outside of loan-sharking, lenders showing profits on defaulted loans is unheard of. Yet my goodness, Uncle Sam is doing a very good job of kneecapping student borrowers who have trouble repaying. As this post explains, this is predatory lending in action. Originally published at Angry Bear I have known Alan Collinge of Student Loan Justice for multiple years now. He has been prompting some type of relief for those who will never be able to payback these loans or are in default. The information in the chart above is from EOY 2020 and the Federal Student Loan Portfolio, Federal Student Aid, Portfolio by Age The General Link and which Chart (link) the data is taken from to back up my numbers is also above. For the over 62 tack on another $20 billion for EOY 2022. Three hundred- thousand more people are in this category. The average amount of time to pay back was 15 -17 years at $250/month. From over 50 and above, these debts will never be paid 100%. Much of this is Joe Bidens fault from his opposing Student Loan relief since 1990. The Government makes a Profit on Defaulted Student Loans, Student Loan Justice Org., Alan Collinge In 2010, we found the federal government was making a profit, not a loss, on defaulted student loans. This is a claim no other lender for any other type of loan (including governmental loans) can make. More recent White House Budget data shows that this is still true today The profitability of student loan defaults is certainly far greater today than in 2010. Making a profit on defaulted loans is a defining characteristic of a predatory lending system. Citizens everywhere should be concerned. The 2010 White House Budget reported a recovery rate on defaulted FFELP (federally guaranteed) loans of 122%. All other loans the government made or insured that year had an average recovery rate of about 34%. No other loan types exceeded a 100% recovery rate, or even came close. At the time, the large majority of all federal student loans were of this category, where the government does not make, but rather guarantee. More recent White House Budget Data (2022), shows that this trend has continued for the Direct Loan Program (where the government makes and holds the loans, rather than just guarantee them), with an average recovery rate of over 100%. Similar to the 2010 data, student loans were the only type of loan that could be found in the federal portfolio for which the recovery rate exceeded 100%. Recovery Rate for Defaulted, Direct Student Loans, 2022 Importantly: Unlike the older, FFELP (federally guaranteed) loans, Direct Loan recoveries are far more profitable than FFELP loans because the interest is built into Direct Loans. For defaulted FFELP loans, the government, makes no interest on the loan prior to default. The claim amounts to the entire balance of the loan at the time of default, which includes both unpaid principal and interest. For Direct Loans the government paid a much smaller principal when the loan was originally made. Whereas the value of the loan at the time of default typically includes a large amount of interest and accrues to the government rather than a private lender. The recovery rate for both is calculated by comparing the amount recovered to the balance of the loan at the time of default. So while the recovery rate for Direct loans are lower than that for defaulted FFELP loans, the profitability of these recoveries is inherently far, far greater. There is no other lending system in existence in this country where the lender can claim to be making a profit on defaults. Student Loan Portfolio Accumulate Interest from Default A loan portfolio which accrues nearly $100 billion in annual interest, where loans in default are actually profitable and very few loans are being cancelled as is the case with the federal student loan program. It is literally impossible to lose money on these loans. The program can only be making money from the defaults and a lot of it. All of this profit for loans, President Lyndon Johnson said would be free of interest when he signed the Higher Education Act into law in 1965. Default profits depicted . . . . What is most disturbing: The default rate for people leaving school in 2004 is estimated to be 40%, and is likely a low figure since the estimates were based on voluntary surveys. Many borrowers in default are inherently unlikely to fill out. The class of 04, however, was only borrowing about a third of what students are borrowing today. Moreover, even before the pandemic, 85% of all federal student loan borrowers were underwater (ie not paying, or paying but with an increasing balance) on their loans, and nearly 60% werent making payments. With 3 years of nearly universal non-payment due to the pandemic, this non-payment rate will escalate when repayment is again demanded from the borrowers. It is not at all unreasonable to expect that 70% or more of these borrowers will wind up in default on their federal loans when the system is turned back on. The student loan default is many multiples of the sub-prime home mortgage default rate of 20% in comparison. So, by all rational metrics, this lending system is in catastrophic failure. Seventy Percent of Borrowers will be in Default We believe it to be not at all unreasonable to expect that 70% or more of borrowers will wind up in default on their federal loans when the lending system is turned back on. Unprecedented, and unwarranted of both bankruptcy rights, and statutes of limitations lie at the core of the student loan problem. In the absence of these protections, the lending side (up to and including the Department of Education) can- and does use this power to extract vast sums of wealth ruining the lives of borrowers, (one example below). The human cost of the predatory lending system has been massive. The harm that is poised to be exacted on the citizenry is incalculable. One example of the people who have been harmed by these loans: This cannot and should not continue. At a minimum, constitutional bankruptcy rights must be returned to these loans. The catastrophic proportions of this failure, however, are such that it probably would be best to simply cancel the loans, end the lending system, and replace it with a more rational, rationally priced, and fair higher education funding plan. If you agree, please sign this petition. Yves here. Your humble blogger must confess to having neglected the Brexit beat after following it intensely while the UK-EU negotiations were in full swing. The wee problem, as Chris Grey in particular stressed, was that the Brexit deal was not an end point but a process as many points would continue to be worked out, and often fought over, for years to come. The Irish border continued to be the thorniest and is still unresolved. Richard Murphy gives a good high level overview as Rishi Sunak is about to wrestle with this tar baby. One point to add is that implementing a land border in Ireland is wildly impractical. The border itself is winding, with many actual and potential crossings, far too many to manage via checkpoints (recall that in a post Good Friday Agreement world, there are many daily crossings including for commuting and goods. The UK proposed gee whiz high tech varporware remedies, which the EU rejected as not implementable. Murphy also makes a passing reference to the US. Ireland has done an excellent job of cultivating the Irish diaspora in American and winning friends in Congress. Nancy Pelosi said in the firmest terms possible that the US would take action if the UK failed to uphold the Good Friday Agreement, the creatively ambiguous deal that succeeded in putting an end to the Troubles. The current Congress is almost certain to hold her line. By Richard Murphy, a chartered accountant and a political economist. He has been described by the Guardian newspaper as an anti-poverty campaigner and tax expert. He is Professor of Practice in International Political Economy at City University, London and Director of Tax Research UK. He is a non-executive director of Cambridge Econometrics. He is a member of the Progressive Economy Forum. Originally published at Tax Research UK Issues relating to Ireland have been troublesome for British politics for centuries. Since 1802, when the Irish parliament was subsumed into that in Westminster, the parliament in London has had to almost continually address an issue to which it has never had any adequate answers, largely because barring total independence there are none. Today the problem of the Irish border continues. The question that we now have is simple. Given that England, and somewhat surprisingly Wales, chose to leave the EU the question is where is that border with Ireland to be now? Johnson always ducked the question, but when pushed to deliver a supposedly oven-ready Brexit accepted the compromise that he always said he would never agree to, which was to put the Irish border in the Irish Sea. Lets be candid. Johnson had no choice but to do that. The alternative was to make it a land border in Ireland and that would have breached the Good Friday Agreement that has delivered a period of lasting peace and relative prosperity in Northern Ireland. Not that I suspect the people of Northern Ireland weighed heavy on Johnsons considerations: I think the risk of sanctions from the EU and most especially the USA as a guarantor of that agreement was what forced his hand. But the issue has not gone away. Johnson created the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill in the Westminster parliament. This remains on the floor of the House, providing an ever-looming threat to the EU that the UK might pull out of agreed arrangements. Its presence acts as a constant reminder that UK talks on this issue with the EU and others are never being undertaken in good faith. That is the problem. The Protocol was always meant to be temporary. The deal was meant to be finalised. The EU is rightly demanding that it is. The threat of sanctions from the EU and USA has not gone away. And the mood in Ireland is changing. Sinn Fein is the largest party in the North. There is a real chance that it could lead the next government in Dublin. The Union has never looked weaker. Despite all this, the Unionists maintain their demands, backed by the European Research Group far-right fringe of the Conservative Party. Their demand is that there be no border within the UK and that the EU have no jurisdiction over Northern Ireland, which it must if Northern Ireland is to be in the single market as is necessary to avoid a border in Ireland. There is only one eventual solution to this problem. The people of Ireland are eventually going to vote for it. The legal mechanism to permit that vote already exists, although as yet no one wants to use it. But until then there is only one viable interim step that can work, which is to keep the border in the Irish Sea. There is really no room to negotiate around that. In this case there is also no way that the EU cannot have influence and some sanction over Northern Ireland. Wittingly or not, that is what the people of England and Wales chose. The Unionists in Northern Ireland may not like it, but the country to which they claim allegiance voted for this for them, with the backing of the very same people who now claim to be their allies in Westminster, which fact you could not make up. What are Sunaks options? He has few. The best is to agree a deal. Starmer, who wants the issue resolved before he gets to office, will provide support. Then Sunak has to increase security in Northern Ireland because there will be backlash. And after that he has to be prepared to suspend the whip from any MP who votes against this agreement if it goes to the Commons, which it need not do but likely will. He has, in other words, to use Johnsons methods to rid the Tories of the ERG as Johnson once used it to rid the party of its moderates. Will that leave a Tory rump? Of course, it will. But Sunak cant govern anyway, so that will make no difference. But it will at least permit Sunak to be seen to do the right thing on one issue before his ignominious reign as prime minister ends. And that is one more than Truss managed. What chance is there that Sunak will do the right thing? I am not optimistic. But, as ever, I live in hope. The evolution of my position with the Post dates to 2000, when I began work with The City Paper. In 2008, SouthComm Inc. bought the Post and TCP, with the latter ceasing operations in 2013. In 2018, FW Publishing acquired the Post, for which I have served as managing editor since 2011. Follow William Williams Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today On Feb. 9, a NewsChannel 5 segment by Phil Williams reported on office cameras at District Attorney Glenn Funks Second Avenue office, calling them eavesdropping devices that potentially violated individuals expectations of privacy. Days later, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti responded with a letter notifying Funk that the AG would be investigating privacy concerns. That investigation has not materialized, and invitations from Funk to Skrmetti have gone unaccepted, Funk tells the Scene. The offices extensive network of security cameras primarily monitor interior hallways and open office space. With a few exceptions office entrances and exits, an empty evidence room, an area for defense attorneys to view evidence in child pornography cases that cant be taken off site cameras do not capture audio. Security cameras date back to Funks predecessor, Torry Johnson, and followed the offices relocation to a private commercial building from government office space two decades ago. The office slowly installed security measures familiar at government sites, like the Metro Courthouse or the Tennessee State Capitol. Funk and his colleagues cite regular threats of physical and sexual violence to explain the need for a security guard and cameras. Criminal defendants do not consult with their lawyers at the District Attorneys office. Grand juries meet two rooms away from an interior hallway, which is across a large atrium from a camera trained on a fourth-floor office entrance. A wall-mounted sign alerts passersby about a security camera facing the entrance. No devices collect only audio. Areas where an individual might expect privacy spaces for attorney-client conversations or jury deliberations did not exist or were far from surveillance posts. Funk says he also gave The Tennessean a similar tour, but neither Williams nor any other reporter from NewsChannel 5 has been walked through the offices security infrastructure. Skrmetti's office has not accepted an invitation to visit. Funk is planning to hire an independent firm to evaluate whether its security measures are appropriate. Williams and Funk continue to navigate a tense relationship. Funk sued Williams for libel, a years-long lawsuit settled in 2020. State legislators and Skrmetti have jumped at the chance to needle Funk, whose executive power positions him to mitigate Tennessees harsh legal penalties for abortion care and drug offenses. (Natural News) After a train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio caused toxic chemicals to contaminate the air and water, Joe Biden hasnt so much as mentioned the town much less paid it a visit. The city is struggling to acquire aid from the federal government, which has already denied emergency aid to the community. (Article by Amber Crawford republished from 100PercentFedUp.com) Although the Biden regime and Democrats cant be bothered with an American city, Biden just made a surprise visit overseas to Ukraines capital, Kyiv, and pledged an additional half-billion dollars in U.S. assistance. Per usual, Biden is putting America last. In a video of Biden walking through Kyiv, Ukraine with President Volodymyr Zelensky an air raid siren can be heard blaring in the background, causing all his supporters to rave over his bravery. Wow Biden finally visited East Palestine to help Americans!! Just kidding hes in Kyiv helping Ukrainians pic.twitter.com/mukWNkbfst DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) February 20, 2023 However, a CNN reporter in Kyiv suggested the air siren was just for show. Ive been here for the past five days, said the reporter. I have not heard any explosions. I have not heard any air sirens, until about half an hour ago, right when Joe Biden was in the center of Kyiv. Wow, the air siren going off as Biden stumbled through Kyiv was fake Ive been here for the past five days. I have not heard any explosions. I have not heard any air sirens, until about half an hour ago, right when Joe Biden was in the center of Kyiv pic.twitter.com/UClM2cB0we DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) February 20, 2023 During his visit, Biden announced $500 million in new military aid to Ukraine and promised to stand with Ukraine as long as it takes. This surprise visit came just a few days before the one-year anniversary of Russias invasion. Biden said that he visited Ukraine to reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraines democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. U.S. President Joe Biden walked around central Kyiv on an unannounced visit, promising to stand with Ukraine as long as it takes, on a trip clearly timed to upstage the Kremlin ahead of the one-year anniversary of Russias invasion https://t.co/R9oNqHvD1o pic.twitter.com/kyP9BbQ770 Reuters (@Reuters) February 20, 2023 Americans are calling out Biden for his disregard for the American people, something that has been highlighted by his recent actions or lack thereof. Conservative journalist Benny Johnson pointed out in a tweet that East Palestine, Ohio is only a 30-minute flight from Washington D.C., while Kyiv is a 12-hour flight. Guess which trip Joe Biden prioritized? Johnson asked sarcastically. The White House to East Palestine, Ohio: 200 miles, 30 minute flight The White House to Kyiv, Ukraine: 5,000 miles, 12 hour flight Guess which trip Joe Biden prioritized? pic.twitter.com/Lq6IdE16rZ Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 20, 2023 Conservative lawyer and activist Ryan OHandley joked about the Biden familys alleged money laundering schemes through Ukraine, saying, Want to know why Biden is in Kyiv and not East Palestine? Ohio doesnt launder the money. Want to know why Biden is in Kyiv not East Palestine? Ohio doesnt launder the money DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) February 20, 2023 Meanwhile, Donald Trump is planning to visit East Palestine on Wednesday where he will meet with members of the community who have been harmed by the chemicals released from the train derailment. Your government rather spend $100B to fund a bloody war in Ukraine than spend money on our own infrastructure. This is Ohio.pic.twitter.com/inYxSBCO0t Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 17, 2023 Read more at: 100PercentFedUp.com (Natural News) The main focus of the incompetent Biden Regime is on demonizing and criminalizing white Americans who are not Woke Democrats and on raising tensions with Russia which are already more dangerous than during the Cuban missile crisis. The crazed Jewish warmonger, Victoria Nuland, who Biden stupidly appointed and the Senate confirmed Undersecretary of State, announced that Washington considers Russian installations in Crimea legitimate targets and the US government supports Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory. (Article republished from PaulCraigRoberts.org) Yesterday Putin announced that Russia is suspending participation in the last remaining nuclear arms agreement as Washington insists on Russias compliance in the absence of its own. The US Ambassador was summoned to account for Washingtons participation in the Ukrainian conflict with Russia. The US Ambassador was told that the money, weapons, targeting information, support personnel all prove the falsity of Washingtons claim not to be a party to the conflict. The ambassador was told that the US is actively at war with Russia and actively engaged in hostile actions against Russia, and that this would have consequences. Putin has put Russian nuclear missiles on Combat Alert Status. Ask yourself what kind of utterly stupid and irresponsible government in Washington would bring us to such a situation. Ask yourself what kind of imbeciles lead NATO countries who put their own countries survival at risk in order to please Washington. Ask yourself what kind of completely stupid leadership there is in Finland that cant wait to jump into this dangerous situation by joining NATO. And where is Americas idiot president while Russia puts nuclear missiles on Combat Alert? Is he on the telephone with Putin calming down the dangerous situation? No. The fool is in Ukraine and Poland pouring gasoline on the fire. I have warned consistently that the Wests involvement in Ukraine is leading to nuclear war. The low grade morons who comprise the Russian expert community have ignored me, as has the official-narrative-only media. US policymakers are Russophobic people, such as Amb. Michael McFaul, who approach a dangerous situation emotionally and are incapable of reason or responsible behavior. The Russians have seen all this. They see that there is no intelligence anywhere in the Western leadership, just intent to break Russia. Putin has been patient through all of thistoo patient as I have arguedlooking for a spark of intelligence in the West. Finding none, he seems to be giving up hope. If he gives up hope, war is on its way. The uninvolved, unaware, uninformed American people have no idea of their present danger. Their understanding is limited to their indoctrination: Russia Bad, Ukraine Good. Here are some news reports: Putin Suspends New START Nuclear Treaty, Puts Missiles On Combat Readiness https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/putin-suspends-new-start-nuclear-treaty-puts-new-missiles-combat-readiness Russia Summoned US Ambassador To Explain US Military Involvement In Ukrainian Conflict https://southfront.org/russia-summoned-us-ambassador-due-to-military-involvement-in-ukrainian-conflict/ Victoria Nuland Clarifies That US Supports Ukrainian Attacks On Crimea https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/victoria-nuland-clarifies-us-supports-ukrainian-attacks-crimea Read more at: PaulCraigRoberts.org (Natural News) The Chinese communists have fully infiltrated the government and economy as well as most aspects of society in the United States in preparation for an invasion. It is well known that China has long engaged in a spying campaign against the United States. Tactics used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) include cyber espionage, stealing intellectual property and infiltrating research laboratories. (Related: INDOCTRINATED: Chinese firms with ties to the CCP are purchasing American private schools with strong military training programs.) According to New Zealand author and political activist Trevor Loudon and conservative political commentator Dr. Steven Hotze, these are just parts of a larger plan. During an episode of Hotzes Brighteon.TV program, The Dr. Hotze Report, Loudon and Hotze noted that the CCPs infiltration activities of American society have been going on for at least the past 30 to 40 years. [Loudon] has been warning that the communists are infiltrating our government, our corporations, our media, our schools, and theyre bringing Marxist philosophy, said Hotze. Theyre teaching critical race theory, which is just Marxs theory, and pushing that in grade schools for little kids, theyre pushing transgenderism and homosexuality all these things, the communists know, could simply destroy the moral fabric of the United States. CCP aims to use government, business, society to infiltrate and influence America According to a report on Chinese political infiltration attempts, Michael Cunningham, a research fellow in the Asian Studies Center of The Heritage Foundation, noted that CCP operations to undermine American state and local politics far surpass those of any previous geopolitical rival, including Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Beijings aim is to use unprepared state and local governments as the weak links through which to infiltrate the U.S. political system, added Cunningham. State legislatures must meet this threat by formulating reasonable, constitutional laws to confront Chinas influence in areas under their jurisdiction. Within the private sector, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has previously stated that the CCP is quietly working to gain more and more access to the trade secrets of American and multinational corporations. The communists are doing this through academic espionage, relying on scholars and researchers who act as spies. The scale of this effort is enormous, thanks to the massive size of American higher education institutions and to the CCP correctly identifying universities as vulnerable entry points to gaining access to sensitive data. This makes U.S. national security interests extremely vulnerable because many universities conduct an immense amount of sensitive and even highly classified research in partnership with the government. This combination of infiltration of academia and the private sector also has the added effect of influencing American society. Weve got an internal revolution going on through the Deep State. The Deep State now encompasses Wall Street and Hollywood, because so many American businessmen have been co-opted, so many American financial kings have been co-opted, said Loudon. So, the Chinese are infiltrating our education, our military, our academia, Hollywood, our governments, pretty much most of the areas of American life. It should also be noted that Chinese attempts to infiltrate the U.S. dont just come from spies sneaking into institutions or the CCP bribing weak links in government agencies. Infiltration attempts also include attempts of illegal Chinese immigrants to enter the United States. According to federal law enforcement data, in January 2022, federal agents captured 1,064 illegal Chinese immigrants at the southern border. This represents a 1,230 percent year-over-year increase. And since the fiscal year began in October 2022, Border Patrol agents have already captured 2,926 Chinese citizens attempting to cross the southern border compared to just 309 caught during the same four-month period in the previous fiscal year. Loudon further warned that the combination of the infiltration and the invasion through Americas borders are attempts to weaken the U.S. in preparation for a military attack. Watch this Feb. 20 episode of The Dr. Hotze Report as Dr. Steven Hotze interviews Trevor Loudon regarding how the CCP has infiltrated American media and government agencies. The Dr. Hotze Report with Dr. Steven Hotze airs every Monday and Saturday at 5-6 p.m. on Brighteon.TV. More related stories: National security threat: Grand Forks City Council blocks Chinese-owned corn mill near air base. CCP has been creating spy balloons for YEARS out of a heavily guarded naval base in southern China. HILARIOUS: Rapper Hi-Rez creates genius song and video parody of extreme liberalism and twisted communist trends infiltrating our republic. University that housed Biden center pressed to end FBI China spy probe after big Beijing donations. Biden administration tearing US apart by turning it into a Marxist society. Sources include: Brighteon.com TheCipherBrief.com Heritage.org WashingtonExaminer.com (Natural News) It is official: Norfolk Southern, the rail carrier responsible for the massive derailment and controlled explosion fiasco in East Palestine, Ohio, will have to pay up for all the cleanup associated with remediation of the disaster. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered the rail carrier to pay for cleaning up the mess they created and for the trauma theyve inflicted on this community. The derailment occurred on February 3, leaving behind overturned rail cars full of noxious poisons like vinyl chloride and other hazardous substances. When the government intentionally blew up these rail cars, all those poisons were blasted into the air. Norfolk Southern apologized for the incident and expected that to be enough. Local residents are not satisfied as many of them have since filed lawsuits against the company for criminal negligence. EPA head Michael Regan, speaking at a news conference in East Palestine, indicated that Norfolk Southern will need to find and clean all contaminated soil and water throughout the region. The company will also have to pay back the EPA for its own cleaning efforts. Should Norfolk Southern refuse to comply with the EPAs orders, the federal agency plans to immediately carry out all work itself and charge the company triple the cost, as well as fine it up to an additional $70,000 per day for as long as it takes to achieve justice. (Related: Norfolk Southern is also trying to buy off the residents of East Palestine for $1,000 a pop.) Ohio, Pennsylvania file criminal charges against Norfolk Southern over derailment, explosion All throughout the area, residents exposed to fumes from the toxic plume are reporting headaches, burning skin, nausea, and other health problems. Many worry that they will soon develop worse health conditions such as cancer. Many people are concerned about toxic water as well, though local water utilities are insistent that everything is fine. The Ohio Health Department opened up a special health clinic for concerned residents to voice their thoughts. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro also wants in on the action, having stated at a joint news conference that he and other authorities in both Pennsylvania and Ohio are planning to refer criminal charges against the rail firm to his states top prosecutor, who now has to decide whether or not to file charges. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine also joined the news conference, where he indicated that Norfolk Southern needs to be made to pay for any and all medical costs stemming from exposure to the disaster. Just hours before the announcement, DeWine and Regan drank water together for the masses to see, an action that was supposed to show them that it is safe to consume. I can only feel so much better; the damage has already been done, in my opinion, stated local resident Logan Rance about the EPAs announcement. Norfolk Southern, which last week refused to appear at a town hall meeting, issued a statement in response to the EPA decision stating that it is committed to thoroughly and safely cleaning the site, as well as reimbursing residents for the disruption this has caused in their lives. Some 15,000 pounds of contaminated soil and 1.5 million gallons of contaminated water has already been removed from East Palestine, according to the company. Fake president Joe Biden also chimed in with a series of tweets indicating that his regime was on the ground hours after the train derailed. Instead of visiting East Palestine, however, Biden joined Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine to show his opposition to Russia and President Vladimir Putin. Want to keep up with the latest news about the East Palestine train derailment? You can do so at Disaster.news. Sources for this article include: BBC.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) While our nations elite are able to send their children to expensive schools where they get the best education money can buy, they have allowed schools for the masses to become infiltrated with left-wing ideologues who have been working to propagandize kids for decades. And now, the full-fledged dumbing down of our future generations is in full swing as more and more, leftists are eliminating honors courses for the smartest students we need to rely on for future advancements, all under the phony guise of equity which, in this case, is being used to ensure all kids are equally subpar. And it should be no surprise that many of these abhorrent changes are being made in the Soviet socialist-style state of California, which is run by a Democratic supermajority. The Wall Street Journal reported that Culver City High School in California has discontinued its honors classes as they were not attracting enough black and Latino students. Other school districts, including Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and Patrick Henry High School in California, have also implemented similar changes in their honors programs in an effort to promote greater equity. The outlet noted: A group of parents stepped to the lectern Tuesday night at a school board meeting in this middle-class, Los Angeles-area city to push back against a racial-equity initiative. The high school, they argued, should reinstate honors English classes that were eliminated because they didnt enroll enough Black and Latino students. The district earlier this school year replaced the honors classes at Culver City High School with uniform courses that officials say will ensure students of all races receive an equal, rigorous education. These parents disagreed. We really feel equity means offering opportunities to students of diverse backgrounds, not taking away opportunities for advanced education and study, left-wing lunatic Joanna Schaenman, a Culver City parent who helped lead the change, claimed ahead of the meeting. Culver City is not alone in facing resistance from parents who oppose the removal of honors designations on certain high school courses. Similar pushback has been seen in Wisconsin, Rhode Island, and other parts of California over the past year as schools have taken steps to eliminate or modify their honors programs, the WSJ reported. School districts that are phasing out honors classes contend that students who do not have access to such classes from an early age can start to view themselves as being in a lower tier, which can lead them to believe that they are not capable of enrolling in more advanced classes, such as Advanced Placement (AP) courses, that can be beneficial for college admission, the outlets report noted further. The Education Trust, a nonprofit organization that researches educational equity, has found that black and Latino students are often underrepresented in AP enrollment across many states. Of course, none of that takes into account that only certain students will ever legitimately qualify as exceptional and even be able to take higher-level courses, regardless of their ethnicity. Its like playing a pro sport; if everyone were allowed to play, then there would be no reason to watch because the sport would be substandard and not at all entertaining. Kids who score average in school dont tend to go on to MIT and invent really amazing things, but they may become great carpenters, for example and our country needs both. Parents say academic excellence should not be experimented with for the sake of social justice, Quoc Tran, the superintendent of 6,900-student Culver City Unified School District, told the WSJ. But, he said, it was very jarring when teachers looked at their AP enrollment and realized Black and brown kids were not there. They felt obligated to do something. In this case, doing something is robbing bright kids of a better future. Thats not equity; that is cruelty. Sources include: WSJ.com EducationSystem.news (Natural News) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) confirmed that a meteoroid weighing 1,000 pounds (lb) possibly exploded in the skies above Texas and dispersed fragments over the ground on Feb. 15. The space agency made the confirmation in a press release. Based on analysis of preliminary information from several sources, NASA experts believe the object was a meteoroid about two feet in diameter weighing about 1,000 lb. The angle and speed of entry, along with signatures in weather radar imagery, are consistent with other naturally occurring meteorite falls. Radar and other data indicate the meteorites did reach the ground from this event, it said. According to NASA, the meteoroid was traveling about 27,000 miles per hour before breaking up into fragments at an altitude of 21 miles. The meteoroids explosion carried an amount of energy equal to eight tons of TNT, which corresponded to a loud explosion reported by several residents in southern Texas. In spite of this, no injuries or damages to property were reported. (Related: Fragments of a rare meteorite shower small Brazilian town.) The NASA press release added that the Feb. 15 incident serves as a reminder for the space agency and other organizations to step up their understanding and protection of the planet, to combine scientific and engineering expertise to advance human space exploration, to integrate terrestrial and planetary research for furthering our understanding of the solar system and to promote successful space missions by mitigating risks. Aside from NASA, the National Weather Services (NWS) satellite system in Brownsville, Texas detected the space object. The NWS Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley sector shared in a social media post that its Geostationary Lightning Mapper detected a signal around 5:23 p.m. despite the absence of storms around. The signal occurred about the same time Texans in the southern part of the country reported the explosion. Residents thought meteoroid explosion was an earthquake According to authorities, many concerned residents panicked about the meteoroid with some believing it was an earthquake. In an interview with NBC 5, Mission Police Department Chief Cesar Torres said local 911 dispatchers received several calls from residents about loud crashes and a probable explosion that shook their homes. Hidalgo County Sheriff Eddie Guerra seconded Torres comments, saying during a press conference that residents reported seeing the meteoroid and hearing a boom that sounded like thunder. The sheriff had also received a report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation about two pilots flying near Houston who seemingly also noticed the meteoroid. Obviously with all these incidents close, you can imagine what our constituents and our citizens fears were, Guerra said, referencing recent incidents of fighter jets shooting down foreign objects in American airspace. He added that the exact point of impact is unknown. Rep. Monica De La Cruz (R-TX), who represents the area affected by the meteoroid explosion, stated that officials were still working to understand if the space object hit the ground. We have meteorites that have hit all over. NASA scientists estimate that every single day our planet is hit by over 100 tons of dust and particles from space. So again, while this is not a normal situation here in the Rio Grande Valley, it does occur, De La Cruz said in an interview. Follow Space.news for more news about meteors and meteorites. Watch this video that expounds on the massive meteorite blasts reported in Indonesia and Cuba. This video is from the Red Pilled News channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Meteorite in Michigan may hold clues to origin of life on Earth. Violent collisions in space millions of years ago led to 100 times more meteorite impacts on Earth and unleashed space dust, studies suggest. Winchombe meteorite that crashed on driveway found to contain the building blocks of life. Organic matter found in ancient meteorites may hold clues to understanding the birth of life on Earth. Unexpected meteorite crash in Nicaragua highlights necessity of space program to protect from imminent danger. Sources include: TheGuardian.com Chron.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) Former Special Forces soldier and war correspondent Michael Yon believes that this pattern of industrial accidents, food infrastructure sabotage and energy scarcity is no coincidence its all part of a global war being waged against humanity by the governments of the world. He joined me at the Brighteon.com studio yesterday for an alarming interview in which we covered famine, fertilizer scarcity, Russia, world war, sabotage operations and depopulation. You can watch that interview here: Brighteon.com/9420b9c7-245e-47d2-a08d-6e823bb93dd1 Is the war against Earths inhabitants a COSMIC war? In todays Situation Update podcast, I cover not only Michael Yons revelations, but also the extraterrestrial question in a second interview with author and researcher Timothy Alberino. He explains that a non-human force is actively seeking to exterminate humanity in a planetary-scale ethnic cleansing operation, then occupy and control planet Earth and all its resources. (See his website at TimothyAlberino.com) Furthermore, the entire climate change scam is nothing more than a cover story for an extraterrestrial terraforming operation to alter Earths atmosphere and make it more hospital to a non-human occupying species that plans to take over, Alberino explains. This actually makes sense, since no informed human being would try to eliminate carbon dioxide from Earths atmosphere a dangerous, insane action that would collapse Earths biosphere due to the fact that all photosynthesis depends on carbon dioxide. See the links for the full podcast (with both interviews) below: Putin lays out justification for nuclear first strike against the West In studio interview with Michael Yon about famine, food supply chain and open borders We are being exterminated and REPLACED by illegal migrants The governments of the world are AT WAR with humanity Health Ranger ranch update: New hens! How mass spec #dioxin testing is conducted Interview with Timothy Alberino on the extraterrestrials question There is a plan in place to exterminate humanity and occupy Earth Top ten agricultural products produced in Ohio are they contaminated? Brighteon: Brighteon.com/47fc50e2-503f-48d9-b6c1-b36598066447 Rumble: Rumble.com/v2ah9fg-situation-update-22223-pandemics-famine-and-war.html Bitchute: Bitchute.com/video/UD5tnmP72Uss/ Banned.Video: Banned.video/watch?id=63f622cc85d91c3d2eb23897 iTunes podcast: Healthrangerreport.com/situation-update-feb-22-2023-pandemics-famine-and-war-globalists-are-at-war-with-humanity-feat-michael-yon Discover more interviews and podcasts each day at: https://www.brighteon.com/channels/HRreport Follow me on: Brighteon.social: Brighteon.social/@HealthRanger (my breaking news gets posted here first) Telegram: t.me/RealHealthRanger Substack: HealthRanger.substack.com Banned.video: Banned.video/channel/mike-adams Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@healthranger Twitter: @MikeAdamsHR Gettr: GETTR.com/user/healthranger Parler: Parler.com/user/HealthRanger Rumble: Rumble.com/c/HealthRangerReport BitChute: Bitchute.com/channel/9EB8glubb0Ns/ Clouthub: app.clouthub.com/#/users/u/naturalnews/posts Join the free NaturalNews.com email newsletter to stay alerted about breaking news each day. Download my current audio books including Ghost World, Survival Nutrition, The Global Reset Survival Guide and The Contagious Mind at: https://Audiobooks.NaturalNews.com/ Download my new audio book, Resilient Prepping at ResilientPrepping.com it teaches you how to survive the total collapse of civilization and the loss of both the power grid and combustion engines. (Natural News) During the rushed clinical trials for Pfizers covid-19 vaccine, study participants were injured and killed. Instead of halting the experiment at once, Pfizer tried to cover up the adverse events by unblinding the study and removing the patients who were injured and killed. A German publication, Die Welt, has uncovered the stories of patients who were seriously injured and killed by Pfizers fraudulent clinical trials. Remember, Pfizer and the FDA wanted to cover up these stories for 75 years, but were forced to release clinical trial data via court order. Pfizer forced study participants to sign liability waiver, pardoning Pfizer for fraud When subjects lined up for the clinical trials, they were forced to sign a liability waiver holding Pfizer harmless for negligence and for fraud or bad faith on the part of Pfizer itself. These sadistic Pfizer contracts could be null and void because provable fraud vitiates all contracts and violates public policy by encouraging FRAUD. However, individuals injured during the clinical trials were removed from the scientific literature and intimidated into silence. Their injuries were considered not from the vaccine. On August 31, 2020, the test management company for Pfizer unblinded 53 subjects from the clinical trial at their Buenos Aires test center. These subjects were told of their vaccination status and allowed to get jabbed, destroying the control group and covering up the disparity of symptoms observed in the vaccinated subjects. These acts of malicious fraud paved the way for Pfizer to blatantly cover up the deaths of study participants. Serial homicide cannot be swept under the rug forever Pfizer Subject C4591001 1162 11621327 was a 60-year-old man who died of arteriosclerosis three days after receiving his first dose of the Pfizer covid vaccine. Even though autopsy results were not available and relevant tests were unknown, the medical examiner claimed that the death was from progression of atherosclerotic disease. Pfizer concurred with the medical examiner and no investigation was initiated to find out why the recently vaccinated man died, and died so suddenly at that. Pfizer subject 11621327 suffered from a stroke just three days after receiving a second dose of the Pfizer covid vaccine. He was found dead in his apartment. Pfizer subject 11521497 suffered from cardiac arrest just twenty days after vaccination. Pfizer conducted an internal investigation and ruled that the deaths had nothing to do with their vaccine. Not everyone agreed with Pfizer in these cases. According to the current state of science, these two cases would be assigned to the vaccination, said Berlin pharmaceutical specialist Susanne Wagner, especially since the US health authority CDC is currently investigating strokes in vaccinated people and it is known. A 36-year-old lawyer from Argentina, Augusto Roux, signed up for the clinical trials. He came down with burning chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea, and fever immediately after returning home from his second dose of the Pfizer covid jab. During the initial 40-minute observation period, Roux was fine, but on his way home, the symptoms took him off guard. At the hospital, doctors had to remove fluid that had formed around his heart. He suffered from a pericardial effusion, and his urine turned black. In the discharge report, doctors described the situation as a high probability of an adverse reaction to the coronavirus vaccine. Roux spent the next few months dealing with irregular heart beat, liver problems, and sudden weight loss. Pfizer ultimately lied about Rouxs life-threatening vaccine injury, and did not include an honest report about his injury in the clinical trial reports. Pfizer described the situation as an adverse event of toxicity level 1 that had nothing to do with the vaccine, because a covid infection could not be ruled out. Granted, Roux tested negative multiple times for covid while he was suffering through the vaccine injuries. Due to Pfizers blatant acts of fraud, deception, and their repeated attempts to unblind their trial and obscure the data, the pharmaceutical company could have all their contracts revoked their self-imposed liability protections shredded. Everyone involved in these acts of medical malfeasance must be held accountable. Sources include: Igorchudov.substack.com DieWelt.pdf NaturalNews.com (Natural News) The politician recalled that the day before, President Vladimir Putin gave his State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly which announced, among other things, the suspension of Russias participation in the Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START, New START) (Article republished from TASS.com) MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. The world faces a global conflict if Washingtons goal is to defeat Moscow. Russia will defend itself by any means, including with nuclear weapons, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said. It is obvious to all the powers that be that if the US wants to defeat Russia, we are heading for a conflict on a global scale. If the US wants to defeat Russia, we have the right to defend ourselves with any weapon, including of the nuclear kind, he wrote on his Telegram channel on Wednesday. Imminent solution Medvedev recalled that the day before, President Vladimir Putin gave his State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly which announced, among other things, the suspension of Russias participation in the Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START, New START). This decision was long overdue, I pointed to it last year, the politician said. According to his assessment, the decision, which was due to the war declared on Russia by the US and other NATO countries, will have big reverberations for the world at large and for Washington in particular. After all, the American establishments reasoning so far has been the following: we will interfere in your affairs, we will supply copious amounts of weapons to the Kiev regime, we will work to defeat Russia, we will limit and destroy you, but strategic security is a separate topic. Its not related to the overall context of the US-Russia relationship. It is almost like a sacred cow, Medvedev noted. This conclusion, he continued, is worse than a crime it is the Americans grave mistake. According to the politician, this is a mistake born of their mania grandiosa, that is, their sense of superiority and impunity. He quoted Putin as saying that it was impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield and noted that this is exactly why we have suspended New START (for now). Let the US elites who have lost touch with reality think about what they have achieved. Lets also watch the reaction of other NATO nuclear powers: France and the UK. Their strategic nuclear forces were not usually included in the list of nuclear warheads and carriers when preparing agreements between the United States and the USSR (Russia), but it is high time to do so, Medvedev summed up. Read more at: TASS.com (Natural News) The World Health Organization (WHO) is claiming that vaccinations are among the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions a sentiment that did not quite sit well with many. On its official website, the global health body lauded vaccinations disguised under the less-threatening immunization as one of modern medicines greatest success stories. The WHOs endorsement of vaccinations also extends to that of the injection for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). But Patrick Tims, staff writer for NaturalHealth365, begged to differ. The widely accepted narrative is that public health interventions are economically efficient and a net positive for the human condition. Yet we know this narrative is a pure lie, given the fact that the [COVID-19 vaccine] has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths, he wrote. Tims further cited information from the WHOs webpage about COVID-19, which claimed that getting injected with the clot shots provide strong protection against serious illness, hospitalization and death. Moreover, the global health body cited some evidence that getting the vaccine will make it less likely for people to pass the virus on to others. The WHO wants you to blindly accept that the decision to get injected is a public service that will eventually halt the spread of this deadly virus, he pointed out, reminding people that the COVID-19 vaccines ultimately do not protect against infection nor prevent transmission. In fact, the COVID-19 shots actually cause more harm than good as evidenced by the reports of serious adverse reactions following injections. Most prominent among them are the blood clots and the cardiac inflammation frequently linked to the mRNA vaccines. COVID shots are actually the most successful and cost-effective depopulation measure To back up his point, Tims cited a Dec. 28, 2022 report by the Daily Expose regarding deaths in England caused by the COVID-19 vaccine. The report zoomed in on a July 6, 2022 report by the U.K. Office for National Statistics (ONS) that broke down deaths based on age and COVID-19 vaccination status from January to May of that year. The report found that Britons 18 to 69 years old who were injected with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine reported the highest mortality rates from January to May. Among the 70- to 79-year-old cohort, those injected with two doses or more reported the highest mortality. For those above 80 years of age, those injected with at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine reported higher mortality rates than unvaccinated individuals in the cohort. (Related: U.K. government says vaccinated are dying at a rate 286% higher than unvaccinated.) Moreover, the mortality rate of unvaccinated individuals across all cohorts never went beyond the 50 percent mark for the five months reported. The Expose mentioned that based on the ONS report, the COVID-19 vaccines are proving to be deadly, with the vaccinated experiencing significantly higher mortality rates than the unvaccinated in every age group. These alarming figures quietly published by the [British] government, cannot be ignored. It is crucial that we address the dangers of these vaccines and take action to protect ourselves and our loved ones, the outlet noted. Tims also put in his two cents on the report, saying that Downing Streets shocking admission about the deaths caused by the COVID-19 vaccine would conflict with the WHOs statements. If you were to force officials from the U.K. to sit in a room with representatives from WHO to discuss the safety and efficacy of the COVID shots, you would witness quite the cognitive dissonance play out, he wrote. As soon as you embrace that idea that youve been lied to, youll begin to question the WHOs endgame. How can a supposedly charitable organization turn a blind eye to the negative health consequences of the COVID shots? Critical thinkers rightfully question whether the COVID shots are a means to a nefarious end that will never be fully revealed to the masses. Watch Martin Brodel talk about the British governments revelation that the COVID-19 vaccines are linked to hundreds of thousands of deaths below. This video is from the Martin Brodel channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Infertility: A Diabolical Agenda film exposes WHO for engaging in vaccine population control experiment. Analysis of 13 months of UK data shows vaccines cause more deaths for all age groups. WHO now openly admitting that vaccines cause more polio than actual wild virus. Data show excess mortality all around the world due to covid vaccines. UK covering up THOUSANDS of COVID-19 vaccine deaths. Sources include: NaturalHealth365.com WHO.int 1 WHO.int 2 Expose-News.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) Former kickboxer and social media influencer Andrew Tate is sitting in a Romanian prison right now after he was arrested on Dec. 29, 2022, on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and forming an organized crime group. And new evidence suggests he was framed. Along with his brother Tristan and two other alleged partners, Tate had been under investigation since April after at least six women came forward with claims that they had been sexually exploited. Here is what prosecutors had to say about the matter: The four suspects appear to have created an organized crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialized websites for a cost. They would have gained important sums of money. Sounds scummy, right? Well, apparently it was all a frame job. The Twitter account @ShaykhSulaiman (Sulaiman Ahmed) tweeted verified messages that were leaked, showing that the women accusing Tate and his cadre of criminal activity set the whole thing up to frame him. They manipulated the Tates into believing they loved them & framed them by involving the embassy SHORTLY after arriving. (Related: Last fall, Andrew Tate was banned from social media for exposing the covid scamdemic and telling the world that men are being disenfranchised in todays society.) Female accusers discussed acting and shedding fake tears before reporting the Tates for alleged criminal activity Immediately upon their arrival to Romania on April 6 of last year, the United States women called the U.S. embassy to frame Tate. This prompted one of the womens moms to tell her to go to hell. The whole AMERICAN EMBASSY is on alert because of you, she said to the girl, named Emma. Apparently the plot was pre-planned long in advance to target and take out the Tate brothers. Before the Tates even would have had the chance to traffic these women, these women were plotting their escape after notifying the embassy. We have MADE the brothers believe we are in love, one of the girls wrote. Tristan doesnt really care if I LEAVE, wrote another. They think we will run back, said another. The group chat in which all these women were conversing via Whats App included correspondence about the fake performance they planned to give before the authorities to ensure the Tates would get locked up as planned. You are a good actress, one, named Aliona, said. I practiced, responded Emma. Play Dumb, Aliona then said in response. Im going to pull some tears out. Just one day before Tates properties in Bucharest were raided, the girls joked about needing and OSCAR for their performance. Saying [sic] a nice message saying we are hurt or s*** like that and we do love them, the girls discussed. We are writing a movie ASAP, Emma joked amid the conversation. Lets [sic] email Netflix ASAP, Aliona then said. Hulu, Amazon Prime, Emma brainstormed. The @ShaykhSulaiman Twitter account claims to have personally verified the authenticity of these message. There is a time stamp issue in some of the screenshots but the account says these are due to a glitch / download issue. If these were doctored then fake times would have been created to stop any contentions, the account further explained. But it was important that no one changed the original document. To recap, the girls brainwashed the Tates into believing they loved them. Then they framed the men by calling the U.S. embassy and reporting them before planning their escape and discussing the potential to turn the whole performance into a movie. More related news can be found at Corruption.news. Sources for this article include: FoxNews.com TheReaderApp.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) New research published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) reveals that most infant formulas come with health and nutrition claims that are not backed by science and that, in many cases, are flat-out fraudulent. A team of researchers from the United Kingdom, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Romania, Australia, Nigeria, Israel, Norway, and the United States looked at nearly 800 different baby formulas sold around the world. They specifically evaluated the health and nutrition claims on the label that entice mothers into buying and using them rather than breastfeeding. Upon analysis, 608 of the products were found to contain one or more questionable health claims. More than half, 53 percent, claim they help or support brain, eye, and nervous system development. Another 39 percent claim they assist in strengthening or supporting a healthy immune system. Thirty-seven percent of the infant formula products claim that babies who consume it will grow and develop healthy. Overall, 41 groups of ingredients were found to be linked to one or more of these health claims. The most common ones indicated include long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, prebiotics, probiotics, or synbiotics, and hydrolyzed protein. Half of the formulas include claims that do not point towards any specific ingredient. (Related: Remember when fake president Joe Biden sent Americas limited supplies of baby formula straight to the southern border so they could be consumed by illegal aliens instead of American babies?) 75% of baby formulas dont (cant) back up their health claims Of the hundreds of infant formulas evaluated, a shocking three out of four of them contain health claims that are not, and cannot, be backed by any type of science. The 26 percent that do cite studies of questionable origin and accuracy, according to the @Babygravy9 (RAW EGG NATIONALIST) Twitter account. When references were made available on an infant formula label, 56 percent of the time the findings came from clinical trials. The rest came from reviews, opinion pieces, or other types of research including animal studies. Nine in 10 health claims came from clinical trials carrying a high risk of bias, the study delineates. Whats more, 88 percent of registered trials included study authors who received funding from the formula industry or had direct connections to the business. None of this will come as a shock to folks who are familiar with the baby formula industry and its constant efforts to vilify breastfeeding as inferior. We are constantly told by the industry that man-made formulas are superior, even though they lack the power of breast milk, a nutritional powerhouse that is simply unmatched. The case of baby formula is basically the history of nutrition over the last century, in a nutshell, the @Babygravy9 Twitter account tweeted about the study. We have a perfect animal-based product, in need of no improvement, replaced by inferior products of industrial origin, with serious negative effects. On Twitter, numerous people responded to the news with personal anecdotes, including one man who says the infant formula push on new parents is very real and very noticeable. My son was born 4 months ago and my wife had some initial discomfort breastfeeding, this person wrote. The number of people telling us to switch to formula was startling. Another mentioned an easy way to weed out bad doctors and pediatricians from the good is to ask his opinion on formula. Its startling how a mothers intuition has become so easily overridden by studies,' said someone else. Why it is not painfully obvious to everyone that breastmilk is superior? I will never understand. More related news can be found at Conspiracy.news. Sources for this article include: BMJ.com TheReaderApp.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) The White House chief doctor declared President Joe Biden physically fit to work, but conveniently omitted a cognitive test sparking allegations of a coverup. In a Feb. 16 memorandum, White House Physician to the President Dr. Kevin OConnor noted that Biden remains fit for duty and fully executes all of his responsibilities without any exemptions or accommodations. OConnor noted in the five-page health summary that Biden has no residual symptoms from his Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in July 2022. He continues to take medication for both atrial fibrillation and cholesterol, despite being asymptomatic for the former and having low levels of the latter. Biden also experiences acid reflux, the reason why he is heard clearing his throat, OConnor said. The physician also gave Biden the green light in his previous physical examination in November 2021. That time, OConnor remarked that the president had a stiffened gait following a foot fracture. The Feb. 16 assessment said while this gait remains stiff, it has not worsened. The chief doctor also mentioned that the president showed no disorders such as the possibility of a stroke, multiple sclerosis or Parkinsons disease following an extremely detailed neurological exam. Rep. Jackson: WH covering up Bidens decline However, Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) accused the Biden administration of covering up the presidents cognitive decline. Jackson, who served as physician to the president under the Trump administration, asserted that Bidens ability to think and reason is gone. (Related: Biden transformation during speech raises concerns about his health.) Is he on any drugs to treat his mental decline? This exam was a joke, he tweeted, noting that OConnor did not include a neurological assessment in his memo. Trump had one, why not him? He shouldnt be president. Other doctors also expressed doubt over Bidens cognitive faculties. Family and emergency physician Dr. Janette Nesheiwat questioned the presidents performance on his mini mental status exam. How did he do on that? What was his score? I would like to know. Physical, mental [and] emotional health are all as equally important, she said. The job of the presidency is a very demanding, stressful job. We must ensure our leader is physically, mentally and emotionally capable, especially when it comes to, decisions, regarding life and death and the overall health, safety and well-being of our nation. Dr. Marc Siegel, a contributor to Fox News, shared the same sentiment as Nesheiwat. During an appearance on Tucker Carlson Tonight, he expressed doubts about how OConnor and the rest of Bidens doctors arrived at those results without a complete battery of testing. Siegel zoomed in on Bidens stiff gait, which the White House chief doctor also observed. It is sometimes a sign of cognitive problems, he told program host Tucker Carlson, adding that it was attributed to peripheral neuropathy, meaning loss of sensation in his feet. But Siegel noted that the presidents physicians dont know where thats coming from. Theyre basing that on a physical examination of multiple doctors but no MRI. I dont see anywhere in there about an MRI. This physical exam is more significant for what it leaves out than what it actually tells us. Visit JoeBiden.news for more stories about the incumbent president. Watch Pete Santilli explain below why Bidens medical exam, and everything else in America, is a cover-up. This video is from The Pete Santilli Show channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Just a gaffe or more dementia? Biden tells 82nd Airborne members theyre heading into Ukraine. POTUS says son Beau died in Iraq. He actually died at Walter Reed Hospital in Bethesda, Md. Could HALF of America soon be just as cognitively impaired as Joe Biden? SENILE CHINA JOE: Biden brags to the whole world that he came to the United States Senate 120 years ago. Sources include: InfoWars.com WhiteHouse.gov NBCNews.com FoxNews.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) Internal emails from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that the public health agency had already been aware of the links between the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines and myocarditis (heart muscle inflammation) as early as May 2021. Zachary Stieber of the Epoch Times made this revelation in a Feb. 15 Twitter thread. He shared more than 1,000 pages of emails sent between May 10 to 17, 2021 about myocarditis reports linked to the COVID-19 vaccines. The said correspondences were obtained via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. One email reported around five or six cases of post-Pfizer vaccine myocarditis in healthy males in the United States. Another email from Boston physician Dr. Jane Newburger shared more and more cases of youth who are developing myocarditis within a short time after the second COVID-19 vaccine [dose]. A third email from Dr. Angela J.P. Campbell asked for a meeting with CDC officials to clarify their response to these cases, as she did not have a clear understanding of what is and has been done. As the emails were being sent, the vaccine safety work group for CDCs advisory panel said there were relatively few reports of myocarditis after vaccination and that most cases appear to be mild, Stieber pointed out. Moreover, one of the emails from the CDCs Dr. John Su said the team could not find myocarditis cases in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Seemingly, providers arent reporting these cases to VAERS, he pointed out. Su serves as the lead for the CDCs VAERS team. CDC feigning ignorance of myocarditis cases A CDC spokesperson denied the allegations put forward in the emails. They told the Epoch Times that an association between myocarditis and mRNA COVID-19 vaccination was not known in April 2021. It is from June 2021 that data began to indicate a potential association between the vaccines and myocarditis. VAERS has been monitoring for myocarditis since December 2020, said a second CDC spokesperson, noting that since the link between the vaccine and the heart illness wasnt apparent until after April 2021. The CDC only started assembling a team to focus upon reports of myocarditis in May 2021. (Related: CDC study: COVID-19 mRNA shots increase risk of myocarditis by 13,200%.) VAERS has recorded a total of 34,385 deaths, 192,145 hospitalizations, 18,570 heart attacks and 26,446 myocarditis and pericarditis cases as of Feb. 10. Nevertheless, the public health agency has repeatedly insisted that cases of myocarditis are a rare risk for those who received the mRNA shots. These rare cases of myocarditis or pericarditis have occurred most frequently in adolescent and young adult males, ages 16 years and older, within seven days after receiving the second dose of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna). There has not been a similar reporting pattern observed after receipt of the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine (Johnson & Johnson), the CDC said on its website. Visit CDC.news for more stories about the public health agency. Watch this segment from The HighWire where Del Bigtree and Jefferey Jaxen discuss Pfizer missing the deadline to submit myocarditis data. This video is from the Scriptural Scrutiny channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Study finds possible link between Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine and myocarditis in children. CDC admits myocarditis being linked to COVID-19 vaccines is TRUE, not misinformation. NBC News now admits covid vaccines may be linked to myocarditis, after YEARS of claiming it was misinformation. GOT CLOT SHOT CARDITIS? Myocarditis commercial for CHILDREN conveniently leaves out the most likely cause. Canadian doctor warns 50% of kids who got myocarditis from COVID-19 vaccines will be DEAD in 5 years. Sources include: LifeSiteNews.com DocumentCloud.org Brighteon.com (Natural News) The Gun Owners of America (GOA) filed a federal lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) over its controversial pistol brace rule. The lawsuit filed on Feb. 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas named the GOA, the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as plaintiffs. It sought to challenge the ATFs pistol brace ban, which took effect on Jan. 31. Under the new rule, Americans will have to register or destroy approximately 40 million lawfully owned firearms equipped with pistol stabilizers or braces within 120 days. Those refusing to comply will face possible felony charges. Our complaint makes clear that the agencys rule violates the Second Amendment text, history and tradition standard set forth by the Supreme Court in its recent [New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen] case, the GOA said. We also show how the gun ban violates the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution, not to mention that its an invalid exercise of the federal governments taxing power. (Related: GOA files suit against the ATFs pistol brace rule.) Paxton also denounced the ATF for its capricious rule, saying: There is absolutely no legal basis for ATFs haphazard decision to try to change the long-standing classification for stabilizing braces, force registration on Americans and then throw them in jail for ten years if they dont quickly comply. According to the lawsuit, the federal law enforcement agency has been inconsistent on the issue of pistol braces for almost ten years now. Originally, the ATF stated that such accessories would not convert pistols into short-barreled rifles (SBRs) a sentiment it stood by in 2014. Under the Biden administration, ATF has now revoked or radically altered all of its previous classification letters. Gun owners are now suffering under the new normal where [President] Joe Biden is dead set on banning as many firearms as he can. GOA also fighting threats to 2A in other states The GOA is also fighting threats to the Second Amendment at the state level. On Feb. 9, the gun rights group scored a legal victory after the Oregon Supreme Court sided with the GOA. The Beaver States high court denied the state governments request to overturn a preliminary injunction GOA previously obtained. The injunction came in response to GOAs challenge against Oregons gun control measure that bans magazines over 10 rounds and mandates a permit to purchase any firearm. The mandate also requires would-be buyers to finish a yet-to-exist training course, pay an application fee, have their fingerprints collected and undergo a duplicative background check before the said permit to purchase is issued. The gun rights group also filed a lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction to challenge Illinois ban on commonly-owned firearms arbitrarily classified as assault weapons. The said ban, under the Protect Illinois Communities Act, was signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Jan. 10. It officially prohibited the sale, possession and distribution of assault weapons such as AR-15s. Those owning firearms restricted under the law must now register with the Illinois State Police. According to Pritzker, the Highland Park shooting that happened on July 4, 2022 that killed seven and wounded dozens was on his mind while signing the bill. But this did not sit well with the GOA and GOF, which joined a federal lawsuit against the mandate on Jan. 24. Illinois is setting themselves up to just be the latest state that quickly gets slapped sternly on the wrist for passing unconstitutional gun control, remarked GOA Executive Director and GOF board member Sam Paredes. GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt remarked that instead of threatening law enforcement for upholding their oaths to the Constitution, Pritzker should be exponentially increasing his efforts to rein in violent crime in Chicago, most of which is committed with illegally owned handguns. Visit SecondAmendment.news for more stories about challenges to the right to keep and bear arms. Watch Glenn Beck explains how the ATFs pistol brace rule would turn 40 million gun owners into criminals below. This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Two dozen states line up to sue Biden admin over pistol brace rule. Illinois judge issues restraining order blocking new assault weapons ban from taking effect Growing number of Illinois sheriffs say theyll refuse to enforce new gun control law passed by Democrats. ATF bans stabilizing braces on pistols that were legally purchased, turning millions of gun owners into instant criminals. Sources include: GunOwners.org 1 News.Yahoo.com GunOwners.org 2 Brighteon.com (Natural News) Photojournalist Michael Yon is no stranger to combat, having served in the U.S. Special Forces and documented the war in Iraq as a journalist, so what he says about what is going on along the U.S.-Mexico border and invasion should be taken seriously. Every day I am with them I see a sprinkling among the masses a few who appear dangerously insane. And another sprinkling of obvious predatory males, he wrote, adding that a group he saw cross recently at Puerto Limon in Darien Gap, in southern Panama, appears okay. I did not see any craziness among this group in the about 30 mins I spent with them. As of today, about 1,000/day are flowing through Darien Gap from more than one hundred countries, he wrote earlier this week. He notes that the funding for migrant assistance comes from various sources, including contributions from governments and international organizations like the United Nations (UN), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the World Food Program, as well as charities such as the Red Cross. In some cases, the migrants themselves also contribute to their own assistance. For example, Yon noted, an Afghan in one group mentioned that someone in America was paying for his journey. Meanwhile, some of the Indians mentioned that they paid around $20,000 each, while some of the Chinese reported paying $7,000 to facilitate their migration. He noted further that after getting a couple of Real Americas News journalists to the region and back safely, I hired two Chinese translators and headed straight back to Darien. (Thanks to donations). Both Chinese are fluent in English and Spanish. One speaks Cantonese and the other Mandarin. All the migrants spoke Mandarin. None spoke Cantonese. We gathered much information. Yon then observed, ominously: This is an obvious invasion force. Most of them likely have no idea yet. As a former Green Beret, and having spent many years in many wars and conflicts, and an equal time with nose in history books this all is amazingly clear. He adds: My estimation: They will later be armed with phones. Many will be assembled in camps within USA. Most will be left to the wilds. Yon went on to observe that he believes migrants being assisted through various programs will be subjected to indoctrination that promotes hatred towards whites, including those who are of Asian descent or who are not strongly biased against whites. This phenomenon is reminiscent of a process known as kulakisation, which took place in Ukraine before and during the great famine under Stalins regime. In that instance, the government labeled people they wanted to eliminate as kulaks, which is a similar process to what has been experienced by Jews throughout history. The labeling of people as racist in the United States can be seen as a similar type of process, where people are targeted based on their perceived views on race, which can result in social ostracization and discrimination, he noted. These labels are often vague and can be applied to anyone for almost anything. In the past, people have been used as weapons against groups like kulaks, Jews, and many others, which has resulted in the demonization of these groups. This type of behavior is dangerous as it can result in people being armed and acting without rules or boundaries, he added. When these individuals are ready and armed, their food supply is likely to be cut off. They will then resort to using guns and knives to steal food and other resources, as well as to commit heinous acts such as rape, murder, and torture. Many of these individuals have been raised in an environment of savagery, which has led to a culture of violence, hatred, and cruelty. Therefore, it is important to be aware of the dangers associated with these types of situations and to take steps to prevent them from occurring, Yon said. He noted further: This all has been done many times. This is not conspiracy theory. This is Real History repeating. The invaders will be organized by ethnicity. Haitians with Haitians, Cubans with Cubans, Chechens with Chechens, etc with etcetera. After the killing is done, many of them will be killed. Because they are useful idiots, and nobody wants those savages around. Especially not the elite who facilitated the invasion and organization. This is the way these things go. The elite want slaves and spoils. These so-called migrants will kill millions if they are not stopped. Watch. When the food and power go out. It will be kill or be killed. WATCH: Sources include: MichaelYon.com NaturalNews.com (Natural News) Social media giant Twitter now led by Elon Musk is now barraged by lawsuits demanding that it pay its bills amounting to more than $14 million plus interest. At least nine lawsuits were filed by landlords, consultants and vendors who, in the past months, have demanded payments. The suits came amid the company trying to cut costs and break even since the SpaceX and Tesla CEO took over in a $44 billion purchase. (Related: Elon Musk changes course, now says he plans to go through with Twitter purchase.) Among the payments due include a $7,000 bill released by Twitters marketing department for a swag gift box for Musk given before the $44 billion agreement closed on Oct. 27. The vendor in charge of the box insists that no payment has been given yet. The said gift box included a sandblasted logo on a Japanese whisky bottle, an extra-large bomber jacket and more than $250 worth of socks, according to court filings. In a separate case, a marketing company alleged that Twitter owes it nearly $400,000 for company-branded merchandise. Twitter is also facing at least three lawsuits connected to office space, as well as allegations of failing to pay almost $6.8 million in rent for its San Francisco headquarters in December 2022 and January 2023. Last year, it racked up a $239 million bill which mostly went to office space and data center facilities. A report in December also pointed out that Musk was no longer paying rent on Twitters Seattle office and was also planning to shutter one of the companys New York locations. Musk auctioned off office supplies, furniture Musk quickly adopted a thrifty attitude toward spending from the time he stepped foot inside the company headquarters. To this end, he auctioned off office supplies and furniture including a large Twitter bird statue and other thousand-dollar items. Several luxury items were auctioned off, including a $20,000 espresso machine, a $10,000 vegetable dryer and a $17,000 braising pan. Other furniture sold off included an @-shaped planter, chairs, tables and kegs. Aside from this, the San Francisco headquarters was compressed from four floors to two. Twitter under musk did away with lavish perks, leaving the bare essentials in this case, offices that reeked of leftover takeout and body odor. Housekeeping was eschewed after Musk dismissed janitors who went on strike to ask for better wages. This was not the first time Musk tightened belts at Twitter. He earlier reduced staff and costs in response to an advertiser withdrawal and deal-connected debt expenses. He also publicly denounced the companys spending, along with the $13 million spent every year on employee meals. Even though he originally indicated that Twitter could face bankruptcy because of losing over $4 million per day, Musk has lately said that the company is now making headway toward breaking even. Twitter is presently private and no longer publicly reports its financial records. Restructuring expert Van Conway, who has almost 40 years of experience helping distressed companies, commented on Musks actions to save money. What Musk is doing is essentially mimicking a bankruptcy, he said. He is slashing costs with a machete. Follow ElonMuskWatch.com for more news about Elon Musk and Twitter. Watch European Union Commissioner Vera Jourova warn Elon Musk about lax moderation on Twitter below. This video is from the Red Voice Media channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Elon Musk threatens to release Twitters emails related to the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story. EU pressures Elon Musk to be fully compliant with blocs new social media regulations. Could it be that Elon Musks intent to purchase Twitter was a head fake to expose their fraud to the SEC? Elon Musks Twitter purchase prompts conservatives to tweet previously censored messages as new censorship test for the platform. Elon Musk calls for probe of left-wing, Soros-linked groups trying to pressure Twitter advertisers to leave platform. Sources include: WSJ.com DailyMail.co.uk Brighteon.com (Natural News) Russian President Vladimir Putin is taking several steps that make nuclear war with the United States far more likely now than at any time since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. During an address to the Russian people this week, and in response to the growing diplomatic tensions between Moscow and the West, Putin announced that Moscow would be suspending its participation in the last remaining major nuclear-arms-control treaty between the United States and Russia. Additionally, Putin has stated that Russia will continue its military campaign in Ukraine, further exacerbating the divide between Russia and Western nations, The Wall Street Journal reported. Putins recent comments regarding the New Start arms-control treaty were made as part of a comprehensive address to Russias federal legislature in Moscow. During the speech, he reiterated his belief that the West has been responsible for provoking what he has called a special military operation in Ukraine. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden gave a speech in Poland this week as well, following a recent visit to Kyiv where he reaffirmed the United States commitment to supporting Ukraine, the WSJ reported. They want to deal us a strategic defeat and are meddling with our nuclear facilities. In this context, I have to declare today that Russia is suspending its participation in the Treaty on Strategic Offensive Arms, the Russian leader told the federal assembly. The WSJ noted further: The U.S. State Department in a report sent to Congress last month concluded that Russia had already violated the New Start treaty to cut long-range nuclear arms by refusing to allow on-site inspections and rebuffing Washingtons requests to discuss its compliance concerns. It was the first time the U.S. had accused Russia of violating the treaty, which came into force in 2011, and came amid worsening tensions between Washington and Moscow over the war in Ukraine. The Biden administration had been eager to preserve the New Start treaty, and had pressed Russia to correct the violations. Meanwhile, the Russian Federation is calling for an international investigation into the sabotage of the countrys Nordstream natural gas pipelines after a lengthy report from an American journalist claimed that the Biden regime was responsible. The United States has dismissed Russias accusation of provoking a military conflict in Ukraine as completely false. The US has accused Russia of attempting to deflect attention from criticism of its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, 2022, and its ongoing attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, the Washington Post reported this week. These exchanges took place at the United Nations Security Council, which has become the only public forum for direct, and often hostile, communication between the US and Russia. Among the 15-member council, only China expressed complete support for Russias proposal for a special United Nations inquiry, the Post added. A simple statement of utterly false and complete fiction is obviously not enough to answer the many questions and concerns raised around the world, said Chinas U.N. ambassador, Zhang Jun, referring to the U.S. rejection of the Nord Stream sabotage charge. The request for an independent investigation is entirely legitimate and reasonable, he added, according to the Post. Sweden, Denmark, and Germany have been conducting investigations into the damage caused to Nordstream some five months later, the paper noted. According to a letter from those governments to the Security Council on Tuesday, the investigations have revealed that the pipelines suffered extensive damage due to powerful explosions caused by sabotage. These investigations have not yet been concluded, the letter said, according to the Post, and at this point, it is not possible to say when they will be concluded. Russian authorities have been informed regarding the ongoing investigations, the letter added. Why our Democratic president wants a nuclear war with Russia is anyones guess. Sources include: WashingtonPost.com WSJ.com (Natural News) Spain is set to decriminalize bestiality after the countrys Congress of Deputies, which is tantamount to the U.S. House of Representatives, approved a proposed amendment to the Spanish Penal Code. Russia Today initially reported that the amendment, which includes an animal welfare bill, was introduced by Social Rights Minister Ione Belarra. She has promoted the amendment as a way to protect the well-being of animals regardless if they are pets or wild animals. The amendment sought to revise provisions in the Spanish Penal Code, which has treated bestiality as a form of abuse since 2015. Under the current law, causing injuries that seriously impair the health of animals or subjecting them to sexual exploitation would merit a prison term of three months to one year. If approved, the previous statute would be deleted and replaced with a new one titled crimes against animals. Under the new law, only animal owners who cause injury to an animal requiring veterinary treatment to restore its health by any means or procedure, including acts of a sexual nature would be subjected to punishment. This means having sexual relations with an animal will be perfectly legal so long as it doesnt cause serious harm to the animal. Aside from potentially decriminalizing bestiality, the new bill would penalize Spaniards who kill rats in their homes with jail time and fines of up to 50,000 ($53,000). It would also ban the sale of puppies and kittens in pet stores, and would also ban certain animals to be kept as pets including spiders, turtles, lizards, snakes and chameleons. The Congress of Deputies approved the proposed amendment. As of writing, it is now awaiting final approval in the Spanish Senate. Spain leading the way in European wokeism Rick Wiles, TruNews host and founder, blasted Spanish progressives such as Belarra for deliberately destroying Western civilization with their woke political ideologies. The [Spanish] lower louse passed a supposedly animal rights and welfare bill, but inside that bill is a provision that actually decriminalizes bestiality. It says that any sexual act between a human and an animal that injures the animal is illegal, he said, pointing out that the sexual act remains legal as long as it does not hurt the animal. Thats a slick, sly and sneaky way for socialists to legalize bestiality in Spain. TruNews co-host Raymond Doc Burkhart agreed, citing a tweet from Polands Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro. The Polish official spoke against leftism, which he called the plague of the 21st century, in a tweet. The Spaniards allowed children to change their sex on demand. Now they legalize bestiality and the use of a rat trap is punishable by imprisonment. The leftist virus is also circulating with us, Ziobro tweeted. The Polish justice minister tagged Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, saying the mayor of the Polish capital was infected by it. Wiles added that the Spanish socialists are leading European Union nations into wickedness and bringing about the destruction of society with their gender-changing laws and mutilation of childrens bodies and now legalizing sexual relationships with animals. (Related: Decriminalize sex with animals: Zoophilia pride marchers demand LGBTQI+ movement add a Z.) I dont know how sane, normal people could put a stop to this. Because eventually, our entire civilization will collapse, he said. Watch this TruNews segment where Rick Wiles and Doc Burkhart discuss Spains legalization of bestiality. This video is from the TruNews channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: German protesters demand right to have sex with animals, including dogs, horses, boars and anything else they can catch. Vermont goes all-in for baby murder with constitutional amendment enshrining abortion as a human right. Gnosticism is the ancient heretical ideology behind todays transgenderism and abortion movements. Experts question long-term effects of breast mutilation surgery on quality of life of transgender youth. Sources include: Brighteon.com RT.com (Natural News) A Los Angeles couple sued the makers of oil used by fertility clinics to maintain embryos during in-vitro fertilization (IVF), alleging that a toxic batch of this oil destroyed nine of their fertilized eggs. The unidentified couple, represented by attorney Adam Wolf, accused Fujifilm Irvine Scientific (FIS) of negligence in the complaint filed in the Superior Court of Orange County. The said complaint indicated the products manufacturing and design defect, alongside its failure to warn hopeful parents and recall the oil. According to Wolf, he is also representing a dozen other traumatized families victimized by the same incident. According to the Daily Mail, FIS quietly recalled four of its production lots on Jan. 16 following complaints of embryos complete degradation. In the initial recall notice for the four batches, the Santa Ana, California-based firm said clients reported blastocyst development, including complete degradation in some cases during culture of human embryos. However, Wolf noted that the said recall notice was not widely broadcast. The oil plays a vital role by serving as an extra layer of protection for embryos cultured during IVF. According to the FIS website, the said oil prevents evaporation, changes in osmolality and pH shifts, while providing the optimal in vitro environment for development. It added that any potential deficiencies in the affected lots for oil for embryo culture may result in impairment of embryo development. The plaintiffs are also asking for both economic and non-economic damages, as well as an injunction to ensure that their biological material does not come into contact with any more contaminated oil. According to the attorney, one fertility clinic had tested the recalled oil on mouse embryos to determine its toxicity and true enough, all the embryos were destroyed. He dubbed the companys failure to quickly publicize the recall as outrageous, adding that its procrastination on the matter could have resulted in more embryos needlessly being destroyed. Only FIS knows exactly what was in its oil that made it toxic, Wolf remarked. FIS goes on the defensive The Jan. 16 recall notice issued by FIS to fertility clinics said the company received a small number of complaints. It added that FIS performed an extensive investigation following these complaints. The notice, penned by FIS Chief Compliance and Quality Officer Marlin Frechette, said that the oil product had met specifications before being shipped out. However, the internal investigation revealed toxicity in three lots which were then pulled out. A fourth lot was also pulled out because it was made from the same batch of raw materials as the three recalled earlier. It is important that these devices are not used, wrote Frechette. However, her letter was not widely shared a point Wolf noted in the lawsuit. FIS spokesman Joe Metzger seconded the points in the notice through a statement. He noted that the company promptly initiated a comprehensive investigation after receiving the complaints, and recalled the four lots of IVF oil out of an abundance of caution. We will respond to legal claims in the legal process, Metzger emphasized. We want to make sure [FIS] ensures this doesnt happen again, Wolf said. I would hope that a company that has committed such a wrong would apologize, take accountability and right the issue. Find more stories about defective and dangerous products at Products.news. Watch this video that discusses ethical issues regarding IVF and other forms of procreation. This video is from the Divine Truth The Narrow Way channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: IVF clinics started having serious problems right after the vaccines started rolling out. Researchers find strong link between IVF usage and increased breast cancer risk. Natural hormone found to help mitigate risks for women using IVF. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk News.BloombergLaw.com LATimes.com Brighteon.com (Natural News) A top banker says that the United Kingdom is preparing to launch what he described as a super app that will combine a persons digital ID with their financial data in a manner that privacy advocates and libertarians say will be used to control the population. UK Finance chairman Bob Wigley has predicted the development of the super app that he claims will serve as a one-stop-shop for a persons financial digital identity. The app would be capable of storing a persons important financial information such as credit scores, ratings, and know-your-customer (KYC) data. The idea is that having all of this information in one place would simplify the process of accessing financial services and improve the speed and accuracy of credit decisions. The development of a super app could also help to reduce the risk of fraud and increase security for users financial information, he says, according to Reclaim The Net. Wigley also says that the proposed super app for a persons financial digital identity would be similar to the UK governments NHS health app, which carries an individuals health data. Although the NHS app initially faced opposition, it gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. And he suggests that the banking sector is taking note of the success of the NHS app and is considering the launch of a similar app for storing individuals financial data, which would make it easier for people to access financial services and improve the efficiency of credit decisions, the outlet noted further. This will be the year that we finally persuade the banking system that we need an economic digital identity system, just like the NHS app, Wigley said at the New Digital Assets and Money Symposium in London. This financial app will be personal and attached to each citizen as we need a wider fully digital economic identity program. It would be something each person would carry with them and they could then connect it to any platform or financial institution that they operate with, such as banks and insurance firms, he explained further, adding that if governments do not implement the app, the big tech behemoths will. In an era of increasing technological advancements, digital privacy has become a significant concern for individuals, governments, and businesses alike. With the vast amounts of personal information shared online and through digital platforms, the risk of privacy breaches and cyber-attacks is ever-present. While digital technology has revolutionized the way we live, work and interact, it has also exposed us to risks that were previously unknown. The digital age has given us the convenience of instant communication and access to a wealth of information. However, it has also opened up opportunities for cybercriminals and hackers to exploit personal information for nefarious purposes. Social media platforms have become a primary source of concern for privacy advocates, with incidents of data breaches, identity theft, and cyberbullying occurring frequently. Users personal data, including their browsing history, location, and contact details, are all at risk of being exploited by individuals or organizations with malicious intent. Another significant concern about digital privacy is the use of surveillance technology by governments and law enforcement agencies, a phenomenon that has increased exponentially within the past couple of decades, especially with the advent of the Internet of Things. With the proliferation of CCTV cameras, facial recognition software, and other surveillance tools, individuals privacy is at risk of being compromised. Critics argue that the use of such technologies has the potential to infringe on civil liberties, enabling the government to monitor and track citizens without their knowledge or consent. There is also the fact that such technologies that are used to target everyone is also leading to discriminatory practices and human rights abuses. This super app is just another method for the elite to control the masses and should be roundly rejected. Sources include: NaturalNews.com UK.Finance.Yahoo.com ReclaimTheNet.org Hybrid super pigs, which are a cross featuring a domestic pig plus a wild boar, are out of control in Canada, and the new breed is now making its way to the US. A decline in demand about 20 years ago prompted some farmers to release their hybrid pigs into the wild. Originally crossbred to aid farmed pigs in growing larger and tolerating the cold temperatures of Canada. Now that the super pigs are moving south, most likely toward Montana, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Michigan, they are running around wildly. Huntable Hybrid Super Pigs The issue is that it is difficult to get rid of the super pigs. Ryan Brook, leader of the Canadian Wild Pig Research Project at the University of Saskatchewan, said that one of the biggest surprises of this issue is that the breed can endure such a cold climate. The hybrid pigs thrive in the cold because of their hardiness. Meanwhile, native species will have a hard time surviving. Brook continues by stating that wild hogs eat anything. They can kill a whitetail deer, even an adult, and in the spring they devour countless numbers of goslings and ducklings. Originally, it was thought that it could be hunted, but it has since become apparent that they are endangering several other species, most notably waterfowl, and whitetail deer. Not to mention the harm the feral breed is doing to the crops. Despite being a huntable species, wild hogs have more drawbacks than advantages. Making Its Way Through US Super pigs have already crossed the international border and at least dipped into North Dakota. As a result, given that the hybrid population is only increasing, people should prepare for an even greater occurrence. The Squeal on Pigs website makes it even simpler for people to report any sightings of the feral hybrid pig, which authorities are urging them to do. Super pigs have mastered the art of thwarting recreational hunters, occasionally turning nocturnal to avert the hunt in entire sounders. Other times, the sounders will scatter, making them more difficult to find or alter their habits and retreat to wetlands or forests. According to Brook, using the Judas Pig concept, which involves attaching a GPS collar to a pig to direct game officials to other pigs, has proven to be the most effective method for taming the super pigs so far, Popular Mechanics reports. Also Read: Feral Cows Damage Rivers in New Mexico, Officials Issue Kill Order Beating the Cold Up until now, warm regions like the southeast US, Texas, and California have seen the greatest growth of the invasive species. However, invasive pig populations have recently begun to flourish in Canada and may now be moving into Michigan, North Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota. Brook claims that one of the ways they survive is by digging tunnels under the snow. The feral hybrids enter a cattail marsh, cut nests in the cattails, and channel into the fluffy snow. On a cold day, people leaving early in the morning can see steam coming out of the tops of the nests. Although it will be difficult to eradicate the invasive species, recreational hog hunting hasn't shown to be successful because it disperses sounders and makes some pigs nocturnal, making them more difficult to locate and remove. Brook asserts that alerting authorities of any hybrid super pigs sightings is the most crucial action anyone can take, Field and Stream reports. Related Article: 7 Hybrid Animals Born of Climate Change and Their Adaptive Traits Due to ongoing and increased poaching, the rhino population in Botswana has been reduced to just 400 individuals. On Monday, Botswana disclosed that it had experienced a sharp increase in rhino poaching over the five years leading up to 2022, which amounted to about one-third of its population of the critically endangered species. Rhino Poaching Intensifies According to testimony given to parliament by Philda Kereng, minister of tourism, 138 rhinos were killed between 2018 and 2017. In contrast, only two rhinos were poached in the previous five years, from 2012 to 2017. According to statistics Kereng presented to the legislature, homicides spiked to seven in 2018 before falling to 30 the following year. The number of murders spiked once more in 2020 to 62, then dropped to six last year after halving to 33 in 2021. She attributed the increase in killings to poachers being driven out of other southern African states as well as an increase in the demand for rhino horn on the global market. Increased patrols in national parks have made it necessary for hunters looking for rhino horns to turn their attention elsewhere, which has resulted in a steady decline in the number of animals killed in neighboring nations in South Africa, which is the traditional rhino poaching hotspot. Demand from Asia, where rhino horns have been used in traditional and folk medicine for their alleged therapeutic effect, drives rhino poaching, according to NPR. Rhinos in Botswana Although Botswana withholds information about its rhino population, a report the government submitted to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) held in Panama last year indicated that the country was home to approximately 285 white rhinos and 23 black rhinos. According to Rhino Conservation Botswana, the number of rhinos in the nation in 2019 was just under 400, with the majority of them foraging on the grasslands of the northern Okavango Delta. Another government document claims that Botswana started dehorning rhinos in recent years to make them less desirable to poachers, but that this practice has not been successful because the poachers would still be interested in the horn stump that was left behind. To better protect the rhinos, rangers, law enforcement, as well as nongovernmental groups, have increased ground and aerial patrols, Voices of America reports. Also Read: Fossil Found in Scottish Highlands Spark Speculation About Scotland's National Animal: The Unicorn Rhinos of the World In the past, rhinos were found in many parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, and were depicted in cave paintings by early Europeans. At the start of the 20th century, there were 500,000 rhinos in Africa and Asia, but their population declined to 70,000 by 1970 and today only about 27,000 remain in the wild. Due to persistent poaching and habitat loss over many decades, very few rhinos now survive outside of national parks and reserves. The black, Javan, and Sumatran rhino species are critically endangered. Protected sanctuaries in Africa have helped southern white rhinos to thrive, despite being thought to be extinct at one point, and they are now considered near threatened. However, the western black rhino and northern white rhino have both become extinct in the wild. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the only two remaining northern white rhinos are kept under 24-hour guard at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. Related Article: For the Past 100 Year, Rhinos Are Growing Shorter Hunts After Surviving Hunts The latest weather forecasts warned of heavy snow and possible record-breaking snowfall in Minneapolis this week due to a cross-country storm in the United States. Motorists and travelers this week should check the weather updates as winter storms will unleash heavy snow and hazardous travel conditions, making it more difficult for commuters. While Eastern and Southern United States began to feel the early taste of spring, a dangerous winter storm is forecast in the Upper Midwest, Northeast and Southern California. Heavy snow in Minneapolis this week Weather reports have noted significant winter storms that could unleash in the Upper Midwest, Northeast and New England. According to AccuWeather's latest forecast, Minneapolis would experience a wintry mix of conditions this week due to the coast-to-coast winter storm. Significant snow is expected this week, including in Wisconsin, South Dakota and Michigan. Based on the weather outlook, there is a possibility of a blizzard condition in Fargo, Aberdeen, Sioux Falls, Spencer and Mankanto. On Thursday, the weather forecast said that ice conditions and ice would unload in Des Moines, Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo, Boston and Burlington. In Minneapolis, the weather forecast explained that widespread road and flight disruptions could occur due to stronger winds and heavy snow. Meanwhile, the government of Minnesota prepared for the worst impact of developing the winter system. In the latest report, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz alerted the National Guard assistance to help stranded and affected individuals due to the severe winter storms. The advisory added the possibility of blizzard-like conditions that could result in road closures and power outages. Furthermore, AccuWeather reported that snowfall is expected in Traverse City, Toronto, Albany, Boston, Bangor, Quebec City and Montreal until the weekend. Severe winter storms in the United States On the contrary, the National Weather Prediction Center reported that a major winter storm would impact parts of the Northeast and the West. The latest key message warned of heavy snow affecting outdoor activities, trees, power lines and livestock. The report added that freezing rain and sleet are possible in the Northeast and Great Lakes until Friday. Meanwhile, the winter storms would unfold extreme cold conditions. Homeowners should monitor the temperatures of their family members, especially those with pre-existing health concerns. Also Read: Record-Challenging Heat to Unleash in South This Week As Winter Storms Threaten U.S. Wearing layered winter clothes is essential to avoid hypothermia and frostbite. On the other hand, people with travel plans should reschedule their trips or outdoor activities next week. The forecasts noted that the freezing and heavy snow are not ideal for commute and outdoor activities. People under winter advisories should observe the weather conditions for possible frozen pipes and damage to roof systems. Furthermore, the National Weather Service (NWS) advised people to avoid ice as it is not considered completely safe. It is best to stay from ice, especially with noticeable cracks. Related Article: Developing Winter Storm to Hit Southern California This Week; Widespread Travel Disruptions For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News. The latest weather forecasts warned of a major winter storm pattern in the Northeast, bringing heavy snow and blizzard conditions this week. With almost a week before March, weather reports explained that there is a possibility for more winter storms this month. In fact, spring-like temperatures began to unleash in the South and Eastern United States that could set new warmth records this month. Moreover, the weather forecasts noted the importance of staying alert during this week's winter weather, especially the developing coast-to-coast winter storms. Heavy snow and blizzard-like conditions in the Northeast According to AccuWeather's latest weather forecast, the winter storms in the Northeast are expected to unleash freezing rain and blowing snow starting Thursday. Weather agencies warned of possible flight delays, road travel disruptions and power outages this week. The icy conditions and heavy snow could result in travel difficulty for motorists and commuters. Furthermore, the forecast weather outlook revealed that ice conditions would unleash sleet and wintry weather in Boston, Buffalo, Burlington, Detroit, Chicago and Des Moines. The National Weather Prediction Center's latest key message warned of intense snowfall in the affected areas, including Southern California and the Midwest. The winter storm is also called a coast-to-coast storm, reaching parts of California and the Western United States. Until Friday, significant snowfall would unload in parts of Canada, Boston and Bangor. The Weather Network also reported the challenging weather conditions in parts of Ontario and Toronto, causing severe snow and troublesome winds. Also Read: Record-Challenging Heat to Unleash in South This Week As Winter Storms Threaten U.S. Meanwhile, AccuWeather explained that a sudden shift to ice mix and warmer conditions would unfold on Thursday. Columbus, Virginia Beach, Washington and Charleston can expect an unseasonably warm outlook. Rounds of rain are forecast in Pittsburgh, New York City and Buffalo. Ice and rain are expected in Boston. In addition, Portland could anticipate more snow. Cold-related health concerns due to winter storms The impact of winter storms could unleash waves of colder air in the Northeast. An extreme cold could lead to hypothermia and frostbite, especially for those with health conditions. According to American Red Cross, staying warm during severe winter storms is essential to prevent cold-related health risks. In AccuWeather's outlook on Friday, the report showed that much colder temperatures would unleash in Charleston, Roanoke, Raleigh, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Virginia Beach, Washinton, New York and Boston. As a result, wearing layered winter clothes and checking body temperatures help avoid medical emergencies. On Saturday, the weather forecast said intermittent snow is expected in Toronto, Syracuse and Montreal. Colder temperatures would continue in Pittsburgh and New York City (NYC). On the other hand, the National Weather Service (NWS) warned of emerging wind chills in the Northern United States in the late week. NWS advised Americans to reschedule outdoor activities next week and avoid unnecessary travel or commutes. The advisory also explained to stay away from ice or frozen lakes because they may melt or cause dangerous situations. Related Article: Developing Winter Storm to Hit Southern California This Week; Widespread Travel Disruptions For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News. Canadians braced for a major winter storm that could unload in parts of Ontario and Toronto. The forecast warned of heavy snow, affecting daily commutes and possible power outages. Meanwhile, Canadians with travel plans should consider the current weather conditions, as slower commutes and road closures would emerge due to the weather conditions. The final week of February would become chaotic for commuters and homeowners. Major winter storm in parts of Canada this week According to The Weather Network's latest forecast, the active weather pattern in Canada would unleash freezing rain and heavy snow in the region. The troublesome weather outlook would become noticeable on Thursday, bringing significant snow and ice pellets. Furthermore, the winter storm could also unfold colder temperatures in parts of Canada. The cooler to extreme temperatures could result in hypothermia and frostbite. According to Canada Red Cross, staying warm during winter storms is essential. In addition, homeowners should monitor the temperatures of their family members, especially those with pre-existing medical conditions. On Thursday, The Weather Network explained that the freezing rain would unload in Windsor, Leamington, Chatham, Wallaceburg, Sarnia, Port Stanley, London, Grand Bend, Long Point, Simcoe, Hamilton, Woodstock, Kitchener, Milton, Toronto and Niagara Falls. Due to the threat of winter storms, bus service has been suspended. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) noted the ice conditions that could result in dangerous travel or commute. Meanwhile, the weather forecasts explained that the brunt of the storm would impact portions of Southern Ontario, affecting major roads on Highway 3. Also Read: Record-Challenging Heat to Unleash in South This Week As Winter Storms Threaten U.S On the contrary, the forecasts said that parts of Canada were placed under winter warnings due to the heavy snow and freezing rain. The forecast said snowfall warnings are present in Parry Sound, Bancroft and Ottawa. Winter storm warnings are in Kincardine, Toronto and Kingston. Freezing rain warnings are in Windsor, London and Niagara Falls. Until Friday, the weather warned of ice pellets that could unload in parts of Canada. In the United States, the National Weather Service (NWS) reported that Northeast, Upper Midwest and Southern California are at risk of winter storms. Preparing for heavy winter storms in Canada Weather reports explained that winter storms in Canada would unleash freezing rain and ice conditions. Forecasts warned of widespread power outages and travel disruptions. As a result, travelers and homeowners should ensure safety during major winter storms in Canada. Here are important reminders during a winter storm event. Understand the weather conditions Homeowners and motorists should stay aware of winter watches and warnings. Keeping updated with the weather would help prepare for possible impacts. Stay at home as possible The latest weather forecasts warned of widespread travel delays and slower commutes. Hazardous travel could lead to dangerous situations. In addition, there is a chance that motorists could suffer from long hours in traffic. Keep an emergency kit at home In previous reports, Nature World News emphasized the importance of emergency kits during severe weather conditions and heavy snow. Freezing rain and blizzard-like conditions could damage power lines, causing significant power outages. The winter kit would be helpful. It should include the following: Battery-powered radio Power bank and batteries Flashlight with extra batteries Non-perishable goods Medicines Related Article: Developing Winter Storm to Hit Southern California This Week; Widespread Travel Disruptions For more similar, don't forget to follow Nature World News. A shark attack led to the death of an Australian tourist off the waters of New Caledonia on Sunday, February 19, sparking renewed fears of shark encounters in the country. The unidentified shark mauled the victim several times near a crowded beach in the capital city of Noumea. As a result, beaches near the capital were closed to avoid further casualties from shark attacks following the incident. New Caledonia is an island nation and a French territory in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, located 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) east of Australia. Last weekend's shark attack is the latest incident involving sharks in the country. In previous years, fatal shark attacks have been reported in New Caledonia, which is surrounded by shark-infested waters. New Caledonia Shark Attack The Australia national was swimming near a pontoon off the waters of Chateau-Royal Beach when the shark came out of nowhere and attacked him around 4:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, according to an account of CNN from local broadcaster New Caledonia 1, The Washington Times reported. The 59-year-old tourist succumbed to his injuries despite being rescued by a jet ski and undergoing CPR by emergency responders. Two people sailing near the attack site took the man back to the beach. Local authorities said the man was swimming at a distance of 500 feet (150 meters) from the shore of the popular beach in Noumea, as cited by the BBC. With this, beaches near the French capital territory were closed until further notice due to the attack. Also Read: Great White Shark Makes Mexican Diver Its Buffet, Making It The First Fatal Shark Attack of 2023 Growing Shark Threat This is the third attack near the Chateau-Royal beach in a span of three weeks, the BBC said. While shark attacks are rare in New Caledonia, they do occur. In January 2023, a woman sustained multiple injuries after she was attacked by a bull shark in the same area where the Australian tourist died. January's attack led beaches in the area to be closed until last February 16. Prior to the attack on February 19, local media reported that the most recent fatal shark attack in New Caledonia occurred in February 2021, when a tiger shark killed a yachtsman, The Washington Times added. Since 1580, there have been 19 unprovoked shark attacks in the island chain territory of New Caledonia, according to the International Shark Attack File of the Florida Museum. Shark-Infested Waters According to New Caledonia's travel guide website Nouvelle Caledonie, a recent study conducted by HAL-IRD from 1958 to 2020 showed 67 cases of shark attacks, including 13 fatal cases, in New Caledonia. The data showed that attacks have affected 58.5% spearfishermen, 18.5% swimmers, and 14% practitioner of water sports. The site shows that the most types of shark species seen in New Caledonia waters during snorkelling or scuba diving activities are: Blacktip reef sharks Whitetip reef sharks lemon sharks whitespotted bullhead shark grey reef sharks There are also cases that great white sharks, hammerhead sharks, mako sharks, and tiger sharks make their presence into the country's lagoon. Related Article: Shark Attack in the Florida Keys Leaves 10-Year-Old Boy to Lose a Part of His Leg "Disruptive" snow and bitter east winds could herald the return of the "Beast from the East," if forecasts are correct. In recent weeks, there has been speculation that a new cold spell could bring widespread snowfall in the aftermath of the recent major Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW) event, which occurred on February 16. Following poor weather conditions in Spain and Morocco, the UK is expected to face empty shelves in supermarket fresh produce aisles until April. The return of the beast from the east Forecasters say snow will be "more likely than earlier in the month" beginning March 8, and weather graphics from WX Charts show widespread and heavy snow in the North of England and Scotland, as per SomersetLive. According to the Met Office's forecast for March 8 to 22, spells of rain or snow are more likely than earlier in the month, with a low chance that some wintry episodes will be disruptive, with northwestern areas likely to see the driest conditions. An SSW is a weather phenomenon that caused the Beast from the East five years ago, though similar weather events in 2019 or January 2023 did not result in this. The Met Office confirmed last week that a new, brief cold spell could arrive in the middle of this week, but it was unclear whether any potential snow would reach the southwest of England. According to Oliver Claydon, a spokesman for the Met Office, this cold spell is expected to be relatively brief, with milder air cutting off the supply of cold air. As is always the case with snow, the details will become clearer as the date approaches. Looking at single coarse model outputs this far ahead is rarely reliable. Also Read: UK Weather Forecast: Sudden Stratospheric Warming to Bring Snow and Blizzards in Coming Weeks UK food shortages to last until April Unusually warm temperatures in the New Year were followed by freezing temperatures and severe wind and rain storms in both countries. These extreme weather events have disrupted crop cycles and, according to one industry estimate, have increased wholesale food prices by half in some cases. These problems have been exacerbated by transportation challenges and a lack of European greenhouse production as a result of the energy crisis. As a result of the situation, many of the UK's largest supermarkets have begun to limit purchases of fresh produce items. Tesco, Aldi, Asda, and Morrisons are all limiting the number of times customers can buy certain fresh produce items, such as tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. It's not the first time that bad weather in Spain has caused major problems for UK food retailers. In January 2017, the "ourgette crisis" occurred, with packs of vegetables disappearing from shelves and consumer prices skyrocketing when they became available again. In February 2021, a similar scenario occurred. What is the situation in Spain and Morocco? Spain and Morocco are critical sources of everything from strawberries to aubergines during the winter months. At this time of year, they are referred to as Europe's breadbasket. However, temperatures and weather have been wildly fluctuating in both countries in recent weeks. Over the New Year period, Spain experienced record heat, with temperatures reaching 24.9 degrees Celsius in Bilbao, resulting in a surplus of salad and fruit crops. Soon after, temperatures dropped into the low double digits, even dropping below freezing at night, with cloud cover limiting sunlight. It has slowed the growth of the remaining crops, resulting in a supply shortage. A source in the fresh produce industry told NationalWorld that during a recent trip to Spain, the weather was still cold and there was "no sun all week," even though bright weather is essential for crop growth. Conditions are expected to return to normal this week before plummeting again over the weekend. According to the source, climate change is becoming a growing concern in European countries. "There are more and more extreme weather patterns, with temperatures rapidly changing from hot to cold," they said. Meanwhile, flooding, hail, and wind storms exacerbated similar weather issues in Morocco. Because of the latter, ferries have been unable to sail, preventing supplies from reaching Europe. Related article: UK Weather Forecast: Colder Temperatures, Snow to Continue; Experts Warn of Cold-Related Health Risks Severe thunderstorm warnings and severe weather warnings have been issued by New Zealand's Meteorological Service (MetService). These weather advisories will remain in effect at least from 10:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 23, until early weekend. During this period, heavy rain and flash flooding are possible, leading to potential evacuation orders. The MetService urges the public to monitor local weather developments and weather forecasts, in the event changes or additional details are made. In the coming days, flooding is expected in urban areas, especially low-lying areas, power outages is possible, and widespread travel disruption is imminent based on previous weather events in the country. Severe Weather Warnings MetService also issued severe weather warnings, adding that a complex low pressure area remains over the North Island in the coming days before drifting away to the southern part of New Zealand on late Saturday, February 25. This shift in direction will bring heavy rain and possible thunderstorms in affected areas. The weather agency said a "heavy rain watch" in effect for Hawke's Bay has now been upgraded to an "Orange Warning" due to significant rainfall accumulations expected in areas recently impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle. A similar weather advisory is also in place for Gisborne and Wairarapa, which now also includes Auckland, Coromandel Peninsula, and western Bay of Plenty. Also Read: Severe Thunderstorm Warnings Issued Across New Zealand, Heavy Rain and Flooding Continues 2023 Auckland Flooding February came from the devastation left by the "biggest climate event" in New Zealand's history, when an unprecedented torrential rain and flooding swept through the country's largest city Auckland. The weather event killed at least four people as raging floodwaters flowed through streets and highways, The Guardian reported. The extreme weather event forced schools and businesses to close due to life-threatening, disruptive risks posed by the flash flooding. The Auckland International Airport also experienced flight cancellations and delays, leaving thousands of overseas travelers stranded. The natural disaster that struck New Zealand as of early 2023 has opened its potential connection to climate change and global warming, even emerging diseases. New Zealand's Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, stated the extreme weather was the result of climate change. In a statement to local outlet 1News, Hipkins elaborated the possibility that we will have to brace with these extreme weather events in the near future, bringing the need to combat the ongoing climate crisis, as cited by the BBC. Leptospirosis Cases As of Tuesday, February 21, there have been reports of rising cases of the bacterial disease leptospirosis following the Auckland floods. The Auckland Regional Public Health Service warned health providers regarding a potential leptospirosis outbreak, which could be linked to the recent extreme weather events, The New Zealand Herald reported. The country's Ministry of Health defines leptospirosis as an acute illness manifested by the following symptoms: chills, fever, headache, diarrhea, nausea, myalgia, abdominal pain, coughing, meningitis, and inflammation of the eyes, as cited by New Zealand's newspaper. New Zealand is current in its summer season which spans from December to February each year. Related Article: Storm Alert: Nearly 20,000 Lightning Strikes Recorded in New Zealand Recently PIGGS PEAK Some members of SNAT Burial Scheme are outraged over the continuation of the 2023 elections on Saturday, February 25, 2023, when the country will be hosting the annual Buganu Festival at Buhleni Royal Residence. SNAT denotes the Swaziland National Teachers Association. According to some members who spoke to this publication, the executive seems to want them to boycott the cultural event. They claimed that the association was still bitter of the fact that they did not allow the donation of a casket for Mlandvo Khumalo, who was suspected to have shot and injured an umbutfo, during the march by Ingatja to cut the sacred shrub (lusekwane). Donated The donated casket was worth E15 000, however, it was later withdrawn after some members raised concerns. We have not heard of such in the past. How could the country host the Buganu Festival and then the organisation also has its own event taking place on the same day? rhetorically asked one member. SNAT and SNAT Burial Scheme member Sikelela Mhlanga said he was in total agreement with other members, whose view was that the SNAT Burial Scheme elections should be postponed to a new date, as the Buganu Festival was an important cultural event, which must be respected by all emaSwati. The elections should be postponed as the event would have a counter attraction against the Buganu Festival. If the SNAT Burial Scheme elections are not postponed, that would mean SNAT is fighting against the monarchy, he said. Mhlanga indicated that there were many teachers who belonged to the Lutsango regiment, who were expected and would want to attend the cultural event. He said if the elections were not postponed, it would be as good as depriving the SNAT Burial Scheme women members their right to attend the cultural activity. It is a norm in the kingdom that when there is an important cultural activity, other activities are postponed. We have seen this happen countless times. If the SNAT Burial Scheme elections are postponed and held on another day, I do not see what would be lost, said Mhlanga. The member said this should not be a subject for debate, but the elections must be postponed to a new date. We must respect events commissioned by Their Majesties. SNAT Burial Scheme is a subsidiary to SNAT union, the organisation cannot therefore look as if it is competing with Their Majesties because all emaSwati pay homage to the King, said the member. Mhlanga added that apart from observing the cultural event, Lutsango, who comprised a significant number of teachers, were taught many developmental skills such as how to start and run businesses. Argued He argued that if teachers belonging to the Lutsango regiment were deprived of an opportunity to attend the event, they would miss out on good opportunities that might help them develop themselves. SNAT Burial Scheme Secretary Bonginkosi Dlamini, said as far as they were concerned, the cultural event did not mean other planned activities should be put on hold. He also explained that the continuation of the elections did not mean they wanted their members to boycott the cultural event as others may think. In fact, we will prioritise those who want to attend the Buganu Festival. Those who intend to go there should arrive early on the day and we will make sure that they vote first and then be allowed to go and attend the event. I will also attend the cultural event, but I will start by voting, said the secretary. He said the elections would start from as early as 7am. Dlamini said it did not really make sense to postpone the elections which were announced last year. Meanwhile, there are 14 candidates competing for three positions. According to members of the SNAT Burial Scheme, the positions include that of the secretary, as well as member one and two. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Thunderstorms this evening, then cloudy with rain likely overnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 46F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%.. Tonight Thunderstorms this evening, then cloudy with rain likely overnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 46F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70%. MBABANE After being on the run for four months, Patrick Bhubesi Shongwe has been arrested. Shongwe is the police officer who is accused of murdering his girlfriend a nurse who was based at Hlatikhulu Government Hospital. The nurse, Lindokuhle Dolly Mlangeni, died on December 26, 2018. The accused, who was out on bail, did not show up for the start of his trial on November 1, 2022. He also did not come to court on the following day and this resulted in Judge Cyril Maphanga issuing a warrant of arrest against him. Shongwe was reportedly arrested by Interpol South Africa (SA), while in Kokstad. He is currently being incarcerated in the neighbouring country, pending his extradition to the Kingdom of Eswatini. Kokstad is a town in the Harry Gwala District Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal Province, SA. Following his arrest in SA, the office of the director of public prosecutions (DPP) subsequently moved an application for his extradition in terms of the Extradition Act of 1968 and the Extradition Agreement between the two countries. Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the others law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdictions and depends on the arrangements made between them. Consent The application is currently awaiting consent from that countrys minister of justice as per the procedure. Upon being extradited, Shongwe will first have to answer on a charge of contempt of court before the start of his initial trial.The charge of contempt of court emanates from his failure to avail himself to court, despite being served with papers to do so. When his trial was supposed to start last year, his representative, Advocate Lucas Maziya, who was instructed by Azi Hlatshwayo, told Judge Maphanga that they were having a bit of a problem with the accused. He revealed that they were not aware of his whereabouts, but he had assured them that he would be present in court. Shongwe was granted bail after he filed a second application and told the court that he wanted to be released from custody to consult traditional healers due to a certain illness. His initial application for bail was dismissed by High Court Judge Maphanga. He filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, which he later withdrew. He then filed another application for bail at the High Court. The accused alleged that new circumstances had arisen on the basis of which he sought to be released from custody on bail. According to his indictment, 38 witnesses, most of whom are police officers, will testify. One of the witnesses, who is Shongwes friend, indicated that the accused allegedly told him that he wanted to take his own life, because he had done something terrible. This was after he allegedly killed his girlfriend Mlangeni. In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers estimate the protection elicited against infection with the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its severe outcomes. Study: Estimates of protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 in Germany before the 2022/2023 winter season - the IMMUNEBRIDGE project. Image Credit: Jake Pixo / Shutterstock.com *Important notice: medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. Germanys response to COVID-19 During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Germany lacked population-based panels that could provide rapid and adaptive assessments of population immunity, infection dynamics, vaccination coverage, and under-detection of reported SARS-CoV-2 infections. After the summer of 2022, the lack of data suitable for providing evidence of population immunity across Germany was due to the absence of coordinated population panels. In addition, there was considerable uncertainty surrounding the selection of appropriate endpoints related to correlates of protection against severe SARS-CoV-2 infection that would facilitate their usage in real-time decision-making. About the study In the present study, researchers estimate protection levels against SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 between June 2022 and November 2022. Using current population-based studies, along with newly established cross-sectional investigations, the IMMUNEBRIDGE project presented a complete assessment of the protection level reported by the German population against mild and severe COVID-19 between June 2022 and November 2022. Antibodies elicited against the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) and spike (S) antigens were assessed in the participating studies. Proportions of seropositivity for designated subgroups were also calculated. The vaccination and illness histories of participating individuals were collected. This information was harmonized across all studies utilizing a collectively developed minimal data set (MDS). The present project was designed to provide early ad hoc feedback to a newly established modeling network for severe infectious diseases (MONID) beginning in early August 2022. Additionally, the IMMUNEBRIDGE framework involved a targeted literature review, which derived a categorization of protection levels elicited against SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe infection into a "combined endpoint." The combined endpoint was derived from the number of prior self-reported SARS-CoV-2 infections and vaccinations, along with current antibody status noted against the S and N antigens. Blood samples were obtained, and antibodies generated against SARS-CoV-2 were assessed in four population-based cohort studies. These included the Luebeck longitudinal investigation of SARS-CoV-2 infection (ELISA) study, the German National Cohort (NAKO), Stages A/B and Determinants of Progression (STAAB), and Multilocal and serial prevalence study for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in Germany (MuSPAD) between June 2022 and November 2022. Four additional cross-sectional studies were established, including the GUIDE study to assess regional depth and studies from the University Hospitals in Bochum, Dresden, and Wurzburg to provide pertinent data related to pediatric cases. Study findings The nine participating studies involved 33,647 participants that were queried between June and November 2022. The number of individuals with less than three confirmed SARS-CoV-2 exposures ranged from 5% to 16% in the adult age cohorts. Conversely, 37% of people older than 79 years of age had fewer than four confirmed exposures. Furthermore, 80% of children and adolescents had fewer than three confirmed exposures, while 13% reported neither an immunocorrelate nor an exposure. No significant variation in the outcomes was observed when borderline antibody values from the GUIDE study were interpreted as seronegative. Between 46% to 56% of individuals with self-reported comorbidities had fewer than four confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 exposures, while 5-10% had fewer than three cases. Across all age categories, the proportion of individuals with fewer than three exposure cases was lower. However, the number of those with no documented exposure was higher, especially among those under the age of 18. While seropositivity against the N antigen declined with age, the same was not observed for seropositivity against the S antigen, in which variations were only noted between children and adults. Approximately 95% of study participants across all age categories reported antibodies elicited against the S antigen. In individuals between one and 17 years of age, S antigen antibodies were the lowest at 80%. Additionally, 52% of study participants across all ages exhibited antibodies against the N antigen, whose proportion was the highest at 68% among those between one and 17 years of age and lowest at 28% among those aged over 79 years. A general pattern of decreasing concentrations of antibodies against the N antigen was observed with increasing age. Antibodies elicited against the N antigen were less frequently detected in elderly patients over 64 years of age and those with comorbidities. In participants who reported their initial infection after receiving at least two vaccine doses, seropositivity for antibodies elicited against the N antigen was 89% for up to five months after infection. However, this decreased to 68% in those who reported infections more than five months earlier. Similar but significantly less pronounced results were observed in unvaccinated individuals. Conclusions Moderate to high protection was observed against severe COVID-19 in most age groups, while low protection was observed against infection for all ages. The communication of preliminary data into a new modeling network for severe infectious illnesses in Germany facilitated the incorporation of this information into ongoing modeling studies to assess the potential impact on infection dynamics. Thus, the findings of the IMMUNEBRIDGE project demonstrate the significance of networks comprising scientific institutions that are supported by adequate infrastructure and manpower. *Important notice: medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. New research from the University of Missouri School of Medicine has established a link between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and mental health challenges, such as anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. The research highlights the need for health professionals to evaluate and treat associated psychiatric co-morbidities in IBS patients to improve their overall health and quality of life. IBS is a chronic disorder of the stomach and intestines affecting up to 15 percent of the population. It causes cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, and diarrhea. This study looked at more than 1.2 million IBS patient hospitalizations from 4,000 U.S. hospitals over a three-year period and found that more than 38-percent had anxiety, and more than 27-percent had depression. Both figures were double the rate of anxiety and depression found in those without IBS. The prevalence of psychiatric problems including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, suicidal attempt/ideation, and eating disorders was significantly higher in the IBS patient population when compared to the general adult population. One possible explanation is the so-called brain-gut axis. We've long suspected that dysfunction of the brain-gut axis is bidirectional, such that IBS symptoms influence anxiety and depression, and on the other hand, psychiatric factors cause IBS symptoms. Medical professionals need to treat both ends of the axis." Zahid Ijaz Tarar, MD, lead researcher, assistant professor of clinical medicine Untreated psychiatric disorders among IBS patients also puts additional strain on health care systems through increased frequency of hospital admissions and longer stays. Chronic diseases like IBS are also known to be associated with stress, work impairment, and associated economic burdens on patients and their families. "I frequently tell my patients who have IBS, that if they have any type of psychologic stress, it will get expressed in some form or the other," said senior author Yezaz Ghouri, MD, assistant professor of clinical medicine and gastroenterology. "The mesentery membrane that holds the intestines together has one of the largest collections of nerve cells in the body. When those nerves start firing impulses, that can lead to the state of nervousness in and around the GI tract, resulting in IBS symptoms. The resulting decline in patient quality of life can lead to poor lifestyle choices, such as smoking. Early evaluation and treatment of both IBS and associated psychiatric conditions is essential." The study, "Burden of anxiety and depression among hospitalized patients with irritable bowel syndrome: a nationwide analysis" was recently published in the Irish Journal of Medical Science. The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest related to the study. A Yale-led study examines the potential environmental benefits of more carefully selecting patients for prostate biopsy in a way that can also spare low-yield and potentially harmful procedures. Yale School of Medicine Associate Professor of Urology Michael Leapman, MD, MHS, and coauthors across seven other U.S. institutions estimated the environmental impacts of prostate magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] and prostate biopsy, procedures that are part of the diagnostic process for patients with known or suspected prostate cancer. Overall, they estimate that performing both an MRI and biopsy is similar to going on a "round-trip flight from London to Paris," in terms of energy used, staff travel, and supply production. Their research, using cradle-to-grave life cycle assessment methodology, was published in the January issue of the journal European Urology. Study investigators say the overarching message is that sustainability efforts should be aligned with patient interests and evidence-based care. "We continue to see many medical and diagnostic procedures being used more often than recommended by clinical guidelines - increasing health care costs and in some cases, directly harming patients," says Leapman. "A dimension that has been less well studied is the environmental impact of care that is already considered low-value or unnecessary. In this analysis, we estimate the carbon footprint of a prostate biopsy, then extrapolate the potential environmental benefits of adopting various evidence-based approaches," continues Leapman, who specializes in the treatment of patients with prostate and genitourinary cancers and serves as clinical leader of the Prostate & Urologic Cancers Program at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital. Prostate biopsy is commonly performed across the world as the main diagnostic test for prostate cancer. Each year, approximately 1 million prostate biopsies are performed in the U.S. alone, yet more than half of patients who are being evaluated for an elevated prostate-specific antigen [PSA] are found to not have prostate cancer. It has been well documented the health care industry is a major source of pollution, worldwide. But to date, no tangible figures existed of the environmental impact of the prostate biopsy and/or MRI. Leapman and his co-researchers, therefore, focused on these "overused" early-detection practices. Study authors not only tried to show the impact of the procedures, but also calculated the potential impacts if different strategies were applied. Based on their measurements, it was estimated that performing 100,000 fewer biopsies would avoid 8.1 million kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions [the equivalent of 1.1 million gallons of gasoline burned]. If prostate MRI were used more in selecting patients who undergo a prostate biopsy-;an approach used in other countries and supported by several clinical studies-;1.4 million kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions could be reduced per 100,000 patients [the equivalent of 184,920 gallons of gasoline consumed]. Leapman and his team hope numbers such as this will help patients and physicians be aware of the connection between potential environmental benefits and evidence-based care. We are already cognizant of the physical, emotional, and economic consequences of over-diagnosing and over-treating prostate cancer. We hope this work adds depth to the discussion by providing concrete estimates of health care pollution and environmental impact also incurred through these procedures." Michael Leapman, MD, MHS, Associate Professor of Urology, Yale School of Medicine Leapman stresses the most important takeaway is that well-studied strategies can both help select patients more carefully for invasive diagnostic procedures and have a positive environmental benefit. In his famous letter to the Royal Society dated Oct. 9, 1676, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek described a single-celled eukaryote (Vorticella) and its fascinating ultrafast cell contraction as the first set of discoveries. This kind of ultrafast cell contraction triggered by a Ca2+-dependent mechanism is distinct from the adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-dependent mechanisms found in actin-myosin and dynein/kinesin-tubulin systems. Spirostomum, is a genus of millimeter-scale single-celled protists that are known for their incredibly rapid movement like Vorticella. They are capable of some of the fastest movement in the biological world due to their ultrafast contraction. Despite much research, however, the molecular mechanism behind this type of ultrafast cell contraction has long been a mystery. Recently, a research group led by Prof. Miao Wei from the Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has unlocked this mystery by describing the molecular basis behind the ultrafast contraction of Spirostomum. The team's research was published in Science Advances. In this study, the researchers obtained a high-quality genome of Spirostomum using a genome assembly pipeline they had previously established. They found that the contractile structure, a mesh-like contractile fibrillar system, was composed of two giant proteins and two Ca2+ binding proteins. Using RNAi, they validated the functions of the giant proteins. Super-resolution imaging showed that the mesh-like contractile fibrillar system couples with the microtube cytoskeleton, mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and fits well with the biological and physical need for repetitive ultrafast contraction and extension of the Spirostomum cell. Actually, our research offers a valuable reference for investigating non-model protists, covering aspects from the genome to molecular studies." Prof. Miao Wei, Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB), Chinese Academy of Sciences This study is highly significant for understanding the molecular mechanism of ultrafast cell contraction and provides a good blueprint for the biomimicry, design, and construction of ultrafast contractile micromachines. Two newer simplified treatment options are at least as effective as current approaches, according to the results of a world-first international clinical trial into second-line HIV therapy led by the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney and presented today at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle. Second-line treatment is the name given to the range of treatment options available to a person for whom the first HIV treatment offered to them does not work. Worldwide, this is about 10% of people living with HIV. The globally significant finding means that for more than 3 million people living with HIV around the world for whom the standard first-line HIV treatment does not work, there is now evidence to support a range of treatment options, which is crucial in allowing optimal access to treatment, especially in low- and middle-income countries. "Recommendations for second-line therapy are generally effective at achieving viral suppression; however, some involve drug resistance testing which can be a strain on health systems. Furthermore, many treatments require multiple pills, and they can have some side effects," says Professor Gail Matthews from the Kirby Institute, who presented the findings at CROI. "Understanding the pros and cons of different treatment approaches is important to guide decision making." The D2EFT study was designed to compare one standard approach for second-line HIV treatment - ritonavir boosted darunavir + 2 nucleosides backbone - against two alternative second-line regimens: Dolutegravir (DTG) with ritonavir boosted darunavir (DRV/R) and dolutegravir with fixed tenofovir and lamivudine or emtricitabine (TDF/XTC). The newer treatment options were found to be at least as good as the standard of care in achieving viral suppression, but have potential additional benefits in terms of cost, tolerability and simplification. This finding of non-inferiority has significant implications for the management of HIV globally. Adopting either of these simplified treatments could mean administering fewer pills, avoids the need for specialized resistance tests, and reduces the cost of the medication. In low- and middle-income countries where health systems and supply chains can be fragile, having these simplified treatment options can optimize access to treatment, while providing equally high levels of viral suppression." Professor Matthew Law, Kirby Institute D2EFT enrolled 831 patients from 14 countries. Patients were randomized to one of the three arms. "The Kirby Institute has a large clinical network and participating sites have done an immense job to keep this trial going through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of our D2EFT trial are particularly robust because the study was conducted across an incredibly diverse group of countries. We're confident that the findings are relevant and important internationally, but most urgently, in low- and middle-income countries," says Prof. Law. Meg Doherty, Director of WHO's Global HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections Programmes in Geneva, has welcomed the results of the D2EFT study. "The findings further reinforce the current WHO recommendation of using dolutegravir as the preferred antiretroviral option, while also providing new insights into the simplification of second-line HIV treatment in low- and middle-income countries," she said. The D2EFT study is funded primarily by global health agency Unitaid, with support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), ViiV Healthcare, the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Janssen. Stakeholder quotes "For the D2EFT study, social value is at the heart of the rationale. With a particularly vulnerable study population, involvement of the participating communities was crucial for the study's success. This was done through a Community Advisory Board (CAB) structure, which allowed many voices to be represented. Incorporating the voices of the community like this ensures the community and scientists work together to generate applicable knowledge for the community." - Leo Perelis, Global Chair, D2EFT Community Advisory Board. "In global health, we must build strong defenses at all stages of care. Unitaid co-financed the D2EFT study to advance simple, tolerable HIV treatment alternatives for people for whom our first line of defense had failed. This research not only included diverse populations across countries and continents to ensure solutions are suitable to all, it is also bolstering efforts to confront drug-resistance in the fight against HIV." Dr Philippe Duneton, Executive Director of Unitaid Every country has a published controlled substance list, but the named substances are only common examples. The list also covers analogs and defined chemical space around these substances, which complicates matters for chemical suppliers, manufacturers, and research chemists, who must determine whether a substance is controlled. Many people mistakenly believe that small quantities or substances used for research are exempt from regulation or that only named substances are controlled. These beliefs are largely untrue. If a chemical is covered by the regulations, even if it is not specifically named on the list, it is still considered controlled, and a license must be obtained for its storage, supply, or production. Pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies are typically well-informed about the regulations that affect their operations. However, the same strict rules apply to smaller-scale medicinal chemistry labs, researchers, and chemical suppliers, who may not be as familiar with the overarching legislation. For example, chemists may not realize that strict regulations apply to their reference standards or test compounds. Legislation such as the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) presents a significant challenge for managing regional substance controls, as controlled substance lists vary widely from country to country, even within closely aligned regions like Europe and the European Union. Each European country, for example, has its unique laws and regulations that differ from those in Canada, the US, the Asia-Pacific region, and other areas. The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in the UK and the CSA in the US, for instance, do not include all of the same substances or definitions of controlled chemical space. As a result, a substance that is legal in the country of production may not be permitted in the destination country or the country to which the chemical is intended to be shipped. The approach to defining controlled substances in North America also differs significantly from that of most European countries. Simply adhering to the rules of the CSA in the USA or the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) in Canada is insufficient to ensure compliance in other countries, which can create problems during shipping. Moreover, controlled substance lists are frequently updated. How the Controlled Substances Act impacts chemical suppliers and manufacturers Chemical companies bear the responsibility of ensuring that their substances comply with all relevant regulations. Failure to do so can have significant consequences, including prosecutions, fines, enhanced inspections or external oversight or the revocation of site wide controlled drug licences. In one case a cancer clinical trial was disrupted due to the discovery that the active ingredient technically fell within the scope of controlled drug legislation in of a country. Additionally, chemical suppliers have been prosecuted and fined for inadvertently supplying even small quantities of controlled substances to customers. Therefore, it is crucial to determine whether the chemicals being supplied constitute a controlled substance, as structural analogs and derivatives may also be subject to restrictions under the CSA and related regulations. The CSA can present challenges for businesses involved in the chemical supply, and it is important to carefully consider whether the chemicals being supplied fall within its regulatory scope. Critical challenges include: Failing to identify and establish controls on the use of certain substances can lead to significant consequences, including fines, legal action, imprisonment, and damage to reputation. What is on a controlled substances list is not the same in every country, and the company needs to be aware of this before and during production, storage, and supply. Typically, there are no exceptions for small amounts of controlled substances used in research and development (R&D) applications, and a license is required for both their use and supply. Identifying what actually is controlled. Name matching to controlled substances lists is not dependable due to differences in naming conventions between countries. For example, some countries may use full chemical names (such as 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine), while others may use abbreviations (such as MDMA). Moreover, name matching does not account for analogs, derivatives, and other related compounds. Image Credit: Scitegrity How can we identify and manage our controlled substances? Scitegrity has developed software that identifies whether a chemical is controlled against controlled drug regulations in more than 28 countries globally. The Controlled Substances Squared (CS2) software has a widespread presence and is used by the worlds top pharma companies and chemical suppliers, as well as specialist suppliers such as Cayman Chemical and LGC Standards. This software allows users to input the name of a substance, provide a chemical structure, or draw its chemical composition, after which the software takes care of the rest. By utilizing this software, users can obtain valuable information such as whether a chemical is regulated, in which countries it is regulated, and the requirements surrounding it, including analogs, esters, ethers, salts, stereoisomers, and controlled chemical space. This information is accessible even if the chemical in question is proprietary. About Scitegrity Want to know if your chemical is controlled, regulated, dangerous, has the potential for abuse or just need a tariff code? Our regulatory and chemistry experts encode chemical regulations from around the world allowing you to simply answer these questions and more by drawing or looking up a chemical structure. We make regulatory compliance a simple, robust, background process. Join with 5 of the worlds top 10 pharma, chemical suppliers, regulators, CROs, forensics labs and more who trust and rely on our solutions. Scitegrity was founded in 2011 by ex-Pfizer, GSK and Roche chemists and data scientists with the goal of making compliance to chemical regulations are far more robust, accurate and automatic. By automatically checking all the chemicals an organisation has at the structure level, it allows enterprise wide automatic compliance checks against hundreds of regulations globally, even for novel and proprietary chemical collection running into millions of chemicals. Sponsored Content Policy: News-Medical.net publishes articles and related content that may be derived from sources where we have existing commercial relationships, provided such content adds value to the core editorial ethos of News-Medical.Net which is to educate and inform site visitors interested in medical research, science, medical devices and treatments. MANZINI - A bus driver is lucky to be alive, after his vehicle overturned and ejected him through the windscreen. The accident took place yesterday morning near Tisuka TakaNgwane Flats at Moneni, along the MR3 Public Road. According to a source, the bus was driving towards the city of Manzini and the driver was alone. He claimed that the driver of the Mercedes Benz bus lost control of it after its braking system became faulty. The source also alleged that there was a version that one of the tyres of the bus burst. Crashed He said this happened when the bus was passing Puma Filling Station and it crashed onto the concrete barrier which divides the highway lanes. He said the concrete barrier was damaged to the extent that one of the concrete blocks shifted from its position (pushed towards the opposite lane). Thereafter, he said the bus, which was supposedly speeding, drove towards the concrete barrier for a distance before it overturned on the opposite lane and blocked it. In the process, the source, said the bus was extensively damaged beneath, as its suspension was dismantled and its front wheels came out with the axle. The source said when the bus overturned, it ejected the driver through the windscreen and luckily for him, there were no oncoming vehicles. He said the police and Eswatini National Fire and Emergency Services (ENFES) personnel were called to the scene and they responded promptly. He said an ENFES ambulance rushed the driver to hospital, where he was admitted. Meanwhile, the police closed the road until the bus was removed from the road. Motorists, who were driving towards Hhelehhele direction, had to use the service road from Moneni and join the highway at Lugaganeni. Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said the accident was reported to the police. She said the bus was said to have developed mechanical faults in its braking system, hence the driver lost control of it. She confirmed that the driver was rushed to hospital and by the time of compiling this report yesterday afternoon, he was reported to be recovering well. Life sciences is a blanket term used to describe the study of all things relative to living organisms, such as biology, physiology, and biochemistry. These sciences are crucial to solving everyday problems and rely on advanced analytical methods like microscopy, chromatography, and spectrometry to reveal important information that can be used to overcome challenges in areas like health and medicine.1 Image Credit: luchschenF/Shutterstock For example, bioanalysis can potentially contribute to the development of effective vaccines and drugs to treat diseases and help clinical researchers diagnose and treat people.2 Due to its prevalence, bioanalytics and its role in life sciences are spotlighted at Pittcon a laboratory science conference and exposition. In their quest to improve current and traditional analytical methods of the lab, biomedical scientists will be coming together at this annual conference to collaborate and innovate. Existing analytical techniques used regularly in the life sciences, like liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, strengthen the precision and specificity of data collection. However, there are still further improvements to be made regarding their efficacy and cost.3 Traditional bioanalytical techniques are limited in how sensitive, quickly, and efficiently they can analyze data, and innovations can help overcome these roadblocks to advancement.3 Microfluidics, in particular, is an encouraging area of research with the potential to solve prevailing challenges in bioanalytics. At Pittcon, the emphasis will be placed on how microfluidics can improve bioanalysis and various innovative applications in life sciences. What is Microfluidics, and How Does it Relate to Life Science? Microfluidics refers to the technology and methods used to analyze fluids on a very small scale.4 When it comes to microfluidic research, fewer resources are required, sensitivity is significantly improved, and researchers have much greater control over their experiments, ultimately reducing expenditure and enhancing efficiency. Microfluidics is essential in bioanalysis and can be impactful in life science fields that incorporate biology and chemistry concepts. From providing insight into cell behavior to optimizing drug development, microfluidics transforms biomedicine.4,5 One of the most notable achievements of microfluidics in the life sciences sector is the "lab-on-a-chip" a miniaturized device that allows for a high level of control over experiments on a micro-scale without compromising data quality, a trait that is challenging when using conventional methods.6 Furthermore, biomedical researchers specializing in omics can use microfluidics to study genes and proteins within cells through droplets and microwells. These microfluidics methodologies provide a small, controlled, and precise sample type that is quick and efficient to analyze.7 Today's researchers are innovating microfluidics platforms to streamline current processes and improve applicability to life science problems. Pittcon will provide a stage for scientific experts to present their work, generate new ideas, and cultivate opportunities for collaboration surrounding microfluidics. Advancing Bioanalysis using Microfluidics Microfluidics leads to invention. In the Pittcon talk entitled "A Multiplexed CRISPR-Cas12a-based Microfluidic Device for Waterborne Pathogen Detection", West Virginia University Ph.D. student Kathrine Curtin will outline the creation of a new device that is able to detect harmful pathogens in water to help prevent outbreaks of disease in populations.8 As a researcher dedicated to material science and engineering, Curtin's past projects have involved the development of lab-on-chip devices to help detect biomarkers an important biological molecule used in the development of novel therapeutics and drugs.9 Scientists will also talk about innovations to enhance existing bioanalytical methodologies in the symposium "Advances in Microfluidic Separations for Biological and Pharmaceutical Applications." 10 Scientists have previously used microfluidics to combine two different PCR techniques into a single, effective assay to analyze liposomes in a paper published recently in the journal Analytical Chemistry.11 Liposomes are important vehicles used to deliver drugs in biopharmaceutical products, and this research highlights an important method to extract critical information that can inform drug delivery design. Professor Hee-Sun Han of the University of Illinois will discuss the advantages of microfluidics when studying cells and their interactions with other cells or pathogens.12 The talk, titled "Microfluidics for High Resolution Biology," emphasizes the integral role of microfluidics in biomedicine and cell studies. Han's expertise focuses on physical chemistry, and her lab develops novel bioanalytical platforms based on microfluidics to understand molecular and cellular mechanisms in the body.12 A symposium of presenters will further highlight the bioanalytical power of microfluidics through advanced technological methods.13 Some of the topics that will be explored include improving the stability of a microfluidics device designed to study proteins in cells, analyzing RNA and DNA samples with microfluidics, and developing an assay to quantify tumor factors using microfluidics. Pittcon will host innovative leaders from the life science industry, including AHN Biotechnologie GmbH and Sensirion, to help showcase the practical application of microfluidics and to help translate this field to market. Microfluidics Research and Applications at Pittcon At Pittcon, microfluidics will take center stage as a key way to create cutting-edge solutions to bioanalysis challenges in life science. Whether it be for the detection of pathogens in water to prevent disease outbreaks or measuring biomolecules in human systems to develop medicine, microfluidics has a transformative role to play in many life science labs.14 To find out more about Pittcon and register, please visit the Pittcon website.15 References and further reading Elsevier. Analytical Techniques in Biosciences - 1st Edition. (2023) Elsevier.com. Available at: www.elsevier.com/books/analytical-techniques-in-biosciences/egbuna/978-0-12-822654-4. Accessed 3 February 2023. News-Medical. Why Bioanalytics and Life Sciences Is Crucial to Our Everyday Lives. (2023) News-Medical.net, Available at: www.news-medical.net/whitepaper/20230112/Why-Bioanalytics-And-Life-Sciences-Is-Crucial-To-Our-Everyday-Lives.aspx#:~:text=Why%20Bioanalytics%20And%20Life%20Sciences%20Is%20Crucial%20To%20Our%20Everyday%20Lives&text=Bioanalytics%20determines%20the%20concentration%20of,In%20short%2C%20biomedicine%20improves%20health. Accessed 2 February 2023. Sangster, Timothy, and Mike Oliver. (2012) Interview: Challenges Faced by the Modern Bioanalytical Laboratory. Bioanalysis, 4(19), pp. 23292333, https://doi.org/10.4155/bio.12.244. Accessed 2 August 2020. News-Medical. What Is Microfluidics? (2017) News-Medical.net, Available at: www.news-medical.net/life-sciences/What-is-Microfluidics.aspx. Accessed 2 February 2023. News-Medical. Microfluidics Applications. (2017) News-Medical.net. Availablt at: www.news-medical.net/life-sciences/Microfluidics-Applications.aspx. Accessed 2 February 2023. Ortseifen, Vera, et al. (2020) Microfluidics for Biotechnology: Bridging Gaps to Foster Microfluidic Applications. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 8, https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2020.589074. Accessed 2 February 2023. Lamanna, Julian, et al. (2020) Digital Microfluidic Isolation of Single Cells for -Omics. Nature Communications, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19394-5. Accessed 3 February 2023. Pittcon - Session. (2023) Secure-Platform.com, pittcon.secure-platform.com/2023/solicitations/1/sessiongallery/308. Accessed 2 February. 2023. Kathrine CURTIN | Graduate Student | Bachelor of Science | West Virginia University, WV | WVU | Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering | Research Profile. (2017) ResearchGate, ResearchGate, Available at: www.researchgate.net/profile/Kathrine-Curtin. Accessed 2 Feb. 2023. Pittcon - Session. (2023) Secure-Platform.com. pittcon.secure-platform.com/2023/solicitations/1/sessiongallery/147. Accessed 2 February 2023. McCarthy Riley, Bailey F., et al. (2022) Microfluidic Digital Quantitative PCR to Measure Internal Cargo of Individual Liposomes. Analytical Chemistry, 94(20), pp. 74337441, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.2c01232. Accessed 3 February 2023.. Pittcon - Session. (2023) Secure-Platform.com. pittcon.secure-platform.com/2023/solicitations/1/sessiongallery/153. Accessed 2 February 2023. Pittcon - Session. (2023) Secure-Platform.com. pittcon.secure-platform.com/2023/solicitations/1/sessiongallery/553. Accessed 2 February 2023. Pittcon - Session Gallery. (2023) Secure-Platform.com. pittcon.secure-platform.com/2023/solicitations/1/sessiongallery?searchParams=%7B%22pageIndex%22%3A0%2C%22sortMode%22%3A%22SessionName%22%2C%22sortDirection%22%3A%22Ascending%22%2C%22sortByFieldId%22%3Anull%2C%22displayMode%22%3A%22List%22%2C%22filterByFieldValues%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22filterByTextValue%22%3A%22%22%2C%22filterByFavorites%22%3Afalse%2C%22filterByScheduleRoomIds%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22filterBySessionTypeIds%22%3A%5B12%5D%2C%22filterByScheduleDayIds%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22filterByScheduleTimeSlotIds%22%3A%5B%5D%2C%22isScheduleOtherEventSearchAllowed%22%3Atrue%7D. Accessed 1 February 2023. Home - Pittcon Conference + Expo. (2023) Pittcon Conference + Expo, 19 Jan. 2023, pittcon.org/. Accessed 1 February 2023. About Pittcon Pittcon is a registered trademark of The Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy, a Pennsylvania non-profit organization. Co-sponsored by the Spectroscopy Society of Pittsburgh and the Society for Analytical Chemists of Pittsburgh, Pittcon is the premier annual conference and exposition on laboratory science. Proceeds from Pittcon fund science education and outreach at all levels, kindergarten through adult. Pittcon donates more than a million dollars a year to provide financial and administrative support for various science outreach activities including science equipment grants, research grants, scholarships and internships for students, awards to teachers and professors, and grants to public science centers, libraries and museums. Visit pittcon.org for more information. Sponsored Content Policy: News-Medical.net publishes articles and related content that may be derived from sources where we have existing commercial relationships, provided such content adds value to the core editorial ethos of News-Medical.Net which is to educate and inform site visitors interested in medical research, science, medical devices and treatments. MANZINI Some Principal Human Resource Officers believe the 2016 salary review appeals report is flawed, as it will adjust their salaries by merely E469.77. The report on the 2016 salary review appeals was leaked on various social media platforms, while it is still a subject of consultations between Public Sector Unions (PSUs) of Swaziland and the employer. Following its circulation, some civil servants have flooded this publication with queries and their supposed appeals from 2016. Among the civil servants who raised concerns were the principal human resource officers, who expressed their displeasure with the said re-grading. They said their re-graded post was of less benefit to them given that it would only afford them a difference of E469.77. This, they said, was because most of them were on notch 5 of grade D4 while the regraded post is D5. Assuming They claimed that when assuming this post, they would still not benefit as the difference between pay and Notch 1 of Grade D5 was the forementioned amount. We had appealed that we should be set at grade E4, given that our positions are academic and also are not limited to one task, one of the principal human resource officers said. Another officer in this cadre said their job requirement required academic qualifications, while they were remunerated similarly with some officers who had an entry requirement of Form V and an experience of being a former police officer. The officer said they believed that their challenges were to be addressed by the consultant; but seemingly, they were not and were continuing. The officer wondered if this was the same principle used in the private sector or other countries governments. I believe the review was supposed to be done by a consultant as the employer is conflicted and had assigned it to one in 2016, another officer said. On the other hand, some officers who were graded B5, which has an annual salary of E112 340.04 or a monthly remuneration of E9 631.67 were regraded to C3. This new grade has a monthly salary of E10 212.96 which equals E122 555.58 per annum. Calculation This tallies to a review of about E581.30 per month on what they are currently earning. This calculation is based on an employee who currently earns under Notch 1. Officers who are in these grades and their positions were regraded include cooperative officers and Cooperative auditors under the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade. Their positions were said to have been reviewed due to the scope of work and nature of their jobs. Also in this grade are labour inspectors, assistant human resources officers, and estate accounts examiner, clerk of court /interpreter and estate officer. Meanwhile, the civil servants have made their feelings in various platforms with some contacting this publication to express their displeasure in the regraded posts. Their reaction was subsequent to the publication of some of the grades which have been reviewed upwards following about 145 appeals which were submitted by the PSUs on behalf their members. The report, which came almost seven years after the salary review was effected, was presented to the four PSUs a week ago. The PSUs are: National Association of Public Servants and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU), Swaziland Democratic Nurses Union (SWADNU), Swaziland National Association of Government Accounts Professionals (SNAGAP) and Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT). Projections The PSUs represent a fraction of civil servants who are about 42 686, according to the Establishment Register for the financial year 2022/23 and are said to cost the taxpayer around E7.3 billion as per projections of wage bill at the end of the past financial year (March 31, 2022). Meanwhile, in 2016, when the salary review report was effected, there were eight grades which SNAT appealed against. The teachers union bemoaned that their members in these grades were made worse-off. These grades are: B2 Notch 1 which is that of PTD holders. There was also was an appeal against grade C2 Notch 5, which is held by holders of primary teachers certificates. Another grade is C3 Notch 1, which is held by teachers who have STDs, PTDs and BA in Humanities. Another grade that was appealed against was C4 Notch 1and also C5 Notch 1. Despite this, these grades did not form part of the report as they were not listed in the report. MBABANE - German Robert Dlamini reportedly made his home and houses a haven for criminal activities (linked to the political turmoil in the country) and also participated fully in same. It is further alleged that it was at his place of abode where some members of the underground forces would go to rest after having caused a reign of terror at different parts of the country before planning out their next move. German, according to the police, offered his home and houses for the conducting of unlawful operations in Eswatini and his place of abode became a base for them. Opposing The allegations are contained in an answering affidavit where the police are vigorously opposing Germans bail application. He was arrested together with a member of Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) Ncamiso Mabuyakhulu, who is his nephew. He was charged with the murder of two police officers and being found in possession of firearms. In his bail application, he accused Mabuyakhulu of being the one who brought the firearms to his homestead. The third accused person is Philani Sihlongonyane, who is a member of the Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO). Together, they face a total of 29 charges. The Crown, in its opposing papers, described German and his co-accused as people who were dangerous and clearly not intimidated by the police. Charges The charges they are facing include the murder of State security officers, attempted murder, kidnapping, robbery and malicious injury to property. German appears in five counts of contravening the Arms and Ammunition Act and two of the murder of two traffic police officers. Some of the firearms in question are two guns that were used in the murder of the pair of traffic police officers who were on duty near Grand Valley in Manzini. The officers are Sifiso Ivin Mthembu and Sonnyboy Dlamini. They were killed on October 18, 2022. The firearms allegedly used in the murder of the officers were an R4 rifle and R1 rifle. According to the police, it was the same firearms that were used in the murder of a soldier at Mahlabatsini, murder of a game ranger at Nsubane Farm, murder of police officer Thulani Mthembu at Ngculwini and during the kidnaping and robbery of a head teacher at Nyakatfo High School, together with three staff members. Justice In his opposing papers, Senior Superintendent Clement Sihlongonyane informed the court that releasing German would not be in the interest of justice as he was a flight risk. I do humbly state that, for the court to appreciate what prevails in this bail application, I have to trace the matrix of the matter in detail as it is one-of-a-kind where the accused persons were in a frolic of trying to unlawfully bring regime change in Eswatini using violence, in the process killing innocent citizens, burning structures and worse, killing State security agents after robbing them of State firearms, submitted the senior investigator. In his papers, Clement outlined different events where people were killed, robbed and how properties were burnt purportedly by German and his co-accused who were acting with others who are currently at large. Arrested He told the court that on November 21, 2022, Mabuyakhulu and Philani were arrested at Mkhondvo in a joint operation by the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) and Umbutfo Eswatini Defence Force (UEDF). The duo, according to the investigator, were travelling in a Honda Fit sedan. He brought it to the attention of the court that one of the suspects escaped to South Africa after abandoning the motor vehicle they were travelling in around Nkwene during a hot pursuit by the police. The senior superintendent went on to relate to the court that after necessary caution, Mabuyakhulu led them to Germans place at Gebeni, where he wanted to point out something to the police. He said when they arrived at the homestead; they found German, who confirmed to them that it was his home. The police, as per the investigator, also learnt that German was Mabuyakhulus uncle. The deponent (senior superintendent) submitted that Mabuyakhulu then requested German to give the police firearms which were under his bed at his (German) house. He alleged that after having conducted caution in terms of the judges rules, German led the police just next to his two-room house in the yard. There is a shack built with corrugated iron and nets, where he retrieved an R1 firearm, which was hidden in a refuse bag then wrapped with a brown cellotape. He then led the police out of his home, about 60 to 80 metres; he retrieved an R4 long range firearm under dry grass. The firearm was wrapped the same way as the R1, submitted the investigator. The investigator argued that German had all the time to call the police to inform them about the presence of the firearm but he chose to hide them. He went on to submit that they (police) recorded statements from independent witnesses and decided to leave German at his home as they were still investigating the matter. Senior Superintendent Clement said after the conclusion of their investigations and having recorded more statements from witnesses, German was arrested on November 21, 2022. He highlighted that the accused persons stand charged with about 29 counts of serious crimes, which attracted hefty sentences upon conviction. He argued that, with the overwhelming evidence at police disposal, the accused persons were likely to be convicted. Risk Witnesses have already recorded statements with us and are ready to testify. As stated earlier on, German is a flight risk. The communities where the offences were committed are still shocked about the unlawful activities of the accused (German), he argued. He averred that German could not claim to be innocent of the charges he was currently facing. The bail application is still pending in court and appearing for German is Noncedo Ndlangamandla. Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Lomvula Hlophe is representing the Crown. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedow yesterday held a joint meeting in which they reviewed the solid friendship relations between the two countries. They also discussed areas of joint cooperation in the economic, trade, investment, cultural and tourism fields, as well as the latest regional and global developments of mutual interest. HM the King received yesterday, at the Gudaibiya Palace, President Berdimuhamedow, and his accompanying delegation, who were on a visit to the Kingdom. Upon arrival of President Berdimuhamedow at the Gudaibiya Palace, an official reception was held in his honour. The national anthems of the two countries were played, and the artillery fired 21 rounds to salute the Kingdoms distinguished guest. The Turkmenistan leader expressed thanks and appreciation to His Majesty for the warm welcome and hospitality accorded to him. They exchanged gifts on the occasion. HM the King and the Turkmen President held an expanded talks session, attended by the delegations of the two countries. HM King Hamad delivered a speech in which he hailed President Berdimuhamedows first visit to the Kingdom, which would boost the two countries robust historical relations spanning more than a quarter of a century. It is a good and valuable opportunity to meet you here today, alongside your honorable delegation of senior officials, said HM the King, adding to start a renewed round of discussions to develop our partnerships in various areas of common interest, taking into account the capabilities available in our two countries, particularly in the investment and trade fields, in addition to the energy, food security, tourism and cultural exchange sector, which will contribute to raising the levels of economic growth in the two countries. Important bilateral agreements across various fields were signed yesterday between the two countries. HM th King conferred the Order of Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa First Class on the Turkmen President in appreciation of his efforts to consolidate joint cooperation between the two countries. President Berdimuhamedov delivered a speech in which he expressed sincere gratitude to His Majesty for the invitation to visit the Kingdom and for the generous hospitality and warm reception. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkmenistan and the Kingdom of Bahrain in 1995, we have come a long way in forming an effective model of cooperation based on friendship, fraternity, equality and mutual respect, President Berdimuhamedov said. TDT | Manama The Daily Tribune www.newsofbahrain.com His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, highlighted the depth of the longstanding relations between Bahrain and the UAE which have yielded many achievements benefiting both countries and their peoples. This came as HRH Prince Salman met yesterday with the UAE President His Highness Shaikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at Qasr Al Bahr Palace in Abu Dhabi. His Royal Highness noted the importance of furthering bilateral cooperation to achieve common goals, building on the continued support of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and HH Shaikh Mohamed. The UAE President welcomed HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Ministers visit to the UAE, and noted the depth of relations between both countries, and the mutual commitment to further advancing cooperation for the benefit of both countries. HRH the Crown Prince and Prime Minister extended the greetings of His Majesty to the UAE President, and HMs best wishes of further progress and prosperity for the UAE and its citizens. HH Shaikh Mohamed conveyed his greetings to HM the King, and his best wishes of further progress and prosperity for Bahrain. The latest regional and international issues of common interest, and initiatives to further solidify Bahrain-UAE relations and cooperation were reviewed. The meeting was attended by Finance and National Economy Minister Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa and the Private Secretary to HRH the Crown Prince, Shaikh Abdulla bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Ambassador of Bahrain to the UAE, Shaikh Khalid bin Abdullah bin Ali Al Khalifa, and several senior UAE officials. India poised to be 3rd largest construction market in 2-3 yrs: Goyal 15 Apr 2023 | 10:21 PM New Delhi, Apr 15 (UNI) Real estate sector will provide huge business opportunities, generate employment and provide big avenues for startup ecosystem as India is poised to become the 3rd largest construction market in the next 2-3 years, Union Commece Minister Piyush Goyal said on Saturday. see more.. CHEMEXCIL crosses USD 30 31 bn of chemical exports in FY23 15 Apr 2023 | 8:21 PM Mumbai, Apr 15 (UNI) Union Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, Anupriya Patel, on occasion of 47th Export Awards ceremony of CHEMEXCIL, on Saturday expressed satisfaction over CHEMEXCIL crossed USD 30 billion of exports in organic and inorganic chemical sector for the Financial Year 2023, of which USD 27 billion of exports were achieved from April 2022 to February 2023. see more.. Botnal makes its debut on Nykaa 15 Apr 2023 | 3:24 PM New Delhi, Apr 15 (UNI) Botnal, a boot-strapped natural, sustainable and gender-neutral skincare brand, has now launched on Nykaa. see more.. From traffic woes to job opportunities: Indian Bike Taxi Sector thrives with Regulatory Support & Tech Innovations 15 Apr 2023 | 2:34 PM Mumbai, Apr 15 (UNI) In line with the goal to smoothen the operations of bike taxis in the country, the Maharashtra government has formulated a six-member committee to draft norms for regulating the operations of online cab aggregator platforms in the state. see more.. Chairman of National Peace Accord and former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar has urged presidential candidates that only the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has power to announce results during Saturdays general election. Abubakar stated this on Wednesday as all political parties converged at the International Conference Centre, ICC, in Abuja for the signing of the second peace accord. Abubakar said, I want to encourage political parties to respect that only the INEC is the constitution of authority, will announce the result and to ensure that their supporters refrain from disseminating fake news. On behalf of the National Peace Committee, I urge all stakeholders to understand that this event has the potential of setting a positive in our journey to a peaceful and more democratized Nigeria. Your Excellency, Mr President, I want to thank you for taking your time to join us in this moment of history in the life of Nigerias real democracy. The governorship candidate of Labour Party (LP) in Adamawa State, Engr Umar Mustapha has collapsed his campaign structure into that of All Progressives Congress (APC) for the presidential quest of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Mustapha, who has been estranged from his the leadership of his Labour Party at both the state and national levels for a while, formally severed relationship with the party at a ceremony Thursday evening in Yola. He said during the ceremony organised by the APC that although he remained in the Adamawa State governorship race under the Labour Party, he is not supporting the partys presidential candidate, Peter Obi. The Labour Party is all about Peter Obi and the aspirations of other candidates at the various levels does not matter to the Labour Party, he said, adding that he has been ignored and disrespected even as the partys governorship candidate in the state. He said the neglect of candidates other than the presidential candidate of Labour Party is the attitude of both the national and state leaderships of the party He added that he and his governorship campaign team were forced to the decision to take their goodwill away from the presidential quest of Labour Party especially after he found that the Adamawa State leadership of the Labour Party planned to support PDP candidates in all elections except the presidential election. After extensive discussion and consultations, we decided to collapse our entire structure into the APC structure the presidential election, he said. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State has accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of gagging the press in an attempt to stop the voices of the opposition from being heard. The PDP alleged that the APC and its government had continued to prevent unbiased media coverage of its activities because the government did not want to be criticised. The opposition party explained in a statement on Thursday that its senatorial candidate in Ogun West, Ganiyu Obanibasiri, was already seated in the studio of a private radio station, Hebron FM Ota, when a phone call came from agents of the ruling party that the programme be stopped. According to the statement signed by the PDP spokesman in Ogun, Akinloye Bankole, those in power had earlier prevented the Olota of Ota, Oba Adeyemi Obalanlege, from receiving the senatorial candidate in his palace. The statement read in part: In the past weeks, we have seen different forms of emasculation of the electorate and gross resolve at gagging the press from performing its role of providing unbiased media coverage (as members of the fourth estate of the realm) for all participating political parties, especially candidates of our great party, the PDP. Just this morning at Hebron 95.9 FM Ota, our partys senatorial candidate in Ogun West, High Chief AbdulGaniy Adeleke Dada Obanibasiri, a renowned Awori son and traditional title holder, honoured the invite duly extended to him by the stations management; only to be stopped via a telephone call from some APC leaders at Ogun government house to the stations Head of Programmes, while Obanibasiri was already seated in the studio. Members of the public would recall that the same desperate people had stopped the Olota of Ota, Oba (Prof.) Abdulkabir Adeyemi Obalanlege from attending to Obanibasiri when the latter attempted to pay a courtesy call to his royal father and traditional leader. That is how low a desperate despot can go! However, we also know that no amount of media gagging or intimidation can safe the APC from electoral defeat. While encouraging journalists to discharge their legitimate duties with all sense of honesty and professionalism, the PDP charged members of the public to remain resolute in their patriotic determination to rescue Ogun from the shackles of the APC maladministration. Contacted, the anchor of the programme, Donald Olulana, confirmed that the programme was called off, but not by the APC or any government official. Olulana said the programme was stopped at the instance of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for the sake of balance and objectivity. Abdullahi Adamu, national chairman of the All progressives Congress (APC), says the party has worked hard and deserves victory at the polls. Adamu spoke with journalists on Wednesday in Abuja on the partys chances. He said the party is fully prepared and ready for the elections. For us as a party, the only result we expect from this election is victory. We have worked hard, really hard, he said. No party has been able to put up a robust campaign like the APC did. I am sure that the efforts we have put into this campaign will definitely result in success at the polls. And, by the grace of God, we shall surely come out of this Saturday presidential election victorious party. Adamu called on APC supporters and agents to conduct themselves peacefully and be very vigilant during the polls. He also urged all the political parties to support the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in conducting an election that would be fair and transparent. He said contrary to insinuations of division, the APC is going into the elections as a united front. He said the partys national working committee (NWC) and its other organs are working together to deliver victory to its presidential candidate and other APC members. He expressed optimism that Tinubu would bring renewed hope to Nigerians if elected as the countrys next president. During these campaign rallies, in all the places we visited, we were greeted by the massive turnout of supporters and loyalists which has confirmed the fact that we are the biggest party in Nigeria, Adamu said. Just yesterday, we held our final mega rally in Lagos, the number of our supporters who turned out for the rally gives me cause for joy. I am convinced that with what I have seen across the country, victory at Saturdays election belongs to the APC. He said the APCs campaign rallies provided opportunities to explain to Nigerians the partys policies and programmes for the next four years. We told Nigerians to have confidence in the ability of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to bring renewed hope to them, he said. I assure every Nigerian that the next APC administration will not only build on monumental achievements of the past eight years, it will open new areas of development for the country. Adamu said the party focused on issues that were of concern to Nigerians and assured that it has everything it takes to reset the country. In this connection, we assure that the APC remains committed to implementing ideas that will continue to make Nigeria the biggest economy in Africa, he said. Simon Ekpa, a self-acclaimed disciple of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has been released by the police in Finland. Recall that Ekpa was arrested by police at his residence in Lahti, Finland, on Thursday. He was picked up by the police just before he was to grant a newspaper interview, a Finland-based newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat (HS), reported. The platform also published a picture showing Ekpa being escorted by police officers at his residence. Hours later, HS reported that the Finland-based Biafra agitator had been released by the police after hours of questioning. Although Tommi Reen, an officer with the Central Criminal Police, did not state the identity of the suspect in custody, he confirmed the raid to HS. Reen, however, said the suspect was released after a few hours of questioning, adding that investigation is ongoing. The person being questioned today is suspected of a crime. We will return to the title on Friday, Reen was quoted as saying. Recently, Ekpa declared that there will be no elections in the south-east zone of Nigeria. Aside from the threat to elections, the Finland-based Nigerian had insisted that people of the south-east region must observe sit-at-home every Monday to protest the detention of Kanu. The sit-at-home directive has been reportedly linked to killings in the south-east. However, the leadership of IPOB through its spokesperson, Emmanuel Powerful, had distanced the group from the sit-at-home order issued by Ekpa. Former Radio Biafra anchorman, Simon Ekpa has been reportedly arrested in Finland. It was gathered that Ekpa was taken into custody on Thursday, 48 hours to the start of the general elections in Nigeria. The Central Criminal Police confirmed to Finland media outfit, HS, that the KRP (Finland police) had a police operation in a private apartment in the center of Lahti. It said the operation was connection with an ongoing preliminary investigation. He did not comment further on the matter. Nigeria had asked Finland to intervene in Ekpas activities. Last week, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Godfrey Onyeama invited the Finnish ambassador Leena Pylvanainen to a meeting. The Finland-based legal practitioner, and former athlete is known for his comments against the country and its leadership. The political activist has in recent years spoke against the unity of the country, insisting the Republic of Biafra must be achieved. Ekpa increased his campaigns after the June 2021 re-arrest and repatriation of Nnamdi Kanu, founder of of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB. Security and intelligence service have linked the kidnapping and murders in the South-East to speeches made by Ekpa. Nephew of Indira Gandhi assassin Satwant Singh held in New Zealand for drug smuggling 15 Apr 2023 | 10:46 PM New Delhi/Wellington, Apr 15 (UNI) Auckland police have arrested Baltej Singh, a nephew of Satwant Singh, one of the two Sikh bodyguards who assassinated Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, over importing a large quantity of methamphetamine concealed in beer cans. see more.. MHA decides to conduct Constable (GD) CAPF exams in 13 regional languages 15 Apr 2023 | 10:26 PM New Delhi, Apr 15 (UNI) The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved conducting Constable (General Duty) examination for Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in 13 regional languages, in addition to Hindi and English, a statement said on Saturday. see more.. EAM's visit to Uganda, Mozambique, Ethiopia helped cement strong bonds of friendship 15 Apr 2023 | 10:17 PM New Delhi, Apr 15 (UNI) External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar paid an official visit to Uganda and Mozambique from April 10-15 and also made a brief stopover in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The visit helped to further cement the strong bonds of friendship that India enjoys with these African countries. see more.. Indians in Sudan asked to stay indoors following clashes between army, paramilitary 15 Apr 2023 | 9:49 PM New Delhi/Khartoum, Apr 15 (UNI) All Indians living in Sudan were on Saturday advised to take utmost precautions, stay indoors and not venture outside, following the clashes that erupted today between Sudan's army and paramilitary forces. see more.. The Labour Party senatorial candidate for Enugu East Senatorial District, Mr. Oyibo Chukwu has been murdered. This is coming about three days to the Presidential and National Assembly elections. It was learnt that he was set ablaze alongside other party members late Wednesday evening at Amaechi Awkunanaw, Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State. Unidentified gunmen were said to have accosted them while riding in a Sienna vehicle and shot at the occupants before setting the vehicle ablaze. Oyibo and five other members of the party were said to have been affected. It is saddening; we learnt they were burnt alongside the campaign vehicle. I cant speak further because Im not his family member, a highly placed source told newsmen. Similarly, a campaign vehicle belonging to a House of Representatives member, Hon. Offor Chukwuegbo was also said to have been set ablaze within the same axis. Chukwuegbo is the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, candidate for the Enugu North/South Federal Constituency. It is unclear the number of casualties recorded in the attack, but the driver of the mini-bus was reportedly killed. The police are yet to issue a statement on the two incidents. The convoy of Oforchukwu Egbo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), house of representatives candidate for Enugu north/south federal constituency, was on Wednesday, attacked by gunmen. The incident was said to have occurred at Eke-Otu in Amechi Awkunanaw in Enugu south LGA of the state. The assailants reportedly burnt one of the drivers in the convoy to death. The development comes hours after gunmen killed Oyibo Chukwu, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for Enugu east senatorial district. Daniel Ndukwe, the police spokesperson in Enugu, confirmed the attack in a statement shared on Thursday. The Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command, CP Ahmed Ammani, fdc, has ordered the intensification of the discreet investigations and manhunt of the subversive criminal elements, suspected to be IPOB/ESN renegades, who in the night hours of 22/02/2023 at different locations, ambushed and simultaneously attacked and murdered Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) members, and also attempted to attack the convoy of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Governorship Candidate. The Commissioner stated this after visiting the scenes of the incidents the same night at Topland by Ebony Paint Road and Eke-Otu both in Amechi-Awkunanaw, Enugu, the statement reads. The Commissioner, while strongly condemning the barbaric acts, has commiserated with the Parties and family members of the deceased, vowing to ensure that the perpetrators are fished out and made to face the full wrath of the law. He, therefore, reaffirms the undiluted commitment of the Police and other Security Agencies to emplace adequate security for peaceful and credible elections in the State, while urging the citizens not to succumb to the cowardly antics of the hoodlums, which is aimed at creating fear and to disrupt the electoral process. Meanwhile, preliminary investigations into the incidents show that the armed hoodlums, operating in a tricycle, attacked a PDP campaign Mini Bus at Topland by Ebony Paint Road, Amechi-Awkunanaw Enugu and used a petrol bomb to set it ablaze, burning to death its driver, simply identified as one KC Great (male). In a similar fashion, another set of the same armed assailants, operating in a Hilux vehicle, attacked and set ablaze the campaign vehicle of the Labour Party, at Eke-Otu Amechi-Awkunanaw Enugu, burning to death the Partys Senatorial Candidate for Enugu East Senatorial District, Barr. Oyibo Chukwu (male) and his Personal Assistant (male) were with him in the vehicle. However, the miscreants were repelled by Security Operatives while attempting to also attack the convoy of the Governorship Candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) at Eke, Agbani, Nkanu West LGA. The police spokesperson added that normalcy has been restored in the affected areas. A guideline One of the easiest methods to have a bravo real-money gaming experience is to capture the best casinos offering bonus spins However, with so many online casino bonus codes out there, it might be tough to identify the excellent offers. For this reason the reviewers are singling out not only casino bonus width at reputable online casinos but player-friendly terms that stand you an opportunity of cashing them out. For what purpose Casinos Give Bonuses? To put it in a few words, casinos give bonuses to encourage you to spend more cash on their site. At times, you might discover that youll have to spend more money to claim what youve gained by the bonus. When this occurs, just confirm it to not be at a loss. If you see that youre starting to lose your potential gains from the bonus, opt out of it. The best method to look at a casino bonus is as if it was a marketing stunt. You might earn a ton of cash out of your bonus (you might also lose as well), but the casino will always look at it as a way to allure new customers or keep a hold of long-term members of their community. Say, for example, that you gain/win a couple thousand euros by betting on any present online casino with free rewards. Youre very likely to keep betting on the same website, which enlarges the casinos chances of forming some of the money back, and youre also way more likely to tell your friends or family members about the site, which rises their player base. How to Get a Casino Bonus? Earning a casino bonus is the simplest way to the track that leads to free money. Most casinos offer you the possibility to get free deposit bonuses, free spins in their slot games, and many other characters by simply formulating an account. Thats it. Youll be capable to gain the bonus as long as the casino helps the service in your country. There are some laws/rules that you have to respect before gaining it, though. For example, most casinos permit just one household to take part in their bonuses. If you use a VPN to keep away from detection or if you try to avoid their conditions and you get found out, the casino will most likely block your bonus and close/finish your account. The most famous type of casino bonus is whats termed as a Welcome Bonus. Welcome bonuses are peculiar offers that casinos have to motivate new players to connect to their services. A welcome bonus is offered by nearly every single online casino in existence, thus making it the most popular type of reward. Aside from, there are also promotional bonuses that can be accessed by meeting certain criteria within the casino website. These kinds of bonuses often share some resemblances with regular welcome bonuses, but they have different requirements attached to claiming them. Best Online Casino Bonuses Ignition: $ 3000 casino and poker welcome bonus Super Slots: $ 6,000 casino welcome bonus Wild Casino: $ 9,000 crypto welcome bonus Cafe Casino: Welcome bonus of 350% up to $ 2,500 Red Dog Casino: Welcome package up to $ 12,250 Slots.lv: Up to $ 5,000 in bonuses Bovada: 100% online casino bonus up to $ 3,000 BetUS: 150% casino bonus up to $ 5,000 Bitstarz: First deposit bonus up to 1 BTC + 180 free spins (5 Bitcoin in whole) EveryGame: 200% online casino bonus up to $ 7,777 + 77 free spins Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, Director-General, National Council for Arts and Culture, has cautioned Nigerians to be careful of joining the japa (run, flee or escape) wave in search of a better life, saying many who did are struggling to return. Runsewe told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja that the trend had led to the disintegration of families and many marriages collapsing. According to him, bankers and lecturers have joined the list, adding that there is a need for those who desire to migrate to other countries to plan well to avoid becoming a nuisance. He said japa syndrome should not be celebrated, saying many people who had done so were regretful and would not tell their families the truth. Runsewe said Nigeria would be great again, calling on everyone to keep hope alive and believe that better days are ahead. Japa is an unfortunate thing that is not in our culture, if you recollect in the 90s, Andrew checking out, that is the japa we are having today. When Andrew was checking out, it was for a different reason, but there is a new thing to it now. They are all coming back home, yes, I will give you an analysis to it now. The japa syndrome is an unfortunate thing, it started with doctors, not too long ago, we see lecturers, and now bankers have joined. A lot of them sold their houses, properties to japa, only for them to get to their destinations and realise that the japa is not in their interest. If you have 5,000 dollars now in Nigeria, multiply it by 748 Naira, if you have 5000 pounds in London today, you are going to pay tax, electricity, gas, insurance, dont forget that when you are abroad everything will have to be insured. Many of their relatives and friends do not tell them the reality. They take pictures in beautiful places to deceive, they sell their houses, cars and get them to realise that its not always rosy. The rate at which you can save money in Nigeria is about 80 per cent, the rate at which you can save money abroad is less than 10 per cent, for every good you eat over there, cars driven, you pay tax, a lot of people misunderstood Japa, thinking its a dollar to a dollar. Up till this morning, many people in London, Canada, Germany are begging to come back home, most people are not aware of this, they are just saying I want to leave. Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF), says President Muhammadu Buhari has not acted in breach of the supreme courts injunction restraining the federal government from imposing a deadline on the use of old naira notes. Speaking at the 67th ministerial press briefing at the state house on Thursday, the AGF said there are multiple ways around the order of the supreme court. On February 8, the apex court issued an injunction restraining the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from giving effect to the deadline on the use of the old N200, N500, and N1000 notes. The order followed an ex parte application brought before the court by three northern states Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara states. Despite the order, the President on February 16, in a nationwide broadcast, directed the CBN to re-circulate the old N200 note, declaring that the old N500 and N1,000 notes were no longer legal tender. Addressing the issue, Malami said: Where an order is made by a court, you have multiple options but let me state before even addressing the issue of the options available at our disposal as a government. The fact, clearly, that we are not in breach of any order made by the court, inclusive of any order associated with the naira redesign. We are not in breach. I believe Im not a banker but you have not gone to establish which bank is it that you have gone to present N1000 or N500 notes that have been rejected. So we are not in breach. But then, assuming we are in breach, the fact remains that this matter is sub-judice as you rightly know. Its being contested before the supreme court and when an order is made, you have multiple options within the context of the rule of law. One, you are entitled as a matter of right, if the facts and evidence support your position, to apply for setting it aside. The position of the law and legal jurisprudence is clear. Once you are attacking and you seek for setting aside of an existing order of the court, you cannot be said to be operating in breach when you have presented your application for setting aside. If the court is not an apex court, you equally have a right of appeal and support the right of appeal with an application of stay of execution order. We are doing the needful as a government, in terms of ensuring that the right of the government, within the context of the naira redesign, is being protected. So we are not in breach. Meanwhile, 13 other states have joined in the suit against the federal government. The apex court has fixed March 3 to deliver judgment in the suit. Toyin Abraham, the Nollywood actress, has reaffirmed her support for Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The actress took to her social media handles to share photos of herself with the former Lagos governor. The movie star revealed she is meeting Tinubu for the first time. The filmmaker said listening to the APC presidential candidates ideas, visions, and strategy to solve Nigerias challenges, renewed her hope and reaffirmed why she endorsed Tinubu. For the first time, I met the incoming president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and he shared some of his Ideas, Visions and Strategy to solve the challenges before us, as a Nation, she wrote. Listening to him indeed renewed my hope and reaffirmed why he is my choice. Jagaban is coming! For the first time, I met the incoming president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and he shared some of his Ideas, Visions and Strategy to solve the challenges before us, as a Nation. Listening to him indeed renewed my hope and reaffirmed why he is my choice. pic.twitter.com/6NnTBW5VdI TOYIN ABRAHAM AJEYEMI (@toyin_abraham1) February 22, 2023 Jagaban is coming! #AsiwajuBaby TOYIN ABRAHAM AJEYEMI (@toyin_abraham1) February 22, 2023 Last month, the film star came under social media criticism after she said she may vote for Tinubu. Toyin, however, fired back at her critics, saying I didnt collect any money from the APC presidential candidate. If anybody curses me or swears at me, it cant affect me because I didnt collect money. Only those that took money will be affected, she said. I, Oluwatoyin, I didnt collect money neither did I campaign for anyone. Nobody can pay me. Im making my money, I sell my movies in cinemas, I sell them on platforms, Im making my money and Im fine. The point is to choose your candidate and dont bully me. Nigerians will go to the polls on February 25 to elect a new president. A total of 18 candidates will participate in the presidential election. But four candidates are leading the race for the election. They include Tinubu, Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). Former presidential candidate of the African Democratic Party, ADC, Kingsley Moghalu has reacted to the killing of Labour Party senatorial candidate for Enugu East Senatorial District, Mr. Oyibo Chukwu. It was reported that Chukwu was reportedly murdered and set ablaze alongside other party members on Wednesday evening at Amaechi Awkunanaw, Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State. It was gathered that unidentified persons were said to have accosted them while riding in a Sienna vehicle. Reacting, Moghalu on Twitter, expressed sadness over the incident. What a tragedy! Im deeply saddened. Oyibo was my classmate at the University of Nigeria (Enugu Campus) Law Faculty. Does politics have to be this desperate and violent? May his soul rest in peace. My sincere condolences to Oyibo Chukwus family, he wrote on Twitter. Former House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara had declared the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar as the best option. The politician and legal practitioner aired his opinion in a post Wednesday night on Twitter. Dogara admitted the former Vice President isnt perfect, stressing that those imperfect mostly get leadership responsibilities. I am acutely aware that @atiku is not perfect but note that throughout history, the task of building nations have always fallen on the shoulders of imperfect men & women. My only point is that the best of us must not be led by the worst of us. @atiku remains the best, he tweeted. The 55-year-old Bauchi native served as the lawmaker for Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa federal constituency from 2007 till 2019. Dogara defected to the PDP from the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, after the presidential candidate Bola Tinubu picked Senator Kashim Shettima as his running mate. The Muslim-Muslim ticket was opposed by the Christian community in the APC, including Dogara, ex-Secretary to the Government of the Federation Government, Babachir Lawal, Senator Elisah Abbo, among others. Ahead of Saturdays presidential election, a prominent member and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Bode George, has revealed the partys major problem. George said that the problem the PDP have ahead of this weekends general election is that the managers of the party have failed to manage it well. Speaking on Arise TV on Wednesday, George said the leaders of PDP have failed to include the southwest in vital positions in the party ahead of this years general election. George said, The managers of the current party did not manage it well. See the scenario now. The presidential candidate is northeast, the director general of the national campaign is North West, the national chairman of the party is in the north-central, the vice presidential candidate is from the south-south, and the acting chairman of the board of trustees is from the southeast. Where is the south-west in all these? Where is that inclusivity, so that is the problem we have and the integrity group still stands so fast without belief? [Where is] fairness and equity? Recall that crises erupted in the PDP when Atiku Abubakar picked Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his running mate. Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has been aggrieved with the partys leadership over Atikus choice of a running mate. Following Atikus action, Wike called for the resignation of Iyorchia Ayu as the National Chairman of the PDP. Wike noted that the North could not produce PDPs presidential flagbearer and the National Chairman. The Obi-Datti Grassroots Mobilization of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, has expressed optimism that the partys candidate, Peter Obi, would win the Saturday poll as early as 12pm. The head of the mobilization team, Wale Okunniyi, stated this when he appeared on Channels Television on Thursday. Okunniyi said he and other members of the team had invested much working in the mobilization of voters for the former Anambra governor to expect clear victory come Saturday. He said, My optimism tells me that Peter Obi will win by first ballots. The level of hard work some of us have put into this thing gave us that optimism. You will be shocked that by 12 noon on Saturday we have won already. It may not be official but you will know through trend. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will be battling for the nations top job on Saturday, February 25. Dhaka, Feb 23 (UNI) Referring to the recent controversy over the US Ambassador to Bangladesh, the Russian Embassy in Dhaka issued a statement, indirectly accusing the US of 'blackmail and attempts to dominate'. Such a statement from the embassy of another country like Russia, referring to the diplomat of an influential country like the US in Bangladesh, is an unprecedented event. "Some countries, which claim to be 'advanced democracies', not only interfere in the internal affairs of other sovereign countries, but even blackmail them," the Russian embassy said in a statement. This statement from the Russian Embassy was sent to various media on Wednesday. It is said that they do not interfere in the internal affairs of any country. Such a diplomatic spat between the two embassies over Bangladesh has not been seen in the past. The Russian Embassy in Dhaka made this statement when some ministers of the Bangladesh government and leaders of the ruling party expressed their displeasure over the activities of the US ambassador Peter Haas assigned to Dhaka. Although the statement of the Russian embassy did not mention the name of America, it is quite clear that it refers to America and Western countries. The role of Western countries has been severely criticized. The statement said, "These incidents show the desire of countries that identify themselves as advanced democracies to be hegemonic." Not only do they interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign member states of the United Nations, they are blatantly blackmailing. As a result, the sovereignty of many countries is under threat, the statement said. "Countries that consider themselves the rulers of the world interfere in the internal affairs of a country they don't like under the guise of protecting democratic values." "Russia is committed to its policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries in every respect," the Russian embassy said. UNI MAZ GNK Barcelona manager, Xavi Hernandez has said he will tell his players that the pressure is on him ahead of the second leg of their Europa League last-16 clash with Manchester United. Both sides played out a 2-2 draw at Camp Nou last week. Xavi admits that United are one of the in-form teams on the continent, but was keen to take the pressure off his players. This is the best United in recent years. They are back; they are even competing for the Premier League. Its the perfect setting to show that Barca can compete against a big European team. I will tell the players: The pressure is on me, go out there and enjoy this stage. I would give anything to play again at Old Trafford on a big European night with a special atmosphere, Xavi said. The United States on Thursday donated $25m to support Nigeria in conducting free, fair, and credible elections. The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Leonard, made this known in a roundtable chat with journalists in Abuja on Thursday. Leonard commended Nigeria for upholding a peaceful and consistent democracy, adding that the US has worked with the Independent National Electoral Commission ahead of the forthcoming election. She stressed, So, we have long been involved in democracy and governance through programmes in Nigeria and probably we are spending about 25 million dollars with particular reference to this election. We are doing many things. First of all, we are sponsoring and independent observation mission with some very high-powered delegation, US Veterans, they are independent of us but we have played a role in facilitating. We have worked with INEC itself, on sort of the technical aspects, for example, we trained some 1,800 technical workers on how to troubleshoot the BVAS and those people in their turns have trained hundreds of thousands of other people. So that come election day, if there is any trouble with the technology, people will be around to know how to fix it. I think we have had a well-rounded interaction regarding this election and again we are really looking forward to see the peaceful elections. She said every Nigerian had the responsibility of ensuring a peaceful process, urging leaders to take their commitments seriously. Leonard stated, Everybody has an obligation to contributing to a peaceful execution of election, security agencies have a formal role, politicians have a role, campaigns have a role, individuals have a role. Some of the things you see on social media are disturbing, with inciting of violence, and I think all Nigerians have to think about that carefully, your vote is your voice. We urged the candidate and political parties to respect the outcomes of the elections and the National Peace Commission should be commended for their roles. I will hope that leaders take their commitments seriously, Leonard said Usman Baba, the inspector-general of police (IGP), says governors cannot be prosecuted over alleged inciting comments on the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Baba spoke on Wednesday with journalists after the national security council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari. Governors such as Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna and Dapo Abiodun of Ogun have openly countered the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari on the naira redesign policy. While the federal government has declared the old N500 and N1,000 notes as invalid, the two governors have said the notes remain legal tender pending the determination of a suit before the supreme court on the matter. Amid the directives and counter-directives, there have been protests in parts of the country, as well as attacks on banks, including in Ogun state. Speaking on the comments by the governors, which have been criticised in some quarters as inciting, the IGP said governors found culpable cannot be prosecuted by the police because they have immunity. We all know why the governors have not been cautioned. We are investigating. Whoever does anything can be investigated, he said. But for him to be prosecuted, there are some people who have immunity. I think that is one of the reasons, but that will not stop us from cautioning them, from warning them, from advising them; and we are doing so. Six-day (Tuesday through Sunday) print subscribers of the Watertown Daily Times are eligible for full access to NNY360, the NNY360 mobile app, and the Watertown Daily Times e-edition, all at no additional cost. If you have an existing six-day print subscription to the Watertown Daily Times, please make sure your email address on file matches your NNY360 account email. You can sign up or manage your print subscription using the options below. New Delhi, Feb 23 (UNI) US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen on Thursday met with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Bengaluru and stressed the US support for Indias G20 presidency. Secretary Yellen, who met Sitharaman on the sidelines of the G20 Meeting of Finance Ministers, also thanked Minister Sitharaman for her hospitality, a US statement said. The Secretary discussed cooperation on the evolution of multilateral development banks, encouraged strengthened health-finance coordination, and thanked India for taking a leadership role on promoting sovereign debt restructuring, while encouraging faster G20 efforts on existing debt restructuring cases, it said. Biloxi resident Craig DeRoche was so impressed with the sky ride at Epcot Center in Disney World, he took photos and video to illustrate his idea of creating a similar ride along the beach in Biloxi. Photo courtesy of Craig DeRoche Plelican Lake subdivision sign, marking the entrance there at Burbank Drive and Pelican Lkaes Parkway, sen Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. Authorities say Madison Brooks, a 19-year-old LSU sophomore, was raped in the back of a car before being dropped the neighborhood, near where she was fatally struck by a car on Burbank Drive about an hour later, around 2:50 a.m. on Jan. 15. She had been drinking at Reggie's bar before the incident, and deputies said Brooks had a blood-alcohol level of .319, nearly four times the legal limit to drive and enough to give someone alcohol poisoning and render them unconscious. The mask mandates did nothing. Will any lessons be learned? Fort Polk, LA (71446) Today Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. A few storms may be severe. Low 52F. WSW winds shifting to NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms during the evening. A few storms may be severe. Low 52F. WSW winds shifting to NNW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. BP plans to invest $1 billion through 2030 to install electric vehicle charging stations across the United States. The London-based energy giant, whose largest refinery is in Whiting, said the investment is "another step toward delivering on its transformation to an integrated energy company." It plans to partner with Hertz to bring fast-charging electric vehicle points to cities including Chicago, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Denver, Houston, Miami, New York City, Orlando, Phoenix, San Francisco and Washington, DC. The infrastructure rollout is meant to help the transition to electric vehicles as the federal government is pushing for as many as 50% of new vehicles produced to be electric by 2030. The project will include gigahubs, or large-scale, fast-charging hubs such as one BP and Hertz are building together at the Los Angeles International Airport. Rideshare gig workers, taxi drivers, car rental customers and other motorists will be able to use them at high-traffic spots like airports to get a quick charge. This is about more, faster. Were bringing more, fast-charging options to more Americans for faster EV adoption, said Dave Lawler, chairman and president of BP America. Working alongside Hertz, were excited to drive the future of mobility. BP, which employs 1,800 workers and hundreds more contractors at the BP Whiting Refinery, has identified five "transition growth engines" that include bioenergy, hydrogen, convenience, renewables and electric vehicle charging. It's looking to direct half its global investment to those areas by 2030. Since 2005, BP has invested more than $140 billion in the United States, where it has its largest economic footprint in the world. The energy company already has 22,000 electric vehicle charging stations worldwide. It aims to have 100,000 more by 2030. BP aims to become net zero by 2050. As Hertz builds the largest EV rental fleet in North America, it is essential that our millions of customers -- including leisure and business travelers, rideshare drivers and corporate clients have access to a national network of reliable, fast chargers, said Stephen Scherr, Hertz chair and CEO. We are excited to be working with bp to build out charging at Hertz locations across the country, and to leverage telematic insights from the Hertz fleet to ensure that charging is located at the places where our customers need it most. Hertz now has tens of thousands of electric vehicles for rent at more than 750 locations in 38 states. It aims to make a quarter of its fleet electric by 2024 in a bid to help "accelerate the mainstream adoption of EVs." The Michigan City Chamber of Commerce announced its annual award winners at a gala at the Stardust Room at Blue Chip Casino. The chamber named the roofing products manufacturer and distributor GAF Materials Corp. the Large Business of the Year and Duneland Landscape as the Small Business of the Year. RL Roofing won the Community Impact of the Year Award, Seth Spencer of the digital marketing agency Sera Group the Young Professional of the Year and Michele Gustin of the historic Barker Mansion as the Ambassador of the Year. The Michigan City Chamber of Commerce also gave longevity awards to legacy-owned businesses, including for reaching milestone years of membership in the chamber. Michigan City Chamber of Commerce Board Chair Kim Giannetti with General Insurance Services for instance presented an Excellence in Leadership award to Megan Applegate for her years on the board and role as a founder of the Lakefront Career Network. Megan has over eight years of service to the chamber, Giannetti said. We truly appreciate her contributions to the chamber and LCN. Last year, the chamber, representing businesses in Michigan City and greater LaPorte County, released a new strategic plan and welcomed 70 new members. We gather to celebrate the success of our chamber, our members, and our community," Chamber President Katie Eaton said. Being here tonight shows your support for our businesses and Michigan City." Economic Development Director Don Babcock closed out the dinner, asking the audience "why not?" and encouraging them to think boldly about growing the lakefront community with new developments and ideas. For more information, visit www.MichiganCityChamber.com or call 219-874-6221. Teachers Credit Union, the largest credit union in the state of Indiana, has named Angie Dvorak its new Chief Marketing + Growth Officer. Dvorak was previously vice president of marketing for the credit union, which has branches in St. John, Hammond, Gary, Whiting, Chesterton and Valparaiso. She will oversee branding, marketing, advertising, community engagement and member acquisition in the executive role. She'll also be tasked with developing strategy, product design and member experience. Were pleased to announce Angies appointment as our new Chief Marketing + Growth Officer, said Jason M. Osterhage, president and CEO of TCU. Angie has a proven track record of vision and innovation and in this role, she will have the opportunity to help build excitement around our brand as she works to grow our base of engaged and active members. She has impressively orchestrated TCUs marketing efforts for the past six years and with her leadership, we are looking forward to further strengthening our presence in the marketplace. Dvorak joined Teachers Credit Union in 2017 and was promoted to vice president in 2018. She led the credit union's marketing and communications while also supporting the TCU Foundation's marketing. Dvorak previously spent nine years at 1st Source Bank, where she served as vice president of public relations. She also worked in the Indiana Statehouse, earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Indiana University and got an MBA from the University of Notre Dames Mendoza College of Business. No one was more surprised than Daniel Barenboim himself at the impromptu homecoming to Milans Teatro alla Scala as a last-minute sub just two weeks after he formally stepped down as the Berlin's State Opera's music director after 30 years. A towering figure in classical music, the 80-year-old conductor and pianist got a call at 7:15 a.m. on Sunday with an unexpected invitation to conduct three Mozart concerts, after Daniel Harding canceled for family reasons. By Wednesday, Barenboim who left his Berlin post for health reasons was running rehearsals at La Scala, a theater where he worked for nearly a decade, as chief conductor and then musical director. Its as if I had been away for one week. I was very touched, really, Barenboim told The Associated Press, saying more than the faces, he found familiarity in the sound. There is no question his health remains a chief concern after being diagnosed with what he has described only as a serious neurological condition. He moves slowly and takes his time standing up. People who have watched him in rehearsal, however, say his energy is apparent as soon as he picks up the baton. Despite the illness, Barenboim is determined to inhabit the conductors podium as much as possible even if it means doing so sitting down, which he did for a New Year's Concert in Berlin, and which he may do again in Milan. We will take it day by day," he said. Barenboim received a standing ovation and more than five minutes of applause at the end of Wednesday night's performance, which he conducted from a seated position. The musicians stomped their feet in appreciation as he came out for final bows. I know I am expected to say this illness changed my life. No," he insisted. Things that were very important to me as a musician before are still as important. Things that were not important are still not important. I cant say I feel perfectly, but I feel well enough to conduct tomorrow, and I hope Thursday and Saturday. And next we will see. Piano is another matter. He has only performed twice publicly in the last year, he said. If he plays in private, well, he wants to keep that his business. What is clear is that at no time during his seven-decade career traversing the globe, commanding orchestras from Berlin to Milan, Chicago to Paris, did Barenboim ever consider slowing down his frenetic pace. That is until his health issues forced him to. You know, I never felt my age. I never took into consideration that I was not 20, or 30 or 40 or 50 or 60 or 70 anymore," Barenboim said. I have been hit, but I feel well, and I can make music. I am very happy making music." Giving up the Berlin State Opera, he said, saddened him. But it was necessary," he said. It is a full-time job. And this I cant do anymore. I dont want to do it anymore. Maintaining ties, Barenboim will conduct two concerts with the Berlin State Opera's orchestra, the Staatskapelle Berlin, later this month, and looks to do more. I don't need to hope. I will do it, he said. Barenboim made his first public performance at age 7 in his native Argentina. His extraordinary biography traces a broad swath of the geopolitical history of the 20th Century, from his Jewish grandparents fleeing Russian pogroms in the early 1900s to his parents' decision to move with him to the newly created Jewish state of Israel when he was 10 because, he said, they wanted him to live as part of a majority, not part of a minority. He first became aware of the persecution of Jews en route to Israel. His parents took the young Barenboim to Salzburg, for a master class, but would not allow him to accept an invitation to play in Germany because the memory of the Nazi Holocaust was too near. He still struggles to understand why Austria, Hitler's birthplace that annexed with Nazi Germany, was a yes, and Germany a no to his parents. Fast-forward decades, and Berlin has been his home for 30 years, and his work reviving the Berlin State Opera, located in what is former East Berlin, is widely credited with relaunching cultural life in Germany after reunification. Even against such historical sweep, Barenboim is troubled by the world around him. Putins war in Ukraine, which he struggles to comprehend. The state of affairs in Israel. And the decision by some in the West to isolate Russian musicians, which he does not see as justified. Not all Russians are anti-Ukraine, he said. Lets face it, we dont live in a very spiritual time nowadays. The spiritual dimension has diminished, in all ways," Barenboim said. I think it is very sad, and I hope its only a transition. Ive known the world since the 1950s. For better or worse, I have always been a very happy person to visit the universe. But it has become very matter-of-fact, I find. Very material. He believes people could find salve in music, but that many, even musicians, are too hurried to take time to appreciate it. People dont know how to listen to music. They dont have to know the intricate, technical compositional details. But you must concentrate when you listen. You cant look at the phone and do other things," Barenboim said. And I think youre supposed to look for this spiritual condition that music can give you. It doesnt come by itself. Barenboim is continuing his work with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, which he began with writer Edward Said, with plans to conduct this summer in Salzburg and Lucerne, and the Barenboim-Said music academy in Berlin, which launched in 2017. Both bring together musicians from countries that have historically been enemies, to promote dialogue. He finds their level of cooperation exemplary, and is especially impressed by the students at the academy. He recounts recently watching a performance at the academy: a Palestinian student on the clarinet, an Israeli pupil of Ethiopian origin the first violin, a Syrian the second violin, an Iranian the viola, and the cellist was Israeli. To see this quintet, with what understanding of each other, and what each one is doing and contributing, was heart-warming," he said, pausing to consider. Which means there is hope. CROWN POINT Two Chicago residents face murder charges in connection with the 2019 fatal shooting of a 25-year-old in Hammond. Emani Edwards, 27, and Lamont Turentine, 29, were arrested last month in Cook County, Illinois, and have been extradited to Lake County where they await trial. Tyran Bolling was shot and killed Dec. 13, 2019, in the 4400 block of Henry Avenue. He had been at his girlfriend Danica Luckeys house before he left to meet up with Edwards, known as Money, according to court records. A police review of Facebook messages between Edwards and Bolling found the two were involved romantically, records show. The evening of Bollings murder, they messaged about moving in together and Edwards told Bolling she loved him, records show. Edwards had agreed to pick up Bolling just minutes before his murder, according to the probable cause affidavit, but she told him shed have to drop Ski off first. Luckey said she saw Turentines car at the time of the shooting, according to the probable cause affidavit, and she told police Bolling was good friends with him. The probable cause affidavit said the vehicle was captured within a thousand feet of the crime scene just minutes before the shooting, and right after, it traveled in a loop around the scene of the murder. Officers found six 9 mm cartridge cases at the crime scene. DNA testing found that the casings matched the DNA of Jakharri Mims, records said. Mims was under house arrest at the time of Bollings murder and an official from the Cook County Sheriffs Office said he did not generate any recorded activity on the day of the crime. Mims reportedly said his DNA was on the casings because he used to live with Turentine and they kept guns in the house. According to a police review of his Facebook messages, Mims and a friend discussed Bollings death and his relationship with Edwards several days after the murder. The messages reportedly showed that Bollings relationship with Edwards was unknown to Turentine. The messaging indicates that Lamont Turentine killed Tyran Bolling because of this, according to the probable cause affidavit. A Northwest Indiana lawmaker won unanimous House approval Wednesday for a plan to require all preschools and child care facilities across the state to test their water for potential lead contamination. House Bill 1138 continues the efforts of Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond, to require Indiana schools to identify and remediate any lead-tainted water sources accessible to children. "The water these children drink today will impact them tomorrow, so testing what is consumed daily is an action we must take," Jackson said. "As a mother and state representative, it is my duty to protect young children who are going through their most crucial developmental stages in life." Under her plan, every child care center, child care home and preschool would have to test its drinking water for lead at least once before Jan. 1, 2025. If the test shows a lead level higher 15 parts per billion, then the person responsible for the facility or preschool would be obligated to reduce the lead concentration in the drinking water. "Right now the presence of lead is uncertain. Buildings with older infrastructure are at a higher risk and newer buildings are not any safer," Jackson said. "Lead can come from anywhere, even through pipes down the street where water is being supplied. Simply put, no building is safe, and it is necessary to test all these facilities to find this hazard and have peace of mind." According to the Indiana Department of Health, lead exposure can damage the brain and nervous system, causing slowed growth and development, learning and behavior problems, issues with hearing and speech, impulsivity, nausea and other debilitating effects. Jackson's proposal was approved 93-0. She's hopeful that the Senate will follow suit and promptly send the plan to Gov. Eric Holcomb to be signed into law. "We have the chance to find sources of lead and eliminate them before it creates lasting impacts. This bill has given the House peace of mind. Now it is time for the Senate to do the same," she said. Meet the 2023 Northwest Indiana legislative delegation State Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond State Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago State Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary State Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso State Rep. Pat Boy, D-Michigan City State Rep. Chuck Moseley, D-Portage State Rep. Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron State Rep. Mike Andrade, D-Munster State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary State Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville State Rep. Kendell Culp, R-Rensselaer State Rep. Julie Olthoff, R-Crown Point State Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie State Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland State Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago State Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary State Sen. Rodney Pol Jr., D-Chesterton State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso State Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell State Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores Food lockers for the needy are coming to the Strack & Van Til in East Chicago. Valparaiso-based HealthLinc and the Merrillville-based Food Bank of Northwest Indiana are bringing food lockers to the supermarket, 4725 Indianapolis Blvd., to help people experiencing food insecurity. People in need of assistance can enroll in the program and pick up food at the grocery. HealthLinc East Chicago will identify which of its patients would benefit and sign them up. It also might offer assistance with finding transportation. HealthLinc is proud to partner with the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana on this project, CEO Beth Wrobel said. Too many of our patients and community members face hunger issues and we want to help in any way we can. The food locker program, along with our mobile food pantries, brings much-needed help to this continued and growing situation. It's part of an effort by HealthLinc to bring healthy, fresh food to its patients in Northwest Indiana. The nonprofit has hosted four drive-thru mobile food pantries with the food bank, serving more than 700 people from just East Chicago. It also helps feed the needy in Starke, La Porte and St. Joseph counties. HealthLinc also provides primary medical, dental, optometry and behavioral health services to people of all ages, regardless of ability to pay. It accepts Medicare, Medicaid, the Healthy Indiana Plan and most commercial insurance plans, offering services on a sliding scale and treating people without insurance. With this partnership, HealthLinc patients will have access to a medically tailored box of groceries available at our state-of-the-art locker system at the East Chicago Strack & Van Til store, said Victor Garcia, CEO of the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. This collaboration will have a meaningful impact on the health and well-being of our neighbors in need of food assistance. We look forward to learning from this pilot in the hopes to expand this project to other communities. HealthLinc, founded in 1996 as Hilltop Neighborhood House, has 12 clinics, two telehealth clinics and a mobile medical and dental clinic. For more information, contact Vanessa Fernandez, vfernandez@healthlincchc.org. LaPorte County no longer is included in legislation aimed at encouraging township mergers in select Indiana counties. The House Ways and Means Committee unanimously agreed Monday to remove LaPorte County from House Bill 1355 with no debate or discussion. The sponsor of the measure, Rep. Doug Miller, R-Elkhart, said he concurred with the decision. The revised legislation establishes a township merger pilot program in Blackford, Crawford and Switzerland counties, giving local leaders a chance to consolidate all, or nearly all, of their townships to improve government efficiency. "The goal of all this is to provide a higher level of customer service for Hoosiers because the data shows that in our most rural areas they're not receiving a high level of customer service," Miller said. The 21 townships in LaPorte County outnumber every other county in the state. Gallery: Get to know the state symbols of Indiana State Aircraft: Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt State Bird: Cardinal State Flag State Flower: Peony State Fossil: Mastodon State Gun: Grouseland Rifle State Insect: Say's Firefly State Language: English State Motto: "Crossroads of America" State Nickname: The Hoosier State State Pie: Sugar Cream Pie (unofficial) State Poem: "Indiana" State River: Wabash State Seal State Snack: Indiana-Grown Popcorn State Song: "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" State Stone: Limestone State Tree: Tulip tree GARY The American Charitable Foundation and American Waters General Counsel Jim Gallegos have made a total donation of $200,000 to the National Urban League and the Affiliate Movement. American Water is the largest publicly traded U. S. water and wastewater utility company. The American Charitable Foundation was established by American Water. That donation includes $10,000 donation to the Urban League of Northwest Indiana. The funding will enhance the ULNWIs efforts to help close the equality gap for African Americans and other historically underserved groups throughout American Waters national footprint. The American Water Charitable Foundation is proud to partner with the National Urban League and the Affiliate Movement, supporting impactful initiatives and programs that help to prepare future leaders of tomorrow, said Carrie Williams, President of American Water Charitable Foundation. We remain committed to strengthening our inclusion, diversity, equity and equality principles by supporting organizations such as the Urban League, which helps uplift and empower those they serve. This donation is particularly meaningful as we celebrate Black History Month in February. Founded in 1910, the National Urban League is a historic civil rights organization dedicated to economic empowerment, equality and social justice. The Urban League spearheads the development of social programs, public policy research and advocates for policies and services that close the equality gap. Indiana American Waters donation to the Urban League of Northwest Indiana will further enhance our efforts to assist clients in securing education and inclusion, diversity and equity opportunities, said ULNWI President and CEO Dr. Vanessa Allen McCloud. Education translates into them being able to identify opportunities that improve the quality of life for their families and become more informed on ways to support our local economy. Its a win for everyone. Originally established in 1945 as the Urban League of Gary, the Urban League of Northwest Indiana works to promote, encourage and enhance services to improve social, educational, and economic conditions of African Americans and other minority groups in Lake, Porter, and LaPorte counties. We are committed to Northwest Indiana and to making it a better place to live and work for everyone, said Indiana American Water President Matt Prine. Giving back and being a good neighbor to our partner communities is a core part of who we are as a company, and were pleased to lend support to the Urban Leagues efforts here. Since 2012, the American Water Charitable Foundation has donated to worthy causes and organizations in communities served by American Water. Being a good neighbor and steward of the environment has always been central to the mission of American Water. Although maternal mortality rates declined worldwide from 2000 to 2020, almost 800 women still die of pregnancy-related complications every day, according to a grim report issued Wednesday by the World Health Organization and other agencies of the United Nations. Despite early improvements in maternal health during the 20-year period, progress has stalled in many regions, and in recent years maternal mortality rates have risen sharply in Latin America, the Caribbean and, perhaps surprisingly, in Europe and North America. Most maternal deaths are still concentrated in poor countries and war-torn regions. Girls and women are at greatest risk in sub-Saharan Africa, where 70 percent of global maternal deaths occur. A 15-year-old girl in the region has a 1 in 40 lifetime risk of dying of a cause related to pregnancy. Maternal mortality is also more common in countries experiencing humanitarian crises, such as Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan, where there are 551 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births more than double the world average rate of 223 per 100,000. Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive, William Wordsworth wrote about the early days of the French Revolution. But to be young was very heaven! Dancing the Twist in Bamako, a new feature from the French filmmaker Robert Guediguian, nimbly captures both the kind of youthful ecstasy Wordsworth recalled and the disillusionment that so often follows. Its the early 1960s, and the Republic of Mali (formerly French Sudan) is in the first flush of post-colonial optimism, having declared independence from France a few years before. Samba (Stephane Bak) spends his days spreading the Marxist gospel promoted by the countrys president, Modibo Keita, and his evenings at the Happy Boys Club, one of many nightspots in Bamako, Malis capital, that cater to the local appetite for Western pop music. Dressed in miliary-style fatigues, Samba and his comrades drive out to rural villages to lecture peasants and landowners on the virtues of collective agriculture. They are as enthusiastic about promoting the cause as having fun, and at first there seems to be no contradiction between politics and pleasure. Its the 60s! In the bedroom Samba shares with his music-obsessed brother, Badian (Bakary Diombera), there are posters of Ho Chi Minh and Otis Redding. Socialism and soul music seem like two sides of the same coin. Eventually, all the posters will be torn down, and Sambas experience will spin from disappointment to danger to tragedy. Guediguian, many of whose previous films have been set in and around the French port city of Marseille, has a jaunty, slightly old-fashioned way with narrative. The plot of Dancing the Twist is busy, the emotions big, and the screen sometimes as crowded with character and incident as a page of Dickens. An American alligator rescued from Prospect Park Lake on Sunday had swallowed a four-inch-wide bathtub stopper and is not strong enough for it to be removed right now, the Bronx Zoo said in a statement on Wednesday evening. The alligator, a female, is too weak and unresponsive to eat on its own and is being tube-fed, according to the statement from the zoo, which has been caring for the animal since its rescue from the park. The alligator is about 5 years old and is being treated with fluids, vitamin B, antibiotics and an antifungal medication, the zoo said. An X-ray taken during a medical evaluation revealed the bath stopper. We will continue to provide supportive care for her and determine next steps based on how she responds to treatment, the statement from the zoo said. The alligator was noticed by a New York City Parks Department maintenance worker sometime after 10 a.m. on Sunday and pulled from the lake by members of the Parks Enforcement Patrol and the Urban Park Rangers. It was brought to an Animal Care Center facility in Brooklyn and then transported to the Bronx Zoo. Editors Note: The past few years have been a turbulent time. After a pandemic, the 2020 elections and fears of nuclear Armageddon, weve been through a lot. I want to thank you for sticking around and reading this newsletter through it all. Thats why its bittersweet to tell you that this is the last issue of this newsletter. But the news isnt all bad: You will continue to receive sharp commentary and analysis on whats happening in the world from fresh vantage points in our Opinion Today newsletter, sent Monday through Saturday. Sign up here to make sure it lands in your inbox. When I started writing Debatable in 2019, my hope was to create a newsletter that could offer an entry point into some of the moments most pressing and impenetrable-seeming disagreements. In the years since, Ive been heartened to hear that at least for some readers, it has served that purpose, helping you to cut through the high dudgeon of the hot-take industrial complex and to better figure out or in some cases, reconsider where you stand. So for the last issue of this newsletter, I wanted to gather some past editions that I think might continue to be useful for months and even years to come. (Most of the others will still live on The Timess website.) Ill still be here at Opinion, working on other projects. But for now: Thank you for reading. Chris Rufo, the man who orchestrated the attack on critical race theory, underscored a new focus this month. Conservatives must move the fight from ideology to bureaucracy, he tweeted. Weve won the debate against CRT; now its time to dismantle DEI. D.E.I. stands for diversity, equity and inclusion, a concept that goes far beyond just the racial prism of critical race theory and moves into the worlds of ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, age and class. What Rufo is proposing is the distorting and demonizing of legitimate practices and areas of academic inquiry. He admitted as much in a 2021 tweet, back when he was still focused primarily on critical race theory: The goal is to have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and immediately think critical race theory, he wrote. We have decodified the term and will recodify it to annex the entire range of cultural constructions that are unpopular with Americans. This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email transcripts@nytimes.com with any questions. anna martin My grandma, Christine Liu, showed her love in a lot of ways. She held my hand really tightly when we took walks around the neighborhood. She cooked these elaborate Chinese meals, never let my plate go empty. And towards the end of her life, she started sending me emails. I loved these emails. English was her second language. So I knew she worked really hard on them. I like to picture her in front of her giant desktop computer carefully typing out reminders to study hard, to say thank you to my mom and to find a boyfriend, preferably a nice Chinese one. About a year before she died, my grandma sent me an email that I immediately knew was different. The subject line was Life Story. Dear Anna, I didnt tell you that in the past years I have been write some of my story and something happening in my life. Im sending a copy of the writing to you to see if you can understand my English. This is my first time writing in English, and many Chinese customs and thinkings will be difficult for you to comprehensively grasp the ideas. Lots of love, Grandma. I could hear her voice as I read that email. And I couldnt stop crying. My grandma had attached a document. And I started scrolling through pages and pages of her memories. Her first date with my grandpa on a summer day in Taiwan, being imprisoned for her political beliefs, moving to the U.S. as a young mother all these things Id never heard before, that she was choosing now to share with me. That email was a gift. My grandma was giving me her story, a story I could hold on to and a story I could share even after she was gone. [music] From The New York Times, Im Anna Martin. This is Modern Love. In todays essay a daughter is losing her father. She needs something to hold on to. And then she discovers his story in his own words. The essay is called The Day His Journal Went Blank. Its written by Annabelle Allen and read by Frankie Corzo. frankie corzo My father stood in the kitchen eating refried beans right out of the can. He was listening to Paul Simon singing Graceland on repeat. This went on for 20 minutes. He finally said, hey, Alexa, why dont we take a break? As if the speaker were a child who had taken too many turns on the slide. Yeah, lets rest for a little bit. Then he pet the speaker and gently shushed it. Alexa, turn off, I said. And the kitchen fell silent. [music] My father gave me a look, the same look he used to give me when I was 10 and didnt want to call my grandmother, a look of a lesson to impart. Yes? I said. Next time, he said, say please. Almost five years ago when my father was 62, he learned he had Alzheimers disease. Over the last few years, my mother and I have watched his decline. He forgets his friends names and can no longer read. Every morning he sits in a baby blue polka dot towel and waits for one of us to prompt him to start his day. My mother will say, come in here and get dressed, honey. Brush your teeth, honey. Come drink some orange juice, honey. I look at other fathers who make money and pancakes and kiss their wives. And I feel depressed for how small my fathers world has become. I see how my mother is nervous to take him to dinner parties, where the other husbands talk about work and politics, while hers asks over and over if Frank Sinatra is alive. When I graduated from college two years ago, I started splitting my time between my apartment in Brooklyn and my parents house in Hastings on Hudson. Every week, I pack a bag and take the train 30 miles north to help with the caregiving. I struggle to understand myself as a 23-year-old who is also taking care of a parent. I feel stiff when my roommates get dressed for work and ask which shoes I like. I dont know what to say when they talk about their goals, what they want to do, where they want to live. They sound so sure of their freedom and choices. Its not that I dont have plans for myself or that I dislike shoes, but I have a hard time offering style advice or talking about my dreams when my life is all about my father who calls me mommy in front of the neighbors. I often wish I could ask my father who he was at 23. I wish I could ask what his bad habits were, or how he treated his mother, or what he did on Saturdays. But he cant remember his past anymore, so I try to ask him other questions. Dad, what do you love about mom? Dad, what is your favorite thing about yourself? Dad, do you like to cry? I shake him up like a magic eight ball and throw him as many questions as I can. Im patient as he searches for words and pronunciations. But we often end up playing charades as I guess at the words he cant remember. A few months ago, my parents and I were organizing the storage bin in the basement of our apartment building. We dug through yellowed Superman comics and the water-damaged concert tickets. And underneath I uncovered a chest of my fathers old journals, 15 or so composition notebooks dating from 1978 to 2002. And they have been a gift. My father wrote about self-doubt and fear and all the things that brought him joy. He also wrote about riding his bike around Brooklyn, reporting for small newspapers, and getting off the subway at 7th Avenue to walk home through the park. Until I read those journals, I had no idea hed done those things. And the similarities between us stunned me. I have spent the last two years working as a reporter for small Brooklyn papers. And every Sunday, heading home for my parents in Hastings, I, too, take that walk home from 7th Avenue. When I read my fathers entries, I feel less lost. I copy his sentences into my own journal and cite his wisdom when I speak to my friends. My mother gave me permission to quote a few of them. On September 9, 1991, he wrote, I want to stand up outside between the cars, head blowing in the wind, and scream, scream until I nearly start living, start living my dream. I need something, too much time and too little touch in my life lately. Loneliness can kill, I believe. A few months later on February 10, 1992, I feel giddy, like a kid. I want to dance! She called, Suzanne from Brooklyn. Yes, shed love to go out again. So its brunch and watching the playoffs at her place Sunday. God I feel happy. Suzanne is my mother. And it was through these journals that I learned how much my father loves her. Later he wrote, Last night after 11 spurred by the phone call, I danced in the kitchen in the dark, a Stone song. I danced alongside old ghosts and laughed at them. Whether trying to shake demons or embrace a new dream, dancing in the dark always felt good. His journals showed me how much he loves his friends and how much he loves me. Every entry from 1997 to 2002 mentions little Annabelle. What I wasnt prepared for was the moment the entries stopped. On April 28, 2002, my father wrote about me singing Tomorrow from the musical Annie in the bathtub. And then, the next page is blank. And so is the next, and the one after that. I flipped through wide-eyed in denial. I didnt want this version of my father to be over. As I read that last entry, he and I were sitting on the couch with Ellen on TV. She was playing burning questions with Bradley Cooper, but their exchanges were too quick for him. So he stared at the rug instead. I thought about the scenes Id just read. My father calling his friends at midnight to tell them a joke, riding the subway and reading the paper, asking my mother to dance. Watching him now as he gazed at the rug, I was afraid of how much he had lost and would continue to lose. Dad, I said. Yes? Do you love Mom? He laughed, of course. I took a breath and turned off the TV. I wanted to join him in the moment because that is all we have. How much do you love her? What do you mean how much? He laughed again. One quart. And you love me a gallon? Yes, he said. This much he understood. Very many gallons. anna martin After the break, I talked to Annabelle about caring for her dad and how he cares for her. Thats next. [music] anna martin Annabelle, its great to have you in the studio. Welcome to Modern Love. annabelle allen Hi, Anna. Its great to be here. anna martin So you wrote this essay almost two years ago. How was your dad doing now? annabelle allen If you simplify it, there are good days and bad days. A good day is when Im outside with my dad. We live in this apartment in Hastings on Hudson, but outside is like this gorgeous yard. Its right by the Hudson River. And last weekend, its kind of a stressful morning, just energy-wise in the house. So it felt good to be outside. And I was like, dad, how about we yell so loud right now? And he was like, good idea. And we were just screaming at the water, just like hands on our knees, absolutely giving it our all. anna martin Wow. annabelle allen He thought me screaming was the most hilarious thing hed ever seen. anna martin Oh my god. annabelle allen Hes like, you go, girl. And its just killing him. anna martin And he was screaming too? annabelle allen Yes. We needed that. anna martin Tell me about what a bad day looks like. annabelle allen I think a bad day is him showing frustrations about his limits. He picks at his nails. anna martin And the nail-picking is a manifestation of that frustration you read it as? annabelle allen Yeah, I see him doing it. And hes never really been an anxious person. Hes always been my calm parent. He has lost a lot of his vocabulary. He recently lost the word, like, tissue and banana and shoes. Hell say, the whats it called? Can you get me the whats it called? And he has a lot of trouble with the bathroom. Thats been new for me, to see my dad in those moments and see him frustrated that hes peeing himself. anna martin How do you react in those moments, to calm him, to soothe him, to show him you understand? annabelle allen For myself, I struggle with the panic I feel to see a parent struggling. I think thats always kind of upsetting. But I say, I have you. Its OK. anna martin I have you. annabelle allen Mm-hmm. I say, Im taking care of you. I think when I was younger, I tried to have him pass and appear as functioning and appear as social. And I would hide his limitations from him. Never would I say, you have Alzheimers. anna martin You never say that out loud directly to him. annabelle allen Yeah, I think I speak to him a little bit more directly about it now. And that being said, I will say to him like, youre OK. I understand you have trouble with your memory. But Ive allowed him to be flawed. And the people who are around him, if they love him, will allow that, too. He doesnt have to nail it socially at a dinner party. He can say some weird stuff. And thats fine. If you want to stick around, if you want to hang out with us, it might be awkward sometimes. anna martin Do you and your mom have a plan for your dads care in the future? annabelle allen Well, hes actually going into a home in the next couple of weeks. anna martin Thats really soon. annabelle allen Yeah, but Im going to be home that weekend I think. anna martin Have you or your mom you havent told him that hes annabelle allen Mm-mm. anna martin Is there a plan for telling him? annabelle allen I think we will say something like, hey, youre going to go here for a little bit. Were traveling. Oh, god, I dont know, honestly. To answer your question, no, we dont have a plan on what to say. anna martin Wow. OK. How do you and your mom share taking care of him now? annabelle allen My dad came and stayed with me in Brooklyn in the fall, gave mom her vacation weekends. And we went to the movies and my friends came too. And went to the bathroom. I say, OK, go, dad. Go to the mens. And hes taking a minute. So I go in there to rescue him or attend to whatever is happening. anna martin Oh, you sent him in. And then it was just taking longer than annabelle allen Yeah, I just go in. Hes having trouble with his belt. anna martin Did you pause and think like, should I go in? Or was it just like, Im going in. My dads in there. annabelle allen Oh, Im going in, just to support. Im sure there are people in there being like, whats up with this guy? How come his pants are down? How come his belt is in the sink? So he needed a buddy. Its just an act of love to help keep someone alive and have them feel good and cared for. I think I refuse to feel shame about helping him in that intimate way, when it also happens to be public. Life is too short to care. anna martin Has there been a time recently where youve been able to connect with your dad outside of being his caretaker? annabelle allen Yeah, I was going through a breakup at the time. And hes the best to throw advice off of. And I was just expressing some hurts. And he was like, move on, youre going to be OK. And hes never harsh like that. And I was like, if hes telling me to move on, rest assured, I will move on. anna martin So youre still able to have these moments where you feel like hes hearing you and hes understanding what youre saying, he just might not I mean, you tell me he might not remember it in a couple hours? annabelle allen Definitely, he wont know. Like after we got to the apartment after the movie, he didnt remember that wed been to a movie. So that is upsetting when something feels so meaningful to me, and its absolutely cleared his consciousness. But we are still able to connect. Definitely I will call him and share something thats plaguing me. And he gets that. He gets the sentiment of that. And he gets it enough where hes like, I will be here for her. [music] anna martin Annabelle, thank you so much for coming in and talking to me about your dad. annabelle allen Anna, thank you for asking. [music] anna martin Update: An Orlando reporter is mourned as local journalists face more danger on the job. A man who fatally shot a 38-year-old woman on Wednesday morning in Orange County, Fla., returned to the scene later in the day and went on a shooting spree, the authorities said, killing a 24-year-old TV news reporter who had been covering the original homicide and a 9-year-old at a nearby home. The gunman shot two other people in Pine Hills, Fla., the Orange County Sheriffs Office said in a news conference on Wednesday: the mother of the 9-year-old and a photographer who worked with the TV news reporter at Spectrum News 13 in Orlando. They were both in critical condition on Wednesday night. On Thursday, the Sheriffs Office released the names of the victims: Dylan Lyons, 24, Nathacha Augustin, 38, and Tyonna Major, 9. A suspect, whom the authorities identified as Keith Melvin Moses, 19, was in custody by Wednesday evening and was charged with one count of murder in connection with the killing of the 38-year-old, whom the police previously described as being in her 20s. When the forewoman of a Georgia grand jury investigating allegations of election interference by former President Donald J. Trump and his advisers gave a series of highly public and highly unusual interviews this week, she suggested that the case might soon be headed toward indictment. Three other criminal inquiries involving Mr. Trump have also been progressing relatively quickly if not quite as fast in recent months, with the Justice Department pressing forward in Washington and a local prosecutor moving ahead in New York. No former president has ever confronted the barrage of legal threats that Mr. Trump now faces, all of which appear to be heading toward decision points by the authorities in coming months. Heightening the stakes, the inquiries have intensified just as Mr. Trump has started ramping up his third campaign for the White House. Beyond the Georgia case, Mr. Trump is under investigation by a special counsel in Washington for his role in seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election and for his potential mishandling of classified documents. At the same time, local authorities in New York are looking into whether Mr. Trump authorized and was involved in falsely accounting for hush money payments to a pornographic film actress who said she had an affair with him. WASHINGTON Speaker Kevin McCarthys decision to grant the Fox News host Tucker Carlson exclusive access to thousands of hours of security footage from inside the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack was his latest move to appease the right wing of his party, this time by effectively outsourcing a bid to reinvestigate the riot to its favorite cable news commentator, who has circulated conspiracy theories about the assault. The most conservative Republican members of Congress many of whom have worked to downplay or deny the reality of the Jan. 6 attack have been pushing Mr. McCarthy for weeks to release the video after he promised to do so during his campaign for speaker. Mr. McCarthy has shown little appetite for the kind of aggressive public re-litigation of what happened that day that some of his colleagues have called for, but he is sensitive to the dangers of angering his hard-core base by seeming to drop or disregard the matter. That is where Mr. Carlson comes in. I promised, Mr. McCarthy said on Wednesday in a brief phone interview in which he defended his decision to grant Mr. Carlson exclusive access to the more than 40,000 hours of security footage. I was asked in the press about these tapes, and I said they do belong to the American public. I think sunshine lets everybody make their own judgment. WASHINGTON House lawmakers, returning from a pair of official trips to Taiwan aimed at bolstering ties with the self-governing island, called on Wednesday for the U.S. government to speed up weapons deliveries to shore up the enclaves defenses against China and bemoaned that existing channels had not lived up to their potential. We have to prove that were willing to deliver, said Representative Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, the Republican chairman of the Houses new select committee on China. He argued that Taiwan could not be expected to build defenses formidable enough to deter Beijing, which claims the island as its own, without the United States making good on a backlog of purchase orders worth almost $19 billion. Mr. Gallagher was one of five House lawmakers who traveled to Taiwan during the congressional recess, meeting with top political, national security and business leaders to discuss how to enhance security and economic cooperation between Taipei and Washington. Their trips proceeded without the levels of notoriety that surrounded Speaker Nancy Pelosis visit last summer, which became an international incident after Beijing objected to the trip by canceling diplomatic and military engagements and conducting military exercises. Yet they are significant as evidence of a growing willingness by lawmakers of both parties to travel to Taiwan to bolster its profile as tensions between the United States and China grow. Mexican lawmakers passed sweeping measures overhauling the nations electoral agency on Wednesday, dealing a blow to the institution that oversees voting and that helped push the country away from one-party rule two decades ago. The changes, which will cut the electoral agencys staff, diminish its autonomy and limit its ability to punish politicians for breaking electoral laws, are the most significant in a series of moves by the Mexican president to undermine the countrys fragile institutions part of a pattern of challenges to democratic norms across the Western Hemisphere. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, whose party and its allies control Congress, argues that the measures will save millions of dollars and make voting more efficient. The new rules also seek to make it easier for Mexicans who live abroad to cast online ballots. But critics including some who have worked alongside the president say the overhaul is an attempt to weaken a key pillar of Mexicos democracy. The leader of the presidents party in the Senate has called it unconstitutional. The judge in the case, Mary Marlowe Sommer, has allowed both defendants to remain out of detention without bail. A standard condition of release is that the defendant cannot possess any guns; Judge Marlowe Sommer allowed Ms. Gutierrez-Reed to keep a gun in her home because of threats to her safety since the high-profile shooting. Mr. Baldwin, 64, and Ms. Gutierrez-Reed, 25, were each charged with two counts in the alternative, meaning that if they are convicted, a jury would decide which definition of involuntary manslaughter applies. Prosecutors had initially applied a state law called a firearm enhancement, which carries a minimum prison sentence of five years. But after lawyers for both defendants asserted in court that the district attorney had charged them under a version of the law that did not exist at the time of the fatal shooting, prosecutors withdrew their use of the enhancement. Now the longest sentence the defendants could face is 18 months. The shooting occurred while the production was setting up for a tight shot of Mr. Baldwins character drawing a revolver before a gunfight; the weapon discharged a live round, killing Ms. Hutchins and injuring the movies director, Joel Souza. Mr. Baldwin has said he was told that the gun was cold, meaning it did not contain any live rounds and was safe to hold, and noted that Ms. Hutchins had been directing him on where to point the weapon. But prosecutors say Mr. Baldwin is partly to blame for the death, arguing in court papers that he flouted film safety standards on set, including by failing to receive sufficient firearms training and putting a finger on the trigger. Mr. Baldwin has said he did not pull the trigger before the gun went off, while prosecutors said an F.B.I. analysis had concluded that the trigger had to have been pulled. LOS ANGELES As was preordained, the opening night of Anne Imhofs Emo at Spruth Magers, the German artists largest exhibition to date in the United States, was a disaster. A charcoal gray pickup had apparently careened off Wilshire Boulevard past the 10 chunks of Berlin Wall on permanent display outside the 5900 Wilshire tower, up a flight of stairs and into the gallerys pillars. Unfazed, a pair of lanky, lethargic runway Goths performed on the wreck. One shaved his abs, the other emptied water from jugs, then sang Lake of Fire by the Meat Puppets at the top of his lungs. Puffs from a smoke machine issued from the trucks crunched hood. The scene was incongruous, compelling and a little funny it wasnt meant to be convincing. It was meant to flaunt its coolness, where youd expect gore. The truck, nuzzling up to the building without touching it, a crash without fluids or debris, was staged (and an actual stage) for the overperformance of angst. Theatrical, dramatic inappropriately emotional: emo, in a word. Imhof holds out the nihilism of teenagers doomers even in the bloom of youth as relief from a tortured world. A mainstay of Midtown for nearly half a century, the Marian Goodman Gallery has been reluctant to leave its rental on 57th Street in the heart of Manhattan. But the growing shadow of supertall skyscrapers and luxury offices has prompted the dealer to finally uproot. After a decade scouting larger locations in more culturally relevant neighborhoods, the gallery said Thursday that it would relocate to a historic building in TriBeCa, bringing its legacy brand artists including Julie Mehretu, William Kentridge and Nan Goldin to a neighborhood that has become increasingly popular with the art world. We are really thrilled, said Philipp Kaiser, the gallerys president. We always had limitations in the old space because it was an upper floor and you would have to rig everything to get it upstairs, he said, which made it difficult to show large sculptures. The new location at 385 Broadway, a 30,000-square-foot rental, is almost twice as big as the current headquarters at 24 West 57th Street (where the lease ends in June 2024). The TriBeCa gallery will include a basement and five floors, two of which will host exhibition spaces. A renovation by the design firm studioMDA, estimated at several million dollars, will include viewing rooms, a library and archive, art storage and administrative offices. It is expected to open in the second half of 2024. It was more than just a custom, almost an unwritten law, for decades of recording history: If a major pianist was to record Robert Schumanns Piano Concerto, and with a major conductor at their side, then they were to pair it with its counterpart by Edvard Grieg, also in A minor. But here are Beatrice Rana and Yannick Nezet-Seguin to suggest that it makes more sense to pair the Schumann with another concerto in the same key, an earlier one by the performer who premiered it: Clara Wieck, or Schumann, as she became once she married Robert. If her influence on him has long been intellectually clear, it is good to have it be made so audibly as it is here, too. Claras concerto does stand on its own: One of the striking things about Ranas recording is how much dreamier her approach is than that taken in Isata Kanneh-Masons recent account, yet how well the piece tolerates both. Ranas is a reading full of elegance, and ever so subtle in its inflections, but there is a strength of purpose to it, too. Its a joy to hear. The other Schumann is far less so, though Ranas playing remains admirable. The problem here is Nezet-Seguin, and the incorrigible fussiness in his conducting. Why Nezet-Seguin persists in making records with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe rather than any of his North American ensembles is a mystery, though its a fine band; Claudio Abbado once used it to bring clarity to music like this, but the orchestras virtuosic immediacy doesnt help Nezet-Seguin restrain himself. DAVID ALLEN Over a 55-year career, David Bowie redefined the essence of cool by embracing an outsider status. Now, Ziggy Stardust and all of the musicians other personas will have a permanent home. The Victoria and Albert Museum in London will house more than 80,000 items from Bowies career at a new David Bowie Center for the Study of Performing Arts, the museum announced on Thursday. The center, which will be at a new outpost of the museum called the V&A East Storehouse at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the Stratford section of London, will open in 2025. With Davids lifes work becoming part of the U.K.s national collections, he takes his rightful place amongst many other cultural icons and artistic geniuses, Bowies estate said in a statement. Davids work can be shared with the public in ways that havent been possible before, and were so pleased to be working closely with the V&A to continue to commemorate Davids enduring cultural influence. Bowie died in 2016, two days after his 69th birthday. In a statement, the museum said that the acquisition and the creation of the center had been made possible by a combined donation of 10 million pounds (about $12 million) from the Blavatnik Family Foundation and Warner Music Group, adding that the donation would support the ongoing conservation, research and study of the archive. Warner Music bought Bowies entire songwriting catalog last year. Feelings of despair about the climate crisis have become so commonplace that eco-anxiety is now an emerging field in psychology, and apocalyptic visions of the near future are reportedly prompting some couples to decide against starting families. Given the drumbeat of troubling climate news, its easy to fall into a state of doom paralysis. But these six podcasts full of smart, passionate reporting about the natural world and our relationship to it will leave you more informed and perhaps better able to embrace climate optimism. Hosted by the writer Mary Annaise Heglar and the investigative journalist Amy Westervelt, this is one of the most accessible environmental news podcasts on offer. Even though the updates theyre delivering are often bleak, the hosts real-life friendship creates an intimate vibe that helps the bitter pills slip down easy (as does their self-proclaimed penchant for dad jokes). In each episode, Heglar and Westervelt discuss the latest climate headlines and provide irreverent, straight-talking insight into the crisis our planet faces, often joined by guests with expertise in areas like sustainable fashion, environmental legislation and the impact of climate change on Indigenous communities. The show wrapped up its run in December, but theres a back catalog of more than 70 episodes to delve into. Starter episode: Follow the Money, Eat the Rich This BBC World Service podcast delivers in-depth climate discussions with a global perspective, exploring the hurdles that stand in the way of a more sustainable future. In each episode, the BBC journalists Kate Lamble and Neal Razzell are joined by a panel of guests, including reporters, lawyers, academics and activists; recent installments have tackled the uneven effects of global warming, the costs and benefits of meat substitutes, and how giving legal rights to rivers, forests and ecosystems may help to combat climate change. The shows scope is broad enough that even the most eco-savvy listeners are likely to learn something, yet the conversations never feel overwhelmingly dense or complex, with episodes reliably clocking in at under 30 minutes. Starter episode: Could Giving Nature Rights Help Fight Climate Change? This rigorously reported investigative show, also hosted by Amy Westervelt, was originally billed as a limited series when it debuted in 2016, promising to tackle the causes of climate change through the lens of the biggest podcast genre of all true crime. That first season focused on the origin story of climate denial in the 1980s, with Westervelt exploring how a disinformation campaign turned Americas individualism on itself and twisted it, and the integral role Exxons efforts to mislead the public played in that. Subsequent seasons of Drilled have focused on big oil, fracking, and an Ecuadorean court battle involving Chevron, while a spinoff show, Damages, tracks climate lawsuits across the world. Its all enervating but essential listening. In the new season of Party Down, returning to Starz Friday after 13 years, an ambitious pastry chef (Zoe Chao) whips up a platter of experimental cake bites. Outside is a sweet, fluffy layer of confection. Inside is a core of aged Camembert. You get an innocent childlike sweetness up front, followed by an earthy whiff of decay, she says. Its a rumination on mortality. I dont know if I would want to eat it, but it may be the best symbol I have ever seen for watching a beloved sitcoms revival. The familiar sugar rush is immediate. But what lingers on the palate is the reminder that everything must come to an end, and perhaps should have already. Sitcoms in general, but especially ones about young characters with dreams and ambitions, have built-in expiration dates: Things can go on for only so long before they get depressing. Ross and Rachel must move away; Pam and Jim must get out of that stultifying office. To catch up with them in middle age, to ask what happens after happily ever after, is to risk making everything too real. Comedy is tragedy plus time, they say, but it is also true that tragedy is comedy plus time. One year of war Ukraine is bracing for potential Russian attacks timed to the anniversary of the war today. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has warned of a symbolic revenge assault from Russia around the one-year mark of Moscow's invasion. Schools across Ukraine are holding classes remotely, people have been advised to avoid large gatherings and additional security measures are being put in place. We have updates here. One year on, virtually no one in Ukraine has avoided the violence, destruction and bloodshed of the war, which has killed tens of thousands, left millions homeless and turned entire cities into ruins. But the foreboding that gripped Ukraine in the days before the invasion has long faded. Now, many people in Ukraine said that they had found strength in the shared sacrifice and the collective struggle for survival. Some have become accustomed to the air-raid sirens and warnings. One 30-year-old Ukrainian said those things had become a part of everyday life, like brushing my teeth. In contrast to the United States, employee insurance in China is not managed by companies. Instead, a municipal government typically forms an employee insurance pool to cover hospitalization and a few outpatient expenses. Companies typically contribute to the pools an amount equal to as much as 9.8 percent of a workers salary. Employees do not contribute to the insurance pools themselves. In addition, those who qualify for employee plans typically have what are called personal health accounts. The money in them can be spent on medicine and further outpatient treatments. The employee insurance pools currently forward about a third of the money they receive from employers to personal health accounts, and spend the remaining two-thirds on hospitalizations and other expenses. Employees also put about 2 percent of their paychecks into their health accounts until they retire. Until this month, Wuhans employee insurance plan kept forwarding about $38 each month to personal health accounts even after employees retired and their employers were no longer contributing. Wuhan has just cut those monthly transfers to less than $12, saving money for the overall health plan. Local governments across China, facing a financial tipping point after three years of expensive Covid measures, are forcing abrupt changes on the countrys health care system, squeezing benefits and angering citizens. Thousands of seniors, who are most vulnerable to the cutbacks, converged on municipal parks and other public spaces in recent days to protest the changes. They gathered in the chilly northeastern city of Dalian, in semitropical Guangzhou nearly 1,500 miles away and in Wuhan in central China, where the Covid pandemic began at the end of 2019. One of the most immediate problems is that municipal insurance funds that pay for many peoples hospital care are running out of money. The funds, supported by taxes on employers, face big deficits that city governments are required by law to top up. To free up money to bail out hospitals, municipalities have started contributing much less to another important category of insurance, known as personal health accounts, which the middle class uses to pay for medicine and outpatient care. It was the most sweeping intervention by a court in the 18-month campaign to unionize Starbucks: Last week, a federal judge in Michigan issued an order blocking Starbucks from firing any U.S. worker because they engaged in collective action, like seeking to form a union. Union supporters cheered. Starbucks seemed taken aback, calling the order extraordinary and unwarranted and denying that the company had broken the law. But a few days later, the judge, Mark A. Goldsmith, announced that he had made certain unspecified errors and withdrew his earlier injunction. On Thursday, Judge Goldsmith issued a new injunction only this time it was limited to a store in Michigan where a worker said she had been fired for her involvement in union organizing. The injunctions national scope had vanished. In a revised opinion accompanying Thursdays order, Judge Goldsmith said that the key criterion for determining whether to impose a nationwide injunction was whether the company had pursued a general policy of violating labor law. He said that while the National Labor Relations Board had filed about 24 complaints involving roughly 50 workers fired by Starbucks across the country, many of those cases were in their early stages. For years, budding Israeli tech executives have asked Yanki Margalit, a veteran entrepreneur, where they should start their fledgling companies. For years, hes offered the same advice: Here, in Israel, where software engineers are plentiful, international investors are eager and friends and family live. But as Mr. Margalit prepares a new venture of his own, one focused on combating climate change, he has reluctantly concluded that Israel is the wrong place to launch. Given the atmosphere now, its almost irresponsible to start a company here, the 60-year-old said, and that is heartbreaking. The luminaries of Start-Up Nation, as Israel has been known for decades, are eyeing the exits. Several have already announced that they are relocating or moving money out of the country, including the chief executive of Papaya Group, a payroll company valued at more than $1 billion. BENGALURU, India The Biden administration nominated Ajay Banga, the former longtime chief executive of Mastercard, to be the next president of the World Bank, a selection that is likely to drastically reshape the global development institution and broaden its ambitions to combat climate change. The nomination will initiate a monthslong confirmation process before a final decision by the World Banks board. It is not clear if any other countries will nominate a candidate. The World Bank president is traditionally an American citizen chosen by the United States. If confirmed, Mr. Banga will bring vast experience running large organizations and deep knowledge of the digital economy. Raised in India, he would bring a firsthand understanding of the challenges that developing countries face. Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history, President Biden said in a statement. He has spent more than three decades building and managing successful, global companies that create jobs and bring investment to developing economies, and guiding organizations through periods of fundamental change. Electricity production generates roughly one-quarter of the greenhouse gases produced by the United States; cleaning it up is key to President Bidens plan to fight global warming. The landmark climate bill he signed last year provides $370 billion in subsidies to help make low-carbon energy technologies like wind, solar, nuclear or batteries cheaper than fossil fuels. But the law does little to address many practical barriers to building clean energy projects, such as permitting holdups, local opposition or transmission constraints. Unless those obstacles get resolved, experts say, theres a risk that billions in federal subsidies wont translate into the deep emissions cuts envisioned by lawmakers. It doesnt matter how cheap the clean energy is, said Spencer Nelson, managing director of research at ClearPath Foundation, an energy-focused nonprofit. If developers cant get through the interconnection process quickly enough and get enough steel in the ground, we wont hit our climate change goals. Waiting in line for years In the largest grids, such as those in the Midwest or Mid-Atlantic, a regional operator manages the byzantine flow of electricity from hundreds of different power plants through thousands of miles of transmission lines and into millions of homes. Before a developer can build a power plant, the local grid operator must make sure the project wont cause disruptions if, for instance, existing power lines get more electricity than they can handle, they could overheat and fail. After conducting a detailed study, the grid operator might require upgrades, such as a line connecting the new plant to a nearby substation. The developer usually bears this cost. Then the operator moves on to study the next project in the queue. My parents and I left the restaurant and turned on the police Scanner Radio app in the car to learn where the authorities were dispatching officers. We knew Amanda was in a club meeting in Bessey Hall, which is just a few minutes walk from Berkey Hall. I tried to explain to my parents that given her location, my sister was safe, even though I wasnt entirely sure. We were able to reach her, before her phone lost power, and confirm that she was sheltering in a classroom. I was comforting my mother when my phone buzzed. It was Sean Plambeck, an editor on the National desk at The New York Times, asking how soon I could get to campus and help cover the breaking news for The Times. He knew I was based in the area; in April 2022, I contributed freelance reporting from Grand Rapids, Mich., for a Times article on the killing of Patrick Lyoya. But I had never covered anything like this I had hoped I would never have had to. Immediately, I began the hourlong drive to campus. Once I arrived on campus, I asked my friends if they were with anyone who would be comfortable talking with me. I was able to speak by phone with two students during the lockdown. The gunman was still at large, and hundreds of police officers were combing the campus and the surrounding area. Finally, after a three-hour manhunt, the gunman was found off campus around 11:30 p.m. Once the lockdown ended, to find students to speak with in person, I headed to spots that I had frequented as a student reporter, such as the bus station and the Rock, a stone monument that serves as a billboard for student activities. Being a Spartan made this reporting emotionally strenuous, but it also helped me better connect and empathize with the students. During the interviews, I reflected on what I had learned about trauma-informed reporting a technique that requires acknowledging that your source is still processing grief and considering how the interview process may affect the person. I used those skills to guide my conversations, always giving students an out if they became too overwhelmed. As an undergraduate, I learned that journalists are expected to stay uninvolved in the lives of our sources for our credibility and our mental health. Yet as I spoke with students the night of the shooting and in the days after, and heard how they used chairs and tables to barricade the doors of their classrooms, I couldnt help but tear up. New Yorkers who moved to another state were most likely to choose New Jersey, Internal Revenue Service data showed, according to the Taxation and Finance department. More than 80,000 New York taxpayers at all income levels moved there in 2019-20, while nearly 40,000 New Jerseyans changed their addresses to New York. Florida was second on the list of places New York taxpayers moved to, followed by Connecticut. The department said that millionaires tend to leave New York as they get older, especially between the ages of 45 and 64. Florida was the top destination for those who left between 65 and 84. Parrott said that some of his counterparts who analyze fiscal and economic trends maintain that the trend is not entirely new. The explanation sounds like the line from New York, New York: If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. New York, and New York City in particular, attract a lot of ambitious people who come to make their fortunes, he said. Those who do well stay until theyre further along, not necessarily retirement age but when theyre reached some level of success and have more options in life. But the pattern looks elevated due to the pandemic, he said. He said that 2020 and 2021 had been stupendous years for high earners, even as his own research showed that the pandemic had been more polarizing than anything you could imagine. It hit hardest among workers who are paid by the hour and could not do their jobs in 2020 and 2021, while high-income employees in finance and technology could work from anywhere. They did well. The average bonus in the securities industry was a record $257,000 per employee in 2021, up 20 percent from 2020, according to the state comptrollers office. A little girl standing on her toes to place her palm on her deceased fathers image on a television screen. A mother who has left her sons bedroom exactly as it was on Halloween 2017. A man married to a woman who lost her legs who clutches a pair of her socks in bed every night, yearning for the contact of her feet. The federal jury deciding on a death penalty for Sayfullo Saipov, the man convicted last month of killing eight people and injuring many others in a truck attack inspired by the Islamic State, has heard from more than 20 witnesses, including victims, relatives and bystanders. On Wednesday, the prosecution rested its case and Mr. Saipovs lawyers began trying to save his life. The jury, which has already convicted Mr. Saipov, began the trials separate punishment phase on Feb. 13. To make its case, the government has sought to show the severity of the crimes impact on its victims and those close to them. Most witnesses who have taken the stand in the United States District Court in Manhattan have described what their lives have been like since the day Mr. Saipov sped down a West Side bike path and killed their loved ones. Federal prosecutors are investigating allegations that corrections officers at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, N.Y., orchestrated beatings during a prisonwide search in November, sending at least seven prisoners to the hospital and more than 20 others to a medical unit. A flood of officers, including special teams from other prisons, converged on cells over at least two days, ordering prisoners to strip to their boxer shorts and then punching and kicking them and slamming their heads against walls or floors, according to affidavits by 26 inmates who are part of a lawsuit filed Jan. 31 against New York State. The allegations are buttressed by hospital records and a separate interview with Shamel Capers, a former Sing Sing inmate who is not part of the lawsuit and gave a firsthand account of violence that occurred just days before he was released. The prisoners in their sworn statements describe one officer holding a mans arm against a radiator, burning him, and another officer twisting a prisoners wrist and thumb and threatening to break his hand. Another prisoner describes how he was blinded for days after being pepper-sprayed while he was handcuffed. This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and emailtranscripts@nytimes.comwith any questions. lulu garcia-navarro From New York Times Opinion, Im Lulu Garcia-Navarro, and this is First Person. If you flip back through the mission statements of tech companies in their early years, it feels like a tour through a bygone era of techno optimism. Apple told us to think different. Facebook aspired to make the world more open and connected. And Google, their unofficial motto was simple. Dont be evil. The message to their workers was clear. This job wasnt just a paycheck. It was a moral calling. And that philosophy spread out beyond Silicon Valley and changed what the rest of us thought corporate work culture should be. Today, of course, Google, now known as Alphabet, has taken that unofficial motto, dont be evil, out of its handbook. And across Silicon Valley, there have been brutal layoffs and harsh action taken against worker activism. Claire Stapleton saw all of this from the inside. She spent 12 years at Google and its subsidiary, YouTube, in corporate communications. Now, after leaving, Claire writes a newsletter for people in the tech world. Its called appropriately, Tech Support. In it, she gives advice to those rethinking their place in an industry they say took advantage of them. Her journey from being a Google evangelist to a critic is part of a larger cultural conversation about the place of work in our lives, and where else we can find meaning. Today on First Person, what the tech meltdown can teach all workers. Claire, there is a lot of news about tech companies and layoffs. You run an online forum for tech folks. What kinds of words are they using to describe whats happening right now? claire stapleton Some of the most common words Ive seen over the past few weeks are dehumanizing, horrible, humiliating. Let me just Im just going to pull up one thing because someone left a comment to me that was very hold on. Yeah, OK. Getting laid off is one thing, but being disowned by your family after 18 years is another. And thats what Google did to us. People I worked with for 10 years are not allowed to bring us in for lunch to say goodbye, but can bring in any random person off the street. I think that just really sums up how deeply identified people at these big tech companies, like Google, are with the place that they work and how shocking it is to be shown the door after all these years of service. lulu garcia-navarro I want to dig into some of those ideas. But I want to first ask you about your own journey, because you really know these tech companies. You got into tech right out of college, right, in 2007? I mean, how did you land at Google? claire stapleton Yeah, so I came to Google through college recruiting. I went to a job fair. And there was, alongside JPMorgan and The Gap, there was a table for Google. And that was a huge boom time for tech. It was a couple of years after the Google IPO. Facebook was really starting and heating up. And soon, wed see Twitter, and Instagram, Square, all these companies. And Google was in the news. It was breathlessly covered as this exceptional place to work. And I thought, wow, this is an amazing opportunity. I had no idea what Id do there. I wasnt a computer science student. I was an English major who worked at the Humor Magazine. Not the cookie cutter corporate type of gal. And nevertheless, I was just absolutely entranced by the company. And I almost didnt care what the job was. lulu garcia-navarro So tell me about the first time you actually set foot on Googles campus. I mean, what was it like when you actually got there? claire stapleton I couldnt believe it. I think I wrote in my journal that it looked like it was the colors were punched up in Photoshop. Inside the offices, it sort of had this almost kindergarten color palette. There were bouncy balls, and cork boards, climbing walls. I mean, it was sort of this paradise for a young person. The cafeterias were incredible, the farm-to-table cuisine. And the people seemed incredibly dynamic, ready just to dive in and improve the world. lulu garcia-navarro I mean, thats so visual. It feels so much like a sensory overload. claire stapleton It was. It was like a dream. lulu garcia-navarro When you were hired, what was your job? claire stapleton I didnt even really know what it was going to be from the description as they gave it to me. It was in the communications department. I was placed on the internal communications team. So I worked on internal news. And then I also managed a weekly event called TGIF, which was, for many years, hosted by the founders Larry and Sergey. And I also sent emails around. And my remit, as it was presented to me, was to reflect the specialness of the company back to Googlers, to get them as engaged in what Google was doing, as excited in Googles mission as they could possibly be, because that was how the company was going to continue its reign of innovation and being the best company ever. Google talked a lot about curing disease. It was not just about Google Search. So there was a lot of school spirit. I was really kind of like a cheerleader for the company in many ways. lulu garcia-navarro And you drunk the Kool-Aid at this point. claire stapleton I thought it was a really wonderful place to work. And I think that was genuine. I think there were definitely times where I would wonder, is this kind of a made up job? [laughs] What even is internal communications? But, yeah, I will say I was guzzling the Kool-Aid. And not only that, I was helping manufacture it. Because I sent out a weekly email. It was just a routine thing announcing the TGIF topic, the weekly staff meeting. But I would always riff on the themes of the company in a very quirky, dreamlike, whimsical way. And this is when I earned the nickname the Bard of Google. lulu garcia-navarro That must have felt good. claire stapleton Yes. It was a funny time. lulu garcia-navarro I mean, can you give me an example of what the corporate culture was that you were supposed to be reflecting? claire stapleton Yeah. So I mean, I think Larry and Sergey had so much philosophy around the workplace. But they always said, Google is not a conventional company and we do not intend to become one. And so much of the way that the workplace was designed was to foster innovation and creativity across departments, across offices, to get people together to play volleyball, and cross-pollinate an idea. And so I think that they were trying to inspire maximum creativity out of their employees. archived recording 1 This is Google in Mountain View, California. Google even has personal trainers on site. Google doesnt just take care of their employees bodies. The company also does their laundry. Google has 18 different cafes. And the best part, all the meals are free. Only at Google. claire stapleton And that was really how it was presented. I used to give tours around that time as well. And I remember distinctly that, often, these would be foreign journalists. And a French journalist said to me, this laundry rooms, and cafeterias, this is obviously a plot to keep the workers here all the time. This is so exploitative. They just want you to never leave. And I thought, wow, what a cynical perspective. Because Im here listening to Larry and Sergey talk about why these offices are built this way. And its a very progressive vision. lulu garcia-navarro What was that vision? claire stapleton Yeah, I think that Larry Page was singularly obsessed with doing impossible and crazy ideas. And thats when Google X was formed, which was supposed to be a lab for moonshot thinking. So this is where their idea came to cure death that Larry Page has an amazing quote that curing cancer was too small a problem for a company like Google with all of its brainpower, with all of its resources, that really they should be focusing on extending life. And lulu garcia-navarro Wow. claire stapleton it sounds incredibly grandiose. Larry Page said, if only we could have two million people working at this company, think of all the good we can do in the world. Think of all the problems we can solve that governments cant. And so he said, his job, as the leader of the company, was to make sure that every person had meaningful opportunities to basically do social good. I mean, it was quite high-minded philosophical stuff. It was not BS from what I thought at the time. lulu garcia-navarro I mean, you obviously felt like you were at the center of something, yeah, really revolutionary. Did you think of yourself as ambitious at this point? claire stapleton Ambitious? Thats a good question. I think that I thought of myself as a Google lifer, which is funny because, really, thats not the typical millennial attitude is stay at one company your whole career. But I felt that it didnt really even matter what my role was at Google. I was a part of something that was really historic. [MUSIC PLAYING] lulu garcia-navarro So youve landed in this new kind of workplace. Youve said that the job felt like a dream compared to other kinds of work. When did the way you saw the company start to shift? claire stapleton Yes. I got an opportunity a transfer opportunity to move to New York in 2012. So at this point, Id been at Google five years. And I did have a certain degree of restlessness that whether it was a scene change, a role change, Id seen so many people leave the company, shift to different roles. I was starting to feel a sort of itch. And I got offered what I thought was the absolute perfect opportunity working at Googles internal creative agency, which is called Creative Lab. Here Id been singing and celebrating Google culture internally. And here, I was going to start shipping, and selling, and singing the praises of Google to the outside world. Creative Lab does naming and branding for different early-stage Google products. But it also does a lot of traditional advertising, so Super Bowl ads and that sort of thing. I think that their motto is, remind the world what it is they love about Google. At least it was back then. The environment there immediately shocked me. The majority of the creatives there so the people who were doing the work of these campaigns were temps, vendors, and contractors. And I was shocked by that, that there was this second-class citizenry of people who had red badges. They dont get vacation days. They dont get Google benefits. They cant use the massage program. They cant use the gyms. lulu garcia-navarro They cant use the massage programs? Gasp. Gasp. claire stapleton I know. A good massage program I mean, its yeah. And then they, of course, they also dont really have the same ability to speak up about their working conditions. And as Google always said, the most important thing for creating high-performing, productive, happy teams is psychological safety. The fact of being a contractor, in fact, really means that theres not the same level of psychological safety and just team health. And so I was it was a real strain to sell the magic of Google. And that was what my day-to-day felt like. lulu garcia-navarro So seeing that temp workforce and what they were exposed to really changed how you thought about Google as an employer. claire stapleton It profoundly did. And none of this, I guess, is shocking. But it was to me. lulu garcia-navarro So youre starting to have doubts in 2012 inside the company. But I think it hit more broadly in the culture that these powerful tech companies were largely unsupervised and unaccountable in 2016 during, of course, the US election and its immediate aftermath. Where were you at that moment? claire stapleton So in 2014, I took a transfer to YouTubes marketing team. And lulu garcia-navarro YouTube, which Google had bought in 2006. claire stapleton Yes. Long-time golden child of the Google company portfolio. But the issues the societal issues that were coming to a fever pitch at the time of Trumps election in 2016 were hitting YouTube particularly hard. So the golden glow that had surrounded these big tech companies, the optimism, and the hope that they would transform society, that was waning big time. My remit was social media with an emphasis on YouTubes values. So what that meant in managing YouTubes social media, which is its various social media handles, is that we had a briefing every single day called nightmare fuel, as we called it. That was our nickname for it. And it lulu garcia-navarro Oh gosh. [LAUGHS] claire stapleton The briefing that an analyst made for us was everything that was a brand vulnerability that day. So you can imagine lulu garcia-navarro That mustve been a pretty long list. claire stapleton Oh, it was unbelievable. But you can imagine in this era, there was, of course, Logan Paul, very powerful YouTuber at the time, cavalierly filmed himself in Japan in whats called the suicide forest. He found a dead body hung on a tree, incredibly horrifying image. And he posted it in a vlog, I guess, to his young fans. And YouTube had had a very laissez faire attitude with the content on the site. Freedom of expression was always its main value. But what does freedom of expression look like in a time when some very dangerous things are going on? So my job was to prove out and demonstrate to the world YouTubes net value to society. And again, its challenging to do that job if you dont really believe thats true. lulu garcia-navarro So youre really on the front lines of articulating the companys position to people like me who were asking some pretty difficult questions about how YouTube was spreading disinformation, or radicalizing people through its algorithm, or having all these terrible things. I mean, how were you answering? What argument did you make? claire stapleton Well, I think that what happened there is that YouTube decided, and the executives decided, that they wanted to stand for things. They wanted to be out there talking about LGBTQ youth. This is a time when there were anti-trans bills going around. There was a lot of discussion of race in America. We want to do more for Black creators. But time and time again, when you really talk to creators, what they really wanted was better protection against harassment, against hate speech. They wanted brand safety. Advertisers wanted brand safety to be able to run an ad and not have it be on a al-Qaeda video or something. lulu garcia-navarro So people wanted concrete action, content moderation, protection. And your job, though, was to offer messaging. claire stapleton Yes. It was to work with the designers to come up with the perfect Pride logo. lulu garcia-navarro Im thinking about the call to cure death and now claire stapleton Yeah, exactly. [LAUGHS] lulu garcia-navarro I mean, that seems like quite a fall from those lofty aspirations that you started off with. claire stapleton Yeah. lulu garcia-navarro Can you tell me more about that? What did it make you feel to have to delve into this nightmare briefing and come up with logos instead of concrete action? claire stapleton I think it just highlighted a sense of meaninglessness, which I had really not felt in my previous years, that my job didnt matter, or my job was really about slide decks and making executives feel like were doing all these great things. And meanwhile, it feels like the world is starting to burn. And it just felt like we were trying to take credit for solving the worlds problems when we were actually making them worse. [MUSIC PLAYING] By 2017, 2018, there was no question that these companies were not net positive for society. lulu garcia-navarro So youre starting to realize that the world outside of Google is being royaled by increasing polarization. And then, of course, in 2017, the #MeToo Movement brought awareness to sexual harassment in the workplace. When did that cultural turmoil come in through Googles front door? claire stapleton The New York Times broke the story about a Google executive getting paid $90 million after he was asked to leave, essentially, after claims, one of which the company itself had found credible. And that was the inflection point from my perspective. lulu garcia-navarro So what happened? claire stapleton So I from my old job of working on TGIF, I was always subscribed to a million email lists at Google. And this one email group was the moms group. The moms email list, which is an anonymous list. And the day that the Rubin story broke, that email list exploded. And this was not a political list. This is people talking about the logistics of being a working mom, or Im selling a bumble chair in Mountain View, or whatever. And what came through was, sure, some outrage at this bombshell story. But I was just shocked by the amount of stories that women had of all the crap theyd put up with, essentially. And I think it really revealed to me this underbelly that I had certainly experienced in Creative Lab, and in different ways in my disillusioning experience at YouTube, and how universal that was, where there was this gap between the ideals of Google as a company, and what peoples actual experience was. We were supposed to be the most empowered workplace in the world. Why did people not feel like they could actually raise a complaint against a manager or against a male executive in their organization? And from that moms email list, I said, why not a walkout? And if anyones interested in helping plan this thing, Ive set up another Google group here, all internal, this is using the companys tools. And that was a Friday night. And I woke up Saturday morning and I knew that we were onto something. archived recording 2 Womens rights are workers rights. Womens rights are workers rights. archived recording 3 Thousands of Google employees walked out of work on Thursday at 11:10 AM local time to protest. claire stapleton So it was just rolling through the time zones throughout the day. archived recording 4 This is one of the largest and most publicized company-wide protests of the #MeToo era, a scene repeating itself claire stapleton I remember going to the walkout in New York and we filled a local park. It really felt like this was the birth of a new movement. archived recording 5 Time is up on sexual harassment. Time is up on abuse of power. Time is up on systemic racism. Enough is enough. We demand structural change in the name of claire stapleton The Google executives played it very cannily. The CEO of the company, Sundar, had sent an email to the company saying if people want to participate with it in this, theyre totally welcome to, which was great publicity for us as walkout organizers. But they had decided to say that this Andy Rubin payout as well as the other executive payouts were in the past. And we arent proud of it. But that was a different time. Things are better now. And we will make this systemic change. lulu garcia-navarro Im thinking about how you had spent most of your career celebrating this company and now youre at the head of a protest against it. Did you see walking out as challenging the status quo of the company culture at that time? claire stapleton I did. And I think that I felt such courage and conviction in doing it because Id been unhappy. I will also say, though, that in my Google brain of the time, and being having been so nourished on the idealism of Google from the early years, I believed that, on some level, the company would welcome this challenge because Google of course, things might have gone astray or gone off-course. They strayed from these ideals. But the ideals still mattered to the company. And of course, they would want to fix these issues that were being raised. Theres a lot of naivete in that. But I genuinely believed that this was going to be a positive moment for the company in one way or the other. lulu garcia-navarro Yeah. Ive got to say that is a pretty rosy view to take of one of the biggest corporations on the planet thats just exposed how it doesnt always practice what it preaches. claire stapleton Absolutely. lulu garcia-navarro So Im wondering, after the walkout, how the company started dealing with you. claire stapleton Yeah, so, initially, there was an embrace of the walkout organizers. My manager, bizarrely, asked me to give my lessons learned about the walkout, which is, again, this weird misunderstanding of what the walkout was, but also a co-opting. And as part of this, I was presented with a pair of Doc Martens boots to celebrate my activism. I mean, it was absurd. And then things proceeded, I guess, normally for a few weeks. And then I got on a routine one-on-one Zoom with my manager. And she laid out, what felt to me out of nowhere, a restructuring of my role. And that began my retaliation ordeal. lulu garcia-navarro Of course, Google denies any retaliation. And they claim they did an internal investigation on your allegations and found no evidence of retaliation. claire stapleton Its I understand how they have come up with some vague language to say this didnt happen. But yeah, it quickly became a hostile environment for me to be in. And I was pregnant. lulu garcia-navarro So you left. claire stapleton So I left. lulu garcia-navarro Can you tell me about your last day? claire stapleton Yeah, so on my last day, my entire team had been flown out to Malibu for an offsite. And they spent their day doing goat yoga at a mansion in Malibu. I just couldnt believe this. Here I was ejected from the building as everybody else was laughing along with the goats. So I just, I cleaned up my desk. And yeah, remarkably enough, I was escorted from the building by security. And yeah, that was it. lulu garcia-navarro No more goat yoga. claire stapleton No more goat yoga, happily. [laughs] Happy to have no goat yoga, but plenty of dignity, and self-respect, and confidence that what Im doing is not harmful. [MUSIC PLAYING] lulu garcia-navarro After the break, Claire leaves a company culture she hardly recognizes. And the workers inside are changing too. claire stapleton As I was speaking to people that day when I left, I heard a lot about how people had been very excited about the prospect of organizing workers, and increasing the consciousness around worker power, which was so different than the Google lifer attitude Id had myself in 2007 or 2008. [MUSIC PLAYING] lulu garcia-navarro So you left Google after 12 years, at that point, your whole working life. How did you start doing what you do now? claire stapleton Yeah, so since the walkout, even before I left Google, even before I spoke out about retaliation, I really started to see that there were some very big questions being raised by tech workers around the nature of work. And I think a lot of people seem to be really reevaluating how theyre choosing to spend their time and their mindset or approach to the companies where they offer so much of themselves. So I started an advice column for tech workers. That wasnt me thinking I had the answers to any of this. But quite simply for myself, I had no idea of how to answer the question, now what? And so I have a Substack where I publish letters from tech workers and respond to them. And I also keep a Discord server where thats become a very active daily discussion space where people are just batting around life in late capitalism, life in these big tech companies, struggling with issues of meaning and purpose. lulu garcia-navarro We started this conversation talking about hearing from people still inside these companies who are feeling really destabilized by whats going on in tech right now. You have your ear to the ground, as you say. And there is this huge realignment happening in the tech world. claire stapleton Yeah. lulu garcia-navarro I mean, what kinds of questions do you get from the tech workers and ex-tech workers who write in and theyre looking for your advice? claire stapleton Yeah, I think that the culture is quite grim, that Google itself said that psychological safety is one of the most important parts of any work environment. And thats kind of been destroyed. archived recording 6 After five years of working at Google, I was laid off on Friday. archived recording 7 So its been about an hour since I found out that I was laid off from Meta. archived recording 8 Im so hurt right now. I see this happen all the time. I just didnt think it would happen to me. claire stapleton I was shocked by the number of people who were laid off during paternity or maternity leave, or who were on disability leave. I mean, theres a cruelty is the point moment going on with the way that peoples livelihoods were curtailed. I mean, theres a lot of really shocking and heartbreaking stories that I guess are inevitable to this McKinsey-esque efficiency exercise that these tech companies seem to be undergoing. But I think its important to hear these stories and important to remember that work will not love you back. lulu garcia-navarro I mean, it seems like to borrow a recent New York Times Opinion headline, The Era of Happy Tech Workers is Over. No more hiding behind the mission statements about changing the world and Utopian corporate culture. The mask has been sort of pulled off. You just said work will not love you back. What does that mean? claire stapleton I think that the tech companies gain power and gain billions and trillions of market share through a kind of manipulation of culture. And its hard for me to stomach as someone who was really a big believer and a big enjoyer of the culture, I guess, frankly. A recipient of it in many ways. Culture can be a way of controlling norms and controlling workers. Giving them all these sorts of lavish perks and whatever, its a way of getting what you want out of people, getting them to give more. If you feel so grateful to be there and so lucky to be there, and youre just hanging on, do you really feel comfortable asking for a raise and pushing back when you see something that doesnt feel right, doesnt feel ethical? And so I think in a lot of ways, culture was kind of about consolidating power. And whats happening right now is another kind of power grab by the bosses. lulu garcia-navarro Why do you think this is happening right now? claire stapleton I think that its precisely what the opposite of what Larry and Sergey intended for the company. They said we are not a conventional company and we do not intend to become one. Well, Google has become a pretty conventional company. I think a lot of the big tech companies are. And what, at least to me, what defines that is that the decision making is entirely focused on short-term, bottom line thinking to please investors for quarterly results. And I think with the layoffs, you have a lot of messaging around a Great Reset, or reining in the entitled workers. But I think that theres surely some opportunity here that the management is taking to put workers in their place. Because I think that you cant look at the past few years and say that tech workers werent wielding power in some pretty interesting and creative ways. So, yeah, whats happening is I think theres a shifting of the power back to the management. And I think that my basic if I could boil my takedown is that managements out of ideas and direction, and they forgot where they came from. lulu garcia-navarro Yeah, I mean, heres the thing I want to ask you. Because we can look at this reckoning with tech and think, OK, the tech companies have shown themselves to be just like everybody else. Theyre grabbing power. Theyre acting callously when they feel they have to. But broadening this out, they had such a huge impact on corporate culture in America. If you are making coffee, like Starbucks, or you are selling air conditioners, it doesnt matter. Most companies have now adopted this mission-driven jargon that seeks to make workers think they are part of something larger than the bottom line, and to invoke this idea of family and trust. It has metastasized to every part of corporate America. Do you think this unmasking of the tech companies will impact the broader conversation about work and the way workers understand their place in the system? claire stapleton I think it will. I think I mean, in one very recognizable way, tech employees are now calling themselves workers. There is this sense that we are labor, and thats shifting things around. Theres more talk of unions and other traditional solidarity building. But I think that youre raising a good point around what the nature of work in these tech companies is. Because one of the tipping points a few months ago was Elon Musk declaring that only hardcore workers are going to be welcome here at the company. Other tech CEOs were just salivating over this. Then you had Mark Zuckerberg saying this is going to be the year of efficiency. And all of this focus on workers, and company culture, and the perks, I think obscures the fact that theres been a lot of mismanagement of these companies. I mean, Zuckerberg has put billions into the metaverse. And its TBD if this will even play out as an investment. The entitlement and the absurdity that I see is the executives, the tech elites, not the workers. lulu garcia-navarro So youve argued that, in part, the company culture at Google was about consolidating power. At the same time, people do need to find meaning in their work. And you did that at Google for a long time. As you think back, if someone comes to you now and asks, how should I relate to my work? What should I believe about who employs me and where I should find meaning? If you were giving advice to all those young tech workers that you saw at your last day at Google milling around, what would you tell them? claire stapleton Well, I think I definitely recommend a heavy dose of wariness of the kind of corporate propaganda. Again, irony. Because I was a happy propaganda shiller for many years. And then to just divorce your sense of vocation, and work, and meaning from the job as much as possible. I think that part of what Ive recovered since leaving is my own voice. What do I have to say? And thats a really difficult exercise for me. And Im envious of people that never really lost that connection to their own voice and sense of purpose and meaning. But I outsourced that to Google for so many years. Ive been really inspired by tech workers who shared with me that they have a clear, on-paper mission and lens on the world thats company agnostic. lulu garcia-navarro So I guess what youre saying is the work you do can have meaning, but the company you work for shouldnt. claire stapleton Yeah. I think thats right. lulu garcia-navarro Claire, thank you so much. claire stapleton Thank you so much for having me. [MUSIC] lulu garcia-navarro To the Editor: Re Run by Haley Is a Tightrope in the G.O.P. (front page, Feb. 19): Nikki Haley has no choice but to to use her gender to promote her candidacy. It is the only thing that distinguishes her from the pack of hypocritical, unprincipled Republican politicians likely to run for president. She long ago joined the ranks of Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, etc., who discarded their justifiable contempt for Donald Trump in favor of attaining or retaining elective office. In her singular pursuit of the presidency shes discarded any integrity she might have once had. Ms. Haley is unqualified to be president not because she is a woman, but because she became one of the boys the boys who sold their souls for power and position. Jay Adolf New York To the Editor: Re Could Haley Be Our Next President? (Opinion, Feb. 19): Its independents who often swing elections, and not one of the Times Opinion writers discussing Nikki Haleys chances considered her appeal to these voters. By thinking only of how she does or doesnt fit within the current Republican Party, they miss her considerable appeal as a non-Trumpian traditional Republican, which will attract swing independents. Ill never forget the stories I heard on the Ukrainian-Polish border one year ago: Newlyweds who separated hours after saying their vows so the groom could return to the front. A tax preparer in Boston who quit her job to return to Ukraine with suitcases full of medical supplies. The wife of a border guard who made the three-hour round trip from Lviv to the Polish border almost daily to drop off fleeing women and children and pick up weapons and supplies. The one-year mark of this terrible war brings up a range of emotions, including deep admiration for the Ukrainian people and dismay over the unfolding Russian offensive. But another feeling comes up, too, that doesnt get talked about enough: awe at the breathtaking waste of war. How sad that human beings survived deadly waves of Covid only to get right back into the business-as-usual of killing one other. Its senseless to spend tens of billions of dollars on missiles, tanks and other aid, when more needs to be done to help communities adapt to rising oceans and drying rivers. Its lunacy that farmers in a breadbasket of the world have gone hungry hiding in bomb shelters. Its madness that Vladimir Putin declared Ukrainians to be part of his own people right before he sent his army into the country, where Russian soldiers have been accused of raping and murdering civilians. Governments gussy up war. They talk of victory because that gives soldiers hope and the will to fight on. But in the end, war is death in a muddy foxhole. Its an existential fight over a frozen field with no strategic value. Its a generational grudge that begets new generational grudges. Its an $11 billion, roughly 740-mile pipeline laid across the Baltic Sea rendered useless overnight. Its some of the largest steel plants in Europe unable to produce or ship a single metal sheet. Its a charming seaside city emptied out by bombings and siege. The inner core of the Earth appears to hold an innermost secret. Geology textbooks almost inevitably include a cutaway diagram of the Earth showing four neatly delineated layers: a thin outer shell of rock that we live on known as the crust; the mantle, where rocks flow like an extremely viscous liquid, driving the movement of continents and the lifting of mountains; a liquid outer core of iron and nickel that generates the planets magnetic field; and a solid inner core. Analyzing the crisscrossing of seismic waves from large earthquakes, two Australian scientists say there is a distinctly different layer at the very center of the Earth. We have now confirmed the existence of the innermost inner core, said one of the scientists, Hrvoje Tkalcic, a professor of geophysics at the Australian National University in Canberra. Dr. Tkalcic and Thanh-Son Pham, a postdoctoral researcher, estimate that the innermost inner core is about 800 miles wide; the entire inner core is about 1,500 miles wide. Their findings were published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications. While the cutaway diagram appears to depict clear-cut divisions, knowledge about the deep interior of Earth is unavoidably fuzzy. It is nearly 4,000 miles to the center of Earth, and it is impossible to drill more than a few miles into the crust. Most of what is known about what lies beneath comes from seismic waves the vibrations of earthquakes traveling through and around the planet. Think of them as a giant sonogram of Earth. It could be a tale from science fiction itself: a machine that uses artificial intelligence to try to supplant authors working in the genre, turning out story after story without ever hitting writers block. And now, it seems, its happening in real life. The editors of three science fiction magazines Clarkesworld, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, and Asimovs Science Fiction said this week that they had been flooded by submissions of works of fiction generated by A.I. chatbots. I knew it was coming on down the pike, just not at the rate it hit us, said Sheree Renee Thomas, the editor of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, which was founded in 1949. The deluge has become so unmanageable that Neil Clarke, the editor of Clarkesworld, said that he had stopped accepting submissions until he could get a better handle on the problem. analysis Eighteen political parties are contesting for Nigeria's presidential elections scheduled for 25 February. Yes, 18 parties. But that's not the highest number of parties in Nigeria's election history. The record was in February 2019, when 73 political parties presented presidential candidates. In the 2023 elections, the Nigerian media have devoted most of their attention to four parties and their candidates. This leaves an information gap about the others. And the presidency is just one position being filled. There are hundreds of other political posts that will be determined. To fill the gaps, a new election tool has been launched which will help voters decide who to cast their ballot for - and where. The tracker The tool, called My Candidate Nigeria, is an initiative that falls under the Africa Data Hub. Its aim is to inform voters and strengthen democracy. The tool helps voters in Nigeria identify candidates for the elections based on their location address. You can try it and discover who the candidates are and where to vote. Focus on a few The tool is important because the media has tended to focus on just a few candidates and their parties: Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress Peter Obi of the Labour Party Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People's Party. Some of the other candidates vying for presidency include former student leader Omoyele Sowore, contesting under the banner of the African Action Congress, and Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party. Kola Abiola is contesting on the ticket of the People's Redemption Party. We also have Hamza Al-Mustapha flying the flag of Action Alliance, and Dumebi Kachikwu of the African Democratic Congress. Chichi Ojei of the Allied Peoples Movement is the only female presidential candidate. Hundreds of choices There are 1,101 candidates for the Senate and 3,122 candidates vying for federal constituencies in the House of Representatives. The elections will be conducted across 176,606 polling stations. In terms of gender, 3,875 candidates are male, made up of 35 for presidential and vice-president, 1,008 for Senate and 2,832 for House of Representatives. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Meanwhile 381 women are contesting: one for president, 92 for Senate and 288 for House of Representatives. There are also 11 people with disabilities in the race. A total of 1,265,227 officials have been trained and will be deployed for the elections. They include presiding, collation and returning officers, as well as 530,538 polling unit security officials. The electoral commission will deploy over one million personnel and large quantities of election materials to 774 local government areas, 8,809 electoral wards and 176,846 polling units across the country. The increased participation of young Nigerians is noticeable. Seventy-one million young Nigerians registered to vote in the elections, out of the total of 93.5 million registered voters. Young here means those who are under 50 years. Nearly 40% of those who registered are under 35 while over 33 million and 35.75% are between the ages of 35 and 49. It follows that those between 18 and 49 years could determine these elections if enough of them turn out to vote. And that is why this tracker might help as young Nigerians are more technologically driven. They should be able to navigate their way through the electoral maze using it. It's intended to help voters make better and more informed choices. MyCandidate Nigeria is an initiative of Open Cities Lab in collaboration with Orodata Science, Accountability Lab Nigeria and OdipoDev. Orodata Science, based in Lagos, is leading the project. Their mission is to establish a data-literate world. Open Cities Lab is a non-profit organisation that creates tools to improve trust and accountability in the civic space. And Odipodev is a market research and data journalism lab based in Kenya. Hakeem Onapajo, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Nile University of Nigeria Twitter recently set in motion a major shift that will affect how most people protect their accounts. The company told nonpaying users that they would soon have to stop using a popular security feature: two-factor authentication through text messages. Let me explain why this isnt as bad as you might fear. In plain speak, two-factor authentication requires two security steps to verify that you are who you say you are. The first step asks for a user name and password, and the second requires you to either enter a temporary code that is sent to you or connect to a physical security key. This way, even if someone has your password, that person will need to fulfill the second step to log in to your account. Twitters announcement of this change was initially confusing and alarming for many. But to be clear, Twitter is pushing users to adopt stronger safeguards and it has created an opportunity for us all to bite the bullet and improve the security of our online accounts. Twitter said in a blog post that users who were not subscribers to its Twitter Blue service would no longer be able to use text messages as a form of authentication after March 20. Nonpaying users can switch to different verification techniques with stronger forms of security. The alternatives rely on either using a third-party app to generate a temporary code or plugging in an authorized security key for access to your account. The back-and-forth is a hallmark of the creative partnership that now finds them preparing to make their Broadway debuts with Fat Ham, a co-production of the National Black Theater and the Public Theater. When the show opens at the American Airlines Theater on April 12, it will be the first National Black Theater production to appear on Broadway and the only work by a Black playwright on Broadway this spring. I remember we announced that were coming and then the climate really kind of shifted after that, said Ali, 44, acutely aware of the commercial pressures that have left new stories by Black playwrights struggling to find staying power on Broadway. What are we walking into? A riff on Hamlet in the form of a Black family gathering in North Carolina, the story follows a college student named Juicy, who is stuck at a barbecue that doubles as a wedding celebration for his mother, Tedra, and her new husband, Rev, a pit master and the brother of Tedras recently deceased ex-husband. Juicys the sullen outcast; hes gay, emotionally aware, intellectual and not the embodiment of Black manhood that Rev expects him to be. When the ghost of Juicys father appears, demanding Juicy avenge his wrongful killing at his brothers hand, the Hamlet story commences. The shows world premiere, a filmed production for the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia, was streamed digitally in 2021, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. The play then had a critically acclaimed Off Broadway run in 2022 at the Public Theater. Just weeks before opening, it won the Pulitzer Prize for drama. Ijames, 42, who grew up in North Carolina and lives in Philadelphia, where he is the co-artistic director of the Wilma, is known for his examinations of Blackness and how it has been shaped by our nations prejudices. He strikes right at the foundations, often drawing on what are now viewed as the hypocrisies of the heroes of U.S. history like Thomas Jefferson (in TJ Loves Sally 4 Ever) and George and Martha Washington (in The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington). Arinze Kene LONDON Growing up in the then-modest neighborhood of Hackney here, Arinze Kene and his four siblings were convinced they were going to be the new Jackson Five. We would learn dance moves from music videos and perform them in the living room, said Kene. It was the beginning of knowing I wanted to be an entertainer. Kene, 35, was chatting before a rehearsal of Misty, his almost one-man show (two musicians accompany him) that will arrive at the Shed on March 3. The piece, which mixes spoken word, music, surreal comedy and performance, tells a tale of gentrification, racial tension and male identity. But it also humorously stages the pitfalls a Black actor faces in telling this tale, via disapproving messages from his friends about racial stereotyping. Misty, directed by Omar Elerian, is the sixth play Kenes written, while his acting career has encompassed varied roles, including playing Bob Marley in the musical Get Up Stand Up! and Biff Loman in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman. The critics have swooned. As much bumbling clown as muscular force to be reckoned with, by turns endearing and commanding, Dominic Cavendish wrote of Misty in The Daily Telegraph after it transferred to the West End. Mark Pestrella, the director of the Department of Public Works in Los Angeles County, said that officials were urging residents in the northern parts of the county to shelter in place beginning on Friday because of the expected widespread road closures over the weekend, and to be ready for basically a snow day that, while being rare and exciting, could still pose a danger. Its not a weekend for the beach, he said. What were really recommending is everybody hang tight and let us get the snowfall, and then after that we can get out. This isnt the first blizzard warning from the Weather Service office in Los Angeles, but it has been decades since the last one. The offices records go back only to 2006, so its forecasters, more accustomed to issuing high surf advisories and flash flood warnings, were unsure when their last blizzard warning was. After some sleuthing, they found one issued on Feb. 4, 1989. On Thursday afternoon, the San Diego office continued the blizzard warnings along the San Bernardino mountains into San Bernardino County, making it the first ever blizzard warning issued by that office. Forecasters in Los Angeles described the storm affecting that region as dangerous, and they predicted up to seven feet of snow in areas more than 4,500 feet above sea level. Lesser amounts, between one and six inches, were expected in elevations of less than 2,500 feet. The lower-elevation snow means this could be the largest amount of 24- to 48-hour snowfall seen in decades probably since a 1989 snowstorm that snarled traffic for the Ventura County and Los Angeles County mountains, forecasters said. A day after a journalist was killed on an assignment near Orlando, Fla., his colleagues were in shock and grief. And experts in journalism said it was a warning sign that the world of local news might be growing more dangerous as reporters rush to cover the daily drumbeat of gun violence. The killing of the reporter, Dylan Lyons, as he covered a fatal shooting that happened hours earlier, was a rude awakening that danger still exists in our industry, and we have to confront that and persevere through that, said Erik Sandoval, a reporter at WKMG-TV in Orlando. Mr. Sandoval recalled working many nights with Mr. Lyons, 24, who was an intern at the station in 2019. He wanted to do this, and he had a bright future ahead of him and the fact that that future was taken away from him breaks my heart, Mr. Sandoval said in an interview on Thursday. The authorities said they were still trying to piece together what led to the fatal shooting on Wednesday of Mr. Lyons, a reporter at Spectrum News 13, as well as two others, Nathacha Augustin, 38, and a 9-year-old girl, Tyonna Major. Mark Brnovich, a Republican who served as Arizonas attorney general until January, buried the findings of a 10,000-hour review by his office that found no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, newly released documents reveal. The documents were released on Wednesday by Mr. Brnovichs successor, Kris Mayes, a Democrat who took office last month as the top law enforcement official in the battleground state, which remains at the forefront of the election denial movement. The sweeping review was completed last year after politicians and other conspiracy theorists aligned with former President Donald J. Trump inundated Mr. Brnovichs office with election falsehoods. They claimed baselessly that large numbers of people had voted twice; that ballots had been sent to dead people; and that ballots with traces of bamboo had been flown in from Korea and filled out in advance for Joseph R. Biden Jr., who won Arizona by a little over 10,000 votes. But investigators discredited these claims, according to a report on their findings that was withheld by Mr. Brnovich. (The Washington Post reported earlier on the findings.) CHICAGO The battle between Chicago and Atlanta over hosting the 2024 Democratic convention is heating up with a new claim from Illinois that Georgias lenient open-carry gun laws already an issue with several public events in Atlanta could make security a nightmare. With a decision possibly weeks away, officials involved agree that Atlanta and Chicago now appear to lead New York, the third of the finalists still under consideration. Union officials have for weeks pressed President Biden and the Democratic National Committee to pick the more union-friendly city; Chicago has 45 unionized hotels while Atlanta has just two, they say. But recent events have brought a new argument: Georgias lenient gun laws could make it extremely difficult to keep firearms away from the delegates. The Secret Service is likely to declare the convention a national security special event and supersede state ordinances with its own rules inside a fortified perimeter. But in hotels, along bus routes and at meetings and parties far from the core convention sites, guns could find their way in, security consultants are warning, especially if Georgias Republican governor, Brian Kemp, holds to his pro-gun views and refuses to intervene. The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to force former Vice President Mike Pence to testify fully in front of a grand jury investigating former President Donald J. Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election, seeking to cut short any attempt by Mr. Trump to use executive privilege to shield Mr. Pence from answering questions, two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The request amounting to a pre-emptive motion to compel Mr. Pences testimony came before the former vice president had even appeared in front of the grand jury, and before any privilege claims had actually been raised in court. The sealed motion, filed in recent days in Federal District Court in Washington, is the latest step in a long-running behind-the-scenes struggle, first by the Justice Department and now by the office of the special counsel, Jack Smith, to cut through the various assertions of privilege that witnesses close to Mr. Trump have repeatedly raised in an effort to avoid answering questions. The privilege disputes have been handled by Judge Beryl A. Howell, the chief federal judge in Washington, who oversees all of the districts grand jury matters, which as a rule are conducted in secret. Judge Howell is expected to step down from her position next month and be replaced by another chief judge. ATLANTA Lawyers for former President Donald J. Trump said late Wednesday that details divulged this week by the forewoman of a special grand jury investigating election interference by Mr. Trump and his allies had poisoned the Georgia inquiry. As of Thursday afternoon, however, the two lawyers had not filed any motions in court challenging the inquiry. Nor would they discuss what form such a challenge might take, saying only that they were weighing their options. Were just considering everything, one of the lawyers, Drew Findling, said. Earlier this week, the forewoman, Emily Kohrs, spoke in interviews with a number of news outlets after The Associated Press identified her through a public records request. She said that the 23-person special grand jury, which can only make recommendations on whether prosecutors should indict, had made such recommendations for more than a dozen people in the case. Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, who is handling the case, will ultimately make charging decisions and bring them to a regular grand jury. Ms. Kohrs declined to name names or say which laws the jurors believed had been broken. But asked if Mr. Trump was among those recommended for indictment, she told The New York Times: Youre not going to be shocked. Its not rocket science. PARIS After stabbing his Spanish teacher, who was at the blackboard teaching a class, the 16-year-old student walked into a nearby classroom, dropped his weapon and declared he had been possessed by a spirit, according to a prosecutor. I ruined my life; all is finished, the teenager said to another teacher in the nearby classroom, according to the state prosecutor overseeing the case, Jerome Bourrier. The killing occurred on Wednesday morning at a private Catholic high school in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, a resort town in southwestern France. The teacher, Agnes Lassalle, died on site, after colleagues and paramedics tried to stem the bleeding from a deep wound, which severed her aorta and punctured her right lung. The attack rocked the town and set off alarms across France, still reeling from the beheading of another teacher, Samuel Paty, by an 18-year-old Chechen refugee and Islamist more than two years earlier. analysis Bola Ahmed Tinubu, presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Nigeria, holds two traditional titles: Asiwaju of Lagos and Jagaban of the Borgu kingdom in Niger State, north-central Nigeria. The titles have similar meanings: leader and leader of warriors. Though he has held these titles for some years, they now bear more significance in the life of Tinubu, a former two-term governor of Lagos State, as he runs for president. Widely believed to be the political kingmaker responsible for the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, Tinubu is loved and loathed in almost equal measures. His admirers describe him as Nigeria's number one political strategist, a technocrat, an astute administrator, a talent spotter and nurturer. They give him credit for the recent development of Lagos, Nigeria's commercial capital. Critics see a different Tinubu. They point to controversies surrounding his age, parental ancestry, educational background and health. Allegations of corruption have lingered though he has been tried and acquitted. As an academic and journalist who has reported Nigeria's politics for more than three decades, I offer my assessment here of Tinubu and his chances in the presidential election. Tinubu's political rise Tinubu came into national prominence during Nigeria's ill-fated Third Republic (1985-1992), when a National Assembly existed along with a military president, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida. Under the quasi-democratic arrangement of that time, Tinubu was a member of the Nigerian Senate when Babangida annulled the results of the 1993 presidential election. The winner was believed to be the charismatic business mogul Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. Tinubu's fight to re-validate that election was what brought him into national political consciousness. He openly opposed the annulment and worked to restore democracy in Nigeria. He and others became targets of military elimination and he had to flee abroad. Tinubu coordinated and largely funded the campaign for democracy in Nigeria from exile. At the dawn of the return to democracy in 1999, Tinubu emerged as the governor of Lagos State, the country's commercial capital. Governor of Lagos In his eight years as governor (1999-2007), Lagos State introduced reforms in revenue generation, the judiciary, security, infrastructural development and other sectors. But his time in office was dominated by a long battle with the federal government over his decision to create new local governments in Lagos. This angered the President Olusegun Obasanjo led federal government which took the decision to withhold the monthly federal allocation that was due to the state. Until then, no state in the country was thought to be capable of surviving without monthly federal allocations. Tinubu was able to raise the state's internal revenue, which sustained it through that period. Since then, Lagos has kept increasing its capacity to fund itself. In 2022, only six of Nigeria's 36 states were capable of surviving independently. Tinubu was the only governor, out of six, in the south-west region of Nigeria who won re-election in 2003 on the platform of the then opposition party, Alliance for Democracy. The other five governors all lost their second term bid to opponents fielded by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party under then president Olusegun Obasanjo. Tinubu is believed to have won due to his popularity among Lagos voters. He has remained influential in the state and is popularly described as the godfather of Lagos politics, having played a substantial role in the emergence of his successors as Lagos governor. Bridge builder and nurturer of talent Tinubu is often described by his admirers as a political bridge builder. He is reputed to be able to spot and nurture talent. Many of those he has spotted have become high performers in Nigeria's politics and governance. For instance, he appointed Nigeria's current vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, a law academic, as attorney general and commissioner for justice in Lagos State. In 2015, he nominated Osinbajo as vice-president to Buhari. Tinubu has also been instrumental in the emergence of many ministers and special advisers in the Buhari's cabinet, former and current members of the National Assembly, and former and current state governors who were his aides and political followers. The controversial Tinubu Controversies around Tinubu's parental origin and academic credentials are obstacles to his bid for votes. In Nigerian politics, identity issues such as family and ancestral lineage often play a key role in how candidates are assessed. The late Alhaja Abibat Mogaji, the powerful leader of the association of market traders who had the title of Iyaloja General of Lagos and Nigeria, was widely acknowledged as Tinubu's mother. She died in 2013, aged 96. But critics insist that she could not have been his biological mother. They argue that Tinubu has a different identity from what is in the public domain. His family has countered such rumours. His age is another source of dispute. Tinubu says he is 70. His critics say he is probably older than that. His critics also insist that he is unhealthy and unfit to be president, a claim he and his supporters have refuted. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Allegations of corruption have clung to him over the years. He has never been convicted. Under former president Goodluck Jonathan, he was charged before the Code of Conduct Tribunal but acquitted. This was a boost for his image. His supporters argue that if he was truly corrupt, he would have been convicted, especially since he was an opposition politician. Can the kingmaker become a king? In 2015, Tinubu led a political movement that gave birth to the All Progressives Congress party, a coalition of opposition parties that eventually defeated the Peoples Democratic Party at the presidential poll. It was the first time since 1999, when Nigeria returned to democratic rule, that a ruling party and sitting president had lost an election. Tinubu is widely believed to be the political kingmaker responsible for Buhari's success in 2015. He is also believed to have supported Buhari in his second term bid in 2019. Now, he believes it is his turn to lead Nigeria. Olayinka Oyegbile, Journalist and Communications scholar, Trinity University, Lagos LONDON Brexit destroyed the careers of two recent British prime ministers, so resolving one of its most poisonous legacies was never going to be easy for the latest, Rishi Sunak. Predictably enough, things are not going to plan. Throughout Britains tortuous exit from the European Union, successive prime ministers have sought to broker a deal with the bloc over a festering dispute: trade rules for Northern Ireland, where treatment of the border with Ireland, an E.U. member, has bedeviled negotiators for years. An agreement was expected this week, until leaks of its contents prompted a backlash from Northern Irish politicians and some of Mr. Sunaks own lawmakers. The question now is whether Mr. Sunak will push ahead with the deal, knowing that it could destabilize his leadership, providing a harsh reminder of the difficulties of solving one of the most intractable consequences of Brexit. KYIV, Ukraine The Ukrainian military on Thursday said the southern port city of Mariupol was now within reach of its weapons, suggesting without providing details that Kyiv has longer range weapons at its disposal than it did even a month ago. At this stage, we can only say that distance is a very relative notion, Natalia Humeniuk, the spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military southern command said in an appearance on national television, adding, The Mariupol front is not absolutely unattainable for us. The deliberate vagueness of her comments were in keeping with Ukraines interest in keeping Moscow guessing about what weapons Kyiv has available and making Russian forces feel unsafe everywhere in the territory they occupy. For two consecutive nights, explosions have rocked Mariupol, including blasts near the airport and around a steel plant. Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the citys exiled mayor, said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces directed three surgically precise hits on concentrations of Russian forces. Small towns in Bulgaria, with its large pro-Russian population, might seem unlikely linchpins of Ukraines military effort. But one year into the war, despite an influx of sophisticated Western arms, the Ukrainian military still relies primarily on weapons that fire Soviet-standard munitions. The United States and its NATO allies dont produce those munitions, and the few countries outside Russia that do are mostly in the former Soviet orbit. That has Western countries scrambling to find alternative sources, pouring millions of dollars into workarounds that keep the transactions quiet and avoid political fallout and Russian retaliation. And that brings them to some of the more remote areas of Eastern Europe, like Kostenets, and the small town of Sopot, roughly 50 miles to the northeast, which is home to another state-run arms factory. Representatives from the U.S. embassy quietly attended the ribbon-cutting last month for the new production line in Kostenets, which took place outside the plant, a rundown low-slung building in a corner of the town. With the new jobs its adding, the plant could become one of Kostenetss biggest employers. This is a big deal for the town, said Deputy Mayor Margarita Mincheva. On Tuesday, Yevgeny Prigozhin went further than he ever had in his public standoff with Russias military leaders, claiming the defense minister and the countrys most senior general were starving his private army of ammunition. He then accused them of treason for weakening his fighters at a crucial moment in the war in Ukraine. By Thursday, the acrimonious and very public dispute appeared to have subsided, with Mr. Prigozhin saying his mercenary group, Wagner, now had the ammunition they desperately needed. In the opaque world of the Russian military, it is impossible to know if his troops got the ammunition, or if the Kremlin lost patience and told him to play nice. Either way, the discord between Mr. Prigozhin and the Russian Defense Ministry undermined the theme of unity emphasized by President Vladimir V. Putin in highly publicized speeches this week, as he rallied the nation for a long war. It also raised new questions about Russias ability to sustain a drawn-out war against an increasingly well-armed Ukraine. ISTANBUL Two dozen student volleyball players, four teachers and 12 parents visiting Turkey for a competition this month checked into the Grand Isias Hotel in the southern city of Adiyaman. When a powerful earthquake struck on Feb. 6, the building collapsed and killed dozens of people including everyone in the entourage except for four adults. A university engineer who examined the wreckage found indications of weak concrete and insufficient steel reinforcements, he and his colleagues wrote in a preliminary report, concluding that shoddy construction had left the building vulnerable, even to smaller quakes. In the weeks since, the Turkish authorities have arrested three men connected to the hotel on unspecified charges as part of a wide-ranging dragnet targeting hundreds of building contractors and owners among others suspected of criminal negligence that contributed to deadly building collapses. The suspects some nabbed at the airport with stacks of cash or perp-walked on national television have become the focus of public rage, with many now questioning whether they padded their profits by flouting the codes put in place over the last two decades to make buildings more quake resistant. Just how does John Kavanagh, a boy from Roscrea, end up committing murder in the back woods of rural Nova Scotia? This will be the subject of a public talk happening at the Black Mills in Roscrea on May 5, 2023. The story of John Kavanagh is the subject of a novel by author Laura Churchill Duke, titled 'Rooted in Deception' and which came about after she enlisted the help of members of the Roscrea Heritage Society. The author will be coming from Nova Scotia to Roscrea to give a public presentation about the life of John Kavanagh, and telling the story of how he murdered an old man in Nova Scotia - and how he was tracked down. John Kavanagh grew up in Ballyhall, in Roscrea, went to St. Cronan's Boy School and attended the local church. But when he was 17 years old, he received a three month jail term for having stolen a watch chain. At the age of 18, it was 6 months for stealing a coat, and at the age of 19, it was a year for stealing a coat. In fact, he spends the next 22 years of his life constantly in and out of five jails across Ireland. When he is finally released, John heads to England, and in Liverpool takes a ship to Nova Scotia, Canada. It is here, in December 1905 that John Kavanagh starts a new life. But in February 1906, John's life of crime catches up with him and he is convicted of murdering Freeman Harvey, decapitating him, and burying him in a pile of potatoes in the man's own basement. A trial ensues and John is found guilty and in August, 1906, John Kavanagh, a man from Roscrea is hanged for murder in Windsor, Nova Scotia. The novel 'Rooted in Deception' follows the life of John Kavanagh and how this petty criminal deceives everyone in his path until he is eventually accused of a heinous and violent crime for which he is ultimately hanged. But how much of the tragedy was of his own doing and how much had his fate been woven by his enemies? Told from a variety of perspectives, including that of the accused, the novel creates a sympathetic case for a man who may deserve none. Using primary sources including newspaper articles, trial transcripts and actual letters from the accused, the true story of the murder of Freeman Harvey is told using creative fiction to fill in the gaps of the narrative. The Backstory The most exciting part of this story for me was the hunt to discover the man behind the murderer Laura Churchill Duke said about her new book. When he arrived in Nova Scotia, he was using the aliases John Ryan and George Stanley. There is one newspaper article where he mentions he was born in 1866 in Roscrea. I wrote to the historical society in Roscrea and forged a relationship with the chair, Pamela Aitken. With the help of another local historian, Dick Conroy, the two dug into historical records and were able to ascertain the identify of our man. They discovered his name was John Kavanagh. They found his parents' wedding certificates, his sister's death certificate at Clonmel lunatic asylum, school records, property deeds and more. The story of the real man came together, she explained. I will be coming from Nova Scotia to give a public presentation about the life of John Kavanagh, and telling the story of how he murdered an old man in Nova Scotia - and how we tracked him down. Pictured above are Laura's books Rooted in Deception is available on Amazon UK, and I will also be bringing copies with me to the event, the author said. Laura is a communication specialist and journalist in the Annapolis Valley. She is currently teaching communication to first year kinesiology students at Acadia University, focusing on writing, research and presentation skills. Laura is also a freelance journalist for Saltwire Network, writing stories for Atlantic Canada. ST Kieran's Day has a particular significance for the people of Clareen and they extend a warm welcome to all those who wish to join them in the celebrations of their Patron's great Feast Day on Sunday March 5th next. This year has an added significance as they welcome the recently ordained Bishop of Ossory, Bishop Niall Coll to celebrate with them. Bishop Niall will be the main celebrant at Mass in St Kieran's Church at 11am that Sunday and will then remain with them to make the traditional pilgrim journey to the three stations associated with the Saint; St Kieran's Well, St Kieran's Bush and the grounds of the monastic site. This is a tradition as old as Christianity itself and for generations, pilgrims have walked these same paths in the footsteps of St Kieran himself. Bishop Coll was ordained in St Mary's Cathedral Kilkenny on Sunday January 22nd. A native of Donegal, he attended St Baithin's NS, St Johnston, and St Eunan's College, Letterkenny, before entering the National Seminary in Maynooth in September 1981 to begin his formation for the priesthood. He was ordained in 1988 and following two further years of post graduate study in Rome, he was appointed to St Eunan's College as chaplain and teacher. He returned to Rome for three further years of study in 1992 and on his return was appointed as a lecturer in St Patrick's College, Carlow. Three years later to returned to Raphoe Diocese and was curate in Dungloe and chaplain in Pobalscoil na Rossan. In 2001 he was appointed as Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at St Mary's University Belfast and remained there until 2020 when he returned to Raphoe as parish priest of Drumholm, transferring to the neighbouring parish of Tawnawilly a year later. Every bishop chooses a motto which seeks to encapsulate his thoughts, prayers and priorities as he begins his new ministry. Bishop Niall has chosen the words Christ Jesus our Hope and this theme will be central to the celebrations in Clareen. Indeed this motto truly reflects the faith and hope of Kieran's pilgrim people back through the mists of time and was there ever such a need, in the history of humanity, as now for such Christian hope? This monastic parish of Clareen is a very holy and blessed place. It holds a special place in the diocese as it was from there that the Diocese of Ossory came to birth. Pope Francis, who appointed Bishop Niall, wrote in one of his Encyclicals 'Fratelli Tutti' of the importance of fraternity and social friendship. He reminds us that we share a common home and he reaffirms the dignity of every human person created in the image and likeness of God. As the people of Clareen prepare for their feast day and reflect on the life of St Kieran, they can experience him speaking to them in their daily lives, exactly as Pope Francis suggested. St Kieran lived in a community of sharing. Is he not inviting us to recognise one another as travelling companions, truly sisters and brothers, bearing witness to Christ Jesus our hope as we journey through life? Kieran is depicted under the main altar in the church sending out his followers into society to be missionary disciples. Is he not putting into action in a real way what Pope Franics says is his encyclical; Let no ideology remove God from society? We have plenty of evidence to show that where God has been removed that society has ended up adoring idols which leads to a throw away culture which tramples on the dignity of others. This mentality gradually leads to the denial of freedoms of conscience and religion resulting in an impoverished humanity without hope or ideas to guide it. So come and join them in Clareen in their celebration of faith on March 5th. Be with them as they make their pilgrim journey You will be very welcome. Afterwards come to the Parish Hall where refreshments will be served and take the opportunity to meet old friends and to welcome Bishop Niall among them. analysis Obi-dient is the word in town for the Nigerians who support Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, south-east Nigeria. To them, Obi is the best candidate for the country's presidency. A look at the development of Obi's character reveals discipline, responsibility, prudent management of resources and a positive impact on society. In secondary school, he was engaged in trading to make money. He is known for his "egg principle": that even one egg for sale should be carefully guarded because losing it meant the loss of his profit in that venture. Now he is renowned for prudence and financial discipline. Obi's emergence Obi represents the aspirations of the teeming but marginalised Nigerian youth population. He symbolises the voice of the underprivileged who yearn for a better Nigeria where justice, equity, fairness and respect for human rights will be sacrosanct. As a political scientist, I think Obi's candidacy represents a total departure from the old order to people-centred leadership oriented towards development and national rebirth. The unwillingness of the Peoples Democratic Party to cede its presidential ticket to the south-east region of Nigeria and the acrimonious relationship among the party's leaders propelled Obi's defection to the Labour Party in May 2022. His emergence as Labour Party's presidential candidate has attracted young people to rally around the Obi-dient call. There is a distinct possibility that Obi's candidacy could be the "third force" that upstages the two dominant political parties. These are the All Progressives Congress and Peoples Democratic Party. His entrance on the platform of a relatively unpopular party took many Nigerians by surprise. Past presidents have emerged from the two major parties. But disunity has deepened under the Muhammadu Buhari government. Insecurity remains a challenge and there's a shortage of essential goods and services. His early days Obi was born on 19 July 1961 in Onitsha, south-east Nigeria. He attended Christ the King College, Onitsha, where he completed his secondary school education. He was admitted to the University of Nigeria in 1980 and graduated with a BA (Honours) in philosophy in 1984. He concentrated on his businesses, which grew to make him an influential player in the corporate world. He also sharpened his entrepreneurial and managerial competencies at Columbia, Harvard, London School of Economics and Oxford. Seeking a wider platform to serve society, he contested the governorship of Anambra State in 2003 but was denied victory. He challenged his loss in court, shunned all manner of "settlements" and intimidation and regained his electoral mandate through the courts. Barely six months in office, he was impeached by the Mike Balonwu-led House of Assembly. The first charge was that he had gone against the constitution and renovated the destroyed Government House for far less than was in the budget. The court later reinstated him. He did not offer his friends appointments. Among his achievements as governor were extensive road construction, and the return of schools to missionaries who had established them. Building on the foundations laid by Chris Ngige, his predecessor, Obi gave the state the best road network in Nigeria. His resolve also ushered in a rebirth of education and improved health care facilities in Anambra State. Read more: Bola Tinubu: Nigeria's kingmaker who wants to be king Anambra is not Nigeria Obi's critics say that his Anambra State governance experience is not enough for him to seek Nigeria's presidency. They point to the state's size - 21 local government areas - unlike the behemoth called Nigeria. Anambra was created in 1991 by the military junta in power then. Nearly all its people speak the Igbo language. The small scale of operations in Anambra State could have been a factor in his government success, and he will need greater dexterity in leading Nigeria if elected. His micro-management of affairs in the state is impossible at the federal level and this might make things tough for him as president. His youthful supporters might also be his candidacy's weakness. While 71 million young Nigerians (under 50 years old) registered to vote in the elections, out of the total of 93.5 million, they will only favour Obi if they vote massively in the election. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. This is the first time in Nigeria's contemporary political history that young people are driving a person's presidential quest. Nobody knows how it will turn out. Political movements driven by young people like Y'en a Marre in Senegal, Balai Citoyen in Burkina Faso, or Filimbi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have met with relatively little success. However, the recent emergence of President William Ruto in Kenya's presidential election has shown that some of Africa's youth are making their mark on the continent. Whatever happens, Nigerian youth have written their names boldly in the political annals of their country by establishing the Obi-dient political movement. Read more: Atiku Abubakar: Nigeria's perennial presidential candidate is back on the stump Kester Onor, Lecturer, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Covenant University The five largest Western oil firms announced nearly $200 billion in profits after the Ukraine war sent energy prices soaring. Strong Chinese oil demand could mean more huge payouts alongside calls for windfall taxes. WASHINGTON (AP) The United States is nominating former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank, President Joe Biden announced on Thursday, crediting him with critical experience on global challenges including climate change. The news comes days after Trump appointee David Malpass announced plans to step down in June from his role leading the 189-nation poverty reduction agency. His five-year term was due to expire in April 2024. Addressing the impacts of climate change at the multilateral bank is a priority for the U.S. And leading climate figures have urged the Biden administration to use Malpass' early departure as an opening to overhaul the powerful financial institution, which has been increasingly criticized as hostile to less-wealthy nations and efforts to address climate change. Malpass ran into criticism last year for seeming, in comments at a conference, to cast doubt on the science that says the burning of fossil fuels causes global warming. He later apologized and said he had misspoken, noting that the bank routinely relies on climate science. Banga, currently vice chairman at private equity firm General Atlantic, has more than 30 years of business experience, having served in various roles at Mastercard and the boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc. He is the first Indian-born nominee to the World Bank president role. Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history," Biden said in a statement, adding that Banga has critical experience mobilizing public-private resources to tackle the most urgent challenges of our time, including climate change. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement that Banga's experience will help him achieve the World Banks objectives of eliminating... Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison in his sexual assault case in Los Angeles ... with the punishment coming down two months after a jury found him guilty of rape. Superior Court Judge Lisa B. Lench sentenced the disgraced film On the eve of the anniversary of Russia's invasion, Ukraine's president said his country will prevail. Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly will vote on a measure calling for an end to the war. DW rounds up the latest. analysis In 2015 the United Nations General Assembly adopted universal health coverage as one of the sustainable development goals. The aim of universal health coverage is to ensure that every person and community, irrespective of their circumstances, has access to the health services they need, at the time and place they need it, without the risk of financial devastation. Many countries have committed to the concept, which has resulted in numerous health reforms. The World Health Organization recognises Rwanda as one of the countries that are performing well on the goal of universal health coverage. The Cochrane Centre summarises and disseminates information on what works and what doesn't in health care. Professor Charles Shey Wiysonge, director of Cochrane South Africa and senior director at the South African Medical Research Council, spoke to Rwanda's health minister, Dr Sabin Nsanzimana, about the road map for universal health coverage in the country. Charles Wiysonge: What does universal health coverage look like in Rwanda? Sabin Nsanzimana: In the last decade, calls for increased efforts to achieve universal health coverage have grown. Many countries have committed to universal health coverage - particularly in Africa. This has resulted in numerous health reforms. Rwanda's President Paul Kagame was appointed by other African heads of state as the leader on domestic health financing in the AU Assembly Declaration in February 2019. The aim of the declaration was to increase investment in health and have member states spend efficiently and effectively to achieve better health outcomes. In the last couple of decades Rwanda has improved the health and well-being of all its people. This was done through a combination of evidence-based and people-centred strategies and interventions. The country has been able to make the following substantial progress: On the supply side, the country has built a healthcare delivery system on primary healthcare. Individuals and communities are at the centre of our actions. The increased number of health facilities (from 1,036 in 2013 to 1,457 in 2020) has improved the geographical accessibility of care. It's also contributed to the reduction of the average time used by a Rwandan citizen to reach a health facility. The average time used to reach the nearest health facility has fallen from 95.1 minutes in 2010 to 49.9 minutes in the past 10 years. On the demand side, the risk pooling has been greatly improved as a result of the extension of Community-Based Health Insurance schemes. These give the majority of the population access to healthcare services, and improve access to quality services. Insurance has also reduced out-of-pocket expenditures (which are 4% as a share of total health expenditure) in particular for the poor and most vulnerable people. Community-based health insurance covers over 85% of the population. The percentage of the population with some kind of health insurance has increased from 43.3% in 2005 to 90.5% in 2020. This has helped to protect households against financial risks associated with sickness. The government spending on health (15.6% as of the 2019/2020 financial year) has surpassed the 15% required under the 2001 Abuja Declaration. This shows the country's high commitment to the development of health sector financing. Charles Wiysonge: Where are the gaps and why do they exist? Sabin Nsanzimana: Progress towards universal health coverage is a continuous process. It responds to shifts in demographic, epidemiological and technological trends as well as people's socio-economic status and expectations. If Rwanda is to meet the goal of achieving universal health coverage by 2030, we need to be far more ambitious to leave no one behind. Additional health financing reforms and actions to maintain achieved gains and improve further health outcomes are needed. The fact that the country has achieved close to universal population coverage is in itself a great achievement. But there are still some people who are uninsured. We need to identify policy options to expand coverage to the hard-to-reach population in the informal sector. Health insurance has positively affected the use of services and equity. But further improvements are needed. We must extend the service coverage based on the need and reduce cost-sharing, especially for secondary and tertiary care. Sustainability of health financing is also a critical issue. It requires finding innovative ways to mobilise domestic resources, adopting better resource pooling mechanisms and an effective strategic purchasing mechanism. These must ensure equity and efficient use of available resource and value for money. Charles Wiysonge: What else is needed? Sabin Nsanzimana: To move further and deeper towards universal health coverage calls for evidence-based policy reforms that would provide direction for a long-term model for service delivery (focusing on the primary healthcare level) and health financing in Rwanda. This will require adequate awareness among policy decision makers, and increased capacity in those areas and shared understanding of universal health coverage to support the necessary reforms. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Rwanda Health By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Charles Wiysonge: What can other countries on the continent learn from Rwanda's experience? Sabin Nsanzimana: Strong leadership that sets a clear vision for the future is imperative. Countries need a development model that is inclusive. Such a model must consider gender equality, pro-poor policies, unity and solidarity. Most important are robust institutions and legal frameworks driven by good governance, with: accountability, citizen participation, decentralisation results orientation - performance contracts investment in human capital - mainly capacity building. Charles Shey Wiysonge, Director, Cochrane South Africa, South African Medical Research Council The defendant has been sentenced to a minimum of 15 years in prison over an attack that killed four people. Germany's rule of universal jurisdiction allows it to try people for crimes committed abroad. The mayor of a Canadian border community is warning that the federal government's new foreign property owner tax will hurt the local economy and damage vital relationships, and is calling on Ottawa to make changes. The military has said it is "fully aware" of efforts by China to conduct surveillance in the north. A central Florida television journalist and a young girl were shot and killed Wednesday afternoon near the scene of a fatal shooting from earlier in the day, authorities said. The crew was covering a shooting at the same place earlier on the same day. Police say the suspected gunman was the same individual who had fatally shot a woman earlier. Newsy 18 Feb 2023 Watch VideoNorth Korea on Saturday fired a long-range missile from its capital into the sea off Japan, according to its.. The meeting which coincides with the one year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine won't be used as a platform for Kremlin propaganda, the OSCE's president has said. 2008-2023 One News Page Ltd. All rights reserved. One News is a registered trademark of One News Page Ltd. Gaza militants fired rockets and Israel carried out airstrikes across the Israel-Gaza frontier on Thursday, a day after 11 Palestinians were killed during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank, renewing concerns of broader escalation. Sky News 23 Feb 2023 An 11-year-old girl from Cambodia has died from bird flu, health officials have said, the first person in the country to die from.. If you like your art ancient, this is the place "This is one of the most important rock art sites in eastern Africa for two reasons said Xavier Gutherz, the French archeologist who brought Laas Geel to the world's attention in 2002. "The high number and quality of the panels of rock art, and the originality of the representations of cattle and characters." The caves lie about 55 kilometers northeast of the Somaliland capital, Hargeisa. analysis To "read" the history of times before writing, scholars have traditionally used excavated evidence. Remains like dwellings, burials and pots can reveal a lot about how people lived long ago. In southern Africa, there is another archive to "read" too: rock art. Rock art is primarily a record of spiritual beliefs - but also reflects the events that these beliefs made sense of. Hunter-gatherers in the region, ancestors of today's San or BaTwa, made rock art for thousands of years before African herders and farmers arrived from the north 2,000 years ago and European colonists followed by sea 350 years ago. As a result of these contacts between groups of people, ethnic and economic boundaries became increasingly blurred. Rock art changed too, in technique and subject matter. Rock art tells a tale of people meeting, negotiating, fighting, trading with and marrying one another. The tale is told not in simple narrative, but in spiritual beliefs. Our recent paper in Current Anthropology outlines the nature, scale and effects of contact between people in southern Africa, and the ways in which indigenous people produced images that engaged with change. It shows that contact and colonisation, in time, created a "disconnect" with the past that can be understood by looking at changes in rock art. The disconnect apparent in the rock art reflects the disconnect in indigenous society more generally. It reveals the mixing and changing - and survival - of different people's beliefs about the universe. It charts southern African history and, although it is "written" in terms of spiritual beliefs, it is the only record that shows what happened from the San perspective. It often shows the struggle to resist subjugation, and it depicts beliefs about the forces that could be summoned to resist. Shifts in rock art What the San painted or engraved on rock was their vision of what happened in a trance state. The artists entered this trance state in order to establish connections with animals and spirits in the landscape, to influence their movements, and to derive the power to make rain and heal the sick. Rock art was never unchanging, but new traditions and styles appeared when African farmers arrived in southern Africa from about 2,000 years ago, and when pastoralism was later introduced. Further changes came with the arrival of Khoe-speakers about 1,000 years ago. These Khoe-speaking herders were themselves descended from earlier mixing between hunter-gatherers and east African pastoralists. Changes appeared in the rock art's content - for example the animals and materials portrayed - and in the artistic techniques used. Eland antelope (the one with the most spiritual power for the San) were once lovingly drafted and shaded. Later they appeared in bright, chalky and vivid colours, rendered in a posterlike and blocky fashion. The drop in pigment quality was likely due to the breakdown of trade networks brought about by marginalisation, then slaughter, of indigenous people, but still they called on the power of the eland to help them. We see pictures of cattle and sheep appearing in rock art, and finger-painted and engraved patterns associated with girls' initiation, common to pastoralist and hunter-gatherer societies. The images show that people's identity (ethnicity) and the way they survived (economy) weren't divided into clear groups. Hunters were not necessarily all San, and all San were not necessarily hunters. The blurring of boundaries between groups increased with time. As time went on, all these people became subject to extermination policy, slavery and marginalisation. But rather than being passive receptors of change, they used their religion, comprising multicultural beliefs, to survive. This can be seen in the rock art they created. Spiritual concepts of water Conceptions of the rain, in the form of images of water bulls and water snakes, are particularly useful for examining cross-cultural influences. For African farmers, snakes were associated with water. Hunter-gatherers and herders with whom they came into contact acknowledged this because they, too, already had beliefs about water and the animal entities embodied by it. People from different language groups may have gathered together for girls' initiation ceremonies at sites where the great water snake emerged. At these locations, this spiritual creature's body, the undulating rock, is covered with markings to appeal to it - the markings that also appear on the initiates' tattoos, face paint, clothing and bags. The control of water, to make rain for pasture and crops, was traded (bartered for cattle) between groups, very likely for centuries. Rock art images of water snakes, water bulls and domestic cattle intertwine and superimpose one another; sometimes water snakes have cattle horns. Often, water bulls or water snakes were depicted being killed to make their blood - the rain - fall. Water was also extremely important to those wishing to combat the encroaching colonists. By this time the people of southern Africa, regardless of background, held many beliefs in common. The people or entities that lived underwater could be called upon to influence situations: torrential rain to wash away the tracks of stolen animals, for example. Raiding and escape By the time colonists arrived, hunter-gatherers had sheep, and isiNtu-speakers (African farmers) had adopted aspects of hunter-gatherer beliefs, and vice versa. San were increasingly marginalised from well-watered pasture suitable for domestic herds of African herders and farmers. Some became herders themselves, some mixed with farmers and some became raiders. Then, with the expansion of settler farms in the 18th century (which they also raided) they were decimated, hunted and enslaved. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa Entertainment By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. In the rock art, baboons became a symbol of protective power to enable raiders to escape unharmed. The root of a powerful medicine, so-|oa or mabophe - closely associated with baboons - enabled stock thieves to pass unnoticed, and "turned bullets to water". We see this in the paintings of people taking on the power and features of baboons, appearing alongside horses and cattle. Read more: South Africa's bandit slaves and the rock art of resistance Horses, the magical vehicles of violence, passage and escape, were kept and cared for by their new owners - the raider groups. They painted themselves in scenes before, during and after raids, not as a diary entry but as part of the [ritual] of ensuring the outcome was favourable and the memory made positive. We can now see changes in rock art, from "traditional" animals like rhebok and eland, to those showing rain bulls being killed, rain snakes captured, people with shields and spears, or riding horses alongside baboons, in a new light. Sam Challis, Senior Researcher, University of the Witwatersrand Brent Sinclair-Thomson, Support staff, University of the Witwatersrand On the eve of the one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, UN member states will vote on a German motion calling for "lasting peace." Though it's non-binding, organizers hope for symbolically broad support. On February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. In an interview with DW, Roman Luckscheiter from UNESCO explains how Ukrainian culture has been threatened and what can be done. A Los Angeles judge on Thursday sentenced former movie producer Harvey Weinstein to 16 years in prison after a jury convicted him of the 2013 rape and sexual assault of an Italian actor and model. Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 16 years in prison in his Los Angeles criminal trial Thursday, adding on to the 23 years he is already serving. On the eve of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, roughly three-quarters of UN member states endorsed a resolution calling for "just and lasting" peace. China and India were among the major abstentions. Rishi Sunak is poised to launch a major crackdown on the asylum seeker backlog in the coming days by invalidating applications if they fail to return a new questionnaire within 20 working days, Sky News can reveal. This week's rally commemorating the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine is said to have been attended by thousands of people under the pressure of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Boris Johnson has said China will be making an "historic mistake" if it supplies Russia with weapons - as he urged the UK to "break the ice" by becoming the first country to supply Ukraine with fighter jets. Oneindia 04 Mar 2023 This was one of the most talked about criminal trials in the recent US history. Also one of the most closely watched and perhaps.. analysis South Africa's current electricity crisis has been described as "a perfect storm". A number of factors have converged to reach this point: an ageing and inadequately maintained fleet of coal power stations, delays in upgrading the Koeberg nuclear power station and significant failures at the recently built Medupi and Kusile coal power stations. Since the beginning of 2022, power utility Eskom's inability to meet the country's electricity demand has resulted in unprecedented loadshedding (scheduled power cuts). In 2022, electricity interruptions totalled 3,775 hours over 205 days. The situation almost certainly will not improve any time soon. At the same time, Gauteng - South Africa's most populous province and its economic hub - has experienced critical water supply issues. In late 2022 and early 2023, the combined impact of heat waves, intermittent pumping of water because of electricity interruptions and infrastructure failure has led to demand outstripping water supply. Residents of Gauteng's biggest municipalities have experienced near-daily low water pressure or water cuts. Read more: Power cuts in South Africa are playing havoc with the country's water system Many private individuals and businesses are investing in alternative electricity and water sources. The exact number is uncertain - most systems are not registered. Alternative investments include water tanks, boreholes, solar panels and diesel generators. These solutions cost anywhere from R4,000 (about US$220) for rainwater tanks and up to R180,000 (almost US$10,000) for a borehole. The cost of installing residential solar panels is anywhere from R8,000 (about US$440) to R10,000 (around US$550) per kWp (a measure of how high the panels' power output is). Inverters and batteries are also pricey. Even with financing options, most households can't afford alternatives. These investments are generally efforts to maintain a level of normality and to survive through unreliable water and electricity supply. But the cumulative effect of these individual actions could have significant consequences for inequality and service provision for the poor. South Africa is already one of the most unequal countries in the world. Poor people are less able to afford alternatives for power and water. There's also the risk that municipalities will gradually be unable to cross-subsidise services to the poor as they lose revenue from wealthy consumers. Social justice considerations have been at the forefront of South Africa's just transition from coal-based to renewable electricity generation. But this has largely focused on the labour force and affected communities. Less attention has been paid to the justice implications of electricity distribution. There is hope. Private investments in off-grid water and electricity could be mobilised to help address the current crises. However, this requires rei-magining the role of the state and citizens, reworking municipal funding models, and encouraging private investors to support the grid in various ways. What do the Quality of Life data tell us? In early February 2023 we used survey data from 2013 to 2021 to show how Gauteng households were investing in alternative electricity and water provision. We examined who was accessing these alternative sources and who was not. The data for this project was drawn from the Gauteng City-Region Observatory (GCRO)'s regular Quality of Life survey, which is designed to gather a representative sample of Gauteng residents. It includes questions about demographics, living conditions and socio-economic circumstances. All the datasets are freely available to download through the University of Cape Town's DataFirst platform. The data reveal that access to alternative electricity and water sources has increased over time. In 2013/14, only 0.8% of residents reported having access to solar or wind energy, while 0.3% had a generator. By 2020/21, these figures had jumped to 5% and 4%, respectively. Despite this increase, only a small minority of Gauteng residents (about 1 in 20) have access to alternative water and electricity. Affluent households are proportionately more likely to invest in alternative electricity and water sources than poorer households. In 2020/21, 2% of respondents with a monthly household income below R3,201 (around US$177) had a rainwater tank. Some 4% of this income group had a borehole or well. In contrast, 9% of the respondents in the higher income groups - a monthly household income over R25,600 (about US$1,415) - had access to a rainwater tank or borehole. The uneven increase in access to alternative electricity is particularly notable. Access to solar power grew from 0.3% in 2015/16 to 3% in 2020/21 for households earning less than R800/month. For the highest income group (monthly household income more than R51,200), access to solar increased from 4% to 12% over the same period. Implications for a just transition The gap is clearly widening between affluent households who can shield themselves from electricity and water interruptions, and poorer households who cannot afford to do so. And this gap could widen further because of how municipal services are financed. Under the current funding model, municipalities depend on revenue from basic service provision (electricity, water and refuse) to fund their mandated activities. They use the revenue from industries, businesses and wealthy consumers to cross-subsidise services for the poor. This model has been critiqued for being unsustainable and creating perverse incentives for municipalities to elevate tariffs and encourage high users to keep consuming electricity. But it at least ensures access to services for poor households. The current move by residents and businesses towards self-generated electricity has potentially dire consequences for municipalities' ability to ensure fiscal stability and equitable access to services. It also has some technical drawbacks. Private investments have the potential to add strain and complexity to the grid. Grid-charged battery systems increase electricity consumption and post-loadshedding peaks. Solar photovoltaic installations reduce pressure on the grid during the day. But, they leave the evening peak unchanged. Power plants must continue producing electricity in excess during the daytime demand to ensure they can meet the evening peak. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Energy By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Private borehole installations could cause uneven depletion of aquifers. They could also negatively affect groundwater management and undermine the availability of these water resources for broader society. Mobilising private investments However, there are opportunities to harness private investments to cope with the current electricity and potential future water crises. Municipalities are beginning to give households and businesses incentives to sell their excess power back to the grid. This could reduce the cost of electricity for municipalities, maximising their ability to cross-subsidise service delivery for the poor. Where households and businesses have invested in batteries, they could store solar energy and sell it back to the grid during the evening peak. In addition to the authors, the Off-grid Cities project team members include: Fiona Anciano, Charlotte Lemanski, Margot Rubin, Laurence Piper, SJ Cooper-Knock, Temba Middelmann, Brian Murahwa, Joanna Watterson, Eyong Tarh, Miguel Isaac and Zackeen Thomas. Christina Culwick, Senior researcher, urban sustainability transitions, environmental governance and resilience, Gauteng City-Region Observatory Samkelisiwe Khanyile, Researcher, Gauteng City-Region Observatory A television journalist and 9-year-old were fatally shot Wednesday near the scene of a fatal shooting in central Florida, authorities said. AutoMotions 27 Feb 2023 "Stellantis Spotlight" is a weekly recap of some of the major stories at Stellantis. The top stories for the week ending February.. China vowed a stronger partnership with Russia on Wednesday and US President Joe Biden rallied NATO allies in eastern Europe amid soaring global tensions before the anniversary of Moscows invasion of Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin told a huge state-organized patriotic rally in Moscow that Russia was fighting for its... French NGO Bloom says about 100 members of the European Parliament, French Parliament, and mayors had shown support for the campaign against TotalEnergies. The European Commission has banned TikTok on official devices used by staff amid concerns over data protection, a spokesperson told AFP on Thursday. FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried was hit with four new criminal charges on Thursday in a superseding indictment filed in New York federal court. A source familar with the new counts said that SBF, as he is popularly known, could face an additional 40 years in prison if convicted in the case. The #sambankmanfried #sbf #bankmanfried #ftx Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had not seen a peace plan promised by China but wanted to meet with Beijing over their proposal before assessing it. OK! Magazine 02 Apr 2023 Kelsea Ballerini and Chase Stokes stepped out together for the first time as a couple for the CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 2. The leading candidates for the presidential elections are Peter Obi of the Labour Party Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress, and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party. analysis Nigerians go to the polls on 25 February to elect a new president, vice-president, 109 members of the Senate and 360 members of the Federal House of Representatives. Eighteen political parties have presented candidates for the various offices and over 93.5 million adult Nigerians are registered to vote. The elections will be conducted at 176,606 polling stations spread across the 774 local government areas of the country. It is Africa's biggest election and presents huge logistical challenges for the Independent National Electoral Commission, the electoral umpire. Working with our academic experts, The Conversation Africa has published a number of articles on the elections. Here are five essential reads. 10 factors that could affect the outcome The 2023 general election in Nigeria is the seventh since the current wave of liberal democracy formally started in 1999. In the last 24 years, Nigeria's democracy has witnessed some growth. But there have been challenges too. These challenges often affect the way voters react at the polls. Ethnicity, religion, money, history and insecurity have been identified as some of the forces that will be at play as voters elect the next set of leaders on 25 February. Political scientist Jideofor Adibe itemises these factors and the role they may play in the election outcome. Read more: Nigeria's 2023 presidential election: 10 factors that could affect the outcome How to poll 93.5 million voters There are 18 political parties fielding candidates for the presidential election, 1,101 candidates for the Senate and 3,122 candidates vying for federal constituencies in the House of Representatives. The elections will be conducted across 176,606 polling stations. To make this happen, the electoral commission is deploying 1,265,227 trained officials, among them 530,538 polling unit security officials. To move electoral materials and officials, over 100,000 vehicles and about 4,200 boats, accompanied by naval gunboats, are required. To cap it all, this is all happening at a time when the country is in a state of insecurity and there is a scarcity of fuel and cash. Political institutions and governance expert Emmanuel Remi Aiyede breaks down the logistical challenges. Read more: How to poll 93 million voters - the challenge of pulling off Nigeria's presidential elections Atiku Abubakar: a 6th time contender Although it is a crowded contest, one of the leading contenders for the office of the Nigerian president is Atiku Abubakar. The former vice-president (1999-2007) is the candidate for Nigeria's main opposition party, the People's Democratic Party. Abubakar is not new to the race for Nigeria's presidency. He has been running since 1992 - this is his sixth attempt. He was on the ballot in 2007 and 2019, and lost in party presidential primaries in 1993, 2011 and 2015. Political scientist Hakeem Onapajo identifies hurdles on Abubakar's way to the presidential villa this time around. Read more: Atiku Abubakar: Nigeria's perennial presidential candidate is back on the stump Bola Tinubu: Kingmaker wanting to be king Another major contender is Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He is a first time contender for the number one office in Nigeria, but Tinubu is widely believed to have been the political kingmaker responsible for the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. The former governor of Lagos State, Nigeria's commercial nerve centre, between 1999 and 2007, Tinubu also nominated Yemi Osinbajo into his current role as vice-president. He is sometimes described as the godfather of politics in Lagos and, by extension, in other parts of Nigeria. But can the kingmaker become the king? Journalist and communications scholar Olayinka Oyegbile analyses controversies surrounding Tinubu and his chances at the polls. Read more: Bola Tinubu: Nigeria's kingmaker who wants to be king Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Peter Obi: from underdog to a leading candidate Leader of what is described as the Obidient movement, Peter Gregory Obi is a businessman and former governor of Anambra State, in the south-east region of Nigeria. Obi's supporters coined the word Obidient and have used it to maximum effect in the 2023 campaign for this first-time contender. With a largely youthful and internet-savvy support base, Obi started off the campaign as an underdog, especially as he is contesting on the platform of the lesser known Labour Party. Midway into the campaign, he had made quite an impact and was considered one of the leading contenders for the occupancy of Aso Rock villa, Nigeria's presidential residence and office. Political scientist Kester Onor describes the enigma called Peter Obi. Read more: Peter Obi could be the force that topples Nigeria's two main political parties Adejuwon Soyinka, Regional Editor West Africa analysis The activities of over 80 active militant groups have already pushed Nigeria to the brink. How will the new president respond? Awaiting the winner of the 25 February elections is a raft of challenges, none more consequential than the security crisis whose lethality and extent, especially over the past three years, raised existential questions about the federation. There are currently dozens of armed groups across Nigeria, some of which have the capacity to disrupt the elections at the local and regional levels, clouding the results and triggering the kind of political disputes that could leave the entire electoral process in disarray. In the northeast where a 14-year insurgency rages, the battle against Boko Haram and the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP) will test the limits of the incoming administration - in the same manner it has tested the previous two. The persistence of the Boko Haram insurgency, which began in 2009, suggests the need to rethink Nigeria's entire counter-insurgency strategy. Outgoing president Muhammadu Buhari pursued a strategy of escalation: ever more resources were thrown at the police and military in the conflict-affected regions, with ever diminishing returns. Escalation is one of four possible strategic choices available to warring parties during civil conflict. Other options include continuing current hostilities, seeking allies, and starting formal negotiations. Will Nigeria's next president follow a different strategic direction? Below, we examine what counter-insurgency programmes the four leading presidential candidates, have conceived. The candidates' positions Bola Ahmed Tinubu (APC): New directions? In December 2020, the ruling All Progressive Congress candidate called for a rethink of the government's security strategy. Recognising the persistence of Boko Haram, he remarked: "In such situations what we do is re-plan our strategy." So is a fresh approach in the offing from the ruling party's candidate? Framing the insurgency as a security problem bred by a socio-economic crisis, Tinubu in his manifesto outlines the need to create new jobs, provide training to young people and make business loans available to stimulate growth. These socio-economic plans will then "be complemented with a complete overhaul of the nation's existing security architecture". In 2013, Tinubu urged the Goodluck Jonathan administration to accept that a solely military response to Boko Haram was "inadequate". Our assessment: Tentative, but novel thinking. Tinubu is unlikely to try and escalate the counter-insurgency. Although Tinubu does not discuss entering formal negotiations with Boko Haram, he appears to be the most open to alternative solutions to the conflict. Atiku Abubakar (PDP): More of the same? With a manifesto preoccupied with economic recovery, it's hardly surprising that main opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) candidate opens the rather brief chapter on security by focusing on economic growth and employment. Atiku soon reveals his affinity for a security sector-led approach, however: he intends to recruit an additional one million police officers and, while he doesn't cost it, will also improve the welfare of security personnel. This will be complemented by training and retraining personnel in the latest counter-terrorism practices. On the campaign trail, Abubakar has told voters that "the lasting solution to the Boko Haram insurgency is strong leadership". Our assessment: More of the same. Atiku is likely to pursue a similar approach to Buhari - that of continuing hostilities and possibly military escalation. Many of his security pledges involve increasing resources for the police and military. Peter Gregory Obi (Labour Party): Thinking outside the box? In his manifesto, the Labour Party candidate outlines four steps that he would implement to tackle extremism and insurgency. The first is strengthening regional cooperation among Lake Chad Basin states: Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and his native Nigeria. His approach builds on the existing Multinational Joint Taskforce (MNJTF) involving the four West African states. While bedevilled by inconsistent commitment and bumpy cooperation among member states, recent successes against both the ISWAP and more dominant Jama'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihad faction of Boko Haram suggest slow steady progress. Our assessment: More of the same, with tweaks. Given his roots in the PDP, it is perhaps not surprising that Obi's security approach has echoes of Atiku's - increased deployment, more training and equipping of personnel. What is different is his emphasis on regional cooperation, though his reliance on the existing MNJTF is consistent with his conventional approach. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (NNPP): Escalation The New Nigerian People's Party (NNPP) candidate and former defence minister has a "special approach". He plans to expand the Nigerian military by recruiting an additional 750,000 personnel bringing the total to one million in active service with new recruits being largely drawn from Nigeria's high number of unemployed youths. While Kwankwaso does address the socio-economic well-being of Nigerians in his manifesto's security section, the emphasis is on the recruitment of personnel and training of troops. Kwankwaso's manifesto is the only one of the four that discusses changes to the mandatory one-year National Service and plans to revitalise Nigeria's defence sector. Our assessment: More of the same, with tweaks. Kwankwaso's intention to improve cooperation between the military and private sector is less a bid to strengthen the capabilities of the military than a tacit acknowledgement of the weaknesses of the current system. The missing piece: Deradicalisation None of the four manifestos refers to deradicalisation as a key step in improving security in Nigeria, not just in relation to Boko Haram and other Islamist groups like ISWAP but in the context of other anti-state movements such as the insurgency in the Niger Delta which began in 2005. The reluctance to discuss deradicalisation is likely the result of the lack of trust between local communities and reformed Boko Haram fighters. In 2016, the Buhari administration launched "Operation Safe Corridor", a DRR programme (i.e. Deradicalise, Rehabilitate and Re-integrate) that has seen more than 1,000 former jihadists successfully graduate . Despite this, the International Crisis Group reports that the programme has been plagued by numerous issues including low levels of public support, overcrowding and poor conditions at detention centres. Research carried out by Tarela Juliet Ike, a Lecturer in Criminology and Policing at Teesside University, shows that there is significant distrust in the deradicalisation process in local communities. This was due to the perception that the Nigerian government has not provided enough resources to the deradicalisation and rehabilitation stages of the programme which had led to further questions about the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in Nigeria more generally. Questions over the legitimacy of the state are not unique to the Boko Haram insurgency; they are a recurrent theme in the Niger Delta as well as with separatist movements elsewhere, notably the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the South-east, and the Oduduwa irredentists in the Southwest. In December 2022, the outgoing Buhari government announced plans for two new rehabilitation centres with funding of US$5.2 million. The new administration should maintain these plans. Improving the conditions of detention centres as well as expanding the availability of essential psychotherapy services for those undergoing deradicalisation will challenge perceptions that DRR programmes are too under-resourced to make a lasting positive impact. Rehabilitation centres, when given the right level of investment and resources, can be successful in supporting the deradicalisation process as seen in the case of the Serendi Rehabilitation Centre in Mogadishu, which has supported former al-Shabaab militants in their transition back into Somali society. Forgive but never forget: time for a TRC? Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. As well as demonstrating that adequate resources have been channelled into the deradicalisation and rehabilitation process, the final part of the programme, reintegration, will require fresh ideas to bring about greater coordination and input from local communities to help foster trust. One possible solution could be the formation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) as a form of restorative justice. A TRC would provide a safe forum for local communities to hear former insurgents take accountability for their role in Boko Haram's destructive attacks. This would tackle the problem of indifference shown by local communities towards repenting ex-jihadists - an issue identified by Tarela Juliet Ike. Reconciliation through an appropriate and recognised body like the TRC would provide local communities with a sense of restorative justice that is needed for reintegration to be successful. Beyond Boko Haram A successful DRR programme in Nigeria's northeast could lay the foundation for similar programmes being implemented in other parts of the country where security challenges also persist. In 2019, the Niger Delta saw an increase in insecurity in a region where militants regularly target critical infrastructure for the oil and gas sector. Context is important, however. While some lessons from a Boko Haram DRR programme may be applied in the Niger Delta or in other cases of violent extremism, each programme needs to be adequately adapted to its own context. There simply cannot be a one-size-fits-all approach towards the complex process of deradicalisation, rehabilitation, and reintegration. Jordan Smith has recently completed a research internship with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) within its Arms Transfers and Military and Arms Production (MILAP) programmes. Prior to this, he completed a Masters degree in Violence, Terrorism and Security at Queens University, Belfast. Jordan has also interned for AKE International and Horizon Intelligence working as a risk analyst on their sub-Saharan Africa desks. Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The Libyan Minister of Labour and Rehabilitation in the Government of National Unity, Ali Al-Abed, Thursday participated in the activities of the partners' meeting to support the implementation of the Palestinian National Employment Strategy New York, US (PANA) - Despite many challenges, Somalia has made significant progress in advancing key national priorities, but enhancing womens political participation remains critical, UN Deputy Special Representative in the country, Anita Kiki Gbeho, told the Security Council on Wednesday Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The US Agency for International Development (USAID) Wednesday reaffirmed its commitment to provide support to Libya's High National Electoral Commission for the upcoming polls Photo: (Photo : Pexel/Karolina Grabowska) Two men, on separate instances, utilized an app to meet kids and sexually assault them, the Florida sheriff's office revealed. Authorities arrested Moises Reiniery Escoto, 36, a former Iglesia de Cristo Misionera Mahanaim Church youth pastor, on February 9 after being accused of importuning sexual videos and photos from a teen that he met on an app called Sniffies. During the investigation of Escoto, another suspect was found who was using the same app for "transactions," offering sexual acts to a kid in exchange for money. Foster parent Joel Ricky Lutz, 38, was arrested days after on February 15 in his workplace at Outback Steakhouse, Pinellas County. Sniffies is a "modern, map-based, meet-up app" exclusively created for gays, bi, and the "curious guys" who want to hook up with other men. The website states that it is a cruising app where users can be as anonymous as they want to be. Built with "groundbreaking tools and cutting edge features," users would not need to bother creating an account as it does not require it, plus it can be used for free. Parents urged to check what their kids are doing online "It is absolutely disgusting that these two men, who were placed in positions of mentorship and trust with children in our community, used online apps to seek out and victimize our youth," said Chad Chronister, Hillsborough County Sheriff, said in a statement. He further warned parents and families that sexual predators are on the rise, surrounding the community, aiming to destroy innocence, and encouraged them to always check and know what their kids are doing online. The human trafficking team of Hillsborough County Sheriff's office launched the investigation after a mother of a 16-year-old reported that she found disturbing contents in her child's phone. New York Post stated that investigators were then led to Escoto, who was discovered to have contacted the victim two years ago via the app Sniffies. Ever since the former youth pastor had allegedly asked for sexually explicit videos and photos in exchange for gifts and money. Worst, it was found that the suspect had been meeting with the teen personally to engage in sexual acts. Read also: New Report: An Alarming Increase of Online Threats to Children Suspects facing many charges aside from human trafficking According to the sheriff's office, Escoto and Lutz are charged with human trafficking for "commercial sexual activity, lewd or lascivious battery, and use of a computer to solicit illegal acts," The Star reported. Just one of the many other charges they will be facing, such as: traveling to meet a minor after using computer services or devices to solicit certain illegal acts; use of computer services for lewd or lascivious exhibition defendant over 18; transmission of harmful material to a minor, unlawful use of a two-way communications device; unlawful sexual activity with a minor. Both suspects are being held in the Hillsborough County Jail, with Escoto on a $138,500 bond and Lutz on a $280,500 bond. The Tampa church from where Escoto was serving as a youth pastor did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the Florida Department of Children and Families. Related Article: Watchdog Moms on Tiktok Look to Keep Minors Safe from Sexual Predators A new supply chain rumor is claiming that Apple has chosen China's Luxshare to assist them in the development of augmented reality devices. This marks a first for Apple to chose an Chinese supplier to develop a first-generation product. Luxshare, China's rapidly rising tech manufacturing champion, has taken over the AR development team in Shanghai that was previously owned by Taiwan's Pegatron, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Luxshare's participation is a milestone for Chinese tech suppliers. In previous decades, Apple has relied on Taiwanese suppliers like Foxconn to help it develop the first generations of new product lines. Its decision to rely on a Chinese player like Luxshare comes amid heightened tech tensions between the U.S. and China, and scrutiny of Apple's own reliance on its supply chain in China. Pegatron, a long-time iPhone assembler, was the first supplier to help Apple develop AR devices, but collaboration on that front was on and off for four years. The Taiwanese company has been making Microsoft's HoloLens mixed-reality headset for years but became skeptical about Apple's AR plans and gradually exited the project to focus on other applications such as automotive and servers, a supply chain executive with knowledge of the matter told Nikkei Asia. Luxshare, on the other hand, hopes to grab as much business in as many areas as possible from Apple. The company has grown over the years to become the U.S. company's most important China-based supplier and already helps build iPhones, the Apple Watch and AirPods. Foxconn is also helping with the AR project, according to Nikkei Asia sources. The long-time iPhone assembler will work on parallel development of a cheaper second-generation AR device. Foxconn's focus will be on automating mass production and improving production performance to help Apple lower overall costs. Apple has high expectations for augmented reality and is tapping the full range of its supply chain to make its devices a success. Two of its most important suppliers, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Sony of Japan, have been chosen to develop micro OLED displays for the devices. Part of the development of these displays has taken place at Apple's secretive campus in northern Taiwan. Micro-displays are built on the base of chips that go through specific display coating processes. Such display technologies are used in military goggles and are extremely expensive. Each microdisplay costs $150 and an AR device needs a pair of such screens. The OLED display used in the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 model costs around $55 to $60. For more, read the full report by Nikkei Asia. First, though: A link to this talk, which was presented on Saturday, 25 October 2014, at the Interpreter Foundations 2014 Temple on Mount Zion Conference, went up today on the Foundations website: Conference Talks: Enthroning the Daughter of Zion: The Coronation Motif of Isaiah 60-62, given by Carli Anderson In connection with the Interpreter Foundations pending Six Days in August film project, Ive recently finished re-reading Thomas G. Alexander, Brigham Young and the Expansion of the Mormon Faith (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2019). Ill shortly sit down with Professor Alexander, a longtime friend, for a filmed interview in connection with the film venture. In the meantime, here are a few of the passages that I marked in the book. It seems appropriate to think about Brigham Young here in St. George, where, in his last years, he like to spend the winter because of its relative warmth (which is not especially evident at the moment) and where, very near the end of his life, he saw the first temple completed and dedicated in Utah: From Chapter 8 (Sermons) [H]e also spoke on the need for compassion during mortality. He gave sermons in which he said the Lord expected husbands to treat their wives and families with kindness and love. In December 1858 he said, when a man married a wife, he took her for better or for worse, and had no right to ill use her. All too often, critics of Brigham Young have assumed that he controlled the Latter-day Saints through fear, coercion, and violence. We should understand, however, that these methods can control a people only if they have no way of escaping the system. In Utah, most of those who wanted to leave the territory generally either did so, or they remained and fashioned their lives according to their own persuasion. Young also recognized that beyond the Relief Society, women could play important roles in building Gods kingdom in other ways. He thought it ludicrous that big, able-bodied men should tend store counters as clerks. Women, he said, could do such work. He also recognized the intelligence of women, encouraging them to secure educations as doctors and lawyers, and as the telegraph spread north and south throughout Utah, he encouraged women to work as telegraphers. Such an attitude, sexist perhaps by twenty-first-century standards, was clearly progressive in the nineteenth century. In addition, although Young considered the man as head of the family, he insisted that the husband and father must earn the respect of his family. Women, he said, need not follow or obey an abusive or unrighteous husband. As a result, he allowed women to divorce quite freely. Young and other church leaders also supported the proposal for women suffrage. Mormon women worked diligently on this project, which bore fruit in Utah as the legislature approved a measure in 1870 and non-Mormon acting governor Samuel A. Mann signed the legislation. Young appreciated the support of friendly non-Mormons like [Thomas] Kane, but he also believed that women could assist in the churchs work, and in addition, they had an important role to play in the economic and political life of Utah Territory and the church. With Youngs encouragement, and the active lobbying by Latter-day Saint women, women in Utah achieved a degree of political power shared only by women in Wyoming at the time. At the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, women who owned property in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island could vote, but the state legislatures soon took that right from them. In 1870 Utahs gender composition was quite different from Wyomings. In Utah women made up 48 percent of the population, whereas in Wyoming they made up only 20 percent. Several eastern and midwestern congressmen led by George W. Julian of Indiana had argued that if women could vote in Utah, they would overthrow Utahs polygamous leadership. Young knew they were wrong, and he urged the legislature to grant suffrage to Utahs women. His counselor, George Q. Cannon, published editorials in the Deseret News championing the cause of women as a progressive measure. With women to aid in the great cause of reform, Cannon wrote, what wonderful changes can be effected! Utah womenled by Charlotte Ives Godbe, Youngs stepdaughter, and Mormon women Emmeline B. Wells and Sarah Kimballlobbied aggressively for the reform by holding rallies and urging acting governor Samuel A. Mann to sign the bill that granted women the vote after the legislature passed it. He did so on February 12, 1870, and among the first women to vote was Seraph A. Young, an attorney and Brigham Youngs grandniece. The U.S. Congress would abolish womens suffrage in Utah seventeen years later with the Edmunds-Tucker Act of 1887, but, responding to the will of the people, the Utah Constitutional Convention restored woman suffrage at statehood in 1896. [H]e served as host to numerous prominent travelers who passed through Salt Lake City. Sojourners included Sir Richard Burton, Jules Remy, Solomon Nunes Carvalho, Mark Twain, Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Horace Greeley, and Tom Thumb. Goodwins Weekly on April 4, 1914, reported that during his conversation with Tom Thumb, the little man remarked, I cannot understand polygamy. We see Youngs ready wit in his reply, Neither could I when I was your size. Youngs attitudes and actions about women proved important in promoting their activity in the church and the larger community. Although his ideas seem antiquated today, in the nineteenth century, they were progressive. Giving women the responsibility for their own Relief Society, supporting womens political activity, and encouraging women to study medicine, law, telegraphy, sales, and other professions was extremely important for their progress and for the health of the community. Some churches that were organized or flourished during the Second Great Awakening have survived just as the LDS church did, while others have died out or have left only vestiges of themselves. Significantly, none of these churches experienced the persistent persecution the Mormons endured during the nineteenth century. Absent the strong, gifted, and indeed, inspired leadership that Brigham Young gave the Saints, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints might well have died out as well. Faithful members loved Brigham Young, and they willingly followed him into the Indians land, the Mormons considered wilderness, to build towns. Most remained faithful despite continued persecution because they believed in his message and his leadership. Karl Jaspers and the Path of the Spiritual if not Religious James Ishmael Ford Karl Theodor Jaspers was born on this day, the 23rd of February, 1883, Oldenburg, in Lower Saxony, in Germany. He began studying law but changed to medicine, taking his doctorate in 1908. Two years later he married Gertrud Mayer. Three years after his marriage Jaspers began teaching psychology at the University of Heidelberg. By 1921 he had completely shifted his focus to philosophy. The university accommodated him, shifting his position to philosophy. When the Nazis came to power, because his wife was Jewish Jaspers was forced to retire from teaching. In 1938 he was prohibited from publishing. Thanks to his prominence as well as the protection of their friends who stood by him, despite a continuous threat of deportation to a concentration camp, the couple were able to survive until liberation. In 1948 the Jaspers family moved to Switzerland, where they would remain for the rest of their lives. Jaspers made major contributions to both psychiatry and philosophy. But, my interest in him turns on his theological reflections. He coined the term axial age for that period when the majority of the worlds religions came into being. Karen Armstrong would further develop this concept in her wonderful reflection the Great Transformation. Jaspers was singularly unimpressed with Rudolf Bultmanns quest to demythologize Christianity. Instead he steeped himself in the great mystics of the West, as well as the philosophers Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, and very much Kierkegaard and his great leap. At some point Jaspers turned his attention to Eastern religions, particularly Buddhism. Me, I find in this blending a forerunner of a modern philosophy of religion, and something quite compelling. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Jaspers approach to religion is one of extreme liberalism and latitudinarianism, which dismisses the claim that transcendence is exclusively or even predominantly disclosed by religion. The truth of religion, he intimated, only becomes true if it is interpreted as a human truth, not as a truth originally external or prior to humanity. And, so, he also offers a critique. In its orthodox form, however, religion normally prevents the knowledge of transcendence which it purports to offer. I wouldnt call him the original spiritual but not religious. But, he brought a deep sympathy with the project of the religious quest, while clearly skeptical of any particular religions claims to own that quest or the winning of that quest. While he didnt like the term applied to him, Jaspers is broadly considered an Existentialist. I found his broad humanism, his rejection of any kind of essences in things, and his locus of experience in our lived lives very helpful in my own understanding both of Buddhism and my spiritual longings. Me, I found Karl Jaspers a compelling thinker. And he is someone who, in the great proof of the pudding, made right choices in hard times. Or, at least, if he didnt actively resist the evil around him, he didnt bend his thinking and life to the totalitarians when they came. This has not been true of every philosopher or religious leader. (And, yes, I am thinking of you, Martin!). As a thinker and person he has helped me in putting some of my larger view together. So, I remain eternally grateful to that old German. Happy birthday, Karl! May you long be remembered At a Glance Expert's Rating Pros Built into Windows 10 and 11 Settings are easy to review and customize Integrates with other security aspects of Windows Cons Tends toward false positives, especially with SmartScreen Lacks the advanced features found in third-party products Our Verdict Microsoft Defender provides basic but helpful protection against malware, ransomware, and other threats. The AV tool neatly integrates with other Windows features to offer more comprehensive security. And its built into Windows and free. The common perception is that paid security products from third parties must be more effective than any security built into an operating system like Windows. That may have been true in the past. But over the years, Microsoft has beefed up the security features that come with Windows. Beyond just basic antivirus protection, Windows 10 and 11 both include a healthy lineup of other tools designed to protect your PC, your files, and your online activity from malicious threats. Note: Go to our roundup of the best antivirus for PC to learn about competing products, what to look for in an AV suite, and product recommendations. Windows Security: Features Known collectively as Windows Security, the built-in defenses start with the Microsoft Defender antivirus tool. Defender automatically resides in memory to offer real-time protection against malware. But you can run a variety of on-demand scans, including a quick scan, a full scan, a custom scan of specific folders and locations, and even an offline scan to hunt for rootkits and other malware thats otherwise difficult to remove. Microsoft Defender provides four different types of scans, including one to ferret out rootkits and other challenging threats. Lance Whitney / Foundry By default, any malicious items are automatically quarantined. Microsoft Security keeps track of all threats via its Protection history. Here, you can view new, quarantined, and cleaned items and also see recommendations on settings you may want to enable or configure to enhance your security. Microsoft Security offers a protection history in which you can see different threats that have been caught and act on them. Lance Whitney / Foundry The customizable settings for Microsoft Security are quite thorough with real-time protection and the latest cloud-delivered protection both enabled. If you run into a suspicious file, a link helps you submit the sample to Microsoft for analysis. A feature called Tamper Protection tries to prevent malicious apps from changing and thereby thwarting the security settings for Microsoft Security. Further, youre able to exclude specific files, folders, and processes that you dont want scanned. Also part of Microsoft Security is ransomware protection. This protects certain files, folders, and areas of memory from unauthorized access and changes by malicious or suspicious apps. You can view the folders that are automatically protected this way and add additional folders you want secured. To help with data recovery in the event of a successful ransomware attack, Microsoft steers you to its own OneDrive backup and syncing service with a specific option for recovering any compromised files. Beyond Microsoft Defender, Windows Security ties in with other aspects of the operating system. Under Account protection are links to view your Microsoft account, set up Windows Hello authentication for fingerprint or facial recognition, and enable Dynamic Lock to automatically lock your PC when you leave with your smartphone in hand. The built-in firewall is automatically enabled for domains, private networks, and public networks. You can easily allow a specific app through for a private or public network. Youre also able to access advanced firewall settings through a snap-in module where you can customize existing rules and create new firewall rules. The built-in firewall is automatically turned on, and you can add allowed apps and customize its rules. Lance Whitney / Foundry Microsofts SmartScreen feature aims to stop potentially malicious, suspicious, or low-reputation apps, websites, and file downloads. However, SmartScreen has a history of false positives to the point that some people end up disabling it, which obviously defeats its purpose. Exploit protection tries to block malware that takes advantage of vulnerabilities to infect your system. Also in the lineup is Device security, which taps into your PCs built-in hardware security defenses to combat malicious code and other threats. The overall Windows Security dashboard is well designed, offering access to each of the different features. In Windows 10, go to Settings > Update & security, and then Windows Security. In Windows 11, go to Settings > Privacy & security, and then Windows Security. From there, either click the button for Open Windows Security to view and access the different tools, or click a specific tool to view or use it. The dashboard for Windows Security provides easy access to all of the built-in tools and features. Lance Whitney / Foundry Windows Security: Performance The usual test files from the EICAR testing site prompted security responses from Microsoft Defender, though the results differed slightly by browser. In Microsoft Edge, clicking each of the test files triggered a warning from SmartScreen that the site was unsafe. The eicar.com, eicar.com.txt file, and the eicar_com.zip file were all prevented from being downloaded as Defender labeled them unsafe. And the eicarcom2.zip file was blocked with a notice that a virus was detected. In Chrome, I was stopped from trying to save each of the four files because a virus was detected. In Firefox, I was able to save each of the files. But when I tried to run or open them, Microsoft Defender prevented the action, telling me that it found a virus or potentially unwanted software. An AV-Test review from November/December of 2022 gave Microsoft Defender grades of 6 out of 6 for protection and usability, and 5 out of 6 for performance. Testing from AV Comparatives in from September and October of 2022 awarded the program generally good grades but knocked it down a few points for too many false positives and a low offline detection rate. A December 2022 analysis from SE Labs gave Microsoft Defender top grades for protection and accuracy. Windows Security: Bottom line Overall, Windows Security offer several benefits. Beyond the Windows Defender antivirus protection there are other solid security features. The settings are easily accessible and customizable. And since the protection is built into Windows, you dont have to install anything. If you need more features, such as a VPN, encrypted cloud backup, or online privacy tools, a third-party program is still the way to go. But for basic protection and then some, Microsoft Security is quite capable. Editors note: Because online services are often iterative, gaining new features and performance improvements over time, this review is subject to change in order to accurately reflect the current state of the service. Any changes to text or our final review verdict will be noted at the top of this article. In a bid to augment its financial inclusion infrastructure, Fidelity Bank Ghana in partnership with Ghana Post has outdoored an upgraded version of its popular Ghana Post agency outlets. The revamped agent points, dubbed Agency Plus points are located within key Ghana Post offices across the country and are designed to deliver an enhanced customer experience as well as an expanded array of Banking services to the Banks customers. This came to light during the official launch ceremony held at the pristine Agency Plus point at Accra New Town. Fidelity Banks partnership with Ghana Post commenced in 2019 as part of the Banks efforts to expand the scope and reach of its agency banking network. This led to the establishment of 35 specialized agents points countrywide making it possible for more customers of Fidelity Bank and the general public to access a bouquet of basic banking transactions such as account opening, cash withdrawals, cash deposits, balance inquiries, mini statements, cardless transactions, funds transfers, utility bill payments, and airtime top-ups at the nearest community post office. The Bank together with its partners at Ghana Post has since reviewed and revamped the Ghana Post Agent point model to enhance customers service experience. Throwing more light on the newly launched Agency Plus points, The Director of Channels and Sales at Fidelity Bank, Godfred Attafuah explained that while the existing agent points were designed to be transactional in nature, the Agency Plus points have been redesigned to provide an enhanced customer experience similar to what pertains in a standard Fidelity Bank Branch. He also stated that the new Agency Plus points would offer 13 additional banking services including cash cheque deposits, prepaid and debit card issuance, PIN re-issuance, loan processing, and personal investment processing among others. Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Ghana, Julian Opuni reiterated the Banks commitment and readiness to partner like-minded organisations in its ongoing financial drive. He asserted, At Fidelity Bank, the financial inclusion agenda is very dear to our hearts, as we believe that easy access to relevant banking and finance services holds the key to creating economic opportunities, reducing socio-economic inequalities and unlocking the immense potential of the local economy. We are passionate about absorbing Ghanaians from all walks of life, into the Banking sector so that no one is left behind and one of the best ways to achieve this is by partnering forward-thinking organisations such as Ghana Post who share a similar focus. Bice Osei Kuffour, Managing Director (MD) of Ghana Post Company Limited who also spoke at the launch event, commended Fidelity Bank Ghana for its commitment to sustainable financial inclusion. He added that his outfit was pleased to be part of the strategic partnership and pledged full support to the growth and sustainability of the partnership. He stated, Just as Fidelity Bank finds Ghana Post a credible landlord and a partner, we must also state that we have already benefitted from them via the partnership. For every Ghana Post location where Fidelity Bank operates an agency, there has been a notable facelift of our office and increased footfall. As we continue with this mutually productive partnership, it is our fervent hope that in the near-future, they will extend their operations to cover all our 300-plus locations thereby bringing their convenient banking experience to even more of our rural folks and small indigenous businesses. On his part, the Director of Payment Systems at the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Amedeku Settor reiterated the importance of the financial inclusion agenda to the countrys economic fortunes. He lauded Fidelity Bank for their pacesetting efforts in this regard and urged other institutions in the finance sector to emulate Fidelitys initiative. He also commended Ghana Post for partnering Fidelity and utilizing their wide network to further boost convenient access to financial services. Subsequent to the launch event, nineteen (19) Agency Plus Points are active. These are Agogo, Tepa and Offinso in the Ashanti region; Kenyasi and Wenchi in the Bono and Ahafo regions; Agona Swedru, Dunkwa and Winneba in the Central region, Enyinasi, Asankragwa and Sefwi Bekwai in the Western North region, Asamankese, Mpraeso, Begoro and Kibi in the Eastern Region; Kajebi in the Oti region; Aflao and Kpando in the Volta region; and Cantonments and Accra New Town in the Greater Accra region. Other Agent Plus points are slated to be opened at other Ghana Post locations in the course of the year. Fidelity Bank was the first to launch agency banking model in Ghana in 2013. From a pilot project of about twenty-four (24) agents, the Bank now can boast of an Agent network of about 5000 Agents who currently serve close to a million unique customers. Source: Peacefmonline.come Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video analysis As a regional force ratchets up pressure, rival Islamist factions engage in a brutal fratricidal war. Is it a matter of time before Boko Haram falls? On 7 January, militants of the Jamatu Ahli Al-Sunna lil Da'wa Wal Jihad (JAS) faction of Boko Haram swarmed over two enclaves of the Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the Lake Chad basin, killing at least 35 combatants. Although this was by no means a one-off incident in the ongoing power tussle between the two Islamist groups, the timing and the heavy casualties inflicted by a side that was hitherto considered weaker, are telling. "There is serious infighting between ISWAP and JAS criminal groups; we welcome this and hope it escalates," Major General Abdul-Khalifah Ibrahim, commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) tells African Arguments, not bothering to mask his approval. He also hints that the casualties could be far higher. "The criminals are being killed, [their] supplies are being cut off and equipment is being recovered," he said. "The MNJTF has made significant gains and we hope to make more." Ibrahim got his wish. On 24 January, ISWAP militants reportedly launched a series of reprisal attacks, killing several JAS fighters and forcing more than 200 others to surrender to the Nigerian troops in the country's north east. Boko Haram was founded in 2002 by a radical, young Islamist cleric, Muhammed Yusuf with the aim of establishing a caliphate in Nigeria. Yusuf was killed in 2009, but not before gaining popular support for speaking out against poverty and corruption within the Nigerian state. Since then, Boko Haram has been more widely associated with the grievance politics of the Northern underclass. In the North, and especially in the Northeast of Nigeria, feelings of marginalisation have lingered since the return of civilian rule and the arrival of a laissez faire market economy, perceived as benefiting the South and impoverishing the North. Chequered history Soon after Yusuf's death, a charismatic, ambitious and ruthless leader, Abubakar Shekau regrouped his predecessor's followers into what eventually gave birth to JAS. Between 2010 and 2015, JAS focused its attacks on secular schools, government premises, international institutions and churches, while rarely targeting Muslim civilians. Shekau was named leader of ISWAP in March 2015 after pledging allegiance to the so-called Islamic State. His despotic character, ideological extremism and poor operational skills would, however, cause his dismissal a year later. This led to the split of the group into two factions: Shekau's group, which returned to its old name JAS; and ISWAP, led by Abu Musab Al-Barnawi, the son of Muhammed Yusuf. Ideological and strategic differences between the two factions were associated with each group's modus operandi. While JAS routinely engaged in indiscriminate killings, raiding whole villages and abducting women and children, ISWAP masterminded more sophisticated, organised large-scale attacks on military camps and oil exploration sites. Shekau's JAS' style is best exemplified by the abduction of the 276 Chibok girls in 2014. More than 100 of the girls are reportedly still in captivity to this day. On 19 May, 2021, Shekau reportedly detonated his suicide vest, instantly killing himself during a clash with ISWAP. "The death of Shekau in 2021 was indeed a major blow to JAS and the faction suffered from mass desertions and surrenders to ISWAP and to the Nigerian security forces," Daniel Matan, researcher at the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Centre (ITIC), an Israeli-based research group that tracks both ISIS and Al-Qaeda, told African Arguments. But JAS showed that it still retains considerable operational nous when it successfully launched attacks at the beginning of 2022, and repeated the same thing at the beginning of 2023. "Today, there are two main groups that encompass JAS operations: Bakoura Doro's group located in the Lake Chad region and Ali Ngulde's group located in the Mandara mountains along the Cameroonian-Nigerian border," explains Matan. ISWAP is still considered the strongest faction and will likely continue to be for the foreseeable future, he says. "It maintains a high-level of operational ability and even expands its area of operations to new territories in eastern and southern Nigeria." Human costs The UN estimates that 350,000 people have been killed in Boko Haram atrocities in northern Nigeria since 2009, while more than two million others have been displaced. Neighbouring countries Niger, Chad and Cameroon have not been spared. In 2020, the number of attacks against civilians in Cameroon stood at 234 - higher than Nigeria (100), Niger (92) and Chad (12) combined. The insurgents have claimed the lives of over 3,000 Cameroonians, while close to 300,000 others have been displaced. "The greatest social cost of the Islamist occupation is the fracturing of family structures and dislocation of socio-economic activities in the region," explains Prof. Freedom Chukwudi Onuoha, coordinator of the security, violence and conflict research group at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Politically, the insurgency has led to a decline of voting population, he says. "It has forced the affected states to spend more on security and... on stability operations rather than on development," says Onuoha. He is, however, sceptical about allegations that the northeast's elite has succumbed to political Islam. "If anything, political Islam has been steadily on the decline since 2015 when the group started losing much of the territory it previously controlled," he explains. "Its Islamic influence and radicalisation have been largely confined to the Tumbuns," he says, referring to the network of hundreds of small islands in Lake Chad that once formed the colonial transboundary line between Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria and Niger, and is now the centre of the ongoing jihadist insurgency and the military counter-insurgency. Inadequate military firepower A Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) was established in 2013 to defend cities, towns and villages in northeastern Nigeria after the insurgency began in 2011. Initially, it had little effect. "In the area of operations of ISWAP and JAS, most people [refrain] from any clear-cut statements or actions of defiance, either out of fear, or support for the factions," says Matan. As the Nigerian military counter-insurgency descended into chaos, the Multinational Joint Task Force, MNJTF - a pre-existing sub-regional force created in 1994 to combat transnational crime and smuggling in the Lake Chad Basin - was reactivated in 2015 and its mandate extended to containing Boko Haram. It is a 10,000-member force composed of forces from the Lake Chad member-states of Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger - plus Benin. MNJTF's operations run parallel to those of the Nigerian military. Last year, the MNJTF claimed it killed over 1,000 Boko Haram fighters following coordinated land, sea and air offensives as part of an operation codenamed Operation Lake Sanity. Maj. Gen. Ibrahim of the MNJTF told African Arguments that his troops also killed more than 45 Boko Haram fighters in January this year. Since swinging into action in 2015, the MNJTF has carried out six different operations against the Islamic insurgents - although many didn't last long enough to root out the insurgents. Analysing JAS's success in last month's clash with ISWAP, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim suggests ISWAP "suffered a bashing" given that it is "better organised and stronger" than JAS. "The death of Shekau obviously affected [JAS'] cohesion, which is good." Underlying problems of insufficient funding, gaps in operational command and control, inadequate equipment and an intelligence-sharing cell have for long undermined the successes of the MNJTF. Boko Haram "far from defeated" The Nigerian military has, over the years, been heavily criticised for its alleged foot-dragging in the war against Boko Haram. As if to silence his detractors, President Buhari recently insisted that his administration has reclaimed all territories which Boko Haram formerly controlled. He said the insurgent group was "false" and accused its financiers of attempting to split the country. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Matan, however, thinks ISWAP and JAS are "far from defeated" and still maintain "a strong presence and influence" in north-eastern Nigeria: "ISWAP and JAS combatants continue to enjoy a foothold in other Lake Chad-member countries of Cameroon and Niger specifically along the border with Nigeria and along Lake Chad's shores." Onuoha argues that repeated attacks by the insurgent groups have often obscured the successes of the Nigerian military: "Inadequate equipment, flawed troop deployment and a weak intelligence structure are at the heart of the inability of the military to decimate the terrorists," he told African Arguments. He adds that the MNJTF, meanwhile, has been effective in its area of operations essentially because of the "recalibration of its offensive strategy." "Its success is connected to the contribution of the Nigerian military operation Hardin Kai as with the national military efforts of the other three affected countries," says Onuoha. Like Onuoha, Matan thinks the MNJTF is not "necessarily more effective" than the Nigerian security forces since ISWAP and JAS are currently concentrating their efforts in Nigeria and are preoccupied with inter-factional conflict even as they combat Nigeria's security forces. "ISWAP and JAS operate in MNJTF operational sectors. But I believe it is a secondary front for the two factions and as such, there are [bound to be] fewer incidents there," he said. Nalova Akua is a Cameroonian multimedia freelance journalist who treats news, features and other events with equal passion. He holds a BSc in journalism and has featured in outlets including Zenger News Service, The Epoch Times, Euronews Green, BBC Future Planet and Gavi, the Vaccines Alliance. The government, through the newly established National Alternative Employment and Livelihood programme (NAELP), has reclaimed over 1000 hectares of land from illegal miners in the Western North. Dr. Carol Louise Donkor, National Coordinator of the programme, visited some of the areas being taken care of by Dredge Masters a subsidiary of the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC). The company has successfully reclaimed many hectares of land from illegal miners (popularly known as Galamseyer) in the Western North. Dr. Donkor reiterated that NAELP is aimed at alleviating the hardships of people adversely affected by the activities of illegal miners. She also indicated that this forms part of the governments efforts to sanitise the mining space. The programme also includes a community mining scheme which presents a module for small-scale mining in the country. She said the project will create jobs for over two thousand youths in the affected area through the replantation of the lands. It was against this backdrop that Dredge Masters was contracted by the government in 2021 to help reclaim galamsey lands in Asawinso A & B, Sefwi, Mepasem and Antobia all in the Western North Region. Speaking to the media, the Project Manager for Dredge Masters, Ing. Bernard Asumeng Adjei Saw, said the project was 90 percent complete. According to him, the land reclamation was part of other components of the project, stating that after that his company will be moving to phase two of the project, which is replanting trees on the reclaimed lands. Ing Asumeng Saw commended the government for its efforts to reclaim lands damaged by illegal miners. The government of Ghana has done a very good work. It has invested hugely to ensure that this damaged lands by Galamseyers are reclaimed and put to more productive use, he expressed. He, therefore, appealed to the chiefs in the Western North Region to support the government in ensuring that illegal miners do not return to these reclaimed lands. While pointing out some challenges militating against the project, the Site Manager of Dredge Masters, Gilbert Atima, asked that the various communities within the reclaimed lands be involved in the tree-planting phase of the project. For his part, a Technical Officer for NALEP, Daniel Fordjour Agyemang, indicated that his outfit had a plan in place which would see the involvement of all stakeholders to ensure the sustainability of the economic trees that will be planted on the lands. In no time, we will roll all this out for the community to benefit, he assured. The Chairman of the Small-Scale Miners in Juaboso, King George, said the programme had been beneficial to miners in the region. Some of the workers undertaking the replantation also shared their thoughts on how beneficial the project had been to them. Source: B&FT Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Kenyan comedian Eric Omondi has been freed following his arrest on Tuesday for leading a group of half-naked men in a protest outside parliament. The group had carried banners while demonstrating against the high cost of living. They demanded to meet the speaker to outline their grievances. Police fired tear gas to disperse them and arrested 17 people. On Wednesday they were charged with holding an unlawful assembly outside parliament. They denied any wrongdoing. They were each released on bail of 10,000 shilling ($80; 65). In February 2022, the comedian locked himself in a cube outside parliament to lobby MPs to increase the quota of locally produced music being played on radio and TV. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Guinea's transitional leader Col Mamady Doumbouya has urged the constitutional review committee to consider the "needs and realities" of the country and draft a robust new supreme law," the privately-owned Africaguinee website reported. "Our country needs tranquillity, not just permanent transitional periods. So today we are talking about the constitution. We need to be able to think about putting in place a strong constitution adapted to our needs and realities," he said on Tuesday while launching the constitutional review symposium in the capital, Conakry. He warned the committee against drafting a "copy and paste or tailor-made" constitution for the country. The junta leader said that the National Transitional Committee is committed to drafting a new constitution for posterity and not one to suit the interim authorities. Opposition groups and the civil society have called for protests to demand the resignation of the transitional government. The junta has pledged to hand over power to civilian authorities at the end of the two-year transition period that started in January. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video For the third time, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of Jospong Group of Companies (JGC), Ms Sophia Kudjordji, has been honoured with a Global Women Leader Award 2023. The GWLA 2023 was presented to Ms Kudjordji in Mumbai, India together with 84 women from 15 countries who were also acknowledged. The recipients were from countries including India Laos Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Oman, and Ghana. The rest were Qatar, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Maldives, Mauritius, South Africa, Bangladesh and UAE. In total, 85 women were recognised for their contributions to society in areas of communication, sports, Academia, NGO, Government business and military. This years (2023) GWLA marked the 10th anniversary of the global womens awards. At the event, the WWLC also recognised the strategic and influential role of women leaders in the development of the modern economy, technology, and administrative methodologies, aimed at advancing governance and business organisations. It also identified and celebrated outstanding leadership and achievements demonstrated by women leaders that are reflected by distinct innovations and initiatives. Furthermore, the GWLA encouraged various private and public sectors to promote women leaders and support women's empowerment to activate and accelerate the role of working women in institutions through various initiatives. The event highlighted the achievements of women leaders and appraise their success in regional and global leadership. More importantly, it recognised and honoured the potential of ideal women leadership. In a brief remark, Ms Kudjordji thanked the organisers for the honour done to her; and also expressed gratitude to her colleague workers for their support. I want to thank God for the opportunity granted me every single day. And this is my third time of winning an award heretwo online and one here. I am so honoured and I just want to dedicate this to my mother and my siblings who are like my cheerleaders, and my team, she gladly expressed. According to Ms Kudjordji, she has a great team of young men and women who are always keeping her on her toes. and they make it very difficult for me to sit down; they give me all the passion, and I am so grateful, she added. She also used the opportunity to express her appreciation to the Executive Chairman of JGC, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong and Mr Felix Atsrim of Fedems for their support and encouragement. The event was preceded by a seminar which discussed topics like "Take charge and lead", " changing face of leadership", " the power of women leaders: triumphs and challenges", and a masterclass on the Seven habits of successful women among others. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin hosted two former speakers and a raft of former lawmakers to the House on February 22 for the formal launch of the 30th anniversary of the lawmaking arm of government under the Fourth Republic. Alban Bagbin delivered a speech on the progress made so far and plans to celebrate the anniversary across the country. "It is with joy and a great sense of fulfillment that I stand here today, with the support of the elected representatives of our dear country, to launch the 30th anniversary of parliamentary democracy in Ghana under the Fourth Republic. We are this year observing the combined 30th anniversary of our Constitution, our Parliament, and our Fourth Republic. Dare I say that there is a fourth 30th anniversary that we celebrate this year; and that is the 30th anniversary of one Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin in parliament," his introduction read in part. Remarks by the Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, at the launch of the 30th anniversary celebration of parliamentary democracy in Ghana held in the Chamber of Parliament on Wednesday, 22nd February 2023 The Leadership of the House Deputy Speakers of Parliament Hon. Members of Parliament The Clerk to Parliament and Deputy Clerks Members of the Diplomatic Corps The Chief of Defense Staff Commanders of the Ghana Armed Forces Staff of the Parliamentary Service Members of the Parliamentary Press Corps Ladies and Gentlemen! Introduction It is with joy and a great sense of fulfillment that I stand here today, with the support of the elected representatives of our dear country, to launch the 30th anniversary of parliamentary democracy in Ghana under the Fourth Republic. We are this year observing the combined 30th anniversary of our Constitution, our Parliament, and our Fourth Republic. Dare I say that there is a fourth 30th anniversary that we celebrate this year; and that is the 30th anniversary of one Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin in parliament. It is always good to recognize and celebrate achievements: it serves as a tonic for revitalization and re-focusing. As Terrence E. Deal, the American author said, Celebrations infuse life with passion and purpose. They summon the human spirit. I launch this anniversary with immense gratitude to the patriotic citizens of this country, both departed and alive, who made various sacrifices in order to berth our current democratic dispensation. There were the members of the Constituent Assembly who put together our constitution, our late former president, Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings, together with members of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) which he led, whose commitment and steer proved invaluable contributions to the introduction of the Fourth Republic. So were there many other ardents of democracy of different political persuasions too many to mention here whose contributions cannot be ignored. Our journey to the Fourth Republic To most of you today, the Fourth Republic remains very dear, and rightly so. How we got here is history to you. In 1960 we jettisoned the 1957 Constitution which was fashioned according to the Westminster model of parliamentary practice. We adopted our First Republican Constitution on 1st July 1960. We then had military interruption between 1966 and 1969. The Second Republic, which was ushered in in 1969 also got interrupted: that subsequently paved way for the Third Republic in 1979. In 1981, that was also truncated until 1992 when we had our Fourth Republican Constitution adopted through a referendum. It has been a journey of vicissitudes toward the peaceful democracy that we enjoy today. The 30th anniversary celebration The theme for the 30th anniversary celebration is 30 years of parliamentary democracy in the Fourth Republic: the journey thus far. We have set up a planning committee chaired by the Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, Hon. Samuel Atta Akyea to help navigate us through the celebrations. The activities of the committee would be coordinated by the Clerk to Parliament, Mr. Cyril Kwabena Oteng Nsiah. I will urge that we all reflect on the theme as the programme of activities for the celebration unfolds. I am confident that we will participate fully in all the activities that will be planned. The year-long celebration will zone the country into six. Programmes will be planned to suit the peculiarities of each of the six zones. I must say I am impressed with the preliminary work of the committee so far. In due course, this will be unveiled to all of you. Remembering the forebearers of Ghanas parliamentary democracy We cannot launch the 30th anniversary of parliamentary democracy in Ghana without paying tribute to the past speakers of the Fourth Republic who have been pivotal in strengthening the pillars of democracy through their contributions and sacrifices. I will want to mention the following: 1. Rt. Hon. Daniel Francis Annan (late), the pioneering Speaker of the First Parliament of the Fourth Republic, who served from 7th January 1993 to 6th January 2001. 2. Rt. Hon. Peter Ala Adjetey (late), the Speaker of Parliament from the 7th January 2001 to the 6th January 2005. 3. Rt. Hon. Ebenezer Begyina Sekyi-Hughes was Speaker of Parliament from 7th January 2005 to 6th January 2009. 4. Rt. Hon. Justice Joyce Adelaide Bamford-Addo, who was the Speaker of Parliament from 7th January 2009 to 6th January 2013. 5. Rt. Hon. Edward Doe Adjaho was Speaker of Parliament from 7th January 2013 to 6th January 2017. 6. My immediate predecessor, the Rt. Hon. Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, who took over as the Speaker of Parliament on 7th January 2017, and who I succeeded on 7th January 2021. This makes yours truly, the Rt. Hon. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin the 7th Speaker but of the 8th Parliament. The first Speaker served two consecutive terms in the first and second parliaments of this republic. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference Let me take this opportunity to remind us all that the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) will hold its annual conference here in Accra. The tentative date is from 30th August to 6th September 2023. Selecting Ghana to host this prestigious conference in itself is an honour. Beyond that, it is proof of how the world sees and rates our parliamentary democracy. We have indeed come very far as a democratic country. We should keep this in mind as we prepare to host the CPA in Accra. Let us put our A Game on display in whatever role we are assigned so that at the end of the day, the CPA conference in Accra will leave lasting memories on the minds of participants. Conclusion Ghana has had eight successive elections and four government change-overs between the two major political parties. On account of that, we can confidently say that we are now a consummate democratic dispensation. However, elections and successful government changeovers are not the only determinants of a working democracy. We must focus on strengthening our democratic institutions if we want to have a sustainable democracy. Hon. Leaders of the House, Hon Members of Parliament, the Clerk to Parliament and staff of the Parliamentary Service, distinguished guests, I wish to declare the 30th anniversary celebration of Ghanas parliamentary democracy duly launched. Thank you for coming and for your attention. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Joyce Aryee, the founder of the Salt and Light Ministries has described as "timely" the 'Global Crusade with Kumuyi' (GCK); Ghana edition being organised by the Deeper Christian Life Ministry. GCK has reached over 150 countries and will be coming to Ghana in April. Speaking at the pre-launch of the GCK-GH which is being held in conjunction with the Christian community, Joyce Aryee said "if ever there was a time that the word of God must be preached and followed by intense discipleship, is now. The programme is very timely. The crusade should be seen as a revival we've been praying for" Also speaking at the pre-launch, the National Overseer of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Ghana, Pastor Edward Duodu said the involvement of various leaders of the Christian community is critical for GCK's success because the focus of this global evangelistic campaign goes beyond denominational lines. GCK concentrates on the essence of the gospel and endeavours that unite the Church in the salvation of nations. "GCK and its affiliate programmes - that is, Ministers & Professionals Conference, and Impact Academy Mr. Chairman, are free and open to all. Previous editions have attracted: Christians and non-Christians; Men, women, youth and children, Ministers and church workers from various denominations as well as students and professionals of all backgrounds, nationalities and religions" he added. Present at the pre-launch were some revered men of God including Dr Lawrence Tetteh of the Worldwide Miracle Outreach, Rev. Robert Ampiah-Kwofi; General Overseer of the Global Revival Ministries, Rev. Nana Anyani-Boadum, Founder of Jesus Generation Ministries, Rev Godwin Dela Fiagome, President of Full Gospel Church International, the Senior Bishop of Christian Action Faith Ministries (CAFM) and Action Chapel International, Bishop James K. Saah, President of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC), Rev. Prof. Paul Frimpong Manso and many others. About GCK This was birthed by the General Superintendent of Deeper Christian Life Ministry, Pastor William Kumuyi. It started during the lockdown period on social media and was initiated out of the need to further share the good news of Christ. It subsequently metamorphosed into a physical event and has proved to be a tool for societal integration. It is non-denominational and all-inclusive and is aimed at soul-winning and transforming lives through Christ. GCK started in Nigeria and moved from one state to the other until last month when it was hosted by Togo; the first outside Nigeria. The GCK global brand was launched last year and it's committed to reaching more nations with the gospel. According to Pastor Kumuyi, based on statistics and analysis of our media streams, the GCK over the past year, has reached more than 150 countries with a monthly average physical audience of between 40,000 to 150,000 and virtual audience of over 3,000,000 people globally...We have documented over 200,000 people across the world who have been saved and transformed during these crusades. More than 30 million people have been impacted globally in the last year through the GCK Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The trial of Gregory Afoko, a farmer who has been charged together with Asabke Alangde has ended after 8 years following the alleged acid incident which led to the death of Adams Mahama. The late Mahama, was the Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party and was said to have mentioned the names of Afoko and Asabke as those who poured the substance believed to be acid on him leading to his death. Gregory Afoko and Asabke, who described himself as the chairman of the Bolga-Kumasi Ayamfuri Lorry Station Master have both denied the charge of conspiracy. While Afoko also separately pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder. While Afoko was arrested on May 21, 2015, a day after the incident on May 20, 2015, Asabke was arrested four years later in January 2019 after he fled to Ivory Coast for fear of his life. Afoko was initially tried since 2015 but the proceedings was truncated by the Attorney General after Asabke was arrested in January 2019, for a fresh trial. The trial restarted after the arrest of the second accused on July 17, 2019. On Tuesday, February 21, 2023, the trial ended after the prosecution led by Mrs Marina Appiah-Opare ended the prosecutions cross-Examination of Asabke, the second accused. When Mrs Appiah-Opare signaled the end of their cross-Examination, Defence lawyer for Asabke who also held brief Stephen Sorwah Charway for (Osafo Buabeng) for Afoko said there would be no re-examination. Justice of the Court of Appeal, Justice Merley Afua Wood, sitting as an additional High Court judge adjourned the case to March 8, 2023 to ensure the records of proceedings are ready and given to the parties to file addresses. The judge also lauded the defence lawyers, the prosecution and the jury for the support saying Thank you very much for your cooperation. According to EIB Networks Legal Affairs Correspondent, Murtala Inusah, the punishment for murder is a death sentence and the seven-member panel of the jury would have to return a unanimous verdict to sustain the charges for the court to sentence them. They are both on remand and are standing trial for the murder of New Patriotic Partys Upper East Regional Chairman Adams Mahama following an alleged acid incident in May 20, 2015. *Witnesses* The prosecution called 16 witnesses including wife of the late Adams Hajia Zenabu Adam, Asigri Quinn, Zuwera Isaka, Tofiq Murtala, Baba Apayaa, Chief Inspector Augustus Nkrumah, the investigator among others to close its case. Afoko on the other hand testifies himself, called John Ishmael Afoko, his brother who was present when he was arrested and also closed his case. The second accused Asabke after opening his defence did not call any witness. *Legal representation* For the prosecution, Mrs Marina Appiah Opare, a Chief State Attorney, led Dom Esi Fiagbe and Frederick Adu Gyamfi to represent the Attorney General. For the defence Lawyer Stephen Sowah Charway who held brief for Osafo Buabeng and Andrew Kudzo Vortia represented Gregory Afoko and Asabke Alangde respectively. *Background* It was the case of the prosecution led by Chief State Attorney, Marina Appiah Opare, that the two acted with the aim of killing Adams Mahama. She recounted that the former NPP Chairman, Paul Afoko (brother of Gregory) then General Secretary, Kwabena Agyepong in 2015 attended a meeting in the Upper East region. The aim, she said, was how to work against the then flagbearer of the party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The said meeting, the prosecution added, was scuttled by some men organised by the late Adams Mahama. Unhappy about this, the two, according to the prosecutor, attacked to kill Mr Adams days after, when he was heading home. The State concluded the facts by pointing out that Mr Mahama who was rushed to the hospital, named the two as the persons who poured acid on him in the presence of three witnesses. Source: Murtala Inusah/Kasapafmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Member of Parliament for Afigya Kwabre North Constituency, Collins Adomako Mensah, has asserted that the leadership of the Minority in Parliament are being controlled by the executives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) from the partys head office. Adomako Mensah claims the party has been determining the psoition that the Minority Caucus takes on governmental issues before they can decide on the next course of action. In an interview with Wontumi TV, he suggested that measures should be taken to prevent the party's leadership from meddling in parliamentary duties since doing so would interfere with the administration's ability to function effectively. Now we all know that the NDC party is run by the headquarters. Every morning, Fifi Kwetey will write a letter and direct that all of you should toe this line. They did the same thing to Huruna. They sacked him. All of us know that there was no NEC meeting, nothing, and they removed them. First vetting of the new leadershipthen the General Secretary writes a letter that they shouldnt accept all of the nominees. So, it has become very clear that the party is being run from the headquarters including the MPs. Thats my worry, if we dont take care, Adabraka, the partys head office might have so much influence. Dont forget that the current chairman of the party sits on the parliamentary service boardI mean that kind of conflict of interest is very strangeyou can imagine Aseidu Nketias contributions during their council meeting. So, as I said, the party is being run from the headquarters, Aseidu Nketia and Fifi Kwetey, write letters and direct them on what they should do, he added. Source: ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Members of the National Democratic Congress in parliament have fully committed their support to the bid of former President John Dramani Mahama to become the partys flagbearer in the 2024 election. This is according to the Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr Clement Apaak who says Mr Mahama has officially conveyed his intent to contest the elections to the Minority caucus. JM met with us, NDC MPs, earlier today (21/2/2023) at his office. He informed us of his intention to contest to be Flagbearer of the NDC and ultimately the Presidency. We assured him of our full and unflinching support, the MP tweeted on Monday following the said meeting. Former President John Dramani Mahama in 2016 failed in a re-election bid after serving his first full term in office. His attempt to return to power in 2020 also failed when he lost to President Akufo-Addo who won his second term in office. With President Akufo-Addos constiutional two terms coming to an end in 2025 and an economy in shambles, Mr Mahamas chances of winning power has never been more likely. Ahead of the NDCs election of a flagbearer for the 2024 election, the former president is deemed by several members of the party as the presumptive flagbearer ahead of the primaries scheduled for May 13. There has been a growing campaign within the NDC to have Mr Mahama contest the partys flagbearership unopposed. Source: ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The national headquarters of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) at Adabraka in Accra will be scenes of activities as the party opens nominations for its presidential and parliamentary elections. The two-day exercise would kick-start the processes for the final leg of the partys internal elections to elect a presidential and parliamentary candidates for the NDC slated for May 13, 2023 to contest on the ticket of the party in the 2024 general election. Aspiring parliamentary candidates would pick nomination forms via the NDC website at a cost of GH5000 which must be paid via Mobile Money while the presidential aspirants are required to pick nomination forms directly from the office of the General Secretary of the party and pay a fee of GH30,000 via bankers draft. However, female aspirants and persons with physical disabilities would be required to pay only 50 per cent of the fee charged. The exercise, which begins today, would end on Friday, February 24, 2023. Submission Per the timetable of the elections issued by the party last month, aspiring presidential and parliamentary candidates are to submit the completed nomination forms from March 20 to 22 before vetting on March 27 to 29. There would also be a window for appeals on the outcome of the vetting process from March 30 to April 6 before the election on May 13. The two elections would be held on the same day on Saturday, May 13, 2023 in all the voting centres in all the 276 constituencies including Santrokofi-Apkafu-Lolobi and Likpe (SALL) in the Oti Region, and the NDC headquarters would also constitute a voting centre. Qualification To qualify to become a parliamentary candidate aspirant, a person must first satisfy the 1992 constitution requirements for Members of Parliament. The individual must also be a paid up member of the NDC in good standing and must not be a dual citizen or owe allegiance to any other country aside from Ghana. With regard to flag bearer aspirants, according to the party, persons interested must be member of the NDC for at least 10 years and in good standing and also satisfy the 1992 constitutions requirement for a President. Presidential It is expected that the various presidential aspirants accompanied by their supporters would troop to the partys headquarters to pick their nomination forms which would be made available at the office of the General Secretary. A statement signed by the General Secretary of the party, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, said every nomination must be proposed by one person and seconded by five persons all of whom must be members in good standing of the party in different constituencies in different regions. Completed nomination papers must be delivered to me with the required deposit of GH500,000.00 (Bankers draft) between March 20 and 22, at the party headquarters for the presidential, it said. So far, the names of three personalities former President John Dramani Mahama; a former Minister of Finance, Dr Kwabena Duffuor, and a former Metropolitan Chief Executive for Kumasi, Kojo Bonsu, have come up for the flagbearer contest. In 2018, ahead of the 2020 general election, the NDC pegged its filing fee for presidential aspirants at GH400,000 and sold nomination forms for GH20,000. Source: graphiconline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Supreme Court adjourned the naira redesign suit for judgement after hearing arguments for and against it on Wednesday. The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed 3 March for judgement on the suits filed by some state governments challenging the federal government's naira redesign policy. "All the suits adjourned until 3 March for judgement," the presiding justice of a seven -member panel of the Supreme Court, John Okoro, said. Mr Okoro adjourned the suit for judgement after his panel heard arguments for and against it on Wednesday. The proceedings lasted for over three hours. The date of judgement is about a week after Nigeria's presidential election which holds Saturday (25 February), and a week ahead of state elections scheduled to come up on 11 March. The controversial monetary policy, which has led to cash crunch across the country, bringing hardship to millions of Nigerians, has been a major issue in the lead-up to Saturday's election. The presidential candidate of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, had said he was the target of the policy that is defiantly backed by President Buhari, the leader of the party. But with the postponement of the judgement on the matter till 3 March, it means there would be no judicial resolution of the monetary policy before Saturday's election. PREMIUM TIMES ran a live update of the court's proceedings. The suit, filed on 3 February by some state governments, seeks the reversal of the federal government's naira redesign policy. The policy, announced late last year by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) with the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari, had introduced newly redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes. It sought to end the use of the old versions by 10 February. On 8 February, two days before the deadline, a seven-member panel of the court granted an interim order suspending the deadline set for the ending of the validity of the old banknotes. The court also ordered that the old N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes should conctinue to circulate alongside their newly redesigned versions pending further hearing in the case. The court also ordered that the old N200, N500, and N1000 banknotes should circulate alongside their newly redesigned versions pending further hearing in the case. But in direct affront to the Supreme Court, Mr Buhari, on 16 February, directed in a national broadcast that only the old N200 notes would remain valid, while the old N500 and N1,000 currency notes had ceased to be legal tender. Number of plaintiffs jumps to 16 The number of plaintiffs rose to 16 after six new states were added to them at Wednesday's proceedings. The suit was originally filed by Kaduna, Kogi and Zamfara states on 3 February to challenge the 10 February deadline set to end the validity of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 banknotes. The plaintiffs' number, however, rose to 10, with seven joining them at the previous sitting on 15 February. The 16 states now on the list of plaintiffs include: the original plaintiffs - Kaduna, Kogi, Zamfara - and the seven that were joined on 15 February - Cross River, Sokoto, Lagos, Ogun, Katsina, Ondo, and Ekiti states. The rest are the six others that were joined on Wednesday - Nasarawa, Niger, Kano, Jigawa, Rivers and Abia states. Rivers and Abia states had filed separate suits that were consolidated with the main one. The opponents of the suit are the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, representing the federal government alongside two other states that were joined as co-defendants, based on their requests, on 15February. The two states are Edo and Bayelsa. Arguments The plaintiffs, through their respective lawyers, toed the same lines of argument, urging the Supreme Court to grant their prayers on Wednesday. In its argument against the federal government, the Kano State government, represented by Musa Sanusi, urged the Supreme Court to reverse the monetary policy. Mr Sanusi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), told the court that "There are security reports that if the naira redesign policy is not reversed, there might be breakdown of law and order due to the hardship it has brought on the citizens." The Attorney-General of Lagos State, Moyosore Onigbanjo, a SAN, and Kaduna State's lawyer, Abdulahakeem Mustapha, also a SAN, argued that Mr Buhari, by his 16 February broadcast, and the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, had violated the court's order. But the federal government's lawyer, Kanu Agabi, a SAN, said "the president only intervened in the (currency) crisis by asking Nigerians to deposit the old naira notes with the CBN." Mr Agabi, an erstwhile Attorney-General of the Federation, argued that Nigerians were already rejecting the N200, N500 and N1,000 old notes before Mr Buhari's made his 16 February nationwide broadcast, directing the CBN to recirculate the old N200 notes. The defence lawyer contended that it was not true that Mr Buhari was in contempt of the court. After listening to all the lawyers to the parties in the case, the court adjourned the suit until 3 March for judgement. 'We'll do justice' The Supreme Court earlier on Wednesday assured that it would do justice in the suit. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance Banking By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. In an impassioned tone on Wednesday when the case came up, Mr Okoro, the presiding justice of the court's seven-man panel, said "everybody is looking for a scapegoat." "This court will not continue to be a scapegoat," the presiding justice told Lagos State Attorney-General, Moyosore Onigbanjo, when he drew the court's attention to President Buhari's violation of its order halting the monetary policy. "We will hear this case and give our decision. The (Nigerian) public can then decide who should be the scapegoat," Mr Okoro said, apparently referring to the atmosphere of disobedience to court decisions that pervades Nigeria. Lending her voice to the necessity of hearing the case, a member of the court's panel, Amina Augie, roared, "We will gear this case today," in response to the obstinate Lagos Attorney-General who was insisting the federal government "has no right of audience before the court for being disobedient to its order" of 8 February. "We seek an order prohibiting the defendants from being granted audience before this court until the defendants or their principal, President Muhammadu Buhari, in this matter until the comply the order made by this court on 8 February, directing that old 200,500 and 1000 banknotes remain legal tender pending the determination of this suit," Mr Onigbanjo argued. Former AttorneyGeneral and Minister for Justice and Presidential hopeful, Joe Ghartey, has said that several sectors in the economy can turn the fortunes of the economy around. He stated this at the launch of his Hope and Unity Tour in Sekondi Takoradi. According to the respected legislator, who is also a former 2nd Deputy Speaker of Parliament, with careful and deliberate interventions in several sectors of the economy including the education sector, Ghana can in the short to medium term, turn its fortunes around. He said the United Kingdom, for example, earned approximately 28.8 billion pounds a year from international students. He said that if Ghana could attract just ten per cent of this it would earn Ghana almost the same amount it was seeking to borrow from the IMF annually. Joe Ghartey emphasised that wherever educational institutions were situated, the environs experienced increased economic activity. Joe Ghartey stated further the foundation had already been laid in the education sector. Hon. Ghartey noted that when he was in the University in the 1980s there were hardly any international students and only three Universities. Today he said Ghana had over sixty Universities which had considerable numbers of international students. He said a Joe Ghartey government would take the steps that would make our Universities internationally competitive to be able to attract more international students. These steps include increased regulation, targeted scholarships for lectures and some financial interventions. Joe Ghartey has left the Western Region to the Western North Region as he continues the Nationwide Tour of Hope and Unity. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A one-time campaign manager for John Dramani Mahama has described the former president as the Messiah Ghana badly needs to steer her off the current crisis. Prof. Joshua Alabi believes Mahama is a gift from God citing his experience as a former president and someone who is willing and available to lead the country again as president. With the crisis that we have today, experience counts and not just experience but someone who has done it before. We, and the good people of Ghana believe, this is the time that we need a Messiah and the Messiah is His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, Alabi told press men at the National Democratic Congress (NDC) headquarters in Accra. Alabi led a delegation that went to the office on February 22 to pick nomination forms for Mahamas bid to lead the NDC into the 2024 presidential elections. He said all internal competitors could not match up to the pedigree of Mahama even though he stayed away from mentioning names. The country needs a hand who knows almost everything, that is why Ghana needs an experienced leader who has done it before and is available and is willing, then we are lucky, he is a gift from God, he added. Mahama declares bid, picks nomination forms Mahama's formal intention to run for a third consecutive shot at the presidency was reported when a number of NDC MPs confirmed that he was going to contest. On February 22, forms were picked on his behalf by Prof. Alabi and regional chairmen amid fanfare. Mahama is expected to address the media in due course to formally announce his bid. Mahamas political roots date as far back to the days of Ghanas independence when his father served in the Nkrumah government. John Mahama, a political thoroughbred He is reputed to be one of the most thoroughbred politicians of the Fourth Republic having served from the local level (Assembly) through to becoming a Member of Parliament for Bole Bamboi on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress. Mahama held deputy minister and ministerial portfolios under the Rawlings government before rising to become vice president under John Mills and president when he took over from Mills then won his first full term in 2012. He is widely expected to contest for the presidency come 2024 as he seeks a final term in office on the back of two straight defeats to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2016 and 2020. Source: ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Scores of National Democratic Congress enthusiasts have taken over the premises of the party to join their preferred flagbearer candidate as he picks up nomination forms. Dr. Kwabena Duffour, former Governor of the Bank of Ghana who has indicated his intentions to contest for the flagbearership position of the party picked up his nomination forms today. Scores of individuals believed to be in the camp of Dr. Duffour, thronged the NDC headquarters, singing and cheering for him. Dressed in party colours, with various party paraphernalia and wielding placards with posters of Dr. Duffour, these enthusiasts threw their support behind Dr. Duffour, while one of the partys theme songs played in the background. Dr. Duffour however did not pick up the forms personally, he designated the Ashanti Regional Women's Organiser of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Gloria Huze, and his spokesperson who represented him. This comes after representatives of Former President, John Dramani Mahama, Former Kumasi Mayor, Kojo Bonsu, and Businessman, Ernest Kwaku Korbeah all picked up their nomination forms on Wednesday, February 22, 2023. The forms pegged at 30,000 Ghana Cedis will be filled and returned to the partys Elections Committee. Candidates will then be vetted and when approval is given, they can then begin campaign. This was reiterated by Chairman of the Elections Committee, Kakra Essamuah. View this post on Instagram A post shared by (@utvghana) Source: UTV/ghanaweb.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video In the past few weeks, the movie industry In Ghana and the nation at large has been projected in a positive light globally with the announcement that the sequel to American comedy film, Girls Trip, starring Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Tiffany Haddish will be shot here. The news, in addition to the revelation by British actor, Idris Elba, to construct a film studio in Ghana on his recent visit, seems to have boosted the faith of players in the industry to anticipate better days for the sector. But while the news coming in offer lots of hope of turning the fortunes of the sector around, the CEO of National Film Authority (NFA), Juliet Asante, is entreating players in the industry to adequately prepare themselves for the upcoming opportunities. Speaking with Graphic Showbiz recently, Ms Asante said every player in the sector has the responsibility to improve their skills set. She was emphatic that it would be the only means by which they would be relevant when such international projects take off. We all have responsibilities at the table so the local set have to improve their skills. People have to upgrade their skills set and I dont mean only actors but every member of the production team. We need to train, read and educate ourselves to take advantage of this. The presence of these foreign film productions requires some level of expertise and we need to constantly work on ourselves to meet the standards when the opportunity comes, she said. Three years ago, NFA started the Cinema Development Agenda with the focus of pushing the gains of films from Ghana. The project made significant strides in October last year when the NFA signed a strategic partnership deal with VOX Cinemas, one of the largest film distributors in the Middle East, to distribute and show Ghanaian films in cinemas in the region. As a result, three Ghanaian films, Single and Searching, Borga and Terminus were premiered at the Nakheel Mall in Dubai and subsequently in Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East. According to Ms Asante, the Cinema Development Agenda alongside many other fruitful projects that the authority worked on behind the scenes, created the fertile grounds for Ghana to be selected as the preferred destination for the likes of Idris Elba and the production crew of Girls Trip. As a National Film Authority, we have been working hard for over three years and now yielding very good results and everyone is happy about it. But obviously, what we have received in the past has been a lot of bashing for this same strategy that is now bearing fruits. However, we need support of government, stakeholders and the industry to succeed and also they need to trust us in what we are doing. Also, investors need to fund the sector because this is a very lucrative industry. However, because of lack of financial support, returns on investments havent been clear for many people but all of those things are being worked out to make the sector more attractive, she added. In his submission during a visit to President Nana Akufo Addo, the Beast of No Nation actor, Idris Elba, commended the NFA for working tirelessly to put together a very comprehensive plan to propel Ghana as a film and content hub. Speaking on the above subject, Ms Asante said all their efforts would be in vain without a Tax Incentive Policy. At the moment, we are done with work on a Tax Incentive Policy and are looking forward to the Tourism Ministry to push for its implementation, she added. Source: Graphic Showbiz Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (left) meets Ontario Premier Doug Ford, at the Queens Park Legislature in Toronto on Tuesday, August 30, 2022. The federal government says it has reached an agreement in principle with Ontario on health care. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young South African Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana delivering the Budget Speech to the National Assembly plenary held at the Cape Town City Hall, February 22, 2023. analysis Stripped of plants, allegories, literary quotes and Bible verses, the 2023 Budget was blunt -- a stable finance framework for savings, investment and growth, structural reforms, particularly in energy and transport, and improved state capacity for public services and to fight crime and corruption. Opposition parties criticised the R254-billion debt relief for Eskom, but as South Africa must deal with the rolling blackouts that cost the domestic economy up to R899-billion a day, it was difficult to be awfully vocal about it. On Budget Day, Stage 6 rolling blackouts left South Africans without electricity for 10 hours, after scheduled power cuts hit South Africans every day in 2023. There were more than 200 days of rolling blackouts in 2022. Everyone knew tough choices and decisions needed to be made. As Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said on Wednesday in his 2023 Budget speech: "This is not an austerity Budget. It is a Budget that makes tough trade-offs in the interests of the country's short- and long-term prosperity." As always, the devil is in the details. Spinning the R254-billion as debt relief for the troubled Eskom -- R184-billion of this actually is a loan, according to the draft law -- the Budget... JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Wednesday said he is proposing an additional $8.3 million over two years to help address caseload and staffing concerns for the state Public Defender Agency and Office of Public Advocacy. Budget amendments outlined by Dunleavy in a news conference Wednesday also include funding for positions to help address a backlog in applications for food stamp benefits and to prepare for Medicaid eligibility determinations. In December, Dunleavy released his budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year, and his administration has also made supplemental sp... South African Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana delivering the Budget Speech to the National Assembly plenary held at the Cape Town City Hall, February 22, 2023. analysis The presentation of a national Budget is often a slightly strange affair; it is the prose of governance after what is supposed to be the poetry of the State of the Nation Address. Going into the speech, it was clear that the government's credibility was on the line, and, as the trite saying goes, hard decisions would have to be made. It was a surprise to hear at least one economist suggest that on Wednesday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana had announced the "biggest reforms since 1994". Not everyone agreed. I was seated outside the Cape Town City Hall. I am also off coffee. Not drinking it. But writing about it. It was a hard realisation, upon rereading previous entries in my Reporter's Notebook (for entirely egotistical reasons) that virtually every piece submitted over the years, from rainy Nasrec to sunny Switzerland, has started with coffee, front and centre. It's time to quit. I expect headaches, bad ones. Before Godongwana rose to the podium, there was a strange question to ask the economic commentariat. It was this: "Is this the hardest position a finance minister has been in since 1994 ... and didn't I ask the same question last year?" It... On a shortened opening day in the 3,000 EPT Mystery Bounty at the 2023 PokerStars European Poker Tour Paris, there was no shortage of action nor any shortage of players throughout 10 levels of poker. There were over 700 entries recorded on Day 1 with just 329 players advancing to Day 2. There will be more to come before the action resumes tomorrow with late registration staying open until 12:30 p.m. local time. A surprise chip leader emerged after 10 levels today with Gabriel Shohet accumulating 266,000 chips. Shohet, the owner of Black Sheep Coffee in multiple cities across Europe, has landed himself in the poker spotlight at EPT Paris. The business owner and recreational poker player landed himself 12 knockouts on the opening day but those will not become important until Day 2 begins. Shohet has also been refining his poker skill thanks to his mentor and 2014 WSOP Main Event champion Martin Jacobson's training course 'Prepare Perform'. Shohet was not afraid to put his chips to work throughout the day, sending them into the middle on multiple occasions and most of the time forcing his opponents to fold. However, when the cards were face up, Shohet got the best of his opponents including the very last hand of the night. As all of the other tables were bagging their chips, Shohet raise-called off a shove of around 15 big blinds with ace-jack but found himself up against ace-king. However, an ace and a jack on the flop gave Shohet the best hand and solidified his position at the top of the leaderboard. Top 10 Chip Counts on Day 1 of the EPT Mystery Bounty Rank Player Country Chip Count 1 Gabriel Shohet United Kingdom 265,500 2 Vahid Sadeghpourfard Switzerland 222,500 3 Jonas Hagstrom Sweden 210,500 4 Daniel Heredi Hungary 195,000 5 Julian Salvesen Norway 192,500 6 Lex Veldhuis Netherlands 192,500 7 Ian Bradley United Kingdom 182,000 8 Oleksii Koiev Ukraine 177,500 9 Roelof Pepping Netherlands 176,000 10 Walter Ripper Brazil 176,000 Some of the other notable big stacks advancing to Day 2 include none other than PokerStars ambassador Lex Veldhuis who finished the day with 192,500 chips. Veldhuis was forced to use his second bullet but made no mistake running up one of the larger stacks in the field. He will be joined by Nick Marchington (136,000), Sonny Franco (127,500), Jack Corrigan (115,500), and Byron Kaverman (106,000) who have all put themselves in a great position to collect some bounties tomorrow. There were also multiple players who failed to advance to the bounty portion of the tournament including Jacobson who fired both of his shots today. Mauricio Salazar Sanchez, Jamil Wakil, Will Kassouf, Jonathan Jaffe, and Thomas Muehloecker all exited the tournament throughout the day. Martin Jacobson When the cards will go back in the air, the blinds will resume on Level 11 at 1,000/1,500 and a 1,500 big blind ante. For those players looking to still register, a starting stack will be worth 30,000 chips, good enough for 20 big blinds. The levels will continue to be 40 minutes in length with a 15-minute break after every three levels. The bounties will start being accumulated from the start but the prizes will not be able to be drawn until the first break of the day. Just like other EPT Mystery Bounty events, the top prize for this event will likely be 100,000 but that is still to be determined based on the prize pool. Make sure to stay tuned as the PokerNews live reporting team will have all that information and more along with more live updates when Day 2 gets underway. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print In a dear colleague letter to his fellow senators, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer unloaded on Tucker Carlson and Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Schumer wrote in a letter provided to PoliticusUSA: Like many of you, I was surprised to hear reports that Speaker Kevin McCarthy plans to allow Fox News Tucker Carlson and his producers to review highly sensitive security camera footage captured in the events around January 6, one of the darkest days in American history. Unfortunately, Speaker McCarthy, to get the votes he needed from the MAGA wing of the House Republican Conference to become speaker, agreed to make tens of thousands of hours of sensitive footage from across the Capitol complex publicly available. This disclosure poses grave security risks to members of Congress and everyone who works on Capitol Hill. The speaker is needlessly exposing the Capitol complex to one of the worst security risks since 9/11. The footage Speaker McCarthy is making available to Fox News is a treasure trove of closely held information about how the Capitol complex is protected and its public release would compromise the safety of the Legislative Branch and allow those who want to commit another attack to learn how Congress is safeguarded. Releasing security footage publicly reveals the location of security cameras across the Capitol grounds, making it harder and more dangerous for our brave Capitol police officers to do their job. It also risks exposing the carefully laid out and highly guarded plans for the continuity of government, intended to preserve our democracy in the event of an attack. All things anyone who would want to harm our country would love to learn. And by handpicking Tucker Carlson, Speaker McCarthy laid bare that this sham is simply about pandering to MAGA election deniers, not the truth. Tucker Carlson has no fidelity to the truth or facts and has used his platform to promote the Big Lie, distort reality, and espouse bogus conspiracy theories about January 6. If the past is any indication, Tucker Carlson will select only clips that he can use to twist the facts to sow doubt of what happened on January 6 and feed into the propaganda hes already put on Fox News air, which based on recent reports he may not even believe himself. Giving someone as disingenuous as Tucker Carlson exclusive access to this type of sensitive information is a grave mistake by Speaker McCarthy that will only embolden supporters of the Big Lie and weaken faith in our democracy. Let me be clear, the Senate strongly objects to the release of this sensitive security footage to Tucker Carlson and Fox News. The speaker nor any elected official does not have the right to jeopardize the safety of senators nor Senate and Capitol staff for their own political purposes. Period. Full stop. I know the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms will continue to do everything in her power to ensure the safety and security of the Senate and everyone who works in the Senate. Schumer accused McCarthy of jeopardizing the safety of members of Congress and everyone who works at the Capitol, jeopardizing Capitol security, weakening democracy, being beholden to MAGA, and emboldening the Big Lie. The Senate Majority Leader essentially called Carlson a fact-free propagandist. McCarthy has drawn criticism from the left and the right for giving the footage exclusively to Tucker Carlson. The right believes that the footage should be made public for everyone to see, and not limited to Carlson. McCarthy and Carlson are making it easier for someone to attack the Capitol. McCarthy is guilty of an abuse of power that could get people killed all to appease Donald Trump. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Email Print Republicans were planning on using the comments of the Special Grand Jury foreperson to quash any indictments of Trump and other Republicans, but that plan fell apart. Trumps lawyers have been making a stink, and Republicans thought that the comments of the Special Grand Jury foreperson might give them an out for potential indictments, but then the judge weighed in. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported: They cannot discuss their deliberations, he said. So the question becomes what deliberations are, and I explained that would be the discussions they had amongst themselves when it was just the grand jurors in the room when they were discussing what do we do with what weve learned, said McBurney. But if an assistant DA or a witness is in the grand jury room, they can talk about what happened then, the judge said. Thats not deliberations, he said. Thats presentation. And theyre not prohibited from talking about that, nor are they prohibited from talking about the fruit of their deliberations, which would be the final report. In other words, the foreperson stayed within the rules that the judge laid out with her media interviews. She has not discussed any of the Special Grand Jurys deliberations or details of those deliberations. Subscribe To Our Newsletter: Donald Trump freaked out when he realized that the pages that were released from the special grand jury report meant the opposite of what he thought. Trump hasnt been exonerated. Potentially, he and his cronies in the plot to overturn the result of Georgias 2020 presidential election are heading for a criminal indictment. Republicans arent going to be able to quash the indictments based on what the foreperson said in interviews, so things could get ugly in a hurry for Trump and the GOP once Fulton County DA Fani Willis announces indictments. The NNPP campaign secretary said: "Atiku is synonymous with non-performance." The Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) has denied the party's flag bearer Rabiu Kwankwaso will drop out of the race for Nigeria's top job. Folashade Aliu, Mr Kwankwaso's campaign secretary said her principal is on course to victory and will not step down for any other presidential candidate. Specifically, she disclaimed reports that Mr Kwankwaso will end his presidential candidacy for Atiku Abubakar of Nigeria's main opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In his widely watched interview last month, Mr Abubakar told BBC Hausa that he is "discussing" with Kwankwaso and it's "possible" that the former Kano State governor steps down for him in the presidential race. Mr Kwankwaso was quick to rubbish the former vice president's claims saying he was "disappointed" and that he has not "set his eyes" on the PDP candidate for one year. Kwankwaso described his NNPP as a viable alternative to the ruling APC and the PDP. Ms Aliu, the NNPP campaign secretary, said: "Atiku is synonymous with non-performance. He is desperate and he cannot lay his hand on anything he has done successfully for the country and that's why he's initiating this discussion of Kwankwaso stepping down for him." A former minister of defence, Mr Kwankwaso, was in the PDP until he took over the NNPP last May. The former Kano governor ran for the APC ticket in 2014, shortly after defecting with other PDP governors to the then-new party. By 2018, he had returned to the PDP and again ran unsuccessfully for the presidential ticket of the party. He got the ticket of the NNPP on the first try and his supporters expect him to sweep the poll, at least in the North. "The NNPP has been campaigning vigorously," Ms Aliu told PREMIUM TIMES, adding, "they will not be distracted by what is being said in the media." She accused the PDP's candidate of using surrogates to send propaganda and attempts to manipulate their supporters. "It's a deliberate attempt to incite our supporters and trigger violence," Ms Aliu said. "Some of our supporters are committed and dedicated to the Kwankwaso presidential project and some of these claims can be a trigger." It's three days to the much-awaited 2023 general elections, one that many consider to be the most consequential since Nigeria's return to democracy in 1999. The ballot on election day 25 February will have the symbols of 18 parties, down from the 79 that stood in the previous poll of 2019. The media long dubbed it a four-horse race. This assessment put the candidates of the two major parties, APC and PDP as well as Peter Obi of Labour Party and Mr Kwankwaso as the only contestants who can win the election. The 14 other candidates have not been visible in the campaigns and only on Friday, five of their parties announced their endorsement of Atiku of the PDP. However, Ms Aliu of the NNPP, alleged that Mr Abubakar has run out of "ideas and energy" to carry out the job for the highest office of the land. The former vice president was the PDP flag bearer in 2019 and retained the ticket at the party's primary in May 2022. This is his sixth presidential race in 30 years. "Atiku is a serial contestant who does not have anything to offer other than manipulating the minds of Nigerians," Ms Aliu said. Some members of Mr Abubakar's team believe Mr Kwankwaso has no pathway to victory but his voters may inadvertently hand APC the election. "A lot of them didn't expect that we are going to do as much as we are doing in NNPP," Ms Aliu explained. "Now, they figure out we are going places then the next thing is to be on the psyche of our supporters." Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Recent polls by different organisations have also removed Mr Kwankwaso of the NNPP from contention and are now projecting a three-horse race. But, Ms Aliu said: "Our supporters are in the grassroots and they don't want to give us the recognition we deserve. But we know where we are in the realms of this election. "We have visited over 600 local governments in the country and most of our programmes are not in the media. We are focused on improving lives and putting Nigeria on a global platform it deserves with the status and respect it deserves. "We will take back this country. Our fate is in the hands of God and the voters." WALTERBORO For about an hour, Mark Ball seemed like a star witness for the defense at Alex Murdaughs heavily watched double murder trial. Murdaughs former law partner testified Feb. 22 about his friends distress in the hours after the Hampton lawyers wife, Maggie, and son Paul were shot to death. Ball also helped Murdaughs attorneys score points in their quest to cast the ensuing homicide investigation as sloppy and inept. He testified about seeing first responders walk haphazardly through the crime scene on the evening of June 7, 2021. He said he was instructed to go to Murdaughs house that night, even though investigators hadnt yet searched it for evidence. Ball found a huge chunk of Pauls skull that state investigators didnt bother collecting as evidence when he visited the Murdaughs estate the next day. But an hour later, Ball didnt sound like a defense witness at all. Instead, he was fuming as he explained the financial wreckage Murdaugh, 54, left as he secretly stole millions from his legal clients, law partners and others who trusted him. He said he didnt think he truly knew his longtime partner. The person I thought I knew loved his family, or appeared to love his family, Ball said, recounting memories of how Murdaugh answered their every call. Im not sure I know that person. Balls testimony exemplified a challenge both prosecutors and Murdaughs defense team have faced in calling witnesses throughout the trials first five weeks. Murdaughs relatives, friends and colleagues have proven to be double-edged swords on the witness stand. They can help the defense by testifying about Murdaughs devotion to his family and his love for the two victims in this case, 52-year-old Maggie and Paul, 22. But they can also help prosecutors by detailing how Murdaugh betrayed them and everyone else in his orbit, destroying his familys century-old Lowcountry legacy in the process. Several also have described behavior they considered suspicious from Murdaugh in the aftermath of the slayings, including that he rarely if ever discussed who might have killed Maggie and Paul. The same will likely be true of Murdaugh himself, who could take the witness stand in his own defense as early as Feb. 23. Murdaughs attorneys have spent the past several days weighing the potential risks and rewards of putting him on the stand before they rest their case. Jim Griffin, one of Murdaughs defense attorneys, indicated in court Feb. 22 that his client would certainly testify if Judge Clifton Newman agreed to prevent prosecutors from asking Murdaugh incriminating questions about his alleged financial crimes. In addition to murder charges he is on trial for currently, Murdaugh faces nearly 100 other counts related to the alleged financial misdeeds. State prosecutors pushed back, and Newman sided with them. He said such a blanket order protecting a defendant from critical cross-examination would be unprecedented. Griffin then asked if Murdaugh could testify about the slayings while still asserting his 5th Amendment right not to answer questions about his alleged financial crimes. Newman did not give a definitive answer. That means the defense will have to decide without knowing what Murdaugh might have to answer for. Ball took the stand shortly thereafter. He said hed known Murdaugh for 34 years and worked with him for two decades at the prestigious Hampton law firm Murdaughs great-grandfather founded in 1910. Their families were close. Like some previous witnesses, Ball was animated in part by his sense of feeling betrayed by Murdaugh, a man hed long worked with and counted as a friend. He testified Murdaugh abused the familial bond employees of the law firm shared. State prosecutors and Murdaughs defense attorneys handled Ball like a live grenade, trying to pose questions that pointed him in the right direction without accidentally letting him detonate in their faces. It didnt always work, as Ball pushed back against both sides' questions at times. Unlike many other witnesses who came before him, he didn't seem to be firmly in either camp. Under questioning from Griffin, Ball testified that a slew of people drove into the Murdaughs spacious Colleton County hunting property on the night of the slayings. Deputies ignored his recommendations to block off the crime scene, Ball said. He described how law enforcement officers had failed to preserve aspects of the scene, even letting rainwater spill from the roof of the dog kennels onto Pauls bloody body, felled by two shotgun blasts. Its a crime scene. You dont want water dripping all over the place, Ball said. But more importantly, I thought it was pretty disrespectful. Paul was a good young man. Quite frankly, it just pissed me off. Ball also said it was odd that agents with the State Law Enforcement Division allowed the Murdaugh family and their friends to go up to their house that night, entering the residence even before SLED agents could search and clear it. SLED has since been criticized for failing to conduct a thorough search of the home until months later. Where does the crime scene start and stop? Ball asked. But on cross-examination, lead prosecutor Creighton Waters had Ball testify about the lies Murdaugh told him. Ball said Murdaugh told him at least three times that he never went down to the hunting estates dog kennels until discovering Maggie and Pauls bodies there later that night. A video later discovered on Pauls phone places Murdaugh with Maggie and Paul at the kennels just minutes before investigators believe the shootings began. Ball also testified that Murdaugh was an obnoxious user of his cellphone, someone who would step out of meetings and depositions to take calls from his relatives. That testimony helped bolster prosecutors theory that Murdaugh planned the slayings in advance, taking care to leave his phone at home so it wouldnt track him to the kennels that evening. Murdaughs phone recorded no steps or other activity for nearly an hour while he was at the kennels, according to evidence presented in the case. It would be unusual for Alex to go anywhere without his phone, Ball said. Ball also testified about how he and his coworkers uncovered evidence that Murdaugh had spent the past decade stealing from his clients and the law firm. Ball said he had to call many of those clients, tell them what Murdaugh had done and work to fix it. The firm ultimately dissolved and reformed under a new name Parker Law Group because of the tarnish Murdaugh put on it. The firm and its partners had to pay back millions of dollars to Murdaughs victims. Im mad as hell, Ball said. You just dont know how mad I am. Such was Balls anger that when he learned Murdaugh had been shot in the head on Sept. 4, 2021, a day after the law firm forced him to resign, his first thought was, Dont tell me that jackass killed himself. It turned out Murdaugh had survived. He later confessed to staging his own shooting in a failed attempt to die and leave behind a hefty life insurance payout to his remaining son Buster. Ball said he wouldnt even believe Murdaugh had a life insurance policy unless he saw a copy of it. Waters drew a line between the September 2021 shooting and the slayings of Maggie and Paul. Prosecutors believe Murdaugh killed them to engender sympathy for himself and buy time to cover up his financial wrongdoings. And just when accountability is going to happen again, the defendant manufactures himself being a victim, correct? Waters asked. Thats what it turned out to be, Ball said. When the federal government's COVID-19 public health emergency ends next month, many people will need to start paying for all or some of their testing costs. How much they will spend depends on their insurance coverage and what type of test. Read moreFree COVID testing will fade with US health emergency in May Seven months after a welder plummeted at least 70 feet to his death while working inside a ship's smokestack, a federal agency has again fined Detyens Shipyards the North Charleston business featured in a recent investigative report by The Post and Courier. Claudio Munoz Bustos, 63, died July 17 but the federal investigation has not yet been closed, according to a barebones inspection report released this month by the Occupational Safety and Heath Administration. Detyens, a private, 55-year-old ship repair business, negotiated an informal settlement with OSHA that reduces the fine initially set at $14,502 to $8,701. +18 Deaths at Detyens Shipyards mount amid concerns from Navy leader, federal investigators On-the-job fatalities at Detyens have mounted amid red flags from a Navy leader and federal investigators. Last year, The Post and Courier detailed workers' deaths on government vessels serviced and repaired at Detyens, located at 1670 Drydock Ave. In a span of three years, four men died after a federal investigation and a Navy commander raised alarms about safety at the shipyards. Detyens employs only a fraction of the nation's estimated 140,000 shipyard workers. The average annual death rate for that entire workforce is six. The newspaper's investigation revealed that while OSHA fined Detyens a total of $35,632 from 2019 to 2022 for safety violations, the company landed over $300 million in federal contracts. The OSHA investigation into the latest death was July 18, according to the OSHA report. A Detyens spokeswoman declined comment Feb. 22. A call to the OSHA communications unit seeking more information wasn't immediately returned. According to the short summary in the OSHA report, it was after 8 p.m. July 17 when Bustos prepared to weld inside a ship's smokestack. He was standing on a plywood blank set 6 inches below the stack's opening when the plywood gave way and he fell 70 to 100 feet down the inside of the smokestack. The Post and Courier reported Bustos' safety harness was not fastened. Worker dead after plummeting into smokestack at North Charleston shipyard Detyens Shipyards was cited by federal regulators for failing to use fall protection equipment after a man was killed in a fall from the deck of a ship docked at the facility. The deaths of four men in three years exceeded all deaths that took place in the previous 20 years at Detyens. In addition to Bustos, in April 2019, a welder was crushed when a wire rope broke; in June 2019, a worker fell off a ladder and landed several stories below; and in January 2020, a welder was hit in the face by a snapped shackle and he fell from a height of two decks, according to The Post and Courier report. +3 Shipyard deaths take toll on workers left to grapple with trauma, friends lost Derryck Barentine had just turned 20 and was working as a welder apprentice through a contractor at Detyens Shipyards, a ship repair yard in North Charleston. In the sprawling industrial complex, deaths due to falls, crushing and electrocution have left coworkers like him men and women scarred by the tragedies they witnessed and the friends they lost. Boeing Co. wants build a new parking space for the 787 jets it builds at its North Charleston assembly campus. The aerospace giant this month outlined plans in a regulatory filing for a 10th stall where Dreamliners can be parked after they've gone through the production process. The extra parking space would be on the southern side of the flight line that stretches along South Aviation Avenue. It would require a minor realignment to a road within Boeing's campus. The planemaker filed an application for a stormwater permit with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. That document notes that construction will take place on 9.1 acres and will not affect any wetlands. The regulatory agency is taking public comments on the project through Feb. 27 and it isn't clear when a permit might be issued. The project is still in the design stages, the company said. The additional space is needed as Boeing continues to clear finished Dreamliner jets that had been placed in inventory for 15 months after minor production flaws were discovered. The company is working with the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure those planes are ready for delivery to customers. Boeing, which consolidated all Dreamliner production to the Lowcountry plant in 2021, also plans to boost the number of wide-body jets it builds in North Charleston later this year. Rework on the inventoried 787s is taking up half of the assembly line space at the South Carolina campus, one of the factors limiting the company to building one or two new Dreamliners per month. A Boeing executive said during a Jan. 25 conference call with analysts that production should hit five per month by the end of the year. Boeing South Carolina is the home of the 787 program, and as the program and our business needs grow and change over time, we will plan for and make adjustments to our site accordingly," the company said in a written statement. Boeing grew its South Carolina workforce by 17.1 percent last year, to 6,465 workers, as it prepares for growth fueled by new orders from airlines trying to keep pace with an increase in international travel. The hiring brought local employment totals closer to pre-pandemic levels, with engineering and production staff added to further stabilize operations, increase output and invest in new products. In December, United Airlines said it will buy up to 200 Dreamliners in the largest deal for wide-body planes in U.S. aviation history. Earlier this month, Air India announced an order for 20 787-9s as part of a historic commercial plane deal for up to 540 jets split between Boeing and rival manufacturer Airbus. Retail follows rooftops, and competing supermarket chains are feeding into the business axiom with two new stores on the way in the Lowcountry. Read more2 new Charleston-area grocery stores to open in 2024 On Feb. 23, 1945, American Marines raised Old Glory during the Battle of Iwo Jima. The photo depicting the group has become one of the most iconic photos in U.S. history, as well as signifying one of the deadliest battles of the war. For weeks, American and Japanese troops fought for control of the strategically located island. The battle ultimately ended with a costly victory for the Americans. So this week, lets remember the Battle of Iwo Jima with this weeks trivia. MAULDIN A doughnut shop with a Simpsonville past has found a new home on the Golden Strip. George San and his family will soon reopen Big Apple Doughnuts and Cafe in Mauldin on West Butler Road in a former T-Mobile store. The breakfast cafe announced on social media in April of last year it would close its location on Fairview Road in Simpsonville but promised to relocate. San told The Post and Courier that the business decided to move because its Simpsonville spot was too small. Now, San expects to reopen at 219 W. Butler Rd. sometime in March. Cake- and yeast-based doughnuts are the heart of the menu many topped with cookies, candies or even bacon. San hopes to add mochi doughnuts in the future. Coffee, espresso, bubble tea, smoothies and other food items like breakfast sandwiches are also available. Big Apple Doughnuts and Cafe served lunch options in the past, but San anticipates he won't immediately reintroduce lunch until he can ensure the restaurant will have enough staff. San plans to hire 10 people. San started the cafe concept in Greenwood in 2016 under the name Crispy Yummy. Later, he changed the name to Big Apple Bakery and Restaurant. The name doesn't have anything to do with New York City. "Everybody loves our apple fritter," San said, leading the family to change the restaurant name. The Greenwood Index Journal reported in August 2020 that San and his wife, Selena, handed the Greenwood location off to his friend Justin Lim to continue operations in the county as the San family moved to the Greenville area to open another cafe. Before selling pastries, San worked for years in maintenance with the hope of owning a business. When he had enough money, he trained with family in Texas who run a doughnut shop. "That's a dream," San said. "And, it did come true." Follow Big Apple Doughnuts and Cafe on Facebook for more information about its forthcoming opening and expected daily hours. Summervilles record took a hit during spring break but the Green Wave may just be better off for it. Read moreGreen Wave faced good arms during HIT To celebrate World Autism Awareness Month, Mount Pleasant Towne Centre and local nonprofit Just Bee are teaming up for a special event for families with children on the spectrum. Read moreLights & Love returns to Towne Centre for Autism Awareness Month NORTH MYRTLE BEACH Commercial recreation businesses, such as wedding photographers or surf instructors, could be required to obtain a special permit to continue operating on public beaches if a measure by the City Council passes. North Myrtle Beach officials said the proposed amendment to the citys existing beaches and waterways ordinance would give it a way to manage activities conducted on the 9-mile shoreline, where they are located at any given time and if they have a business license. This came up due to some activities going on at the beach that we really didnt know anything about and was not what we thought would be presentable for our community so this is a way of us knowing who, when and what is going on in our community, Mayor Marilyn Hatley said at the Feb. 20 meeting where the proposal passed first reading. Under the proposal, commercial recreation businesses involving surfing, paddleboarding, yoga or other fitness-related activities would need to pay for a permit as well as professional photographers, filmmakers, wedding companies and special events held on the beach. Fitness-related companies, filmmakers and organizers of special events would also be required to obtain liability insurance with North Myrtle Beach listed as an additional insured party. While permits would be required starting this year if the proposal passes with one more vote, city officials said any permit fees would be waived for the first year. Also beginning on Jan. 1, 2024, no commercial recreation activities are allowed on public beaches on Memorial Day, July Fourth or Labor Day, according to the ordinance. There are cities right next to us that dont allow the activities, said Councilwoman Nikki Fontana, who mentioned Myrtle Beach, an adjacent city which does not allow similar beach activities. The beach is out there for everybody to enjoy. Were just trying to keep it peaceful and let people use it like its meant to be used. Local wedding official Eric Hunt, who has been performing ceremonies on public beaches for more than 15 years, told the City Council that while he could see where large weddings would need a special permit, more than often he performs simple vow renewal ceremonies. We are not opposed to regulation, we actually welcome that, Hunt said. It protects our greatest natural asset, which is our beautiful beach. Thats why we all want to live here. Thats why our 20-million plus visitors want to be here every year. A proposed 25-foot buffer between public beach accesses, walkovers, sand dunes or sand fences and commercial recreation activities, photographers, special events or weddings drew some concern from the audience, but city officials said there will be changes before the second reading and if the amendment is passed, it can be revisited at a later date. I think overall we came up with some really good solutions, Hatley said. Is it perfect? No, theres never an ordinance thats perfect, but we've got to start somewhere. And these ordinances can always be changed. The proposed measure comes at a time when the northern Grand Strand city is facing two ongoing federal lawsuits over its government policies. In July, Grove Beach Gear filed a 20-page federal lawsuit that claimed North Myrtle Beach officials unlawfully targeted the business through a previous ordinance amendment and additionally sought to place a monopoly on the rentals of beach chairs and umbrellas on the citys 9-mile shoreline. The American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina filed a separate federal lawsuit the same month against the city and two of its officials alleging an amendment to the citys existing noise ordinance that passed in 2021 targeting vulgar music is unconstitutional. Update as at 16h30 SAST Speaker of Parliament to Face First Motion of No Confidence National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is set to face her first motion of no confidence on March 7, 2023. The date was set today by the National Assembly's programme committee, after the Economic Freedom Fighters lodged a complaint against her, following the State of the Nation Address on February 9, 2023 at which the EFF were removed from the venue after storming the stage during President Cyril Ramaphosa's address. Miners Trapped at Sibanye Mine, Eskom Blames Theft and Vandalism Power utility Eskom has warned of the effect of theft and vandalism to its infrastructure after power lines at Sibanye-Stillwater mine collapsed, causing an outage that left mineworkers trapped underground, reports Mail & Guardian. In a statement, Eskom said it had dispatched a team of technicians to restore supply to the gold mine where workers were unable to resurface. It did not say for how long the miners were stuck underground. Sibanye spokesperson James Wellsted confirmed the interruption but said generators quickly kicked in, reports TimesLive. Mashangu Xivambu, Eskom's maintenance and operations senior manager in Gauteng, said Eskom had "recently reported that vandalism and theft have extended to include pylons whose tower members are often stolen by unscrupulous criminal elements, resulting in the steel structures collapsing". South Africans Warned That Tropical Cyclone Freddy May Hit Parts of the Country Parts of South Africa are likely to feel the impact of a tropical storm this weekend. Provinces recovering from widespread flooding have been warned to brace for more downpours,reports News24. Parts of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal are expected to be the worst affected by Cyclone Freddy. South Africa is still recovering from floods that have affected large parts of the country. The government recently announced a national state of disaster in response to the floods. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Lion On The Loose A lioness has escaped while being transported in North West province. Police spokesperson Captain Aafje Botma said the lioness escaped while in transit in a container on the back of a truck on the Beesdam road between Stella and Tlakgameng on Wednesday morning. The owner only realised that she escaped when he reached his destination in Tlakgameng. Nature reserve workers and farmers are on the lookout for the animal, reports News24. In January, a tiger named Sheba escaped from an enclosure at Walkers Fruit Farms and was found nearby. The tiger was killed when found, as it had killed a dog, and attacked a man who was walking about a kilometre away from the farm. More South African news LITTLE RIVER Horry County Council unanimously rejected a plan to build a new parking lot for a Little River doctors office at its Feb. 21 meeting, citing residents' concerns about noise, lighting, property values, and quality of life. The plan would have rezoned a 0.94-acre lot along Live Oak Drive in Little River from residential to commercial, paving the way for a second Little River Medical Center parking lot. Currently, visitors to the Medical Center park along the street near the facility when the parking lot is full. Clinic officials did not respond to a comment request Feb. 22. Councilwoman Jenna Dukes, who represents Little River and North Myrtle Beach, warned the project could set a dangerous precedent for companies to buy more land in residential areas to expand their services. I cannot support this at the cost of the residents of Little River and their quality of life, and I cannot support it and the precedent that it could set moving forward as we are continuing to plan for growth in this county, Dukes said. Councilman Al Allen, who represents Gallivants Ferry and Red Hill, also warned against it, saying once the property is rezoned, it could be used for other commercial purposes, such as a bank or warehouse. Residents have criticized the planned parking, contending it could increase noise, lighting and traffic, affect property values and change the areas environment and character. Their opposition was largely voiced during a public hearing earlier this month with the Horry County Planning Commission, which reviews county planning requests. The commission voted in favor of the rezoning request. Some people seem compelled to give special consideration to this doctors office because of the good works they do in the community, which they are paid very well to do, said John Natale, Evergreen Heights HOA president, in addressing the Planning Commission. It is OK to tell Little River Medical Center, and all those affiliated with them, no. Henry Saunders of St. Stephens Episcopal Church said his church purchased a property along Live Oak Drive 25 years ago. The property became the church's rectory for priest housing and social gatherings. The rezoning, Saunders said, would betray the churchs trust because officials bought the property specifically to be within a small residential community. Not only does this diminish the value of our property in financial terms, but also it disrupts the quiet, peaceful location of this rectory, which we all enjoy, Saunders said. David Schwerd, chief operating officer for developer Diamond Shores, told the Planning Commission that the project would not negatively impact the environment, citing an environmental site survey. Schwerd said the lot would be fenced off to divide it from neighboring residential lots, and the lights in the lot would only reach the height of the property fence. Schwerd did not respond to a comment request Feb. 22. The parking lot dispute represents a debate between developers and residents that has impacted Horry County for decades how to adjust to massive county population growth and approve development, while also protecting current residents welfare. Horry is the third-largest county in the state, and its population and housing stock have more than doubled over the past 30 years. By 2040, its year-round population is estimated to nearly double again and could reach more than 584,000 permanent residents, according to county records. Since 2000, more Horry County residents have moved away from the beaches, settling in areas like Burgess, Socastee, Forestbrook, Carolina Forest, Conway, Little River and the S.C. Highway 90 corridor. COLUMBIA The S.C. House of Representatives approved legislation that allows adults to legally tote a handgun with no training required while creating a felon-in-possession crime designed to enable officers to charge more people who shouldn't own a gun. The bill approved 90-30 on Feb. 22 mostly along party lines would allow anyone 18 and older who can legally buy a gun to carry it around, whether openly or concealed, without needing a permit. It does not change where guns are banned. Places where they remain illegal for almost everyone include schools, day cares, courtrooms, jails, hospitals, businesses that post "no weapons" signs, and city and county offices. The bill adds clerks of court and public defenders to the list of exempted people primarily, judges and prosecutors currently who can carry where others can't, but with one caveat. Public defenders still couldn't take their handgun into a jail or prison. Amendments approved during the debate encourage gun owners to get training without mandating it, and require them to report a stolen gun to local law enforcement within 30 days without setting a punishment. Republicans argued the effort is about restoring a "constitutional right" in the Second Amendment that shouldn't need government permission, while Democrats countered it's a dangerous bill that will lead to more murders and accidental deaths. Four Democrats voted for it. No Republican voted against it. One Democrat and two Republicans who were there didn't vote. 'Shame on y'all' Arguably the most impassioned plea came from Rep. J.A. Moore, whose sister was among the nine people massacred at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston in 2015. The North Charleston Democrat noted the white supremacist shooter was allowed to buy the gun even though he should've been barred due to a loophole that allows sales to proceed after three days regardless of whether the FBI background check is completed. Republicans have refused to close that loophole. "I'm not opposed to the Second Amendment. Most of the gun restrictions in this country and state were originally put in place to prohibit African-Americans from protecting themselves. I recognize that," Moore said. "But this bill makes it easier to have guns in our public spaces." Recognizing the bill has become a litmus test for conservatives in GOP primaries, Moore accused his colleagues of not having the courage to vote their conscience simply because "it's not politically expedient as a Republican to say 'no' to this foolishness." "My sister was murdered by a legal gun that that white supremacist terrorist should not have had. So shame on y'all for playing politics with people's lives. Shame on y'all. Seriously," he continued. "Yall will never understand what I go through every day. Never. And I hope you never have to." Regarding his sister Myra Thompson, he said, "My sister was murdered in cold blood in a church serving other people, and yall are playing politics. Shame on yall." Rep. Jermaine Johnson, D-Columbia, rattled off a list of gun deaths in the last year within the districts of legislators who co-sponsored the bill. "Individuals are dying," he said. "And youre about to vote for more people to die." Republican Rep. Alan Morgan of Greer, a co-sponsor, responded by citing statistics from the 25 states that have already passed so-called "constitutional carry" laws, arguing they haven't led to a rise in gun-related killings there. It's the lack of predicted "Wild, Wild West" scenarios here over the last two years that changed some minds, said Rep. Bobby Cox, R-Greer, the main sponsor. In 2021, Republicans pushed through a law allowing South Carolinians to openly carry their handguns, as long as they have a concealed weapon permit. "The majority of the state probably doesnt even know were an open-carry state yet," said Cox, an Army Ranger currently in the Reserve. "That goes against the Wild, Wild West argument we hear. "People were very worried about guns being seen everywhere, especially in the tourist areas," said the executive for Sig Sauer gun manufacturer. "I work in the area, and Ive only seen one person carry." Nearly 489,000 people had a South Carolina concealed weapon permit as of December, according to the State Law Enforcement Division, which oversees the permitting process that involves a training course, fingerprinting and a background check. It also requires the holder to be 21 years old. Making the permit unnecessary drops the legal carrying age to 18, which is when state law allows people to buy a gun. Rep. Beth Bernstein, D-Columbia, tried unsuccessfully to require 18- to 20-year-olds to get a permit to carry. Charging felons Law enforcement officers who remain adamantly opposed include the police chief in South Carolina's largest city. Charleston Police Chief Luther Reynolds said he can picture King Street, which attracts throngs of people to its shops, restaurants and bars, awash with guns. "We are prevented and precluded because they're entitled to carry a gun from even asking them if they're illegally carrying it," he said. But it was the section aligning state law to what's already illegal through federal law that kept other law enforcement officials neutral. Previous efforts for no-permit-needed bills failed partly because of SLED Chief Mark Keel and the state Sheriffs' Association's vocal opposition. Neither SLED nor the association has publicly taken a position this time. Cox said Republicans worked out an agreement with the major law enforcement groups to include a provision Keel has said is needed to combat rising crime. While federal law already bars felons from owning guns, the problem is that state and local law enforcement officers can't make arrests on federal charges. And they can't rely on federal agents to always be available to make the case for them, Keel has said in advocating for the alignment with state code. There's been a state law since 2010 outlawing gun possession by felons, but it applies only to people convicted of certain violent felonies. The bill would change that to say anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison, except in certain business crimes, would be barred from owning guns and ammunition. And it sets tiered penalties from up to five years in prison on first conviction to a 10-year minimum on third. The section oddly united Democrats and hard-line Freedom Caucus Republicans in trying to strip that out entirely, arguing it actually took away freedoms instead of expanding them. Cox, who's a member of the Freedom Caucus, said he agrees it's not a "pure constitutional carry bill" but argues it combats crime because it gives officers a tool to prosecute felons. "It recognizes there are felons out there with guns," he said. "If they use those in crimes, we can prosecute." Ema Schumer contributed from Charleston. Spartanburg County needs another family court judge, according to officers of the court. It could get one next year if state legislators can fund the position and elect a qualified candidate. Spartanburg County absolutely needs more judges, said Doug Brannon, an attorney and former legislator with 22 years of family court experience. Because if I file a family court action in Spartanburg County today, it will be eight weeks before I get a temporary hearing. If I file that same set of pleadings in Greenville County, it will be three or four weeks until I get a hearing. The reason is a mismatch between the number of family court cases in Spartanburg and the number of family court judges. Court records show that at the end of January, the 7th Circuit, which includes Spartanburg County, had 2,193 pending family court cases, while the 13th Circuit, home to Greenville County, had 4,112. But the 13th Circuit has nine active judges compared with just three in the 7th Circuit. On any given day, there are five family courts going actively in Greenville County and on a good week, there are three in Spartanburg. Brannon said. Greenville and Spartanburg counties each host most of the cases in their respective circuits. Spartanburg has two assigned judges and Cherokee County one in the 7th Circuit. In the 13th Circuit, Greenville has five assigned and three at-large judges. Pickens County has one assigned judge. They've got about twice as many cases, but they have almost three times as many judges, said Spartanburg County Clerk of Court Amy Cox. A spreadsheet provided by the Spartanburg County Clerk of Courts Office in early February showed 733 pending family court cases per judge in the 7th Circuit, one of the heaviest caseloads per judge in the state behind the 9th Circuit, made up of Charleston and Berkeley counties, and 16th Circuit overseeing York and Union counties. That calculation includes the at-large judges from Greenville and doesnt include child support cases, which would tip the scale even further against Spartanburg. If youre a mother whose husband has left the family for some reason, you need that husbands financial assistance as quickly as you can get it, said Brannon. And if you cant get into family court for eight weeks, thats eight weeks without financial assistance that you desperately need. State Sen. Scott Talley, R-Spartanburg, said he didnt think there was a difference in the time it takes to get a hearing in Greenville or Spartanburg but that the caseload in Spartanburg justified the need for another family court judge. He said the growing population and number of S.C. Department of Social Services cases in the county accounted for the family courts heavy workload. We need this one in particular for sure, said Talley, who sits on the Judicial Merit Selection Commission. I think when you look at the circuits in the family court across the state and the caseload per judge, the numbers warrant this seat being there. In Greenville, the 13th Circuit has more family court cases but also more judges to cover the load. It has 469 family court cases per judge when excluding child support cases, according to data from the Spartanburg County clerk of courts office. Chief Justice (Donald) Beatty, through his staff, does a great job of sending judges where they need to go, Cox said. But we still have an uneven distribution of judges across the state as compared to population and caseload. And I would like to get to a place where Spartanburg County, as part of the 7th Circuit, can be on equal footing with every other county in the state. Talley said that while Greenville has eight rooms for family court, Spartanburg has four double the number of courtrooms per assigned judge. Because the 7th Circuit has such a large caseload, visiting judges often come in to help. But they dont often bring their staff, Cox said, so their work in Spartanburg is handled by two secretaries who are paid for by court administration. Both of those secretaries do the work for all the judges, whether or not its their judge, Cox added. Very often, you'll see our secretaries for Judge (Angela) Moss and Judge (M. Todd) Thigpen running up and down the halls to go to multiple courtrooms to handle the workload that would normally have four secretaries running. So if we have four judges, and we only have two secretaries, then we have two judges per secretary. And that's not normally how you would have that in Greenville County. York County in the 16th Circuit is in the same situation as Spartanburg. "We desperately need another judge," said York County Chief Deputy Clerk of Court Angie Bryant. At the end of January, York County had 1,827 cases pending, and only one judge assigned to the county, according to court administration records. "We also have visiting judges that come in, just to keep our head above water," said Bryant. "Judge (David) Guyton, he has his one admin and sometimes she's working for up to three judges at a time. And with our clerk of court staff, we're just busting it every week to make these cases happen." If a case is filed right now by a plaintiff requesting a temporary hearing, it would take at least until May to appear in front of a judge, Bryant said. "Were excited about the fact that it is on the radar and hopefully funded," Bryant said. "Were going to work hard to make sure this is as beneficial to York County as possible." The Legislature created the additional family court judge seats last year, but it still needs to include those positions in the budget, which has to be passed by the end of June. The budget is working its way through the House right now, and if approved and funded there, it has to go through the same process in the Senate, Talley said. My hope is both bodies fund the positions this year. If the Spartanburg position is funded, the Judicial Merit Selection Commission will start qualifying candidates in the fall and hold an election in February, Talley said. The commission can qualify up to three candidates. To win the election, a candidate must get a majority of votes in the General Assembly. Brannon said it is important that the Spartanburg delegation agree on a qualified candidate. If youve got a judicial race in Spartanburg, the rest of the Legislature is going to look at what the Spartanburg delegation is doing, Brannon said. The other delegations, theyre not going to get their hands in a race if a delegation is in lockstep. However, if theres three candidates from Spartanburg and each of them has got 45 votes in the house, thats a battle royal. If a delegation splits up, said Brannon, that contest sometimes becomes unwinnable. HOSTAGE: A man identified as Philip Mehrtens, the New Zealand pilot who is said to be held hostage by a pro-independence group, stands among separatist fighters in Indonesia's Papua region, in this undated picture released on Feb. 14, 2023. West Papua National Liberation Army/Handout via Reuters The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, said Wednesday that the police are investigating some governors for allegedly inciting the public against the federal government over the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Mr Baba stated this while briefing journalists after the National Security Council meeting at the State House. He said the constitutional immunity enjoyed by governors will not stop the ongoing investigation, but added that the police may not be able to go ahead with prosecution. He noted that despite the immunity, the police will issue warnings to those governors for them to desist from incitement. Investigation, we are investigating. Whoever does anything can be investigated, but for him to be prosecuted, there are people who have immunity. I think that is one of the reasons. But that will not stop us from cautioning them, from warning them and from advising them and we are doing so. Thats for incitement by governors, Mr Baba said in response to a question asked by journalists. The naira policy of the CBN and the scarcity associated with it has pitched President Muhammadu Buhari against some governors in the country. The decision of the president to disregard the directive by the Supreme Court on the legal status of the old N1,000 and N500 has further exacerbated the open confrontation by some governors that have directed residents of their states to ignore the directive of the president on the CBN policy. Although Mr Baba did not name the governors being investigated, Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna, Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa and Dapo Abiodun told residents of their states to continue to spend the old notes in line with the directive of the Supreme Court. In some instances, some governors have threatened to revoke the certificate of occupancy of banks that refuse the old notes in compliance to the federal governments directive. Amidst the raging controversy on the issue, the scarcity of the naira has worsened and banks have become the target of attacks. In Ogun State, about 10 bank buildings have been burnt. The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned the case filed by the governors till 3 March. Why we deployed personnel to Lagos, Ogun Akali Speaking further, Mr Baba said there is a joint security operation on the streets of Lagos and Ogun State to ensure stability ahead of the Saturdays elections. He noted that security personnel are not targeted at any individual or political party. These are joint operations, aimed at stabilising the internal security order before the election. These are not operations that are targeted at the election, but it is targeted at stabilising the situation, especially the one that came up as a result of the currency swap or whatever we can call it, where people go on vandalizing, destroying and even committing arson and so on and so forth. So this is what is required to bring down the situation, stabilise it, but on the election day, you will not see them at the polling stations, he said. Mr Baba also reiterated that the police and armed forces are ready for the general elections, stating that they have assured the security council of readiness for the election. He noted that the navy, army and air force are ready to support the police and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure a peaceful election. Elections will go on as planned Malami The Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, in his speech, said the Chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, assured the security council that the commission is ready to conduct the elections. He stated that all security agencies and the armed forces briefed the council on their preparedness ahead of the election. National Security Adviser made a submission; Chief of Defense Staff made one; Chief of Army Staff made submission; Chief of Naval Staff made submission, Chief of Air Staff did; Inspector-General of Police, who incidentally is equally addressing you, made submission; Director-General, State Security Service did; and indeed DG NIA and CDI all made submissions. The summary and conclusion of all submissions was to the effect that the system is wholeheartedly ready for the conduct of the election and arising therefrom, the position of the government, the position of the president is to the effect that the election is holding of the 25th day of February, 2023. And Mr President and the National Security Council are happy with the preparations on the ground and wholehearted arrangements are put in place in that direction, he said. The raging crisis arising from the CBN policy and the attendant scarcity of the new bank notes have caused fears that the elections may be postponed. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print All 18 registered political parties in Nigeria signed a peace pact on the 2023 general elections in Abuja on Wednesday. The peace pact, the second in the last five months, was organised and coordinated by the National Accord for Peace under the chairmanship of a former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar. The pact entails that all political parties accept the outcome of the elections or to seek legitimate means of redress in the event of divergent positions. Mr Abubakar, a retired army General, stressed at the pact signing the need for all parties to stay committed to the second peace accord, as he observed that some of them flouted the first peace accord signed on 29 September, 2022. There was lack of compliance by the major political parties. Forty-four per cent of the violations were carried out by spokespersons of the political parties and 26 per cent by party members. Nineteen per cent of the violations were carried out by the presidential candidates themselves; 11 per cent by hard-core supporters and 4 per cent by party chairmen. Additionally, in January 2023, a lot of violence has occurred with at least 15 abductions (including that of a police officer) and at least, 30 killings (including those of 11 security personnel), he said. Mr Abubakar noted that campaign rallies were also not free of attacks. There were at least six attacks at political campaign rallies. In December 2022, INEC said it recorded 50 attacks on its offices between 2019 and 2022. According to data released by INEC, there were 11 attacks on its offices in Imo, seven attacks in Osun, five each in Enugu State and Akwa Ibom. In each of Ebonyi, Abia and Cross River, there were four attacks on INEC offices; two attacks each in Anambra and Taraba, and one attack each in Kaduna State, Borno, Bayelsa, Ondo State, Lagos State and Ogun. As a nation, we have got to put a stop to all of these. That is why on January 20, 2022, we convened a meeting of all presidential candidates and party chairmen. The meeting discussed existing and emerging issues regarding the ways campaigns were being conducted, and the need for parties to moderate their views, he said. The former head of state noted that Wednesdays peace pact became expedient as elections were only a few days away. Now that the elections are only a few hours away, we are here to witness the second signing of the National Peace Accord. It is to commit presidential candidates and their party chairmen to accept the outcome of the elections as long as it is adjudged to be free, fair, and credible. It is also to commit them to seek legitimate and peaceful means of addressing any concerns that may arise thereafter. In this regard, I want to encourage political parties to respect that only the INEC has the Constitutional authority to announce election results. I also encourage the parties to ensure that their supporters refrain from disseminating fake news, misinformation, disinformation and avoid statements that will incite violence after the results of the elections have been announced, Mr Abubakar said. In his message to the pact signing, former President Goodluck Jonathan stated that the peace accord strategy had consolidated efforts of statutory structures like INEC in conducting peaceful and credible elections. He was represented by Matthew Kukah, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto. He reiterated the importance of the signing of the second Peace Accord which committed all presidential candidates, chairmen and members of political parties to peaceful elections. In the build up to the 2015 general elections, myself and my successor, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, signed a similar accord, committing ourselves to free, fair, credible and peaceful elections. We also made it very clear in the second Peace Accord that we would abide by the outcome of the votes. I believe that is the way to strengthen our democracy, stave off looming violence and bring peace to our nation, Mr Jonathan stated in his message. He added that there was no better time to make the commitment than now, given the considerable level of tension and apprehension so far experienced, in the build-up to the 2023 elections. This is the time for the candidates and party leaders to demonstrate goodwill and impress it on their cadres and followers that election is not war. Our country needs a stable and reliable democracy to be able to adequately address its challenges and provide the desired leadership that meets the expectations of our teeming populace, Mr Jonathan also stated. Convener of the National Peace Committee, Mr Kukah, said the growing international interest in Nigerias elections is a source of great encouragement, a pointer to how much hope has been reposed in the country. We have five former African Heads of State here and the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Baroness Patricia Scotland, We thank Your Excellences and all members of the international observer missions. Our political actors need this pressure to compel them to raise the moral tempo of politics and to improve the quality of the lives of our people, Mr Kukah said. Present at the signing of the second Peace Accord was President Muhammadu Buhari, INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, and the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba. International election observers present included Baroness Scotland, and former President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya leading the African Union Observation Mission. Others were former President Thambo Mbeki of South Africa leading the Commonwealth Observer group, and former President Joyce Banda of Malawi among others. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print In 2015, two foreign firms attempted to manipulate Nigerias presidential election to help then-president Goodluck Jonathan win re-election. They failed. Eight years later, their plots to discredit the candidacy of now President Muhammadu Buhari in favour of Mr Jonathan, would be exposed by The Guardian of London. Mr Buhari was contesting under the All Progressives Congress (APC), while Mr Jonathan wanted re-election as Nigerias president under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The business of election manipulation In the early days of 2015, Team Jorge, a hacking and disinformation firm led by an Isreali cyber attacker, reached an agreement with a Britain political persuasion consultancy organisation, Cambridge Analytica. The two firms then began a secret mission to hack into Nigerias electioneering processes to ensure Mr Jonathan retained the presidential power. The brain behind Team Jorge, the Guardian revealed, is Tel Hanan, who boasted to have worked covertly on more than 33 presidential-level election campaigns on behalf of clients. Mr Hannans outfit and Cambridge Analytica would work separately but in parallel in Nigeria for the same client and purpose. The secretive collaboration of the two firms was described by investigators as a clandestine mission to manipulate Africas largest democracy. Hacking Nigerias electioneering system The firms swung into action by hacking into Nigerias electioneering system, targeting the APCs strategic moves. A series of emails exchanged between Team Jorge obtained by investigators revealed how the election manipulators worked tirelessly to amass electoral fortunes for Mr Jonathan. The Guardian described their clandestine moves as the dark arts of politics. They first found their way to film some secret meetings of Mr Buharis presidential campaign team, using a mole, to gain access to rare information they could use in favour of Mr Jonathans ruling party. The election machinery firms claimed they knew about the postponement of the 2015 elections by one week beforehand and admitted that worked in their favour. Not knowing they were being filmed, the election hackers told Guardians undercover reporters posing as potential clients, in slideshows, how they provided election-influencing services in Nigeria. One such undercover footage, for instance, showed Mr Hanan, the Team Jorge leader, demonstrating how they hacked Gmail and Telegram accounts to gain intelligence that could be used against a political adversary. In another slideshow titled, Wreaking havoc during African election day, Mr Hannan displayed how, on election day, the covert team unleashed cyber attacks on leaders in Mr Buharis APC to set them off balance. Lai Muhammad, then APCs spokesman, was one such target. On election day, his phone suddenly stopped working; he could neither receive nor place a call to anyone. We were at the partys situation room in the morning of the presidential election, only to discover that his phone line had been blocked, the Guardian quoted a source. He could neither receive nor make calls, and that was very serious because he was the live wire of the opposition. The intruding election manipulators were also reported to have produced a series of YouTube video content, research works and stories to support Jonathans campaign. Despite the foreign firms cyber intervention, however, Mr Buhari defeated Mr Jonathan to become Nigerias president. Their secret mission to manipulate Nigerias democracy failed. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Over 100 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members trained as Electoral Officers and Assistant Presiding Officers in three Local Government Areas of Imo State have withdrawn their participation in Saturdays general elections. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Imo, Sylvia Agu disclosed this on Thursday in Owerri while speaking on the preparedness of the commission for Saturdays election. According to her, the corps members cited insecurity as their reason for withdrawal. The REC said: This morning, I received information that all the corps members we trained to work in Okigwe, Orlu and Orsu local government areas have been withdrawn. They say they cannot go to volatile areas that these areas are terrorist areas. I have called the NYSC to appeal to them but I was told that the scheme has even withdrawn all corps members serving in the three local government areas so as not to risk their lives, Agu added. The REC explained that the corps members withdrew their participation following the commissions decision to revert to polling units as against the use of stadia in the volatile areas. She said the commission had earlier faced security challenges in Okigwe, Orlu, Njaba, Orsu, Iheme/Mbano, Oru West and Oru East local government areas during the collection of the Permanent Voters Cards. Because of the problems, we had quite a low turn-out of Permanent Voter Cards collection in Okigwe axis and so, stakeholders in the area resolved to collapse five registration areas to Okigwe stadium. It worked well and was so impressive. They held another meeting and suggested that they come there to vote, but I asked them to put it in writing. I reported same to our headquarters. When Orlu heard what Okigwe did, they came to me but I told them to get back to their people and were equally asked to write officially which they did. They say they are collapsing six registration areas to the stadium in the area, she noted. Mrs Agu said leaders in Orsu also pleaded to collapse their registration areas and further suggested Internally Displaced Persons Camp, following the insecurity problem in the area. The REC said she received similar complaints of inadequate manpower from the police, who suggested that polling units should be streamlined to a particular area to ensure better security management. READ ALSO: Police declare NYSC member wanted for alleged criminal activities The REC said the commission had forged ahead with the plan until representatives of the various political parties at a meeting held on Wednesday to finalise the arrangement, kicked against it. They said it was unconstitutional. They even accused me of being in the payroll of the state governor to sabotage the election and that the said letters were fictitious, she added. Way forward Mrs Agu, who noted that the commission had reverted to the polling units, said it was considering the use of students for the election. She said freshers training would be organised for the students who volunteer to work in the affected areas as Presiding Officers and Assistant Presiding Officers, particularly for Okigwe and Orsu. The NYSC spokesperson in the state, Ugochukwu Orunta declined comments on the matter when NAN contacted him. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print South African Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana delivering the Budget Speech to the National Assembly plenary held at the Cape Town City Hall, February 22, 2023. "Difficult operating environment for the sugar industry" cited by Finance Minister as reason Health activists demonstrating in Cape Town for a rise in the tax on sugary drinks were disappointed by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's announcement in his Budget speech that the tax would be frozen for two years. Godongwana said this was "due to the difficult operating environment for the sugar industry from the impact of flooding and social unrest." The tax on sugary drinks was first introduced in 2018 to reduce consumption. The tax is imposed on drinks with more than 4g of sugar per 100ml. Research from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2021 showed that it has been effective in reducing the consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks. HEALA, a coalition of organisations focused on nutrition, organised a flash mob in the Cape Town city centre ahead of the Finance Minister's Budget Speech on Wednesday, advocating for an increase in the sugary drinks tax. They want the tax to be increased from 11% to 20%, following the guidance of the World Health Organisation. The flash mob was part of HEALA's "Less Sugar, More Life" campaign, and featured school pupils from Cape Town in a dance. "We don't even notice how much sugar we are drinking in sugary drinks and it's harmful to our health. I want other young people to know that it's dangerous," said one of the dancers, Enkosi Stofile. "The announcement by the Finance Minister, coupled with ineffective increases on other health taxes such as alcohol and tobacco, is a direct attack on the lives of millions of people at risk of serious health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer," said Nzama Mbalati, HEALA's Programmes Manager. Mbalati said there was no rationale for the decision to maintain the rate of tax on sugary drinks. "This decision is not in the interest of ordinary people. Instead, it puts profits ahead of people." Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Health Food and Agriculture By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. About 10,000 new cases of diabetes are reported in South Africa each month, according to the International Diabetes Federation. Up to 70% of women and 39% of men are obese or overweight. Sugar is a cause of obesity and tooth decay, and is linked to a range of other non-communicable diseases. The national budget for 2023, tabled by Godongwana in parliament today, includes a R200-million reduction in health spending this year. Before the budget speech, News24 reported that the South African Sugar Association said 6,000 jobs could be lost if the tax was increased. SASA also said 9,000 jobs had already been lost since the levy was introduced. However, in the aftermath of a fraud scandal at Tongaat Hulett, South Africa's largest sugar producer, in 2018, 5,000 workers were served with retrenchment letters. Disclosure: Community Media Trust does work for HEALA. GroundUp was once a project of Community Media Trust and still has a close relationship with Community Media Trust. The Nigeria Police Force has announced total restriction of all vehicular movements during the 25 February elections from 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, on Wednesday in Abuja said the restriction would be observed nationwide. He however said the restriction order exempts those on essential services such as INEC officials, election observers, ambulances and firefighters responding to medical emergencies. Mr Adejobi said the order was part of measures emplaced to ensure a safe, secure and conducive environment for the conduct of the elections. He said the restrictions would help to ensure proper public order management, safety of electorates and effective policing. Mr Adejobi added that it was also targeted at preventing hoodlums and criminal minded elements from disrupting the electoral process. He said the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, had also barred security aides and escorts from accompanying their principals to polling booths and collation centres during the election. According to him, anyone found flouting the directive will be severely sanctioned. Only security personnel specifically assigned to election duties are to be seen within and around the designated election booths and centres. Also, the ban on the unauthorised use of sirens, revolving lights, covered number plates and tinted glasses is still in force and violators would be sanctioned appropriately. All state established and owned security outfits, organisations, quasi-security units and privately-owned guards and security outfits are also barred from participating in election security management, he said. The IGP regretted the inconveniences the movement restriction would cause well meaning Nigerians. He urged active electorate to be law abiding and turn out enmasse to exercise their franchise. Mr Baba however, warned that the Force would deal decisively with anyone that would want to test its common resolve and might to ensure a peaceful election. He enjoined citizens to shun vote buying, vote selling, hate speech, misinformation and disinformation, snatching of ballot boxes and other criminal acts. Mr Baba said the police and other security agencies would ensure that all violators of extant laws, including the Electoral Act, were brought to book. He urged the public to contact the police and the Joint Election Monitoring and Operations Room domiciled at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, via the NPF Rescue Me App, available on Android and iOS. The IGP added that the public could dial the NPF Rescue Me Emergency Toll-free line 08031230631 to report suspicious persons, activities or request security response. He said other joint operations and election situation rooms numbers would be released by all police commands nationwide. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print United States President Joe Biden has commended the peace accord signed by 18 political parties on Wednesday. I commend yesterdays peace accord in Nigeria, signed by the political parties and candidates running in Nigerias presidential election on February 25, he said in a Thursday press statement from the White House. He said by signing the accord, the parties and candidates have committed to accept the results of the election, as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission, and to support a peaceful transition of power. Elections are a fundamental part of a functioning democracy, and all Nigerians deserve this chance to choose their future freely and fairly, Mr Biden said. READ ALSO: He reiterated that the US does not support any single candidate or party, rather it supports a peaceful and transparent process that reflects the will of the people of Nigeria. The president encouraged all Nigerians no matter their religion, region, or ethnicity to exercise this fundamental freedom and make their voices heard including young voters, many of whom may be heading to the ballot box for the first time. I encourage voters to remain peaceful and patient as their ballots are tallied, and urge the political parties and candidates to live up to their pledge, he admonished. Nigerias presidential election will be held this Saturday, 25 February, with 18 candidates jostling for Nigerias presidency at the poll. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday began the distribution of sensitive electoral materials to the 33 local government areas in Oyo State in preparation for the presidential and National Assembly elections. The distribution of the materials was done at the premises of the Central Bank of Nigeria in Ibadan under tight security. The materials were moved from the premises of the CBN around 2 a.m. in the presence of police officers, personnel of the State Security Service and other security agencies. The process was also monitored by representatives of the political parties, civil society organisations and journalists. The Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in the State, Rahman Tella, said the materials that were distributed were ballot paper, EC8 series and result sheets. Mr Tella added that Registration Area Centres (RAC), would be activated in the state on Friday. The REC said INEC is ready for the election, assuring that the election will be free, fair and credible in the state. INEC in Osun State had earlier on Wednesday also distributed sensitive electoral materials to local government areas in the state amidst heavy security presence. In Osun, the distribution was monitored by representatives of political parties, journalists and observers. Some of the materials distributed were ballot papers, and result sheets for the Presidential, Senatorial, and House of Representatives elections, among others. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has again condemned the implementation of the naira redesign policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), saying it was targeted at de-marketing the All Progressives Congress (APC). Mr Akeredolu also said the intention behind the policy was to abuse the principle of rotational presidency by denying a section of the country the right to ascend to the presidency. He, however, charged the people of Ondo State to rise and express the frustrations at the filling stations and the ATMs by voting for the APC. The governor said the ill-timed cash swap policy and the artificial scarcity of fuel were both lethal injections deliberately administered to de-market the All Progressives Congress (APC) government, create an uncontrollable crisis in the nation and finally frustrate the 2023 general elections. Mr Akeredolu spoke in a state broadcast aired by electronic media outlets in the State on Thursday morning. Mr Akeredolu said the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, is at the centre of all the darts and arrows of the current misnomer in Nigeria. The governor, who said Mr Tinubu represents the new Nigeria the people envisaged, said the central purpose of the controversial policy and artificial fuel scarcity was to frustrate the popularity and acceptability of the APC presidential candidate across tribes and religions in this country. The goal is to truncate the election and deny the country the service of a true patriot, an endowed visionary with a proven record of character, knowledge, leadership and performance, he said. It is also an attempt to abuse the principle of rotational presidency by denying a section of this country its legitimate right thereby fuelling ethnic disaffection and creating a grave constitutional crisis in the country. He said first-hand experience and credible reports he had received indicated the painful and humiliating daily experiences of the people at commercial banks and ATM centres, as well as the queues at filling stations across the state and the country. He lamented that the experience of the people in rural areas was better imagined with the magnitude of the unpalatable experience at the cities. Recall that in the course of these circumstances, I have offered clear and unequivocal statements as our stand on this dangerous and unfortunate adventure, he said. For us as a government, our stand then and even today remains the same. We are convinced that both the ill-timed Cash Swap Policy and the artificial scarcity of fuel are both lethal injections deliberately administered to de-market government, create an uncontrollable crisis in the nation, brew disaffection between the people and government and finally frustrate the 2023 general elections. To say the least, it is a dagger drawn at the heart of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on the eve of the elections in order to destroy it and the governments it controls at the federal and state levels. As the nation trudges on, our resolve to deepen democracy and good governance must remain unflinching and abiding. Despite the desperate efforts by selfish and subversive elements within government, to destroy the multiparty politics in Nigeria, the dividends of good governance brought to the people by the All Progressives Congress (APC) remain indelible in the recent history of our state in particular and the nation in general. You have witnessed the serious impacts of our administration in Ondo State in the last six years through our life changing policies, massive projects and unending activities. You have also seen our dedication both as APC political party and government, to our vision, mission and promises of life abundant for the good people of Ondo State. You have witnessed our abiding faith and confidence in the inner strength and potentials of our people. You are witnesses to the full deployment of all our God given talents, knowledge and capabilities, in service of Ondo state, to the best of our ability. The same can be said of the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He is at the centre of all the darts and arrows of the current misnomer in Nigeria because he represents the new Nigeria we all envisage. The central purpose is to frustrate his popularity and renowned acceptability across all tribes and religions in this country. The goal is to truncate the election and deny the country the service of a true patriot, an endowed visionary with a proven record of character, knowledge, leadership and performance. It is also an attempt to abuse the principle of rotational presidency by denying a section of this country its legitimate right thereby fuelling ethnic disaffection and creating a grave constitutional crisis in the country. As your Governor, my duty to you at this time of great confusion and frustration, is therefore to provide you with a clear vision of the path of redemption and hope. It is to charge you all to shake off the artificial frustration and the temporary barriers on your way to choose a President who represents hope and assured brighter days ahead. My message to you is that despite all the well-planned intrigues to deny you of your democratic rights and the future and prosperity of your offspring, which Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu represents, I urge you to troop out massively and vote for the APC on Saturday. This is the time to separate the past from the future. For us in Ondo State, this is our time to vote a President who identifies with our challenges and who would help us to actualize our on-going plan for the establishment of Ondo Deep Sea Port and Massive Industrial Revolution, tackle youth unemployment, achieve our dream of State Police to solve our insecurity problem and ensure human capacity development. It is time to set a new flag and make Nigeria great. The Governor also urged the people to eschew provocation and violence before, during and after the election. But the Peoples Democratic Party in the state has lashed at the governor, saying his address attested to the fact that his party has failed Nigerians. The governor laid the blames of the present sufferings and agonies of the people, squarely on the feet of his party, All Progressives Congress, (APC), PDP spokesman, Kennedy Peretei, said in a statement on Thursday. How he turned around almost immediately, to plead for the same party that drew a dagger on the heart of the people is the biggest surprise. Mr. Akeredolu, a Governor elected on the platform of APC, vilified President Muhammadu Buhari for policies designed to precipitate national crisis, and the failure of their party, and by implication the failure of their presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Akeredolu joins the league of APC Governors and Ministers that have openly declared that the Buhari APC government has achieved nothing in 8 years. The empty broadcast, full of lamentations, failed in his attempt to dissociate APC candidates from the present gloom into which APC has sunk Nigeria. From the confessions of APC key players, it is clear that a vote for any APC candidate in the forthcoming elections is a continuation of the present situation. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Ondo State Chapter wishes to urge our people to disregard the address as it did not provide the slightest of succour like some other states are doing, but merely added salt to injury. The affliction called APC shall not rise again in our land. The final burial rites will be performed in the next two days. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print If elections are won and lost on the excitement and animated anticipations of supporters, no candidate would ose. But we do not get to know the outcome until the election has come and gone, a winner has emerged and the losers have melted into the air like the morning dew to count their losses. To many supporters, it does not matter whether their candidates are running against the tide with insurmountable hurdles on their way, they always see victory before Election Day. Sometimes, their optimism is even higher than that of the contestants themselves a case of those at the ringside being more confident and optimistic than the gladiators in the coliseum! The foregoing describes the jubilant expectation and expansive anticipation of the supporters of the candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, in the 25 February presidential election. The expectation is pervasive and boisterous, especially among the core of Mr Obis supporters in the self-styled Obidient Movement, an amorphous movement of mostly young, energetic, boisterous and upwardly mobile Nigerians who believe it is time to do away with the ancient regime of the Nigerian political class. Strangely though, Mr Obi was until recently a senior member of the old order that the Obidient movement wants to sweep away in one fell swoop. However, if not for the massive support of the Obidient movement that has made his candidature gain traction in the last few months, Mr Obis campaign would have lost energy and momentum and he would possibly have been written off in the race. But that is not the case. He is firmly in the race. One principal campaign strategy of the movement is weaponising the anger of Nigerians over the comatose economy, unemployment, insecurity, corruption and divisiveness as tools of mass destruction against the APC and its federal government led by President Muhammadu Buhari. The major opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was Mr Obis immediate past abode, is also not spared of their ballistic missiles as the Obidient foot soldiers consider the party on whose ticket their hero ran for vice president in 2019 a Siamese twin of the APC. The expectation of the Obidient Movement, however, is not unique. It is normal. The supporters of Bola Tinubu of the APC, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP, and the other candidates are also nursing their own expectations of victory. Omoyele Sowore of the AAC, the only self-styled revolutionary in the election, has said he is not to be written off. He is in the race to take back the country. *Expectation buoyed by opinion polls* It has to be stated that the optimism of Mr Obis supporters is also buoyed by the prediction of some polls conducted on voters preferences in the election. Some of the polls, such as those conducted by ANAP Foundation and Bloomberg, a subsidiary of the Bloomberg News, put the former Anambra helmsman in the lead. Another poll conducted for ANAP Foundation in the last quarter of 2022 by NOI Polls had similarly predicted victory for the man with an effeminate voice. So also did the one by Nextier, though all the polls have a caveat: They projected that the election will most likely end in a run-off since they see no candidate winning on the first ballot. To win on the first ballot, a candidate needs to poll the highest number of votes and 25 per cent of the votes in two-thirds of the countrys 36 states, including the FCT. The polls have amplified the optimism of the Obi camp but critics have dismissed them as not credible and falling short of international standards in terms of the methodology and sample sizes of the data they relied upon to produce their results. Obis presidency will be an unusual scenario Should the projections come true at the election on Saturday, Mr Obis presidency will throw up another scenario not witnessed in this Fourth Republic, since 1999. Nigeria will have a president whose party is not in control of the National Assembly. This is because the Labour Party has not got enough grassroots penetration to win the majority of seats in the next National Assembly come Saturday unlike the PDP and APC. More importantly, the major promoters of the Obi presidency the Obidient movement- hardly give a hoot about the National Assembly. One immediate interpretation of their indifference in this regard is that once they cast their ballot for Mr Obi, they will bother less with the rest candidates contesting in the National Assembly elections. Instead, the APC and PDP best stand to remain dominant, leaving the fringe parties to produce minimal representation. According to INECs final list of candidates for the National Assembly elections, LP has 80 candidates for the 109 statutory seats in the Senate while it has 208 for the statutory 360 in the House of Representatives. Therefore, even if half of LPs candidates win their federal legislative elections, which is very unlikely, the party could still be a minority in parliament. To have a simple majority in the Senate, a party must have at least 55 seats. And for the House of Representatives, the majority party will have at least 181 seats. Except a never- before-seen political miracle happens, there is no way the Labour Party will produce up to 50 senators or even 100 representatives in the Saturday polls. The party of every elected Nigerian president, except Shehu Shagari in 1979, has had a majority in the National Assembly: from Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru YarAdua, Goodluck Jonathan to President Muhammadu Buhari. When that privilege eluded President Shagari in 1979, his National Party of Nigeria entered into an accord to share power with the Nigerian Peoples Party. Had the 12 June 1993 election not been annulled by Ibrahim Babangida, the late Moshood Abiolas Social Democratic Party (SDP) would also have enjoyed firm control of the National Assembly. Mr Obis Labour Party has no chance of enjoying that privilege. While the Nigerian constitution does not say the presidents party must be the majority in the National Assembly, it is practically the convention here and abroad that it will control at least one of the chambers. This is to facilitate a smooth, working relationship between the legislative and executive arms of the government. It is feared that a hostile parliament will pose a critical impediment to the presidents policies and programmes that need legislative approvals. They may be stalled in the chambers mostly for petty reasons as rival politicians and political parties are wont to do. To avoid a potential landmine that hostile parliaments are wired to lay, political parties and their candidates often campaign vigorously to win control in the National Assembly. In all his campaign stops so far, Mr Obi hardly canvasses for the candidates of the Labour Party for the National Assembly elections with the same energy he has been campaigning for himself. It is all about him being elected the president. Yet, he cannot fix the country, in a democratic environment, without the cooperation of the National Assembly. The recent midterm congressional elections in the United States underscore the preceding point. President Joe Biden campaigned vigorously for the candidates of the Democratic Party as much as the Republicans did, including former President Donald Trump. In the end, the Republicans retook control of Congress while the Democrats retained the Senate. Whatever hostility Mr Biden may suffer from the Republicans takeover of Congress, he will get a buffer in the Senate. Some commentators have suggested that Mr Obi may solve the problem by defecting to the party with the majority in the National Assembly if he wins the election. A clever move one may say but such a move will further accentuate the position of Seun Kuti, the Afrobeat musician, who described Mr Obi as a political opportunist. In any case, Mr Obi has not maintained fidelity to one political party since he debuted his political career in 2003. He started with APGA, a party he vowed never to abandon, but left the party shortly after his tenure as governor in 2014 and moved into the PDP. He is now the new face of the Labour Party. In fact, some critics have been pondering what will happen to the Labour Party and the Obidient movement if he does not win the election. Will he undertake to build it into a formidable national third force or pack his baggage and disappear into the shadows? Well, no one can foretell his next moves for now, if he does not win on Saturday. The question then remains: Can Nigeria with its present myriad of woes that need urgent fixing survive a possible turbulent relationship occasioned by party differences between the president and the National Assembly? The answer is in the air! Possible implications of opposition-controlled NASS to President Obi Interestingly, Mr Obi is not a stranger to that scenario. As governor of Anambra State on the platform of APGA, his state House of Assembly was dominated by the PDP. The relationship was a cat and rat one, with Mr Obi being impeached controversially on 2 November 2006, seven months after he was sworn into office. The Supreme Court later quashed the impeachment and restored him to office in February 2007. The hostility of his lawmakers also hampered his administration in many ways. Although he was able to survive the landmines and missiles thrown his way by the truculent state lawmakers, essentially through judicial intervention, Anambra is a small canvas compared to Nigeria. The country, for all intents and purposes, may not so easily withstand such impediments to governance at the national level. To get what they want, federal lawmakers too may dangle the sword of Damocles: threaten the impeachment of the president. And as it is, it does not look as if Mr Obi has the necessary political charisma and dexterity to disarm petulant lawmakers without firing his own bullets. The country may find itself in a cul-de-sac if that happens. Even as politically foxy as former President Obasanjo was, and despite his PDP being in firm control of the National Assembly, the House of Representatives with Ghali Naaba as Speaker peppered him and even attempted to impeach him until behind-the-scene interventions removed the threat. Presidents often have to lobby for legislative support for their policies and programmes even when they belong to the same parties with the majority in the National Assembly. But that requires special political skills and connections, more so when the parliament is in opposition control. Nigerians did not see much of Mr Obis lobbying capacity when he was Anambra State governor. He only relied on the courts to serve his two terms. But no one can say for sure these days how a court judgement will go, no matter how clear-cut the issues appear. It remains to be seen, therefore, if a President Obi has the skill and temperament to have a working relationship with a parliament under opposition control. Some political observers and commentators believe he does not have such political know-how to manoeuvre opposition lawmakers to do his bidding. That the country is in dire straits and needs urgent redirecting to avoid a further slip into the abyss is not debatable. The country also needs some sort of political stability for the next administration to get things done. The next president will need the buy-in of the relevant institutions to walk his talk. As he has obviously not planned to get his party the majority in the National Assembly, an Obi presidency will have the tricky assignment of forging durable cooperation with the next assembly of federal lawmakers, even though he has said his agenda is to destroy the political structures that they and their parties represent. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The major presidential candidates and parties taking part in Saturdays presidential election in Nigeria have violated the Peace Agreement they signed, an official has said. The Chairman of the National Peace Committee, Abdulsalami Abubakar, disclosed this Wednesday at the signing of another Peace Accord by presidential candidates in Abuja. Mr Abubakar, a former military head of state, expressed concern about the lack of compliance by major political parties to the National Peace Accord signed in September 2022. 44 per cent of the violations were carried out by the spokespersons of the political parties; 26 per cent by party members; 19 per cent by the presidential candidates themselves; 11 per cent by the hardcore supporters and 4 per cent by the chairmen of the parties, the retired general was quoted as saying by presidential spokesperson Femi Adesina. Although a total of 18 candidates are taking part in the presidential election, four are considered the major contenders. They are Bola Tinubu of the APC, Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP. The peace accord, led by the peace committee, is supported by the Nigerian government and its international partners including the European Union and the United Nations. It contains clauses that commit candidates and political parties to engage their supporters and ensure a violence-free electioneering process that is also devoid of other vices such as hate speech. Mr Abubakar did not, however, elaborate on the specifc candidates and parties that violated the agreement. At Wednesdays event, President Buhari admonished all candidates to accept the result of the elections or channel their grievances through the appropriate judicial processes. Any aggrieved candidate should resort to the established judicial processes, and we must have the confidence to trust our legal systems, Mr Buhari said. Read the full statement by Mr Adesina below. STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday urged candidates contesting elections at all levels to respect the choice of voters and accept the result of the elections as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The president, who witnessed the signing of the Second Peace Accord for the 2023 presidential elections at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, reminded the political class and their supporters that INEC is the agency empowered by law to announce the results. Any aggrieved candidate should resort to the established judicial processes, and we must have the confidence to trust our legal systems. I once again ask the candidates to abide by the spirit and letter of the Accord they have signed today. Let me remind all Nigerians not for the first time that this is the only country we have, and we must do everything to keep it safe, united and peaceful. There should be no riots or acts of violence after the announcement of the election results. All grievances, personal or institutional, should be channelled to the relevant courts, he said. The president acknowledged that deep concerns have been raised about the conduct of the 2023 general elections and the outcomes they may throw up. He, however, assured Nigerians that his administration will continue to do the utmost to deliver a free and fair election. Since my assumption of office, we have worked so hard to ensure that we pass on a legacy of free, fair, credible, safe, and peaceful elections. We will continue to act with neutrality and allow the rule of law to take precedence over political expediency. We have demonstrated that with the off-circle elections in Edo, Ondo, Anambra, Ekiti and Osun States. We allowed Nigerians to decide who should govern them. We are committed to that legacy in this administration. President Buhari, therefore, assured INEC, security agencies and all relevant institutions saddled with the responsibility of conducting the elections, of his administrations continuous support. He asked them to be firm and courageous, abiding by the laws and constitutional provisions in conducting the elections. We must constantly improve our electoral process using technology and all the positive elements it brings to consolidate the integrity of the elections. President Buhari thanked the Chairman and members of the National Peace Committee, led by Abdulsalami Abubakar, for their commitment and sacrifices to support peaceful elections in Nigeria. He recalled that in September 2022, the chairman had respectfully asked him to deliver a goodwill message in support of issue-based and peaceful campaigns and political rallies devoid of insults and personal attacks. I readily agreed because this is my personal belief and conviction; that we need to dwell more on issues that are fundamental to Nigerians. Despite having no financial support from the government, the Peace Committee has remained steadfast, working with relevant agencies to provide moral compass and serve as an independent agency for alternative dispute resolution on the electoral process. I commend the Committees commitment and loyalty not only to the electoral process but to peace generally in Nigeria, President Buhari said, adding that the committee has made a name for itself, at home and abroad, he said. The president pledged that the federal government would give the Peace Committee all the necessary support needed to make their work more impactful and successful. He called on all other agencies and the International Development Partners to give them all the support in facilitating peaceful elections in the country. Mr Abubakar expressed concern about the lack of compliance by major political parties to the National Peace Accord signed in September 2022. 44 per cent of the violations were carried out by the spokespersons of the political parties; 26 per cent by party members; 19 per cent by the presidential candidates themselves; 11 per cent by the hardcore supporters and 4 per cent by the chairmen of the parties, he said. The Chairman of the Peace Committee stated that the since the start of official campaigning on 28 September 2022, there have been 60 attacks recorded on political rallies, resulting in nine fatalities, with the highest numbers in the south-west and south-east and lowest in the northeast and north-central, according to data collated by the National Election Violence Tracker. He, therefore, called on all political actors, key stakeholders and Nigerians to support a peaceful transition, promote the ideals of peace and a violent free post-election period. I urge all politicians who will sign the accord to fully commit themselves to the letter and spirit of the Accord, he said. INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu assured the nation that the presidential election will hold on Saturday, 25 February, saying INEC is ready. According to him, INEC has already commenced the movement of sensitive materials to the various local government areas (LGAs) nationwide. By Friday we will activate the registration area centres so that at first light on Saturday, polling units will open on time. The commission is committed to free, fair, and credible elections in compliance with the electoral framework and the spirit of the peace accord. All political parties and candidates are hereby reassured of the commissions neutrality. INEC is not a political party. We have no candidate in the election. Our allegiance is to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and our loyalty is to Nigerians. Therefore, Nigerians should feel confident that their votes will count, he said. Femi Adesina Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, has said the federal government prevented over three million barrels of crude oil from being stolen between August 2018 and January 2023. Mr Monguno said the crime was perpetrated within Nigerias Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up to the Republic of Togo. He said this at the Stakeholders Conference on Oil Theft and Losses in Nigeria, convened by the Special Investigative Panel on Oil Theft/Losses in Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja. Mr Monguno, a retired major general, said security agencies have embarked on a series of intelligence-driven maritime security and are using the Falcon Eye System a high-tech real-time intelligence Maritime Domain Awareness facility that is coordinated with the NSA. According to him, the facilities and initiatives have facilitated the prosecution of over 200 vessels involved in maritime criminality and the recovery of about 11 million litres of petrol and diesel within five years. I have also directed that the Falcon Eye System a high tech real-time intelligence Maritime Domain Awareness facility domiciled with the Nigerian Navy and coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser be fully committed to addressing this emerging concern. The facility has between August 2018 and January 2023 facilitated the prosecution of over 200 vessels involved in maritime criminality within Nigerias Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up to the Republic of Togo. In addition, 83 oil tankers involved in various crude oil and product theft have been arrested, while the theft of over 3 million barrels of crude oil was prevented and 11 million litres of petrol and diesel were recovered. Crude oil theft the biggest threat to Nigerias economy Mr Monguno said the attacks on oil-producing facilities have led to several shutdowns in some International Oil Companies in the country. This, according to him, has resulted in the loss of revenue and by implication negated the capacity of the government to generate the required resources to fulfil its statutory responsibilities to the citizenry. Currently, crude oil theft is arguably the biggest threat to Nigerias economy. Its socioeconomic impact includes environmental degradation, health hazards and disruption in economic activities of the host communities amongst other concerns. Nigeria struggling to do 60 per cent of 2 million barrels of oil per day The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said the country has been unable to produce even 60 per cent of the two million barrels of oil per day it produced 30 years ago. This, he said, was a result of the menace of oil theft and bunkering in the country. According to him, the federal government hired private security firms in collaboration with other security organisations like Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL) and Tantita Security Nigeria to help increase oil production. He said that since their collaboration, numerous oil theft camps and illegal bunkering sites by oil thieves have been found in various sections of the Niger Delta region. PREMIUM TIMES had reported how Nigeria lost $10 billion to crude oil theft in seven months, and as well, uncovered an illegal four-kilometre illegal oil connection line from Forcados Terminal. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) chief executive officer, Mele Kyari, said the illegal oil connection line has been in operation for nine years. The federal government in its recent draft fiscal strategy paper for 2023 through 2025 said that oil revenue underperformed due to significant production shortfalls such as shut-ins resulting from pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft. In a bid to curb crude theft, the Nigerian government launched an application in August to monitor incidence. The NNPC awarded a multi-billion naira pipeline surveillance procurement to a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), Government Ekpemukpolo, aka Tompolo. In his remarks, the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP,) Barry Ndiomu, called for a deliberate conversation to drive legal reforms that would provide stiffer penalties to culpable entities involved in oil theft. Mr Ndiomu, a retired major general, who is the chairman of the Special Investigative Panel on Oil Theft/Losses, said frank discussions must be held to enable the country to crack the code and put an end to the criminal enterprise of oil theft. Speaking further, he stated that the menace of oil theft has had an enormous negative impact on Nigerias crude oil production, plunging output to a 13-year low of 800,000bpd. He reiterated that strategic consultations have been held with state governments of the Niger Delta region and other critical stakeholders to that effect. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali has appointed Kolo Yusuf to Katsina from Zamfara State as the new Katsina State Commissioner of Police Another commissioner of police, Godwin Aghaulor, and two deputy commissioners of police, Hayatu Shaffa and Johnson Adenola were also posted to the state to take charge of elections matters. The police spokesperson in the state, Isa Gambo, told PREMIUM TIMES that the deployment was part of the IGPs efforts to ensure the 2023 general elections are free, fair and credible. While Mr Aghaulor is to coordinate and supervise elections in the Katsina central zone, Mr Shaffa is expected to oversee elections matters in the southern zone (Funtua) while Mr Adenola would be in charge of the northern (Daura) zone of the state. The top police were deployed on Tuesday and have started working. Mr Gambo, a superintendent, said Mr Yusuf, the new commissioner, has met with all heads of security agencies in the state. It was unequivocally and unanimously agreed that all Heads of Security agencies in the state will step up stringent measures with a view of providing watertight security at all polling units in the state that will give every citizen an opportunity to cast his vote freely without fear of any attack or molestation by any criminal element. The Heads of security agencies have provided formidable strategies through synergy and partnership among themselves that will ensure the success of the general elections and towards achieving free, fair and credible general elections in the state, Mr Gambo said. Zone 14 gets new AIG Meanwhile, a new Assistant Inspector General of Police, Ahmed Abdurahman, has assumed duty as the new AIG in charge of Zone 14 Katsina. The AIG will supervise Katsina and Kaduna police commands during the 2023 general elections, according to Shehu Sulaiman, the Zonal police spokesperson. READ ALSO: In fulfilment of this objective, the AIG will strengthen the existing synergy between the police and critical stakeholders in the zone, especially the sister security agencies. All hands must be on deck to safeguard this forthcoming elections integrity, he said. The spokesperson said Mr Abdurahman would strengthen the security of the zone before, during and after the polls. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) has blamed Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State for the attack on a broadcast outfit in the state. The attack occurred on Tuesday evening. The police in Rivers State said they received information that hoodlums threw explosive device into the premises of the broadcast station, causing damage to a power generating set, a 500KVA transformer, transformer feeder panel, and electronic appliances in the radio station (Wish FM 99.5) and its sister television station (Atlantic Television Network). No life was lost in the incident, the police said. The two broadcasting stations are owned by a federal lawmaker from Rivers State, Chinyere Iqwe, who is an ally of Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate. Charles Aniagwu, PDP PCC spokesperson, said in a statement on Wednesday in Lagos that Governor Wikes continuing language and diatribe is what has created the environment for these attacks. Thus making him an accessory after the fact. Mr Aniagwu, who described the attack as injurious to democracy, said it raises concerns ahead of the elections. He said the attacks were orchestrated by state actors and called on the security agencies and the international community to pay attention to what was happening in Rivers State. The attack came a few months after the Rivers State Government sealed a petrol station belonging to the lawmaker over allegations of involvement in illegal bunkering. The lawmaker had denied the allegation, claiming he was victimised by Governor Nyesom Wike for supporting Atiku. The police said they had dispatched operatives from the Explosive Ordnance Department to the broadcast outfit to unravel what exactly caused the explosion. The Command assures that if the incident was indeed orchestrated by anyone or group, the culprits will be hunted down and made to face the full wrath of the law, the police spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, said. Governor Wike contested last years PDP presidential primary and lost to Atiku. Since then, he and four other PDP governors, under the auspices of G5, have revolted against Atiku and the PDP national leaders. The group is claiming that for the sake of justice and fairness, the south ought to produce the next president of Nigeria, since President Muhammadu Buhari is from the north. Mr Wike appeared to have sealed a political deal that would have him support Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Saturdays election, while the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, who is a member of the G5, has declared support for the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi. Some supporters of Atiku in Rivers State have been arrested or attacked lately, allegedly on the orders of Governor Wike. Rivers govt reacts Commissioner for Information in Rivers State, Chris Finebone, when contacted on Wednesday, said Mr Wike was too busy with governance to have attacked people who have no electoral worth. He described the allegation as untrue. The accusation that Gov Wike is behind whatever is happening to them is, of course, a lie from the pit of hell. These individuals have failed in their bid to scam Mr Atiku that they have followers in Rivers State. These people who artfully dodged holding a rally for their presidential candidate; they have no billboard for their candidate, have resorted to melodrama, which failed. Now, out of desperation to save and rehabilitate their shattered and battered image and reputation before Atiku, have resorted to blaming their misfortunes on Mr Wike, Mr Finebone said. BON condemns attack on radio, TV stations Meanwhile, the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) has condemned the attack on the broadcast stations in Rivers, describing it as barbaric, callous and highly uncivilised. Yemisi Bamgbose, the executive secretary of BON, in a statement on Wednesday, called on the inspector general of police to provide security for broadcast stations in the country to prevent its recurrence. Any attack on any media organisation is an attack on the entire citizens which should not be allowed to happen. We call on the State Security Services to swing into action to fish out the masterminds of the dastardly act, the statement said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Court of Appeal, Awka, has affirmed Victor Umeh as the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for the Anambra Central District, Anambra State. The court in its judgment held that the suit which supposedly disqualified Mr Umeh at the Federal High Court, Awka was statute barred and lacked locus. Justice Olubunmi Oyewole, who read the judgment via zoom, allowed the two appeals by the LP and Mr Umeh to stand. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Uche Ekwunife, the senatorial candidate of the PDP, sued Mr Umeh at the Federal High Court on the grounds that he did not resign from the All Progressives Grand Alliance, before picking the LP ticket. The judge, Hyeladzira Nganjiwa, on 27 January, granted the PDPs prayer and disqualified Mr Umeh. The LP and Mr Umeh, through their counsel, Alex Ejesieme and Patrick Ikwetoh respectively, appealed the judgment for lack of locus by the respondents and prayed the court to set aside the judgement. Reacting, Beluolisa Nwofor, counsel to Mrs Ekwunife, said he would appeal the judgment. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print 83 oil tankers involved in various crude oil and product theft have been arrested, an official said. Oil theft and vandalisation of petroleum assets are a threat to the nation's economy and security, Nigeria Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has said. Mr Osinbajo disclosed this at the stakeholder's conference of the special investigative panel on oil theft and losses in Nigeria, held in Abuja, on Tuesday. "Oil theft and sabotage of oil and gas assets are a clear and present danger to our economy and national security. "Not only do they pose a serious threat to all exploration and our energy economy, but they also impact negatively on what is accrued to the federation and the business prospects on investors in the oil and gas sector," Mr Osinbajo said. In recent years, Nigeria has recorded an increase in the rate of oil theft in its oil-rich Niger Delta region. In April 2022, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, disclosed that Nigeria lost $4 billion to oil theft at the rate of 200,000 barrels per day in 2021. Last September, the NNPC said that the country lost 470,000 barrels of crude oil monthly amounting to $700 million to oil theft. The federal government in its draft fiscal strategy paper for 2023 through 2025 said that oil revenue underperformed due to significant production shortfalls such as shut-ins resulting from pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft. On Tuesday, Mr Osinbajo said if left unchecked, the menace will fuel crises that will paralyse the government and leave the country extremely vulnerable to shocks and other unexpected consequences. He explained that large-scale theft of crude oil undermines government efforts to optimise its intended vision. "Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) put the audited figure of oil theft and losses at something in the order of 619.7 million barrels of crude oil daily. This is valued at $46 billion or N16.25 trillion, and all of these losses occurred between 2010 and 2020. "In addition, Nigeria lost about 4.2 billion litres of petroleum products from refineries, which were valued at over $1.4 billion at the rate of 140,000 barrels per day from 2009 to 2018. "This is just an average because there are peaks where we see losses between 200,000 to 400,000 barrels in a day," the Vice President said. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Legal Affairs Petroleum By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "So grievous a crime cannot simply be a subject of summary; people must do their jobs and if they are unable to do them, then there must be an accounting for such failures. "Institutional and personal reputations are at stake. I think that is the cardinal reason we are here. I employ us to exhaust decisions on this matter," he added. He noted that once host communities, especially the individuals who are involved in oil theft, are sensitised on the importance of ensuring that legislation works to their benefit, the situation may improve. On his part, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, noted that the problem of oil theft has developed to disturbing levels. "This is because the criminals have now increased the level of sophistication, considering the various methods they employ to tap primary pipelines with illegal secondary pipes to load on barges and sell to international collaborators or to process locally for illicit domestic sale," he said. "83 oil tankers involved in various crude oil and product theft have been arrested, while the theft of over 3 million barrels of crude oil was prevented and 11 million litres of petrol and diesel were recovered." Ahead of Nigerias presidential election this Saturday, 25 February, the Presidential Election Petition Court registry has opened in Abuja, the countrys capital. There are 18 presidential candidates jostling for Nigerias presidency at the poll. It is a statutory responsibility of the Court of Appeal, which coordinates post-election litigations, to set up the tribunals and open them for business ahead of elections. Section 285 of the Nigerian constitution and Section 130 of the Electoral Act states that the Election Petition Tribunal shall be constituted not later than 30 days before the election and open its registry for business seven days before the election. The Court of Appeal also serves as the Presidential Election Petition Court, will be subject to appeal to the Supreme Court. PREMIUM TIMES check at the headquarters of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, showed that the registry of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal has opened for business. The interim secretary of the presidential election court, Adamu Mohammed, told this reporter on Thursday that the registry opened for business in line with the law last Saturday, 18 February. Mr Adamu explained that the registrys core business is to write to security agencies and media organisations intimating them of its establishment. At the moment, we write to media houses and security agencies while we await the elections to take place and for petitions to be filed, before the panels can sit on them, Mr Mohammed said. He also revealed that election petition tribunals have opened their registries across the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja. While the presidential and National Assembly elections are billed for this Saturday, the governorship and state parliamentary polls are scheduled for 11 March. Deluge of pre-election cases Nigerian courts have witnessed a torrent of pre-election disputes from the Federal High Court through the Court of Appeal and terminating at the Supreme Court. Since the conduct of primary elections by political parties around May last year to field candidates for elective offences, the courts have been grappling with a deluge of cases owing to the fact that they are time-bound. The law provides that pre-election suits must be determined within 180 days from the time of filing. As of December, 2022, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho, disclosed that with 1,838 pre-election cases filed ahead of next years general elections, 77 judges of the court were scampering to beat the statutory 180-day deadline for hearing and concluding pre-election matters. The situation is similar at the Court of Appeal where the President, Monica Dongban-Mensem, disclosed recently that the court was adjudicating on 600 pre-election suits with less than 100 judges. At the Supreme Court with a depleted 13 justices, there are over 120 of pre-election cases that journeyed from the trial court and the Court of Appeal, Femi Falana, a constitutional lawyer told PREMIUM TIMES. Last November, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, decried the litigious nature of Nigerians. In every little disagreement, we rush to court; and in every lost case, we rush to appeal even up to the Supreme Court, no matter how little the issue might be. That has obviously accounted for the several appeals pending in the Supreme Court, Mr Ariwoola said, urging Nigerians to embrace alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. READ ALSO: Political analysts are of the view that this presidential election remains one of the most fiercely contested polls in Nigerias democratic history. The four leading presidential standard-bearers Atiku Abubakar (PDP), Peter Obi (LP), Bola Tinubu (APC) and Rabiu Kwankwaso (NNPP), hail from four out of six geopolitical zones of the country. The outcome of Saturdays presidential election will most likely end up at the court and terminate at the Supreme Court. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, has appealed to Nigerians of voting age to cast their ballot for him in the 25 February, Saturday poll. Mr Tinubu, in a statement he personally signed on Thursday and made available to journalists, said that he and running mate, Kashim Shettima, will dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to working for the greatest good and happiness of the greatest number of Nigerians if elected. He said while he will build on the achievements of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, especially in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture and poverty alleviation, he acknowledged that there are also some sectors where new approaches will be adopted and new priorities stressed. What is clear is that the Office of the President of Nigeria is not one of pleasure. Rather, it will demand the highest standard of hard work, discipline, focus, determination and commitment on the part of the next President, Mr Tinubu said in the statement. The former two-term governor of Lagos State said, if elected, he and Mr Shettima will replicate the developmental programmes they implemented in Lagos and Borno states respectively as ex-governors. Read the full statement below: TO MY COMPATRIOTS: WHY I SEEK YOUR MANDATE TO BE PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA Fellow Nigerians, it is with a tremendous sense of history and an immense awareness of the challenges ahead of us as a country that I address you today. For the past few months, my running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima and I and other leaders of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) have traversed the length and breadth of our country in the course of our campaigns for the forthcoming presidential, governorship and legislative elections at all levels. I have been overwhelmed by the enthusiastic crowds that have trooped out to receive us in all the states we visited. On Tuesday, we had the grand finale of our rally in Lagos State. It is obvious to me from my interaction with our people across the country that, despite our challenges, the APC enjoys tremendous goodwill among the vast majority of our people. In all the states we have visited, there are visible landmarks of the huge impact the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has made in terms of infrastructural development in the form of rural and urban roads and expressways, modern railway tracks, as well as improved airport facilities, among others. Millions of our poor and vulnerable people have benefitted from the various social intervention programmes of the Buhari administration. The amounts disbursed to these categories of our people are unprecedented in terms of the sheer transfer of resources to the less privileged sections of the population not only in our country but in Africa. It is remarkable and ironic that those who were in power for 16 years earned far higher revenues from petroleum than we did and yet were unable to effectively tackle neither infrastructure nor poverty. They now have the temerity to cast aspersions on the APC administration. READ ALSO: Our campaign tours demonstrated clearly to us that you, our people, are not deceived. Of course, we are aware of the hardships suffered by our people and the challenges confronting our country. Some of these could have been mitigated by better conceptualized and articulated policies. The truth is that there can be no perfect government in any human community. Some of the problems are also of global origin such as the unanticipated COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted economies worldwide or the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war that has disrupted global food and fuel supply chains. It is clear to me that there is a lot that the Buhari administration has done that are laudable in the areas of infrastructure, agriculture and poverty alleviation. We must build upon these achievements. There are also some sectors where we must adopt new approaches and stress new priorities. What is clear is that the Office of the President of Nigeria is not one of pleasure. Rather, it will demand the highest standard of hard work, discipline, focus, determination and commitment on the part of the next President. I pledge solemnly that my Vice-President and I will dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to working for the greatest good and happiness of the greatest number of Nigerians. Senator Shettima and I have outstanding records of high performance in public office as Governors of our states. In Lagos, where I served as Governor for 8 remarkable years, I led a team of talented, hardworking, creative, intelligent and purposeful people that recalibrated governance and set new standard in good governance that continues to propel the state to greater growth and development till date. That Lagos State is the 5th largest economy in Africa didnt happen by chance. It is a product of consistent hardwork and creative leadership. We seek to demonstrate on national scale that energy and capacity that transformed our states to bring prosperity to all Nigerians. Our administration will work to ensure not just a farewell to poverty but also usher in an era of prosperity in our country. To achieve this, we will re-engineer our security architecture to enhance the capacity of our armed forces and security agencies to guarantee the safety of the lives and properties of our people. This will enable our farmers to return fully to their farms with the resultant increase in food production and affordability. We will initiate measures to boost the revenue earnings of our farmers and improve the standard of living in our rural areas, home to the vast majority of our people. We will task our ingenuity to drastically enhance the countrys revenue generating capacity so that we can adequately fund and fundamentally improve the quality of social services in education, healthcare and housing, among others. We are determined to ensure that incessant strikes by unions in our public universities become a thing of the past. We will make facilities and welfare packages in our health sector compare with the best in the world so that many of those health professionals who have migrated to other lands will be attracted back home. Ensuring adequate and uninterrupted electricity will be one of our cardinal priorities. This will help boost the performance of the industrial sector and create jobs on a massive scale for our teeming youths. We shall put in place a robust and virile credit system so that more people can acquire the basics of life such as housing, cars and household equipment and pay gradually. That will have the immediate effect of reducing the motivation to resort to corrupt means of wealth accumulation. To fight corruption, we will also provide better welfare and motivation to the judiciary to perform its functions with integrity while we will also enhance the autonomy of the anti-graft agencies and provide them the necessary incentives to make them less vulnerable to corrupt inducement. We are of the firm belief that Nigeria is too endowed and blessed for any of our citizens to live in abject poverty. We are a hardworking and talented people destined for greatness. We are determined to offer the visionary and creative leadership to help actualize Nigerias immense potentials. We do not delude ourselves that we are supermen with the magic wand to miraculously solve all our countrys problems. But what I solemnly pledge is the determination to select the best and brightest talents in Nigeria to help our country achieve her manifest destiny for the good of her people and the glory and pride of the black man. To help actualize this, I urge you to turn out in large numbers on Saturday to vote for Kashim Shettima and I on the platform of the APC. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Presidential Candidate, All Progressives Congress February 23, 2023 Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print On February 11, Fani Kayode, Nigerias former aviation minister and the Director, New Media of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, shared a disturbing narrative suggesting Nigeria was about to experience another coup de tat. He claimed, via his verified Twitter page with over one million followers, that Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had a secret meeting with army generals ahead of the general elections. Why would a presidential candidate be having secret meetings with soldiers 14 days before the election? he said, conspicuously pushing a disturbing narrative without providing any evidence. Is this meeting part of the wider agenda to disrupt the elections, destabilise the country, set us on fire, incite chaos and violence, provoke a coup detat and establish a new and unconstitutional order in our beloved country under the auspices of an ING? A few days later, after he was interrogated by the State Security Service (SSS), the former aviation minister retracted his statements and expressed regrets over his comment on possible collusion between some elements in the military and the presidential candidate of the PDP. He, however, declared that he would verify the source of such news next time before putting it out on his social media pages. He might have shown remorse after Nigerias secret police challenged him, but propaganda such as this is commonplace during elections. This years general election is not an exception. As Nigerians prepare for the forthcoming poll, information disorder appears to be the order of the day. Fake news, false narratives, propaganda and hate speech, have been tooled by politicians to stay ahead of their opponents in the campaign spaces. Sadly, spokespersons of major political parties in Nigeria have also used social media to spread disinformation in favour of their presidential candidates, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), a Nigerian think-thank, revealed in a gazette titled Online operations: Nigerias 2023 social media election campaigns. The CDD verdict is corroborated by this researchers online surveys of how influential election merchants demarket their opponents by spreading disturbing fake news, propaganda and cyberbullying. Mr Fani-Kayode is just an example, but he is not alone. Since 2019, there has been a media war between Nigerias major political parties, the ruling APC and the PDP. The Atikulated, supporters of Atiku Abubakars presidential ambition, and the Batified, the supporters of Bola Tinubus presidential bid, were joined by the Obidients, the followers of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, on the online battlefield towards the 2023 elections. While campaigning for their candidates, supporters of the parties have also engaged in online threats and spreading falsehoods about one another, an act punishable by Nigerian laws. Dino Melaye: Shettima is a commander of bandits In July 2022, a picture surfaced of Kashim Shettima, the vice presidential candidate of the APC, dining with five men wearing the look of herders. But it would soon be rumoured that the people Mr Shettima were dining with were members of Boko Haram, an Islamist terror group in Borno. At the time, politicians had just started preparing for the general elections. However, Nigerian fact-checkers reviewed the photo and concluded that there is no sufficient evidence to back the claim that the Senator was dining with alleged Boko Haram members as depicted in the viral photo. Meanwhile, in November 2022, Mr Melaye, PDPs campaign spokesperson, rejuvenated the matter, saying Mr Shettima was a commander of bandits, Nigerias local terrorists. Mr Melaye did not provide evidence of Mr Shettimas alleged involvement in banditry. He would instead base his narrative on the viral photo and the claims around it. Overwhelmed by the conviviality of a civil atmosphere, Kashim Shettima, the Grand Commander of bandits and the running mate of the Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress ( APC), who has gathered enough funds from his field soldiers to be so intoxicated as to engage in a verbal gibberish that is only permissible in Sambisa Forest, Mr Melaye said, adding that, he has been seen in footage where he was exciting a rented crowd with whimsical pot shots at His Excellency Atiku Abubakar. Festus Keyamo: Peter Obi bribes CAN pastors with 2 billion On February 12, the spokesperson of the APC presidential campaign, Festus Keyamo, via his Twitter page, joined others to spread the claim that Mr Obi of LP had bribed some Nigerian pastors with over 2 billion to mobilise voters for him. Mr Keyamo shared the story published by an unknown blog, Nigeriancheck, without attempting to authenticate it. The tweet had nearly one million views; it was liked by over 2,000 Twitter users and retweeted by over a thousand others. Reacting, a social media user, Christian Chukwu, said: Coming from a SAN, right? A simple due diligence check should have told you this propaganda is solved; we are waiting for the next one. Several others corroborated Mr Chukwus worry and wondered why the APC spokesperson would share such a fake story with the purpose of demarketing an opposition party presidential candidate. The story has since been removed from the news website cited by Mr Keyamo. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) later distanced itself and said Mr Obi gave no such financial gift. LP supporters: INEC probes drug allegations against Tinubu In November 2022, a press statement allegedly released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) went viral on social media. Influencers on Twitter and Facebook, known for campaigning and canvassing votes for Peter Obi, the Labour Partys presidential candidate, shared the statement, ostensibly to spite Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate. Before then, Mr Tinubu had been accused of being a drug baron. The statement attributed to INEC was only consolidating the allegations and pledging to investigate the matter. But, INEC later denied writing such a letter, describing it as a fake press release. However, supporters of Mr Obi circulated the press release on social media. AriseTV, a TV station accused by the Tinubu campaign of bias, also aired the fake press release as coming from INEC. By the time INEC denied authoring the letter, it had gone viral and was likely believed by thousands of people. Fake news jeopardising peaceful election On 21 January, the National Peace Committee (NPC) led by former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar, urged the Nigerian presidential candidates to mind their word usage and desist from spreading disinformation during the ongoing campaigns across the country. I appeal to you all to be moderate in your language, show respect to the views and concerns of one another and listen to the concerns expressed, he said. In its report, CDD warned Nigerians against a multiplicity of actors working to muddy the water and make sorting fact from fiction difficult for Nigerians during this electoral season. For the first time, presidential campaign spokespersons, across all main parties, are pushing disinformation using their social media handles, it noted. An analysis of breaches of the Peace Accord moderated by the National Peace Committee revealed more than 63% of the infractions were on social media. However, spreading fake news is an offence punishable by imprisonment of three years or a fine of N7 million or both, according to the Cybercrime Act of 2015. Also, the 2022 Electoral Act prohibits using intemperate, abusive, and slanderous language during campaigns. The provisions of the National Peace Accord by the National Peace Committee (NPC) further require signatories to commit to the non-usage of fake news and intemperate language during the 2023 campaigns. (The production of this report was supported by the Centre for Democracy and Development, CDD). Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print In the early hours of February 1, unknown gunmen set fire to an office of Nigerias Independent National Electoral Commission and a police station in the countrys southeastern Anambra state. Days earlier, gunmen had attacked and killed soldiers and policemen at checkpoints along a road that connects nearby Enugu and Ebonyi states. The incidents underscored broad security concerns for Nigerian citizensand journalistsleading up to elections for a new president and federal lawmakers on February 25 and for state governments on March 11. In light of such incidents, journalists have to be a lot more careful going into this election, Janefrances Onyinye Nweze, a reporter who covered the 2015 and 2019 national elections in Enugu, told CPJ, emphasizing that the situation there had become guerilla warfare. She advised journalists to disguise as much as possible by reducing the visibility of press tags and branding on vehicles. Somebody has to cover the election at the end of the day, but do your best not to put yourself in harms way. Safety concerns were paramount when CPJ recently spoke to over 50 other journalists and civil society members about the upcoming elections. Interviewees noted that local knowledge was essential for planning how to cover a wide range of potential security threats. Some editors said they would rely on local freelancers to cover difficult areas. Others raised concerns that authorities might disrupt access to communication services or online platforms, as they did previously with Twitter. In recent years, CPJ has documented how security forces, political supporters, and unidentified armed men have attacked, harassed, and denied access to journalists covering Nigerian elections. As of early February, an election violence tracker compiled by the U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project and Nigeria-based Centre for Democracy and Development had identified over 4,000 violent incidents and over 11,000 fatalities across the country since January 2022. Alleged perpetrators included supporters of major political parties, local militias, separatist organizations, and militant extremist groups. READ ALSO: CPJ sent questions to Nigerias Ministry of Defence and national police about their plans to ensure journalists safety during the elections but received no response. At an event last month, Peter Afunanya, a spokesperson for Nigerias Department of State Services, a federal security agency, said that their efforts during the elections were geared toward protecting citizens and that journalists should inform security forces of their needs. He also called for journalism that promoted national unity. Here are the views of nine journalists in Nigeria, reflecting some of their security concerns and how reporters can try to address them. Responses have been edited for length and clarity. Yusuf Anka, a freelance journalist who has reported extensivelyon pervasive banditry in Nigerias northwestern Zamfara state, emphasized the distinct security dynamics in different northern areas. We have this serious infiltration of armed groups. We have smaller groups, ideological, Islamic, not under the umbrella of Boko Haram [an Islamic militant group based in the northeast]. Some think the problems in [a northeastern city like] Maiduguri and Zamfara are the same. Some think [other northern states like] Sokoto state and Yobe state are the same. In case youre deploying, you need to understand the differences. The best way to get proper reportage is the use of stringers or community members because in some areas, although elections will be held, non-indigenous members may not be able to [get] access. There is no airport in Zamfara. The best way to get there is from [neighboring Sokoto state]. Journalists trying to understand the situation could [listen to] private radio [broadcasters] in these hostile areas. Areas close to Zamfaras south with [a] military presence would be safer. But weve seen attacks very close to the police and military. Make careful choices of hotels and drivers. Have one person who is only a call away if you have an emergency. There are more abductions at night than day. Bunmi Yekini, a producer with the privately owned Radio Now 95.3 FM in Lagos, Nigerias largest city, in the southwest, has covered five elections, including the 2015 and 2019 presidential polls. For this years elections, Radio Now will have correspondents in nearly every state. For the presidency, it will be a bit dicey [in Lagos] because its going to be shared [in terms of voter support] basically between the Labour Party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and APC [the ruling All Progressives Congress party]. There is a possibility of violence between supporters. Radio Now management has already started providing safety kits. We have pepper spray and the press jacket. There is no news that is greater than your life. Do not be the news. Get emergency numbers of security agencies in the vicinity. Make sure your phone is constantly charged, have a power bank and enough [mobile phone] airtime. A designated car is very important; there will be no commercial vehicles. Get to know the area boys [people who live in the area and know the streets intimately]. They can save the day for you. Hamza Idris and Suleiman Suleiman, respectively general editor and deputy editor-in-chief of the privately owned Daily Trust newspaper based in Abuja, Nigerias capital, as well as Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, who previously worked as the papers deputy general editor and left to join the APC campaign, said Daily Trust will have over 100 journalists working to cover the elections across the country. Idris: The company is holding a series of training [sessions] both online and offline for our reporters on how to cover. Abdulaziz: Local knowledge helps in terms of safety, but it does not mean that everyone deployed will work in [familiar] places. That is why the training is very important, [as is] collaboration with local partners. Do not be ostentatious, dress in a flashy way, or wear something that is easily identifiable with a group of people, or would mark you as being a stranger. Suleiman: We have people on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube who are going to be engaging with audiences. Digital safety will be very relevant. Nuruddeen Abdallah, editor of the privately owned 21st Century Chronicle newspaper based in Abuja, said they will have reporters covering almost all the northern states, as well as major cities in the south. But there are places that he thinks are too dangerous. I will not be telling [a reporter] to go to Isa town, in [northwestern] Sokoto state; its the operational headquarters of [bandit leader] Turji. In [northwestern] Kebbi state, I will not ask [a reporter] to go to the Birnin Yauri area where girls were abducted. Take [north-central] Kaduna state, for example, I will not be sending my reporter to Birnin Gwari town area. In [north-central] Niger state, I will not be sending [them] to Kagara, Mashegu, or Shiroro areas; but they can operate in Minna, Suleja, Lavun, Bida. Another bad place is Maru in Zamfara state. That is where [bandit leader] Ali Kachala [operates]. Agba Jalingo is the publisher of the privately owned CrossRiverWatch news website based in Calabar, the capital of Nigerias southern Cross River state. Its risky to carry a visible camera. Rely on small gadgets that you can put on your body. [Remember] there is no public transport on election day. The level of violence in Calabar South is very high. Dont identify yourself as a journalist [there]. If youre [slightly more north] in Calabar Municipality, you can brandish yourself as a journalist and still be safe. Rukaiya Ahmed is deputy head of news with the privately owned Radio Ndarason Internationale broadcaster, which in Nigeria covers the eastern states of Adamawa, Yobe, Taraba, and Borno. She is based in the northeastern city of Maiduguri. We have contact with the INEC [electoral commission] office, with the hope of them giving us kits [including press identification] that will help us conduct [reporting] without hindrance from security operatives. The top officials should make them [officers] know that journalists are part of the society and have to report the happenings. Military and security operatives should not stop journalists. Musikilu Mojeed, editor-in-chief and chief operating officer with the Abuja-based privately owned Premium Times news site, which covers elections across the country. In addition to armed groups and criminals in various areas, he expressed concern about the conduct of the authorities toward the press. We hope that the police and military will be fair and neutral, and will allow journalists to move around and do their job as necessary. We make use of [security] analysis done by CLEEN Foundation, [a Nigeria-based NGO promoting public safety and accessible justice]. Covering an election in this country can be like going to the war front. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Finnish authorities have arrested a controversial Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, who has threatened to use violence to disrupt the conduct of the 2023 general election in Nigerias south-east. Mr Ekpa was arrested Thursday by Finnish police and taken to their facility for questioning, sources told PREMIUM TIMES. Simon Ekpa has just been arrested because of the sit-at-home in the South-east. The (Finnish) police just took him away from his house now, a member of Igbo Community in Finland, who asked not to be named, told this newspaper. A photograph of the pro-Biafra agitator being led out of his residence by a team of Finnish police has been circulating on social media. When contacted on Thursday, Finlands Ambassador to Nigeria, Leena Pylvanainen, confirmed Mr Ekpas arrest to PREMIUM TIMES. Yes, it is our understanding, based on the news report by Helsingin Sanomat, that Mr Ekpa was taken in for questioning earlier today from his home in Lahti, Mrs Pylvanainen said in response to an enquiry by this newspaper The ambassador said although the Finnish police do not, as a matter of principle, give out information on the identities of persons being questioned, the viral photograph of Mr Ekpa being led by a team of Finnish police has been verified by Helsingin Sanomat, a Finnish media outfit. Meeting with Nigerian govt The arrest of Mr Ekpa comes less than two weeks after the Nigerian government summoned the Finnish ambassador over threats by Mr Ekpa to stop the general election in Nigerias south-east. Mr Ekpa, a factional leader of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), has repeatedly declared sit-at-home orders across the South-east, insisting that there would be no election in the region in 2023. READ ALSO: He recently declared a sit-at-home from 23 to 28 February, apparently to stop the conduct of the 2023 general elections in the region. The presidential and national assembly elections are slated to be held this Saturday, 25 February. Mr Ekpa, a lawyer, said the sit-at-home orders and stopping the 2023 elections in the region would help his faction of IPOB to achieve the sovereign state of Biafra for Igbo-speaking people in the south-east and south-south Nigeria. Mr Ekpa, a Finnish-Nigerian citizen, hails from Ngbo, a community in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, south-east Nigeria. He lives in Finland. Worry over Ekpas threats PREMIUM TIMES reported that at the meeting with the Finnish ambassador, Geoffrey Onyeama, Nigerias minister of foreign affairs, expressed displeasure over the recent sit-at-home orders issued by Mr Ekpa to his followers, who he said, consequently embark on killings, maiming, burning and other destructive activities. Mr Onyeama, represented by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Zubairu Dada, said Mr Ekpas action was fast becoming a threat to the forthcoming election, and that the Nigerian government would not take it lightly with him and the Finland government if nothing drastic is not done about his threats. Its important to get to know that the 2023 elections are being threatened by the actions of someone and that something needs to be done immediately, to address the situation. This in essence is why we thought it was important for us to have this discussion with you, so as to let you know our concerns and the displeasure of the Government of Nigeria and the people of Nigeria on this very unhealthy development, the minister told Mrs Pylvanainen. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dumebi Kachikwu, has called on the presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar and Labour Party, Peter Obi to work with small parties to stop the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu. Mr Kachikwu, in a statement issued on Thursday and titled: My Closing Argument, said there is no path to victory for him but that the two leading candidates must collaborate within 24 hours to stop Mr Tinubu from winning Saturdays election. The election scheduled for Saturday has about 18 presidential candidates, however, many believe the race is between Messrs Obi, Atiku and Tinubu. Mr Obi, who served as running mate to Atiku in 2019, decamped to LP in 2022 shortly before the PDP primaries. While calling for collaboration, Mr Kachikwu noted that the three leading candidates are flawed but they are the available options to Nigerians. In the case of Mr Obi, he noted that the former Anambra State governor was wrong to be visiting churches. The Labour Candidate took campaigns to a new low with his church visitations. Have you ever imagined what would happen to our country if Atiku Abubakar and Bola Tinubu made similar visits to mosques, he said. He stated that Messrs Tinubu and Atiku have baggage of corruption allegations hanging around their necks. Mr Kachikwu noted that despite the flaw in the candidates, there is a need to consider the state of affairs in Nigeria, a situation he described as second to the civil war of the 60s. Mr Kachikwu therefore said Messrs Obi and Atiku must work together not to reward the APC. He noted that none of the candidates can win alone, noting that a vote for LP is for the ruling party. He added that we must accept the reality that except Northern Nigeria miraculously comes together in the next 24hrs to throw their support for the PDP candidate, the race looks likely to favour the APC candidate. Except the PDP and Labour can reach an agreement in the next 24hrs on how to collaborate to win the elections, any vote for Peter Obi is a vote for Bola Tinubu. PDP and Labour need each other. It is that simple. As true democrats, the leadership of both PDP and Labour must find a way to work with the other smaller parties towards building a formidable coalition that ensures the contest is even. Any attempt to go this alone guarantees another four years for the APC, he said. READ ALSO: Mr Kachikwu stated that the naira policy and the scarcity that followed it favours the ruling party. Outside of the Nigerian Civil War, the last eight years under the APC Government has been the toughest period ever for Nigerians since Independence. As President Buhari prepares to hand over, he is unleashing more pain and misery on Nigerians with the misguided recolouring of the Naira. He and his advisers believe that this would limit the undue advantage that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has with a huge war chest to buy over voters. What they have inadvertently done is make it easier for the APC candidate as millions of voters will be unable to exercise their democratic franchise because of cash constraints. Most of those affected by this will be the Labour Party supporters. The odds, therefore, favour the APC Government to continue in power. How you might ask? It is very simple. The APC structure that brought in Buhari eight years ago still brought him back four years ago even though most Nigerians were united in saying he wouldnt come back, he said. Igbo presidency Kachikwu Mr Kachikwu did not give details as to how the collaboration will work. He, however, expressed support for the agitation for a president of Igbo extraction. He blamed the inability of the region to produce an elected head of state since 1960 on the leaders of the region, noting that the leaders of the region often focus on themselves. I subscribe to the argument that the Igbos have not had a fair shake in the Nigerian nation, most of the blame for this must go to our leaders who mostly subscribe to self and family as against building their states or region. They failed to capitalise on the entrepreneurial spirit of the Igbo man to create an industrial powerhouse in the South-east that would provide millions of jobs and shared prosperity for our people. Today the economy of the South-east is in ruins, our people live in fear and our leaders have relocated to Abuja and Lagos. When leaders are afraid to defy evil, what do we expect to happen to our communities? We all saw what happened in North-east Nigeria because their leaders failed to stand up to Boko Haram and we now see the same thing in South-eastern Nigeria, he said. Mr Kachikwu also spoke on his travails in ADC, where the National Working Committee (NWC) of his party expelled him. He alleged that he was sold out by some persons within the party. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Defence Headquarters says troops of Operation Whirl Punch have apprehended one of the masterminds of the 28 March, 2022 terrorist attack on the Abuja-Kaduna Train service. The Director, Defence Media Operations, Musa Danmadami, a major general, made this known at the bi-weekly news briefing on the operations of the armed forces, on Thursday in Abuja. Mr Danmadami said the suspect was one of the three terrorists apprehended by the troops at Damba community in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State on 14 February. He said the operation led to the recovery of two motorcycles, mobile phones, the sum of 5,000 dollars, other currencies and some sundry items. According to him, troops on fighting patrol also neutralised seven terrorists at Ungwan Birni in Kajuru Local Government Area of the state. He said 83 rounds of 7.62mm NATO, 50 rounds of 7.62mm special, and seven magazines, among other items, were recovered from the terrorists. No fewer than eight people died while 168 others were declared missing when the Kaduna bound train was attacked in March 2022 with most of them kidnapped. The hostages were released in batches with the last batch of 23 regaining their freedom on 5 October. 23 terrorists neutralised Mr Danmadami also said troops of Operation Hadarin Daji, had within the period, neutralised 23 terrorists and arrested nine as well as rescued 23 abducted civilians. According to him, the air component conducted a series of air interdiction operations to decimate and deny the terrorists freedom of action within the period under review. Specifically, on February 13, an air interdiction operation was conducted based on an intelligence report that terrorists had gathered for a wedding ceremony at a location within Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State. Another air interdiction operation was conducted at identified terrorist locations within Kankara and Batsari Local Government Areas, all in Katsina State. Feedback revealed that several terrorists were neutralised in both air strikes, the defence spokesperson said. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) says it has deployed officials to monitor the conduct of presidential election billed for this Saturday, 25 February. Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday, the Chairman of the CCB, Isah Mohammed, said the bureau has a statutory duty to monitor public officers who are going to participate in the conduct of 2023 general elections. Mr Mohammed, a law professor, noted that the special monitoring activity of the polls was in line with President Muhammadu Buharis commitment to bequeath a legacy of the freest, fairest and credible election ever conducted in the electoral history of this country. The CCB is one of Nigerias anti-corruption agencies with a mandate to ensure public officers comply with the code of conduct for public officers. It investigates public officers and their assets declaration to ensure public servants do not engage in corrupt practices. The agency has the exclusive power to prosecute violators of the code of conduct for public officers, including non-declaration of assets, at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT). Its choice to monitor the elections is a deviation from its core mandates which the agency has paid scant attention to over the years. The last time the agency is known to have investigated and prosecuted any major case was in 2019 when it brought a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, before the CCT. Infighting among the board of the CCB has also contributed to derailing the agency from playing its core mandates. The monitoring activity Mr Mohammed explained that the monitoring exercise during the election would be carried out in Nigerias states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja. CCB is deploying its manpower from the headquarters and state offices for observation and monitoring activity during the entire process of the exercise, he said. Referencing the Electoral Act and other extant laws, Mr Mohammed, said the monitoring exercise would be executed in accordance with the laws. He highlighted some of the infractions the monitoring team would be looking out for to include abuse of power, bribery, acceptance of gifts and conflict of interest. This is the first time the CCB will be monitoring conduct of elections, Mr Mohammed revealed. He added that the bureau will be working with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies in discharging the mandate. Nigeria battles with several electoral malpractices, especially violence and voter inducement, which has gained notoriety in the form of vote buying. But Mr Buhari had vowed to stop violence and votebuying during the polls a legacy the hopes to leave behind. The event had board members and directors of the CCB in attendance. A member of the board and former member of the House of Representatives, Ehiozuwa Agbonayinma, advised journalists to be professional in their coverage of the elections. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The International Press Institute (IPI) Nigeria has condemned the attack on a broadcast outfit in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, South-south, Nigeria. The attack occurred on Tuesday evening. The police in Rivers State said they received information that hoodlums threw an explosive device into the premises of the broadcast station, causing damage to a power generating set, a 500KVA transformer, transformer feeder panel, and electronic appliances in the radio station (Wish FM 99.5) and its sister television station (Atlantic Television Network). No life was lost in the incident, the police said. A statement on Thursday from Ahmed Shekarau, secretary of IPI Nigeria, said the President of the organisation, Musikilu Mojeed, has called on the federal government to fish out perpetrators of the attack and prosecute them to serve as a deterrent to others. We call on the Nigerian authority to provide security for media houses and ensure the security of journalists. Rather than resort to self-help, anyone aggrieved by reports published or aired by any media houses should approach the court to seek redress. Indiscriminate attacks on media houses will lead to anarchy. This is the more reason that attacks on the radio and television stations in Port Harcourt should promptly be investigated. The IPI further urged Governor Nyesom Wike to ensure the safety of journalists and media organisations in his state. We further appeal to journalists to observe all professional ethics in carrying out their duties, the statement said. BON also condemns attack The Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) has also condemned the attack describing it as barbaric, callous and highly uncivilised. Any attack on any media organisation is an attack on the entire citizens which should not be allowed to happen. We call on the State Security Services to swing into action to fish out the masterminds of the dastardly act, Yemisi Bamgbose, the executive secretary of BON said in a statement on Wednesday. PDP blames Wike PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) blamed Mr Wike for the attack on the broadcast outfit owned by a federal lawmaker from the state, Chinyere Iqwe. Mr Iqwe is an ally of the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. Charles Aniagwu, spokesperson for the PDP Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), in a statement on Wednesday said Governor Wikes continuing language and diatribe is what has created the environment for these attacks. Thus making him an accessory after the fact. Mr Aniagwu said the attacks were orchestrated by state actors and called on the international community to pay attention to events in Rivers State. The attack came a few months after the Rivers State Government sealed a petrol station belonging to the lawmaker, Mr Iqwe, over allegations of involvement in illegal bunkering. The lawmaker had denied the allegation, claiming he was victimised by Governor Wike for supporting Atiku. Governor Wike contested last years PDP presidential primary and lost to Atiku. Since then, he and four other PDP governors, under the auspices of G5, have revolted against Atiku and the PDP national leaders. The group is claiming that for the sake of justice and fairness, the south ought to produce the next president of Nigeria since President Muhammadu Buhari is from the north. Mr Wike appeared to have sealed a political deal that would have him support Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Saturdays election, while the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, who is a member of the G5, has declared support for the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi. Some supporters of Atiku in Rivers State have been arrested or attacked lately, allegedly on the orders of Governor Wike. Rivers govt reacts Commissioner for Information in Rivers State, Chris Finebone, when contacted on Wednesday, said Mr Wike was too busy with governance to have attacked people who have no electoral worth. He described the allegation as untrue. The accusation that Gov Wike is behind whatever is happening to them is, of course, a lie from the pit of hell. These individuals have failed in their bid to scam Mr Atiku that they have followers in Rivers State. These people who artfully dodged holding a rally for their presidential candidate; they have no billboard for their candidate, have resorted to melodrama, which failed. Now, out of desperation to save and rehabilitate their shattered and battered image and reputation before Atiku, have resorted to blaming their misfortunes on Mr Wike, Mr Finebone said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Former President Goodluck Jonathan has called for peaceful polls even as he urged voters to make the best use of their power of choice in the elections. Nigerians of voting age will go to poll on Saturday 25 February to elect a new president and members of the national assembly. The incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari, will leave office on 29 May after he must have finished his two terms of eight years the maximum permitted by the countrys constitution. Mr Buhari was first elected president on the ticket of the APC in 2015. He was re-elected for his second and final term in 2019. In a statement he personally signed on his verified Facebook page, Mr Jonathan admonished Nigerians to approach the election with devotion, dedication, and selflessness by ensuring that the countrys peace and unity are not jeopardised as voters exercise their franchise and pursue their political dreams and aspirations. Mr Jonathan, a former governor of Bayelsa State in Nigerias south-south region, also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, and other critical stakeholders to be professional, civil, and non-partisan as they carry out their duties during the election, saying: This way, we can deepen citizens faith in our democratic process and minimize the likelihood of electoral violence. To the politicians, Mr Jonathan said it is time to be circumspect in their actions and work towards consolidating the countrys democracy. Power is sought and held in the trust to be selflessly exercised in the interest of the people and seeking it at all costs negates this ideal and projects politicians in a bad light, he said. He called on the politicians to eschew hatred, and violence and display true sportsmanship, during and after the poll. Although 18 political parties are participating in the presidential election, four of them -APC, PDP, LP and NNPP- are, however, the parties with the leading contenders. All the candidates have committed to a peace accord, promising to play by the rules, though the chairperson of the National Peace Committee, Abdulsalami Abubakar, said some of the major parties have been violating the terms of the peace agreement. To the youth, who constitute a major demographic among the registered voters, the former president who lost his reelection bid in the 2015 presidential election on the platform of the PDP, said: the future belongs to you; do not allow yourselves to be used as agents of destruction and violence. Nigeria is yours to build. Mr Jonathan was first made acting President on 9 February 2010 based on the Doctrine of Necessity invoked by the Nigerian Senate following a prolonged absence of then-President Umaru Musa YarAdua, who was away in Saudi Arabia for treatment over an undisclosed ailment. He became full president after the death of Mr YarAdua in May 2010 and then contested as the candidate of the PDP in the 2011 presidential election, which he won. Mr Jonathan, however, failed to win a second term in office in 2015, conceding victory to the winner, Mr Buhari. Although he was rumoured to be interested in the 2023 presidential election on the ticket of the APC, there was nothing concrete enough to validate the rumour as truth since he neither defected to the APC nor bought the partys expression of interest and nomination forms. Read the full statement below: STATEMENT ON THE 2023 ELECTION Fellow Compatriots, This is a historic week for our country, as citizens of voting age go out to cast their ballots this weekend to elect our next president and federal parliamentarians who will be expected to make laws for the common good of the land. The same exercise will be repeated for governorship and state houses of assembly in two weeks. It is a time that requires us all to exercise the highest form of patriotism in our nation-building journey and collective quest for peace and progress. Let us approach this election with devotion, dedication, and selflessness, by ensuring that we dont jeopardize our countrys peace and unity as we exercise our franchise and pursue our political dreams and aspirations. In recent times, West Africa and few other nations in our continent have witnessed a crisis of democracy that has led to unconstitutional change of governments, which has derailed their democratic quest for peace and development. We must not allow our elections to be a source of violence and anarchy. We must desist from the temptation of yielding to those desirous of making our communities and states, theatres of conflicts for their selfish ends. Let us realize that the primary purpose of democracy is to uphold the freedom and dignity of citizens and deploy the instruments of governance towards the advancement and improving the well-being of our people. We should strive to consolidate the gains we have recorded in our democracy in the last two decades by ensuring that the elections are peaceful, just, and fair. I urge the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, and other critical stakeholders in our democracy to be professional, civil, and non-partisan as they carry out their duties during this election. This way, we can deepen citizens faith in our democratic process and minimize the likelihood of electoral violence. To politicians, this is a time to be circumspect in our actions and work towards consolidating our democracy. Power is sought and held in trust to be selflessly exercised in the interest of the people and seeking it at all costs negates this ideal and projects politicians in bad light. Let us eschew hatred and violence and display true sportsmanship, during and after the poll. To our youth, the future belongs to you; do not allow yourselves to be used as agents of destruction and violence. Nigeria is yours to build. This election provides you with the opportunity to be key partners in the nation-building process by electing leaders of your choice; those you can hold to account, those you trust to defend your future and guarantee unity, peace, and prosperity in our great country. Finally, to all citizens, this is a moment of truth and courage. Democracy has put our fate in our hands. It has given us power, power to make right choices, determine our future and shape our destiny. I urge you all to make your respective choices in the best interest of our land. Let us make our choices peacefully and respect the choices and rights of others. God bless Nigeria. GEJ Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The South African Weather Service (SAWS) has warned of the possibility of heavy rainfall, which may result in widespread significant flooding in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Later this week, very heavy rainfall in the order of 200 to 400 mm is possible in Vhembe and Mopani in Limpopo, and to a slightly lesser extent, Ehlanzeni in Mpumalanga. "This, after significant flooding occurred over the Lowveld and escarpment areas (such as the Kruger National Park) the last few weeks, may be catastrophic and cause prolonged and severe impacts. "Although not as much rain is expected over other places in the north-eastern parts, residents of Capricorn (Limpopo), as well as Umkhanyakude, Zululand and Amajuba (KwaZulu-Natal), residents are urged to be extra vigilant as the situation may be exacerbated by the recent flooding events in these places," SAWS said on Wednesday. In addition to heavy rains, strong winds caused by Tropical Cyclone "Freddy" are also expected in the north-eastern parts from Friday evening, with average speeds of about 45 km/h. "Freddy" made landfall along the eastern coastline of Madagascar, just north of Mananjary, around 19:30 SAST on Tuesday early evening. "The relatively compact storm was a low-end category 2 tropical cyclone just before making landfall, with winds of 150 km/h and gusts up to 180km/h. 'Freddy' weakened significantly due to the rugged terrain it encountered and was downgraded to an overland depression during the evening. "The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) designated Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) located at La Reunion, forecasts that "Freddy" will continue in a west-south-westerly direction over the next few days, regaining its strength this evening as it moves into the Mozambique Channel," SAWS said. "Freddy" may yet again reach near-tropical cyclone status by Thursday evening while heading to southern Mozambique, making landfall just north of Vilanculos on Friday morning. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Environment By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. It is expected that "Freddy" will affect the north-eastern parts of South Africa from early Saturday until Monday (25 to 27 February 2023) especially the Lowveld and escarpment areas of Limpopo and Mpumalanga, as the weather system will be semi-stationary along the north-eastern border for a few days. SAWS, in consultation with National and Provincial Disaster Management structures, will continue to monitor developments on a 24/7 basis and will issue regular updates in this regard, across a variety of media and social media platforms. "Furthermore, the public is urged and encouraged to regularly follow weather forecasts on television and radio. Updated information in this regard will regularly be available at www.weathersa.co.za as well as via the SA Weather Service Twitter account @SAWeatherService." There are six factors that could impact the conduct of Saturdays elections, prominent civic group, YIAGA Africa, said in a report released Thursday. The factors include PVC collection challenges, relocation of voters to new polling units and economic hardship. The organisation, in a Thursday statement, said the latest report was based on its observations across Nigeria in the last week before the election. Read the full statement below. Yiaga Africas Pre-election Press Statement for the 2023 Presidential election On Saturday, 25 February 2023, Nigerians across all thirty-six states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will go to the polls to elect a President and Federal lawmakers nationwide. The date is symbolic as it will be exactly one year since the new Electoral Act 2022 was signed into law. While the law has been tested in two off-circle elections, the 2023 elections will be the first national elections to be conducted under the new electoral legal framework. Thus the 2023 Presidential elections is a litmus test for the new electoral law, especially on the deployment of electoral technology, and INECs power to review election results declared involuntarily or in violation of electoral guidelines. With the competitive nature of the Presidential elections, the threshold for assessing the quality of the election will be higher as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nigerian Police Force and other election stakeholders cannot afford to fail Nigeria in its effort to deliver credible elections. Evidently, there are high expectations from Nigerians, Africa and the international community for Nigeria to consolidate on the gains from recent electoral reforms. INEC and other stakeholders bear a huge burden to conduct an election that inspires public confidence and renews hope in the power of the ballot. Yiaga Africa commends the political parties and candidates for signing the National Peace Accord, an initiative of the National Peace Committee, headed by the former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar. We call on the parties, and candidates to uphold their commitment in the peace accord and urge party supporters to maintain the peace during and after the elections. This briefing is the first in a series of planned press conferences to be hosted by Yiaga Africa. We equally invite you to join us at the same location on Saturday 25 February 2023 when Yiaga Africa will share its Mid-day Situational Statement on the opening of polls. On Sunday 26 February 2023 at 10:00 am Yiaga Africa will share its preliminary statement on the conduct of the Presidential election process. Yiaga Africa will follow up with a final press conference to share its own statement on the accuracy of the election results and will publicize these projections. Summary of Key Findings from Yiaga Africas Pre-Election Observation Yiaga Africa deployed 822 Long Term Observers (LTOs) in all 774 Local Government Areas (LGA) of Nigeria from November 2022 to February 2023 who monitored political developments and preparations for the general elections. A detailed report from the 6 observation periods is available on Yiaga Africas website www.yiaga.org. The pre-election observation revealed marked improvement in the logistics planning as it relates to the production and deployment of election materials by INEC amidst perennial challenges like insecurity and emerging threats like the scarcity of the Naira notes. Notably, INECs decision to produce election materials in-country is commendable. A summary of the highlights of the findings from that observation includes; INEC Preparedness for the election: In the week leading to the elections, Yiaga Africa WTV observed ongoing activities by INEC across the local government areas in the state. The long-term observers reported the deployment of nonsensitive materials across the LGAs observed and the training of election officials. In addition, the observers reported the commencement of the sorting and deployment of sensitive materials from Central Bank of Nigeria offices in the State capitals to the LGAs in respective states. As of 22 February 2023, Yiaga Africa received reports from; Ondo, Oyo, Ekiti, Yobe, Enugu, Ekiti and Zamfara states where the deployment of sensitive materials from CBN to the LGAs had commenced. Compared to previous general, this is a marked improvement. Reports from other states indicate the deployment of sensitive materials to the LGAs will commence on the 23rd February 2023. Matters Arising on the 2023 Presidential Elections Yiaga Africa notes some developments that could impact the conduct of credible elections on 25th February 2023: PVC Collection Challenges and Data for Polling Unit level Collection rate : Yiaga Africa notes that the litany of complaints about uncollected PVCs largely due to the unavailability of the cards are worrisome. Yiaga Africa is concerned that a good number of eligible voters may be disenfranchised for no fault of theirs. In addition, the delay in releasing the final figure of collected PVCs is per polling unit nationwide. The data on PVCs collected per polling unit is important in determining the conclusiveness of the election as INEC expects to use the data in the application of the margin of lead principle. 2. Relocation of Voters to New Polling Units May lead to posible disenfranchisement: The mock accreditation revealed that, in an attempt by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to decongest some of its oversized polling units, the commission relocated voters to new polling units. However, voters approached their polling units for mock accreditation before realizing they have been relocated to new polling units. While we commend the commissions recent efforts by providing information on how voters can identify their polling units, we are concerned that some affected voters may not identify their voting locations on or before election day. Yiaga Africa is concerned that, this will constitute panic, agitations and potential disenfranchisement on election day. 3.Economic Hardship May Impact on Citizens Participation: Barely 48 hours to the Presidential elections, Nigerians are experiencing untold economic hardship caused by the recent scarcity of new naira notes and unending fuel scarcity. This has led to a series of protests in different parts of the country. This growing discontent amongst citizens may lead to voter apathy in the form of protest which will eventually lead to low voter turnouts. We are also worried that citizens facing these forms of adversities going into the election may be unable to make informed choices at the polls. 4. Addressing Challenges Experienced During Mock Accreditation: Although turnout for the process was low, we commend the Independent National Electoral Commission for conducting a mock accreditation to test the functionality of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS). The commission should urgently address the challenges witnessed during the mock accreditation to ensure the BVAS device functions optimally across the country on election day. 5. Security Concerns and Threats to the Conduct of Election: All through the pre-election period, security challenges persisted across several locations. Beyond insurgency, banditry and kidnapping, the prevailing security situation leading to the 2023 Presidential election has been exacerbated by the tense political atmosphere. 6. Possible Vote Trading: The current Naira redesign policy aimed at eliminating vote buying on election has resulted in a shortage of cash making it difficult for citizens to meet basic domestic needs. Yiaga Africa is concerned the negative impact of the policy may encourage voters to sell their votes in exchange for the scarce Naira notes. Yiaga Africas Observation of the 2023 Presidential Election For the Presidential election, Yiaga Africa will deploy a total of 3,836 observers throughout the country. This is comprised of 3,014 stationary Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) observers deployed to a random representative statistical sample of 1,507 polling units; 822 roving observers across the 774 LGAs and 36 states; and 8 Working Group members who run real-time election analysis. Yiaga Africa will also deploy observers to the LGA and State Results Collation Centres in every state. Our observers will observe the entire election day process from set-up of the polling units through the announcement, posting of the official results and uploading of the polling units to the INEC Result Viewing Portal. The observers will send in periodic reports to the Watching the Vote National Data Centre located in the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja where they will be processed and analysed. This deployment will enable Yiaga Africa to provide the most timely and accurate information on the election process. Based on reports from its observers in the sampled polling units Yiaga Africa will also provide an independent projection of voter turnout and will be able to project the vote shares that each party should receive within a narrow estimated range. If the official results fall within Yiaga Africas estimated ranges, then the public, political parties and candidates should have confidence in the ballots cast at the polling units. Only INEC, however, has the legal mandate to announce the election results. As soon as INEC announces the official results, Yiaga Africa will follow up with a result verification press conference to share its own statement on the accuracy of the election results and will publicize these projections. Utilizing information communications technology and statistical principles, PVT is the gold standard for citizen election observation and has been utilized throughout Africa and the world. Yiaga Africa has also deployed this methodology in the 2019 presidential election and in eleven (11) off-cycle gubernatorial elections in Nigeria. Yiaga Africa restates its commitment to the objective, non-partisan and credible observation of the election. The Watching The Vote is Driven by Data For All Nigerians Beholden to None! Thank you and God Bless the people of Nigeria! Yiaga Africas Watching the Vote is Driven by Data For All Nigerians Beholden to None! Dr Hussaini Abdu Chair, Watching The Vote Working Group, Yiaga Africa Samson Itodo Executive Director, Yiaga Africa Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Nigerias next elections draw ever so near and may be over by the time you read this at least the presidential part of it. I have since pitched my tent with a group led by someone who has the total package that could make a profound difference in our country. This includes the respect among the private sector, experience in running complex systems and coordinating the efforts and ideas of very smart people, and the unique identification of hard workers and ideas people who can cause a change in our dear country. Recent problems with Buharis cash policy revealed that Lagos singularly drives whatever growth we record in Nigeria. And this is a wakeup call to other states and zones. Granted that Lagos was a federal capital, and has the advantage of the ports, still a visionless set of leaders could have made a pigs meal of the place rather than the moderate hope we see today. Look at Abuja. Built from the scratch, maintained fairly well under military administrations, but gone to the dogs under civilians. Why should we be getting the best ideas about governance from Lagos rather than Abuja that is a clean, prepared, but now pretty messed-up template? Its down to the quality of leadership or lack of it. In my humble opinion, leading Nigeria going forward is not just a question for saving money, even though saving money and expending right is a critical factor and the subject of this writeup. One of the candidates, Mr. Peter Obi, has created a niche around the need to be frugal and that is good and should be taken on board if he does not win the elections. As a strategy, it is however not adequate to run a country. There must be a big vision, and the ability to drive that vision. One may even have the argument between having a leader who is very frugal but has no overarching vision for greatness, for business, for the emancipation of his people, for economic growth, for a repositioning of his peoples image in the comity of nations, on one hand, and a wheeler-dealer leader who has a vision for all of the above and the sheer grit, experience and craziness. Many people will opt for the latter. Only people with limited vision, and an even more limited understanding of the issues on ground will prefer the former. Many of Peter Obis supporters are like that, including others who are supporting him for emotional reasons. I have been doing great research into the history and evolution of American democracy the one we copied and I realized that some of the greatest leaders theyve had have not been puritan. One of the most corrupt people ever in political history Boss William Tweed is also credited with the gravitas which exploded what is New York City today especially Manhattan. All the skyscrapers that transformed the landscapes of Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, were not put together by slackers and penny-pinchers. And all that infrastructure are a thing of pride to every American today. But I want to push today that if Obi does not win, and my preference Tinubu wins, or if Atiku wins, we need people who are ready to serve Nigeria for free. It cannot certainly be business as usual. We need this even if its for two years. It will sound very annoying especially to our dyed-in-the-wool politicians, especially those who have spent great amounts of money to get into office. Its bad enough that in this season and with current reforms, even the president has made the prospects of his own party ever more difficult. So, who am I to tell anyone to work for free? I must however say that I was ready to serve for free had I by any long stretch of the imagination become president in 2019. I was also ready to work for free if I had been appointed into government in 2015 or whenever. I believe Nigerians must now roll up their sleeves and sacrifice if they get into government, given that there is a need to atone and set the right examples. Funny enough, Obi has not promised anything like this; it is only assumed that his frugality will also translate to sacrifice. But Adebayo of the SDP has, on more than one occasion. I understand that it is an incredibly difficult thing to promise and practice. Still, that is the epoch we find ourselves. I recall that in 2015, this was one of the triggers which made me suspect that the Buhari government had derailed. The whole country had invested a lot emotions in his presidency. But upon appointing ministers, many of them started asking for all sorts of benefits. I recall when they started agitating for houses. Ibe Kachikwu complained that he lived in his own house (I wondered if he would want to stay in my own), Aregbesola or was it Lai Mohammed), said he lived in a rented house or was squatting in someones house. From then, I saw that they missed a great vision and Buhari himself was busy grappling with whether to keep to his words of open asset declaration, like Umaru Musa YarAdua, or to go the way of the others like Jonathan and Obasanjo. The rest is history. How feasible can this no salary service be? For how long? How do appointees and electees survive given that they are meant to give up previous appointments or businesses to come and serve in government? What kind of basic provisions could be made for them, that will ensure that they feel the pinch without going hungry they and their families? How can this be done so that the citizens will understand that these new servants are going the extra mile, and so they also cooperate in many ways? If Nigeria will attain the next levels in development, and driving revenues, working a larger national budget, inspiring citizens to far bigger greatness, this I believe is a necessity. Certainly, we cannot expect anything good out of a continuation of the rather wasteful status quo. The holy books asked shall we continue in sin and expect the grace to abound? We cannot preach to the people of Nigeria to chip in a little more and straighten their ways so that we all live in a sane society like the abroad that Nigerians are today emptying into, without such a sacrificial move. How do we build infrastructure that makes everybodys lives easier with our commonwealth if we dont free up enough money? How do we get our people to pay more taxes, and be ready to redeem fines, and fees that are due as a result of their engagements with government and society at large, if they dont see that those in government have belled the cat? The other day, news came out that Mr Obis Next Cash and Carry Limited had been deregistered in the United Kingdom. This happens after a company fails to submit its company house annual returns for two consecutive years. Of course, the explanation by the Obi campaign tried to gaslight an issue we should all learn from. I have an idea that like the UK Nigeria integrates its Corporate Affairs Commission, Federal Inland Revenue and its banks. Like the UK, nobody should be able to run a company account in a given year, except they show their verifiable company house return (from CAC). Whereas the company house is primarily concerned with knowing about the general state of affairs of a company its directors, address, shareholding etc. it should also demand to see tax compliance. Updating Company House records should be compulsory for every company. So also should be tax compliance for active companies. If we adopt the UK style, tax revenues should bump up considerably. There are many companies doing good turnovers in Nigeria but paying no taxes. Banks should not be entertaining such companies under normal circumstances. A corporate account that hasnt updated its company house returns in a given year should be flagged by the banks system. For now, compliance with Company House returns is less than 5% in Nigeria, according to CAC stats. If Nigeria is to adopt such paradigm shift, we need acceptability by the people, and those who run government must be credible. That is asking for a lot. Yet, this is mere fulfilment of obligations to ones country. We dont have to keep looking in all the wrong places for the prosperity of Nigeria. My elderly friend, Prof N. N. Susungi (a Camerounian presidential candidate) told me years back that in terms of its economics, Nigeria is like a large grapefruit with little juice in it. Most of the money that should go into infrastructure and collective development goes into private hands, religious houses, and different gangs like motor-park gangs registered as unions. The state has consistently lost grounds as a result of ineptitude, laziness, fraudulent collaboration with these same entities, and general lack of credibility. At the top of factors that erode credibility from public servants elected or selected is the usual greed; the desire for shiny little expensive toys that the state must pay for, and the desire to acquire as much money as quickly as possible because public office is seen as Gods blessings to loot, not the strict avenue for sacrifice that it truly is. So, who is ready to serve Nigeria for free? And how long can you sustain it? Are you ready to live in your own house, not put the government under pressure, and to drive your car while doing public service? Do you have a reserve to stave you over? Are you ready to do this for the accolades only, sans the money? Coupled with the ongoing cashless policy (as much as it is almost bungled), such an initiative may help in focusing us on a great infrastructure leap, lessening the pains of a debt overhang, and unleashing considerable resources for the social services that will lead to a true repositioning of Nigeria. This may be a very critical investment that we have to make in Nigeria. Tope Fasua, an economist, author, blogger, entrepreneur, and recent presidential candidate of the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), can be reached through topsyfash@yahoo.com. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print To leap from the prospects of an exciting race, which Obis candidacy offers, to a forecast of a surprise victory on Saturday on the basis of an ambitious polling trend is to go out on a limb. The short of the long story is that the Labour Party candidate would likely be the best third place finisher in decades. With all the predictions of Armageddon and doubt about whether Saturdays presidential and National Assembly polls would hold, it does sound a bit silly to contemplate life after. Even those who grudgingly concede a life after fear it might be worse. Optimism is like playing the Ostrich. Nigerias history of electoral violence in the sixties and even in the mid-nineties might justify these concerns. But the last six election cycles in 24 years have proved that in spite of the hysteria about its viability, Africas largest democracy defies the odds. Saturdays election would, yet again, prove the skeptics wrong. Despite the political fire and rhetorical brimstones, not to mention the banknote misery, there will be a morning after. That said, the next most frequently expressed concern is who will win? There are two answers a short and a long one. If you believe the polls (at least four of the major ones), the Labour Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will likely win. Less than nine months after switching parties and pitching his tent with the little-known Labour Party, Obi has turned the party into a formidable stage, bestriding it like a rockstar. Once without hope or a chance, he has grown from being a potential run-off maker to a real threat, a likely winner. That is the short answer if you believe the NAP, NOI, Stears, or Bloomberg polls. But theres a long, far more complicated answer. Polls being polls, even the most carefully conducted ones can, and do sometimes, go wrong. I had a long and interesting conversation a few days ago with a friend and former Obi-skeptic turned believer, who was prepared to swear by the results of the polls, especially the latest ones by Stears and Bloomberg, tipping Obi to win. That conversation gave me the chance to share the long reasons the polls may be wrong and why Obi may not win. Theres another reason that a shorthand answer predicting Obi as likely winner in Saturdays poll could be off the mark. A number of the polls, particularly the ones by Stears and Bloomberg, indicated a margin of undecided voters of about 35% to 43% . If the 2016 election in the US thought pollsters anything, its to beware of the undecided, especially the coyishly silent ones. The polls banked rather too much on voter discontent arising from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Muslim-Muslim ticket. APCs decision to field Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, both Muslims, in a country with roughly equal Muslim and Christian populations was always bound to hurt the party at the polls. Though they agree that religious conflicts predate President Muhammadu Buharis APC government, a number of Christian leaders have expressed the view that the presidents ghastly indifference has enabled the rise in deadly sectarian conflicts in states such as Benue and Plateau in the North-Central; Kaduna and Sokoto in the North-West; and Taraba in the North-East, among others. APCs Tinubu-Shettima ticket was like rubbing salt in the wound of Christians in these and a number of other states. A backlash in Saturdays poll would hardly come as a surprise. Yet, the scale of this surprise appears to have been exaggerated in the polls. While identity politics, sometimes disguised as religion, continues to play a role in Nigerias politics, polls that do not account for the growing number of agnostics and more liberal voters who increasingly make up significant numbers of the younger voting population may be in for a surprise. Of course, politicians still play the ethnic card but studies, including Francis Fukuyamas Identity: Contemporary Identity Politics and the Struggle for Survival and Yuval Noah Hararis epic, 21 lessons for the 21st Century, continue to highlight the receding salience of religion in electoral outcomes. Even Stears acknowledged this. Nigerians are adamant, the analysis of its polls said, that religion does not dictate their vote: just 4% of respondents selected religion as one of the three main factors determining their candidate choice. Theres another reason that a shorthand answer predicting Obi as likely winner in Saturdays poll could be off the mark. A number of the polls, particularly the ones by Stears and Bloomberg, indicated a margin of undecided voters of about 35% to 43% . If the 2016 election in the US thought pollsters anything, its to beware of the undecided, especially the coyishly silent ones. Without a doubt, Obis emergence will redraw the 2023 electoral map. Its already giving the presumptive frontrunners Tinubu and Atiku a cause to look over their shoulders, with the latter bearing the brunt in the South-East and South-South, but potentially outperforming the pollsters forecast in the North-East and North-West. They may swing Obis way, as Stears predicted, especially in parts of Lagos and Abuja with their cosmopolitan outlook and relatively high number of South-Easterners and areas where the Christian populations are feeling hard done by. But there are three reasons that the Tinubu-Shettima and the Peoples Democratic Partys (PDP) Atiku-Okowa tickets may eventually get more undecided voters than Labours Obi-Datti. Role of State Governors State governors continue to play a significant role in Nigerias politics and in electoral outcomes. We saw this most tellingly in 2015, when the sudden and dramatic exit of five governors decisively tipped the scales in favour of Buhari. Even now, the face-off between five PDP governors and their party continues to hurt the partys electoral chances. It would be foolish to assume that the 21 APC governors, out of 36 in the country, are all working for Tinubu-Shettima to win. But with APC controlling governors in at least five of the countrys 10 vote banks, where Labour has zero in an election in which money could affect the eventual outcome, pollsters could be in for a surprise. Banknote Backlash The banknote chaos, a fallout of an attempt by the Central Bank to redesign three of the countrys eight currency notes, is also a reflection of the chaos in the ruling partys inner circle. But as governors, ranking ministers and finally the party itself broke ranks with Buhari over the timing and motive of the redesign, the Tinubu-Shettima ticket could benefit from sympathetic voters in what appears to be yet another malicious last attempt to stop Tinubu at all costs. Biafra-phobia Obis rise and rise has benefited largely from the agitation for Biafra, especially among the youths in the South-East. Although Obi himself has not canvassed secession, and has in fact pledged to unify the country, his meteoric political ascension appears to many youths from the South-East region to be the best chance in decades to realise the Biafran dream. While non-Easterners sometimes view the Biafran battle-cry as a symbol against systemic injustice, the surge of Biafran flags at Obis campaign rallies have raised concerns about what his presidency could mean for one Nigeria. The undecided who view secession as a bridge too far may recoil at the prospects of voting Obi, however exaggerated their fears may be. Devil In the Details Finally, the pro-Obi polls tended to exaggerate his strength in areas where historical voting patterns hardly favour him. A few quick examples. In three of the six states where Stears said it obtained its booster samples, Lagos, Kwara, Rivers, Benue, Plateau and Kano, for example, only three Lagos, Plateau and Benue have a historically likely chance of fetching Obi more than 25% of the the votes cast. He will be lucky to get an average of 10% in the remaining three, where APC and PDP run a tight ship. Also, ascribing 48% of the votes in the South South to Obi as Stears did, is widely optimistic. Where will votes come from? Rivers? Bayelsa? Delta? Akwa Ibom? Cross Rivers? Or Edo? These are traditional PDP strongholds which have now become battleground states, not for Labour, but between PDP and APC. Elders in the South-South are rooting for Obi to right decades of injustices. But expecting these elders to make any difference would be stretching their electoral value a bit too far! Without a doubt, Obis emergence will redraw the 2023 electoral map. Its already giving the presumptive frontrunners Tinubu and Atiku a cause to look over their shoulders, with the latter bearing the brunt in the South-East and South-South, but potentially outperforming the pollsters forecast in the North-East and North-West. To leap from the prospects of an exciting race, which Obis candidacy offers, to a forecast of a surprise victory on Saturday on the basis of an ambitious polling trend is to go out on a limb. The short of the long story is that the Labour Party candidate would likely be the best third place finisher in decades. Azu Ishiekwene is Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Asiwajus message of Renewed Hope, as disseminated during the campaigns and well laid out in his Action Plan, encapsulates his vision for the country in various areas, including insecurity, which he plans to confront with the injection of cutting-edge technology and by putting more boots on the ground with the recruitment of more personnel, alongside necessary training programmes. By the time the results of Saturdays presidential election are announced and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is declared the winner, as expected, his victory will leave no one in doubt because it will be a well deserved victory. In this election, Asiwaju Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, offers by far the most well thought-out, comprehensive and realistic solutions to the myriads of problems besetting the country. The solutions put forward in his policy document give our people a new lease of life. Among his competitors, he, unarguably, ran the most holistic, all-inclusive and gruelling campaign schedules. Sometimes during the campaigns, in the ancient town of Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, which has now become accustomed and famous with Asiwajus sagely and piercing remarks, he spoke, perhaps in consonance with the history of the city as the cradle of the free press. It was in that Ogun State capital that Asiwaju added Emilokan to Nigerias ever-expanding political vocabulary, while addressing party delegates. It was an assertion of his will and readiness to be president of Nigeria. Contrary to the negative spin by his traducers, that insightful statement was never made out of any vainglorious sense of entitlement. It was a bold and audacious statement, asserting his suitability for the exalted office. It was meant to convey the fact that having worked to advance democracy in the land, having contributed immensely to Nigerias growth and development, and having also helped others achieve their political goals, he is also deserving of the topmost office by virtue of his qualifications, competence and capacity. Anyone claiming self-entitlement would sit at home, fold his arms and expect the presidency to be delivered to him on a silver platter. Not Asiwaju. He traversed the length and breadth of the country, speaking directly to the people and selling his candidacy and message of Renewed Hope. By Tuesday when the curtain was drawn on the partys open campaign, after a hugely successful and an unprecedented rally at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere in Lagos, the APC candidate had gone round the entire country, visiting many states several times over. For the record, Asiwaju Tinubu and his campaign train mounted rallies in 35 states and FCT Abuja, except in Taraba State where some issues within the state chapter were yet to be resolved by the date the rally was slated to hold. He was even ready to proceed to the state when word came that the rally had been called off. In some cases, two rallies were organised in one day, like in respect of Anambra and Cross Rivers, and Kebbi and FCT Abuja. Additionally, the APC candidate organised other campaign activities, including townhall meetings with critical stakeholders. He met business leaders and entrepreneurs in the organised private sector, youth groups, healthcare professionals, labour unions, religious leaders, traders, farmers, livestock development and commodities dealers. Asiwaju also interacted with strategic stakeholders in mining, agro-processing and the creative arts. There were townhall meetings on key sectors of the economy in at least 20 states, including Niger, Kano, Nasarawa, Katsina, Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Edo, Jigawa, Yobe, Bauchi, Kaduna, Kogi, Imo, Ebonyi, Cross Rivers and Delta, before the APC candidate again returned to these states to stage political rallies. The precursor to the campaign stops and townhall meetings were initial trip round the country before the 8 June primary election to meet party members and major party actors to seek their support. I have taken the time to present Asiwajus comprehensive journey round the country before this important election to underscore how hard he had worked and how rigorous his campaign activities had been. Now, the first point that is remarkable about this is that Asiwaju engaged in ceaseless, consistent and sustained trips around the country, in some cases to difficult and uncharted terrains, soliciting support for his candidature. These demanding schedules belied baseless insinuations that he was ill, unhealthy, and unfit to rule. It is incredible to me how an unhealthy man can travel, for instance, to and fro, on the dreaded bandits-ravaged Sokoto-Gusau road, a distance of about three and a half hours apiece, to meet the people, only to retire that same evening to some rounds of meetings lasting till the wee hours of the next day. Or undertake the six-hour journey to the far-flung and largely avoided ancient Birnin-Gwari town in Kaduna State, by so doing becoming the only presidential candidate or aspirant to ever visit the area. These trips, sometimes undertaken late in the night, and the late night meetings and engagements also unearthed another aspect of him: Asiwajus has an extremely high work ethic, working till the early hours of the day, only to be woken up with another call for one meeting or the other. Asiwajus message of Renewed Hope, as disseminated during the campaigns and well laid out in his Action Plan, encapsulates his vision for the country in various areas, including insecurity, which he plans to confront with the injection of cutting-edge technology and by putting more boots on the ground with the recruitment of more personnel, alongside necessary training programmes. On the economy, Asiwaju seeks to catalyse double-digit growth through massive resource-mobilisation and increasing megawatt of available electricity to pave the way for rapid industrialisation. Asiwajus turnaround plan includes continuous and increasing investment in physical infrastructure, such as road and rail networks. The Asiwaju plan gives agriculture and particularly crop farming and rice production priority attention. These areas, which form parts of the achievements of President Buhari, would be revved up and consolidated by the Tinubu-Shettima presidency. There are many more to talk about in these programmes, cutting across education, particularly university education, industrial relations, fighting corruption, etc, but for space constraints. On the campaigns, apart from the APC National Working Committee members led by the national chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and the partys governors, Asiwaju usually had President Buhari in attendance. The president was physically present at campaign rallies in eight states namely, Plateau, Adamawa, Bauchi, Sokoto, Katsina, Nasarawa, Imo and, of course, the Tuesday, 21 February grand finale rally in Lagos. What this vividly demonstrates is that President Buhari and Asiwaju Tinubu are on the same page on the matter of the 2023 presidency. Indeed, the president is working to ensure the victory of Asiwaju in the election. At every turn during the campaign, in the video he put out last weekend while in far away Addis Ababa, and at the grand finale of the campaign in Lagos, he again strongly sold Asiwaju to Nigerians, raising his hands up as the next president, God willing. President Buhari made it clear that though he is not a candidate in this election, APC has a qualified and competent flag bearer in Asiwaju, who would continue with and consolidate his achievements. A number of other issues also stood out from the just-ended campaigns. The party and the governors are standing solidly behind their candidate. The national chairman of the party, Senator Adamu, and majority of the governors and members of the National Working Committee and other party chieftains were always in attendance at each campaign stop. The import of this is since throwing their weight behind power shift to the South and backing Asiwaju Tinubu at the partys primary, the governors have remained steadfast with him. They have never looked back. Speaking at the campaign rally in Abeokuta and talking about the naira swap policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Asiwaju Tinubu said as good as the policy could be, its implementation has become a problem and huge burden to the people in the informal sector, particularly the poor people who have been made to bear the brunt. He urged that the policy should be given a human face. Only a bold and courageous leader could have come out the way he did. Whereas other candidates went quiet or were ambivalent, with one, a former vice president contesting on the PDP platform, even saying dont extend the currency swap deadline, the fact that the people are suffering is not enough to change a state policy, Asiwaju was firm on the side of the people. Asiwaju showed that when elected he would take very bold decisions, but in the interest of the people. Tunde Rahman is media adviser to Asiwaju Tinubu. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print As the elections arrive, Nigerians need to give them the seriousness they deserve. It is very important that the best possible leadership emerges from these elections for our collective future. There have never been general elections with so many booby traps as these. At the same time, the stakes are so high that botched elections or electing incompetent candidates might signal a final nosedive for Nigeria. PREMIUM TIMES proposes the following guide to citizens. The elections are taking place in a period of intense suffering, anger and frustration of citizens. The cost of living crisis and the spike in the prices of food, in particular, have made life very difficult for many Nigerians. As if these were not enough, months of fuel scarcity have added to the crises through sharp increases in fuel costs and the emergence of long queues at filling stations. It was in this context that the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele decided to embark on the naira redesign policy, through which they essentially confiscated the money that Nigerians had and refused to swap the old naira notes with the new ones. This is at a time in which most people have little or no disposable income, with the government currency seizure compounding the problem. While this is the mood in which the elections will be holding, citizens must make efforts to remain calm in spite of their frustration and anger. President Buhari and Mr Emefiele have tried to justify the currency confiscation programme with the argument that many key political actors have stolen massive amounts of money, which they sought to use in buying votes, as such the policy and the suffering it has engendered will ultimately do a lot of good in improving electoral integrity and combatting corruption in Nigeria. This newspaper has always been unequivocal in its advocacy for advancing the struggle against corruption. We have also pointed out repeatedly that this government has failed in its promise to combat corruption. We see no signs that it has changed its ways, as it stands at the departure gate. The bitter irony of the situation is that the intense cash crunch in the country and the desperation of citizens for money at this time would make it easier for politicians to buy votes on the cheap. Lets be clear, politicians are well placed to mop up the limited cash allowed in circulation. The intense struggle that has developed between President Buhari and state governors, the presidents decision to disregard the directives of the Supreme Court on the matter, rumours about postponement of the elections and the imposition of an interim government, have all heightened citizens concerns about the future of Nigerias democracy. At this time, democrats and citizens must stand firm in supporting the Constitution and the conduct of the elections as scheduled. This would be no easy task. The organisation of credible elections needs cash. A lot of INEC election logistics, such as the procurement of vehicles, are done in cash. The huge number of ad hoc staff necessary for successful election duties require money to go to their call up stations at this time that it is virtually impossible to get cash from banks. Political parties and candidates would also need cash to deploy agents to the 176,846 polling units in the country. A party that decides to deploy polling agents to all the units at N5,000 per unit would need N880,230,000 to do so. The Central Bank appears set to tell them to do bank transfers to these agents, which would be great in an environment in which things works. The reality that we all know is that there is a high rate of transaction failures in electronic cash transfers and even if these are successful, then getting the cash to travel will be next to impossible at this time. This CBN/Federal Government policy move is therefore not designed to improve electoral integrity. It is a mischievous policy to throw spanners into the works of election logistics. Citizens need to put pressure on government that immediate efforts are made to allow INEC and citizens have access to cash immediately. We are not surprised that many Nigerians have read the tea leaves and are suspicious that the policy design was drawn up to scuttle the elections. Nigerians must act smartly. We must resist the provocations that are leading many into violent acts. We must keep the peace. We must all make the resolve to come out and vote. In exercising our franchise, we must be conscious that as voters, we willingly elected the most incompetent Federal Government in our countrys history in 2015 and 2019. The outcome is that eight years later, the nation, its economy and politics are much worse than they were in 2015. The next government will find a bankrupt economy and deeply divided country. It is therefore important that voters think deeply and ensure they vote for the candidate they consider to have the best competence and integrity to leads us out of the present rot. In addition, voters must learn to navigate the dangerous speech booby traps emerging every minute in the social and traditional media. Citizens need to be conscious of the excessive levels of manipulation aimed at diverting citizens from the real issues of these elections electing leaders with competence and integrity. We must resist the temptation of falling into the snare of playing the divisive game of hate and dangerous speech. Finally, there are the risks associated with electoral outcomes that may open possibilities for further danger if false claims are made about the results. Thanks to the efforts of INEC and the Electoral Act 2022, the elections would very likely be transparent and therefore credible. BVAS would ensure that only those eligible to vote participate and additional votes cannot be added subsequently. Recalling the 2019 debates, there cannot be fabricated votes subtracted or added by any INEC server. At the end of voting in each polling unit, the results will be counted in the presence of voters and written into the poster EC 60E, which will then be posted on the wall. It is this result that will be captured through a scan and sent through BVAS directly to the INEC viewing portal that all citizens and voters would be able to see live. This transparency means everyone will be seeing the results as they come in and citizens, candidates and parties can crosscheck that the results on the portal reflect what was compiled at the polling unit. Citizens should therefore all participate in confirming that the portal results replicate what was counted at the polling unit. The best of luck to all of us as we go to our polling units to carry out our civic responsibility. Very importantly, citizens and voters should be mindful of the shenanigans of officers of the security agencies, especially the police, who have been urged to conduct themselves creditably as non-partisan partakers in the electoral process. It is quite unfortunate that they have a history of not always aligning with forces that seek to preserve the integrity of some past elections, but which undermined a number of them through various subversive acts, including the thumb-printing of ballot papers, and enabling of election day violence, etc. Thugs and other actors or sponsors of violence, who might want to destabilise the electoral process, would need to be quickly contained and arrested with the necessary efficacy. Hence, the Inspector-General of Police needs to be seen as walking his talk this season, of ultimately facilitating a regime of secure, free and fair elections administration across the country. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A Magistrate Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State has remanded Ephraim Nwuzi, the All Progressives Congress candidate for Etche-Omuma Federal Constituency in Saturdays election at the Nigerian Correctional Centre in the state. Mr Nwuzi, a serving lawmaker, represents Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. He was arraigned over allegations of treasonable felony, conspiracy, motion of communal crisis and inciting violence, Punch newspaper reported. The lawmaker is being prosecuted by the police in the state. He was remanded on Wednesday after the court denied him bail. The prosecution prayed the court to remand the lawmaker to pave way for proper investigation. Mr Nwuzi is to spend 10 days in the correctional facility, which suggests he may not participate in the election in which he is a candidate. The lawmaker, according to Punch newspaper, was arrested on Wednesday at his residence in Chokocho, Etche Local Government Area by some police officers who allegedly broke into his apartment. Police spokesperson in the state, Grace Iringe-Koko, in a statement, said the police invited the lawmaker over an inciting video where he allegedly instructed his supporters to attack some persons, including officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the election. Mr Nwuzis counsel, Emenike Ebete told reporters outside the court that offences preferred against his client were not sufficient to warrant a remand. READ ALSO: We have also submitted to the court that the offences disclosed in the particulars and affidavit attached to the alleged allegations were not sufficient enough for him to be remanded. The court in its wisdom held that the offences are grievous and that he should be remanded in prison custody until the 3rd of March 2023, pending when a charge will be preferred against him by the state, Mr Ebete said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Gunmen have killed the Labour Party (LP) senatorial candidate for Enugu East District in Amechi Awkunanaw, a community in Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State, south-east Nigeria. The victim, Oyibo Chukwu, was killed on Wednesday evening alongside five supporters who were inside his vehicle. The killing comes barely three days to the senatorial election which is scheduled to be held this Saturday, 25 February. The Chairman of the LP in Enugu State, Casmir Agbo, confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES, Thursday morning. Yes, it is true. We are currently holding a meeting now about it, he said. Mr Agbo suggested that the attackers were not unknown gunmen as widely reported, insisting that what happened was a political assassination. A source close to the slain LP candidate also confirmed the incident to this newspaper. He said the body of Mr Chukwu, the candidate, was burnt by the gunmen during the attack. The problem is that he (Chukwu) does not have security escorts. He campaigns and goes about without any security. Maybe he thought, politics is not a dirty game, he stated. When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, confirmed the incident but asked for time to provide the details of the attack. Not the first time Some LP members have been targets of gunmen attacks in the South-east in recent times, mainly during the partys political rallies in the region. But the killing of a candidate of the party is a novelty in Enugu State. Gunmen, on 31 August, attacked members of the LP in Nenwe, a community in Aninri Local Government Area of the state. READ ALSO: Again, on 4 September, gunmen also attacked other LP members who were holding a meeting in Awgu Community, Awgu Local Government Area of the state. Gunmen, in December, killed the LP candidate for Onuimo Local Government Area Constituency in Imo State, another state in the South-east. There are suspicions among the LP members that the attacks might have been sponsored by some members of opposition political parties in the South-east who are said to be disturbed by the growing popularity of the LP in the region. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Gunmen have attacked the campaign convoy of Oforchukwu Egbo, the House of Representatives candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Enugu North/South Federal Constituency. The incident happened Wednesday evening at Eke-Out in Amechi Awkunanaw, a community in Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State, south-east Nigeria. The attack happened in the same area and at about the same time that gunmen killed the Labour Party (LP) senatorial candidate for Enugu East District in the state. It is not clear, for now, if the two attacks were carried out by the same gunmen. During the attack on the PDP candidates convoy, one of his drivers was killed by the attackers. Mr Egbo, the PDP candidate, was not in the vehicle during the attack, PREMIUM TIMES learnt. A video clip apparently shot after the attack has been circulating on various WhatsApp groups. In the clip, seen by PREMIUM TIMES, a corpse, believed to be the slain driver, was lying inside a mini-bus vehicle, which was branded with the name of the PDP House of Representative candidate and his photographs. The photographs of the partys governorship candidate and deputy governorship candidate in the state were also printed on the vehicle. The clip showed that the driver was heavily burnt in the vehicle. A member of the PDP, who asked not to be named, confirmed the incident. We are about to issue a statement about the attack, he said. The police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, confirmed the two attacks in a statement on Thursday. Mr Ndukwe, a deputy superintendent of police, said the attackers are suspected to be members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The police spokesperson said, apart from the LP candidate and the driver of the PDP candidate, the hoodlums attempted to attack the convoy of the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in the state but were repelled by security operatives. Narrating how the hoodlums attacked the convoy of the PDP House of Representative candidate, Mr Ndukwe said, preliminary investigations into the incident show that the armed hoodlums, operating in a tricycle, attacked the PDP campaign mini-bus at Topland (Hotel) by Ebony Paint Road, Amechi Awkunanaw Enugu and used petrol bomb to set it ablaze, burning to death its driver, simply identified as One KC Great, a male. He said the LP candidate was burnt to death in similar fashion around the same location by gunmen operating in a Hilux vehicle. The police, however, said that normalcy had been restored in the area. The Commissioner of Police in Enugu State, Ahmed Ammani, who visited the scenes of the incidents, has ordered an investigation and manhunt of the suspects who carried out the attacks, Mr Ndukwe said. Mr Ammani condemned the attacks, describing them as barbaric. The police commissioner commiserated with the political parties and families of the victims affected in the attacks, assuring that the police would track down the attackers. He expressed the commitment of the police and other security agencies to provide adequate security for peaceful and credible elections in the state. READ ALSO: Do not succumb to the cowardly antics of the hoodlums, which is aimed at creating fear and to disrupt the fair electoral process, he told residents of the state. IPOB, a group leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra for the Igbo-speaking people, has been blamed for the attacks in the South-east and South-south regions of the country. But the group has repeatedly denied any involvement in the attacks. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print After consistent resistance by the students union, the Management of the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, has rescinded its decision to continue academic activities during the forthcoming general elections. The university had on Monday, 13 February, announced that the second-semester examinations for the 2022/2023 academic session that commenced that Monday would continue till the evening of 23rd February before a four-day break would be observed. The university had insisted its students would resume to continue the examination on Tuesday, 28 February, and observe another break between 9 and 13 March, and should resume on Tuesday, 14 March to continue the examinations. The management said its decision was taken at an emergency meeting of its Senate, a body of mostly professors on the campus. The latest development was against the directive by the minister through the National Universities Commission (NUC), asking all universities and inter-university centres to be shut between 22 February and 14 March so that students could participate in the general elections. Students kick In response, the universitys students union said the decision could lead to mass failure, saying the cash crunch has already been affecting the students negatively. A student of the Faculty of Law, who does not want to be quoted for fear of sanctions, said many students had been missing their examinations due to their inability to access cash for transportation to the school. The student said asking students from various destinations to be going to and fro like that would put them in a bad state of mind and (they) may end up performing very poorly in their examinations. Meanwhile, a message shared with its members of the Faculty of Education Students Representative Council (SRC) by its Speaker, identified simply as Nifemi, a copy of which was obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, explained the unions stance against the universitys decision. The statement reads in part: After the senate meeting that lasted for over an hour with loads of arguments both from our end as student leaders and from the Senate, the Vice-Chancellor still stood her ground to disallow the extension of holidays initially stipulated by the Federal Government. READ ALSO: I really commend the efforts of the 32nd LASU Students Union President, Comrade Adeoye Adelakun for standing his ground to fight for students rather than support the management. I also commend the effort of the President, Faculty of Law, Speaker, Faculty of Education, and other comrades who stood their ground as the mouthpiece of the students giving reasons why this long holiday is very essential. Safety measures and the scarcity of the legal tender were the two major points raised with the fact that some of our students couldnt make it to school due to the insufficiency of the legal tender in circulation. The statement added that though the Vice-Chancellor, Ibiemi Olatunji-Bello, a professor, walked out in annoyance but gave the verdict that there would be another Senate meeting on Thursday. U-turn The university Senate at its meeting on Thursday (today) reversed its earlier decision and approved that the students should embark on holiday between Thursday (today) and 14 March. In a tweet shared on Thursday on its verified handle, titled: LASU Senate Suspends Examination till 14th March, announced the reversal of the earlier decision on the schedule of the second-semester examinations. It reads in part: The Senate at its meeting of 23 February, reversed its earlier decision on the schedule of the Second Semester Examinations for the 2021/2022 Academic Session and decided that the ongoing examinations and all academic activities be suspended from 6p.m, Thursday, 23 February, till Tuesday, 14 March 2023. The decision was in view of the prevailing socio-economic and security challenges in the country. Consequently, all students are directed to proceed on a three-week break to allow them to exercise their franchise in the upcoming general elections scheduled for Saturday, 25th February, and Saturday, 11th March. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print blog Starlink, the internet service operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX launched in Nigeria three weeks ago with a lot of excitement and expectations. In a tweet, President Muhammadu Buhari noted that the new service would bring Nigeria's internet penetration to 100%. This suggests that no matter where people are in Nigeria, they can, potentially access a reliable and fast internet service. The internet has become an integral part of our lives, and almost every industry now relies on it to sell goods and provide services. The health sector has been heavily impacted by the wide proliferation of the internet enabling remote access to services that were previously only accessible in a health facility. This has the potential to improve both physical and mental health. However, modern communication channels are less accessible to people in Nigeria's rural areas, and according to the World Bank, as of 2021, an estimated 36.5% of the Nigerian population use the internet. Universal access to the internet and its impact on health Nigeria, like other countries is taking action to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030, however, issues such as inequitable access to health services, particularly for vulnerable populations, threatens the country's ability to meet this goal. Now, Starlink and its promise to allow users the ability to connect from anywhere in the world is not a 'panacea' or universal solution to fix Nigeria's challenges improving access to health services. However, if Nigeria were to capitalise on the benefits of the internet penetration potentially reaching 100%, it could bridge the access gap -- particularly for health workers and patients in rural and hard-to-reach communities -- by providing health workers easy access to medical research, guidelines, and training resources. It could also enable the more efficient storage of patient data, improving connectivity with other health facilities and more importantly, strengthen the referral process across the different structures of the healthcare system. Doctors would be able to conduct remote consultations and patient monitoring in hard-to-reach areas. Internet-based health education programmes and digital health tools could improve health literacy and empower people to take an active role in managing their health. This could improve the efficiency and effectiveness of health services, while also lowering costs and improving patient outcomes. The possibilities, while not endless, are quite broad. Here are five ways that access to fast and reliable internet could improve access to quality health services for vulnerable people, as well as those living in hard-to-reach areas. (1) Remote access to telemedicine, telemonitoring and telepsychiatry Despite ongoing efforts at national and subnational levels to improve access to primary healthcare services, for people living in rural or hard-to-reach communities, access to quality care when needed remains a major challenge. Therefore, the option of internet enabled access to telemedicine, telemonitoring, and telepsychiatry services where health workers can offer more personalised care and quickly identify potential health issues before they become critical is especially beneficial. People suffering from mental illness can also benefit from remote consultations and counselling from mental health professionals such as psychologists and therapists. This could help to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and improve access to mental health services. (2) Improved storage of medical records Delayed access to a patient's medical records can result in long wait times in hospitals and reduce the efficiency of referrals when patients must move from one facility to another. Medical professionals can access and retrieve a patient's records using Electronic Health Records (EHRs), which enables faster decision-making. This can be critical in an emergency. EHRs also aid the storage, sharing, and analysis of patient data, which could also be used for diagnosis and improving the quality of health care delivery, enabled by the faster and more reliable internet service because data can be easily retrieved even in remote locations or when patients move from one state to another. (3) Efficient human resources for health starts with capacity building The shortage of human resource for health is a significant challenge confronting Nigeria's health system. While it is important to have an adequate number of health workers, it is also critical to ensure that they have proper training and are up to date with recent advancements in their respective fields. Organisations have leveraged digital technologies to improve the capacity of health workers, however one of the challenges they face is a reliable internet service to ensure access to training materials. With access to a reliable internet service, regardless of their location, health workers can easily access training content. They can also receive mentorship and support from professionals anywhere in the world. (4) Real-time tracking of medical supplies The medications and consumables required to provide health services to patients must be kept in the best possible condition. An effective and efficient supply chain and logistics system is critical for the delivery of health services because it ensures that medical supplies such as drugs, vaccines, and other consumables are kept in the best possible condition, while being transported from one location to another. With a reliable internet connection, it is easier to track the movement of these supplies and access real-time data to ensure that they are transported at the proper temperatures. It is also possible to track their distribution down to the last mile to ensure that hard-to-reach areas are not left behind. Increasing efficiency and reducing wastage of medical supplies. (5) Disaster response, coordination, and public health surveillance. Access to fast and reliable internet services in rural communities can help ensure that these communities receive the necessary assistance during emergencies, and they are better prepared to respond to future health emergencies. Information about disease outbreaks and other health emergencies can be rapidly disseminated, which would enable health workers and the public to promptly respond. Community members can also quickly report suspicious incidents to relevant authorities in real time and receive updates on relief and other efforts. Speaking during a panel session at the 2nd Conference on Public Health In Africa (CPHIA 2022), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Assistant Director General, WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, said that while he was the Director General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria struggled to have a coordinated process of collecting, analysing and then, using the data to make rapid decisions . Reliable internet access can aid the collection and analysis of data on public health and disaster response. This can assist authorities in identifying patterns and trends and effectively responding to emerging threats. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Health By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. But is it really 100% internet penetration? While Starlink may attempt to achieve 100% internet penetration, there are still obstacles to overcome before the health sector can reap the benefits. Affordability may be an issue as the hardware currently costs $600 and the monthly subscription costs $43. Limited digital literacy may be another major hindrance, as health workers and patients in rural areas may lack the digital literacy skills required to effectively use digital health tools and platforms. Digital inclusion requires that everyone, particularly the most vulnerable has access to digital skills that allow them to participate effectively in society. Mindful of possible data breaches which may compromise patient data and undermine trust in digital health solutions, the government should make efforts to strengthen data governance and ensure right to confidentiality as included in the Patient Bill of Rights. The cost of internet connectivity and digital health solutions can be a major barrier to the adoption and use of technology in Nigeria's health system, particularly in resource-constrained settings. Health facilities and patients may not be able to afford the cost of internet services required to access such solutions. To make digital health solutions more affordable, innovative financing models, public-private partnerships, and government intervention will be required. BUFFALO, N.Y., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- More than a thousand frontline doctors in New York and California say their ability to deliver quality patient care is suffering amid burnout caused by poor working conditions, low wages, excessive workloads, and unaddressed mental health needsa major cause of soaring doctor suicides. As a result, doctors at Loma Linda University Health outside Los Angeles, and University at Buffalo in upstate New Yorka combined 1,600 physiciansfiled a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union with the Union of American Physicians & Dentists (UAPD). The action comes during the 6th Annual "Thank a Resident/Fellow" Week in which the doctors are celebrated for their hard work. "How can anyone expect good quality care when these two health systems show no concern for their own providers," said Dr. Stuart Bussey, an M.D. in private practice and president of UAPD. "This has got to change." About 800 doctors at each health system face similar concerns. Both came under intense pressure during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and emergency room patient volumes continue to run high. Meanwhile, providers say that health systems like these continue to layer additional demands on them as they work in difficult conditions. In Buffalo, the intensity of last year's mass shooting and major blizzard in January have doubled those pressures. Doctors working at seven hospitals affiliated with University at Buffalo say while life is slowly returning to normal, the delivery of healthcare remains in crisis mode. At Loma Linda, the hardships are just as real. Among the top concerns is scheduling doctors to work concurrent shifts of up to 120 hours per week, leading to grueling work conditions that undermine patient care. Along with failing to provide a safe space for doctors to sleep in the hospital when they are required to remain overnight. The practice has resulted in some providers sleeping on the floor or in a closet. "This is how we are treating doctors in 2023," Bussey explained. Recent studies show that these growing demands on frontline physicians have caused doctor suicides to spike. Today, doctors face the highest suicide rates among all professions and are double the national average. About the Union of American Physicians & Dentists The Union of American Physicians & Dentists (UAPD) has organized physicians and providers since 1972. With more than 5,000 members in California, New Mexico, and Washington State, UAPD is the largest union of licensed physicians and advanced practice clinicians nationwide. Members work for state and county governments, large healthcare organizations and nonprofit health systems, as well as providers in private practice. Learn more at www.uapd.com. Contact Information: Vivi Le Communications Manager Union of American Physicians & Dentists (714) 552-9841 [email protected] SOURCE Union of American Physicians and Dentists ADA, Okla., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Esabel Cantu is a 54-year-old mother of five and grandmother of eight from Hereford, Texas, who thanks God, and her Mercy dialysis team, every day she is alive. Cantu went from being bedridden to having another chance at life thanks to lifesaving dialysis treatment from a dedicated Mercy team. "I don't even know how she was alive or breathing because of the amount of extra fluid (200+ pounds) she was carrying." Tweet this Esabel Cantu, left, before reduction of over 239 pounds of fluid. Esabel, after Mercy's life-saving dialysis treatment, surrounded by four of her grandchildren. Due to health-related complications, Cantu gained a large amount of fluid that was literally killing her. Her care team in Texas was preparing to send her home on hospice, but one of Cantu's daughters requested a transfer in a last-ditch effort to help her mom. After no local hospitals had a bed or the services she needed, Cantu was transferred nearly six hours away from her care facility in Hereford, Texas, to Ada, Oklahoma. When she first arrived at Mercy Hospital Ada, Cantu weighed 540 pounds. "I was desperate at that point because I had so much fluid and was so uncomfortable," she said. "Then Dr. (Abdul) Khan and his team stepped in. They're my angels in disguise." Cantu underwent treatment with Mercy Hospital Ada's inpatient dialysis team every day for nearly 24 days. The result was a massive reduction of over 239 pounds of fluid. "When Esabel arrived, I don't even know how she was alive or breathing because of the amount of extra fluid she was carrying," said Dr. Khan, Mercy's nephrologist in charge of her care. The dialysis team immediately put in a temporary tunneled dialysis catheter and started dialyzing. Cantu received almost daily sessions, eliminating five to ten pounds of fluid with each session. "After dialysis, I could physically feel the difference," Cantu said. "If it wasn't for this team, I don't know where I'd be right now. I was in such bad shape, but now I have hope and a new chance at life." When Cantu left Mercy to go back to a rehabilitation facility closer to home, she was down to nearly 301 pounds. The 239-pound reduction in fluid allowed Cantu to finally be able to sit up in bed independently and even start physical therapy. "In my last 25 years of practice, I've never taken 200 pounds off of one person, but we are so glad our team had the opportunity to care for and help Esabel," said Dr. Khan. "She looked and felt completely different by the time she left our care, and you could really tell she was happier." Cantu also expressed gratitude for the other dialysis team members who made her stay memorable, including Walter Lopez, Tyler Griffin and Kristi Sawney. "God truly blessed me with this dialysis team," said Cantu. "They are my blessings, and I greatly appreciate everything they did for me during my stay in Ada." While Cantu's case is not typical of inpatient dialysis, it highlights the essential need for these types of services in rural communities. One goal of this new service line was to support rural communities and patients like Cantu. Another primary aim was to reduce unnecessary travel for patients and their families. The dialysis suite at Mercy Hospital Ada is the only inpatient acute dialysis facility in the region. It provides support for hospitalized patients with end stage renal disease. This means individuals who suffer from chronic kidney failure and are hospitalized for additional illness or injury will no longer need to be transferred out of the area for dialysis care. "Dialysis is not a matter of just keeping people alive, it's a matter of helping them improve their quality of life," said Dr. Khan. "It's a big advantage that our community now has these services closer to home." The new suite has around the clock nursing coverage to support emergency needs. It also provides patients the newest dialysis technology. According to Sharon Boling, director of nursing and manager of the dialysis team, the suite has been open since July of 2022. To learn more about Mercy Hospital Ada's inpatient dialysis services, click here. About Mercy Mercy , one of the 25 largest U.S. health systems and named the top large system in the U.S. for excellent patient experience by NRC Health, serves millions annually with nationally recognized quality care and one of the nation's largest Accountable Care Organizations. Mercy is a highly integrated, multi-state health care system including more than 40 acute care, managed and specialty (heart, children's, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has 900 physician practices and outpatient facilities, 4,000 Mercy Clinic physicians and advanced practitioners and more than 40,000 co-workers serving patients and families across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. SOURCE Mercy Getting leadership support for pay transparency is the top challenge WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The corporate quest to achieve pay equity is not getting easier: 41 percent of HR professionals told Salary.com their organization is struggling to address pay equity, a 10 percent increase over the prior year. According to Salary.com's second annual Employer Pay Equity Pulse Survey the top three challenges are: getting leadership to support pay transparency, integrating their pay philosophy into their corporate culture, and learning how to conduct a pay equity analysis. Over half of the companies participating have a process in place to address internal equity and half have allocated resources to address identified pay disparities. The survey, conducted in December of 2022, represents responses from 900+ US-based HR professionals. 51 percent of businesses report that they disclose wage ranges in job postings, a 45 percent year-over-year increase Tweet this Uneven Progress on Pay Transparency "The practical heart of any pay equity commitment is pay transparency," said Garry Straker, Vice President of Compensation Consulting at Salary.com. "It's the key to managing an organization's perception that there is equity in their pay practices." There is progress on wage transparency, with 51 percent of businesses reporting that they disclose wage ranges in job postings, a 45 percent year-over-year increase. Of the 49 percent that do not currently disclose wage ranges, more than half plan to do so within the next year. "New pay transparency legislation in California, Washington and New York, among other areas, is creating a seismic shift in the practice of wage disclosure," said Straker. "With many more states looking to build on what Colorado started in 2021, soon employers that do not proactively disclose wage ranges in job postings will be a small minority." Given that getting leadership support for pay transparency is the top challenge, it is not surprising that organizations making pay transparency integral to their corporate culture are in the minority. Only 36 percent of companies have established a pay philosophy that explicitly commits to pay transparency, on par with last year. Increased transparency demands greater communication and understanding of pay practices between managers and employees. However, only one-third of respondents said that any manager at their organization could honestly and accurately answer "How is my pay determined?" when asked by an employee. Impact on Recruitment and Retention The inability to answer questions about pay is problematic, as current employees and job candidates rank as the top sources of pressure to get pay right. Sixty-three percent of companies say it is more difficult to hire new employees and 20 percent report that they are really struggling. While one-third have a good handle on competitive pay and say it has helped their retention and hiring, half have the data but are still working to make the necessary adjustments. Thirteen percent say they need to get a better understanding of the compensation landscape. "Last year we were curious to see how quickly companies would execute new pay strategies to meet heightened employee expectations," said Straker. "One year later it appears that more companies are struggling and where progress has been made, much of it is in response to pay transparency legislation. Companies are going to have to do better if they hope to continue competing in what remains a very tight labor market." Click here to download the full report. Survey Methodology The survey was conducted in December of 2022 by Salary.com. There were 919 employer responses from organizations across the US: 22% of respondents are executives; 23% are HR professionals; compensation professionals accounted for an additional 20%; 59% of respondents were from organizations with 500 employees or less. ABOUT SALARY.COM Salary.com is the leading provider of compensation market data, software, and analytics, bringing more of the trusted data and intuitive software organizations need to get pay right. The industry's fastest-growing compensation management company, Salary.com serves over 30,000 survey participant organizations, over 8,000 business-to-business software subscribers, and over 60 million employees globally. HR professionals rely on Salary.com's 360 view of their compensation practices so they can efficiently and accurately achieve pay equity and adapt to market changes. Salary.com's state- of-the-art CompAnalyst accelerates compensation workflows, delivers real-time data, and powers accurate, equitable and competitive compensation through one intuitive platform. For more information, please visit www.salary.com. Media Contact: Julie Murphy PR Director [email protected] SOURCE Salary.com, Inc. TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On Monday 6 February, BICSI, headquartered in Tampa, FL, was honored by the City of Tampa with a commemorative paver on the Tampa Bay Riverwalk for its role in fostering Tampa's community and economy over the past 50 years. The paver, which depicts BICSI's 50th anniversary of conferences logo, was unveiled for the 2023 BICSI Winter Conference's official opening. BICSI's 50 years of conferences logo on a commemorative paver on the Tampa Riverwalk. BICSI Board President Carol Everett Oliver, RCDD, DCDC, ESS, Chief Executive Officer John Daniels, CNM, FACHE, FHIMSS, Board President-Elect David Richards, RCDD, NTS, OSP, TECH, CT, and many others, including Visit Tampa Bay Vice President of Convention Sales Adam DePiro, were in attendance. "This premier Information and Communications Technology event has been coming to Tampa since the 1970s, and has brought in millions of dollars to our economy," said representatives from the Tampa Convention Center. The very first BICSI (BICs) conference was held in Tampa in 1973. Since then, BICSI has continued to hold annual conferences and foster growth in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry and Tampa in particular. The 2023 BICSI Winter Conference brought ICT professionals to Tampa, offering the latest in educational resources, industry updates and highlights, and networking opportunities to attendees and exhibitors alike. Highlights of the recent conference included: The 15 th Annual Cabling Skills Challenge, in which several installers and technicians competed for $5,000 and the title of BICSI Installer of the Year Annual Cabling Skills Challenge, in which several installers and technicians competed for and the title of BICSI Installer of the Year The Annual Awards Banquet, which highlighted several prominent figures within the ICT profession for their achievements. The Technology Showcase and What's New, What's It Do? sessions, spotlighting ICT industry advancements and products from a multitude of exhibitors. sessions, spotlighting ICT industry advancements and products from a multitude of exhibitors. Over 40 educational presentations covering a wide swath of industry topics. BICSI's mission is to continue to advance the ICT industry and provide a myriad of opportunities for established and emerging professionals. The 2023 BICSI Fall Conference, which will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada from 1014 September, will be BICSI's next ICT conference. For more information, visit bicsi.org. About BICSI BICSI is a professional association supporting the advancement of the information and communications technology (ICT) profession and currently serves more than 26,000 members and credential holders. BICSI is the preeminent resource for the Connected World. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, USA, BICSI membership spans nearly 100 countries. SOURCE BICSI Trends in cost containment, provider network management and healthcare price transparency position Perspecta for strong growth CHICAGO, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 5th Century Partners, a purpose-driven private investment firm committed to driving economic and social impact, today announced that it has acquired Perspecta, a leading provider of physician directories and data management solutions in workers' compensation, government and commercial healthcare. With this investment, 5th Century Partners will drive accelerated growth for a market leader in healthcare transparency and provider network management solutions. "There are critical conversations happening across the healthcare ecosystem calling for better cost containment and price transparency. We expect these trends to continue and believe Perspecta has the solutions to help the industry meet these needs," said Marques Torbert, Managing Partner at 5th Century Partners. "I've known the Perspecta team for a decade, and the company's experienced leaders have the ability to understand the opportunities and execute. We're pleased to formalize our relationship as we work together to continue to grow the business and contribute to moving the healthcare industry forward for the benefit of all stakeholders." Based in Philadelphia, Perspecta operates in the workers' compensation and group health space and provides service and technology-based solutions that help property and casualty insurance companies, health plans, managed care providers and third-party administrators manage their physician data and networks. The company's products are specifically designed to help these stakeholders maintain compliance with state and federal regulations, improve data management requirements and enhance cost containment. Perspecta's solutions create a transformative patient and user experience by providing accurate, reliable and transparent healthcare and provider information. The company currently serves more than 75 customers, including several top 10 insurance carriers, health plans and third-party administrators across the U.S., and has more than 40 employees. "This is a major milestone for Perspecta, and we're thrilled to have the support of 5th Century Partners as we enter this new chapter," said Howard Koenig, President and CEO at Perspecta. "Marques and the 5th Century Partners team bring deep healthcare expertise, valuable relationships, additional financial resources and have significant experience operating companies in this space. They know our business, and both Perspecta and our clients will greatly benefit from this partnership." Perspecta is a rapidly growing and profitable business with significant opportunities for expansion. As part of the investment, 5th Century Partners will work with leadership to build out the company's national sales and account management team to drive growth in various verticals while targeting specific end markets. The firm will also work to enhance Perspecta's go-to-market strategies to generate new product development, grow existing customer accounts and drive retention with best-in-class customer service. "Our deep sector knowledge and strong relationship with the management team positioned us as the partner of choice to help grow Perspecta," said Bruce Hampton, Managing Partner at 5th Century Partners. "We look forward to activating our robust network of operators and advisors in the healthcare industry on behalf of the company and investing in technologies to anticipate the future needs of Perspecta's customers." In partnership with 5th Century Partners, current president and CEO, Howard Koenig, and co-founder and COO, April Stiles, will continue to lead the day-to-day business operations, while maintaining equity ownership in the business. Koenig is a seasoned operator in insurance, healthcare and financial services and brings more than 25 years of executive leadership and experience in driving innovation and hypergrowth across technology. Stiles has more than 21 years of experience in the software, insurance and managed care industries. "The healthcare industry at large continues to see strong tailwinds, and our company is in an excellent position to expand our role as a leading provider of data management," said April Stiles, co-founder and COO at Perspecta. "The support of 5th Century Partners will not only accelerate our growth but allows us to deliver our solutions to more customers, providers and consumers, further empowering people to make informed care decisions and creating greater impact across the healthcare continuum." DLA Piper served as legal counsel to 5th Century Partners, and CIBC Innovation Banking provided debt financing to support the transaction. Canaccord Genuity was the sell-side advisor to the transaction. The financial terms were not disclosed. About Perspecta Perspecta is a leader in provider data management solutions designed to optimize the business of healthcare. With a portfolio powered by industry leading technologies, Perspecta is reimagining provider data management. Through deep domain expertise and spirit of innovation, Perspecta accelerates the transformation of provider network management, delivering value to customers and the providers, consumers and partners they serve. Perspecta's provider data management solutions create a better user experience and significant return on investment for health plans, workers compensation and provider organizations. With the industry's highest accuracy rating of more than 95%, Perspecta is the leading choice for provider network data & directory management. Learn more at www.goperspecta.com. About 5th Century Partners 5th Century Partners is a purpose-driven private investment firm that invests in middle-market companies within healthcare, consumer and business services that are committed to driving economic value and social impact. The firm provides capital, operating expertise and strategic relationships that lead to sustainable growth, which in turn allows partner companies to realize their full potential and deliver positive outcomes to their stakeholders. Learn more at www.5cpartners.com. SOURCE 5th Century Partners SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Do you remember where you were in 1978? For Accurate Personnel, the answer is Park Ridge, IL as the family-owned Illinois-based company was founded in suburban Chicago that year. Fast forward to 2023, the now nationwide company is set to celebrate its 45th year of staffing excellence. From its origins in that single location to a national reach in the present day, Accurate Personnel has now set the standard for staffing each and every day over the span of four and a half decades. That will continue throughout the upcoming year as Accurate Personnel will recognize its 45th anniversary with a number of events and activities. These efforts will be spearheaded by Chief Branding Officer and second-generation owner Jaimie Rios and newly hired Director of Marketing Karen Durante. "We are constantly working to make sure employees have opportunities to develop their skills and see avenues for growth," Rios told the Staffing Industry Analysts in a recent interview. "We want our employees to feel like they are a part of something bigger." Beginning on January 1st, the company will launch a shift in its branding with an exclusive 45th year logo and a campaign centered around the celebration. This will include 45 days of giveaways to be featured across Accurate Personnel's social media accounts. The corporate festivities will officially kick off January 30th when the executive team hosts their launch summit in Illinois. "It is an exciting time to be joining Accurate," says Durante. "The 45th anniversary is such a positive moment for the team and it is an honor to be helping lead the promotional campaign centered around it." To keep up with its trend of unparalleled growth, Accurate Personnel plans to open several new locations in the spring and summer months, placing a heavy emphasis on the southern region of the country for its new offices in states such as Kentucky, Tennessee, and Georgia. There are also plans to expand its corporate headquarters with an additional location set to open in Lakewood Ranch, FL. "We expect a lot of growth in the southern region of the country," Rios recently told the SIA. "And [we] want to be in a good position to support both our clients who have staffing needs in the area and associates who will be doing the work there." The efforts will continue throughout the calendar year with promotions to be featured on the company's social media platforms, as well as in-person events and grand opening ceremonies. Be on the lookout for more news to come from Accurate Personnel in the first quarter of the year as more excitement comes from one of the most cutting-edge teams in the industry. Follow Accurate Personnel content on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. You can also visit www.accurateusa.com for all of the most up-to-date info about the company. Contact: Cole Sheeks Phone: 224-343-7772 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Accurate Personnel MELVILLE, N.Y., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AIP Publishing has signed a Read & Publish agreement with the FCCN / b-on Consortium, bringing our portfolio of groundbreaking research and the advantages of Open Access publishing to nearly 60 institutions across Portugal. The agreement, which lasts through 2024, offers researchers at those institutions unlimited access to 15 journals in the AIP Publishing portfolio. Article processing charges (APCs) required to publish Open Access will be covered by this agreement for select journals. "We are very happy to have signed this agreement with AIP Publishing, which is part of the effort being made by b-on to promote open access to publications by authors from its member institutions, thereby contributing towards greater visibility of the science produced in Portugal and, in general, towards the progress of science," said Joana Novais, manager of the b-on consortium. She added, "The articles the agreement allows to be published in open access are an important contribution towards this goal, benefiting in this specific case the very active Portuguese Physics community." "This agreement helps broaden Open Access in the physical sciences, which is at the heart of our mission," said AIP Publishing's Chief Publishing Officer, Penelope Lewis. "We are honored to be working with b-on to provide an array of institutions across Portugal with the benefits of access to our extensive portfolio and the ability to publish Open Access." About the FCCN / b-on Consortium Established by FCCN, the Scientific Computing Unit of Portugal's Foundation for Science and Technology, Biblioteca do Conhecimento Online (b-on) is an online knowledge library and service that stimulates the community to consume and produce scientific content, encourages cooperation between the entities of the national academic and scientific system, and allows costs to be rationalized through centralized negotiation with publishers and their content suppliers. It provides research and higher education institutions with unlimited, permanent access to thousands of journals and eBooks from some of the leading international scientific content providers. About AIP Publishing AIP Publishing is a wholly owned not-for-profit subsidiary of the American Institute of Physics (AIP). AIP Publishing's mission is to support the charitable, scientific and educational purposes of AIP through scholarly publishing activities in the fields of the physical and related sciences on its own behalf and on behalf of our publishing partners to help them proactively advance their missions. SOURCE AIP Publishing Mr Buhari said government is a continuum, and he desired that the unfinished business of his administration found continuity and fulfilment in his successor as he did to his predecessor. President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday in Abuja said time and history will no doubt speak more eloquently of his stewardship. Mr Buhari stated this at an event tagged "Preserving PMB Legacy", organised by the Ministry of Information and Culture to conclude its Scorecard Series. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the event witnessed the inauguration of the PMB Legacy Portal, Testimony Series, Documentary and a Compendium of the Buhari Administration's achievements. Represented by his Vice, Yemi Osinbajo, the president said he could confidently say that his administration had given as much as it could and impacted positively on the lives of the citizens. He said the scorecard series, legacy portal, testimonies series, documentary and the compendium put together by the ministry were the documented pieces of evidence of the achievements of the administration. According to him, they will be reliable historical records of what transpired in the eight years of his administration. He said the works, being kept in many different forms, would help to reinforce their accuracy and authenticity. The president noted that the five works would also provide a useful source of materials for researchers and historians in the future whether they are for or against his administration. Speaking on the content of the works, Mr Buhari said the testimony series featured the testimonials of actual beneficiaries of the Social Investment Programmes (SIP) of the administration. He said the testimonial series practically presented SIP as the largest social investment programme in Africa as well as its impacts. "Hearing from citizens themselves; the petty trader who was able to expand her business because of TraderMoni; the unemployed graduate who benefitted from the N-Power programme discovers a new and profitable path. "We see and hear recorded for history, the passengers who could not hide their excitement at the seamless operation of the modern railway system or the state-of-the-art airport terminals. "We also see the president of the rice farmers association who told us how rice production in the country has increased exponentially under the Anchor Borrowers Programme. "These are real people provided with a springboard to do more for themselves and their communities; real people inspired to hope and believe that Nigeria can be positively transformed in our lifetime," he said. The president said the scorecard series provided a platform for ministers to highlight their achievements, and challenges as well unfold plans for their respective ministries. Mr Buhari urged that the accounts should be given the widest possible reach across traditional and new media channels. According to him, the Documentary and Testimony Series should resound on radio, television, and across social media. He added that the Compendium should be circulated, in hard and soft copies, far and wide, to engage, provoke and inspire Nigerians and others who would come across it. The president said that government is a continuum, he desired that the unfinished business of his administration found continuity and fulfilment in his successor as he did to his predecessor. He said the administration considered it a privilege and an honour to serve the people of Nigeria. Mr Buhari congratulated the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, and his team for putting together the "impressive, innovative and robust archival materials". He said they would provide a veritable template for future administrations. Earlier, the minister said the scorecard Series was introduced to consolidate all the ministry had been doing since 2015 to propagate the policies and programmes of the administration. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. He said the forum provided a counter to the pushback by the opposition and the naysayers, who contended that the Buhari administration had achieved nothing. Mr Mohammed said the scorecard series also provided campaign materials for the ruling All Progressives Congress and its candidates in the run-up to the 2023 general elections. "We have now shown that not only do we have a lot to campaign with, we are spoilt for choice! "We also went beyond the moment by creating the Legacy Portal, which, as I said earlier, is an electronic storehouse of the achievements. "This is unprecedented in the history of our country," he said. The minister assured that in the same way, the scorecard series was a success, the other four variants launched by the president would attain the same level of success. (NAN) SPARKS, Md., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AiRISTA recognized as a "Leader" for second straight year. AiRISTA, a global leader in real time location services (RTLS), today announced that it has been recognized by Gartner, Inc. as a "Leader" in the 2023 Magic Quadrant for Indoor Location Services. This is the second consecutive year AiRISTA has been recognized in the Leaders Quadrant. Click here for a copy of the full report. "AiRISTA is honored to be recognized for a second consecutive year by Gartner as a Leader in the 2023 Magic Quadrant for Indoor Location services," said Sy Sajjad, CEO and founder of AiRISTA. "AiRISTA is committed to improving processes across the enterprise through location insights to your most trusted resources at work. We combine Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), cellular, Infrared (IR), passive RFID, and condition-sensing to improve efficiency, increase resource utilization, ensure process flow, and provide staff safety." According to Gartner, "Vendors in the Leaders quadrant will have demonstrated an ability to fulfill a broad variety of customer requirements through the breadth of their indoor location service solutions. Leaders will have the ability to provide complete and differentiating capabilities as part of their indoor location offerings. This includes global service and support. Leaders should have demonstrated the ability to shape the market, maintain strong relationships with their channels and customers, and have no obvious gaps in their portfolios." "Location insights have become foundational information as the number of tracked resources skyrockets," according to Sajjad. "Companies that prepare for an Internet of Things world are more likely to break away from their competition with more resilient processes and better efficiency, especially when using location data." AiRISTA and its Unified Vision Solution is a dominant indoor location services platform, offered on-premises or in cloud as sofia Cloud platform. Key Takeaways AiRISTA is recognized as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Indoor Location Services report for a second consecutive year. AiRISTA solutions address resource utilization, improved process flow, automated condition sensing, and staff safety in some of the most demanding environments. AiRISTA's Unified Vision Solution platform and hardware portfolio satisfy a broad variety of customer requirements with its breadth of RTLS offers. To learn more about AiRISTA and its leading RTLS solutions, visit its website. Follow AiRISTA at Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Indoor Location Services, Tim Zimmerman, Annette Zimmerman, 28 February 2023 GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner and Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. About AiRISTA AiRISTA's Location Services Solutions are the heart of some of the world's largest deployments representing hundreds of thousands of end points per customer in demanding environments like the California Department of State Hospitals, the US Defense Health Service, and Fortune 500 companies. For details visit our web site or contact us for a demo ([email protected]). SOURCE AiRISTA Flow BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Byars|Wright, Inc. appointed Gabe Clement as the fourth President of the 77-year-old independent insurance agency. Clement joined Byars|Wright as a Broker in 2014 before launching the agency's Birmingham branch in 2019 and becoming Sales Team Leader in 2021. He is one of Byars|Wright's six shareholders. "We are confident that Gabe is the right person to step into this role," stated Byars|Wright CEO Haig Wright II. "Gabe's ability to lead is one of many strengths that propelled him to this level. He is forward-thinking and has shown great commitment to our team, clients, and the insurance industry." Wright, who previously assumed the combined title of President and CEO of Byars|Wright, remains the CEO of both Byars|Wright and its parent company, WRM Group, LLC. He said Gabe's appointment and the transition to President were the results of strategic planning by the WRM Group. The change marks an exciting move into their next phase of growth. "I'm blessed to work with an unbelievable team," Clement stated. "Taking on the role of President at such a pivotal time in our agency is an honor. I'm proud of our recent successes and see tremendous opportunities ahead. The future is bright for all at Byars|Wright." Byars|Wright experienced significant growth over the past several years and reported a 16% increase in revenue last year. Clement said the agency has no plans of slowing down. As President, he is looking forward to taking a more active role in the overall management of the agency. Wright commented, "Gabe is known for setting high standards in everything he does and consistently exceeding expectations. We know he will continue to do so." In addition to the increased responsibilities of his new position, Clement will carry on as Sales Team Leader and continue producing and managing his book of business. Clement currently serves on the Associated Builders and Contractors of Alabama Board of Directors and was awarded the Alabama Associated General Contractors of America 2020 Top 40 Under 40 In Construction. The Auburn University alumnus and his wife are members of Mountain Brook Community Church. For more information, please contact Lacey Rae Visintainer at [email protected]. Byars|Wright, Inc. is a member of the WRM Group. It serves customers across the Southeast, providing insurance solutions for businesses and individuals. Byars|Wright is designated a Best Practices Agency and winner of "Best Companies to Work For in Alabama". SOURCE Byars Wright, Inc. Member-centric banking philosophy helped grow deposits last year by 2.5% while loans grew 48% (year-to-year) CHICAGO, Ill., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alliant Credit Union today published an annual report summarizing its banking activities in 2022. Throughout last year, Alliant Credit Union upheld its longtime commitment to putting the best interests of its members first. Alliant's reputation for providing top-notch member satisfaction is evidenced, in part, by over $300 million in financial returns to members over national bank averages during 2022. And while big banks last year pulled in billions in revenue from overdrafts and other fees at the expense of banking consumers, Alliant continued offering high return rates on checking, savings and certificatesadding up to savings rates that surpassed 18x the national bank average. Alliant's elimination of overdraft fees in 2021 left over $3 million in its members' pockets throughout 2022, the annual report shows. The no-overdraft fee policy didn't go unnoticed by current and future members. In addition to breaking records in the loan and deposit categories, Alliant membership growth reached an all-time high of more than 760,000 members (and growing) nationwide. Alliant Credit Union's member-centric banking helped grow deposits by 2.5% while loans grew 48% in 2022 Tweet this "Alliant is unlike any other financial institution you know. As a digital credit union, we deliver value to you in ways that banks can't," said Alliant CEO Dennis Devine. "Alliant will continue to support the financial needs and goals of our members with our member-centric approach to banking." Other highlights in the report include: Performance trend overview. A summary of notable awards and media mentions. Financial statements. A review of the guiding principles and values at Alliant. A summary of new technology implementation. https://www.alliantcreditunion.org/about Alliant Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial cooperative with more than 760,000 members and more than $18 billion in assets. Headquartered in Chicago and founded in 1935, Alliant is the largest credit union in Illinois and one of the largest credit unions in the United States. As an all-digital credit union, Alliant's mission is to provide members with a tech-forward banking experience coupled with consistent, superior financial value, while simplifying and enabling how people save, borrow and pay. Find out more at alliantcreditunion.org. Contact: Natalie Hayes [email protected] 312-860-8525 SOURCE Alliant Credit Union LONDON, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Arkham Intelligence Inc., a blockchain intelligence company that has built a platform that provides information on the companies and individuals behind crypto market activity, is working to add support for Base, a new Layer 2 incubated by Coinbase. Arkham Intelligence will be an on-chain analytics provider for Base. ARKHAM INTELLIGENCE PARTNERS WITH COINBASE TO ADD SUPPORT FOR NEWLY INCUBATED LAYER 2 - BASE (PRNewsfoto/ARKHAM INTELLIGENCE, INC.) Arkham's technology de-anonymizes cryptocurrency wallet addresses, associating pseudonymous identities to real world institutions and individuals. Users will soon be able to examine these entities and addresses on Base, as well as their activities. The Arkham platform is currently in Beta, and accessible to the retail public to test by application. Coinbase has built a thriving business with a reputation for being a seamless onramp for onboarding new users into the crypto ecosystem, Arkham's collaboration with Coinbase reaffirms a commitment to serving as many users as possible across the crypto space, both existing and future ones. "Coinbase was an early adopter of Arkham's private beta, and it's become a powerful tool for our team. We're excited to have Arkham partnering with us on Base, and look forward to building together." says Conor Grogan, Director of Business Operations & Strategy at Coinbase. The Arkham-Coinbase partnership follows a series of recent partnerships announced by Arkham, with BNB Chain, Polygon, Avalanche and Optimism. These will expand coverage of Arkham's on-chain analytics platform beyond Ethereum, to include Base, alongside all the aforementioned blockchains. "We're honored to have been chosen by Coinbase as one of the technology platforms to integrate Base." Said Miguel Morel, Arkham's Founder & CEO. "I've long admired Coinbase as a business - and am excited that we'll be able to work with them by our side as a blockchain intelligence tool of choice." Arkham's platform allows users to analyze labeled entities, examine transaction-level data, flows of funds, counterparty relationships and make use of alerts for any definable on-chain activity. It achieves this through a data-enriched block explorer, entity pages, a visualizer, filtering, and a custom-built alerts feature. More Information: https://arkhamintelligence.com Contact: [email protected] About Arkham Arkham is a blockchain intelligence company that has built a platform that provides information on the real-world entities and individuals behind crypto market activity. The company is a Series A startup with over $10 million raised from investors including the founders of Palantir and OpenAI, and VCs including Geoff Lewis at Bedrock and Tim Draper. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2008773/Arkham_Logo.jpg Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2008772/Confidential_Final_Promo.jpg SOURCE ARKHAM INTELLIGENCE, INC. New Community Carts campaign allows anyone to donate groceries to food banks in states where emergency COVID-19 SNAP benefits are expiring, with no delivery or service fees Extension of discounted Instacart+ memberships for SNAP recipients will help families put food on the table SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, today announced a special Community Carts campaign and an extension of its discounted Instacart+ membership for SNAP recipients to help families continue to put nutritious food on the table as emergency COVID-19 SNAP benefits expire in 32 states. The expiration means grocery budgets will tighten by at least $95 per month for more than 30 million people and, as a result, many local food banks that are already facing supply shortages amid rising food prices are now bracing for a surge in demand for assistance. To help Feeding America partner food banks stock their shelves and ensure those seeking assistance can find it, Instacart is expanding its Community Carts initiative and launching a public awareness campaign to help drive donations to food banks in nearly every state where emergency SNAP funding is expiring. Instacart's Community Carts tool reimagines the traditional food drive , allowing anyone to easily donate the grocery items their local food banks have identified they need most, with items delivered directly to the food bank by Instacart shoppers. Starting March 1, anyone can donate food items to almost 100 Feeding America partner food banks in 31 states where emergency SNAP funds will expire at the end of the month through Community Carts. That is in addition to 24 food banks in 16 states where additional SNAP allotments have already expired. In total, individuals will be able to participate in crowdsourced cart building for good by donating groceries to more than 120 food banks in 47 states, with delivery and service fees waived on every donation order. "Our goal is to put more food on the table for more families," said Instacart Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Dani Dudeck. "As grocery budgets tighten for millions of SNAP recipients and lines stretch longer at food banks across the country, accessing affordable, nutritious food has never been harder. At Instacart, we're committed to finding more ways to support food banks nationwide so they can continue to serve their communities and feed more families." Instacart's Community Carts tool helps food banks secure larger, more targeted donations that match their unique needs. This past holiday season, Instacart customers donated tens of thousands of groceries and other essentials specifically requested by food banks through Community Carts. Anyone can find their local food bank and donate at instacart.com/donate . "Many partner food banks are preparing for heightened demand as SNAP benefits return to pre-pandemic levels," said Lauren Biedron, Vice President of Corporate Partnerships at Feeding America. "With this special Community Carts campaign, Instacart is helping food banks get donations that meet their unique needs and stock their shelves during a critical time. We are grateful for our continued partnership with Instacart and the support they provide to food banks nationwide." Instacart is also extending its discounted Instacart+ membership program for SNAP recipients. Under the program, anyone who uses an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) SNAP card to buy groceries on Instacart is eligible for a discounted Instacart+ membership at $4.99/month (50% off) for 12 months. With Instacart+, individuals can access free delivery and Pickup on orders over $35, 5% credit back on all Pickup orders, and reduced service fees on every order. Research published in 2022 by the University of Kentucky, No Kid Hungry and Instacart found that access to online grocery and delivery can help families with lower incomes save time, reduce transportation costs, and more effectively manage their budgets. SNAP recipients who grocery shop online also purchase more fruits and vegetables than in-store shoppers, without increasing their total grocery bill, according to the research. "Our research has shown that online grocery shopping can provide very real benefits for families on tight food budgets, including SNAP recipients," said Courtney Smith, SVP Program Research, Innovation and Impact at No Kid Hungry. "Instacart's discounted membership for SNAP recipients is one solution that can help more food-insecure families tap into the many benefits of online grocery including saving time, managing their budgets, and reducing transportation barriers. We applaud Instacart for helping more families access the nutritious food they need." The Community Carts campaign and Instacart+ SNAP discount program are part of Instacart's broader commitment to increasing nutrition security in communities most in need. The company partners with more than 1,000 retailers across over 75,000 stores and reaches over 95% of North American households, including more than 93% of homes in food deserts. Working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food & Nutrition Service, Instacart also pioneered the EBT SNAP retailer onboarding process in 2020. Today, Instacart enables online SNAP payments with more than 70 retailers across more than 8,000 stores in 49 states and Washington D.C. Instacart last year launched Instacart Health, a sweeping initiative designed to deliver the ingredients for healthier living through Instacart's products, partnerships, and policy advocacy. To learn more about Instacart Health, visit www.instacart.com/company/health . To donate to food banks through Community Carts, visit www.instacart.com/donate . About Instacart Instacart, the leading grocery technology company in North America, works with grocers and retailers to transform how people shop. The company partners with more than 1,000 national, regional, and local retail banners to facilitate online shopping, delivery, and pickup services from more than 75,000 stores across North America on the Instacart Marketplace. Instacart makes it possible for millions of people to get the groceries they need from the retailers they love, and for hundreds of thousands of Instacart shoppers to earn by picking, packing, and delivering orders on their own flexible schedule. The Instacart Platform offers retailers a suite of enterprise-grade technology products and services to power their e-commerce experiences, fulfill orders, digitize brick-and-mortar stores, provide advertising services, and glean insights. With Instacart Ads, thousands of CPG brands from category leaders to emerging brands partner with the company to connect directly with consumers online, right at the point of purchase. With Instacart Health, the company is providing tools to increase nutrition security, make healthy choices easier for consumers, and expand the role that food can play in improving health outcomes. For more information, visit www.instacart.com/company , and to start shopping, visit www.instacart.com . For anyone interested in becoming an Instacart shopper, visit https://shoppers.instacart.com/ . Food banks with Community Carts on Instacart (Most are already live; some coming online March 1): * States where Emergency SNAP benefits will expire March 1 * Alabama Food Bank of North Alabama Community Food Bank of Central Alabama Feeding the Gulf Coast Montgomery Area Food Bank California Christian Outreach in Action Del Aire Baptist Family Health Care Resources Feeding San Diego Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano Food Bank for Monterey County Food Bank of Santa Barbara County Good Shepherd Center Grace Resources Redwood Empire Food Bank San Francisco-Marin Food Bank Second Harvest of Silicon Valley Colorado Care and Share Food Bank (Colorado Springs) Care and Share Food Bank (Pueblo) Community Food Share Weld Food Bank Connecticut Connecticut Food Share DC Capital Area Food Bank Delaware Food Bank of Delaware Hawaii Hawaii Food Bank Illinois Eastern Illinois Foodbank Greater Chicago Food Depository Northern Illinois Food Bank Kansas Kansas Food Bank Louisiana Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana Maine Brewer Area Food Pantry Community Outreach Services Footprints Food Pantry Help Yourself Shelf Kaydenz Kitchen Food Pantry Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program Preble Street Safe Voices Sidney Community Food Pantry The Salvation Army Portland Food Pantry Trinity Jubilee Center VCF- Bread of Life Food Pantry Winslow Community Cupboard Bath Area Food Bank Maryland Maryland Food Bank Massachusetts Catholic Charities of Boston Michigan Forgotten Harvest Greater Lansing Food Bank Food Bank of Eastern Michigan Minnesota Department of Indian Work Second Harvest Heartland Nevada Three Square Food Bank New Hampshire New Hampshire Food Bank New Jersey Community Food Bank of NJ New Mexico Roadrunner Food Bank New York City Harvest FeedMore Western NY Food Bank of Central New York Food Bank for NYC Food Bank of the Southern Tier Island Harvest Long Island Cares, Inc. North Carolina MANNA Food Bank Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC Ohio Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank Freestore Foodbank Second Harvest Food bank of the Mahoning Valley Shared Harvest Food Bank The FoodBank Inc Oklahoma Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma Oregon Oregon Food Bank Pennsylvania Central Pennsylvania Food Bank Community Food Warehouse of Mercer County Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania Philabundance Texas Central Texas Food Bank Coastal Bend Food Bank El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley High Plains Food Bank Houston Food Bank West Texas Food Bank San Antonio Food Bank South Plains Food Bank Utah Utah Food Bank Vermont Vermont Food Bank (Barre) Vermont Food Bank (Brattleboro) Virginia Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia Virginia Peninsula Foodbank Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank Washington Food Lifeline West Virginia Facing Hunger Food Bank Wisconsin Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin (Appleton) Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin (Milwaukee) States where Emergency SNAP benefits have already expired Alaska Food Bank of Alaska Arizona United Food Bank Arkansas Arkansas Food Bank Food Bank of Northeast Arkansas Northwest Arkansas Food Bank Florida Feeding South Florida America's Second Harvest of the Big Bend Feeding Tampa Bay Georgia America's Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia Atlanta Community Food Bank Food Bank of Northeast Georgia Idaho The Idaho Foodbank Indiana Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana Community Harvest Food Bank of NE Indiana Iowa River Bend Food Bank Kentucky Dare to Care Food Bank Mississippi Mississippi Food Network Missouri The Food Bank for Central & Northeast Missouri St. Louis Area Foodbank Nebraska Family Fare SupermarketsFood Bank for the Heartland North Dakota Great Plains Food Bank South Carolina Harvest Hope Food Bank South Dakota Feeding South Dakota Tennessee Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee SOURCE Instacart AtlantiCare joined leading healthcare systems worldwide by becoming the first system in the northeastern U.S. to use the Optellum Virtual Nodule Clinic. EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AtlantiCare is the first healthcare system in the northeastern U.S. to use Optellum's Virtual Nodule Clinic. Located in New Jersey, it is integrating the innovative technology into its early lung cancer diagnosis program at its Heart & Lung and Cancer Care institutes at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center (ARMC). The Optellum Virtual Nodule Clinic pre-operative AI assessment helps inform clinical decisions for appropriate follow-up interventions using the MONARCH robotic bronchoscopy techniques, with the goal of achieving the earliest possible and least invasive treatment. Thanks to this unique combination, the clinician can find patients with the smallest and hardest to reach tumors and deploy the robotic bronchoscope to reach and biopsy the regions highlighted with the help of the Optellum AI. By adopting the Optellum Virtual Nodule Clinic, the Interventional Pulmonology team at AtlantiCares Lung Nodule Clinic, led by Amit Borah, M.D., interventional pulmonologist, focuses on identifying and systematically following up on patients with incidentally detected lung nodules. Lung cancer is among the most common types of cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths in the world, according to the American Lung Association. The current worldwide five-year survival rate is 20 percent, primarily because most patients are diagnosed after the disease has progressed to an advanced stage. However, the survival rate for small tumors treated at Stage 1A is up to 90 percent, a disparity that highlights a critical need for diagnosis and treatment at the earliest stage possible.[1] One of the best opportunities for early diagnosis of small, pre-symptomatic lung cancers is presented by the two million patients in the United States every year whose lung nodule is identified incidentally during chest CT scans ordered for other reasons, such as during an emergency department visit or cardiac event. Optellum is the leader in AI-enabled lung cancer diagnosis, and the first and only medtech company to attain FDA clearance, CE-MDR in the EU, and UKCA in the UK for its software platform Virtual Nodule Clinic. This first-of-a-kind platform can help physicians identify and track at-risk patients so that they can biopsy concerning lesions early and start treatments sooner to improve the outcome of patients' care. By adopting the Optellum Virtual Nodule Clinic, the Interventional Pulmonology team at AtlantiCare's Lung Nodule Clinic, led by Amit Borah, M.D., interventional pulmonologist, focuses on identifying and systematically following up on patients with incidentally detected lung nodules. Optellum's integrated Lung Cancer Prediction capability also helps AtlantiCare clinicians prioritize patients at high risk of having lung cancer. Since AtlantiCare began using the Patient Discovery search it has identified approximately 50 out of 300 patients who had lesions that need close surveillance. "Early-stage lung cancer symptoms are often vague or mimic those of other illnesses," said Borah. "Through this technology, we are detecting suspicious nodules at earlier stages than ever, which is so critical to saving lives." Borah explained the technology sends an alert to AtlantiCare's Interventional Pulmonology team if it detects a nodule through a CT scan done at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center. "This could be any patient whose scan shows the lungs or a portion of the lungs. We follow up with the patient and the patient's primary care and other providers. We then determine whether the individual can benefit from robotic bronchoscopy to biopsy and/or treat the nodule at its earliest stages before cancer spreads or a nodule becomes cancerous." The ground-breaking AI solution operates within AtlantiCare's Lung Nodule Clinic. AtlantiCare was one of the first healthcare organizations in the nation to offer the Ethicon's MONARCH robotic bronchoscopy platform, acquired by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) in 2019. The Virtual Nodule Clinic pre-operative AI assessment helps inform clinical decisions for appropriate follow-up interventions using the MONARCH robotic bronchoscopy techniques, with the goal of achieving the earliest possible and least invasive treatment. Thanks to this unique combination, the clinician can find patients with the smallest and hardest to reach tumors and deploy the robotic bronchoscope to reach and biopsy the regions highlighted with the help of the Optellum AI. "We have already identified suspicious tumors in individuals who have no known risk of lung cancer through this technology," added Borah. "It will enhance the life-saving progress we've experienced since offering robotic bronchoscopy to our patients." Vaclav Potesil PhD, Optellum's founder and chief business officer, also commented on the partnership: "Our collaboration with AtlantiCare is noteworthy because we added a new healthcare system to our growing network, where we can work closely with the interventional pulmonology team to evaluate how combining the powers of the Optellum AI and robotic bronchoscopy platforms impacts health outcomes for patients, and take AI-driven early lung cancer interception to the next level." About AtlantiCare AtlantiCare is an integrated healthcare system based in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, whose more than 6,000 staff, providers and volunteers serve the community in more than 100 locations in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, and Ocean counties of southern New Jersey. Its vision of building healthy communities together drives its mission of making a difference in health and healing, one person at a time, through caring and trusting relationships. A Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award winner, AtlantiCare was also included in Modern Healthcare's Best Places to Work. AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center was the 105th hospital in the nation to attain the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Magnet designation in 2004 and earned redesignation in 2008, 2013, and 2018. Learn more at atlanticare.org. About Optellum Optellum is a commercial-stage lung-health company providing artificial intelligence decision-support software that assists physicians in early diagnosis and optimal treatment for their patients. The company was founded so that every lung disease patient is diagnosed and treated at the earliest possible stage, when the probability of better health outcomes is highest. In 2021, the Oxford-based medtech company achieved FDA 510(k) clearance for the application of AI decision-support software in lung cancer diagnosis, and has since announced strategic partnerships in the USA with GE Healthcare and the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson, while the Virtual Nodule Clinic has been implemented in leading healthcare systems across the USA. Optellum has headquarters at the Oxford Centre for Innovation in Oxford, United Kingdom and a U.S. office at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. For more information, visit optellum.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. MEDIA CONTACTS: Tim Cox | Tyto PR for Optellum | [email protected] Jennifer Tornetta| Manager, Media Relations and Public Affairs, AtlantiCare | [email protected] [1] AJCC Lung Cancer Staging manual (7th edition) SOURCE Optellum HARAHAN, La., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Auto Link, a leading technology and marketing company serving over 175 financial institutions, has entered a strategic partnership with ChannelNet. The companies have teamed up to integrate Auto Link's Digital Car Buying Solution into ChannelNet's OneClick Financial digital engagement platform. OneClick Financial creates a relevant, progressive, digital conversation with accountholders to help financial institutions better understand their needs and life events that drive financial transactions. Each time an accountholder visits a brand website or logs in to mobile or online banking they are presented with individualized, personal experiences that are data driven. At the heart of OneClick Financial platform is an AI based rules and criterial engine that ensures the right information is displayed to the right person at the right time. ChannelNet Logo Auto Link's exclusive Digital Car Buying Solution allows financial institutions of any size to compete and win in the auto-vertical against competitors such as auto dealers and internet marketers by providing all of the vehicle research, buying and financing tools directly on the financial institution's website, thus controlling the accountholder experience. Coupled with OneClick's patented personalization technology, financial institutions can drive a unique vehicle shopping experience with targeted content and functionality at the exact time they may be in the market. Simple data-driven examples of the integration are when an accountholder is 6 months from paying off their loan, moving, changing jobs, children going to college, or have just had an expensive vehicle repair. "Digital experiences that are personal and relevant are table stakes in today's digital first world," says ChannelNet CEO Paula Tompkins. "These experiences must be interactive, engaging and designed to support accountholders with rich content and functionality to streamline their decision making." Ed Bourgeois, Founder and CEO of Auto Link adds, "Consumers are demanding easy to access, digital solutions from their trusted financial institutions when it comes time to make large investments such as vehicle purchases. Partnering with ChannelNet represents a perfect integration to seamlessly help drive the online conversation and transaction to the most beneficial consumer solution." OneClick Financial is a patented data-driven digital engagement platform, designed to generate a one-to-one dialog between FIs and their accountholders. OneClick Financial consumes core data from each FI, collects behavioral data from accountholders interaction and appends it with 3rd party data to create an automated dynamic experience that is relevant and holistic for each accountholder. In today's time starved world Financial Services firms that make it faster and easier to do business with them win the hearts and minds of their accountholders. Both companies are inviting interested financial institutions to join an informative webinar to discuss the partnership and how the two solutions work seamlessly together on Tuesday, March 21st at 2:00pm ET. Interested parties can RSVP by visiting the following link: https://autolink.as.me/?appointmentType=41526360. About ChannelNet ChannelNet is a leader and pioneer in delivering customer engagement and retention via web and mobile solutions that work across sales and service channels. Its patented SaaS digital engagement platform connects financial institutions with their accountholders to engage, inform and learn about financial products and services. The privately held company, founded 39 years ago, is based in Dearborn, Michigan. About Auto Link Auto Link offers a best-in-class solution for financial institutions of all sizes looking to stay relevant in the digital world and have a more successful and profitable auto-lending program, including those that do indirect auto financing. Auto Link has two patents on its technology and provides a complete auto lending solution from web interface, marketing library, social media portal, training tools and analytics to a built-in loyalty feature. Each member that finances a vehicle at an Auto Link client, automatically receives a myEZ Car Care membership filled with discounts at over 10,000 locations nationwide and an Electronic Glove Box desktop and mobile app. Media Contact: Chris Miller | 804-387-3026 [email protected] Paula Tompkins | 415-720-4498 [email protected] SOURCE Auto Link NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The global automotive IC market size is estimated to increase by USD 16.86 billion between 2022 and 2027. The market's growth momentum will be progressing at a CAGR of 8.84% during the forecast period. The report includes historic market data from 2017 to 2021. In 2017, the market was valued at USD 22.98 billion. With the lifting of lockdowns in the second half of 2020, due to the initiation of vaccination programs across APAC, manufacturing, and retail activities peaked steadily in the region. This is expected to drive the demand for automotive IC from the automotive industry for various applications during the forecast period. Moreover, the automotive industry in APAC, especially in India and China, is expected to grow significantly during the forecast period. For more insights on the historic market data from 2017 to 2021 - Request a sample report Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Automotive IC Market 2023-2027 Key Trends The potential demand for EVs is identified as the key trend in the market. Growing concerns over the pollution caused by internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles are increasing the adoption of EVs worldwide. Besides, the advantages of EVs over ICE vehicles such as better torque, low maintenance, higher efficiency, and environmental friendliness are increasing their demand among consumers. With the growing adoption of EVs, the demand for automotive ICs will increase during the forecast period. Global Automotive IC market Vendor Analysis The global automotive IC market is fragmented due to the presence of many vendors. Prominent vendors in the market are expanding their customer base and are increasing investments in R&D. Thus, there is intense competition among existing vendors and most established vendors in the market. A few prominent vendors that offer automotive IC in the market are Analog Devices Inc. - The company offers automotive ICs for ADAS driving. - The company offers automotive ICs for ADAS driving. Infineon Technologies AG - The company offers automotive ICs for body electronics and lighting, CAV, and EV thermal management. - The company offers automotive ICs for body electronics and lighting, CAV, and EV thermal management. Intel Corp. - The company offers automotive IC for driving, electric vehicles, and IVE. - The company offers automotive IC for driving, electric vehicles, and IVE. KLA Corp. - The company offers automotive IC for body electronics, powertrain and infotainment. - The company offers automotive IC for body electronics, powertrain and infotainment. For Details on vendor and its offerings Buy the report! Global Automotive IC Market - Segmentation Assessment Segment Overview Technavio has segmented the market based on type (discrete, logic, micro components, analog, and others), vehicle type (passenger cars and commercial vehicles), and geography (APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and the Middle East and Africa). The market growth in the discrete segment will be significant during the forecast period. The segment includes micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) such as torque, force, pressure, accelerometer, and proximity sensors. The increasing demand for smart sensors to provide accurate and reliable data in vehicles is driving the growth of the segment. Geography Overview By geography, the global automotive IC market is segmented into APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and Middle East and Africa. The report provides actionable insights and estimates the contribution of all regions to the growth of the global automotive IC market. APAC will account for 48% of the market growth during the forecast period. The growth of the regional market is driven by significant investments in production and R&D of new technologies by automobile manufacturers. Also, the increasing adoption of passenger vehicles is contributing to the growth of the automotive IC market in APAC. Get a glance of the market contribution of various segments including country and region wise Download a Sample Report Global Automotive IC Market Market Dynamics Leading Drivers The market is driven by the dropping price of ICs and increasing demand for electronics in vehicles. The growing adoption of hybrid and electric vehicles has increased the use of electronic components in the automobile industry. Prominent automakers such as Toyota are using semiconductors such as isolated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) and power metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) to improve switching rate and efficiency. In addition, the design of drivetrain for EVs is continuously evolving. All these factors will drive the growth of the global automotive IC market during the forecast period. Major challenges Complexity in the design of automotive IC is a major challenge hindering the growth of the market. The design of automotive IC is highly complex than the ones used in mobile phones and other electronic appliances such as televisions and remote controllers. Automotive ICs must be able to work under harsh environments and internal complexities of the vehicle. Automotive OEMs are compelled to ensure high level of reliability and should focus on reliability tests such as the six-sigma design and zero-defect design to avoid IC failure. All these factors are challenging the growth of the market. Driver, trend, and challenges are the factor of market dynamics that state about consequences & sustainability of the businesses, find some insights from a sample report. What are the key data covered in this automotive IC market report? CAGR of the market during the forecast period Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the automotive IC market between 2023 and 2027 Precise estimation of the size of the automotive IC market and its contribution to the parent market Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior Growth of the automotive IC market industry across APAC, Europe , North America , South America , and Middle East and Africa , , , and and A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about vendors Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of automotive IC market vendors Gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Related Reports: The automotive ethernet market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 20.88% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by USD 4,606.85 million . The increasing demand for high bandwidth and lightweight materials is notably driving the market growth, although factors such as OEMs being skeptical about adopting ethernet in vehicles may impede the market growth. is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 20.88% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by . The increasing demand for high bandwidth and lightweight materials is notably driving the market growth, although factors such as OEMs being skeptical about adopting ethernet in vehicles may impede the market growth. The automotive airbag sensor market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 6.36% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by USD 220.4 million . Enhanced vehicle safety with more airbags is notably driving the market growth, although factors such as the lack of regulation for airbags in medium and heavy-duty vehicles may impede the market growth. Automotive IC Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 178 Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 8.84% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 16.86 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 8.61 Regional analysis APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 48% Key countries US, China, Japan, Germany, and UK Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Allegro MicroSystems Inc., Infineon Technologies AG, Intel Corp., KLA Corp., Microchip Technology Inc., Micron Technology Inc., NXP Semiconductors NV, ON Semiconductor Corp, Power Clinic Inc., Renesas Electronics Corp., Robert Bosch GmbH, ROHM Co. Ltd., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Siemens AG, STMicroelectronics NV, Texas Instruments Inc., Toshiba Corp., Wanxiang Group Corp., Analog Devices Inc., and Qualcomm Inc. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, market growth inducers and obstacles, fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, and market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Browse for Technavio consumer discretionary market reports Table of contents: 1 Executive Summary 1.1 Market overview Exhibit 01: Executive Summary Chart on Market Overview Exhibit 02: Executive Summary Data Table on Market Overview Exhibit 03: Executive Summary Chart on Global Market Characteristics Exhibit 04: Executive Summary Chart on Market by Geography Exhibit 05: Executive Summary Chart on Market Segmentation by Type Exhibit 06: Executive Summary Chart on Market Segmentation by Vehicle Type Exhibit 07: Executive Summary Chart on Incremental Growth Exhibit 08: Executive Summary Data Table on Incremental Growth Exhibit 09: Executive Summary Chart on Vendor Market Positioning 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 10: Parent market Exhibit 11: Market Characteristics 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 12: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 13: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2022 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2022-2027 Exhibit 14: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 15: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 16: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 17: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 4 Historic Market Size 4.1 Global automotive IC market 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size Data Table on Global automotive IC market 2017 - 2021 ($ billion) 4.2 Type Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size Type Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ billion) 4.3 Vehicle type Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size Vehicle type Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ billion) 4.4 Geography Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 21: Historic Market Size Geography Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ billion) 4.5 Country Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 22: Historic Market Size Country Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ billion) 5 Five Forces Analysis 5.1 Five forces summary Exhibit 23: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2022 and 2027 5.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 24: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers Impact of key factors 2022 and 2027 5.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 25: Bargaining power of suppliers Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027 5.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 26: Threat of new entrants Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027 5.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 27: Threat of substitutes Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027 5.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 28: Threat of rivalry Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027 5.7 Market condition Exhibit 29: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2022 and 2027 6 Market Segmentation by Type 6.1 Market segments Exhibit 30: Chart on Type - Market share 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 31: Data Table on Type - Market share 2022-2027 (%) 6.2 Comparison by Type Exhibit 32: Chart on Comparison by Type Exhibit 33: Data Table on Comparison by Type 6.3 Discrete - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 34: Chart on Discrete - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 35: Data Table on Discrete - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 36: Chart on Discrete - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 37: Data Table on Discrete - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 6.4 Logic - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 38: Chart on Logic - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 39: Data Table on Logic - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 40: Chart on Logic - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 41: Data Table on Logic - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 6.5 Micro components - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 42: Chart on Micro components - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 43: Data Table on Micro components - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 44: Chart on Micro components - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 45: Data Table on Micro components - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 6.6 Analog - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 46: Chart on Analog - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 47: Data Table on Analog - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 48: Chart on Analog - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 49: Data Table on Analog - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 6.7 Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 50: Chart on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 51: Data Table on Others - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 52: Chart on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 53: Data Table on Others - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 6.8 Market opportunity by Type Exhibit 54: Market opportunity by Type ($ billion) 7 Market Segmentation by Vehicle Type 7.1 Market segments Exhibit 55: Chart on Vehicle Type - Market share 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 56: Data Table on Vehicle Type - Market share 2022-2027 (%) 7.2 Comparison by Vehicle Type Exhibit 57: Chart on Comparison by Vehicle Type Exhibit 58: Data Table on Comparison by Vehicle Type 7.3 Passenger cars - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 59: Chart on Passenger cars - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 60: Data Table on Passenger cars - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 61: Chart on Passenger cars - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 62: Data Table on Passenger cars - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 7.4 Commercial vehicles - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 63: Chart on Commercial vehicles - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 64: Data Table on Commercial vehicles - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 65: Chart on Commercial vehicles - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 66: Data Table on Commercial vehicles - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 7.5 Market opportunity by Vehicle Type Exhibit 67: Market opportunity by Vehicle Type ($ billion) 8 Customer Landscape 8.1 Customer landscape overview Exhibit 68: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria 9 Geographic Landscape 9.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 69: Chart on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 70: Data Table on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%) 9.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 71: Chart on Geographic comparison Exhibit 72: Data Table on Geographic comparison 9.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 73: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 74: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 75: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 76: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 77: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 78: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 79: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 80: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.5 North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 81: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 82: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 83: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 84: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 85: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 86: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 87: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 88: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 89: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 90: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 91: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) and - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 92: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.8 China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 93: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 94: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 95: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 96: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.9 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 97: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 98: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 99: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 100: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.10 Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 101: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 102: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 103: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 104: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.11 UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 105: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 106: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 107: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 108: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.12 Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 109: Chart on Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 110: Data Table on Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 111: Chart on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 112: Data Table on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.13 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 113: Market opportunity by geography ($ billion) 10 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 10.1 Market drivers 10.2 Market challenges 10.3 Impact of drivers and challenges Exhibit 114: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2022 and 2027 10.4 Market trends 11 Vendor Landscape 11.1 Overview 11.2 Vendor landscape Exhibit 115: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation 11.3 Landscape disruption Exhibit 116: Overview on factors of disruption 11.4 Industry risks Exhibit 117: Impact of key risks on business 12 Vendor Analysis 12.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 118: Vendors covered 12.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 119: Matrix on vendor position and classification 12.3 Analog Devices Inc. Exhibit 120: Analog Devices Inc. - Overview Exhibit 121: Analog Devices Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 122: Analog Devices Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 123: Analog Devices Inc. - Segment focus 12.4 Infineon Technologies AG Exhibit 124: Infineon Technologies AG - Overview Exhibit 125: Infineon Technologies AG - Business segments Exhibit 126: Infineon Technologies AG - Key news Exhibit 127: Infineon Technologies AG - Key offerings Exhibit 128: Infineon Technologies AG - Segment focus 12.5 Intel Corp. Exhibit 129: Intel Corp. - Overview Exhibit 130: Intel Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 131: Intel Corp. - Key news Exhibit 132: Intel Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 133: Intel Corp. - Segment focus 12.6 KLA Corp. Exhibit 134: KLA Corp. - Overview Exhibit 135: KLA Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 136: KLA Corp. - Key news Exhibit 137: KLA Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 138: KLA Corp. - Segment focus 12.7 Microchip Technology Inc. Exhibit 139: Microchip Technology Inc. - Overview Exhibit 140: Microchip Technology Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 141: Microchip Technology Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 142: Microchip Technology Inc. - Segment focus 12.8 Micron Technology Inc. Exhibit 143: Micron Technology Inc. - Overview Exhibit 144: Micron Technology Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 145: Micron Technology Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 146: Micron Technology Inc. - Segment focus 12.9 NXP Semiconductors NV Exhibit 147: NXP Semiconductors NV - Overview Exhibit 148: NXP Semiconductors NV - Product / Service Exhibit 149: NXP Semiconductors NV - Key news Exhibit 150: NXP Semiconductors NV - Key offerings 12.10 Qualcomm Inc. Exhibit 151: Qualcomm Inc. - Overview Exhibit 152: Qualcomm Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 153: Qualcomm Inc. - Key news Exhibit 154: Qualcomm Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 155: Qualcomm Inc. - Segment focus 12.11 Renesas Electronics Corp. Exhibit 156: Renesas Electronics Corp. - Overview Exhibit 157: Renesas Electronics Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 158: Renesas Electronics Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 159: Renesas Electronics Corp. - Segment focus 12.12 Robert Bosch GmbH Exhibit 160: Robert Bosch GmbH - Overview Exhibit 161: Robert Bosch GmbH - Business segments Exhibit 162: Robert Bosch GmbH - Key offerings Exhibit 163: Robert Bosch GmbH - Segment focus 12.13 ROHM Co. Ltd. Exhibit 164: ROHM Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 165: ROHM Co. Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 166: ROHM Co. Ltd. - Key news Exhibit 167: ROHM Co. Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 168: ROHM Co. Ltd. - Segment focus 12.14 Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. Exhibit 169: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 170: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 171: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. - Key news Exhibit 172: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 173: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. - Segment focus 12.15 STMicroelectronics NV Exhibit 174: STMicroelectronics NV - Overview Exhibit 175: STMicroelectronics NV - Business segments Exhibit 176: STMicroelectronics NV - Key news Exhibit 177: STMicroelectronics NV - Key offerings Exhibit 178: STMicroelectronics NV - Segment focus 12.16 Texas Instruments Inc. Exhibit 179: Texas Instruments Inc. - Overview Exhibit 180: Texas Instruments Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 181: Texas Instruments Inc. - Key news Exhibit 182: Texas Instruments Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 183: Texas Instruments Inc. - Segment focus 12.17 Toshiba Corp. Exhibit 184: Toshiba Corp. - Overview Exhibit 185: Toshiba Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 186: Toshiba Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 187: Toshiba Corp. - Segment focus 13 Appendix 13.1 Scope of the report 13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist Exhibit 188: Inclusions checklist Exhibit 189: Exclusions checklist 13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 190: Currency conversion rates for US$ 13.4 Research methodology Exhibit 191: Research methodology Exhibit 192: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 193: Information sources 13.5 List of abbreviations Exhibit 194: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio Avelo's four new exclusive routes will provide affordable, convenient and reliable nonstop air service to LA and Orlando Brownsville / South Padre Island will be Avelo's first home-state market Avelo to offer the only nonstop flights to both SpaceX's LA headquarters and Florida's Space Coast from SpaceX's South Texas spaceport SpaceX's LA headquarters and Space Coast from SpaceX's spaceport Introductory one-way fares start at $49 HOUSTON, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Avelo Airlines announced today it is continuing to expand its national network with the addition of three new destinations: Brownsville-South Padre Island, Texas; Charlottesville, Virginia; and Colorado Springs, Colorado. With the addition of these three new markets, Avelo will now serve 35 destinations across the U.S. Avelo Airlines Chairman and CEO Andrew Levy said, "Avelo is growing again. The addition of these three new destinations and four new exclusive nonstop routes exemplifies our commitment to bringing affordable, convenient and reliable air service to unserved and underserved communities across the country. We are confident the low fares and smooth travel experience we are introducing to these three new communities will inspire their residents to travel even more. As a Houston-based company, we are especially excited to welcome our first Texas market to Avelo's network." Two new Burbank routes: Brownsville-South Padre Island and Colorado Springs From its base at Los Angeles' most popular airport Hollywood-Burbank Airport (BUR) Avelo will offer exclusive nonstop service to Colorado Springs Airport (COS) and Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport (BRO). Avelo will begin serving COS on May 3 and operate three-times weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Avelo will begin serving BRO on May 17 and operate twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays. With the addition of these two new routes, Avelo will expand its affordable, convenient and reliable service to 10 popular destinations from BUR. BRO and COS join Boise, Idaho (BOI); Pasco Tri-Cities, Washington (PSC); three Oregon cities: Bend/Redmond (RDM), Eugene (EUG) and Medford/Rogue Valley (MFR); and three other California cities: Sonoma/Santa Rosa (STS), Eureka/Arcata (ACV) and Redding (RDD). Introductory one-way fares between BUR and COS start at $49* and fares between BUR and BRO start at $89*. Two new Orlando routes: Brownsville / South Padre Island and Charlottesville From its base at Orlando's most convenient airport Orlando International Airport (MCO) Avelo will offer exclusive nonstop service to Brownsville / South Padre Island and Charlottesville Albemarle Airport (CHO). With this announcement, Avelo will now serve 11 nonstop destinations from MCO, joining Binghamton, New York (BGM); Dayton, Ohio (DAY); Dubuque, Iowa (DBQ); New Haven, Connecticut (HVN); Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina (RDU); Wilmington, Delaware (ILG); Wilmington, North Carolina (ILM); and two Michigan cities: Kalamazoo (AZO) and Lansing (LAN). The MCO to CHO route will begin on May 3 and operate twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays with introductory one-way fares starting at $49**. The MCO to BRO route will begin on May 17 and operate twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays with introductory one-way fares starting at $69*. Avelo is the only airline flying all four routes which will operate on Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft. Customers can make reservations at AveloAir.com. Connecting SpaceX employees and families When Avelo inaugurates service at BRO in May, it will be the only airline providing nonstop service to both SpaceX's LA headquarters and Florida's Space Coast from SpaceX's South Texas spaceport. SpaceX is expected to attempt its first Starship orbital flight next month from its Boca Chica Star Base located 20 miles east of BRO. America's Affordable and Convenient Airline Avelo was founded with a vision to help its Customers save money and time. Since taking flight on April 28, 2021, Avelo has flown more than 1.7 million Customers on more than 14,000 flights. In addition to offering Customers everyday low fares on every route, Avelo Customers can always change or cancel their itineraries with no extra fees. Avelo also offers several unbundled travel-enhancing options that give Customers the flexibility to pay for what they value, including priority boarding, checked bags, carry-on overhead bags, and bringing a pet in the cabin. Additionally, the American-made Boeing 737 jets Avelo flies offer a more spacious and comfortable experience than the small regional aircraft currently operating at most of the airports Avelo serves. Customers who value an advance seat assignment can choose from several modestly priced seating options, including seats with extra leg room, as well as pre-reserved window and aisle seating. One third of seats on Avelo aircraft are available for Customers who appreciate the comfort of extra legroom. Avelo serves 35 destinations across the U.S. The airline has unlocked a new era of convenience, choice and competition in air travel by flying unserved routes to primarily underserved communities across the country. At least one airport on every Avelo flight is a small hometown airport making every Avelo journey easier and more enjoyable. At Avelo, every flight is also nonstop. This connection-free travel experience not only provides Avelo Customers with a faster and simpler travel experience, but also minimizes delays, cancellations and lost bags. In fact, Avelo has established itself as one of America's most reliable airlines with industry-leading on time, completion factor checked bag handling performance. Avelo is distinguished by its Soul of Service culture. The culture is grounded in Avelo's One Crew Value which promotes a welcoming and caring experience. By caring for one another and owning their commitments, Avelo Crewmembers focus on anticipating and understanding Customer needs on the ground and in the air. About Avelo Airlines Avelo Airlines was founded with a simple purpose to Inspire Travel. The airline offers Customers time and money-saving convenience, low everyday fares, and a refreshingly smooth and caring experience through its Soul of Service culture. Operating a fleet of Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft, Avelo serves 35 popular destinations across the U.S., including its five bases at Los Angeles' Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR), Southern Connecticut's Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN), Orlando International Airport (MCO), the Delaware Valley's Wilmington Airport (ILG) and Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). For more information visit AveloAir.com or the Avelo Newsroom at AveloAir.com/Newsroom. Media Contacts: Avelo Airlines Jim Olson [email protected] Courtney Goff [email protected] *Very low, one-way fares include government taxes and fees. Fares start at $49 between BUR and COS; at $89 between BUR and BRO; and at $69 between MCO and BRO, fares must be booked by March 2, 2023. Travel must be completed by September 6, 2023. Fares are available on a limited number of flights and seats. Additional fees for carry-on and checked bags, assigned seats and other optional services may apply. A $20 charge per seated traveler applies to all bookings or changes made through Avelo's Customer Support Center. For full terms and conditions, please see Avelo's Contract of Carriage. **Very low, one-way fares include government taxes and fees. Fares start at $49 between MCO and CHO, fares must be booked by February 28, 2023. Fares are available on a limited number of flights and seats. Additional fees for carry-on and checked bags, assigned seats and other optional services may apply. A $20 charge per seated traveler applies to all bookings or changes made through Avelo's Customer Support Center. For full terms and conditions, please see Avelo's Contract of Carriage. SOURCE Avelo Airlines Celebrate the day with free ice cream PINECREST, Fla., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, February 28th, Azucar Ice Cream Company is giving fans a reason to celebrate with the grand opening of their newest location in Pinecrest. The artisanal ice cream and sorbet boutique is opening at 11429 S. Dixie Hwy, Pinecrest, FL 33156. The festivities start at 3:30 p.m. and will feature music, games, giveaways, samples, and more. Azucar will also be offering free ice cream while supplies last. "I grew up in Pinecrest and am thrilled to bring our iconic Cuban ice cream flavors and other favorites to the area," said Suzy Batlle, Founder and Chief of Azucar Ice Cream Company. "It's such an honor to be able to expand our brand that was inspired by my beloved abuela (grandmother). Her colorful personality, great determination, and love for variety and tropical flavors live in me and my team as we share our high quality and incredibly delicious products with others in our community. We're so excited to celebrate our opening in Pinecrest!" To celebrate more than ten years since its first opening in Little Havana, Azucar is inviting past employees to scoop their ice cream once again. The Pinecrest location will feature the brand's signature flavors including Abuela Maria, named in honor of Suzy Batlle's grandmother and is made with vanilla ice cream, cream cheese, guava and Maria cookies. Azucar serves up sorbets, seasonals, and classic flavors. The company uses high-quality, locally sourced ingredients to ensure every bite is naturally sweet. Guests can visit the Pinecrest Azucar to enjoy their sabor latino in-store or order online for delivery. They also offer catering for events and special occasions. The Pinecrest Azucar will be open Sunday from 12-10 p.m., Monday-Wednesday from 12-9 p.m., and Thursday-Saturday from 12-11 p.m. For more information, call 786-250-3107. To learn more about Azucar Ice Cream Company, visit www.azucaricecream.com or follow them on Facebook or Instagram @azucaricecream. About Azucar Ice Cream Company Azucar Ice Cream Company was founded in July 2011 as an artisanal ice cream and sorbet boutique. Inspired by South Florida's diverse cultures, hot subtropical climate and a passion for sabor latino, Azucar creates ice cream confections just like Founder and Chief Suzy Batlle's abuela used to make. MEDIA CONTACT: Kim Miller [email protected] 305.631.2283 SOURCE Azucar Ice Cream Company The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Justice Simon Byamukama has asked security forces to refrain from arresting agents at polling stations in the Serere county by-election. Serere County heads to the by-election today to replace the deceased Serere County Member of Parliament Patrick Okabe. While speaking during pre-poll meetings with candidates on Wednesday, Byamukama asked security to ensure peace in today's exercise, adding that sometimes the force oversteps its mandate, warning Resident District Commissioners (RDC) over numberless cars. "We don't expect to have a reported episode of agents being arrested from polling stations. We also appeal to the agents and the candidates to conduct themselves according to the law and the guidance issued by the commission in this by-election, we should all work together to achieve a credible exercise," he said. Byamukama also asked candidates and parties to refrain from any kind of voter bribery to ensure a peaceful exercise. The voting for the Serere County is taking place today at all the 138 polling stations in Serere District. Voting shall be by universal adult suffrage, and will begin at 7:00 am and end at 4:00 pm. Byamukama assured the stakeholders of a peaceful exercise, adding that the commission had done its part, from updating the registrar to delivering polling materials. "Bribing of voters is (stain) on our democratic principles. Under the law, bribery is one of the grounds upon which a victory of the candidate can be overturned if it is proved before court. So, can we please avoid bribery," he said. Byabakama encouraged political parties and the candidates to appoint in writing and deploy their agents at each polling station. Designated candidates' agents are advised to report to the sub County offices before 6:00 am today to observe the dispatch of the polling kits to their respective polling stations. The EC spokesperson, Paul Bukenya said this morning that the commission has dispatched polling kits to all the 138 polling stations the constituency. "We are ready to commence the polling exercise at 7am this morning and closes at 4pm.W have a total of 74,394 registered voters who are distributed in all these 138 polling stations across seven sub counties and 38 parishes. We have teams that started moving at 4am this morning and by 6am in the morning the last station has been reached," he said. HAMILTON, Bermuda, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Borr Drilling Limited (the "Company") (NYSE and OSE: "BORR") advises that a Special General Meeting of the Company was held on February 23, 2023 at 09:00 ADT at 2nd Floor, The S.E. Pearman Building, 9 Par-la-Ville Road, Hamilton HM 11, Bermuda. The following resolution was passed: To approve the increase of the Company's authorized share capital from US$25,500,000.00 divided into 255,000,000 common shares of US$0.10 par value each to US$31,500,000.00 divided into 315,000,000 common shares of US$0.10 par value each by the authorization of an additional 60,000,000 common shares of US$0.10 par value each. The increase in authorized share capital is a condition for the Company to complete the settlement of the previously announced convertible bond offering. Hamilton, Bermuda February 23, 2023 CONTACT: Questions should be directed to: Magnus Vaaler, CFO, +44 1224 289208 SOURCE Borr Drilling Limited Bright Pattern to deliver presentations on omnichannel and what's next at CCW Berlin on 28 February to 2 March. SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bright Pattern will be heading to CCW Berlin, which is recognized as Europe's biggest trade show for the world of CX, from 28 February to 2 March. Bright Pattern is widely regarded as one of the most technologically advanced cloud-based omnichannel CX solutions and will be delivering two engaging speaking sessions with two of the most intelligent and dynamic industry experts leading the presentations. Bright Pattern is exhibiting at CCW Berlin and hosting 2 speaking sessions featuring industry experts and innovators Tweet this Bright Pattern is coming to CCW Berlin 2023 CCW Berlin is the predominant contact center event in the DACH region. Bright Pattern is rapidly expanding into the German market through partnerships with two of Bright Pattern's most important and essential DACH partners, Sogedes and Teleconnect GmbH. Bright Pattern's first speaking session will be hosted by Daniel Tollenaere, ex-General Manager of Store Operations for Officeworks; the largest office supply chain in Australia. This presentation will be held on 28 February from 11:30 - 12:00. His presentation, titled "Omni-Enterprise CX - Go Beyond Omnichannel and More", will elaborate on Omni-Enterprise CX. This discussion revolves around bringing every single employee in the enterprise into any customer interaction on voice and digital channels. Officeworks was able to increase in-store responses by nearly 300% while boosting NPS significantly via the Bright Pattern Mobile App. Bright Pattern's second speaking session will be hosted by Luc Cavelier, Head of Business Development in EMEA for Bright Pattern. Having over 30 years of experience, his presentation will be held on 1 March from 13:30 - 14:00. His thought-provoking presentation, titled "Making Omnichannel A Reality", explains the incredible benefits of true omnichannel and the process of implementing true omnichannel conversations in your call center. Bright Pattern will set up on the show floor at official Booth #485. The Bright Pattern team is extremely excited to meet you at CCW Berlin and talk to you about delivering better customer experiences in your contact center. Bright Pattern will see you at CCW Berlin! About Bright Pattern Bright Pattern provides the simplest yet most powerful all-in-one omnichannel contact center solution with over 500 customers in 26 countries, including Bank of America, Bell24, Cable and Wireless, City of Brampton, Community Medical, Detroit Water, Enercare, EY, First Bank, Hairclub, Hurtigruten, Mediterranean Shipping Company, Naver, Officeworks, Pepsi, Randstad,SEIU, Southern Cross Health Insurance, Sun Country Airlines, Sylvan Learning, United Power, VW Bentley, YMCA, and Zillow. Bright Pattern is the highest rated omnichannel platform by customers and analysts , with the fastest ROI and time to deploy in the industry. SOURCE Bright Pattern Promotion expands firm's growing business law practice DALLAS, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dallas-based Fears Law has promoted business attorney Christopher Brown to Partner where he will play a vital role in the development and training processes for the firm's business law practice. "As we continue to develop our team to reach new heights, his dedication to the work is what sets him apart," said firm founder Bryan Fears. "We are excited for the role he will play in our leadership team, and we are proud to have such a skilled and knowledgeable attorney in our corner." Mr. Brown specializes in all aspects of business law. His expertise includes advising clients at the start-up phase, as well as in matters related to hiring, business operations, trademark and copyright protection, and protecting assets. He handles complex commercial, intellectual property and estate planning cases, as well as technology contracts, licensing, and SaaS and PaaS agreements. A U.S. Army veteran, Mr. Brown served overseas in the infantry prior to attending law school at Nova Southeastern University's Shepard Broad College of Law. He earned an LL.M. in international law from the University of Miami School of Law. "I am excited to take on a more active role in the growth and development of my practice and the firm," said Mr. Brown. "I am grateful for this opportunity and excited to see what the future holds." About Fears Law Fears Law is a dynamic legal team focused on high-stakes catastrophic injury litigation, intellectual property and business law. A national law firm based in Dallas, Fears Law attorneys have a proven track record for achieving favorable verdicts and resolutions on behalf of clients. For more information, visit fears.com. Media Contact: Alyssa Woulfe 800-559-4534 alyss[email protected] SOURCE Fears Law WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today announced 20-year-old chef, television personality and activist Eitan Bernath, best known on social media for his captivating personality and cooking expertise, as the organization's High Level Supporter. Leveraging his audience of over 10 million followers and energetic personality, Bernath will use his expertise in food and cooking to bring younger audiences into the global effort to solve hunger. WFP announced its youngest ever High Level Supporter, 20-year-old chef and television personality Eitan Bernath. Tweet this United Nations World Food Programme High Level Supporter Eitan Bernath in Patna, Bihar State, India. "I'm honored and humbled to be joining the United Nations World Food Programme to leverage my platforms to amplify the life saving work this organization does for the hungriest populations in the world," said Bernath. "It's inspiring to see the rippling effects of how improved food security can impact someone's life. I'm thrilled to be joining such an incredible organization whose work every day is dedicated to fighting hunger and inequity on the frontlines of famine and poverty and to find new ways to connect people to the mission of the World Food Programme." Bernath is no stranger to bridging his cooking endeavors with his personal passion for social good. He will help his followers understand how issues like the climate crisis and gender inequality exacerbate global hunger. Over 40% of the global population lives in areas that are highly vulnerable to climate extremes, where more frequent and intense weather events are destroying land, livestock and crops, and therefore jeopardizing food security. When hit by shocks, it is women who often eat last and least sacrificing for their families. As a High Level Supporter, Bernath will bring together young people to advocate for long-term solutions to food security while raising awareness about the current global hunger crisis. His social media presence garners three billion views annually from over 350 million people around the world. "We're thrilled to have Eitan join our global effort to solve hunger. It's critical that young people bring their energy and ideas to this movement. Eitan is the perfect person to help us fight for a more equitable future, where no one goes without food, no matter where they live," said Barron Segar, President and CEO of World Food Program USA. Bernath joins WFP's esteemed group of High Level Supporters that are advocating for improvements in nutrition and food security, including famous mountain guides Cholitas Escaladoras Maya from Bolivia and South African artist Reggie Khumalo. Alongside his work with WFP, Bernath continues to partner with a number of philanthropic organizations to support causes close to his heart. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Eitan Production and the Principal Culinary Contributor for 'The Drew Barrymore Show' on CBS. He also serves as the youngest member of the Food Council at City Harvest, New York City's largest food rescue organization, and as an ambassador to Animal Haven, an animal rescue organization. Learn how you can join Eitan Bernath in the fight against hunger by supporting World Food Program USA at www.wfpusa.org/get-involved/ . About WFP The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change. About WFP USA World Food Program USA, a 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, DC, proudly supports the mission of the United Nations World Food Programme by mobilizing American policymakers, businesses and individuals to advance the global movement to end hunger. To learn more about World Food Program USA's mission, please visit wfpusa.org/mission-history . About Eitan Eitan Bernath is a 20 year-old chef, entertainer, author, TV personality, entrepreneur, and activist, best known on social media for his cooking expertise and captivating personality. With three billion annual views from 350 million consumers in 150 countries, he has amassed over 10 million followers with hundreds of millions more consumers enveloped in Eitan's world spanning his slate of television, literary, audio, philanthropy, and partnership endeavors. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Eitan Productions, the Principal Culinary Contributor for "The Drew Barrymore Show" on CBS, and is a regular contributor to The Washington Post, Food & Wine, and Saveur. He serves as the youngest member of the Food Council at City Harvest, New York City's largest food rescue organization. https://www.eitanbernath.com/ Follow us on Twitter @wfp_media and @wfpusa. SOURCE World Food Program USA Emerging from stealth, chip company boasts world-class design team, develops energy efficient hardware acceleration TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chain Reaction, a semiconductor company focused on disruptive blockchain and privacy hardware, announced today that it raised $70 million in its Series C funding round led by Morgan Creek Digital and participation from Hanaco Ventures, Jerusalem Venture Partners, KCK Capital, Exor, Atreides Management, and BlueRun Ventures. The new round brings total funding to $115 million and will be used to expand the engineering and development teams, which have grown to 100 full-time employees, including top talent from Nvidia, Mellanox, Israeli Intelligence, and TSMC. The round will expedite deployment of enterprise-grade blockchain solutions Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and systems. It will also scale Chain Reaction's privacy tech solutions involving the design of cloud data center infrastructure to accelerate privacy enhancing technologies (PETs). "Enabling real time compute on encrypted data is the holy grail of cloud computing. Chain Reaction is on the cusp of making this a reality by accelerating PETs, said Alon Webman, co-founder and CEO of Chain Reaction. "Our technology will enable enterprise and government to modernize compute infrastructure by moving private data to the cloud." The additional investment ensures that Chain Reaction can continue focusing on crafting and delivering products for its two target markets. Driving high-performance hardware for blockchain and privacy in data center and cloud, creating bleeding-edge solutions for markets that are still in their infancy. "We fully expect Chain Reaction's blockchain products will become the new industry standard in blockchain compute infrastructure, laying the foundation for all future sustainable blockchain technologies" said Mark Yusko, CEO and CIO of Morgan Creek Capital Management and Managing Partner of Morgan Creek Digital. "Blockchain is the key to securing democracy, decentralization, and freedom, but it is compute intensive. Chain Reaction's products will shore up the value of predominant blockchain technologies and revolutionize use-cases for blockchain technologies in the not-so-distant future." Pasha Romanovski, Founding Partner at Hanaco Ventures, said of Chain Reaction's Series C round, "Hanaco has believed in Chain Reaction from the get-go. We saw the potential of combining experience and expertise in analog and system design with algorithms and cryptography to engineer the future of compute infrastructure. This is just the beginning from Chain Reaction, as they make great strides in disrupting the traditional and complex market of data center, cloud, and through to edge computing hardware infrastructure." Chain Reaction anticipates general availability of its first blockchain hardware chips and systems in the first quarter of 2023. To learn more about Chain Reaction, visit www.chain-reaction.io. About Chain Reaction Chain Reaction is engineering the future of disruptive blockchain and privacy technologies. We accelerate compute performance, enabling companies to adopt and scale solutions to the world's most complex problems. Partnering with cloud and data centers, we transform compute infrastructure, with custom ASICs and systems that optimize for low-power, high-performance compute. Our 3PU (Privacy Preserving Processing Unit) dramatically accelerates real-time operations of PETs on encrypted data, transforming the cloud into a trusted environment. We enable verticals that rely on confidential big data to use the cloud, including financial institutions, health care & big pharma, defense & government, and oil & gas. Purpose-built and custom-designed, our solutions power the next generation of secure, scalable, green computing, to help protect people, privacy, and the planet. SOURCE Chain Reaction SINGAPORE, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CHARLES & KEITH is proud to celebrate International Women's Day by supporting UN Women's Storytelling for Gender Equality, reinforcing the brand's commitment to empower women and forge an inclusive world. CHARLES & KEITH is embarking on a mission to raise funds for the programme, with the launch of a special-coloured edition of one of its best-selling handbag styles: The Alia. CHARLES & KEITH launches special edition bag in support of Gender Equality project by UN Women for International Womens Day The bag, available within a selected physical retail network and on CHARLESKEITH.COM from 23 February, comes in a purple hue the colour historically linked with efforts to achieve gender equality and widely associated with contemporary feminism. CHARLES & KEITH believes that storytelling is a powerful tool for advocacy as well as promoting equality and positive gender norms. The brand hopes to support the amplification of women's voices within the Asia-Pacific region through the partnership with non-profit organisation, UN Women. To demonstrate its commitment to the cause, CHARLES & KEITH has pledged a USD 100,000 donation, including 20% of all proceeds from this special edition handbag design, to fund Storytelling for Gender Equality. The project aims to build a network of women storytelling advocates around the region and bring their stories closer to a diversity of audiences to inspire positive social norms, policies to tackle violence, and create an environment in which survivors of violence against women feel free to speak up about their experiences. "Storytelling transcends cultures, allowing people to connect with each other through shared experiences. Stories allow us to explore themes and topics that may otherwise be hidden or stigmatized, including women's experiences with violence. Storytelling about the realities of women and girls across the region informs and amplifies advocacy for social change, by challenging mainstream narratives, diversifying perspectives, and strengthening a sense of community - ultimately, opening the door for changing policies," Melissa Alvarado, Regional Manager on Ending Violence against Women, UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. "In line with UN Women's own direction for the IWD moment which focuses on innovation and technology for gender equality, this project will directly support the rights of women and girls in digital spaces and address online and ICT-facilitated gender-based violence. It is also our belief that bringing women into technology results in more creative solutions and has greater potential for innovations that meet women's needs and promote gender equality," she added. This year's International Women's Day brand campaign is fronted by in-house talents from various market offices who gathered to share what equity means to them. They were joined by a special addition to the CHARLES & KEITH family: TikTok content creator and brand community ambassador, Zoe Gabriel. With the concerted efforts around International Women's Day, CHARLES & KEITH hopes to create meaningful conversations, raise awareness on discrimination, and actively taking steps towards building a fair and equal society. SOURCE Charles & Keith Checkmarx VP of Application Security Erez Yalon will advise the school on cybersecurity curricula and the school will use Codebashing to train coding students on creating secure code ATLANTA and VILNIUS, Lithuania, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Checkmarx , the global leader in developer-centric application security solutions, today announced that it is partnering with the Vilnius Coding School to alert more software developers to the critical need for application security (AppSec). The partnership will use Codebashing to educate the next generation of developers on the best ways to shift everywhere, incorporating AppSec into every phase of the software development lifecycle. This partnership seeks to help meet the increasing demands of the cybersecurity job market and will include online classes that teach coding students: An introduction to application security Understanding the different components of application security How to use application security solutions Interactive training on application security and Codebashing Codebashing is an interactive secure code training platform helping organizations fulfil their security awareness training compliance obligations. It is focused on training software developers, keeping them engaged, challenged and motivated to develop applications with better security awareness. Erez Yalon, VP of Security Research at Checkmarx, will serve as the special advisor to the curriculum of the cyber and application security programs. "The cybersecurity job market is reaching a more mature stage. More companies are aware of the mission-critical nature of application security as part of overall corporate governance," said Emmanuel Benzaquen, CEO at Checkmarx. "By 2025, there will be 3 million cybersecurity job openings, according to Cybersecurity Ventures research. Working with the Vilnius Coding School, Checkmarx will help train the pipeline of new application developers to come into the market fully equipped to 'shift everywhere' to enable robust AppSec for every part of an application at every phase of the software development lifecycle." The Vilnius Coding School has five schools in Lithuania, Czech Republic, Ireland and Latvia, and has built an alumni base of 6500 students. "In our development strategy, we have been looking at a global perspective for a long time, from the development path in European countries to offering the most relevant training to people and companies directly from the biggest market players. Therefore, we are very happy about the new partnership with a leading cybersecurity company Checkmarx, with whom we are strengthening the field of cybersecurity training," said Julija Rimsele, the founder and head of the international technology career school for adults, the Vilnius Coding School. The partnership comes as the latest addition to Checkmarx' partners, who span 70 countries, and serves as a powerful foundation to realize the Checkmarx vision of cybersecurity and software security. In sharing application security knowledge and exploring application security career paths, it is Checkmarx' mission to bring the field of software security to the forefront in the discussion of overall cyber security awareness and readiness. About Checkmarx Checkmarx is constantly pushing the boundaries of application security to make security seamless and simple for the world's developers while giving CISOs the confidence and control they need. As the AppSec leader, Checkmarx offers the industry's most comprehensive AppSec platform, Checkmarx One, that provides developers and security teams with unparalleled accuracy, coverage, visibility, and guidance to reduce risk across all components of modern softwareincluding proprietary code, open source, APIs and infrastructure as code. Over 1,800 customers worldwide, including U.S. public sector agencies and nearly half of the Fortune 50, trust Checkmarx security technology, expert research and global services to securely optimize development at speed and scale. For more information, visit the Checkmarx website , check out the blog or follow the company on LinkedIn . SOURCE Checkmarx World's first service organization will celebrate its 125th year in the city it was founded EVANSTON, Ill., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rotary International today announced Chicago as the winner of the provisional bid to hold its annual international convention at McCormick Place West Building, May 25-29, 2030. Rotary members and participants from around the world will gather in Chicago to connect, learn from each other and various experts, and share ideas for bringing positive, lasting change to communities across the globe. The annual Rotary convention was last held in Chicago in 2005 and was attended by approximately 40,000 participants. "Rotary International has deep roots in Chicago and I am thrilled to welcome them back to our great city for their international convention in 2030," said Chicago Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot. "Rotary is a global organization that delivers many benefits to communities around the world, and we are honored that they chose Chicago for such an important celebration. Major events like these are vital to our local economy and our residents, and we look forward to welcoming tens of thousands of Rotary members to Chicago!" The winning bid was led by Rotary clubs in northern Illinois and endorsed by Rotary clubs across six states. The City of Chicago assisted with the proposal, as did Choose Chicago, the Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Authority, Navy Pier, the Chicago Transit Authority, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and The State of Illinois. "We're thrilled to announce today, on the anniversary of the first Rotary club meeting in 1905, that Chicago will once again host Rotary's biggest gathering," said the chair of Rotary's Chicago Bid Team, Lyle Staab. "We can't wait to show our visitors all Chicago has to offer. We're determined to deliver a memorable experience for the participants, and to make a difference in Chicagoland through the event." "What started with the vision of one person, our founder Chicago attorney Paul Harris, to gather professionals with diverse backgrounds to exchange ideas, form meaningful, lifelong friendships and give back to their communities quickly grew to become a global movement," said Rotary International President Jennifer Jones. "As the birthplace of the world's first service organization, Chicago is the ideal location for our members and participants to reflect upon and celebrate our successes, and plan for the next 125 years and beyond to improve lives and strengthen communities around the world." Rotary members throughout the world develop and implement sustainable, community-driven projects that fight disease, promote peace, provide clean water, support education, save mothers and children, grow local economies and protect the environment. Over US$5.5 billion has been awarded through The Rotary Foundation to support these programs worldwide. About Rotary Rotary unites a global network of volunteer leaders dedicated to tackling the world's most pressing humanitarian challenges and creating lasting change. Rotary connects 1.4 million people of action from more than 46,000 Rotary clubs in almost every country in the world. Their service improves lives both locally and internationally, from helping those in need in their own communities to working toward a polio-free world. For more information, visit Rotary.org. SOURCE Rotary International SINGAPORE, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- China Yuchai International Limited (NYSE: CYD) ("China Yuchai" or the "Company"), a leading manufacturer and distributor of engines for on- and off-road applications in China through its main operating subsidiary, Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Company Limited ("GYMCL"), wishes to announce today its unaudited consolidated financial results for the 2022 second half-year ("2H 2022") and fiscal year ("FY 2022") ended December 31, 2022. The financial information presented herein for the second half year and fiscal year of 2022 and the second half year ("2H 2021") and fiscal year ("FY 2021") ended December 31, 2021 is reported using the International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. Financial Highlights for 2H 2022 Revenue was RMB 7.5 billion ( US$ 1.1 billion ) compared with RMB 8.6 billion in 2H 2021; ( ) compared with in 2H 2021; Gross profit was RMB 1.3 billion ( US$ 182.4 million ) compared with RMB 1.3 billion in 2H 2021. Gross margin was 17.0% in 2H 2022 compared with 15.4% in 2H 2021; ( ) compared with in 2H 2021. Gross margin was 17.0% in 2H 2022 compared with 15.4% in 2H 2021; Operating profit grew by 41.2% to RMB 231.3 million ( US$ 33.2 million ) compared with RMB 163.8 million in 2H 2021; ( ) compared with in 2H 2021; Basic and diluted earnings per share increased by 565.2% to RMB 3.06 (US$ 0.44) compared with RMB 0.46 in 2H 2021; compared with in 2H 2021; Total number of engines sold decreased by 18.1% to 140,345 units compared with 171,449 units in 2H 2021. Revenue was RMB 7.5 billion (US$ 1.1 billion) compared with RMB 8.6 billion in 2H 2021. The total number of engines sold by GYMCL in 2H 2022 declined by 18.1% to 140,345 units compared with 171,449 units in 2H 2021. The decrease was mainly due to lower engine sales in the truck, bus, marine and power generation application markets, partially offset by higher sales in agricultural and industrial engines. According to data reported by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers ("CAAM"), in 2H 2022, commercial vehicle unit sales (excluding sales of gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles) decreased by 26.3% compared to 2H 2021, as sales of trucks and buses declined by 27.5% and 18.4% respectively, reflecting weak demand in these market segments. Gross profit was RMB 1.3 billion (US$ 182.4 million), compared with the same amount of RMB 1.3 billion in 2H 2021. Gross margin increased to 17.0% as compared with 15.4% in 2H 2021. The increase in gross margin was mainly attributable to a change in revenue mix with an increase in off-road segment over the on-road segment, cost reductions, and lower sales rebates. Other operating income increased by 22.9% to RMB 251.3 million (US$ 36.1 million) compared with RMB 204.5 million in 2H 2021. The increase was mainly due to higher government grants. Research and development ("R&D") expenses decreased by 19.7% to RMB 428.0 million (US$ 61.4 million) compared with RMB 533.1 million in 2H 2021 due to lower R&D expenses incurred in commercial vehicle engines that were partially offset by higher R&D expenses incurred in marine engines and power generation engines and new energy products. Total R&D expenditures, including capitalized costs, were RMB 540.8 million (US$ 77.6 million) representing 7.3% of revenue in 2H 2022, as compared to RMB 712.2 million representing 8.3% of revenue in 2H 2021. Selling, general and administrative ("SG&A") expenses increased slightly to RMB 862.1 million (US$ 123.8 million) from RMB 835.9 million in 2H 2021. The increase was mainly due to increased warranty expenses compared with the same period last year. SG&A expenses represented 11.6% of revenue for 2H 2022 compared with 9.7% in 2H 2021. Operating profit rose by 41.2% to RMB 231.3 million (US$ 33.2 million) from RMB 163.8 million in 2H 2021. The operating margin was 3.1% compared with 1.9% in 2H 2021. Finance costs declined by 15.3% to RMB 40.2 million (US$ 5.8 million) from RMB 47.5 million in 2H 2021. The share of financial results of the associates and joint ventures was a profit of RMB 1.8 million (US$ 0.3 million) compared with a loss of RMB 108.4 million in 2H 2021. This gain was largely due to higher profit at the MTU Yuchai Power Company Limited and the share of lower losses at Y&C Engine Co. Ltd. Income tax expense was RMB 2.6 million (US$ 0.4 million) as compared with an income tax credit of RMB 42.4 million in 2H 2021. The change was mainly due to the higher taxable income in 2H 2022. Net profit attributable to equity holders of the Company was RMB 124.9 million (US$ 17.9 million) compared with RMB 19.0 million in 2H 2021. Basic and diluted earnings per share were RMB 3.06 (US$ 0.44) compared with RMB 0.46 in 2H 2021. Basic and diluted earnings per share for 2H 2022 and 2H 2021 were based on a weighted average of 40,858,290 shares. Financial Highlights for FY 2022 Revenue decreased to RMB 16.0 billion ( US$ 2.3 billion ) compared with RMB 21.3 billion in FY 2021; ( ) compared with in FY 2021; Gross profit was RMB 2.6 billion ( US$ 377.7 million ), a 16.4% gross margin, compared with RMB 3.0 billion and a gross margin of 13.9% in FY 2021; ( ), a 16.4% gross margin, compared with and a gross margin of 13.9% in FY 2021; Operating profit was RMB 519.3 million ( US$ 74.6 million ) compared with RMB 663.5 million in FY 2021; ( ) compared with in FY 2021; Basic and diluted earnings per share were RMB 5.35 (US$ 0.77) compared with RMB 6.67 in FY 2021; compared with in FY 2021; Total number of engines sold decreased by 29.7% to 321,256 units compared with 456,791 units in FY 2021. Revenue was RMB 16.0 billion (US$ 2.3 billion) compared with RMB 21.3 billion in FY 2021. The total number of engines sold by GYMCL in FY 2022 decreased by 29.7% to 321,256 units compared with 456,791 units in FY 2021. The decrease was mainly due to weakness in the truck and bus markets, and the markets of marine and power generation engines. According to CAAM, commercial vehicle unit sales (excluding sales of gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles) decreased by 41.4% in FY 2022, as sales of trucks declined by 42.9% while sales of buses decreased by 27.1%. The impact of COVID-19 restrictions and related supply chain disruptions impacted market conditions in China and in foreign markets. Gross profit decreased by 10.9% to RMB 2.6 billion (US$ 377.7 million) compared with RMB 3.0 billion in FY 2021. Gross margin increased to 16.4% compared with 13.9% in FY 2021. The increase in gross margin was mainly attributable to a change in revenue mix with higher off-road revenue as a greater proportion of the total revenue, and lower sales rebates. Other operating income increased by 6.5% to RMB 336.8 million (US$ 48.4 million) compared with RMB 316.2 million in FY 2021. The increase was mainly due to higher government grants. R&D expenses decreased by 1.5% to RMB 836.4 million (US$ 120.1 million) compared with RMB 848.8 million in FY 2021. GYMCL continued with its initiatives to improve engine performances and the qualities of its engines compliant with China's National VI and Tier 4 emission standards, and to develop new energy products. In FY 2022, total R&D expenditures including capitalized costs were RMB 1.0 billion (US$ 146.1 million) compared with RMB 1.2 billion in FY 2021, representing 6.4% of the revenue compared with 5.5% in FY 2021. SG&A expenses were RMB 1.6 billion (US$ 231.4 million) representing 10.1% of the revenue compared with RMB 1.8 billion, representing 8.3% of the revenue in FY 2021. This decrease was mainly due to lower freight, personnel and warranty expenses. Operating profit was RMB 519.3 million (US$ 74.6 million), down from RMB 663.5 million in FY 2021. The operating margin was 3.2% compared with 3.1% in FY 2021. Finance costs decreased by 17.6% to RMB 95.5 million (US$ 13.7 million) from RMB 115.9 million in FY 2021. The share of financial results of the associates and joint ventures was a loss of RMB 29.1 million (US$ 4.2 million) compared with a loss of RMB 95.9 million in FY 2021. The decreased loss was primarily attributable to higher profit at the MTU Yuchai Power Company Limited and the share of lower losses at Y&C Engine Co. Ltd. Income tax expense was RMB 59.1 million (US$ 8.5 million) as compared with RMB 43.8 million in FY 2021. Net profit attributable to China Yuchai's shareholders was RMB 218.6 million (US$ 31.4 million) compared with RMB 272.7 million in FY 2021. Basic and diluted earnings per share were RMB 5.35 (US$ 0.77) compared with RMB 6.67 in FY2021. Basic and diluted earnings per share for FY 2022 and FY 2021 were based on a weighted average of 40,858,290 shares. Balance Sheet Highlights as at December 31, 2022 Cash and bank balances were RMB 4 .9 billion ( US$ 696.5 million ) compared with RMB 5 .3 billion at the end of FY 2021; .9 billion ( ) compared with .3 billion at the end of FY 2021; Trade and bills receivables were RMB 6 .8 billion ( US$ 975.4 million ) compared with RMB 6 .8 billion at the end of FY 2021; .8 billion ( ) compared with .8 billion at the end of FY 2021; Inventories were RMB 4 .9 billion ( US$ 709.0 million ) compared with RMB 5 .2 billion at the end of FY 2021; .9 billion ( ) compared with .2 billion at the end of FY 2021; Trade and bills payables were RMB 6 .9 billion ( US$ 993.5 million ) compared with RMB 7 .4 billion at the end of FY 2021; .9 billion ( ) compared with .4 billion at the end of FY 2021; Short-term and long-term bank borrowings were RMB 2 .3 billion ( US$ 336.2 million ) compared with RMB 2 .2 billion at the end of FY 2021. Mr. Weng Ming Hoh, President of China Yuchai, commented, "Our results once again demonstrated the strong resilience of our businesses in selling into diversified engine markets." "Market demand for trucks and buses was down significantly in the second half and for the full year of 2022. Chinese economic growth was weak in 2022 and investment in the property markets declined affecting demand for trucks. In addition, slower global economic growth also affected Chinese exports. The COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdowns and travel restrictions impacted the supply chain and affected commercial vehicle production in 2022." "However, many COVID-19 restrictions have recently been rescinded creating more opportunities for growth in the future. We continued to maintain a strong balance sheet despite the weak operating environment," Mr. Hoh concluded. Disclaimer Regarding Unaudited Financial Results Investors should note that the Company has not yet finalized its consolidated financial results for FY 2022. The financial information of the Company presented above is unaudited and may differ materially from the audited financial statements of the Company for FY 2022 to be released when it is available. Exchange Rate Information The Company's functional currency is the U.S. dollar and its reporting currency is Renminbi. The translation of amounts from Renminbi to U.S. dollars is solely for the convenience of the reader. Translation of amounts from Renminbi to U.S. dollars has been made at the rate of RMB 6.9646 = US$1.00, the rate quoted by the People's Bank of China at the close of business on December 31, 2022. No representation is made that the Renminbi amounts could have been, or could be, converted into U.S. dollars at that rate or at any other certain rate on December 31, 2022 or at any other date. Unaudited 2H 2022 and FY 2022 Conference Call A conference call and audio webcast for the investment community has been scheduled for 8:00 A.M. Eastern Standard Time on February 23, 2022. The call will be hosted by the President and Chief Financial Officer of China Yuchai, Mr. Weng Ming Hoh and Mr. Choon Sen Loo respectively, who will present and discuss the financial results and business outlook of the Company followed with a Q&A session. Analysts and institutional investors may participate in the conference call by registering at: https://register.vevent.com/register/BIadf79c13ba63410187ba354842c0be45 at least one hour before the scheduled start time. A return email will be sent with instructions and numbers to join the call. For all other interested parties, a simultaneous webcast can be accessed at the investor relations section of the Company's website located at http://www.cyilimited.com. Participants are encouraged to join the webcast at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. The recorded webcast will be available on the website shortly after the earnings call. About China Yuchai International China Yuchai International Limited, through its subsidiary, Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Company Limited ("GYMCL"), engages in the manufacture, assembly, and sale of a wide variety of light-, medium- and heavy-duty engines for trucks, buses, passenger vehicles, construction equipment, marine and agriculture applications in China. GYMCL also produces diesel power generators. The engines produced by GYMCL range from diesel to natural gas and hybrid engines. Through its regional sales offices and authorized customer service centers, GYMCL distributes its engines directly to auto OEMs and retailers and provides maintenance and retrofitting services throughout China. Founded in 1951, GYMCL has established a reputable brand name, strong research and development team and significant market share in China with high-quality products and reliable after-sales support. In 2022, GYMCL sold 321,256 engines and is recognized as a leading manufacturer and distributor of engines in China. For more information, please visit http://www.cyilimited.com. Safe Harbor Statement: This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "project", "targets", "optimistic", "confident that", "continue to", "predict", "intend", "aim", "will" or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that may be deemed forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements concerning China Yuchai's and the joint venture's operations, financial performance and condition are based on current expectations, beliefs and assumptions which are subject to change at any time. China Yuchai cautions that these statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of important factors such as government and stock exchange regulations, competition, political, economic and social conditions around the world and in China including those discussed in China Yuchai's Form 20-Fs under the headings "Risk Factors", "Results of Operations" and "Business Overview" and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Among others, if the COVID-19 pandemic is not effectively and timely controlled, our business operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely affected due to a deteriorating market for automotive sales, an economic slowdown in China and abroad, a potential weakening of the financial condition of our customers, or other factors that we cannot foresee. All forward-looking statements are applicable only as of the date it is made and China Yuchai specifically disclaims any obligation to maintain or update the forward-looking information, whether of the nature contained in this release or otherwise, in the future. For more information: Investor Relations Kevin Theiss Tel: +1-212-510-8922 Email: [email protected] -- Tables Follow -- CHINA YUCHAI INTERNATIONAL LIMITED UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENTS For the six months ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 (RMB and US$ amounts expressed in thousands) Second Half of 2022 Second Half of 2021 RMB '000 US$ '000 RMB '000 US$ '000 Revenue 7,462,131 1,071,437 8,636,804 1,240,101 Cost of sales (6,192,112) (889,084) (7,308,512) (1,049,380) Gross profit 1,270,019 182,353 1,328,292 190,721 Other operating income, net 251,264 36,077 204,487 29,361 Research and development expenses (427,957) (61,447) (533,116) (76,547) Selling, general and administrative expenses (862,073) (123,780) (835,899) (120,021) Operating profit 231,253 33,203 163,764 23,514 Finance costs (40,241) (5,778) (47,518) (6,823) Share of results of associates and joint ventures 1,849 265 (108,377) (15,561) Profit before tax 192,861 27,690 7,869 1,130 Income tax (expense)/credit (2,578) (370) 42,435 6,093 Profit for the period 190,283 27,320 50,304 7,223 Attributable to: Equity holders of the Company 124,857 17,926 18,966 2,723 Non-controlling interests 65,426 9,394 31,338 4,500 190,283 27,320 50,304 7,223 Net earnings per common share - Basic 3.06 0.44 0.46 0.07 - Diluted 3.06 0.44 0.46 0.07 Unit sales 140,345 171,449 CHINA YUCHAI INTERNATIONAL LIMITED UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENTS For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 (RMB and US$ amounts expressed in thousands, except per share data) December 31, 2022 December 31, 2021 RMB '000 US$ '000 RMB '000 US$ '000 Revenue 16,030,636 2,301,731 21,265,930 3,053,432 Cost of sales (13,399,986) (1,924,014) (18,313,817) (2,629,558) Gross profit 2,630,650 377,717 2,952,113 423,874 Other operating income, net 336,756 48,353 316,189 45,399 Research and development expenses (836,438) (120,098) (848,812) (121,875) Selling, general and administrative expenses (1,611,677) (231,411) (1,755,957) (252,127) Operating profit 519,291 74,561 663,533 95,271 Finance costs (95,472) (13,708) (115,928) (16,645) Share of results of associates and joint ventures (29,093) (4,177) (95,895) (13,769) Profit before tax 394,726 56,676 451,710 64,857 Income tax expense (59,065) (8,481) (43,816) (6,291) Profit for the period 335,661 48,195 407,894 58,566 Attributable to: Equity holders of the Company 218,581 31,384 272,673 39,151 Non-controlling interests 117,080 16,811 135,221 19,415 335,661 48,195 407,894 58,566 Net earnings per common share - Basic 5.35 0.77 6.67 0.96 - Diluted 5.35 0.77 6.67 0.96 Unit sales 321,256 456,791 CHINA YUCHAI INTERNATIONAL LIMITED SELECTED UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET ITEMS For the years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021 (RMB and US$ amounts expressed in thousands) December 31, 2022 December 31, 2021 RMB '000 US$ '000 RMB '000 Cash and bank balances 4,850,743 696,486 5,331,555 *Trade and bills receivables 6,792,958 975,355 6,837,118 Inventories 4,937,755 708,979 5,208,636 Trade and bills payables 6,919,421 993,513 7,361,817 Short-term and long-term loans and borrowings 2,341,432 336,190 2,203,000 Equity attributable to equity holders of the Company 9,008,946 1,293,534 8,859,152 *Comparatives The Group enters into contractual arrangements with certain customers that entitle them to sales rebates based on sales volume achieved in the financial year. The management has determined that it is more appropriate to net such sales rebates with the receivables due from these customers in the same financial year. Where receivables have been settled, such sales rebates will then be classified as refund liabilities. Accordingly, the comparative figures in the balance sheet as of December 31, 2021 had been adjusted to conform with current's year presentation. The changes to 2021 comparatives have no impact on the income statement, net current assets and net assets of the Group. SOURCE China Yuchai International Limited ZURICH, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chubb Limited (NYSE: CB) announced today that its Board of Directors will recommend to shareholders at the company's 2023 Annual General Meeting an increase in its quarterly dividend for the thirtieth consecutive year. The proposal calls for a $3.44 annual per share dividend, payable in four quarterly installments of $0.86 per share, compared to the current quarterly dividend amount of $0.83 per share. The Board also declared a quarterly dividend equal to $0.83 per share, payable on April 10, 2023 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 17, 2023. The dividend will be payable out of legal reserves and will be made in United States dollars by the company's transfer agent as described in the Chubb Limited 2022 proxy statement. This will be the fourth installment as approved by the company's shareholders on May 19, 2022. About Chubb Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London, Paris and other locations, and employs approximately 34,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: www.chubb.com. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Forward-looking statements made in this press release, such as statements regarding the company's 2023 Annual General Meeting and dividends, reflect the company's current views with respect to future events and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from these statements. For example, payment of scheduled dividends could be affected by extraordinary company events or capital constraints or similar factors that could require the company to adjust, delay or withhold dividend payments. Additional information regarding factors that could cause differences from these forward-looking statements appears in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. SOURCE Chubb Limited The IGP said the police will not prosecute the governors because they enjoy immunity. The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, said Wednesday that the police are investigating some governors for allegedly inciting the public against the federal government over the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Mr Baba stated this while briefing journalists after the National Security Council meeting at the State House. He said the constitutional immunity enjoyed by governors will not stop the ongoing investigation, but added that the police may not be able to go ahead with prosecution. He noted that despite the immunity, the police will issue warnings to those governors for them to desist from incitement. "Investigation, we are investigating. Whoever does anything can be investigated, but for him to be prosecuted, there are people who have immunity. I think that is one of the reasons. But that will not stop us from cautioning them, from warning them and from advising them and we are doing so. That's for incitement by governors," Mr Baba said in response to a question asked by journalists. The naira policy of the CBN and the scarcity associated with it has pitched President Muhammadu Buhari against some governors in the country. The decision of the president to disregard the directive by the Supreme Court on the legal status of the old N1,000 and N500 has further exacerbated the open confrontation by some governors that have directed residents of their states to ignore the directive of the president on the CBN policy. Although Mr Baba did not name the governors being investigated, Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna, Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa and Dapo Abiodun told residents of their states to continue to spend the old notes in line with the directive of the Supreme Court. In some instances, some governors have threatened to revoke the certificate of occupancy of banks that refuse the old notes in compliance to the federal government's directive. Amidst the raging controversy on the issue, the scarcity of the naira has worsened and banks have become the target of attacks. In Ogun State, about 10 bank buildings have been burnt. The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned the case filed by the governors till 3 March. Why we deployed personnel to Lagos, Ogun -- Akali Speaking further, Mr Baba said there is a joint security operation on the streets of Lagos and Ogun State to ensure stability ahead of the Saturday's elections. He noted that security personnel are not targeted at any individual or political party. "These are joint operations, aimed at stabilising the internal security order before the election. These are not operations that are targeted at the election, but it is targeted at stabilising the situation, especially the one that came up as a result of the currency swap or whatever we can call it, where people go on vandalizing, destroying and even committing arson and so on and so forth. "So this is what is required to bring down the situation, stabilise it, but on the election day, you will not see them at the polling stations," he said. Mr Baba also reiterated that the police and armed forces are ready for the general elections, stating that they have assured the security council of readiness for the election. He noted that the navy, army and air force are ready to support the police and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure a peaceful election. Elections will go on as planned -- Malami The Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, in his speech, said the Chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, assured the security council that the commission is ready to conduct the elections. He stated that all security agencies and the armed forces briefed the council on their preparedness ahead of the election. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "National Security Adviser made a submission; Chief of Defense Staff made one; Chief of Army Staff made submission; Chief of Naval Staff made submission, Chief of Air Staff did; Inspector-General of Police, who incidentally is equally addressing you, made submission; Director-General, State Security Service did; and indeed DG NIA and CDI all made submissions. "The summary and conclusion of all submissions was to the effect that the system is wholeheartedly ready for the conduct of the election and arising therefrom, the position of the government, the position of the president is to the effect that the election is holding of the 25th day of February, 2023."And Mr President and the National Security Council are happy with the preparations on the ground and wholehearted arrangements are put in place in that direction," he said. The raging crisis arising from the CBN policy and the attendant scarcity of the new bank notes have caused fears that the elections may be postponed. Pure, Natural True Tequila Now Available MIAMI, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cierto Tequila, a luxury portfolio of award-winning, 100% additive-free authentic tequilas, begins its U.S. rollout this month. Initially launching in California, Florida, Texas, New York, Illinois, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and Delaware, Cierto will expand nationally throughout 2023. Handcrafted by widely respected Master Distillers Enrique Fonseca and Sergio Mendoza fourth and fifth generation agaveros (agave farmers) Cierto is tequila made as nature and time intended. Cierto Tequila - the Most Awarded Tequila in History Launches to the Public Cierto Tequila - the Most Awarded Tequila in History Launches to the Public Cierto Tequila Private Collection "Cierto" is Spanish for "True" the perfect word to describe this pure, elegant tequila patiently crafted using a unique combination of time-honored and globally-inspired distilling techniques. Cierto is completely free of additives or impurities and housed in a gemstone-inspired bottle designed to showcase the rich, natural colors of the tequila within. Cierto starts with fully mature, estate-grown agave from the majestic Jalisco Highlands, selected by hand and harvested at the perfect moment. The agave is then hand-cut, cooked slowly, and distilled in alembic copper pot stills and Coffey column stills at the legendary La Tequilena distillery in the town of Tequila. Cierto's aged tequilas mature primarily in rare French Limousin oak casks which previously contained fine wines and spirits, including cognac and Armagnac, specifically procured for their ability to gently persuade the agave's essence to emerge. Each expression is blended with aged tequilas from the Fonseca family's private library, containing some of the oldest and rarest tequilas in existence. The result is a luxuriously smooth and pure-tasting collection of tequilas that are considered by spirits experts and tequila connoisseurs as some of the finest in the world. In 2017, the Chairman of Elevated Spirits, Todd Chaffee, a Forbes Midas List venture capitalist and tequila connoisseur, decided to disrupt the tequila industry and make the world's finest tequila a true tequila that was exceptionally smooth and easy to drink, but also 100% pure without any additives. While researching the tequila industry, Mr. Chaffee discovered Mr. Mendoza as a prominent voice outlining the differences between authentic, "real tequilas" and "fake tequilas" littered with artificial additives. "When I first met Sergio, I was impressed by his extensive knowledge of the Highlands' terroir, agave plants, distilling techniques, and the history of the entire tequila industry. We are incredibly blessed to have Sergio and his uncle Enrique Fonseca as our partners. Since they are both agaveros and master distillers, they have truly unique perspectives on the best ways to grow and harvest agave in addition to crafting world-class tequilas," said Chaffee. After blending and tasting hundreds of options from the Fonsecas' vast library of aged tequilas, the Cierto team crafted eight exceptional Cierto agave expressions, which they shared with family and friends while conducting extensive consumer research. When the research results came back overwhelmingly positive, the Cierto team began entering the Cierto portfolio in top international spirits competitions to gain insight and recognition from the world's most discerning and respected palates. The results have been remarkable, with Cierto winning top honors in every major competition. Each of Cierto's eight agave expressions has won dozens of medals and awards, and to date, Cierto's 600+ international medals and awards make it the Most Awarded Tequila in History. Cierto has assembled a team of seasoned industry executives to develop the brand, partnering with Demeter & Co, which is led by Jeff Menashe as CEO and with Jim Clerkin as its Chairman. Cierto's Chief Growth Officer, veteran spirits executive Jim Ruane, comes with nearly two decades of marketing and beverage industry experience. "We are thrilled to debut Cierto Tequila, bringing this remarkable award-winning spirit to U.S. drinkers," said Ruane. "Cierto is a testament to the true art of tequila-making. With skyrocketing growth in luxury tequila and consumers paying increasing attention to what they're putting into their bodies, we see an opportunity to differentiate with a supreme liquid that speaks for itself no additives, no artifice, and no shortcuts." Cierto Tequila is launching first with its Private Collection, four distinct agave expressions embodying the rich complexity of the Highlands' terroir: Cierto Tequila Private Collection Blanco: Rested before bottling, it is smooth and fresh with an herbaceous aroma that imparts sweet floral and agave notes. Best enjoyed on the rocks or in a Margarita, with an SRP of $89 / 750ml. Rested before bottling, it is smooth and fresh with an herbaceous aroma that imparts sweet floral and agave notes. Best enjoyed on the rocks or in a Margarita, with an SRP of / 750ml. Cierto Tequila Private Collection Reposado: Aged primarily in French Limousin oak, it has a light aroma with hints of butterscotch and cooked agave, offering a flavor profile that begins with agave, shifts to caramel, and finishes with rich cinnamon spice. Best enjoyed on the rocks or in an elevated Paloma, with an SRP of $119 / 750ml. Aged primarily in French Limousin oak, it has a light aroma with hints of butterscotch and cooked agave, offering a flavor profile that begins with agave, shifts to caramel, and finishes with rich cinnamon spice. Best enjoyed on the rocks or in an elevated Paloma, with an SRP of / 750ml. Cierto Tequila Private Collection Anejo: Aged primarily in French Limousin oak, this unique marriage of rare anejo tequilas has orange and oak aromas, with a complex array of coffee, chocolate, and caramel flavors. Best served neat or on the rocks, with an SRP of $169 / 750ml. Aged primarily in French Limousin oak, this unique marriage of rare anejo tequilas has orange and oak aromas, with a complex array of coffee, chocolate, and caramel flavors. Best served neat or on the rocks, with an SRP of / 750ml. Cierto Tequila Private Collection Extra Anejo: Aged primarily in French Limousin oak, the aroma bursts with oak, cherry, and cooked agave, with deep flavor notes of tobacco, vanilla, and oak, finishing with honey and spice. Best served neat or on the rocks with an SRP of $279 / 750ml. Cierto Tequila is now available for purchase where luxury tequilas are sold, and online at ReserveBar, Drizly, Instacart, and others. Cierto invites drinkers to savor slowly and celebrate responsibly. ABOUT CIERTO TEQUILA & ELEVATED SPIRITS COMPANY The Elevated Spirits Company is the producer of Cierto Tequila authentic, 100% natural, additive-free, luxury tequilas made in Jalisco, Mexico. Cierto means "True," the perfect word to describe this remarkable award-winning family of tequilas. Cierto's Tequilas are patiently crafted expressions of pure Highlands agave, harvested by fourth and fifth generation agaveros at peak maturity. Due to their character, complexity, and luxuriously smooth taste, these agave expressions are widely acknowledged by tequila connoisseurs as "The World's Finest Tequila" and some of the best tequilas ever made. Each of Cierto's eight tequila expressions have won dozens of medals and awards. Since inception, Cierto has won over 600 international medals and awards, making it The Most Awarded Tequila in History. For more information, visit Cierto.com. ABOUT DEMETER & CO Demeter & Co builds super premium+ global adult beverage brands as expressive and unique as the consumer communities who enjoy them. Our team, a blend of entrepreneurial industry veterans and creatives, builds brands that move culture by elevating the brand experience of human connection. Established in 2021, Demeter & Co is led by CEO Jeff Menashe, Founder and CEO of Demeter Advisory Group, the leading investment bank to premium adult beverage brands, and Chairman Jim Clerkin, the former CEO of Moet Hennessy North America and Jim Beam North America. For more information, visit www.demeterandco.com. SOURCE Cierto Tequila VANCOUVER, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- City Office REIT, Inc. (NYSE: CIO) ("City Office" or the "Company") today announced the appointment of a new member to the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") and changes to Board roles. Michael Mazan, a finance and investment industry veteran, has been appointed to the Board, effective today. Mr. Mazan joins the Board with over 30 years of experience in investing, management consulting and investment banking. Currently, Mr. Mazan serves as a founding partner of KingsPeak Partners, a boutique private equity investment firm. Prior to that, from 1999 to 2018, Mr. Mazan was a partner at Birch Hill Equity Partners, a leading private equity firm, where he was responsible for all parts of the investment lifecycle, with a focus on portfolio company building and governance. From 1992 to 1999, Mr. Mazan held various finance and consulting roles at prominent firms, including Credit Suisse First Boston and McKinsey and Company. Mr. Mazan also has extensive experience serving as a director for various private and publicly listed companies, having served on 12 boards during his career. Mr. Mazan will join the Board's Audit Committee as its Chairman. Further, as part of the Company's long term succession planning, the Board has approved the appointment of John Sweet as Chairman of the Board, effective today. Mr. Sweet has served as an Independent Director of the Company since 2017 and is currently the Chairman of the Investment Committee. Mr. Sweet's contributions to the Company to date and his exceptional real estate industry knowledge base, along with prior experience leading a public company board, make Mr. Sweet an excellent fit as Chairman of the Board. Mr. Sweet assumed the role from John McLernon who is continuing to serve as an Independent Director of the Company. In addition, William Flatt, effective today, will step down from the Board after nearly ten years of service to the Board. Since the Company's initial public offering in 2014, Mr. Flatt has been a valuable contributor to the Company's growth and strategic execution, and the Board thanks him for his outstanding service. John Sweet commented, "I am honored to serve as the new Chairman of the Board, and as a first order of business I would like to express the Company's excitement at the appointment of Michael Mazan to the Board and the Company's gratitude to John McLernon for his tenure as Chairman and his continued service as an Independent Director. John has led the Board with sage strategic insight and guidance since the Company's inception and we look forward to his continued contributions. We also highly anticipate the future contributions from Michael, who is thoroughly respected by his industry peers and brings a successful governance and investing track record. Finally, I'd like to express the Company's sincere gratitude to Will for his years of dedication, insight and positive contributions." With the addition of Mr. Mazan as an Independent Director and the departure of Mr. Flatt, the Company's Board will consist of six Directors, five of whom the Board of Directors has determined meet the independence standards of the NYSE Listed Company Manual and the Company's corporate governance guidelines. About City Office REIT, Inc. City Office REIT is an internally-managed real estate company focused on acquiring, owning and operating high-quality office properties located predominantly in Sun Belt markets. City Office currently owns or has a controlling interest in 6.0 million square feet of office properties. The Company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Forward-looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on management's current expectations, assumptions and beliefs. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "may" and similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. They are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among other things, changes to CIO's expected liquidity position and the risk factors set forth in CIO's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The statements made herein speak only as of the date of this press release, and, except as required by law, CIO does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. Contact City Office REIT, Inc. Anthony Maretic, CFO +1-604-806-3366 [email protected] SOURCE City Office REIT, Inc. McCune Law Group, APC, Tycko & Zavareei LLP, and Kelley Uustal, PLC, File Against BofA on Behalf of Happy Puppy LA, Inc., Brandamize, LLC, and Aurora Environmental Services, Inc. ONTARIO, Calif., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- McCune Law Group, McCune Wright Arevalo Vercoski Kusel Weck Brandt APC (MLG) a national law firm specializing in Financial Services, Class Actions, and Commercial Litigation alongside co-counsel Tycko & Zavareei LLP, and Kelley Uustal, PLC, has filed a class action complaint against Bank of America on behalf of Happy Puppy LA, Inc., Brandamize, LLC, Aurora Environmental Services, Inc., and other California small businesses similarly affected by Bank of America's alleged misrepresentations about Paycheck Protection Program Loans, which led small business owners across the state to take out what they believed were fully forgivable loans, only to find out later they were unforgiveable, leaving them with thousands of dollars of unforeseen debt. According to the complaint, Bank of America advertised these livelihood-saving loans as forgivable so long as the funds were used according to stated terms. Although the small businesses complied with those terms, when they later applied for forgiveness, they learned the loans were ineligible for forgiveness because Bank of America had failed to instruct them correctly regarding their application and eligibility for forgiveness. Bank of America is now attempting to recover hundreds of thousands of dollars from these businesses when these debts were incurred only at Bank of America's own fault. The loans at issue in these cases were made under the CARES Act, which was adopted by the federal government in 2020 to assist pandemic-stricken small businesses stay open during the worst months of the pandemic. The government turned to banks to administer these PPP Loans. If the borrower complied with the SBA's terms, the issuing bank would forgive the borrower's PPP Loan and be paid instead by the SBA. Whether or not the loan was forgiven, the issuing banks received fees for originating the loans in the first place. The complaint alleges that Bank of America marketed and approved PPP Loans to businesses that used their payrolls to employ so-called "1099 workers,"independent contractorseven though independent contractors had a separate means of applying for PPP support. Bank of America also instructed applicants to apply for higher loan amounts than the SBA would forgive, telling businesses that the extra funding would be subject to forgiveness as long as the funds were used according to specified terms. Bank of America's marketing and application materials consistently and repeatedly misrepresented PPP Loan forgiveness eligibility for these business owners, who did everything that Bank of America told them to do but are now stuck with loans Bank of America told them would be forgiven. "Bank of America's alleged misleading statements tricked small business owners who were already suffering from the aftereffects of the pandemic," says MLG Attorney Emily J. Kirk, "Now these businesses are finding out that the loans they took out to save their businesses are unforgiveable and must be repaid even though Bank of America promised them otherwise. This is not right and Bank of America must be held accountable." About McCune Law Group, McCune Wright Arevalo Vercoski Kusel Weck Brandt APC: McCune Law Group has a deep history of success for its clients. MLG maintains California offices in Ontario, San Bernardino, Calimesa, Palm Desert, and Irvine and supports its national practice with offices in Arizona, Illinois, and New Jersey. Visit mccunewright.com for more information. CONTACT: [email protected] SOURCE McCune Law Group, McCune Wright Arevalo Vercoski Kusel Weck Brandt, APC Experienced VP of Marketing Brings New Vision and Leadership Method to Children's Coding Franchise HOUSTON, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Code Ninjas, the world's largest and fastest-growing in-person kids coding franchise, announced today the hiring of a new Vice President of Marketing, Matt Rogers, in an effort to strengthen Code Ninja's position in the global market by enhancing the brand's current marketing strategies while also constructing new ones. With over a decade of consumer marketing experience at a variety of world-class brands and a passion for EdTech, Rogers joins the team fully equip to further develop Code Ninja's goal to increase international brand awareness. No stranger to consumer marketing, Rogers has spent over a decade helping brands develop and execute their marketing strategies. Most recently, Rogers served as the General Manager of North America and Head of Global Brand for Walnut Coding, a global EdTech company. In this role, he collaborated across all relevant functions of the company and market to ensure the goals of the brand were achieved. Prior to Walnut Coding, Rogers worked for other premier brands such as Anheuser-Busch, Spectrum Brands, Inc., and BYJU's FutureSchool in various roles to ensure clear consumer-facing communication across all necessary channels and monitor for any necessary updates or improvements in each brand's messaging. "I have worked with a variety of distinguished brands throughout my career, but it was in 2020 that I discovered my passion for EdTech and what the industry has to offer," said Rogers. "Since then, I have wanted to continue my career with a brand that is constantly adapting to the changes of technology and uses it as a core curriculum in children's education. Code Ninjas is famously known to do just that and I am thrilled to be a part of a company that focuses on teaching children both technology and life skills." As the new VP of Marketing at Code Ninjas, Rogers will develop and implement a clear marketing strategy and oversee each active campaign in order to elevate the brand's public profile to help drive franchise sales. Looking ahead, Rogers hopes to continue to drive the brand to the forefront of the industry using new, innovative methods to increase Code Ninja's global brand awareness. "As we are quickly approaching the major milestone of opening our 400th location, we are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to improve our brands growth and key messaging," said Justin Nihiser, CEO of Code Ninjas. "With the new changes that have already been implemented into Code Ninjas' core curriculum, and the changes still to come, we are thrilled to welcome Matt Rogers into the Code Ninjas family. I have the utmost confidence that Matt's impressive experience and enthusiasm will sharpen Code Ninjas' focus on bettering our mission of teaching children both valuable life and computational skills." Rogers adds to the leadership of Code Ninjas as it continues its rapid growth including close to 400 actively open locations. The company is looking forward to hitting that big mark in the upcoming months, celebrating the success of the franchise since opening in 2016. For more information on Code Ninjas opportunities for kids, visit codeninjas.com to find a location near you. To learn more about joining Code Ninjas as a franchisee, visit codeninjasfranchise.com. ABOUT CODE NINJAS: Founded in 2016, Code Ninjas is the world's largest and fastest-growing in-person kids coding franchise, with hundreds of locations across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. At Code Ninjas, kids learn to code while building their own video games. They gain problem solving, critical thinking, and STEM skills in a fun, safe, and inspiring environment. Kids have fun, parents see results. For more information, visit codeninjas.com. Media contact: Regan Lee, Fishman PR, [email protected] or 847-945-1300 ext.276 SOURCE Code Ninjas COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dawn Health, a global leader in digital health, today announced a strategic partnership with Novartis, one of the leading medicines companies in the world, to support the development of a platform that enables the effective remote monitoring and management of patients to realize a hybrid future for chronic care and transform the experience for all stakeholders. "We are thrilled to announce this global partnership with Novartis that aims to unlock a digital first approach towards a more personalized treatment for patients. We see a big potential in effectively leveraging our shared capabilities, building on the Dawn Health SaMD platform to support patients suffering from a range of chronic diseases", says Daniel Daugaard, Founder & CEO at Dawn Health. Chronic diseases are the leading cause of mortality in Europe, representing 86% of all deaths, according to the Chronic Disease Alliance1. Accordingly, the treatment and management of these chronic diseases are the leading drivers of current healthcare costs today. However, chronic care is experiencing considerable challenges due to significant capacity constraints and limited insights into patient outcomes and often dispersed care of patients across various care teams. Novartis has selected Dawn Health as their partner and the legal manufacturer of the envisioned platform in a patient-first approach that empowers patients and their care teams to make better and faster treatment decisions aimed at improving outcomes and managing chronic diseases more proactively and efficiently. By combining a patient mobile application focused on high engagement and exceptional UX with innovative elements like symptom tracking, novel (digital) biomarkers, clinical decision support services, virtual clinic capabilities and other relevant services as they become available, the platform will be tailored very specifically to the needs and demands of each separate disease in scope. Based on a broad portfolio of treatments by Novartis across many chronic diseases, the partnership will be taking a strategic approach to prioritize those diseases which are characterized by high levels of unmet patient needs, uncertainty about current disease state and progression and resulting cautious approaches to treatment. The aim of any solution will be to further empower patients through better tracking and identification of disease activity remotely to enable patients and their care teams to make timely and confident treatment decisions. About Dawn Health Dawn Health is a global leader in digital health and a catalyst for spearheading innovation in the healthcare industry. The company specializes in development of software as medical device (SaMD) and digital therapeutics (DTx). The company's mission is to bring research, care and technology together with the aim of helping 1 million people live longer and better lives by 2030. Dawn Health Video https://vimeo.com/799453438/062636f5ed Contact, Media Relations [email protected] +45 25 13 63 49 [1] https://alliancechronicdiseases.org/chronic-disease-policy/ The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/21169/3717728/1858122.pdf Press Release (PDF) https://news.cision.com/dawn-health-a-s/i/press01,c3145678 Press01 https://news.cision.com/dawn-health-a-s/i/press02,c3145679 Press02 https://news.cision.com/dawn-health-a-s/i/press03,c3145680 Press03 https://news.cision.com/dawn-health-a-s/i/press04,c3145681 Press04 https://news.cision.com/dawn-health-a-s/i/press05,c3145682 Press05 https://news.cision.com/dawn-health-a-s/i/press06,c3147150 Press06 https://news.cision.com/dawn-health-a-s/i/press07,c3147151 Press07 SOURCE Dawn Health A/S 22-year supply chain management veteran for the energy industries, Thomas Sender Mehl, will lead CakeBoxx Technologies' supply chain innovation, circularity, sustainability, and resiliency solutions in EMEA for the transportation and storage of high-value, high-consequence renewable energy, power distribution, battery, and electrification equipment cargo. MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CakeBoxx Technologies, a global supply chain systems engineering leader for specialized transportation platforms and containerized systems and innovator of the first and only SAFETY Act-approved intermodal shipping containers, today announced the appointment of Thomas Sender Mehl as the company's General Manager of CakeBoxx Technologies ApS in Aarhus, Denmark and SVP of Supply Chain for Europe, Middle East & Africa. CakeBoxx Technologies Thomas Sender Mehl Joins CakeBoxx Technologies Following CakeBoxx Technologies' record year-over-year growth in 2019 through 2022 and the recent formation of CakeBoxx Technologies ApS in Denmark, CakeBoxx Founder and CEO Daine Eisold has selected a seasoned and respected renewable supply chain GM to support European customer success locally. Working closely with CakeBoxx Chief Commercial Officer Chris Clark in the UK, Mehl will be immediately responsible for driving sustainability and supply chain systems business across EMEA and advancing global transportation logistics and fleet management services for CakeBoxx's onshore and offshore wind customers. His focus at the helm of CakeBoxx Technologies ApS will also be on growing CakeBoxx's leadership in energy transportation standardization and certifications. Mehl will address the most challenging transportation logistics problems facing the energy and renewable energy markets - especially around expedited specialized cargo logistics. Working directly with CakeBoxx Technologies' executive leadership, engineering, and logistics teams, he will also provide expert supply chain systems management guidance for CakeBoxx's renewable energy customers, who run some of the most complex supply chains in the world. For over a decade, CakeBoxx Technologies has steadily advanced its supply chain and transportation engineering systems expertise, building a strong base of customers in the U.S. defense and related industries. The company entered the renewable energy markets in 2019, growing its systems engineering services team and developing supply chain solutions for multinational corporations seeking to accelerate the delivery of their global sustainability targets. CakeBoxx has introduced specialized products and supply chain transport solutions for the shipment of high-value industrial wind turbines, gearboxes, power distribution solutions, energy systems, and autonomous systems components. "Transporting the world's most valuable cargo has never been more challenging, complex, and expensive," said Daine Eisold, CakeBoxx Technologies Founder and CEO. "If any single component is lost, damaged, or destroyed during shipment, the financial and delivery timeline consequences cascade across the value chain. Reinsurance and insurance coverage costs are only increasing for global multinationals. At the same time, operating losses from compromised supply chains will continue to escalate in price and scale - especially across the renewable energy, electrification, industrial control systems, and utilities industries. James Blom, CakeBoxx Chief Revenue Officer, said, "CakeBoxx's revolutionary transport platforms address these inherently complex challenges. Our customers are committed to climate resilience and environmental sustainability. Having Thomas's supply chain expertise leading our Danish operations and driving our strategy and growth across the renewable energy markets will be exceptional." Thomas Sender Mehl shared, "CakeBoxx has become a renowned leader in developing transportation and logistics solutions that are transforming the performance, cost, integrity, and safety of the most consequential cargo in the world. I'm excited to help drive its remarkable supply chain sustainability and energy growth." Following the formation of CakeBoxx Technologies ApS on February 1, 2023, and the appointment of Thomas Sender Mehl today, February 23, 2023, CakeBoxx's Nordic operations led by Mehl will officially open on March 1, 2023. CakeBoxx Technologies' arrival in Denmark is a response to the unprecedented 3PL demand in onshore wind for its specialized supply chain, sustainability, and climate impact solutions addressing lightweighting, carbon reduction, and green steel requirements. CakeBoxx Technologies ApS will hold a reception and opening in early May to officially thank its largest customers, the Danish government, and the Danish renewable industry for their remarkable support and partnership over the past five years. CakeBoxx Technologies products and advanced supply chain engineering services are available to companies, governments, NGOs, and other organizations worldwide seeking to enhance security, lower total cost of ownership, build resilience and improve sustainability in their supply chain operations. About CakeBoxx Technologies CakeBoxx Technologies is an innovative, global leader in supply chain systems engineering and end-to-end solutions for the safe, secure, and efficient transport and storage of cargo. The company focuses on supply chain performance and sustainability, and its custom platform and container solutions address a wide range of ever-changing challenges and risks for high-value, high-consequence, and oversized cargo. Advantages of CakeBoxx solutions include supply chain safety, security, flexibility, and resiliency - improving operational efficiency, sustainability, and cargo velocity. In addition, CakeBoxx "two-piece" containers, with their deck and lid design, are the first innovation in the industry to offer truly safe, secure, and efficient containerized transport for the top-loaded, side-loaded, break bulk, and general project cargo markets. Advantages of CakeBoxx solutions include increased operational efficiency, reduced risk of cargo theft, and lower operating costs. Using CakeBoxx platforms and containers saves money, increases cargo velocity, and increases sustainability. cakeboxx.com Media Contact: Stuart Clark +1 (571) 830-6559 [email protected] SOURCE CakeBoxx Technologies Weisblatt brings rich experience in startups and fintech, will help banks and credit unions solve NSF and Overdraft Fee Challenges in the United States LOS ANGELES, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DoubleCheck Solutions, a financial technology (FinTech) company that offers banks and credit unions more efficiency, transparency, and compliance around NSF and overdraft fees, today announced Jon Weisblatt as its new Vice President of Corporate and Business Development. In the newly created role, Weisblatt will be responsible for developing and implementing DoubleCheck's growth strategy and customer acquisition. "We are pleased to welcome Jon to DoubleCheck," said Joel Schwartz, Founder and Co-CEO of DoubleCheck Solutions. "Banks, credit unions, and strategic partners will really enjoy working with Jon. He has precisely the background needed to move DoubleCheck to the next stage in our market and business development, including funding and driving customer success." Weisblatt is the former Founder and CEO of UpgradeUSA, Inc., a successful FinTech company focused on equipment leasing to businesses, schools, and non-profits. After growing the company through business partnerships and channel relationships, the company was acquired by its private equity investors. He brings extensive experience from the Austin-area startup community, most recently serving as Chief Operating Officer at RidersShare, Inc., a VC-backed peer-to-peer transportation startup. His background includes account management, sales, partner development, global programs, banking relationships, and operations. His career also includes key roles at Ferry Automotive, Citizenshipper, uShip, and Dell. "Banks and credit unions in the US are being forced to re-think their strategy for handling NSF and Overdraft fees, and the solutions offered by DoubleCheck bring the right mix of technology with an intuitive user experience, banking expertise, and regulatory relief," said Jon Weisblatt, Vice President of Corporate and Business Development at DoubleCheck Solutions. "I'm looking forward to working with financial institutions to demonstrate how DoubleCheck's software can provide transparency and compliance, all while reducing fraud and even generating a new revenue stream." To learn more about DoubleCheck Solutions, visit: www.mydoublecheck.com Connect with DoubleCheck Solutions on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/doublecheck-solutions Follow DoubleCheck Solutions on Twitter: @DoublecheckS About DoubleCheck Solutions DoubleCheck, built by bankers for bankers, notifies consumers and small businesses in real-time if they have non-sufficient funds in their account and allows them to alter the financial institution's decisions on what gets paid, using a range of payment methods. DoubleCheck embraces the mission of solving the most common banking problems of our times: Outdated overdraft practices that place an unnecessary burden on consumers, small businesses, and financial institutions. www.mydoublecheck.com SOURCE DoubleCheck Solutions SHANGHAI, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ChemPartner announced today the appointment of Lilly Xu, Ph.D. as President of Shanghai ChemPartner. Dr. Xu is a seasoned manager with a strong portfolio of success. She joined ChemPartner in 2017 to lead the strategic drug discovery services as Senior Vice President and Head of DMPK and Exploratory Toxicology. Prior to joining ChemPartner, Dr. Xu held various positions in US biotech and pharmaceutical companies including Amgen and Sanofi US. Additionally, she was the Head of the Center for Predictive ADMET at Sanofi US, and she holds a green belt in Lean 6 Sigma. Dr. Xu earned a Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from Saint Louis University in St Louis, Missouri. During her time in academia, she pioneered the use of human and animal hepatocytes in drug metabolism and drug-drug interactions. "We are confident Dr. Xu can leverage her deep knowledge of drug discovery and her proven organizational leadership experience to accelerate the growth of Shanghai ChemPartner," said Xianwei Zeng, Board Chairman and CEO of ChemPartner. Livia Legg, CCO at Shanghai ChemPartner and GM of ChemPartner Corporation (US) and ChemPartner Europe added, "I have had the pleasure of working with Dr. Xu over the past six years at ChemPartner. She is a talented and accomplished leader with high integrity. Dr. Xu deeply cares for her colleagues and clients, and her passion, commitment, and drive are evident." As a leading, global CRO and CDMO, ChemPartner provides integrated life science services for drug discovery and development with expertise in discovery chemistry, biology, pharmacology, DMPK, exploratory toxicology, biologics discovery and development, and biologics manufacturing. ChemPartner is uniquely positioned to not only be a CRO but a true biopharmaceutical alliance partner. The company's mission is to provide the highest quality R&D services while helping customers advance their projects in a timely and cost-effective manner. ChemPartner is strategically aligned and dedicated to accomplishing the innovative research initiatives of pharma and biotech companies worldwide. "I am excited to take on this new leadership role at ChemPartner and work closely with our highly experienced executive team to achieve our company's vision and goals. My drug discovery and development operation experience combined with the team's expertise provide ChemPartner's global clients the skills and proficiency they want and need," said Dr. Xu. "I am enthusiastic about the unique service offerings at ChemPartner as well as the potential for additional growth." About ChemPartner ChemPartner is the holding company of Shanghai ChemPartner and offers a broad range of drug discovery, development, and manufacturing services including chemistry and biologics discovery, biology, pharmacology, DMPK, and toxicology as well as biologics development and manufacturing CDMO services. Shanghai ChemPartner serves a diverse global client base and has laboratories, business offices, and representatives in the US, Europe, China, and Japan. FOR MORE INFORMATION Livia Legg, MS, Chief Commercial Officer [email protected] SOURCE Shanghai ChemPartner CHICAGO, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dream Exchange Founder and CEO, Joe Cecala, joined over 50 other CEOs and business experts who gathered in Washington, DC on Wednesday, February 22nd for the Black Business Policy Conference. The annual conference, co-sponsored by the National Business League and the National Black Chamber of Commerce was born out of the desire to create an open exchange of ideas for the most current issues affecting black-owned businesses. Namely, among these issues is access to capital. Since the late 1990's not only has the total number of public companies declined by nearly 50%, the number of small initial public offerings (IPOs) has declined from 70-90% of the IPO market to just 20-30%, according to a white paper written by Dream Exchange in 2018. A proposed solution to this problem is the Main Street Growth Act , a new legislation that will allow for the creation of a new type of stock exchange specifically designed for small and emerging early-stage businesses providing access to capital for more underrepresented businesses. "We are excited to share our progress on opening the first black-owned stock exchange, as well as how we see capital markets playing a vital role in growing emerging businesses," said CEO, Joe Cecala. "The impossible becomes possible when we empower innovators with access to capital. We want to continue to advocate for strong public policy that works for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and large business owners alike as these are the people who are the backbone of this country." About the Dream Exchange Dream Exchange is a black-owned company currently in the process of filing an application to operate a national market system stock exchange. It will be the first black-owned company to operate a stock exchange in the history of the United States. In addition, Dream Exchange has championed the creation of a new type of stock exchange called a venture exchange to list and trade small-to-mid sized, early-stage company stock. Dream Exchange's mission is to create a marketplace that instills ethics, integrity, humanity and access into our financial markets. Visit Dreamex.com and follow us on LinkedIn for more information. Media Contact Vanessa Jean-Louis Director of Public Relations and Strategic Partnerships 1-773-914-1182 [email protected] SOURCE Dream Exchange This is a joint press release by Koninklijke DSM N.V. (DSM), Firmenich International SA (Firmenich) and Danube AG, to be renamed DSM-Firmenich AG (the Company) in connection with the voluntary public exchange offer by the Company for all the issued and outstanding ordinary shares in the share capital of DSM (each such share, a DSM Ordinary Share) (the Exchange Offer)), pursuant to Section 4, paragraph 3 of the Dutch Decree on Public Takeover Bids (Besluit openbare biedingen Wft) (the Decree). The Exchange Offer is not being made, and the DSM Ordinary Shares will not be accepted for purchase from or on behalf of any holder of DSM Ordinary Shares (a DSM Shareholder), in any jurisdiction in which the making of the Exchange Offer or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities or other laws or regulations of such jurisdiction or would require any registration, approval or filing with any regulatory authority not expressly contemplated by the terms of the offering circular in relation to the Exchange Offer dated 22 November 2022 (the Offering Circular). KAISERAUGST, Switzerland, HEERLEN, Netherlands and GENEVA, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DSM and Firmenich jointly announce that they have obtained the unconditional competition clearance from the European Commission on 22 February 2023. This follows the unconditional competition clearance of China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) received on 16 February 2023. Consequently, competition clearance has been obtained in nine out of the ten jurisdictions required to satisfy the offer condition relating to competition clearances.1 The last competition clearance that is pending is the Indian competition clearance. We continue to work constructively with the Competition Commission of India (CCI). We will make a public announcement once the Indian competition clearance has been obtained. The acceptance period will be extended until two weeks after that announcement, but no later than 17:40 hours CET on 11 April 2023.2 1 Reference is made to paragraph 14.13, subparagraph (b) of the Offering Circular. 2 Pursuant to an exemption (ontheffing) granted by the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets on 20 January 2023. Acceptance of the Exchange Offer by DSM Shareholders Acceptance by DSM Shareholders through Admitted Institutions DSM Shareholders who hold their DSM Ordinary Shares through an institution admitted to Euronext Amsterdam and/or Euroclear Nederland (aangesloten instelling) (an Admitted Institution) must make their acceptance known through their bank or stockbroker no later than 17:40 hours CET on the Acceptance Closing Date. The custodian, bank or stockbroker may set an earlier deadline for communication by the DSM Shareholders in order to permit the custodian, bank or stockbroker to communicate its acceptances to the Settlement Agent in a timely manner. Accordingly, the DSM Shareholders holding DSM Ordinary Shares through a financial intermediary should comply with the dates communicated by such financial intermediary. Acceptance by DSM Shareholders located in the United States DSM Shareholders located in the United States who hold their DSM Ordinary Shares through a custodian, bank or stockbroker are requested to make their acceptance known through their bank or stockbroker as set out in section 16.1 (United States of America) of the Offering Circular. If a beneficiary to DSM Ordinary Shares located in the United States is unable to make the QIB Confirmations on behalf of itself or the person on whose behalf such DSM Ordinary Shares are held, any DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares allotted to such person will instead be transferred to a nominee, and such DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares will be sold on his, her or its behalf with the proceeds being remitted to such person within five days of the Settlement Date, for DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares allotted in exchange for DSM Ordinary Shares tendered during the Acceptance Period, or within five days of the Post-Closing Acceptance Settlement Date, for DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares allotted in exchange for DSM Ordinary Shares tendered during any Post-Closing Acceptance Period. Announcements Announcements in relation to the Exchange Offer are issued by means of a press release. Any joint press release issued by the Company, DSM and Firmenich is made available on the website of the Company (www.creator-innovator.com). Subject to any applicable requirements of the applicable laws and without limiting the manner in which the Company, DSM and Firmenich may choose to make any public announcement, the Company, DSM and Firmenich will have no obligation to communicate any public announcement other than as described in the Offering Circular. Further information Capitalised terms used but not defined herein are defined in the Offering Circular. This announcement contains selected, condensed information regarding the Exchange Offer and does not replace the Offering Circular. The information in this announcement is not complete and additional information is contained in the Offering Circular. A digital copy of the Offering Circular is available on the website of the Company (www.creator-innovator.com/en/offering-circular-and-egm/). General restrictions The Exchange Offer is being made in and from the Netherlands with due observance of such statements, conditions and restrictions as are included in the Offering Circular. The Company reserves the right to accept any tender under the Exchange Offer, which is made by or on behalf of a DSM Shareholder, even if it has not been made in the manner set out in the Offering Circular. The distribution of the Offering Circular and/or the making of the Exchange Offer in jurisdictions other than the Netherlands may be restricted and/or prohibited by law. In particular, subject to certain exceptions, the Offering Circular is not for general circulation in the United States. The Exchange Offer is not being made, and the DSM Ordinary Shares will not be accepted for purchase from or on behalf of any DSM Shareholder, in any jurisdiction in which the making of the Exchange Offer or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities or other laws or regulations of such jurisdiction or would require any registration, approval or filing with any regulatory authority not expressly contemplated by the terms of the Offering Circular. Persons obtaining the Offering Circular are required to take due note and observe all such restrictions and obtain any necessary authorisations, approvals or consents (to the extent applicable). Outside of the Netherlands, no actions have been taken (nor will actions be taken) to make the Exchange Offer possible in any jurisdiction where such actions would be required. In addition, the Offering Circular has not been filed with nor recognised by the authorities of any jurisdiction other than the Netherlands. Neither the Company, nor DSM, nor Firmenich, nor any of their advisers accept any liability for any violation by any person of any such restriction. Any person (including, without limitation, custodians, nominees and trustees) who forwards or intends to forward the Offering Circular or any related document to any jurisdiction outside the Netherlands should carefully read section 16 (Restrictions) and section 17 (Important Information) of the Offering Circular before taking any action. The release, publication or distribution of the Offering Circular and any documentation regarding the Exchange Offer, the making of the Exchange Offer or the issuance and offering of the DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares in jurisdictions other than the Netherlands may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession the Offering Circular comes should inform themselves about and observe such restrictions. Any failure to comply with any such restrictions may constitute a violation of the law of any such jurisdiction. United States of America Unless otherwise determined by the Company, the Exchange Offer is not being, and will not be, made, directly or indirectly, in or into, or by the use of the mails of, or by any means or instrumentality (including, without limitation, telephonically or electronically) of, interstate or foreign commerce of, or of any facilities of a national securities exchange of, the United States except to DSM Shareholders who (i) are "qualified institutional buyers" as such term is defined in Rule 144A under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act, and each such person, a QIB) and (ii), to the Company's satisfaction (in its sole discretion), have duly completed and returned to the Company a letter confirming that it is a QIB and agreeing to certain transfer restrictions applicable to the DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares (a U.S. Investor Letter) available from the Company (each an Eligible U.S. Holder). Accordingly, to be eligible to receive DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares under the Exchange Offer, each DSM Shareholder that is a U.S. Person and that is a QIB must make their acceptance known through their custodian, bank or stockbroker by executing and delivering a U.S. Investor letter to such custodian or intermediary no later than 17:40 hours CET on the Acceptance Closing Date. The custodian, bank or stockbroker may set an earlier deadline for communication by DSM Shareholders in order to permit the custodian, bank or stockbroker to communicate its acceptances to the Settlement Agent (ABN AMRO) in a timely manner. Accordingly, Eligible U.S. Holders holding DSM Ordinary Shares through a financial intermediary should comply with the dates communicated by such financial intermediary, as such dates may differ from the dates and times noted in the Offering Circular. The form of a U.S. Investor Letter will be distributed to custodians, nominees and other financial intermediaries to distribute to those they hold for in due course and is also available to QIBs from the Company. Any U.S. Person who is not a QIB, or in respect of whom no U.S. Investor Letter is received before 17:40 hours CET on the Acceptance Closing Date, will be a Restricted Shareholder and will be treated as set out under section 14.35 (Notice to DSM Shareholders in certain jurisdictions) of the Offering Circular. The DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any other applicable law of the United States and accordingly, the DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares may not be reoffered, resold or transferred, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act. Any DSM Shareholder located in the United States at the time of the Transactions will be required to make certain representations, warranties and undertakings in respect of their status as QIB (the QIB Confirmations), in order to receive the DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares on the Post-Closing Acceptance Settlement Date. If a beneficiary to DSM Ordinary Shares located in the United States is unable to make the QIB Confirmations on behalf of itself or the person on whose behalf such DSM Ordinary Shares are held, any DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares allotted to such person will instead be transferred to a sales agent, and such DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares will be sold on his, her or its behalf with the proceeds being remitted to such person within five days of the Settlement Date, for DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares allotted in exchange for DSM Ordinary Shares tendered during the Acceptance Period, or within five days of the Post-Closing Acceptance Settlement Date, for DSM-Firmenich Ordinary Shares allotted in exchange for DSM Ordinary Shares tendered during any Post-Closing Acceptance Period. Additional information is included in section 16.1 (United States of America) of the Offering Circular. Forward looking statements Certain statements in this press release other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current beliefs and projections and on information currently available to the Company. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control and all of which are based on its current beliefs and expectations about future events. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe", "expect", "may", "will", "seek", "would", "could", "should", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "assume", "predict", "anticipate", "annualised", "goal", "target", "potential", "continue", "hope", "objective", "position", "project", "risk" or "aim" or the highlights or negatives thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology, or by discussions of DSM-Firmenich's strategy, short-term and mid-term objectives and future plans that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by applicable law, the Company does not undertake and it expressly disclaims any duty to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statement in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Such forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs, assumptions, expectations, estimates and projections of the Directors in office at the time of this press release and the Company's management, public statements made by it, present and future business strategies and the environment in which DSM-Firmenich will operate in the future. By their nature, they are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause DSM-Firmenich's actual results and future events to differ materially from those implied or expressed by forward-looking statements. The DSM Shareholders and other prospective investors are advised to read section 2 (Risk Factors) of the Offering Circular for a more complete discussion of the factors that could affect the DSM-Firmenich's future performance and the industry in which DSM-Firmenich operates. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialise, or should any of the assumptions underlying the above or other factors prove to be incorrect, DSM-Firmenich's actual results of operations or future financial condition could differ materially from those described herein as currently anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. In light of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions underlying the above factors, the forward-looking events described in the Offering Circular may not occur or be realised. Additional risks not known to the Company or that the Company does not currently consider material could also cause the forward-looking events discussed in the Offering Circular not to occur. About Firmenich Firmenich, the world's largest privately-owned fragrance and taste company, was founded in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1895, and has been family-owned for 127 years. Firmenich is a business-to-business company specialized in the research, creation, manufacture and sale of perfumes, flavors, and ingredients. Renowned for its excellent research, as well as its leadership in sustainability, Firmenich offers its customers innovation in formulation, a broad palette of ingredients, and proprietary technologies such as biotechnology. Firmenich delivered CHF 4.7bn of sales in the financial year ended 30 June 2022. About DSM DSM has transformed during its 150+ year history into today's health, nutrition & bioscience global leader. The Dutch-Swiss company specializes in nutritional ingredients for food and feed with proven world-leading bioscience capabilities and an international network of high-quality manufacturing sites that underpin a business model of global products, local solutions and personalization and precision. For Health, Nutrition & Bioscience (excluding Materials), DSM delivered 8.4bn of sales in the calendar year 2022, with adjusted EBITDA of 1.4bn and an adjusted EBITDA margin of 16.6%. Transaction website Please visit www.creator-innovator.com for additional materials on the Transactions. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1828928/Logo_Combined_Logo.jpg SOURCE Firmenich The pact entails that all political parties and candidates accept the outcome of the elections or to seek legitimate means of redress in the event of divergent positions. All 18 registered political parties in Nigeria signed a peace pact on the 2023 general elections in Abuja on Wednesday. The peace pact, the second in the last five months, was organised and coordinated by the National Accord for Peace under the chairmanship of a former Head of State, Abdulsalami Abubakar. The pact entails that all political parties accept the outcome of the elections or to seek legitimate means of redress in the event of divergent positions. Mr Abubakar, a retired army General, stressed at the pact signing the need for all parties to stay committed to the second peace accord, as he observed that some of them flouted the first peace accord signed on 29 September, 2022. "There was lack of compliance by the major political parties. "Forty-four per cent of the violations were carried out by spokespersons of the political parties and 26 per cent by party members. "Nineteen per cent of the violations were carried out by the presidential candidates themselves; 11 per cent by hard-core supporters and 4 per cent by party chairmen. "Additionally, in January 2023, a lot of violence has occurred with at least 15 abductions (including that of a police officer) and at least, 30 killings (including those of 11 security personnel)," he said. Mr Abubakar noted that campaign rallies were also not free of attacks. "There were at least six attacks at political campaign rallies. "In December 2022, INEC said it recorded 50 attacks on its offices between 2019 and 2022. "According to data released by INEC, there were 11 attacks on its offices in Imo, seven attacks in Osun, five each in Enugu State and Akwa Ibom. "In each of Ebonyi, Abia and Cross River, there were four attacks on INEC offices; two attacks each in Anambra and Taraba, and one attack each in Kaduna State, Borno, Bayelsa, Ondo State, Lagos State and Ogun. "As a nation, we have got to put a stop to all of these. That is why on January 20, 2022, we convened a meeting of all presidential candidates and party chairmen. "The meeting discussed existing and emerging issues regarding the ways campaigns were being conducted, and the need for parties to moderate their views," he said. The former head of state noted that Wednesday's peace pact became expedient as elections were only a few days away. "Now that the elections are only a few hours away, we are here to witness the second signing of the National Peace Accord. "It is to commit presidential candidates and their party chairmen to accept the outcome of the elections as long as it is adjudged to be free, fair, and credible. "It is also to commit them to seek legitimate and peaceful means of addressing any concerns that may arise thereafter. "In this regard, I want to encourage political parties to respect that only the INEC has the Constitutional authority to announce election results. "I also encourage the parties to ensure that their supporters refrain from disseminating fake news, misinformation, disinformation and avoid statements that will incite violence after the results of the elections have been announced," Mr Abubakar said. In his message to the pact signing, former President Goodluck Jonathan stated that the peace accord strategy had consolidated efforts of statutory structures like INEC in conducting peaceful and credible elections. He was represented by Matthew Kukah, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto. He reiterated the importance of the signing of the second Peace Accord which committed all presidential candidates, chairmen and members of political parties to peaceful elections. "In the build up to the 2015 general elections, myself and my successor, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, signed a similar accord, committing ourselves to free, fair, credible and peaceful elections. "We also made it very clear in the second Peace Accord that we would abide by the outcome of the votes. "I believe that is the way to strengthen our democracy, stave off looming violence and bring peace to our nation," Mr Jonathan stated in his message. He added that there was no better time to make the commitment than now, given the considerable level of tension and apprehension so far experienced, in the build-up to the 2023 elections. "This is the time for the candidates and party leaders to demonstrate goodwill and impress it on their cadres and followers that election is not war. "Our country needs a stable and reliable democracy to be able to adequately address its challenges and provide the desired leadership that meets the expectations of our teeming populace," Mr Jonathan also stated. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Convener of the National Peace Committee, Mr Kukah, said the growing international interest in Nigeria's elections is a source of great encouragement, a pointer to how much hope has been reposed in the country. "We have five former African Heads of State here and the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Baroness Patricia Scotland, "We thank Your Excellences and all members of the international observer missions. "Our political actors need this pressure to compel them to raise the moral tempo of politics and to improve the quality of the lives of our people," Mr Kukah said. Present at the signing of the second Peace Accord was President Muhammadu Buhari, INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, and the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba. International election observers present included Baroness Scotland, and former President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya leading the African Union Observation Mission. Others were former President Thambo Mbeki of South Africa leading the Commonwealth Observer group, and former President Joyce Banda of Malawi among others. (NAN) New report from Trend shows how ransomware industry is kept afloat DALLAS, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global cybersecurity leader, today published a new report warning that although only 10% of ransomware victims pay their extorters, they are enabling attacks on numerous other organizations by doing so. To read a full copy of the report, What Decision Makers Need to Know About Ransomware Risk*, please visit: https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/news/ransomware-spotlight/understanding-ransomware-using-data-science The research aims to help IT leaders understand their risk and enable policymakers to craft more effective strategies Tweet this Jon Clay, VP of threat intelligence at Trend Micro: "Ransomware is a major cybersecurity threat to enterprises and governments today. It's also continually evolving, which is why we need more accurate, data-driven ways to model ransomware-related risk. This new research aims to help IT decision-makers better understand their risk exposure and provide policymakers with the information they need to craft more effective and impactful strategies." The report delivers strategic, tactical, operational, and technical threat intelligence and leverages advanced data science to list various threat actor metrics. These metrics can be used to compare ransomware groups, estimate risks, and model threat actor behaviors. Key findings include: The 10% of victims that agree to pay usually do so quickly and are generally being forced to pay more per compromise Risk is not homogeneous it differs across regions, sectors, and organization sizes Victims in some sectors and countries pay more often than others, meaning their peers are more likely to be targeted Paying a ransom often only results in driving up the overall cost of the incident with few other benefits Ransomware monetization activities are at their lowest in January and July-August, making these potentially good times for defenders to rebuild infrastructure and prepare for future threats The report reveals that by prioritizing protection left of the kill chain, continuing in-depth analysis of the ransomware ecosystems, and focusing global efforts on reducing the percentage of victims paying, industry stakeholders could help drive down ransomware's profitability. The insights revealed in this report can also enable decision-makers to better assess possible financial risks stemming from Ransomware. This would help: IT leaders to justify bigger budgets for ransomware defense Governments to budget more accurately for restoration services and law enforcement Insurers to price policies more accurately International organizations to compare Ransomware more accurately to other global risks *Jointly produced by Trend Micro and Waratah.io, the report applies data science approaches to information collected from network and host-based telemetry, underground forums, bitcoin, and financial transactions, and chat logs alongside analysis of criminal business processes to uncover new trends and choke points of the ransomware ecosystem. About Trend Micro Trend Micro, a global cybersecurity leader, helps make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Fueled by decades of security expertise, global threat research, and continuous innovation, Trend Micro's cybersecurity platform protects hundreds of thousands of organizations and millions of individuals across clouds, networks, devices, and endpoints. As a leader in cloud and enterprise cybersecurity, the platform delivers a powerful range of advanced threat defense techniques optimized for environments like AWS, Microsoft, and Google, and central visibility for better, faster detection and response. With 7,000 employees across 65 countries, Trend Micro enables organizations to simplify and secure their connected world. www.TrendMicro.com. SOURCE Trend Micro Incorporated Enterprise-grade digital stethoscope platform brings non-invasive heart disease detection to primary care OAKLAND, Calif., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Eko, a digital health company applying artificial intelligence (AI) in the fight against heart and lung disease, today announced the launch of the SENSORA Cardiac Disease Detection Platform. SENSORA currently features AI that objectively identifies structural murmurs, a sign of valvular heart disease, and Care Pathway Analytics software that provides downstream visibility and metrics of the patient journey through the healthcare system. Eko SENSORA Cardiac Disease Detection Platform on tablet featuring 3M Littmann CORE Digital Stethoscope SENSORA is a cardiovascular disease detection platform that combines the latest advancements in applied machine learning with one of the most ubiquitous medical devices in the world: the stethoscope. By capturing and analyzing heart sounds and electrical signals with its digital stethoscopes, Eko has pioneered a detection platform designed to expand as the company develops applications for additional cardiac conditions. "Our vision for SENSORA is to make cardiovascular disease detection simple and accurate in frontline care settings like primary care and urgent care," said Connor Landgraf, Co-founder & CEO of Eko. "During a routine physical exam, patients can now have access to advanced structural murmur detection and arrhythmia assessment by their primary care physician in seconds, making early intervention possible for millions of patients with silent cardiovascular disease. We are making the world's most universal medical exam objective and accurate." SENSORA FDA-cleared structural murmur detection helps health systems more accurately and consistently identify valvular heart disease (VHD) in patients during a routine visit with their primary care physician. VHD is a life-threatening condition diagnosed in more than 8 million Americans. Left undetected and untreated, it can lead to heart failure, stroke, blood clots, and death. Older adults have a 1 in 10 chance of developing clinically significant VHD. However, more than half (57%) of clinically significant valvular heart disease goes undetected in this population. A primary care physician using SENSORA for structural murmur detection more than doubles their likelihood of detecting significant VHD. SENSORA Care Pathway Analytics follows patients with identified structural murmurs through the care continuum, providing downstream visibility into patient flows, clinical outcomes and patient economics. Care Pathway Analytics is designed to assist with critical decision-making by identifying care gaps that can be transformed into improved operational efficiencies, including reduced delays in delivery of care, length of stay, and readmission rates, all while improving patient and physician satisfaction. "The primary care setting is a patient's first line of defense for identifying and diagnosing heart disease," said Dr. John Chorba, Assistant Professor in Residence, Division of Cardiology, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Department of Medicine, University of California San Francisco. "However, we know from clinical evidence that detection rates are low. The SENSORA platform promises to better serve patients by increasing the accuracy and consistency of structural murmur identification and improving patients' lives by getting them into treatment earlier." In addition to Eko's current portfolio of five FDA 510(k) cleared digital solutions, the company has two novel machine learning algorithms in development that apply electrocardiogram (ECG) and heart sound data: a low ejection fraction detection algorithm (named "ELEFT") to detect a weakened heart pump, which is present in half of heart failure patients, and an algorithm to detect and stratify pulmonary hypertension. Eko is committed to impacting patients and clinicians by creating advanced solutions that meet their needs, enable early detection of heart and lung diseases, and save lives. Health systems interested in learning more about SENSORA for structural murmur detection can visit Eko's booth #1407 at the ACC 2023 Annual Scientific Session & Expo from March 4 - 6 in New Orleans, LA, or online at www.ekohealth.com. About Eko Eko, a digital health company, is advancing how healthcare professionals detect and monitor heart and lung disease with its innovative suite of digital tools, patient and provider software, and AI-powered analysis. Its FDA-cleared platform is used by hundreds of thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide, allowing them to detect earlier and with higher accuracy, diagnose with more confidence, manage treatment effectively, and ultimately give their patients the best care possible. Eko is headquartered in Oakland, California, with over $125 million in funding from Highland Capital Partners, Questa Capital, Artis Ventures, DigiTx Partners, NTTVC, Morningside Technology Ventures Limited, Mayo Clinic, Sutter Health, and others. For more information visit www.ekohealth.com. Eko Media Contact Alexander Romero-Wilson [email protected] 906.399.0957 SOURCE Eko BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Encompass Health Corporation (NYSE: EHC) today announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of $0.15 per share, payable on April 17, 2023, to holders of record on April 3, 2023. About Encompass Health Encompass Health (NYSE: EHC) is the largest owner and operator of rehabilitation hospitals in the United States. With a national footprint that includes 153 hospitals in 36 states and Puerto Rico, the Company provides high-quality, compassionate rehabilitative care for patients recovering from a major injury or illness, using advanced technology and innovative treatments to maximize recovery. Encompass Health is ranked as one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For and Modern Healthcare's Best Places to Work in Healthcare. For more information, visit encompasshealth.com, or follow us on our newsroom, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Forward-Looking Statements Statements contained in this press release which are not historical facts, such as the timing and amounts of dividends, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In addition, Encompass Health, through its senior management, may from time to time make forward-looking public statements concerning the matters described herein. All such estimates, projections, and forward-looking information speak only as of the date hereof, and Encompass Health undertakes no duty to publicly update or revise such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily estimates based upon current information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors. While it is impossible to identify all such factors, factors which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those estimated by Encompass Health include, but are not limited to, the regulatory review and approval process; the possibility hospital construction will experience unexpected delays or prohibitive cost increases; a hospital's ability to receive and maintain proper local, state and federal licensing; the ability to attract and retain nurses, therapists, and other healthcare professionals in a highly competitive environment with often severe staffing shortages; the continued spread of COVID-19 or another infectious disease, including the speed, depth, geographic reach and duration of the spread, which could decrease our patient volumes and revenues and lead to staffing and supply shortages and associated cost increases; actions to be taken by Encompass Health in response to the pandemic; the legal, regulatory and administrative developments that occur at the federal, state and local levels; Encompass Health's infectious disease prevention and control efforts; Encompass Health's ability to comply with extensive, complex, and ever-changing regulations in the healthcare industry; any adverse outcome of various lawsuits, claims, and legal or regulatory proceedings involving Encompass Health, including any matters related to yet undiscovered issues, if any, at acquired companies; potential disruptions, breaches, or other incidents affecting the proper operation, availability, or security of Encompass Health's information systems, including unauthorized access to or theft of patient, business associate, or other sensitive information; changes, delays in (including in connection with resolution of Medicare payment reviews or appeals), or suspension of reimbursement for Encompass Health's services by governmental or private payors; and other factors which may be identified from time to time in Encompass Health's SEC filings and other public announcements, including Encompass Health's Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2022, when filed. Media Contact: Casey Winger | 205 447-6410 [email protected] Investor Relations Contact: Mark Miller | 205 970-5860 [email protected] SOURCE Encompass Health Corp. The Integrated Dental Organization now owns and operates 21 locations in the western U.S. DENVER, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Espire Dental, a fast growing, doctor-led Integrated Dental Organization (IDO), is pleased to announce the recent acquisition of La Costa Dental Group in Encinitas, CA. Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Espire aims to reshape the industry with its 21 practices located throughout Colorado, California, Oklahoma and Wyoming. The company acquires practices with a clinical philosophy that focuses on the patient experience, while placing significant emphasis on elevated, quality clinical care and employee fulfillment. Adding La Costa Dental Group strengthens Espire's position in the Southern California market while expanding the quality of dental care available to patients throughout the state. Tim Hill, CEO of Espire Dental, is thrilled about the synergy between Espire and this new practice. "We're proud to partner with a practice that has such a longstanding history of providing exceptional dental care to the community. This location is an ideal fit with our existing presence in the area, and we couldn't be more excited to work with Dr. Anisso to advance the dental care quality available to patients." La Costa Dental Group has been providing excellent patient care to the people of Encinitas and surrounding areas since 1975. Dr. Omer Anisso, D.D.S., owner of La Costa Dental, said, "When I first met the team at Espire, I knew that they were the best fit for our practice and patients. We were searching for a business partner who would not only help our practice grow but support our team members and elevate our patient experience, too. Espire is elevating the entire dental industry, and we are proud to join the cause." Espire Dental supports its practices with best-in-class business services including practice operations, clinical training, human resources, marketing and accounting. This allows Espire's dentists to focus on what matters most: patient care and elevating their teams' experience. For Hill, Espire sets itself apart from other group dental partners by offering the guidance practices need while delivering exceptional patient and team experiences. He said, "We're proud of our positive and unique culture and the way it effortlessly integrates with our exceptional business support systems. We're committed to raising the bar on the quality of support that integrated practices should expect from their business partner." About Espire Dental Espire Dental is a group of practices founded by doctors with a vision to create something extraordinary: a dental setting where excellence in dentistry meets inspired hospitality. Espire is pioneering a new practice category, operating as an Integrated Dental Organization (IDO) instead of a DSO to create a large, top quality and unique group practice operating under a single, trusted brand. With a focus on elevated quality care, multi-specialty and creating exceptional experiences for patients and employees, Espire believes that when you love what you do, work does not feel like work. Espire is a fast-growing group of 21 practices, looking to build its presence in the Western United States. Learn more at www.espiredental.com. Contact Espire Dental Dentists interested in joining Espire Dental may complete an inquiry form: EspireDental.com/practice-transition CONTACT: Sophie Kelner, [email protected] SOURCE Espire Dental WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) today announced the winners of its 2023 top safety awards and every tested Mazda vehicle made the list. These vehicles include the Mazda3 Sedan, Mazda3 Hatchback, CX-30, CX-5, CX-50 and CX-9. New for the 2023 program year, IIHS strengthened the requirements for its TOP SAFETY PICK and TOP SAFETY PICK+ awards, demanding better side crash protection, improved pedestrian crash prevention systems and superior headlight performance. IIHS notes the biggest change to the criteria for both awards is the replacement of the original IIHS side crash test with the updated evaluation launched in 2021. The updated test involves 82 percent more energy than the original test. Vehicles must earn an Acceptable or Good rating in this tougher test to qualify for TOP SAFETY PICK. The Mazda CX-5, CX-9, and Mazda3 all stood out with top, Good ratings in this test. "We applaud IIHS for continually raising the bar and pushing the industry to continually improve its crashworthiness and crash avoidance technologies," said Mazda North American Operations President and CEO Jeff Guyton. "Safety is a top priority for Mazda and we are proud to have all tested vehicles achieve TOP SAFETY PICK for 2023." To learn more about advanced safety at Mazda, please visit the MazdaUSA.com website - https://www.mazdausa.com/why-mazda/safety. The IIHS is an independent, non-governmental safety-testing organization, funded by the insurance industry. For more information, visit https://www.iihs.org/ratings/top-safety-picks. Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts, and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States, Canada, and Mexico through approximately 780 dealers. Operations in Canada are managed by Mazda Canada Inc. in Richmond Hill, Ontario, and operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at News.MazdaUSA.com. Follow MNAO's social media channels through Twitter and Instagram at @MazdaUSA and Facebook at Facebook.com/MazdaUSA. SOURCE Mazda North American Operations The rapid adoption of advanced technologies in agricultural products and gaining popularity of internet of things (IoT) in agriculture is expected to fuel the demand for farming as a service market globally during the analyzed time frame. PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Farming as a Service Market by Service Type (Farm Management Solutions, Production Assistance and Access to Markets), Delivery Model (Subscription and Pay-per-use) and End User (Farmers, Governments, Corporate, Financial Institutions and Advisory Bodies): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20222031" According to the report, the global farming as a service industry generated $2.9 billion in 2021, and is estimated to reach $12.8 billion by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 16.1% from 2022 to 2031. The report offers a detailed analysis of changing market trends, top segments, key investment pockets, value chains, regional landscapes, and competitive scenarios. Drivers, Restraints, and Opportunities Adopting advanced technologies in agricultural products, the popularity of Internet of Things (IoT) in agriculture and reducing energy consumption and cost-effectiveness are the major growth factors for the market. However, lack of technical awareness and high initial investments and need for continuous internet are the major factors hampering the growth of the market. On the contrary, increase in number of agritech start-ups will provide lucrative opportunities for the growth of the market in the upcoming years. Download Sample Report at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/47868 Covid-19 scenario The COVID-19 pandemic had a positive impact on the farming as a service market, owing to the farm management solutions such as precision farming tools and analytics gained more relevance in the wake of the pandemic as they allowed remote monitoring of several addition parameters such as yield monitoring, pest prevention, and irrigation. The farm management solutions segment to rule the roost On the basis of service type segment, the farm management solutions segment held the largest market share in 2021 due to rise in internet penetration and rise in acceptance of farming solutions by end users such as farmers. Procure Complete Report (230 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/checkout-final/d37928a24bda6093ba288f662363526c North America garnered the major share in 2021 Based on region, North America attained the highest revenue in 2021 due to increasing acceptance of smart farming methods, which has led to an increase in the use of farming as a service model across the region. Leading Market Players Apollo Agriculture Deere & Company Trimble Inc. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. SGS Societe Generale de Surveillance SA Accenture Taranis Precision Hawk BigHaat.com 63Ideas Infolabs Private Limited Enquire before buying at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/47868 The report analyzes these key players in the global farming as a service market. These players have adopted various strategies such as expansion, new product launches, partnerships, and others to increase their market penetration and strengthen their position in the industry. The report is helpful in determining the business performance, operating segments, developments, and product portfolios of every market player. Trending Reports in ICT & Media Industry: Precision Agriculture Market Expected to Reach $23,056 million by 2030 Smart Water Management Market Expected to Reach $53.6 Billion by 2031 Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) Market Expected to Reach $ 15.84 Billion by 2028 Green Technology and Sustainability Market Expected to Reach $74.64 Billion by 2030 Environmental Monitoring Market Expected to Reach $43.48 Billion by 2030 About Us Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States USA/Canada (Toll Free): 1-800-792-5285, 1-503-894-6022 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1(855)550-5975 [email protected] Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/reports-store/information-and-communication-technology-and-media Follow Us on Blog: https://www.technologyplz.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE Allied Market Research WALLINGFORD, Conn., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Patients with dysphagia in long-term acute care hospital settings may benefit from a Free Water Protocol, according to a new feasibility study by Gaylord Specialty Healthcare's Milne Institute for Healthcare Innovation that was published today in the journal Scientific Reports. Dysphagia or the difficulty or inability to safely swallow is a common diagnosis among adult patients in long-term acute care hospitals. Dysphagia can be caused by a number of factors, including neurological damage and disorders, intubation, radiation, and damage to the esophagus. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, dysphagia can lead to many serious consequences if not addressed, including aspiration pneumonia. "Patients with dysphagia are often prescribed thickened liquids to help control their swallow function or are given no liquids at all," explained Gaylord Specialty Healthcare speech-language pathologist Stefanie Gaidos, MS, CCC-SLP, co-author and lead investigator of the study. "While this intervention may minimize the risk of aspirating liquids," she said, "people do not generally enjoy consuming thickened liquids and often look forward to drinking a regular glass of cold water." The study trialed a Free Water Protocol among patients with dysphagia at Gaylord Hospital, a long-term acute care hospital in Connecticut. The goal of the feasibility study was to determine if individuals in the long-term acute care setting who knowingly aspirate thin liquids and maintain regular oral hygiene (teeth brushing and Chlorhexidine rinse at least three times a day) can safely tolerate un-thickened water. A stringent oral hygiene routine is a vital component of the protocol as poor oral hygiene and dysphagia are among the most significant risk factors for developing aspiration pneumonia. Once participants began the Free Water Protocol, measurements were taken over a seven-day trial period, and participants were monitored for adverse events until the protocol was discontinued. The study resulted in no adverse events related to the Free Water Protocol and demonstrated significant changes including improved fluid intake, functional eating ability, and quality of life. One participant said, "If it wasn't for the water, I would never have gotten better this quickly." The authors noted that the Free Water Protocol may benefit individuals undergoing rehabilitation for COVID-19 related post-intubation dysphagia and other dysphagia-causing diagnoses not represented in the study. The results of the feasibility study resulted in the hospital-wide implementation of the Free Water Protocol at Gaylord Hospital. About Gaylord Specialty Healthcare: Gaylord Specialty Healthcare is a rehabilitation-focused, nonprofit health system headquartered in Wallingford, Connecticut, that provides inpatient and outpatient care for people at every point in their journey from illness or injury to maximum recovery. Gaylord Specialty Healthcare is anchored by Gaylord Hospital, a long-term acute care hospital, and includes Gaylord Outpatient Services and Gaylord Physical Therapy for patients who require diagnosis and treatment on an outpatient basis. Gaylord's Milne Institute for Healthcare Innovation is a hub for accelerating rehabilitative research, technology development and innovation to improve the quality of life and function of people around the world. Together, these entities deliver a complete continuum of rehabilitative care driven by clinical experience, innovation, and human compassion. SOURCE Gaylord Specialty Healthcare TORONTO, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - First Capital REIT ("First Capital" or the "REIT") (TSX: FCR.UN) today announced a support and cooperation agreement (the "Agreement") between First Capital and each of Vision Capital Corporation ("Vision") and Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. ("Ewing Morris") that will result in the immediate increase of the size of the board of trustees (the "Board") of the REIT to ten trustees and the appointment of Mr. Richard Nesbitt to the Board. "First Capital is pleased to have entered into a support and cooperation agreement with each of Vision and Ewing Morris that the Board believes is in the best interests of all unitholders," said Paul C. Douglas, Chair of the Board. "We are particularly pleased to welcome Richard Nesbitt to our Board, who brings more than 30 years of experience in capital markets, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions and financial services senior management and operations." "Along with the recent appointment of Mr. Ira Gluskin, and the substantial refreshment that has taken place over the past several years, First Capital's Board is well positioned with an excellent mix of skills, experience, and fresh perspective," continued Mr. Douglas. "We are pleased with the appointment of Richard Nesbitt, and plan to support the refreshed Board at the upcoming meeting of unitholders of First Capital," said Jeff Olin, the President & CEO and Portfolio Manager of Vision. "The breadth of changes to the Board composition and Chair announced in recent weeks are indeed a refreshment and make us confident that this Board has the right skills, commitment and focus to maximize unitholder value." "First Capital has a unique and exceptional real estate portfolio. We are assured this refreshed Board will execute on a plan that ensures the value of the portfolio is reflected in the market", said Darcy Morris, the Co-Founder and CEO of Ewing Morris. Richard's impressive career includes seven years of senior leadership roles with the Toronto Stock Exchange as CEO between 2004 and 2008, having initially joined as President of TSX Markets in 2001. His 20-year financial services senior executive roles were primarily with CIBC where he most recently served as Chief Operating Officer and CEO of CIBC World Markets until his retirement in 2014. Subsequently, Richard served as CEO of the Global Risk Institute. Richard has served on several corporate boards of directors and presently is on the Advisory Board for Vision. Presently, Richard is Chair of the board of The Inclusion Initiative at the London School of Economics, and is an Adjunct Professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Richard has published a book (with Barbara Annis) titled "Results at the Top" on the issue of men's responsibility for gender diversity to improve their organizations and a book (with Michael King) titled "The Technological Revolution in Financial Services". Unitholders will receive detailed information about the matters to be presented at the annual and special meeting of unitholders to be held on March 28, 2023 (the "Meeting"), and information about how to vote in a management information circular in advance of the Meeting. Unitholders should read the information carefully before deciding how to vote. At this time, there is no need for unitholders to take any action in respect of the Meeting. The Agreement will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. First Capital Advisors Kingsdale Advisors is acting as strategic shareholder advisor to First Capital. Gagnier Communications is acting as communications advisor to First Capital. Stikeman Elliott LLP is acting as legal counsel to the Board. RBC Capital Markets is acting as financial advisor to First Capital. About Vision Capital Vision is the Manager of the Vision Opportunity Funds, alternative investment funds that focus on harvesting investment opportunities from inefficiencies in pricing of primarily North American publicly traded real estate securities. These inefficiencies enable Vision's principal strategy of "buying real estate cheaper in the stock market than one can in the property market". About Ewing Morris Ewing Morris & Co. Investment Partners Ltd. is a value driven Canadian investment firm established in September 2011 by John Ewing and Darcy Morris. Our aim is to achieve preservation and growth of capital for our Limited Partners by focusing on inefficient markets. We do this by relying on fundamental analysis, high conviction and the use of flexible capital. We manage strategies with a focus on small and mid-cap companies. We manage investments for individuals as well as charitable organizations, institutions and corporations. About First Capital REIT (TSX: FCR.UN) First Capital owns, operates and develops grocery-anchored, open-air centres in neighbourhoods with the strongest demographics in Canada. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT ADVISORY This press release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of applicable securities law. These forward- looking statements are not historical facts but, rather, reflect First Capital's current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause the outcome to differ materially from current expectations. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, general economic conditions; tenant financial difficulties, defaults and bankruptcies; increases in operating costs, property taxes and income taxes; First Capital's ability to maintain occupancy and to lease or release space at current or anticipated rents; development, intensification and acquisition activities; residential development, sales and leasing; risks in joint ventures; environmental liability and compliance costs and uninsured losses; and risks and uncertainties related to the impact of the ongoing pandemic, epidemics or other outbreaks on First Capital which are described in First Capital's MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2022 under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties - Ongoing Pandemic, Epidemics or New Outbreaks". Additionally, forward- looking statements are subject to those risks and uncertainties discussed in First Capital's MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2022, and in its current Annual Information Form. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. First Capital undertakes no obligation to publicly update any such forward-looking statement or to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances except as required by applicable securities law. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date hereof and are qualified by these cautionary statements. www.fcr.ca TSX: FCR.UN SOURCE First Capital REIT MISSOULA, Mont., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FLATED, the company behind the world's first inflatable truck topper and other inflatable automotive accessories, is set to showcase their products and brand vision on ABC's popular and Emmy Award-winning "Shark Tank" program. The FLATED founders will present their products in front of five of the world's top investors, giving them the opportunity to elevate their brand in front of a national audience. The segment is scheduled to air on Friday, March 10th from 8:00/9:00p.m. ET/PT on ABC Television Network. The FLATED Air-Topper is the world's first inflatable truck cap that can easily inflate and be installed in minutes, and weighs less than 65 lbs. The FLATED Air-Carrier is the worlds first inflatable rooftop cargo carrier that can be mounted on almost all vehicles to carry luggage and gear for your next road trip adventure. "We've always been fans of Shark Tank, so when the opportunity came to apply to be on the show, we jumped on it," said Ryan Guay, FLATED CEO and co-founder. "We're extremely proud of our product and brand vision, and we've spent the last year trying to keep up with demand. We expect huge growth in 2023, with more sizes and new products coming out." FLATED was conceived in March 2020 during the pandemic lockdown by four outdoor industry veterans Monique Keefer, Ken Hoeve, Dan Watts, and Ryan Guay. The idea was to use drop stitch inflatable technology, the same material used in inflatable paddleboards and kayaks, to create usable space on automobiles. The FLATED Air-Topper is the world's first inflatable truck cap that can easily inflate and be installed in minutes, and weighs less than 65 lbs. The FLATED Air-Carrier is the world's first inflatable rooftop cargo carrier that can be mounted on almost all vehicles to carry luggage and gear for your next road trip adventure. Currently, FLATED sells their products directly from their website, REI.com, and other specialty automotive retailers. Their innovative product mix helped land them a spot on "Shark Tank," and they are prepared for the next round of growth. FLATED is a company that specializes in making innovative and high-quality inflatable automotive accessories. Founded in 2021 by outdoor gear and stand-up paddleboard industry experts, FLATED has become known for inventing the world's first inflatable Truck Topper and the world's first inflatable rooftop cargo carrier. All FLATED products are patent-pending and feature inflatable, deflatable, and easy transport and storage solutions for mobile lifestyles. The company is proud to be a member of SEMA, a leading organization for the automotive aftermarket industry. Originally based in the stand-up paddle and surf hub of Carlsbad, California, FLATED just recently opened a customer service office and R&D center in Missoula, Montana. FLATED continues to innovate and bring new solutions to anyone looking to adventure more easily and more often. Learn more at www.getflated.com. Media Contact: [email protected] SOURCE FLATED TORONTO, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Franco-Nevada Corporation ("Franco-Nevada" or the "Company") (TSX: FNV) (NYSE: FNV) has been advised by its partner First Quantum Minerals Ltd. ("First Quantum") that First Quantum's subsidiary, Minera Panama, S.A. ("MPSA"), has suspended ore processing operations at the Cobre Panama mine. As previously announced, the Panama Maritime Authority ("AMP") issued a resolution on January 26, 2023 requiring the suspension of concentrate loading operations at the Cobre Panama Port, Punta Rincon, until certification of the calibration of the scales by an accredited company had been initiated. Key updates as reported by First Quantum include: MPSA believes it has complied with all requirements of the AMP resolution but copper concentrate loading operations are still not being permitted by the AMP MPSA will begin a partial demobilization of its workforce and will take a systematic approach to reducing operations to ensure the safety of its workforce, prevent damage and degradation of equipment and preserve the integrity of the mine If the AMP is to permit the recommencement of concentrate loading operations, MPSA could begin shipping concentrate and resuming operations at the mine within hours Negotiations with the Government of Panama on a refreshed contract are continuing and First Quantum remains committed to achieving an outcome that will be to the benefit of all stakeholders and support the long-term operations of the Cobre Panama mine. Please refer to First Quantum's press release dated February 23, 2023 for further details. Impact on Franco-Nevada Franco-Nevada (Barbados) Corporation, a subsidiary of Franco-Nevada, holds two precious metal streams indexed to the copper-in-concentrate shipped by Cobre Panama. First Quantum's 2023 guidance for uninterrupted production from Cobre Panama provided on January 16, 2023 was for 350kt to 380kt of copper production. This would translate into 131koz to 142koz of attributable GEO production to Franco-Nevada (calculating gold equivalence using $1,800/oz Au and $21.00/oz Ag prices). Provided operations resume at Cobre Panama, the impact to Franco-Nevada of the suspension of operations should be limited to a deferral of revenue as the streams do not bear any associated carrying costs while operations are suspended. Despite operations at the mine being suspended, Franco-Nevada remains highly profitable, continues to generate substantial cash flow, is debt-free, and has cash and working capital in excess of US$1 billion, an undrawn US$1 billion credit facility and limited financial commitments. Franco-Nevada remains in communication with First Quantum and will provide further updates as they are available. Forward- Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, respectively, which may include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future events or future performance, management's expectations regarding Franco-Nevada's growth, results of operations, estimated future revenues, performance guidance, carrying value of assets, future dividends and requirements for additional capital, mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates, production estimates, production costs and revenue, future demand for and prices of commodities, expected mining sequences, business prospects and opportunities, the performance and plans of third party operators, audits being conducted by the CRA, the expected exposure for current and future assessments and available remedies, the outcome of any discussions between the Government of Panama and the operator of the Cobre Panama mine and the remedies relating to and consequence of any actions taken by the Government of Panama or the operator of the Cobre Panama mine. In addition, statements relating to reserves and resources, gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") and mine life are forward-looking statements, as they involve implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions, and no assurance can be given that the estimates and assumptions are accurate and that such reserves and resources, GEOs or mine life will be realized. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budgets", "potential for", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "projects", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Franco-Nevada to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. A number of factors could cause actual events or results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement, including, without limitation: fluctuations in the prices of the primary commodities that drive royalty and stream revenue (gold, platinum group metals, copper, nickel, uranium, silver, iron ore and oil and gas); fluctuations in the value of the Canadian and Australian dollar, Mexican peso, and any other currency in which revenue is generated, relative to the U.S. dollar; changes in national and local government legislation, including permitting and licensing regimes and taxation policies and the enforcement thereof; the adoption of a global minimum tax on corporations; regulatory, political or economic developments in any of the countries where properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest are located or through which they are held; risks related to the operators of the properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest, including changes in the ownership and control of such operators; relinquishment or sale of mineral properties; influence of macroeconomic developments; business opportunities that become available to, or are pursued by Franco-Nevada; reduced access to debt and equity capital; litigation; title, permit or license disputes related to interests on any of the properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest; whether or not the Company is determined to have "passive foreign investment company" ("PFIC") status as defined in Section 1297 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended; potential changes in Canadian tax treatment of offshore streams; excessive cost escalation as well as development, permitting, infrastructure, operating or technical difficulties on any of the properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest; access to sufficient pipeline capacity; actual mineral content may differ from the reserves and resources contained in technical reports; rate and timing of production differences from resource estimates, other technical reports and mine plans; risks and hazards associated with the business of development and mining on any of the properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest, including, but not limited to unusual or unexpected geological and metallurgical conditions, slope failures or cave-ins, flooding and other natural disasters, terrorism, civil unrest or an outbreak of contagious disease; the impact of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic; and the integration of acquired assets. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including, without limitation: the ongoing operation of the properties in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest by the owners or operators of such properties in a manner consistent with past practice; the accuracy of public statements and disclosures made by the owners or operators of such underlying properties; no material adverse change in the market price of the commodities that underlie the asset portfolio; the Company's ongoing income and assets relating to determination of its PFIC status; no material changes to existing tax treatment; the expected application of tax laws and regulations by taxation authorities; the expected assessment and outcome of any audit by any taxation authority; no adverse development in respect of any significant property in which Franco-Nevada holds a royalty, stream or other interest; the accuracy of publicly disclosed expectations for the development of underlying properties that are not yet in production; integration of acquired assets; and the absence of any other factors that could cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. However, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. In addition, there can be no assurance as to the outcome of the ongoing audit by the CRA or the Company's exposure as a result thereof. Franco-Nevada cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. For additional information with respect to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, please refer to Franco-Nevada's most recent Annual Information Form filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities on www.sedar.com and Franco-Nevada's most recent Annual Report filed on Form 40-F filed with the SEC on www.sec.gov. The forward-looking statements herein are made as of the date of this press release only and Franco-Nevada does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. SOURCE Franco-Nevada Corporation editorial The elections are taking place in a period of intense suffering, anger and frustration of citizens. As the elections arrive, Nigerians need to give them the seriousness they deserve. It is very important that the best possible leadership emerges from these elections for our collective future. There have never been general elections with so many booby traps as these. At the same time, the stakes are so high that botched elections or electing incompetent candidates might signal a final nosedive for Nigeria. PREMIUM TIMES proposes the following guide to citizens. The elections are taking place in a period of intense suffering, anger and frustration of citizens. The cost of living crisis and the spike in the prices of food, in particular, have made life very difficult for many Nigerians. As if these were not enough, months of fuel scarcity have added to the crises through sharp increases in fuel costs and the emergence of long queues at filling stations. It was in this context that the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele decided to embark on the naira redesign policy, through which they essentially confiscated the money that Nigerians had and refused to swap the old naira notes with the new ones. This is at a time in which most people have little or no disposable income, with the government currency seizure compounding the problem. While this is the mood in which the elections will be holding, citizens must make efforts to remain calm in spite of their frustration and anger. President Buhari and Mr Emefiele have tried to justify the currency confiscation programme with the argument that many key political actors have stolen massive amounts of money, which they sought to use in buying votes, as such the policy and the suffering it has engendered will ultimately do a lot of good in improving electoral integrity and combatting corruption in Nigeria. This newspaper has always been unequivocal in its advocacy for advancing the struggle against corruption. We have also pointed out repeatedly that this government has failed in its promise to combat corruption. We see no signs that it has changed its ways, as it stands at the departure gate. The bitter irony of the situation is that the intense cash crunch in the country and the desperation of citizens for money at this time would make it easier for politicians to buy votes on the cheap. Let's be clear, politicians are well placed to mop up the limited cash allowed in circulation. The intense struggle that has developed between President Buhari and state governors, the president's decision to disregard the directives of the Supreme Court on the matter, rumours about postponement of the elections and the imposition of an interim government, have all heightened citizens' concerns about the future of Nigeria's democracy. At this time, democrats and citizens must stand firm in supporting the Constitution and the conduct of the elections as scheduled. This would be no easy task. The organisation of credible elections needs cash. A lot of INEC election logistics, such as the procurement of vehicles, are done in cash. The huge number of ad hoc staff necessary for successful election duties require money to go to their call up stations at this time that it is virtually impossible to get cash from banks. Political parties and candidates would also need cash to deploy agents to the 176,846 polling units in the country. A party that decides to deploy polling agents to all the units at N5,000 per unit would need N880,230,000 to do so. The Central Bank appears set to tell them to do bank transfers to these agents, which would be great in an environment in which things works. The reality that we all know is that there is a high rate of transaction failures in electronic cash transfers and even if these are successful, then getting the cash to travel will be next to impossible at this time. This CBN/Federal Government policy move is therefore not designed to improve electoral integrity. It is a mischievous policy to throw spanners into the works of election logistics. Citizens need to put pressure on government that immediate efforts are made to allow INEC and citizens have access to cash immediately. We are not surprised that many Nigerians have read the tea leaves and are suspicious that the policy design was drawn up to scuttle the elections. Nigerians must act smartly. We must resist the provocations that are leading many into violent acts. We must keep the peace. We must all make the resolve to come out and vote. In exercising our franchise, we must be conscious that as voters, we willingly elected the most incompetent Federal Government in our country's history in 2015 and 2019. The outcome is that eight years later, the nation, its economy and politics are much worse than they were in 2015. The next government will find a bankrupt economy and deeply divided country. It is therefore important that voters think deeply and ensure they vote for the candidate they consider to have the best competence and integrity to leads us out of the present rot. In addition, voters must learn to navigate the dangerous speech booby traps emerging every minute in the social and traditional media. Citizens need to be conscious of the excessive levels of manipulation aimed at diverting citizens from the real issues of these elections - electing leaders with competence and integrity. We must resist the temptation of falling into the snare of playing the divisive game of hate and dangerous speech. Finally, there are the risks associated with electoral outcomes that may open possibilities for further danger if false claims are made about the results. Thanks to the efforts of INEC and the Electoral Act 2022, the elections would very likely be transparent and therefore credible. BVAS would ensure that only those eligible to vote participate and additional "votes" cannot be added subsequently. Recalling the 2019 debates, there cannot be fabricated votes subtracted or added by any INEC server. At the end of voting in each polling unit, the results will be counted in the presence of voters and written into the poster EC 60E, which will then be posted on the wall. It is this result that will be captured through a scan and sent through BVAS directly to the INEC viewing portal that all citizens and voters would be able to see live. This transparency means everyone will be seeing the results as they come in and citizens, candidates and parties can crosscheck that the results on the portal reflect what was compiled at the polling unit. Citizens should therefore all participate in confirming that the portal results replicate what was counted at the polling unit. The best of luck to all of us as we go to our polling units to carry out our civic responsibility. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Governance Nigeria By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Very importantly, citizens and voters should be mindful of the shenanigans of officers of the security agencies, especially the police, who have been urged to conduct themselves creditably as non-partisan partakers in the electoral process. It is quite unfortunate that they have a history of not always aligning with forces that seek to preserve the integrity of some past elections, but which undermined a number of them through various subversive acts, including the thumb-printing of ballot papers, and enabling of election day violence, etc. Thugs and other actors or sponsors of violence, who might want to destabilise the electoral process, would need to be quickly contained and arrested with the necessary efficacy. Hence, the Inspector-General of Police needs to be seen as walking his talk this season, of ultimately facilitating a regime of secure, free and fair elections administration across the country. NEW DELHI, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FreshToHome , the world's largest fully integrated online consumer brand for preservative and antibiotic-residue free fresh fish and meat, has closed $104 million in Series D funding with Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund leading the round. Existing investors in FreshToHome including Iron Pillar, Investcorp, Investment Corporation of Dubai (the principal investment arm of the Government of Dubai), Ascent Capital and others have also participated in this round. New investors joining this round include E20 Investment Ltd, Mount Judi Ventures and Dallah Albaraka. JP Morgan was the placement agent to FreshToHome for the fundraise. Shan Kadavil, CEO & Co-founder, FreshToHome (PRNewsfoto/FreshToHome) The current funding will strengthen FreshToHome's mission to make 100% preservative and antibiotic-residue free fish, seafood, and meat accessible and affordable to millions of meat lovers. Launched in 2015, FreshToHome operates in 160+ cities in India and the UAE and offers more than 2,000 certified fresh and chemical-free products. Shan Kadavil, CEO & Co-founder, FreshToHome said, "We are excited to have Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund lead our Series D funding round. FreshToHome has pioneered the revolution of making 100% preservative and antibiotic-residue free fresh fish, seafood, meat and meat products accessible and affordable to all and that is our biggest USP. We are now a 'Proficorn' with operational profitability across the company. As we strive to offer more value to our farmers and fishers, customers, employees and investors, our focus is on profitability and sustainable value creation." Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund, through its official spokesperson stated "Our vision with the $250MM Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund is to empower the next generation of innovative, technology enabled companies led by visionary founders. We are impressed with the FreshToHome management team led by Shan Kadavil and they have done some quality work in creating a robust technology enabled supply chain and scalable backward integrated capabilities to serve both customers as well as farmers and fishers. We are excited to partner with FreshToHome for the next phase of its growth." FreshToHome's core strengths lie in its brand promise for its quality and consumer trust and in its technology-enabled offering - Commodities Exchange, empowering over 4,000+ fishers and farmers to electronically auction their produce for sale on www.FreshToHome.com . Two years ago, FreshToHome raised $121MM in its Series C round, led by Dubai's Investment Corporation of Dubai, Investcorp, IronPillar, Ascent Capital and U.S. Government's development finance institution DFC. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2008893/FreshToHome_CEO.jpg SOURCE FreshToHome WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Friendly Forces, a new company that identifies employers of choice for military reservists, makes connections, and offers professional development resources, is announcing a collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb to provide support for veterans, guardsmen and reservists to build successful careers. "You'd be hard pressed to find a company that says it doesn't support our military," said Eric Evans, Co-Founder and CEO of Friendly Forces. "We dig deeper to understand if an organization advocates for its military employees through policy implementation and not just rhetoric, as well as benefits including paid military leave." The new partnership builds upon Bristol Myers Squibb's commitment to remain the top employer for veterans and service members by offering benefits that address the unique needs of reservists and their families. Friendly Forces recently awarded Bristol Myers Squibb, a leading global biopharmaceutical company that transforms patients' lives through science, with its highest possible ratingthe 5 STAR RESERVIST FRIENDLY EMPLOYER Award. Ratings use a proprietary scale that analyzes companies based on how well they care for their reservist employees when they are called to duty, whether for training or deployments. "Bristol Myers Squibb's military leave program is inspirational. They offer up to two years of fully paid military leave to their military employees, in addition to readjustment time for transitioning back to work," Evans said. "It's fantastic to see and goes a long way toward easing the emotional and financial burden military service places on employees and their families. Bristol Myers Squibb deserves recognition for their stellar military leave program, and we exist to give it." Through this partnership, Friendly Forces will play a critical role in connecting Bristol Myers Squibb with highly qualified talent from across all branches of the reserve component. "We are excited to partner with Friendly Forces to help us achieve our goal of hiring more military reservists," said Patrick Krug, US and Global Veteran's Community Network Lead, Bristol Myers Squibb. "The skills and experience that reservists bring to the table are invaluable, and we are confident this partnership will help us to build a stronger, more diverse workforce while allowing us to contribute in a small way to our nation's military readiness." Friendly Forces and Bristol Myers Squibb are committed to making a positive impact on the lives of military reservists and their families, and this partnership is an important step in that direction. SOURCE Friendly Forces IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Monica Toth was granted a Swiss bank account by her father, a successful businessman. When it was found that she willfully failed to comply with FBAR reporting requirements, the Internal Revenue Service assessed a penalty of $2,173,703. In her defense, Toth argued that the large fine imposed against her violated 8th Amendment protections against excessive fines. The District Court found that the penalty was not excessive, even if analyzed as a fine under the 8th Amendment. Furthermore, upon review, the Supreme Court declined to decide whether FBAR penalties are subject to protections set forth by the excessive-fines clause. If you have encountered an issue regarding your FBAR reporting requirements, get help reducing or removing the penalty you may face. Connect with our experienced Dual Licensed International Tax Attorneys and CPAs today by dialing (800) 681-1295 or clicking here to schedule a reduce rate initial consultation. Our team at the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing is prepared to help. Are FBAR Penalties Subject to 8th Amendment Protections Against Excessive Fines? The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to answer whether FBAR penalties are subject to 8th Amendment protections against excessive fines. The question arose from a case involving Monica Toth, a citizen facing a $2,173,703 willful penalty for failing to file an FBAR on her 2007 tax returns. Toth argued that the fine imposed against her was excessive and violated the protections of the 8th Amendment. However, at the District Court level, it was determined that even if the FBAR penalty was analyzed as a fine governed by 8th Amendment protections, it was not excessive. On January 23, 2023, the Supreme Court denied Toth's petition for certiorari. Accordingly, it will not be determined whether FBAR penalties are afforded protections under the excessive-fines clause of the 8th Amendment. What Protections Does the 8th Amendment Establish Against Excessive Fines? The 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution establishes protections against "excessive fines imposed." Commonly referred to as the "Excessive Fines Clause," this provision limits the amount that the federal and state government may fine a convicted individual for a particular crime. Unfortunately, the protections outlined by the Excessive Fines Clause are rarely invoked. There have been very few instances where the Supreme Court has agreed to analyze whether a government fine was excessive. Who Needs to File an FBAR? Americans with offshore bank accounts must file their Reports of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR). Any American citizen with an overseas financial account worth more than $10,000 in value at any point in the year must file an FBAR. Brokerage accounts, pension accounts, and foreign bank accounts are all subject to FBAR reporting requirements. If you need help filing your FBAR, you can seek aid from our Dual Licensed International Tax Attorneys and CPAs. Our team can ensure you comply with the requirements for filing your report. What Constitutes a Willful FBAR Violation? Willful FBAR violations, such as the one applied to Monica Toth, will warrant more severe penalties than non-willful violations. A willful violation occurs when taxpayers deliberately neglect their income tax and foreign information reporting obligations. However, the government does not need to show that a mistake was made intentionally to prove that a willful violation occurred. Those who exhibit reckless disregard or willful blindness for their obligations will also be considered willful violators. No universal test is used to determine whether a violation was willful. Each case is unique. Accordingly, when investigating an FBAR violation, the government will consider several factors. Typically, taxpayers should avoid any FBAR violations whatsoever. However, if you committed an error, or omitted entirely, your FBAR, you can call our Dual Licensed International Tax Attorneys and CPAs for help determining the appropriate steps to take. What Are the Penalties for Willful FBAR Violations? Penalties for willful FBAR violations can be serious. If you committed a willful violation, the penalties you face could reach upwards of 50% of your maximum account value per year. The total penalty for all years is limited to 100% of your account's value. Furthermore, you can face criminal penalties for committing a willful FBAR violation. However, in most cases, only civil penalties are assessed. Guidance from our Dual Licensed Tax Attorneys and CPAs can be very helpful when seeking to reduce or eliminate a willful FBAR penalty. Are Lower Penalties Imposed for Non-Willful FBAR Violations? If it was determined that your FBAR violation was non-willful, you will face less severe penalties. In some cases, those who commit non-willful violations will only be served with warning letters. However, others may be assessed $10,000 fines for committing such violations. While the fine is significant, it is notably lower than the fines associated with willful errors. Should You Voluntarily Disclose FBAR Violations? The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has established the Voluntary Disclosure Practice (VDP) in order to facilitate offshore tax compliance for those who commit violations regarding foreign financial accounts. Accordingly, if you committed an FBAR violation, you can self-report the violation to the VDP. After receiving your voluntary disclosure, the VDP will assess your case and determine which penalties should be applied. In order to make a submission to the VDP, the funds at issue must have been acquired illegally acquired. Furthermore, those who make submissions to the VDP must ensure that they include information pertaining to all foreign income, investments, accounts, and assets. By filing a voluntary disclosure, you are nearly guaranteed criminal prosecution if you qualify for the program and comply with its requirements. However, serious complications can arise for those who enter the program and attempt to leave before their case is resolved. Therefore, you should contact our law firm before deciding whether to disclose an FBAR violation voluntarily. Our Dual Licensed International Tax Attorneys and CPAs can help protect your interests and determine the proper course of action. If You Need to Resolve an FBAR Issue, Our Attorneys Can Help If you have an issue regarding your FBAR reporting requirements, get help from our experienced Dual Licensed International Tax Attorneys and CPAs by calling (800) 681-1295 or clicking here to schedule a reduce rate initial consultation. Our team at the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing is ready to assist. If you have failed to file a tax return for one or more years or have taken a position on a tax return that could not be supported upon an IRS or state tax authority audit, eggshell audit, reverse eggshell audit, or criminal tax investigation, it is in your best interest to contact an experienced tax defense attorney to determine your best route back into federal or state tax compliance without facing criminal prosecution. Note: As long as a taxpayer that has willfully committed tax crimes (potentially including non-filed foreign information returns coupled with affirmative evasion of U.S. income tax on offshore income) self-reports the tax fraud (including a pattern of non-filed returns) through a domestic or offshore voluntary disclosure before the IRS has started an audit or criminal tax investigation / prosecution, the taxpayer can ordinarily be successfully brought back into tax compliance and receive a nearly guaranteed pass on criminal tax prosecution and simultaneously often receive a break on the civil penalties that would otherwise apply. It is imperative that you hire an experienced and reputable criminal tax defense attorney to take you through the voluntary disclosure process. Only an Attorney has the Attorney Client Privilege and Work Product Privileges that will prevent the very professional that you hire from being potentially being forced to become a witness against you, especially where they prepared the returns that need to be amended, in a subsequent criminal tax audit, investigation or prosecution. Moreover, only an Attorney can enter you into a voluntary disclosure without engaging in the unauthorized practice of law (a crime in itself). Only an Attorney trained in Criminal Tax Defense fully understands the risks and rewards involved in voluntary disclosures and how to protect you if you do not qualify for a voluntary disclosure. As uniquely qualified and extensively experienced Criminal Tax Defense Tax Attorneys, Kovel CPAs and EAs, our firm provides a one stop shop to efficiently achieve the optimal and predictable results that simultaneously protect your liberty and your net worth. See our Testimonials to see what our clients have to say about us! Types of Voluntary Disclosure Programs See our 2011 OVDI Q and A Library See our FBAR Compliance and Disclosure Q and A Library See our Foreign Audit Q and A Library Here is a link to our YouTube channel: click here. Public Contact: Dave Klasing Esq. M.S.-Tax CPA, [email protected] SOURCE Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing, PC Recognized as top technology provider and consultant whose forward-thinking approach to providing managed services is changing the landscape of the IT channel ATLANTA, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fusion Connect , a leading global managed communication service provider (MCSP) and Microsoft Cloud solution provider, has been named to CRN 's Elite 150 in the 2023 Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500 list. The list identifies industry-leading service providers in North America that are driving a new wave of growth and innovation for the channel through forward-thinking approaches to managed services, helping end users increase efficiency and simplify IT while maximizing their return on investment. "We are thrilled to make the Elite 150 list as a leading Managed Service Provider," said Mario DeRiggi, Chief Revenue Officer at Fusion Connect. "We've transformed Fusion Connect into an industry-leading communication and cloud solution provider, with a focus on delivering next-generation technology solutions that accelerate digital transformation for our clients." Fusion Connect continues to make a substantial investment in their communication and collaboration portfolio with a focus on empowering its clients to take full advantage of their investment in the Microsoft ecosystem. This investment is backed by the industry's most comprehensive service guarantees which include 100% uptime and installation guarantees for UCaaS and SD-WAN services. "Fusion Connect has made a strategic pivot to become a leading MCSP offering next-generation managed services that enable companies to fully capitalize on their investment in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem," said Elka Popova, Vice President and Senior Fellow, Information and Communications Technologies at Frost & Sullivan. "Most recently they've expanded their collaboration portfolio with the launch of Calling Services for Microsoft Teams, which transforms Teams into a true business collaboration platform." The MSP Elite 150 have an extensive managed services portfolio targeting mid-market and enterprise customers. The MSP Elite 150 list will be featured in the February 2023 issue of CRN and online at www.crn.com/msp500 . *Microsoft, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Teams are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. About Fusion Connect Fusion Connect is a next-generation managed communication service provider (MCSP) and Microsoft Cloud Solution provider enabling mid-market and enterprise businesses to connect people and applications globally. We tailor our highly available cloud communication and connectivity services to meet the unique needs of our clients. Our services are backed by the industry's most comprehensive service guarantee, that includes on-time installation, and 100% availability guarantees for next- generation services. For more information, go to www.fusionconnect.com or call us at +1-866-829-4318. Press Contact: Ruzanna Tantushyan Director of Corporate Communications, Fusion Connect [email protected] About The Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com The Channel Company Contact: Natalie Lewis The Channel Company [email protected] SOURCE Fusion Connect Training series highlights HIV and COVID-19 issues in primary care WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) is hosting a free webinar on March 3 to explore the challenges of HIV and COVID community-based stigma and explain how clinicians can promote HIV screening and COVID-19 vaccine screening for their patients. The webinar features Dr. Oni Blackstock, MD, founder and Executive Director of Health Justice, a racial and health equity consulting practice, and is part of a training series for the Two in One: HIV + COVID Screening and Testing Model, a national medical education program. George Washington University is hosting a webinar on March 3 to explore the challenges of HIV and COVID stigma. Tweet this "Our discussion with Dr. Blackstock will be an important step forward in addressing how primary care practitioners establish narratives regarding their patients' health," said Maranda Ward, EdD, MPH, principal investigator of the Two in One Model and assistant professor of clinical research and leadership at The George Washington University. "As a primary care and HIV physician, she is well-equipped to help us explore how providers can communicate responsibly while also understanding the impact of their language on patients." The Two in One Model is designed with a combined health and racial equity lens to enable primary care practitioners to better engage in culturally responsive communication on HIV and COVID vaccines with their racial, ethnic, sexual, and gender-minoritized patients. The training series will offer nine live-streamed continuing medical education lectures as well as an asynchronous CME-bearing module-based training course and toolkit. The session, titled "How Clinicians Shape Community Narratives on HIV and COVID," is scheduled for Friday, March 3rd, from 12 1 p.m. ET. Anyone can register for the event here. The webinar is a part of George Washington University's 8th Annual Diversity Summit, entitled "Toward a More Perfect Union: With Liberty, Justice, & Civility for All," and is funded by Gilead Sciences inc. For more information on this research-informed model, visit the Two-in-One website at: twoinone.smhs.gwu.edu. About the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences Founded in 1824, the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) was the first medical school in the nation's capital and is the 11th oldest in the country. Working together in our nation's capital, with integrity and resolve, the GW SMHS is committed to improving the health and well-being of our local, national and global communities. smhs.gwu.edu. SOURCE The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences Get Inside the Head of a TEDx Judge!! WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Do you know how many people get rejected by TEDx judges every yearThousands! Don't want to be one them? Then you're going to want to watch Insider Secrets You Must Know to Get Booked for a TEDx! This is a 90-minute training program that propels you onto a TEDx stage. Insider Secrets You Must Know to Get Booked for a TEDx! a 90-minute training program that propels you onto a TEDx stage Tweet this SpeakerTunity TEDx Training Program...Get the Insider Secrets You Must Know to Get Booked for a TEDx! New Training Program Provides 60 Invaluable Tips for Landing a TEDx Stage. Get Inside the Head of TEDx Judge!! Presented by SpeakerTunity, the Speaker & Leader Resource Company, Insider Secrets You Must Know to Get Booked for a TEDx has mined all of the wisdom from three top experts, who offer a combined 60 invaluable tips to ensure success when pitching yourself to the TEDx decision-makers. Who are these folks? One was a judge at one of the premier TEDx events in the US One was a TEDx organizer at the leading, long-running event in Canada One has a viral TEDx video that has 300,000 views and counting! This remarkable treasure trove of TEDx wisdom won't teach you how to present at a TEDx, but it will give you everything you need to sway the judges to book you. You can get the Training Program alone, or pair it with the Speakertunity TEDx Directory with all the events for North America sorted by date, state/province and theme (where available!). More than 400 in all. "Once you've got your 18-minute signature TEDx presentation, the hunt begins," says SpeakerTunity founder Jackie Lapin. "And the competition is fierce. You must learn how to set yourself apart by getting into the heads of the organizer or judge, and that's what this resource is designed to doput you at the top of the "yes" pile!" To get access to the Insider Secrets You Must Know to Get Booked for a TEDx!, go to https://speakertunity.com/insider. SOURCE SpeakerTunity DUBLIN, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Automotive Network Access Device Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2018-2028 Segmented By Vehicle Type (Passenger Car, Commercial Vehicle), By Demand Category, By Compatibility, and By Region" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global automotive network access device market is anticipated to witness a growth of formidable CAGR in the forecast period, 2023-2028. The key factors driving the global automotive network access device market growth are strict government regulations about vehicle safety, electrification of vehicles, and high-end investments for technological advancements of vehicles by the market players. A network access device is an electronic circuit configured to connect to the WLAN automatically. It helps make the driving experience more enjoyable and safer as it aids in providing continuous input to the consumers and makes them aware of the anticipated events. Network access devices are used in connected cars to help preventive maintenance, accident prevention, and telematics. With the growing advances in technology, the demand for network access devices is expected to proliferate in the forecast period. High Demand for Connected Cars Drives Market Demand A car that can connect to the internet via WLAN (wireless local area network) is called a connected car, and these can be used to transfer the data and internet with devices inside and outside of the car. Automotive devices which are used to exchange or communicate information about the vehicle and the related information such as vehicle infrastructure, surrounding information, pedestrians are known as connected car devices. Automotive network access device facilitates the exchange of information between the automobile and driver. The Global Connected car market is anticipated to reach over USD55 billion in 2026. The shift in consumers' preference to opt for features and technological advancements offering flexibility, comfort, and convenience bolsters the adoption of connected cars among consumers. The United States is expected to be a promising market for the global automotive network access device market due to significant market players and advanced technology in the manufacturing process. Consumers' high purchasing power enables them to afford quality services, which is expected to boost the market demand in the forecast period. Increasing awareness among consumers about vehicle, driver, and pedestrian safety and the introduction of latest technologies in cars such as lane departure warning systems, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot detection in mid-segment and premium cars are expected to be driving factors influencing the proliferation of network access device in automobiles. Rise In Penetration of Telecommunication Sector in Automotive Industry Spurs Market Demand An increase in the number of road accidents and cases of vehicle thefts are bolstering the need for measures providing enhanced connectivity between the vehicle and passenger to prevent the occurrence of this mis-happening is majorly influencing the market demand. The growing adoption of navigation services to drive quickly through roads gives the estimated driving time and the shortest route to make the driving experience more comfortable. Connecting a car with a network helps the manufacturers to offer services such as remote diagnostics, navigation, security, safety, driving assistance, information about automobiles efficiently. The automotive sector is a flourishing industry and seems to be an attractive investing sector for the telecommunication industry. Automobile manufacturers are adopting the services of the telecommunication industry to provide internet facilities and enable services in automobiles, which is boosting the global automotive network access device market growth. Competitive Landscape Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in global automotive network access device market. HARMAN International (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.) Qualcomm Technologies, Inc Continental AG Robert Bosch GmbH DENSO Corporation Report Scope: Automotive Network Access Device Market, By Vehicle Type: Passenger Car Commercial Vehicle Automotive Network Access Device Market, By Demand Category: OEM Replacement Automotive Network Access Device Market, By Compatibility: 4G 5G Automotive Network Access Device Market, By Region: North America United States Canada Mexico Asia-Pacific China India Japan Malaysia Thailand Indonesia Vietnam South Korea Europe & CIS & CIS Germany France United Kingdom Spain Italy Belgium Russia South America Brazil Argentina Colombia Middle East & Africa & South Africa UAE Saudi Arabia Egypt For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/easwhr About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets Global mass transfer equipment market is expected to grow by 2031 due to the rising demand for sustainable mass transfer equipment solutions. Trays gas sub-segment is expected to flourish immensely. The Europe market is likely to grow significantly. NEW YORK , Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Mass Transfer Equipment Market Forecast Analysis: As per the report published by Research Dive, the global mass transfer equipment market is expected to register a revenue of $4,171.1 million by 2031 with at a CAGR of 5.4% during the forecast period 2022-2031. Segments of the Mass Transfer Equipment Market The report has divided the mass transfer equipment market into the following segments: Type: column internals, trays, random packing, structured packing, others Application: food & beverages, pharmaceuticals, oil & gas, water & waste water treatment, chemical, pulp & paper, others Region: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA Access to the Complete PDF Sample of the Mass Transfer Equipment Market Segment Sub-Segment CAGR (2022-2031) Forecast Revenue (2022-2031) Type Trays Gas - $1,264.6 million Active area upgrades and improved Downcomer Technology are expected to become the two major factors pushing the sub-segment forward in the 2022-2031 timeframe. Application Oil & Gas - $11,028.7 million Growing use of mass transfer technology to maintain high purity standards and quality of chemicals in the oil and gas industry is predicted to help the sub-segment grow in the forecast period. Region Europe 5.2 % - The main objective of European chemical sector to attain climate neutrality is predicted to increase the demand for sustainable mass transfer equipment, which is anticipated to create numerous growth opportunities for the market in this region. Dynamics of the Mass Transfer Equipment Market Rise in the demand for sustainable and creative mass transfer equipment for various industrial operations is expected to become the primary growth driver of the mass transfer equipment market in the forecast period. Additionally, latest innovations in product development from several major players of the industry are anticipated to push the market forward. However, according to market analysts, the environmental pollution caused by mass transfer equipment factories might become a restraint in the growth of the global market. Rapid developments in mass transfer technology are predicted to offer numerous growth opportunities for the market in the forecast period. Moreover, increasing investments by leading players of the industry in mass transfer technology is expected to help the mass transfer equipment market register substantial growth in the coming period. Speak with an Analyst or Schedule a call to get more Industry Insights on the Mass Transfer Equipment Market COVID-19 Impact on the Global Mass Transfer Equipment Market The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the routine lifestyle of people across the globe and the subsequent lockdowns adversely impacted the industrial processes across all sectors. The mass transfer equipment market, too, was negatively affected by the pandemic. The lockdowns ordered by various governments to curb the spread of the virus led to shutdown of many manufacturing industries which brought down the demand for mass transfer equipment. This ultimately affected the growth rate of the market. Key Players of the Global Mass Transfer Equipment Market The major players of the market include Sulzer Ltd DtEC Baretti Koch-Glitsch. MTE Group. Tianjin Univtech Co. Ltd. Beijing Zehua Chemical Engineering Co. Ltd. Munters Group HAT International Ltd. Finepac Structures Pvt. Ltd. These players are working on developing strategies such as product development, merger and acquisition, partnerships, and collaborations to sustain the market growth. Granular Research on Specific Regions or Segments of Mass Transfer Equipment Market & Avail 10%OFF For instance, in August 2022, Suzler, a Swiss industrial engineering giant, announced that it was signing a Memorandum of Understanding with BASF, a leading chemical producing company. This partnership is aimed at developing renewable fuels and for that they are looking to integrate Sulzer Chemtech's capabilities and mass transfer equipment with BASF's high-performance catalysts. This collaboration is predicted to help the companies to achieve their aim in a more holistic and seamless manner. What the Report Covers Apart from the information summarized in this press release, the final report covers crucial aspects of the market including SWOT analysis, market overview, Porter's five forces analysis, market dynamics, segmentation (key market trends, forecast analysis, and regional analysis), and company profiles (company overview, operating business segments, product portfolio, financial performance, and latest strategic moves and developments. More about Mass Transfer Equipment Market: Some Trending Article Links: The Global Oil & Gas Seals Market Size was $6,299.80 million in 2021 and is predicted to grow by generating a revenue of $8,110.50 million by 2031 The Global Stud Welding Machine Market Size is predicted to be valued at $1,678.8 million by 2031 The Global Construction Machinery Attachment Market Size is predicted to be valued at $9,448.7 million by 2031 at a noteworthy CAGR of 4.8% About Research Dive Research Dive is a market research firm based in Pune, India. Maintaining the integrity and authenticity of the services, the firm provides the services that are solely based on its exclusive data model, compelled by the 360-degree research methodology, which guarantees comprehensive and accurate analysis. With an unprecedented access to several paid data resources, team of expert researchers, and strict work ethic, the firm offers insights that are extremely precise and reliable. Scrutinizing relevant news releases, government publications, decades of trade data, and technical & white papers, Research dive deliver the required services to its clients well within the required timeframe. Its expertise is focused on examining niche markets, targeting its major driving factors, and spotting threatening hindrances. Complementarily, it also has a seamless collaboration with the major industry aficionado that further offers its research an edge. Contact: Mr. Abhishek Paliwal Research Dive 30 Wall St. 8th Floor, New York NY 10005 (P) +91-(788)-802-9103 (India) +1-(917)-444-1262 (US) Toll Free: 1-888-961-4454 E-mail: [email protected] Website: https://www.researchdive.com Blog: https://www.researchdive.com/blog/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/research-dive/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ResearchDive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Research-Dive-1385542314927521 Logo : https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/997523/Research_Dive_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research Dive DUBLIN, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Microsegmentation Market, By Component, By Service, By Security, By Deployment Type, By Organization Size, By Vertical, and By Region - Size, Share, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2022 - 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global microsegmentation market was valued at US$ 1490.4 Mn in 2021. The global microsegmentation market is expected to grow significantly during the forecast period, owing to the rising popularity of digitization in organizations. Microsegmentation is a security practice that divides network into segments so that businesses can analyze, monitor, visualize, and control the traffic. In other words, microsegmentation is a security segmentation and this process is used by professionals to break a network into smaller networks in order to keep the overall system security. The security engineers create zones to isolate data centers, applications, and workload across cloud, on premise, and hybrid networks. Microsegmentation is gaining popularity due to its operational efficiency. Furthermore, major global players across different regions are focusing on developing new products and services with new features and technologies to gain a competitive edge in the market. Industries are developing securities with new features in order to protect and secure organizational data. Market Dynamics: Organization databases mainly include sensitive data related to payment cards and financial information. Databases are the primary targets of cybercriminals, which increases the loss of personal and business information. Due to the increasing incidence of data breaches and high-profile data theft, organizations are planning to detect future threats. For instance, according to the analyst's analysis, the global cyber security market reached US$ 121,000 million in 2017 from US$ 3,500 million in 2004. These factors are expected to drive market growth during the forecast period. Among verticals, the banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI) segment are expected to exhibit the highest growth during the forecast period. The security solutions provide support to the financial service provider to protect their data, and customers, meet industry & government compliance standards and avoid damage caused by data breaches. The BFSI vertical is continuously focusing on upgrading its processing and transactional technologies and also requires end-to-end security to minimize operations against both internal and external threats. Key features of the study: This report provides an in-depth analysis of the global microsegmentation market size (US$ Million) and compound annual growth rate (CAGR %) for the forecast period (2022- 2030), considering 2021 as the base year It elucidates potential revenue opportunities across different segments and explains attractive investment proposition matrices for this market This study also provides key insights about market drivers, restraints, opportunities, new product launches or approvals, regional outlook, and competitive strategies adopted by the leading market players It profiles leading players in the global microsegmentation market based on the following parameters - company overview, financial performance, product portfolio, geographical presence, market capital, key developments, strategies, and future plans Insights from this report would allow marketers and management authorities of companies to make informed decisions regarding future product launches, product upgrades, market expansion, and marketing tactics The global microsegmentation market report caters to various stakeholders in this industry including investors, suppliers, managed service providers, third-party service providers, distributors, new entrants, and value-added resellers Stakeholders would have ease in decision-making through various strategy matrices used in analyzing the global microsegmentation market Detailed Segmentation: Global Microsegmentation Market, By Component: Software Services Global Microsegmentation Market, By Services: Managed Services Professional Services Global Microsegmentation Market, By Security: Network Security Database Security Application Security Global Microsegmentation Market, By Deployment Type: On-premises Cloud Global Microsegmentation Market, By Organization Size: Managed Services Professional Services Global Microsegmentation Market, By Vertical: Government & Defense BFSI IT & Telecom Healthcare Retail Manufacturing Energy & Utility Others Global Microsegmentation Market, By Region: North America Europe Asia Pacific Latin America Middle East and Africa Company Profiles Cisco Systems Inc. (US) Akamai Technologies, Inc. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. Symantec Corporation Okta, Inc. Forcepoint, LLC. Cyxtera Technologies Sophos Group Plc. Google LLC. Microsoft, Inc. VMware Inc. Trend Micro Incorporated Cloudflare IBM Corporation Fortinet Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. Unisys vArmour, Inc. OPAQ Networks, Inc. ExtraHop Networks ShieldX Bracket Computing Inc. Nutanix Cloudvisory For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/heasax About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets CHICAGO, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Green Ammonia Market is projected to reach USD 17.9 billion in 2030 from USD 0.3 billion in 2023 at a CAGR of 72.9% according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. The Green Ammonia Market has promising growth potential due to the rising deployment of fuel cell vehicles. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=118396942 Browse in-depth TOC on "Green Ammonia Market" 223 - Tables 51 - Figures 223 - Pages Green Ammonia Market Scope: Report Coverage Details Market Size USD 17.9 billion in 2030 Growth Rate 72.9% of CAGR Largest Market Europe Market Dynamics Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities & Challenges Forecast Period 2023-2030 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered by technology, application and region Geographies Covered Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, and Rest of the World Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities Growing demand for biofuels Key Market Drivers Increased need for eco-friendly fertilizers with rising agricultural production Alkaline water electrolysis expected to dominate Green Ammonia Market, by technology, during the forecast period The alkaline water electrolysis segment holds the largest share of the Green Ammonia Market. The large market share can be attributed to the increasing number of large scale projects for the green hydrogen production. Power generation to witness fastest growth rate in Green Ammonia Market, by application, during forecast period The Green Ammonia Market, by application, is divided into power generation, transportation and industrial feedstocks, wherein industrial feedstocks accounts for the largest share. Power generation is the fastest growing segment during the forecast period. The growth is attributed to the increasing number of deployments of alkaline water electrolysis for small scale power generation applications in Europe and Asia Pacific. Europe expected to dominate Green Ammonia Market during forecast period In this report, the Green Ammonia Market has been analyzed for four regions: Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and the rest of the World. Europe is a significant contributor to the Green Ammonia Market in the current scenario of electrolysis technology, owing to the rapidly increasing cost-competitiveness which enables consumers to have access to clean electricity. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=118396942 Green Ammonia Market Dynamics: Drivers: Need to store renewable energy for longer term Enforcement of regulatory policies and provision of incentives to reduce GHG emissions Increased need for eco-friendly fertilizers with rising agricultural production Restraints: High initial cost to set up green ammonia plant Opportunities: Potential of ammonia as maritime fuel Increasing focus on building hydrogen-based economy Challenges: Lack of information about green ammonia among chemical manufacturers Low level of technology readiness for using ammonia as zero-carbon fertilizer, fuel, and energy storage Key Market Players: To enable an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape, the report includes the profiles of a few of the top players in the Green Ammonia Market. The Green Ammonia Market is dominated by a few major players that have a wide regional presence. The leading players in the Green Ammonia Market are Siemens Energy (Germany), NEL ASA (Norway), ThyssenKrupp AG (Germany), ITM Power (UK), YARA International (Norway), and BASF SE (Germany) and others. Recent Developments In November 2022 , Siemens Energy partnered with Fortescue Future Industries, a green hydrogen manufacturing company and GeoPura, which provides renewable energy & EV charging, & emission-free electricity, to develop an ammonia cracker prototype designed to produce green hydrogen at an industrial scale and help tackle climate change and reduce carbon emissions. The prototype would use ammonia to deliver 200 kg of hydrogen a dayenough to power around 510 hydrogen fuel cell electric buses. , Siemens Energy partnered with Fortescue Future Industries, a green hydrogen manufacturing company and GeoPura, which provides renewable energy & EV charging, & emission-free electricity, to develop an ammonia cracker prototype designed to produce green hydrogen at an industrial scale and help tackle climate change and reduce carbon emissions. The prototype would use ammonia to deliver 200 kg of hydrogen a dayenough to power around 510 hydrogen fuel cell electric buses. In September 2022 , Uniper SE and Vesta signed a Memorandum of Understanding to expand an existing storage facility to build the first green ammonia hub named Greenpoint Valley in Northwest Europe . Uniper SE seeks to establish a presence in developing green ammonia and hydrogen sectors in Northwest Europe . The development of green ammonia and hydrogen markets will help boost European supply security. , Uniper SE and Vesta signed a Memorandum of Understanding to expand an existing storage facility to build the first green ammonia hub named Greenpoint Valley in . Uniper SE seeks to establish a presence in developing green ammonia and hydrogen sectors in . The development of green ammonia and hydrogen markets will help boost European supply security. In August 2022 , Uniper SE signed a Memorandum of Understanding with EverWind Fuels to purchase green ammonia from EverWind's initial production facility in Nova Scotia . EverWind and Uniper intend to negotiate a binding offtake agreement for 500,000 tonnes of green ammonia per annum. , Uniper SE signed a Memorandum of Understanding with EverWind Fuels to purchase green ammonia from EverWind's initial production facility in . EverWind and Uniper intend to negotiate a binding offtake agreement for 500,000 tonnes of green ammonia per annum. In January 2022 , ITM Power contracted with YARA International, an EPC company. ITM Power provided a 24 MW electrolyzer to YARA International, which was agreed to be installed at a site operated by Yara Norge AS. Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=118396942 Browse Adjacent Markets: Energy and Power Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Hydrogen Generation Market - Global Forecast to 2027 Hydrogen Energy Storage Market - Global Forecast to 2027 Fuel Cell Market - Global Forecast to 2027 Power-to-gas Market - Global Forecast to 2024 About MarketsandMarkets: MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/green-ammonia-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/green-ammonia.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets Principal Magistrate Viva Nyimba has convicted former Deputy Chief executive officer for National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) Gerald Viola and his business accomplice Chrispine Chingola. Nyimba has since revoked bail for Gerald Viola and Chingola awaiting judgement to be delivered on 27 February 2023. Nyimba, in his judgement, said the state had proven beyond reasonable doubt that the two committed offences and that the defence in the case failed to give valid reasons to maintain bail; hence, the revocation. According to the Anti-Corruption Bureau charge sheet, on 22nd January, 2020, when he was Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NFRA, Viola unilaterally issued a local purchase order (LPO) Number 6750 to a company called Missies Trading to supply 10, 000 metric tons of maize to NFRA for the advantage of Chingola of the said Missies Trading without involving the Internal Procurement and Disposal of Assets Committee. Viola was charged with counts of misuse of public office, interfering with public procurement and forgery. However, the court dropped the other cases and convicted Viola on misuse of public office count. On the other hand, Nyimba convicted his accomplice Chingola on a count of influencing a public officer to misuse a public office. The two have since been confined to Maula Prison awaiting sentencing. Indications of Interest Deadline Extended to March 8, 2023 NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hilco Streambank (www.HilcoStreambank.com), a leading intellectual property advisory firm specializing in the valuation and monetization of intangible assets, announced an extension of the deadline to submit indications of interest to acquire the assets of LiteSheet Solutions LLC. The deadline has been extended to March 8, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern. New Qui Tam Claims: Recently unsealed litigation claims, in which LiteSheet is a relator on behalf of the U.S. Government, have been added to the assets available for purchase in the sale of the company. Hilco Streambank CEO Gabe Fried commented, "LiteSheet filed litigation in 2021 against nine large Energy Services Companies claiming they falsely reported that products they supplied to the U.S. Government were compliant with the Buy American Act. The Federal District Court presiding over the litigation has unsealed the complaint filed in the case and the Department of Defense continues to investigate the claims." Fried continued, "LiteSheet's position in this lawsuit and/or its interest in this recovery, which could entitle it to 15-25% of the DoD's judgment, is now being included in the sale offering. In light of the newly included litigation assets, LiteSheet is providing interested parties with an additional two weeks to conduct diligence on this additional asset and all assets of the company." Information regarding the litigation is available in a virtual data room. Parties interested in learning more can click here or contact Hilco Streambank directly using the contact information provided below. About LiteSheet Solutions: LiteSheet is the creator of patented, energy-saving, low-maintenance LED lighting products manufactured in the United States and compliant with the Buy American Act. The company's BriteCor AC Direct Technology has proven itself to last for decades in demanding applications by eliminating the need for failure-prone DC drivers that are ubiquitous in the industry. LiteSheet's improvements in the field make its products more energy-efficient and lower-maintenance, thereby reducing the total cost of ownership by up to 40%-80% compared to competitors. About Hilco Streambank: Hilco Streambank is a market leading advisory firm specializing in intellectual property disposition and valuation. Having completed numerous transactions including sales in publicly reported Chapter 7 and 11 bankruptcy cases, private transactions, and online sales through IPv4.Global, Hilco Streambank has established itself as the premier intermediary in the consumer brand, internet, and telecom communities. Hilco Streambank is part of Northbrook, Illinois based Hilco Global, the world's leading authority on maximizing the value of business assets by delivering valuation, monetization and advisory solutions to an international marketplace. Hilco Global operates more than twenty specialized business units offering services that include asset valuation and appraisal, retail and industrial inventory acquisition and disposition, real estate and strategic capital equity investments. SOURCE Hilco Streambank HOUSTON, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Houston Natural Resources Corp. (OTC: HNRC) ("HNRC or the Company") has hired an attorney to file an SEC registration statement on behalf of its subsidiary Worldwide Diversified Holdings, Inc ("WDHI") for a public listing. The anticipated target listing price will be $3.50 per share. The shares in the previously announced spin-off of the non-energy assets included in the dividend program will be registered for trading on the open market. With a target listing of $3.50 per share, each HNRC shareholder will be issued one WDHI common share for every two HNRC common shares that were shareholders of record on December 16, 2022 equivalent to a $ 1.75 per HNRC common share stock dividend. On December 5, 2022, HNRC filed the corporate action for review by FINRA to allow the company to issue the stock dividend of one WDHI shares for every two shares of HNRC held by the shareholder on the record date. FINRA has responded and HNRC has been consistently corresponding to complete this review process. The company will continue to keep its shareholders informed regarding this dividend event. HNRC has hired an accounting advisory firm to assist HNRC with a two-year current audited statement which will allow for the company to apply for an up listing. The company has also signed an agreement with an underwriting firm to complete an up listing for HNRC on to a major exchange in 2023. The $10 million dollar underwriting commitment for working capital to fund current operations, expansion and acquisitions. HNRC expects to exceed their annual projections for the year ending 2022. The expected increase in 2022 revenue from $18,217,737 in 2021 and $9,523,634 in 2020.The expected increase in earnings for year ended in 2022 compared to $7,636,830 in 2021 and $2,973,320 in 2020. The company intends to focus on realizing the value on the total of $1.15 per share in current appraised energy assets held by its subsidiaries for the benefit of the shareholders. The company is evaluating additional acquisitions in the energy and energy services industry to provide value for shareholders. About Houston Natural Resources Corp Houston Natural Resources Corp (www.hnrcholdings.com) (OTC:HNRC). The company is a diversified holding company with business operations and investments. The portfolio companies include investments in energy, information technology and healthcare. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements and are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. SOURCE Houston Natural Resources Corp. HOUSTON, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Robert Burford led a team from Houston-based business litigation firm Burford Perry, along with co-counsel Jeff Diamant, of Jeff Diamant P.C.; and Shawn Johnson, of SAJPLLC, in winning a jury verdict totaling $155 million in damages in a complex fraud and breach of fiduciary duty lawsuit on behalf of Laura Yosowitz and Greenlet, LLC. On February 21, after a two-week trial, jurors in Harris County's 334th District Court found in favor of Ms. Yosowitz against her ex-husband, Martin Kay, CEO and majority shareholder of Entera, a "leading real estate technology company" that is funded by private equity investors like Bullpen, Craft, and Goldman Sachs. According to its website and evidence at the trial, Entera facilitates institutional investment in single family homes using big data and its artificial intelligence platform. It claims to have enabled transactions on 14,000+ single family homes valued at $4.6 billion across 29 US markets. As part of the couple's 2016 divorce agreement, Mr. Kay agreed to raise capital and commercialize Greenlet's software platform and associated real estate brokerage business. Greenlet had by then serviced six of the nine largest institutional single family home investors in the country, including Invitation Homes, Colony Capital, and 643 Capital. Ms. Yosowitz argued that instead of building Greenlet, Mr. Kay used its funds, software code, data, customers, developers, business plan, and prospective investors for his newly formed company, which later changed its name to Entera. The jury found that Ms. Yosowitz was a member of Greenlet, that Martin Kay owes Greenlet $138 million for his breach of fiduciary duty to the company, and that Mr. Kay is liable to Ms. Yosowitz, individually, for more than $17 million total associated with claims for breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and breach of contracts. At its heart, this lawsuit is about Mr. Kay's misuse of his control over Greenlet's ownership and usurpation of a business opportunity, said Mr. Burford, lead counsel to Ms. Yosowitz. "Martin Kay breached his fiduciary duties both to his ex-wife and to Greenlet by self-dealing that included using Greenlet's assets, business, and business plan to create today's wildly successful Entera," he said. "We're heartened that the jury agrees with us and took steps to make them whole." Burford Perry's team also included name partner Brent Perry and Burford Perry associate Zachary Carlson The case is Laura Elizabeth Yosowitz v. Martin Lee Kay, et al., No. 2018-37750 in 334th District Court. Judge Dawn Rogers presided at the trial. Burford Perry LLP is a Houston-based law firm comprised of seasoned trial lawyers representing companies and individuals in cases involving business and commercial disputes, oil and gas, and securities disputes. The firm's founding partners have prevailed on behalf of its clients in legal jurisdictions throughout Texas and across the U.S. for more than 50 years. For more information, visit www.burfordperry.com. For more information, contact Amy Hunt at 214-801-8116 or [email protected]. SOURCE Burford Perry LONDON, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ICIS, a global source of Independent Commodity Intelligence Services, announces a new pricing service for German LNG, providing detailed insight for customers from one of the world's fast-growing markets. ICIS is the first source of energy intelligence to provide dedicated pricing for the German LNG market. Germany has historically been the most significant European buyer of Russian gas and for many years relied heavily on the nation for over half its supply. However, amidst the current strained political landscape, that share has collapsed, and Germany now has a stated target to step away entirely from Russian gas in 2024. Last year, the German government identified LNG as a critical supply source to replace Russian gas and Berlin has financially supported an accelerated programme for up to 10 LNG import terminals to be developed. Three LNG terminals have already started operations in the first weeks of 2023, connecting Germany more directly than ever to the global LNG market and creating an even greater need for trusted energy intelligence and price transparency. "At ICIS, we bring a proven methodology and pricing expertise to provide daily German LNG spot price assessments in line with all our global LNG assessments," Ed Cox, ICIS Global LNG Editor, says. "This provides experienced LNG companies and new entrants with trusted pricing to support business decisions on both the sell and buy side. This price transparency reduces the risk of exposure to prices that do not directly reflect the fair value of the German market, which could lead to greater financial risk." The rapid growth of German LNG imports will influence spot LNG pricing and market sentiment across Northwest Europe. As a result, traders, analysts, and risk managers must understand the specific drivers of the German spot LNG price as distinct from other markets. In addition to mainstream gas and LNG companies, regional European gas and downstream German chemical companies are looking to develop a position in LNG as they face increasing exposure to German LNG imports. Understanding how German LNG imports are priced and how this compares with regional gas hub pricing is increasingly important. "Taken alongside other ICIS German LNG content daily pricing intelligence, news, real-time alerts, vessel tracking, and demand forecasting - it provides users with a complete overview of the fast-growing German market at a granular level that is unmatched by other providers," Ed Cox concludes. About ICIS ICIS is a trusted source of global commodity intelligence for the energy, chemical and fertilizer industry. We are a division of RELX, a FTSE 15 company with a market cap of 46 billion and an employee base of over 30,000 experts across 40 countries. At ICIS, we help businesses make strategic decisions, mitigate risk, improve productivity, and capitalise on new opportunities. We make some of the world's most important markets more trusted and predictable by providing data services, thought leadership and decision tools. As a result of our unmatched global presence, we can deliver targeted connected intelligence to influence thousands of decisions across supply chains every single day. We shape the world by connecting markets to optimise the world's valuable resources. With a global team of more than 600 experts, ICIS has employees based in London, New York, Houston, Karlsruhe, Milan, Mumbai, Singapore, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Dubai, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Tokyo and Perth. About RELX RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. The Group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs more than 33,000 people over 40% of whom are in North America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX. The market capitalisation is approximately 43bn/49bn/$48bn. Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/619935/ICIS_Logo.jpg SOURCE ICIS BANGALORE, India, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Industrial Pump Rental Market is Segmented by Type (Positive Displacement Pumps Rental, Centrifugal Pumps Rental, Impulse Pumps Rental), by Application (Oil and Gas Industry, Water and Wastewater Industry, Chemical Industry, Mining Industry, Municipal): Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20232028. The global Industrial Pump Rental market was valued at USD 2881.1 million in 2022 and is anticipated to reach USD 4117.1 million by 2029, witnessing a CAGR of 6.1% during the forecast period 2023-2029. Major factors driving the growth of industrial pump rental: During the course of the forecast period, it is predicted that the market would grow more rapidly due to the expanding benefits of pump rental services. The introduction of digitization and the increase in internet usage have made it possible for vendors to offer cutting-edge service delivery alternatives, which is further likely to fuel the Industrial Pump Rental market growth in the years to come. Download Free Sample Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/QYRE-Auto-37R5958/Global_Industrial_Pump_Rental_Market_Size_Status_and_Forecast_2021_2027 TRENDS INFLUENCING THE GROWTH OF INDUSTRIAL PUMP RENTAL MARKET: Government-sponsored projects are growing, as are rental pump investments in emerging nations around the world and competition in the industrial pump market. Industrial pumps can be rented much more affordably than purchased. As a result, it is anticipated that demand for rental industrial pumps would increase over the coming years. Additionally, renting a pump gives contractors and operators access to the most recent smart pumping technology for cost-effective process management. Application-specific pumps are provided by large pump rental firms for upstream and downstream activities. This factor is expected to drive the growth of the industrial pump rental market. Every stage of oil and gas production requires the use of industrial pumps. In essence, they aid in the movement of process fluids from one location to another. For instance, a pump can be used to move crude oil from a storage tank to a pipeline, and mud pumps can move drilling mud around a drill bit's annulus before returning it to a storage tank for purification. Process fluids in oil and gas operations can be simple or complex. You'll need the appropriate pump for your needs, depending on the type of substance you wish to transfer and the flow rate you need. This in turn will drive the growth of the industrial pump rental market. Wastewater pumps are employed in a variety of situations where sewage and seepage water are present. These pumps work by transferring liquid from the pump's expanding suction end cavity to its contracting discharge end cavity. They do this with the aid of rollers and impellers. Another factor promoting the growth of the industrial pump rental market throughout the predicted period is innovation in service offerings. The types of pumps offered and the service delivery plays a significant influence in the market because there are many sellers in the marketplace. As a result, suppliers are concentrating on innovative service delivery methods to guarantee that their potential clients can rent pumps on time and in accordance with their application requirements. Also, the introduction of digitalization and the increasing use of the Internet have contributed to the removal of obstacles related to the availability of pumps and daily costs. Mobile apps are being used by vendors to provide real-time information regarding pump services, which speeds up the delivery of pumps based on consumer demand. Industrial pump rental companies throughout the world are attempting to use digitization to reach more customers. Hence, market players will be able to contact more customers by adopting technologically enhanced services, which is anticipated to accelerate the expansion of the global industrial pump rental market during the course of the projected period. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-37R5958/global-industrial-pump-rental INDUSTRIAL PUMP RENTAL MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS: The highest market share is in Asia. The primary markets for the APAC industrial pump rental industry are China, India, Japan, and Australia. The market in this region will grow more quickly than the markets in other regions. The considerable increase in offshore and onshore oil and gas exploration and production operations as well as the expansion of industrialization have resulted in a high demand for water, which will support the expansion of the industrial pump rental market in APAC over the forecast period. Download Regional Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/QYRE-Auto-37R5958/Global_Industrial_Pump_Rental_Market_Size_Status_and_Forecast_2021_2027 Key Companies: Xylem MWI United Rentals Cornell Pump Thompson Pump Holland Pump Integrated Pump Rental Selwood ACTION Global Pump Barco Pump Tsurumi Download Customized Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/customisation/QYRE-Auto-37R5958/Global_Industrial_Pump_Rental_Market_Size_Status_and_Forecast_2021_2027 Buy Now for Single User + Covid-19 Impact : https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=QYRE-Auto-37R5958&lic=single-user SUBSCRIPTION We have introduced a tailor-made subscription for our customers. Please leave a note in the Comment Section to know about our subscription plans. SIMILAR REPORTS: - The global Industrial Controls and Factory Automation market size is projected to reach USD 224400 million by 2028, from USD 137150 million in 2021, at a CAGR of 7.2% during 2022-2028. - Global Industrial Management and Maintenance Service Market Research Report 2022 - The global Industrial Hemp market was valued at USD 1161 million in 2022 and is anticipated to reach USD 3259.5 million by 2029, witnessing a CAGR of 15.7% during the forecast period 2023-2029. - The global Industrial Cleaning Services market was valued at USD 20590 million in 2022 and is anticipated to reach USD 27990 million by 2029, witnessing a CAGR of 5.3% during the forecast period 2023-2029. - Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global Industrial Filtration market size is estimated to be worth USD 24680 million in 2022 and is forecast to a readjusted size of USD 30160 million by 2028 with a CAGR of 3.4% during the review period. - The global Industrial Services market size is projected to reach USD 32300 million by 2027, from USD 28360 million in 2020, at a CAGR of 4.4% during 2021-2027. - The global Industrial Automation market size is projected to reach USD 212410 million by 2027, from USD 130710 million in 2020, at a CAGR of 6.7% during 2021-2027. - The Hollow Fiber Filtration market was valued at USD 2468.18 million in 2022, and it is anticipated to reach USD 3605.95 million by 2028, registering a CAGR of about 6.52% during the forecast period (20222028). - Global Industrial ISO Centrifugal Pumps Market Research Report 2023 - Global Industrial Progressive Cavity Pumps Market Research Report 2022 - Global Marine Centrifugal Pump Market Research Report 2023 - Global Intelligent Pumps Industry Research Report, Growth Trends and Competitive Analysis 2022-2028 - Global Smart and Intelligent Pumps Market Research Report 2023 - Global High Pressure Vacuum Pump Rental Market Research Report 2022 - Global Vacuum Pump Rentals Market Research Report 2023 - Global Industrial Pump Control Panels Market Research Report 2023 - Global Desulphurization Pumps Market Research Report 2023 - Global Industrial Pump for Sulphuric Acid Market Research Report 2023 - Global Horizontal Slurry Pumps Market Research Report 2023 - Global Agricultural Pump Sales Market Report 2023 Click here to see related reports on Industrial pump rental market ABOUT US: Valuates offers in-depth market insights into various industries. Our extensive report repository is constantly updated to meet your changing industry analysis needs. Our team of market analysts can help you select the best report covering your industry. We understand your niche region-specific requirements and that's why we offer customization of reports. With our customization in place, you can request any particular information from a report that meets your market analysis needs. To achieve a consistent view of the market, data is gathered from various primary and secondary sources, at each step, data triangulation methodologies are applied to reduce deviance and find a consistent view of the market. Each sample we share contains a detailed research methodology employed to generate the report. Please also reach our sales team to get the complete list of our data sources. CONTACT US: Valuates Reports [email protected] For U.S. Toll-Free Call 1-(315)-215-3225 For IST Call +91-8040957137 WhatsApp: +91-9945648335 Website: https://reports.valuates.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/valuatesreports LinkedIn - https://in.linkedin.com/company/valuatesreports Sitemap: https://reports.valuates.com/sitemap/html/reports/412 https://reports.valuates.com/sitemap/html/reports/413 https://reports.valuates.com/sitemap/html/reports/414 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082232/Valuates_Reports_Logo.jpg SOURCE Valuates Reports Infosys Cobalt and Microsoft Cloud solutions will help businesses uncover value and accelerate enterprise cloud transformation BENGALURU, India, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, today announced that it will expand its collaboration with Microsoft, to help accelerate enterprise cloud transformation journeys worldwide. According to the Infosys Cloud Radar, enterprises can add up to $414 billion in net new profits, annually, through effective cloud adoption. The report also calculated that adopting cloud improved speed to market and the ability to discover new revenue streams and resulted in increased profit growth by up to 11.2 percent YoY. The extended strategic collaboration between Infosys and Microsoft will greatly benefit enterprises by bringing them the best of Infosys Cobalt cloud offerings and Microsoft's cloud computing technologies, led by Azure, across the business value-chain. The deepening of the collaboration will entail the onboarding of Infosys Cobalt solutions to Microsoft's industry clouds, to empower enterprises to build agile cloud-powered platforms and innovate at scale. The joint capabilities across application modernization, enterprise solutions, data analytics and AI, digital workplace solutions, low-code, no-code power platforms and cybersecurity innovations will create a robust foundation for cloud-powered transformation. These will bring enterprises the benefits that come from best of breed Microsoft platforms, along with Infosys Cobalt suite of cloud-powered solutions, implemented to minimize time-to-market and maximize value. For example, Infosys Helix, running on Azure, is delivering for the healthcare industry value from an AI-first, people-centric platform suite to analyze, customize and democratize data for payers, providers, members, and governments. Another powerful example is Infosys Equinox a human-centric digital commerce and marketing platform that enables contextualized omnichannel buying experiences. This extended engagement will also enrich employee experience and enhance overall productivity. Infosys Cobalt solutions and Microsoft technologies are enabling over 300,000 Infosys employees with hyper-personalized, deeply humanized experiences enabled through an experiential app that is available across devices and serves as a hub for information and actions. It is also integrated with an array of enterprise systems, including Microsoft Dynamics365, and enabled with enterprise-grade security. Furthermore, collaboration between Infosys Cobalt and Microsoft Commerce to drive extreme automation for product launches is also an area where both organizations are jointly innovating across the business value-chain, using Azure. Microsoft is using Infosys' expertise to deliver the Support experience for its products, and this collaboration will further enhance the dedicated support and focus from the Microsoft CRM Center of Excellence set up by Infosys. Anand Swaminathan, Executive Vice President & Global Industry Leader Communications, Media and Technology, Infosys, said, "Infosys and Microsoft have a longstanding 360-degree strategic collaboration. On the one hand, Infosys plays a pivotal role in accelerating Microsoft's transformation with digital services. On the other, Infosys has embraced Microsoft technology and Microsoft cloud solutions to empower our over 300,000 employees. Microsoft and Infosys also work closely to bring to enterprises, the world over, the value of Infosys Cobalt cloud solutions, and accelerate time-to-value for Microsoft enterprises business solutions. This extended collaboration will serve to harvest most value from all aspects of our well-rounded alliance." Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, said, "This engagement with Infosys extends our trusted relationship over the past two decades and will accelerate the innovation and transformation journeys of businesses worldwide. As we continue to shape the future of the industry cloud, we are pleased to bring together our complementary strengths and serve our strategic customers better through Microsoft Azure-powered solutions with Infosys Cobalt." About Infosys Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Over 300,000 of our people work to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses and communities. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer clients, in more than 50 countries, as they navigate their digital transformation powered by the cloud. We enable them with an AI-powered core, empower the business with agile digital at scale and drive continuous improvement with always-on learning through the transfer of digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. We are deeply committed to being a well-governed, environmentally sustainable organization where diverse talent thrives in an inclusive workplace. Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next. Safe Harbor Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, financial expectations and plans for navigating the COVID-19 impact on our employees, clients and stakeholders are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding COVID-19 and the effects of government and other measures seeking to contain its spread, risks related to an economic downturn or recession in India, the United States and other countries around the world, changes in political, business, and economic conditions, fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India and the US, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry and the outcome of pending litigation and government investigation. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/Infosys_Logo.jpg SOURCE Infosys PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- interCaribbean Airways is pleased to announce all new nonstop services from St Kitts to Barbados. These flights will connect with services to Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Georgetown, Guyana. Service from the Barbados Grantly Adams International Airport is scheduled to commence on Sunday, 12 March 2023. An Embraer-120 aircraft with a seating capacity of 30 seats will service St. Kitts from Barbados three times weekly on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. We are incredibly proud as interCaribbean Airways integrates St. Kitts in its current itinerary. As demand for travel increases, St. Kitts continues to build a strong reputation as a must-see destination. interCaribbean's partnership significantly strengthens connectivity between our neighboring Caribbean brothers and sisters. We continue to stay committed to advancing airlift to the island said Minister of Tourism, Marsha T. Henderson. St. Kitts Tourism Authority continues to prioritize the increase of stayover visitation to the destination. With the successful launch of our "Venture Deeper" campaign, we are moving in the right direction. We are delighted to welcome new airlift to St. Kitts, especially at this critical time when regional connectivity has been limited. interCaribbean's service allows the destination to capitalize on the regional market as the destination can now implement key marketing strategies to make the Caribbean region our second largest market once again stated Chief Executive Officer of the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, Ellison "Tommy" Thompson. Chairman, Mr. Lyndon Gardiner, stated "Launching this new route during regional recovery demonstrates our commitment to facilitating intra-regional connectivity. We are pleased to extend region travel options by adding the beautiful destination of St. Kitts and Nevis to our network. About interCaribbean interCaribbean Airways was established over 31 years ago by Founder and Chairman, Mr. Lyndon Gardiner. This new connection solidifies the growth of interCaribbean in the Eastern Caribbean giving a truly connected Caribbean with interCaribbean. interCaribbean operates ERJ145 50 seat jets, 48 seat ATR42-500, EMB 120 30 seat Turbo aircraft, and connecting the Turks & Caicos Islands, Antigua, The British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, The Dominican Republic, Cuba, Haiti, Guyana, Jamaica, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and St. Kitts. Domestic flights are operated in The Turks & Caicos Islands. Visit interCaribbean.com to learn more about the company and its operations. Media contact: Trevor Sadler +1 649-443-3102 [email protected] SOURCE interCaribbean Airways Appointment for three years at the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences Schijns published over 120 scientific papers in the field of immunology and adjuvants BILTHOVEN, Netherlands, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Intravacc, a world leader in translational research and development of preventive and therapeutic vaccines, today announced the appointment of Prof. Dr. Virgil Schijns as Visiting Professor at the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences (SIPBS) of the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, for a period of three years effective February, 2023. Prof. Dr. Virgil Schijns, CSO of vaccine developer Intravacc, now appointed Visiting Professor at the Scottish University of Strathclyde in Glasgow The University of Strathclyde in Glasgow is recognized as a leading international technological university based in the centre of Glasgow. The appointment of Prof. Schijns will be in the context to further strengthen the pharmacy & biomedical sciences education and research capabilities, affirming its position as one of the foremost leading biomedical science schools in the world. With the overarching aim to build up specialist knowledge and deepen expertise within the field of immunological understanding and intervention of infectious diseases and cancer, during his three years assignment as Visiting Professor Schijns, will teach several courses. He will partake in research discussions and speak during lectures on the relevant areas, as well as participate in series of engagements with students, and academic colleagues. Prof. Duncan Graham (Distinguished Professor, Associate Principal & Executive Dean of Science Faculty of Science) says: "We're delighted to appoint Prof. Schijns as a Visiting Professor to the University and to be based within our Institute for Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences where his interactions and engagements will be hugely beneficial to all involved." Virgil Schijns studied Biomedicine at Utrecht University. He obtained his PhD in 1990 at the Utrecht University on 'The Antiviral Activity of Interferon-gamma'. After working in Academia, at the Institute of Virology (Utrecht University), he joined the medical branch of AKZO-NOBEL (Intervet and Nobilon) as department head in 1997. Since 2013 he is the CSO at Epitopoietc Research Corporation (ERC), a clinical stage company which produces an immunotherapy for glioma brain cancer patients. In November 2020 he made the move to Intravacc, where he is the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) and Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board. Since 2000, Schijns has also been a frequent lecturer at North Carolina State University (USA) as Visiting Professor, and at Wageningen University as Special Professor, for various courses in the field of immunology and adjuvants. Virgil has published over 120 scientific articles in leading scientific journals. Prof. Dr. Virgil Schijns, Intravacc's CSO, says: "I'm honoured and grateful to be appointed as Visiting Professor at the University of Strathclyde and thrilled to have the chance to work with Strathclyde students and the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences (SIPBS)." About Intravacc Intravacc, located at Utrecht Science Park Bilthoven in the Netherlands, is a leading global contract development and manufacturing organization for infectious diseases and therapeutic vaccines. As an established independent CDMO with many years of experience in the development and optimization of vaccines and vaccine technologies, Intravacc has transferred its technology world-wide for many vaccines including polio, measles, DPT, Hib and influenza. Around 40% of childhood disease vaccines are based on Intravacc's know-how and proprietary technology. Intravacc offers a wide range of expertise for independent vaccine development, from concept to Phase I/II clinical studies for partners around the world, including universities, public health organizations (WHO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), biotech and pharmaceutical companies. For more information, please visit www.intravacc.nl. About the University of Strathclyde A leading international technological university based in the centre of Glasgow, the University of Strathclyde was named the Times Higher Education UK University of the Year 2019, the Sunday Times Good University Guide Scottish University of the Year 2020, and has received two Queen's Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education awards for its excellence in energy innovation in 2020 and in advanced manufacturing 2022. The University of Strathclyde integrates academics, research capabilities and deep engagement with industry, government and the third sector to fulfill its mission of making a positive difference in the lives of its students' society and the world. Contact info Intravacc Dr. Jan Groen, CEO P: +31 30 7920 454 Media relations P: +31 6 115 969 94 E: [email protected] LifeSpring Life Sciences Communication, Amsterdam Leon Melens P: +31 6 538 16427 E: [email protected] Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2007937/Prof_dr_Virgil_Schijns.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1334670/Intravacc_Logo.jpg SOURCE Intravacc DUBLIN, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Japan Construction Sealants & Bonding Market, By Grade Technology (Reactive, Hot Melt, Solvent Based, Water Based and others), By Resin Type, By Component, By End Use Industry, By Region, Competition, Forecast and Opportunities, 2028" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Japan Construction Sealants & Bonding Market is anticipated to increase at an impressive rate during 2023-2028 Building Envelope (facade waterproofing, facade air barriers, window & door installation, roof waterproofing), bonding (flooring covering, floor preparation & maintenance, interior sealing, joint sealing) including glazing, flooring, and joining, as well as in sanitary and culinary areas, and a variety of other applications use construction sealants and bonding. These expanding applications have fueled the market's growth for construction sealants and bonding. The growing usage of bonds in more recent building applications such as ductwork, anchoring, and structural glazing is driving the market for construction sealants. Construction sealants are used in the window frame, sanitary and kitchen systems, expansion joints, floor systems, walls, and panels. In the face of shifting atmospheric conditions, they can withstand tension and prevent fracture. Increasing Demand from Construction Industry In Japan, demand for permanent and non-slum housing is increasing due to urbanization, population growth, and increased affluence. The enormous rise in residential development in these countries drives the construction sealants business. Due to the numerous applications of sealants in building and construction, including waterproofing, weather-sealing, crack-sealing, and joint-sealing, the construction industry currently maintains the majority share of the Japanese sealants market, followed by other end-user industries. Construction sealants are also made to be long-lasting and simple to apply on many substrates. In 2020, the Japanese construction industry contributed 5.9% of the country's GDP, and in the years to come, it is expected to rise further. The Japanese government prioritizes building quality and supports sustainable growth, which would probably increase demand for sealants throughout the projection period. Growing Technological Advancement for Sustainable Development The development of bio-based sealants is being pushed forcibly by manufacturers, and this is anticipated to open new avenues for expanding the sealant market globally. For the projected period, the global construction sealants and bonding market is expected to have profitable growth prospects due to the demand for low-volatile organic compounds and green, sustainable sealants. However, the adverse environmental effects of sealants limit market expansion. Due to their chemical makeup and the chemicals used to make them water-repellent, products like sealants, varnishes, and paints produce volatile organic compounds. These substances interact with the atmosphere through a photochemical process. The carbon compounds are bad for the environment and cause instability and changes to the atmosphere. Competitive Landscape Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in Japan Construction Sealants & Bonding. Konishi Co., Ltd Cemedine Co., Ltd. Sunstar Engineering Solutions (SE) The Yokohama Rubber Co Ltd Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd Dow Toray Co., Ltd Report Scope: Japan Construction Sealants & Bonding, By Technology: Reactive Hot Melt Solvent based Water based Others Japan Construction Sealants & Bonding, By Resin Type: Polyurethane Resin Modified Silicone Polysulfide Butyl Rubber Acrylic Acrylic Urethane Others Japan Construction Sealants & Bonding, By Component: One Component Two Component Others Japan Construction Sealants & Bonding, By End Use: Residential Commercial Civil Engineering Others Japan Construction Sealants & Bonding, by region Hokkaido & Tohoku Kanto Chubu Kansai Chugoku Shikoku Kyushu For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/hhhoa5 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets Leader in private wireless and former Chair of CBRS Alliance joins executive team SYRACUSE, N.Y., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- JMA Wireless (JMA), a global leader in wireless communications, has appointed Neville Meijers as Chief Commercial Officer. He joins from Kymeta, where he served as Chief Strategy, Product, and Marketing Officer. In his new role, Meijers is responsible for driving JMA's sales, business development, and marketing. He is based in JMA's Syracuse headquarters -- the only U.S.-owned 5G factory in the country. Neville Meijers Meijers is a seasoned industry executive with an extensive background in private wireless, neutral hosts, and small cells. Prior to Kymeta, he led the development of private LTE/5G networks for enterprises and IoT at Qualcomm, working with customers such as GE, Bosch, and major ports across the globe. He also served as Chairman of the CBRS Alliance, growing its membership to over 50 in under a year, and he was a founder and board director of the MulteFire Alliance. "There are few executives who understand the possibilities of private wireless like Neville," said John Mezzalingua, CEO of JMA. "He is a proven leader in this space, with a rare combination of technical and commercial experience." "I have been in private wireless for over a decade and it's clear JMA offers a solution that is both unique and meets the needs of the enterprise customer," Meijers said. "JMA's all-software approach and Made in America 5G technology unlocks the potential of private wireless networks forever transforming the way industries operate." Earlier in his career, Meijers held senior executive positions for Discovery Communications worldwide, including Managing Director of Asia. He earned a Master of Business Administration Degree and Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. About JMA Wireless Founded in 2012, JMA is restoring U.S. leadership in wireless technology at a critical time in the transition to 5G. Based in Syracuse, New York, JMA makes the world's most advanced and only all-software-based 5G platform, which it designs, codes, and manufactures in the United States. JMA's cutting-edge technologymost notably a revolutionary software solution called XRANis ushering in a new era of innovation and connectivity for businesses, workers, and ultimately consumers. For more information, visit www.jmawireless.com . Media Contact John Puskar Vice President, Communications and Government Relations, JMA Wireless [email protected] SOURCE JMA Wireless Following the dangers posed by the deadly black soot in Port Harcourt, residents and professionals have once again called for government action with new Crowdsourced Website, Precious Ugwuzor reports Nearly a decade since black residues emanating from the illicit operations of makeshift artisanal refineries by oil bunkers was first reported in Port Harcourt, an end to the activities remains a pipe dream. Despite government promises and efforts, the oil-rich region is still struggling to free itself from the resulting hazards of indiscriminate bunkering activities in its creeks. In 2022, Nigeria was estimated to lose between N30 trillion to N60 trillion annually to oil theft and illegal refining. Although the loss of revenue to oil theft is alarming for a country with economic frailties, it is nothing compared to the killer diseases thrown into the Port Harcourt air and water by the resultant pollution. Residents in the most populous South-South city have, over the past seven years, been living on the edge over their general well-being due to uncontrolled exposure to impure carbon particles emitted by the incomplete burning of fossil fuel and other indiscriminate oil exploration activities. According to Dr Bieye Renner Briggs, a Public Health Physician and an Environmental Advocate in Port Harcourt, "most people living in the affected communities know that soot is bad, but just how worse things can get is what is unknown to them. Nigerians In Port Harcourt, are daily being diagnosed with and dying from soot-related illnesses like birth defects, cancerous growths, miscarriages, and irritations of the eye, nose, throat, and skin." The illicit operations of oil bunkers and other factors including the destruction of confiscated drums from operators of nonindustrial refineries by security operatives and open burning of waste sometimes cause Port Harcourt to record an air quality index (AQI) above 155. This, according to global health organisations, indicates a health emergency, as any AQI reading above 150 is considered unhealthy. Indeed the World Health Organisation (WHO) cites outdoor and household air pollution as critical factors causing seven million premature deaths every year globally, with more than half of the casualties in developing nations. As their homes are covered in a thick fog of black powdery particles, residents are exposed to deadly respiratory tract infections and cardiovascular problems including bronchitis, asthma, and pneumonia. In severe cases, they are victims of skin cancer, preterm births, and premature deaths. Sandra Hart, a resident of Port Harcourt, who lost consciousness following an acute asthmatic attack exacerbated by the air pollution caused by the soot said, "I am impressed with the coordination that has gone into raising awareness of soot in Port Harcourt over the last few years. "Having been in and out of the hospital constantly and surviving a coma, I want Nigerians and particularly residents of Port Harcourt to understand why we need to make sure our Government puts an end to illegal refining of oil once and for all." Unfortunately, awareness among locals about the perils of contaminated air and water on their health is low. Although statistics are sketchy, there are records of residents who hitherto had no history of respiratory issues developing terminal ailments from soot with no respite in sight from authorities. Irrefutably, the continued existence of the soot pandemic in Port Harcourt has not been for a lack of effort. Governor Nyesom Wike, upon assuming office, immediately committed to ridding Rivers State of pipeline vandalism and illegal refining operations; his government enacted the Rivers State Environmental Protection and Management Law in 2019 to further tackle the problem and bring culprits to book. He had also previously tasked local government chairmen in Rivers State to identify areas of illegal refining operations in their localities and fish out the operators. Recently, Governor Wike went on the offensive and read the riot act to perpetrators of such hazardous business, following a personal raid of illegal refining sites in forests of the Ogbodo community in Ikwerre Local Government Area and Ibaa community in Emohua Local Government Area. Yet, despite his sustained clampdown on operators of illegal refineries in local communities having a significant impact on the activities, Port Harcourt remains far from being completely soot-free. In many of the local governments, it has been discovered that over 50 illegal refineries are in operation. The Governor, in an act of desperation to see his efforts yield positive results, pointed accusing fingers at security agencies for sabotaging his efforts by aiding, abetting and protecting illegal refineries in the state. Deliberations among Port Harcourt representatives in the Senate also leave a little to be desired, although a motion to curb soot and the economic sabotage by illegal refining of crude products was moved last year. No lasting resolutions are yet in sight. At the receiving end of these actions and inactions are, however, residents who inhale and ingest the amorphous carbon particles daily--many of whom are uninformed about the extent of danger soot exposes them to. According to current data, the PM2.5 concentration in Port Harcourt is four times the WHO annual air quality guideline value. This is frightening considering respiratory infection offshoots such as influenza and pneumonia are some of the leading causes of death in Nigeria. Indeed, the earliest succour that will come to residents will be a channel to gain proper awareness about the perils of the air pollution menace to their health status and also the provision of access to affordable care. Dr Eugene, Founder of The Extra Step Initiative, says, "After 60 years of Rivers State being the hub of the hydrocarbon industry and with the damaging activities of the non-state actors, the Rivers State Government with external support must lead the charge to audit the damage to our flora and fauna particularly the respiratory health of the residents of Port Harcourt and other host communities from the activities of legal and illegal refining of crude oil so as to curb the rate of cancers and renal failure amongst children, indigent people and pregnant women. It is also our belief that even the United Nations Ogoni Clean Up report is obsolete and should be updated by the Federal Government to reflect the current realities which a 10-year-old report does not capture." Incidentally, a health campaign to help Port Harcourt residents exposed to soot determine their life expectancy is set to kick off. Named Soot City, the campaign will serve as a much-needed reality check for locals who pay little attention to the soot impact on their health. "We need to be very clear on the true impact of the damage soot causes and how the crisis is slowly killing residents, in a way that is candid and easy to comprehend by all, that's why SootCity is very jarring," Steve Babaeko, the Founder and CEO of X3M Ideas added. Citizens who live or have lived in the oil-rich region will have an unusual opportunity to calculate the number of years they have to live due to the damage caused by soot inhalation or ingestion, through a unique web page Sootcity.com, developed by Steve's company, X3M Ideas. The significance of residents knowing their health status based on the time they have spent in the city can't be understated. Receiving adequate information about their health status will ultimately inspire affected residents to seek urgent treatments and also demand action from relevant authorities. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Interestingly, the Soot City campaign makes provision for residents to nudge Senators and lawmakers in the region to embark on immediate actions that would mitigate or eradicate soot. The letters sent on the participants' behalf, will demand collaborations between government and stakeholders; identification and containment of pollution sites; banning of illegal and artisanal refining across the state with strict punitive measures; IOC compliance with best practices; youth empowerment with sustainable employment opportunities; provision of basic social amenities such as affordable healthcare, and much more. "The timely nature of this intervention cannot be overemphasised, considering the recent wave of soot-related illnesses. The State Government itself through the office of the former Commissioner for Environment, Prof. Roseline Konya, in 2019, reviewed over 22,077 cases of respiratory diseases related to the presence of soot in the city. Every year we record thousands of cases of soot-related illnesses. It is time for us to demand action from the Government to save what's left of the lives of residents of Port Harcourt," Dr Oge Isokariari, Public Relations Officer of the Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria and Public Health Physician at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, said. The demand for better living conditions in Port Harcourt is long overdue. Government actions to fully rid the region of the soot menace may not be forthcoming or slow, but the life expectancy campaign by Soot City means residents can at least heave a huge sigh of relief about knowing what important actions to take regarding their general well-being. It will hopefully serve as a jolt in the authority and stakeholders' steps towards bringing a conclusive end to the illicit practices that have threatened residents' health and lives for nearly seven years. REDDING, Calif., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new market research report titled, 'Latin America Home Healthcare Market by Product (Equipment [Therapeutic {Insulin, Dialysis}, Diagnostic {Blood Pressure, Heart Rate}, Mobility], Services [Skilled {Primary Care, Nursing Nutritional}], Application (CVD, Diabetes, Cancer) - Forecast to 2030,' published by Meticulous Research, the Latin America home healthcare market is expected to reach $37.15 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 9.6% from 2023 to 2030. Download Free Sample Report Now @ https://www.meticulousresearch.com/download-sample-report/cp_id=1287 Home healthcare equipment and services are used to fulfill the healthcare needs of the patient while they are at home. Home healthcare is mostly used when a patient or individual requires prolonged care or stays in healthcare facilities. Home healthcare includes equipment (therapeutics, diagnostics, and mobility assistive equipment) and services (skilled home healthcare and unskilled home healthcare) used by patients or individuals to manage various conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, respiratory diseases, pregnancy, mobility disorders, and cancer. The report focuses on the Latin American region and analyses various home healthcare equipment and services offered by key companies in Latin America. Rising Geriatric Population: Driving the Growth of the Latin America Home Healthcare Market The geriatric population uses home healthcare equipment and services to support their healthcare needs. The geriatric population requires home care for various medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and bone & joint-related disorders. According to the World Bank Group, in 2021, the top 5 Latin American countries with the largest number population aged 65 years and above were Brazil (20.53 million), Mexico (10.30 million), Argentina (5.41 million), Colombia (4.49 million), and Chile (2.47 million). For example, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), in 2019, the population aged 60 years and above was more than 30 million in Brazil, accounting for 13% of the total population. This number is expected to reach approximately 50 million by 2030 and account for 24% of the total population. Around 76.3% of people aged 60 years and above in Brazil have at least one chronic disease, while 53.6% have multiple chronic conditions (source: Pan American Health Organization [PAHO]). Thus, the growth in the aging population and the subsequent rise in the prevalence of chronic diseases is expected to increase the demand for home healthcare equipment and services, driving the growth of the home healthcare market in Latin America. Speak to our Analysts to Understand the Impact of COVID-19 on Your Business: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/speak-to-analyst/cp_id=1287 Latin America Home Healthcare Market: Future Outlook The Latin America home healthcare market is segmented based on Product (Equipment [Therapeutic, Diagnostics, and Mobility Assistive Equipment] and Services [Skilled and Unskilled]), Application (Cardiovascular Diseases & Hypertension, Diabetes, Respiratory Diseases, Pregnancy, Mobility Disorders, Cancer, Wound Care, and Other Conditions), and Country (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and Rest of Latin America). The study also evaluates industry competitors and analyzes their market share at the country level. Based on product, the Latin America home healthcare market is segmented into equipment and services. In 2023, the equipment segment is expected to account for the larger share of the Latin America home healthcare market. The large market share of this segment is attributed to factors such as the rising geriatric population; the high cost of hospitalization; technological innovations in home healthcare equipment, and the growing prevalence of diseases that require frequent usage of home healthcare equipment such as home dialysis equipment, insulin delivery devices, and intravenous pumps. Based on application, the Latin America home healthcare market is segmented into cardiovascular diseases & hypertension, diabetes, respiratory diseases, pregnancy, mobility disorders, cancer, wound care, and other conditions. In 2023, the diabetes segment is expected to account for the largest share of the Latin America home healthcare market. Diabetes is a major health crisis in Latin American countries and is one of the leading causes of death. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Diabetes Atlas 2021, the prevalence of diabetes was highest in the youth population of Brazil and Mexico. In 2021, 15.7 million people aged 2079 years were living with diabetes in Brazil. This number is expected to reach 23.2 million by 2045. Thus, the rising prevalence of diabetes across Latin America, the increasing need for continuous monitoring of glucose levels, and advancement in diabetes technology drive the demand for diabetes homecare equipment. Quick Buy Latin America Home Healthcare Market Research Report: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/Checkout/83345985 Based on country, the Latin America home healthcare market is segmented into Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay, and the Rest of Latin America. In 2023, Brazil is expected to account for the largest share of the Latin America home healthcare market. Brazil's major market share is attributed to the high prevalence of chronic diseases, the growing geriatric population, and the higher healthcare expenditure in Brazil compared to other Latin American countries. Furthermore, diabetes is the third leading cause of death in Brazil, with cardiovascular diseases and cancer being number one and two, respectively. The prevalence of diabetes in Brazil is 7.6% of the population. (Source: Brazilian Chamber of Laboratory Diagnostics). These factors drive the growth of the home healthcare market in Brazil. Key companies operating in the Latin America home healthcare market are Abbott Laboratories (U.S.), Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Netherlands), Boston Scientific Corporation (U.S.), GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (U.S.), Siemens Healthineers AG (Germany), Amedisys, Inc. (U.S.), LHC Group, Inc. (U.S.), Baxter International Inc. (U.S.), Becton, Dickinson and Company (U.S.), JOHNSON & JOHNSON (U.S.), OMRON Corporation (Japan), Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA (Germany), and Masimo Corporation (U.S.). To gain more insights into the market with a detailed table of content and figures, click here: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/latin-america-home-healthcare-market-1287 Scope of the Report: Latin America Home Healthcare Market, by Product Equipment Therapeutic Respiratory Therapy Equipment Insulin Delivery Devices Intravenous Equipment Dialysis Equipment Wound Care Products Other Therapeutic Equipment Diagnostics Diabetic Care Unit Blood Pressure Monitors Multi Parameter Diagnostic Monitors Home Pregnancy and Fertility Kits Apnea And Sleep Monitors Holter Monitors Heart Rate Monitors Others Diagnostic Equipment Mobility Assistive Equipment Wheelchair Mobility Scooters Walkers and Rollators Other Assistive Equipment Services Skilled Home Healthcare Services Physician Primary Care Nursing Care Physical/Occupational/Speech Therapy Nutritional Support Hospice & Palliative Other Skilled Home Healthcare Service Unskilled Home Healthcare Services Other Therapeutic Equipment includes ostomy devices, automated external defibrillators, and external stimulation devices. Other diagnostic equipment include HIV kits, Oximeters, Thermometers, Stethoscopes, and Peak Flow Meters. Other skilled home healthcare services include pain management, IV therapy, and home health aide services. Latin America Home Healthcare Market, by Application Cardiovascular Diseases & Hypertension Diabetes Respiratory Diseases Pregnancy Mobility Disorders Cancer Wound Care Other Applications Other applications include Alzheimer's, pneumonia, infection, flu, and joint replacement. Latin America Home Healthcare Market, by Geography Brazil Mexico Argentina Colombia Chile Venezuela Peru Ecuador Uruguay Rest of Latin America Request Free Customization of Report @ https://www.meticulousresearch.com/request-customization/cp_id=1287 Related Reports: Telehealth Market by Component [Hardware (Peripheral Devices, Monitor), Software (Cloud, On-premise), Services (Real-time, Remote Monitoring)], Application (Radiology, Cardiology, Psychiatry), End User (Provider, Payer, Patient) - Global Forecast to 2029 https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/telehealth-market-4174 Rapid Diagnostic Kits Market for Indian Ocean Region Countries (France, India, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Madagascar) by Product (Professional, OTC), Platform (Immunoassay, Molecular), Application (Infectious Diseases, Cardiac, Urinalysis, Cholesterol), End User (Hospital, Diagnostic Labs) - Forecast to 2029 https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/rapid-diagnostics-kits-market-for-indian-ocean-region-countries-5418 Point-of-care Diagnostics Market by Application (Influenza, Pneumonia, COVID-19, TB, HAI, Hepatitis, HIV, Glucose, Coagulation, Hematology, Cancer, Cardiac), Platform, Purchase Mode (Prescription, OTC), End User (Home Care, Hospital)Global Forecast to 2029 https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/point-of-care-diagnostics-market-4871 Latin America In Vitro Diagnostics Market by Product & Service, Technology (Immunoassay, Point of Care, Molecular Diagnostics), Application (Infectious Diseases, Diabetes, Oncology), Diagnostic Approach (Lab, OTC, PoC), Customer Type Forecast to 2029 https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/latin-america-in-vitro-diagnostics-IVD-market-5105 Remote Patient Monitoring Market by Product (Devices [Cardiac, Neurological, Blood Pressure, Glucose, Weight], Software, Services), Application (COVID-19, Cardiovascular Diseases, Diabetes, Cancer), End User (Hospitals, Home Care) - Global Forecast to 2029. https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/remote-patient-monitoring-market-5343 Telehealth Market by Component [Hardware (Peripheral Devices, Monitor), Software (Cloud, On-premise), Services (Real-time, Remote Monitoring)], Application (Radiology, Cardiology, Psychiatry), End User (Provider, Payer, Patient) - Global Forecast to 2029. https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/telehealth-market-4174 Diabetes Care Devices Market by Type [Diabetes Monitoring (CGM, Test Strips, Self-Monitoring Blood Glucose Meters, Lancets, Haemoglobin A1C Testing Kits)], [Insulin Delivery (Syringes, Pens, Pumps, Jet Injectors)] - Global Forecast to 2028. https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/diabetes-care-devices-market-3438 Indonesia In Vitro Diagnostics Market by Product (Kits, Instruments, Software), Technology (Immunoassay, Hematology, Coagulation, Diabetes, Molecular), Application (Infectious Diseases, Cardiology, Oncology), and End User (Hospital, Diagnostic Lab, Home Care) - Forecast to 2029 https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/indonesia-in-vitro-diagnostics-market-5352 About Meticulous Research Meticulous Research was founded in 2010 and incorporated as Meticulous Market Research Pvt. Ltd. in 2013 as a private limited company under the Companies Act, 1956. Since its incorporation, the company has become the leading provider of premium market intelligence in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. The name of our company defines our services, strengths, and values. Since the inception, we have only thrived to research, analyze, and present the critical market data with great attention to details. With the meticulous primary and secondary research techniques, we have built strong capabilities in data collection, interpretation, and analysis of data including qualitative and quantitative research with the finest team of analysts. We design our meticulously analyzed intelligent and value-driven syndicate market research reports, custom studies, quick turnaround research, and consulting solutions to address business challenges of sustainable growth. Contact: Mr. Khushal Bombe Meticulous Market Research Inc. 1267 Willis St, Ste 200 Redding, California, 96001, U.S. USA: +1-646-781-8004 Europe : +44-203-868-8738 APAC: +91 744-7780008 Email- [email protected] Visit Our Website: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/ Connect with us on LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/company/meticulous-research Content Source: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/pressrelease/254/latin-america-home-healthcare-market-2030 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1757980/Meticulous_Research_Logo_1.jpg SOURCE Meticulous Market Research Pvt Ltd. PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Latino Business Action Network (LBAN) is pleased to welcome JPMorgan Chase as a corporate sponsor to support Hispanic and Latino business owners nationally. LBAN is a Silicon Valley-based nonprofit that partners with Stanford University to empower Latino entrepreneurship across the country. JPMorgan Chase's sponsorship will support the three core pillars of LBAN: Foundational research: explores challenges and opportunities for U.S. Latino entrepreneurship nationally, aiming to inform and influence policies. Business Scaling Program at Stanford : transformative scaling program for Latino Business owners from across the U.S., empowering them to scale their companies to the next level. : transformative scaling program for Latino Business owners from across the U.S., empowering them to scale their companies to the next level. Ecosystem Development: cultivating networks of LBAN alumni, mentors, capital providers, and partners to improve access to capital and government and corporate contracts. The Latino Business Action Network (LBAN) is pleased to welcome JPMorgan Chase as a corporate sponsor. Tweet this "We are grateful for the leadership that JPMorgan Chase is showing to support Hispanic and Latino business owners across the country," said Arturo Cazares, CEO of LBAN, "JPMorgan Chase is demonstrating a strong commitment to Latinos and the American economy. JPMorgan Chase is a powerful addition to our ecosystem and will help advance entrepreneurship nationally by bringing access to resources and capital to Latino and Latina business owners." Latinos created almost 5 million businesses in the U.S. and are creating new companies faster than other groups. Those companies are young and growing revenues faster than the average. However, Latino entrepreneurs face extra and sometimes unfair challenges with access to opportunities and resources, including capital, expertise, and networking. Addressing these challenges is vital; LBAN's research shows that when U.S. Latino-owned businesses reach the average size of U.S. businesses, this will add trillions of dollars to the American economy. "Supporting Latino entrepreneurs translates into a stronger economy for all," said Silvana Montenegro, Global Head of Advancing Hispanics & Latinos. "We are proud to join forces with the Latino Business Action Network to support the unique research and technical assistance programs that will help unlock the success and potential of Latino business owners across the country." Throughout this year, JPMorgan Chase will provide in-person and virtual programming to Latino entrepreneurs including workshops on how to leverage corporate supplier diversity programs and business roundtables for Latino entrepreneurs. This collaboration is part of the ongoing efforts led by JPMorgan Chase to drive inclusive economic growth and access to close the racial wealth gap for those who have been traditionally underserved, including Black and Hispanic and Latino communities. JPMorgan Chase's support commenced at LBAN's 8th annual State of Latino Entrepreneurship Summit recently held at Stanford, where JPMorgan Chase's representatives spoke on the importance of access to capital for Latino entrepreneurs and small business owners. The discussion touched also touched on the progress and impact of the firm's $30 billion Racial Equity Commitment . LBAN and Stanford cohosted the summit, presented their foundational Latino entrepreneurship research, and convened panel discussions on access to capital and contracts. About Latino Business Action Network (LBAN): LBAN is a dynamic Silicon Valley-based nonprofit with a big mission to strengthen the U.S. economy by empowering Latino Entrepreneurship across the country to grow large businesses through entrepreneurship research, education, and a network of resources. ( www.lban.us ) About JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America ("U.S."), with operations worldwide. JPMorgan Chase had $3.7 trillion in assets and $292 billion in stockholders' equity as of December 31, 2022. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com . SOURCE Latino Business Action Network Will be honored at a special reception February 23 in Los Angeles MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --The Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI) has selected Linda Parker Sanepi as one of its "Top 25 Extraordinary Minds" for 2022. This is the 20th year HSMAI has compiled the list, which annually recognizes exemplary achievement and leadership in hospitality sales, marketing, revenue optimization, and distribution. Sanpei will join an exclusive list when she is honored by HSMAI at a reception in Los Angeles on February 23. "The 'Top 25' is our annual hot list that celebrates the sales, marketing, revenue optimization, and distribution leaders and innovators in our industry," said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHBA, President and CEO of HSMAI. "Throughout the pandemic and into the recovery, these extraordinary professionals have risen to each challenge and met unprecedented circumstances with creativity, strength, and ingenuity. These leaders are empowering recovery." The 2022 "Top 25" honorees were judged by a panel of senior industry executives for their recent work based on the following criteria: creativity and innovation, cutting-edge sales or marketing campaigns, triumph in challenging situations, and/or sales efforts that resulted in dramatic gains. Parker Sanpei is an award-winning public relations and marketing agency dedicated to the lifestyle and hospitality industries. Established in 2008 by Founder and CEO, Linda Parker Sanpei, the agency develops unique strategies to connect brands and their audiences. Linda is inspired to create emotive campaigns through integrated marketing strategies that set brands ahead of their competition. She thrives on client success and is perpetually looking for new ways to have a meaningful impact on them, and the communities in which they thrive. "To be nominated and selected by my peers for this prestigious award is incredibly gratifying. I am immensely thankful to my esteemed colleagues for this incredible honor," said Sanpei. The "Top 25" will be honored in person at a reception at the JW Marriott LA Live in Los Angeles on February 23. The reception is being held in conjunction with the HSMAI Adrian Awards Celebration, which recognizes the winners of the largest and most prestigious competition in global travel marketing. In addition to the "Top 25" reception, Sanpei will be featured in an HSMAI special report, receive a personalized award, and henceforward be recognized as a "Top 25 Mind in Hospitality Sales, Marketing, Revenue Optimization, and Distribution." About HSMAI The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) is committed to growing business for hotels and their partners, and is the industry's leading advocate for intelligent, sustainable hotel revenue growth. The association provides hotel professionals and their partners with tools, insights, and expertise to fuel sales, inspire marketing, and optimize revenue through programs such as HSMAI Marketing Strategy Conference, Adrian Awards, and Revenue Optimization Conference. Founded in 1927, HSMAI is a membership organization comprising more than 5,000 members worldwide, with 40 chapters in the Americas Region. Connect with HSMAI at hsmai.org, HSMAI Facebook, HSMAI Instagram, HSMAI Twitter, and HSMAI YouTube. About Parker Sanpei Parker Sanpei provides innovative marketing and communications solutions to forward-leading brands in the hospitality, tourism, wine, culinary, and luxury product industries. By shaping engaging narratives and campaigns, Parker Sanpei elicits lasting positive impressions to targeted audiences. Its reputation is a testament to creating and shepherding successful brand- building campaigns that further clients' ambitions. For additional information, visit ParkerSanpei.com , or call 805.550.9150. Contact: Maddie Spencer [email protected] 805.550.9150 SOURCE Parker Sanpei Dole Food Company's "Loaded Banana Bread" Beats Out Recipe from the Student-Chefs of Class #73 at Community Culinary School of Charlotte CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Charlotte banana lovers have spoken (actually tasted) and crowned "Charlotte's Best Banana Bread" following two days of bake-offs and blind taste tests at the Community Culinary School of Charlotte (CCSC) in honor of today's designation as National Banana Bread Day. The Loaded Banana Bread developed by Dole Food Company, Inc., the global fresh fruit and vegetable grower and marketer with U.S. headquarters in uptown Charlotte, edged out a recipe made by the student-chefs of CCSC's Class #73 during public voting Feb. 21 at the CCSC Cafe. Dole Food Company's Winning "Loaded Banana Bread" CCSC provides culinary training to those impacted by homelessness, poverty, abuse and other issues, and to veterans and others transitioning into civilian life, to encourage self-sufficiency through stable employment in food service. CSSC's current class, it's 73rd since 1997, numbers 23 students. Under the leadership of CCSC Executive Director Ron Ahlert, known to students as "Chef Ron," CCSC counts 1,087 graduates. Loaves of the winning bread are being delivered to media and other groups, and are available for sale at the Cafe today in celebration of National Banana Bread Day. The friendly competition is part of a larger collaboration between the two organizations to develop healthy, produce-forward, cooking and lifestyle habits and provide the training to allow more local residents to gain access to Charlotte's culinary and food service sector. "We're delighted to celebrate National Banana Day with the world's most famous banana provider," said Anne Lambert, CCSC director of development. "Support from partners like Dole helps us grow CCSC's workforce training program as a creative solution to the interwoven problems of unemployment, hunger and homelessness. Our ultimate goal is to provide the education, experience and resources necessary to provide food service industry job security to Charlotteans facing employment barriers." Dole's Loaded Banana Bread is made with premium DOLE Bananas, eggs, almond milk yogurt and crushed pecans; while the student-created CCSC Class #73 Banana Bread also features premium DOLE Bananas, as well as avocado oil, maple syrup and sweet potato, the official vegetable of North Carolina. "Dole is honored to help support the next generation of local bakers, cooks and chefs and remind these future culinary stars that the best recipes can be delicious and healthy at the same time," said Melanie Marcus, MA, RD, Dole's nutrition and health communications manager. "The enthusiasm, creativity and passion displayed by these students makes all of us at Dole excited about the future of Charlotte's restaurant and food service scene." About Community Culinary School of Charlotte Community Culinary School of Charlotte (CCSC) provides workforce development training and job placement assistance to Charlotte residents impacted by various social issues in an effort to raise up the next generation of local chefs and cooks and encourage self-sufficiency through stable employment in food service. Under Executive Director Ron Ahlert ("Chef Ron"), CCSC has graduated more than 1,000 men and women into the local culinary industry since 1997. The onsite CCSC Cafe serves a student-developed breakfast and lunch menu weekdays from 9am to 2pm. For information, go to https://communityculinary.org/. About Dole plc Dole plc is one of the world's largest producers and marketers of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. Dole plc is an industry leader in many of the products it sells, as well as in nutrition education and research. For more information, please visit www.dole.com. Media Contacts : Bob Ochsner, Rocket Launch for Dole (949) 233-0984 Anne Lambert, CCSC (704) 589-9146 SOURCE Dole Food Company In Conversations About Race, Marjy Marj and Guests Share Human Stories of Belonging SPARTANBURG, S.C., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- From Xenophobia to Colorism, and Racial Inequities, Marjy Marj's Conversations About Race touches on ways to broaden our lens, unify as a community, support each other through mentorship, embrace our differences, and encourage a sense of belonging. With contributions from 27 guests who have appeared on the Humanity Chats podcast over a three-year period, the book is an introductory yet meaningful, civil, and non-political conversation about our humanity. Marjy Marj Books Conversations About Race by Marjy Marj A bestseller and a number one new release in the General Sociology of Race category, Conversations About Race has received several five-star reviews from readers. According to Doubleday Author - Michel Stone, "the theme of this book is our shared humanity." Michel states - "Marjy Marj seeks to illuminate the ties that bind us regardless of the many differences among us. She aims to find those common denominators and use them as building blocks toward empathy and understanding, with an eye toward expanding people's lenses." College Librarian Susan Myers finds the book to be a thoughtful conversation starter which helped her to start seeing what other people have experienced in their lives. Featured Conversations About Race contributors include Business Leader - Lucy Quist , former School District Superintendent - Dr. Russell Booker, Maine Councilman Pious Ali, former Congressman - Trey Gowdy, Director of Composition and Professor of 19th Century British Literature - Dr. Esther Godfrey, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Leader - Dr. Nika White, South Carolina Centro Latino Director and Professor of Modern Languages - Dr. Araceli Hernandez-Laroche, Former Clerk of Court - Hope Blackley, Author - Michel Stone, Wofford College's Inaugural Dean of Diversity and Inclusion and Associate Professor of Spanish Studies - Dr. Begona Caballero-Garcia, Brothers Restoring Urban Hope Founder - Victor Durrah, Social Justice Attorney - Elsie Dickson, and Chief Operating Officer of the Spartanburg County Foundation- Mary Thomas. Marjy Marj is a Ghanaian-American business and community leader. She is the host of the globally ranked Humanity Chats podcast where guests talk about everyday issues that impact humans. In addition to Conversations About Race, she is the author of the following books: The Shimmigrant - A poignant yet optimistic story about the plight of a young immigrant. Same Elephants - An enlightening, introspective, heartwarming novel about four friends from diverse backgrounds. Sasha Goes to America - A story about a 12-year-old girl's perseverance as a housemaid in Ghana and eventual immigration to America. to America - A story about a 12-year-old girl's perseverance as a housemaid in and eventual immigration to America. Sasha Perseveres in America - About 13-year-old Sasha Badu's perseverance as a young black immigrant in America. perseverance as a young black immigrant in America. Sasha Dreams Big - A story about a young girl's determination to thrive. The Spelling King - About a young boy is motivated to read and spell. To learn more about the contributors and the book, you may purchase Conversations About Race at your local bookstore, or anywhere books are sold. A portion of the proceeds from the book will be benefiting 26 nonprofit organizations working for the good of humanity. To learn more about Marjy Marj's work visit Marjymarj.com Media Contact: Innovation Group 8647610952 [email protected] SOURCE Marjy Marj HAUPPAUGE, N.Y., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MaxximaStyle, an LED lighting and electrical supply company, has announced that it will be hosting a booth at the New York Build Expo taking place March 8th and 9th at the Javits Center in New York City. The company will be showcasing its wide range of products and providing hands-on opportunities to see the high-quality construction and appearance of their lights. The show is expected to have over 29,000 attendees and 300 exhibitors from across the construction industry, featuring the latest innovative products, new technologies and industry trends. It is the largest construction and design show in New York and the tri-state area, offering opportunities in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects across the region. MaxximaStyle will be highlighting its MaxxBuyer program, which offers pro pricing and other benefits for industry professionals, including contractors and real estate developers. The booth will showcase a variety of LED recessed lighting products including high CRI anti-glare downlights and commercial downlights as well as motion sensor disk lights, WiFi RGB lights, corn bulb work lights and more. Their dimmers, outlets and other electrical products will also be featured. Visitors to the booth will have the opportunity to win free products that they can evaluate on their job sites as well as other prizes. To learn more about MaxximaStyle's booth or schedule an appointment with the team, please visit www.maxximastyle.com/NewYorkBuild2023. Attendees interested in learning more about the company and its products are invited to visit Booth 862 during the show. About Maxxima/Panor Corp. MaxximaStyle is the home lighting division of Panor Corporation, which has been providing customers with high quality LED lighting and electrical products for over 40 years. The business is family-owned and operated with all operations based out of Hauppauge, New York, including an office, warehouse and a full on-site engineering lab. SOURCE MaxximaStyle 3D Cloud by Marxent CEO: "As we introduce AI/ML, room scanning, and other advanced features, it's critical to keep the client perspective front and center." ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today 3D Cloud by Marxent, the 3D experience platform for furniture and home improvement, announced the appointment of Lorna Jean Marcuzzo of MillerKnoll and Gail Applin, formerly of La-Z-Boy, to the 3D Cloud by Marxent Advisory Board. The Advisory Board is comprised of industry veterans from across home improvement, contract furniture, home furnishings, and adjacent industries. MillerKnoll 3D leader, La-Z-Boy alumna join 3D Cloud by Marxent Advisory Board Marcuzzo, currently Senior Digital Product Manager for 3D Visualization at MillerKnoll, brings over a decade of experience in the contract furniture space with a focus on innovation. Similarly, Applin served as Director of eCommerce and Interactive Customer Experience at La-Z-Boy for nearly a decade and is presently Director of E-Commerce Strategy and Operations for Smith & Noble. "Both Lorna Jean and Gail bring a wealth of furniture industry experience to the table," said Beck Besecker, 3D Cloud by Marxent's CEO and Co-Founder. "They have considerable industry insight and also know what it takes to lead and deploy successful 3D innovation strategies at scale." "I've always been impressed with both the quality of the team and the speed of innovation at 3D Cloud by Marxent," Marcuzzo said. "They are solving major challenges for the contract furniture industry, and I'm excited to be a part of the future of 3D visualization that we're building together," she said. "Leading the 3D efforts for a highly customized product was challenging and 3D Cloud by Marxent was the perfect partner in innovation," Applin said. "I'm honored to be a part of the advisory board and to continue our collaboration," she said. 3D Cloud by Marxent pioneered the use of 3D in retail with the first major rollout of in-store Virtual Reality at scale and was an early developer of Augmented Reality applications for retail use cases. The company continues to serve the furniture, contract furniture, and home improvement industries with 3D solutions for furniture, office, kitchen, bath, and decking. Innovations include Instant Renders, Design from Photo, and code-free product configuration at scale. "Listening is essential in helping us to build next-gen 3D commerce solutions for the verticals that we serve. As we introduce AI/ML, room scanning, and other advanced features, it's critical to keep the client perspective front and center," Besecker said. "We are pleased to welcome Gail Applin and Lorna Jean Marcuzzo to the Advisory Board and look forward to their contributions," he said. About 3D Cloud by Marxent 3D Cloud by Marxent is the 3D experience platform and global leader in 3D e-commerce for furniture, kitchen, bath, outdoor, office furniture, closets, and storage. The 3D Cloud platform is a B2B SaaS that allows retailers and brands to build endless applications from a single 3D product catalog. With 3D Cloud, 3D content is created, managed, and published to all 3D applications from a single source of truth for consistency across every touchpoint in the customer journey. Applications that run on 3D Cloud include 3D Product Configurators, 3D Sectional Configurator, 3D Room Planner with Design from Photo, 360 Product Spins, 3D Renders, WebAR, Augmented Reality retail apps, and Virtual Reality retail apps. 3D Cloud by Marxent has offices in Miamisburg, Ohio; St. Petersburg, Florida; London, England; and Auckland, New Zealand. Clients include a major U.S.-based home improvement retailer, Kingfisher plc, PlaceMakers, Mico, Kinsman, Macy's, Ashley, HNI Corporation, La-Z-Boy, Joybird, and John Lewis and Partners. The company is backed by Dan Gilbert and Arnie Bellini. For more information, visit 3dcloud.com . SOURCE 3D Cloud by Marxent NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The global mixed reality in education sector market size is estimated to increase by USD 250,820.83 thousand between 2022 and 2027. The market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 72.49%. The report also includes historic market data from 2017 to 2021. In 2017, the mixed reality in the education sector market was valued at USD 2,898.23 thousand. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of growth opportunities at regional levels, new product launches, the latest trends, and the post-pandemic recovery of the global market. For more insights on the historic market data from 2017 to 2021 - Request a sample report Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Mixed Reality in Education Sector Market 2023-2027 Mixed reality in education sector market Vendor Analysis Vendor Landscape - The global mixed reality in education sector market is fragmented, with the presence of several global as well as regional vendors. A few prominent vendors that offer mixed reality in education sector in the market are Acer Inc., Alchemy Immersive Ltd., Alphabet Inc., Avantis Systems Ltd., Eon Reality Inc., fotonVR, GIGXR Inc., HTC Corp., Lenovo Group Ltd., Magic Leap Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., Microsoft Corp., Nearpod Inc., Osterhout Design Group, RedboxVR Ltd., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sony Group Corp., Unimersiv, Veative Labs, VictoryXR Inc., Virtalis Holdings Ltd., and zSpace Inc. and others. The market is expecting rapid growth in the forecast period, with many new and established players entering the market, such as Avegant, Osterhout Design Group, and others. Various new entrants are entering the market due to the long-term visibility in the market growth. Factors such as the growing demand of the MR market in the medical education industry and the need for personalized learning through experiential learning are driving the mixed reality in education sector market. Vendor Offerings - Alchemy Immersive Ltd.: The company offers mixed reality education program that take students on virtual field trips. The company offers mixed reality education program that take students on virtual field trips. Alphabet Inc.: The company offers mixed reality such as Google Expeditions which provides experiential learning. The company offers mixed reality such as Google Expeditions which provides experiential learning. Avantis Systems Ltd.: The company offers mixed reality such as ClassVR. The company offers mixed reality such as ClassVR. Eon Reality Inc.: The company offers mixed reality such as EON Reality Education. The company offers mixed reality such as EON Reality Education. FotonVR: The company offers mixed reality which provides virtual tours, interactive learning activities, and VR based practicals. The company offers mixed reality which provides virtual tours, interactive learning activities, and VR based practicals. For Details on vendor and its offerings Buy the report! Mixed reality in education sector market - Segmentation Assessment Segment Overview Technavio has segmented the market based on product (Hardware and Software), and end-user (Higher education and K-12). The hardware segment will grow at a significant rate during the forecast period. The hardware includes head mounted displays (HMDs) that are equipped with sensors, motion-tracking devices, and haptic devices. It also includes all-in-one computer systems that can be used to create MR images and videos. MR enables 3D visual representations. Moreover, many vendors are providing affordable HMDs. These factors will drive the growth of this segment during the forecast period. Geography Overview By geography, the global mixed reality in education sector market is segmented into North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa. The report provides actionable insights and estimates the contribution of all regions to the growth of the global mixed reality in education sector market. North America is estimated to account for 34% of the growth of the global market during the forecast period. The region is an early adopter of modern technologies. Teachers and students in North America are more receptive to modern technologies when compared with other regions and are highly tech-savvy. These factors will drive the growth of the regional market during the forecast period. For insights on global, regional, and country-level parameters with growth opportunities from 2017 to 2027 Download a Sample Report Mixed reality in education sector market Market Dynamics Leading Drivers - The increase in the number of MR classrooms is driving the growth of the market. Many vendors are focusing on MR laboratories in the market. For instance, zSpace provides on-site MRI labs to many elementary schools. MR classrooms are student-centered and are increasingly being used in the medical education system. Thus, the increasing number of MR classrooms will fuel the global MR industry in the education sector during the forecast period. Key Trends - The increase in the number of technology partnerships is a key trend in the market. Many vendors have formed strategic partnerships to provide educational institutions with affordable and easy-to-use MR hardware and software solutions. For instance, Pearson is working with Microsoft to explore interoperability and the power of mixed reality in education. In addition, many colleges and schools are participating in programs designed to improve the use of MR in education. For example, the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock is a part of Pearson's mixed reality pilot project to use MR imaging to address challenges in nursing education. These factors will support the market's growth during the forecast period. Major challenges - An increase in the number of substitutes is challenging the mixed reality in education sector market growth. The concept of MR is gaining traction in the education sector. However, there are a lot of challenges associated with the growth of the market. Nowadays technologies such as AR and VR are also gaining popularity in the education sector. They are replacing MR technology and becoming mainstream worldwide. Currently, mobile VR technology is the most accessible technology in terms of price and installation. However, the experience is limited, as the level of student interaction is low and completed with fewer statements. These factors will hinder the growth of the segment during the forecast period. Drivers, trends, and challenges have an impact on market dynamics, which can impact businesses. Find more insights in a sample report! What are the key data covered in this mixed reality in education sector market report? CAGR of the market during the forecast period Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the mixed reality in education sector market between 2023 and 2027 Precise estimation of the mixed reality in education sector market size and its contribution to the market in focus on the parent market Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior Growth of the mixed reality in education sector market across North America , Europe , APAC, South America , and Middle East and Africa , , APAC, , and and A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about vendors Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of mixed reality in education sector market vendors Gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Related Reports: The artificial intelligence market in US is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 48.15% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by USD 374.3 million. This report extensively covers market segmentation by end-user (higher education and K-12) and education model (learner model, pedagogical model, and domain model). The drone technology market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 17.53% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by USD 499.16 million. This report extensively covers market segmentation by application (security surveillance and learning), end-user (higher education sector and K-12 sector), and geography (North America, APAC, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa). Mixed Reality In Education Sector Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 159 Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 72.49% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 250,820.83 thousand Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 60.28 Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution North America at 34% Key countries US, Canada, China, UK, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Acer Inc., Alchemy Immersive Ltd., Alphabet Inc., Avantis Systems Ltd., Eon Reality Inc., fotonVR, GIGXR Inc., HTC Corp., Lenovo Group Ltd., Magic Leap Inc., Meta Platforms Inc., Microsoft Corp., Nearpod Inc., Osterhout Design Group, RedboxVR Ltd., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sony Group Corp., Unimersiv, Veative Labs, VictoryXR Inc., Virtalis Holdings Ltd., and zSpace Inc. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, and Market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Browse for Technavio's consumer discretionary market reports Table of contents 1 Executive Summary 1.1 Market overview Exhibit 01: Executive Summary Chart on Market Overview Exhibit 02: Executive Summary Data Table on Market Overview Exhibit 03: Executive Summary Chart on Global Market Characteristics Exhibit 04: Executive Summary Chart on Market by Geography Exhibit 05: Executive Summary Chart on Market Segmentation by Product Exhibit 06: Executive Summary Chart on Market Segmentation by End-user Exhibit 07: Executive Summary Chart on Incremental Growth Exhibit 08: Executive Summary Data Table on Incremental Growth Exhibit 09: Executive Summary Chart on Vendor Market Positioning 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 10: Parent market Exhibit 11: Market Characteristics 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 12: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 13: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2022 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2022-2027 Exhibit 14: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 15: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 16: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 17: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 4 Historic Market Size 4.1 Global mixed reality in education sector market 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size Data Table on Global mixed reality in education sector market 2017 - 2021 ($ thousand) 4.2 Product Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size Product Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ thousand) 4.3 End-user Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size End-user Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ thousand) 4.4 Geography Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 21: Historic Market Size Geography Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ thousand) 4.5 Country Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 22: Historic Market Size Country Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ thousand) 5 Five Forces Analysis 5.1 Five forces summary Exhibit 23: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2022 and 2027 5.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 24: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers Impact of key factors 2022 and 2027 5.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 25: Bargaining power of suppliers Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027 5.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 26: Threat of new entrants Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027 5.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 27: Threat of substitutes Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027 5.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 28: Threat of rivalry Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027 5.7 Market condition Exhibit 29: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2022 and 2027 6 Market Segmentation by Product 6.1 Market segments Exhibit 30: Chart on Product - Market share 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 31: Data Table on Product - Market share 2022-2027 (%) 6.2 Comparison by Product Exhibit 32: Chart on Comparison by Product Exhibit 33: Data Table on Comparison by Product 6.3 Hardware - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 34: Chart on Hardware - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 35: Data Table on Hardware - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 36: Chart on Hardware - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 37: Data Table on Hardware - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 6.4 Software - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 38: Chart on Software - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 39: Data Table on Software - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 40: Chart on Software - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 41: Data Table on Software - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 6.5 Market opportunity by Product Exhibit 42: Market opportunity by Product ($ thousand) 7 Market Segmentation by End-user 7.1 Market segments Exhibit 43: Chart on End-user - Market share 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 44: Data Table on End-user - Market share 2022-2027 (%) 7.2 Comparison by End-user Exhibit 45: Chart on Comparison by End-user Exhibit 46: Data Table on Comparison by End-user 7.3 Higher education - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 47: Chart on Higher education - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 48: Data Table on Higher education - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 49: Chart on Higher education - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 50: Data Table on Higher education - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 7.4 K -12 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 -12 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 51: Chart on K-12 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 52: Data Table on K-12 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 53: Chart on K-12 - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 54: Data Table on K-12 - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 7.5 Market opportunity by End-user Exhibit 55: Market opportunity by End-user ($ thousand) 8 Customer Landscape 8.1 Customer landscape overview Exhibit 56: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria 9 Geographic Landscape 9.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 57: Chart on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 58: Data Table on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%) 9.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 59: Chart on Geographic comparison Exhibit 60: Data Table on Geographic comparison 9.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 61: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 62: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 63: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 64: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 65: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 66: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 67: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 68: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.5 APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 69: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 70: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 71: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 72: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 73: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 74: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 75: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 76: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 77: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 78: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 79: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) and - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 80: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.8 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 81: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 82: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 83: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 84: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.9 China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 85: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 86: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 87: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 88: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.10 UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 89: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 90: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 91: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 92: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.11 Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 93: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 94: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 95: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 96: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.12 Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 97: Chart on Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 98: Data Table on Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ thousand) Exhibit 99: Chart on Canada - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 100: Data Table on Canada - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.13 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 101: Market opportunity by geography ($ thousand) 10 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 10.1 Market drivers 10.2 Market challenges 10.3 Impact of drivers and challenges Exhibit 102: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2022 and 2027 10.4 Market trends 11 Vendor Landscape 11.1 Overview 11.2 Vendor landscape Exhibit 103: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation 11.3 Landscape disruption Exhibit 104: Overview on factors of disruption 11.4 Industry risks Exhibit 105: Impact of key risks on business 12 Vendor Analysis 12.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 106: Vendors covered 12.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 107: Matrix on vendor position and classification 12.3 Alchemy Immersive Ltd. Exhibit 108: Alchemy Immersive Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 109: Alchemy Immersive Ltd. - Product / Service Exhibit 110: Alchemy Immersive Ltd. - Key offerings 12.4 Alphabet Inc. Exhibit 111: Alphabet Inc. - Overview Exhibit 112: Alphabet Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 113: Alphabet Inc. - Key news Exhibit 114: Alphabet Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 115: Alphabet Inc. - Segment focus 12.5 Avantis Systems Ltd. Exhibit 116: Avantis Systems Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 117: Avantis Systems Ltd. - Product / Service Exhibit 118: Avantis Systems Ltd. - Key offerings 12.6 Eon Reality Inc. Exhibit 119: Eon Reality Inc. - Overview Exhibit 120: Eon Reality Inc. - Product / Service Exhibit 121: Eon Reality Inc. - Key offerings 12.7 fotonVR Exhibit 122: fotonVR - Overview Exhibit 123: fotonVR - Product / Service Exhibit 124: fotonVR - Key offerings 12.8 GIGXR Inc. Exhibit 125: GIGXR Inc. - Overview Exhibit 126: GIGXR Inc. - Product / Service Exhibit 127: GIGXR Inc. - Key offerings 12.9 HTC Corp. Exhibit 128: HTC Corp. - Overview Exhibit 129: HTC Corp. - Product / Service Exhibit 130: HTC Corp. - Key offerings 12.10 Lenovo Group Ltd. Exhibit 131: Lenovo Group Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 132: Lenovo Group Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 133: Lenovo Group Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 134: Lenovo Group Ltd. - Segment focus 12.11 Magic Leap Inc. Exhibit 135: Magic Leap Inc. - Overview Exhibit 136: Magic Leap Inc. - Product / Service Exhibit 137: Magic Leap Inc. - Key offerings 12.12 Meta Platforms Inc. Exhibit 138: Meta Platforms Inc. - Overview Exhibit 139: Meta Platforms Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 140: Meta Platforms Inc. - Key news Exhibit 141: Meta Platforms Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 142: Meta Platforms Inc. - Segment focus 12.13 Microsoft Corp. Exhibit 143: Microsoft Corp. - Overview Exhibit 144: Microsoft Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 145: Microsoft Corp. - Key news Exhibit 146: Microsoft Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 147: Microsoft Corp. - Segment focus 12.14 Osterhout Design Group Exhibit 148: Osterhout Design Group - Overview Exhibit 149: Osterhout Design Group - Product / Service Exhibit 150: Osterhout Design Group - Key offerings 12.15 Sony Group Corp. Exhibit 151: Sony Group Corp. - Overview Exhibit 152: Sony Group Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 153: Sony Group Corp. - Key news Exhibit 154: Sony Group Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 155: Sony Group Corp. - Segment focus 12.16 Virtalis Holdings Ltd. Exhibit 156: Virtalis Holdings Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 157: Virtalis Holdings Ltd. - Product / Service Exhibit 158: Virtalis Holdings Ltd. - Key offerings 12.17 zSpace Inc. Exhibit 159: zSpace Inc. - Overview Exhibit 160: zSpace Inc. - Product / Service Exhibit 161: zSpace Inc. - Key offerings 13 Appendix 13.1 Scope of the report 13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist Exhibit 162: Inclusions checklist Exhibit 163: Exclusions checklist 13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 164: Currency conversion rates for US$ 13.4 Research methodology Exhibit 165: Research methodology Exhibit 166: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 167: Information sources 13.5 List of abbreviations Exhibit 168: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio BUFFALO, N.Y., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE:MTB)("M&T") will participate in the RBC Capital Markets Global Financial Institutions Conference being held in New York City. Representatives of M&T are scheduled to deliver a presentation to investors and analysts on March 8, 2023 at 9:20 a.m. (ET). A link to the webcast will be available at https://ir.mtb.com/events-presentations. The webcast may contain material information as well as forward-looking information, and cautionary statements regarding such forward-looking information will be available on the webcast link. M&T is a financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. M&T's principal banking subsidiary, M&T Bank, provides banking products and services in 12 states across the eastern U.S. from Maine to Virginia and Washington, D.C. Trust-related services are provided in select markets in the U.S. and abroad by M&T's Wilmington Trust-affiliated companies and by M&T Bank. CONTACT: Brian Klock (716) 842-5138 SOURCE M&T Bank Corporation NANJING, China, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nanjing has seen a new development toward becoming a pioneer city of ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) investment. On February 21, more than 20 CEO-level executives of global fortune 500 enterprises and ESG industry experts from home and abroad gathered in Nanjing for the Nanjing Wuxiang ESG Sustainable Forum to offer their advice on sustainable investment. The forum on ESG investment aimed to offer a platform for stakeholders to share experiences of "dual carbon" development, exchange views on sustainable enterprise development, and further explore new investment paths. It also intended to bring together elite investors, broaden new investment opportunities, and promote Nanjing as a pioneer city of ESG investment. Practicing ESG investment philosophy and forming sustainable development advantages In recent years, as part of its drive to become a pioneer city of ESG investment, Nanjing has deepened its implementation of ESG investment concepts, practicing the path of sustainable development and creating a distinct ESG service brand. As China furthers its dual carbon development, Nanjing has already laid the groundwork for ESG investment, ushering in a sustainable development model, attracting green industry projects, bringing in valuable resources, and unleashing clear investment potential. According to an official from Nanjing Municipal Investment Promotion Bureau, Nanjing has set up the first dual carbon-industry venture capital organization in the Yangtze River Delta region - the Yangtze River Delta Carbon Neutral Industry Innovation Investment Alliance. Furthermore, Nanjing has been selected as one of the first "waste-free cities" in the 14th Five-Year Plan period. In recent years, Nanjing has performed exceptionally at attracting green industries. Sinopec Carbon Industry Technology Co., Ltd., China's first carbon-industry chain technology company, has successfully set up operations in the city. Ford Motor Research and Engineering (Nanjing) Co., Ltd. has also been upgraded to a Ford Product Development Center. A 100-billion-level emerging industry cluster led by LG Energy Solution has also been gradually built, with enterprises in the cluster already operating. China Huaneng Group is building the "China Energy Valley" in Nanjing, which is expected to gather over 100 leading energy companies, forming an industry cluster worth over RMB 100 billion and driving the energy transformation. It is also understood that High Tide Capital has set up a carbon neutrality fund totaling RMB 4 billion in Nanjing. It will provide a deep well of resources, with non-petrochemical energy, energy storage technology, new energy vehicles, and new technologies for energy conservation, emission reduction, and decarbonization as key targets for investment. Interpreting ESG Industry Reports as Nanjing's competitiveness indicators released The Nanjing Wuxiang ESG Sustainable Forum drew more than 20 executives from global fortune 500 enterprises, including Ford Motor, LG Energy Solution, SAS, Bosch China, and Gaw Capital, to discuss green development in Nanjing. At the Forum, MSCI, a global provider of support tools and services for investment decision-making, gave a breakdown of the 2023 ESG and Climate Trends Outlook Report. MSCI's Head of ESG Research for Asia Pacific, Xiaoshu Wang, said the report has drawn on research from MSCI ESG analysts worldwide. It covers 32 core themes concerning ESG and climate investment trends, explaining how current global macroeconomic and climate risks will affect ESG and climate investments in 2023. The growing range of new ESG and climate issues will increase the consideration of financial risk for companies and institutional investors (e.g., pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, and asset managers). Jones Lang LaSalle summarized and released the "Top 10 ESG Core Competitiveness Indicators for Investing in Nanjing", which demonstrate Nanjing's wealth of advantages in the ESG investment field. The Indicators point out that Nanjing's ESG development resources are at a leading level nationwide. In particular, in areas such as urban environmental quality, natural biodiversity, green finance, science and education innovation, talent cultivation, healthcare protection, smart city construction, government efficiency, resource interoperability, and low-carbon industry clusters, Nanjing stands out, being able to provide strong support for enterprises looking to improve their ESG ratings. The forum also provided an exchange and cooperation platform for global fortune 500 enterprises, cutting-edge industry organizations, government departments, and scientific research institutions, aiding key enterprises in carrying out green development resource integration in Nanjing and continuing to transform the city's appeal among leading enterprises into fresh investment. Launching an ESG Sustainable Investment Initiative together and continuing to build a pioneer city At the forum, the organizer joined hands with leading companies and institutions in the industry that adhere to the concept of dual carbon development to issue the "Nanjing Wuxiang 'Practice ESG Sustainable Investment'" initiative, the first green investment initiative initiated by a local government in China. The initiative proposes conducting a comprehensive study in line with international development trends, highlighting Nanjing's characteristics based on its strengths in ESG development, exploring the city's investment advantages, attracting major ESG projects, and amassing high-quality resources for green and sustainable development. Conscious of ESG investment concepts, initiators will focus on the win-win goal of economic development and environmental protection, adhere to the path of sustainable development, and accelerate the green transformation of the industrial structure for sustainable regional development. Yajin Wang, Professor of Marketing at China Europe International Business School and Research Area Director of ESG, gave a keynote speech on "The Status and Development of ESG". In the subsequent round table discussion session, representatives of the Top 500 entrepreneurs all gave keynote speeches in support of Nanjing building a pioneering city for ESG investment. The Nanjing Wuxiang ESG Sustainable Investment Forum was sponsored by the Nanjing Municipal Investment Promotion Bureau and Lishui District People's Government, co-organized by the Lishui District Investment Promotion Bureau and Naked Group, co-sponsored by the Yangtze River Delta Carbon Neutral Industry Innovation and Investment Alliance and Sina, with active participation from the Nanjing Municipal Ecological Environment Bureau, Municipal Local Financial Supervision Bureau, and other government departments. The forum will be held regularly in the future as a brand event, enabling the city to continue gathering development resources for ESG investment. SOURCE Nanjing Municipal Investment Promotion Bureau Supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari under the aegis of the Buhari-Yemi Osinbajo Nationwide Supporters Group have asked Nigerians for forgiveness for "blindly supporting" the All Progressives Congress and installing an administration which has brought so much anguish. Members of the group announced their collective decision to ditch the ruling party to join the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and work for the success of the Atiku-Okowa Presidential ticket. National Coordinator of the Support Group, Hon Danjuma Fachiwe Gwoza announced this decision along with other group members at a press briefing in Abuja, yesterday. He said, "The members of the President Muhammadu Buhari/ Yemi Osinbajo Nationwide Supporters Group wish to officially decamp and transmute her operations to the Atiku/Okowa Nationwide Supporters Group under the directive of PDP Presidential Campaign Council cil (PCC). "Our group is a formidable conglomerate of political sagacious like-minded individuals made of different supporters' group, such as: Artisan Youth Organisations. However, our membership strength now stands at 9,313,846. "We contributed immensely to the votes recorded by INEC, which saw the emergence of the Buhari/Osinbajo victory at polls in 2015 and 2019 Presidential elections, respectively. "The members of this conglomerate sincerely apologise to Nigerian, for our blind support given to the APC led bankrupt government that have failed to deliver on her campaign promise to the electorates. This colossal failure has caused the Nation unbearable quagmire. "We hereby use this golden opportunity to appreciate the purposeful and profound leadership privilege accorded the group by Distinguished Senator Abubakar Mahdi and Deputy Director General, Technology and system(PCC). "High Chief Raymond Dokpesi in his admonishing statement, encouraged the group to work assiduously to end this clueless era of the APC led administration in Nigeria." It added: "Therefore, the group has embarked on a continuous train-the-trainers' Voters' Education Program, primarily designed to enhance the electoral fortune of the Atiku/Okowa campaign mercenary. "Our members are strategically located within the thirty-six State of the Federation, including the FCT, seven hundred and seventy-four Local Government Areas and the electoral Wards spread across Nigeria. "The said mercenary had been given requisite electioneering training that would guaranty the desired win-win result for Atiku/Okowa in the forthcoming 2023 Presidential election. "The group's mandate also is targeted at 93,454,008 prospective voting population in Nigeria." Meanwhile, workers under the aegis of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) have also endorsed Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, for Saturday's presidential election. National President of NULGE, Ambali Olatunji, announced the endorsement on behalf of the workers at the end of 2023 NULGE Week, Delta State Chapter, yesterday, in Asaba. Olatunji, who was represented by the Vice President, South-south, Owoanam Akpanwa, was quoted in a statement, to have said the workers were encouraged to support Atiku-Okowa ticket because of their positive disposition toward local government autonomy in the country. They also endorsed the PDP Governorship Candidate and Speaker of Delta State House of Assembly, Chief Sheriff Oborevwori, saying that the speaker had all qualities to succeed Okowa as governor. He disclosed that NULGE, at its National Executive Council meeting resolved that workers in local government system should vote for only candidates that supported local government autonomy. "Delta State is one of the few states that supported local government autonomy in the country and we have directed local government workers all over the country to vote for only candidates that support our quest for local government autonomy. "It is on this note that I announce here that all local government workers have been directed to vote for the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, as well as the Speaker of the State House of Assembly who is the gubernatorial candidate of the PDP for their support for local government autonomy," he stated. State NULGE Chairman, Ezeko Okwudi said the NULGE Day was a yearly celebration to appraise the performance of the union. He paid glowing tributes to Okowa for his assistance to local government workers including resolving the issues of salary and promotion arrears with regular grants to local government councils. In their goodwill messages, State NLC Chairman, Goodluck Ofobruku, TUC Chairman Martin Bolum and his NUT counterpart, Titus Okotie, all expressed happiness with the Governor for his contributions to workers' welfare and pledged the support of workers in the state for the presidential and National Assembly elections on Saturday. To appreciate the governor for all he did for local government workers in the state, NULGE presented him with an Excellent Service Award as "Best Workers' Friendly Governor in Nigeria". Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Responding, Okowa lauded labour leaders in the state for cooperating with him during the challenging times of his administration. He said the Atiku-Okowa ticket would devolve more powers and resources to the states and local governments, adding that revenue allocation formula would be amended to give more funds to the states and local governments to provide more services to the people. On pension arrears, Okowa said his administration had paid over N70 billion of N78 billion owed retirees for past services, and that his administration also spent over N1billion in servicing other pension obligations. "Please support us as Saturday comes by not just casting your votes but helping to mobilise more votes from your friends and families to ensure our victory," he added. In a related development, the Concerned Nigerian Youths for Positive Change has also endorsed the Atiku-Okowa Presidential ticket and the Governorship candidate of the party Chief Sheriff Oborevwori. Convener of the group Comrade Eric Odu said the group chose the Atiku-Okowa ticket of the PDP for their robust programme as envisioned in Atiku's policy document "My Covenant With Nigerians." WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Following is a statement from National Press Club President Eileen O'Reilly and National Press Club Journalism President Gil Klein on the shooting of two Spectrum 13 (Orlando) journalists today. "We were horrified to hear the news that two journalists for Spectrum News 13 were shot while reporting on the scene of a third (earlier) shooting of a young girl in Pine Hills, Fla. tonight. One of the journalists has died and the other is injured. Our hearts go out to the families of the journalists and to their colleagues in the Spectrum 13 newsroom. Police have detained a 19-year old suspect. They believe all three shootings are connected. This is another tragic reminder that journalism is a dangerous business and that criminals and those that are the subject of reporting can become violent toward reporters who are doing their jobs. We urge all reporters in the field to take extra precaution and redouble efforts to work safely. We call on those who use hateful rhetoric against journalists online to carefully consider the consequences of their actions. These journalists, whose names have not been released by Spectrum 13, join Las Vegas journalist Jeff German as among those U.S. journalists who have been brutally attacked for their work in just the past year." Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. With 3,000 members representing nearly every major journalism organization, the Club is a strong advocate for press freedom worldwide. The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged, global citizenry through an independent and free press and equips journalists with the skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. The NPCJI is the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club. Contact: Bill McCarren, 202-662-7534 for the National Press Club SOURCE National Press Club KI Awards celebrate the back-of-house innovations that improve operations and generate growth through advances in automation, sustainability, efficiency, space-saving and more CHICAGO, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, the foodservice industry's premier event, today announced the 20 recipients of the 2023 Kitchen Innovations (KI) Awards. Each year, the KI Awards program recognizes the year's most forward-thinking and cutting-edge kitchen equipment and product innovations that meaningfully improve foodservice operations. The National Restaurant Association Show brings together more restaurant and hospitality buyers and equipment manufacturers than any other industry event and will be held May 20-23, 2023, at McCormick Place in Chicago. "We are thrilled to recognize this year's recipients of the 2023 Kitchen Innovations Award," said Tom Cindric, President of Winsight Exhibitions. "Each year we see innovative products that revolutionize kitchen and foodservice operations, and this year is no different. These equipment advancements address many of the challenges impacting operations todayincluding workforce shortages and labor costsand create a new generation of kitchens that improve operations and safety through increased efficiency, versatility and productivity to help boost the bottom line." The KI Awards program has earned a reputation for defining the gold standard of foodservice equipment innovations. This year's recipients reflect the trends and topics most important to foodservice operators today, while generating industry growth through a focus on automation, efficiency, safety improvements, sustainability, and more. The KI Award recipients were selected by an independent panel of judges comprised of industry leaders and internationally recognized food facility consultants, multi-unit executives and design experts. The 2023 Kitchen Innovations Award recipients are : Aniai aGrill (Alpha Grill) Aniai Intelligent French Fry Robotic Solution Atosa USA, Inc. Costa Smart Cafe Marlow 1.2 The Coca-Cola Company ConvoSense Convotherm LXnR Hobart ITW Food Equipment Group Taylor Hydra Rinse with Configurable Pro Controller Hydra Rinse ImmersaFlex Immersion Systems Inc. Hybrid Kold Pak Dual Temp Saute Station Kwick Cool FryBot Lab2Fab Merrychef conneX with Automated Panini Press Merrychef SafetySuite PathSpot Technologies, Inc. PreciTaste PreciTaste SmartVide XL and 30-gallon Precision Rethermalizer Tank SAMMIC Elevate Autonomous Retail Merchandiser Structural Concepts UltraRinse T&S Brass and Bronze Works PLEXOR M2 TurboChef Technologies, LLC SPEED-X UNOX INC. SerVue - Touchless Refrigerated Slide-In Vollrath Company The Ellipse Blending System Waring Commercial Products Robojo - Powered by MyAppCafe' Zink Full descriptions of the 2023 Kitchen Innovations Award recipients can be found here. All KI Award recipients receive additional industry-wide exposure throughout the Show channels and their media partners. This prestigious endorsement opens doors to new business opportunities and recognition from operators, media and dealers. This year, KI Awardees will again be featured in a dedicated showroom in the South Hall at McCormick Place and highlighted in special programming at the Show. For more information and to register, visit nationalrestaurantshow.com and connect with the Show online on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok. The National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show is owned and operated by Winsight LLC in partnership with the National Restaurant Association. About Winsight LLC Winsight LLC is a business-to-business information, event and market intelligence company serving the restaurant and noncommercial foodservice, convenience and petroleum retailing and grocery industries. Winsight provides research and analytics, branding solutions, face-to-face opportunities, lead generation initiatives, and content marketing services through products including subscription data products, reports, research tools, research programs, fully custom studies, conferences, custom marketing services, meetings, print, digital trade media and tradeshows, including the National Restaurant Association Show. CONTACT: Julie Franks Email: [email protected] SOURCE Winsight LLC ATLANTA, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) issued the following statement on Thursday in response to the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) preliminary report on the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment. Statement from Norfolk Southern Since the incident, Norfolk Southern has focused on supporting the Village of East Palestine and the NTSB throughout their investigation. NTSB investigators have worked tirelessly, and we appreciate everything they are doing. We share the NTSB Chair's frustration about the significant misinformation about the incident. Norfolk Southern will continue to support the NTSB's investigation. Their preliminary report indicates: The rail crew operated the train within the company's rules. The rail crew operated the train below the track speed limit. The wayside heat detectors were operating as designed. Once the rail crew was alerted by the wayside detector, they immediately began to stop the train. The company's wayside detectors on its network trigger an alarm at a temperature threshold that is among the lowest in the rail industry. At Norfolk Southern, our highest priority is the safety of our people and the communities and customers we serve. Under the supervision of the Federal Railroad Administration, the company has inspected all wayside detectors in the area of the incident and found they were operating as designed. Out of an abundance of caution, Norfolk Southern is now inspecting all of the nearly 1,000 wayside heat detectors on its system on top of the regular inspection of the detectors every 30 days. We and the rail industry need to learn as much as we can from this event. Norfolk Southern will develop practices and invest in technologies that could help prevent an incident like this in the future. We will also work with the owners of the rail cars on the integrity and safety of the equipment we use. The speculation and misinformation about this incident have been extremely upsetting to the citizens of East Palestine. Norfolk Southern remains committed to the people of the community and will continue its work to help them thrive. Already, we have made significant progress in cleaning the site, engaging the community, and providing financial support for families and small businesses, all to help East Palestine. About Norfolk Southern Since 1827, Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) and its predecessor companies have moved the goods and materials that drive the U.S. economy. Today, it operates a customer-centric and operations-driven freight transportation network. Committed to furthering sustainability, Norfolk Southern helps its customers avoid 15 million tons of yearly carbon emissions by shipping via rail. Its dedicated team members deliver more than 7 million carloads annually, from agriculture to consumer goods, and is the largest rail shipper of auto products and metals in North America. Norfolk Southern also has the most extensive intermodal network in the eastern U.S., serving a majority of the country's population and manufacturing base, with connections to every major container port on the Atlantic coast as well as the Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes. Learn more by visiting www.NorfolkSouthern.com. SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation SAN ANTONIO, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- OCI Solar Power, headquartered in San Antonio, signed an agreement with Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc. ("Mitsui USA") yesterday memorializing their intent to collaborate on utility-scale solar energy projects in Texas. Under the agreement, OCI Solar Power will develop the projects and offer them to Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui Tokyo") for investment. OCI Solar Power will develop the projects and offer them to Mitsui & Co., Ltd. for investment. Tweet this From left to right: Eiji Yanagawa, President & CEO, Mitsui & Co. Energy Marketing and Services (USA) Inc.; Charles Kim, President & CEO, OCI Solar Power; Yosuke Matsumoto, SVP & DOO, Mitsui; WooHyun Lee, Vice Chairman, OCI Company Ltd. "With its parent company in Japan, Mitsui Tokyo is one of the largest general trading companies in the world that actively seeks to balance its energy resource portfolio. We are extremely excited to team up with this global leader to bring more solar power to the Lone Star State. When big companies go green and invest in cleaner, safer, more sustainable energy, everyone wins," said Charles Kim, President & CEO, OCI Solar Power. Signing the agreement on behalf of the companies were: Eiji Yanagawa , President & CEO, Mitsui & Co. Energy Marketing and Services ( USA ), Inc. , President & CEO, Mitsui & Co. Energy Marketing and Services ( ), Inc. Yosuke Matsumoto , SVP & DOO, Mitsui USA , SVP & DOO, Mitsui WooHyun Lee , Vice Chairman, OCI Company Ltd. ( South Korea ) , Vice Chairman, OCI Company Ltd. ( ) Charles Kim , President & CEO, OCI Solar Power Earlier this month, OCI Solar Power announced it has originated more than 3 gigawatts of solar projects in operation, under construction, and in development across Texas. It also has operating solar projects in Georgia and New Jersey. About OCI Solar Power LLC OCI Solar Power is a leader in the solar power industry. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, OCI Solar Power develops, constructs, finances, owns, and operates solar photovoltaic (PV) facilities, specializing in utility-scale and distributed generation solar projects throughout the U.S. OCI Solar Power is a wholly-owned subsidiary of OCI Company, Ltd., a publically-traded company in South Korea that provides solutions to customers worldwide through business portfolios ranging from basic chemical products to solar PV generation and urban development. For more information, visit ocisolarpower.com. About Mitsui & Co. (USA), Inc. With a long history in the United States, Mitsui USA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui Tokyo, one of the most diversified and comprehensive trading, investment, and service enterprises in Japan. Mitsui Tokyo pursues "360 business innovation" that ranges from product sales, worldwide logistics and financing, through to the development of major international infrastructure and other projects. For more information about Mitsui USA please visit www.mitsui.com/us. For More Information: Leslie Garza-Wright, 210-612-4978 SOURCE OCI Solar Power The companies plan to dedicate significant L- and S-Band spectrum to accelerate the commercialization of global world-class connectivity for mobile satellite applications TYSONS, Va. and RESTON, Va., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Omnispace and Ligado Networks today announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to combine their respective licensed mobile satellite services (MSS) spectrum to enable the world's most capable space-based, direct-to-device (D2D) solutions for global voice, text and data connectivity. Utilizing large blocks of satellite spectrum in the L- and S-Bands, this agreement sets the stage for the development of multi-band, multi-orbit satellite offerings to enable ubiquitous mobile connectivity for more than 5 billion mobile subscribers in areas where terrestrial cellular coverage does not exist today. Omnispace and Ligado Networks Join Forces to Create Largest Portfolio of Licensed, Satellite Spectrum for Global Direct-to-Device Voice, Text and Data Connectivity The companies' collaboration would use portions of Ligado's 40 MHz of L-band satellite spectrum in the U.S. and Canada and Omnispace's 60 MHz of S-band satellite spectrum (3GPP 5G bands n255 and n256). The combination would bring together for the first time the largest block of satellite spectrum dedicated to meeting a global market need for text, voice and data capability. The satellite spectrum assembled by the companies is licensed, 3GPP-standardized for non-terrestrial networks (NTN) and already in compliance with existing international ITU and U.S. regulations. Additionally, the collaboration anticipates optimizing multi-orbit geostationary (GEO) and non-geostationary (NGSO) networks to provide seamless, global coverage for D2D use cases across key markets, including consumer smartphone, automotive and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity. "In many ways, this spectrum combination is the last missing piece to unlocking the full promise and potential of direct-to-device connectivity and creates the necessary foundation for an exceptional voice, text and data experience," said Ram Viswanathan, President and CEO for Omnispace. "Together with Ligado, we will bring the spectrum and technology to deliver a game-changing solution directly from space to a variety of devices that could benefit billions of mobile subscribers worldwide." "We are pleased to partner with Omnispace in this initiative that has the potential to accelerate enhanced 5G non-terrestrial networks globally with coverage and bandwidth to support superior direct-to-device satellite connectivity," said Doug Smith, President and CEO for Ligado Networks. "This an important step forward for Ligado's satellite business. The addition of S-band solutions to our growing L-band portfolio of satellite services brings together an unrivaled amount of licensed satellite spectrum across multiple orbits. Together we are able to establish a premier, one-stop shop global footprint for ecosystem partners and global MNOs to offer premium services for billions of mobile subscribers worldwide." The combination of L- and S-band spectrum is a unique opportunity to expand the ecosystem of D2D applications and technologies, enhance user experience and extend service globally. For consumer smartphones, the offering will have enough bandwidth to go beyond emergency satellite texting by offering ubiquitous roaming mobile coverage with two-way voice, messaging and data capabilities. Automotive partners can leverage the service to provide customers a suite of safety, telematics and intelligent connectivity solutions that are always-on and resilient. The expansion of the ecosystem, driven by this unique combination of satellite spectrum bands, will enable greater accessibility for mission-critical IoT connectivity across industries such as agriculture, government, energy production and distribution, as well as supply chain management. About Omnispace, LLC Headquartered in the Washington D.C. area, and founded by veteran telecommunications and satellite industry executives, Omnispace is redefining mobile connectivity for the 21st century. By leveraging 5G technologies, the company is combining the global footprint of a non-geostationary satellite constellation with the mobile networks of the world's leading telecom companies to bring an interoperable "one network" connectivity to users and IoT devices anywhere on the globe. Learn more at: Omnispace.com and follow on LinkedIn or Twitter @omnispace. About Ligado Networks Building on 25 years of experience providing crucial satellite connectivity, our mission is to bring versatile, mobile connectivity to the businesses, people and places that need it most. Our satellite and terrestrial solutions, combined with powerful, lower mid-band spectrum, serve to supplement and broaden mobile coverage across the United States and Canada. Our innovative satellite and terrestrial network deployment plans will help pave the way for future innovations and economic growth across America. For further information Omnispace, LLC Media Contact: [email protected] Ligado Networks Media Contact: [email protected] SOURCE Omnispace The expanded role includes identifying strategic opportunities and in-depth consultation with customers and industry analysts on future innovations. MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- OneShield, a leading provider of enterprise cloud and SaaS-based solutions for P&C Insurers and MGAs, is laying the groundwork for continued strategic growth and innovation with the promotion of Liza Petrie to Chief Product Officer (CPO). "Liza has demonstrated acumen as a leader of people and processes and is a force multiplier across our growing company." Tweet this OneShield Promotes Liza Petrie to Chief Product Officer - "This is an exciting opportunity to engage more closely with our customers to understand how OneShields products can continue to help advance their strategic growth plans." "After just 10 months with the company, Liza has demonstrated an acute understanding of our customers' needs in her previous role as SVP of Product Strategy," says OneShield's Chief Executive Officer Cameron Parker. "Her appointment to CPO signals our continuing emphasis on expanding OneShield's product management team and capabilities." Liza originally joined OneShield from Relativity, a highly successful global B2B e-discovery and compliance software company, where she managed global engineering teams focused on scaling products and accelerating growth. Before Relativity, she worked on the vaccine development team at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and was a strategy consultant at Bain & Company. "Liza has demonstrated her acumen as a leader of both people and processes and is a force multiplier across our growing company," adds CEO Parker. "In addition to her current responsibilities, we've asked Liza to take on several strategically critical investments and assume a public-facing role on behalf of OneShield with industry analysts and our customers." "I am excited to take on this new role," says Petrie. "Working closely over the past year with customers and our product and engineering teams, I have seen the great potential OneShield has to continue its product leadership and innovation in the insurance sector." "This is an exciting opportunity to engage even more closely with both the marketplace and our customers to understand how OneShield's products can continue to help them advance their strategic growth plans during this challenging and fast-moving period in the insurance industry's evolution," adds Petrie. For more information or to schedule a media interview, please contact: Janice Merkley - VP of Marketing OneShield Software T: 774.348.1016 | E: [email protected] About OneShield OneShield provides business solutions for P&C Insurers and MGAs of all sizes. OneShield's cloud-based and SaaS platforms include enterprise-level policy management, billing, claims, rating, relationship management, product configuration, business intelligence, and smart analytics. Designed specifically for personal, commercial, and specialty insurance, our solutions support over 80 lines of business. OneShield's clients, some of the world's leading insurers, benefit from optimized workflows, pre-built content, seamless upgrades, collaborative implementations, and pricing models designed to lower the total cost of ownership. Our global footprint includes corporate headquarters in Marlborough, MA, with additional offices throughout India. For more information, visit www.OneShield.com SOURCE OneShield Software NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE: OUT) announced today that Matthew Siegel, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, is scheduled to present at Deutsche Bank's 31st Annual Media, Internet & Telecom Conference on Monday, February 27, 2023 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time. A live and replay audio webcast will be available on the investor relations section of the Company's website at www.OUTFRONT.com. About OUTFRONT Media Inc. OUTFRONT leverages the power of technology, location, and creativity to connect brands with consumers outside of their homes through one of the largest and most diverse sets of billboard, transit, and mobile assets in North America. Through its technology platform, OUTFRONT will fundamentally change the ways advertisers engage audiences on-the-go. Contacts: Investors Media Stephan Bisson Courtney Richards Investor Relations Communications & Event Manager (212) 297-6573 (646) 876-9404 [email protected] [email protected] SOURCE OUTFRONT Media Inc. WOODBRIDGE, Conn., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- P2 Science Inc., a leading green chemistry company, announced today the close of a funding round led by Lewis & Clark AgriFood. In the round, Lewis & Clark was joined by existing investors, including Heritage Group Ventures, Chanel, Elm Street Ventures, and SaferMade. Prior investors in P2 also include BASF Venture Capital, Connecticut Innovations, Advantage Capital, and others. P2 Science announced today the close of a funding round led by Lewis & Clark AgriFood. Tweet this P2s patented Citropol is a range of superior-performing silicone- and petrochemical alternatives. The proceeds from this round will primarily be used to expand sales and production of Citropol, P2's flagship product platform. Through a proprietary process called Process Intensified Continuous Etherification ("PICE"), P2 transforms renewable forest-derived feedstocks into high-performance ingredients for use in a variety of personal care, cosmetics, and beauty products. Citropol exceeds the performance of traditional emollients, including silicones, and is easy to formulate while safe for human health and the environment. In 2022, P2 won five industry awards, including the Innovation Best Breakthrough Supplier Award from BeautyMatter, one of the most trusted voices in beauty. In addition, in January 2023, Unilever's haircare brand, Living Proof, launched three new products built on P2's ingredients. "We've built a new patented, market-leading ingredient platform, that allows customers to build incredibly high-performance products which also satisfy consumer demands, regulatory requirements, and internal sustainability goals," said Neil Burns, CEO of P2 Science. "There is nothing in the market today like Citropol. We now have 22 patented Citropol products that are used in every product category across personal care and beauty. This new round of financing will allow us to supercharge production and accelerate our global sales pipeline." In addition to Citropol, P2 has developed other proprietary products and chemistries for use across industries, such as flavor and fragrance, specialty materials, and more. A process that has also garnered particular interest is P2's Process Intensified Ozonolysis ("PIOz"), which has a much smaller footprint, is more efficient, and is more scalable than traditional ozonolysis. In May 2020, P2 announced a Joint Development Agreement with Archer Daniels Midland to commercialize renewable plant-based products across high-value markets, such as nylons, polyesters, lubricants, and agrochemicals, utilizing PIOz. "P2 is one of the very few successful sustainable chemistry platform companies," said Chuck Warta, Operating Partner with Lewis & Clark AgriFood. "Consumers and companies across industries are looking for highly functional, new, sustainable alternatives. Many in the personal care and beauty space are now turning to P2 for innovation. We are excited to partner with the P2 team and existing investors to grow a world-leading green chemistry company, deeply rooted in technology, with a portfolio of sustainable, high-value, and high-performance products." As part of this financing, Chuck Warta has joined P2's Board of Directors. Stifel acted as an advisor and placement agent to P2 Science for this transaction. About P2 Science P2 Science is a green chemistry company co-founded by Professor Paul Anastas, head of the Yale Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering. P2 has developed and patented technologies for converting renewable feedstocks into high-value specialty products. Investors in P2 include Lewis and Clark AgriFood, Heritage Group Ventures, BASF Venture Capital, and Chanel. The company started its first manufacturing plant in September 2018, producing renewable aroma chemicals and cosmetic ingredients. For more information, visit www.p2science.com . About Lewis & Clark AgriFood Lewis & Clark AgriFood is a St. Louis-based group of experienced investment professionals passionate about investing in companies at the forefront of food and agriculture innovation. We look for companies that deliver benefits to the stakeholders in the food and agriculture sector, from the producer, through the supply chain, all the way to the consumer. We invest in companies that are at the growth stage of their evolution, poised to scale their technology to a national or global scale. As founders, operators, investors, and scientists, our seasoned investment team brings a breadth of quality sector experience to every investment. For more information, visit www.lewisandclarkagrifood.com . CONTACT: Jessie Chapel [email protected] SOURCE Lewis & Clark Agrifood First Nationwide Emotional Support System for Parents, Caregivers, Children & Youth Founded in 1969 Honors Parents with its Trademarked Month and Continues to Support the Lives of Parents and Families through Free Programs LOS ANGELES, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Parents Anonymous founded National Parent Leadership Month, celebrated throughout the month of February, to honor and celebrate parents in their caregiving role to shape the children of our future. Parents Anonymous Celebrates Empowerment Journey of Diverse Families During National Parent Leadership Month "Parents are the heroes we are here to celebrate as evident by the challenges of the pandemic and beyond because the future depends on parents," says Dr. Lisa Pion-Berlin, ACHT, ACSW and President and CEO at Parents Anonymous, Inc. "At Parents Anonymous we are working in Shared Leadership with parents, caregivers, children and youth up to the age of 25 to support change and leadership to build resilient families and communities." Since 1969, Evidence-based Parents Anonymous has been supporting, encouraging, and upholding generations of parent leaders. In 1993, the first National Parent Leadership Team (NPLT) and in 1996 the first California Parent Leadership Team (CPLT) were created with the mission to improve and change programs and policies to help diverse parents, children and youth to create positive outcomes for families. Parent Leaders are composed of tenacious mothers, fathers, and grandparents with lived expertise who work diligently to change Federal and California policy to support the resiliency and future of all families across America. These Parent Leaders serve on numerous national, federal, state, county and local commissions, advisory boards, and task forces in Shared Leadership to enhance the social, emotional, community and spiritual wellbeing of all families across the nation. The role of parents over the past few years has presented more challenges than ever before, creating a mental health crisis among parents and children alike. The pandemic coupled with the national news of mass shootings, extreme weather catastrophes, the economic turbulence, and various daily life happenings, have really pushed families and parents to the edge, yet fortunately there is help readily available during these and other challenging times. For local Californians, Parents Anonymous offers free, weekly support group programs online held by trained counselors, as well as its California Parent & Youth Helpline for parents, children and youth up 25 years old needing immediate emotional support. Those in need can call, text, or communicate through an online chat from 8 a.m. 8 p.m. PST, 7 days a week. The helpline can be accessed through caparentyouthhelpline.org or by calling 855-427-2736. For parents needing vital emotional support outside of California, Parents Anonymous has its National Parent Helpline. This multilingual and culturally responsive national helpline is staffed by professional counselors who offer support for any and all parental figures in over 240+ languages through the use of translating services. Parents looking for immediate support can call 855-4A PARENT. "Parents Anonymous ensures improved parenting, and resiliency and children and youth flourish significantly as a result of attending weekly online Parents Anonymous groups," said Dr. Elizabeth Harris, Independent Evaluator and Researcher. Parents are often blamed and shamed when they themselves need help or they need help for their children. The wellbeing of the family is tied to the wellbeing of all members and parents are responsible for ensuring their children receive help that is appropriate. Parents build on their strengths, address underlying emotional issues to create long-term positive change for themselves and their family through Parents Anonymous Groups. To learn more about Parents Anonymous please visit https://parentsanonymous.org/. About Parents Anonymous Since 1969, Parents Anonymous Inc. has created and disseminated internationally various Evidence-Based Programs and Initiatives that build on the strengths of diverse parents, children, and youth. Also, Parents Anonymous started and partners with thousands of entities to celebrate National Parent Leadership Month every February. With the support of the U.S. Congress, the National Parent Helpline began in 1969 as the first and only nationwide emotional support system for Parents, Caregivers, Children & Youth. The California Parent and Youth Helpline and online Parents Anonymous Weekly Groups are the most recent addition to the Parents Anonymous Programs. Learn more at RaisingFuture.org. Media Contact: Taylor Murray Email: [email protected] Phone: 281-692-8700 SOURCE Parents Anonymous CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Prairie State College (PSC) Library is one of 50 U.S. libraries selected to host Americans and the Holocaust, a traveling exhibition from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum that examines the motives, pressures, and fears that shaped Americans' responses to Nazism, war and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. The touring library exhibition based on the special exhibition of the same name at the Museum in Washington, D.C. will travel to U.S. libraries from 2020 to 2023. PSC is one of only two locations in Illinois to host this important and powerful exhibition. Tweet this "We are thrilled to be selected from a pool of more than 250, and to be one of only two locations in Illinois to host this important and powerful exhibition," said PSC Outreach and Engagement Librarian/Assistant Professor Valerie Moore. "We are partnering with our local schools to host field trips with hopes that the community will also come out to explore and learn. The exhibition will challenge people to ask 'what would I have done?' and 'what will I do?" Americans and the Holocaust will be displayed at the PSC Library, just 20 minutes south of Chicago, along with a series of related special events, from March 22 to April 27. Based on extensive new research of that period, Americans and the Holocaust addresses important themes in American history, exploring the many factors including the Great Depression, isolationism, xenophobia, racism, and antisemitism that influenced decisions made by the U.S. government, the news media, organizations and individuals as they responded to Nazism. This exhibition will challenge the commonly held assumptions that Americans knew little and did nothing about the Nazi persecution and murder of Jews as the Holocaust unfolded. Drawing on a remarkable collection of primary sources from the 1930s and '40s, the exhibition focuses on the stories of individuals and groups of Americans who took action in response to Nazism. It will challenge visitors to consider the responsibilities and obstacles faced by individuals from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to ordinary Americans who made difficult choices, sought to effect change, and, in a few cases, took significant risks to help victims of Nazism even as rescue never became a government priority. In addition to the traveling exhibition on loan, the Prairie State College Library received a cash grant to support public programs. The grant also covered one library staff member's attendance at an orientation workshop at the Museum. For more information about Americans and the Holocaust and related programming at the Prairie State College Library, visit library.prairiestate.edu. To learn more about the exhibition, visit ushmm.org/americans-ala. Americans and the Holocaust: A Traveling Exhibition for Libraries is an educational initiative of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association. Americans and the Holocaust exhibit is made possible by the generous support of lead sponsors Jeannie & Jonathan Lavine. Additional major funding was provided by the Bildners Joan & Allen z"1; Elisa Spungen & Rob, Nancy & Jim; and Jane and Daniel Och. The Museum's exhibitions are also supported by the Lester Robbins and Sheila Johnson Robbins Traveling and Special Exhibitions Fund, established in 1990. Additional programming support was made possible, in part, by American Library Association, National Council of Jewish Women South Cook County and Prairie State College Foundation. About Prairie State College Library The mission of the Prairie State College Library is to foster lifelong learning by becoming the library of choice for students, faculty, staff, and community members. We will achieve this by meeting our diverse population's needs with innovative policies, exemplary services, and a responsive environmentboth physical and digitalwhere members of our community can explore and discover their world, while developing their identities and fostering their creativity. About Prairie State College Prairie State College is the first Illinois community college to guarantee all credits would transfer to other Illinois colleges and universities, an assurance that has grown through the Illinois Articulation Initiative. We hold true to our vision to offer rigorous academic programs, meet the needs of the local workforce, cultivate the values of sustainability, and demonstrate an awareness of its responsibilities in a global society. We strive to provide opportunities for our students to start near, and go far. For more information, visit prairiestate.edu and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. About the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum inspires leaders and citizens worldwide to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity. The Museum's far-reaching educational programs and global impact are made possible by generous donors. For more information, visit ushmm.org. About the American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the ALA has been the trusted voice for academic, public, school, government, and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library's role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit ala.org. SOURCE Prairie State College The two foreign firms attempted to manipulate Nigeria's presidential election to help then-president Goodluck Jonathan win re-election. In 2015, two foreign firms attempted to manipulate Nigeria's presidential election to help then-president Goodluck Jonathan win re-election. They failed. Eight years later, their plots to discredit the candidacy of now President Muhammadu Buhari in favour of Mr Jonathan, would be exposed by The Guardian of London. Mr Buhari was contesting under the All Progressives Congress (APC), while Mr Jonathan wanted re-election as Nigeria's president under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The business of election manipulation In the early days of 2015, Team Jorge, a hacking and disinformation firm led by an Isreali cyber attacker, reached an agreement with a Britain political persuasion consultancy organisation, Cambridge Analytica. The two firms then began a secret mission to hack into Nigeria's electioneering processes to ensure Mr Jonathan retained the presidential power. The brain behind Team Jorge, the Guardian revealed, is Tel Hanan, who boasted to have worked covertly on more than 33 "presidential-level" election campaigns on behalf of clients. Mr Hannan's outfit and Cambridge Analytica would work "separately but in parallel" in Nigeria for the same client and purpose. The secretive collaboration of the two firms was described by investigators as a clandestine mission "to manipulate Africa's largest democracy". Hacking Nigeria's electioneering system The firms swung into action by hacking into Nigeria's electioneering system, targeting the APC's strategic moves. A series of emails exchanged between Team Jorge -- obtained by investigators -- revealed how the election manipulators worked tirelessly to amass electoral fortunes for Mr Jonathan. The Guardian described their clandestine moves as the "dark arts of politics". They first found their way to film some secret meetings of Mr Buhari's presidential campaign team, using a mole, to gain access to rare information they could use in favour of Mr Jonathan's ruling party. The election machinery firms claimed they knew about the postponement of the 2015 elections -- by one week -- beforehand and admitted that worked in their favour. Not knowing they were being filmed, the election hackers told Guardian's undercover reporters posing as potential clients, in slideshows, how they provided election-influencing services in Nigeria. One such undercover footage, for instance, showed Mr Hanan, the Team Jorge leader, demonstrating how they hacked Gmail and Telegram accounts "to gain intelligence that could be used against a political adversary". Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. In another slideshow titled, "Wreaking havoc during African election day", Mr Hannan displayed how, on election day, the covert team unleashed cyber attacks on leaders in Mr Buhari's APC to set them off balance. Lai Muhammad, then APC's spokesman, was one such target. On election day, his phone suddenly stopped working; he could neither receive nor place a call to anyone. "We were at the party's situation room in the morning of the presidential election, only to discover that his phone line had been blocked," the Guardian quoted a source. "He could neither receive nor make calls, and that was very serious because he was the live wire of the opposition." The intruding election manipulators were also reported to have produced a series of YouTube video content, research works and stories to support Jonathan's campaign. Despite the foreign firms' cyber intervention, however, Mr Buhari defeated Mr Jonathan to become Nigeria's president. Their secret mission to manipulate Nigeria's democracy failed. DUBLIN, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Private Mobile Radio Market - Forecasts from 2022 to 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The private mobile radio market was valued at US$18.561 billion in 2020. Private mobile radio refers to the two-way radio-based communication equipment that can offer uninterrupted and seamless communication to the on-field personnel working across different sectors ranging from the military to emergency medical services. Continuous communications are considered to be of utmost importance for the personnel to stay connected every time to make critical life-changing decisions instantly without any loss or breakage in their communication. The market for private mobile radios is projected to show notable growth during the next five years, primarily on account of the burgeoning requirements for efficient critical communications systems. Decent growth in the number of personnel working across the different sectors is also considered a key factor in driving the demand for these radios in the coming years. Significant growth in the number of criminal activities, terrorism, and natural disasters has further inclined various companies to adopt highly advanced wireless communication systems, which is also providing an impetus for the market to grow in the near future. Furthermore, the changes in the professional business environment have further led to the adoption of efficient wireless radio systems as the need for operational efficiency is increasing, especially across the travel and hospitality, and construction sectors. Also, the presence of standards and regulations regarding the use of mobile radios is one of the prime factors for its adoption throughout the globe. For instance, Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA) is a digital mobile radio standard for using mobile radios across various organizations operating in public safety, utilities, government, and military sectors, among others. The recent advent of COVID-19 is anticipated to propel the growth opportunities for the market to surge during the short run owing to the high demand for these types of radios across the emergency medical services and the healthcare sector. However, the halt in the activities across various sectors, such as communications and manufacturing, is considered to inhibit the demand to some extent and hamper the market growth in the coming six to eight months. Rising military expenditure is expected to drive the demand Significant growth in military expenditure around the globe in both developed and developing economies of the world also plays a significant role in driving market growth in the coming years. The continuously evolving defense industry around the globe, due to rising investments in the latest equipment and machines to strengthen the military base, requires the continuous development of the various components to have the latest technology, which is expected to drive the demand for these radios during the forecast period. For instance, according to the World Bank Group, global military expenditure increased to US$1.782 trillion by 2018 from US$1.491 trillion in 2008. Also, in developed economies, the growing government focus on strengthening the defence sector has led to an increase in the adoption of the latest and advanced equipment, which is also considered a key factor bolstering market growth in the near future. The growing number of construction projects Growth in the number of construction projects in developed and underdeveloped economies worldwide is also anticipated to drive the demand for private radios. The growing number of personnel working on these projects, along with the growing focus of the employers on the safety of workers, is expected to significantly drive the adoption of these radios across the construction sector throughout the globe and especially in the developing economies of the world. The growing construction sector across the globe, on account of rising disposable income and rising government initiatives to boom the residential construction and infrastructural development owing to the improving economic conditions, are expected to be the key drivers to amplify the demand for these radios for the construction industry and add up to the growth of the market during the coming years. For instance, in the United States, the total value of construction, including the public and private residential and non-residential sectors, has increased from USD$ 788,332 million in 2011 to USD$1,303,469 million by 2019 (Source: US Department of Commerce). The private mobile radio market has been segmented on the basis of technology, application, and geography. By type, the market has been segmented into digital and analogue. Based on application, the segmentation has been done on the basis of travel and hospitality, military and defence, law enforcement, construction, utilities, and others. By geography, the segmentation has been done into North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the Asia Pacific. Key Developments: In February 2022 , TPG Telecom and Nokia teamed up to develop and offer innovative mobile private network innovations for the energy and mining sectors. As part of the partnership, the former signed an MoU with Nokia. Through this collaboration, the duo will develop flexible technological solutions while encouraging operational and digital technology transformation in the aforementioned sectors by integrating mobile radio 5G and 4G technologies, transmission, managed services, IoT, industrial services, spectrum, and core network. Segmentation By Technology Analog Digital By Application Travel and Hospitality Military and Defense Law enforcement Construction Utilities By Geography North America USA Canada Mexico South America Brazil Argentina Europe Germany France United Kingdom Spain Middle East and Africa and Saudi Arabia Israel Asia Pacific China Japan South Korea India Indonesia Thailand Companies Mentioned Motorola Solutions, Inc. Sepura Limited HARRIS CORPORATION JVCKENWOOD Corporation Thales Group Hytera Communications Corporation The Anritsu Corporation Airbus SE Midland Radio Corporation For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/8hls7g-mobile?w=5 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets With these new promotions, the company is strongly positioned to further advance the development of its best-in-class software solutions and services, add even greater customer value, and drive long-term dealership success. SAN DIEGO, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Procede Software, a leading heavy-duty commercial vehicle dealer management system (DMS) and solutions provider, today announced it has promoted key members of its leadership team to support long-term growth, drive customer value, and advance its products and services. Eric Fortin has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Product; Lindsay Kramer has been promoted to Vice President, Education & Training Services; and Nabyl Alvarez has been promoted to Vice President, People & Culture. "Our practice is to hire the right people, find where they can bring the greatest value and have the greatest impact, and promote from within. With this set of promotions, we are extremely well positioned to advance our software, educate our customers so they can use it effectively, and put the right people in place so we can continue to grow." Said CEO Larry Kettler. "Eric, Lindsay, and Nabyl have already made significant contributions to the company and to our customers. I am excited to see them build on that momentum!" Fortin, who previously served as Vice President of Product, joined the company in 2004 as an applications systems consultant, and has also held process consultant and professional services roles. In his new position as Senior Vice President of Product, he will continue to lead the company's product strategy and oversee the Excede DMS, additional solutions, and the integration roadmaps. "It's an honor to work with the talented, passionate people at Procede to build smart, elegant solutions for our customers that solve their most critical business needs and drive their companies forward," said Fortin. Kramer, who previously served as Director of Education & Training, joined the company in 2012 as an application systems consultant, before moving into the training department. In her role as Vice President of Training & Education, she is responsible for the end-to-end learning journey for customers and employees "Providing education and training solutions to our customers is a pivotal way we ensure our customers can maximize their use of Excede to run their businesses effectively," said Kramer. "I am delighted to lead the Education & Training team as we work together to deliver the right content to the right users, at the right time and place." Alvarez, who previously served as Director of Human Resources, joined the company in 2011 as an administrative assistant before moving into operations and human resources roles. As Vice President of People & Culture, she partners across the business to design and implement strategies that attract, engage, and develop employees, and build a high-performance culture. "I firmly believe in servant leadership," said Alvarez. "I look forward to continuing to build relationships across the company and support the team as they grow in their careers, so we can collectively better serve our customers and the industry as a whole." About Procede Software Since 2001, Procede Software has been a leading provider of enterprise-level Dealer Management Solutions (DMS) for the heavy-duty truck and ancillary markets. Serving dealer locations throughout the United States and Canada, the industry's leading dealerships trust Excede to run their business because of its full functionality across all dealership departments, high reliability, and strong integration with their OEM providers. Procede Software is a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner: Excede, its powerful DMS, leverages the strength of Microsoft SQL technology to provide advanced Windows and browser-based applications with real-time information. Media Contact Jodi Wright Procede Software [email protected] SOURCE Procede Software Remilk Receives Regulatory Approval from SFA, Enabling Sales of its Animal-Free Protein in Singapore, and "No Questions Letter" from FDA, following the Highest Level of Scrutiny for the Safety of its Animal-Free Milk Protein TEL AVIV, Israel, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Remilk, a global leader in the development and production of animal-free dairy, announced today it has received both regulatory approval from the Singapore Food Authority (SFA) and a "no questions letter" from the FDA. Singapore, a global leader in alternative protein development and investment, is also one of the world's leaders in adoption of alt-protein finished products. SFA's approval opens the Singapore market to Remilk, enabling the company to sell its proprietary animal-free milk protein in the country. Another milestone has been reached by the company as it received FDA's "No Questions Letter". The letter indicates the FDA accepted an expert panel's unanimous conclusion that Remilk's animal-free whey protein can be safely used in food products under its GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) standards. In 2022, the company declared its Self-Affirmed GRAS status in compliance with the FDA's requirements, allowing it to begin sales of its protein in the US. The letter received serves as further acknowledgement of Remilk's animal-free whey protein's safety, and positions the company at the forefront of its industry. Remilk's animal-free protein is identical to cow-derived whey protein but produced without a single animal cell via precision fermentation. Unlike plant-based dairy alternatives, these proteins are bio-equivalent to their traditional counterparts and enable the production of dairy that is indistinguishable in taste and function from traditional dairy but without lactose, cholesterol, and hormones, and with a fraction of the environmental impact. "Both SFA's approval and the No Questions Letter we received from the FDA serve as further proof that our animal-free milk protein is bioidentical to its cow-derived counterpart and safe for consumption", said Aviv Wolff, Remilk's Co-Founder and CEO. "Humans have consumed milk proteins as a staple source of high-quality nutrition for millennia. Remilk's animal-free protein maintains these great benefits, enabling us to reinvent dairy that is kinder, and significantly more sustainable. We take pride in these regulatory approvals and look forward to a continued global focus on unlocking the future of food". About Remilk Remilk is a global leader in the development of animal-free dairy. The company was founded by CEO Aviv Wolff, an entrepreneur behind several business and social initiatives, and CTO Ori Cohavi, PhD in Biochemistry, who has worked in R&D at a variety of biotech firms. They founded Remilk driven by a shared dedication to reinvent the dairy industry, by removing cows from the milk-making process. Remilk produces dairy-identical milk proteins through precision fermentation and has developed a unique and patented approach to scalable manufacturing which requires a fraction of Earth's resources compared to traditional dairy, while dramatically increasing efficiency in production, and, for the first time in history, eliminates the need for dairy cows in industrial-scale dairy production without compromising on taste, functionality, or nutritional values. Remilk is real dairy, no cows. Media contact: Barbara Marks [email protected] SOURCE Remilk Malwarebytes State of Malware report warns against ransomware gang behind one-third of all attacks and the trojan horse of apps lurking in IT environments SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Malwarebytes, a global leader in real-time cyber protection, announced the release of its annual cybersecurity trend and threat intelligence report: 2023 State of Malware. The report shares key cybersecurity developments of 2022 and explains why organizations that protect against the five most dangerous cyberthreat archetypes today will be better secured this year. "In today's rapid fire threat landscape, under-resourced organizations often struggle with where to focus their time, attention, and resources," said Mark Stockley, Cybersecurity Evangelist, Malwarebytes. "This report acts as a guide to those organizations by focusing their limited time on a small number of critical threats across Windows, Mac, and Android. If organizations can understand what it takes to prevent these threats, they are well placed to stop a huge number of other attacks as well." Key findings from the report include: LockBit: The Most Dominant Ransomware LockBit rose to dominance in 2022 and accounted for about one-third of all known ransomware as-a-service (RaaS) attacks, more than three times as many known attacks as the next most active ransomware, ALPHV. LockBit rose to dominance in 2022 and accounted for about one-third of all known ransomware as-a-service (RaaS) attacks, more than three times as many known attacks as the next most active ransomware, ALPHV. SocGholish: Simple but Effective Using websites to spread, rather than attachments, software vulnerabilities, or brute force attacks, the threat comes disguised as a critical browser update. Malwarebytes found that SocGholish performs eligibility checks to ensure it is only triggered by legitimate targets and using lures and malware meant to attract individual targets. Using websites to spread, rather than attachments, software vulnerabilities, or brute force attacks, the threat comes disguised as a critical browser update. Malwarebytes found that SocGholish performs eligibility checks to ensure it is only triggered by legitimate targets and using lures and malware meant to attract individual targets. Android Droppers: Businesses' Biggest Threat Droppers, trojan horses that disguise themselves as innocent apps, can be used to deliver pernicious threats like HiddenAds that bombard users with aggressive ads, banking trojans like ShareBot, and spy malware to harvest passwords, geo location, record audio, and even take pictures. In 2022, droppers accounted for 14% of detections on Android. Droppers, trojan horses that disguise themselves as innocent apps, can be used to deliver pernicious threats like HiddenAds that bombard users with aggressive ads, banking trojans like ShareBot, and spy malware to harvest passwords, geo location, record audio, and even take pictures. In 2022, droppers accounted for 14% of detections on Android. Genio: The Mac Menace Malwarebytes tracks tens of millions of detection events for Mac adware and potentially unwanted programs (PUPs), but the worst is OSX.Genio. In 2022, it was the second most common detection on Macs, appearing on 10 percent of all machines that triggered a detection event. Learn more about the report and how businesses can protect themselves: LinkedIn Live on February 23 at 11am PT Join Cybersecurity Evangelist, Mark Stockley , as he breaks down the five most dangerous threats facing businesses this year including LockBit and SocGholish. Stockley will dissect how the threats are delivered, where they spread, what they destroy, and the best practices to protect against them. Join Cybersecurity Evangelist, , as he breaks down the five most dangerous threats facing businesses this year including LockBit and SocGholish. Stockley will dissect how the threats are delivered, where they spread, what they destroy, and the best practices to protect against them. ThreatDown Webinar on March 15 Jerome Segura, Senior Director of Threat Intelligence, and Cybersecurity Evangelist, Mark Stockley , provide a breakdown of the top five cyberthreat archetypes to stop this year and share guidance on how to catch the emerging, hard-to-detect attacks that don't rely on malware. To read more about the latest threats and cyber protection strategies, visit our newsroom, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and Twitter. About Malwarebytes Malwarebytes believes that when people and organizations are free from threats, they are free to thrive. Founded in 2008, Malwarebytes CEO Marcin Kleczynski had one mission: to rid the world of malware. Today, Malwarebytes' award-winning endpoint protection, privacy and threat prevention solutions and its world-class team of threat researchers protect millions of individuals and thousands of businesses across the globe. The effectiveness and ease-of-use of Malwarebytes solutions are consistently recognized by independent third parties including MITRE Engenuity, MRG Effitas, AVLAB, AV-TEST (consumer and business), Gartner Peer Insights, G2 Crowd and CNET. The company is headquartered in California with offices in Europe and Asia. For more information and career opportunities, visit https://www.malwarebytes.com. Malwarebytes Media Contact: Ashley Stewart, Director, Public & Analyst Relations [email protected] SOURCE Malwarebytes MADRID, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Solar inverters and storage solutions provider SAJ proudly hosted a signing ceremony with Spanish and Portuguese PV distributors at Genera 2023, the International Energy and Environment Fair, on February 21, 2023. The signing ceremony was part of SAJ's promotion of its HS2 All-In-One Residential Energy Storage Systems (RESS). Genera 2023 was the perfect setting for the introduction of the HS2 series, specifically tailored to the needs of European consumers. The cooperation signing further demonstrated the trust local distributors and consumers have for SAJ in a highly competitive market and acted as a key step in SAJ's expansion plans for the southern European region. This year, Genera presents the most up-to-date breakthroughs in renewable energy and energy efficiency and selects 16 projects among 256 exhibitors. As part of the Innovation Gallery, a selection of projects with clear technologically innovative value, SAJ showcased its HS2 All-In-One Residential Energy Storage Systems (RESS). Providing safer, more reliable, and highly efficient solutions for end users, the HS2 series epitomizes cutting-edge technology to maximize users' energy independence for living the green energy lifestyle more easily. The HS2 series' aesthetic, compact design comes with an inverter, a control system, and battery modules and can deliver a power range of 3-10kW with single-phase and three-phase models, boasting a maximum PV input current of 16A. The HS2 series is also marked by ease of use. The installation time will be effectively saved with modular and pre-wiring designs, and it can be deployed as a new energy storage installation or retrofitted to an existing on-grid system. The eSAJ Home & Service App further allows home-owners efficient monitoring and operating, for system maintenance without hassle. For more information on the HS2 series and other SAJ products and solutions, please visit: www.saj-electric.com . About SAJ With 18 years of dedication and professionalism, SAJ has established itself as a pioneer in the renewable energy industry. SAJ is committed to providing reliable products and services in Residential & Commercial Smart Energy Solutions, Portable Power Stations, and Industrial Automation sectors. Its holistic product portfolio accompanies consumers on the full journey of energy storage, consumption, and management. SAJ's products are welcomed in over 80 countries and regions, help the customers worldwide realize energy self-sufficient and sustainable living. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SAJsmartenergy/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/saj-electric/ CONTACT: SAJ Branding & Marketing [email protected] SOURCE SAJ API security leader recognized for excellence in application security PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Salt Security , the leading API security company, today announced that CRN , a brand of The Channel Company , has named the company to its annual Security 100 list. Recognizing leading IT channel security leaders, the Security 100 honors trailblazing companies who provide innovative technology to solution providers. Salt Security has been recognized as a leader in the Web, Email, and Application Security category. Utilizing cloud-scale big data and ML/AI, the Salt Security API Protection Platform provides companies with continuous and automated visibility and deep context over time, the capabilities required to protect critical digital applications and services from increasing API security threats. Salt Security today simultaneously announced worldwide channel growth, expanded regional coverage, and the Essential Partner Certification Program. (See press release here .) The Salt platform captures the depth of context that organizations need to identify and protect APIs with continuous discovery of APIs and exposed sensitive data, attack detection and prevention, as well as advanced shift-left capabilities. By delivering context-based insights across the entire API ecosystem, Salt enables users to detect the reconnaissance activity of bad actors and block them before they can successfully reach their objective. "With all the unexpected changes organizations have faced since the beginning of COVID-19, security still remains the most critical factor in business today. This year's Security 100 list acknowledges industry-leading companies that deliver pioneering security offerings to the IT channel that can withstand a wide range of threats. These companies are laying the groundwork for the most advanced cybersecurity solutions," said Blaine Raddon, CEO of The Channel Company. "At Salt Security, we have always been a 100% channel-focused organization, dedicated to working with our partners to ensure their customers are provided with the most comprehensive API protection required to mitigate today's threats," said Michael Nicosia, COO and co-founder, Salt Security. "We are honored to receive this accolade from CRN, as we continue to evolve our partner strategy to offer the best support, incentives, and value from the industry's leading API security platform." The 2023 Security 100 honorees were selected by esteemed CRN editors for their outstanding channel-focused security offerings across five categories: Identity Management and Data Protection; Endpoint and Managed Security; Network Security; Web, Email and Application Security; and Security Operations, Risk and Threat Intelligence. The list serves as a comprehensive guide for solution providers, helping them to identify the top security vendors to team with as they build innovative solutions for their customers. The 2023 Security 100 list will be featured in the February 2023 issue of CRN and online at www.crn.com/security100 . About Salt Security Salt Security protects the APIs that form the core of every modern application. Its patented API Protection Platform is the only API security solution that combines the power of cloud-scale big data and time-tested ML/AI to detect and prevent API attacks. By correlating activities across millions of APIs and users over time, Salt delivers deep context with real-time analysis and continuous insights for API discovery, attack prevention, and shift-left practices. Deployed quickly and seamlessly integrated within existing systems, the Salt platform gives customers immediate value and protection, so they can innovate with confidence and accelerate their digital transformation initiatives. About The Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequalled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelcompany.com . Press Contacts Salt Security Dex Polizzi Lumina Communications for Salt Security [email protected] SOURCE Salt Security WASHINGTON, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SCORE, mentors to America's small businesses and a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration, announced today that SCORE Broward (Fla.) is the 2023 national winner of Chapter of the Year (COTY). SCORE Broward was selected from nearly 230 chapters nationwide for outstanding service to local small businesses, resulting in the creation of 419 new businesses and 1,773 new jobs in one year across Florida's Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood and Broward County communities. SCORE Broward was selected from nearly 230 chapters nationwide for outstanding service to local small businesses. Tweet this SCORE Broward (Fla.) Awarded 2023 National Chapter of the Year Through its dedicated network of 75 volunteers, the chapter offers free and confidential mentoring, business training and resources to anyone looking to start, grow or exit a small business. Last year alone, SCORE Broward: Mentored 1,433 unique small business clients Hosted 281 workshops/webinars (a 28% increase over the previous year) on critical small business issues including preparing a business plan, funding and raising capital, sales strategies, marketing, ecommerce and more Served 19,039 small business clients through mentoring and workshops (a 14% increase over the previous year) Added to its corps of experienced entrepreneurs, corporate managers and executives from a diverse set of industries and specialties available to counsel small business clients As a result of SCORE Broward's performance and culture, its dedicated volunteer corps boasts a low turnover rate. "Fifteen percent of the chapter's volunteers have 10-20 years of service, which is remarkable. At the same time, the chapter regularly attracts and welcomes new volunteers," noted SCORE Southeast Regional Vice President Catherine Walton. "The SCORE Broward team shares this award with our local network of municipal, government, and other nonprofit community partners. Their partnerships positioned the chapter's volunteers to deliver our mentoring and business education services to a very large number of entrepreneurs and small business owners," said SCORE Broward Chairman George Gremse. Small business owners and the local economy have benefited from the efforts of SCORE Broward's work to support entrepreneurs. Audree Berg, co-owner of Auggie's Pet Supplies in Fort Lauderdale, reached out to SCORE Broward to turn her idea for an all-natural pet food shop into a business. She began taking local workshops and worked with a mentor to develop a marketing plan and understand cash flow. "Each assignment propelled me on to the next level," she said, noting that her SCORE counselors "listened to our specific challenges." Today her business is thriving and has expanded its offerings online and added a pet spa, training and events. "When you're doing something all your life, the unpredictable is predictable," said Berg. "Now we're sharpening our saw every day." Visit SCORE Broward online here. About SCORE: Since its launch nearly 60 years ago, SCORE has helped more than 11 million entrepreneurs start or grow a business. SCORE's 10,000 volunteers provide free mentoring, workshops and educational services nationwide. Visit SCORE at www.score.org . Follow @SCOREMentors on Facebook , Twitter and LinkedIn . Funded [in part] through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. CONTACT: SCORE 800-925-8458 [email protected] Visit to be connected with expert small business interview sources and news updates. SOURCE SCORE ESG Investing and Cryptocurrency litigation Among Major 2022 Global Class Action Trends NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 2022 has been one of the busiest years for the global securities class action litigation industry, with settlement recovery opportunities of more than $7.4 billion and 21% more claim filing opportunities, according to the fourth annual Broadridge Global Class Actions Report released by global fintech leader Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: BR). Total settlement value for Global Securities Class Actions increased by 142%. And the number of opportunities to recover assets in securities and financial antitrust class action settlements also increased in 2022, according to the report. "By most metrics, securities settlement activity in 2022 drove one of the busiest years we've ever seen, led by more than ten mega-settlements exceeding $100 million, including the second largest securities settlement outside North America," said Steve Cirami, Broadridge Global Class Actions leader. Current Trends in Global Class Action Continued focus on ESG , as regulators worldwide look to crack down on ESG greenwashing; coupled with more event-driven securities litigation, the upward trend of ESG-related class actions will remain strong , as regulators worldwide look to crack down on ESG greenwashing; coupled with more event-driven securities litigation, the upward trend of ESG-related class actions will remain strong Growth in opt-in jurisdictions and the rise in collective investor actions jurisdictions and the rise in collective investor actions SPAC and cryptocurrency -related securities litigations continue trending upwards in 2022. However, this trend is not expected to carry through in 2023 given that SPACs have significantly fallen out of vogue, with a nearly 90% decrease in the number of SPAC IPOs from 2021 to 2022 -related securities litigations continue trending upwards in 2022. However, this trend is not expected to carry through in 2023 given that SPACs have significantly fallen out of vogue, with a nearly 90% decrease in the number of SPAC IPOs from 2021 to 2022 Broker-Dealers shift in service , as broker-dealers continue to seek ways to better serve their customers many are providing claim-filing and asset recovery services in lieu of simply notifying retail customers , as broker-dealers continue to seek ways to better serve their customers many are providing claim-filing and asset recovery services in lieu of simply notifying retail customers New federal forum provisions driving more IPO cases to federal court driving more IPO cases to federal court Concern over short-seller claw back exposure in Delaware merger cases Most Complex Cases of 2022 In addition to identifying key trends, the fourth annual Broadridge Class Action Report provides an in-depth analysis of the 10 most complex class actions involving financial instruments in 2022. These cases were selected from more than 160 new claim filing deadlines across the globe and include: Steinhoff Global Settlement 1,400,000,000 ( the Netherlands & South Africa ) SIBOR/SOR Antitrust Litigation $155,458,000 (U.S.) Teva Securities Litigation $420,000,000 (U.S.) Precious Metals Antitrust Litigations $110,000,000 (Combined) (U.S.) Navient Securities Litigation $35,000,000 (U.S.) Airbus SE $5,000,000 (U.S.); Pending Litigation ( the Netherlands ) Luckin Coffee Inc. Securities Litigation $175,000,000 (U.S.) CannTrust Global Settlement $83,000,000 CAD ( Canada & U.S.) Crown Resorts Securities Litigation $125,000,000 AUD ( Australia ) Twitter Securities Litigation $809,500,000 (U.S.) To read the full report, please visit:https://www.broadridge.com/_assets/pdf/broadridge_classaction2022_class-action-annual-report.pdf Report Methodology The fourth annual Broadridge Class Action Report looks at cases globally that involve publicly traded securities or other financial instruments where a class or collective action mechanism was used to recoup lost funds. The report identified more than 160 global cases involving securities and/or financial products with a claim filing deadline in 2022. The report provides a comprehensive summary of the most complex cases in 2022 and highlights several other cases deemed to be honorable mentions. This study is for informational purposes only and does not, and is not intended to, constitute investment, legal or any other advice of any kind. Broadridge Class Action Services Broadridge's team of dedicated class action experts include attorneys, client advocates, class action auditors, data analysts, research professionals and client service representatives, all of whom on average have 15-20 years of class action experience. Over 900 organizations rely on Broadridge's global class action services because of our worldwide reach, industry expertise and world-class standards. Our experts analyze and match all investment positions to identify recovery opportunities for each security relevant to every case. Broadridge's proprietary technology and processesthe backbone of which is our Advocacy Modelenable you to reduce risk, improve the client experience, protect customer data, and increase filing participation. Given our extensive knowledge of claims administration, global securities litigation and antitrust litigation, we know the importance of accuracy, timeliness and transparency. Our proactive approach and unique system of analysis and reconciliation ensures we do everything possible to maximize your recovery. About Broadridge Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE: BR), a global Fintech leader with more than $5 billion in revenues, provides the critical infrastructure that powers investing, corporate governance and communications to enable better financial lives. We deliver technology-driven solutions that drive business transformation for banks, broker-dealers, asset and wealth managers and public companies. Broadridge's infrastructure serves as a global communications hub enabling corporate governance by linking thousands of public companies and mutual funds to tens of millions of individual and institutional investors around the world. Our technology and operations platforms underpin the daily trading of more than U.S. $9 trillion of equities, fixed income and other securities globally. A certified Great Place to Work, Broadridge is part of the S&P 500 Index, employing over 14,000 associates in 21 countries. For more information about us and what we can do for you, please visit www.broadridge.com/globalclassactions. Media Contact: Tatjana Kulkarni +1 203-285-0766 [email protected] SOURCE Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Allianz SE ("Allianz" or the "Company") (OTCMKTS: ALIZY). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether Allianz and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On February 17, 2022, during market hours, Allianz announced that it had booked a provision of 3.7 billion with regards to "the pending court and governmental proceedings in the U.S. in relation to the Structured Alpha Funds". Then, on May 17, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a press release announcing that it had charged "Allianz Global Investors U.S. LLC (AGI US) and three former portfolio managers with a massive fraudulent scheme that concealed the immense downside risks of a complex options trading strategy they called 'Structured Alpha'". That same day, the U.S. Department of Justice also issued a press release providing further information about the alleged fraudulent scheme. On this news, Allianz's American Depositary Receipt ("ADR") fell $0.98 per ADR, or 3.8%, to close at $24.33 per ADR on May 18, 2022. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com. CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. ("Fidelity National" or the "Company") (NYSE: FIS). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether Fidelity National and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] In 2019, Fidelity National acquired the payment-processing company Worldpay Inc. ("Worldpay") for $48 billion. Then, on February 13, 2023, Fidelity National booked a $17.6 billion write-down on its Worldpay business and announced plans to spin off the unit. On this news, Fidelity National's stock price fell $9.43 per share, or 12.5%, to close at $66.00 on February 13, 2023. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com. CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP German Development Minister Svenja Schulze (centre, in white T-shirt) visited a market where the mountains of secondhand clothes that arrive in Ghana from abroad cause difficulties for local manufacturers. Germany needs skilled labor and considers Africa a place from which to recruit. But that requires reforming its migration law to make it fair and favorable for Germany, as well as for migrants and their homelands. The German government is expected to pass reforms to its migration law to make it easier for skilled African workers to migrate to Germany, according to the country's Labor Minister Hubertus Heil. Heil told DW that the migration reforms in the new anticipated law will be designed for a modern working system in Germany. He added that he expected the law to pass this year, because Germany needed to "secure the labor force in Germany" and ensure "skilled migration for the future of our country." It has always been difficult for African workers wishing to migrate to Germany to do so but, according to Heil, the new reforms would tackle several issues -- including bureaucracy. "The question [of] how to recognize qualification, the question [of] how fasten visa is very key to this," he explained. "And so Germany is a modern migration country and if we organize it very good, it's also a triple-win situation, as I mentioned, for countries of origin, for us as an immigration country and for the labor migrants themselves." The average age of Germany's population is 49 years old -- compared to Ghana's average of 19, something Heil said showed that there are a lot of young people who would look for jobs in other countries. "Germany needs skilled migration in the future because of our demographic structure," he said, adding that Germany must organize this in a fair manner. Germany must not 'weaken labor force of other countries' But Johann Ivanov, the director of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Ghana, told DW that Germany must not get carried away in its quest to tackle its skilled labor deficit by putting African countries at a disadvantage. He warned that cooperation in that regard should only be pursued for mutual benefits and not to exploit other countries. "I believe only if both countries can benefit from it then this makes sense," he said. "A lot of people who work in Ghana as experts for instance in the medical sector, they rather have to stay in Ghana because there is a lack of qualified health workers in the country. Of course, there is a lack of health workers in Germany, but this is not how the relation should look like." He wants Germany to also find innovative ways of dealing with its labor crisis and not resort to weakening the labor force of other countries. "Germany has to improve [its] problems by other means," he said. Heil and his colleague, Development Minister Svenja Schulze, are visiting Ghana this week as part of a tour that will end in neighboring Ivory Coast. The two ministers also witnessed the opening of a Ghanaian-European center for jobs, migration and development in Accra. It was initially started by Germany but now has the backing of the EU. Schulze was pleased that an initiative started by Germany to encourage irregular Ghanaian migrants to repatriate has now been given support from the European Union. The advisory center which began operating in 2017 has helped over 5,000 Ghanaian migrants to return to their homeland. "A lot of dreams can be [brought] to reality [at this center]," she said while expressing excitement at the level of progress made in Germany's effort to streamline its migration policy. Decent working conditions Schulze and Heil visited some textile factories to interact with workers there and make a case for decent working conditions. Discussions with Ghanaian officials focused on adopting dignified working conditions for some of these workers and improving human rights of Ghanaian workers in the labor sector. African countries like Ghana remain key supply chain destinations for Germany. "Germany passed a law for due diligence of companies in global supply chains, taking care of human rights and for decent work," Heil said. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Migration Africa Europe and Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. At Ghana's biggest second clothing market, Kantamanto, the two ministers also interacted with the traders there to understand their challenges and learn about new innovations to deal with the issue of so-called fast fashion-- the trend of using garments for shorter periods before throwing them away. Issues of child labor and how to curtail it while boosting Ghana's economy in the coming years also came to the fore during the ministers' visit to Ghana. "And we talked with the ministers and the president here in Ghana about fighting child labor and boosting the economy in the next years," Heil said as he stressed the need for big companies not to put profit before the rights of workers. The two ministers also pushed for better cooperation between Germany and Ghana, a country considered Germany's best destination in Africa for collaboration and partnership on key developmental agenda. Edited by: Keith Walker NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Gaotu Techedu Inc. f/k/a GSX Techedu ("Gaotu" or the "Company") (NYSE: GOTU). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether Gaotu and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On July 23, 2021, China unveiled a sweeping overhaul of its education sector, banning companies that teach the school curriculum from making profits, raising capital or going public, effectively ending any potential growth in the for-profit tutoring sector in China. On this news, Gaotu's American Depositary Share ("ADS") price fell $6.06 per ADS, or 63.3%, to close at $3.52 per ADS on July 23, 2021. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com. CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Hayward Holdings, Inc. ("Hayward" or the "Company") (NYSE: HAYW). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether Hayward and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On July 28, 2022, Hayward revealed that it was expecting its channel partners to reduce its inventory on hand by approximately 4 to 6 weeks in the second half of 2022. Hayward further disclosed that it was reducing its 2022 guidance to reflect this inventory reduction. On this news, Hayward's stock price fell $2.50 per share, or 18.23%, to close at $11.21 per share on July 28, 2022. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com. CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Southwest Airlines Co. ("Southwest" or the "Company") (NYSE: LUV). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether Southwest and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On December 26, 2022, Business Insider published an article entitled "US Department of Transportation says it plans to look into Southwest Airlines following the airline's 'unacceptable' holiday flight cancellations." The article stated, among other things, that the "U.S. DOT tweeted Monday it will examine whether Southwest is abiding by its customer service policy[,]" and "Southwest cancelled nearly 3,000 flights on the day after Christmas, the most of any U.S. airline." On this news, Southwest's stock fell $2.15 per share, or 5%, to close at $33.94 per share on December 27, 2022. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com. CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 888-476-6529 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- OMNICOMMANDER INC. and Signet FCU have renewed their partnership to launch a modern, world-class Digital Branch with a custom online form feature. OMNICOMMANDER provides award-winning Digital Branch designs tailored for financial institutions seeking to enhance their visitors' experience, as well as full-service access to marketing solutions and customizable products and services. OMNICOMMANDER's goal is to provide fully functional Digital Branches that drive increased product adoption and results across the industry. Signet FCU logo Signet FCU wanted to undergo a digital transformation that would make their online visitor experience both frictionless and convenient. OMNICOMMANDER integrated a secure, custom online form feature into their design, making forms like loan and membership applications readily available for their members. Another goal for Signet FCU was to create a modern and clean feel, as they wanted to elevate their online presence. The development team at OMNICOMMANDER was able to design a state-of-the-art Digital Branch that is not only fully functional but sleek and uniquely branded. "Our new website design is a testament to our commitment to providing the best user experience for our members," said Signet's Marketing and Communications Director, Katelynn Rowe. "The design team at OMNICOMMANDER was amazing to work with. They understood our needs and vision and delivered an exceptional product that exceeded our expectations." OMNICOMMANDER's redesign also made it easier for Signet FCU to access the backend of the Digital Branch so they can update content as needed. All of the products and services that OMNICOMMANDER offers are built in the best interest of both the financial institution and its visitors. Not only is the staff at Signet FCU able to access their content easier, but they can also process applications faster and more securely thanks to the form feature allowing them to "Control Everything." "I'm incredibly excited about the launch of Signet FCU's new Digital Branch," said Eric Isham, Founder and CEO at OMNICOMMANDER. "The user interface is intuitive and straightforward. You are only two clicks away from anything you are searching for, which is exactly the type of experience members demand today. Having been born and raised in Kentucky, I have a special place for all of our clients in the Bluegrass State, and I am very proud of this partnership." For questions about Digital Branch transformation, please contact OMNICOMMANDER. About OMNICOMMANDER OMNICOMMANDER is a veteran-owned and operated financial technology, digital marketing, and cybersecurity company that provides a comprehensive suite of digital solutions for financial institutions. For the first time in history, FIs can partner with a single company to create, host, and manage their Digital Branch and integrated service offerings within one complete ecosystem. OMNICOMMANDER solutions are powered by a world-class team of financial institution experts. In addition to unmatched service, OMNICOMMANDER products and services are always mobile-responsive and built with the highest level of attention to accessibility and ADA compliance to garner increased brand awareness and reach the widest audience possible. To learn more, please visit OMNICOMMANDER.com About Signet FCU Signet FCU is not a bank; it is a not-for-profit credit union. Over 75 years ago, Signet Federal Credit Union began as an outstretched hand to community members, helping IC Railroad employees from a single basement office. Today, Signet serves nearly 20,000 Western Kentucky residents and counting. With no stockholders or investors, Signet has the privilege and responsibility to leverage all profits to benefit members via higher savings rates, lower loan rotates, and lower fees for other services, as well as new branches. Learn more about Signet FCU here. Contact: John Pennycuff Phone: (800) 807-3109 Email: [email protected] SOURCE OMNICOMMANDER The bootcamp is meant for aspiring and existing designers It will be held for a period of 5 months and will take place in a live, virtual format Post-completion, learners will receive a University of Massachusetts certificate SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Simplilearn, the world's #1 online bootcamp for digital economy skills training, has partnered with The University of Massachusetts Amherst Isenberg School of Management - Continuing & Professional Education to launch a UI UX bootcamp . The bootcamp is designed to help learners emerge as professional UI UX designers and get an in-depth understanding of the UI UX design field by prospecting topics like UX research, design thinking, user interface design, and more. The bootcamp is ideal for Aspiring UX Designers from any background and Existing Designers wishing to upskill themselves. Having the aspiration to become a UX designer and looking at enhancing one's current UI UX design experience is an advantage. Speaking on the bootcamp, Mr. Anand Narayanan, Chief Product Officer, Simplilearn, said, "In today's world, the website of a company is the face of the brand. With the advancement of digital domains across sectors, UI UX has become a lucrative career option for many. With user experience design becoming more popular, the need to enhance skills becomes more important. For budding UI UX designers, it is crucial to take up the right courses that will help them in polishing their skills. With this in mind, we are happy to partner with the prestigious University of Massachusetts for this bootcamp on UI UX that will enable learners looking at kick-starting a career in the field. The program will help them understand UI UX concepts better to hone the required skills and stay ahead of the industry curve." Sharing thoughts on the partnership with Simplilearn, Dr. Traci J. Hess, Associate Dean, UMass Amherst, University of Massachusetts Amherst Isenberg School of Management - Continuing & Professional Education, said, "We see a rise in interest among students and young professionals to set foot in the UI UX industry, given the rise of the digital economy. UI UX is currently one of the most sought-after career choices because of its creativity, relevance, and promising growth prospects that are being offered to those skilled in the field. Understanding the demand, we have partnered with Simplilearn to curate this bootcamp in UI UX that contains all the topics and modules which an aspiring UI UX designer needs to learn before entering the industry." The bootcamp will be held for a period of 5 months and will take place in the format of live, virtual classes. It will consist of 100% live online learning, Job Assistance, 3 credit transfer to online MBA and MS BA, hands-on learning via assignments and course-end projects and capstone projects, portfolio creation on Dribbble, top design tools, 8x higher engagement in live online classes by Simplilearn's expert instructors and industry recognized certification from University of Massachusetts Amherst Isenberg School of Management - Continuing & Professional Education. The capstone projects from Simplilearn will help in industry problem-solving in e-commerce, fitness, and technology domains. The bootcamp will also cover industry tools such as Balsamiq, Invision, Sketch, and Figma. Post the completion of the bootcamp, learners will receive University of Massachusetts Amherst Isenberg School of Management - Continuing & Professional Education certificates. With the help of Simplilearn's Job Assistance, learners will receive extended support to secure a job after completing the bootcamp. The program will begin with an orientation session and will be followed by sessions on user experience design, user interface and design principles, UI prototyping and styling, UX research and testing, and portfolio building - capstone projects. About The University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst ranks among the top 25 premier public universities by U.S. News Education Rankings. The Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst is consistently ranked in the top 50 business schools in the USA. UMass Amherst: Isenberg School of Management - Continuing & Professional Education has chosen to partner with Simplilearn for these online professional programs. Simplilearn's award-winning immersive learning model delivered via live virtual classes focuses on applied learning to create immediate career impact. In addition to world-class learning, program graduates also gain membership in UMass Amherst Alumni Association. About Simplilearn Founded in 2010 and based in San Francisco, California, and Bangalore, India, Simplilearn, a Blackstone company is the world's #1 online Bootcamp for digital economy skills training. Simplilearn offers access to world-class work-ready training to individuals and businesses around the world. The Bootcamps are designed and delivered with world-renowned universities, top corporations, and leading industry bodies via live online classes featuring top industry practitioners, sought-after trainers, and global leaders. From college students and early career professionals to managers, executives, small businesses, and big corporations, Simplilearn's role-based, skill-focused, industry-recognized, and globally relevant training programs are ideal upskilling solutions for diverse career or/and business goals. For more information, please visit www.simplilearn.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1100016/Simplilearn_Logo.jpg SOURCE Simplilearn Solutions Private Limited MADRID, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SOFAR, the global leading supplier of PV & ESS solutions, introduced the latest solutions tailored for residential, C&I and utility applications at Genera, emphasizing our presence in local solar market. SOFAR Integrating industry-leading ultra-high current, easy installation and intelligent protection, our brand new SOFAR 100-125KTL-G4 is THE choice for C&I applications. Featuring 10*40A MPPTs plus ultra-high current, the inverter significantly ensures lower LCOE and higher yields. Weighing less than 75kg, it is easy to install without extra labor costs. Meanwhile, it is also available for AFCI and I-V curve scanning, and has IP66 overall protection along with C5 anti-corrosion, which is resilient to harsh working conditions. For utility projects, we're introducing to you SOFAR 255KTL-HV, which is able to reduce power plant adaptation losses. Equipped with IP66 protection, the fact that SOFAR inverter stably operates, remaining maintenance-free in hot and humid environment earns high praise from customers worldwide. Driven by ongoing favorable policies and environmental ambitions, it is estimated that Spanish residential installations will maintain a steady increase in the near future for both PV inverter and energy storage sections. Catering to this trend, we have also brought SOFAR 7K~10.5KTLM-G3 series and SOFAR PowerAll to the local market. "Since entering the Spanish solar market, SOFAR has established a comprehensive local team offering sales, technical support and after-sales service. We're poised to provide better solutions and services to help Spain navigate its path toward a clean and efficient energy system and a net-zero future." said Allen Cao, General Manager of SOFAR Europe. About SOFAR SOFAR is a global leading supplier of solar PV and energy storage solutions and committed to be the leader of digital energy solutions with a comprehensive portfolio, including PV inverters from 1kW to 255kW, hybrid inverters from 3kW to 20kW, battery storage system, central energy storage and smart energy management solutions for residential, C&I, and utility-scale applications. By 2021, SOFAR entered the TOP5 Global Hybrid Inverter Suppliers, set up a global R&D network with three R&D centers and two manufacturing bases. In 2022, SOFAR annual production capacity reached 10 GW for PV & storage inverters and 1GWh for batteries. By the end of 2022, SOFAR has shipped over 18GW inverters to more than 100 countries and regions around the world. Learn more about SOFAR by visiting: https://www.sofarsolar.com/. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2008301/SOFAR.jpg SOURCE SOFAR To acquire 100% stake in all-cash deal The biggest-ever acquisition in Sonata Software's history, accelerates Sonata's capabilities in Modernization and Digital Engineering space BANGALORE, India, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sonata Software, a leading Modernization and Digital Engineering company, has announced that Sonata Software North America Inc., (SSNA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Sonata Software Limited (SSL), has signed a definitive agreement with the Shareholders of Quant Systems INC., a Texas (USA) based IT Solutions and Software company, to acquire 100% stake. Sonata Software acquires Texas-based Quant Systems Inc. This acquisition is in line with Sonata's strategy to accelerate the growth curve and build scale. It will accelerate Sonata's capabilities in Enterprise Data Analytics, Cloud modernization, Cyber security, Salesforce, Data Privacy, Adobe, and Digital & Mobile App solutions, including differentiated IPs for Salesforce (workbox.io) and Chatbot (LISA) technologies. It will expand Sonata's domain expertise in Banking and Financial Services, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Consumer/Retail and others. Its strong leadership team has rich experience and a successful track record in client services, and technology innovation in the areas of Digital transformation, Enterprise Data, Salesforce, Data Privacy, Snowflake and Adobe "We aim to be the fastest-growing next-gen Digital firm delivering Modernization & Digital outcomes for enterprises through our Platformation Framework. To achieve this vision, we have outlined some key strategic drivers to build scale through service offering expansion in Modernization, invest in BFSI and Healthcare & Life Sciences verticals, and build global centres. Quant Systems aligns to our strategic drivers and will enable us to win larger deals in our focus-verticals and adds two large clients to our top 5 clients list," said Samir Dhir, MD & CEO, Sonata Software Limited. Founded in 2008, Quant Systems has shown tremendous growth year-on-year. It has a team of over 300 Engineers in delivery centres across India (Hyderabad) and Costa Rica along with Onshore presence in North America to deliver high-quality client service. Quant boasts of marquee logos in BFSI, Healthcare & Life Sciences and Consumer & Retail. It has built a strong partner ecosystem of industry leading players including, AWS, Adobe, Salesforce, Snowflake, and Google Cloud. Quant's innovative IPs - Workbox.io and LISA Chatbot - broadens Sonata Software's offerings as part of its Platformation strategy. LISA enables true Omni-channel experience by integrating Enterprise systems, Contact Centre and support system solutions, while Workbox simplifies Digital Document Management. "We are proud of our growth and the results we have delivered over the past 15 years for which we are thankful to our clients. Joining the Sonata family will enable us to take our innovative IPs and deep expertise to a broader clientele to solve complex cloud and data management challenges. This will also open up more growth avenues for our people and deepen the bench of valuable skills," said Srini Veeravelli, CEO, Quant Systems Inc. About Sonata Software For more information, press only : Nandita Venkatesh, Sonata Software Limited CIN- L72200MH1994PLC082110 A.P.S. Trust Building, Bull Temple Road, N.R. Colony Bangalore 560004, India Tel:+91806778199 [email protected] Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2008362/Sonata_Software.jpg Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/689012/Sonata_Software_Logo.jpg SOURCE Sonata Software Morris College is One of the Seven State HBCUs to receive $18M Appropriation SUMTER, S.C., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Morris College, an accredited, four-year, coeducational, residential, liberal arts and career-focused institution, will host South Carolina Institutes of Innovation and Information (SCIII) on its campus on February 23 to begin the next phase of the SCIII rollout. Morris College was the first institute to embrace the rollout, and last year bestowed the name of Senator Scott on their institute, the John L. Scott, Jr. Institute of Network Information, Technology and Security (NITS). NITS will concentrate on preparing cybersecurity professionals for exciting careers in the field. Morris College is one of the seven HBCUs in South Carolina that is part of South Carolina's Institutes of Innovation and information (SCIII). The SCIII site visit on Feb. 23 is a precursor to officially establishing NITS on Morris College's campus. Institutes of Innovation and Information Through the leadership and vision of State Senator John L. Scott, Jr., the South Carolina General Assembly appropriated $18 million in 2021 towards the development of educational institutes at each of South Carolina's seven HBCUs. Each institute was established with specific focuses and disciplines united to increase opportunities and exposure for their student bodies on campus and the surrounding community. The seven HBCUs in South Carolina produce more than half of all Black college graduates in this state; at all levels, SCIII will revolutionize the state's HBCUs by giving them more visibility and establishing relationships with the state's businesses and industries as they join forces with the Institutes. Given South Carolina's rich history when it comes to educating people of color, SCIII provides the perfect conduit for partnerships between SCIII HBCUs and state business and industry, diversifying and improving the state's workforce. SCIII will bridge relationships and partnerships with businesses and industries as a means of supporting one another in a synergistic manner and helping train students for maximum career readiness. The intention is for Institutes to forge relationships through research, internships, and other opportunities that will produce a better-trained worker with lower costs in terms of job training and onboarding The site visit this Thursday will take place at Morris College's Science Building and feature welcoming remarks by Morris College's president, Dr. Leroy Staggers, followed by SCIII Executive Director Dr. Gwynth Nelson, who will explain the purpose of the visit. Senator John Scott will speak about SCIII, and other Morris College leaders will speak as well. The visit will also include words from cybersecurity students and an overview of cybersecurity innovations by Professor Dr. Orenthio Goodwin. About Morris College: Morris College, a historically Black College or University (HBCU), is a premier liberal art and career-focused institution in Sumter, the state of South Carolina and the southern region; that carries out its stated mission as an institution that is totally committed to excellence in all areas of operation and is driven toward continuous improvement. About SCIII: South Carolina's Institutes of Innovation and Information (SCIII) is an initiative and vision inspired by Sen. John L. Scott, Jr., which focuses on revolutionizing and cultivating the state's seven four-year HBCUs' overall capabilities and contributions for the citizens and residents of the state. South Carolina has a rich history when it comes to educating people of color, and SCIII provides the perfect conduit for partnerships between SCIII HBCUs and state business and industry, diversifying and improving the state's workforce. Media Contacts: Tashion Macon, [email protected], 818-749-8786 SOURCE SCIII; Morris College US Endo Partners' Holding Company Rounds Out C-suite NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In anticipation of continued growth, Specialized Dental, the holding company of US Endo Partners (USEP) and Specialized Dental Partners (SDP), today announced additions and changes to its top leadership team. "This is an exciting time for the Specialized Dental family," said Scotte Hudsmith, Chief Executive Officer. "These highly competent, well-regarded leaders are integral to the successful future of our company, and we are fortunate they are on our team." Dr. Vladana Babcic Tal, an endodontist with Cameo Dental Specialists in Chicago, IL, was name Chief Clinical Officer for Specialized Dental, the holding company for US Endo Partners and Specialized Dental Partners. Dr. Steve Frost will assume the new position of Chief Clinical Affiliations Officer. Frost will work in tandem with the Business Development team as it pertains to new practice affiliations. Frost was a founding partner of USEP in 2018 and has served as its Chief Clinical Officer since that time, concurrent with practice at Red Mountain Endodontics in Phoenix, AZ, which he founded in 1994. He attended Brigham Young University and earned his Doctor of Dental Medicine degree at University of the Pacific School of Dentistry in San Francisco, CA. He received his endodontic specialty training certificate at Tufts School of Dental Medicine in Boston, MA. Frost is a member of the American Dental Association, American Association of Endodontists, and the Arizona State Dental Association. Dr. Vladana Babcic Tal has been promoted to Chief Clinical Officer. Babcic Tal is a practicing endodontist at Cameo Dental Specialists, a five-location multi-specialty practice in Chicago and pioneer in integrated oral healthcare. She attended University of WisconsinMadison, then Boston University School of Medicine for a dual Master of Medical Science and International Public Health, before earning her Doctor of Dental Medicine degree at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. She completed her post-doctorate advanced specialty training in endodontics at University of IllinoisChicago College of Dentistry. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics and is a member of the American Association of Endodontists, American Dental Association, Chicago Dental Society, Illinois State Dental Society and the Serbian American Medical and Dental Society. Babcic Tal serves on the Board of the Edgar D. Coolidge Endodontic Study Club and is an advisor for the Windy City Seminars-Seattle Study Club, which focuses on continuing education and interdisciplinary treatment planning for general dentists and specialists. James Twellman has been promoted to Chief Development Officer. He has served USEP as Vice President of Business Development since the company's inception in 2018, driving growth at an extraordinary pace. Previously, Twellman was the Vice President of Acquisitions and Development at Riverchase Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery, as well as the Director of Corporate Development at IPC Healthcare, Inc. (TeamHealth). He also served in the Corporate Development Group of HealthPort Technologies and as a private equity Senior Associate at Thurston Group, LLC. He is a graduate of Stanford University. Connie Wright has been named Chief Human Resources Officer. Wright has served as Human Resources Vice President for ENT Specialty Partners, a practice management platform for ear, nose and throat specialists, and the Scottish Rite for Children in Dallas, TX. She also worked as a Human Resources Officer for Texas Health Resources, a magnet-designated hospital. Wright holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, and a Master of Business Administration from Texas Woman's University. About Specialized Dental Specialized Dental is the holding company of US Endo Partners and Specialized Dental Partners, both supporting practices that are doctor-led, doctor-driven specialty services partnerships in pursuit of the utmost excellence in patient care. Specialized Dental provides comprehensive operational support services, facilitates peer-to peer leadership and mentoring, helps to apply best practices, fosters innovative new technologies, and reinvests resources to improve performance. Our partner doctors can do more of what they love and increase access to care, while securing their professional futures. The organizations combined currently support more than 250 clinicians in 34 states and have plans for continued growth. For more information, visit www.usendopartners.com or www.specdentalpartners.com (under construction). SOURCE Specialized Dental Global Spirits Business Reaffirms Ongoing Fundraising Efforts to Ukrainian Relief NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Stoli Group today announced a continued financial commitment to World Central Kitchen (WCK), a nonprofit organization that provides meals in times of crisis, which continues to provide millions of meals to the Ukrainian people affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Throughout 2023, Stoli will continue to sell the Stoli Limited Edition Ukraine bottle , which was personally delivered to Ukraine. It is now in every major market and continues to raise money for WCK. In the weeks ahead additional regional fundraising events will be announced. Stoli Limited Edition Ukraine Bottle "We had hoped that by now there would be a different story to tell and Ukrainians would have been fully liberated. Ukraine has suffered immense loss. It is an obligation and an honor to do what we can to provide comfort, and we are proud to support WCK," commented Damian McKinney, Global CEO, Stoli Group. "Together with the Stoli global teams who came together to support their efforts, WCK performed work that was nothing short of astounding. Beyond meals, they have provided comfort and care to a fractured people in what will be recognized as an historic humanitarian effort." Since February of 2022, WCK has served more than 210 million meals across eight countries, including 193 million meals in Ukraine alone. Stoli Group's support helped us serve more than 36,000 meals to Ukrainian refugees and internally displaced persons. WCK is prioritizing frontline communities and towns that are recently liberated. Teams were present in Kharkiv following the recent missile that hit a residential building and also present after the horrific attacks in Dnipro, serving hot meals to residents and search and rescue teams. In addition to working with WCK, Stoli relocated many Ukrainian employees, partners and distributors as they faced extraordinary difficulties. For others who chose to remain, Stoli provided financial, emotional and tactical support. By working with Ukrainian suppliers Guala Closures Technologia Ukraine and TECHNOLOGIA JSC, as well as working with and investing in regional distributor, Vinfort LTD, Stoli enabled regional business to stay afloat and contribute to the country's economic stability and recovery. "This War forced many organizations to commit to a new business paradigm built on taking a stand on global issues of the greatest importance," continued McKinney. "As we have sought to address sustainability, LGBTQ, diversity and injustice, we have led on our support of Ukraine. As we reflect on the past year, it is with gratitude and pride in the Stoli spirit that continues to inspire us to create a better future for all." To hear from Stoli Ukrainian employees Stoli Group: A Year of Challenges and Bold Changes To support WCK and the people of Ukraine, please visit DONATE WCK. To access images Stoli WCK Images About Stoli Group Stoli Group was established in 2013 and is responsible for the production, management, and distribution of a global spirits and wines portfolio. Mainly known for the Stoli Vodka brand, Stoli Group has expanded to appeal to luxury on-premise and more sophisticated global consumers. Signature brands are: Stoli Vodka, elitVodka, Bayou Rum, Kentucky Owl, Villa One, Gator Bite Rum Liqueurs, Cenote Tequila, Tulchan Gin, Se Busca Mezcal and Stoli Group's wine division, Tenute del Mondo. With a presence across a network of more than 176 markets, Stoli Group works with a passionate team of 200 distributors around the world. Headquartered in Luxembourg, Stoli has production facilities in Spain, Argentina, and the United States, some of which are steeped in history dating back to the early part of the last century. For more information, visit stoli-group.com . Contact: Maureen Landers [email protected] 917-886-4901 SOURCE Stoli Group 'Admiral Gorshkov' is a class of frigates of the Russian Navy (file photo). A Russian ship loaded with hypersonic missiles will take part in joint naval drills with China off South Africa's eastern coast this week. But a Russian commander denied there were plans to fire the weapons. A Russian commander on Wednesday ruled out a possible hypersonic missile launch during navy drills off South Africa this week. The Admiral Gorshkov, a Russian frigate loaded with Zircon hypersonic missiles, will take part in the joint exercises with China's navy. The letters Z and V are on the side of the ship, two patriotic symbols Russia has used during its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Russian official: Hypersonic weapons 'will not be used' "The hypersonic weapon will not be used in the context of these exercises," Russian naval officer Oleg Gladkiy told journalists during a press conference in South Africa. "There is no hidden meaning in the exercises we are performing today." Earlier this month, Russian news agency TASS reported that the hypersonic missile firing would occur during the drills, which kicked off on Wednesday and will last until February 27. Zircon missiles are believed to achieve speeds exceeding 9,000 kilometers per hour (almost 5,600 miles per hour), allowing them to bypass traditional naval defense systems. The missiles, which Russian President Vladimir Putin labeled "unstoppable," are capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. South Africa responds to hosting backlash The joint Russian-Chinese naval exercises, which are taking place off South Africa's eastern coast in the Indian Ocean, are occurring during the first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine. South Africa has been called insensitive for hosting the drills, known as Mosi-II. The South African government has so far refused to issue a full-throated condemnation of Russia's war against Ukraine. In response to the criticism, South African Lieutenant-General Siphiwe Sangweni said, "Cooperation and coordination with all other militaries is very important to us." Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Arms and Armies Europe and Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. He said it is necessary for South Africa to learn techniques from other militaries to better defend itself and participate in global peacekeeping missions. Brazil is involved as an observer in the drills. Brazilian President Lula Inacio Lula da Silva has previously said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is equally responsible for Russia's invasion. Sino-Russian ties reach 'new frontiers' The exercises also come as Russia and China deepen their ties. Western sanctions have led Russia to become more dependent on China's growing economy. Officials such as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have also voiced fears that China could provide material support to Ukraine in its invasion, resulting in further escalation of the conflict. Putin said Wednesday that Sino-Russian relations have reached "new frontiers," while adding that Chinese President Xi Jinping would soon visit Moscow. (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa) First Place Is The Story Of Ernst Cahn, An Ice Cream Parlor Owner Who Chose Resistance In Spite Of Certain Death During Nazi Invasion. His Arrest Led To "The February Strike" Of 1941. NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) today announced the winner of the Emerging Filmmaker Contest focused on the Holocaust. Writer/Director Robert Moniot took the first prize with his screenplay, The Ice Cream Man, the true story of a Jewish ice cream parlor owner, Ernst Cahn, who was targeted by the infamous "Butcher of Lyon," Nazi SS and SD, Klaus Barbie. Gideon Taylor, President of the Claims Conference said, "The Ice Cream Man is a story of heroism and courage during a period of persecution and death. It's vital to hear these stories and show them in a format that appeals to the public; film is a vital medium in our global efforts to support Holocaust education. Creating programs like the Emerging Filmmaker Contest creates opportunities to facilitate the telling of Holocaust stories, ensuring testimonies from the Holocaust are collected and shared, and allows the history of the Shoah to live on for future generations to see, experience and understand." Robert Moniot, the film's Writer and Director, said, "We are honored to have been recognized by the Claims Conference in this contest. Given the significant rise in antisemitism, hate speech and fascism across the globe, these are the kinds of stories that people should hear and talk about. It is such a big responsibility and honor to be able to tell the story of Ernst Cahn. We really want to get it right." This true story of Ernst Cahn is a tale of how one man's decision to resist set into motion a ripple effect of events that resulted in the first anti-Nazi protest in World War II "The February Strike" of 1941. Cahn would become the first executed resistance fighter in The Netherlands, but his actions and heroism would spark an uprising of protest among his fellow Jews and supporters in Amsterdam. More than 300,000 workers in Amsterdam went on strike February 25, 1941, to protest Cahn's arrest at his shop, Koco Ice Cream Parlor, as well as the ongoing pogroms and forced labor of Jews by the Nazi Regime. Subsequently, Nazis rounded up hundreds of innocent Jewish men in Amsterdam and deported them to Buchenwald and Mauthausen concentration camps. Of the more than 420 men rounded up and deported, only two survived. Greg Schneider, Executive Vice President of the Claims Conference, said, "There are literally millions of these individual, never-told stories of resistance and heroism from the Holocaust. Each one of them is a crucial moment when one person stands up for what is right and leans into humanity no matter the cost. Without the creative efforts of artists like Robert Moniot, so many of these stories would be lost forever. We are thrilled to provide this award to Robert for his film, The Ice Cream Man." To play the role of Ernst Cahn, the team has cast actor Noah Emmerich, best known for his roles in Billions, The Americans, The Good Nurse and The Truman Show. Noah Emmerich said of the role, "I've been a fan of Rob Moniot's work for many years, and we have been looking for something to work on together for a long time. When Rob sent me this script, I was blown away. Beyond the predictable excellence of his writing, this story hit very close to home for me. My father's family fled Nazi Germany for Amsterdam, and as a boy my dad lived in the same neighborhood as Ernst Cahn's ice cream parlor. So to have the opportunity to tell this very personally resonant story and finally have the chance work with Rob, it was a no-brainer. I am thrilled to be a part of this film." For more information about this contest, please visit: https://film.claimscon.org For more information about the Claims Conference, please visit: www.claimscon.org. About the Claims Conference: The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference), a nonprofit organization with offices in New York, Israel and Germany, secures material compensation for Holocaust survivors around the world. Founded in 1951 by representatives of 23 major international Jewish organizations, the Claims Conference negotiates for and disburses funds to individuals and organizations and seeks the return of Jewish property stolen during the Holocaust. As a result of negotiations with the Claims Conference since 1952, the German government has paid more than $90 billion in indemnification to individuals for suffering and losses resulting from persecution by the Nazis. In 2022, the Claims Conference will distribute over $700 million in compensation to over 210,000 survivors in 83 countries and allocated over $720 million in grants to over 300 social service agencies worldwide that provide vital services for Holocaust survivors, such as homecare, food and medicine. SOURCE Claims Conference DUBLIN, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Supercapacitor Market - Forecasts from 2022 to 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The supercapacitor market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 20.69% during the forecast period to reach US$3,010.052 million by 2027, from US$807.096 million in 2020. Supercapacitors, double-layered capacitors, or ultracapacitors, are electronic devices with a comparatively higher capacitance value and lower voltage ranges. These energy storage devices are capable of bridging the gap between traditional capacitors and batteries. Furthermore, their ability to store more energy than typical capacitors and produce more power than standard batteries, coupled with long-term stability and high cyclability, makes them appealing as energy storage devices. Owing to such attributes, they are found in diverse applications, either as an autonomous energy source or in combination with other energy storage devices like batteries. In particular, supercapacitors are commonly found in applications with fluctuating loads, such as portable media players, PDAs, GPS, and laptops. They are also being used in microgrids to store energy in reverse conditions while quickly injecting power whenever demand is high, and production is low in the grids. Furthermore, they are also found in energy harvesting solutions, automotive segments, aerospace, and industrial segments. The growth in demand for supercapacitors in the aforementioned industries is expected to add impetus to the growth of the supercapacitor market. Growth Factors: The increase in electric automobile production is expected to increase the demand for supercapacitors in the projected period. One of the most awaited innovations of the century is cost-effective, long-range, efficient electric vehicles. Power storage is arguably the most crucial component of an electric vehicle, with the tremendous potential to enable electric vehicles to outperform internal combustion engine vehicles. Supercapacitors are commonly used to deal with the storage issues of typical batteries. A supercapacitor's high-power density enables it to quickly charge or discharge a large amount of power without compromising its potential to sequester energy. This makes supercapacitors advantageous in scenarios where a large amount of power must be supplied or captured in a short period of time, such as acceleration and regenerative braking, where supercapacitors capture the kinetic energy from deceleration that is normally dissipated as heat. As a result, supercapacitors are frequently used in hybrid vehicles like the Toyota FCHV and Lamborghini Sian. Several other automobile manufacturers are employing supercapacitors in their offering, owing to these appealing features. For instance, in India, Omega Selki Pvt Ltd and Log 9 materials entered into a strategic partnership and launched a Rage+ Rapid EV in November 2021. With the latter's expertise in supercapacitor technology, this battery's performance is superior to that of typical EV batters. With this launch, the former is set to revolutionize the Indian EV market. Furthermore, according to Volkswagen's forecast in its 2021 Annual Report, the global market share of electric vehicles is expected to reach 50% by 2030. The growing number of renewable projects in recent years is yet another growth factor fuelling the expansion of market size. The growing awareness of environmental sustainability, as well as numerous initiatives undertaken by governments and businesses, has resulted in an increase in the number of renewable projects. For instance, in March 2022, the state-run PGCIL (Power Grid Corporation of India) announced the approval of 5 power-grid projects worth? 821 crores to strengthen the transmission system across multiple Indian states. While in East Asia, in November 2021, China Southern Power Grid, the country's major power grid, declared its intention to invest US$ 105 billion in grid network construction in the period 2021-2025 to boost renewable power consumption and power stability. Further, in May 2022, in North America, the United States Department of Energy launched US$ 2.5 billion in funds to expand and modernize America's power grid. This investment is said to be in line with the US government's quest to run the national grid on 100 percent clean, renewable electricity by 2035. High power energy storage ability and swift response are providing grid operators with an efficient strategy to overcome frequency, voltage, and power quality concerns. Thus, the increase in renewable generation projects in multiple other developing and developed countries is expected to drive the market growth onward. Market Segments: By Type Pseudocapacitors Hybrid Capacitors Double Layer Supercapacitors By Capacitance Upto 100F 100F - 1000F More than 1000F By Industry Vertical Consumer Electronics Automotive Energy and Power Aerospace Industrial By Geography North America US Canada Mexico South America Brazil Argentina Europe Germany France UK Italy Middle East and Africa and Saudi Arabia UAE Asia Pacific China Japan India South Korea Taiwan Thailand Indonesia Companies Mentioned Tokin Corporation Skeleton Technologies Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (acquired by Tesla, Inc.) Nippon Chemi-Con Corporation Panasonic Corporation Eaton CAP-XX IOXUS Inc. LS Mtron NAWATechnologies For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/eqrcdv About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets "Ann Arbor is the center of several nearby communities encompassing Washtenaw County and the home to the University of Michigan, making it a vibrant community and ideal location for a restaurant," stated Salim Asrawi, President of Texas de Brazil. "We look forward to offering a unique, upscale dining experience that excites the guest and exceeds their culinary expectations," he adds. The highlights of this Brazilian steakhouse dining experience are the continuous servings of fire-roasted meats and unlimited plates from the chef-crafted salad area. The concept comes to life through the illustrious red and green cards, which guests use to indicate when they'd like to sample more cuts of meat, or when they need to take a break. The dining experience is also enhanced by the extensive award-winning wine list, rich in South American varietals. Area residents can sign up for the Texas de Brazil e-club to stay informed of the opening and then start receiving special promotions and exclusive offers to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and much more. About Texas de Brazil Texas de Brazil is an authentic churrascaria featuring a continuous dining experience that blends the unique culture of Brazil, with the generous hospitality of Texas. The menu features a vast selection of grilled meats, a 50-item salad area, an award-winning wine list and a la carte dessert selections. Founded as a family-owned business in 1998, Texas de Brazil is one of the largest Brazilian-American steakhouse brands in the world, with restaurants in 21 states and 12 international locations. For more information, visit TexasdeBrazil.com, or find us on Facebook and Instagram. SOURCE Texas de Brazil GUANGZHOU, China, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 23, the launch ceremony of the 6th Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation (Guangzhou Award) was held in Barcelona, Spain during the 2023 United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Retreat and Campus. At the meeting, UCLG, World Association of the Major Metropolises (Metropolis) and Guangzhou City jointly announced the call for submissions of the 6th Guangzhou Award. Mr. Deng Changxiong, Deputy Director of the Office of Foreign Affairs Commission of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee, Ms. Emilia Saiz, Secretary General of UCLG, and Mr. Jordi Vaquer, Secretary General of Metropolis, attended the meeting and delivered speeches. Mr. Deng read out a congratulatory message from the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) in his speech. "The CPAFFC is willing to work with the governments of all cities to support the UCLG and the Metropolis to play a greater role, and continues to make good use of international platforms such as the Global Mayors' Forum and the Guangzhou Award to create opportunities for cooperation and development among global cities." Ms. Emilia Saiz, and Mr. Jordi Vaquer highly appreciated the achievements and contributions made by Guangzhou in actively promoting international exchange and cooperation among cities and fostering the innovative development of global cities, and expressed their continued unwavering support for the development of Guangzhou Award. Co-sponsored by the City of Guangzhou, the UCLG and the Metropolis, the Guangzhou Award aims to recognize innovation in improving social, economic, and environmental sustainability and good urban governance in cities and regions and, in doing so, to advance the prosperity and quality of life of their citizens. So far, five cycles have been held, attracting over 1,300 initiatives worldwide. It has become a global platform for city-to-city learning and the documentation, dissemination, and analysis of the local implementation of global agendas including SDGs and the New Urban Agenda (NUA). The 6th Guangzhou Award is now calling for participation from all cities and local governments around the world with ongoing or recently completed initiatives, including those that are implemented in collaboration with private and civil society partners. Please learn more about the detailed guidelines on: http://www.guangzhouaward.org/The6thGuangzhouAward?lang=en SOURCE The Guangzhou Award Secretariat The Center & AWS, a world leading cloud computing offering, will work with community leaders to address the leading factors impacting the health of local residents. CLEVELAND, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- What began quietly two years ago culminates today in a transformational collaboration between The Center for Health Affairs, the 107-year-old convener of healthcare and community organizations, and Amazon Web Services (AWS), to establish the world's first and only Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Innovation Hub. The objective: to start locally and move globally to address structural racism and poverty that result in gun violence, behavioral health crises, and a myriad of other factors negatively impacting the health of local residents. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Cleveland has the highest poverty rate among large U.S. cities. With more than 114,000 people living in poverty in 2019, including 37,700 children and nearly 12,000 adults, these individuals face daily challenges related to violence, lack of digital connections, housing, food, access to medical care and behavioral health providers, unemployment, and so much more. All of these economic and social conditions that influence health outcomes are known as SDOH, and their impact is often under-represented in traditional diagnoses. "We are honored to work with AWS to generate critical insights about eliminating disparities experienced by people in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio," said Brian Lane, president & CEO of The Center for Health Affairs. "The platform The Center is building will drive valuable insights to initially work with local community leaders and residents, policymakers, provider organizations, researchers and business leaders to demonstrate outcomes, identify improvements and begin to reshape Cleveland's programs and policies. Using our historic models of success, our hope is the SDOH Innovation Hub will then serve global communities facing similar social determinants of health issues." Root causes of these SDOH challenges are structural racism and poverty; and The Center is committed to finding solutions for these very complex social and economic issues using next generation technology. Tackling SDOH challenges requires accurate and insightful data, which can be complex and costly to collect and analyze. The cloud capabilities will enable the rapid analysis of heterogenous data from hundreds of local partner organizations using AWS's compute, storage, machine learning, and other services to determine patterns and indicators that will better inform health action and policies. The platform will analyze data that AWS does not have access to or control. The insights will be used by a consortium of commercial and public sector healthcare and research organizations. The Center and individuals who represent local businesses, nonprofit organizations, government officials, community residents, and policymakers are serving as advisors to drive action informed by the data. Over time, the Hub will use learnings to address the impact of environmental factors on marginalized communities, the creation of jobs and training, and making investment decisions that focus on underserved neighborhoods and their residents. AWS has provided The Center with computing credits and technical expertise to advance the project. Using data from local and global sources, the SDOH Hub is first addressing the behavioral health precursors to gun violence. The SDOH Hub will then find solutions in areas that include: Climate Change Access to Health Care Maternal and Infant Deaths Digital Connectivity Education and Workforce Development Entrepreneurship Urban Development (Smart Cities) Housing Transportation "AWS is delighted to bring our depth and breadth of cloud capabilities to help make Ohio's Social Determinants of Health Innovation Hub a technical reality," said Jon Jones, Vice President, Worldwide Specialist Organization at AWS. "The factors that impact health are many and complex. We are glad to support this important effort by bringing the security, scale, and power of the cloud and leading edge machine learning technology to help transform the massive and diverse data sets used in SDoH into actionable insights that will support thriving communities and more equitable health outcomes." "We are encouraged by the desire for collaboration from a wide range of partners, including technologists, to address community health needs," stated Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb. "Using technology to help solve the root causes of gun violence is a potential tool in the comprehensive toolbox necessary to develop real and effective solutions that will positively impact our great city and the surrounding region." The Center recognizes that the initial three-year commitment to finding solutions for SDOH issues will not erase structural racism or completely reduce poverty overnight. Yet, it is the start of building an impactful model that solves complex social problems people face every day. About The Center for Health Affairs As the nation's first regional hospital association, The Center for Health Affairs serves as the collective voice and leading advocate for 38 hospitals across 10 counties in Northeast Ohio. Dating back over 100 years, The Center aims to enhance the effectiveness of the healthcare community and the health of the communities it serves by providing expertise, resources and solutions to address the challenges currently being faced by the region's healthcare providers. The Center's efforts focus on areas in which member hospitals and their communities can benefit from a regional approach, including emergency preparedness; public policy and advocacy; finance and reimbursement; and community health. Learn more at neohospitals.org. Press Contact: Colleen M. O'Neil 216.696.0229 http://www.neohospitals.org SOURCE The Center for Health Affairs Elevation and Topography to be held June 16 and 17 PENINSULA, Ohio, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) will welcome guests to an unparalleled evening in the park when it hosts Elevation on June 16 and Topography on June 17. This year, both events will be held at a new location within CVNP: iconic Indigo Lake, located off Riverview Road in the heart of the park. Proceeds from both events will support the Trails Now Fund, which provides immediate assistance for trail maintenance and priority trail projects in CVNP. Since the events began more than 11 years ago, Topography and Elevation have raised nearly $1.3 million for the park's more than 125 miles of trails. Indigo Lake at sunset. Photo by: Bindiganavale Vijayaraman. "Elevation and Topography bring people together for a one-of-a-kind evening in our national park," said Laura Pulliam, event chair for Topography. "What could be better than taking in the scenic view of Indigo Lake while listening to amazing live music and indulging in gourmet food prepared by one of the region's leading chefs? This is an opportunity to show support for the Conservancy and its work to provide immediate assistance for trail projects within CVNP while enjoying a unique evening under the stars." Elevation Topography Join us for a one-of-a-kind summer celebration with hiking, trail mix bar, casual dinner buffet, live music, dancing, and s'mores around the campfire! The evening begins with a gentle hike up a wooded trail while enjoying music and cocktails. The trail leads to Indigo Lake where you will experience an amazing selection of hors d'oeuvres and extraordinary dining event. Finish the evening with good friends and a cocktail relaxing around the campfire. Evening catered by Spice Catering Co. Date: Friday, June 16, 2023 Date: Saturday, June 17, 2023 Time: 6:30pm 11:00pm Time: 6:30pm 11:00pm Cost: $95 per member ticket or $125 per non-member ($45 and $75, respectively, tax deductible) Cost: $300 per person ($200 tax deductible) For Tickets: www.forcvnp.org/elevation For Tickets: www.forcvnp.org/topography For sponsorship opportunities for Elevation and Topography, please contact Dan Blakemore, director of philanthropy, at [email protected]. For questions about the events or to register to attend, contact [email protected] or call Jess Livers, philanthropy operations & membership manager, at 330-657-2909 ext. 166. Sponsors To Date for Elevation Peak: Cascade Subaru; The Davey Tree Expert Company; E&H Ace Hardware; The Sherwin-Williams Company; The J.M. Smucker Co.; and Western Reserve Racing; Summit: ForTec Medical and Lisa Foster. Sponsors To Date for Topography For All Times: ForTec Medical; HZW Environmental Consultants; and The J.M. Smucker Co.; For All Seasons: Cascade Subaru; Chilcote Dohnal & Tizzano LLP; Connor Foundation; The Davey Tree Expert Company; Heidelberg Distributing Company; and Tom and Diane Tyrrell. About Conservancy for CVNP The Conservancy for CVNP is the official friends group and philanthropic partner for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. With a mission to enrich people's lives and enhance our region by inspiring use, preservation and support of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, the Conservancy offers cultural and educational programming, co-manages the park's volunteer program, provides venues for weddings, meetings and special events, and operates park retail spaces. Learn more at www.forcvnp.org. SOURCE Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Communication Intelligence Market size is expected to reach $9.9 billion by 2028, rising at a market growth of 6.2% CAGR during the forecast period. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422309/?utm_source=PRN Source: ReportLinker Wireless communication technology, called the communication Intelligence or COMINT system, is used on battlefields to locate radios, monitor the radio, and intercept hostile radar signals. COMINT transmits data from one point to another via electromagnetic signals. For example, military radio traffic, electromagnetic signals, and fax transmissions are all decoded using COMINT, transforming the information into usable forms like images, sounds, or data that can be quickly studied. Modern networking and satellite communications systems are supported, which are extensively employed by defense forces worldwide. It can be used from any level, including aerial, ground, and naval. Additionally, information that helps a person or organization make decisions that give them a strategic edge is called intelligence. Communications between people, or COMINT, exposes the transmitter, the transmitter's location if the transmitter is moving, and the transmitter's organizational role if known. It also provides the transmission's start time, end time, and schedule (if it's a periodic transmission), along with its frequency and other technical details. Details about the transmission also include encryption and whether it can be unlocked. The language of the transmission and a translation, whether it is possible to intercept initially transmitted clear text or retrieve it by cryptanalysis, can also be known through the COMINT. COMINT further analyses if addresses can be retrieved from the message, particularly if the signal is not from a general broadcast. This is because sending stations could also be COMINT (such as a message confirmation or a response), ELINT (such as a navigation beacon activating), or both. In addition, information on the responder's position and signal characteristics may be included instead of, or in conjunction with, an address or another form of identification. COVID-19 Impact Analysis A robust communication network was required for the internal operations of various governments and their efforts to provide humanitarian and medical relief. In addition, how nations create and protect their national security strategies was impacted by international conflicts, the rapid emergence of terrorism, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Since funds for defense programs were set aside before the outbreak by many nations, the need for military equipment was secured to a greater extent. As a result, the demand for COMINT systems is expected to grow in the coming years. Additionally, the higher spending on military by governments worldwide is also expected to have positive long-term effects on the market. Market Growth Factors Rising need for securing military and defense communications The security and secrecy of military communications are the main requirements of the defense sector. Due to the increasing volume of IP-based data, comprising remote sensor data and situational awareness video exchanged through industry-standard interfaces, advanced data connection security is necessary. Additionally, given that digital resources, whether on the ground, in space, or the air, are vulnerable to a range of threats, safeguarding military satellites against cyberattacks has become increasingly crucial. Security flaws in military network infrastructure and communication data could endanger public safety, given their significance. To stop this, the defense sector is deploying secure military communications systems. Therefore, these elements are expected to enhance the growth of the communication intelligence market. Growing opportunities due to the requirement for cyber intelligence COMINT is essential for information gathering, wireless signal analysis, reverse engineering, and information gathering. Communication intelligence is extremely crucial to government and military agencies. Additionally, the aerospace and military industries are gracefully embracing technological advancements like Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things, AI, ML, and other technologies that significantly digitize the defense industry's operations. These concurrently increase the risk of cyberattacks as well. Hence, the rising use of communication intelligence in cyber and electronic warfare is beneficial for expanding the market. Market Restraining Factors High costs associated with the implementation of the COMINT system Military organizations find implementing cutting-edge and innovative technology and products challenging due to budgetary restrictions and a lack of competent staff. Money constraints frequently prevent the introduction of advanced communication systems. Reduced defense spending has been stated by nations who are emerging from economic difficulties. Countries worldwide are researching and inviting creative military system options to reduce costs. As a result, the COMINT technology is shifting from the defense to the commercial sectors. Mobility Outlook Based on mobility, the communication intelligence market is categorized into fixed and man-portable. The fixed segment garnered the highest revenue share in the communication intelligence market in 2021. Due to the ability to shift weapon systems or combat forces from point A to point B by intercepting the enemy's communication networks, mobility is acknowledged as a crucial element of the modern battlefield. Additionally, fixed systems may be advantageous when dealing with large, heavy, and powerful systems and equipment. Platform Outlook On the basis of platform, the communication intelligence market is divided into airborne, ground, naval, and others. The naval segment recorded a significant revenue share in the communication intelligence market in 2021. COMINT technologies aid naval forces in their operations as well. They scan and gather intercepted foreign communications and non-communications using cutting-edge technologies. They recognize and process intercepted communications before analyzing them to discover targets and operating patterns. Regional Outlook Based on region, the communication intelligence market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and LAMEA. The North America segment procured the highest revenue share in the communication intelligence market in 2021. Since the US has continuously been a leader in implementing new technology for the country's defense sector, the demand for COMINT in North America is high. COMINT will eventually gain from higher funding as the most complex use of science & technology for intelligence and military objectives. The ongoing development and application of technology have been a defining feature of the military worldwide. The major strategies followed by the market participants are Partnership. Based on the Analysis presented in the Cardinal matrix; Lockheed Martin Corporation and Northrop Grumman Corporation are the forerunners in the Communication Intelligence Market. Companies such as BAE Systems plc, Thales Group S.A. and Raytheon Technologies Corporation are some of the key innovators in Communication Intelligence Market. The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include BAE Systems PLC, L3Harris Technologies, Inc., Thales Group S.A., Northrop Grumman Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Elbit Sytems Ltd., Raytheon Technologies Corporation, General Dynamics Corporation, HENSOLDT AG, and Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. Recent Strategies Deployed in Communication Intelligence Market Partnerships, Collaboration and Agreements: Nov-2022: Lockheed Martin extended its partnership with Microsoft, a US based Information technology Company, to work on Pentagon's classified cloud services. With this partnership, both companies would empower the communications and next generation of computing technology for the Department of Defense. Jul-2022: Northrop Grumman signed an agreement with Airbus, a manufacturer, designer, and seller of civil and military aerospace products. With this agreement, the combined expertise and capabilities of both space companies would offer the MOD for the space and ground segments of the SKYNET architecture. Apr-2022: Lockheed Martin came into an agreement with Intel Corporation, an industry creating technology. Through this agreement, Lockheed Martin would offer secure 5G.MIL solutions to allow military commanders to take prompt, data-driven decisions in overall operational areas. Apr-2022: Northrop Grumman Australia came into an agreement with IntelliDesign, an electronics engineering company. Through this agreement, Northrop Grumman Australia would empower Defense and Commonwealth agencies by delivering resilient, and secure communications capabilities. Nov-2021: Lockheed Martinand and Keysight Technologies, Inc., 5G solutions provider, teamed up to accelerate 5G that would be utilized in mission-critical communications for aerospace and defense applications. Through this collaboration, Lockheed Martin would use 5G.MIL testbed to boost 5G capabilities for multiple applications. Aug-2021: BAE Systems received a contract from the U.S. Navy for indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) for communication engineering support and integration services. Following this contract, the company would customize control, command, communications, computer, and intelligence (C4I) systems for ensuring that the America's warfighters have secure and reliable communications throughout all the domains. Feb-2021: Thales and Airbus received a contract from the French defense procurement agency (DGA) for the new joint tactical signals intelligence (SIGINT) system. The agreement aims to upgrade the direction finding, critical signals monitoring, and spectrum analysis capabilities of French forces. Products launches and Product Expansions: Sep-2022: BAE Systems announced that it will launch Azalea, the cluster of satellites in 2024 that would use a range of sensors to gather radar, visual, and radio frequency (RF) data. The Azalea enables BAE Systems to provide high-quality intelligence and information in real-time from space to military clients. This data would be analyzed on board the satellites through Machine Learning, on edge processors for offering the resulting intelligence, while still on-orbit, anywhere in the world securely. May-2021: Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Launched the SatGuard system, a uses big data, AI, and machine learning technologies. The company enhanced its new SatGuard system to manage and operate communication satellites and observation, developed to expand the energy of satellites deployed into orbit. Acquisitions and Mergers: Mar-2022: BAE Systems acquired BISim, a global software company at the forefront of simulation. This acquisition added software development and advanced military simulation and training solutions to BAE's expanding digital transformation portfolio. The addition enabled the company to fulfill the rising needs of customers in the continuously developing global military training market and would provide next-generation virtual systems for helping the US Military and its allies for future. Sep-2021: BAE Systems completed the acquisition of In-Space Missions, a UK company that builds, designs, and utilizes satellites and satellite systems. The acquisition integrated In-Space Missions' full lifecycle satellite capability with BAE Systems' experience in highly secure satellite communications, for making a compelling sovereign UK space offer. Feb-2021: BAE Systems completed the acquisition of Collins Aerospace's military GPS business. Collins military GPS would be combined into BAE Systems' Electronic Systems business. The acquisition brings GPS anti-spoofing and anti-jamming technology that allows reliable guidance and navigation for a range of defense missions. Scope of the Study Market Segments covered in the Report: By Mobility Fixed Man-portable By Platform Ground Airborne Naval Others By Geography North America o US o Canada o Mexico o Rest of North America Europe o Germany o UK o France o Russia o Spain o Italy o Rest of Europe Asia Pacific o China o Japan o India o South Korea o Singapore o Malaysia o Rest of Asia Pacific LAMEA o Brazil o Argentina o UAE o Saudi Arabia o South Africa o Nigeria o Rest of LAMEA Companies Profiled BAE Systems PLC L3Harris Technologies, Inc. Thales Group S.A. Northrop Grumman Corporation Lockheed Martin Corporation Elbit Sytems Ltd. Raytheon Technologies Corporation General Dynamics Corporation HENSOLDT AG Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. Unique Offerings Exhaustive coverage Highest number of market tables and figures Subscription based model available Guaranteed best price Assured post sales research support with 10% customization free Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422309/?utm_source=PRN About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Hyperautomation Market size is expected to reach $82.2 billion by 2028, rising at a market growth of 16.4% CAGR during the forecast period. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422470/?utm_source=PRN Source: ReportLinker Organizations employ hyperautomation, a business-driven, disciplined strategy, to fastly discover, validate, and automate as several businesses and IT activities as they can. Artificial intelligence (AI), event-driven software architecture, machine learning, business process management (BPM), robotic process automation (RPA), intelligent business process management suites (iBPMS), and low-code/no-code tools, integration platform as a service (iPaaS), packaged software, and other types of decision, task automation tools and process, and are few of the technologies, platforms, or tools, that are used in the context of hyperautomation. A hyperautomation practice entails determining which tasks should be automated, selecting the proper automation technologies, fostering agility via the reuse of the automated processes, and enhancing their capabilities utilizing a variety of AI and machine learning techniques. A center of excellence (CoE) that promotes automation efforts is often used to manage hyperautomation endeavors. Hyperautomation aims to take use of the data gathered and produced by digital processes in addition to reducing costs, increasing production, and improving efficiency. Businesses may use such data to better inform and accelerate business decisions. An intelligent digital workforce that can handle repetitive activities to improve employee performance is created by upskilling RPA. These Digital Workers, who can link to numerous corporate systems, work with both structured and unstructured data, evaluate data and make judgments, and find new processes and automation possibilities, are the change agents of hyperautomation. COVID-19 Impact Analysis Automation and robots may help in these circumstances by reducing the need for human labor, boosting productivity, and decreasing the chance of further plant outages. IoT, AI, and digitalization will also play a significant role in the future and decide new working methods. This raises the prospect of a highly automated market in the years to come. The dearth of trained employees and skilled workers is currently a serious problem in many fields. Although businesses are naively adopting this trend, which might have disastrous effects, they are not completely aware of where automation is necessary for their operations. Lack of trained labor and appropriate education are major factors in the implementation of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and machine learning, which may impede market development. Market Growth Factors Increasing hyper automation to gather critical information Needing less technical expertise will make configuring and managing automation tools and solutions simpler. If your company employs Hyper automation technologies, your staff will feel more empowered since they may be able to add something unique and helpful to your desk. Moving forward from RPA, hyper-automation accentuates and activates the characteristics of Intelligent Process Automation (IPA). IPA is becoming more prominently included in everyday business activities across sectors. To describe the monitoring of IT infrastructure, Gartner created the phrase "Hybrid Digital Infrastructure Management." The term "HDIM" refers to the activity of seeing and gaining access to an organization's infrastructure as a whole. Increasing digitization With the use of cutting-edge methodologies like Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Machine Learning (ML), and Artificial Intelligence, hyperautomation is a real digital transformation (AI). It automates complex business procedures even in situations where subject matter experts were once required. This is an augmentation of conventional business-process automation procedures. By combining AI technology with RPA, hyperautomation enables automation to carry out virtual jobs now done by businesspeople. Over the course of the projection period, all these reasons would encourage the market for hyperautomation to grow. Market Restraining Factors The lack of a qualified labor force might slow market expansion. A highly trained, talented, and experienced workforce with knowledge of cutting-edge technologies like ML and AI is needed for hyperautomation. Hyperautomation does have a shortage of trained human resources, nevertheless. Additionally, since employees are unable to keep up with these ongoing technological improvements, they are becoming a barrier to employment. The implementation of modern technologies across numerous sectors is delayed as a result of many businesses' inability to offer their staff proper training due to the rapid advancement of technology. Therefore, a major barrier to the expansion of the hyperautomation Market is the shortage of qualified labor and the high cost of the technology. Component Outlook Based on component, the hyperautomation market is divided into hardware, software, and services. In 2021, the software segment gained a substantial revenue share in the hyperautomation market. By creating solutions that streamline data processing and tedious administrative tasks, automation software helps firms become more efficient. These software programmes may be used in almost any industry to lessen the requirement for human participation. For instance, UiPath, one of the leading vendors of robotic process automation software, introduced an end-to-end hyper-automation platform in May 2020. Technology Outlook Based on technology, the hyperautomation market is classified into robotic process automation (RPA), biometrics, machine learning (ML), chatbots, natural language generation (NLG), context-aware computing, and computer vision. The Computer Vision segment is anticipated to grow at a promising rate during the forecast period. When used in conjunction with intelligent automation, computer vision is revolutionizing the manufacturing process by enhancing fault detection, security & safety standards, barcode analysis, and inventory management. As a result, manufacturers can easily track product quality, damages or faults, and structure surveillance. Deployment Outlook Based on deployment, the hyperautomation market is divided into on-premise and cloud. The market segment is anticipated to continue to develop steadily during the projected period, keeping its position as the market leader. Businesses may provide features and functionalities with increased efficiency and flexibility thanks to cloud deployment. Organizations may use a variety of data centers and cloud platforms for research and mapping by using cloud-based solutions. Additionally, benefits like lower costs and maintenance needs are boosting businesses' desire for cloud-based hyperautomation systems. Function Outlook Based on Function, the Hyperautomation market is divided into Marketing and sales, finance and accounting, human resources (HR), operations and supply chain and information technology. The finance & accounting segment procured the largest revenue share in the hyperautomation market in 2021. It is anticipated that the category would continue to dominate throughout the whole projection period. The segment is expanding as a result of the growing need to standardize, automate, and integrate hyperautomation technology in payroll administration, financial analysis, collection, invoicing, and financial statement preparation. This will help to decrease errors, improve collaboration, and increase overall productivity. Enterprise Size Outlook Based on enterprise size, the hyperautomation market is classified into large-size enterprises and small-and medium-sized organisations (SMEs). In terms of revenue, the large-size enterprises segment led the hyperautomation market in 2021. Companies need to store enormous amounts of everyday data due to the emergence of sophisticated business tools such as data analytics and big data. International businesses often choose corporate data centers with high levels of data security. In turn, this encourages sector expansion. Vertical Outlook Based on Vertical, the hyperautomation Market is segmented into manufacturing, automotive, BFSI, healthcare, IT & Telecom, retail, transportation & logistics, and others. In 2021, the healthcare segment attracted a prominent revenue share. In the healthcare industry, the rising requirement for hyper-automation is helpful for smart billing by gathering bill information from each department without needing human involvement. This may assist hospitals in managing insurance and claims while also saving a tonne of time. Government funding for hyper-automation technologies is also being used in this industry. Regional Outlook Based on region, the hyperautomation market is classified into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and LAMEA. The hyperautomation market was dominated by North America in 2021 by revenue share. The increasing need for greater efficiency and reduced corporate operating expenses, as well as rapid digitalization penetration, are some of the main drivers propelling market expansion in the area. Additionally, a number of regional sectors are embracing hyperautomation to build a more durable supply chain, which is fueling regional market expansion. The major strategies followed by the market participants are Partnership. Based on the Analysis presented in the Cardinal matrix; Tata Consultancy Services Limited and Honeywell International, Inc. are the forerunners in the Hyperautomation Market. Companies such as Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and Wipro Limited are some of the key innovators in Hyperautomation Market. The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include Wipro Limited, Honeywell International, Inc., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Appian Corporation, UiPath, Inc., Automation Anywhere, Inc., OneGlobe, LLC, SolveXia Pty. Ltd., and Allerin Tech Pvt. Ltd. Recent Strategies deployed in Hyperautomation Market Partnerships, Collaboration and Partnerships Nov-2022: UiPath entered into collaboration with Neostella, a hyper-automation firm. Through this collaboration, the customers would get flexible models which permit the enterprises to put automation into use and broaden their automation reach quickly and smoothly. Sep-2022: UiPath partnered with OutSystems, a leader in high-performance application development. Through this partnership, the companies focused on incorporating the high-performance low-code of OutSystems with the Business Automation Platform of UiPath. The combined effort of the partnership allowed customers to intelligently and securely automate their core business applications and processes, thereby improving efficiency, saving time, and offering favourable app experiences. Oct-2021: UiPath partnered with Snowflake, a Data Cloud company. Under this partnership, the companies focused on integrating Snowflake's platform with UiPath Insights, a Robotic Process Automation, offering analytical solutions for reporting, measuring, and alignment of automation operations of an enterprise with strategic business results. The combined result of the partnership offered elastic scaling, computing, and enterprise-grade protected data-sharing abilities that provide users with quicker data processing, and allows them to execute analysis of long-term histories to increase their automation. Aug-2021: Wipro Limited came into partnership with DataRobot, an AI Cloud company delivering a unified platform. Through this partnership, the company would provide Augmented Intelligence solutions to the customers and ultimately help them to become AI-based businesses. This move would simplify the process of integrating AI-led intelligence into businesses. Feb-2020: Wipro Limited partnered with Traydstream, a company with having AI-driven platform for trade experts. This partnership would help large enterprises and banks in simplify their businesses by automating trade transaction procedures. Product Launches and Product Expansions: May-2022: UiPath introduced Automation Cloud Robots along with more capabilities as part of the UiPath 2022.4 platform. The offering delivers businesses with a comprehensive foundation for automation to obtain accurate and fast results. Oct-2021: Automation Anywhere, Inc. launched Automation Anywhere for Contact Centers, AI-driven, cloud-native automation solution which helps businesses to provide a better service to customers. This newly launched platform would connect with all contact centre platforms to automate manual processes and attach data to help agents in solving problems. May-2021: Automation Anywhere, Inc. introduced the cloud-based Epic Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) API Bot. This launch would allow the integration of the inner and outer ecosystem of Epic Systems to provide preventive health warnings, efficiency, and industry compliance and maximize operational processes for cost. Additionally, this bot would automate access to electronic health records. May-2021-May UiPath launched UiPath Platform 21.4, the latest edition of the company's platform. Platform 21.4 offers support for automation programs of large-scale and increases the abilities required for scaling while aiding enterprises in automation initiatives' management. Dec-2020: Appian unveiled an updated version of the Appian Low-code Automation Platform. This launch would make it simple for IT to propel quick and significant business value from a new generation of scalable and powrful company's automation technologies, combined on the sector's leading platform for low-code development. The latest platform introduction offers the automation technologies and the development speed that describes the new world of hyperautomation. Acquisitions and Mergers: Dec-2022: Wipro Limited acquired Linecraft.ai, an industrial IoT product startup. Through this acquisition, the company would provide numerous automation solutions along with a digital layer providing analytics and insights to the consumers. Additionally, this move would broaden the digital capabilities of Wipro Limited. Aug-2022: UiPath took over Re:infer, a Conversational Data Intelligence platform. Through this acquisition, UiPath would integrate Re:infer's NLP technology with company's AI products and Document Understanding to broaden the ability of the company in the field of AI-powered automation services and brings new automation possibilities for the clients. Dec-2020: Honeywell acquired Sparta Systems, a Software Development company. This acquisition would help customers to get crucial insights from quality data which can enhance the process of manufacturing without compromising supply chain continuity, patient safety and product quality. Moreover, this acquisition would maintain the leadership of Honeywell in enterprise performance management software, industrial automation and digital transformation solutions. Jan-2020: Appian acquired Novayre Solutions SL, a developer of the Jidoka RPA platform. Through this acquisition, the company would create a single platform for RPA and low-code development allowing the integration of artificial intelligence, bots and humans. Scope of the Study Market Segments covered in the Report: By Deployment Cloud On-premise By Technology Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Machine Learning & Natural Language Generation Context Aware Computing & Chatbots Biometrics Computer Vision By Function Finance & Accounting Information Technology (IT) Marketing & Sales Operations & Supply Chain Others By Component Hardware Software Services By Enterprise Size Large-size Enterprises Small- & Medium-size Enterprises (SMEs) By Vertical Telecom & IT BFSI Manufacturing Automotive Retail Healthcare Transportation & Logistics Others By Geography North America o US o Canada o Mexico o Rest of North America Europe o Germany o UK o France o Russia o Spain o Italy o Rest of Europe Asia Pacific o China o Japan o India o South Korea o Singapore o Malaysia o Rest of Asia Pacific LAMEA o Brazil o Argentina o UAE o Saudi Arabia o South Africa o Nigeria o Rest of LAMEA Companies Profiled Wipro Limited Honeywell International, Inc. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Appian Corporation UiPath, Inc. Automation Anywhere, Inc. OneGlobe, LLC SolveXia Pty. Ltd. Allerin Tech Pvt. Ltd. Unique Offerings Exhaustive coverage Highest number of market tables and figures Subscription based model available Guaranteed best price Assured post sales research support with 10% customization free Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422470/?utm_source=PRN About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker The tinnitus medical devices market is expanding due to factors such as the increasing prevalence of tinnitus, as well as its causative and risk factors such as meningitis, hearing loss, deafness, otosclerosis, Meniere's disease, and others. Furthermore, the growing burden of geriatric patients will drive the tinnitus medical devices market, as the elderly are more prone to auditory disorders LAS VEGAS, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DelveInsight's Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Insights report provides the current and forecast market analysis, individual leading tinnitus medical devices companies' market shares, challenges, tinnitus medical devices market drivers, barriers, and trends, and key tinnitus medical devices companies in the market. Key Takeaways from the Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Report As per DelveInsight estimates, North America is anticipated to dominate the global tinnitus medical devices market during the forecast period. is anticipated to dominate the global tinnitus medical devices market during the forecast period. Notable tinnitus medical devices companies such as Starkey Laboratories, Inc., Neuromod, Neuromonics, Demant A/S, Puretone Ltd., GN Store Nord A/S, WS Audiology A/S, Sonova, MDHearing, Elkon Pvt. Ltd., Audina Hearing Instruments, Inc., Arphi Electronics Private Limited, Foshan Vohom Technology Co., Ltd., KIND GmbH & Co. KG, RION Co., Ltd., Istok Audio Trading LLC, Eargo Inc., AlgorKorea Co., Ltd., Lisound Hearing Aid ( Fuzhou ) Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Melison Medical Instrument Co., Ltd., and several others are currently operating in the tinnitus medical devices market. and several others are currently operating in the tinnitus medical devices market. In February 2023 , the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) approved Silentium Tech to import a new tinnitus treatment developed by the European manufacturer Cleanhearing GmbH. Cleanhearing Sono has been approved as a Class IIa medical device for tinnitus in the EU and the United Kingdom , and it will be available in South Africa in February 2023 . the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) approved Silentium Tech to import a new tinnitus treatment developed by the European manufacturer Cleanhearing GmbH. Cleanhearing Sono has been approved as a Class IIa medical device for tinnitus in the EU and the , and it will be available in in . In September 2022 , Neuromod Devices Ltd. , an Irish medical device company specializing in tinnitus treatment, reached an agreement with Tinnitus Klinika kft, a specialist tinnitus care provider, to make its Lenire device available in Hungary . , an Irish medical device company specializing in tinnitus treatment, reached an agreement with Tinnitus Klinika kft, a specialist tinnitus care provider, to make its Lenire device available in . In August 2022 , GN Hearing , a global leader in intelligent audio solutions, announced the launch of ReSound OMNIA, which provides significantly better hearing in noisy environments, with optimal comfort, having a seamless connection to the devices. , a global leader in intelligent audio solutions, announced the launch of ReSound OMNIA, which provides significantly better hearing in noisy environments, with optimal comfort, having a seamless connection to the devices. In May 2022 , Neuromod Devices Ltd, develop and commercialize a treatment for chronic tinnitus, reached an agreement with HR AS, Norway's largest private hearing and tinnitus care provider, to make its Lenire tinnitus treatment device available in Norway . develop and commercialize a treatment for chronic tinnitus, reached an agreement with HR AS, largest private hearing and tinnitus care provider, to make its Lenire tinnitus treatment device available in . In March 2022 , Starkey, a privately held, global hearing technology company headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota , announced that its newest and most advanced family of hearing aids, Evolv AI, is available for people in the market. To read more about the latest highlights related to the tinnitus medical devices market, get a snapshot of the key highlights entailed in the Global Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Report Tinnitus Medical Devices Overview Tinnitus is the perception of noise in the ears, such as roaring, ringing, or buzzing. It can be soft or loud, high or low pitched, and heard in either one or both ears. It is frequently misdiagnosed as a disease, but it is actually the symptom of other conditions such as circulatory system disorders, ear injury, and age-related hearing loss. Tinnitus has affected approximately 10% of the US population for at least 5 minutes, but it has now reached nearly 25 million. Tinnitus medical devices are devices that can help people manage their condition by reducing the perceived intensity, omnipresence, and burden of tinnitus. These devices are available in various product types with various features to help with tinnitus. Wearable sound generators, tinnitus masking devices, hearing aids, tinnitus relief pillows, notched-music devices, and other products are examples of different product types. Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Insights North America dominated the global tinnitus medical devices market in 2021 and will continue to do so during the forecast period (20222027). The rising prevalence of hearing disorders, the rising burden of the geriatric population, as well as the rising number of government initiatives for the safety and well-being of the population's hearing healthcare in North America are expected to drive demand for the North American tinnitus medical devices market between 2022 and 2027. In addition, the increasing number of product launches in the region is also expected to boost the tinnitus medical devices market growth. For instance, in August 2022, GN Hearing, a global leader in intelligent audio solutions, announced the launch of ReSound OMNIA, which provides significantly better hearing in noisy environments, with optimal comfort, having a seamless connection to the devices. To know more about why North America is leading the tinnitus medical devices market growth, get a snapshot of the Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Outlook Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Dynamics The rising prevalence of tinnitus and hearing loss worldwide is a major driver of the tinnitus medical devices market. In addition, the increasing risk factors for tinnitus, such as traumatic brain injury, Meniere's disease, sclerosis, head injury, vestibulocochlear nerve damage, and others, will drive up demand for tinnitus medical devices. Furthermore, the rising prevalence of meningitis, which causes tinnitus in severe cases, is a factor driving the growth of the tinnitus medical devices market. However, the high cost of the device, limitations associated with tinnitus medical devices, and other factors may impede the growth of the global tinnitus medical devices market. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a minor impact on the tinnitus medical devices market. The pandemic's outbreak resulted in the cancellation of outpatient visits and the suspension of non-emergency hospitals, and ENT departments, ENT clinics, audiology centers, and others were closed during the pandemic to prevent the disease from spreading among patients and hospital staff. Furthermore, the manufacturing of the devices was halted due to a lack of resources and manpower. Moreover, tinnitus medical devices such as hearing aids and others were not classified as emergency needs and were thus inaccessible to tinnitus patients. During the pandemic, this reduced the demand for tinnitus medical devices. However, during the lateral stage of the pandemic, the market for most medical devices, including tinnitus medical devices, began to recover due to the resumption of activities in industries such as the healthcare sector, bringing device demand back on track in the tinnitus medical devices market. Get a sneak peek at the tinnitus medical devices market dynamics @ Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Dynamics Analysis Report Metrics Details Coverage Global Study Period 20192027 Base Year 2021 Tinnitus Medical Devices Market CAGR ~3% Projected Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Size by 2027 USD 2.25 Billion Key Tinnitus Medical Devices Companies Starkey Laboratories, Inc., Neuromod, Neuromonics, Demant A/S, Puretone Ltd., GN Store Nord A/S, WS Audiology A/S, Sonova, MDHearing, Elkon Pvt. Ltd., Audina Hearing Instruments, Inc., Arphi Electronics Private Limited, Foshan Vohom Technology Co., Ltd., KIND GmbH & Co. KG, RION Co., Ltd., Istok Audio Trading LLC, Eargo Inc., AlgorKorea Co., Ltd., Lisound Hearing Aid (Fuzhou) Co., Ltd., Guangzhou Melison Medical Instrument Co., Ltd., among others Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Assessment Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Segmentation Market Segmentation By Product Type: Sound Masking Devices, Notched- Music Devices, Hearing Aids, and Others Sound Masking Devices, Notched- Music Devices, Hearing Aids, and Others Market Segmentation By Distribution Channel: Hospital and Retail Pharmacy, Specialty Clinics, and Others Hospital and Retail Pharmacy, Specialty Clinics, and Others Market Segmentation By Geography : North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and Rest of World : , , , and Rest of World Porter's Five Forces Analysis, Product Profiles, Case Studies, KOL's Views, Analyst's View Which MedTech key players in the tinnitus medical devices market are set to emerge as the trendsetter explore @ Tinnitus Medical Devices Companies Table of Contents 1 Report Introduction 2 Executive summary 3 Regulatory and Patent Analysis 4 Key Factors Analysis 5 Porter's Five Forces Analysis 6 COVID-19 Impact Analysis on Tinnitus Medical Devices Market 7 Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Layout 8 Global Company Share Analysis Key 3-5 Companies 9 Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Company and Product Profiles 10 Project Approach 11 About DelveInsight Interested in knowing the tinnitus medical devices market by 2027? Click to get a snapshot of the Tinnitus Medical Devices Market Trends Related Reports Tinnitus Market Tinnitus Market Insights, Epidemiology, and Market Forecast 2032 report delivers an in-depth understanding of the disease, historical and forecasted epidemiology, as well as the market trends, market drivers, market barriers, and key tinnitus companies, including Otonomy, Auris Medical, Gateway Biotechnology, Cognosetta, Knopp Biosciences, among others. Tinnitus Pipeline Tinnitus Pipeline Insight 2023 report provides comprehensive insights about the pipeline landscape, pipeline drug profiles, including clinical and non-clinical stage products, and the key tinnitus companies, including Otonomy, Auris Medical, Gateway Biotechnology, Cognosetta, Knopp Biosciences, among others. Hearing Aid Devices Market Hearing Aid Devices Market Insight, Competitive Landscape, and Market Forecast 2027 report delivers an in-depth understanding of the market trends, market drivers, market barriers, and key hearing aid devices companies, including Amplifon, Audina Hearing Instruments, Inc., Sonova, Demant A/S, audifon GmbH & Co. KG, GN Store Nord A/S, among others. Hearing Aid Adjustment System Market Hearing Aid Adjustment System Market Insight, Competitive Landscape and Market Forecast 2027 report delivers an in-depth understanding of the market trends, market drivers, market barriers, and key hearing aid adjustment system companies, including INVENTIS SRL, Natus Medical Incorporated, Frye Electronics, Inc, among others. ENT Handheld Instrument Market ENT Handheld Instrument Market Insight, Competitive Landscape and Market Forecast 2027 report delivers an in-depth understanding of the market trends, market drivers, market barriers, and key ENT handheld instrument companies, including Integra Lifesciences, Stryker, Medtronic, SPIGGLE & THEIS Medizintechnik GmbH, Olympus, among others. Hearing Screening Devices Market Hearing Screening Devices Market Insight, Competitive Landscape and Market Forecast 2027 report delivers an in-depth understanding of the market trends, market drivers, market barriers, and key hearing screening devices companies, including Sivantos Pte. Ltd., Amplivox Limited, Otodynamics Ltd., Inventis srl, among others. Other Trending Reports Tay-sachs Disease Or Gm2 Gangliosidosis Market | Onycholysis Market | Diagnostic Imaging Equipment Market | Chemotherapy-induced Peripheral Neuropathy Market | Global Electrophysiology Devices Market | Anaphylaxis Market | Atherectomy Devices Market | Helicobacter Pylori Infections Market | Ophthalmic Imaging Equipment Market | Androgenetic Alopecia Market | Allergic Rhinitis Market | Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy Market | Chronic Inflammtory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy Market | Colorectal Cancer Crc Market | Opioid Induced Constipation Market | Vertigo Market | Bone Anchored Hearing Systems Market | Wound Closure Devices Market | Hip Replacement Devices Market | Hemodynamic Monitoring Systems Market | Egfr Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Market | Helicobacter Pylori Infection Market | Hyperkalemia Market | Polycythemia Market Neurostimulation Devices Market | Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Market | Ventilator Market | Cerebral Aneurysm Market | Alpha Antitrypsin Market | Binge Eating Disorder Market | Bunion Market | Concussions Market Size | Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency Market | Healthcare Due Diligence Services | Minimal Residual Disease Market | Hypertrophic Scar Market | Lung Fibrosis Market | Anterior Uveitis Market | 22q11.2 deletion syndrome Market | X-Linked Retinitis Pigmentosa (XLRP) Market | Acute Radiation Syndrome Market | Alpha-1 Protease Inhibitor Deficiency Market | Androgenetic Alopecia Market | Hyperlipidemia Market | Cardiotoxicity Market | Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Market | Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorders (FAODs) Market | Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Market | Emphysema Market | Canaloplasty Market | Dravet Syndrome Market | Celiac Disease Market | Chlamydia Infections Market | Syphilis Market | Renal Tubular Acidosis Market | Palmoplantar Pustulosis (PPP) Market | Aplastic Anemia Market | Bacterial Pneumonia Market | B cell Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Market | B cell Lymphomas Market | Behcets Disease Market Neoantigen-based Personalized Cancer therapeutic Vaccines Competitive Landscape and Market Forecastby 2035 | Glioblastoma Market Related Healthcare Blogs Hearing Loss Treatment Market Hearing Loss Market Age-related Hearing Loss Market Hereditary Deafness Market Related Healthcare Services Healthcare Consulting Healthcare Competitive Intelligence Services Healthcare Asset Prioritization Services About DelveInsight DelveInsight is a leading Business Consultant and Market Research firm focused exclusively on life sciences. It supports pharma companies by providing comprehensive end-to-end solutions to improve their performance. Get hassle-free access to all the healthcare and pharma market research reports through our subscription-based platform PharmDelve. Connect with us on LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter Additionally, get in touch with our business executive to explore @ Healthcare Due Diligence Services Contact Us Shruti Thakur [email protected] +1(919)321-6187 https://www.delveinsight.com/medical-devices Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082265/DelveInsight_Logo.jpg SOURCE DelveInsight Business Research, LLP -Over 100 ASPIRE awards have been granted across 12 countries and 58 institutions since the program launched in 2018 NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research announced twelve outstanding research projects to receive its latest round of ASPIRE awards. Grantees from top academic institutions in Germany, Israel, Netherlands, Spain, and USA were awarded more than $4 million for projects that either aim to answer key feasibility and proof-of-concept questions in an accelerated time frame or seek to build on such demonstrated feasibility / proof-of-concept with a longer duration ASPIRE II Award. Ten ASPIRE awards and two ASPIRE II awards were granted. "The Mark Foundation ASPIRE awards support innovative ideas worldwide that have the potential to solve high-impact problems in cancer research. The high-risk nature of these projects, often based on new ideas that have not generated extensive preliminary data, tends to place them outside the scope of other funding opportunities," noted Ryan Schoenfeld, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, The Mark Foundation. "These latest grants utilize innovative technologies to enable research aimed at solving critical challenges across multiple cancer types including breast cancer, lung cancer, melanoma, and prostate cancer." "Launched in 2018, The Mark Foundation ASPIRE program has provided more than 100 grants totaling over $42 million across 12 countries and 58 institutions," added Raymond N. DuBois, MD, PhD, Executive Chairman, The Mark Foundation. "We are committed to increasing our global commitment to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery and the development of new cancer therapies and diagnostics." The Mark Foundation's new class of ASPIRE awards is listed below. For more detailed information on each project, titles link to the corresponding project pages on The Mark Foundation website. David Bilder, PhD, University of California, Berkeley Lessons from ancient mechanisms of tumor-host interactions Denes Hnisz, PhD, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics Targeting androgen receptor condensates in castration resistant prostate cancer Jos Jonkers, PhD, Netherlands Cancer Institute Somatic modelling of estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer in rats Nikhil Joshi, PhD, Yale University School of Medicine Developing genetic models for studying cardinal features of human cancer Angela Koehler, PhD, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Chemical probe validation for ligases that govern MYC post-translational stability Nir London, PhD, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel Chemical repair of an oncogenic mutation in p53 Aashish Manglik, MD, PhD, Michelle Arkin, PhD and Boris Bastian, MD, PhD, University of California San Francisco Exploiting protein structural dynamics for new uveal melanoma therapies Cristina Mayor-Ruiz, PhD and Antoni Riera Escale, PhD, Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), Spain; Alejo Efeyan, PhD, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncologicas (CNIO), Spain Chemical hijacking of E3 ligases for the selective targeting of oncogenic mTOR signaling Shari Pilon-Thomas, PhD, and Daniel Abate-Daga, PhD, Moffitt Cancer Center; Yong-Chen Lu, PhD, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Defining tumor infiltrating B cells and their role in the modulation of TIL immunotherapy Tuomas Tammela, MD, PhD, Dana Pe'er, PhD, and Rui Gardner, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Parallel molecular and functional dissection of cancer cell states in human solid tumors ASPIRE II awards, follow-on awards of longer duration, were granted to: Daniel Nomura, PhD, University of California, Berkeley Developing next-generation therapies and therapeutic modalities for cancer using covalent chemoproteomic platforms Rene Bernards, PhD, Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) and Anthony Letai, MD, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Requirements for senescence induction and vulnerabilities of the senescent state About The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research actively partners with scientists, research institutions, and philanthropic organizations around the world to accelerate research that will transform the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. Since 2017, The Mark Foundation has awarded more than $185 million in grants to enable innovative basic, translational, and clinical cancer research, including drug discovery. In 2022, The Mark Foundation received an additional $500 million commitment to fund cutting-edge cancer research in its first decade. The Mark Foundation also has a robust and growing portfolio of investments in oncology companies developing novel therapeutics and diagnostics. Through its research and venture arms, The Mark Foundation supports projects throughout their life cycle to ensure their highest chance of success in impacting the lives of patients with breakthroughs in cancer care. To learn more please visit www.TheMarkFoundation.org. Media Contact: Linda Heaney [email protected] SOURCE The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research Tunis/Tunisia Civil society groups in Tunisia, on Wednesday, spoke out against what they call "inciting speech" of president Kais Saied against migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. They unanimously denounced the president's recent call for urgent measures to stop the influx of irregular migrants from the region to Tunisia, arguing that it infringes on international conventions protecting migrants and laws prohibiting racial discrimination. They considered that the president's speech could contribute to rising violence, crime, and more forms of racial discrimination. President Kais Saied highlighted, as he chaired a meeting of the National Security Council in Carthage Tuesday, the need for immediate action to put a halt to the influx of irregular migrants from sub-Saharan Africa to Tunisia. This situation, he noted, is highly abnormal, with the continued influx of these migrants resulting in an increase in crime, violence, and other reprehensible practices. It is unacceptable and requires immediate intervention to restore order and security to the region. Member of the steering committee of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD) Nabila Hamza said the President's speech includes "incitement to hatred" and "racial discrimination against African migrants." A large number of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have arrived in Tunisia legally, including students, investors and others, she added. Hamza also said that the number of African students in Tunisia has decreased significantly in recent years due to the rise of hate speech and discriminatory discourse against them. She also deplored the "arbitrary arrest campaigns" by the police against dozens of African migrants, based on "race or skin colour," deeming these practices "a disgrace to Tunisia." Similarly, representative of the Observatory for the Defence of the Right to Difference Sirine Hammami told TAP that she urged a dialogue with Tunisian and African civil society organisations on the issue of migration and migrants in order to deal with this issue within a legislative and human rights framework. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Tunisia Governance Legal Affairs By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. She rejected the remarks made about the influx of irregular African migrants in Tunisia, recalling that a survey prepared by the National Institute of Statistics in 2021 reported 21,500 migrants including students and others. Spokesperson for the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) Romdhane Ben Amor had told TAP on February 20 that an incitement campaign targeting sub-Saharan migrants in Tunisia has taken a dangerous turn, particularly on social media through influencers and their supporters among MPs and some political parties. He criticised the silence of state institutions in the face of this campaign targeting African migrants, saying that there is a gap between the official discourse advocating respect for their rights and the reality of "abusive practices" against them. President Saied had ordered on Tuesday an action on all diplomatic, security and military levels with a strict and vigorous application of the law governing the status of foreigners in Tunisia. Partnership Empowers Students to Graduate with Two Degrees at Virtually the Same Time CHANDLER, Ariz., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC) and Dallas College have signed an agreement to offer concurrent enrollment to the approximately 3,000 students with Dallas College Allied Health Programs. The goal of the agreement is to provide an opportunity for Dallas College students who are working on associate degrees to concurrently enroll with UAGC to work on upper division classes and conceivably graduate at both Dallas College and UAGC at the same time. Applications will open on Friday, February 24, 2023. Please visit the UAGC-Dallas College Concurrent Enrollment page to learn more and apply. The partnership helps Dallas College fulfill its mission of transforming lives and communities through higher education. Tweet this "We are thrilled about this partnership with UAGC, which will open an additional pathway for Dallas College students to fast track their higher education and obtain an associate degree here and bachelor's degree from UAGC within virtually the same timeframe," said Dallas College Provost Dr. Shawnda Floyd. "This partnership truly helps Dallas College fulfill its mission of transforming lives and communities through higher education." Students currently enrolled in Dallas College Allied Health Programs will have the opportunity to concurrently enroll in popular UAGC programs, such as Bachelor of Arts in Health Care Administration and Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management through the UAGC College of Arts and Sciences. Some of the Dallas College programs that will feed into the UAGC programs include: AAS Adult Cardiac Sonography AAS Dental Hygiene AAS Diagnostic Medical Sonography AAS Health Information Technology AAS Invasive Cardiovascular Technology AAS Medical Laboratory Technology AAS Occupational Therapy Assistant AAS Radiologic Sciences AAS Respiratory Care AAS Surgical Technologist AAS Veterinary Technology "We are proud to offer Dallas College students this opportunity to advance their education and careers in the allied health field in a shorter amount of time," said UAGC President Paul Pastorek. "Our goal for this partnership is that it will have a life-changing impact on Dallas College/UAGC students and a ripple effect on their families and communities." Visit the UAGC-Dallas College Concurrent Enrollment page to learn more and apply. About University of Arizona Global Campus The University of Arizona Global Campus ("Global Campus" or "UAGC") is an independent university that is operated in affiliation with the University of Arizona. Global Campus is designed to provide flexible opportunities for working students from diverse backgrounds who seek to gain knowledge and skills that will help them to achieve their life and career goals. Global Campus is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) and is one of the nation's most innovative online universities with approximately 25,000 students. Recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)3 non-profit, UAGC is currently awaiting the Department of Education's formal ruling on our application to be designated as a non-profit institution. UAGC offers more than 50 degrees at the associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral levels. For more information visit uagc.edu. About Dallas College Dallas College, formerly the Dallas County Community College District, was founded in 1965, and consists of seven campuses: Brookhaven, Cedar Valley, Eastfield, El Centro, Mountain View, North Lake and Richland. Dallas College offers online learning and serves more than 125,000 credit and continuing education students during the fall and spring semesters. Dallas College also offers dual credit for students in partner high schools and early college high schools throughout Dallas County. Students benefit from partnerships with local business leaders, school districts and four-year universities, and Dallas College offers associate degree and career/technical certificate programs in more than 100 areas of study, as well as a bachelor's degree in education. Based on annual enrollment, it is the largest community college in Texas. SOURCE University of Arizona Global Campus GOLDEN, Colo., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Theralink Technologies (OTC: THER) ("Theralink" or the "Company"), a precision oncology company with a novel phosphoprotein-based assay for advanced breast cancer, today announced that the Company has begun receiving payments from third party payors for its advanced breast cancer assay. Mick Ruxin, M.D., CEO of Theralink said, "We are extremely pleased to bring our game-changing testing technology to all beneficiaries in the U.S. Access to the latest cancer testing technology is paramount in order to make informed treatment decisions that will affect patient outcomes. The milestone of receiving third party payor payments is a testament to the value that Theralink provides to cancer patients and their oncologists by way of actionable information for expanded treatment options." Theralink empowers physicians with new sources of actionable information with its patented, predictive, proteomic biomarker assay that assists oncologists with treatment decisions for their advanced breast cancer patients. Theralink's patented Reverse Phase Protein Array (RPPA) technology measures the tumor cell levels of activated proteins, which no other US technology can do in a commercial, multiplexed environment. These activated proteins are the primary targets of most FDA-approved therapies and investigational drugs. Dr. Ruxin concluded, "The above announcement speaks to our continued business growth and clinical influence as we work in a collaborative way with several U.S.-based cancer programs and private community practices as well as other stakeholders to improve access to care for all Americans affected by cancer." About Theralink Technologies, Inc. Theralink Technologies is a proteomics-based, precision medicine company with a nationally CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited laboratory located in Golden, Colorado. Through its unique and patented phosphoprotein and protein biomarker platform and LDTs, Theralink's technology targets multiple areas of oncology and drug development. In addition to the Company's first assay for advanced breast cancer, Theralink is actively working on a second assay that is planned to be pan-tumor for solid tumors across multiple tumor types such as ovarian, endometrial, pancreatic, liver, head and neck, colorectal, lung, and prostate, among others. Theralink provides precision oncology data through its powerful Theralink Reverse Phase Protein Array (RPPA) assays to assist the biopharmaceutical industry and clinical oncologists in identifying likely responders and non-responders to both FDA-approved and investigational drug treatments in ongoing clinical trials. Theralink intends to help improve cancer outcomes for patients, help reveal therapeutic options for oncologists, and support biopharmaceutical drug development by using a beyond-genomics approach to molecular profiling that directly measures drug target levels and activity. For more information, please visit www.theralink.com. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, anything relating or referring to future financial results, patient enrollment and plans for future business development activities, and are thus prospective. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties some of which cannot be predicted or quantified based on current expectations. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the risks and uncertainties set forth from time to time in reports filed by Theralink Technologies with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends affecting the financial condition of our business and although the company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Consequently, future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly release statements made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. SOURCE Theralink Technologies Talented Learning's RightFit Solution Grid Recognizes Thought Industries as a "Luminary" for its Enterprise-Grade Learning Platform BOSTON, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Thought Industries, the leading external enterprise learning platform for customer, partner and professional training, today announced it has been named a Luminary in the new Talented Learning RightFit Solution Grid. The report highlights Thought Industries' innovations, including its new headless LMS framework, which allows learning organizations to take full advantage of customization and extensibility. Thought Industries recognized as 'Luminary' and Top 20 Specialist Learning System by Talented Learning In its new report, Talented Learning recognized Thought Industries as a 'Luminary' learning system, specializing in multiple extended enterprise use cases, offering a true headless LMS framework, a full library of APIs, and low/no-code integrations. According to the Talented Learning RightFit Solution Grid, 'Luminary' learning solutions specialize in multiple extended enterprise use cases, are the first to market with new innovations, and demonstrate high measurable value. They are a great fit for organizations or associations focusing on customer, partner or training content-as-a-business, and those looking to scale with a proven business model. As part of the analysis, Talented Learning found that Thought Industries , the first of its kind to enable the virtually limitless building and deployment of learning solutions, was among the top learning systems in the following categories: Content creation E-commerce Reporting and analytics Instructor-led training (ILT) and virtual instructor-led training (vILT) API integration John Leh, CEO and Lead Analyst at Talented Learning, said in his report: "Thought Industries is a complete enterprise-grade learning system built specifically for customer education, content as a business and channel partner education. This powerful solution enables headless LMS scenarios and seamlessly combines LMS, CMS, CRM and content authoring tools. It also includes world-class B2B2B e-commerce capabilities that meet the needs of even the most complex large-scale training companies." Barry Kelly, CEO at Thought Industries, said: "Once again, I am delighted to see Thought Industries recognized for our world-leading headless LMS for customer education. Being named not just a top 20 specialist learning platform, but also a Luminary in the Talented Learning RightFit Solution Grid, is yet more proof that Thought Industries is paving the way for enterprise-grade learning organizations looking to deliver high-impact customer training, and training businesses who want to boost revenue, retention, and profitability." To see the full top 40 learning systems list, get your copy of the 2023 Commercial LMS and Learning Systems Market Report here . About Thought Industries Thought Industries powers the business of learning with the industry's leading enterprise learning platform for customer, partner and professional training. The company was founded in 2013 around the core belief that online learning experiences should be modern, intuitive, engaging, and scalable. Today, the Thought Industries growing team builds and maintains the only learning platform with completely native tools and integrations that drive higher customer engagement, learner proficiency, and retention. Headquartered in Boston, Thought Industries has offices across North America and Europe. For more information, visit thoughtindustries.com and follow the company on LinkedIn and Twitter . About Talented Learning Talented Learning is a fiercely independent research, consulting and education firm devoted to helping organizations of all types choose and use modern learning systems and related technologies for their unique business needs. Founded in 2014 by e-learning industry veteran John Leh , Talented Learning is on a mission to advance awareness and adoption of learning technology that adds business value primarily for the extended enterprise. For more information visit TalentedLearning.com and follow the company on LinkedIn , Twitter and YouTube . SOURCE Thought Industries DUBLIN, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Turkey Floating Storage Regasification Unit Market By Construction (Newly Built, Converted), By Storage (Small, Medium, Large), By Application (Industrial, Power Generation, Others), By Capacity, By Design, By Region, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Turkey floating storage regasification unit market is anticipated to witness a growth of steady CAGR in the forecast period, 2023-2027 Growing energy requirements and the high-end investments by the government in oil exploration and distribution activities are primarily driving the demand for Turkey floating storage regasification unit market. Also, the rapid adoption of advanced technologies by oil & gas accidents to increase safety in the distribution process and the growing LNG import demand from the power and the automotive sector are expected to fuel the market demand over the next five years. Advantages offered by LNG Supports High Market Demand Liquefied natural gas is an odorless and colorless liquid fuel and finds diverse applications across many sectors, majorly in the industrial sector and marine and transport sectors. The rise in environmental concerns and the need to lower carbon emissions into the environment create the demand for the adoption of alternative energy fuels. Liquefied natural gas is a versatile fuel and is an environment-friendly fuel. It is a tried and tested alternative to an expensive oil-based system for the business whose main concerns are sustainability and costs. Liquefied natural gas is cheaper, cleaner, and fuel-efficient gas. It does not ignite by itself when stored in liquid form, making them safe to use. Also, the abundant supply of earth and the ability to transport and store LNG support the high demand for LNG across the country. LNG import Drives the Market Growth The floating storage & regasification unit is witnessing massive demand across the country as it has a high demand for natural gas and does not have sufficient oil-producing regions. The pipeline networks are non-existent in Turkey and are considered uneconomical due to a smaller number of natural gas reserves. Turkey relies on pipeline gas from neighboring countries like Russia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. The concerned authorities prefer to invest in the import of LNG due to LNG's flexibility and compatible prices rather than constructing a pipeline network to transfer gas to the required destination. Floating storage & regasification unit provides an affordable alternative solution to import LNG compared to other land-based terminals. They offer quick project turnaround time and greater flexibility than other alternatives. The high domestic consumption of LNG and import dependency on other countries is expected to propel the growth of Turkey floating storage regasification unit market for the next five years. Favorable Government Initiatives Fuel the Market Demand The government invests substantial amounts in supporting the power sector to cater to the growing energy requirements due to rapid industrialization and urbanization. Turkey welcomed its first publicly owned floating storage regasification unit, which was previously anchored in Dortyol in Turkey's southern province of Hatay. The new vessel can store 170,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas and has a regasification capacity of 28 million cubic meters daily. There are two others floating storage regasification units present in Turkey. One is anchored in Hatay's Dortyol district, and the other is in the Aliaga district of western Izmir. The growing focus on fulfilling the country's energy requirements is expected to accelerate the growth of Turkey floating storage regasification unit market over the forecast period. Competitive Landscape Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in Turkey floating storage regasification unit market. Excelerate Energy Hoegh LNG Golar LNG BW Gas Gazprom Flex LNG EXMAR Maran Gas Maritime Teekay LNG Bumi Armada Report Scope: Turkey Floating Storage Regasification Unit Market, By Construction: Newly Built Converted Turkey Floating Storage Regasification Unit Market, By Storage: Small Medium Large Turkey Floating Storage Regasification Unit Market, By Application: Industrial Power Generation Others Turkey Floating Storage Regasification Unit Market, By Capacity: Up to 140,000 m3 140,000 to 180,000 m3 Above 180,000 m3 Turkey Floating Storage Regasification Unit Market, By Design: Barge-Based Carrier Vessel-Based Turkey Floating Storage Regasification Unit Market, By Region: Marmara Region Central Anatolia Aegean Region Mediterranean Region Black Sea Region Southeastern Anatolia Region Eastern Anatolia Region For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/s5wu89-floating?w=5 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo:https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets Through its Cybersecurity Assurance Program, UL Solutions is helping the automotive industry advance cybersecurity management systems for connected vehicle technologies. NORTHBROOK, Ill., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UL Solutions, a global leader in applied safety science, today announced it issued the first Cybersecurity Assurance Program Certificate for ISO/SAE 21434:2021, Road Vehicles Cybersecurity Engineering to LG Innotek. The UL Solutions Cybersecurity Assurance Program (CAP) Certificate recognizes that LG Innotek's cybersecurity management system meets the requirements of the ISO/SAE 21434:2021 standard, which was introduced last year. UL Solutions has issued the first Cybersecurity Assurance Program Certificate for ISO/SAE 21434:2021, Road Vehicles Cybersecurity Engineering to LG Innotek. The UL Solutions Cybersecurity Assurance Program (CAP) Certificate recognizes that LG Innoteks cybersecurity management system meets the requirements of the ISO/SAE 21434:2021 standard, which was introduced last year. Cybersecurity is increasingly crucial for occupant protection as road vehicles become more connected and less isolated. Without a compliant cybersecurity management system, connectivity technology can leave road vehicles more vulnerable to automotive cybersecurity risks and ultimately affect the safety of the driver and passengers. UL Solutions helps automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and suppliers assess cybersecurity risk throughout the complete product life cycle to help them identify problems earlier in the design phase before discovering issues in the final product. "Cybersecurity risk management frameworks empower manufacturers to demonstrate that they prioritize cybersecurity and have mitigation measures in place in case of incidents or breaches," said Jody Nelson, managing director of Automotive Cybersecurity and Functional Safety at UL Solutions. "This proactive approach builds trust among buyers, which is fundamental to building valued brands. Congratulations to LG Innotek for achieving the first CAP certificate issued for the automotive industry. This milestone showcases LG Innotek's commitment to building a process that meets requirements set by current automotive cybersecurity standards." The 2021 Global Automotive Consumer Study from Deloitte revealed that the majority of more than 24,000 consumers surveyed are concerned about someone hacking into their connected car systems and compromising their safety. Among consumers participating in the study, 66% in India, 64% in the United States and 58% in China indicated concerns regarding automotive cybersecurity risks. Given the rapidly growing complexity of connected vehicles, it is increasingly challenging to eliminate cybersecurity risks. As a result, emerging regulations, such as ISO/SAE 21434:2021 and UN Regulation No. 155, Cybersecurity and Cybersecurity Management System, guide developing a risk management framework designed to assess risk early in the development phases, address cybersecurity challenges as they present themselves and track progress over time. "Cybersecurity risk management proves critical to successfully delivering quality automotive components and connected vehicles in both commercial and passenger segments," Nelson said. "In today's world, security is intrinsic to quality. Our security experts offer a cross-functional technical experience to support the global automotive industry and suppliers such as LG Innotek in the shift toward connected vehicles." ISO/SAE 21434:2021 specifies engineering requirements for cybersecurity risk management regarding the concept, product development, production, operation, maintenance and decommissioning of electrical and electronic (E/E) systems in road vehicles, including their components and interfaces. The standard defines a framework that includes requirements for cybersecurity processes and a common language for communicating and managing cybersecurity risk. About UL Solutions A global leader in applied safety science, UL Solutions transforms safety, security and sustainability challenges into opportunities for customers in more than 100 countries. UL Solutions delivers testing, inspection and certification services, together with software products and advisory offerings, that support our customers' product innovation and business growth. The UL Certification Marks serve as a recognized symbol of trust in our customers' products and reflect an unwavering commitment to advancing our safety mission. We help our customers innovate, launch new products and services, navigate global markets and complex supply chains, and grow sustainably and responsibly into the future. Our science is your advantage. PRESS CONTACT: Steven Brewster UL Solutions [email protected] T: +1 (847) 664.8425 SOURCE UL Solutions CHICAGO, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ultrasound probe covers are expected to become more widely available in the near future. As technology continues to advance, the need for these covers will likely grow. They will be used to protect the probes from dust, dirt and other contaminants that could interfere with the accuracy of the imaging. They will also be used to reduce the risk of cross-contamination between patients. In addition, they will be able to provide additional protection to the patient and reduce the risk of infection. As more ultrasound machines are being used in clinical settings, it is likely that the need for ultrasound probe covers will continue to grow. Ultrasound Probe Covers Market in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth $213 million in 2022 and is poised to reach $ 283 million by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 5.9% from 2022 to 2027 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. The overall increase in the number of ultrasound procedures performed globally is the major factor driving the market during the forecast period. This increase can be attributed to the rising population of people aged 65 years and above, along with the drastically growing prevalence of chronic diseases, among other factors. Download an Illustrative overview: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=120737591 Browse in-depth TOC on "Ultrasound Probe Covers Market" 159 - Tables 54 - Figures 209 - Pages Ultrasound Probe Covers Market Scope: Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2022 $213 million Estimated Value by 2027 $283 million Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% Market Size Available for 20202027 Forecast Period 20222027 Forecast Units Value (USD Million) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Ultrasound probe covers Material, Type, End User, Application, Region Geographies Covered Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities High growth opportunities in emerging countries Key Market Drivers Advancements in ultrasound imaging modalities Additionally, emerging countries present an opportunity for the market to grow in the forecast period. This report divides the ultrasound probe covers market into five segments type, material, application, end user, and region. "During the forecast period, the endocavitary probe covers segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment of the ultrasound probe covers market." Under application, endocavitary probe covers is forecasted to grow at the highest CAGR from 2022 to 2027. An increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular, gynecological, and age-related chronic diseases, which require ultrasound imaging for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes, is expected to fuel the growth of this market segment. "In 2021, by end user, hospitals and diagnostic imaging centers held the largest share of the ultrasound probe covers market." By end user, the ultrasound probe covers market can be segmented into hospitals and diagnostic imaging centers, ambulatory care centers, research and academic institutes, maternity centers, and other end users. Due to the large share of ultrasound procedures performed at hospitals and diagnostic imaging centers, this segment occupied the largest share of the market in 2021. Additionally, there has been an increased focus on eradicating hospital-acquired infections, which has led to an increasing demand for ultrasound probe covers. "In 2021, North America was the region with the largest market share in the ultrasound probe covers market " The ultrasound probe covers market is segmented into five major regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. North America accounted for the largest share of the ultrasound probe covers market in 2021. The high prevalence of target diseases, rising preterm births, and presence of major players in the US is driving the growth of the ultrasound probe covers market in the region. Request for FREE Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=120737591 Ultrasound Probe Covers Market Dynamics: Drivers: Advancements in ultrasound imaging modalities Rising global geriatric population and increasing prevalence of chronic diseases Adoption of ultrasound imaging for early diagnosis Rising incidence of hospital-acquired infections due to improper reprocessing of ultrasound probes Increasing birth rate/number of pregnancies Restraints: Lack of awareness about probe reprocessing and infection control Opportunities: High growth opportunities in emerging countries Challenges: Lack of trained professionals Adoption of remote ultrasound technologies Key Market Players: Key players in the ultrasound probe covers market include CIVCO Medical Solutions (US), Becton, Dickinson and Company (US), Ecolab, Inc. (US), Sheathing Technologies, Inc. (US), and Aspen Surgical (US). These companies adopted strategies such as partnerships, acquisitions, and investments to strengthen their presence in the ultrasound probe covers market. Recent Developments In April 2022 , Audax Private Equity (US) invested in Aspen Surgical (US), which will allow Audax to continue to support Aspen as it pursues imminent organic growth and larger-scale acquisition opportunities to expand globally. , Audax Private Equity (US) invested in Aspen Surgical (US), which will allow Audax to continue to support as it pursues imminent organic growth and larger-scale acquisition opportunities to expand globally. In December 2021 , GE Healthcare (US) acquired BK Medical (US) to add the field of real-time surgical visualization to its pre- and post-operative ultrasound capabilities. , GE Healthcare (US) acquired BK Medical (US) to add the field of real-time surgical visualization to its pre- and post-operative ultrasound capabilities. In March 2021 , Aspen Surgical (US) acquired BlueMed Medical Supplies ( Canada ) to strengthen its broad portfolio of surgical disposables and patient and staff safety products. , Aspen Surgical (US) acquired BlueMed Medical Supplies ( ) to strengthen its broad portfolio of surgical disposables and patient and staff safety products. In February 2021 , CS Medical LLC (US) renewed its partnership with Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC, US) for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=120737591 Ultrasound Probe Covers Market Advantages: Ultrasound probe covers are designed to provide a sterile environment and reduce the risk of cross contamination during medical examinations. They can be used for multiple applications such as general imaging, obstetrics, and gynecology, as well as cardiology, neurology, and other specialties. The covers are easy to use and provide an effective barrier against bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms. They are cost effective and come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and materials, making them suitable for different types of medical procedures. The covers are also available in disposable and reusable varieties, providing more convenience and cost savings. Browse Adjacent Market: Related Reports: Medical Device Cleaning Market - Global Forecasts to 2027 Infection Control Market - Global Forecasts to 2027 Veterinary Ultrasound Market - Global Forecasts to 2027 Ultrasound Probe Disinfection Market - Global Forecasts to 2026 Ultrasound Market - Global Forecasts to 2026 About MarketsandMarkets: MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/ultrasound-probe-covers-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/ultrasound-probe-covers.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets DUBLIN, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "United Kingdom Telecom ICT Infrastructure Market" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. United Kingdom telecom ICT infrastructure market is anticipated to register growth with an impressive CAGR in the forecast period, 2023-2027. The market growth can be attributed to growing demands for internet-based and digitized services in the country. Swift changes and the shift of offline work to the work from home bases further fuel the growth of the United Kingdom telecom ICT infrastructure market in the upcoming five years. Increasing investment and development of the telecom infrastructure and growing service expansion to provide high-speed networks further support the growth of the United Kingdom telecom ICT infrastructure market in the next five years. Cyber Security Concerns Drive Market Growth With higher dependency on online finance, data storage, and automation procedures, the threat of data theft has increased multiple folds. Businesses as well as personalized users have been generating considerable demands for data theft, thereby driving the growth of the United Kingdom telecom ICT infrastructure market in the upcoming five years. An inclination toward online money transfer, growing online-based payment apps, and a surge in security demands further fuel the market growth. Higher penetration of the internet coupled with a growing number of smart devices and the internet of things also aid the growth of the United Kingdom telecom ICT infrastructure market in the future five years. High usage of social media sites and sharing of personal data over the websites also come under the threat of data loss, and personal data thefts, thereby surging the demands for advanced telecom ICT infrastructure and thus supporting the market growth. Faster Internet Connection Promises Market Growth Increasing adaptation toward faster internet connections and high-speed internet access is further substantiating the growth of the United Kingdom telecom ICT infrastructure market in the future years. With growing demand for the internet of things including the use of artificial intelligence for the facilitation of smart devices further facilitates the growth of the United Kingdom telecom ICT infrastructure market in the forecast years through 2027. Growing investments in the telecom industry and advancement of the internet-based services also add to the growth of the United Kingdom telecom ICT infrastructure market in the upcoming five years. ICT infrastructures include hardware (mainly physical servers), software, networks, data centers, facilities, and related equipment, which are used to develop, test, operate, monitor, manage, and support ICT services. Investments are higher in the development of hardware and software. Advancement in IT services also substantiates the growth of the United Kingdom telecom ICT infrastructure market in the forecast period. Competitive Landscape Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in United Kingdom telecom ICT infrastructure market. ZTE Corporation Ciena Corporation Cisco Systems Inc. CommScope, Inc. Fortinet Inc. Fujitsu Huawei Technologies Juniper Networks Inc. Report Scope: United Kingdom Telecom ICT Infrastructure Market, By Component: Hardware Networking Equipment Transmitting Device End Point Device Software Operations Support Software Business Support Software Network Management Software Others Services Professional Managed United Kingdom Telecom ICT Infrastructure Market, By Deployment Mode: On-Premises Cloud United Kingdom Telecom ICT Infrastructure Market, By Network Type: Wireless Fixed United Kingdom Telecom ICT Infrastructure Market, By End User: Telecom Service Providers Government Enterprises Others United Kingdom Telecom ICT Infrastructure Market, By Region: Wales Scotland England Northern Ireland For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/cpgilk-kingdom?w=5 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets DUBLIN, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "United States Ophthalmic Equipment Market By Product (Vision Care Products, Ophthalmology Surgical Devices, Diagnostic & Monitoring Devices, Others) By Application, By End User, By Region, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The United States ophthalmic equipment market is anticipated to show robust growth in the upcoming five years, 2023-2027 The market growth can be attributed to rising incidences of eye diseases in the population along with the availability of the equipment in the market. The geriatric population is most susceptible to weakening eyesight and contracting various kinds of eye diseases. As the age of a human being increases the degeneration of nerve cells, and the capacity of the eye lenses to change the focus rapidly decreases thereby causing various conditions of weak eyesight. Also, eye diseases like cataract, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and amblyopia, affects the visionary abilities of the geriatric population at large. Therefore, the rising number of geriatric populations would support the growth of the United States ophthalmic equipment market in the upcoming five years. Moreover, newborn babies with critical vision disabilities and challenging eye-sight issues are being born due to various conditions, the rise in the number of such birth are demanding advanced technology and medically modern equipment for the diagnosing and surgical process for the child, thereby supporting the growth of the market in the next five years. Furthermore, technological advancements in ophthalmic devices, government initiatives to control visual impairment, and the rising adoption of contact lenses and spectacles are aiding the rapid growth of the United States ophthalmic equipment market in the upcoming five years. Although, the high cost of surgical devices and treatment procedures might affect the market growth mildly in the forecast period, until 2027. The branch of medicine and surgery that deals with visionary defects and diseases along with the diagnosing and treatment of eye disorders are coined as ophthalmology. The devices, and medical equipment used in the diagnosing and treatment procedures in ophthalmology, are the ophthalmology equipment. It encircles all sorts of tools, from the diagnosing device, ophthalmometer, eye-sight correcting contact lenses, phoropter, and tonometer, all belonging to the ophthalmic equipment criteria. Ophthalmology surgical devices are anticipated to hold the largest revenue shares of the market in the next five years, on the account of increasing instances of eye diseases that require the surgical procedure as a treatment process. Diseases like cataracts, glaucoma, refractive errors, and diabetic retinopathy are propelling the growth of the surgical devices market. Moreover, diagnostic and monitoring devices are also anticipated to register significant shares of the market due to the post-op processes and pre-op diagnosing procedures. With the advancement of technology, it is appropriate to say that the effective research and development of technologically advanced medical devices would support market growth and benefit the market players as well as the consumers. New market players may focus on research and development to provide devices that satisfy consumer demand as well as benefits the market players in building their brand value. Other competitive strategies include mergers & acquisitions and new product developments. The objective of the Study: To analyze the historical growth of the market size of the United States Ophthalmic Equipment market from 2017 to 2020. To estimate and forecast the market size of the United States ophthalmic equipment market from 2021 to 2027 and the growth rate until 2027. ophthalmic equipment market from 2021 to 2027 and the growth rate until 2027. To classify and forecast the United States ophthalmic equipment market based on product, application, end-user, competitional landscape, and regional distribution. ophthalmic equipment market based on product, application, end-user, competitional landscape, and regional distribution. To identify the dominant region or segment in the United States ophthalmic equipment market. ophthalmic equipment market. To identify drivers and challenges for the United States ophthalmic equipment market. ophthalmic equipment market. To examine competitive developments such as expansions, new product launches, mergers & acquisitions, etc., in the United States ophthalmic equipment market. ophthalmic equipment market. To identify and analyze the profile of leading players operating in the United States ophthalmic equipment market. ophthalmic equipment market. To identify key sustainable strategies adopted by market players in the United States ophthalmic equipment market. Competitive Landscape Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in the United States ophthalmic equipment market. Alcon Inc. Johnson & Johnson CooperVision, Inc. Bausch Health Companies, Inc Carl Zeiss , Inc. , Inc. Glaukos Corporation STAAR Surgical Company Heidelberg Engineering, Inc. Canon Inc. Optovue, Inc Report Scope: United States Ophthalmic Equipment Market, By Product: Vision Care Products Ophthalmology Surgical Devices Diagnostic & Monitoring Devices Others United States Ophthalmic Equipment Market, By Application: Glaucoma Amblyopia Cataract Retinal Detachment Others United States Ophthalmic Equipment Market, By End User: Hospitals & Clinics Ambulatory Care Centers Others United States Ophthalmic Equipment Market, By Region: Southwest Mid-West Northeast For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ivuqh-states?w=5 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets HANOVER, N.H., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- By the end of December 2022, close to 50 unwanted callers were sneaking into every home with a landline each week. This represents a 7x increase in unwanted call volume since the Spring of 2022. 95 MILLION Americans Rely on a Landline Phone. But 85% of the calls they get are "unwanted." Why Traditional Call Blocking Doesn't Work - Each spam caller has access to hundreds, if not thousands, of different phone numbers. So trying to block each different number, one by one is a failed exercise. This company tried calling from at least 15 different numbers. "We saw a big uptick in the unwanted call volume on landline phones heading into the holiday season," said imp's President George Lightbody. "95 million Americans rely on their landline phone. But these unwanted callers are jamming up the lines. Which means that not only are phones being used as an attack vector for scammers, but people are missing important calls from doctors' offices and pharmacies." How to Block a Number on a Landline (and Why Traditional Call Blockers Don't Work) imp's Landline Landscape Report compiles landline call traffic from users across the United States. It is the only analysis available that focuses exclusively on landline phone use. A key finding in this latest report reveals that traditional call blockers are at best a "5% solution." Out of the hundreds of thousands of calls imp handled in Q4, only 5% qualified as "blockable" - that is, a call that came from a known bad guy using the same phone number. The problem is that these unwanted callers each have access to hundreds of possible numbers to call you from. So, if you block one, they will just call from another. And if you block that one, they will sneak in from the third number they use. This is why imp's Greenlist Technology focuses on callers you actually want to hear from. Known contacts easily ring through while everyone else is silently handled by imp. (Note: see the included image of the phone numbers companies like DYNATA have access to.) Additional Key Findings: 95 MILLION Americans Rely on a Landline Phone: Nearly one third of all households in the US have a landline phone. Of these households, 8 out of every 10 households report being actively bothered by unwanted landline calls. 85% of Landline Calls are Unwanted: Households with a landline phone receive on average 54 calls per week. Landline users classify 48 of these calls as "unwanted." Only 6 of the 54 calls are "wanted" calls from friends and family. Additional Stats from the Study Include: 7.2 Billion calls were made to household landlines in December 2022 alone. alone. The highest number of unwanted calls received by a landline phone in ONE WEEK is 690. The highest number of unwanted calls received by a landline phone in ONE DAY is 150. About imp Founded in 2019 in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire, imp's mission is to rid the world from the scourge of the unwanted caller. The imp smart home landline system is powered by Greenlist Technology, creating America's most robust smart landline network capable of stopping 100% of unwanted calls. For more information, visit joinimp.com. Media Contact: George Lightbody 1-800-374-0056 [email protected] SOURCE imp The Advanced Anticonvulsant System (AAS) - Midazolam autoinjector, delivers enhanced capability to warfighters. This first in market product was developed by Rafa in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense JERUSALEM, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rafa Laboratories LTD. ("Rafa") was awarded a follow-on production agreement for a total value of over $45 million (W911SR2390004) from the Defense Department's (DOD) Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND). Under this follow-on production agreement, Rafa has manufactured and began delivering 10mg Midazolam Injection autoinjectors to the Joint Force since December 2022. The Midazolam Injection autoinjector is indicated for the treatment of status epilepticus in adults. As such, this new Advanced Anticonvulsant System (AAS) autoinjector can be used to treat seizures resulting from nerve agent exposure. According to JPEO-CBRND, "the AAS improves upon, and will eventually replace, the currently fielded Convulsant Antidote for Nerve Agent (CANA) diazepam autoinjector. Fielding the Midazolam Injection autoinjector gives the warfighter and the Nation access to a life-saving medical countermeasure in CBRN environments." This production agreement is a follow-on to a prototype other transaction agreement (W911QY2090014) between the two parties that led to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the Midazolam Injection autoinjector on 2022. According to guidelines of the American Epilepsy Society, Midazolam Intramuscular is a first-line therapy for Status Epilepticus. Rafa's innovation resides in the use of an autoinjector to be administered intramuscularly to the thigh (can be administered through clothes as well), in a simple and fast manner which does not require an intravenous line. This is a significant advantage in a field setting during an emergency, when fast treatment reduces the likelihood of permanent damage that could result from a continuous seizure. The product was developed and is currently being manufactured at Rafa's site located in Jerusalem, Israel. It is already sold for emergency purposes to NATO member states and is an important addition to Rafa's expanding autoinjector portfolio, which includes various formulations for emergency use. This production agreement demonstrates further cooperation between Rafa and the JPEO-CBRND, having previously collaborated on the production of Rafa's Atropine autoinjector that was launched in the U.S. in 2017. About Rafa Founded in 1937 and headquartered in Jerusalem, Israel, Rafa is among the leading pharmaceutical companies in Israel and a global player in emergency solutions medical countermeasures, supplying reliable and robust auto-injectors to government agencies, military forces and civilian populations- at scale. Rafa's competencies span over the entire value chain from R&D and manufacturing by international standards (e.g. FDA, EMA) all the way through sales and marketing. With a proven track record of successful commercialization of niche and orphan products, Rafa has been privileged to nurture long-lasting alliances with leading innovative companies such as United Therapeutics, Helsinn, Zambon, Dr. Falk and Mundipharma, in a variety of therapeutic areas including oncology, hematology, respiratory, gastroenterology, and dermatology. Rafa's controlling shareholder, FIMI Opportunity Funds, is the leading private equity fund in Israel with a track record of success spanning over 25 years and assets under management of $7b. Since its inception, FIMI's performance has been exceptional by both local and global standards after having completed close to 100 investments." For additional information, please contact Roy Shay, Head of Emergency Solutions at Rafa, [email protected] SOURCE Rafa "Here in the Horn of Africa, a prolonged drought has left communities with devastating consequences in its wake. As our world has become more connected, we have seen how hunger and violence, poverty and natural disasters, arent contained by borders." - @FLOTUS during a visit to Kajiado County on her final stop in Kenya. Windhoek, Namibia Jill Biden on Wednesday made the first visit by a U.S. first lady to the southwestern African nation of Namibia -- chosen, she said, because of its vibrant democracy. The Namibian president and first lady warmly welcomed her on the first stop of her first trip to the continent as first lady. When asked why she chose Namibia -- an arid, sparsely populated southern African nation -- as the first stop on what the White House says is a show of support and respect for the African continent, Biden did not hesitate. "We wanted to come because you know this is a young democracy, and we want to support democracies around the world," she said. "We met each other in December, and we're just continuing the relationship. Monica and I think it's safe to say that we became good friends instantly." That friend -- Namibian first lady Monica Geingos -- agreed. "There's a lot in Namibia that we'd really like to show Dr. Biden. I know it's her first visit to Namibia. I know it's the first time an incumbent American first lady has come to the country, and I think what she talked about is very true. It is a very vibrant democracy. We've got a very large youth population, who drives that democracy, very energetic and fully enabled by our constitutional values but also by the personal values of our leadership. He may not look it, but he's really the ultimate democrat." Jill Biden is the first White House official to visit the country after President Joe Biden last year pledged to send administration officials to the continent. She follows Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who visited earlier this year. Visit highlights hunger Like Biden, Thomas-Greenfield focused part of her visit around a food security crisis in East Africa -- something Biden plans to highlight when she visits Kenya later this week. But these high-profile visits are also happening against the background of increased visits by top-level Russian and Chinese officials to the continent. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia U.S., Canada and Africa By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Geingos' husband, President Hage Geingob, waited alone in a foyer while the two first ladies were entertained by dancers from the Nama, Oshiwambo and Tswana people, who ululated and danced in a flurry of leopard print, white beads and hot pink springbok pelts. VOA asked him what he thought of the unprecedented visit. "We are very happy and honored to have the first lady of the United States. It's a great honor to have her here," he replied. While the nation is a multiparty democracy, the same party -- Geingob's South West Africa People's Organization -- has led since the nation won independence more than three decades ago. And that liberation struggle pulled in other countries for support. Earlier Wednesday, Biden laid a wreath at Heroes' Acre, a memorial to those who fought for the nation's independence. That memorial, with its brutalist sculpture and wide expanses of stone, bears an uncanny similarity to the Heroes' Acre in Zimbabwe's capital, maybe because both memorials were built by the same North Korean company. That same firm built the imposing, modernist gray cement State House where Biden was so warmly received by the first couple. Biden plans on Thursday to visit a U.S.-funded project in the capital that focuses on empowering women and children, and to lunch with Geingos. Then she heads Friday to Kenya, where she will use her popularity and platform to draw attention to women's empowerment, children's issues and the hunger crisis that is again ravaging the Horn of Africa. ESPOO, Finland, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Valmet will supply a coated board machine for Graphic Packaging International (GPI) in the United States. Valmet delivered a similar coated board machine to GPI's Kalamazoo mill in 2022. The new machine will be supplied to GPI's mill in Waco, Texas. The start-up of the machine is scheduled for early 2026. The order is included in Valmet's orders received of the first quarter 2023. Its value will not be disclosed, but an order of this type and scope is typically valued between EUR 140 and 180 million. With this investment in the latest coated board technology, GPI is committing to sustainable packaging with exceptional product quality and cost competitiveness for producing coated recycled board (CRB) grades. "Valmet has offered us innovative yet proven technology to reach our high product quality targets. We have had a long and good cooperation with Valmet. Our relationship is based on mutual trust, which is very important in large projects like this one," says Rusty Miller, Senior Vice President, Engineering and Technology, GPI. "Valmet has a very good relationship with Graphic Packaging International, and we have had successful projects with them. We are happy to be involved in this important project to provide a state-of-the-art coated board machine for their optimized mill network in the United States," says Michael Gray, Vice President, Capital business, North America, Valmet. Technical details about the delivery Valmet's delivery for the new coated board machine will include equipment for stock preparation, approach flow systems, board machine with extensive process ventilation scope, a wide Valmet DNA automation package and a winder. The delivery will also include Valmet Industrial Internet services. The board machine will produce coated recycled board (CRB) grades, in other words white line chip board (WLC) grades, with an annual capacity of approximately 500,000 short tons which corresponds to 456,000 metric tons. Information about the customer Graphic Packaging International Graphic Packaging International, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is committed to providing consumer packaging that makes a world of difference. The company is a leading provider of paper-based packaging solutions for a wide variety of products to food, beverage, foodservice, and other consumer products companies. The company's net sales in 2022 were approximately USD 9 billion. It has over 130 facilities and over 24,000 employees worldwide. VALMET Corporate Communications For further information, please contact: Kari Raisanen, Sales Director, Board and Paper Mills, Paper business line, Valmet, tel. +358 40 518 0567 Michael Gray, Vice President, Capital business, North America, Valmet, tel. +19205406027 Valmet is a leading global developer and supplier of process technologies, automation and services for the pulp, paper and energy industries. With our automation systems and flow control solutions we serve an even wider base of process industries. Our 17,500 professionals around the world work close to our customers and are committed to moving our customers' performance forward every day. The company has over 220 years of industrial history and a strong track record in continuous improvement and renewal. In 2022, a major milestone was achieved when the flow control company Neles was merged into Valmet. Valmet's net sales in 2022 were approximately EUR 5.1 billion. Valmet's shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki and the head office is in Espoo, Finland. Follow us on valmet.com | Twitter | Twitter (IR) | LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | Processing of personal data SOURCE Valmet Oyj NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The global wallcovering market is estimated to increase by USD 5,493.96 million between 2022 and 2027. The market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 4.7%. The report also includes historic market data from 2017 to 2021.The report provides a comprehensive analysis of growth opportunities at regional levels, new product launches, the latest trends, and the post-pandemic recovery of the global market. For more insights on the historic (2017 to 2021) and forecast market size (2022 to 2027) -Request a sample report Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Wallcovering Market 2023-2027 Wallcovering Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 4.7% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 5,493.96 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 4.56 Regional analysis APAC, North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and South America Performing market contribution APAC at 63% Key countries US, China, India, Japan, and UK Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Ahlstrom Munksjo Oyj, Asian Paints Ltd., BRADLEY USA LLC, Brewster Home Fashions, C Brewer and Sons Ltd., Curran Group Inc., F. Schumacher and Co., Fathead LLC, Fine Decor Wallcoverings Ltd., Len Tex Corp., Marburger Tapetenfabrik JB Schaefer GmbH and Co KG, Muraspec Decorative Solutions Ltd, Prime Walls US, RPM International Inc., SAINT GOBAIN Group, Sangetsu Corp., The Sherwin Williams Co., U.S. Wallcovering, Wallquest Inc., and York Wallcoverings Inc. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, and Market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Wallcovering market - Segmentation Assessment Segment Overview Technavio has segmented the market based on type (Wall panel, Tiles, and Metallic wall covering), and end-user (Residential and Commercial). The wall panel segment will grow at a significant rate during the forecast period. A wall panel acts as the exposed covering of a wall. It is typically flat and cut into a rectangular shape. Wall panels can provide depth to a space. Wall panels are mainly used for interior decoration but can also be employed in exterior applications. They are used for a variety of purposes, such as concealing existing walls, extending an old wall, and repairing structural problems. These factors will fuel the growth of the segment during the forecast period. Geography Overview By geography, the global wallcovering market is segmented into APAC, North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and South America. The report provides actionable insights and estimates the contribution of all regions to the growth of the global wallcovering market. APAC is estimated to account for 63% of the growth of the global market during the forecast period. The growth in residential and commercial construction activities and the trend of wall decoration, particularly among the millennial population, will fuel the growth of the regional wallcovering market during the forecast period. Some of the major contributors to the wallcovering market in APAC are China , India , and Japan . Such factors will increase the market growth in this region during the forecast period. For insights on global, regional, and country-level parameters with growth opportunities from 2017 to 2027 Download a Sample Report Wallcovering market Market Dynamics Key factor driving market growth The growth of the global construction industry is driving the growth of the market. is driving the growth of the market. The increase in public expenditure, population, per capita income, and economic growth in developing countries such as India are fueling the growth of this industry. are fueling the growth of this industry. The demand for wall coverings is increasing globally due to the increasing demand for the construction of residential and commercial buildings. Governments of various countries, such as India , Saudi Arabia , and Qatar , are investing significantly in the development of smart cities. , , and , are investing significantly in the development of smart cities. The growth of construction projects globally increases the demand for wall coverings that give an aesthetic look to building walls. These factors will positively impact the growth of the global wallpaper market during the forecast period. Leading trends influencing the market The availability of personalized and customized wall decor products is a key trend influencing the market growth. is a key trend influencing the market growth. The trend of customizations encourages retailers to focus on personalized services. Print-on-demand (POD) is generally used for personalization services. Vendors offer the product customization option to their customers at both macro and micro levels. Customers can choose their products based on their requirements. Retailers such as Walmart and Amazon also offer customization services. Thus, the increasing demand for personalized wallcoverings will support the growth of the market during the forecast period. Major challenges hindering market growth The rising competition is challenging the market growth. is challenging the market growth. Manufacturers compete on parameters such as product mix, premium, differentiation, and pricing. The entry of new players and brands into the market makes the competition more intense, which leads to price wars. Moreover, market competition and price wars increase the need for cost optimization and operational efficiency. Some retailers are also closing their stores due to poor performance and an inability to streamline operations. All these factors are expected to negatively impact the growth of the global wallpaper market during the forecast period. Find some insights on market opportunities - Download a sample report! Why Buy? Add credibility to strategy Analyzes competitor's offerings Get a holistic view of the market Grow your profit margin with Technavio Buy The Report What are the key data covered in this wallcovering market report? CAGR of the market during the forecast period Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the wallcovering market between 2023 and 2027 Precise estimation of the wallcovering market size and its contribution to the market in focus on the parent market Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior Growth of the wallcovering market across APAC, North America , Europe , Middle East and Africa , and South America , , and , and A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about vendors Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of wallcovering market vendors Gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Related Reports: The wallcovering market share in the US is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 5.44% between 2021 and 2026. The size of the market is forecast to increase by USD 9.21 billion. This report extensively covers market segmentation by end-user (residential and commercial) and product type (wall panel, tiles, and metallic wall covering). The wall decor market share in US is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 10.43% between 2021 and 2026. The size of the market is forecast to increase by USD 11.98 billion. This report extensively covers market segmentation by product (Wall art, Picture frames, Wall clock, and Other decorative accents) and distribution channel (Offline and Online). Table of contents 1 Executive Summary 1.1 Market overview Exhibit 01: Executive Summary Chart on Market Overview Exhibit 02: Executive Summary Data Table on Market Overview Exhibit 03: Executive Summary Chart on Global Market Characteristics Exhibit 04: Executive Summary Chart on Market by Geography Exhibit 05: Executive Summary Chart on Market Segmentation by Type Exhibit 06: Executive Summary Chart on Market Segmentation by End-user Exhibit 07: Executive Summary Chart on Incremental Growth Exhibit 08: Executive Summary Data Table on Incremental Growth Exhibit 09: Executive Summary Chart on Vendor Market Positioning 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 10: Parent market Exhibit 11: Market Characteristics 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 12: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 13: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2022 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2022-2027 Exhibit 14: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 15: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 16: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 17: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 4 Historic Market Size 4.1 Global wallcovering market 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size Data Table on Global wallcovering market 2017 - 2021 ($ million) 4.2 Type Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size Type Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million) 4.3 End-user Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size End-user Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million) 4.4 Geography Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 21: Historic Market Size Geography Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million) 4.5 Country Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 22: Historic Market Size Country Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million) 5 Five Forces Analysis 5.1 Five forces summary Exhibit 23: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2022 and 2027 5.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 24: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers Impact of key factors 2022 and 2027 5.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 25: Bargaining power of suppliers Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027 5.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 26: Threat of new entrants Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027 5.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 27: Threat of substitutes Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027 5.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 28: Threat of rivalry Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027 5.7 Market condition Exhibit 29: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2022 and 2027 6 Market Segmentation by Type 6.1 Market segments Exhibit 30: Chart on Type - Market share 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 31: Data Table on Type - Market share 2022-2027 (%) 6.2 Comparison by Type Exhibit 32: Chart on Comparison by Type Exhibit 33: Data Table on Comparison by Type 6.3 Wall panel - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 34: Chart on Wall panel - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 35: Data Table on Wall panel - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 36: Chart on Wall panel - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 37: Data Table on Wall panel - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 6.4 Tiles - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 38: Chart on Tiles - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 39: Data Table on Tiles - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 40: Chart on Tiles - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 41: Data Table on Tiles - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 6.5 Metallic wall covering - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 42: Chart on Metallic wall covering - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 43: Data Table on Metallic wall covering - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 44: Chart on Metallic wall covering - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 45: Data Table on Metallic wall covering - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 6.6 Market opportunity by Type Exhibit 46: Market opportunity by Type ($ million) 7 Market Segmentation by End-user 7.1 Market segments Exhibit 47: Chart on End-user - Market share 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 48: Data Table on End-user - Market share 2022-2027 (%) 7.2 Comparison by End-user Exhibit 49: Chart on Comparison by End-user Exhibit 50: Data Table on Comparison by End-user 7.3 Residential - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 51: Chart on Residential - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 52: Data Table on Residential - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 53: Chart on Residential - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 54: Data Table on Residential - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 7.4 Commercial - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 55: Chart on Commercial - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 56: Data Table on Commercial - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 57: Chart on Commercial - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 58: Data Table on Commercial - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 7.5 Market opportunity by End-user Exhibit 59: Market opportunity by End-user ($ million) 8 Customer Landscape 8.1 Customer landscape overview Exhibit 60: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria 9 Geographic Landscape 9.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 61: Chart on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 62: Data Table on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%) 9.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 63: Chart on Geographic comparison Exhibit 64: Data Table on Geographic comparison 9.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 65: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 66: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 67: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 68: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.4 North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 69: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 70: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 71: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 72: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.5 Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 73: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 74: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 75: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 76: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.6 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 77: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 78: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 79: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) and - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 80: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.7 South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 81: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 82: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 83: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 84: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.8 China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 85: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 86: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 87: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 88: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.9 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 89: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 90: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 91: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 92: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.10 India - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 93: Chart on India - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 94: Data Table on India - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 95: Chart on India - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 96: Data Table on India - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.11 Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 97: Chart on Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 98: Data Table on Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 99: Chart on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 100: Data Table on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.12 UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 101: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 102: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million) Exhibit 103: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 104: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.13 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 105: Market opportunity by geography ($ million) 10 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 10.1 Market drivers 10.2 Market challenges 10.3 Impact of drivers and challenges Exhibit 106: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2022 and 2027 10.4 Market trends 11 Vendor Landscape 11.1 Overview 11.2 Vendor landscape Exhibit 107: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation 11.3 Landscape disruption Exhibit 108: Overview on factors of disruption 11.4 Industry risks Exhibit 109: Impact of key risks on business 12 Vendor Analysis 12.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 110: Vendors covered 12.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 111: Matrix on vendor position and classification 12.3 Ahlstrom Munksjo Oyj Exhibit 112: Ahlstrom Munksjo Oyj - Overview Exhibit 113: Ahlstrom Munksjo Oyj - Product / Service Exhibit 114: Ahlstrom Munksjo Oyj - Key news Exhibit 115: Ahlstrom Munksjo Oyj - Key offerings 12.4 Asian Paints Ltd. Exhibit 116: Asian Paints Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 117: Asian Paints Ltd. - Business segments Exhibit 118: Asian Paints Ltd. - Key offerings Exhibit 119: Asian Paints Ltd. - Segment focus 12.5 BRADLEY USA LLC LLC Exhibit 120: BRADLEY USA LLC - Overview LLC - Overview Exhibit 121: BRADLEY USA LLC - Product / Service LLC - Product / Service Exhibit 122: BRADLEY USA LLC - Key offerings 12.6 Brewster Home Fashions Exhibit 123: Brewster Home Fashions - Overview Exhibit 124: Brewster Home Fashions - Product / Service Exhibit 125: Brewster Home Fashions - Key offerings 12.7 C Brewer and Sons Ltd. Exhibit 126: C Brewer and Sons Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 127: C Brewer and Sons Ltd. - Product / Service Exhibit 128: C Brewer and Sons Ltd. - Key offerings 12.8 F. Schumacher and Co. Exhibit 129: F. Schumacher and Co. - Overview Exhibit 130: F. Schumacher and Co. - Product / Service Exhibit 131: F. Schumacher and Co. - Key offerings 12.9 Fathead LLC Exhibit 132: Fathead LLC - Overview Exhibit 133: Fathead LLC - Product / Service Exhibit 134: Fathead LLC - Key offerings 12.10 Prime Walls US Exhibit 135: Prime Walls US - Overview Exhibit 136: Prime Walls US - Product / Service Exhibit 137: Prime Walls US - Key offerings 12.11 RPM International Inc. Exhibit 138: RPM International Inc. - Overview Exhibit 139: RPM International Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 140: RPM International Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 141: RPM International Inc. - Segment focus 12.12 SAINT GOBAIN Group Exhibit 142: SAINT GOBAIN Group - Overview Exhibit 143: SAINT GOBAIN Group - Product / Service Exhibit 144: SAINT GOBAIN Group - Key offerings 12.13 Sangetsu Corp. Exhibit 145: Sangetsu Corp. - Overview Exhibit 146: Sangetsu Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 147: Sangetsu Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 148: Sangetsu Corp. - Segment focus 12.14 The Sherwin Williams Co. Exhibit 149: The Sherwin Williams Co. - Overview Exhibit 150: The Sherwin Williams Co. - Business segments Exhibit 151: The Sherwin Williams Co. - Key news Exhibit 152: The Sherwin Williams Co. - Key offerings Exhibit 153: The Sherwin Williams Co. - Segment focus 12.15 U.S. Wallcovering Exhibit 154: U.S. Wallcovering - Overview Exhibit 155: U.S. Wallcovering - Product / Service Exhibit 156: U.S. Wallcovering - Key offerings 12.16 Wallquest Inc. Exhibit 157: Wallquest Inc. - Overview Exhibit 158: Wallquest Inc. - Product / Service Exhibit 159: Wallquest Inc. - Key offerings 12.17 York Wallcoverings Inc. Exhibit 160: York Wallcoverings Inc. - Overview Exhibit 161: York Wallcoverings Inc. - Product / Service Exhibit 162: York Wallcoverings Inc. - Key offerings 13 Appendix 13.1 Scope of the report 13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist Exhibit 163: Inclusions checklist Exhibit 164: Exclusions checklist 13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 165: Currency conversion rates for US$ 13.4 Research methodology Exhibit 166: Research methodology Exhibit 167: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 168: Information sources 13.5 List of abbreviations Exhibit 169: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focuses on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ SOURCE Technavio DUBLIN, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Recombinant Protein Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2022-2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global recombinant protein market size reached US$ 151.41 Billion in 2021. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to reach US$ 302.88 Billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 12.25% during 2021-2027. Companies Mentioned Abcam plc Amgen Inc. Bio-RAD Laboratories Inc. Bio-Techne Corporation Bps Bioscience Inc. Enzo Biochem Inc. Genscript Biotech Corporation Merck KGaA Novo Nordisk A/S ProSpec-Tany TechnoGene Ltd Sanofi S.A. Thermo Fisher Scientific Keeping in mind the uncertainties of COVID-19, we are continuously tracking and evaluating the direct as well as the indirect influence of the pandemic on different end use sectors. These insights are included in the report as a major market contributor. A recombinant protein refers to a modified or altered protein that is encoded by recombinant DNA. The recombinant DNA molecule consists of a plasmid in which the genes for a target protein are cloned. It is produced either by molecular cloning or polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Some of the common product variants include kinase proteins, human insulin, structural proteins, adhesion molecules and receptors, immune response proteins, etc. Recombinant protein is primarily utilized in the development of novel therapies for chronic and rare diseases. It finds widespread adoption in numerous biopharmaceutical companies, academic and research institutes, contract research organizations, etc. Recombinant Protein Market Trends: The elevating prevalence of several chronic diseases along with the increasing demand for novel treatment options is primarily driving the global recombinant protein market. In addition to this, the rising investments in the field of protein engineering and the improving focus on protein-based drug development are further augmenting the market growth. Moreover, numerous government bodies are funding R&D activities for the introduction of advanced techniques in proteomics and genomics, which are significantly impacting the global market for recombinant protein. Besides this, the advent of recombinant protein expression technology has led to the development of high-quality autoantigens that are widely used in immunotherapy procedures. Additionally, the growing requirement for recombinant proteins for accurate measurement of biomarkers in the field of drug discovery is also creating a positive outlook for the global market. Apart from this, the rising penetration of latest molecular biology approaches for biopharming to reduce proteolysis of recombinant proteins or prevent the partial or total loss of glycosylation is expected to bolster the global recombinant protein market over the forecasted period. Key Questions Answered in This Report: How has the global recombinant protein market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What has been the impact of COVID-19 on the global recombinant protein market? What are the key regional markets? What is the breakup of the market based on the product? What is the breakup of the market based on the application? What is the breakup of the market based on the end user? What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry? What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry? What is the structure of the global recombinant protein market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the industry? Key Topics Covered: 1 Preface 2 Scope and Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Introduction 4.1 Overview 4.2 Key Industry Trends 5 Global Recombinant Protein Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Impact of COVID-19 5.4 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Product 6.1 Antibodies 6.1.1 Market Trends 6.1.2 Market Forecast 6.2 Hormones 6.2.1 Market Trends 6.2.2 Market Forecast 6.3 Growth Factors 6.3.1 Market Trends 6.3.2 Market Forecast 6.4 Cytokines 6.4.1 Market Trends 6.4.2 Market Forecast 6.5 Others 6.5.1 Market Trends 6.5.2 Market Forecast 7 Market Breakup by Application 7.1 Drug Discovery and Development 7.1.1 Market Trends 7.1.2 Market Forecast 7.2 Academic Research 7.2.1 Market Trends 7.2.2 Market Forecast 7.3 Biotechnology Research 7.3.1 Market Trends 7.3.2 Market Forecast 7.4 Biopharmaceutical Production 7.4.1 Market Trends 7.4.2 Market Forecast 7.5 Others 7.5.1 Market Trends 7.5.2 Market Forecast 8 Market Breakup by End User 8.1 Pharmaceutical and Biopharmaceutical Companies 8.1.1 Market Trends 8.1.2 Market Forecast 8.2 Biotechnology Companies 8.2.1 Market Trends 8.2.2 Market Forecast 8.3 Academic and Research Institutes 8.3.1 Market Trends 8.3.2 Market Forecast 8.4 Contract Research Organization 8.4.1 Market Trends 8.4.2 Market Forecast 8.5 Others 8.5.1 Market Trends 8.5.2 Market Forecast 9 Market Breakup by Region 10 SWOT Analysis 11 Value Chain Analysis 12 Porters Five Forces Analysis 13 Price Analysis 14 Competitive Landscape 14.1 Market Structure 14.2 Key Players 14.3 Profiles of Key Players For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/dplds5 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg SOURCE Research and Markets BEIJING, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The export value of green coffee beans produced in Pu'er City, southwest China's Yunnan Province, reached 462 million yuan in 2022, surging 296.4 percent year on year, according to a recent report by Pu'er Daily. Export destinations included Europe, ASEAN, America, the Middle East and other regions. Photo shows a coffer grower dries coffee fruits in Pu'er City, southwest China's Yunnan Province. Photo shows a staff works at the baked bean production line in a coffee company in Pu'er City, southwest China's Yunnan Province. Located at 24 degrees north latitude and with most areas at an altitude from 1,000 meters to 2,000 meters, Pu'er has a warm humid subtropical climate. Rich soil, sufficient sunshine, abundant rainfall and good ecological environment all contribute to premium conditions for growing coffee beans here, making the city known as China's coffee capital. Pu'er coffee beans produce well-balanced and mellow coffee with a silky body and fruity aroma, which is favored by global consumers as mirrored by the increasing exports. The coffee plantation area of Pu'er was 679,000 mu (around 45,267 hectares) in 2022, with an output of 55,700 tonnes, the highest yield in China. In recent years, Pu'er city has been scaling up efforts to boost coffee planting, research and development, processing, sales, and storage. It launched a pilot insurance program in 2019 for the pricing of green coffee beans in the city, so as to reduce the burden on coffee producers, operators and growers, and promote sustained and healthy development of the industry. The endeavor is paid off. Many kinds of Pu'er coffee products such as instant coffee, baked beans, hanging ear coffee bag, and capsule coffee have gained popularity as one of the best-sellers on the internet. World-renowned coffee brands, such as Nestle and Starbucks, have launched a number of products using Pu'er coffee beans. Coffee-related tourism is also promoted in Pu'er. During the harvest season from November to March of next year, coffee enthusiasts and entrepreneurs from home and abroad come to the city to take training lessons and engage in exchanges about coffee industry development. See the original link: https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/332895.html SOURCE Xinhua Silk Road NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- XLCS Partners, Inc., a leading middle market investment bank, is pleased to announce that it served as exclusive advisor to Associated Aircraft Manufacturing & Sales, Inc. (AAMSI) in its sale to First Aviation Services Inc. (First Aviation). XLCS Partners advises AAMSI in sale to First Aviation Founded in 1953, AAMSI manufactures a variety of aircraft parts and provides repair and overhaul services for aircraft electronics, avionics, hydraulic and landing gear components. AAMSI has a proven track record supporting the global defense industry, including both United States and foreign militaries, as well as several of the industry's largest OEMs. AAMSI holds over 120 manufacturing and repair source approvals from the U.S. Department of Defense. The company is located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. First Aviation, headquartered in Westport, Connecticut, is a leading provider of aircraft parts manufacturing, component repair and overhaul, and rotables management to the aviation industry worldwide. First Aviation's principal operating subsidiaries are: Aerospace Turbine Rotables, Inc., Associated Aircraft Manufacturing & Sales, Inc., Aviation Blade Services, Inc., Evolution Aerospace, Inc., Master Support, Inc., Heliblade International, LLC, and Piedmont Propulsion Systems, LLC. Together, the companies repair and overhaul aircraft landing gear systems, helicopter rotor blades, actuation systems, structures, IFF systems, lighting, power supplies, oxygen and fire suppression systems, hydrostatic testing, crew masks, and all Dowty, Hamilton, Hartzell, and McCauley propellers. "It was a pleasure to work with both the AAMSI and First Aviation teams on a seamless transaction," stated Joe Contaldo, Partner and Head of XLCS' Aerospace & Defense Practice Group. "Our firm continues to move deeper and deeper into the defense and government sector and this transaction aligns perfectly with our mission." XLCS acted as the exclusive M&A advisor to AAMSI and the transaction was led by Joe Contaldo, Partner and Eric Schoendorf, Vice President. The transaction was completed on November 22, 2022. About XLCS Partners, Inc. XLCS Partners is an investment banking firm providing M&A advisory services to select clients globally. More information is available at www.xlcspartners.com. Media Contact: Kendra Span [email protected] 615-379-7783 SOURCE XLCS Partners, Inc. NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- XLCS Partners, Inc., a leading middle market investment bank, is pleased to announce it served as advisor Chamber Media in its recapitalization by Kirtland Capital Partners. XLCS Partners advises Chamber Media in its recapitalization by Kirtland Capital Partners - September 9, 2021 Chamber Media is a Utah-based full service creative agency focused on developing compelling video ads for social media platforms. The company has a proven track record of helping emerging e-commerce customers scale through effective video campaigns that drive sales. Chamber's model is differentiated by its in-house video production capabilities and proprietary database that contains information on successful video advertising campaigns, which together drive efficient ad creation and outsized Return on Ad Spend. The company serves a diverse customer base of well-known brands, including Potbelly, Skytech Gaming, Tuft & Needle, Slingshot, and Big Blanket Co. Kirtland Capital Partners is a Cleveland, Ohio-based private equity fund that has been investing in lower middle market companies for over 40 years. Kirtland invests in founder and family-owned companies with revenue between $10 $50 million that are looking for outside resources to help achieve growth. Kirtland partnered with the company's founders, Travis Chambers and Stefan van de Graaff, in the recapitalization of Chamber Media. "Going through the process of selling a business for the first time can be daunting and overwhelming," explained Stefan van de Graaff, Chamber Media Partner. "Anthony and Jay had the most professional, buttoned-up and battle-tested process that we'd ever heard, which truly sets them apart. We were consistently blown away by the leadership, consulting, expertise, and loyalty we got from XLCS. On top of all of this, they worked tirelessly, responded to our calls when we got nervous, gave us the good news and the bad news in full candor, worked with us to determine the best courses of action, and then executed flawlessly. There was never any doubt that they were representing us and our best interests." XLCS acted as the exclusive M&A advisor to Chamber Media and the transaction was led by Jay Cremer, Vice President, and Anthony Contaldo, Partner. The transaction was completed September 9, 2021. About XLCS Partners, Inc. XLCS Partners is an investment banking firm providing M&A advisory services to select clients globally. www.xlcspartners.com Media Contact: Kendra Span [email protected] 615-379-7783 SOURCE XLCS Partners, Inc. NASHVILLE, Tenn. , Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- XLCS Partners, Inc., a leading middle market investment bank, is pleased to announce it served as advisor to Trilon Group, an engineering services platform of Alpine Investors, in its partnership with Waggoner Engineering. XLCS Partners advises Trilon Group/Alpine Investors in its partnership with Waggoner Engineering Waggoner Engineering, a Mississippi-based engineering services firm, is Trilon's first platform partnership and will continue to operate independently under the Waggoner brand. Waggoner, founded in 1976, is a civil engineering firm with a passion for helping communities realize their full potential. Today, Waggoner has expanded to 12 offices in five states and is recognized for its innovative, multi-disciplinary services that make it much more than a traditional engineering firm. Waggoner CEO, Emad Al-Turk, will remain President and CEO of Waggoner and will join the Trilon Executive Committee. Trilon was formed with the vision of building the next Top 20 design firm in North America by partnering with a comprehensive family of infrastructure consulting firms focused on delivering practical and sustainable infrastructure solutions. Trilon will partner with like-minded infrastructure consulting firms across the nation and aims to accelerate their growth through investment in talent, technology, and targeted M&A. Trilon's key markets include Transportation, Water, Energy, Environment, and Community Infrastructure. San Francisco, California based Alpine Investors plans to invest additional equity capital to fund the organic and inorganic growth of Trilon. In partnership with Alpine's in-house talent program, Trilon will focus on cultivating a culture that provides opportunities for its employees to quickly expand their purposeful careers. "Waggoner is the Trilon Group's first partnership and we couldn't be more excited to have such a high-quality firm provide the backbone for launching our platform," said Patrick Eble of Alpine. "Our strategy is to attract quality firms to join the Trilon family by providing real opportunities for them to grow their businesses and the careers of their staff. Partnering with great firms like Waggoner allows us to achieve our goal of being the next top 20 design firm in North America in the coming years." The transaction was completed on January 26, 2022 and was led by Anthony Contaldo, Partner of XLCS. About XLCS Partners, Inc. XLCS Partners is an investment banking firm providing M&A advisory services to select clients globally. www.xlcspartners.com Media Contact: Kendra Span [email protected] 615-379-7783 SOURCE XLCS Partners, Inc. America's Oldest Brewery's collection of coveted beers can now be purchased across the three new states POTTSVILLE, Pa., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Yuengling Company announced that the brand's flagship beers are now officially available across Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Millions of beer fans in these newest expansion states now have their pick from a selection of Yuengling's iconic portfolio, which includes a beer for every taste, on every occasion. Courtesy of D.G. Yuengling & Son "Today marks an important day for our brewery as we continue to make our beers available to more consumers," said Wendy Yuengling, Chief Administrative Officer and 6th generation family member, D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc. "On behalf of our entire Yuengling family, we are humbled to bring Yuengling beer to our fans in Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma." The diversified Yuengling portfoliospanning the brewery's iconic Yuengling Traditional LAGER, Light Lager, Golden Pilsner, and FLIGHT by Yuengling, the Next Generation of Light Beeroffers consumers a taste of Yuengling's distinct flavor and quality craftsmanship. Fans can stay up to date on where to find these iconic brands at their nearest retailer, bar or restaurant by checking the "Find Our Beer" link at https://www.yuengling.com/find-our-beer/. "As a 6th generation family-owned business, we have been making great quality beer for over 194 years and today we couldn't be happier to welcome beer drinkers in these new states into our Yuengling community," said Wendy Yuengling. "We thrive on delighting our many fans who trust us to brew the best beer possible, and we look forward to continuing to do so." "The Yuengling family and all our business partners are proud to bring the rich tradition and authentic quality of America's Oldest Brewery's beers to these new states," said Pat Pikunas, General Manager, The Yuengling Company. "The opportunity to engage and serve a new set of fans from some of the most iconic beer-drinking states is an opportunity we take very seriously. We are confident about meeting high expectations and delivering the very best, great tasting Yuengling beers that have built our quality reputation over 194 years." About D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc. D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc., America's Oldest Brewery, is family-owned and operated since 1829. Principal beer brands include Yuengling Traditional Lager, Light Lager, Black & Tan, Golden Pilsner, Premium, Light, Dark Brewed Porter, Lord Chesterfield Ale, Oktoberfest, Yuengling Hershey's Chocolate Porter, FLIGHT by Yuengling, and Bongo Fizz. Production is supplied by two breweries in Pottsville, PA and one in Tampa, FL. A separate joint venture called The Yuengling Company was recently established with Molson Coors Beverage Company to expand production and distribution further west. Yuengling beer is currently available in 23 states and will expand into Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma in 2023. Get news, updates, and access media images at https://www.yuengling.com/news. For more information about Yuengling, fans are encouraged to follow the Yuengling Facebook page, follow Yuengling on Twitter and Instagram, or visit www.Yuengling.com. Contact: Paul Capelli D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc. [email protected] (508) 728-1271 SOURCE D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc. LONDON, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Yutong Bus ("Yutong", SHA: 600066), a leading global manufacturer of electric buses, led sales of electric buses in Europe last year on the strength of its high-quality vehicles. The company came out top in a ranking compiled by Chatrou CME Solutions Europe, with 479 buses sold in Europe in 2022. The top ranking cements Yutong's position as a formidable player in the ultra-competitive Chinese electric bus industry. The data from Chatrou CME Solutions shows the market share for zero-emissions buses in European cities has now reached 30%. The Dutch consulting company has long tracked changes and trends in the new-energy commercial vehicle market, becoming an authoritative voice on the state of the electric bus industry in Europe. Yutong's European sales jumped 58% in sales in 2022 year-on-year, compared with the year before, while its market share rose from 9.2% in 2021 to 11.5% in 2022, serving as a testament to the quality of the company's products delivered to the market. Yutong has sold its products all over the world. The report indicated that Yutong entered the European market in 2018 and has exported more than 2,200 units in total, covering more than 15 countries, namely, Poland, Denmark, France, Finland, Norway, the UK, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria, Iceland, etc. European demand for zero-emissions buses continues to rise with the need for hybrid, natural gas, and alternative energy buses growing, in addition to pure electric. Chinese buses are playing an increasingly important role in the green transformation of public transportation in Europe. Fueling the company's success, Yutong has been actively promoting its transformation from a bus manufacturer to a green mobility solution provider. European countries are consciously promoting zero-emissions public transportation, making Yutong's "product + service" model an obvious choice when procuring vehicles and mobility solutions for their respective market. 2022 was a very successful year for the new energy market globally, and Yutong was able to cement its reputation in terms of products, services, solutions, and technology. The company's push for internationalization ushered in a significant opportunity to steadily expand its overseas footprint. In addition to Europe, the new energy buses from Yutong Bus have been used in more than 20 countries and regions around the world, achieving good operation in Qatar, Mexico, Chile, Singapore, Australia, and other countries, developing green public transportation. SOURCE Yutong Bus SEATTLE, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ZenLedger , the leading platform for crypto taxes and forensic accounting, announces the launch of international support for its platform. With this new feature, users and Tax Pros from all over the world can now take advantage of ZenLedger's best-in-class crypto tax engine. The launch of international support is a significant milestone for ZenLedger and is a testament to its commitment by providing the best crypto tax and accounting experience for its users. The ability to export tax reports in different currencies and for different reporting periods will allow users and Tax Pros all over the world to file their taxes and stay compliant with local regulations, no matter where they are located. ZenLedger's International Support Brings Best-in-Class Crypto Tax Solution to a Global Audience Tweet this "At ZenLedger, our mission is to make it easy for customers to manage their crypto taxes," said Pat Larsen, CEO of ZenLedger. "With the launch of international support, they can now benefit from our platform's advanced features and capabilities without having to worry about reports fitting the needs of their local jurisdictions." ZenLedger's international support features include: Customized export of tax reports for multiple reporting periods or jurisdictions Support for nearly 150 global currencies including USD ( United States ), EUR ( Europe ), AUD ( Australia ), CAD ( Canada ), GBP ( United Kingdom ), and more ), EUR ( ), AUD ( ), CAD ( ), GBP ( ), and more The same best-in-class integration support with over 500 major exchanges and wallets, plus DeFi, NFT, and Staking support Premium Customer Support 7 days a week, via Chat, Email, or Phone "We as a community need to do everything that we can to foster adoption and scale crypto globally. Remaining compliant shouldn't be a headache for the end user in that process. Users and Tax Pros should have access to the best tools possible," added Larsen. "The launch of international support is a significant step towards achieving that goal." About ZenLedger Founded in 2017, and built by industry veterans in technology, finance, and accounting, ZenLedger aggregates user transaction information across thousands of exchanges, wallets, and tokens into one simple dashboard, making it easy to calculate crypto tax liability and populate your forms. ZenLedger helps cryptocurrency investors and tax professionals stay compliant with integration support for over 400+ exchanges, 40+ blockchains, 20+ DeFi protocols, NFTs, and all wallets. Our team of engineers is always working hard to add more native integrations and features, and our customer support specialists are online 7 days a week to walk through any issues. For more information, visit ZenLedger.io Media Contact: Paul Garland Director, Marketing [email protected] SOURCE ZenLedger Rabat Tunisian President Kais Saied has made extremely hateful and racist remarks against African migrants who arrive in his country on their way to Europe. After castigating and making racist remarks against African immigrants, who seek refuge in Europe because of poverty, famine and conflicts in their countries, the Tunisian president went so far as to say that Africans were the cause of most of Tunisia's problems, trying to "Africanize" it and distance it from its "Arabness. In Morocco, where African migrants enjoy full social rights and are integrated into the the Kingdom's social fabric, these remarks have caused immense consternation and a visceral rejection of the remarks made by the Tunisian president against African citizens who are legitimately seeking a better future for themselves and their children. The Moroccan citizen, if he is not used to meddling in the affairs of a country, was violently shaken by the racist and execrable remarks made by the Tunisian president. It is unethical to let such a deafening anger of African nations over the defamatory remarks of President Saied pass. The Tunisian president, university professor, should not ignore that migration is an enrichment for the host society and the fact of asserting that Africans are the primary cause of Tunisia's problems shows a serious ignorance of the Tunisian reality. Saying that migrants seek to "Africanize" Tunisia and to distance it from its "Arabness" is another nameless aberration. With a simple glance at the world map, the author of these remarks would have realized that Tunisia is already on the African continent. It is as African as Niger, Congo or Tanzania. The ongoing drought and rising insecurity forced Rukia Yaarow Ali to leave her home in Somalia, to seek refuge in Daadab refugee complex in northern Kenya (file photo). Despite many challenges, Somalia has made significant progress in advancing key national priorities, but enhancing women's political participation remains critical, UN Deputy Special Representative in the country, Anita Kiki Gbeho, told the Security Council on Wednesday. Ms. Gbeho said she has welcomed the Federal Government's continued commitment to implementing the women, peace, and security agenda, as demonstrated by the launch of a new national action plan on Security Council resolution 1325. The landmark document, adopted more than 20 years ago, reaffirms women's role in peacebuilding and conflict prevention and resolution. Action on equality Describing the action plan as "timely", she said it provides a framework to address the challenges that persist for women in Somalia but stressed that more action is needed for equal representation in all facets of public life. "To this end, enhancing women's political participation also remains critical," she said. "This includes that the commitment Somalia's political leaders made on the 30 per cent women's quota is not only codified in relevant legal and electoral frameworks but also safeguarded by all entities." Ms. Gbeho underlined the UN's continued support to newly elected women representatives. "Moving forward, we must remain focused on advancing women's participation and equality," she said, calling on stakeholders to redouble their efforts. Al-Shabaab threat persists Meanwhile, the militant group Al-Shabaab continues to pose a serious threat to peace and security in Somalia. Last year saw a 60 per cent increase in civilian casualties compared to 2021, making it the deadliest year for civilians since 2017, she reported. Ms. Gbeho said the Federal Government has made progress in recent months by targeting the group's military and financial operations, as well as its "ideological narrative". The Somalia Security Forces, reinforced by local militias, have conducted successful operations against Al-Shabaab in two states and are expected to gradually move into other areas. "Consolidating gains in the newly recovered areas will require strong linkages between military operations and stabilization initiatives, comprised of reconciliation and justice components and aimed at bolstering good governance and service delivery," she said. Famine fears Addressing the historic drought in the Horn of Africa, the UN official reported that 8.3 million Somalis - nearly half the population - require assistance and protection. "While famine has been prevented for now, famine remains a threat if the April to June rains underperform as forecast and humanitarian assistance is not sustained," she warned. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Somalia Conflict Women By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Humanitarians are seeking $2.6 billion to cover priority needs for 7.6 million people, she said, urging donors to step up their support. Women, peace and security The Executive Director of UN Women, Sima Bahous, who also briefed the Council, said the ongoing drought is exacerbating gender-based violence. She recalled that ambassadors have raised the importance of the 30 per cent quota and a new law on sexual violence. Ms. Bahous noted that womens political participation and leadership is a pre-requisite for more inclusive societies, finding solutions towards a lasting peace, and achieving sustainable development. "And yet, the quota in Somalia was not met, women's representation fell, sexual violence has increased, and the Sexual Offences Bill adopted unanimously by the Council of Ministers five years ago has still not been passed by parliament," she said. Furthermore, there has been "an alarming increase" in sexual violence rates since 2020, which doubled over the previous year. "And they have continued to rise, as the worst drought in many decades is having a devastating impact on all Somalis, and women and girls are disproportionately impacted," she added. Ms. Bahous emphasized that women's meaningful participation goes beyond elections, saying "it is only when women are included in all areas of public life, that we will have a chance at peace and at ensuring that we support the rebuilding of a society that is resilient to future shocks." Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 22 : Technopark headquartered AIBS Software, a leading SaaS solutions provider to the travel industry globally, on Wednesday announced the completion of a transaction to acquire Accenture Freight and Logistics Software (AFLS). AAFLS provides technology platforms to help airline and ocean transportation companies manage their freight operations and grow through digital transformation and innovation. ALFS is a subsidiary of IT giant Accenture and consequent to the acquisition, IBS Software will open a new development center in Chennai, which is its fourth in India, for travel, transportation and logistics. The acquisition will strengthen IBS Software's leadership as a technology provider to the airfreight industry by bringing together complementary solutions and a shared vision for innovating and transforming the air cargo businesses. The acquisition will also allow IBS Software to tap into a highly capable talent pool of experts in logistics and supply chain management that can drive innovation and deliver value to the industry. V.K. Mathews, Executive Chairman of IBS Software said this is a synergistic opportunity to bring our decades of experience and expertise to the ocean cargo business, as well as strengthen our own capabilities to provide greater value to the air cargo customers. IBS Software was one of the first companies to open at the Technopark campus in the late nineties and has now risen to a Blackstone portfolio company and operates from 15 offices across the world. Mumbai, Feb 22 : Actress and former mixed martial artist, Ritika Singh, who is known for her work in Tamil films and also worked in Hindi, Telugu, and Malayalam films, recounted how she was not allowed to wash hair for 16 days while shooting for the multilingual film 'InCar'. While sharing the shooting experience and keeping the hair unwashed, she said: "Harsh Warrdhan Sir and I decided against washing my hair because I'm supposed to have that very disheveled look, and the continuity in this film was extremely important because the whole film is a one day story. In fact, it is a 2-hour story that unfolds in real-time, so maintaining the same look, hair, makeup and clothes wise was critical." Ritika is best known for her performance in the Tamil film 'Irudhi Suttru'. Later, she did Telugu movies 'Guru', 'Neevevaro', among others. She added further about how after the shoot wrapped up, she had to consult professionals to clean her hair! "After we finally wrapped the shoot, my hair was so dirty and so knotted that I had to go to a hair salon to get it washed, I needed professional help! The salon staff asked me what I had done for my hair to get it like that, and I told them I went on a life-changing mountain adventure!" she concluded. Directed and written by Harsh Warrdhan, presented by Inbox Pictures and produced by Anjum Qureshi and Sajid Qureshi, the film is all set to release in theatres on March 3 in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. Kochi, Feb 22 : The full team of UK's popular travel show - 'Car and Country' - has arrived in Kerala to shoot the latest leg of the show. It will be shot in Alappuzha, Wayanad and two other districts of the state during the next two weeks. Hosted by Kerala Tourism, the show will have Porsche and other supercars racing past the greenery deep down south of India. The cars zipping past will include Porsche Track Version GT Cars, Porsche Electric Taycan, Porsche SUV Macan and Cayenne. From here, the racers will move on to the Gulf terrain. Two Keralites - Deepak Narendran and Ashique Thahir - are at the wheel of this adventurous 'rush', along with Freddie Hunt, a professional racing driver and son of legendary James Hunt, who is the 1976 F1 World Champion. The other team members are Charlotte Fantelli, Paul Richards, Sammy Seeley, Paddy King, Adam Bertenshaw, Ken Clay, Malcolm Targett, Amy Holiday, Aimee Watts, Preetham Madhavan and Marion Ferg. The team, so far, had some exciting trips through the picturesque by lanes of England, France, and Scotland, which were beamed through Amazon Prime UK OTT platform for nearly two months and have been lapped up by viewers. Ashique from Kozhikode, who is passionate about supercars, just can't hide his excitement by being part of this elite league of the 'Car and Country' rush. "The shoot of the last episode was challenging. We had to sleep over in tents in snowy mountains in extreme weather. We had to do wild river rafting in adverse climate conditions and do off-roading with the car," said Ashique. "We let out a feel of the charming European landscape, rural communities, cultures and cuisine from the window of our supercars. Now we are happy to turn the world's attention toward this green tinged-state's natural brilliance. I am sure the show that emerges from our trip will be a super hit with local as well as the global audience," said Charlotte Fantelli, a team member. It's both a travel and adventure show with Freddie Hunt throwing in his passion and speed into the ring. Deepak Narendran from Kochi who has settled in the UK now, launched the show in 2014 and Ashique teamed up with him in the later episodes. It slipped into a two-year break due to the pandemic before re-emerging in 2022. Mumbai, Feb 22 : Couturier leading fashion designer-actress Masaba Gupta launched her beauty brand 'LoveChild' on Wednesday in association with lifestyle fashion e-commerce platform, Myntra. Adding to its existing line of products like lipsticks, eye makeup, skincare, fragrances and wellness, the brand has now diversified into the face makeup category with the 2 of its products: the creme blushes of 'Band Baaja Blush' which comes in 6 different tones and the highlighter products of 'Highlighted Nakhre'. Enriched with nourishing oils and skin loving ingredients, the product line promises flushed cheeks and contoured cheekbone for the wedding season. Both Highlighted Nakhre and Band Baaja Blush are formulated keeping all Indian skin tones in mind with all formulations and shades being tailor-made for every mood and occasion. Commenting on the association and new launches, Masaba Gupta, Founder of LoveChild, said: "These two new launches are my current favourite beauty products - nothing like a good highlighter and some blush. Each shade has been curated to suit everyone from a light skinned girl to the brown kudi (girl)." Highlighted Nakhre was earlier called '100 Watt Glow' but it sounded very American so, Masaba went ahead with the final title as she considers her brand to be an India first then global brand. She further mentioned: "With immense love from across the country, this time around we have partnered with Myntra to drive discoverability for the brand across the country and to emerge as a powerful player in the beauty segment. I am thrilled to kick off this association and what better way to enter the face makeup category with band, bajaa and a 100 watt glow." Myntra, which has more than 1400 brands and more than 75,000 products, has always found its strength in the beauty and personal care category and with the latest association the brand aims to upscale its offering and market cap. Touching upon the addition of Lovechild's new range on Myntra, Sharon Pais, Chief Business Officer, Myntra said: "We are excited to be Lovechild's destination of choice as they step into the face makeup category with the launch of their stellar highlighter palettes and creme blushes. Masaba Gupta's signature style truly reflects in the products that are poised to strike a chord with our thriving base of beauty enthusiasts looking for high-quality, conscious and trendy make-up and wellness choices at accessible price points." 'Highlighted Nakhre' is available in 2 exciting palettes 'Chandni', which is specifically formulated for fair to medium complexions and 'Sitara', specifically formulated for dusky skin tones. These palettes are each priced at Rs 1,800 each. 'Band Baaja Blush' is available in 6 shades which include 'Bubblegum Baraat', 'Shocking Sharbat', 'Lal Lal Land', 'Cinnamon Choli', 'Brown Kudi', and 'Peach Puchka' and are priced at Rs 750 each. All LoveChild products are PETA certified, vegan and cruelty-free, and are available online at lovechild.in, Myntra Beauty and at House of Masaba stores across India. Chennai, Feb 22 : Indian stock markets closed in red on Wednesday, with the Sensex of the BSE going down by 927.74 points and the Nifty of the NSE by 272.40 points. The markets reacted adversely following Russian President Vladimir Putin's statements and the threat of war escalation, said Mitul Shah, Head of Research at Reliance Securities. Shah added the crisis in Adani Group stocks worsened as all 10 stocks faced selling pressure. Since the release of the Hindenburg report on January 25, Adani group stocks have lost 60 per cent of their value. Globally, geopolitical instability persists as Russian President Putin asserted that his war against Ukraine will not end any time soon. Russia also suspended its nuclear treaty with the US. The Nifty plunged 1.53 per cent to close at 17,554 points the lowest since October 21, 2022, said Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities. "Nifty continued its southward journey for the fourth day in the row on the back of weak global cues and plunged more than 1.5 per cent on Wednesday to close at 17,554, lowest close since October 21, 2022," Vakil said. According to him, BankNifty fell for the fifth consecutive session to close at 39,996 points. All sectoral Indices ended in the red. Nifty Metal, Media and PSU banks fell the most. At the BSE, the Sensex opened at 60,391.86 points and touched a high of 60,462.90 points and a low of 59,681.55 points to close at 59,774.98 points. The Nyarugenge Intermediate Court on Wednesday, February 22 acquitted former University of Rwanda lecturer, Christopher Kayumba of charges related to sexual assault. While delivering the ruling, the judge said that the court decided to clear Kayumba because the prosecutors failed to present evidence to pin him on both charges. Kayumba, a former lecturer at the School of Journalism and Communication, University of Rwanda was battling charges of rape and accessory to a crime of rape. Previously, the prosecution had requested the court to convict Kayumba and hand him a sentence of 10 years in jail. Kayumba has been in detention since September 9, 2021. Chennai, Feb 22 : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday said that the state's farmers, who have lost their crops during the sudden unexpected rains, will receive their compensation within a week. Talking to media persons at Tiruvarur, he said that the crop loss data has been collected and was under processing. Stalin said that the government has taken measures so that the compensation amount will be credited in a week's time to the account of the farmers. He said that he has undertaken field visits to meet people and also to ascertain on the problems faced in the implementation of DMK poll promises. However, the Chief Minister said that more than 85 per cent of the poll promises were implemented and added that the remaining will also be implemented soon as they were delayed due to a shortage of funds. The Chief Minister said that he has already undertaken two such meetings and added that on March 5, he will be covering Dindigul, Theni, Madurai, Virudhunagar, and Sivagangai districts and added that he would be visiting the Delta districts also soon. New Delhi, Feb 22 : The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether a State Human Rights Commission has the power to examine a case of criminal medical negligence when a contrary view has been taken by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Sanjay Karol was hearing a matter filed by IVF doctor Roya Rozati from Telangana. The bench noted that the petitioner is charged with medical negligence and her contention is whether the State Human Rights Commission has the power to examine a case of criminal medical negligence when a contrary view in favour of the petitioner was taken by the NHRC. The top court noted the view taken by NHRC by an order passed on March 29, 2016. The NHRC had said: "Direction issued by the Commission: This case pertains to allegations of medical negligence by a private nursing home. Since to public servant is involved in this case the matter is dismissed in limine. The file be sent to SB-II after issuing the letter. Action taken: Dismissed in limine (dated 3/29/2016). Status on 5.17.2016: Dismissed." The top courtA posted the matter for further hearing after four weeks, and directed pleadings to be completed in the meanwhile. The medical practitioner has been charged with criminal medical negligence for administering fertility related drugs to a patient who was suffering from tuberculosis and ultimately, these proved to be fatal to her. The matter was referred to the NHRC which refused to interfere stating that no public servant is involved. However, the State Human Rights Commission issued notice to Rozati and sought documents from her. Advocate Namit Saxena, appearing for Rozati, argued that there is a statutory bar under section 21 of the Protection of Human Rights Act that once the NHRC or any other state human rights commission adjudicates upon a complaint, no other state human rights commission can examine the same. Wellington, Feb 22 : England's Test captain Ben Stokes has dropped hints on leaving IPL 2023 early to prepare well for the Test against Ireland as well as the Men's Ashes in what will be a bumper 2023 home summer. Stokes -- who played at now-defunct Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017 and for Rajasthan Royals, too, from 2018-2021 in the IPL -- will join Chennai Super Kings for a signing amount of INR 16.25 crore, the joint-third most expensive player in the IPL 2023 player auction held last year. IPL 2023 is scheduled to start from March 31 and will end on May 28, while the English home summer begins with the Test against Ireland on June 1, followed by the Ashes starting from June 16. "Yes, I'll play (the Test against Ireland). I'll be making sure that I give myself enough time to get back and play that (Ireland) game," he was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo ahead of England's second Test against New Zealand, starting from Friday in Wellington. Since taking over as England's Test captain last year, Stokes has led the side to 10 wins in 11 matches. Apart from Stokes, Joe Root, Mark Wood, Jonny Bairstow, Liam Livingstone, Jofra Archer, Sam Curran, and Harry Brook have IPL 2023 deals too. He added that discussions will happen with IPL-bound players on their preparations for the Ashes, and has left the door open for missing the Ireland Test too. "I'll probably get round the individuals and ask them what they want to be ready for the Ashes, because those five games are obviously the big ones of the summer, and you've got to think about what lads want." "But what if something was to happen in that game (Ireland) and we lose someone for the Ashes ... It's just one of those where you have to weigh up the options of what the individual person actually wants out of that week, versus do we really need to play that one. Because, obviously, I'm right in saying that series is bigger than that game against Ireland." Talking about the playing eleven for the second Test at Basin Reserve, Stokes expressed his wish to field an unchanged playing eleven, though there are concerns over Ollie Robinson's availability after suffering some discomfort below left knee during first Test at Mount Maunganui. "If we have got a couple of people who are a bit sore, or bowlers who don't feel like they are hundred per cent right to go, then I will still be picking my best team because I will be picking the XI who are able to play." "So it's the beauty of the squad we've got at the moment - if someone doesn't feel like they're quite up to performing again after a close turnaround, we'll still be able to pick the best team judging by the people we've got." Latest updates on IPL 2023 Hyderabad, Feb 22 : Chandanvelly and adjoining Sitarampur near Hyderabad will become Telangana's largest industrial cluster in future, state Industries and Commerce Minister K.T. Rama Rao said on Wednesday. Tech giant Microsoft, global e-commerce leader Amazon, and leading textile company Kitex Garments are setting up their units in this cluster, where textile major Welspun India Ltd on Wednesday opened its second manufacturing facility. Microsoft has reportedly acquired 52 acres in Chandanvelly to establish one of the three data centres in Hyderabad. Amazon is also planning to set up a data centre at Chandanvelly. Kitex Garments, which has already signed MoU with Telangana government to invest Rs 2,406 crore in the state, is setting up one of the two units in this cluster. Sitarampur will be one of the electric vehicle manufacturing clusters under Telangana Mobility Valley (TMV). Inaugurating the Welspun facility, Rama Rao recalled that five years ago when Welspun came to Chandanvelly, there was nothing in the area. He also recalled that Welspun had originally planned to set up the unit at Kutch in Gujarat but when he met Welspun Chairman Balkrishan Goenka and explained to him the strengths of the region and assured full support, the latter dropped the idea of setting up plant in Gujarat and choose Telangana. He pointed out that Welspun started two units with an investment of Rs 2,000 crore and welcomed Goenka's announcement that in the next 5-6 years, they will invest another Rs 3,000 to 5,000 crore to develop what he calls Welspun valley. On this occasion, Welspun Group, a global conglomerate, also announced that it would set up an IT/ITeS center in Chandanvelly. Mentioning that Welspun is already operating in Ahmedabad and Mumbai in the IT/ TES sector, he said that the company has decided to set up their IT Centre in their industrial premises in Chandanvelly. KTR, as the Minister is popularly known, thanked Goenka for their decision and hoped that this would strengthen the Telangana government's goal of expanding IT to tier 2 and 3 cities. With the establishment of Welspun IT Centre, the desire of the local people to have IT companies in their region will also be fulfilled and 1,000-1,200 local youth will get an opportunity to do IT jobs. With an investment of Rs 500 crore, the advanced textile facility of Welspun Advanced Material India Ltd, inaugurated on Wednesday, is Welspun's second investment in the same vicinity after setting up a flooring facility valued at Rs 1,500 crores two years ago. The plant will manufacture Spun-Lace which is used in categories like hygiene applications, family care and products that are used by individuals in their daily lives. The new plant will also support the Group's new vision of "Har Ghar Se Har Dil Tak Welspun" according to which, the Welspun Group wants to touch the lives of end consumers through the businesses in their portfolio. Dipali Goenka, Joint MD and CEO, Welspun India said that the new facility will create over 12,000 direct and indirect jobs that will benefit the surrounding communities of Chandanvelly. Melbourne, Feb 22 : The allowable work hours cap for international students will be increased from 40 hours to 48 hours per fortnight, along with a two year work visa extension, beginning July 1, 2023, the Australian government announced. The revised cap will help international students to support themselves through their studies, while maintaining study as the primary purpose of their visa. Student visa work restrictions were relaxed throughout the pandemic, and they were completely removed in January 2022 to allow primary and secondary student visa holders to work over their normal limit of 40 hours per fortnight to address workforce shortages. This will end on June 30, and the fresh cap will apply to all international students, no matter when they began studying. The government also announced that a two-year extension of post-study work rights is available for international graduates with select degrees that are in areas of verified skill shortage. This extension will give eligible international higher education graduates an additional two years on their Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485). The extension is in addition to the existing additional one to two years of work rights for eligible students who study, live, and work in regional areas. For select Bachelor degrees, post-study work rights will be increased from two to four years, three to five years for select Masters degrees, and four to six years for all doctoral qualifications. "Enabling students that gain an education in Australia to stay longer and contribute to our economy benefits us all," Minister for Home Affairs Clare O'Neil said. "After a lost decade on immigration and skills we are looking for ways to utilise skilled migrants via enhanced training and better targeted, less exploitative programs for temporary visa workers and students," she added. There are 1,00,009 Indian students studying across various Australian universities, according to a report released by the Indian External Affairs Ministry for the year 2022. Jammu, Feb 22 : Two pregnant women were evacuated in a critical condition from an isolated area in J&K's Kishtwar district by the army, air force and civil administration. A Defence Ministry spokesman said, "The Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Civil Administration came together and evacuated two pregnant women in critical condition from the winter isolated Nawapachi area of Kishtwar district to Kishtwar town where they are being treated at the district hospital. "It is noteworthy to mention that the Indian Army has been helping people towards reducing their hardships in this challenging area which witnesses harsh weather and extremely difficult conditions for life, more so during winters when the area remains totally cut off from rest of the world for six months due to closure of land route from South Kashmir side. "The armed forces have always rendered life saving humanitarian assistance to the people apart from conducting counter-terrorist operations in the terrorism-affected area. People of the area expressed their gratitude towards the Indian Army and Indian Air Force for the noble act." Kochi, Feb 22 : Fishery scientists and experts from India and the UK have called for an Indo-UK partnership to achieve the 'One Health Aquaculture' concept in the country. One Health Aquaculture approach implies achieving optimal health of the people, aquatic animals and plants, and the environment. Speaking on the concept at an Indo-UK joint workshop held here, experts said that while focusing on boosting production to meet growing seafood demand, it is equally important to improve the health of all involved in the value chain of the aquatic food sector. The workshop was jointly organised by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) of the UK government, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI). The meet also called for Indo-UK partnership to facilitate research collaboration helping to improve safe and sustainable aquaculture production in the country. This would help to support adoption of sustainable seafood practices, reducing the risk of negative impacts from unsustainable activities and subsequently improving the livelihoods, environments, and economies of the country. Sally Taylor from the British High Commission said a higher level UK-India One Health partnership would set stage for the integration of the aquatic food system to One Health concept thereby addressing emerging realities and concerns at global level. The meeting also suggested novel initiatives like block-chain enabled tracking of fish production from farm to table as it helps improve the quality of the produce. CMFRI Director, A Gopalakrishnan said, there are mechanisms that orient Indian aquaculture towards the One Health paradigm like National Surveillance Programme for Aquatic Animal Diseases (NSPAAD), Indian Network for Fisheries and Animal Antimicrobial Resistance (INFAAR), All India Network Project on Fish Health, Consortia Research Platform on Vaccine and Diagnostics. However, he underscored the need for creating a national level agency to coordinate such different fragmented efforts. Referring to the increased disease risks involved in the aquaculture, C Ramachandran, Principal Scientist of the CMFRI said it is need of the hour to appoint aqua doctors to prevent abuse of chemicals like antibiotics in aquaculture. "Collaborative R&D efforts are required for revival and market integration of traditional fish farming systems such as pokkali farming under the One Health lense," he said. Around 50 scientists from India and the UK attended the meeting. Bhubaneswar, Feb 22 : The Odisha government has decided to set up eight new urban primary health centres (UHPC) in different districts of the state under the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM). A notification issued by the state health and family welfare department said on Wednesday, "The UHPCs will be set up at Jajpur and Vyasanagar in Jajpur district, Rairangpur in Mayurbhanj district, Malkangiri district town, Soro in Balasore, Rajagangpur in Sundargarh, Talcher in Angul and Cuttack city." The state government has also decided to transform 147 health facilities into high-case load facilities in the first phase under the 5T initiative 'Ama Hospital' by October this year. The district collector will implement the scheme with the assistance of the district level committee (DLC) which will develop the estimates through the experts of the line department. The collectors have been empowered to sanction civil works up to Rs 4 crore for non-residential works and approve the procurement of goods up to Rs 25 lakh for redevelopment of the identified 147 hospitals, the health department said. The districts having access to Odisha Mineral Bearing Area Development Corporation (OMBADC) and District Mineral Foundation (DMF) can utilise the funds from the two sources for execution of the 'Ama Hospital' scheme, the department said. Funds for implementation of the scheme will be provided out of the state budget, which will be placed with district collectors of non-DMF districts, it said. Mysuru, Feb 22 : Actor Rakhi Sawant alleged on Wednesday that her husband Adil Khan Durranis family told her that she is a Hindu and hence they cant accept her into the family. Speaking to reporters outside a court in Mysuru, Rakhi Sawant broke down and said, "He (Adil) is married to me. I want justice. Today morning I spoke to his father. He told me that they can't accept me because I am a Hindu. After I told him that I have now accepted Islam and that his son is married to me, he stopped taking my calls. Adil is always threatening me with 'talaq'." She added, "I don't want to give him divorce. I am his wife. His father spoke very rudely to me. I don't know anyone in Mysuru, but I want justice. I have accepted Islam. I have all the documents of my marriage. Where should I go now? What should I do?" "I met Adil in Mysuru one year ago, and eight months back we got married. I accepted Islam and we did 'Nikah'. Our marriage was registered in Mumbai. He had promised me that we will have babies and do a lot of things together," Sawant said. Sawant also claimed that she spent Rs 1.60 crore on Adil. "I even sold my jewellery but he took everything from me. He also started torturing me. He was having an affair with an Iranian girl in Mysuru for five years, who later accused him of rape. I got messages from the Iranian girl in which Adil claimed that he is just using me for money and promised her a house in Dubai. He also told her that I will be cheated by him," she added. The Karnataka police have taken Adil into custody from the Mumbai police in connection with a rape complaint lodged against him by an Iranian student in Mysuru. He was produced before the court on Wednesday which remanded him to seven-day police custody. Hyderabad, Feb 22 : Harassed by a senior, a post graduate student of a government-run medical college in Telangana attempted suicide by administering a lethal injection to herseld. The first year Post Graduate (MD) student in the department of Anaesthesia of the Kakatiya Medical College (KMC) in Warangal took the extreme step at the MGM Hospital while she was on duty on Wednesday. She was found unconscious around 6.30 a.m. and was admitted to the emergency ward where CPR was administered. As her condition deteriorated, she was shifted to Hyderabad. The student was admitted to Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) and her condition is stated to be critical. Her father Narendra broke down while talking to media persons at NIMS. He also slammed the management of the college for not taking any action on her complaint. He said a senior student had been harassing his daughter since November last year and though the issue was brought to the notice of higher officials of KMC, no action was taken. Narendra, who works as Assistant Sub-Inspector in Railway Protection Force (RPF) in Warangal, claimed that her daughter sought the support of her fellow students but they backed out, saying they have to study another two years in the same college. The girl's father demanded that the college management take strong action against the student who was harassing her. The Labour Party candidate for Enugu East Senatorial district, Oyibo Chukwu has been killed. Oyibo, a lawyer was said to have been attacked while returning from a campaign trip in the Agbani area. He was said to have been burnt inside his vehicle, and three persons were suspected to be with him in the vehicle but it was not yet known how many of the occupants were killed. Information about the attack is still very sketchy but a top member of the party has confirmed it but said he should not be quoted until the family speaks. It was also learned that the APC governorship candidate in the state, Uche Nnaji was also attacked at the spot where the Labour candidate was killed. Mumbai, Feb 22 : World-renowned doyen of Mohiniattam Dr. Kanak Y. Rele passed away in a private hospital here on Monday following a brief illness, plunging the world of arts into a pall of gloom. She was 85. Rele is survived by her husband Yatindra Rele, son Rahul and daughter-in-law Uma, and two grandchildren. She was accorded a cremation with full state honours at the Juhu Crematorium here on Wednesday evening. Earlier, her mortal remains were taken to the Nalanda Dance Academy at Juhu where hundreds of her colleagues, past and present students including many top notch dancers in different dance forms, paid homage to her. "The auditorium was full of over 300 disciples, with moist eyes, grieving for their favourite 'Guru', who was kept for darshan there," said one of her associates and Odishi exponent Shubhada Varadkar after the funeral. After a gun salute by the Mumbai Police, her body, draped in the national tricolour, was brought out for the final journey. Later, her funeral cortege wended its way to the Juhu Crematorium where many more mourners joined and paid silent homage. Ailing for over a week, Rele was admitted to a suburban private hospital where she breathed her last around 7.30 a.m., said the family. Condoling her demise, Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais described her as 'Nritya Tapaswini', one of the finest exponents of Mohiniattam and Kathakali who dedicated her entire life to the cause of promotion, propagation and research of Indian classical dance forms. "Dr. Rele made fundamental work in the field of dance through her Nalanda Dance Research Centre and the Nalanda Nritya Kala Mahavidyalaya. She trained hundreds of students and brought classical dance close to the people," he said. Many other prominent dignitaries from different walks of life and the national dance fraternity have grieved Rele's passing. Born in Gujarat and spending a part of her childhood in Kolkata, she started learning the Kathakali dance at the tender age of 7, from her Guru Panchali Karunakara Panicker. Then, she pursued her academics, qualifying as a lawyer from Mumbai and in international law from the UK, besides holding a doctorate in dance from University of Mumbai. After conducting detailed research into the dance forms from ancient texts, Rele developed her own style of Mohiniyattam, which was known as "Kanak Rele School", revived and popularised the dance form adding a scientific temper and academic rigour to the art. In her long and illustrious dance career spanning nearly eight decades, she was conferred the Padma Shri (1989), Padma Bhushan (2013), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1994), Kalidas Samman (2006), M. S. Subbulakshmi Award and other accolades. New Delhi, Feb 22 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the 41st edition of PRAGATI and reviewed nine key infrastructure projects spread across 13 states having cumulative worth of over Rs 41,500 crore. The Prime Minister advised the concerned ministries and state governments to use the PM GatiShakti portal for planning of infrastructure projects. He insisted on expeditious resolution of land acquisition, utility shifting and other issues for timely completion of projects. The Prime Minister also emphasised on ensuring proper coordination between the Central government ministries and the state governments. At the meeting, nine key infrastructure projects were reviewed. Among the nine projects, three projects are of the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, two of the Ministry of Railways and one project each of the Ministry of Power, Ministry of Coal, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. These nine projects have a cumulative cost of over Rs 41,50 crore and relate to 13 states, including Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh. PRAGATI is the ICT based multi-modal platform for pro-active governance and timely implementation, involving the Centre and state governments. During the interaction, the Prime Minister also reviewed 'Mission Amrit Sarovar', and undertook real-time view of Amrit Sarovar sites through drones in Kishanganj, Bihar, and Botad, Gujarat. Modi advised all the concerned ministries and state governments to complete Amrit Sarovar work in mission mode before the onset of monsoon. The Prime Minister also emphasised on block level monitoring for timely completion of the target of 50,000 Amrit Sarovars under the scheme. The idea of Mission Amrit Sarovar is working to rejuvenate water bodies all across the country, which will help conserve water for the future. Once the mission is complete, the expected increase in water holding capacity is going to be around 50 crore cubic metre, the estimated carbon sequestration will be about 32,000 tonnes per year and expected increase in ground water recharge will be over 22 million cubic metre. Panaji, Feb 22 : The leader of opposition in Goa Assembly, Yuri Alemao, along with writers from the coastal state on Wednesday hailed the decision of Governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai to help Konkani writers to come up with their first book. Pillai, who has penned a number of books, announced on Wednesday that the Raj Bhavan will sponsor 25 Konkani language books. "For Konkani writers who have not published any book but have the talent and desire to publish books, Raj Bhavan will bear all the expenses of printing," Pillai said, adding that details of the scheme will be announced soon. Welcoming the decision of Pillai, Alemao said, "A welcome gesture by Governor P.S. Sreedharan Pillai. This initiative will surely help the young writers and also boost Konkani literature." Sanjiv Verenkar, Sahitya Akademy awardee poet, said that this is the best example set by Pillai as the Governor of Goa. "He may be the first Governor who has initiated such a scheme fostering the literature field, that too for those who wish to publish their first book. I welcome his decision which respects Konkani language and writers," Verenkar said. New Delhi, Feb 23 : Ruckus in the MCD House on Wednesday, during which AAP and BJP councilliors were seen hurling water bottles on each other, resulted in multiple disruptions which further delayed the election six Standing Committee members. Earlier in the day, the House was adjourned for an hour (4:20 p.m. to 5:20 p.m.) after AAP candidates were elected on the post of Mayor and Deputy Mayor. However, when proceeding commenced, BJP councillors raised objections over allowing mobile phones inside the polling booth. BJP members assembled in the well of the House and started protesting against Mayor Shelly Oberoi. The protesting councillors demanded that no one should be allowed take to have their mobile phones with them in the polling booth. The Mayor agreed to their demand and said that mobile phones will not be allowed while casting of votes. However, BJP councillors further demanded that the prior voting, which was allowed with mobile phones, should be cancelled. This triggered ruckus, which led to the adjournment of the House for another half hour. AAP councillors argued that the ballot papers are in limited numbers and thus the votes in no case can be cancelled. Outside the House, AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj accused the BJP of obstructing the election process in the MCD. "Despite losing the (mayoral) election, BJP councillors have been causing trouble in the House by disrupting the election process and making arbitrary demands," he said, terming it a "well-planned" move by the saffron party. "The Supreme Court has ordered all three elections (Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Standing Committee members) to be held in the first session; the session won't conclude before the Standing Committee gets elected. It is certain that AAP will win the Standing Committee elections too. Elections will take place in this sitting only, even if the House has to be run for the whole night," Bhardwaj asserted. "Just recently, the elections to the MCD were held and the Election Commission has said that a person can carry their mobile phones with them while going to cast their vote. The BJP members think that they are above the Election Commission," he noted. "However, the Mayor agreed to their demand and said that mobile phones will not be allowed while casting of votes. After that the BJP councillors said that the 45 votes that have already been cast by the councillors should be cast once again. The secretary had said that there are 245 ballots in total and therefore there is no possibility of a re-vote at any point," the AAP leader added. Jaipur, Feb 23 : A special CBI court here sentenced two sub-postmasters in Rajasthan's Dholpur, and one person, to four years rigorous imprisonment after convicting them in two separate cases of fraudulently withdrawing money from post office accounts. The court also imposed a fine of Rs two lakh each on them. According to the CBI, the first case was registered in 2017 on a complaint from Superintendent of Post Offices, Dholpur Division, that sub-postmaster Bahadur Singh, during 2010-11, conspired with Pankaj Kumar Singhal, obtained four original passbooks of accounts holders, and forged their signatures on withdrawal and closing forms to take out the money, causing a loss to the tune of Rs 11,46,080 to the Department of Posts. After investigation, a charge sheet was filed in 2018. In the second case, another sub-post master and Singhal conspired to misappropriate funds. This case was also registered in 2017 on a complaint from Superintendent of Post Offices, Dholpur Division, that sub-postmaster Raghubar Dayal Sharma, during 2013-14, entered into conspiracy with the same Singhal, obtained five original passbooks of account, made forged signatures on withdrawal forms to take out the money from the MIS/SB accounts. They caused a loss to the tune of Rs 15,85,730 to the Department of Posts. After investigation, a charge sheet in this case was also filed in 2018. Agartala, Feb 23 : The Tripura High Court on Wednesday granted bail to senior police officer Tapan Debbarma, the prime accused in the murder of journalist Sudip Dutta Bhowmik on November 21, 2017. Debbarma, the commandant of the Second Battalion of Tripura State Rifles (TSR), was arrested days after Bhowmik was shot dead at the complex of the force headquarters in Ramchandra Nagar in West Tripura district. While granting bail, the court directed Debbarma to appear before the inquiry officer every week. Senior lawyer Pijush Kanti Biswas, who represented the accused in the high court, said that the bail was granted by Justice T. Amarnath Gour following a special leave petition filed in the Supreme Court, which asked the high court to consider the bail of Debbarma after examining the relevant matters. On September 20, 2017, television journalist Santanu Dutta Bhowmik was murdered in Mandwai, 25 km from Agartala, while he was covering a gathering of a local political party. Both the murder cases are being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in compliance with the demand raised by various journalists' organisations. The then Left Front government had constituted two separate Special Investigation Teams (SITs) to probe the killings. But following the demands of various media organisations, including the Agartala Press Club, the BJP government after coming to power in March 2018, handed over the cases to CBI. Several TSR personnel -- including the force's Second Battalion Commandant Tapan Debbarma, who is a senior Tripura Police Service (TPS) officer -- were arrested for the murder of Sudip Dutta Bhowmik, but no one has been arrested for the murder of Santanu Bhowmik yet. Tehran, Feb 23 : The Iranian nuclear chief has said the officials of the IAEA are in Tehran and have been inspecting the country's nuclear facilities since two days to resolve the ambiguities. Mohammad Eslami, President of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI), on Wednesday made the remarks to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting, noting Tehran is continuing its cooperation and relations with the IAEA within the framework of the safeguards agreements, according to Iranian Students' News Agency. Answering a question about the claim in a recent Bloomberg report that "Iran is enriching uranium to levels above 60 per cent," Eslami noted that it was due to a misperception by one of the inspectors. He said Iran is always careful to prevent any new ambiguity in the process of cooperation with the IAEA, Xinhua news agency reported. Turning to a 2015 nuclear deal, Eslami added the agreement was a contract between Iran and the P5+1 based on efforts to build mutual trust, adding that it is quite "unacceptable" to Iran that a political pressure campaign would seek to force Tehran into fulfilling its commitments one-sidedly while others are not honouring theirs. Bloomberg's Sunday report cited two senior diplomats as claiming that IAEA inspectors in Iran last week detected uranium enriched to 84 per cent purity, "just 6 per cent below that needed for a nuclear weapon." On Sunday, Iranian official news agency IRNA quoted the AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi as saying that the Bloomberg report was a "distortion of the facts" and part of a smear campaign. Over the past few months, the IAEA has criticised Iran for its lack of cooperation with the agency. On November 17, 2022, the IAEA's Board of Governors passed a resolution proposed by the US, Britain, France, and Germany that called on Iran to collaborate with the agency's investigators regarding the alleged "traces of uranium" at a number of its "undeclared" sites. Iran has repeatedly rejected such allegations. Amman, Feb 23 : Jordan's State Security Court has sentenced three members of a terrorist cell to death over a series of attacks in the Jordanian city of Salt. The three are part of 14 defendants involved in the terrorist attacks in Salt that killed members of the Jordanian armed forces and security agencies, it reported on Wednesday. The court decided to jail eight other members of the terrorist group affiliated with Islamic State (ISIS) from 5-20 years in prison, it added. The court also announced the acquittal of three individuals who were charged with involvement in the same terrorist activities in Salt in 2018, Xinhua news agency reported. The defendants were charged with multiple counts, including using, possessing and manufacturing explosives and weapons, as well as carrying out terrorist attacks resulting in human casualties and destruction of property. They were also charged with promoting the ideas of the ISIS group. United Nations, Feb 23 : UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous has regretted the retrogress in women's political participation and the rise in sexual violence in Somalia. Women's political participation and leadership is a pre-requisite for more inclusive societies, for finding solutions to lasting peace and achieving sustainable development. In the last few years, Security Council members have raised the importance of the 30 per cent quota for women politicians and new legislation on sexual violence, she said on Wednesday. Yet, the quota in Somalia was not met, women's representation fell, sexual violence increased, and the Sexual Offences Bill adopted unanimously by the Council of Ministers five years ago has still not been passed by Parliament. Instead, its opponents are pushing for alternative legislation that would legalise child marriage, omit the age of consent, reduce the types of admissible evidence, and take away the rights of survivors, she told the Security Council in a briefing. In the 2016 elections, women's representation had jumped from 14 to 24 per cent and there was a commitment to reach 30 per cent in the next elections. Instead, the number of women in both chambers declined from 80 to 67. The decline in women's representation is not limited to the results of the last election. Only 13 per cent of current members of the Cabinet are women, despite advocacy efforts during government formation talks, she said. Conversely, rates of sexual violence have registered an alarming increase since 2020. They doubled then, compared with 2019. And they have continued to rise as the worst drought in many decades is having a devastating impact on all Somalis, and women and girls are disproportionately impacted, Xinhua news agency reported. CARE International recently found a 200 per cent increase in gender-based violence cases among people displaced by the drought compared with the previous year. In UN Women's recent assessment of the impact of the drought, it found that women take on increased economic burdens, skip meals, find themselves separated from or abandoned by their husbands, and are more vulnerable to sexual assault as they travel longer distances to fetch water and firewood. Yet, much of this goes unpunished. UN Women data indicate that 80 per cent of sexual and gender-based violence cases do not reach the judiciary, and when they do, they are often met by male judges in a system where less than 1 per cent of judges are women, she added. Bahous asked the Security Council to make specific demands with regard to women's political participation. "That includes participation not only in elections, but also in the stabilisation agenda that is a key current priority for the federal government and federal member states of Somalia. It includes participation in the civil service, the constitutional review, the reforms of the justice and security sectors, and all efforts related to peace-building, state-building, preventing violent extremism, early warning, transitional justice, and humanitarian aid," she said. "It is only when women are included in all areas of public life that we will have a chance at peace and at ensuring that we support the rebuilding of a society that is resilient to future shocks," she added. Baghdad, Feb 23 : An army pilot officer, a paramilitary member, and a doctor were killed by gunmen in separate incidents in Iraq, security sources said. Unidentified armed men shot dead Iraqi Air Force officer Saad Mohsen Marzouq who was driving in Fallujah city, nearly 50 km west of the capital Baghdad, a local police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity on Wednesday. In a separate incident, gunmen opened fire on a joint checkpoint manned by police and paramilitary Hashd Shaabi in Kirkuk city, nearly 250 km north of Baghdad, Ihsan al-Obaidi from the Kirkuk police told Xinhua. The attackers killed a Hashd Shaabi member and wounded a policeman before fleeing the scene, al-Obaidi said as quoted by Xinhua news agency report. On Wednesday, unknown gunmen assassinated Ahmed Talal al-Madfaie, a famous cardiologist, in the eastern province of Diyala, Alaa al-Saadi from the Diyala police told Xinhua. Sporadic attacks still haunt Iraq despite an improvement in the security situation after the defeat of the extremist militants of the Islamic State group across the country in 2017. The NSA said the crime was perpetrated within Nigeria's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up to the Republic of Togo. The National Security Adviser (NSA), Babagana Monguno, has said the federal government prevented over three million barrels of crude oil from being stolen between August 2018 and January 2023. Mr Monguno said the crime was perpetrated within Nigeria's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up to the Republic of Togo. He said this at the Stakeholders' Conference on Oil Theft and Losses in Nigeria, convened by the Special Investigative Panel on Oil Theft/Losses in Nigeria on Tuesday in Abuja. Mr Monguno, a retired major general, said security agencies have embarked on a series of intelligence-driven maritime security and are using the "Falcon Eye System" a high-tech real-time intelligence Maritime Domain Awareness facility that is coordinated with the NSA. According to him, the facilities and initiatives have facilitated the prosecution of over 200 vessels involved in maritime criminality and the recovery of about 11 million litres of petrol and diesel within five years. "I have also directed that the Falcon Eye System - a high tech real-time intelligence Maritime Domain Awareness facility domiciled with the Nigerian Navy and coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser be fully committed to addressing this emerging concern. "The facility has between August 2018 and January 2023 facilitated the prosecution of over 200 vessels involved in maritime criminality within Nigeria's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up to the Republic of Togo. "In addition, 83 oil tankers involved in various crude oil and product theft have been arrested, while the theft of over 3 million barrels of crude oil was prevented and 11 million litres of petrol and diesel were recovered. Crude oil theft the biggest threat to Nigeria's economy Mr Monguno said the attacks on oil-producing facilities have led to several shutdowns in some International Oil Companies in the country. This, according to him, has resulted in the loss of revenue and by implication negated the capacity of the government to generate the required resources to fulfil its statutory responsibilities to the citizenry. "Currently, crude oil theft is arguably the biggest threat to Nigeria's economy. Its socioeconomic impact includes environmental degradation, health hazards and disruption in economic activities of the host communities amongst other concerns. Nigeria struggling to do 60 per cent of 2 million barrels of oil per day The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, said the country has been unable to produce even 60 per cent of the two million barrels of oil per day it produced 30 years ago. This, he said, was a result of the menace of oil theft and bunkering in the country. According to him, the federal government hired private security firms in collaboration with other security organisations like Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL) and Tantita Security Nigeria to help increase oil production. He said that since their collaboration, numerous oil theft camps and illegal bunkering sites by oil thieves have been found in various sections of the Niger Delta region. PREMIUM TIMES had reported how Nigeria lost $10 billion to crude oil theft in seven months, and as well, uncovered an illegal four-kilometre illegal oil connection line from Forcados Terminal. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) chief executive officer, Mele Kyari, said the illegal oil connection line has been in operation for nine years. The federal government in its recent draft fiscal strategy paper for 2023 through 2025 said that oil revenue underperformed due to significant production shortfalls such as shut-ins resulting from pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft. In a bid to curb crude theft, the Nigerian government launched an application in August to monitor incidence. The NNPC awarded a multi-billion naira pipeline surveillance procurement to a former leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), Government Ekpemukpolo, aka Tompolo. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Petroleum By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. In his remarks, the Interim Administrator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP,) Barry Ndiomu, called for a deliberate conversation to drive legal reforms that would provide stiffer penalties to culpable entities involved in oil theft. Mr Ndiomu, a retired major general, who is the chairman of the Special Investigative Panel on Oil Theft/Losses, said "frank discussions" must be held to enable the country to "crack the code" and put an end to the "criminal enterprise" of oil theft. Speaking further, he stated that the menace of oil theft has had an enormous negative impact on Nigeria's crude oil production, plunging output to a 13-year low of 800,000bpd. He reiterated that strategic consultations have been held with state governments of the Niger Delta region and other critical stakeholders to that effect. Tehran, Feb 23 : The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani has condemned the "brutal" Israeli attack on the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Kanaani made the remarks in a statement published Wednesday on the Foreign Ministry's website, reacting to the attack by the Israeli army on Nablus earlier in the day, in which 10 Palestinians were killed, including an old man and a 14-year-old boy, and at least 102 others injured, Xinhua news agency reported. Pointing to the Israeli Army's increased number of "criminal acts" in the West Bank over the past months, he said the continuation of the "dangerous trend" is "unacceptable and shameful". Prayagraj, Feb 23 : The Allahabad High Court has imposed a fine of Rs one lakh on one Parvez Parwaz and another for filing repeated petitions against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath regarding 2007 Gorakhpur riot case, even after the issue had been settled by the Supreme Court. On January 27, 2007, a Hindu youth was killed in a clash between two groups during a Muharram procession in Gorakhpur. Parwaz, a local journalist, filed a case on September 26, 2008, alleging that Adityanath, the then local BJP MP, had delivered speeches seeking revenge for the death of the youth and he had videos of the incident. Subsequently, the BJP-led state government declined to grant sanction for prosecution on May 3, 2017. The applicant challenged the state government's decision before the high court, which dismissed his petition on February 22, 2018. Later, he challenged the decision of the high court before the Supreme Court, which, too, dismissed it. The applicants had challenged the decision of the trial court on October 11, 2022, wherein the court had rejected the protest petition against the final/closure report of police in the case. Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh, has now dismissed the petition of Parwaz and another under section 482 (inherent powers of high court) of Criminal Procedure Code, imposed the cost which has to be deposited in the Army Welfare Fund Battle Casualties within four weeks, failing which the same will be recovered as arrears of land revenue from estates/assets of the petitioner. "The petitioner appears to be a busybody who himself is facing several criminal cases, and he has been fighting this case since 2007. The petitioner must have been incurring huge expenses in engaging counsel to contest this case before the trial court, this court and the Supreme Court. His resources to fight the litigation should be a matter of investigation. There may be some force in the submission raised by Manish Goyal, the Additional Advocate General, that the petitioner is an impostor who has been set up by forces opposing Yogi Adityanath, the present Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, and the forces which do not want progress of Uttar Pradesh and India," the high court observed while taking a serious note of the repeated litigations filed by the applicants before different courts. "It is for the state to investigate the said aspect, however, this court does not want to say anything further or give any direction in this regard," the high court added. Appearing for the applicants, senior advocate S.F. A. Naqvi argued that "the question of the legality of the order, refusing sanction for prosecution, was left open by the Supreme Court and, therefore, it cannot be said that the issue had attained finality. While deciding the protest petition filed by the petitioner against the closure/final report, the trial court could/ought to have decided the issue of the legality of the order, refusing prosecution sanction". Appearing for the state government, Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal argued that "the issues raised in the protest petition and in this petition had attained finality up to the Supreme Court. The petitioner cannot be permitted to raise the same issues time and again. Once the Supreme Court has not entertained the plea of validity of the order, refusing prosecution sanction, the trial court has rightly refused to go into the said issue". Tunis, Feb 23 : Tunisian President Kais Saied has decided to end the duties of Minister of Employment and Training Nasreddine Nsibi, according to a statement issued by the Presidency. This is already the third minister the Tunisian President has dismissed in two months, Xinhua news agency reported. The statement released on Wednesday did not specify the reason for the dismissal. Nsibi also held the post of official spokesperson for the Tunisian government. In the same statement, the Tunisian President has appointed Mounir Ben Rjiba as Secretary of State to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. On February 7, Saied sacked Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi, a month after the dismissal of Trade Minister Fadhila Rabhi. Stockholm, Feb 23 : Talks between Sweden, Finland and Turkey would resume in mid-March, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told local media. "We have just confirmed this today," Kristersson told Swedish public television broadcaster SVT on Wednesday, without specifying the date for such talks. Turkey has postponed a trilateral meeting with Sweden and Finland on their NATO bids slated for February following the burning of a copy of the Quran in Stockholm, Xinhua news agency reported. Despite the US attempts to push for both countries' rapid accession into NATO, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday reaffirmed Ankara's demand for more efforts from Sweden over its security concerns. Ankara's stance on Finland's accession could be different and its membership could be ratified earlier, he said. Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022 in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Their accession needs the approval of all member states of the military alliance. Turkey and Hungary, both members of NATO, have yet to give their approvals. Turkey requests that the two Nordic countries to "speedily and thoroughly" extradite individuals it considers to be terrorist suspects. Ramallah, Feb 23 : Palestinians have condemned the killing of 10 Palestinians and wounding of 102 others during an Israeli raid in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Nabil Abu Rudeineh, the spokesman of the Palestinian presidency, said on Wednesday in a statement that Palestine condemns the Israeli deadly aggression against Nablus, vowing to hold the Israeli government "responsible for this dangerous escalation, which is pushing the region toward tension and an explosive situation". "The crime committed by the occupation forces in Nablus reaffirms the importance of our demand that the international community must act immediately to stop the Israeli crimes against our people," Abu Rudeineh added. He called on the US administration "to take immediate action and put effective pressure on the Israeli government to stop its crimes and continuous aggression against our people". Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Ishtaye described the Israeli killing of Palestinians in Nablus as "organised terrorism" and urged the UN to stop practicing "double standards". "The Israeli aggression is organised terrorism through which Israel seeks to export its internal crisis to the Palestinian arena," he said. Ishtaye called on the UN "to stop the policy of double standards that encourages Israel to continue its aggression against the Palestinian people". "Whatever is practiced against our people will not deter them from continuing their legitimate struggle to achieve their goals of freedom, ending the occupation, and establishing their independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital," he added. In Gaza, Abu Obeida, the masked military spokesman of Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), said in a short statement that "resistance in Gaza is observing the escalating occupation crimes in the West Bank". "The patience of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza is running out," he added. The Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement that 10 Palestinians were killed by Israeli soldiers, including an elderly man and a 14-year-old boy, during an Israeli army military operation in the city of Nablus, Xinhua news agency reported. At least 102 Palestinians were also injured, including multiple in severe condition and three local Palestinian journalists. The Israeli military confirmed in a statement that an operation was underway in Nablus, a militant stronghold that is frequently raided by the military, but did not provide further information immediately. Local sources and eyewitnesses said that an Israeli army force backed by armoured vehicles stormed the outskirts of the old city of Nablus and surrounded a house to arrest several Palestinians wanted by Israeli security. They added that the wanted Palestinians were armed, and exchanged fire with the soldiers who surrounded the building, adding that several explosions and intensive gunfire were heard in the city. Meanwhile, clashes broke out in the city's streets between dozens of Palestinians, who threw stones and empty bottles, and the soldiers, who opened fire at the demonstrators to disperse them. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society in the city said in a statement that the Israeli soldiers prevented its ambulances from entering the area to evacuate casualties that needed medical treatment in the hospital. Israeli media outlets reported that an Israeli army force carried out on Wednesday morning a regular military activity following reports that Palestinian militants and members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad were hiding in a building in the old city. The reports said that the soldiers moved to the city and traded fire with the militants hiding in the building, adding that no injuries were reported among the Israeli soldiers. The tension between Israel and the Palestinians has been flaring since early January in the West Bank following a series of Palestinian attacks that killed nine Israelis, according to official Israeli figures. In return, the Israeli Army carried out dozens of daily incursions into the West Bank cities, villages, and refugee camps to arrest Palestinians involved in carrying out attacks against Israel. Ramallah/Gaza, Feb 23 : A total of 10 Palestinians were killed and 102 others injured in clashes with Israeli soldiers in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. In a statement on Wednesday, the Ministry published the names of 10 victims, which include an elderly man, a teenager and eight members of the Palestinian militant group known as the Lions' Den. In addition, 102 Palestinians, including three local journalists, were injured by Israeli soldiers during the four-hour clash in the Palestinian city, with six of them in critical condition, according to the statement. Thousands of Palestinians gathered in front of the three main hospitals in the city, where the dead and wounded were accommodated, and chanted slogans against Israel, Xinhua news agency reported. In separate statements, Palestinian factions declared a general strike on Thursday to mourn those killed in Nablus, calling on the Palestinians to confront the Israeli forces all over the West Bank. Local sources and eyewitnesses said the clash broke out when an Israeli force backed by armoured vehicles stormed the outskirts of the old city of Nablus and surrounded a house to arrest several Palestinians wanted by Israeli Army. They said the wanted Palestinians were armed and exchanged fire with the soldiers, adding several explosions and gunfire were heard in the entire city. Meanwhile, in the city's streets, dozens of Palestinians threw stones and empty bottles toward the soldiers, who fired back to disperse them. The Israeli military said in a statement that the raid aimed at arresting suspects for the killing of a soldier near an Israeli settlement last year, adding no injuries were reported among its soldiers. Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Ishtaye condemned the Israeli killing. "The Israeli aggression is an organised terrorism through which Israel seeks to export its internal crisis to the Palestinian arena," he said. "Whatever is practised against our people will not deter them from continuing their legitimate struggle to achieve their goals of freedom, ending the occupation, and establishing their independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital," the Prime Minister added. In Gaza, Abu Obeida, military spokesman of Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the ruling faction Hamas, said in a short statement that "the patience of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza is running out." The tension between Israelis and Palestinians has been flaring since early January in the West Bank. Israeli forces killed at least 61 Palestinians since the beginning of 2023, mainly during daily raids allegedly aimed at arresting suspects in deadly Palestinian attacks, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. Meanwhile, official figures from Israel showed 11 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks since the beginning of 2023. Lucknow, Feb 23 : The Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) will run a special campaign, titled 'spitting is prohibited', from Thursday till March 1 in an attempt to preserve the beautification work done for GIS-23 and G20 events in the Uttar Pradesh state capital. In a statement, LMC Commissioner Inderjit Singh said: "The campaign, to be run under Swachh Bharat Mission, will impose fine on people found spitting or urinating/defecating in the open areas. "The offenders will be given the title of 'Mr or Ms/Mrs Piku'. They will also be fined Rs 250 the under Uttar Pradesh Waste (Management Operation and Sanitation) Rules 2021." Singh further said that for implementation, help of the police, NGOs and local people will be taken. "We will also publicise the message of not spitting/urinating or defecating in the open through radio/public announcement. Additionally, boards and hoardings will be put on buses with the same message," said the LMC Commissioner. He also said that e-certificates and T-shirts will be distributed to the participants of the campaign. United Nations, Feb 23 : As the General Assembly met for an emergency session with an expected vote on a resolution condemning Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called Moscow's action "an affront to our collective conscience". "There's not a moment to lose for ending the war," he said on Wednesday as the invasion approached its one-year mark. "The possible consequences of a spiralling conflict are a clear and present danger." "The war is also fanning regional instability and fueling global tensions and divisions, while diverting attention and resources from other crises and pressing global issues," he said outlining the invasion's fallout on the global economy, the food crisis affecting the global south and the nuclear danger. Wednesday's meeting was a continuation of the emergency session convened last year because the Security Council cannot overcome Russia's veto to act on ending the war. Ukraine and its allies are duelling with Russia and its supporters over what will be the Assembly's sixth resolution on the war. Ukraine's resolution with over 65 co-sponsors would deplore Moscow's invasion and demand an immediate end to the war, Russia's withdrawal from territories it has seized and a "comprehensive, just and lasting peace". It would also demand the prosecution of crimes and justice for victims. Belarus, acting on behalf of Russia and its supporters, has proposed amendments to the resolution that would gut it of references to Moscow's aggression and invasion and the demand for it to withdraw from occupied territories, while calling instead for an end to arms supply to Ukraine by other countries. Both sides have mounted an intensive campaign on the resolution. Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, spoke by phone with India's National Security Adviser Ajit Doval ahead of the Assembly's emergency session to seek New Delhi's support for the resolution against Russia's invasion. India did not speak on Wednesday and it has abstained on all substantive resolutions on Ukraine. Assembly resolutions cannot be vetoed -- as Russia has done in the Security Council -- but they are not binding and only project a sense of moral authority. Five similar resolutions have been adopted by the Assembly since the invasion began on February 24, 2022, to no effect. One adopted In October got 143 votes, with five against it and 35 abstentions including India's in the 193-member Assembly. With that level of support, the Belarus amendments have virtually no chance of passing. General Assembly President Csaba Korosi demanded, "Russia must end this hell of bloodshed". He also held out hope for an end to the war: "This war will come to an end. And the time of reconstruction, reconciliation and transformation will come. We know it will not be easy. We know the scars are deep but the shared destiny of humanity will certainly help nations currently facing each other in the trenches." Switching to Russian from English, he spoke directly to the people of Russia: "Let this anniversary -- and the anguish of millions before our eyes over the last year -- serve as a reminder to all of us here in this Hall that military solutions will not end this war." Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said: "We have no choice but to keep fighting for our survival, as any of you would. A year after, against all odds, Ukraine is effectively defending itself against a much stronger enemy and I appeal to you: this is a decisive moment to show support, unity, and solidarity. This is the moment to prove that you stand for the UN Charter." Russia's Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenziz accused the west of fueling the war. "It's not Ukraine that is fighting Russia, but rather it is a collective West," he said. Its "goal is to inflict strategic defeat on my country", he said. US Permanent Representative Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the vote on the resolution "will go down in history". "On the one-year anniversary of this conflict, we will see where the nations of the world stand on the matter of peace in Ukraine," she said. (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis) Miami, Feb 23 : A TV reporter and a nine-year-old child were among the three people who were killed during a shooting spree in the US state of Florida, authorities said. Addressing a news conference late Wednesday, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said that Keith Melvin Moses, 19, has been arrested and charged with murder in connection to the shooting earlier in the morning in Orlando city, CNN reported. Moses is expected to be charged in four other shootings that occurred later in the day, including the killing of the Spectrum News 13 journalist, the Sheriff added. A second reporter and the child's mother were also shot and injured by the same gunman. Mina said Moses has a lengthy criminal history that includes gun charges, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon. He added that deputies responded to the 6100 block of Hialeah Street at around 11 a.m. Wednesday where they located a woman in her 20s who was shot and died from her injuries. "At 4.05, we received 911 calls about another shooting at that location and a shooting nearby," CNN quoted Mina as saying. He added that two journalists -- a photographer and reporter -- were on the scene to cover the homicide that took place in the morning and were shot in or around their vehicle. Shortly after that, police went to the scene of a third shooting and found a woman on Harrington Street and her nine-year-old daughter were also shot inside of a home, the Sheriff said, adding that the child died. The motive behind the shootings remain unknown. Los Angeles, Feb 23 : Hollywood star Keanu Reeves is well known for performing as many of his own stunts, which is why he spent nearly three months just training for for the fourth instalment of his 'John Wick' franchise. Each installment of the Lionsgate-backed action franchise is known for upping the ante, and the case is no different for 'Chapter 4', reports 'Variety'. "It's been about 12 weeks of training. It's new levels of action," Reeves said in a new featurette for the sequel. "You know, nun-chucks, which was challenging. John Wick's action asks just a little bit more. And you see the effort and the commitment from the team." According to Reeves, the most challenging was a car stunt in which his character races around the historic Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Reeves had to learn how to do a reverse 180 and drift all while reloading his prop gun and shooting it out of the door. As Reeves explained: "For 'Chapter 4', we wanted to bring the muscle cars back." "Have we gone too far?" the actor asked about the insane stunts in the film. "We took the car-driving to the next level, which I really enjoy," Reeves previously told Total Film magazine about the 'Chapter 4' car stunts. "There's 180s, forward-into-reverse 180s, reverse into-forward 270s, drifting. So it was really fun to get a chance to learn those skills, and to play. "'John Wick: Chapter 4' has the most action of any of the ('John Wick') films, which is saying a lot. And it's more by a good margin. It's a big show. 'John Wick: Chapter 4' was the hardest physical role I've ever had in my career so far. They really trained me up to be able to have what we call the toolbox," he added. In 'John Wick: Chapter 4', Reeves' eponymous assassin faces off with new enemies and reunites with old friends on his mission to destroy the villainous High Table once and for all. Reeves is joined by Bill Skarsgard as Marquis, Donnie Yen as Caine, Laurence Fishburne as Bowery King, Lance Reddick as Charon, Rina Sawayama as Akira, Shamier Anderson as Tracker, Hiroyuki Sanada as Shimazu, Scott Adkins as Killa and Ian McShane as Winston. 'John Wick: Chapter 4' hits theaters on March 24. analysis The COVID-19 pandemic worsened the unemployment crisis in South Africa. In the second quarter of 2021, unemployment rates were the highest ever officially recorded. Many people who lost their only source of stable income fell into poverty as a result. Social grants provide income that helps people to survive the short term economic hardship of unemployment. In the long term, new opportunities must be created to get people back into work. However, National Treasury's emphasis on fiscal restraint has led to debates about which of these policies to prioritise. This has been particularly evident in the debate around the extension of a grant introduced during the pandemic, known as the Social Relief of Distress grant. Treasury extended the grant for another year in November 2022, but warned that financing the it would require additional revenue or reprioritising existing spending. Much of the discussion on the merits of the grant treats it as a competitor to employment-creation schemes in the budgetary allocation. However, the evidence compiled in our review of the job search assistance literature suggests that with careful design, the relief grant can help to support the policy priority of getting young people into work. Our research also suggests that the South African government should combine whatever replaces the grant with job search assistance programmes. Researchers have tested a number of job search programmes in South Africa and found promising evidence that they can increase employment. Further testing at a national scale could improve the design of these policies. Cash grants Research shows that cash grants can increase job-search. Simply receiving a cash grant encourages recipients of the grant, and other members of their household, to increase their search for jobs. This is in part because cash grants can be used to cover the costs of job search. One study of the labour market effects of the relief grant in South Africa found that the transfer increased the probability that a recipient would be active in the labour market by 25 percentage points. Increased job-search can't address the structural lack of jobs. Nevertheless, increasing the number of applications that job-seekers submit can translate into improved employment outcomes. We argue the relief grant should be combined with enhanced job-search assistance programmes because they reduce unemployment by helping the labour market function better. Labour markets often don't work optimally: job-seekers face barriers in looking for jobs and employers struggle to identify the right workers. These barriers can reduce employment rates as vacancies go unfilled. Job-search assistance programmes can reduce these "search frictions", potentially improving employment rates, employment quality and earnings for workers. What works Job-search assistance covers a wide range of programmes that help people search for jobs, such as providing information about jobs, subsidies to cover search costs, job-search training or matching platforms like LinkedIn. A number have been tested in South Africa. Formal certification of communication and numeracy skills was found to substantially increase job search, employment and earnings. The low-cost testing and certification of the results provided job-seekers with a new method to share information about their abilities with potential employers. A scheme that encouraged young job-seekers to include a reference letter with their job applications and provided them with a simple template letter substantially increased employer call-backs, particularly for women. Training job-seekers to join and use LinkedIn increased employment for at least 12 months because workers gained better information about employers and were better able to communicate their skills. Encouraging young people to create an action plan for their job search increased job offers and employment by helping job-seekers to search more efficiently. There is international evidence supporting a range of job-search assistance programmes that could be implemented on South Africa's National Youth Employment Platform, sayouth.mobi. This is a job-seeker database created and managed by the NGO Harambee. Delivering job-search assistance programmes through the platform could be an effective way to reduce costs and the administrative burden, and allow the government to reach a greater number of job-seekers. Programmes that provide job-seekers with information about the job market have been shown to encourage job seekers to obtain new training, consider new employment opportunities and increase interviews, earnings and employment. Policies delivered offline may further encourage job search. Providing airtime to job-seekers who are active on sayouth.mobi could increase job search. Workshops can be used to help participants prepare CVs and cover letters that effectively showcase their skills. In one study, workshops improved the quality of employment, but not employment rates. Peer group job-search clubs may also improve outcomes because job-seekers can support each other with the job search process, and because these clubs may decrease feelings of isolation, depression and low self-esteem, which are made worse by unemployment. In France, job search clubs with participants' peers were more effective than one-on-one sessions with caseworkers. Mental health services for job-seekers could also be valuable to combat depression and low self-esteem. Moreover, depression may reduce job search effort. So, mental health services could be used to offset this effect. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Labour By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Next steps We argue that the extended grant should not have conditions attached. Conditions are difficult and expensive to set, monitor and implement. But labelling the grant as a "job-seekers grant" might be effective. It could encourage recipients to use the grant for job search without the need for stringent conditions that might reduce take-up. Related studies in Kenya and Morocco found that a labelled grant was as effective as a conditional grant. Our recommendation of combining cash grants and job-search assistance services is made on the basis of the best available evidence, but the policy has not been empirically tested at a national scale. We recommend that programmes be rigorously evaluated and phased in over time, based on the strength of their evidence base and the costs associated with implementing them. Kate Orkin, Associate Professor in Economics and Public Policy, University of Oxford Ingrid Woolard, Dean, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, Stellenbosch University Maya Goldman, Resesarcher, SALDRU, University of Cape Town Murray Leibbrandt, NRF Chair in Poverty and Inequality Research; Director of the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town Mumbai, Feb 23 : Bollywood action hero Vidyut Jammwal turned out to be a real-life hero as he gifted his school his maiden win -- the Best Debutant performance trophy as a token of respect. As part of one of his school's special celebratory events, Vidyut, who made his Bollywood debut in 2011 with 'Force' for which he was feted with the honour of Best Male Debut, was invited back to Army Public School in Dagshai, Himachal Pradesh. The 42-year-old actor, who was born in Jammu, wanted to make this experience unforgettable. Hence, Vidyut presented his school principal with his very first and special award. "I carried along my very first award so that I could respectfully offer it to the principal and teachers as a token of my sincere appreciation and gratitude," said the actor. "I've always believed in giving gifts that have value and mean the most to me. And my trophy is just that -- incredibly memorable and exceptionally meaningful! I'm so happy to now see it grace the special showcase in my school now as a shared experience." Vidyut is hopeful that "it serves as an inspiring reminder for future generations to come". On the Bollywood front, Vidyut will next be seen in a spy-thriller titled 'IB71' directed by National Award-winning director Sankalp Reddy. Vidyut, who has bankrolled the film, will be seen essaying the lead character in the film, which reportedly revolves around the India-Pakistan War of 1971. Dharamsala, Feb 23 : Extending warmest wishes on Tibetan New Year (Losar), US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said Tibetans must be able to select their religious leaders free from interference and reiterated to support and strengthen the rights and heritage of Tibetans. According to the Tibetan lunar calendar, Losar is the first day of the New Year. Traditionally, it is celebrated in a big way. This year the festival began on February 21. "At this time of year, Tibetan families will decorate their homes, exchange gifts, and cherish time with friends and family. Fireworks will light the night sky. Tibetans everywhere will strive to embody the Buddha's teachings," Blinken said in a video remark on Wednesday. "The US honors the spirit and resilience of Tibetans around the globe, and we're proud to host so many supporters of the Tibetan community at the State Department's event today. "Americans believe in the rights of all people, no matter who they are or where they are born, to speak their own language and practice their own faith. ThataAs why we remain firm in our resolve to defend and promote the human rights of Tibetans, including efforts to preserve and pass on the community's distinct linguistic, cultural, and religious heritage. "Tibetans must be able to select their religious leaders free from interference; to live without fear of repression; and to practice the rich traditions, including this Losar holiday, that Tibetans have for centuries. "Our Under Secretary of State, Uzra Zeya, has led our work to advance the rights and humanitarian needs of Tibetans this past year. We have made real progress to highlight Tibetan issues. "But there is much more work to be done. "So during this time of celebration -- a period when Tibetans believe that the impact of our individual acts of virtue is multiplied -- we recommit to working alongside the global Tibetan community to support and strengthen the rights and heritage of Tibetans. "May the Year of the Water Hare bring you peace, prosperity, and longevity. Tashi delek," he added. Reaffirming support for preservation of Tibetans' religious heritage, Zeya greeted by saying: "As US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, I'm honored to wish those celebrating Losar a Happy New Year. The US celebrates with Tibetans across the globe & reaffirms our support for preservation of Tibetans' distinct cultural, linguistic and religious heritage." The three-day Losar festival marks sacred and secular practices like prayers, ceremonies, rituals and folk dancing and merrymaking. The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), based in this Himachal Pradesh hill station, held special prayers on the first day of the festival at the hilltop Tsuglagkhang temple close to the official palace of the Dalai Lama. In a message, CTA President Penpa Tsering said: "His Holiness has been going around the world with two folded hands, and that is the reason why we are in the position that we are today. "So therefore, I urge every Tibetan to recognise the services that were rendered by His Holiness and follow His Holiness' guidance because His Holiness is such a leader who is revered by everybody in this world." The Dalai Lama fled Tibet after a failed uprising against China's communist rule in 1959. Around 130,000 Tibetans now live in exile, over 100,000 of them in different parts of India. Over seven million Tibetans live in Tibet. (Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in) Jaipur, Feb 23 : A woman undressed and sat on a divider in front of the Sawai Mansingh Medical College in Jaipur as a sign of protest against being kept on an awaiting posting order (APO) since 2020. The incident took place on Wednesday and during interrogation, it was revealed that the woman was a nurse. Passers-by asked her to wear clothes, but she refused. Soon, the police were informed, after which a team reached the spot, got the woman dressed and took her to the police station. Police officials said that the woman is about 36-years-old. It was revealed that the woman spoke to a senior medical officer several times regarding her APO status, but she was yet to be reinstated. It also came to light that she was initially posted in Beawar and was transferred to Ajmer. Raichur, : Feb 23 (IANS) The incident of four persons from Raichur district of Karnataka who had gone for Umrah and got killed in a road accident in Dubai, came to light on Thursday. The deceased have been identified as Shafi Sulleda (53), a staffer at Raichur Agricultural University, his wife Shiraj Begam (47), daughter Shifa (20) and mother Bibi Jaan (64). Raichur SP B. Nikhil has stated that deceased Shafi Sulleda's son Samir is severely injured and he is being treated at a hospital in Dubai. The family had gone to Mecca from Raichur on February 14. The accident happened in Dubai, when they were travelling in a bus on Tuesday evening (February 21). The bus collided with a container, according to authorities. "We are waiting for more details regarding the case and authorities are in touch with the family of victims," he stated. New Delhi, Feb 23 : A 42-year-old man was shot dead in Delhi's Ghevra Industrial area on Thursday, an official said. The deceased has been identified as Narender alias Nandu, a resident of Mundka village, the police said, adding that a manhunt is underway to nab the accused. A PCR call was made to the Mundka police station at 3.12 a.m. regarding a man who was shot dead at the Jai Dayak's plot, following whi ch a police team rushed to the spot. "In a room, Narender was found lying on the bed in unconscious condition. One bullet and one empty cartridge of .9mm were also found on the bed," said Harendra K. Singh, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer). A witness said that he along with the victim and one Sukhbir were drinking alcohol late Wednesday night when another man also came and joined them. "Suddenly, the man took out a pistol from his pocket and shot at Narender's head. Thereafter, he took his car key and bolted the room from outside and left them inside," said the DCP. The spot was also inspected by teams from crime and FSL teams and exhibits were lifted. "Body was shifted to SGMH hospital and the accused is identified as Jitender (35) alias Poly, a resident of village Jharothi near Kharkhoda in Sonipat, Haryana. An FIR under section 302 (murder), 392 (robbery), 397 (robbery or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code and 25/27 Arms Act has been registered," said the official. IANS ssh/ Brasilia, Feb 23 : The death toll in Brazil's flood-ravaged Sao Paulo state rose to 48 as rescuers continued to search for missing people, local authorities said. Sao Paulo's state government said 47 victims were in the municipality of Sao Sebastiao, and one was in Ubatuba, reports Xinhua news agency. Some 40 people are still missing, and most are believed to be buried under a mountain of mud left by landslides in the state. According to the government, three children have been rescued, and 28 people have remained hospitalized since Sunday. The coastal region, one of the state's top tourism destinations, was battered in 24 hours by twice as much rain as February typically receives. Brazil's Navy has set up a mobile port in the area, 190 km northeast of the city of Sao Paulo, to allow the numerous tourists stranded by impassable roads to leave. New Delhi, Feb 23: After months of threatening Kabul with cross-border attacks, accusing it of foisting violence through the Pakistan Taliban terror group in its border regions, Pakistan has decided to speak with its western neighbour directly. On Wednesday, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif reached Kabul with Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum and other officials. The Pakistani delegation met with Afghanistan's acting Deputy Prime Minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund. Baradar's office tweeted a photograph of the meeting and said: "Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, met with the Pakistani Minister of Defense, leading a high-ranking delegation. The two parties discussed economic cooperation, regional connectivity, trade, and bilateral relations." The Afghan minister also emphasised on the Pakistani delegation "that political and security concerns should not affect business or economic matters. Mullah Baradar Akhund further added that the Islamic Emirate calls on Pakistan to release Afghans being detained in detention facilities in Pakistan. He further added that passengers at Torkham and Spin Boldak should be well-facilitated, with special consideration being given to emergency patients." The Pakistani foreign office also tweeted about the visit, saying: "A high-ranking delegation led by the Minister for Defence is in Kabul today to meet with officials of the Afghan Interim Government to discuss security related matters including counter terrorism measures." Relations between the two Islamic nations have touched rock bottom over allegations and counter-allegations about harbouring of terrorists. The border terrain between the two nations allows for easy movement of terrorists. Pakistan Home Minister Rana Sanaullah had in January said that the Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) is present in Afghanistan and Pakistani security forces will target TTP hideouts across the border. Sanaullah's comments had invited a strong riposte from Afghanistan Taliban's spokesperson Zahibullah Mujahid who said that Islamabad should "avoid baseless talks and provocative ideas." Besides the relentless attacks on Pakistani security forces by the TTP in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and even Punjab, relations are also clouded because of arbitrary shutting down of border crossings by both the countries. Much violence has taken place between the Afghan Taliban border guards and the Pakistani border security forces. Border crossings are vital for both countries but more so for landlocked Afghanistan. A recent report by a US think tank said that the government in Kabul does not fear cross-border attacks by Islamabad as Pakistani clout diminishes on its political, economic and security fronts. With Pakistan hovering on the verge of financial collapse, the view in Afghanistan is that the country does not have the economic might to attack Afghanistan. This is the first high-level meeting between the two South Asian nations after the November 2022 visit by Pakistani minister for state for foreign affairs Hina Rabbani Khar. Her visit took place soon after the TTP declared an end to the Kabul-mediated ceasefire with Pakistan and asked its cadre to attack the Pakistani government everywhere. (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative New Delhi, Feb 23: The tottering ecosystem of anti-India militants and separatists in Kashmir has suffered two major setbacks, one after another, in the current week. Two of the most notable Kashmiri terrorists have been gunned down-one each in Afghanistan and Pakistan, raising speculations of group clashes and, as usual, whispers of an "Indian hand" by some politicians. Top Islamic State functionary Aijaz Ahmad Ahangar has been found dead-reportedly killed by Taliban-in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan. The Jammu and Kashmir Police have received and shared this information with Ahangar's elder brother in Srinagar. Hizbul Mujahideen's 'Launching Chief' Bashir Ahmad Peer has been shot dead by unidentified gunmen in his residential area of Rawalpindi, in Pakistan. This is after a long time that any one of the Kashmiri militants has been killed, either in Afghanistan or Pakistan. Both Ahangar and Peer, who had joined militancy in early 1990s and had lived in Afghanistan and Pakistan for nearly 30 years, were over 50 years old and had a high profile in terrorist ranks. Both had been designated as individual terrorists by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) respectively on January 5, 2023, and 4 October, 2022. The MHA used its powers under clause (e) of sub section (1) of section 35 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The IS has killed dozens of Taliban members in recent months, in an accelerating intra-jihadist power struggle. According to a dossier, Ahangar was the architect of a March 2020 suicide bombing by Kasargod-born Muhammad Muhsin, who killed a security guard and 24 worshippers at the Gurdwara Kart-e Parwan in Kabul. He was believed to be responsible for a suicide attack involving Ijas Kallukettiya Purayil, a one-time dentist from Kerala's Kasargod, at Jalalabad. Aijaz Ahangar aka Imtiaz Alam was held in Afghanistan's Kandahar in April 2020 along with IS Khurasan chapter (IS-K) chief Aslam Farooqui and charged with killing 27 Sikh worshippers a month earlier. He was believed to be among the detainees who fled prison around the take-over by Taliban in August 2021. He is reportedly survived by his wife Rukhsana, and her two daughters, Sabira and Tooba, who were both born in Pakistan respectively in 1997 and 2001. Ahangar's first wife Rukhsana happens to be the daughter of the Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen founder-chief in Kashmir, Abdul Gani Dar of Russu, Budgam, aka Abdullah Gazali. A top cleric of Jamiat-e-Ahle-Hadith, Gazali (80) was found killed on 13 February 2020 inside the same community mosque at Maisuma Srinagar where another top Ahli-Hadith cleric Maulana Showkat Shah was killed in an IED blast on 8 April, 2011. Gazali, an accused in Shah's assassination, was arrested but subsequently released on bail. His autopsy report indicated that Gazali's head had been fatally smashed with a thick iron bar. Unlike Gazali, Ahangar continued with his base in Pakistan and Afghanistan where Rukhsana gave birth to two of his sons. He reportedly married a Pakistani woman in the PoK and finally a Russian lady, Leena Aisha, whose ethnic-Tajik husband had been killed in the fighting in Afghanistan. Ahangar's son Umais and son-in-law Huzaifa-al-Bakistani, who both joined IS ranks, were reportedly killed in Afghanistan. According to an intelligence dossier, Ahangar was arrested by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in 1992 but he was soon released on bail. As part of a 40-recruit group, he was sent to a guerrilla training centre at Miranshah in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, where he received six weeks' training in the use of automatic weapons and explosives. Ahangar was hugely influenced Fazal-ul-Rehman Khalil's Jamia Uloom-ul-Islamia seminary in Karachi and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen which was closely linked to Afghan jihad patriarch Jalaluddin Haqqani, as well as al-Qaeda's Osama bin Laden. Following his release from prison in 1995, Ahanger was married to the Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen supremo Dar's daughter Rukhsana. For some time he worked at his father's foundry in Srinagar and the couple settled in the PoK in 1996. Ahanger, an intelligence source said, worked at the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen's office in Islamabad, editing its magazine Shahadat. To supplement his income, the source said, Ahanger also ran a small stationery store in Rawalpindi. On one occasion, Rukhsana returned to Srinagar on fake travel documents via Kathmandu but she was arrested and detained for 5 years. After the couple gave birth to two sons, Abdullah Ibn-Aijaz and Abdul Rahman, Ahangar married Saira Yusuf, the wife of a slain al-Qaeda jihadist. In 2010, Ahangar moved to Miranshah to join the network of jihadist warlord Muhammad Illyas Kashmiri. Illyas - a veteran of the jihad in Kashmir who then joined al-Qaeda - had become a magnet for Indian jihadists, including Indian Mujahideen commander Riyaz Shahbandri and key 26/11 perpetrator David Headley. Following a crackdown on Illyas in 2014 by the Pakistan Army, Ahangar and his family fled across the border into Afghanistan's Paktia province. There, he joined a circle of jihadists around Hafiz Saeed Khan, a Pakistani jihadist who later founded the Islamic State in Afghanistan. The new organisation drew significant numbers of recruits from across the region, including some from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Maldives. Early in its existence, the Islamic State repeatedly clashed with the Taliban over revenues and territorial control. Saira Yusuf and Ahanger's younger son are believed to have been kidnapped in one such clash. The two daughters and Rukhsana are believed to have rejoined Ahanger soon after. Taliban chief Hibatullah Akhundzada signed a peace agreement with the Islamic State in 2017, with Hafiz Saeed Khan's successor, Aslam Farooqi. The agreement was brokered by Jalaluddin Haqqani's son, Sirajuddin Haqqani, an internationally designated terrorist who is now Afghanistan's interior minister. Following the agreement, Ahanger was given charge of a new Islamic State unit set up to stage attacks against India-linked targets. The Pakistani jihadist Amir Sultan Huzaifa - married to Ahanger's daughter Sabira - was given charge of publishing the Islamic State's magazine, Sawt al-Hind. In 2020, Ahangar and Aslam Farooqi were arrested by the Afghan intelligence from a safe house in Kandahar. Farooqi was found killed in mysterious circumstances in 2022. Like Ahangar, Bashir Ahmad Peer of Babapora (Aloosa), a village in Kralpora area of Kupwara in Kashmir, had shifted his base permanently to PoK and Pakistan in early 1990s. The MHA notification dated 4 October, 2022, described him as involved in recruitment and launching of Hizbul Mujahideen's cadres besides "a number of online propaganda groups to unite ex-militants and other cadres for the furtherance of activities of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Toiba and others." As per terror Telegram channels, Peer was accused of getting Zakir Moosa, the founder-chief of Ansar Gazwat-ul-Hind, an offshoot of al-Qaeda in Kashmir, killed on May 23, 2019. In May 2017, Moosa had deserted Hizbul Mujahideen, launched AGH and declared to establish 'Islamic State' in Kashmir. According to a dossier, Peer was detained in March 2017 by the Pakistan Army's Military Intelligence Directorate after he sent a 12-men unit to reinforce his 'northern division commander' Mohammad Shafi Dar. However, he was released shortly thereafter. While Peer's father died in Kupwara, he managed shifting of his entire family, including his mother, wife and children, from Kashmir to Pakistan and operated from there as Hizbul Mujahideen's launching chief. Nearly 50 guerrilla organisations and over 50 individuals based in Pakistan have been designated as terrorist organisations/individuals by the MHA under UAPA after 2019. They include the alleged architect of the Mumbai blasts of 1993 Dawood Ibrahim, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba ideologue Hafiz Saeed, Jaish-e-Mohammad supremo Masood Azhar and a number of their relatives and associates, besides Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin and Al-Umar Mujahideen founder-chief Mushtaq Zargar alias Latram who, with Masood Azhar, was released in exchange for the hostages of an Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in December 1999. (The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com) --indianarrative Baghdad, Feb 23 : Visiting Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held meetings with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad on border situation, bilateral cooperation and regional security. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said at a joint press conference with Amir-Abdollahian that the two sides discussed issues of common interest, including border situation, adding the Iraqi government has taken measures to protect its border with Iran from being used to launch attack against neighbouring countries, reports Xinhua news agency. "Iraq's Constitution prohibits the use of Iraq's lands to attack neighbouring countries," he told reporters. For his part, Amir-Abdollahian told reporters that Iran supports strengthening Iraq's security and sovereignty in confronting terrorism. The top Iranian diplomat also thanked the Iraqi counterpart for "his endeavours to bridge the views of all parties" in an effort to facilitate Iran's normalization talks with Saudi Arabia and Egypt respectively. Amir-Abdollahian also met with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid later in the day, where Rashid said the two countries could contribute to enhancing security and stability in the region, according to the Iraqi presidency's statement. During a separate meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani, the two sides emphasised the importance of enhancing bilateral cooperation in security, economic and cultural fields, according to an official statement. Chennai, Feb 23 : The Tamil Nadu police and Central intelligence agencies are verifying the background of a person arrested in Chennai airport for visiting Yemen. The immigration officials arrested Rahuman Habidullah from Cuddalore after they found that he had visited Yemen while working in Kuwait. It may be noted that since the civil war erupted in Yemen, the Centre had banned travel to Yemen since 2014 taking into consideration the security aspects. Rahuman Habidullah, however, told immigration authorities that he was not aware of the ban and that he was sent by a private employer in Kuwait to Yemen. The Police and Central agencies are verifying his claims and is tracing the call records of the person. Sources in the Tamil Nadu police told IANS that the central agencies are verifying the claims of Rahuman Hebeedullah as Yemen is a country where several people from Kerala had gone to jump into the bandwagon of Islamic terror. President Yoweri Museveni on Wednesday made a phone call to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky and they discussed matters of mutual interest. According to sources, the phone, the first of its kind between the two leaders discussed the potential of developing relations between Uganda and Ukraine. "I am glad to have the first conversation in the history of bilateral relations with the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni. I spoke about Ukrainian peace initiatives at the UN. We also talked about the potential for developing bilateral relations," Zelensky said after the phone call. "I have outlined the Ukrainian peace initiatives at the UN. We also discussed the potential for developing bilateral relations," he added. Uganda has continued to state their neutrality regarding Ukraine- Russia war, with president Museveni urging that "we are friends with everybody". During a visit from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Entebbe last year, President Museveni said that Uganda would not be persuaded to be enemies with Russia. "If Russia makes mistakes, we tell them. When they have not made mistakes, we can't be against them," he added, hailing Russia for backing anti-colonial African movements. Uganda was one of 17 African nations to abstain during a vote in March on a UN resolution that overwhelmingly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In the same year, while speaking Speaking on zoom to the former President of Russia and current Chairman of the United Russian Party, Dmitry Medvedev, President Museveni said the only viable option out of the war was for the two parties to sit down and talk. "We think the best way is to negotiate. This is the best way and everybody who wants peace in the world should support this so that this fighting stops and you get balanced peace that ensures safety for all," he said. Museveni said Uganda abstained and took a neutral position when the Russian, Ukraine issue came up for discussion at the United Nations. "We said no, let us take a balanced position because we know all issues involved, there is nothing new, there is nothing we don't know," he said. Bhopal, Feb 23 : Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) head Kamal Nath has called for a meeting of party MLAs on February 27. The meeting will take place at his residence in Bhopal in the evening after the commencement of the annual budget session in the state Legislative Assembly earlier that day. During the meeting, the Congress is likely to plan its strategies to corner the state's ruling BJP during the month-long budget session for the 2023-24 financial year. On Thursday morning, Kamal Nath met Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker Girish Gautam, who is currently hospitalised due to ill-health. Gautam's health suddenly deteriorated less that a week before the budget session is slated to begin. But his condition is gradually improving, a senior official associated with the state Assembly told IANS. For the first time this year, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government of Madhya Pradesh will present a paperless form of the state Budget on March 1. MLAs will not get hard copies of the Budget, but instead be given tablets to read the proposals and department schemes. In 2019, pendrives were given to MLAs along with the budget copies. As the Assembly elections are due later this year, the state government has prepared to make some big announcements to cater to a large section of the population. Chief Minister Chouhan has already announced plans to launch the 'Ladli Behna Yojana', in the line with the 'Ladli Laxmi Yojna'. The scheme, which will provide Rs 1,000 per month to eligible women, is likely to begin in April. Mumbai, Feb. Feb 23 : In a huge relief for former Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal, the Bombay High Court on Thursday quashed the Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s case of money laundering against the couple. The order by a division bench comprising Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Prithviraj Chavan came in a plea filed by the couple seeking to quash the ED's ECIR lodged against them under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The judges quashed the ED's ECIR (February 20, 2020), all the investigations and other proceedings or actions arising out of it on grounds that it was "illegal and contrary to the law". The ECIR followed an FIR registered by the MRA Marg Police in February 2020 on a criminal complaint filed by Akbar Travels claiming that it had suffered losses of Rs 46 crore after Jet Airways cancelled its flight operations from October 2018. However, in March 2020, the Mumbai Police had concluded that there was no substance in the criminal complaint and the dispute seemed to be of civil nature. The Goyals' counsels, Senior Advocates Ravi Kadam and Aabad Ponda, submitted that there was no predicate offence as required for the central probe agency to investigate the ECIR. The MRA Marg Police had already filed its closure report in the matter, and even the ED's protest plea with the Metropolitan Magistrate Court was rejected, and its order was confirmed by the high court and the Supreme Court, hence the ECIR should be quashed, the counsels argued. New Delhi, Feb 23 : Delhi Police on Thursday said that Congress leader Pawan Khera was stopped from boarding a plane to Raipur after a request was received from the Assam Police to do so. After Khera was stopped from boarding the flight, Congress leaders and workers staged a protest at the IGI Airport here. CISF personnel have been deployed to handle the situation. According to sources, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Airport) is also at the spot to legally arrest Khera at the request of the Assam Police. "A team of Assam Police is also present at the airport," they added. Khera, en route to Raipur for the party plenary starting on Friday, was accompanied by Randeep Surjewala and Shakeel Ahmed. Party spokesperson Supriya Shrinet said in a series of tweets: "While going from Delhi to Raipur to attend the Congress session, senior Congress leader Mr. Pawan Khera was taken off the flight by the Assam Police. What was the emergency that the Assam Police came to Delhi and did this act? Earlier ED raids in Raipur and now such act shows BJP's fury. This is condemnable. "We are all on the @IndiGo6E flight 6E 204 to Raipur and all of a sudden my colleague Pawan Khera has been asked to deplane What sort of high handedness is this? Is there any rule of law? On what grounds is this being done and under whose order?" Also condemning the move, Congress leader K.C. Venugopal tweeted: "Modi govt is acting like a bunch of goons by deplaning Pawan Khera from the Delhi-Raipur flight and preventing him from joining the AICC Plenary. "Using a flimsy FIR to restrict his movement & silence him is a shameful, unacceptable act. The entire party stands with Pawan ji." New Delhi, Feb 23 : The Delhi BJP staged a protest here demanding Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's resignation in a snooping case. Although the BJP wanted to stage the protest outside the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) headquarters, they were stopped by a heavy police contingent. Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, MPs Parvesh Verma and Manoj Tiwari, former Union Minister Vijay Goel participated in the protest along with other party leaders and workers. The BJP protesters were adamant that they will march to reach the AAP headquarters. Some protesters also climbed over police barricades but were stopped. The protest came a day after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs gave sanction to prosecute Sisodia under the Prevention of Corruption Act in connection with the alleged 'Feedback Unit (FBU) snooping case'. New Delhi, Feb 23 : Air India has finalised the itinerary of a ferry flight to bring back the passengers and crew of a Newark-Delhi flight which was diverted to Stockholm due to an oil leak. "A B777 will fly from Mumbai to Stockholm at 2 p.m. on Thursday and reach Stockholm at 11 p.m. The flight with passengers will take off at 1 a.m. on Friday an will reach Delhi at 8 a.m. in the morning," said the airline spokesperson on Thursday. Flight AAI106, a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, made an emergency landing in the Swedish capital on Wednesday. It was carrying 284 passengers and eight crew members. Air India had arranged hotel accommodation for all the passengers. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), during the ground inspection, oil was seen coming out from the drain mast of engine two of the plane. According to the government data, a total 1,090 incidents of technical snags were reported in 2021-22. Technical snags are experienced during operation of the aircraft. These may be due to improper functioning or malfunctions of systems or equipment or components fitted on the aircraft. Some of the technical snags may require the flight crew to take actions such as air turn back, aborted take-off, or go around keeping safety of operation in view and are usually taken to avert serious incidents. New Delhi, Feb 23 : The Delhi Prisons Department while raiding alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar's cell, recovered slippers worth over Rs 1 lakh and two expensive jeans, officials said on Thursday. He is lodged in city's Mandoli jail under Sections of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). One of the CCTV videos of the raids shows the alleged conman weeping in front of jailors Deepak Sharma and Jaisingh. The footages have gone viral on social media. Along with CRPF, Sharma and Jaisingh carried out the raid in Sukesh's cell, where Gucci slippers worth Rs 1.5 lakhs and two jeans worth Rs 80,000 were recovered. A Delhi court recently sent Chandrashekhar to Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s custody after the agency arrested him in a fresh case under the PMLA related to cheating former Religare promoter Malvinder Singh's wife Japna. He had allegedly duped Japna of Rs 3.5 crore promising her that he would use that money to bail her husband out of jail, who is in prison in connection with an alleged misappropriation of funds at Religare Finvest Limited (RFL) case. Chandrashekhar had also allegedly defrauded Malvinder's brother Shivinder Singh's wife with Japna. He had cheated Shivender's wife Aditi and Japna of several crores while posing as an officer from the Union Law Ministry and ensuring that he would secure bail for their husbands. Malvinder and Shivinder Singh were arrested by the Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing in 2019. The brothers were arrested for allegedly diverting money and causing losses to the tune of Rs 2,397 crore. New Delhi, Feb 23 : Congress leader Pawan Khera was on Thursday arrested from the IGI Airport here by officials of the Assam Police just hours after he was stopped from boarding a flight to Raipur, sources said. The sources said that he will be produced in a Delhi court and the Assam Police will ask for a transit remand. According to the Assam Police, an FIR had been registered against Khera at the Haflong police station in Dima Hasao district. "Delhi Police was approached to arrest Khera and the Assam Police officials will bring him to Assam after taking permission from a local court," said the official of Assam Police. Delhi Police had earlier said that Khera was stopped from boarding the flight following a request by their Assam counterparts. After Khera was stopped from boarding the flight, Congress leaders and workers staged a protest at the airport. CISF personnel have been deployed to handle the situation. Khera, en route to Raipur for the party plenary starting on Friday, was accompanied by Randeep Surjewala and Shakeel Ahmed. Condemning the move, party spokesperson Supriya Shrinet said in a series of tweets: "While going from Delhi to Raipur to attend the Congress session, senior Congress leader Mr. Pawan Khera was taken off the flight by the Assam Police. What was the emergency that the Assam Police came to Delhi and did this act? Earlier ED raids in Raipur and now such act shows BJP's fury. This is condemnable. "We are all on the @IndiGo6E flight 6E 204 to Raipur and all of a sudden my colleague Pawan Khera has been asked to deplane What sort of high handedness is this? Is there any rule of law? On what grounds is this being done and under whose order?" Kolkata, Feb 23 : The Calcutta High Court on Thursday expressed anguish over the 1,00,000 missing answer sheets of examinations for the recruitment in the West Bengal Panchayat Affairs & Rural Development Department. In 2018, the department issued notification for recruitment for 167 vacancies in Murshidabad district. Around 1,00,000 candidates appeared for the examinations conducted in the same year. However, even after waiting for three years when the results were not declared, a section of the candidates filed a petition at the Calcutta High Court. While the matter came up for hearing at the Calcutta High Court's division bench headed by Justice Arijit Banerjee, the counsel for the state government informed that all the 1,00,000 answer sheets of the said written examination had gone missing. The bench lambasted the state government, saying, "You cannot escape by simply claiming that the answer sheets are missing. If the hard copies are missing, then arrange the soft copies of those from the agency entrusted for conducting the examinations," Justice Banerjee observed. He also directed the state panchayat affairs & rural development department secretary to file an affidavit within four weeks on how the answer sheets went missing. "We suspect that there had been major irregularities in the recruitment process like that of teachers' recruitment. But we will have to wait for the reply from the state government on this count and on the basis of the reply, our counsel will decide over the next courses of legal steps and arguments," said a petitioner. Lahore, Feb 23 : A statement made by acclaimed Indian poet and writer Javed Akhtar at the Faiz Festival held in Lahore has Twitter in a frenzy and countless Pakistani celebrities have spoken up, condemning his statement. During the festival, which went on from February 17 to 19, and days following it, various celebrities shared pictures and videos across various social media platforms sharing their excitement at being honoured by Akhtar's presence at the event, Geo News reported. However, jubilations soon soured as a video clip of the Indian poet's speech went viral on social media. In the video, Akthar can be seen accusing Pakistan of allowing the attackers of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks "roam free" in the country. The prolific Indian writer, while addressing a session at the festival said: "I am from Bombay (Mumbai) and I saw the attack on my city. The attackers were neither from Norway nor Eypgt. Those attackers are still roaming around your country. Therefore, if an Indian has any grievance in their heart, you should not be offended," Geo News reported. As the video went viral, numerous Pakistani celebrities spoke up about the accusation and condemned the implications. Arsalan Naseer, a YouTube content creator and actor, too condemned this statement, saying in his trademark cheeky way: "How can you say something like that sitting in a hall full of Pakistanis?" "Maybe India should make a movie on him now, titled 'jaanbaz likhaari (fealess writer)." A Twitter user echoed this sentiment, saying: "Who should be held accountable for disgracing Faiz Festival? Hosts? The no so honourable Guest or the audience? I'm actually disappointed by the audience who applauded for him." Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) leader Sharmila Faruqui too berated Akhtar for his "controversial" remarks, adding that the songwriter should be been asked to return, Geo News reported. Guwahati, Feb 23 : Assam Police arrested senior Congress leader Pawan Khera at the Delhi airport on Thursday in connection with a case lodged against him at the Haflong police station, a state police spokesman said here. Speaking to IANS, spokesman and IGP Prasanta Kumar Bhuya, said: "Khera has been arrested for a case lodged in Haflong police station of the state. He has been produced at a Delhi court for a transit remand. Once we get it, he will be brought here for interrogation. The FIR against the senior Congress leader was lodged on Wednesday. When asked about the sudden action of the police, Bhuyan replied: "Further details will be divulged once we bring him here." It is learnt that the FIR was lodged against Khera over his remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's father's identity. The police have confirmed the killing. Gunmen have killed the Labour Party (LP) senatorial candidate for Enugu East District in Amechi Awkunanaw, a community in Enugu South Local Government Area of Enugu State, south-east Nigeria. The victim, Oyibo Chukwu, was killed on Wednesday evening alongside five supporters who were inside his vehicle. The killing comes barely three days to the senatorial election which is scheduled to be held this Saturday, 25 February. The Chairman of the LP in Enugu State, Casmir Agbo, confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES, Thursday morning. "Yes, it is true. We are currently holding a meeting now about it," he said. Mr Agbo suggested that the attackers were not "unknown gunmen" as widely reported, insisting that what happened was a political assassination. A source close to the slain LP candidate also confirmed the incident to this newspaper. He said the body of Mr Chukwu, the candidate, was burnt by the gunmen during the attack. "The problem is that he (Chukwu) does not have security escorts. He campaigns and goes about without any security. Maybe he thought, politics is not a dirty game," he stated. When contacted, the police spokesperson in the state, Daniel Ndukwe, confirmed the incident but asked for time to provide the details of the attack. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Labour Nigeria By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Not the first time Some LP members have been targets of gunmen attacks in the South-east in recent times, mainly during the party's political rallies in the region. But the killing of a candidate of the party is a novelty in Enugu State. Gunmen, on 31 August, attacked members of the LP in Nenwe, a community in Aninri Local Government Area of the state. Again, on 4 September, gunmen also attacked other LP members who were holding a meeting in Awgu Community, Awgu Local Government Area of the state. Gunmen, in December, killed the LP candidate for Onuimo Local Government Area Constituency in Imo State, another state in the South-east. There are suspicions among the LP members that the attacks might have been sponsored by some members of opposition political parties in the South-east who are said to be disturbed by the growing popularity of the LP in the region. Bengaluru, Feb 23 : The BJP is trying to expand its base in southern districts of poll-bound Karnataka with frequent visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to the state. Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to visit the state on March 11 during which he will inaugurate Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway and address a public gathering. The Prime Minister will travel by road till Maddur town from Ramnagar city by road on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway. After inauguration, he will address a huge public gathering at Maddur. Higher Education, IT and BT Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan is making all-out efforts to turn the inaugural event of the expressway into a mega show. Recently, Union Home Minister Amit Shah visited Mandya district and addressed a public rally. The south Karnataka districts of Chamarajanagar, Mysuru, Mandya and Ramnagar are considered as strong bastions of JD(S). The BJP wants to strengthen its voters' base in the southern region. The 118 kilometer expressway was built at a cost of Rs 4,473 crore. The travel time between Bengaluru and Mysuru would be reduced to 90 minutes from the present three hours. However, Congress State President D. K. Shivakumar had warned that the service road is not built for the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway and they are opposed to inauguration and collection of toll from passengers at this stage. Bengaluru, Feb 23 : The Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is mulling lodging a complaint against a man, who urinated on a woman co-passenger's seat in an inebriated state while travelling in a government bus, sources said on Thursday. The incident involving a 32-year-old man, a mechanical engineer, took place on February 21 in a non-sleeper bus en-route to Mangaluru from Vijayapura. In a statement on Thursday, the KSRTC said that the driver and conductor tried to get the information about the passenger who had urinated in the bus. But the accused apologised and did not disclose his personal details. As the woman passenger refused to register a complaint, the bus continued with the scheduled journey. According to eyewitnesses, the man urinated on the seat of a 20-year-old woman when the bus was stopped for dinner in Kiresur near Hubballi city. The young woman had alighted to have food and on returning, she found the accused urinating on her seat and raised an alarm. Sources said that when the incident took place the bus was empty and people rushed in on hearing the commotion. The official clarification regarding the incident by KSRTC said, "Upon receiving the complaint, the statements of Mangaluru-Depot 2, Bus No KA 19 F 3554 driver Santhosh Mathapati and conductor Umesh Kardi, who were on duty in Vijayapura- Mangaluru Bus, have been taken into account. From their statements, it is found that, the bus plying en-route had unreserved passengers in the berth number 3 and berth number 29. "The crew of the bus gave a scheduled refreshment and nature call break at Kiresuru Hotel at 10.30 p.m. and informed the passengers about a 15-20 minute break. In the break time, an unreserved passenger traveling in berth number 29, who was intoxicated, instead of coming out of the bus went near berth No 3 and was found urinating on seat number 3. The action was witnessed by a female passenger who was boarding the bus from the break, and she was supposed to sleep on the same seat. The driver, conductor, and other passengers confronted the passenger, got him off the bus and left him near the hotel. Berth number 3 was washed with water and wiped with a cloth by the driver and conductor and the female passenger was requested to travel in berth number 9." KSRTC also clarified that the claim that a passenger in the bus had urinated on a young woman is incorrect. Sources said that the bus crew helped and assured the woman passenger of security and safety after the incident. Eyewitnesses said that the woman passenger was in a state of shock after the incident. The accused, not in his senses, had got into an argument with the co-passengers and the bus crew as well. However, the victim lady refused to lodge a police complaint in this regard, sources said. The authorities said that as the lady was not willing to lodge a complaint, the journey was continued. Sources explain that the victim lady travelled from Vijayapura to Hubballi. The accused was travelling from Vijayapura to Mangaluru and he is a mechanical engineer, sources said. The authorities are contemplating lodge a complaint regarding the incident to give a message to women travelers, sources said. New Delhi, Feb 23 : The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted four weeks more to an advocate to file his reply to the December 19, 2022, show cause notice in a suo motu criminal contempt case initiated against him for misbehaving with a sitting High Court judge and interrupting court proceedings. Advocate Shakti Chand Rana, who had interrupted court proceedings for 45 minutes while misbehaving, verbally attacking a sitting judge, and creating unruly scenes in the courtroom, on Thursday asked the court more time to file his reply. On January 30, a division bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Talwant Singh had granted him two weeks' time to file a reply. However, the court again granted him time on Thursday as last opportunity and listed the matter for the next hearing on April 19. The court had initiated a suo moto contempt case against Rana for allegedly obstructing proceedings in the courtroom of Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh on December 14, 2022, resulting in the delaying of cases from 11.30 a.m. to 12.15 p.m. "The said individual did not have any matter listed on today's Board for hearing. Given the said fact, this court directed the said individual to remove himself from the lawyers' bar and permit the court to continue with the hearing in the listed matters and allow the other learned lawyers to argue their cases, as per their listed matters. However, the said individual outrightly refused to remove himself and continued to shout, shriek and create an unruly scene, disrupting the Court proceedings," Justice Singh's order had said. He had said that Rana's conduct was unbecoming for a lawyer and further amounted to criminal contempt in the face of the court, which is punishable under section 14 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971. "Regrettably and alarmingly despite the ruckus being created by the said errant individual who was virtually holding the court to ransom, the security guards stationed right outside the door of the courtroom, were also hesitant to remove the said errant person because he was dressed in the robes of a lawyer and thus, unable to restore order in the courtroom, which further undermined the authority of the court in the perception of the public at large," the order stated. Earlier, while issuing the show-cause notice to Rana, the court had ordered: "The suo moto contempt has been initiated pursuant to a direction issued by Ld single judge as recorded in the order dated 14-12-2022. Having perused the said order we find it incumbent to issue notice to Mr Shakti Chand Rana to show cause why proceedings for contempt be not initiated against him. The registry is directed to issue show cause notice by all permissible modes to be executed through the SHO of the concerned police station." Lucknow, Feb 23 : A decade after the Muzaffarnagar riots in 2013, the BJP will be reaching out to Muslims in the region. Nearly a decade after it was hit by communal riots in 2013, the BJP will hold a convention, titled 'Sneh Milan: Ek Desh Ek DNA', between March 15 and March 20 to promote Hindu-Muslim unity. A proposal to this effect has been sent by the UP BJP Minority Morcha, which has also invited chief minister Yogi Adityanath as the chief guest. The Minority Morcha chief, Basit Ali, said that Muzaffarnagar has been chosen for the event because it is the land where former Prime Minister late Chaudhary Charan Singh, experimented with the idea of Jat-Muslim unity which was later "hijacked" by the Congress and Samajwadi Party in their bid "to attain power." He said, "The idea is to bring together the leaders of Muslim and Hindu communities on one stage and project their unity." Ali said that the party plans to invite regional leaders of various communities including Jat, Gujjar and Thakur from nearby west UP districts, including Meerut, Bijnor, Shamli and Saharanpur, to the event. Ali insisted that every community needs to understand that their ancestors were the "same". "All they need to acknowledge it publicly and this would strengthen the social and political fabric of the region and elsewhere," he said. The BJP has been making concerted attempts to nibble at the very foundation of the opposition by reaching out to the Muslims which account for around 20 per cent of the electorate in UP. BJP sources pointed out that the party has been seeking to tweak its strategy and win over the minorities after Prime Minister Modi gave a clarion call to reach out to socio-economically backward Pasmanda Muslims. Ranchi, Feb 23 : The Jharkhand High Court on Thursday sought Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s reply on incidents of cyber crimes in Deoghar, Jamtara and Sahibganj among other districts of the state. During the hearing, the court directed the ED to file an affidavit containing information on the number of cyber criminals arrested and the number of criminals whose property has been seized. One Manoj Rai filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Jharkhand High Court regarding the prevention of cyber crime incidents in the districts. A divisional bench headed by Chief Justice Sanjay Kumar Mishra made Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) a respondent and directed it to file a counter affidavit. The applicant's counsel Rajeev Kumar told the court that cyber criminals are active in Deoghar, Jamtara and Sahibganj in Jharkhand, through whom cyber crimes are carried out on a large scale in the state. Police have a cyber cell but it is not very active, which gives a boost to the criminals' intentions, said Kumar. He added that it is necessary to curb them. The next hearing in the matter will be on March 16. Bengaluru, Feb 23 : Union Minister for Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and BJP's Karnataka poll in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday said that the saffron party will poll 150 seats. "BJP in Karnataka is going to win 150 seats in upcoming assembly elections. We are going to carry out required strategies to reach the target," Pradhan said while talking to reporters at the KempeGowda International Airport (KIAL) on his arrival. The election in-charge team nominated by the BJP high command has Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Tamil Nadu BJP President and former IPS officer Annamalai as its co-incharges. The team arrived in Karnataka for the first time. State Higher Education Minister C. N. Ashwath Narayan, BJP MLA S. R. Vishwanath received the team at the airport and extended a warm welcome. "We have arrived to carry out meetings as elections are nearing in Karnataka. The bus yatra will start soon and BJP leaders will take up bus yatra in three teams," Pradhan stated. Pradhan was state in-charge of BJP between 2011 and 2013. Mandaviya is close to Prime Minister Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and will carry out their strategies. Annamalai has served in Karnataka as an IPS officer and enjoys the status of celebrity. He also knows the state well and the party is expecting that he will have an influence over the Tamil population in the state. New Delhi, Feb 23 : Vertex Hydrogen is a leader in the energy transition, developing the UK's first large scale, low carbon hydrogen production hub at Essar's site in Ellesmere Port -- the heart of the HyNet North West cluster. Vertex has now signed agreements to supply over 1,000MW of low carbon hydrogen to leading industrial names in the region. This is a similar amount of energy that powers a major city like Liverpool, secures the entire initial hydrogen production capacity of Vertex and enables the vital hydrogen infrastructure investments in the region. This milestone reflects Vertex's status as the largest and most advanced low carbon hydrogen hub in the UK. The project will capture some 1.8 million tonnes of CO2 per annum to be stored by the HyNet project to reduce more than 10 per cent of the region's industrial emissions -- the equivalent to taking 750,000 cars off the roads. It will see over 2 billion pounds of direct investments in the hydrogen plant and associated regional hydrogen transport and storage infrastructure -- securing and growing vital jobs in the region. The hydrogen demand comes from global businesses operating in the region, who are looking to become the first low carbon operations in a number of key sectors by switching their current high carbon fuels to low carbon hydrogen. These consumers are substantial direct and indirect contributors to the 340,000 people employed in manufacturing in the North West. It also includes innovators in the sustainable aviation fuels, glass and cement industries. Adrian Curry, Managing Director of Encirc, said: "This partnership with Vertex Hydrogen will help us to change the face of glass as we aim to produce Net Zero bottles by 2030. Glass is an incredible material and sustainable in so many ways. It has been around since 3500 BC, and by using hydrogen to decarbonise it, we believe it will be the packaging choice for centuries to come." Deepak Maheshwari, CEO of Essar Oil UK, added: "This offtake agreement, and our other initiatives, are continuing examples of us taking clear actions to deliver our strategic goals. We are proud to be a leader in the region and the UK more broadly in industrial decarbonisation." Martin Ashcroft, Managing Director of Tata Chemicals Europe, commented: "We have been supporters of Vertex and the low carbon hydrogen segment as a real opportunity to further reduce emissions at our world class CHP facility. This agreement marks the next step in our relationship as we continue our journey as a leader in industrial decarbonisation." Neil Syder, Managing Director of Pilkington United Kingdom Limited, said: "We are fully committed to our NSG Group target of achieving carbon neutral by 2050. Firing the float glass furnace using hydrogen instead of natural gas is a key part of our strategy to reduce carbon emissions." Jeff Ovens, Managing Director of Fulcrum BioEnergy said: "As a leader in pioneering waste based sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), we are working closely with Vertex to supply low carbon hydrogen for our Fulcrum NorthPoint SAF facility at Ellesmere Port. SAF is the only realistic solution to decarbonise aviation and using low carbon hydrogen as part of our SAF production process, will further improve the overall net CO2 reduction benefits of Fulcrum's fuel." John Lewis MBE, Managing Director of SOG Group, commented: "Access to reliable sources of low carbon energy is absolutely vital to our Net Zero aspirations. The agreement we have now signed with Vertex Hydrogen ensures our entire Heath Park project will be ultimately powered by low carbon energy. I view this as a landmark agreement that will enable us to deliver a world-leading business and community environment in the North-West which will benefit future generations." Mo Moussaoui, Carbon Reduction Manager, Carrington Power, ESB, said: "In line with our Net Zero to 2040 strategy, we are decarbonising the carbon intensity of our generation fleet. We are delighted to work with Vertex Hydrogen as we work towards decarbonising our Carrington plant, and the many benefits that will bring." Darren Elsom, Director of Hydrogen Operations at Cadent said: "We warmly welcome the announcement that Vertex has signed agreements for over 1000MW of low carbon Hydrogen, which is a major step in decarbonising industry in the North West. At Cadent we remain focussed on developing the pipeline infrastructure in readiness to connect and transport Hydrogen to industry whilst protecting the planet for our customers and the communities we serve." Paul Shelley, Site Manager at Warrington Ingevity: "Ingevity is proud to partner with HyNet Northwest and Vertex as we work towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with the manufacture of our Caprolactone range of specialty chemicals at our site in Warrington." Joe Seifert, CEO of Vertex Hydrogen, said: "We have always said that Vertex is demand-led from leading industrial companies and we have now signed agreements for over 1000MW of hydrogen - our entire expected production capacity from the initial phases of our project. This milestone gives us huge confidence in the economics of the project and the long-term demand for low carbon hydrogen in the coming decades." Prashant Ruia, from Essar, said: "Securing over 1000MW of low carbon hydrogen demand from leading UK industrial sites and innovators is a vital step in delivering this world class project. Essar continues to invest in an array of industry leading projects from hydrogen production, biofuels, industrial decarbonisation and infrastructure leveraging our infrastructure, expertise, capital and desire to be a world leader in decarbonisation." Vertex Hydrogen Limited is a joint venture between Essar and Progressive Energy. Hyderabad, Feb 23 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will once again question Kadapa MP Y. S. Avinash Reddy on Friday as the four-year-old sensational case relating to former Andhra Pradesh minister Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy's murder is set to enter a crucial phase. Avinash Reddy, a cousin of Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, will appear before the CBI officials in Hyderabad. This is the second time he will be appearing before the central agency. Avinash Reddy's father Y. S. Bhaskar Reddy was also summoned by the CBI on Thursday but he has sought more time. Avinash Reddy will be making an appearance two days after the CBI made startling revelations in the case. While opposing the bail petition of one of the accused Sunil Yadav, the CBI stated in its counter filed in Telangana High Court on Wednesday that Avinash Reddy, his father Y. S. Bhaskar Reddy and their follower D. Siva Sankar Reddy had hatched a criminal conspiracy to kill Vivekananda Reddy over conflicting political ambitions. The CBI submitted to the court that the trio used other accused Yerra Gangi Reddy, Sunil Yadav, Dastagiri and others who worked for Vivekananda Reddy to execute the murder plot. Avinash Reddy and Bhaskar Reddy had a grouse against Vivekananda Reddy as the latter was opposed to YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) fielding Avinash as the party candidate from Kadapa Lok Sabha constituency. The former minister wanted that Jagan Mohan Reddy's sister Y. S. Sharmila or mother Y. S. Vijayamma be fielded. The CBI claimed that Rs 40 crore was offered to the other accused to carry out the murder. The investigating agency also stated in its counter that Vivekananda Reddy was not happy with his brother Bhaskar Reddy and nephew Avinash Reddy as they had sabotaged his chances in MLC election in 2017 in Kadapa. Avinash and his father wanted Siva Sankar as MLC candidate but when Jagan Mohan Reddy fielded Vivekananda, the trio ensured he was defeated. Vivekananda Reddy was younger brother of former chief minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, father of Jagan Mohan Reddy. He was found murdered mysteriously at his residence at Pulivendula in Kadapa district on March 15, 2019, a month ahead of 2019 general elections. The 68-year-old former state minister and former MP was alone at his house when unidentified persons barged in and killed him. He was killed hours before he was to launch YSR Congress Party's election campaign in Kadapa. Though three Special Investigation Teams (SITs) conducted the probe, they failed to solve the mystery. The CBI took over the investigation into the case in 2020 on the direction of Andhra Pradesh High Court while hearing a petition of Vivekananda Reddy's daughter Sunitha Reddy, who raised suspicion about some relatives. The CBI filed a charge sheet in the murder case on October 26, 2021 and followed it up with a supplementary charge sheet on January 31, 2022 In November last year, the Supreme Court transferred to a CBI court in Hyderabad the trial and probe into the larger conspiracy behind the murder. The apex court observed that doubts raised by Sunitha Reddy about getting a fair trial and investigation in Andhra Pradesh were reasonable. Stepping up the pace of investigation, the CBI on January 28 questioned Avinash Reddy for more than four-and-a-half hours. On February 3, the CBI questioned Krishna Mohan Reddy, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) for the chief minister. The central agency also quizzed Naveen, who works in the house of the chief minister. The CBI officials questioned the duo for six-and-a-half hours in Kadapa. They were reportedly questioned about the sequence of events on the day when Vivekananda Reddy was murdered. They collected information about phone calls made or received by them on the day. Dakshina Kannada, : Feb 23 (IANS) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken into custody a community hall in Idukki village near Bantwal town in connection with murder case of BJP Yuva Morcha activist Praveen Kumar Nettare, sources said on Thursday. According to the sources, Mittur Freedom Community Hall in Idukki village was used to carry out terror activities. The probe agency has taken the entire premises of 20 guntas into custody. Cadres attached to the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) used to get trained here to carry out anti-national and subversive activities, they said. Besides, a plan for murder of Hindu activists and revenge killings was also carried out here. An order has been issued to the District Commissioner and Superintendent of Police of Dakshina Kannada district. The owner of the community hall has also been given official communication in this regard and stated that the community hall can't be rented out or given to someone. The NIA has also prohibited movements of any articles or carrying out any work in the hall. NIA, which is probing Praveen Kumar Nettare murder case, has submitted a charge sheet against 20 accused persons to the NIA Special court in Bengaluru. They have arrested 14 persons and have launched a hunt for six others who are absconding. It had submitted a 1,500-page charge sheet, including statements of 240 witnesses. The Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI) has announced the ticket for Shafi Bellare, an accused in the murder case of BJP Yuva Morcha Activist Praveen Kumar Nettare, to contest in upcoming Assembly elections in Karnataka. The development has raised debate in the state. Shafi Bellare is presently lodged in prison in connection with the murder of Praveen, which made national headlines. Bellare had been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and in its custody. New Delhi: Congress Pawan Khera stages a protest at the IGI airport after he was allegedly deplaned for criticising PM Modi, in New Delhi on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. (Photo: Twitter) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi: Congress Pawan Khera stages a protest at the IGI airport after he was allegedly deplaned for criticising PM Modi, in New Delhi on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. (Photo: Twitter) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi: Congress Pawan Khera stages a protest at the IGI airport after he was allegedly deplaned for criticising PM Modi, in New Delhi on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. (Photo: Twitter) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, Feb 23 : The Supreme Court on Thursday has extended protected Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera from arrest for now, ruling that he will be released on interim bail upon production before a magistrate in Delhi and the interim relief is till Tuesday. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud told senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Khera: "We have protected you but there has to be some level of discourse...". The top court will hear Khera's plea to club all FIRs at one place. The bench, also comprising Justices M.R. Shah and P.S. Narasimha, said: "In order to protect the petitioner until such date as he applied for regular bail before jurisdictional court, till the next date of listing, petitioner shall be released on interim bail by magistrate." Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, representing the Assam Police, argued that Khera did not make the statements by mistake and that he "consciously insulted the PM, who is an elected leader of the largest democracy in the world". Bhati played the video to buttress her arguments. Singhvi urged the apex court to protect Khera from further coercive steps and added that this should not happen under any stretch of circumstances for one sentence. He argued that any amount of political speech, they cannot invoke Section 153A of the IPC. Bhati argued that factually, Khera has been arrested and he will be taken for medical examination and will be produced before the court. She pressed that the court will have to see the entire video of the press conference and then it will be apparent where it was a mistake or remarks were made deliberately. Bhati argued that it is the demeanour in the video which counts. During the hearing, the bench asked Bhati: "You tell us prima facie how 153A is made out?" Bhati said the entire press conference has to be seen and it is a derogatory remark made, to incite disaffection against the PM. Singhvi said this is deliberate harassment by having three FIRs in two states and his client has already apologised, adding Khera would tender his unconditional apology for his remarks on PM. According to the Assam Police, an FIR had been registered against Khera at the Haflong police station in Dima Hasao district. "Delhi Police was approached to arrest Khera and the Assam Police officials will bring him to Assam after taking permission from a local court," said the official of Assam Police. Delhi Police had earlier said that Khera was stopped from boarding the flight following a request by their Assam counterparts. After Khera was stopped from boarding the flight, Congress leaders and workers staged a protest at the airport. CISF personnel were deployed to handle the situation. Khera, en route to Raipur for the party plenary starting on Friday, was accompanied by party leaders Randeep Surjewala and Shakeel Ahmed. The remanded federal lawmaker is to spend 10 days in the correctional facility, which suggests he may not participate in the election in which he is a candidate. A Magistrate Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State has remanded Ephraim Nwuzi, the All Progressives Congress candidate for Etche-Omuma Federal Constituency in Saturday's election at the Nigerian Correctional Centre in the state. Mr Nwuzi, a serving lawmaker, represents Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. He was arraigned over allegations of treasonable felony, conspiracy, motion of communal crisis and inciting violence, Punch newspaper reported. The lawmaker is being prosecuted by the police in the state. He was remanded on Wednesday after the court denied him bail. The prosecution prayed the court to remand the lawmaker to pave way for proper investigation. Mr Nwuzi is to spend 10 days in the correctional facility, which suggests he may not participate in the election in which he is a candidate. The lawmaker, according to Punch newspaper, was arrested on Wednesday at his residence in Chokocho, Etche Local Government Area by some police officers who allegedly broke into his apartment. Police spokesperson in the state, Grace Iringe-Koko, in a statement, said the police invited the lawmaker over an inciting video where he allegedly instructed his supporters to attack some persons, including officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) during the election. Mr Nwuzi's counsel, Emenike Ebete told reporters outside the court that offences preferred against his client were not sufficient to warrant a remand. "We have also submitted to the court that the offences disclosed in the particulars and affidavit attached to the alleged allegations were not sufficient enough for him to be remanded. "The court in its wisdom held that the offences are grievous and that he should be remanded in prison custody until the 3rd of March 2023, pending when a charge will be preferred against him by the state," Mr Ebete said. Chennai, Feb 23 : AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister Edappadi K.Palaniswami (EDP) has welcomed the Supreme Court judgement allowing him to continue as the interim general secretary of the party. Speaking to media persons, EPS said that he got a positive victory due to the blessings of M.G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa. Palaniswami said, "I could not sleep last night as was scared about the verdict. However, the judgement of the apex court is in our favour and it's due to the blessings of M.G.R. and Jayalalithaa, our leaders." He was doubtful about the SC judgement and was rejoiced at the verdict. EPS recalled Jayalalithaa's statement in the Tamil Nadu Assembly that the AIADMK would rule the state for 100 years and that the Supreme Court verdict has set the tone for it. The AIADMK returning to single leadership will give a boost to the party and the party leadership expect that the party would win the Erode East by-elections. In a related development senior leader and former minister D.Jayakumar said that all AIADMK leaders except O.Panneerselvam, V.K.Sasikala and T.T.V. Dhinakaran were welcome to the party fold. He also said that AIADMK was a party of common people and not a family party in a veiled reference to DMK. It is to be noted that the Supreme Court had on Thursday given a judgment in favour of EPS stating that he can continue as the party interim general secretary. The court also upheld the July 11,2022 resolution of the party in which the dual leadership mode of AIADMK ended. A single bench of the Madras High Court had nullified the July 11 resolutions and ordered status quo ante. However, a division bench of the Madras HC had on September 2, 2022 set aside the single bench judges order against which OPs had moved Supreme Court. The Supreme Court bench of Justices Dhinesh Maheshwari and Nishikant Roy on February 23, upheld the July 11 General council meeting of the AIADMK and the resolutions passed ending dual leadership in the party. Gurugram, Feb 23 : A wanted criminal, carrying Rs 25,000 on his head, was arrested from Hyderabad by Gurugram police. In November 2021, Rachit Sharma (31), along with his four accomplices, had robbed Rs 10 lakh from a man in Gurugram and had been on the run since then, police said on Thursday. Rachit's aides have already been arrested. The Gurugram police crime branch team nabbed Rachit from Hyderabad on February 20. Rachit was brought to Gurugram on transit remand for two days. The accused revealed that he, along with his accomplices, had robbed cash, a laptop and other documents worth Rs 10 lakh from the complainant. "Out of Rs 10 lakh, Rachit took Rs 3 lakh as his share and fled to Hyderabad to evade arrest and was working there for the last two years at a hardware shop," Preet Pal Sangwan, ACP (crime) said. Chennai, Feb 23 : C. R. Kesavan, the great grandson of India's first Governor General C. Rajagopalachari, on Thursday resigned from the Congress party. In a letter to AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, he said that he has not seen any "vestiges of the values" that made him work for the party for the last two decades. In the letter to the party national president, he said that he had declined a national level organisational responsibility and did not participate in the Bharat Jodo Yatra as he cannot stand with what the party presently symbolises. The senior leader said that he was with the Congress party since the past 22 years but over a period of time the approach of the party was neither constructive or concrete. C. R. Kesavan also said that he has resigned as a trustee from the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee Charitable Trust. Speaking to media persons, he dismissed speculations about joining another political party. New Delhi, Feb 23 : The opposition party leaders should not consider themselves "above the law", the BJP said on Thursday as it tore into the Congress for staging a protest in the Delhi airport tarmac denouncing police action against its spokesperson Pawan Khera. Addressing the media, National Spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said that everything has been done lawfully. Congress leaders should not live under this misconception that they are above the law. Congress is playing the "victim card" after using derogatory words against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his family members. He further said, "Congress leaders 'flouted rules' by protesting on Delhi airport tarmac and endangering the lives of fellow passengers. People were inconvenienced by the Congress' protests. PM Modi enjoys the blessings of more than 140 crore people of the country and abusing him is like digging a hole in which the Congress will fall." People will teach the Congress a lesson, Bhatia added. Pawan Khera was arrested this morning by the Assam Police at the airport after being deplaned from a Delhi-Raipur flight in connection with his alleged derogatory remarks against the prime minister. Soon after the arrest, Khera moved the Supreme Court on consolidation of FIRs against him and some protective orders. Taking up his plea, the Apex Court granted him interim relief, ruling that he will be released on temporary bail upon production before a magistrate in Delhi. The interim relief is till Tuesday. A bench headed by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud told senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Khera: "We have protected you but there has to be some level of discourse...". The top court will hear Khera's plea to club all FIRs at one place. Haryana Chief Minister and Finance Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal presenting the State Budget for the Financial Year 2023-24 during the ongoing Budget Session of Haryana Vidhan Sabha at Chandigarh on February 23, 2023 Image Source: IANS News Haryana Chief Minister and Finance Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal presenting the State Budget for the Financial Year 2023-24 during the ongoing Budget Session of Haryana Vidhan Sabha at Chandigarh on February 23, 2023 Image Source: IANS News Haryana Chief Minister and Finance Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal presenting the State Budget for the Financial Year 2023-24 during the ongoing Budget Session of Haryana Vidhan Sabha at Chandigarh on February 23, 2023 Image Source: IANS News Chandigarh, Feb 23 : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday in his Budget speech said the state's growth rate was estimated to be at 7.1 per cent. "This budget also reflects our commitment for the development of the state as per the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Vision -- 2030. Haryana contributes about 3.86 per cent to India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is more than proportionate to its size or population. "It is a matter of pride for Haryana that the GSDP growth rate is estimated to be 7.1 per cent in year 2022-23," Khattar, who also holds the portfolio of Finance, told the assembly. He said the rate of growth of the State Gross Domestic Product (GSDP) has been more than the country's Gross Domestic Product and the per capita income of the state has been more than the country's per capita income. The annual compound annual growth rate of Haryana's GSDP at constant prices from 2014-15 to 2022-23 has been 5.62 per cent, while the nation's GDP growth rate during the same period has been 4.58 per cent. As a result, the share of Haryana in the nation's gross domestic product has increased from 3.52 per cent in the year 2014-15 to 3.86 per cent in the year 2022-23. He said the trends in sectoral composition of state's GSDP showed the share of primary sector, secondary sector and tertiary sector in GSDP is likely to be 19.6, 29.7 and 50.7 per cent, respectively, in 2022-23. While presenting his government's fourth budget, Khattar said the national per capita income at current prices was Rs 86,647 in 2014-15, which is likely to increase to Rs 1,70,620 in 2022-23, whereas for Haryana it has increased from Rs 1,47,382 in 2014-15 to Rs 2,96,685 in 2022-23. He said in Budget estimates 2023-24, revenue receipt at Rs 1,09,122 crore, comprising tax revenue of Rs 75,716 crore and Rs 12,651 crore as non-tax revenue have been projected. In the tax revenue receipt, GST, VAT, excise and stamp and registration are the major sources of revenue receipt. The share of Central tax is Rs 11,164 crore and grant-in-aid is Rs 9,590 crore. Besides, capital receipt of Rs 71,173 crore has been projected. The Finance Minister also said that Haryana has always remained successful to maintain the fiscal parameters within the norms stipulated by the Central Finance Commission and the Centre. The fiscal deficit has been contained at 3.29 per cent of GSDP in revised estimates 2022-23 as against the permissible limit of 3.5 per cent of GSDP. For 2023-24, the fiscal deficit of 2.96 per cent of GSDP is projected which is within the allowed limit. Khattar said the overall debt stock has also been successfully contained within the prescribed limit. The debt to GSDP ratio in revised estimates of 2022-23 is 25.78 per cent as against the limit of 33.3 per cent of GSDP. For 2022-23, the debt stock is projected at 25.45 per cent of GSDP, much below the stipulated norms of 33.1 per cent of GSDP. "We will continue to exercise fiscal prudence as this is the only path to sustainable economic development," he added. The Chief Minister presented a budget of Rs 1,83,950 crore, the biggest in the state's history. In this year's budget, there is an increase of 11.6 per cent over revised estimates of 2022-23 of Rs 1,64,808 crore. He also announced that no fresh taxes have been imposed in the budget as the government aims to build a 'Resilient and Resurgent' Haryana. New Delhi, Feb 23 : A man was found stabbed to death near a bus stand in north Delhi, a police official said on Thursday. The deceased has been identified as Ram Parvesh Paswan, 47, a resident of Bakhtawarpur here and a native of Bihar's Muzaffarpur. Paswan used to work as a labourer and he is survived by three sons and one daughter. According to police, at around 3.53 a.m on Wednesday, a police control room call, informing that a man was lying unconscious near the Azadpur Subzi Mandi bus stand, was received at Mahendra Park police station following which Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) was dispatched to the spot. The injured was shifted to the hospital, where he was declared brought dead. He sustained one stab injury on his chest. "A case under section 302 (murder) was registered at Mahendra Park police station and investigation has been taken up," said a senior police official. "The crime team inspected the spot and collected all necessary evidences. The CCTV footage has been thoroughly examined and efforts are being made to zero down the suspect and to nab the accused at the earliest," said the official. "The post-mortem examination of Paswan was conducted and the body was handed over to the family," said the official, adding that further investigation is in progress. Bellary, Feb 23 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday appealed to people of Karnataka that if they repose faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa and vote for the BJP in the upcoming Assembly polls, the party will make the state number one in south India. Addressing a huge public gathering at Vijay Sankalp Yatra, Shah maintained that the BJP will give corruption free administration in the state. "Every single vote to JD(S) will go to Congress. Every vote to Congress will go for an ATM government here for New Delhi," he said. "Prime Minister Modi can only keep the country secure. You (voters) decide whether to give power to Prime Minister Modi or Rahul Gandhi who is with the 'tukde-tukde' gang. He (PM Modi) also banned the Popular Front of India (PFI), whereas previous Siddaramaiah-led Congress government had withdrawn 1,700 cases against PFI activists," Shah said. "Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh during their tenure did not dare to respond to terror attacks on India, but when terror strikes were carried out in Uri and Pulwama during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure, he ordered surgical strikes on Pakistan and got the terrorists finished," he said. Shah is scheduled to hold an important meeting with BJP bigwigs of the state in Bengaluru later in the day. Shah's visit is aimed at galvanising the party workers in the Bellary region known for mining, against the backdrop of former party man and mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy launching a new party and challenging the saffron party. Considering the consequences and chances of setback for the party in the region, BJP is seriously devising a strategy to pin down Janardhana Reddy on his home turf. Janardhana Reddy had declared candidature of his wife Aruna Lakshmi from the Bellary city constituency. Presently, the seat is held by his brother Gali Somashekara Reddy, who is in the BJP. Somashekara Reddy has said that no matter who contests against him, he would win the seat for the party. Surat, Feb 23 : A two-year-old girl, who was cornered by three to four dogs and received 30 to 40 bites, succumbed to her injuries at a government hospital in Surat on Thursday. Her father, Ravikumar Kahar, said that he and his wife are daily wage earners and live in a labour colony near Diamond Bourse in Khajod area. When the couple were on work on Sunday, he received word that dogs had bitten his two-year-old daughter, returned home, and rushed her to the government hospital. When the girl was brought in, she had 30 to 40 dog bite marks on her head, arms, and legs - even near her lungs and on her back, and some wounds were quite deep, doctors said. Doctors had carried out a minor operation on the girl and she was recovering after three days of treatment, but succumbed, hospital's resident medical officer, Dr Ketan Nayak said. The Surat Municipal Corporation has hired a non-government hospital for sterlisation of dogs and daily 30 dogs are sterilised, the dog population in the city is 20,000, and the corporation is doing all that it can do to control the dog menace, Mayor Hemaliben Boghawala said. New Delhi, Feb 23 : Delhi BJP leaders have sought fresh electionS to pick the six members of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Corporation, arguing that the secrecy of vote "was violated during the polling on Wednesday as mobile phones were allowed inside the polling booth". The issue was raised by former Delhi BJP President Manoj Tiwari, MP Pravesh Sahib Singh and State General Secretary Harsh Malhotra during a joint press conference on Thursday. BJP leaders showed a purported video footage in which AAP councillor Devendra Kumar was seen slapping BJP councillor Pramod Gupta in the MCD House. BJP leaders claimed that the AAP "always does hooliganism and was not wanting the Standing Committee elections to be held". Tiwari said that the scenes that were seen in the MCD House on Wednesday were never witnessed before and can be never imagined. "The election of Mayor and Deputy Mayor was held peacefully but AAP councillors created ruckus during the Standing Committee elections which was their well-planned conspiracy," he added. BJP leaders asked that when mobile phones and pen were not used in the election of the Mayor, then why it was allowed in the election of the Standing Committee. "This all has been executed according to a pre-planned conspiracy." MP Pravesh Sahib Singh said that the AAP and the Kejriwal government have "neither faith in the law nor in the Constitution". "Whatever happened in the (MCD) House yesterday (Wednesday), it all happened under a conspiracy hatched by the Aam Aadmi Party," he added. Singh claimed that the AAP was afraid that its votes in the Standing Committee polls would fall short. Shillong, Feb 23 : Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Thursday hit back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for calling her party the BJP's "B team". Talking to reporters her, she said: "The monopoly of national parties in the country's politics has ended." She asserted that there would be no chance for democracy in India if Trinamool was forced to rely on a two-party system. "The Trinamool has fought the CPI-M for the previous 34 years, and we won West Bengal for the third time in a row," she said. Moitra also took a pot-shot on the recent war of words between the state's ruling National People's Party and its former ally, the BJP. "Today (Chief Minister) Conrad Sangma might say something negative about (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah, and the Union Minister may respond to this. But once the election is over, they will be brothers again," she said, urging voters not to fall in the trap of NPP and BJP. "Despite the NPP-BJP combine in the state, Meghalaya did not witness development in the last five years." According to Moitra, her Trinamool is there to provide a good alternative to the people of Meghalaya. The Diplomatic Missions of the United States, Australia, Japan, Norway, Canada and the United Kingdom in Nigeria have lauded the signing of the second peace accord by the candidate and parties competing in the upcoming presidential election, and fully commit to supporting all efforts that will ensure the Nigerian people decide who wins the election. In a statement made available to journalists they said, "We believe it is vital for Nigeria's stability and democratic consolidation that the process is conducted and concluded safely, fairly and credibly. "We encourage all actors to intervene proactively to calm any tensions and avoid any violence in the periods before, during and after the elections. "We call on all officials at federal and local levels in Nigeria to respect the human and democratic rights of its citizens. "We strongly condemn any actions that undermine the peaceful and transparent conduct of the electoral process. "We call on parties to respect electoral laws and institutions and take a firm stand against violence and hate speech by their supporters. "We ask the security services in Nigeria to do their utmost to protect that process and prevent and deter attacks against INEC facilities, materials and personnel. "We call on all officials, including the law enforcement authorities, to ensure a safe and conducive environment for the exercise of public freedoms - including the freedom of opinion and expression, the freedom of peaceful assembly and the freedom of association - all of which are essential in democratic societies, in particular in the context of elections. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Nigeria Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. "Law enforcement authorities should remain visibly neutral and respond in a proportionate manner to any election-related incidents. "We further urge all presidential candidates and political parties to live up to their commitments under the second Peace Accord to accept the results of the election as announced by INEC and to pursue any challenge of the results through the appropriate legal channels. "Finally, we the diplomatic missions of the United States, Australia, Japan, Norway, Canada and the United Kingdom in Nigeria would like to congratulate Nigeria on its 24 years of democratic progress since 1999, during which it has been a symbol to others of the value of exercising democratic rights for the betterment of society. "We hope that this year's elections further build Nigeria's democratic tradition." Chandigarh, Feb 23 : The 'rift' between Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann intensified on Thursday as the former said that he will decide on allowing the proposed Budget session of the state slated on March 3 only after seeking legal advice on the "derogatory and patently unconstitutional tweets and letter" written by the latter. The Governor was referring to a response to his letter to the Chief Minister earlier this month. He took a 'dig' at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government at a time when the state was hosting its first Investors Summit and several industry captains assembled here. In the missive to the Chief Minister on Tuesday, the Governor said he would take a decision on summoning the budget session of the Assembly only after having received a legal opinion on the tweets and letters of the Chief Minister. The council of ministers had recommended that the Budget session be held from March 3 to March 24 and a letter seeking Governor's approval was sent to him. In the letter, Governor Purohit reproduced the tweets and letter sent by the Chief Minister on February 13 and 14 in response to his letter. On February 13, the Governor had slammed the Aam Aadmi Party government by questioning decisions taken by it in the past couple of weeks, including lack of transparency in selecting teachers to be sent to Singapore for training. He had also questioned the appointment of a "tainted" person as chairperson of Punjab Infotech, saying he was accused in property grabbing and kidnapping cases. The Governor had sought the criteria and details of the entire selection process of Principals for sending them to Singapore as there were allegations of "no transparency". "Please also give detail if it (criteria) was widely published throughout Punjab. As per news reports since the first batch has come back, please let me have details of total expenditure incurred on travelling and boarding, lodging and expenses towards training," said the Governor. The Governor had questioned the government's silence over his letter regarding non-disbursal of scholarship and to remove the illegally appointed Vice Chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU). Raising the issue of former Chandigarh Senior Superintendent of Police Kuldeep Singh Chahal, the Governor had accused the Chief Minister of choosing to ignore all misdeeds of the officer and promoting him. "You have not only promoted him but also posted him as Commissioner of Jalandhar and that too the orders being issued just before January 26, knowing very well that Governor is to unfurl the national flag at Jalandhar. I had to instruct the DGP that the officer concerned should maintain distance during the ceremony. On this issue, it seems that this officer was your blue-eyed boy and you chose to ignore facts that were brought to your notice by this office," he said. "The entire information which has been sought by me may at least now be furnished within a fortnight. If you fail to provide this information within the stipulated time period as already sufficient time has passed I will be compelled to take legal advice for further action, since I am duty bound to protect the Constitution," the Governor had warned. Itanagar, Feb 23 : Arunachal Pradesh Police, in its first major solo operation, busted a camp of the Eastern Naga National Government (ENNG) insurgent group at Lungpang village in Changlang District along India-Myanmar border, a police official said. The official said that after few months of close vigil and meticulous monitoring, a police team, led by Superintendent of Police, State Task Force Rohit Rajbir Singh and Changlang Superintendent of Police Mihin Gambo busted the ENNG militant camp in a forested bordering area of Rima Putok Circle in the district. However, sensing the police operation the underground cadres were reported to have fled the camp. Police recovered an AK 47 rifle, an M-16 rifle, a hand grenade, six magazines, a large cache of ammunition and incriminating documents from the site. Later, the camp was burnt down by the police. New Delhi, Feb 23 : Chinese police have detained at least five activists who supported the recent mass protests in two major cities against the slashing of retirees medical insurance benefits earlier this month, a media report said. Among those detained was veteran rights activist Zhang Hai, who was picked up by authorities in the southern city of Shenzhen, a resident of Wuhan, who gave only the surname Zhang, said, Radio Free Asia reported. "One of the five persons detained in connection with the silver protests was Zhang Hai - I heard he was detained in Shenzhen," the woman said, adding, "There was also a 23-year-old man who was detained for singing 'The Internationale' with some older people." The detentions come after thousands of people took to the streets of two Chinese cities - Wuhan and Dalian - on February 15 in a second mass protest over major cuts to their medical benefits, RFA reported. Protesters were shown in social media video clips singing the Communist anthem 'The Internationale' as well as China's national anthem. "There was also a taxi driver called Shu Li, who was detained around February 20," Zhang said, adding, "He was detained for going to support [the protests]." Shu was handed a 10-day administrative jail sentence, which can be handed out for up to 15 days to people the police see as troublemakers. However, many detainees aren't released but held under criminal charges when the administrative sentence is complete, RFA reported. Amaravati, Feb 23 : Former Andhra Pradesh minister Kanna Lakshminarayana, who resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) last week, has joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). Kanna formally joined the TDP in the presence of the party's national president and former chief minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu. Naidu offered yellow colour scarf to Kanna to admit him in the party. A large number of followers of the former minister also joined the TDP with him. Kanna started from his residence in Guntur with hundreds of supporters. The procession with a large number of cars reached the TDP office at Mangalagiri. As per the mahuratam, Kanna joined TDP at 2.48 p.m. Speaking on the occasion, Naidu said that he heartily welcomes Kanna into the TDP fold. He termed this as a good augur for the TDP. The TDP chief said that Kanna has a special place in state politics. He recalled that the former minister had become active since his student days to come up in politics. Naidu noted that Kanna was elected as MLA for five terms and also served as minister from 2004 to 2014. Kanna quit the BJP last week. The senior leader, who earlier headed the BJP in the state, said that he was resigning due to the state BJP president Somu Veerraju's style of functioning. He recalled that he joined the BJP in 2014 and worked as an ordinary worker. He said, in recognition of his work, the party appointed him state president in 2018. He claimed that he visited all 175 Assembly constituencies and announced candidates for the 2019 elections. A five-time state legislator from Guntur district, Lakshminarayana severed his nearly four-decade association with the Congress to join the BJP in 2014, a few months after the elections. He served as minister and held various portfolios in the cabinets of Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, K. Rosaiah and Kiran Kumar Reddy. Raipur, Feb 23 : Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh thanked the Supreme Court for granting relief to party leader Pawan Khera and said that apex court has shown that "tiger zinda hai". Claiming that there are multiple FIRs against Khera in Uttar Pradesh and Assam, Ramesh said that this has also happened with Jignesh Mewani. The Congress party will not be detered by FIRs and will keep raising the issue of Adani, he added. Multiple FIRs were registered against senior Congress leader Khera after he made "disparaging comments" about Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a press briefing on the Adani-Hindenburg row on February 17. The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Khera to be released on interim bail. However, the apex court noted that the plea filed by Khera was not for quashing of FIR, but was pressed for "clubbing of FIRs since gravamen of all FIR is same". The court also ordered the transfer and clubbing of all FIRs registered against Khera. Chennai, Feb 23 : The Tamil Nadu Police is on high alert after inputs from central intelligence agencies on the presence of some Islamic outfits in the state. After the ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI), some human rights groups were conducting programmes on human rights and police action, and central agencies have warned that such outfits were actually fronts of former PFI cadres who were trying to regroup. Sources in the Tamil Nadu Police told IANS that these groups were trying to influence educated youths in campuses who are wedded to Islamic ideology. While many are shying away due to the ban inflicted on the PFI, some youths are being targeted by these groups. The central agencies have warned the state police that some sleeper cells were working in Tamil Nadu supporting the activities of these 'on paper' organisations. Even as these groups are focusing on human rights and against "police atrocities", agencies say that they were trying to create a dedicated support base from among the former PFI activists for further action in Tamil Nadu. According to a senior officer of a central intelligence agency, these organisations are getting funds from outside the country and some hawala operators are being used to deliver the money. Some West Asia-based Tamil Muslims are supporting these movements and the agencies are trying to ascertain the volume of money that is being transferred. Islamic outfits consider Tamil Nadu as a safe haven as the DMK government in the state is opposed to the Central government and is in confrontation with the Centre on many issues. While Kerala would have been a better hideout, agencies said that these organisations skipped it as the state has been on the radar of agencies and media earlier vis-a-vis Islamic outfits. Even the PFI's earlier avatar, the NDF was formed in Kerala. Tamil Nadu, according to central agencies, does not have that much of media hype regarding Islamic movements and hence, the Islamists are trying to develop a strong base there. With former LTTE cadres forging alliance with international drug smuggling networks like Haji Ali network, the central agencies is trying to get inputs on whether the newly-formed groups are entering into or already entered into any connection with the former. Several places in Tamil Nadu like Coimbatore, Tiruchi, Namakkkal, Kanniyakumari, and Theni are under the scanner of intelligence agencies and police to unearth the activities of these organisations. New Delhi, Feb 23 : A team of researchers have identified a new and ongoing malware campaign that capitalises on the increasing popularity of the ChatGPT AI chatbot, a new report said on Thursday. According to cybersecurity firm Kaspersky, cybercriminals are distributing the malware via Facebook communities, offering a fake desktop version of ChatGPT. "This campaign targeting ChatGPT is a prime example of how attackers are leveraging social engineering techniques to exploit the trust that users place on popular brands and services. It is important for users to understand that, just because a service appears to be legitimate, it doesn't mean that it is," said Darya Ivanova, a security expert at Kaspersky. Other than the bot, users are infected with the Fobo Trojan, which steals sensitive data such as Facebook, TikTok, and Google account credentials, as well as personal and corporate financial information. When users click on the link in the post, they are directed to a well-designed website that looks almost identical to the official ChatGPT website, said the report. The website then directs users to download a purported ChatGPT version for Windows, which is actually an archive containing an executable file. The installation process then begins but abruptly ends with an error message stating that the programme could not be installed. In fact, the installation of the program proceeds without the users' knowledge and a new stealer Trojan, Trojan-PSW.Win64.Fobo, is installed on the user's computer, according to the report. This Trojan is intended to steal information about saved accounts from browsers such as Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Brave. As part of the attack, the Trojan steals login credentials as well as attempts to obtain additional information, such as the amount of advertising money and the current balance of the business accounts. The attackers are going after the global market. Users in Africa, Asia, Europe, and America have been targeted by the fraudulent "desktop client" for ChatGPT, the report mentioned. Bengaluru, Feb 23 : On the eve of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen claimed on Thursday that Vladimir Putin's war has been a strategic failure for Kremlin. Yellen was addressing the media ahead of the first G20 finance ministers and central bank governors' meeting set to begin here from Friday. The US Treasury Secretary said that the twin goals of degrading Russia's military-industrial complex and reducing the revenues that it can use to fund its war are succeeding. "The Russian military is struggling to replace over 9,000 pieces of heavy military equipment that it has lost since February 2022. It has suffered production shut-downs at key defence-industrial facilities. Further, Russia's economy has become increasingly isolated. Estimates indicate that nearly a million Russians may have left the country last year. This is putting downward pressure on its productive capacity going forward," Yellen claimed. Commending its defiance of Russia's aggression, Yellen reiterated the US' continued support for Ukraine. "The United States has provided over $46 billion in security, economic and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Our military assistance includes key defensive weapons that Ukraine has asked for - such as the Patriot missile defence system. And our economic assistance is making Ukraine's resistance possible by supporting the home front -- funding critical public services and helping keep the government running. In the coming months, we expect to provide around $10 billion in additional economic support for Ukraine" she said. Continued, robust support for Ukraine will be a major topic of discussion during my time here in India," Yellen said. Kolkata, Feb 23 : The Calcutta High Court on Thursday imposed a financial penalty on the Superintendent of Presidency Special Correctional Home in south Kolkata for giving special treatment to Vikas Mishra, one of the prime accused in the multi-crore coal smuggling scam . A division bench of Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta directed the correction home Superintendent Debashish Chakraborty to either deposit Rs 10,000 with the office of the Registrar General of the Calcutta High Court within the next 48 hours or face seven days imprisonment. "You are in charge of one of the prime correction homes of the state. If such things happen, then I must say that there is a definite attempt to influence the process of the probe. It is evident that you have done everything in your senses and intentionally. Even after the court ordered Vikas Mishra to be jailed, you have sent him to hospital. You are a government servant and you should have performed your duties according to law. This is not expected for a government servant like you," Justice Bagchi observed. Although Chakraborty apologised to the court on this count, the division bench imposed the financial penalty on him. In September last year, the same division bench issued a contempt of notice against Chakraborty for violating the court's order for periodical medical examination of Mishra. Mishra, the first person to be arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the coal smuggling scam in April 2021, was then housed at the Presidency Special Correctional Home. After the CBI informed the court at that point of time that Mishra had been frequently avoiding interrogation on medical grounds, the division bench ordered that a medical officer designated by the CBI should visit the correctional home at an interval of 48 hours to medically examine Mishra. Thereafter the CBI again informed the court that despite being found medically fit by the agency designated medical officer, the correctional home Superintendent had been regularly allowing Mishra to get admitted at the correctional home hospital which hampered the interrogation process. --IANS src/vd A AA London, Feb 23 : The European Commission (EC) on Thursday directed all employees to remove Chinese short-video making app TikTok from their corporate devices. The Commission's Corporate Management Board decided to suspend the use of the TikTok application on its corporate devices and on personal devices enrolled in the Commission mobile device service. "This measure aims to protect the Commission against cybersecurity threats and actions which may be exploited for cyber-attacks against the corporate environment of the Commission. The security developments of other social media platforms will also be kept under constant review," the EC said in a statement. The suspension also extends to workers' personal devices where they are used for work purposes. "The measure is in line with Commission strict internal cybersecurity policies for use of mobile devices for work-related communications. It complements long-standing Commission advice to staff to apply best practices when using social media platforms and keep high-level cyber awareness in their daily work," said the commission. The US House of Representatives recently ordered its staff to delete TikTok from official work devices. US Senator Michael Bennett this month urged Apple CEO Tim Cook and Google CEO Sundar Pichai to immediately remove TikTok from their app stores, calling it an unacceptable risk to national security. TikTok is now the third-most popular social media app in the US, with over 100 million American users spending more than 80 minutes per day on the app. The US also plans to ban Chinese short video-making app TikTok nationwide, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a vote soon on a bill to completely block the platform. In 2020, India banned TikTok and several other Chinese apps for allegedly sharing user data with China. analysis Research in the region most affected by violence shows why focusing on gender-specific needs would deliver better responses. The security crisis in Niger's south-western Tillaberi region is taking a heavy toll on local communities. The Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) project has documented over 2 500 deaths in the area since 2017. This is 52.8% of the national count over that time - making Tillaberi the epicentre of violence in Niger. Nearly 100 000 people in the Tillaberi region had been displaced by the beginning of 2022, and the figure is growing. Women and girls make up 51% of those in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the United Nations (UN) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Basic social services are lacking for everyone, but displacement makes it difficult for women needing healthcare, especially maternal care - a major concern in a country with the highest fertility rate in the world. This is only one of the many ways the security crisis affects women and girls based on their gender. The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and the Niger chapter of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP-Niger) recently teamed up with 10 women from conflict-affected localities to shed light on the experience of girls and women in the Tillaberi region. The lack of maternal care is a major concern in a country with the highest fertility rate in the world Through 52 testimonies, the research found that the security crisis not only threatened lives, physical integrity and livelihoods, but significantly aggravated various forms of gender-based violence common during peace time. Child marriage is a telling example. Niger has the highest prevalence rate in the world, with 76% of girls married before the age of 18, and 28% before 15, according to the UN Children's Fund. Yet the ISS-WANEP study's empirical data, 70% of which was collected by local female teachers, suggests even more concerning levels in areas affected by conflict and displacement. This perception has been corroborated by other surveys. Marrying off their young daughters is a way for impoverished families to cope with increased economic pressure and uncertainty by reducing the number of dependants or establishing protective alliances with the groom's families. Interviews suggest an increase in girls being married off before the minimum legal age of 15. Girls are disproportionately affected because of both gender and age norms. But the problem can only be identified and addressed if gender-disaggregated data is available. Without it, remedies will fail to deal appropriately with the gender-specific needs of conflict victims. Girls being married so young negatively affects their emotional wellbeing and physical integrity, especially when it leads to sexual relations and early pregnancy. There is also an important two-way link between child marriage and girls' education. Youngsters who marry early usually drop out of school to assume their new spousal role. At the same time, those already failing academically are at greater risk of early marriage. Interviews suggest an increase in girls being married off before the minimum legal age of 15 years In August 2022 alone, 817 schools in the Tillaberi region were closed due to violence and insecurity. This impedes the right of all children to education and raises the risk of child marriage for girls, and recruitment into armed groups for boys. Cases of conflict-related sexual violence have also been reported, although the few figures available represent only the tip of the iceberg. The social stigma surrounding these acts often discourages survivors from reporting them. While most of these crimes are committed by members of non-state armed groups, incidents such as those in Tera in March 2021 are a reminder that security forces can also be involved. Chadian soldiers stationed in the region as part of the G5 Sahel Joint Force were accused of raping at least three people, including an 11-year-old girl and a 32-year-old pregnant woman. ISS and WANEP-Niger's consultative study also notes the worrying situation faced by widows and orphaned children of civilian victims of the conflict, who largely have to fend for themselves. As the family economy is traditionally male-dominated, the sudden death of a husband can expose his wife or wives - polygyny remains prevalent - and their children to acute economic distress. For widowed older women, losing adult sons can mean isolation and poverty. Systems to identify and support widows of civilian conflict victims should be a public policy priority As the crisis constrains economic activity and disperses extended families, the support mechanisms on which widows traditionally rely are proving less accessible. Although wives of soldiers killed in combat benefit from national programmes, these aren't available to civilians' widows. Systems to identify and support these women should be a public policy priority. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Women Niger By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Beyond securing territory, the response to violence in Tillaberi must support human security broadly to mitigate the negative effects on men and women, girls and boys. This will only be possible if the experiences and concerns of those directly affected are addressed, including women living in rural areas. Establishing mechanisms for community consultation, as tried by the ISS and WANEP-Niger in their study, could enable the government to identify local concerns and maintain constructive dialogue regarding responses. The lack of gender-disaggregated data hinders the analysis of gender-specific impacts of insecurity and the formulation of responses. State and non-state organisations that produce data on the security, humanitarian, social and economic situation in conflict-affected areas should systematically disaggregate the data in order to inform public policy. Ornella Moderan, Consultant and Fatoumata Maiga, Researcher, ISS Regional Office for West Africa, the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin Shillong/Kohima, Feb 23 : A day before the end of campaigning for the February 27 Assembly elections in Meghalaya and Nagaland, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will campaign in the two northeastern states on Friday. Meghalaya BJP President Ernest Mawrie said that Modi will participate in a road show and address an election rally in Shillong. "PM's itinerary has not yet been finalised," Mawrie told IANS. Another BJP leader said that they are trying to hold another election rally in Tura which the Prime Minister is likely to address. Nagaland BJP spokesman Sapralu Nyekha said that the Prime Minister will address an election rally in Nagaland's commercial town Dimapur. Friday's campaign will be Modi's first and last ahead of the February 27 Assembly elections in Meghalaya and Nagaland, where poll campaign will end at 4 p.m. on Saturday. Earlier, the Prime Minister had addressed three election rallies in Tripura, where Assembly polls were held on February 16. The NDPP (Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party) and the BJP had contested the 2018 elections in Nagaland with a 40:20 seat-sharing formula, and the alliance partners in July last year decided to continue with the same understanding. The BJP has fielded candidates in all the 60 Assembly seats in Meghalaya. The party had contested 55 seats in Tripura while allotting five seats to its ally, Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT). Counting of votes for all the three northeastern states will be taken up on March 2. King, whose real name is Arpan Kumar Chandel, took part in the first season of the rap-based reality show 'Hustle' in 2019, and in 2022, he was seen as a squad boss on 'Hustle 2.0'. Mumbai, Feb 23 (IANS) Popular rapper King, who recently appeared as a guest on the third season of the reality show By Invite Only, has shared his dating experience with the show host Renil Abraham. King, whose real name is Arpan Kumar Chandel, took part in the first season of the rap-based reality show 'Hustle' in 2019, and in 2022, he was seen as a squad boss on 'Hustle 2.0'. The rapper made his Bollywood debut with his rap song 'Sahi Galat' in 'Drishyam 2' starring Ajay Devgn and Tabu. Opening up about his dating experience, King said: "I remember this happened when my childhood friend Nikunj Hudda and I travelled to the mountains for the first time on a bike. We reached our destination, checked into our hotel, and were enjoying Backstreet Boys. During a conversation, he suggested to me about dating. "He asked me 'why don't you use a dating app'? I told him where I do it all, I am not lucky in all these things. He took out his card and got a gold membership in a dating app. He gave me his phone and said 'now there is no limit'," the rapper shared. King further recalled how his friend guided him to look for a dating partner on the app. "Swipe right to all and you see. He literally forced me to do so but finally, nothing happened." 'By Invite Only' streams on Amazon miniTV. --IANS ila/aa/prw/pgh New Delhi, Feb 23 : Two youth died after they were hit by a train while making video in east Delhi, a police official said on Thursday. The deceased have been identified as Vansh Sharma, 23, and Monu (20), both residents of Kanti Nagar Extension. The officials said that Sharma was a third year B. Tech student, while Monu used to work as a salesman in a shop. The incident occurred on Wednesday. According to police, around 4.35 p.m on Wednesday, information was received regarding a train accident at railway line near Kanti Nagar flyover following which a police team was dispatched to the spot. "Police found bodies of two persons and during enquiry it was found that they met with the accident while shooting a video on mobile," Deputy Commissioner of Police, Railways, Hareesh H.P. said. The bodies were shifted to GTB hospital mortuary for the autopsy. "The deceased used to shoot short films on mobile and came to railw ay tracks to make live videos. Their mobiles were also found on the track," said the DCp. The official further said that inquest proceedings are in progress. New York, Feb 23 : An Indian-American doctor has been indicted for allegedly running a scheme to submit bogus claims to Medicare, and faces a 10-year felony charge. Dr Sangita Patel, 50, allegedly submitted false and fraudulent claims for telehealth visits from the Advance Medical Home Physicians Center, located in Troy, according to a criminal complaint authored by the FBI. From April 2020 till early February 2023, Patel allegedly submitted more than $1 million in false claims to Medicare for telehealth services she did not provide, the Michigan Live reported. Medicare paid more than $448,000 on those fraudulent claims. Patel would delegate a person in Tuscola County to call Medicare beneficiaries on her behalf, according to cellular phone evidence. After these calls, Patel would submit claims as if she had provided telehealth visits to the Medicare beneficiaries whom the individual had called. About 76 per cent of Patel's Medicare reimbursements were for telehealth-related claims from about July 1, 2020, till June 30, 2022. These payments were about nine times the payments for the prior two-year period, as per the complaint. The complaint further said that Patel prescribed Schedule II controlled substances to more than 90 per cent of the patients involved in her telehealth insurance claims. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Schedule II drugs have legitimate medical uses but are considered to have a high potential for abuse. The Michigan Live reported that from 2019 through July 2022, Patel issued prescriptions for more than 590,000 tablets of prescription drugs. Of these, 70 per cent were for Schedule II drugs. "These are serious allegations, and my office is committed to prosecuting any medical professional who attempts to exploit Medicare, a taxpayer-funded program that provides essential services to seniors and disabled individuals," US Attorney Dawn N. Ison was quoted as saying in Michigan Live. Patel's fraud came to light after an informant reported that she was accepting cash in exchange for prescription drugs. The FBI and US Department of Health then began a probe on November 21. "Physicians and other medical professionals who fraudulently bill our federal healthcare programs are stealing from taxpayers and robbing vulnerable patients of necessary medical care," James A Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Detroit Field Office, told Michigan Live. Currently, Patel is free on a $10,000 unsecured bond, and her next court hearing is due on March 1. New Delhi, Feb 23 : The Supreme Court has upheld the life term sentence handed down to a woman from Tamil Nadu for murdering her five-year-old female child, as she was forced to live with her mother-in-law at the matrimonial home for better education and upbringing of the kid. A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Bela M. Trivedi said: "In an overall comprehension of the material on record and the findings recorded by the trial court and the high court, in our view, no case for interference with the concurrent findings of fact is made out." The bench noted that the case was based on circumstantial evidence and even though the prosecution story presented a somewhat difficult proposition, it cannot be ruled out. In a 43-page judgment, the bench said: "In the facts of the present case, when the prosecution evidence categorically established the fact that the victim child was last seen alive with the appellant only; she was required to explain the circumstances leading to the demise of the child." "Upon her failure to do so and failure to give the explanation with regard to the circumstances under which death may have taken place, burden of Section 106 of the Evidence Act operates heavily against the appellant." The woman was convicted for the murder of her five-year-old child in the house of her mother-in-law at Perambalur in the morning of June 21, 2007. According to the prosecution case, the appellant's husband was living abroad for earning livelihood and the appellant was mostly living with her father at Kolakkudi. However, on being forced to live with her mother-in-law for the purpose of upbringing and education of the child, she found the child to be an obstacle in her desire to live separately and hence, strangulated the child to death when her mother-in-law had gone out of the house. The woman's counsel argued that the case does not fall under Section 302 IPC, but could only be of culpable homicide not amounting to murder as there was a quarrel between the accused and mother-in-law on the date of the incident because she wanted to go to her father's place. To this, the bench said: "Even if it be taken that there was a quarrel of the appellant with her mother-in-law in the morning of the date of incident because the appellant wanted to go the place of her father, it cannot be said that such a quarrel would make it a case of grave and sudden provocation." It noted that the circumstances as proved on record, and the manner of commission of crime, make it clear that the present case cannot be brought under any of the exceptions of Section 300 IPC; and conviction and sentencing of the appellant under Section 302 IPC cannot be faulted. Vahitha was convicted of the offence of murder of her five-year-old child and according to the prosecution case, her husband was living abroad for earning livelihood and the appellant was mostly living with her father, Jamal Mohammed at Kolakkudi. The trial court had relied upon the last seen evidence and convicted her, disregarding her plea for alibi that she was at her father's place at Kolakkudi. Vahitha moved the apex court challenging Madras High Court judgment, which dismissed her appeal against the judgment of conviction and order of sentence passed on October 15, 2009. Guwahati, Feb 23 : In a bid to establish western Assam's Kokrajhar globally as a destination of knowledge sharing and peace, the Bodoland University is organising the first 4-day Bodoland International Knowledge Festival at the varsity from February 27. The Festival, which is being organised in collaboration with Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) administration, would witness the participation of Nobel Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus from Bangladesh among others. BTR Chief Executive Member Pramod Boro said that this would be one of the biggest events being conducted in the BTR. "We want to establish Kokrajhar and the BTR as destinations for education, knowledge sharing and tourism with this mega event. Transforming BTR into an intelligence hub," he told the media in Guwahati. Boro said that over the years, Kokrajhar and the BTR were portrayed negatively and the area was known for insurgency and backwardness. The BTR chief said: "Time has changed and we have moved ahead. Now we want Kokrajhar and the BTR to be known as a destination for intelligent people, not insurgency." Boro said they want to draw knowledge and expertise from experts in various fields to enhance epistemic dialogue across cultures and communities. "With this Knowledge Festival, we want to create an atmosphere of dialogue and participatory priorityasetting for addressing concerns of contemporary human society which would promote scientific temperament to address social and economic concerns of the society in a post-conflict scenario," he added. Over 300 invited delegates from across India and 35 international delegates from 14 countries would participate in the festival, where more than 10,000 participants comprising students, academicians, researchers, development practitioners, government officials, politicians, entrepreneurs, farmers and SHG members among others would take part. The festival would document the knowledge exchange for continued learning and praxis, knowledge-action-reflection by different communities of practice in BTR. The thematic area of the Bodoland International Knowledge Festival is the achievement of social development priorities and key Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 in the contemporary BTR and the world. In the mega event, several themes and sub-themes would be deliberated and discussed. These include, Science & Technology, Livelihood, Indigenous Knowledge System, Women Empowerment, Child Rights & Protection, Peace Building, Good Governance, Communication and Media, Behavioural Change & Communication, Human Rights, Sustainable Agriculture, Climate Justice and Action, Quality Education, Health and Wellbeing, Art & Culture, Youth Entrepreneurship, Intellectual Property Rights, Trade, Commerce and Investment and BTR in the light of the Act East Policy. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister of State for Education and External Affairs R.K. Ranjan Singh, Assam Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimari and Vice Chancellors of five different universities of Assam among others would attend the festival. The BTR in Assam comprises five western districts of Tamulpur, Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri and Kokrajhar, bordering Bhutan and West Bengal. New Delhi, Feb 23 : Amid hectic parleys with her counterparts of G20 nations on the eve of the two-day Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting, which commences in Bengaluru from Friday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday met European Union Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni. Both the leaders discussed the agenda items under G20's India Presidency. They further deliberated on global economic issues, including India's G20 priorities of global debt vulnerabilities, climate finance, and global health. Both the leaders also exchanged views on global food and fertiliser insecurity. Gentiloni expressed support for India's G20 Presidency agenda. The two-day FMCBG meeting is set to begin on Friday, which would be presided over by Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. Amritsar: 'Waris Punab De' supporters clash with the police while breaking through barricades at the police station in protest over filing of FIR against group founder Amritpal Singh and his associates, in Ajnala near Amritsar on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2 Image Source: IANS News Amritsar: 'Waris Punab De' supporters clash with the police while breaking through barricades at the police station in protest over filing of FIR against group founder Amritpal Singh and his associates, in Ajnala near Amritsar on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2 Image Source: IANS News Amritsar: 'Waris Punab De' group leader Amritpal Singh speaks during clash of supporters with the police at the police station in protest over filing of FIR against group founder Amritpal Singh and his associates, in Ajnala near Amritsar on Thursday, Image Source: IANS News Chandigarh, Feb 23 : Punjab-based self-styled gun-trotting Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who just came to the limelight after returning from Dubai for criminal and social connect, is the head of the religious organisation Waris Punjab De. Singh, who has his own army carrying licenced weapons, and his sea of supporters on Thursday, carrying swords and arms, clashed with the police and forcefully laid a siege on a police station, which led to a scuffle and injuries to several police personnel in Amritsar district. Six policemen were injured amid the protests and were admitted to a hospital. They were staging a demonstration in Ajnala town against the arrest of Amritpal Singh's aide Lovepreet Toofan. To diffuse the tension, Police Commissioner Jaskaran Singh told the media they have given enough proof that Lovepreet Toofan is innocent. "The SIT (Special Investigation Team) has taken note of it. These people will peacefully disperse now, and the law will take its course," he said. Who is Amritpal Singh? Police records say Amritpal, who got married this month, has been involved in scores of disputes, kidnappings and issuing threats. Recently, he issued a threat to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying he will meet the same fate as that of former prime minister Indira Gandhi. His organisation, Waris Punjab De, is an organisation of radicals founded by activist Deep Sidhu, who died in a road accident in February last year. Responding to Thursday's developments, former Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh expressed grave concern over the incident. "This is not only a complete collapse of the law and order situation in Punjab, it is more serious than that," Capt Amarinder said in a statement, while pointing out this incident has serious security implications for the state and the country. The senior BJP leader drew the Central government's attention towards this incident, warning that there was a particular pattern in these incidents which does not bode well for the national security. "Particularly when Pakistan is there to encourage and exploit such a situation," he observed, while raising questions over the competence of the state government in dealing with such a situation. Amarinder Singh also questioned the motive behind carrying the holy Guru Granth Sahib to the protest site, which he said was unacceptable. The former Chief Minister appreciated the restraint exercised by the police in dealing with those who laid siege to the police station. "While the situation needs to be handled with care, at the same time, the rule of law must prevail," he added. Doha, Feb 23 : Jiri Lehecka earned the biggest win of his career by ATP Ranking on Thursday at the Qatar Open, where he upset World No. 5 Andrey Rublev 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach his second tour-level semifinal, here. The 21-year-old Czech entered the clash off the back of straight-set wins against Damir Dzumhur and Emil Ruusuvuori and he demonstrated his confidence levels in a heavy-hitting performance against the top seed. Lehecka timed the ball cleanly off both wings, causing damage with his flat forehand to hit through a frustrated Rublev. He broke twice, sealing his victory after one hour and 41 minutes to improve to 1-1 in his ATP head-to-head series against Rublev. "These past two months have been very great for me. I was very much looking forward to playing here in Doha on this beautiful centre court, so I am very happy with the win and looking forward to tomorrow," Lehecka said in his on-court interview. The Czech will aim to advance to his first tour-level final when he faces former World No. 1 Andy Murray or French qualifier Alexandre Muller on Friday. Lehecka, who is up eight spots to No. 44 in the ATP Live Rankings, reached the semi-finals in Rotterdam last year. Lehecka ended his 2022 season in style when he reached the Next Gen ATP Finals title match in Milan. Using that run as a springboard, he has made a fast start to 2023. The 21-year-old now holds an 11-3 record on the year, highlighted by his quarter-final run at the Australian Open, where he earned his first Top 10 win against Felix Auger-Aliassime. "I have improved everything. Mostly my mentality on the court. I gained confidence from NextGen and now I have learnt how to use it," Lehecka said while reflecting on his progress. Rublev was aiming to continue his impressive record at the ATP 250 hard-court event, having reached the final in 2018 and won the title in 2020. Mumbai, Feb 23 : The Nationalist Congress Party on Thursday attacked the state Bharatiya Janata Party for attempting to create confusion on the dawn swearing-in ceremony of the short-lived two-man Maharashtra government in November 2019. NCP chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase took strong umbrage at BJP state President Chandrashekhar Bawankule's statements against NCP supremo Sharad Pawar over the issue. After the hung verdict following the October 2019 Assembly elections, the then Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had sworn-in BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as the CM and NCP's Ajit Pawar as the Deputy CM on November 23, 2019, but their regime crashed in barely 80 hours. Five days later on November 28, 2019, the Maha Vikas Aghadi formed the government with Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray as the CM and he was in power until his government was toppled in June 2022. Interestingly, the wily Pawar said with a smile that if the Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar duo wasn't sworn-in, then the President's Rule in the state would not have ended and Thackeray could not have become the CM after five days. Amid the ongoing sharp verbal duels on the November 2019 episode, Bawankule contended that Pawar was reportedly amenable to having a NCP-BJP alliance but minus Fadnavis as the CM. A few days ago, Fadnavis had claimed that Pawar Sr. was fully aware of the developments which enabled him (Fadnavis) to become CM for the second time. But, Tapase said: "Both, Bawankule and Fadnavis are making misleading statements in the NCP's context and attempting to confuse the peoples' minds." Pawar Sr.'s grand-nephew Rohit Pawar said that "the political games and strategies of Pawar Saheb are way beyond the understanding of these people" and urged the BJP to concentrate on the burning issues of today instead of raising the ghosts of the past. Fadnavis added with a mysterious smile that one after the other, the various facets of that November 2019 ceremony are unfolding before the masses. "You know half of what has happened, the rest of the political drama will also be revealed soon," he told media persons on Thursday. Tapase emphasised the NCP had nothing to do with the BJP then, now or ever in the future and the party is in full sync with the MVA, warning that the government of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-Fadnavis would fall soon. press release The 21st African Water Association International Congress and Exhibition, and the 7th Faecal Sludge Management Conference have opened in the Ivorian commercial capital, Abidjan, with a call for stronger commitments to ensure universal access to clean water and sanitation for all by 2030. The conferences, taking place together for the first time, opened on Monday, and are co-sponsored by the African Development Bank Group. They bring together public and private sector experts: government officials, development partners, engineers, and researchers to discuss water and sanitation challenges in Africa under the theme "Acting for sustainable management of resources and access to water and sanitation for all. Government ministers from Senegal, Malawi, Niger, Madagascar, Togo, and Bangladesh attended the opening ceremony. In opening remarks, Ivorian Prime Minister Patrick Achi stressed that tackling the challenges of water and sanitation in Africa have become more imperative as the continent continues to experience the highest population growth. "We do not really know the value of water until we lack it - without it, there is no life, no peace, no prosperity," he said. Prime Minister Achi called on industry advocates to put more spotlight on sanitation and to how the sector has showcased water. "The question we do not ask often enough is whether drinking water is like eating - what happens afterward? It is quite strange that we have spent a long time before associating water and sanitation. We have shown water, but we must insist upon sanitation." Ivorian Minister of Hydraulics, Sanitation and Health Bouake Fofana, noted that most African countries cannot meet the 2030 SDG 6 target and stressed that the congress provided a timely opportunity to explore new solutions. Fofana also stressed the need to prioritize the rural communities, which currently represent more than 50% of the continent and where open defecation is still a major issue. "We still have progress to make in delivering water and sanitation for all," he said. Speaking on behalf of financial partners, the Country Director of the Islamic Development Bank, Ouattara Oumar, highlighted the benefits of investing in water and sanitation - contributing to 1.5% of the global GDP and generating at least 200% for each dollar invested. He urged greater response and awareness, including more funding to improve access to water and sanitation for all. Oumar said: "Water and sanitation are at the heart of sustainable development and key to the survival of all people; access to water and sanitation reduces the cost of health for people and society. Children are more likely to be enrolled at school if they have access to water and sanitation." Oumar reiterated the commitment of The Islamic Development Bank to working with member states to address challenges in the sector. "The Islamic Development Bank is highly committed to tackling the challenges in the water and sanitation sector. We are ready to listen to our member countries, and we are asking member states to prioritize water and sanitation to improve livelihoods, and social and economic development." Dr. Silver Mugisha, president of the African Water Association, highlighted five focus areas for the congress to deliberate on: technological innovation, evolving sustainable infrastructure financing options, strengthening people and systems, streamlining corporate governance and enabling conversation, and inculcating a strong culture through relevant capacity building and learning systems. He said the water and sanitation sector is grappling with strategic plans with inadequate clarity, aging infrastructure, rapid urbanization which stresses the water system, and insufficient infrastructure financing, resulting in operational inefficiencies. "In the next three days, we have a great opportunity to make a significant contribution to address these challenges." He announced the change of the Association's name to the "African Water and Sanitation Association" to include sanitation, and called for solutions building for both water and sanitation. "It is our actions that hold the real reward. Our actions have the power to change the African water and sanitation sector and inspire others to get up and take action." Jennifer William, Executive Director of Fecal Sludge Management Alliance, reiterated the need to do more to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 of clean water and sanitation for all by 2030. She called for the preparation, engagement, and mentoring of women and youth in the sector. "We must prepare our leaders of tomorrow to let them be seen, heard, and give them space to lead us. The younger generation can teach us how to set aside our differences and work together." Contact: Mary Ajayi, Communication and External Relations Department, email: media@afdb.org Patna, Feb 23 : Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai on Thursday challenged Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav to dissolve the Assembly and go for midterm polls. "If they have guts, go for the midterm poll... you will find people of Bihar are not with you. "After the formation of the Mahagathbandhan government, over 1,400 murders have taken place so far. Murder, loot, robbery, rape are regular affairs in Bihar. The law and order situation is off-track now and the Nitish Kumar government has no control over it," Rai claimed. "The criminals are not afraid of the law. They become fearless. It's like a Jungle Raj situation in Bihar," he added. Gurugram, Feb 23 : A girl student from Delhi was allegedly repeatedly raped in Gurugram for over a year by her Instagram "friend", police said on Thursday. The victim reported the matter to the police after the accused blackmailed her on several occasions and even threatened to kill her. According to the complaint filed by the BA first-year student on Wednesday, she had come in contact with the accused Abhishek, a resident of Gurugram, in July 2020 through social media. He had then called her to meet and they met in a park in Gurugram for the first time. "In September 2021, we met again in MGF Mall from where he took me to a guest house in DLF Phase 2 area where he forcibly developed physical relations without my convent. He raped me repeatedly on several occasions. Finally, I mustered courage and reported the matter," the victim told the police. Following the complaint, an FIR was registered against the accused under Section 6 of POCSO Act as the victim was minor in a 2020 and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC at DLF phase 2 police station on Wednesday. "We are searching for the accused and he will be behind the bars soon," said a police officer. New Delhi, Feb 23 : A Delhi court on Thursday granted interim bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a case related to his alleged objectionable remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Khera was arrested earlier in the day from the IGI Airport by officials of the Assam Police, hours after he was stopped from boarding a flight to Raipur. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Dwarka court Archana Beniwal granted interim bail till February 28 to Khera on a bail bond of Rs 30,000 and one surety of the same amount. Post receiving a copy of the top court's order, the magistrate passed the order to release Khera. The Supreme Court had ruled that Khera will be released on interim bail upon production before a magistrate in Delhi and the interim relief is till Tuesday. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud told senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Khera: "We have protected you but there has to be some level of discourse...". The top court will hear Khera's plea to club all FIRs at one place. The bench, also comprising Justices M.R. Shah and P.S. Narasimha, said: "In order to protect the petitioner until such date as he applied for regular bail before jurisdictional court, till the next date of listing, petitioner shall be released on interim bail by magistrate." According to the Assam Police, an FIR had been registered against Khera at the Haflong police station in Dima Hasao district. "Delhi Police was approached to arrest Khera and the Assam Police officials will bring him to Assam after taking permission from a local court," said the official of Assam Police. Gurugram, Feb 23 : Multiple schemes were announced for Gurugram in Haryana Budget presented by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday. The Chief Minister while presenting the budget for the financial year 2023-24 said that the Gurugram Metro project has been approved by the Public Investment Board and the construction of Gurugram Metro will start this year as soon as the final approval of the Union Cabinet is received. Similarly, a proposal was also made to start new metro links for Gurugram city in the coming financial year. Khattar announced the commencement of work on the metro link from Rejangla Chowk to IGI Airport in Delhi, Southern Peripheral Road (SPT) to Global City, Panchgaon via Manesar. He also announced the construction of a 700-bed state-of-the-art multi-speciality district hospital in Gurugram which is under construction. It was informed in the budget that the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has given in-principle approval for setting up a new dispensary at Pataudi. For this project, land has been provided to ESIC for a new 500-bed hospital in Manesar. In the budget, Khattar made announcements for the expansion of public transport services in Gurugram. A multi-modal bus port will be built in Gurugram and a city interchange terminal will be set up. Along with this, city bus services will be expanded in Gurugram and Manesar. Khattar further noted that 26 acres of land have been made available for the proposed Helihub in Gurugram. The opening of two new state-of-the-art Veterinary Pet Clinics in Faridabad and Gurugram was announced by the Chief Minister during the budget speech. Model district-level e-libraries with digital content and maximum facilities will be opened in six districts of the state including Gurugram. Regarding the Jungle Safari to be built in Gurugram and Nuh district, the Chief Minister said that the country's largest Aravalli Park will be developed in partnership with the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and the Central Zoo Authority. Terming the budget 2023 growth-oriented, the Gurugram industry welcomed it. "The vision of the Chief Minister towards industries is commendable. A budget provision of Rs 1442 crore has been made for industries that will help the industry recover from the covid-induced challenges," Deepak Mini from the Federation of Indian Industry said. "The mantra adopted in the budget for the upliftment of Haryana reflects the Chief Minister's vision of a prosperous Haryana. The increase in allocation for industries, the announcement of the Kaushal Mitra Fellowship for the skill development of the youth, as well as the announcement of setting up a venture fund in collaboration with banks and financial institutions to set up new startups are commendable steps," K.K. Gandhi, President Industrial Development Association, Sector 37 said. "In the budget, the Chief Minister's vision touches every section of the state which includes transportation, education, skill development programmes and infrastructures which is commendable," Kamal Yadav, BJP State Executive Member said. London, Feb 23 : Labour supporters have complained to the party about British Sikh MP Preet Kaur Gill after she sent a series of WhatsApp messages on a group undermining allegations of sexual abuse within gurdwaras. According to the messages seen by The Guardian, Gill says those calling Sikh temples unsafe are using "very dangerous language" and urges them to tender written apology to gurdwaras. "I was very surprised by her comments, as there are genuine concerns with safeguarding at UK gurdwaras," Nav Johal, a Labour councillor who was on the group to which Gill sent the messages, told The Guardian. "Her messages were even more surprising given Gill (a former social worker) comes from a child protection background," Johal added. The flare-up over the WhatsApp messages happened after UK charity and victim support service Sikh Women's Aid (SWA), which surveyed 839 Sikh women in Britain, found that close to two-thirds of them had experienced domestic abuse. Some of the respondents said that they had been abused by faith leaders as the report went on to warn about the lack of protection offered by gurdwaras, The Guardian said. The SWA had said in its report that it "has advocated for several cases where sexual abuse and misconduct were alleged to have taken place or exacerbated in Gurdwara and faith settings". After the publication of the report, an angry Gill posted a series of messages on the WhatsApp group, Sikhs in Labour. "Where is your Evidence guru ghars (Gurdwaras) are not safe??? This is outrageous you should apologise to the sikh community," she wrote in one of the messages shared by The Guardian. "Calling guru ghars unsafe is very dangerous language. Please submit a written apology to guru ghars," she added. Gill also said in one of her messages that alleged victims of rape at one particular gurdwara had been in consensual relationships with their accused attacker. Gangtok, Feb 23 : Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Thursday that the information technology should be used to improve efficiency in governance and for improving lives of people. Birla made remarks after inaugurating the two-day 19th annual conference of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India region zone-III at Sikkim Legislative Assembly in Gangtok. Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh, Speakers, legislators and officials from various State Legislative Assemblies are attending the conference being held with three themes. Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang, Speaker Arun Upreti, Lok Sabha MP Indra Hang, ministers and MLAs were also present along with Arunachal Pradesh Speaker Passang D. Sona, who is also the CPA zone-III chairman. At the conference, deliberations are taking place on the given agendas of making Parliament and Assembly more accessible to the public; drug abuse and way forward; and cyber bullying. Emphasising on discussion and dialogue and discussion, Birla observed that it is the biggest strength of democracy. He added that the legislature, as a forum to solve people's problems, must be a centre of unhindered debate sans disruption which will increase peoples' faith in democratic institutions, thereby strengthening the democracy. Speaking on the varied subjects of the conference, the Lok Sabha Speaker said that cyber bullying is extremely relevant in today's context, as a lot of people, especially teenagers and youth are getting affected by it. "It is our endeavour as lawmakers to discuss and to enact laws which aim to provide security and safety to all citizens, he said. Information technology should be used to improve efficiency in governance and improving lives of people but at the same time safeguards should be taken to protect institutions and people from its demerits, added Birla. He hoped that the conclusions that emerge from the conference would lead improved solutions. On the topic of 'drug abuse and its solutions', the Lok Sabha Speaker said that drug abuse is affecting the young generation across the country and referred to the detailed discussions held on this matter in the Parliament on December 20-21, 2022. After a detailed and in-depth discussion on the topic, it emerged that members must conduct a comprehensive public awareness campaign across the country to educate the youth, he said. Birla urged all to work with a collective spirit to end the growing problem of drug abuse in the nation and work towards a drug-free India. He expressed hope that public representatives would create awareness among the people in this direction and will work to provide the right direction to the youth. On the agenda of making Parliament and Legislatures more accessible to the public/citizens, the Lok Sabha Speaker said that the manner in which active participation between legislatures and the public has increased through the use of IT is remarkable, but the lawmakers have to play a more active role. Referring to 'Digital Parliament', Birla said that the work of the legislature is being taken to the public with the help of technology; social media has also emerged as an important tool for interaction. He called for greater participation of people in the law making process so that laws can be made as per the hopes and aspirations of people. Speaking on the economic potential of the North Eastern states, he said that there are huge possibilities in the field of tourism, renewable energy, organic farming and handicrafts. He suggested that a strategy should be conceptualized in order to link the skills of the people of the North Eastern region with the national and global market to make sure that the whole region prospers. Birla mentioned that Zone III of the CPA India region is a very important platform. This zone regularly holds discussions and dialogues among the legislators of the North Eastern region on many subjects and issues, and through this process, a common solution emerges on many subjects, he shared. He emphasized that with the joint efforts of the legislatures of the North Eastern Region and people's representatives, there has been a huge change in the economic and social life of the region. The inaugural session was also addressed by the Rajya Sabha deputy chairman, the Sikkim Chief Minister, the Sikkim Legislative Assembly Speaker and the Arunachal Pradesh Speaker. Jaipur, Feb 23 : RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will address the Akhil Bharatiya Gram Vikas Prabhat Gram Milan programme, being organised from February 24 to 26 in Rajasthan's Dungarpur district, an RSS leader said. Organised once in five years, the programme is, this time, being organised in Bhemai village of Dungarpur, and preparations are being finalised for various events to be organised during Bhagwat's stay. RSS' Chittor Prant publicity incharge Rajendra Lalwani said that programme will be inaugurated by Dr Dalsukhdas ji (from Sanjali Dham), who is a renowned leaders of the tribal community. Various topics will be discussed in the programme on Uday Prabhat Gram and the Annual Plan. He said that Bhagwat will arrive at Udaipur Dabok airport on Friday and from there, will go to Beneshwar Dham, where people of tribal community will be staying in Valmiki temple there. Fomr Friday evening itself, the RSS chief will be participating in the "Village Development Meeting" for the next two days. After his address to the Gram Sabha on Sunday morning, he will interact with volunteers of Sagwada and thereafter, he will leave for Udaipur the same day. At the programme, Bhagwat will guide participants on the vision of Prabhat Gram which is crime-free, dispute-free and untouchability-free village. The basic objective of this workshop is organic-based agriculture across the country, protection of 'Mother Earth', environmental awareness, and the Prabhat village being developed with a spirit of culture, swadeshi, and harmony. Village development activists will be called upon to fulfil this concept through 'Matri Shakti', 'Sajan Shakti', 'Yuva Shakti', 'Dharmik Shakti' and Sangathan Shakti," said Sangh's national Rural Development Convener Dinesh Chandra adding that Prabhat Grams have been developed in all the administrative districts across the country. Amaravati, Feb 23 : Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu said on Thursday that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy owes an answer to the people of the state over the murder of his uncle and former minister Y.S. Vivekananda Reddy. The former minister alleged that the CBI's report about the involvement of Kadapa MP Y.S. Avinash Reddy has further exposed the character of the chief minister and his party leaders. Naidu was speaking at a programme at the TDP office after welcoming former minister Kanna Lakshminarayana into the party. The TDP chief said that the CBI, with the help of technology, clearly established the role of Avinash Reddy. "The question was who killed babai (uncle). The CBI has now answered the question by saying Abbai (nephew) killed babai," he said, adding that no one had even thought nephew would have killed his uncle. Earlier, TDP politburo member Bonda Umamaheswara Rao, on Thursday asked Jagan Mohan Reddy, whether he could reply to the issues raised by the CBI in the affidavit filed before the Telangana High Court in the Vivekananda Reddy murder case. Bonda Uma said that the issues raised by the CBI are really shocking. At a time when the CBI is revealing the facts about Avinash Reddy's directions to the accused Gangi Reddy, Sunil Yadav, Gajjala Uma Shankar Reddy, Dastagiri and D. Sivasankar Reddy for the murder, the time has come for Jagan Mohan Reddy to break his silence on the matter, he said. The TDP leader claimed that the CBI made it quite clear who designed the murder plan and who was behind it. Stating that a copy of the CBI affidavit is being forwarded to the chief minister's official residence, Bonda Uma said that still if Jagan does not open his mouth, ultimately he has to face the consequences. "Now, it is an open secret about how Jagan and Avinash Reddy termed the murder a heart stroke and how they distorted the facts before the public," the TDP leader said. Jaipur, Feb 23 : The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court here on Thursday awarded different jail terms to a Pakistani spy and two of his associates, also Pak nationals, who came to India at the behest of ISI to send confidential information about the Indian Army from Jaisalmer to Pakistan. All the three accused -- Gaurishankar, Premchand and Nandlal -- were awarded seven-year rigorous imprisonment each after being found guilty under the relevant sections of the Official Secrets Act. They were also found guilty under the relevant sections of the Foreigners Act, for which the court sentenced Gaurishankar and Premchand to rigorous imprisonment for one year, while Nandlal was awarded two-year rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 10,000. Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence), S. Sengathir, said that Nandlal alias Nandu Maharaj, a resident of Khipro in Pakistan's Sanghar district, had come to Jodhpur on a valid passport and visa at the behest of ISI. After reaching Jaisalmer, he was collecting confidential information about the Indian Army and sending them to Pakistan. Sengathir said that on August 20, 2016, a team of CID intelligence had arrested Nandlal. During investigation, two other Pakistani nationals -- Gaurishankar and Premchand, who are brothers -- were arrested for helping Nandlal in espionage. The ADG said that Gaurishankar and Premchand are also residents of Khipro in Pakistan. After coming to India on long-term visa, both were living in different houses in Jodhpur. Sengathir said that after investigation, a charge-sheet was submitted by the CID against the three accused persons before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Jaipur on November 16, 2016. New Delhi, Feb 23 : A man, impersonating a Flight Lieutenant and duping over 100 unemployed youth in the name of providing a career in the Indian Air Force, has been arrested, a Delhi Police official said on Thursday. The accused has been identified as Kamal Sharma, 39, a resident of Vikas Vihar in west Delhi. According to police, a grievance was reported on Cyber Crime Reporting Portal from a female complainant, who stated that she had come across a person through online mode who runs an NGO namely "We Eliminate Poverty Now". "After some time, he introduced himself as an Air Force gazetted Officer (Flying Lieutenant) and defrauded her of Rs 12 lakh in the name of a job in the Indian Air Force. The man, Kamal, also sent a letter for medical examination and letter of appointment to the complainant via WhatsApp and mail," Deputy Commissioner of Police, Outer North, Ravi Kumar Singh, said. "But later on, after a long time when she had lost her hope to have a job in IAF, she started requesting her money back from the accused but in vain. Thereafter she got a complaint lodged. After a preliminary enquiry, an FIR was registered in the matter and investigation was taken up," he said. During the investigation, a police team tasked with investigation collected WhatsApp chat history screenshots, mail id details, bank and UPI transactions history. "Sharma used to communicate to the complainant only via WhatsApp calls and chats. The details were sought from WhatsApp, Banks and Wallets. On the technical leads, the accused was traced out at Bengaluru in a hotel with a fake Identity Card of Flying Lieutenant and three smartphones," said the DCP. He was arrested and he was brought to Delhi after obtaining transit remand. "Raids were conducted at Sharma's rented accommodations at Chhatarpur and police recovered an IAF uniform (with name plate, ranks, badges, caps), air pistol gun with five bullets, different stamps, IAF letterheads, call letters, IAF family dependent card and other incriminating documents," said the DCP. The DCP further said that Sharma is a habitual offender and three FIRs are also registered against him in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. Sharma was well versed with the internal information of the IAF and using it to defraud people in the name of a lucrative career in the service. Police investigation done so far has revealed that he had defrauded candidates from different cities like Bengalurue, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmadabad, Jodhpur, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Panaji, Kochi, Bidar, Patna, Jammu, and Belgaum. "He used to meet people in IAF uniform in order to influence them," said the official, adding that investigation of the case is in progress. press release "It is unacceptable that we stay silent and indifferent" - King Letsie III, of the Kingdom of Lesotho Heads of African Union member states have called for more commitment and accountability in Africa's effort to achieve continental and global goals for nutrition ahead of the 2025 World Health Assembly Nutrition target deadline. The leaders took part in a nutrition-themed side event during the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, co-organized by the Kingdom of Lesotho, the African Union Commission, the African Development Bank. The meeting was organized under the Bank's African Leaders for Nutrition initiative and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The event was held on Friday 17 February, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho Samuel Ntsokoane Matekane. Its theme: "Progress and Achievements in Addressing Malnutrition in Africa: Accountability for results in achieving continental and global targets for nutrition," centered on long-lasting measures to curb malnutrition and food security on the continent. "It is unacceptable that we stay silent and indifferent at a time when 60% of our continent's population (799 million people) is affected by moderate or severe food insecurity - making [Africa] the highest level globally. This means one-third of the world's undernourished, or 282 million people, live in Africa," Matekane said on behalf King Letsie III, of the Kingdom of Lesotho. The King, who is also an African Leaders for Nutrition and African Union "Nutrition Champion," encouraged attendees via pre-recorded message to meet nutrition goals established by the World Health Assembly and Malabo targets to reduce malnutrition and stunting by the year 2025. "I have a strong conviction that we can achieve our nutrition targets. If we can accelerate investments and improve the coordination of efforts, Africa will advance nutrition and improve food security outcomes," he said. The event served as a wake-up call for African nations to strengthen political will toward achieving continental nutrition targets, and their willingness to invest in tackling imminent challenges contributing to malnutrition and food insecurity which have intensified across the African Union Member States. Looking at progress made in addressing malnutrition in Africa, Minata Samate Cessouma, Commissioner for Health Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development at the African Union Commission, presented the progress report based on the Continental Nutrition Accountability Scorecard. The scorecard is a data-based advocacy tool that gives an overview of how African leaders are delivering main nutrition indicators. Josefa Sacko, African Union Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment presented a closer examination of progress on the Malabo Declaration and the African Union's Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Programme, or CAADP, commitments. Cote d'Ivoire's Vice President Tiemoko Meyliet Kone summarized activities held during the African Union Year of Nutrition 2022 and the Abidjan Declaration, which calls for accelerated investment, implementation, and coordination to improve nutrition and food security in Africa. "It is now more crucial than ever to support vulnerable communities with multiple and innovative solutions to build their resilience and transform agri-food systems to deliver better nutrition," said Dr. Qu Dongyu, Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, in his remarks. Representing African Development Bank Group President Akinwumi A. Adesina, Bank Vice President for Agriculture, Human, and Social Development Dr. Beth Dunford told attendees that the Bank's Multi-Sectoral Action Plan is offering solutions to Africa's malnutrition challenges. She said the plan is catalyzing nutrition-smart investment across Bank operations resulting in the Bank re-allocating $2.8 billion of its investment in its portfolio to be nutrition-smart. "I believe that nutrition is a central pillar for Africa's development," Dunford said, noting that the plan's goal is to see a 40% reduction in stunting - a result of chronic under-nutrition - by 2025. "While Bank has made significant progress in the re-allocation of resources... there's a need to translate these funding re-allocations into stunting reductions on the ground," she added. Contact: African Union Commission: Whitney Mwangi, Health Policy Advocacy and Communication Officer, African Union Commission, email: WhitneyM@africa-union.org African Development Bank: Alphonso Van Marsh, Principal Digital Content and Events Officer, African Development Bank, email: media@afdb.org UNFAO: Tezeta.Hailemeskel@fao.org or Abebe.Banjaw@fao.org Bhopal, Feb 23 : The ruling BJP and the opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday were engaged in a war of words over the new excise policy of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government, with former Chief Minister Kamal Nath saying the BJP has changed the "peaceful state into Madira Pradesh". As per the new liquor policy, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has decided to close all 'ahatas' and 'bar shops'. In Madhya Pradesh, ahata refers to a covered area located adjacent to 'desi' liquor shops where people generally sit and consume liquor. Ahatas have been seen in the state for the last several years. While Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the step has been taken to motivate people towards liquor de-addiction, the Opposition has criticised the government, accusing it of "doubling the liquor shops in the state". Former Chief Minister and Madhya Pradesh unit Congress head Kamal Nath on Thursday said the BJP government has almost doubled the number of liquor shops in Madhya Pradesh by opening a joint shop of country liquor and foreign liquor. "Your policy is clear... expensive rations and cheap liquor. Apologise to the people of Madhya Pradesh for your policy of door-to-door delivery of liquor," Kamal Nath said, adding: "The BJP has changed this peaceful Madhya Pradesh into 'madira pradesh." Kamal Nath's remarks have drawn criticism from CM Chouhan, state BJP chief V.D. Sharma and many other party leaders. The BJP leaders have accused Kamal Nath of 'insulting the people of Madhya Pradesh and its culture'. Responding to the 'madira' remarks, Chouhan said his predecessor is not familiar with Madhya Pradesh's culture. "Kamal Nath is insulting 8.5 crore citizens and our culture, tradition and values by calling Madhya Pradesh 'Madira Pradesh'," Chouhan said on Thursday. In a counter-attack, the Congress posted an old statement of CM Chouhan, in which he had used the same word - 'madira pradesh'. Kamal Nath's media advisor Piyush Bable posted a screenshot of CM Chouhan's tweet of January 2020, in which he had accused the then Congress government of making Madhya Pradesh a liquor state. Kolkata, Feb 23 : An attempt to screen the controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the 2002 Gujarat riots on the campus of Visva Bharati university in West Bengal's Birbhum district on Thursday evening by the members of the Democratic Students' Association (DSA) was foiled after a large contingent of police assisted by the university's own security team took possession of the screening venue, not allowing the students to bring the screen equipment there. The police and university authorities claimed that the decision of not allowing the students to screen the controversial documentary was prompted by security reasons following the arrival of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the same evening to attend the convocation ceremony of the university on Friday. However, university sources said that since the Prime Minister himself is the Chancellor of the university, the screening of the documentary -- 'India: The Modi Question' -- that too in the presence of the Defence Minister, would have sent wrong signals and hence the top authorities decided to stall the screening with the help of the police. DSA spokesman Subho Nath told mediapersons that the planning and announcement of screening the documentary were made much before the announcement of the Defence Minister's visit. "Also, the screening venue is at a distance from the venue of the convocation ceremony. We were feeling the pressure for not screening the documentary for quite some time. Finally, the university authorities with the help of district police stopped us from screening it. Be it the Union government or the state government, they are all all on the same boat when it comes to suppressing the democratic rights of the students. But we will not backtrack. We will screen the documentary some other day," he said. After not being able to screen the documentary, a section of the students staged silent protests within the university campus holding posters which claimed that be it the Centre or the state government, the nature of the fascist forces is the same. Commenting on developments, BJP's national vice-president Dilip Ghosh said that the students who tried to screen the documentary on such an occasion are actually 'anti-nationals'. New Delhi, Feb 23 : In a huge setback to rival party leader O. Paneerselvam (OPS) in the long-drawn-out tussle over the AIADMK's leadership, the Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed the Madras High Court decision allowing former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Palaniswami (EPS) to continue as the party's interim General Secretary. A bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Hrishikesh Roy said it has upheld the Madras High Court division bench order passed on September 2, 2022, and made its earlier interim order permanent. The apex court dismissed Panneerselvam's challenge and allowed Palaniswami to continue as interim general secretary of the party. The top court observed that the division bench of the High Court has rightly observed that as a general rule, it cannot be laid down that the requisitionists have no option but only to go to the court if the meeting is not convened. In its 80-page judgment, the bench noted that it has also been pointed out that in the past, when the interim General Secretary could not act in 2017, the office bearers stepped in and convened the meeting based on a requisition received. "The present situation too, where the position as occupied earlier by the General Secretary was assigned to the Co-ordinator and the Joint Co-ordinator in their jointness and it remains beyond a shadow of doubt that Co-ordinator and the Joint Co-ordinator do not stand in jointness and cannot act jointly, is akin to the situation when the apex position holder was not in a position to act," it added. Justice Maheshwari, who authored the judgment on behalf of the bench, said: "Obviously, a workable solution was to be found; and when the solution as found and applied, does not otherwise appear offending the spirit of byelaws as also the norms of functioning of an association or a party, it cannot be said that declaration of the Presidium Chairman for the meeting of the General Council on July 11, 2022 and the follow-up notice by the Office Bearers at the party headquarters had been wholly unauthorised." The apex court also made absolute its July 6, 2022 interim order which had stayed the high court order, which restrained the passing of resolutions in AIADMK general council meeting and executive councils in connection with the single leadership of the party. "In the present case, when the General Council is shown to be the apex body of the party, taking any exception to the meeting of the General Council could have neither been countenanced nor interfered with by way of temporary injunction," said the bench. The top court clarified that it has not dealt with the matter of resolutions before the party that were being heard by the single judge's bench. "We have not found it necessary to deal with any of the impleadment applications moved in these matters and we would leave it open for all such applicants also to take recourse to appropriate remedy in accordance with law, in case of any legal grievance existing with a right to seek relief in the appropriate forum," said the bench. Hyderabad, Feb 23 : The Telangana High Court on Thursday pulled up Hyderabad's municipal body over the gruesome death of a four-year-old boy who was mauled to death by stray dogs on Sunday. Taking cognisance of the media report on the incident, the court initiated suo moto Public Interest Litigation (PIL). A division bench headed by Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan blamed negligence by the Greater Hyderabad of Municipal Corporation (GHMC) for the boy's death and asked it what steps are being taken to curtail incidents of stray dog attacks. The GHMC has also been asked to explain what steps it would take to ensure that such an incident is not repeated. Expressing condolences over the death of the boy, the court said it would look into the matter of compensation for his family. The court included the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary of the Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department, GHMC Commissioner, GHMC Deputy Commissioner (Amberpet), GHMC Veterinary Officer, Hyderabad District Collector and Member Secretary of Telangana State Legal Services Authority as respondents in the case and asked them to file the counter. It adjourned the hearing to March 16. Meanwhile, Animal Husbandry Minister T. Srinivas Yadav aling with Home Minister Mahmood Ali held a meeting with officials on the steps to check stray dog menace. After the meeting, Yadav told reporters the municipal authorities have been directed to undertake a month-long special drive to sterilise stray dogs. The Department of Municipal Administration and Urban Development directed all the Municipal Commissioners to enhance the current capacity of conducting animal birth control including rationalisation centre wise, increasing the number of dog catching teams and vehicles in order to attend the dog complaints effectively and to achieve 100 per cent sterilisation of street dogs. The Municipal Commissioners have also been asked to assess and identify high density stray dog areas and the areas where more number of dog bite incidents are reported by involving resident welfare associations, slum level federations and town level federations to take immediate necessary action in preventing further dog bites. The officials have been told to take stringent action against hotels, restaurants, function halls, non-vegetarian shops, hostels and hostels and other establishments that dispose of garbage on streets as this attracts stray dogs. They were also asked to arrange adequate number of water bowls in suitable locations, preferably away from public movement areas, to alleviate the aggression of street dogs during the summer season. The municipal officials were directed to install billboards/hoardings to highlight appropriate behaviour towards street dogs, including dos and don'ts. Bhubaneswar, Feb 23 : The economic offences wing of the Odisha Police has arrested three persons including a retired employee of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) in a land fraud case, officials said on Thursday. The arrested persons are identified as Haladhar Dash (a retired employee of BMC), Subadha Kumar Parida and Mamata Parida. They were arrested on a case registered based on the written complaint of Lipika Das, who is the bonafide owner of the land which was fraudulently sold to someone. According to the EOW, Mamata impersonating as Lipika before the sub-registrar, Khandagiri, managed to sell away a plot measuring 2,000 sq. ft. in Malipada Mouza, Khordha, to Haladhar by executing a fraudulent sale deed without the knowledge of the actual owner (Lipika). Mamata had allegedly used a fake Aadhaar card putting the Aadhaar number of actual owner Lipika, and by affixing her own photograph in the sale deed. The role of some other persons including one Muhorir is also being probed, the officials said. Washington, Feb 23 : US President Joe Biden will nominate Ajay Banga, former CEO of Mastercard, to serve as the President of the World Bank, the White House announced on Thursday, Axios reported. Banga, who was born and educated in India before becoming a US citizen in 2007, would replace David Malpass, a former Trump Treasury official who announced last week that he would be leaving his post early. Malpass caused a furore last September when he appeared to question the causes of climate change, leading to calls for his resignation from prominent climate activists, including former Vice President Al Gore. Malpass later apologised and clarified his remarks, Axios reported. The Biden administration was prepared to seize upon his departure to encourage the World Bank to be more aggressive in using its lending facilities to fund projects to fight climate change. "Ajay Banga is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history," Biden said in a statement. "He has spent more than three decades building and managing successful, global companies that create jobs and bring investment to developing economies, and guiding organisations through periods of fundamental change," he added. "As a renowned executive, Banga has led a global organisation with nearly 20,000 employees, advocated for diversity and inclusion, and delivered results," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. "His efforts have helped bring 500 million unbanked people into the digital economy, deploy private capital into climate solutions, and expand economic opportunity through the Partnership for Central America," she added. "This guy is the right person, at the right place, at the right time," said David Beasley, head of the World Food Programme and a former Republican Governor of South Carolina, adding, "He's a get-it-done kind of leader." By tradition, the US gets to nominate the head of the World Bank and European members reserve the right to pick the head of the International Monetary Fund, Axios reported. But leaders from the developing world have been questioning this arrangement and calling for a non-American to be selected as head of the World Bank. Other countries can still nominate their own candidates for the World Bank's board to consider. The US is the bank's largest shareholder, Axios reported. In Banga - who's 63, born in Pune and the son of an Indian Army officer - the Biden administration appears to be nodding to those concerns. "Raised in India, Ajay has a unique perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing developing countries, and how the World Bank can deliver on its ambitious agenda to reduce poverty and expand prosperity," Biden said. The Biden administration had installed another Indian-American, Gita Gopinath, as the number-two at the IMF in 2021. That position also historically goes to a US citizen, Axios reported. During his international career, Banga has done everything from introducing the Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises in India to managing Citigroup's overseas credit card operations. He took the top job at Mastercard in 2010 and left at the end of 2021. He is currently the vice-chairman at General Atlantic, a private equity firm, Axios reported. The White House wants the World Bank to leverage public funds to attract more private investment for climate projects. It also wants to give the developing world more access to basic banking and lending services. Jamshedpur, Feb 23 : Protests were staged in the Kadma area of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand after an alleged case of 'love jihad' came to light on Thursday. The demonstrators, also comprising Hindu outfits, sought "justice" for a 14-year-old minor Hindu girl who lodged a complaint against a Muslim man identified as Shabbir Khan. The protesters who gathered outside the Kadma police station sought "strict action" against Khan. The police have registered an FIR in the matter and have assured action. The minor alleged that she had befriended Khan near her school a month ago, who had identified himself as 'Sameer'. Later, when their friendship eventually blossommed into a relationship and they got closer, Sameer, aged around 20, clicked several private pictures with her. Things went wrong when she came to know that Sameer had concealed his real identity, and that he is a Muslim youth named Shabbir Khan. She alleged that Khan also put pressure on her to marry him and when she refused, he threatened to make her private pictures and videos public. The girl also claimed that Khan wanted her to adopt Islam. Kohima, Feb 23 : After tightening security along the over 200-km-long unfenced India-Myanmar border in Nagaland, the state's borders with Assam, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh would be sealed on Saturday ahead of the February 27 Assembly polls. Nagaland's Additional Director General of Police, Law & Order, Sandeep M Tamgadge on Thursday said that the state has requested neighbouring Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur authorities to ensure that two days before the February 27 election, the borders are sealed to prevent unauthoried cross border movements between the states. He also said that there has been marked improvement in the law and order situation in Nagaland in this year's election as compared to the previous elections. The ADGP that the state has received 305 companies of Central Armed Police Forces and they have been deployed in different parts of the state depending on the vulnerability of the areas. The Election Commission earlier asked the central and state agencies to further tighten the vigil on borders with Bangladesh and Myanmar in view of the Assembly elections in the three northeastern states of Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland. The EC's Special Observers, while visiting the three states, held meetings with top officials of the Central and state security agencies to sensitise them to take a more vigilant approach considering the assembly elections in three northeastern states. The Border Security Force (BSF) guards the India-Bangladesh borders, and the Assam Rifles posted along the Myanmar borders. While polling in Tripura was held on February 16, Meghalaya will go to elections along with Nagaland on February 27. Hyderabad, Feb 23 : Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan on Thursday visited Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) to enquire about the condition of a Post Graduate student of Kakatiya Medical College who attempted suicide by administering herself lethal injection due to alleged harassment by her seniors. She spoke to doctors about the girl's condition which remained critical. The student has been kept on a ventilator. Soundararajan also met the family members of Dharavathi Preethi. She later told the media that it is unfortunate that this has happened to a medical student. The Governor said a senior doctor harassing the girl student was appalling. She also stated that medical students should be brave. She revealed that the incident is being probed from all angles. She earlier enquired with the Vice Chancellor of Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences about the condition of the student. Preethi, a first year student of the Post Graduate (MD) in the department of Anaesthesia of the Kakatiya Medical College (KMC) in Warangal attempted suicide on Wednesday, allegedly due to harassment by a senior. Director of Medical Education Ramesh Reddy, who visited NIMS earlier in the day, told media persons that doctors were doing their best to save the student. The official clarified that no ragging took place at KMC. He said the student who attempted suicide had some problem with a senior and counseling was held for both by the college authorities. Ramesh Reddy said KMC has formed a four-member committee to conduct an inquiry. "We will take action after receiving the report of the committee," he said. MGM Hospital superintendent Dr V Chandrasekhar has constituted a committee comprising four professors to conduct the inquiry. It will submit a report to the Director of Medical Education. --IANS ms/vd A New Delhi, Feb 23 : The Supreme Court on Thursday queried the Uddhav Thackeray faction that there is a constitutional principle that whoever is sworn in as a Chief Minister must have accountability to Parliament and to the people, and defection affects the stability of the government itself, how does the Governor as a head of the state ignore the consequence. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Uddhav Thackeray faction, submitted before a five-judge constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud that the Governor was not empowered in law to recognise rebel MLAs of a political party and legitimise their action, as the Election Commission has power to recognise a political party. He said Thackeray was the President of Shiv Sena and questioned, in what capacity did the Governor give an audience to Eknath Shinde? He pressed that the governor recognised a split, which is not a valid ground under the Tenth Schedule and this is not a stage when a government is being elected, rather an elected government (with Thackeray as CM) was running then. Sibal contended that a Governor, by his acts, cannot topple the government and further questioned, when Eknath Shinde and the BJP approached the Governor, and he asked to have a trust vote, on what basis did he ask this? The Chief Justice observed that both the opposition and the defecting MLAs, could approach the Governor, but Sibal replied that he did not agree with this. The Chief Justice said, what is of concern is that there is a constitutional principle which is that whoever is sworn in as a Chief Minister must have accountability to the Legislature, and therefore to the people. "Defection affects the stability of the government itself. How does the Governor, as a head of the state, ignore the consequence?" Concluding his arguments, Sibal contended before the bench -- also comprising Justices M.R. Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and P.S. Narasimha - that: "I stand here for the protection of what is so close to our heart - institutional integrity and to ensure that constitutional processes survivea..". Senior advocate A.M. Singhvi, also representing the Thackeray faction, submitted that the orders passed on June 27, 2022 and June 29, 2022, by the apex court, "cumulatively and conjointly", were not orders that merely protected the status quo but created a new status quo. "The formation of a new government on June 30, 2022 was the direct and inevitable result of two orders by the Supreme Court...". He added that the consequence of change of government happened fundamentally because the Deputy Speaker was disabled/fettered in the interim from discharging his constitutional duties under the Tenth Schedule (disqualification law). The top court is dealing with Maharashtra political crisis triggered due to rebellion in Shiv Sena. It will continue to hear the matter on February 28. On February 17, the apex court had declined to make immediate reference to a seven-judge bench the reconsideration of its 2016 Nabam Rebia judgment, which restricted the power of the Speaker to examine disqualification petitions against MLAs if a resolution for his removal is pending. A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India said the issue of reference will be decided only with the merits of the case and had fixed the matter for hearing on merits on February 21. Almost 40 percent of registered voters in Nigeria are under the age of 35. If they turn out for Saturday's presidential election, they may well determine the outcome. Millions of young Nigerians are looking for change as President Muhammadu Buhari steps down after serving the two terms allowed by the constitution. Young people are coming of age in a country rife with insecurity, economic instability and high unemployment. Over 42 percent of young people of working age are unemployed, according to Nigeria's National Bureau of Statistics. "There are so many graduates, and less and less opportunity to work. We study to learn, but we do not count on our diplomas to get a job," Rahila Mallo, a medical student at the University of Jos, in the centre of the country, told RFI. Students represent 27 percent of registered voters, and if they turn out, they would have a significant impact on the result. Mallo is planning to vote for the Labour Party candidate Peter Obi, who represents the first ever credible challenge to the country's two main parties. The 61 year old is hoping to draw in young people who are disillusioned by the two main parties. Bola Tinubu, 70, is the ruling All Progressives Congress party's candidate, while the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party candidate is 76-year-old Atiku Abubakar. Both are perceived as being corrupt, though they have never been convicted of any charges and both deny any wrongdoing. Youth mobilisation Obi has drawn support from students, as well as young professionals who have a newfound belief that their voice matters, after youth-led protests broke out in late 2020 for the first time since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999. Protesters demonstrating peacefully against police brutality and demanding better governance were violently repressed. "We really pray for a better leader. Someone who is responsible, and aware of our problems," math student Nawas Adam Abubakar told RFI. He says he will vote, though he is keeping his choice a secret. While Obi is leading in some polls, Tinubu and Abubakar have access to more resources, and they control governors and other leaders who hold considerable sway in their constituencies. Some fear voting for a third-party candidate would split the vote. And religious and ethnic considerations also come into play. Voters in the majority-Muslim north, which traditionally has the highest turnout, may be reluctant to vote for Obi, a Christian from the south. (with newswires, reporting from Jos by Amelie Tulet) Ghaziabad, Feb 23 : The Ghaziabad police have arrested two persons in connection with the murder of a doctor. Victim Shamshad was shot dead at his clinic in Muradnagar on February 11. The police revealed that the mastermind in the murder case is Shamsad's niece's husband Adnan, who was not happy with the doctor's in his family dispute. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ravi Kumar said that the Muradnagar police and a SWAT team have arrested two accused, identified as Owais and Mohammad Uvesh. Both are residents of Meerut. The doctor was shot by Owais while his accomplice Mohammad Uvesh drove him to the clinic on a scooty. The pistol and scooty used in the murder have been recovered, the DCP added. According to the police, Adnan planned the murder in his hometown Meerut and hired the arrested accused. Later, Owais killed the doctor at his clinic. Besides Adnan, the other conspirators behind the murder - Saurabh alias Nikhil, Wasim alias Lambu, Naukhej, Faisal Ansari and few others - are still at large. The police are now raiding different locations to nab them. Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 23 : The Congress, BJP and two journalists' bodies on Thursday condemned the 'gagging' of the media by the Kerala government after a senior journalist appeared before the police for questioning following a complaint lodged by CPI-M Rajya Sabha member and veteran trade union leader Elamaram Kareem. This comes even as the CPI(M) vociferously opposes the 'gagging' of press freedom by the Narendra Modi Central government . The case was filed in March 2022 by Kareem after a prime time discussion on the channel was based on a Bharath Bandh observed by various trade unions. John had criticised Kareem's justification of violence that was unleashed on the bandh day. Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan said that this gagging of the media is not at all acceptable. "The CPI-M is known for its hypocritical stand in all issues. Just the other day, they were crying hoarse about the way the Centre was seen taking the BBC to task. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his party were crying foul then and see what they have done to John now. John was critical of a genuine issue. This is not at all acceptable," said Satheesan. State BJP president K. Surendran said that this is the way the Communists behave because they cannot fathom criticism. "If this gagging the media policy continues, the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government will have to face massive protests," said Surendran. The Kerala Union of Working Journalists and the Thiruvanathapuram Press Club also condemned the police action. John was served the notice over the incident that took place on March 28, 2022 when he was anchoring a news bulletin. A case was filed against him on April 28 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. John had expressed his ire as Kerala witnessed a total bandh (shut down) in March last year with agitators taking over the streets. Presenting his side of the story, John said that he was peeved when a patient who was being moved in an auto-rickshaw drew the ire of the protesters in north Kerala. In the news hour debate, he made a statement that if anyone did such a thing to Kareem, what would have happened. Soon after this incident in March, the local CITU unit put up posters at the house of John. The posters were in the name of the CITU Peroorkada Area Committee, which gave a call for protests against John to isolate him. A few days later, trade union workers of various political parties marched to the Asianet office to register their protest against the comments made by John. New Delhi, Feb 23 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday said it has arrested a man wanted in connection with a case related to an ambush on an Assam Rifles convoy in 2021 in Manipur. A group of armed militants near Sialsih village in Churachandpur district in Manipur had attacked a convoy of the 46th battalion of the Assam Rifles on November 13, 2021. The individual arrested by the NIA in connection with the ambush has been identified as Solomon Jamir a.k.a. Momo, a resident of Imphal East, Manipur. He is a cadre of the Manipur Naga Peoples' Front, a militant outfit. The ambush had resulted in the death of seven persons, including Col. Viplav Tripathi, his wife and minor son, and four other Assam Rifles personnel. The case was initially registered at Singngat police station in Manipur, and later on, the probe into the matter was taken over by the NIA. "Investigation has revealed that Solomon Jamir was directly involved in the ambush, along with other militants. He had been evading arrest in the case and a reward of Rs 4 lakh was announced for his arrest. The four other accused persons have already been arrested in the case earlier by NIA. A chargesheet was also filed in the case in 2022," said the NIA. New Delhi, Feb 23 : The National Health Authority (NHA) under its flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) has introduced the Scan and Share service for faster OPD registrations in October 2022, and within five months, the service has been adopted by 365 hospitals, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday. The QR-code-based instant registration service has helped more than 5 lakh patients save time by drastically reducing the wait times in the OPD registration areas of the participating hospitals. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya hailed the quick and queue-less OPD registration under ABDM in his tweet: "Under Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, more than five lakh patients availed benefit of faster OPD registrations using the Scan & Share service. Within five months of its launch, the service has been adopted by 365 hospitals across the country." The participating hospitals, both government and private, display their unique QR codes in patient registration areas. The patients can scan the QR code using any health application of their choice and share their Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) profile with the Health Management Information System of the hospital. This enables paper-less registration and thereby instant token generation. "The patient saves time and the health facility is able to optimise the need of resources deployed for registration. The patient's health records also get digitally linked to their ABHA which they can manage and access from their phone anytime anywhere," the Ministry said. Speaking on the vision behind this service innovation, R.S. Sharma, CEO, NHA, said: "The Scan & Share service is a typical example of how technology can be leveraged to provide better services to patients and to improve the system efficiency. With increased adoption, patient registrations can be made effortless, seamless and accurate. Our focus is to work closely with the stakeholders to maximise the impact of ABDM-enabled digital health services." New Delhi, Feb 23 : BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh on Thursday said that the health system in Punjab has completely collapsed ever since the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has come to power. He added that while the Modi government has sanctioned two medical colleges in the state and a PGI but the AAP government is opposing it and not allowing it to happen. The BJP leader refuted the claim of Punjab Health Minister Balbir Dhaliwal about improvement in health services and said that there is nearly 40 per cent shortage of doctors in the state. He said patients have been running from pillar to post as the AAP clinics have become cosmetic centres for the party and have failed to provide even basic health facilities to people. While the Modi government has enhanced budgetary allocation in a big way, the AAP government in Punjab was playing cheap politics in the name of health services, Chugh added. He said the Aam Aadmi clinics have no doctors and there was hardly any provision for medicines. Chugh claimed that the Modi government had been giving huge grants for the medical improvement in Punjab but the Bhagwant Mann government has failed to provide the resultant benefits to the people because of its careless approach. New Delhi, Feb 23 : A special NIA court in Delhi on Thursday convicted a man in an espionage case. Accussed Parvez was working for handlers of Pakistani intelligence agency and the court convicted him for the offences punishable under sections 120-B, 420, 506 of IPC, and Section 18 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The case pertains to a conspiracy hatched by foreign intelligence agencies to obtain information from defence personnel posted in sensitive border areas of India. "During investigations, the convicted accused (Parvez) was found to be working for handlers of Pakistan intelligence services. Parvez was roped in by one Hamza Bhai alias Billal when he had gone to Pakistan to visit his sisters," an NIA spokesperson said. "Parvez was motivated to collect information relating to vital installations and also take their photographs. He got SIM cards issued in the name of other people and shared their WhatsApp activation codes to his Pakistani handlers for virtual activation of the WhatsApp accounts. He was paid by his Pakistani handlers during his trips to Pakistan and also through hawala channels in Delhi for carrying out such tasks," he added. The court has fixed March 9 to hear the argument on quantum of sentence. Beirut, Feb 24 : The Arab region is expected to import 55 per cent more grain over the next decade if it continues to adopt traditional agricultural production techniques, said Khaled Hanafi, Secretary General of the Union of Arab Chambers. "Over the next decade, the Arab countries collectively are expected to become the largest net importers of foodstuffs per capita and the second largest in absolute terms ... This will increase the Arab region's import bill and put it at the mercy of the prevailing price fluctuations in global markets," the National News Agency quoted Hanafi as saying at a forum held in Beirut on Thursday. Dubbed "Digital Transformation and Smart Agriculture Technology - Challenges and Opportunities," the forum discusses the importance of technology in boosting the agricultural sector worldwide and in the Arab world, Xinhua news agency reported. Hanafi emphasized the need to use modern techniques and technology in smart agriculture by strengthening the role of the private sector and encouraging it in digital transformation to develop sustainable agricultural practices, improve rural development programmes, and adopt sustainable solutions for the future of agriculture and food security in the Arab region. "Certainly, this approach will help us effectively support the development and ensure food security in a changing climate," he added. For his part, Hashim Hussein, Head of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation - Investment and Technology Promotion Office, said the Arab region will meet 63 per cent of its calories demand through imports in 2030, making it more vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and price fluctuations. "In light of these challenges, it is necessary to work jointly to stimulate investment in the agricultural field, develop traditional agricultural mechanisms, and train farmers to use modern technologies such as artificial intelligence and computer programs," he added. Lebanese Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan said, "there is an increasing need to teach farmers how to use modern agricultural technology, which can make farming easier, more affordable, and less costly." "It also helps us in pre-warning of any crisis and thus reduces the losses that affect the sector," he said. According to the UN, the world needs an annual investment of $265 billion to achieve the two Sustainable Development Goals of eradicating poverty and hunger, of which $140 billion should focus on the agricultural sector. Moscow, Feb 24 : An SU-25 fighter jet crashed while returning to its base airfield in the Belgorod region "after completing a combat mission," the Russian Defence Ministry said. The plane crashed in a deserted area, killing the pilot and causing no damage on the ground, the Ministry said on Thursday, adding that a technical malfunction had led to the incident, Xinhua news agency reported. Earlier on Thursday, Vyacheslav Gladkov, Governor of the Belgorod region, said on Telegram that a Defence Ministry aircraft had crashed in the Valuysky district of the Belgorod region and an investigation team was working at the site. It was previously reported that the pilot ejected from the aircraft and survived. The Belgorod region is located in southwest Russia near Ukraine. Local acquisition of My Attic Storage is bringing a new brand and professional self-storage management to the city of Pflugerville. PFLUGERVILLE, TEXAS Local acquisition of My Attic Storage is bringing a new brand and professional self-storage management to the city of Pflugerville. The facility is located at 1602 West Pecan Street Pflugerville, TX 78660 was rebranded to My Place Self Storage. This facility is comprised of 547 units totaling 75,282 rentable square feet, providing safe and secure climate-controlled, and non-climate unit options to the local communities of Spring Hill, Brookhollow, Hillside Springs, and Wells Point. The ownership group has contracted with Absolute Storage Management (Absolute) to provide professional self-storage management services and the facility is officially under Absolutes management as of 1/10/2023. If you would like to speak to our friendly office staff, please stop by the location at 1602 West Pecan Street Pflugerville, TX 78660, contact our office at (512) 990-0733, or visit online at myplacepflugerville.com. Absolute Storage Management Absolute Storage Management (Absolute) is one of the largest private, third-party self-storage management companies in the United States. Founded in 2002, with headquarters in Memphis, TN, and, regional offices in Tampa, FL; Atlanta, GA; Jackson, MS; Charlotte, NC; and Nashville, TN the company operates over 140 properties in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin. For further information and news about?Absolute Storage Management,?please go to the ASM website at?www.AboutASM.com. Contact?Jasmin Jones?at?jasmin.jones absolutemgmt.com.? We see this technology as a crucial enabler that will bridge the worlds of formal education and continued professional learning. 1EdTech Consortium is helping power learner potential with the release of two updated standards, the Open Badges 3.0 standard and Comprehensive Learner Record Standard (CLR Standard) 2.0. With these two releases, learners can more easily share their skills and achievements and have them verified with employers and institutions of higher education across multiple platforms. Early adopters of Open Badges 3.0 and CLR Standard 2.0 will showcase their products at 1EdTechs Digital Credentials Summit in Dallas, Texas, from February 27 to March 1. Edtech suppliers interested in implementing the new standards will also have access to open implementation guides and the certification suite. Digital credentials with open standards from the 1EdTech community are learner-controlled, skills-based, and always interoperable. A recent report from 1EdTech and Credential Engine shows the use of 1EdTechs Open Badges reached more than 74 million globally, illustrating the value and growth of our digital credentials worldwide. "Existing educational transcripts and paper-based credentials typically come up short in terms of enabling opportunity and better hiring. Digital credentials, based on open standards from 1EdTech, make it easy for institutions to award credit, learners to curate their achievements, and employers to find great matches for what they need, said 1EdTech CEO Dr. Rob Abel. From individual accomplishments and experiences to entire degrees, learner accomplishments and skills can be presented and verified electronically and quickly. The latest releases from 1EdTech are a quantum leap forward in terms of ensuring compatibility across the most used standards that enable talent marketplaces of the future." The just-released versions of the 1EdTech standards provide support for Verifiable Credentials, as defined by The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international community that develops open standards to ensure the long-term growth of the Web. The updates also align the two 1EdTech standards more exactly with each other and will allow suppliers to provide digital credentials that are more easily shared between wallets. AwardAssured has adopted the Digital Credentials standards from 1EdTech (CLR 2.0 and Open Badges 3.0) because it benefits our business, our clients, and their learners, said AwardAssured CEO Chris Booth. Conformance to these standards can deliver digital credentials that can be universally adopted, trusted, and verified. What we love about this technology is that it keeps the learner at the center, in control of their learning. We see this technology as a crucial enabler that will bridge the worlds of formal education and continued professional learning. "As a company, Territorium is committed to providing innovative solutions that meet the needs of our clients. By actively working to implement the CLR 2.0 and Open Badges 3.0 standards, we are demonstrating our dedication to staying at the forefront of industry best practices, said Joe Green, vice president of product strategy for Territorium. These standards not only promote interoperability with other service providers but also allow for seamless integration, making it more convenient for learners to access their records and credentials. This focus on implementing standards further reinforces our commitment to providing adaptable, scalable, and desirable solutions to meet the evolving needs of our clients." "RANDA has supported CLR alignment with VC from the beginning, said RANDA Solutions CEO Marty Reed. We are excited to see how far and how quickly the workgroup has aligned on a path forward. We see the CLR standard leading the acceleration of adoption through increased interoperability and cross-standard exchangeability." All of 1EdTechs standards are open and available on 1EdTechs website. Open Badges may be found here, and the CLR Standard may be found here. About 1EdTech 1EdTech (formerly IMS Global Learning Consortium) is a member-based non-profit community partnership of leading educational providers at all levels, government organizations, and edtech suppliers working together to enable better digital teaching and learning. This unique collaboration establishes the connectivity that accelerates an open, innovative, and trusted education ecosystem in which products work together to enable better learning. Together, we power learner potential. 1EdTech hosts the annual Learning Impact conference and other engagement opportunities to advance the leadership and ideas that shape the future of learning. 1EdTech is supported by an affiliated public charity, the 1EdTech Foundation, that puts philanthropic funds to work for our cause. Visit our website at 1edtech.org. British rapper, Stefflon Don has counseled women against allowing males to treat them disrespectfully because of their financial status. The rapper, who is also the ex-girlfriend of Nigeria's hip hop sensation, Burna Boy, cautioned women on her Instagram story on Tuesday not to become enamored with a lifestyle they cannot support or afford. She urges to get a job, instead of relying on a man, which could lead to disrespect. She said," Young girls please stop idolizing the "it" girls they selling. For a "Lifestyle" they can't maintain on their own & getting disrespected," she wrote. Stefflon also emphasized the need for young ladies to get a job instead of relying on men who will "disrespect you because he has money. "It's never worth it. Go get it your self whether its school a business or a job. Get it! You are amazing and beautiful even if the. "likes on Instagram says other wise. You are everything beyond social media, fuck social media. She added," And never allow no boy disrespect you just cuz he has money. Whatever you want make sure you give it to yourself." Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Clover Leaf is a leading provider of consulting and staffing services for Department of Energy laboratories and commercial clients nationwide. Critical Energy Infrastructure Services, LLC (CEIS) is a platform that was formed by White Wolf Capital to partner with and acquire U.S. based companies focused on provider services to the critical energy infrastructure industry. Clover Leaf marks the second acquisition made under the CEIS platform, following the acquisition of Rayne Staffing in December 2022. Matt Custer, Co-Founder of Clover Leaf, said Clover Leaf is excited to begin a new era with White Wolf and CEIS. We believe the skilled leadership that White Wolf brings to Clover Leaf will propel us to new heights in the energy infrastructure industry. Our long-standing expertise in this sector, combined with the business strategies presented by White Wolf, will make a powerful impact in this growth industry. Our decision to partner with White Wolf provided the best possible future for our employees, as well as our clients." Elie P. Azar, Chief Executive Officer of White Wolf, added We look forward to partnering with the Clover Leaf team to expand CEISs geographic reach and service offerings across the United States. Through its leading capabilities and technical workforce, the CEIS platform has become an acquirer of choice and preferred partner to the critical energy infrastructure sector. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. About CEIS CEIS is a holding company that was formed by White Wolf Capital to partner with and acquire U.S. based companies focused on providing human capital solutions and services to power generation customers, including utilities, nuclear facilities, and government agencies with revenues of $10 million to $100 million. For further information, please visit: http://www.ceis.com About Clover Leaf Solutions Clover Leaf is a premier government contracting, consulting, and staffing services firm that has a nearly two-decade track record of supporting Department of Energy laboratories and commercial clients across the United States. Clover Leaf provides technical services such as construction management, facilities management, inspection, and environmental, safety, and health services. For further information, please visit: http://www.cloversolutions.us About White Wolf White Wolf Capital is a private investment firm that began operations in late 2011 and is focused on making both direct and indirect investments in leading middle market companies located in North America.On the direct side, White Wolf Capital seeks both private equity as well as private credit investment opportunities in companies with up to $200 million in revenues and up to $20 million in EBITDA. Typical situations include, management buyouts, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations and investments for growth. Preferred industries include manufacturing, business services, government services, infrastructure services, information technology, security, aerospace, and defense.In addition to making direct investments in operating companies, White Wolf Capital also looks to invest with other private fund managers as a limited partner. Targeted investment candidates are North American focused private credit funds looking to raise $50 million to $500 million in assets under management, with a focus on the lower-middle and middle-market. For further information, please visit: http://www.whitewolfcapital.com. Contact: White Wolf Capital Group Elie P. Azar, Chief Executive Officer 305-605-8888 elie.azar@whitewolfcapital.com Source.ag founders: CEO, Rien Kamman, and CTO, Ernst van Bruggen "I am continually blown away by the expertise and craftsmanship of the growers we work with. However, to feed our planets growing population in a durable, resource efficient and healthy manner, we need to do more and put the power of AI into the hands of growers worldwide. Rien Kamman, Source.ag Source.ag, the leading artificial intelligence (AI) provider for greenhouse growers, has closed $23 million in its Series A funding round, bringing the companys total funding to $35 million in just under two years. Source.ag launched its first commercial products in the summer of 2022 and will use the new funds to introduce two new groundbreaking AI products that will drive safe, reliable and climate-resilient food production by supporting greenhouse growers with advice on the optimal way to grow their crops. The Dutch company has increased by tenfold the number of users of its products in just 12 months, partnering with the world's leading growers to help increase vegetable yields in the face of the growing energy and climate crises. With the global demand for greenhouse agriculture rising, Source.ag will empower growers worldwide to accelerate their growth and operate facilities more efficiently. Greenhouse agriculture is a proven solution to sustainable, local, and climate-resilient food production: it produces up to 15 times higher yields without the need for arable land and uses up to 20 times less water versus traditional farming methods. Today, 70% of global freshwater withdrawals are used for food production, and 46% of the planet's habitable land is used for agriculture. With the global population growing to an estimated 9.7B by 2050, resource efficient farming methods need to be scaled up globally to meet the demand for healthy food in a sustainable manner. Source.ags cutting edge AI platform empowers more growers to operate more acres in more locations more efficiently, thereby accelerating the global adoption of greenhouse agriculture. The Series A funding round is led by Astanor Ventures and includes investments from Acre Venture Partners, and several of the Netherlands leading greenhouse operators. Upholding the trillion-dollar potential of the fresh produce industry, the new investment will see Source.ag enable growers to operate at optimized efficiency using its pioneering AI technology to track and improve cultivations.Source.ag focuses on the largest global fresh vegetable segments such as tomatoes and peppers, with the ambition to ultimately help all fruit and vegetable growers. After the successful commercial launch and implementation of its first product, Source Track, the company will be launching two new products in 2023. Source Cultivate and Source Control will enable growers to simulate full seasons of crop growth, tailored to specific gene and crop varieties, in order to grow their crops in the best way possible. The new funding will also help Source.ag expand its AI to support even more crop types and farming methods. Arnout Dijkhuizen, Investment Principal at Astanor Ventures said: We are extremely happy to continue our support of Source.ag. We have been genuinely impressed with the teams mission and accomplishments since our Seed investment last year. Focusing truly on where tech meets nature, Source.ag has succeeded where many have said it was impossible: cracking standardization, data gathering and plant phenotyping with AI models that can simulate plant biology and help to optimize photosynthesis. More importantly, they are helping growers across the world operate their farms more efficiently, making greenhouse farming globally accessible and scalable, thereby democratizing access to fruit and vegetables. "I am continually blown away by the expertise and craftsmanship of the growers we work with, added Rien Kamman, CEO and co-founder of Source.ag. They are true plant masters who put healthy fruits and veggies on our plates by growing tasty fresh produce in a highly effective way, using only very few resources. However, to feed our planets growing population in a durable, resource efficient and healthy manner, we need to do more and put the power of AI into the hands of growers worldwide. Our technology provides growers with real-time, highly tailored advice on how to optimally grow their crops, and we support them in running a successful growing operation. We are proud to have Astanor Ventures, Acre Ventures Partners and leading Dutch growers continued support in our mission to empower the worlds growers. With this funding, we'll introduce further groundbreaking products so even more growers can scale healthy food production and feed more people in a sustainable way. Lucas Mann, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Acre Venture Partners said: Greenhouse agriculture is one of the key answers to climate-resilient production of fresh fruits and vegetables. Source.ag has an incredible team and installed technology that has already proven to be a solution to help growers answer challenges in our global food supply. Deep and expanding partnerships with top growers around the world continues to demonstrate how impactful their technology is, and how quickly it will be adopted." -ENDS- About Source.ag: Source is accelerating access to fresh fruit and vegetables by empowering the worlds growers with AI. Founded in 2020 by Rien Kamman (CEO) and Ernst van Bruggen (CPO), Source.ag has brought together a team of experienced engineers and plant scientists and has partnered with the worlds leading growers to build the sectors most advanced artificial intelligence. Their proprietary algorithms simulate plant behavior to define and execute optimal cultivation strategies, taking into account millions of data points on climate, biology, and resources. By enabling more growers to operate more facilities more efficiently through pioneering tech, Source is making greenhouse agriculture accessible, profitable and globally scalable. Theyre on a mission to provide nutritious food to more people, using fewer resources. About Astanor Ventures: Astanor Ventures is an impact investor that backs ambitious entrepreneurs across the world with disruptive, scalable solutions that will create systemic change across the agrifood value chain, from soil to gut. Founded in 2017, Astanor has backed 40+ impact-driven entrepreneurs across Europe, the US and Australia. Astanor partners with founders who are committed to restoring balance and sustainability to the land and oceans, prioritizing nature and culture, nurturing change and feeding growth. Aira Technologies, a pioneer in the application of machine learning (ML) to radically improve wireless telecommunications, today announced that together with Amazon Web Services (AWS), Juniper Networks, and Viavi, they will be demonstrating their ML-based Dynamic Radio Network Management solution at Mobile World Congress 2023 to help mobile network operators (MNOs) reduce RAN energy consumption. With rising energy costs, MNOs are under greater pressure to uncover energy efficiencies that wont compromise network performance, incur added costs, or impact customer satisfaction. Aira developed a ML-based Dynamic Radio Network Management application (rApp) that was built using AWS ML services and runs atop the Juniper RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC). The RIC gets the necessary inputs via the O1 interface of the Open RAN. For legacy RAN, these inputs are available via the Element Management Systems (EMS). This means the rApp can deliver advanced 5G energy savings capabilities to both Open RAN and Legacy RAN. The rApp, together with the Juniper RIC, is hosted on AWS. Aira is built on the premise that the application of ML to all layers of the RAN infrastructure stack can deliver breakthrough performance benefits to the operator community. What we have been able to achieve here showcases three very important things - the power of the Open RAN movement to accelerate innovation; the extraordinary potential for ML in cutting-edge wireless applications; and the possibility for enormous energy efficiency improvements in 4G and 5G cellular networks." said Anand Chandrasekher, co-founder and CEO of Aira Technologies. "We look forward to continuing our work with AWS and Juniper Networks to make cellular networks significantly more energy efficient. Modern mobile networks are supporting ever-increasing demands for wireless throughputs with advanced, highly configurable features. These features are also driving up the energy footprint of these networks. Optimally configuring these features to minimize energy consumption without negatively impacting the overall user experience presents an extremely formidable multi-dimensional optimization problem." said Ravikiran Gopalan, co-founder and CTO of Aira Technologies. "Aira is applying a machine learning-powered, data-driven approach to solve this problem. We are very excited to work with AWS and play a part in making future mobile networks greener. The Juniper RIC platform has been built with a clear focus on open interfaces and multi-vendor interoperability, enabling innovative companies such as Aira Technologies to run a broad variety of innovative rApps/xApps. We believe strongly in the potential of accelerating innovation and monetization of the RAN through network programmability and dynamic optimization via the RIC platform. We are pleased with our work together with the Aira team on their energy optimization rApp." said Constantine Polychronopoulos, Group VP, 5G and Telco Cloud, Juniper Networks. "We look forward to continuing our work with Aira to showcase this capability and to bring these and other innovations to market this year. We invite you to visit us at the AWS booth (Upper Walkway, South Entrance at the Fira Barcelona Gran Via) at Mobile World Congress 2023 to see the technology in action. About Aira Technologies Aira Technologies, an AI software technology startup was founded in 2019 by wireless industry veterans including CEO Anand Chandrasekher (ex-Intel, ex-Qualcomm) and CTO Dr. Ravikiran Gopalan (ex-Bell Labs, ex-Qualcomm) along with well-known wireless researchers Dr. Pramod Viswanath (Professor, Princeton University) and Dr. Sreeram Kannan (Professor, University of Washington, Seattle). Airas vision is to harness machine learning to make every wireless connection, in every transport, more than 10x better. To that end, the company has assembled a team with a rare combination of 5G wireless technology and cutting-edge AI expertise. It is one of the very few companies that can harness the power of Machine Learning to improve wireless communications using real-time data from mobile networks. For more information, please visit http://www.aira-technology.com. Todd Plesko, CEO Bridgeway Benefit Technologies It has been my privilege and joy to work with the employees of Bridgeway and to set a direction for the company based on the foundational culture of commitment to servicing our customers -- Jenny Morgan, Chairman Bridgeway Benefit Technologies LLC (Bridgeway or the Company), a leading provider of specialized multiemployer benefits administration technology solutions for more than 40 years, today announced Todd Plesko, a software technology veteran, has joined the company as Chief Executive Officer. After a transition period, current CEO, Jenny Morgan, will retire and step down to serve as Chairman of the Board as part of Bridgeways long-term succession plan. Under Plesko the Company is positioned to continue to grow and scale its comprehensive suite of technology services to the multiemployer sector. After conducting a nationwide search for Bridgeways next CEO, Morgan and the Board of Directors cited Pleskos deep software industry experience and strong leadership abilities as key attributes that will enable him to guide Bridgeway through its next evolution as the foremost technology provider in the Taft-Hartley benefits administration market. When I met Todd and heard him speak about his passion and experience working with customers and staff to grow and scale software businesses, I knew he was the right person for Bridgeway. Todd is both decisive and personable which is a great combination for a leader in this market. We are thrilled to have him on board, and I am confident that the company is in good hands with Todd and the team at Bridgeway, said Morgan. I am truly honored to serve as CEO at such a well-respected and successful company with a long history of strong employee, customer and partner relationships. Jenny and the executive team have laid a great foundation for Bridgeway, and I look forward to continuing that record of performance. I feel my technical and product background in delivering software solutions to end users will serve Bridgeway customers well as we continue to deliver the highest value to the Taft-Hartley market. I am tremendously excited to lead Bridgeway and eager to dive in and begin a wonderful new adventure as part of the Bridgeway team, said Plesko. Plesko brings a 27-year career to Bridgeway as CEO of several software-as-a-service companies ranging from start-up to mature growth-oriented organizations. He has deep expertise in healthcare software, including provider solutions, supply chain, integration and middleware, and clinical communications solutions. Raised in the Midwest by a blue-collar union family, Pleskos personal roots have bolstered his commitment to organized labor and supporting its members and families. He holds a bachelors in economics from Central Michigan University and an MBA from Indiana Institute of Technology. Morgan, served as CEO of basys LLC for 13 years and most recently guided the Company through the successful merger of basys and Innovative Software Solutions (ISSI) Inc to form Bridgeway Benefit Technologies in 2022. During her tenure she established and expanded the product roadmap highlighted by significant capabilities for automating the benefit administration process and enhancing member services, championed enterprise-wide data security through the implementation of a SOC2 (Service Organization Control 2) compliant hosting environment and doubled the size of the Companys workforce to support its growing client base and expanded service capabilities. Morgan will remain employed as an Executive Advisor during the transition to ensure continuity of leadership and become its next Chairman of the Board, where she will focus on strategic planning and corporate development and continue to provide her knowledge and experience to the management team." Jennys leadership has been a key component of Bridgeways success and continued growth. Her vision and mission to bring customers the best possible multiemployer benefits administration technology solutions continues with Todd. His background driving performance and leading technology organizations to achieve long-term objectives firmly positions Bridgeway to build on a proven track record of operational excellence and dedication to customer satisfaction, said Bridgeways Executive Vice President Jeff Herman. It has been my privilege and joy to work with the employees of the combined Bridgeway and to set a direction for the company based on the foundational culture of commitment to servicing our customers with exceptional quality and integrity in all we do. Given the Company's successful history, culture and continued leadership excellence, Bridgeway is poised to thrive with Todd as the CEO and further our mission of developing cost-effective, sustainable and innovative benefit administration solutions in the years ahead, said Morgan. About Us: Bridgeway Benefit Technologies is the foremost provider for multiemployer benefits administration technology solutions. With the strength of our BASYS and ISSI platforms, we offer greater choice, enhanced capabilities and unmatched service delivery built for data security, regulatory compliance and a lower cost of ownership. Our software suites, web-based portals and hosting solutions serve the Taft-Hartley community and its millions of union members in the United States and Canada. The company provides trust fund offices, multiemployer plans and third-party administrators with a robust product suite for managing contributions, eligibility, claims processing, retirement plan administration and more. Visit https://www.bridgewaybentech.com. The Clarke County School District (CCSD) has engaged Griffin & Strong, P.C. (GSPC) to conduct a Disparity Study to determine whether there is a significant statistical disparity between the availability of qualified, willing and able minority and women owned firms and the utilization of such businesses by CCSD. The Disparity Study will gather information necessary to determine whether all qualified firms have the maximum practicable opportunity to compete for and participate in CCSDs procurement of prime contracts and associated subcontracts and, if indicated by the evidence, will support the use of strategies to ensure such opportunities. In addition, GSPC has partnered with Creative Research Solutions to create and distribute the following Survey of Business Owners. The survey is designed to capture demographic, statistical and anecdotal information regarding businesses, their operating capacity, and impressions on doing business or attempting to do business with CCSD. This survey takes approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. We encourage your participation and look forward to your feedback on how CCSD can improve diverse representation in public contracting. Survey of Business Owners: Clarke County 2023 Disparity Study Survey of Business Owner (chkmkt.com) CCSD thanks all businesses for choosing to participate in the study survey. For questions or concerns, please email GSPC at clarkecountyschoolstudy@gspclaw.com. Also, visit our website at https://clarkecountyschoolsdisparitystudy.com. Nanjing recently welcomed the Year of the Rabbit Social media recently lit up with the sparkle of colorful lights and the warm glow of lanterns that filled the streets of Nanjing in celebration of the Chinese New Year. From January 22 through February 5, people from across the globe welcomed the Year of the Rabbit by following along with the traditional festivities on Nanjings Instagram, Facebook and Twitter channels and by following #GoToNanjing. Photos and videos showcased the customs and grand history of Chinas largest festival of the year through the lens of one of the nations great ancient capitals. Highlights included: Showcasing the Traditions and Culture Behind the Celebrations The ancient capital of Nanjing was bathed in a sea of red during the Chinese New Year as the color represents good luck and happiness. Red is also considered a royal color, and hued decor could be found at many of Nanjings most notable sites, including Chaotian Palace, Xiaoling Mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty and the Drum Tower. Another popular tradition among locals includes walking along the 650-year-old Nanjing City Wall on the 16th day of the first lunar month for good luck and health in the new year. Enjoying Blooming Plum Blossoms Another popular tradition in Nanjing during Chinese New Year is to welcome the arrival of spring by enjoying the enchanting aroma and beautiful colors of the blooming plum blossoms surrounding Purple Mountain Scenic Area. The custom got its start during the Southern Dynasties period nearly 1,500 years ago. Plum blossoms are revered in Chinese culture for their elegance, strength and resilience to endure the countrys harsh winters. Reveling in Chinas Largest Lantern Festival Chinese New Year, known local as the Spring Festival, came to an end on February 5, with the Qinhuai Lantern Festival, Chinas largest and most popular lantern festival, recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of China since 2006. Visitors and locals alike gathered at various historic sites along the scenic Qinhuai River with handcrafted lanterns, many purchased at the nearby Confucius Temple. Intricate lantern designs come in all shapes, sizes and colors, with rabbits being the key animal from the Chinese zodiac featured this year. Daqiao Lantern Market located on Nanjings Xinanli Block, historically one of the citys top places to secure lanterns during the Ming and Qing Dynasty, has become popular again in recent years. Exploring the Flavors of the New Year For most families, the day before Chinese New Year kicks off with a celebratory meal featuring plenty of chilled vegetarian delights such as longevity noodles, Buddha's Delight, spring rolls and more. Each dish represents good luck and fortune in the coming year. To wrap up the holiday, delicious local snacks such as tangyuan, round glutinous rice flour dumplings filled with sweet black sesame or peanut pastes, can be purchased and enjoyed throughout the city. About Nanjing Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, is situated in the Yangtze River Delta area 190 miles northwest of Shanghai. Recognized as one of the four great ancient capitals of China, Nanjing has served as the capital city of 10 Chinese dynasties and regimes for a total of more than 1,800 years. A sophisticated metropolis and a modern center of history, education, and culture, Nanjing is home to some of the countrys most significant historical attractions such as the Xiaoling Tomb of the Ming Dynasty, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; Dr. Sun Yat-sens Mausoleum; The Presidential Palace; and a City Wall that dates back more than 600 years. Popular attractions also include Chinas oldest public library and one of the countrys first museums, the Nanjing Museum. Nanjing is accessible by Nanjing Lukou International Airport (NKG) with daily flights from North America. Three train stations Nanjing Railway Station, Nanjing South Railway Station, and Nanjing West Railway Station connect Nanjing to all of Chinas major cities, including Shanghai, which is a 90- minute ride via bullet train or three hours by car. For more information on Nanjing, visit http://www.gotonanjing.com/ or follow the destination on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube at @GoToNanjing. East Penn Manufacturing Co. has earned the prestigious MVS (Most Valuable Supplier) Award for achievements in 2022. The MVS Award is granted by the industrys trade association, MHEDA (Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association) to less than 10% of all member companies. This is the 8th consecutive year that East Penn has earned the MVS Award. This industry award recognizes companies who have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to their dealer network, their employees and their community. To qualify for the MVS Award, East Penn was required to meet a series of criteria in a number of areas important to the distributor companies who do business with them. In addition to confirming an ongoing commitment to safety and employee training, award recipients must provide documentation of active participation in a program that gives back. MVS Award winners have demonstrated an overall commitment to business excellence by documenting programs in the following areas: Industry Advocacy Distributor Advocacy Business Networking Continuing Education Business Best Practices David Corey, Group Vice President of the Motive Power Division stated. East Penn is honored to again receive the MVS (Most Valuable Supplier) Award from MHEDA. As the sole battery manufacturer to achieve this award eight consecutive years, it is truly an amazing accomplishment and only possible through the continued commitment of our employees, our independently owned North American dealer network, and the customers we serve. We also want to thank MHEDA for continuing to serve as a premier resource for the material handling industry. The MVS Award recognizes the best-of-the-best in our industry and is displayed with honor. To check all the boxes from education, industry best practices, awards, networking, employee engagement, giving back and much more, MHEDA is proud to have so many companies achieve this award. MHEDA appreciates the dedication to MHEDA and being a leader in this great industry that we are so blessed to be in. John L. Gelsimino President of All Lift Service Co. Inc. and 2023 MHEDA Chairman. East Penn is a leading manufacturer of high-quality batteries and accessories for the motive power, automotive, commercial, marine, UPS, and telecommunication markets. The companys quality and environmental systems for its entire 520-acre complex have been certified to ISO 9001:2008, ISO/TS 16949:2009, and ISO 14001:2015 requirements. For more information, visit the company website at http://www.dekabatteries.com. The Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association (MHEDA) is the premier trade association dedicated to serving all segments of the material handling business community. MHEDA represents close 600 companies in the material handling equipment business. Located in suburban Chicago, the association provides services to companies seeking to improve their business through education, networking, benchmarking and best practices. For more information, visit http://www.mheda.org. ### JPAR - Real Estate is proud to announce the grand opening of its newest office located in Littleton, Colorado on January 1, 2023. The company will be owned and operated by Garrison Vandine, a 9-year veteran of the real estate industry. The new office, located at 8122 Southpark Lane, Unit 209, Littleton, Colorado will specialize in residential real estate property sales. The company and its sales professionals are committed to providing exceptional service to home buyers and sellers throughout Littleton and the surrounding area. "We're thrilled to be opening our newest office in Littleton and to be able to serve the real estate needs of this growing community," said Garrison Vandine, Owner, JPAR Platinum. "The agent compensation plans are very attractive and when combined with enhanced marketing, training and technology, the growth opportunities for our sales professionals are unmatched, added Vandine. JPAR Real Estate was recently named a Top Franchise for 2023 by Franchise Business Review. This is the 18th annual ranking of the 200 best franchise opportunities as rated by franchise business owners. The annual Franchisee Satisfaction Awards is North Americas only program honoring franchise brands for excellence in achieving franchisee satisfaction. "JPAR was founded by top producers for top producers and we are so proud to have Garrison Vandine and the entire JPAR Platinum team representing the JPAR brand in this important and growing market," said Laura OConnor, President & COO of JPAR Franchising. We are very excited about our growth prospects in Colorado and throughout the United States in 2023. About JPAR Real Estate: JPAR - Real Estate (http://www.jpar.com) is a full-service real estate brand and franchise platform offering a highly competitive transaction fee-based model and agent-centric culture. The JPAR platform provides agents seven (7) days-per-week support, a comprehensive tech stack, marketing, lead generation, training and mentoring. JPAR affiliated owners benefit from compliance review, 1-on-1 consulting, recruiting support and a peer network of influential industry leaders. The company boasts more than 3,800 agents operating in 64 offices across 24 states and closes $7.8B annually in sales volume. Read Across America is one of our favorite times of year when we have the opportunity to connect closely with educators and students around a love of learning. Teacher Created Materials (TCM), an educational publishing company headquartered in Huntington Beach, CA will be living out their vision to create a world in which children love to learn by celebrating Read Across America on March 2, 2023 at Lugo Elementary School in the Lynwood California School District, as well as in schools across the nation, and in select schools located in U.S. territories. Read Across America was launched in 1998 by the NEA and a committee of educators to recognize the power of reading to and with children. It is our nations largest celebration of reading. Community members and parents are encouraged to connect with local schools to share a passion for literacy and learning by reading in classrooms and at home. Read Across America is one of our favorite times of year when we have the opportunity to connect closely with educators and students around a love of learning, said Deanne R. Mendoza, Executive Vice President of Strategic Development. We hope that other community members will join us in exploring ways they can encourage a love of literacy and learning in their own schools and homes. Over 100 employee volunteers of Teacher Created Materials will be reading and engaging in fun literacy lessons with students across the nation. At Lugo Elementary, local employees will also participate in several beautification projects of the school as part of the Read Across America project. Participating in Read Across America, and giving back to teachers across our nation, is a time-honored tradition at Teacher Created Materials. The organization has been actively engaging in Read Across America with local schools for over 10 years. ### About Teacher Created Materials Teacher Created Materials develops innovative and imaginative educational materials and services for students worldwide. Everything they do is created by teachers for teachers and students to make teaching more effective and learning more fun. For more information about Teacher Created Materials and their products, visit http://www.tcmpub.com. JPAR Real Estate is pleased to announce the opening of JPAR Iron Horse. The office is set to open its doors on March 1 in Pleasanton, CA. JPAR Iron Horse will be owned and operated by Erica Starkey, CEO and Broker and Dan Starkey, COO - Operations and Marketing. JPAR Iron Horse (http://www.jparironhorse.com) is located in the Bay Area about 40 miles east of San Francisco. Serving the East Bay communities including Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin, Fremont and more along the 680 corridor, their flagship office is located at 550 Main Street in the heart of Pleasanton. Office phone: 925.529.4880. Email: info@jparironhorse.com. As industry veterans, Erica and Dan bring a wealth of experience to the community, and are well-equipped to provide exceptional service to home buyers and sellers throughout the greater Pleasanton area. With the support of JPAR, the new real estate brokerage offers cutting-edge tools, technology, and a winning culture to deliver an unparalleled customer experience. "We are thrilled to be opening JPAR Iron Horse in Pleasanton," said Erica Starkey. "The city is growing, and there is a real need for a full-service residential and commercial real estate brokerage that can meet the demands of the local community. Our affiliation with JPAR will empower our real estate professionals to provide the very best in real estate services through unparalleled tools, technology and marketing," added Starkey. The office is among the first JPAR offices in California as the brand expands into the golden state. "Erica and Dan Starkey are the perfect fit for our brand," said Laura OConnor, President & COO of JPAR Franchising. "They value service to their customers and the community and they have a deep understanding of the local market, added OConnor. About JPAR Real Estate: JPAR Real Estate (http://www.jpar.com) is a full-service real estate brand and franchise platform offering a highly competitive transaction fee-based model and agent-centric culture. The JPAR platform provides agents seven (7) days-per-week support, a comprehensive tech stack, marketing, lead generation, training and mentoring. JPAR affiliated owners benefit from compliance review, 1-on-1 consulting, recruiting support and a peer network of influential industry leaders. The company boasts more than 3,800 agents operating in 64 offices across 24 states and closes $7.8B annually in sales volume. Maputo, 23 Feb (AIM) - The Nampula Provincial Court, in northern Mozambique, on Wednesday sentenced five individuals to prison terms of up to 30 years for the murder of an albino citizen, whose body parts they had intended to sell. According to the report of the trial in Thursday's issue of the Maputo daily "Noticias", Dinis Sebasiao and Edson Eduardo were sentenced to 30 years, and three others, Argentino Eusebia, Alves Cabral and Calisto Francisco, all of whom were relatives of the victim, to 24 years. Dinis Sebastiao was found to have organised the murder. He and his accomplices were found guilty of first degree murder, criminal conspiracy and the possession of human body parts. Among the aggravating factors, according to the judge, were premeditation and cruelty. The five admitted to cutting up the body of the murdered albino and selling his arms for six million meticais (about 94,000 US dollars at the current exchange rate) to an unnamed foreign citizen in Murrupula district. The judge regarded the men's confession as only partial, since they refused to reveal any details about the purchaser of the body parts. In addition to the prison sentence, the murderers must each pay 300,000 meticais as compensation to the relatives of the albino. Superstitions in parts of Mozambique and the neighbouring countries hold that the body parts of albinos are supposedly imbued with magical qualities, and when used in black magic rituals will bring riches, power and good luck. "We are looking forward to working with our partners at H2 Genesis to begin our build-out in Florida and to expand nationwide and globally." Greg Gosnell, President and CEO of GenH2 GenH2, an industry leader in hydrogen infrastructure solutions, today announced that the company has signed a partnership agreement with H2 Genesis, a leading liquid hydrogen infrastructure and operations company, to deliver liquid hydrogen across North America. In their first collaboration, GenH2, as manufacturer, and H2 Genesis, as owner-operator, will deploy the GenH2 LS20 Mobile Liquid Hydrogen System, an end-to-end liquefication and storage system, to several locations in the United States starting with Florida. H2 Genesis, founded in 2021, is focused on proliferating access to the LH2 molecule for users of all sizes to advance the hydrogen economy. Through GenH2s modular/flexible technology, the goal is to get liquid hydrogen in more hands than ever before and under a more near-term timeline that other technologies can provide. The first LH2 molecule is set to be delivered in 2023 with rapid expansion of the delivery network in subsequent years. H2 Genesis focuses on asset development, hydrogen distribution, and infrastructure operations and service. Through the partnership with GenH2, H2 Genesis plans to facilitate the distributed hydrogen economy by developing over 1,600 MWdc of renewables power production and delivering of ~145,000 kg per day of liquid hydrogen by 2028. Hub development must provide access to all users, including those from traditionally marginalized communities or those with smaller yet important needs, said Ben Frickel, Managing Director of H2 Genesis. We seek to break down that bottleneck by providing researchers, innovators and industry with an effective supply of liquid hydrogen so that they can optimize the utility around this powerful molecule. The LS20 functions both as a stationary unit, or on a trailer for mobile use, which takes up significantly less space than most liquid hydrogen systems currently available. This mobile system will be the catalyst to developing a wide network of liquid hydrogen delivery. The units will enter the market in late 2023. We are looking forward to working with our partners at H2 Genesis to begin our build-out in Florida and to expand nationwide and globally, added Greg Gosnell, President and CEO of GenH2. Once deployed, these solutions will be an innovative addition to the options for advanced clean energy. As a complete system, the LS20 can liquefy, store, and dispense liquid hydrogen from any gaseous hydrogen source, such as a storage tank or an electrolyzer. The LS20 also serves as a foundation for higher capacity GenH2 systems including the 100Kg LH2 per day and 1,000Kg LH2 per day solutions. This is the first of its kind in advanced mobile liquefaction, storage, and delivery modules, Frickel added. The mobile system will be the catalyst for our company to form a wide network of liquid hydrogen delivery. About GenH2 GenH2 is a technology leader in hydrogen infrastructure systems for advanced clean energy. GenH2 solutions will allow for safe liquefaction, storage, and distribution of liquid hydrogen. The company will focus on mass-producing light-scale equipment to speed infrastructure buildout and make hydrogen accessible for everyday use around the globe. The Titusville, Florida-headquartered technology team includes former NASA researchers and developers who possess decades of experience researching, engineering, and building hydrogen solutions. Learn more about GenH2 at http://www.DiscoverHydrogen.com. About H2 Genesis H2 Genesis was formed in 2021 to be the leading liquid hydrogen infrastructure and service company in support of the hydrogen economy. We are a passionate group of engineers, scientists, developers and financial professionals with the goal of growing the hydrogen economy to the next level. For more information about H2 Genesis visit https://www.h2-genesis.com/. Safe Harbor Statement This release of communication possesses forward-looking statements'' in accordance with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties about GenH2 and H2 Genesis, including but not limited to statements about: the expected benefits of the long-term strategic partnership between GenH2 and H2 Genesis; The expectation that GenH2s partnership with H2 Genesis will strengthen its value chain and allow H2 Genesis to meet growing demand Liquid Hydrogen. Squirro CEO, Dr. Dorian Selz Our webinar will focus on ways enterprises can get the most value from Generative AI while avoiding some of the potential pitfalls that come with it. - Webinar panellists to explore ways in which enterprises can get the most value from Generative AI Major emphasis on how to address the stochastic model of generative AI, its lack of transparency, and the need for integration with semantic enterprise search solutions Squirro, the Augmented Intelligence solutions provider, is hosting two new webinars - one in North America and EMEA and one in APAC - focusing on Generative AI, looking at the implications of Generative AI for enterprises and how they can extract the most value from it. Generative AI is a growing trend in 2023, and Squirro, a recognized Gartner Magic Quadrant Visionary for Insight Engines 2021 and 2022, believes that for enterprises to get value from ChatGPT and other Generative AI tools, they must be trained using a companys own data and be integrated into semantic enterprise search solutions. The new webinars - Generative AI for Enterprise: How to Tame a Stochastic Parrot take place on 8 March (EMEA & North America session) and 15 March (APAC session) and comprise a panel featuring Squirro CEO, Dr. Dorian Selz, Squirro CTO, Saurabh Jain, and Thomas Diggelmann, Machine Learning Engineer, Squirro. The US and European panel will be moderated by Tom Allen, Founder of the AI Journal, while the APAC panel will be moderated by Lauren Hawker Zafer, Head of Training and Education, Squirro, and host of the Redefining AI podcast. Generative AI is an advanced technology that can produce impressive results in certain use cases, but it remains limited by the data it is trained on, and its stochasticity can be problematic, said Dr. Dorian Selz, CEO, Squirro. "This means it can lack context and deliver results that do not make sense, are irrelevant, or not compliant with enterprise codes. There are legitimate questions around which data is used to produce content and how users' access rights to information are correctly managed. Generative AI can be a powerful tool, but to add genuine and tangible value, it must be integrated into a semantic enterprise search engine and trained on internal data. There has been a major increase in Generative AI usage since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022. Microsoft has since launched a ChatGPT-powered version of Bing, and Google has launched Bard, an experimental conversational AI service powered by its Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA). The webinars will explore how enterprises around the world are utilizing Generative AI. As part of this, Squirro has launched a major research study with key decision-makers, looking for their input about the usability and implementation of Generative AI in their organizations. Squirro will present the results of the study during the webinar. The hype around Generative AI is vast, but concerns remain over its suitability for enterprises, mostly around its future impact and vulnerability to hidden bias in data sets. ChatGPT provides responses centered on what is most likely to come next based on the input it receives, which can be problematic, according to Squirro CEO, Dr. Dorian Selz: ChatGPT is a stochastic model, as it generates responses based on probability rather than determinism. But it is limited by the data on which it was trained, which can be problematic. Our webinar will focus on ways enterprises can get the most value from Generative AI while avoiding some of the potential pitfalls that come with it. The Generative AI for Enterprise: How to Tame a Stochastic Parrot webinars take place on: North America / EMEA Wednesday, March 8, 2023 16:00h CET / 10:00 am ET APAC Wednesday, March 15, 2023 16:00h SGT -ends- About Squirro Squirro is a leading provider of Augmented Intelligence solutions for search, analysis, and interpretation of unstructured information. Squirro is an ISO 27001 certified company. Thanks to its unique technology, marrying AI, Machine Learning, and Predictive Analytics, Squirro's solutions deliver measurable results for its customers in the form of revenue and efficiency gains, reduced risks and cost, as well as faster time to market. Founded in 2012, Squirro is a fast-growing company with dedicated teams in Switzerland, the United States, UK, and Singapore. Some of its customers are European Central Bank, Bank of England, Standard Chartered, Candriam, and Henkel. Further information can be found at https://squirro.com or contact@squirro.com MORE INFO: Gloria Fernandez, Marketing Director EMEA & Asia T. +41 44 562 43 36 - gloria.fernandez@squirro.com The TASC Group, an independent and mission-driven full-service public relations firm, is proud to announce that Kezia Kent is the recipient of its annual Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Scholarship with The City College of New York (CCNY) for the 2023 spring semester and will receive $2,500 for her college tuition and a paid summer internship at The TASC Group. We are delighted to share that Kezia Kent won this years prestigious Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Scholarship Award, said Rida Bint Fozi, president of The TASC Group. We were impressed and inspired by Kezias unwavering dedication to climate change advocacy and her competitive academic track record. We are delighted to welcome Kezia to our team this summer and are grateful for our partnership with CCNY as we strive to promote diversity and inclusion in the public relations industry. Kezia Kent is currently earning a BA in communications and economics at The City College of New York. She is committed to assisting organizations that provide relief to communities that are disproportionately impacted by natural and man-made climate disasters and reducing the political and financial disparities that exacerbate environmental hazards. Kezias dedication has earned her two separate year-long fellowships at the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership the Climate Policy Fellows Program and the Leadership for Democracy and Social Justice Social Change Fellowship. I have witnessed a growing disparity in equitable governmental responses to public policy issues that disproportionately affect underrepresented communities, said Kezia Kent. I am excited to join The TASC Group this summer to work with mission-driven clients that are devoted to our communities and are presenting much needed solutions to deeply rooted issues in our society. CCNY recently recognized The TASC Group as an Extremely Valuable Industry Partner for its multi-year scholarship program in December 2021. The TASC Groups influential work with nonprofit and advocacy-driven clients, such as The Trayvon Martin Foundation, The Eagle Academy Foundation and The Gathering for Justice led to the firms successful partnership with CCNY, which has nurtured and guided the professional growth of diverse, talented and gifted students in the colleges public relations and advertising program. "Kezia will excel at The TASC Group because she is an informed risk taker and will have opportunities to explore next-level solutions to client challenges, said Professor Lynne Scott Jackson, distinguished lecturer and deputy chair of media and communications at CCNY and founder, president and CEO of Millynneum Incorporated. She will learn from award-winning strategists with an eye toward substantive community contributions, strengthening her capacity as a multi-disciplinary change agent. The TASC Group provides outstanding opportunities for CCNY scholars, and we're thrilled to see the unique actions that Kezia will bring to the table." As the recipient of this scholarship, Kezia will receive hands-on professional development and mentoring from seasoned TASC team professionals. The internship will begin summer of 2023 and run through the fall. Kezia was born and raised in the twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago, which nurtured her interest and passion for the intersection between environmental public policy, advocacy and the media through an economic lens. The TASC Group's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Scholarship at The City College of New York is part of the company's deeper commitment to creating a more diverse and inclusive PR industry. For media inquiries regarding The TASC Group, please contact Cecilia Apodaca at 970-237-0440 or cecilia@thetascgroup.com ABOUT THE TASC GROUP The TASC Group (TASC) is an independent, full-service nonprofit communications and public relations firm. TASC was built on a foundation of progressive values and a passion for public service, which are reflected in the work that TASC does for client partners every single day. The company exists to help make a meaningful difference for nonprofit organizations, social advocacy causes and campaigns, and mission-driven businesses that are committed to building stronger communities and making the world a better place. TASC's services include media relations, crisis communications and issues management, corporate social responsibility campaigns, thought leadership development, cause-related marketing, red carpet and celebrity events, SEO and online reputation management and social media. For more information, visit http://www.thetascgroup.com. ABOUT THE CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.2% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi puts at $1.9 billion CCNYs annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the for dollar return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit. Together, Bench and Wealth Factory are empowering entrepreneurs and small business owners to keep more of the money they make through significant time savings, financial literacy, tax optimization, and overall business success, added Dan Weckend, VP of Partnerships at Bench. Bench (bench.co), a leading bookkeeping and tax advisory fintech platform, is excited to announce its partnership with Wealth Factory, a provider of comprehensive personal financial education and implementation programs for entrepreneurs and small business owners. The partnership provides real-time financial insights to a network of over 25,000 entrepreneurs. "Wealth Factory customers now have an automated, full service bookkeeping solution that will help them stay on top of their finances, and make data-driven decisions to help their business thrive, said JP Durrios, CEO of Bench. Wealth Factory provides the financial tools, strategies, and resources small business owners need to reach their financial goals without cutting back. They offer a range of courses and programs that cover tax reduction strategies, wealth creation, asset protection, and cash flow optimization so small business owners can create a lasting financial legacy. Now, any small business owner in the program can sign up for Benchs bookkeeping solution right from their dashboard with one click. This gives entrepreneurs access to Benchs real-time financial insights within minutes of signup plus full-service bookkeeping, advisory, tax-filing support, and peace of mind during tax season. "(This partnership is a) game-changer for small business owners looking to simplify their finances and reach economic independence, said Mathieu Silverstein, Head of Growth at Wealth Factory. Were excited to leverage Benchs Account Creation API directly in our members area, making it dead simple for entrepreneurs to upgrade their business finances, while theyre working with Wealth Factory on the personal finance side. Wealth Factory members can now view the Bench listing in their online membership site to learn more about Bench, and sign up with one click. Together, Bench and Wealth Factory are empowering entrepreneurs and small business owners to keep more of the money they make through significant time savings, financial literacy, tax optimization, and overall business success, added Dan Weckend, VP of Partnerships at Bench. About Bench Bench Accounting (http://www.bench.co) is Americas No. 1 professional bookkeeping services and tax advisory fintech platform with over 12,000 U.S.-based customers supported by 650 employees. Pairing its intuitive software with a dedicated accounting team, Bench combines the convenience and efficiency of modern technology with the expertise and time-savings afforded by a professional service. Bench has raised over $100 million in funding to-date from renowned investors such as Contour Venture Partners, iNovia Capital, Bain Capital, Altos Ventures, Bank of Montreal, Sage, and Shopify. Follow @Bench or visit https://bench.co/press. For media inquiries, please contact Colleen Cosgrove at colleen.cosgrove@bench.co. People change for a number of reasons. For whatever reason that is, we provide an opportunity for people to reflect on the outside who they are on the inside, said Jo Kelton, COO of Removery. Removery, the worlds tattoo removal experts, will open its flagship location in The Flatiron District on March 1st at 4 West 21st Street. At 2,604 square feet, this will be Removerys largest location, with three treatment rooms and two consultation rooms. In honor of its newest location, Removery will host a ceremonious first treatment with an individual who is currently in the companys INK-nitiative program. Freddie, who was previously incarcerated, has tattoos covering his face, neck and head, and wanted the tattoos to be removed so he can reenter society without the marks of his past holding him back. I sometimes feel restrained when I have to go out in public because of the intimidating tattoos I have on my face, said Freddie. The removal will help me continue my path of redemption and reentry into society, tremendously improve my chances of getting a decent job and will lessen others judgement of me. Removery is providing the removal process for him free of charge to help him reach his goals. Over 300 clients are currently being treated through the INK-nitiative program at Removery. Old tattoos can be a reminder of a past decision that no longer aligns with the present. Removerys primary mission is to help people reflect on the outside, who they are on the inside. The technology used by Removerys tattoo removal professionals allows clients to express themselves by completely removing a tattoo or fading just a small piece of it away, sometimes to make room for something new. People change for a number of reasons. For whatever reason that is, we provide an opportunity for people to reflect on the outside who they are on the inside, said Jo Kelton, COO of Removery. We want to empower people who have the desire to change and help them feel confident in their own skin. Removerys Flatiron studio, located at 4 West 21st Street, New York, NY 10010, will host a special celebration from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on opening day, and regular business hours are 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays, 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information on Removery or to make an appointment, please call 866-602- 2561 or visit removery.com and connect with Removery on Instagram (@removery) or Facebook (@removery). About Removery Removery, the worlds tattoo removal experts, helps people reflect on the outside, who they are on the inside. Born from the partnership of North Americas four largest and most trusted tattoo removal brands, the company is committed to driving research and advancements in the world of laser tattoo removal while ensuring client safety and effective results. Removery is home to the worlds first tattoo removal Clinical Advisory Board dedicated to the advancement of the industry. Removerys research empowers our tattoo removal specialists to deliver the safest, most effective, and most accessible laser tattoo removal procedures using the state-of-the-art PicoWay laser system by Candela. Currently, Removery has over 140 locations across the United States, Canada, and Australia and has performed 800,000+ treatments. The company's goal is to normalize tattoo removal and empower clients to feel confident in their own skin. For more information on Removery or to make an appointment, please call 866-602- 2561 or visit removery.com and connect with Removery on Instagram (@removery) or Facebook (@removery). Im thrilled about this opportunity and look forward to sharing ideas with other leaders from across the state." - Randall Querry, A2LA The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), one of the largest conformity assessment accreditation bodies in the world, is proud to announce that Randall Querry, Director of Government Relations, has been selected as one of 53 people to participate in the exceptional program, Leadership Maryland. Im thrilled about this opportunity and look forward to sharing ideas with other leaders from across the state, said Querry. Nonprofit organizations like the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation offer careers that make a difference. In our case, that includes advancing public safety and consumer protection by ensuring that laboratories testing everything from food to mobile phones to electric vehicle charging stations meet international standards. Im looking forward to bringing what Ill learn through Leadership Maryland to our team at A2LA. Leadership Maryland is a statewide professional development program for senior-level executives who have made significant contributions to their industries and communities. The 8-month program focuses on Marylands most important issues, including economic development, education, health and human services, criminal justice, the environment, and diversity. Graduates of the program are better prepared to address these issues and create lasting change within the state of Maryland. We are excited to announce our next class and welcome these accomplished and motivated individuals to Leadership Maryland, said David Fike 16 (LM) president and CEO, Leadership Maryland, in a recent press release. The 53 members of the Class of 2023 are each influential leaders within their companies, industries, and communities, and have the desire to make a broader impact within our state. And the knowledge, experience, and connections they will gain in our program will prepare them to do just that. Accreditation is a formal recognition earned by laboratories and other organizations proving they are qualified, competent, and comply with international standards. Laboratories of all kinds can become accredited, including calibration laboratories, cannabis testing laboratories, environmental testing laboratories, and much more. Other organizations can also be accredited, including inspection bodies and product certification bodies. A2LA currently has over 4,000 actively accredited certificates representing all 50 US states and more than 50 countries. For a current listing of A2LAs accredited organizations, you can search the directory here. For more information about A2LA and accreditation, please visit A2LA.org, call 301-644-3248, or email info@A2LA.org. For more information about Leadership Maryland, please visit leadershipmd.org, call 410-841-2101, or email info@leadershipmd.org. About A2LA A2LA is a non-profit, non-governmental, third-party accreditation body, offering internationally recognized accreditation services to testing and calibration laboratories, inspection bodies, biobanking facilities, stand-alone sampling organizations, proficiency testing providers, reference material producers, and product certifiers. For more information, visit https://a2la.org/. About Leadership Maryland Leadership Maryland is a non-profit organization offering professional and youth development programs dedicated to building a better Maryland by harnessing the strength of its current and future leaders. Established in 1992, Leadership Marylands professional development program selects as many as 53 diverse and accomplished executives from Marylands public and private sectors each year to come together as a class for an eight-month learning program focused on the states most vital social, economic and environmental issues. We are looking forward to serving our clients at our brand-new office space, which is close to our current location, says Attorney Jim Trotter. The attorneys at Trotter Jones, LLP, have many years of combined experience serving Georgia residents and businesses with their real estate, business, estate planning and civil litigation needs. The firm will be moving to its new address, 3615 Walton Way Ext, in Augusta, Georgia, at the end of February. The office will be located in a newly constructed, state-of-the-art building behind Queensborough National Bank & Trust on Walton Way Extension, still conveniently located in West Augusta. With experience working for large firms prior to the foundation of Trotter Jones, LLP, Jim Trotter and David Jones each draw from extensive work experience in sophisticated business and commercial legal transactions and disputes. This experience, coupled with their current, smaller practice means that clients seeking assistance get the benefit of working with attorneys who possess a deep knowledge of complex matters but in a venue that allows for more personalized attention. Their new associate attorney, Michael Downing, brings a fresh perspective to their practice and will allow them to serve even more clients as he grows his own practice. We are looking forward to serving our clients at our brand-new office space, which is close to our current location, says Attorney Jim Trotter. More About Trotter Jones, LLP: At Trotter Jones Law Firm, they offer counsel that addresses both business and personal matters. Their real estate practice includes residential and commercial transactions, and they have business law attorneys to provide counsel for administrative matters, as well as litigation. In addition, the practice offers estate planning, probate administration and a wide range of other services for clients. Contact the Augusta, Georgia, office today to speak with a lawyer about legal concerns in these areas. Please call (706) 737-3138 or visit the website at http://www.trotterjones.com. As soon as we realized internally how robust OmniPoints performance was, and all of its exciting use applications, we knew it was going to change CellGates identity its that impactful."Ken Shaw, Vice President of Sales, CellGate Cellular and internet-based access control company, CellGate, has exhibited at the American Fence Associations annual FenceTech industry trade show for over a decade, but are especially eager to do so this year due to the unveiling of multiple new Company initiatives. This years FenceTech show will be held at the Oklahoma City Convention Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and CellGate will be in Booth 1603 with their products and personnel. CellGates Vice President of Sales, Ken Shaw, says his teams focus will be in three key areas: Demonstrating the OmniPoint Multi-Point Wireless Access Control system that can easily cover up to a half mile range with no data wires needed. CellGate will have an OmniPoint Gateway set up at their booth, and will show how it can control up to 100 OmniPoint EPMs (entry point modules) wirelessly. Noel Gouldin, CellGates President, says At every installation our expectations of Omni Points deliverability with its wireless coverage and building penetration has been exceeded, and we couldnt be more excited about the future of this revolutionary product. Launching the OmniPays Dealer Incentive. CellGate has created a dealer incentive program called OmniPays that pays dealers and system integrators $100 for their first OmniPoint quote to a customer and pays $300 when they install their first OmniPoint solution. CellGates Shaw is confident that dealers will have many customer applications for OmniPoint once they see its benefits and how it works, and the OmniPays program is designed to encourage dealers and system integrators to try it now. Highlighting CellGates New Total Property Wireless Access messaging. With the Companys launch of OmniPoint wireless multipoint access control, now combined with integration of the Watchman line of video telephone entry and access control products, CellGate provides a one-of-a-kind Total Property Wireless Access solution. All access points for an entire property can be controlled and/or monitored by CellGate products, through the CellGate smart phone app or its TrueCloud web portal. The seamless integration of wireless video telephone entry and access control products into a single administrative solution is highly unique in the industry and is the differentiator CellGate expects to expand its growth in the Multi-Tenant markets. We are really excited for FenceTech this year because we are able to actively demonstrate and sell OmniPoint, and discuss our new positioning in the access control marketplace with the dealers that are in front of customers daily, said Shaw. As soon as we realized internally how robust OmniPoints performance was, and all of its exciting use applications, we knew it was going to change CellGates identity its that impactful. With OmniPoint and Watchman combined, CellGate now has an ideal, turnkey solution for multi-tenant properties, which is exactly what many of them are clamoring for. It is an exhilarating time for the Company, and we cant wait to see where our new Total Property Wireless Access solutions will take us this year and beyond. # CellGate has been providing access control and security monitoring products utilizing cellular and internet network technology since 2006. They are the only technology company with a complete suite of cellular-based security productsencompassing integrated streaming video, access control and camera solutions. With their Watchman and OmniPoint product lines, proprietary web-based TrueCloud portal built on Microsoft Azures cloud service, and the easy-to-use CellGate app, CellGate offers flexibility found in no other access control or monitoring solution. Visit http://www.cell-gate.com to learn more. Congratulations to the Fort Lauderdale, Thousand Oaks, Edison, Sacramento (East), and Memphis teams for their achievements. Their dedication, determination, and unstoppable hard work are evident in their 2022 results. To recognize amazing achievements in revenue growth, leadership, and serving others, PrideStaff, a nationally franchised organization, proudly named PrideStaff Fort Lauderdale, Thousand Oaks, Edison, Sacramento (East), and Memphis winners of the Mile High Award at their recent Annual Conference at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. This prestigious honor, so named because it originated in Denver, Colorado, the "Mile High City," is not an annual award. The nationally franchised staffing organization only presents it in years when an office or team distinguishes itself with a truly significant achievement. PrideStaff was thrilled to recognize five Mile High Award winners this year for their major accomplishments in 2022. Led by Owners/Strategic-Partners, Carmen and Robert Calamia, PrideStaff Fort Lauderdale's talented team stays focused on their objectives and doesn't let anything get in the way of connecting job seekers with rewarding opportunities. This was not the only win for the their office, they were named a Top Temporary Personnel and Staffing Agency by the South Florida Business Journal for 5 consecutive years. The Calamias credit their success to setting "Mile High" goals, maintaining a positive attitude, and having an excellent internal team. This mindset resulted in Carmen and Robert being named President's Circle Award winners for exceeding annual revenue goals. During 2022, they leveraged PrideStaff's proven sales model to reach new clients, earning nearly 500 Google reviews to prove the value of their services. By focusing on what matters most to our clients and associates, the Fort Lauderdale team made rewarding employment connections and delivered exceptional results in a tight, job-driven market. Daan and Nieke Renssen, Owners/Strategic-Partners of PrideStaff Thousand Oaks, have been recognized in their community throughout the year as a top staffing firm in their market. In 2022, they earned a spot in the top five staffing agencies on the San Fernando Valley Business Journal list for the third year, and won the Ventura County Star's 2022 Best of the Best Readers' Choice award in the Staffing/Employment Agency category. Daan and Nieke were also named President's Circle Award winners for exceeding annual profitability and revenue goals. PrideStaff Thousand Oaks has not only won the hearts of employers and job seekers in their community, they've also reached astonishing revenue goals, achieving two all-time highs in gross margin and consistently ranking in the top five of all the offices in the PrideStaff system every week. By strategically analyzing opportunities in the market, and relentlessly executing their goals, the Renssens and their team more than hit their mark this year and set the stage for even greater success in 2023. Led by Owner/Strategic-Partner, Manisha Subramanian, the PrideStaff Edison office credits its success to staying focused on weekly gross margin goals and creating a strong family culture based on support for each other, their clients, and employees. By focusing on what matters most, maintaining a positive mindset, helping when needed, and staying accountable to her team, Manisha not only achieved Mile-High recognition in 2022, she also earned a coveted Presidents Circle Award. With flexibility, trust, and teamwork, Subramanian and her team have built a rock-solid foundation for future successes. Owners/Strategic-Partners, Craig and Mary Ryder, recently launched a G.A. Rogers & Associates division to add to the tenured success of their PrideStaff and PrideStaff Financial Sacramento (East) offices, further expanding their reach in their community. With a tight focus on fostering relationships, adding value, and growing their internal talent, Craig and Mary grew Mile-High in 2022 and earned a Presidents Circle Award, recognizing their outstanding sales and adaptability. As active participants in day-to-day operations, the Ryders are dedicated to supporting their team and building robust financial models to help their business continue to thrive in the coming years. Guided by Owners/Strategic-Partners, Jeremy and Matthew Thacker-Rhodes, the PrideStaff Memphis office has exemplary leadership, revenue growth, and community service. By building a mission-driven team that understands how to provide client experiences, Jeremy and Matthew soared to Mile-High heights in 2022, also earning a Presidents Circle Award to celebrate their achievements. An empowered team and active involvement in the community gives Thacker-Rhodes and their team insight into the needs of their customersand helps them grow their award-winning business. "Im thrilled to present this award to five teams with Mile-High achievements, stated PrideStaff Co-CEO, Tammi Heaton. As the country recovered from the pandemic, economic and employment conditions continued to change, which required empathy, agility, and innovation from team members at every level of our organization. The winners of this year's Mile High Award did an exceptional job of navigating a changing landscape with no map. They saw uncertainty as an opportunity to act decisively and achieve great results for the customers they serve. "Five teams earning this recognition in a single year speaks not only to their individual achievements, but also to the strength of PrideStaff's franchise model," continued Heaton. "Though economic and labor market conditions may change, we've built an agile, resilient organization that helps Strategic-Partners thrivewhile driving results for employers and job seekers. Congratulations to the Fort Lauderdale, Thousand Oaks, Edison, Sacramento (East), and Memphis teams for their achievements. Their dedication, determination, and unstoppable hard work are evident in their 2022 results; they've achieved award-winning, profitable growth and created momentum to fuel their future success." About PrideStaff PrideStaff was founded in the 1970s as 100% company-owned units and began staffing franchising in 1995. They operate over 80 offices in North America to serve more than 5,000 clients and are headquartered in Fresno, CA. With 40 plus years in the staffing business, PrideStaff offers the resources and expertise of a national firm, with the spirit, dedication, and personal service of smaller, entrepreneurial firms. PrideStaff is the only nationwide, commercial staffing firm in the U.S. and Canada with over $100 million in annual revenue to earn ClearlyRateds prestigious Best of Staffing Diamond Awards ten years in a row, highlighting exceptional client and talent service quality. For more information on our services, or for staffing franchise information, visit our website. Fifty percent growth is unprecedented but not surprising given the demand for knowledge, networking opportunities, and technology to make informed decisions and solve global challenges. Geospatial and built world professionals gathered last week for Geo Week, held February 13-15, 2023 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. Geo Week is the premier conference and tradeshow created in response to the changing needs of geospatial and built world professionals that acknowledges and reflects the increasing convergence of technologies. Geo Week brought together 2,821 professionals in person from more than 3,100 registrants, representing a 50% increase in verified attendance over the 2022 event. The event had a sold-out exhibit hall floor featuring 190 exhibitors, representing a 31% increase over 2022, further cementing Geo Week as the premier event for technologies for the built environment, advanced airborne/terrestrial technologies, and commercial 3D technologies. The turnout was tremendous, said Lee Corkhill, Group Event Director at Diversified Communications, which produces the event. Fifty percent growth is unprecedented but not surprising given the demand for knowledge, networking opportunities, and technology to make informed decisions and solve global challenges. Geo Week kicked off Monday, February 13 with Product Previews, followed by two and a half days of extensive conference programming from 200+ speakers, including a keynote presentation from Esri Founder and President Jack Dangermond and a keynote panel with industry leaders speaking to the AEC industrys readiness for digitization. The keynote presentations can be accessed online here. In the exhibit hall, best-in-class solutions from the most influential companies were on display, allowing attendees to source the latest geospatial and built world innovations while networking with vendors and attendees from all 50 U.S. states and 41 countries. Dozens of new products were introduced at Geo Week making it a true hub for innovation. Additionally, USIBD held a laser-scanning competition, universities were highlighted in the Academic Showcase, and WGIC hosted a panel calling for action on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within the industry. Special features of the 2023 event included a Pitch the Press event, where the latest products from Oxford Technical Solutions (OxTS), LidarSwiss Solutions, and Exyn Technologies were chosen from 16 presentations that were pitched in quick succession to a panel of high-profile press representatives at Geo Week. These solutions represent the cutting edge in autonomous UAV technology, lidar georeferencing and boresight calibration, and real-time UAV lidar processing. The Geo Week Awards Ceremony, in collaboration with LIDAR Magazine, LiDAR News and ASPRS, celebrated excellence across the geospatial industry. The LIDAR Leaders Awards recognized accomplishments and innovations from Woolpert, Cepton Inc, Colorado Springs Utilities, Queens University (Belfast) and personal achievement from Dr. Qassim Abdullah, Chief Scientist at Woolpert. The Younger Geospatial Professional Award recognized Rebecca Lehman, Social Impact Program Manager at DroneDeploy. ASPRS honored members with their Fellows Award, Estes Memorial Teaching Award, Photogrammetric (Fairchild) Award and ASPRS Lifetime Achievement Award. Full coverage including all award recipients, photos and acceptance speeches, is available in Geo Week News awards recap. Numerous networking events were held, including the Welcome Happy Hour sponsored by Trimble and the Networking Reception sponsored by JP Global Digital. Geo Week was supported by 140+ publications, portals, associations, user groups, analysts, cooperating events, and government agencies, covering six continents. We are thrilled to have such far-reaching support, expressed Corkhill, These groups recognize Geo Week as the premier event for increased integration between the built environment, advanced airborne and terrestrial technologies, and commercial 3D technologies. The next edition of Geo Week takes place February 11-13, 2024 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, CO. Stay up to date by inquiring about attending or exhibiting, and continue to follow Geo Week News for post-event coverage. About Geo Week Geo Week is part of a network of events and media for the global geospatial and built markets organized by Diversified Communications, a leading organizer of conferences, trade shows, and online media with 16 years in the technology arena. Geo Week, taking place February 11-13, 2024, reflects the increased integration between the built environment, advanced airborne/terrestrial technologies, and commercial 3D technologies. Event partners include ASPRS (American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing) Annual Conference, ISPRS, MAPPS, USIBD (U.S. Institute of Building Documentation), and WGIC (World Geospatial Industry Council). Diversified Communications also produces Lidar & Geospatial Newsletter, 3D Technology Newsletter, AEC Innovations Newsletter, Geo Business Show (UK), Digital Construction Week (UK), Commercial UAV Expo and Commercial UAV News. For more information, visit http://www.geo-week.com. Questions? Lora Burns, lburns@divcom.com Geo Week Senior Marketing Manager Maputo, 23 Feb (AIM) - The Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, on Wednesday rejected an attempt by the main opposition party, Renamo, to place the district elections, scheduled for 2024, on the agenda for the current Assembly sitting At Renamo's insistence, the 2019 package on decentralisation included elected district assemblies, and the first district elections would be held in 2024. Renamo succeeded in putting this into an amendment to the Constitution that was unanimously passed. But there is still no legal framework for the district elections, and until parliament passes such a framework, the elections cannot be held. The Constitution merely states that the elections will be held in 2024. It says nothing about what powers, if any, the district assemblies will have, and does not even state how many members will sit in each assembly. There is considerable scepticism about the district assemblies, and President Filipe Nyusi has called for a nationwide reflection on whether they should be held or not. The Renamo bills would produce a set of rules for electing members of the district assemblies, and an institutional framework for the districts. Initially these bills were placed on the parliamentary agenda - but the Assembly's governing board, its Standing Commission, withdrew them. At the start of Wednesday's session, Renamo spokesperson Jose Manteigas said he could not understand why bills that were on the agenda had been withdrawn. The Renamo attempt to reinstate the bills failed because the ruling Frelimo Party, with its huge majority in parliament, voted against. The spokesperson for the Frelimo parliamentary group, Feliz Silvia, declared "We voted against, because we believe this is a demagogic exercise about a matter which is already under public debate". He pointed out that Nyusi, in his State of the Nation Address, had called on all Mozambicans "to discuss the need for an inclusive reflection on the district elections". But both Renamo and the second opposition party, the Mozambique Democratic Movement (MDM), claimed the district elections, and the legislation needed to make them possible, were "matters of national interest". Refusing to include the bills on the agenda "is to deny democracy", claimed the MDM. "It is a dangerous retreat to the days of the one party state". Mercer County Community College (MCCC) has announced Gonzalo Perez as the new Assistant Vice President (AVP) of Academic Affairs, Workforce Education and Innovation. In his role, Perez will oversee Mercer County Community Colleges James Kerney Campus (JKC) in conjunction with the Division of Lifelong Learning and MercerOnline. Perez replaces the former Dean of JKC, Tonia Perry-Conley and will retain the majority of his current responsibilities as AVP of MercerOnline and the Division of Lifelong Learning. We are pleased to welcome Dr. Perez as AVP, said Dr. Deborah Preston, president of Mercer County Community College. His expertise and depth of experience in higher education and his demonstrated commitment and contributions to Mercer over the past several years have established him as a remarkable leader and invaluable member of our senior team, the president said. MCCCs Vice President of Academic Affairs, Robert Schreyer, also applauded the selection of Perez. Mercer County Community College has a vested interest in continuing to improve the student experience by providing the finest academic and career options, said Schreyer. I believe Dr. Perez has the requisite skills and passion to meet and exceed these goals at James Kerney Campus in Trenton, he said. Perez brings to the position 17 years of higher education experience and a history of innovation, leadership, staff development, relationship building and operations planning. His work to date has focused on improving access to education and fostering success for a diverse student population. I am honored and excited about my expanded role at MCCC, said Perez. My past experience has put me on solid footing to face the new and interesting opportunities and challenges that lie ahead, he said. Before joining MCCC in 2020, Perez served as Associate Provost of Coconino Community College (CCC) in Flagstaff, Arizona where he helped develop innovative online programming. He also expanded CCCs pre-college program that prepared students for higher education. While at CCC, he collaborated with Native American tribes on remote education initiatives and led the Southern Nevada/Northern Arizona Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) grant, increasing the number of underrepresented students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. At both CCC and NAU, Perez also served as an adjunct professor of computer information systems. Originally from Guttenberg, New Jersey, Perez spent seven years in various leadership roles with Passaic County Community College in Paterson and is no stranger to working with urban communities. Many of Perezs colleagues in and around the Trenton area were happy to learn of his new capacity at the college. Reverend John R. Taylor from Trentons Capital City Community Coalition a group of area city officials, clergy, law enforcement, first responders and nonprofits said, My hat is off to Mercer County Community College for recognizing the strength of character and incredible work ethic of Dr. Perez. He will make Mercer shine. Taylor continued, I believe he will enhance the downtown campus so that urban students can achieve and maximize their potential under his leadership. Brother Gene Bouie, executive director of the Training and Development Institute at the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, said I cannot think of a more deserving individual for this role at Mercer County Community College ... it has been both an honor and pleasure to collaborate with Dr. Perez in our goal to create learning and skills acquisition pathways for the residents of Trenton in our attempt to address the high poverty rates. During the months ahead, Perez hopes to implement many new initiatives involving student success, education and workforce readiness at James Kerney campus. My vision is to create proven pathways to career success for our students through the growth and expansion of James Kerney Campus, Perez remarked. By strengthening and expanding workforce development opportunities for businesses and the community at large in Trenton, said Perez, I hope to make JKC a top-tier choice for Trenton residents or any individuals seeking to pursue their academic and career goals. Perez holds a Doctorate in Applied Computing from Pace University in New York City, and both a Master of Science in Management Information Systems and Bachelor of Science in Management Science from Kean University in Union, N.J. For more information about Mercer County Community Colleges James Kerney Campus in Trenton, please visit this link: https://www.mccc.edu/welcome_kerney.shtml. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Established in 1966, Mercer County Community College is a publicly supported comprehensive institution that provides opportunities for higher education through an open-door admission policy. The scenic 292-acre West Windsor Campus was opened in 1972 to serve the needs of Mercer County residents. MCCCs James Kerney Campus, located in downtown Trenton, serves as an educational and cultural hub for city residents that meets the changing needs of thousands of students and community members seeking educational fulfillment and personal and career growth. Global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP continues its strategic growth in Texas with the addition of Adrian Patterson, a solution-oriented business lawyer best known for his work in public finance and infrastructure. Patterson joins the Houston office as shareholder, along with a team of two of counsel and two associates, from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe where Patterson served as Houston office leader. "We are so pleased to welcome a leader and practitioner of Adrian's high quality and reputation, as well as his team, to Greenberg Traurig. We recognized the unique nature of Texas culture and business from the start, entering the state 20 years ago, not lately as a follower of the herd. Opening in Dallas, soon followed by Houston and Austin, we avoided culture-destroying mergers, sending in lawyers from other cities to run things, ignoring local clients in favor of only large ones from elsewhere, and using overheated, short-term financial guarantees to lawyers as the lure. This has allowed us to slowly but surely build a full service Texas firm, very much a part of the Texas business market and its political, charitable, and community organizations, while remaining one, unified firm of 2650 lawyers across 44 cities in the US, Mexico, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, Greenberg Traurig Executive Chairman Richard A. Rosenbaum said. "Our approach to building in Texas, nationally and globally has been centered on excellence, value and pragmatic legal advice, carefully avoiding becoming one of those places which were, to use the Texas phrase, 'all hat and no cattle'!" The combined experience and skills that Adrian and his team bring will enhance our footprint in the Texas public finance space, and broaden our infrastructure reach, said Franklin D.R. Jones, Jr., co-chair of the firms Public Finance and Infrastructure Practice. Additionally, they each possess qualities we seek in all attorneys: a strong commitment to client service and dedication to the legal field. I look forward to working alongside the team and continuing our strategic growth in Texas to further meet client demand. There is much more to come! Greenberg Traurigs breadth and scope, relating to practice groups and geographic reach, along with its commitment to Texas, were driving forces in our decision to join the firm. They will allow us to bring a more comprehensive practice to clients, Patterson said. Having worked with a number of Greenberg Traurig attorneys, we have been privy to the work they are accomplishing both in Texas and nationwide and believe that it is only a matter of time until the firm is leading the public finance legal field. Patterson focuses his practice on public finance, serving as bond counsel and disclosure counsel for cities, counties, transit agencies, toll road authorities, public utilities, and nonprofit corporations on projects involving streets, rail, toll roads, public works infrastructure, arts and convention center facilities, and power projects. He concentrates his public law practice on representing political subdivisions as general counsel and advising on matters related to development, procurement, compliance, and elections. Patterson also looks forward to using his long-standing relationships in Texas across industries for both public and private companies to aid the firms growth in all facets of its practices. Patterson and his team represent a number of the top names in public finance and infrastructure in Houston and throughout Texas, such as the City of Houston, Harris County Toll Road Authority, Port of Houston, Harris County Metropolitan Transit Authority, Texas Medical Center, City of Brownsville Public Utility Board, Brazoria County Toll Road Authority, and Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority. Pattersons team will include Of Counsel Robert Collie and James Hernandez and Associates Noe Hinojosa, III and Donna McIntosh, each of which will be prominent members of the Public Finance & Infrastructure Practice in Texas, which includes Jones and Of Counsel Martye Kendrick. The firms three offices in Texas have recently added strategic hires in various core practice areas including Shareholders Ashley Aten (Real Estate), Denis Braham (Real Estate), Christina M. Carroll (Litigation), G. Michael Gruber (Litigation), Adam H. Laughton (Health Care & FDA), Ethel J. Johnson (Litigation), Brian E. Mason (Litigation), James Peacock (Health Care & FDA), and Austin R. Wyker (Tax); Senior Counsel Sheryl Tatar Dacso (Health Care & FDA); and, Of Counsel Richard A. Crow (Real Estate). About Greenberg Traurig, LLP Texas: Texas is important to Greenberg Traurig, LLP and the firms history. With approximately 150 Texas lawyers in Austin, Dallas, and Houston, Greenberg Traurig has deep roots in the Texas business, legal, and governmental communities. Greenberg Traurig Texas works with clients to address their interdisciplinary legal needs across the state utilizing the firms global platform. The Texas attorneys are experienced in industries key to the states future, including: aviation, chemicals, construction, education, energy and natural resources, financial institutions, health care, hedge funds, hospitality, infrastructure, insurance, media, medical devices, pharmaceutical and biotechnology, real estate, retail, sports, technology and software, telecommunications, transportation, and video games and esports. About Greenberg Traurigs Public Finance & Infrastructure Practice: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has a national public finance practice that consistently ranks among the top bond, disclosure, and underwriters counsel firms according to The Bond Buyers nationwide and statewide rankings. Greenberg Traurig LLPs Public Finance & Infrastructure Practice has been serving the needs of state and local issuers, underwriters, credit providers, bondholders, and conduit borrowers throughout the United States for more than forty years in virtually every area of public finance. The firm currently has more than 35 attorneys in the Public Finance & Infrastructure Practice in its Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minneapolis, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington, D.C. offices. About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2650 attorneys in 44 locations in the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East. The firm is a 2022 BTI Highly Recommended Law Firm for superior client service and is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law Global 100 and NLJ 250. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab. The firm is recognized for powering its U.S. offices with 100% renewable energy as certified by the Center for Resource Solutions Green-e Energy program and is a member of the U.S. EPAs Green Power Partnership Program. The firm is known for its philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com. J.S. Held energy experts observe how the overall effect of not correctly pricing or valuing reliability and resilience in the decision-making process around energy generation selection is negatively impacting overall system operations. J.S. Held, a global consulting firm providing technical, scientific, and financial expertise across all assets and value at risk, announced today a paper focused on Rethinking Energy Reliability with Modern Power Systems. In this paper, J.S. Held energy experts discuss how grid-scale electrical reliability (the ability to avoid system interruptions) and resilience (the ability to bounce back from those interruptions once they occur) are changing as our systems of electrical generation. As the primary forms of generation that supply our electrical grid are moving from a carbon-based to a non-carbon-based state, J. S. Held Senior Vice President of Energy Transition & Impact Assessment John Dulude observes, decision-makers need to correctly price reliability and resilience in the evaluation process for project selection. In many instances, new generation selection decisions are made based on classical, alternative comparison models, which do not necessarily capture differences in the operational capability of the various alternatives. The overall effect of not correctly pricing or valuing reliability and resilience in the decision-making process for new electrical generation impacts our overall system operations. This concern has recently been reinforced by negative electrical system performance impacts associated with recent extreme weather events in the U.S., such as the Texas winter storm event in February 2021. This timely publication explores several of the issues addressed in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approvals on February 16, 2023, of Reliability Standards EOP-011-3 (Emergency Operations) and EOP-012-1 (Extreme Cold Weather Preparedness and Operations) as proposed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). J. S. Held Senior Vice President and Environmental Risk and Compliance expert John F. Peiserich, observes, the order also approves associated violation risk factors and violation severity levels while presenting several newly defined terms. Chris Norris, Vice President of Energy Transition Special Projects, adds, to ensure system stability, reliability, and resilience during inclement weather events going forward, it will be imperative that generation and transmission Owners, Operators, and Asset Managers, as well as fuel providers and other critical services, work together to quickly identify weaknesses causing some of the system derates and outages. Mr. Norris continues, Hardening (weatherproofing) of the assets is crucial to overall reliability and involves thoughtful planning, adequate capital and expense investment, and O&M excellence. To learn more, download Rethinking Energy Reliability with Modern Power Systems here: https://www.jsheld.com/insights/articles/rethinking-energy-reliability-with-modern-power-systems. About J.S. Held J.S. Held is a global consulting firm providing technical, scientific, and financial expertise across all assets and value at risk. Our professionals serve as trusted advisors to organizations facing high-stakes events demanding urgent attention, staunch integrity, clear-cut analysis, and an understanding of both tangible and intangible assets. The firm provides a comprehensive suite of services, products, and data that enable clients to navigate complex, contentious, and often catastrophic situations. Jan Mello Joins ICW Group as Vice President, Head of Human Resources ICW Groups continued success is dependent upon our ability to attract best-in-class talent, said John Novak, President & Chief Operating Officer. Jans successful HR background and leadership skills will elevate and continue to motivate a high-performing culture at ICW Group. Jan Mello joins ICW Group Insurance Companies, a leading group of property and casualty carriers, as Vice President, Head of Human Resources, leading the companys more than one thousand team members and future talent acquisition and growth across all lines of business. Mello brings more than 25 years of experience across multiple industries to ICW Group. Her expertise includes global human resources leadership, enhancing employee engagement and development, and optimizing performance. Before joining ICW Group, Mello was Partner and Chief Human Resources Officer for USI Insurance Services. ICW Groups continued success is dependent upon our ability to attract and retain best-in-class talent and develop the most successful employee and customer experiences, said John Novak, President and Chief Operating Officer. In addition to Jans successful HR background and leadership skills, she brings extensive experience in organizational design, employee and leadership development, and employer brand, all of which will elevate and continue to motivate a high-performing culture at ICW Group. Mello received her Bachelor of Administration degree in business administration from California State University, Fullerton, and holds several human resources and talent certifications. She will lead the Human Resources and Learning and Development teams based out of ICW Groups corporate headquarters in San Diego. I am thrilled to be joining ICW Group at a time of such great growth and opportunity in its market footprint, said Mello. I look forward to being part of a dynamic organization and leadership team to drive progressive HR and talent practices, programs, and initiatives and build a strong Team Member value proposition that makes ICW Group an employer of choice. About ICW Group Based in San Diego, ICW Group Insurance Companies is the largest privately held insurance company domiciled in California. Quoting more than $3 billion annually, ICW Group represents a group of Workers Compensation, Assumed Reinsurance, Catastrophe, General Liability and Commercial Property insurance carriers, including Insurance Company of the West and Explorer Insurance Company. ICW Group is recognized nationally as an industry leader in helping policyholders achieve fewer and less costly claims while elevating the trusted agents who advise them. More information is available at http://www.icwgroup.com, http://www.twitter.com/ICWGroup, http://www.linkedin.com/companies/icw-group and http://www.facebook.com/ICWGroup. RCH Solutions provides expert Bio-IT services to the Life Sciences. "We pride ourselves on our ability to prioritize the delivery of results over the fulfillment of service levels, and we look forward to sharing the expertise and insights weve gained over our long tenure with the other members of the MassBio community." RCH Solutions (RCH), a global provider of Bio-IT computing expertise, has joined Boston-area non-profit, MassBio, dedicated to advancing leadership within the Life Sciences. With a large and growing presence throughout New England, RCH Solutions is eager to deepen its ties and relationships within this respected group as a trusted and established provider of specialty Bio-IT expertise and services within the industry. Were excited to increase our presence within this important organization in the Life Sciences space, said Michael Riener, President and CEO of RCH Solutions. MassBio has been a trusted source for industry advocacy, insights, education and networking, and were looking forward to contributing to the important work they do within the Boston-area and beyond. Founded in 1985, MassBio works to advance policy and promote education, while providing member programs, events, industry information, and services for the #1 Life Sciences cluster in the world. As a trusted provider of specialized computing services exclusively to the Life Sciences for more than 30 years, RCH Solutions currently has hubs in many of the countrys hottest destinations for Life Sciences innovation, including Boston, Philadelphia, La Jolla, and San Francisco. Their highly specialized team has been called upon to help Biotechs and Pharmas across the globe architect, implement, optimize and support compute environments tasked with driving performance for scientific teams conducting research and discovery, and preclinical and clinical development. With areas of expertise in Cloud Computing, Data Management, Data Science, Emerging Technologies (AI/ML), High-Performance Computing (HPC), Omics and Bioinformatics, Research Application Support, System Administration, and Workflow Optimization, RCH Solutions bridges the gap between IT and R&D Business areas, effectively leveraging innovation in one discipline (IT) to help drive advancement in the other (science). The company has been particularly successful in supporting start-up and emerging Biotechs and Pharmas in the development of scalable and performance-driven compute ecosystems to drive business and scientific goals. In an industry driven by the pursuit of progress, the ability for Biopharma teams to fully harness innovation and technology to support discovery has long been a differentiator, continues Riener. We pride ourselves on our ability to prioritize the delivery of results over the fulfillment of service levels and we look forward to sharing the expertise and insights weve gained over our long tenure with the other members of the MassBio community. To learn more about RCH Solutions, visit http://www.rchsolutions.com. To learn more about MassBio, visit http://www.MassBio.org. About RCH Solutions: RCH Solutions (RCH) is a global provider of Bio-IT expertise, helping Life Sciences and Healthcare companies of all sizes clear the path to discovery. For more than 30 years, RCH has provided focused experience and unmatched specialization designing and deploying cross-functional IT strategies, supporting R&D infrastructure, and offering workflow best practices that solve enterprise and scientific computing challenges. Two 16-by-9-foot Christie 1.2mm LED video walls were installed, driven by a Christie Spyder X80 image processor. We looked at a couple other Christie products and solutions as well as other manufacturers, but the customer likes Christie, and I like supporting Christie Sound Image has transformed an executive conference center for Edwards Lifesciences with the installation of two 16-by-9-foot Christie LED video walls and a Christie Spyder X80 image processor. Specified and integrated by Sound Image and designed in collaboration with PLANNET, the impressive new space can seat 126 people. Edwards Lifesciences, headquartered in Irvine, California, is a leading medical technology company. For its renovated conference center, Edwards was looking for a fully redundant space that included a full video production suite as well as self-serviceability. Two 16-by-9-foot Christie 1.2mm LED video walls were installed with redundant Christie E600 controllers and driven by a Christie Spyder X80 image processor. With seating to accommodate 126 people, microphones were installed at each spot. Six cameras are used at the front and two in the rear of the room, in conjunction with the Spyder X80, which enables multi-window and self-configurable full auto-tracking during video calls. The selection of Christie LED video walls was driven by budget and the unique requirements for the space. We looked at a couple other Christie products and solutions as well as other manufacturers, but the customer likes Christie, and I like supporting Christie, says Jared Shapiro, account executive, Sound Image. The customer wanted an off-board power supply because of heat concerns they had in this space. This allowed us to move all those BTUs into the rack room where they can be better controlled. The Christie LED video wall is front-serviceable and features an optional remote power supply for installation flexibility, efficient heat management and redundancies. This premium LED video wall solution delivers 4K@60Hz resolution, HDR10 compatibility, built-in Clearview technology, and low-brightness enhancements for incredible visual experiences. The use of a Christie Spyder X80 image processor in the boardroom was in part to standardize the technology across Edwards campus and to take advantage of its multi-windowing capabilities. Spyder has been established across multiple projects throughout this campus, and what I like to do is standardize some of the technologies that we're using, says Shapiro. Spyder is driving the multi-window and auto-tracking functionality, which helped us create clean transitions and multi-window presets. The requirement to create a fully redundant space was unique to the project. While it added complexity to the system, and required significantly more rack space, Sound Image was well-prepared to take on the challenge. Sound Image is a touring company by heart, and we've been in the audio industry for decades. The show must go on, and we could never cancel a concert because we have technical difficulties. We have that same mindset when we do permanent installations, says Shapiro. Additionally, the condensed installation timeline meant that Sound Image was working concurrently in the space with construction crews and carpenters, but care was taken to ensure the project went smoothly. From pre-sales all the way to commissioning, we had Christies support. I adamantly take advantage of Christies installation support, as well as all the commissioning services for the Spyder X80. I like to make sure the customer feels that they are getting the best of the best, and that includes the manufacturer being part of that process. The result is a renovated executive boardroom that exceeds expectations. Everyone loves the space, and everything about it - from the audio to the video - is top-notch, adds Shapiro. The Charming Taste of Europe continues to support its initiatives in the US by promoting The Late Harvest Wines of Bordeaux and territory with multiple masterclasses throughout February 2023 each taking place in major US cities. The Union des Vins Doux de Bordeaux is an association of four organizations, ODG des Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superieurs, ODG des Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux et Cadillac, ODG des Liquoreux de Bordeaux, and ODG des Cotes de Bordeaux Saint Macaire, that ensures the protection of origin and quality standard of the the late harvest wines produced in 8 appellations of the Bordeaux region: Bordeaux Moelleux, Bordeaux Superieur, Cadillac, Cerons, Cotes de Bordeaux Saint-Macaire, Loupiac, Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux, and Sainte-Croix-Du-Mont. These white wines of Bordeaux develop varietal aromas from the Semillon, Sauvignon, and Muscadelle varieties, for a complex, fascinating, and gourmet nose. In the mouth, they have the perfect balance between freshness and flavor. These wines are suitable for any occasion, from the most relaxed to the most elegant receptions complementing a wide variety of dishes. The tour started in Miami on February 21st at Vinya Table, a restaurant and wine bar that includes a bar area, private dining rooms, and a shop selling a curated selection of wine and spirits from all over the world. Participants discovered the beauty of the Bordeaux region and its long winemaking tradition through various wine and food pairings. The masterclass was led by Alessandra Esteves, Director of Wine Education at the Florida Wine Academy & Co-Founder at 305 Wines. Following Miami, multiple masterclasses will take place in Los Angeles. The first will take place on February 22nd at Wife and the Somm, a neighborhood wine bar and restaurant. The restaurant features an ever-evolving menu of seasonal food using quality ingredients which pair beautifully with the wines from Bordeaux. The following Masterclasses in Los Angeles will occur on February 23rd at The Cloverfield, a friendly eatery in Santa Monica. Both these masterclasses will be led by Monica Marin DipWSET/Bordeaux Certified Educator and participants will indulge in a lunch pairing featuring the white wines of Bordeaux. The final Masterclasses in Los Angeles will be at the Jonathan Club, a private social club founded in 1895, on February 24th, and led by Paul Sherman, an Advanced Sommelier certified by the American Court of Master Sommeliers. The last two masterclasses of the US tour will take place on February 28th in Washington DC at the Capital Wine School. The first will feature a lunch menu pairing with multiple white wines of Bordeaux. Both will be led by Jay Youmans, MW, managing director of the Capital Wine School. Started in 2021, The Charming Taste of Europe is a three-year campaign promoted by the Vini d Abruzzo consortium and the Union of Sweet Bordeaux Wines, along with fruit producers in Greeces Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Kavala (Kavala COOP) and Agricultural Cooperative of Rachi Pieria (Agios Loukas), co-financed by the European Union. This campaign focuses on raising awareness of these high-quality products in the American and Canadian market. The Charming Taste of Europe aims to educate participants on the beauty of the Bordeaux region by calling attention to its rich history and luscious, golden wines through educated wine professionals. About the Charming Taste of Europe: Europe, a place with timeless charm, is the birthplace of some of the highest-quality products in the world. The Charming Taste of Europe is a special project that introduces exquisite specialties to the United States and Canada, such as Italian and French wines, and fresh fruits from Greece, that showcase Europes charm, beauty, culture, history, art, heritage and unmistakable tastes. The mission of the Charming Taste of Europe, co-funded by the European Union, is to increase awareness of the merits and quality standards of select European wines and fresh fruits with promotional activities in the competitive markets of the U.S. and Canada. The Charming Taste of Europe is promoted by the Consortium for the Protection of Wines of Abruzzo, the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Kavala (Kavala COOP), the Agricultural Cooperative of Rachi Pieria Agios Loukas and the Union of Sweet Bordeaux Wines. These European agricultural products, famous around the world for their outstanding qualities, will continue to be promoted with initiatives and events for consumers, journalists and trade professionals. For more information visit charmingtasteofeurope.eu To Follow The Charming Taste of Europe Campaign: Website:charmingtasteofeurope.eu Facebook: @CharmingTasteofEU Instagram: @charmeu_usa YouTube:The Charming Taste of Europe Hashtags: #thecharmingtasteofeu and #charmeu The content of this promotion campaign represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. The European Commission and the European Research Executive Agency (REA) do not accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the information it contains The Healthcare Innovation Company announced another wave of speakers for its second annual Healthcare Innovation Congress, thINc360, today. The Healthcare Innovation Congress convenes senior leaders from across the healthcare ecosystem: Payers, Providers, Life Sciences organizations, government officials, start-ups, investors, and more. Taking place June 20-22 at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C., thINc360 offers three days of content, including more than 150 speakers and 100 in-depth sessions spanning four comprehensive tracks. The Healthcare Innovation Congress brings healthcare leaders and organizations who are transforming healthcare to the forefront. We are extremely excited and honored to welcome these additional healthcare leaders to the program as a follow-up to our previously announced roster that includes, Dan Mendelson, Chief Executive Officer, Morgan Health; Lawrence Moss, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer, Nemours Children's Health; and David Goldhill, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Sesame, said Haritha Krishnarathnam, VP of Content and Strategy, thINc. Recent additions the thINc360 faculty include: Phoebe Yang, Fortune 2 Executive, Public and Private Company Board Director, Appointee in Two Presidential Administrations, Digital Transformation and Global Expansion Operator, Thought Leader, and Investor LaShawn McIver, MD, MPH, Director, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Office of Minority Health (OMH) Nancy Gin, MD, FACP, EVP, Quality, and Chief Quality Office, Kaiser Permanente Caitlin Donovan, Global Head, Uber Health Megan Adornato, Senior Vice President, Global Health Promotion Programs, Citi Tim Engelhardt, Director, CMS Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Daniel Knecht, MD, MBA, VP and Chief Clinical Innovation Officer, CVS Caremark Denise Basow, MD, MBA, EVP and Chief Digital Officer, Ochsner Health Lisa Porter, Director of Community Engagement, Humana Nwando Anyaoku, MD, MPH, MBA, VP, Chief Health Equity Officer, Providence North Division Sanjay Desai, MD, Chief Academic Officer, Group VP of Medical Education, American Medical Association Michelle Stansbury, VP, Innovation and IT Applications, Houston Methodist U. Michael Currie, MPH, MBA, SVP and Chief Health Equity Office, UnitedHealth Group Mirella Daja, VP, Future Business Strategy, Novo Nordisk Rahul Kak, VP, Customer Health & Experience, CVS Health Monte Masten, MD, MBA, MPH, Chief Medical Officer, Marsh McLennan Agency, LLC Stuart Hart, MD, MBA, MS, FACOG, FACS, Chief Medical Officer, Integra LifeSciences Neal Lemon, PhD, Executive Director, Cooper Innovation Center, Cooper University Health Care Kathryn G. Schubert, MPP, CAE, President & CEO, Society for Womens Health Research Visit https://www.thinc360.com/2023event to view the full speaker line-up and register. Early registration rates are in effect and hotel rooms are filling up quickly for the Congress, so prospective attendees and sponsors are advised to act quickly. About The Healthcare Innovation Congress (thINc360) The Healthcare Innovation Congress, organized by The Healthcare Innovation Company, brings together two premier healthcare events The World Health Congress for health plan, hospital system, government, and life sciences executives and Benefit Design Strategies for Employers (produced by Validation Institute) - together under one roof to form thINc360. Focused on delivering impactful content and creating meaningful connections, thINc360 gathers cross-sector healthcare leaders for the year's most prominent industry event and offers a unique forum that inspires healthcare innovation. thINc360 takes place June 20-22, 2023, at the Grand Hyatt, Washington, D.C. The Healthcare Innovation Company: https://thinc360.com Validation Institute: https://validationinstitute.com Today, Vector Solutions, the leading provider of software solutions and data insights that elevate higher education institutions prevention and compliance strategies, announced the 2022 recipients of its Campus Prevention Network (CPN) Seal of Prevention. Launched in 2020, the CPN Seal of Prevention is awarded to institutions and organizations of higher education that have demonstrated a commitment to world-class digital prevention programs tied to student safety, well-being, and inclusion. The criteria for the CPN Seal of Prevention are based on the Principles of Effective Prevention Programs published by Nation, et. al. (2003). Two decades of prevention research and practice helped establish a meaningful quality standard for online prevention programs. Each year, over one thousand colleges, universities, and national organizations are evaluated against evidence-based prevention principles to assess the quality of their digital programming to determine eligibility. Each recipient of the CPN Seal of Prevention has taken action to create a safer, more inclusive campus through comprehensive, evidence-based digital prevention education on issues such as sexual assault, alcohol misuse, mental health, and discrimination. The CPN Seal of Prevention recognizes the outstanding digital prevention education efforts of these institutions, and elevates the visibility of these commitments to students and parents as essential to consider during the college search process. Institutions that emphasize wellness, safety, and inclusion see improved student outcomes across the lifecycle - from enrollment and engagement to academic achievement and retention. Todays high school seniors rank safety, well-being, and inclusion as important as academic rigor when deciding on a college to attend. In fact, according to research conducted by Vector Solutions, 34% of high school seniors are more likely to attend a college or university that has achieved the CPN Seal of Prevention. The Seal boosts the visibility of campuses committed to meeting the highest standard of well-being. Through a partnership with Parchment, the worlds leading digital credential service, prospective students and their parents can easily search and identify institutions that have achieved the CPN Seal of Prevention via Parchments College Profile Pages and Student Choice Survey. These tools are used by millions of students to learn about campuses and organizations that align with their interests, needs, and values. Students today are highly passionate about their well-being and experience outside of the classroom. Among current college students, 77% feel it is important that their institution has achieved the CPN Seal of Prevention. Additionally, recipient institutions, on average, have a 9.5% higher first-year retention rate and 12.5% higher on-time four-year graduation rate compared to those that have not achieved the Seal, thus tying great prevention work directly to recruitment, retention, and long-term institutional success. The 2022 recipients of the CPN Seal of Prevention consist of 482 colleges, universities, and Greek-letter organizations. The profile of Seal-awarded institutions is exceptionally diverse, spanning almost all 50 states and including 23 community and technical colleges, 11 national fraternities and sororities, and the majority of the top 50 institutions in the US News & World Report Best Colleges ranking. A full list of the 2022 Seal recipients is available here. The CPN Seal of Prevention recipients reflect the top 12% of colleges and universities nationwide, highlighting their commitment and investment to not only academics but also the well-being of their students and the overall college experience, said Jonathan Cherins, CEO at Vector Solutions. Our team at Vector Solutions is proud to recognize the great value these leading institutions and organizations are providing to students and the commitment we share to making higher education communities safer and more inclusive. To learn more about the CPN Seal of Prevention , please visit https://www.vectorsolutions.com/industries/education/higher-education/campus-prevention-network-seal/ ABOUT VECTOR SOLUTIONS for HIGHER EDUCATION Vector Solutions, Higher Education is the industry leader in postsecondary safety and prevention training, serving more than 2,000 of the nations most widely recognized and prestigious institutions and organizations for more than 20 years. Its programs help drive lasting, large-scale change on the social impact issues that matter most, including alcohol and other drugs; sexual assault and harassment; diversity and inclusion; and mental health. Online prevention programs available through Vector Solutions reach over ten million higher education students, staff, and faculty each year. For more information, visit http://www.vectorsolutions.com/HE ABOUT VECTOR SOLUTIONS Vector Solutions is the leading provider of award-winning, intelligent SaaS solutions that help organizations and individuals operate at the highest level and prepare for more challenging workplaces and environments. Providing industry-focused solutions that connect information and technology, its unique product set includes training management, continuing education (CE), compliance training, workforce scheduling, safety management, and more. Reaching approximately 31 million users and more than 35 thousand clients worldwide, Vector's mission is to serve everyday heroes by delivering intelligent software solutions that empower them to make safer, smarter, better decisions. For more information, visit http://www.vectorsolutions.com. Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC), the trade association representing the regions technology community, marked the record-breaking growth of Virginias data center industry at its fourth annual NVTC Data Center Awards. Over 200 industry professionals, statewide business community representatives, and public sector leaders attended the awards ceremony to celebrate the winners and toast to the regions success as the largest data center market in the world. Data centers drive significant opportunities for Virginia residents, supporting 45,000 total jobs and employing nearly 13,500 Virginians in the data center industry alone. In Loudoun County, where many of these facilities are located, data centers bring in roughly one-third of the property value stream. Their impact isnt limited to economics, however. Data centers are increasingly migrating to more eco-friendly practices like clean energyusing 36% of the Dominion Energy utilitys solar capacity in Virginia. In total, Northern Virginias data centers handle at least one-third of the worlds online use. Data centers are a significant source of economic growth in Loudoun County, both in direct investment and the local tech business environment created as a result of their presence, said Buddy Rizer, Executive Director of Loudoun Economic Development. As a passionate advocate and promoter of data centers in our region for more than 15 years, I am excited for the NVTC awards night as the innovators and leaders in our rapidly evolving data center industry are recognized and applauded. The NVTC Data Center Awards recognize the changemakers responsible for cementing Virginia as a dominant player in the data center industry and driving its growth and economic impact. This year, NVTC announced winners in eight categories, three of which were new: the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Award; the Global Data Center Award; and the Data Center Innovation Award. NVTC also announced its first-ever dual winners of the Rising Star Award. Virginia continues to lead the way among global data centers, and this years winners are a reflection of innovation and industry leadership, said Jennifer Taylor, president and CEO of NVTC. As technology becomes more embedded in our everyday lives and the amount of data generated continues to grow, data centers play a vital role in enabling a digital economy to flourish. Congratulations to the companies and individuals who received this years awards. An independent panel of business leaders selected the winners in eight award categories. Community Champion Award: Steve Altizer, Compu Dynamics Construction Project Award: Amazon Web Services Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Award: (New!) Equinix Global Data Center Award: (New!) Digital Realty Data Center Innovation Award: (New!) Compass Datacenters Rising Star Award: Sarah Godbehere, Google Boomya Patan, World Services, LLC Sustainable Champion Award: Katrina Rymill, Equinix Trailblazer Award: Rob Faktorow, CBRE This years NVTC Data Center Awards are sponsored by Loudoun County Economic Development, AHT Insurance, Amazon Web Services, Falken Industries, Google, Meta, QTS, Digital Realty, Iron Mountain Data Centers, Northern Virginia Community College, Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative, Prince William County Department of Economic Development, Vantage Data Centers, Equinix, Henrico County Economic Development Authority, and INTERSTATE. ### Contact Tarin Horan Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) thoran@nvtc.org 703.946.0319 About the Northern Virginia Technology Council NVTC is the trade association representing the Northern Virginia technology community. As one of the nations largest technology councils, NVTC serves companies from all sectors of the industry, from small businesses and start-ups to Fortune 100 technology companies, government contractors, as well as service providers, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations. More than 450 members look to the organization as a resource for networking and educational opportunities, peer-to-peer communities, policy advocacy, industry promotion, fostering of strategic relationships, and branding of the region as a major global technology center. Learn more at http://www.nvtc.org. Cape Town Eskom CEO Andre De Ruyter was planning on leaving embattled power utility in March 2023 but hurried his exit after an explosive interview in which he spoke on the situation at Eskom. In the interview with eNCA, De Ruyter didn't pull any punches as he spoke of alleged corruption, theft, mismanagement, and the several cover-ups of crime at the power utility, which he said resulted in the misery of power cuts (load shedding) that has intensified in frequency over the past few months. Many businesses, particularly small businesses, are heavily impacted, many closed or retrenched staff, and navigating around power cuts for ordinary South Africans is a daily challenge. De Ruyter took the reins at the parastatal at a time when load shedding was worsening. The company was mismanaged for years and De Ruyter said he tried peeling away the layers of corruption at Eskom - from coal purchasing tenders that were irregularly awarded, to crumbling infrastructure. De Ruyter said that Eskom loses R1 billion per month to corruption. De Ruyter also spoke of the theft of diesel, needed to keep power stations running and sabotage at power stations - by Eskom employees that resulted in the South African National Defence Force being called in to protect vulnerable power stations. Although arrests were made in certain instances, many other cases have not been dealt with. De Ruyter also spoke of threats made on his life, including a cyanide poisoning. The power utility has debt amounting to R423 billion and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said government will provide a bailout to halve that debt. South Africans have, over the years, been slapped with a further hike in electricity tariffs. But what seemed to be the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back was when Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe accused De Ruyter of wanting to unseat the government by implementing power cuts. Reactions From Political Parties Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula called for De Ruyter to provide evidence for his claims of ANC involvement in corruption at Eskom, Eyewitness News reports. "If he's got anything that says ANC is corrupt, he must then produce evidence." Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has also said that De Ruyter was "economical with the truth". He said: "When the issues of corruption was raised with the government, an investigation was done, and it was found that yes indeed there is some syndicates in particular in Mpumalanga, which also included the police," Eyewitness News reports. "What government did was to set up a task team, they've just moved into Megawatt [Park]. They've arrested a number of people because of that. I find it difficult to take that statement." Western Cape Premier Alan Winde of the Democratic Alliance expressed his shock at De Ruyter's immediate termination as group CEO - a move brought by De Ruyter's "courage" in speaking out about corruption at Eskom, he said. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Business Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Congress of the People' Dennis Bloem said sabotage at the utility was a disgrace."De Ruyter has a constitutional duty to expose all those he knows who are involved in corruption and sabotage at Eskom. It is a disgrace how the ANC has systematically destroyed Eskom over the past 28 years." ActionSA's Herman Mashaba said the ANC needed to be held accountable. "The ANC is a criminal syndicate that exists only to line its own pocket. Mo amount of rehabilitation or musical chairs of its leadership will ever be able to change the entrenched corruption within the ANC." The Black Business Council welcomed De Ruyter's exit. "Mr. De Ruyter has been a monumental failure who brought the economy of South Africa to its knees. Mr. De Ruyter's unnecessary attention-seeking noise was becoming an irritating distraction that the country does not need," said the council's Kganki Matabane. Work directly with Dame Shellie Hunt, Founder of Women of Global Change We are thrilled to support the launch of The Gateway & WGC-LV Biz EXPO here in Las Vegas at The Blind Center of Nevada, the weekend of April 28-30, 2023 , says Dr. Monica Riley, President WGC-Las Vegas Chapter. Women are over half the worlds population yet still lack leadership positions. With the start of the pandemic in the United States, women outnumbered men in the workforce. Today, however, we have seen the number of women in the workforce decline drastically as women are becoming more selective with their time and valuing their skills differently. As a result, women are looking to engage in their own businesses, so they have more control of their time, finances, and career growth. Many are choosing to make less money and forgo career advancement opportunities for the freedom of flexibility for elder care and childcare to allow them to provide. Women are also choosing to make a difference in the world based on pursuing their heart-centered missions while earning an income. To facilitate the creation of such businesses, Women of Global Change is presenting the WGC Gateway Program on April 28th & 29th, 2023. This event will be both in-person in Las Vegas and offered remotely. The WGC Gateway assists individuals in creating their own businesses within 72 hours in a fast-paced, affordable, and easily accessible environment. Women of Global Change (WGC) is a multiple White House award-winning 501(c) 3 organization that leads with service. The main focus of the WGC is to expand collaboration amongst like-minded leaders. Since its inception, the Women of Global Change has impacted communities with educational training and networks in local and international community social impact activism to create a better world for ourselves and all humankind. Dr. Dame Shellie Hunt founded the Women of Global Change, and the WGC has had a powerful impact on the lives of people all over the world. I am most excited to see women step in and step up as entrepreneurs. Women are natural entrepreneurs and multi-taskers. Being a single mom myself and having created multiple successful businesses after making $3000 a month for years, I understand the importance of the freedom of time and energy. This program covers everything I wish I had started with Branding, Logo, Marketing, and beyond in one lightspeed launch. I am on a mission to make at least 50 women-owned businesses this year. And better yet, that is accessible to even working single women like me. I dont know where else in the world you can get the assistance to create a business in less than 72 hours. Stated Hunt. Dr. Dame Shellie Hunt will be personally leading this program and has a gift that results in a transformation impact on the people who work with her as she teaches the precise How to in the designs and strategies of your success. Known as the First Lady of Entrepreneurs, she has served tens of thousands of women, children, and individuals worldwide in communities and outreach programs. Shellie has shared the stage with some of the top business speakers in the world and is a lead mentor in the Billionaire Adventure Club. She has appeared on national talk, and radio shows with audiences in the millions and has been a multiple contributor to Forbes.com. Her numerous appearances include CBS, ABC, USA Today, CBS Money Watch, Beyond the Dow, HLN, FOX, and many others. Shellie has taught at the University of Chicago, UCSF (where her marketing program was implemented as a curriculum in the business school), and she still mentors business strategy and innovation at Cal State Long Beach to both undergraduate and MBA students. After the Gateway Program, there will be a Biz Expo on April 30th where businesses get to showcase their products and network while sharing lunch together and meeting the local community. We are thrilled to support the launch of The Gateway & WGC-LV Biz EXPO here in Las Vegas at The Blind Center of Nevada, the weekend of April 28-30, 2023 , says Dr. Monica Riley, President WGC-Las Vegas Chapter. Women are the fastest growing demographic of entrepreneurs in the U.S., with nearly 5 million businesses nationwide. But even with their growing presence in the business world, women face disproportionate financial headwinds. The Gateway is the way to bridge that financial gap between business launch and profit success! Our impact is greater when we strive to achieve what we believe - together." To find out more about the women of global change, go to http://www.womenofglobalchange.com To explore the WGC Gateway Program, go to: Gateway "We are excited to bring our Digital Patient Engagement solution to another healthcare provider," "Every Gastroenterology department can enjoy exceptional benefits using Zappix solution - such as eliminating late cancelations and reschedules, reducing no-shows, higher conversion of referrals to book Zappix, a leading provider of Digital Patient Engagement solutions and On-Demand Visual Self-Service, has signed with a healthcare provider in the United States for their Gastroenterology department, further solidifying its position in the healthcare industry. The healthcare provider has chosen Zappix's innovative Digital Patient Engagement platform to transform patient experience (PX), improve patient outcomes, and improve staff utilization. Zappix's Digital Patient Engagement Solution helps providers tackle the costly effects of patient no-shows and rescheduling. Zappix's interactive solution leverages proactive reminders and pre/post-procedure guidance to increase revenue and streamline operations. With reduced no-shows and improved patient preparedness, the solution helps you avoid revenue loss. The automated system also frees staff from repetitive and mundane tasks, allowing them to focus on more productive activities, and enhances patient education to reduce rescheduling. "We are excited to bring our Digital Patient Engagement solution to another healthcare provider," said Yossi Abraham, President & CEO of Zappix. "Every Gastroenterology department can enjoy exceptional benefits using Zappix solution - such as eliminating late cancelations and reschedules, reducing no-shows, higher conversion of referrals to booked appointments, all while transforming Patient Experience." The solution includes a full suite of features such as pre, and post-procedure instructions, appointment scheduling and confirmation, referral management, and patient recalls, providing a comprehensive platform to improve patient engagement and outcomes. Zappix's platform can be launched in under four weeks with a minimal learning curve for staff, delivering results quickly and efficiently with minimal IT involvement. About Zappix Zappix transforms the patient journey with easy-to-use, modern digital patient engagement tools to improve the quality of care and increase patient satisfaction and loyalty. The cloud-based solutions enable workflow automation, rapid developments, seamless integration to EMRs & back-end systems, and provide a comprehensive Analytics Suite. Zappix provides significant benefits and ROI by improving quality of care, increasing patient satisfaction and loyalty, improving financial outcomes, and increasing hospitals competitive advantage and positioning. To learn more about Zappix, go to healthcare.zappix.com. Contact Zappix, Inc. marketing@zappix.com (781) 739-2770 Payge Wufsus payge.wufsus@zappix.com There is general consensus across opposition parties that the increment of the elderly pension grants by N$100 is insignificant in the face of hardships confronting them, some branding it "an insult". The opposition parliamentarians were reacting to the N$84.6 billion budget statement for the 2023-2024 financial year, delivered by finance minister Iipumbu Shiimi under the theme 'Economic Revival and Caring for the Poor' yesterday. To buttress this, the minister increased several government social grants to bolster the country's lauded social safety nets. Among them was the increase of the elderly's pension by N$100 from N$1300 to N$1400, leaving most opposition MPs fuming. The increment, he said, is to guard against the erosion of purchasing power for the social safety nets. "The old-age grant and the disability grant will be increased from N$1 300 to N$1 400 per month, while the orphans and vulnerable children's grant will be increased from N$250 per month to N$350," Shiimi said to mumbling sounds from the opposition benches. Namibia remains one of the few African countries with a variety of social safety nets. "That is an insult to our elderly that you paraded here through a clip in parliament during your presentation. You have N$600 million for condoms, but this is what you have for our elders? That N$100 cannot even buy a bag of maize meal, which is at N$140," said official opposition leader McHenry Venaani as the House briefly erupted into chaos. His sentiments were echoed immediately by Landless People's Movement (LPM) deputy leader, Henny Seibeb. "You are insulting our elders. Take that N$100 back," he charged. This publication also caught up with Seibeb afterwards, who said it is the worst budget he has seen in a long time. "Our pensioners are not only taking care of themselves, but are also taking care of extended families. It is too low," he reiterated, lamenting the budget allocation to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC). The N$82 million allocated to the ACC to fight graft is a drop in the ocean, and "not even enough to employ investigators", Seibeb said. The minister, however, sharply increased the disability grant for beneficiaries under the age of 18 from N$250 to N$1 400 per month. All changes are effective on 01 April 2023. A further N$69.8 million has been set aside for about 30 000 eligible orphaned children currently on the waiting list. "Going forward, resources permitting, it is our consideration to gradually increase the quantum of social assistance outlays towards children in an effort to improve the utilisation of safety nets as a tool to promote human capital development, and ensure the inter-generational equity of social protection," the minister stated. Critical issues New Era also sought the views of several MPs outside the National Assembly chamber, shortly after the budget's tabling. Delving deeper, Venaani said the budget does not address critical issues, such as the under-funded agricultural sector. The agriculture and land reform ministry received N$1.8 billion. "The budget does not address the real economic fundamentals on job-creation and food security. The mere fact that we are still spending less on agriculture, no money for tractors to be bought, no land will be irrigated under drip irrigation; the budget is failing," he added. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Meanwhile, Rally for Democracy and Progress' (RDP) leader Mike Kavekotora branded the budget "an election budget". "The money for agriculture is not enough. Currently, we are importing 75% of our food from South Africa. Is this a budget that really quantifies that it's a pro-poor budget? For me, it is not. I still maintain that this is an election budget. The ruling party is gearing up for elections, and wants to pay lip service to the people for them to believe the government is responsible," the economist-turned-politician stressed. Agreeing with him was Swanu leader Tangeni Iijambo. "What a mockery of the State's finances. We've had pro-poor and pro-growth budgets for the past 33 years of our independence. But the N$100 allocated to pensioners is an insult in a country that has an abundance of resources," the socialist said. In Trang Thanh Trans YA debut She Is a Haunting, 17-year-old Jade Nguyen has been made a promise. If she stays with her father while he renovates a house in Vietnam for the summer, he will cover the college tuition she has been struggling to pay for. However, the French colonial home theyre staying in is deeply intertwined with the Nguyen familys history, and when ghosts appear with warnings, surviving her stay will dredge up devastating secrets long waiting to be heard. We spoke with Vietnamese American writer Tran about their horror influences, writing about the emotional costs of Vietnamese history, and developing a family story within a horror story. Are you a longtime fan of horror stories, and if so, what were some of your influences? Ive always been a horror movie fan. Movies are where I got started as a kid, watching things that I shouldnt be watching. Then in college I read a lot of Stephen King. But it wasnt until 2020, when I was stuck inside my house, like everyone else was, and I was like, lets write about abandoned houses. I had this thought that people spend so much time in their houses already, so what is going on with all these abandoned houses right now that no one is living in? And how does that feel? I feel like the best horror takes advantage of fears, what youre actually scared of. Its not so much the ghosts but what does the ghost represent? At that point, I was working with my own fears about identity and fitting in because my mom had been asking me for a long time to go back to Vietnam with her. I was born in the U.S., and I dont speak Vietnamese that well, and I was like, maybe some other time. When I was stuck inside my house, I had to deal with all these [thoughts] like what does home really mean to me. I just worked with all these fears that I had, and combined it with this haunted house story, to talk about a girl who is forced to go back [to Vietnam] and deal with all these things about her family. How did you develop your own twists on the traditional haunted house concept? I didnt quite approach it as a twist. It was more like a genuine love for haunted houses and asking myself, How can I make this as unhinged as possible? I drew a lot of inspiration from very classical haunted houses. I love the haunted house in The Haunting of Hill House, obviously, and how claustrophobic it is. So I took all the things that I really love about haunted houses and tried to make it as specific as possible to my book and situation. The book really took off when I made the house a narrator. The house chapters are shorter so it almost [gave me] the freedom to write a little bit poetically, about what its like for this house having this experience and where its also becoming more and more like a person. I guess the differences to traditional horror that Ive read or watched is thinking about the place, because it is a haunted house set in a Lat. Its a real place, where there are French colonial houses that have been abandoned for several decades. I drew a lot of inspiration from these photographs, from the history there. Its a very specific story about this girl Jade Nguyen and her family, so the house had to be specific. All the history inside that house is very particular to it. I think that gives it its own twist. I really wanted it to be a conversation about a broken family that is haunted by their past, and now is being literally haunted by ghosts. The story opens with Jade in Vietnam, and its revealed that shes only there to visit her Ba under a secret arrangement to pay for her schooling. What does that reveal about Jade and her fathers dynamic? I knew from the beginning that I wanted it to be a family story. I wanted it to be where this teenage girl is forced to return to Vietnam, where she should feel some sort of connection and yet, shes only there because shes been coerced. And then once she gets there, its like, what is her fathers goal here? He promises her money, but what does he really want? And theres this house that their family has a connection to that hes never revealed to her. These people who have very different goals at the beginning, how does that change as they learn this history inside the house? And Jade realizing that her father is there because of a family. There was a hole in his life, about this part of his history, and now hes trying to fill it. Hes trying to rewrite this history. And its not only for him, but its for her too. I really wanted it to be a conversation about a broken family that is haunted by their past, and now is being literally haunted by ghosts, and how do Jade and her father come together? Belonging, whether it be to a country or to a family, is a theme in the novel that characters like Jade, Ba, and Florence all struggle to navigate. Could you talk about how you approached this theme? For Ba, he is a refugee. He came over to the U.S. by himself on a boat as a child, and how does that affect your understanding of belonging when you were born somewhere but you grew up most of your life somewhere else without your parents? What does that do to a person? And then, for Jade her sense of belonging is about being born here [in the U.S.], and then growing up in two different culturesher familys culture, and then the American culture. Her sense of belonging is also related to her queerness, and how shes not out yet at the beginning of the book. Everyones feeling of what it means to belong is a little bit different. I wanted to investigate how people try to belong or what makes them feel safe and feel like they belong. It was fun figuring out all the different pieces of what people are doing to get this sense of safety and community throughout the book. She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran. Bloomsbury, $18.99 Feb. 28 ISBN 978-1-5476-1081-5 It was just over a year ago that a federal judge in Maryland struck down the states groundbreaking library e-book law. But with the 2023 legislative year underway, library advocates are back with new model legislation they say can help ensure fair and equitable licensing terms in e-book contracts for libraries while avoiding the thorny copyright issue that doomed Marylands law. The revised language, developed with support from nascent library advocacy group Library Futures, takes a regulate rather than mandate approach. In other words, unlike Marylands law, which would have required publishers to offer license agreements to libraries on reasonable terms for digital books that were available to consumers, the new legislative language instead focuses regulating the terms of agreements. Key to the revised bill's effectiveness is language that would render unenforceable any license term that precludes, limits, or restricts" libraries from performing their traditional, core mission. So far, the new model language has been introduced in bills in two states: Massachusetts and Hawaii, though library advocates say they are working closely" with advocates in several more states and anticipate more bills in the coming weeks and months of 2023. By focusing on fair licensing terms and state law, [the proposed model language] can nullify the threat of copyright and federal preemption lawsuits against the library community and the public, noted Library Futures policy fellow Juliya Ziskina, in recent blog post on the Library Futures site. The goal, Ziskina added, is to provide "a pathway for libraries to obtain licensing terms more suited to library needs. A quick scan of the headlines suggests that library e-book laws are once again appearing on legislators' radar in several states. In all, five states have so far introduced library e-book bills in the opening weeks of 2023, with Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Virginia introducing bills in addition to Massachusetts and Hawaii, although it is unclear if or how quickly the bills will advancethe Connecticut bill is very brief; a senate committee in Virginia swiftly voted to table their bill for now; and the bill in Hawaii has advanced but was recently amended to include an effective date of June 30, 3000. Commenting on the vote to table the Virginia bill, Shelley Husband of the Association of American Publishers called the vote a welcome recognition of how intellectual property rights fuel authorship and digital commerce, as well as a resounding rejection of state-level legislation that seeks to unconstitutionally infringe on well-established federal law protecting the rights of creators. The Rhode Island bill, meanwhile, is a hybrid: it features language from the Maryland bill as well as a clause that would render unenforceable license terms that limit the rights of a library or school under the U.S. Copyright Act. Importantly, that provision would be severablemeaning that should the Rhode Island bill become law and parts of it later declared invalid, that copyright protection provision could stand. Passed unanimously in March of 2021, Marylands first-of-its-kind library e-book law required publishers offering to license "electronic literary products" to consumers in the state to also offer to license that content to public libraries "on reasonable terms." The law emerged after a decade of tension in the digital library market, with libraries long complaining of unsustainable, non-negotiated high prices and restrictions. More specifically, the Maryland law was a direct response to Macmillan's controversial (and since abandoned) 2019 embargo on frontlist e-book titles in libraries. Licensing has resulted in a deeply broken system around e-book lending, impeding libraries from serving the needs of their communities while also creating critical access issues... Just before the law was set to take effect, however, the Association of American Publisherswithout a publisher plaintifffiled suit to block the measure, arguing that the law ran afoul of the the federal Copyright Act. And on February 16, 2022, judge Deborah Boardman agreed, holding that the States characterization of the Act as a regulation of unfair trade practices notwithstanding, the Maryland law frustrates the objectives and purposes of the Copyright Act. In a final declaratory judgment, Boardman declared the law unconstitutional and unenforceable. The AAP has made it clear it will continue to oppose the new legislative initiatives. "It doesnt matter how the state bills are labeled, it matters what they do, and just like the legislation that was struck down in Maryland, these bills are clearly unconstitutional," says AAP spokesperson John McKay. "In addition to being preempted by the federal Copyright Act these bills would devalue intellectual property, directly harming authors and other creators by limiting their ability to seek compensation. They would also create a patchwork of differing rules across the country, creating mass confusion, disrupting access, and limiting the downstream economic contributions of the publishing ecosystem." In her post, Ziskina acknowledged that while library e-book legislation at the state level can be an important tool to help "mitigate the inequities in the e-book marketplace," they are not a panacea, as they do not directly address the kind of core "digital ownership issues" facing libraries in a digital market that, so far, has been centered on licensed access. To that end, Library Futures this month also released a policy paper on digital ownership for libraries. "Licensing has resulted in a deeply broken system around e-book lending, impeding libraries from serving the needs of their communities while also creating critical access issues," Ziskina said in a post announcing the new policy paper. "In response, Library Futures recommends policymakers adopt an approach of digital ownership that extends the current paradigm for print works and allows libraries to both maintain the benefits of print collections and innovate even further toward providing new methods of access, preservation, and education by creating new lending models, equitizing access for underserved communities, and contributing to a more democratic balance." A report in the U.K.s Daily Telegraph last Friday sparked widespread controversy, revealing that new editions of Roald Dahls body of work issued by U.K. publisher Puffin Books (a division of Penguin Books UK) would contain language replacing some of the authors original text, removing potentially offensive words including fat, crazy," and mad, rewriting character descriptions, and adding completely new sentences. The decision was made to ensure that Roald Dahls wonderful stories and characters continue to be enjoyed by all children today, said a spokesperson for the Roald Dahl Story Company, which was purchased by Netflix in 2021. The response from cultural critics, free expression advocates such as PEN America, and authors including Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie, has been overwhelmingly critical. Rushdie wrote on Twitter, Roald Dahl was no angel but this is absurd censorship. Puffin Books and the Dahl estate should be ashamed. Author Philip Pullman suggested on BBC Radio 4 that rather than change the original text, the books should be allowed to fade away and go out of print. A spokesperson for British prime minister Rishi Sunak even weighed in, stating, When it comes to our rich and varied literary heritage, the prime minister agrees with the BFG that we shouldnt gobblefunk around with words. However, there was also support for the changes. Author Debjani Chatterjee told the BBC World Service, I think its been done quite sensitively. Take the word fat. Theyve used enormous. If anything, I actually think enormous is even funnier. A spokesperson for Dahls U.S. publisher Penguin Young Readers told PW that there are no plans for similar revisions in the U.S. Roald Dahl books published by Penguin Young Readers and distributed in the U.S. are the editions that have existed for years and do not reflect the recent editorial changes made in U.K. editions. Penguin Young Readers regularly reviews its backlist and Dahl titles will be reviewed accordingly. According to the Daily Mail in the U.K., Dahls Dutch publisher De Fonte and French publisher Gallimard are also declining to make changes at this time. A spokesperson for De Fonte is quoted as saying that altering the text would cause the stories to lose their power. Gallimard shared this statement with the newspaper: We have never changed Roald Dahls writings before, and we have no plans to do so today. A spokesperson for The Roald Dahl Story Company told CNN that the changes came about as part of an overall review of Dahls work in 2020, prior to the sale to Netflix, adding that any changes made have been small and carefully considered. However, the Telegraph reported that there were hundreds of changes across the authors 16-book body of work, generally relating to gender, race, personal appearance, mental health, and violence. The company worked with Inclusive Minds in its review of Dahls catalog, a company described on its website as an organisation that works with the childrens book world to support them in authentic representation, primarily by connecting those in the industry with those who have lived experience of any or multiple facets of diversity. A Roald Dahl Story Company spokesperson told the Telegraph, Its not unusual to review the language used alongside updating other details including a books cover and page layout. Our guiding principle throughout has been to maintain the storylines, characters, and the irreverence and sharp-edged spirit of the original text. Speaking to The Bookseller, a Puffin spokesperson said that publishers review and update language periodically as the meaning and impact of words changes over time. Children as young as five or six read Roald Dahl books and, often, they are the first stories they will read independently. With that comes a significant responsibility as it might be the first time they are navigating written content without a parent, teacher or carer. Responding to the backlash, the spokesperson continued, Within the context of the word count of the wider books, these textual changes are minimal. Roald Dahls stories remain unchanged and his mischievous spirit undiminished. They still celebrate and showcase his unique voice and his brilliantly rich storytelling. We are proud to have been his publishers since the 1980s and were honoured to continue to introduce Roald Dahl stories to new generations of readers. While Dahls books have been beloved by generations, translated into more than 50 languages and interpreted in film, stage and more, the author was known in his lifetime for both his sometimes gruff personality and his antisemitic statements. In 2020, the Roald Dahl Story Company apologized for these remarks, saying, The Dahl family and the Roald Dahl Story Company deeply apologise for the lasting and understandable hurt caused by some of Roald Dahls statements. Writing for the Atlantic, journalist Helen Lewis said that Dahls work can never be made nice, stating that his cold, unsettling spikiness is his defining quality as a writer and that his popularity continues despite being so thoroughly out of tune with the times. Editor's note: On Friday, February 25, Puffin UK announced that in response to the criticism over the changes, it would be releasing a Roald Dahl Classic Collection of Dahl's books with unaltered text. That edition will "sit alongside the newly released Puffin Roald Dahl books for young readers, Puffin said in a statement. The Namibian Defence Force is expected to recruit a batch of trainees for the second year in a row later this year as it moves to beef up its personnel, New Era has established. This recruitment, however, is subject to approval by the army's top brass, and will largely depend on the availability of adequate funds. Over 100 000 Namibians applied for the most recent defence intake, with just 57 000 meeting the requirements. Of these applicants, 3 000 were shortlisted. In the final round, 1 451 made the cut. Confirming the recruitment plans, defence spokesperson Petrus Shilumbu said the information was not yet official, and would be formally communicated once all is in place. "There are plans to recruit. But the public should be patient. The information will be officially communicated and advertised in the newspapers," Shilumbi said. The army, however, will not run parallel training for would-be-soldiers. This means the ongoing training should end before the new intake can be identified. The ongoing training is likely to run until August this year after the recruits reported for training on 7 November 2o22. "The training is likely to be completed in August, if there are no disturbances such as Covid-19 or anything else," Shilumbu said, before expressing satisfaction in the continuing exercise. He said it is not easy for a civilian to transition into a soldier's life due to the taxing exercises involved and added responsibilities, among them protecting Namibia's territorial integrity. "They [trainees] have adapted very well in the military environment... they have proven themselves to become members of the Namibian Defence Force (NDF)," he continued. Combat ready The 16th recruit intake training is now in its seventh week. During this period, the soon-to-be soldiers have been subjected to strenuous exercises to absorb their mental and physical fitness, and ability to cope in the military world. According to official information, one event in the curriculum they will forever reminisce about is the 30-kilometre route march exercise that appeared unexpected to most. "The recruit training wing at the NDF Training Establishment conducted this exercise on New Year's Eve. The recruits buckled up in full combat equipment fighting order as early as 04h00 in the morning to endure a 30-kilometre route march, starting off at the school and covering the whole training area to successfully complete the walk on the deadline," Shilumbu noted. It was to test cohesiveness, mobility, and assess the recruits' mental and physical ability to deal with unexpected encounters. "At the end of the day, the recruits successfully covered the required distance in a specified time, and it attested to their adaptation to the military environment and combat- readiness," he enthused. Last year, the NDF took in 1 400 new cadets, a process which was lauded as a representation of a true Namibian army, with each political region securing a minimum of 103 slots. Only the more densely-populated Ohangwena (117), Omusati (117) and Khomas (133) have more cadets. The NDF was deliberate about ensuring that recruitment reflected the ethnic makeup of the country: a Namibian house, wherein all have equal opportunity. This is why the recruitment process was decentralised to each of the 14 political regions and 121 constituencies, as opposed to a centralised one whose outcome would normally be decided in Windhoek. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia Arms and Armies By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. In the past, the recruitment was directly proportional to each region's population. This meant that the more populous a given region is, the more members it would send to the force. This meant less populated regions such as Hardap with fewer than 80 000 inhabitants, would only secure less than 20 slots during a given recruitment, which is not the case now when juxtaposed with the 103 recruits it sent last year. Things changed in 2022 when the NDF management decided that each region must get an equal share, irrespective of the number of its inhabitants. The force also went a step further, deploying a watertight vetting process to ensure that the majority of those being recruited from specific regions originally hail from those regions. Online bookseller Bookshop.org will begin selling e-books by the end of the year. It will also publish its first book, Our Strangers by Lydia Davis, in October. According to Andy Hunter, founder and CEO of Bookshop.org, the initial rollout will enable users to buy and read e-books in their web browser. The program will launch in Beta late this year. An e-reader app is also being developed and will be launched sometime thereafter. "We are building the platform entirely from scratch," said Hunter. "We want to give independent bookstores a way to sell e-books and capture those sales that they are losing to Amazon," Hunter told PW during an interview at the American Booksellers Association's Winter Institute in Seattle. Bookshop.org already has strong ties with the independent bookselling community. Beginning March 1, IndieBound.org, the ABA's consumer-facing online bookselling and marketing platform, will switch to using Bookshop.org to handle sales and fulfillment. All buy buttons on bookstores' sites or affiliated sites using IndieBound links will switch to Bookshop.org links. During a presentation at Winter Institute, Hunter told an audience of booksellers that they had a significant way to go in recapturing their rightful share of online sales that were long ago ceded to Amazon. "I estimate that online sales for independent bookstores, including those that are on Bookshop.org, IndieBound, Shopify, and other platforms, amount to $100 million a year," he said. "Amazon's online sales account for about $4-$5 billion. If you consider that independent bookstores account for approximately 10% of the book market, then their fair share of online sales should be $500 million a year." Hunter conceded that it was going to take more effort and a greater commitment on behalf of independent booksellers to make this happen. "We did a survey that determined about 20 million book buyers had heard of Bookshop.org, which when you consider that the United States has some 350 million people, means we have a way to go." One of the biggest challenges facing Bookshop's growth may simply be apathy, as many booksellers and publishers who created stores on Bookshop.org after it launched in 2020 have failed to engage with it further and have not updated their pages. "I think we may be a victim of our own success," said Hunter. "Because it is so easy to use and automatic, [booksellers] don't think to interact with it." Asked how Bookshop.org aims to claw more market share from Amazon, Hunter said awareness and discovery tools are the key. "Our bestseller lists are eclectic and diverse and are a great sales tool, much like our personal recommendations lists." Anti-Amazon publishing Bookshop.org is also becoming a publisher. Its first book will be a hardcover print edition of Our Strangers, a collection of short fiction by Lydia Davis. The book will be published in October with an initial print run of 10,000 copies and will be available only through independent bookstores and online at Bookshop.org. "Lydia told her agent [Denise Shannon] that she didn't want her new book to be sold on Amazon," said Hunter. Shannon "shopped the book around, but everyone told her it wasn't possible for them to publish the book and not also sell it on Amazon. So [Shannon] came to us and asked if it could be done. Working with Ingram, Baker & Taylor, and others, we decided we could keep the book off of Amazon, so we decided to publish the book." Hunter founded a publishing house, Catapult in 2015, which which he ran alongside Counterpoint, and Soft Skull publishing houses until last year. With his publishing background, Hunter was able to rush ARCs of Our Strangers into print in time for Winter Institute. "We wanted booksellers to have copies on hand to read." Hunter noted that Davis's last book had sold well, so publishing the book was a calculated risk. "Of course, we know we will lose sales from Amazon, but I'm confident Lydia Davis's fans will have no problem finding her book," Hunter said. "It will give them a reason to shop at an independent bookstore." Bookshop.org has not yet signed another book, but Hunter is open to working with other authors. "They just have to be willing to opt out of potential sales from Amazon," he said. Despite the position of the constitutions of the two major parties on "anti-party" activities, there are several cases of open rebellion by politicians. Internal wrangling within political parties, often due to poor internal democracy, is a major feature of party-based politics in Nigeria. This has caused politicians to defect from their parties with "thousands of supporters". Oftentimes, in buildups to elections in Nigeria, defections are a common phenomenon as politicians move around seeking refuge. Sometimes, the migration could be an "opportunistic move" by politicians to join parties that are likely to win. In the build-up to the 2023 general elections, a new phenomenon is of politicians openly working against their parties. Some of the politicians have been able to carry out this anti-party activity despite the constitution of their parties forbidding such. For instance, Article 21. A.II of the constitution of the APC forbids "Antiparty activities or any conduct, which is likely to embarrass or have adverse effect on the party or bring the party into hatred, contempt, ridicule or disrepute." Also, Section 58.1.f provides that "subject to the provision of this constitution, the party shall have power to discipline any member who engages in anti-party activities." Despite the position of the constitutions of the two major parties on "anti-party" activities, there are several cases of open rebellion by politicians, who for different reasons are backing candidates of political parties other than theirs. Here are some of the most popular cases of open rebellion by politicians against their parties in the current transition process. Wike and the G5 governors Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has been at the forefront of a rebellion against the PDP since losing the presidential primary election to Atiku Abubakar. In the past seven months, the governor has built a coalition with some governors, including Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia and Ifeanyi Ugwanyi of Enugu State. Aside from the governors, there are other politicians like Bode George, ex-Ondo governor Olusegun Mimiko, Dan Orbin, ex-Plateau governor Jonah Jang, and ex-Ekiti governor Ayodele Fayose in the coalition that now calls itself the Integrity Group.However, due to local political situations in their respective states, it has been difficult for them to unanimously endorse a single presidential candidate. For instance, in the case of Rivers State, it has been a case of moves on the chess board. The PDP National Working Committee struck first by discontinuing the case filed by the local PDP under the control of the governor against the primary elections of APC and Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Rivers State. The move by the PDP was designed to strengthen the opposition in the state, particularly the APC, in a bid to forestall an alliance between Messrs Tinubu and Wike. Governor Wike responded by accusing the PDP national body of anti-party collusion with APC Rivers. As a course of action, he revoked the permit granted to the PDP presidential campaign council for holding a rally. The political atmosphere in Rivers became so tense that Atiku was forced to call off the rally in Port Harcourt. Also, the development has created tension in the APC in the state, as the former Minister of Transportation and chieftain of the APC in Rivers, Rotimi Amaechi, boycotted the presidential rally of the party in the state. Unperturbed about the situation in APC Rivers, Mr Tinubu visited Governor Wike during the campaign stop in Rivers. In Benue State, Mr Ortom has openly endorsed the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi. The reason for backing the former Anambra State governor may be connected with the political reality in Benue State. Unlike in Rivers State, the governorship candidate of the APC, Hyacinth Alia, a clergyman, poses a significant threat to Mr Ortom's succession plan. On the other hand, the Labour Party presents a safe option for the incumbent governor who is about to complete his tenure and has set his sights on a Senate seat. It is safe to say that the Labour Party cares more about the presidential election than the governorship poll. Secondly, the Labour Party senatorial candidate that is challenging Mr Ortom in Benue South West district appears to be in a difficult situation. Mark Gbillah, a member of the House of Representatives, is the candidate of the Labour Party and also the candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, according to the INEC official list. Section 115(1) (d) of the Electoral Act provides that "any person who signs a nomination paper or result form as a candidate in more than one constituency at the same election commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of imprisonment." Mr Gbillah had told PREMIUM TIMES that he has filed a lawsuit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the appearance of his name as a candidate in the two parties. He claimed that he resigned from the NNPP in line with section 31 of the Electoral Act. However, his name continues to appear on the INEC list as the candidate of both parties. With this, Mr Gbillah is facing uncertainty pending the determination of the case on his candidacy. Mr Gbillah's situation could mean that the Labour Party poses no challenge to Mr Ortom's ambition. Not surprisingly, Mr Tinubu did not visit the governor when he visited Benue State for his rally because having Mr Alia is, arguably, more important. Oyo State presents a much more delicate situation for Mr Makinde, the state governor. Within the PDP in Oyo State, the pro-Atiku camp led by Jumoke Akinjide, the former minister of state for FCT, appears to be formidable in the state. At the PDP presidential rally in Ibadan, the only person missing was the Oyo State governor as every other candidate appeared at the rally. What makes Mr Makinde's situation seems precarious is that he is the only member of the G5 that is seeking re-election as governor, and he is running against formidable opponents like Teslim Folarin of the APC and Bayo Adelabu of the Accord Party. And considering the fact that only one governor has ever been elected to a second term in the history of the state, the alliance between Messrs Tinubu and Makinde seems complicated. Also, members of the PDP with federal legislative seat tickets may be worried because currently, APC controls the majority of the federal legislative seats in the state, hence, the PDP candidates may be running against strong incumbent candidates. In Enugu and Abia States, Messrs Ugwanyi and Ikpeazu seem to wear tight lips on who they are endorsing. In these two states, several polls have predicted that the Labour Party may win the presidential polls in their states. Although, in the case of the former, one of his predecessors, Chimaroke Nnamami of the PDP, has thrown his full weight behind Mr Tinubu. One other thing the G5 governors have been doing is to get interim injunctions against the PDP NWC to prevent their expulsion or suspension. So far, Messrs Wike and Ortom have both gotten such orders. Ibikunle Amosun and Tolu Odebiyi It is fair to say that Ibikunle Amosun, a former governor of Ogun State, is a serial anti-party practitioner. While still an APC governor in 2019, he supported Adekunle Akinlade of the APM against his party's candidate and current governor, Dapo Abiodun. And it appears now that time has not changed the perception of the former governor of his successor. In this election cycle, Mr Amosun is backing the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Biyi Otegbeye. In October 2022, while announcing his position on the race, Mr Amosun stated that "For the presidential poll, I can assure you, both right, left and centre, that we are supporting one person (Tinubu). I believe we are supporting one person. "On the governorship front, my supporters and I don't belong to that side. I do not support the APC on that side. I do not support the APC on that side. Biyi Otegbeye is the person I am supporting and ADC is the party." Mr Amosun has stated that his decision to back Mr Otegbeye is to allow power to shift to Ogun West senatorial district, which has never produced a governor for the state. Tolu Odebiyi, the senator representing Ogun West on the platform of the APC, is equally backing the candidate of the ADC and has appeared at rallies for Mr Otegbeye. Chimoroke Nnamani Mr Nnamani's open campaign for Mr Tinubu earned him expulsion from the PDP, but the action of the party appears to have reinforced his "resolve to continue his campaign" for Mr Tinubu. There are two major issues ahead of Mr Nnamani--political and legal implications. Mr Nnamani dismissed the expulsion by the PDP on the ground that only the National Executive Council has the power to remove him, in line with article 59 of the PDP constitution. However, not being a member of the party may make him vulnerable to any post-election lawsuit as the PDP may refuse to defend him. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Governance Nigeria By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. On the political front, Enugu State has never voted for any party other than the PDP. Mr Nnamani will have the daunting task of getting citizens to abandon the PDP and Peter Obi, and support the candidate of the APC. But what is more interesting is that Mr Nnamani may have the support of his state governor, Mr Ugwanyi, who is also a member of the G5. The Labour Party candidate is equally popular in the state. Babachir Lawal Less than a year ago, Mr Lawal, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, was at the International Conference Centre in Abuja to pick up the presidential nomination form for Mr Tinubu, who at that time was in Saudi Arabia for the lesser hajj. But the relationship between the two has deteriorated to an extent that Mr Lawal seems to have a single objective in this election - "Stop Bola Tinubu and his Muslim/Muslim ticket." To achieve the objective, Mr Lawal, while being a member of the APC, endorsed the Labour party's presidential candidate. Speaking after the endorsement, Mr Lawal said that he had no interest in the Labour Party, only in the candidate. "I am not interested in LP as a party. I am interested in Peter Obi as a potential presidential candidate. It doesn't matter which party Peter Obi is, I sense that Nigerians are due for change," he said. The involvement of Mr Lawal in the campaign of Mr Obi appears to be polarising the party in Adamawa State. In January, the Labour Party governorship candidate, Umar Madawaki, and some National Assembly candidates of the party boycotted the presidential rally, as they accused Mr Lawal of hijacking the party. Kassim Afegbua The former commissioner of information in Edo State was one of the early backers of Bola Tinubu. Mr Afegbua, who was once in the PDP, opposed the candidate of the PDP because of the rotation of the presidency. Mr Afegbua is of the view that since incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari is from the North, power should rotate to the south. Initially, he was included in the presidential campaign council of the APC, but his name was later removed. The BBC and ITV joint venture SVOD service had previously announced subscriber milestones of one million in March 2020, 2 million in July 2021, and 2.6 million in March 2022, with the service having grown by 300% in under three years.The last year has seen BritBox launch across Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland, and forge new distribution partnerships, including making the service available on Amazon Prime and Apple channels across Australia. During this time, BritBox International has also ramped up its slate of International original co-productions with the critically-acclaimed Stonehouse having launched in January 2023, following last years original commission Why Didnt They Ask Evans?, and co-commissions Sister Boniface Mysteries and Murder in Provence.The strong performance of BritBox in international markets , ahead of industry averages, underlines how British television and talent continue to be a gold standard for quality around the world, said Reemah Sakaan, CEO, BritBox International. In a crowded streaming market, this illustrates how there is room for distinct targeted services to find and grow loyal audiences. We live and breathe British TV like no-one else, and thats been reflected in our ability to build out an expanded slate of new and original IP combined with a treasure trove of long-running British franchises. We are proud to champion British creativity and voices to millions of viewers, keeping talent and funding in the UK television ecosystem. Its this passion and knowledge which keeps us distinctive from the other global streamers out there.BritBox has recently announced the upcoming new co-productions Murder is Easy, an Agatha Christie adaptation, and After the Flood, starring Sophie Rundle. Also on its future slate is Archie, starring Jason Isaacs as Cary Grant; Payback, starring Morven Christie and Peter Mullan, from Jed Mercurio; Passenger, from Andrew Buchan; and Three Little Birds, from Sir Lenny Henry. These add to existing BritBox Original co-productions Beyond Paradise, a spin-off from the popular Death in Paradise, launching on 24 February 24, as well as The Confessions of Frannie Langton, based on the award-winning book by Sara Collins, premiering on 8 March.Hit acquisitions premiering on BritBox International in the last year have included James Grahams Sherwood starring Lesley Manville and David Morrissey, and mystery series Karen Pirie from author Val McDermid, adapted by Emer Kenny and starring Lauren Lyle, and Irvine Welshs Crime, starring Dougray Scott, all of which will return. Acclaimed drama A Spy Among Friends, starring Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce, also debuted on BritBox in Australia and Nordic markets. Kinetic Content / Reality TV World By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/22/2023 ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS! Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source! ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. alum Stephanie Sersen has defended Chris Thielk 's emotional breakdown over his dogs on the show's currently-airing sixteenth season.During the February 15 episode of , Chris broke down into tears and sobs outside of his hotel room in Jamaica because the new apartment building he and wife Nicole Lilienthal were about to move into post-honeymoon had a two-dog restriction.Chris had two beloved dogs of his own, and Nicole had one dog.Chris bawled about how he couldn't "abandon" his dogs, but Nicole comforted him and promised him that she'd find a solution for them.The Instagram account @MAFSFAN posted after the episode aired, "This was such an emotional part of this week's episode... What did you think of this scene?"Steph -- who starred on 's eighth season in 2019 and is still happily married to her match, AJ Vollmoeller -- commented on the post and slammed trolls."Everyone criticizing Chris for crying, this could have just been the straw that broke the camels back? Filming is intense [and] stressful," Steph wrote."You can't do what you want, when you want. I remember one day I came home from work crying my eyes out because I had a stressful day at work. I had a huge deadline due the next day."Not only did Steph have a lot of work to do, but she also said people were "depending" on her."I felt guilty for leaving my analysts when I should be there as a manager to support them through this tough deadline.. but no, I had to come home, I had to film," Steph recalled."I had no breathing room between work and filming. One day I just broke down and cried because everything built up and the straw broke the camels back."However, AJ apparently came to the rescue and supported his wife during her time of crisis."Luckily, AJ was there to hurry & hide me in a room away from the cameras so it never made it on TV. But looks like Chris wasn't so lucky. We are only human give us a break sometimes," Steph concluded.Nicole also defended her husband during the February 15 episode of : Afterparty."The situation was never funny and still is not," Nicole told Afterparty host Keshia Knight Pulliam after she and the other show's guests laughed at Chris' breakdown."But it was funny in the moment to be like, in a tunnel. [He] was so upset from hearing this news, and he was just distraught."When asked if she found Chris' emotional outburst concerning, Nicole replied firmly, "Honestly, no.""I'm a huge dog person," Nicole explained. "Because I saw that he was so emotional over something that was also so important to me, it was like, 'This man really cares about the things he loves.'"Nicole went on to add, "He went into this with two dogs, not knowing that I had a dog. So he, throughout the entire process, said, 'My dogs are coming with me. My dogs are coming with me.' And then he finds out [his] dogs are not coming with you."On the latest episode, Nicole FaceTimed with her father from Jamaica.She asked her dad if he'd be willing to help with her dog Charlie if she and Chris could swap out dogs, keeping two at a time, in their apartment for the remaining seven weeks of the experiment.Nicole's dad was onboard, and then Nicole and Chris talked to the show's executive producers about their dog options.The couple determined Charlie would live at Nicole's apartment with one of her family members while still being a part of their lives."This just shows me that she's willing to do whatever it takes to make this work, and I think that's amazing because that's what I think marriage is about -- compromise, trying to help each other out, and making sacrifices," Chris told the cameras.Nicole said that after the show, she and Chris would find a place to fit all three of their dogs and have a big yard for them all to play in together.Interested in more news? Join our Married at First Sight Facebook Group or click here to view our newspage!And click here for more updates on former cast members and info on where they are now! Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. Zanzibar ZANZIBARIS were on Wednesday implored to increase agricultural production to attract industrial investments in the processing of agricultural produce. Trade and Industrial Development Minister Omar Said Shaaban told the House of Representatives that currently Zanzibar has 37 industries that process agricultural produce. Three of the industries are classified as large while 10 and 24 are medium and small, respectively. Answering a question by Mwanakwerekwe Representative Ameir Abdalla Ameir, who wanted to know the number of agriculture-based industries in the country, Minister Omar said increased production of raw materials will attract more investors and create jobs for the islanders. He told the house that the government is committed to the industrial economy through creation of conducive environment for potential investors. "The government is aggressively marketing available opportunities for potential agri-processing investors," the minister told the house, citing seaweed, fruit, vegetable and spice processing as virgin opportunities that yearn for investors. The government is also training small entrepreneurs on agricultural processing to boost small industries in the islands, said Minister Omar. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. Low around 55F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. Low around 55F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%. Addis Abeba Journalist Tewodros Asfaw has been released from prison on Wednesday night after federal supreme court upheld federal high court's ruling of his release on 30,000 birr bail. On 17 February, Federal High Court had ruled Tewedros's release on bail of 30,000 birr but police appealed to the supreme court forcing him to stay in prison. Binyam Asfaw, Tewodros's brother, confirmed to Addis Standard that Tewodros was released on Wednesday night after nine days of imprisonment. He was taken from his home by security forces on Tuesday 14 February, following schism within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC), which has now been resolved. Tewodros Asfaw, the founder of a YouTube channel called Ethio Selam, is known for his sharp criticism against the government in his commentaries on political and social issues. AS Pottsville, PA (17901) Today Mostly cloudy with some showers after midnight. Areas of patchy fog developing. Low 57F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Mostly cloudy with some showers after midnight. Areas of patchy fog developing. Low 57F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%. The ruling National People's Party has said that no amount of political tantrum or idle bickering will derail the work of the commission or distract its commissioners from executing their task. Speaking at a presser on Sunday, Sulayman Camara, communications secretary for NPP, maintained that the government lends its total support to the Commissioners and urges the general public to remain law abiding at all times. This remark comes in the wake up of the recent establishment of a Commission by government of The Gambia to investigate the dealings of councils. "Be it placed on record that no amount of political tantrum or idle bickering will derail the work of the Commission or distract its commissioners from the task ahead of them." He added; "The leadership of NPP therefore deems it fit and necessary to join all peace-loving citizens to come out and condemn wholly for spreading words of fear and intimidation. "The party's claim President Adama Barrow wants to stifle the decision of the Supreme Court with regard to setting up a Commission of Inquiry to look into the financial malpractices of some local government authorities, has no basis." He noted that President has no time in his busy and highly dedicated schedule to deviate from his executive role of managing the affairs of this country and delving into the role or domain of the Judiciary or any other branch of the government at any time. Camara revealed that Ousainou Darbo decried the on-going investigative process of the Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) into the financial activities of local government authorities. But, Camara maintained that this oversight role is part of the normal functions of the National Assembly, and Alhagie S. Darboe, Administrative Secretary of UDP is the Chairman of this FPAC. "So, in essence, the coming of the Councils to the National Assembly to answer questions had nothing to do with President Barrow." To this end, he stated that the whole country read the news of the missing millions in the UDP controlled Councils, adding that on the strength of the outcomes of these preliminary investigations, it is within the remits of the President of the Republic, to establish a Commission of Inquiry into such a situation. New Yundum Health Centre holds annual data presentation Gambia Navy ends 2023 Obangame Express sea exercise Son Chhay, vice president of Candlelight Party, speaks to the media in front of Phnom Penh Municipal court in Cambodia on Oct. 7, 2022, after being convicted of defamation. Cambodias Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the conviction of a senior opposition party leader in a defamation case brought by election officials and the ruling party. Son Chhay, vice president of the Candlelight Party, has been ordered to pay more than U.S.$1 million to the Cambodian Peoples Party and the National Election Commission. The case stems from comments he made last year following local commune elections, which he said was marred by irregularities. Son Chhay was not present at the announcement of the verdict by Chiv Keng, deputy president of the Supreme Court and the presiding judge. Several diplomats attended, as did Son Chhays lawyer. To make it easy to understand, we are living in this country (and) they are using the law against us, Candlelight Party Spokesman Kim Sour Phirith said. We have no choice but we are not satisfied. Thursdays verdict will cause concern among members of the opposition parties and could have an impact on the upcoming general election, scheduled for July, said Sam Kuntheamy, executive director of the Neutral and Impartial Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia. Son Chhay's comments about last years election werent defamation, he added. "I don't think Son Chhay intended to defame the CPP. The court already convicted him so the compensation should be forgiven," he said. Intimidation and no monitoring The Candlelight Party, Cambodias main opposition party, won only 19% of the contested seats in local communes in the June 5, 2022, elections. Candlelight Party candidates and election observers said they were the victims of harassment and intimidation before and during the voting. Nearly all polling stations across the country were closed and locked after 3 p.m., and officials prevented observers from monitoring the counting of votes at polling stations, they said. The party has said the abuses amounted to vote-rigging. Son Chhay was convicted by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in October. The court awarded $750,000 and ordered that his properties in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap province be frozen in case he doesnt pay the damages. An Appeals Court upheld the conviction in December and ordered Son Chhay to pay $300,000 to the CPP, in addition to the lower courts award. Three courts made the same decisions which have given justice to the ruling party, the CPP and NEC, CPP spokesman Sok Ey San told Radio Free Asia. We are satisfied with the court. Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. Political activists are also being offered posts ahead of the July general election. Twin brothers and former activists Chhum Huot and Chhum Hour hold a sign reading "We no longer fall into Sam Rainsy's traps anymore," referring to the acting president of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party. Credit: Citizen journalist Environmental workers and opposition party members are being offered jobs in the government by Cambodias ruling Cambodian Peoples Party as a way of weakening any competition ahead of the July general election, activists say. At least eight activists have recently joined the CPP and taken government positions. Twin brothers Chhum Huot and Chhum Hour have been very active in the fight to protect Cambodias forests. They recently joined the ruling party and were appointed to senior positions at the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. Chhum Huot told Radio Free Asia on Tuesday that he voluntarily joined the CPP without any intimidation and will look for ways to improve the ministry. "The government doesn't use its force to abuse its citizens, he said. If there are abuses, such human rights abuses and illegal logging, we will continue to criticize the government. We will file a report to the government to prevent those abuses." Muong Sopheak, whose conviction in 2020 on an incitement charge following a protest was widely condemned, has also joined with the CPP, along with his brother, political activist Muong Sony. The government hasn't appointed them to any specific positions yet. After joining the CPP, the brothers publicly condemned opposition leader Sam Rainsy, the acting president of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party who has been barred from returning to Cambodia. The brothers said they have stopped falling into Sam Rainsy's traps. Acting for personal benefit The CPP is luring some activists and opposition party members to join the party in exchange for government positions while others are being pressured over their personal security, according to Um Sam An, a senior official in the CNRP who lives in the United States. Former political activist Muong Sony, who has joined the Cambodian Peoples Party, poses with Cambodian leader Hun Sen. Credit: Citizen journalist He added that those activists can't help reform the government and the CPP is just using them ahead of the election. "Those activists acted for personal benefit and not for the national interest," Um Sam An told Radio Free Asia. Its normal for the CPP to convince people to jump ship to the ruling party, CPP spokesman Sok Ey San told RFA. The government gives them positions according to their expertise, he said. "For the past 30 to 40 years, the CPP has given positions to youths appropriately, according to their knowledge," he said. Similarly, Prime Minister Hun Sen publicly offered government jobs to staff members of the recently shuttered Voice of Democracy, saying they could apply for positions without taking the required examination. The independent media outlet was ordered closed earlier this month, leaving Cambodia with no independent source of news. But some activists resist Adhoc President Ny Sokha said hes not surprised by the CPP's strategy. "The election is coming closer, he said. We don't oppose [youths joining the CPP], but so far I don't see those who have joined with the ruling party contributing anything to society. They tried at first, but later disappeared. Activist Thun Ratha, who has faced prosecution in the past for his work with the Mother Nature NGO, said he wont be selling out for a government position. "It is sad for our country, he said. Those who are supposed to help the country, they shouldn't do it for their benefit. To me, I am ready to go to jail or be killed. Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Matt Reed and Paul Eckert. The move will tighten the ruling Chinese Communist Party's control over who gets to practice religion, and how. People offer prayers at the Yonghe Temple, popularly known as Lama Temple, in Beijing on July 19, 2022. Religious affairs authorities in China have published an online database of Buddhists and Taoists' personal details, apparently in a bid to tighten state control over who is allowed to take part in religious activities. The state-backed Buddhist Association of China and Taoist Association of China launched the database on Feb. 22, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing "frequent cases in recent years of fraudsters posing as religious figures." "This searchable database ... will help curb the chaos caused by fake monks and Taoist taking money for teaching," the report said. It said similar databases for Muslim, Catholic and Protestant clerics would soon follow. The Chinese Communist Party, which embraces atheism, exercises tight controls over any form of religious practice among its citizens, including what clerics may or may not say in places of worship, on who may call themselves a religious follower, and over where they may gather and with whom. Local officials have also used brainwashing and torture tactics to get Christians, Muslims and Tibetans to renounced their allegiance to any power other than Beijing. An official at the Chengdu municipal branch of the ruling party's outreach and influence arm, the United Front Work Department, told the People's Daily newspaper that "criminals have been using their religious identities to recruit followers, attract support, build temples and sell religious supplies at high prices." Members of the public will be able to search the database using the person's name, religious title, ID card number or location, the report said. "If the person being queried is indeed a religious cleric who has been registered according to law, the system will display the relevant information," it said. Strengthen official ideology Shandong-based Buddhist monk Zhang Chao, who goes by the religious name Shi Daoguo, said the move represents a further tightening of religious controls. "They want to strengthen official ideology. Under their severe brainwashing, they see Buddhism as a form of socialism," said Zhang, who has been repeatedly harassed by local officials for his outspoken views on the government's treatment of Buddhists. "But as practitioners, we also pay heed to the words of the Buddha." People attend a service at a Catholic church in Shanghai, China, April 3, 2021. Credit: Reuters In 2019, the authorities in Shandong sentenced Zhang to one year and eight months for "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble." "I was relatively active on Chinese Twitter at the time, and ... was about to travel to Germany when they took me to a detention center and sentenced me for picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," Zhang said. "They won't let me renew my passport either." Zhang said he was unable to find his own name on the Buddhist Association database. "I don't have official certification," he said. "If I did, I would become a legal member of the temple, and would be able to go stay in other temples too." "I can't do any [religious activities] now ... when I lived in Hangzhou and Jiangxi, they would drive me away whenever I went [to a temple], Zhang said. "They seem to want to drive us to desperation." Zhang said he believes that he has the right to monitor the government's actions and comment about them online. "Overseeing the government is the right of a citizen, and I am both monk and citizen," he said. "Yet I was detained and sentenced for doing this, which was the highest honor for me. "You have to pay a very high price to keep your human dignity in China," Zhang said. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster. Chinese officials are biding their time when it comes to the city's biggest opposition party, commentators say. The Hong Kong Democratic Partys annual spring banquet had been planned for Tuesday at the Wealth Banquet restaurant. Hong Kong's biggest opposition party has canceled an annual fundraising event after the venue canceled the booking for the third year running, amid an ongoing crackdown on political opposition and peaceful dissent under a draconian national security law. The 200-seat annual spring banquet gathering had been slated for Tuesday night, but the restaurant, Wealth Banquet in Kwai Fong district, canceled the booking at the last minute, saying it had to close for "urgent" repairs to its gas supply. The move came after separate venues canceled the Democratic Party's bookings for the past two years running the party's last annual dinner took place in 2020, before a primary election that led to the arrests of dozens of former opposition politicians and activists for "subversion" under the national security law. Democratic Party chairman Lo Kin-hei told journalists that the repeated cancellations by venues were unlikely to be a coincidence, but more likely due to someone warning them off under the threat of the national security law. "So many coincidences," Lo told reporters on Wednesday. "Repeated and sudden inability to provide a venue." "Anyone with a discerning eye knows what's going on here," he said. "Is this atmosphere [of fear] a good thing for [Hong Kong]?" "All we wanted to do was eat together it was just a meal." No hurry to kill off party The Democratic Party, once the main bastion of pro-democracy politics in the Legislative and District Councils, boycotted the December 2021 Legislative Council elections after the government changed electoral rules to ensure that only candidates loyal to Beijing could run. The ongoing crackdown on the 2019 protest movement, which called for fully democratic elections but instead was rewarded with a reworked system in which the legislature is stacked with supporters of the government, has seen dozens of former lawmakers and councilors jailed for "illegal assembly," or tried under the national security law imposed on Hong Kong by the ruling Chinese Communist Party from July 1, 2020. "All we wanted to do was eat together it was just a meal," says Democratic Party chairman Lo Kin-hei, shown at a 2021 press conference in Hong Kong. Credit: Associated Press Political commentator Derek Yuen said the election boycott had angered officials, who now want to see the party neutralized entirely. "They are very angry at their tone, which seems to take the view that they may or may not field candidates at any time," Yuen said. "Beijing thinks the Democratic Party should no longer get to decide this for itself." "They won't allow them to ... raise money unless they take the initiative to seek the favor of Beijing or the Hong Kong government." Current affairs commentator Johnny Lau said Beijing is in no hurry to kill the party off entirely, however. "Beijing certainly doesn't see the Democratic Party as a friend, but it won't move to kill it off for the time being," Lau said. "It will rather be allowed to remain as an empty husk of its former self, as a group that doesn't actually do anything," he said. "They will probably take precautionary measures against it in future." National security trial Another pro-democracy party, the League of Social Democrats, also had a venue in Mong Kok district cancel one of its events in August 2022. Party members said at the time that they couldn't rule out the possibility that "powerful departments" had put pressure on the venue behind the scenes. The national security trial of 47 former opposition politicians and activists entered its 13th day at the West Kowloon Magistrates Court, which has been pressed into service as a temporary High Court during the crackdown. Prosecutors presented evidence that the organizers of the democratic primary election in the summer of 2020 including Occupy Central co-founder and former law professor Benny Tai had deliberately "conspired" to achieve a majority of opposition seats in the Legislative Council by fielding the most popular candidates for each seat, with the aim of voting down the government's annual budget. They cited Tai's goal of 12 seats in the New Territories' East and West voting districts, four each in Kowloon West and Hong Kong Island and three in Kowloon East as evidence of the "conspiracy." The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee tweeted as the trial opened on Feb. 6: "Today, #HongKong begins a sham trial against 47 pro-democracy leaders who planned to run for political seats." "This charade illustrates #Chinas destruction of the rule of law and how afraid it is of different opinions. The U.S. will continue to support these freedom fighters," the tweet said. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Many who have arrived on the British National Overseas visa scheme cite integration issues in British schools Hong Kongers in the United Kingdom march to support Hong Kong journalists and protest the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office. A group representing Hongkongers in the United Kingdom has called on the government to slash university tuition fees for holders of the British National Overseas passport and visa scheme, which offers a pathway to citizenship to people fleeing a political crackdown under a draconian security law. The advocacy group Hongkongers in Britain cited a recent survey saying that the majority of university age young people taking up the government's offer probably can't afford to pay tuition at the rate paid by international students, which is often several times higher than the rate charged to domestic students. The survey found that 80% of full-time or part-time students were under a large or very large amount of pressure to foot enormous university bills, while 58.9% of young adults said they "probably couldn't or definitely can't afford" to pay the international rate. More than 90 percent called on the government to offer low-interest loans to BNO visa-holders studying in British universities, while more than 55% called on the government to allow them to pay local rates, Hongkongers in Britain said at a recent news conference presenting the survey of Hongkongers' educational needs. "The government must consider solving the home and international fees issue by adjusting the current policy to avoid the loss of education opportunities among the BN(O) visa holders," the group said. Two years after the British government announced a citizenship pathway for Hong Kong holders of the colonial-era British National Overseas passport, some 144,500 people have emigrated to the United Kingdom on its BNO visa scheme since it was launched in 2021, prompting retaliation from Beijing. But around 30% of the 140,000 people who have taken advantage of the BNO route so far said they are still struggling to make a new life in the country after fleeing political repression at home. Younger kids having trouble integrating In the educational needs survey, parents of younger students cited language barriers and lack of social integration as key issues for children in British schools. Only 52.2% parents felt that they had sufficient channels through which to communicate with their kids' school about their educational needs, meaning that 47.8% of parents felt there were insufficient channels of communication, the research found. Nearly 60% of parents whose children have special educational needs said those needs hadn't been accommodated by schools, while only two-thirds of respondents said schools had done enough to ensure the integration of newly arrived immigrant children. Social integration remained slow, even for young children, with only 36.5% of parents reporting that their firstborn had received a birthday party invitation from a classmate by the end of 2022. Less than 40% of students said they sometimes or often attend social activities with local classmates, while they reported having made few friends, with a median reported number of four. More than 60% said language was proving to be a barrier to integration, with more than 40% citing cultural differences, and nearly 35% citing traveling time as the main barrier to participation. Hongkongers in Britain recommended that the government, local authorities, and schools recruit bilingual assistants who speak the Hong Kong version of Cantonese and who are familiar with the city's unique culture. Deaf ears In June 2022, 11 cross-party members of Parliament, academics and campaigners petitioned the British government to change the status of British National Overseas visa-holders, but to no avail. Survey supervisor Julian Chan said previous requests to change the fee status of Hongkongers to "home student" had fallen on deaf ears despite reaching the ministerial level. "This new report provides new evidence and will hopefully be a step forward," Chan said. "But we must also gather other groups and individuals to continue to raise awareness of this issue, and restart discussions with different policy-makers." Hongkongers in Britain Director Jason Chow said he hoped the new report would help schools and local authorities pay more attention to the specific needs of newly arrived Hongkongers, including providing more opportunity to keep up their Cantonese language skills. "There is a Mandarin Excellence Program ... which is up for review next year," Chow said. "We will be suggesting to the government that this program is extended to include Cantonese." "Also, councils and schools need to do more to inform parents more clearly about how their children can get help with special educational needs," he said. Currently, it is possible to take a General Certificate of Secondary Education at the age of 16 in Chinese, but the type of Chinese taught in the exams is usually Mandarin, and the written aspects of the exam use the simplified characters taught in mainland Chinese schools, not the traditional characters learned by pupils in Hong Kong. Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster. Two-thirds of crimes are drug-related, and motorcycle thefts are also common Crime in Laos is growing, fueled largely by wider drug use and trafficking, police say. The number of all manner of crimes from murder and robberies to drug busts rose 28% last year to 8,162 cases, according to numbers reported Feb. 10 by Brig. Gen. Nilavong Cheuangtavalath, deputy director of police at the Lao Ministry of Public Security. Drug-related crimes accounted for nearly two-thirds of them, or 5,068, according to the report. This includes arrests for possession and trafficking of drugs including methamphetamine, heroin, crystal meth, opium, cannabis, cocaine and ecstasy as well as drug-related murders and other crimes. A man transports his motorcycle across the Mekong River near Luang Prabang. Laos, close to the site of an approved Laos dam site. More than 1,700 motorcycles were stolen in Laos last year. Credit: AFP file photo Lao authorities have declared a commitment to combat drug trafficking, and earlier this month seized 500 kilograms of crystal meth in the Golden Triangle, an area in northern Laos that also includes parts of Thailand and Myanmar, where the drug trade is rife. One criminal lawyer contacted by Radio Free Asia said that the increase in drug-related crimes has made walking around the streets of cities more dangerous. He also said online gambling has led to more crime. Besides drugs, many Laotians became addicted to online gambling which was also one of the main causes of robbery and thefts. This year, online gambling was rampant. [People] gamble online, lose money, then owe a lot of debt, then they rob and steal. Some people may be turning to crime to pay for their drug habit, one resident said. Another suggested that a lack of education is one reason more youth are turning to crime. Motorcycle theft The crime tally included 1,758 motorcycle thefts and 592 economic crimes that caused a loss of more than $28 million. But people complain that police often cant track down stolen items. In Vientiane province, a resident told RFA that after his motorcycle was stolen, he reported the crime to the police. They said they were going to follow up the case; so far, nothing has happened, he told RFA, on condition of anonymity like others in this report. The resident in Vientianes Viengkham district said that motorcycle thefts are common where he lives. He said that Honda Wave motorcycles are the most commonly stolen, perhaps because it is lucrative to sell their parts. The police should work more effectively; they should help people catch the thieves and find the stolen property, he said. Translated by Max Avary. Edited by Nawar Nemeh and Malcolm Foster. An Indian company, Sandeep Metalcraft, has sold Myanmar fuses for ammunition for the Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle, seen here in a file photo from Taiwan. In a July 2022 report, the group Justice for Myanmar said the Myanmar military had used 84mm Carl Gustaf rounds during attacks in ethnic areas. India, the worlds largest democracy, has nurtured closer relations with Myanmars military junta over the past two years, including providing weapons at least four times since the 2021 coup d'etat, two humanitarian and advocacy organizations in India said. The Indian government and Indian companies sold radar technologies and remote control air defense systems to Myanmars military government in 2021, said India for Myanmar, which helps refugees from the war-torn country who have fled to neighboring India. Last year, heavy artillery weapons, detonators for bombs and thermal imaging devices used with automatic rifles and scopes were sold, the group said. And in a show of support for the junta, Indian Ambassador Vinay Kumar attended the military council's Independence Day ceremony on Jan. 4, it said. We have found out that India is keeping the same relationship with the Myanmar junta just as it was with the previous civilian government before the military coup, said Salai Dokhar, founder of India for Myanmar. I must say that India recognizes and keeps closer relations with the military junta than Russia and China do, Dokhar said. Indias Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra meets with Myanmar junta chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw on Nov. 21, 2022. Credit: Myanmar military A UN report from last September said that Russia, Serbia and China have also supplied lethal weaponry since the coup. The report from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights also noted that an Indian state-owned enterprise supplied a remote-controlled weapons air defense station. RFA attempted to contact the Indian Embassy in Myanmar for comment since last week but got no response. Weapons and technology India for Myanmar listed in a news release last month four instances in which India had provided weapons and technology to the junta after the coup. In June 2021, India government-owned Bharat Electronics Limited sold radar technology to the junta. The following month, the same company sold a remote-control air-defense system, according to India for Myanmar, the group said. In 2022, India's Tonbo Imaging delivered telescopes used in automatic and sniper rifles. And last March, Indian company Sandeep Metalcraft delivered fuses to be used in bombs and grenades by Myanmars military. Indian Ambassador to Myanmar Vinay Kumar meets with members of the juntas State Administration Council on Apr. 7, 2022. Credit: Myanmar military The UN report said Sandeep Metalcraft sold Myanmar fuses for ammunition for the Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle. Another organization, Justice for Myanmar, said the Myanmar military had used 84mm Carl Gustaf rounds during attacks in ethnic areas. An Indian official noted to a UN Special Rapporteur that Myanmar and India share important security issues along its 1,700 km shared border and in the Bay of Bengal, according to another report from the UN. The official said that any arms transfers that may have been made were based on commitments that were made with Myanmars civilian government before the attempted coup. Inexcusable Indias supply of fuses to the Myanmar military is inexcusable, Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung said in the news release. India is directly supporting the juntas indiscriminate attacks against civilians by allowing the export of key components in the very weapons the military is using to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. Other ties between the two governments, according to India for Myanmar, include a meeting between Kumar and junta ministers Ko Ko Hlaing and Khin Yi in April and July 2022 in which they discussed cooperation in collecting data for the 2024 census. People who fled Myanmar sell goods at a roadside stall at Farkawn village near the India-Myanmar border, in the northeastern state of Mizoram, India, Nov. 22, 2021. Credit: Reuters Also, in November, Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra visited junta chief Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, India for Myanmar said. The lack of support for the efforts of pro-democratic groups in Myanmar partly stems from Indias ruling party, said Saiai Ceu Bik Thawng, chairman of the Interim Chin National Consultative Council. If only the Congress Party were the government of India in the place of BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), it would be much different, he said. Their foreign policies are different. During the 1988 uprising in Myanmar, India officially stood for the revolutionary groups. Of course, another factor is that India must keep the junta from drawing too close with China, Salai Ceu Bik Thaw said. Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster. Dwindling food and medical supplies in temporary camps have forced some to go back. An ethnic Kachin woman, displaced by armed conflict, sits outside a building after returning to Waingmaw township in northern Myanmar's Kachin state, May 25, 2022. Facing food shortages in overcrowded camps where theyve been living for a decade, more than 1,000 people in Myanmars northern Kachin state have returned to their villages despite fears that fighting could flare up at any time, they told Radio Free Asia. Their lives in the camps, where they had fled in 2011, have gotten increasingly unbearable with rising prices for necessities and a lack of nutritious food, medicine and health services. Junta forces have blocked roads and confiscated food and medicine from transport vehicles and money is difficult to access due to the collapsed banking system. Our lives are too difficult, said a resident of Ga Yar Yan village, who like others in the story declined to be named for safety reasons. We can no longer live here [in the camps]. But returnees face huge uncertainties because other people have settled in the homes and farms they abandoned years ago and have been using their belongings. So far, about 200 of the 500 families from the village who had been sheltering in camps have returned home, while the remainder fear that fighting will resume amid fighting between the junta and various rebel groups. Displaced since 2011 Back in 2011, about 150,000 people were uprooted from their homes when fighting resumed between Myanmar forces and the Kachin Independence Army, or KIA, an ethnic group seeking autonomy. Since then, theyve been living in more than 160 makeshift camps around Myitkyina, the state capital, with another 10,000 people joining them because of hostilities since the 2021 coup. In all, about 1.2 million people in Myanmar remain displaced by conflict and insecurity since the military takeover in February 2021, bringing the total number of internally displaced people across the country to more than 1.5 million, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The roughly 330,000 people displaced by fighting prior to February 2021 are primarily in Kachin, Rakhine, Chin and Shan states, the U.N. agency said. An ethnic Kachin family displaced by armed conflict has dinner at a temporary camp in northern Myanmar's Kachin state in an undated photo. Credit: RFA While some of the IDPs have decided not to resettle but rather work temporarily on their farms to grow food, others who want to move permanently say they need assistance to build homes, clinics and schools in their old villages in Kachin state, which borders China's Yunnan province. The Kachin Baptist Convention, an evangelical Christian group, is providing assistance to the returnees, an official from the organization said. Some social communities have formed Self Alliance Plans and volunteered to help them return home, the official said, referring to self-help groups the IDPs have formed by making alliances with others to leave the camps in a systematic manner. There are more internally displaced people planning to return to their homes, and [they] have arranged their own returns through these plans, the KBC official said. Some people encamped around Myitkyina township are considering returning home at the end of February, though they may not be able to do so because of the presence of military and KIA bases and their activities in their areas, he said. Junta had promised help When junta officials visited Myitkyinas Jang Mai Kawng camp in December 2022, they pledged to help the residents return home the following summer, which begins this March in Myanmar, when schools will be closed, a camp official said. But the military government has not followed through, he said. A deputy minister from the regime told the internally displaced people at the time that the government could not build new houses for them, but would provide a certain amount of cash to each household, he said. The deputy minister told them that they would have to invest more money of their own if they wanted better houses than what the cash from the government could provide. Although he said this, we have not received any specific information regarding it, the camp official said. Uncertain future Khun Sai, a displaced person who lives at the Sha-it Yang camp in Waingmaw, said he wants to go home but cannot do so because junta forces and KIA operatives often visit his village, Sampai. It is a worrisome place as armed forces are always active there, he said. Thats why we have formed a return committee and are making some possible arrangements. We dont know when we will be able to go home, but we are trying to make it possible in 2024. Win Ye Tun, the junta spokesman for Kachin state, said state officials were providing assistance to the uprooted people. For example, we helped rebuild a village in Nam Sang Yang and repaired some schools there, he told RFA. The main thing is that we are planning and helping the ethnic groups to be able to return to their homes with dignity. Ethnic Kachins displaced by armed conflict are seen in Waingmaw township, northern Myanmar's Kachin state, June 18, 2020. Credit: RFA KIA spokesman Col. Nawbu said he instructed the people in the camps to go back to their homes to work on their farmland if they cannot yet resettle there permanently. A religious teacher from Ga Yar Yan village said some villagers there who risked their lives to return home are prepared to flee back to the camps if fighting resumes. They returned not because it is safe and secure, but because its been 12 years, the teacher said. Its impossible to go on like this. But if there is fighting, we will flee back to the refugee camps. Translated by Myo Min Aung for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster. Nairobi The Nairobi City County will soon have precise location addresses for streets, residentials and other property, as its set to roll out an address system giving each location a physical identifier. According to the developers of the system UREPI Limited, the physical addressing will involve naming of streets and numbering of the property along them. This will comprise of a numerical property identifier (property number), followed by the combined street identifier (the street name and or code that the property's main access is located). On Thursday UREPI Limited handed over the system to Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, paving the way for the implementation of the system which will make Nairobi the second city to have such after Kigali, Rwanda. Governor Sakaja noted that the new address system will assist in the day to day decision making in the city. "This system will help us in the planning of amenities in the city. We will launch a public participation and mass campaigns to educate residents how they will be able to identify their homes, businesses etc," Governor Sakaja stated. Globally, physical addressing has been recognized as an urban management tool and key driver of economic, social and political development. Some of the benefits of physical addressing include improved delivery of goods and services and ease of navigation around the city through the aid of easily visible signage that identifies streets and building entrances. It also aids in swifter response time and access to targeted areas in the event of security and emergency operations, creation of jobs and commercial opportunities and improved efficiency of public programs. Having a fully established, equipped and secured in-house data center, the Nairobi County government will benefit from the inter-departmental data sharing at reduced levels of cost and complexity. The system will also raise the profile of Nairobi as Kenya's capital city in terms of competitiveness and liveability. This comes as the Navys top officer says it is committed to launching joint sea patrols with the Philippines. Caption: China coast guard vessel CCG-5304 as seen from a Philippine patrol aircraft above Sabina Shoal, Feb. 21, 2023. The U.S. is committed and focused to conducting joint patrols with the Philippines in the South China Sea, its navy chief said, as Manila again accused China of keeping coast guard ships in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Adm. Michael Gilday, the chief of U.S. naval operations, made a two-day visit to the American ally this week to discuss how to improve our interoperability together in the South China Sea and across the region. As Gilday visited Manila, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) issued a statement saying that one of its patrol aircraft had spotted a China Coast Guard ship and at least 26 suspected Chinese maritime militia vessels during a fly-over in the area around Ayungin (Second Thomas Shoal) and Sabina Shoals in the South China Sea. The area is well within the Philippine EEZ where Manila has exclusive rights to the sea resources. As the Philippine plane approached Sabina Shoal, in the Spratly Islands, it received inaudible radio challenges, both in English and Chinese, from CCG-5304 [Chinese vessel] currently continuing to maintain presence in the area, the statement said. Caption: Adm. Michael Gilday, chief of U.S. naval operations, speaks during an interview with the media at a private hangar in Manila, Feb. 22, 2023. Credit: Ted Aljibe / AFP The same thing happened when the aircraft came within 10 nautical miles (18.5 kilometers) of Ayungin Shoal, less than 200 kilometers from Palawan, the largest province of the Philippines. Ayungin Shoal is where the BRP Sierra Madre, an old naval ship, was deliberately run aground by the Philippine military to serve as an outpost since 1999. Philippine reporters invited aboard the flight said they heard warnings that the plane was entering the vicinity of Chinese territory and it was requested to leave immediately. They also received a text message that said Welcome to China! The PCG responded by issuing its own radio challenge directing the CCG-5304 to leave the area immediately. Increased tensions Last year in March, April and June, the Philippines filed several protests against what it called swarming by Chinese fishing vessels near Whitsun Reef. The reef, known as Julian Felipe Reef in the Philippines, is located in the Kalayaan Islands in the South China Sea and claimed by the Philippines, China and Vietnam. Hundreds of Chinese fishing boats were seen forming clusters around the reef, part of the contested Spratly Islands. Beijing said they were sheltering from approaching storms. In the latest pictures taken by the PCG aircraft on Tuesday, similar formations of Chinese boats were also observed. The Philippines suspect they could be from the Chinese maritime militia, an increasingly powerful armed fishing fleet funded by the Beijing government. On Thursday, Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela told a press briefing that PCG vessels would be deployed to drive the Chinese ships away and to prevent the Chinese maritime militia from swarming our exclusive economic zone. The situation in the area has been heating up recently after the Philippines accused the Chinese coast guard of pointing a military-grade laser at one of its vessels, temporarily blinding the crew, on Feb. 6. The Philippine ship was on a mission to deliver food and supplies to the troops stationed on the BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal. Caption: Suspected Chinese maritime militia boats in the Philippine exclusive economic zone, Feb. 21, 2023. Credit: Philippine Coast Guard Manila lodged a diplomatic protest and summoned the Chinese ambassador, but Beijing dismissed the accusation, saying its coast guard ship was not equipped with industrial-grade lasers. Western countries, including the United States, voiced support for the Philippines and condemned the Chinese coast guards action. On Wednesday, visiting Australian Minister of Defense Richard Marles said after meeting here with his Filipino counterpart that Australia and the Philippines were to sign a strategic partnership later this year. Both countries are looking at ways in which we can pursue joint patrols together in the South China Sea, and looking at ways in which we can do more exercises together, Marles told reporters in Manila. BenarNews staff contributed to this report. BenarNews is an RFA-affiliated service. Vietnamese captain was forced to destroy his own fishing net with a knife Vietnamese fisherman Huynh Van Khoi says Chinese officials took some of his gear and 1.5 tons of seafood. A Chinese ship confiscated the catch of a Vietnamese fishing boat anchored in the waters off the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea on Feb. 19, the state-sponsored Tuoi Tre Newspaper reported. The incident is one of several recent cases of Chinese ships intimidating Vietnamese fishing boats around the islands, which are claimed by Vietnam, China and Taiwan, the paper said. It happened when the Vietnamese crew was forced to anchor in a rocky area to avoid strong winds near the Paracel Islands, about 355 kilometers from the Vietnamese coast, according to Huynh Van Khoi, the owner and captain of the vessel. A large Chinese ship approached the boat, and a group of Chinese in uniforms with steel rods and loud speakers boarded the vessel after coming in on small boats, Huynh said. An interpreter told the crew they were being arrested and fined for entering Chinese waters. After Huynh and his crew argued, Huynh said the Chinese officials raised their rods at them in a threatening manner, leaving him no choice but to sign papers to avoid arrest. The officials forced him to destroy his own fishing net with a knife before boarding their own boats, taking away half of the damaged net and 1.5 tons of his catch. The net cost around US$21,300, Huynh said. Upon arriving back home, in Quang Nam province, Vietnam,, Huynh reported the incident to Vietnamese border guards. Vietnamese fisherman Huynh Van Khoi says Chinese officials forced him to destroy this fishing net. Credit: BD The newspaper said the damage to equipment and the attempts to drive fishermen away were part of Chinas plans to discourage fishermen from fishing in the area, which the paper said was historically Vietnamese fishing grounds. China has occupied the islands after a bloody battle with the now-defunct Republic of Vietnams navy in 1974. Since then, China has turned the islands into military bases and always deterred Vietnamese fishermen from fishing. In 2020, a Vietnamese shipping boat was rammed by a Chinese vessel. Huynhs case, the paper said, was relatively mild compared to other instances, where entire cargoes were seized and fishermen arrested by Chinese officials. At a high-level meeting between Vietnamese General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in October, the two sides agreed to control disagreements and maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea. Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Nawar Nemeh and Malcolm Foster. Followers of the Central Highlands Evangelical Church of Christ in Vietnam gather to celebrate Christmas in 2022. Local authorities in southern Vietnam on Wednesday blocked U.S. diplomats from entering the homes of Christian leaders to keep them from discussing religious freedom in at least two remote villages, church members and social media posts reported. Both incidents took place in Dak Lak province, in the southern end of the countrys Central Highlands region, which is home to several ethnic minority groups. Over the past few months, authorities in the region have prevented many religious groups in the region from holding services or performing rituals on the excuse that the groups have not registered with the government and are therefore illegitimate. Believers and their supporters say this is an infringement of the right to religious freedom. Though the Vietnamese constitution states that people have this right, the law allows the government to restrict religious practices if doing so is said to be in the interest of national security. In one of the incidents, personnel from the U.S. Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City were prevented from entering the homes of Y Kreec Bya, and Y Cung Nie, members of the Central Highlands Evangelical Church of Christ. A crowd of staff from local agencies and police officers gathering at the gate of my house did not allow the diplomats to come in and discuss with us, Y Kreec Bya told RFAs Vietnamese Service. They also asked the diplomatic delegation to leave and did not allow them to shake hands or talk [with us]. Y Kreec Bya also said police had been waiting in front of his home for more than a day, and they even threatened the church, saying if it does not stop its activities, they would take tougher measures. Two other church members from a village 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) away were also made to stay in their homes on the day of the meeting. Aga, a pastor of the church who resides in North Carolina, said that the U.S. government has been aware of Vietnams intolerance of religious freedom in the Central Highlands region. He said that during the incident, the diplomats witnessed all of Vietnams issues with their own eyes. Caught on video Video footage posted on the Facebook page for a rights group called Montagnard Stand for Justice showed a similar incident that occurred on the same day, as U.S. diplomats were stopped from entering the home of Y Cung Nie. In the video, a woman wearing a name badge checked the IDs of the diplomats and then explained that they would not be able to enter the home, and that the religious groups were connected to people who would incite believers to seek separation. The diplomats then told Y Cung Nie that they would have to reschedule the meeting for a later date. RFA contacted the Chief of Staff of Dak Lak Province Peoples Committee, but he did not answer the phone. Le Van Nuoi Vice Chairman of the Peoples Committee of the district where the incident occurred, told RFA that reporters should see him in person if they wanted any related information. Emails to the provincial headquarters and the district leaders of the various villages, as well as to the U.S. Consulate went unanswered as of Wednesday. Translated by Ana Vu. Edited by Eugene Whong. Le Minh The recently served a 2-year sentence on the same charge. According to Vietnam state media, police say Le Minh The posted and shared stories and images with illegal content on his Facebook account but did not specify which content had broken the law. His recent posts included information, images, and videos about Vietnam, a police summons for Le Thi Binh Thes younger sister and RFAs recent article about a fortune-teller becoming a priest. Authorities in Vietnam arrested activist Le Minh The for allegedly posting illegal content on his Facebook page, in violation of a vaguely worded law routinely used to suppress independent bloggers and journalists. The was charged with abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to violate the States interests and legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals under Article 331, state media reported. International human rights organizations have said Article 331 and other vaguely written and arbitrarily applied laws are tools for the government to silence dissenting voices and restrict freedom of speech. The, born in 1963, completed a two-year jail term for the same charge in July 2020, the state media report said. Authorities did not specify what the illegal content on his Facebook account was, but his most recent post was about U.S. President Joe Biden visiting Ukraine on Tuesday. Other posts on the account were information, images, and videos about Vietnam, a police summons issued to Le Thi Binh Thes younger sister, to discuss her livestream videos, Vietnams VinFast electric cars, and a recent RFA report about an ex-con former fortune-teller who was ordained as a Catholic priest under seemingly shady circumstances. The indictment for Thes previous violation in 2019 said that he contacted and exchanged information with inside and outside reactionary forces on social media platforms in hopes of inciting them to join demonstrations and topple the Vietnamese government. Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Eugene Whong. YEREVAN -- Officials in Baku say Azerbaijani athletes will boycott the European Weightlifting Championships in the Armenian capital of Yerevan and return home after an Azerbaijani flag was set afire by an apparent intruder at an opening ceremony late on April 14. Armenian police briefly detained a person who ran onto the stage during the event and snatched the Azerbaijani flag from a lady performing in the opening ceremony before setting it ablaze. No Azerbaijani athletes or delegation members were reportedly present in the hall at the time of the incident. Over 300 athletes from 40 countries are competing in the European Weightlifting Championships in Yerevan. No charges were brought immediately against the intruder, whom the Armenian police identified as Aram Nikolian, a professional designer. He was set free by police several hours after his detention, officials said. Azerbaijans Ministry of Youth and Sports and National Olympic Committee described the incident as a "barbaric act," saying it was a manifestation of :ethnic hatred, racism, xenophobia, and animosity toward Azerbaijanis" in Armenia and was "contrary to the noble principles and goals of sports." Declaring that under such conditions the safety of Azerbaijani athletes was not ensured and their normal participation in the championships was impossible, the Azerbaijani authorities announced their decision that their athletes will return home. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry also condemned the incident, demanding those responsible be punished. "It is worrying that no security measures were taken by organizers against such hate action. Perpetrators should be accordingly punished, Aykhan Hajizade, a spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, wrote on Twitter. Armenias Sports Ministry countered by saying that all security measures had been put in place by the Armenian side as required and there were no security risks for the Azerbaijani athletes. It stressed that the flag burning incident at the opening ceremony was settled quickly and had nothing to do with the general security of Azerbaijani athletes and ensuring of their normal participation in the competitions. "The Republic of Armenia remains committed to fulfilling its obligations to the International Weightlifting Federation and reaffirms its readiness to hold the 2023 European Championships at a high level," Armenia's Sports Ministry said in a statement. Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh for years. Some 30,000 people were killed in a war in the early 1990s that left ethnic Armenians in control of the breakaway region and seven adjacent districts of Azerbaijan proper. Another 7,000 died 7,000 when the simmering conflict reignited in 2020. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. 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. TBILISI -- The corridors of Georgia's parliament building were blocked on February 20 as a small group of journalists and civil activists, with signs reading "No to Putin's Law" staged a protest. Inside, Georgian MPs gathered to decide on whether to register a controversial draft "foreign agent" law. The draft, which copies a similar law infamously introduced in Russia in 2012, would brand media, NGOs, and other civil society organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from foreign sources as "agents of foreign influence," requiring them to register in a Foreign Influence Agents Registry. Failure to do so would result in fines of up to 25,000 laris ($9,400). The bill, which has now been approved for consideration, has been slammed by observers as an act of sabotage to Georgia's EU candidacy aspirations and an attack on freedom of speech, stoking concern that it will lead to crackdowns on civil liberties similar to that in Russia. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has warned the draft bill brings the country "closer to the flawed Russian model and not to the European model" in a statement released by the presidential administration. The U.S. State Department has expressed "deep concern" over the draft, saying its adoption could "potentially undermine Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration." Speaking to reporters in Washington on February 15, U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said the proposed legislation "would stigmatize and silence independent voices and citizens of Georgia who are dedicated to building a better future for their own communities." The bill was submitted to parliament by People's Power, an anti-Western offshoot party from the incumbent Georgian Dream that formed in August 2022, raising questions over whether more extreme fringe political factions are gaining currency and increasingly becoming an influential force within Georgian policy making. "This project is the idea of the majority to stop the work of independent organizations and people, to force us to accept this shameful status and declare ourselves as 'enemies of the state'," says Natia Kapanadze, the director of Media ombudsman, a local media watchdog. "The adoption of the law will be a sign of Russian rule in Georgia. We will gradually lose associates, foreign partners, and the European future of the Georgian state. This is a very critical and historical moment for the Georgian state." People's Power claims that the foreign agents bill is an attempt to make the sources of revenue of NGOs and media, which it contends "aim to influence public decisions," more transparent. However, those who work in organizations that receive funding from foreign sources say the information about their sources of funding is already transparent and publicly available. The development of free media since Georgia gained its independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union has been far from smooth. The presence of political polarization, which mars Georgian political culture and often stymies constructive conversation about policy, has strongly influenced Georgian media, too. With many outlets funded by the government, media in Georgia are often partisan, with the political tone and ideology of an outlet often set by their allegiance to the incumbent Georgian Dream or opposition. "Independent media don't have a long history in Georgia," says Tazo Kupreishvili, the editor of the Georgian-language news outlet Netgazeti. Founded in 2010 with grants from the Open Society Foundation, Netgazeti is one of Georgia's few remaining independent media outlets. Over the years, Netgazeti has received support from organizations like the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Britain's BBC, and Germany's Deutsche Welle, which either offer direct grants or journalism training programs for local reporters. "Their support has been a huge help for us," Kupreishvili says. "Ideally, a media organization should be able to fund themselves, but for us, small businesses here don't have money for media advertisement, and large organizations are usually close to the government, and therefore don't want to fund critical media. The only way for us to survive is to get grants from international organizations to maintain our independence." The bill is likely to further jeopardize Georgia's aspirations for EU accession. After making a policy pivot in the days following the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Georgian government sped up its EU application, slated for 2024, and applied for EU membership status along with the other two countries of the so-called Association Trio: Ukraine and Moldova. Once the frontrunner of the three, Georgia has now fallen behind, with the EU Commission deferring Georgia's member status and issuing a list of 12 recommendations Georgia must enact in order to be considered for such membership status. Among them is a directive to undertake "stronger efforts to guarantee a free, professional, pluralistic, and independent media environment." Founded by Russian-linked oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgian Dream came to power in 2012 after ousting the pro-Western former President Mikheil Saakashvili and his United National Movement party. Although publicly maintaining a facade of EU aspirations for the country increasingly during its time in power, Georgian Dream has moved away from its previous Western orientation. Just weeks before the European Commission was set to make a decision on Georgia's application for candidate status, a high-profile opposition journalist was jailed and controversial amendments to the criminal code were rushed through against EU recommendations. "The [proposed] law is terrible," says journalist Mariam Nikuradze, executive director at OC Media, an English-language news outlet covering the Caucasus that receives over 90 percent of its funding from foreign sources. "It's not good for Georgia's EU aspirations, especially given that we are expecting our candidate status to be reviewed again at the end of year. And of course, it's terrible for freedom of speech and the media. It's now clear that the government is doing everything to deprive Georgia of the possibility for it to join the EU." Should the bill be signed into law, OC Media would be a candidate for foreign agent status, and as executive director, Nikuradze would be responsible for registering OC Media as a foreign agent. "It means I will be named," she says. "So, the Justice Ministry can screen all of my transactions. I don't like the idea that the government will check everything that I'm doing. I'm a journalist. It should be the other way around." The expansion of scope of the foreign agent law in Russia over the past decade is heightening concerns over where the introduction of the law in Georgia will end. In Russia, the original 2012 legislation, which targeted NGOs and rights groups, has since been expanded to target media organizations, individual journalists, YouTube vloggers, and virtually anyone who receives money from outside of Russia and, in the eyes of the Kremlin, voices a political opinion. Daria Apakhonchich, a Russian activist and volunteer who teaches Russian to refugees and migrant women, moved to Tbilisi after leaving Russia two years ago, when she found herself labeled as a foreign agent. "In Russia, this law started with organizations, and after a few years they changed the law and now it's for individuals as well," Apakhonchich says. "It's not a good idea. This law won't be the end of it." The contradiction between the law's introduction and the EU's recommendations for Georgia's possible candidacy will, analysts say, make Georgia's chances of EU accession even less likely. "It will further damage Georgia's already shaken international reputation and solidify emerging authoritarianism," says Kornely Kakachia, director of the Georgian Institute of Politics think tank. "After effectively marginalizing political opposition in Georgia, the real aim of this bill is to do the same with civil society and independent media. It will negatively affect the EU candidate status Georgia is expecting at the end of year." On February 21, nearly 300 NGOs and media outlets in Georgia published a joint statement condemning the proposed legislation and declaring that "the Russian law is not the will of Georgia." "It's important to understand that if this is the beginning of the same process as what we had in Russia, then there will be a horrible ending," Apakhonchich says. IN SHORT: A recent flare-up of violent banditry in Kenya's northern Rift Valley region, and the security forces' response, has prompted several false claims on social media. One is that officers found shoes with hooves nailed to their soles, which the bandits used to prevent being tracked. But the shoes were made by poachers in South Africa. Two photos circulating on Facebook in February 2023 show a pair of shoes with antelope hooves nailed to their soles. In one of the photos, the shoes are being held by an armed person in a camouflage uniform. They are being posted with the claim that the shoes were used by bandits in Kenya. "The police officers have recovered the kind of shoe attire which the bandits are using to avoid being traced. These guys are more intelligent!" one caption reads. The idea is that the shoes would leave animal - not human - tracks in the ground. Communities in Kenya's northern Rift Valley region - including the Pokot, Turkana, Marakwet, Tugen, Ilchamus and Samburu - have long been entangled in armed cattle-raiding and other violence. On 10 February, armed men killed civilians and police officers on the Kitale-Lodwar highway in the Rift Valley's Turkana county. In response, the government declared some parts of six Rift Valley counties - Turkana, West Pokot, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, Laikipia and Samburu - as "disturbed" and "dangerous". It then launched a police and military operation against bandits and cattle rustlers in the region. The photos have been posted with the claim here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya Media Wildlife By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. But do they really show shoes used by cattle rustlers and bandits in Kenya? We checked. Photos from Kruger Park in South Africa A reverse image search of one of the photos reveals they went viral in Nigeria in 2021. They were debunked by Dubawa, a fact-checking organisation in the country. According to Dubawa, the photos were first posted by a conservationist on Twitter on 3 July with the caption: "Shoes worn by poachers that were caught yesterday in the Kruger." Kruger National Park is in northeastern South Africa. The tweet has since been deleted, but a screenshot posted three days later by another organisation advocating for wildlife conservation is still online. One of the photos was also posted in the same year by Speak Out For Animals, an organisation that aims to protect African wildlife. Part of its caption reads: "The picture below showcases how a poacher uses the hooves of antelope to deter Rangers from tracking them." The photos do not show shoes modified by bandits and cattle rustlers in Kenya. 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. The U.S. delegation to the parliamentary assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has urged the assembly to host its meetings in OSCE states that are prepared to block Russia's participation, vowing not to allow Russias "reprehensible propaganda to go unchallenged" at the OSCE or in any other international forum. "The world must hold Russia accountable for its aggression and for the war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide it is committing against the people of Ukraine," the delegation said on February 23 in a statement. The statement also pledged "sustained and steadfast" support for Ukraine on the eve of the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of the country. We will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes to restore Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty over its 1991 borders," the U.S. delegation said. The parliamentary assembly OSCE kicked off a two-day meeting earlier in Vienna amid harsh criticism of Russia's war in Ukraine and a boycott by Ukraine's delegation. Austria granted visas to several Russian delegates to attend the meeting as it started on February 23, despite calls by dozens of countries for Moscow's envoys to be banned from the Vienna-based OSCE, prompting widespread criticism, including from senior U.S. lawmakers. Ukraine and Lithuania are boycotting the gathering of representatives from the 57-member pan-European security body, which started one day before the anniversary of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine that started the deadliest and most devastating conflict in Europe since World War II. It was the first time that members of the Russian State Duma have journeyed to the European Union in an official capacity since being sanctioned for supporting the war, notably by voting in favor of seizing the four Ukrainian territories of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhya. The Russian delegates have faced harsh criticism from the outset, as a Slovak member delivered a statement on behalf of the boycotting Ukrainian delegation. "They [the Russian delegates] are not here for genuine dialogue nor for cooperation. They are here to spread their propaganda," the Ukrainian statement read, adding, "They are here to try and justify the war crimes they have committed and desecrate the principles of international law and human decency." The assembly's president, Swedish lawmaker Margareta Cederfelt, added to the criticism, saying in her opening remarks, "Today some parliamentarians are aiding and abetting the crime of aggression." Cederfelt said she felt sympathy for "the fact that some members find it unbearable to sit in the same room as the aggressors." But she called on participants to use the two-day gathering as "your opportunity to stand up for Ukraine and to confront the lies from the aggressors." Austria's decision to allow the Russian delegation into the country triggered protests despite Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg's explanation that it was his country's diplomatic obligation to allow participants from member states to attend the meeting. The previous two meetings of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly -- in July in Birmingham, England, and in the Polish capital, Warsaw, in November -- were held without Moscow's participation as both times the Russian delegation was denied visas. Representative Steve Cohen (Democrat-Tennessee), a member of the U.S. Helsinki Commission leadership who is attending the Vienna meeting, acknowledged Austria's reasoning behind the move to allow the Russians in, but told RFE/RL on February 22 that the visas should not have been granted. "Russia has violated every part of the reasons for this meeting to happen at all. And I think when a country goes that far, that maybe that they shouldn't be permitted." In a separate interview with RFE/RL on February 22, Joe Wilson, a Republican Congressman who heads the Helsinki Commission, said allowing Russia to attend the meeting sends "the wrong message to the world." The OSCE, the post-Cold War successor of the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe, is involved in issues such as arms control, promotion of human rights, media freedom, and the monitoring of free and fair elections. 12 Melnichenko realized that living alone in a fourth-floor Kyiv apartment was no longer feasible when air-raid sirens were going off. The widow and her only daughter, Oksana, decided to leave with Oksana's son. "We thought it was only for a month, and we did not take anything with us. We even left unwashed dishes in the sink," she said. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When Deep Vellum, a small, independent publishing house based in Dallas, Texas, agreed three years ago to publish a novel by Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov, it planned a typical run of 2,000 copies. But the time the book was ready for its release in March 2022, the world had changed: On February 24, Russia had launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine that dominated Western media and drove an unprecedented interest in Ukrainian history and culture. Kurkovs novel Grey Bees -- which depicts life in the Donbas region of Ukraine, the site of a war that began in 2014 and some of the deadliest fighting since the full-scale invasion -- was flying off the shelves, Deep Vellum founder Will Evans told RFE/RL. A year later, it is still hard to keep in stock. Deep Vellum has sold 20,000 copies of Grey Bees since its release and is printing thousands more to meet strong demand. Kurkovs latest book, a personal account titled Diary Of An Invasion, will hit shelves in April with a 10,000 hardcover print run, the most copies Deep Vellum has ever issued for a new release. Meanwhile, Voroshilovgrad, a novel by Serhiy Zhadan about life in the Donbas before the war erupted in 2014 following moves by Moscow to foment separatism, has been hot too, Evans said, selling nearly as many copies over the past 12 months as it did during its first six years in print. I've never seen a conflict in my 10 years now publishing that has generated more interest for our literary titles than this current war, said Evans, who will be issuing two more books by Ukrainian authors later this year and plans to continue to promote writers from the country. Its part of a broader shift in the consciousness of people in the United States, Europe, and around the world. In the Western imagination, Ukraine has almost always been overshadowed by Russia -- a phenomenon that persisted for most of the more than three decades since both countries became independent when the Soviet Union collapsed. Now, however, an invasion aimed at subjugating Ukraine to Russia -- to erase or severely diminish the space a country and its culture take up in minds and on maps -- appears to be having the opposite effect. Across the Atlantic and around the world, awareness of Ukraine and its culture is growing as the nation battles to maintain sovereignty and take back territory occupied by Russia. The only silver lining in [this war] is that the world now knows what Ukraine is, where it is, and what it stands for, Evans said, adding that Ukrainian literature is playing an important role in shaping the narrative for a foreign audience. Other small publishing houses are signing up Ukrainian authors as well, and Ukrainian translators say they are now inundated with work. Yale University Press will soon release Zhadans Sky Above Ukraine, his personal account of the invasion, while Seven Stories Press will publish a collection of short tales by Ukrainian author and soldier Artem Chapeye. The newfound interest in Ukrainian culture goes beyond literature. People in the West are snapping up books on Ukrainian history, inquiring about Ukrainian art and film, and trying Ukrainian food as they seek to both support and understand the country. Then there are the thousands of families around the United States and Europe opening their doors to Ukrainian refugees, learning first-hand about a country many previously knew little or nothing about. Putins Failure For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the growing awareness and interest in Ukraine represent a complete failure of what may be one of his prime objectives: to convince the world that Ukraine has never really existed and cannot exist as anything but a part or an appendage of Russia. In 2008, Putin told Bush that Ukraine was not even a country. He repeated and amplified this patently false claim in the years and months before February 2022 including in a 2021 article in which he dismissed the country as a spawn of the Soviet period" and an ominous speech, three days before the invasion, in which he described Ukraine as historically Russian. He has also falsely claimed that Ukrainians and Russians are one people, implying Ukrainians have no unique history and culture. In Ukraine, Russian forces have bombed museums, looted art and cultural artifacts, made Russian the main language of education in occupied territories, and deported Ukrainian children to Russia in what Kyiv says is an attempt to wipe out Ukrainian identity. Before the full-scale invasion last February, many in the West would not have given Putins comments about Ukraine much pushback and some have even echoed his assertions on social media and on TV. Numbers are hard to come by, but anecdotal evidence suggests that long after the Soviet collapse of 1991, many Americans and Europeans viewed Ukraine as a part of the Russian world, or even part of Russia. There were very few Ukrainian history classes at universities and very little promotion of Ukrainian literature, art, or movies at bookstores, museums, and theaters. Ukraine and other former Soviet states had become one endless Russia for many in the West, Ukrainian historian Olesya Khromeychuk said in a post in March 2022. But the Russian invasion and Ukraines resistance have changed that. Vitaly Chernetsky, a Ukraine-born professor of Slavic languages and literature at Kansas State University, said that for many, many years he had to describe to Americans what Ukraine is and what it is not: Russia. That is now a thing of the past. You no longer need to do that type of explaining, Chernetsky told RFE/RL. Ukraine is now a concrete place in the minds of ordinary people in the U.S. The substantial numbers of Ukrainian flags in front of homes around the United States are a testament to that shift. Ukraine spent some unwanted time close to the center of American attention a few years ago, when the country was embroiled in U.S. political machinations, matters that led to impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump in 2019-21. The spotlight on Ukraine now, though, is both bigger and far starker, resulting in a more substantial shift in perceptions. The main driver of this change may be the fact that the brutality of Russias war -- and the remarkable resistance to an assault that many believed would swiftly bring the country under Moscows thumb -- are on display day and night in the Western media. The hearts of the people lean heavily Ukrainian, heavily, Scott Eubanks, the owner of a gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona that specializes in art from the former Soviet Union, told RFE/RL. He said customers are thrilled when they learn the painting they have chosen to purchase is by a Ukrainian artist. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been instrumental in driving the shift. He has addressed the U.S. Congress, the British Parliament, and other Western legislatures in person; chatted with actors like Ben Stiller and Sean Penn; hosted U.S. television personality David Letterman on a Kyiv subway platform; and walked with U.S. President Joe Biden in Kyiv this week as air raid sirens sounded. The efforts of the Ukrainian diaspora have also played a role in raising Ukraines profile. But so too have people like Angela Boelens, a professor in the American Midwest who has no direct ties to Ukraine. Boelens, a resident of DeWitt, Iowa, is among thousands of Americans who have volunteered to host Ukrainian refugees under a Biden administration program. Her nonprofit organization IA NICE has helped resettle eight Ukrainian families with five more coming, she said. As part of her effort, Boelens regularly gives presentations about Ukraine, the conflict, and the needs of refugees to people in her community, including to schoolchildren and teachers. Local residents are also gaining an understanding of Ukraine directly from the refugees, she said. We're learning about what's going on over there. And we're learning through the people who arrive, Boelens told RFE/RL. Everyone wants to get to know these folks. 'The Need To Get The Story Straight' At U.S. universities and museums, substantial changes are afoot that are helping shape the new perception of Ukraine while also being pulled by it. Many universities have given Ukrainian scholars temporary teaching and research positions while also offering courses in Ukrainian history or Russian-Ukrainian relations. Last fall, Yale University history professor Timothy Snyder put his 23-lecture course titled The Making Of Modern Ukraine online for free to widen the potential audience. The episodes -- which, among other things, provide a detailed refutation of Putins claims about Ukraine and its history -- have received between 140,000 and 1.5 million views each. The Museum of Modern Art in New York, one of the most visited museums in the world, devoted a gallery to the work of Ukrainian artists shortly after the war began. Smaller museums around the United States have been holding exhibitions of Ukrainian art and photography as well, increasing the recognition young artists like Mykyta Kadan. Thames and Hudson, a leading publisher of illustrated art books, has just released two works dedicated to Ukrainian art and culture, including one to coincide with a major European exhibition of Ukrainian modernist art. The books appear to be the first ever dedicated to Ukraine in the publishers 73-year history. Russias war on Ukraine and its culture has sparked introspection across many fields, especially history and art, where there has been headed debate about the influence of Russian colonialism. Many artists born in Ukraine during the Tsarist or Soviet periods have long been labeled as Russian, but educational and cultural institutions are now reviewing the historical record. New Yorks Metropolitan Museum of Art recently reclassified artists including Ivan Aivazovsky, Arkhyp Kuindzhi, and Ilya Repin as Ukrainian and renamed an Edgar Degas painting previously titled Russian Dancers to Dancers in Ukrainian Dress. Britains National Gallery had months earlier renamed the same painting. Peter Doroshenko, the director of the Ukrainian Museum in New York and an advocate of such changes, told RFE/RL that he expects more museums to follow suit. The war has changed dramatically the need to rectify and get the story straight, he said. Russias massive, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has been going on for one year now, with tens of thousands of people dead, millions displaced, and billions of dollars in damages inflicted. Yet there is no clear end in sight. RFE/RL Russian Service correspondent Mark Krutov spoke with military analyst Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the U.S.-based Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), about how the war has developed so far and what factors might influence its development. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. RFE/RL: When the invasion was launched one year ago, did you think it would last this long? Rob Lee: I thought it would probably be shorter, but I thought Russia was trying to achieve more limited goals. But what we have found out is that Russias leaders have not been willing to walk away from this war. They still have very ambitious objectives they want to achieve. Its clear this war has been underpinned by a variety of false assumptions about the Russian military, about the Ukrainian military, about Ukrainians in general -- what they want and what they dont want. So we come back to asking why the war has lasted as long as it has. I think the Russian leadership has lived in a separate world -- it has been so out of touch with what was possible, out of touch with what the facts on the ground were, that their decision-making has been based on really poor information. And I think that is still probably true. I dont think the war is going to end anytime soon at this point. Russia has put so much into it. It has sustained such heavy casualties. They want to walk away with some kind of goal achieved. But it is not clear to me what Russia would be content walking away with at this point. If the military situation improves, they clearly want more. They want all of [the] Donbas and even more. They want great concessions from Ukraine. RFE/RL: Lets turn to the current military situation, particularly in the Donbas. What factors are keeping the situation more or less stable now and how might they change in the future? Lee: From the beginning, Ukraine always had pretty strong defensive positions there. They always expected that any sort of escalation of the war would happen in [the] Donbas. So once the war began to focus on the Donbas, it meant that Russia was basically attacking into their positions, into areas that Ukraine had thought about how they would defend them. So, unlike other areas where they didnt have prepared positions and a plan to defend them, in the Donbas they had that. If you are trying to attack a defending adversary and they are defending in depth and have sufficient forces, artillery, observation and if you dont have superiority -- it is difficult to break through. This isnt new -- it goes back to World War I. And we are seeing now, if you look at what happened in Kherson and Kharkiv during the successful Ukrainian offensives there, Russian forces were just extremely weak. They werent well positioned for defense and the force ratios at the front line were not very good. So Ukraine could break through -- they found a weak point in the line and exploited it. When we look at the front line now, it is a case where the attacking side needs certain advantages to overcome the advantages of defending. Typically, that could be numbers superiority or superiority in artillery -- both the quality and quantity of artillery and munitions. Those kinds of things. The problem now is that neither side has enough to achieve that kind of superiority. Neither side has enough offensive capability advantage to achieve sufficient superiority on a narrow part of the front line to break through and exploit. The other big problem is that both sides are relying on plenty of mobilized soldiers. On the Ukrainian side, the soldiers are eager to fight and have good morale, but it still takes time to train soldiers and units. But it is easier to train someone how to defend than how to attack. So, for both sides, even if they have sufficient manpower, it is difficult to convert that into offensive power, because it takes time to train and develop unit cohesion and that sort of thing. Right now, Russia is attempting a number of costly offensives along the front line. In Bakhmut, they have been doing a grinding offensive for months. They had some success last month but things have slowed down. Elsewhere, in Vuhledar, it seems they had a pretty unsuccessful offensive. Ukraine was able to hold territory. Simple things like mines, observation, artillery make it difficult to advance on those kinds of positions. I think the availability of artillery ammunition may be the biggest deciding factor of how the war will go this year. For Russians, the assault forces -- the naval infantry, the paratroop divisions, spetsnaz [special forces], which are being kind of misused as assault forces now -- are much smaller than the overall force. And some of the elite Wagner units. These are the kinds of units that can do operations effectively as a lead unit, but most of the Russian military cant do that effectively at this point. If Ukraine can attrit those initial attacking forces and the follow-on units are not capable of sustaining the offensive -- that is the issue on the Russian side. On the Ukrainian side, they cant repeat the Kherson offensive because Kherson was somewhat costly. Even if you have a lot of success, if you take a lot of losses as you progress, that will ensure that any offensive grinds down. It seems the U.S. is telling them that they need to make gains in the next six months because support going forward is not as clear as they have received so far. So it is important for Ukraine not to do small, costly offensives. It is more important for them to focus on high-reward options, to husband resources while they try to find a weak point in the Russian lines or a place where they can achieve a breakthrough that they can exploit and recapture as much territory as they can. A lot depends on Russia. If they keep attacking and having these costly advances where they suffer big losses and Ukraine doesnt -- like in Vuhledar -- that could set up Ukraine for an offensive in the spring. But the Bakhmut area is a different scenario where both sides are taking losses and that makes it more difficult for Ukraine because then they wont have those forces available for an offensive later on when they choose to conduct one. RFE/RL: One often hears that this is a war of numbers and that Russia has the advantage of nearly limitless manpower. Is this really such a significant problem for Ukraine? Lee: Yes. Russia is mobilized now. They mobilized 300,000 soldiers, if that is an accurate figure that the Russians gave, and they have kept mobilizing since then. People talk of a second wave, but I think it is just rolling mobilization. They are just constantly mobilizing people to offset whatever losses they have. Russia has enough men to mobilize and, so far, there doesnt seem to be a strong enough backlash in Russia to threaten Putins position in any way. As long as that is the case, Putin can continue mobilizing, and this gives Russia an advantage in terms of manpower. RFE/RL: What does Ukraine lack most of all before it can start a new offensive? Tanks? Men? Munitions? Lee: I think it is a lot of things. Ammunition is part of it. Along some parts of the front, Russia still fires far more artillery rounds every day than Ukraine does. Not everywhere, but on some parts of the front Russia is still firing much more ammunition than Ukraine does. That is an issue. 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. It is always difficult to conduct offensives without air superiority, so that is an issue for Ukraine. But an offensive is a combined-arms operation, so it is not just one factor but all of them together. Does Ukraine have enough artillery ammunition for an operation? Does it have enough precision-guided munitions? Does it have enough mid-range [unmanned aerial vehicles] to locate targets 20 or 30 kilometers behind the line? I think that is a critical one that we havent heard much about. They lack long-range offensive capability. For anything beyond the 80-kilometer range the Russians can sort of get lazy, with equipment lined up and bunched together, which they wouldnt be doing if Ukraine had longer-range weapons that could strike them. I think that receiving Western tanks will be useful, but it will not, by itself, break the deadlock, which will depend on a variety of things that could give Ukraine greater offensive potential. RFE/RL: Washington has reportedly warned Ukraine that, because of domestic political reasons, support for Kyiv in the United States might decline in the coming months. Can Ukraine hold the current front line if that happens? Lee: That depends. I think the availability of artillery ammunition may be the biggest deciding factor of how the war will go this year. You need less ammunition to defend than you need to attack. When you attack, you need it to suppress counterfire and to hit a variety of things to give yourself a better chance of success. Russia, back in the spring and the early summer in the Donbas, they were firing a tremendous amount of artillery munitions every day. They are not firing that much anymore, but they are still firing quite a bit. But the massive firing back then was a major contributing factor to why they made the gains they did then which were little, but still gains. I think that is why they are telling Ukraine to use as much as possible now, because if the number of artillery rounds they receive each month goes down, it will limit their ability to do offensive operations and they potentially are going to have to adopt a more defensive strategy for the rest of the war. Air-defense missiles, as I said before, that is a question too. Again, a lot depends on Russia. They are producing artillery ammunition, but they went through a lot of stockpiles too. They are receiving drones and missiles from Iran and that helps them compensate for shortages. Reportedly they are getting artillery ammunition from North Korea and that could compensate for some of the stockpiles they have already gone through. RFE/RL: Much has been made of the shortcomings the Russian military has shown during the war, but maybe the main problem is an old one the inability of people to tell their superiors bad news. Are things improving? Lee: They have improved in general, but not enough. And I dont think that culture has changed much. It is hard to tell how much of this stems from fundamental issues of Russian military culture and how much of it stems from things Putin is demanding and the military is responding to. It seems pretty clear to me that Putin does not want to get bad news, and Russian generals want to give him good news. That means Russian generals want good news from their colonels and that whole process goes down the line. This means sometimes guys are just going to lie about things to keep their positions. So some of the problem comes from the top. But other things come from the Russian military itself and I dont think it has changed that much. We are still seeing the same kinds of mistakes and systemic problems that we saw earlier. I think there are very top-down decision-making processes in the Russian military that are not very helpful, and I dont think they are responding or adapting very quickly. I still think lying is a constant issue and I doubt it is going to be fixed anytime soon. RFE/RL: Do you have any idea what Moscow would consider a win? Many analysts, including yourself, have said this conflict could last beyond this year. What could be the win for Russia? And, on the other hand, for Ukraine? Lee: A win for Russia? I dont know. The war just might continue and you might have an expanded line of control compared to pre-2022. It is likely there will be some sort of front line. Im not sure that either side is ready for negotiation anytime soon. They may not be ready until next year; it may take more than that. I dont think Russia would be happy walking away. Russia began the war very ambitiously and they never gave up on those objectives. They have kind of refocused on more achievable objectives, but if they think Ukraine is having difficulty sustaining the war, they will continue it and try to achieve more -- more territory or greater concessions from Ukraine. They obviously want a lot more than they have now. A land bridge was not the objective it was occupying all of Ukraine and they wanted regime change and a compliant regime installed. Now Ukraine is more hostile toward Russia than it was before the war began, and I think that was the opposite of what Russia was intending. I dont think it is possible now to say what Russia would consider a win. If they see they cant achieve their original objectives, theyll ask what they can walk away with and what can Putin sell to Russians as being worth this kind of war. But even if they walk away without achieving any objectives, I dont think that is necessarily a threat to Putin. He might be able to stay in power just because he has constructed a system where dissent is punished, and people are incentivized to not speak out and trained to think they cant bring about change. On the Ukrainian side, they want to take back all their territory. Including all the Donbas and Crimea, but at a minimum they want to get back to the situation as of February 23, 2022. But the main thing for Ukraine was to remain a sovereign state and in that respect they have already won. Russia is not going to take Kyiv, barring a complete cut-off of ammunition supplies from the West. That by itself is a victory -- Ukraine is still around. Whether they can take back all the territory that Russia has occupied, I dont know. They may have to accept -- out of exhaustion -- that they cant take back all the territory, but I dont know what the final front line might look like. But it is very clear what Russian occupying forces have done in Ukraine and that gives a very strong incentive for Ukraine to try to retake as much territory as possible. That is a very strong motivating factor. I dont think we are going to see Ukraine push for negotiations anytime soon. They have said the starting point for any negotiations is a return to the February 24 borders. IN SHORT: Kenya's government is battling banditry in the North Rift region, where it has recently launched a new police and military operation. But photos circulating with the claim they show the bandits have government support are misleading - they were snapped five years ago, in 2018. A flare-up in simmering banditry in Kenya's North Rift region has prompted security operations in troubled areas. In mid-February 2023, photos began circulating online with claims that they showed a successful recent operation - and that security forces were involved in the banditry. The photos show three civilians, a Toyota Land Cruiser with Kenyan government plates, six rifles and several rounds of ammunition. One Twitter post with more than 10,000 views captions them: "A vehicle with registration number GKB345M has been nabbed along Lodwar - Kakuma road with six AK 47 rifles and six magazines together with 30 rounds of ammunition all hidden behind the drivers seat." Lodwar and Kakuma are in the northwestern Kenyan county of Turkana, close to the borders of Uganda, South Sudan and Ethiopia. Similar claims about the photos can be seen here on Twitter, as well as here and here on Facebook. These claims add that the vehicle has been linked to the member of parliament for Turkana South. Banditry and cattle rustling in the North Rift The North Rift region of Kenya covers eight counties, including Turkana. Parts of the region have a decades-long history of banditry linked to cattle rustling. An illegal arms trade has also made the situation difficult for the government to resolve. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Kenya By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Despite government attempts to tackle banditry, it continues. Recent attacks have led the government to mount a major security operation in the area using both the police and the military. The claims about the photos may lead some people to believe that government officials or lawmakers are deliberately undermining the new operation. But has a government vehicle "been nabbed" illegally transporting arms? Out of context photos A reverse image search of the photos shows that they were actually taken in 2018. The claims are based on a real incident from that year. But it is false to claim that the photos have anything to do with the 2023 security operation in North Rift. press release A networking conference under the theme 'Building an ESG-centric ecosystem using technology', was held, today at the Ravenala Attitude Hotel in Balaclava, at the initiative of the Mauritius Institute of Directors (MIoD) in collaboration with Axiz Group. Its main objectives were to bring together experts to discuss how technology can be an enabler of sustainability; provide broader perspectives on the way business is carried out in Africa; and raise awareness on how innovation and digitalisation can facilitate the Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) issues while building resilience. The Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance, Mr Mahen Kumar Seeruttun, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the MIoD, Mrs Sheila Ujoodha, the CEO of Axiz Group, Mr Craig Brunsden, and other personalities were present. In his speech, Minister Seeruttun highlighted that the conference is the perfect forum to discuss how businesses can tap the potential of technology in building resilience and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It is clear for Government that digitalisation is a driver of opportunities for prosperity and a sustainable future, he underscored. Minister Seeruttun observed that Mauritius, as a Small Island Developing State, faces threats such as global warming, environmental pollution, food security, and waste disposal. He thus emphasised the importance of preparing the country for a sustainable future which, according to him, is akin to safeguarding the very existence of the island. Government, he indicated, is relying strongly on science, innovation and technology to give additional thrust to sustainability efforts. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Mauritius Governance ICT By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. Furthermore, the Minister remarked that ESG is a priority area for businesses so as to enable them to produce faster, smarter and better business outcomes. He urged businesses to make the most of digital technologies as a driver of sustainability objectives, and reiterated Government's support to the business community in ensuring a sustainable future for Mauritius through technological advancement. For her part, Mrs Ujoodha dwelt on the role of the MIoD, which is to prepare for the future of corporate governance and to be a platform for learning and development. "Today, we are engaging in a major reflection on technology as a transformative tool to integrate ESG into our best practices and this conference is an ideal opportunity to spark ideas and raise awareness in the business community about new paradigms" she said. As for Mr Brunsden, he indicated that ESG is becoming more prominent. The adoption of ESG practices by using technology can create positive social, environmental and economic impacts while generating financial returns in African countries, he added. press release The Prime Minister, Mr. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, graced a reception hosted by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan, Mr Shuichiro Kawaguchi, to celebrate the 63rd anniversary of His Imperial Majesty of Japan, in Floreal, today. The President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr. Prithvirajsing Roopun, the Vice-President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr. Eddy Boissezon, the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance, Mr. Mahen Kumar Seeruttun, several Ministers, Members of the Parliament, and Members of the diplomatic corps also attended the event. A toast was symbolically raised by President Roopun, to the good health and happiness of His Imperial Majesty of Japan, the prosperity of the people of Japan, and the everlasting friendship and cooperation between Japan and Mauritius. Ambassador Kawaguchi also made a toast to the prosperity of both countries and the bright future of their people. In his address on the occasion, Ambassador Kawaguchi expressed his heartfelt wish for the long life of His Imperial Majesty of Japan on the occasion of his anniversary and for the happiness and prosperity of the people of Japan and Mauritius. He underlined that Japanese people wish to have good relationship with other countries and that in his capacity as Japan's Ambassador to Mauritius, he is working to make Mauritius and Japan which already share friendly ties, become closer. The Ambassador emphasised that since his posting in Mauritius in 2020, he has had a successful and fruitful diplomatic journey. While recalling that one of his aims is to attract Japanese investors and tourists to Mauritius, he expressed gratitude to all local companies that are promoting Japanese products to Mauritius, thus making the situation profitable for both countries. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Mauritius Governance By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. On that note, Mr Shuichiro Kawaguchi announced the arrival of a Japanese investment mission to Mauritius on 04 May 2023 with the aim of exploring business opportunities in Mauritius. Furthermore, he highlighted that Japan considers Mauritius as an important partner namely because they both share common values as well as for the geopolitical situation of Mauritius. According to him, Mauritius is the most advanced country in terms of democracy in the region and enjoys peace and stability. He pointed out that Mauritius will be able to participate as a guest country in the G7 Hiroshima Summit that will be hosted by Japan, which he added will enable for more cooperation on the economic and political scenes. Additionally, Mauritius will be given the opportunity to participate and work together with Japan in the Osaka World Exposition 2025, which will provide Mauritius with a platform to showcase its assets and products to market, therefore increasing commercial and economic benefits, underlined Ambassador Shuichiro Kawaguchi. The Ambassador also pledged for the deepening of the countries' traditional relationship, and for the expansion of cooperation so as to bring more mutual benefits. Mountain Province Diamonds announces Q1 2023 production and sales results Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. announced production and sales results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023 from the Gahcho Kue Diamond Mine. 1,319,603 carats recovered, 11% higher than last year's comparable quarter (Q1 2022: 1,185,156... Indian Sightholder VD Global returns 'Beating Heart' to De Beers for testing VD Global, an Indian Sightholder of De Beers, found a rare diamond in its lot from the supply from the miner. On finding the unusual piece diamond inside a diamond, VD Global named it ' Beating Heart, and returned it to De Beers for testing. RBPlat CEO, COO to keep positions until buyout is completed Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) has agreed to extend the duration of its CEO and COO contracts for a few months until assurance on ongoing corporate action is obtained, or until October 7, whichever comes first. Marula signs official commercial contracts for Tanzanian projects Marula Mining, an Africa-focused mining and development company, has signed commercial agreements with Takela Mining Tanzania on the Kinusi copper project and the Nyorinyori graphite project, as well as with Kusini Gateway Industrial Park (KGIP)... press release The Ambassador of the United States of America to Mauritius, Mr Henry Victor Jardine, presented his credentials, this morning, to the President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Prithvirajsing Roopun, at the State House in Le Reduit. In a statement after the meeting, Mr Henry Victor Jardine highlighted that he discussed with the President, Mr Prithvirajsing Roopun, a range of different issues that both the United States of America and Mauritius could collaborate on. "These," he informed, "are maritime security, trade opportunities and investments as well as the promotion of democracy regionally through forum such as the United States-Africa Leaders Summit." The Ambassador reiterated the support of the United States of America to Mauritius to help the country accomplish its goals in these areas. Prior to his meeting with the President, Mr Henry Victor Jardine presented his Copie d'Usage to the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mr Joyker Nayeck, at the seat of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade in Port-Louis. press release An Innovative Solar Energy Laboratory was unveiled, this morning, by the Vice-Prime Minister (VPM), Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, at the University of Mauritius (UoM), in Reduit. The Laboratory has been set up with the support of Huawei Mauritius and forms part of a long-term project known as the Park of Excellence in Solar Photovoltaic (PESP) at the UoM. The Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, Mr Georges Pierre Lesjongard; the Vice Chancellor of the UoM, Professor Sanjeev K. Sobhee; the Chief Executive Officer of Huawei Mauritius, Mr Zheng Kui; and other personalities, were present during the unveiling ceremony. This Laboratory project aims to: make the UoM a global reference in terms of electricity use; develop capabilities and experts to support Photovoltaic (PV) education, research, innovation and development, and; contribute towards economic and societal development locally and internationally. In her address, Mrs Dookun-Luchoomun highlighted that this laboratory marks a milestone in the history of the Indian Ocean and comes at a time when the decarbonisation of the power sector and adoption of smart technologies are at the fore of discussions. Moreover, she indicated that this project will provide industries and companies with strong supporting capacity-building in solar energy. "This Laboratory will allow us to come closer to Government's commitment in ensuring that 60% of the country's energy are produced by green energy by 2030," the VPM added. According to her, this venture will bring a fresh impetus to the energy sector and PV education, research, innovation, and development. "As part of the Small Island Developing States, the Republic of Mauritius is vulnerable to climate change, and this project is most welcome as a reduction in carbon emissions is essential to mitigate the impacts of climate change on the island," she pointed out. The VPM emphasised that the use of renewable energy is not only essential to transforming the energy system but is also key to improving our energy security by reducing the traditional appetite for and reliance on fossil fuels. "It is greatly satisfying to therefore find so many energy users turning to renewable sources of energy through the use of hybrid and electric vehicles among others," she said. Furthermore, Mrs Dookun-Luchoomun observed that by coming up with this Solar Energy Laboratory, the UoM has shown its commitment to providing education responsive to the current and future needs of the country as well as maintaining a high standard of education while keeping pace with innovative research institutions around the world. "My Ministry encourages such initiatives and commends the UoM for forging linkages with industries and for setting up such facilities," she stated. For his part, Minister Lesjongard indicated that energy security and reliability has been a key element in the socio-economic development of Mauritius. He emphasised that using the renewable energy approach is more and more unsustainable, both environmentally and economically, and will help to further our ambition for the transition to a low-carbon economy. On this score, Mr Lesjongard dwelt on some bold policy measures announced by the Government including the phasing out of coal for power generation by 2030 and; reviewing of the renewable energy roadmap for the electricity sector in 2022 so as to facilitate the green energy transition and to optimise the combination of those renewable energy technologies to allow for the achievement of the set target by 2030. These measures, he stressed, are in line with the creation of the new pillar of economic activity which is the green energy industry. "The potential for wealth creation and employment generation in the green energy sector is indeed immense and awaits to be tapped," Minister Lesjongard said. As regards Solar PV technology, the Minister remarked that it is the first choice around the globe as it is not only cost-effective but is also safe and reliable clean electricity that can be generated where it is needed. "In Mauritius, solar energy can be fully exploited using PV technology at all scales and, that is why, supported by the various schemes introduced by my Ministry and the Central Electricity Board, more than 120 MW of PV have been installed across Mauritius," he indicated. On this score, Mr Lesjongard underlined that the setting up of this innovative Solar Energy Laboratory under the PESP at the UoM comes at an opportune time as with the aid of the state-of-the-art equipment in the laboratory, a number of experiments and demonstrations may be performed to better understand the operation and safety aspects of PV systems and communication features present in new generation PV technologies. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Mauritius Governance Energy By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. This Solar Energy Laboratory, Minister Lesjongard underscored, will make students more passionate on the subject of renewable energy, in particular as regards solar PV, as well as allow the University to further research in the field of solar PV and PV-based microgrids. "I hope to see the birth of a new breed of future entrepreneurs who can actively contribute to the national green energy transition by bringing innovative ideas and their unique skills set to the service of the green energy industry," he highlighted. As for the Vice Chancellor of the UoM, he pointed out that the laboratory has been set up with several modern and unique pieces of equipment, including a video conferencing system that will allow remote learning of solar energy technologies. "This unique facility will further strengthen the quality of education imparted and the skills set of the graduates who will benefit from hands-on training and experiential learning," Professor Sobhee indicated. Are you confused about which CBD oil to choose in Canada? We are here with the best brands and their products that can provide you with benefits. The deck can be stacked against victims of domestic violence, who often face fear, injury, financial ruin and emotional turmoil over leaving their abuser. For those who are unauthorized immigrants, the hurdles can be magnified by worries that reporting the crime could separate them from their children and their adopted country. Many in that situation have found an advocate in Christina Helwig of Escondido. The 38-year-old immigration law attorney has spent the past five years doing pro bono work for clients in shelters in Orange County, as well as many others who are dealing with difficult immigration issues. Helwigs efforts were honored last month in Anaheim, when she received a Spirit of Volunteerism Award from OneOC, an Orange County nonprofit resource center. Advertisement The award recognized Helwigs volunteer efforts with Human Options, an Irvine nonprofit that has counseled and sheltered more than 32,000 victims of domestic violence. Helwig shares her expertise in monthly immigration law forums and in one-on-one legal consultations at regional law clinics, and has handled cases for nearly 200 clients. Helwig said seeing how her work can positively impact the lives of others has been gratifying. Theres nothing that can describe the feeling when you first meet someone in a shelter and they have this cloud of gray around them, she said. A few months later, especially when youre starting to help them fix their status, they become shiny and vibrant. Their whole demeanor changes. It takes me back to why I wanted to go to law school in the first place. Helwig grew up in the Bay area city of Alameda, where her parents divorced when she was young. Family finances were tight and she describes her childhood as very difficult. Her father and grandfather, who ran a dive shop, often volunteered their services to law enforcement in search-and-rescue operations, which she admired. By the time she was in high school, Helwig said she felt drawn to the law herself. I didnt really know what I was getting myself into but law was something that made order out of chaos, and that appealed to me, she said. After studying pre-law at Cal State University, Hayward (now named CSU, East Bay), she attended UC Hastings law school in San Francisco. During school, she spent a semester as a law clerk for San Mateo Countys District Attorneys office. When she earned her law degree in 2005, she spent six years with a firm that specializes in insurance defense cases. It was lucrative work, but Helwig said she wasnt completely fulfilled with what she was doing or the place she was doing it. In 2000, she met her future husband, Ray Stendall, who was at the time a Bay area tech worker. He grew up in Canada, the child of Romanian immigrants whod fled the regime of Nicolae Ceausescu. When the recession hit, Stendall lost his work visa due to corporate downsizing and she saw the difficulties he faced trying to clear up his H-1B visa status. Around 2009, they moved to Orange County to escape the traffic and congestion of the Bay area. For three years, she continued working long-distance for the insurance defense firm. Then in 2012, she started her own law practice in San Juan Capistrano. At the same time, she began working as an apprentice in a friends firm that specializes in immigration law. That work took her into battered womens shelters and right away, Helwig said she knew shed found her calling. I just felt like this is where I belonged, she said. Its hard to put into words but I believe that lack of access should not limit your ability to get help when its needed most. Helwigs clients include unauthorized abuse victims who are married to abusers with permanent legal status, unauthorized victims of crime who are cooperating with law enforcement, DACA cases (unauthorized young adults brought to the U.S. as small children) and families trying to fix their immigration paperwork. Helwig meets many of her pro bono clients at shelters, where she said her biggest challenge is earning the trust of clients whove often been beaten and lied to for years by their abuser. Helwig who speaks Spanish at 70 percent proficiency said she comes into the shelters in street clothes to avoid intimidating these clients and works quickly to educate them on the law. The biggest challenge Im trying to break through is establishing trust and undoing all the information their abuser programmed into them, she said. They would be told the police wont help you or Ill have the police take you. Or if the abuser had papers or is documented, theyd say theyll give me the kids because you dont have papers. Many times, the cycle of dependence in these relationships is hard to break and the victims return to their abusers. But Helwig said she doesnt get discouraged. Those clients almost always come back. Nobody wants to go into a shelter, she said. By the time you get to that last resort, most of the things a client has been through can get very severe before they finally pull the trigger and say Ill drop everything and go into the shelter. Helwig has worked with clients at shelters including Lauras House, the Womens Transitional Living Center (WTLC), Thomas House Family Shelter and Human Options. Sara Behmerwohld, an attorney and legal advocacy program supervisor for Human Options, said Helwig has gone above and beyond for the nonprofit organizations domestic violence clients. Christina gets it, Behmerwohld said. Its not something that can be taught in terms of how to appropriately and professionally work with a survivor of domestic violence while still providing competent legal advice. She has this outstanding ability to empathize and demonstrate care for the clients while still moving them forward on that (legal) path theyre on. Four years ago, Helwig and her husband moved to Escondidos Hidden Meadows neighborhood, where they now live on a small blackberry farm with their dachshund-Pekingnese mix, DaVinci. She doesnt mind the one-hour commute to work in Orange County each day because shes never found a more idyllic place on Earth than DaVinci Farm. Recently, she began volunteering her services to Interfaith Community Services in Escondido and shes hoping to open a new law office somewhere in North County, where she plans to continue doing the same kind of work with local residents. Being able to hand documents over the desk to someone and watch them light up ... I want to keep experiencing that, she said. pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com U.S. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden addressing a luncheon hosted by the First Lady of Namibia at State House in Windhoek. Windhoek, Namibia U.S. first lady Jill Biden is due to speak Thursday at a state luncheon with Namibia's President Hage Geingob and first lady Monica Geingos at the Namibian presidential residence, the second day of her visit to the country. Biden is also due to go Thursday to a U.S.-funded project in the capital, Windhoek, that focuses on empowering women and children and ensuring access to economic opportunities and health resources. After arriving in the country on Wednesday, Biden said Namibia was chosen because of its vibrancy. "We wanted to come because you know this is a young democracy, and we want to support democracies around the world," Biden said. "We met each other in December, and we're just continuing the relationship. Monica and I think it's safe to say that we became good friends instantly." Geingos said there was a lot in Namibia she would like to show Biden, who is making the first visit to the country by an incumbent first lady. "It is a very vibrant democracy. We've got a very large youth population, who drives that democracy, very energetic and fully enabled by our constitutional values but also by the personal values of our leadership," Geingos said. Jill Biden is the first White House official to visit the country after President Joe Biden last year pledged to send administration officials to the continent. She follows Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who visited earlier this year. Like Biden, Thomas-Greenfield focused part of her visit around a food security crisis in East Africa -- something Biden plans to highlight when she visits Kenya later this week. But these high-profile visits are also happening against the background of increased visits by top-level Russian and Chinese officials to the continent. Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Namibia U.S., Canada and Africa Women By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later. While the nation is a multiparty democracy, the same party -- Geingob's South West Africa People's Organization -- has led since the nation won independence more than three decades ago. And that liberation struggle pulled in other countries for support. Earlier Wednesday, Biden laid a wreath at Heroes' Acre, a memorial to those who fought for the nation's independence. That memorial, with its brutalist sculpture and wide expanses of stone, bears an uncanny similarity to the Heroes' Acre in Zimbabwe's capital, maybe because both memorials were built by the same North Korean company. That same firm built the imposing, modernist gray cement State House where Biden was so warmly, colorfully received by the first couple. Jill Biden heads Friday to Kenya, where she will use her popularity and platform to draw attention to women's empowerment, children's issues and the hunger crisis that is again ravaging the Horn of Africa. Racist Attacks Increase After Tunisian President's Remarks Sub-Saharan African migrants are leaving Tunisia amid an increase in racist attacks, Voice of America reports. This follows controversial comments by the country's president, Kais Saied. Saied called for urgent measures against what he called "hordes" of sub-Saharan migrants. He urged Tunisian security forces to halt illegal immigration and has described the migrant influx as a conspiracy to change the North African country's democratic makeup. Saied and his government deny his remarks were racist. Saied's remarks have sparked an uproar and criticism from the African Union. Hundreds protested in Tunis on February 25. The ancient crater, formally known as le Clot, is about 220 m in diameter and 30 m in depth, and is located in the ground of the Domaine du Meteore-vineyard near the town of Beziers in southern France. Small impact craters are quite rare, and proof of an impact origin is difficult to obtain, especially if remnants of the impactor material are missing. The Earth Impact Database, hosted in the Planetary and Space Science Centre at the University of New Brunswick, lists only three structures in West and Central Europe: Rochechouart in France, Nordlinger Ries and Steinheimer Becken, both in Germany. Craters can form in many ways, and meteorite craters are indeed very rare, said Professor Frank Brenker, a geologist and cosmochemist at Goethe University Frankfurt. However, I found the various other interpretations of how this depression at the Domaine du Meteore-winery could have formed unconvincing from a geological perspective. First mentioned more than 70 years ago, the Domaine du Meteore crater was almost ignored for more than half a century. In the 1950s, scientists suggested an impact origin of the crater based on its shape and a strong magnetic anomaly. However, their acclaimed colleagues rejected this hypothesis a few years later. The current crater has a 200-m wide and about 30-m deep circular shape with two stream beds crosscutting from north to south, Professor Brenker said. The original size of the crater is difficult to assess as the overall topography is quite complex and intensive erosion from the nearby Montagne Noire might have eroded not only part of the crater rim. It is also possible that the impact struck already intensively shaped terrain. Professor Brenker and his colleague, Goethe University Frankfurts Professor Andreas Junge, aimed to examine the Domaine du Meteore crater in detail. With the help of strong magnets attached to a plate, they found tiny iron oxide spherules in the crater. Further analysis showed that the specimens also contained nickel-bearing iron and encased a core of minerals typical for the crater environment. In addition, they discovered numerous shock microdiamonds produced through the high pressure during the meteorites impact. Impact spherules in small craters are quite rare and have been reported from only a few occurrences worldwide, they explained. A comprehensive study about magnetic spherules found in and around the Kamil crater in Egypt showed that even in small crater structures they can be quite frequent, with the potential of becoming one of the most important tools to detect and confirm new impact craters in the future. Our search was performed by screening the soils by using a plate packed with high-energy magnets. We isolated more than a hundred iron-oxide spherules showing a large variety of textures, from dentritic, ashlar to smooth surfaces was found. The sizes range from a few 10s of microns to more than a mm, with a mean size of about 200 microns. The researchers also discovered that Earths magnetic field is slightly weaker in the crater than in the surrounding area. This is typical for impact craters because the impact shatters or even melts the rock, which can thus contribute less to Earths magnetic field. The finding of a magnetic low inside the crater structure together with the occurrence of impact spherules containing target fragments set in a shock diamond matrix surrounded by silicon, aluminum-containing iron-oxide and remnants of nickel-rich iron-metal confirms the impact origin of the crater, the authors concluded. Further proof comes from shock diamonds, mosaicism, planar fractures and planar deformation features in quartz of rare impact breccia. They will present the findings next month at the 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2023 (LPSC 2023). _____ F.E. Brenker & A. Junge. Impact origin of the Domaine du Meteore-crater, France. Compelling mineralogical and geophysical evidence for an unrecognized destructive event in the heart of Europe. LPSC 2023, abstract # 2806 As we celebrate Black History Month, The Newsroom is spotlighting Black-owned small business owners and civic leaders. In this first installment, get to know Efrem Fesaha, the man behind Boon Boona Coffee. Representation matters in coffee and Boon Boona Coffee founder and owner Efrem Fesaha is telling the story of the African origins of the brew that keeps Seattle buzzing. The Seattle University MBA candidates family hails from Eritrea, next to Ethiopia and across the Red Sea from Yemen, the lands of coffees genesis. Inspired by the social importance of coffee in East Africa, Fesaha sees his work as telling the 1,000-year-old story of one of the worlds most traded, and oldest, commodities. Without that knowledge, that history, so often it wont be told or it will be told incorrectly, he says. Its a big part of our culture, a big part of how we socialize and commune. Fesaha grew up in West Seattle and was working in finance when he started pitching his plan to potential investors, explaining the central place coffee holds in East African life. But he was confronted by questions about how he planned to compete with the major coffee brands commonly associated with Seattle. Rather than go head-to-head with what he calls the big dogs, Fesahas intent has always been to honor the African origins of coffee and about 10 years ago started selling green coffee beansthe raw product that East Africans roast at home to the desired profile. It really was to bring some authenticity, some history, some understanding around where coffee originated, Fesaha says. For me, it was really important to source from Africa, to find ways to give back and pay higher rates for coffee, to find producers, importers and exporters and create a supply chain. Raw coffee beans were just the beginning of the story. He opened his first cafe in downtown Renton in January 2019, where his roasting operation is now located. Boon Boona Coffee literally means Coffee Coffee Coffee, as Boon is the word for coffee in Eritrea and parts of Kenya, whereas Boona is commonly used in Ethiopia. The face on the brands logo comes from traditional Ethiopian iconography and art. As other cafes were closing due to measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, in April 2021 Fesaha opened his second cafe on 12th Avenue near East Cherry Street, a now frequent spot for SU students looking for that java fix. Last year he was named Washington Small Business Person of the Year. Though Fesaha wants customers to be able to breeze in and out with their coffee and locally sourced foods, he wants the cafes to be more than that. He envisions them as communal spaces for hanging out and holding community events. Earlier this month Fesaha opened his third cafe location, at the University of Washington Bookstore on The Ave, bringing the number of Boon Boona employees to about 25. Though Fesaha admits he was too hard on himself during the first years of his endeavor, loving his work and helping others was what allowed him to weather the storms that come with being a small business owner. There are some very foundational things that make it challenging, Fesaha says of Black-owned businesses, from systemic racism to redlining and gentrification. His advice to Black entrepreneurs, and anybody interested in starting their own business, is twofold: Find something you are passionate about and make the work benefit others, be it a community, those you are buying from or those working for you. (Boon Boona supports an array of area nonprofits including Glitter Cat, which promotes the hiring and career advancement of marginalized communities.) If you are doing it out of a sense of love and passion, it will help you drive through the difficult times and it will all be worth it. The United States was the main destination market (US$6.007 billion) , followed by China (US$2.262 billion) , the Netherlands (US$1.551 billion) , Chile (US$1.271 billion) , and Ecuador (US$1.227 billion) , among others, he explained. Ministro Helguero: Durante el 2022, 22 regiones han presentado crecimiento en sus exportaciones. Las tres principales fueron Piura, Ica y La Libertad. Las regiones que registraron mayores tasas de crecimiento fueron Cajamarca, Moquegua y Amazonas. pic.twitter.com/ZjF03sKkrm Ministerio de Comercio de Singapur: Felicitaciones a Peru por ser el primer pais de @A_delPacifico en ratificar el TLC Alianza del Pacifico-Singapur, una asociacion que impulsara una mayor cooperacion economica entre nuestras regiones, en areas de muto interes! ?????????? https://t.co/1De4cfKlMG Welspun Group, a global conglomerate, announced this would set up an information technology (IT)/ information technology-enabled services (ITeS) middle in Chandanvelly, Ranagareddy district in Telangana. A release from the state government said Balkrishan Goenka, chairman of the company, announced the firm's decision in the presence of Telangana minister for industries K T Rama Rao during the inauguration of Welspun India Limited's advanced textiles facility. Mentioning that Welspun is already operating in Ahmedabad and Mumbai in the IT/ITeS sector, Goenka said the company has decided to set up their IT centre in their industrial premises in Chandanvelly. Rao said the company's decision will strengthen the Telangana government's goal of expanding IT to tier 2 and 3 cities. With the establishment of the Welspun IT Centre, the desire of the local people to have IT companies in their region will also be fulfilled and 1,000-1,200 local youth will get an opportunity in IT jobs, the release said quoting the minister. Rao hoped that more small and medium-level companies will follow Welspun and set up IT centers in the area. The AIIMS administration has chosen to implement a startup policy in order to encourage entrepreneurship among medical students. Officials claim that partnerships are being planned with organisations like the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institutes of Management, and the Indian School of Business (ISB) to increase access to intersectional learning as well as with businesses like McKinsey, the Boston Consulting Group, and Bain to expose students to the management field. At a meeting set for Sunday, the director of AIIMS is likely to see the institutes' representatives. On February 25, ISB's regional manager for the north, Ketan Tewari, will host an informational session at AIIMS. According to organisers, "He will talk about the management sector, its scope and potential, as well as the programmes that ISB has to offer." According to a senior faculty member, the programme would enable medical students to learn things that went beyond their regular coursework, patient care, and research. Students should have a foundational understanding of administration and finances in addition to treatment. The professor said that this would enhance the students' professional development and spare them any difficulties should they decide to run nursing homes in the future. Another faculty member stated that "AIIMS has planned this strategy considering the changing times and circumstances." To increase collaboration between the institute and other organisations, AIIMS has planned to host an open house for representatives of the Indian Council of Medical Research, the science and technology department, the department of biotechnology, and its faculty. The open house will now take place every second Saturday starting the following month. Thank you for visiting the Daily Journal. Please purchase an Enhanced Subscription to continue reading. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account. We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription. A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much! Kam Ghaffarian always wanted to go to the moon, though just not in the Reddit sense of the phrase. The space mogul has become a billionaire several times over after his company, Intuitive Machines, wrapped up a SPAC merger. Intuitive shares skyrocketed as much as 1,200 per cent since its debut last week, resulting in multiple trading halts and making it currently the best-performing stock that went public through a blank-cheque firm. Space mogul Kam Ghaffarians fortune has soared after the Wall Street debut of his company Intuitive Machines. Credit: Bloomberg As the space race with China heats up, the Houston-based company which has a contract with NASA is well positioned to build the first American spacecraft to land intact on the Moon since the Apollo era. The US space agency this month redirected its mission to the Moons South Pole region, where China plans to land a lunar rover. Another factor in Intuitives precipitous rise: Many shareholders redeemed their stock for cash at the time of its SPAC merger, leaving thin amounts of securities in the combined company left to trade. The firm and its LUNR ticker also appeared all over Reddit in the stock-speculation groups that once fuelled rallies for the likes of Gamestop and AMC Entertainment Holdings. 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 Sam Mendes is clearly anxious that his film is being read the wrong way. Empire of Light is set in a tatty British seaside town in the 80s, where the towns grand old picture house is struggling. Half the cinema has been closed and the remaining auditorium is hanging on to viability with a rotating program of comedies and a brisk trade in Maltesers, catering to a trickle of regulars. Among a staff of eccentrics, it falls to Norman, the intense projectionist, to speak of the transformative power of cinema, but when Stephen (Micheal Ward) starts work as a junior usher, projection assistant and whatever else he is required to do, he is clearly already feeling that joy. As a black kid in what is now right-wing provocateur Nigel Farages stamping ground, he finds a safe haven. For Mendes, however, the heart of the film is Olivia Colmans mad, sad Hilary, who presides over the ticket office but professes no interest in the films screened at the top of the staircase. A middle-aged woman racked by a recurring mental illness, her rages, anxieties and intermittent forced stays in grim psychiatric institutions echo those of Mendes own mother. Mendes, 57, has a string of directorial triumphs on stage and screen behind him, ranging from American Beauty to the Bond films to 1917. This is the first script he has written drawing on his own life, in which his mothers afflictions were central. He would not know, for example, if shed still be there when he got home from school. Diector Sam Mendes, centre, with his stars Michael Ward and Olivia Colman. Credit:Misan Harriman I feel it could easily be misunderstood as a sort of Cinema Paradiso-like romance about movies, he says. Well, I wish, thats a great movie and everything but thats not what the film is, at its core. At its core its about being an outcast and broken. Sometimes, however, it is impossible to argue with what the public wants. Since the film was unveiled at the Toronto Film Festival last year, the most enthusiastic reviews have come from critics and audiences who have found joy in its celebration of cinema as both bolthole and an affirmation of community. Or perhaps that should be communities: the audience sitting in the dark being one, and the ragtag staff bickering amiably in the basement tearoom as the other. Advertisement It isnt all cosiness Colin Firths cantankerous theatre manager is also a sexual predator but after years of COVID and working from home, so much visible togetherness pulls at the heartstrings. Loading They are, as you say, a little family, says Colman. They look out for each other. There is camaraderie, theres laughter. I think we all used to think Oh God, Id love to work from home, but then in lockdown we realised No, I miss people, I miss talking, sharing, the nuances you can see in someones eyes. Weve all missed that. And I think, after lockdown, thats partly what Sam was thinking of. As the various characters stories emerge from this dusty old world, so does the plot thread of a burgeoning affair between unstable Hilary and insecure Stephen. She is 25 years older, but the characters never talk about that. I think how we felt is that they sort of didnt see each others ages, says Colman. I think Hilary felt this sunshine suddenly came into her world, this bright, intelligent, vibrant creature walked into the cinema and she just couldnt look anywhere else. Hes going to find someone more suitable, but at that moment and in that place theyre the only ones who can see each other. Ward agrees. Both characters are lonely; Stephens few friends have gone away to college, leaving him in this hollowed-out seaside resort with his mother for company. But he doesnt really connect with other people in the cinema like how he does with Hilary. Sometimes thats more important than age or race. I think were forgetting about race here, but in that time for a black man to be with a white woman might have been just as bad as an older woman with a younger man, do you know what Im saying? Advertisement At 25, Ward is too young to remember skinheads. He grew up in Romsey, Essex. There were almost no people of colour and everyone was poor. I never really saw colour as a thing. He understands race differently now. There are some difficult scenes in Empire of Light, including a horrifying moment when the local toughs smash down the cinemas plate-glass door to get to Stephen. Ward didnt find that especially troubling, he says; he just went into automatic self-defence mode. There is camaraderie, theres laughter ... weve all missed that, says Olivia Colman about Empire of Light. Credit:AP What upset him was seeing Hilary welcome an old white regular just after he has tossed a gratuitous racist insult at Stephen. That was a betrayal. Surely you can step in and say, Yo, thats not right. You need to leave, he said in an interview with Indiewire. He understood Mendes to be suggesting a different way white people could react to each other in response to racism. I think thats what Sam was saying within that scene. I always want to do work where there is a certain message involved, a positive message. Thats been a great part of telling this story. If Colman is now a national treasure, her excellence in any role expected, Ward is the films shooting star. He came to Britain from Jamaica with his widowed mother and sister when he was four years old, eventually getting a scholarship to go to drama school. He was still a student when he came to sudden fame as the lead in Netflixs revival of Top Boy, a series about drug gangs produced by rap superstar Drake that won Ward a Rising Star Award at the 2020 BAFTAs. But he says he never thought hed be doing a film with Mendes. Doing press for Empire of Light has made him think about his own relationship with cinema. Rising star Michael Ward as Stephen in Empire of Light. Credit:AP We used to have non-school uniform day and then go to our local cinema. Wed watch a lot of dance films he remembers the Step Up series and wed be coming out of the cinema doing street dance; some people would be popping and locking, some people would be doing, like, spins and stuff. Obviously you werent going there dancing on the way, so you leave with an experience you wouldnt have had if you didnt go and see the film. So thats my earliest experience of cinema, that it can really affect people. And that was exciting. Mendes says cinema gave him the opportunity to escape. As an only child with a very troubled home life, it was a healing place. And subsequently, it has been a place where ad hoc families have welcomed me. I still feel that about both film and theatre, that what Im doing is creating a family I never had. And because I lost myself in stories. They gave me a life. And now my life is making stories. Advertisement YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. President of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) Arayik Harutyunyan hailed the World Courts judgment in the Armenia v. Azerbaijan case as a turning point in our international struggle and another unobjectionable international legal basis, implying that the people of Artsakh, subjected to racial discrimination and hatred, cannot live within Azerbaijan. The United Nations highest court the International Court of Justice - ordered Azerbaijan on Wednesday to take all steps at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. The Lachin Corridor is blocked by Azerbaijan since 12 December 2022. President Harutyunyan released a statement after the ruling. The UN International Court of Justice satisfied the demand of Armenia a while ago and obliged Azerbaijan not to obstruct the free movement of people, transport and cargo along the "Lachin Corridor" in both directions. On behalf of the authorities and people of Artsakh, I would like to express special gratitude to Yeghishe Kirakosyan, representative on International Legal Matters of the Republic of Armenia, to all those involved in this proceeding for their most important mission. This decision is another unobjectionable international legal basis, implying that the people of Artsakh, subjected to racial discrimination and hatred, cannot live within Azerbaijan. I consider this to be a turning point in our international struggle, and together with the Republic of Armenia, we will continue to use all the international legal mechanisms for the protection of the rights of the people of Artsakh. The state bodies of Artsakh have my clear instruction to support these efforts to the maximum extent, the President of Artsakh said in the statement. Anneliese Alexander and husband Stuart were thrilled: their ageing gas cooktop had finally been replaced by an induction version and, after a decade of retrofits, they had an all-electric home. The couple wanted to reduce their energy costs and carbon emissions, so they installed solar hot water, a heat pump and removed their gas room heater. Anneliese Alexanders home has been converted to full electric, but she is expected to pay $1151 to permanently disconnect from the gas supply. Credit: Wolter Peeters Finally, it was time to disconnect from gas for good and stop paying the service charge of about $30 a month, which consumers are billed for even if they dont use any gas. But when they contacted their gas retailer, Red Energy, they were stunned to discover the permanent removal of their gas meter would cost $1151. The last words my mother spoke to me were a surprise, to say the least. I was reminded of that unexpected scene three days ago, after Richard Belzer, the actor who played the irascible detective John Munch on Law & Order, died and one of his friends revealed what he said right before his final breath. He had lots of health issues, and his last words were, F--- you, motherf---er, Bill Scheft told The Hollywood Reporter. Samantha Selinger-Morris with her mother, Sylvia Morris. It made me think of my mothers final words in a new light. You and your brother, youre two f---ing assholes! she said, shakily waving a finger in my direction. She was in unspeakable pain. And incandescent with rage. This was near the end of a four-hour period when she screamed at me on and off as I sat next to her hospital bed in Canada last April. Four-letter words ricocheted in my ears. She died the next day. Now, did I have any preconceived ideas about what my mother might say to me before she died? At the time, I didnt think I did. At least not consciously. For one thing, I was by my fathers side when he took his last breath, 18 years prior, and I cant tell you what his last words were. He was slipping in and out of a coma for a couple of weeks, so his last utterance would have been weeks before he died. I remember him speaking about his desire to visit the Rocky Mountains. Northern Territory police officer Zachary Rolfe, who shot an Indigenous teenager dead, has written an open letter and left the country. Rolfe shot Kumanjayi Walker three times during a bungled outback arrest in Yuendumu, north-west of Alice Springs, in November 2019. Rolfe was later charged with murder and was found not guilty in March after a five-week trial. Zachary Rolfe (right) leaves the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory in Darwin after an appearance last year. Credit: AAP Rolfe flew out of Canberra yesterday and in an open letter, the 31-year-old defended his character and criticised the NT Police Force and its commissioner for how they handled the inquest into the shooting. The letter comes after Rolfes refusal to answer questions at the coronial inquest into the 19-year-old Warlpiri mans death. Rolfe wrote in the letter that the NT Police Force had wasted millions of dollars on disciplining him rather than giving him a medal. I was a good cop; I loved the job. I did it because I wanted to help people who needed help, to protect those who needed protection; I was good at it, he said. His statement attacks the NT police top brass and apologises for the crude private text messages that emerged after his murder trial and during the coronial inquest. My playground language is sometimes crass and rude, and most would find it offensive, but I use it in private with no intention to harm, with others who understand this, he said. I have used rude and racist terms regarding nearly every race, most often my own. Rolfe is still technically employed by NT Police, but he has not stepped foot in a police station since he was acquitted of murder in March last year. When [Walker] tried to kill my partner and I, and, make no mistake, he tried to kill us; I did not think about his race, upbringing or his past trauma, I thought about defending my partners life, and thats what I did, he said. In a different state, I would have got a medal for it, and none of you would ever have known my name. If we received the VVIP treatment from the famously autocratic Qatari government, we too might be a little shy about declaring it to the Australian taxpayer. Administrative error: Anika Wells and Anne Ruston. Credit: John Shakespeare Sports Minister Anika Wells four nights of accommodation in Doha during last years World Cup was paid for by the Qatari foreign ministry, but declared on her register of interests only last week, outside the mandated 35-day time period. An administrative error was to blame, her office told us. The Qatari sportwashing machine certainly treated foreign dignitaries well, with Wells and company being put up in Dohas Ritz-Carlton, alongside mega delegations from the United States, Saudi Arabia and Turkey (who didnt even have a team at the tournament). Queensland will soon become the second state to ban the release of helium balloons that sentence turtles and sea birds to long, cruel deaths. Conservationists say all states and territories must lock in behind Western Australia, where releases are already banned, and Queensland, which plans to follow suit from September. Queensland has banned helium balloons. Credit: Tamara Voninski The maximum fine in Queensland will be hefty at almost $7200, reflecting the devastating toll the balloons take when they end up in the environment and in the ocean, in particular. Its been estimated that more than 70 per cent of the plastic found inside dead turtles in Moreton Bay, off Brisbane, was from burst balloons. Mardi Gras said the company behind the software, Dynamic Crowd Measurement, was only engaged for the parade and would be used to support on-ground staff to direct people to less crowded zones if areas are becoming too full. The technology helps with managing the safety of the crowd by measuring capacities, allowing operations to zone in on an area that needs immediate response or to plan ahead for where there are areas of growing crowds, a Mardi Gras spokesperson said. Mardi Gras pointed to the Seoul Halloween crowd crush that killed 159 people last year as justification for the use of the CCTV software, which it said was not used for surveillance and does not track or collect any personal information. There is no facial recognition tracking and it cannot track people from one place to another. It provides real-time metrics that snapshot the crowd across the entire route at any given point to inform proactive crowd management decision-making, the spokesperson said. With hundreds of thousands of spectators set to descend on Oxford and Flinders streets, Dynamic Crowd Measurement will be an important tool to help parade operations avoid potential incidents. A Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras officer will monitor the CCTV software on parade night and feed specific metrics to police who help direct crowds, Mardi Gras said. All data will be handled by the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras team and only provided to event stakeholders including police at specific times on the night when it is relevant for crowd safety decisions. While footage will not be recorded, metrics to help with crowd management will be, such as density and speed. The technology doesnt use City of Sydney CCTV, but temporarily installed cameras. Mardi Gras said Dynamic Crowd Measurement offered the best solution for Mardi Gras to safely manage crowds. Behavioural Analytics mobile detection boxes. There is other technology that can help with crowd management through pinging mobile phones in the area. However, due to the large numbers of crowds expected at [the] parade, phone networks will be unreliable, making it difficult to receive accurate data to make important operational decisions. But tech experts the Herald spoke to refuted the claim that mobile pinging technology was unreliable with large crowds. This, they say, is because the technology does not require mobile devices to have any connections to a cell tower. WorldPride will make use of software known as radio frequency density measuring technology, with devices from company Behavioural Analytics used to measure crowds attending Pride Villages mini street festivals that will involve shutting down portions of Crown, Riley and Foley streets to traffic. Loading On Thursday, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age observed at least two of the mobile phone tracking boxes installed at underwear shop Daily Jocks on Oxford Street, and at Ziggys Barber Salon on Riley Street. The brother of American mathematician Scott Johnson, whose death after plunging from a cliff in 1988 was initially ruled a suicide, has described the actions of police at the time as an atrocity as his brothers killer was convicted of manslaughter on Thursday. Scott Phillip White pleaded guilty to Johnsons manslaughter in the NSW Supreme Court just three months after he told the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal he was not responsible for the death, and wished to fight a murder charge levelled against him. Steve Johnson (left) and his brother Scott Johnson, who died after a clifftop altercation with Scott White in 1988. Credit: Composite Steve Johnson, who campaigned for decades to have his brothers death treated as a homicide and continues to believe it was an anti-gay hate crime, said Thursdays guilty plea and subsequent conviction might be the most emotional moment yet in the 34-year rollercoaster since he learnt Scotts fate. It was the second time White had stood before a NSW Supreme Court judge and declared himself responsible for killing Johnson, a 27-year-old gay man whose naked body was found at the bottom of a 60-metre cliff near Manlys North Head not far from a gay beat where he used to go poofter bashing with mates. The former deputy mayor of a Sydney council at the centre of a controversial parliamentary inquiry says colourful developer Jean Nassif presented a proposal so large that it left him sitting in a private meeting like a stunned mullet. Alan Haselden, a former deputy mayor of the Hills Shire Council, was one of seven Liberal councillors ousted from the local government in 2021 amid a factional party battle. Developer Jean Nassif and his wife Nisserine. Credit: Instagram The inquiry was sparked after extraordinary claims by a NSW Liberal MP Ray Williams, who told parliament last year he had heard allegations that senior members of his party had been paid significant funds in order to arrange to put new councillors on The Hills Shire Council who would support future development applications for Nassifs company. Haselden on Thursday told the committee he met with Nassif and one of his associates some time between 2018 and 2019, and was shocked by the scale of his proposed developments, which he described as colossal structures. Anger is growing over a move by Western Sydney University to develop and sell a large tract of land it was given by the NSW government almost 30 years ago as opponents argue the prime site in a key marginal seat should be preserved for public education. The government transferred the former Milperra Public School and teachers college to WSU in the mid-1990s for a nominal sum. It became the site of a leafy Bankstown campus that included a modern library, lecture theatres and student accommodation. Residents are angry that land given to Western Sydney University by the government will be developed and sold. Credit: Louise Kennerley But the university now prefers city-based, high-rise campuses, and will replace Milperra with a new, $340 million site in Bankstown CBD. It has teamed up with developer Mirvac to turn the old campus into a low-rise residential district with at least 430 dwellings. Community campaigner Paul Judge said many locals were upset, and wanted a section of the land reserved for public education, given it was originally publicly owned and has been used for education purposes for 100 years. Premier dodges questions about brother Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. President of the European Council Charles Michel will host Armenia-Azerbaijan talks in the coming days, according to the United States State Department. The announcement was made by State Department spokesperson Ned Price at a press briefing, when he was asked to comment on the State Departments readout of the Munich summit which mentioned that Secretary Blinken took note of the significant progress the two sides have made over the last several months. The reporter asked Price whether this didnt sound over-optimistic. He was reflecting what weve seen over the last couple months. This has been the result of engagement between the parties. This has been the result of bilateral engagement with the United States, trilateral engagement with the United States, the work that the EU has done in their diplomacy as well, and what we hope to see when the parties come together in Brussels in the coming days in the talks hosted by President Michel of the EU. So, we hope to see a continuation of that progress. We are not being Pollyannaish, but we are continuing to support this dialogue, this diplomacy, towards a comprehensive solution in every way we possibly can, Price said. We are going to do everything we can to see that progress continue, he added. Prosecutors have alleged a Queensland barrister provided cash, meals and sexual services from prostitutes to then-Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale in return for assisting a property development. Sam Di Carlo, 66, faced the first day of evidence at his trial on one count of official corruption in Brisbane District Court on Thursday. Paul Pisasale (left); Sam Di Carlo. In her opening statement, crown prosecutor Sarah Farndon told the jury that Di Carlo had a friendship with Pisasale while he was mayor of Ipswich and both men became involved with Melbourne property developer Chris Pinzone. Pinzone wanted to turn a 14-hectare block of land at Yamanto, south of Ipswich, into a commercial development around the end of 2016 until Paul Pisasale resigned as mayor on June 6, 2017. A man has been airlifted to hospital after entering the water with his dog at a boat ramp and was then bitten by a crocodile in Far North Queensland. Paramedics were called near the Bloomfield boat ramp on West Street at Ayton just after 5.30pm on Wednesday, just north of Port Douglas. The man and his dog entered the water before a crocodile lunged forward, biting the mans leg and dragging the dog into the water. It is unknown if the dog survived. Retrieval Services Queensland sent the Cairns rescue helicopter to the medical clinic in Wujal Wujal to retrieve the 37-year-old man. The premier should take a deep breath before confiscating planning powers from local councils. And thats particularly the case when the powers are being stripped away so apartment blocks can more easily be built in areas of single residential homes. WA Premier Mark McGowan has announced sweeping changes to the states planning laws. Credit: Rhett Wyman At the end of the day, the question is not difficult. The big majority of homeowners do not want towering apartment blocks built next door or close to their homes. Councils know that and reflect their ratepayers wishes by rejecting applications they judge not in the communitys interests. The announcement landed with a thud while an unsuspecting Star casino was looking the other way. Poker machines at Sydneys gambling behemoth would be hit with a major tax hike under the NSW government proposal unveiled just before Christmas, and four days after the corporate watchdog launched action against former and current top brass at Star Entertainment Group for allegedly breaching the law. The Stars flagship Sydney casino employs 4000 people. Credit: Flavio Branceleone For a government in the thick of a crusade to overhaul the states gambling industry and on the hunt for a pre-election revenue boost, the casino giant - still reeling from two damning inquiries that exposed widespread money laundering and links to organised crime - was an easy target. When Treasurer Matt Kean lobbed the proposal to increase the tax rate on casino poker machines to 60.67 per cent and spend $364 million on communities hit by natural disasters, The Star was apparently blindsided. But Kean was unapologetic. 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 Welcome to the first edition of Yours.Sincerely, a Friday dive into the comments and letters on what you decided was the topic of the week at the Herald. Youll find a selection of thoughtful, clever and funny insights on what Sydney is keyed-up about. This week, the must-hit-send issue has been the censoring of Roald Dahls classic childrens books. Is it a matter of keeping classics relevant or has the Ministry of Truth from Nineteen Eighty-Four taken over? While Roald Dahls writing is globally famous, Dahl himself is a polarising figure who left a complicated legacy. Sensitivity gone mad? In a viral opinion piece, childrens author Andy Griffiths wrote that as we gain greater awareness of different groups that make up our society, its appropriate that we cast a sensitive ear to the words we use in everyday life and in books for children. Heres what you had to say in response: Loading I share the disgust expressed by many at the censorship of Roald Dahl. Books have been censored and even destroyed throughout history in many varied jurisdictions by those threatened by their content or those who seek to silence a truth or a point of view. While totally unjustified, such actions had purpose, albeit malevolent. The censorship of Roald Dahl by arrogant and humourless sensitivity boffins can have no purpose. The world should be allowed to read his wonderful language forever. What next: re-writing Fawlty Towers? Stephen Cavanagh, Kirribilli Advertisement Vivienne Nicoll-Hatton Thank you, Andy Griffiths, for a thoughtful, respectful and engaging lesson in language and literature for children. KelpieX These days not even the doctor will tell you that youre fat. Kinda relieved Roald Dahl does. matt.nicol Please remove this article, I fear the appropriation of Snozzwanger by the author is gross and offensive. Stop it at once! Snozzwangers of the world unite in your ire! Losky I think I would rather be called Fat v Enormous. We are a sensitive lot. Perhaps your over-heated correspondents on the Great Roald Dahl Rewrite Controversy should take a Bex and have a good lie down. Firstly, its hardly unprecedented to modify works to suit the times. Agatha Christies And Then There Were None was originally published as Ten Little N-words. Would anyone today seriously suggest publishing this brilliant whodunnit under its first title? Secondly, works of art simply are not sacred texts which should never be touched. They never have been. Shakespeare constantly modified his works to suit different audiences, and different actors. And his collaborators fiddled with them as well. Hence, the different folios. I dont agree with some of the changes to Dahls work, but thats not the point. Finally, we are talking about books for children. We have an absolute right and duty to monitor what they read. When they become adults, they can decide for themselves. Bernard Bradney, Kurraba Point Jacko Why not just burn any book published more than, lets say 25 years ago. Destroying history and literature of any period erases the times as they were. I imagine therell now be a rush on Dahls books for people to buy them as they were written. Parents, teachers can always take steps to prevent children reading books of which they dont approve. Leave literature of the times alone and the sensitive people can choose not to read or expose their children to these books. Political correctness has gone over the top to attempt to eliminate reality. Paul Norton One point I would make, based on personal experience, is that the ways in which the literature small children read affects the evolution of their values and beliefs is not as straightforward as well-meaning, concerned parents or educators might suppose. Advertisement As a child of pre-school and primary school age, I read a lot of evangelical Christian childrens literature. I am sure that it never occurred to either the authors of that literature, or my parents, that reading it would set me on a path that ended in my embrace of anarcho-communist politics by the age of 19, yet that is what happened. Illustration: John Shakespeare Credit: Jackie Steel Language is dynamic. It changes when the Ministry of Truth changes it. Beetle Yes, Dahl is funny but very much at the expense of baddies who look the part regardless of whether you call them fat, or enormous, or anything else. Even if you change a few words here and there, the essential mean-spiritedness of how Roald Dahl portrayed characters will still shine through. Roald Dahl has had his time. Focus the debate on whats being written now. Buy whats being written now. Make space for other authors to get new, interesting (and yes, funny) work published and read. katepaul Great article. How far though are we going to go in removing words. At what point will we not be able to express anything because yet another group has appeared and takes offence. When will the word obese be frowned upon and removed, for example? What will it be replaced by or will there be no word to describe the condition? Sounds a bit like 1984. Unfortunately, we have moved into the era of nonsense where balance has gone out of the window German Engineering Whats wrong with leaving the text as is, and then explaining to your children/peers that this particular text was written in a different time and context. It might just give one the opportunity to contextualise exactly what has changed and why? Advertisement MG I really wish people would stop telling others how to think, feel and act. Surely concepts in books from a different time are there to be explored and discussed. Not cancelled. Kids are not stupid. Eliz The revisions change Dahls style. Authors choose words carefully it is part of the magic. Illustration: Cathy Wilcox Credit: A slippery slope for childrens literature? Kerrie OBrien wrote a thought piece, pondering if what was considered benign intervention to keep classic books relevant has been damned by many as censorship and revisionism. Letter writers and online readers joined the criticism: Gator To anyone in the future who is offended by what Im about to write, I apologise profusely. The world has gone crazy. Please substitute world and crazy with terms that are more appropriate with your enlightened future. Seriously, if Dahl causes that much offence, dont read it! CC Methinks its more driven by a fear of falling sales if the Cancel Culture police attack Dahls books rather than any noble intent. Advertisement Loading jaime Nah, just make a big pile of the offending volumes and burn them instead. It will send a clear message to anyone who dares to even think about writing anything subversive or incorrect. Davidp The written word has been around (initially in the form of scrolls) since the 4th millennium BCE. Are we going to have to adjust all that remains of it so as not to offend the 21st century? ianmit History is history, it may be ugly at times, but it happened and shaped nations and personalities. Literary revisions, book bans and burning dont change facts. Accept truth and deal with it. The context of literary language, whether in writing for adults or children, is strongly influenced by the historical period during which the author wrote. There may be much of which subsequent generations might not wholly approve. However, revisions by anyone other than the author, are, in almost all cases, to be abhorred. In particular, the more politically correct improvements to Roald Dahls stories represent a slippery slope for childrens literature. Some examples: many nursery rhymes contain violence; the lead characters in Wind in the Willows are all male; no more ugly sisters or wicked witches; change Blytons adventures to ensure that more girls take the lead; eliminate any adjectives that might be deemed derogatory fat, thin, tall, thin, stupid, dim that list could be endless, and then we could start on adverbs. Yes, we do need to help our children to understand the historical contexts for the way in which some stories are told, for some descriptions and for some attitudes, but children are astute readers and listeners and learn to discern as they grow. Please, no more unnecessary revisions to great childrens stories. Teresa Boohan, Kirribilli Sebastian villanova Political correctness gone mad. No other interpretation. jcq3d Censorship pure and simple! Advertisement You can get to London by car or train in a few days travelling non-stop if you make it across the Ukraine-Polish border. Its a touch over 2000 kilometres, around the same distance as Sydney to Townsville, but with five countries in between. The most confronting reminder awaits when you hop off the train at St Pancras Station in London, where refugees arrive on the Eurostar. Volunteers hold signs in Ukrainian asking for refugees to make themselves known so they can be helped. Accompanying posters from police plead with those fleeing their homeland to report any assaults, rapes, murders or human rights violations they may have witnessed. London: There are constant reminders of the battle that rages every day across Ukraine wherever you go in Britain and the many European cities Ive visited during the past 12 months. Yellow and blue flags hang in store windows, drape from the balconies of residential towers and flutter in the breeze atop civic buildings. What in the World, a free weekly newsletter from our foreign correspondents, is sent every Thursday. Below is an excerpt. Sign up to get the whole newsletter delivered to your inbox . The conflict has been front of everyones mind here this week ahead of the first anniversary of Russias invasion. With Joe Bidens inspiring visit to Kyiv and Vladimir Putins rambling show of defiance in Moscow, came the realisation that this war is here to stay for the foreseeable future. And that thousands more innocent civilians and young soldiers will meet their demise over the next 12 months. So many of us have switched off the nightly news or turned the page because it has been so awful. The attention span of our society isnt really built to endure 12 months of horrific news. Thats why Bidens visit matters this week, as I wrote on Tuesday. He was sending a message that America is still on board. It was a message to Europe, to his colleagues, to his political enemies and to Moscow. You can read more from my US colleague Farrah Tomazin about that too. According to the latest UN human rights office (OHCHR) data, at least 8000 civilians have been confirmed killed and nearly 13,300 injured since the Russian invasion on February 24 last year. The true number is likely to be substantially higher, OHCHR staff have said on many occasions. In fact, nearly 18 million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance, with 14 million people displaced from their homes. The percentage of children living in poverty has almost doubled from 43 to 82 per cent. The number of Russian troops killed and wounded in Ukraine is thought to be approaching 200,000. The number of Ukrainian troops killed is almost impossible to estimate but is in the tens of thousands. I have been so proud of my colleagues for their commitment to covering this war. Anthony Galloway and Kate Geraghty have been there three times for a total of nearly 12 weeks over the past year. My former Canberra colleague David Crowe also joined a humanitarian trip to Kyiv last year. Anthonys piece in May last year opened with the story of a 16-year-old girl, Tetiana Onopriienko, asking him: Why did you come to Ukraine all the way from Australia? It was a good question. London: The European Commission has banned staff from using the video-sharing app, TikTok, on official phones amid concerns the app harvests users data potentially for use by the Chinese government. The ban has prompted calls in the UK for Rishi Sunaks government to follow suit and reflects an increasingly tougher stance taken by the European Commission on China. Urged to act on TikTok: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Credit: Getty Images TikTok denies it works with Beijing even though its parent company, ByteDance, is obliged under Chinese security laws to comply with any request made of it by intelligence services. Companies forced to comply with the law are forbidden from saying publicly that they have handed data over to the Chinese Communist Party. Theyre trying to militarise the whole society, said Grigory Yudin, a political philosophy professor at the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences, who did not attend the event. Tickets were free, distributed mostly to state employees and students, who were given the day off from work or studies and provided with round-trip transportation. Matvey, 19, a university student from Tambov, said several buses from two universities there had travelled more than eight hours each way to the concert. Several attendees from the Moscow region said they had been encouraged by their employers to go. The stage at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. In front of it a Z, which has become the unofficial tag of Russias invasion of Ukraine. Credit: For The Washington Post People were bussed there, forced to attend; we have reports of that from multiple universities said Yudin. Putin coerces people, lures them into participating, and these students are promised free passes on exams, he continued. He wants both the total mobilisation of the country and the total passivity, a total acceptance, an approach he described as schizophrenic. The 81,000-seat stadium appeared more than full despite temperatures far below freezing, with people in the aisles and on the field, and thousands more on the grounds outside. And for many of them at least those willing to speak with an American journalist the enthusiasm seemed genuine, even if they have been touched by the wars losses. Loading I support it, yes, because it was high time to start this, Katya, 26, who works for an aesthetic medicine clinic in the Moscow region, said of the war. She cited what she called the suffering of many friends from the Donetsk region of Ukraine, where Moscows separatist proxies began fighting Ukraine eight years before Russias invasion last year. But Katya admitted that she wished the war had ended already, and said one of her university classmates had been killed. It is a sensitive topic any criticism of the war can result in a prison sentence and she, like some others interviewed, declined to give her surname. I dont understand why its become so drawn out, she said. Its a pity. Everyone in their families already has at least some acquaintances who died. Despite her support for the war, she voiced some surprise at the enthusiasm around her, tacitly acknowledging how artificial such public displays can be. Loading What impressed me the most was that I could see people were genuinely coming, not coerced, she said. I also came here willingly myself. Her husband, Stanislav, 31, had received tickets to the event from his job, and said he was glad he had come. It was very emotional, he said. Concert emcees shared stories about Russian soldiers fighting and falling in Ukraine and invited their relatives onstage. The Kremlin has not conceded the scale of Russian casualties about 200,000 killed or wounded, Western officials say and has generally avoided releasing the names of the dead. Boris Lugin spoke of his son Anatolys death in battle. Our task is to do everything to win: every beat of our heart for victory, every beat, he told the crowd. This is how I live my life. A soldiers father. Loading A childrens choir sang a song, Greetings Soldier, written as a message to troops at the front, in the mould of the letters Russian schoolchildren have been asked to write as homework. Another group of children from occupied Mariupol appeared, along with a soldier named Yuri Gagarin, code name Angel, who was introduced as having saved 367 children from the devastated city although how he did so was not explained. As images of the destruction played on the screen, without addressing the Russian bombardment that levelled much of the city, small children onstage covered their ears. Ukraine and rights groups say that Russia has stolen thousands of children from occupied territory and has killed countless civilians in Mariupol and elsewhere. But no one onstage asked about these childrens parents. One MC encouraged the children to hug Gagarin, who was decorated with an Order of Courage for his army service, in thanks. These are our children, and we, the Russian army, must protect these people and these children, said Gagarin, whose name echoes that of the first person in space, Yuri Gagarin, a hero to many Russians. We are a strong army; we are a powerful army. But your support is important to us. Were together; were going to win. It was the same message delivered by every speaker at the event: Social unity and support for the troops from all strata of society are essential. Putin made a brief appearance, acknowledging the dissonance that people were gathered for a festive event while soldiers were fighting and dying, and encouraged all Russians to join the war effort. Even children who write letters to our fighters at the front are very important, he said. All our people are defenders of the Fatherland. Anna Vasilyevna, 87, who had come to the concert from Solnechnogorsk, 72 kilometres from Moscow, said her father died fighting in World War II. She completely supported Putin because now everything is the same as it was back then, she said, echoing the Kremlins propaganda equating Russias invasion of Ukraine with Soviets fighting Nazis. Monkey found at Noi Bai International Airport A yellow monkey was recently found at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, threatening aviation safety. The monkey was detected at the airfield area of the airport on February 14 and 18. The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has urged the airport to closely supervise its camera system in the area where the monkey was spotted and take measures to drive it away. Noi Bai International Airport The CAAV has also asked the Hanoi Department of Forest Protection to co-operate with Noi Bai International Airport and Northern Airports Authority to deal with the problem. The Hanoi Department of Forest Protection needs to instruct agencies which operated at the airport to prepare measures when detecting rare and endangered animals at the airport. Many flights were hit by birds at airports in Vietnam, causing damage. Press Release February 23, 2023 Villar recognizes masons AMID the daily distractions, Sen. Cynthia A. Villar told Freemasons to have always the fortitude to pursue the good in all their work. Speaking during the induction of the officers for 6023-6024 of Dr. Filemon C. Aguilar (Las Pinas) Lodge No. 332 of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines, Villar told them to continually be inspired with their masonic duties. She urged them to continue to be the builders of kindness, charity, fairness and hope for our communities. Throughout the centuries, she noted that Freemasons remain a significant and robust institution. Its membership was estimated to be around 6 million worldwide now. "It is not a secret society, but described as "a social and philanthropic organization meant to make its members lead more virtuous and socially oriented lives," said Villar. She acknowledged that the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines conforms to this. According to the senator, she's very pleased to be in the company again of the mason brothers of her father, the late Mayor-Dr. Filemon Aguilar. Villar said she finds it interesting that Freemasonry has a long standing history, belonging to the oldest fraternal organization in the world. It was formed in Europe during the middle ages (that is around 5th to 15th century) first as a guild of skilled builders, popularly known as masons, who were responsible for constructing some of the finest gothic architecture in Europe, mostly cathedrals like the Notre Dame in Paris and the Westminster Abbey in London. Villar, kinilala ang masons SA kabila ng araw-araw na distraction, sinabihan ni Sen. Cynthia A. Villar ang Freemasons na palaging maging bukas loob na itaguyod ang kabutihan sa kanilang gawain. Sa kanyang pananalita sa induction ng officers para sa 6023-6024 ng 'Dr. Filemon C. Aguilar (Las Pinas) Lodge No. 332 of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines,' tinagubilinan niya ang mga ito na maging 'inspired' sa kanilang masonic duties. Hinimok din niya ang mga ito na patukoy na maging 'builders' ng kabutihan, kawaggawa, katarungan at pag-asa sa mga kominidad. "Throughout the centuries, Freemasons remain a significant and robust institution. Its membership was estimated to be around six million worldwide now," ani Villar. "It is not a secret society, but described as "a social and philanthropic organization meant to make its members lead more virtuous and socially oriented lives," dagdag pa niya. Aniya, naaayon dito ang 'Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippinses.' Ikinatuwa niya na muling makasama ang mason brothers ng kanyang ama, ang yumaong Mayor-Dr. Filemon Aguilar. Aniya, kawili-wili na kabilang ang Freemasonry sa pinakamatagal na fraternal organization sa buong mundo. Nagsimula ito sa Europa ng 5th -15th century, una, bilang samahan ng skilled builders, na kilalang masons. Sila ang gumawa sa pinakamagagandang gothic architecture sa Europa na karamiha ay cathedrals gaya ng Notre Dame sa Paris at Westminster Abbey sa London. YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian government is sending a third batch of humanitarian aid over 32 tons to the quake-hit Syria. Photos by Hayk Manukyan The aid is being sent by the order of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The 32 tons of aid includes food and medication. Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan is traveling to Syria to supervise the delivery. The transportation of the cargo was organized by the ministry of emergency situations. The aid was sent on board an IL-76 aircraft from Yerevans Erebuni airport to Aleppo. Warning: Graphic depictions. Los Angeles: Harvey Weinstein, the one-time Hollywood titan who came to epitomise a culture of pervasive sexual misconduct by powerful men that ignited the #MeToo movement, begged for leniency on Friday as he was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the 2013 rape of an actress in Los Angeles. Weinstein was sentenced in a Los Angeles courtroom, where a jury in December found him guilty of rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object. Former film producer Harvey Weinstein appears in court in October. Credit: AP The charges stemmed from an assault on a former model and actress, identified in court as Jane Doe 1, at a Los Angeles hotel in February 2013. East Palestine, Ohio: Donald Trump has visited the Ohio town rocked by this months toxic train derailment, ratcheting up his 2024 presidential bid as he donated water, cleaning supplies and even McDonalds burgers to residents affected by the chemical disaster. But the trip has also highlighted the former presidents role in winding back rail safety regulations while he was in office including repealing braking requirements for certain trains carrying highly hazardous material. Former US president Donald Trump at the East Palestine Fire Department in the aftermath of the Norfolk Southern train derailment. Credit: AP Nineteen days after a train carrying vinyl chloride, butyl acrylate and other toxic products derailed in East Palestine near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, Trump travelled to the small Midwest town, where locals stood in the icy rain for hours hoping to catch a glimpse of their favourite president. Some chanted Trump 2024! as they waited for him to pass, while others, such as 20-year-old Kiley Edmonds, held up a F--- Biden, Trump Is My President banner as she stood on the pavement with friends. Los Angeles: A gunman has opened fire on two television journalists reporting on a murder near Orlando, Florida, killing one and wounding the other, before fatally shooting a nine-year-old girl and wounding her mother in a nearby home, authorities said. A suspect identified as Keith Melvin Moses, 19, was arrested shortly after the assaults, about a block away from each other, in the suburb of Pine Hills, said Orange County Sheriff John Mina. He was charged over the killing of a woman in her 20s, a shooting the two journalists were covering when they came under fire, Mina said. He said Moses was believed to have been an acquaintance of the first victim, who was shot while sitting in a car with him and another person. Moses was detained as a suspect in both attacks. The sheriff described the journalists as a reporter and a photographer for central Florida cable TV outlet Spectrum News 13, which is owned by Charter Communications. ~ Says they believe student doctors are operating on patients. ~ PHILIPSBURG: --- The grieving family of the late Allan Paul Madray is still lost as to how their loved one died in Colombia after having an open heart surgery there on January 25th, 2023. In an exclusive interview with SMN News, his widow Mohini Madray questions the decisions taken by St. Maarten cardiologist dr. Emiko Bird whom she said was present for both surgeries her husband underwent at Clinica de Occidente in Cali Colombia. Diagnosis and referral to Curacao and Colombia. Mrs. Madray explained that in November 2022, her husband began experiencing some mild chest pain, and because of the mild pain, they decided for him to have a physical examination in order to get a proper diagnosis. Mrs. Madray said her husband was sent to the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) where he was given an appointment with Dr. Emiko Bird. The first appointment was for him to have an echocardiogram, while the second appointment was for him to do a stress test. At SMMC she said an error was made and the echocardiogram was done twice, and on December 27th, 2022, a stress test was done. It was after the stress test that Dr. Bird informed my husband that he had blocked arteries and that he needed to travel to Curacao. Without consulting with his immediate relatives Dr. Bird made the necessary arrangements for Madray to travel to Curacao for an angiogram and possibly to insert stents. On January 3rd, 2023, Madray and his son Steven Madray traveled to Curacao where an angiogram was conducted and it was determined that Madray had to travel to Cali Colombia for further medical examinations. The younger Madray said that there is some sort of connection between the cardiologist in St. Maarten and the doctors in Curacao and Colombia. Madray said all the doctors his father encountered in Curacao are from Colombia, no one speaks English or Dutch. If you cannot speak Spanish then you are doomed, and patients are referred to Colombia because it looks more like some type of business arrangement and every patient is just another number. By January 8th, 2023. The Madrays said the surgery was delayed because Clinica de Occidente said they needed authorization from SZV, but they believed it had to do with regulating payments. Steven Madray said that another angiogram was conducted in Colombia and then it was determined that open-heart surgery was needed. The Madrays said that they were not informed that Allan Paul Madray was going to Colombia, they were told that he was going to Curacao and that the plan was for him to return to St. Maarten, but that did not happen, instead, he was sent to Cali Colombia. Mrs. Madray said had she had the opportunity to fully discuss this matter with the cardiologist in St. Maarten she would have preferred her husband to travel to the United States for such surgery. Lack of proper medical care and surveillance. Steven Madray said that when the angiogram was done his father was awake, and he was in the room with his father when he noticed that his blood pressure went very low that his father passed out. I saw the machines and the readings and also saw my fathers reaction and I had to run and get doctors, to stabilize him. The medication that was given to my father is what sent his blood pressure down and he could have had a stroke in his room even before the surgery because there is no proper care and surveillance done for these patients. Something is wrong with the medication because it sends the blood pressure very low and the patient was not in Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Madray said he asked the doctors for an explanation as to the lowering of the blood pressure, and he was told that it was a reaction to the medication. The younger Madray said two very young doctors namely Dr. Tapia Neira Fernando and Alejandro Ospina Guterrez presented themselves as the surgeons and they also had them sign a number of documents without having the documents translated or explained to them. Madray said that there were no translators to explain to him or his father what they were signing and they signed documents that were presented by both doctors. Madray said on January 25th, 2023, was the last time he saw his father this was just prior to him going for the open-heart surgery. He said his father never woke up and on January 26th, 2023, his father had to have a second surgery because his father got a cardiac arrest after the surgery, he said that after the second surgery he was told that there was internal bleeding and that created clots that the doctors in ICU told him were removed, yet his father died without ever waking up. Surgeons disappeared. Steven Madray said that despite his fathers passing he never saw the two surgeons that operated on his father. He also explained that no one from Clinica de Occidente did not meet with him to explain to him what happened to his father. Madray said he remained in Colombia for 5 days after his fathers passing and not once he met with any representatives from Clinica de Occidente or the doctors that performed the surgery. Steven Madray and his mother Mohini Madray said they are still baffled as to what happened in Colombia and they are still trying to come to terms with their loss, they said they want to know what role Dr. Emiko Bird played in this entire affair, they explained that while Dr. Bird referred Allan Paul Madray to Curacao and Colombia, she was present in Colombia and witnessed both surgeries. Steven Madray said he met with Dr. Bird on January 26th, 2023, when his father got a perioperative stroke and she was also in that surgery. As the referral doctor on St. Maarten, we are yet to see Dr. Bird get some explanations as to what killed our loved ones. Dr. Bird returned to St. Maarten and acted as though nothing happened and we strongly believed that the medication given to Allan Paul Madray and negligence is what killed him. Steven Madray said that while in Colombia he was not told that the body was going to be embalmed. He said the family requested an autopsy but the autopsy was not granted because the body was embalmed. The family said they want answers and they believe the person that can provide the answers is Dr. Emiko Bird, while Clinica de Occidente has to be held responsible for the people that died while in their care. PHILIPSBURG:--- The Committee of Finance of Parliament is scheduled to meet on February 23, 2023. The Committee meeting, which was adjourned on February 8, 2023, will be reconvened on Thursday at 10.00 hrs. in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelminastraat #1 in Philipsburg. The Minister of Finance will be present. The agenda point is: The tax reform measures and Government's vision for Tax Reform (IS/928/2021-2022 dated May 23, 2022) This meeting was requested by MP S.A. Wescot-Williams Members of the public are invited to the House of Parliament to attend parliamentary deliberations. All persons visiting the House of Parliament must adhere to the house rules. The House of Parliament is located across from the Court House in Philipsburg. The parliamentary sessions will be carried live on TV 15, Soualiga Headlines, via SXM GOV radio FM 107.9, via Pearl Radio FM 98.1, the audio via the internet www.sxmparliament.org, www.pearlfmradio.sx and www.youtube.com/c/SintMaartenParliament PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Tzu Chi Foundation has been busy over the past months donating "Love Rice" and hampers containing grocery essentials to a number of organizations and institutions around the island as it continues its efforts to ease the burden on households in the community. The donations were ramped up late last year and continued into this year with some eight St. Maarten and St. Martin-based organizations receiving relief items. Additionally, the foundations volunteers also went home to home and directly delivered packages to a number of seniors, who were grateful to Tzu Chi for their monthly visits and for the special packages that they received before the holidays. A total of eight volunteers including four Tzu Chi Commissioners assisted in the door-to-door exercise. Bethany Home The donations began at the Bethany Seniors Home in French St. Martin, which received 30 food packages to help its elderly citizens. A total of six volunteers including three commissioners participated in this activity. Prior to presenting the donations, volunteers performed a song through sign language and interacted with seniors of the home. One volunteer, who is aged 75 gave an insight into the joys of being a volunteer at her age. She said instead of staying home, she found herself being very productive in helping others via Tzu Chi. Her sharing inspired everyone at the Bethany Home. Cay Hill Church of God Passionate about including every facet of society in its relief efforts, the foundations volunteers then moved over to The Church of God in Cay Hill where 140 relief food items were donated to be further donated to church members in need. Donated were 35 bags of 10kg Love Rice, which is produced by the blessed hands of Tzu Chi volunteers in Taiwan, 35 bags of red beans, 35 bottles of oil, and 35 packages of cornmeal. The donation was expected to assist some 10 families. Tzu Chi Commissioner Yamile Bastidas along with three volunteers-in-training assisted Pastor Masson in further distribute the relief items to the 35 families. The volunteers-in-training were learning intensively and giving their humble bow to each recipient family. Bastidas was happy to see the result of the distribution. She educated volunteers on the significance of Tzu Chis 4 spirituality soup, indicating that each word represents an item when offering. Tzu Chis four spirituality soup teaches that an understanding, grateful and accommodative person is naturally a contented person. He can be happy even leading a simple life. Bastidas reminded that our hearts must practice contentment, gratitude, understanding, and accommodation through our hands. Church of God leader, Pastor Masson was grateful for the items received from the ten participating volunteers, which included four from the Tzu Chi Foundation, one of whom is a Commissioner and six church members, who rolled up their sleeves to assist. WYCCF A total of seven volunteers put their hands together and delivered 195, 10kg bags of Love Rice to the White and Yellow Cross Care Foundation (WYCCF), which runs the St. Martins Home and the Sister Basilia Center for intellectually challenged children. The packages contained food items that could have been used by the foundations kitchen staff to help prepare meals for their clients. Volunteers expressed appreciation to the foundations staffers for the care and love they give to seniors and the disabled children in their care. Staffers were touched by the gesture and appreciated the recognition of their hard work. COME Center The Community Outreach Mentorship and Empowerment Foundation (COME) Center was also a recipient. The Center received 45, 10kg bags of Love Rice, 20 of which were to be donated to underprivileged families and 25 to be used by the Center to cook for the needy. The Center operates a soup kitchen to feed families in need and senior citizens. A total of five volunteers participated in the COME Center donation. Prison A total of eight volunteers headed to the Point Blanche area to donate 150 bags of Love Rice to the Pointe Blanche Prison. The rice was for distribution to the families of inmates as well as for the prisons kitchen. Five volunteers participated in this donation. On a separate occasion, seven volunteers, two of whom were commissioners, presented 139 food packages for the 85 inmates at the Point Blanche Prison; 12 inmates at the Philipsburg Police Station, and 12 inmates at the Miss Lalie Youth Care and Rehabilitation Center in Cay Bay. The packages contained the five language Jingsi aphorisms, shampoo, bath soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, cup, comb, bowl, cup noodles soup, Club Social, mixed nuts, chocolate and juice. Additionally, 30 food packages were also donated to prison officers. HREAF Foundation The Hyacinth Richardson Educational Awareness Foundation (HREAF) received 115 bags of Love Rice, which it was able to further donate to less fortunate families in the St Peters and surrounding areas dring an event it held at the Center. Four volunteers, including two commissioners assisted with the donation. Hope Estate Recreational Center Two years after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Recreational Center in Hope Estate reopened to seniors several weeks ago. This meant that the St. Maarten Tzu Chi Foundation was able to donate much needed items to the Center. Donated earlier this year were 50 bags of Love Rice, oil, and cornmeal. The items were for 50 underprivileged elderly residents. Volunteers were grateful to have the opportunity to support the Center again. Key to Freedom Seven packages containing the five language Jingsi aphorisms, shampoo, bath soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, cup, comb, bowl, cup noodles soup, Club Social, mixed nuts, chocolate and juice, were presented to Key to Freedom Foundation last month. The items were for the seven clients at the foundation. Tzu Chi Commissioner Sandra Cheung is grateful to all the volunteers who participated in the various donation exercises and to the recipients for graciously accepting the donations. PHILIPSBURG:--- Hundreds of guests visited Motorworld on Friday 17th February for the introduction of Changan Auto, the latest addition to Motorworlds available line of automotive brands. In one of a kind test-drive event, guests and potential buyers were invited to the Changan Auto Driving Experience where they learned all about the history and story of the brand, got the opportunity to personally explore the vehicles, and of course drive them for themselves on a designated test drive route. "We've had our eye on Changan for a while now, and the value that you get from this company is just unbelievable. Changan models will let you enjoy luxury, safety, and comfort at a price point that cannot be beaten. To top it off, it comes with the best warranty in St. Maarten 5 Years Bumper to Bumper! shares Tariq Amjad, Motorworld Managing Director. He continues, we want to be able to offer customers exactly what they're looking for, no matter their budget, and introducing Changan allows us further to continue to do just that. The cars drive great, the features are extraordinary, and the design is beautiful. We wanted an unforgettable launch to really show people what Changan has to offer, and I believe we accomplished that. Thank you to everyone that came out!" Guests from both the Dutch and the French side of the island were in attendance and even included visitors from overseas, including the Chinese Consulate General Li Yiglang. Changan Auto is Chinas oldest automaker and one of the pioneers of the automotive industry, with a history spanning over 160 years. Established in 1862, the brand has continued to gain immense popularity worldwide for its value offerings across all segments of the automotive industry. Changan Auto consistently focuses on evolution and innovation, with 10 research and development centers in 10 regions across 6 countries. Changan Auto is the #1 best-selling Chinese brand in China and they pride themselves in having the highest safety features standard in their vehicles. Changan has also been named the #1 highest-quality Chinese brand by J.D. Power & Associates. Changan Auto has been operating Extensive Joint Venture Manufacturing since 1983 with brands like Suzuki, Ford, PSA (Peugeot/DS), Mazda, and JMC. It is currently the #11 worldwide automaker in sales with the strongest year-on-year growth and Motorworld is especially proud to be able to introduce this groundbreaking brand to the island. The Changan vehicles are also coming with the best warranty currently available: 5 years of bumper-to-bumper coverage. For more information on Changan, Motorworld invites everyone to visit the showroom and schedule their chance to get to know the models. Victoria Gold Amends Secured Loan Facility Victoria Gold Corp. (TSX-VGCX) (aVictoriaa or the aCompanya https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/victoria-gold-corp/ ) is pleased to announce that it has further amended its secured debt agreement (the aLoan Facility) dated December 18, 2020, as amended December 20, 2021 and June 16, 2022. The Loan Facility is comprised of a term loan (the aTerm Facilitya) and a revolving credit facility (the aRevolving Credit Facilitya). Pursuant to the amended Loan Facility, the Company has added Desjardins and National Bank to the syndicate, replacing BNP Paribas. Desjardins and National Bank join Bank of Montreal and CIBC in the syndicate. Pursuant to the amended Loan Facility, the Company has increased the amount of the Term Facility by US$25 million and extended the maturity date of the Term Facility to September 30th 2024. The Term Facility is repayable in seven equal quarterly instalments through to the Maturity Date. There has been no change to the Revolving Credit Facility which continues to have a limit of US$125 million and a maturity date of December 31, 2024. aI would like to thank BNP Paribas for their support through the years as we brought the Eagle Gold Mine into operations. Looking forward, we are happy to have Desjardins and National Bank joining BMO and CIBC in the syndicate.a, stated Victoria Gold President & CEO John McConnell. aThe increase in the Term Facility will add greater flexibility to our balance sheet.a Qualified Person The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Paul D. Gray, P.Geo., as the aQualified Persona as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. About the Dublin Gulch Property Victoria Gold\-s 100%-owned Dublin Gulch gold property (the aPropertya) is situated in central Yukon Territory, Canada, approximately 375 kilometers north of the capital city of Whitehorse, and approximately 85 kilometers from the town of Mayo. The Property is accessible by road year round, and is located within Yukon Energy\-s electrical grid. The Property covers an area of approximately 555 square kilometers, and is the site of the Company\-s Eagle and Olive Gold Deposits. The Company issued a National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report for the Eagle Gold Mine dated December 3, 2019 (the a2019 Eagle Technical Reporta). Since the date of the 2019 Eagle Technical Report, the Company has produced gold from its Eagle Mine. Based on the 2019 Eagle Technical Report and after adjusting for depletion through December 31, 2021, the Eagle and Olive deposits include Proven and Probable Reserves of 2.7 million ounces of gold from 133 million tonnes of ore with a grade of 0.64 grams of gold per tonne. Based on the 2019 Eagle Technical Report and after adjusting for depletion through December 31, 2021, the Mineral Resource for the Eagle and Olive deposits has been estimated to host 207 million tonnes averaging 0.63 grams of gold per tonne, containing 4.2 million ounces of gold in the \Measured and Indicated\ category, inclusive of Proven and Probable Reserves, and a further 28 million tonnes averaging 0.61 grams of gold per tonne, containing 0.6 million ounces of gold in the \Inferred\ category. Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed \forward-looking statements\. Except for statements of historical fact relating to Victoria, information contained herein constitutes forward-looking information, including any information related to the intended use of proceeds from the Term Facility and the Revolving Credit Facility, the amended terms and conditions of the Loan Facility, and Victoria\-s strategy, plans or future financial or operating performance. Forward-looking information is characterized by words such as aplana, aexpecta, abudgeta, atargeta, aprojecta, aintenda, abelievea, aanticipatea, aestimatea and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions amaya, awilla, acoulda or ashoulda occur, and includes any guidance and forecasts set out herein (including, but not limited to, production and operational guidance of the Corporation). In order to give such forward-looking information, the Corporation has made certain assumptions about its business, operations, the economy and the mineral exploration industry in general, in particular in light of the impact of the novel coronavirus and the COVID-19 disease (aCOVID-19a) on each of the foregoing. In this respect, the Corporation has assumed that production levels will remain consistent with managementa?s expectations, contracted parties provide goods and services on agreed timeframes, equipment works as anticipated, required regulatory approvals are received, no unusual geological or technical problems occur, no material adverse change in the price of gold occurs and no significant events occur outside of the Corporation\-s normal course of business. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made, and are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other known and unknown factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in, or implied by, the forward-looking information. These factors include the impact of general business and economic conditions, risks related to COVID-19 on the Company, global liquidity and credit availability on the timing of cash flows and the values of assets and liabilities based on projected future conditions, anticipated metal production, fluctuating metal prices, currency exchange rates, estimated ore grades, possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates, changes in accounting policies, changes in Victoria\-s corporate resources, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, changes in development and production time frames, the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, uncertainty of mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates, higher prices for fuel, steel, power, labour and other consumables contributing to higher costs and general risks of the mining industry, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, final pricing for metal sales, unanticipated results of future studies, seasonality and unanticipated weather changes, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, requirements for additional capital, permitting time lines, government regulation of mining operations, environmental risks, unanticipated reclamation expenses, title disputes or claims, limitations on insurance coverage and timing and possible outcomes of pending litigation and labour disputes, risks related to remote operations and the availability of adequate infrastructure, fluctuations in price and availability of energy and other inputs necessary for mining operations. Although Victoria has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in, or implied by, the forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained herein is presented for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding Victoria\-s expected financial and operational performance and Victoria\-s plans and objectives and may not be appropriate for other purposes. All forward-looking information contained herein is given as of the date hereof, as the case may be, and is based upon the opinions and estimates of management and information available to management of the Corporation as at the date hereof. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking information contained herein and the documents incorporated by reference herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws. For Further Information Contact: John McConnell President & CEO Victoria Gold Corp. Tel: 604-696-6605 ceo@vgcx.com Energy security needs uranium Although there are no sanctions against Russian uranium, only some Western uranium buyers have imposed sanctions on themselves. Russia is still fulfilling contracts with uranium buyers in the U.S. and Europe. But when these contracts expire, uranium may become scarce unless new contracts are signed. And that is likely to happen. But uranium from Russia is of great importance to the U.S. and Europe. Uranium for European nuclear power plants comes about 20 percent from Russian uranium mines and nearly 20 percent from Kazakhstan. The U.S. must (still) import more than 90 percent of the uranium it needs, with nearly half coming from Russia and Kazakhstan (as of 2021). So there is a strong dependency. No wonder, then, that the USA or the EU would like to reduce their dependence on Russia. In the coming years, an estimated 60 new nuclear power plants will begin operation and require additional uranium. Approximately 180 million pounds of uranium are needed by the reactors currently in operation, and the trend is rising. A shortfall is inevitable. That\-s where new uranium mines are needed. Because of the increased costs, a pound of uranium would have to cost between $75 and $100, according to estimates, whereas it now costs just under $52 per pound. In the U.S., Uranium Energy is a major growing uranium company. The company just delivered uranium concentrates as part of a collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy. That\-s because Uranium Energy https://www.commodity-tv.com/play/mining-newsflash-with-uranium-energy-revival-gold-condor-gold-fury-gold-calibre-mining/ owns environmentally friendly and low-cost uranium projects in the U.S., some of which have already been approved. In addition, there is a large physical uranium stockpile as well as participation in Uranium Royalty https://www.commodity-tv.com/play/uranium-royalty-royalties-at-cameco-restarting-production-demand-pressure-on-uranium-price-ahead/ -, the only uranium royalty company. A famous uranium area is the Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan. There, for example, IsoEnergy is working on promising and high-grade uranium projects. Current company information and press releases from Uranium Energy (https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/unternehmen/uranium-energy-corp/). In accordance with A34 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG), I would like to point out that partners, authors and employees may hold shares in the respective companies addressed and that there is therefore a possible conflict of interest. No guarantee for the translation into German. Only the English version of this news is valid. A Disclaimer: The information provided does not constitute any form of recommendation or advice. Express reference is made to the risks involved in securities trading. No liability can be accepted for any damages arising from the use of this blog. I would like to point out that shares and especially warrant investments are generally associated with risk. The total loss of the invested capital cannot be excluded. All information and sources are carefully researched. However, no guarantee is given for the correctness of all contents. Despite the greatest care, I expressly reserve the right to make a mistake, especially with regard to figures and prices. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but in no way claims to be accurate or complete. Due to judicial decisions the contents of linked external pages are to be answered for (so among other things regional court Hamburg, in the judgement of 12.05.1998 312 O 85/98), as long as no explicit dissociation from these takes place. Despite careful control of the contents, I do not assume any liability for the contents of linked external pages. The respective operators are exclusively responsible for their content. The disclaimer of Swiss Resource Capital AG applies additionally: https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/disclaimer-agb/. Where you find the largest silver reserves Silver reserves refer to the economically mineable silver supply in a country. The largest silver producing countries usually have large silver reserves. However, there are also countries with high silver reserves that hardly mine anything but can become attractive silver-producing countries. Peru has the highest silver reserves in the world. The country ranked third in last year\-s hit list of producers. Peru\-s largest silver mine is actually a copper mine. The country\-s silver mining history is more than 1,000 years old. In second place for silver reserves is China, and China also deserves second place for production figures. Here, too, silver is mostly a byproduct. In third place is a country that produces very little silver, Poland. Only 1,300 tons of silver comprised silver production in 2022. But the reserves are high. Other countries with large silver reserves include Russia, Mexico, Australia, Chile and the USA. Also worth a look are the global stockpiles. In the 1950s, these stood at around ten billion ounces of silver. In the meantime, these stocks have been reduced step by step. According to estimates, global inventories today amount to around one billion ounces of silver, i.e. significantly less. Whatever the future price development, silver is an important industrial raw material and an investment good that ensures value retention. Companies with silver in their projects include Vizsla Silver https://www.commodity-tv.com/play/mining-newsflash-with-vizsla-silver-torq-resources-first-tin-sibanye-stillwater-and-mawson-gold/ or Sierra Madre Gold and Silver. Sierra Madre Gold and Silver has two high-grade gold and silver projects in Mexico. With the planned acquisition of a third silver and gold mine, also in Mexico, the company will further upgrade its portfolio. Also in Mexico, Vizsla Silver is taking care of its main Panuco project. Excellent drill results are available (up to a good 7,500 grams of silver equivalent per ton of rock). Latest corporate information and press releases from Vizsla Silver (https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/unternehmen/vizsla-silver-corp/ ) and Sierra Madre Gold and Silver (https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/unternehmen/sierra-madre-gold-and-silver-ltd/). In accordance with A34 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG), I would like to point out that partners, authors and employees may hold shares in the respective companies addressed and that there is therefore a possible conflict of interest. No guarantee for the translation into German. Only the English version of this news is valid. Disclaimer: The information provided does not constitute any form of recommendation or advice. Express reference is made to the risks involved in securities trading. No liability can be accepted for any damages arising from the use of this blog. I would like to point out that shares and especially warrant investments are generally associated with risk. The total loss of the invested capital cannot be excluded. All information and sources are carefully researched. However, no guarantee is given for the correctness of all contents. Despite the greatest care, I expressly reserve the right to make a mistake, especially with regard to figures and prices. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but in no way claims to be accurate or complete. Due to judicial decisions the contents of linked external pages are to be answered for (so among other things regional court Hamburg, in the judgement of 12.05.1998 312 O 85/98), as long as no explicit dissociation from these takes place. Despite careful control of the contents, I do not assume any liability for the contents of linked external pages. The respective operators are exclusively responsible for their content. The disclaimer of Swiss Resource Capital AG applies additionally: https://www.resource-capital.ch/de/disclaimer-agb/ YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 23, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Azerbaijans groundless accusations on laying mines made in all international platforms against Armenia fell apart after the UN court (the International Court of Justice) rejected Azerbaijans request for provisional measures against Armenia. The International Court of Justice unequivocally rejected Azerbaijans request for provisional measures against Armenia, with which Azerbaijan was accusing Armenia in some mine laying. Thus, we can note that the groundless accusations against Armenia on mine laying that were being voiced for several months in all international platforms by Azerbaijan have collapsed, and this is extremely important. Regarding Azerbaijans obligation to open the Lachin corridor, defined by the court, I have to stress that Azerbaijan must undertake visible efforts and measures for opening the Lachin corridor. The first and most primitive step, for example, can be a call or request to open the Lachin corridor made by the highest circle of government addressed to the so-called eco-activists. In any case, the absence of concrete actions by Azerbaijan on opening the Lachin corridor can and must lead to concrete international consequences, PM Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting. The Ministry of Emergency Situations on behalf of the Armenian Prime Minister organized the transportation of the third batch of humanitarian aid to the Syrian Arab Republic, which was affected by the earthquake. The weight of the cargo is more than 32 tons. February 23, 2023, 11:43 Armenia sends third batch of humanitarian aid to Syria STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 22, ARTSAKHPRESS: According to the press service of the RA Ministry of Emergency Situations, this is food and medicine, NEWS.am informs. The cargo will be delivered to Aleppo by IL-76 aircraft. The Ministry of Internal Affairs assisted in the organization of the work. Earlier humanitarian aid weighing over 55 tons was sent to Syria. Welcome To SpoilerTV We bring you a comprehensive and up to date spoiler service on all the major US TV shows and Movies. You can find specific show content by clicking the menu system at the top of the screen. We scour the Internet for spoilers as well as posting our own exclusive spoilers (Scripts, Casting Calls, Set Photos etc) as well as recaps and other fun articles and polls. We hope you enjoy your stay. A Prequel To The Hit Films, The Drama Series From Warner Bros. Television Is Developed By Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti And Jason FuchsHBO Max has ordered the Max Original drama WELCOME TO DERRY (working title) to series. The series, from Warner Bros. Television and developed for television by filmmakers Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti (IT, IT Chapter Two) and Jason Fuchs (IT Chapter Two, Wonder Woman, Argylle), is a prequel to the New Line global blockbuster IT films. Andy Muschietti will direct multiple episodes of the series, including the first episode.Logline: Set in the world of Stephen Kings IT universe, WELCOME TO DERRY (wt) is based on Kings IT novel and expands the vision established by filmmaker Andy Muschietti in the feature films IT and IT Chapter Two.Sarah Aubrey, Head of Original Content, HBO Max quote: We are thrilled to continue this iconic franchise with the brilliant Andy and Barbara Muschietti, Jason Fuchs, and Brad Caleb Kane. This prequel will expand the IT storytelling canvas and bring fans deeper into the terrifying, mesmerizing town of Derry.Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti quote: As teenagers, we took turns reading chapters of Stephen Kings IT until the thick paperback fell to pieces. IT is an epic story that contains multitudes, far beyond what we could explore in our IT movies. We cant wait to share the depths of Steve's novel, in all its heart, humor, humanity and horror.Jason Fuchs quote: To be able to return to the world of my all-time favorite horror novel and help build upon the singularly brilliant cinematic universe created by Andy and Barbara is more than the opportunity of a lifetime, it's a dream come true -- or, maybe more appropriately, a nightmare.Stephen King quote: Im excited that the story of Derry, Maines most haunted city, is continuing, and Im glad Andy Muschietti is going to be overseeing the frightening festivities, along with a brain trust including his talented sister, Barbara. Red balloons all around!Credits: WELCOME TO DERRY (wt) is produced by HBO Max and Warner Bros. Television. Jason Fuchs will write the teleplay for the first episode, based on a story by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Fuchs. Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane will serve as co-showrunners on the project. Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti (through their Double Dream production company, which has an overall deal with WBTV), Fuchs, and Kane are executive producers. Andy Muschietti will direct multiple episodes of the series, including the first episode. Head of the Press Service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Aykhan Hajizada commented in his Twitter account on the decision of the UN International Court of Justice on February 22, 2023 on the application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, news.am informs, citing Azerbaijani media. February 23, 2023, 13:54 Baku's reaction to UN court ruling: Azerbaijan will continue to do so after relevant Court order as well STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 23, ARTSAKHPRESS: As might be expected, the essence of the commentary boils down to the fact that Azerbaijan is not going to do anything. The International Court ruled on the second request for interim measures on the applications filed by Azerbaijan and Armenia on the application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (the rulings are not a decision on the merits of the case). "The Court has rejected 2 out of 3 provisional measures request by Armenia, concerning allegations on Azerbaijan orchestration and support of protests and on immediate full restoration and refraining from disrupting the provision of natural gas"... On 3rd measure, contrary to Armenia claims, the Court didnt order what Armenia wanted: 1) Court excluded wordings free and all and 2) Added two important wording such as pending the final decision in the case & take all measures at its disposal. Since Azerbaijan never blocked or impeded the Lachin road, and took all measures within its power to ensure safe movement along the road, it will continue to do so after relevant Court order as well. The Court has reaffirmed its call for Armenia to refrain from any action, which might aggravate or extend the dispute between 2 nations. Per Dec 2021 Order, Armenia remains obligated to take urgent action to prevent the incitement & promotion of racial hatred agns Azerbaijanis. Azerbaijan will continue to hold Armenia to account for its ongoing and historic grave violations of human rights of Azerbaijanis." Hajizada wrote. In several villages in southern Muntenia and, especially, in Gorj and Olt counties, the celebration of the Finding of the Head of the Holy Prophet John the Baptist, which always falls on February 24, is called Dragobete, writes the folklorist and ethnographer Simion Florea Marian. (Romanian Holidays - Ethnographic Study, Romanian Cultural Foundation Publishing House) Dragobetele, in these parts, is a beautiful day of celebration for big boys and girls, and even for young men and women. In some communes, also in Muntenia, recalls Simion Florea Marian, the people celebrate Dragobete specifically to be protected from diseases.Depending on the ethnographic area, Dragobetele, also called Cap de Primavara (Beginning of the Spring), was celebrated on one of the days between the end of February and the beginning of March. (Romanian Holidays and Customs, Ion Ghinoiu, 2003)According to the legend, Dragobtele (Dragomir, says the legend) is the son of Baba Dochia (The Old Dokia) and represents, in opposition to her, the positive principle. Dragobetele, the bearer of love and good mood, is celebrated on the day of the mating of birds that gather in flocks, chirp and start building their nests. That's why girls and boys looked forward to and celebrated Dragobetele to be in love all year long.Considered, locally, the first day of spring, on the day of Dragobete, girls and boys gathered in groups and went out shouting and shouting in the fields, from where they collected two-leaf squill and sweet violets (Viola odorata). At Sanziene (Midsummer), they were picking two other flowers, roji (a kind of wild rose) and dropwort (Filipendula vulgaris), which would be sisters of two-leaf squill and sweet violets, dried since spring. The flowers had to be tied in bouquets and given via water, because the gathering of sister flowers, which can never reach and never meet, was considered in heaven as half of Sarindar (subsequent 40-day prayer at mass). (Sezatoarea magazine, XII, 1904)On Dragobete day, non-migratory birds gather in flocks, chirp, fly, mate and start building their nests, where their young will grow. The unpaired ones remain pairless until next year's Dragobete. In the same way, girls and boys had to meet, make Dragobetele, to be in love throughout the whole year. "In the villages where the custom is preserved, the saying can still be heard today: Dragobete kisses girls! Considering that kissing on Dragobete day is auspicious, girls let themselves and even wanted to be kissed by boys". (Romanian Mythology - Dictionary, Ioan Ghinoiu)In the Mehedinti area, the buds of forest trees, picked and worn by girls, in their ears, on Dragobete day, a symbol of youthful love, are called dragobete. The members of the European Council adopted on Thursday a statement in which they condemn the war of aggression started by Russia against Ukraine one year ago and emphasize that the European Union will continue to support Ukraine, told Agerpres. "One year after Putin's Russia started a brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, we, the EU leaders, express our full solidarity with the Ukrainian people and our strong commitment to continue our support for Ukraine," President Klaus Iohannis wrote on Twitter on Thursday. The members of the European Council appreciate the Ukrainian people for their determination to fight, stating that Russia's aggression is a crime against peace. ''One year ago, Putin's Russia started its brutal war of aggression against Ukraine. The Ukrainian people have shown incredible strength in defending their homeland and the core principles of international law against the Russian aggression. They have shown resolve in defending democracy and freedom, resilience in the face of hardship and dignity when confronted with Russia's crimes. The Ukrainian people have shown the world that the future of Ukraine is for the Ukrainians to decide. No country has the right to invade its neighbour or violate its sovereignty and territorial integrity. This aggression is a crime against peace. It violates the UN Charter, the UN principles and the values of mankind. We cannot and should not remain passive in front of such crimes. Russia has systematically targeted civilians, destroyed cities and attacked Ukrainian identity. We are determined to ensure that all those who are responsible for war crimes and other most serious crimes committed in connection with Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine are held to account," reads the statement of the members of the European Council, posted on the institution's website. European leaders point out that Russia has weaponised food and energy, made deeply irresponsible nuclear threats and spread false narratives about the war. Russia's war of aggression and its consequences have significantly affected many countries notably through its impact on the global economy, food and commodity prices. ''The European Union will continue to work with partners to mitigate these effects and to provide assistance to the countries and people most in need,'' the statement mentions. They recall that the European Union and its partners acted quickly and in unity. " we will continue to stand firmly and in full solidarity with Ukraine and its people for as long as it takes. All Ukrainians deserve to live in peace and choose freely their own destiny. Ukraine is part of our European family. Ukrainians have expressed their wish for a future within the European Union and we have acknowledged that by granting Ukraine the status of candidate country. The choice of the people of Ukraine is one of peace, democracy, rule of law, respect for fundamental rights and prosperity," the document also states. The statement emphasizes that the The European Union will continue to support Ukraine in political, economic, humanitarian, financial and military terms, including through swift coordinated procurement from European industry. ''We will also support Ukraine's reconstruction, for which we will strive to use frozen and immobilised Russian assets in accordance with EU and international law. We will further increase collective pressure on Russia to end its war of aggression. To this end we will adopt a tenth sanctions package and we will take steps against those who attempt to circumvent EU measures,'' the statement points out. The European leaders voice support for President Zelensky's peace formula. "Together with our international partners, we will make sure that Ukraine prevails, that international law is respected, that peace and Ukraine's territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders are restored, that Ukraine is rebuilt, and that justice is done.Until that day, we will not rest", conclude the members of the European Council. The issue of the Bystroe Canal is not "relevant" for the bilateral relations between Romania and Ukraine and is not "defining" for this phase of the war, State Secretary with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Iulian Fota stated on Thursday, adding that there is willingness on the part of both parties for things to be clarified and there are necessary tools in this regard, told Agerpres. "We, first of all, want to see - together with our friends, Ukrainian neighbors - the data, the facts, so we know what we are talking about, as many things that have been thrown around in the press are not really so. (...) We see this matter as an opportunity to show that, once again, we with Ukraine can resolve this matter diplomatically, through good understanding. Yesterday I had a very good discussion with the ambassador, I could say with my friend from the Embassy of Ukraine: the same desire on the part of the Ukrainian side to discuss, to see a little what is happening, if there is something that needs to be clarified and do this together," Fota told the roundtable meeting "A year of war against Ukraine. The impact for Romania" - organized by the Romanian Diplomatic Institute. He added that this matter was "admirably handled" by President Klaus Iohannis. "In a way, it's a shame that the world is looking a lot at this thing. We, at the moment, have many other projects under discussion with the Ukrainian side. I cannot, unfortunately, in this preliminary phase, go into details, you will see them materialized. So, beyond the substantial aid that we give, at the moment we have an agenda with many other collaborative projects between us and Ukraine, including issues related to the Black Sea. So, effectively, all this - kind of artificially inflated - public debate casts an image that does not correspond to reality. So, we, at least in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, collaborate very well, we have frequent discussions, we meet and discuss many issues. There have been several very important visits that and Mr. Minister Aurescu and other colleagues of mine paid," explained the state secretary. Iulian Fota showed that this matter is to be clarified and there are the tools and availability from both sides in this regard. "So, don't consider the Bystroe issue as a relevant issue for bilateral relations, because it is not. We will clarify what is happening, we will discuss, we have clear tools that help us in this regard and, what is important, willingness. It can also be seen in the press release that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued, the Embassy meeting us with that proposal for a discussion between experts. So, I don't think that this is a defining issue for this phase of the war. It is the most important and we all do everything we can so that, on the one hand, Ukraine has everything it needs to defend its country, and, on the other hand, to try, where possible, as much as possible, to think a little about the future and see how we can build a new European security architecture so that at least the civilized states in this part of Europe feel safe," Fota added. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca reaffirmed the political and technical support for the integration of the Republic of Moldova into the European Union during the meeting he had on Thursday at the Victoria Palace, with the Moldovan President, Maia Sandu, who is on a working visit to Bucharest, told Agerpres. According to a press release from the Government, the topics of interest on the bilateral agenda were discussed during the talks, with an emphasis on joint projects in the fields of energy and transport, which aim to connect the Republic of Moldova to the European Union. "It was emphasized the need to improve the interaction between the business sectors of Romania and the Republic of Moldova, in order to increase the economic resilience of the neighboring state. The two officials agreed that, against the background of the considerable increase in trade during the previous year, there is still a potential to be exploited in this field," the press release reads. Also, topics related to the security situation in the Republic of Moldova and the evolution of the regional security context were addressed in order to identify the most suitable ways to counteract the effects of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine in economic, social and humanitarian terms. The external threats to the democratic order of the Republic of Moldova are particularly concerning, President Klaus Iohannis stated on Thursday at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace, within a joint statement with his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu, told Agerpres. "We are going through a period of crisis of historic proportions," the Romanian head of state said, evoking in this context Russia's war against Ukraine which stated on 24 February, last year. Iohannis reiterated that Romania is firmly condemning Russia's attempts to destabilize the Republic of Moldova. "The Republic of Moldova is not alone in front of these challenges," he conveyed. "I'm reiterating Romania's firm condemning of any Russian attempts to destabilize. Romania remains, at the same time, very vigilant regarding Russia's hybrid actions which, they seem to intensify at the end of one year of war. The attempts to destabilize are endorsed by the increase of the pro-Russian propaganda, the purpose being that of fueling an useful narrative to Russia and the diminish of our unity and solidarity. But we will not give up," President Iohannis underscored. He brought to mind that Romania has requested and shall continue to support "the sanctioning by the European Union of those who want to destabilize the Republic of Moldova and to undermine the constitutional order and the rule of law." "Romania will further support in a firm manner the observance of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova, at its known borders at international level," the head of state added. Furthermore, Iohannis reaffirmed the support for Chisinau's "responsible approach" to the Transnistrian file. "At the same time, we are following the imperative of strengthening the resilience of the Republic of Moldova against all external threats, both through our direct effort, bilaterally, and through the instruments available to the European Union and NATO. In fact, since the commencement of the Russian invasion against Ukraine one year ago, Romania has acted promptly and decisively not only in support of Ukraine, but also in support of the Republic of Moldova," President Klaus Iohannis showed. The speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu, declared on Thursday that things regarding payment request number 2 of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan "have passed a critical moment" and the Romanian authorities "received signals" from the European Commission that this request is accepted. "What can I tell you, from my point of view and that of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), I saw that, regarding payment request number 2, things have already passed a critical moment, I received signals from the Commission that payment request number 2 is accepted and I believe that a 6-month deadline will be given to close what is still under discussion at the moment. There are two or three milestones that the Ministry of European Funds is still negotiating with the Commission. At this moment, for me and for the PSD, the number 1 priority is to close once and for all the discussion regarding special pensions," said Ciolacu at the Parliament Palace.He added that the World Bank's report on the draft law on special pensions has reached the Government, it will be analyzed and the necessary amendments will be made in the Parliament."I repeat, military pensions are occupational pensions, they are not special pensions. All over the world, in all our NATO partners's countries, military pensions are not considered special pensions. It is currently a law in Parliament, it was stopped from the legislative circuit, we all waited to see the World Bank's report. We are going to do an analysis of the (WB, ed. n.) report, it is necessary to discuss in the parliamentary committee to make the necessary amendments," Ciolacu stated. The Timis County Council (CJ) signed on Thursday a contract worth 142 million EUR for the development of bicycle infrastructure, with financing from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Timis further remaining the only county across the country that works on a cycle tourism strategy and the only one that has already a cross-border lane built, told Agerpres. President of Timis County Council Alin Nica stated that last year the Timis administration, as a project leader together with 126 administrative-territorial units (UAT), county councils, municipalities, cities and communes from the counties in the west of the country, mobilized a multidisciplinary team within the institution in order to access European funds intended for the development of bicycle lanes. In this way, financial support was obtained for the largest project financed from the PNRR for local authorities in order to develop bicycle infrastructure. "Creating bicycle lanes was a priority of my mandate and now the promises have become reality. It is a complex initiative and represents the most important investment in bicycle infrastructure in the history of the four counties and the largest in our country," Alin Nica stated. The value of the contract signed today is 142 million EUR, with European money to be used for the construction of bicycle lanes over a distance of 1,729 kilometers in all the four counties involved: Timis, Arad, Caras-Severin and Hunedoara. Calculated at an estimated average cost of 82.5 thousand EUR for each kilometer of bicycle lane, the amount allocated to Timisoara amounts to approximately 40 million EUR. Foreign affairs analyst Radu Magdin believes that the war of aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine has not achieved any of the political, military or strategic objectives initially announced, or even later, after the "recalibration" of the discourse in Moscow, especially for the internal consumption. "Russia has already suffered an irreversible political defeat, with massive losses. And it continues with this unsustainable strategy in the medium and long run, because each authoritarian leader is aware that there is a limit to which you can send people to sacrifice on the battlefield, as well as a limit to which you can pretend that western sanctions against your country have no effect. The effects of all measures taken by the international community, be they political, economic or military, can already be seen, despite the opacity of Russia or the propaganda it maintains inside and outside its borders," Radu Magdin told AGERPRES.He said that "the long-awaited winter offensive of Russia did not result in any important military results, but only in a number of minor, rather symbolic victories, while president Putin did not mention, in his speech on February 21, no new and significant military operation.""Overall, the war seems to have now entered a balanced phase, and this is the point where Ukraine must be supported more and more, from all points of view, including military. The security of Ukraine is essential for the security of the whole Euro-Atlantic world, and a victory of Ukraine will sent a clear message to Russia and other authoritarian powers that the times when they could reach their goals internationally by force is over," said the political analyst.In the analyst's opinion, new attempts to attack Kyiv cannot be excluded yet, but we can no longer talk about the same Ukraine as early as last year."Unfortunately, no scenario can be excluded when it comes to Russia, which means that we cannot exclude new attempts to attack Kiev, especially if we look at how Russia uses the territory of Belarus for military purposes. The further development will depend much on the way Moscow and Vladimir Putin draw their goals at the level of internal politics. At the same time, Kyiv and his leaders have gained a support and confidence without precedent at the transatlantic level, a fact proven including symbolically, by the recent visit of president Joe Biden, so I don't think we can talk about the "conquest of Kyiv" or the fall of president Zelensky. What is clear to the entire the world is that we are not talking about the same Ukraine as in the beginning of last year, but about a better trained, more used to this war and more aware of its stakes," explained Radu Magdin.According to the foreign affairs analyst, the support of Ukraine by the West in this war is also an "investment" in the security of Romania in the medium and long run."I believe that Romania, in the light of last year's developments, benefits from a strengthened security, a much greater deterrence capacity and that this process will continue, especially when the Alliance has acknowledged Russia as the most severe threat to its security. I believe, at the same time, that Romania can continue to increase its influence and profile at the NATO level, both in practical terms and in terms of strategic communication, of the perceptions about our country, as a real security supplier in the region," the political analyst pointed out.Referring to the recent developments in respect to the Republic of Moldova, Radu Magdin believes that Russia no longer has the advantage and strategic influence in and from Transnistria, but that we should not underestimate the risk such as violating the air space or attempts to destabilize the neighbouring country in political terms.For these reasons, the political analyst thinks that president Maia Sandu has correctly supported her country's case in discussions with various international partners.Asked about the recent statements of the VP of the United States, Kamala Harris, about "crimes against humanity" committed by Russia, the foreign policy analyst showed that president Joe Biden and the representatives of the American administration also spoke before about the atrocities committed by the Russian Army on the civilian population in Ukraine.Radu Magdin considers "important" that there are "clear messages" from the European Union regarding the requests of Ukraine to create a special court and to confiscate the Russian assets and to bring to this high international court of the responsible of the war against Ukraine.Regarding the conditions in which one can talk about an armistice, Radu Magdin said that "it is up to Ukraine to choose its road further in this war." The president of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, who will be in Bucharest on Thursday in a working visit, will be received by president Klaus Iohannis, at the Cotroceni palace, informs the Presidential Administration. The political consultations of the two presidents are part of the comprehensive framework of the close cooperation at bilateral and European level, as well as of the clear and firm support of Romania for the Republic of Moldova and its resilience."The discussions will address common projects of strategic interest in the fields of energy, transport, health, education or information society, with emphasis on initiatives meant to connect the Republic of Moldova with the EU area, with real and concrete benefits for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. At the same time, Romania's stage and support regarding the European path of the Republic of Moldova will be discussed," the Presidential Administration informs.The two presidents will also exchange views on security challenges, as well as ways of managing the economic, social and humanitarian effects of Russia's aggression in Ukraine.The president of the Republic of Moldova, who is visiting Romania at the invitation of president Klaus Iohannis, will also meet with prime minister Nicolae Ciuca and the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Marcel Ciolacu. A military plane fell down in the Belgorod region, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in his Telegram channel, news.am informs. February 23, 2023, 15:16 Military plane crashes in Belgorod region STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 23, ARTSAKHPRESS: "An airplane of the Ministry of Defense fell down in the Valuisky urban district. The cause of what happened is being clarified. The situation is under control," he wrote. According to the governor, an investigation team and employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are working at the site. According to the emergency services, the pilot managed to eject. According to preliminary data, he is alive. Washington has joined more than a dozen other states in seeking to crack down on toxic substances in cosmetics after a state-funded study there found lead, arsenic, and formaldehyde in makeup, lotion, and hair-straightening products made by CoverGirl and other brands. The U.S. stalled out on chemical regulations after the 1970s, according to Bhavna Shamasunder, an urban and environmental policy associate professor at Occidental College. And that has left a regulatory void, as lax federal oversight allows potentially toxic products that would be banned in Europe to be sold in American stores. Lots of products on the market arent safe, Shamasunder said. Thats why states are helping create a solution its a patchwork approach. The potential exposure to toxicants in cosmetics is especially worrisome for women of color, because studies show that Black women use more hair products than women of other racial groups and that Hispanic and Asian women have reported using more cosmetics in general than non-Hispanic Black and white women. The Washington state legislation is a second attempt at passing the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act, after legislators approved a bill in 2022 that was stripped of the ban on toxic ingredients in cosmetics. This year, lawmakers have additional context after a report commissioned by the legislature and published by the state Department of Ecology in January found multiple products with concerning levels of hazardous chemicals, including lead and arsenic in dark-tint CoverGirl Clean Fresh Pressed Powder foundation. CoverGirl Continuous Color Lipstick and Markwins Beauty Brands Black Radiance Pressed Powder foundation were among other products from various brands containing lead, the report found. Research teams asked Hispanic, Black, and multiracial women what beauty products they used. Researchers then tested 50 cosmetics purchased at Walmart, Target, and Dollar Tree, among other shops. Companies are adding preservatives like formaldehyde to cosmetics products, said Iris Deng, a toxics researcher for the Washington State Department of Ecology. Lead and arsenic are different stories. Theyre detected as contaminants. Markwins Beauty Brands did not respond to requests for comment. Nominal traces of certain elements may sometimes be present in product formulations as a consequence of natural mineral origin, as permitted by applicable law, Miriam Mahlow, a spokesperson for CoverGirl parent company Coty Inc., said in an emailed statement. The Washington reports authors said European Union countries ban products like the dark-tint CoverGirl foundation. Thats because arsenic and lead have been linked to brain and nervous system damage and cancer. There is no known safe level of lead exposure, said Marissa Smith, Washington states senior regulatory toxicologist, and formaldehyde is also a carcinogen. When we find these chemicals in products applied directly to our bodies, we know people are being exposed, Smith added. Therefore, we can assume these exposures are contributing to health impacts. Though most of the products lead content was low, Smith said, people are often exposed for years on end, considerably increasing the danger. The Washington ecology department findings were not altogether surprising: Other testing bodies have picked up preservatives such as formaldehyde or, more often, formaldehyde-releasing agents such as quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea, and diazolidinyl urea in hair-straightening products marketed especially to Black women. Formaldehyde is one of the chemicals used to embalm corpses before funerals. In addition to Washington, at least 12 states Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont are considering policies to restrict or require disclosure of toxic chemicals in cosmetics and other personal care products. States are acting because the federal government possesses limited authority, said Melanie Benesh, vice president of government affairs for the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit that researches whats in household and consumer products. The FDA has had limited resources to pursue ingredient bans, Benesh added. Congress has not given the Environmental Protection Agency widespread authority to regulate such products, even though contaminants and preservatives from cosmetics end up in the water supply. In 2021, a California man petitioned the EPA to ban toxic chemicals in cosmetics under the Toxic Substances Control Act, but the petition was denied, said Lynn Bergeson, a lawyer in Washington, D.C., because cosmetics are outside the scope of the acts jurisdiction. The law is crystal clear on this, she said. Bergeson said the regulation of chemicals is subject to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, but the FDA regulates only color additives and chemicals in sunscreen because those products make the medical claim of decreasing the risk of skin cancer. Minnesota, for example, fills in the regulatory gaps by testing for mercury, hydroquinone, and steroids in skin-lightening products. It also passed a law in 2013 banning formaldehyde in childrens products such as lotions and bubble baths. California has passed several laws that regulate cosmetics ingredients and labeling, including the California Safe Cosmetics Act in 2005. A law adopted in 2022 bans intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, in cosmetics and apparel starting in 2025. Last year, Colorado also passed a ban of PFAS in makeup and other products. But consumer safety experts said that states should not have to fill in the void left by federal regulations, and that a smarter approach would entail the federal government subjecting cosmetics ingredients to an approval process. In the meantime, states are fighting an uphill battle, because thousands of chemicals are available to manufacturers. As a result, a gap exists between what consumers need for protection and regulators ability to act, said Laurie Valeriano, executive director of Toxic-Free Future, a nonprofit that researches and advocates for environmental health. The federal systems are inadequate in that they do not require the safest chemicals to be used, Valeriano said. Instead, they allow hazardous chemicals in personal care products, such as PFAS, phthalates, or even formaldehyde. Moreover, the federal governments risk assessment system is flawed, she said, because it attempts to determine how much risk from toxic exposures is acceptable. In contrast, the approach that Washington state hopes to legislate would assess the hazards and ask whether the chemicals are necessary, or if there are safer alternatives which is to say prevent toxic ingredients in cosmetics in the first place. Its a lot like the approach taken by the European Union. We put boundaries and restrictions around these chemicals, said Mike Rasenberg, hazard assessment director of the European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki. Rasenberg said that because research shows formaldehyde causes nasal cancer, the EU has banned it, plus lead and arsenic, in beauty products. The EUs 27 countries also work together to test products for safety. In Germany, more than 10,000 cosmetic products are examined annually, said Florian Kuhlmey, spokesperson for that countrys Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety. And it doesnt end there. This year, Germany will examine about 200 samples of childrens toothpaste for heavy metals and other elements banned in the EU for cosmetics, Kuhlmey added. The legislation in Washington would move the state toward a more European approach to chemicals regulation. If approved, it would give retailers that sell products with banned ingredients until 2026 to sell existing stocks. Meanwhile, customers can protect themselves by seeking out natural beauty products, Atlanta-area dermatologist Dr. Chynna Steele Johnson said. Lots of products have formaldehyde-releasing agents, Steele Johnson said. But it isnt something customers can find on a label. My suggestion and this goes for foods too would be fewer ingredients are better. KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation. USE OUR CONTENT This story can be republished for free (details). The tenure of Kimberly M. Gardner has been a failed experiment from the very beginning. After getting elected St. Louis circuit attorney in 2016, she began chasing experienced prosecutors out of the office. It was more ideological than personal. Prosecutors, like cops, are mostly conservative. They believe in law and order. Gardner saw things from the other side. Her aunt had been married to Sam Petty, this citys most notorious heroin dealer. He grew up poor in north St. Louis. When he was 14, he killed a man and was sent to a juvenile institution. He became a Muslim and then a revolutionary. He founded the Black Liberators, a paramilitary organization loosely affiliated with the Black Panthers. H. Rap Brown of Atlanta was a good friend. In 1971, Petty and Brown were arrested in New York after a shoot-out with police. It was a high-profile trial. Supporters in the courtroom raised clenched fists and chanted, Black Power! Petty and Brown were convicted. The government took the Black radicals much more seriously than it has the white radicals of today. By the time Petty got out of prison in 1976, most of his revolutionary cohorts were dead or locked up. Petty got into narcotics. In 1985, the cops finally caught him. He had been on their radar for years. Busted with him was his second wife, Gardners aunt. (His first wife had been shot dead on the morning she was scheduled to testify to the grand jury. The case was never solved.) Cops confiscated two ounces of cocaine, weapons, 10,000 rounds of ammunition and manuals on guerrilla warfare. Although the drugs and guns almost certainly belonged to her husband, Gardners aunt had sold cocaine to an undercover narcotics detective. Despite having no criminal record, she got eight years. Gardner was a child at the time. Her family was in the funeral home business. She eventually went to law school and then worked for a short time as a prosecutor in the circuit attorneys office. She then won a seat in the Legislature. Just about the time Jennifer Joyce decided not to run for reelection as circuit attorney, liberal money was looking for a cause. Urban education had proved too hard, the potential results too far down the stream. The criminal justice system seemed like a better option. You could change things in an instant. Gardner was a beneficiary of this newfound interest in criminal justice. To an old-school liberal like me, Gardners election seemed like a promising way to look at old problems through a new lens. Here was a person who understood the complexities of life. Perhaps she could see the humanity in us all. But when I asked if her aunts experience colored her thinking, she called my question reckless, and through a spokesperson said, I continue to be disappointed with some in the St. Louis media, and their efforts to continually discredit me, my family and my work. Perhaps her distrust was understandable. I was friendly with many of the experienced prosecutors she had chased out, and I am good friends with the former narcotics detective who made the buys from her aunt. He is now retired from the police department. He is a regular visitor to juvenile institutions where he plays chess with the young offenders. In a functioning criminal-justice system, there is always friction between police and prosecutors. Police figure they have enough evidence to arrest somebody, but the prosecutors figure they need more evidence to convict. It is a constant push-pull. There was no give in Gardners game. She made it clear that she did not trust the police. At all. It is a problem when prosecutors are too trusting, but it is a disaster when they consistently take the side of the accused. With Gardner at the helm, the system broke down. The most famous breakdown occurred when she indicted then-Gov. Eric Greitens. Asked why she hired a private investigator from out of state, she said the city police wouldnt handle the case because it involved public corruption. The police chief and the director of public safety denied that she had ever approached them about the case. Eventually, she dropped the charges against the governor, and her investigator was charged with six counts of perjury. He pleaded guilty to tampering with physical evidence. Gardner was reprimanded by the Missouri Supreme Court and fined for violating professional misconduct rules. But the case that really stuck with me was the shooting death of 7-year-old Xavier Usanga in 2019. The shooting occurred when Malik Ross, wearing a bulletproof vest and caring a Glock, fired at two teens across the street. An errant round killed Xavier. Ross then stole money from his employer so he could get out of town. Thats what he told police. He knew what he had done, and he had to leave. He also said he fired in self-defense, although audio from a nearby security camera recorded only one weapon being shot and the shell casings recovered were from only one weapon. Gardner refused to prosecute. As was her custom, she did not explain her reasoning. Fortunately, the stealing case went to federal court, Ross pleaded guilty. The federal prosecutor asked the judge a Bill Clinton appointee to sentence above the guidelines because the underlying cause of the stealing was the shooting death of a child. Ross attorney argued that the judge should not take into account a crime for which her client had not even been charged. But the judge did. The guidelines called for 14 months and the judge gave Ross 10 years. That is not the way the system is supposed to work, but what is it supposed to do when a prosecutor refuses to do her job? Gardner has continually denounced all criticism against her as racist. She easily won reelection in 2020. The once-great television show 60 Minutes came here and did a flattering piece on the embattled prosecutor who stands up to her racist critics. Ive talked with Black friends in the criminal justice system and the political world and they shrug. Her followers are passionate. It seemed eerily similar to Republican officials and Donald Trump. I have longed for the bad old days when powerful bosses ran the political parties. A group of such bosses would have had a sit-down with Gardner long ago. We understand that crime is a complicated matter and the root causes are well beyond your control, but the dysfunction in your office has come to represent the problem. She would have resigned to explore the ever-alluring new opportunities. But I did not think it would happen. More likely the hostile Republican-led Legislature would establish a new office to handle serious crimes and appoint a new prosecutor. Gardners followers would take to the streets. It would be one hot mess. But in the wake of the horrific crash in downtown last weekend, after which Gardner first blamed the judges and then issued a rebuke against finger-pointing, the mayor spoke up. Gardner has lost the faith of the community, the mayor said. Then others spoke up. We cant undo what happened to the innocent teenager who was so terribly injured by a young man who should not have been on the streets, but maybe we can fix ourselves. An honest, competent prosecutor will not make crime disappear, but things will feel better, as they always do in a society with a functioning criminal-justice system. An imperfect system, to be sure, but a working one. Joe Holleman Joe Holleman is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Joe Holleman Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today This is not the time for finger-pointing. That single line from St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner seems to be fueling a fire that is burning up much support for the beleaguered prosecutor. The sentence was part of a statement released Tuesday by Gardners office in response to the tragic case of Janae Edmondson. Janae, a 17-year-old Tennessee volleyball player who was visiting St. Louis with her parents, lost both of her legs after suspected felon Daniel Riley crashed into her and pinned her against a parked car. Riley was out on bond and wearing an ankle bracelet for a 2020 robbery charge. The charges had been dropped earlier because prosecutors werent ready to proceed. When charges were refiled, Riley was released on bond and ordered to wear the ankle monitor. Records show that Riley violated the conditions of his bond about 50 times before the crash and prosecutors never filed a motion to revoke it. While statements from politicians are often awkward and sometimes tone-deaf, Gardners statement was being roundly criticized for setting a new standard for bad takes on tragic situations. A state legislator who represents the St. Louis area state Rep. Raychel Proudie, D-Ferguson blasted Gardners statement Wednesday morning on Twitter. EVERY. SINGLE. WORD of this statement should have been about Janae Edmundson instead, half of it is political BS her (Tennessee) family has neither any idea of or a damn thing to do with. The Circuit Attorneys Office did better to have said nothing, Proudie wrote, ending with: Lord, have mercy. EVERY. SINGLE. WORD of this statement should have been about Janae Edmondson-- instead, half of it is political BS her TN family has neither any idea of or a damn thing to do with. The Circuit Attorney's Office did better to have said nothing. Lord, have mercy. https://t.co/yAuJAWXyrX Raychel Proudie (@RCProudie) February 22, 2023 Also weighing in was Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis, who said on social media that he was disappointed in Gardners tone-deaf response that focuses more on herself than the young woman whose life was irrevocably changed. Im disappointed in Circuit Attorney Gardners tone-deaf response that focuses more on herself than the young woman whose life has been irrevocably changed. I hope she reflects on what her office did wrong and how she can do better in the future so others can visit our great city https://t.co/9SV4azxC2t pic.twitter.com/Y2izmsa3aT Rep Rasheen Aldridge. Jr (He/Him) (@RepSheenBean) February 22, 2023 The question of who actually sat down and wrote the statement remains unanswered. Normally, statements from Gardners office are written by Allison Hawk, the chief communications officer for Gardner. When reached Wednesday morning, Hawk would only say that it was approved by the circuit attorney. She refused, after being asked several times, to identify the actual writer of the statement. I cant comment at this point, was Hawks response. She did not return a subsequent call. Hawk makes $90,000 a year working part-time as the spokesperson for Gardners office, according to a 2021 Post-Dispatch story. She also is a spokesperson for the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership and previously worked in communications for the St. Louis Rams. Gardners clumsy statement, not to even mention the obvious tragic nature of the event, is helping to quickly erode support for Gardner, who has faced criticism from various quarters since taking office in 2016. At a press conference Wednesday, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones said that Gardner really needs to do some soul-searching of whether or not she wants to continue as circuit attorney, because shes lost the trust of the people. Jones view coincides with that of one veteran political observer, who said this current situation will erode much of the support Gardner has consistently received from certain leaders, who have at times categorized criticism of her as simply being because she is a Black female. It has tipped, the observer, who spoke only on background, said of the balance between Gardners detractors and defenders. This is a high-volume criminal docket, busiest in the state. And every piece of it has to work, and none of hers seem to be working, the observer said. The first half of the statement is acceptable enough, offering condolences to Janae and her family. But in the second half the statement switches to a bitter tone: Its unfortunate that there are those who choose to twist the facts to take advantage of this situation for their own selfish motives. This is not the time for finger pointing, its time to support this family, and ensure that justice is served. Asked specifically about the press statement, the political observer said releases coming from Gardners office, are (often) tone-deaf; and not just tone-deaf, but wrong. Eric Thoelke, a midtown St. Louis resident and founder of TOKY Brand Design, said on Twitter: I supported Gardners candidacy, and cheered when she was elected. But no more. Shes incompetent, deflecting, finger-pointing, and helped precipitate this horrible tragedy, he wrote, then ended his tweet with: Resign. I supported Gardners candidacy, and cheered when she was elected. But no more. Shes incompetent, deflecting, finger-pointing, and helped precipitate this horrible tragedy. Resign. https://t.co/Fd9WaoDfgv Eric Thoelke (@tokythoelke) February 22, 2023 ST. LOUIS Retired St. Louis police Sgt. Jim Dandridge finally has some answers about why St. Louis prosecutors thought incorrectly that his son was dead. They told Danbridge this week they confused his son, a victim of a 2020 robbery, with another victim with the same first name, Dandridge told the Post-Dispatch Wednesday. The snafu came as the St. Louis Circuit Attorneys Office came under fire Tuesday for failing to try and put back in jail the man accused of robbing Dandridges son, even though the man violated his bond conditions more than 50 times. The man, 21-year-old Daniel Riley, was set to go on trial last year in the robbery case, but prosecutors dropped and refiled charges. The reason given to news outlets on Tuesday: The victim in the case, Dandridges son, had died just before trial, throwing a wrench into the prosecution. But Dandridges son wasnt dead. Thats my son right there, and hes fine, he told the Post-Dispatch Wednesday. Healthy as can be. Riley is now charged with speeding down a downtown St. Louis street this past weekend while still on bond, causing a crash that critically injured 17-year-old Janae Edmondson. Edmondson, of Tennessee, was in St. Louis for a volleyball tournament and walking downtown when she was struck and pinned between two vehicles in the crash. Both her legs were amputated as a result. Dandridge contacted the prosecutors victims services office on Tuesday to ask why they thought his son was dead. He was told another man charged in his sons robbery, Elijah Graham, was also charged with assaulting someone else with the same first name. That other victim, staff told him, had died, and prosecutors got the cases mixed up. On Tuesday morning, a judge agreed to dismiss Grahams charges in the case involving Dandridges son because prosecutors thought the victim was dead, according to court documents. The Circuit Attorneys Office released a statement to the Post-Dispatch Wednesday admitting to the mistake in Rileys case: The initial confusion around the victims status was caused by a computer system error. A victim in a different case with a similar or the same name is deceased. The system incorrectly electronically attached the death notice to all victims with similar names, including this case. It is unclear whether prosecutors plan to refile the robbery case against Graham. Prosecutors have not provided another reason for dismissing and refiling the charges against Riley last year. Incompetency at the highest level Dandridge, a 21-year veteran of the St. Louis police department, said he finds the mix-up unacceptable. This is incompetency at the highest level, Dandridge said. I feel so sorry for this girl and her family. Kim Gardners office failed her family and my family completely. Riley, 21, is still facing a first-degree robbery charge for allegedly acting with two others to lure Dandridges son, then 17, to a meet up in August 2020 before stealing a gun at gunpoint. Riley was set to go to trial for the robbery last summer, but Dandridge said he and his son arrived at court only to hear that prosecutors werent ready to try the case. The prosecutor told me she had been on her honeymoon and she wasnt ready to proceed with the case because she hadnt looked it over yet, Dandridge said Wednesday. The robbery charge was dismissed and refiled that month, a common practice Gardners office uses when attorneys are not ready for trial. The refiled charge is still pending. Dandridge said he didnt hear much about Riley until he saw a report on KSDK this week that Riley was the man charged in the crash that injured the teenage girl. Charges filed in the crash Sunday allege Riley was speeding down St. Charles Street, one block south of Washington Avenue, when he failed to yield at the intersection with North 11th Street, collided with a Chevrolet Malibu, and hit a parked car, which then struck Edmondson. Rileys bond violations included letting his GPS monitor die and leaving the confines of the perimeter of his house arrest, according to court records. Court records show he violated bond at least seven times since Feb. 1. Allison Hawk, the spokesperson for the Circuit Attorneys Office, said this week prosecutors made the courts aware Riley had violated his bond, but they never filed a request to revoke his bond. In a statement late Tuesday night, the circuit attorneys office said the controversy was an attempt by those who choose to twist the facts to take advantage of this situation for their own selfish motives. This is not the time for finger-pointing, its time to support this family, to ensure that justice is served, the statement said. A judge on Tuesday ordered Riley held without bond in Saturdays crash. Dandridge said Wednesday he thinks it should become common practice for victims to be notified when the defendant in their case violates bond as a safety measure. Had he and his son been told, he wonders if the outcome may have changed. I keep thinking: Was there anything I could have done? he said. As a caring human being, you know this never should have happened. Katie Kull of the Post-Dispatch contributed. ST. LOUIS Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner spurned an ultimatum from Missouris attorney general on Thursday, declining to step down and claiming that calls for her resignation are a political stunt. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Wednesday gave Gardner the ultimatum to resign by noon Thursday or face removal through a "quo warranto" petition. She did not resign, and Bailey filed the petition. The city's chief prosecutor then spoke to reporters Thursday afternoon at a chaotic press conference in a packed mezzanine outside her office that featured shouting from a crowd of supporters, applause and heckling of reporters. It was the first time Gardner has spoken publicly since a chorus of allies and adversaries began calling for her resignation after years of scandals and upheaval. The tipping point was the case of Daniel Riley: a 21-year-old man accused of robbery who was still free on bond despite violating his bond dozens of times when he caused a crash this past weekend in downtown St. Louis that pinned an out-of-town volleyball player between two cars. Both of her legs were amputated. "The buck stops with my office and we did our job," Gardner said. "Could we do more? We could. But did we do nothing? That is not true." Gardner again blamed judges for not revoking Riley's bond and lamented that prosecutors' handling of the case sparked such political vitriol. "My office cannot make a judge revoke bond for a defendant," she said. "It is particularly frustrating that the willful ignorance has empowered the ongoing harassment of the hardworking men and women in my office who handle cases." She said the barrage of criticism was part of a pattern of attacks on her office from people who "have an agenda to make sure that my office does not succeed." When asked how she would respond to Mayor Tishaura O. Jones' comments Wednesday that Gardner had "lost the trust of the people," Gardner's supporters jumped to her defense. "She never lost it!" one woman shouted from the crowd. "We'll answer the question for her: We're here to support her, and we stand behind her 100%," another man yelled to boisterous applause. Ultimately, Gardner said the next election scheduled for fall 2024 would decide whether she'd lost the public's trust. "I think the people should speak for themselves," she said. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Missouri librarians are suing over a new law that bans sexually explicit material from schools, leading to districts removing hundreds of books including classic novels, human anatomy texts and Holocaust history books, according to a lawsuit filed in Jackson County Court. The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri is suing Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, in her role and as a representative of all county prosecutors across the state, on behalf of the Missouri Library Association and Missouri Association of School Librarians. The suit argues the law is unconstitutional, amounting to government censorship and the suppression of students First Amendment rights. The law, which was approved last year as part of a larger bill addressing sexual assault survivors rights, threatens librarians or other school employees who violate it with a misdemeanor, risking up to a year in jail or a $2,000 fine. The law presents specific peril for school librarians, but also endangers the work and livelihoods of public and academic librarians who work with K-12 schools in various capacities, said Joe Kohlburn with the Missouri Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee, in a news release. ... Librarians have been undermined politically in this state for long enough, and the fear of prosecution is an ongoing issue for keeping qualified professionals in Missouri, as well as bringing new people into the profession. After the law went into effect in late August, districts across the state pulled hundreds of titles from school libraries, many of which are authored by or feature characters who are people of color or identify as LGBTQ. The legislation specifically prohibits images in school materials that could be considered sexually explicit, such as depictions of genitals or sex acts. As a result, most of the banned books are graphic novels. The law does provide some exceptions, such as for works of art or science textbooks. Proponents of the legislation argued it would protect children from inappropriate content. In schools all across the country, weve seen this disgusting and inappropriate content making its way into our classrooms, state Sen. Rick Brattin, R-Harrisonville, said in a statement after the legislation passed last session. Instead of recognizing this as the threat it is, some schools are actually fighting parents to protect this filth. The last place our children should be seeing pornography is in our schools. In the Kansas City area, the Independence school district removed a dozen graphic novels from library shelves, including a comic book version of Kurt Vonneguts American classic Slaughterhouse-Five, the iconic graphic novel Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Blankets by Craig Thompson and Home After Dark by David Small, according to records previously obtained by The Star. The district also banned Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe and Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. Both graphic novels feature LGBTQ themes and have been targeted by conservative groups. In the North Kansas City district, nine books were removed, including the graphic novel version of Margaret Atwoods bestselling book The Handmaids Tale, This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson and the queer comic anthology Be Gay, Do Comics. In the St. Louis region, the Kirkwood district banned the graphic novel version of 1984, George Orwells signature novel of a society under dystopian government surveillance and control, according to a list compiled by PEN America of books removed in response to the law. The Wentzville school district, according to the list, removed several books related to the history of the Holocaust, including Hitlers Final Solution by John Allen, as well as Holocaust Camps and Killing Centers, Holocaust Rescue and Liberation and Holocaust Resistance, all authored by Craig E Blohm. As of November, about 300 titles had been banned from school libraries across the state, the lawsuit says. Missouri and federal law already prohibit and criminalize the provision of obscene and pornographic materials to minors, the ACLU says in its lawsuit. Districts and librarians follow school-board approved policies regarding criteria for selecting age-appropriate books, including standards that prohibit obscene materials. School librarians in Missouri serve as trained, certified experts when curating developmentally appropriate collections for our students, Melissa Corey, president of the Missouri Association of School Librarians, said in the release. This statute has created a chilling effect on school library collection development, resulting in fewer representative books within our collections, due to fear of prosecution. The lawsuit says school librarians across the state have begun censoring their collections over concerns they will be criminally charged, and are now often reluctant to add new books or materials reflecting diversity. Many school librarians, the suit says, were asked to look through entire collections of titles for visuals that could be deemed explicit sexual material and have been ordered to remove certain titles yet have not received any additional guidance on the application of (the law) and how it applies to any of the removed titles. The ACLU argues the law is unconstitutionally vague and broad, inviting discriminatory and arbitrary enforcement. The lawsuit says it could subject a parent who is a school employee to criminal prosecution for providing books or other materials to her own children or their friends who are students even if this is done in the privacy of her own home because the law places no limitations on when and where it applies. The ACLU is asking the court to find the law unconstitutional and render it unenforceable, or enter a judgment clarifying how and when the law applies to eliminate the concern of arbitrary enforcement. Over the past couple of years, GOP lawmakers, political action committees and conservative parent groups in the Kansas City metro and across the country have spearheaded challenges to school library books, mostly featuring racially diverse or LGBTQ characters. Librarians have raised concerns over harassment, with some questioning whether to stay in their jobs. Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has proposed a rule that would threaten public libraries state funding for making age-inappropriate materials available to minors. Ashcrofts office received 20,000 public comments on the proposal, including widespread criticism from librarians and free speech advocates who say it is an attack on intellectual freedom. In December, the ACLU of Missouri sued the Independence school district over its book removal policy, following a school board vote banning a book from elementary school libraries because it features a nonbinary character. The pending lawsuit aims to end the school districts policy of automatically removing library materials after it receives a challenge, before any review has taken place. Meanwhile the Lees Summit school district has received nearly 200 challenges to 90 book titles so far this year. The deluge of complaints, submitted by only six individuals, has led the district to form 28 committees to evaluate the challenged books and make recommendations on whether to retain or remove them, district spokeswoman Katy Bergen said. Story originally published at 12:20 p.m. Updated with new details. JEFFERSON CITY Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Thursday filed suit to remove St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner from office, calling her time as the city's top prosecutor "neglect in office." Bailey, a Republican, filed a "petition in quo warranto, a lawsuit that challenges an elected official's right to hold office, one minute after Gardner failed to meet his ultimatum to resign by noon Thursday. The filing emphasizes three claims against Gardner failure to prosecute cases by dismissing charges and allowing others to "languish," failure to keep victims informed and failure to review thousands of cases submitted by St. Louis police. Those actions, the suit claims, make Gardner "a usurper who must be removed from office." The move comes as Gardner, a Democrat, faces a chorus of public officials, including former allies, calling for her to step down. Criticism over her six years in office reached a tipping point this week after a 17-year-old volleyball player from Tennessee lost her legs in a crash involving a man out of jail, despite violating bond on pending robbery charges dozens of times. Gardner held a press conference Thursday packed with supporters who applauded, heckled reporters and asked questions. Gardner said prosecutors did make three oral motions to revoke bond for the man involved in the crash, which are not reflected in court records. She described Bailey's suit as an effort to bypass voters who elected her. The attorney general, as others, used this unfortunate incident and tragic happening to this young lady as a political stunt," Gardner said, adding that Bailey wants to "use politics to stop the voice of the people of the City of St. Louis." The lawsuit will launch a series of hearings over Gardner's record and right to hold elected office in St. Louis Circuit Court. Should she be removed, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, said he will appoint a replacement. "This is about the rule of law and about justice," Bailey said in a Thursday press conference in Jefferson City. "Instead of protecting victims, which is her obligation, she's creating more victims by neglect in office." Bailey said his office will move as "expeditiously as possible" in their effort to remove Gardner, but the St. Louis courts will control the timeline of the removal case. "We will present our evidence and try and get our day in court as quickly as possible," Bailey said Thursday. Gardner said Thursday her office will continue to focus on prosecuting criminals. "We're going to fight very hard for justice in spite of the vitriol, the hate, the racist attacks, the known manipulation of the court procedures to make sure our office fails," she said. The lawsuit's claims The attorney general's lawsuit opens with the recent case of Janae Edmondson, the Tennessee teen who was pinned between two cars and had both of her legs amputated after a downtown St. Louis crash Saturday. She was visiting St. Louis for a volleyball tournament at the Americas Center. Daniel Riley, 21, is charged with speeding on a downtown street and causing the crash. He was out on bond despite at least 51 bond violations for a 2020 robbery charge that was dismissed and refiled last year. "Daniel Riley never should have been driving that car," the attorney general's lawsuit says, calling the teen's injuries "the direct result of years of willful neglect" from Gardner's office. The suit also highlights large homicide caseloads for prosecutors, falling rates of charges filed and a backlog of more than 3,000 cases submitted by police that Gardner's office has failed to review for charges. The suit also focuses on the case of Brandon Campbell, a murder suspect who was released after his case was dismissed in July 2021. Gardner's office had assigned the case to a prosecutor on maternity leave who failed to attend multiple court hearings. The family of the victim, Randy Moore, told the Post-Dispatch that no one from Gardners office notified them of the dismissal, nor Campbell's release. The suit calls the case an example of "grave dereliction" of prosecutors' duties. Campbell was eventually re-arrested. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 15 years in prison this month. The suit concluded with a request for the court to issue a preliminary order immediately removing Gardner from office, though some past examples of "quo warranto" hearings in Missouri have taken months. The filing Thursday is not the first time the rare maneuver has been used to challenge a prosecutor in Missouri. Former Attorney General Chris Koster, a Democrat, used the same approach to seek the removal of Dent County prosecutor Jessica Sparks in 2009. Sparks resigned before the case concluded. Peter Joy, a law professor and the head of Washington University's Criminal Justice Clinic, said the case against Gardner is a difficult example of a "quo warranto" suit because the attorney general alleges neglect something harder to prove than a crime. "Even if you demonstrate that, in fact, the person has been doing a bad job, the question is, does it rise to the level of an extraordinary intervention to remove an elected official?" he said. Removing her from office could have broader implications, Joy added. "I think most judges would be concerned that if we say neglect alone is sufficient to remove someone ... we might see more of those actions being brought from other people who don't like the job that somebody's doing," Joy said. Gov. Parson said Thursday that should Gardner be removed, he will work with city officials to find "find the most qualified candidate and try to put him in that position. Parson argued the St. Louis prosecutor's role is a statewide issue. I will tell you its not a St. Louis issue. Thousands upon thousands of Missourians go to that city every day, Parson said. It affects all of us. St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporters Katie Kull and Kurt Erickson contributed to this report. Carmine Appice, one of the most innovative drummers in rock n roll history, whose style inspired many other legends throughout his nearly si JEFFERSON CITY Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said late Wednesday that St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner would face removal from office if she didnt resign by noon Thursday. Bailey, a Republican, said he would initiate quo warranto proceedings to remove Gardner if she didnt quit. The announcement adds to mounting pressure facing Gardner, a Democrat, after a 17-year-old volleyball player from Tennessee lost her legs in an accident involving a man out of jail with pending robbery charges. Gardner's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday evening. Former Attorney General Chris Koster, a Democrat, used the manuever to seek the removal of the Dent County prosecutor in 2009. The action centers around whether a person has forfeited the legal right to hold public office. As Attorney General, I want to protect the people of St. Louis, and that includes protecting victims of crime and finding justice for them, Bailey said in a statement Wednesday night. Instead of protecting victims, Circuit Attorney Gardner is creating them. My office will do everything in its power to restore order, and eliminate the chaos in St. Louis caused by Kim Gardners neglect of her office. Bailey said Gardner has a long history of failure to prosecute violent crime, with a backlog of at least 3,000 cases. It is time for the Circuit Attorney to go and for the rule of law and justice to prevail, he said. Janae Edmondson, of Tennessee, was pinned between two cars and had both of her legs amputated after the crash this past weekend. She was visiting St. Louis for a volleyball tournament at the Americas Center. Daniel Riley, 21, is accused of speeding on a downtown street and causing the crash. He was out on bond for a 2020 robbery charge that was dismissed and re-filed last year. Gardner, first elected in 2016, has faced ongoing criticism for understaffing and dysfunction in her office that has hampered prosecutions. JEFFERSON CITY A measure to allow the governor to name a special prosecutor for St. Louis appeared to gain momentum Wednesday in the wake of a high-profile car accident that left a visiting 17-year-old volleyball player in critical condition. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardners office has come under fire for failing to try to put the man charged with hitting Janae Edmondson back in jail even though he violated the conditions of his bond more than 50 times. Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden on Wednesday called on Gardner to step down, saying she was incompetent and grossly unfit to hold her office. She should resign or I will systematically and aggressively work with my colleagues in the #MOLeg to ensure her incompetence isnt putting more lives in danger, Rowden, R-Columbia, said Wednesday on Twitter. The people of #STL deserve better and Missouri deserves better, Rowden said. House Speaker Dean Plocher late Wednesday also called on Gardner to resign. Her willful neglect of duty has effectively resulted in her abdicating the duties of her office, the Des Peres Republican said in a statement. This must end immediately. I stand with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle who are outraged at her inactions and recognize the safety of our communities must come first. The Senate has yet to act on legislation that would allow Gov. Mike Parson to appoint special prosecutors in St. Louis and other jurisdictions who would have exclusive jurisdiction over seven types of violent crime. The House already approved the measure. Rep. Alex Riley, a Springfield Republican and member of the House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee, said the incident suggested the measure was needed. Those are the types of things that certainly suggest theres a need for ... this type of legislation, Riley said. It seems like what weve seen from the past five or six years that shes been in office is things arent getting better; theyre getting worse. Under the proposed legislation, sponsored in the House by Rep. Lane Roberts, R-Joplin, the special prosecutor would have exclusive jurisdiction over first- and second-degree robbery cases, as well as vehicle hijacking. Rep. Donna Baringer, D-St. Louis, was a member of a bipartisan working group that unanimously recommended legislation allowing a special prosecutor where there is demonstrated need. On Wednesday, she said, I was heartbroken, sick to my stomach and then angry. This person ... should not have been behind the wheel of a car. Baringer said yes when asked if the accident showed why St. Louis needs a special prosecutor. What happened to Janae Edmondson and her family is a tragedy and the thought that it could have been avoided breaks my heart, said Sen. Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis. Our prosecutor must explain how someone can violate the terms of their bond over 50 times without consequence. Roberts added, Republicans were already determined to pass legislation which strips local control from prosecutors. This legislation is opposed by the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys because it is, broadly, a bad policy. However, following this tragedy, the senate pro tem has stated that this legislation is a top priority for him and his caucus. Daniel Riley, 21, was out on bond for a 2020 robbery charge that was dismissed and refiled last year. A spokesperson for Gardner defended the office on Tuesday, saying the case was dropped and refiled because the victim died before trial, throwing a wrench into prosecution. The spokesperson also said the final ruling on whether a suspects bond is revoked is in the hands of a judge. But a judges order from the day the case was dropped shows the victim was alive and present for the hearing, and prosecutors werent ready to proceed. And court officials said they never knew Riley violated his bond, because prosecutors never filed a motion to revoke it. Instead, Daniel Riley was left free, and police say he sped down a downtown street this past weekend, causing a crash that pinned Edmondson between two cars. Both of her legs were amputated after the crash. Every time a violation was filed, the assigned prosecutor and defense attorney of record received a notification via email according to normal procedure, said courts spokesperson Joel Currier. However, the prosecutor, to date, has never filed a motion. In a statement late Tuesday night, the circuit attorneys office said the controversy was an attempt by those who choose to twist the facts to take advantage of this situation for their own selfish motives. Updated at 3:21 p.m. Story updated Feb. 27, 2023 to include charging information. ST. LOUIS Police on Thursday identified a woman found stabbed to death this week inside a home in south St. Louis. Police arrested her 19-year-old grandson. Officers were called just before 10:35 a.m. Tuesday to the 4100 block of Weber Road in the Boulevard Heights neighborhood after a man said he'd stabbed his grandmother, according to a police report. They found Carolyn Henning, 80, inside a home, police said. She was bleeding from the chest and neck. Medics pronounced her dead at the scene. Michael S. Henning Jr., the victim's 19-year-old grandson, was charged Feb. 22 with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death. Police discovered the grandson with his hands covered in blood near his grandmother's body, an officer wrote in charging documents. He then told officers he had killed his grandmother while being recorded on police body cameras, the documents say. EDITOR'S NOTE: Story updates address and victim's approximate age, correcting previous information released by police. ST. LOUIS As her office faced staffing shortages and a mounting case backlog, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner brushed off multiple offers for help from prosecutors in the St. Louis region and across the state, prosecutors told the Post-Dispatch this week. A chorus of elected officials are now calling for Gardner's resignation, after a man who violated his bond more than 50 times was allowed to remain free. Then, on Saturday, he sped down a downtown street, crashing into an oncoming car and critically injuring an out-of-town volleyball player. The state's attorney general on Wednesday gave Gardner an ultimatum: Resign or I will remove you. Gardner's office for years has faced criticism for staffing shortages and organizational dysfunction that have hampered prosecutions. A bill moving through the Missouri Legislature would allow Gov. Mike Parson to appoint a special prosecutor to handle violent crimes in St. Louis, stripping Gardners office of most of her power. But for years the office has spurned offers from other prosecutors, including St. Charles County and the Missouri Attorney General's Office, who offered to help clear the backlog of cases in St. Louis. In 2019, St. Charles' chief prosecutor, Tim Lohmar, reached out to Gardner's office as president of the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys to offer to send prosecutors from across the state to step in to alleviate the workload on her attorneys and clear up a "logjam." The St. Louis region is the economic driver of the state, Lohmar said, and the ripple effects of crime in the city spread throughout the region. He said it was important to offer help. "She was receptive initially, but it just never went anywhere," he said. Roughly two years later, Lohmar reached out again on behalf of his office in St. Charles and offered to help clear a backlog that had accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic. "She called me or I called her and that was the point where I solicited: 'If there's anything we can do, always let us know,'" he said. "Nothing really happened after that." In 2020, state lawmakers considered a bill that would have allowed the attorney general's office to step in if police requested an intervention on a case. The measure was roundly criticized by Democrats as an attack on Gardner's office and did not pass. In August 2021, Gardner's office asked to be disqualified from nearly a dozen cases, including three death penalty cases, arguing it was a "conflict of interest" that staffers were facing a mounting backlog of serious cases following the pandemic. They suggested appointing attorneys from other counties and the state attorney general's office to take the load. But two judges found the office's inability to handle its caseload did not count as a disqualifying conflict. They did, however, say that Gardner's office could ask for help from the attorney general's office or the governor. That's a common practice in other counties, especially smaller jurisdictions, where prosecutors regularly receive help from the attorney general's office, said Locke Thompson, Cole County's chief prosecutor. "At any time we feel like we need it, we're not afraid to ask for an assist if we feel like it's necessary," he said. Lohmar said prosecutors from other jurisdictions or the attorney general's office usually enter into a case as a co-counsel with a local circuit attorney and end up handling the brunt of the work. "Any office can always ask for an assist," Thompson said. It was unclear if any other local jurisdictions offered help to St. Louis. A spokesman for St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell said on Wednesday that Bell does not comment on Gardner's office. ST. LOUIS The man accused of speeding downtown and crashing into a 17-year-old volleyball player this past weekend was out on bond when the crash happened despite violating the conditions of his bond in an earlier robbery case more than 50 times. Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardners office came under renewed scrutiny this week for the 2020 robbery case of 21-year-old Daniel Riley, now accused of hitting Janae Edmondson, of Tennessee, and pinning her between two cars on Saturday. Both her legs were amputated after the crash. Riley was driving a 2023 Audi Q5; police said they had no record that the car was stolen. Heres everything we know about Riley so far: Riley was born in Chicago, but court filings say hes lived in St. Louis for at least 10 years, primarily with his mother in the citys Covenant Blu-Grand Center neighborhood, just south of Jeff-Vander-Lou. Court records indicate he graduated from Vashon High School in 2020, but a spokesperson for St. Louis Public Schools could not immediately confirm he attended the school. According to 2020 robbery charges, Riley robbed a man who intended to sell him a gun. He arrived at the meetup with two other men and got into the victims car, court documents say. The person with Riley pointed an assault rifle at the victim, and they demanded he hand over the gun. He was charged with first-degree robbery and armed criminal action, but prosecutors said in court last year they werent ready for Rileys trial. Charges were dropped and refiled. Riley was released from jail in August 2022 and confined to house arrest. He violated the conditions of his GPS monitoring device, which dictated where he could go, 51 times. The prosecutors office never filed a motion to revoke his bond. Riley has three children younger than 4. He worked at Panera for about a year until this past June. He has been unemployed since then. In November, he moved to a home in Shrewsbury. About a month earlier, he had left a voicemail with his GPS monitoring official that said: Hey, we have to move out of this house due to the situation with the house getting shot up. We have 30 days to move. Ill give you guys a call back in the morning. Riley has no prior criminal history in adult court other than the robbery case. State law prohibits juvenile records from being released without a court order. Of the dozens of filings documenting bond violations, the details of only a few were not under seal. His first recorded violation occurred the same month he was released from jail, and a short docket description indicates he violated the GPS parameters of his release. In all, 33 violations were filed through the end of 2022, and 17 had been filed this year to date. Some of those violations include his monitors battery going low or dying. In a violation filed by a court office on Sept. 27, Rileys GPS pinged at various times throughout north St. Louis city and county along the Interstate 70 corridor and in south St. Louis between 10 p.m. on Sept. 25 and early Sept. 27. In another unsealed filing on Jan. 3, the GPS service reported that he was on Interstates 70 and 44 between downtown St. Louis and Shrewsbury. Rileys attorney, Daniel Diemer, did not return a call for comment on the cases. Katie Kull of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. ST. LOUIS Amid calls for her resignation, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner has pointed blame back at the courts and even named a judge she says denied her office's requests to put Daniel Riley back behind bars. Gardner, in a statement issued late Wednesday, said her office made requests to a judge to keep Riley in jail or strengthen the terms of his bond, but that the judge denied or ignored the requests. Just last month, the statement said, her office requested a hearing to address Riley's violation of his bond, but received no response. "Bond violations and decisions do not solely rest on the shoulders of prosecutors," she said in the statement. "In this matter, prosecutors asked on several occasions for higher bonds, and those requests were denied." 22nd Circuit Court spokesman Joel Currier declined comment and said he could not discuss the 2020 robbery case by law because it was a closed case. Gardners office has come under fire for failing to try to put Riley, charged with crashing into Tennessee teen volleyball player Janae Edmondson and critically injuring her, back in jail even though he violated the conditions of his bond more than 50 times. Riley, 21, was out on bond for a 2020 robbery charge that was dismissed and refiled last year. Gardner had previously said the robbery case was dropped and refiled because the victim died before trial, throwing a wrench into prosecution. The spokesperson also said the final ruling on whether a suspects bond is revoked is in the hands of a judge. But a judges order from the day the case was dropped shows the victim was alive and present for the hearing, and prosecutors werent ready to proceed. And court officials said they never knew Riley violated his bond, because prosecutors never filed a motion to revoke it. Gardner, in her statement late Wednesday, hit back. Her statement said Circuit Court Judge Bryan L. Hettenbach, who oversaw the robbery case, twice denied requests from her office, first for a Dec. 12, 2021, request for a bond revocation, and, second, for a short delay to the July 2022 trial date in order to ensure witnesses would be available. And when Hettenbach released Riley on house arrest last year, Gardner's office opposed the decision, she said in the statement. Gardner's statement did not further address the office's belief, earlier this week, that the victim and witness in the case had died, when he had not. Still, Gardner wasn't the only person saying the court deserved more scrutiny. Terry Niehoff, who defended Riley in the robbery case, wrote in a blog post Thursday that Gardner's office did in fact "bring to the Court's attention Riley's numerous bond violations" and that a judge denied Gardner's request to postpone the trial last year. "The prevailing sentiment thats being reported is that this accident could have been avoided if only the Circuit Attorneys Office had done their job properly and filed a motion to revoke Rileys bond," Niehoff wrote. "But thats simply not true." Niehoff added in an interview later Thursday that he believes the judge was right to deny Gardner's bond revocation request. Riley was living at home and going to school and his violations were minor, Niehoff said. "In this particular case, when people are saying her office should have filed motions to have the bond revoked her office did bring that up to the judge," Niehoff said in the interview. "I know because I was the lawyer on the case; I know it was reviewed by the judge. I know the judge, after reviewing all of it, decided that the violations, although numerous, were not serious enough to take him off bond." "They could have filed motions everyday," he continued. "It wouldnt have made any difference." Niehoff, however, called Gardner "incompetent" and said she should not have been reelected. "I find it ironic," he continued, "that none of the genuine issues with her management has brought about her downfall, but what very well might is a situation where her office really did nothing wrong." Gardner's office did not respond to a request for more details. JEFFERSON CITY A House committee on Thursday signed off on a plan to return control of the St. Louis Police Department to the state. The vote by the House Crime Prevention and Public Safety Committee sets up likely debate on the House floor. Returning the police department to state control would represent a landmark reversal in state policy: Missouri voters in 2012 placed the department under local control for the first time in 150 years, the result of years of lobbying by St. Louis officials. The legislation would strip power from St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, who has been criticized for her management of the police department, which has struggled to recruit and retain officers. But unlike earlier versions of the legislation, the measure advanced Thursday places Jones on a five-member board of police commissioners, said Rep. Brad Christ, R-south St. Louis County. He said the four gubernatorial appointees, who would need Senate confirmation, would be city residents. Christ, who is handling the House legislation, said the most recent version excludes police who work for city-owned St. Louis Lambert International Airport from the state takeover. The airport police are separate from the St. Louis Police Department; previous merger talks stalled over disputes about retirement benefits, pay and other matters. Asked about the legislation Thursday, Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, was noncommittal. Well see how that all works out, Parson said of the move. I dont know what that looks like at the end of the day. The move is strongly opposed by the Jones administration. In an appearance Sunday on the Rev. Al Sharptons PoliticsNation weekend MSNBC program, the mayor called the move to wrest control of the city police a slap in the face to Missouri voters (who) voted overwhelmingly 11 years ago to return the police department to local control. Jones compared the move to one by Mississippi state officials to create a new court district in Jackson, the Black majority capital city, saying it was part of a concerted attack to try to take away leadership from Black leaders around this country. During a Senate committee hearing last month on a related bill, both new St. Louis police Chief Robert Tracy and outgoing city Public Safety Director Dan Isom said the change is not needed. Tracy, a former police chief in Wilmington, Delaware, who was hired by St. Louis in December, urged lawmakers to give him a chance. Ive only been here a couple weeks, he said. Give the department a chance. Isom, who served as police chief while the department was still under state control, told lawmakers there was no evidence to support the view that putting the state back in charge will have any measurable impact on crime. I think the most important thing is strong leadership in the police department, Isom told lawmakers. The push for state control coincides with lawmaker efforts to seize power from embattled St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner, who faced an ultimatum Wednesday from Attorney General Andrew Bailey: that she resign or be removed from office using a rarely used courtroom maneuver to oust officials deemed to have forfeited their office. Unease with Gardner reached an inflection point after a 17-year-old volleyball player visiting from Tennessee was critically injured, losing both legs, as the result of an accident police say was caused by a man speeding downtown, out of jail on bond on a robbery charge, who had violated the conditions of his bond more than 50 times. Jones, facing the state control bill, said Wednesday on Gardner, shes lost the trust of the people and that she really needs to do some soul-searching of whether or not she wants to continue as Circuit Attorney. A news release Thursday by the St. Louis Police Officers Association said the move to oust Gardner doesnt end the need for state control of the police. While this step to remove Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner from office is a significant move to address the crime problem in St. Louis, the release said, we still believe stabilizing the Police Department through the return to state control is an essential piece to making St. Louis safe. If Gardner did resign, the situation would mirror the resignation of former Circuit Attorney George Peach in 1992, who left under a cloud of scandal. Peach had been prosecutor since 1977. In March 1992, Peach had been arrested in a suite of the St. Louis Airport Marriott hotel after offering $150 to a woman for sex. The woman was a St. Louis County detective. Then-Gov. John Ashcroft, a Republican, named fellow Republican Richard Swatek to serve the rest of Peachs term. Updated at 4:22 p.m. JEFFERSON CITY If St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner resigns or is removed from office, Republican Gov. Mike Parson will have the ability to appoint her replacement. On Thursday, the governor said he doesnt have a specific person in mind for the job, but will speak with officials in the city and in legal circles to find the right fit. Well work with the city administrators. Well be talking to the mayors office, Parson said. Im going to find the most qualified candidate and try to put him in that position. The governors comments came hours before Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey filed a lawsuit to remove Gardner, a Democrat, from the office shes been elected to twice by voters in the city. Although Gardner has been in the crosshairs for her entire tenure as the citys top prosecutor, a car accident involving a man out of jail with pending robbery charges has galvanized Republicans and Democrats against her. The accident resulted in a 17-year-old volleyball player from Tennessee losing her legs while on a visit to the city. Later, at a press conference at the Governors Mansion, Parson said he spoke to Jones Wednesday night. We had a very professional conversation, you know, about whats going on up there. And I told the mayor to be right honest about it, you know, Im gonna be working with her as we go through the process. If something should change, if the prosecuting attorney resigns, whats going to happen then, you know? Parson said. The governor, a former county sheriff, said he wanted to make sure the mayor knew Im just not gonna go out here and do something on my own. Parson told reporters he and Jones didnt discuss names of possible replacements, but said they spoke about how the process would play out. She wants to have some input, Parson said. Its a very preliminary conversation that we had. And No. 1, Kim Gardner hasnt resigned. Nick Desideri, a spokesman for Jones, said, The mayor appreciated the governors call. Parson said he supported Baileys move to oust Gardner and said elected officials have to meet certain requirements to keep their jobs. If the record shows you havent been very good at that, then at some point there is going to be an action. And I believe were at that point, Parson said. Parson said his issues with Gardner are about the state, not the person. I will tell you its not a St. Louis issue. Thousands upon thousands of Missourians go to that city every day, Parson said. It affects all of us. Shes not doing what shes supposed to be doing as prosecutor of St. Louis city. I do think she should resign, Parson said. St. Louis is such a great city. We want people to go there and feel safe. House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, who has called for Gardner to resign, said legislative efforts to remove Gardner will continue if she does not step down. The time has come. We have to move on, Plocher said. The buck has to stop somewhere. A bill pending in the Missouri Legislature would give Parson the power to appoint a special prosecutor to handle violent crimes in St. Louis, superseding Gardners discretion. But, if she vacates the office before lawmakers can act, Plocher said the momentum behind the legislation would lose steam and likely be shelved. Plocher downplayed allegations that the Republican Legislature is targeting a Democrat-run city. St. Louisans are feeling under siege from crime. We want St. Louis to be successful, Plocher said. Although many Democrats from the city agree that Gardner should resign, some Democrats say Republicans are playing politics. I feel like the folks on the other side of the aisle are using this as an opportunity to push a political agenda, said House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield. Rep. LaKeySha Bosley, D-St. Louis, also said Republicans are using the incident to interfere in the operation of St. Louis. This tragedy is being politicized, Bosley said. Jack Suntrup of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. Updated at 4:30 p.m. _____ ST. LOUIS Mayor Tishaura O. Jones says Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner has lost the trust of the people in the wake of a high-profile car crash that left a visiting 17-year-old volleyball player in critical condition. Gardner's office has taken blistering criticism for not moving to put the man charged with hitting the Tennessee teen back in jail even though he violated the conditions of his bond dozens of times before the crash. And at a press conference Wednesday, Jones joined the chorus. "This incident and others have highlighted the fact that some improvements need to be made in her office," Jones said. "And she really needs to do some soul-searching of whether or not she wants to continue as Circuit Attorney, because she's lost the trust of the people." Jones would not say whether Gardner had lost her trust personally. But she said a statement from Gardner's office issued late Tuesday night that called for an end to "finger-pointing" was disturbing. "Accountability isn't pointing fingers," Jones said. "Accountability is when something goes wrong, you take accountability for it and say, 'This is my mess-up' and 'How can we work together to fix it?' All of us have to be at the table to make sure that this doesn't happen again." Jones said missteps by Gardners office have damaged the citys reputation, and she linked those missteps to ongoing efforts in Jefferson City to put the state in charge of city police, which Jones vehemently opposes. Jones' comments came on the same day that the Missouri Senate president, Caleb Rowden, called on Gardner to resign, saying she was incompetent and grossly unfit to hold her office. Janae Edmondson, of Tennessee, was pinned between two cars and had both of her legs amputated after the crash this past weekend. She was visiting St. Louis for a volleyball tournament at the Americas Center. She remains in critical condition. Daniel Riley, 21, is accused of speeding on a downtown street and causing the crash. He was out on bond for a 2020 robbery charge that was dismissed and re-filed last year. Gardner, first elected in 2016, has faced ongoing criticism for understaffing and dysfunction in her office that has hampered prosecutions. Editor's Note: This story has been updated to correct the age of Janae Edmondson. Rock and TV icon Bret Michaels will be making a return appearance to the New York State Fair. With hits that include Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Nothin But A Good Time, Talk Dirty to Me, and a crowd-favorite cover of Your Mama Dont Dance, Michaels is set to perform at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 29, on the Chevy Court Stage. Michaels is also known for starring in reality shows including "Rock of Love with Bret Michaels," "Bret Michaels Rock My RV" and "Celebrity Apprentice." The fair said that the August appearance will be Michaels' third at the fair. He most recently performed at Chevy Court in 2017 as a solo artist, and played the grandstand with Poison and Cinderella in 2002. Bret Michaels has been entertaining fans for three-generations, and we are thrilled that hes joining us again for the Great New York State Fair, Interim Fair Director Sean Hennessey said in a news release. Michaels encapsulates the energy and star power that our audience loves and, above all, hes an awesome entertainer! The fair begins Wednesday, Aug. 23, and continues through Monday, Sept. 4. The Chevrolet Music Series schedule will feature daily 1 and 6 p.m. performances at Chevy Court (located near Gate 1), and 8 p.m. performances at the Chevy Park Experience Stage (located at the rear of the fairgrounds). On select days, there will be 2 p.m. performances at the Experience Stage. As always, all concerts are free with admission. To date, Chevrolet Music Festival concerts announced include: Chubby Checker, 1 p.m. Aug. 23, Chevy Court stage Theory of a Deadman, 8 p.m. Aug. 24, Chevy Park stage Herman's Hermits, 1 p.m. Aug. 28, Chevy Court stage Tommy James and the Shondells, 1 p.m. Aug. 29, Chevy Court stage Tyler Hubbard, 8 p.m. Aug. 29, Chevy Park stage Chapel Hart, 6 p.m. Aug. 30, Chevy Court stage ST. LOUIS Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner faced an unprecedented barrage of criticism and a threat of removal from state and local leaders on Wednesday over a car crash last weekend that left a teen in critical condition. One of the regions top business advocates called Gardners lack of action unforgiveable. An area county executive called for state intervention. Even Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, once one of Gardners most prominent allies, said the prosecutors office must do better. Updates: She really needs to do some soul-searching of whether or not she wants to continue as circuit attorney, because shes lost the trust of the people, Jones said. By days end, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced that Gardner had until noon Thursday to resign. If she refuses, she will face immediate removal proceedings, Bailey said in a tweet, citing a provision in state law that can allow him to remove elected officials. Gardners office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday evening. Gardner, who became the citys first Black top prosecutor in 2017, has been under fire for years. Defense attorneys accused her of misconduct in her handling of a case against former Gov. Eric Greitens. The police union criticized her for refusing to accept criminal cases from certain officers. And judges have raised concerns about chronic understaffing in her office leading to delays, and, in at least one case, the dismissal of a murder charge after prosecutors failed to show up for hearings. Republican state lawmakers have even proposed giving a special prosecutor power to handle violent crimes in the city. But Saturdays incident struck a new chord. Daniel Riley, 21, was supposed to be at home on house arrest. He was awaiting trial for a 2020 robbery charge. The trial was originally scheduled for last summer, but prosecutors appeared in court to announce they werent ready for trial. Instead, they dismissed and refiled the charges, and Riley was released. He subsequently violated terms of his bond dozens of times, but prosecutors never moved to lock him up. Then, on Saturday night, police say, Riley was speeding down St. Charles Street, one block south of Washington Avenue, when he failed to yield at the intersection with North 11th Street, collided with a Chevrolet Malibu, and hit a parked car. 17-year-old Janae Edmondson, a multi-sport athlete in town for a volleyball tournament, was pinned between the cars. Doctors had to amputate both of her legs after the crash. Gardners office initially said the trial was delayed by a dead victim, who was to serve as a witness at the trial. And revoking bond, it said, was a judges responsibility, not hers. It turned out the victim was alive. And court officials said they never knew Riley violated his bond, because prosecutors never filed a motion to revoke it. Still, comments from politicians that day were generally measured. Jones, for instance, released a statement saying her office had connected with Gardners, and the courts, to review the processes that led up to this preventable tragedy. Then, late Tuesday night, Gardners office released a statement lashing out at critics and calling for an end to finger-pointing. Jones called a press conference on Wednesday, where she said she found the statement disturbing. Accountability isnt pointing fingers, she said. Accountability is when something goes wrong, you take accountability for it and say, This is my mess-up and How can we work together to fix it? All of us have to be at the table to make sure that this doesnt happen again, she said. Gardners missteps had damaged the citys reputation, Jones said, and spurred ongoing efforts in Jefferson City to put the state in charge of city police, which Jones vehemently opposes. Regional leaders piled on. The ongoing failures of the Circuit Attorneys office with regard to the individual involved in this case as well as a litany of other cases that have not been brought to justice are unforgiveable, said Jason Hall, CEO of Greater St. Louis Inc., the regions main business lobby. It impacts the entire region, said St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann. People are already saying, The volleyball tournament are they gonna come back next year? St. Louis Aldermanic President Megan Green, who had reserved comment earlier, also spoke at Jones press conference and seconded the mayors comments that Gardners office had to improve. She later released a statement saying she shared the frustration of city residents with our Circuit Attorneys oversight that contributed to this tragedy. Alderman Marlene Davis, of Jeff-Vander-Lou, said Gardner needed to face the reality of her situation and accept help from the legislature. If she cannot work in that collaborative way, maybe theres something different that she might want to do to support her community, Davis said. Alderman Mike Gras, of the Central West End, called for Gardner to resign. He said he had supported both of Gardners campaigns and once shared her concerns that racism was at the root of much of the criticism she had faced. But he said in a statement that her performance in office had only gotten worse, and that he was disheartened by her attempt to avoid responsibility for the Riley incident. Our City deserves a circuit attorney that will represent our interests in the criminal justice system and Circuit Attorney Gardner has shown clearly that she cannot, he said. Alderman Joe Vollmer, of the Hill, put it more simply: Shes a disaster. She needs to resign. Bailey, the Republican attorney general, made his announcement just after 6 p.m. on Wednesday. He said, if Gardner didnt quit, he would initiate quo warranto proceedings a legal action that centers around a persons right to hold office. As Attorney General, I want to protect the people of St. Louis, and that includes protecting victims of crime and finding justice for them, Bailey said in a press release. Instead of protecting victims, Circuit Attorney Gardner is creating them, he continued. My office will do everything in its power to restore order, and eliminate the chaos in St. Louis caused by Kim Gardners neglect of her office. It is time for the Circuit Attorney to go, he said, and for the rule of law and justice to prevail. Jacob Barker and Jack Suntrup of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. Missouri attorney generals ultimatum to Kim Gardner: Resign or face removal from office Andrew Bailey, a Republican, said he would initiate legal proceedings to remove Gardner as St. Louis circuit attorney. The move comes after an accident downtown left a teen in critical condition. What we know about the suspected driver in volleyball player crash in downtown St. Louis Here's everything we know about the 21-year-old man accused of hitting and critically injuring a 17-year-old girl visiting St. Louis for a volleyball tournament this past weekend. Dad of robbery victim says St. Louis prosecutors thought son was dead because of case mix-up St. Louis prosecutors told the father this week they confused his son, a victim of a 2020 robbery, with another victim with the same first name who had died. Man charged with hitting teen in downtown St. Louis violated bond more than 50 times St. Louis prosecutors came under fire Tuesday for failing to try to put a man back in jail despite violating the conditions of his bond more than 50 times. ST. LOUIS After years of high-profile controversy, Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardners fate could be decided with an obscure provision of state law. Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Thursday filed a quo warranto petition challenging Gardners right to hold office. Bailey, like officials across the state, was outraged over the handling of a case connected to a car crash on Saturday downtown that left a teen in critical condition. Most such challenges are fairly straightforward, said Michael Wolff, former chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court: An official has committed a crime, moved out of the jurisdiction or done something to become ineligible to continue in the job. Baileys threat against Gardner is different. Bailey isnt saying shes not eligible for office. Hes saying shes unfit because shes not doing her job. Wolff said Bailey will likely have to work to prove that. When somebodys doing a lousy job, thats usually for the voters to figure out, Wolff said. Peter Joy, a law professor and the head of Washington Universitys Criminal Justice Clinic, said the case against Gardner could have broader implications. I think most judges would be concerned that if we say neglect alone is sufficient to remove someone ... we might see more of those actions being brought from other people who dont like the job that somebodys doing, he said. Bailey, in a news conference Thursday morning, said his office had compiled a number of issues with Gardners office establishing neglect in office. And in his official filing Thursday afternoon, Bailey accused Gardner of neglecting her duties by failing to properly prosecute violent crimes, failing to keep victims informed of the status of cases, and allowing cases to languish, building a backlog of more than 3,000. He said those actions trigger a provision in state law that says officials who willfully neglect or fail to perform official duties shall thereby forfeit his office and may be removed therefrom. There is precedent for such a challenge. In 1989, St. Louis License Collector Billie Boykins was removed from office after an audit revealed she had failed to collect at least $3.7 million in business taxes. Then-Circuit Attorney George Peach filed a quo warranto lawsuit in April that year alleging willful neglect of her duties. He also said Boykins was frequently absent from the office. A judge heard evidence in the case during a two-day hearing that June, and the Missouri Supreme Court ousted Boykins that November. And in 2009, then-Attorney General Chris Koster filed to remove Jessica Sparks, the top prosecutor in Dent County, in southeastern Missouri, under the same provision in state law. His petition cited multiple failings reminiscent of the allegations against Gardner. Kosters office said Sparks had failed to notify victims of the status of cases, showed up unprepared for multiple hearings, and refused, due to a budget dispute, to file more than 250 pending felony cases. Sparks submitted her resignation to the governor a week later, citing unspecified medical reasons. WASHINGTON Russia's president and the deposed leader of Afghanistan were among the top gift givers to President Joe Biden and his family in 2021, according to federal documents published on Thursday. In happier times between all three countries, Vladimir Putin gave Biden a $12,000 lacquer writing box and pen when they met at a highly anticipated summit in Geneva, Switzerland in June 2021. Later that month, then-Afghan President Mohammed Ashraf Ghani and his wife gave the U.S. president and first lady Jill Biden silk rugs worth an estimated $28,800. Relations between the U.S. and Russia turned sour shortly after the Geneva meeting and plummeted since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February. Ghani, meanwhile, fled Afghanistan shortly after the U.S. withdrew from the country on Biden's orders in August of 2021. In June Biden also received a brass and lapis lazuli jewelry box worth an estimated $1,150 from Abdullah Abdullah, who was then considered to be the number 2 in the Afghan government. Ghani gave Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin a carpet valued at $2,650 in March. The details were contained in the State Department's annual accounting of gifts to U.S. officials from world leaders posted on the website of the Federal Register on Thursday. The formal publication of the list, covering 2021, will come on Friday. All of the Putin and Ghani gifts were transferred to the National Archives, a requirement for any gift to a U.S. official valued at more than $415. The recipient has the option of paying the estimated value and keeping the gift. However, Biden decided to retain, at least for official display, a photograph of the late British monarch Queen Elizabeth II. The photo in a silver frame was presented to the president on the occasion of a Group of Seven summit in southeast England and is estimated to be worth $2,200. According to the records, Putin gave Biden a "Kholuy Lacquer Miniature Workshop Desk Writing Set and Pen" on the occasion of their meeting in Geneva on June 16, 2021. There are no other gifts from Putin or other Russian officials to Biden or U.S. officials documented in the filing. In another relationship turned sour, Secretary of State Antony Blinken reported receiving a porcelain vase worth $2,000 from the former foreign policy chief of the Chinese Communist Party, Yang Jiechi. The exchange took place in March of 2021, just two months after the Biden administration took office and the vase is now with the General Services Administration. Two years later, the U.S. and China are now at odds on numerous issues ranging from Russia's war in Ukraine to Chinese policies regarding Taiwan, Tibet, the South China Sea, Hong Hong and human rights. BANGKOK One year after Russia invaded Ukraine, the battlefield has narrowed and stiff resistance has forced Moscow to scale back its military goals. But the diplomatic consequences of the war still reverberate worldwide. The fighting has reshaped global alliances, renewed old anxieties and breathed new life into NATO and the bond between Europe and the United States. The invasion drew Moscow closer to Beijing and the pariah states of Iran and North Korea. It also raised broad questions about sovereignty, security and the use of military power, while intensifying fears about Chinas designs on Taiwan. The war underscores the interrelationship between diplomacy and the use of force in a way that has not been thought about in quite the same fashion for many, many years, said Ian Lesser, vice president of the German Marshall Fund think tank. When Russian forces invaded on Feb. 24, it marked the complete end of the post-Cold War world, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said last month in a speech at Johns Hopkins University. It has come to light that globalization and interdependence alone cannot serve as a guarantor for peace and development across the globe. Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that Ukraine is an integral part of Russian history that never achieved real statehood a stance that echoes Chinese President Xi Jinpings position on Taiwan, a self-governed island that Beijing claims as its own. If Russia is allowed to succeed in Ukraine, it could further embolden countries like China, with its visions of an international order that diverge from ours and that we can never accept, Kishida said. If we let this unilateral change of the status quo by force go unchallenged, it will happen elsewhere in the world, including Asia, he said. North Korea, which has threatened to preemptively use nuclear weapons in a broad range of scenarios, was already a regional concern. But Russias suggestion that it could use nuclear weapons in Ukraine fueled new worries. South Korea, which is under the protection of the American nuclear umbrella, last year expanded exercises with the U.S. military that had been downsized under the Trump administration. South Korea is also seeking stronger assurances that Washington will swiftly use its nuclear capabilities in the face of a North Korean nuclear attack. North Korea has been strongly supportive of neighboring Russia. Late last year, the U.S. accused Pyongyang of supplying Russia with artillery shells. Iran has also been helping Russia militarily, providing the bomb-carrying drones Moscow uses to strike power plants and civilian sites throughout Ukraine. While Western allies have cooperated closely in their responses to the war, a major diplomatic challenge has been to convince much of the rest of the world of the invasions significance. Only a handful of countries in Asia have taken tough action against Moscow, and many abstained from the United Nations resolution condemning the attack. Just weeks before the invasion, China declared a no limits friendship with Russia. It has refused to criticize the war and has drawn closer to Russia, buying more of its oil and gas and helping Moscow to offset Western sanctions. In Europe, the invasion has reinvigorated NATO after a barrage of criticism from Donald Trump during his presidency that led French President Emmanuel Macron to declare the alliance had experienced brain death. NATO member countries and allies have rallied to support Ukraine, with several changing policies that prohibited the export of weapons to countries in conflict. Perhaps most remarkably, Germany shed post-World War II taboos and provided Leopard battle tanks. The war also prompted Finland and Sweden to seek NATO membership, which most experts think will be approved this year. NATO last year singled out China for the first time as a strategic challenge, although not a direct adversary. The alliance warned about Chinas growing military ambitions, its confrontational rhetoric and its increasingly close ties to Russia. Beyond NATO, the war has also underscored the importance of the relationship between the U.S. and European Union, which Lesser said has been absolutely critical to sanctions and export controls. China insists that it is the U.S. that started the Ukraine crisis, partially through NATOs expansion into more Eastern European countries. Beijing has also criticized the alliance for suggesting the war could influence Chinas actions in Asia. NATO claims to be a regional defense organization, but it keeps breaking through the territory and field, stirring up conflicts, creating tension, exaggerating threats and encouraging confrontation, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Feb. 15. The wars long-term effects on global diplomacy are difficult to predict. But Lesser said one thing is certain: It will be very hard for Russia to recover from the damage to its reputation on many levels. A core group of countries such as Syria, North Korea, Iran and Venezuela may be inclined to stick with Russia, he said. But in terms of broader diplomacy, Russias reputation has experienced an enormous blow. How NATO has grown since 1997 and its changing relationship with Russia How NATO has grown since 1997 and its changing relationship with Russia 1999 new members: Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Poland 2004 new members: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia 2009 new members: Albania and Croatia 2017 new members: Montenegro 2020 new members: North Macedonia 2022 aspiring members: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Finland, Georgia, Sweden, and Ukraine There are all sorts of idiosyncrasies in the St. Louis metropolitan area, from some people outside the region joking that our No. 1 export is mayors due to the high number of municipalities in the region to the fact that toasted ravioli is actually fried. Then theres the question: Why is Clayton so white? The city of Clayton is 72% white, 12% Hispanic and 7% Black. This contrasts starkly with its neighbor to the north, University City, which is 55% white and 32% Black, and with St. Louis city, which is 46% white and 45% black. Was this an accident? Mere happenstance? The enlightening research done by Colin Gordon demonstrated that 80% of the homes built in St. Louis County before 1950 have a racial covenant in the title history. For those unaware, racial covenants made it illegal to sell homes to minorities. It was one of many methods meant to keep undesirables out of so-called nice neighborhoods until the civil rights movement ended the practice. Large swaths of Clayton had restrictive housing covenants. Despite this, there was once a bustling and vibrant African American community in Clayton. This area was bound to the west by Brentwood Boulevard and to the east by Hanley Road, to the north by Forsyth and south by Shaw Park Drive. That Black neighborhood was moved out using the same tool cities across the countries use now to keep out undesirable people: restrictive zoning. The black neighborhood was rezoned into commercial, its citizens were bought out and high rises replaced what was once a vibrant black neighborhood. That was not some one off. To this day it is restrictive zoning that keeps Clayton white. The vast majority of land in Clayton is zoned exclusively for single family housing. The median income in those single-family zones are typically at $200,000 or more. The lovely tool citydata.com allows you to explore the income data and racial make up of neighborhoods. Unfortunately you need to pull up the city of Claytons zoning map separately. I contend that the only segments of Clayton that have any significant minority population are those with medium and high-density multifamily buildings. The single-family neighborhoods are both extraordinarily wealthy and extremely white. Make no mistake, we never abolished segregation in St. Louis. We just changed the tools we used to accomplish it. What once was accomplished with housing covenants and redlining is now accomplished with zoning. The results are the same, but the process is just a bit different. Zoning is so incognito that most of the well-meaning progressive whites in Clayton are not aware of it, not that they would want to be. I know the pearl-clutching argument is going to be that it is just economics. And while that may bring comfort to people in their segregated neighborhoods, the math doesnt hold up. From a citys perspective, what it wants is expensive buildings on small lots. Because the city makes money the more expensive the property is, and they have to spend money servicing roads and sewer lines. If you think Im wrong, you could explore the work of Urban3 or Strong Towns, what youll find is that what multifamily and small apartments Clayton has is more economically productive for the city than its mansions. So then why do the richest in our city get a relative subsidy? Same reason Stan Kroenke got one for the Rams stadium. Theyre close to the levers of power. What is the solution? Well that only depends on whether you think that there is a problem. The residents of Clayton may be happy with their segregated community. If they want to change it, then they will need to reform their zoning. Conor McCartney is a physician who has lived off and on in St. Louis since 2009. A year ago Friday, almost no one outside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskys office was betting on his countrys chances of surviving beyond a few days after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent an overwhelmingly superior force of tanks and troops rolling almost uninterrupted to the outskirts of Kyiv. Rockets and artillery blasted buildings to rubble in the capital. Millions fled amid Putins demand for unconditional surrender. The outlook couldnt get much bleaker than that. This week, President Joe Biden paid a defiant visit to Kyiv to join Zelensky in a joint nose-thumbing at Putin, who has suffered one humiliation after another on the battlefield since Feb. 24, 2022. Ukrainian counterattacks sent Russian troops into hasty retreat. Many Russian troops left their tanks and weapons behind, helping arm the very Ukrainians they were sent to conquer. Still, the invader seems far from vanquished. Russian troops remain entrenched across a wide expanse of Russian-annexed eastern Ukraine. Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula illegally seized by Putin and annexed in 2014, remains firmly under Russian control. He is using Russian oil reserves to counter Western sanctions and secure military help from North Korea, Iran and potentially even China. The war has moved beyond stalemate status to more closely resemble a Gordian knot. Biden and Americas NATO allies correctly view this as a battle the West must win. Anything less than Russias full withdrawal would hand Putin an undeserved claim of victory and embolden his dictatorship. The threat of future invasions would hang permanently over the rest of eastern Europe. For Putin, withdrawal raises the likelihood that his own military officers would rise up against him. The political right in Russia strongly backs his invasion and seems unfazed by the heavy losses suffered so far. An estimated 60,000 Russian troops have been killed so far, largely because they were forced into the war with minimal training, poor equipment and inadequate food rations. They also dont know what theyre fighting for. Putin tells his nation that this is a fight to defeat Nazism an absurdity on its face, given that Zelensky is a Jew whose grandfather served in the Red Army fighting against Nazi Germany. Putin has banned Russians from referring to the invasion as a war, insisting this is nothing more than a special military operation. But a war it is. A war of attrition that likely will be decided on which sides patience erodes quickest. The Russian people show signs of exhaustion with Putin, his lies, his subterfuge, his brutal tactics against dissidents and his dictatorial rule. But Western resolve also has its limits as billions of dollars in war materiel go to support Ukraine and the global economy still strains under the weight of Russia sanctions. The costs of victory for either side seem unacceptably high, and yet the costs of defeat are even worse. After a visiting Tennessee teen lost her legs Saturday night in a downtown crash caused by a speeding traffic violator, local officials were quick to assert that this kind of lawlessness doesnt reflect what St. Louis stands for. No, its exactly what St. Louis is: A place where criminals go unprosecuted, where speeders and red-light runners go unchallenged by police, and where law-abiders fear for their lives at just about every street corner. And because top St. Louis officials respond with incompetence amid rampant lawlessness, while voters dont hold them accountable, this is exactly what St. Louis stands for. First, though, lets not lose sight of the primary tragedy at hand. Janae Edmonson, a high schooler from Tennessee, was with her parents for a Dome at Americas Center volleyball tournament. In an instant, her life went from promising athlete bound for college to one of cruel uncertainty. She will never walk again on her own legs. A young life full of promise will, for the foreseeable future, be filled with crushing challenges and constant struggle. She and her family deserve every ounce of support and every dollar of donations that St. Louisans can send their way. The Edmondson familys lives have been turned upside down because, police say, 21-year-old Daniel Riley was left free despite 50-plus bond violations related to his arrest for a 2020 robbery. Riley somehow got the idea that he could drive around town at ridiculous speeds, ignoring traffic signs and plowing through intersections. Riley somehow got the idea that the bond restrictions limiting his movements and requiring him to be monitored at all times didnt really apply to him. That person should not have been in that car, said Jeff Wismer, the assistant director of Janae Edmonsons volleyball club. That person should not have been behind the wheel Saturday night. Riley had Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner to thank for his freedom because, once again, she couldnt be bothered to do her job. Riley had Mayor Tishaura Jones to thank for having so defanged St. Louis police that they no longer appear to be enforcing the most basic of traffic laws. Riley had St. Louis voters to thank for putting an incompetent like Gardner into office and then reelecting her to the job despite her record of gross mismanagement. Now Gardners incompetence is the talk of the town in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, as local television stations recount Rileys multiple bond violations, the fact that he was supposed to be under home arrest, and that Gardners office failed to notify the judge in his case that he was in violation so his bond could be revoked. Its also the talk of the town in St. Louis and Jefferson City. Jones now demands accountability and says Gardner has lost the trust of the people. The state Senate president called on Gardner to resign. Greater St. Louis Inc. Chief Executive Jason Hall stated Wednesday: The ongoing failures of the Circuit Attorneys office with regard to the individual involved in this case as well as a litany of other cases that have not been brought to justice are unforgivable. Gardners office appears to have lied about circumstances that originally led to the postponement of Rileys trial. A prosecutor dropped the case and refiled it, claiming at a hearing that the robbery victim had died. But the victim was alive and present for the hearing. Its exactly this kind of nonsense that bolsters the Missouri Legislatures case for appointing a special prosecutor to relieve Gardner of major duties. Despite recent assertions by Black leaders, the bill before the Legislature has nothing to do with Gardners skin color and everything to do with her inability to keep dangerous people off the streets. News wire stories will spread across the country recounting how a young womans life has been ruined because of it. With each newspaper story and news broadcast in cities like Murfreesboro, Americans will begin to get the message that St. Louis is a city to be avoided at all costs. And since Edmonsons trip here was associated with the dome and convention center, the reputation of that complex, now undergoing an expensive expansion, will be attached to the fact that wanton criminality has destroyed a young womans life. Kitty Ratcliffe, president of Explore St. Louis, said in a written statement that the incident was reckless and not reflective of St. Louis. Shes wrong. This entire nightmare is absolutely reflective of the dangers faced by residents and visitors alike: pedestrians mowed down while crossing the street in Tower Grove South, robbed at gunpoint or carjacked, or having to run for their lives amid a spray of bullets downtown. Ask Jones and Aldermanic President Megan Green what their solutions are. The answer will be something as mind-numbing as what Jones issued on Tuesday: Our city can and must do a better job of working together to hold those who endanger our communities accountable. Traffic violence is an issue that impacts our entire city. I remain committed to major investments in street and pedestrian infrastructure to keep our city safe no matter how they choose to get around walking, biking, driving, or using public transit as we also explore enforcement solutions. Note those final words: explore enforcement solutions. Explore means she and other officials still are in the thinking, analyzing, hoping and wishing phase of some vague action to happen sometime down the road. Enforcement solutions is Jones way of not saying the word policing. Because shes made clear she does not want more and better policing to be a part of the solution. She has embraced the defund-the-police movement, axed the police recruitment budget and done the minimum possible to help law enforcers confront the criminals menacing St. Louisans and visitors. A teenager has lost her legs. And her tragedy absolutely is reflective of St. Louis and its leadership. SALT LAKE CITY, UT / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Arvana Inc. ("OTC:AVNI") today announced its plans to effect a forward split of its common stock on the basis of three (3) new common shares for each one (1) old common share ("Forward-Split"). All shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 31, 2023 ("Record Date"), will be entitled to the additional shares. The Forward-Split is intended to support management's efforts to make Arvana's capital structure more attractive to a wider range of investors, broaden its stockholder base, and increase trading volumes, though none of these intended results can be assured. The Forward-Split was approved by stockholders holding a majority of Arvana's voting power, who acted on the recommendation of its board of directors, by written consent in lieu of a special meeting of stockholders. We are finalizing our disclosure filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission and will prepare a notification of corporate action with FINRA not less than 10 days prior to the Record Date. A certificate of change will also be timely filed with the Nevada Secretary of State. The stockholders also approved the Arvana Inc. 2022 Stock Incentive Plan by written consent. Arvana's chief executive officer, Ruairidh Campbell commented, "We believe that the Forward-Split demonstrates our commitment to Arvana's stockholders. Our expectation is that the Forward-Split will make Arvana's securities more accessible to investors and enhance stockholder liquidity." Stockholders of Arvana do not need to take any action with respect to the Forward-Split. On or about March 31, 2023, our transfer agent will issue to the stockholders of record those shares of common stock to be received as a result of the Forward-Split. The shares of common stock will be issued and delivered to stockholders, either by physical share certificate, or by electronic registration in book-entry form. Beneficial stockholders who hold their shares in an account with an investment dealer or other intermediary should expect to have their accounts updated to reflect the Forward-Split in accordance with the applicable intermediary's procedures. Arvana's CUSIP number and trading symbol will remain the same. Arvana Inc. Arvana ("OTC:AVNI") is a public company registered under the Securities & Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that is quoted on the OTC Pink Sheets Current Information Alternative Reporting platform. We operate a fishing charter business through our wholly owned subsidiary Down2Fish Charters, LLC. Down2Fish offers a range of curated maritime adventures that include inshore, offshore, and custom charters for fishing enthusiasts, nature lovers, and sea bound adventurers. The business is operated from a private dock in Palmetto, Florida to service the Greater Tampa Bay area including St Petersburg, Venice, Sarasota, and Clearwater. Down2Fish generates its revenue from the sale and provision of charter boat services. Forward-Looking Statements Several statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements of future expectations based on currently available information that are subject to risks and uncertainties including general economic conditions, changes in capital markets, regulatory legislation, and other circumstances that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expectations. Arvana does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or status of such statements so it will not be liable for any decision made or action taken in conjunction with the information and/or statements contained in this press release. Arvana encourages the public to read the information provided in conjunction with its recent filings on Schedule 14c, Form 8-K, Form 10-Q and Form 10-K, which may be viewed at www.sec.gov . Contact Ruairidh Campbell, Chief Executive Officer Phone: +1 801-232-7395 Email: [email protected] SOURCE: Arvana, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com: NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Emergent Health Corp. ("Emergent") or the "Company") (OTC Pink:EMGE), a curator, developer, and marketer of products in the Regenerative Health Space, announced today that it will be closing the acquisition to acquire Nanosthetic Cosmetic Labs ("Nanosthetic") on March 1, 2023. Nanosthetic, of Fort Lauderdale Florida holds, proprietary intellectual property that has been developed over the past ten years. Working in concert with our wholly owned Subsidiary, Evolutionary Biologics, Nanosthetics will develop a next generation cosmetic that will be marketed and distributed following the guidelines of the Federal Food and Drug Administration and the Cosmetic Act. The product will be manufactured in full compliance with the CFR (Code of Federal Regulations), Title 21 Part 211 Current Good Manufacturing Practice for Finished Compounding - Sterile preparations. This will allow us to file an IND for additional use in the future. The company will house a laboratory and ISO 7 Clean Room designed to manufacture under the USP requirements. Nanosthetic is forecasted to produce $3,500,000 in calendar year 2023. Jim Morrison, former President of L'Oral and current CEO of Emergent, stated, "This new marriage changes the destiny of our company. Not only does it give us access to state-of-the art technology, it also makes Emergent Health a vertically integrated company. The impact this acquisition will have on our cost of goods will be dramatic." Morrison went on to say "I am looking forward to working with Sandy Lipkins. He has a very keen mind when it comes to product conceptualization and has a dynamic background in this field. The cosmetic product that we will develop will be sold in many channels of distribution and will be groundbreaking when do our first launch in the very near term." Sandy Lipkins, the Managing Member of Nanosthetic is the former CEO of BioTherapeutic Labs Corp. ("BTL"), an FDA registered life sciences company dedicated to the research, development, manufacturing, and distribution of cutting-edge anti-aging, aesthetic, muscle-skeletal, wound care, and hair loss therapy products. BTL committed itself to the advancement of products and therapies utilizing human biologics to their fullest potential. BTL manufactured its products in a cGMP compliant facility, specializing in the production of aseptic umbilical cord-derived products for regenerative therapies. Sandy Lipkins, Managing Member of Nanosthetic stated, "The team at Nanosthetic has spent the last year in R&D on both product development and on the regulatory side to produce a novel cosmetic that does not exist yet, that has not been seen in this market. With the experience of Jim Morrison and his outstanding team we will create a market that has been woefully underserved until now." The company looks forward to continuing updating its progress in the coming weeks. It will also introduce a new feature on its website at the end of each month in which its CEO, Jim Morrison, will address investor's inquiries and expand on the company's progress. ABOUT EMERGENT HEALTH CORPORATION Emergent curates, develops and sells products in the Regenerative Health Space. Its products include ingestibles as well as topicals for the whole family. The company distributes its products online and through "Content Based Shopping" using "Influencers" to successfully position products throughout the United States and Internationally. Its subsidiaries: PharmaZu, is a pure play, e-commerce products and service provider focused on the Pet Community, Pet Pharmacy, and Pet Wellness. It will also utilize Influencers and their content, including the pet pharmacy, vet telehealth and pet wellness businesses. The Wholistic Company is a distributor of various products in the plant-based and regenerative medical fields. Evolutionary Biologics is a new kind of biologics company founded for a clear purpose: to bring cutting edge regenerative products to the medical community. Emergent asserts that its products are not approved by the FDA to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease(s). For more information, please visit Emergent's Website and Social Media on Twitter and Linkedin. Before using any products, you should always consult with your veterinarian and/or family doctor. SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT This press release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as "believes," "expects," "potential," "plans," "suggests," "may," "should," "could," "intends," or similar expressions. Many forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results implied by such statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, our ability to continue to enhance our products and systems to address industry changes, our ability to expand our customer base and retain existing customers, our ability to effectively compete in our market segment, the lack of public information on our company, our ability to raise sufficient capital to fund our business, operations, our ability to continue as a going concern, and a limited public market for our common stock, among other risks. Many factors are difficult to predict accurately and are generally beyond the company's control. Forward-looking statements speak only as to the date they are made, and we do not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Jim Morrison, CEO Website [email protected] SOURCE: Emergent Health Corp. View source version on accesswire.com: TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Jaguar Mining Inc. ("Jaguar" or the "Company") (TSX:JAG), (OTCQX:JAGGF) today is announcing that the Company's Chief Financial Officer, Hashim Ahmed will be stepping down from his role at the Company to pursue another opportunity. Mr. Ahmed will continue to support Jaguar as CFO in the coming months, and a search for his replacement, which has commenced, will include both internal and external candidates. Vern Baker, President and CEO of Jaguar Mining stated: "I would like to thank Hashim for his significant contributions to the Company over the past eight years and for his personal support of me over the last three and a half years. Hashim has played a key role in turning around the business and helping us strengthen our balance sheet. On behalf of the Board and the senior leadership team, I wish him well in his next endeavor." About Jaguar Mining Inc. Jaguar Mining Inc. is a Canadian-listed junior gold mining, development, and exploration company operating in Brazil with three gold mining complexes and a large land package with significant upside exploration potential from mineral claims. The Company's principal operating assets are located in the Iron Quadrangle, a prolific greenstone belt in the state of Minas Gerais and include the Turmalina Gold Mine Complex and Caet Mining Complex (Pilar and Roca Grande Mines, and Caete Plant). The Company also owns the Paciencia Gold Mine Complex,which has been on care and maintenance since 2012. Additional information is availableon the Company's website at www.jaguarmining.com. For further information please contact: Vernon Baker Chief Executive Officer Jaguar Mining Inc. [email protected] 416-847-1854 SOURCE: Jaguar Mining Inc. View source version on accesswire.com: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023/ The Power Play by The Market Herald has announced the release of new interviews with High Tide Resources, Chesapeake Gold, World Copper and INEO Tech discussing their latest news. The Power Play by The Market Herald provides investors with a quick snapshot of what they need to know about the company's latest press release through exclusive insights and interviews with company executives. High Tide Resources (CSE:HTRC) announces maiden Mineral Resource Estimate at its Labrador West Iron Project High Tide Resources Corp. (HTRC) has released the maiden Mineral Resource Estimate from its flagship Labrador West Iron Project. The project is located 20 km northeast and adjacent to IOC/Rio Tinto's Carol Lake Mine complex in Labrador City, Newfoundland. Steve Roebuck, Director, President & Interim CEO of High Tide, sat down with Coreena Robertson to discuss the news. For the full interview with Steve Roebuck and to learn about High Tide Resources Corp., click here. Chesapeake Gold Corp. (TSXV:CKG) announces updated MRE for the Metates Project Chesapeake Gold Corp. (CKG) provided an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for its Metates gold-silver project located in Durango State, Mexico. MRE highlights include 6.77 million ounces of gold at 0.57 grams per tonne and 423.2 million ounces of silver at 14.3 g/t in the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource category. 2.13 million ounces of gold at 0.47 g/t and 59.0 million ounces of silver at 13.2 g/t in the Inferred Mineral Resource category. CEO Alan Pangbourne sat down with Coreena Robertson to discuss the news. For the full interview with Alan Pangbourne and to learn about Chesapeake Gold Corp., click here. World Copper (TSXV:WCU) expands resource estimate for Zonia Deposit World Copper (WCU) has expanded the resource estimate for the Zonia Copper Oxide Deposit in Arizona. Indicated resources are now estimated at 450.5 million pounds of copper, while inferred resources grew to 575.4 million pounds of copper. CEO Nolan Peterson joined Coreena Robertson to discuss the news. For the full interview with Nolan Peterson and to learn about World Copper, click here. INEO Tech Corp. (TSXV:INEO) rolling out INEO Welcoming System across the U.S. INEO has provided an update on the progress of the rollout of its INEO Welcoming System with major retail partners across the U.S.. The INEO Welcoming System is an integrated digital media display and Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) theft protection pedestal . The company has completed installations in over 50 retail stores located in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles and cities in nine other states. CEO Kyle Hall sat down with Coreena Robertson to discuss the rollout. For the full interview with Kyle Hall and to learn about INEO, click here. Interviews for The Power Play by The Market Herald are released daily. To learn more about the companies featured in The Power Play or to explore our other interviews visit The Power Play by The Market Herald. About The Market Herald The Market Herald Canada is the leading source of authoritative breaking stock market news for self-directed investors. Our team of Canadian markets reporters, editors and technologists covers the entire listed company universe in Canada. We cover over 3,985 businesses, their people, their investors, and their customers. We write the stories that move the Canadian capital markets. DISCLAIMER: Report Card Canada Media Ltd. ("Report Card") is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Market Herald Limited, an Australian company ("Market Herald"). Report Card is not an advisory service, and does not offer, buy, sell, or provide any other rating, analysis or opinion on the securities we discuss. We are retained and compensated by the companies that we provide information on to assist them with making information available to the public. All information available on themarketherald.ca and/or this press release should be considered as commercial advertisement and not an endorsement, offer or recommendation to buy or sell securities. Report Card is not registered with any financial or securities regulatory authority in any province or territory of Canada, will not be performing any registerable activity as defined by the applicable regulatory bodies and do not provide nor claim to provide investment advice or recommendations to any visitor of this site or readers of any content on or originating from themarketherald.ca. Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees may from time to time acquire, hold or sell securities and/or commodities and/or commodity futures contracts in certain underlying companies mentioned in this site and which may also be clients of Market Herald's affiliates. In such instances, Market Herald and/or its affiliates and/or their respective officers, directors or employees will use all reasonable efforts to avoid engaging in activities that would lead to conflicts of interest and Market Herald and/or its affiliates will use all reasonable efforts to comply with conflicts of interest disclosures and regulations to minimize any conflict. All the information on this document and/or the website - themarketherald.ca - is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. Report Card does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this document and/or website (themarketherald.ca) is strictly at your own risk. Report Card will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website. From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to such external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content and nature of these sites. These links to other websites do not imply a recommendation for all the content found on these sites. Site owners and content may change without notice and may occur before we have the opportunity to remove a link which may have gone 'bad'. Please be also aware that when you leave our website, other sites may have different privacy policies and terms which are beyond our control. Please be sure to check the Privacy Policies of these sites as well as their "Terms of Service" before engaging in any business or uploading any information. CONTACT: The Market Herald [email protected] themarketherald.ca SOURCE: The Market Herald View source version on accesswire.com: VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Ximen Mining Corp. (TSXV:XIM) (FRA:1XMA) (OTCQB: XXMMF) (the "Company" or "Ximen") announces that it has received the draft of the Mines Act Permit for the underground development program at its Kenville Gold Mine from the BC government. The Company has now received two permits in draft, one from the Ministry of Environment and this recent one from the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low-Carbon Innovation. The draft Environmental Permit was received earlier and has been reviewed and approved by Ximen. The Company has now submitted its final responses and we anticipate the final permit to be issued shortly. Mine Manager Mr Lloyd Penner. Now received is the all-important Mines Act Permit draft approving the following key activities: Establishment of the new Venango Portal and 1200 m of decline development at this portal with associated re-mucks, safety bays and sumps Underground Exploration Drilling (20,250 m) from the new Venango decline. Establishment of one Waste Rock Storage facility (approx. 3750 m 2 ) ) Installation of surface water management structures. Location of one portable office structure. Onsite fuel storage (two 4,500 enviro tanks). The Company is very pleased with the permit draft and has reviewed the conditions that apply prior to and during the development program, a majority of which have already been met. Ximen is making a final review of the exact wording and conditions. Once our review has been completed and relayed to the Mines department, the final Mines Act Permit is expected to be received. Map showing revised Kenville mine permit boundary. Key highlights of the Draft Permit conditions are: Reclamation Security: $103,800 must be posted with the Minister of Finance. Construction to be completed under the supervision of a Professional Engineer. Finalizing the development and implementation of a Ground Control Management Plan that is consistent with industry standards. Waste rock dumps must be developed in accordance with the design and recommendations prepared by a Professional Engineer. A foundation inspection must be completed by a Professional Engineer prior to waste rock dump construction. A monitoring well pair (shallow and deep) located near the underground workings must be installed and continuously monitored for water levels. The Archaeological Chance Find Procedure (CFP) must be implemented prior to commencement of work. Kenville Site (2023) This Permit brings us one step closer to, moving forward into a more sustainable self-reliant economy, working at expanding the art of underground mining, a long industrious trade that empowers those executing the work with a sense of accomplishment and pride, while maintaining our environment and utilizing hydro, a green energy source to advance the project. The Kenville Gold Mine is again making firsts, it was the first Underground Gold mine in BC, and now will be achieving first, as Ximen completes one more milestone bringing us closer to empowering families with the opportunity to embrace a sustainable income, all within 15 minutes of their homestead. This, while respecting and maintaining the beauty and abundance of all that surrounds us and adds to the quality of our lives, providing for your family, building a happy healthy community, while doing it in a socially responsible manner with minimal impact on the environment. This is our focus of ours, as we proudly advance towards opening what we consider to be one of the greenest, gold mines in Southern BC, The Kenville Gold Mine," states Anderson, CEO. Technical disclosure in this news release has been approved by Dr. Mathew Ball, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and VP Exploration for Ximen Mining Corp. On behalf of the Board of Directors, "Christopher R. Anderson" Christopher R. Anderson, President, CEO and Director 604 488-3900 Investor Relations: Sophy Cesar, 604-488-3900, [email protected] About Ximen Mining Corp. Ximen Mining Corp. owns 100% interest in three of its precious metal projects located in southern BC. Ximen`s two Gold projects, The Amelia Gold Mine and The Brett Epithermal Gold Project. Ximen also owns the Treasure Mountain Silver Project adjacent to the past producing Huldra Silver Mine. Currently, the Treasure Mountain Silver Project is under an option agreement. The option partner is making annual staged cash and stocks payments as well as funding the development of the project. The company has also acquired control of the Kenville Gold mine near Nelson British Columbia which comes with surface and underground rights, buildings and equipment. Ximen is a publicly listed company trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol XIM, in the USA under the symbol XXMMF, and in Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin Stock Exchanges in Germany under the symbol 1XMA and WKN with the number as A2JBKL. This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the receipt of TSX Venture Exchange approval and the exercise of the Option by Ximen. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include the possibility that the TSX Venture Exchange may not accept the proposed transaction in a timely manner, if at all. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Ximen Mining Corp 888 Dunsmuir Street - Suite 888, Vancouver, B.C., V6C 3K4 Tel: 604-488-3900 SOURCE: Ximen Mining Corp View source version on accesswire.com: City Office REIT, Inc. (NYSE: CIO) today announced the appointment of a new member to the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") and changes to Board roles. Michael Mazan, a finance and investment industry veteran, has been appointed to the Board, effective today. Mr. Mazan joins the Board with over 30 years of experience in investing, management consulting and investment banking. Currently, Mr. Mazan serves as a founding partner of KingsPeak Partners, a boutique private equity investment firm. Prior to that, from 1999 to 2018, Mr. Mazan was a partner at Birch Hill Equity Partners, a leading private equity firm, where he was responsible for all parts of the investment lifecycle, with a focus on portfolio company building and governance. From 1992 to 1999, Mr. Mazan held various finance and consulting roles at prominent firms, including Credit Suisse First Boston and McKinsey and Company. Mr. Mazan also has extensive experience serving as a director for various private and publicly listed companies, having served on 12 boards during his career. Mr. Mazan will join the Board's Audit Committee as its Chairman. Further, as part of the Company's long term succession planning, the Board has approved the appointment of John Sweet as Chairman of the Board, effective today. Mr. Sweet has served as an Independent Director of the Company since 2017 and is currently the Chairman of the Investment Committee. Mr. Sweet's contributions to the Company to date and his exceptional real estate industry knowledge base, along with prior experience leading a public company board, make Mr. Sweet an excellent fit as Chairman of the Board. Mr. Sweet assumed the role from John McLernon who is continuing to serve as an Independent Director of the Company. In addition, William Flatt, effective today, will step down from the Board after nearly ten years of service to the Board. Since the Company's initial public offering in 2014, Mr. Flatt has been a valuable contributor to the Company's growth and strategic execution, and the Board thanks him for his outstanding service. John Sweet commented, "I am honored to serve as the new Chairman of the Board, and as a first order of business I would like to express the Company's excitement at the appointment of Michael Mazan to the Board and the Company's gratitude to John McLernon for his tenure as Chairman and his continued service as an Independent Director. John has led the Board with sage strategic insight and guidance since the Company's inception and we look forward to his continued contributions. We also highly anticipate the future contributions from Michael, who is thoroughly respected by his industry peers and brings a successful governance and investing track record. Finally, I'd like to express the Company's sincere gratitude to Will for his years of dedication, insight and positive contributions." With the addition of Mr. Mazan as an Independent Director and the departure of Mr. Flatt, the Company's Board will consist of six Directors, five of whom the Board of Directors has determined meet the independence standards of the NYSE Listed Company Manual and the Company's corporate governance guidelines. MEXICO CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of a- (Excellent) of Virginia Surety Seguros de Mexico S.A. de C.V. (VSSM) (Mexico City, Mexico). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is positive. AM Best also has affirmed the Mexico National Scale Rating (NSR) of aaa.MX (Exceptional) of VSSM. The outlook of the NSR is stable. The ratings reflect VSSMs balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The positive outlooks reflect the companys consistent reinforcement of its strong balance sheet strength while maintaining the strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization on a consolidated basis, as measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), underpinned by positive bottom-line results in conjunction with strategies to become more efficient. The companys balance sheet strength has been assessed at a strong level since it began operations in Mexico. The ratings of VSSM also factor its recent affiliation and strategic importance to Assurant, Inc., the ultimate parent, as well as its risk-adjusted capitalization at the strongest level, as measured by BCAR. VSSM is a subsidiary of Virginia Surety Company, Inc., a general underwriting entity part of The Warranty Group, Inc. In 2017, The Warranty Group, Inc. completed a merger agreement with Assurant, Inc., with the purpose of combining insurance operations in various jurisdictions, including the operation in Mexico. VSSM started operations in Mexico in January 2017, underwriting premiums in the property/casualty segment, focused on the auto insurance line of business and other miscellaneous business lines. VSSM also underwrites specialty products, providing coverage for risks that usually are not underwritten in the traditional automobile insurance. In its miscellaneous lines of business, VSSM mainly offers coverage in case of theft or accidental damage for consumer technology products, such as cellphones, photographic and sound equipment and home appliances. VSSM places its coverage products through its network of business partners, which include manufacturers, distributors and retailers. VSSM operates under the same management as Assurant Danos Mexico, S.A. and Assurant Vida Mexico, S.A., subsidiaries of Assurant, Inc. These companies operate separately but do not compete against each other; moreover, VSSM takes advantage of the operational synergies derived from being part of the Assurant group. Factors that could lead to positive rating actions for VSSM include a sustained reinforcement of its strong balance sheet strength, underpinned by risk-adjusted capitalization at the strongest level, as measured by BCAR, and favorable results in operating performance. Conversely, negative rating actions could take place if operating performance substantially deteriorates, resulting in a decline in risk-adjusted capitalization to a level no longer supportive of the current ratings. Negative rating actions also could occur if the subsidiaries parental support or its strategic importance to the group deteriorates in AM Bests view. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Bests Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Bests Credit Ratings, Bests Performance Assessments, Bests Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Bests Ratings & Assessments. AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright 2023 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005813/en/ Ricardo Rodriguez Financial Analyst +52 55 1102 2720, ext. 139 [email protected] Salvador Smith Senior Financial Analyst +52 55 1102 2720 ext. 109 [email protected] Christopher Sharkey Manager, Public Relations +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159 [email protected] Al Slavin Senior Public Relations Specialist +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5098 [email protected] Source: AM Best The program will award $40,000 grants to 25 historic U.S. small restaurants, supporting the future growth of these establishments as they navigate current challenges. This initiative is part of American Express long history of backing small businesses. NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- American Express (NYSE: AXP) and the National Trust for Historic Preservation today announced the third installment of the Backing Historic Small Restaurants Grant Program, which will once again award $1 million collectively in grant funding to 25 recipients across the country. The grants will be funded by American Express and administered by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005156/en/ Stamps Super Burgers in Jackson, MS, 2022 BHSR grant recipient (Photo: Business Wire) As part of the grant program, Resy, a hospitality technology platform that is part of the American Express family, will also offer complimentary use of ResyOS its restaurant management software for one year to each of the historic small restaurants selected to help streamline costs and boost restaurant operations. Were proud to give small restaurants the resources they need to grow their businesses and continue their legacies for years to come, said Alice Lin Fabiano, Vice President, Community Impact at American Express. The Backing Historic Small Restaurants grant program reaffirms our long-standing commitment to backing small business owners. Historic small and independent restaurants face many challenges, yet they continue to anchor their communities in invaluable ways, sharing cultural traditions and creating special places for gathering and celebrating together, said Katherine Malone-France, Chief Preservation Officer, National Trust for Historic Preservation. The National Trust is honored to partner with American Express to protect and sustain these places as they reflect all our stories, memories, and traditions. Over the past two years, 50 U.S. historic restaurants collectively received $2 million. Restaurant owners used the grant funds to make needed improvements to their businesses which led to a number of positive impacts on their communities. The grant gave us the opportunity to update our exterior facade and provided us with more energy-efficient windows and doors during the cold winters and hot summer seasons. Our regular customers noticed our new look right away and they are very impressed with the work so far, said Nadine Hunt, owner of Millers Soul Food in Dublin, GA and 2022 BHSR grant recipient. "Because of that needed work, weve seen an increase in dine-in customers during our lunch hours. Another 2022 grant recipient, Phil Stamps Jr., Head of Operations and Development for Stamps Super Burgers in Jackson, MS added how the grant impacted his local community. This grant has been uplifting for the entire community. Our restaurant sits in the heart of Washington Addition, which is a residential neighborhood here in West Jackson. Our neighbors have raved about the preservation work. Backing Historic Small Restaurants is part of American Express Backing Small initiative, focused on providing financial support and other resources to help small businesses address critical needs. American Express has a long history of supporting small businesses through a number of key initiatives including Shop Small and the Coalition to Back Black Businesses. With $17 million in funds committed through 2024, the Backing Small Initiative continues to support underrepresented and economically vulnerable small business owners and entrepreneurs and includes grant programs, mentoring support, and technical assistance through established community partnerships. To be eligible for a grant, U.S. independent small restaurants must operate in historic buildings or neighborhoods, contribute to their neighborhoods history and identity, and have a diverse story about cuisine and community in America. Restaurant owners can learn more and apply for the grant program here. Additionally, community members can nominate their favorite establishments that fit the criteria for consideration. Formal applications and public nominations will be accepted beginning at 8:00 AM ET on February 23, 2023, through 11:59 PM ET on March 12, 2023. Restaurant owners can apply for the grant program here. ABOUT AMERICAN EXPRESS American Express is a globally integrated payments company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpress, instagram.com/americanexpress, linkedin.com/company/american-express, twitter.com/americanexpress, and youtube.com/americanexpress. Key links to products, services and corporate responsibility information: personal cards, business cards and services, travel services, gift cards, prepaid cards, merchant services, Accertify, Resy, corporate card, business travel, diversity and inclusion, corporate responsibility and Environmental, Social, and Governance reports. ABOUT THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a privately funded nonprofit organization, works to save Americas historic places. SavingPlaces.org | @savingplaces American Express has invested more than $30M to preserve historic places in the U.S. through its close partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation since 1992. Source: American Express Company Location: U.S. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005156/en/ Ashley Tufts [email protected] Elizabeth Hecht [email protected] Source: American Express Company The Amerigroup Rural Medicine Scholarship will support expansion of the health care workforce across the Peach State ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Amerigroup Georgia today announced a scholarship to expand the number of frontline workers across the state, increase access to care, and improve health equity in Georgias rural areas. The Amerigroup Rural Medicine Scholarship is a $300,000 investment given to select Universities and Colleges that will cover tuition costs for native Georgians aspiring to serve as primary care physicians, mental health professionals and certified nurse midwives in rural Georgia. This funding will help build and maintain a robust network of highly skilled healthcare providers in some of Georgias most vulnerable communities. Amerigroup is committed to closing the gap in health disparities and supporting Georgias workforce through the implementation of innovative solutions that can reinvent healthcare across the state, said Mel Lindsey, President, Amerigroup Georgia. We continue to pioneer solutions to usher in a new era of equitable healthcare that works better for everyone, and we are pleased for the opportunity to bring these solutions to our University partners. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) projects that 37 states will have shortages of primary care physicians by 2025. Twelve states, including Georgia, will have deficits of 1,000 or more physicians, due to the aging American population and the number of doctors nearing retirement. Georgias projected shortfall of more than 1,300 primary care physicians is the second highest in the nation. To address these challenges, Amerigroup has established scholarship programs at the following schools: Albany State University - $30,000 to fully fund students who plan to work as rural primary care providers. $30,000 to fully fund students who plan to work as rural primary care providers. Georgia College - $111,135 to fund tuition costs for two students pursuing psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner degrees. The scholarships will cover tuition costs for additional students who aspire to work as rural primary care providers. $111,135 to fund tuition costs for two students pursuing psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner degrees. The scholarships will cover tuition costs for additional students who aspire to work as rural primary care providers. Morehouse School of Medicines mobile HEAL Clinic - $35,000 to increase access to healthcare in rural communities. Amerigroup has previously donated $90,000 to the HEAL Clinic, bringing the total investment to $125,000 over the past two years. - $35,000 to increase access to healthcare in rural communities. Amerigroup has previously donated $90,000 to the HEAL Clinic, bringing the total investment to $125,000 over the past two years. University of North Georgia - $88,865 to fully fund tuition costs for seven students pursuing family nurse practitioner degrees and who aspire to serve as rural primary care providers. $88,865 to fully fund tuition costs for seven students pursuing family nurse practitioner degrees and who aspire to serve as rural primary care providers. Valdosta State University - $30,000 to fully fund students who plan to work as rural primary care providers. Recipients of the Amerigroup scholarships must commit to practicing in rural Georgia communities for at least three years upon graduation. By cultivating partnerships and investing in efforts that address critical priorities across the entire state, Amerigroup has made a commitment to play a pivotal role in the health and wellbeing of Georgians. This includes efforts around mental health, maternal and childrens health, disease management, secondary education, workforce development, rural health equity and more. About Amerigroup Community Care of Georgia Amerigroup Community Care of Georgia helps improve healthcare access and quality for more than 600,000 low-income Georgians by developing innovative care management programs and services. Members are assured care that is not only accessible but also accountable, comprehensive, integrated, and patient-centered. Amerigroup Georgia provides ongoing community relations and outreach to encourage members to become active participants in their health care. Through health education programs, members are empowered to choose and sustain a healthy lifestyle. For more information about Amerigroup Community Care of Georgia, visit www.myamerigroup.com/ga View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005882/en/ Michael Perry Director of Public Relations, Amerigroup Georgia 617-519-6206 [email protected] Source: Amerigroup Community Care of Georgia The Firms Eighth Consecutive Award and Fourth Diamond Award Showcase Armaninos Consistency in Going Above and Beyond for its Clients SAN RAMON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Armanino LLP, one of the 20 largest independent accounting and business consulting firms in the nation, today announced that it has been awarded ClearlyRateds Best of Accounting award for the eighth consecutive year, earning its fourth Diamond Award, a special designation for firms that make the prestigious list for at least five consecutive years. This award, which fewer than 1% of all accounting firms in the U.S. and Canada achieve, spotlights Armanino's commitment to providing clients with exceptional service. We mean it when we say we take genuine care of our clients, and receiving our fourth Diamond Award from ClearlyRated is a reflection of our ongoing commitment and success, said Matt Armanino, CEO and managing partner of Armanino LLP. No matter the type of engagement or the challenges were helping clients overcome, our teams put the clients needs first. Our continued investments in creating seamless, enjoyable client experiences stem from our belief that great client experiences lead to better client outcomes. We are honored to earn a top spot on the ClearlyRated list for Best of Accounting and look forward to continuing to excel in delivering world-class services for leading organizations. ClearlyRateds Best of Accounting award is the nations only service excellence award for the accounting industry that leverages a third-party validated Net Promoter survey methodology to gather responses from accounting firm clients. Respondents of the survey use a 1-10 scale to rate their experience with the accounting firm and communicate how likely they are to recommend the firm to a friend or colleague. Unlike traditional client satisfaction surveys, lower scores (1-6) are detracted from the scores of 9-10 so that the overarching score better reflects accounting firms that are providing an exceptionally high-quality level of client service. The award also helps prospective buyers seeking an added layer of assurance and trust when selecting an accounting services provider. With only one percent of accounting firms across the U.S. and Canada earning a spot on this list, it is such an impressive accomplishment, said Eric Gregg, CEO of ClearlyRated. These firms elevate the bar for what the client service experience should be in the accounting industry and we are excited to see whats in store for 2023! Learn more about Armanino: who we are and the awards and accolades weve received. About Armanino Armanino LLP is one of the 20 largest independent accounting and business consulting firms in the nation. The firm has been recognized on INSIDE Public Accountings Best of the Best list for 19 of the last 20 years and is regularly featured in rankings of top places to work, including Glassdoors Best Places to Work in 2023. A Certified B Corporation, Armanino provides an integrated set of audit, tax, business management, consulting and technology solutions to companies in the U.S. and globally. The firm helps clients adapt and change in every stage of business, from startup through rapid growth to the sale of a company. Armanino emphasizes smart technology, leading a cloud revolution of financial, operational, sales and compliance tools that are transforming the way companies do business. Armanino is an independent member firm of Moore North America Inc. (MNA), which is itself a regional member of Moore Global Network Limited (MGNL), one of the world's major accounting and consulting membership organizations. All the firms associated with MNA and MGNL are independent entities, owned and managed in each location. Their membership in, or association with, MNA or MGNL should not be construed as constituting or implying any partnership between them. In addition to its core consulting and accounting practices, Armanino operates its division, AMF Media Group (amfmediagroup.com), a media and communications services agency. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005393/en/ Gregory FCA for Armanino Trevor Davis 215-475-5931 [email protected] Source: Armanino LLP The foundation plans to award more than $100,000 in scholarships for the 2023/2024 academic year Application Deadline is March 23, 2023 MALVERN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Balfour Beatty Communities Foundation, Balfour Beatty Communities non-profit organization, has opened its annual academic scholarship application period with more than $100,000 in scholarships currently estimated to be available for the 2023/2024 school year. The scholarship is open to Balfour Beatty Communities-owned and managed properties residents. Recipients are selected based on academic performance, community service, involvement in extracurricular activities, and financial need. We are pleased to continue our college scholarship program for the 15th consecutive year, in support of our residents who are making a positive impact on the world, said Leslie Cohn, member of the Board of Directors at Balfour Beatty Communities Foundation. As part of our mission to support our communities, we are helping scholars pursue their dreams and ambitions by reducing financial barriers so that they feel empowered to learn and inspired to continuing achieving their goals. I encourage residents who meet the eligibility criteria to apply. To be eligible for a Foundation scholarship, applicants must: Reside at a Balfour Beatty Communities-owned and managed military, student housing, or multifamily community; Hold a GPA of 3.0 or better; Participate in extra-curricular activities; and Plan to attend an accredited college or trade school in the 2023/2024 academic school year. In addition to completing the online application form, applicants are required to submit an essay that allows the selection committee to learn more about them on a personal level. Since 2009, the Foundation has awarded more than 550 scholarships and over $1.2 million to assist deserving students and future community leaders in their pursuit of a post-secondary education. All applications and related materials must be received by March 23, 2023 (11:59 pm PT). To apply and for more information, visit www.bbcommunitiesfoundation.org/scholarships. About Balfour Beatty Communities Foundation Founded in 2007 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Balfour Beatty Communities Foundation seeks to give back to the communities and residents served across the Balfour Beatty Communities portfolio of properties. The Foundation helps deserving scholars residing in our communities pursue their dreams and ambitions through a generous scholarship program. Learn more at BBCommunitiesFoundation.org. Balfour Beatty Communities Foundation is a Pennsylvania non-profit organization with a 501(c)(3) classification from the Internal Revenue Service of the United States. Financial information can be obtained by contacting Sally Carlin at One Country View Road, Suite 100, Malvern, PA 19355, (610) 355-8080, [email protected] . Additional information may be obtained directly by contacting the relevant state agency noted at https://www.bbcommunitiesfoundation.org/legaldisclosure. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005209/en/ Media: Surabhi Verma, 267-887-0706, [email protected] Source: Balfour Beatty Communities Foundation HAMILTON, Bermuda--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Two Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Trailblazers will be honoured at the second annual Bermuda Risk Summit, presented by the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA), in partnership with the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR), EY and Gallagher Re. Chlora Lindley-Myers, National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) President and Director of the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance, and Cheryl Ann Lister, Acting Financial Secretary, Government of Bermuda will be presented DEI Trailblazer Awards by Bermudas Premier, the Hon. E. David Burt, JP, MP. John Huff, CEO, ABIR who will host the awards ceremony on March 6, said, As ABIR celebrates its 30th Anniversary in 2023, we wanted to recognise Chlora Lindley-Myers as the first woman of colour in 152 years to be elected NAIC President. Of course, we could not let this moment pass without also recognising local hero, Cheryl Ann Lister who was appointed Chair and CEO of Bermudas integrated financial services regulator, the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) back in 2002. The day after the DEI Trailblazer Awards, March 7, current BMA CEO, Craig Swan will moderate a discussion about international markets and regulatory cooperation with Tom Sullivan, Former Senior Associate Director, US Federal Reserve, and Alaska Insurance Director, Lori K. Wing-Heier representing the NAIC, just some of the regulators, along with the Bank of Englands Prudential Regulatory Authority, travelling here to participate in the Bermuda Risk Summit. David Hart, CEO, BDA said, We are so pleased to have such senior-level standard setters and risk industry giants coming to Bermuda for our second annual Bermuda Risk Summit from March 6-8, 2023. We are sure to have something of interest for everyone in our dynamic agenda of world-class speakers. In addition to cutting-edge content, there will also be C-suite networking opportunities at our signature and ancillary events. Registered attendees of the Bermuda Risk Summit may also enjoy participating in Aons Networking Reception, which will be held on Sunday, 5 March 2023, from 5 p.m. at the Flagpole Terrace, followed by the Bermuda Risk Summits official Opening Reception, sponsored by SS&C Technology, on Monday, 6 March from 5 p.m. at 1609 Bar & Restaurant. On Tuesday 7 March from 2.30 p.m., AM Best will hold an Insurance Briefing and Networking Reception at the Hamilton Princess, and the Bermuda Risk Summit will be brought to a fantastic close via our Bermuda Lunch Cruise leaving the dock at Hamilton Princess promptly at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, 8 March. The BDA once again thanks its headline sponsors, ABIR, EY and Gallagher Re; diamond sponsor, Hyperexponential; Gold sponsor, SS&C; silver sponsors AM Best and Kirkland & Ellis; and supporting sponsors, Aon, Bermuda Brokers, Demotech, Docosoft, Florida Insurance Council, KPMG, Meenan P.A., MS Reinsurance, and Rein4ce. Our official media partner is The Insurer and Goslings is our spirits partner. The BDA is pleased that representatives from the Bermudas Women in Reinsurance (WiRe) group, LINK Bermuda, and Association for Corporate Racial Equity (ACRE) will be in attendance, as well as several BDA and ABIR sponsored students from Bermuda College. The level of registrations received to date has been excellent, but some spaces are still available. Click here to register the full agenda is available here. NOTE TO EDITORS: Founded in 1871, the NAIC is a US-based standard-setting organization governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 US states, the District of Columbia, and five US territories, to coordinate the regulation of multistate insurers. CONNECTING BUSINESS The BDA encourages direct investment and helps companies start up, re-locate, or expand their operations in our premier jurisdiction. An independent, public-private partnership, we connect you to industry professionals, regulatory officials, and key contacts in the Bermuda government to assist domicile decisions. Our goal? To make doing business in Bermuda smooth and beneficial. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223006018/en/ Stuart Roberts, Director of Communications & PR [email protected] | +1 441 292 7774 Source: Bermuda Business Development Agency Beijing (Gasgoo)- Great Wall Motor (GWM) recently held the brand launch event in Oman, according to a press release the automaker issued on Feb. 22. GWM, together with OTE Group in Oman, unveiled its Haval, Great Wall Pickup, and Tank brands to the local market. Photo credit: Great Wall Motor This marks the official launch of GWM's Oman dealership network, and signifies Oman's successful integration into GWM's GCC regional expansion after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait markets. The foray into Oman also helps boost GWM's deployment in the Middle East. In a bid to quickly integrate into the Middle East market and facilitate cooperation, GWM established a Middle East subsidiary in Dubai in 2022 and opened a regional auto parts center in the city in January 2023. In the past year, Chinese automotive brands have been growing at a fast pace in the Middle East and North Africa regions. With the continuous improvement of the supply chain and logistics in 2023, and the expansion of GWM's product line with many new models such as the Tank 300, Tank 500, Haval H6 GT, and the King Kong Poer, GWM is optimistic to achieve substantial growth targets worldwide in 2023. Going forward, GWM will continue to deeply explore the Middle East market, and build localized operations that serve as benchmarks for the region, while aligning with its globalization expansion strategy. New company will deliver digital solutions to help customers track and reduce their total carbon footprint HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) and Siguler Guff & Company, LP (Siguler Guff) today announced the launch of Envana Software Partners, LLC. The new venture provides critical emissions management software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions to track greenhouse gas emissions in the oil and gas industry and beyond. The Envana digital emissions management solution provides a smarter and more accurate picture of emissions, which gives companies actionable information to manage and reduce their total carbon footprint. The Halliburton-created software incorporates the companys operational expertise and oilfield best practices. Future Envana products that are now in active development will support methane detection and quantification management. The ventures first offering, Envana Catalyst, is a SaaS solution that helps increase transparency of the environmental impact of drilling, completions, and production operations. It can improve the visibility of greenhouse gas emissions tracking and forecasting companywide and can provide support for actionable recommendations throughout upstream asset life, from planning and design through execution. Envana Catalyst allows customers to choose the methodologies used to estimate emissions from a library of emissions sources tailored to the oil and gas industry, update them as needed, and track any changes. With its documented API, Envana Catalyst can integrate with existing customer software to automate emissions forecasting and tracking, or users can model emissions manually using the Envana Catalyst interface. Halliburton currently uses Envana Catalyst to help monitor and manage the emissions footprint of its products and services. Envana provides breakthrough SaaS emissions management solutions and is the latest example of how innovation adds to sustainability in the oil and gas industry, said Rami Yassine, senior vice president, Halliburton Drilling and Evaluation division. Envana Catalyst provides digital solutions to generate actionable recommendations for emissions improvement throughout the asset lifecycle. Halliburton Landmark will serve as the channel partner for the new venture by providing sales support through its global relationships and reach. Built on the flexibility and operational fidelity of iEnergy hybrid cloud, the Halliburton Landmark secure cloud environment, Envana Catalyst delivers emissions data from planning and operations to users. Envana Catalyst is available both as a standalone solution and, as additional functionality, integrated into E&P workflows within the Halliburton DecisionSpace 365 suite of products. Landmarks integration of Envana Catalyst to enhance existing workflows and help mitigate emissions is an industry first, said Nagaraj Srinivasan, senior vice president of Landmark, Halliburton Digital Solutions, and Consulting. Im excited about the impact Envana can have in the rapidly evolving emissions management market. Drew Guff, Co-Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Siguler Guff, said, The formation of Envana could not have come at a better time for the energy industry. Operators can utilize Envana to bridge corporate sustainability with models that are easily integrated from a trusted industry leader. PR Panigrahi, Managing Director and Head of Energy Investments of Siguler Guff, added, We could not be more excited to formally announce Envanas formation. The energy industry will benefit tremendously from emissions data analytics driven by artificial intelligence and machine learning that will guide short and long-term decision making for responsible energy development. More information can be found at www.envana.com. ABOUT HALLIBURTON Halliburton is one of the worlds leading providers of products and services to the energy industry. Founded in 1919, we create innovative technologies, products, and services that help our customers maximize their value throughout the life cycle of an asset and advance a sustainable energy future. Visit us at www.halliburton.com; connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube. ABOUT SIGULER GUFF Siguler Guff is a multi-strategy private markets investment firm which has over $16 billion of assets under management, estimated as of December 31, 2022. With over 25 years of experience investing as a firm in the private markets, Siguler Guff seeks to generate strong, risk-adjusted returns by focusing opportunistically on market niches. Headquartered in New York, Siguler Guff maintains offices in Boston, London, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong and Houston, TX. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005147/en/ Investor Relations Contact David Coleman [email protected] 281-871-2688 Press Contact Andrew Knotts [email protected] 281-871-2601 Siguler Guff Investor Relations Contact Daniel Yunger Kekst CNC [email protected] 212-521-4800 Jeffrey Taufield Kekst CNC [email protected] 212-521-4800 Source: Halliburton Company NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- HCA Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE: HCA), one of the nations leading healthcare providers, today announced that the company and the HCA Healthcare Foundation gave a total of more than $44 million to community organizations in 2022, exceeding the $41 million given in 2021. This includes HCA Healthcare and HCA Healthcare Foundation contributions to organizations focused on disaster relief, health equity, access to healthcare careers and community needs, as well as matching gifts which support colleague charities of choice. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223006000/en/ As part of HCA Healthcare's broader commitment to give $10 million over three years to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), the organization announced donations in October 2022 to Fisk University and Tennessee State University to advance diversity in healthcare. (Photo: Business Wire) Caring for the communities where our colleagues live and work, through charitable donations, strategic partnerships, board leadership and volunteering, is a top priority for HCA Healthcare, said Joanne Pulles, vice president of community engagement at HCA Healthcare and president of the HCA Healthcare Foundation. It is an honor to work alongside and invest in organizations who share our desire to improve lives and give our communities a healthier tomorrow. Throughout the year, HCA Healthcare invested in a number of initiatives to improve health equity. In October 2022, HCA Healthcare and the HCA Healthcare Foundation announced a $15 million collaboration with the American Heart Association that seeks to prevent, treat and beat stroke, partly by addressing health disparities and resource gaps through local health impact work. HCA Healthcare also strengthened its longstanding partnership with March of Dimes to improve maternal health outcomes by contributing more than $1.1 million last year. Additionally, HCA Healthcare announced a collaboration with Johnson & Johnson which will in part focus on improving lung health equity in the Black community. HCA Healthcare is also investing in institutions which educate aspiring healthcare professionals. In January 2022, the HCA Healthcare Foundation, through its Healthier Tomorrow Fund, committed $1.35 million over the next three years to Educate Texas, an initiative which aims to increase student access to programs that enable healthcare careers. Recently, $250,000 in Healthier Tomorrow Fund grants were given to community colleges and universities to help high school students nationwide learn about various healthcare careers. The company has also announced approximately $6.8 million towards its $10 million commitment to supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). Most recently, HCA Healthcare donated $1.5 million to Fisk University to support scholarships for students pursuing a degree in nursing and $1.5 million to Tennessee State University to create scholarship opportunities for undergraduate students pursuing careers in healthcare and computer science. In addition to direct contributions, the company also encourages volunteering and offers matching gifts to help colleagues further support the charity of their choice. In 2022, colleague giving with HCA Healthcare matching reached nearly $17 million, and HCA Healthcare colleagues logged approximately 143,878 hours spent volunteering. HCA Healthcare and the HCA Healthcare Foundation have a long history of supporting the Middle Tennessee community where HCA Healthcare is headquartered. In 2022, the HCA Healthcare Foundation, through its Middle Tennessee Fund, awarded $6.3 million in grants to 219 nonprofit agencies across Middle Tennessee. 80% of grants went to organizations focused on promoting health and well-being and providing primary care or basic needs to members of our communities. Other grant recipients included those focusing on education and the arts. Additionally, HCA Healthcare and its colleagues invested in communities through the following initiatives in 2022: In addition to contributions to community organizations, HCA Healthcare provided uncompensated care in 2022 at an estimated cost of approximately $3.5 billion. About HCA Healthcare Nashville-based HCA Healthcare is one of the nations leading providers of healthcare services comprising 182 hospitals and approximately 2,300 ambulatory sites of care, including surgery centers, freestanding ERs, urgent care centers, and physician clinics, in 20 states and the United Kingdom. With its founding in 1968, HCA Healthcare created a new model for hospital care in the United States, using combined resources to strengthen hospitals, deliver patient-focused care and improve the practice of medicine. HCA Healthcare has conducted a number of clinical studies, including one that demonstrated that full-term delivery is healthier than early elective delivery of babies and another that identified a clinical protocol that can reduce bloodstream infections in ICU patients by 44%. HCA Healthcare is a learning health system that uses its more than 35 million annual patient encounters to advance science, improve patient care and save lives. Please click here to connect with HCA Healthcare on social media. About HCA Healthcare Foundation The mission of the HCA Healthcare Foundation is to promote health and well-being and strive to make a positive impact in all the communities HCA Healthcare serves. We accomplish this mission by providing leadership, service and financial support to effective non-profit organizations working individually and collectively. ### All references to Company, HCA and HCA Healthcare as used throughout this document refer to HCA Healthcare, Inc. and its affiliates. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223006000/en/ INVESTOR CONTACT: Frank Morgan 615-344-2688 MEDIA CONTACT: Harlow Sumerford 615-344-1851 Source: HCA Healthcare LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The worlds leading maritime organisations and companies have released an open letter calling on United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to urgently prioritise the evacuation of 331 seafarers and 62 ships that remain trapped in Ukrainian ports. The 34 signatories, including the International Chamber of Shipping, NKY Line, the Union of Greek Shipowners, Danish Shipping, and seafarer charities, called the situation an unacceptable risk to life. In February 2022, 112 vessels crewed by more than 2,000 seafarers were berthed in Ukranian ports across the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Since then, 1,700 have been safely evacuated and have been able to return to their families or return to their work of keeping global trade flowing. The remaining 331 seafarers from countries such as Bangladesh, Philippines, Turkey, Syria, China, Egypt, Lebanon, Greece, Indonesia, Ghana, India, Azerbaijan and Georgia, remain to maintain the safety and protect against environmental harm. No other industry have non-combatants in the area over a year on from the start of the conflict, as they can only leave when the ships leave. Some of the ports where these seafarers remain have resumed operability, facilitating the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Shipping has been integral in carrying out this UN-brokered humanitarian effort, with crews sailing along the borders of the conflict zone to ensure the world continues to receive vital grain deliveries. However, ships who are not able to transport grain are excluded and remain trapped. Since the onset of the war, shipping companies, charities, and unions have continually called for the safe and immediate evacuation of the trapped seafarers. They have also worked in coordination with international organisations to facilitate the evacuation effort, supported the trapped seafarers families, and provided the seafarers with provisions including food, clean water, and medical supplies. To mark the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine, the shipping community sent this open letter to UNSG Guterres, calling on him to use his diplomatic abilities to evacuate the remaining seafarers ships. - ENDS - Notes to editors: About ICS The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is the principal international trade association for merchant shipowners and operators, representing all sectors and trades and over 80% of the world merchant fleet. www.ics-shipping.org View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005829/en/ Katerina Dimitropoulos, Communications Manager, ICS [email protected] / +44 7494 363434 Source: International Chamber of Shipping Demonstration of SMS two-way texting over a live 5G NTN connection with a Samsung Electronics System LSI mobile modem platform Enabling 3GPP Rel-17 NTN in commercial smartphones allows satellite communications to scale to meet ubiquitous coverage challenges End-to-end NTN emulation enables the design and validation of user equipment prior to network deployments SANTA ROSA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS), a leading technology company that delivers advanced design and validation solutions to help accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world, and Samsung Electronics System LSI Business have teamed up to demonstrate 5G New Radio (NR) non-terrestrial networks (NTN) enabling satellite-to-smartphone data connections at Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2023 (MWC23). Presented at Keysights booth, Hall 5 Stand 5E12, the demonstration will feature two-way SMS texting and video streaming over a live 5G NTN connection. Satellite-to-ground communication based on 5G standards is a critical step to building NTNs that deliver ubiquitous mobile connectivity and broadband internet access to populations living in rural areas. The collaboration between Keysight and Samsung demonstrates how this new technology integrates 5G into space communication and speeds up the implementation of 3GPP Rel-17 designs. The demonstration will be conducted by emulating a constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) through the Keysight PROPSIM Channel Emulator and establishing a 5G connection between the Keysight E7515B UXM 5G Wireless Test Platform and Samsungs Exynos Modem platform. Despite being in lower altitude orbits, LEO satellites move at very high speeds creating high Doppler fluctuations and signal degradations that require compensation to achieve reliable connections and provide end-to-end quality of service. Keysights wireless test platform combines 5G NR and narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) NTN signaling with real-world channel emulation hardware and software to create an end-to-end, mixed terrestrial and space communication testbed. This lab-based platform realistically simulates a wide range of orbit trajectories, including LEO and Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit (GEO), to address these technical challenges, optimize user equipment (UE) designs, and validate UE implementations prior to network deployments. Huiwon Je, Vice President of the Modem Development Team at Samsung Electronics, said: "Innovation in 5G technology is only possible when working side-by-side with partners like Keysight. Samsung has been at the forefront of 5G modem technology and with Keysights emulators and test platforms, we are able to quickly develop and evaluate 5G NTN connections using our Exynos Modem development platform. Peng Cao, Vice President and General Manager for Keysight's Wireless Test Group, said: By working closely with partners such as Samsung, Keysight is helping deliver the innovation needed to bring broadband connectivity to areas where terrestrial cellular networks are not a viable option. Through comprehensive, end-to-end emulation solutions, we are able to test early in the design cycle with realistic conditions to address a range of complexities that enable device makers to deliver on the promise of NTN. Resources About Keysight Technologies Keysight delivers advanced design and validation solutions that help accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world. Keysights dedication to speed and precision extends to software-driven insights and analytics that bring tomorrows technology products to market faster across the development lifecycle, in design simulation, prototype validation, automated software testing, manufacturing analysis, and network performance optimization and visibility in enterprise, service provider and cloud environments. Our customers span the worldwide communications and industrial ecosystems, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, semiconductor and general electronics markets. Keysight generated revenues of $5.4B in fiscal year 2022. For more information about Keysight Technologies (NYSE: KEYS), visit us at www.keysight.com. Additional information about Keysight Technologies is available in the newsroom at https://www.keysight.com/go/news and on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005675/en/ Keysight Media Contacts Geri Lynne LaCombe Americas/Europe +1 303 662 4748 [email protected] Fusako Dohi Asia +81 42 660-2162 [email protected] Source: Keysight Technologies, Inc. VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Lucidea, developer of the Argus Web CMS and leader in innovative museum collections management software, will participate in the Canadian Museum Association virtual conference on February 27 and 28, 2023. Their powerful software is a perfect fit for attendees focused on caring for collections and cultivating cultural communities. Visit Lucidea in their virtual Exhibit Booth during the conference. When you do, they will demonstrate why they are a trusted technology partner in the museum community. Learn about capabilities that enable expanded curation to educate your visitors, as well as innovative options that go beyond traditional collections management as you share your collections online. Lucideas Argus CMS offers comprehensive collections management capabilities, and takes museum professionals furtheroffering community curation/co-curation, a dynamic online presence, and full multimedia support for an engaging and immersive digital visitor experience. Argus is flexible, extensible, and always up-to-datesolving todays collections management challenges, and empowering museums of all sizes and budgets. For further information about Argus, visit https://lucidea.com, phone 604 278 6717, or email [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005820/en/ Mark Maslowski Marketing Manager 604-278-6717 [email protected] Source: Lucidea New 5G Americas white paper provides a detailed update on the momentum of Open RAN BELLEVUE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Open Radio Access Networks (Open RAN) is a concept that involves the interoperability of open hardware, software, and interfaces for cellular wireless networks. As new Open RAN developments progress, 5G Americas, the voice of 5G and 4G LTE for the Americas, today announced the release of The Evolution of Open RAN, which provides an update to a 5G Americas 2020 report on Open RAN standards. The new white paper focuses on market updates and the latest developments including artificial intelligence and machine learning tools. Chris Pearson, President of 5G Americas, said, Open RAN is rapidly evolving, as efforts are consolidating globally with new momentum driving the evolution of this technology forward. This continued progress requires governments, vendors, academics, and operators working closely together. The Evolution of Open RAN provides a comprehensive update on work from leading Open RAN standards bodies with an emphasis on application and microservices development in modern wireless cellular networks. The paper also examines how cloudification of Open RAN is providing opportunities in scalability of network functions for operators. The paper examines how architectural considerations may include network disaggregation and functional splits, hybrid vs. hierarchical management plane (M-plane), RAN cloudification and virtualization, and services-based architecture for RIC functions. Additionally, it examines how operators will have different Open RAN needs based on their own requirements for TCO savings, performance considerations, and brownfield vs greenfield deployments. Some key topics surrounding evolving Open RAN standards in this 5G Americas report include: Open RAN and goals Principles of O-RAN, architectural considerations Operator trials and deployments Operational considerations and integration challenges Advantages and challenges with Open RAN architectures O-RAN use-case realization using AI/ML Interface service models for AI/ML-enabled xApp design in Near-RT RIC Advanced learning algorithms for xApp and rApp development in the non-RT RIC Dr. Rajarajan Sivaraj, Director of RIC Architecture and Standards, Mavenir said, Open RAN offers potentially new capabilities in network performance, end-user experience and service level assurances for enterprises. Open RAN can provide the ability to harness leading artificial intelligence and machine learning tools, cloud native infrastructure and tools, open interfaces between network functions, and exposure of fine-grained user-level RAN state and performance information of the network to novel third-party optimization applications. He continued, With focus on inter-operability, Open RAN could help MNOs to simplify complex network operations and deliver enhanced performance capabilities in terms of high bandwidth, low latency and high reliability to enrich the end user experience. About 5G Americas: The Voice of 5G and LTE for the Americas 5G Americas is an industry trade organization composed of leading telecommunications service providers and manufacturers. The organizations mission is to facilitate and advocate for the advancement of 5G and beyond throughout the Americas. 5G Americas is invested in developing a connected wireless community while leading 5G development for all the Americas. 5G Americas is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. More information is available at 5G Americas website and Twitter. 5G Americas Board of Governors Members include Airspan Networks Inc., Antel, AT&T, Ciena, Cisco, Crown Castle, Ericsson, Liberty Latin America, Mavenir, Nokia, Qualcomm Incorporated, Samsung, Shaw Communications Inc., T-Mobile US, Inc., Telefonica, VMware, and WOM. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005194/en/ 5G Americas Viet Nguyen +1 206 218 6393 [email protected] Source: 5G Americas CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD), a global provider of marketing, packaging, print and supply chain solutions, today announced that it has entered into a share purchase agreement (the Purchase Agreement) with DATA Communications Management Corp. (TSX: DCM)(OTCQX: DCMDF) (DCM), a provider of marketing and business communication solutions. Under the terms of the Purchase Agreement DCM will acquire RRDs Canadian operations (the Transaction). DCM will acquire all the issued and outstanding shares of Moore Canada Corporation (RRD Canada), a wholly owned subsidiary of RRD. The Purchase Agreement contains various representations, warranties, covenants, and indemnities and customary closing conditions. Combining our business with DCM is a strategic opportunity to broaden our existing offering to customers across a variety of industries, said Rael Fisher, President, RRD Canada. We look forward to this new chapter in our longstanding history in Canada as part of DCM. This transaction not only brings together two organizations with complementary business models but it also advances and strengthens RRDs strategic plan to hone in on its core businesses, said Tom Quinlan, President and Chief Executive Officer at RRD. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2023, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and receipt of third party and regulatory approvals including those required under Canadas Competition Act. RRD Canada provides print and related services to thousands of customers across Canada including financial institutions, retailers, insurance providers, transportation companies, government organizations and other regulated industries. Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP (Canada) and BakerHostetler (U.S.) are serving as legal counsel to RRD. ABOUT RRD RRD is a global provider of marketing, packaging, print and supply chain solutions that elevate engagement across the complete customer journey. RRD offers the industrys most trusted portfolio of creative execution and world-wide business process consulting, with services designed to lower environmental impact. With 25,000 clients, including 92% of the Fortune 100, and 32,000 employees across 29 countries, RRD brings the expertise, execution, and scale designed to transform customer touchpoints into meaningful moments of impact. Use of forward-looking statements This news release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. federal securities laws, with respect to the Purchase Agreement and the Transaction, including the expected timing of closing and various steps to be completed in connection therewith, and other statements that are not historical facts. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about RRDs managements beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Words such as believes, anticipates, estimates, expects, intends, aims, potential, will, would, could, considered, likely, estimate and variations of these words and similar future or conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. While RRD believes these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond RRDs control. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend upon future circumstances that may or may not occur. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements and may vary from RRDs current expectations depending upon a number of factors affecting the business and risks associated with the performance of the business. These factors include the following, many of which are beyond RRDs control and the effects of which can be difficult to predict: (a) the possibility that the Transaction will not be completed on the terms and conditions, or on the timing, currently contemplated, by the Purchase Agreement and that it may not be completed at all due to a failure to obtain or satisfy, in a timely manner or otherwise, required regulatory approvals and other conditions of closing necessary to complete the transaction or for other reasons; (b) the possibility of adverse reactions or changes in business relationships resulting from the announcement or completion of the Transaction; (c) risks relating to the retention of key personnel during the interim period; and (d) other risks inherent to RRDs business and/or factors beyond its control which could have a material adverse effect on RRD, RRD Canada and/or the ability to consummate the Transaction and other risks and uncertainties detailed in RRDs periodic reports to investors and in other investor communications of RRD from time to time. RRD does not undertake to and specifically disclaims any obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect future events or circumstances after the date of such statement or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005378/en/ Investor Contact: Eric Hess VP Treasurer (630) 322-7111 [email protected] Source: RRD PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News: TotalEnergies (Paris: TTE) (LSE: TTE) (NYSE: TTE) has signed Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPA) with Sasol South Africa and Air Liquide Large Industries South Africa for the supply of 260 MW capacity of renewable electricity over 20 years. TotalEnergies will develop a 120 MW solar plant and a 140 MW windfarm in the Western Cape province to supply around 850 GWh of green electricity per year to the Sasols Secunda site, located 700 kilometers further North-East, where Air Liquide operates the biggest oxygen production site in the world. The two projects will provide competitive and available renewable electricity to decarbonize Sasol and Air Liquides production. These agreements demonstrate TotalEnergies positioning to contribute to the evolution of the energy mix in South Africa. The projects will have a direct impact on the local community through job creations. Power generation in South Africa is still 80% based on coal and power cuts occur daily. With these developments we are proud to support Air Liquide and Sasol for their supply of green electricity. Meanwhile, we are pleased to contribute to South Africas energy transition which consists of increasing its share of renewables and gas as an alternative to coal said Vincent Stoquart, Senior Vice President, Renewables at TotalEnergies. There is a dynamic market for corporate PPAs in South Africa and we want TotalEnergies to take a strong leadership position. The two projects are expected to be operational in 2025. The CPPAs with SASOL and Air Liquide were signed with a consortium of TotalEnergies Marketing South Africa1 (70%), its partner Mulilo (17%) and a to-be-announced B-BBEE partner (13%). These projects are subject to regulatory approvals. TotalEnergies and renewables electricity As part of its ambition to get to net zero by 2050, TotalEnergies is building a portfolio of activities in electricity and renewables. At the end of 2022, TotalEnergies' gross renewable electricity generation installed capacity was 17 GW. TotalEnergies will continue to expand this business to reach 35 GW of gross production capacity from renewable sources and storage by 2025, and then 100 GW by 2030 with the objective of being among the world's top 5 producers of electricity from wind and solar energy. About TotalEnergies TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity. Our more than 100,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, cleaner, more reliable and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people. @TotalEnergies TotalEnergies TotalEnergies TotalEnergies Cautionary Note The terms TotalEnergies, TotalEnergies company or Company in this document are used to designate TotalEnergies SE and the consolidated entities that are directly or indirectly controlled by TotalEnergies SE. Likewise, the words we, us and our may also be used to refer to these entities or to their employees. The entities in which TotalEnergies SE directly or indirectly owns a shareholding are separate legal entities. This document may contain forward-looking information and statements that are based on a number of economic data and assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TotalEnergies SE nor any of its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends contained in this document whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Information concerning risk factors, that may affect TotalEnergies financial results or activities is provided in the most recent Universal Registration Document, the French-language version of which is filed by TotalEnergies SE with the French securities regulator Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF), and in the Form 20-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 1 TotalEnergies Marketing South Africa is a South African registered company of TotalEnergies (50.1%) and a number of South african BBBEE investors (49.9%). View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222006138/en/ TotalEnergies Media Relations: +33 (0)1 47 44 46 99 l [email protected] l @TotalEnergiesPR Investor Relations: +33 (0)1 47 44 46 46 l [email protected] Source: TOTALENERGIES SE Glendale neighborhood dispensary will bring Item 9 Labs Corp.s dispensary franchise footprint to three stores in Colorado this summer DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Unity Rd., the national cannabis dispensary franchise from Item 9 Labs Corp. (the Company) (OTCQX: INLB), announced today that it is expanding its retail footprint with a new shop near the Glendale neighborhood of Denver. Located at 3915 E. Exposition Avenue, this will be the third location the brand will introduce in Colorado and a flagship franchisee training center. The Company aided its social equity partner, Josh Davis, in securing full state and local license approval for the Unity Rd. dispensary, located in a popular commercial and residential district. Construction has begun on the new store, and it is expected to open this summer. For social equity dispensary owners, a missing piece in their road to success is ongoing guidance and support from a dedicated team of experts, said Unity Rd. CEO Mike Weinberger. The franchise model is a key vehicle that empowers them to confidently and compliantly operate dispensaries in their local communities. Unity Rd. currently has two shops open in Colorado one with its franchisees Nate and Bruce Wetzel in Boulder, Colo. which opened in June 2021, and another in North Denver, that opened in July 2022. Colorado is one of the most mature cannabis markets in the U.S. and has been setting records in sales year-over-year from the launch of its adult-use program in January 2014, with Denver at the epicenter of all the positive momentum. According to the state's Department of Revenue, it has since generated over $12.2 billion in adult-use sales. Weinberger continued, With Colorado, and specifically Denver, being a highly competitive cannabis market, Unity Rd. offers a proven guidebook, ongoing support and the expert resources needed for industry newcomers and existing dispensary operators alike to navigate regulatory hurdles and thrive in the space. Cannabis is a highly regulated industry with laws that differ from state-to-state and change day by day. These market conditions make it next to impossible for industry newcomers to enter let alone operate a successful business. Unity Rd. breaks down these barriers, helping independent business owners bring the benefits of the growing industry to their hometown to strengthen their communities, invest in local programs and build a legacy. To learn more about the Unity Rd. franchise opportunity, contact [email protected], call 720-923-5262 or visit unityrd.com. For more information about Item 9 Labs Corp. and its brands, visit item9labscorp.com. ABOUT UNITY RD.: Unity Rd. is the first national cannabis dispensary franchise model in the U.S. Since launching in 2018, Unity Rd. has always had one mission and vision in mind for the cannabis industry: to inspire confidence in the benefits of cannabis for all. From consumers to entire communities and investors, Unity Rd. was founded on the belief that everyone has a place in the budding $28 billion industry. The result is high-quality cannabis products guests can rely on that are sold in shops run by local entrepreneurs who are backed by Unity Rd.s collective 200 years of legal cannabis and franchising experience. An industry pioneer, Unity Rd. is the retail franchise from Item 9 Labs Corp. (OTCQX: INLB). The franchise has been named one of the top cannabis retail leaders in the nation by MJBizDaily, became the first concept of its kind to become a member of the International Franchise Association (IFA) and was named one of the Best Cannabis Companies to Work For in the dispensary category of Cannabis Business Times 2023, 2022 and 2020 lists. Unity Rd. currently has four shops open and multiple agreements signed with 20-plus entrepreneurial groups who are developing the brand across 10-plus states. For more information, visit unityrd.com. ABOUT ITEM 9 LABS CORP. Item 9 Labs Corp. (OTCQX: INLB) is a vertically integrated cannabis operator and dispensary franchisor delivering premium products from its large-scale cultivation and production facilities in the United States. The award-winning Item 9 Labs brand specializes in best-in-class products and user experience across several cannabis categories. The company also offers a unique dispensary franchise model through the national Unity Rd. retail brand. Easing barriers to entry, the franchise provides an opportunity for both new and existing dispensary owners to leverage the knowledge, resources and ongoing support needed to thrive in their state compliantly and successfully. Item 9 Labs brings the best industry practices to markets nationwide through distinctive retail experience, cultivation capabilities and product innovation. The veteran management team combines a diverse skill set with deep experience in the cannabis sector, franchising and the capital markets to lead a new generation of public cannabis companies that provide transparency, consistency and well-being. Headquartered in Arizona, the company is currently expanding its operations space up to 640,000-plus square feet on its 50-acre site, one of the largest properties in Arizona zoned to grow and cultivate flower. For additional information, visit item9labscorp.com. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, risks and effects of legal and administrative proceedings and governmental regulation, especially in a foreign country, future financial and operational results, competition, general economic conditions, proposed transactions that are not legally binding obligations of the company and the ability to manage and continue growth. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those indicated. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements we make in this news release include the introduction of new technology, market conditions and those set forth in reports or documents we file from time to time with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to revise or update such statements to reflect current events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005448/en/ Media Contact: Item 9 Labs Corp. [email protected] Investor Contact: Item 9 Labs Corp. 800-403-1140 [email protected] Source: Unity Rd. CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Women in Manufacturing Education Foundation (WiMEF) is pleased to announce the election of 21 members to its 2023 Board of Directors, whose terms begin on April 1, 2023. The board is led by Chair Veronica Braker, Senior Vice President of Global Operations, ADM, Decatur, IL; Vice Chair Mary Ellen Grom, Executive Director, Customer Experience Solutions, AFL, Duncan, SC; Secretary Steve Speich, Intelligent Solutions Group Factory Manager, John Deere, Fargo, ND; and Past Chair/Treasurer Cara Herzog, Director, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, People and Culture, Southwire Company, Carrollton, GA. First-term members of the 2023 WiMEF board are: Kori Carlson, President, Brooklyn Tool Co., Minneapolis, MN Joanna Perz, Global Sustainability Leader, Ingersoll Rand, Davidson, NC On behalf of the entire WiM organization, I am excited to welcome Kori and Joanna to the WiMEF Board of Directors, said WiM President and Founder Allison Grealis. Education creates a roadmap for progress and, with this new board at WiMEF, we will continue to pave the way for women in the manufacturing industry to reach their full potential. WiMEF funds the Leadership Institute for Women in Manufacturing and STEM, the Leadership Consortium, the Management Development Program, and the Empowering Women in Production Program, as well as a Virtual Learning Series that provides monthly webinars. These programs have helped thousands of women and men in the industry grow professionally and personally since the foundations inception. Additional members of the WiMEF board who are continuing their service are: Michel Conklin, Executive Director, BotsIQ, Pittsburgh, PA Melissa DeTamble, Chief Human Resources Officer, Burke Porter Group, Ada, MI Sascha Harrell, IN-MaC Director of Education & Workforce, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN Mani Khanuja, Senior Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Specialist, Amazon Web Services, Vancouver, BC Danielle Lancianese, Director Tile & Stone Category, Shaw Industries Group, Inc., Dalton, GA Leslie LeMair, Vice President of Sales & Business Development, Federal Package, Chanhassen, MN Shameka Lewis, EHS Supply Chain Category Director, Kellogg Company, Fort Worth, TX Vanessa Li, Program Manager, Novelis, Kennesaw, GA Jenn Martin, Engineering Manager, Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing, North America, Georgetown, KY Jo Ann Mitchell, MBA, JMitchell Consulting, Fair Lawn, NJ Melissa Rocha, Director of Global Sourcing, Kymera International, Charlotte, NC Catherine Ross, Director of Education, Smartforce Development, AMT The Association for Manufacturing Technology, McLean, VA Shauna Smith, Vice President, Global Operations and Product Realization PPE, IDEX Corporation, Charlotte, NC Carrie Uhl, Chief Procurement Officer, GE Healthcare, Commerce, MI Laura Wilde, Senior Director Quality & Mission Assurance, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Huntsville, AL Grealis also thanked outgoing members of the WiMEF board for their outstanding service: Rachel Camarillo, Erin Air; and Kaitlyn Kelly, Trane Technologies. The WiM Education Foundation (WiMEF) is the 501(c)(3) arm of Women in Manufacturing Association, a more than 16,000-member-strong association dedicated to supporting, promoting and inspiring women who have chosen a career in manufacturing. WiMEF provides and supports effective and affordable educational opportunities for women in manufacturing. For more information, visit www.wimef.org and www.womeninmanufacturing.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005724/en/ Christie Carmigiano 216-503-5716 [email protected] Source: Women in Manufacturing Education Foundation Beijing (Gasgoo)- On February 23, Chinas location service provider Asensing announced that it has been awarded a contract by Toyota to provide high-precision positioning solutions for several vehicle models under FAW-Toyota. Photo credit: Asensing This nomination made Asensing the first Chinese positioning and perception company to enter Toyota's supply chain system. As a core function of automotive intelligence, intelligent driving requires efficient, stable, and accurate positioning capabilities. The P-Box, which is planned to be installed in FAW-Toyota vehicles, is a high-precision positioning and perception module that utilizes efficient and stable algorithms based on Kalman filtering. The module integrates satellite signals, six degrees-of-freedom (6DOF) motion sensors, wheel speed sensors, and other information to provide low-latency, high-precision position, velocity, attitude, and time (PVAT) information, even in environments with poor satellite signals such as tunnels and underground parking lots. Since its establishment in 2014, Asensing has been focusing on the R&D and application of high-precision positioning and perception technology. From in-depth research to commercialization, the company has independently developed software and hardware solutions to create a positioning solution that is "all-weather, all-scenario, highly reliable, high-performance, and highly precise." The company is currently constructing intelligent manufacturing bases in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta, with a total annual production capacity of several million sets of intelligent driving sensor kits upon completion. Up to now, Asensing's solutions have been implemented in nearly 500,000 intelligent vehicles, and have attracted nominated contracts for over 70 vehicle models from more than 20 automakers. In 2022, the company established branches in the United States, Germany, and Japan, and is currently in negotiations with several overseas automakers for collaboration. BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Zayo Group Holdings, Inc., a leading global communications infrastructure platform, is proud to announce that Lynn Tinney, Senior Vice President of Global Partnerships at Zayo, has been named a 2023 Channel Influencer Award winner by Channel Futures. Tinney is one of 50 individuals recognized as a thought leader who will impact the direction of the IT and communications indirect sales channel in 2023. Tinney is a well-known and respected voice in the channel community with over 20 years of channel leadership experience across the security and technology sectors. She has held senior leadership roles at companies including Brightcove, OPAQ, CA Technologies, Riverbed Technology, and Cisco Systems. Since joining Zayo in January 2022, Lynn has led the re-architecture of the companys channel partner program, resulting in a 15% year-over-year growth for the program. This included launching Zayos first-ever partner advisory board and integrating existing programs across Zayo-acquired companies Allstream and QOS Networks. Lynn has been an invaluable asset to Zayo, said Brian Daniels, Chief Sales Officer, Strategic Verticals, at Zayo. Under her leadership, Zayo has seen significant growth in our global channel partner program and made tremendous strides towards our goal of developing Zayo into a world-class partner organization. Her expertise and passion for the channel shine well beyond her work at Zayo, and we could not be more proud to see her recognized in this list of thought leaders. Lynn and the other 49 Channel Influencers will be honored at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo, May 1-4 at the Venetian Resort & Expo in Las Vegas. She is profiled in a gallery on the Channel Futures website and the 2023 Channel Influencers digital issue, available now for download. Since 2018, the Channel Futures Channel Influencer Awards have recognized individuals expected to have a significant impact on the IT and communications indirect sales channel in the year ahead. These individuals are considered to be channel leaders, dedicated to the channel and working to keep it moving forward. Our Channel Influencers share a number of common traits, chief among them being their dedication to the channel, said Bobby DeMarzo, vice president of content, Informa Tech Channels Group. In our conversations with this years honorees, they all cited the importance of sharing information and helping. They consider influence to be an opportunity to help others. Our editors are in the trenches, so they know whos truly making waves and influencing the channel, said Craig Galbraith, editorial director for Channel Futures. We are once again proud to highlight the best and brightest Channel Influencers those who lead with actions and words that set an example for the entire industry. About Zayo Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. provides mission-critical bandwidth to the worlds most impactful companies, fueling the innovations that are transforming society. Zayos 139,000-mile network in North America and Europe includes extensive metro connectivity to thousands of buildings and data centers. Zayos communications infrastructure solutions include dark fiber, private data networks, wavelengths, Ethernet, dedicated internet access and data center connectivity solutions. Zayo owns and operates a Tier 1 IP backbone and through its CloudLink service, Zayo provides low-latency private connectivity that attaches enterprises to their public cloud environments. Zayo serves wireless and wireline carriers, media, tech, content, finance, healthcare and other large enterprises. For more information, visit https://zayo.com. About Channel Futures Channel Futures is a media and events destination for the information and communication technologies (ICT) channel community. We provide information, perspective and connection for the entire channel ecosystem, including solution providers (SPs), managed service providers (MSPs), managed security service providers (MSSPs), cloud service providers (CSPs), value-added resellers (VARs) and distributors, technology solutions brokerages, subagents and agents, as well as leading technology vendor partners and communication providers. Our properties include many awards programs such as the Channel Futures MSP 501, a list of the most influential and fastest-growing providers of managed services in the technology industry; Channel Partners events, which delivers unparalleled in-person events including Channel Partners Conference & Expo, Channel Partners Leadership Summit, Womens Leadership Summit, the MSP Summit and Channel Partners Europe; and a DEI Community Group, our initiative to educate, support and promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) in the ICT channel industry. Channel Futures is where the world meets the channel; we are leading Channel Partners forward. More information is available at channelfutures.com. Channel Futures is part of Informa Tech, a market-leading B2B information provider with depth and specialization in ICT sector. Every year, we welcome 14,000+ subscribers to our research, more than 4 million unique monthly visitors to our digital communities, 18,200+ students to our training programs and 225,000 delegates to our events. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005285/en/ Patrick Murphy BLASTmedia for Zayo Group [email protected] Source: Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. By Barani Krishnan Investing.com -- Another week, another big U.S. crude build, and another positive close on the oil market, which seems to prefer catching up a day or two later to the fact. The Energy Information Administration reported on Thursday a ninth straight weekly rise in U.S. crude stockpiles that left the market with 60 million barrels more than at the start of the year. Oil bulls, however, pushed the data aside to focus on a Reuters report that Russia plans to cut crude exports from its western ports by up to 25% in March versus February. The proposed reduction in Russian oil output for next month would be in excess of the 5% production cut announced for February by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak a couple of weeks ago. Like most news out of Moscow that needs verification, the Reuters report was lacking in proof, with both the Russian energy ministry and oil pipeline monopoly Transneft declining to comment. Pushed against the wall by Ukraine-related sanctions imposed by the West, the Kremlin has come out fighting with statements aimed at striking back at its political foes while upholding its sovereignty as well as the prices of its main export oil, which has been battered by a $60 selling limit imposed by the G7. Often, however, the Kremlins statements have been more bravado than action. Russia normally exports up to 10M tonnes a month or 2.5M barrels per day of Urals crude from the ports of Primorsk, Ust-Luga and Novorossiysk. A cut of 25% would represent as much as 625,000 bpd if confirmed by Transneft and agreed to by oil companies, said Reuters which cited anonymous sources for its report. Despite the lack of authoritative sourcing, the story was enough to help crude prices rise 2% on the day, recovering a large part of Wednesday's 3% tumble. New York-traded West Texas Intermediate, or WTI, crude for April delivery settled up $1.44, or 2%, at $ 75.359 per barrel. It fell 3.4% in the prior session. Brent for April delivery settled up $1.61, or 2%, at $82.21. Like WTI, Brent also fell 3% a day ago. Crude inventories gained 7.648M barrels during the week ended Feb. 17, the EIA said in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report. That extended the prior week's outsized build of 16.283M barrels, which was the fourth largest ever in the history of the agencys reporting. In total, some 850.6M barrels were stockpiled at the end of last week and of that, around 60M, or 7%, were built over eight straight weeks, beginning from the week ended Jan. 3. For last week itself, industry analysts had forecast a build of 2.083M barrels on the average. The EIA reported almost three times that number The climb in crude inventories comes amid seasonal maintenance and other disruptions at U.S. refineries that foresaw less processing of crude. The EIA said U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 15M barrels per day last week, which was 17,000 barrels per day less than the previous weeks average. Refineries operated at 85.9% of their operable capacity last week, the agency added. Typically, inventory runs at this time of the year are about 90% or more. On the gasoline inventory front, the EIA reported a draw of 1.856M barrels, versus the forecast rise of 108,000 barrels and against the previous week's rise of 2.317M. Notwithstanding last week's draw, gasoline inventories are up 17M barrels since the year began. Automotive fuel gasoline is the No. 1 U.S. fuel product. While gasoline inventories fell, distillate stockpiles surged, rising for the fourth time in five weeks. Until last month, distillates, which are refined into heating oil, diesel for trucks, buses, trains, and ships, and fuel for jets, were the strongest component of the U.S. petroleum complex in terms of demand. Distillate stockpiles rose by 2.698M barrels versus the expected draw of 1.126M. In the previous week, distillates drew by 1.285M barrels. I wouldnt be surprised if the market is down by as much as 2% tomorrow or by Monday in a belated reaction to these EIA numbers, like what we saw last week, said John Kilduff, a partner at New York energy hedge fund Again Capital. After last week's report of the 16.283M-barrel build for the week ended Feb. 10, crude prices took two days to fall 3%. FILE PHOTO: A logo of Adobe Inc. is pictured at the company's office in Citywest Business Campus, Saggart, Ireland October 19, 2021. Picture taken October 19, 2021. REUTERS/ Tom Bergin By Stephen Nellis (Reuters) - Adobe Inc said on Thursday it had signed a deal with semiconductor Qualcomm Inc as a customer for its cloud-based marketing software. Once best known for tools like Photoshop used to create websites and digital marketing materials, Adobe has expanded its business to include software for managing those materials and tracking how well they work at bringing customers in the door. The subscription-based marketing software helped Adobe become one of the few software companies founded in the 1980s to navigate the transition to the modern cloud era and has helped nearly double its revenue since 2018. In Qualcomm's case, the deal to use Adobe's software comes as the San Diego, California-based semiconductor company is expanding its business from selling mobile phone chips into selling computing chips for cars, drones and other applications. That means that Qualcomm is trying to court customers in a variety of industries. One part of the company's website might need to show Android software developers how to work with Qualcomm's latest mobile phone chips, while another part of its website might need to have a portal where engineering teams automotive companies can order test systems for developing self-driving cars. The Adobe software aims to help Qualcomm keep tabs on those elements of its website and tweak them to help better draw in each set of customers. Whether a customer is buying a connected device or the cutting-edge chips inside, everyone now expects to have a brand experience that is captivating, connected and relevant, Don McGuire, Qualcomm's chief marketing officer, said in a statement. The companies did not disclose the value of the deal. (Reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE: FSS) (the "Company"), a leader in environmental and safety solutions, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all the assets and operations of Trackless Vehicles Limited ("Trackless"), a leading manufacturer of multi-purpose, municipal sidewalk tractors, for initial cash consideration of C$54 million (approximately US$40 million), subject to post-closing adjustments. In addition, the transaction also includes a contingent earn-out payment of up to C$6 million. The acquisition also includes the operations of Work Equipment Limited, the exclusive Trackless dealer in Southwestern and Northern Ontario, Canada. Trackless, which is headquartered in Courtland, Ontario, Canada and employs approximately 90 people, generated revenues of approximately C$35 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Trackless manufactures the industry-leading, MT Series 7 tractor ("MT7"), which uses a variety of attachments to provide year-round value to its customers. Snow and ice attachments, including de-icing solutions, plows, and snowblowers can be used by customers during winter months, while during warmer periods, other attachments can be used in a variety of applications, such as concrete/asphalt maintenance, sweeping, tree and vegetation control, and materials hauling. The interchangeable Trackless attachments can help customers to achieve carbon reduction and other environmental goals by operating a single, highly-versatile unit instead of several purpose-built vehicles. Trackless also supports the recurring aftermarket needs of its customers through a comprehensive parts offering, sales of which represent up to 20% of annual revenues. The superior design of the MT7, the breadth and depth of its attachment offerings, and a dedicated dealer network have allowed Trackless to establish a differentiated position in the industry. "The acquisition of Trackless represents a strong addition to our municipal product offerings and further bolsters our position as an industry-leading diversified manufacturer of specialized vehicles for maintenance and infrastructure markets," said Jennifer L. Sherman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "With our Joe Johnson Equipment subsidiary currently the largest distributor of Trackless products in North America, we have a great appreciation of Trackless' products and reputation for quality and innovation. We are excited about the opportunities to leverage Federal Signal's distribution channel in the U.S. to expand the geographic reach of Trackless products and accelerate the growth trajectory of the business". "Trackless has a proud history of growth through customer focus, quality products, and excellent service," noted Douglas Cadman, President of Trackless. "Federal Signal, through Joe Johnson Equipment, has been a valuable long-term partner of ours, and we are excited to be joining forces to launch the next phase of our growth". The Company anticipates completing the transaction over the next 90 days, subject to customary closing conditions, and expects the acquisition to be accretive in 2023. Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) and Siguler Guff & Company, LP (Siguler Guff) today announced the launch of Envana Software Partners, LLC. The new venture provides critical emissions management software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions to track greenhouse gas emissions in the oil and gas industry and beyond. The Envana digital emissions management solution provides a smarter and more accurate picture of emissions, which gives companies actionable information to manage and reduce their total carbon footprint. The Halliburton-created software incorporates the companys operational expertise and oilfield best practices. Future Envana products that are now in active development will support methane detection and quantification management. The ventures first offering, Envana Catalyst, is a SaaS solution that helps increase transparency of the environmental impact of drilling, completions, and production operations. It can improve the visibility of greenhouse gas emissions tracking and forecasting companywide and can provide support for actionable recommendations throughout upstream asset life, from planning and design through execution. Envana Catalyst allows customers to choose the methodologies used to estimate emissions from a library of emissions sources tailored to the oil and gas industry, update them as needed, and track any changes. With its documented API, Envana Catalyst can integrate with existing customer software to automate emissions forecasting and tracking, or users can model emissions manually using the Envana Catalyst interface. Halliburton currently uses Envana Catalyst to help monitor and manage the emissions footprint of its products and services. Envana provides breakthrough SaaS emissions management solutions and is the latest example of how innovation adds to sustainability in the oil and gas industry, said Rami Yassine, senior vice president, Halliburton Drilling and Evaluation division. Envana Catalyst provides digital solutions to generate actionable recommendations for emissions improvement throughout the asset lifecycle. Halliburton Landmark will serve as the channel partner for the new venture by providing sales support through its global relationships and reach. Built on the flexibility and operational fidelity of iEnergy hybrid cloud, the Halliburton Landmark secure cloud environment, Envana Catalyst delivers emissions data from planning and operations to users. Envana Catalyst is available both as a standalone solution and, as additional functionality, integrated into E&P workflows within the Halliburton DecisionSpace 365 suite of products. Landmarks integration of Envana Catalyst to enhance existing workflows and help mitigate emissions is an industry first, said Nagaraj Srinivasan, senior vice president of Landmark, Halliburton Digital Solutions, and Consulting. Im excited about the impact Envana can have in the rapidly evolving emissions management market. Drew Guff, Co-Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Siguler Guff, said, The formation of Envana could not have come at a better time for the energy industry. Operators can utilize Envana to bridge corporate sustainability with models that are easily integrated from a trusted industry leader. PR Panigrahi, Managing Director and Head of Energy Investments of Siguler Guff, added, We could not be more excited to formally announce Envanas formation. The energy industry will benefit tremendously from emissions data analytics driven by artificial intelligence and machine learning that will guide short and long-term decision making for responsible energy development. More information can be found at www.envana.com. IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT), a global provider of fintech, cloud communications, and traditional communications services, today announced the launch of its cloud-based prepaid-as-a-service platform, Zendit. Zendit will be introduced at the Mobile World Congress 2023 (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, from February 27th to March 2nd. With the Zendit platform, businesses of all sizes, entrepreneurs, and developers will be able to easily add a powerful, global monetization channel to their apps and websites - prepaid offerings curated from a global digital catalog of over 10,000 goods and services including mobile airtime top-ups, mobile data bundles, digital gift cards, and utilities. The rapid adoption of digital prepaid services in combination with the extensive reach of mobile - now over seven billion consumers worldwide - is fueling extraordinary growth in the global prepayments space, said Emilio del Rio, President of IDT Digital Payments. Now, Zendits cloud-based, prepaid-as-a-service platform enables companies to participate in this high-growth opportunity by efficiently integrating cross-border prepaid offerings into their apps and websites in a matter of minutes. The Zendit platform can easily scale to meet the needs of businesses and organizations of all sizes while ensuring uptime and availability. It provides a user-friendly and intuitive workflow without sacrificing powerful features and flexibility. The platform will feature a range of tools from APIs and SDKs to no/low-code widgets and plugins that will make it easy for any developer to integrate prepaid offerings with existing systems and technologies.To enhance speed and ease to market, Zendit offers a seamless self-onboarding experience that simplifies the integration process, enabling developers to access and manage Zendits global prepaid catalog within minutes. Developers can head over to zendit.io, open an account, obtain integration credentials, fund their wallets, and go live all in a matter of minutes. Our mission is to enable businesses of all shapes and sizes to unlock new revenue opportunities by building innovative prepaid solutions that attract, engage, retain, and reward their customers worldwide, del Rio concluded. MWC attendees are invited to stop by the IDT booth at Congress Square Stand CS24 for a firsthand look and personalized demonstration of the innovative Zendit platform. About IDT Corporation: IDT Corporation (NYSE: IDT) is a global provider of fintech, cloud communications, and traditional communications services. We make it easy for families to contact and support each other across international borders. We also enable businesses to transact and communicate with their customers with enhanced intelligence and insight. Our BOSS Money international remittance, IDT Digital Payments and BOSS Revolution international calling services make sending money, paying for products and services, and speaking with friends and family around the world convenient and reliable. National Retail Solutions (NRS) point-of-sale retail network enables independent retailers to operate and process transactions more effectively while providing advertisers and consumer marketers with unprecedented reach into underserved consumer markets. net2phones communications-as-a-service solutions provide businesses with intelligently integrated cloud communications and collaboration tools across channels and devices. Our IDT Global and IDT Express wholesale offerings enable communications service enterprises to provision and manage international voice and SMS services. Contact:Bill Ulrey IDT Investor RelationsPhone: (973) 438-3838E-mail: [email protected] # # # Source: IDT Corporation FILE PHOTO: Voyager Digital logo and decreasing stock graph are seen in this illustration taken, July 7, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustrations By Tom Wilson and Yana Gaur (Reuters) -The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and New York's top financial regulator have opposed crypto exchange Binance.US's $1 billion deal to buy bankrupt crypto lender Voyager, the latest in a string of U.S. regulatory moves against crypto firms. The Voyager deal may violate laws on the unregistered offer and sale of securities, the SEC said in a filing on Wednesday. The SEC's objection also cited reports of U.S. investigations into Binance.US and the global Binance crypto exchange, of which Binance.US is a purportedly independent partner. "Regulatory actions" could mean the deal may become "impossible to consummate," it said. New York's top financial regulator and New York Attorney General Letitia James also objected to the deal in filings on Wednesday. The New York Department of Financial Services said that Voyager "illegally operated a virtual currency business within the state without a license." In a statement, a Binance.US spokesperson said on Thursday the company would "work with relevant parties to provide any requested information, as Binance.US customer assets always remain on the platform, are held on a 1:1 basis and are fully reserved." A lawyer representing Voyager Digital did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The SEC cited concerns over the security of assets at Binance.US, saying the planned deal did give enough information on whether third parties, "including Binance.US affiliates or foreign persons or entities," would have access to the keys for customers' digital wallets. The deal also failed to detail what safeguards were in place "to ensure that customer assets are not transferred off the Binance.US platform," the SEC objection said. Reuters reported last week, citing banking records and company messages, that the global Binance exchange had secret access to a bank account belonging to Binance.US, and transferred large sums of money from the account to a trading firm managed by Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao. Binance.US called the reporting "outdated," saying that "only Binance.US employees have access" to its bank accounts. It later confirmed that the trading firm operated as a market maker on its platform. The objections come as the SEC targets companies offering a range of crypto services, from stablecoins to "staking." It told the issuer of Binance's stablecoin, Paxos Trust Company, that it should have registered the product as a security and is considering taking action against it, Paxos said last week. The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the global Binance exchange for possible money laundering and sanctions violations, Reuters reported in December. A top Binance executive last week told the Wall Street Journal that Binance expected to pay penalties to resolve the investigations. Voyager filed for bankruptcy in July, one of a string of crypto companies caught in the 2022 collapse in token prices. Voyager received initial court approval for the deal last month. A U.S. national security review could delay or block the deal, the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States said in a court filing in December. (Reporting by Yana Gaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath, Will Dunham Bernadette Baum) FILE PHOTO: A representation of bitcoin is seen in an illustration picture taken on June 23, 2017. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo By Pete Schroeder and Hannah Lang WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Top U.S. banking regulators issued a fresh warning to banks to be on guard for any liquidity risks from cryptocurrency-related clients, cautioning some of their deposits could prove volatile. In a joint statement issued Thursday, the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said banks should have robust tools in place to monitor funds placed by crypto-asset related entities. The agencies noted deposits placed with banks for the benefit of crypto consumers, as well as stablecoin reserves, could be subject to rapid outflows. Regulators said the new statement was spurred by "recent events" in the crypto sector that highlighted volatility risks. While they noted the statement does not include new requirements and banks are not prohibited from providing services to particular sectors, it does mark the latest in a series of moves from bank regulators urging caution in any crypto dealings. The guidance represents the first time the bank regulators have highlighted deposits linked to stablecoins a type of cryptocurrency typically pegged to the U.S. dollar as susceptible to volatility during periods of stress in the crypto market. Most of the major stablecoins including Tether and USD Coin are asset-backed, meaning that the stablecoin issuer holds assets, including bank deposits, that can quickly be redeemed to meet withdrawal requests. But regulators expressing concerns about the stability of those reserves could cause banks to further examine their relationship with stablecoin firms. The statement noted that stablecoin reserves could see large and rapid outflows in cases of unanticipated stablecoin redemptions and turmoil in crypto markets, for example. (Reporting by Pete Schroeder and Hannah Lang; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) FILE PHOTO: An unpainted Boeing 737 MAX aircraft is seen parked in an aerial photo at Renton Municipal Airport near the Boeing Renton facility in Renton, Washington, U.S. July 1, 2019. Picture taken July 1, 2019. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson TPX IMAGES OF By David Shepardson and Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Boeing Co has temporarily halted deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner jets as the U.S. planemaker conducts additional analysis on a fuselage component, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Thursday. Deliveries will not resume until the FAA is satisfied that the issue has been addressed, the agency said. "The FAA is working with Boeing to determine any actions that might be required for recently delivered airplanes," the agency said. Boeing said in reviewing certification records it "discovered an analysis error by our supplier related to the 787 forward pressure bulkhead. We notified the FAA and have paused 787 deliveries while we complete the required analysis and documentation." Spirit AeroSystems, which supplies the forward pressure bulkhead for the 787 jets, said it was aware that Boeing has halted deliveries. "Based on the information we currently have and our interactions with Boeing to date, we believe it is too early to assert there was an 'analysis error' by Spirit," the company said in a statement. Boeing said it discovered the error within the past week. "There is no immediate safety or flight concern for the in-service fleet," Boeing said. "While near-term deliveries will be impacted, at this time we do not anticipate a change to our production and delivery outlook for the year." The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Boeing has not handed over a Dreamliner since Jan. 26 from the production line or from the dozens stored awaiting delivery because of a documentation issue. Boeing shares fell 2.6% in extended trading following the disclosure after closing up around 1%. In August, the FAA approved the first 787 for delivery since May 2021 after it approved the planemaker's inspection and modification plan. Boeing delivered 31 787s in 2022 and said last month it expects to deliver between 70 and 80 787s this year. Boeing Chief Financial Officer Brian West said last month on an earnings call "it's going to take us a little bit longer" to get to producing five 787s per month later this year. "But we still see 70 to 80 in the cards," West said. Boeing had halted deliveries in 2021 after the FAA raised concerns about its proposed inspection method. In September 2020, the FAA said it was investigating manufacturing flaws in some 787 jetliners. The current issue is unrelated to a previous quality problem involving gaps around the forward pressure bulkhead, which was discovered by the FAA in 2021 and contributed to a delivery stoppage that lasted until August 2022. (Reporting by David Shepardson and Valerie Insinna in Washington and Anirban Chakroborti in Bengaluru. Additional reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber, Bill Berkrot and Savio D'Souza) FILE PHOTO: The Boeing logo is seen on the office building in Chicago April 26, 2006./File Photo By Nathan Gomes and Valerie Insinna (Reuters) - Boeing Co said on Thursday it plans to stop production of the F/A-18 Super Hornet in late 2025 after delivering the last of the fighter jets, as the aerospace giant shifts focus to winning the race for the sixth-generation of combat aircraft.The company said it expects to hire more workers and build three new facilities in St. Louis, where some of Boeing's defense unit's operations are already based, to support future programs. More than 900 people were hired in the region last year. Boeing said stopping production of the F/A-18 jets, which were featured in Tom Cruise-starrer "Top Gun: Maverick", will also allow the company to focus on ramping up output of training jet T-7A Red Hawk and autonomous refueling aircraft MQ-25 Stingray, both of which are produced in St. Louis. The closure of the F/A-18 line is a pivotal moment for its St. Louis-based facilities that would leave the F-15EX as Boeing's sole fighter jet in production unless the company is able to win the U.S. Air Force's sixth-generation fighter program. Little is known about the fighter program, known as the Next Generation Air Dominance, including jet specifications and when the Air Force will select an aircraft manufacturer. Trade publication Defense News in 2020 reported that at least one prototype was built and flown by the Air Force. Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are also competing for the contract. Boeing was beset with cost overruns last year in its Defense, Space & Security unit after it aggressively bid for fixed price contracts, delaying its recovery from an overlapping safety and pandemic-induced crises on its commercial side. It said production of the F/A-18 jet, which debuted in 1983, could be extended until 2027 if the Super Hornet is selected by the Indian Navy for its future fighter. (Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru and Valerie Insinna in Washington; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) Transparency International - Georgia (TI) has published a new study on Georgia's economic dependence on Russia.According to the study, in 2022, Georgia received about $3.6 billion in income from remittances, tourism and export of goods from Russia, which is 3 times more than the income received from the same sources in 2021. This indicator even exceeds 2 times the income received from Russia in 2019 before the start of the coronavirus pandemic."In 2022, the income from remittances, tourism and export of goods from Russia was 14.6% of the Georgian economy (GDP), while in 2021 this figure reached 6.3%, and the maximum - 9.9% in 2018. This means that compared to previous years, Georgia's economic dependence on Russia has increased. The growth is mainly due to the jump-like increase in remittances," TI wrote.According to the "Transparency International" research, in 2022 Georgia's exports to Russia increased by 6.8% and amounted to $652 million, and after the start of the war, in March-December, exports increased by 3.2%, which was mainly due to a 5-fold increase in the re-export of light vehicles, although the total Russia's share in exports still decreased, as it increased more in other countries.As TI wrote, Georgian wine exports are distinguished by their high dependence on the Russian market."After the start of the war, the import of oil products (fuel) from Russia increased the most - by $482 million (5 times more). The share of Russian fuel in imports was 51%" TI report reads.US Senator Jeanne Shahin responded to the People's Power's initiated bill which is supported by the "Georgian Dream" and said the "People Power" bill is similar to the one in Russia, which was effective in shutting down non-governmental organizations and silencing the media."The law that was introduced in the Parliament is not the American FARA law. I worked on that law, to reform it. It was originally passed in the 1930s in response to Hitler, as an effort to identify lobbyists or others who represented other countries in the United States and asked them to register. The bill here is similar to a law in Russia that has been very effective in shutting down NGOs and silencing the media in Russia.It is not conducive to the 12 conditions that the European Union asked Georgia to fulfill for EU integration, and this law is very similar to the one that Hungary adopted and which came under attack. So it's not in line with the values that I think we would want in a democracy. And, transparency does not require such a law either. The argument that this is necessary for transparency simply does not cut it, because there is already transparency. "Non-governmental organizations are already obliged to declare where they are funded from," the senator noted. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Gotion High-Tech announced on Feb. 21 via its WeChat account that its laboratory has been qualified by Volkswagen Group for cell testing, indicating that the Chinese battery makers testing and validation abilities have been recognized by the German auto giant. As one of the worlds biggest automobile groups, Volkswagen Group has set the requirements stricter than the global industrys average standards in the aspects of reliability validation, test cycles, testing environment, and innovative testing methods for power batteries for the sake of high reliability, safety, and performance. Photo credit: Gotion High-Tech Covering an area of more than 60,000 square meters, Gotion High-Tech Validation Engineering Institute has set up four validation bases in Xinzhan, Baohe, and Lujiang of Hefei city and Jiading of Shanghai city. It has also built four testing platforms for cell material and component testing, cell testing, system testing, and safety & reliability testing, enabling the full-size and life-cycle validation analysis from raw materials to battery systems. The laboratory was accredited by CNAS (China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment) in 2015, and by other domestic and international professional organizations, like TUV, CSA, and CCS, demonstrating that its validation capability has reached a global-leading level. Over the past several years, Gotion High-Tech Validation Engineering Institute has been working on the validation and development of Volkswagen unified cells, and providing supports for the validation and testing of Volkswagens global projects. FILE PHOTO: Signage for Humana Inc. is pictured at a health facility in Queens, New York City, U.S., November 30, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo (Reuters) -Humana Inc will exit the employer-based insurance business over the next 18 to 24 months, it said on Thursday, to focus primarily on government-backed programs such as Medicare for people aged 65 and older and its specialty businesses. The U.S. insurer raised its forecast for the Medicare Advantage program it sells directly to individuals to at least 775,000 members from 625,000 on higher-than-anticipated sales and retention early in this year. Shares of the company rose as much as 1.3% to about $510 in early trading. "The exit from the commercial group business makes strategic sense as it enables the company to focus resources on medicare advantage business," J.P. Morgan analyst Lisa Gill said in a note, adding that the brokerage believes the market viewed the business as non-core. Its employer group insurance business includes both fully-insured health insurance plans purchased by employers, as well as employer-sponsored health plans run by Humana. The insurer will continue its government-backed programs like Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and military and specialty insurance, as well as CenterWell healthcare services business offering primary care for older people. The company said it does not expect the exit to impact its full-year 2023 forecast. In 2021, the last full-year for which the company broke out revenues for its group and specialty segment, the business generated revenue of just under $7 billion, less than 10% of the total revenue of $83 billion. That also included its Tricare military contract. It now expects first-quarter earnings to represent about 33% of full-year 2023 adjusted earnings per share, compared with 35% estimated previously. Humana also said it expects an increase in its medical cost ratio, a percentage of its spends on claims to the premiums it collects, for the first quarter. It, however, expects no impact on the medical cost ratio for the full year. (Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Sriraj Kalluvila) NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aquila Investment Management LLC (Aquila), Investment Adviser and Administrator to Aquila Group of Funds, has announced that Tim Iltz and Vasilios Gerasopoulos will join the company as portfolio managers and employees. Mr. Iltz has been a portfolio manager of Aquila Tax-Free Fund of Colorado and Aquila Tax-Free Trust of Oregon, while being an employee of Davidson Fixed Income Management, Inc. (doing business as Kirkpatrick Pettis Capital Management), which has served as Sub-Adviser to the Funds. Effective March 6, 2023, Davidson Fixed Income Management, Inc. will no longer serve as Sub-Adviser, and Aquila Investment Management LLC will remain as each Funds Investment Adviser. Upon joining Aquila on that date, Mr. Iltz will continue as a portfolio manager of Aquila Tax-Free Fund of Colorado and Aquila Tax-Free Trust of Oregon. There will be no changes to either Funds investment objectives, principal investment strategies, fees, or expenses in connection with the change. Mr. Gerasopoulos joins Aquila as a portfolio manager after serving as Credit Analyst at Davidson Fixed Income Management, Inc. since 2015. Effective March 6, 2023, he will join Mr. Iltz as portfolio manager of Aquila Tax-Free Fund of Colorado. The Funds portfolio management team will also include Royden Durham, who has served as lead portfolio manager of Aquila Churchill Tax-Free Fund of Kentucky since 2011. Aquila is also expanding the portfolio management team of Aquila Tax-Free Trust of Oregon, adding Anthony Tanner and James Thompson to serve as co-portfolio managers alongside Mr. Iltz. Mr. Tanner and Mr. Thompson are currently lead portfolio managers of Aquila Tax-Free Trust of Arizona and Aquila Tax-Free Fund For Utah, respectively. We are excited to welcome Tim Iltz and Vasilios Gerasopoulos as portfolio managers and employees of Aquila. Having worked closely with them over the years, we know their transition to Aquila will be seamless, and the management of the Colorado and Oregon municipal bond funds will continue smoothly and reinforce our locally-based investment focus, said Diana Herrmann, President and CEO of Aquila Investment Management. The addition of seasoned managers Royden Durham, Anthony Tanner and James Thompson will bring their extensive expertise in fixed income investing to the Funds and will further the strength of Aquilas investment management team. Aquila Tax-Free Fund of Colorado and Aquila Tax-Free Trust of Oregon are municipal bond funds designed especially for residents of those states. Their primary investment objectives are to provide as high a level of current income exempt from state and federal income taxes, as is consistent with preservation of capital by investing in municipal obligations, which pay interest exempt from Colorado and Oregon state and federal income taxes. Timothy Iltz has served as a portfolio manager of Aquila Tax-Free Trust of Oregon since 2018 and became a portfolio manager of Aquila Tax-Free Fund of Colorado in December 2022, as co-portfolio manager Chris Johns plans to retire effective February 28, 2023. Mr. Iltz has over 20 years of experience in the fixed income industry, serving clients as portfolio manager, financial advisor, investment banker, analyst and consultant. He has been employed by Davidson Fixed Income Management, Inc. since 2011 where he currently serves as a Vice President and Municipal Bond Credit Analyst. Prior to that, he worked as a Vice President in Fixed Income Banking for Wedbush Securities in Portland and has over 11 years of public finance investment banking experience, including the full spectrum of bond issues available to local governments. Vasilios Gerasopoulos has been a Credit Analyst at Davidson Fixed Income Management, Inc. since 2015. Previously, he was a Senior Financial Analyst, Bond and Debt, for Jefferson County, Colorado from 2012 -2015. Mr. Gerasopoulos has over 10 years of experience in the public finance industry, working for local government entities and in public finance investment banking. ABOUT AQUILA GROUP OF FUNDS As investment managers for more than 35 years, we have always believed that investing successfully depends on knowing what you own and why you own it. We think this is particularly important in todays markets. Within Aquila Group of Funds, each Fund is managed to our high standards of quality and care, which we apply when implementing our municipal bond, equity and high-yield corporate bond strategies. We combine rigorous, hands-on investment research with a strong commitment to service and approachability. As of January 31,t 2023, we manage approximately $2.4 billion in assets. Aquila Management Corporation, the Funds founder and sponsor, is a family-owned, privately-held firm established in 1984 to serve the needs of investors and financial advisors. Please see Aquila Group of Funds Guiding Principles here. Before investing in any Funds offered by Aquila Group of Funds, carefully read about and consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information found in the Funds prospectus. Prospectuses are available from your financial advisor, and when you call 800-437-1000 or visit www.aquilafunds.com. Contact: Victoria Odinotska KANTER Tel. 703/685-9232 Diana HerrmannAquila Group of Funds Tel. 212/697-6666 Source: Aquila Group of Funds TORONTO, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DX3 Canada (DX3), a premier conference production house in North America specializing in everything retail, digital marketing and tech, is excited to host the WEB3 Toronto Summit. The upcoming summit will be held in person at the Toronto Congress Centre on March 1-2, 2023, as Canadas emerging blockchain conference and exhibition dedicated to NFTs, blockchain applications and metaverse partners. Co-located with DX3 2023, the summit is specifically designed for attendees navigating the complexities of NFTs, emerging blockchain technologies and metaverse assets. WEB3 Toronto Summit will give the community a wider voice by creating a forum to share and discuss the most significant ideas across the blockchain landscape today, offer specialist training through knowledge-sharing and the participation of industry veterans, grow connections throughout the industry, encourage wider collaboration and promote NFT education among global stakeholders. Since the outbreak of the global pandemic and the reorientation towards digital business models and assets, several key sectors have witnessed a complete transformation in consumer expectations and technological deployment. With external shocks and disruptions expected to continue, an emphasis on Web 3.0 and associated technologies has become crucial for enterprises to not only survive but thrive in this fast-changing world. Over the course of the two-day conference, attendees will have the opportunity to hear from invited speakers and illustrious thought leaders across a variety of formats, including informative keynotes, insightful panel discussions and intimate fireside chats. On Day 1, Larry Lau, co-Founder, RAYA; Sami Tauber, Chief Metaverse Officer and Founder, VNCCII; and Kyle Reidhead, co-Founder, Web3 Academy, will deliver keynotes on KYC - Know Your Community, Future Symbiosis of Creativity and Technology, and Powering Web 3. A multitude of industry experts, revolutionary thinkers and renowned analysts will participate in engaging panel discussions on topics such as Digital Assets & DeFi, NFT - Jack of All Trades and Web 3.0: Why not yet?. From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., the summit will host a roundtable workshop on Women in Web 3 to encourage the participation of women entrepreneurs in the latest digital revolution. Hifazat Faz Ahmad, president, WEB3 Toronto, will also moderate a fireside chat with Ben Earl, Marvel writer and NFT worldbuilder. Day 2 will showcase a jam-packed agenda with panel discussions hosting market experts such as: Soufia Trabelsi, head of Gamefi, Ledgerlink Labs Ehsan Shariati, CTO, Functionland Mohamed El Kandri, co-founder & CTO, IR4LAB Vandana Taxali, blockchain lawyer, founder & CEO, Artcryption Harrison Jordan, NFT lawyer, Harrison Jordan Law Professional Corporation Jonathan Bench, attorney Harris Bricken and many more Panelists will delve deeply into a wide spectrum of issues including Why Blockchain is important for businesses, Security and Data Protection on Blockchain and Blockchain: The Chain of Applications. Plenty of networking breaks will be scheduled on both Day 1 and Day 2 so that participants can become acquainted with each other more informally, engage in meaningful conversations, explore potential synergies, build rapport and cultivate lasting relationships. An innovation showcase will also be hosted during which select players from exciting companies will demonstrate practical applications of cutting-edge technologies at their disposal. Hifazat Faz Ahmad, president of DX3, will deliver opening remarks on both days. Through an ambiance optimized for business efficiency and in-depth discussions, attendees will have the rare opportunity to interact directly with numerous highly respected leaders all under one roof. The shared insights will guide the attendees towards greater success and prove invaluable for business ventures looking to re-align their vision and operations with the new Web 3.0 realities of their respective sectors. To learn more about this event, visit https://www.web3toronto.ca/ About Web3 Toronto DX3 Events is proud to present the WEB3 Toronto Summit event. The team is focused on highlighting the role technology is playing in transforming the retail and marketing industry. DX3s technology foundation is being rebuilt in the form of Web 3.0. It is imperative we bring the required attention to what the new technology means and the challenges and opportunities it presents, while staying away from buzzwords in order to provide relevant information and insights. With that in mind, DX3 is proud to launch WEB3 Toronto as the global community navigates the world of NFTs, blockchains and metaverses. Contact Hifazat 'Faz' Ahmad[email protected]416-597-5751 ext. 221 Media PartnerIBN (InvestorBrandNetwork)Los Angeles, Californiawww.InvestorBrandNetwork.com310.299.1717 Office[email protected] Source: DX3 NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Caira Surgical, the pioneer in radar surgical tracking for navigated and robotic joint replacement surgery, announced today that Jon Greenwald, Chief Executive Officer, and Irina Benimovich, Chief Financial Officer, will conduct investor meetings and host presentations at the upcoming CG 2023 Musculoskeletal Conference and LSI USA '23 partnering event. March 7 CG 2023 Musculoskeletal Conference Ahead of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Annual Meeting March 8-10, 2023, in Las Vegas, Nev., Canaccord Genuity will host its CG 2023 Musculoskeletal Conference at the Caesars Palace Las Vegas. Jon Greenwald will present on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, from 3:30 - 3:55 p.m. PT. Caira management will also be available for one-on-one meetings throughout the conference and AAOS from Tuesday, March 7 Friday, March 10. For more information or to schedule a meeting, please contact Caira Surgical Investor Relations at [email protected] . March 22 LSI USA 23 The LSI USA '23 Emerging Medtech Summit, the medtechs premier partnering event, will take place March 20-23, 2023, at the Monarch Beach Resort, The Waldorf Astoria, in Dana Point, Calif. Caira Surgical has been selected as an Innovation Leader, recognizing Caira as among the leading medtech companies working to advance healthcare. Jon Greenwald will present on Wednesday, March 22, 2023 , from 11:30 11:39 a.m. PT as part of Track 1. , as part of Track 1. Caira management will also be available for one-on-one meetings throughout the event. For more information or to schedule a meeting, please contact Caira Surgical Investor Relations at [email protected] . Jon Greenwald will present on Caira Surgicals proprietary technology, which seeks to revolutionize the usability, safety, economics and accessibility of advanced surgical navigation and robotics for orthopedic surgery. The company's first product is a breakthrough sub-millimeter-accurate radar tracking system for knee replacement surgery. The system leverages advanced radar technologies to overcome line-of-sight interference and eliminate invasive surgical hardware and high-cost, large-footprint capital equipment inherent in incumbent surgical tracking systems. "We are excited to come out from under the radar and share more about Caira Surgical and our technology at the upcoming Canaccord and LSI events," Greenwald said. "I look forward to meeting with the global strategics and investors at these events and determining how we can best partner to realize our technology vision of revolutionizing joint replacement for the benefit of surgeons and patients worldwide." About Caira Surgical Caira is revolutionizing the usability, economics, safety and accessibility of advanced surgical navigation and robotics for orthopedic surgery. The company's first product is a navigation system for knee replacement. It employs Cairas proprietary advanced Radar Surgical Tracking to overcome line-of-sight interference inherent in existing technologies. Caira's technology also eliminates invasive surgical instruments and significantly reduces the cost and complexity of utilizing advanced technology in joint replacement surgery. For more information, please visit cairasurgical.com. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2a449710-3eb4-453f-b046-1f5a76a845ba Jon Greenwald, Chief Executive Officer at Caira Surgical Jon Greenwald, Chief Executive Officer at Caira Surgical, will present during the March 7th CG 2023 Musculoskeletal Conference in Las Vegas, Nev., and the March 22nd LSI USA '23 Emerging Medtech Summit in Dana Point, Calif. Source: Caira Surgical Corporation TORONTO, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: CAR.UN) (CAPREIT) is pleased to announce that Ms. Jennifer Stoddart has joined CAPREITs Board of Trustees (the Board) effective February 27, 2023. CAPREIT has also announced that Jamie Schwartz has stepped down from the Board, effective as of February 22, 2023, to focus on his other endeavors. Mr. Schwartz served as a trustee of CAPREIT since his appointment to the Board in 2018. Ms. Stoddart is a strategic advisor in the Privacy and Cybersecurity Group at Fasken LLP, where she advises on privacy matters. Ms. Stoddart was the Privacy Commissioner of Canada from 2003 to 2013. Previously, she was the Chair of the Commission d'acces a l'information du Quebec from 2000 to 2003. She has also held positions on the Human Rights Commissions of Canada and Quebec. Ms. Stoddart was named an Officer of the Order of Canada for her international leadership in privacy rights and for her exemplary public service as the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. The Quebec Bar has recognized her with the distinction of Advocatus Emeritus and the Christine Tourigny Award of Merit, and the Universite du Quebec a Montreal awarded her the Prix Reconnaissance for her commitment to Canadians privacy rights. She has twice been named as one of the Top 25 most influential lawyers in the justice system and legal professions in Canada by Canadian Lawyer magazine. In addition, she has received honorary doctorates from the University of Ottawa and McGill University. Ms. Stoddart has been a member of the Committee on the responsible conduct of research, reporting to the Chief Scientist of Quebec, a member of the board of directors of Genome Quebec and a Visiting Scholar at the Centre of Genomics and Policy of the McGill University Faculty of Medicine. In 2018, she was named Honorary Colonel of the 34th Combat Engineer Regiment. She has been a mentor with the Womens Executive Network (WXN), an organization that focuses on empowering women and creating positive social change. She has contributed to the McGill University law faculty mentorship program. She is also the co-author of the book Quebec Women: A History. We are delighted to have Jennifer join the Board. Jennifers extensive expertise in the privacy field will be invaluable as privacy legislation in Canada continues to evolve. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank Jamie for his considerable contributions during his board tenure and wish him well in his future endeavors, commented Dr. Gina Parvaneh Cody, Chair. ABOUT CAPREIT CAPREIT is Canadas largest publicly-traded provider of quality rental housing. As at December 31, 2022, CAPREIT owns or has interests in approximately 67,000 residential apartment suites, townhomes and manufactured housing community sites well-located across Canada and the Netherlands, with approximately $17 billion of investment properties in Canada and Europe. For more information about CAPREIT, its business and its investment highlights, please visit our website at www.capreit.ca and our public disclosure which can be found under our profile at www.sedar.com. CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS All statements in this press release that do not relate to historical facts constitute forward-looking statements. These statements represent CAPREIT's intentions, plans, expectations and beliefs and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could result in actual results differing materially from these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are more fully described in regulatory filings that can be obtained on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. For more information, please contact: CAPREIT Mr. Mark Kenney President & CEO (416) 861-9404 CAPREIT Dr. Gina Parvaneh Cody Chair (416) 861-9404 Source: Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- "Heroes: A Benefit Concert for the Blind and Visually Impaired Community" will be hosted by American Heritage School on May 6, 2023, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The 1980s-themed event will take place in the main theater at 12200 W Broward Blvd., Plantation, FL, 33325, featuring performances by Bon Jovi and Journey tribute bands. Lighthouse of Broward is the only private nonprofit organization in Broward County that provides comprehensive educational, rehabilitation, and counseling services to blind and visually impaired children and adults, including babies and seniors with vision loss. "It is a privilege to participate in this event and support the Lighthouse of Broward's services to 2,590 blind and visually impaired babies to seniors in Broward County," said Joe Gunther, owner of Gunther Motor Company. Please contact Lighthouse of Broward or any Gunther Motor Company dealership for tickets and information on providing your support. Gunther Motor Company Donation Details: Since 2019, the Gunther Motor Company Community Cares Initiative has made the following donations: $60,000 - Wounded Warrior Project $50,000 - Samaritan's Purse via National Christian Foundation (Hurricane Ian relief) $50,000 - Volunteer Florida (Hurricane Ian relief) $10,000 - The Lighthouse of Broward $5,000 - Daytona Beach Fire Department $5,000 - City of New Smyrna Beach $5,000 - The Lighthouse of Broward $5,000 - Coconut Creek Police Department About Gunther Motor Company Gunther Motor Company is a family-owned and operated automotive group with car dealerships throughout South Florida. With over 50 years in the industry, Gunther Motor Company prides itself on being a significant employer and reliable fixture in the community that provides attentive service and a family-friendly environment. Contact Information: Giovanni Velez Marketing Director [email protected] (954) 510 4809 Related Images Image 1 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment Featured Image for Gunther Motor Company Featured Image for Gunther Motor Company Source: Gunther Motor Company ( gunthermotorcompany.com TORONTO, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) today announced investment fund net sales and net assets for January 2023. Mutual fund assets totalled $1.886 trillion at the end of January 2023. Assets increased by $77.0 billion or 4.3% compared to December 2022. Mutual funds recorded net redemptions of $477 million in January 2023. ETF assets totalled $328.9 billion at the end of January 2023. Assets increased by $15.2 billion or 4.8% compared to December 2022. ETFs recorded net redemptions of $491 million in January 2023. Mutual Fund Net Sales/Net Redemptions ($ Millions)* Asset Class Jan. 2023 Dec. 2022 Jan. 2022 Long-term Funds Balanced (4,384 ) (4,969 ) 3,095 Equity (668 ) (3,083 ) 2,926 Bond 3,463 (2,253 ) 356 Specialty 650 (37 ) 631 Total Long-term Funds (940 ) (10,342 ) 7,009 Total Money Market Funds 463 1,642 178 Total (477 ) (8,700 ) 7,186 Mutual Fund Net Assets ($ Billions)* Asset Class Jan. 2023 Dec. 2022 Jan. 2022 Long-term Funds Balanced 911.8 880.5 997.9 Equity 684.0 649.4 719.1 Bond 232.3 222.7 255.9 Specialty 23.0 22.1 22.4 Total Long-term Funds 1,851.0 1,774.7 1,995.2 Total Money Market Funds 35.0 34.4 26.6 Total 1,886.1 1,809.1 2,021.8 * Please see below for important information regarding this data. ETF Net Sales/Net Redemptions ($ Millions)* Asset Class Jan. 2023 Dec. 2022 Jan. 2022 Long-term Funds Balanced 65 125 301 Equity (383 ) 1,950 4,297 Bond (940 ) 3,524 (269 ) Specialty 492 (94 ) 88 Total Long-term Funds (766 ) 5,504 4,417 Total Money Market Funds 275 2,172 161 Total (491 ) 7,676 4,579 ETF Net Assets ($ Billions)* Asset Class Jan. 2023 Dec. 2022 Jan. 2022 Long-term Funds Balanced 12.7 12.0 12.1 Equity 206.6 194.9 206.4 Bond 81.6 80.4 79.6 Specialty 11.4 10.2 12.3 Total Long-term Funds 312.4 297.5 310.4 Total Money Market Funds 16.5 16.3 6.6 Total 328.9 313.7 317.0 * Please see below for important information regarding this data. IFIC direct survey data (which accounts for approximately 85% of total mutual fund industry assets and approximately 83% of total ETF industry assets) is complemented by estimated data to provide comprehensive industry totals. IFIC makes every effort to verify the accuracy, currency and completeness of the information; however, IFIC does not guarantee, warrant, represent or undertake that the information provided is correct, accurate or current. The Investment Funds Institute of Canada. No reproduction or republication in whole or in part is permitted without permission. * Important Information Regarding Investment Fund Data: Mutual fund data is adjusted to remove double counting arising from mutual funds that invest in other mutual funds. Starting with January 2022 data, ETF data is adjusted to remove double counting arising from Canadian-listed ETFs that invest in units of other Canadian-listed ETFs. Any references to IFIC ETF assets and sales figures prior to 2022 data should indicate that the data has not been adjusted for ETF of ETF double counting. The Balanced Funds category includes funds that invest directly in a mix of stocks and bonds or obtain exposure through investing in other funds. Mutual fund data reflects the investment activity of Canadian retail investors. ETF data reflects the investment activity of Canadian retail and institutional investors. About IFICThe Investment Funds Institute of Canada is the voice of Canadas investment funds industry. IFIC brings together 150 organizations, including fund managers, distributors and industry service organizations, to foster a strong, stable investment sector where investors can realize their financial goals. By connecting Canadas savers to Canadas economy, our industry contributes significantly to Canadian economic growth and job creation. To learn more about IFIC, please visit www.ific.ca. For more information please contact: Pira KumarasamySenior Manager, Communications and Public Affairs[email protected]416-309-2317 Source: The Investment Funds Institute of Canada TORONTO, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A cultural education program on the importance of gold mining to the development of the town of Lavras do Sul was launched earlier this month by Lavras do Sul Mineracao (LDS Mineracao), Lavras Gold Corp.s (TSXV: LGC, OTCQB: LGCFF) Brazilian subsidiary. Developed in partnership with LDS Mineracao, the Rota do Ouro, or Gold Trail, is a route with five stations that each highlight an aspect of gold mining history in the Lavras do Sul Community: Estacao Memoria at Casa de Cultura Jose Neri da Silveira Estacao Pecuaria at Olavo de Almeida Macedo Exhibition Park Estacao Water at Camping Municipal Zeferino Teixeira Garimpo Station at Caju Negocios Imobiliarios Mineral Riches Station at the office of LDS Mineracao. All community members will be able to tour the route, but the projects outreach will initially focus on Grade 4 students in the towns elementary school. Children will visit twice, once each semester, coinciding with when the curriculum covers the towns history. We want this to be an interactive experience, said Paulo Serpa, Lavras Golds Country Manager. At the beginning of the visit, every child will receive a passport that will be stamped at each station after a presentation on what happened there and why its important. The final station is at the Companys offices, where a geologist will show some drill core and mineral samples and talk about Lavras Golds exploration program. About 24 representatives from the community, including from the departments of education, environment, and planning, attended the inaugural tour. Each guest received a small biodegradable jewelry box made from sheeps wool by local artisans. We chose something connected to the town that referenced gold, said Fernanda Carvalho, who created the Gold Trail and consults on social integration projects for LDS Mineracao. Inside we placed broad beans, which are native to the area and can be planted and grown locally. CEO Michael Durose will talk more about the Gold Trail and how Lavras Gold is building strong community relationships in a panel on Latin America at Mines and Money Miami on Friday, February 24 starting at 3 p.m. About Lavras Gold Lavras Gold (TSXV: LGC, OTCQB: LGCFF) is a Canadian exploration company focused on realizing the potential of a multi-million-ounce gold district in southern Brazil. Its Lavras do Sul Project is in Rio Grande do Sul State and primarily an intrusive hosted gold system of possible alkaline affinity. More than 23 gold prospects centred on historic gold workings have been identified on the property, which spans more than 22,000 hectares. Follow Lavras Gold on www.lavrasgold.com, as well as on LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. Contact information Michael Durose Annemarie Brissenden President & CEO Investor Relations 416-844-6284 416-844-6284 [email protected] [email protected] DISCLAIMER Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release. FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATIONThis news release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as plan, expect, project, intend, believe, anticipate, estimate, may, will, would, potential, proposed and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions may or will occur. These statements, including those on planned exploration activities and goals, are only objectives and predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information, including the risks and factors that generally affect exploration and the uncertainty of exploration results and the ability to obtain regulatory approval for the Consolidation. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Companys Managements Discussion and Analysis and Listing Statement recently filed under the Companys profile on www.sedar.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or managements estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Source: Lavras Gold Corp VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Refined Metals Corp. (CSE: RMC) (OTC: RFMCF) (FRA: CWA0) (the Company or Refined) is pleased to announce the Company has executed a Master Services Agreement (the Agreement) with RESPEC Consulting Inc. (RESPEC), a leader in geoscience, engineering, data, and integrated technology solutions for industry. RESPEC will work with Refined as a strategic operational partner that will support the Company in geological and engineering design of all exploration and drilling programs for the Horizon South Lithium Property. As the project advances, RESPEC will work with Refined to develop a technical report as they are highly experienced in the region. RESPEC will leverage in-depth knowledge of the region as they have worked with peers in the area developing large scale drilling operations for the likes of Pan American Energy Corp as well as third party resource calculations for American Battery Technology Corp. Figure 1 - Horizon South Lithium Property Location Aman Parmar, Chief Executive Officer, comments, RESPEC is one of the most well-versed companys having exposure to multiple industry peers and is actively supporting drilling immediately north of the Horizon South Property. As Refined works towards an extensive exploration and drilling program, with the goal of a resource discovery, we believe having RESPEC as a partner at each stage will be invaluable. We look forward to advancing the project with RESPECs well versed team of geologists, geophysicists and engineers. Tabetha Stirrett, Vice President, comments, RESPEC is pleased to be partnering with Refined Metals Corp. in our continued effort to define the Lithium potential around Tonopah, Nevada. Our experience with the surrounding properties and contractors in the area will ensure an efficiently run exploration program and subsequent technical report. We look forward to working with Mr. Parmar and his team at Refined to advance the Horizon South Property. About RESPEC Consulting Inc. RESPEC was founded in Rapid City, South Dakota in 1969 and operates in 14 states and two Canadian provinces. RESPECs projects and products have been completed for clients in seven continents and 50 countries. Underground. Aboveground. Natural. Technical. Digital. Inside. Outside. On-Site. No matter the market, RESPEC integrates solutions tailored to clients and communities needs. RESPEC unites engineering and applied sciences with technology, professional, and creative services so that everyone gets cutting-edge outcomes. RESPEC finds answers that work for the needs at hand. RESPECs diversified team can handle projects ranging from early-stage exploration to multi-disciplinary feasibility studies. About Refined Metals Corp. Refined Metals Corp. is a junior mining company dedicated to identifying, evaluating and acquiring interests in mineral properties in North America. The Companys business is currently focused on the exploration and development of the Rose Property, a prospective, exploration stage silver-gold-copper-zinc property located near Kamloops, British Columbia. The Company also holds an option to acquire a prospective, exploration stage lithium property located in the Lac Simard region of Quebec pursuant to the Option Agreement. The Company continues to review other mineral properties in North America for possible acquisition in the future. For further information, please contact: Phone: (604) 398-3378Email: [email protected] Forward-Looking Statements The Company provides forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections, or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct, and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited those identified and reported in the Companys public filings under the Companys SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by law. The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the information contained herein. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/20a4900e-5e09-49cc-ba0d-cdd8ca75be7c Figure 1 Horizon South Lithium Property Location Source: Refined Metals Corp. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SPOD LITHIUM CORP. (SPOD or the Company) (CSE: SPOD) (OTCQB:EEEXF) is pleased to announce that after a successful application process, the Companys Class A common shares will commence tomorrow February 23, 2023 on the OTCQB Venture Market ("OTCQB") under the symbol "EEEXF". The Company's shares will continue to trade on the CSE under the symbol "SPOD". The OTCQB is recognized by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and provides investors with a premium market for their securities in the United States. Trading on the OTCQB introduces additional international compliance and disclosure standards for the Company, and the Company expects that the listing on the OTCQB will provide greater visibility and convenience of trading for US investors, resulting in enhanced liquidity and greater reach. "The listing on OTCQB helps introduce Spod Lithium Corp. to a larger audience and improve liquidity in the stock, which is an important factor in the Company's development," said Chris Cooper, CEO. "The US market is indispensable for accessing larger pools of capital, and the US listing gives millions of US investors easier access to transact Spod Lithium Corp. shares." The OTCQB Venture Market is for early stage and developing U.S. and international companies. Companies are current in their reporting and undergo an annual verification and management certification process. Investors can find real-time quotes and market information for the Company on www.otcmarkets.com. About Spod Lithium Corp. Spod Lithium Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of mineral properties containing battery, base, and precious metals. The Companys flagship assets are its Lithium properties located in the James Bay region of Quebec and the Nipigon and Niemi region of Ontario, Canada. For further information, please refer to the Company's disclosure record on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) or contact the Company through its website at www.spodlithiumcorp.com or by telephone at 604.307.8290. On Behalf of the Board of DirectorsChris CooperChief Executive Officer604.307.8290 Forward-Looking Information Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements, including with respect to future plans, and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as may, expect, estimate, anticipate, intend, believe and continue or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions, the ability to manage operating expenses, and dependence on key personnel. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, anticipated costs, and the ability to achieve goals. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, the continued availability of capital and financing, litigation, failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The CSE has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the contents of this news release. Source: Spod Lithium Corp. HILLSBOROUGH, N.C.Adam & Eve has announced that it is donating 250,000 condoms to Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. Planned Parenthood South Atlantic is a nonprofit healthcare provider offering affordable and reliable reproductive and sexual healthcare services in 14 locations across North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. Condoms have been central to Adam & Eve since it began in 1970. Founder Phil Harvey started the company as an offshoot of his masters thesis, which challenged the legalities of promoting birth control services through non-medical channels. Adam & Eve started off as a condoms-by-mail company, and we are pleased to still be able to provide contraception as an option to our millions of customers, said Chad Davis, director of marketing at adameve.com. Phil Harvey was a graduate of UNC, and our corporate headquarters are in Hillsborough, North Carolina, so it makes sense to offer our assistance close to home. We salute Planned Parenthood in all that they do, and we are honored to provide help in this capacity. "As we celebrate National Condom Week, we are grateful to Adam & Eve for this generous donation that will help our communities stay safe during sex," said Mitchell Price, director of philanthropy at Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. "STI prevention is a core part of Planned Parenthood South Atlantics health care services and education efforts. We know that access to safer sexincluding things like condomsand education about STI prevention, testing, and treatment are the best ways to ensure that people of all ages stay healthy and safe, no matter their STI status." Find out more at adamandeve.com. HOUSTON, Feb. 22, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE: TRGP) ("TRGP" or the "Company" or "Targa") has filed its Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the year ended December 31, 2022. The report may be accessed at www.sec.gov. The report is also available in the Investors section of the Company's website at www.targaresources.com, or by going directly to https://www.targaresources.com/investors/financial-information/sec-filings. Hard copies of the report may be ordered free of charge by contacting the Company's investor relations department by email at [email protected], or by phone at (713) 584-1133. About Targa Resources Corp. Targa Resources Corp. is a leading provider of midstream services and is one of the largest independent midstream infrastructure companies in North America. The Company owns, operates, acquires and develops a diversified portfolio of complementary domestic midstream infrastructure assets and its operations are critical to the efficient, safe and reliable delivery of energy across the United States and increasingly to the world. The Companys assets connect natural gas and NGLs to domestic and international markets with growing demand for cleaner fuels and feedstocks. The Company is primarily engaged in the business of: gathering, compressing, treating, processing, transporting, and purchasing and selling natural gas; transporting, storing, fractionating, treating, and purchasing and selling NGLs and NGL products, including services to LPG exporters; and gathering, storing, terminaling, and purchasing and selling crude oil. Targa is a FORTUNE 500 company and is included in the S&P 500. For more information, please visit the Companys website at www.targaresources.com. Sanjay Lad Vice President, Finance & Investor Relations Jennifer Kneale Chief Financial Officer Source: Targa Resources Corp. NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Balincan USA Inc. (OTC: BCNN, TKMO pending FINRA approval, "Balincan" or the "Company") announces a support partnership with leading digital media provider, OnPremise Networks. OnPremise Networks (OnPremise) creates a digital signage news and information network for community newspapers, magazines, and radio stations to expand their ad offering and enable significant and sustainable revenue growth. Service solutions and tracking is essential for OnPremise as it allows the company to quickly identify and respond to issues or anomalies in their networks. Digitization of outdoor advertising is occurring at a rapid pace--between 2016 and 2023, the global digital out-of-home industry is expected to grow from $3.6 Billion to $8.4 Billion. Hardware and in-field IoT has the potential to revolutionize advertising by enabling advertisers to target consumers with personalized and relevant ads in real-time based on their location, behavior, and preferences. With IoT monitoring in real time, companies can focus on the age, gender, and other characteristics of people passing by and display ads can be tailored to a customer's demographic.Facing the rapid growth of digital advertising, scalability is paramount. After several years of growth and projections of expansion into new geographies, we recognized that scaling the installation and maintenance services would be a challenge states President Andrew McKenna. Tekumo not only exceeded our expectations of reliability and quality, but through their TekumoPRO platform gave us access to a nationwide network of highly skilled technicians and real-time access to every step of our service engagements. By 2023, 50% of advertisers expect to invest in out-of-home digital networks, creating an ever-growing need for risk mitigation and service solutions that are manageable and sustainable by platform operators. One of the key areas where we thrive in this sort of environment is giving our customers direct access into the Tekumo platform, and the rich real time data that it provides. This allows for scale, consistency, and quality of solutions said Graham King, Chief Operating Officer of Tekumo. Tekumo offers three main product lines. TekumoSMART delivers the complete service platform for smart connected devices. It installs, monitors, and manages sensors, devices gateways, hubs, and data for multiple verticals including Multiple Dwelling Units (MDUs), Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs), Assisted Living, Retail, Hospitality, Utilities, Builders, Insurance, and Healthcare all with 24/7 onsite support. TekumoIQ provides real-time data from all connected assets in a single pane-of-glass via Tekumo dashboards or directly delivered into any client ecosystem. TekumoPRO is a service delivery platform that connects enterprises, retailers, and OEMs with local skilled resources to install and maintain technology systems. It delivers a smarter dynamic workforce, intelligent automation, real-time visibility, and full integration into client service management systems. Tekumo is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. About Balincan USA, Inc. Balincan USA, Inc (OTC: BCNN) is an alternative reporting publicly held company that wholly-owns Tekumo LLC. A formal name and symbol change to Tekumo, Inc., TKMO has been filed. Subject to FINRA approval. For more details related to the Company, please see the Company's Current Disclosure filed with OTC Markets on February 14, 2023. Safe Harbor: Forward-Looking Statements Any statements made in this press release which are not historical facts contain certain forward-looking statements, as such term is defined in the Private Security Litigation Reform Act of 1995, concerning potential developments affecting the business, prospects, financial condition and other aspects of the company to which this release pertains. The actual results of the specific items described in this release, and the Company's operations generally, may differ materially from what is projected in such forward-looking statements. Although such statements are based upon the best judgments of management of the Company as of the date of this release, significant deviations in magnitude, timing and other factors may result from business risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, the Company's dependence on third parties, general market and economic conditions, technical factors, the availability of outside capital, receipt of revenues and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the company. The Company disclaims any obligation to update the information contained in any forward-looking statement. This press release shall not be deemed a general solicitation. Colorado Springs, COTimothy Simpson, Investor Relations719-900-4535 Source: Balincan USA, Inc. SHENZHEN, CHINA, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The first meeting of the organizing committee for the 21st Conference on International Exchange of Professionals (hosted by "Shenzhen Center for International Exchange of Personnel", referred to as "the 21st CIEP") was held via video conference on February 16. Li Meng, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Director of the National Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, and Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the 21st CIEP as well as Qin Weizhong, Mayor of Shenzhen and Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the 21st CIEP, attended the meeting and delivered speeches. The meeting was also attended by officials from the Department of Foreign Experts Affairs, the Department of Social Development, the Department of Achievements and Regional Affairs, the Department of Talent and Science Popularization, the Department of Cooperation, the Exchange Center, the International Talent Exchange Center, and science and technology management departments from provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities including Beijing, Shanghai, Liaoning, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Hainan, and Ningxia, as well as representatives from cooperating organizations for the Conference. In his speech, Vice Minister Li Meng pointed out that The 21st conference on international exchange of professionals is the first large-scale international exchange activity held by the Ministry of Science and Technology since the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The 21st CIEP should take the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on implementing the strategies of rejuvenating China through science and education, building a strong country through talent development, and driving development through innovation as guidance. The Conference should build an important platform for international talent exchange, showcase China's technological and cultural exchange, promote the international exchange of talents, and further enhance service capabilities. The 21st CIEP should play a greater role in promoting the construction of a new development pattern and creating a globally competitive open innovation ecosystem. It should grasp the forefront of scientific and technological development and talent flow trends, closely follow national strategies, increase the introduction of high-quality resources, fully leverage the advantages of various media platforms, and further enhance the influence of the 21st CIEP at home and abroad. The 21st CIEP should strengthen supervision, management, and services, pay attention to the protection of intellectual property rights, and create a good environment for cooperation and exchanges among participants. He also expressed his hope that science and technology departments from all over the country would actively utilize the platform of the conference, seize the opportunity to gather high-quality resources, and actively invite local representative enterprises, research institutes, universities and other talent agglomeration platforms to participate in the exhibition and conference. They should also collect and screen a batch of urgently needed cooperative projects and talent demands, strengthen early-stage communication, promote practical cooperation between supply and demand, and further improve the sense of gain of enterprises, universities, and institutes on the conference platform. Mayor Qin Weizhong stated that the Conference on International Exchange of Professionals is a high-level and international talent event in China and an important platform for international scientific and technological innovation cooperation. Shenzhen will comprehensively and systematically study, publicize, and implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, conscientiously implement the important thoughts of General Secretary Xi Jinping on doing a good job in talent work in the new era, adhere to government guidance, market operation, mutual benefit, and win-win cooperation, innovate mechanisms, enrich business models, and expand functions. The city will coordinate the exhibition display, service guarantee, and publicity and reporting work, and make every effort to promote accurate docking and pragmatic cooperation of talents, projects, technology, products, and services. The city aims to make the conference unique, influential, and highly impactful, and to make positive contributions to building a strong talent nation and providing strong talent support for achieving high-level technological self-reliance and promoting Chinese-style modernization. At the meeting, Wang Youming, Director of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of Science and Technology Innovation, reported on the general work plan of the 21st CIEP, and representatives from various provinces and cities attending the conference exchanged speeches. The meeting was chaired by Huang Qiang, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shenzhen Municipal Government. Approved by the authorities, the 21st CIEP will be held in Shenzhen on April 15-16. This conference will fully implement the Central Committee of the Party's decision-making arrangements, centering around the theme of "promoting scientific and technological innovation, seeking common development, and benefiting global talents". It will be based on internationalization, specialization, low-carbon, Informa ionization, and marketization, enhancing the leadership, strength, driving force, support, and source of innovation, building an international platform for technological innovation and talent exchange, and working together to share the "Chinese opportunity" of promoting scientific and technological innovation and innovative development, accelerating the construction of an open innovation ecosystem and the Community of Shared Future for Mankind. Shenzhen Center for International Exchange of Personnel Department of Publicity & Planning Wang Chan 86 0755-81707961 86 0755-81773121 [email protected] http://ciep.gov.cn/ SOURCE Shenzhen Center for International Exchange of Personnel Source: Shenzhen Center for International Exchange of Personnel AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Feb. 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TikTok offers businesses and digital marketers unique advertising opportunities to connect with a young and engaged audience. Here, Zib Digital, the leading digital marketing agency in Auckland, reveals ways that brands can take advantage of the advertising opportunities on TikTok. Businesses can create branded content that fits in with the user-generated content on the platform. As Zib Digital explains, this can be achieved through the use of influencers or by creating content that aligns with popular challenges or trends. By leveraging these trends, brands can connect with their audience in an authentic and engaging way. According to Zib Digital, brands that use TikTok's native advertising tools, such as In-Feed Ads and Brand Takeovers, will be able to reach a wider audience and increase brand awareness. In-Feed Ads are short video ads that appear in users' feeds, while Brand Takeovers are full-screen ads that appear when users first open the app. By using TikTok's targeting options, businesses can ensure their ads are seen by users who are most likely to be interested in their products or services. The leaders in digital marketing and SEO Auckland-wide say the platform allows brands to target their ads based on factors such as age, gender, location, interests and behaviour. Influencers on the platform have large followings and Zib Digital points out that they can help businesses to reach a wider audience. By partnering with influencers who align with their brand, businesses can increase brand awareness and drive sales. As the digital marketing in Auckland experts explain, using TikTok to showcase company culture and value can be achieved through behind-the-scenes videos, employee takeovers or by creating content that aligns with the company's values. By doing so, businesses can create a connection with their audience and establish themselves as a brand that users can trust. To take advantage of the advertising opportunities on TikTok and drive business growth, contact the premier digital marketing and SEO agency in Auckland today. Contact Information: Zib Digital Manager (03) 8685 9290 Related Images Image 1: zib digital zib digital This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment zib digital zib digital Source: Zib Digital ( zibdigital.com .au) Eloro Resources (TSX.V: ELO) (OTCQX: ELRRF) (FSE: P2QM) has obtained conditional approval to list its common shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). According to the announcement, Eloro shares will trade under the trading symbol: ELO. The announcement also noted that the listing is subject to Eloro Resources fulfilling certain requirements of the TSX; those terms were outlined in a conditional approval letter that was dated Feb. 22, 2023. This is a significant milestone for Eloro and its shareholders, said Eloro Resources CEO Thomas Larsen in the press release. The TSX is one of the worlds pre-eminent exchanges for mineral resource companies. A TSX listing will increase our visibility and profile in the capital markets and in the mining industry. Listing on the TSX will also offer benefits to shareholders such as enhanced market access for Canadian and international investors, increased access to capital and improved liquidity, as the company advances its flagship Iska Iska project in southern Bolivian. To view the full press release, visit https://ibn.fm/A8gCv About Eloro Resources Ltd. Eloro is an exploration and mine-development company with a portfolio of gold and base-metal properties in Bolivia, Peru and Quebec. Through its Bolivian subsidiary, Eloro has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the highly prospective Iska Iska Property, which can be classified as a polymetallic epithermal-porphyry complex, a significant mineral deposit type in the Potosi Department in southern Bolivia. A recent NI 43-101 technical report on Iska Iska, which was completed by Micon International Limited, is available on Eloros website and under its filings on SEDAR. Iska Iska is a road-accessible, royalty-free property. Eloro also owns an 82% interest in the La Victoria Gold/Silver Project, located in the north-central mineral belt of Peru, some 50 kilometers south of Barricks Lagunas Norte Gold Mine and Pan American Silvers La Arena Gold Mine. NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to ELRRF are available in the companys newsroom at https://ibn.fm/ELRRF About MiningNewsWire MiningNewsWire (MNW) is a specialized communications platform focused on developments and opportunities in the global resources sector. The company provides (1) access to a network of wire services via InvestorWire to reach all target markets, industries and demographics in the most effective manner possible, (2) article and editorial syndication to 5,000+ news outlets (3), enhanced press release services to ensure maximum impact, (4) social media distribution via the Investor Brand Network (IBN) to millions of social media followers, and (5) a full array of corporate communications solutions. As a multifaceted organization with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, MNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. By cutting through the overload of information in todays market, MNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. MNW is where news, content and information converge. To receive SMS text alerts from MiningNewsWire, text BigHole to 844-397-5787 (U.S. Mobile Phones Only) For more information, please visit https://www.miningnewswire.com Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the MiningNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by MNW, wherever published or re-published: https://www.miningnewswire.com/Disclaimer MiningNewsWire Los Angeles, California www.miningnewswire.com 310.299.1717 Office [email protected] MiningNewsWire is part of the InvestorBrandNetwork. FILE PHOTO: The company's logo is seen at the new cell and gene therapy factory of Swiss drugmaker Novartis in Stein, Switzerland, November 28, 2019. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo By Brendan Pierson (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG has agreed to pay $30 million to settle claims by health plans and consumers that it schemed to delay the U.S. launch of generic competition for its Exforge hypertension drug. In a motion filed in Manhattan federal court Wednesday, lawyers for the plaintiffs said the proposed deal was fair and "provides immediate, certain, and meaningful relief" while avoiding "enormously expensive" litigation. Novartis did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The deal is part of a broader $245 million settlement to end the entire litigation, including claims by drug wholesalers and retailers, which Novartis announced in December. The drugmaker at the time did not say how the money would be broken down. In December, it sought court approval for a $127 million settlement with so-called direct purchasers, such as drug wholesalers. It has not yet sought approval of an agreement with the retailers, which include CVS Health Corp and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein must approve all of the settlements. The class-action litigation stemmed from a 2011 licensing agreement between Novartis and Endo International Plc's Par Pharmaceutical unit. Plaintiffs accused Novartis and Par of entering an illegal "reverse payment" agreement to delay launches of less expensive, generic versions of Exforge, which treats hypertension to lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of strokes. Plaintiffs said Par agreed not to launch an Exforge generic for two years after the expiration of one of Novartis's patents, and Novartis agreed not to compete with Par by launching its own Exforge generic during the 180-day exclusivity period following Par's entry into the market. Novartis's annual U.S. sales of brand-name Exforge exceeded $400 million before generic versions were sold, court papers show. Endo filed for bankruptcy last year. The case is In re Novartis and Par Antitrust Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 18-04361. For Novartis: Evan Chesler of Cravath, Swaine & Moore For plaintiffs: Robin van der Meulen of DiCello Levitt Read more: Novartis to pay $245 mln to end antitrust cases over Exforge drug generics (Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York) FILE PHOTO: A woman stands in front of a General Electric (GE) sign during World Artificial Intelligence Conference, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Shanghai, China, September 1, 2022. REUTERS/Aly Song CHICAGO (Reuters) - General Electric is "well aligned" with production schedules for both Boeing and Airbus this year, Chief Executive Larry Culp said on Thursday. GE and other jet engine makers are grappling with shortages of labor, parts and raw materials, making it tougher for aircraft makers to increase production. Earlier this month, Boeing said the supply chain was not yet ready for production rate hikes. Its rival Airbus has slowed the production ramp-up of 320neo-family jets after supply disruption. Speaking at a Barclays conference, Culp said the company is still facing constraints all along its supply chain. It has deployed its workers at suppliers' facilities to ease some of the bottlenecks, he said. "It's a little bit of Whack-a-Mole," Culp said. (Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh and Abhijith Ganapavaram; Editing by David Goodman) Experienced, Youthful Mentors Help Singaporean Students Transform Study Habits and Build Disciplined Exam Skills Singapore, Singapore--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - First Principles Education has launched the country's top study skills mentoring programme for students, aimed at nurturing long-term consistent study habits such as memory skills, note-making skills, examination skills, stress management skills and more. Backed by neuroscience research and artificial intelligence tools, the programme is designed to help students aged 9 to 16 improve their academic performance and set them up for success beyond just in school. First Principles Education conducting study skills workshops for MOE teachers and principals To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9405/155779_93149a43147b58f2_001full.jpg "Our mentoring program is personalized to the unique needs of each student and is compiled from the best study habits used by the Top 1% of high performing students in Singapore," said Emil, Founder of First Principles Education. "I used these study skills as a student in Hwa Chong Institution and these are the same skills that I used to graduate top of my cohort and as Valedictorian at the National University of Singapore. Our team provides the highest level of support to all our students, and helps them develop the skills they need to succeed in school and beyond." Young and energetic study skills specialists will mentor students to nurture study habits To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9405/155779_93149a43147b58f2_002full.jpg The mentoring program is conducted by a team of MOE-registered study skills mentors who are all current University scholars and honor students. The programme is 12-weeks long and is conducted fully online with students receiving weekly one-on-one study skills mentorship with their own dedicated study skills mentor. The mentors keep each online session engaging by creating customized study plans for each student, facilitating discussions and using activities to teach the study skills. Using First Principles Education's proprietary C.H.E.A.T framework (Consistent Habits Enforced Active Tracking), mentors will arrange for follow up calls in the middle of the week to actively track their students' progress and enforce the completion of the assigned study skills tasks. Students are rewarded for completing the tasks to show their personal accountability in applying the study skills properly and consistently. "I take pride in being a study skills mentor because it allows me to share real-life experiences with my students and be like an elder sister to them," shared Marsya, a current honor student and study skills mentor with First Principles Education. "My students show up to all our online sessions on time because they get excited about the life lessons they will be learning from me. It's incredibly rewarding to see them open up to me and share with me about their struggles in school." Launched in February 2023, Thyme is a digital timetable optimiser that uses neuroscientific principles and Artificial Intelligence to help students stick to their timetable. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/9405/155779_93149a43147b58f2_003full.jpg Parents in Singapore can expect their children to nurture long-term consistent study habits in note-making, time management, examination skills and more as a result of the programme. First Principles Education's study skills mentoring programme is supported by Enterprise Singapore, which has provided funding to develop study skills tools powered by Artificial Intelligence. These tools found great success in government schools and help teachers and parents take a hands-free approach to students having better time management, memory skills and understanding their study skills strengths and weaknesses. I've witnessed firsthand the impact I had on my students in helping them reduce their reliance on tuition," said Yee Kai, a senior study skills mentor with First Principles Education. "Our focus on nurturing consistent study habits, coupled with the personalized attention each student receives, makes for an incredibly effective programme. I'm proud to be a part of a team that prioritizes the long-term success of our students." To learn more about First Principles Education's study skills mentoring programme and to sign up, visit https://firstprinciples.com.sg/ Contact Information: Company Name: First Principles Education Name of CEO: Emil Lim Email: [email protected] Website: https://firstprinciples.com.sg/ Note to Editors: For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Emil with the email address above. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155779 All monetary amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - IAMGOLD Corporation (TSX: IMG) (NYSE: IAG) ("IAMGOLD" or the "Company") announces that the Company has filed a technical report for the Nelligan Joint Venture Project ("Nelligan") (IAMGOLD: 75%, Vanstar Mining Resources Inc. ("Vanstar"): 25%), titled "Independent Technical Report for the Nelligan Gold Project, Quebec, Canada" (the 2023 Technical Report) dated February 22, 2023. The 2023 Technical report was prepared by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. ("SRK") in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), as reported in the Company's news release dated January 12, 2023. The 2023 Technical Report supersedes the technical report on the Nelligan project dated December 4, 2019. The 2023 Technical Report can be found on the Company's website at www.iamgold.com, on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. Subsequent to a review of the pit optimization parameters used to derive a pit shell to constrain Mineral Resource reporting and benchmarking against comparable projects, amendments were made to the mining cost applied to waste material and to the percentage of payable metal applied relative to the Mineral Resource Estimate reported on January 12, 2023. These parameters were reviewed by both IAMGOLD and SRK, and are considered suitable to test the "reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction" of the Mineral Resource model. The changes resulted in a 21,000 ounce increase in estimated Indicated Mineral Resources and 362,000 ounce increase to Inferred Mineral Resources. The table below shows the resultant Mineral Resource Statement: MINERAL RESOURCE STATEMENT - NELLIGAN PROJECT, CANADA As at February 10th, 2023 (100% Basis) Category Cut-off Grade (g/t Au) Tonnage (Mt) Grade (g/t Au) Contained Au (koz Au) Indicated 0.35 73.5 0.84 1 991 Inferred 0.35 129.5 0.87 3 600 Notes: 2014 CIM definitions were followed for classification of Mineral Resources. Mineral resources are estimated at a cut-off grade of 0.35 g/t Au. Mineral Resources are reported using a gold price of US$1,500 per ounce and a US$:C$ exchange rate of 1:1.2 and gold recoveries of 83%. Mineral Resources are constrained by a Datamine Studio NPVS Scheduler optimized pit shell using a 0.35 g/t Au cut-off grade and are considered to have reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. High grade assay values have been capped from 7 g/t Au to 40 g/t Au in the main mineralized domains of Renard and Footwall, respectively, and from 3 g/t Au to 12 g/t Au in the other domains. The spatial influence of high-grade samples within Footwall, Renard and Liam domains were further controlled using high grade restriction distance parameters within the respective search ellipsoids. Bulk density values were determined by measurements on core and range from 2.70 to 2.75 g/cm3 for the different domains and host lithologies, to 2.00 g/cm3 for overburden. Mineral Resources are not Mineral Reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. All figures have been rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimates. Qualified Persons, Technical Information and Quality Control Notes The mineral resource estimate, including verification of the data disclosed, has been completed by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. and has been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and CIM Estimation Best Practice Guidelines. The resource estimate was prepared by Sandeep Prakash, M. Sc., P. Geo., a Senior Consultant (Resource Geology) with SRK, with review provided by Oy Leuangthong, Ph.D., P.Eng., Corporate Consultant, Geostatistics with SRK. Mr. Prakash is an independent "qualified person", as defined by NI 43-101 (a "QP"), and has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release. The QPs responsible for the supervision of the supporting drilling programs, data validation and verification (including sampling, analytical and test data), deposit modelling and review of the technical information in this news release are Maxime Doullou, P. Geo, Consultant Geologist and Shana Dickenson, P. Geo, Senior Geologist both attached to the IAMGOLD Val-d'Or Regional Exploration Office, Quebec. Each of Mr. Douellou and Mrs. Dickenson is a QP for the purposes of NI 43-101 with respect to the technical information being reported on in this news release. The technical information has been included herein with the consent and prior review of the above noted QPs. The information in this news release was also reviewed and approved by Marie-France Bugnon, P.Geo., General Manager Exploration for IAMGOLD, who is also a QP. The sampling of, and assay data from, the drill core is monitored through the implementation of a quality assurance - quality control (QA-QC) program designed to follow industry best practice. Drill core (NQ size) is logged and samples are selected by the IAMGOLD geologists and sawn in half with a diamond saw at the project site. Half of the core is retained at the site for reference purposes. Sample intervals may vary from 0.5 to 1.5 metres in length depending on the geological observations. Half-core samples are packaged and transported in sealed bags to ALS Minerals Laboratory ("ALS") located in Val-d'Or, Quebec. A formal chain-of-custody procedure was adopted for security of samples until their delivery at the laboratory. Samples are coarse crushed to a -10 mesh and then a 1,000 gram split is pulverized to 95% passing -150 mesh. ALS processes analytical pulps directly at their facilities located in Val-d'Or which is ISO / IEC 17025 certified by the Standards Council of Canada. Samples are analyzed using a standard fire assay with a 50 gram charge with an Atomic Absorption (AA) finish. For samples that return assay values over 5.0 grams per tonne, another pulp is taken and fire assayed with a gravimetric finish. Core samples showing visible gold or samples which have returned values greater than 10.0 grams per tonne are re-analyzed by pulp metallic analysis. IAMGOLD inserts blanks and certified reference standards in the sample sequence for quality control. In accordance with our QA-QC program, additional check analyses are also re-assayed at a secondary (umpire) laboratory. About IAMGOLD IAMGOLD is an intermediate gold producer and developer based in Canada with operating mines in North America and West Africa. The Company is building the large-scale, long life Cote Gold project in Canada in partnership with Sumitomo Metals & Mining of Japan, which is expected to commence production in early 2024. In addition, the Company has an established portfolio of early stage and advanced exploration projects within high potential mining districts in the Americas. IAMGOLD employs approximately 3,300 people and is committed to maintaining its culture of accountable mining through high standards of Environmental, Social and Governance ("ESG") practices, including its commitment to Zero Harm, in every aspect of its business. IAMGOLD is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: IAG) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: IMG) and is one of the companies on the Jantzi Social Index ("JSI"), a socially screened market capitalization-weighted consisting of companies which pass a set of broadly based environmental, social and governance rating criteria. IAMGOLD Contact Information Graeme Jennings, Vice President, Investor Relations Tel: 416 360 4743 | Mobile: 416 388 6883 Toll-free: 1 888 464 9999 [email protected] CAUTIONARY NOTE TO U.S. INVESTORS REGARDING DISCLOSURE OF MINERAL RESOURCE ESTIMATES The mineral resource estimates contained in this news release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101. These standards are similar to those used by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") Industry Guide No. 7, as interpreted by the SEC staff. However, the definitions in NI 43-101 differ in certain respects from those under Industry Guide No. 7. Accordingly, mineral resource information contained in this news release may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by United States companies. As a result of the adoption of amendments to the SEC's disclosure rules (the "SEC Modernization Rules"), which more closely align its disclosure requirements and policies for mining properties with current industry and global regulatory practices and standards, including NI 43-101, and which became effective on February 25, 2019, the SEC now recognizes estimates of "measured Mineral Resources", "Indicated Mineral Resources" and "Inferred Mineral Resources." In addition, the SEC has amended definitions of "proven Mineral Reserves" and "probable Mineral Reserves" in its amended rules, with definitions that are substantially similar to those used in NI 43-101. Issuers must begin to comply with these SEC Modernization Rules in their first fiscal year beginning on or after January 1, 2021, though Canadian issuers that report in the United States using the Multijurisdictional Disclosure System ("MJDS") may still use NI 43-101 rather than the SEC Modernization Rules when using the SEC's MJDS registration statement and annual report forms. United States investors are cautioned that while the SEC now recognizes "measured Mineral Resources", "Indicated Mineral Resources" and "Inferred Mineral Resources", investors should not assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into a higher category of Mineral Resources or into Mineral Reserves. These terms have a great amount of uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. Under Canadian regulations, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in limited circumstances. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any "measured Mineral Resources", "Indicated Mineral Resources", or "Inferred Mineral Resources" that the Company reports in this news release are or will be economically or legally mineable. Further, "Inferred Mineral Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that any part or all of an Inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. The mineral resource data set out in this news release are estimates, and no assurance can be given that the anticipated tonnages and grades will be achieved or that the Indicated level of recovery will be realized. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by, but not limited to, the use of the words "may", "will", "should", "would", "continue", "expect", "expected", "budget", "forecast", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "appear" "plan", "schedule", "guidance", "outlook", "potential", "favourable", "plans", "targeted", or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, without limitation, differences in the mineral content within the material identified as Mineral Resources or Mineral Reserves from that predicted, the failure to accurately estimate Mineral Resources or Mineral Reserves, unexpected increases in capital expenditures, operating expenditures and exploration expenditures, changes in development or mining plans due to changes in logistical, technical or other factors, the possibility that future exploration results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, changes in world gold markets and other risks disclosed in IAMGOLD's most recent Form 40-F/ Annual Information Form on file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission at https://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml and Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com, which are incorporated herein. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement. 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 applicable law. All material information on IAMGOLD can be found at www.sedar.com or at www.sec.gov. Si vous desirez obtenir la version francaise de ce communique, veuillez consulter le www.iamgold.com/French/accueil/default.aspx. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155856 San Francisco, California--(Newsfile Corp. - February 23, 2023) - Techvestor, a real estate firm and technology development company, has announced plans to expand into Florida and, through the acquisition of new short-term rental properties, grow its $37+ million portfolio. The goal of Techvestor for 2023 is to surpass its current commitments and LOIs as it continues to identify, manage, and exit properties through the use of its 16-point strategy and proprietary software that analyzes over 18 million data points and 250 markets every month. The new STR properties that Techvestor is currently acquiring in Florida will roll into the current portfolio, fully owned by its community of investors. Techvestor's co-founders, CEO Sief Khafagi and COO Sabrina Guler, both point to the fact that the STR market was worth an estimated USD ~$100 billion in 2021 and that rose to $109.76 billion USD in 2022. "We've been able to capitalize on the growing value of the STR market," says Guler. "We have seen that because of the COVID shutdown and increase in remote work, there is more interest in STRs, particularly in America. This enabled us to build a portfolio of properties in 10+ markets, including the Poconos, Scottsdale, and Blue Ridge, GA. Now we are focusing on our latest market: Florida." General Partner and Head of Capital Markets, Sam Silverman, says, "We're excited to continue partnering with investors and fund managers to create a more accessible approach to a historically hard to reach asset class. Our business is dependent on the investor experience and we prioritize it every day." Techvestor is currently applying its unique software algorithm to the analyses of potential properties in Panama City Beach, Clearwater, Tampa, and West Palm Beach. Khafagi adds that the company is investing heavily in research and development to ensure that it has the adequate staffing and resources for the new growth. "Our goal is that through this process, we can quickly ramp up our newest STRs and meet our deadlines for listing them," he says. "Florida saw over 1 million visitors in 2022. We realize that many vacationers are looking for short term rental properties that stand out. Among the amenities we add to properties in markets like this are fire pits, hot tubs, playgrounds, and everything vacationers want for beach trips. Including some surprise amenities we have in store." As it has been with other markets, Techvestor will be solely responsible for not only the acquisition of but the renovation and design of all Florida STR properties. "All our properties undergo some type of renovation, which obviously includes any kind of maintenance or repair, but also includes luxurious details that our high-end guests come to expect," says Khafagi. "We take ownership of all interior design so our partners don't have to. We do all the work, from finding and buying properties to renovating them into gorgeous destinations." He adds that this personal touch helps to brand each property as a uniquely Techvestor property, enriching the company's portfolio. Guler agrees, and also states that Techvestor takes care of all logistical issues such as its late-stage quality control process. "We have a rigorous checklist for property inspection prior to listing any STR," says Guler. "We also spend a copious amount of time researching the specific needs of each destination. The steps taken to prepare a property in Florida will be different from the steps we use for our properties in, for example, the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania." Guler adds that just as each market has unique needs, so does each property. "We're committed to a quality experience for both vacationers and our investors," she says. "We're spending time now learning what particular needs properties have in the Floridian climate and market." Techvestor's new Floridian properties will also be managed by the company, which serves as a property sourcer, interior designer, and property manager all in one. "We want Techvestor to democratize STR investments," she says. "With 2023 and its opportunities on our doorstep, we are well on our way." The company is optimistic about its new Florida properties becoming available as early as Spring Break 2023. Techvestor is a technology development company and real estate firm that offers a proprietary platform for investment in short term rental properties. The company locates, acquires, prepares, and manages properties on behalf of investors, including maintenance, design, renovations, management and more. Techvestor's proprietary software platform is able to determine the potential value of STR properties and how likely they are to be income producing properties. For more information, please visit Techvestor's website or contact: Sief Khafagi, Techvestor [email protected] To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/155951 At 9 a.m. on Tuesday morning, Summit Fire Department received a call from Star School, after the strong smell of gas was reported and several people said they were experiencing headaches. The smell was strongest in the schools cafeteria and gymnasium, the result of a near-empty propane tank. The tank was so low, it did not have enough pressure to hold back the residual gas, said Summit Fire Battalion Chief Chris Zambeck. When an engine, battalion chief and Guardian medical team arrived at the school on Leupp Road, they cleared the building and turned off all appliances that used propane. Then, they triaged seven people who complained of the kind of headaches and nausea often associated with the smell and presence of dangerous gasses indoors. Four adults and three children had reported symptoms to the school nurse, who promptly called the fire department. Paramedics quickly determined that no one was seriously injured or ill; no one needed to be transported to the hospital for further treatment. The incident affected one classroom and the cafeteria, where students usually eat breakfast and lunch and take physical education classes. Both the classroom and cafeteria remained evacuated for the remainder of the day. Star Schools two-person kitchen staff were relocated to a community kitchen on campus, and lunch was served in classrooms. Star School Director and Principal Jeannie Krantz Gross said the firefighters who responded to the incident helped the kitchen staff move their equipment including dough and pizza pans for the afternoons fresh-baked pies to the community kitchen. The affected classroom was evacuated, and students were moved outside. PE also took place outside, and Krantz Gross said she was happy for the sunshine because the students were largely delighted to be outdoors. Star School was able to contact their propane provider and arrange to have the tank refilled and pilot lights relit. Krantz Gross said she's not aware of anything like this happening before. I think it might have something to do with the colder winter, probably more propane usage than normal. We typically have those things scheduled, she said. Overall, the incident response was speedy, and the danger was kept under control. For that, Krantz Gross said shes thankful to the fire department and the school nurse a new full-time addition to Star School staff, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Department of Education. This was honestly the best possible scenario for us here, with no one taking ill, said Krantz Gross. Summit Fire, in light of this mornings incident, wants to remind locals to keep an eye on their propane tank levels especially with frigid winter storms moving in and out of the area. Monitor your propane tank levels and keep them from completely depleting, to avoid incidents like this, Zambeck said. If you do smell gas, avoid turning any appliances on that could create a spark and remove yourself from the atmosphere. Fresh air is the best medicine. By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union countries on Thursday failed to agree on a new set of sanctions against Russia, missing a planned deadline to have them in place for the one-year anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on Friday, diplomatic sources told Reuters. The 27 EU countries need to agree unanimously to introduce sanctions. The sources said Poland was blocking the package over proposed exemptions to a ban on EU imports of Russian synthetic rubber. Polish diplomats said the exemptions were so big they would render the sanctions ineffective. Other sources said the exemptions were proposed to accommodate Italy, backed by Germany. Representatives of the member states were due to meet again at 0900 GMT on Friday to try seal a deal, according to the sources. The EU says its 10th package of sanctions since Russia attacked its neighbour was designed to make financing the war more difficult and to starve Russia of parts needed to build arms for the war. The new package comprises trade curbs worth some 10 billion euros ($10.58 billion), targets more Russian banks and what the West says are propagandists, as well as blacklisting individuals linked to Iran's production of drones used by Russia against Ukraine. Some of the sources said Warsaw was still expected to grant its approval on Friday as having a new package of sanctions to announce on the anniversary was more important than squabbles over parts of its contents. ($1 = 0.9448 euros) (Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Susan Fenton) By Johnny Cotton, Sabine Siebold and Andrew Gray BRUSSELS (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday the alliance had seen signs China was considering supplying arms to Russia and warned Beijing against taking any such step. The announcement came days after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned China of consequences if it provided material support to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "We haven't seen any supplies of lethal aid from China to Russia, but we have seen signs that they are considering and may be planning for that," Stoltenberg told Reuters in an interview. "That's the reason why the United States and other allies have been very clear, warning against that. And China should of course not support Russia's illegal war," he added. There was no immediate comment from China, but its Foreign Ministry said earlier on Thursday any potential intelligence on arms transfer by China to Russia that the United States plans to release was just speculation. Russia and China signed a "no limits" partnership last February shortly before Russian forces invaded Ukraine, and their economic links have boomed as Moscow's connections with the West have shrivelled. The West has been wary of China's response to the Ukraine war, with some officials warning that a Russian victory would colour China's actions toward Taiwan. China has not condemned the conflict in Ukraine or calling it an "invasion". Stoltenberg said China was a member of the U.N. Security Council and that Russia's war against Ukraine violated the U.N. Charter. "The basic principle of that charter is to respect the integrity of other nations and not to march in and invade another country with hundreds of thousands of troops," he said. "Of course, China should not be part of that." China has said it will set out its position on how to settle the Ukraine conflict through political means in an upcoming paper, which Russian state media say will be published on the one-year anniversary of Russia's "special military operation". (Reporting by Sabine Siebold, Andrew Gray and Johnny Cotton; Editing by Andrew Heavens) Through a value-based agreement, Homeward clinical teams to focus on closing gaps in care delivery for Blue Cross Medicare Advantage members in 24 counties EAGAN, Minn. and SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross) and Homeward, a company with Minnesota ties and a commitment to rearchitecting the delivery of health and care in partnership with local communities, today announced a new value-based collaboration designed to increase access to healthcare for outstate Minnesotans. Beginning this spring, Blue Cross Medicare Advantage members residing in 24 Minnesota counties outside of the Twin Cities metropolitan area will have access to Homeward's care experience, which includes in-home visits, community-based visits, and technology-enabled clinical services including telehealth. The two organizations are working together to identify qualifying patients who are not currently engaged to receive the care they need or have known gaps in care. Over time, Homeward and Blue Cross plan to continue expanding the offering to additional Minnesota counties. Through partnerships with regional health systems and providers, Homeward coordinates all aspects of the care journey, including high-quality referrals and additional support post-discharge, and is focused on delivering improved health outcomes across rural populations and communities. The company also pledges to recruit locally and in a manner that supports local workforces, including existing clinics and hospitals in the areas it serves. Homeward will have a full-risk value-based arrangement for Medicare Advantage members, meaning payment for care is 100 percent tied to improving health outcomes and reducing the total cost of care. "Our agreement with Homeward is another important step for Blue Cross' nationally recognized Medicare Advantage plans," said Dr. Mark Steffen, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. "Blue Cross and Homeward will be working with local hospitals, clinics and care systems in each community to ensure that, together, we can work to solve one of the biggest challenges in the healthcare system today. We are excited for the opportunity to increase our support for populations and communities that are in need of more healthcare resources." The agreement aims to take on current inequities of rural healthcare, namely: In the United States, 80 percent of rural counties lack a sufficient number of primary care providers, according to the National Rural Health Association's Policy Institute According to a 2022 report from Minnesota Department of Health, only 20 percent of healthcare providers serve rural Minnesota communities, with more than a quarter of rural physicians planning to leave the workforce within the next five years Approximately 40 percent of all Blue Cross members reside outside of the Twin Cities area "I cannot be more proud to partner with the largest health plan in my native state of Minnesota to deliver care," said Dr. Jennifer Schneider, co-founder and CEO of Homeward, who grew up in Winona, Minn. "Homeward's mission is personal, and the opportunity to provide an end-to-end care experience for deserving individuals is a privilege. I am grateful for Blue Cross' innovative approach and commitment to delivering the best care experience and outcomes." The 24 Minnesota counties where Homeward will have a presence are: Becker, Benton, Big Stone, Cass, Clay, Chippewa, Crow Wing, Douglas, Grant, Hubbard, Kandiyohi, Lac Qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon, Morrison, Otter Tail, Pope, Redwood, Renville, Stearns, Swift, Todd, Wadena, and Wilkin. More information about Blue Cross' Medicare plans can be found at bluecrossmn.com/medicare. To learn more about Homeward, visit homewardhealth.com/minnesota or call (844) 670-2273. About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of MinnesotaFor 90 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (bluecrossmn.com) has supported the health, wellbeing and peace of mind of our members by striving to ensure equitable access to high quality care at an affordable price. Our 2.5 million members can be found in every Minnesota county, all 50 states and on four continents. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. About HomewardHomeward is rearchitecting rural health and care for the 60 million Americans living in rural communities. As a new value-based care provider, Homeward employs multidisciplinary care teams, available in-home, within the community, and virtually, with technology to better connect patients to high-quality, affordable, and comprehensive care. The company supports Medicare-eligible beneficiaries, including by partnering with Medicare Advantage plans, and takes full risk for the cost of care of its members to improve outcomes and reduce costs. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blue-cross-and-blue-shield-of-minnesota-expands-provider-network-for-rural-minnesotans-with-homeward-301754217.html SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota MIAMI, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A global brand name for a new pharmaceutical product is generally accepted as a desirable marketing strategy. Global names allow for greater brand recognition and streamline brand marketing. Brand names that are global may also be safer for patients by potentially helping to prevent medication errors for international travelers and by promoting consistency in product information from online resources. But what exactly does "global" mean? Alisa Umanskaya, Ph.D., Vice President of Brand Development, at Brand Institute explains, "A global brand name is one that is the same across all regions in which a pharmaceutical product is marketed." Various factors are considered when pharmaceutical manufacturers choose the countries in which to market their products, such as licensing agreements, country-specific pharmaceutical reimbursement policies, and even a company's resources. In the early stages of drug development, when the product naming process usually begins, pharmaceutical companies don't always know the exact markets and regions of the world in which they will ultimately sell their products. Therefore, it may be helpful to consider the markets with the most pronounced regulatory challenges. "From a regulatory perspective, the markets with the most robust regulatory name review processes are the United States, Europe, Canada and Japan. These markets are typically a great starting point when considering global brand name development," Dr. Umanskaya continued. Given appropriate resources, it may be preferable to take an exhaustive approach when selecting markets for a global brand name. "At a minimum, it is advisable to perform global trademark screens and a linguistic analysis of the proposed names, but a regulatory analysis is necessary prior to submitting your brand name to regulatory agencies." About Brand Institute and our wholly owned regulatory subsidiary, Drug Safety Institute Brand Institute is the global leader in pharmaceutical and healthcare-related name development, with a portfolio of over 4,000 marketed healthcare brand names, 1,300 USAN/INN nonproprietary names for 1,200 clients. The company partners on over 75% of pharmaceutical brand and nonproprietary name approvals globally every year with healthcare manufacturers. Drug Safety Institute is composed of former naming regulatory officials from global government health agencies, including Food and Drug Administration (FDA), European Medicines Agency (EMA), Health Canada (HC), American Medical Association (AMA), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Contact:James DettoreChairman & C.E.O.[email protected]www.brandinstitute.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/brand-institute-vice-president-expands-on-the-meaning-of-a-global-pharmaceutical-brand-name-301754605.html SOURCE Brand Institute, Inc. BALTIMORE and PALO ALTO, Calif., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Delfi Diagnostics, Inc., a pioneering developer of a new class of high-performance, accessible liquid biopsy tests for early cancer detection and monitoring, announces the promotion of Jenn Buechel to the new role of President & Chief Operating Officer. "Jenn joined Delfi in our very early days, and has been a critical member of our executive team at every stage." said Victor Velculescu, MD, PhD, Delfi's Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. "Her dedication to building accessible products, and to creating and leading strong teams is unparalleled. We are delighted to have her step into this expanded leadership role, where she will oversee all our internal product development and operations activities." "I'm proud to be part of this team that continues to expand the DELFI platform to deliver quality screening and diagnostic products," said Buechel. "We have an incredible opportunity to lower barriers to access high performing tests, not just in the US, but globally, and I'm honored to play a leadership role in this work." An early leader in the liquid biopsy field, Jenn has held executive leadership roles at Guardant Health and GRAIL before joining Delfi. In addition to her industry work, Jenn is active in non-profit leadership, and is a Health Innovators Fellow with The Aspen Institute. She earned a Master's in Systems Engineering and an MBA from Stanford University, and a Bachelors in Chemical Engineering (Applied Science) from Queen's University in Canada. About Delfi DiagnosticsDelfi is developing a new class of liquid biopsy tests for early detection based on altered genome-wide fragmentation profiles, also known as "fragmentomes," representing aberrant packaging of DNA in cancer cells. By applying advanced machine learning algorithms, these fragment patterns are detectable at a very low sequencing cost. Delfi ("DNA Evaluation of Fragments for early Interception") is using this technology to develop highly sensitive and specific cancer detection assays intended for wide and cost-effective distribution and adoption. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/delfi-promotes-jenn-buechel-to-president-and-chief-operating-officer-301754001.html SOURCE Delfi Diagnostics Robert M. La Forgia Joins LivAway Suites Ownership Group and Board In Preparation for Expanded Growth SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- LivAway Suites, a new economy extended stay hotel brand boasting a developer-centric platform, has announced Robert M. La Forgia as the newest member of the LivAway Suites ownership group and board. La Forgia, principal and CEO of Apertor Hospitality, is a 40-year veteran of the hospitality and real estate industries. His background includes a 26-year tenure with Hilton Hotels Corporation (currently Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc; NYSE: HLT) where he held a variety of leadership positions including Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. La Forgia is also a member of the RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE: RLJ) board of trustees. "La Forgia's extensive industry expertise will help set LivAway Suites on a tremendous growth path and provide strategic direction to enhance our overall platform," remarked Mike Nielson, Chief Executive Officer of LivAway Suites. "LivAway Suites brings a differentiated, developer-focused approach that aims to disrupt and innovate the extended stay segment," said La Forgia. "I am looking forward to working with the company's seasoned professionals to proliferate LivAway Suites nationwide and maximize our developer partners' return on investment." LivAway Suites, created and designed "for developers, by developers," currently has over 25 locations in various phases of pre-development across the United States. LivAway Lodging Group, a portfolio of LivAway Suites branded hotels, recently announced the arrangement of an $85 million construction debt facility through Keystone National Group, paving the way for the first group of LivAway Suites locations nationally. Its first location in the Nashville metro area is expected to break ground in early March 2023 with additional groundbreakings slated for the coming months. To learn more about LivAway Suites, visit www.livawaysuites.com ABOUT LIVAWAY SUITES Based in Salt Lake City, UT, LivAway Suites is a new economy extended stay hotel brand with a developer-centric business model and hotel design that helps our guests feel more at home while away. The brand is built on understanding the importance of offering guests everything they need and nothing they don't with straightforward services and pragmatic amenities that offer livability and comfort at an affordable rate. Built on a foundation of "for developers, by developers," LivAway Suites is poised to disrupt the traditional hotel franchise model through transparent pricing and an improved return on investment. For more information, visit www.livawaysuites.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/former-hilton-cfo-joins-livaway-suites-301754524.html SOURCE LivAway Suites NEW DELHI, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FreshToHome, the world's largest fully integrated online consumer brand for preservative and antibiotic-residue free fresh fish and meat, has closed $104 million in Series D funding with Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund leading the round. Existing investors in FreshToHome including Iron Pillar, Investcorp, Investment Corporation of Dubai (the principal investment arm of the Government of Dubai), Ascent Capital and others have also participated in this round. New investors joining this round include E20 Investment Ltd, Mount Judi Ventures and Dallah Albaraka. JP Morgan was the placement agent to FreshToHome for the fundraise. The current funding will strengthen FreshToHome's mission to make 100% preservative and antibiotic-residue free fish, seafood, and meat accessible and affordable to millions of meat lovers. Launched in 2015, FreshToHome operates in 160+ cities in India and the UAE and offers more than 2,000 certified fresh and chemical-free products. Shan Kadavil, CEO & Co-founder, FreshToHome said, "We are excited to have Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund lead our Series D funding round. FreshToHome has pioneered the revolution of making 100% preservative and antibiotic-residue free fresh fish, seafood, meat and meat products accessible and affordable to all and that is our biggest USP. We are now a 'Proficorn' with operational profitability across the company. As we strive to offer more value to our farmers and fishers, customers, employees and investors, our focus is on profitability and sustainable value creation." Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund, through its official spokesperson stated "Our vision with the $250MM Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund is to empower the next generation of innovative, technology enabled companies led by visionary founders. We are impressed with the FreshToHome management team led by Shan Kadavil and they have done some quality work in creating a robust technology enabled supply chain and scalable backward integrated capabilities to serve both customers as well as farmers and fishers. We are excited to partner with FreshToHome for the next phase of its growth." FreshToHome's core strengths lie in its brand promise for its quality and consumer trust and in its technology-enabled offering - Commodities Exchange, empowering over 4,000+ fishers and farmers to electronically auction their produce for sale on www.FreshToHome.com. Two years ago, FreshToHome raised $121MM in its Series C round, led by Dubai's Investment Corporation of Dubai, Investcorp, IronPillar, Ascent Capital and U.S. Government's development finance institution DFC. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2008893/FreshToHome_CEO.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/freshtohome-closes-104mm-in-series-d-funding-with-amazon-smbhav-venture-fund-as-the-lead-investor-301754773.html SOURCE FreshToHome Rankin highlights Irrigation Management as a Service from smart irrigation pioneer Calsense and says recognition of the industry's role and value needs to be expanded CARLSBAD, Calif., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Irrigation Association CEO Natasha Rankin says overcoming barriers to the long-term adoption of smart irrigation technologies is crucial for the future of American and global water management. Her comments came during an in-depth interview on the latest episode of the H2OMICS podcast from smart irrigation leader Calsense. In a wide-ranging conversation with host Carolina Alban-Stoughton, Rankin points to Calsense's Irrigation Management as a Service (IMaaS) subscription-style system deployment innovation as an example of a solution which actively addresses barriers to smart irrigation adoption. IMaaS won the Silver Award in the Irrigation Association's 2022 New Product Contest. "Thinking of the challenges of increasing awareness outside of the industry around smart irrigation, a lot of it comes down to that long-term adoption," Rankin says. "It's one thing to design and install [a system], and it's another to provide the support needed for that for long-term use and success. That's what really resonated [about IMaaS] as a solution and as a winner for the new product contest." After a highly successful Season 1, Natasha Rankin is the first H2OMICS guest for the podcast's second season. Elsewhere in the conversation, the Irrigation Association CEO highlights: the importance of expanding the recognition of the role and value of irrigation to those outside the industry, including advocacy at federal, state, and local government levels the work the IA is doing to make the industry more accessible and to encourage women to become irrigation professionals the way that smart and efficient irrigation can be an effective part of the solution to the impact of ongoing drought conditions Each episode of the H2OMICS podcast features an interview with an expert in the fields of irrigation and water conservation or sustainability, highlighting vital topics which might otherwise not be on the radar of listeners. To listen to the H2OMICS podcast, visit calsense.com/podcast or search for H2OMICS on your favorite podcast platform. Calsense is an innovator in the field of smart irrigation; it was established in Carlsbad, California, in response to drought conditions decades ago. The company's vision is to contribute to a sustainable future by saving the world's most precious resource: water. It creates sophisticated smart irrigation solutions built on a foundation of technology, education, and partnership. About Calsense Calsense is a partner with the Environmental Protection Agency's WaterSense program in promoting water efficient products and services. For 35 years, the company has contributed to providing a sustainable future by developing water resource management tools and strategies, directly incorporating input from its customers. Calsense helps its customers conserve water, manage labor, and ultimately save money through smart irrigation. The company's industry-leading technology and support bridge the gap between irrigation designer, installer, landscape maintainer and water manager to provide the support needed at each phase of a project. Customers partner with Calsense for a reliable system that provides long-term value. For more information, visit www.calsense.com. WaterSense is a registered trademark of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Contact: Carolina Alban-Stoughton[email protected](760) 438-0525 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/overcoming-smart-system-adoption-barriers-crucial-for-industry-irrigation-association-ceo-natasha-rankin-tells-h2omics-podcast-301753620.html SOURCE Calsense CHICAGO HEIGHTS, Ill., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Prairie State College (PSC) Library is one of 50 U.S. libraries selected to host Americans and the Holocaust, a traveling exhibition from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum that examines the motives, pressures, and fears that shaped Americans' responses to Nazism, war and genocide in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. PSC is one of only two locations in Illinois to host this important and powerful exhibition. The touring library exhibition based on the special exhibition of the same name at the Museum in Washington, D.C. will travel to U.S. libraries from 2020 to 2023. "We are thrilled to be selected from a pool of more than 250, and to be one of only two locations in Illinois to host this important and powerful exhibition," said PSC Outreach and Engagement Librarian/Assistant Professor Valerie Moore. "We are partnering with our local schools to host field trips with hopes that the community will also come out to explore and learn. The exhibition will challenge people to ask 'what would I have done?' and 'what will I do?" Americans and the Holocaust will be displayed at the PSC Library, just 20 minutes south of Chicago, along with a series of related special events, from March 22 to April 27. Based on extensive new research of that period, Americans and the Holocaust addresses important themes in American history, exploring the many factors including the Great Depression, isolationism, xenophobia, racism, and antisemitism that influenced decisions made by the U.S. government, the news media, organizations and individuals as they responded to Nazism. This exhibition will challenge the commonly held assumptions that Americans knew little and did nothing about the Nazi persecution and murder of Jews as the Holocaust unfolded. Drawing on a remarkable collection of primary sources from the 1930s and '40s, the exhibition focuses on the stories of individuals and groups of Americans who took action in response to Nazism. It will challenge visitors to consider the responsibilities and obstacles faced by individuals from President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to ordinary Americans who made difficult choices, sought to effect change, and, in a few cases, took significant risks to help victims of Nazism even as rescue never became a government priority. In addition to the traveling exhibition on loan, the Prairie State College Library received a cash grant to support public programs. The grant also covered one library staff member's attendance at an orientation workshop at the Museum. For more information about Americans and the Holocaust and related programming at the Prairie State College Library, visit library.prairiestate.edu. To learn more about the exhibition, visit ushmm.org/americans-ala. Americans and the Holocaust: A Traveling Exhibition for Libraries is an educational initiative of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the American Library Association. Americans and the Holocaust exhibit is made possible by the generous support of lead sponsors Jeannie & Jonathan Lavine. Additional major funding was provided by the Bildners Joan & Allen z"1; Elisa Spungen & Rob, Nancy & Jim; and Jane and Daniel Och. The Museum's exhibitions are also supported by the Lester Robbins and Sheila Johnson Robbins Traveling and Special Exhibitions Fund, established in 1990. Additional programming support was made possible, in part, by American Library Association, National Council of Jewish Women South Cook County and Prairie State College Foundation. About Prairie State College Library The mission of the Prairie State College Library is to foster lifelong learning by becoming the library of choice for students, faculty, staff, and community members. We will achieve this by meeting our diverse population's needs with innovative policies, exemplary services, and a responsive environmentboth physical and digitalwhere members of our community can explore and discover their world, while developing their identities and fostering their creativity. About Prairie State College Prairie State College is the first Illinois community college to guarantee all credits would transfer to other Illinois colleges and universities, an assurance that has grown through the Illinois Articulation Initiative. We hold true to our vision to offer rigorous academic programs, meet the needs of the local workforce, cultivate the values of sustainability, and demonstrate an awareness of its responsibilities in a global society. We strive to provide opportunities for our students to start near, and go far. For more information, visit prairiestate.edu and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. About the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum inspires leaders and citizens worldwide to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity. The Museum's far-reaching educational programs and global impact are made possible by generous donors. For more information, visit ushmm.org. About the American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the ALA has been the trusted voice for academic, public, school, government, and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library's role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit ala.org. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/prairie-state-college-library-to-host-americans-and-the-holocaust-an-exhibition-from-the-us-holocaust-memorial-museum-301754640.html SOURCE Prairie State College The convention will be held from February 26 to March 1 in Las Vegas CARROLLTON, Texas, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Propelled Brands, the leading, multi-brand franchisor of FASTSIGNS, SIGNWAVE, NerdsToGo, MY SALON Suite and Salon Plaza, announces five attending speakers at the International Franchise Association's 63rd Annual Convention in Las Vegas. Catherine Monson, CEO of Propelled Brands and Immediate Past Chair of the IFA, and Mark Jameson, Chief Development Officer for Propelled Brands, will be facilitators of the Emerging Franchisor Bootcamp on Monday, Feb 27. The boot camp is a lineup of mentors to support Emerging Franchisors, sharing with them best practices in franchising, that include the "who's who" in franchising. Their discussion allows participants to ask and get answers to challenging questions from road-tested leaders. Monson will also be facilitating at the C-Suite Think Tank on Tuesday, Feb. 28 and will be one of three featured panelist speakers on How to Lead Your Brand Through a Period of Rapid Societal Change on Wednesday, March 1. In this session, she will focus on lessons learned the last five years from political to social to economic and technology changes, and strategies to help brands successfully navigate such trends. Monson will also have the pleasure of introducing Amy and Ben Wright, founders of Bitty and Beau's Coffee, at the Closing General Session on Wednesday, March 1. Propelled Brands will be sponsoring the Closing General session Keynote Speaker and sharing the benefits of joining Propelled Brands, as well. Mark Jameson will also participate in the IFA International Track session on Conducting Due Diligence On Your Market and Your Prospects on Wednesday, March 1. The session will focus on conducting due diligence on international markets, including best practices and resources available in conducting research. Shayne Mehringer, Chief Information Officer for Propelled Brands, will participate in the IFA Industry Trend session on Structuring a Platform Company for Vertical & Lateral Success on Tuesday, Feb. 28. His discussion will focus on structuring headquarter teams for efficiency and providing the best support for franchisee success. Jennifer Herskind, Chief Marketing Officer for Propelled Brands, will be speaking on a Marketing panel on Real-Life Wins: 3 Franchise Brands Share Their Biggest Marketing Wins on Monday, Feb. 27. Attendees will take away best practices to create their own "win" from how to define a strategy, outline a solid plan, innovate the brand's omni-channel experience and redefine customer communication to drive business and create awareness. Jeff Lewis, the Assistant Vice President of Franchise Support for FASTSIGNS, will be a featured panelist of senior support leaders as part of the ICFE Special Sessions on Sunday, Feb. 26th. His discussion will focus on how to deliver effective field support to provide franchisees value. IFA is the franchising sector's only global trade association. Over 4,000 franchisees, franchisors, executives and suppliers are expected to attend the acclaimed IFA Convention that is meant to inform, inspire and educate franchise stakeholders at every level. About Propelled Brands: Propelled Brands is the multi-brand platform company of FASTSIGNS, SIGNWAVE, NerdsToGo and Suite Management Franchising, LLC, the parent company of MY SALON Suite and Salon Plaza. Propelled Brands advances the strategic path for each brand, offering support, guidance, and a clear vision to fully equip every franchisee, helping them maximize success. Propelled Brands is looking to partner with other service-oriented franchise concepts that align with its forward-thinking growth objectives. For more information or to learn about opportunities with Propelled Brands, visit propelledbrands.com. To learn about franchise opportunities with FASTSIGNS, NerdsToGo, or MY SALON Suite, contact Mark Jameson ([email protected] or call 214.346.5679). About the International Franchise Association: Celebrating over 60 years of excellence, education, and advocacy, the International Franchise Association is the world's oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations, and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the more than 733,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 7.6 million direct jobs, $674.3 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy, and 2.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees, and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology, and business development. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/propelled-brands-announces-speakers-at-international-franchise-associations-63rd-annual-convention-301754649.html SOURCE Propelled Brands Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) has called a snowday for Thursday due to the ongoing winter weather. The closure includes food service and before- and after-school activities at district schools. The district and other local schools had also canceled school on Wednesday due to the storm, the eighth snow day for the year so far. Close A local woman walks her dogs past Flagstaff High School Wednesday morning through wind and snow as a snowstorm hits the city. Nick Leatherwood, left, and Chase Christopher, right, both journeymen linemen with Arizona Public Service, work Wednesday morning to repair a downed power line in east Flagstaff. A blizzard with high winds led to power interruptions in several neighborhoods around the city. A ponderosa pine emerges from swirling snow during a whiteout blizzard at Buffalo Park Wednesday afternoon. Alone in Buffalo Park The gate at Buffalo Park stands in silhouette against a blowing whiteout snowstorm Wednesday afternoon. Wind and snow cause whiteout conditions on McMillian Mesa Wednesday morning where on a clear day the San Fransisco Peaks can be seen. Susan Immel walks her dogs Wednesday afternoon in a snowstorm that caused whiteout conditions. A flock of Canada geese fly through a blizzard Wednesday afternoon in east Flagstaff. Blowing snow makes it impossible to see the road on Forest Avenue Wednesday morning as a blizzard closed many roads leading into the city. Chase Christopher, a journeyman lineman with Arizona Public Service, moves a downed power line in east Flagstaff Wednesday morning while working to fix the line and restore power. Many areas of Flagstaff suffered power outages as a blizzard with high winds battered the area. Restoring Power to Flagstaff Neighborhoods Chase Christopher, a journeyman lineman with Arizona Public Service, works with a line crew to repair a downed power line in east Flagstaff Wednesday morning. A severe blizzard downed lines around the city leading to loss of power in several neighborhoods. Flagstaff is hit Wednesday morning with a once-in-a-generation storm that produced wind gusts up to 80 mph and heavy snow. A woman clears her driveway of snow amidst heavy winds Wednesday morning. Flagstaff High School student Kai Pannone checks his phone as he waits for his bus outside of the school Tuesday afternoon. Crews from Arizona Public Service work to restore downed power lines in Munds Park. The roof of a shed sits collapsed in Wednesday afternoon at a home in Munds Park after a severe winter storm with wind gusts topping 50 mph blew through the area, downing trees across power lines leading to a power outage for the entire community. Strong winds from a powerful winter storm blew apart a condominium sign in Munds Park Wednesday. Gallery: Intense snowstorm slams Flagstaff, causing outages, closures and cancellations A massive snowstorm that caused whiteout conditions, forced closures and cancellations, and produced intense winds hit Flagstaff in the early hours of Wednesday morning. A local woman walks her dogs past Flagstaff High School Wednesday morning through wind and snow as a snowstorm hits the city. Nick Leatherwood, left, and Chase Christopher, right, both journeymen linemen with Arizona Public Service, work Wednesday morning to repair a downed power line in east Flagstaff. A blizzard with high winds led to power interruptions in several neighborhoods around the city. A ponderosa pine emerges from swirling snow during a whiteout blizzard at Buffalo Park Wednesday afternoon. Alone in Buffalo Park The gate at Buffalo Park stands in silhouette against a blowing whiteout snowstorm Wednesday afternoon. Wind and snow cause whiteout conditions on McMillian Mesa Wednesday morning where on a clear day the San Fransisco Peaks can be seen. Susan Immel walks her dogs Wednesday afternoon in a snowstorm that caused whiteout conditions. A flock of Canada geese fly through a blizzard Wednesday afternoon in east Flagstaff. Blowing snow makes it impossible to see the road on Forest Avenue Wednesday morning as a blizzard closed many roads leading into the city. Chase Christopher, a journeyman lineman with Arizona Public Service, moves a downed power line in east Flagstaff Wednesday morning while working to fix the line and restore power. Many areas of Flagstaff suffered power outages as a blizzard with high winds battered the area. Restoring Power to Flagstaff Neighborhoods Chase Christopher, a journeyman lineman with Arizona Public Service, works with a line crew to repair a downed power line in east Flagstaff Wednesday morning. A severe blizzard downed lines around the city leading to loss of power in several neighborhoods. Flagstaff is hit Wednesday morning with a once-in-a-generation storm that produced wind gusts up to 80 mph and heavy snow. A woman clears her driveway of snow amidst heavy winds Wednesday morning. Flagstaff High School student Kai Pannone checks his phone as he waits for his bus outside of the school Tuesday afternoon. Crews from Arizona Public Service work to restore downed power lines in Munds Park. The roof of a shed sits collapsed in Wednesday afternoon at a home in Munds Park after a severe winter storm with wind gusts topping 50 mph blew through the area, downing trees across power lines leading to a power outage for the entire community. Strong winds from a powerful winter storm blew apart a condominium sign in Munds Park Wednesday. Power was out at the districts main office Wednesday, and the generator stopped running around 3:15 p.m., but the districts communications staff have been working remotely to keep updates current, according to superintendent Michael Penca. While the National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a winter weather warning that will continue through 11 a.m. Friday, the district has not yet made a decision to close schools past Thursday. Each storm or incident is handled on a case-by-case basis and every decision is different," Penca said. "...We want to have the most accurate information as possible." For the decision about Thursday, he gave as an example, FUSD was waiting for NWS's weather webinar held at 3 p.m. Penca said information that was "really important" from that meeting included weather intensity and timing. Thursday's cancellation notice was sent to district families around 5 p.m. Wednesday. "The closer you are to an actual event, the higher probability you [have] that the information's accurate," Penca said. FUSD is also part of a winter weather coordinating call, including NWS and other partners from across the city and county, which gives more information about expectations, power outages, other agencies' decisions and more. For some of the days earlier this school year, the district had called snow days early on the morning of the cancellation. When those decisions are made, Penca said FUSD has staff out assessing road conditions at both school sites and neighborhoods where its students live. Because the district is so large -- 4,500 square miles -- conditions can vary between locations. It has people on each site give updated information about weather and road conditions, closures and any power outages. "All that information is taken into account and we make what we believe is the safest decision with the information that's available to us at the time," he said. The district's size also means that closure calls need to be made by 5 a.m. that day at the latest, to allow time for the bus routes to run. Once it has made the decision, Penca said, it is sent to staff and families using multiple channels (though families have asked that phone notifications wait until after 6 a.m.). When asked how he was balancing the need for families and staff to make plans with the need to wait for the most accurate information, Penca again noted that the forecasts closest to an event tend to be the most reliable. He also said the district starts sending out communications in October, reminding families to start preparing for winter weather. This includes details of how FUSD handles and announces snow days. "I know our community does a great job of getting out potential for impacts several days in advance," he said. "This storm, people were talking about that last Thursday and Friday. There are several [places] where people can start getting information to start to be prepared." More about snow policies can be found at fusd1.org/snow. Other Flagstaff schools that announced closures Wednesday included Northland Preparatory Academy, Flagstaff Junior Academy, BASIS Flagstaff, Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy, San Francisco de Asis Catholic School, Star School and Pine Forest School. Higher education institutions in Flagstaff also closed Wednesday. On Tuesday, both Northern Arizona University and Coconino Community College announced they would be canceling classes at their Flagstaff locations in response to the anticipated weather. AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio and Giulia Quadrifoglio make the Car and Driver Editors' Choice list for the sixth consecutive year Chrysler Pacifica continues its run with seven consecutive years as Editors' Choice for Minivans Jeep Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee L take Editors' Choice honors for Mid-Size SUV for second consecutive year Ram 1500 (10 straight years), 1500 TRX (third straight year) and 2500/3500 (fourth straight year) continue their strong presence on Editors' Choice list Car and Driver has named eight repeat winners from the Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Jeep and Ram brands among those vehicles selected for the 2023 edition of the publication's annual Editors' Choice honors. The 2022 Editors' Choice list includes the premium-performance Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio and Giulia Quadrifoglio, both earning honors for the sixth consecutive year. Making its seventh straight Editors' Choice list is the Chrysler Pacifica, while the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee L take Editors' Choice honors for Mid-Size SUV for the second consecutive year. The Ram 1500 (10 straight years), 1500 TRX (third straight year) and 2500/3500 (fourth straight year) also continue their strong presence on the Editors' Choice list. "Stellantis wins eight of Car and Driver's Editors' Choice Awards, highlighting the company's best products," said Tony Quiroga, Car and Driver editor-in-chief. "Alfa Romeo is back this year with cars that tug at our enthusiast hearts, the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee L's combination of luxury and off-road ruggedness lands both models on the list, Chrysler's thoughtfully practical and efficient Pacifica wins, and Ram's full-size pickups that are ideal for work or for leisure take three more spots on our list." Selected from more than 400 models that Car and Driver tests, rates and ranks in each of 39 eligible market segments from subcompact crossovers to electric vehicles and from high-performance sport-luxury sedans to pickups these vehicles have been deemed the best at fulfilling their mission while also offering great value and delivering a rewarding driving experience. Access the entire press release here. Car and Driver Founded in 1955, Car and Driver is the definitive voice for car enthusiasts and the trusted guide for in-market car shoppers. With an online audience of 12-15 million unique visitors per month (ComScore) and an award-winning print magazine, Car and Driver is dedicated to delivering expert content and leading-edge insights on all things related to new, used, and pre-owned vehicles. With the most comprehensive vehicle testing, research, and reviews in the automotive category, Car and Driver provides the most trusted car-shopping experience for consumers and deep engagement for auto manufacturers and dealers. Follow Car and Driver on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Car and Driver is published by Hearst Magazines, whose portfolio of more than 25 powerful brands in the U.S. inspires and entertains audiences across all media platforms. Hearst Magazines' print and digital assets reach nearly 157.4 million readers and site visitors each month 60% of all millennials and 52% of all Gen Z over the age of 18 (Source: 2021 comScore Multi-Platform MRI-Simmons (11-21/F21). The company publishes nearly 260 magazine editions and 200 websites around the world. Stellantis North AmericaStellantis (NYSE: STLA) is one of the world's leading automakers and a mobility provider. In North America, it's best known for producing and selling vehicles in a portfolio of iconic and award-winning brands such as Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Alfa Romeo and Fiat. Powered by its diversity, Stellantis leads the way the region and the world move aspiring to become the greatest sustainable mobility tech company, not the biggest, while creating added value for all stakeholders as well as the communities in which it operates. For more information, visit www.stellantis.com. Follow company news and video on:Company blog: http://blog.stellantisnorthamerica.comMedia website: http://media.stellantisnorthamerica.comCompany website: www.stellantis.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/StellantisFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/StellantisNAInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/stellantisnaTwitter: @StellantisNAYouTube: http://youtube.com/StellantisNA For more information, please visit the Stellantis media site for North America at https://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/repeat-winners-from-alfa-romeo-chrysler-jeep-and-ram-brands-earn-prestigious-car-and-driver-editors-choice-award-honors-301754273.html SOURCE Stellantis TEMPE, Ariz., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SANTE Realty Investments proudly announces that Jameel Murphy will serve in an Advisory role in the company. Mr. Murphy is the Founder and CEO of ZAM Development. ZAM Development is a real estate company that invests, develops, and operates commercial and residential properties focused on long-term and sustainable growth and establishing knowledge of demographic trends and consumer behavior. ZAM Development acquires stabilized assets, plus the development of hospitality and Build-to-Rent communities. In the year 2021, ZAM Development expanded into land acquisitions for investments such as Build-to-Rent communities, Multi-family, and Commercial Real Estate, and Syndication. In 2008, Mr. Murphy collaborated with non-profit organizations and large multinational banking institutions to purchase and rehabilitate homes for lower-income families. Some of the most notable partners include The Caring Source Neighborhood Revitalization Partners, Mediator Executive Producers, and Reservoir Dogs Executive Producers. In recent years, Mr. Murphy has invested in broadcasting startups for Atlanta's elite including 'Anything for Clout' with Jonell PR who holds a client list ranging from Tyler Perry's partner Roger Bob to NAACP award winners. Mr. Murphy's investment in the film "Mediator" has won several film festival awards. Mr. Murphy said, "I've had the privilege of knowing Mr. Small through the Society of Exchange Counselors. Mr. Small is admired for his strong business acumen and as I continue to build opportunities in real estate, it is such an honor to partner with SANTE Realty and be part of its Board of Advisors." Jim Small, CEO of SANTE Realty Investments said, "Mr. Murphy is impressively growing his firm and has rapidly evolved from doing small-scale real estate deals with family members into being a full-fledged syndicator. We are aiming for diversified growth and development, and I am sure that together, with him, success and progress are close at hand." ABOUT SANTE REALTY INVESTMENTS SANTE Realty Investments is a purpose driven organization delivering private equity in the real estate sector where the firm has high conviction of being able to deliver superior returns to its institutional investors. The firm was founded in 2009 and has grown to be an industry leader in commercial real estate both in the US and Europe by leveraging its proprietary methodology including the SANTE Acquisition Advantage, SANTE Due Diligence Discovery, SANTE Asset Management Method, & SANTE Investor Cash Flow Maximizer programs. Further information please contact Elinore Malagar, Strategic Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer for SANTE Realty Investments at 480-398-4954 or via email at [email protected], Additional background information is available at www.SANTErealty.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sante-realty-investments-embraces-diversity-with-a-new-board-advisor-301754994.html SOURCE SANTE Realty Investments PERRY, Ga, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sigma Defense Systems today announced that Lieutenant General Dennis Crall, USMC, Retired, has been appointed to the company's Board of Advisors. General Crall retired from active duty in October 2022 following his last assignment as Chief Information Officer (CIO) Director Command, Control, Communications, and Cyber (C4) for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Sigma Defense Systems Appoints Lieutenant General Dennis Crall, USMC, Retired, to Board of Advisors "General Crall was once quoted as saying 'While warfighters appreciate our efforts, they live with our outcomes. Only outcomes matter.' This aligns completely with our philosophy as a company," said Sigma Defense CEO Matt Jones. "What we do makes a difference to the service men and women on the front lines in ensuring successful mission outcomes. We are incredibly fortunate to have a leader with his insight and experience join our team. His depth of knowledge within C4 and his focus on connecting data and people at speed will help us deliver greater capabilities and better results for our customers across the DoD." General Crall graduated from the University of South Carolina and was commissioned in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1987 and has served in strategic capacities advancing C4, data and AI strategy, cyberspace operations and cyber security. Prior to his role as Chief Information Officer C4 for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he was the Senior Military Advisor to the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy where he advised the Secretary of Defense on cyberspace operations and cyber security and implemented DoD cyberspace critical vulnerability mitigations. He was also the CIO-C4 for the U.S Marine Corps where he was responsible for creating all C4 administrative and operational policy. General Crall has combat experience in thirty-four combat missions with over three hundred fifty flight hours. On the Sigma Defense Systems Board of Advisors, General Crall joins a team of exceptional industry veterans, including Admiral Craig S. Faller, US Navy, Retired, Rear Admiral, Ed Anderson, US Navy, Retired, Lieutenant General Francis Beaudette, US Army, Retired, Scott Ritchie and Thor James, co-founders of Sigma Defense. About Sigma DefenseSigma Defense Systems LLC is a leading technology company serving the Department of Defense (DoD) providing systems and services for Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance since 2006. The company's software-focused approach to tactical communications accelerates information collection and sharing for faster decision making and better mission outcomes. Customers turn to Sigma Defense for engineering, program management, and data logistics services for technical solutions that encompass ground, air, and space-based systems and sensors and network and satellite communications. Sigma is headquartered in Perry, GA with satellite offices both CONUS and OCONUS. For more information visit sigmadefense.com and follow Sigma Defense on LinkedIn for news and updates. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sigma-defense-systems-appoints-lieutenant-general-dennis-crall-usmc-retired-to-board-of-advisors-301754682.html SOURCE Sigma Defense Systems AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. (NYSE: INN) (the "Company") today announced that its 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders will be held Wednesday, May 24, 2023, beginning at 8:00 a.m. Central Time. The meeting will be held at the Hampton Inn & Suites located at 200 San Jacinto Boulevard, Austin, Texas 78701. The meeting is open to all stockholders of record as of March 7, 2023. About Summit Hotel Properties Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. is a publicly-traded real estate investment trust focused on owning premium-branded lodging properties with efficient operating models primarily in the upscale segment of the lodging industry. As of December 31, 2022, the Company's portfolio consisted of 103 lodging properties, 61 of which were wholly-owned, with a total of 15,334 guestrooms located in 24 states. For additional information, please visit the Company's website, www.shpreit.com, and follow on Twitter at @SummitHotel_INN and on Facebook at facebook.com/SummitHotelProperties. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/summit-hotel-properties-announces-2023-annual-meeting-of-stockholders-301754993.html SOURCE Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. GUANGZHOU, China, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 23, the launch ceremony of the 6th Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation (Guangzhou Award) was held in Barcelona, Spain during the 2023 United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Retreat and Campus. At the meeting, UCLG, World Association of the Major Metropolises (Metropolis) and Guangzhou City jointly announced the call for submissions of the 6th Guangzhou Award. Mr. Deng Changxiong, Deputy Director of the Office of Foreign Affairs Commission of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee, Ms. Emilia Saiz, Secretary General of UCLG, and Mr. Jordi Vaquer, Secretary General of Metropolis, attended the meeting and delivered speeches. Mr. Deng read out a congratulatory message from the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) in his speech. "The CPAFFC is willing to work with the governments of all cities to support the UCLG and the Metropolis to play a greater role, and continues to make good use of international platforms such as the Global Mayors' Forum and the Guangzhou Award to create opportunities for cooperation and development among global cities." Ms. Emilia Saiz, and Mr. Jordi Vaquer highly appreciated the achievements and contributions made by Guangzhou in actively promoting international exchange and cooperation among cities and fostering the innovative development of global cities, and expressed their continued unwavering support for the development of Guangzhou Award. Co-sponsored by the City of Guangzhou, the UCLG and the Metropolis, the Guangzhou Award aims to recognize innovation in improving social, economic, and environmental sustainability and good urban governance in cities and regions and, in doing so, to advance the prosperity and quality of life of their citizens. So far, five cycles have been held, attracting over 1,300 initiatives worldwide. It has become a global platform for city-to-city learning and the documentation, dissemination, and analysis of the local implementation of global agendas including SDGs and the New Urban Agenda (NUA). The 6th Guangzhou Award is now calling for participation from all cities and local governments around the world with ongoing or recently completed initiatives, including those that are implemented in collaboration with private and civil society partners. Please learn more about the detailed guidelines on: http://www.guangzhouaward.org/The6thGuangzhouAward?lang=en View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-6th-guangzhou-award-now-open-for-application-301754735.html SOURCE The Guangzhou Award Secretariat Jessica Arias named to Utah Business magazine's 40 Under 40 SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- USANA Health Sciences, Inc. congratulates Jessica Arias, executive director of marketing, social media, and portfolio, for being named a 40 Under 40 award winner by Utah Business magazine. To find out more about USANA and its products, please visit USANA.com. Jessica leads USANA's marketing efforts globally, working cross-functionally with teams in 24 markets to plan and execute product marketing and social media initiatives. As a high achiever, exceptional team leader, and strategic decision-maker, she consistently produces strong results on behalf of USANA. "Jessica is an amazing executive director who truly deserves this award," said Dan Macuga, chief communications and marketing officer at USANA. "Her commitment to deliver high-quality work is unwavering and her dedication to the company is second to none. Jessica's hard work and expertise has fueled many successful product launches the past several years, and I know she will continue to lead us to success in the future." Utah Business magazine's 40 Under 40 award honors Utah's most established young professionals. The list features those who have founded companies, achieved great corporate success, led nonprofits, and chaired influential organizations. "It's an honor to work with Jessica and see her continuous growth at USANA," said Ashley Collins, USANA executive vice president of marketing. "Jessica is a wonderful employee, manager, mentor, and friend to all. We are so lucky to have her at USANA." About USANA USANA (NYSE: USNA) prides itself on providing consumers the highest quality nutritional products in the world. From its award-winning supplements to its innovative Celavive skincare and Active Nutrition lines, USANA has proven for over 30 years why it's a company you can trust. How about giving us a try? Shop at USANA.com or learn more at whatsupUSANA.com. USANAInternational Headquartershttp://www.USANA.com/ Media Contact: Amy HaranExecutive Vice President of Communications (801) 954-7641media(at)us.usana(dot)com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/usana-executive-director-takes-home-utah-award-301753639.html SOURCE USANA NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Warburg Pincus Capital Corporation I-A (the "Company") (NYSE: WPCA), a special purpose acquisition company, today announced that it will redeem all of its outstanding Class A ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 previously issued to the public (the "Public Shares"), effective as of the close of business on March 10, 2023, because the Company will not consummate an initial business combination within the time period required by its Amended and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association (the "Articles"). As stated in the Company's Articles and in the Company's registration statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333- 253210), initially filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission") on February 17, 2021, relating to the Company's initial public offering (the "Form S-1"), if the Company is unable to complete an initial business combination within 24 months of the initial public offering, the Company will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up; (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to the Company to pay its taxes, if any (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses) divided by the number of the then-outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public shareholders' rights as shareholders (including the right to receive further liquidation distributions, if any); and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company's remaining shareholders and the Company's board of directors, liquidate and dissolve, subject in the case of clauses (ii) and (iii), to the Company's obligations under Cayman Islands law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Net of taxes and dissolution expenses, the per-share redemption price for the Public Shares is expected to be approximately $10.20 (the "Redemption Amount"). In accordance with the terms of the related trust agreement, the Company expects to retain $100,000 of the interest and dividend income from the Trust Account to pay dissolution expenses. The Company anticipates that the last day of trading in the Class A ordinary shares will be March 9, 2023. As of the close of business on March 10, 2023, the Public Shares will be deemed cancelled and will represent only the right to receive the Redemption Amount. The Redemption Amount will be payable to the holders of the Public Shares upon presentation of their respective share or unit certificates or other delivery of their shares or units to the Company's transfer agent, Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company. Beneficial owners of Public Shares held in "street name," however, will not need to take any action in order to receive the Redemption Amount. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to the Company's warrants. The Company's sponsor and each of its officers and directors have waived, with respect to the Company's Class B ordinary shares issued in a private placement prior to the Company's initial public offering held by it, her or him, as applicable, any redemption rights it, she or he may have. After March 10, 2023, the Company shall cease all operations except for those required to wind up the Company's business. The Company expects that The New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") will file a Form 25 with the Commission to delist its securities. The Company thereafter expects to file a Form 15 with the Commission to terminate the registration of its securities under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. About Warburg Pincus Capital Corporation I-A Warburg Pincus Capital Corporation I-A is a blank check company formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, recapitalization, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities. The sponsor of the Company is an affiliate of Warburg Pincus LLC. Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release are forward looking statements. When used in this press release, words such as "may," "should," "could," "would," "anticipate," "seek," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company or its management team, identify forward-looking statements. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company's intention to redeem all of its outstanding Public Shares, the Company's cash position or cash held in the Trust Account, the Redemption Amount or the timing when the Company's Public Shares will cease trading on NYSE. Such statements are based on the beliefs of management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, the Company's management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors detailed in the Company's filings with the SEC. All subsequent written or oral forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are qualified in their entirety by this paragraph. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this press release, except as required by law. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/warburg-pincus-capital-corporation-i-a-will-redeem-its-public-shares-and-will-not-consummate-an-initial-business-combination-301754985.html SOURCE Warburg Pincus Capital Corporation I-A Company Aims to Increase Diversity in the Restaurant Industry by Offering Financial Discounts, Expanded Recruitment Efforts, Educational and Mentorship Opportunities for Underrepresented Groups PASADENA, Calif., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Wetzel's Pretzels (Wetzel's) is aiming to make franchise ownership more accessible for women and ethnic minorities. Through the creation of its Wetzel's Pretzels Access to Equity Program, the brand strives to create a pathway to ownership, providing financial discounts, as well as educational and mentorship opportunities to underrepresented candidates from all backgrounds. The program launch, coupled with the brand's targeted recruitment efforts, showcases its commitment to inclusion for all qualified candidates. Powered by the vision of Jennifer Schuler, Wetzel's first female CEO, the initiative seeks to eliminate barriers and provide prospective franchisees with access to capital. By bridging the gap, the nation's snacking leader strives to support aspiring purveyors of pretzel happiness to achieve their American dream of business ownership and build generational wealth. "While our pretzels are a delicious treat, they represent something bigger to our franchisees, and that is a dream of entrepreneurship coming to fruition," said Schuler. "We've been hard at work designing this program to both level the playing field and elevate conversations within our system and across the industry about diversity and inclusion. Our franchisees make it possible to 'Bring Pretzels to the People,' so our top priority is providing them with the connections to capital, education and support they need to succeed." The Access to Equity Program strives to provide participants with the tools and resources needed to achieve long-term success. Brandy Taylor, Wetzel's Pretzels Senior Development Manager, led the process to identify likeminded partners and service providers, offering candidates access to the three Cs: capital, content and community. Capital: At its base, the Access to Equity Program offers a financial discount of 25% off the initial Wetzel's franchise fee to qualified individuals who self-identify as female or as an ethnic minority. Wetzel's is also pledging to reduce upfront equity costs and increase access to financing, through partnerships with lenders, such as: AmPac Business Capital, Urban Strategies Inc. (USI), Capital Impact Partners, Sterns Bank, GetFranchiseCapital.com, National Development Council (NDC) and CDC Small Business Finance. Similarly, the brand also connects candidates with its insurance partner, The Viti Companies, providing fair and equitable rates on business insurance. Content: To supplement on-the-job training, Wetzel's has partnered with Operation HOPE and Start Small Think Big to provide business education, access to professional services and financial counseling that can help put participants on the path to small business ownership. "We're proud to partner with Wetzel's to support and elevate aspiring female and minority entrepreneurs, helping to make business ownership attainable and blaze a trail for future leaders of underrepresented communities," said Lance Triggs, Executive Vice President at Operation HOPE. "Operation HOPE's 1MBB program was uniquely designed to meet the needs of dreamers who are ready to launch and grow. Our team is here to support them every step of the way." Community: Wetzel's believes in the importance of building a strong community where owners can share best practices, learn, and grow together. To that end, the program includes a mentorship component, where participants are paired with existing owners, allowing them to ask questions, gain insights and have access to experts with rich brand and industry knowledge. The newly launched initiative has been immediately effective in impacting change, welcoming its first franchise partner, Daintry McFadden, into the program and providing her a pathway toward restaurant ownership. With experience in small business management, QSR operations and a background in finance, McFadden's goal had always been entrepreneurship. The Access to Equity Program provided her with the resources needed to become a business owner, as she prepares to open her own Wetzel's Pretzels bakery at Macy's Oakbrook Center Mall early this year. "I'm so thankful to the Wetzel's team for their incredible support in making this longtime dream of restaurant ownership a reality," said McFadden. Wetzel's focus on inclusion and thoughtful program creation is turning heads across the restaurant industry. Most recently, the brand was named to Entrepreneur's 50 Franchise Companies Doing the Most to Champion Diversity List. "Historically there's been an inequality among those who've obtained managerial and ownership roles and those who have not," said Schuler. "Our goal is to foster a more inviting environment here at Wetzel's with ownership that reflects the diverse tapestry of the communities where we live and work. We hope our focus on this important issue will inspire others across the restaurant industry, and beyond, to join us." Every element of the program, including its logo, was designed with an inclusive perspective and the company was honored to work with illustrator Danielle Coke in the creation. Founder of Oh Happy Dani, a lifestyle brand available at Target, and creator of the popular Instagram account @ohhappydani, Coke uses art to illuminate social justice issues and encourage hope. Her passion for advocacy has led to partnerships with Fortune 500 companies like Adobe, The Home Depot, Dell and Meta, collaborations with nonprofits, such as the NAACP and The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, as well as several community organizations in her hometown of Atlanta. "The Access to Equity Program is such an incredible and intentional initiative, and I wanted to honor that by doing an illustration that highlighted the program's desire to promote equity and inclusion for franchisees," said Coke. For additional information about the Wetzel's franchise opportunity, visit wetzelsfranchising.com. About Wetzel's PretzelsProviding a fun, fresh take on soft pretzels, Wetzel's Pretzels was founded in 1994 by Bill Phelps and Rick Wetzel in Pasadena, California. Drawing fans to its mouthwatering, portable snacks that are hand-rolled, baked fresh and served hot from the oven, word quickly spread about the delicious West Coast brand. Today, Wetzel's Pretzels has grown to more than 370 bakeries, including premier locations like Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort, Downtown Disney District at Disneyland Resort and Universal CityWalk, continuing to cultivate fanatics around the world with its SoCal vibes and "gram-worthy" snacks. Its cult-like following includes famous fans like Ben Affleck, Billie Eilish, Jimmy Kimmel, Kim Kardashian and Meghan Trainor. As the nation's leading pretzel chain, the franchise has received numerous accolades, most recently being named to Franchise Business Review's 2023 Top Food Franchises and Entrepreneur's Top 50 Franchise Companies Doing the Most to Champion Diversity lists. Jennifer Schuler, the brand's first female CEO, was also recognized by Nation's Restaurant News as one of the "Most Influential CEOs in the Restaurant Industry" and Kim Freer was named to Entrepreneur's Top 50 Franchise CMO Gamechangers list. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wetzels-pretzels-makes-franchise-ownership-more-accessible-for-women-and-minorities-through-access-to-equity-program-301754723.html SOURCE Wetzels Pretzels FILE PHOTO: The Apple Inc logo is seen at the entrance to the Apple store in Brussels, Belgium November 28, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman (Reuters) -Apple's Chinese contract manufacturer Luxshare Precision Industry Co Ltd will help develop the iPhone maker's long-awaited augmented reality (AR) device, Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday. Luxshare has taken over the AR development team in Shanghai, previously owned by Taiwan's Pegatron that first helped Apple develop the device, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. Taiwan-based Foxconn is also helping with the project, Nikkei said, and Apple has tapped two of its most important suppliers, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Sony, to develop micro OLED displays for the device. The iPhone maker, Luxshare Precision, Foxconn and Sony did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment, while TSMC declined to comment. Apple's headset is set to cost around $3,000 and will be launched at this year's spring event, Bloomberg previously reported. The company hopes to reduce the price for the second generation of the device, Nikkei said. The device will compete with the likes of Meta Platforms' Quest Pro virtual and mixed-reality headset launched late last year at $1,500. (Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema and Eileen Soreng) 0001810140 false 0001810140 2023-02-21 2023-02-21 0001810140 POL:CommonStock0.0001ParValuePerShareMember 2023-02-21 2023-02-21 0001810140 POL:WarrantsToPurchaseCommonStockMember 2023-02-21 2023-02-21 iso4217:USD xbrli:shares iso4217:USD xbrli:shares UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 8-K CURRENT REPORT Pursuant to Section 13 Or 15(d) Of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): POLISHED.COM INC. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Delaware 001-39418 83-3713938 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation) (Commission File Number) (IRS Employer Identification No.) 1870 Bath Avenue , Brooklyn , NY 11214 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) Registrants telephone number, including area code: (800) 299-9470 (Former name or former address, if changed since last report) Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions: Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR230.425) Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR240.14a-12) Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b)) Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c)) Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share POL NYSE American LLC Warrants to Purchase Common Stock POL WS NYSE American LLC Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (240.12b-2 of this chapter). Emerging growth company If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. Item 3.01 Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing. Polished.com Inc. (the Company) is not in compliance with the continued listing standards of NYSE American LLC (the Exchange), as set forth in Sections 134 and 1101 of the NYSE American Company Guide (the Company Guide), since the Company failed to timely file (the Filing Delinquency) its Form 10-Qs for the periods ended June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2022 (collectively, the Delayed Reports). The Filing Delinquency will be cured via the filing of the Delayed Reports. Pursuant to Section 1007 of the Company Guide, the Company submitted to NYSE Regulation on February 13, 2023 an extension request as the Company was unable to cure the Filing Delinquency within the initial six-month cure period automatically granted to the Company when it became delinquent. On February 21, 2023, NYSE Regulation notified the Company that it had accepted the Companys request to extend the cure period through July 31, 2023. NYSE Regulation staff will review the Company periodically for compliance with adherence to the milestones in the Companys plan to regain compliance. In addition, if the Company does not make progress consistent with the plan during the plan period or if the Company does not complete its Delayed Filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission by the end of the maximum 12-month cure period on August 22, 2023, Exchange staff will initiate delisting proceedings as appropriate. The Company may appeal an Exchange staff delisting determination in accordance with Section 1010 and Part 12 of the Company Guide. The Company is committed to filing the Delayed Reports to achieve compliance with the Exchanges requirements and intends to file the Delayed Reports by July 31, 2023. The Company also intends to file all subsequent reports, including the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the Companys Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, by no later than July 31, 2023. Additionally, the Company is working diligently with its auditor to complete a re-audit of fiscal year 2021 and review the financial statements for the quarters ended June 30, 2021, September 30, 2021, and March 31, 2022. The Company intends to file all necessary restatements by July 31, 2023. Item 8.01 Other Events. On February 23, 2022, in accordance with the Exchanges procedures, the Company issued a press release discussing the matters disclosed in Item 3.01 above. A copy of the press release is included herewith as Exhibit 99.1, which is incorporated by reference into this Item 8.01. Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits. (d) Exhibits. Exhibit Number Description of Exhibit 99.1 Press Release dated February 23, 2023 104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within Inline XBRL document) SIGNATURES Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized. By: /s/ J.E. Rick Bunka Name: J.E. Rick Bunka Title: Interim Chief Executive Officer Dated: February 23, 2023 ATTACHMENTS / EXHIBITS PRESS RELEASE DATED FEBRUARY 23, 2023 XBRL SCHEMA FILE XBRL DEFINITION FILE XBRL LABEL FILE XBRL PRESENTATION FILE IDEA: R1.htm IDEA: ea174117-8k_polished_htm.xml IDEA: Financial_Report.xlsx IDEA: FilingSummary.xml IDEA: MetaLinks.json Hundreds of miles of interstate highway were closed Wednesday in response to whiteout conditions and extreme winter weather across northern Arizona. About 287 miles of highway were closed to motorists on Interstate 40, from US 93 to the New Mexico State Line. State Route 87 was also shut down early Wednesday morning from Winslow to Payson. Twelve miles of US 180 were closed north of Snowbowl, and State Route 260 was closed between Indian Pine and Greer and Camp Verde and State Route 87. State Route 89A and Interstate 17 shut down between mileposts 375 and 340, and I-17 was closed from State Route 179 to Flagstaff. According to Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bart Graves, most of the closures reflect accident hot spots places where uphill grade becomes impassable for semitrailers, and ice makes it likely for big rigs to jackknife or become the cause of serious accidents. These are the areas that are typically subject to closure in a heavy storm situation. They are on hilly climbs, so there is a huge potential for collisions, icy conditions and slide-offs, Graves said. Ive been doing this job for 16 years and I can recall in years gone by where we would have storm systems that would park over northern Arizona ... we would have to close these same highways. Closing I-40 for almost 300 miles, Graves said, is not typical. Whats different here is the closure of almost the entirety of I-40; I dont think Ive seen that in quite a while. Thats due to the enormous amount of blizzard-like conditions, he said. Graves said DPS and its partners at the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) understand how important I-40 is for commercial traffic. Its a major transportation artery that cant run if semitrucks become the center of accidents related to icy road conditions, so its safer to close the road before major crashes pile up. Another thing to consider, Graves pointed out, is the safety of motorists who might be stranded in traffic while a wreckage is cleared from the highway. By closing some of these highways, people arent going to be stranded for long periods of time, Graves said. DPS is currently discouraging travel throughout all of northern Arizona at least until weather conditions improve. Within the Flagstaff city limits, Flagstaff Police Department public information officer Jerry Rintala said there have been 11 accidents. Police officers responded to 18 calls to assist motorists. Meanwhile, on the highways, DPS officers were out in the wind and snow Wednesday helping to enforce the road closures, flipping on their flashing red and blue lights, and directing motorists to detours. Luckily, Graves said, there havent been many large crashes for officers to respond to outside of the kind of slide-off accidents that always accompany snow and ice. Drivers tend to maintain high speeds and then slam on their brakes, sliding off of the roadway and into the ditches along the shoulder. When that happens, Graves said, Well send out service drivers to help pull people out of ditches, and make sure theyre OK. He wants to remind all drivers to reduce travel unless its absolutely necessary and to drive slowly. Graves also warns that when the wind clears, its illegal -- and extremely dangerous -- to park on the side of the highway to engage in snowplay. Close A local woman walks her dogs past Flagstaff High School Wednesday morning through wind and snow as a snowstorm hits the city. Nick Leatherwood, left, and Chase Christopher, right, both journeymen linemen with Arizona Public Service, work Wednesday morning to repair a downed power line in east Flagstaff. A blizzard with high winds led to power interruptions in several neighborhoods around the city. A ponderosa pine emerges from swirling snow during a whiteout blizzard at Buffalo Park Wednesday afternoon. Alone in Buffalo Park The gate at Buffalo Park stands in silhouette against a blowing whiteout snowstorm Wednesday afternoon. Wind and snow cause whiteout conditions on McMillian Mesa Wednesday morning where on a clear day the San Fransisco Peaks can be seen. Susan Immel walks her dogs Wednesday afternoon in a snowstorm that caused whiteout conditions. A flock of Canada geese fly through a blizzard Wednesday afternoon in east Flagstaff. Blowing snow makes it impossible to see the road on Forest Avenue Wednesday morning as a blizzard closed many roads leading into the city. Chase Christopher, a journeyman lineman with Arizona Public Service, moves a downed power line in east Flagstaff Wednesday morning while working to fix the line and restore power. Many areas of Flagstaff suffered power outages as a blizzard with high winds battered the area. Restoring Power to Flagstaff Neighborhoods Chase Christopher, a journeyman lineman with Arizona Public Service, works with a line crew to repair a downed power line in east Flagstaff Wednesday morning. A severe blizzard downed lines around the city leading to loss of power in several neighborhoods. Flagstaff is hit Wednesday morning with a once-in-a-generation storm that produced wind gusts up to 80 mph and heavy snow. A woman clears her driveway of snow amidst heavy winds Wednesday morning. Flagstaff High School student Kai Pannone checks his phone as he waits for his bus outside of the school Tuesday afternoon. Crews from Arizona Public Service work to restore downed power lines in Munds Park. The roof of a shed sits collapsed in Wednesday afternoon at a home in Munds Park after a severe winter storm with wind gusts topping 50 mph blew through the area, downing trees across power lines leading to a power outage for the entire community. Strong winds from a powerful winter storm blew apart a condominium sign in Munds Park Wednesday. Gallery: Intense snowstorm slams Flagstaff, causing outages, closures and cancellations A massive snowstorm that caused whiteout conditions, forced closures and cancellations, and produced intense winds hit Flagstaff in the early hours of Wednesday morning. A local woman walks her dogs past Flagstaff High School Wednesday morning through wind and snow as a snowstorm hits the city. Nick Leatherwood, left, and Chase Christopher, right, both journeymen linemen with Arizona Public Service, work Wednesday morning to repair a downed power line in east Flagstaff. A blizzard with high winds led to power interruptions in several neighborhoods around the city. A ponderosa pine emerges from swirling snow during a whiteout blizzard at Buffalo Park Wednesday afternoon. Alone in Buffalo Park The gate at Buffalo Park stands in silhouette against a blowing whiteout snowstorm Wednesday afternoon. Wind and snow cause whiteout conditions on McMillian Mesa Wednesday morning where on a clear day the San Fransisco Peaks can be seen. Susan Immel walks her dogs Wednesday afternoon in a snowstorm that caused whiteout conditions. A flock of Canada geese fly through a blizzard Wednesday afternoon in east Flagstaff. Blowing snow makes it impossible to see the road on Forest Avenue Wednesday morning as a blizzard closed many roads leading into the city. Chase Christopher, a journeyman lineman with Arizona Public Service, moves a downed power line in east Flagstaff Wednesday morning while working to fix the line and restore power. Many areas of Flagstaff suffered power outages as a blizzard with high winds battered the area. Restoring Power to Flagstaff Neighborhoods Chase Christopher, a journeyman lineman with Arizona Public Service, works with a line crew to repair a downed power line in east Flagstaff Wednesday morning. A severe blizzard downed lines around the city leading to loss of power in several neighborhoods. Flagstaff is hit Wednesday morning with a once-in-a-generation storm that produced wind gusts up to 80 mph and heavy snow. A woman clears her driveway of snow amidst heavy winds Wednesday morning. Flagstaff High School student Kai Pannone checks his phone as he waits for his bus outside of the school Tuesday afternoon. Crews from Arizona Public Service work to restore downed power lines in Munds Park. The roof of a shed sits collapsed in Wednesday afternoon at a home in Munds Park after a severe winter storm with wind gusts topping 50 mph blew through the area, downing trees across power lines leading to a power outage for the entire community. Strong winds from a powerful winter storm blew apart a condominium sign in Munds Park Wednesday. (Tribune News Service) Those close to Jimmy Carter have said in recent days that the former president is spending what time remains to him under the care of a hospice team at his home. A National Museum of the U.S. Air Force historian took time Wednesday to highlight museum artifacts associated with Carter. The biggest one, of course, is a Boeing VC-137C in the museum's Presidential Gallery, the first jet aircraft built specifically for use by presidents. During a 36-year flying career, the plane carried eight presidents and many heads of state, diplomats and others. It's often referred to as "SAM (Special Air Missions) 26000." Carter also used SAM 27000, although technically any plane the president uses can adopt the radio call signal "Air Force One." "One of the most memorable moments for President Carter and SAM 26000 this airplane right here is when he joined Presidents Nixon and Ford to attend the funeral of Anwar Sadat in Egypt in 1981," said Doug Lantry, museum historian and research curator. "These are three former presidents travelling internationally on an Air Force aircraft to recognize the life and accomplishments and unfortunate demise of a respected international leader in a foreign country." Sadat was assassinated in October 1981. "This is the Air Force serving the president, and the president serving the nation," Lantry added. Carter, 98, is the longest living former president. Now at his Plains, Ga. home, he has dealt with brain cancer, liver surgery, a hip replacement and other ailments. Lantry also highlighted a jacket used by retired Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Kim Johnson, who served as an administrative assistant to the president on Air Force One. Johnson told a Tennessee TV station in 2020 that she served under six presidents. "You can see this jacket has a very prominent presidential seal on it," Lantry said. "That is such a special symbol to the people who wore that jacket." The museum's William E. Boeing Presidential Gallery has a collection of presidential aircraft, and visitors can walk through four of them. The museum's hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and admission is free. The entrance to museum grounds is at gate 28B off Springfield Street in Riverside. (c)2023 Springfield News-Sun, Ohio Visit at www.springfieldnewssun.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey The boxes being moved from the flight line by U.S. airmen, in the aftermath of one of the worst natural disasters in decades, are a window into a global outpouring of humanitarian aid: medical equipment from Texas, blankets from China, sleeping bags from Kazakhstan. The base, a small outpost about 8 miles from Adana in the countrys south, was once known mainly for hosting Cold War spy planes and, according to widely cited unofficial reports, nuclear weapons. But since the Feb. 6 earthquakes and aftershocks that struck Turkey and Syria, leaving at least 46,000 people dead and many injured, Incirlik has become the central hub for worldwide disaster relief to Turkey, with the U.S. alone pledging $185 million in aid. The pace of relief efforts has slowed in the weeks after the initial earthquakes, but the commander of the air wing on base said he expects aid distribution to continue far into the future. It wont stop for months, if not years, Col. Calvin Powell said Thursday in an interview. As long as the Turkish government chooses to use Incirlik Air Base as a primary port for inflow of aid from outside the region and distribution to within the region, the 39th Air Base Wing will be integral to that operation. Incirlik sits about 125 miles away from the epicenter of a 7.8 magnitude quake that struck in the early morning hours of Feb. 6, followed by a 7.5 magnitude earthquake that hit nine hours later. The earthquakes leveled houses across the region and killed more than 40,000 in Turkey and almost 6,000 in Syria, said a report Tuesday by the Los Angeles-based International Medical Corps. More than 1 million people in Turkey are now living in tents, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said last week, according to The Guardian. And as many as 26 million people in Turkey and Syria may need humanitarian assistance over the coming years, the World Health Organization stated last week. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters at the base Sunday that the widespread devastation from the quakes will require a huge effort to rebuild but that the U.S. is committed to supporting that effort. Thus far, these efforts have seen airmen, working with Turkish troops and volunteers, unload 423 aircraft filled with 13,374 tons of food, supplies and equipment since Feb. 6, the Air Force said Thursday in a statement. The base also has welcomed 4,234 troops and civilian aid workers from around the world, as well as 36 rescue dogs since the earthquake, the Air Force statement said. This influx of personnel includes Marines and sailors from Task Force 61/2, who coordinate with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Army helicopters are among the 15 U.S. rotary aircraft flying aid missions from Incirlik. Airmen at the base recalled being awakened by the first Feb. 6 earthquake, followed by the frantic rush to process the arriving aid. At first, the constant stream of aircraft dropped off aid so quickly that it overwhelmed the resources troops had to distribute it, recalled Tech Sgt. Jacob Siluano, the sergeant in charge of aircraft services for the 728th Air Mobility Squadron. We were not anticipating something as big as this magnitude, Siluano said. The unit normally services one or two aircraft a day. Since the earthquake, theyve handled five times the number of aircraft theyd normally get in a whole year, Siluano said. The unit used to take a 12-hour shift to get 12 trucks out the door and into the disaster zone but now it can process 90 trucks in that time, he said. What changed was an influx of airmen from across the world who were flown in, often on short notice, to help with unloading planes. These reinforcements brought forklifts and other heavy equipment. The U.S. military also doubled their available space for loading trucks by using the Ring of Fire, an area normally used to train firefighters. About 1,080 Turkish citizens work with U.S. troops on Incirlik Air Base, the air wing said. While the air base escaped significant damage, the earthquake rocked Adana, which has a metro population of about 1.8 million, and displaced many of Incirliks workers, said Mehmet Birbiri, the local adviser for the air wings public affairs office. Turkish workers on the base, who were given time off after the disaster, are starting to come back to work this week. Some bring their children because their schools are too damaged to hold classes. One shopkeeper told Stars and Stripes he was mourning a friend and his family, who died in the disaster. Birbiri recalled the shock of rushing out of his apartment on Feb. 6, running down nine flights of stairs with his wife, and having to leave his home after the earthquake. Many of the workers on base are afraid another earthquake will strike the area, he said. On Monday, a magnitude 6.3 aftershock hit southern Turkey, just as many citizens were ready to return to their homes. We might look physically OK, but mentally we are not good, Birbiri said. While talking in his office, he turned on a nearby television. The first thing on was news coverage of the devastation outside Incirliks walls. He said he wonders how long it will take for the area to feel safe again. You see a storm, its coming, and it passes, Birbiri said. But here, this earthquake, we dont know how long it'll last. WASHINGTON Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said Thursday that solving the services recruiting problem is her top priority, but the struggle to find new troops could last into 2024, or longer. The number one priority, in my mind, for this year is fixing our recruiting problem, she said during a discussion hosted by the Project for Media and National Security at George Washington University. The Army missed its recruiting target last year by about 15,000 people. That is a very serious situation for us. The Army sought 60,000 new recruits in 2022 but enlisted only 45,000. For 2023, the service is aiming even higher for 65,000 new members. We really have to get after our recruiting challenge, Wormuth told reporters at the event. This is, frankly, a challenge not just for the United States Army but for all of the services. Fewer than 25% of all young Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 qualify academically and physically to serve in the military, according to recent Pentagon data. Many of them cant pass the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, a test that measures potential recruits aptitude and fitness to serve. Officials in all the services have said its more difficult to attract new members in the modern landscape due to several factors, such as childhood obesity and an awareness gap, or a lack of understanding among young people about military life and its benefits. Ive talked with thousands of young adults across the nation. Ive noticed some awareness questions that really caught me off guard, like Hey, I was told that until I finish basic training and Advanced Individual Training, I cant get paid, or [I cant] own a pet as a soldier, said Maj. Gen. Johnny Davis, commanding general of Army Recruiting Command. And certainly, all of these things are not true. Were really bringing that awareness to this future market. The Army has begun offering new incentives to boost recruiting, such as offering promotions for referral signups, a new recruiting ribbon, financial bonuses and letting recruits choose their station when they finish basic training. However, the Army has said it wont lower admissions standards to bring in more recruits, so solving the problem is expected to take time. It took us more than a year to get into the situation that were in, in terms of the recruiting landscape, and I think its going to take more than a year to turn it around, Wormuth said. We are in the process of reintroducing the Army to the American public. The secretary called the Armys goal of 65,000 recruits for 2023 very ambitious. We are pulling out all of the stops, she added. Gen. James McConville, the Armys chief of staff, said the service is undergoing the biggest transformation in 40 years with its new recruiting efforts, new doctrines, new organizations and new ways of training soldiers. Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Grinston also stressed the importance of retaining soldiers, not just recruiting them. Once people go in the Army, they want to stay, Grinston said, noting new members eventually are retained and promoted. Retention, he said, will help the Army avoid a shortage of noncommissioned officers in a few years. Last year, the Army was short about 20,000 soldiers from its desired force size of 485,000 troops, and officials have cautioned repeated failures to meet personnel targets could have a cascading effect on U.S. capabilities and readiness worldwide. We have got 100,000 service members in Europe right now working to either support Ukraine, help train the Ukrainians or standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our NATO allies. And about 50,000 of those service members are Army service members, Wormuth said. On Ukraine, she gave an update on the Armys mission to procure dozens of new M1 Abrams tanks and send them to Ukrainian troops. The Pentagon and President Joe Biden agreed last month to send Ukraine a version of the Abrams M1A2, but it will take time because they must be built a process that takes months. The Pentagon has not yet given a firm timeline on when Ukraine might start getting them. Its not going to be a matter of weeks, I can tell you that, Wormuth said. There are longer timelines involved. But I think there are options that are less than two years, less than a year and a half. She said it is possible Ukraine could begin receiving the first Abrams tanks before the end of 2023. Boeing plans to end production of its F/A-18 Super Hornet, the fighter jet that wowed movie audiences in last years Top Gun: Maverick, after more than 2,000 deliveries over 40 years. The aerospace giant will stop manufacturing the fighters after it hands over the last Super Hornet to the U.S. Navy in late 2025, according to a statement Thursday. Boeing expects to move the 1,500 workers who support the jet from mechanics to finance staff to other military aircraft programs, such as the T-7 trainer, a spokeswoman said. The decision to shutter the Super Hornet assembly line will free up resources to support new military aircraft programs, Boeing said. The planemaker plans to expand the workforce in its St. Louis defense hub for the next five years and build three new facilities there for advanced crewed and un-crewed aircraft. A Boeing spokeswoman wouldnt discuss the planes it plans to build in the new facilities but noted that the company does work on classified programs for the U.S. government as well as the companys secretive Phantom Works research arm in the region. The Super Hornet is the second storied Boeing aircraft to glide into retirement this month after the Arlington, Va.-based planemaker delivered its final 747 jumbo jet on Feb. 1. The fighter has been a key franchise for Boeings defense division since the company merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Originally developed by McDonnell Douglas in the 1970s, the F/A-18 Hornet was the first aircraft to have carbon-fiber wings and the first tactical jet fighter equipped with digital, fly-by-wire controls. The Hornets entered active duty in 1983 and flew their first combat missions three years later on the USS Coral Sea. The fighters played key roles during the 1991 Persian Gulf War and provided around-the-clock battlefield coverage in Afghanistan a decade later. The Super Hornet, a larger version with more powerful engines, began service in 1999. Both models of the fighters have been workhorses flown from the decks of U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and the aircraft piloted by the services Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron. The jets were eventually eclipsed by Lockheed Martins newer, stealthier F-35. Super Hornet sales dwindled in recent years with prospective customers such as Germany and Canada opting for the more advanced Lockheed fighters, said aerospace consultant Richard Aboulafia. While Boeing is still vying to sell F/A-18 fighters to India, Frances Rafale fighter is thought to be the prohibitive favorite, Aboulafia said. Boeing said if the Indian Navy selects its plane, it could continue making Super Hornets for another two years. Tony Capaccio contributed to this report. (Tribune News Service) The USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee, a guided-missile destroyer, was recently launched by the United States Navy. The ship, christened in 2021, is named after one of the U.S. Navys first ever nurses. Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee entered service in 1908 as part of the Sacred Twenty, the U.S. Navys first nurses. Within three years, she had gained leadership of the corps as the forerunner of todays Director of Nurse Corps. Rear Admiral Cynthia Kuehner served as the representative of the Chief of Naval Operations at the ships christening, where he spoke about what Higbee means to the Nurse Corps and Navy Medicine. As the 26th Director of the Navy Nurse Corps I recognize that I am here in no small part because of the vision, initiative and conspicuous achievements of this great warships namesake, Kuehner said. As the second Superintendent she led the Navy Nurse Corps with awe inspiring distinction. In this evenings ceremony we celebrate her legacy. We honor her service. And we ensure that the permanence of her indomitable spirit is enshrined and revered by all who behold her. Higbees care for thousands of casualties in World War I and during the so-called Spanish Flu epidemic that followed ultimately earned her a Navy Cross. Lenah Higbee understood in the context of World War I and the influenza pandemic of 1918 that nursings presence on the front and in the fight is as essential to victory as any other element of modern warfare, Kuehner added. With uncommon vision and valor Superintendent Higbee pursued credible standing for the all-female Navy Nurse Corps, fighting within the institution against overt discrimination and for the common basic features of military service including pay, rank, uniforms and even housing. 2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii Cleanup of fuel-saturated ground at a mountaintop observatory on Maui could begin as soon as Thursday, the commander of U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific, which operates the site, said Wednesday. About 700 gallons of diesel fuel spilled Jan. 29 at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex atop the 10,000-foot summit of Haleakala, a dormant volcano. The spill was caused by a malfunctioning float in the fuel tank for the sites generator that is used during power outages of the grid. The Space Force uses several telescopes in the complex to track satellites and space debris. The Department of the Air Force developed a plan to excavate, clean and return the soil in coordination with the Environmental Protection Agency, the Hawaii Department of Health as well as several other state agencies and local community leaders. Weve been working closely with the Department of Health, Brig. Gen. Anthony Mastalir, head of U.S. Space Forces Indo-Pacific, said Wednesday during a news conference at the site that also included Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall. I expect to get word back today or tomorrow, Mastalir said. At that point, we are ready to begin excavation. A Honolulu-based contractor will do the job, he said. The Department of the Air Force is very embarrassed by the fact that this has occurred, Kendall said. Our ongoing response to this fuel spill is a top priority, he said. Thats why Im here today. The spill harmed our reputation and calls into question the trust placed in us by local communities, Kendall said. He said he was nevertheless fully optimistic the site could be fully remediated. Mastalir said earlier this month that evidence suggested the float failed due to a power surge, which resulted in fuel continuing to be sent to the tank even though it was full. An alarm that should have gone off when the tank was filled also failed, he said. Mastalir said Wednesday that Hawaii Gov. Josh Green had asked the Space Force to inspect all its generator fuel tanks in the state. Currently the Space Force has six generators operating in the state of Hawaii, he said. We have thoroughly checked out all six of those generators to make sure that they were operating in compliance. We dont see any issues similar to what we have found here at Haleakala. Kendall said technicians had compiled important lessons regarding the generator site, which are being shared across the Department of the Air Force to prevent similar incidents in the future. The fuel spill has taken on outsize prominence for the Department of the Air Force because it follows a Navy fuel leak in late 2021 that contaminated groundwater and created a public backlash to the militarys presence in the state. That jet fuel leak on Oahu came from the Navys World War II-era Red Hill underground fuel storage facility and led to the temporary relocation of thousands of residents living in military communities on and near Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. Last fall, while Navy officials were preparing to drain the Red Hill tanks for the sites permanent closure, toxic firefighting foam was accidently released at the facility. (Tribune News Service) Thriller/comedy Cocaine Bear hits theaters this weekend, and although the film is fictional, its roughly based on the true events following the death of a Lexington man. Andrew C. Thornton II, also known as Drew Thornton, was a narcotics officer in Lexington. He became involved in drug smuggling and fell to his death after attempting to parachute out of a small, private plane flying over Knoxville, Tenn. Thornton had roughly $4,500 in cash, two pistols, a survival knife and several bags of cocaine in his possession when he died, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports, and federal, state and local authorities quickly flocked to the scene. A black bear found and ingested some of the cocaine and died of an overdose, The New York Times reported in December 1985, inspiring the Elizabeth Banks-directed blockbuster. Thornton grew up in Lexington and attended Sayre School, according to National World, a media organization based in the United Kingdom. He enrolled in school at the University of Kentucky, but later dropped out and enlisted in the U.S. Army. Thornton joined the Lexington-Fayette Police Department in 1968 and became a member of the departments first narcotics office. Thornton also held a law degree, but the Washington Post reported he never practiced. Thornton smuggled the cocaine from Monteria, Columbia, the Knoxville News Sentinel reports, and enlisted his Karate instructor, Bill Leonard, to join in. In a 1990 interview with the Knoxville News Sentinel, Leonard insisted he was unaware of the smuggling plans until Thornton landed the plane in a swamp in Monteria. Leonard told the newspaper the plane was quickly surrounded by men with machine guns upon landing, and pounds of cocaine were loaded onto the aircraft. He said he heard federal authorities talking about following the plane on the radio. The two decided to jump. Leonard went first, and his parachute opened, but Thornton wasnt so lucky. Thorntons body was spotted in south Knoxville in September 1985 after his parachute failed to open. The former police officer was 40 when he died. Perhaps more than anyone, Thornton would have appreciated the absurdity of his death, the Washington Post reported in 1985. He felt smug in his survivability, his elusiveness, his discretion and his insulation. He flaunted his soldier-of-fortune ideology, his professional connections, his sky-diving exploits, his macho command of weaponry and spy gadgetry. Although the Cocaine Bear movie depicts cocaine-fueled bear attacks, the actual bear was found dead. With a release date of Feb. 24, Cocaine Bear (2023) runs 1 hour and 35 minutes and is rated R. Welsh actor Matthew Rhys stars as Thornton in the flick. 2023 Lexington Herald-Leader. Visit kentucky.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (Tribune News Service) The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum is usually closed on Mondays, but its managers decided to open the doors for a few hours on Presidents Day to give people a space to process the news that the former president had entered hospice care. Over the following days, attendance tripled and doubled from the previous week and nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels. People looking for a place to reflect turned to the Atlanta-based museum, the archives library with thousands of Carter documents and its tree-lined campus. Its so important for people to come to see and learn more about President Carter from the early years to current day; I just think it puts a different perspective on things, said Meredith Evans, the facilitys director. Plus, we have beautiful grounds for people to reflect on life and what this means as we enter toward new beginnings. Even before the news about Carters declining health, Evans was already thinking about the next chapter for the library and museum. The facilities are functional but aging. When guests watch an introductory video that precedes each tour, they sit in the same cinema seats as the first visitors when the building opened in 1986. The theaters and other spaces need retrofitting to keep up with internet and audio-visual advances, as well as new compliance regulations for people with disabilities. Evans also wants to create more classroom space to increase programming capacity. Most notably, the museums exhibits havent been refreshed since 2009. The Carter library makes no mention, for example, of the presidency of Barack Obama. Jessica McAfee visited the museum last week with her children, a planned winter break trip. But she was glad to have purchased her tickets in advance, anticipating larger crowds in the days after the news broke about Carters health. McAfee had noticed the dated exhibits but said it wouldnt take much to modernize the public spaces. The kids love a lot of the interactive things, she said. I think incorporating that, otherwise teenagers, they just think things are boring. But when you have a lot of the interactive things, it really engages them. Help is coming in the form of more than $7 million in federal funding to help cover the costs of modernizing and renovating the museum. Operated by the National Archives, the museums mission is to provide public spaces where researchers and the general public can review Carters letters, notes, gifts he received and other memorabilia from his presidency. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff had the money inserted into last years federal spending package through the earmarks process. Unlike the Carter Center, which is a nonprofit created by the former president that shares the same campus, the library and museum dont have a separate fundraising arm. It is supported by the money it receives from gate admissions and gift shop sales, a Friends of the Library membership program and federal allocations. The Carter Presidential Library requested federal support to ensure access for students with disabilities to its educational programs and exhibits, Ossoff, an Atlanta Democrat, said in a statement. I was pleased to secure bipartisan support for these upgrades, especially since the majority of visitors to the library are Georgia K-12 students. Evans is in the initial stages of planning out the renovation project, which could take years to complete. The first step is hiring a designer to come up with site plans and a timeline, and then they will have a firmer grasp on the total budget. Mark Rodriguez of Woodstock visited the museum last week and said the most informative parts were about Carters post-presidency. I find that to be as much or more significant than the things that he did as a president, actually, Rodriguez said with a chuckle. Quite a human being and an advocate of human beings. The museum starts with Carters boyhood in Plains and follows his life story to his 1976 campaign and beyond. There are exhibits about his interactions with presidents before and after his tenure and his travels while in office. Much space is dedicated to Carters philanthropies after leaving office, especially through the Carter Center and Habitat for Humanity. His Nobel Peace Prize is on display, and a replica Oval Office is furnished exactly as it was when Carter served in Washington. As part of the upcoming renovation, Evans would like to dedicate more space to highlighting former first lady Rosalynn Carter. Her impact goes beyond just her husbands career during a marriage that has lasted for 76 years; Rosalynn has her own philanthropic priorities. Shes her own advocate for a lot of things that we dont highlight enough of as first lady and that we would like to highlight some more here, Evans said. We have a small section of exhibit for her for the Equal Rights Amendment, but shes done quite a few more things that wed like to showcase. Debra Waters, who is from Arlington, Va., was in the Atlanta area and decided to visit the museum shortly after learning that Carter had entered hospice care. When it was time to leave, she said she had a new perspective on the one-term president. I wanted to see what his life was about, she said. Im maybe a little late, but I really have seen some incredible things that I never knew about the man. 2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (Tribune News Service) On the day that the United States stunned the world by dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, a young Black man from the Main Line area of Philadelphia died in obscurity in a remote Oregon forest, the end of a brief military career that became enmeshed in some of the most significant currents of U.S. and world history. The story of paratrooper Malvin L. Brown was a saga of racial prejudice, secrecy, a cosmic discovery in the annals of atmospheric science, tragedy, and, ultimately, a 70-year mystery. Brown has just received a high honor posthumously: The government officially changed the name of what was Negro Ridge, in the Umpqua National Forest in southern Oregon, to Malvin L. Brown Ridge. I am thrilled, said Robert Bartlett, an Army veteran and sociologist who has devoted several years to researching Browns unit, the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, and who was instrumental in the renaming. He was among those informed earlier this month of the decision by the U.S. Board of Geographic Names. The ridge, 3.4 miles long, sprawling across 2,800 acres, and rising to 3,500 feet, is close to where Brown died during a firefighting parachute jump Aug. 6, 1945, on a top-secret mission that remains a little-known chapter in the annals of war. Balloon bombs Mysterious objects were appearing in the sky, and the government was resolutely mum about them. These objects werent from China or outer space, but Japan, and in this case government secrecy proved deadly. They were incendiary balloon bombs, the canopies patched together by teenagers, and launched into the potent upper-air west-to-east jet-stream winds that only the Japanese knew about. U.S. and German bombers later learned about them the hard way when the winds blew their bombs off target and dangerously consumed their fuel supplies. They were discovered in the 1920s by pioneering atmospheric researcher Wasaburo Oishi, who tried to share his findings with the world by publishing them in Esperanto, the universal scientific language. The West ignored him. The Japanese balloon campaign aimed to ignite widespread forest fires in the Pacific Northwest and incite panic. Neither Oishi nor anyone else appreciated the chaos of those winds, and the balloons landed everywhere from Canada to Texas. The balloons prompted the Army to assign a special group of paratroopers, the 555th, or Triple Nickles, to become firefighting smoke jumpers. Triple Nickles The 300 members of the Triple Nickles had one trait in common: They were Black. Historically, Black soldiers had such roles as cooks and dishwashers. These were the nations first Black paratroopers. But the U.S. military feared that their presence in Europe might stir racial animosities. They wanted to go fight Hitler in Europe, and ended up getting sent to Pendleton, Ore., said Eric Heinmann, another veteran instrumental in the ridge-renaming campaign. From Pendleton, said Bartlett, active in both the 555th Parachute Infantry and National Smokejumpers Associations, they thought they were going to Japan. Instead, they gave up all their military gear for picks and shovels. Ironically, he said, he found no evidence that any of the fires they fought were balloon-related. Their mission in the Pacific Northwest was top secret, and that secrecy would have a deadly side effect. Tragedy in the woods In May 1945, unaware of the danger, six people on a Sunday school picnic in the Oregon woods, including the pregnant wife of a local minister, were killed when a bomb attached to a fallen balloon exploded. They were the only World War II civilian casualties on U.S. soil. Two months later, Malvin Brown died during a jump in the Umpqua National Forest. The death certificate listed the cause as a skull fracture. Juanita Hays, Browns only surviving relative, said the family knew nothing of Browns mission and didnt learn about it until several years ago. About Malvin Brown Hays, 81, who works as a receptionist at the Zion Baptist Temple in Ardmore, Pa., recalled that she; Brown, who was her uncle; and other relatives lived in the only twin home on a block of rowhouses in the Haverford section of Lower Merion Township in a neighborhood where racial strife was a foreign concept. Brown, who had dropped out of Lower Merion High School at age 16, according to school records, joined the Army in November 1942. Hays late older sister, Vernell Brown, had recalled in a 2015 interview that when Brown came home on leave with his boot camp-sculpted body, everyone made a fuss over him. Hays, just 3 years old when her uncle was killed, said he was remembered as a really nice guy, easy to get along with. Vernell Brown had said in an interview: When he went in the service, it didnt surprise us at all. He was very compassionate, and he liked people. Not much of family lore about Malvin Brown has survived, Hays said, adding that he and his wife were divorced and that their daughter was deceased. Even less was known about his burial. A document shows that a payment was made to a Bryn Mawr funeral home, but despite earlier efforts by the Triple Nickles and the affiliated Smokejumpers, his grave remained undiscovered until 2015, when it was located through the efforts of The Inquirer. Although the veils of secrecy obscuring the Triple Nickles mission in the Northwest have long been peeled away, the shocker, said Bartlett, is how little people know of this story. 2023 The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC. Visit at inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Tokyo, May 16, 1962: Princess Michiko (center), Princess Chichibu (behind Michiko) and Empress Nagako listen attentively as Capt. Don Christinson explains blood transfusion techniques. Looking on (left) is Airman 1st Class William Brown. Christinson and Brown were both members of a mobile disaster unit from the 6022d U.S. Air Force Hospital at Johnson Air Station. The unit teamed up with members of the Japanese Red Cross Society, units of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces, police and fire brigades and private Japanese companies to stage a mock disaster demonstration. Looking for Stars and Stripes historic coverage? Subscribe to Stars and Stripes historic newspaper archive! We have digitized our 1948-1999 European and Pacific editions, as well as several of our WWII editions and made them available online through https://starsandstripes.newspaperarchive.com/ For many tourists, a day in Rome means seeing the Sistine Chapel, visiting the Colosseum or climbing the famed Spanish Steps. But along the well-worn cobblestone streets to and from those and other Roman wonders are a plethora of often overlooked treasures that reveal other facets of the Eternal City. Finding them can be difficult unless you know where to look. Weve compiled five below, but more about these and others can be found at online travel sites such as @livevirtualguide on Instagram. Pietre dinciampo, or stumbling stones, in the Jewish Ghetto, Via della Reginella These bronze cobblestones placed throughout the ghetto, and in other locations in Rome, are in front of the homes of Holocaust victims. Each stone bears the victims name, birth year, date of arrest, the Nazi concentration camp they were taken to and the date of their death. Called stolpersteine in German, such memorials can also be found in Germany, Austria and elsewhere. Also visit: The Jewish Museum, which includes the Great Synagogue of Rome, boasting the citys only square dome. At the end of Via della Reginella just outside the ghetto, you can see the late Renaissance-era Turtle Fountain. Passeto del Biscione This covered passageway leading from Via di Grotta Pinta to Piazza Biscione is just steps away from where Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C. The entrance to the walkway may seem off-putting, but dont let it keep you from stepping inside to see the recently restored frescoes with cherubs, garlands and a blue sky that line the ceiling and upper walls. There also is a shrine to the Madonna at one end of the short passageway, thought to be originally part of the Theater of Pompey, completed in 55 B.C. Also visit: Campo de Fioris market, with fruit and vegetables, flowers and other items. Skip the restaurants that line the piazza and head to Roscioli at Via del Giubbonari 21. The salumeria/cucina has an extensive wine cellar and offers some of the citys best cacio e pepe. Fountain of Lovers at Trevi Fountain This small but charming font is situated to the right of the heavily visited Trevi Fountain, nestled alongside a stone wall toward the back. According to legend, young lovers who were to be separated, often because of military service, would drink from the Fountain of Lovers, with its two arcing waterspouts, to remain forever faithful and in love. The fountain also had a practical purpose: allowing residents access to the waters of the Acqua Vergine aqueduct, according to the website Waidy Wow. Also visit: Vicus Caprarius, or City of Water, at Vicolo del Puttarello 25 for an underground look at how the Trevi Fountain is fed. The archaeological site features an ancient Roman apartment complex beneath the Trevi district. Galleria Sciarra, Via Marco Minghetti, 10 With just a minute or two of walking from the Trevi Fountain, you can take in the ornate frescoes and architecture in the hidden courtyard of this Art Nouveau building dating to the late 19th century, according to the travel blog My Adventures Across the World. Among the buildings features are frescoes in the Liberty style, an Italian variant of Art Nouveau. Mostly depicting women, they were painted by Giuseppe Cellini in 1887, according to the blog. At the top of the building some four stories above is a glass-and-iron canopy that allows light into the courtyard, which is a public passageway today. Also visit: IKONO, an interactive art gallery for people of all ages featuring more than 12 immersive activities, including a ball pit, a hall of lanterns and a maze of mirrors and lights. The gallery, at Via del Seminario 111, is a four-minute walk from the Galleria and is also near the Pantheon. Nasoni There are more than 2,500 of these public fountains, some quite grand and artistic, throughout Rome. Many of them are in the citys historic center, according to the blog Wanted in Rome. For example, there is one in front of the Hadrianeum, an ancient Roman temple near the Pantheon, dedicated in the year 145. These fountains, which run constantly, offer clean drinking water for residents and visitors alike, making it unnecessary to buy bottled water during your visit. Simply fill up with the same water pumped into Roman homes. Bonus: a small trough below the spigot allows dogs to drink. Also visit: The free immersive exhibit at the Hadrianeum at Piazza di Pietra, open to the public from 1-5 p.m. weekdays. A 22-minute film takes viewers through time, retracing events that happened at the temple. Much of the original structure is gone but elements of its facade, including 11 Corinthian-style columns, remain. The modern building behind them is home to the citys chamber of commerce, according to www.turismoroma.it/en/events/hadrianeum. Pat Conroy, who wrote The Great Santini, The Prince of Tides and many other novels, was known for his advocacy of writers whose work, like his own, is marked by the indelible culture of the American South and often infused with military themes. Conroys legacy, aside from a long list of acclaimed novels, includes an impressive cadre of writers personally mentored by the late author. Army veteran Lynn Seldon is one such wordsmith, and his latest novel Carolinas Ring is one such tale. This coming-of-age story is about the sacrifices required to maintain loving relationships of all kinds brotherly, motherly, familial and romantic. The book also illustrates that the value of those relationships is worth the price paid, even when the cost is high indeed. Carolinas Ring follows the lives of twin brothers, Alf and Ben, and the girl next door, Carolina all born on the same day in 1981. Narration revolves among the three, with each telling the story from his or her point of view. While this device sometimes creates repetitive passages, it also provides the reader with a three-dimensional perspective of the intertwined, even tangled lives of the triad. The three grow up as playmates and best friends, but as readers might expect, their friendship becomes lopsided when Carolina falls in love with one brother to the dismay of the other. Less expected is the way the friends grow in their complicated relationships as they grow into adulthood. The admirable qualities of each and the character they display in the face of hardship and heartbreak are among the charms of the story Seldon has created. Alf and Ben graduate from high school in 1999, and both choose to attend a military academy, but not the same one. Ben goes to the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va., while Alf heads off to the Citadel in Charleston, S.C. Carolina chooses the University of North Carolina. Military readers, particularly graduates of military academies, will appreciate the way Seldon uses the rigors of that life to highlight the flaws and strengths of his characters. Despite the similarities of their school experiences, its soon clear that miles are not the only things separating the once-inseparable brothers. The rift is exacerbated by their feelings for Carolina, but readers will suspect Alfs sudden shift away from his formerly open-hearted demeanor is caused by more than romantic rivalry. Seldon, a graduate of VMI, draws on his school experience to tell the brothers stories, depicting the stringent demands of life at a military academy. The timeframe of his novel, on the cusp of the 21st century, is well placed to include watershed historical moments such as 9/11 and moments of change in military culture. Obliquely but consequentially, this includes the complications created by the dont ask, dont tell policy, in place until in 2011 in the military and in military academies. The advent of female students at private military academies also comes into play, as Bens classmate and friend, Virginia, is among the first wave of female graduates at VMI. The author name-checks real women who broke the gender barrier, including Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, the first woman to graduate from the Citadel in 1999. Ben and Alf, in their individual chapters, measure their own struggles against the greater challenges their female classmates overcome. Conroy gets several mentions as well, including his 2001 commencement speech at the Citadel, his alma mater, where he famously invited the entire graduating class to his funeral. All these historical and cultural elements, however, must take a back seat to the events of the characters lives, as Carolinas Ring moves toward an unexpectedly twisty ending. The book is the second volume of a trilogy and follows Virginias Ring, published in 2014. Seldon and his wife, Cele, who live in Beaufort, S.C., are food and travel writers, and he brings that expertise to bear in his novel. Throughout the story, Seldons knowledge of the Southern locales around VMI and the Citadel, particularly the gastronomic landscape, are evident. Anyone who has been stationed near these areas will recognize the names of many favorite eateries past and present. In Carolinas Ring, the author sets the table for the reader with a story of love and family intrigue, flavored by military experience and life in the South. Terri Barnes is the editor of multiple award-winning books and the author of Spouse Calls: Messages from a Military Life, a book based on her life as a military spouse and her long-running column in Stars and Stripes. Hundreds of ornate dolls will soon adorn the steps of a Shinto shrine near the U.S. Armys headquarters in Japan. Army Community Service at Camp Zama is hosting a walking tour of decorations for Hinamatsuri, or Girls Day, at nearby Zama Shrine on March 3. Similar Hina dolls will be displayed that day at homes across Japan as the country wishes for the health and happiness of their daughters. Attendees will meet at the Camp Zama Community Recreation Center at 10 a.m. and walk together to the off-base shrine. About 40 people from Camp Zama attended the free event last year, and ACS is expecting a similar turnout this year, tour coordinator Maiki Mayhew said by email Feb. 15. In the Shinto religion, Hina dolls are believed to contain a soul. Rather than toss out old dolls, theyre donated to shrines for safekeeping and sometimes undergo a ritual funeral called ningyo kuyo. The hundreds of dolls in Zama Shrines collection are exhibited annually on a vibrant red backdrop and include emperors and empresses as well as their courtiers wearing traditional multi-layered robes which are modeled after royalty from the Heian period. Zama Shrines collection of Hina dolls will span approximately 77 steps leading to the shrines main building, making this a must-see event to enjoy the traditional artistry of Hinamatsuri. On the QT Directions: Zama Shrine is about a 6-minute walk from Camp Zamas Gate 1. Times: The walking tour is 10 a.m. March 3; however, the shrines Hinamatsuri display can be viewed between 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. March 2-3 and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 4. Costs: Free Food: Coffee is sold at a small cafe on the shrines grounds. Information: Online: zamajinja.or.jp The war in Ukraine has impressed on Taiwan's leaders the need to acquire and stockpile more weapons a lesson that's become increasingly urgent in recent months as China's provocations accelerate, said the chairman of the new House select committee on China following a stealth trip to Taipei. "Almost every Taiwanese official I met with mentioned the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a wake-up call," said Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), in an interview Monday upon his return from the self-governing democracy. China claims Taipei as its own and has vowed it will be united with the People's Republic one day by force if necessary. Taiwan faces a $19 billion arms backlog, awaiting crucial weapons such as Harpoon anti-ship missiles and F-16 fighter jets that in many cases aren't due to arrive for years. In the case of Harpoons, one congressional aide said, the missiles aren't likely to begin arriving in real numbers until 2027 at the earliest. "That was the biggest thing we heard from every major Taiwanese leader concerns over delays," said Gallagher, who met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, her vice president, defense minister, intelligence chief and other top security officials in a four-day trip. "That's troubling the Taiwanese, and I think that's unacceptable." Gallagher, who had never visited Taiwan before, said he came away impressed by the urgency with which the government took the threat posed by Communist Party-led China and its fast-growing military. "Our best chance of preventing an invasion of Taiwan, and of essentially preventing World War III, is to put actual hard power on Taiwan ... and, to paraphrase President Tsai, to ensure that every day, when she wakes up, we are increasing the cost of an invasion for [Chinese President] Xi Jinping," he said. Gallagher, a former Marine Corps intelligence officer who deployed twice to Iraq, said he intends to use the committee to draw attention "to the urgency of arming Taiwan" robustly. An invasion or even a blockade of Taiwan, which makes a quarter of the world's semiconductors and more than 90 percent of the most advanced chips, could trigger immense disruptions to the global economy leading to a recession that could rival the 2008 financial crisis, some experts warn. While Taiwanese officials do not say they believe a Chinese invasion is imminent, they are nonetheless aware of how difficult it would be to defend their island against a powerful potential adversary just across a 100-mile strait. Resupplying Taiwan with weapons in a conflict would be near impossible, experts warn, and so equipping it before the need arises is key. "We need to be moving heaven and earth to arm Taiwan to the teeth to avoid a war," Gallagher said. "Nobody knows if and when Xi Jinping wakes up and decides to do this but all the more reason to put in place a denial posture as quickly as possible." Ground-launched Harpoon missiles that are capable of hitting ships with a 500-pound warhead from more than 70 miles away are considered a critical capability for Taiwan in a conflict with China, which has the world's largest navy. The first announcement of an intent to sell Harpoons to Taiwan came at the tail end of the Trump administration. The second came in September. But Saudi Arabia paid for an earlier order of Harpoons and are thus ahead of Taiwan in the delivery queue. "Taiwan should be moved to the front of the line for the Harpoons," Gallagher said. For Saudi Arabia to receive the missiles first "doesn't make any strategic sense to me," he said. Riyadh's purchase essentially allowed Boeing to restart a dying production line, according to the congressional aide and other people familiar with the matter. The cost of restarting the line was about $500 million, said one person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity. Complicating matters, the Saudis paid for sea-based launchers, which is not what Taiwan needs. But "someone would have to reimburse the Saudis for those launchers" even if the Saudis were willing to step aside and let the Taiwanese receive the missiles first, the aide said. Experts say the slow pace of arms deliveries is a function of structural challenges arising out of how foreign military sales are completed. In the Harpoon instance, even though Taiwan paid the U.S. Navy $1.6 billion in May 2021 for 400 Harpoon missiles and 100 coastal-defense launchers, the Navy still has not entered into a contract with Boeing to begin missile production, the person familiar with the matter said. Gallagher said he came away from his four-day visit with a sense that "the Taiwanese are doing everything we could ask of them" in terms of boosting their own defense. He noted that they are increasing their defense spending by a record 14 percent to 2.4 percent of gross domestic product; many NATO countries still fall below the 2 percent of GDP guideline. The spending hike followed China's aggressive response to the visit of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to Taiwan in August, firing ballistic missiles over the island and apparently simulating a maritime blockade of Taiwan. Gallagher, well aware of the furor caused by Pelosi's visit, said he deliberately kept his own visit quiet to have more productive meetings. A senior U.S. defense official made a visit at the same time, which leaked and was front-page news in Taiwan. There has been speculation about a potential visit by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), which would raise Beijing's ire. But, Gallagher said, "I don't know of any active plans by Speaker McCarthy to go. If he wants to go, he certainly can." It's not for the Chinese to "veto" any lawmaker's plans, he added. Gallagher said he intends to hold a select committee hearing in Taiwan hopefully before summer and then report back to McCarthy on its findings. That would better inform the speaker's plans, and he and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) could visit possibly after Taiwan's next presidential election in early 2024. China has already begun to cast a shadow over the election, Gallagher said he was told. It's part of what Tsai, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, calls "cognitive warfare" an effort to mold the narrative to suit its aims, he said. The opposition Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang, is in favor of warmer cross-strait relations and benefits by such a narrative, he said. Beijing is attempting to "convince the people of Taiwan that the DPP is going to recklessly take them into war, and that the Americans are just using Taiwan as a pawn that when the fighting starts, we're content to let the Taiwanese die in order just to slow down China and we won't do any of the fighting," Gallagher said. The Washington Post's Christian Shepherd contributed to this report. CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa Okinawa prefecture again wants to sample soil and water on Marine Corps Air Station Futenma after detecting PFOS at a neighboring elementary school in December. Tests by the prefectures Environmental Preservation Division found contamination at three sites in Ginowan, including Futenma Daini Elementary School, that was 16 times higher than at the Itoman control site where no U.S. base is nearby, the division said in a Feb. 15 statement. The prefecture cannot rule out MCAS Futenma as a source of the pollution, according to the statement. Marine Corps Installations Pacific did not respond to an email Wednesday requesting comment. The chemical compounds PFOS and PFOA are both subgroups of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, otherwise known as PFAS, and are used to make coatings and products that resist heat, oil, stains, grease and water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They are also found in firefighting foam commonly used on U.S. military bases. Prefectural officials invited onto MCAS Futenma in July 2021 to collect treated wastewater samples found combined PFOS and PFOA levels below the safe drinking water standard of 50 nanograms per liter, according to an October 2021 statement by the prefecture. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency updated its health advisories in June to say no level of PFOS or PFOA in drinking water is safe. The synthetic compounds accumulate in the body over time, according to the agency. Okinawas environmental division also tested two other sites in Ginowan, where MCAS Futenma is located, and a site in Kadena town, according to the Feb. 15 statement. The PFOS levels detected in Ginowan were below the residential soil safety standard set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, but much higher than the agencys threshold for groundwater protection. Okinawa citizens and local politicians requested the December tests after sampling by a private group last year revealed potential issues at Futenma Daini Elementary School, the division spokesman said. Some government officials are required to speak to the media only on condition of anonymity. The sampling centered on the school due to its proximity to MCAS Futenma. It is just beyond the fence on the bases northern boundary. The school registered PFOS levels of 6.6 micrograms per kilogram and 0.7 micrograms for PFOA, far below the EPAs noncarcinogenic residential screening level for a child, the environmental division statement said. The EPA screening levels mark the threshold for potential health effects, according to the EPA website. However, 6.6 micrograms per kilogram is 173 times the EPAs screening level of 0.038 micrograms per kilogram for groundwater protection. The other Ginowan sites logged 0.6 and 0.7 micrograms per kilogram for PFOS and 0.4 and 0.4 for PFOA, according to the environmental divisions statement. The EPAs noncarcinogenic residential screening level for a child is 130 micrograms per kilogram for PFOS and 190 for PFOA. The control site in Itoman registered 0.4 micrograms per kilogram for PFOS and 0.5 micrograms for PFOA, according to the statement. Futenma Daini Elementary School made headlines in December 2017 when a window from a Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter landed on a field where schoolchildren were playing. That incident was attributed to human error, according to the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. Poland wants to see larger stockpiles of U.S. weaponry on its soil, which would allow allies to respond faster in a crisis, the countrys head of state said this week. President Andrzej Duda said in an interview Wednesday on Polish television that he had brought up the issue with his American counterpart, Joe Biden, during talks in Warsaw. Duda asked that Army equipment and weapons be moved to places created especially in Poland in order to strengthen the potential of the American presence in terms of infrastructure. My proposal was received with great attention, he said on national broadcaster TVN24. Bidens two-day visit to Warsaw concluded Wednesday with a meeting between leaders of Poland and other NATO countries on the alliances eastern flank for discussions about regional security. Since Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine one year ago, the number of American troops operating out of Poland has been on the rise. About 10,000 U.S. service members are now carrying out missions to the country on a rotational basis. But even before the invasion, Poland had emerged as a center of gravity for the U.S. military in Europe, where several thousand troops have been positioned on a steady basis since 2014. Dudas comments about a desire for more military equipment come as allies near completion on a major weapons depot in Powidz, which now functions as a logistical hub in Poland for the Pentagon. As early as this spring, a new Army pre-positioned stock site is expected to open after years of construction. It is one of the largest NATO-funded infrastructure initiatives in decades. The site covers more than 650,000 square feet of warehouse space, which is expected to eventually be filled with battle tanks, armored combat vehicles and artillery. The Army began setting up various weapons depots around Europe following Russias aggression in Ukraine in 2014, resulting in the occupation and illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula. The purpose of the depots was to have ready-to-use combat gear in places that U.S. soldiers could quickly man in a crisis. During his discussions with Biden, Duda said the two leaders also spoke about the need for detailing procedures for deploying forces to the eastern front in crisis scenarios. The point is that there should be designated units from the U.S. that will come to help in case of need, Duda said. Such units also need to be designated within the rest of the alliance, he added. NATO is expected to refine regional defense plans for how units will mobilize to reinforce the eastern flank, when heads of state gather this summer for a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. WASHINGTON (Tribune News Service) It seemed to be a scary example of bellicose warmongering foreshadowing a catastrophic escalation. But Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement this week that he was abandoning the last major nuclear arms control treaty may have been more symbolic than a threat of concrete action. Symbolic, but a mighty potent symbol. And one that may signal an end to global arms control agreements. "Big mistake," President Joe Biden said Wednesday in Warsaw when asked about Putin's comments. At the end of a rambling speech Tuesday on the state of the nation, Putin said Russia was "suspending" its participation in the New START treaty, a 2011 pact in which Russia and the United States agreed to limits on strategic offensive arms, including the deployment of intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear warheads. The treaty allows each country to have about 1,500 nuclear weapons. Early in the Biden administration, Washington and Moscow agreed to extend the New START treaty until Feb. 4, 2026. U.S. officials call it the "bedrock" of global nuclear arms control. A suspension, as Putin called it, is typically a prelude to complete withdrawal. But it is not fully clear what Putin intended. After his speech, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Russia would not deploy additional strategic nuclear weapons beyond the caps set in the treaty. On Wednesday, the Russian parliament, the Duma, voted unanimously to ratify the decision to suspend participation in the treaty, saying it would be up to the president to decide whether to resume compliance, the Russian news agency Tass reported. Yet as the New START treaty faces possible death, it is becoming increasingly clear that the decades-long era of international arms control pacts may also be fading at a time when nuclear-armed North Korea is asserting itself with numerous missile tests and Iran is moving ahead in its efforts to develop weapons-grade uranium, a main component in nuclear bombs. Even without the war in Ukraine, it was going to be difficult for Moscow and Washington to agree to a future START pact due to likely Russian demands, said Jeffrey Edmonds, a research scientist in Russia studies at the Center for Naval Analyses. Putin's suspension is important and worrying, but not yet too ominous, he said. "I don't know that it means Russia is going to suddenly run off and start producing a tremendous number of ICBMs," Edmonds said Wednesday during a panel discussion held by the Center for a New American Security. "That's very costly and it's not clear what the use for that would be. We have the flexibility to respond to what the Russians are doing." Perhaps most important, at least in the short term, is that the announcement was a way for Putin to remind his adversaries that he has and can use nuclear bombs as he wages Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II. Putin's speech "is not really about using nuclear weapons. It is about using nuclear threats," nuclear control expert Joseph Cirincione, former president of the Ploughshares Fund nonproliferation group, wrote in an opinion piece. "He has to convince Western publics that they risk nuclear war by continuing to aid Ukraine," he said separately on MSNBC. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said the U.S. would "wait to see" what Russia actually does, given the theatrics of many statements from the Kremlin. Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Assn., a Washington-based nonproliferation organization, noted that Russia had already violated the New START agreement by shunning the resumption of required inspections, which were suspended at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and by refusing to exchange data on nuclear stockpiles. And earlier this year, Russian officials failed to attend a meeting with their U.S. counterparts to discuss START provisions. Putin, Kimball said, was saying, "I'm going to express my displeasure with the West." But if Putin actually released his nuclear arsenal, it "would lead to a numerical arms race that neither side can afford," he added. Nevertheless, if the Russian leader is only threatening for effect, the gesture still is not a "blip on the radar," Kimball said. The move comes at a time of decreasing control on nuclear arsenals worldwide there are few constraints on China, North Korea, Pakistan and a number of other nuclear-armed states. In Russia, the protocol for Putin or any president to launch a nuclear weapon is similar to the procedure in the U.S. Putin would have to issue an order to do so and the military would have to execute it. In theory, members of the military could question the order, but that would seem an extremely unlikely challenge to the Kremlin. Putin made veiled threats in the early days after he invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, launching a war that has claimed thousands of Ukrainian and Russian lives and displaced millions from their homes. His intention was to dissuade the U.S. and other NATO member states from arming Ukraine. That mission failed spectacularly. Several analysts said Putin would be tempted to use nuclear weapons only if he were convinced he was losing the war, his forces were on the brink of being routed and driven out of Ukraine, and he was about to lose Crimea, the valued peninsula on southern Ukraine's Black Sea coast, which Russia occupied and illegally annexed in 2014. Not only would launching a nuclear weapon be disastrous for the parts of the world targeted and invite a response of unprecedented force, it would also hurt Putin domestically and politically, perhaps leading to his overthrow. These possibilities are deterrents for Putin. "I see this as a clear signal from Putin to Biden that he did not appreciate his visit to Kyiv," said Sharon Ann Squassoni, a professor of international affairs at George Washington University and former arms control official at the State Department. Biden's feat of an unannounced visit to Kyiv, where he strolled city streets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was a poke in the eye to Putin, who a year ago thought he would be able to roll into the capital and take over the country within weeks of the invasion. While his treaty suspension doesn't mean Putin is going to start down a nuclear path, Squassoni said, "the frustration from the U.S. is that it's yet another channel closed shut where we could have communicated with Russia." On Wednesday, Putin played host to China's foreign minister, Wang Yi, a signal of the ever-closer relationship between Moscow and Beijing amid concerns voiced by U.S. officials that China is considering providing "lethal aid" to Russia. Last year, just before the war in Ukraine began, Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a pact of "limitless" cooperation. Xi has since been reluctant to profess full support for Russia in its war against Ukraine. Now, however, U.S. officials say they have new intelligence showing China has shifted to providing Russia with some of the weapons it desperately needs as its own production capacity falters. 2023 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. In the occupied West Bank, daily Israeli incursions have become the norm, some leading to deadly gun battles. One-hundred and forty-six Palestinians were killed in the West Bank in 2022, the deadliest year since the United Nations began recording fatalities in 2005. This year is on track to be even more deadly, with at least 60 Palestinians killed in less than two months as Israels new far-right government, which came into power in January, has intensified operations against Palestinian militants. As the raids have increased, so have Palestinian attacks on Israelis, killing at least 11 people over the same period. 1. Jan. 26 Israeli forces conducted a raid on a refugee camp in the West Bank city of Jenin that left 10 dead, including an unarmed 61-year-old woman. Nineteen others were wounded in the hours-long gun battle. 2. Jan. 27-28 One day later, a Palestinian gunman opened fire outside an East Jerusalem synagogue, killing at least seven people after Friday night prayers. The shooter was killed at the scene. Mushir al-Masri, a politician with Hamas, the Islamist militant group that rules Gaza, hailed the shooting as a quick response to the Jenin massacre and evidence of the vitality and readiness of the resistance. The next day, a 13-year-old Palestinian shot and injured two Israelis in Maalot Ir David, an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem. 3. Feb. 6 Just over one week later, Israeli forces raided Jericho, killing five Palestinian men, two of whom the army said were caught planning an attack on Jewish-run restaurants. Protests broke out in the usually peaceful town known for its farmland and Christian pilgrimage sites. 4. Feb. 7 An Israeli raid in Nablus killed a 17-year-old Palestinian. The army said the boy had fired on Israeli forces. 5. Feb. 10 A Palestinian driver rammed a car into a crowd waiting at a Jerusalem bus stop, killing three, including two young children. 6. Feb. 13 A shootout in Nablus left a Palestinian man dead. In East Jerusalem, an Israeli police officer was accosted by a knife-wielding Palestinian. A security guard opened fire to try to stop the Palestinian man but instead shot the stabbed officer, who later died of his wounds, police said. 7. Feb. 14 During a raid on a refugee camp near the city of Tubas, Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian teenager. 8. Feb. 22 A massive raid in Nablus on Wednesday left at least 10 Palestinians dead and more than 100 wounded, matching the death toll in Jenin. Two Israeli soldiers were also injured, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The Washington Posts Miriam Berger, Shira Rubin, William Booth, Fatima Abdul Karim and Sufian Taha contributed to this report. (Tribune News Service) Its been decades in the making but its finally happened: Paschal Conley has been promoted to second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. The promotion came posthumously for Conley, an Alabama native who died in 1919, after he served in the 10th Cavalry Regiment as a member of the famed Buffalo Soldiers during the Spanish-American War in 1898. U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville presented a certificate acknowledging the promotion to Conleys family Wednesday at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville. Mayor Tommy Battle also declared Wednesday to be Paschal Conley Day in the city. This was long overdue, Tuberville said. He was recommended years ago and, as a Buffalo Soldier, to go from rank from sergeant to Lieutenant. And for some reason, the ball was dropped. And so for many, many years, its been kind of a stalemate. We started working on this about six months ago and we were able to get the promotion. We presented it to his family today. We had some people here that were very excited about it, because they had tried for a long, long time to get this promotion done. So were, were glad to be just a small part of it. This was obviously not given. It was earned. And so were glad to see this happen. The Buffalo Soldiers became a nickname for Black cavalry troops and a monument stands in their honor in Huntsville. Ollie Conley of Huntsville said there were about 30 family members who made the trip for the ceremony for all over the country. She said Paschal was her husbands grandfathers first cousin. Legendary Gen. George Pershing, then a first lieutenant, was among those who lobbied for Conleys promotion. Former Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions worked in 2012 for Conleys promotion as well. Its almost indescribable, Ollie Conley said. The fact that we have waited all this time, we know that he was recommended 124 years ago. We have been working on it approximately 30 years. So we are so excited and so delighted to be able to say to this generation, and hopefully the generations to come, that Paschal Conley was promoted to second lieutenant. Ollie Conley noted that the promotion, albeit more than a century late, was a rare acknowledgment for a soldier of color. For that period of time its very important because many African Americans were not made officers in the U.S. Army, she said. And so the fact that he was moving up from sergeant to second lieutenant, that was really quite an accomplishment. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit al.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. MONTEREY, Calif. (Tribune News Service) For decades, the city of Monterey has led by example in its collaboration with local military operations. Now, a bill recently introduced in the California State Assembly is set to fortify that effort. Dubbed the Stronger Defense Communities Act, the bipartisan bill was introduced by Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) earlier this month. State Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa) is the principal coauthor of the bill. It intends to create a funding structure for communities housing military bases across California that makes use of both state and federal resources. Four of the states more than 30 federal military installations that stand to benefit from the proposed legislation are located in Monterey County with two tied directly to the city of Monterey. What a good opportunity for the state to play a role in community-military installation partnerships, Monterey Mayor Tyller Williamson said. We appreciate our veterans and our service members that make up a beautiful part of Montereys identity. If were able to get more support from the state to strengthen those relationships, thats a really good thing for our community. In a prepared statement, Addis recognized that California is home to thousands of military families who not only sacrifice for the betterment of our country, but also provide significant contributions to our state. This bill helps Californias defense communities, her statement went on, by supporting local efforts to access federal funds for water, road and other improvements that benefit military families and the communities they live in. Currently, financial aid for localities housing a military installation in California is doled out at the federal level, through an initiative known as the Defense Community Infrastructure Pilot (DCIP) program. Defense communities statewide can apply for federal infrastructure grants through the program. But, according to Addis, communities are often not able to meet matching requirements needed to secure the federal governments portion of awarded funding. Addis proposed bill would provide state assistance to fill that space. To do so, the act would establish a parallel initiative to the DCIP, the California Defense Community Infrastructure Program. As laid out in draft legislation, the parallel program would kick in state funds to help local agencies meet matching requirements of DCIP-allotted grants. By creating an avenue for military communities to access these funds, California will ensure that critical infrastructure needs are met for both the military bases and their surrounding communities, a press release from Addis office announcing the Stronger Defense Communities Act read. Monterey City Manager Hans Uslar welcomes the expanded support. In fact, he thinks its long overdue. Every state except California has an accompanying bill that basically matches (DCIP) with state funding to make improvements that benefit (their) military installation communities. This bill that is being proposed by Addis will provide, so to speak, a partner (program) to DCIP that closes that gap (for us), Uslar said. This isnt the first time California legislators have tried to bridge imbalances with accessing DCIP funds. Last year, Republican State Senators introduced Senate Bill 1395, which also sought to establish the California Defense Community Infrastructure Program in tandem with DCIP. The bill died in committee. Uslar is hoping the newly proposed Stronger Defense Communities Act makes it to the governors desk this time around. As of this week, the act was still pending committee referral in the State Assembly. Asked how the program, if implemented, would directly benefit the city of Monterey and surrounding areas, Uslar said well have to see how the bill is drafted. Uslar did note that local stakeholders are eying an improvement project at Jolon Road in South Monterey County, which would boost access to Fort Hunter Liggett. But for now, its a waiting game to see how the Stronger Defense Communities Act fairs in legislative steps to come. 2023 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at montereyherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. New realities are forming on the map of global geopolitics and energy cooperation, and Egypts new and increasing role is becoming more and more evident. As Eastern Europe and the Black Sea have become areas of instability, the Mediterranean is emerging as a reliable new region for energy procurement towards the EU. If one looks at the emerging map of energy flows, the pattern of a new orientation from south to north that substitutes for the previous east to west direction is clear. Egypt has four major advantages as an energy provider in the global energy market. First, the country has huge natural gas deposits that form the bulk of its energy exports towards the EU. After achieving self-sufficiency in natural gas in 2018, Egypt has made great strides in a short time to emerge as a main energy provider by developing its export dynamics and diplomatic synergies. Second, it is located in a highly strategic location to the immediate south of the EU and connected to it across the calm Mediterranean Sea. Third, it has advanced infrastructure facilities for transporting and processing natural gas that include a network of 7,000 km of pipelines, a distribution network of 31,000 km, and 29 gas-treatment plants as well as two liquified natural gas (LNG) facilities in the Idku and Damietta plants. This is a specific advantage that other gas-exporting North African states do not enjoy. Fourth and equally importantly, it enjoys a stable political environment that has been secured by the government of President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi. This promotes international cooperation across three continents by bridging Europe, Asia, and Africa. All this means in essence that Egypt is becoming Europes energy lifeline. If we examine Egypts energy potential more closely additional conclusions also emerge. Egyptian LNG production has been steadily increasing, and in 2022 the country boosted its LNG exports by 14 per cent to reach eight million tons. Ninety per cent of this was delivered to EU markets, according to data presented by Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek Al-Molla in November. In 2021, seven million tons of LNG was exported, 80 per cent of it to the EU. The data clearly show that Egypt is keeping its side of the bargain by increasing energy exports to an EU that is under severe energy stress. Not only that, but Egypts energy exports could increase even more when aided by the four structural factors analysed above. During the recent Egypt Petroleum Show (EGYPS 2023), held between 13 and 15 February, Al-Molla announced that the country expects to produce 7.5 million tons of LNG in 2023, as its plants have been operating at less than their capacity. They have spare capacity that can further increase the amount of LNG exported towards the EU, Al-Molla said, and EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson reaffirmed Egypts importance in addressing EU needs. In the context of Egypts role as an essential energy provider for the EU, Greeces importance has also been rising. Greece is the closest-lying EU state to Egypt and a valuable diplomatic partner. As the EU continues to face an important energy crisis, the cooperation of these two countries is more essential than ever. Greece, with its Revithoussa LNG Terminal, is now a key European transit route and a country facilitating energy flows from the southern Mediterranean to mainland Europe. It is developing its own National Natural Gas Transmission System with new compressor stations that will allow for larger energy flows from the south to the north. Greek grid operator DESFA is investing one billion euros to expand its network capacity by 2032, thus enabling Greece to quadruple its gas-export capacity. As a result, Greece will be able to handle 8.5 billion cubic metres of gas (bcm) annually by 2025, becoming a European gas hub that works in close cooperation with Egypt as the main gas exporter in the Mediterranean. Greece, owing to its geographical position and its overlapping membership of the EU and the East Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF), can function both as a transit country for Egyptian energy exports and as a valuable diplomatic partner in the EU. Effective cooperation on gas exports will benefit millions of customers in both Europe and Egypt and reduce prices in various related products and services, thereby easing the economic crisis that all states are going through during this internationally unstable period. Egypt with its ever-increasing LNG exports is already the focal state assisting the EU during the present energy crisis. This is a fact that should be borne in mind in European decision-making circles, in order to develop new synergies of cooperation based on mutual respect and identical interests. *The writer is a lecturer in geopolitics at the University of Athens in Greece. * A version of this article appears in print in the 23 February, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly The court was told Lazee Okenyi (21) wished to pay compensation but he was not working and would need some time An engineering student ran off with an expensive iPhone after the seller handed it to him to inspect after he expressed an interest in buying it, a court has heard. Lazee Okenyi (21) was found with 780 in cash after his home was searched by gardai, who believed he may have sold the phone. Judge Ciaran Liddy adjourned sentencing to a date in May to allow Okenyi bring some compensation to court. The defendant, of Earlsfort Road in Lucan, admitted stealing a black iPhone 11, valued at 1,180, at Earlsfort Avenue, Lucan, on December 4, 2019. Okenyi also admitted possession of cannabis, with a street value 30, after gardai searched his home on December 5, 2019. A garda witness told Blanchardstown District Court the victim had advertised a black IPhone Pro Max for sale and Okenyi met with him. The phone was handed to Okenyi to look at, and he ran off with the phone. The defendant was identified from CCTV footage, a garda witness said. The court heard gardai obtained a search warrant and searched Okenyis home the following day. During the search the mobile phone box and 780 in cash was found, but not the iPhone. Gardai said Okenyi may have sold the mobile phone, which would explain the cash which was found. Cannabis worth 30 was also found in the house. Okenyi was later questioned by gardai and made admissions about taking the phone, the court heard. Defence lawyer Ciaran MacLoughlin said Okenyi was studying pharmaceutical engineering, and had no addiction issues. Mr MacLoughlin said Okenyi wished to apologise for his behaviour. The court heard the victim was out of pocket the cost of his phone. Mr MacLoughlin said Okenyi wished to pay compensation to the victim but he was not working and would need some time to do so. Just before his sentencing, Weinstein begged Judge Lisa Lench for mercy, telling her that he didnt deserve to spend life behind bars, and adding that the allegations against him had been a set up. Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 16 years in prison in Los Angeles (Anthony Devlin/PA) Anthony Devlin Disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for rape and sexual assault at a Los Angeles court. The movie mogul was found guilty of rape and two other sexual misconduct charges involving a woman known as Jane Doe One, after a trial in December. The woman said the incident happened after Weinstein appeared uninvited at her hotel room during a Los Angeles film festival in 2013. Just before his sentencing, Weinstein begged Judge Lisa Lench for mercy, telling her that he didnt deserve to spend life behind bars, and adding that the allegations against him had been a set up. Your Honour I maintain that I am innocent, he told the packed out court room. I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe One. I dont know that woman and she doesnt know me. He continued: This is a made-up story. With all due respect, Jane Doe One is an actress Jane Doe One can turn on the tears. Weinstein was found guilty of rape and other sexual misconduct charges involving a woman last December (Ian West/PA) Ian West Please dont sentence me to life in prison, I dont deserve it. I beg your mercy. The former producer, 70, was wheeled into court wearing a grey Los Angeles County jail uniform and remained seated as he addressed the court. Prior to the sentence, the court heard an emotional victim impact statement from Jane Doe One, who said Weinsteins selfish and disgusting actions had broken me into a million pieces. Thanking Judge Lench for letting her speak, the woman said: I have been carrying this weight for 12 months. Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman. I valued myself and the relationship I had with God. I was excited about my future. Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me. I became invisible to myself and to the world I lost my identity. It has broken me into a million pieces there is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage. The woman asked Judge Lench to pass down a strict sentence on Weinstein to restore faith in the justice system to other victims and survivors of abuse. Your Honour, my life matters. I matter, she said, becoming visibly and audibly emotional during her statement. Jane Doe One continued to cry openly while Weinstein gave his own remarks and Judge Lench passed sentence. During the two-month trial, which began in October last year, the court heard how Weinstein had used his influence to organise private meetings with women, where he attacked them. He previously pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of rape and sexual assault involving a total of five women in Los Angeles. After the December trial, the jury was unable to reach a decision on several counts, notably on charges involving Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of California governor Gavin Newsom. The jury was also unable to reach verdicts on the allegations of another woman. A mistrial was declared on those counts. Weinstein was acquitted of a sexual battery allegation made by another woman. The sentencing on Thursday was delayed from January 9, to allow for a motion for a retrial to be put forward by Weinsteins lawyers. Judge Lench dismissed the motion, following arguments by his lawyer Alan Jackson, shortly before handing down the sentence, saying: I respect your position Mr Jackson, but I just disagree with it. The former film producer is already serving a 23-year sentence for a different rape and sexual assault conviction in New York, which is under appeal. Carey Lyons once said his addiction to sick images of kids was untreatable One of Northern Irelands most persistent sex fiends who once said his addiction to sickening images of kids was untreatable has admitted more than a dozen new charges. Carey Lyons pleaded guilty at Belfast Crown Court last week to a total of 16 counts of having child abuse images. The 63-year-old committed the offences on dates between September 2014 and January 2018. Appearing via video-link from his solicitors office in Derry, Lyons was told by Judge Geoffrey Miller KC that he would be sentenced on March 31. He is currently on bail and living at a Simon Community hostel on Bonds Hill in the city. Lyons has been a paedophile for almost 50 years, racking up more than 60 convictions and numerous spells in jail for downloading the vile images of abuse. Multiple courts over the years have heard that he is a self-confessed addict of images of child abuse and he has sometimes deliberately reoffended to be jailed because he struggles with life outside prison. In one case in 2013, he was found to have more than two million images on his computer, with investigating officers unable to examine and assess all of them due to the sheer number. The court was told Lyons father had turned him in, fearing he was in breach of an earlier Sexual Offences Prevention Order banning him from having any computer. Passing sentence in that case, Judge Patrick Kinney said reports made for disturbing reading, and although the custody threshold had clearly been passed, a probation order with supervision was the best way to deal with the matter. The sentencing hearing in another case against the paedophile in 2017 was told he admitted to his probation officer he had a long-term interest in children... and there may not be any treatment which will change this. In that case, he confessed to having more than 17,000 illegal images on his computer. They were found during a search by police after concerns were raised by the Probation Service. Lyons has often immediately confessed to having such images when arrested and once told officers he was at it again when they searched his south Belfast flat in 2004 and found hundreds of sickening photographs. He was also once described by his lawyer as simply one of lifes inadequates. Lyons was one of the first people to be convicted of having indecent images of children when he was caught in 2000 following a tip-off to the RUC from Greater Manchester Police. When cops raided his then home in Newtownabbey, they found 50,000 still and moving images of children being sexually abused hidden beneath his bed. During a police interview, the paedophile told officers: Ive been a bad boy. Theres stuff on my computer that there shouldnt have been. It was revealed at his sentencing hearing that he was in the dock twice in 1978 for indecent assaults on children. Kieran Zac Smyth had been sentenced in 2015 to 12 years in prison for a violent house robbery A west Belfast man was today handed a four-month prison sentence suspended for a year for being unlawfully at large from jail. Convicted robber Kieran Zac Smyth (63), formerly of Springfield Avenue, appeared at Belfast Crown Court via videolink from Maghaberry Prison to mount a bail application. But a defence barrister told Judge Philip Babington that the bail application was being formally withdrawn and Smyth was then re-arraigned and pleaded guilty to being unlawfully at large from the prison. Prosecution barrister Robin Steer said Smyth had been sentenced in 2015 to 12 years in prison for a violent house robbery. He said the defendant was released from custody on licence on September 14, 2019, but was recalled to prison in March 2020 for breaching the terms of his release. He was released on July 8, 2021, following a parole hearing. On August 27, 2021, detectives were in attendance at a Belfast police station in Belfast and he was attending to comply with his daily reporting conditions. He obviously had been drinking and was required to take a breath test which came back as 115 milligrams three times the limit which was a breach of his licence conditions. The next day he left his home in the morning and didn't return home by 10pm which was a breach of his curfew. Judge Babington was told that Smyth's licence was then revoked and police made inquiries to try and find him. There was a police media appeal to capture him along with inquiries made with family and friends. He didn't hand himself in and was arrested on December 21, 2021 and returned to prison. In a statement to police in March 2022, Smyth said he had absconded as he feared he would be returned to prison for breaching his licence conditions. The court heard Smyth's long-term release date is January 4, 2024. A defence barrister said Smyth had found the past 15 months in custody a sobering experience both physically and metaphorically speaking. He added that a report from the Parole Commissioners had recommended a further release on licence given his rehabilitation work in prison, the support of his family, there had been no further violent offending and his willingness to engage with addiction services. They feel that if he were to continue to languish in prison until 2026 that he could be set up to fail if the support mechanisms were not in place for him. So we should strike while the anvil is hot and I submit he is a good candidate to be released, he added. Handing down the suspended sentence, Judge Babington told Smyth: You got into trouble a lot in the past and now experts more knowledgeable than I am feel that you are turning the corner and making progress in the right direction. They feel you should be allowed into the community subject to licence and I am not going to interfere with that. Make sure don't get into trouble. It is understood gardai are now carrying out enquiries regarding the former players financial history and previous dealings with banks A leading bank is in contact with gardai as part of an investigation into an alleged fraud scandal involving a retired GAA star. Sources at the Irish bank confirmed they have been engaging with members of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) since details of the allegations against him emerged. It is understood gardai are now carrying out enquiries regarding the former players financial history and previous dealings with banks. Gardai yesterday arrested the man under Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud) Offences Act and he can be held for questioning for up to 24 hours. Gardai in the eastern region have arrested a male in relation to an ongoing investigation into an alleged fraud, a spokesperson said. An Garda Siochana does not comment on named persons. The GNECB is currently carrying out a full-scale investigation after it received complaints that the man approached a number of people seeking donations for cancer treatment in the US. He claimed to numerous individuals that he was suffering from a rare bone marrow cancer and needed to receive urgent care abroad in the US. However, those who donated to him now fear they may have been deceived. The GNECB is looking to determine whether he was in fact diagnosed with cancer and for what he used the money he received estimated to be and around 1m. He has experienced financial difficulties in recent years and a number of debt judgments were secured against him, including one by the Revenue Commissioners for a five-figure sum. The former inter-county star made a number of approaches to businesspeople, supporters and sporting organisations seeking financial assistance to travel abroad for stem cell treatment. Sources revealed how he approached prominent members of the Gaelic Players Association (GPA), which represents inter-county players, for financial help. The GPA has a benevolent fund to support current and past players who are experiencing financial difficulties. However, it is not clear whether he received money directly from this fund, or received any money at all. The GPA declined to comment when contacted. It was also revealed by the Sunday Independent that billionaire Denis OBrien had been approached on a number of occasions and provided funds after the man claimed he needed money for medical treatment. Mr OBrien was contacted by gardai and assisted the investigation. It is understood he donated money in the tens of thousands to help the sportsman. Gardai are continuing to take statements from people who allegedly gave money to the man under what they fear now were false pretences. The man has claimed to numerous individuals in the past two years that he was diagnosed with cancer. However, there were rumours about his health as far back as six years ago. In 2017, a reporter with the Irish Independent contacted him about an alleged diagnosis. He replied to say: Its a matter that I want and need to keep private and dont wish to have out in public. Suspected cannabis herb, amphetamines and ecstasy tablets were seized as part of Operation Tara A teenager was one of two people arrested last night after cannabis herb worth 106,000 was seized in Finglas by gardai. The drugs were seized following a search on a home in North Dublin by garda as part of Operation Tara. During the raid, 5.3kg of suspected cannabis herb with an estimated street value of 106,800 was seized at the home in Finglas, Dublin 11. Two males, aged in their teens and 20s, were arrested by Gardai and taken to Finglas Garda Station where they were detained under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996. The male teenager was released pending a referral to the Garda Youth Diversion Programme. The man, aged in his 20s, has since been charged in relation to this incident and is due to appear before Blanchardstown District Court later today.. The joint-agency operation was conducted by Gardai attached to the Blanchardstown District Drugs Unit along with Gardai from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) and personnel from the Revenue Customs service. Meanwhile, in a separate incident, two people have been arrested after gardai seized drugs worth 241,000 following raids in Carlow. Gardai from Kilkenny and Carlow Divisional Drugs Unit and the Carlow District Detective Unit conducted the search of a residence under warrant at approximately 3.30pm yesterday. During the course of the search, suspected cannabis herb worth 23,000, 20,000 of suspected amphetamines and suspected ecstasy tablets to the value of 1,500 were all discovered. Follow-up searches were also conducted at a premises in Carlow town and during the course of this search, 120,000 of suspected cannabis herb and 77,000 of suspected amphetamines were also seized. The total value of drugs seized is estimated at 241,500. All drugs are now subject to analysis by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI). A male (40s) and a female (30s) were arrested as part of this investigation. They are both currently detained in Carlow Garda Station. Last June, two people with links to the gang led by paralysed gang boss Owen Maguire were questioned in relation to the gun murder. The late Keith Branigan (29), who died of multiple gunshot wounds in Clogherhead in August 2019. Gardai investigating the fatal shooting of a 29-year-old man at a caravan park in Co Louth in 2019 have arrested a man. Keith Branigan became the first fatality in the deadly Drogheda feud when he was shot dead at Ashling Holiday Park in Clogherhead in broad daylight on August 27 that year . There has since been three more murders linked to the bitter feud. The man, aged in his 30s, was arrested this morning and is currently detained in Drogheda Garda station under the provisions of Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007. He remains in custody at this time and investigations are ongoing. Trusted' member of Owen Maguire gang being quizzed over Drogheda feud murder Gardai arrested a man, also aged in his 30s, on Monday afternoon who has since been released without charge in relation to this investigation. A file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Last June, two people with links to the gang led by paralysed gang boss Owen Maguire were questioned in relation to the gun murder. Detectives have been working on the theory that Mr Branigan was targeted by the Maguire gang because of his association with the leader of the rival Drogheda mob. Mr Branigan was not considered a major criminal but was very friendly with a number of senior members of the so-called anti-Maguire faction. An inquest into his death found he died of multiple gunshot wounds. He was gunned down as he worked outside a mobile home. He was shot up to five times and died at the scene. Mr Branigan had been married only three weeks when he was killed. Mourners at Mr Branigans funeral mass heard how the newly-wed was a "bubbly" and "much-loved character." In December of last year, judges at the Special Criminal Court convicted both Fogarty and Robert Redmond of the gun murder of father-of-five Barry Wolverson, A convicted murderer who was also charged before the Special Criminal Court with a separate attempted gun murder has this morning pleaded guilty to the charge just months after being jailed for life. In November 2021, the State successfully applied to have the trial of Bernard Fogarty heard before the three-judge court for the attempted murder of Mark Ivers in north Dublin in 2019. Fogarty (35) with an address at Cromcastle Court, Kilmore, Coolock, Dublin 5, had been accused of the attempted murder of Mr Ivers at Streamville Road, Donaghmede, Dublin 13, on September 6, 2019. Mr Ivers suffered gunshot wounds to his leg and abdomen. Fogarty, who had six prison officers in attendance nearby in the court, spoke only to answer "guilty" when the charge of attempted murder was put to him by the registrar at a brief hearing this morning. Bernard Fogarty and Robert Redmond (right) Mr Justice Tony Hunt, presiding, adjourned Fogarty's sentence hearing to March 30 to allow time for a victim-impact statement to be prepared. In December of last year, judges at the Special Criminal Court convicted both Fogarty and Robert Redmond of the gun-murder of father-of-five Barry Wolverson, who died after spending more than a year in a coma. They were both given the mandatory life sentence for the murder. Fogarty and Redmond (35) of Streamville Road, Kilbarrack, Dublin 5, had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Mr Wolverson that occurred at Madigan's Yard, Kileek Lane, Swords, Co Dublin, at around midday on January 17, 2020. The two men had originally been charged with the attempted murder of Mr Wolverson, who died on February 21, 2021, after a 13-month spell in hospital in a comatose state. After Mr Wolverson's death, the State upgraded the charges to murder. Read more Robert Roo Redmond and Bernard Fogarty get life for murder of dad of eight Face of top gardai target Bernard Fogarty who was caught with submachine gun Both men were also found guilty of assault causing harm to Gerard Wildman, who was also shot, at Madigan's Yard on the same date. Mr Wildman, who was shot in the lower back, refused to make a statement to gardai in the matter. Mr Wolverson's only sister read a victim impact statement on behalf of the Wolverson family to the court, in which she said they will grieve her brother's murder forever and that their lives had also "changed forever". Lindsay Wolverson said that when Mr Wolverson passed away on February 21, 2021, his family's hearts were broken. Ms Wolverson said that at the time of the deceased's shooting his partner was expecting a child, whom he never saw. He also has four children and three step-children. She said that all of these children now "have to live without daddy". During the raids, gardai were assisted by staff from the Food Safety Authority as they seized cannabis and cannabis related products in Cork and Dublin. Three people have been arrested this morning in connection with the seizure f drugs worth 645,000 were seized in raids in two counties. The drugs described as cannabis and cannabis products were found in search operations in West Cork, Cork City and Dublin City during multiple dates in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Gardai from Bantry Garda Station, Cork West Divisional Drugs Unit, and Store Street Garda Station were assisted by staff from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland and the Department of Health, as a number of business and residential premises were searched in the raids. During the raids, gardai seized cannabis and cannabis related products worth a total of 645,000. A woman (50s) and two men (30s) were arrested as part of this investigation. They were detained at Garda Stations in West Cork and Cork City and all three have been subsequently charged. All three are scheduled to appear before Bantry District Court this morning, Thursday, 23rd February 2023. All drugs are now subject to analysis by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI). A garda spokesman said the drugs seized will now be subjected to analysis by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI). The Gangland boss who became known as the pathfinder for a generation of criminals, including the Kinahan Cartel BRITISH drug baron Robert Dawes became known as the pathfinder for a generation of criminals, including the Kinahan Cartel, when he was one of the first to make Dubai his home and the headquarters of his trans-global empire. Ancient money transfer systems, a blind eye to suitcases of cash and easily attained residential permits all added to the attraction of the United Arab Emirates for Dawes and the countless other drug dealers that followed him to the Gulf paradise Crime Word Podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Soundcloud. But the 55-year-old has found that not everything is fool-proof and that the past can have a sneaky way of creeping up on you. Nicola Tallant chats with journalist and author Carl Fellstrom about the incredible story of Dawes, who is now standing trial in a French court along with his lawyers, who say he tricked them into producing a false document to a drugs trial. Jailed for 22 years for cocaine smuggling, he now faces further imprisonment in France while authorities in the Netherlands are now lining up to try him for murder. MORE EPISODES Nicola Tallant talks to Niall Donald about The Notorious and his family ties to Graham the Wig Whelan Graham 'the Wig' Whelan has been welcomed into the McGregor family He was the shadowy Cartel lieutenant who was rumoured to be out to get UFC star Conor McGregor after a pub brawl at the height of the Kinahan and Hutch feud. But convicted drug dealer Graham The Wig Whelan was this week welcomed into McGregors pub and into his family when he was introduced as the new partner of the sports stars sister Aoife. Nicola Tallant talks to Niall Donald about Conor McGregor and the mob and the childhood friendships which link the world famous fighter with some of the most prominent gangland figures in Ireland. Crime Word Podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Soundcloud. MORE EPISODES The crime group was based in the south of Spain and involved Albanian, Italian, Spanish, and Moroccan nationals. Europol assisted the Spanish Civil Guard in the operation Europol assisted the Spanish Civil Guard in the operation A major Europol operation has led to the arrest of 20 members of a criminal network in Spain. Spanish authorities seized more than 5.5 million worth of criminal assets as part of the investigation after discovering that the suspects had built elaborate drug production infrastructure. The crime group was based in the south of Spain and involved Albanian, Italian, Spanish, and Moroccan nationals. They were led by Italian nationals who used forged identity documents to avoid detection by law officials. Read more Twenty suspected money launderers and drug traffickers arrested by Guardia Civil The arrested drug traffickers and money launderers were caught following searches of six houses in Seville, Spain, where police discovered a large marijuana plantation and drug lab. Two luxury watches were recovered and seized during the operation, as well as 16,545 in cash, 2,500kg of hashish, 45.6kg of marijuana, and criminal infrastructure including lorries, a boat, tools for marijuana cultivation and hashish production, and 34 mobile phones. Europol assisted the Spanish Civil Guard in the operation Forged travel and identification documents were also confiscated. Investigations into this case began in October 2021, when a hashish shipment was found hidden in a lorry transporting pallets of onions. Law enforcement arrested the two drivers and seized 468kg of hashish. This was followed by another seizure of 194kg of hashish and 30kg of marijuana in May 2022. In the same month, law enforcement stopped a boat coming from Morocco used by the criminal organisation on the open sea and arrested its three occupants, as well as seizing 1,800kg of hashish and the vessel itself. This interception highlighted that it had become increasingly difficult for the criminal network to import drugs via the sea, Europol said. In retaliation, the organisation built their laboratory for hashish production and set up a large marijuana plantation in southern Spain. This investigation involved more than 150 law enforcement officials and was led by the Spanish Civil Guard with support from the Italian Central Directorate for Anti-Drugs Services (Direzione Centrale Servizi Antidroga). Europol provided operational expertise as well as analytical and operational support from the very beginning of the 16-month-long investigation. A Europol specialist was also deployed on location in Spain during the main action day. Dr Cathal ODonnell, medical director of the National Ambulance Service, told the committee: I think there has unquestionably been harm due to ambulance delays. Echo ambulances aim to reach people with suspected cardiac or respiratory distress in under 19 minutes, Photo: Getty Getty Images/iStockphoto Ambulances are taking an average of 10 minutes longer to reach people in life-threatening emergencies than before the pandemic, as blackspots in the south, west and Dublin emerge. Patients in critical conditions were left waiting longer last year as the number of Echo call (life-threatening cardiac or respiratory arrest) ambulances meeting the target time of 18 minutes and 59 seconds to reach people with suspected cardiac or respiratory distress plunged in December. Just 59pc of ambulances met the target in the west and 61pc in the south, followed by 70pc both in north Leinster and in Dublin. Dublin Fire Brigade was the worst performer in December with less than one in five Delta call (life-threatening non-cardiac or non-respiratory arrest) ambulances carrying patients in other life-threatening situations meeting the target. It fell to 28pc in the south, 33pc in north Leinsters, and 36pc in the west. The figures, obtained by Sinn Fein TD David Cullinane of the Oireachtas Health Committee, came as yesterdays meeting heard ambulance delays are harming patients. The committee heard how some areas of the country, such as Connemara, parts of Sligo and the south east, are among regions suffering due to ambulance delays. Dr Cathal ODonnell, medical director of the National Ambulance Service, told the committee: I think there has unquestionably been harm due to ambulance delays. He was responding to questions from Fine Gael senator Martin Conway who also asked if delays were linked to deaths. I am not aware of fatalities they would end up on my desk, Dr ODonnell said. Robert Morton, head of the HSEs National Ambulance Service, said figures for 2022 reflect the gap between demand and capacity. Echo call response times show just 72pc of ambulances responded in 18 minutes and 59 seconds. Delta calls had a response of 41pc in 18 minutes and 59 seconds. The chief fire officer of Dublin Fire Brigade, Dennis Keeley, said last year the average turnaround time in Dublin hospitals was 39 minutes, with 16pc of incidents having a turnaround time in excess of 60 minutes. It should be noted that in 2020, the comparable average turnaround time was 29 minutes, with 6pc of ambulances experiencing off-load delays in excess of 60 minutes. It comes against a background of a lack of resources and the need for more than 1,000 staff straight away in the national ambulance service. A number of initiatives are underway to secure more staff while new ways of treating people at home or outside of hospital are being rolled out. There is evidence that more people are also bypassing their GPs and calling an ambulance. Fire engines, with a paramedic and life saving equipment had to be deployed by Dublin Fire Brigade around 3,000 times last year due to a lack of an ambulance which is not the best care of patients. Meanwhile, inspectors who visited Tallaght Hospital in Dublin last year found a patient waiting more than twenty hours to be seen by a doctor and patients on trolleys for over two days. Inspectors from the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) also found gross overcrowding in University Hospital Kerry which patients waiting for a bed for nearly four days. Staffing shortages and lack of oversight of emergency consultants out of hours was also found. The 19-year-old was discovered with a gunshot wound A 51-year-old man has admitted murdering a teenage boy in Co Meath over a year ago. Earl McKevitt of Avondale Park in Blanchardstown in Dublin 15 was charged with murdering Conor O'Brien (19) at An Seanchrann, Trim Road, Enfield in Co Meath on a date between August 26 and August 27 2021, both dates inclusive. Mr John Fitzgerald SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, told Mr Justice Paul McDermott that McKevitt could be arraigned on count one on the indictment and that further counts may be required in due course. Conor O'Brien When arraigned before the Central Criminal Court on Thursday morning, McKevitt pleaded guilty to the single charge of murdering Mr O'Brien. The judge remanded McKevitt in custody until March 3, when he will be sentenced. The 19-year-old was discovered with a gunshot wound to his chest outside the property where he was living on the Trim Road, Enfield. His body was discovered at around 8.30am. A post-mortem examination established that he had suffered a single gunshot wound to the chest. Dublin man (50) appears in court charged with murder of Conor O'Brien (19) Dublin criminal who interacted with Conor O'Brien before murder arrested with firearm in hotel Originally from Gorey in Wexford, Conor OBrien was due to start a blacksmith course in Limerick the week after his death. McKevitt was brought before Carlow district court on September 3 2021 charged with Conor O'Brien's murder. He was also charged with five firearms offences relating to an incident at a Carlow hotel in the days after the murder. At the court hearing at the time, Det Sgt Lee Gavin, of Trim Garda Station. gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution. He said Mr McKevitt made no reply when the charge was put to him. This is a completely separate investigation to the probe that led to her arrest yesterday Fraud-squad detectives are planning to interview former Ireland hockey player Catriona Carey in relation to an alleged mortgage scam. Ms Carey is expected to be questioned about these allegations in the coming weeks. This is a completely separate investigation to the probe that led to her arrest yesterday by gardai investigating alleged breaches of company law. Ms Carey, who also played camogie for Kilkenny, was arrested at about 7am yesterday by officers from the Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) and brought to Carlow garda station for questioning. She was released without charge after over 12 hours. The CEA is an independent statutory agency tasked with investigating suspected breaches of company law. The CEA investigation is separate from the ongoing garda probe. Convicted fraudster Catriona Carey. Photo: Colin Keegan Last year it was revealed how Ms Carey was involved in an alleged mortgage scam in which she received thousands of euro from people in financial distress after promising to help them secure new deals to keep their properties. She is currently under investigation by the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB), which received dozens of complaints from people who paid her between 5,000 and 60,000. Ms Carey admitted that up to 200,000 deposited into an account by desperate homeowners was instead spent on personal items including lavish holidays, a 55,000 BMW and designer clothing. She insisted the money is now gone and not recoverable. The Central Bank previously issued a warning advising people not to deal with her UK company, Careysfort Asset Estates Ltd, describing it as an unauthorised firm. Ms Carey has been accused of scamming dozens of people after offering to buy debt from their mortgage lenders at a discount once she received deposits. However, the deals she promised never materialised. Ms Carey also has a previous conviction for fraud. In February 2020 she was before the courts for altering a cheque she received from a client who hired her as his accountant. Carey changed a cheque for 6,948 that had been made out to Revenues collector general, instead making it payable to herself, and cashed it at a bank in Kilkenny. She received an eight-month suspended sentence. It is understood he was released after 10am Gardai have confirmed they are investigating allegations of fraud. Photo: Stock image Gardai have this morning released without charge a former GAA star being questioned in connection with alleged fraud. A garda spokesperson confirmed a file is being sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions. It is understood he was released after 10am. He was arrested after a leading bank had been in contact with officers as part of an investigation involving the now retired GAA star. Sources at the Irish bank confirmed they have been engaging with members of the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) since details of the allegations against him emerged. It is understood gardai are now carrying out enquiries regarding the former players financial history and previous dealings with banks. Gardai yesterday arrested the man under Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud) Offences Act and he can be held for questioning for up to 24 hours. Gardai in the eastern region have arrested a male in relation to an ongoing investigation into an alleged fraud, a spokesperson said. An Garda Siochana does not comment on named persons. The GNECB is currently carrying out a full-scale investigation after it received complaints that the man approached a number of people seeking donations for cancer treatment in the US. He claimed to numerous individuals that he was suffering from a rare bone marrow cancer and needed to receive urgent care abroad in the US. However, those who donated to him now fear they may have been deceived. The GNECB is looking to determine whether he was in fact diagnosed with cancer and for what he used the money he received estimated to be and around 1m. He has experienced financial difficulties in recent years and a number of debt judgments were secured against him, including one by the Revenue Commissioners for a five-figure sum. The former inter-county star made a number of approaches to businesspeople, supporters and sporting organisations seeking financial assistance to travel abroad for stem cell treatment. Sources revealed how he approached prominent members of the Gaelic Players Association (GPA), which represents inter-county players, for financial help. The GPA has a benevolent fund to support current and past players who are experiencing financial difficulties. However, it is not clear whether he received money directly from this fund, or received any money at all. The GPA declined to comment when contacted. It was also revealed by the Sunday Independent that billionaire Denis OBrien had been approached on a number of occasions and provided funds after the man claimed he needed money for medical treatment. Mr OBrien was contacted by gardai and assisted the investigation. It is understood he donated money in the tens of thousands to help the sportsman. Gardai are continuing to take statements from people who allegedly gave money to the man under what they fear now were false pretences. The man has claimed to numerous individuals in the past two years that he was diagnosed with cancer. However, there were rumours about his health as far back as six years ago. In 2017, a reporter with the Irish Independent contacted him about an alleged diagnosis. He replied to say: Its a matter that I want and need to keep private and dont wish to have out in public. Eoghan Byrne from Skerries had been walking home around 11.30pm in Vancouver last June when he was struck and killed by a speeding car. Eoghan Byrne from Skerries, Dublin, was killed in a hit-and-run in Vancouver, Canada. A man has been charged with the fatal hit-and-run of an Irishman in Canada last year. Eoghan Byrne from Skerries had been walking home around 11.30pm in Vancouver last June when he was struck and killed by a speeding car. The 24-year-old was described as an adored son as tributes poured in following the incident. He had been working at a biotechnology company since April 2022 just months before the fatal crash. The driver, later named as Alexandre Romero-Arata (26), has now been charged with criminal negligence causing death, failing to stop at the scene of an accident and public mischief. Vancouver Police Department had said the car appeared to be travelling at high speeds" in the moments before the collision. Canadian news outlets report Romero-Arata has also since been handed a separate assault charge for assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm in an incident last March in Richmond. He is expected to remain in custody until his next court appearance at Vancouver Provincial Court on March 10. Eoghan Byrne from Skerries, Dublin, was killed in a hit-and-run in Vancouver, Canada. Tributes to Dubliner Eoghan Byrne flooded in following news of the incident last summer. He was described as a lovely handsome young man who had recently moved to Canada after graduating from Trinity College Dublin. At the time of the tragic crash last June 19, Vancouver Police Departments Collision Investigation Unit said investigators spent the night collecting evidence from the crime scene and have spoken to a number of witnesses. "Anyone who has not yet come forward is asked to contact investigators right away. Sergeant Steve Addison said: We asked for help to solve this crime, and after receiving significant information from the public, VPD officers identified the suspected driver and arrested him yesterday at his home in Vancouver for the fatal hit-and-run. We also arrested one of the drivers family members and are investigating whether that person acted as an accomplice after the fatal collision. The Roscommon man was speaking after Fine Gael Drugs Strategy Minister Hildegarde Naughton admitted she illegally smoked weed in Ireland while in her 20s. MEP Luke Ming Flanagan has said that he grows his own cannabis and vapes it before he heads out for a run. The Roscommon man took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the drug after Fine Gael Drugs Strategy Minister Hildegarde Naughton admitted she illegally smoked weed in Ireland while in her 20s. Flanagan, a longtime campaigner of cannabis legislation, said that the current laws prohibiting cannabis possession have ruined peoples lives, adding that Minister Naughton may have ended up on a different career path had she been prosecuted. If @1Hildegarde had been prosecuted for her use of cannabis then she would not have become a teacher. I have on many many occasions been contacted by people in severe distress over an upcoming court case for cannabis possession. Real fear that their life & career will be over, he said. Thousands who "tried cannabis" in their 20s received a criminal record for doing so. As a result they can never be a teacher, a nurse, a doctor, a social worker or take up many other professions. They are denied the right to travel to many countries including USA and Australia. Flanagan, who is based in Belgium where cannabis is legal, then told his followers that he enjoys vaping the herb and safely grows his own on his balcony. He argued that using cannabis in a country where it is legal means he knows exactly what Im using and said it means zero money is going to criminals. He tweeted: I vape cannabis. I enjoy it most before I go for a run. I grow it on my balcony here in Brussels. This year I am growing strains called Pineapple Kush and Shogun. Zero money going to criminals. Plus I know exactly what I'm using. What could possibly be wrong with that? His followers flocked to the comments section to agree with him, with one person writing: Growing for personal use is the way to go. Don't have to worry about funding criminals, don't have to worry about adulterated or moldy weed. Ironically the only danger from this victimless crime is the guards busting through my door and ruining my life with a conviction. Another added: Good man yer self Mr ming!! there ain't nothing wrong with it but there is an older generation of folks here in Ireland who have been brainwashed since they were nippers about the evils of drugs and unfortunately they just can't wrap their heads around the facts at all at all. Others pointed out that the drug was still illegal in Ireland and condemned him for promoting drug use on a public platform. One user wrote: That its illegal and you could get arrested maybe. Another said: It's illegal you clown, and is addictive. How nice of you to advocate drug use to anyone (invluding minors) who reads your twitter feed. (sic) Flanagans comments come after Hildegarde Naughton said she tried cannabis in her 20s adding that it wasn't for me at a Fine Gael event organised to promote the Governments cost of living package on Wednesday. She said she has not tried cannabis since and said research shows people who experimented with the drug did not necessarily continue to use it. Recently appointed Fine Gael Minister of State, Neale Richmond, said he tried cannabis while in Holland where it is legal to take the drug but said he had a horrible experience. Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe said he has not taken any illegal substances. Fine Gael Senators Barry Ward and Mary Seery Kearney also said they have not taken drugs. Fiona Lavelle (41) went missing on Tuesday after she set out on a hike in Cape Le Grand National Park. A nurse from Mayo has tragically died while hiking on the Western coast of Australia this week. Fiona Lavelle (41) went missing on Tuesday after she set out on a hike in Cape Le Grand National Park. The Irishwoman parked her car in the scenic spot of Hellfire Bay that morning, planning a bushwalk before temperatures spiked to over 40C that afternoon. The alarm was raised when she failed to return home and her Nissan Navara was found, still in the carpark, on Tuesday night. The search for Fiona, who emigrated to Australia with her husband some years ago and was working as a paramedic, has since been stood down following the discovery of a body. Her husbands uncle Martin McLoughlin, a member of Mayo County Council, has told the Irish Examiner that while the details of what happened are still unknown, communities in both Ireland and Australia are grieving the absolute tragedy of Fionas death. Fiona formerly from Keel, Achill Island and her husband John McLoughlin from Islandeady, Castlebar moved to Australia after their marriage. Fiona was a lovely person. She loved the outdoor life, especially hiking in her spare time. Her death is an absolute tragedy, Cllr McLoughlin said. The pair lived in Perth, where Fiona had been doing relief ambulance work and John worked in construction. The Mayo woman rang her husband around 11am on Tuesday to tell him she was about to set off on her hike and would be in touch later that day, Cllr McLoughlin told the Irish Examiner. John called local police when he didnt hear from his wife, kick-starting a major search operation. An emergency text message and a photo of both Fiona and her car was sent out by local police to people in the area. Esperance Police are currently searching for Fiona who has been hiking around Cape Le Grand and was planning on hiking at Hellfire Bay this morning (Tuesday), the force said on social media. She may have been in company with another female and is driving her Nissan Navara 1EVZ664. The search was stood down yesterday. Her death is not being treated as suspicious and a report is being prepared for the coroner. Tributes have poured in for Ms Lavelle, who has been described as someone who always radiated a feeling of infectious happiness and left others in a better place for meeting her. In a statement, St John Western Australia said the community is deeply saddened by the events which unfolded today. They added: Our thoughts are with the family and colleagues of our team member. Our focus is on supporting our people and the broader St John community. We offer our thanks to WA Police, the State Emergency Service and all those who participated in the search. The organisation has played on historic loyalist paramilitary links with white supremacist groups Far right race hate group Britain First has been warned to stay out of loyalist areas. The organisation has taken root in a number of districts and has played on historic paramilitary links with white supremacist groups. They launched a recruitment drive and they were behind a series of racially motivated incidents over recent years. Terror groups such as the UVF and UDA were involved in pickets organised by Britain First outside hotels in Carrick and Belfast where asylum seekers were being housed. Britain First activists filmed themselves confronting asylum seekers staying at a Holiday Inn in south Belfast. There were also sustained attacks on the homes of foreign nationals with walls daubed with racist slogans. The organisations leadership in the shape of Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen even relocated to Northern Ireland, with the latter living in Donghadee. The couple went their separate ways after a bitter fallout. And now theyve been given the red card by their former paramilitary pals. They are toxic, a senior loyalist source told us. They have brought nothing but disruption and trouble to our communities, stirring up hatred. Its been made very clear to them that they are no longer welcome in loyalist areas. The move comes as anti-immigration protests in the south continue to grow. Tommy Robinson Far right campaigner Tommy Robinson flew into Dublin last week ahead of Saturdays Ireland For All an anti-immigration rally. Gardai said they were maintaining a watching brief on the presence of the Islamaphobic protester. Robinson said he had been drawn to Ireland by the protests and praised those organising them. While some welcomed his presence others voiced concern, pointing out he is a loyalist. His visit coincided with a social media post by UDA commander Dee Stitt. He posted a two-minute clip of an earlier anti-immigration rally in the south, claiming that people in the Republic are not happy with their country being overrun by immigrants. The British people need to take the same stance, as we are in the same boat. He added: These are the social issues that unite us. Britain First getting their marching orders comes in the wake of an adjudication hearing involving former Belfast City Councillor Jolene Bunting who was disqualified from becoming a councillor for three years. It followed a complaint from Britain First leader Paul Golding. He claimed Ms Bunting, a former independent unionist councillor, had asked him to cover the cost of a fine she received from Belfast City Council in 2018 for a publicity stunt at Belfast City Hall involving Britain Firsts deputy leader at the time, Jayda Fransen. He agreed to send her money, paying her sums of 50 and 65. But the fine was, in fact, due to Ms Bunting exceeding the data usage on her council mobile phone. The hearing of the Local Government Commissioner for Standards was told Ms Bunting had amended her payslip in order to achieve financial gain from Mr Golding and Britain First. It heard she had sent Mr Golding an image of her payslip as proof of a 545 deduction that had been taken from her monthly council allowance but the image had been altered to obscure words explaining that the fee was for the then councillors mobile phone. Assistant commissioner Ian Gordon, who made the findings against Ms Bunting, told the hearing: Her actions were dishonest, deliberate and for personal gain. Her actions have brought her and her role as a councillor into disrepute. Im satisfied that the respondents alteration of her payslip and discussions with Mr Golding are likely to diminish public trust in her position as a councillor. He added, however, that Ms Buntings actions had not brought Belfast City Council itself into disrepute. Macalla Teoranta and Virgin Media Television have released the application forms for Gra ar an Tra, a new dating show as Gaeilge. Gra ar an Tra will start filming this May Producers of a new Love Island-inspired Irish language reality show are looking for vibrant singles to take part. Macalla Teoranta and Virgin Media Television have released the application forms for Gra ar an Tra, a new dating show as Gaeilge. Twelve singletons from Ireland and Northern Ireland will be coupled up as they try find love while learning the language, with the ultimate aim of winning a 10,000 prize and being crowned the Couple with the most Focail. In a statement, showrunners explained that the rules of Gra ar an Tra are very simple. It will feature six men and six women searching for romance who will be sorted into couples. The couples will be matched carefully in advance by the casting team based on their personality and interests. Crucially, they are matched on their fluency: those liofa sa Gaeilge are paired with those who are not, bosses said. Each week over five weeks, they undertake challenges to improve their Gaeilge as a couple. Those who make the most improvement survive another week. The couples will be closely watched by an breitheamh (the judge), who will be making sure the lovebirds are keeping on top of their Gaeilge. Through entertaining challenges and practical tasks in Irish, our couples will compete against each other (to improve) their fluency with the overriding goal to win the Couple Crown, the statement continues. Of course, as they get to grips with the language, will romance also blossom between them? Bring your best chat up lines and you could walk away with the Grand Prize worth around 10,000 and the girl/guy of your dreams. Showrunners are looking for men and women that are either fluent in Irish or have a cupla focal. Those aged between 18 and 30 who are single and interested in trying a different dating scene this summer are encouraged to apply. Filming for the programme will begin in May and contestants will live together in a house with fixed rig cameras to capture all the action. You can apply for Gra ar an Tra by following this link or emailing graarantra@gmail.com for more details. I do wish people would just give her more grace and listen to her Evanna on the US 'Dancing With the Stars' Evanna Lynch, the actor best known for playing Luna Lovegood in four Harry Potter films, has been facing up to her prejudices. Growing up in the 1990s in Termonfeckin, Co Louth, she remembers the Troubles only ever being discussed in hushed tones. Yet while rehearsing a new play, Under the Black Rock, which opens in London next month, she realised she had absorbed more from that time than she realised. I think it was right that Ive been challenged On the first day of rehearsals, the cast shared their own backgrounds. Lynch had always subconsciously considered nationalists the good guys, she said. Id had this nice chat with one of the cast he was so friendly. And then when it got to his turn to share about himself, he said he was a unionist, Protestant, and that he would have seen some of the political figures on the Republican side as the devil. I immediately had this sense of Ahh! I thought you were one of us!. I was sort of holding on to this righteous Republican angle but I live in London. Im enjoying the benefits of the British Empire, I love my life here, so I think it was right that Ive been challenged. Evanna Lynch as Luna Acting in the play has also opened her mind to the importance of open discussion when it comes to the politically charged issues of today. During the height of the Troubles, the way of dealing with it was to kind of shut down people who disagree with you, she said. And I do see a parallel in todays whole cancel-culture thing. I just dont feel comfortable with this idea that if you dont like what people are saying, you silence them. I do think the next step is violence, really. I think its a similar mindset. I could not have asked for a better segue to the tricky question we both know is coming... Author JK Rowling In 2020, Harry Potter author JK Rowling tweeted an article referring to people who menstruate and wrote: Im sure there used to be a word for those people. Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud? Three days later following an intervention by Daniel Radcliffe, the actor who played Harry Potter in the film adaptations of her novels Lynch posted a lengthy response. I wont be helping to marginalise trans women and men further, she wrote, adding: I think its irresponsible to discuss such a delicate topic over Twitter through fragmented thoughts and I wish Jo wouldnt That said, as a friend and admirer of Jo, I cant forget what a generous and loving person she is. I do wish people would just give her more grace and listen to her Headlines accused her and fellow cast mates of being wizards of woke responsible for a great betrayal. Meanwhile, fans lashed out at Lynch for trying to posit any defence of Rowling at all. The actress soon closed her Twitter account. The rupture between the 31-year-old and the woman she describes affectionately as her mentor must have felt profound. When Lynch was 11 and living with anorexia, one of the only people she opened up to about her torment was Rowling, in a letter sent via her publisher. A response arrived in an envelope marked By Owl Post and so began a touching pen friendship, with Rowling continuing to send her incredible, wise letters even while Lynch was in a residential clinic. An old family photo of Evanna Lynch as a Harry Potter-mad youngster It was an obsession with Rowlings universe that had offered the only solace for Lynch the bookish third daughter of teachers Marguerite and Donal. Doctors allowed her out for a morning to be the first in the area to buy a copy of The Order of the Phoenix, before she tore through it in her hospital bed. It was there that she became instantly entranced by Luna, the girl with the aura of distinct dottiness who, she later decides, possesses this simple quality of total self-acceptance. Two years later, and following a painful recovery, the schoolgirl was reading her favourite fansite, MuggleNet, when she discovered producers had put out an open casting call for Luna. With both penpals keeping their connection and Lynchs eating disorder a secret, the 14-year-old beat more than 15,000 girls to win the part. JK Rowling inspired me. She inspires me still I ask Lynch, as someone who loves people on both sides of the gender debate, if she is any wiser on how to bring the two together. She takes a big intake of breath. I was very naive when I was dragged into that conversation, she said. I didnt even know there were two sides. I had a view of, like, good and bad. I do have compassion for both sides of the argument. I know what it was like to be a teenager who hated my body so much I wanted to crawl out of my skin so I have great compassion for trans people and I dont want to add to their pain. I understand being too triggered to be able to have a conversation. If you put me in a room with one of my doctors who treated me in the past, Id kick off. Id want to yell at them. I do also think its important that JK Rowling has been amplifying the voices of de-transitioners. I had this impulse to go: Lets all just stop talking about it and I think probably Im a bit braver now about having uncomfortable conversations. Evanna on the US 'Dancing With the Stars' Since starring in the Potter franchise, Lynch has gone on to take third place on Dancing with the Starsin the US, and has just been announced as the star of a biopic of James Joyce, playing his daughter Lucia, opposite Rupert Friend. Lynch still has an ethereal touch of the character whom she used during fraught social situations as a teenager. Does she still rely on her now as a crutch? Not so much consciously. But the thing Im exploring lately is neurodiversity. Ive always just said Im too sensitive, life is overwhelming. Ive started to think there might be a more scientific reason for this feeling of oddness. She says she is seeking a diagnosis, but does not want to cling on to one label yet. Evanna Lynch There is something very precise about Lynch. During our interview, her poise is broken only by her dog, Mallow, rescued from a bin on an island in the Indian Ocean, scurrying around the table. She says she was shocked by the backlash against Rowling especially when she wrote her essay [revealing experiences in her unhappy first marriage]. I just felt that her character has always been to advocate for the most vulnerable members of society. The problem is that theres a disagreement over whos the most vulnerable. I do wish people would just give her more grace and listen to her. Lynch, who sent Rowling a copy of her 2021 memoir, says she will always defend her character and would happily work on Potter projects again. These books formed me and JK Rowling inspired me. She inspires me still. Redden shared a series of photos showing her hands placed in a heart-shape on her growing baby bump. Rob Kearney and Jess Redden at their wedding reception in Trump International Doonbeg. Influencer Jess Redden and Irish rugby star Rob Kearney are expecting their first child together. The pharmacist took to social media this evening to announce the happy news. Redden shared a series of photos showing her hands placed in a heart-shape on her growing baby bump. Weve been praying for you, she said. Rob Kearney and Jess Redden. Picture: Instagram A number of well-known faces and Irish sport stars took to the comment section to congratulate the couple including Greg OShea, Maia Dunphy, Brian Dowling and Pippa OConnor. The couple tied the knot at the five-star Trump International Hotel in Doonbeg, Co Clare in December 2021. Rob Kearney and Jess Redden at their wedding reception in Trump International Doonbeg. After eight years together, Jess and Rob got married at St Kenans Church in Kilrush on December 3, before hosting their wedding reception at the Trump International Hotel. Speaking in recent days, Redden urged people to take part in the Irish Cancer Societys Daffodil Day on Friday, March 24. Her dad sadly died from cancer during the pandemic. "When a parent dies, it's a club that nobody wants to join. But when you do, it's important to know that others are there to support you, she said. Because of cancer, Ill miss my dad at the big moments and small moments throughout my life. Cancer takes so much from so many, and Id urge everyone to join in on Daffodil Day so we can take something back. Green Goals with Josh Cole Green Party The Green Party has launched a petition to stop Auckland Mayor Wayne Browns proposed cuts to climate and environmental programmes that protect us from extreme weather. We have seen, once again, in the past month just how devastating climate-change-charged weather events are for our communities across Aotearoa. It is anti-science and anti-peoples wellbeing to be considering cutting two-thirds of funding sources for essential environmental programmes in our biggest city, let alone in the wake of recent destruction. Now more than ever, Council and central Government must instead commit to and invest in long overdue action to build climate-friendly, resilient communities where everyone has what they need to thrive. Essential work is at risk, like improving stormwater management and restoring wetlands to reduce the impact of floods. Weve also heard that the Mayor is considering cutting funding for buses, and that the Natural Environment Targeted Rate looks to be 'paused', in addition to a significant reduction of the climate change team's work programme. These actions would be a huge step backwards for climate progress in Tamaki Makaurau. The same communities and volunteers that responded to the floods and Cyclone Gabrielle cannot be left to fight for the political leadership and climate action they deserve while mopping up the mess. In 2019, Auckland Council declared a climate emergency. In 2023, the climate emergency landed on our doorstep. Climate action delay is the new denial. There is no runway left for political inertia. Petition here: https://action.greens.org.nz/protect_our_climate_safe_future. From today until 24 March, New Zealands kiwifruit growers are invited to participate in a postal and online referendum for a compulsory levy on kiwifruit exports except Australia. The proposed levy would continue to fund NZKGIs activities which will include an increased focus on the monitoring and reporting of industry performance. The last referendum took place in 2017. Since that time NZKGI has used the levy to produce significant outcomes for kiwifruit growers. This has included supporting growers through Covid-19, to advocate for the Single Point of Entry marketing structure, hold Zespri to account and to attract labour to the industry. NZKGI chairman Mark Mayston strongly encourages growers to vote in the referendum. It is in each individual growers interest to be engaged in this process. As we are seeing with issues like the proposed ban of Hi-Cane, the success of their business often comes down to the advocacy that NZKGI provides them. The referendums significance is reinforced by NZKGI CEO Colin Bond. This is an important opportunity for kiwifruit growers to make their vote count and we strongly encourage all Growers to participate in the referendum. Grower votes will show the Minister of Agriculture the level of support there is to continue the funding for kiwifruit grower advocacy. All growers are entitled to vote and will be sent voting papers. A grower is considered to be the titleholder of kiwifruit, meaning a person that has legal and beneficial title to kiwifruit when it is supplied to an exporter. The grower is sometimes not the owner of land. Growers who have not received a ballot pack in the post by Wednesday, April 1, should contact NZKGI on 0800 232 505 or info@nzkgi.org.nz. CCTV: We noted that Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi just wrapped up his visit to Russia. Could you share more details? Wang Wenbin: Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi just concluded his visit to Russia. During the visit, he met with President Vladimir Putin. He also met with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and held a meeting with Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation as coordinators under the China-Russia Strategic Security Consultation mechanism. Director Wang noted that despite the complex and challenging international landscape, China-Russia relations have stood the test of time and been mature, resilient and rock-solid. The China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination never targets any third party, nor does it tolerate any third party interference or coercion. This is because China-Russia relations have enjoyed a solid political, economic and cultural foundation and been blessed with the calm and soberness that stem from a keen grasp of historical experience. More importantly, this is because the multipolar world and greater democracy in international relations, which China and Russia jointly support, are in line with the trend of the times and the aspirations of most countries. China and Russia advocate and practice true multilateralism, oppose all forms of unilateralism and bullying, firmly safeguard our respective sovereignty, security and development interests, actively explore development paths suited to our respective national conditions, and tap the cooperation potential in various fields. No matter how the international landscape may change, China will maintain a sound momentum in growing a new type of major-country relations with Russia. China is willing to work with Russia to maintain strategic resolve, deepen political trust, strengthen strategic coordination, expand practical cooperation, safeguard the legitimate interests of both countries and play both countries constructive role in promoting world peace and development. The Russian side noted that at present, Russia-China relations are moving towards the established goals, and bilateral cooperation in various fields and coordination in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS and other multilateral organizations are fruitful. Strengthening unity and coordination in international affairs is of great importance to promoting greater democracy in international relations and the balance and stability in global dynamics. The two sides agreed to continue to strengthen coordination in the UN and other international multilateral mechanisms, practice true multilateralism, jointly uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and firmly oppose hegemonism and bloc confrontation and promote democracy in international relations and a multi-polar world. Both sides believe that peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific should be firmly maintained and that the introduction of Cold War mentality, bloc confrontation and ideological conflict should be opposed. During the visit, Director Wang had an in-depth exchange of views on the Ukraine issue with the Russian side. He commended Russias reaffirmation of its willingness to solve the issues through dialogue and negotiations. Director Wang stressed that the more complicated the situation is, the more important it is not to give up efforts for peace. We hope that all parties will overcome the difficulties, continue to create conditions for dialogue and negotiation and find an effective way towards a political settlement. China will, as always, follow an objective and just position, and play its constructive role in seeking a political settlement of the crisis. AFP: Russia said China has made some important points about finding a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine crisis. But a Ukrainian official said China has not held similar consultations with Ukraine. Whats your response? If China really believes there is a viable peace plan, then why has it not discussed it with the Ukrainian side? Wang Wenbin: Chinas position on the Ukraine issue has been consistent and clear. We will continue to play a constructive role in our own way to facilitate a peaceful resolution of the crisis. China and Ukraine have maintained smooth communication. Xinhua News Agency: Foreign Minister Qin Gang has concluded his visit to Indonesia. Can you share more about the visit? Wang Wenbin: On February 22, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia met with Foreign Minister Qin Gang. On the same day, Foreign Minister Qin Gang also co-chaired the 4th meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) between China and Indonesia with Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and met with Coordinator for Cooperation with China and Coordinating Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan. President Widodo said that Indonesia-China practical cooperation has yielded fruitful outcomes in recent years. He expects the two countries to speed up the implementation of the common understandings the two presidents reached in Bali, advance key projects and high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and expand cooperation in industrial chains and new energy. Asia is the center of world economic growth. It should not be a stage of power politics. Indonesia is ready to work with China to safeguard regional peace and stability and contribute to post-COVID recovery. Indonesia appreciates Chinas position of supporting ASEAN centrality, and will handle the Myanmar issue in line with the five-point consensus. Foreign Minister Qin Gang said that China is ready to work with Indonesia to act on the important common understandings reached between the two heads of state, adhere to high-level guidance, strategic alignment and coordination between major countries, and pursue common development toward modernization. China fully supports Indonesias ASEAN presidency this year and its efforts for greater progress in the building of ASEAN community and East Asia cooperation. China will as always support ASEAN centrality and resolve the Myanmar issue in the ASEAN way. At the 4th meeting of the JCBC, a series of important outcomes and consensus were reached. Both sides agreed that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, the four-wheel drive cooperation between China and Indonesia, namely political, economic, people-to-people and maritime cooperation, has kept deepening, thus setting a good example for developing countries of sharing a common future, seeking strength through unity and pursuing cooperation. The two sides will follow the leaders guidance, consolidate high-level strategic mutual trust, promote sustained, solid progress in the building of China-Indonesia community with a shared future, deepen strategic alignment, and set a new benchmark for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. We will continue strengthening cooperation in business, trade and investment, and expand cooperation in various areas. We will advance cooperation in tourism, education, culture, youth and sports, and have closer people-to-people exchange. We will pursue major-country coordination, and build a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home together with ASEAN. The two sides will work with other ASEAN countries to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), advance the consultations on a code of conduct in the South China Sea at a faster pace, and jointly safeguard peace and stability in the South China Sea. The two sides will advance cooperation around the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, deepen communication and coordination under multilateral frameworks like the G20 and BRICS, and uphold and defend true multilateralism together. Reuters: During Wang Yis meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday, Putin said that Russia-China bilateral trade would soon reach $200 billion a year and acknowledged a future visit of President Xi to Russia. Is this trade prediction accurate? And can you share further details of President Xis expected visit? Wang Wenbin: I shared with you just now details about Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yis visit to Russia. China and Russia maintain normal exchanges and cooperation in bilateral trade and economy and such cooperation enjoys a sound momentum of growth. The two sides also keep close communication at all levels on growing bilateral relations and contributing to world peace and development. As for the interactions between the two presidents, I have nothing to share at the moment. China Daily: Foreign Minister Qin Gang also elaborated on Chinas position on developing ties with ASEAN during his visit to Indonesia. Could you talk a little bit more about that? Wang Wenbin: Indonesia is the rotating ASEAN chair this year. One important item on Foreign Minister Qins agenda during his visit to Indonesia is to enhance China-ASEAN ties. After chairing the 4th meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) between China and Indonesia with Minister for Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi, the two ministers jointly met the press, during which both stressed the importance of ASEAN strategic independence. Foreign Minister Qin emphasized that China always takes ASEAN as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy and pledged full support for Indonesias ASEAN chairmanship. There is no place for a new Cold War or major country competition in the Asia-Pacific region and regional countries should not be forced to take sides. He believes that ASEAN countries, including Indonesia, will make their independent decisions and choices based on the fundamental interests of regional peace, stability and development. China supports a strategically independent, united and strong ASEAN, upholds ASEAN centrality and an inclusive regional architecture, and opposes group politics and bloc confrontation. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi noted that Indonesia is firmly committed to safeguarding regional peace, stability and prosperity. She said that ASEAN should neither become a proxy of any external force nor be embroiled in the competition among major countries. Indonesia will fulfill its duty as it holds the rotating ASEAN chairmanship. ASEAN will continue to strengthen cooperation with China, and leverage its unique strengths and the role as an economic growth center to contribute to global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Foreign Minister Qin also met with ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn. He said that China stands ready to continue to work with ASEAN to build a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home, constantly enrich the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides, and keep supporting the ASEAN Secretariat in jointly promoting new achievements in China-ASEAN cooperation and East Asia cooperation. The Asia-Pacific region faces a choice between peace and confrontation, cooperation and division. China firmly supports maintaining the ASEAN centrality, supports ASEAN in adhering to strategic independence, openness and inclusiveness. ASEAN should not be forced to take sides or target any third party. China is willing to join hands with ASEAN to face up to challenges, and reject decoupling and erecting walls. Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn appreciated the longstanding, utmost importance China has attached to ASEAN and its valuable support for ASEAN integration. He expressed the hope to work with the Chinese side to scale the ASEAN-China comprehensive strategic partnership to new heights and jointly uphold regional peace, stability and prosperity. The two sides agreed to accelerate Version 3.0 China-ASEAN Free Trade Area negotiations, work for high-quality implementation of RCEP, jointly commemorate the 20th anniversary of the China-ASEAN Expo, and resume cross-border travel at a faster pace in an orderly fashion. The two sides will work together for new progress in the consultation on a code of conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, so as to provide institutional safeguards for maintaining peace and stability in the waters. Foreign Minister Qin also had a group meeting with members of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN. They shared the view that China-ASEAN cooperation is mutually-beneficial and dynamic. They stand ready to seek greater synergy between sustainable development in the region and the Global Development Initiative. They agreed to work for the success of the China-ASEAN Year of Agricultural Development and Food Security Cooperation, expand cooperation in various sectors, enhance regional connectivity, and build up supply chain resilience. Foreign Minister Qin stressed Chinas unwavering commitment to ASEAN solidarity and community-building and readiness to consolidate the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership by strengthening the three pillars of economic growth, regional stability and people-to-people and cultural exchange. AFP: Yesterday President Biden met with NATO and European leaders. They reiterated their support for Ukraine on the conflict between Russia and Ukrain and vowed to strengthen defenses from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Do you have any comment on this? Wang Wenbin: Our position on the Ukraine issue is consistent and clear. We always believe that conflicts and confrontation produce no winner and dialogue and negotiation is the only right and viable way out of the crisis. We hope that all parties will act in a constructive and responsible manner and play a constructive role in promoting the peaceful settlement of the crisis through dialogue and negotiation. Dragon TV: The UNs open-ended working group on conventional ammunition recently held the third substantive session. The proposal by countries including China calling on parties to refrain from transfers of ammunition to non-state actors met with opposition from the US. Do you have more information or any comment on this? Wang Wenbin: The UNs open-ended working group on conventional ammunition held its third substantive session from February 13 to 17. China proposed that all parties should refrain from transfers of ammunition to non-state actors and conduct transfers to the conflict-affected areas in a prudent and responsible way and called for stronger international oversight. Many developing countries voiced their support for the proposal. However, the US, clinging to its negative and conservative position on international rule-making with regard to small arms and light weapons and ammunition, opposed the proposal. As is well known, the US owns more guns per person than any other country in the world. Gun violence has become a recurring nightmare for the American people. The USs loose management of small arms and light weapons and ammunition, massive weapons export, and persistent transfer of military articles to non-state actors are equally worrying. Its gross interference in other countries domestic affairs fuels armed conflict and social chaos. A lot of the ammunition from the US have become untraceable and even ended up in the hands of terrorist and extremist groups, posing a grave threat to regional and international peace and stability. According to data from the US State Department, US foreign military sales in fiscal year 2022 increased by nearly 50% from fiscal year 2021, primarily due to the escalating Ukraine crisis. By pouring weapons into Ukraine, the US and other Western countries are making the Ukraine crisis harder to resolve. Moreover, many of the guns and ammunition destined for Ukraine are smuggled by international criminal groups into the hands of criminals in Europe and elsewhere. Both Interpol and Europol have warned about this. An African leader once said that the raging war in Ukraine is now a major source of weapons that bolster the ranks of the terrorists in Lake Chad Region. The Mexican government attributes most of the violence in that country to the weapons originating from the US. The ISIS and the TTP in Pakistan have been found to use US weapons. According to the Center for American Progress, between 2014 and 2016, 50,133 guns that originated in the US were recovered in criminal investigations across 15 countries in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean, which means US weapons were used to commit a crime every 31 minutes. The scourge of weapons is just one tip of the iceberg of what the US exports. The US brings to other countries not democracy or progress of human rights, but livelihood woes and instability. The US needs to know that the more it engages in such exports, the worse the backfire will be on the US itself. Instead of generating more problems, the US needs to think of what it can actually do to benefit the international community. Reuters: The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada must be on guard against foreign election interference following media reports that China tried to influence the 2021 Canadian election. Whats Chinas comment? Second question, the Canadian defense ministry said its aware of recent maritime and air surveillance attempts by China. Whats Chinas comment on this? Wang Wenbin: China always opposes interference in other countries internal affairs. We have no interest in and have never interfered in Canadas internal affairs. Relevant parties should immediately stop smearing and attacking China with unfounded allegations and stop misleading the public. Shenzhen TV: According to reports, the inauguration ceremony of the center for disaster prevention and mitigation cooperation between China and Pacific Island countries (PICs) was held this morning in Jiangmen, Guangdong. Can you share some details with us? Wang Wenbin: This morning, the inauguration ceremony of the center for disaster prevention and mitigation cooperation between China and Pacific Island countries (PICs) was held in Jiangmen, Guangdong. Representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Management and the Ministry of Natural Resources, leaders of Guangdong Province and diplomatic envoys from PICs attended the ceremony, and senior officials responsible for disaster management in Solomon Islands including Minister of Rural Development Duddley Kopu joined the event via video link. The launch of the center for disaster prevention and mitigation cooperation is another major step China has taken toward the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and to deepen practical cooperation with PICs. The center will continuously contribute to capacity-building and speed up development progress in PICs. In recent years, China-PICs relations have grown rapidly, which have yielded fruitful outcomes in various areas and brought tangible benefits to the people. Last year, during his visit to South Pacific island countries, State Councilor Wang Yi announced that China will continue to strengthen the six cooperation platforms covering emergency supplies, climate action, poverty reduction, disaster prevention, agriculture, and application of Juncao technology, all tailored to PICs needs. So far, the first four of these platforms have been launched, and the demonstration center for agriculture cooperation and Juncao technology will soon be put into use. China will continue to act in line with the principles of equality, mutual respect, win-win cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, steadfastly deepen China-PICs comprehensive strategic partnership, and build an even closer China-PICs community with a shared future. Reuters: I wanted to go back to my earlier question about the Canadian defense ministry. It said its aware of recent maritime and air surveillance attempts by China. Whats Chinas comment on this? Wang Wenbin: The Canadian side should immediately stop groundless smears against China. CCTV: The US is concerned because China and Russia share a vision, the Spokesperson for the US Department of State Ned Price said. Whats your comment? Wang Wenbin: The China-Russia relationship is built on the basis of non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting at any third party. It is a factor conducive to world peace and stability, which is no cause for concern. What is truly concerning is the destructive role the US has played to peace and stability in the world. The US is the No.1 warmonger in the world. The US was not at war for only 16 years throughout its 240-plus years of history. The US accounted for about 80 percent of all post-WWII armed conflicts. The US is also the No.1 violator of sovereignty and interferer in the internal affairs of other countries. According to reports, since the end of WWII, the US has sought to subvert more than 50 foreign governments, grossly interfered in elections in at least 30 countries and attempted assassination on over 50 foreign leaders. The US is also the No.1 source of antagonism and bloc confrontation. The US-led NATO is responsible for wars on Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria that killed more than 900,000 and created 37 million refugees. It has also made the Eurasia continent a less stable place. The impact of US-initiated Quad and AUKUS on Asia-Pacific security and stability also calls for vigilance. As long as US hegemonism and belligerence still exists, the rest of world will hardly get the peace it deserves. Reuters: I have two questions on Russia. During the meeting between Wang Yi and Russian foreign minister Lavrov, can you confirm whether they did discuss the upcoming Chinese position paper on a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis and what conclusions were reached? The second question, Russia said that its studying Chinas recently published concept paper on the Global Security Initiative. Whats Chinas comment? And does the GSI align closely with Russias position on international security? Wang Wenbin: I just shared with you details about Director Wang Yis visit to Russia. We have shared information on the upcoming position document on seeking political settlement of the Ukraine crisis. Details will be released in a timely manner. Please check back for updates. As I have learned, Russia has openly expressed its firm support for the GSI. China welcomes this. So far, more than 80 countries and regional organizations have commended and expressed support for the GSI. We believe more countries will join China in implementing the GSI and making contributions to safeguarding world peace and tranquility. Reuters: The Wall Street Journal reported that the Biden administration may release intelligence that shows that China is considering whether to supply weapons to support Russias war in Ukraine. Whats Chinas comment on this? Wang Wenbin: The US has repeatedly alleged that China might supply weapons to Russia, and we have responded to this multiple times. We can easily imagine that the intelligence the US referred to is most likely chasing shadows and smearing China. Since the outbreak of the Ukraine crisis, China has firmly stood on the side of dialogue and peace. We have promoted peace talks in our own ways and played a responsible and constructive role in easing tensions and alleviating the crisis. The US is the biggest source of weaponry for the battlefield in Ukraine, yet it has kept smearing China by falsely claiming that China might offer weapons to Russia. This will not only hinder the process of the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis but also do further harm to China-US relations. We urge the US to stop smearing China and shifting blames, and stop fanning the flame and fueling the fight with more weaponry. The US needs to work with China and the rest of the world to promote diplomatic negotiations with a view to settling the crisis. Speaking of releasing valuable intelligence, the US could release intelligence on the truth behind the Nord Stream blast. We hope the US will provide a serious and responsible response to the revelations as soon as possible, rather than being evasive about it. The Beatrice Fire Departments annual report was presented to the City Council on Monday evening. Daake began with a summary of a recent crash in Lincoln involving a Beatrice ambulance. He said the vehicle was able to be repaired and should be returned to service late in the year. In 2022 there were 3,097 calls for service. The number of calls per year has increased slightly since 2017. Approximately 12% of the calls were fire with 88% being EMS calls at the department. Graphs were presented which tracked the calls for service each day throughout the calendar year. Also tracked is data on what hour of the day calls were received. There are ebbs and flows, he said. Daake said one of the challenges the department has noted is the increased demand for service. Were getting older as a population which creates a greater demand for medical services, he said. Also the socio-economic conditions create situations requiring public service. He said the department faces work force challenges similar to every industry. The supply chain is also a concern to the department. If we ordered a new ambulance today, it would likely be 2025 before we received it, he said. He said he and his employees appreciated the new fire station provided by the city. We moved in December 2021, he noted. We are very honored and thankful for the opportunity. He presented history of the department noting it had originally been established in 1910 with volunteers. The career department was formed with four full-time employees. The fire department currently has 26 full-time employees including Daake and an administrative assistant. There are 24 shift personnel working 24-hour shifts. Each of the shifts is comprised of a captain, with seven firefighters, paramedics, or EMTs per shift. Daake said the station is staffed 24-hours a day and seven days a week. During a typical shift the staff do station maintenance, training, public education events, fire prevention, equipment checks and maintenance. They also do pre-planning with businesses. The average calls for service per day is eight to nine. One of the things that takes a lot of time is patient care reporting, he said. Were not report writing people and there are about 200 data points. Sometimes it takes longer to do the paperwork than the actual call. Some of what we do falls under when you dont know who else to call, he said. The emergency medical services includes seven EMTs, two advanced EMTs, 16 paramedics, advanced life service and a physician medical director, Dr. Don Rice. His passion is saving lives, he said. The EMS rates were compared with several other career departments in Nebraska. Beatrices rates are in the average range. Daake concluded his report saying he and his staff are very proud to serve the citizens of Beatrice. Mayor Bob Morgan said the city is fortunate to have the services we have in Beatrice. Thank you for what you do, he said. Im 100% certain that the department has saved a lot of lives. Prior to presenting the overview, Fire Chief Brian Daake recognized Boy Scout Troop 221 that was present at the meeting. Daake volunteers as a Scout Master with the troop and the boys were attending the meeting as a requirement for their Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge. Current Print Subscribers will be prompted to either login to their current site user account or to create a new one. A confirmation email will be sent when a new user account is created, which must be confirmed within three days in order to provide uninterrupted online access through your Print Subscription. Once the email address is confirmed please provide your Account Number to activate your Print Subscription Service. After two years of planning, the Hometown Fresh Mobile Food Pantry left the Food Bank of Lincoln on Tuesday morning for its maiden voyage to Plymouth. "Every town in our 16-county service area, regardless of the population, deserves to have access to healthy food," said Michaella Kumke, president and CEO of the Food Bank of Lincoln. "Food is fuel, it's medicine, it's foundational for health. It's not a privilege." Hometown Fresh will serve eight communities during the pilot stage of the program Belvidere, Rising City, Auburn, Davenport, Pawnee City, Plymouth, Syracuse and Utica. For now, the trailer will make eight monthly journeys, one to each community, with hopes for more trips to more towns in the future. Katie Nungesser, network capacity manager, said the Food Bank determined the areas in need with a combination of data and word of mouth. The team constructed a heat map, determining which towns in Southeast Nebraska had what amount of access to a grocery store. Nungesser then spent time talking to members of each community. "We had a list of towns that, with the data, looked like good fits, but as soon as we started talking to locals they set us straight," she said. Some of the pilot communities are still the original towns, but in others, neighbors directed Nungesser's attention to nearby areas they knew needed the assistance and access more. "We'll continue to do that listening and try to provide the things that the local groups are telling us is needed," Nungesser said. "One of our directors of sourcing spends a lot of time with the grocery store owners, listening to them about what their barriers are for different products." In March, Nungesser said the trailer hopes to add several Lincoln sites, including the Yazidi Cultural Center and the Ponca Tribe Wellness Center. Each trip should serve 100 to 150 Nebraskans, Kumke said. The focus for supplies headed to rural areas will be on the core foods of fresh produce, protein, baked goods and shelf stable items. Across 9,200 square miles and 16 counties, the Food Bank served 9.9 million meals last year and is on track to reach 11 million by the end of this fiscal year in June, Kumke said. During the pandemic, it served 13.5 million. "When we were going through the pandemic, we were trying to get to smaller towns because of the isolation," she said. "And we kept that on our mind, because when we converted back to our traditional model, we knew that we didn't want to leave those smaller towns behind." Kumke said the mobile pantry is a way the Food Bank can still visit those towns in a way it wasn't able to before the pandemic. "The truth is, we don't know what this is going to be, because we're just starting, and that's the exciting part of it," she said. "We need to make sure we're getting into the pockets of our service area that may not get served." Jim Hansen, outreach coordinator at Sandhills Global one of the pantry's main sponsors, said he can't wait to see how many miles the trailer travels and how many people it serves. He said he's been excited since Kumke reached out two years ago to begin planning. Partnering with Brian Booe of Adams Industries, Sandhills Global was able to fund and construct the food trailer. It has a 41,000-watt generator, two heating and cooling units and access to running water. Booe said he calculated the energy needed to sustain the trailer, then doubled it for the generator. "I don't want this thing to break down somewhere when that could've been avoided," he said. "I want this trailer to last 10 years." Healthy Blue Nebraska will continue to partner with the Food Bank to help stock the trailer. Tuesday morning, it presented the Food Bank team with a check for $150,000. "This day is not about what is happening in this room," Kumke said. "It's about what will happen in Plymouth." Neighbors interested in visiting Hometown Fresh should contact Nungesser at 402-466-8170, ext. 1987 or via email at knungesser@lincolnfoodbank.org to learn more. 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. A Missouri man previously sentenced to probation for robbing a Beatrice bank in 2017 was resentenced to prison this week. Terry L Bailes, 59, was sentenced to 7-10 years in Gage County District Court on Wednesday for attempted robbery. The charge was previously amended to include attempted as part of a plea agreement, and he was sentenced to a 36 month probation term in the case in April 2018. The following March a warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to comply with the terms of probation, and he was arrested on the warrant more than 3 years later. Bailes was convicted of robbing Great Western Bank on Oct. 30, 2017. Bales, who was homeless at the time of the robbery, told police he committed the crime so he could be arrested. Without a weapon, Bailes entered the bank and demanded money before asking the teller to call police, saying that he wanted to go to prison. He left the bank with $10, purchased cigarettes and waited for police around a block from the scene of the robbery, telling officers immediately that he was the suspect they were looking for. The inability to share data easily and reliably between a smartphone, laptop, or desktop has been a source of aggravation for Windows PC users who also possess an iPhone. Apple has solidified a strong ecosystem reputation with its products and core device operating systems by highlighting the advantages of enabling files, text messages, and even the continuity experience between its Mac computers, iPads, and iPhones. Apple reportedly had roughly 1.2 billion active iPhones at the end of 2022, and Microsoft maintains that there are approximately 1.4 billion Windows 10 or 11 users. Given Microsofts hefty market share in the PC space, that would translate to hundreds of millions of Windows users with iPhones who cant participate in Apples ecosystem, particularly with shared text messaging using a Windows PC. The ability to seamlessly integrate the PC and mobile experience so that all our devices work together with minimal friction offers nearly endless user benefits. Multiple mobile and client PC operating systems must work together to enable maximum consumer interoperability fully. To bridge this gap which has existed for years, a few PC makers, notably Dell, have made valiant attempts to do this with varying degrees of success. With its Link To Windows app for mobile and the Windows Phone Link app, Microsoft has tried to make iOS devices a more compelling component of the Windows ecosystem. My experience with these solutions has been a mixed bag of irritation with modest usefulness. Flash forward to 2023: Intel recently released Unison, which it expects desktop and laptop PC OEMs to embrace. The Benefits of Unison I recently downloaded Intels Unison software from the Microsoft App store and tested it on my Evo-certified HP Elite Dragonfly G3 laptop. Pairing it with my iPhone 14 Pro Max only required scanning a QR code and following the on-screen instructions to grant the PC client access to my contacts, message logs, etc. Because Apple has steadfastly refused to provide the necessary software support to integrate iOS devices into the Windows ecosystem directly, companies like Microsoft and Intel have been exploring creative (translated: workaround) ways to bring the Windows and iOS device ecosystems together without Apples explicit support. With Unison, users can access and manage their smartphones from a laptop, minimizing the disturbances to production that frequent device switching might bring about. Your attention may be diverted if you attempt to concentrate on work on your laptop while managing phone calls, SMSs, and app alerts on your mobile device. Consolidating those distractions to your laptop screen might be helpful if completely suppressing them isnt possible. The Unison app has a Do Not Disturb (DND) toggle that can halt all app notifications, allowing users to stay focused on work without being distracted by their phones. Users of Unison can do many things, including setting aside their phones which are connected by Unison to their laptop, and then make and receive calls and send text messages from the computer. Although some of this capability is not new, this functionality is cool because it works with phones running iOS and Android and has a wide range of network configurations. Screenovate at the Core The technology included in Unison comes from Screenovate. In 2021, Intel purchased the Israeli business that pioneered smartphone-to-display projection and was developing various cross-device experiences. Some system OEMs had already incorporated Screenovates background technology and rebranded it in their own solutions, including Dell with its Dell Mobile Connect (which, incidentally, is being sunset) and HP with Phonewise, which the company discontinued in 2019. Ironically, you might already have even used Screenovate technology without realizing it. Intel maintains that throughout the integration of Screenovates architecture into Unison, it placed a significant emphasis on platform power saving and UI and networking behavior improvements. The power-related efforts have stressed that Unison wont be a big battery drainer on the host laptop because it runs naturally in the background. Complicated Connectivity Various hardware and communication technologies are now juggled by many hybrid and remote employees switching from office to home-based work and shifting between Wi-Fi networks, Bluetooth connections, and cellular-only settings. Although Intel promises a seamless experience across WAN, Wi-Fi, cloud, cellular, and Bluetooth connections, and it requires a link to Unison-compliant PC with either Android or iOS devices, the actual connectivity nuts and bolts of Unison are a bit complicated. Intel Unison text messaging window Thats important because equivalent technologies from companies like Samsung or Dell Mobile Connect might only be made for a particular group of Android phones. While targeting Android, the Your Phone utility in Windows 10 and Connect to Phone app in Windows 11 only provide a portion of Unisons capability. In this case, Unison should cover a wide range of phones currently on the market, regardless of your current connection setup. Intel supports calls, SMS, alerts, and photo/file transfers as the four main types of phone-on-PC activities with its initial release of Unison. With Unison on my Evo-certified HP laptop, I could use it to initiate and answer calls. I could send and receive SMS messages on my HP laptop, view them on my laptop via the Unison app, and even respond to them there. I could also start sending messages from the Windows desktop as if using my iPhone. Intel Unison Gallery Last but not least, the technology made it simpler to share files and photographs between a smartphone and a laptop, allowing me, for instance, to see photos in the Gallery of Unisons laptop app. Acer, HP, and Lenovo are Intels initial launch partners with Unison, which is now available on Evo designs running 13th Generation Intel Core processors. What Differentiates Unison? As mentioned earlier, such solutions already exist partly in Windows 10 and 11 from phone and PC manufacturers. Yet, Unison has a particularly bold ambition to offer the same functionality on both iOS and Android. Contrary to what is currently available, Unison is based on open and standard APIs and interfaces. Unison apps user interface (UI) makes a difference, particularly in the file-transfer experience. For all practical purposes, the Unison Gallerys contents are as refreshingly simple to use as any other file on your desktop after syncing up since a lot of thought has gone into the design and intuitiveness. Kudos to Intel in that department. Theres a reason why Intel is launching Unison on Evo first. The company wants to perfect the experience and starts with the type of people who would purchase an Evo PC: highly mobile, highly connected productivity hunters. The Bluetooth and Wi-Fi stack elements, for example, are being implemented deliberately to ensure a smooth, high-quality experience. Moreover, connection flexibility is crucial but difficult to achieve in working with both wired and wireless technologies. A Bluetooth connection between the devices would be ideal for handling a smartphone conversation through your Evo laptop, though Wi-Fi makes more sense for file transfers. There is also the option to use the phones cellular network in specific circumstances when interacting with Unison through the cloud. Some alternatives, for example, could be a phone and a laptop connected to the same Wi-Fi network. You must download the Unison app from the App Store or Google Play. Youll need iOS 15 or Android 9 or later for your phones operating system. Theoretically, Unison might be made available as a download for other devices because Unison is not inextricably linked to hardware features of the 12th- or 13th-Gen Core Evo platform. Hence, even though Unison may be a limited-release technology, once the techs quirks are worked out, it may be applied to other, perhaps older devices. Closing Thoughts First, its important to credit any company for trying to solve a problem that has haunted the Windows PC space since Apple launched the iPhone in 2007. I can speak to the joys and benefits of being part of the Apple ecosystem with a MacBook Pro, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, all playing a critical integrated role in my daily work. As the quasi-CIO of my extended family scattered across the country, Im often called upon to solve my family members tech support issues. Everyone using Apple-branded products makes this a much easier burden to bear. I wish I could report that Intel Unison delivered its ambitious promise to integrate the iPhone into the Apple ecosystem without compromise. Unfortunately, I cant, as there are compromises you need to make. While SMS text messaging is a step in the right direction, Unison still doesnt facilitate full-blown rich media such as video files and rich content previews, so text messaging from a Windows-based laptop is relatively primitive. MacOS users know the joy of sending messages from their Mac desktop or laptop using a traditional keyboard, not a touchscreen. Unison has much work to do in this area. Furthermore, any existing iMessages on your phone wont be accessible on your Windows PC using the Unison app. After installing the software, it only works with new text messages you send or receive. Youre out of luck if you have long threads of existing iMessages stored on your iPhone. Finally, if you close the app, you lose all the text messages on your PC that youve synched with when you re-open the app. That aberration is going to be problematic for many iPhone users. Apple Remains the Leader in Charge Other limitations exist, such as to use Unison, you must have your iPhone paired to your Windows PC, and it must be at your side constantly to enable the connectivity functionality. In an Apple ecosystem context, you can send and receive iMessages on your macOS device or iPad with an internet connection, even if your iPhone is not without you. Intel Unison is a work in progress at this point. While its certainly better than nothing for Windows users (an admittedly low bar), the overall ecosystem experience is nowhere near what Apple continues to offer without compromises. I might be the eternal optimist, but it ultimately may be up to Apple to make a business decision on providing native support for Windows PC integration, which it could do easily. Though I struggle with what Apples upside could be in this scenario, given its hefty market share in the smartphone space. The unadorned fact is that Intel or Microsoft needs Apple more than Apple needs them to address this problem. Until that dynamic changes, Windows users will simply not have the same world-class integration device integration experience that Apple users enjoy, predominantly in the text messaging area. TechSpot is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust Facepalm: Microsoft has been trying everything to convince Windows users to switch from its rival browser Chrome to Edge. It has tried various tactics, like adding multiple features and making default browser settings obtuse. However, its latest stunt might reach a new level of desperation. Neowin reports that non-stable versions of Microsoft Edge temporarily displayed full-sized banner ads on the Chrome website. The move is the latest of many attempts to get Windows users to stick with Edge as their primary browser. Microsoft knows that when many users first launch Edge after installing Windows, they go straight to the Chrome website to download Google's browser. A lawyer for Google's parent company, Alphabet, submitted evidence proving this in 2021. What better place to advertise Edge? Two ads appeared when users tried to download Chrome. First, a small prompt emerged upon loading the Chrome page, then a full-length banner once the download started. Both informed users that Edge runs on the same engine as Chrome - Chromium - but with the "added trust of Microsoft," possibly a jab at Google's reputation for collecting and selling users' information. According to Neowin, Microsoft removed the ads from the Canary, Dev, and stable versions of Edge, but it still appears in the beta build. When I loaded the Chrome download page on stable, the small pop-up still appeared with a button to switch the default browser to Edge. Such efforts haven't pushed Microsoft's browser anywhere close to Google's market share. According to Statcounter's January 2023 report, 66 percent of desktop users still prefer Chrome, with Edge as a distant second at 11 percent. Those numbers have barely budged over the last year. Redmond has added various features to its browser to make it more appealing, including Adobe's Acrobat PDF reader, disk cache compression, a free Cloudflare-based VPN, and more. However, Microsoft's best chance to change the paradigm might be in the emerging AI-powered search engine and chatbot market. Since the recent explosion in ChatGPT's popularity, Microsoft, Google, and others have raced to release chatbots, search engines, and other tools using generative text AI. Microsoft has taken the opportunity to embed the technology in new versions of Edge and its Bing search engine. However, as the company prepares Bing Chat for public release, initial testing has uncovered embarrassing and concerning flaws. Billings Public Schools will remain open as a major cold spell passes through Montana. With the National Weather Service forecasting a daily high temperature near 0 F and a low of -19 on Thursday, School District 2s plan is to hold school for the rest of the week. Wind chill values are forecast to get as low as 30 F. SD2 Superintendent Greg Upham told the Gazette that since the ambient temperatures are forecast to be -9 F Thursday morning and -13 F Friday morning, schools and school buses will be able to operate appropriately. We will watch the forecast for any significant changes, but for now we are operating with our cold weather protocols in place, Upham wrote in an email. When ambient temperatures reach 30 F or lower, the potential for the diesel fuel in school buses to solidify becomes possible and can lead to safety issues for drivers and students. If temperatures were to get this low at any point this year, the district has one snow day available to close the schools without the need to make up time. In this event, a vacation day scheduled for Monday, April 10 would become a regular day of instruction. Additionally, the Montana Office of Public Instruction provides every public school in the state one emergency day per year for closures upon an emergency declaration that could interfere with completing of the minimum aggregate hours of instruction for the school year. SD2 previously used this emergency day for the 2022-23 school year in December when temperatures dropped to -25 to -30 F with wind chills of -50 in Billings. The 2021 legislative session saw changes to the laws on school closures during unforeseen emergencies. Schools are now able, but not required, to make up at least 75% of the time missed by extending the school year, previously scheduled school days, using vacation days, or conducting pupil instruction on Saturdays. TechSpot is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust Why it matters: A 1996 US law that underpins much of how the internet works today faced its latest challenge in the Supreme Court this week. Lawmakers and big tech executives have wrestled with the idea of repealing or rewriting it, and a lawyer representing Google has expressed the latest strong warning on the topic. The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday on a case that could have major ramifications for how the internet works. A Google lawyer warned that if the company loses the case, the internet could become very different and much worse off. The case, Gonzalez vs Google, is set to determine whether YouTube violates the federal Anti-Terrorism Act whenever its algorithm recommends its users videos from the terrorist group ISIS, broadening the group's message. It was brought on by the family of Nohemi Gonzalez, an American student killed in a 2015 ISIS attack in Paris. At the heart of the issue is Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which says internet platforms aren't liable for the content their users publish. The legislation has come under intense scrutiny over the last few years, as many say it allows hateful and defamatory content to spread through social media. Lawmakers have pushed to repeal Section 230, while tech leaders like Mark Zuckerberg prefer it to be rewritten or amended. Defenders of the legislation claim that it's impossible for platforms to effectively monitor every piece of content users create that someone could see as offensive or dangerous. Google's attorney Lisa Blatt claimed the internet would become unrecognizable without Section 230 because platforms would be forced to either tightly filter all published content or filter nothing at all, turning it into a "horror show." The law protects sites from lawsuits for both publishing and removing content. Blatt admits that big companies like Google could weather such a drastic shift, but warns that smaller sites couldn't. She also said the early internet would have never succeeded if every platform could be sued for user-generated content. However, Gonzalez family attorney Eric Schnapper claims this case doesn't fall under Section 230 because it concerns the YouTube algorithm that recommends ISIS videos, not the users who post them. Despite that distinction, algorithms are integral to how many of today's platforms operate. The court justices acknowledged the importance of the case but also admitted their confusion regarding the subject. Justice Elana Kagan said the nine justices aren't the top nine experts on the internet. Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested that Congress, which wrote Section 230, should be the body that changes or repeals it. It's possible that an opinion on the law might not emerge from this case. WTF?! With a market cap of $1.18 trillion, Google is one of the biggest companies in the world, so one wouldn't expect some of its employees to share desks with co-workers. But that will become a reality starting from the next quarter as Google embraces "real estate efficiency." CNBC reports that an internal FAQ document seen by the publication reveals the desk-sharing plan will affect Google Cloud employees, which make up more than a quarter of Google staff. It asks workers to alternate days they're in the office, either Monday and Wednesday, or Tuesday and Thursday, so they can share their desk with someone else. Staff can come in on unassigned days, but they will use an "overflow drop-in space" in these instances. "Through the matching process, they [employees] will agree on a basic desk setup and establish norms with their desk partner and teams to ensure a positive experience in the new shared environment," the document explains. The desk-sharing program will be introduced at Google Cloud's five largest US locations: Kirkland, Washington; New York City; San Francisco; Seattle; and Sunnyvale, California. Many people like to personalize their desks, and levels of workspace cleanliness can vary wildly from person to person. To help prevent potential arguments/fights over what state desks are left in, Google is setting up "neighborhoods" made up of 200 to 300 people that will have a vice president or a director to ensure partner allocation goes smoothly and desks are kept clean and free from personal items. Additionally, to stop people from camping out in conference rooms instead of sitting at their desks, a booking cap is being introduced on the number of rooms that can be taken for meetings. Google refers to the desk-sharing plan as a more efficient use of its workspace, i.e., a cost-cutting measure that will reduce the amount of real estate space it pays for. The official name is "Cloud Office Evolution." "Since returning to the office, we've run pilots and conducted surveys with Cloud employees to explore different hybrid work models and help shape the best experience. Our data show Cloud Googlers value guaranteed in-person collaboration when they are in the office, as well as the option to work from home a few days each week," a Google spokesperson told CNBC. "With this feedback, we've developed our new rotational model, combining the best of pre-pandemic collaboration with the flexibility and focus we've all come to appreciate from remote work, while also allowing us to use our spaces more efficiently." Google parent Alphabet became the latest tech giant to announce mass layoffs when it confirmed last month that 12,000 employees would lose their jobs. The desk-sharing initiative suggests Google isn't finished with its money-saving measures just yet. Why it matters: While there hasn't been a whole lot of groundbreaking 5G news on the consumer front for some time, it's clear there's a whole lot of work and innovation happening in another part of the 5G ecosystem: infrastructure. There's growing activity from traditional "compute" industry vendors eager to make an impact on the telco world. Everyone from chip companies like AMD, to server hardware manufacturers such as Dell, to software houses like Red Hat are doubling down on their efforts to help disrupt the market. Most of these developments aren't exactly new, but in the lead-up to this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, it's clear that there's more momentum here than the industry has seen in some time. All the companies we just mentioned have already announced their telecom infrastructure news before the show. Meanwhile, a much larger group of traditional tech industry companies are expected to unveil their news at the show. The telco industry is in the midst of a game-changing transition to a virtualized, software-defined, open standards world when it comes to network infrastructure. The reasons for this seeming explosion of 5G infrastructure news are many. Key among them is that the telco industry is in the midst of a game-changing transition to a virtualized, software-defined, open standards world when it comes to network infrastructure. After decades of being dominated by a few specialized hardware vendors (notably Ericsson, Nokia and, more recently, Samsung Networks) that's quite a shock to the system. As others have pointed out, it's akin to the large and challenging transition that many businesses faced when they first started virtualizing their server workloads and then moving some of them to the cloud many years ago. Not only did that require new ways of thinking, but there's also new types of software and software development models, a shift in operations from a hardware-centric world to a software-defined one. Plus, there are significantly higher expectations for reliability in the telco world because, while having any major cloud computing service go down is bad, having an entire mobile network go down is way, way worse. These higher reliability demands are also part of the reason why it's taken the telco industry so long to start making these types of moves. Well, that, and the fact that carriers tend to have a much more conservative, utility-like mindset when it comes to integrating advanced technologies. To put it simply, installing, configuring, running, and automating all the elements necessary to power today's cellular networks is, it turns out, hard, complex work. The task is particularly daunting for 5G networks because of all the inherent changes needed to modernize, virtualize and "cloudify" the various parts of a typical network, from the RAN (radio access network) to the network core in the 5G world. The complexity of the work also explains why so many companies see opportunities. There's a great deal of tasks to be done, software to be deployed, hardware to be managed, data to be accelerated, and processes to be automated in a geographically dispersed networks often consisting of hundreds of thousands of sites. After multiple years of delays, there seems to be a burst of energy now focused on these many challenges. Not only are we seeing an increase in the variety and sophistication of the product offerings, there's a tremendous amount of news related to partnerships, joint development efforts and other collaborative work. All of this reflects that building and modernizing 5G networks is incredibly difficult and beyond the scope of any single organization. It also highlights that even with standards like Open RAN (ORAN), it's challenging to get all the necessary pieces to work together at all, let alone in an intuitive manner that's easy to replicate across thousands of sites. Of course, there's also the practical reality that these types of transitions take many years to occur and many enhancements, alterations and tweaks to offerings are going to be required along the way. Finally, you can't ignore that not everyone is completely bought into the ORAN vision as it stands, so there can be philosophical barriers to overcome as well. Mix all this together and you can start to see what a challenging task the modernization of 5G network infrastructure really is. But as the virtualization and "cloudification" of the enterprise computing world has clearly shown us, it is possible to get there and, already, important steps are being made. Getting back to the early news vendors, AMD announced the establishment of a Telco Solutions Testing Lab that's being used to test and verify a variety of telco-focused software across not only its CPUs and GPUs, but the Adaptive SoCs, SmartNICs, FPGAs, DPUs and radios it obtained as part of its purchases of Xilinx and Pensando Systems. Interestingly, it also announced a partnership with Nokia, reflecting that traditional network hardware vendors have all started adapting some of their solutions in software form to work on general purpose servers. They also debuted some new additions to its line of Zynq cellular radio platform chips. For its part, Dell introduced some new PowerEdge servers specifically designed for telco applications and announced a new partnership with Red Hat. The goal of that deal is to release preconfigured systems leveraging Red Hat OpenShift and Red Hat Advance Cluster Management for Kubernetes that let carriers who prefer the Red Hat platform (versus, say Wind River or other options) build cloud-native network functions that run seamlessly on the new hardware. In the process, telcos who use them can reduce their costs and increase the flexibility of their offerings. Interestingly, Dell announced an expanded version of the Open Telecom Ecosystem Lab it debuted last year to also help with the ongoing challenge of making all these pieces work together. Finally, Dell also unveiled a Private Wireless Program and a specific release with Airspan and Expeto to make it easier for enterprises to create their own private 4G and 5G networks. It's true that network infrastructure advancements are not as exciting as shiny new phones or groundbreaking 5G services, but they are still incredibly important. After all, it's that infrastructure which ensures that exciting new devices can function, and whizbang new services are able to operate. It seems clear that 2023 is going to be a year where more of the 5G industry's attention is going to be on the often "invisible" infrastructure than anything else. I'm willing to bet, however, that means we'll see some very visible and exciting new advances in 2024. Bob O'Donnell is the founder and chief analyst of TECHnalysis Research, LLC a technology consulting firm that provides strategic consulting and market research services to the technology industry and professional financial community. You can follow him on Twitter @bobodtech. With ChatGPT's popularity on the rise, and its striking work ethic at the forefront of the conversation, it's no wonder that a vast majority of concerns now lean toward job loss in the automation age. In his new book, Senator Bernie Sanders appears to address these growing fears by citing similar touchtones first conceived by none other than Microsoft's Bill Gates. Titled 'It's Okay To Be Angry About Capitalism,' Sanders' new work paints an image of "what would be possible if the political revolution took place." Representing Vermont since 2007 as a senior senator under the US, Sanders' vehement anti-capitalism ideals need no introduction. The book takes aim at major billionaires and seeks to show how those amog the 1 percent thrive in the face of a rigged economic system that keeps everyone else at bay. Of major note is Sanders' discussions on technology and the way in which regulation should be adapted into the modern age. His arguments, however, hinder not only on the increased utilization of robots but also on their outward viability over humans. Sanders himself explains: "If workers are going to be replaced by robots, as will be the case in many industries, we're going to need to adapt tax and regulatory policies," adding that they are implemented "to assure that the change does not simply become an excuse for race-to-the-bottom profittering by multinational corporations." Related Article: Did Elon Musk Answer the Climate Crisis with Tesla Clean Energy? Senator Bernie Sanders Asks Sanders also goes on to highlight remarks first brought to fruition by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, who argued that robots should be required to pay taxes if they steal your job away. Gates' comments date back to 2017, when he sat down with Quartz to discuss the nature of automation and how governments oversee such advancements. In the interview, the executive parallels the average human worker's salary and taxation with that of a robot coming in to do the job in their place, saying that "you'd think that we'd tax the robot at a similar level." Sanders seemingly approves with these sentiments, as he explains, like Gates, that such a robot-tax could be put to good use. Sanders specifically notes funnelling such funds into jobs necessitating "human empathy and understanding," like child and elder care, education, and human resources, to name a few. It's not always the case for the senator to take sides with Gates, after all the latter is a multi-billionaire. Sanders came under fire in 2019 after taking aim at Gates over taxation, despite the executive's well-documented history of philanthropy, including over $36 billion alone spent on malaria, polio, and HIV impact across the globe, as well as tens of billions in tax. The irony doesn't fall on deaf ears either, as Sanders' more recent promotional event for his book drew ire for its highly priced seats. And while such concepts as ChatGPT and Google's own iteration prove to entice the masses with interesting extracurricular activities, the likelihood for their total domination of the human work force is slim - for now, at least. Even robot taxation could have its flaws, in the end, serving repucarions not only on select businesses, but also the overall economy, given how widely tech-influenced it has become. To better understand this very concept, MIT published an in-depth look into the viability of a robot-tax at the tail end of 2022. The report not only noted Gates' initial concepts, but also highlights the EU's dropped legislative efforts on the matter and South Korea's payment reductions on companies leveraging robots. Arnaud Costinot, the paper's co-author and an MIT economist, explains "that taxes on either robots or imported goods should be pretty small," pointing out that a 1 to 3.7 percent tax on robots would be more than sufficient. The automation age will no sooner be upon us, but it shouldn't bring too much of a fright just yet. Images not only of a dwindling workforce but of a Skynet-ruled globe may well be at an all-time high, but there's still a very long road ahead before robots begin to really take hold over the human workforce. Read Also: Bill Gates Uses Samsung Galaxy Foldable Phone! Why Not Microsoft's Surface Duo? 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Microsoft Bing powered by ChatGPT is now available on the Android OS, for different devices like smartphones and tablets experience the beta testing phase of the system. For now, users would have to sign-up for Microsoft's beta to receive the ChatGPT-enhanced version of Bing in order to get its AI power and features in search. There is currently limited acceptance to the beta phase of Bing, and it is stumbling upon a catch for Android users on their experience with the AI features of the search engine. Microsoft Bing with ChatGPT Beta Now Available on Android (Photo : JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images) Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Modern Life, Search, and Devices, speaks during a keynote address announcing ChatGPT integration for Bing at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, on February 7, 2023. Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President & Consumer Chief Marketing Officer, announced via a news release that Microsoft Bing with ChatGPT is already available for Android users to experience. The only thing people need to do now is to apply for the Beta testing phase to get the famed ChatGPT integration on their search engine. Users need to sign-up for the coveted waitlist that will give them an update via their Microsoft account e-mail addresses to get this feature. The Bing Android app is already available on the Google Play Store, but it does not yet automatically come with the ChatGPT integration, only for those eligible to try out this feature. Read Also: Microsoft Bing AI Chatbot Now Limited to Five Replies Per Session: Here's Why What is the Catch with Microsoft Bing on Android? There are several catches to Microsoft Bing with ChatGPT on Android, a.k.a. the "new" Bing, as it centers mostly on empowering Microsoft apps like Bing, Edge, and Skype for its use. Additionally, it features voice support on the app which the AI would help on fulfilling, but it still competes with the default Google Assistant on mobile platforms. Microsoft Bing with ChatGPT It was a ruckus earlier this month, as two Big Tech companies revealed their latest update on their famed search engines, with Google and Microsoft hashing it out with their AI developments. Google was first to unveil the Bard, but several hours later, Microsoft announced the event which took place days later, and revealed the Bing with ChatGPT by early February. Bing's features include many things, and it comes with the typical search engine assistance that OpenAI's system helps in delivering to the world. Moreover, it first came with the chatbot features where the public may converse with Bing in a conversational tone to ask it different questions which the AI will answer. All of these were released for the desktops first, but the company promised mobile integration is coming. The recent announcement of Microsoft ensures Android users that its most advanced search engine is already available for their use, but it would have to go under beta testing for now. Additionally, it is still limited to Microsoft apps in this release, and there is still an obstacle with the Google Assistant voice support, considering that it is on Android. Related Article: Microsoft Bing AI Chatbot is Restoring Longer Chats 'Responsibly' 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The famous James Webb Space Telescope gave the world significant discoveries in the past, but it stumbled upon a finding in the galaxy that took it back eons ago, as it saw ancient galaxies in its deep space imagery. In particular, James Webb found half a dozen of old galaxies, close to the Big Bang's age, through a recent study that used its findings. Webb may not be aware that it discovered ancient galaxies in its probe of the universe, but the powerful telescope from NASA brought significant information that could rewrite history as we know it. NASA James Webb Spots Ancient Galaxies as Old as Big Bang (Photo : NASA, ESA, CSA, I. Labbe (Swinburne University of Technology). Image processing: G. Brammer (Niels Bohr Institutes Cosmic Dawn Center at the University of Copenhagen)) According to a press release by Penn State researchers (via EurekAlert), a discovery by James Webb helped the team learn more about the ancient galaxies it spotted by the space telescope. These galaxies are ancient ones, and they existed as old as the Big Bang, which to the world's understanding, should not be present as the universe only started forming. "We expected only to find tiny, young, baby galaxies at this point in time, but we've discovered galaxies as mature as our own in what was previously understood to be the dawn of the universe," according to Joel Leja, assistant professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State. It brings a massive question to what people knew all along, centering on the universe's creation, with the Big Bang being the reset to everything in the cosmos. Read Also: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Eyes a Cannibal Galaxy Resembling the Milky Way Researchers use JWST Data to Determine the Galaxies The team published their findings in Nature's journal, with information about the six galaxies they discovered which are already formed galaxies billions of years ago. The James Webb only shows that galaxies may form faster and mature earlier than what the public and experts know of, especially with this discovery of ancient galaxies already present as early as the Big Bang. James Webb Space Telescope's Contributions NASA's famous James Webb Space Telescope is not new to discovering many cosmic phenomena in the universe, especially with its powerful setup that expands more of the deep space imagery tech the planet uses. It is no stranger to spotting galaxies, asteroids, and other heavenly bodies, with a recent discovery of a crowded field of galaxies with great detail. The JWST proved its capabilities to spot galaxies in their early stages or ancient states, as present in the universe that we know of, giving more information as to what is around the Earth. There are other Milky Way galaxies-like formations in the cosmos, particularly those which existed in the past, which the space telescope managed to unveil. James Webb's capabilities do not go unnoticed, as researchers and astronomers join hands in their study, to learn more of what exists in the nether regions of space, but also those existing throughout time. The recent discovery of these eons-age galaxies brings a significant change to the world's knowledge of the universe, especially amidst the Big Bang era. Related Article: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Sees Clouds of Star Formation in Nearby Galaxies 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Samsung Bixby is featuring a new capability on one's smartphone that would allow users to answer calls and talk to colleagues, friends, or family without having to speak. This is with the latest rollout of the One UI 5 which also brings improvements to the Bixby AI assistant on Samsung smartphones, called the "Text Call" feature. It is similar to what Pixel offers, one which centers on the "Type to Talk" feature that allows a system-generated voice to speak on one's behalf. Samsung Bixby: Text Call Feature is Available in One UI 5 (Photo : Samsung Newsroom ) The famous South Korean tech manufacturer detailed in their latest press release that there are significant enhancements to Bixby in this latest release of the One UI 5 interface. One of its top highlights for Bixby is the "Text Call" feature that allows users to record their voice via the AI system and use it as the one that responds whenever there is a call in progress. Users may set this up when already updated to the latest UI and OS, where they need to record their voice for the AI to take note of, and use for future references. Samsung owners may opt to use this feature if they do not feel like speaking, where their voice would still be used to speak, but typing in the message they wish to relay to the other party. The company first revealed this at last year's unveiling of the One UI 5. Read Also: Samsung Bixby Voice Assist Update Gives New Child-Friendly Feature: Music, Games, Stories, and Ask Questions There's a Catch with Bixby's Text Call Feature There is a catch on Bixby's Text Call feature, and it centers on the limited availability of this AI answering machine which is only accepting the Korean language at the present. Samsung said that this voice generator would also be available for other apps and experiences, not only via the call feature. Integration for other languages would arrive soon for all, under the One UI 5. Samsung's Bixby AI Assistant Samsung went on to create a voice assistant for its smartphones, foregoing that of Google's "Google Assistant" s present on Android-powered devices. Initially, Samsung created two AI assistants to give the world assistance, centering on Bixby as the male version, and Kestra as the female version which debuted in 2016. Ultimately, Samsung stuck with Bixby for all the voice assistant features it brings for its users, a direct competitor to Apple's Siri which was one of the most famous during this time. However, in current standings among voice assistants as per MKBHD's test, Google Assistant is one of the most advanced and responsive, with Alexa being the worst, and Siri and Bixby venturing in the middle. Bixby is what Samsung users have for a voice assistant and there is no changing that for the default features of the device, but they may still access the likes of Google Assistant and Alexa on their devices. However, Samsung puts Bixby in the spotlight of One UI 5, featuring a presently-limited Text Call feature to speak on one's behalf. Related Article: Samsung One UI 5: Bixby to Debut Text Call Feature-Like Google's 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. During an event in California, Mercedes Benz detailed the company's plans to develop its own operating system called MB.OS. This system is expected to power its next generation of electric vehicles and will deliver improvements in safety, automated driving, and navigation. (Photo : MATTHIAS SCHRADER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Mercedes' team member walks in front of the Mercedes logo on the team's headquarters in the paddock ahead of the second practice session at the Nuerburgring circuit in Nuerburg, western Germany, on October 9, 2020, ahead of the German Formula One Eifel Grand Prix. Mercedes-Benz's MB.OS A new in-house operating system for Mercedes-Benz is currently in the works to power its upcoming lineup of electric vehicles. Business Wire reported that the automaker will introduce MB.OS with the new Mercedes Modular Architecture platform. This system is designed to maintain full control over the customer relationship, ensure data privacy, and support the unique integration of all car functions into one system. MB.OS presents several benefits from full access to all vehicle domains, like infotainment, automated driving, body & comfort, and driving & charging. "Accordingly, we made the decision to be the architects of our own operating system - a unique chip-to-cloud architecture that leverages its full access to our vehicles' hardware- and software components," Chief Executive Officer Ola Kallenius stated. He added that the company is aiming to create an outstanding customer experience, full upgradeability, and constant improvements through in-house expertise and a selection of world-class partners. Partnerships Engadget reported that Mercedes is working with several companies to build its new software stack, which includes NVIDIA, Luminar, and Google. NVIDIA will focus on the company's software, data, and AI expertise. The GPU maker will also incorporate its Orin chipset to power the company's first generation of electric vehicles. This will enhance the benchmark SAE Level 2 and Level 3 automated driving systems. Luminar will provide the company with its Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology for the vehicles to be equipped with next-generation sensors. While all of the MMA EVs will ship the hardware needed for Level 2 Automated Driving, both NVIDIA and Luminar are working with Mercedes to offer the Drive Pilot, which is a Level 3 Automated Driving System. Google will assist to build a branded navigation experience with the existing features from Google Maps. Mercedes aims to bring the "Place Details" data to all of their offerings in order for their users to utilize the latest version of the MBUX infotainment system. Aside from the mentioned companies, Mercedes is also looking forward to future partnerships with MB.OS, including TikTok, Zoom, and developer Rovio. Also Read: Mercedes-Benz Plans to Install its EV Fast Chargers in the US - In Partnership with ChargePoint? MB.OS is expected to arrive later this year in the upcoming Mercedes-Benz 2024 EQS and S-Class models. Drive reported that the software will enable the company to deliver instant updates, where new features will be added to existing cars in a much more convenient way. "The company is confident that this strategic approach to software and hardware development will be the basis for lifetime revenues as well as additional contributions," Mercedes noted. Related Article: Mercedes-Benz Gets First Level 3 Autonomy in the US-Not Tesla's FSD? 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Fake ChatGPT apps are now sprouting like mushrooms online after the sudden popularity of the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot. As the AI chatbot has impressively taken the world by storm, hackers are now mimicking ChatGPT to create malicious apps that spread malware not only to Android phone users but to Windows PC and laptops as well. These fake apps look a lot like the ChatGPT chatbot of Open AI. But this malicious software primarily distributes malware after phishing its victims. (Photo : NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images) Illustration picture shows the ChatGPT artificial intelligence software, which generates human-like conversation, Friday 03 February 2023 in Lierde. Fake ChatGPT Apps Spread Malware As per a recent report by Bleeping Computer, ChatGPT first saw the light of day last November. But since then, it has instantly grown in popularity with a staggering 100 million users as of January 2023. In fact, the AI chatbot has stormed the headlines since the start of the year. On top of that, the struggling search engine of Microsoft, Bing, gained popularity after gaining a new chatbot feature shortly after ChatGPT took off. With that, Google is also working to bring AI chatbot to its search engine, introducing the Bing AI rival, Bard. Given this unprecedented popularity of OpenAI, hackers are now riding on its massive fame. Bleeping Computer notes in its report that threat actors are capitalizing on the limitations of the free version of ChatGPT. Read Also: ChatGPT Passes Entry Test for $180K/Yr Position as a Google L3 Engineer Hackers Mimic ChatGPT OpenAI recently introduced a paid tier of ChatGPT, which starts at $20 a month. It ditches some restrictions of the AI chatbot that free users have to settle with. And as such, hackers are now offering free access to the premium ChatGPT tier. It should remove all the limitations that the non-paid version has, luring some frustrated free users. (Photo : NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty Images) Illustration picture shows the ChatGPT artificial intelligence software, which generates human-like conversation, Friday 03 February 2023 in Lierde. These Fake ChatGPT apps mimic how the real AI chatbot looks like, pretending to offer free access to its paid version. Bleeping Computer notes that security researcher Domimc Alvieri alerted that a fake ChatGPT app, which is one of the platforms that hackers use, spreads a Redline malware that steals the info of its victims. Dark Reading reports that the malicious app pretends to be a Windows desktop client of ChatGPT. So instead of accessing the chatbot using a browser. This vows to work like a full-blown app for PC users. However, it is worth noting that ChatGPT has no official Windows desktop client. Apart from the fake Windows app, Alvieri also noted another malicious ChatGPT app, which made its way to the Google Play Store for Android devices. It distributes malware that steals the clipboard contents of its victims. Related Article: ChatGPT as Microsoft Bing Feature? Here's What Will Happen If the AI is Integrated The Chinese short video-sharing app TikTok has been ordered removed from corporate phones by the European Commission, which continues to place a strong emphasis on cybersecurity, Reuters reports. Thierry Breton, the EU's industry chief, stated at a news conference on Thursday, Feb. 23, that the high official made this decision after concerns were raised regarding the app's potential security risks. Governments Worldwide Banning TikTok This action follows the passage of legislation prohibiting the use of TikTok on government equipment by the US Senate in December 2022. In addition, some state legislators have restricted the platform's use on state-owned devices, and senators and representatives have introduced legislation prohibiting TikTok usage across the US. Some lawmakers have even proposed a nationwide ban on the Chinese video-sharing app. As first reported by Euractiv, the European Commission's decision to ban the app from corporate phones was prompted by security concerns raised by EU authorities regarding TikTok. Breton declined to provide additional information regarding any security incidents related to the app. As TikTok Went Global, so did Privacy Concerns With over 1 billion active users worldwide, TikTok has become an extremely popular platform. The app enables users to create and share short-form videos using various soundtracks, filters, and special effects. Over sixty percent of its user base is under 30, making it particularly popular with younger generations. According to data compiled by Statista, approximately seven in ten respondents aged 18 to 19 used TikTok, while usage among respondents aged 20 to 29 was around 56%. Read Also: UK Says TikTok Fail to Protect Children's Data Privacy; Information of 13-Year-Old Users Allegedly Processed TikTok Privacy Concerns Probed in the UK In September 2022, UK privacy regulators accused TikTok of failing to safeguard children's data privacy. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) revealed that the social media platform violated the nation's data protection law. According to the UK's data watchdog's investigation, TikTok processes sensitive information of users under 13. Authorities from the ICO added that the social media giant did so without parental consent from users' parents or legal guardians. In addition, the ICO stated that TikTok failed to provide its young users with the required information in a clear and concise manner. According to an investigation by software expert Felix Krause, TikTok can monitor every tap made on its iOS app while the user is browsing. This includes sensitive information such as passwords and links visited. India, US TikTok Ban The app has also been criticized for its data privacy practices and security vulnerabilities in other countries. In 2020, India banned TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps due to national security concerns. The Indian government accused these apps of pilfering and transmitting user information to foreign servers. Similarly, the United States has expressed concern over the app's potential to collect and share user data with the Chinese government. The US Department of Commerce attempted to ban TikTok in 2020, citing threats to national security, but federal courts halted the ban. TikTok has repeatedly refuted allegations of security risks and taken steps to address concerns regarding user data privacy. Stay posted here at Tech Times. Related Article: Employees from TikTok Owner ByteDance Gained Access to User Data of Journalists - Internal Report Says 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Colstrip Power Plant operator Talen Energy is dispelling any notion that toxic coal ash from the generator can be put to good use practically. In a report posted by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Talen lays out several challenges for repurposing coal ash at the southeast Montana power plant, where there are 8 million tons of toxic ash churned out by the generators two oldest units over more than 40 years. The report comes as the Montana Legislature approaches the deadline for introducing general bills. Republican legislators and a member of the utility regulating Montana Public Service Commission had earlier demanded the ash be repurposed. In the end, Talen concluded that repurposing the ash didnt make financial sense, but not for a lack of trying. Talen remains open to and interested in exploring beneficial use options, however, despite significant efforts to explore options, and engage with a reputable, experienced industry partner, efforts have not yet identified an opportunity for beneficial use at Colstrip that can be viable at this time, Talen concluded. While future advancements may lead to a viable option, given the extensive work that needs to be completed to execute closure plans at Colstrip, the window of time for identifying a viable method continues to shrink. Theres been no shortage of interest in repurposing coal ash from the wet storage ponds for Colstrip Units 1 and 2, shuttered three years ago after being deemed uneconomical by owners Talen and Puget Sound Energy. Talen lists no fewer than 16 parties that have studied Colstrip ash for science or potential profit. The coal ash ponds at Colstrip are on the EPA list of 160 contaminated ponds for which it wants to see closure plans. The pond complex for all four power plant units spans 800 acres and includes nine waste ponds. Leakage at the complex is estimated to be roughly 200 million gallons of contaminated water a year. A days leakage is roughly the equivalent of an Olympic swimming pool contaminated with boron, sulfates, selenium and heavy metals chemicals that can cause kidney, brain and testicle damage. The Unit 1 and 2 ponds arent lined with any material intended to prevent ground water contamination. DEQ has decided the best way to clean up the ponds is to completely remove the ash and put it in dry storage, as a way to separate the ash from groundwater. The cleanup cost is expected to be somewhere between $200 million and $700 million. The coal ash contractor that receives the most political attention in RamRock, whose CEO David White first emerged in 2020 with Public Service Commissioner Tony ODonnell and then-state Rep. Rodney Garcia. The two politicians asked the public to get behind Whites plant to blend Colstrip ash into concrete for construction. The ash presented a 40-year supply. Talen concludes that the Colstrip ash doesnt have the chemical characteristics for cement, but its still looking at techniques. Late last year, RamRock supporters including state legislators and Public Service Commissioner Randy Pinocci confronted DEQ about not doing more to make coal ash a construction material. What we did about three months ago, and when I say we, I mean Derek Skees, Daniel Zolnikov and myself. Were at the Republican Party platform convention discussing if we could make money getting rid of coal ash instead of burying it in Montana, Pinocci told DEQ officials. How could we make this a goal within the Republican Party? So we actually changed the language in the Republican Party platform to reflect getting coal ash put into fly ash, shipping it out in concrete under economic development. Skees is a former Republican representative for Kalispell. Zolnikov is a state senator from Billings Heights. There is no mention of coal ash in the Montana GOP platform published online, but Pinoccis suggestion that Legislators were interested was bolstered by lawmakers like Jerry Schillinger, a Circle Republican, who also pressed DEQ on why more wasnt being done to help RamRock. Former Rep. Ed Hill, a Havre Republican, read a letter of support into the record from Republican Ed Butcher, who represents Lewistown. The EPA through research of using coal ash in wallboard and cement has concluded that ash encapsulated in those products offers some potential to power plant owners. However the dust created by these products poses a risk to construction workers, according to Physicians for Responsibility. Back in November 2022, Samsung hinted that satellite communication support won't be arriving for the upcoming Galaxy S23 lineup. Last month, several reports claimed that the South Korean tech titan confirmed that the same feature which is currently existing on iPhone 14, won't be happening anytime soon. Just recently, the company has revealed its plans to bring a special communication feature between the handsets and the satellites. By bringing a 5G modem, smartphone-to-satellite communication will be possible. This way, a cellular network won't be needed anymore for the Galaxy S23 users to send text messages or browse the internet via mobile data. Samsung to Introduce Smartphone-to-Satellite Communications to Galaxy S23 According to a report by Engadget on Thursday, Feb. 23, the electronics giant wants to establish this 5G support for those users who are stuck in the most hard-to-reach areas. As such, if you're struggling to pick up a signal from a desert or a mountain, you can soon access the smartphone-to-satellite communication to contact the authorities about your whereabouts. The 5G NTN is made possible with the help of Exynos chips which are all Samsung-owned. The feature also passed to the standards of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP Release 17). This means that it can be integrated even with traditional telecom providers. "Samsung aims to take the lead in advancing hybrid terrestrial-NTN communications ecosystems around the world in preparation for the arrival of 6G," Samsung Electronics' Executive VP of Communication Processor Development Min Goo Kim said. Related Article: Huawei Mate X3 Satellite Connectivity Technology Launched Before Apple's iPhone 14 Tech Smartphone-based Satellite Support Simulates Exynos Modem Aside from allowing users to send text messages and call their loved ones on the line, the technology is also capable of transmitting "high-definition" clips and videos, Samsung says. Since it's designed to simulate what the Exynos Moden 5300 is using, it can "accurately predict satellite locations and minimize frequency offsets caused by Doppler shift." For those unfamiliar with the Doppler shift or Doppler effect, it's an apparent change in the wave frequency in relation to the observer who is making movements to the wave source. Two-way satellite communication is also used by Qualcomm's Snapdragon Satellite. The feature is used for smartphone models with this kind of processor such as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. In September 2022, Huawei became a trendsetter in the smartphone sector when it launched satellite texting capabilities for its next-gen smartphones. The satellite communications feature first came to Huawei Mate 50, according to Tech Times. In the same month last year, Apple was reportedly testing the SOS satellite emergency text feature. The said technology arrived in the newest iPhone model which is iPhone 14. The feature works the same as Samsung's smartphone-based satellite feature. It will still function if the user has no cellular signal. Read Also: Taiwan Mobile Selects Nokia to Provide Support for 5G Technology 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Chinese scientists have developed AlphaWar, an artificial intelligence (AI) machine that acts precisely like humans when engaging in military simulations or so-called war games, the South China Morning Post reports. Even though some military strategists with extensive experience played either with or against the AI for many rounds, they could not recognize it as a machine. The team claimed in a paper printed on February 17 in the Chinese-language journal Acta Automatica Sinica that AlphaWar had passed the Turing test. The machine was named after Google DeepMind's AI AlphaGo, which became the first to outperform top human players in Go, a Chinese board game. Chinese War Games AI Passes Turing Test Alan Turing proposed the Turing Test in 1950 to determine whether a computer can display intelligent behavior equivalent to or indistinguishable from a human's. The Turing Test is a method for determining whether a computer program can convince a human that they are interacting with another human instead of a machine. It is a game in which one tries to determine whether they are conversing with a computer or a real person based on their responses to questions and comments. The test is used to determine how advanced artificial intelligence has become and whether or not it can replicate human-like behavior and intelligence. In the case of AlphaGo, it was able to avoid detection in war games by experts. What's Next for Chinese-Backed AlphaWar? AlphaWar was developed by a team led by Professor Huang Kaiqi at the Beijing Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It was in 2020 when the AI machine passed the test, Huang and his co-authors stated in their paper without providing specifics. It is uncertain why the news took over two years to become public. The Huang team was unreachable for comment, SCMP reports. Governments, Companies Joining the AI Race Governments have made substantial investments in developing computer-assisted war game technology to enhance speed and precision. In 2007, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched the Deep Green program to develop artificial intelligence for war games. After Deep Green was discontinued in 2020, DARPA launched a new initiative, Game Breaker, to continue its efforts. Experts See Potential on AlphaWar According to Huang's team, simulating a real-world battle has been difficult for even the most powerful computers. In recent years, AI technology has advanced rapidly and beaten human players in complex computer games such as Starcraft, which is significantly more complex than Go. But some of the most critical components of the military war game are humans, who can make random errors or accomplish unexpected feats in a highly unstable situation with limited knowledge of the opponents. This uncertainty could alter the course of a battle, and according to Huang's team, it is extremely difficult for AI to learn and imitate it. They added that a war game is not a game because the outcomes can affect the lives and deaths of many people. Read Also: AI Loses to Amateur Go Player, Thanks to Artificial Intelligence's Flaw-Here's What Happened According to the research paper, AlphaWar could develop superior strategies than humans. The machine improves its performance by acquiring knowledge from military strategists or by competing with itself. However, it still needs to improve and catch up to the best human strategists in several areas, including unit coordination and weapon use. Huang's team notes that some new tools, such as large language models similar to ChatGPT, may be used to improve the performance of AlphaWar and other AI war games. Stay posted here at Tech Times. Related Article: China's Baidu Beats Q4 Revenue Estimates With Strong AI, Cloud & Advertising Portfolio 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. According to a recent study by a group of psychologists and data scientists, infants are better than artificial intelligence at determining what drives other people's behavior. The findings emphasize key distinctions between cognition and computation and identify areas in which current technology is lacking, as reported first by SciTechDaily. "The novel idea of putting infants and AI head-to-head on the same tasks is allowing researchers to better describe infants' intuitive knowledge about other people and suggest ways of integrating that knowledge into AI," Moira Dillon, an assistant professor at New York University's Department of Psychology, said in a statement. Baby Intuitions Benchmark The researchers ran a series of experiments with 11-month-old babies and compared the results to those produced by cutting-edge learning-driven neural network models to gain a fundamental grasp of the differences between human and AI capacities. They used the previously developed "Baby Intuitions Benchmark" (BIB), a set of six activities that examine common sense psychology. BIB was created to evaluate both infant and machine intelligence and emphasize their differences. On Zoom, the babies saw a sequence of videos that included simple animated shapes moving around the screen, much like in a video game. The retrieving of items from the screen and other movements of the forms mimicked human behavior and decision-making. The researchers also created and trained learning-driven neural network models that aid computers in pattern recognition, replicate human intelligence, and evaluated the models' reactions to the same videos. Their findings show that infants can discern human-like intentions even in the simplified movements of animated forms. Babies infer that these behaviors are motivated by subtle but enduring goals, such as the efficient movement of the same shape in different environments and the retrieval of the same object from any point on the screen. Read also: AI Loses to Amateur Go Player, Thanks to Artificial Intelligence's Flaw-Here's What Happened Surprise Paradigm By observing how long infants stare at events that contradict their predictions, it is possible to make inferences about the nature of their knowledge and the babies in the study were able to demonstrate such predictions. The researchers applied this "surprise paradigm" on machine intelligence to quantify surprise measurement from an algorithm and the babies. The models did not show any indication of understanding the motivations behind such actions, suggesting that they lack the principles of commonsense psychology that infants have shown. "A human infant's foundational knowledge is limited, abstract, and reflects our evolutionary inheritance, yet it can accommodate any context or culture in which that infant might live and learn," Dillon said, quoted by SciTechDaily. The findings of the study were published in ScienceDirect. Related Article: Avatar's Motion AI Tech Helps Researchers Detect Rare FA and DMD Disorders Six Months Ahead of Doctors 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google introduced privacy "nutrition labels" for apps on the Play Store last year, offering greater transparency to its Android marketplace. To help users understand what data is obtained by an app, these labels enable developers to clarify and list the various types of information that are gathered, per TechCrunch's report. Nevertheless, a recent analysis by Mozilla says that top applications' Play Store disclosure labels do not really line up with all the data they gather on users. Misleading Safety Labels New research from Mozilla's "Privacy Not Included" series revealed on Thursday, Feb. 23, that popular apps like TikTok and Twitter disclose user data with advertisers, internet service providers (ISPs), and platforms despite saying they do not. These labels are declared by the apps' developers using a Google Data Safety Form. According to Mozilla's analysis, however, businesses are finding ways around self-disclosures, leading to misunderstandings about the meaning of data labels. Mozilla said app developers do not have to disclose sharing data with "service providers," a term with a precise meaning under Google's terms and conditions. It also claimed that Google made developers responsible for making truthful claims. Apparently, at the time of the release, Google said it had carefully inspected these labels using systems and procedures that are continually improving. Jen Caltrider, Mozilla's Project Lead, expressed her concern about what they discovered. "When I see Data Safety labels stating that apps like Twitter or TikTok don't share data with third parties, it makes me angry because it is completely untrue. Of course, Twitter and TikTok share data with third parties. Consumers deserve better. Google must do better." Read Also: 'Angry Birds' Classic To Be Delisted from Google Play Store - How About Apple App Store? App Analysis Mozilla analyzed the most popular free and paid apps to compile this report. There was a spectrum of "poor," "needs improvement," and "OK" rankings. The research rated 16 of the 40 apps studied, including Twitter, Minecraft, and Facebook, as "poor." The "needs improvement" mark was given to 15 programs, some of the most popular being TikTok, YouTube, Google Maps, and Gmail. Meanwhile, certain programs skipped filling out the Google Data Safety Form, and these include UC Browser, League of Stickman Acti, and Terraria. If developers have not yet filled out the form, Google says they cannot release an update to their app. Google's Response In TechCrunch's report, Google disagreed with Mozilla's results and said the app safety ratings were arbitrary. "This report conflates company-wide privacy policies that are meant to cover a variety of products and services with individual Data safety labels, which inform users about the data that a specific app collects," the representative said. "The arbitrary grades Mozilla Foundation assigned to apps are not a helpful measure of the safety or accuracy of labels given the flawed methodology and lack of substantiating information." Read Also: Google's Estimated Photo Locations Alerts Android, iOS Users 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Shipbuilding company Austal USA recently delivered Expeditionary Fast Transport USNS Apalachicola (EPF 13) to the US Navy - the largest surface vessel in the fleet equipped with autonomous capabilities. The Austal USA team worked with L3Harris and General Dynamics Mission Systems to incorporate health monitoring, mission readiness, and automated maintenance, to the hull, mechanical, and electrical systems already present on the Austal Australia-designed Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport ships. This gave EPF 13 the ability to operate for up to 30 days without requiring human intervention. "Game Changer" According to Austal Limited CEO Paddy Gregg, the delivery of EPF13 is a "game changer" for the US Navy and the larger shipbuilding sector. It showed that it was possible to incorporate autonomous technology into hull designs and produce unmanned surface vessels. "EPF13 can operate for up to 30 days without human intervention, which opens up so many opportunities for unmanned missions in various operations, as an autonomous prototype," Gregg said in a press release statement. Austal USA's highly automated in-house designed machinery control system (MCS), which centralizes machinery operations to the bridge and enables the ship to be lightly staffed, was essential to the autonomy project. The company claims that the MCS design is scalable, distributive, safe, and adaptable for various propulsion configurations. It is also equipped in all Spearhead-class EPFs that have been built by the business so far. In 2022-2023, Austal USA and its business partners L3Harris and General Dynamics Mission Systems had the opportunity to test and analyze EPF 13's typical ship systems five times over a period of months. They also tested the systems from the autonomous design and construction contract modifications that the US Navy mandated to create EPF 13 as an autonomous prototype. Read Also: US Navy's E-2D Advanced Hawkeye Will Serve as a Game-Changing 'Digital Quarterback' Aircraft for Military Missions Autonomous Ship Capacity Austal USA President Rusty Murdaugh claims that the autonomous ship is "innovative and is going to be a critical asset as unmanned capabilities continue to push boundaries and redefine how missions are achieved." The Navy has received the first Expeditionary Fast Transport vessel, EPF 13, with improved capabilities to support V-22 aircraft operations as well as deploy and retrieve 11-meter RHIBs. Future Navy Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations around the world will be supported by these modifications, along with EPF's demonstrated high speed, mobility, and shallow water access. The US Navy has determined that autonomous vessel capacity is a strategic sector that needs to be prioritized. Austal USA is working to improve this field. Hence, it is collaborating with L3Harris on the MCS upgrade of the Overlord vessel, the development of Vanguard (OUSV 4), and Surveyor unmanned surface vehicles with Saildrone. Related Article: US Navy's Anti-Hypersonic Missile Energy Systems Now Being Developed; Efficient Against Chinese, Russian Rockets? 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Google will reportedly require its cloud workers and their partners to share desks and work alternating shifts at the beginning of the next fiscal quarter. The company will cite "real estate efficiency" as the reason for the change, CNBC reported. In an internal FAQ recently shared with cloud employees and viewed by CNBC, the company explained why the new desk-sharing concept is being implemented. Apparently, this will allow the tech giant to keep investing in Cloud development in its five largest US locations: Kirkland, Washington; New York City; San Francisco; Seattle; and Sunnyvale, California. More than a quarter of Google's full-time employees work in the cloud division, which is among the company's fastest-growing yet unprofitable business segments. The plan acknowledged that, as a consequence, certain structures would have to be abandoned. The New Desk-Sharing Setup In a recent internal memo, it is said that "most Googlers will now share a desk with one other Googler," with the restriction that workers should not occupy the same workspace on consecutive days. By working together throughout the matching process, they will agree on a basic desk layout and develop conventions with their desk mate and teams to guarantee a pleasant experience in the new shared space. In case an employee comes in on a day they are not scheduled to work, they are instructed to utilize the drop-in overflow spot. The new office layout has been dubbed "Cloud Office Evolution" (CLOE) by the upper management, who tout it as combining the best of pre-pandemic teamwork with the flexibility of hybrid employment. As stated in the report, the new office setup is not a test run. Google also considered information it collected internally on employees' commuting habits to and from the workplace. Notably, the corporation paused recruiting and cut 12,000 jobs in January due to lower-than-expected office return rates. Workers began posting memes on the company's internal messaging app, Memegen, mocking the decision to relocate desks and the "corpspeak" employed by upper management to promote the move as a cost-cutting initiative. See Also: Former Google Manager, Laid-off Colleagues Build New Company Portion of Cost-Cutting Efforts This change is part of Google's wider effort to reduce expenses by selling or leasing less physical space. Nevertheless, it has not yet been revealed which areas or buildings would be affected by the reduction in workforce. In its fourth-quarter results conference, Google officials cautioned of potential future real estate penalties. They said the company expects to incur expenses of around $500 million due to decreased worldwide office space in the current quarter. SFGate reported earlier this month that the corporation, whose headquarters are in the San Francisco Bay Area, would be terminating leases for a number of vacant premises in that city. See Also: Amazon Drops Work-from-Home Setup, Asks Staff To Come In 3 Times a Week 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Archaeologists found new evidence of trephination, a medical procedure that entails cutting a hole in the skull, as early as the late Bronze Age in the ancient city of Megiddo, Israel. Rachel Kalisher of Brown University's Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World led the excavations in the historic site and uncovered the remnants of two upper-class brothers who lived in Megiddo around the 15th century B.C. Cranial Surgery The team discovered that one of the brothers had undergone an angular notched trephination, a form of cranial surgery, not long before he passed away. The process entails cutting the scalp, carving four intersecting lines in the skull using a tool with a sharp beveled edge, and creating a square-shaped hole with leverage. Kalisher claims that the trephination is the earliest example of such procedure in the Ancient Near East. "We have evidence that trephination has been this universal, widespread type of surgery for thousands of years," Kalisher said in a press release statement. "But in the Near East, we don't see it so often-there are only about a dozen examples of trephination in this entire region. My hope is that adding more examples to the scholarly record will deepen our field's understanding of medical care and cultural dynamics in ancient cities in this area." Read Also: Archaeologists Uncover the Collapse of an Ancient Empire from 3,200-year-old Trees in Turkey Elite Meggido Brothers According to Israel Finkelstein, co-author of the study and director of the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures at the University of Haifa, Megiddo was situated over a significant land route known as the Via Maris that linked Egypt, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Anatolia 4,000 years ago. By the 19th century B.C., the city had developed into one of the richest in the region as it brimmed with temples, palaces, gates, fortifications, and many more. The two brothers' remains, according to Kalisher, came from a residential area next to the late Bronze Age palace at Megiddo, indicating that they were elite citizens and perhaps even royalty. The brothers received treatment that probably would not have been available to most residents of Megiddo, as seen by the trephination and the fact that they were buried with Cypriot pottery and other priceless items. However, Kalisher noted that there is still a lot that archaeologists must uncover over the last 200 years to know more about trephination. For instance, it is unclear why some trephinations are round, indicating the use of an analog drill, while others are square or triangular. Furthermore, it is unclear what ancient peoples were even trying to heal and how prevalent the treatment was in each region. Kalisher will conduct a follow-up investigation that will look at trephination in various locations and ages as part of an effort to learn more about historical medical practices. The findings of the team was published in PLOS ONE. Related Article: Archaeologists Discover Oldest Workshop in Ethiopia Dating Back to Over 1.2 Million Years Ago 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Tesla camera invasion allegations forced the giant EV maker to adjust its Sentry Mode. (Photo : Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) A sign is posted at a Tesla showroom on November 5, 2013 in Palo Alto, California. Tesla will report third quarter earnings today after the closing bell. Thanks to this, Elon Musk and his automotive company were able to avoid the Dutch Data Protection Authority's fine. Tesla's Sentry Mode was designed to capture the surroundings of the company's EVs. This allows Tesla drivers to ensure that no suspicious activity is taking place near their vehicles. However, DPA explained that the Sentry Mode poses privacy concerns since this its cameras automatically record anyone walking or standing near Tesla EVs. Tesla Conducts Sentry Mode Adjustments The Dutch data watchdog explained that videos and images captured by the Tesla Sentry Mode will stay in the EV maker's system for a long time. (Photo : Photo by ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images) Tesla CEO Elon Musk gestures as he arrives to visit the construction site of the future US electric car giant Tesla, on September 03, 2020 in Gruenheide near Berlin. - Tesla builds a compound at the site in Gruenheide in Brandenburg for its first European "Gigafactory" near Berlin. Also Read: Tesla Driver Dies in California Firetruck Crash Days After Tesla Recalled 362,000 EVs DPA said that this could threaten the privacy of pedestrians who don't want to be recorded. "Many Teslas parked on the street were often filming everyone who came near the vehicle, and these images were being saved for a very long time," explained Katja Mur, a DPA board member, via Gizmodo. The DPA official added that it would be a huge problem if all vehicles just capture videos and images of people. The Dutch Data Protection Authority said that people who own vehicles with this kind of feature could be charged for excessive filming. To solve the problem, Tesla decided to adjust its Sentry Mode technology. Tesla Adjusts Sentry Mode DPA confirmed that the giant automaker made adjustments to its Sentry Mode. Thanks to this, the Dutch watchdog didn't continue fining Tesla. One of the changes made by the EV maker is making car headlights flash when the Sentry Mode is activated. This will allow pedestrians to identify if a Tesla EV is recording its surroundings. The automaker also ensured that the Sentry Mode is not turned on by default. Instead, users will receive a prompt when parking their EVs. To ensure that EV owners will also be responsible, Tesla explained they need to comply with all local policies. "It is your sole responsibility to consult and comply with all local regulations and property restrictions regarding the use of cameras," said the EV maker via its official website. Other stories we wrote about Tesla: Recently, investigators found no sign of Tesla Autopilot usage in the fatal Texas crash in 2021. We also reported that Tesla price hikes in Australia happened again. For more news updates about Tesla and other EV makers, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Tesla Model 3 Prototype 'Highland' to Come With Refreshed Design & New Wheels 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Twitter is currently down! This latest outage is affecting hundreds of users in various areas. (Photo : Photo by SAMUEL CORUM/AFP via Getty Images) This illustration photo taken on August 5, 2022 shows a cellphone displaying a photo of Elon Musk placed on a computer monitor filled with Twitter logos in Washington, DC. As of writing, Elon Musk and his Twitter engineers are still fixing many in-app problems of the platform. They are also enhancing the algorithm and other features of Twitter. This is why outages are no longer surprising on Twitter. If you are among the affected Twitter users, here's what you need to know. Twitter Down According to Republic World's latest report, the Twitter outage began on Thursday, Feb. 23. (Photo : Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) In this photo illustration, the logo for the Twitter social media network is projected onto a man on August 09, 2017 in London, England. With around 328 million users worldwide, Twitter has gone from a small start-up in for the public 2006 to a broadcast tool of politicians and corporations in 2017. Also Read: Twitter is Going Open Source, with Devs to be Disappointed on Initial Release says Elon Musk Although this is not that serious compared to the recent Twitter outages, over 500 users are still affected. Down Detector confirmed that 54% of these Twitter users experience problems with their apps. Meanwhile, 33% are having issues when accessing the Twitter website. The remaining 14% are affected by server connection issues. Affected Twitter users are located in the United States; many of them are in New York, while some are in the Bahamas, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. What to Do During Twitter Outage The official Twitter Help Center provided some tips that users can follow if there's an outage. However, you need to remember that these troubleshooting tips are not 100% efficient, especially if the problems are on Twitter's side. But, there's no harm in trying these Twitter tips: Try using incognito or other private browser windows. Always check your internet connection. If ever you are using a VPN, try turning it off. Check if your browser is updated. If not, update the browser first then try accessing Twitter again. Try clearing your cache and cookies. There are some instances when removing these can fix your Twitter issues. Remove third-party access to your Twitter account. If you want to learn more about Twitter troubleshooting tips, you can click this link. Although the Twitter platform still has many problems, the social media's team is doing their best to improve user experiences. Recently, reports stated that the Twitter DM could have an upgrade. This detail was shared after Elon Musk agrees to a poll's result. We also reported that Twitter Blue's new feature will soon allow users to access 2FA via SMS. For more news updates about Twitter and other social media platforms, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Related Article: Twitter Down: Users Claim Outage is Related to Character Count, Over the Limit Despite Not Exceeding 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The business world is rapidly changing, as enterprises begin to align their priorities with the shifting demands of consumers and investors around the globe. One of the most prominent changes currently is the new emphasis on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. Socially conscious investors and stakeholders, including employees, board members, and customers, want to know a company's stance on socioeconomic factors and its sustainability efforts before investing. The shift in focus towards ESG issues is happening in every corner of the world, and is notably echoed by recent legislation. The US Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to finalize its first ruling on mandatory climate risk disclosures for public companies this year. The proposed rules call for increased transparency for investors, expanding the requirements for corporate disclosure of financial risk to include climate-related risks and their impact on companies business models and financial outlooks. On top of this, the European Union has already signed into law its own disclosure mandate: the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which requires an extensive set of disclosure standards in multiple environmental, social and governance domains. New regulations like these, as well as general consensus from the public, have enterprises increasingly looking for ways to improve their ESG standing. One method for enterprises to achieve currently gaining momentum is the creation of smart buildings using innovative devices and applications, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT). Smart buildings offer a business a wide array of ESG benefits, such as energy and water consumption optimization for environmental advantages. The same monitoring can also be applied to indoor air quality (IAQ), helping to create a safer, healthier environment for employees, benefitting a companys social standing. The global smart building market was valued at $80.62 billion by the end of 2022, but is expected to grow at a CAGR of 22.2 percent, with experts predicting a market value of $328.62 billion by 2029. However, these numbers may certainly increase, as enterprises quickly look to adopt technology that not only helps them transform their work environment into a smart building, but enhance their ESG standing overall. Recently, Veea Inc., a provider of integrated smart edge connectivity, communications and computing for edge and cloud, formally announced the availability of its new Environmental, Societal and Governance as a Service (ESGaaS) offering. The offering consists of an array of solutions, powered by the Veea Edge Platform, which integrates connectivity and edge computing solutions via an open, scalable, and secure platform at the device edge. The growing market for ESG solutions brings brand new opportunities for solution providers. Commercial real estate solutions providers and property managers today are utilizing technology to create smarter buildings, helping to achieve energy and cost efficiencies, real-time monitoring, and control, improved in-building experiences, in order to meet ESG requirements and building compliance. Until now, implementing such a system was complex and costly due to several challenges related to data gathering and processing, said Allen Salmasi, CEO, Veea. The Veea Edge Platform is designed to effectively address these challenges, aiding companies in gathering building data to drive informed operational decisions. By creating a unified, simplified and secure local network, and making it easy to onboard devices of all types is critical in enterprise and commercial real estate, with benefits that include creating excellent experiences, while lowering cost, and instantly improving ESG scores. The ESGaaS offering provides Veeas proprietary vBus technology, which enables integration with numerous IoT sensors and equipment, shortening development effort and deployment time. Supported protocols include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and LoRaWAN. Through collection of building management systems (BMS) sensor data at the edge using VeeaHubs, not only can the processing of data and decision making be expedited, but data security also improves significantly. A smart Building Management System can provide benefits including seamless integration with Building Management Systems (BMS), reduction of TCO, energy savings, and improved building and tenant and guest comfort and safety. On top of this, Veeas vTBA and SD-WAN solutions provide a secure, remotely monitored and controlled connection between the device edge and your cloud services. Along with tackling some of the most prominent smart building challenges, Veaas ESGaaS offering also provides a variety of advantages related to ESG standards across an array of business processes, including: Energy: efficiency and consumption Gases and air quality: pollutants and air particle levels Access and security: camera feeds, lock status, keypad inputs for improved building security and tenant safety Lighting: ambient light levels, light levels by room or perimeter Water: leak detection and remediation Connectivity: Operations, tenant, and guest connectivity Building communications: digital signage, notifications, and alarms Maintenance: reduced unscheduled downtime through predictive maintenance High-speed network access via Wi-Fi, 4G and 5G Sustainability Veeas partners have already taken this platform to the next level, integrating analytics, dashboards, and reporting to create market-leading solutions. These solutions enable direct, secure, and scalable control of building environments, reducing energy consumption and expense, reducing carbon footprint, supporting LEED certification, ensuring a healthy environment, and supporting tangible ESG programs. For example, the Niagara Framework is now available on the Veea Edge Platform. Tridiums Niagara open building management framework is one of the worlds most widely-used building management software, revolutionizing the way buildings are managed. With the Veea Edge Platform, users can leverage the Niagara Frameworks features in new ways to monitor and manage their buildings, ensuring their occupants safety, comfort, and convenience and introduce new wireless end-points utilizing the Veea Edge Platforms vMesh technology. The Veea team will be at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from February 27 March 2, available for briefings and interviews. Please contact Tom Williams to set up a meeting to learn more, and to schedule time with one of Veeas experts. Edited by Erik Linask Representatives of Montana conservation groups, outfitters and guides have joined in support of a bill to modify a once-controversial piece of legislation derisively nicknamed bulls for billionaires. The legislation addresses what has also been known as 454 agreements, named after the founding bill passed in 2001, or more formally as Elk Hunting Access Agreements. Weve spent a lot of time cussing and discussing the 454 program over the interim, said Ben Lamb, representing the Montana Citizens Elk Management Coalition. As many folks are aware, there was a lot of conflict around this in the awardance of some of these But I think this bill brings us a lot closer to where we can all agree this program is going to be used for wildlife management purposes. It can help open up large acreages which have traditionally been off-limits for whatever reason, and it gets to a point where we start connecting landowners and hunters together in a much better place. The agreements, between the Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks and landowners, provide the resident or nonresident landowner a free bull elk permit in exchange for allowing free access to three public hunters, one of which the landowner gets to pick. The other two public hunters are chosen by FWP through a random drawing. As revised, the program would now ensure that one of the two hunters chosen by FWP has a like license. So if the landowner is awarded a bull license or permit, one of the public hunters chosen would also have to have a bull license or permit. Landowners participating in the program must own a minimum of 640 acres, but the new bill would allow landowners with smaller plots to participate if the department determines they can accommodate successful public hunting. In addition, landowners who offer additional public cow elk hunting to reduce elk populations, above the three-to-one ratio would see their application for participation prioritized. The other really big piece for us is giving the (Fish and Wildlife) commission the ability to really negotiate a lot of these and not simply take them as they come, Lamb said. Part of the issue that we had was we were seeing some of these with really low rates of subscription. It was just a straight across three to one. And these are supposed to be used for management purposes, it very clearly states that in the origin language of this law. If were only taking three animals off of a ranch thats in a district that is 700% over objective, were not getting to those types of management goals that were looking for. The 454 program lacked participation by landowners until the 2021 Legislature changed the formula, without public input, dropping the number of public hunters a landowner was required to provide access from four to three. The license or permit awarded the landowners are also allowed to be transferred to immediate family or full-time employees. Last year, 37 landowners were awarded 47 free elk hunting tags only good on their property during the hunting season. In 2021, the 454 agreements provided 28 free tags to 13 landowners and free public access to a minimum of 84 public elk hunters on nearly 400,000 private land acres, FWP previously reported. Between legislative sessions, the Private Land/Public Wildlife Council debated changes to the legislation to make it more amenable. Ed Beall, chairman of the group, called the alterations a "basic tweak" to a program that has become more successful. "It's a great effort of people coming together to do a good job," he said. Rep. Ed Butcher, R-Winifred, asked Loge, If a landowner has a lot of elk, and theyre trying to manage these stupid things to get rid of them, and they actually have a program where theyre bringing people in to hunt in an organized manner so they dont just run them all through everybody elses fences, would they qualify? Loge explained landowners can allow additional cow hunting for public hunters but they cannot charge a fee. If a landowner wants to separate his or her property to allow public hunting in one area, where the landowner must also hunt, and charge for access on another parcel, that would be possible, Loge said. Katjana Stutzer, representing the Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, praised the bill as an effective tool for managing problematic concentrations of elk. The only concern her group expressed is that the program be specific to deeded leased lands and not leased public lands. Although the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association hadnt taken a position on the 454 agreements in the past, saying it was not in their wheelhouse, the groups executive director Mac Minard nonetheless spoke in favor of the legislation. He said the tweaks make the program even better. Lamb praised the group for joining in negotiations resulting in a package of bills, noting it had been about 18 years since they agreed on legislation. In that 18 years we have put on our armor, we have showed up in this building and we have done battle, Lamb said. Neither side has come out ahead, and the wildlife resource has certainly not come out ahead, and I think this is an attempt for us to bring some civility and some consensus back to wildlife management in Montana rather than continue a conflict model that really pits neighbor against neighbor. In closing, Loge said the program has opened up private land to hundreds of cow elk hunters. It can get a landowner seeing this is a good thing for their land, Loge said. It opens up great access and the opportunity for people to hunt. The Future of Online Casinos and the Technologies That Will Shape It "A deliberate and premeditated act": in Angers, an investigation opened after the ransacking of a church "Can cause very serious complications": doctors - about the increase in the incidence of measles in Russia 10 restaurants to eat (very good) for less than 40 euros in Madrid 11 exclusive menus to try in the most fashionable places in Madrid Bordeaux: a car ploughs into the crowd during a wild race, 7 injured, 2 of them serious "I worked with incredible overstrain": a historian on the importance of the railway for the victory of the USSR over the Wehrmacht The full moon of the recruit after "00": The newborn calf tries to be sharp and reborn like a soldier Bad Bunny silences criticism at Coachella: "Don't believe what you don't see that came out of my mouth" How much does a wedding cost today? Practical guide to calculate your budget (and eat partridges) A record for female directors, but the Cannes Film Festival can do better Visit Xinjiang Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Vegetable Basket Base: Vegetables can be on the table in the Bay Area in 48 hours - China News Network video People from all walks of life mourn the founding chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Teochew Associations Chan Wai Nam - China News Network video "Post-00s" hearing-impaired dancers train the "big stage": they will help more people realize their dreams with their own strength-China News Network video Chris Ramos, the prodigal son of Cadiz: "I know that my grandfather keeps alive the illusion of seeing me in Cadiz" The new season of the Chinese Super League opens with Beijing Guoan drawing 1-1 at home to Meizhou Hakka in the opening match Chinese women's football coach Shui Qingxia won the Golden Shuai Award: "There should be many changes in Chinese football" - China News Network video Chinese Football Re-startThe rejuvenation of the Chinese Super League is booming, looking forward to the bright future of Chinese football The signs of the punch were visible on him. The first appearance of the Bayern Munich player after the clash with Sadio Mane Asensio's 88 minutes in a Madrid that already looks to London: "Other teams only play from Saturday to Saturday ..." Shahid 10 years old and his name is Khalil. Chelsea junior skill catches the eye The youngest is only 25 years old There are already 55 "post-90s" chairmen in A-shares According to an INSEE study, the social mobility of the poorest has not changed in 16 years National Bureau of Statistics: The sales prices of commercial residential buildings in various tier cities increased month-on-month in March Hokkaido: Moves toward the abolition of coal-fired power generation and the introduction of offshore wind power generation Faster than expected: the head of the Ministry of Economic Development Reshetnikov predicted Russia's GDP growth of 1.2% in 2023 New home prices in 3 cities in China in March: more than ninety percent of cities rose month-on-month, hitting a new high in nearly four years The latest house price data of 70 cities is here, and the overall is now showing obvious signs of stabilization and recovery (Focus on the Consumer Expo) The "spillover effect" of the Consumer Expo is released The "circle of friends" of the Hainan Free Trade Port has expanded There are changes in the method of collecting the proceeds from the transfer of mining rights, and the pressure on enterprises is expected to be reduced Experts at home and abroad gathered in Quancheng to explore a new path of deep "marriage" of science and technology finance Data trading has ushered in a new wave of development, and the market size is expected to exceed 2025 billion yuan in 2200 Jerusalem: the ceremony of the "Holy Fire" of the Holy Sepulchre under heavy police presence The fight against fentanyl must be global like Covid-19, says the United States "Nuclear phase-out" realized in Germany, the last three nuclear power plants in operation were shut down The IPA CIS said that the use of the flag of Ukraine is due to the country's participation in the Assembly It witnessed clashes between the army forces and the rapid support. The most prominent sites of military operations in Sudan Alessandro Lequio breaks his silence: "It makes me sad that my son is once again the protagonist of today" Mass poisoning on MasterChef 11: "We're sorry. It is an absolutely exceptional case in these 11 years" Naoko, Emma Nogueiro and the other women in Sanchez Drago's life (always younger and with short hair) Former Pentagon adviser McGregor: Ukraine may disappear as a state by the end of the year The sexist murder of an influencer shakes the Dominican Republic: her ex shoots her in the head three days after trying "Pocket the funds allocated by the United States": Hersh announced the misappropriation of at least $ 400 million by Zelensky and his entourage The Future of Online Casinos and the Technologies That Will Shape It Political scientist Dudchak on Hersh's statement about Zelensky: there are probably a lot of such stories The athlete Beatriz Flamini leaves the cave where she has remained alone and isolated for 500 days Bordeaux: a car ploughs into the crowd during a wild race, 7 injured, 2 of them serious "I worked with incredible overstrain": a historian on the importance of the railway for the victory of the USSR over the Wehrmacht Beatriz lived in a cave see when she comes out after 500 days Bad Bunny silences criticism at Coachella: "Don't believe what you don't see that came out of my mouth" The questions surrounding Beatriz Flamini and her 500 days in a cave: "I can think of many questions" Signing 15 agreements in different fields. These are the results of the Brazilian President's visit to China "Nuclear phase-out" realized in Germany, the last three nuclear power plants in operation were shut down Former US intelligence officer Ritter: The Pentagon deliberately belittles the key importance of the battle for Artyomovsk Communities 2019 - Privacy The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them. As bison move north out of Yellowstone National Park this winter in one of the largest migrations in a decade, a Montana legislative committee considered a bill on Tuesday that would set aside a portion of state hunting licenses for some landowners to kill the shaggy bovines. House Bill 522, sponsored by Rep. Marty Malone, R-Pray, would allot 15% of the states bison hunting licenses to landowners and corporations owning a minimum of 20 acres whose property is used by bison. Malone said a lot of the landowners next to the park are getting hammered by these very large critters and he thinks it is important to take action. A calculation by Fish, Wildlife & Parks License Bureau chief Emily Cooper estimated almost 90 landowners would qualify under the guidelines outlined in the bill, 51 in Hunting District 385 north of the park and 36 in HD 395 west of the park. Edwin Johnson, a Park County hunting outfitter who has access to the Royal Teton Ranch, was the lone proponent of the bill. We need to do something about this bison situation, its really getting out of hand, he told the committee. Im in favor of anything that will get the ball moving to resolving this issue created by the park inside the park. The Montana American Indian Caucus was the first of several opponents to the bill, noting the group holds the buffalo as sacred and at the center of Native spiritual life. Ben Lamb, representing the Montana Wildlife Federation, said the states bison hunting licenses are the most difficult to draw in the state. Cooper said this past season saw 12,995 applicants for 85 licenses. The state has issued only 85 bison licenses for the past five years, she added. Lamb said his group doesnt oppose landowner preference licenses, calling it a good program that rewards landowners for habitat they provide. But he questioned whether 20 acres was a suitable amount of land since its not enough to sustain a bison. Based on this and other concerns, MWF opposed the bill. Katjana Stutzer, representing the Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, said there was nothing offered in the bill to the public in return for giving the landowners a license, such as access to hunt. She also said making the license transferable goes against state practices, especially for a corporation to transfer the license to a shareholder. As written, the 15% would come from the existing quota of 85 state licenses, Cooper noted. That prompted a question from Rep. Jedediah Hinkle, R-Belgrade, about whether the bill could be modified so the 15% would be in addition to the existing quota of 85. Cooper agreed that could probably be done. Rep. Marilyn Marler, D-Missoula, questioned how many of the landowners within the hunting districts were nonresidents, information Cooper did not have at hand. Im afraid were just setting up an amenity for out-of-state, small-acreage landowners, Marler said. When last updated on Feb. 17, Yellowstone National Parks record keeping showed Montana hunters had killed 74 Yellowstone bison this season. Tribal hunters, under federal treaty rights, regulate their own hunts. Eight tribes had reported killing more than 500 bison. Another 88 were shipped to slaughter with the meat going to tribes. Eighteen bison were wounded by hunters and killed by wildlife officials. Another 40 bison were listed as unknown deaths, and about 100 have been removed for possible entry into the parks bison transfer program that sends disease-free live bison to tribes. Two-hundred-fourteen bison are being held in the parks capture facility for release or possible shipment to slaughter. Altogether, with the hunt and removals, the bison population estimated at about 6,000 this fall has seen a loss of more than 1,000 animals, or about 17%. According to Mike Mease, of the conservation group Buffalo Field Campaign, these numbers dont account for how many bison may die or lose their calves to the harsh winter conditions. Darrell Geist, habitat coordinator for BFC, told the committee, Our primary objection is Montana does not provide for its self-sustaining population of wild buffalo. The statutory framework manages for the elimination of buffalo as they migrate into Montana ... Its our position Montana must stop taking and start giving back to buffalo. The sale of wildlife trail camera images and location trail data for hunting on public lands would be prohibited under a bill that was heard and quickly advanced from committee Thursday. House Bill 547 brought by Rep. Jill Cohenour, D-East Helena, seeks to curtail the technological creep into hunting by drawing an ethical red line over the sale of images, video and data on public lands. Supporters of the bill cited services that have been offered in other states where a person essentially scouts areas using trail cameras and then offers those images and locations for sale to hunters. Its essentially saying we are not going to monetize the location of our great wildlife resources in the state of Montana, Cohenour told the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee. HB 547 prohibits sale of images, video or data captured on public land for use in a way that harms, harasses or kills fish or wildlife. A person convicted of the offense could be fined from $50-$1,000 and face up to six months in jail. The bill comes as the use of trail cameras to both scout hunting locations and research wildlife has grown in the last 20 years. The use of cameras has been a growing debate in the hunting world under questions of fair chase. A number of states have moved in recent years to either ban or restrict their use and major organizations such as the Boone and Crocket Club adopted policies opposing cameras that transmit images in real time. Montanas current laws and regulations on trail camera use are complex. Cameras that must be physically checked are legal year-round, but cameras that transmit images remotely are prohibited while in the act of hunting. But state officials have said that does not stop a hunter from receiving the image at home and then going to the field to hunt so long as the phone app has been turned off or connection to the camera is severed. HB 547 saw several supporters citing similar ethical concerns. Huntings future and social acceptability is dependent upon high standards of fair chase and picking out a trophy animal from pictures and then purchasing the public land coordinates of it jeopardizes that future of hunting and runs counter to Montanas traditions, Katjana Stutzer with the Montana chapter of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers told the committee. Cohenour has brought similar legislation unsuccessfully in the past but did carry a bill that prohibits the use of location data generated by wildlife wearing GPS collars for the purpose of hunting. The committee passed HB 547 on a vote of 12-7 with several Republicans joining all Democrats in support. The bill now moves to the floor. Top Picks Bitterroot Lake: Kokanee fishing has been going good at both the north and south ends of the lake. A good place to start would be in 100 feet of water. Look for most bites in that magic 40-foot range below the ice. Early mornings have been best using Swedish Pimples or Hali jigs with glow hooks. Be sure to know the Kokanee regulations on Bitterroot before you head out. Chancey and Daves Fish Camp, Evergreen Holter Reservoir: Perch action continues to be great out from the BLM boat ramp, Log Gulch, and Departure Point while using Swedish Pimples, Halis or other flashy jigs and maggots near the bottom in 25-45 feet of water. Some nice rainbows are being caught at the Gates of the Mountains while using various ice jigs tipped with crawlers in shallow water. A few burbot are being caught while using cut bait near the bottom at night. The Gates of the Mountains has 10-12 inches of ice and the rest of Holter has around 15 inches of ice. FWP, Helena Around western Montana Ashley Lake: The smaller kokanee are still biting, with limits being somewhat common especially during the early morning hours. Tie on a Swedish Pimple, Hali jig or something similar, and start fishing in about 100 feet of water. Most bites have been from fish cruising the water column about 40 feet below the surface. There have also been some perch coming out of Ashley while fishing the bottom in about 40 feet of water. Chancey and Daves Fish Camp, Evergreen Canyon Ferry Reservoir: Rainbows are being caught 15 feet deep out from the Silos and around Duck Creek while using silver and pink or red jigs with worms or maggots. Walleye and perch are being caught between Duck Creek and Confederate in 35-45 feet of water while using pink, red or yellow Hali jigs or spoons with red hooks tipped with night crawlers, perch eyes or maggots. An occasional ling is being caught along with the perch and walleye on the bottom. Stay away from the pressure ridges on the south end of the reservoir. There is over 20 inches of ice from the Silos down to the ponds, 18-20 inches of ice around Duck Creek and the north end has 3-5 inches of ice, but it is pulling away from shore around Shannon. FWP, Helena Flathead Lake: Lakers have been on the chew near the west shore around state park as you head toward the mouth. Drop a big, whole dead fish down to the bottom or pitch a jig with cut bait in anywhere from 50-100, and youll have a good shot at those lake trout. There may be a few pike to be had but overall, pike fishing has slowed down quite a bit across the board. Chancey and Daves Fish Camp, Evergreen Georgetown Lake: Even before the recent cold snap. Georgetown had 20-plus inches of ice and 14 inches of snow cover. Its been limit-style rainbow trout fishing, with both rainbows and salmon cruising around in the 4-12 foot range below the ice. The lake trout bite at Silver Lake was completely shut off. Duanes IceFishing Rentals Hauser Reservoir: A few perch are being found out on Lake Helena while using white and pink Hali jigs with maggots or crawlers. Most rainbows continue to be caught at the Causeway Bridge area and Black Sandy while using various colored jigs or ice flies tipped with crawlers 6-8 feet below the ice. An occasional burbot is being found from the Causeway Arm to Black Sandy while using cut bait near the bottom. 16-18 inches of ice has been reported. FWP, Helena Helena Valley Regulating Reservoir: A few kokanee and perch are being picked up while using Hali or Swedish Pimple type ice jigs tipped with red maggots or corn in 16-45 feet of water. 16-18 inches of ice has been reported. FWP, Helena Lake Mary Ronan: If youre looking for some fish to filet for the frying pan, look no further. The perch bite has been very dependable with most fish averaging about a half pound. Over the course of the day, anglers will pull in a standout or two that will be pushing a pound or more. Find a spot in about 35-40 feet of water and give it a try. You might also pick up a kokanee. If you catch a pike, FWP asks that anglers kill and report it. Chancey and Daves Fish Camp, Evergreen Whitefish Lake: The lake trout bite has been getting better and better. Whitefish continue to show up in great numbers as well toward the state park side. 40 below the ice has been the magic depth most days. There is plenty of ice. Ray Ward, Kalispell Faimon Roberts III covers rural communities in Louisiana. His work is supported by a reporting grant from the Microsoft Journalism Initiative and is administered by the Greater New Orleans Foundation. He can be reached at froberts@theadvocate.com. Twenty-four states have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in North Dakota challenging recently finalized federal regulations dealing with navigable waterways across the country, calling the rule "an improper federal power grab over state waters." It's the latest development in a protracted yo-yo battle that has seen water rules change under the Democratic Obama, Republican Trump and now Democratic Biden administrations. North Dakota and the other states that sued last week -- all of which have Republican attorneys general and all but two of which have GOP governors -- want the courts to throw out the new rule and order federal officials to start over. The states maintain that the federal Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers "seem intent on pushing the states aside and seizing control over the nation's water management." Federal attorneys did not immediately file a response to the lawsuit. The Justice Department did not respond to a Tribune request for comment, and the EPA declined comment, citing pending litigation. The regulations finalized in December define which Waters of the United States are protected by the Clean Water Act. The new rule is built on a pre-2015 definition with updates to reflect court opinions, the latest science, and federal agencies' experience and expertise, according to EPA. Federal officials said they crafted a durable definition of waterways "to reduce uncertainty from changing regulatory definitions." The rules clear and supportable definition of Waters of the United States will allow for more efficient and effective implementation and provide the clarity long desired by farmers, industry, environmental organizations and other stakeholders, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Michael Connor said in December. The rule was published in the Federal Register on Jan. 18 and is to take effect on March 20. Environmentalists favor stronger protections, but business and agricultural interests worry that broadened regulations will be burdensome to their industries. North Dakota and other states sued in 2015 when President Barack Obama sought to expand federal protections, and court injunctions prevented his administration's rule from taking effect. Federal courts later threw out a Trump-era rule that North Dakota leaders backed but environmentalists had argued left waterways vulnerable to pollution. The Biden rule applies federal protections to wetlands, tributaries and other waters that have a significant connection to navigable waters or if wetlands are relatively permanent," according to The Associated Press. North Dakota and the other 23 suing states contend in the lawsuit that the Biden rule encompasses waters "with no reasonable connection to 'navigable waters,'" and that if left in place, "then ranchers, farmers, miners, homebuilders and other landowners across the country will struggle to undertake even the simplest of activities on their own property without fear of drawing the ire of the federal government." GOP Gov. Doug Burgum in a statement said the lawsuit was filed in North Dakota because "our many wetlands and waterways make our state particularly susceptible to this misguided rule." Other plaintiffs are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming. The U.S. Supreme Court is considering a separate case out of Idaho that could upend the finalized rule, according to AP. Chantell and Michael Sackett wanted to build a home near a lake, but the EPA stopped their work in 2007, finding wetlands on their property were federally regulated. The front gate at Elayn Hunt Correctional Center prison Wednesday May 6, 2020, in St. Gabriel, La. Scientists say the excessive amount of cases at the prison suggest the Coronavirus could be more widespread in the population, with so many people at the prison being asymptomatic but still testing positive. In this image from video, a security video shows Vice President Mike Pence being evacuated as rioters breach the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried faced new fraud charges, as prosecutors accused him of cheating thousands of investors out of billions of dollars while casting himself as a trustworthy saviour of the cryptocurrency industry an image boosted by celebrity-studded Super Bowl advertising and big donations to political figures. Four new charges, including securities fraud and conspiracy fraud counts, were unveiled with the unsealing of the refreshed indictment in Manhattan federal court that was returned a day earlier. The new charges raised the prison sentence Bankman-Fried could face if convicted from 115 years to 155 years. Credit: Bloomberg In a statement, US Attorney Damian Williams hinted, as he has several times previously, that prosecutors were not finished building their case. We are hard at work and will remain so until justice is done, he said. Italians have rules about coffee. Cappuccino, for instance, is a morning drink, so dont try ordering it for an afternoon pick-me-up. In most cafes, coffee is consumed standing at the counter, and variations are few, usually involving only the amount of water and/or milk to be added. Still, Starbucks, which breaks all those rules with its long menu of options that are served at any time of day, opened in Italy in 2018 and has amassed a following. On Wednesday, the company bet on Italy once more with a combination of two ingredients at the heart of this countrys food pyramid: coffee and olive oil. Italians are very particular about their coffee traditions. Credit: AP The new beverages, branded Oleato, debuted this week at an invitation-only dinner (co-hosted with the National Chamber of Italian Fashion) at the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Milan on Tuesday, the first day of Fashion Week. Lizzo performed. Vogues top editor in America, Anna Wintour, attended. On Wednesday, Oleato, which can mean oiled, oleate or greaseproof in Italian (and which is now trademarked by Starbucks), was introduced to the masses at the companys flagship Italian venue in downtown Milan. Five olive oil-infused beverages were on the menu, including the golden foam espresso martini, which concluded the dinner. The founder of a company that cuts, grinds and installs engineered stone benchtops was accused of referring to staff diagnosed with silicosis as dogs who were sitting at home with nothing wrong with them, according to a Federal Circuit Court judgment. Tim Ruttley, a former stonemason, director and shareholder of Willis Bros who worked in the business for more than 20 years, sued the company for compensation after being bullied, then sacked, after his silicosis diagnosis. X-rays showing the effects of silicosis. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer The case is emblematic of the silicosis crisis gripping Australian workplaces, which was exposed by a joint investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and 60 Minutes. The investigation revealed stonemasons have been inhaling silica dust when cutting engineered stone benchtops containing up to 95 per cent crystalline silica, leading to pressure for immediate action from state and federal governments. Willis Bros, which operates businesses across Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland, stripped away Ruttleys entitlements, including recalling his two vehicles, diverting his phone and cancelling his fuel card, leaving him, his wife and children without a vehicle, Justice Amanda Tonkin said in a Federal Circuit Court judgment. Sabina Mammadli Read more Azerbaijani Human Rights Commissioner Sabina Aliyeva has urged international organizations to give international political and legal assessment to the Khojaly genocide and other war crimes committed by Armenia, Azernews reports per Ombudsmans Office. In a statement dedicated to the 31st anniversary of the Khojaly massacre, Aliyeva remarked that the tragedy is regarded as one of the biggest tragedies of the last century, because of being one of the bloodiest pages of the policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide regularly carried out by Armenian nationalists against Azerbaijanis. She called on the world community to hold the perpetrators accountable for the committed genocide as well as bring them before the international court in order to restore justice and prevent the recurrence of such acts of genocide against humanity. The ombudswoman once again reminded that on the night of February 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces launched an armed attack with the support of the 366th motorized rifle regiment of the Soviet army stationed in the city of Khankandi with the aim of mass killing of the peaceful population of the city of Khojaly. This city with a population of seven thousand people was razed to the ground; its inhabitants were subjected to genocide. The main goal of the Armenian chauvinists in committing this genocide was also to wipe out Khojaly, a city with historical and cultural monuments belonging to the ancient times of Azerbaijan, in addition to brutal killing the population, she emphasized. The human rights commissioner noted that during the massacre, the perpetrators used the most merciless killing methods against the civilian population, killing 613 people, including 106 women, 63 children, and 70 older people. 8 families were completely wiped out, 25 children lost both parents, 132 children lost one of their parents, 487 people were seriously injured, 1275 people were taken hostage, and the fate of 150 of them is unknown. During the genocide, 56 people were killed with unprecedented cruelty, people were burned alive and subjected to terrible torture, the statement stressed. It was pointed out that the genocide grossly and massively violated the rights and freedoms enshrined in the existing international documents in the field of protection of human rights and freedoms, including the right to life, based on ethnic cleansing and hatred and other war crimes committed by the aggressor Armenia on Azerbaijani lands. As a result of the Khojaly genocide, the provisions of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child were seriously violated, the statement listed. Moreover, Aliyeva stressed that the political and legal assessment of the Khojaly genocide was first given by the national leader Heydar Aliyev at the country's parliament by declaring February 26 as "Khojaly Genocide Day". Furthermore, actions were launched for bringing the committed crime to the attention of the international community and the culprits to justice. She also underlined that the international campaign Justice for Khojaly" conducted by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation bringing the truth about Khojaly to the international community's attention plays a vital role in the recognition of the Khojaly genocide by the world community, and giving legal and political assessment to it. This resulted in the adoption of numerous resolutions and decisions condemning the massacre of civilians in Khojaly and evaluating it as an act of genocide and a crime against humanity by legislative bodies of 17 countries, as well as 24 states of the United States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Organization of Turkic States. At present, Azerbaijan continues to take all necessary steps in order to convey the information to the world community about the terrorist policy continuously implemented by Armenia, especially the mines buried in our lands liberated from occupation as a result of which civilians have been killed or seriously injured, the official finalized. Morton County authorities have charged two Mandan men with felony drug possession after a traffic stop led to the alleged discovery of 4 pounds of methamphetamine. Michael Dickenson, 42, and Kurtis Tuttle, 57, were arrested Sunday by sheriff's deputies, according to an affidavit. Dickenson is charged with felony possession of drugs with the intent to deliver, and misdemeanor counts of possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, court records show. Tuttle faces those charges and a misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed firearm. Tuttle was the driver of a vehicle stopped about 3 a.m. Sunday for a lane violation on Interstate 94 near Glen Ullin, according to an affidavit. Deputies became suspicious after observing the mens actions and noting that their comments about their trip did not match. Tuttle said the two went to Washington for a few hours, slept in a hotel and were returning to the Bismarck-Mandan area. Dickenson told deputies theyd been in Oregon for four days, the document states. A search of the vehicle yielded the meth, two handguns, a glass pipe and 100 grams of cannabis, the affidavit states. The drug charge carries a possible 10-year prison term upon conviction. Dickenson's attorney declined comment; Tuttle's attorney listed in court documents did not immediately respond to a request for comment. If CBD received the VVIP treatment from the autocratic Qatari government, we too might not be shouting from the rooftops about it. Anika Wells and Anne Ruston Credit: John Shakespeare So perhaps it was a forgivable lapse for Sports Minister Anika Wells four nights accommodation in Doha during last years World Cup courtesy of the Qatari foreign ministry to have only been declared on her parliamentary register of interests last week, outside the officially mandated 35-day time limit. An administrative error was to blame, Wells office told us. The Qatari sportswashing machine certainly treated foreign dignitaries well, with Wells and company being put up in Dohas Ritz-Carlton, alongside mega delegations from the United States, Saudi Arabia and Turkey (who didnt even have a team at the tournament). Anthony Albanese was about to join workers at the Labour Day march in Brisbane last May when he stood in front of journalists to set out his promises for the coming election. So when the subject of superannuation came up, he had to choose his words with care. Would Labor commit to the current super arrangements for self-funded retirees and others, one journalist asked. And do you rule out any increase to super taxes and changes to caps? Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers: theyll have to tread carefully with other peoples nest eggs. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Albanese had a simple assurance. Weve said we have no intention to make any super changes, he said. One of the things that were doing in this campaign is were making all of our policies clear. These were comforting words for voters who remembered the sweeping tax changes Labor had promised at the election three years earlier. He used the soft version of a commitment we have no intention but he played down the prospect of any super changes. The prime minister is now exposed to a long campaign about a broken promise. The government has put super tax concessions on the agenda for change in the May budget. The intent has changed. Some intelligence operations have previously led to tit-for-tat reprisals. One source with knowledge of the Russian spy ring said that if undeclared spies were aggressively and publicly expelled, there was an increased likelihood diplomats or other Australians living in Russia would have been targeted. An early indicator of the Russian spying operation was the relatively high number of diplomatic staff it maintained in Australia given the extent of bi-lateral relations, especially when compared to the small number of staff maintained by Canberra in Moscow. Intensive ASIO investigations had revealed several of Moscows diplomatic staff in Australia were involved in the spy ring, the sources said. The abuse of diplomatic status to conduct espionage, while common in the intelligence world, represents a serious breach of protocol on the rare occasions it is exposed. The revelations about the scale and seriousness of the breaches in Australia will inflame already strained relations between Moscow and Canberra. In early 2022, then-opposition leader Anthony Albanese and then-shadow foreign affairs minister Penny Wong called on the Morrison government to expel Russian diplomats in light of reported atrocities in Ukraine. It is hard to conceive how the decision can be made to allow these individuals to stay, given the sickening abuses being carried out by Russian forces, the pair said in a joint statement. At that time, the ASIO operation was in full flight and there was division within the intelligence community about the impact of any aggressive, large-scale deportation move. In response to Labors deportation call in April, then-foreign minister Marise Payne a member of the National Security Committee that has access to ASIO intelligence said such a move was under review at the highest levels of the government. The sources said the decision to let Russian diplomats remain in Australia allowed for ongoing efforts to monitor the spy ring members. Then members of the ring were quietly forced out of Australia over the past six months with their visas not renewed or cancelled. Loading In November, as the Ukraine-Russia conflict became entrenched, Wong released a statement stressing that all options remain under consideration in connection to the high number of Russian diplomats in Australia. While our preference is to maintain diplomatic channels, diplomatic profiles must always be consistent with our national interest, a spokesperson for Wong said in the statement. The Australian government is looking hard at Russias diplomatic profile in Australia. That same month, at a Senate estimates hearing, Liberal senator James Paterson queried Labor and federal bureaucrats about the presence of Russian diplomats in Australia. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen The Russian embassy was contacted by phone and email on Thursday but provided no response. A spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Clare ONeil declined to comment on the revelations noting that Burgess had not named the nation involved in the spy ring. Espionage and foreign interference are happening in Australia and ASIO has been onto it like a shot. I want people to understand, those states that operate in the shadows, we have a very simple message we are watching you, ONeil said on Thursday. When he delivered his annual threat assessment speech on Tuesday evening, Burgess described a major spying operation that his agency had disrupted. Proxies and agents were recruited as part of a wider network. Among other malicious activities, they wanted to steal sensitive information. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess Burgess declined to name the country involved and ASIO subsequently refused to answer questions sent by this masthead. Consistent with long-standing practice, ASIO does not comment on operational or intelligence matters, a spokesman said in a statement. However, sources with knowledge of the Russian spy ring have described it in identical terms as Burgess, who said on Tuesday it was bigger and more dangerous than another major recent espionage operation ASIO had dismantled. In 2022, Burgess described that earlier thwarted espionage operation as involving a nest of spies. Loading The sources confirmed Burgess comments this week referred to the larger and more recent Russian spy ring, a larger hive of spies working undeclared or undercover. Some were put in place years earlier, Burgess said in his Tuesday speech in comments that match descriptions from sources about the use of Russian diplomatic cover by the spy ring. Proxies and agents were recruited as part of a wider network. Among other malicious activities, they wanted to steal sensitive information, Burgess said in his speech. Im not going into more detail because the foreign intelligence service is still trying to unpick exactly what and how we knew about its activities. It was obvious to us that the spies were highly trained because they used sophisticated tradecraft to try to disguise their activities. They were good but ASIO was better. We watched them. We mapped their activities. The hive is history. Loading In March 2018, the Turnbull government announced it was expelling two Russian diplomats as part of global action against Moscow over an alleged nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy living in the UK. Turnbull said the pair were undeclared intelligence officers and had been ordered to leave Australia within seven days. The Morrison government was largely silent on the issue of expulsions of Moscows operatives after Western nations announced they were deporting Russian spies after the invasion of Ukraine. Mongols bikie shot in head in revenge attack, jury told Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. Were working to restore it. Please try again later. Dismiss Principals and education experts warn introducing the International Baccalaureate to the public sector could deepen the education divide, with schools in wealthy areas more likely to offer the costly HSC alternative. Opposition leader Chris Minns announced on Thursday that under a Labor government public schools would be given the option of running the IB, allowing all school sectors access to the globally recognised qualification. However, the NSW Department of Education said the plan would incur significant costs including teacher training and registration that could run into hundreds of thousands of dollars per school. A NSW Education Department paper from 2017 said the IB would help attract and retain families of bright students in the public school system. Credit: Janie Barrett The Department remains committed to the HSC because it is an inclusive, world-renowned credential that provides [for] all students in NSW, a spokesperson said. The purchase of seven new Sydney ferries will be delayed again after the NSW government rejected shipbuilders that had bid for the multimillion-dollar contract to construct them locally. The states transport agency has told shipbuilders bidding for the contract for the fleet of new Parramatta River ferries that the tender resulted in no contract being awarded, and it would now gauge market interest in a new process. One of the seven RiverCat ferries, which are about three decades old. Credit: Nick Moir The decision comes amid a state election campaign in which the two major parties have been spruiking plans to boost local manufacturing. The replacement of the three-decades-old fleet of RiverCats, at a cost of more than $43 million, has already been repeatedly delayed. The family of Christine Maria Fenner, who went missing 24 years ago, have been living in torment and is pleading to the public to help solve her disappearance, with a $500,000 reward on offer. The mother-of-two, who was born on November 28, 1950, went missing from her Booyal property on 532 Marule Road in Bundaberg on February 12, 1999. The family of Christine Fenner. Credit: Queensland Police Media She has not been seen since. Daughter Cindy Dzwiniel, who apologised to media for her nerves before speaking on Thursday, said her mother was loving and understanding. Traffic pollution may be causing more than 11,000 deaths in Australia every year, a figure five times higher than previously estimated and 10 times the number who die in road crashes. Leading health groups say urgent action is needed in light of growing evidence that suggests rates of heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, diabetes, childhood asthma and early death caused by road pollution have been vastly underestimated. Lisel Thomas of Melbournes Yarraville believes traffic pollution makes her asthma worse. Credit: Simon Schluter An expert position statement to be released by the Melbourne Climate Futures centre at the University of Melbourne on Friday says Australia has no robust figures about the true health impact of pollution from cars, trucks and other vehicles to guide policy decisions. Fine particulate matter released from vehicle exhaust pipes can cause a range of respiratory, neurological and cardiovascular diseases, as well as adverse birth outcomes and diabetes. The Victorian schools regulator has launched a review of an Islamic college in Preston after it was engulfed in governance woes and its principal and vice principal were stood down with little explanation. The leadership turmoil sparked a passionate rally on Friday morning when parents and senior students gathered outside East Preston Islamic College (EPIC) on Friday morning to voice their support for principal Neil Hasankolli and his assistant Masiha Rayan, who have both been ousted by the schools new-look board in recent weeks. The protest outside East Preston Islamic College on Friday. Credit: Justin McManus Police and security guards attended as the crowd, carrying placards that read sack the board, spilled onto the road. The college hired security staff to guard its gates at Fridays rally, and warned families they could be suspended or face serious consequences if they protested. Neil Hasankolli was the college principal and a long-serving senior staff member until about three weeks ago, when the board removed him from the role for alleged serious misconduct without providing further details of the allegations. A former employee of a Bismarck restaurant has been sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to the Christmas morning theft of a safe and $10,000 from the business. Wayne Salveson, 45, was charged in January with theft, attempted theft and two counts of burglary, court records show. He pleaded guilty to the charges Wednesday. South Central District Judge David Reich ordered four-year sentences on each of the charges. Salveson will serve them at the same time. He'll also be on supervised probation for three years after his release. Police say two men broke into Luckys 13 Pub on South Third Street about 5:20 a.m., according to an affidavit. They were unable to open the safe, but Salveson allegedly returned later with another man. They hauled the safe, which contained the money, out on a dolly, authorities say. Police arrested Salveson on Jan. 18 during a probation search at his residence, according to an affidavit. Another employee recognized Salveson on surveillance video because Salveson had once worked at the restaurant, police said. A probation officer handling Salvesons case also recognized him, and police identified him by comparing the video to his drivers license photo. Salveson according to North Dakota court records has a lengthy criminal history of felony theft and drug convictions and a number of misdemeanors dating to 2007. In the city where the 1967 referendum campaign began, the Yes case for the Voice to parliament rallied ground troops hoping to channel the grassroots momentum that drove change more than half a century ago. Against the backdrop of a new Yes campaign logo, more than 200 people from unions, faith groups, the business sector, local community organisations, and philanthropists gathered in Adelaide on Wednesday for the launch of the ground campaign to generate a groundswell of support for the Voice. Filmmaker Rachel Perkins, co-chair of Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition, said the Yes campaign would tap into the lessons handed down by the 1967 campaigners among them her famous activist father Dr Charles Perkins who knew bringing people together from all walks of life was key. I feel like were walking in their footsteps. The most important thing is to learn what they did. Starting conversations around kitchen tables and community halls. That is the way that referendum was won, Perkins said in an interview. Victoria Police has confirmed it will replace all Chinese-made cameras by the end of next year amid a growing debate about how best to counter foreign intelligence gathering. The force said a number of cameras were still operating across the state and despite being deemed low risk, would be progressively replaced. Victoria Police has confirmed it will replace all Chinese-made cameras by the end of 2024. Credit: Eddie Jim Earlier this week, the Victorian government confirmed it would conduct an audit of all security cameras at government-owned sites. The federal government has already removed hundreds of Chinese-made devices from Commonwealth departments and locations such as the Australian War Memorial. As The Age revealed on Tuesday, the City of Greater Geelong is replacing Chinese-made CCTV cameras amid concerns the makers of such devices are compelled to hand over data to Beijing if asked. Three months in Ukraine, bearing witness to the horror and trauma, teaches you to never underestimate the power of optimism over cynicism and perseverance over despair. In countries such as Australia, it can be all too easy to succumb to cynicism. Eight-year-old Timosha stands with his bicycle in front of the burning Palace of Culture in Lysychansk. The city is now occupied by Russia. Credit: Kate Geraghty On one day in July last year, just after I had returned from my second trip to Ukraine, one of the biggest political stories in Australia was the fact that all Labor MPs were wearing a face mask in parliament, while most Coalition MPs were sitting in the chamber bare-faced. While the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were, and are, a genuine issue, the framing of the pandemic through the lens of identity politics was jarring after being on the front line in Ukraine. Back in late February 2022, when Putin ordered a sudden all-out invasion of Ukraine, Russian troops attacked in a pincer (below left): from the south, where Russia had seized Crimea in 2014; from the east, where the war of the Donbas with Russian separatists had long simmered under a shaky ceasefire; and from the north over the Belarusian border, striking for Ukraines capital, the historic city of Kyiv. On a map, this is what the war looks like after a year, ground down to a fierce south-eastern front about 1200 kilometres long. So, with a death toll already in the hundreds of thousands and China stepping forward with its own peace plan (even as it mulls supplying weapons to Russia), is either side winning? And how might all this end? Now, as the winter snow thaws, both sides are unleashing fresh attacks. Russia is moving first, before more powerful Western weapons can reach Ukraine. As many Russian troops as those initially sent over the border in 2022 are joining the frontline, starting a fierce new stage of the conflict. And Putin has issued a new threat to the West, suspending (though not entirely withdrawing from) the last nuclear arms treaty with the United States. Instead, the world and Russian President Vladimir Putin himself learnt that decades of corruption had hollowed out Russias vast army. Some weapons were practically antiques. Food and supplies had been left to expire. Training was poor. Even bullets were scarce. Meanwhile the Ukrainians, who Putin had been sure would surrender, were remarkably fierce and well-trained and they were winning back their land. The invasion that was meant to take days is now a year old. Kremlin officials were reportedly so confident of victory when Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022 that generals were told to pack their medals and dress uniforms for the victory parades in Kyiv that were surely just weeks away. The small eastern town of Bakhmut is at the centre of one of the wars bloodiest battles. Russia has been trying to drive out the Ukrainians since May, sending wave after wave of men at the city and recording thousands of casualties. But experts say Bakhmuts value is more for propaganda than strategy. Putin desperately needs a win. Likewise, the rallying cry Bakhmut holds has gone wild on Ukrainian social media, though Ukrainian soldiers on the ground say they are exhausted and outgunned. Then winter came, freezing the war in a slow-moving but violent fight over the south-east. Putin is said to have radically scaled back his plans to take Ukraine outright (at least for now), although missiles still fall as far away as Lviv in the west. Yet the war is not in a stalemate either, as retired Australian major general Mick Ryan notes. Both sides still have a lot of strategic room to move and Putin a lot more up his sleeve. By Christmas, after a September lightning offensive, Ukraine had reclaimed more than 74,000 square kilometres of territory (above right). In nearly every liberated town they found evidence of Russian atrocities: civilians raped and murdered; children taken over the border for forced re-education ; cultural icons destroyed. Ukrainian momentum grew. For weeks the world speculated Kyiv would fall. The Russian military machine was, after all, far bigger than its neighbours, then boasting some 800,000 standing troops compared with Ukraines 200,000. And Russias notorious mercenary group Wagner was already in the streets hunting for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. But Zelensky didnt flee. And Ukraine pushed back, blowing up bridges and Russian tanks as civilians took up arms. Ukraine, meanwhile, has to ward off Russias latest offensive without running down the resources it needs for its own. Sir Lawrence Freedman, a war studies expert at Kings College London, says strengthened Russian defences plus boggy ground have so far stopped Ukraine from following through on its September offensive. But it is pushing in on a key Russian supply hub in Luhansk . And, under its offence is the best defence strategy, Ukraine may yet mount another push in the south, possibly to recapture Melitopol. Last year, Wagner mercenaries were able to plug gaps and seize territory where the regular Russian army failed, but experts say their usefulness may be fading most of their numbers are now conscripts from Russian jails. Russia may be planning to push down from the north and up from the south a claw cutting off Ukrainian supplies. Or they might try to divert defenders from the east by reopening another front (Ukrainians are watching the north closely). Thatd be a smart thing to do, says Miller. Of course, we havent seen many smart decisions from the Russians so far. But the offensive is unlikely to come in one sudden surge along the frontline, experts say. It has taken the Russians months to advance the 30-odd kilometres from Popasna in Luhansk to Bakhmut. And though Russia is mobilising some 300,000 new troops, Western analysis suggests many are already in play. So far, theyve been shoring up Russias defences and supply lines and looking for openings. Bakhmut could be a useful step in seizing the Donbas outright thats the mammoth task Ukrainian intelligence says Putin has ordered his generals to achieve by March. In late 2022 the US, at last, agreed to send Patriot defence systems to help Ukraine shoot down long-range Russian missiles, and Zelensky is hoping for fighter jets, too. (The US, Germany and others are also sending advanced tanks for Ukraines ground assault.) But Ukraine is firing more ammunition every week than the West can produce in factories. His friend was killed in combat two days into 2023, shortly after wishing his family a happy new year. But they know he didnt die for nothing, says Romaniw, recently returned from a trip helping build shelters in Ukraine. I see that everywhere over there. Ukrainians know theyll win. Because they have to. Ukrainian-Australian Stefan Romaniw recalls what his friend, a father of five, told him when contemplating whether to fight for Ukraine. If we lose, he said, my kids are going to ask: Dad, what did you do? So he went to the front. Many analysts stress that Ukraine still has momentum . This is not the same army caught unprepared by Russias seizure of Crimea in 2014, but a force seasoned by eight years fighting separatists, with NATO training and Western intelligence to guide their attacks. Ukrainians fight for their very existence, says Katarzyna Zysk, an expert on the Russian military at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies. We cant expect theyll just give up. His friend was killed in combat two days into 2023, shortly after wishing his family a happy new year. But they know he didnt die for nothing. Not long after the war began, Australian-born Lubomyr Lawriwsky fled Ukraine with his Ukrainian wife Yuliia and baby son. They trekked much of the way to the Polish border on foot in the freezing cold. Before the bombs started to fall, no one in Ukraine seemed to believe the troops on the border would really invade, he says. Because it seemed so stupid in the 21st century, explains Yuliia from their new home in Melbourne. Russia did not plan for this kind of war, says Zysk. An increasingly isolated Putin made the decision on his own; warnings from nervous generals were waved off, and most officials kept in the dark until he gave the order. Many soldiers didnt even understand that their so-called short training exercise or three-day liberation was an invasion until they were over the border. NATO says about 15,000 Russians were killed just in the wars first month roughly the number the Soviets lost over 10 years in Afghanistan . A year in, closer to 200,000 Russians are estimated to have been killed or seriously injured. (Ukrainian casualties are also thought to be more than 100,000.) Clive Williams, a former ADF military intelligence officer, calculates that Russia is banging away 15,000-odd artillery shells a day, whereas Ukraine is probably using 5000 again, an enormous amount. But thats Russian strategy: destroy the enemy, destroy the ground, rebuild later. And while Russia did switch to long-range bombing and attacks on civilians once it hit resistance, in many ways it continues to plod along, spending its resources and lives. Russias vast arsenal is also stretched, says Zysk. (The country has lost more than half its operational tanks. ) Western sanctions make it harder for Russia to get many of the electronics its war industry needs, though it has already bought weapons from North Korea and drones from Iran, and US intelligence says its ally China is considering sending lethal support. But Lawriwsky had a bad feeling. My father reminded me the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour [in World War II]. That wasnt logical either, he says. Indeed, the Pearl Harbour attack is now seen as a calamitous mistake by the Japanese, drawing the US into the war. Zysk also sees Putins invasion as a mistake, but a mistake with its own logic a colossal failure of intelligence. Putin underestimated not just Ukrainian resistance but the Western backlash. Yet she warns Russia shouldnt be underestimated itself, however badly its fighting. Not all the army is reflected in the shambolic chaos mocked on Western social media. Russia still has trained fighters. And Russia has a much bigger population to draw on, Miller says, even if another round of conscription wider than the unpopular call-up in September would create political headaches for Putin. I dont think Ukraine have many more cohorts left to draft. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends an Orthodox Easter service two months after invading Ukraine. Credit:AP How might it end? Could Putin fall? Predictions have been proven wrong again and again in this invasion. But historians say wars tend to end along certain lines: with total victory, or a negotiated peace or some kind of stalemate. Many pieces are moving on the chessboard, says Zysk, that could yet tip the scales for one side or the other. So far, the war has hinged on how badly the Russians are fighting, how fiercely the Ukrainians are, and the flow of Western weapons to Ukraine. But this war depends, too, of course, on how far the man who started it is willing to go. Putin wants all of Ukraine, including Kyiv. And he wants to restore Russias standing as a world power, extending his sphere of influence in eastern Europe as a buffer against the West. For Putin, taking all four regions Russia illegally annexed last year (Donetsk and Luhansk in the east, and Zaporizhzhia and Kherson in the south), as well as holding on to Crimea, is critical, Zysk says. An outright loss, particularly of Crimea, could threaten his hold on power. Which also means his survival because I dont see Putin going to Venezuela or somewhere to live out his days. His power is built around strength hes fighting judo, riding bears, making foreign leaders and Queen Elizabeth wait for him. Zysk says there are already rumblings among Putins elite: oligarchs dying mysterious deaths; energy company Gazprom and Russias defence minister marshalling their own private armies. Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as Putins chef for his catering firm, has been sparring openly with Russian generals and officials as he tries to cast himself (and Wagner) as the real heroes of the war. Prigozhin certainly has ambitions and resources. Some see him as a successor, Zysk says. But I dont think hes a challenge for Putin himself, more for the other fighting dogs around him. But as much as the West might want to see regime change, Miller says dictators have lost wars and held on to power before: Think of Saddam Husseins humiliating defeat in the Gulf War in 1991. Williams agrees that Putin is likely to stick around for many years yet, no matter who wins. Hes an ex-KGB man. Hes very adept at picking out enemies and dealing with them, Williams says. And, given Putin has styled this battle as a war with the West, he can spin a defeat as NATO intervention, Zysk says. So: We were fighting 30 other countries, not just Ukraine. US President Joe Biden walks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at St Michaels Cathedral during a surprise visit on February 20. Credit:AP Could Ukraine win and will the West keep helping? Ukraine says it will not cede territory it doesnt just want to kick Russia out of the south-east, it wants Crimea back, too. And experts say Ukrainians shouldnt be underestimated again. Insurgencies have won wars against powerful invaders before, after all, from Vietnam to Afghanistan. Imagine if the Ukrainian army had collapsed in the first days of the war, as most people predicted, Miller muses. We wouldnt have even been talking about Western assistance because it wouldnt have got there in time. Ukraine has declared 2023 the year of victory. Some say it will need to be or that unprecedented Western support, already running into the billions of dollars, may dry up. Countries that feel the threat of Russian expansionism, such as Poland, are unlikely to cut off aid. But the bulk comes from the US. President Joe Biden has so far been staunchly supportive of Ukraine, helping rally other NATO countries to the effort. Yet the looming 2024 presidential election could change things if Donald Trump or another Republican opposed to Ukraine aid gets into the White House. Some defence officials already worry that Ukraine is distracting the US from China (and depleting its arsenals). Miller and Zysk say that, though the West and Ukraine do not always have identical interests, a decisive Russian defeat is important to them both. For Ukraine, only driving out this latest invasion entirely will keep it safe from Russia. And the West needs to make an example of Putins imperialist ambitions, Miller says. We cannot let Russia get away with this. If he can snatch anything, that could encourage states to try something, including China with Taiwan. Here the West has an opportunity, at the cost of zero lives on the part of the allies, to weaken Russia, which remains Chinas most plausible military ally. Freedman says there is now a consensus in the West that the only way to convince Russia it cannot succeed is for Ukraine to liberate much more territory hence the recent boost in weaponry sent to Ukraine. Miller expects support to continue but suspects Putin is betting it wont. So far, support has held firm over the European winter, when Putin hoped to freeze Europe without Russian energy. Instead, the West were willing to take the bill, says Zysk. Hein Goemans, an international conflict expert at the University of Rochester, says Russias best hope of winning now is breaking up support for Ukraine. That could happen in many ways, from the re-election of Trump to scaring the heck out of Europeans by testing a nuclear weapon. So, what if Russia does win? Through sheer weight of numbers, Miller says. It could be that the Ukrainian army is at breaking point and the Russians defeat them before new Western weapons can make the difference. If that happens, he warns, everything is back in play. Not just the Donbas, but Kyiv really, the rest of Ukraine. Williams thinks time is on Russias side. Russia is stubborn, itll just keep grinding away until it prevails. Russias economy has not been as affected by international sanctions as expected, and countries such as China, India and Iran continue to trade with it. Olha, 72, and husband Viktor, 73, live in a basement shelter because of the Russian strikes on Pervomaiske. Credit:Kate Geraghty What if it just ends up in a stalemate? There could be no clear victory for either side. We could get to the end of the year and the frontline doesnt look very different except a lot more people are dead, says Miller. Thats when the war may sink into the kind of ceasefire seen after the Korean War in 1953, where the conflict is frozen in place, each side gets whatever territory theyve got, and theres a de facto frontier between the Russian-occupied zone and the free Ukraine. Miller sighs as he admits: I think thats the most likely scenario. Williams agrees: Both sides are going to have to be more conservative about artillery rounds. And thatll lead more to a stalemate over the next 12 months, I think. These things can be very messy and drawn out. Under a ceasefire, the war could start again at any moment as it did in the Donbas when the 2022 invasion began. Still, some experts say even a stalemate would be a better outcome for Ukraine than a long war, if it came with concrete security guarantees from the West, as South Korea was given. These could take the form of NATO or European Union membership. Kateryna, 27, is a drone operator in the Ukrainian armed forces. Credit:Kate Geraghty Could peace be brokered? The war will be decided at the negotiating table, not on the battlefield, Williams thinks, though NATO doesnt like rewriting borders. He says Ukraine should negotiate the best deal it can get now before more people die and it loses more ground. Every day the nation is being destroyed by war, and Western tanks may not arrive in time to make a real difference, Williams says. He thinks eventually Ukraine will realise it wont get any more from NATO and theyll have to talk to the Russians. Perhaps a deal could include a UN-monitored plebiscite over the future of Donbas, he says (with those forced to flee the invaders included). And Russias Black Sea fleet could be permitted to continue using Crimeas Sevastopol naval base. Still, many experts put a peace deal among the least likely outcomes. Russia wont accept Ukraine becoming a NATO member. Ukraine certainly does not trust Russia not to invade again. Now, Ukraine has learnt it is stronger, and Russia weaker, than first supposed. Zelensky wants Russia off his land, and reparations for war crimes. Putin has further demands for the West to roll back NATO enlargement, pulling forces out of eastern member states such as Poland and the Baltic republics. Nobody will accept that, says Zysk. And really, how do the Ukrainians sit down with war criminals? How can they cede territories when they know the people living there could be killed or tortured? At the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), analyst Nataliya Bugayova argues that the West must see ceasefires and peace talks for what they are: Not off-ramps but rather on-ramps for the Kremlin to renew its attack on Ukraine in the future under conditions that advantage Russia. The Kremlin will not lose its appetite to control Ukraine, so the West should focus not on bringing Russia around to peace, but on cutting off its means of waging war. Loading Goemans also warns against peace talks: Do they think that Putin, after he has been successful and shown that he won against the mighty NATO alliance, that hes going to stop? We know appeasement doesnt work. Now, China is wading in, calling for a ceasefire and offering to use its influence over Russia to broker a deal. But Western leaders say China is playing a double game: trying to position itself as a global mediator in conflict while also supporting Russia. French servicemen stand on a tank during a joint US-French exercise in Romania in January. Credit:AP Could this yet become a bigger fight with NATO? Beyond Ukraine, most experts say the risk of a wider war has receded, though not disappeared. For all of Putins nuclear blackmail, he knows he cannot win a fight against NATO. Miller admits he was nervous that Putin may yet unleash so-called small-range tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield when Ukraine was driving Russia out of Kharkiv last year. But even then, under pressure, they didnt. Now if they threaten to, say, to keep Crimea, theyd better be prepared to, because it undermines the credibility of their entire nuclear deterrence posture against the West. And thats dangerous. While the battlefield gains of using a tactical nuclear weapon would be relatively small, Zysk says the backlash would be huge, alienating Russia from nations such as China and India. I often hear people say, Well, Putin will be backed into a corner, Miller says. But remember, if he reaches for strategic nuclear missiles, the West will nuke him. Not just Russia. But Putin. Theres a danger of mission creep: increasing involvement that ends with boots on the ground, as it did in the Vietnam War. Then, days ahead of the war anniversary, Putin announced Russia was suspending, though not ripping up, its last nuclear arms treaty with the US, blocking official inspections of the size of its arsenal. Experts warn that the old era of winding back nuclear weapons may be over, though Moscow has stressed that it will not strike first. Williams says NATO is treading carefully to avoid being drawn into a direct confrontation with Russia, even without nuclear weapons, but theres a danger of mission creep: increasing involvement that ends with boots on the ground, as it did in Vietnam. Meanwhile, under the shadow of Russia, the golden domes of Kyivs St Michaels Cathedral still shine, untouched. Inside, you can find the ruins of the original church more than a thousand years old when the Soviets tore it down in the 1930s, then rebuilt in the 1990s following Ukraines independence. I saw that cathedral every day when I lived in Kyiv and its still standing, says Lawriwsky, who now spends most days in Melbourne awaiting news of loved ones in Ukraine. Theres been a cultural revival there. Putin wanted to Russify Ukraine but hes done the opposite. Loading Instead of dividing the West, long dismissed by Putin as corrupt and weak, the invasion has unified it, Zysk says. Instead of sealing his legacy with a stunning territory grab, Putin has bogged Russia down in a costly and bloody war he may well lose. Ukraine will rebuild, says Romaniw. The whole world will want to help. But his voice wavers as he remembers a little boy stepping off an evacuation bus at the Polish border. He had the exact same scooter my grandson has [in Australia]. That little boy what has he done to deserve this? With additional reporting by Rob Harris Fascinating answers to perplexing questions delivered to your inbox every week. Sign up to get our Explainer newsletter here. Its possible that, when the stakes are higher, we notice more of the world around us. So it may be with the Russian war on Ukraine at its one-year mark. What can we say we have learnt from the hundreds of thousands of deaths and countless war crimes that have followed Vladimir Putins illegal, full-scale invasion on February 24 last year? And, as the son of Ukrainian political refugees from World War II, and as a writer who has been to Ukraine twice in the past 12 months to cover the war, what have I learnt? While I see myself as a humane and compassionate person, I must confess this is the year Ive learnt to hate. Sydney-based writer Pete Shmigel in Ukraine. But first, the myth of Russian might: the worlds so-called second greatest military has been shown to be a direct reflection of Putins Russia: racked by corrupt nepotism, inept and cowardly. The very idea of emptying prisons to send untrained and unmotivated men to attack highly defended trenches isnt only deadly; in the 21st century, it is downright bizarre. Russia is now not a world power that needs to be pragmatically accommodated but a rogue regime sustained only by violence against others and against its own people. We have learnt that what Russia lacks in credibility and competency, it compensates for with savagery. We know from the evidence of its barbarity mass rapes, summary executions, intentional destruction of more than 2000 hospitals, schools, churches and museums, and forcible deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied territories that this war isnt about checking NATO or defeating alleged Nazis. Anyone who saw the original Broadway production of Tony Kushner's Angels in America cannot possibly forget the image of Ellen McLaughlin, as the almost menacing angel, crashing through the ceiling proclaiming, "The great work begins!" While McLaughlin has continued to act since then, she has become equally renowned for her many adaptations of Greek plays including Iphigenia and Other Daughters, Tongue of a Bird, Helen, and The Persians. Her latest, Kissing the Floor, which begins performances at Theatre Row on February 23, is a rather radical reinvention of Sophocles' Antigone (the classic story of a Greek woman willing to defy both her father and society to bury her dead brother). Here, the work is set in the 1930s, and both Antigone (named Annie) and her brother (named Paul) are still alive, but their unusual relationship does not meet with the approval of society or their other two siblings. TheaterMania recently spoke with McLaughlin about the creation of the play, the inspiration for its setting in the 1930s, and the joys of being in the rehearsal room for the first time since the Covid pandemic began. Ellen McLaughlin (image provided by the production) This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. How did this play come about? It started a long time ago when I was given a commission to do an adaptation of Antigone. It's the most adapted Greek play, and it can seem very straightforward in some of its themes male versus female, old versus young, the dead versus the living so I'm not surprised that it's often the Greek play people are introduced to in high school. I read a lot of translations and adaptations, as I always do, and none of them were doing it for me. I just couldn't find my own way in. What changed your mind? First, one day, I had suddenly had the image of a woman knocking on the floor. I thought, finally, that's something I can work with. Those are the kind of days writers live for. Second, when I teach, I tell my students to run towards the darkness, embrace what disturbs you, and find a way to make that yours. What kept disturbing me is Antigone is running toward death; her whole journey feels like a very elaborate way to kill herself. What she does is so anti-life; why does she do it? And then I thought about who would be the modern equivalent of Antigone's brother, somebody that no one else would protect or love. I realized that person would be a child predator. But I want to stress this is not a social issue play; I want the audience to think about him as an ethical disaster. I gather you wrote this play very quickly. Is that normal for you? I wrote the first draft in two weeks. Once I start, I can't stop. Honestly, my unconscious was working on it even while I was making a sandwich. Why did you decide to set this play in the 1930s? I thought the Great Depression was a good time to set this play because it was a time of dread and there were these polarities between the rich and poor. A lot of Greek plays have to do with someone falling from wealth and stature and that is true of Antigone as well. Then, while I was thinking about the play, I read a New Yorker piece by James Thurber from the 1930s about his visiting the old Pulitzer mansion, and I thought that's the house of Thebes from Oedipus, and I realized that kind of house, a decaying mansion, would make a powerfully dramatic setting for this play. Has the script changed much during rehearsals? If you had asked me about this months ago, I would have thought the script was set in stone. I wrote this play many years ago. But I have made a lot of revisions after watching this production in rehearsals. You can't know everything about a script until you hear it. And sometimes, an actor will tell you, "I can't get from here to there," so you make a tweak. I am really glad to have actors who are facile with language and, who like me, just want to tell this story properly. Your husband, Rinde Eckert, is playing the jail warden, Brennan. Did you consider acting in the play as well? There wasn't anyone my age in the Greek equivalent; Antigone has to be a young woman and it's important that someone her age is willing to throw away her life. So, I didn't add a character for me to play. Ultimately, it's easier as playwright to see what's going on when you're not acting. I am enjoying being on the outside. Moreover, because of Covid, I really missed being in the rehearsal room, so it's great to just be back in one in any capacity. A Nigerian man has been sentenced to 2 years in federal prison for his part in a mail fraud scheme that authorities say cost a Dickinson company nearly $300,000. Kolawole Akande, 37, must also pay $348,000 in restitution, according to U.S. Attorney Mac Schneider. Akande and other defendants obtained checks through the mail from the company, which Schneider said was a victim of a computer intrusion scam that used emails appearing to be from the companys owners to trick the companys controller into issuing the checks. Akande used a fake United Kingdom passport to open a bank account in Texas. Checks received from the company were deposited there and the funds withdrawn, authorities said. Akande was arrested in the United Kingdom in September 2021 and extradited to North Dakota in April 2022. He pleaded guilty to mail fraud in November. Co-defendant Olawale Sule in February 2021 was sentenced to two years in prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. A third man, Oluwafemi Olasode, in September 2021 was sentenced to time already served for misprision of a felony, or concealing a crime. A multiday storm that dropped more than half a foot of snow on Bismarck and led to blizzard conditions in southeastern North Dakota wound down on Thursday afternoon. The National Weather Service began easing weather warnings; closed interstates reopened between Bismarck and Fargo, and Fargo to the South Dakota border; and flights resumed at the Bismarck Airport. Bismarck received 3.2 inches of snow on Wednesday and Thursday, according to weather service Meteorological Technician Jim Assid, after getting 4.5 inches on Tuesday a city record for that date. This weeks storm has pushed Bismarcks snow total for the winter past 5 feet more than 2 feet above normal. The citys record snowfall for an entire winter is about 8 feet, in 1996-97. The storm also pushed Bismarcks existing snowpack back above the 1 foot mark. The city from mid-December to early February set a record with 54 consecutive days of a snowpack measuring at least 12 inches, thanks to several early winter storms. The official snow depth as of Wednesday was 13 inches putting the city at 104 straight days with a snowpack of at least 6 inches. The record for that level is 108 days in the winter of 1996-97. The moisture will be welcome. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map, released Thursday, showed all of North Dakota as being abnormally dry or in some form of drought. Most of Burleigh and Morton counties is in the abnormally dry category. Much of the rest of the state, including the southeast, is in moderate drought. This weeks precipitation will be factored into next weeks map. The U.S. Drought Monitor is a partnership of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Drought Mitigation Center and the federal Agriculture Department. The dynamic storm impacted U.S. cities from coast to coast. Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday had its snowiest day in 80 years, while on the other side of the country New Hampshire law officers responded to dozens of crashes, according to AccuWeather. In between, Minneapolis got more than a foot of snow, snarling traffic and impacting flights at the citys hub airport. That led to the cancellation of several flights into and out of Bismarck early Thursday, but most afternoon flights were listed as on time. Arctic air that has blanketed the state for much of the week, dropping daily high temperatures below zero and overnight wind chills to the minus 30s and 40s, should ease by the weekend. High temps in the Bismarck-Mandan area are forecast in the low-to-mid 20s on Saturday and in the lower 30s on Sunday and Monday. As a comparison, Wednesdays high in Bismarck was minus 6. Gate struck A Florida trucker was cited for careless driving when his rig crashed into a road closure gate on Interstate 94 in Bismarck about 9:30 a.m. Thursday. The interstate was closed from Bismarck to Fargo at the time. Nieman Arias, 44, of Miami, was traveling east in his semitrailer when he encountered the gate at Exit 161 and was unable to stop, the Highway Patrol reported. The crash damaged both the gate and semi. No injuries were reported. Flood outlook The latest spring flood potential outlook from the weather service, released Thursday, indicates a near-normal flood risk in the Missouri River Basin above Lake Sakakawea, including for ice jam flooding. Runoff below Garrison Dam is not expected to be enough to create flood problems; there is still a risk of ice jam flooding, but its considered below normal. Soils across the basin are quite dry. Along with the soils being dry, the insulating effect of the early snow has kept the soils under the snow warmer than one would expect based on the overall colder-than-normal December and slightly warmer-than-normal January, the outlook states. These warm and dry soils will allow infiltration of rainfall and meltwater from the spring snowmelt season under all but the most extreme of melt conditions. The outlook is not meant to be a forecast, but a look at the probabilities of flooding over the next 90 days given current conditions. The agency updates them regularly heading into spring. The spring melt season typically is around the second to fourth week of March. The next outlook is scheduled for March 9. We cant change history or attitudes simply by changing the names of monuments and military bases. Confronting the past, and learning from it to produce a generation of new role models, is much harder, and much preferred. Early in January, the U.S. Department of Defense began a massive undertaking to change the names of nine military bases, two ships, and over 1,000 other items, including signs and roads, all of which are currently linked to Confederate figures. Fort Bragg, Fort Benning, the USS Chancellorsville, and a host of other military properties will undergo the purge, estimated to cost $62.5 million. Some might view this initiative as caving to societal pressure to blot out all reminders of historic racism from our national field of vision. That seems likely to be the case, whether you view it as laudatory or not. Its worth remembering that legislation paving the way for this project was included in the National Defense Authorization Act of December 2020, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and an override of President Trumps veto. But there has certainly been popular pushback on the project from sources like this one, claiming that it reflects poorly on our society that some people cannot accept and learn from controversial history and common sense suggests that this kind of money should be used for something more productive. I think its worth evaluating those claims with a little more nuance than Next News provides. Theres both an economic and a moral-cultural question at play here, and we should give them each their due consideration. From an economic angle, while only a small portion of the vast U.S. military budget, $62.5 million is still a massive amount of taxpayer money. And yes, that money could be used for something else. The question of whether other uses by the federal government would be more productive, however, may not have a universal, commonsense answer. On the surface, renaming a bunch of buildings, vessels, and roads makes close to zero difference to most of the people inhabiting, sailing in, or driving on them. I have a couple of friends who have been stationed at Fort Bragg and Fort Benning, and I doubt they would say that their day-to-day operations would be affected in the least if the base names were changed to Fort Liberty and Fort Moore. If human beings lived and acted solely within an economic framework, this decision still makes very little sense, as its hard to see what substantial goods or services would be provided to the consumers of these military institutions in exchange for the exorbitant cost of production. What people spend money on, however, shows what they value, and theres no exception here. Clearly the DoD (or at least the Congress-appointed Naming Commission that recommended the changes) sees enough value in this project to spend tens of millions of dollars on it. Katherine Kuzminski, senior fellow at the military-research think tank Center for a New American Security, gave a clue to the subjective value of the project when she said, What the Naming Commission was doing was changing the culture. Congress recognizes that: Whether or not the soldiers themselves see any substantial profit from all the funds going into the name changes, the payoff in cultural modification is, apparently, worth the economic investment. But will the expected cultural change actually occur? At this point, I am reminded of lines from the second-to-last stanza of the poem Mythopoeia by J.R.R. Tolkien: I will not walk with your progressive apes, erect and sapient. Before them gapes the dark abyss to which their progress tends if by Gods mercy progress ever ends, and does not ceaselessly revolve the same unfruitful course with changing of a name. The phrasing of the last three lines makes one wonder: Does changing the name of a place have an effect on its underlying reality? In the Scriptures, we see instances where God changes a persons name to indicate a new role he is giving them or an affirmation of a future reality. Examples include God changing the name of Abram (high father) to Abraham (father of many) as part of the covenant promise, or Christ changing the name of Simon (God has heard) to Peter (rock) to establish Peters primacy among the apostles. Legally, people change their names when they are adopted or get married. With regard to people, changing a name typically indicates either a past or a future change to that persons identity. Surely with military outposts this is not the case. Fort Bragg will still cover 251 square miles of North Carolina turf and house 54,000 military personnel, even if you call it Fort Liberty. It will retain the same purpose. The effect of the change is not on the place itself but on the perception of it. The change is in us, the culture-creators and culture-recipients. When we consider this massive initiative our nation is about to assume, we acknowledge that who or what is being honoredand dishonoredis intended to send a very real cultural message, one whose perceived significance is apparently worth $62.5 million. How much would you pay to end racism in America? Such questions boil down to putting a price tag on human dignity, to bargaining with incommensurate realities. The value of the human person is infinite, but in the practical workings of government, everything costs something. The answer to this question is not a dollar amount, but thats how the DoD is trying to answer it. Even asking this question, however, assumes that renaming military property will contribute to ending racism in America, which to me seems a shaky assumption at best. I think racism is better combatted through vibrant local communities where people of all races and backgrounds can share their diverse experiences, through strong families who teach their children to value and respect every human person, and through thick cultures embracing and passing on their traditions. And those things are fostered not through top-down legislation but through the principle of subsidiarity. I think that principle can apply here, too. Rather than seeing the government as a God-like entity trying to alter an entire nations future by pursuing an unfruitful course with changing of a name, I suggest we look at a biblical analogy that more accurately reflects the situation. In both the Old and New Testaments, there are many examples of places or objects being named or renamed because of something significant having happened in relation to them. For instance, after Jacob wrestles with an angel (incidentally, immediately after he is renamed Israel), he calls the name of the wrestling turf Peniel (face of God) to commemorate his encounter there. Another instance is the naming of the place of Judas death Akeldama (field of blood) in the book of Acts. These and countless other examples demonstrate a perfectly natural naming methodology. Indeed, it is in large part how the military bases were named after Confederate figures in the first place. Local military communities named local bases after the leaders they found inspiring, after those who influenced events and made history in their particular regions, and those names persisted as bases were consolidated and grew in size. Since this natural outgrowth of history and culture is what we have inherited, it seems acceptable to me (and much less expensive) that the United States leave the names as they are and let that heritage endure. This does not equate to affirming slavery or proclaiming support of the Confederate side in the Civil War. People are capable of making mental distinctions, and naming a road after a local military officer no more affirms the morality of the causes he fought for than naming a field Akeldama affirms the morality of suicide. You can visit the memorial of Alexander the Great in Thessaloniki without condoning arranging your cousins execution or having a harem. You can walk down the Rue Robespierre outside of Paris without applauding the Reign of Terror. Rather, I think it equates to calling a street in the Catholic neighborhood of a big city after St. Joseph and leaving it that way even after non-Catholics come to predominate and the Catholic residents have stopped going to church. It also does not equate to deciding in 2023 to name a hypothetical brand-new military base after a Confederate general. For one thing, after World War II, the process of naming new military outposts was standardized. For another, the same principle of respecting local historical significance applies with regard to which figures we choose to honor in our own day and age. National values can shift, as weve seen over the decades, and this is reflected in whom we choose to honor, and where, and when. We honor different types of figures now than in the Civil War era. But this does not mean we need to go back and change who and what was held in honor in the past. Better, and harder, to learn why such honor was bestowed in the first place. Ultimately, subsidiarity provides a guide here because context matters. The military bases in the South were originally named for Confederate figures because they were great military strategists and leaders, admired for their courage and foresight, not merely the causes for which they fought. Those seem like important qualities for current military personnel to assimilate, and since the bases function within a military context, promoting those virtues through honoring historical instances of them seems appropriate. It is true that other, less legitimate reasons than an admiration for military virtue may exist in the honoring of these figures. Racist attitudes still abound, but the solution to them is to be found in education and dialogue, not top-down federal spending or Stalin-esque erasure. So is the economic cost worth the expected cultural payout? In my opinion, no. But there are many moving parts to this issue. Lets not jump immediately from the DoD announcement to a dismissive according to the left, white supremacy is our biggest threat in America. Lets have a more thoughtful, principles-based, constructive conversation. Boulder High School is under lockdown after reports of someone with a gun on or near campus. There are no reported injuries. As someone who attended Boulder High School, this news hits close to home. However, in the midst of this tension, I came across a funny tweet by Sanho Tree from the Institute for Policy Studies. He recounted the time a 15-year-old student made a fool of disgraced sex pest Bill O'Reilly on his own show back in 2007. The incident in question happened when O'Reilly had two Boulder High School students on his show to talk about a controversial event where a panel discussed sex and drugs with students. The principal had to apologize about the event, saying the things that the panelists told the kids were inappropriate. One of the kids on the show said he was offended by the panelists' discussion. The other kid said the public had the wrong idea about the event and that the panelists actually offered good information. This enraged O'Reilly to the point that he made up lies about what one of the panelists said. But the kid did his homework and calmy debunked O'Reilly's mendacious bullshit. The kid even read from O'Reilly's own book of moralizing advice for kids, which revealed that O'Reilly's attitude toward drugs was the same as the guy O'Reilly was misquoting. The kid even earned O'Reilly's favorite insult of "pinhead." As the streaming wars progress, several consumers are beginning to regret Hollywood's decision to stop prioritizing physical media. One of the main draws behind joining a streaming service was the immense library you could access. However, in recent weeks, we've seen that streaming services have no problem dumping an entire series from their platform with little to no ceremony. In addition to the permanence offered by owning a DVD collection, the format also afforded viewers an amazing feature that has essentially disappeared in the streaming era. Now that streaming is king; the industry has done away with the DVD director's commentary. In an attempt to reverse the trend, Rian Johnson has partnered with Netflix to release a commentary track for his new movie Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. As one of the most visionary filmmakers working in the field, hopefully, Johnson will inspire other directors to revive the director's commentary. Some of the worlds top photographersthe creme de la cremehave received accolades from the Sony World Photography Awards (SWPA), which recently announced the national winners of its global competition. Many of those winners have already proudly added the distinction to their Instagram pages, professional photographers websites, or CVs. A whopping 415,000 images were submitted to SWPA 2023 and those were whittled down by about half for the Open Competition. Entries came in from 200 countries and regions across the globefrom Austria to Vietnam, from the U.A.E. to the U.S.A. Devoted to fostering local talent on a global scale, SWPA announced their National Award winners on Feb. 7. These represent the highest achievements in photographic excellence from across 55 countries. All of the National Award winners will receive Sony digital imaging equipment and will be included in the SWPA exhibition and in their book. (Courtesy of Samia Berbiche, France, National Awards Winner, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards) Demonstrating mastery in their craft, the national winners as a whole, all vying in a single competition, display a stunning breadth of creativitythe full spectrum of cultural and artistic diversity. In the present selection, hand-picked by The Epoch Times for our readers perusal, you will embark on a world journey: Daunting traditional riders are depicted in all their glory by U.A.E.-based photographer Oday Shanshal; A sublime night celebration explodes with color during a fair in Latin America, seen through the lens of Mexican photographer Pavel Velez; From the air, an ocean rendezvouses between a sun-kissed snorkeler and sea turtle is captured by Vietnamese photographer Thien Nguyen Ngoc; In a chic, denim-concept portrait by Kuwait-based photographer Adil Javed, a little sass is served over the phone; (Courtesy of Oday Shanshal, United Arab Emirates National Award Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Roberto Pavic, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Bosnia & Herzegovina Regional Award Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Rajeev Abeysekara, Sri Lanka, National Award Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) Adding a little mischief, a sneaky owls gleaming golden eyes peer into the camera of Protap Shekhor Mohanto from Bangladesh; Tenderly, a youth bears his freckles without shame in American Angela Perezs portrait; Meanwhile, an acrobat on horseback dazzles in a black-and-white cultural expose by Abdulla Al-Mushaifri from Qatar; There are also active volcanoes, a Slovenian ski jumper, a Taiwanese rope skipper, and, of course, cats! And yet we have hardly scratched the surface; we invite you to savor them all with your own eyes. Next on the competitions timeline, the overall winners of the Student, Youth, Open, and Professional competitions will be announced on April 13. They will go on display as part of the exhibition at Somerset House in London. Now, without further adieu, here is a selection of the winning photos: (Courtesy of Abdelrahman Gabr, Egypt, National Award Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Kazutoshi Ono, Japan, National Awards 2nd Place, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Pavel Velez, Latin America, National Awards 1st Place, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Adil Javed, Kuwait, National Awards Winner, 2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Abdulla AL-Mushaifri, Qatar, National Award Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Andrej Tarfila, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Bosnia & Herzegovina Regional Award Shortlist/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Leo Huang, Taiwan, National Awards Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Erhan Coral, Turkey, National Award Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Filip Hrebenda, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania & Moldova Regional Awards Shortlist/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Huazheng Hong, Singapore, National Award Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Kevin Moncayo, Latin America, National Awards 2nd Place/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Hajime Hirano, Japan, National Awards 1st Place/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Takahiro Toh, Japan, National Awards 3rd Place/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Mansoor Mohsen, Saudi Arabia, National Awards Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Chan Sithy Heng, Cambodia, National Awards Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Protap Shekhor Mohanto, Bangladesh, National Award Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Kyujin Jeong, Korea, Korea, National Award 2nd Place/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Mawaruddin Mawaruddin, Indonesia, National Award Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Niks Freimanis, Latvia, Estonia & Lithuania Regional Awards Shortlist/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Si Thu Ye Myint, Myanmar, National Awards Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Thien Nguyen Ngoc, Vietnam, National Award Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Uku Soot, Latvia, Estonia & Lithuania Regional Awards Shortlist/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Vlatko Rafeski, Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria & North Macedonia Regional Awards Shortlist/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of David Balogh, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania & Moldova Regional Awards Shortlist/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Fabian Jung, Austria, National Awards Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Elena Georgiou, Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria & North Macedonia Regional Awards Shortlist/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Hernan Jaramillo, Colombia, Latin America, National Awards Shortlist/2023 Sony World Photography Awards), (Courtesy of Manuel Rodriguez, Costa Rica, Latin America, National Awards Shortlist/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Oscar Seguel Mangiola, Chile, Latin America, National Awards Shortlist/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Nukabari Opuama, Nigeria, National Awards Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Angela Perez, United States, National Awards Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Eng Tong Tan, Malaysia, National Awards Winner/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Andres Novales, Guatemala, Latin America, National Awards Shortlist/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Gyu Seob Shim, Korea, Republic Of, National Awards 1st Place/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) (Courtesy of Reynaldo San Martin, Bolivia, Latin America, National Awards Shortlist/2023 Sony World Photography Awards) 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 A disturbing video, taken on February 22, 2022, shows a Colorado sheriff's deputy in a confrontation with a man named Richard Ward, who was sitting in the backseat of his mother's parked car at a middle school in Pueblo. Ward expressed anxiety about the police, claiming they have mistreated him in the past. The deputy questions him about why he had been seen earlier trying to enter a car that wasn't his, to which Ward explains that he was at the school with his mother to pick up his little brother. He stepped out of his mother's car to take a brief walk and mistakenly thought another car in the lot belonged to his mother and tried to open the door. He told the deputy that he apologized to the woman in the car, and then found his mother's car. After the deputy asks Ward if he has any weapons, Ward takes out a pocket knife and places it on the car seat. Ward then puts a pill in his mouth. "What did you just stick in your mouth?" shouts the deputy. He grabs Ward, who says, "It was a pill. Let me go!" The deputy pulls Ward out of the car and throws him on the ground. As Ward struggles, the deputy yells, "Stop resisting bro!" before firing three shots into Ward's chest. "What happened?" Ward cries out in fear. He weeps for a few seconds, then stops moving. "Hey did you just shoot him?" says a voice off-camera. The officers stand by and don't attempt to resuscitate Ward. The deputies were later cleared of wrongdoing, but according to the video's description, Ward's mother filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in U.S. Federal Court for the District of Colorado. From the PoliceActivity YouTube channel: Abortion Laws, Ideological Makeup of Wisconsins Supreme Court to Be Decided in Upcoming Race A statue of the goddess of Justice balancing the scales, at Rennes' courthouse on Sept. 19, 2017.(Loic Venance/AFP/Getty Images) A race in Wisconsin for a seat on the states Supreme Court will decide the courts ideological balance and the fate of abortion access in the state. The technically nonpartisan primary on Feb. 21 winnowed down a field of four contenders to two, a conservative-leaning judge and a liberal-leaning one, who will meet at the general election on April 4. Currently, the states Supreme Court has a 43 conservative-leaning majority. But the upcoming retirement of conservative Justice Patience Roggensack, who has held her seat for two 10-year terms, will either result in keeping that majority in place or tilting the balance to a liberal majority. Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wickler explained to Vanity Fair what he sees as the high stakes involved. He said that the current conservative court has essentially acted as a third branch of the Republican-dominated state Legislature by permitting the drawing of the most gerrymandered maps of any state in the country in order to favor Republicans and limit the powers of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Wickler also said that if the conservative majority remained, the court could decide to uphold an 1849 abortion ban, which reverted into effect with the U.S. Supreme Courts Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization decision last year. If the liberal candidate wins, it would be the first time in 14 years since 2008 that liberals would hold a majority on the court. Central to the race is the issue of abortion, which revolves around the 19th-century-era state law that bans abortion in all cases unless the mothers life is at risk. Judge Janet Protasiewicz The liberal victor of the primary election is Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz, whose campaign fundraising dwarfed her three primary opponents, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, seeing Protasiewicz take the lions share of the votes at 46 percent. According to her campaign website, Protasiewicz claims she is running to restore integrity to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and get politics out of the courtroom. But she also says that for her entire life, the constitutional right to privacy has been settled law. We know its not up to the government to decide who we can or cant love, she continued. We know the 2020 election resulted in Joe Bidens election. We must restore confidence that judges arent just trying to reach their favored outcomes, but actually applying the law and the constitution, she said, adding that our most closely-held constitutional rights are under attack by radical right-wing extremists. Protasiewicz is a strong supporter of liberalizing abortion access, earning an endorsement from the pro-abortion advocacy organization Emilys Choice, which backs Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights. The organization said in its endorsement statement that this was the first time in its 38-year history that it was endorsing a candidate in a state judicial race. At her victory celebration on Feb. 21, Protasiewicz told supporters that in the upcoming general election, Ill be running against someone who doesnt think women get to make their own reproductive rights, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. I will guarantee you that my opponent, if elected, will uphold the 1849 near-total abortion ban, she said. Protasiewicz also condemned the states election maps as rigged, according to The Washington Post, and believes that people are extremely concerned about the 2024 presidential election and whether or not thats going to come into our Supreme Court chamber, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Former Justice Daniel Kelly The second-place finisher in the primary election is conservative former Wisconsin state Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly, with 24 percent of the vote, narrowly beating with a 2-point lead the other conservative in the primary race, Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow, known nationally for presiding over the November 2021 trial of Darrel Brooks, who drove his SUV into a crowded Waukesha Christmas parade killing six people. Kelly, who calls himself a strict constructionist, was originally appointed to the state Supreme Court in 2016 by then Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, but lost his reelection bid by 10 points in 2020 to a liberal jurist, the now Supreme Court Justice Jill Karofsky, despite President Donald Trumps endorsement, according to local NPR station WUVM. The outlet also reported that Kelly believes its the state Legislatures job to make the laws and the courts job to interpret those laws, and not bring personal political preferences into the courtroom. On his campaign website, Kelly promises to preserve constitutional rights, uphold the rule of law, and prevent judicial activism if elected. Kelly is the only candidate who has an actual record of how he would rule on the states Supreme Court because he sat on it for four years from 2016 to 2020. Kelly lists his vote on the court to overturn Democratic Gov. Evers COVID-19 lockdown Safer at Home order as one of his most important accomplishments. Calling the order a massive overreach of executive power, Kelly said that the result of the ruling was the restoration of our liberties and the end of the forced government shutdowns of schools, businesses, and churches. His record also points to his strong support of First and Second Amendment rights with his rulings in two cases. One resulted in protecting a Marquette University professors freedom of speech, and the other protected concealed carry rights, respectively. Speaking to supporters on the night of Feb. 21, Kelly referred to Protasiewicz, his opponent in the general election, as a brave and novel threat to the Supreme Court, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Shes promised to put her thumb on the scales of justice, to make sure that cases come out the way she wants them to come out, rather than based on what the law commands, he said. Accused Killer of Beloved Los Angeles Bishop Charged With Murder Bishop David O'Connell of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles attends a news conference at the Fall General Assembly meeting of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore on Nov. 17, 2021. (Julio Cortez/AP Photo) A man accused of gunning down Los Angeles Catholic Auxiliary Bishop David OConnell at his home in Hacienda Heights was charged Feb. 22 with murder. Carlos Medina, 61, was arrested Monday in connection with the Saturday shooting of the 69-year-old bishop. Medina is the husband of OConnells housekeeper, and he also performed handyman work at the bishops home, Sheriff Robert Luna said earlier this week. District Attorney George Gascon said the murder charge against Medina includes an allegation of the personal use of a firearm, meaning Medina faces 35 years to life in prison if convicted. Medina appeared briefly in court in downtown Los Angeles Wednesday afternoon, but his arraignment was postponed at the defenses request until March 22. He remains jailed in lieu of $2.03 million. Medinas attorney, Deputy Public Defender Pedro Cortes, told reporters after the brief hearing: Our hearts go out to everyone affected by this tragedy. Myself as well as Mr. Medinas defense team look forward to fully investigating all aspects of this case. OConnell was found shot just before 1 p.m. Saturday at his home in the 1500 block of Janlu Avenue, near Turnbull Canyon Road. Sheriffs officials confirmed Sunday that his death was being investigated as a homicide. Luna said it was still being determined exactly when OConnell was shot. Luna said there were no signs of forced entry into OConnells home, and the bishop was shot in the bedroom of his home. Gascon said OConnell had multiple gunshot wounds. The bishops body was discovered when a deacon went to the home to check on him, because OConnell was apparently late for a meeting, Luna said. Luna said tips from the public helped lead investigators to Medina, with one tipster saying that Medina was acting strange, irrational and made comments about the bishop owing him money. But the sheriff stopped short of saying such a dispute led to the killing, saying it was something that came up from one of the witnessesand that investigators were still conducting interviews. Gascon did not discuss a possible motive when he announced the murder charge during a midday news conference, saying only that the case remains under investigation. Sheriffs Lt. Michael Modica said at the news conference that Medina made various statements after his arrest about a possible motive, but investigators found them to be largely nonsensical, leading them to believe theres no validity to the suggestion that a financial debt led to the killing. I know this has been a shock for the community, Gascon said. It was obviously a very tragic event, but I cant say enough about the professionalism and the work of the men and women of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department and the way they conducted this investigation, professionally and expeditiously. Medina was arrested around 8:15 a.m. Monday following an hours-long standoff at his home in the 2400 block of Kenwood Avenue in Torrance. Luna said two firearms were recovered at Medinas home, and they were being tested to determine if either weapon was involved in the Saturday shooting. Luna also said that Medinas wife was being questioned and has been fully cooperative with detectives. While Medina was the husband of the bishops housekeeper, Medina himself had also previously done work at the bishops residence, although it was unclear when, according to the sheriff. Luna said Medina drove a dark-colored compact SUV similar to one seen on surveillance video pulling into OConnells driveway and leaving, although it was unsure when that occurred. Luis Lopez was a neighbor of Medinas and told ABC7 that Medina seemed like a good man and looked like he wouldnt hurt a fly. OConnell was a native of Ireland and had been a priest and later a bishop in Los Angeles for 45 years, Archbishop Jose Gomez said in a statement released following his death. He was a peacemaker with a heart for the poor and the immigrant, and he had a passion for building a community where the sanctity and dignity of every human life was honored and protected, Gomez said. At the time of his death, OConnellwidely known as Bishop Davewas vicar for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles San Gabriel Pastoral Region, a post he had since 2015, when Pope Francis appointed him as an auxiliary bishop for the Los Angeles Archdiocese. OConnell had previously served as associate pastor at St. Raymond Catholic Church in Downey, St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church in Long Beach, and St. Hilary Church of Perpetual Adoration in Pico Rivera and then as pastor of St. Frances X. Cabrini, Ascension, St. Eugene, and St. Michaels parishes, all in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, many people continued to mourn OConnell. The Los Angeles City Council adjourned its meeting Tuesday in his honor, with several council members speaking about the bishops impact on the community. Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez said OConnell will be remembered as always fighting for change in the communities most impacted by violence. Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson said, This is one of our most loving and shining angels that weve lost. On Monday, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Michel Moore spoke of an unimaginable and tragic loss of a peacemaker, adding, may God welcome Bishop OConnell home, a good and faithful servant. We all mourn this mans loss, and am grateful to the sheriffs department for their relentless pursuit and the communitys assistance to identify the individual responsible. State Sen. Bob Archuleta (D-Norwalk) said OConnell was a friend of his, and offered condolences from Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state officials at a Monday afternoon news briefing with reporters. He served the community and went to Salesian High School in East Los Angeles to bring people together and move forward, Archuleta said. Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn told reporters that OConnells death has left me and other people from here to Ireland heartbroken. He was known to walk among gang members, the homeless, and transients to bring peace to them. Gomez was overcome with emotion at a Monday news conference as he discussed the death of his friend and colleague, calling him a good friend to all of Los Angeles. He worked to show compassion to the poor, to the homeless, to the immigrant, to all those living on societys margins, Gomez said. He was a good priest and good bishop, and a man of peace. OConnell was born in County Cork, Ireland. He studied for the priesthood at All Hallows College in Dublin and was ordained to serve in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1979, according to Doris Benavides, associate director of media relations for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. As chairman of the interdiocesan Southern California Immigration Task Force, OConnell helped coordinate the churchs response to immigrant children and families from Central America in recent years. He also sponsored the enrollment of several young immigrants in Catholic schools, a number of whom have advanced to college. He served as a member of the Priest Pension Board and on the Together in Mission Board as well as the Archdiocesan Finance Council, the archdiocese said. He was a member of the Council of Priests and a Knight of Peter Claver. At the national level, he was chairman of the Subcommittee on the Catholic Campaign for Human Development of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. In September, OConnell was honored with the Evangelii Gaudium Award from St. Johns Seminary in Camarillo, for his selfless service to the community and the Church in L.A, Benavides said. The sheriffs Homicide Bureau urged anyone with information regarding the shooting to call them at 323-890-5500 or Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477. Tipsters can also use a smartphone by downloading the P3 Tips Mobile app on Google Play or the Apple App Store or by using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org. Alberta 2023 Budget to Include Money for Municipalities to Form Own Police Force A police vehicle looks out over an empty highway in Coutts, Alberta, on Feb. 15, 2022. (The Canadian Press) The Alberta government is prepared to give the city of Grande Prairie $9.7 million over two years to create and fund its own community-led municipal police force in the upcoming budget, if the city decides to move forward with a local policing option. In a Feb. 22 news release, the province said Budget 2023 would allow Grande Prairie, and other municipalities who are interested, to access money to offset start-up costs such as equipment, uniforms, vehicles, and information technology. Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Services Mike Ellis, who served 12 years with the Calgary Police Service as a constable and then patrol sergeant, posted on Twitter Feb. 22, that community driven and focused policing can increase the number of frontline officers, reduce response times and allow the municipality to set the priorities for their regional service. Under the provinces Police Act, cities and towns with a population greater than 5,000 are responsible for their own policy. Grande Prairie has a population of roughly 68,000 people. The Act allows municipalities a number of options for policing. They can form their own force, set up a regional policy arrangement, or contract for servicesas Grande Prairie currently does with the RCMP, under a provincial police service agreement with Public Safety Canada. The minister said he had been involved in discussions with several municipalities exploring options including municipal or regional police forces, due to erosion of trust in safety and poor response times. People are feeling that their local police services have not been responding to the community needs, especially in rural Alberta. Ive heard many stories about people calling their local detachments during moments of crisis and being told that itll be hours before an officer can respond, said the minister. Ellis said the province needed new and innovative policing solutions and that there was a paradigm shift occurring in Alberta. No longer will police services be seen and used as an arm of the state. Rather they must be an extension or rather a reflection of the communities that they serve, Ellis said. Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton spoke at a news conference on Feb. 22 when the potential funding was announced, and said that considering a municipal police force was not a new exploration. She said policing in the city was a significant departmental operating expense, and that a recently completed review identified concerns with the current policing arrangement. Clayton said benefits of a municipal police force would include increased local oversight, more accountability and efficiency, local decision-making autonomy, and improved officer recruitment and community-based recruit training. Under a new model, policing costs are estimated to be less than what is being spent under the current RCMP contract policing model, but the mayor emphasized the primary goal is a safer community. City Council is scheduled to vote on the proposed switch on March 6. Clayton said that regional partners in the county of Grande Prairie and in Claremont also considering implementing local policing. Ellis said other provinces, including B.C., Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, are exploring similar alternative policing options. The province said there has been no decision made yet on a provincial police force. In 2022, the province started a Community Policing Grant, which offers Indigenous communities and municipalities a one-time grant of up to $30,000 toward developing a business proposal for their own self-administered police service or regional equivalent. Applications opened on Sept. 6, 2022. Algiers from 1938: Before Casablanca, The Casbah Commentary Come with me to the Casbah. If youre familiar with this line, you might associate it with Pepe le Pew, the romantic French skunk from Warner Bros. Looney Tunes. Pepe frequently said the line to the object of his affections, a black and white cat whom he mistook for a female skunk. This amorous stinker was based on Charles Boyer, particularly in MGMs exotic drama Algiers from 1938. An English adaption of a 1937 film called Pepe le Moko, this film introduced many things into modern culture. It inspired the character of Pepe le Pew, whose name even resembles that of Boyers character in the film. It also introduced the aforementioned line about the Casbah, which became permanently associated with Boyer. The line is not actually said in the film, but IMDb states it was in the original trailer, which I havent been able to find to verify. The line grew to annoy the actor, who felt it made him seem like a parody. (L R seated) Joseph Calleia, Hedy Lamarr, Bert Roach, Claudia Dell, and Charles Boyer in the film Algiers in a cropped publicity still from 1938. (Public Domain) This film also introduced a beautiful new actress to American audiences, Hedy Lamarr. The Austrian-Jewish actress had made European films, but Algiers was the first American film in which she appeared. Her biggest movie to that point was Ecstasy in 1932, but the Czech production was too scandalous for this films publicity team to even mention it. Nevertheless, advertised with no merit except her loveliness, the refined European actress charmed moviegoers with her role in this groundbreaking film. An Exotic Story This whole story takes place in Algiers, the capital of Algeria, and much of the action centers on the citys native quarter, the Casbah. The film begins with the arrival from Paris of Police Commissioner Janvier (Paul Harvey), who is outraged that wanted jewel thief Pepe le Moko (Boyer) has escaped arrest for the two years hes been in Algiers. Inspector Slimane (Joseph Calleia), who is on the case, explains that although he sees the sly criminal every day, he cant arrest him as long as he stays in the Casbah because it would be impossible to get him out with all his friends in the native quarter. Although Slimane has also become friends with Pepe, he knows that he will eventually catch him if he just waits for him to come out of the Casbah. (L-R) Charles Boyer, Stanley Fields, and Alan Hale in the film Algiers in a cropped screenshot from 1938. (Public Domain) Meanwhile, the infamous thief is becoming increasingly restless trapped in the Casbah. He dreams of returning to Paris, but he knows that attempting to leave the city will cost him his freedom and maybe his life. Among his many criminal confederates is Pierrot (Johnny Downs), a young man who is one of his closest friends, and Regis (Gene Lockhart), a secret police informer whom Pepe instinctively mistrusts. Pepe has a possessive sweetheart named Ines (Sigrid Gurie), but she doesnt fully understand him. One evening, Pepe meets a beautiful young Frenchwoman named Gaby (Lamarr). She is traveling with some friends, including her fiance, Andre Giraux (Robert Greig), an unattractive but wealthy older man whom she admittedly doesnt love but who wants to marry her anyway. At first, Pepe seems to only be interested in the beautiful young womans expensive jewelry, but further meetings prove that he is deeply entranced by her other charms. As she continues to sneak to the Casbah for furtive meetings with Pepe, they form a deep emotional bond, since they remind each other of happier days at home in Paris. Meanwhile, the police realize that this secret romance may be the key to Pepes undoing. Well Always Have Paris Before Humphrey Bogart told Ingrid Bergmann, Well always have Paris, Pepe le Moko and Gaby dreamed of The City of Lights while trapped in a North African city. Although the 1942 wartime romance completely eclipsed the earlier movie, Casablanca was Warner Bros. answer to MGMs Algiers. Its true that the Academy Award-winning classic which introduced As Time Goes By was based on an unproduced play called Everybody Comes to Ricks. However, according to IMDbs trivia on the film, Algiers inspired the title, if not the concept, of Casablanca. (L-R) Joseph Calleia, Hedy Lamarr, Ben Hall, Joan Woodbury, Charles D. Lyon, and Charles Boyer in the 1938 film Algiers. (Public Domain) Algiers presented similar problems during production, content-wise, as Casablanca. In case youre not familiar with the system for regulating film content during the 1930s-50s, this was long before the modern rating system, which wouldnt be introduced until 1968. Instead of classifying movies based on their age-appropriateness, the American film industry collaborated with the Production Code Administration (PCA) throughout each movies production to ensure it followed the guidelines of the Motion Picture Production Code. The Code detailed basic standards of common decency, which, when followed, produced movies which were not only entertaining and intelligent but wholesome enough for all ages to enjoy. Unfortunately, this Golden Era only lasted from 1934-1954, during the twenty years when Joseph I. Breen was in charge of the PCA. One of the PCAs main concerns about this story was that the two main female characters seemed like kept women, mistresses who are supported financially. Early drafts of the script most likely didnt specify that Gaby is Andres fiancee, a change which lessened the implication of her being his mistress. As for Ines, she is written as the typical criminals moll, also meaning female companion, in a Code film. The extent of their relationship is never stated. By the time the film takes place, Pepe seems barely interested in her, so its hard to believe that theirs is an immoral relationship. At any rate, the situation is vague enough for viewers to infer what they want about it. The storys solution was also problematic, since Pepe is guilty of many crimes. The Code demanded that criminals be punished for their wrongdoing, so we know throughout the film that Pepe cant ride into the sunset, unpunished and unfettered. I wont spoil the ending, but it was changed from the plays original conclusion of Pepes committing suicide to escape imprisonment. Into the Casbah This story is very intense and dramatic, but the main focus is its exotic beauty. Everything about it is deliberately foreign. The two leading actors have rich European accents, and they speak of their mutual love for their homeland, France. As war was beginning to percolate in Europe in the late 1930s, Americans could share the couples wistful longing to return to a lost Paris. This message was much closer to home four years later, when Casablanca came out, since the United States had joined the war. Maybe thats part of the reason why the later film was even more successful. (L-R) An unidentified actor, Gino Corrado, Sigrid Gurie, and Joseph Calleia in the 1938 film Algiers. (Public Domain) Despite all the intensity and dark subject matter, the focus of this story is romance. Its score struck me as sounding like the background music to a silent film made in the late 1920s with a synchronized soundtrack. Perhaps that is because the main theme and the music played during the end credits are from the 1937 French film of the same name. The sweet, playful melodies are a painfully beautiful accompaniment to the story of the doomed lovers. Algiers may not be a happily ever after story, but it is a very beautiful film. ANALYSIS: Lees Senate Run Shows Major Divide in California Democrat Party The flag of California in Newport Beach, Calif., on Aug. 25, 2021. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) announcing her Senate run on Feb. 21 highlighted a schism in the California Democrat Party. Lee joined the Democrat field looking to succeed Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who has been in the upper congressional chamber since 1992. Feinstein represents a California Democrat Party that looks drastically different than when she arrived in Washington. The shift is so noticeable that the California Democrat Party even refused to endorse her re-election in 2018. Feinstein, 89, has gone against her party on multiple occasions over the past few years. She has been against the far-left Green New Deal, telling children who came into her Washington office demanding she votes for it that theres no way to pay for it. And while she voted against the Supreme Court nomination of Justice Amy Coney Barrett in October 2020, she praised then-Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) for his leadership. This earned a rebuke from then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). Lee and her primary opponents so far, Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Katie Porter (D-Calif.) support the Green New Deal. However, their campaign launches consisted of different focuses. In her announcement video, Porter, who announced first and has been in Congress since 2019, talked about taking on special interests. Schiff said in his campaign announcement video about taking on former President Donald Trump in the name of democracy as he was the lead House manager in Trumps first impeachment trial, where he was ultimately acquitted. In her video to launch her candidacy, Lee talked about her life story of confronting discrimination, being a single mother after a violent marriage, and going against the status quo such as being the only member of Congress to vote against the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force against those responsible for 9/11which Schiff and Feinstein voted in favor of. Lee also listed policy issues including combating climate change. Nonetheless, the race does look to be one between progressives. California is not going to elect a Republican. And theyre not going to elect a centrist. The question is what kind of progressivism is most important [to the electorate], Dan Schnur, a politics professor at multiple California universities, told The Los Angeles Times in a Feb. 20 article. These three candidates represent very different strains of progressivism. Despite claiming to be progressive, Schiff has come under fire from at least one progressive group. Adam Schiff plays the role of Trump antagonist on TV, but a recent book details how he stalled and undermined leaders trying to hold Trump accountable in Congress. And he never challenges corporations or the Democratic establishment, said Progressive Change Campaign Committee co-founder Adam Green in a Jan. 26 statement. San Francisco Mayor London Breedwho supported the November 2021 recall of three Board of Education members whom she said had been distracted by unnecessary influences or political agendas as opposed to putting kids above all elseis reportedly considering jumping into the Senate race, where the top two vote-getters will advance to the general election regardless of party affiliation. In addition, another issue likely to come into play in the Democrat primary is age. Lee is 76, Schiff is 62, and Porter is 49. Those three are in a California congressional delegationwhich is the largest of the states despite losing one seat in 2023 due to the 2020 census that showed a loss of 500,000 peoplethat has numerous Democrat octogenarians: former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is 82, Rep. Maxine Waters is 84, Rep. Anna Eshoo is 80, and Rep. Grace Napolitano is 86. And there are Democrat members of the delegation who are under 80 but past the eligibility age for Social Security. They include, but are not limited to, Zoe Lofgren (75), Brad Sherman (68), Mike Thompson (72), Jim Costa (70), Doris Matsui (78), John Garamendi (78), and Judy Chu (69). Out of that group, Sherman, Waters, Napolitano, Lofgren, and Chu are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which also includes Lee and Porter. As Punchbowl News observed on Feb. 22, its clear that a number of California Democrats are closer to the end of their careers than the beginning, and their departures would contribute to turnover in the delegation. While the aforementioned Democrats would all but certainly be succeeded by Democrats, it is more than likely that progressives would succeed them. Look no further than the 2022 race for Los Angeles mayor, which was won by progressive former Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) over moderate billionaire businessman and Democrat Rick Caruso. While California is a huge state, it is clear that it has gone in a direction further leftward. Under Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom, new gas-powered leaf blowers and lawnmowers will be banned by 2024. Newsom has ordered a ban on gas-powered cars starting in 2035 and he signed a bill late last year legalizing jaywalking. He has also enacted a gun law that allows people to sue gun manufacturersa measure modeled on a Texas law that allows people to sue those who aid and abet an abortion. As of Dec. 19, the gun law has been blocked by a federal judge. Nonetheless, California has one of the strictest gun laws in the nation. At the end of the day, the battle over who will succeed Feinstein is all but certain to come down to which progressive Democrat Californians want: a young progressive woman, a man who has claimed to be progressive by is loathed by some in the base, or a longtime Black progressive in her 70s. Australian Miner Gains Control Over US Lithium Giants China Assets Albemarle to increase share of Australian mining assets Albemarle Corporation spokesman Marcelo Valdebenito holds a bottle of processed lithium carbonate at a lithium mine in Salar de Atacama, Chile on Aug. 24, 2022. (John Moore/Getty Images) U.S. lithium giant Albemarle will deepen control of Australian lithium mining assets after revamping its joint venture with Mineral Resources (MinRes). In turn, the Australian Mineral Resources will also gain partial control of two Chinese mining plants operated by Albemarle. In the new deal announced on Feb. 22, Albemarle will initially deepen control over two spodumene conversion trains in Kemerton, Western Australia, from 60 to 85 percent. Spodumene is in high demand for conversion to lithium which is used in the creation of lithium-ion batteriesnow a must-have item amid the global push for net-zero. Lithium batteries are used in electric vehicles, smartphones, and large rechargeable batteries. Our Australian lithium assets are core to Albemarles strategy to build a globally diversified portfolio of best-in-class assets and resources, said Kent Masters, CEO of the Charlotte-based Albemarle, in a statement. Inherent to that strategy is managing our global portfolio to maximize growth optionality and maintain a leading position in a dynamic, growing market. The Kemerton facility is connected to the Greenbushes mine, one of the worlds largest sources of lithium. Australia currently supplies around half of the worlds lithium and is a top destination for some of the largest miners globally, including Chinas Tianqi and Chiles SQM. Australian Company Gets Chinese Winfall At the same time, MinRes will up its stake in the jointly owned Wodgina Lithium Mine Project from 40 to 50 percent. MinRes is proud to operate in Western Australia, a jurisdiction that leads the world in ethical mining practices and is backed by governments focused on growing the battery minerals supply chain, said Managing Director Chris Ellison. We also continue to study options to invest in capacity for future downstream lithium production in Australia, he added. Meanwhile, in China, the Australian firm will receive half the ownership of Albemarles Qinzhou and Meishan plants after agreeing to pay $970 million (US$660 million). Qinzhou has a capacity of 25,000 tonnes per annum and will be modified to be able to convert spodumene from Wodgina, while Meishan has a future capacity of 50,000 tonnes per annum. Both will be ready in 2024. However, the deals are subject to Chinese and Australian regulatory approval. The Supply Chain Headache Lithium and rare earth supply chains continue to be a headache for political and business leaders. While the mining of lithium is diversified, the actual processing activity is concentrated in China, with many miners (like Albemarle and Mineral Resources) shipping extracted minerals overseas instead of processing them locally. China is estimated to control around 44 percent of lithium refining globally and 70 percent of battery cell production, in statistics from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. This advantage was gained steadily over the decades through low-cost labour and relatively lax environmental standards that together feed into cheaper processing costs compared to the West where mining firms have simply closed shop altogether. A recent report from Li-Bridge, Building a Robust and Resilient U.S. Lithium Supply Chain, said the situation posed a national and economic security risk to the United States. The U.S. military today does not have direct, domestic access to the most advanced lithium batters and chemistries to power its troops, vehicles, bases, and weapons systems. Foreign countries, including some that are potential adversaries, also control the upstream and midstream, supply chain for those batteries, the report read. The situation has compelled U.S. and Australian leaders to push hard to develop alternate processing streams for lithium and rare earths. Biden Issues Executive Order Promoting Equity Using Woke AI President Joe Biden speaks about the administration's response to recent aerial objects at the White House in Washington, on Feb. 16, 2023. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) President Joe Biden has approved an executive order that directs federal agencies to use artificial intelligence to achieve equity objectivesa move observers are warning is equivalent to integrating a woke AI into the government. When designing, developing, acquiring, and using artificial intelligence and automated systems in the Federal Government, agencies shall do so, consistent with applicable law, in a manner that advances equity, states the Executive Order on Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities published Feb. 16 under the section Embedding Equity into Government-Wide Processes. In the section, the Director of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is asked to take steps to ensure equitable decision-making and assist agencies in advancing equity where needed. Moreover, agencies are asked to use their civil rights authorities to advance equity for all. Agencies should consider opportunities to ensure that their respective civil rights offices are consulted on decisions regarding the design, development, acquisition, and use of artificial intelligence and automated systems. In the executive order, equity is defined as handing out fair, just, and impartial treatment to communities who have been denied such treatment. This includes Black, Latino, Indigenous and Native American, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander persons and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; women and girls; LGBTQI+ persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; persons who live in United States Territories; persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality; and individuals who belong to multiple such communities. Criticism of the Equity Push Bidens push for developing an equity-focused AI is attracting criticism online. In a Feb. 21 post on Twitter, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute Christopher Rufo said the executive order to create a DEI bureaucracy contains a special mandate for woke AI. DEI stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Biden is not a moderate. This is a legal sprint to inject as much radical ideology as broadly and as deeply as possible in our government. This cannot be allowed. If Republicans take office, they must fully root out all of this ideological and social cancer, evolutionary biologist Colin Wright, a founding editor of pro-free speech publication Realitys Last Stand, said in a Feb. 21 Twitter post. Derived from Marxist teachings, equity is different from the concept of equality, where everyone in a society is treated on an equal footing, and given the same level of treatment regardless of differences in race, religion, and other factors. Equity, on the other hand, focuses on the forced redistribution of resources. In a socialist equitable scenario, privileges are distributed based on perceived imbalances. Such decisions are typically undertaken by an unelected group of progressive advocates. Biased Artificial Intelligence Tech firms like Google are known to be focused on creating biased artificial intelligence. In an interview with EpochTVs Crossroads program on Jan. 5, Zach Vorhies, a former Google-employee-turned-whistleblower, said that he was concerned about the company curating data to create AI biased with leftist and social justice values. AI is a product of the data that gets fed into it If you want to create an AI thats got social justice values youre going to only feed it information that confirms that bias. So by biasing the information, you can bias the AI, Vorhies explained. You cant have an AI that collects the full breadth of information and then becomes biased, despite the fact that the information is unbiased. In Bidens executive order, stress is given to pursue ambitious goals in line with promoting equity in science, and rooting out bias in the design and use of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence. An analysis done by researcher David Rozado on ChatGPT shows that the AI chatbot has a leftist political bias. ChatGPT was developed by the research group OpenAI and launched in November 2022. In a Feb. 2 post on Substack, Rozado detailed his research on the unequal treatment of demographic groups by the ChatGPT/OpenAI content moderation system. He then ranked groups according to how likely negative comments against them are flagged as hateful by the moderation system. Disabled people and/or people with a disability, blacks, gay and lesbian people, people with a disability, homosexual people, Asians, transgender people, and Muslims ranked in the top 10. Right-wingers, rightists, lower-middle-class people, Democrats, university graduates, middle-class people, upper-middle-class people, Republican voters, Republicans, and wealthy people ranked in the bottom 10 of the list. The ratings displayed by OpenAI content moderation system when rating negative comments about demographic groups partially resembles left-leaning political orientation hierarchies of perceived vulnerability, Rozado notes. Biden: No Evidence Putin Plans to Use Nuclear Weapons U.S. President Joe Biden delivers a speech at the Royal Castle Arcades in Warsaw, Poland, on Feb. 21, 2023. (Omar Marques/Getty Images) President Joe Biden on Feb. 22 branded Russias decision to suspend its participation in the last remaining nuclear arms control pact with the United States a big mistake but stressed that there is so far no evidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin is looking to use nuclear weapons. Biden made the comments in an interview with ABC News shortly after Putin announced in a national address that Moscow was suspending its participation in a major nuclear arms control treaty. Its a big mistake to do that. Not very responsible. Andbut I dont read into that that hes thinking of using nuclear weapons or anything like that, Biden said. Biden was asked if he believes the United States is less safe now that Russia has walked away from the treaty. I think were less safe when we walk away from arms control agreements that are very much in both parties interests and the worlds interest. But Ive not seen anything, weve not seen anything thatwhere theres a change in his posture and what theyre doing, Biden responded. The idea that somehow this means theyre thinking of using nuclear weapons intercontinental ballistic missiles, theres no evidence of that. Biden also said that hes confident that Washington and Moscow will be able to work it out. Nuclear Treaty Conditions Putin said in his Feb. 21 announcement that Russia was not withdrawing from the New START treaty but is just suspending [our participation in] it. The treaty was first signed in 2010 by then-U.S. President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev and went into effect the year after on Feb. 5. In 2021, shortly after Biden took office, the treaty was extended by a further five years and was set to expire on Feb. 4, 2026. It is aimed at setting limits on the number of strategic nuclear warheads that both countries can deploy for as long as the treaty remains in force. Under the agreement, both Moscow and Washington pledged to deploy no more than 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads and a maximum of 700 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and heavy bombers. The agreement also serves to enhance U.S. national security by allowing Washington to conduct 18 on-site inspections of strategic nuclear weapons sites in Russia every year to ensure it has not breached the treatys limits. Russia, in turn, can also conduct 18 on-site inspections per year in the United States. Inspections under the agreement were put on hold in March 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and talks were meant to be held in November to discuss resuming them but were put on hold by Russia. Both the United States and Russia are believed to account for roughly 90 percent of the worlds existing nuclear weapons. However, amid Russias ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and the Wests consistent support of Kyiv, Putin alleged in his recent national address that the United States was turning the war into a global conflict. Biden Visits Ukraine The United States and NATO openly state that their strategic objective is to defeat Russia, he said. Yet they think they will be allowed to inspect our nuclear weapons facilities? Putin argued that while Washington was pushing for the on-site inspections of Russias nuclear facilities to resume, NATO allies were actively helping Ukraine strike Russias strategic airbases. Russian forces in December last year reported shooting down Ukrainian drones around airbases deep inside the country. The drones used for it were equipped and modernized with NATOs expert assistance, Putin said. And now they want to inspect our defense facilities? In the conditions of todays confrontation, it sounds like sheer nonsense. Putin in his address stressed that Russia was not withdrawing from the nuclear treaty altogether and is only suspending participation. The Russian Foreign Ministry also said the nuclear weapons cap would still be respected and that Russia would continue to exchange information about test launches of ballistic missiles in accordance with earlier agreements with the United States. Earlier this week, Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and pledged an additional half-billion dollars in aid to the war-torn nation. Washington informed Russia about the presidents visit to Kyiv hours before his departure, officials said. Reuters contributed to this report. California Bill Allows Kids to Receive Mental Health Services Without Parental Consent California legislators recently introduced a bill that would allow children ages 12 and older to consent to mental health services or counseling without parent permission. Currently, the state allows minors over 12 to consent to such if they are mature enough to participate intelligently and if the child is in an abusive situation or in danger of harm to themselves or others, according to the bills text. Assembly Bill 655, introduced Feb. 13 by Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles), would remove the conditions of abuse or potential harm. Additionally, the bill would require mental health professionals to receive the minors OK to speak with their parents or guardians about the childs treatment. The bill cited data from 2021 on the states health system by the Commonwealth Funda private organization devoted to improving U.S. healthcarethat ranked California 48th in the nation when it comes to providing children with mental health care. The same study also reported that 18 percent of children who needed mental health care did not receive it. The bill aims to make access to mental health for youth easier, as some parents or guardians may hold stigmas about such and not seek it for their children, according to the bills text. Youth express significant trepidation about needing to disclose to parents their mental health concerns and their need to access services, according to the bill. Providers, particularly school-based providers, find that obtaining parental consent for a youth who needs support is complicated by the parent or caretakers beliefs and stigma about mental health care. The bill also states that LGBT youth may experience higher rates of depression and anxiety due to rejection from parents and harassment at school. Over one-half of surveyed LGBT youth reported that not being able to get permission from their parents or guardians was a barrier to accessing mental health services, the bill reads. Some, however, say they are concerned the bill may undermine parents right to know what their children are experiencing in school. Parents should not be shut out of their childrens lives, Brenda Lebsack, a teacher and former Orange County school board member, told the Epoch Times. The state has previously ruled for less parent or caretaker communication regarding minor children on other issues. Its Department of Education updated its guidelines in 2019 for schools to recognize three genderswith non-binary as the thirdand that school officials may use students gender and pronoun preferences and on official records without parental consent. And under a 2018 state law, foster care youth over 12 can consent to receive transgender hormone replacement therapy or sex change operations. The bill is expected to be heard in committee in March. Birth Tourism on the Rise in Canada: Immigration Research An estimated 2,500 cases of suspected birth tourism a year are are taking place on Canadian soil, according to a report by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The report said the number of estimated deliveries by short-term visitors, i.e. residual deliveries, shows a sharp upward trend in recent years, from around 800 annually in 2010 to around 2,500 in 2017. Numbers were drawn by cross-referencing immigration records with hospital births by foreign mothers who paid out of pocket for medical care under the category of Other country resident self-pay. [T]he advantage of this analysis is to identify and separate, when possible, the deliveries by Canadian citizens by birth, immigrants, temporary residents and short-term visitors, wrote researchers of An Examination of In-Hospital Deliveries Outside Quebec, as first reported by Blacklocks Reporter. The report was published in September 2022 and the research period spanned from 2007 to 2018. Results showed that around 265,000 out of 285,000 yearly hospital deliveries (9293 percent) were by mothers who are Canadian citizens or landed immigrants. About 6,000 annual deliveries (around 12 percent) in recent years were by temporary residents (TR) in Canada. [M]ore specifically, around 4,000 births were by temporary foreign workers, more than 1,000 by international students, and around 1,000 by refugee claimants and TR permit holders, annually, researchers wrote. Considerable Public Attention The report noted that birth tourism has drawn considerable public attention in recent years. There have been frequent media reports on the issue and there were also e-petitions that called on the government to implement measures to reduce or eliminate the practice, it said. However, which births/deliveries in Canada should be attributed to birth tourism has not been officially defined. According to Blacklocks Reporter, the IRCC commissioned in-house polling in 201415, asking respondents whether the Canadian Citizenship Act should be amended to limit citizenship based on the immigration status of parents. Some say that Canadian citizenship should only be granted on an automatic basis to those born in Canada if their parents are Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Others say that Canadian citizenship should continue to be granted on an automatic basis to anyone born in Canada even if their parents are only here temporarily or illegally. Which is closer to your view? asked the survey, which was obtained by Blacklocks through an Access to Information request. Of the 3,028 Canadians who participated in the poll, 57 percent said they support the revocation of citizenship from children born to temporary residents or illegal immigrants. Only 39 percent supported the law as it stood, the poll found. Under the 1947 Citizenship Act, babies born in Canada are entitled to full benefits as Canadians. A TV journalist from Orlando's Spectrum News 13 was killed while the news crew was reporting at the scene of a homicide committed earlier by the same shooter. In total, the suspect shot four people (not including the earlier killing), according to Orlando Sentinel, including photojournalist Jesse Walden from Spectrum News who was critically injured, a 9-year-old girl, who was killed at a home near the homicide scene, and her mother, who survived. The reporter who died was 24-year-old Dylan Lyons, from Philadelphia, who graduated from University of Central Florida and had worked in Gainesville before his employment at Spectrum News. At the time of the shooting he had been reporting on a story about the suspect, 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, who earlier had allegedly shot and killed 38-year-old Nathacha Augustin. Moses is now in custody. This is the 83rd mass shooting so far this year, according to MSNBC (see video below). Only in America. From Orlando Sentinel: British BAE Systems Saw Record Orders in 2022 Due to Ukraine War The BAE Systems logo is pictured at the BAE Systems site at Brough in East Yorkshire, England, on Sept. 27, 2011. (Lindsey Parnaby/AFP/GettyImages) The United Kingdoms largest defense firm experienced record orders as the RussiaUkraine war boosted military spending in 2022. British defense giant BAE Systems said on Feb. 23 that orders for weapons systems soared last year amid an elevated threat environment in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine. The group is one of the largest builders of naval ships, submarines, and fighter jets in the world. The defense contractors biggest customers are the United States, Britain, Saudi Arabia, and Australia. BAE reported its highest order intake in its history, at $44.6 billion for last year, as its order backlog jumped to $70.8 billion. Demand for submarines, fighter jets, military ships, and combat vehicles led the boost to BAEs 2022 order backlog. The defense conglomerate said that it expects sales to rise by 35 percent in 2023, while underlying earnings are forecast to increase by 46 percent. Orders for Weapons Climb After Ukraine War NATO countries have been bolstering their defenses since the the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began last February. Demand for weapons, ammunition, and military equipment have soared, as NATO members, which have been arming Ukraine, are looking to rebuild their stocks after sending much of their inventory to Kiev. We expect continued momentum in the medium to long term as governments replenish stocks, recapitalize equipment, and support allies, BAE CEO Charles Woodburn told Reuters. However, the defense-and-aerospace groups pretax profits fell in 2022, and missed its projections after booking higher costs, after posting a pretax profit of $2.4 billion last year, compared with a $2.54 billion profit in 2021, below most analysts estimates of $2.51 billion. This caused BAEs share price to edge lower today, falling 3 percent in morning trading. Meanwhile, the defense contractor unveiled flat operating profits of $2.89 billion in 2022, but it was able to report that earnings on an underlying basis rose 5.5 percent, to $3.01 billion, while sales on its preferred measure rose 4.4 percent, to $28 billion. BAEs forecast earnings per share (EPS) are expected to rise 57 percent this year, after it posted a 9.5 percent rise in underlying EPS for 2022, after it beat forecasts on strong performances from its maritime and cyber units. While it is tragic that it took a war in Europe to raise the awareness of the importance of defense around the globe, BAE Systems is well positioned to help national governments keep their citizens safe and secure in an elevated threat environment, wrote BAE Systems in a statement. BAE had lifted its final shareholder dividend payout last year to $18.27 from $17.19 in 2021, after it had raised its outlook in November 2022 on the boom in global military spending. Company stocks have gone up in the last three months, and the defense contractor is the top performer on the FTSE 100 Index over the past year, rising by more than 50 percent. BAE Sees Record Orders in the Year Ahead Weve delivered another year of strong results across the group, said Woodburn. Our record orders and financial performance give us confidence in delivering long-term growth and to continue investing in new technologies, facilities and thousands of highly skilled jobs, whilst increasing shareholder returns. Woodburn said that BAE had been increasing production at its existing facilities by adding shifts since the early days of the conflict and has also been expanding facilities to keep up with demand. BAE is anticipating a further boost in March when an update regarding a deal among the United States, Britain, and Australia is expected to provide the latter with conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines. Further details will be provided on how the technology will be transferred to Australia and where the submarines will be built, reported Reuters. We have a strong footprint and business across all three nations, so we do hope and expect opportunities to come through the AUKUS program, Woodburn said, referring to a trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Reuters contributed to this report. Buttigieg Schedules Visit to Ohio Derailment Site Amid Mounting Criticism Secretary of the Department of Transportation Pete Buttigieg delivers remarks on new transportation initiatives at an event in the South Court Auditorium at Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on March 7, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg confirmed a visit to troubled East Palestine, Ohionearly three weeks after a Norfolk Southern train derailed there leaking toxic chemicals into the community. Earlier this week, Buttigieg demurred on announcing a specific date and time for a visit, telling reporters only that he was planning to do so when the time is right. On Wednesday, however, the Department of Transportation confirmed that Buttigieg would be making the trip on Thursday, Feb. 23. As the Secretary said, he would go when it is appropriate and wouldnt detract from the emergency response efforts, a department spokesperson told The Epoch Times. The Secretary is going now that the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] has said it is moving out of the emergency response phase and transitioning to the long-term remediation phase. Two Ohio EPA Emergency Response workers access the creek near an explosion at the I. Schumann & Co. metals plant in Bedford, Ohio, on Feb. 20, 2023. (Michael Swensen/Getty Images) At a Tuesday press conference in East Palestine, EPA Administrator Michael Regan announced that he was ordering Norfolk Southern to conduct all cleanup actions associated with the chemical leak. As of yet, Regan is the only Biden administration official to have set foot in the town since the crash. That detailalong with the fact that Buttigieg took 10 days to address the incident publiclyhas led to an increasing amount of scrutiny over the administrations response to the tragedy. Despite this, the Transportation Department maintained on Wednesday that administration officials had reacted appropriately. The Environmental Protection Agency is leading the Federal response to hold Norfolk Southern accountable and make the company clean up its mess, the department spokesperson noted. That is how it works in response to a chemical spill. The Department of Transportation will continue to do its part by helping get to the bottom of what caused the derailment and implementing rail safety measures, and we hope this sudden bipartisan support for rail safety will result in meaningful changes in Congress. While in East Palestine, Buttigieg plans to meet with community members, receive an update on the National Transportation Safety Boards investigation, and hear from the Transportation Department investigators who responded to the incident and are assisting with the investigation. News of Buttigiegs trip comes on the heels of former President Donald Trumps visit to East Palestine on Wednesday, during which Trump criticized the administrations initial reluctance to send federal aid to assist residents with their recovery efforts. Biden and FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] said they would not send federal aid to East Palestine under any circumstance, Trump noted at a press conference at the East Palestine Fire Department. When I announced that I was coming, they changed their tune, he added. Supporters of former President Donald Trump line the streets of East Palestine, Ohio, to catch a glimpse of him as he drives by. (Jeff Louderback/The Epoch Times) The former president also announced that he had helped to arrange the delivery of thousands of bottles of water and cleaning supplies for residents as they continue in the recovery process. On Feb. 14, Buttigieg suggestedto much backlashthat the Trump administration was at fault for the wreck, noting, Were constrained by law on some areas of rail regulation (like the braking rule withdrawn by the Trump administration in 2018 because of a law passed by Congress in 2015), but we are using the powers we do have to keep people safe. On Tuesday, Buttigieg also called for greater regulation of the rail industry, promoting a three-part plan for rail safety that would involve new inspection technologies, safer tank cars, and advanced notice to emergency response teams when rail cars are transporting hazardous gas through their state. Profit and expediency must never outweigh the safety of the American people, Buttigieg said. We at [the agency] are doing everything in our power to improve rail safety, and we insist that the rail industry do the samewhile inviting Congress to work with us to raise the bar. Buttigieg Vows to Raise the Bar on Rail Safety in Visit to Ohio Derailment Site, Admits He Took Too Long to Respond Nearly three weeks after a toxic train derailment upended life in the village of East Palestine, Ohio, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made his first visit to the community to meet with those affected on Thursday, Feb. 23, promising accountability and higher safety standards. Noting that the National Transportation Security Board released its preliminary findings on the derailment earlier that morning, Buttigieg reassured that ensuring accountability would be a top priority for the administration. Having these factual findings is an important step to being able to move on to the phase of policymaking, he told reporters at a press conference. And while we will of course wait for [NTSBs] analysis and recommendations at the end of the full process to make certain judgments, we will not wait for that process to run its course to continue doing everything we can to raise the bar on rail safety and to hold people accountable. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg holds a press conference on Feb. 23, 2022, near the site where a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. (Jeff Louderback/The Epoch Times) Buttigieg made the remarks near the site where, on Feb. 3, 38 cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed, including 11 that were carrying hazardous chemicals. The resulting fire and chemical spill prompted an evacuation, and due to fears of a potential explosion, authorities decided to burn off the toxic chemicals in a controlled burn. Since returning to their homes, some residents have reported bouts of nausea, vomiting, rashes, and burning sensations. Buttigieg, praising residents resilience and decency in the wake of the crash, pointed to the three-pronged plan he laid out earlier this week as a way forward for ensuring the situation never occurs again. The plan would involve the implementation of new inspection technologies, safer tank cars, and the requirement to provide advanced notice to emergency response teams when rail cars are transporting hazardous gas through their state. In general, hazardous materials could be going through communities in stronger tank cars, so lets speed that up, he said. The transportation secretarys trip to East Palestine comes amid mounting backlash over the Biden administrations response to the tragedy. Prior to Thursday, the only administration official to have visited the town since the crash was Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan, who made his second stop there Tuesday to announce that he was ordering Norfolk Southern to take all necessary actions to clean up the mess they created. On Wednesday, after weeks of questions about when Buttigieg might make his own trip, the Transportation Department confirmed that he would be visiting the site on Thursday. As the Secretary said, he would go when it is appropriate and wouldnt detract from the emergency response efforts, a department spokesperson told The Epoch Times in a statement. The Secretary is going now that the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] has said it is moving out of the emergency response phase and transitioning to the long-term remediation phase. Despite maintaining that the timing of the trip was appropriate, Buttigiegwho did not publicly address the incident until 10 days after the factacknowledged Thursday that he could have weighed in on the matter sooner. The answer to your question is yes, he told a reporter who had asked if he took too long to respond, adding that Buttigieg explained that he had been trying to maintain a balance between his desire to get involved and his duty as transportation secretary to allow the proper authorities to take the lead. I felt strongly about this and could have expressed that sooner, he said. I was taking pains to respect the role that I have and the role that I dont have, but that should not have stopped me from weighing in about how I felt about what was happening to this community. Former President Donald Trump also visited the area on Wednesday, delivering truckloads of donated bottled water and cleaning supplies to residents. Trump has also been critical of the administrations response to the derailment, holding that the Feb. 17 announcement that he would visit East Palestine was what spurred the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reverse its previous decision not to send the town aid. Alluding to the former president Thursday, Buttigieg said: To any national political figure who has decided to get involved in the plight of East Palestine, I have a simple message, which is I need your help. Because if youre serious about this, there is more that we could do to prevent more communities from going through this. When questioned on what the former president could do to assist, Buttigieg referred to his prior assertion that a braking rule withdrawn under the Trump administration could have prevented the accident. One thing he could do is express support for reversing the deregulation that happened on his watch, the secretary said. I heard him say he had nothing to do with it, even though it was in his administration. While also decrying the injection of politics into the tragedy, Buttigieg noted his own distrust of Republicans sincerity on the issue. If the same people who want to come here and play political games are the same people who sided with industry again, and again, and again, and watered down rail regulations I want to see whether theyve had an actual change of heart, or not. And if theyve had an actual change of heart, Ill take them at their word and we can get working. Canada Aims to Build New Arctic Surveillance Systems to Counter Potential Threats Minister of National Defence Anita Anand holds a media availability on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Jan. 26, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby) National Defence Minister Anita Anand says Canada is significantly building up its Arctic defence capabilities as increasing numbers of possible surveillance objects enter Canadian jurisdictions. Speaking after touring shipbuilder Seaspan ULCs North Vancouver facility, Anand says the goal is to have a modernized Norad and improved continental defence over the next number of years. Anand says Ottawa has already committed almost $40 billion towards that end, and the result will be a new northern-approach surveillance system that will detect threats farther and farther north to protect Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic. Anands comments come after the Department of National Defence and Canadian Armed Forces confirmed today they are aware of recent Chinese efforts to monitor movements in Canadian airspace and waters through surveillance operations. The Globe and Mail newspaper reported earlier that the Canadian military had detected Chinese monitoring buoys in the Arctic last fall. Anand says this type of activity is not new and the Canadian government will challenge China where we ought to and co-operate where we need to. Former President Donald Trump is visiting East Palestine, Ohio, where cleanup is underway after the train derailment that has left the small town on edge from the chemical spill. What does Trump have to say and how is President Joe Biden responding? Biden is pledging full support for NATO as he wraps up his Poland trip, as Russian President Vladimir Putin says relations with China are reaching new milestones ahead of a visit by Xi Jinping to Moscow. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) is running for reelection in 2024. His seat will likely be pivotal for Democrats seeking to hang on to a slim majority in the Senate. GOP senators are moving to block the World Health Organization from gaining authority in the United States, as member countries gather in Switzerland to discuss a draft agreement on pandemic response. The House Oversight Committee is investigating the origins of the COVID-19 virus. Congressman Brad Wenstrup joins us to discuss their goals. Another media outlet makes cuts amid a dramatic slowdown in advertising. NPR says it will lay off a significant number of its workforce next month. Chinese Interference Must Force a Reckoning in Canada Commentary New revelations by Canadian media on leaks from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) are quickly pushing Canada beyond a point of no return. A reckoning of how Chinese influence operations and long-arm policing actually work is needed, or there is no point in even trying to resist. Most recently, the news has been filled with the latest revelations on Chinese election interference. This is nothing new, and was the subject of a parliamentary committee focused on the 2019 federal election, and later, when it became clear such had expanded in scope, extended to cover the 2021 election too. Since then, detailed information on those activities, seemingly long hidden from the public, has pushed the need for attention to the issue into overdrive. Not long before this, the presence of Chinese overseas police service stations in Canada made headlines, and as more stations were uncovered one by one, caused outrage. Yet, frankly, this barely scratches the surface. One development that has received little to no attention is the systematic co-opting of formerly independent Chinese-language media. This global phenomenon, first studied in detail by the Financial Times back in 2020, represents yet another influence operation in Canada. Until recently, vibrant Chinese diaspora communities around the world had a myriad of local TV, radio, and print media serving those communities, and even if not necessarily political in nature, they were certainly strongly independent. Those days are long gone, and in Australia, the first primary target, its estimated that 95 percent of all local media outlets had been co-opted by 2020, and started spewing official Chinese propaganda. Canada, the United States, and Europe have been targeted by similar campaigns. Similarly, the role of Confucius Institutes, or ties between embassies and consulates and local Chinese student groups at Canadian universities, pop up in the news but are rarely studied in any detail. The student groups are well known to be controlled by said entities. One student, tired of the constant propaganda of the main student group in North America, the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, decided to start his own group that would be entirely social and stay away from politics. It didnt take long for the nearby consulate to hear about his plans, and a phone call later, all those plans were abandoned. In Sweden recently, there were revelations showing that Ph.D. students from China had to sign an agreement with the state-run Chinese Scholarship Council before taking up their positions. The students had to swear to remain loyal to the Chinese Communist Party and serve the interest of the state, and failure to do so could lead to relatives and family members back in China being penalized. In other news, the head of a Confucius Institute in Belgium was recently expelled after trying to recruit spies for China. All the above examples, from direct election influencing, to policing operations, to control of students and business associations, and co-opting of local media, are of course complemented by a wide range of state-organized refugee espionage, as recent cases in Sweden and the UK have shown. On top of this theres Chinese embassy-supported operations for tracking down claimed fugitives by Chinese police via Operation Fox Hunt, in which a recent indictment from the U.S. government shows one such operation blatantly carried out on Canadian soil. The sheer amount of operationsand the sheer amount of different state- and Party- affiliated entities responsible and the different shapes these operations takesis what makes a reckoning of them of such great importance. Central government police, local police jurisdictions, Confucius Institutes, business and cultural associations, student bodies, the Chinese Ministry of State Security, and embassies and consulates are only some of the entities involved. Far more important perhaps, and far most vast in scope, are CCP entities under the umbrella organization of the United Work Front Department, whose goal is to monitor, guide the opinion of, and control Chinese diaspora groups worldwide. Take the recent issue of Chinese overseas police service stations. These are established by local police in China, yes, but the way its done is what is important and has not been paid much attention to. The local police identify a trade association or cultural association somewhere in Canada where a large diaspora group exists. They then convince the association to establish an overseas service station on their behalf, and then work under the command of the relevant local police back in China. Whether they establish an actual physical office with signs and name plaques (rare, but has happened in some countries), or simply establish a liaison phone number via a local Chinese store or restaurant, etc. (more common), is not really relevantthe real work takes place in the office of the association, away from the public eye. These associations are supposed to be registered and declare their purpose and mission, but of course none have done so. They are registered yes, but not for this role, nor for maintaining a relationship with a foreign police entity. In essence, almost every entity tied to either the Chinese state or the Chinese Communist Party, regardless of whether such ties are official or unofficial, are acting as foreign agents, and they do so without limitations or any risk of punishment. Failure to understand how the Chinese Party-state works will allow it to continue, to expand, and do so without being exposed or punished. And Canadas response will not just impact Canada, but have significant consequences for such operations in other democratic countries. As the Canadian public becomes more aware of the scope and variety of Chinese influence operations, it is of utmost importance to avoid a witch-hunt, which would be beneath Canadas proud democratic traditions. Sure, the police and the CSIS must be given more resources and a wider scope to investigate specific instances of such actions; however, most of the work ahead lies elsewhere. To avoid politicizing the issue and creating a witch-hunt, the Trudeau government must establish clear administrative rules that would apply to all foreign state (and Party) actors, and equip the relevant regulatory bodies with the powerand the backboneto enforce those rules, and do so consistently. Consistent application is key to maintaining Canadas strong commitment to the rule of law. A foreign agent registry requirement is a good first step, with clear and harsh penalties. Another good step would be to give greater powers to the regulatory body in charge of maintaining the registration of associations and foundations, in order to penalize those that operate outside their declared mission, or shut them down for that matter. Commissioning a study on the development of local Chinese media operations in Canada is another, and the broadcast and telecommunications regulator, CRTC, which deals with Chinas main networks CCTV and CGTN, needs to be given the political backbone to actually implement existing rules. A detailed study commissioned by Parliament will find plenty of details on how these Chinese operations work, and the key for the government will be how to find ways to counter them within set regulatory frameworks and oversight bodies, operating on clear rules, with the power to actually combat the interference. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Controversy Erupts Over Michigan Governors Plans to Give Norfolk Southern $15 Million in Taxpayer Funds Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, is reportedly planning to give Norfolk Southern $15 million in taxpayer dollars to help expand its operations in the state, despite two separate derailments in the past month. The proposal has sparked concern among Republican lawmakers who are calling for more scrutiny of the train operator in light of recent events. Michigan Rep. James DeSana, a Republican, said in a statement on Feb. 22 that he objected to another corporate welfare proposal from the Whitmer administration that includes up to $15 million for the railway company for rail improvements. The $15 million has reportedly been earmarked as part of Whitmers request for $750 million in spending for infrastructure to support a proposed Ford electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Marshall. That money would go toward purchasing the land, improving roads in the area, and expanding a wastewater treatment plant, according to local reports. Its always a bad idea to expect taxpayers to foot the bill for corporate welfare projectsbut this proposal is particularly egregious, DeSana said. Norfolk Southern has had two dangerous train derailments in the Midwest this monthone in Michigan and another that leaked hazardous chemicals that are still causing serious concerns for families in Ohio. Yet Governor Whitmer is asking us to ignore all that and hand over taxpayer dollars to help Norfolk Southern grow in Michigan, the Republican said. Special Scrutiny Needed Considering its recent safety record, the government should be giving this company special scrutinynot special favors. The taxpayer funding comes in the wake of a freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3 that caused toxic chemicals to spill. A controlled release and burning of the chemicals onboard, which included vinyl chloride, ethylhexyl acrylate, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, and butyl acrylate, was conducted by officials on Feb. 6 and sent a dark plume of smoke up into the air. Residents in the area are now dealing with the aftermath amid increasing health and environmental issues, although local health officials conducted testing samples of air and water in the area and say they dont show dangerous levels of any toxins. Shortly after the first derailment, a second train operated by Norfolk Southern partially came off the tracks in the Van Buren Township, Michigan, on Feb. 16. Officials say the single car carrying hazardous materials wasnt affected and nothing spilled from the site. Other Republican lawmakers on Wednesday also raised concerns about the taxpayer dollars going to the train operator in light of recent events. More Republicans Raise Concerns Until a full investigation of the Norfolk Southern derailments in Ohio and Michigan is complete, I cant believe were even discussing appropriating $15,000,000 to expand their operations in Michigan, state Rep. Andrew Fink told The Midwesterner. Norfolk Southern needs to be clear about what happened and why this is happening. There needs to be accountability, state Rep. Jamie Thompson said in a separate statement on Wednesday. The company needs to be transparent about what its doing to protect the public, address these issues, and prevent future incidents before a single cent of our hard-earned tax dollars is handed over to help it grow its business in Michigan. I was under the impression Governor Whitmers administration was focused on environmental issues, but her willingness to cut this company a check in the midst of these problems says otherwise, Thompson added. The Epoch Times has contacted Norfolk Southern and Governor Whitmers office for comment. COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates in US Cities Did Not Reduce Viral Spread, Deaths: Study COVID-19 vaccine mandates implemented by city administrations across the United States did little to restrict the spread of infection and ended up negatively affecting unvaccinated individuals and businesses, according to latest research by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. The study, Indoor Vaccine Mandates in US Cities, Vaccination Behavior, and COVID-19 Outcomes, questioned the efficacy of vaccine mandates imposed in the nine cities of Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and the District of Columbia. Mandates imposed by the cities were arguably among the most restrictive and polarizing regulations ever enacted in the United States, according to the study report. Most supporters of the regulations claim that the benefits associated with the increase in vaccination rates as a result of the mandateand its implied reduction in the spread of COVID-19outweigh the costs of its disruptions. However, the authors find that indoor vaccine mandates had no significant impact on COVID-19 vaccine uptake, cases, or deaths across all nine cities that implemented the policy, the research stated. For instance, when Philadelphia announced indoor masking and employee vaccination requirements in August 2021, Mayor Jim Kenney argued that these policies were critical to slowing the spread of the Delta variant of COVID-19. According to the Mercatus study, the citys mandates negatively affected people who were not vaccinated as well as businesses that were barred from serving such individuals. As an example of such negative effects, the study points to New York City, where over 90 percent of restaurants reported facing client-related challenges like losing customers who objected to these mandates. The citys vaccine mandate also caused staff-related challenges in three-quarters of restaurants, while 1,430 workers were fired for not complying with the requirements. Citing previous research, the study noted that even though country-level mandates raised vaccine uptake substantially, city-level mandates failed to achieve such a level of success. This is because city-level mandates were easier to evade for citizens as all they had to do was travel to a neighboring city which did not have such mandates. Ineffective COVID-19 Mandates Several studies have shown that COVID-19 mandates like masking requirements have largely been ineffective. A study published in July 2022 by researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of CaliforniaDavis found that school-based mask mandates had limited to no impact on COVID-19 case rates among K12 students. A May 2022 study found that COVID-19 masking and vaccine rules imposed by Cornell University were not sufficient to prevent the transmission of the Omicron variant in late 2021 and 2022. In an interview with The Epoch Times in October, Lt. Col. William P. Anton, who served in the military for over 20 years, said that fellow service members were being injured due to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate imposed by the Department of Defense, but no one is doing anything about it. Anton expressed disappointment in senior military and civilian leadership. They are each in their own way aware of the ill health effects on our service members or the negative impact on our militarys readiness, and yet they remain silent, he said. They justify their silence as obedience to military orders because that is easier than to acknowledge their own lack of moral courage. Earlier in March, Antony and several other service members had submitted a 100-page report to members of the U.S. House and Senate detailing statements from injured personnel, raising concerns about the negative effects of the vaccine mandate on their health and security of the nation. However, Anton says he was shocked and frustrated after only receiving lukewarm responses from a few senators and staffers. For the most part, there hasnt really been any action, he said. Cybersecurity Expert: K-12 Schools Should Do This Now Teacher Haley Fazio works with her kindergarten students on a frog-research lesson viewed on tablet computer in Des Moines, Wash., on March 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) Cyberattacks on U.S. schools are on the rise, but basic security measures are relatively simple and inexpensive to take, says a school cybersecurity expert. Cyber criminals are increasingly targeting schools, according to a Jan. 2022 report from U.S. Department of Homeland Securitys Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Yet many cyberattacks are relatively simple to guard against, said Charlie Sander, CEO of ManagedMethods, a firm specializing in cybersecurity for K-12 schools. The main thing is to take the threat seriously and take action on the most obvious vulnerabilities, Sander told The Epoch Times. A computer keyboard lit by a displayed cyber code in an illustration photo taken on March 1, 2017. (Kacper Pempel/Reuters) Schools arent going to get a lot more money [for cybersecurity], but what they can do is have the conversation at all levels of the administration and board about how important it is. A lot of schools havent covered the basic stuff yet. Prime Targets The hacking community is basically an organized crime organization at a high level, and theyre always looking for the soft underbelly, Sander said. Phishing, ransomware, denial of service attacks, and video conference disruptions hit at least 45 U.S. school districts that operate 1,981 schools during 2022, according to Emsisoft, a maker of cybersecurity software. Schools typically devote their few IT resources to organizational and educational needs, making security a lower priority. They do the best they can with the funding they have, said Sander. But if you look at their priorities, number one is to give the best learning experience they can for the students. If theres money left over, thats for cybersecurity. Charlie Sander, CEO of ManagedMethods (Courtesy Charlie Sander) Hackers may also target schools for attack because students generally dont monitor their credit score. That makes them ripe targets for the theft of personal information, which can be used for identity fraud. Its often years later that they find out theyve been impersonated, and their credit destroyed, Sander said. The Los Angeles Unified School District, second-largest in the country, was targeted in September 2022, resulting in the release of personal information on teachers. Indianas Duneland Schools district was the target of a 2021 attack focused on employee data that included birthdates, Social Security numbers, drivers license numbers, and benefits information. Cyberattacks can cost a great deal of money, even if the school district refuses to pay a ransom for the return of their information. The cost of inspecting and removing malware from all devices that were potentially affected by the attack can run into the millions. An attack on Baltimore County Public Schools in 2020 shut down the school systems website and remote learning programs for several days. Marylands Government Accounting Office for Education reported that the event cost taxpayers nearly $10 million in recovery expenses and system upgrades. The first step in preventing such attacks is to close the front door by taking relatively simple steps to make it harder for hackers to gain entry into the schools computer systems. Simple First Steps The most significant point of vulnerability for schools are the end users, Sander said. Phishing attacks and the theft of login credentials can allow hackers to enter the computer system under the guise of an actual user, making the trespass much harder to detect. Its not so much the students because they are usually further down the privilege ladder and dont have access to information that teachers and administrators do, Sander said. The end users are what its all about. Closing that door is a matter of implementing simple, inexpensive measures that make it harder for hackers to gain and use login credentials, according to Sander. Chinese soldiers work at computers. Cyberattacks from China have continued despite agreements from the CCP to stop.(mil.huanqiu.com) Using unique passwords costs nothing and prevents a hacker who may have stolen a users login to another application or device from using it to enter the schools system. Two-factor identification, which requires the user to verify their identity through a text message or authentication app in addition to entering login credentials, is a low-cost solution that many schools dont use. A lot of schools are talking to each other about how to implement multifactor authentication, so were starting to see some real progress there, Sander said. Limiting users access to data is another inexpensive solution. This involves setting users permissions to sensitive data on a need-to-know basis. That reduces the risk by reducing the pool of potential users who could be targeted for attack. In addition, schools should be monitoring the use of their systems, according to Sander. You need to have tools that let you monitor whats going on inside your systems, he said. There are tools that dont cost a lot of money and allow tech teams to have insight into whats happening and stop it if needed. Sander cited the example of a small school system in Vermont, which had just two IT personnel. When one of the techs noticed a login by a teacher at an unusual time, he checked the geographical location of the login and found that the user was in China. The tech immediately shut down access to the account, and no data was stolen. It was a very small school district and a small tech team, but they were able to stop a hacker from China from getting into their system and wreaking havoc, Sander said. Thats the way its supposed to work. CISA has published an online toolkit to help schools address cybersecurity, which Sander endorses. Theres theres definitely some meat there. They said step one is to invest in what you see as the most impactful security majors, then build toward a mature plan. Take an inventory of where you are from a security point of view, and where you would like to be. Then make progress toward that goal. Death Toll From Turkey, Syria Earthquake Tops 47,000 A destroyed building leans on a neighboring house following the earthquake in Samandag, southern Turkey, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Emrah Gurel/AP Photo) ANKARA, TurkeyThe death toll from the massive earthquake that hit parts of Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6 continues to rise as more bodies are retrieved from the rubble of demolished buildings. A magnitude 6.4 earthquake that struck the already battered Province of Hatay this week damaged or demolished more buildings, compounding the devastation. Heres a look at the key developments Thursday from the aftermath of the earthquake. Death Toll Tops 47,000 Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu has raised the number of fatalities in Turkey from the magnitude 7.8 earthquake to 43,556. The combined death toll in Turkey and Syria now stands at 47,244. In an interview with state broadcaster TRT late on Wednesday, Soylu said teams were sifting through two buildings in hard-hit Hatay Province in search of further bodies. Search operations elsewhere have come to an end, he said. Meanwhile, at least 164,000 buildings have either collapsed or are so damaged that they need to be demolished, said Murat Kurum, Turkeys minister for the environment and urbanization. Syrians Shelter in Tents and Cars The local civil defense in northwestern Syria, known locally as The White Helmets, said Thursday that thousands of children and tens of thousands of families have taken shelter in cars and tents fearing they would face a repeat of the earthquake. In government-held Syria, a first plane from Bahrain loaded with aid landed in Damascus. Bahrain is among many Arab countries that in recent years have tried to thaw relations with President Bashar Assad, after shunning him in 2011 for his crackdown on protesters. Saudi Arabia and Egypt, two key U.S. allies in the region, have also delivered aid. Dinasours, Christianity, ninjas, and justice; the perfect movie mix for this burning planet of unrepentant mutants author proudly included, and the taglines of a cult classic. Released in 2018, VelociPastor is a sci-fi adjacent story of ridiculous humor and cutting-edge special effects, intricately choreographed fight scenes that will keep you captivated or at least mysteriously intrigued for 1:10:52. The poster is an eclectic trans-decade mix mash of images inspired by Terminator, Jurassic Park, and mid-80s US produced ninja movies with these creative titles, Revenge of the Ninja, Enter the Ninja, and American Ninja. Oh, the plot. "After losing his parents, a priest [Greg Cohan] travels to China, where he inherits a mysterious ability that allows him to turn into a dinosaur. At first horrified by this new power, a hooker convinces him to use it to fight crime. And ninjas." All those sentences are true and accurate about the film. This needs to circulate more. As Bobby LePire from Film Threat asks in their review, "The VelociPastor. Did you laugh happily at the absurdity of that name? Or did your eyes roll to the back of your head so hard that they made a noise? If the former describes you, congratulations, The VelociPastor is precisely as fun as its title suggests." I like this review from The Nerdist, "Considering the absurd title, poster, trailer, and premise for Velocipastor a movie in which a priest transforms into a killer dinosaurit's natural to expect it to be bad while hoping it will be so bad it's "good." However, if that's what you want from the film you're not going to get it, but for a good reason. Velocipastor knows exactly what it is: a sincere parody that is genuinely funny. And if it were shorter it might even be great." Check out the trailer here. Kings of Horror has the full theatrical performance here. Defense Attorney Says Arizona Man Charged With Killing Illegal Alien a Target of Politicized Prosecution George Alan Kelly enters court for his preliminary hearing in Nogales Justice Court in Nogales, Ariz., on Feb. 22, 2023. (Mark Henle/The Arizona Republic via AP, Pool) NOGALES, Ariz.The public defender representing an elderly Arizona man accused of shooting and killing an illegal alien trespassing on his borderland property in January said the case has become highly politicized in the weeks following his arrest. This essentially lit a match over an incredibly intense political power keg and, predictably, there was an explosion, said defense attorney Brenna Larkin at a bail reduction hearing for her client, George Alan Kelly, in Nogales, Arizona, on Feb. 22. This case has been highly publicized and politicized, and people have already prejudged the case very loudly on all sides. The only thing thats known about the case is the charges themselves. Wanda Kelly (2L), wife of George Alan Kelly, accused of first-degree murder in the shooting death of an illegal alien on Jan. 30, leaves the Nogales Justice Center in Nogales, Ariz., following a hearing on Feb. 22, 2023. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times) Kelly, 73, is charged with first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon involving three victims in the alleged premeditated shooting death of 43-year-old Mexican national Gabriel Cuen-Butimea. He appeared in the locked down Nogales Justice Center where security was high and he wore an armored vest and red prison attire. Kelly told authorities that he fired warning shots at a group of men dressed in camouflage clothing and armed with AK-47 rifles on his Santa Cruz County property on Jan. 30, then called the U.S. Border Patrol to report the incident. Border Patrol agents and Santa Cruz County sheriffs deputies searched Kellys property but found no men in the group. When Kelly later went out onto his property to check on his horse, he discovered the body of a man lying face down in the grass and called Border Patrol according to defense documents filed in court. Single Gunshot The cause of death appeared to be a single gunshot wound, according to the defense motion. The person had a radio and was wearing tactical boots, indicating that he was possibly involved in illegal activity. In the states motion opposing Kellys modified terms of release, prosecutors contend that Kelly shot at least eight rounds with an AK-47 at a group of men on his property. His action came without warning and unprovoked, while they fled for their lives, unarmed and unable to defend themselves. He just started shooting at them, according to the motion. One witness in the group allegedly heard Cuen-Butimea call out in Spanish, Im hit. At the hearing on Feb. 22, Prosecutor Kimberly Hunley said the facts show that Mr. Kelly shot an unarmed man [Cuen-Butimea] in the back in an unprovoked attack as he ran for his life. At least two other witnesses were with the victim when they fled. They were also shot at. Luckily, they escaped with their lives. Larkin argued that Kelly, with no criminal record, reacted in self-defense when approached by armed men who were on his property. She criticized prosecutors alleged rush to judgment, noting a huge divergence in this case in how a prosecution investigation should happen. Larkin said prosecutors filed charges without the bullet that allegedly killed Cuen-Butimea. This photo provided by the Santa Cruz County Sheriffs Office in Nogales, Arizona, shows rancher George Alan Kelly. (Santa Cruz County Sheriffs Office via AP) Neither was there forensic or DNA evidence, autopsy results, or any other elements that go into a routine police investigation before finding charges of premeditated first-degree murder. Those are all facts that an investigation should determine. Those facts should be determined prior to charges being filed, Larkin argued. The Alec Baldwin case comes to mind here, she said. This case was not handled in that manner, your honor. This case was charged first and investigated later. Larkin said the prosecution did not appear to have vetted witnesses or analyzed their statements. There is a large incentive structure, she added, for witnesses to come forward in hopes of receiving immigration benefits. Or, they succumb to pressure from traffickers in blaming this event on Mr. Kelly. The Nogales Justice Center in Nogales, Ariz., on Feb. 22, 2023. (Allan Stein/The Epoch Times) Testimony is bought and sold by drug traffickers, and people are bought and sold, Larkin said. It is sending a message to anybody else who may be defending their property that if you defend your property against that, you will be arrested, and there will be witnesses to stand against you. Kelly reportedly has received threats since his arrest, and GoFundMe pages seeking to raise money for Kellys legal defense were shut down. Kellys wife, Wanda, declined comment except to say she was processing the incident. Justice of the Peace Emilio Velasquez agreed to reset Kellys $1 million cash bail at a $1 million surety bond, allowing Kelly to use his ranch property as collateral. DeSantis Has a Target List of Woke School Board Members to Unseat in 2024 Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and education activists have zeroed in on a list of woke school board officials to replace in the 2024 elections. On Tuesday, DeSantis met with the states Republican House Speaker Paul Renner, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, and Moms for Liberty co-founders Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice to discuss a list of school board officials they would try to unseat in the next election. Sierra Kostick, a spokeswoman for Moms For Liberty, confirmed the meeting in an emailed statement to NTD. Kostick also shared the list of 14 school board members the organization is working with DeSantiss political team to unseat. That list includes: Jennifer Jenkins Brevard County, District 3 Kelly Coker Duval County, District 1 Cindy Pearson Duval County, District 3 Nadia Combs Hillsborough County, District 1 Jessica Vaughn Hillsborough County, District 3 Peggy Jones Indian River County, District 3 Brian Barefoot Indian River County, District 5 Luisa Santos Miami-Dade County, District 9 Laura Hine Pinellas County, Districts 1 Eileen Long Pinellas County, Districts 4 Jack Kelly St. Lucie County, District 2 Anita Burnette Volusia County, Districts 2 Carl Persis Volusia County, Districts 4 Tom Edwards Sarasota County, District 3 Comments About Targeted School Board Officials According to quotes shared with the Florida Standard, officials in the Tuesday meeting described their opposition to various school board members over their support for masking children in schools and for their perceived left-wing political agendas. The officials said Jones did her best to stall the removal of pornographic books from schools. They also said Edwards likes to brag about how hes working from the inside to indoctrinate children with harmful, Leftist ideology. The officials described Burnette and Persis as proponents of masking, transgenderism, wokeism. They also said Jenkins showcased her disdain for parental rights on MSNBC. NTD reached out to the targeted school board members for comment but most did not respond before press time. Whats it say about the quality of candidates and the value of your organizations endorsement when the woman who runs said organization sits at a table asking the Governor for help to replace the woman who successfully unseated her in a majority Republican district? Jenkins told NTD, referring to her 2020 school board election victory over Moms for Liberty co-founder Descovich. Id be more concerned if an article came out saying Ron DeSantis endorses Jennifer Jenkins,' the Brevard County school board member added. It would mean I would definitely have to reevaluate my values. Jones said: I was elected to the School Board in Indian River County because of my long-standing reputation to educate all children in our community. I will continue to do the work I love every day. NTD also reached out to DeSantiss political team for comment, but they did not respond before publication. DeSantiss Education Campaign The list of 14 school board members is not the first time DeSantis has gotten involved in local education elections. DeSantis endorsed 34 candidates in school board elections throughout Florida in the 2022 elections; 29 of those candidates went on to win their races and gain seats on school boards across the state. DeSantis has opposed woke ideology in public schools throughout the state of Florida. In 2022, he and the Florida legislature passed the Stop WOKE Act, which aims to prevent the teaching of critical race theory in public schools. The Florida governor has also recently come out in opposition of a high school Advanced Placement African American Studies course, which his administration has argued lacks educational value. The course was changed, following DeSantiss criticisms, and portions of the course that focused on intersectionality, reparations, incarceration, and a section called Reframing Early African History in African American Studies have been removed. Several political commentators have accused DeSantis of erasing black history over his administrations opposition to the AP African American Studies course. DeSantis and his administration have argued that the AP course ran afoul of the Stop WOKE Act, which explicitly prohibits schools from teaching that people are inherently sexist or racist by virtue of their race or sex or that members of certain races or sexes bear responsibility for actions committed in the past by other members of their race or sex. From NTD News DeSantis to Boycott NBC and Its Affiliates Until Andrea Mitchell Corrects Blatant Lie The NBC News logo is affixed to the corner of 10 Rockefeller Plaza, NBC's today show studio in New York City in this file photo. (Michael Nagle/Getty Images) The office of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on social media that it will not consider any requests for interviews from NBC and MSNBC until Andrea Mitchell corrects a blatant lie. During her Feb. 17 interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, Andrea Mitchell, host of MSNBCs Andrea Mitchell Reports, asked a question that set off a social media firestorm. Let me ask you, Mitchell said, what does Governor Ron DeSantis not know about black history and the black experience when he says that slavery and the aftermath of slavery should not be taught to Floridas schoolchildren? I dont know what he knows and what he doesnt know, Harris replied. But I do know this. Any push to censor Americas teachers and tell them what they should be teaching in the best interest of our children in partnership with the parents of America is, I think, wrong-headed. The people who know our children best are their parents and their teachers in terms of the time they spend and the investment theyve placed in the brains and capacity of our children who are our nations future and it should not be some politician saying what should be taught in our classrooms. The Background In January, the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) formally rejected a proposal to include an Advanced Placement (AP) African American History course in the curriculum of any public high school because its content conflicts with state law. As presented, the content of this course is inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value, state Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said in a Jan. 12 letter (pdf) to the College Board Florida Partnership, suggesting that should College Board be willing to come back to the table with lawful, historically-accurate content, FDOE will always be willing to reopen the discussion. Florida Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz Jr. provides comments at a meeting of the Florida Board of Education on Jan. 18, 2023. (Screenshot/The Florida Channel) In a subsequent report, The Epoch Times described how advocates of the rejected course gathered at the Capitol in Tallahassee to protest. Democrat state House Leader Fentrice Driskell accused DeSantis of undermining the rights of parents and students to make their own decisions, saying Black history is American history and the truth is the truth. Democrat state Sen. Geraldine Thompson said its time out for hypocrisy! We are told by Ron DeSantis that this time of history has no educational value, Thompson asserted, adding that if its not taught then someone needs to be held accountable. Civil rights attorney Ben Crumpwho gained national recognition for representing the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arberythreatened legal action on behalf of three black Florida students if the course is not implemented. While not widely available, the original syllabus for AP African American Studies, Course Framework, and Exam Overview (pdf) was obtained by The Epoch Times. On Jan. 20, Diaz posted on Twitter a detailed list of concerns the DOE found within the course: Topic 4.15 Intersectionality and ActivismDiaz said this is foundational to critical race theory, which is banned by Florida by law, and ranks people based on their wealth, gender, and sexual orientation. Topic 4.19 Black Queer StudiesIncluded reading is author Roderick Ferguson, who encourages the development of practices related to race, class, gender, and sexuality. Topic 4.29 Movements for Black LivesDiaz said Black Lives Matter advocates for the elimination of prisons and jails and pushes the idea that there is a war on Black trans, queer, gender non-conforming, and intersex people. Topic 4.16 Black Feminist Literary ThoughtIncludes books by author Bell Hooks, who advocates for intersectionality and has stated, I began to use the phrase in my work white supremacist capitalist patriarchy because I wanted to have some language that would actually remind us continually of the interlocking systems of domination that define our reality. Topic 4.30 The Reparations MovementAll points and resources in this section advocate for reparations, Diaz said, adding that there is no critical perspective or balancing opinion in this lesson. Topic 4.31 Black Study and Black Struggle in the 21st CenturyIncluded reading is author Robin Kelly, who advocates that activism rather than the university system is the catalyst for social transformation. The Facts Despite the opinion expressed by Harris during the interview that parents were among the people who know our children best, and that politicians had no place in saying what should be taught in our classrooms, neither Mitchell nor Harris mentioned that liberal politicians, teachers, and even the head of a teachers union have long advocated that parents have no business involving themselves in what their children are exposed to in schools. They also failed to address the fact that teaching CRT is prohibited in Florida schools by law, while the teaching of factual African American history, including slavery, is required. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis displays the signed Parental Rights in Education bill flanked by elementary school students during a news conference at Classical Preparatory school in Shady Hills, Fla., on March 28, 2022. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP) Florida Statute 1003.42 requires the teaching of African American history, including the history of African peoples before the political conflicts that led to the development of slavery, the passage to America, the enslavement experience, abolition, and the contributions of African Americans to society. However, the Florida DOE clarifies, classroom instruction and curriculum may not be used to indoctrinate or persuade students to a particular point of view inconsistent with the principles enumerated in subsection (3) or the state academic standards. We proudly require the teaching of African American history, Diaz said in his Jan. 20 post. We do not accept woke indoctrination masquerading as education. The Boycott During the Feb. 20 edition of her program, Mitchell failed to issue a correction. At the end of her Feb. 22 morning broadcast, Mitchell issued a statement, saying she was imprecise in summarizing Governor DeSantis position about teaching slavery in schools, adding that Governor DeSantis is not opposed to teaching the fact of slavery in schools but he has opposed the teaching of an African American Studies curriculum as well as the use of some authors and source materials that historians and teachers say makes it all but impossible for students to understand the broader historic and political context behind slavery and its aftermath in the years since. Mitchell did not identify the historians and teachers referenced in her statement. Nor did she report that Florida law requires the teaching of African American history, including slavery. On Feb. 22, DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin responded on Twitter. To all of the bookers and producers reaching out to our office @NBCNews and @MSNBC for @GovRonDeSantis to join your shows, this will be the standard response from our office until @mitchellreports apologizes and your track record improves, Griffin wrote, with an attached screenshot from a written response. I think we need to take a step back, the attached response begins. There will be no consideration of anything related to NBC Universal or its affiliates until and at least Andrea Mitchell corrects the blatant lie she made about the governor and NBC and its affiliates display a consistent track record of truthful reporting. Please feel free to pass this up and around the network. The Epoch Times has reached out to MSNBC for comment. Electric Cars to Become Affordable in UK by 2030 as Second-Hand Market Grows, Expert Says Critics say high cost of EVs will remove long-held 'right' to afford a car A new number plate is put on a brand new Nissan electric car at a dealership in Northampton, England, on Aug. 5, 2022. (Blackball Media/PA) A prominent motoring journalist has said that the price of buying an electric car will fall between now and 2030when the government plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel carsas the second-hand market grows. Richard Ingram, editor of carbuyer.co.uk and drivingelectric.com, told The Epoch Times: Ultimately, I think we need to bide our time. Electric cars are becoming mainstream, but the rate at which theyve grown in popularity is unprecedented. Remember that when internal combustion engine cars were in their infancy, youd buy petrol over the counter from your local chemist. Ingram said: By the end of the decade, early mainstream EVs like the Nissan Leaf or Renault Zoe will be 20 years old. While Im not suggesting youll be able to pick one up for 200 like you might a 2003 Vauxhall Corsa today, there will be plenty of choice on the used market for far less than youd pay today. If almost one-in-four new cars sold in 2023 is electric, think of how many will inevitably return to dealership forecourts in three years time. New-car demand subsequently affects used-car supply, with the latter surely priced accordingly further down the line. Furthermore, with fewer moving parts, I suspect EVs will be measurably more reliable long into the future, he added. Conservative MP Steve Brine told a special debate in Westminster Hall on Wednesday that supply and cost are major barriers right now to people switching over to electric vehicles, and he said he felt the current targetthat all new vehicles would emit zero emissions by 2035may be beyond us. After battery-making startup Britishvolt went into administration last month, Andy Mayer, chief operating officer and energy analyst at the Institute of Economic Affairs, told The Epoch Times that the British government should walk away from the project or risk the creation of an uneconomic UK battery industry that would force up the price of electric cars. For 50 Years People Have Taken for Granted They Can Afford a Car Mayer told The Epoch Times: The risk of the governments approach is that not only will they miss the environmental targets, which they certainly will, but that they will produce a situation where something the British population has taken for granted for going on 50 yearsthat they can afford and have the right to an automobilewill disappear. But Ingram said: Im not convinced the transition to electric is going to do much to change who can or cant afford a new car. Its true that there are fewer cheap EVs than there are petrol or diesel cars, but even a Ford Focus will set you back more than 27,000 in todays market. An all-electric MG4, offering similar space, practicality, and convenience features, actually starts from a few hundred pounds less. Volvo Cars electric car model, the Volvo C40 Recharge, is pictured in Stockholm, Sweden, on March 2, 2021. (Claudio Bresciani/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images) Ingram predicted an influx of new brands and cheaper modelsand especially from Chinese car makers, who are little known in the UKover the next few years. But he said: Not wishing to be outdone, legacy car makers acknowledge there is a dearth of affordable EVs. Last year, Volkswagen CEO Thomas Schafer told us VWs forthcoming small electric car will cost well below 25,000 euros.' Ingram said 90 percent of motorists now lease their cars or use finance to purchase them, and he said there are some new electric vehicles currently available at around 200 per month. Second-Hand Petrol and Diesel Cars Will Still Be Available We must remember that the 2030 cut-off for combustion-engine models only applies to new cars. The government isnt suggesting for a second that well be unable to buy or run second-hand petrol or diesel cars, nor is there any hint that these models will be unduly taxed, ignoring any current or future low-emission zones, said Ingram. Wera Hobhouse, the Liberal Democrats energy, climate, and transport spokesperson, told the Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday: Car journeys need to become net zero. The transition from petrol and diesel to electric vehicles is at the heart of this. She said: The governments pledge to end the sale of all petrol and diesel cars by 2030, and hybrids by 2035, has acted as a powerful signal to the car industry and the markets. But the failure to prepare the ground for the transition to electric carsthe car charging infrastructureis now threatening that very target. Transport minister Huw Merriman told the debate industry data showed that in December 2022, 32.9 percent of new cars sold were fully electric. Merriman said: Were moving away from subsidising individuals buying electric vehicles, were moving more to a mandate now that will incentivise car manufacturers to produce the electric vehicles and, if they dont, then they will end up being penalised. That is our future philosophy. Ethics Complaint Filed Against California Rep. Katie Porter Claims She Misused Official Resources in 2022 Reelection Campaign A nonprofit government ethics watchdog claims that Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), who is running to succeed Sen. Diane Feinstein in the 2024 election, illegally used official congressional resources in her reelection campaign. In 2022, Rep. Porters congressional office used taxpayer funds to run ads that are overtly political. These ads contained identical messaging or images to ads that her campaign ran and were often times completely indistinguishable from her campaign ads, Kendra Arnold, executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), told the Office of Congressional Ethics in a complaint filed on Feb. 22. The FACT complaint alleges that Porter used official funds to pay for virtually identical ads that were used for both official and campaign purposes and that were produced and distributed by the same company. During the time period the ads were being disseminated, Porters campaign and congressional office simultaneously paid the same vendor, Wavelength Strategy, for advertising and printing services. Wavelength Strategy is a digital ad vendor for Democratic campaigns. From June to August 2022, Porters congressional office paid over $130,500 to Wavelength Strategy. From February 2022 to November 2022, Porters campaign paid over $1.6 million to Wavelength Strategy, the complaint reads. On their face, the messages themselves contained short political phrases such as Holding Oil Companies or Delivering Results. There can be no doubt that these were political messages because her campaign ran substantially similar ads with the same exact messaging. In addition to the same message, the same image appears in both her congressional ad and campaign ad, Arnold stated in the FACT complaint. The facts of this case demonstrate Rep. Porter used taxpayer funds to pay for political ads. The laws at issue in this case are extremely important because not only do they protect taxpayer funds from abuse, but they address the public perception that incumbents are simply using their office to run for reelection. The reason for that perception is quite evident in Rep. Porters actions. Moreover, her use of official resources does not reflect credibly on the House. Jordan Wong, Porters spokesman, disputed the FACT complaint, saying: Our office has always been in full compliance with House franking rules. Wavelength Strategy is a House-approved vendor. Franked content was not sent during the 60-day blackout period preceding an election. All franked material was approved by the Communications Standards Commission (CSC), reviewed by both Democratic and Republican staff. The CSC is responsible for ensuring that no material sent by a representative to constituents includes campaign-related materials. As for the baseless allegation that the ads are indistinguishable, that claim is nonsensical, given that our franked ads used official House footage and other visuals of the congresswoman performing official duties and wearing her Congressional pin, which campaigns expressly cannot use, Wong added. Multiple laws and congressional rules bar senators and representatives from paying for campaign expenses with taxpayer funds provided to their office for expenses and staffs; resources such as photographs and aides on a taxpayer-funded payroll also arent allowed to be used for campaigns. It isnt unusual for congressional aides to transfer from an official payroll to a campaign payroll while working to help their boss gain reelection. Porter is one of three already-announced Democratic candidates for the 2024 Senate nomination to succeed Feinstein. The other two California House Democrats who have announced their candidacies are Reps. Adam Schiff and Barbara Lee. At 49, Porter is the youngest of the announced candidates. Schiff is 62 and Lee is 76. San Francisco Mayor London Breed is also reportedly considering making a run for the Democratic Senate nomination. Porter is no stranger to ethics controversies. Last year, The Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts filed an ethics complaint against Porter after the California Democrat accused Amy Swearer, one of the think tanks experts on gun control issues, of giving false testimony before Congress in 2019. The OCE hasnt publicly disclosed anything about its deliberations regarding the Heritage complaint. Porter has also faced questions about her being able to purchase a four-bedroom, three-bathroom house near the University of CaliforniaIrvine for half of the $1 million average sales price of homes in Orange County. She was able to afford the house as a result of assistance she received as a teacher at the university, according to The Associated Press. For Porter, this version of subsidized housing has outlasted her time in the classroom, now extending nearly four years after she first took unpaid leave from her $258,000-a-year teaching job to serve in the U.S. House, AP reported. But the ties go deeper, with at least one law school administrator, who was also a donor to her campaign, helping secure extensions of her tenure while she remained in Congress, according to university emails obtained by The Associated Press. That has allowed Porter, a rising Democratic star and fundraising powerhouse whose own net worth is valued at as much as $2 million, to retain her home even as her return to the school remains in doubt. No congressional ethics complaint regarding Porters home purchase or employment status at the school has been made public. Fire Breaks out at Uranium Processing Facility in Tennessee, Latest in Spate of Fires Across US The Jack Case Center at the Y-12 National Security Complex. (U.S. Department of Energy) Multiple emergency crews responded to a fire at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, on Wednesday. The federal facility had all its staffsome 200 employeesevacuated in response to the fire. Some employees in adjacent buildings were also evacuated. The Y-12 National Security Complex was built as part of the Manhattan Project, a U.S. government research project during World War II, that produced the first nuclear weapons. At approximately 9:15 a.m., one of the Y-12 production buildings had a fire in a [chemical handling] hood, the Y-12 National Security Complex said in a statement on Facebook. It said in a separate statement, Personnel have determined the event is contained to the production building, adding that all evacuated employees are accounted for and that there are no injuries or contaminations found. There is no off-site impact to the public as a result of the incident, it said. Compound of Uranium Involved The Y-12 complex also confirmed that a compound of uranium that employees in the Building 9212 handle was involved in the fire, and that such compounds can come in metallic or solution forms, reported NBC affiliate WSAZ. Uranium fires cant be put out with water. Instead graphite, soda ash, powdered sodium chloride, or dry powder is used. A spokesperson for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) told news outlets that the fire started in Building 9212 of the Y-12 complex. Building 9212 is a uranium processing building that was constructed in 1945 at the end of World War II. According to the Department of Energy, Building 9212 is optimized for a large nuclear weapons production mission necessary during the buildup of U.S. thermonuclear forces in the 1950s and 1960s. The building continues to serve as one of the primary chemical processing and enriched uranium production facilities at Y-12. It is set to be replaced by the end of 2025 by the Uranium Processing Facility (UPF) complex. The cause of the fire is not known. Gene Patterson, spokesperson for Consolidated Nuclear Security which is contracted by the NNSA to operate the Y-12 complex, said that an investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, reported ABC affiliate WATE. Recent Fires Across US The fire in Oak Ridge is the latest in a spate of recent fires of unknown causes that broke out across the United States. A fire broke out at a lumber storage warehouse in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City, on Tuesday morning. Five firefighters sustained minor injuries from the fire. The cause of the fire is unknown. On the same morning, an explosion that led to a massive fire at an industrial complex in Medley, Florida, resulted in the deaths of two people. Three others were injured. The cause of the fire remains unclear. Also on Tuesday morning, a fire broke out at a manufacturing plant in Alloy, Fayette County, West Virginia. The alloy plant, called West Virginia Manufacturing, said a fire broke out in a mixing bin, reported WSAZ, adding that the fire was put out within 10 minutes and no casualties were reported. Smoke rises from a metal manufacturing plant after an explosion in Bedford, Ohio, on Feb. 20, 2023. (Eric Downing/Reuters) On Monday, an explosion took place at a metal manufacturing plant in Oakwood Village of Bedford, Ohio. The blast, which sparked a large fire, killed at least one person and injured 13 others. The cause of the explosion is unclear. On Feb. 19, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) reported that a transformer exploded and caught fire in one of its substations in Oakland, California. The fire was extinguished and no casualties were reported. But it temporarily caused outages at the Oakland International Airport and left some 54,000 customers around the east San Francisco Bay Area without electricity. On Feb. 17, a small, isolated fire was sparked due to an electrical panel failure, which led to a power outage at Terminal 1 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, according to the airport. The fire was immediately extinguished. Separately, the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) said it had responded to a small paint can fire in a utility room at the airport at 3 a.m., reported CBS. Florida Joins Growing Lists of States Moving to Legalize Fentanyl Test Strips 'Drug use is out there and you want to reduce all the damage and harm you can,' advocate says As the number of fentanyl-related deaths continues to rise, Florida joins the growing list of states moving to decriminalize the use of fentanyl test strips in an effort to save lives. A recent report by the CDC showed that overdose deaths from synthetic opioids like fentanyl were up 15 percent nationally. Data released by Coordinated Opioid Recoverya new statewide addiction care program implemented by a partnership with the Florida Department of Health, the Florida Department of Children and Families, and the Agency for Health Care Administrationshowed that fentanyl-related deaths have increased 790 percent in Florida since 2015 (pdf). The 2021 Annual Report released by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement/Medical Examiners Commission showed that fentanyl was involved in 6,417 deaths (pdf). As previously reported by The Epoch Times, Dr. Kenneth Scheppke, deputy secretary for health at the Florida Department of Health, described Floridas fentanyl crisis as a revolving door of overdose, saying there were over 8,000 overdose deaths in Florida in 2021. Of those, 70 percent were opioid-related. About 30 percent of those were specifically related to fentanyl. More States Getting on Board After failing to decriminalize fentanyl test strips in 2022, the surge in fentanyl-related overdoses in Florida has since inspired state legislators to try again. Senate Bill 164 (pdf), sponsored by Democrat Sen. Tina Scott Polsky and co-sponsored by Democrat Sen. Lori Burman, would decriminalize the use of fentanyl test strips in Florida. The measure was passed favorably by the Criminal Justice Committee on Feb. 14. A similar bill, HB 164 (pdf), sponsored by Democrat Rep. Christine Hunschofsky, is simultaneously moving through the Florida House. Costa Mesa police confiscate three large bags of fentanylcontaining smaller distributable bagsin Costa Mesa, Calif., on Jan. 24, 2023. (Courtesy of the Costa Mesa Police Department) States and territories where fentanyl test strips are already decriminalized include Colorado, District of Columbia, Maryland, Nebraska, New York, South Carolina, Virginia, Wyoming, California, Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Alabama, and Ohio. As the number of fentanyl overdose deaths continues to soar, the number of states moving to descriminalize fentanyl test strips is quickly on the rise. A September 2022 report from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment on opioid vulnerability revealed a 73.5 percent rise in overdose deaths in Kansas between 2011 and 2020 (pdf). After an effort in Kansas to decriminalize fentanyl test strips statewide failed in May 2022, the Wichita City Council voted in September to decriminalize the possession of the test strips within city limits. By October 2022, Kansas City Police reported another 129 fentanyl-related overdoses that included minors as well as adults, with 17 resulting in death. Four deaths, including that of a toddler, occurred within a span of 13 days, KCTV reported. On Feb. 7, legislators in Kansas introduced another bill, HB 2328 (pdf), in an effort to decriminalize the possession of test strips. In Hawaii on Feb. 17, the state House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee unanimously passed House Bill 573. The measure would remove fentanyl test strips from the list of what state law defines as drug paraphernalia, essentially decriminalizing possession. Next comes a vote by the full House. The Senate chambers Health and Human Services Committee passed Senate Bill 671 on Feb. 6 to enable the measure to move on to the Judiciary Committee. Under current state law, possession of a fentanyl test strip can result in a $500 fine. In an effort to save lives in New Hampshire, Democrat state Reps. David Meuse and Amanda Bouldin have sponsored House Bill 470. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbot is reconsidering his prior opposition and is now voicing support for decriminalizing test strips. Advocacy Groups Join the Effort In January 2022, the American Medical Association gave its support for the decriminalization of test strips. In June 2022, Clergy for a New Drug Policy advocated for the same. Also in 2022, Vivent Healthformerly the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsinanonymously distributed almost 46,000 fentanyl test strips with no questions asked, hoping people would test their drugs for the presence of fentanyl before using them. While Vivent Health is not required to file reports on the results of those test strips, over 4,600 came back positive, WBAY reported. On May 9, 2022, the Louisiana Society of Addiction Medicine sent a letter to members of the Louisiana Senate Committee on Judiciary expressing support for a bill to decriminalize fentanyl test strips (pdf). The measure was passed on May 25, 2022, and became effective on Aug. 1, 2022. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes fentanyl test strips as a low-cost method of helping prevent drug overdoses and reducing harm. In April 2021, the CDC and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced that federal funding could be used to purchase fentanyl test strips. We must do all we can to save lives from drug overdoses, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. The increase in drug overdose deaths related to synthetic opioids such as illicitly made fentanyl is a public health crisis that requires immediate action and novel strategies. State and local programs now have another tool to add to their on-the-ground efforts toward reducing and preventing overdoses, in particular fentanyl-related overdose deaths. Incredibly Encouraging During an interview with The Epoch Times, the Rev. Alexander Sharp, founder of Clergy for New Drug Policy, said he was heartened by the depth of the response that is currently happening with regard to this crisis. So often what you get is the reaction that you cant do anything because it falls under the category of harm reduction, Sharp told The Epoch Times, saying that while it appears to be enabling the use of drugs, that concept is horribly misguided. Drug use is out there and you want to reduce all the damage and harm you can, so we very enthusiastically support this movement, Sharp explained. I just wasnt really aware until now that there was this kind of Hail Mary activity towards it. Sharp noted the existence of safe consumption sites, where people can go to use their drugs under medical supervision. Sharp said these are common in Europe and that there are three such sites in New York City. However, Sharp noted how society still views programs like this as something that will only facilitate the use of drugs. Thats very often the reaction youre going to get, that youre enabling drug use if you have anything that speaks to reducing the harm of drug use, he explained, asserting that people cant make that distinction. But thats the distinction that needs to be made. Someone who works with Sharp understands firsthand the depths to which an opioid addiction can drag someone down. I think its incredibly encouraging to see these steps forward in understanding that the overdose crisis is a public health issue and needs a public health response, Timothy McMahan King told The Epoch Times. King, a senior fellow with Clergy for a New Drug Policy, was hospitalized in 2009 for an extended period of time and placed on heavy doses of opioid pain medication. As with many who have been prescribed opioids as a form of treatment, King developed an opioid addiction. His experience inspired him to write a book, Addiction Nation, which came out in 2019. However, King was quick to note the drastic and deadly difference between consuming opioids prescribed through a doctors prescription and consuming opioids obtained from unknown sources. Timothy McMahan King, senior fellow at Clergy for a New Drug Policy and author of the book, Addiction Nation. (Courtesy of Timothy McMahan King) I was on heavy doses of fentanyl pain medication. But when I was on it, it was through prescriptions. So I wasnt in danger of overdose death because I knew what I was taking and I knew how much I was taking, King explained, noting that fentanyl is safely used during labor and delivery in pregnant women. What were seeing today is a poisoned drug supply in which people dont know what they are using or how much they are using, which results in these overdoses, and it doesnt need to be this way, King insisted. Its just a lot more dangerous than it used to be. So we can simultaneously discourage dangerous drug use and try to keep people as safe as possible when theyre in the midst of addiction. Thats what is so promising about these steps in moving forward. He also commended the current increased bipartisan acknowledgment that we are facing a public health crisis, adding that we desperately need bipartisan cooperation solutions. Its a movement from saying this is a problem that we need to punish, to saying this is a health challenge we need to meet,' King clarified, explaining that addiction is defined by persistence in a behavior, despite the negative consequences. Simply increasing negative consequences doesnt understand the nature of addiction, King said. Thats where we need these public health approaches that understand and have compassion toward people and thats the greatest step forward we can take right now. If simply punishing people more would have worked, we would have been out of this crisis by now. Food Giant Dole Says It Was Hit With Ransomware Attack Food processing giant Dole Food Company confirmed this week it was the victim of a cybersecurity incident that has been identified as ransomware, according to a news release. Upon learning of this incident, Dole moved quickly to contain the threat and engaged leading third-party cybersecurity experts, who have been working in partnership with Doles internal teams to remediate the issue and secure systems, the release, dated Feb. 22, stated. Dole said that the ransomware attack had a limited impact on his operations, though it is continuing to investigate the scope of the incident. It also informed law enforcement about the security breach. However, a purported internal Dole memo that was posted online said that the attack shut down our systems throughout North America. CNN reported that the memo, dated Feb. 10, was issued by Emanuel Lazopoulos, senior vice president at Doles Fresh Vegetables division. Our plants are shut down for the day and all our shipments are on hold, the internal memo also said. Please bear with us as we navigate our way and hopefully we will minimize this event. The Epoch Times has not confirmed the authenticity of the memo. A spokesperson for Dole has not returned a request for comment. Dole, which has headquarters in Ireland, has four processing plants in the United States and employs more than 3,000 workers, according to a recent release from the company. The operators of at least two grocery stores said they were not able to obtain Dole products in recent days, although its not clear how widespread the shortage of Dole products is. Jeff Russell, an assistant manager of the Clayton Ranch Market, in the small town of Clayton, New Mexico, told CNN that his store has been short of salad kits in recent days. Ransomware Incidents Ransomware is a malicious form of software that prevents users from accessing their networks, file systems, or their computers until they pay a ransom. In recent years, cybercriminals have been able to obtain millions of dollars in ransom payments by targeting businesses, including companies that operate critical infrastructure. A Colonial Pipeline station is seen in Smyrna, Ga., on May 11, 2021. (Mike Stewart/AP Photo) In one high-profile incident in 2021, cybercriminals forced the shutdown of the Colonial Pipelines operations in a ransomware attack. Reports indicated that the operator of the pipeline, which spans the breadth of the United States, paid some $4.4 million in bitcoin to the malign actors to get their systems back online. A May 2021 ransomware incident forced JBS, the worlds largest supplier of meat, to shut down factories in the United States, Canada, and Australia. The firm said it paid the $11 million ransom to unlock its networks and systems. But ransomware isnt the only crime that is impacting the U.S. food sector. The FBI and other agencies said that criminals have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of food products in recent weeks and months. Two months ago, the Food and Drug Administration, the FBI, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a notice (pdf) to businesses to remain vigilant for email compromise attacks that can be used to steal large shipments of food products. In cases like this criminals spoof emails and domains to impersonate employees of legitimate companies to order food products, the notice said. The victim company fulfills the order and ships the goods, but the criminals do not pay for the products. Criminals may repackage stolen products for individual sale without regard for food safety regulations and sanitation practices, risking contamination or omitting necessary information about ingredients, allergens, or expiration dates. Counterfeit goods of lesser quality can damage a companys reputation. GOP Split on Support for Ukraine The Republican Party is split when it comes to supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia, which will reach the one-year mark on Feb. 24. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) introduced earlier this month a Ukraine Fatigue Resolution, which has 10 co-sponsors: Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Mary Miller (R-Ill.), Barry Moore (R-Ala.), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) and Matt Rosendale (R-Mt.). It would halt all U.S. military and financial assistance to Ukraine. President Joe Biden must have forgotten his prediction from March 2022, suggesting that arming Ukraine with military equipment will escalate the conflict to World War III, said Gaetz in a Feb. 9 press release announcing the resolution. Biden in March actually said that a NATO-Russia conflict could lead to a third world war. America is in a state of managed decline, and it will exacerbate if we continue to hemorrhage taxpayer dollars toward a foreign war, continued Gaetz. We must suspend all foreign aid for the War in Ukraine and demand that all combatants in this conflict reach a peace agreement immediately. The ruling political class, both right & left, has teamed up w/ the military industrial complex in happily barreling towards WWIII without thinking through the consequences, posted Luna on Twitter on Feb. 14. Proud to sponsor @RepGaetzs bill which would halt any additional aid to Ukraine. However, most Republicans support U.S. aid to Ukraine, including GOP congressional leadership. Greatly Exaggerated No, I support Ukraine, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told CNN when asked if he backs Gaetzs resolution. I dont support a blank check, though. We spent $100 billion here, we want to win. I think the actions that President Biden has taken are a bit too late. Reports about the death of Republican support for strong American leadership in the world have been greatly exaggerated, said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 17. My partys leaders overwhelmingly support a strong, involved America and a robust trans-Atlantic alliance. Dont look at Twitter, look at people in power. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Ms.), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told CNN anchor Jake Tapper on Feb. 22 that about 90 percent of the GOP caucus supports giving Ukraine the tools it needs to win the war. Appearing on ABCs This Week on Feb. 19, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) called for the continuation of support to the Eastern European country. The British are training Ukrainian pilots. I believe a decision will be imminent here when we get back to Washington that the administration will start training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16. They need the weapons system, he said. The Biden administration has refused to transfer fighter jets to Ukraine. Graham also responded to Vice President Kamala Harris telling the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 18 that Russia has committed crimes against humanity. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) in Washington on May 25, 2022. (Ting Shen/Pool/Getty Images) And let me just stress thishow can you call this war by Russia a crime against humanity, and thats what the vice president did in Munichnow, were talking about Germany. Were talking about the vice president of the United States declaring that Russia is involved in crimes against humanity in Germany, of all placesyou know, echoes of World War II. How can she say thatand she is correctand not give the victim of their crime against humanity the defensive weapons they need to stop the crime? So we need to do two things quickly, make Russia a state sponsor of terrorism under U.S. law, which would make it harder for China to give weapons to Russia, and we need to start training Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 now. Congress has appropriated over $120 billion and the Biden administration has pledged almost $80 billion to Ukraine. Of the appropriations, $46.6 billion has been for military assistance. During Bidens visit to Ukraine and Poland this week, a segment of Republicans expressed criticism of U.S. support for Ukraine. This is incredibly insulting. Today on our Presidents Day, Joe Biden, the President of the United States chose Ukraine over America, while forcing the American people to pay for Ukraines government and war. I can not [sic] express how much Americans hate Joe Biden, posted Greene on Twitter. According to the Pew Research Center, 40 percent of Republicans and those who lean Republican believe the United States is providing too much support to Ukraine, an 8-percentage-point increase from September. In May 2022, 34 percent of that demographic said the United States wasnt providing enough assistance to the Eastern European country, 15 percentage points lower from March 2022. The schism in the GOP when it comes to Ukraine isnt black and white, however. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and 22 other Republicans have called for oversight of U.S. assistance to Ukraine. On Feb. 22, they sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power asking them for documents and information on how the agencies administering assistance are ensuring the funds are not wasted, abused, or used fraudulently. Providing security and humanitarian assistance for warfighting and reconstruction purposes comes with an inherent risk of fraud, waste, and abuse, they wrote. The United States must identify these risks and develop oversight mechanisms to mitigate them. Four of the Republicans who signed the letter are co-sponsors of the Ukraine Fatigue Resolution. The GOP split on Ukraine has also spilled into the 2024 presidential race. 2024 This is a war about freedom, and its a war we have to win, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley told an audience in Iowa on Feb. 20. However, Haley said that supporting Ukraine doesnt mean we ever should put troops on the ground, and it doesnt mean we should ever write blank checks. I am never for giving money; I am for giving military equipment [and] ammunition so that they can do the job themselves. Former President Donald Trump, who has sought to mediate a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, blasted Bidens trip to Ukraine. FIRST COME THE TANKS, THEN COME THE NUKES, posted Trump on his social media site, Truth Social, on Jan. 26. Get this crazy war ended, NOW. So easy to do! Multimillionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy lamented Biden going to Kyiv and not the scene of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. Vivek Ramaswamy. (Jack Wang/The Epoch Times) If Ohio were Ukraine, the U.S. government wouldve already sent billions of dollars. Its telling that Biden visits Ukraine today while [Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg] is still yet to visit East Palestine, Ohio. Our leaders & Zelenskyy share a common agenda: Ukraine First, he posted on Twitter on Feb. 20. Buttigieg visited East Palestine on Feb. 23. On Feb. 22, Ramaswamy blasted the U.S. for sending money to Ukraine as opposed to spending it on a certain domestic issue. We could solve the Mexican drug cartel problem driving our fentanyl crisis for a *fraction* of what weve spent in Ukraine. Total decimation. If the US military has one purpose above all, its to defend Americas home turf. Yet the defense establishment recoils at this idea, he posted on Twitter. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to announce his candidacy for the White House in the coming months, has decried U.S. support for Ukraine. They [the Biden administration] have effectively a blank-check policy with no clear strategic objective identified, DeSantis said. These things can escalate. And I dont think its in our interest to be getting into a proxy war with China getting involved over things like the borderlands or over Crimea. The United States has warned China not to give arms to Russia for its war in Ukraine. Weinstein Sentenced to 16 Years Over Rape, Sexual Assault Conviction in LA Case Former film producer Harvey Weinstein appears in court at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles on Oct. 4, 2022. (Etienne Laurent/Pool via Reuters) Former film producer and convicted rapist Harvey Weinstein has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after he was convicted of rape in late 2022 over an incident in Los Angeles in 2013. The sentencing on Thursday comes as part of a second round of criminal convictions for the 70-year-old Weinstein, who produced multiple successful films and co-founded of Miramax Films, a movie production and distribution house. Weinsteins first round of convictions was in February 2020, when he was found guilty of rape and sexual assault in New York, for which he is serving a 23-year prison sentence. He is eligible for parole in New York in 2039. New Yorks highest court in August 2022 agreed to hear his appeal over the convictions there. The second round of convictions came in Los Angeles jury in December 2022 when a jury found Weinstein guilty of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault involving a former model and actress known as Jane Doe 1, who was victim to the crimes that took place at a Los Angeles hotel in February 2013. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench, who had rejected a motion by Weinsteins lawyers for a new trial over the Los Angeles case, on Thursday sentenced Weinstein to 16 years for his crimes. Prosecutors had called for a high-term penalty of 24 years because of the prior conviction in New York, rather than a mid-term sentence of 18 years that California law would otherwise prescribe, absent additional aggravating factors. Weinstein is set to serve the 16-year sentence after completing his 23-year prison sentence in New York. Weinstein Pleaded Not Guilty In July 2021, Weinstein pleaded not guilty in the Los Angeles case. At the time, he said that all of his sexual encounters were consensual. At his sentencing on Thursday, Weinstein directly appealed to the judge, saying: I maintain that Im innocent. I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe 1. The woman, Jane Doe 1, who Weinstein was convicted of raping, sobbed in the courtroom. She told the judge of her pain after being attacked by Weinstein. Before that night I was a very happy and confident woman. I valued myself and the relationship I had with God, she said. I was excited about my future. Everything changed after the defendant brutally assaulted me. There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage. But Weinstein said he had never met Jane Doe 1. He told the judge: This is a made up story. Jane Doe 1 is an actress. She can turn the tears on Please dont sentence me to life in prison. I dont deserve it. There are so many things wrong with this case. Weinsteins attorneys had requested a sentence of three years for each count, and have the sentences run simultaneously. Defense lawyer Mark Werksman cited Weinsteins age and very poor health, suggesting that a long sentence would make it unlikely Weinstein would ever see his five children outside of prison. Werksman also told Lench that Weinstein did a lot of good for a lot of people in a 50 year career he was a man that many famous movie stars would thank in their Oscar speeches. Text Messages Weinsteins lawyers told the judge she was wrong to have excluded from evidence messages showing that Jane Doe 1 had had a sexual relationship with Pascal Videcomini, the director of the film festival she was visiting during the alleged rape by Weinstein. Alan Jackson, one of Weinsteins defense lawyers, said the team would have used the messages to show that the Jane Doe 1 perjured herself and damaged her credibility when she testified that she and Videcomini were merely friends and colleagues. Jackson asserted that in this instance, rape shield laws excluding the sexual history of a victim were not relevant. If the jury had known that Jane Doe 1 and Pascal were intimately involved, they never would have bought the story that was told, Jackson said. We know they wouldnt have bought it. Because some of them have said so. Two of the jurors, who only gave their first names Michael and Jay, told reporters outside the courtroom that they were not there to advocate for either side, but said hearing about the text messages might have changed deliberations. The Los Angeles criminal case had charged Weinstein with seven counts of rape and sexual assault involving four women over separate incidents between 2004 and 2013. The jury in December 2022, besides having convicted Weinstein of one count of rape and two counts of sexual assault, acquitted him of a sexual battery charge, and declared a mistrial on other charges from two other accusers on which they couldnt reach a decision. One of the two accusers was Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker who is the wife of Californias Democratic governor Gavin Newsom. She was known as Jane Doe 4 in the trial. She had testified of being raped by Weinstein in a hotel room in 2005. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to His Majesty Naruhito, Emperor of Japan, on the occasion of the country's national holiday the Emperor's Birthday. Your Majesty, On the occasion of the National Day of Japan - Emperor's Birthday, on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan I have the pleasure to convey my sincerest congratulations and best wishes to you and through you all the people of your country. On this remarkable day, I wish you good health, happiness, success in your endeavors, and everlasting peace and prosperity to the friendly people of Japan. Sincerely, Ilham Aliyev President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Baku, 22 February 2023 In solidarity with the open letter by some 180 New York Times contributors expressing "serious concerns about editorial bias in the newspaper's reporting on transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming people." the State Press Magazine, a publication of Arizona State University's student news organization, The State Press, has called for ASU to divest from its institutional subscription to the New York Times. Print and digital news, photo and video projects, investigative reporting, and print magazines, "The State Press is ASU's award-winning, student-run news organization that has covered Arizona State University and the Tempe, Phoenix and Mesa communities since 1890." The call for divestment identifies support for "GLAAD, the largest LGBTQ+ media advocacy organization, [that] published a similar letter , signed by over 100 organizations and individuals. The GLAAD letter called the Times' coverage of trans and gender-diverse people in the past year "irresponsible" and "biased" and said the Times "has repeatedly platformed cisgender (non-transgender) people spreading inaccurate and harmful misinformation about transgender people and issues." The State Press Magazine call is signed by 32 editors, reporters, photographers, and illustrators, including the Executive Editor, Editor-in-Chief, Managing Editor, Design Editor, and Engagement Editor. "We have family, friends and fellow State Press Magazine staff members who are trans and gender-diverse. We are highly concerned with the New York Times' coverage of LGBTQ+ people, sources and issues at a time of escalating homophobic and transphobic legislation and violence in the U.S. In Arizona, the American Civil Liberties Union is currently tracking 11 anti-LGBTQ+ bills advancing in the state Legislature, including SB 1001, which would ban public school teachers from using students' preferred name and pronouns without parental permission and would allow teachers to cite "religious or moral convictions" as legal justification for deliberately misgendering students." Predictable prediction about the right's predilection to ban, censor, and disavow in the name of free speech and liberty: they will call for the defunding of the State Press. A crescendo of circumstances burdening physicians to the point of burnout is reshaping the already fragile health care system of the United States. A mass exodus of doctors from some practices, reduced hours among others, high suicide rates, and an increase in cash-based practices are straining an already stressed system. While some doctors are courageous enough to speak upoften after leaving corporate health care positions because of lack of respect and workplace autonomyothers silently suffer under pressure. At the heart of it seems to be an inability to offer the kind of care that steered them into their chosen professionbut their departure under duress may ultimately leave their patients even more underserved. Its a simple supply-and-demand catastrophe that affects anyone who relies on the medical system. Weve seen the terrible direction medicine has moved into since physician independence has gone away, Dr. Suneel Dhand, who specializes in internal and lifestyle medicine, said. Weve gotten ourselves into this position because the old way of practicing is gone. Todays doctors are most often found working within a corporate model. Nearly 74 percent of U.S. physicians are employed by hospitals, health systems, or other corporate entitiesup from 62.2 percent in 2019, according to a study sponsored by the Physicians Advocacy Institute. One problem with corporate practices is a higher likelihood of undue influence on patient-care decisions, Dr. Craig Backs explained to The Epoch Times. Backs, who has worked at a private clinic and for a hospital, now owns an independent practice, The Cure Center. The reality is, it used to be that the patientphysician relationship was an important one not to be interfered with, having elements of privacy, and the interests of the patients over the interests of the physician. I think thats really changed, he said. Theres also been massive growth in the number of administrators who have never uttered the Hippocratic oath. Physician preference for the stability and predictable income that comes with a corporate job has upended traditional health care, with the current model handing over more and more power to insurance companies. These realities are forcing many doctors to take a discerning look at their careers and, ultimately, to find a way out. Their departuresand their dissatisfaction when they stayare creating reverberations in the entire health care system that echo most loudly on patient care. The Price Patients Pay The effects of burnoutmental exhaustion, depersonalization, and a decreased sense of personal accomplishmentincrease the risk to patient safety, decrease quality of care because of reduced professionalism, and lower patient satisfaction, according to a 2018 meta-analysis in JAMA. Physician departures from the system also put more pressure on those left behind to juggle increasing demands. We are seeing a lot of patient errors that are happening currently, Dr. Nadia Ali told The Epoch Times. Ali, an independent functional family practitioner, resigned a corporate job after microaggressions resulting from her desire to spend time with her patients led to moral injury. What we know now is physician burnout doubles the risk of adverse outcomes in patients. Burnout, workload, and COVID-19associated stresses are motivating health care practitioners to leave, according to a study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings in December 2021. The study found that 20 percent of physicians and 40 percent of nurses among more than 20,000 polled said they planned to leave their practice within two years. An additional one-third of physicians and nurses said they plan to reduce work hours in the next year. Our study demonstrates that the U.S. health care workforce is in peril. If even one-third to one-half of nurses and physicians carry out their expressed intentions to cut back or leave, we wont have enough staff to meet the needs of patients, the studys lead author, Dr. Christine A. Sinsky, wrote in an American Medical Association article. Sinsky is also the American Medical Associations (AMAs) vice president of professional satisfaction. Demands of Insurance The AMA has launched STEPS Forward, a resource that offers strategies for reducing workload, streamlining administration, and managing inboxes. But theres an element of health care outside the purview of physician organizations thats increasingly stifling doctors practices: insurance rules and reimbursements. Dr. Armen Nikogosian was operating an independent practice that he opened in 2003 with a handful of doctors when Blue Cross Blue Shield dropped reimbursement rates with a months notice about 13 years ago; he had to make the difficult decision to drop 40 percent of the clinics patients when reimbursement rates shifted from $80 for a follow-up visit to $35, which wasnt enough to keep his clinic afloat. Maybe you could make it work if you had free rent and everyone volunteered to work for you, Nikogosian said. That was a lesson that insurance companies are very unpredictable. They didnt care whether they paid me enough so that I could make my practice sustainable or not. He said that unfortunately, most practices take what they give you even though its not the way you want to run your business. Smaller clinics have little bargaining power, so they simply adjust the time they spend with patients, cramming up to 10 visits into an hour. Nikogosian knew a cash practice was the way out, but with his wife expecting their fourth child, the time wasnt right for such a risk. He closed his clinic and took a position with a U.S. Veterans Affairs clinic while he slowly went to work on setting up a practice. His second sons autism diagnosis influenced his decision to open a practice geared toward autistic children and adults in 2016, after he saw firsthand that conventional medicine was almost useless for their needs. He makes less money, and it took time to become sustainable, but the pay-for-service model makes sense to Nikogosian. When patients are happy with what hes doing, they pay their fees, and theres no third party influencing care. Direct primary care clinics are also on the rise, with nearly 2,000 now operating in the United States. A 2022 report on direct primary care (DPC) trends in the United States found that DPC membership grew 241 percent from 2017 to 2021. While there was a 6 percent increase in the number of active primary care providers per 100,000 people in that timeframe, the number of active DPC clinicians per 100,000 people increased by 159 percent. Health insurance completely dominates the doctors life and increasingly, the patients life, he said. It was clear they were trying to affect the way the doctor was trying to practice. To me, thats a risky proposition. It made me unhappy. It makes plenty of doctors unhappy. COVID-19 Doctor Doubletake Pressures of the fiduciary obligation to hospital boards and government mandates have put doctor decisions under a microscope for decades. The pandemic revealed the systemic corruption to a watchful public. Hospitals received government kickbacks for COVID-19 cases, including extra funds for the number of patients put on ventilators. Doctors in favor of other medical treatments sometimes lost their positions or licenses for prescribing ivermectin off-label. When you are working in an environment where youre strongly encouraged or forced to do things you dont want, it takes a tremendous toll on ones physical and mental health and soul, Backs said, adding that constant demands from many parties are dizzying. What happens is your moral compass will eventually go on the fritz. After years of practicing within the system, Backs is now able to holistically treat his patientswhether for COVID-19 or anything elsewithout regard for how higher-ups or other doctors might react. In corporate care, he said theres tremendous peer pressure to stay away from diseases outside ones specialty. Because Backs focuses on arterial disease, his practice looks at myriad symptoms that would cross a handful of disciplines in a larger clinic. In those settings, theres an unspoken agreement that doctors wont try to eliminate diseases that a colleagues livelihood depends on. Weight of Burnout Burnout is under-recognized and under-reported among doctors, according to a 2017 article in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. It may affect more than 60 percent of family practice providers. The costs are tremendous to not only doctors but also the health care system. Doctors facing burnout experience increased rates of depression, addiction, and suicide. It also affects their relationships at home, with higher rates of divorceand at work, where patient dissatisfaction and friction among coworkers increase. Female doctors, who statistically have better patient outcomes, are at higher risk for burnout, according to a 2022 Frontiers in Public Health article. A 2020 New England Journal of Medicine article reported that female physicians are paid less and spend more time with patients and documenting health records. Of these issues and more, Ali said theres no awareness, no consequences, and no accountability. She shared her story in the book Thriving After Burnout, a compilation of female physicians stories of triumph after struggles with abuse, aggression, and discrimination in the health care system. Ali, who grew up in Pakistan, overcame extraordinary hurdles to become a doctor in the United States. But she was blatantly belittled and consistently disregarded by leadership in the hospital where she worked. She was losing sleep, unable to take care of her health, and constantly striving to prove herself. Finally, her husband wrote a resignation letter for her, and she turned it in. I wanted to be a healer. I didnt want to be the person who writes a prescription all the time, she said. I wanted to sit with patients and hear their stories. My husband said, Do what you love. Do it with all your heart. So thats what I did. Now, as a functional integrative physician working for herself, she can not only serve her patients the way she wants, but also practice what she preaches. Ali said shes grateful for the people who mistreated herherself includedas it was instrumental in her journey to discovering self-worth. Looking Forward to a Better Future Administrators who acknowledge and appreciate doctors and give them more autonomy in the workplace could reverse some departures. AMA data from physicians showed that feeling valued was strongly associated with lower odds of reducing hours or leaving. Those in the AMA survey with more control over their work environment had lower rates of burnout (39 percent) than those who reported a low amount of control (75 percent). The problem is that corporate entities and doctors arent aligned in their goals, Dhand said. He and a couple of other physicians launched Docdox six years ago, which is like a dating service for health care institutions that need doctors. The doctors negotiate their own contracts and either moonlight or work on a regular basis. It solves the problem many clinics have of a high turnover of primary care physicians, allowing patients to have more continuity of care with doctors who feel appreciated because they have autonomy and forge better patient relationships. A lot of doctors realize theres a supply and demand mismatch. And there are opportunities to take matters into their own hands, he said. We have to make it easier for physicians to practice independently again. The health care system, under the influence of corporate interests, is failing both patients and physicians, and the current model is unsustainable. I was one of the first 25,000 known COVID-19 cases in the United States in early March 2020 and was lucky enough to find a doctor who thought outside the box. He successfully treated mepossibly saving my lifeagainst the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As I was the first adult COVID-19 case my doctora pediatricianhad treated, he documented my progress and submitted his findings to the CDC, the World Health Organization (WHO), and a network of 26,000 doctors. He also shared them in a Facebook post. What transpired next was an attack by doctors in his own network. Additionally, the social media post outlining his treatment was censored and deleted by Facebook, and the CDC and the WHO ignored his findings. Despite the backlash, my doctor went on to successfully treat hundreds of adults with COVID-19, seeing more than 40 a day for three months at one point during the pandemic. Hes one of the many unsung heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic. During my recovery over the following months, I watched reports of hundreds of thousands of people dying from COVID-19 while the CDC continued to strongly recommend that people not take the medications I credit for helping to save my life. Sadly, three years into the pandemic, they still are ignored or rejected by the major health agencies. Unfortunately, many doctors who have shared COVID-19 treatment protocols that differ from the CDC have lost their livelihoods. Because of this, my doctor wishes not to be named in this article; he would like to continue to save lives in peace. I will call refer to him as Dr. Wes to respect his wishes. My COVID-19 Timeline As a child, I suffered from severe asthma, but the severity of my condition diminished and became mild in my adult years. I was 41 and in excellent physical and cardiovascular health at the time of contracting COVID-19 in early 2020. Here is a brief timeline of my illness progression: Day 3 after exposure: I had mild sinus infection symptoms. A telemedicine doctor prescribed azithromycin, also known as Z-Pak, and prednisone, but refused to issue a COVID-19 test due to a lack of respiratory symptoms. (At that time, COVID-19 testing was only obtained through a doctors referral.) Day 5: My symptoms worsened and included severe headache, sinuses completely inflamed, body aches, low energy, and a heavy feeling in the lungs when breathing. No fever. I finally got a COVID-19 test at one of the first drive-thru sites. Day 7: My symptoms worsened, but I still had no fever. I was contacted by a disease investigation and intervention specialist with the state health department who confirmed the result of the COVID-19 test as positive. I was told to stay home unless I needed to go to the hospital. No additional treatment advice was given. Day 10: I completed my prescribed run of azithromycin and prednisone. Breathing was more difficult; I still had no fever. I started nebulizer treatments of albuterol (I had these on hand from a previous bronchitis bout). No improvement from medication. Day 12: My symptoms worsened, with severe burning in my feet and dizziness. My lungs started to feel like they were failing, and it felt like I was suffocating or drowning. I contacted urgent care and asked for a prescription for hydroxychloroquine, but they refused. I was told by the nurse that they were only prescribing it to those who were dying. I mentioned I would probably be close to dying in a few days and that it would be great if we could avoid getting to that point. They still refused but finally agreed to prescribe a steroid inhalant, budesonide. The budesonide and albuterol inhalant only gave me a four-hour window of minor ease of breathing. My lungs were still worsening. I contacted Dr. Wes, a pediatrician recommended by a friend. He told me to go to the hospital for a chest X-ray, treatment, and a prescription for more racemic epinephrine. The hospital refused to give me the prescription. The doctor said I couldnt breathe well because I had COVID-19 and all they could do was intubate me once I was worse. I went home. Wes wrote me the prescription so I could start on three treatments daily of racemic epinephrine as well as budesonide and albuterol. Day 14: My breathing began to stabilize. Day 19: My throat swelled shut, so I rushed to Wess office. He diagnosed me with a secondary bacterial infection. I still had no fever. Doctors PSA The remainder of my treatment journey is outlined below in a censored and deleted Facebook post that Wes posted on Nov. 11, 2020, after successfully treating hundreds more adults with COVID-19. Many were elderly with underlying conditions. His post was his attempt to help save more lives after the CDC, WHO, and the doctors network failed to acknowledge this treatments success. It was also a warning that inflammation and secondary bacterial infections were major contributors to mortality from the COVID-19 virus. A few deletions have been made to protect his identity: First of all, Happy Veterans Day and thank you to all of those who have served our country. I am often asked about the treatments I am using with my COVID-19 patients, so I thought I would begin with my adult case zero, the first adult patient that I inherited. The first adult I treated with COVID-19 early in the pandemic was a 41-year-old asthmatic female. She was in excellent physical and cardiovascular health at the time of contracting the illness. March 12, 2012: Felt like she had a sinus infection (few, if any of the approx. 80 adults I have treated had a fever at the start of COVID). March 24, 2020: Patient reported she couldnt breathe so I referred her to the [emergency room]. ER said to come back when she couldnt breathe at all. Started on azithromycin. Already on albuterol and budesonide breathing treatments. March 24, 2020: Added racemic epinephrine breathing treatments. March 26, 2020: The patient reported to me that she felt like the racemic epinephrine stabilized her lungs and was the first time her breathing improved. March 31, 2020: We clinically diagnosed her with a secondary bacterial infection. I felt like she might not make it if I kept following the guidelines at the time, so I asked her if she wanted me to treat her the same way I treated every severe pediatric Coronavirus patient for 17 years, or I could continue to follow the current [CDC] guidelines and we could hope for the best. That night, a doctor friend she knew told her, [Dr. Wes] is going to kill you. She was very intelligent and asked the doctor how many COVID-19 patients he treated to which he replied, Zero. March 31, 2020: Ceftriaxone 1 gm daily shots were begun for five days, Dexamethasone 8 mg daily shots were begun for five days. After the second day of shots, she finally felt like her lungs began purging all the fluid. Continued to alternate racemic epinephrine, Albuterol, and Budesonide breathing treatments daily. First week of April: Repeated shot regimenCeftriaxone 1 gm daily shots x 4 or 5 days, Dexamethasone shots 8 mg daily for 4 or five days. After the shots were completed: Patient finally felt like she could breathe again, but continued to have fatigue and exercise intolerance, but was no longer at risk from COVID-19. Every physician should consider their own clinical judgment and guidelines when deciding how to treat COVID-19 patients and this is not meant to criticize the current guidelines nor any other physicians treatment of their patients. How COVID-19 Kills When the SARS-CoV-2 virus invades the body, it can cause an imbalance in the immune system that can prove fatal. What kills COVID-19 patients is dysregulated systemic inflammation, the authors of a commentary published in Critical Care Explorations wrote in April 2020. This dysregulation can cause a cytokine storm, a severe life-threatening condition, also known as cytokine release syndrome (CRS). Another study published in Mediators of Inflammation in January 2022 states, What relentlessly takes the patients life is the overactive immune response induced by SARS-CoV-2 virus infection. Inflammation is normally a beneficial response of our immune system to fight off infection and help us heal. A CRS is a life-threatening inflammatory response caused by an overproduction of cytokines, which are proteins that regulate the bodys immune response. This inflammation causes the immune system to mistakenly attack the bodys own cells and tissues. Patients with mild CRS mainly show nonspecific clinical symptoms such as fever, rash, fatigue, anorexia, diarrhea, joint pain, headache, myalgia, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. More severe cases can cause severe lung damage, cardiovascular symptoms, hematologic symptoms, acute kidney injury, and multiple organ failure. CRS leads to abnormalities such as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), which may lead to respiratory failurethe leading cause of death in those suffering from COVID-19. Dr. Roger Seheult, who is quadruple board-certified in internal medicine, pulmonary diseases, critical care medicine, and sleep medicine through the American Board of Internal Medicine, breaks down this process in a 2020 medical lecture. He says the lungs become inflamed due to the cytokine storm. A leakage of fluids into the interstitial space between the alveoli and capillaries, and into the alveoli themselves, blocks oxygen from getting into the bloodstream and causes the entire body to become hypoxic (deprived of oxygen). This creates a feeling of heaviness and difficulty breathing, or as I describe it, a feeling of drowning or suffocating on the fluid in the lungs. Immune dysregulation and the abnormal inflammatory response of a CRS causes widespread tissue injury and can lead to bacterial growth and infections. More recently, a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found higher mortality rates were associated with patients in the coinfection group compared to the SARS-CoV-2-only infected group (50% vs. 18.7%, respectively). In other words, patients who had COVID-19 and a bacterial co-infection were far more likely to die. A study published in BCM Infectious Diseases in March 2022 found that 68 percent of the 94 patients in the study acquired at least one of the studied secondary bacterial infections during their ICU stay. Almost two-thirds of patients (62 percent) acquired secondary pneumonia. This study confirms that the incidence of secondary bacterial infections in critically ill patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 is very high, the authors stated. Another study that sought to analyze the death risk due to coinfections in 212 severely ill COVID-19 patients found that the mortality rate was 50.47 percent. Fungal or bacterial isolation occurred in 89 patients, of whom 83.14 percent died. Coinfected patients were hospitalized longer and had a higher risk of dying. The early diagnosis of coinfections is essential to identify high-risk patients and to determine the right interventions to reduce mortality, the study states. Published papers speculate that the current estimated percentage of people dying from COVID-19 secondary bacterial infection may be underestimated, as few papers report the species identity or time of specimen collection, making it impossible to determine whether any patients presented with bacterial infection at the time of hospital admission. Why the Protocol Saved My Life My COVID-19 experience followed the same course laid out above. Wes aggressively treated the inflammation in my lungs and the secondary bacterial infection, allowing my body to heal. Here is a brief outline of the medications my doctor used: 1. Racemic epinephrine is a bronchodilator that quickly reduces inflammation. It helped reduce the fluid in my airways that was inhibiting the oxygenation of my blood. Bronchodilators are used when individuals have lower than optimal airflow through the lungs. They make breathing easier by relaxing the muscles in the lungs and widening the airways (bronchi). Racemic epinephrines efficacy in the treatment of patients with inflammation of the larynx, trachea, and bronchi has been well-documented. Racemic epinephrine also acts by narrowing the airway mucosa through stimulation of the alpha and beta-adrenergic receptors. This helps to reduce edema (build-up of fluid) in the lungs. Reducing edema can improve lung function by decreasing the pressure in the blood vessels, which prevents fluid from entering the air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs. 2. Ceftriaxone is an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections, including those in the respiratory system, by killing bacteria or preventing their growth. Its effective against bacteria that are resistant to other antibiotics. 3. Dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid that has an anti-inflammatory effect shown to prevent and suppress cytokine storm development in COVID-19 patients. Studies show the effect of COVID-19 on the cardiovascular system is more severe in patients with elevated levels of inflammatory factors such as interleukin (IL)-6. Dexamethasone significantly reduces the level of IL-6 and was the first drug shown to reduce mortality in COVID-19 patients. Forgetting Historys Deadly Consequences Viral infections of the respiratory tract have long been linked to the risk of secondary bacterial infections. Bacterial coinfections were considered a major cause of death in previous influenza pandemics. During the outbreaks of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) in 2003 and H1N1 influenza in 2009, bacterial complications were associated with serious outcomes such as death and admission to intensive care. Upward of 95 percent mortality was directly attributable to secondary bacterial pneumonia in the 1918 Spanish flu. In a 2008 news release titled Implications for Future Pandemic Planning, researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases stated: The majority of deaths during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 were not caused by the influenza virus acting alone. Instead, most victims succumbed to bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection. The pneumonia was caused when bacteria that normally inhabit the nose and throat invaded the lungs along a pathway created when the virus destroyed the cells that line the bronchial tubes and lungs. Pathologists of the time were nearly unanimous in the conviction that deaths were not caused directly by the then-unidentified influenza virus but rather resulted from severe secondary pneumonia caused by various bacteria. Absent the secondary bacterial infections, many patients might have survived, experts at the time believed. A future influenza pandemic may unfold in a similar manner. Preparations for diagnosing, treating, and preventing bacterial pneumonia should be among highest priorities in influenza pandemic planning. Dr. Anthony Fauci is quoted in the release as saying, We are encouraged by the fact that pandemic planners are already considering and implementing some of these actions. Research has now found that secondary bacterial infections in COVID-19 patients are a stronger predictor for death compared to in influenza patients. A study published in Nature in June 2021 found that in-hospital deaths from pulmonary secondary bacterial infection were two times more prevalent in COVID-19 patients than in influenza patients. Questioning the Ethics of CDC and WHO On Feb. 4, 2020, the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act was implemented, granting immunity to individuals working to combat the pandemic (except in cases of willful misconduct) from liability claims that may arise from the use or administration of covered countermeasures. These include COVID-19 tests, vaccines, and any approved drugs or therapeutics to treat the disease. On Feb. 15, 2020, a commentary regarding the use of corticosteroids (CST) for COVID-19, coauthored by a member of the WHO panel on clinical management, stated there were conclusive data to suggest that patients with COVID-19 ARDS dont benefit from corticosteroids. This resulted in the WHO and CDC COVID-19 treatment protocols recommending against corticosteroids, including dexamethasone. A commentary written by several doctors and published in the Society of Critical Care Medicine in April 2020 criticized this interpretation and called it biased and without evidence-based support. They stated, There is no justification based on available evidence and professional ethics to categorically deny the use of CST in severe life-threatening cytokine storm associated with COVID-19. They argue that the conclusive statement rested on only four small studies without including results from another 25 publications, disregarded the results of two major studies (on 5,327 SARS and 2,141 H1N1 patients) showing significant reductions in mortality, and a SARS study that found CST was safe and reduced death risk by 47 percent. As of Dec. 28, 2022, the CDC COVID-19 guidelines still recommend against the use of dexamethasone or other systemic corticosteroids in the absence of another indication. They list preferred therapies such as Paxlovid, remdesivir, and molnupiravir, and there is no mention of treatment for cytokine storm-induced inflammation or secondary bacterial infections. The Importance of Early Treatment My battle with COVID-19 left me with severe lung damage, microvascular damage, and what we now call long-COVID, which severely impacted my life for almost two years. My doctor stated that my case would not have been severe if I had been treated early on and with the right medications. Dr. Pierre Cory, a critical care physician and one of the founding physicians of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance has done extensive research on the early treatment and progression of COVID-19. His work shows that the first one to five days are crucial in the successful treatment of COVID-19. In early July 2022, I was hit again with COVID-19. This time, it was much more severe from day one. I had a 102-degree fever, severe body aches, and difficulty breathing. My symptoms were getting worse by the day. Day 3: I started on Wess medication protocol. By that evening, most of my symptoms were gone. Day 4: I was given a Myers cocktail IV and ozone infusion. Day 6: I took NAC (N-acetylcysteine) supplements daily and had no more symptoms except for mild brain fog and fatigue, which disappeared within two weeks. All my symptoms resolved within two weeks, and I experienced no long-COVID or ongoing lung issues. I owe my life to Wes. Early in my treatment, he promised he wouldnt let me die. He kept that promise. I am deeply grateful for him and for all the doctors that have refused medical tyranny and used their own clinical judgment and guidelines when deciding how to treat COVID-19 patients. References: https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-022-07192-x https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(21)00151-1/fulltext https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.715023/full https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-92220-0 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9479447/ https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(21)00151-1/fulltext https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.682571/full https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8871991/ https://www.recoverytrial.net/news/low-cost-dexamethasone-reduces-death-by-up-to-one-third-in-hospitalised-patients-with-severe-respiratory-complications-of-covid-19 https://www.cdc.gov/museum/timeline/covid19.html#Early-2020 https://files.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/guidelines/archive/covid19treatmentguidelines-05-12-2020.pdf https://files.covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov/guidelines/archive/recommendations-for-dexametha-06-25-2020.pdf https://www.wsj.com/articles/doctors-try-steroids-to-treat-coronavirus-patients-against-who-counsel-11584878400 https://www.ajmc.com/view/a-timeline-of-covid19-developments-in-2020 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.682571/full#B20 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2787569 https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/symptoms/17773-burning-feet-syndrome-grierson-gopalan-syndrome https://www.hss.edu/condition-list_inflammatory-disorders.asp#:~:text=An%20inflammatory%20disorder%2C%20however%2C%20is,go%20wrong%20and%20cause%20inflammation. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/what-is-inflammation-and-why-is-it-dangerous#:~:text=When%20youre%20injured%2C%20this,encounter%20a%20virus%20or%20infection. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.682571/full https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/ceftriaxone-injection-route/description/drg-20073123 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3246738/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7864472/ https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.589095/full#B43 https://meridian.allenpress.com/aplm/article/134/2/235/460988/Pulmonary-Pathologic-Findings-of-Fatal-2009 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30505304/ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-92220-0 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(20)30527-0/fulltext https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-022-07192-x https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2021.715023/full https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-92220-0 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9479447/ https://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(21)00151-1/fulltext https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.682571/full https://journals.lww.com/ccejournal/fulltext/2020/04000/rationale_for_prolonged_corticosteroid_treatment.18.aspx https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.047549 Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Epoch Health welcomes professional discussion and friendly debate. To submit an opinion piece, please follow these guidelines and submit through our form here. Hearing on Pfizer Clinical Trial Violations Set to Take Place A hearing has been scheduled for March 1 in a legal case brought by a whistleblower who confirmed that violations occurred during the PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial. Ventavia, a subcontractor for Pfizers COVID-19 vaccine Phase 3 clinical trial, failed to properly report adverse events and keep all participants blinded, according to internal communications revealed by Brook Jackson, the whistleblower. Ventavia and other companies were hired by ICON, a clinical research group that was paid by Pfizer, to run trial sites. Jackson, who was hired by Ventavia in September 2020, worked on clinical trials for 18 years; one company official described her as an expert. She was fired 18 days after starting, on the same day she alerted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to the trial issues. Jackson sued Ventavia, Pfizer, and ICON in 2021 for violating the False Claims Act, a law that prohibits knowingly making a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval from the government. She also accused Ventavia of illegal retaliation. The case was unsealed in 2022 after the U.S. government declined to back Jackson. Next week, U.S. District Judge Michael Truncale, a Trump appointee, will hear oral arguments on the defendants motions to dismiss. The Epoch Times plans to attend the hearing, which is currently designated in-person only. Arguments Under the False Claims Act, U.S. citizens can file suit on behalf of the government. Lawsuits are brought under the act against people or entities accused of defrauding the government. Pfizer signed a contract in 2020 with the U.S. Department of Defense, which agreed to buy up to 100 million doses of the PfizerBioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for $1.95 billion, pending authorization or approval by U.S. regulators. Ventavias violations of the trial protocol, as well as ICONs and Pfizers failure to properly oversee the trial, means that the FDAs December 2020 authorization was based in part on Defendants falsified clinical trial results and concealment of key information, the suit states. Jackson, through her lawyers, argues that the U.S. government wouldnt have purchased the vaccines had it known of the violations. That means the government was defrauded, the suit asserts. The contract states that government must pay for vaccine doses after authorization unless the FDA withdrew the authorization. Pfizer told the court in a motion to dismiss that because the agreement was a prototype, a federal regulation that guides most other contracts doesnt apply. It also noted that the FDA authorized the vaccine after hearing from Jackson, who informed the regulator of issues she witnessed. ICON said that it was aware of concerns with the trial but that it worked to address and ameliorate them as the study progressed. The company said that the complaint falls far short of pleading any viable claim against ICON. Ventavia said that even if Jackson could prove that violations of the trial protocol affected the government payments, the legal case would still fail because the alleged violations were immaterial to the governments payment decisions. The separate motions to dismiss the case are the focus of the March 1 hearing. US Wants Case Dismissed U.S. lawyers backed the companies, filing a statement in support of dismissal. While fraud on the Food and Drug Administration or the failure to comply with clinical trial protocols could potentially give rise to False Claims Act liability in an appropriate case, in the instant case the complaint does not plead a sufficient nexus between the alleged clinical trial violations and the alleged requests for payment from the Government to support such liability, government lawyers wrote. The complaint does not plead facts indicating how any express or implied representations in connection with Pfizers claims for payment were false or misleading in light of Ventavias alleged clinical trial violations, they added. The government also said, even if violations occurred, that Ventavia ran a small enough number of sites that fraud wouldnt have plausibly affected the FDAs decision to grant emergency use authorization (EUA). Even if the allegations were sufficient to show that Ventavias safety and efficacy data was unreliable, a conclusion that the criteria for issuance of an EUA would not have been met without the Ventavia data is implausible considering that authorization is based on the totality of scientific evidence available and the complaint alleges that Ventavia enrolled only about 3 percent, or approximately 1,500 of the nearly 44,000 total clinical trial participants, lawyers said. Jackson Responds In a reply, Jacksons team noted that the United States hasnt filed to dismiss the case. It also asked for an extension multiple times to consider backing Jackson before ultimately choosing against that path. The unusual pleading by the United States suggests a split of opinion between the attorneys working the case and the Biden White House, Jacksons lawyers said. The statement was presented in support of the companies but actually supports Jacksons position that a claim under the False Claims Act (FCA) only requires creating an inference that trial violations could have impacted an FDA decision, the lawyers added. The United States claims the inference must be that the violations at the Ventavia site actually altered the FDAs decision, but the FCA pleading standard is not one of actuality but of materiality, they said. Whether a false statement is material depends on whether the false statement has a natural tendency to influence, or is capable of influencing, the decision of the decision-making body to which it was addressed. The United States posits ipse dixit that given Ventavias clinical trials were only about 3 percent, or approximately 1,500 of the nearly 44,000 total clinical trial participants and that was not enough to alter the FDAs decision to grant EUA, the reply also said. This analysis, however, does not track the materiality inquiry given proper inquiry is whether the fraud has the potential to influence the governments decision.' If the case survives the motions to dismiss, then discovery, which has been paused, would move forward. A trial is set for 2024. Jackson already submitted a list of people she would like to depose. The list includes more than 100 people. A bear in Northern Minnesota who got stuck after the spot he chose to hibernate in got flooded with snow and ice was rescued earlier this month. In a Facebook post, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wrote that they were alerted to the young animals unfortunate plight after receiving caring calls from the public. The bear had snuggled down to sleep in a culvert alongside the road near Wannaska, Northern Minnesota. Unfortunately, melting snow can sometimes flood bears out of culverts, and thats what happened here, DNR wrote. The culvert started to flood and this bear got stuck in the deep snow and ice. The DNR reported that people who tried to dig the bear out served him a smorgasbord of six pop tarts, a head of lettuce, a dead sucker minnow, some Fancy Feast cat food, bird seed, and a Swedish fish. That might work for the Very Hungry Caterpillar in Eric Carles book, but its no good for bears, they wrote. Fortunately, since bears dont have the desire to eat in the winter, DNR said that the bear didnt take a bite of anything. DNR bear biologist Andrew Tri, who examined the bear, estimated him to be around six years old and weighing between 375-400 pounds (170- 181 kg). Tri pronounced the bear healthy but groggyobviously, because hed been woken up from his winter sleep! The department was also keen to stress the importance of not bothering bears if anyone happens to come across one. Dont try to move it or feed it! Doing so can result in a bad situation (either for you or for the bear), the department wrote. Since his timely rescue, the bear he has been safely relocated to a state game sanctuary where he can continue hibernating. It isnt unusual for bears to occasionally hibernate above ground, DNR said. Responding to social media comments wondering why it took them a few days to rescue the bear, the department said: In an evolving situation like this, we dont always have all of the details right away. Then, it can take a while to get the proper personnel, gear, and equipment in place. DNR staff care deeply about wildlife and work to respond as quickly as we can in situations like this. Minnesota is well-known as bear country and there are an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 black bears living in the state. Black bears are by nature not normally aggressive and encountering a bear can be a positive, memorable experience experts at the DNR said, but as large, powerful, and fast-moving animals, people need to maintain a healthy respect for them, they advise. 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: https://www.theepochtimes.com/newsletter Home Office to Decide Thousands of Asylum Applications Without Interviews Persons thought to be illegal immigrants pass the car of Home Secretary Suella Braverman during her visit to the Manston migrant processing centre in Kent on Nov. 3, 2022. (PA) Thousands of asylum seekers in the UK could have their claims approved without attending a face-to-face interview, according to a new Home Office guidance published on Thursday. In a bid to clear the soaring backlog of asylum applications, the Home Office is set to fast-track well-founded legacy claims made before June 28, 2022, when new rules in the Nationality and Borders Act took effect. The new guidance (pdf) came after British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak vowed to abolish the UKs asylum applications backlog by the end of this year. Under the new rules, legacy claimants who havent had a interview will instead be given a questionnaire, asking each claimant their personal details, the details of their claims, whether they wish to proceed with their applications, etc. Applicants will have 20 working days to fill in the questionnaire, with a 10-day extension offered if they miss the initial deadline. The returned questionnaires will then be cross-checked to address security or other issues, such as incidents of criminality or claimant vulnerability. Specialist teams will get involved if such issues are identified, while other claimants could be granted asylum without attending an interview, given a targeted or shorter interview, or referred to the normal process for a substantive interview. Those granted asylum will be allowed to work, and would also be expected to find their own accommodation. However, those who fail to return the questionnaire within 30 days and dont apply for a further extension may have their applications treated as withdrawn. According to the guidance, the streamlined process will focus on legacy claimants from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Syria, and Yemennationalities that had asylum success rates of over 95 percent in 2022. The process will not apply to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children or accompanied children who have claims not linked to a family group. The Home Office said its aiming to deliver a firm, but fair, and efficient asylum system that ensures those who need protection are granted as soon as possible to start to integrate and rebuild their lives in the UK whilst identifying those who should not benefit from a grant of protection status. The department also said its pursuing a wide range of programmes to speed up the asylum decision-making process. A group of illegal immigrants are brought ashore at Dover, Kent, from a Border Force vessel following a small-boat incident in the English Channel on Sept. 22, 2022. (Gareth Fuller/PA Media) Officials insisted the move was not akin to a so-called asylum amnesty, and stressed that thorough security checks would still be carried out. Some campaigners criticised the plans amid reports that asylum seekers will be required to fill out the form in English. Caitlin Boswell from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) said asylum seekers need the government to make quicker and fairer decisions, but that the new policy is clumsy, unthinking, and could put peoples safety at risk. Boswell said the asylum seekers claims shouldnt be jeopardised because they werent able to fill in a long unwieldy form in a language they dont speak, saying the government shouldnt be cutting corners when it comes to making life-changing decisions on peoples futures. The Refugee Councils chief executive, Enver Solomon, said moves to reduce the backlog were welcome but the answer is not yet more bureaucratic hurdles and threats of applications being withdrawn, adding the process should be better thought-out. Labours shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said: Its damning that the Home Office isnt doing this already, given Labour has been calling for the fast-tracking of casesincluding for safe countries like Albaniafor months and the UNHCR recommended it two years ago. Meanwhile, the asylum backlog has skyrocketedup by 50 percent since Rishi Sunak promised to clear it. After 13 years of government, the Conservatives clearly have no idea how to fix the mess they have made of the asylum system. A warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be immigrants. Human traffickers have developed sophisticated Europe-wide operations to smuggle immigrants across the English Channel in dinghies to the UK, according to the National Crime Agency. (Gareth Fuller/PA) According to Home Office figures, more than 122,000 asylum seekers were waiting for an initial decision as of June 30, 2022. Of these, around 18,780 were from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Libya, Syria, and Yemen. By the end of last year, the number of asylum seekers waiting for a decision had grown to almost 161,000more than three times the number (51,228) in December 2019. Figures previously compiled by parliament showed that asylum seekers and refugeesincluding Ukrainians and Afghansmade up around 17 percent of immigrants to the UK in 2022. Home Secretary Suella Braverman said the vast numbers of immigrants had put an unprecedented level of pressure on the asylum systemincluding accommodationprompting the Home Office to house asylum seekers in hotels. In December 2022, Sunak unveiled a five-point plan to crack down on immigrants crossing the English Channel using small boats and then working illegally in the UK; to house asylum seekers in cheaper accommodation; to revamp the asylum application process in order to ramp up productivity; and to speed up the deportation of failed applicants. The prime minister also set out plans to change the legal framework for immigration, including legislating to remove those who arrive illegally and ban them from reentry. PA Media contributed to this report. The U.S. House Judiciary Committee holds a press conference at 6:30 p.m. ET on Feb. 23 after a field hearing at Yuma, Arizona, on the impact the illegal immigrants brought to the border community in the the Biden Border Crisis. Huntington Beach Finalizes Vote Limiting Flags Flown at City Facilities The Huntington Beach City Council voted 43 Feb. 21 to give final approval to an ordinance that only allows city facilities to display government flagsthose representing the city, county, state, nation, the six branches of the military, and prisoners of war or those missing in military action. Councilmembers who voted against the policy said they were against banning the LGBT flagwhich has been flown on occasion at city hall the last couple of yearswhile the majority said they did so in the spirit of equal representation. By definition, inclusion represents everyone equally, as an American, a resident of California, a resident of Orange County, a resident of Huntington Beach, and of course pays homage to the veterans who have made the ultimate sacrifice to allow us to enjoy the freedoms the United States provides, Councilman Casey McKeon said during the meeting. The Civic Center in Huntington Beach, Calif., on Sept. 29, 2020. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times) The ordinance does not prevent individuals or businesses from displaying any flag they choose on private or on public property. McKeon, along with Mayor Tony Strickland, Mayor Pro Tem Gracey Van Der Mark, and Councilman Pat Burns voted in favor while councilors Natalie Moser, Rhonda Bolton, and Dan Kalmick dissented. Blue Shield of Californias president sent a letter to city officials Feb. 17 opposing the ordinance, and said because of the councils consideration of such, it has canceled a June two-day retreat for its senior management that was scheduled at the citys Waterfront Beach Resort Hilton Hotel. When we learned of the City Councils [initial] vote on February 7th to change city policy specifically to ban flying the Pride Flag, we decided that we could no longer in good conscience meet in your city until the uncertainty of this situation is resolved. It is antithetical to our mission and values as an organization and a funder, wrote Debbie Chang, CEO and president of the Blue Shield of California Foundation. During the meeting, McKeon said the healthcare executive misstated that we were banning a certain flag, and I dont know why theyre trying to blackmail us economically. He said the newly adopted flag policy to represent everyone equally is similar to those in over three-quarters of Orange County cities. Is Blue Shield going after the other 77 percent of Orange County cities for their flag policy? he said. Its time to do a refresh to see what other healthcare providers would be interested in our business, which our taxpayers, who are footing the bill, deserve. International Students Will Return to Pre-COVID Levels Next Year: Australian Education Minister The Australian government has forecasted that the number of international students starting a university degree in the country will return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2023. During a speech at the Universities Australia gala dinner on Feb. 23, Education Minister Jason Clare provided an update on international students, saying they were coming back to Australia. The number of international students starting a degree over the past year is up 38 percent on what it was the previous year, he said. We now estimate that by the end of this year, its likely we will be back to the same number of international students starting a degree as there were before the pandemic. The minister said a big part of the change was due to increased efficiency in visa processing after the government put on a lot of extra immigration staff. The number of students waiting for a visa has been cut by more than half in the past seven months, he said. The average waiting time for a visa has been slashed from 40 days to 12. Australian Education Minister Jason Clare speaks during the Universities Australia Conference dinner at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Feb. 22, 2023. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas) Clare also noted that students from some countries were returning to Australia faster than others. While the number of Indian students starting a degree surged by 160 percent in 2022, there was a drop in the number of Chinese students. However, Clare said this situation would change, citing the online learning ban recently introduced by the Chinese regime. In late January, the Chinese regime announced that the countrys higher education certification authority would no longer recognise overseas diploma certificates obtained through remote study. The sudden announcement has forced Chinese students to scramble back to foreign universities around the world, including Australia. As of Feb. 13, the Home Affairs Department confirmed that it had issued visas to over 40,000 Chinese students to allow them to return to Australian universities to study. Australia Pushes for More International Students While the return of international students signals a positive development for Australias education sector, the federal Labor government is not satisfied with the current situation. Clare said more work needed to be done to attract international students to Australia. The biggest export we dont dig out of the ground is coming back, he said. But thats not enough. We can do more. The minister explained that other countries education sectors were recovering or growing at the expense of Australia. Other countries are eating our lunch at the moment. Some are back to pre-pandemic levels. Others are past it, he said. On the current trajectory, the total number of international students enrolled in our universities wont get back to pre-pandemic levels until the end of 2025. As the government is pushing for more international students, Clare informed those at the event about the visa extension program for overseas students who graduate with skills that the country needs. The minister also announced that he would visit India in the week commencing Feb. 27 to sign the Mechanism on the Recognition of Australian and Indian Qualifications to further cooperation in education between the two countries. Visa Extension Program for International Students On Feb. 21, the federal government announced that it would extend post-study work visas for international students graduating from Australian universities to address skill shortages. The government said the new rules were a practical change that would improve the availability of skilled labour to support local businesses and help rebuild the international education sector following the COVID-19 pandemic. Students walk around Sydney University in Sydney, Australia, on April 6, 2016. (Brendon Thorne/Getty Images) It also noted that the program targeted the skills Australia needed most, including health, teaching, engineering and agricultural fields. Enabling students that gain an education in Australia to stay longer and contribute to our economy benefits us all, Home Affairs Minister Clare ONeil said in a statement. After a lost decade on immigration and skills, we are looking for ways to utilise skilled migrants via enhanced training and better targeted, less exploitative programs for temporary visa workers and students. Under the changes, international students can stay in Australia for an additional two years to work after graduation. This means eligible international graduates with a bachelors degree can stay in the country for four years (up from two years previously), while those with masters degrees (research degrees only) and doctoral degrees can stay up to five and six years, respectively. The new rules will come into effect on July 1, 2023, and the government will review the list of targeted skills annually. Along with the visa extension, the government also raised the work hours cap for international students, allowing them to work up to 48 hours per fortnight while studying, up from the previous 40 hours. Israel Defense Forces Conduct Strikes in Response to Rockets Fired From Gaza Rockets are launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, in Gaza City on Aug. 7, 2022. Close to one-third of the Palestinians who died in the latest outbreak of violence between Israel and Gaza militants may have been killed by errant rockets fired by Islamic Jihad fighters, according to an Israeli military assessment that appears consistent with independent reporting by The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, File) Israels military said on Feb. 23 that it conducted strikes in the Gaza Strip in response to rocket attacks from the area, as the situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem turns increasingly violent. On Twitter, the Israel Defense Forces said the latest strikes on the Gaza Strip had hit a weapons manufacturing site and military compound for Hamas. The terrorist group, which rules the enclave, had built the compound next door to a mosque, medical clinic, hotel, police station, and school, the IDF said. It isnt clear if any civilians were injured in the targeted attack. In response to the rockets fired from Gaza, IAF fighter jets struck both a weapons manufacturing site and military compound belonging to the Hamas Terrorist Organization, located in central and northern Gaza, the IDF said. This serves as further evidence as to how the Hamas Terrorist Organization exploits the civilian population of Gaza by deliberately placing its weaponry in the center of civilian areas, Israels forces added. Israel responded shortly after officials said that Palestinian militants had fired six rockets from Gaza. Those strikes came shortly after an Israeli raid in the West Bank city of Nablus prompted violent clashes, leaving 11 Palestinians dead. The rocket attacks werent immediately claimed by Palestinian militant groups. Rockets Fired at Israel Prior to the latest strike, Israels forces said that the IDF Aerial Defense Array had intercepted five of the six rockets that were fired from Gaza where numerous terrorist and militant groups operate, while one fell in an uninhabited area. The rockets had been fired toward the cities of Ashkelon and Sderot, according to reports. There were no reports of injuries in Israel or Gaza following that strike. Earlier on Feb. 22, Israeli officials had launched a four-hour raid of Nablus, in the northern part of the West Bank, targeting terrorists suspected in previous shooting attacks. According to officials, all three of the wanted terrorists were killed along with eight others, including a 72-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy who were killed in crossfire between the terrorists and the IDF. Hundreds of bystanders were wounded. No Israeli casualties were reported, as its rare for them to be in the area. The raid marked one of the bloodiest events to have stemmed from fighting between the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the past year, deadlier still than Israels raid of Jenin last month that left nine dead. Washington Concerned by Levels of Violence A day after that raid, a terrorist opened fire on a synagogue in Jerusalem, killing seven. Ziad al-Nakhala, leader of the Gaza-based Islamic Jihad terrorist group, called the latest raid by Israel on terrorist groups in Nablus a major crime, adding, It is our duty as resistance forces to respond to this crime without hesitation. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a briefing on Feb. 22 that Washington is extremely concerned by the levels of violence in Israel and the West Bank and the effects the latest raid on terrorist targets could have on restoring calm for both Israelis and Palestinians. Today in Nablus, at least 10 Palestinians, including both militants and civilian bystanders, were killed and over 100 injured during an Israel Defense Forces counterterrorism operation, Price said. We wish a speedy recovery to those injured and our hearts go out to the families of the innocent bystanders who were killed today. We recognize the very real security concerns facing Israel. At the same time, we are deeply concerned by the large number of injuries and the loss of civilian lives, he said. Price added that the latest events underscore the urgent need for both sides to work together to improve the security situation in the West Bank. Nearly 60 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem this year. In 2022, 150 Palestinians were killed in those areas. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Jamie Raskin Gives Update on Cancer Treatment Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on Feb. 22 gave an update on his cancer treatment. In a video to Progressive Change Campaign Committee supporters, Raskin gave a positive prognosis and his appreciation for the support hes received. Im midway through my treatments here, he said. Ive done three of six rounds of chemotherapy, and you guys have completely bolstered my courage and my confidence. So I just wanted to say thank you to the team at PCCC and to all of you guys out there from Alaska to Florida, Hawaii to Maine. Raskin also expressed thanks to people whove sent him gifts. Ive got my own constitutional preamble bandana. Ive got flag hats, he said. Ive got peoples own chemo hats that worked for them, from a place called Alexs Lemonade Stand. I got some bandanas. So my cup runneth over. And of course, a bunch of people sent me my own true blue Democrat mask. Raskin has been seen wearing a bandana in Congress and on TV due to hair loss from chemotherapy. He wore a bandana in the video thanking supporters. Raskin went on to thank supporters for sending him notes and essays about his late son Tommy Raskin, who took his own life on Dec. 31, 2020, following a battle with depression. He also thanked people for what they said about the House committee during the 117th Congress investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Raskin was a member of the committee. He was the lead House manager for former President Donald Trumps second impeachment following the attack. Trump was ultimately acquitted in the Senate trial. Thank you for everything you said about us hanging tough for democracy and freedom against all the autocrats and all the theocrats and all the plutocrats of the world, from Putin and Moscow to Trump in Mar-a-Lago, all over the world, Raskin said. Raskin did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times. Raskin, who has been in Congress since 2017, announced his cancer diagnosis on Dec. 28. After several days of tests, I have been diagnosed with Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma, which is a serious but curable form of cancer, he said in a statement released by his office. I am about to embark on a course of chemo-immunotherapy on an outpatient basis at Med Star Georgetown University Hospital and Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Prognosis for most people in my situation is excellent after four months of treatment. The "Short Edition" Short Story Dispenser spits out a free printed story when you press a button. The machine uses eco-friendly paper and biodegradable ink. The goal of these machines is to provide people with literature in public places like a cafe or train station. You can choose between 1, 3, and 5 minute stories. As seen in the video, the machine spat out writing from Shakespeare and Robert frost. I'm not sure what genres of literature can be found in this machine, but I'd love to come across one and give it a try. "The Short Story Dispenser by French publishing house Short Edition gives you a printed story free of charge with the push of a button. The vending machine lets you pick the duration of the story, and then prints it out on eco-friendly paper using biodegradable ink. Francis Ford Coppola liked the machine so much that he immediately hopped on a plane to Paris to be the first to showcase free art in his Zoetrope Cafe in San Francisco." LA Council Votes to Explore Ways to Implement Measure ULA LOS ANGELESThe City Council voted Feb. 21 to explore how to implement Measure ULA, a ballot measure that passed in November and seeks an additional tax on property sales that exceed $5 million in Los Angeles. The measure is currently facing litigation, but if it survives, the tax is expected to generate between $600 million and $1.1 billion annually. A majority of the revenue would go toward affordable housing and tenant assistance programs, backers said. The council voted to approve recommendations by two committees that include instructing the City Attorneys Office and Los Angeles Housing Department to report within 15 days on a plan to form the House LA Fund and House LA Program using up to $500,000which would be paid back from future Measure ULA funding. It also called for a report within 15 days on identifying other funding to support programs related to rent relief prior to revenue from Measure ULA being available. The council also sought a report from the housing department on implementing the measure, including guidelines and resources needed, hiring and consulting strategies, and a plan to collect revenue beginning in April. Several council members are hoping to use Measure ULA funding to expand renter protections, including developing a program that would establish a right to counsel for tenants. Measure ULA would allocate 10% of revenue generated from the tax to fund a counsel program for lower-income tenants threatened with eviction. According to the text of the ballot measure, a vast majority of the estimated 30,000 tenants who receive eviction notices each year in Los Angeles do not have access to an attorney and do not know how to exercise their rights. Finally, we are getting the money that we need to make the right to counsel program work, Councilman Bob Blumenfield said at a rally last week. When youre potentially being evicted, the deck is stacked against you. And we need to change that. In December, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles filed a lawsuit alleging that Measure ULA violates the state Constitution and City Charter and should be invalidated. The measure passed with 57 percent support during the Nov. 8 election. Legal Foundation Demands Answers From IRS Over Risk of Discriminatory Audits Records of communications among top-level Biden administration officials are being sought under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that may shed light on how the federal government has altered or plans to alter tax audit policy in accordance with a Feb. 16 Executive Order. The America First Legal Foundation (AFL), a Washington-based nonprofit agency, filed the formal FOIA request with the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service on Tuesday. The AFL strongly suspects that, in its zeal to correct discriminatory policies that may have adversely affected some racial minorities, the Biden administration has adopted new policies that treat white and Asian taxpayers unfairly, particularly when it comes to determining when to undertake a tax audit. The organization warns of a clear and present danger of race-based audits, citing comments from representatives of the Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity (TACRE) to the effect that tax policy disadvantages Black Americans while Advantaging White Americans and that, It is not enough to say tax people making over $400,000 if those people who get audited are Black and Brown. The AFLs FOIA request (pdf), obtained by The Epoch Times, contains a long list of custodians whose communications may help expose recent policy shifts at the IRS and the Treasury Department that the AFL believes have unfairly hurt white and Asian taxpayers. The custodians listed on pages four and five of the FOIA request include Janet Yellen, secretary of the Treasury; Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary; Janis Bowdler, counselor for racial equity; Lily Batchelder, assistant secretary for tax policy; Charles P. Rettig, commissioner for internal revenue; as well as all political appointees assigned to the IRS and all employees and contractors at or equivalent to Grade GS-14 and above assigned to IRSs Research and Applied Analytics and Statistics (RAAS) organization. The request details how President Joe Biden gave sweeping new powers to the federal bureaucracies through his Executive Order on Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, which required federal agencies to take many steps to prevent and remedy discrimination, including protecting the public from algorithmic discrimination. In the idiom of the executive order, the term algorithmic discrimination refers to instances where automated systems contribute to unjustified different treatments or impacts disfavoring people based on their actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity or any other classification protected by law. But, according to the AFL, When read in context with the Department of the Treasurys ongoing efforts to racialize tax policy, the new Executive Order signals that the Biden Administration intends to alter Internal Revenue Servicess (IRS) audit algorithms to target white, Asian, or mixed-race taxpayers. Policy Rationales The request goes on to detail further grounds for questioning the purpose and impartiality of the new algorithms. It notes that Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Adeyemo held a meeting with economists and racial equity experts in May 2021 and, according to a Treasury Department press release, gave certain assurances as to the departments commitment to racial equity as a key factor in the design of tax compliance. Equity involves reaching equal outcomes, beyond providing equal opportunities. The request also cites another official Treasury Department release stating that Adeyemo and Assistant Secretary Batchelder were examining the tax system through a racial equity lens. The Treasury Department ignored Congressional strictures against collecting data on race and ethnicity from other federal agencies, and undertook estimates of the impact that tax policy would have on racial equity by attempting to determine the racial, ethnic, and other demographic characteristics of those subjected to audits, ATL said. On the heels of these actions and public statements, Janis Bowdler, who held the newly formed post of counselor for racial equity, oversaw the launch of the Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, the AFL request also noted. AFL questioned the existence of tax policies that have disfavored racial and ethnic minorities, observing that the Treasury Department released a working paper (pdf) in January 2023 making use of imputed racial data. Some of the conclusions of this paper favor the Biden administrations positions, while other findings clearly do not, the AFL said. The paper found some disparities among the benefits disbursed to families of different races, but also found that Black and Hispanic families, which make up a disproportionate share of low-wage workers, disproportionately benefit from the Earned Income Tax Credit, and that the Premium Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit have benefited Hispanic families above all. Given the Treasury Departments own findings, the AFL questions the premise of the federal agencies attempts to remedy discrimination against Black and Hispanic taxpayers through the tax system. The AFL seeks to parse the communications of the individuals named as custodians in its FOIA request in order to understand and, if appropriate, bring before the public just what Biden administration officials are doing to refashion tax policy and whether the consequences will be truly non-discriminatory, rather than hurting white and Asian taxpayers. The Epoch Times has reached out to the Treasury Department and the IRS for comment. Mainland Study Tours Will Yield Nothing Commentary On July 7, 2022, the 85th anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Education Bureau (EDB) announced mandatory study tours to mainland China for students studying Citizenship and Social Development, which aims at nurturing patriotism. Students will join one of the 21 2 to 5-day itineraries, all paid for by the Bureau. After resuming cross-border travel with the mainland earlier this year, the EDB was actively finalizing the details. However, the announcement on Feb. 9 made even the leftists wince, as the finalized 22 itineraries are only 1 to 3-day tours to Guangdong, just bordering Hong Kong, eight of which are only one day. All the longer trips to more distant provinces such as Fujian, Hunan, and Guizhou are unavailable. While many locals join one-day tours to Hong Kongs Lantau Island to see the world-renowned bronze Buddha statue and have vegetarian lunch in the temple, what can one-day study tours achieve after the long hours of cross-border travel? Probably hasty visits to one or two museums. Even Wong Kam-leung, who belongs to the same pro-China education federation as Christine Choi Yuk-lin, the current secretary for education, criticized that such trips are too hasty and not very useful for students to understand China better. A serious study tour should be long enough for personal contact and interaction to discover facts and experiences previously unknown to the participants. They should not be designed purely for the passive reception of information. Chinas modern history has a lot of examples of such tours. The Republican period focused on construction, attracting interested foreigners and overseas Chinese to come to study, and it was not unusual for such trips last for weeks. After the founding of the PRC, targets of United Front Work in Hong Kong were invited to have extended study tours, and such stories might even catch a headline. One example was Chan Kwan-po, Hong Kong University Chinese Language lecturer, who spent 16 days in Beijing in December 1955, visiting all places open to overseas Chinese. Premier Zhou Enlai even received him. He spoke very positively about communist China every time he spoke to the media after returning to Hong Kong. The cooperative doubled its production last year and will install a telephone this year; the village will have electric lighting in 1958, showing that the peasants lives are getting better every day, he said. Ta Kung Pao, a leftist newspaper in Hong Kong, ran quite some stories on his tour. When talking about Chinas progress under the rule of the communists, he reportedly commented that some people would like Chinese peasants to plow their fields with oxen forever. He criticized their intention as the same as some who insisted that the Japanese warlords had never beaten a single Chinese though everyone knew that Chinese workers fell victim to such violence during the Japanese occupation. Chans ability to relate current politics to the national shame of the Japanese invasion is an admirable talent that the EDB intends to nurture through the new brainwashing subject of Citizenship and Social Development. Sixteen days is obviously too long for students, but cutting it down to one day is unimaginable even to those who promoted accelerated education in the late Qing, such as requesting Japans University of Law and Politics to compress the six-year curriculum into one year for Chinese students. Another story about Chan is also thought-provoking. In 1956, he and his leftist group, the Chinese Reform Club, requested the Hong Kong government to lift restrictions on the entry of Chinese people, which had been there since the communist takeover, to prevent waves of illegal immigrants. He said, the Chinese people living in the mainland now are leading a very stable life. Their living standard is rising. Hong Kong is neither a paradise nor a gold mine, so why do they come to Hong Kong? It is certain to say that the vast majority of Chinese people coming to Hong Kong from the mainland will be for transit, visiting relatives, or business. They will only stay temporarily, and lifting the restrictions will not lead to abrupt population rise. His prophecy turned out to be opposite: the subsequent Anti-Rightist Movement, the Great Leap Forward, and the three-year famine led to a mass exodus to Hong Kong, with more than two million from Guangdong alone. This shows that study tours, no matter how long, do not necessarily enhance knowledge of China. Today, the internet and social media provide an insurmountable amount of information for people to learn about the real China. EDBs mainland study tour planning is equivalent to the governments light public housing scheme with flats intended for five years of use only, which is way too costly and ineffective. In my opinion, as such tours are overwhelmed with red lines and students are not supposed to exchange their views with their mainland counterparts on issues such as democracy, freedom, and universal values, students may better stay home, do some required readings, and save time and fuel. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Major Association of US Doctors Makes Official Statement on Transgender Procedures for Minors Says 'high probability of causing sterilization,' among other warnings Medical workers and police watch as demonstrators in support of trans-children and gender affirmation treatments rally outside of Boston Childrens Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 18, 2022.(Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images) The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is warning about unknown and unknowable long-term risks it says are inherent to gender-affirming care in minors, adding that the consequences of gender transition surgery are irreversible. Gender-affirming procedures include so-called puberty blockers, sex hormones, and surgery, such as castration, penectomy, and mastectomy, the nonpartisan professional association noted in its Feb. 20 official statement outlining its stance on gender-affirming care for children. The AAPS warns that gender transition procedures are generally irreversible and have a high probability of causing sterilization. The procedures also commit a patient to a lifelong need for medical, surgical, and psychological care. Such procedures in minors also are medically and ethically contraindicated due to a lack of informed consent, the AAPS stated. Physicians and medical professionals should refuse to be mandated or coerced to participate in procedures to which they have ethical or scientific objections or which they believe would harm a patient. Founded in 1943, the organization represents doctors in all specialties nationwide and seeks to preserve the practice of private medicine. Over the years, the group has been a strong proponent of patient autonomy and freedom of discourse in medicine. Biological Sex Cant Be Changed: AAPS The association maintains that while medical, surgical, and other methods can be used to alter the physical appearance of a persons body, they cant change a persons biological sex. Biological sex is determined at conception by genotype, and with the exception of rare circumstances that could result in ambiguous genitalia, biological sex is indeed obvious and is correctly identified at birth, the AAPS states. Biological sex, or genotype, then determines the role of a person in reproduction. Reproduction requires a male gamete (sperm), which can only be produced by a person of XY genotype, and a female gamete (egg), which can only be produced by a person of XX genotype, the group states. Primordial germ cells are present at birth. In recent months, some states have attempted to curtail or outlaw gender-related procedures for minors, while others are seeking to ensure access to gender-altering hormones and surgeries. The governor of Mississippi said on Feb. 21 he will sign a ban on gender-affirming care thats been approved by state lawmakers, joining governors in Utah and South Dakota. Meanwhile, judges have temporarily blocked similar laws in Arkansas and Alabama. Gender Fluidity Is Controversial: AAPS The group states, The construct of gender fluidity in the current cultural discourse is controversial. There has been an explosive increase in persons who identify with the construct of gender different from sex, at an age where identity is easily malleable and brain development is not fully concluded, part of the AAPS statement reads. Conflicting motivations have led to a growing industry dedicated to providing gender-affirming procedures, the statement reads. Separately, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have in recent years issued statements in support of gender-affirming care. Both groups assert that gender transition procedures can improve a gender dysphoric persons mental health and result in lower rates of suicide, and that forgoing such care puts the patient at higher risk of anxiety, stress, substance abuse, and suicide. But the groups statements dont acknowledge that some gender transition procedures render the individual highly unlikely to be able to reproduce or make other changes that are irreversible. Advocacy Group Pushes for Safe Health Care The AAPSs public statement comes two days after an advocacy group for people with gender dysphoria issued an open letter directed at more than 30 medical organizations, asking them to ensure health care thats free of influence from politics and activists who shut down those who seek to research gender dysphoria. For the safety and well-being of all trans and gender dysphoric people, we need our healthcare, especially our mental healthcare, disentangled from a well-meaning yet misappropriated academic philosophy, the Gender Dysphoria Alliance (GDA) said in its letter. Founded in 2021, GDA includes researchers, mental health professionals, and laypersons, some of whom are transgender. The group also includes people who have disavowed their former transgender identity. As people living with Gender Dysphoria, we want competent, evidence-based care. This includes mental health care and thorough psychosocial assessment prior to any medicalization, at any age, the group says in their letter. What we are advocating for is not conversion therapy, despite what many trans activists often claim. According to the evolving standard for treating Gender Dysphoria, anything other than immediate access to hormone therapy and surgeries is misconstrued as conversion therapy, the group added. This is not only an absurd view of psychosocial evaluations, its causing unnecessary harm to young, vulnerable people. Conversion therapy is a term used to refer to efforts to prevent people from identifying as transgender or to prevent them from expressing outwardly as their opposite biological sex. Janice Hisle and The Associated Press contributed to this report. McCarthy Breaks Silence on Giving Jan. 6 Footage to Tucker Carlson House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) gives remarks at a news conference in Statuary Hall of the Capitol Building in Washington on Feb. 2, 2023. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has broken his silence on why he gave Fox News host Tucker Carlson access to thousands of hours of Jan. 6 Capitol surveillance footage. McCarthy told The New York Times on Wednesday that he was making good on a pledge to disclose the footage, and that the disclosure serves the public interest. I promised, McCarthy told the outlet. I was asked in the press about these tapes, and I said they do belong to the American public. I think sunshine lets everybody make their own judgment. McCarthy also told the newspaper that he plans to make the tapes available more widely at an unspecified later date. The Epoch Times has reached out to McCarthys spokesperson with a request for confirmation of the above remarks and further comment on the disclosures. Fox News confirmed to The Epoch Times in an earlier email that McCarthy had given Carlson exclusive access to over 40,000 hours of surveillance footage from Jan. 6, 2021. Separately, McCarthy confirmed he had released the tapes to Carlson in an email sent out by his fundraising team. Patriot, you deserve the factsall of the facts, the message reads. I promised I would give you the truth regarding January 6th, and now I am delivering. I have released the full 44,000 hours of uncut camera surveillance footage, McCarthy added. It is in the public interest to know everything that happened that daynot just the narrative that Pelosis partisan committee wanted you to see ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, the email continued. A commitment to ALL of America requires truth and transparency over partisan games, McCarthy said, adding, now, we are delivering. Police fire munitions into a crowd on the west side of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images) Carlson Confirms Unfettered Access Hours after news broke that McCarthy had provided him with the tapes, Carlson revealed that his show had been granted unfettered access to the footage. We believe we have secured the right to see whatever we want to see, Carlson said, adding that his producers have been reviewing the footage, trying to figure out what it means and how it contradicts, or not, the story that weve been told for more than two years. We think already that in some ways it does contradict that story, he said, adding that the producers would be assessing it as honestly as we can before bringing the findings to the public at some point next week during his program. Carlson has two programs on Fox. His primetime program Tucker Carlson Tonight, earlier this month drew in over 3.5 million viewers in a week, and Tucker Carlson Originals, a recently launched documentary series. Fox News host Tucker Carlson speaks in Washington, D.C., on March 29, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Republican Praise Some Republicans hailed McCarthys decision to release the tapes, while Democrats hit the alarm. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) expressed gratitude to McCarthy in a post on Twitter. Thank you for following through on this! she wrote. The public deserves to see everything that was hidden. In a similar vein, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) took to Twitter to say Thank you Speaker McCarthy while adding that the entirety of the footage would also be made available to all J6 defendants. Greene has been one of the most outspoken critics of the treatment of defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol breach, alleging that they face nothing short of human rights violations and are political prisoners in the D.C. gulag. So far, at least 1,000 people have been arrested and charged in connection with the Capitol breach. A crowd at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. (Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo) Democrat Condemnation Democrats, by contrast, reacted with anger to the release of the tapes. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) condemned the release of the tapes, alleging in a Dear Colleague letter to fellow Democrats that McCarthy was needlessly exposing the Capitol complex to one of the worst security risks since 9/11. In a statement on Twitter, Schumer said it was a grave mistake that would embolden people who continue to have doubts about the official outcome of the 2020 election and weaken faith in our democracy. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who was removed by McCarthy from the House Intelligence Committee due to what the Speaker said was a pattern of misleading leaks, also had a critical reaction. Make no mistake: This isnt about transparency, its about fueling dangerous conspiracy theories, Schiff wrote in a tweet. Ian Miles Cheong, a conservative commentator, alleged that the reason Schiff was opposed to the release of the tapes is because the footage will exonerate many of the J6 defendants and make him look bad. Our House While the American public waits to see whats in the tapes, a Jan. 6 defendant has asked a U.S. district judge to unseal a series of videos shot that day by undercover Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) operatives, including one that allegedly shows an MPD officer encouraging protesters to climb barricades and enter the Capitol. William Pope of Topeka, Kansas, filed a motion on Feb. 21 that would unseal video shot by MPD undercover officers, including one who allegedly shouted drain the swamp! and our house! while encouraging the breach. Another video thats among the 40,000-plus hours of footage that McCarthy has released to Carlson is a video allegedly shot by two undercover MPD officers who trailed Ashli Babbitt into the building. Babbitt was shot and killed that day by a U.S. Capitol Police officer. If descriptions in the filing are borne out, it would be the most direct evidence to date that government provocateurs incited the crowd to commit crimes on Jan. 6. Some Republicans have alleged that the Jan. 6 defendants have been denied due process and have fallen victim to what Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) earlier described as a weaponization of the court system, the Department of Justice, and of the prison system. Republicans, fresh off their midterm win of control of the House, have vowed to probe allegations of politicization of federal agencies by setting up the House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. Led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the committee held its first meeting on Feb. 9, with discussions focused on issues like censorship and politically-motivated criminal probes. Joseph M. Hanneman contributed to this report. Michael Zwaagstra: Marks and Grades Still Matter in School Commentary For many teachers, marking assignments is the least enjoyable aspect of their job. Few things are more tiring and frustrating than reading and writing comments on a pile of essays only to have students throw their papers in the garbage seconds after getting them back. It certainly raises the question of why teachers bother to go through this process. At a minimum, theres got to be a way to make school assignments more meaningful to both teachers and students. Some teachers think they have found the solutionget rid of marks and grades entirely. A recent CBC story featured a high school English teachers experiment with ungrading. This teacher does not give students marks on their assignments but simply provides feedback students can use to improve their work in the future. At the end of the term, students meet with the teacher to make their case for the final mark they think they deserve. While this teacher might think that marks and grades are no longer necessary, the reality is quite different. Its one thing to try out ungrading in a handful of classes with an enthusiastic teacher and highly motivated students. Its another thing entirely to assume that this approach would work in all grades with all students. For example, subjects such as math are quite different from English. In math, theres a premium on efficiency and accuracy. Allowing students as many attempts as they need to solve a problem might sound like a good approach, but this doesnt work in professions such as engineering and medicine where accuracy is, in many cases, a matter of life and death. As a case in point, on Aug. 1, 2007, the I-35W bridge in the state of Minnesota collapsed during the evening rush hour. Thirteen people died. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board determined that the collapse occurred because of a calculation error made by the engineers who designed the bridge. Because of their error, the bridges gusset plates were only half as thick as necessary, and the bridge collapsed because of too much weight. Obviously, high school students are not designing bridges or calculating the dosage of drugs to administer to babies with heart failure. However, they should learn necessary skills and some important life lessonsincluding that accuracy matters, and that they must identify and correct errors as quickly as possible. Its also important to note that theres nothing new about ungrading. American education guru Alfie Kohn has been pushing for the abolition of marks and grades for decades, and his writings are frequently cited by ungrading advocates. However, Kohn is a writer, not a public high school teacher. Neither is he an assessment expert. To put it bluntly, Kohn has no experience implementing his approach in a real classroom with real students. In addition, Kohn doesnt just want to remove marks from individual assignments, he wants to abolish grades from schools. With his approach, students who pursue academic excellence would quickly find themselves at a disadvantage, since their efforts would no longer be differentiated from those who do not apply themselves in school. One wonders how scholarships or university admissions would even be determined if enrolment officers had no grades to use when making important decisions. Marks and grades still matter in school because they provide important feedback to students. Theres a world of a difference between an essay that merits an A and one that deserves an F. Teachers are not doing students any favours when they shield them from feedback that they merit and deserve. To be fair, many teachers spend too much time marking individual assignments. Theres a strong case to be made for streamlining this process and reducing the number of assignments that get submitted for formal assessment. However, this can be addressed by helping teachers become more efficient at their jobs, not by eliminating grading, which is a key part of it. While ungrading might sound like a new and innovative trend, its simply the latest manifestation of an old education fad. Marks and grades have been around for a long time because they work. Teachers should keep on giving students their grades. The ungrading movement deserves an F. Michael Zwaagstra is a public high school teacher and a senior fellow with the Fraser Institute. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Military Memories: The Power of a Patch Commentary What are you doing? a little boy asked me as I tapped an Army patch hanging in the doorway at our gym. He, like many kids, was hanging out, playing with toys as his mom or dad worked out. Im just saying Hi to my buddies. This is one of my Army patches. The Army is kind of like a club or a team that I used to play on. All of us on that team wore this same patch. So, in a way, when I touch it, its like I get to say Hi to my buddies even though theyre not here. And that seemed to satisfy his curiosity. The patch represents the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (ACR). Its one of several combat patches I earned while my engineer team and I were passed around Afghanistan to different units like a cheap bottle of schnapps. The team was attached to the 11th ACR as we trained up and ran around the country with the newly formed Afghan National Army (ANA) back in 2003. At that time, the regiments main role back home was to play the bad guysthe opposing force, or OPFORat the main Army training site at Fort Irwin, California.. What that meant was that the 11th ACR was very well-versed in Soviet bloc tactics and equipment. Since the ANA was being cobbled together with recruits, veterans who dealt with the Soviets, and using old donated Soviet equipment from all NATOs new friends in eastern Europe, who better to help stand up the ANA than a squadron of these 11th ACR guys? Plus, a mixed bag of weapons and equipment was being turned in from around the country as various warlords decided to throw their hats in with the new government. Whatever oddball item showed up, somebody within the 11th ACR usually knew their way around it. Anyway, most of my team chose to wear that 11th ACR combat patch because those guys were terrific to serve with. That particular patch was on the uniform the medics cut off me at the end of my tour. My buddy who was there told me afterward that, as they were cutting, he told the medics, dont you dare cut that patch! For the next 12 years that patch sat at home boxed up with other stuff. In the back of my mind, I had been trying to think of some good way to display it and a few other things. But nothing ever seemed a good enough plan so it stayed in the box. Then in 2016, I began to get serious about getting back into shape. Our gym, 970Muscle, is the perfect place, with the perfect staff for that and much more. At the gym, there are trophies, medals, pictures, stickers: all sorts of memories and motivators from members past and present hanging up all over. And it is absolutely awesome because each one has a story. A month or so into my return, I asked Derek if he could put that patch up somewhere with all the rest. He said he would be honored to do it. This was yet another reassurance that a new and terrific team had welcomed me in. Ive been going to that gym for about a year now and I feel better than I have in a long long time. But, like most people, the hardest part of my exercise is often just starting. When Im hanging out at home, hitting snooze on the alarm, or debating with myself whether or not to slog out another hour at the office, one of the things that helps point me to a trip to the gym is the thought of being able to say Hi to my Army buddies. Psychologists will tell you that belonging to a social group is one of the basic human needs. My B grade in Psych 101 in college doesnt arm me with much more than that to help explain all this. But I do know that the Army patch a soldier wears typically brings with it a great sense of pride in that unit or achievement. Sometimes people ask me if I miss the military. My answer is always the same . I dont really miss the Army but I do miss being a soldier. Part of that, I think, is that whole social group belonging thing. Its not a religion. I know, deep down, the beginning and the end of whats going on when I touch that three-inch piece of cloth is going on entirely in my head. Theres no mystical Star Wars-type force that binds us all causing, when I touch it, to have my warrior buddies past and present smile and nod and say Hey, Daves thinking of us Or if it catches one of them who is currently in a rough spot he can know that hes not alone. Probably not, anyway. Its a sign from a time when I was part of a kickass club. And now it hangs in the doorway of my current kickass club. And I think that is pretty kickass! Some patches are symbols. Other patches repair damage. Maybe, just maybe, some patches do both. The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement. This article first appeared in The Havok Journal. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. More Than 1,700 Flights Canceled as Major Winter Storm Engulfs Much of US Cathy Morgan-Mace cleans snow and ice off her family's car during a snowstorm in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. A brutal winter storm knocked out power in California, closed interstate highways from Arizona to Wyoming and prompted more than 1,200 flight cancellations Wednesday and the worst won't be over for several days. (Kristin Murphy/The Deseret News via AP) More than 1,700 U.S. flights have been canceled on Wednesday as massive winter storms threaten to bring record snowfall across the country, with disruptions set to continue through Thursday. A total of 1,772 flights in and out of the country had been canceled while 6,705 flights were delayed, according to flight tracking site FlightAware. Skywest, Delta, and Southwest have the highest number of canceled flights among U.S. Airlines, impacting between 7 and 19 percent of their scheduled flights. The airport that saw the highest number of cancelations was the MinneapolisSt. Paul International Airport, where 205 outgoing and 223 incoming flights were canceled, accounting for 45 percent and 50 percent of those scheduled, respectively. The Denver International Airport and Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport each had more than 100 outgoing or incoming flights canceled on Wednesday. As of 8 a.m. ET Thursday, 759 flights had been canceled with 7,426 delays. Southwest Airlines has issued winter weather waivers for about a dozen airports. Delta Air Lines has issued waivers for Upper Midwest winter weather and Rockies and Mountain regions winter weather. American Airlines and United have also issued winter weather waivers for travel this week. According to the Department of Transportation, anyone whose flight is canceled has the right to a refund, regardless of the type of ticket booked. Severe Weather The National Weather Service issued winter storm, blizzard, and high-wind advisories for swaths of the western and the north-central U.S., with up to 2 feet of snow expected in some areas through Thursday. Wyomings Transportation Department posted on social media that roads across much of the southern part of the state were impassable. Powerful winds were the biggest problem in California, toppling trees and power lines. By Wednesday evening, more than 65,000 customers in the state were without electricity, according to PowerOutage.us. For the first time since 1989, the National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for Southern California mountains that runs through Saturday. Some coastal areas could see 10-foot (3-meter) waves through Thursday, forecasters said. A more than 200-mile stretch of Interstate 40 from central Arizona to the New Mexico line closed due to snow, rain, and wind gusts of up to 80 mph. More than 8,000 customers were without power in Arizona. In the northern U.S., more than 18 inches may pile up in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin, the National Weather Service said Wednesday evening. According to the weather service, the biggest snow event on record in the Twin Cities was 28.4 inches from Oct. 31 through Nov. 3, 1991. The storm will make its way toward the East Coast later this week. Places that dont get snow may get dangerous amounts of ice. Forecasters expect up to a half-inch (1.3 centimeters) of ice in parts of southern Michigan, northern Illinois, and some eastern states. More than 192,000 customers in Michigan and nearly 89,000 in Illinois were without electricity Wednesday evening, according to PowerOutage.us. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Natural Immunity Better Than COVID-19 Vaccination Against Omicron: CDC Study The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., on April 23, 2020. (Tami Chappell/AFP via Getty Images) Post-infection immunity is superior to protection from COVID-19 vaccines, according to a new study from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers. Natural immunity, or postinfection immunity, provided 76 percent protection against COVID-19-associated hospitalizations while Omicron was the dominant virus strain in the country, the researchers found. A primary series of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, in people without a prior infection, provided just 39 percent protection. Natural immunity also lasted longer at higher levels than both primary series of vaccination and vaccination with a messenger RNA booster on top of a primary series, according to the study. During Omicron predominance, natural immunity against hospitalization was 74 percent 150 or more days after infection. A primary series without prior infection remained just 39 percent protective beyond 149 days, while three doses started at 81 percent protection but waned to just 31 percent after 150 or more days following the third dose. The paper was published ahead of peer review by The Journal of Infectious Diseases. It was funded by the CDC. Protection from COVID-19 mRNA vaccination and/or prior SARS-CoV-2 infection against COVID-19-associated hospitalizations regardless of variant [was high], Catherine Bozio of the CDC and the other researchers said. SARS-CoV-2 causes COVID-19. The agency, which recommends a primary series and a bivalent booster for virtually all Americans 6 months of age and older, regardless of prior infection, did not respond to an email asking if the studys findings would lead to a recommendation change. Robert Moffit, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundations Center for Health and Welfare Policy, told The Epoch Times that the studys acknowledgment of natural immunity is a very significant development. Natural immunity has very direct relevance for federal policy, and really, the vaccine policy, particularly the enforcement of mandates on individuals, not only in the government but also the private sector, he said. Researchers examined data from the CDC-run VISION Vaccine Effectiveness Network to examine patients who went to emergency room departments, urgent care facilities, or hospitals. The study period started on August 26, 2021, while Delta was still dominant, and went through June 13, 2022. People were counted as unvaccinated if they had no record of vaccination. People who received Johnson & Johnsons vaccine, people who only received one vaccine dose, and people who received two vaccine doses but 14 days had not elapsed before testing, were excluded. People were counted as having a prior infection if they tested positive 90 days or more before the index test date, defined as the date of specimen collection associated with the most recent positive SARS-CoV-2 test result within the 14 days prior to a COVID-19-associated health care visit, or the date of the visit itself if testing occurred later. New Study Confirms Previous Research The study comes about a year after a CDC study found natural immunity was superior to vaccination while Delta was the dominant strain. Omicron displaced Delta in late 2021. Other studies have also determined that vaccine-bestowed protection was not as good against Delta or Omicron as that found in people who recovered from COVID-19. Researchers in Qatar, for instance, reported in late 2022 that natural immunity protected better against infection and severe or critical COVID-19 from Omicron than a Moderna or Pfizer primary series. An Israeli study found as early as August 2021 that prior infection was superior to vaccination during the Delta era. For the new paper, researchers looked at part of that time. And they found that during Delta, natural infection provided 91 percent protection against COVID-19-associated hospitalization, versus 73 percent from a primary series. While natural immunity grew stronger over time, vaccination-bestowed immunity grew weaker, the researchers found. Against Delta, two doses dropped from 85 percent protection to 69 percent protection after 150 or more days, and three doses provided 66 percent protection beyond 149 days. So-called hybrid immunity, or vaccination on top of natural immunity, was better than vaccination alone. Some experts support vaccinating people with infection-induced immunity but others have warned against it, noting some research has found the naturally immune are at higher risk of side effects. Alignment With CDC Guidance As is typical with the CDC and CDC-funded studies, the researchers included statements in support of vaccination. Although infection-induced immunity provides protection, SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause severe disease, death, and long-term morbidity, they wrote. COVID-19 vaccination is safe and effective at preventing severe COVID-19 disease, and staying up to date continues to provide protection, regardless of history of prior infection. COVID-19 vaccination also enhances protection in persons who have been previously infected, they added. The researchers did not mention vaccine side effects or examine vaccine safety in their study. One of the more remarkable features of this entire pandemic has been the tendency of the CDC and other federal officials to either ignore scientific evidence relating to natural immunity and COVID-19 or to downplay it. And I think that has been a very serious problem, Moffitt said. In its investigation of COVID-19 and the vaccines, Congress should examine, Moffitt said, the pursuit of vaccine mandates and the consistent downplaying or ignorance of natural immunity. Dr. Scott Atlas, former adviser to the White House Coronavirus Task Force, talks to Newsmakers about the Biden administration giving the World Health Organization the power to decide Americas pandemic policies. Epoch Times reporter Jeff Louderback shares his thoughts on former President Donald Trumps visit to East Palestine, Ohio, after the train derailment. Crowds of people gathered for his visit. Find out what theyre saying on the ground. Democratic strategist Robert Patillo discusses U.S. politicians paying more attention to international issues while ignoring problems that need attention in the country. He looks at President Joe Biden choosing to go to Ukraine for the war, but not to Ohio after the toxic chemical spill. Railway workers union head Tony Cardwell gives a closer look at the causes of the East Palestine train derailment, and talks about if it could have been avoided if the federal government listened to the railway workers during earlier negotiations. Constitutional attorney Jenna Ellis tells Newsmakers her thoughts on the newly announced presidential campaign of Vivek Ramaswamy, along with other GOP candidates. Matt Glynn Reporter Follow Matt Glynn Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today Pfannenberg USA is upbeat about its future. Sales are going strong at its Lancaster operation, which makes thermal-management technologies. The company needs more space for production and is considering expanding. But like so many other manufacturers, Pfannenberg has another issue to cope with: finding enough workers. The company has a workforce of about 130 people and could use more personnel. Were always recruiting," said Earl Rogalski, president of Pfannenberg USA. "Weve got several openings right now that quite frankly were having a hard time recruiting for. Manufacturers have a two-pronged problem. They need workers who can fill openings right away, to meet immediate production needs. But they are also trying to attract young people who may have never thought about careers in manufacturing. And with workers hard to find, companies are exploring how automation might help replace difficult-to-hire employees with machines. The region's push to bolster its manufacturing sector got a $25 million boost last year, from a federal grant administered by the Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration. The Western New York Advanced Manufacturing Coalition was one of 21 competitors to receive grants out of 529 applicants, meaning only 4% were chosen. The $25 million will support three key projects: A new program at Buffalo Manufacturing Works aimed at helping small- and medium-sized manufacturers overcome barriers to using automation. Expanding a pilot program at Goodwill that recruits new hires for manufacturing jobs from underserved populations. Renovations of more buildings in the Northland Corridor, where the Northland Workforce Training Center is located. As of late 2022, the Buffalo Niagara region's manufacturing sector had about 52,000 jobs, up slightly from the end of 2021. That headcount is smaller than it was decades ago, but the manufacturing sector has stabilized and it still has an impact, both in employment and the investment companies pour into their operations. Just east of Buffalo, in Genesee County, Edwards Vacuum has committed to building a $319 million plant to support the semiconductor industry, with a workforce expected to grow to 600 people. Economic development announcements like Edwards' illustrate why manufacturing still commands significant attention. Supply chain disruptions involving overseas suppliers are putting a renewed focus on the value of domestic manufacturing. But the question persists of how to fill the openings manufacturers have. "It's tough," said Peter Ahrens, executive director of the Buffalo Niagara Manufacturing Alliance. "It's very difficult." Ahrens said his group is looking at ways to attract the next generation of talent. That might involve plant tours for high school students, showing them what modern manufacturing facilities look like, or the "Dream It, Do It" program that introduces manufacturing to students in grades 8 to 12. "And then it's really trying to win the hearts and minds of moms and dads," he said. At the same time, Ahrens is talking to members of his group about implementing registered apprenticeship programs, to help employees earn a journeyman's card once they complete their training. "Those jobs are really highly sought after, good paying jobs," he said. "And the sky's the limit." Many small manufacturers want to learn more about how to use technology to augment production. That might take the form of "cobots," or collaborative robots, that work alongside employees, relieving them of monotonous or physically demanding work. "We want to educate them so they can say, 'Oh, I can see that for my shop,'" he said. "You kind of take the fear of the unknown out of it." Young people are intrigued when they see cobots in action during visits to Buffalo Manufacturing Works, and the role a worker plays in programming them. Suddenly students get a different idea of what a manufacturing job might entail. Part of the $25 million grant is going toward a program at Buffalo Manufacturing Works that will help small- and medium-sized manufacturers with implementing technology features at their companies. Goodwill's pilot program is another way employers are recruiting talent from new sources. Its Goodskills Career Builder Initiative is receiving $3.6 million from the grant, to train an additional 750 workers over the next three years. The free, four-week program combines classroom training with on-site experiences to prepare candidates for manufacturing jobs. "This is an excellent opportunity to show people what's in front of them, to give them an opportunity to not get just a job where they can survive, but a job they can thrive in, and over time, have a career that leads to generational wealth," said Thomas Ulbrich, president and CEO of Goodwill of Western New York. "I think when we can start talking about generational wealth-building, then we're really starting to make a difference in our community." Advocates for manufacturing say it's also important to diversify that workforce, and ensure those opportunities are spread through the community. That's the thinking behind the training programs at the Northland Workforce Training Center, which is aiming to place people from underrepresented populations in manufacturing jobs. Ahrens said some manufacturers are finding success by hiring workers for a job like material handling, and then promoting them if they demonstrate a good work ethic and a willingness to learn. It's a way of developing talent from within. Transportation issues can sometimes be a barrier to hiring by manufacturers. Pfannenberg's plant is tucked inside a business park on Walden Avenue, and there's no public transportation serving the location. We've looked at doing some shuttle buses, but its just not cost effective to do that," Rogalski said. Still, Rogalski feels confident about keeping workers if the company can hire them. "Once we have somebody on board, we dont typically have a lot of turnover," he said. "So when people join the company and get ingrained in our culture, they typically stay. The Biden administration is preparing to sign up the United States to a legally binding accord with the World Health Organization (WHO) that would give the Geneva-based United Nations health agency the authority to dictate Americas policies during a pandemic. Epoch Times business reporter Kevin Stocklin tells NTDs Stefania Cox that the Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Accord would damage personal sovereignty and civil rights. NATOs chief said on Feb. 23 that the military alliance has seen some signs that China may be planning to support Russia in its war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is reportedly considering declassifying and releasing intelligence about the issue. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which rules China as a single-party state, has not yet provided Russia with direct military aid but also has not ruled such contribution out. A preliminary report was issued by the National Transportation Security Board (NTSB) on the Norfolk Southern freight train carrying toxic chemicals that derailed this month in East Palestine, Ohio. It suggests that a wheel bearing was nearing overheat failure before the train went off the rails. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made a visit to the derailment site and admitted that he took too long to respond. In a tragic plane crash in Arkansas, five environmental consultants were killed en route to investigate the deadly metal factory explosion in Ohio. Members of Congress are launching an investigation into COVID-19 vaccines, looking into aspects of the pandemic such as the origin of the virus and the governments response. Find out what House committee members have to say about it. A winter storm in the United States is complicating air and road travel. Over 1,700 U.S. flights were canceled on Feb. 22, with thousands more delayed. We look into what areas the storm is affecting, and where its heading next. Topics in this episode include: 1. Winter Storm Creates Difficult Travel Conditions 2. Trump in East Palestine 3. 5 Environmental Consultants Killed in Plane Crash 4. News Reporter Shot and Killed in Florida 5. House Subcommittee to Probe Covid-19 Vaccines 6. Putin Announces Greater Focus on Nuclear Force 7. US Pledges Consequences if China Aids Russia 8. U2 Pilot Takes Selfie With Chinese Spy Balloon 9. At Least 5 Killed in China Coal Mine Collapse 10. Meta Prepares for Thousands More Layoffs 11. Olive Oil in Coffee? 12. Parenting Expert on Free-Range-Parenting NTSB Releases 1st Report on Train Derailment in East Palestine, Points to Overheat Failure Portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio, are still on fire at mid-day, on Feb. 4, 2023. (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo) The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Feb. 2 issued an initial report on the Norfolk Southern freight train carrying toxic chemicals that derailed this month in East Palestine, Ohio, sparking a fire and sending contaminants into the air and water. The report, which is preliminary and subject to change as investigators deepen their probe, suggests that a wheel bearing was nearing overheat failure before the train went off the rails. The crew operating the freight train didnt receive a critical warning about the overheated axle until moments before the derailment, the report states. After getting a critical audible alarm message from the wayside defect detectoror hot bearing detectorinstructing the crew to stop the train to inspect a hot axle, the engineer slowed and stopped the train. When the train came to a halt, the crew saw smoke and fire and alerted dispatch of a possible derailment. The derailed equipment included 11 tank cars carrying flammable toxic chemicals that ignited. The ensuing blaze damaged another 12 cars that hadnt derailed. A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled burn of chemicals aboard the derailed Norfolk Southern train on Feb. 6, 2023. (Gene J. Puskar/AP Photo) Final Stage of Overheat Failure Investigators have examined the 23rd rail carwhich was the first to derailalong with railroad equipment and track conditions, signal data, and surveillance camera footage, per the report. Surveillance video from a local residence showed what appeared to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment, the report reads. The wheel bearing and wheelset that were affected have been collected as evidence and are still under examination by NTSB investigators. Several hot bearing detectors that the train passed through ahead of the derailment tested hotter and hotter and, by the third one, hit 253 degrees above ambient temperature, meeting Norfolk Southerns established threshold for critical. The first two hot bearing detectors38 degrees and 103 degrees above ambient temperature respectivelydidnt meet the threshold for stopping the train for inspection. Norfolk Southerns alarm criteria for a stop and inspect action are for the hot bearing detector to read between 170 and 200 degrees above ambient temperature. Drone footage shows the freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 6, 2023, in this screengrab obtained from a handout video released by the NTSB. (NTSBGov/Handout via Reuters) Buttigieg Criticized NTSB released the initial report on Feb. 23 as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has faced criticism for failing to visit East Palestine earlier, toured the crash site. Buttigiegs visit came nearly three weeks after the Feb. 5 derailment, which prompted an evacuation as fears grew early on that the smoldering wreckage could explode. Heather Bable, who lives two blocks from the derailment site, told The Associated Press that shes relieved that senior Biden administration officials are finally showing up. We need that attention because we werent getting it. They should have been here all along, Bable told the media outlet. She was among the throng of residents lining the streets in pouring rain to welcome former President Donald Trump on Feb. 22. East Palestine, Ohio, residents gather on Feb. 22 to watch former President Donald Trump pass by. (Jeff Louderback/The Epoch Times) Trump met with East Palestine residents and officials and distributed bottled water and cleaning supplies. Ohio Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted told CNN ahead of the release of the report that its findings had the potential to form the basis of a criminal referral. Husted also said Norfolk Southern should temporarily relocate people who continue to feel unsafe or even consider buying their property. This is the railroads responsibility, and its up to the government officials at the federal, state, and local levels to hold them accountable and do right by the citizens of East Palestine, Husted said. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiros administration has already made a criminal referral of the railroad company to the state attorney generals office. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw apologized to East Palestine residents during a CNN town hall event on Feb. 22. Were going to do whats right for the community, he said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Number of CBC Employees Earning 6 Figures Doubled Since 2015: Canadian Taxpayer Federation The number of employees at the taxpayer-funded Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) making six-figure salaries each year has doubled since the Liberal government took office in 2015, according to the Canadian Taxpayer Federation (CTF). In fiscal year 20152016, CBC had 438 hires who took home six-digit salaries that year. That group of CBC staff has steadily expanded ever since and doubled to 949 people by fiscal year 20212022, according to the sunshine list obtained by the CTF through an access-to-information request. A sunshine list is a listing of salaries, benefits, and other relevant information that provides transparency to government expenditures. The growth of such employees translates to nearly $120 million in Canadian taxpayer money paid to CBC employees in 20212022, an increase from about $60 million in 20152016, the document shows. Taxpayers dont need all these CBC employees making six-figures, Franco Terrazzano, federal director of the CTF, said in a press release on Feb. 22. What value are taxpayers getting from all these extra CBC staffers with big salaries? The CTF noted that the number of CBC employees earning an annual salary of more than $100,000 rose by 14 and 13 percent in 202021 and 202122, respectivelyduring the time when other Canadian businesses struggled with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are now 220 more CBC employees receiving a six-figure salary than before the pandemic, the CTF said. The internal records, extracted on Jan. 24, 2023, only included data for permanent employees with CBC. The cost of the CBC shouldered by taxpayers has spiked since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was first elected in 2015, the CTF said, citing its annual reports showing annual funding to the federal Crown corporation having increased by $203 million since. Salary Hike for Bureaucrats The CTF urged the federal government to implement a sunshine list last August after a government document obtained at the time revealed 114,433 employees received more than $100,000 in 2021. This included an additional 45,426 federal bureaucrats who received six-figure salaries compared to before the pandemic, the CTF said. Some bureaucrats got more than a raise. Executives and some in upper management positions in the federal government were paid over $190 million in bonuses during the pandemic year of 2021, according to an Inquiry of Ministry tabled in the House of Commons last year. The documents, obtained by Blacklocks Reporter, showed that the largest payout went to 295 executives who made up 96 percent of senior management at the Department of Justice, who were allotted $17.9 million. In November 2022, the CTF also reported that more than $156 million in bonuses and pay raises have been awarded to CBC employees since 2015, including $51 million in bonuses and pay raises paid out during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. The CBC shouldnt have doled out bonuses while taxpayers lost jobs and businesses during the pandemic, Terrazzano said in a Nov. 8, 2022 press release. If the CBC has enough money lying around to hand out millions in bonuses and raises during a pandemic, then taxpayers shouldnt be forced to fork over more money. Oil Rig Worker Earning $200,000 a Year Entitled to Overtime in Supreme Court Ruling That Splits Conservatives U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh listens during the first day of his confirmation hearing in front of the U.S. Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington on Sept. 4, 2018. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images) An offshore oil rig employee who earned upwards of $200,000 per year and worked well over 40 hours per week is entitled to receive overtime pay for extra hours worked even though the company classified him as an overtime-exempt executive, the Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 22. The 6-3 ruling is important because it is expected to have an impact on the energy industry, which tends to rely on daily pay rates instead of salaries to compensate employees, including those who hold high-paying jobs in energy exploration. The employer, Helix Energy Solutions Group, said the employee, Michael Hewitt, didnt qualify for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), even though he routinely put in 84 hours per week on rigs. The company categorized him as an executive, which would preclude the possibility of overtime pay. Hewitt, whose job is described as tool pusher, said the company did not offer him minimum weekly guaranteed pay, so the earnings he generated on a daily basis cannot be considered salary. According to the act, executives have to be paid on a salary basis, which means their predetermined pay has to be calculated on a weekly, or less frequent basis and not related to the number of hours worked each week. Regulations stipulate that employees paid on an hourly, daily, or shift basis can be deemed salaried and therefore overtime-exempt if the employer guarantees at least the minimum weekly-required amount regardless of the number of hours, days, or shifts worked. The company said Hewitt had to be treated as an executive because he took in more than the minimum weekly pay and his compensation never fluctuated, according to a Bloomberg Law summary of the case. After Helix fired him, Hewitt sued the company for hundreds of thousands of dollars in retroactive overtime pay. A U.S. district court sided with the company, finding Hewitt was a salaried employee ineligible for overtime pay, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit went the other way, overturning the ruling. The Supreme Court agreed with the 5th Circuit, holding in an opinion (pdf) written by liberal Justice Elena Kagan, that it was critical to determine whether Hewitt was a salaried employee even though the company classified him as an executive, which would mean he could not receive overtime pay. The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) provides that employees covered by it receive overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours a week. But the law states that an employee is not deemed covered and therefore not entitled to overtime pay if he works in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity as defined in regulations. The regulations state that an employee falling under the bona fide executive heading is to be paid on a salary basis. Additional regulations elaborate on the salary-basis requirement, as it is applied to both lower-income and higher-income employees. Although the company deemed Hewitt a bona fide executive, the relevant consideration is whether a high-earning employee is compensated on a salary basis when his paycheck is based solely on a daily rateso that he receives a certain amount if he works one day in a week, twice as much for two days, three times as much for three, and so on, Kagan wrote for the court. We hold that such an employee is not paid on a salary basis, and thus is entitled to overtime pay, she wrote, ruling in favor of the employee in Helix Energy Solutions Group Inc. v. Hewitt, court file 21-984. What is unusual about the 6-3 ruling is that it does not represent the usual philosophical groupingssix conservatives and three liberalsnormally associated with the court. The 6-3 split here represents an unusual cleavage of the courts ideological blocs, pitting half the courts conservatives, who sided with the majority, against the other half, who dissented. Kagans opinion was joined by three conservative members of the courtChief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett. The two other liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, also joined the majority. Conservative Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh each filed a separate dissenting opinion. Justice Samuel Alito joined the Kavanaugh dissent. Kavanaugh wrote in his dissenting opinion that he would hold that Hewitt was a bona fide executive at Helix and therefore not entitled to overtime pay. Kavanaugh also questioned whether the regulations issued under the FLSA, which look not only at an employees duties but also at how much an employee is paid and how an employee is paid will survive if and when the regulations are challenged as inconsistent with the Act. It is especially dubious for the regulations to focus on how an employee is paid (for example, by salary, wage, commission, or bonus) to determine whether the employee is a bona fide executive. An executive employees duties (and perhaps his total compensation) may be relevant to assessing whether the employee is a bona fide executive, the justice wrote. But I am hard-pressed to understand why it would matter for assessing executive status whether an employee is paid by salary, wage, commission, bonus, or some combination thereof, he added. Members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on April 23, 2021. Seated from left: Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor. Standing from left: Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett. (Erin Schaff/Pool/Getty Images) Justice Neil Gorsuch said in his opinion that he would throw out the case as improvidently granted, a legal expression courts use when they change their minds after agreeing to hear a case and later decide they dont want it to go forward. The Supreme Court let the companys appeal of the lower court decision proceed in the expectation it would deal with the regulations certain well-paid employees must satisfy to fit within the overtime-pay exemption. Unfortunately, this case does not tee up that issue in the way we hoped, he wrote. With the benefit of briefing and argument, it has become clear that the critical question here is not how two parts of the FLSA interact, he wrote. The Epoch Times reached out to counsel of record for both sides but had not received a reply from either as of press time. Ontario Man Charged With Murder for Shooting Home Intruder Attacking His Mother: Lawyer A 22-year-old Ontario man is charged with second-degree murder for allegedly killing one of five people who entered his home, likely to rob it, say police. Ali Mian of Milton shot the intruder only once and did not intend to kill, his lawyer told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement. [Mian], who lives at home with his single mother, shot at an intruder that broke into his home and attacked his mother, criminal lawyer Jag Virk said. He is a registered firearm owner and used his gun legally against an armed intruder. He shouldnt be charged with murder for protecting his mother. The break-in occurred on Feb. 19 at about 5 a.m. on Gibson Crescent. Police have not identified the deceased. One man was charged with breaking and entering, 20-year-old Romario Clarke of Oshawa. Clarke was also charged with unauthorized possession of a firearm. Halton Police published a photo of a white vehicle that three remaining suspects used to flee the scene. A white vehicle Halton Police say was likely used for three suspects to escape after a failed robbery in Milton, Ont., on Feb. 19, 2023. (Halton Regional Police) Limits of Self-Defence Two cases in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in recent months also involved the death of a alleged home invaders. Halifax Regional Police said two men were invading a home when the occupant confronted them and fatally stabbed one of them, on Dec. 30, 2022. The deceaseds name is Anthony Robert Herritt. Is it considered self-defence? That term is a difficult thing to consider, spokesperson Const. John MacLeod told reporters, according to Global News. What our investigators need to do is look at the evidence before them, gather up all the information they have and determine whether or not charges would be appropriate. And in this case, at this time, our investigators are not considering any charges. The second case occurred on Jan. 4, when a 33-year-old man was fatally shot. The man, along with two others, had invaded a home. One of the three was armed, police said, and when a struggle ensued with the occupants, the gun went off. According to sections 34 and 35 of the Criminal Code, a person is not guilty of an offence in defending himself and his property, but only under certain conditions. Those include that the act is reasonable in the circumstances. The Code lists eight considerations in determining what is reasonable. They include the nature of the threat, to what extend the threat was imminent, and if other means were available to respond to the threat. The Canadian Press contributed to this report. Ontario Police Announce 27 Arrests in Year-Long Biker Gang Investigation Members of the Hells Angels arrive at a property in Langley, B.C., on July 25, 2008. (The Canadian Press/Darryl Dyck) Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have been working with local forces for about a year to arrest 27 gang members believed to be part of a drug trafficking ring, including members of the Hells Angels and Red Devils motorcycle gangs. They also shut down a biker clubhouse on Highway 37 in Belleville and a storefront downtown. The operation, called Project Coyote, was a collaboration between the OPP and Toronto, Belleville, and Windsor police services. Urban street gangs are moving out of the neighborhoods, and theyre turning into global criminal networks. Theyre becoming bigger and becoming bolder. Theyre becoming more enterprising and more sophisticated, said OPP Chief Superintendent Paul Mackey at the announcement on Feb. 23. Theyre moving out of club houses, and into storefronts where theyre trying to expand their influences even further, he said. Mackey said police seized more than a dozen firearmsincluding 3D printed weaponsas well as more than a kilogram of fentanyl, 6 kg of methamphetamine, and 616 kg of cocaine. They seized more than $370,000 in Canadian currency stemming from the proceeds of crime, 10 vehicles, and jewelry worth about $150,000 as well as various Hells Angels items. Of the 27 arrests, 15 were made on Feb. 22. Staff Superintendent for the Toronto Police Service Paul MacIntyre said: The work of organized criminals spreads across borders and so police work must as well. Its important that investigators work in concert with one another to conduct such investigations to keep our community safe. Mackey said, now that significant action had been taken to disable the drug trafficking ring, our focus is now going to shift locally towards working with our social service providers to support those who have been victimized by these gangs. The criminal activity of these gangs includes human trafficking, extortion, and violence, and Deputy Chief Chris Barry of the Belleville Police Service said, this case will no doubt go a long way towards restoring a feeling of safety and security amongst the public and our community and many others in cities and towns across our province. Ontario Police Release Photos of Suspects in Unsolved Kidnapping of Ontario Woman Ontario Provincial Police Det. Sergeant Jason Dinsmore provides additional information on the January 2022 abduction of Elnaz Hajtamiri during a press conference in Mississauga, Ont., on Jan. 12, 2023. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press) The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have released photographs of three suspectstwo men and a womanbelieved to be involved in an unsolved kidnapping of an Ontario woman, as well as photos of a white male person of interest. Police said they believe the individuals live in the Greater Toronto Area, although the photographs were taken in Quebec. The OPP has asked for the publics help in identifying the individuals. Elnaz Hajtamiri, 37, who also uses the last name Tamiri, has been missing since approximately 8:32 p.m. on Jan. 12, 2022. Police said the woman was forcibly dragged from a relatives home on Trailwood Place in Wasaga Beach, Ontario, by three men posing as police officers. The suspects who grabbed Hajtamiri were dressed in police gear, according to the OPP, but not legitimate uniforms. They drove away in what police believe is a white Lexus RX sport utility vehicle. Two suspects in the January 2022 kidnapping or disappearance of Ontario woman Elnaz Hajtmari, in a photo released in February 2023. (Courtesy of Ontario Provincial Police) Hajtamiri had been hiding with family members after she was repeatedly beaten with a frying pan in an underground parkade in December 2021, just a few weeks before her abduction. The woman reportedly suffered a head injury that required 40 stitches to her head. Hajtamiris sister, Aysa Hajtamiri, who lives in Melbourne, Australia, said Hajtamiri was hiding because her former boyfriend had allegedly begun making threats. The family said her vehicle had tracking devices on it when the parkade assault took place. A suspect in the January 2022 kidnapping or disappearance of Ontario woman Elnaz Hajtmari, in a photo released in February 2023. (Courtesy of Ontario Provincial Police) Her former boyfriend, 35-year-old Mohamad Lilo, was charged with abduction in relation to the womans January 2022 disappearance, as well as attempted murder and attempted abduction charges from the December 2021 assault. Two other men were also charged in relation to the December parkade incident. We will do everything in our power as the police to locate Elnaz, identify and hold accountable those responsible for her kidnapping, said OPP Det. Martin Graham, adding that a $100,000 reward has been offered for any information on the kidnapping. Police are also searching for one, perhaps two, individuals of interest who rented vehicles in December 2021. They are not suspects, but police believe they may have information relevant to the case. Two persons of interest who may have information regarding the January 2022 kidnapping/ disappearance of Ontario woman Elnaz Hajtmari, in a photo released in February 2023. (Courtesy of Ontario Provincial Police) On Jan. 12, police released two composite sketches, both with suspects wearing dark jackets over fake police vests; a balaclava with white trim pulled up over their nose and mouth; a gold, red, and blue badge chained around their neck; and dark pants. The first suspect was described as approximately six feet tall, skinny, with lighter black skin and a long narrow face. He was wearing a thick black belt with an attached handcuff pouch, and a holstered, worn, black gun with a magazine inserted. The second suspect is 59 tall with lighter black skin, stocky, with skinny legs. The third suspect is a similar height, lighter coloured skin, possibly Middle Eastern, according to police, and thin. Police suspect he had a firearm in his jacket. A suspect in the January 2022 kidnapping or disappearance of Ontario woman Elnaz Hajtmari, in a photo released in February 2023. (Courtesy of Ontario Provincial Police) Hatamaris parents live in Iran. According to the OPP, Hajtamiri emigrated from Iran to Canada less than five years ago. She is 53 tall, slim, with short black hair. Nothing weighs more heavily on our souls than the idea that we may never know what happened to Elnaz. We know there are people out there who have information and who may be contemplating whether to come forward. We pray that you will do the right thing and help us out of this suffering and bring justice for Elnaz, Fariba Hajtamiri, the missing womans mother, said in a January police press release. The Canadian Press contributed to this report. Rome is burning. All seems lost. This is the end of Act I of The Clemency of Titus (La Clemenza di Tito), an opera about Titus, a virtuous emperor and a good ruler, shining a light for humanity in its darkest times. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed this two-act opera in 1791 to commemorate the coronation of the king of Bohemia, Leopold II. And what better way to celebrate this event than to create a story about a compassionate ruler? One of Mozarts last operas, The Clemency of Titus is an opera seria, a formal opera set in classical times, focusing on complex human feelings and having a profound message. Mozart prizes the virtue of clemency in his opera The Clemency of Titus. Posthumous portrait of Mozart by Barbara Krafft in 1819. (Public Domain) This moving work explores the nature of power through forgiveness and reconciliation. Humanitys deepest emotions are explored through expressive solo arias and ensembles. A work of great musical beauty, it is a sublime study of human behavior in times of crisis. Great Mercy Set in ancient Rome, the opera tells the story of Titus, the emperor of Rome. He is beloved by all his people, except by Vitellia, the former emperors daughter. She plans to take over the throne by plotting his assassination. Filled with anger, Vitellia enlists Sesto, Tituss friend, to kill him. Blindly in love with her, Sesto accepts her treacherous scheme. In the aria I go, but, my dearest (Parto, parto, ma tu, ben mio), Sesto is conflicted between morality and love. He finally resolves to kill his friend for Vitellias love. Sesto sets fire to the Capitol, hoping to trap Titus inside, and then flees. Titus, emperor of Rome in a difficult time, chooses forgiveness over punishment. The Triumph of Titus: The Flavians, 1885, by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. (Public Domain) Annio, a close friend, finds Sesto and tells him that Titus is alive. He convinces Sesto to admit his guilt, and Sesto does so, without mentioning Vitellia. Titus, learning this, struggles to sentence his friend. Several times throughout the opera, the ruler claims that forgiveness is important to him, yet he is conflicted now. He questions Sesto privately, and Sesto tells him he should die for betraying him. Unaware of this confession, Vitellia admits her guilt in her remorseful final aria No more flowers (Non piu di fiori), asking to spare Sestos life. To the surprise of all, Titus pardons the conspirators and spares their lives, showing his great clemency. In a climate of regal and private betrayal, he chooses forgiveness rather than retribution, allowing his subjects to become enlightened themselves. His ability to forgive and to set aside his own needs for the greater good in times of crisis make him an enlightened ruler, who is both moral and sensitive. The central characters overcome their darkest instincts throughout the opera: Vitellias jealousy, Sestos divided loyalties, and Tituss desire for vengeance. At the end of the opera, Vitellia renounces the throne, Sesto renounces his honor, and Titus shows clemency to serve the common good. The opera closes with Tituss I know everything, I forgive everyone, and I forget everything (tutto so, tutti assolvo, e tutto obblio). Enlightened Man and Ruler Sacrifice is a hallmark of the emperors decisions. Titus renounces love in the name of friendship. He wants to marry Servilia, Sestos sister, but she is already engaged to Annio. The young couple implores the ruler to reconsider, revealing their love to him, but Servilia says that if he insists, she will marry him. Titus is touched by their honesty and renounces personal love in his aria Ah, if about a throne (Ah, se fosse intorno al trono). Once again, Titus sacrifices himself for the good of others, and shows his enlightenment as both a man and a ruler. Most importantly, Mozart prizes the virtue of clemency in his opera, as well as the virtue of forgiveness. The ruler is so kind that Sesto says he is not worthy of Tituss forgiveness, in his aria Deh per questo istante solo. Conflicting emotions mark this aria, wherein Sesto begs Titus to remember their friendship for just a moment and claims that death is nothing compared to his friends disdain. After an extended internal struggle, Titus forgives all and, in his aria If to the empire (Se allimpero), shows that he prefers mercy over a vengeful heart. Titus is not only an enlightened ruler; he is also an enlightened man. He is completely selfless in both his political and private life, with the ability to forgive the unforgivable. His humanity shines in an obscure world, and vengeance and betrayal are replaced with forgiveness and friendship. Enlightened decisions are a theme in Mozarts music as characters try to find clarity in complex feelings. Values such as forgiveness and friendship prevail over dark plots and desires. Opposition Warns Australian Self-Funded Retirees Over Labor Superannuation Plan A bookie holds money at The Melbourne Cup Carnival meeting at Flemington Racecourse Nov. 6, 2007 in Melbourne, Australia. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images) Australian opposition leader Peter Dutton has warned that any plans by Labor to raise superannuation tax would be detrimental to Australians retirement plans. The comment comes after Treasurer Jim Chalmers hinted at a cap on super balances over $3 million in the May budget, saying it will make super concessions more affordable and sustainable. If implemented, the policy is expected to affect less than one percent of Australians who have more than $3 million in super. Chalmers noted that average balances for people in that upper category were about $5.8 million. When They Run Out Of Money, They Come After Yours Dutton argued that self-funded retirees, part pensioners and those who are looking forward to retirement would also struggle, if Labor raised the superannuation tax. The opposition leader warned that the government would target the wealthiest retirees before working their way down. Theyll just keep coming back to the well, and all of a sudden youre a couple of rungs down, and people who didnt think they were in line, theyll be having to pay additional tax, he told 2GB radio on Thursday morning. Dutton said that people who have worked hard and put their own money aside into superannuation dont want the government changing the rules and taxing it effectively retrospectively. People might have had a windfall from a house sale, they might have inherited some money, they might have sold their small businesses and rolled that money into superannuation, he told reporters in Aston, Victoria, on Feb. 22. In that scenario, if theyve invested in shares or in a portfolio which has gone up significantly in value, theyve done it according to the rules and theyve done it because they want to support their retirement. Dutton added, Labors always been this way; when they run out of money, they come after yours. The changes that theyre proposing to superannuation, I think, are going to be detrimental to peoples retirement plans. In Australia, employers pay 10.5 percent of their income into workers superannuation funds, which is generally taxed at 15 percent. Meanwhile, the tax rate for super contributions of up to $27,500 a year is 15 percent and above that benchmark is 30 percent. Labor Assured No Big Changes Coming To Superannuation Tax However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Wednesday insisted that Labor would not make major changes to superannuation in the upcoming May budget. We said during the election campaign that we did not intend to make big changes to superannuation. And we dont, he said. The countrys peak superannuation lobby group Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees, have backed a $5 million cap on super balances, which is predicted to affect about 11,000 people. Meanwhile, the Grattan Institute has called for a tax threshold of $2 million on super earnings, meaning people will need to pay more tax on funds exceeding that amount. Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said he was not singling out the self-managed sector for an attack. But it is timely to have a conversation about what a dignified retirement means in the context of a sustainable retirement system, he said at an SMSF Association conference, a body representing Australias self-managed super fund sector. Speaking at a superannuation conference on Monday, Chalmers said the objective of superannuation is to preserve savings to deliver income for a dignified retirement. He subtly criticised the Morrison governments decision to allow Australians to withdraw up to $20,000 of their super over two years to cope with financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. Up to $36 billion have been withdrawn. Without consultation, and little consideration, Australians were forced to choose between better incomes for retirement or paying their bills, Chalmers said. Funds were forced to liquidate assets, and $36 billion of Australians retirement savings were lost. Our government will take a different approach. But Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce said the Coalitions move was necessary during an economic crisis. They want to buy their own house, a lot of people want their own business Superannuation is a great program, but I dont think you should rule out letting people have access to their own money, he told Sunrise. AAP contributed to this report. Medical residencies have always been known for long hours, grueling conditions and comparatively low pay as physicians-in-training gain crucial experience and find the specialty that is right for them. But all across the country, resident physicians are starting to organize in an effort to improve their working conditions and boost patient care. Kaleida, unions united on one thing: They want more state funding for WNY hospitals Western New York's largest health system the area's largest private employer says it has posted more than $200 million in losses since 2020 due to pandemic-related factors. That movement has now come to Buffalo. Resident doctors and fellows at the University at Buffalo, who staff hospitals across Western New York, filed a petition on Wednesday with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize with the Union of American Physicians & Dentists, which has more than 5,000 members. About 810 interns, residents and fellows are employed by University Medical Resident Services P.C., according to the filing, which came during the same week as the sixth annual "Thank a Resident/Fellow Week" at UB and its affiliated hospitals. Dr. Stuart A. Bussey, president of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, said the campaign boils down to "too much work, not enough pay, not enough voice," likening medical residencies to "almost like a hazing procedure" for their difficult working conditions and low wages. Local hospitals face 'a nightmare they can't wake up from' Western New Yorks hospitals remain sick with the novel coronavirus, even if they have few patients with Covid-19. And its all because the pandemic wrecked the business model that Americas hospitals have followed for years. As Covid-19 arrived in America, hospitals spent vast sums preparing to treat patients for a fast-spreading disease with no cure. Then hospitals lost vast "In unity, we aim to amplify our voices to improve salaries and advocate for safer working conditions," the UB residents, fellows and interns wrote at ubhousestaff.org, a website dedicated to the organizing effort. In a statement, the UB Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences said it is aware of the organization efforts of its residents, fellows and interns, noting it is the latest in a growing number of graduate medical education unionization efforts taking place nationally. "We are highly appreciative of the talents and work of our trainees and have worked diligently with them on recent salary increases, including fiercely advocating for them to receive the state's health care worker bonus," the Jacobs School said. "We look forward to continuing to work with our trainees to ensure they have a first-class learning environment and are compensated fairly and competitively." Doctors in residency and fellowship programs have been unionizing all over the country, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic that has stressed the health care system, and its employees, like never before. This month, in fact, residents and fellow physicians often referred to in the industry as house staff at Loma Linda University Health in California filed a petition to unionize with the Union of American Physicians and Dentists. So, too, did resident physicians and fellows at University of Pennsylvania Health System, seeking to organize with the Committee of Interns and Residents. How three caregivers battled burnout: 'Overload in every sense of the word' You're coping with all of these in-the-moment things but you also know you're losing your person. That never leaves your mind, says Darcy Thiel, a Buffalo mental health counselor. 'Overworked and underpaid' The unionization effort among UB residents and fellows began about a year ago, when they received their contract and salaries for the upcoming academic year, which began in July. The UB residents said they are paid significantly less than colleagues in similar cost-of-living cities, such as Rochester, Syracuse and Albany. The pay discrepancy is detailed on the UB house staff website. According to information on the UB Office of Graduate Medical Education's website, the salary schedule for medical residents, as of Jan. 1, ranges from $57,492 for postgraduate year one to $65,067 for postgraduate year seven. By comparison, at the University of Rochester, that same postgraduate range for the 2023-24 year is $63,870 to $79,084, according to the university's website. The range at Albany Medical College, meanwhile, is $67,917 for postgraduate year one and $71,758 for postgraduate year seven. Hospitals in WNY and beyond still spending BIG on travel workers Even if wages for travel nurses are dropping from pandemic peaks, hospitals in Western New York and across the state are still spending big with a capital B on temporary employees to fill staffing gaps. Looking nationally, first-year residents sometimes called interns in the industry made an average of just under $60,000 in 2021, according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges. In its statement, the Jacobs School said the salaries posted online do not reflect the various benefit packages offered at the different upstate institutions. UB noted that its residents and fellows do not have payroll deductions for cost-sharing. Further, the school said, health benefits for residents and fellows are paid in full by UB. "When accounting for the differences in benefits, the UB compensation package is much closer to our colleagues across the state," the Jacobs School said. In addition, UB said that its residents and fellows received a 3% pay raise on Jan. 1 and will get another 3% raise on July 1, which were sequential pay raises negotiated in lieu of the previously negotiated 2% overall raise. On its website, UB's Office of Graduate Medical Education notes that UB-affiliated hospitals "support all aspects of resident education including, but not limited to, resident salary report." Kaleida, unions united on one thing: They want more state funding for WNY hospitals Western New York's largest health system the area's largest private employer says it has posted more than $200 million in losses since 2020 due to pandemic-related factors. Those hospitals include Buffalo General Medical Center; Oishei Children's Hospital; Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital; the Buffalo VA Medical Center; Erie County Medical Center; Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Catholic Health's hospitals. And in New York, residents can work up to 80 hours per week. "We have continuously been overworked and underpaid by our UB affiliated hospitals," the residents, fellows and interns wrote on the website. While a postgraduate year one salary at UB of $57,492 would be more than $27 an hour based on a 40-hour work week, that essentially drops to $13.82 an hour if the resident works 80 hours in a week. (The minimum wage in upstate New York is $14.20 an hour.) What that often means, the residents said, is a six-days-a-week schedule, with some residents rising at 5 a.m. to go to work and not getting home until 10 p.m. And during the Covid-19 pandemic, residents and fellows said they didn't get any hazard pay, despite working on the frontlines. Kaleidas fragile finances and burned-out employees making labor deal difficult to reach While the two unions Communications Workers of America Local 1168 and 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and Kaleida have made progress since talks started in March and have reached tentative agreements on many articles, officials remain engaged in difficult economic discussions and "remain very far apart." In its statement, the Jacobs School said that in national and internal surveys, its UB residents and fellows "do not identify worrisome concerns about working conditions such as patient safety issues or lack of personal protective equipment." 'A seat at the table' A medical residency is essentially post-graduate training for newly minted physicians who have completed medical school. Often, first-year residents spend time rotating through different specialties, allowing doctors to find the role they want to pursue during their residency and career. Given that, the length of a medical residency often depends on the area a doctor looks to specialize in. During their residency, doctors provide direct care to patients under the supervision and mentorship of more experienced physicians. And once doctors complete residency and fellowships, their wages increase substantially. "The Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at UB is committed to optimizing the training of our residents and fellows," UB said in its statement. "At all times, the graduate medical education programs at UB strive to optimize the outcomes for our patients, their families and our communities, at the same time optimizing the clinical learning environment for the benefit of our residents and fellows." On their website, the UB interns, residents and fellows note that while they "understand medical training is not supposed to be easy and that there is a culture in paying your dues," they want a seat at the table so they can have a say in their working conditions and how it ultimately affects patient care. "We need a say in our working conditions," the website reads, "and we need to demand a seat at the table so that we can provide a safe working environment for ourselves and for the safety of our patients." Ottawa Reaches Agreement in Principle With Ontario, Atlantic Canada on Health Care Ontario and the four Atlantic provinces reached an agreement in principle with the federal government on a new health care funding deal proposed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Feb. 7. With the five provinces signing a memorandum of understanding on Feb. 23 to begin the next phase of negotiations, they will next have to come up with specific plans on how to spend their share of the $196 billion funding that will be transferred over 10 years. I do want to take a moment to thank the premiers of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Ontario, for being leaders and stepping up and starting to really improve healthcare systems for their citizens at a time of crisis, the prime minister told reporters at a press conference on Feb. 23. Canadas premiers agreed on Feb. 13 to accept Ottawas offer, which includes about $46 billion in new spending. The federal government has also defined a set of conditions to access the funding, including that the provinces upgrade their health data systems and target some of the funding to areas like primary care, mental health, recruiting and retaining workers, and dealing with surgical backlogs. The agreement with each of the provinces or territories is unique based on their current priorities, Trudeau said. One province could say they want 95 percent of their residents to have access to a family doctor, while another could be satisfied with reaching 75 percent. If they choose to get 75 percent they will have to explain to their citizens why theyre accepting that one-quarter of their citizens wont have access to primary care, he said. But were looking for ambitious targets that are reasonable for them, that they can hit, that they can be accountable to, that will improve access to primary care in a significant way. However, there will be no room for negotiation on the requirement to overhaul health data systems, including patient digital records, Trudeau said. For data, we need to make sure that people are developing sophisticated data systems that allow them to empower their health community to have the proper information on all the patients theyre treating, and be comparable, and give us a national picture of how health is doing in Canada with clear outcomes and numbers, he said. There are many similarities between the provinces and territories in terms of their negotiations with Ottawa, said Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who has been travelling across the country with Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos over the past 10 days to discuss health care priorities with provincial and territorial premiers and ministers. Theres a great deal in common. And what we heard today from the Quebec ministers, in many respects, if not in every respect, resembles what weve heard in some, if not most, of the other meetings weve had with premiers of ministers over the last 10 days, LeBlanc said at a press conference in Quebec City on Feb. 23. The deliberate intention was to structure bilateral agreements that would be flexible enough within the common priorities that all government shared, to meet the needs of a particular jurisdiction. LeBlanc expressed optimism that the other Canadian provinces will also sign on to the health care deal soon. Today we announced five agreements in principle, with the province of Ontario and the four Atlantic provinces. Were also positive that we will add to that list other provinces and territories next week, he said. The Canadian Press contributed to this report Ottawa Very Concerned About Leak of CSIS Documents on Election Interference: Trudeau Prime Minister Justin Trudeau answers questions at a scrum with press in Halifax, N.S., on Feb. 23, 2023. (Riley Smith/The Canadian Press) The federal government is very concerned that Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) documents were leaked to the press detailing Beijings election interference objectives in Canadas 2021 federal election, says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trudeau was asked at a press conference in Halifax on Feb. 23 why he believes top-secret CSIS documents were being leaked to the press and whether or not his government is worried about it. We are, of course, always concerned about national security, Trudeau said. We are always concerned about ensuring that people can have confidence, that our intelligence agencies in particular are able to do their job and keep their secrets and function as responsible agencies. The Globe and Mail recently cited in a report top-secret CSIS documents detailing Beijings attempts to interfere in the 2021 federal election. The documents said two goals of the Chinese Communist Party in its election interference attempts were to have a minority Liberal government elected and to defeat Conservative MPs it deemed critical of the regime. We are very concerned with the leaks, Trudeau said. He added that the federal government is particularly concerned about inaccuracies in those leaks, but did not elaborate. Thats an entire other question, he said. At a press conference on Feb. 17, Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre praised the courageous whistleblowers who have been leaking the secret documents on Beijings interference attempts, saying the Liberal government hasnt been taking any action. Is it really believable that CSIS would write an entire report and share it with foreign governments without actually telling our own prime minister? Poilievre said. Is it really believable that the many reports that have been written over the last four years about this that have now come to light in newspapers because theyve been leaked by courageous whistleblowers inside our intelligence apparatus never were brought before the Prime Minister of Canada? Report Trudeau also pointed to the Critical Election Incident Public Protocol, which is a non-partisan panel that was created by the Liberal government to monitor and report potential threats of interference in the 2019 election. It was also given the mandate to continue its work during future elections. The prime minister said creating the panel was all about ensuring that our agencies are doing the right things to keep Canadians safe and aligning with our values and priorities as a country. We will continue to ensure that we have proper oversight over our agencies, he said. The panel is supposed to release an assessment after each election on how it communicated with Canadians called the Critical Election Incident Public Report. It released such an assessment about seven months after the 2019 election, but has not yet made public one for the 2021 election. Trudeau said he did not have any details about the delay of the reports release. Youd have to talk directly to the public servants involved, he told reporters. But we will be following up on that. The Privy Council Office recently said the report will be made publicly available in due course. The Canadian Press contributed to this report. Oversight Republicans Request Transparency on $113 Billion Given to Ukraine Chairman of the House Oversight Committee Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) speaks to reporters on his way to a closed-door GOP caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on January 10, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Oversight Committee Republicans have called for transparency regarding the $113 billion in taxpayer-funded assistance to Ukraine. The committee sent a letter to the Department of Defense, Department of State, and Agency for International Development on Feb. 22, asking them to provide documents and information to ensure the funds are not wasted or abused. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is conducting oversight of the federal governments administration of U.S. taxpayer-funded assistance to Ukraine, the lawmakers said. Since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly a year ago, Congress has provided more than $113 billion for security, humanitarian, economic, and governance assistance. The committee members specifically cited concerns stemming from the U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby from Jan. 25. We have not seen any signs that our budgetary assistance has fallen prey to any kind of corruption in Ukraine but that all direct budgetary assistance goes through the World Bank, he said. However, Kirbys comments came the day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly fired several top Ukrainian officials amidst a corruption scandal. We learned from efforts in Afghanistan that the World Bank does not always have effective monitoring and accounting of funds, and often lacks transparency, the committee Republicans said. The Republicans asserted that unrealistic timetables and expectations that prioritize fast expenditure lead to greater corruption and decreased program performance. As the United States continues to filter assistance through multilateral organizations with pressure to spend funds quickly, we must ensure proper protections are in place to prevent the misuse of funds, the lawmakers said. The committee asked for documents and information from the agencies that would help them understand how he Department of Defense, the Department of State, and the U.S. Agency for International Development have conducted their oversight of the funds sent to Ukraine. It is critical that government agencies administering these funds ensure they are used for their intended purposes to prevent and reduce the risk of waste, fraud, and abuse, wrote the Republicans. The Republican-led Oversight Committee said in its press release that it is returning to its original mission of rooting out potential mismanagement in the federal government. The group has already heard from several federal witnesses during a recent hearing on emergency pandemic expenditure, which led them to believe that hurried timetables can leave programs open to misuse. The Deparment of Defense did not immediately respond to The Epoch Timess request for comment. Owning America The CCPs security and intelligence agents have had access to the highest levels of the US government for decades The sun sets over the U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Jan. 5, 2023. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images) Commentary Who wouldve imagined that a Chinese military surveillance balloon could cross the North American continent from Alaska to beyond the Atlantic coast of South Carolina unmolested by a U.S. military response? But thats exactly what happened under the Biden administration. Given the Biden familys alleged extensive business ties to China, it shouldnt surprise anyone. One cant help but wonder, if that balloon had been of Russian origin rather than Chinese, would it have gotten the Nord Stream 2 pipeline treatment as soon as it crossed into Alaskan airspace? CCP Deeply Embedded in America By all appearances, China can do what it wants with minimal, if any, U.S. response. The inescapable fact is that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its intelligence arm, the Ministry of State Security, are deeply embedded in our media, political, and military establishments. Why wouldnt they be? The United States has been the primary target of the CCP for a long time. Contrary to what the Council on Foreign Relations would have us believe, that Beijings heightened efforts in the United States are relatively new, it just isnt so. The CCP has been running freely in the United States for decades, successfully targeting the highest levels of the U.S. government. That may be old news, but given current events, it bears repeating. Clinton Administration and China The Clinton administration is allegedly responsible for much of the technological advancements the Chinese have made over the past 25 years. In exchange for millions of dollars in alleged illegal campaign funding provided to the 1996 Clinton campaign by Chinas military and intelligence services, then-President Bill Clinton gave Beijing access to technologies that enabled Chinas rapid ascent into a nuclear-armed adversary of the United States. Clinton allegedly relaxed security measures that allowed Chinese agents access to multiple militarily significant technologies. According to The Wall Street Journal in 1998, Beijing has stolen U.S. design data for nearly all elements needed for a major nuclear attack on the U.S., such as advanced warheads, missiles, and guidance systems. But wait, theres more. U.S. President Bill Clinton signs the U.S.-China Trade Relations Act of 2000 during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Oct. 10, 2000. With him are (left to right): Sen. William Roth (R-Del.), U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, U.S. Trade Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, and Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.). (Mario Tama/AFP via Getty Images) Clinton also allegedly gave China a 20-year quantum leap in technological advancement by waiving export bans on supercomputers that are crucial for nuclear weapons development and missile guidance systems. A Washington Post editorial noted that in the first three quarters of 1998, nine times as many [supercomputers] were exported [to China] as during the previous seven years. Get the picture? Chinese influence, if not outright control, over many of our top political leaders was in full swing by 1996. The regimes efforts went on from there by targeting other members of Congress for influence and control in 1998. But today, not only does the Ministry of State Security have a long record of penetrating U.S. intelligence agencies, such as the CIA and the FBI, but Beijing has also successfully hollowed out U.S. spy activities in China. How that happened is a question thats worth pursuing on its own. Influencing American Public Opinion and Elections In the meantime, the CCP also enjoys unprecedented influence over information in the United States. It dominates all Chinese-language media in the United States. It has regular reports published in major news outlets such as USA Today, CNN, Time magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and Foreign Policy. Furthermore, the CCP has focused on local elections in the United States over the past several years to gain influence at the grassroots level of American life. According to a 2022 report by the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center, the CCPs focus includes governors, state legislators, and even mayors and city councils. In short, your last local mayoral election may have been decided for you in Beijing, not in your hometown. The implications of this kind of power are staggering. Too Little, Too Late? In April 2021, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) introduced H.R.2329, the Countering Chinese Communist Party Malign Influence Act. The specific purpose of the act authorizes activities to counter globally the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including CCP attempts to undermine the free and open international order or the sovereignty of the United States or other countries. In other words, McCaul introduced the bill because such a bill is needed. But will it be enough? It doesnt look like it. Recall that as president, Donald Trump withdrew U.S. funding and membership from the World Health Organization (WHO) over its deep connections to the CCP and its misguided COVID-19 policies. But upon taking office in 2021, Biden reversed Trumps decision, and the United States rejoined and re-funded the WHO. As of Feb. 18 this year, the Biden administration is getting ready to sign an agreement with the WHO that could effectively eliminate American sovereignty. The reality is that the CCPs influence over Americas leaders, institutions, and culture isnt as bad as it seems. Its much worse. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Pentagon Releases U-2 Pilots Photo of Chinese Spy Balloon Before It Was Shot Down A U.S. Air Force pilot looks down at the Chinese surveillance balloon as it hovered over the central continental United States, on Feb. 3, 2023. (Courtesy of the Department of Defense) The Pentagon released a photo of the Chinese spy balloon on Wednesday taken by a U.S. Air Force pilot before it was shot down earlier this month. The photo of the Chinese spy balloon hovering over the central continental United States was captured by a U-2 pilot on Feb. 3. The image depicts the pilot observing the suspect balloon from above. The Chinese spy balloon was shot down by the Air Force the next day off the coast of South Carolina. The last of the debris was collected on Feb. 16 by U.S. Navy assets assigned to U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), which oversees the defense for much of North America. NORTHCOM said in a statement on Feb. 17 that the debris would be given to the FBI for analysis. The incident set off an uproar in the United States and forced Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a planned visit to Beijing, which would have been the first trip a U.S. Secretary of State took to China in five years. The Biden administration viewed the trip to China as an opportunity to improve relations that had deteriorated due to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosis visit to Taiwan in 2022. The Biden administration has said it wants to maintain open lines of communication with Beijing even after it announced that the Chinese balloon, which hovered over U.S. airspace for longer than a week, was part of a worldwide surveillance program that impacts more than 40 nations, including Washingtons closest allies and partners. I expect to be speaking with President Xi, and I hope we are going to get to the bottom of this, President Joe Biden stated at a Feb. 16 news conference, although he added that he makes no apologies for taking down that balloon. Sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Feb. 5, 2023. (Petty Officer 1st Class Tyler Thompson/U.S. Navy via Getty Images) US Condemned Chinese Incursion Blinken ultimately met with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 19. Before the meeting, Wang, the Chinese state councilor and director of Beijings Central Foreign Affairs Office, had intensified his rhetoric against Washington. Wang reiterated the Chinese regimes assertions that shooting down the balloon in U.S. airspace was absurd, almost hysterical. He urged the United States to correct its mistakes to demonstrate its sincerity. Taking to Twitter after the meeting, Blinken said he condemned the Chinese regimes act of sending a surveillance balloon over U.S. airspace. I condemned the incursion of the PRC surveillance balloon and stressed it must never happen again, Blinken wrote, referring to China by its formal name, the Peoples Republic of China. I warned China against providing [material] support to Russia, he added. I also emphasized the importance of keeping open lines of communication. Blinken later told NBC News that Wang offered no apology for the balloon incident. There was no apology, Blinken said. But what I can also tell you is this was an opportunity to speak very clearly and very directly about the fact that China sent a surveillance balloon over our territory, violating our sovereignty, violating international law. The U.S. secretary of state added that he told Wang quite simply that it was unacceptable and can never happen again. As per the readout provided by State Department spokesperson Ned Price, Blinken made clear that any infringement of the United States sovereignty will not be tolerated, and the Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon program has been exposed to the world. Pro-Lifers Indicted for 2020 Blocking of Doors at Michigan Abortion Facility The Department of Justice (DOJ) is reaching back almost three years to charge eight pro-life activists who, by sitting and praying, blocked the door of an abortion facility in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Calvin Zastrow, Chester Gallagher, Heather Idoni, Caroline Davis, Joel Curry, Justin Phillips, Eva Edl, and Eva Zastrow each face up to 11 years in federal prison, if convicted. Many have already been charged for similar incidents. According to last weeks DOJ indictment, on Aug. 27, 2020, the eight activists committed conspiracy to prevent women from having abortions by using social media to communicate about standing in between the hands of an abortionist that wants to murder these children and the life of these babies, citing video that was livestreamed by one of those who was indicted. The activists were also charged with violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which was enacted in 1994 to prohibit interference with obtaining or providing abortions. The group prevented a woman from entering the facility for a scheduled reproductive health care appointment, the indictment said. The Sterling Heights police told the group to move. They refused to move and instead engaged the officers in conversation as a delay tactic, and continued to block access, the indictment says, and then quotes another of the indicted individuals, who said on the video, [The] longer they talk with us, the better the opportunity we have to see women and children rescued. And thats what obstructing the door of an abortion clinic is about and why it is so successful. Edl, an 87-year-old communist concentration camp survivor, refused to move and encouraged the others to continue blocking access. You can arrest us, you can do whatever you want, but I will be back, wherever there is a clinic open, court documents cite her as saying. Some of them are among the 11 people already charged with FACE Act violations and conspiracy for a March 2021 pro-life demonstration at a now-closed abortion facility in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Idoni, 58, already faces 22 years in federal prison, 11 years for the Tennessee incident, and 11 years for charges related to her presence at another abortion facility in October 2020 in Washington. Now with the potential of 11 more years, she could face a total of 33 years and expects that she would die before being released from prison. My own mother admitted to me that, had abortion been legal in 1964, she would have aborted me. I would hope someone would have fought for my life the same way weve been fighting for the lives of babies now, Idoni told The Epoch Times. Whenever I start to feel like I may have been in over my head, I just am reminded of the millions of babies that have been dismembered and killed brutally since 1973. And then I realized I havent done enough. This holocaust is nowhere near the end. And so I just want to glorify God in all the things that I do. I have no regrets whatsoever for the actions that Ive taken to spare lives. The indictment comes after a grand jury investigation. This is what faithful Christianity looks like in a nation that murders children, Zastrow told The Epoch Times. Pro-Lifers Targeted Penalties against the pro-life community have been on the rise under President Joe Biden. In the 10 years between 2011 and 2021, the DOJ criminally charged 17 people with FACE Act violations, according to the agencys website. In 2022 alone, the DOJ charged 26 people. The Epoch Times requested comment from the DOJ but didnt receive a response by press time. Shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Biden issued an executive order in July 2022 for his administration to address potential heightened safety and security risks related to the provision of reproductive health care services. He formed the Reproductive Rights Task Force, a Justice Department-led group focused, in part, on enforcing the FACE Act. Regarding penalties for violating the FACE Act, Except that for an offense involving exclusively a nonviolent physical obstruction, the DOJ website states, the fine shall be not more than $10,000 and the length of imprisonment shall be not more than six months, or both, for the first offense. A subsequent offense shall be no more than $25,000 and the length of imprisonment no more than 18 months. However, the eight activists face 11 years in prison because the DOJ has also begun adding conspiracy charges. Project Veritas Says James OKeefe Could Return as It Asks Supporters to Give Us a Chance Project Veritas said on Feb. 23 that founder James OKeefe could return as it asked supporters to give us a chance following OKeefes ouster. OKeefe spoke to staff members at the organizations headquarters in New York on Feb. 20, announcing that he was leaving after being stripped of his position as CEO and chairman of the board of directors. Im intending to start anew, he said. The board has stated that it didnt fire him and that it didnt want him to resign. In the statement, sent to supporters of the journalism organization, Project Veritas said it understands that people are frustrated. We all love and respect James and hope he returns. This is difficult for everyone, the nonprofit stated in the unsigned email. The board had stated that it uncovered financial malfeasance and that OKeefe left us no choice but to suspend him in the last few weeks when he unilaterally fired the CFO, who can only be fired with Board approval. We did not fire him, nor do we want him to resign, the board stated. Project Veritas stated that an internal audit looking at using donations for private benefit would hopefully provide more details soon and that there were also concerns surrounding the treatment of employees. Some staffers were ready to leave immediately if OKeefes conduct remained unaddressed. James removal was not a removal. He specifically said he did not resign, and the board did not fire him. The board placed him on a temporary suspension until the audit was completed. The board wanted him to delegate management of staff to the department heads so he can focus his true talent, efforts, and best use of his time on the journalism/stories and less on the day-to-day personnel management, Project Veritas stated. He has been invited, but has chosen not to, engage in conversations with the board and management following steps taken so far with the goal of returning to Project Veritas. Instead, he requested no change in authority and that most of the officers and all of the board of directors immediately resign. OKeefe didnt respond to a request for comment on Feb. 23. Previously, he has pointed The Epoch Times to his farewell remarks delivered in New York on Feb. 20. Cannot in Good Faith Return OKeefe told staffers that he was suspended indefinitely and wasnt being paid. He noted that on Feb. 15, Executive Director Daniel Strack said OKeefe hadnt been removed and described OKeefe as the hardest working person Ive ever met. Strack didnt mention the suspension. OKeefe also said he was accused of misusing funds for his wedding but that hes never been married. The money was actually used for the nonprofits Christmas party, he said. OKeefe asked the board to resign given the uproar that his suspension had caused. If the board resigned, I will return to work on Monday and work with the remaining team to go forward with our mission, he wrote. Short of this action, I cannot in good faith return to the employment of an organization with leaders who are attacking me personally, making false and unsupported claims of improper management of resources about weddings and black cars, and improperly airing employment issues related to me and others at Project Veritas, OKeefe told the board. He told the staffers, I was stripped of all my decision making. I was removed from CEO. I was asked to be gone until the 20th. It is now the 20th. I asked the board to resign for their conduct, and they did not. So currently, I have no job at Project Veritas. I have no position here based upon what the board has done. So Im announcing to you all that today on Presidents Day, Im packing up my personal belongings. OKeefe has said that he didnt resign. In a written statement, he said, If youre wondering whats next, stay tuned. Posting on Twitter on Feb. 23, he revealed a new email, OKeefeTips@protonmail.com, as he celebrated his confronting a Pfizer employee who was captured on tape discussing mutating COVID-19. Give Us a Chance Project Veritas stated that 60-plus workers remain at Project Veritas (PV), and theyre passionately dedicated to James mission. While we cannot control online narratives, and unfortunately cannot chime in to individually defend ourselves in the public sphere at present, we can assure you we remain steadfast and determined to expose corruption, the nonprofit stated. It pointed to a new video that features previously released footage of Project Veritas employees trying to get a comment from Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, with a new clip of a Project Veritas lawyer saying that he sent a letter to Pfizer decrying how a security guard slapped one of the journalists hands away. The missive to Pfizer was to bring attention to the guards aggressive behavior, attorney Edward Greim said. We hope that you might continue to give us a chance, Project Veritas said. We cant stress how separate the boards role is from daily operations here at PV. We are still grinding and pursuing stories of great public importance. In either case, thank you so much for your support in the past and we hope we might regain your trust if youll give us a chance. Qualcomm Announces Software Business Around Its Supply Chain Chips A Qualcomm sign outside one of the company's many buildings in San Diego on Sept. 17, 2020. (Mike Blake/Reuters) Qualcomm Inc. on Tuesday said it is launching a paid cloud software service to help companies that use its chips keep tabs on goods as they move through the supply chain. The San Diego, California company is the worlds biggest provider of chips that help smartphones connect to mobile data networks. But Qualcomm has used its wireless communication specialty to enter other markets where devices need to talk to the internet, such as automobiles and factories. Qualcomm Aware, as the new service is called, works with Qualcomm chips that go into tracking devices for shipping containers, pallets, packages, and other parts of supply chains to help companies track where their goods and materials are. Most of those trackers are made by third parties, but Qualcomm makes a few devices of its own, such as a tilt sensor that can be attached to utility poles to report whether they have toppled over during storms. Qualcomm has already shipped hundreds of millions of the chips involved, which typically cost less than $10 each, Jeff Torrance, senior vice president and general manager of Qualcomms smart connected systems business, told Reuters in an interview. The software service announced Tuesday aims to let Qualcomm customers program their chips from one central spot, with updates sent to the chips over the air. The service also aims to make better use of the data from the chips. Torrance said Qualcomms software will connect to other cloud-based such as Microsoft Corp.s Dynamics 365 service, which corporations use to keep tabs on their inventory and supplies. Companies could use the two systems to build things like virtual dashboards that show where all of a firms inventory is at a given moment. Qualcomm did not publicly announce pricing for the new service, but it represents a push to make more money off its chips by charging when the chip is sold then for cloud-based services using the chip afterward. We believe theres value in the chip and in the cloud service, Torrance told Reuters. By Stephen Nellis Renowned Director Johnnie Tos Chinese Social Media Account Removed After Dictator Comment Hong Kong director Johnnie To, a three-time best director in the Hong Kong Film Awards and a three-time Golden Horse award winner, is being silenced in China after his comments about dictators against the film industry garnered interest online. During a Q&A at the 2023 Berlinale, a media member asked, What makes Cinemas so special that Cinema will never die? To, who is a jury member, responded, I think movies are always at the forefront. When there is totalitarianism and people lose their freedom, movies are usually the first to bear the brunt. This is the case in many places. Totalitarianism tries its best to stop your culture. The culture of movies is that it goes directly into the audience, so dictators usually eliminate films first. I think Hong Kong No, sorry I think countries and people in the whole world fighting for freedom all support the movie world because it will speak for you. His comments led to criticism from the mainland Chinese Little Pink or Pinkies (cyber-nationalists in China), who accused To of insulting China. Tos Weibo account is currently non-existent, and the Chinese state-run media said that To is not far from being banned, and nine films directed or produced by Johnnie To would be made unavailable in the mainland. To has never shied away from speaking out on political issues, criticizing the Chinese Communist Party, and supporting Hong Kong chief executive candidate John Tsang. The nine movies that are rumored to be banned include The Greed of Man, Three Lives, Mad Fate, Tears on the Flower Street, Cover Your Eyes and See the Red Light, Handy Man, and the Teacher, and In the Qing Dynasty. The latter stars Gordon Lam Ka-tung, Yeung Lok-man, Kara Wai Ying-hung, Peter Chan Cham-man, and others. But there are also clear-minded mainland netizens who support To, saying being banned proves his comments at the Berlinale. On the morning of Feb. 21, clips of Johnnie To making these comments could still be seen on the internet in China and had not been deleted. Commentator Pushback In his article published on Feb. 18, cultural commentator Fung Hei-kin criticized mainland netizens for their Cultural Revolution-style criticism. He argued that even if To was talking about Hong Kong, its no big deal, and asked, Isnt freedom of speech and freedom of creation written in the Hong Kong Basic Law that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is flaunting to the world? Is it a crime to support what the CCP has promised? In his online program, Sze-tat Chau, a current affairs commentator, said that To never mentioned China in his remarks. He believed that the netizens and pinkies who accused him of insulting China had linked the dictator and Xi Jinping in their minds. As for the pinkies who questioned the freedom and rights of literary creators, Chau believes that freedom of speech is a prerequisite for producing excellent works and that those in power should have the breadth of mind to allow filmmakers to express themselves. He said it is his duty and obligation as a filmmaker to speak out in defense of freedom of speech and creation. He lamented that only To is the one remaining great in the Hong Kong film industry that has spoken out. On the contrary, filmmakers who have benefited from Hong Kongs free atmosphere in the past either defected to the CCP or chose to remain silent, fearing that they would lose the mainland market. They believed the comments against To on the mainland internet threatened the mainland market. He believes that To would not have failed to anticipate the troubling consequences of his remarks, but he still dared to speak out this time, which is commendable. Lin Quanzhong, a scholar of international politics from Taiwan, pointed out in an article in Ming Pao on Feb. 20 that Tos answer at the Berlinale was a momentary outburst of anxiety about the increasingly extreme changes in Hong Kongs social and liberal environment, and a wake-up call to Hong Kong that should not be ignored. Russian Advances on Eastern Front Hobbled by Infighting Smog during a shelling in the front line city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Feb. 9, 2023. (Yevhen Titov/Reuters) As Moscows invasion of Ukraine enters its second year, Russian forces appear to have regained the initiative, having recently captured several key positions in the eastern Donetsk region. Nevertheless, this week saw a rareand surprisingly publicdisplay of infighting between Russias top officials and the Wagner Group, a private military company with close ties to the Kremlin. Led by controversial businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group has spearheaded the fighting in Donetsk, especially in and around the town of Bakhmut (Artyomovsk in Russian). A key transport hub for Ukrainian forces, Bakhmut has remained the scene of fierce fighting for the past several months. In mid-January, Wagner fighters played a leading role in the capture of Soledar, a salt-mining town southwest of Bakhmut. They also led the fight for the nearby town of Paraskoviivka, which Russian forces claimed to have taken earlier this week. Yet despite these reported battlefield victories, Prigozhin this week accused top Russian military officials of failing to provide Wagner units with sufficient munitions and air transport. Speaking via Telegram on Feb. 21, Prigozhin claimed that the alleged supply failures, which he personally blamed on Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, amounted to treason. He also posted a graphic image of slain Wagner fighters whom he claimed had been killed because they had inadequate munitions supplies. Visitors wearing military camouflage stand at the entrance of the PMC Wagner Centre, associated with the founder of the Wagner private military group (PMC), Yevgeny Prigozhin, during the official opening of the office block on the National Unity Day, in St. Petersburg, on Nov. 4, 2022. (Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images) Putin Weighs In on Internecine Spats The Russian Defense Ministry was quick to respond to Prigozhins assertions in a Feb. 21 statement. All statements allegedly made on behalf of assault units on munitions shortages are absolutely untrue, reads the statement, which didnt mention Wagneror Prigozhinby name. All requests for munitions are urgently met. The ministry also noted that 1,660 rockets, 980 tank munitions, and more than 10,000 heavy artillery rounds had been sent to the front within the past two days. It asserted that, within the same period, Russian forcesincluding Wagner fightershad advanced more than 2 1/2 kilometers toward Ukrainian positions near Bakhmut. These advances would be impossible without supporting fire from artillery units, armored vehicles, and other weapons, according to the ministry. It noted that attempts to drive a wedge between various elements of the Russian armed forces play into the hands of the enemy. Prigozhin appeared to relent on Feb. 23, saying that he had received assurances that the sought-for munitions were on their way. He also thanked those who helped us do this. You saved hundreds, maybe thousands, of lives of the men who are defending their homeland, he said via Telegram. Former Kremlin adviser Sergei Markov, also speaking on Telegram, later suggested that Russian President Vladimir Putins Security Council had stepped in to break the logjam. In an address delivered on Feb. 21, Putin himself issued an appeal against interdepartmental infighting. We must end all interdepartmental contradictions, formalities, grudges, misunderstandings, and other nonsense, he said. A Ukrainian soldier throws bullet casings from an armored vehicle near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Dec. 22, 2022. (Libkos/AP Photo) No Evidence of Major Russian Offensive The Western media has seized on reports of internecine feuds within Russias top military echelons. On Feb. 22, Newsweek went so far as to suggest that Prigozhin, with Western backing, could try to replace Putin in a coup. On the same day, however, Prigozhin predicted that Russian forces would soon take the town of Berkhivka (roughly four miles northwest of Bakhmut), where he said Wagner units were steadily advancing. Speculation has mounted in recent weeks that the conflicts first anniversary on Feb. 24 could coincide with renewed Russian offensives along the 600-mile-long frontline. UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the Financial Times last week that there was no evidence to date of a major Russian offensive. Nevertheless, Wallace conceded that Russian forces were advancing in Donetsk, albeit in meters, not kilometers. Prigozhins Wagner Group is the target of numerous sanctions by Washington, which accuses it of committing rights abuses and extorting natural resources in Africa. Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department dubbed the Wagner Group a significant transnational criminal organization, citing the transcontinental threat allegedly posed by the group. Reuters contributed to this report. Developer Fred LoFaso's conversion of a former Black Rock malt house into apartments and self-storage space and a manufacturing expansion by pita producer Father Sam's Bakery each won tax breaks from the Erie County Industrial Development Agency, totaling over $1 million. The ECIDA board approved the two projects on Wednesday, while its Regional Development Corp. affiliate backed a pair of $750,000 low-interest loans to a Lackawanna manufacturer, Linita Design & Manufacturing, and one of the 43North winners, TopSeedz. Sign up for the Buffalo Next free newsletter The News' Buffalo Next team covers the changing Buffalo Niagara economy. Get the news in your inbox 5 days a week. John Kam Malt and Kiln House LoFaso, owner of Sienna Realty, is teaming up with Angelo Tomasello, owner of Locke Group LLC, on a $32.1 million adaptive-reuse conversion of the former John Kam Malt and Kiln House at 356 Hertel Ave. into a mixed-use project with 82 residential apartments, 14,000 square feet of retail service space, and a 30,000-square-foot self-storage facility that Locke will operate. The 116,000-square-foot building will feature 42 one-bedroom apartments and 40 two-bedroom units, along with amenities such as an onsite dog park and dog wash, a pedestrian gathering plaza and bicycle storage. The apartments will range in size from 464 to 1,252 square feet, with rents of $882 to $2,100 per month. Nine units five one-bedroom and four two-bedroom are for those earning 80% or less of the area median income. The developers sought and received $612,500 in sales tax breaks for the project, and plan to seek a property tax break from the city through the 485-a program. In exchange, they said they expect to create 42 new full-time jobs paying an average of $55,000 per year, mostly for the retail space, although none of the tax breaks will be used to support that portion of the complex or the storage component, which amount to 18% of the project cost. "Usually when we see this type of project, with adaptive reuse, we don't see this type of jobs produced," McDuffie noted. "So it's good to see the combination." Father Sam's A third-generation family-owned bakery on the East Side, Father Sam's will get over $420,215 in sales, mortgage recording and property tax breaks for its $8.6 million expansion project that will introduce a third flour tortilla production line to its facility at 105 Monsignor Valente Drive. Plans call for a 16,975-square-foot steel building addition, with 76% of the space for manufacturing and 24% for warehouse. Father Sam's has been making flatbreads for over 45 years, and distributes its products through regional and national stores like Wegmans, Tops and Restaurant Depot, as well as restaurants like Mighty Taco. The company has a second facility in Charlotte, N.C., but the local expansion in a distressed census tract will house a new fully automated pressed tortilla line that will boost production at the facility by 40%. The company also plans to buy and install a new computer operating system to coordinate its production systems, and will train employees on how to use it. It currently employs 75 full-time jobs, but will add 11, paying $42,645 a year on average. The two-phase project is expected to wrap up by the first quarter of 2024. RDC loans The Buffalo and Erie County Regional Development Corp. separately approved two term loans for $750,000 each to Linita and TopSeedz for working capital and equipment purchases. Linita, which makes dam gates and hoists for the hydropower and flood-protection markets, is located on the former Bethlehem Steel campus in Lackawanna. It has a growing backlog of work because of increased industry activity, and plans to hire 15 new employees on top of its 26 current employees, while also spending it on materials, supplies, freight and subcontractors. The company is investing $200,000 in the $950,000 project. TopSeedz is relocating from 6,000 square feet in Cheektowaga to 35,000 square feet in downtown Buffalo, at 101 Oak St., as it seeks to boost production from 1 million boxes annually to 6 million. The company employs 29 employees, and plans to add seven. M&T Bank Corp. is providing another $750,000 as part of the $2.5 million project. The RDC currently has three other loans in its pipeline, totaling $2.1 million, and is closing on three others, totaling $2.85 million. However, the RDC is going after a prior borrower, Peterson Heating & Cooling, for defaulting on its remaining balance of $100,000. A legal judgment was awarded to RDC on Feb. 3. Sanders Pushes 4 Day Workweek Citing European Trial on Company Productivity Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill examining wages at large profitable corporations in Washington on Feb. 25, 2021. (Susan Walsh-Pool/Getty Images) Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) promoted the idea of a four-day workweek in a social media post. With exploding technology and increased worker productivity, its time to move toward a four-day work week with no loss of pay. Workers must benefit from technology, not just corporate CEOs, Sanders said in a tweet on Feb. 21. Sanders referred to the most recent findings from the United Kingdom on the four-day workweek. The large-scale trial involved over 3,000 employees and discovered that workers slept better, businesses made more money, and employees were less likely to complain about not having enough time to care for loved ones. According to The Washington Post, the majority of the organizations that participated in the experiment want to continue using a four-day workweek. The report stated that the idea of a four-day workweek has gained traction in recent years, with companies and researchers trying out reduced hours without reduced income. Kirk Clements, founder and Chief Legal Counsel for Sovereignty Legal Foundation, told The Epoch Times his organization is opposed to such government regulation of business. Having the government regulate the work week is an absurdity, Clements said. The free market and individuals will decide the need for the hours worked, not the government. The attorney, whose foundation focuses on the deregulation of businesses as part of the principle of freedom, said that the current regulations surrounding a 40-hour work week, dictated by overtime laws, are already damaging to the economy. Most people do not work 40 hours, but more importantly, the worker is put at a disadvantage already as an employer will hire another employee instead of giving the current worker more time, Clements said. This effect will be compounded if the work week is shortened, whether by hours or days by government fiat. The attorney attributed Sanderss proposal to the lawmakers socialist ideals, but said it would be a dangerous step down the road we are already on toward European socialism. If he really wants to help the workers of America, he would support the idea of smaller government; less regulation and less of a tax burden on businesses mean a cheaper product or service, which would be a real-time economic assistance to the average American who lives paycheck to paycheck. Lawmakers have approached the idea of a shorter work week in the past. The Congressional Progressive Caucus proposed the 32-Hour Workweek Act, in July of 2021. This measure would reduce the regular workweek under federal law from 40 to 32 hours during a three-year phase-in period, according to the bills synopsis. It also mandates specific overtime compensation for workdays that exceed eight hours. The bills sponsor, Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), stated in a press release about the bill that he thought a 32-hour work week would help Americans establish the new work norm many have been requesting. Sanderss office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sen. Scott Continues Iowa Tour as 2024 Buzz Grows Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) walks through the U.S. Capitol before he delivers the republican response to President Biden's address to congress in Washington, D.C., on April 28, 2021. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) continued his Faith In America tour on Feb. 22 in a back-and-forth exchange with a crowd of Polk County Republicans at their Lincoln Day Dinner in West Des Moines, Iowa. Yet even as he builds momentum, South Carolinas junior senator has stayed mum on 2024. Scott spoke earlier on Feb. 21 at Drake University in Des Moines. There, he pushed back against some of the racially-charged rhetoric he has faced as a black conservative Republican serving in the U.S. Senate. For those of you on the Left, you can call me a prop, you can call me a token, you can call me the n-word. You can question my blackness, you can even call me Uncle Tim. Just understand, your words are no match for my evidence, Scott said. Scotts Lincoln Day Dinner speech maneuvered through much the same territory, though delivered more informally, as he moved through the room, microphone in hand. The one thing you cannot be as an African American is a conservative, Scott said in his remarks to murmurs of agreement from the crowd. He again questioned what he described as the cynical use of race by the Left. They believe that by using the provocative racial history of our nation, that they can create a wedge in this nation that will bring more power and more resources to their progressive agenda. I stand here to tell you, Not on my watch.' He stressed he wasnt trying to whitewash American history, citing his grandfathers experience growing up in the Deep South where Jim Crow was alive and well. Yet, despite those obstacles, one thing never wavered, according to Scott: My grandfather had faith in this nation. Winter-Time Iowa Heats Up Scotts recent events come as multiple candidates and prospective candidates visit the Hawkeye state, the first in Republicans caucus and primary calendar. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley spoke on Feb. 20 at Royal Flooring in Urbandale, outside Des Moines. There, she described the Ukraine conflict as a war for freedom that we have to win. Like Haley, Scott was introduced by Gov. Kim Reynolds. While Iowa is still at the top of the Republican primary and caucus schedule, Democrats have rearranged their calendar to lead with South Carolina. In her Feb. 22 speech, Reynolds claimed that Democrats decision to reorganize their caucus and primary schedule, breaking with 50 years of tradition, amounted to Iowa Democrats conceding Iowa to protect President Biden. She described Scott as a very good friend. Biotech founder and anti-ESG activist Vivek Ramaswamy is coming to Iowa from New Hampshire, where he kicked off a tour after announcing his 2024 presidential bid on Tucker Carlson Tonight. Former President Trump, another 2024 candidate, hasnt yet entered the fray in Iowa. He has, however, named his Iowa campaign team. Ramaswamy will speak at a range of locations on Feb. 23, including the Iowa General Assembly in Des Moines and the Business Roundtable Listening Tour in Ankeny, north of Des Moines. The Polk County Lincoln Dinner also included pre-recorded videos from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and other Republican politicians, including newly elected Rep. Zach Nunn (R-Iowa). Nunns message hinted at Scotts potential activities in Iowa in the coming months, should he join the 2024 field. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird also spoke at the event, touting her actions against the Biden administration on issues including Waters of the United States (WOTUS)a big concern for many of the states farmers. Search on Philippine Volcano Confirms 4 Died in Plane Crash Rescuers stand beside a helicopter as they prepare their search for passengers of a Cessna 340 aircraft with registry number RP-C2080 at Camalig town, Albay province, southeast of Manila, Philippines, on Feb. 21, 2023. (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines via AP) MANILA, PhilippinesSearchers who hiked the slopes of a restive Philippine volcano to find the wreckage of a plane that crashed over the weekend confirmed the two Australian energy consultants and two Filipino crew members on board didnt survive, the local mayor said. More than a dozen army troops and firefighters were dropped off from an air force helicopter Wednesday morning, then they hiked to the crash site on a gully on Mayon volcanos slope, civil aviation officials said. The Cessna 340 went missing after taking off Saturday. There were no survivors, Mayor Carlos Baldo of Albay provinces Camalig town told The Associated Press in a cellphone message when asked about the fate of the four people onboard the plane. The remains of the crash victims would be brought down the volcano on Thursday, he said. The two Australians were working as consultants for Energy Development Corp., a large geothermal power company, which owned the plane that was flown by a Filipino pilot with a crew member. The company deployed teams backed by helicopters and drones to help in the search, which was hampered by heavy rains, gusty wind, and thick clouds. Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, who was in Manila on Wednesday for talks with Philippine officials, expressed his condolences to the families of the crash victims before the deaths were confirmed by Baldo later in the day. The mayor oversaw the search for the Cessna aircraft by nearly 200 army troops, firefighters, and volunteers, including veteran mountaineers. Can I just express my condolences to both Australian and Filipino families of those who died in the very tragic plane accident? Marles asked Philippine defense chief Carlito Galvez Jr. in a news conference in Manila. He thanked all those who helped in the search, including two soldiers who were shot and killed by suspected communist guerrillas on Monday while buying supplies in a market in Camalig, military officials said. Rescuers prepare their search for passengers of a Cessna 340 aircraft with registry number RP-C2080 at Camalig town, Albay province, southeast of Manila, Philippines, on Feb. 21, 2023. (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines via AP) It is a moment where the really personal nature of the relationship between our two countries is very manifest and felt very profoundly, said Marles, who also serves as Australias defense minister. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday reiterated Marles words of condolences and thanks. I do want to thank the search teams who traveled into a relatively remote area in dangerous circumstances and weather in order to undertake this task, Albanese told reporters in the South Australia state capital, Adelaide. My heart goes out to people who were there visiting the Philippines who tragically wont return to their families, he added. Albanese said the Australians killed were men who lived in Adelaide. He provided no other details about them. Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials were offering their families consular assistance, he said. Contact with the plane was lost a few minutes after it took off from Albays international airport Saturday morning for the hourlong flight to the capital, Manila. The wreckage was spotted in an aerial search on Sunday on the slope of the 8,077-foot (2,462-meter) volcano but an air force helicopter only managed to ferry the search team near the crash site Wednesday morning after the weather improved, officials said. Only the tail section of the plane remained intact with the rest of the wreckage scattered on the barren upper slopes of the volcano, said Eric Apolonio, spokesperson of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. Villagers are normally prohibited from entering a permanent danger zone 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) around the volcano, which last erupted in 2018, displacing tens of thousands of people. But the volcano-monitoring agency allowed the high-risk search and rescue effort on Mayon, one of the countrys 24 most active volcanoes, with a warning for the team members to be alert for sudden emission of volcanic ash and gas or sudden mudflows if rain fell on the slopes. By Jim Gomez Albert Cohen at Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Palais des Congres, in Paris, on Feb. 18, 2023. (NTD) PARISOn Saturday, Feb. 18, the Palais des Congres was buzzing with excitement: a full house was awaiting Shen Yun, and 3,500 spectators were going to discover the brand new program of the 5,000 years of divinely inspired traditional Chinese culture. Albert Cohen, a doctor, found the production exceptional, really exceptional! The dances harmonious physical prowess! Its really a very, very beautiful show, I recommend it, Mr. Cohen said. It is a festival of beautiful colors and dancesreally, it is very, very beautiful, he said, The special effects Im really very pleasantly surprised! I was expecting it but Im even more pleasantly surprised. Mr. Cohen said that although the religions of ancient China are not his own, he found commonality in the culture. This somewhat spiritual sensitivity is very interesting, he said. Interesting to discover and to see. Valerie Ogerau is an airline scheduler for a large national airline company, planning and prioritizing aeronautical maintenance interventions. Having practiced western Classical dance, the young woman was able to appreciate the talented dancers. Valerie Ogerau came to experience Shen Yun at the Palais des Congres, in Paris, on Feb. 18, 2023. (NTD) A very beautiful show, very beautiful costumes! They are highly synchronized and it is a success! she exclaimed. I know the effort it takes and it is even more specific since it is classical Chinese dance really, its a very beautiful performance! As a believer herself, Ms. Ogerau could feel, especially in the stage settings, but also in the lyrics of the songs, a lot of this spirituality and the will to share it. It touches the Divine I feel it comes out very strong in this show, she said. Olivier Brun came to discover Shen Yun at the Palais des Congres, in Paris, on Feb. 18, 2023. (NTD) Olivier Brun was a director of human resources at Veolia and is now retired. Its superb, he said. A wonderful show, very colorful extremely well done. Very well trained dancers, and the spins and jumpsreally extraordinary things which delight us! Shen Yun means the beauty of divine beings dancing, paying homage to the traditional Chinese belief that Chinese culture was imparted by the divine. In traditional Chinese culture, everyone from the humblest peasant to the most majestic emperor lived by this connection to the divine: People aimed at the harmony between Heaven, Earth, and humankind, praised the divine, and respected the principles of nature, reads the Shen Yun program. Thus, for Mr. Brun, Shen Yun conveyed the values he could find in the writings of Lao Tzu or Confucius: sharing, understanding, listening, patience, kindness, beauty, he listed. I am very touched by what is said, because I also believe in all these values presented to us, Mr. Brun said, adding that kindness, truth, and patience, these are three fundamental principles of China but of the whole world as well. Reporting by NTD and Sarita Modmesaib. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. Stephen and Jeanne Schaefer at Shen Yun Performing Arts at the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Theater, in Salt Lake City on Feb. 22, 2023. (Mary Mann/The Epoch Times) SALT LAKE CITYIt was fantastic the whole world needs to be exposed to the truth, said Jeanne Schaefer after seeing Shen Yun Performing Arts. [Shen Yun] is the future, she said, we are looking at the past and it will become the future again. Mrs. Schaefer, qigong instructor, attended the matinee production with her husband Stephen Schaefer, lawyer, at the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Theater on Feb. 22. [Shen Yun] are our heroes from heaven, said Mr. Schaefer, we admire [them] we love [them]! China was once known as The Land of the Divine and Shen Yun presents this culture by drawing upon the Middle Kingdoms Buddhist and Daoist philosophies. Based in New York, the company performs classical Chinese dance, folk and ethnic dances, as well as story-based pieces that tell tales from ancient times to the modern day. In the past, artists looked to the divine for inspiration and cultivated virtue in order to create uplifting art. Today, Shen Yuns artists follow in this noble tradition by practicing the spiritual discipline Falun Dafa, which is why audiences feel there is something different about Shen Yun, says the companys website. Practicing qigong every day themselves, the Schaefers admired Falun Dafas principles of truth, compassion, and forbearance. We are very spiritual people, so we resonate with the show, said Mrs. Schaefer. We need magic back in life, she said, but sometimes we have to go through darkness to go to the light. Reflecting on a dance piece that depicts the current persecution of Falun Dafa by the Chinese Communist Party, Mrs. Schaefer said, even in the beautiful show there is a force of darkness that is only temporary then we restore and we honor the spiritual. Uplifts Your Spirit Michael Smart, geographic information systems coordinator, and his wife Suzette, business office manager, also attended the matinee production of Shen Yun at the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Theater on Feb. 22. Michael and Suzette Smart at Shen Yun Performing Arts at the George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Theater, in Salt Lake City, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Mary Mann/The Epoch Times) This was the first time the Smarts saw Shen Yun perform, and they commented that they had been waiting years for this moment. Amazed by Shen Yuns live orchestra and virtuoso vocalists who sing Chinese lyrics using the traditional bel canto style, Mr. Smart said the sopranos voice uplifts your spirit. [Her] voice, the booming voice, the whole volume of it really touches you, he said. Her voice just really uplifts your spirits, he said, It uplifted me and I felt [the] energy it was spiritual. Reporting by Mary Mann and Jennifer Schneider. The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006. Shooting Spate Leaves 3 Dead, Including Child and Journalist in Orlando A suspect identified as Keith Melvin Moses, 19, was taken into custody on Feb. 22, 2023. (Courtesy of Orange County Sheriff's Office) Police arrested a 19-year-old suspect on Wednesday linked to a spate of fatal shootings that left a TV reporter and young child dead near the crime scene where a woman who was fatally shot earlier that day in Orlando, Florida. Orange County Sheriff John Mina told reporters on Wednesday evening that a Spectrum News 13 reporter and a 9-year-old girl were among five people who were shot in separate shootings, allegedly by the same suspect. A Spectrum News 13 photographer and the mother of the 9-year-old girl were also shot on Wednesday afternoon. A woman in her 20s had been fatally shot on Wednesday morning. Dylan Lyons, 24, was identified by his sister Rachel Lyons, as the slain journalist, in a GoFundMe fundraiser she started to assist in his funeral costs. Rachel Lyons said her brother was an acting father to his niece and nephew, a devoted son, and that he loved his fiance, Casey Lynn. He was a happy soul and wonderful person in life. My brother was our baby. He was taken too early from us, Rachel Lyons wrote. The suspect, 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, has been taken into custody. Mina said the Spectrum News 13 crew were at the scene reporting on the fatal shooting of the woman that had occurred near the scene earlier that day. ALERT: Multiple people shot on Hialeah Street, same scene as a homicide earlier today. One person has been detained. We will update as soon as possible. @SheriffMina will brief at a time and location TBD. pic.twitter.com/7exNZy8nDF Orange County Sheriffs Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) February 22, 2023 Two Shootings Orange County deputies discovered the womans body in the 6100 block of Hialeah Street in Pine Hills after responding to 911 calls about the shooting at around 11 a.m., according to Mina. Detectives investigated the womans shooting and created good leads about the suspect, Mina said. Later that day, just after 4 p.m., authorities began receiving 911 calls about a second shooting at the same location and at another nearby location involving the Spectrum News 13 crew and the mother and her daughter. At Hialeah Street, deputies discovered two men who had been shot at or near a vehicle. They are a News 13 reporter and photographer who were on the scene to cover the homicide from this morning, Mina said. On Harrington Street, a woman and her 9-year-old girl were also shot inside of a home, he continued. Mina said it was unclear why the suspect had entered the residence. The victims were transported to an area hospital. The mother and the second unnamed Spectrum News 13 crew member remain in critical condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Charter Communication, the parent company of Spectrum News 13, released a statement about the shooting. We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today. Our thoughts are with our employees family, friends, and co-workers during this very difficult time. We remain hopeful that our other colleague who was injured makes a full recovery, the statement reads. This is a terrible tragedy for the Orlando community. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to the shooting with a statement. Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team, she wrote on Twitter. Our hearts are also with the other shooting victims today, their families, and the entire community. Too many lives are being ripped apart by gun violence. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said the incident was absolutely horrible and that his team is closely monitoring the situation and keeping these Floridians and their families in our prayers. Suspect The suspect has a lengthy criminal history of gun-related charges, as well as aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, and grant theft charges, according to Mina. Mina acknowledged the impact the incident may have on members of the local community, including the local media. I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners, Minsa said. I work closely with all of you and know many of you. This is 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, the suspect in a series of shootings today that left three dead, in OCSO custody. This is a sad day for our community. Three were murdered today, including a woman in her 20s, a 9-year-old girl and a @MyNews13 employee. pic.twitter.com/DXXkxzRHl5 Orange County Sheriffs Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) February 23, 2023 Taking questions from reporters, Mina said the suspect had not been saying much as yet to investigators, and it was unclear if he had targeted the news crew specifically. That vehicle [belonging to the news crew] was almost exactly in the same spot as the vehicle was from the homicide this morning. So its unclear exactly why they were targeted, Mina said. The vehicle used by the Spectrum News 13 crew didnt look like a typical media vehicle with markings on it, Mina noted. Its possible that he could have mistaken them for law enforcement. I just dont know at this time, he added. Mina said that while police hadnt seen targeted violence against media in this area, authorities would look at the bigger picture of incidents of violence against journalists. The suspects motives remain unclear. States Should Establish Committees to Challenge CDC Guidance: Stanford Professor Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, professor of medicine at Stanford University and one of the co-authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, in Hartford, Conn., on Feb. 17, 2023. (Tal Atzmon/The Epoch Times) All 50 states should establish expert groups to provide alternatives to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a Stanford University professor says. Every state should have their own second opinion of CDC policy and decision making, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of health policy at Stanford, told EpochTVs American Thought Leaders program. The interview will premiere on Saturday, February 25 at 7:30pm ET. Bhattacharya is one of the members of the Public Health Integrity Committee in Florida, formed in late 2022 by Gov. Ron DeSantis. Overseen by Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, the committee of experts will be able to assess recommendations and guidance related to public health and health care, but particularly being able to offer critical assessments of things that bureaucracies like the FDA, CDC, and NIH are doing, DeSantis said during a roundtable with committee members. The CDC has issued recommendations on masking, social distancing, and vaccination during the pandemic that have been widely followed, leading to school closures and vaccine mandates. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the COVID-19 vaccines and have not altered the authorizations despite the vaccines performing worse against newer variants and the risk-benefit calculus, especially among children, growing more uncertain, according to some outside experts. The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has sought to suppress scientific ideas, including the advocation of focused protection of the elderly instead of locking down healthy people. The goal of the committee is essentially just to provide a second opinion when the CDC gets something wrong, Bhattacharya told The Epoch Times. Sometimes theyll get the things right, well say it. But the the ultimate aim is to say, look, the CDC says x, heres our scientific view of it. Bhattacharya co-wrote the Great Barrington Declaration, a major challenge to the restrictions imposed and promoted by the federal government, and many state governments, during the pandemic. Hes joined on the committee by others, including co-author Martin Kulldorff; Dr. Tracy Hoeg, an epidemiologist whose study contradicted a CDC study on masking; and Dr. Joseph Fraiman, an emergency room doctor and scientist who helped lead a reanalysis of the COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials that concluded the vaccinated were at higher risk of serious adverse events. DeSantis expressed optimism that other states would form similar commissions, but that has so far not been the case. Bhattacharya said that other states should follow Floridas lead. Its not like the CDC is some miraculous power that knows best and can distinguish true from false. Lets have a lot of voices, lets have those commissions all over the country, all over the world. Lets set up a institutional structure where you are allowed to contradict the CDC when they get it wrong, Bhattacharya said. Critics of the CDC have noted that the agency spread misinformation about vaccines and natural immunity, and have often failed to correct the false statements. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDCs director, signed a memorandum that was crafted in response to the Great Barrington Declaration, that said in part that transmission of COVID-19 could be mitigated through the use of masks and isolation, and recently suggested lockdowns might be implemented again in the future. The agency also hid from the public that it detected hundreds of safety signals for the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines. Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of health policy at Stanford University, at his home in California on April 17, 2021. (Tal Atzmon/The Epoch Times) Clashes Florida officials and the CDC have clashed multiple times, most recently over the explosion of adverse event reports following vaccination in the state. Ladapo revealed a 1,700 percent increase in reports following COVID-19 vaccination, compared with a 400 percent increase in overall vaccine administration. Florida saw a 1,700% increase in adverse event reports after COVID-19 vaccinations. Does that sound safe and effective? I didnt think so either. Thats why we released this health alert, Ladapo said. The CDC told the South Florida Sun-Sentinal that Ladapos statement was misleading. An agency spokesperson pointed out that anyone can submit a report to the system, which the CDC co-manages, and that some of the reported events may not be related to vaccination. The CDC did not mention that it verifies a number of the reports and that the system is described by officials as an early warning system to detect possible safety problems in U.S. licensed vaccines. It helped the CDC determine that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines cause heart inflammation, and that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine causes a severe condition called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia. Ladapo urged people not to be confused by the CDC, noting that many of the reports are historically lodged by health care providers, who can be penalized if they dont provide accurate information. Why are so many doctors and public health officials bending over backwards to defend the indefensible? Ladapo said. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks in Washington on June 16, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images) Rebuild Public Trust Another goal of the Florida panel is restoring trust in public health, which, according to polls, has dropped during the pandemic. I think the public health works best when we reason with people. We dont force people to do things. We tell people heres what the evidence says, heres where its strong, heres where its weak, Bhattacharya said. So I want to be able to connect with people without getting deep into the weeds of technical stuff, but also being true to the technical stuff. Right? That kind of public health communication, when its effective is really, really powerful, persuasive in a way that that that doesnt sort of run roughshod over your autonomy. Some officials, including Walensky, in 2021 infamously said that people who were vaccinated would not get sick and would not transmit the virus, even though the trials did not show 100 percent efficacy and did not, according to the FDA, provide sufficient evidence to determine efficacy against transmission. The proper way to communicate is to present evidence from scientific studies and other data, Bhattacharya said. I think that will be much more effective in the long run than where you make some pronouncement, the vaccine, if you get the vaccine the COVID vaccine, you will not get COVID, you will not pass COVID onit turns out to be false, he said. Now all of a sudden, whos going to believe the person who said that? Storm Brings Rain, Wind, and Unusual Low-Altitude Snow to Northern California Cars drive along Highway 101 as rain falls in Greenbrae, Calif., on Jan. 4, 2023. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) SAN FRANCISCOA low-pressure system is bringing rain and gusts to the Bay Area, with unusually low-dropping snow, according to Jeff Lorber, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service (NWS) Monterey station. Lorber told The Epoch Times that the storm, which is caused by a low-pressure system from the Pacific Northwest, will mainly hit the San Francisco Bay Area late at night on Feb. 23 and will bring winds, rain, and snow at high elevation. The storm will last overnight into the morning of Feb. 24, according to the NWS. The rain and wind will be impacting most of the Bay Area, Lorber said. He said the wind gusts will be around 30 miles per hour and maybe close to 40 miles per hour for some areas, such as the hills. It definitely wont be a good day, good night, or good morning for travel, he said. Lorber also warned that the snow will be falling mainly above 1,000 feet and will create hazardous conditions for driving. Lets say into the Santa Cruz Mountains, the road will be icy and slippery and traveling is not recommended unless its essential, throughout the night to Friday morning, he said. There have already been cool and showery conditions throughout Thursday, and the NWS has been collecting snow reports from residents in the Bay Area at high altitudes. On the NWS Bay Area/Monterey Facebook page, snow was reported by residents at altitudes as low as 600 feet (the Zayante area of Felton) and 800 feet (Los Altos Hills). It is pretty unusual to see snow levels that are dropping this low. Even some areas right near sea level could see some snowflakes, which is unusual for this area, Lorber said. He also said that the temperature could dip below freezing in areas of higher elevation or in valleys on the night of Feb. 24, after the weather clears. Areas along the coast in Northern California will be seeing more snow as the main storm hits. Meanwhile, Southern California has been put under a rare blizzard warning for the first time in over three decades. According to the NWS, by Feb. 25, up to 8 feet of snow could accumulate on Mount Baldy northeast of Los Angeles. On Feb. 23, a different weather system impacted the northern parts of the continental United States. North and South Dakota, Colorado, Michigan, and Wyoming were all affected. Bad weather contributed to delays or cancellations of more than 8,000 flights across the nation on Feb. 22, FlightAware.com data showed. Suicide: The Price To Pay for One of the Worlds Longest COVID-19 Lockdowns A man crosses the normally busy intersection of Flinders street and Swanston streets in Melbourne, Australia, on May 28, 2021. (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images) Commentary The recent release of the Victorian Coroners Court Monthly Suicide Data ReportDecember 2022 update provides a reason for concern for all Victorians. It shows that in 2022, the state recorded the highest number of suicides since the court started collecting this data in 2000. The number of Victorian suicides in 2022 was 756, up nine percent from the previous year. One very concerning aspect of the report is that the rate of suicides has increased from approximately 58 per month to 65 or more per month from August to December 2022. The demographic analysis in the report revealed that the suicide rate for those aged 65 or older had increased by 32 percent from 2021 to 2022 and by 53 percent over the last five years. Alarmingly, the number of females over 65 who suicide doubled between 2021 and 2022. The Victorian state coroner, Judge John Cain, stated: It is troubling to see an increase in suicides emerge in the last few months of 2022. It is not clear what is driving this increaseespecially amongst those 65 and overbut we are monitoring closely to see if this trend continues. Tragically, every number in this report represents the life of a Victorian. However, they are not mere statistics but represent the life of someone loved and valued in our community, and our hearts go out to those relatives and friends left behind. A Wake-up Call for the Community I know in recent years, the number of people contacting my office who were lonely or experiencing extreme pressure, whether caused by family, financial, or health issues, was increasing. Many of these issues were the result of the very difficult times that all Victorians experienced during the last few years of COVID-19. For example, Victoria had the worlds longest lockdowns which led to unprecedented isolation, especially for those living alone, who were often older members of the community. The harsh restrictions experienced by all Victorians, coupled with the mandatory nature of the vaccination program and the unprecedented fear fed by political leaders, encouraged by the media and experienced throughout the community, all had a detrimental effect on many peoples mental health. A person crosses Bourke Street in Melbourne, Australia, on July 20, 2021. (Daniel Pockett/Getty Images) I trust that there will be clear learnings for governments from these experiences to ensure improvements are made. I can well remember taking telephone calls from small business operators who were desperate and on the edge of financial ruin as a result of being shut down during COVID-19. My role was forced to change from being a local MP to being a mental health support worker. Similarly, I took numerous telephone calls from concerned parents whose children refused to go to school following the lockdowns and, in some cases, would not even come out of their bedrooms. I know that many of my colleagues went through similar experiences. The stress and damage that was inflicted on the community were incalculable. The coroner also stated that: Suicide is complex and requires a multifaceted approach to minimise harm. He added that substance abuse could sometimes be one of the contributing factors leading to suicide. As a community, this report should provide all of us with a wake-up call to keep an eye out on our relatives, friends, and neighbours. We need to take an interest in the welfare of the people we encounter each day. Action we can all take can be as simple as a smile or a brief greeting, which costs us nothing but can mean a lot to the recipient. In our disconnected society, neighbourlinesswhether thats a friendly wave or helping out in times of troubleis much needed. (Altrendo Images/Shutterstock) The statistics around ambulance attendance for suicidal-related incidents also provide a very sobering reading. According to the Australian Governments Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, in Victoria, during 2020, the number of ambulance attendances was nearly 1,700 for patients with self-inflicted injuries, nearly 3,400 for suicide attempts, and a staggering 6,000 for patients with suicidal ideation. These statistics provide extremely sobering reading and arguably show the true extent of this issue in the community. They should also be a wake-up call to the elected officials in the community at all levels to ensure support services are available to assist people with the difficult issues that inevitably come along in life. In particular, mental health and other support services must be available when people are most vulnerable. If you need assistance, please contact: Lifeline on 131-114 or Beyond Blue on 1300-224-636. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The Ideas That Formed the Constitution, Part 19: Jean-Louis DeLolme: We the People Commentary Writers on the Constitution seldom mention the name of Jean-Louis DeLolme. This is unfortunate, because DeLolmes book on the English political system significantly influenced those who participated in the constitutional debates of 178790. The Constitutions opponentsthe Antifederalistsrelied on it. And as leading historian Gordon Wood testified, DeLolmes book had an extraordinary influence on Federalist thinking in the late 1780s as well. Like two of the Founders international law authorities (discussed in the next installment), DeLolme hailed from Geneva, Switzerland. Born in 1740, he was in the early stages of his law practice when one of his political pamphlets offended local officeholders. He thought it wise to embark on an extended vacation. He went to England. DeLolme wasnt well-off financially. In England, he eked out a living by selling articles to magazines. Then, in 1771, he published Constitution de lAngleterre. It was published in the English language the following year under the title, The Constitution of England; Or, An Account of the English Government. It went through 10 successive editions. DeLolmes book examined the English political system through admiring eyes. Like Montesquieu, he celebrated its separation of powers, its (purportedly) unitary executive, and its respect for the rule of law. In subsequent years, DeLolme updated new editions of The English Constitution and wrote some other books too. He eventually returned to Switzerland and died in 1806. DeLolme and John Adams In the first volume of John Adamss A Defence of the [State] Constitutions of the United States (a resource for many of the U.S. Constitutions framers and ratifiers), Adams wrote, Who can think of writing upon this subject after DeLolme, whose book is the best defence of the political balance of the three [legislative, executive, and judicial] powers that ever was written. Further, Adams quoted DeLolmes observations about the temptations of power, even among men of goodwill: Experience evinces, that the happiest dispositions are not proof against the allurements of power, which has no charms but as it leads on to new advances. Authority endures not the very idea of restraint; nor does it cease to struggle, till it has beaten down every boundary. When the Constitution was proposed, most states had executive councils to check their state presidents and governors. During the ratification debates, some Antifederalists bemoaned the Constitutions lack of an executive council. In No. 70 of The Federalist, however, Alexander Hamilton defended a unitary executive, citing DeLolme: I clearly concur in opinion in this particular with [DeLolme] that the executive power is more easily confined when it is one; That it is far more safe there should be a single object for the jealousy and watchfulness of the people; and in a word that all multiplication of the executive is rather dangerous than friendly to liberty. Despite the British governments fragmented structure, ultimately Parliament was supreme: Given enough time and determination, Parliament could always get what it wanted. As DeLolme wrote, It is a fundamental principle with the English Lawyers, that Parliament can do every thing, except making a Woman a Man, or a Man a Woman. (Of course, in some quarters today, that limitation would be considered a failure of imagination.) In addition to Hamilton, several other participants in the ratification debates referred to DeLolmes observations about the best structure for a government. However, the Swiss jurists greatest impact wasnt on structural issues but on four other aspects of American constitutionalism: the censorial power, freedom of the press, trial by jury, and the Constitutions introductory words. The Censorial Power In the Roman Republic (50927 B.C.E.), the people elected two censors every five years. The censorship was more revered than even the consulate, and those elected censors generally were senior statesmen who had previously served as consul. The Latin verb behind the word censor (censere) means to reckon, estimate, or assess. Neither in Roman times nor in the Founding era did the word censor necessarily have the negative connotations we associate with it today. The censors were tasked with conducting a census of Roman citizens. But they were also directed to correct harmful deviations in political practice. For example, they might prune the Senate of dead wood or immoral elements. Obviously, this was an enormously powerful position, and in recognition of that, the censors term of office was limited to only six months. Thus, in 4 1/2 years of every five-year cycle, the republic had no censors at all. DeLolme believed that other popular governments should institute a censorial power to correct harmful deviations, as a sort of constitutional gyroscope. Those exercising the censorial power necessarily had to be people outside the normal processes of government. They couldnt be compromised by systemic corruption or dysfunction. DeLolme believed that England had a censorial institution: its free press. British newspapers and magazines had been very successful in revealing corruption and dysfunction and forcing political change. After independence, Americans followed DeLolmes advice about creating a censorial power. The 1776 Pennsylvania constitution mandated the election of a Council of Censors every seven years to review governmental finances and operations and, if necessary, recommend constitutional change. The independent State of Vermont adopted a similar system in its 1777 constitution and reaffirmed it in a 1786 revision. Georgias 1777 constitution granted a majority of counties the authority to force a statewide convention to adopt prescribed constitutional amendments. The 1780 Massachusetts constitution (drafted primarily by Adams himself) included a similar right, exercisable by two-thirds of the states voters after 15 years, to force an amendments convention. The U.S. Constitutions framers also created a censorial power. Under Article V, two-thirds of the state legislatures may force the calling of a Convention for proposing Amendments. As the Constitutions advocates explained during the ratification debates, this empowered the statesthrough a convention they controlled and without federal interferenceto propose amendments to correct federal dysfunction. Today, in many states, the voter initiative is employed as a censorial power. (In some states, the voter initiative is abused, but thats another subject.) At the federal level, the censorial power has never been deployed, which, of course, explains a great deal about the modern condition of federal politics. Freedom of the Press A central objection to ratifying the Constitution was that it contained no guarantee of freedom of the press. One of the most respected Antifederalist writers, The Federal Farmer, made this case, and in doing so quoted DeLolme on the centrality of freedom of the press. The popular demand for an amendment protecting the press was too strong for the Constitutions advocates to ignore. This led to the inclusion of freedom of the press in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights proposed in 1789 and fully ratified as of Dec. 15, 1791. (Actually, in Congresss proposal, the First Amendment was the third, but the original first was never ratified and the original second didnt become part of the Constitution until ratified in 1992, as the 27th Amendment.) Trial by Jury The unamended Constitution guaranteed trial by jury only in criminal, not civil, cases. Moreover, the Constitution gave the Supreme Court more leeway to set aside a jurys factual findings than was traditional in common law. Antifederalists, including the Federal Farmer, objected to these restrictions on trial by jury. The Federal Farmer quoted DeLolme on this subject also. Likewise, a Maryland Antifederalist essayist writing as A Farmer relied on DeLolme in arguing for an expanded trial by jury guarantee. The Antifederalist demand for an expanded trial by jury guarantee was met by the Seventh Amendment. It ensures a jury trial in most civil cases in federal court and limits the extent to which federal appeals courts can overturn a jurys factual findings. We the People Gouverneur Morris, a New Yorker who represented Pennsylvania at the 1787 convention, was assigned to write the Constitutions final draft, and he inserted its opening phrase We the People The source of that phrase was very likely DeLolme. Near the end of DeLolmes book on the English constitution, he speculated about what would have happened if a lawgiver had created the English constitution by design. To justify the House of Commons, DeLolme had the fictional lawgiver say, We, the People, should have an influence upon Government Read prior installments here: first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. WASHINGTON President Biden and his top officials vowed this week to introduce additional sanctions aimed at impeding Russia's war efforts against Ukraine. But the administration's focus is increasingly shifting to the role that China has played in supplying Russia with goods that have both civilian and military uses. As one of the world's biggest manufacturers of products like electronics, drones and vehicle parts, China has proved to be a particularly crucial economic partner for Russia. Beijing has remained officially unaligned in the war. Yet China, along with countries like Turkey and some former Soviet republics, has stepped in to supply Russia with large volumes of products that either civilians or armed forces could use, including raw materials, smartphones, vehicles and computer chips, trade data shows. Administration officials are now expressing concern that China could further aid Russia's incursion by providing Moscow with lethal weapons. While there is no clear evidence that China has given weapons and ammunition to Russia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned in recent days that China may be preparing to do so. Biden, speaking in Kyiv on Monday, said the United States and its partners would announce new measures targeting sanctions evasion this week. He did not specify whether those actions would be directed at Moscow or its trading partners. "Together we have made sure that Russia is paying the price for its abuses," he said the next day in Warsaw, Poland. And in a speech on Tuesday at the Council on Foreign Relations, Wally Adeyemo, the deputy Treasury secretary, said the United States would be working "to identify and shut down the specific channels through which Russia attempts to equip and fund its military." "Our counterevasion efforts will deny Russia access to the dual-use goods being used for the war and cut off these repurposed manufacturing facilities from the inputs needed to fill Russia's production gaps," he said. The comments came on the same day that Wang Yi, China's top diplomat, visited Moscow. The actions that the United States has taken against Russia in partnership with more than 30 countries constitute the broadest set of sanctions and export controls ever imposed against a major economy. But this regime still has its limits. One year into the war, the Russian economy is stagnant, but not crippled. The country has lost direct access to coveted Western consumer brands and imports of the most advanced technology, like semiconductors. But individuals and companies around the world have stepped in to provide Russia with black market versions of these same products, or cheaper alternatives made in China or other countries. Goods appear to be finding their way to Russia, just through a longer route. Exports from European countries to countries like Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have exploded, as have exports from those countries to Russia, according to Matthew Klein, an economics writer who is tracking trends in trade volumes. Both this data, and Russian tax collections, suggest that the country's overall imports have essentially recovered to pre-war levels, he said. In particular, the United States and its allies appear to have had limited success in stopping the trade of so-called dual-use technologies that can be used in both military equipment and consumer goods. The United States included many types of dual-use goods in the export controls it issued against Russia last February, because the goods can be repurposed for military uses. Aircraft parts that civilian airlines can use, for example, might be repurposed by the Russian air force, while semiconductors in washing machines and electronics might be used for tanks or other weaponry. Top U.S. officials warned their Chinese counterparts against supporting Russia's war effort after the invasion of Ukraine last year, saying there would be firm consequences. While China has been careful not to cross that line, it has provided support for Russia in other ways, including through active trade in certain goods. The U.S. has cracked down on some of the companies and organizations providing goods and services to Russia. In January, it imposed sanctions on a Chinese company that had provided satellite imagery to the Wagner mercenary group, which has played a large role in the battle for eastern Ukraine. In December, it added two Chinese research institutes to a list of entities that supply the Russian military, which will restrict their access to U.S. technology. But tracking by research firms shows that trade in goods that the Russian military effort can use has flourished. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, an online data platform, shipments from China to Russia of aluminum oxide, a metal that can be used in armored vehicles, personal protective equipment and ballistic shields, soared by more than 25 times from 2021 to 2022. Shipments of minerals and chemicals used in the production of missile casings, bullets, explosives and propellants have also increased, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. And China shipped $23million worth of drones and $33millionworth of certain aircraft and spacecraft parts to Russia last year, up from zero the prior year, according to the group's data. Data from Silverado Policy Accelerator, a Washington nonprofit, shows that Russian imports of integrated circuits, or chips, which are crucial in rebuilding tanks, aircraft, communications devices and weaponry, plummeted immediately after the invasion but crept up over the past year. Relations between the United States and China have soured in recent weeks after the flight of a Chinese surveillance balloon across the United States early this month. But divisions over Russia are further straining geopolitical ties. A meeting between Blinken and Wang, his Chinese counterpart, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Saturday night was particularly tense. U.S. officials have been sharing information on China's activities with allies and partners in their meetings in Munich, a person familiar with the matter said. On "Face the Nation" on Sunday, Blinken said he had shared concerns with Wang that China was considering providing weapons and ammunition to aid Russia's campaign in Ukraine, and that such an action would have "serious consequences" for the U.S. Chinese relationship. "To date, we have seen Chinese companies and, of course, in China, there's really no distinction between private companies and the state we have seen them provide non lethal support to Russia for use in Ukraine," Blinken said. "The concern that we have now is, based on information we have, that they're considering providing lethal support," he added. "And we've made very clear to them that that would cause a serious problem for us and in our relationship." U.S. officials have emphasized that China by itself is limited in its ability to supply Russia with all the goods it needs. China does not produce the most advanced types of semiconductors, for example, and restrictions imposed by the United States in October will prevent Beijing from buying some of the most advanced types of chips, and the equipment used to make them, from other parts of the world. Russia is unable to produce precision missiles today because the country no longer has access to leading edge semiconductors made by the United States, Taiwan, South Korea and other allied sources, a senior administration official said Monday. "While we are concerned about Russia's deepening ties with them, Beijing cannot give the Kremlin what it does not have, because China does not produce the advanced semiconductors Russia needs," Adeyemo said. "And nearly 40% of the less advanced microchips Russia is receiving from China are defective." But Ivan Kanapathy, a former China director for the National Security Council, said that most of what Russia needed for its weapons were less advanced chips,which are manufactured in plenty in China. "The U.S. government is very well aware that our export control system is designed in a way that really relies on a cooperative host government, which we don't have in this case," Kanapathy said. The Revolutionist Playbook in Americas Schools How schools are weaponizing social-emotional learning to indoctrinate children My great-grandfather ran from communism, Alvin Lui says. The people that dragged him out of his little bakery shop and beat him werent soldiers. They were college kidsthe Red Guard. And thats what theyre creating now with these kids, this revolutionist thinking: to hate America and American values, and to drive a wedge into the family. In a recent episode of American Thought Leaders, host Jan Jekielek speaks with Lui, president of Courage Is A Habit, which creates resources for parents to help protect their children from ideological indoctrination masquerading as education, from pronoun ideology to social-emotional learning. Jan Jekielek: Give me a sense of how this began. When did you realize something was amiss? Alvin Lui: I was born and raised in California, and I moved my young family from California to Indiana in April 2020. The Midwest is wonderful, and we couldnt have been happier. But then, I saw the same seeds growing in schools that ruined California, and everybody reacted the way we did 20 years earlier in California. Oh, its not that bad. Itll never happen here. Mr. Jekielek: What exactly is being taught? Mr. Lui: Instead of teaching children rigorous academics so that they can be independent, successful people, theyre teaching a certain brand of politics. It isnt, Heres the left, heres the right. Its, Heres the woke ideology, and the other side is bad. When I saw these seeds being planted in Indiana, it was like watching the same movie again, except I knew the ending, and there was nowhere left to run. I live in Carmel, a nice city. Even there, the school board and schools already have the transgender ideology and critical race theory. At that moment, I realized that if I didnt do something, then I cant complain. But then I realized this is going to blanket the entire country. Its not a red-state, blue-state thing. Its an attack on childrens innocence and separates children from families. Some of my tools on the site explain that. My great-grandfather ran from communism. The people that dragged him out of his little bakery shop and beat him werent soldiers. They were college kidsthe Red Guard. Thats how my father got here, and my siblings and I were born here as well. And thats what theyre creating now with these kids, this revolutionist thinking: to hate America and American values, and to drive a wedge into the family. You have to drive a wedge between the parents and children before you can get them to be revolutionists. Mr. Jekielek: How is that wedge being driven? Mr. Lui: In K12 today, theyre using race and gender. Its coming through a mental health program called social-emotional learning, which sounds great. They use terms all parents love, like empathy, personal responsibility, and responsible decision making, but theyre doing what we call language contamination. Theyre weaponizing kindness, for example, and empathy. Theyre not using them in the way we think of them. We did a big expose on school counselors and social workers, who are redefining safety and abuse. Weve always believed that if a child is unsafe, theyre being neglected at home, beaten, or starved. Today, theyre not safe if parents dont succumb to the transgender ideologyif you dont use their pronouns, if you dont let them have breast binders, if you dont let them take puberty blockers. Then, the schools say: The parents are unsafe. Theyre causing the suicides. Theyre neglectful and abusive, but were the safe space. With social-emotional learning, all these arrogant teachers, school board members, and counselors want to push their idea of what good parenting is onto everybody else. Mr. Jekielek: We hear about social-emotional learning as a multifaceted tool to bring people into this way of thinking, but its just a survey. Whats wrong with a survey? Mr. Lui: The survey is how they manufacture a self-fulfilling prophecy. But before we talk about the survey, lets talk about why social-emotional learning is so deceptive. I mentioned empathy. Lets take another example of social-emotional learningresponsible decision making. Mr. Jekielek: Who would disagree with that? Mr. Lui: Right. What parent doesnt want their children to have responsible decision-making skills? But this is responsible decision making through the lens of a critical race theorist. It means that if youre white, when you become voting age, you need to vote for things like reparations. Thats your responsible decision. You need to give up certain things because of white privilege. And if youre not white, you need to be taking down the systems that are oppressing you. It doesnt matter how successful you are, youre being oppressed. Thats your responsible decision making. Mr. Jekielek: Why are school counselors so significant? Mr. Lui: The American School Counselor Association is the largest organization that trains school counselors and social workers in K12. They have chapters in all 50 states. They drive the mission and the training and the objectives for school counselors and social workers. They had an annual conference in Austin last July, and we made sure we went. We picked up their videos, speeches, and handouts, because we knew that parents didnt understand that counselors are complete ideologues today. We decided to use their own words to expose who they are. We found so much. Some of it was online, some was in that conference. Since then, we created Behind Closed Doors. If anybody wants to see this, you can go to CourageIsAHabit.org, and under School Counselors, youll see our Behind Closed Doors expose. Mr. Jekielek: I want to go back to these surveys, because you describe the social-emotional learning process, of which the survey is a key feature. How is it brainwashing? Mr. Lui: When parents push back against these radical policies, oftentimes, the answer is, This is data driven. Its evidence based. They never tell you from where, but what theyre alluding to are these social-emotional learning surveys they give in class that the parents never see. This data is manipulated to justify more social-emotional learning and more radical policies. These surveys often ask innocuous questions that most parents wont find offensive. Heres an actual social-emotional learning question: What is your level of confidence that you can complete the work assigned to you in school? Instead of using that to help the child do more work, theyll use the answer, Theres too much work. Or theyll say, Certain students of color cannot complete their work because the school isnt inclusive enough. So they use that answer to include more LGBT books, more Black Lives Matter flags, or GSA clubs. But of course, when you bring that stuff in, it destroys academics. Mr. Jekielek: Several people who have appeared on this show were told by counselors, If you dont participate in social transitioning at the beginning for your child, theres a high likelihood theyll commit suicide. Mr. Lui: We teach parents how to fire back at that, to say something like: So if I dont call them by the right pronoun, theyll kill themselves? Are you going to say that when they do the breast binders? If they dont get puberty blockers and hormones, theyre going to kill themselves? One of the tools we put out is the Safety and Inclusion Express, which you can download on CourageIsAHabit.org. It takes parents through what we call the train stops. And changing the pronoun is the ticket. Its the stamping of that ticket that gets the children on the train. The Safety and Inclusion Express shows parents that the best chance of winning this fight is at the pronoun level. Once you allow them that pronoun ideology, the chances of them moving to the next level is higher, and at each step, its harder for the parents to pull them out. What we dont focus on enough is the addictiveness of social value. A lot of these kids, especially autistic kids, dont feel socially accepted. So you get this group that says, If you join us, you have instant social value. You are heard. You are seen. You are celebrated. You get the enormous love bombs. Youre so brave. Youre so stunning. Youre so beautiful. Thats very addictive. And with each step they take, the cult rewards them. There are two things every parent can do. First, get your children out of the data mining because thats the bloodline to a lot of this. On our website, you can find an opt-out form. Some schools, depending on how extreme they are, might ignore you. But the point is, now youve got some leverage legally, because youve got them on record as ignoring it. The second thing is to go to Behind Closed Doors, where theres a form putting the school and the counselors on notice that theyre not to meet with your child formally or informally without your consent. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. The Student Loan Debacle: Hurting Students, Abusing Taxpayers Commentary Americans generally value education highly. They see education as opening doors of opportunity and as crucial to both individual and social progress. Far-seeing and generous colleges have long made scholarships available to students who otherwise wouldnt be able to afford a college education. Private lending institutions used to extend loans to economically disadvantaged youth so that they wouldnt be excluded from receiving the benefits of higher education. As the fundraising campaigns of the United Negro College Fund in the 1950s put it, A mind is a terrible thing to waste. Indeed, it isand not just for however many bright individuals couldnt reach their potential because they couldnt afford to pay for the necessary education; its a loss for our society as a whole. How tragically unenlightened it was for our society to lose out on the talents of some of our most brilliant individuals. The federal government got involved in the student loan market via the National Defense Education Act of 1958. In 1965, Uncle Sam started to subsidize and guarantee loans from private lenders to students. The first federal direct student loan program was inaugurated in 1992. In 2010, the federal government effectively nationalized the student loan market, ended subsidies and guarantees and switched 100 percent to direct lending. It was during the Obama presidency that the college student debt market spiraled out of control. The total amount of student loans more than doubled from 2009, Obamas first year in office, to 2017, when he left officefrom an already bloated $657 billion to $1.367 trillion. During that time, the number of borrowers ballooned from 32.1 million to 42.6 million. Today, the total student loan debt is a gargantuan $1.75 trillion. President Joe Biden keeps trying to find ways to pardon much of that debt, even at a time of trillion-dollar annual deficits. How is that ethical? What comes nextforgiving credit card debt, auto loans, or mortgage debt? As is so often the case, when government gets involved, regardless of whatever good intentions are claimed, it makes a mess of things. So it is with student loans. Many recipients of those loans have had their lives mangled (more on this below). As for taxpayers, their tax dollars once again are being wasted on counterproductive spending. The taxpayers who are getting abused the most are conservatives and libertarians. Year after year, we read reports about the astonishingly lopsided ideological and partisan imbalance on college facultiesratios such as 25:1 Democratic/progressive/socialist professors to Republican/conservative professors. The dominance of woke and progressive ideologies is so extreme on some campuses that even a very occasional conservative guest speaker is considered persona non grata. Too often, such speakers are subjected to threats, intimidation, assault, and censorship. How can this be fair when conservatives are approximately as numerous as progressives in our society and, presumably, supply as many tax dollars to universities as do progressives? Why should conservatives be forced to subsidize schools that suppress conservative views and vilify conservative individuals and ideas while indoctrinating students in progressive ideology? Why should conservatives be taxed to promote DEI, which wokesters claim stands for diversity, equity, and inclusion, but in practice stands for discrimination, exclusion, and intolerance? Looking beyond the shoddy, unfair treatment of conservatives in higher education, government student loans impose costs on all taxpayers, regardless of political orientation. For decades, American colleges and universities have been cranking out graduates far in excess of what related job markets can absorb. From an article I wrote more than a decade ago: More than half of Americans under the age of 25 who have a bachelors degree are either unemployed or underemployed nearly one percent of bartenders and 14 percent of parking lot attendants have a bachelors degree nearly 300,000 Americans with masters degrees and over 30,000 with doctorates are on public relief. What we have in higher education is an ongoing colossal misallocation of resources, wasting vast amounts of taxpayer dollars. The problem has been the attempt to democratize education. While student loans thankfully have helped some very talented people develop important skills in college, the policy of swelling the overall number of people attending college has hurt many of the students it was supposed to help. Millions of Americans have realized too late that theyve wasted valuable years of their lives and have only disappointing job prospects and burdensome debt loads to show for it. The problem is minimal in fields such as engineering, medicine, and computer science, where competency requirements winnow out weak students relatively early, but in the liberal arts, it has been a disaster. You dont have to sell me on the potential value of a liberal arts education (that was my own path through academia), but its in the liberal arts that the ridiculous oversupply of degrees is being generated. Frankly, apart from the problematical job prospects, I recommend that young people avoid liberal arts. In the current era of wokeness, liberal arts has been perverted into illiberal indoctrination. One example: Recently, Stanford compiled a list of offensive terms that people in its IT community should refrain from usingwords such as American. The backlash against that nuttiness was so intense that Stanford withdrew that compilation, but that doesnt change the fact that many woke professors have totalitarian tendencies; they want to control not only what you do but also what you say and how you think. Theres a very simple path out of the governments wasteful, counterproductive student loan debacle: Just stop doing it. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The Wrong Priorities in White House Hiring Practices Ignoring Chinese conflicts of interest Commentary The Biden administrations priorities have been unchanged since January 2021. Here is part of the list from the official White House website: actions to control the COVID-19 pandemic, provide economic relief, tackle climate change, and advance racial equity and civil rights. Those priorities were immediately incorporated in personnel policies through executive orders, for example, the Executive Order on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation that President Joe Biden signed on his first day in office. This EO directed all federal agencies to end sexual discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation and opened the door with the stroke of a pen (as opposed to congressionally debated and passed legislation) to the hiring by federal agencies of people historically considered to be suffering from sexual dysphoria and mental disorders. Similarly, Marxist diversity, equity, and inclusion ideology has also infused federal hiring practices. Thus, identity politics has replaced merit, competency, and experience as the primary consideration for filling job vacancies in this administration; the top priority is hiring Democrat-defined disadvantaged groups, including women, LGBTQI people, and racial minorities. However, it would appear that the top priority of identity politics is not the worst problem with the Biden administrations hiring practices. The worst by far is the apparent willful blindness of hiring managers to the potential compromise of candidates by communist China through elite capture. Beijings Elite Capture Investigative journalist and author of the best-selling book Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win defines the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) strategy of elite capture as looping in American business titans with lucrative contracts or deals that get them to look the other way as Beijing rises globally. Others are being captured, too, including politicians, university professors, media figures, and members of influential think tanks and other non-profit organizations, who receive lucrative Chinese contracts, sinecures, paid participation in exchange programs, free travel and gifts, and Chinese donations to various causes. Harvard University professor Charles Lieber leaves federal court after he and two Chinese nationals were charged with lying about their alleged links to the Chinese regime, in Boston, Mass., on Jan. 30, 2020. (Katherine Taylor/Reuters) Beijing has been practicing elite capture of Americans and others for decades to insidiously influence political decision-making that affects the CCPs interests, goals, and objectives. Elite capture has paid off handsomely for China, for example, the continuation of the most-favored nation trade status, favorable visa policies that have enabled a deluge of Chinese nationals to attend U.S. universities and also work in the United States, and successes in minimizing U.S. responses to continuing CCP persecution of Uyghurs, Tibetans, Falun Gong, and other minorities in China. The kowtowing to China had gotten so obvious since January 2021 that the administration seems to be willing to overlook almost any Chinese belligerence and aggression in order to reengage with Beijing and reset bilateral trade relations to the conditions that existed before the Trump administration established tariffs to counter hostile Chinese mercantilist trade practices, which have been ongoing for decades before 2016. Consider the recent response to balloon-gate, during which a Chinese surveillance balloon violated U.S. sovereignty and airspace for over a week in early February while collecting data over nuclear silos and other sensitive U.S. military installations. According to The Wall Street Journal, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink conveyed the administrations interest in resuming diplomatic talks with China, with the understanding that U.S. sovereignty wasnt to be violated to an envoy at the Chinese Embassy in Washington on Feb. 9. A violation of U.S. sovereignty elicits this tepid response from the Biden administrationthe desire to get back to business as long as it doesnt happen again. So much for tough American diplomacy. The only way to deter belligerent conduct is to immediately impose commensurate costs on the aggressor to prevent future incidents. Thats diplomacy 101although perhaps we are witnessing the long-term effects of the Chinese elite capture of the U.S. State Department and the White House, as well as the personnel policy decisions that seem to ignore conflicts of interest with the CCP. Bidens family has allegedly benefited from past lucrative business agreements with China, according to the New York Post. Some of that consisted of a $5 million interest-free loan the Biden family received from a Chinese energy conglomerate in 2017. Concluding Thoughts Clues to the Biden administrations hiring practices can be found in executive orders that establish LGBTQI and diversity/equity/inclusion priorities throughout the federal government. Identity politics has apparently superseded merit, competition, and experience in hiring priorities. A glaring hole in the administrations hiring decision-making process seems to be the willful blindness to potential conflicts of interest with the Chinese Communist Party. Such conflicts could adversely impact U.S. policy decisions aimed at deterring the Chinese regime. This bodes ill for the United States as the CCP continues its belligerent actions worldwide, especially in East Asia, South Asia, and the South China Sea. A return to merit, competency, and experience requirements over all other factors in federal hiring is sorely needed as soon as possible. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Thaddeus Thomas (R) and his son enjoyed Shen Yun's evening performance at the Phoenix Orpheum, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Sherry Dong/The Epoch Times) PHOENIXOn Feb. 22, Thaddeus Thomas enjoyed Shen Yun for the third time at the Phoenix Orpheum. The beauty of the performance kept him returning time and again but the evening was extra special because he finally got to share the experience with his son. This is the first time for the boy. Its great to bring him to experience this unique culture, said Mr. Thomas, retired from the Navy. He was chief petty officer and later command chief of a naval base in California. Theres nothing else out there like it. You have to go to Shen Yun to see this kind of performance. Its so beautiful! Thaddeus Thomas It was expressive, emotional, and very colorful. Theres nothing else out there like it. You have to go to Shen Yun to see this kind of performance. Its so beautiful! Based in New York, Shen Yun is the worlds premier classical Chinese dance and music company. Its artists are seeking to revive the glory of Chinas 5,000 years of history and share, through a series of short dance pieces, all that is good and beautiful in China before communism. For Mr. Thomas, watching Shen Yun has always brought him a sense of inner peace, joy, and relief. There were a couple of times I wanted to stand up out of my chair and just clap, but I knew the program wasnt done yet! Mr. Thomas was especially touched by Shen Yuns vocalists. Their songs proved that music is, indeed, a universal language. The [vocalist] was so moving. The way he was able to express the songI didnt have to know what the words saidI could understand what he was trying to convey. Having received praise and acclaim since its inception in 2006, Shen Yun has quickly grown to include eight equal-sized companies that tour the world simultaneously each year. The artists are expected to visit over 180 cities this season. However, for its insistence on exposing the crimes of the Chinese communist regime, Shen Yun is currently banned from performing in China. Reflecting on a story-based dance piece depicting the suffering of Chinese people at the hands of the communist party and its heinous organ trafficking marketMr. Thomas said he was touched by Shen Yuns commitment to telling the truth. It was the most moving piece, he said. I was shocked! I knew it was happening but Ive never seen anyone portray it and show the brutality of what it is. It was very sad. The world should see it. China needs to see it, Mr. Thomas added adamantly. [Shen Yun] is portraying China the way we all want it to bebefore Mao, before communism and the one-party systemthis is how it should be. Reporting by Sherry Dong 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. Too Many People in Ottawa Knew: Committee Hears About Former Contractor Who Posted Antisemitic Tweets The telecommunications consultant who originally exposed antisemitic Twitter posts by former federal contractor Laith Marouf has told the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage that knowledge of Maroufs conduct was well-known throughout the federal government prior to funding being pulled, but action on the matter was not taken until media reported on it. Too many people in Ottawa knew about this funding and didnt act on the information and didnt speak out, wrote Mark Goldberg, a consultant from Thornhill, Ont., in a written submission to the committee, according to Blacklocks Reporter. They did nothing to counter it. Maroufs organization, Montreal-based consultancy firm Community Media Advocacy Centre (CMAC), had received a federal grant of over $130,000 from the Department of Canadian Heritage in 2021 for an anti-racism project that Marouf later described as a series of conferences across the country to discuss a strategy for anti-racism in the media. Federal funding to CMACs anti-racism project was suspended in late August 2022 after news broke of Maroufs antisemitic Twitter posts. In some of the posts, he referred to Jewish people as white supremacists and bags of human feces. Goldberg said at the time that he followed Marouf on Twitter and took screenshots of his posts prior to filing a complaint about them to the social media company, which resulted in Twitter locking Maroufs account. In his submission to the House committee, Goldberg also included instances from April 2022 in which he notified the Heritage Department that it had issued funds to Maroufs organization at the same time he was banned on Twitter. MPs on both sides of the House were notified in advance including members of this committee, Goldberg wrote. Most did nothing until coverage of the story became too embarrassing to ignore. I dont want this to be a partisan issue although I do want to see some real accountability for the disbursement of public funds to this organization and to this person. Comprehensive Assessment Canadian Heritage previously wrote in a briefing note that it had conducted a comprehensive assessment of CMAC prior to awarding it a contract for its anti-racism project. The same note acknowledged that the funding should never have been approved and that grant applicants will be required from now on to swear an oath saying they are not antisemitic. The Commons heritage committee also questioned department officials on Feb. 13 about why background checks on Marouf were not carried out prior to funding being released for CMAC. Did anyone bother to google Laith Marouf? asked Liberal MP Anthony Housefather. Mala Khanna, associate deputy heritage minister, told the committee that her department relied on the initial vetting that had been done when it approved the federal grant. In this case, the project on paper met the criteria of the anti-racism action program. There was an internet search done of CMAC as an organization, but it was not done of the individuals who would be performing the work, because nothing came up after the search of CMAC, Khanna said. Had hateful comments turned up, the project would not have been funded, she noted. There was training done in October for all program advisers with respect to both the way in which the criteria are to be implemented and the training on antisemitism and anti-racism, Khanna told the committee. We do not want to be in this situation again, and we have taken steps to ensure that we are not in this situation again. The Canadian Press contributed to this report. Beijings Response to US Shootdown of Chinese Spy Balloon May Elevate USTaiwan Relations: Experts China's Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi speaks at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, on Feb. 18, 2023. (Petr David Josek/AP Photo) Wang Yi, the Chinese communist regimes top diplomat, called the United States shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon absurd and hysterical at the Munich Security Conference on Feb. 18 when he met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The Chinese balloon breached U.S. airspace flying across the country at the end of January and was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean by the U.S. military at the beginning of February. The incident escalated the tension between the two countries. In response, Blinken postponed his planned visit to China. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the 2023 Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, Germany, on Feb. 18, 2023. (Johannes Simon/Getty Images) The Chinese regime has continued to claim that the balloon was for civilian use and blew off course to the airspace of the United States. But Washington said it was clearly a surveillance balloon, with electronics mounted on its massive chassis. Experts pointed out that the balloon incident has brought the mutual trust between the United States and China to the brink of bankruptcy and has consequently enhanced TaiwanU.S. relations. A Political Show Wang Juntao, chairman of the National Committee of China Democracy Party, said of Wang Yis strong remarks, I think he is out of words now to justify the incident, and he is just putting on a political show. Wang Juntao said Wang Yi isnt the one in charge, and any decision wont be made until the ruling Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) head Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden talk on the phone. Wang Yi came [to the Munich Security Conference] prepared, nevertheless, I think he was to create some opportunities for Xi. If Xi softens his stance with the United States now, the United States may really look down on him. Now he let Wang Yi challenge the United States to make things difficult for them. Wang Juntao has a research background in weather balloons. He told The Epoch Times that more accurate data on Chinas meteorology are in the hands of the CCPs military, and theyre classified as so-called national strategic resources. The better instruments are also in the hands of the military. So even if it is a weather balloon, it has the capability to fly outside China and cross the whole United States, it must belong to the military, not civilians. A jet flies by a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it floats off the coast in Surfside Beach, S.C., on Feb. 4, 2023. (Randall Hill/Reuters) Fan Shih-Ping, a professor at the Department of East Asian Studies at National Taiwan Normal University, told The Epoch Times on Feb. 19 that Blinkens planned visit to Beijing should have been regarded as an opportunity to improve U.S.China relations, but because of the balloon incident, the United States has greatly increased concerns and doubts about the CCP. Now, the mutual trust between the United States and China is on the verge of bankruptcy. He believes that the CCP originally hoped that U.S.China relations would be in a better state before its top political meeting in March. But now, its expectations have fallen short, so it blames the United States. Fan said CCP leaders are frustrated and angry. The political meeting usually leads to a reshuffling of the CCPs top political circle. The general public in the United States may have thought that the [CCP] threat theory was a bit exaggerated. But judging from this balloon incident, they have started to feel that the threat of [the CCP] to the United States does exist, Fan said. Fan noted that the balloon incident has increased Americans sympathy and support for Taiwan and enhanced TaiwanU.S. relations. SinoU.S. relations are very cold now, but TaiwanU.S. relations are hot. This has formed a great contrast. Top Officials Visits The Pentagons top China official, Michael Chase, deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, paid a rare visit to Taiwan on Feb. 17 following the shooting down of the Chinese spy balloon. A congressional delegation led by U.S. Representative Ro Khanna visited Taiwan from Feb. 19 to Feb. 23. Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu made a rare visit to Washington, meeting with White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer and Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman on Feb. 21. Ning Haizhong and Luo Ya contributed to this report. Trump Buys Food for Residents, Firemen at East Palestine McDonalds: Were Going to Take Care of Them Residents await the arrival of former President Donald Trump, who visited the site of the Feb. 3 derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Jeff Louderback/The Epoch Times) Former President Donald Trump purchased McDonalds for police and fire department members as well as residents during his visit to East Palestine, Ohio on Feb. 22. Were going to take care of the fire department, were going to take care of the police department, plus the people that are in here. Theyre going to get a nice, free meal, Trump told a McDonalds cashier while surrounded by dozens of locals and officials. Asked if he believes the water is safe, Trump responded: It will be safe, it will be safe soon because FEMA [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] is now coming. They werent coming and now theyre coming and it will be safe. Trumps arrival in East Palestine comes as residents are still recovering from the aftermath of a train derailment earlier this month that has left residents concerned about the long-term health impacts. Earlier on Wednesday, the former President, who announced the launch of his 2024 presidential campaign in November, handed out bottles of water to residents in the area amid growing concerns over how safe local water is to drink following the derailment on Feb. 3. Contaminated Water Excavated The train, carrying about 150 freight cars, was traveling to Conway, Pennsylvania, from Madison, Illinois, when it derailed in East Palestine. Around 50 of the cars came off the tracks, of which 20 were carrying hazardous materials. A controlled release of the hazardous chemicals on board was performed a few days later on Feb. 6. Those chemicals included vinyl chloride, ethylhexyl acrylate, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, and butyl acrylate. The controlled release also sent phosgene and hydrogen chloride into the air. Earlier on Feb. 20, Train operator Norfolk Southern said that around 1.1 million gallons of contaminated water had been excavated from the site of a train derailment along with 15,000 pounds of contaminated soil. According to the train operator, the excavated contaminated soil and water will be transported to landfills and disposal facilities that are designed to accept it safely, in accordance with state and federal regulations. Additionally, a series of pumps have been placed upstream to reroute Sulphur Run around the derailment site, the rail company said. The affected portion of Sulphur Run has been dammed to protect water downstream. Residents Raise Health Concerns Environmental experts and local authorities insist the water is safe, however, residents in East Palestine and surrounding areas have reported seeing dead fish in streams and animal illnesses. Others say they are having health reactions such as headaches and nausea and have broken out in rashes. During his visit on Wednesday, Trump also took aim at the Biden administrations response to the derailment. I think he shouldve come here. I think he shouldve been here. He shouldve been here, and he chose to go a different route, Trump told Breitbart News from the Mcdonalds restaurant, appearing to reference Bidens recent visit to Ukraine. Biden was in Kyiv on Monday to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and doubled down on Washingtons support for Ukraine amid Russias invasion. Biden, who has faced criticism from Republicans and locals in East Palestine for not visiting the town, said on Tuesday that he had spoken with Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) to address the derailment. I reaffirmed my commitment to making sure they have everything they need, Biden said on Twitter. He also noted that a FEMA team had been sent to the accident site. Twitter Tells Supreme Court It Should Not Be Held Liable for ISIS Attack Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan stands during a group photograph of thejJustices at the Supreme Court in Washington on April 23, 2021. (Erin Schaff/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) A lawyer for Twitter told the Supreme Court on Feb. 22 in a closely watched case that the social media company should not be liable merely because some terrorists may have used its services. The case, Twitter v. Taamneh (court file 21-1496), goes back to the Jan. 1, 2017, terrorist attack on the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, by Abdulkadir Masharipov, an individual affiliated with and trained by ISIS. Masharipov carried out a massacre, firing 120 rounds into a crowd of 700 people, killing 39 and injuring 69 others. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, according to a brief by a victims relatives. The original lawsuit was started by U.S. relatives of Nawras Alassaf, a Jordanian citizen who was killed in the assault. Explosive Growth of ISIS The plaintiffs sued Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube owner Google, claiming that the companies had aided and abetted ISIS and that their actions led to Alassafs death, and that they were liable under the federal Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA). The statute allows lawsuits to be filed in federal courts against a foreign state for supporting international terrorism regardless of whether the state is officially designated as a state sponsor of terrorism. Without Twitter, Facebook, and Google the explosive growth of ISIS over the last few years into the most feared terrorist group in the world would have not been possible, according to the brief. The internet platforms played an essential role in the rise of ISIS to become the most feared terrorist organization in the world. ISIS used the platforms to carry out terrorist activities, including recruitment, radicalization, and fundraising. The companies increased the visibility and impact of ISIS videos by recommending them to users, the brief said. The companies, on the other hand, argue they shouldnt be held responsible for acts of international terrorism if ISIS used their platforms. The hearing in the case came after oral arguments the day before in a related case, Gonzalez v. Google. The family of Nohemi Gonzalez, a U.S. citizen and student who was killed in a terrorist attack in Paris, is suing Google, owner of YouTube, claiming it is liable under federal law for aiding terrorist recruitment efforts by allegedly using algorithms to steer users to ISIS videos. Big Tech and its supporters are deeply concerned that in the Google case, the court could eviscerate Section 230 of the federal Communications Decency Act of 1996, which generally prevents internet platforms and internet service providers from being held liable for what users say on them. They say the legal provision has fostered a climate online in which free speech has flourished. Allegation of Willful Blindness Although social media platforms say they shouldnt be held responsible if terrorists use their websites, critics say shielding social media platforms had led to real-world harm. Congress has been under pressure for years to change Section 230 as conservatives have complained about social media censorship and liberals have protested against misinformation online. Section 230 is not the focus of Twitter v. Taamneh, but Twitter, Google, and Facebook have said they should not be held liable for aiding and abetting international terrorism just because they provided services to billions of users who may have included some supporters of ISIS. Twitter attorney Seth Waxman, a former U.S. solicitor general, told the Supreme Court during oral arguments on Feb. 22 that JASTA is an important tool in the fight against international terrorism. The statute permits any U.S. national injured by reason of an act of international terrorism to recover treble damages from a person who aids and abets by knowingly providing substantial assistance or who conspires with a person who committed such an act of international terrorism, Waxman said. But the other side concedes that Twitter did not intend to aid ISIS, he said. To the contrary the company maintained and regularly enforced policies prohibiting content that promotes terrorist activity, he said. Just because internet platforms were generally aware that among their billions of users were ISIS adherents who violated their policies and the victims family claims the companies should have done more to enforce those policies, does not mean that the companies aided and abetted international terrorism, he said. Still, the fact remains, Justice Sonia Sotomayor told Waxman, that, you knew that ISIS was using your platform. There is an allegation of willful blindness here and willful blindness is something we have said can constitute knowledge. Recruiting and Fundraising Justice Brett Kavanaugh said Twitters position was that when theres a legitimate business that provides services on a widely available basis in an arms-length manner, its not going to be liable under this statute even if it knows bad people use its services for bad things. Waxman replied, correct unless it knows of specific accounts or posts, that are, in fact, being used to plan or commit a terrorist act, including an attack like the one that injured the plaintiff. That is, there has to be particular knowledge in that context. Thats our rule. Attorney Eric Schnapper, a University of Washington law professor representing the Gonzalez family, also acts for the Alassaf relatives. Schnapper said Twitter played a role in terrorist recruiting and fundraising. Of the overall cost of running a terrorist organization, the cost of a particular attack is a very small part, the lawyer said. Running terrorist organizations is very expensive. It involves fund-raising. There are lots of salaries. Theres travel. Theres bribery. Theres forging documents. This is why its so important that the court holds that the entire enterprise being aided matters. If you limit the aid that matters to the tip of the spear, youve written out of the statute almost all the assistance that matters. U.S. Department of Justice lawyer Edwin Kneedler said although the United States condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist attack that led to this lawsuit, the allegations in this complaint do not state a claim that the defendants aided and abetted, that is, that they assumed a culpable role in the commission of that murder. High Standard of Proof JASTA sets a high standard of proof, he said. The statute requires more than allegations that a terrorist organization availed itself of interactive computer services that were remote from the act of terrorism, were widely and routinely available to hundreds of millions, if not billions, of persons through the automatic features of those services, and did not single out ISIS for favorable treatment, Kneedler said. Justice Elena Kagan wondered how the situation of internet companies differs from banks. They provide a hundred other clients who are not terrorists with the same banking services, but they provide this known terrorist with these banking services that are very important to its terrorist activities, she said. Can you go after that person under this statute? Kneedler said it was possible to do so provided that somebody who is a leader or somebody who you know has committed or is about to commit a terrorist act. Kagan suggested there are similarities between social media and financial service providers. Were used to thinking about banks as providing very important services to terrorists, the justice said. Maybe were not so used to [it], but it seems to be true that various kinds of social media platforms also provide very important services to terrorists. The Supreme Court is not expected to rule on the case, or on the related Gonzalez case, for several months. US Calls on Beijing to End Its Abuse of Falun Gong Adherents After Death of Jailed Journalist The U.S. State Department has condemned the Chinese Communist Party following the death of a jailed journalist for his belief in the spiritual discipline Falun Gong. The journalist, Pang Xun, 30, a radio host for state-owned Sichuan Radio and Television, died in December 2022 at a Chinese prison notorious for its brutality toward adherents of Falun Gongthe target of the Chinese regimes systematic persecution for more than 23 years. At the time of his death, Pangs emaciated body was covered with scars and bruises, which appears to directly contradict prison authorities claims that he had died of hyperthyroidism. Since 1999, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has sought to eradicate Falun Gong, a spiritual practice originating in China, and its peaceful practitioners and human rights defenders who have fought for their right to practice their beliefs. Extensive evidence shows the PRC government continues to repress and abuse this community to this day, a State Department spokesperson said in a written statement to The Epoch Times, using the shorthand for the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). We call on the PRC government to immediately end its abuse and mistreatment of Falun Gong practitioners, release those imprisoned due to their beliefs, and address the whereabouts of missing practitioners, the spokesperson said, noting that the department continues to consider all appropriate tools to promote accountability for those responsible for human rights violations and abuses in the PRC and elsewhere. An undated photo of Pang Xun. (Chinese social media) Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, encourages adherents to live by the universal principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance and teaches a set of meditative exercises. Pang, who died while serving a five-year prison sentence for handing out informational pamphlets about his faith, was one of an untold number of adherents who have died in the past two decades, during which millions have faced wide-ranging abuses, such as harassment, torture, heavy fines, and forced organ harvesting. Jiazhou Prison in Sichuan Province, where Pang was being held, has been noted for its torture methods. Gu Zhiguang, a Falun Gong adherent from the provincial capital Chengdu, was given only up to 20 seconds to finish meals for more than 10 months; guards forced him to stand for 10 hours motionless each dayunder the scorching summer sun and the freezing cold winter. They also sprayed tear gas into his eyes, asking how he felt about it and claiming that it posed no harm to him. The experience left him severely emaciated, according to Minghui, a U.S.-based website that keeps track of the persecutions toll. Upon hearing about Pangs fate, David Curry, a commissioner for the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, has called on the U.S. government to join with its international allies to impose targeted sanctions on Chinese officials and entities responsible for these horrific abuses. So far, the United States has sanctioned three Chinese officials involved in the eradication campaign, including one who presided over the persecution in Chengdu. While Minghui.org, a website dedicated to reporting on the Falun Gong community worldwide, has verified thousands of deaths, the website and analysts say that the actual tally is likely vastly higher, considering the CCPs strenuous efforts to censor any related information. In 2022, Minghui recorded more than 100 adherent deaths and hundreds of others imprisoned because of their faith. It also identified another 41 deaths that went unreported in 2021. US Considered Blocking Exports of Taiwanese Microchips to Russia Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 11, 2022. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images) The United States considered last year blocking the export of Taiwanese microchips to Russia due to its war in Ukraine but ultimately decided against doing so, said U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Feb. 23. A year ago, we led a coalition of 36 countries to align export controls against Russia, said Raimondo at an event at Georgetown University in Washington. We could have done we have the tools to do the extraterritorial controls, she continued. And I thought about it. However, said Raimondo, the Biden administration instead decided to defer to U.S. allies regarding export controls. Semiconductors, for example, almost all of the semiconductors made in Taiwan are made with American machinery and software. So technically, we could have said to Taiwan, You cant sell any of that to Russia because if you do, you cant use our hardware and software, she said. We prefer not to do that. We prefer to go to our allies, as we did in Ukraine, and say instead, You should control it; you should use your own controls. We dont want to reach in and do that, continued Raimondo. So thats the way we want to operate, always with our allies, build consensus, build a coalition. Raimondos words echoed President Joe Bidens mantra that the United States should work closely with allies on foreign policy instead of acting unilaterally. America is stronger vis-a-vis China if we combine with our allies. And for us, like working with allies, export controls is an article of faith, she said. Having said that, I want to be clear about this. Our export controls are narrowly tailored and designed to deny China certain technology that China wants for its military. And were going to do whatever we need to do to make that happen. Despite the United States not prohibiting the exportation of Taiwanese semiconductors to Russia, Taiwanwhich has the worlds largest and most-valuable semiconductor company, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.enacted its own export controls on Russia. TSMC produces 92 percent of the chips used in the United States. Domestic semiconductor manufacturers have also expressed that they will abide by the laws and closely cooperate with government measures, said Taiwans economy ministry just days after Russia invaded Ukraine, the first anniversary of which is Feb. 24. During her speech at Georgetown University, Raimondo announced that, starting on Feb. 28, the application process for semiconductor companies to get a portion of the $39 billion allocated for subsidies under the CHIPS and Science Act would begin. The bipartisan law, which Biden signed on Aug. 9, 2022, seeks to spur chip innovation in the United States. Chips are in many items, from computers to cars to toys. We have to keep our edge, said Raimondo. We are looking to win the innovation race, she said. Additionally, Raimondo highlighted the national security implications behind the semiconductor industry. For example, she noted that almost all of our sophisticated defense capabilitiessatellites, drones, hypersonic weaponsyou cant do any of that without chips. Those weapons used by the United States military depend on a supply of chips that are currently not produced in America, and the vast majority are tested in China. Moreover, Raimondo called for American education to encourage and train students to go into chip manufacturing. In the same way, over the next decade, I am challenging us and calling on colleges and universities to triple the number of graduates in semiconductor-related fields, including engineering. And we need more Americans to be a part of this exciting innovation ecosystem. This is math, people. This isnt a political agenda. This is math. These colleges and universities have to expand their recruitment pipelines so that women, people of color, veterans, underserved communities can get these degrees and launch their careers. The United States manufactures just 12 percent of the worlds chips, a 25 percent decrease from 1990. Something to consider as you search for happy hours to celebrate National Margarita Day: The delicious concoction's main ingredient is threatened by changing weather and new strain on the agave plant's vital pollinator the bat. Agave-based liquor like tequila and mezcal was the fastest growing spirits category in 2022, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. Analysts even say it might soon surpass vodka as the best-selling liquor in the country. But scientists from around the world have made it clear that climate change-fueled water shortages will continue to put enormous pressure on food production. Wine and spirits, unfortunately, are not spared from that forecast. A 2019 study found that the climate crisis, coupled with overgrazing from cattle ranching and other human activities, may disrupt the distribution and cultivation of agave, the main ingredient of tequila. While agave is a drought-tolerant plant that can thrive in hot weather with little to no water, Omanjana Goswami, a food and environment scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the life cycle of agave is too fragile to endure the major weather whiplash the climate crisis is generating from extreme drought to deadly storm deluges like the one California just experienced. "Agave is a desert plant, so of course, anything that is moving towards that desert-like weather is going to help this crop thrive," Goswami told CNN. "But unfortunately, climate effects are not linear. It doesn't mean that as temperatures warm that will remain consistent." "With extreme weather in conjunction with unpredictability, it's so hard to predict where this is going to go in the future," she added. The animals that pollinate agave Aside from agave plants being sensitive to weather whiplash, there's also a significant climate threat to pollinators. Bees, butterflies and bats pollinate roughly 30% of the food that ends up on our tables. Bats, like birds, are also considered a major seed disperser. But as temperatures warm, weather gets more extreme and seasons shift, those pollinators are at risk of major disruption. Warming temperatures have become a growing concern for the Mexican long-nosed bat a key species for tequila. "You wouldn't have tequila if you had no bats, because that's the only thing that pollinates the agave plant that makes tequila," Ron Magill, the communications director and a wildlife expert at Zoo Miami, previously told CNN. There are hundreds of species of agave, but only one the Weber Azul agave plant makes tequila. Other agave species were abandoned in Mexico and in the desert regions of the Southwest U.S.. By law, to be considered authentic "tequila," the spirit must come from the Tequila region in Mexico. Otherwise, agave liquors produced in places like California can only be labeled as an agave spirit. Because of the high demand for agave spirits, it's easy for farmers to fall into the practice of monoculture, where they reuse the same soil to grow a single crop, leading to a loss in genetic diversity, scientists told CNN. That includes places like California, where farmers do not rely on external pollinators like bats to grow their agave crops. But some researchers like Ron Runnebaum, an assistant professor of viticulture and enology at the University of California, Davis, are looking to explore more of that genetic diversity to see what variants besides the blue agave can adapt and survive in a changing climate to avoid the loss in diversity. "For us, in the United States, and especially in California, there are just a lot of questions around how we would be able to grow this economically as a crop as a way of diversifying the portfolios of farmers, as they're facing water shortages, as well as these other extreme events whether extended droughts or an abundance of water in a short period of time," Runnebaum told CNN. Economic opportunity Agave plants require little watering and can allow farmers to plant crops on land that would have otherwise been fallowed due to lack of water. And while it takes six to eight years for agave plants to mature, scientists say agave plants can also suck planet-warming carbon pollution out of the atmosphere. Given these benefits and as the West is mired in a multi-year drought Craig Reynolds, an agave grower and founding director of the California Agave Council, said he sees agave spirits as an economic opportunity in a hotter and drier future. Eight years ago, Reynolds began growing agave in Northern California as an experiment to see if it would be a viable crop in response to water scarcity. "We've gotten a lot of attention, because the biggest issue (for farmers) is the water," he told CNN. The "severe cutbacks and groundwater allowances in state and federal water project deliveries, and the fallowing of hundreds of thousands of acres in California and projected long-term fallowing of farmland" is causing the growing interest, he said. With the help of UC Davis, more resources are going into researching the viability of the low-water crop, especially under a rapidly changing climate. Reynolds said industries need to start adapting and thinking about ways to survive in a hotter and drier future. "There's going to be some failures and setbacks here and there," Reynolds said. "I'm not hoping for the climate to change. I'm just realistic in that we need to do everything we can to slow climate change, but we also have to simultaneously have adaptation strategies to the climate change that is happening and agave is just part of the adaptation strategy." ___ These cities are better at enduring extreme heat. Here's how they're doing it Beating the heat Medellin, Colombia: Grow trees on the streets, not just in parks Vienna: Splish, splash, splosh Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates: Use old cooling techniques and modernize them Miami: Target heat traps Athens: Work with what you've got Los Angeles: Paint the town white Paris: Get really organized Seville, Spain: Name your heat waves China is the biggest threat, not just on land but in space, according to U.S. Space Chief General Saltzman. And trailing not far behind is Russia. As for where America is in the space race, so far, the United States is still holding first place, but can the it keep that title? Saltzman warns the field is getting much more crowded in the race for space, and has grave implications for Earth. Topics in this episode: US Government Received $400 Million in COVID-19 Vaccine Royalty Payments: Moderna Moderna said on Feb. 23 that it recently reached a patent agreement with the U.S. government over disputed technology that is featured in its COVID-19 vaccine. In December 2022, Moderna entered a nonexclusive patent license agreement with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said CFO Jamey Mock during an earnings call on Thursday. The agreement lets the company use certain patent rights concerning stabilizing prefusion coronavirus spike proteins and the resulting stabilized proteins for the use in COVID-19 vaccine products, Mock said. Under the agreement, Moderna sent a catch-up payment of $400 million to the NIAID before the new year, according to Moderna executives. We have agreed to pay low single-digit royalties on future net sales of our COVID-19 vaccines, Mock said. NIAID and its parent agency, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), did not respond to requests for comment. The Epoch Times has filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the agreement. NIAID was headed for decades by Dr. Anthony Fauci, who retired around the end of 2022. The disclosure means the government was paid shortly before telling a court that it, not Moderna, should face a lawsuit over patent infringement. NIH Says Wrongly Left Off Patent U.S. government researchers were wrongly left off of a patent filing for a key sequence thats part of the vaccine, according to government officials. NIH scientists were working with Moderna for four years on vaccines for diseases before the pandemic started. After COVID-19 emerged, the NIH and Moderna collaborated to develop the COVID-19 vaccine, both parties have said. But the messenger RNA sequence was selected exclusively by Moderna scientists using Modernas technology and without input of NIAID scientists, who were not even aware of the mRNA sequence until after the patent application had already been filed, Moderna said in one statement. NIH officials and Moderna were negotiating over the matter when Moderna said in a patent application that it reached a good-faith determination that government scientists did not invent the messenger RNA sequence. An NIH review concluded that doctors Kizzmekia Corbett, Barney Graham, and John Mascola, who all worked with Moderna while at the NIH, co-invented the sequence, a government official familiar with the situation told The Epoch Times previously. The work of Dr. Barney Graham and Kizzmekia Corbett and others stabilized the prefusion spike protein which is used in virtually all, with few exceptions, of the vaccines that are now successful, Fauci told one congressional hearing. The scientists were named on several related patents, but not the sequence one. Moderna changed its stance in December 2021, announcing it was abandoning, at least temporarily, its pursuit of the sequence patent. Moderna has taken this action to allow more time for discussions with the NIH. Moderna believes that its scientists invented the specific mRNA sequence at the heart of the patent in question. The company acknowledges that NIH feels equally strongly that its scientists should be listed as co-inventors for their contemporaneous work on the protein sequence, Moderna said at the time. Moderna decided that issuance of the mRNA sequence patent in the current environment could interfere with further discussions aimed at an amicable resolution with the NIH. Further, the company would like to avoid any distraction to the important public-private efforts ongoing to address emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Omicron. Moderna continues to be grateful to the NIH and its scientists for their substantial contributions to developing the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, it added. The U.S. government authorized the vaccine in December 2020, and later granted a biologics license. It paid $10 billion to Moderna for developing the vaccine and has paid another $9 billion for doses of the vaccine. Royalty Payments Research conducted at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services led to more than 4,400 U.S. patents from 1980 to 2019, according to the Government Accountability Office. The NIH had 2 percent of the patents. Those patents generated up to $2 billion in royalty revenue during the same period of time. The NIH provides limited information to the public about its licensing activities. For example, the agency does not report which of its patents are licensed or release metrics that would enable the public to evaluate how licensing affects patient access to resulting drugs, the office concluded. Increasing the transparency of its licensing activities could improve the publics and policymakers understanding of NIHs management of its intellectual property. Some of the payments go to individual scientists, including Fauci. Open the Books, a nonprofit watchdog, obtained documentation of approximately $350 million in royalties going to Fauci and other government scientists from fiscal year 2010 to fiscal year 2020. Dr. Lawrence Tabak, acting director of the NIH, acknowledged the payments present an appearance of a conflict of interest, but claimed there are substantial and significant firewalls that mitigate the issue. US Military Warns Troops Could Fail Drug Tests by Eating Poppy Seeds Officer Eleazar Paz had a poppy seed bagel on the morning of the random drug test, according to reports. File photo. (Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images) Poppy seed bagels could become a threat to military readiness after recent studies found that those who eat the seeds could test positive for drug use. The U.S. Military guards against substance abuse by its service members, and regards substance abuse as a threat to troop safety and the overall readiness of the military. Now, the military is warning that eating poppy seeds could cause a service member to test positive the same way they would if they had abused certain opiate-based pain medications. Recent data suggest that certain poppy seed varieties may have higher codeine contamination than previously reported, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) said in a Wednesday statement. Codeine is an opiate pain medication. Opiates are derived from the opium poppy flower, Papaver somniferum. The opium flower also produces the poppy seeds that are commonly found on bagels and in lemon-poppy seed muffins, among other baked goods. Out of an abundance of caution, the Department is encouraging all service members to avoid the consumption of poppy seeds in all forms to include food products and baked goods, the DOD said. As more information becomes available, the Department will revise the policy accordingly. Recruits are subjected to blood and uranalysis testing at their Military Entrance Processing Station when they enlist or become officer candidates. Once in the military, service members are also subjected to random urinalysis testing and routine inspections. Commanders may also order urinalysis testing if they have sufficient cause to suspect a service member has been using illegal drugs. Perhaps ironically, while military urinalysis tests screen for the presence of drugs derived from the opium poppy, another flower in the poppy family, Papaver Rhoeas, has become a symbol of remembrance for fallen service members. British Commonwealth nations celebrate Remembrance Day, often referred to as Poppy Day, in recognition of fallen troops. Poppy Seeds May Have Disqualified Innocent Troops Since determining that urinalysis tests can return positive codeine results just from consuming poppy seeds, the DOD has acknowledged some service members could have already been disciplined or discharged erroneously. Its possible that some service members have been disciplined or discharged for innocent or unknown ingestion of poppy seeds, a DOD article reads. An unnamed official told the DOD that they are reevaluating codeine-only positive tests from fiscal year 2019 to the present. Gilbert Cisneros, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, issued a memo advising service members to work with their local legal office if they have concerns about their consumption of poppy seeds and the effects it could have on their urinalysis tests. In addition to bagels and other baked goods, poppy seeds are commonly used in salads and salad dressings and as spices in the cuisine of the Balkans, the Middle East, and central and eastern Europe. Concerns about poppy seeds and negative drug test results have been around for decades, even making their way into pop culture. In a 1996 episode of the popular sitcom Seinfeld, character Elaine Benes is disqualified from a work trip to Africa after testing positive for opiate use. Insistent that she is not a habitual drug user, she investigates and determines the test may be picking up a false positive because of the poppy seeds contained in the muffins from her favorite bakery. In the third episode of popular Discovery Channel science program Mythbusters, the cast of the show determined that it was indeed possible that consuming poppy seeds could trigger a false-positive drug test result. In 2018, a New York City corrections officer who had lost his job over a failed drug test got it back after arguing he had tested positive because of a poppy seed bagel. From NTD News US Raises Alarm on Chinas Possible Lethal Aid to Russia White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during a daily press briefing in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington on Nov. 2, 2022. (Oliver Contreras/Getty Images) The Biden administration is concerned that communist China may deliver lethal aid for Russias war of conquest against Ukraine, and is reportedly considering declassifying and releasing intelligence about the issue. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which rules China as a single-party state, has not yet provided Russia with direct military aid but also has not ruled such contribution out, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. As we have said, we havent seen China provide this kind of support yet, but they havent said its off the table, Jean-Pierre said during a Feb. 23 press briefing. Were going to continue monitoring this and speak out when needed. The remarks follow a tense week in trilateral relations between the United States, China, and Russia, following an allegation by Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the CCP was considering providing lethal aid to the Kremlin. Theres a whole gamut of things that fit in that category, Blinken said during a Feb. 19 interview with CBS. Everything from ammunition to the weapons themselves. We have seen them provide non-lethal support to Russia for use in Ukraine. The concern that we have now is based on information we have that theyre considering providing lethal support, and weve made very clear to them that that would cause a serious problem for us and in our relationship. To that end, the Biden administration is allegedly considering declassifying and releasing the intelligence it has on the issue, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal, which cited unnamed government officials. The internal debate on whether to publicly disclose such information comes just a day ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting, which will mark the anniversary of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and follows multiple behind-the-scenes attempts by the United States and its allies to sway the CCP away from providing lethal aid to Russia. Jean-Pierre demurred, however, when asked directly if and when the White House intended to declassify such intelligence. Im certainly not going to get ahead of the intelligence community; that is something that is clearly at this time classified, she said. Its in conversation with the intelligence community as well when we speak to these classified matters. It is unclear at this time what types of weapons or munitions China would provide Russia with, though the regime is the second-largest purveyor of arms in the world after the United States. US Worked With China, India to Deter Russia From Using Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine, Blinken Says U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' summit in Bali, Indonesia, Nov. 14, 2022. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque) In response to intelligence that Russian President Vladmir Putin was considering nuking Ukraine last spring, the Biden administration worked with China, India, and other nations to coordinate a message of opposition to deter Putin from pushing the button, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday. Speaking to editor-in-chief of Atlantic Magazine Jeffrey Goldberg, Blinken explained that, in the spring of 2022, the State Department was concerned that Putin might act irrationally and had obtained intelligence out of Moscow suggesting the Russian president would look to the use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The secretary said the impetus for Putins escalatory considerations was a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive. Last years counteroffensive saw Ukraine expel Russian troops from key northern regions surrounding the capital city of Kyiv, pushing them eastward and forcing them to reconvene. Many foreign powers issued public statements at the time, worried about what Putin might do. In April, Chinas Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin urged Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to exercise restraint and said the world faces a real threat of nuclear war. No one wants to see the outbreak of a third World War, Wenbin cautioned. The Defence Minister of India Rajnath Singh spoke with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu and warned him against using atomic weaponry. The nuclear option should not be resorted to by any side as the prospect of the usage of nuclear or radiological weapons goes against the basic tenets of humanity, read an October statement by Indias Ministry of Defence summarizing their conversation. Blinken attributed these moves to the U.S. influence effort. We urged, and I think successfully, other countries that might have a little bit more influence with Russia these days, like China, but also other countries, like India, to engage [Putin] directly about their absolute opposition to any use of nuclear weapons, he said, We know that they conveyed those messages, and I think that had some effect. Fears of Russia crossing the line have renewed as an intelligence report out of Norway revealed that Russias North Fleet surface vessels may be carrying nuclear arms. A central part of the nuclear capabilities is located on the North Fleets submarines and surface vessels, read the report. Russias only aircraft carrier and flagship of the North Fleet departed from its dock early Wednesday morning. The vessel had not been deployed since 2016. Lithuanian intelligence from last year corroborated the Norwegian claims, saying Russia possessed nuclear capabilities in the Baltic region. Adding to risks is the likelihood of a second counteroffensive, which adviser to Ukraines minister of internal affairs Anton Gerashchenko told Newsweek could happen as soon as April. Soon to be armed with M1 Abrams and Leopard 2 battle tanks from various European donors, surface-to-air missiles from the United States, and armored infantry vehicles from both continents, the Ukrainian military will go on the offensive once the munitions arrive, Gerashchenko said. A Polish soldier walks next to the Leopard 2 tanks during a training at a military base and test range in Swietoszow, Poland, on Feb. 13, 2023. (Michal Dyjuk/AP Photo) Despite rising tensions, the Biden administration remains committed to providing arms to Kyiv. We are supporting the Ukrainians in their war that Russia started, so lets be clear about that, Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told the Epoch Times on Wednesday. The administration has been committed to Ukraine for as long as it takes, and thats what were going to continue to do. In a speech in Poland on Tuesday, President Joe Biden said, Putin no longer doubts the strength of our coalition, referring to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The president reaffirmed his administrations willingness to finance a prolonged conflict. Our support for Ukraine will not waiver. NATO will not be divided, and we will not tire. Veterans Affairs Dept Has No Figures on Number of Veterans Hired A Canadian flag is seen on a Canadian Armed Forces members uniform in a file photo. (The Canadian Press/Lars Hagberg) The federal Veterans Affairs Department has no figures on the number of veterans it has hired since Parliament passed a bill in 2015 intended to increase veteran employment numbers. We absolutely believe in hiring veterans, not just at Veterans Affairs Canada, but across all federal departments, said Steven Harris, assistant deputy minister of service delivery at Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). Harris was testifying before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs on Jan. 30. The committee is studying a national strategy for veterans employment after service. We dont have a specific target for hiring veterans, but we always make recruitment efforts to ensure they can join us, he told MPs, as first reported by Blacklocks Reporter. Conservative MP Blake Richards asked Harris if his department tracks the overall number of employees at Veterans Affairs who were veterans themselves. I dont have a specific number for you at this point in time, Harris replied. We do collect the information with respect to veterans who are part of the department. Harris added that the department only collects such information from its employees if they volunteer to provide it. So it would not be a comprehensive number I would be able to give you, as some people choose to declare their past military service and some dont, Harris said. Hiring Veterans Parliament in 2015 passed Bill C-27, also called the Veterans Hiring Act, which was meant to increase hiring opportunities for certain serving and former members of the Canadian Forces. The bill mandated that federal hiring preferences be given to ex-military members who had been honourably discharged for medical reasons due to service. Harris told the committee that an average of 8,500 members of the Canadian Armed Forces retire each year, out of which between 4,000 and 4,500 seek second careers. We know that very few veterans become employees of Veterans Affairs Canada after their service, said Bloc Quebecois MP Luc Desilets. That is something that veterans lament. You want to implement a strategy. Have you clearly established goals? Will it be quantifiable? What will it take to determine if this strategy was a success? Desilets asked Harris. Harris said the department has not yet reached its final strategy, but is still in the development stage. We will be gathering all of the information and feedback that we have received, Harris told the committee, adding that his department still prioritizes hiring veterans above others. Well talk more about how its been prioritized in the federal government as well. We continue to recruit folks from past military life and service in order to add their expertise to the work that we do, including in the employment unit. White House Blames Republicans, Former Trump Officials for Toxic Chemical Spill in Ohio Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates (R) speaks as Director of the Office of Management and Budget Shalanda Young (C) and Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers Cecilia Rouse (L) listen during a press briefing in the Brady Room of the White House in Washington, on March 28, 2022. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images) The White House criticized Republican lawmakers and the Trump administration on Wednesday, claiming they should be to blame for the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The criticism came on the same day as former President Donald Trump visited the derailment site, during which he called out the Biden administration for its slow response. Congressional Republicans and former Trump administration officials owe East Palestine an apology for selling them out to rail industry lobbyists when they dismantled Obama-Biden rail safety protections as well as EPA powers to rapidly contain spills, said Andrew Bates, a deputy White House press secretary, according to a statement. He added, Congressional Republicans laid the groundwork for the Trump Administration to tear up requirements for more effective train brakes, and last year most House Republicans wanted to defund our ability to protect drinking water. Bates challenged GOP lawmakers to set things right. He also tweeted out a 2021 letter signed by 20 GOP senators, asking the Federal Railroad Administration to increase the use of automated track inspections instead of human inspections. There is only one way they can prove that they are finally disowning their long history of giveaways to rail industry management at the expense of communities like East Palestine: work across the aisle with us to put Obama-Biden protections back in place and go further, including with higher fines for rail pollution and properly equipping the EPA, Bates said. However, National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy, said last week on Twitter that the brake regulation would not have prevented the Ohio derailment, since it would have applied to high-hazard flammable trains (HHFT) transporting 20 or more loaded tank cars. She noted that the train derailed in Ohio was an HHFT but a mixed freight train. The train derailed in East Palestine on Feb. 3, while traveling from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania. The train was carrying a variety of products, including highly toxic vinyl chloride and other hazardous materials. To avoid a potential explosion, Norfolk Southern, the company whose train derailed, conducted a controlled release of the chemicals on Feb. 6, which involved burning the chemicals and releasing fumes into the air. Many local residents in East Palestine remain concerned about local air and water quality. Republicans Trump met with East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway on Wednesday, a visit accompanied by Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio). The former president criticized the Biden administration, noting that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced to send a team to East Palestine only after announced his visit. When I announced that I was coming, they changed their tune, Trump said, adding that his visit opened up the dam for the Biden administration to act. What this community needs now are not excuses and all of the other things youve been hearing, but answers and results, and thats what I think youre going to see, he added. Several Republicans took to Twitter to applaud Trump for deciding to visit East Palestine. Was great to have the president in East Palestine today, Vance wrote. We need to keep working to get the residents the help they need. Kudos to the mayor, the fire chief, and other local officials for performing well under impossible conditions. Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) thanked Trump for continuing to show what America First looks like. President Trump visits the people of East Palestine, Ohio and brings them water & supplies while Joe Biden only cares about pushing more war and US money in Ukraine, she wrote. Some Republicans have directed their criticism at Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who is scheduled to visit East Palestine on Thursday. 19 DAYS have passed since the catastrophic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. 19 DAYS, Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) wrote on Twitter on Feb. 22. In the meantime, Joe Biden jets off to Europe and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg just now gets around to planning a visit to the crash site. Rep. Ben Cline (R-Va.) wrote on Twitter that Buttigieg is finally visiting East Palestine. Once again, the Biden administrations response to yet ANOTHER crisis is too little, too late, Cline wrote. Yes Campaign for Changing Australias Constitution Officially Launched 10-year-old Cody Shaw rides a bike in the street outside the home of his aunty and indigenous campaigner Barbara Shaw in the Mount Nancy town camp at Alice Springs in Australia's Northern Territory state on Oct. 13, 2013. (Greg Wood/AFP via Getty Images) The official Yes campaign has been launched to support changing Australias Constitution to include an advisory body for Indigenous peoples. The campaign was launched at the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute in Adelaide on Feb. 23 by the From the Heart organisation. Semara Jose, a member of the campaign, said the launch would send a strong signal. This conversation around recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Constitution has never been about politicians, it is an invitation extended to all Australians, she told ABC TV. That opportunity [is] for all Australians to begin at this conversation, to join on the journey with us, to be open to really have some powerful conversations. While director of the From the Heart group, Dean Parkin, said it was an important step towards the impending referendum on The Voice. From the past several years of talking to people on the subject of constitutional recognition across communities, we know the Australian people are up for this, he said. We have long argued that support for constitutional recognition through a Voice is a way to bring the country together. The main thrust of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament is to establish a near-permanent advisory body to the two houses of the Australian Parliament that willin its current manifestationhave the power to give advice on laws being passed. While the prime minister has maintained the Voice will have no veto power, he conceded that the function of the body could be changed and altered by the government at a later dateleaving open the possibility of granting more powers to such a body. Read More Australian PM Cites Jan. 6 Riots in Bid to Win Support for Changing the Constitution The impact of granting more powers to the Voice could, in effect, hold up laws or create another layer of bureaucracy to an already over-burdened government. Yes Campaign Has Its Detractors The campaign does have its detractors, notably an opposition No campaign that was launched weeks earlier headed by former Labor Party President Warren Mundine. Backers of Recognise A Better Way are calling for a change to the wording of the preamble of the Constitutiona proposal previously earmarked by former Prime Minister Tony Abbottas well as establishing a parliamentary all-party standing committee for native title holders. Mundine also floated the idea of recognising the contribution of migrant groups to the country. Australia has a large overseas-born migrant population. Just a week later, a separate No campaign was launched and headlined by Senator Jacinta Price. For the first time in our history, our founding document will be tilted in favour of one group of Australians depending on their race, said organiser Fair Australia. The Voice will drive a wedge between Indigenous peoples and divide Aussies by race. Meanwhile, Indigenous Senator Lidia Thorpe, who recently quit the Australian Greens over the Voice issue was sceptical it could achieve tangible outcomes for Aboriginal communities. I know everyone in that room (at the yes campaign launch) will support action and movement on these two important areas that the Closing the Gap report continually, every year, continues to fail, Thorpe told ABC Radio. Theyre the conversations we need to have, thats been part of the negotiations since the beginning. And we cant lose sight of that, because people are dying. Going forward Thorpe will push the Black Sovereign Movement for even stronger affirmative action to address Indigenous issues. Meanwhile, the Liberal-Nationals Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor maintained calls for more detail to be provided around the Voice. The detail really matters. This has potential to be a very substantial change, but we dont know the detail, he told ABC TV. We have come to this in good faith. We recognised there are real challenges in Indigenous communities that need to be addressed. We want to see those issues addressed on the ground. When Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago, Ukrainian organizations in Buffalo rose to action. A year later, they have joined forces with other local cultural groups and Ukrainian associations in the U.S. and Canada to raise more than $6 million in humanitarian, medical and military supplies for Ukraine, said Bohdan Cherniawski of Clarence, chief operations officer for the Ukrainian American Freedom Foundation. This weekend, the foundation is inviting the Buffalo community to mark the one-year anniversary of Russias war on Ukraine with a candlelight vigil, march and concert on Friday and a bus trip to Washington, D.C., leaving Buffalo at midnight Saturday for a 2 p.m. Ukraine rally at the Lincoln Memorial. The local Stand United with Ukraine activities begin at 5 p.m. Friday at the Ukrainian American Civic Center, 205 Military Road, with food, beverages, crafts, jewelry and other souvenirs on sale to benefit Ukraine aid. A candlelight vigil will be held at 6 p.m., followed by a March/Drive of Flags to SUNY Buffalo State. At 7:30 p.m. Friday, Buffalo State will host a Spirit of Ukraine concert by pianist Ivan Docenko. Tickets are $10 with proceeds also going to the Ukraine appeal. The Ukranian American Freedom Foundation has also chartered a tour bus to leave Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Church at midnight Saturday and arrive in D.C. by 9 a.m. The $100 trip includes breakfast and representing Buffalo at the 2 p.m. rally. More information can be found at ukrainiansofbuffalo.com. Cherniawski and other Ukrainian support groups gathered at the Dnipro Ukrainian Cultural Center in Buffalo last week to share information on their activities in support of Ukraine over the past year. The support included: Besides raising over $600,000 in donations with help from other Buffalo cultural organizations, Ukrainian American Freedom Foundation has partnered with the Canada-Ukraine Foundation, the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America, the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America to multiply that support tenfold, Cherniawski said. The joint projects include sending a dozen all-wheel-drive vehicles for battlefield evacuation of wounded soldiers, more than 100 drones to detect Russian approaches, over 3,000 tourniquets and 60 Lenovo tablets to be used by the National Police to document Russian war crimes, he said. Irina Pron of Help for Ukraine also reported that the New York State Health Department donated 24 pallets of medical equipment, the Yonkers Police Department donated 955 Kevlar vests and Kaleida Health contributed by sending hundreds of surgical instruments to Ukraine, among other donations. Dnipro also established a Welcome Center to help Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war resettled in Western New York. It has partnered with Jewish Family Services, Catholic Charities and Journeys End Refugee Services to assist 135 families, and many more are expected as Russia escalates its attacks on Ukraine. Cherniawski, a Ukrainian Canadian, said 80% of aid to Ukraine has come from the U.S. Monday, he was among those celebrating President Bidens surprise visit to stand with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. "I find it incredibly brave," Cherniawski said. "A hundred years from now, historians will write about these days and what sort of leadership sent a U.S. president to take this action when the world was at threat. That release could not be found. Nairobi, February 23, 2023 In response to news reports that intelligence agents and police officers arrested freelance journalist and press freedom advocate Abdalle Ahmed Mumin on Thursday at a hotel in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: Somali officials are demonstrating a disgraceful willingness to abuse legal processes to silence an outspoken reporter and press freedom advocate, said Muthoki Mumo, CPJs sub-Saharan Africa representative. Abdalle Ahmed Mumin should be released without delay, those officials responsible for his ongoing persecution should be held individually accountable, and Somalias international partners should denounce this arrest as an act of aggression against press freedom. Officers arrested Abdalle during a public meeting convened by a senatorial committee, during which Abdalle was invited to speak, and did not show a warrant or explain why they were arresting him, according to media reports and Mohamed Ibrahim, president of the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS), a local media rights group that Abdalle cofounded and works at as secretary general. Abdalle was transferred to the central prison in Mogadishu. On February 13, Abdalle was sentenced to two months in prison following a conviction of disobeying government orders, but he has been living in a state of legal limbo after prison officials refused to take him into custody, citing an interpretation of the law that would mean he had already served the prison time, according to a copy of the judgment reviewed by CPJ, a report by the U.S. Congress-funded Voice of America, and an SJS statement . This is the latest chapter in four months of judicial harassment experienced by Abdalle since October 2022, after he voiced concern over a government directive on coverage of extremism that has the potential to censor the work of journalists. Four people were arrested and drugs and guns were seized Wednesday as the Buffalo Police Narcotics Unit executed a search warrant in the 200 block of West Avenue, police announced. Taken into custody were Phillip Washington, 29; Deinotae Thompson, 24; Naudia Marvin, 24; and Tanya Marvin, 22. All have been charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and single counts of fourth- and fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. Police seized two loaded handguns with high-capacity magazines, ammunition, 2.5 grams of heroin, 3.5 grams of crack cocaine, an ounce of methamphetamine and three ecstasy tablets. Ex-deputy education minister banned for life BANGKOK: The Supreme Court has banned former deputy education minister Kanokwan Vilawan from elected office for life, with a 10-year ban on political activities, for forest encroachment. crimepoliticsenvironmentland By Bangkok Post Thursday 23 February 2023, 02:45PM Kanokwan Vilawan, then deputy education minister, studies a document while attending a meeting on abuse of kindergarteners in Nonthaburi in September 2020. Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill The court read out its ruling yesterday (Feb 22) in response to a petition from the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which had accused the Bhumjaithai Party MP of serious ethical misconduct. The NACC in June accused Kanokwan, her father Soonthorn Vilawan and eight others of illegally occupying about 150 rai of land in Khao Yai National Park, reports the Bangkok Post. Kanokwan is a deputy secretary-general of the Bhumjaithai Party and her father is the head of the Prachin Buri Provincial Administration Organisation. The accused were found to have occupied three sites with fake title deeds issued two decades ago by Land Department officials. The NACC earlier told the court that on Feb 14, 2002, Kanokwan sought a title deed for a 30-rai land plot in the Khao Yai forest. She claimed she had bought it from a Mr Thiew Malison in 1990, but the purported seller did not exist. She obtained the title deed for the land in tambon Noen Hom of Muang district in Prachin Buri province. The land occupation was illegal and caused considerable damage, the NACC said, and Kanokwan continued to hold the land until she became a deputy education minister in July 2019 in the government of Prayut Chan-o-cha. The court accepted the case from the anti-graft panel for trial on Aug 26 last year and suspended Kanokwan from her cabinet ministers responsibilities. Yesterday it concluded that Kanokwan had committed serious ethical misconduct and announced its penalties. Pupil stabs teacher to death at French school FRANCE: A teenage pupil stabbed a teacher to death in the middle of a lesson at a school in southwest France yesterday (Feb 22), the regional prosecutor said. deathcrime By AFP Thursday 23 February 2023, 07:30AM People stand at the entrance of the Saint-Thomas dAquin middle school in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, south-western France, where a teacher died after being stabbed by a student yesterday (Feb 22). Photo: AFP The victim, Agnes Lassalle, 52, was teaching a Spanish class at the school in the seaside town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz when the 16-year-old attacked her with a knife, the prosecutor said. I didnt see him get up but I saw him in front of the teacher, classmate Ines, 16, told reporters. He was very calm. He got closer to her and plunged a big knife into her chest without saying anything, she added. The teacher was given emergency aid at the scene, but Bayonne prosecutor Jerome Bourrier told AFP she died of her wounds. The pupil was arrested and a murder investigation has been opened, Bourrier said, adding he was not previously known to police. Lassalles partner told broadcaster BFMTV she was a very beautiful, very good person, who everyone loved. He added she had been dedicated to her job to the extent she would spend time on work even during the holidays. A source close to the case said that, by the time the police arrived on the scene at around 9:50 am, the attacker had been disarmed and other pupils isolated. He had been carrying a blade some 10 centimetres (almost 4 inches) long, they added. The pupil seemed to have acted in a moment of madness, rather than on any terrorist motive or resentment, the source said. Ines, who witnessed the attack, said she did not really know the teenager. Were just in Spanish class together. But there had never been a problem between him and the teacher in class, she said. Conscientious teacher The school, Saint-Thomas dAquin, is a private, Catholic-based establishment close to the centre of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, which in summer is one of Frances best-loved resorts on the sandy Basque country coast. The teacher had long taught at the school and was conscientious, a representative from the FEP-CFDT teachers union said. President Emmanuel Macron on Twitter said he was extremely upset by the stabbing. He said he shared the grief of her family, colleagues and pupils, as well as that of teachers who dedicate their life to passing on knowledge to future generations. The nation is by your side, said the president, whose wife is a former schoolteacher. By lunchtime, pupils had started to leave the premises after being confined to their classrooms for around two hours after the incident. Anxious parents were waiting for them but only those parents of the class where the stabbing happened were allowed to enter the school, an AFP reporter said. Frances Education Minister Pap Ndiaye said all schools would observe a minute of silence for her today at 3:00 pm. Visiting the scene, Ndiaye saluted the victims exceptional dedication and her commitment to her pupils. BFMTV said that the attacker had locked the classroom door and stabbed the teacher in the chest. The channel quoted a source as saying that the boy then told another teacher that a voice had told him to carry out the action. The investigation was to seek to determine his psychological state and motives. No details have been released concerning his background. Could have happened to me Such attacks at schools are generally rare in France but there have been growing concerns about the security of teachers. In the past 40 years, there have been fewer than a dozen deadly attacks in schools. The attack in Saint-Jean-de-Luz is the first killing of a teacher in France since the October 2020 beheading of Samuel Paty outside Paris by an Islamist radical. In July 2014, a 34-year-old teacher was stabbed to death in the southern town of Albi by the mother of a pupil. The perpetrator was later found to be legally irresponsible. A Jewish school was targeted in the attacks carried out by Islamist gunman Mohamed Merah around Toulouse in 2012, with a teacher and three pupils shot dead. In Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Maha Bargueche, a mathematics teacher from the Paris region who was holidaying in the area, placed a bouquet of flowers in front of the school as a sign of support. Im very sad, it could have happened to me, it can happen to any teacher. Thats why I came immediately, she said. On Demand We have a new story every day on the front page of thephuketnews.com. Also like us on our Facebook page (facebook.com/thephuketnews) and be the first to watch all the new stories. Finally you can watch any segment, any time by going to thephuketnews.com/tv where all the stories are listed for you to enjoy. All our programs can be enjoyed in High Definition when watching on the internet. In-Room VDO A Buffalo man accused of fatally shooting his co-worker was arraigned Wednesday in Buffalo City Court on one count of second-degree murder, according to the Erie County District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors accuse Abdul Hussein, 25, of intentionally firing at his co-worker, a 62-year-old man, who police found shot to death about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday inside a corner store on Broadway near Sears Street where both of Hussein and the victim worked. Hussein was apprehended a short time afterward. He is being held without bail and is scheduled to return to court Monday for a felony hearing. If convicted on the charge, Hussein faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison. District Attorney John J. Flynn Jr. commended Buffalo Police Department Homicide Squad Detectives Christopher Sterlace, Mark Costantino and Adam Stephany for their work in the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Rebecca L. Schnirel of the Homicide Unit. Have an interesting bit of news youd like to see mentioned in the Along the Way column? Email it to Natasha Connolly at news@thesunchronicle.com. Minister of State of the United Kingdom for Europe and North America, Leo Docherty visited Alley of Martyrs in Baku, Azernews reports, citing the tweet of British Ambassador to Azerbaijan Fergus Auld. "Mr. Minister Leo Docherty and I visited the Alley of Martyrs and honored the memory of those who died as a result of the massacre of civilians by Soviet troops on January 20, 1990," said the tweet. Amid his visit to Azerbaijan, Minister Docherty undertakes an official two-day visit to Azerbaijan on 22-23 February, to emphasize the UKs commitment to strengthening the ties between the two countries. During the visit, Docherty will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Customs Committee, and participate in discussions on international road transport between the UK and Azerbaijan with the Ministry of Transport. A detention hearing has been delayed until March 2 for two Lackawanna men accused by federal authorities of planning to traffic a family member to Yemen for the purposes of a forced marriage. Kidnapping charges lodged as Lackawanna woman resists forced marriage in Yemen: 'You are no longer in the West' For a Lackawanna woman, the torrent of abuse at her family's hands started in Guadalajara, Mexico, where she was "dragged and pushed" out of her fiance's home and forced to return to Lackawanna in September 2021, according to a federal complaint. The woman was not named in court papers. But her father, Khaled Abughanem, 50, and her brother, Waleed Abughanem, 32, were arrested Feb. 14 on a charge of conspiracy to kidnap a person in a foreign country. Both remain in custody. "Waleed Abughanem denies any allegation of criminal conduct or wrongdoing whatsoever," said Frank Passafiume, an assistant federal public defender. "Beginning at the hearing next week, we will vindicate his name and undo the damage all too often caused by government overreach into our personal lives and disregard of cultural diversity." The U.S. Attorney's Office said the FBI began investigating in December. That is when Waleed Abughanem left his sister in the custody of his spouse in Yemen and flew back to the U.S., landing in Boston. When Customs and Border Protection agents inspected his electronic devices, they saw text messages between him and his father discussing his sister. NED BRISTOL is a retired editor of The Sun Chronicle who writes occasionally for the Opinion Page. Reach him at nedbristol@msn.com . 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. Vote View Results Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has ignited controversy by advocating for the division of the United States into two separate nations, one red and the other blue, amid claims of an impending civil war. Greene, known for her far-right views, appeared on Fox News on Tuesday to defend her position, with host Sean Hannity questioning her on how such division could be healed without a split. While Greene stated that she doesnt want a civil war, she argued that the nation was moving in that direction and action must be taken. The last thing I ever want to see in America is a civil war. No one wants that at least everyone I know would never want that but its going that direction, and we have to do something about it, she said. Greene claimed that she speaks with many people who are sick and tired and fed up with being bullied by the left, abused by the left, and disrespected by the left. She went on to state that our ideas, our policies, and our ways of life have become so far apart that its just coming to that point. The Congresswomans position was outlined on Twitter on Presidents Day, where she called for a national divorce. Greene suggested that the nation should be separated into red and blue states, and the federal government should be reduced in size. She described it not as a civil war but as a legal agreement to separate our ideological and political disagreements by states while maintaining our legal union. Hannity questioned Greene on whether she believed that the left and right could work together or if there was a growing move towards a split because the divide is so deep. Greene responded by saying that she thinks this is a much bigger movement than most people in Washington even realize. She added that the response to her message should tell people a lot. We need a national divorce. We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this. From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrats traitorous America Last policies, we are https://t.co/Azn8YF1UUy Marjorie Taylor Greene (@mtgreenee) February 20, 2023 The Congresswomans call for the division of the US into separate red and blue states has been met with widespread criticism, with many labeling it as a dangerous and unpatriotic idea. Some political commentators have pointed out that such a division would be highly impractical, with many states having mixed political leanings. Others have questioned how a split could be achieved peacefully and without violence. This is not the first time that Greene has courted controversy since being elected to Congress. She has been accused of promoting extremist views and supporting conspiracy theories, leading to calls for her to be expelled from Congress. People saying national divorce is a bad idea because the left will never stop trying to control us literally make the case for national divorce. We dont want a civil war. Were not surrendering. Were tired of complaining with no change and want to protect our way of life. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) February 22, 2023 (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Royce Woods is passionate about promoting diversity and community development. As Evans Bank's chief diversity, inclusion and community development officer, he gets to make an impact in those areas through his work. Woods joined Evans in 2020, after past roles in Buffalo with Mayor Byron Brown and what was then called the Beverly Gray Business Exchange Center. Through the East Side Avenues initiative, which Evans supports, Woods teaches commercial property owners about the nuances of that kind of development. Woods talked about making headway in workplace diversity, and where the best ideas for community development come from: Q: Is Evans making progress with its diversity, equity and inclusion work? A: I think we're making tremendous progress, given the size of our company. This is not something new to Evans Bank we launched it a couple of years ago. Over the last year, we've really worked diligently to diversify where we're trying to find talent. That's requiring a lot of external partnerships with a lot of community organizations, to supply leads into the bank. That's a priority for myself and our employee experience team. Q: What does the region as a whole have to do to build a more diverse and inclusive workforce? A: Workforce development. Continuing to identify diverse talent and provide opportunities for individuals to grow and foster. Something I think we're doing really well over the last year and a half is, our employee experience team has started evaluating a lot of our recruitment practices, evaluating the way we're posting jobs, the requirements for those jobs and developing a lot of internal training programs, in an effort to grow diverse talent. Q: Should others in the region follow that example? A: I would say more specifically the financial service industry. If you look at the region, there's areas within the region that are doing it very well. You have Northland Workforce Training Center. The manufacturing industry, I think, kind of spearheaded it for us regionally. I think from a banking and finance perspective, it's now our turn, and we're matching a lot of those programs. Q: Do you feel like underserved communities in the region are finally starting to get more attention? A: I've seen tremendous progress in the six years I've been in Buffalo, specifically on the East Side of Buffalo, within other low- to moderate-income communities. I think a lot of that is driven by the spearhead which is the public investment. But as the bank, we are the convener. We are typically the financial provider, releasing the capital. But we need to have that collaborative approach. We're doing that in many of our communities now. It's that collaborative approach that kind of keeps the momentum going. We need the boots on the ground in regards to the local community-based nonprofits that really tell us what the needs are there, so we can work with the public sector and make sure the funding gets to where it needs to be. Q: Do you believe there's greater awareness of what's lacking in investment in East Buffalo since the shootings at Tops? A: To be honest, I feel like there was a high level of awareness prior to 5/14 of what the East Side of Buffalo needed. I think what changed after the Jefferson massacre was really the resources that became available to do it. I know as a community bank, the city of Buffalo, the state of New York they were working diligently for the last decade-plus to get resources into those communities. What I learned in my time in the public sector was just how long of a timeline it takes to get some of these projects through. What you're seeing come to fruition started getting worked on in 2014, 2015, 2016. So I'm really excited for the coming years to see a lot of these projects that we've been working on over the last couple of years come to fruition. Q: What type of community development has the greatest impact? A: From a strategy standpoint, I think the concentrated effort works most efficiently. As far as the type of projects, you really get down to the grassroots and evaluate the community needs. In East Buffalo, it's small business support, entrepreneurship support along the major corridors the Jeffersons, the Fillmores, the Baileys and the Michigans, which you're starting to see. And then the massive need for housing: more affordable housing, senior housing. A sweet spot that we're working on is the infill housing, single-family home development [on Adams Street]. Q: You teach commercial property owners through East Side Avenues. What does that prepare them for? A: We're going into Year 3. We've graduated dozens of African American commercial property owners on Buffalo's East Side. These individuals made investment into our region during a period when economically it didn't make sense purchasing significant commercial properties in the late '90s and early 2000s during a time of serious blight. The program really teaches them the ins and outs of commercial development. At the conclusion of the program, they are provided financial assistance from [Empire State Development] through the state to complete the project, and really puts the emphasis on the private sector and the banks to fill that gap. We're starting to see dozens of these graduates complete projects on the East Side. It's something that I think in the coming years, we're going to see tremendous change in the fabric of the community. Because you have people from the community rebuilding their own community. Q: More broadly, how can banks foster community development? A: This community development work takes everybody. It's been really encouraging to see some of our greatest competitors in some regard reach out to us with us a collaborative approach to how we can solve this together. I think there's a great example of that within Home HeadQuarters, a Syracuse-based nonprofit that provides financial assistance for first-time homebuyers and first-time home repairs. We partnered with KeyBank and M&T, all of which provided $1 million each to raise a $3 million support fund for Home HeadQuarters to open up a Buffalo regional office. They're now active within our community. They're deploying that capital to members of our community that needs it most. The 22-year-old accused of carrying out the deadly mass shooting at a nightclub in Colorado Springs in November ran a neo-Nazi website and used slurs while gaming online, a police detective testified Wednesday. Anderson Lee Aldrich used racial slurs while gaming, posted an image of a rifle scope trained on a pride parade and used a homophobic slur when referring to someone, Detective Rebecca Joines testified on the first day of a three-day trial to determine if theres enough evidence to warrant hate crime charges against Aldrich. Aldrich, who wore an orange jail jumpsuit at the hearing and cried at times, identifies as nonbinary and uses the pronouns they and them. Joines said another witness told investigators that Aldrich said their mother, Laura Voepel, is nonbinary and forced them to go to LGBTQ clubs. Joines said evidence also indicates that Aldrich was considering livestreaming the Nov. 19 attack at Club Q in which five people were killed and many others were injured. Earlier Wednesday, another detective testified about the two men credited with stopping the attack. Detective Ashton Gardner told the courtroom that surveillance video from inside the club showed that a Navy sailor, Petty Officer Second Class Thomas James, grabbed the red-hot barrel of Aldrichs AR-style rifle in an effort to wrench it away and burned his hand. He said James and Aldrich then tumbled off a landing and began struggling over Aldrichs handgun, which Aldrich fired at least once, shooting James in the ribs. After being shot, it is clear from the video that James was tiring, but he continues to do what he can to subdue the suspect until police arrive, Gardner testified, noting that James later gave up his spot in an ambulance to someone else who was injured. As James was grappling with Aldrich, Army veteran Richard Fierro rushed over to help, grabbing the rifle and throwing it, Gardner said. Fierro then used the handgun to beat Aldrich, telling officers, I kept hitting him until you came. Aldrich shook during the testimony about the people they shot and cried while being led out of court for the lunch break. James, who issued a statement days after the attack saying he simply wanted to save the family that I found, didnt appear to be at the hearing. But Fierro, who sustained scrapes and bruises, sat in the back row. His daughters boyfriend was killed in the attack. After the gunfire ended and police arrived, Aldrich tried to pin the shooting on one of the patrons who subdued them while also claiming that the shooter was hiding, Officer Connor Wallick testified. Officers didnt believe it and shortly afterward confirmed that Aldrich, 22, was the shooter, he said. Police found several high-capacity magazines at the scene, including a drum-style one that carries 60 rounds and was empty and others that carry 40 rounds, Gasper said. A state law passed after the 2012 Aurora, Colorado, theater shooting bans magazines that carry more than 15 rounds. Unlike the other charges Aldrich faces, including murder and attempted murder, hate crime charges require prosecutors to present evidence of a motive that Aldrich was driven by bias, either wholly or in part. That could include statements Aldrich made on social media or to other people, said Karen Steinhauser, a trial lawyer, former prosecutor and current University of Denver law professor who isnt affiliated with the case. Coming into the hearing, prosecutors hadnt revealed anything about why they charged Aldrich with a hate crime. Although Aldrich identifies as nonbinary, someone who is a member of a protected group such as the LGBTQ-plus community can still be charged with a hate crime for targeting peers. Hate crime laws are focused on the victims, not the perpetrator. Prosecutors usually win preliminary hearings since the standard of proof is lower than at trial and the evidence must be viewed in a light most favorable to them. But defense lawyers sometimes still want to proceed with preliminary hearings because they offer the chance to question witnesses under oath, including investigators, and to learn more about the governments case than might be available in the reports that likely have already been turned over to them, Steinhauser said. Surveillance video from that night showed Aldrich entering the club wearing a red T-shirt and tan ballistic vest while holding an AR-style rifle, with six magazines for the weapon and a pistol visible, said police Detective Jason Gasper. Soon after entering, Aldrich opened fire indiscriminately. At Aldrichs apartment, investigators found gun-making materials, receipts for weapons and a drawing of the club. In Aldrichs mothers room, they found round gun range targets with holes in them, Gasper said. Aldrichs mother had taken them to the gun range. During cross-examination, Gasper said investigators found concerning writings. But he said they didnt find a manifesto or a plan to target members of the LGBTQ community either on Aldrich or at their home. The night of the attack wasnt Aldrichs first visit to the club. An identification scanner showed that Aldrich had been there six times before the shooting, Detective Rebecca Joines testified. Aldrichs attorney also revealed during a recent hearing that Aldrich was at the club earlier on the night of the shooting for about 1 1/2 hours, but he didnt say why or elaborate. Questions were raised early on about whether authorities should have sought a red flag order to stop Aldrich from buying guns after Aldrich was arrested in 2021, when they threatened their grandparents and vowed to become the next mass killer, according to law enforcement documents. Authorities said two guns seized from Aldrich in that case a ghost gun pistol and an MM 15 rifle werent returned. That case was dropped, in part because prosecutors couldnt track down Aldrichs grandparents and mother to testify, so Aldrich had no legal restrictions on buying guns. Former District Attorney George Brauchler, who prosecuted the Aurora theater mass shooting case but who isnt affiliated with the case against Aldrich, said if Aldrich illegally obtained the gun or guns used in the attack, that would make it harder to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, if thats what Aldrich chooses to do. Circumventing gun laws would show that Aldrich knew right from wrong, as would showing that Aldrich was motivated by bias, he said. Hate isnt insane. Hate is a choice, Brauchler said. Defense attorneys have not publicly raised insanity or Aldrichs mental health as an issue and they havent been asked to enter a plea yet. However, an insanity plea is one of the few options Brauchler said he sees for the defense. Its not a whodunit. Its not a what happened. Its a why did it happen, he said. (AP) Jordanian security inspection officials cut off the leather straps of a Ravs tefillin at the Queen Alia International Airport in Amman on Monday. HaRav Moshe Haliva, the Rav of the Sephardi kehilla in Dubai, flew from Israel to Abu Dhabi via Amman. When Rav Haliva went through security in Amman, security officials confiscated his tefillin, and after an hour and a half of arguments, and despite the Ravs pleas that it was a religious object, they cut the tefillin straps in front of him and returned the batim to him. I cried, I begged, Rav Haliva told Ynet. I explained to them that its a holy object, I told them that were cousins, that we also daven to Allah. I told them that theres no metal inside, they could check in the machine that theres writing from the Torah inside like your Quran. They told me that if the tefillin were in my suitcase it would have been all right but its forbidden for me to take it in my hand luggage inside the airplane because its dangerous. One of them gestured with his hand that I can choke someone [with the straps]. I told them that I fly all over the world and there are thousands of Jews that fly around the world and they never used this holy object to choke someone. I explained that the tefillin are very costly. I told them I would send the tefillin back to Tel Aviv but nothing helped. There were six officials surrounding me. They requested that I show them how to use the tefillin and I put them on in front of them. They were curious but in the end, they demanded that I move on and leave the tefillin behind. Again, I begged and cried. They then cut the straps and gave me the batim. The security officials threatened to call the police if Rav Haliwa continued to protest. It was appalling, Rav Haliwa said. It reminded me of scenes from the 1930s when they cut Jews payos off. I was humiliated but I didnt want them to call the police. The incident felt very antisemitic. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) Thousands of Israelis protested against the judicial reform and the end of democracy outside the Knesset on Monday night. However, various videos published on social media of protestors being interviewed showed that many of them had no idea of what the judicial reform entails. One teenage protester told Kan News that the laws dictate that the government will decide whos in the Knesset and whoever opposes the laws they propose will go to jail. Additionally, a video posted by Chareidi journalist Ariel Elharar showed that not all the participants in the protest were even authentic protesters. Elharar wrote: Yesterday at the offices of Refuah and Simcha [a chessed organization] in Jerusalem, the Arab janitor didnt show up. When one of the employees asked him today why he didnt come yesterday, he replied that he received NIS 300 to participate in the left-wing protest in front of the Knesset and shout: We dont want Netanyahu, we dont want Ben-Gvir.' Someone responded to the post by commenting: I was offered NIS 400 to go to the protest. Someone in Raanana asked me and someone else if we were going to the protest. I said no and he said come for NIS 400 but I said no. The guy next to me continued talking to him. The New Israel Fund, a US-based left-wing NGO, has admitted to financially backing anti-Netanyahu protests in Israel. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) The Russian military denied Wednesday that it was planning to test its new Zircon hypersonic missiles during naval drills off the coast of South Africa this week that will coincide with the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine. Chinas navy also is participating in the Indian Ocean exercises, which come at a time when Russias relationship with the West is at its lowest point since the Cold War, and ties between China and the United States are under serious strain. As Russian and Chinese warships prepared in South Africa for their joint drills, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Chinas most senior foreign policy official at the Kremlin. Those meetings showed the strengthening of Russias relationship with China and raised concern in the West that Beijing might be ready to offer Moscow stronger support for its war in Ukraine. Russias aims for the naval exercises came under scrutiny because of the involvement of the Admiral Gorshkov, a frigate which is armed with hypersonic missiles. The ship a rrived in Cape Town last week emblazoned with the letters Z and V, letters also seen on Russian weapons on the front lines in Ukraine and which are used as patriotic symbols in Russia. Russia has said the Zircon missiles can penetrate any missile defense systems to strike targets at sea and on land. But a Russian navy officer in South Africa said Wednesday that the exercises would focus on maritime security, including the fight against piracy. The drills will involve mutual maneuvering of the three sides, assistance of the suffering vessel in a disaster, liberation of a captured vessel by the pirates, and artillery fire which, according to our schedule, does not include the firing with the hypersonic missiles, Capt. Oleg Gladkiy said. He spoke through a translator. The Admiral Gorshkov and a Russian oil tanker for refueling, a Chinese destroyer, frigate and a support vessel, and a South African frigate will be involved in the exercises, according to a South African military statement released last week. Ukraines ambassador to South Africa, Liubov Abravitova., criticized the timing of the drills, which will overlap with Fridays one-year anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine. Abravitova noted that China, Russia and South Africa, which are partners in the BRICS bloc of emerging economies, have undertaken joint naval drills before but said it is a concern for us that they are happening at the time of the anniversary of the brutal Russian invasion. The vessel that came to the shores of South Africa basically brought a piece of the war to this peaceful land through having the letters Z and V, which they are using as a marking on their military equipment while bombing Ukrainian cities, Abravitova said in an interview with The Associated Press. Last week, a small yacht flying Ukraines flag sailed by the Admiral Gorshkov in Cape Towns harbor in protest. On Wednesday, a group of protesters gathered outside the Russian Embassy in the South African capital, Pretoria. They criticized the presence of the Russian warship and South Africas decision to host it. One protester held up a placard that read: DONT PLAY with bullies. South Africa, a key partner of the West in Africa, has come under criticism for holding the naval exercises but has defended itself by saying they were planned two years ago, well before Russias invasion of Ukraine. The exercises are to be held around the Indian Ocean port cities of Durban and Richards Bay. Media access was restricted. (AP) Former President Donald Trump appears to be equally fuming and terrified after the forewoman of a Georgia grand jury made it clear that the group had made a decision to recommend the indictment of Trump over his attempts to overturn the states election results in 2020. This Georgia case is ridiculous, a strictly political continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time. Now you have an extremely energetic young woman, the (get this!) foreperson of the Racist D.A.s Special Grand Jury, going around and doing a Media Tour revealing, incredibly, the Grand Jurys inner workings & thoughts, Trump wrote. At the center of the investigation was a call Trump made to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which he pushed the Georgia official to find the votes he needed to win the state. This is not JUSTICE, this is an illegal Kangaroo Court, Trump wrote. Atlanta is leading the Nation in Murder and other Violent Crimes. All I did is make TWO PERFECT PHONE CALLS!!! (YWN World Headquarters NYC) The Supreme Court seemed skeptical Wednesday of a lawsuit trying to hold social media companies responsible for a terrorist attack at a Turkish nightclub that killed 39 people. During arguments at the high court several justices underscored that there was no evidence linking Twitter, Facebook and Google directly to the 2017 attack on the Reina nightclub in Istanbul. The family of a man killed in the attack says the companies aided and abetted the attack because they assisted in the growth of the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for the attack . A lower court let the lawsuit go forward. The courts disposition of Wednesdays case and a related one it heard a day earlier is important, particularly because the companies have been shielded from liability on the internet, allowing them to grow into the giants they are today. If the court bars the lawsuit involving the attack in Turkey from going forward it could avoid a major ruling on the companies legal immunity. That outcome would leave the current system in place, but also leave open the possibility that the justices could take up the issue again in a later case. Justice Amy Coney Barrett was among the members of the court who suggested that the suit against the companies lacks the kind of specificity required under a federal anti-terrorism law. Barrett said there would have to be specific allegations in the complaint, not just general recruitment or radicalizing people. Justice Neil Gorsuch, participating remotely for a second straight day because of illness, told a lawyer for the family that he was struggling with how your complaint lines up with the three requirements of the statute that the companies knowingly helped a person commit a terrorist act. The law the case involves is the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, which allows Americans injured by a terrorist attack abroad to sue for money damages in federal court. U.S. citizens who are family members of Nawras Alassaf, who was killed in the Reina nightclub attack, sued Twitter, Facebook and YouTube parent Google under the law. (AP) President Joe Biden closed out his wartime visit to Europe on Wednesday, working to shore up partnerships with allies on NATOs perilous eastern flank even as Russias Vladimir Putin was drawing closer to China for help as his invasion of Ukraine neared the one-year mark. Bidens meeting with leaders of the Bucharest Nine nations in Warsaw came at the conclusion of a whirlwind, four-day visit to Ukraine and Poland meant to reassure allies that U.S. support in fending off Russia isnt at risk of waning. In dramatic counterpoint, Putin on Wednesday played host in Moscow to Wang Yi, the Chinese Communist Partys most senior foreign policy official, as U.S. intelligence warned that Beijing is considering supplying arms and ammunition to the worn-down Russian military. The flexing of alliances was a fresh indication that both sides are digging in for prolonged conflict in Ukraine with the fighting expected to intensify with the arrival of spring. Bidens trip had provided yet another moment of telling counterprogramming on Tuesday when he delivered a ringing speech on Western unity in Warsaw, a day after he swept into Kyiv unannounced for a visit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. As Biden spoke in Poland, Putin announced that Russia was suspending its participation in the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms control treaty. Biden called that departure a big mistake. The exit is expected to have an immediate impact on U.S. awareness of Russian nuclear activities. However, the pact known as New START was already on life support following Moscows cancellation late last year of talks that had been intended to salvage an agreement that each side has accused the other of violating. Biden met Wednesday with leaders of the Bucharest Nine, the nations in the easternmost parts of the NATO alliance that came together in response to Putins 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. They include Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. Youre the frontlines of our collective defense, Biden told them. And you know, better than anyone, whats at stake in this conflict. Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world. These countries have worried that Putin could move to take military action against them next if hes successful in Ukraine. Biden responded to that anxiety by pledging that NATOs mutual defense pact is sacred and that we will defend literally every inch of NATO. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who attended the meeting, pointed to past Russian actions in Georgia and Ukraine and said, We cannot allow Russia to continue to chip away at European security. We must break the cycle of Russian aggression. It was unclear how the U.S. and its allies aimed to do that, other than by continuing to arm Ukraines military with the Western and aging Soviet arms that have allowed it retake about half of the territory it lost in the opening days of the war. After the Russian militarys battlefield shortcomings were revealed at the start of the conflict, Putin, too, has been seeking rearmament, drawing on Iran and North Korea for assistance and potentially China. Administration officials dont yet have an indication that China has decided to move forward on sending Moscow weaponry, but Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this week it would be a serious problem should Beijing follow through. Throughout the conflict, China has cautiously weighed the pros and cons of directly aiding Russia. But a year into the war, Beijing now seems increasingly concerned that Russia one of its closest allies is teetering toward something that could approximate a loss in Ukraine. The U.S. and its allies have threatened secondary sanctions on countries that support the Russian war effort. But there was no consensus this week on potentially steeper sanctions for China, which could have global economic implications, should it decide to rearm Putins forces. One European official described the intelligence regarding Chinese consideration of supplying Russia with weapons as unambiguous. Western officials do not know whether the possibility is currently being studied only by Chinas military or some other single branch of the government, or by the Chinese government as a whole, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the Wests intelligence on the matter. Western intelligence indicates that the kind of supplies China is considering giving Russia would be aimed at backfilling stocks of weapons that Russia was losing, or wasting, on the battlefield in Ukraine, the European official said. From the intelligence signals thus far, Western officials dont believe Chinas supply of weapons to Russia would be sufficient to change the trajectory of the year-old war. But Chinese cooperation on military supplies for Russias war in Ukraine would be a significant sign of Beijings current appetite for risk-taking when it comes to allying with Russia in a stand against the West. Li Mingjiang, an associate professor in international relations at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said at an event hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace last week that Beijing was weighing the value of creating a situation in which the U.S. will have to now deal with really two potential enemies and challengers and that will help divert a bit of Americas attention and resources from the Asia Pacific region. (AP) NATOs chief said Wednesday that the military alliance has seen some signs that China may be planning to support Russia in its war in Ukraine, and strongly urged Beijing to desist from what would be a violation of international law. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also told The Associated Press in an interview that the alliance, while not a party to the war, will support Ukraine for as long as it takes. Asked whether NATO has any indication that China might be ready to provide arms or other support to Russias war, Stoltenberg said: We have seen some signs that they may be planning for that and of course NATO allies, the United States, have been warning against it because this is something that should not happen. China should not support Russias illegal war. Stoltenberg said potential Chinese assistance would amount to providing (direct) support to a blatant violation of international law, and of course (as) a member of the U.N. security council China should not in any way support violation of the U.N. charter, or international law. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted the Chinese Communist Partys most senior foreign policy official Wang Yi raising concern in the West that Beijing might be ready to offer Moscow stronger support in the almost year-old war. China has pointedly refused to criticize the invasion of Ukraine while echoing Moscows claim that the U.S. and NATO were to blame for provoking the Kremlin. China, Russia and South Africa are holding naval drills in the Indian Ocean this week. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said any Chinese involvement in the Kremlins war effort would be a serious problem. Ties between China and the U.S. are under severe strain over Taiwan and other issues. Stoltenberg spoke to The Associated Press in Warsaw, following a meeting of NATOs nine eastern flank members with U.S. President Joe Biden on the regions security. He stressed that while NATO is no party to the Ukraine conflict its tasks are to ensure that Ukraine prevails and to prevent this war from escalating beyond Ukraine and becoming a full-fledged war between Russia and NATO. He said the main message from the meeting in Warsaw was that we will provide support to Ukraine for as long as it takes. It would be a tragedy for the Ukrainians if President Putin wins in Ukraine, Stoltenberg said, and also dangerous for all of us because it would send the message to all authoritarian leaders that when they use military force, they get what they want. The Russian attack on Ukraine has prompted Sweden and neighboring Finland to abandon decades of nonalignment and apply to join the 30-nation alliance. But their bids particularly Swedens are being delayed by Turkey, which wants the two countries to crack down on mostly Kurdish groups Ankara regards as terrorists. Stoltenberg told the AP that following talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week he could see Turkey is moving closer to being ready to ratify and (to) welcome Finland into the alliance. But (Ankara continues) to have some challenges with Sweden. He said he welcomed the fact that he and Erdogan agreed to a meeting soon of experts and officials in Brussels from the three countries involved to look into how we can make progress also on the ratification of Sweden as a full NATO ally. (AP) A Texas man who threatened U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter after he stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 was sentenced on Wednesday to more than three years in prison. Garret Miller was wearing a shirt that read I Was There, Washington D.C., January 6, 2021 with a picture on President Donald Trump on it when law enforcement officers showed up at his Dallas-area home to arrest him two weeks after the riot. Miller has already served more than two years behind bars since his arrest and with credit for good behavior, hes expected to serve another eight months, according to his lawyer, F. Clinton Broden. Miller, a 36-year-old from Richardson, was among the many rioters who thoroughly documented their actions that day in a flurry of social media posts. After Miller posted a selfie showing himself inside the Capitol, a friend wrote, bro you got in?! Nice! Miller replied, just wanted to incriminate myself a little lol, according to court papers. On Jan. 6, he helped lead the charge as rioters removed barriers and swarmed the east front of the Capitol, prosecutors said. He was twice briefly detained by police but released and told to leave as overwhelmed officers struggled to beat back the mob, prosecutors said. Instead of leaving, Miller went inside the Capitol, where authorities say he was aggressive toward police and ignored their commands as they tried to force him to exit. He grabbed at one officers baton and put his hand on another as he resisted being pushed out of the Rotunda, according to prosecutors. The night of Jan. 6, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted the word Impeach, and Miller responded to her on Twitter with: Assassinate AOC. The next day, he bragged to a friend in a message that the rioters terrified congress, prosecutors say. Shortly after the 2020 election, he also sent a threatening message to the Instagram account of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, writing we are coming for you, according to prosecutors. U.S. Capitol Police referred the threat to the FBI, who at that point were already investigating Miller for his Jan. 6 actions, prosecutors say. He was not charged with threatening Schumer. Days after the riot, Miller was sharing photos of the officer he believed fatally shot Ashli Babbitt at the Capitol, prosecutors say. In a Facebook message on January 10, Miller said he and others were going to get a hold of the officer and hug his neck with a nice rope, according to court papers. Millers attorney had asked the judge to impose time served, while prosecutors had sought four years in prison. Millers attorney said in court documents that despite his clients tweet about Ocasio-Cortez and messages about the officer, there is no indication that he made any effort whatsoever to actually harm anybody. It should be always be remembered that, although Garret is fully responsible for his individual actions that day, his actions and the actions of many others were a product of rhetoric from a cult leader that has yet to be brought to justice, Broden said in an email Wednesday. Garret Miller was not the name on the flag carried by those who invaded our Capitol on this dark day in our nations history. In a letter to the judge, Miller called his social media posts disgusting and a complete embarrassment and apologized to Ocasio-Cortez, Schumer, the officer who shot Babbitt and the other officers Miller interacted with on Jan. 6. I feel a deep remorse for not being helpful to police that day and aiding in destruction and pain. It was unnecessary, barbaric, and disrespectful. I was proud, arrogant, and acted in anger. I needed to be humbled he wrote. Miller pleaded guilty in December to charges including interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder, assaulting, resisting or impeding officers and threatening Ocasio-Cortez. Miller was charged separately this month in Texas federal court with one count of possession of an unregistered firearm, according to court documents. When he was arrested on the Jan. 6 charges, authorities found an AR-style rifle at his home that had been configured to fire like a machine gun. Hes among nearly 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Jan. 6 riot and more than 500 who have pleaded guilty. About 400 rioters have been sentenced, with over half getting terms of imprisonment ranging from seven days to 10 years. (AP) Israelis living in the south of the country were abruptly awoken in the early hours of Thursday morning by the sound of Red Alert sirens warning of incoming rocket fire. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has confirmed that six rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel, five of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system and the other one fell in an open area. The rockets were fired at around 4am local time, causing residents to flee to nearby bomb shelters. Sirens sounded in Ashkelon, Sderot, and the surrounding areas. No casualties were initially reported. As the IDF has commonly done in the past, a response with precision airstrikes is expected at terror infrastructure within the Strip. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Western New Yorkers spent much of Thursday recovering from a storm of freezing rain and sleet that left a half-inch of ice in Cheektowaga, Blasdell and Elma, and more than a quarter of an inch across much of northern and eastern Erie County. For many in the Buffalo metro area, that meant aggressively scraping sheets of ice off of cars; taking short, choppy steps down driveways and sidewalks; and waiting patiently for power outages to be resolved. Then Mother Nature piled on. The wintry mix of freezing rain and sleet returned to northern Erie County and the Northtowns mid-afternoon Thursday, leaving around another tenth of an inch of ice for the evening commute, with wind gusts approaching 40 mph. The winter weather advisory, expected to expire at 2:45 p.m. Thursday, was bumped to 10 p.m., with the mixed precipitation expected to turn to snow overnight. And while the wind is expected to relent during the day Friday, temperatures into the weekend are unlikely to rise to provide relief. "There's no warmup to melt all the ice away," said Heather Kenyon, a National Weather Service Buffalo meteorologist, on Thursday morning. Niagara and Orleans counties saw most of their precipitation as snow, with Sanborn receiving 4.2 inches and Newfane and Lockport receiving around 3 inches. The Buffalo Niagara International Airport in Cheektowaga received 2 inches, as did Williamsville and Snyder; the Southern Tier and most Southtowns received less than an inch of snow. The scene was much different in the Southern Tier and parts of southern Erie County, in which temperatures reached the mid-50s on Thursday afternoon, a heat wave compared to the temperatures that hovered around freezing just 30 or so miles north and west. For instance, temperatures were 49 degrees in Jamestown at 3:30 p.m. Thursday and 27 at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport in Cheektowaga a difference of 22 degrees over a span of about 70 miles. Since it has been a few years since we had this much ice on campus, we figured it's a good time for a reminder! pic.twitter.com/zSDU8j7i5l Buffalo State UPD (@BuffaloStateUPD) February 23, 2023 About 25,000 NYSEG customers were without power early Thursday morning centered in Cheektowaga, West Seneca and Orchard Park but crews restored electricity to more than 10,000 of those by noon. Almost the entire Village of Sloan did not have power for much of the day Thursday. Households using National Grid were more fortunate, as only around 500 were without power as of 3 p.m. Thursday. An update shared on Twitter Thursday night by Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz said he was advised by NYSEG that heart of the remaining outages came as a result of a National Grid line falling onto both NYSEG and National Grid lines. We've been advised by @NYSEandG that the major power outage affecting 6,000 customers in Cheektowaga, Sloan, Depew & parts of West Seneca are related to a @nationalgridus transmission line that came down on both National Grid and NYSEG lines. Restoration is expected by 7:00 PM. pic.twitter.com/MLujAdaHAG Mark Poloncarz (@markpoloncarz) February 23, 2023 As expected, the ice storm affected travel in the area. Traffic signals were out, while lanes on major routes were closed at various points Thursday due to disabled vehicles. In Buffalo, the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority suspended metro rail service temporarily Thursday morning, but buses were unaffected. Public works officials around Western New York reported downed power lines and telephone poles which blocked roads like Jewett Holmwood in the Town of Aurora and Center Road in West Seneca. The biggest trouble spots were Galleria Drive near the Walden Galleria entrance Thursday morning, and during evening rush hour the closure for power line repairs of Walden Avenue between Galleria Drive and Duke Road, a busy stretch just west of the mall. The City of Buffalo's Department of Public Works said Thursday afternoon that no major damage occurred as the result of the storm, but the city's 311 line received more than 60 calls for tree-related issues, according to spokesperson Michael J. DeGeorge. The city's forestry crews and contractors responded to the calls, according to the report. Among the delays and closures were SUNY Buffalo State University, which canceled all classes before 10 a.m. Thursday, while SUNY Erie's South Campus canceled all of its classes. The Buffalo & Erie County Public Library's downtown location and other city branches did not open until noon, and the Town of Cheektowaga's Twitter account reported Cheektowaga Town Hall closed for the day due to a power outage. The outlook for the first part of the weekend is frigid. Temperatures Friday will be stuck in 20s, according to the NWS Buffalo forecast, with wind chills likely in the single digits. Saturday promises to be cloudy and a bit more pleasant, but still with potential snow showers. The IDF on Wednesday evening published head camera footage of the hours-long counterterrorism operation in Shechem on Wednesday morning, in which 10 terrorists were killed and over 100 Arabs were wounded. The video shows Israeli security forces under heavy fire from terrorists while making their way through the alleys of the Old City of Shechem toward the home of the wanted suspects. A fierce gun battle broke out between Israeli security forces, some of whom were disguised as Palestinians carrying prayer rugs with rifles hidden inside and Palestinian terrorists. The video below shows the Israeli security forces leaving Shechem at the end of the operation: The IDF spokesperson also revealed that two IDF soldiers were lightly injured from shrapnel from their fellow soldiers gunfire at terrorists. Both soldiers were evacuated to the hospital for treatment. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) A terrible tragedy occurred when a fire broke out overnight Wednesday in a home in Monroe, near Kiryas Yoel. The Monroe Joint Fire District and Monroe Police Department responded to a home on Highland Avenue in Monroe at 12:55 a.m. for a reported house fire. Firefighters and police officers at the scene were informed that a family was believed to be inside but they were unable to attempt a rescue due to the intensity of the flames. Firefighters from Monroe and nearby fire districts extinguished the fire as quickly as they could but tragically, after entering the home, they discovered that a frum couple and their seven-year-old daughter had perished in the blaze. The niftarim have been identified as Kalman Goldstein zl, his wife Sarah ah, and their daughter Miriam ah. The levaya is scheduled to take place at 5 PM in Passaic outside the Agudah Shul, with kevurah in Deans, New Jersey. Monroe Police Department Detectives are working closely with the Orange County Fire Investigators, the Orange County Medical Examiners Office, and the Monroe Joint Fire District to determine the cause of the fire. The Monroe Police Department was assisted at the scene by New York State Police, Orange County Sheriffs Office, Monroe Volunteer Ambulance Corps., and Kiryas Joel EMS. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com This article is printed in honor of the Bris Milah of our new einekel, who was named after Rabbi Yitzchok Wenger zl of Lakewood, NJ, who exemplified ivdu es Hashem bsimcha. The author can be reached at [email protected] At the seudas haBris, Rav Yeruchem Olshin shlita posed the question as to the nature of the third bracha of the Bris Milah Boruch atta Hashem elokainu melech haolam asher Kadesh yedid mibeten etc. Why is it said over a kos, a cup of wine? He cited the words of teh Turei Zahav who stated that it is so that Shira be recited. What is the nature of this Shira? It is so that we rejoice that we have merited to be an Eved Hashem a servant of Hashem. The Bris Milah, which is a mark of pride (as we say in bentching, val brischa shechasamta bivsareinu is something of which we show so much joy, that it reaches the level of shira, a song of utter joy. [The author is reminded of a statement of Rav Moshe Feinstein ztl, The expression of es is shver tzu zein a yid should never be voiced. It is entirely untrue. Rather we should say it is beautiful and joyous to be a yid.] Below is a rather long overview of Bris Milah. Perhaps it is best to print out for reading. THE MITZVAH OF MILAH It is a positive Mitzvah in the Torah for a father to circumcise his son . This Mitzvah is greater than other positive Mitzvos in the Torah . If the father did not circumcise his son, it is incumbent upon the Beis Din or the community to do so. If they did not do so, then he is obligated to circumcise himself when he becomes of age. If he did not do so, then he incurs the punishment of Karais . Each day that the Bris Milah is not done one incurs these punishments . One may not circumcise a baby without the fathers permission, unless the father did not do so. In such circumstances Beis Din performs the Milah against his will (Tur citing Rambam) . Nowadays, however, when the beis Din does not have temporal power this is not generally done. A woman is not obligated to circumcise her son . If a father does not know how to circumcise and there is a Mohel who does not wish to circumcise for no fee, Beis Din must censor the Mohel, for this is not the manner of the descendants of Avrohom. Indeed, the opposite is true, Mohalim compete for the opportunity to circumcise. If the Mohel remains adamant and the father cannot afford to pay his fee, it is likened to a case where there is no father and the Beis Din is obligated to circumcise. Therefore, Bais Din can force the Mohel, since there is no one else to circumcise. TIMING OF CIRCUMCISION A circumcision is not performed at nighttime, rather one waits until sunrise of the eighth day of his birth . If it was performed after dawn, however, the Mitzvah has been fulfilled . One may perform the circumcision throughout the entire day, however, there is a concept that the zealous perform Mitzvos early, and therefore it is done immediately in the morning . Even a Milah that had been delayed must only be performed in the daytime . If one went ahead and circumcised at nighttime, he must go back and draw a drop of blood through the performance of hatafas dam bris . If one went ahead and circumcised within the eight days and in the daytime, there is a debate as to whether he has fulfilled the Mitzvah . One should perform a hatafas dam bris. A BABY WHO IS ILL If a baby is sick, the Bris Milah is not performed until he becomes well, and then one must wait a full seven 24 hour periods after he has recovered until the Bris Milah is performed. This, however, refers to if the child has an infection that resulted in a fever. If the child was sick in just one limb, such as pain in the eyes, then we wait until the child recovers and then the Bris Milah is performed immediately . If, however, he is in severe eye pain, then it is considered as if his entire body is ill and they must wait the seven day period15. DIFFERENT TYPES OF BABIES An androgynous child, a baby with two foreskins, and a child born of Caesarian section is circumcised on the eighth day . BORN AT TWILIGHT If the baby was born during twilight, we count nine days later which is possibly the eighth day or the ninth day. If, however, the child stuck its head out of the birth canal while it was yet daylight, or if they heard the child crying even if it did not finish coming out until several days, we count eight days from when its head emerged or from when the crying was heard . This is only in general, however, if the mother said that the baby was still inside her at the time, then we do not count any crying . If the child was born after there were three very small stars that appeared in the sky, one may rely upon these stars to perform the Milah on the next day, since there was no Shabbos or Yom Tov. This is true even if the sky appears like it is yet day. If three medium stars were visible immediately upon the childs head emerging, one may rely upon this that it is evening even if the next day is Shabbos. But if they waited and only observed the stars after waiting they only have what their eyes see and he is circumcised on the eighth even if it happened on Shabbos. The matter is not dependent at all upon Tefilah whether they prayed while it was daylight. This is neither to be lenient nor to be stringent. A BABY WHO IS RED OR YELLOW A baby who is yellow, it is a sign that its blood has not emerged yet , one does not perform a Bris Milah until its blood emerges and the babys appearance resembles that of other babies. Similarly, if it appears reddish, it is a sign that the circulation has not fully developed. One does not perform a circumcision until the circulation is developed. One must be very careful in these matters. For one does not circumcise a child if there is a concern for illness. For danger to life sets aside everything. It is always possible to conduct the circumcision after a while. It is never possible, however, to bring back one Jewish soul. A BABY WHO IS A HEMOPHILIAC If a woman circumcised her first son and he dies on account of the circumcision, i.e. the circumcision weakened the child, and she circumcised her second child and it died on account of circumcision she attains the status of a woman whose children die from circumcision. It does not matter whether it was from the same husband or from two different husbands, she may not circumcise the third. Rather, she must wait until he matures and gains strength. The same would be true if a man circumcised his first and second son and they died on account of the circumcision. He may not circumcise the third, whether or not they were from one wife or two different wives. Some argue and are of the opinion that it does not apply to a man but only the woman. The Ramah concludes that when there is a doubt in regard to life we are lenient (and assume that there is a problem even with a man) . If a woman had her son circumcised and he died on account of the circumcision and her sister had circumcised her son and he died on account of the circumcision, the other sisters may not circumcise their sons. Rather, they should wait until they mature and gain strength. CHILD BORN CIRCUMCISED If the child is born circumcised one must take a drop of blood called, Dam Bris. It must be done gently and examined carefully with watchful eyes. It is not done with iron so as not to damage him. They watch and examine carefully how to circumcise him and wait an adequate time. We are not concerned that it be performed on the eighth day so the child will not come to danger. If a child passes away before it reached the eighth day, he is circumcised at the graveside with a rock or with a piece of wood. A blessing is not recited on the circumcision, but a name is given him as a memorial, so that he will receive compassion from Heaven and live again at Tchias Hameisim. This is not done (on Yom Tov nor) even on the second day Yom Tov, as it is forbidden to bury an unviable child on Yom Tov even moving it is forbidden. BRIS MILAH FOR A GENTILE It is forbidden to circumcise a gentile if it is not for the purpose of conversion even during the week . WHO MAY PERFORM THE BRIS MILAH All are kosher to perform the Bris Milah, even an eved, a woman, a minor, and an uncircumcised Jew whose brothers died on account of circumcision . If there is an adult male Jew who knows how to circumcise he comes before all of them. Some say that a woman should not circumcise, and the custom is to wait for a man (even when no man is currently present). A gentile, however, may not circumcise at all, even if he himself is circumcised. If he did circumcise, there is no need to circumcise again. There is an opinion that we do go back and take a drop of blood Dam Bris. This is the essential custom. A denier of the entire Torah or a denier of the concept of circumcision is considered like a gentile. If a child needs to be circumcised within the eight days on account of danger there is no difference between a Jew or gentile. For whenever it is within the eight days it is not called Milah. However, if there are tzitzin haMeakvin haMilah threads of flesh that invalidate the circumcision or if he did the circumcision but not the priyah, then a Jew should finish off the circumcision on the eighth day, or after he is healed. RIGHTEOUS MOHEL AND SANDEK A person should look to engage a Mohel and a Sandek that is good and righteous . If it was promised to one person, it is forbidden to cancel it and take it back. If, however, he did take it back it is a valid cancellation. The idea of Kabalas Kinyan is ineffective to force the engagement. However, if he swore to him that he would receive it, then we would force him to fulfill it. If the father engaged one person to perform the Milah but he sent for another because he thought the first person would not be present or available, and the first person was available the first should perform the Milah. This is because he certainly did not change from the first one. A woman may not appoint a different person to perform the Milah, because she has no connection to the Mitzvah of Milah . WHAT ONE MAY CIRCUMCISE WITH One may circumcise with anything, even a rock or glass or anything that cuts, with the exception of a stem of a reed, because splinters come off it and lead to a severed urethra. It is a Mitzvah Min HaMuvchar to use iron, whether it is a knife or a scissors. The custom is to circumcise with a knife. THE ACTUAL PROCEDURE How does one circumcise? One cuts the foreskin, the entire skin that surrounds the crown (Glans) until the crown is revealed. Afterward, the softer under-foreskin is ripped with a fingernail and pulled down on each side until the crown is revealed. After this the blood from the distant places is suctioned up, Metzitzah, so that the baby will not come to danger. Any Mohel who does not perform the suction is removed. Some perform the Metzitzah with the mouth. Others perform it by using a glass tube. The Chofetz Chaim, in his Biur Halacha, allows the use of the glass tube on Shabbos. After the suction is performed, he places an isplanis or a bandage or an herbal compound that stops the blood. He should be careful that if the isplanis has a lip to turn it facing the outside so it will not stick to the wound and cause a danger. If he performed the Milah without performing the priyah (the rolling back of the lower foreskin) it is as if he has not performed the Milah . THREADS OF FLESH THAT DISQUALIFY THE MILAH There are threads of the flesh that disqualify the Milah and there are that do not disqualify it. How so? If there is foreskin leftover that covers the majority of the crown from the above the corona line even if it is just in one place it invalidates the circumcision and it is as if he has not circumcised . If only some of the foreskin is left over and it does not surround the majority of the crown above the corona line it does not disqualify the Milah. However, if it is a weekday, he should ideally remove all the larger threads even if they do not disqualify the Milah. A child (who had already received a bris), whose flesh is soft and hanging, or if he is heavyset and he appears as if he is uncircumcised, we examine: if when his member is erect it appears circumcised he does not need to be circumcised again. Nonetheless, on account of Maaris ayin, one should fix the excess skin that appears on each side. [There is a debate as to how this fixing is to be accomplished,] If he does not appear to be circumcised when his member is erect, he must cut the flesh that is hanging until he would appear to be circumcised when his member is erect . It is not necessary that the majority of the crown be apparent when the member is erect, since at one point he was circumcised properly. Even if only a small part of the crown is visible there is no need to circumcise again. Nonetheless, if it is possible, one should correct it by pulling back the skin and tying it in such a manner that it will remain up and not come down. THE BLESSINGS One who performs the Milah recites the blessing, asher kidshanu b;mitzvosav vtzivanu al hamilah. The father of the child, between the cutting of the foreskin and the Priyah this blessing: Asher kidshanu bmizvosav vtzivanu lhachniso bevriso shel Avrohom Avinu. If the father is not present at the Milah, some say that another person recites this blessing since Bais Din is obligated in circumcising him . The custom is that the person who holds the child recites this blessing. It is the same, if the father is present but does not know how to recite a blessing. When the father and the Mohel recite their blessings they must stand. When the person who is holding the child is the one who recites the blessing, the custom is that he sits. Some are of the opinion that everyone who is present at the Bris should stand, as the verse states (Malachim II 23:3), And the nation stood at the covenant. This is the custom, aside from the person who holds the baby who sits. If other people are present they recite: Just as you have brought him to a bris, so too should you bring him to Torah, to the Chuppah, and to good deeds. It is interesting that the Shach changes this wording and states that we always say, just as he entered rather than just as you have brought him.. The father of the child or the Mohel or one of those gathered recites over a cup of wine: Borei Pri HaGafen. Some have the custom to hold a myrtle branch in his hand and recite a blessing over it and smell it and then say, Boruch atta Hashem elokainu melech haolam asher Kadesh yedid mibeten etc. The custom is that when he reaches the words, bdamayich chayi to take some of the wine with his index finger and place it in the mouth of the child . When the Mohel recites this blessing, he first washes his hands and mouth so that he will be able to recite the blessing in a state of purity. IF THE FATHER IS A MOHEL If the father himself is a mohel, according to the Rambam he recites the blessing, Limol es Haben. Others argue (Tur citing the Baal HaIttur). The custom is for everyone to recite the same blessing. However, if the father did recite limol he has fulfilled the Mitzvah or if he only recited the blessing of lehachniso he has likewise fulfilled the Mitzvah. A convert who received a Bris Milah prior to his conversion, and a child who was born circumcised, when a drop of blood is taken, a blessing is not recited . Similarly, a blessing is not recited over a circumcision of an androgynous person because he is not a certain male. However, when one goes back to remove the threads that invalidate a circumcision, one does recite a blessing. However, one does not say, sustain this child, etc. A MAMZER A Mamzer is considered like a Jew, and a blessing is recited up until the words, Kores HaBris. One does not, however, recite the bakashas rachamim section . During the Milah one publicizes his status. YOM KIPPUR AND THE FOUR FASTS On Yom Kippur and on the four fasts, a blessing is not recited over a cup of wine. However, if the mother is not fasting, he may recite a blessing over the wine and the mother may taste of it if she hears the blessing and has in mind not to interrupt between the recitation of the blessing and her drinking of it. On Yom Kippur and on Tisha bAv, when the mother may not drink of it, no blessing is recited . TISHA BAV On Tisha bAv spices are also not brought for the reason that a blessing is not recited on spices on Motzai Shabbos that falls on Tisha bAv. The Ramah cites an opinion that a blessing is recited over the cup of wine on all fast days and the glass is given to young children, and this is the custom. On Yom Kippur the custom is to give the wine to the child undergoing the bris, as explained in OC 621. Some say that even without a Taanis one can fulfill the Mitzvah in this manner, but this is not the custom. Rather, the Sandek drinks the wine when it is not a fast day. TWO BABIES BEING CIRCUMCISED If someone has two babies to circumcise, only one blessing is recited for both of them . Even if there are two different people performing the circumcision, the first one recites the blessing on the Milah and it counts for the second child. The second Mohel recites the Asher Kadesh yedid and it counts for the first child. Even if the baby is not there during the blessing it still counts, since he has him in mind. It is just that he cannot have an interruption in between. But if he spoke in between or if he did not initially have in mind the second child, he must recite the asher kidesh yedid on the first child and recite the blessing of Milah on the second child. This is only if he spoke in matters that do not have to do with the Milah, but if he spoke about matters having to do with the Milah it is not considered a Hefsek, an interruption. If he forgot and recited the blessing of Asher Kidesh yedid after the first child there is no need to recite the blessing on the Milah, for the bracha is not a hefsek, as explained in YD 28 regarding kisui hadam. If both children are from the same father, he recites: lehachniso bivriso shel avrohom avinu. He also says, kayaim es hayeladim etc. The father further arranges all the needs of the Milah for each one, such as the candle each child should have his own candle (Maharil). IN FRONT OF TEN PEOPLE Where it is possible the Milah is performed before ten people . When this is not possible, it may be done with less than ten. When the father himself circumcises his son, he recites the blessing of Shehecheyanu (according to Sefardim). If the Mohel is someone else, some say that no shehecheyanu is recited. According to the Rambam, the father always recites the Shehecheyanu on each and every Milah. And this is the custom in Eretz Yisroel, and Syria and its surrounding environs, and in Egypt. The Ramah adds that in these countries the custom is not to recite the Shehecheyanu even if the father circumcises the son himself. However, if the father is circumcising his firstborn child that requires a pidyon he makes a shehecheyanu during the Bris and he does not recite it during the pidyon HaBen. However, if the child is exempt from a pidyon than the shehecheyanu is not recited. There is no need to cover the private parts of the child when the blessing is recited . However, one should clean the child of any fecal matter prior to the blessing. The father of the child stands next to the Mohel to inform him that he is his shliach messenger. THE FORESKIN The foreskin is placed in sand or dirt . So too is the blood from the Metzitzah poured out in sand. If it is Shabbos this must be prepared from before Shabbos. THE CHAIR OF ELIYAHU It is the custom to prepare a chair for Eliyahu, who is called the Angel of the Bris. When he establishes it he should say aloud, This is the chair of Elyahu. The Ramah writes that it is the custom to seek out this Mitzvah to be a Sandek and hold the baby when it is being circumcised. The power of a Sandek is greater than that of a Mohel in terms of being called up to the Torah, for every Sandek is considered as if he is offering the Ktores the incense. Therefore, it is the custom not to give two children one Sandek as it is said regarding the incense, Only those who have never offered incense before shall participate in the lottery for the incense. A woman should not be the Sandek in a place where it is possible for a man to do so, for it is like pritzus. Nonetheless, a woman may assist her husband and bring the baby up to the Shul. He then takes the baby from her and becomes the Sandek. A man can do the entire procedure without the woman. Some say that it is the custom for the Mohalim to pray on the day of the Milah as it is written (Tehillim 149:6), Let the high praises of Hashem be in their mouth and a two-edged sword in their hand. The knife of a Mohel is usually sharp on both sides. However, the Maharam Mintz in response #43 proves that there is no such drasha and therefore a Mohel never sets aside a mourner from leading the services. THE BRIS MILAH MEAL It is the custom to make a meal for the Bris Milah. It is also the custom to gather a minyan for the meal, and it is called a Seudas Mitzvah. Whomever does not eat of the meal of the Bris is cast off from Heaven. This, however, is only if there are proper people gathered there. But if inappropriate people are there, there is no need to eat there. SHALOM ZACHAR There is also the custom to arrange a festive meal on the Friday night after a male child is born . This is also a Seudas Mitzvah. MILA THAT FALLS ON A FAST DAY If the Bris Milah falls on one of the written fast days, Slichos and Vidui are said as usual, but VeHu Rachum and Nefilas Apaim are not said. LEPROSY A Bris Milah, whether it is on time or delayed, sets aside leprosy of tzaraas . If there is a bright spot in the skin of the foreskin, even though there is a prohibition in removing the bright spot (see Vayikrah chapter 12 and Dvarim 24:8), he may remove it with the foreskin. However, if after he has been circumcised, the growth appeared on his member to the point where he no longer appears circumcised and he must cut it, if there is a bright spot on the flesh there it is forbidden to remove it, since he is only required to circumcise again by Rabbinic decree . SETTING ASIDE SHABBOS Milah sets side Yom Tov and Shabbos when it is on time . When it is not on time, it does not set aside Shabbos. Even if it is on time, it only sets aside the Milah itself, the Priyah and the Metzitzah. Even if the Mohel finished the task and left, he may go back and remove the threads of flesh that invalidate the Milah. That is, he may remove the threads that surround the majority of the crown even if it is just in one place. For those that do not invalidate the Milah, if he has not left, he may remove them. If he has left he may not remove them. He may place an Asplanis on it a bandage that absorbs the blood. MOVING THE KNIFE The Ramah writes that it is permitted to move the aismal, the Milah knife, and hide it in a safe place, even though he will no longer need it for that Shabbos . This is because it did not become Muktzah on Friday evening Bain HaShmashos since he needed to use it over Shabbos (TaZ). This is how it appears to the Ramah. However, the preparatory parts of it are not set aside, since he could have done them while it was not yet Shabbos. Therefore, one cannot fashion a knife to circumcise with. The Chochmas Adam adds that one may also not sharpen a knife on Shabbos. Nor may one carry the knife from one place to another, even carrying it from the house to bring it through roofs and courtyards and alleys where an Eiruv was not made. However, if he forgot the knife on the rood or the courtyard one may bring it even if they made an Eiruv with the houses. OTHER PREPARATIONS We do not soak herbs nor do we heat up water nor do we make a bandage, nor do we mix wine and oil together on Shabbos . If he did not grind cinnamon from Friday, he may chew it between his teeth. If he did not mix the wine and oil from Friday he may place one by itself and the other by itself. One may not make a cover for the member (which prevents the foreskin from enveloping the crown again. However, one may wrap a cloth around it. If he did not prepare it from before Shabbos, he may wrap it around his finger as if to wear it and he may even carry it from another courtyard where there was no Eiruv. If he has circumcised the child on Shabbos and the herbs got scattered, one may make them again on Shabbos because it is a danger for the child. If they forgot and did not bring the knife from Friday, he may tell a gentile to bring a knife on Shabbos. However, he may not bring it by way of a reshus harabim a public thoroughfare. The general principle of the matter [according to the view of the author of the Shulchan Aruch] is: Anything that the performance of which is forbidden only by Rabbinic decree, it is permitted to instruct a gentile to perform in order to fulfill a Mitzvah in its proper time. Something the performance of which is forbidden on account of a Biblical prohibition, it is forbidden for us to instruct a gentile to perform on Shabbos. *However, the Mishna Brurah (Orech Chaim Siman 276) is of the opinion that a gentile may be instructed even to violate a Torah prohibition for the sake of a Choleh and during certain other times as well.. All the preparatory matters that do not set aside Shabbos, may not be set aside for Yom Tov either , with the exception of grinding cinnamon on Yom Tov, since they are usable for a food pot. Similarly, wine and oil may be mixed together. A person who has never circumcised before should not circumcise for the first time on Shabbos, for perhaps he will mess up and will end up violating the Shabbos. If he has already circumcised once it is permitted even if he is the father . BORN DURING TWILIGHT If someone is born during Bain haShmashos (during twilight), which is a doubt whether it is day or night. We count from the night and he is circumcised on the ninth which is a doubt as to whether it is the eighth . If he was born on Friday during twilight it does not push off the Shabbos for we do not set aside Shabbos out of a doubt. Nor does it set aside Yom Tov on a doubt. It does not even set aside the second day of Yom Tov. Even if he merely stuck his head out during twilight even if the rest of his body came out on Shabbos he is not circumcised on Shabbos. The length of Bais HaShmashos is a discussion of the Tannaim and the Amoraim in the Chapter of BaMeh Madlikin. The Baal HaIttur writes that we are in doubt who the halacha is like. Therefore, if a child is born after the sun sets, we are in doubt until it fulfills the Bain haShmashos of Rabbi Yossi, and he is circumcised on the tenth. If he was born on Saturday night after the sun sets we are stringent like the view of Rabbah. A child who was born circumcised, and a child who has two foreskins , and an androgynous child, and a child born of a Caesarian Section, and a woman who did not yet immerse before she gave birth, even though they are circumcised on the eighth day it does not push off Shabbos . A Tumtum (someone whose gender is not clearly identified) whose private section is ripped open is circumcised on Shabbos. Some for bid it. BORN IN THE SEVENTH MONTH If someone was born in his seventh month, he is circumcised on Shabbos even if his hair and fingernails have not been fully developed. Someone who is born in the eighth month is not circumcised on Shabbos, unless his hair and fingernails are fully developed. The same is true of there is a doubt whether he was born in the seventh month or the eighth month. He is not circumcised on Shabbos unless his hair and fingernails are fully formed. The Ramah cites opinions that we do circumcise him since he could be a seventh month child. Rather, we do not violate the Shabbos in regard to other matters. And this appears to be the halacha according to the Ramah. JEW WHO LEFT THE RELIGION If a Jew left his religion and had a child from a Jewish woman, the Milah is still performed on Shabbos. If a Jew has a child from a non-Jewish woman, no Milah is done on Shabbos. TWO MOHALIM AT ONE MILAH One must be careful not to have two mohalim perform one Milah on Shabbos (or Yom Tov ) where one does the Milah and the other does the Priyah. Rather, he that does the milah should do the Priyah . The Ramah writes that he did not find evidence to this position. Rather, it appears to him that it is permitted since Milah sets aside Shabbos like Avodah did in the Temple, and since many Kohanim performed the service and did so on Shabbos, since Shabbos was given to be set aside it is considered like a weekday for these matters. The Ramah found evidence of this in a manuscript edition of the Sefer HaTrumah. However, since in the Kovetz it forbids it, the Ramah writes that it is proper to be stringent ideally, even though technically it appears to be permitted. In Poland and in other places in Europe the custom was to be lenient and allow two Mohalim to perform it. This was based upon the lenient views of the Shach, Taz, Bach, Vilna Gaon, Noda BiYehudah (MT OC #22) and the Chochmas Adam. There is a debate between the Chochmas Adam (Rabbi Avrohom Danzig, 1748-1820) and the Yeshuos Yaakov (Rabbi Yaakov Orenstein, 1770-1840) as to whether it can be split into three parts: The Milah, the Priyah, and the Metzitzah. The Chochmas Adam writes that the one who does the Priyah should do the Metzitzah. The Yeshuos Yaakov is lenient. Practically speaking, Sefardim follow the opinion of the Shulchan Aruch and forbid any splitting up of the Bris Milah on Shabbat unless the Mohel is unable to do the priyah and another must do it. Part Two Iyunim Contents of Section II I. The Shalom Zachar II. May a father do the Milah and a Mohel do the Priyah? III. Milah and Priyah: In two steps or one? IV. A Bris with gloves on V. Is a Mohel Obligated to go to a Shabbos or Yom Tov Bris? VI. The Sandek VII. The Name of a Child I. THE SHALOM ZACHAR It is a Minhag among Ashkenazic Jews to make a seudah on the Shabbos evening after the birth of a male child. There are two reasons cited for this minhag. While in Auschwitz, the Klausenberger Rebbe ztl was shot in the arm rl by a Nazi. He was afraid to go to the Nazi infirmary, even there were doctors there. He knew that if he entered that building, he would never come out alive. Instead, the Rebbe plucked a leaf from a tree to stanch the bleeding. He then cut off a branch and tied it around his wound to hold it in place. It healed in 3 days. He then promised himself that if he would survive the horrible evil that was Auschwitz- he would build a hospital in Eretz Yisrael where every human being would be cared for with dignity. And the basis of that future hospital would be that the doctors and nurses would believe that there is a Creator in this world and that when they treat a patient, they are fulfilling the greatest mitzvah in the Torah. Fast forward 32 years. The Rebbe did survive. We are in Union City, New Jersey in the Yeshivas building. It is now 1976, slightly after Purim, and the Rebbe is conducting a Shalom Zachar, but it is not for his child nor a grandchild. Nor is it for any child of one of his Chassidim. Who was it for? In 1976, the maternity ward of the Klausenberger Rebbes Laniado hospital in Netanya had just opened up. Its first baby was born. It was a boy. The Rebbe was called and the phone was taken in the nursery where the Rebbe could hear the child cry. The Rebbe was overcome with emotion. The Nazis had been defeated and Klal Yisroel had survived. A new child had entered Klal Yisroel. How could he not make a Shalom Zachar? How could he not make a seudas Mitzvah of thanks? ON SHABBOS AFTER MAARIV After Maariv in thousands of shuls across the world, the gabbai will announce that a shalom zachar will take place at the house of so and so. We are all tired after a hard week. But the emotion felt by the Klausenberger Rebbe in seeing the continuity of Klal Yisroel should be felt by all of us. How can we not go? THE MINHAG It is a minhag in Ashkenazic Jewish circles to host a Shalom Zachar where the baby is found on the Shabbos after a baby boy is born. It is generally held after the Shabbos evening meal. It is not a meal where people wash. IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING THE REASON FOR MITZVOS The Rambam (Hilchos Meilah 8:8) tells us that it is important to understand the reason why we do our Mitzvos. He also writes this in Moreh Nevuchim (3:31). It is also the view of the Zohar (Parshas Yisro p. 93b) and Rabbeinu Yonah Shaarei HaAvodah #54. This is also true for understanding why we perform our customs. There are three main reasons cited for the custom of the Shalom Zachar. GRATITUDE REASON The Terumas HaDeshen (Siman 269) explains that it is a Seudas Hodaah, a meal of thanksgiving. It is held in thanks that the child was saved from the travails and dangers involved in the birth. This is how the Terumas HaDeshen understands the view of Rabbeinu Tam cited in Tosfos in Bava Kamma (80a, Yeshua HaBen). MORE ON GRATITUDE Perhaps the incident cited above gives us a new reason for the Shalom Zachar. Perhaps, in the eyes of the Klausenberger, the baby represents Klal Yisroel. This baby, Klal Yisroel was saved from the travails and dangers of Jewish history. Infant Klal Yisroel had survived the Rindfleish Massacres, the Crusades, the Gzeiras Tach vetat of Chmelnieki, the pogroms of Russia, and the holocaust itself! This baby represents the very continuity of the Jewish people itself. This reason of Hakaras HaTov for the Shalom Zachar highlights to us the idea that we should always have and develop a feeling of gratitude and appreciation for all that Hashem gives us. We should also have this appreciation for all that others do for us as well. This is a critical component in our development as Ovdei Hashem. APPRECIATING TORAH REASON The TaZ cites another reason in the name of the Drisha. The Drisha was written by Rav Yehoshua Falk (15551614), a great Posaik from Poland. He writes that is based upon the Gemorah in Niddah 30b that states that when the child is born a malach, an angel, strikes the baby on his mouth and causes the child to forget all of the Torah he had learned while in his mothers womb. This meal, according to the Drisha, is to mourn the Torah that was lost. According to this reason, we highlight our appreciation for Torah study. The Torah must always be central to our lives. Every day in Maariv we recite ki HAIM chayeinu. Torah is our life itself. APPRECIATING SHABBOS The TaZ provides his own reason based upon a Midrash found in chapter 27 of VaYikra Rabba. There, the Midrash explains why the Bris Milah is held on the eighth day. It draws a comparison between a king who tells his subjects that he will only grant them an audience after they first appear before a matronisa a hostess. The TaZ writes that this is the reason we hold the Shalom Zachar on Shabbos. From the TaZ we gain an appreciation of the gift that Hashem gave us in the Shabbos. It is important to remember that more than the Jew has kept Shabbos Shabbos has kept the Jew. Although it is somewhat ironic that the person who coined this expression was not observant, it is, nonetheless, a truism. WHY NOT FOR GIRLS? Rav Yechezkel Landau of Prague is noted to have asked the question on the reason cited by the Terumas HaDeshen (in his Dagul Mervavah sefer on Yoreh Deah). If this is the, in fact, the reason for the Seudah to express our appreciation for the salvation of the baby how come we do not hold this meal when a girl is born? This author would like to answer that question with a shocking find. In Meseches Smachos Aivel Rabbasi (2:3) we do find such a meal! The meal is called Shavuah HaBas and it parallels the name found in Bava Kamma called Shavuah HaBen. It is also likely that the Kiddush that we have in shul on Shabbos when a girl is born is in order to fulfill this idea too. Some relate that Rav Chaim Kanievsky Shlita has advised young women who are still in search of a Shidduch to hold a Kiddush in shul even if the girl is now in her twenties! It could very well be that the Shabbos Kiddush is a fulfillment of the Shavuah HaBas that is referenced in Aivel Rabbasi. Others, however, relate that this is not Rav Chaims position. REASON FOR THE NAME The Yaavetz writes in his Sefer Migdol Oz that the reason it is called Shalom Zachar is on account of the fact that it is to remember or commemorate the Torah that was lost. While the baby was in the womb, he was studying Torah with a malach. That Torah is now no longer it is lost. This meal commemorates it. What is the benefit of the young baby learning Torah in the womb only to forget it? It is said in the name of the Vilna Gaon that the term matzasi in the expression yagati umatzasi taamin if a person says, I put in effort and I found success in regard to Torah believe him indicates that he had found something that he had before. The fetus in the womb is taught his own portion and section in Torah. It is so each person can strive and exert effort to find his own section of Torah. IS IT A SEUDAS MITZVAH? The Trumas HaDeshen rules that, in fact, the Shalom Zachar is a Seudas Mitzvah. He cites as a proof that the Gemorah in Bava Kamma tells us that Rav entered the meal of Yeshua HaBen (as it was called then, according to the Trumas HaDeshen). We know from elsewhere (Chullin 95b) that Rav never ate at a Seudas Reshus a festive meal that was not a seudas Mitzvah. Therefore, the Trumas HaDeshen concludes that it is a Seudas Mitzvah. The Chavos Yair, however, disagrees. He states (Siman 70) that it is possible that Rav had just popped in and did not partake of the actual meal itself. DELAYED BRIS If the child is jaundiced or otherwise ill and the Bris will not be held within the next week, there is a debate among authorities as to when the Shalom Zachar is to be held. Some hold it on the Shabbos before the Bris (Yaavetz and Chochmas Adam 149:24), while others (Zocher Habris) hold that it is always the Shabbos after the baby is born. The language of the Ramah seems to indicate that he held to this view. The prevailing custom seems to be that it is held after the birth. A FRIDAY NIGHT BIRTH What happens when the baby is born on Friday night? In such circumstances it is often logistically difficult to arrange a Shalom Zachar. The Pri MaGadim (MZ YD 444:9) writes that one does it as close to the birth as possible. The Chayei Adaam, however, disagrees and writes that it should be done as close to the Bris Milah as possible. Each person should ask his own Rav. CONCLUSION What is being suggested here is that there may be a fourth reason for the Shalom Zachar seudah. There is the general idea of it being an expression of Hakaras haTov found in the Trumas HaDeshen. There is the reason proposed by the author of the Drisha that it is to enhance our appreciation of Torah. There is the reason further suggested by the TaZ that it is to enhance our appreciation of Shabbos. The fourth reason suggested by this author but alluded to in the actions of the Klausenberger Rebbe is that it also enhances our appreciation for Jewish continuity. So even though we may have worked hard all week, lets make that special effort to attend that local Shalom Zachar. It symbolizes our miraculous survival through the tear-stained path of history. It symbolizes Jewish continuity. II. MAY A FATHER DO THE MILAH AND A MOHEL DO THE PRIYAH? More and more, fathers are having the Mohel just set up the Bris Milah for them so that they themselves can perform what they believe is the halachically preferable thing to do. They believe that it is halachically preferable to do the cut on the baby themselves, based upon the Gemorah in Kiddushin (41a) that it is better to perform the Mitzvah oneself than through a messenger. In this article, we will examine how it is possible for untrained people to perform the cut and if it is, indeed, halachically preferable. THE MOGAIN The idea of a father who is not a Mohel being able to actually perform the cut was made possible because of a device called the Mogain or shield. The Mogain was introduced in Europe in the 1700s in order to protect against accidental excess cutting. The Pri Magadim in his commentary on the Mogain Avrohom (AA YD 75:8) approves of its use. The circumcision shield, however, has gone through many different incarnations, some of which are halachically acceptable, unacceptable, or a debate. When doctors perform circumcisions, they generally use a device called a Gomco clamp or a Plastibell clamp, which has been rejected as a valid method of Bris Milah by the majority of Poskim (see, for example, Igros Moshe YD II #119, Tzitz Eliezer VIII #29). One reason why the Gomco clamp is deemed unacceptable by some is because it does not involve the drawing of blood, a necessary component according to some Poskim. The Gomco and Plastibell clamps require multiple incisions and cause the baby more pain as well. BRONSTEIN MOGAIN In contemporary times, some Mohelim used something called the Bronstein Mogain or a similar device, which provides for protection and yet allows for the flow of blood. This clamp was invented in 1954 and received the approbation of Rav Eliezer Silver ztl (HaPardes Vol. XXX #1). Rav Moshe Feinstein ztl (Igros Moshe YD Vol. III #98) allows it bdieved but was unhappy with its use. On this account, many Mohelim do not use the Bronstein Mogain. HEMOSTAT WITH A REGULAR MOGAIN Many Mohelim use a hemostat with a regular Mogain. A hemostat is a surgical instrument that looks like a scissors but can lock in place and is used primarily to control bleeding. The hemostat allows the the Milah and priyah to be done at the same time. It is the various Mogains and the hemostat which allow Mohelim to set up the cut for the father who performs the cut. More on this later. DIFFERENT THAN STANDARD BRIS The bris performed with a Bronstein Mogain, however, is different than one performed without it. The Bris Milah involved another process called Priyah which means the removal of the under layer of skin found beneath the foreskin. When the Bronstein Mogain is used, the priyah is performed with an instrument, not the fingernail. Many Poskim hold that although it is permitted to perform the priyah with an instrument, it is preferable to use a fingernail and not an instrument (See responsa of Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky ztl, Achiezer Vol. III 65:12 and responsa of Rav Ovadiah Yoseph ztl, Yabia Omer Vol. VII #22). Another issue is that with modern Mogains and hemostats, the Milah and the priyah happen simultaneously, which although is permitted, is not how the Shulchan Aruch describes the procedure. The priyah follows the Milah in Shulchan Aruch and is a second procedure. Mohalim who use a shield other than the Bronstein Mogain can allow the father to perform the cut and then they do the priyah and Metzitzah afterward. It is a debate among Poskim whether when one has just perfomed the first act, whether he has accomplished a half of a Mitzvah at all. The Maharshal (Yam Shel Shlomo Yevamos 8:3) and the Tashbatz (Vol. II #277) both hold that even half a Mitzvah was not performed. The Bais Yoseph 264, however, holds that one has indeed fulfilled half of the Mitzvah here. The Ramah as well considers it a Mitzvah. The Sefer Milah Khilchasa (p. 64-65) lists some four requirements that are a prerequisite for a father who is not a trained Mohel to perform the cut himself. 1] The father must know definitively exactly where the cut must be made. 2] The father must know how to hold the knife and the exact angle so that tzitzin not remain 3] There cannot be any additional delays from the fact that the father is performing the cut which will cause further pain and agony to the infant (See Igros Moshe YD Vol. III #99). 4] The father must inform the Mohel at the outset that he is inviting him only to perform the Mitzvah of priyah. If he just hires him without specifying the indication is that it is for the Mitzvah of Milah and he would not be able to undo this without violating the halachic issue of going back on ones agreement (Mechusar Amanah). The author of Sefer Milah Khilchasa also cites the Ramah in the name of the Terumas HaDeshen that a father may not do this on Shabbos if he has never performed a Bris before. This is true even if the father is just performing the cut. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach is cited in the Nishmas Avrohom (260) It requires further analysis of there is a Mitzvah for the father to circumcise his son when it will cause any further pain on the infant. The Munkatcher Rebbe stated that there is no Mitzvah whatsoever for a father to perform the Milah if he is not a Mohel and a Mohel is available. A SIXTH CONDITION Another issue and this is a very important one brought up by Rabbi Ephraim Perlstein, a noted mohel and member of Kollel Avreichim in Far Rockaway. Often the father will perform a halachically inadequate cut at the time and leave tzitzin haMe-akvin, pieces of the Orlah, that remain on the baby. The Mohel then has to do an emergency repair at the time, and the father did not appoint him. This could possibly leave the father with no Mitzvah whatsoever. It is possible, however, that there may be a clear desire on the fathers part that in the event of a mess up, he would want to appoint the Mohel to fix it. This is called an umdana and is often used in halacha. However, it is not so clear that he is aware of the fact he may leave tzitzin haMeakvin that would require a redo. Therefore, ideally, the father should verbalize it and appoint the Mohel to make any repairs if they are necessary prior to the bris because there will not be time to do so at the time if there is a mess up. There may also be an issue of the biblical prohibition of Tzaar Baalei Chaim in regard to causing excess pain to the infant. The Rashba (Vol. I #252) and the Rambam (Sefer HaMitzvos Lo Saaseh 270) write that the prohibition applies not just animals but to human beings as well. While it is true that the Radbazs opinion is that it is not applicable in regard to humans (Vol. II #728), most Poskim hold that it does apply. The Shita Mekubetzes cites the view of Talmid Rabbeinu Peretz that it applies to humans on a Rabbinic level. RAV SHLOMO ZALMAN STORY One final thought: The Mitzvah of Zrizin makdimin lMitzvos means that alacritous people try to fulfill our Mitzvos at the very first opportunity. Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ztl was once asked whether it is preferable to perform the Mitzvah of Bris Milah immediately after a Naitz HaChama Shacharis on account of the idea of performing a Mitzvah at the first opportunity. Rav Shlomo Zalman answered that one should also be a mentsch [in regard to making the Bris convenient for relatives]. The idea main also be germaine to our issue here regarding fathers performing a bris. As an interesting aside, one may ask why the Bnei Yisroel did not do the Milah while still in Mitzrayim. There seems to be a debate on this point between the Pirkei DRebbi Eliezer (Chapter 29) and teh Midrash Rabbah in Shmos. The Midrash Rabbah states that they were negligent in this Mitzvah. The Pirkei DRebbi ELiezer states that Pharoah did not allow it (but teh Bnei Levi did do it). Perhaps they are not arguing and that in teh beginning they were negligent and ultimately Pharoah forbade it. The lesson, of course, is not to push off things because we never know what can happen. A FIFTH CONDITION This author would like to add a fifth condition to the four mentioned above in light of this idea expressed by Rav Shlomo Zalman ztl. One should only embark upon this with the full support of his spouse and parents. This is especially true in light of the opinions that performing half of the Bris may not be considered a Mitzvah and in light of the fact that some other bdieveds are taking place. III. MILAH AND PRIYAH IN TWO STEPS OR ONE? There are halachic and procedural differences in the manner in which the Bris Milah is performed. There are two types of Bris Milahs, and they are different not only in the manner and style of how the Bris is actually performed, but they also produce different physical results as well. The best way to characterize the two different methods are with the following terms: The two-step method The one-step method There are mohelim that practice the two-step method. This is the more traditional method practiced for thousands of years. This method is near universal among Chassidish Mohalim. There are mohelim that practice the one-step method. In America, in the Litvish world, this is the most common method. Few mohalim, however, will practice both methods, but some do. Mohalim are also rather territorial about their particular method. It is a somewhat touchy issue with many of them, so proceed with caution when and if you bring up the subject. What follows is not for the faint of heart so proceed with caution. However, the material under discussion is Torah and we are obligated in learning all sections of Torah even those that can make us a little queasy. So here goes. THE ORLAH HAS TWO PARTS The Orlah actually has two parts the outer part and the inner part. The inner part is referred to as the or hapriyah. The inner part is actually termed a mucous membrane and is similar to the inside of an eyelid. Imagine the lip the outer side is dryer skin, while the inner side is not. THE TWO STEP METHOD In the two step method, the upper part is lifted upward and cut with the Mohels knife. This is the first step. The inner part is peeled back and torn with the Mohels sharpened thumbnail, and then pulled down toward the body of the baby. This is the second step. The lowered inner part eventually fuses together with the remnant of the upper part. The thumbnails role in the second step is even mentioned in the Midrash. The Yalkut Shimoni (#723) on the verse in Tehillim, Kol Atzmosai Tomarnah states as follows: Dovid HaMelech says, I praise You (Hashem) with each of my limbs and fulfill Mitzvos with them.. fingernails to perform Priyah with them.. THE ONE STEP METHOD In the one-step method, the Mohel uses a hemostat to grasp both the inner orlah along with the upper orlah. A hemostat looks like a scissors, but it is actually a clamp type of device. Generally speaking, the inner Orlah does not go up with the outer Orlah so easily without the hemostat. When they are clamped together it does go up. The mohel then takes his Mohel knife and cuts both off together. In this method, the Milah and the Priyah are accomplished at the same time. There are one step Mohalim who are able to grab it in a manner that they can cut the inner orlah as well even without a hemostat. The physical differences between the one-step method and the two-step method are not minimal. The one step method actually takes off more of the inner skin. The two-step method involves tearing, peeling, and moving the inner part of the Orlah downward, but not actually removing it. Rabbi Moshe Bunim Perutinsky zl, author of the Sefer HaBris, writes that although in the time of the Rishonim, the one step method was not used, it was used in the times of the Gaonim. He admits that the one step method was not commonly done in Europe nor in the time of the Rishonim or Acharonim. THE BENEFITS OF THE ONE STEP METHOD Rabbi Perutinsky claims (See Sefer HaBris p. 206) that there are five benefits to the one step method: There is less blood. The operation is much faster. The wound heals quicker. There are no problems of the Or HaPriyah ever coming back to necessitate a possible Rabbinic re-do. When a hemostat is used there is no concern that too much or too little of the Orlah will be cut. He also writes that these benefits make the one step method preferable to the two-step method. It is just that not everyone was able to do it in this manner and that the two step method was easier, and therefore, more common. THE WORDING OF THE SHULCHAN ARUCH The proponents of the two step method claim that the wording of both the Rambam (Hilchos Milah chapter 2) and the Shulchan Aruch (YD 264:3) is clearly like them. It states that first one does the Milah and then one does the Priyah. Indeed, the language of the Rosh is that the blessing of lehachniso lebriso shel avrohom avinu is recited in between the Milah and the Priyah. Dayan Weiss (Minchas Yitzchok Vol. IX #100) cites a number of Acharonim that condemn any changes in the traditional method of Milah. He writes that Heaven forbid for someone to change the method of the way Bris Milah has been performed throughout the ages and strongly urges that the Milah be done with the two step method. Rav Perutinsky responds that this is not considered a change since Rav Hai Gaon used to do it in this manner. He also writes that had the Acharonim seen the responsum of Rav Hai Gaon they would never have written against the one step method. Rav Vosner ztl, the author of the Shaivet HaLevi (Vol. IV #133) writes that since the Rambam and Shulchan Aruch essentially ignored the responsum, they either disagreed with it or felt that the responsum was of dubious authenticity. The Rivash in Responsa #165 also dismisses a different responsum attributed to Rav Hai Gaon. In contrast to Dayan Weiss ztl and Rav Vosner ztl, Rav Moshe Feinstein ztl (Igros Moshe YD I #155) does not consider the one-step method a problem at all, but states that meheyos tov to leave over some of the or haPriyah to be removed by the fingernail since this method is explicitly mentioned in the Midrash. Nonetheless, it is this authors recollection that Rav Yisroel Belsky ztl, a talmid muvhak of Rav Moshe Feinstein, still did the two step method. The Sefer Milah Khilchasa recommends that if one does the one-step method that one should actually leave over of the or hapriyah in order to fulfill the opinion of the Yad Ketanah in the Shulchan Aruch as to what would define priyah. Both methods hold that the other method is valid. The question is which one is preferable. One should, of course, consult with ones own Rav or Posaik as to which method to pursue in this regard. IV. A BRIS WITH GLOVES ON Contact Dermatitis is an inflammation of the skin. In 1889, Caroline Hampton, a 28-year-old surgical nurse at Johns Hopkins Hospital developed Contact Dermatitis on account of her reaction to the Mercuric Chloride that was used at the time as an antiseptic. A doctor, William Halsted, who was soon to marry her, asked the Goodyear Rubber Company to produce a thin rubber glove so that she could continue to work effectively and yet also be protected. In 1894, Halsted implemented the use of the gloves throughout the hospital. The situation remained virtually unchanged until 1964. In that year, an Australian company, Ansell, developed a disposable latex glove and an entire industry was born. Since the development of these gloves, a new issue has arisen. Some parents want the Mohel to perform the circumcision while wearing these gloves. What is the halacha? May a Bris Mila be performed while the Mohel is wearing gloves? Is it a breach, or is it perhaps even recommended? Rabbi Mordechai Yaakov Breisch ztl, author of the Chelkas Yaakov, is one of the first to address the issue in a responsum (Chelkas Yaakov YD #148) published two years after the invention of the disposable latex surgical glove. Rabbi Breisch forbids the use of gloves for a number of reasons. He maintains that the priyah would have to be done with a vessel and not with the fingernail which is a violation of the minhag. In addition, since Birs Milah is likened to a Korban, he considers it a bizayon of the Mitzvah, based upon the Gemorah in Psachim 57a. There the Gemorah cites a braisah where the Rabbis had taught: The people in the Temple courtyard had four attacks against various families of Kohanim. The first cry was: Leave here, sons of Eli, who defiled Hashems Sanctuary (see Shmuel Aleph 2:22). The Kehunah was then transferred to family of Tzadok. Another cry: Leave here, Yissachar from Kfar Barkai, who honors himself and desecrates the items consecrated to Heaven. On account of his delicateness and his disrespect for the Avodah in the Beis HaMikdash, he would wrap his hands in silk [shirai] and perform his Avodah. This would invalidate the Avodah because the silk was a Chatzitzah, an interposition, between his hands and the vessels of the Beis HaMikdash. Furthermore, his conduct demeaned the Avodah of the Beis HaMikdah, as he actively showed that he was unwilling to dirty his hands for it. Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein Shlita, in his Chashukei Chemed Psachim 57a, on the other hand rules that it is permitted. He explains that there is a difference between our case, where the Mohel wishes to protect the baby and that of Yissachar from Kfar Barkai where he covered his hands for his own purposes. In the case of Psachim it would be forbidden, but here it would be permitted. In regard to the issue of the priyah being performed without the fingernail, if the priyah and milah are being done simultaneously as in the one step method it would seem that it would not be a problem. For those who perform the two step method it might be an issue. V. IS A MOHEL OBLIGATED TO GO TO A SHABBOS OR YOM TOV BRIS? It is perhaps a quandary of many mohelim. How much must one give up of ones Oneg Shabbos or Oneg Yom Tov to perform a Bris Milah on time? Often it is quite difficult to get a Mohel to come for a Shabbos or a Yom Tov. The Mohel and or his family would have to spend Shabbos away from home and perhaps other family. Is a Mohel obligated to go when there is no other available Mohel willing to do so in order for the Bris to take place on the eighth day itself? Does it push aside Oneg Shabbos or Oneg Yom Tov not only of his own, but of his familys as well? One should realize that this is only when there is no other Mohel available. Generally speaking it is the parents obligation to ensure that their child receive a Bris Milah on time not that exclusively of the Mohel. ERRONEOUS VIEW Some parents believe that the Mohel is obligated to fit to the schedule of the parents. This is not true. The issue is primarily that of the parents but when there is no available Mohel the issue is on others as well. And while it is true that we want the Mitzvah to be performed as early as possible on account of Zrizim Makdimim lMitzvos that requirement does not push off the Mohels Oneg Shabbos or Simchas Yom Tov. THE OPINIONS The Avnei Naizer (OC Vol. II 392) writes that a Mohel is exempt because of Osaik BaMitzvah patur min haMitzvah he is already involved in a Mitzvah that of Oneg Shabbos or Simchas Yom Tov. The Chayei Odom (Klal 68:19), however, is unsure. The Maharsham (Vol. I #209) in an attempt to resolve the Chayei Odoms question rules that it is, in fact, obligatory. Dayan Weiss in Minchas Yitzchok volume II Siman 75 cites two views. The Bais Shearim (OC #120) writes that there is, in fact, an obligation. His logic is that since Milah pushes aside Shabbos it should certainly push aside Kavod Shabbos! What about walking two and a half hours to a Milah? In this case most Mohelim would do it and are of the opinion that one is obligated to do so. What about if the location is past the Techum of Yom Tov? The answer is that it is prohibited. Rav Chaim Oizer Grodzinsky ztl once ruled, however, that if it is unknown whether the location is, in fact, past the Techum and it is not possible to find out then one may be lenient and count this as a safaik on a derabanan. VI. SANDEK So where does the word Sandek come from? The Yalkut Shimoni and the Midrash Tehillim on Tehillim (35:10) state that Dovid HaMelech recited the verse, All my bones shall declare, Who is like You, Hashem! I shall praise You with all my limbs. With my thighs I become Sandiknus to the infants that are circumcised on my lap. But what does Sandiknus actually mean? Many commentators identify it as a Greek word, which certainly makes sense. The Ohr Zaruah (Vol. II #107) and the Maharil Hilchos Milah (64) both write that it is a derivative of a Greek word to mean that he holds the baby on his thighs as he is circumcised. But which Greek word? The Latin word patrinus, which means godfather is synteknos in Greek which is similar enough to Sandiknus to be a good possible source. Dr. Hillel Newman, in an article published in the Jewish Quarterly Review (Winter 2007) suggests that the original word was sandyx which meant a box for the infant. Some of the more secular advocates of the synteknos origin claim that the term was born from an influence of a Christian ceremony the sponsors of a child at a Baptism were called co-parents. This is extremely unlikely, as anyone familiar with the socio-religious outlook of observant Jews knows that Christian influence on Jewish practice is particularly remote. It may be argued that they adopted the Greek name of Sandek for it because there was no other name, but this too seems unlikely. Dr. Newmans proposed origin may fit better with the Ramahs understanding of Sandek. The Ramah writes that (YD 265:11) that the Sandek is equated to the Kohain who offers the incense in the Temple, and it is a segulah for becoming wealthy. The incense that the Kohain offered was placed in a pan and it is likely that the infant was placed on a solid type of box with edges when the Bris Milah was actually performed, so that the baby would not fall off. In regard to the latter point of the Ramah, of Sandekaus being an origin for wealth. The Vilna Gaon points out that we have not seen Sandekaus responsible for gaining wealth. In answer to the Vilna Gaons point, Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky ztl in his Emes LYaakov explains that the reason why no one is becoming wealthy is because the intent is for the Sandek to be the Baal Bris as well, in other words picking up all the expenses of a Bris. This is no longer done, however. Rabbi Akiva Eiger explains that the Sandekaus must be also during the time that the baby is named and during all the blessings. IF THE SANDEK IS NOT RELIGIOUS It is a tradition among Jews that the child at a Bris Milah develops to be like the Sandek that held him at a Bris Milah. This is perhaps the reason why an attempt is made to obtain a great Tzaddik to serve as the Sandek. But from where did this idea originate? And what should someone do who has irreligious parents or grandparents and wishes to honor them with being Sandek? The Ramah (YD 264:1) writes that a person should get a Mohel and a Baal Bris (i.e. a Sandek) who is yoser tov (very good) and a Tzaddik, a righteous person. It is unclear to this author whether the term very good as it applies to a Sandek is in terms of capability or in terms of moral character. THE LEVUSH The issue, however, is clearer elsewhere. Rabbi Mordechai Yoffe (1530-1612), author of the Levush, (Yore Deah 264:1) writes: A person should take measures to find a Mohel and Baal Bris (i.e. a Sandek) who is a good and righteous in order that they have the highest and loftiest of intentions in their kavana and it will cause that the child will be like them. We see then that good means that it affects the child. The original source of the Ramah is the Ohr Zaruah (Milah 107). There, however, the need for a good Sandek is for a different reason. It is so that they merit that Elijah the prophet will come. In other words, according to the Or Zaruah, it seems that it is not that the child will emulate the Sandek and or mohel but that the greatness of the Sandek will effect the presence or absence of Eliyahu HaNavi! The Maharil as well indicates that the issue is not one where the child will be influenced by the Mohel and the Sandek, but rather in terms of the health of child in his being additionally cured by the presence of Eliyahu HaNavi. Rav Moshe Shternbuch, in his Teshuvos vhanhagos (Vol. I #603) is of the opinion that the irreligious person should not be offered Sandek, and that it could affect the child. He writes that the Mitzvah of honoring his father does not allow him to endanger his own son. The Sefer Milah Khilchasa questions this position on many grounds. He also does not see how a mere Segulah should set aside the Mitzvah of Kivud Av vaim honoring ones parents. Also, even in the Levushs own words we do not see that it effects the child negatively we only see that a great person effects the child positively. Finally, it is interesting to note that Rav Yitzchok Zilberstein in his Chashuchei Chemed on Yuma (9b) suggests that one can honor an irreligious relative with being Sandek if he elicits a promise from him to keep one Shabbos after the bris. The merit of observing the Shabbos, according to Rav Zilberstein, will more than make up for any possible drawback. VII. NAMING THE CHILD Chazal tell us (BaMidbar Rabba 20:22) that the reasons the Jewish people were redeemed from Egypt was because they did not change their names, their language, and their mode of dress. Indeed, the Maharam Shick (YD responsa 169) and the Darchei Teshuvah (YD 178:14) understand that the prohibition of naming a child a non-Jewish name is a biblical one stemming from the prohibition of UbeChukosaihem lo sailachu. [As a parenthetic note, it is said of the Maharam Schick that when the temporal authorities decreed that every family must take on a last name, he specifically chose Schick which is an acronym for Shaim Yisroel Kodesh.] Clearly, having a Jewish name is important. THINKING CAREFULLY The Sefer Chassidim (244) writes of the tremendous importance for the parents to think carefully as to what to name their child. The name itself can not only cause or remove psychological barriers, it can also become a factor in the spiritual growth of the child too. The Midrash Tanchuma in Parshas HaAzinu explains that a person should look to give a name that would help the child become a Tzaddik because at times the name can be influential in this. The Gemorah in Brachos 7b cites Rabbi Elazar that there is a verse to this effect that Shma Garim names do matter. STRANGE NAMES The Chazon Ish would advise parents not to name a child either a boy or a girl, with a name that is very strange or different to ensure that the child not suffer in the future or be embarrassed. If it is necessary to do so such as naming after a parent then one should do so (Sefer Mishnas Yehoshua p. 85). MULTIPLE NAMES Professor Dalton Conley of NYU is a well-known sociologist and author. He named his son, Yo Xing Heyno Augustus Eisner Alexander Weiser Knuckles reportedly the longest name in New York Citys official archives. It is a name that, had he been Jewish and had he posed the question to Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky Shlita, he would have been advised against against it. In Chassidish circles (and in many litvish circles too), multiple names are very much accepted. In many other circles, multiple names are discouraged. THE CHAZON ISH In the work entitled Peer HaDor about Rav Avrohom Yishayah Karelitz ztl (1878-1953), author of the Chazon Ish (Vol. IV p. 200), it is brought down that he was very much against naming a child after two people. He held that a concatenation of two (or more names) is, in effect, a new name. It thus has no benefit for the child, nor is it a fulfillment of Kivud Av vAim when the name of the one individual is not given. He stated that the sheaf of Kedusha the overflow of holiness that one receives when naming after a Tzaddik only come when the exact same name is used. OTHER POSKIM AS WELL Rav Moshe Shternbuch (Teshuvos vHanhagos Vol. I #608) Shlita cites the Chazon Ish not to name a child with two names. This is also the view commonly attributed to Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky shlita. Rav Ben Tzion Abba Shaul ztl held that one should not name two names because of an entirely different reason: There is a chance that one of the names will end up not being used and the child will incur damage on account of this. THE NODA BIYEHUDA AND CHASAM SOFER The Chazon Ish was not the first to express this idea of avoiding two names. The great acharon, Rav Yechezkel Landau (1713-1793), writes (Noda BiYehudah MT OC 113) that nowhere in the Talmud do we find any Tanna or Amorah that was called by two names. Therefore, he concludes, that there is no point in giving someone two names. The same conclusion is made by Rabbi Moshe Sofer (1762-1839) in his responsa ( Shut Chasam Sofer EH #8). It seems that the name Yonasan Aryeh found in Yevamos 122b must either be understood as a form of a last name (such as Yehudah Maccabi) where the latter name is a family title indicating great strength. Alternatively, it could be understood as, Hashem has given a lion. Similarly the name Bas Sheva would be understood as one name i.e. the seventh daughter. Professor Conley also named his daughter E the shortest name in the New York City archives. We do find, lehavdil a Tanna in Pirkei Avos that seems to have been named after a letter in fact, twice. In Pirkei Avos, Ben Hay Hay tells us Lefum Tzaara Agra according to the level of difficulty involved in observing a Mitzvah is the reward. Most people focus on his message, but lets take a moment to focus on the Rabbis name. DEBATE BETWEEN TORAH LISHMA AND TOSFOS Ben Hay Hay seems to be two names. The Torah Lishma (Responsa #402) cites this very notion as a proof that one may even name someone after a Hebrew letter. There is a Tosfos in Chagigah 9b that states that Ben Hay Hay was actually a Ger Tzedek and that this name was given to him because it alludes to the fact that he is a descendant of Abraham and Sarah. Both Abraham and Sara received the extra letter Hay from Hashem. It could be that this would not be considered two names on account of the view of this Tosfos. THE OTHER VIEW Rav Menashe Klein zl (1924-2011) in his Mishna Halachos (Vol. V #215), on the other hand, is of the opinion that it is not only perfectly fine to have two names, but he disagrees with the contention that it was a rarity in previous times. He cites numerous examples in both TaNach as well as in Rishonim that people did have two names. Rav Sraya Dublitsky zl (1925-2018), a student of the Chazon Ish, is quoted in Korei Shmo (p. 149) as saying that the custom is not like the Chazon Ish and we do name people with two names. There are even opinions that giving multiple names is beneficial for the child in that it brings more bracha from heaven (Sdei HaAretz YD Vol. III #22 as cited in Vayikrah shmo bYisroel p.80). As an aside, Rav Moshe Feinstein ztl in his Igros Moshe (OC Vol. V #10) uncharacteristically discusses the historical reasons for the development of two names. WHEN NAMING TWO NAMES It is important that if one does follow the minhag to name a child with two names that both names be used. The Sefer Ben Yehohada (Taanis 25b) writes that if one leaves out one of the names, the pouring out of blessing from the letters of his second name are prevented from reaching him. Rav Ben Tzion Abba Shaul ztl even stated that leaving out the second half of the name can even cause the child damage, chalilah. There are those who forbid a person to create a nickname based upon an abbreviation of two names. For example, if someone had the name Eliyahu Mordechai it would be improper to nickname him Elmo (aside from the issue of naming a child after a non-Jewish name, indeed, a Sesame Street character). Others disagree with this view. Indeed, Rav Chaim Kanievsky is cited in Kesser Shaim Tov (Vol. II #112) as permitting it. The main thing, of course, whenever deciding upon a name is to maintain shalom and not to cause an argument when things do not go the way one wants it to. Shalom is actually one of Hashems Holy Names and it is something that we daven for in every shmoneh esre and in every kaddish. May Hashem bless Klal Yisroel will peace. So what has happened of late in the naming or renaming of girls? There are a number of Torah observant Jews that, when visiting Eretz Yisroel, try to get an audience with the Gedolei Torah of Klal Yisroel. Rav Chaim Kanievsky shlita is recognized as one of the Gedolei HaDor and receives visitors on a regular basis. When people ask for a bracha for a Shidduch, however, they are sometimes in for a shock. Rav Kanievsky is of the opinion that the names Shira and Rina are actually not Jewish names at all. He advises that they should be changed immediately. Thus, Rinas become Raizels or Rachels and Shiras become Saras or Shifras. And we are witnessing these changes by the dozens. The word Shira means joyous song and the word Rina also means a musical joy. But did previous Gedolim agree with this assessment that these names are not names and should be changed? Is it really true that Shira is not a Jewish name? Is it not possible for a name to become Jewish simply because Jews start to use it? RAV FEINSTEINS VIEW Rav Moshe Feinstein ztl in Igros Moshe (OC IV #66) clearly learns that names can become Jewish names by virtue of their use among Jews. He cites as an example the name of Maimon, father of the Rambam as well as Vidal the author of the Maggid Mishna. Originally, these were decidedly not Jewish names. He discusses it further in Orech Chaim Vol. V 9:10. In these responsa he explains that the initial people who named their children with non-Jewish names were in violation of this idea. However, gradually when more Jews began doing it, the names attained a Jewish flavor. Perhaps one could counter that Rav Kanievskys view is that the problems with the names Shira and Rina are not that they are not Jewish names, but that they are not names at all. In order to address this possibility, it may be worthwhile to examine some of the names found in the Mishna and Gemorah. We find in Pirkei Avos that Ben Hay Hay tells us Lefum Tzaara Agra according to the level of difficulty involved in observing a Mitzvah is the reward. Most people focus on his message, but lets take a moment to focus on the Rabbis name. What kind of name is Ben Hay Hay? The Torah Lishma (Responsa #402) cites this very notion as a proof that one may even name someone after a Hebrew letter. If this is the case, then it would seem plausible that one can also name after a full Hebrew word as well not just a Hebrew letter. This is especially true when we have so many people doing it there are thousands of Shiras and Rinas. There are also quite a few Gilas and Ditzas too, but it is not known whether Rav Chaim has expressed an animadversion to these names. There is a Tosfos in Chagigah 9b that states that Ben Hay Hay was actually a Ger Tzedek and that this name was given to him because it alludes to the fact that he is a descendant of Abraham and Sarah. Both Abraham and Sara received the extra letter Hay from Hashem. But this does not negate the idea that one may name after non-names. The Tosfos merely provide a reason why it was done, but no one is questioning whether it may be done or not. There may be another issue here as well. More often than not, when a child is named it is because the father and mother both agreed upon that particular name. According to some Gedolei Torah consulted, to opt not to use the name which the parents had originated and decided upon may possibly infringe or border upon issues of Kivud Av vAim especially when there are halachic authorities that would have clearly permitted it. There are also a number of Seforim that state that the name given a child by the parents constitutes the will and expression fo Shamayim (See Sefer HaGilgulim chapter 59). It is this authors understanding that most of the time, it is not the parents or the child who first pose the question. If, however, one had actually asked the question to Rav Chaim Kanievsky ztl, then the principle of following the ruling of a Rav when one had posed the question comes into play. Generally speaking, if someone poses a question to one Rav, he should not ask a different Rav for a ruling. In such circumstances, one should weigh all the elements together in consultation with ones Rav or Posaik. The author can be reached at [email protected] [If you actually read through until here, well, a yasher koach!] The Persian Gulf State of Oman announced on Thursday that Israeli airlines will be permitted to pass through its airspace. The announcement came after months of contact between the Israeli Foreign Ministry and Omani authorities The use of Omani airspace, along with that of Saudi Arabia, will shorten flights to Asia from Israel by over two hours, significantly reducing ticket prices for Israelis and enabling Israeli airlines to compete with international airlines. This is a historical and meaningful decision for the Israeli economy and Israeli travelers, said Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. I thank Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the National Security Council, Director-General of the Foreign Ministry Ronen Levi, and the employees of the ministry who devotedly worked for the citizens of Israel and the Israeli economy. Special thanks to our friend Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said and our friends in the United States who accompanied us throughout the move. Oman has no official relations with the State of Israel but the two countries have maintained discreet relations for years. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made a surprise visit to Oman in 2018. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) A central Florida television journalist and a little girl were fatally shot Wednesday afternoon near the scene of a fatal shooting from earlier in the day, authorities said. Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a news conference that theyve detained Keith Melvin Moses, 19, who they believe is responsible for both shootings in the Orlando-area neighborhood. Besides the Spectrum News 13 journalist and the 9-year-old girl, a TV crewmember and the girls mother were wounded during the second shooting. They were in critical condition at a local hospital. I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners, Mina told a room full of reporters. I work closely with all of you and know many of you and know the very difficult job that you do and also the very important job that you do for our community and for law enforcement. No one in our community not a mother, not a 9-year-old and certainly not news professionals should become the victim of gun violence in our community. Mina said they dont immediately have a motive for any of the shootings. So, the suspect is not saying much right now, Mina said. It is unclear if he knew they were news media or not. Were still trying to work all that out. Mina said the News 13 vehicle did not look like a typical news van with TV station markings. Deputies had initially responded to the Pine Hills area, just northwest of Orlando, on Wednesday morning following reports of a woman in her 20s being shot. Moses was an acquaintance of the woman this morning, but as far as we know, had no connection to the reporters and no connection to the mother and the 9-year-old, Mina said. According to witnesses, a man approached the news vehicle later Wednesday and opened fire, hitting the two reporters. The man then walked to a nearby home and shot the mother and daughter. WFTV crews, who were also reporting on the morning shooting, tried to give medical aid to the Spectrum 13 journalists. Mina said Moses is already facing a murder charge for the initial victim, and charges are expected soon for the other four victims. Moses criminal history includes gun charges, as well as aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft offenses, the sheriff said. Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Twitter. Spectrum News 13 was not identifying the crew members who were involved in the shooting, according to a story on the TV stations website. Please, please, say a prayer tonight for our co-worker who is in critical condition. And while youre at it, please say a prayer for every victim of gun violence in this country, Spectrum 13 journalist Celeste Springer said during her live on-air report. Worldwide 40 journalists were reported killed last year, plus another two this year before Wednesday, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Only one of those was in the United States. Jeff German, who covered politics and corruption for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, was found dead outside of his home in September after being stabbed multiple times. Former Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles, who had been a frequent subject of Germans reporting, has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge. In 2015, Virginia reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were shot and killed during their live TV broadcast for CBS affiliate WDBJ7. The suspect, a former reporter for the TV station, died by suicide during the law enforcement search for him. (AP) The NYPD, Chicago PD, and other law enforcement agencies and organizations are warning about a Day of Hate being planned by anti-Semitic groups this Shabbos, February 25th. This National Day of Hate was originally proposed by a tiny Eastern Iowa-based neo-Nazi group in early January. Over the past few weeks, individuals associated with other white supremacist groups and networks have indicated they will participate. These groups and networks have membership and supporters scattered around the country including the Goyim Defense League, Active Clubs and National Socialist Movement. Since 2021, white supremacist networks such as White Lives Matter have popularized designated days of action as a tactic to unite fellow white supremacists and draw attention to their cause. On these days, participants primarily conduct white supremacist and antisemitic propaganda distributions, banner drops, and hold demonstrations. The NYPD said in a memo sent to the community, officials said to maintain elevated situational awareness and vigilance. The Chicago and other police Departments put out similar messages. The Orthodox Union said it is in touch with its partners at the Secure Community Network as well as the Department of Homeland Security and FBI, and are not aware of threats to specific Jewish institutions. The Anti-Defamation League urged community members: If at any time you feel that you may be in danger, contact law enforcement immediately Jewish institutions should use this event as an appropriate moment to review security protocols with staff. Do not confront individuals distributing propaganda, conducting banner drops or spraying/stenciling graffiti as they may be willing to engage in violence and/or film interactions to use in their digital propaganda. We encourage you to contact law enforcement to report trespassing, vandalism or harassment if any of these activities occur on your property, it added. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Former President Donald Trumps lawyers in Georgia are criticizing the Fulton County investigation into potential illegal election meddling after the foreperson of the special grand jury seated to help the probe went public this week. Emily Kohrs first spoke out in an interview published Tuesday by The Associated Press, a story that was followed by interviews in other print and television news outlets. She described some of what happened behind the closed doors of the jury room including how some witnesses behaved, how prosecutors interacted with witnesses and how some witnesses invoked their rights not to answer certain questions. Trump attorneys Drew Findling and Jennifer Little said that despite having concerns about the panels proceedings from the start, they kept quiet out of respect for the grand jury process. But they said revelations offered by Kohrs this week compelled them to speak up. The end product is the reliability of anything that has taken place in there is completely tainted and called into question, Findling said in an interview with the AP on Wednesday evening. He said he held no chagrin for a 30-year-old foreperson who was part of a failed system. Shes a product of a circus that cloaked itself as a special purpose grand jury, he said. The special grand jury was impaneled at the request of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is investigating whether Trump and his Republican allies committed any crimes as they tried to overturn his narrow 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden in Georgia. The panel did not have the power to indict but instead could offer recommendations for Willis, a Democrat who will ultimately decide whether to seek indictments from a regular grand jury. Findling and Little expressed concern that the special grand jury, which they said should be basing its recommendations to the district attorney on evidence and testimony presented in the jury room, was allowed to watch and read news coverage of the case and was aware of some witnesses efforts not to testify. Kohrs said prosecutors told the jurors they could read and watch the news but urged them to keep an open mind. Kohrs also shared numerous anecdotes from the proceedings that she found amusing and was very expressive in television interviews, sometimes laughing or making faces. Findling and Little said the district attorneys office, which was advising the special grand jury, should have done a better job of educating the grand jurors about the solemnity of the process and the rules and limitations. Its not a joking matter, Findling said. Its not a matter for giggles. Its not a matter for smiles. Willis office has declined to comment on Kohrs media appearances. The Trump lawyers also said that this situation could have been avoided if the judge had instructed special grand jury members not to speak to news outlets until after the panels full final report is made public. Several parts of the report were released last week, but Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said any section that recommended specific charges for specific people would remain secret for now. In the federal system, grand jurors are prohibited from talking about what witnesses said or anything that happened in the room. But the oath taken by grand jurors in Georgia only says they cannot talk about their deliberations. The grand jury was dissolved on Jan. 9, and McBurney told the AP that he later met with grand jurors to discuss where things stood. He said he provided them a road map of what they were legally allowed and not allowed to discuss publicly. He said they could discuss what witnesses said and what is in the report but could not talk about deliberations because thats what their oath said. Willis has said since the beginning of the investigation two years ago that she was interested in a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which Trump suggested to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, that he could find the votes needed to overturn Trumps loss to Biden in the state. All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, Trump said during that call. (AP) Heathrow Airport's losses narrowed to 684million last year as the British Airways hub continues to recover from its pandemic lows. Britain's busiest airport, which made a loss of around 1.3billion in 2021 under stringent Covid-19 travel restrictions, grew faster than any airport in the world in 2022 as passenger numbers trebled to 62million. Heathrow, which has also been hampered by rising costs, staff shortages and industrial action, said on Thursday that 2022 had been 'a year of recovery' and pledged this year would mark a 'year of renewal' as revenues recover further. Heathrow pledged this year would mark a 'year of renewal' as revenues recover further Revenues climbed by 140 per cent in 2022 to 2.9billion as passenger volumes soared 217.6 per cent from 19.4 million a year earlier. Heathrow's consolidated nominal net debt ticked 9.2 per cent higher to around 14.6billion. The airport said its financing 'remains conservative, with strong liquidity and gearing falling below pre-pandemic levels'. Heathrow also flagged a return to normality on staffing levels post-pandemic, but cautioned 'border closures and loss of skills deeply scarred the global aviation sector and it will take some time to fully recover'. It added: 'Over 25,000 people have started work at Heathrow in the last 18 months and resource levels are now close to pre-pandemic levels. 'The focus is now on improving skills, experience and building resilience. We are seeing the benefits in a successful Christmas and half-term getaway. In 2019, passengers ranked Heathrow as one of the top 10 in the world and we are determined to get back there.' CEO John Holland-Kaye, who will step down this year, said: '2022 may have been a year of recovery, but 2023 is shaping up to be a year of renewal for Heathrow. 'Our teams have already delivered a successful Christmas and half-term getaway, and with a great investment plan in place, we are determined to once again rank in the top 10 airports for service.' Looking ahead, Heathrow stuck to its December forecasts for 2023, which predicted adjusted EBITDA growth of 4.1 per cent to 1.74billion on the back of further passenger growth and revenues of 3.2billion. Operating costs, however, are forecast to increase 18.3 per cent to 1.4billion 'to support the increase in passengers, the full year effect of re-opened terminal facilities and higher utilities costs'. A key factor for Heathrow this year and beyond will be the Civil Aviation Authority's decision on investment in passenger service, which is expected in March. Heathrow slammed the CAA's regulated charges, branding tariff plans for the next three years as 'not deliverable due to errors in the CAA's forecasts'. The CAA controls Heathrow's maximum airport charge and has brought in an interim tariff until it finalises its longer term plans. Head of investment at Interactive Investor Victoria Scholar said: 'Last year's removal of covid restrictions helped spur a recovery for Heathrow after the extremely difficult pandemic era when most flights were ground to a halt. 'However 2022 posed challenges of its own with labour shortages prompting the implementation of limits on passenger capacity between July and October. 'Strikes, baggage handling problems and cancellations, China's lockdowns as well as the long-term structural decline in business travel have created headwinds for Heathrow. 'Plus there is the macroeconomic backdrop to contend with which has resulted in slower growth, a softening consumer and inflated costs. Nonetheless Heathrow said service is getting back to pre-pandemic levels after a successful Christmas and half term, describing 2023 as the "year of renewal".' Shares in John Wood Group hit an eight-month high after rejecting three takeover bids from a New York-based private equity firm. The FTSE 250 oil rig and refinery engineer rocketed 29 per cent, or 44.85p, to 199.55p its highest level since June last year after it revealed that Apollo Global Management tabled had swooped on the firm. But John Wood rejected the bids, including an offer of 230p per share made on January 26 which valued the company at 1.8billion. John Wood Group rocketed 30.1% its highest level since June last year after it revealed that Apollo Global Management tabled had swooped on the firm The proposals were carefully considered but rejected because each significantly undervalued the group, the firm said in a statement. Analysts at Jefferies said the offer is materially below our upside scenario of 290p. John Wood has faced pressure from activist investor Sparta Capital to boost its share price to avoid becoming a takeover target. It has also called on John Wood, which employs more than 35,000 people across 60 countries, to return cash to shareholders. Apollo, which has also targeted the education specialist Pearson (down 0.04 per cent, or 0.4p, to 908p), must decide whether to make another offer or walk away by March 22. The FTSE 100 fell 0.3 per cent, or 22.91 points, to 7907.72, but the FTSE 250 rose 0.6 per cent, or 110.2 points, to 19790.49. Recruitment firm Hays has started its search to replace boss Alistair Cox who has brought his 15-year tenure to an end. The outgoing chief executive took over in 2007. He bowed out on a high after Hays reported record half-year fees in 19 countries. Fees rose 12 per cent to 651.9million in the six months to December. Stock Watch - Tribal Group Tribal Group sank into the red after it warned little progress has been made on resolving its contract with a university in Singapore. The software company said in December its eight-year contract worth 17million with Nanyang Technology University (NTU) would be loss-making following delays to implementation and delivery. Tribal has now said it remains in significant disagreement with NTU over how much revenue it is entitled to. Shares slid 7.9 per cent, or 4.15p, to 48.6p. But profit fell 8 per cent to 97million during the period. Shares slid 3.6 per cent, or 4.5p, to 119.1p. Likewise, Genus boss Stephen Wilson is to retire at the end of September after four years in charge. He has been with the animal genetics company for ten years, with a search for his replacement under way. Alongside Wilsons departure, Genus reported a 25 per cent rise in revenues to 350.2million for the six months to December 31 and reiterated annual forecasts as it remained hopeful that the volatile Chinese porcine market will recover. Shares surged 8.7 per cent, or 234p, to 2938p. Mondi, however, headed in the other direction. The packaging giant sank 4.8 per cent, or 71p, to 1406.5p after it warned its business would continue to face softer demand and pricing. Its bleak outlook came even though revenue surged 28 per cent to 7.85billion in 2022 while profit jumped 119 per cent to 1.37billion. Serco slid 1 per cent, or 1.6p, to 150.2p despite the renewal of its contract with the US Department of Health and Human Services. The deal will see the outsourcing group, which runs security, transport and immigration contracts, help those who qualify to buy health insurance. The four-year, seven-month contract, which will start on July 1, could be worth up to around 570million. Hikma Pharmaceuticals took a hit after profits slumped 52 per cent to 235million in 2022 following a 151million impairment charge related to its generics business and research and development costs. Shares fell 2 per cent, or 35.5p, to 1718p. Kitchen supplier Howden Joinery made a bright start to 2023 with its UK revenue up 6.1 per cent in the first eight weeks of the year. It followed a 10.8 per centrise in revenues to 2.3billion in 2022 while profit was 4 per cent higher at 405.8million. Shares sank 1.8 per cent, or 13p, to 704.4p. Construction group Morgan Sindall saw annual revenue rise 12 per cent to 3.6billion on the back of demand for office space. Shares soared 7.3 per cent, or 120p, to 1754p. And precision instrument specialist Spectris posted a 14 per cent rise in sales in 2022 to 1.3billion. Profit surged 16 per cent to 401.5million. Shares gained 7 per cent, or 222p, to 3365p. The boss of Rolls-Royce has announced a sweeping shake-up aimed at reversing years of under-performance. Chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic described the FTSE 100 engine maker as a burning platform shortly after taking over at the start of the year. And yesterday he declared: No company can continue like this and therefore we need to change. Rolls-Royce chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic has announced a sweeping shake-up aimed at reversing years of under-performance A strategic review aiming to identify the companys priorities for investment will report in the second half of the year and Erginbilgic said a plan to turn around its fortunes was already under way at pace. Shares surged 23.7 per cent, or 25.48p, to 133.1p hitting their highest level since November 2021 as underlying operating profits rose 57 per cent to 652million. Erginbilgic, a former BP executive, took the controls at Rolls-Royce at the start of January and has been quick to make his presence felt. He hinted the company has been spreading itself too thin, saying: We have been trying to keep too many options open. He added: We have been under-performing financially for many years. I think it is really important to be honest with our people to help them understand the reality we face and the need for change. The planned shake-up could send a chill through a business which has already gone through thousands of job cuts after the pandemic brought it to the brink of collapse. Now, it is recovering, helped by the upturn in aviation after lockdowns. Flying hours in the large engines it sells to airlines were up 35 per cent but still a third below pre-pandemic levels. The company expects profits to climb to as much as 1billion for 2023 as the recovery continues. But Erginbilgic said it was not just Covid that was responsible for the companys woes over recent years, indicating that it was doing worse than rivals and that returns to shareholders were low even when excluding the crisis year of 2020. He said while the latest results showed improvement it was from a very low base. Since joining, Erginbilgic has toured major sites in Britain, the US and Germany and said they all have a great potential to create value for Rolls-Royce. He said his review aimed to simplify the business and address its footprint understood to mean the number of sites it has but declined to confirm that Rolls would have to exit some of its businesses, or shrink. Erginbilgic signalled that Rollss core engine-making operations had a bright future. But that fuelled speculation about what might happen to other operations, such as making propulsion systems for electric flying taxis. Erginbilgic signalled support for the companys plans to build a fleet of mini nuclear reactors around the UK, seen as a key part of the transition to net zero, but reiterated concerns expressed by his predecessor Warren East about the need for government support. George Zhao, analyst at private wealth manager Bernstein, said it was notable that Erginbilgic talked about the merits of a number of businesses but not electric aircraft, and that could be an area where Rolls must make a decision on continued investment. Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: The work in knocking the company into a more efficient shape is only just getting going. A Buffalo police officer facing his first questions in a lawsuit over shoving a 75-year-old protester to the ground never lost his composure. His lawyer was another matter. If last week's aborted deposition of Officer Robert McCabe is an indication of what's to come, the federal lawsuit by Martin Gugino, the injured protester, against three police officers and also city officials will be especially testy. The lawyer for McCabe later complained to a federal magistrate that Gugino's lawyer asked nine questions that used the verb kill. The deposition ended abruptly after Gugino's lawyer used the word "assault" in his question to describe the actions of another officer against another demonstrator during a protest against police violence held days before the one on June 4, 2020, when Gugino was hurt. "This wasn't one blatantly improper question," Hugh M. Russ III, the lawyer for McCabe, told the magistrate at a hearing. "This was part of a series of questions designed to harass the witness." A federal magistrate ultimately decided the line of questioning was not improper. But the exchange provided a window into how contentious this high-profile case continues to be. The current lawsuit involves the then-75-year-old Gugino getting pushed to the ground, hitting his head on the pavement and bleeding profusely from his ear during a protest in Niagara Square an incident caught on video that drew millions of social media viewers and ignited criticism of the Buffalo police. Gugino's legal team said in the lawsuit that the shove violated Gugino's constitutional rights and U.S. Supreme Court safeguards that limit government's ability to restrict freedom of speech and assembly. McCabe and Officer Aaron Torgalski were cleared last year by an arbitrator, who ruled they did not violate Police Department regulations and did not intend to injure Gugino as they and other members of the departments emergency response team sought to enforce an 8 p.m. curfew. And a grand jury in 2021 refused to indict them after both were charged with felony assault soon after the incident. But now because of the lawsuit, the officers face more questions and not just about what happened that day in Niagara Square. The 'kill' questions Among the first questions from Gugino's lawyer last week concerned McCabe's tattoos. What's displayed on those tattoos, asked attorney Richard P. Weisbeck Jr., who represents Gugino. "Religious and military related," the officer replied. Then came the questions of McCabe's service in the U.S. Army, particularly his military training. "So you had training on how to kill people and how to injure people, correct?" Weisbeck asked. "Yes, and also not to injure people with non-lethal tactics," McCabe, 35, replied. What followed were more questions that Russ said were meant to incite McCabe to lose his temper, so that his reaction would be recorded on video. "Do you agree there's a big difference between being a soldier in the Army where you are trained to kill people in a war and being a public servant in a municipal police department in the United States where every citizen is guaranteed his or her constitutional rights?" Weisbeck asked McCabe. "Yes," McCabe replied. "But we're not just trained to kill people in the Army. We have rules of engagement, so unless they use lethal force against us, we're not allowed to use lethal force against them." 'Don't answer' Russ objected to the questions but told McCabe to answer them, except for one. Gugino's lawyer showed a screenshot of a video that he described as showing a police officer shoving a peaceful demonstrator with her hands raised in the air during a Niagara Square protest on May 30. McCabe was not at that protest. "Who's the police officer who committed that assault upon the citizen peacefully demonstrating against police violence?" Weisbeck asked McCabe. Russ told McCabe not to answer. Then a tense exchange followed between the two lawyers over the type of questions and objections that federal rules allow during depositions. "You can't in federal court say don't answer," Weisbeck told Russ. "What's the ground?" "The word assault," Russ replied, calling the question "argumentative, improper and blatantly improper." "I told him not to answer," Russ said at the deposition. "If you have a problem, make a motion. If you want, call the judge. "When your question is so blatantly wrong, I'm directing him not to answer, and I feel comfortable saying that to a judge," Russ said. "I can use that," Weisbeck said of the word "assault." Weisbeck then ended the deposition and did what Russ suggested: He filed a motion with U.S. Magistrate Judge Leslie G. Foschio. "I'm going to ask a lot of questions with words you don't like, and we're going to get a written order on this, and if you're right, then I'll have to reformulate all my questions, and if you're wrong, I'll be able to ask the questions in the form I determine," Weisbeck told Russ. "So I'm going to get an order from the court because this is federal court. You don't have an opportunity to just tell people not to answer because you don't like the question." The judge's view Days later, the lawyers appeared before Foschio. Russ sought a protective order "precluding harassing, argumentative and improper questions at defendant depositions." Weisbeck sought an order compelling McCabe "to answer all questions posed to him at his deposition" and refraining his attorney from directing him and additional parties not to answer questions unless the direction is in line with federal rules. The judge sided with the protester's lawyer. "I honestly don't see any overreaching behavior by Mr. Weisbeck," Foschio said at the hearing. "I don't see any unreasonable annoyance. I don't see any embarrassment or oppressiveness in any of the questions. I don't see it." Federal rules deal with the admissibility of evidence at trial but also the treatment of the witness being deposed, Russ told the judge. "And my objection ... is to the way the witness was being treated, and that the questions were escalating in impropriety, and it was an obvious attempt to cause my witness to lose his temper on a video camera." "Did he lose his temper?" the judge asked. "He did not only his lawyer did, Your Honor," Russ said. "Well, that's unfortunate," the judge replied. "But that's not grounds for a protective order." When a lawyer harasses someone being questioned, "a judge knows it when he or she sees it," Foschio said. "And I don't see it here. I haven't seen it from the get-go. I tried to see it, but I couldn't." In his own words The judge granted Weisbeck's motion. "I'll be candid with you," the judge told Weisbeck. "Lawyer to lawyer, I had a hard time grasping this, where you were heading with those questions and what your purpose was. But I defer to your expertise in the context of this unusual lawsuit. Far be it for me to second-guess your motivations in asking those questions. I'm not sure I really could fathom why you were involved in these tattoos, or why you were involved in his military background." Weisbeck, in court papers, said he needed a clear order from the court to prevent further disruptions of the depositions of the other defendants. "If an attorney for a party can act as a gatekeeper dictating what words another attorney can use or select for his questioning of a witness or party, then that disrupts the entire deposition," Weisbeck said at the hearing. While Russ described Weisbeck's questions as attempts to get under the skin of McCabe, Weisbeck said his tone during McCabes deposition was measured and non-aggressive. "At no point were personal attacks made, the questions were not argumentative nor was the witness prevented from completing his answers," Weisbeck said in his court filing. Weisbeck told the judge his questions about the tattoos were for identification reasons. "This particular defendant came in with a jacket in long sleeves," Weisbeck said. "And instead of being intrusive, and asking him to take his coat or his jacket off and roll up his sleeves, I asked him just what are your tattoos?" ROME Pope Francis ushered in the annual Christian Lenten period of sacrifice and reflection by encouraging people on Ash Wednesday to cast off what he called the "dictatorship" of heavy agendas and superficial needs. Due to a knee problem, Francis didn't join in the traditional Ash Wednesday procession between two churches on Rome's Aventine Hill. Instead, he presided over an early evening Mass after the procession in hilltop St. Sabina Basilica, where faithful gathered for the Catholic Church's ritual distribution of ashes that are meant as reminders of people's mortality. Lent marks a period that can include fasting, prayer and works of charity in preparation for Easter, which this year is on April 9. During the service, ashes were sprinkled on Francis' bowed head while a choir sang hymns. Lent is the time to "drop the pretense of being self-sufficient and the need to put ourselves at the center of things, to be the top of the class, to think that by our own abilities we can succeed in life and transform the world around us," the pope said in his homily. "The ashes we receive this evening tell us that every presumption of self-sufficiency is false and that self-idolatry is destructive, imprisoning us in isolation and loneliness," he said. Instead, Lent serves "to remind ourselves that the world is bigger than our narrow personal needs, and to rediscover the joy, not of accumulating material goods, but of caring for those who are poor and afflicted," Francis said. "Let us take stock of ourselves, to free ourselves from the dictatorship of heavy schedules, crowded agendas and superficial needs, and choose the things that truly matter," the pontiff said. In his homily, Francis circled back to an overarching theme of his nearly 10-year-old papacy: attention to the individuality of those in need, particularly the poor. "Alms-giving is not a hasty gesture performed to ease our conscience,'' the pope said. "Rather, it is a way of touching the sufferings of the poor with our own hands and heart." Holy Week services, starting on April 2 with Palm Sunday and including the traditional Way of the Cross procession at the Colosseum, draw large crowds of pilgrims and tourists to Rome and the Vatican. The millions in additional funding in the governors budget proposal is the least New York State can do to begin correcting an injustice that sadly exists at the Tuscarora Indian School. The state-owned school on the Tuscarora Reservation is falling apart. Bricks are falling. The roof leaks. It is hard to imagine the students can fully concentrate, or that the teachers and staff are able to deliver the high-quality education each student deserves. This is a social equity issue at its core, and legislators who, by accounts, support more funding should not hesitate to deliver. So far, despite the obvious need, New York has failed in its duty. Last year, the state budget fared marginally better by setting aside $11.8 million for repairs, replacements and upgrades at the school. Gov. Kathy Hochul would prefer another $6.6 million in this years budget for Tuscarora, and additional funding for two other Native schools, also owned by New York State. The Tuscarora School houses pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, and is designed so Native American students can maintain their connection to the language, culture and history of the Tuscarora Nation. Incredibly, prior to last year, less than $200,000 had been spent on repairs and capital projects at the Tuscarora School over a seven-year period, compared with $11 million spent at each of Niagara-Wheatfields other schools. Such discrepancy should have never been tolerated in a society that boasts of a commitment to diversity and delivering equitable educational outcomes. Before last year, the state allocated a total of $3.4 million a year for the three Nation schools and 11 other schools it owns serving the blind and deaf. Its a paltry sum given the high needs of aging facilities. Superintendent Daniel G. Ljiljanich has remained helpless in correcting the situation, as he has had to plead for the state to make improvements. Capital projects at the three Native American schools are the domain of the director of facilities in the state Education Department. The annual amount for the 14 buildings has stood at $3.4 million for many years, according to the state Board of Regents last year in a summary of its budget requests. It is a miserly amount, indeed, recognized by the Regents which this year asked for more money to meet immediate health and safety needs. The Regents also want to establish a capital planning process for the three Native schools, Batavia School for the Blind and Rome School for the deaf comparable to that required for other public school buildings. Bipartisan support exists for increased funding to the schools. Thats good. Now state lawmakers must act to correct this yearslong health and educational injustice now and for the future. Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing. President Vladimir Putin said Russia will maintain increased attention on boosting its nuclear forces in an address to mark Thursdays Defender of the Fatherland public holiday and a day before the first anniversary of his invasion of Ukraine. Putins comments follow his suspension of a bilateral nuclear arms control treaty with the United States. As before, we will pay increased attention to strengthening the nuclear triad, said Putin, referring to nuclear missiles based on land, sea and in the air. Putin said that for the first time, Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles a weapon able to carry multiple nuclear warheads would be deployed this year. We will continue mass production of air-based hypersonic Kinzhal systems and will start mass supplies of sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles, Putin said in the remarks issued by the Kremlin early on Thursday. Russia is due to begin military exercises with China in South Africa on Friday and has sent a frigate equipped with the hypersonic missiles. On the eve of the Feb. 24 anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden had engaged in verbal sparring, highlighting the global tensions between the superpowers. Putin suspended the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) with the United States on Tuesday, accusing it of turning the war into a global conflict by arming Ukraine. In a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday, Biden said the United States and its NATO allies were defending democracy and freedom in Ukraine. In Warsaw on Wednesday, Biden warned the suspension of START was a big mistake but said, I dont read into that that hes thinking of using nuclear weapons or anything like that. A senior Russian defence official said that Moscow would stick to agreed limits on nuclear missiles and keep informing the United States about changes in its deployments. After meeting leaders of NATOs eastern flank in Warsaw, Biden promised that the United States will defend literally every inch of NATO, the military alliance that includes some Eastern European countries bordering Russia. The Kremlin says it regards NATO, which could soon expand to include Sweden and Finland, as an existential threat to Russia. The Ukraine war, the biggest land conflict in Europe since World War Two, has displaced millions, left Ukrainian cities, towns and villages in ruins and disrupted the global economy. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday denounced Russias invasion as a violation of the founding U.N. Charter and international law and called out its threats about the possible use of nuclear weapons. In two speeches last September, Putin indicated that he would, if needed, use nuclear weapons to defend Russia. We have heard implicit threats to use nuclear weapons. The so-called tactical use of nuclear weapons is utterly unacceptable. It is high time to step back from the brink, Guterres said. CHINESE ROLE On Wednesday, Putin welcomed Chinas top diplomat, Wang Yi, to the Kremlin, and announced that Chinese leader Xi Jinping would visit Russia, saying relations had reached new frontiers. Xi is expected to make a peace speech on Friday, but Ukraine says there can be no talk of peace while Russian troops occupy its territory. Washington is concerned Beijing could provide material support for Moscows war in Ukraine. The TASS news agency quoted Wang as saying China would firmly adhere to an objective and impartial position and play a constructive role in the political settlement of the crisis. The relationship between China and Russia, Wang said through an interpreter, was not directed against any third party but in a clear jab at the United States he said the countries would not succumb to pressure from third parties. Russia controls nearly a fifth of Ukraine, after suffering three major battlefield setbacks last year in its special military operation to protect Russian security. Ukraine and its Western allies have described the invasion as an imperial-style land grab. In recent weeks, Russia launched an offensive in eastern Ukraine, but has made only marginal gains despite some heavy losses. Ukrainian forces repelled 90 Russian attacks in the northeast and east over the past 24 hours, the military said early on Thursday. Russian troops attacked near Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region and around Lyman, Bakhmut, Adviika, and Shakhtarsk in the Donetsk region, where, according to the Ukrainian military, Russia is concentrating its offensive efforts. In Avdiivka, Russian forces are sticking to their tactic of pushing in one place, failing to advance and then bringing in reserves to try in another place, Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said in comments posted on YouTube. This is possible only because of the number of troops Russia can draw upon. They pay no attention to their losses. The idea is to weaken our position with little heed of the cost involved. Reuters could not verify the battlefield report. SOURCE: REUTERS It turns out there were rules governing advertisements by elected government officials. And County Clerk Michael Mickey Kearns clearly violated them by spending nearly $100,000 of taxpayer money in 2022 on print and electronic media, in which Kearns personally promoted the services of his office. Kearns should not get a free pass on this one, particularly since his office submitted bills for radio promotions several weeks after Jan. 5, when Comptroller Kevin Hardwick notified Kearns about the law prohibiting such expenses. Whether Kearns was aware of this prohibition or not, he should reimburse Erie County taxpayers. As Section 73-B of New Yorks Powers and Duties of Public Officials legislation states, no elected government official or candidate for elected local, state or federal office shall knowingly appear in any advertisement or promotion, including public or community service announcements, published or broadcast through any print or electronic media ... that publishes such advertisement for a fee, if the advertisement or promotion is paid for or produced in whole or in part with funds of the state, a political subdivision thereof or a public authority. If Kearns had spent public money on promotions in which he was not personally featured, there would have been political questions, but no violation. Then it would have been legally fine to tout the clerks appointment system for motor vehicle transactions, the thank-a-vet program that offers perks to members of the military and the Renew Local campaign that encourages residents to renew their drivers licenses and registrations in Erie County. Using unelected staffers or community volunteers in the ads would have also have passed muster and these worthy public services would have been within the bounds of the law. It would have even been OK to mention Kearns name. But of course, Kearns did appear in the ads, many of which aired during the 2022 primary and general elections and must have helped his hard-fought campaign for county clerk against opponent Melissa Hartman. Indeed, Kearns spent more than four times as much on such marketing in 2022 than he did in 2021. Facing a strong opponent, he used taxpayer money to bolster his bid for re-election. Hardwick first called attention to this last November, and said then hed look into instituting a prohibition against such spending. Now that the existing law is known, Erie County Democratic Party Chairman Jeremy Zellner is asking the New York State Attorney Generals Office to investigate Kearns clear violations of it. For his part, Kearns pleads ignorance. But whether he knew of the legislation or not, he must have been aware of how paid media marketing of his office, prominently featuring him, could help his political campaign. To pretend otherwise is beyond disingenuous. This may not rise to the level of attorney general prosecution, which Zellner no friend of Kearns is ambitiously pursuing but, at a minimum, the county clerk needs to reimburse taxpayers for the money we now know was illegally spent. Kearns should pay up. Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing. Concerns have been raised about the processes used by social media giants to block advertisements containing hateful language towards the LGBT+ community. NGO Global Witness submitted ads that used extreme and violent language to three social media companies for approval. Ten were submitted to Facebook, TikTok and Google, as part of the groups investigation. Both YouTube, which is owned by Google, and TikTok approved all ten ads while Facebook rejected two. Global Witness removed all the ads after they had been approved and before they were published. Social media companies suggested that processes to screen content are constantly evolving and there are multiple steps to monitor and remove online content. It is also possible for ads to be removed after they go live, as social media companies have reporting mechanisms that can trigger further scrutiny. A spokesperson for Facebook owners Meta said: Hate speech has no place on our platforms, and these types of ads should not be approved. That said, these ads never went live, and our ads review process has several layers of analysis and detection, both before and after an ad goes live. We continue to improve how we detect violating ads and behaviour and make changes based on trends in the ads ecosystem. A spokesperson for TikTok said: Hate has no place on TikTok. Our advertising policies, alongside our community guidelines, prohibit ad content that contains hate speech or hateful behaviour. Ad content passes through multiple levels of verification before receiving approval and we remove violative content. We regularly review and improve our enforcement strategies. The concern comes as Minister for the Media, Catherine Martin signed ministerial orders on Wednesday to establish media regulator Coimisiun na Mean which is hoped will reduce harmful content online. The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media said in a statement to the PA news agency that the establishment of Coimisiun na Mean and the appointment of an online safety commissioner will mean there will be more pressure on social media companies to reduce hate content. The online safety commissioner, along with other commissioners and the chair of the commission, are expected to be formally appointed on March 15 when the Coimisiun is expected to be established. Coimisiun na Mean will have a range of powers to monitor and enforce compliance with online safety codes, the department said. For example, if a service is suspected to be non-compliant, An Coimisiun can appoint authorised officers to investigate and this may lead to the imposition of a financial sanction of up to 20 million euro or 10% of turnover. The Online Safety and Media Regulation (OSMR) Act provides the legal basis for the online safety commissioner to establish individual complaints schemes for online platforms. This would allow individuals to submit complaints about the availability of suspected harmful online content. The department said it is not envisaged that an individual complaints scheme would be established until systemic regulation, through online safety codes, has been allowed to bed-in. No timeline has been given on how long this will take. The role of the commissioner will be to develop and enforce a regulatory framework for online safety for certain online services which host user-generated content, it said. A key feature of the regulatory framework for online safety is the power of the online safety commissioner to create and apply obligations through binding online safety codes. These codes will require designated online services to take measures to tackle the availability of defined categories of harmful online content and can regulate commercial communications (advertising, sponsorship) made available on those services. These categories of harmful online content include online content linked to 42 existing offences, including those under the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 and the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989. One of the high-profile investigations headed up by John Caldwell was the murder of PSNI officer Ronan Kerr in the same town where the senior detective was gunned down. The killing of Constable Kerr was blamed on dissident republicans styling themselves as the New IRA the same renegade group police suspect of shooting Detective Chief Inspector Caldwell on Wednesday night. Mr Kerr, a 25-year-old recently graduated police recruit, died when a booby trap bomb detonated under his car outside his home in Omagh in April 2011. Making an appeal for information on the 10th anniversary of the murder in 2021, Mr Caldwells words now assume a chilling poignancy given what happened to him in the same Co Tyrone town. His job was to protect the community, he said. Despicably, people living in his own community planned and plotted to kill him simply because he was a police officer bravely going out every day to protect people and make communities safer places to live and work. Given the ever-present security risk, the PSNI strive to protect the identities of the majority of their officers in the public sphere. However, high-ranking officers do have more of a public profile and they often front media appeals related to major investigations. Mr Caldwell is a familiar face on the TV news in Northern Ireland and is accustomed to giving press conferences and interviews. In December he was involved in the investigation following the murder of expectant mother Natalie McNally. Ms McNally, 32, who was 15 weeks pregnant, was stabbed at her home in Silverwood Green, Lurgan, Co Armagh. Earlier in December, Mr Caldwell took on the case of Mark Lovell. The 58-year-old was shot a number of times at close range while in his car outside his home in Newry. A month later, the DCI assumed the role of senior investigating officer when Shane Whitla, a 39-year-old father-of-four, was shot dead in Lurgan, Co Armagh. In October 2022, he headed the probe into the murder of Ryan McNab in Co Antrim. Mr McNab, 31, from north Belfast, was killed in an attack in the Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey. In January of that year, Mr Caldwell fronted public appeals following the fatal stabbing of Martin Gavin, 47, in Belfast. The previous year, Mr Caldwell led the probe into the murder of Katie Brankin, who was murdered by her partner at a glamping site in Limavady, Co Derry. A total of 549 admitted patients were waiting for beds on Thursday morning, according to todays INMO Trolley Watch. Out of this figure, 424 patients are waiting in the emergency department, while 125 are in wards elsewhere in the hospital. The latest figures come after HIQA reports were released which highlighted overcrowding in a number of hospitals around the country. Commenting on the publication of three HIQA inspection reports on Wednesday, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation has said the HSE and Department of Health must heed warnings on insufficient nurse and midwife staffing. INMO General Secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha said: We once again commend HIQA for their role in inspecting the current state of our hospitals. The INMO is firmly of the view that more unannounced inspections must take place. HIQAs reports into University Hospital Kerry and Tallaght University Hospital paint a bleak picture of the realities of unsafe nurse staffing. In the case of both hospitals, unsafe nursing staff levels meant that medical assessment units had to close or operate at a reduced capacity. The situation in University Hospital Kerry is of a particular concern to us and we have sought urgent meetings with hospital management on how safe staffing can be achieved. HIQAs report into Cork University Maternity Hospital highlights the crisis in midwifery staffing that exists in many maternity units right across the country. It is not acceptable to our members that they are not in a position to provide one-to-one support for women in labour. Of the ten HIQA reports carried out in hospitals in the last eleven months, not one hospital has been found fully compliant when it comes to staffing. This is totally unacceptable but not a surprise to our union. The INMO has been long sounding the alarm on the very real human impact that unsafe staffing has on both nurses and the patients they are trying to provide care for. The HSE and Department of Health have been provided with substantial independent information from HIQA when it comes to the level of non and partial compliance on the ability of hospitals to organise and manage their workforce to achieve safe and reliable healthcare. These are not reports that should just sit on a shelf or in an inbox. They must be the catalyst for change when it comes to making safe staffing a reality, Ms Ni Sheaghdha said. Tanaiste Micheal Martin has warned there could be a risk to supply if the winter eviction ban is extended beyond March. Despite the temporary moratorium on no-fault evictions being in place since November, homeless figures have continued to increase to new record highs for the past six months. The Foreign Affairs and Defence Minister also said that if it was to be extended, it would have to be done on a long-term basis in order to be honest with the market and renters. The government has concerns that an eviction ban implemented outside the context of an emergency could be contrary to property rights enshrined in the constitution. It has been rebutted that the scale of Irelands housing crisis and repeated record homeless figures warrant such an intervention by the state. It would require a test case to be fought in the courts to establish for certain whether it would be unconstitutional. During Leaders Questions, Mr Martin was asked by Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy to clarify whether the moratorium would be extended. I accept there is a balance of rights, she told the Dail. Those already in homelessness and those who are facing homelessness have to be seen as real people that are being failed and damaged, and that has to be factored into that balance of rights too. She said that if the eviction ban ended in March, due to high rents and a shortage of housing supply, the floodgates on homelessness would really be opened. There are currently 11,632 people who are officially recorded as homeless, including 3,442 children. The Department for Housing numbers do not include rough sleepers. What is a trickle would now become a torrent, Ms Murphy said. Mr Martin responded: If we extend it and I dont think you could extend it for a short term, because we need to be honest with the market. We need to be honest with those who are renting as well what would the impact on that be on supply? Would it make it worse? Politically, the simple catchcry is extend it, extend the ban and then worry about the consequences later, or indeed, the consequences will be the governments problem and the governments fault. On the other hand, the eviction ban did work during the winter. Because of the crisis that was caused by the energy situation, (it) gave a very solid kind of legal basis to a winter emergency ban on evictions. He added: Were giving this very serious consideration from a policy point of view. Im mindful of some of the negatives it could have on the wider sector. Mr Martin said that the legislation underpinning the eviction ban provides for a staggered ending out to June, to ensure there is no cliff edge ending on April 1. Ms Murphy said it doesnt feel like there is a plan of action for the end of this. She added: If youre not going to extend that ban, what are you going to put in place in relation to where people are going to live and what supports are going to be there for them? Mr Martin responded that data indicated that three times more landlords sold rental properties than bought them last year, resulting in a net loss of 13,000 rental homes. Theres a real issue here, we could make this much worse is the point Im trying to make, he said. [February 22, 2023] Electronic health records market is estimated to grow by USD 32.27 billion between 2022 and 2027; Evolving opportunities with Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc., CareCloud Inc. among others - Technavio NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Electronic Health Records Market by Deployment, Component, and Geography - Forecast and Analysis 2023-2027 report has been published by Technavio. Market size is forecast to grow by USD 32.27 billion between 2022 and 2027. However, the growth momentum will be decelerating at a CAGR of 12.91%. The report includes historic market data from 2017 to 2021. In 2017, the market was valued at USD 21.76 billion. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of growth opportunities at regional levels, new product launches, the latest trends, and the post-pandemic recovery of the global market. Download A PDF Sample Report Regional Analysis By region, the global electronic health records market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW). North America will account for 41% of market growth during the forecast period. Factors such as an increase in the prevalence of acute and chronic diseases, including several heart diseases, diabetes, cancer, and high awareness regarding the benefits of EHR are driving the growth of the electronic health records market in North America. To know about regional and country-wise contributions - Buy the report Company Profiles The electronic health records market report includes information on the key products and recent developments of leading vendors, including: Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. - The company offers electronic health records for various purposes, ranging from independent medical professionals to large adminstrative health records in the hospitals. - The company offers electronic health records for various purposes, ranging from independent medical professionals to large adminstrative health records in the hospitals. CareCloud Inc. - The company offers athenaClinicals which is designed to help medical experts research documents more efficiently and accurately as well as providing high quality care of documents. - The company offers athenaClinicals which is designed to help medical experts research documents more efficiently and accurately as well as providing high quality care of documents. CureMD.com Inc. - The company offers EHR solutions through American HealthTech for post acute care facilities. - The company offers EHR solutions through American HealthTech for post acute care facilities. Dedalus Group - The company offers CureMDs cloud based Electronic Health Record with complete access to appointments, clinical reviews, patient notes, medical histories, and document manager, all bundled in one app. Market Dynamics The market is driven by factors such as benefits of EHR leading to rise in adoption, government initiatives supporting EHR adoption, and growing digitization of healthcare industry. However, rising data security and privacy concerns are hindering the market growth. Competitive Analysis The competitive scenario categorizes companies based on various performance indicators. Some of the factors considered include the financial performance of companies over the past few years, growth strategies, product innovations, new product launches, investments, and growth in market share among others. Request a Sample Market Segmentation By deployment, the market is segmented into on-premise and cloud-based. By geography, the market is segmented into North America , Europe , Asia , and Rest of World (ROW). Related Reports: The flow cytometer market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 13.12% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by USD 6,038.44 million . The Increasing expenditure on R&D is notably driving the market growth, although factors such as the shortage of skilled professionals may impede the market growth. is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 13.12% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by . The Increasing expenditure on R&D is notably driving the market growth, although factors such as the shortage of skilled professionals may impede the market growth. The bio-detection market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 12.96% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecast to increase by USD 12,270.05 million . The increasing incidence of infectious diseases and cancer is notably driving the market growth, although factors such as inadequate healthcare services in developing regions may impede the market growth. Technavio's library includes over 17,000+ reports, covering more than 2,000 emerging technologies. Subscribe to our "Basic Plan" at just USD 5,000 and get lifetime access to Technavio Insights What are the key data covered in this electronic health records market report? CAGR of the market during the forecast period. Detailed information on factors that will drive the growth of the market between 2023 and 2027 Precise estimation of the size of the electronic health records market and its contribution to the parent market. Accurate predictions about upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior. Growth of the market across North America , Europe , Asia , and Rest of World (ROW). , , , and Rest of World (ROW). A thorough analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information about vendors. Comprehensive analysis of factors that will challenge the growth of electronic health records market vendors. Electronic Health Records Market Scope Report Coverage Details Page number 166 Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Decelerate at a CAGR of 12.91% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 32.27 billion Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 13.53 Regional analysis North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of World (ROW) Performing market contribution North America at 41% Key countries US, Canada, UK, Germany, and China Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc., CareCloud Inc., Computer Programs and Systems Inc., CureMD.com Inc., Dedalus Group, eClinicalWorks LLC, Epic Systems Corp., EverCommerce Inc., General Electric Co., Global Payments Inc., Greenway Health LLC, KareXpert Technologies Pvt. Ltd., McKesson Corp., MEDHOST, Medical Information Technology Inc., Oracle Corp., Siemens AG, Tebra Technologies Inc., Athenahealth Inc., and Dell Technologies Inc. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, market growth inducers and obstacles, fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, and market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized. Browse for Technavio information technology market reports Table of contents: 1 Executive Summary 1.1 Market overview Exhibit 01: Executive Summary Chart on Market Overview Exhibit 02: Executive Summary Data Table on Market Overview Exhibit 03: Executive Summary Chart on Global Market Characteristics Exhibit 04: Executive Summary Chart on Market by Geography Exhibit 05: Executive Summary Chart on Market Segmentation by Deployment Exhibit 06: Executive Summary Chart on Market Segmentation by Component Exhibit 07: Executive Summary Chart on Incremental Growth Exhibit 08: Executive Summary Data Table on Incremental Growth Exhibit 09: Executive Summary Chart on Vendor Market Positioning 2 Market Landscape 2.1 Market ecosystem Exhibit 10: Parent market Exhibit 11: Market Characteristics 3 Market Sizing 3.1 Market definition Exhibit 12: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition 3.2 Market segment analysis Exhibit 13: Market segments 3.3 Market size 2022 3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2022-2027 Exhibit 14: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 15: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 16: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 17: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 4 Historic Market Size 4.1 Global electronic health records market 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size Data Table on Global electronic health records market 2017 - 2021 ($ billion) 4.2 Deployment Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size Deployment Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ billion) 4.3 Component Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size Component Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ billion) 4.4 Geography Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 21: Historic Market Size Geography Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ billion) 4.5 Country Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021 Exhibit 22: Historic Market Size Country Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ billion) 5 Five Forces Analysis 5.1 Five forces summary Exhibit 23: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2022 and 2027 5.2 Bargaining power of buyers Exhibit 24: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers Impact of key factors 2022 and 2027 5.3 Bargaining power of suppliers Exhibit 25: Bargaining power of suppliers Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027 5.4 Threat of new entrants Exhibit 26: Threat of new entrants Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027 5.5 Threat of substitutes Exhibit 27: Threat of substitutes Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027 5.6 Threat of rivalry Exhibit 28: Threat of rivalry Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027 5.7 Market condition Exhibit 29: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2022 and 2027 6 Market Segmentation by Deployment 6.1 Market segments Exhibit 30: Chart on Deployment - Market share 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 31: Data Table on Deployment - Market share 2022-2027 (%) 6.2 Comparison by Deployment Exhibit 32: Chart on Comparison by Deployment Exhibit 33: Data Table on Comparison by Deployment 6.3 On-premise - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 34: Chart on On-premise - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 35: Data Table on On-premise - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 36: Chart on On-premise - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 37: Data Table on On-premise - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 6.4 Cloud-based - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 38: Chart on Cloud-based - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 39: Data Table on Cloud-based - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 40: Chart on Cloud-based - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 41: Data Table on Cloud-based - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 6.5 Market opportunity by Deployment Exhibit 42: Market opportunity by Deployment ($ billion) 7 Market Segmentation by Component 7.1 Market segments Exhibit 43: Chart on Component - Market share 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 44: Data Table on Component - Market share 2022-2027 (%) 7.2 Comparison by Component Exhibit 45: Chart on Comparison by Component Exhibit 46: Data Table on Comparison by Component 7.3 Services - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 47: Chart on Services - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 48: Data Table on Services - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 49: Chart on Services - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 50: Data Table on Services - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 7.4 Software - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 51: Chart on Software - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 52: Data Table on Software - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 53: Chart on Software - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 54: Data Table on Software - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 7.5 Hardware - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 55: Chart on Hardware - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 56: Data Table on Hardware - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 57: Chart on Hardware - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 58: Data Table on Hardware - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 7.6 Market opportunity by Component Exhibit 59: Market opportunity by Component ($ billion) 8 Customer Landscape 8.1 Customer landscape overview Exhibit 60: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria 9 Geographic Landscape 9.1 Geographic segmentation Exhibit 61: Chart on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 62: Data Table on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%) 9.2 Geographic comparison Exhibit 63: Chart on Geographic comparison Exhibit 64: Data Table on Geographic comparison 9.3 North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 65: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 66: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 67: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 68: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.4 Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 69: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 70: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 71: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 72: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.5 Asia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 73: Chart on Asia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 74: Data Table on Asia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 75: Chart on Asia - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 76: Data Table on Asia - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.6 Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 77: Chart on Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 78: Data Table on Rest of World (ROW) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 79: Chart on Rest of World (ROW) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 80: Data Table on Rest of World (ROW) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.7 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 81: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 82: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 83: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 84: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.8 Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 85: Chart on Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 86: Data Table on Canada - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 87: Chart on Canada - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 88: Data Table on Canada - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.9 UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 89: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 90: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 91: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 92: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.10 Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 93: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 94: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 95: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 96: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.11 China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 97: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 98: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ billion) Exhibit 99: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) Exhibit 100: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%) 9.12 Market opportunity by geography Exhibit 101: Market opportunity by geography ($ billion) 10 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends 10.1 Market drivers 10.2 Market challenges 10.3 Impact of drivers and challenges Exhibit 102: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2022 and 2027 10.4 Market trends 11 Vendor Landscape 11.1 Overview 11.2 Vendor landscape Exhibit 103: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation 11.3 Landscape disruption Exhibit 104: Overview on factors of disruption 11.4 Industry risks Exhibit 105: Impact of key risks on business 12 Vendor Analysis 12.1 Vendors covered Exhibit 106: Vendors covered 12.2 Market positioning of vendors Exhibit 107: Matrix on vendor position and classification 12.3 Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. Exhibit 108: Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. - Overview Exhibit 109: Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 110: Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. - Key news Exhibit 111: Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 112: Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. - Segment focus 12.4 Athenahealth Inc. Exhibit 113: Athenahealth Inc. - Overview Exhibit 114: Athenahealth Inc. - Product / Service Exhibit 115: Athenahealth Inc. - Key offerings 12.5 CareCloud Inc. Exhibit 116: CareCloud Inc. - Overview Exhibit 117: CareCloud Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 118: CareCloud Inc. - Key news Exhibit 119: CareCloud Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 120: CareCloud Inc. - Segment focus 12.6 Computer Programs and Systems Inc. Exhibit 121: Computer Programs and Systems Inc. - Overview Exhibit 122: Computer Programs and Systems Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 123: Computer Programs and Systems Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 124: Computer Programs and Systems Inc. - Segment focus 12.7 CureMD.com Inc. Exhibit 125: CureMD.com Inc. - Overview Exhibit 126: CureMD.com Inc. - Product / Service Exhibit 127: CureMD.com Inc. - Key offerings 12.8 Dedalus Group Exhibit 128: Dedalus Group - Overview Exhibit 129: Dedalus Group - Product / Service Exhibit 130: Dedalus Group - Key offerings 12.9 Dell Technologies Inc. Exhibit 131: Dell Technologies Inc. - Overview Exhibit 132: Dell Technologies Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 133: Dell Technologies Inc. - Key news Exhibit 134: Dell Technologies Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 135: Dell Technologies Inc. - Segment focus 12.10 eClinicalWorks LLC Exhibit 136: eClinicalWorks LLC - Overview Exhibit 137: eClinicalWorks LLC - Product / Service Exhibit 138: eClinicalWorks LLC - Key news Exhibit 139: eClinicalWorks LLC - Key offerings 12.11 Epic Systems Corp. Exhibit 140: Epic Systems Corp. - Overview Exhibit 141: Epic Systems Corp. - Product / Service Exhibit 142: Epic Systems Corp. - Key offerings 12.12 EverCommerce Inc. Exhibit 143: EverCommerce Inc. - Overview Exhibit 144: EverCommerce Inc. - Product / Service Exhibit 145: EverCommerce Inc. - Key offerings 12.13 General Electric Co. Exhibit 146: General Electric Co. - Overview Exhibit 147: General Electric Co. - Business segments Exhibit 148: General Electric Co. - Key news Exhibit 149: General Electric Co. - Key offerings Exhibit 150: General Electric Co. - Segment focus 12.14 Global Payments Inc. Exhibit 151: Global Payments Inc. - Overview Exhibit 152: Global Payments Inc. - Business segments Exhibit 153: Global Payments Inc. - Key offerings Exhibit 154: Global Payments Inc. - Segment focus 12.15 Greenway Health LLC Exhibit 155: Greenway Health LLC - Overview Exhibit 156: Greenway Health LLC - Product / Service Exhibit 157: Greenway Health LLC - Key offerings 12.16 KareXpert Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Exhibit 158: KareXpert Technologies Pvt. Ltd. - Overview Exhibit 159: KareXpert Technologies Pvt. Ltd. - Product / Service Exhibit 160: KareXpert Technologies Pvt. Ltd. - Key offerings 12.17 Oracle Corp. Exhibit 161: Oracle Corp. - Overview Exhibit 162: Oracle Corp. - Business segments Exhibit 163: Oracle Corp. - Key news Exhibit 164: Oracle Corp. - Key offerings Exhibit 165: Oracle Corp. - Segment focus 13 Appendix 13.1 Scope of the report 13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist Exhibit 166: Inclusions checklist Exhibit 167: Exclusions checklist 13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ Exhibit 168: Currency conversion rates for US$ 13.4 Research methodology Exhibit 169: Research methodology Exhibit 170: Validation techniques employed for market sizing Exhibit 171: Information sources 13.5 List of abbreviations Exhibit 172: List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. Contact Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media & Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: [email protected] Website: www.technavio.com/ View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/electronic-health-records-market-is-estimated-to-grow-by-usd-32-27-billion-between-2022-and-2027-evolving-opportunities-with-allscripts-healthcare-solutions-inc-carecloud-inc-among-others---technavio-301751602.html SOURCE Technavio [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 22, 2023] INVESTIGATION ALERT: The Schall Law Firm Encourages Investors in Credit Suisse Group AG with Losses of $100,000 to Contact the Firm The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces that it is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Credit Suisse Group AG ("Credit Suisse" or "the Company") (NYSE: CS) for violations of the securities laws. The investigation focuses on whether the Company issued false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose information pertinent to investors. Credit Suisse is the subject of a report by Reuters published on February 21, 2023. According to the report, Chairman Axel Lehmann was facing a probe based on his answers to questions in a Decembr interview. Lehmann claimed that customer outflows had "basically stopped," at a time the Company had disclosed a loss of client assets worth 84 billion francs. Despite Lehmann's comments, by the end of the quarter, losses totaled 110.5 billion francs. Based on this news, shares of Credit Suisse fell by 3.3% on the same day. If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate. We also encourage you to contact Brian Schall of the Schall Law Firm, 2049 Century Park East, Suite 2460, Los Angeles, CA 90067, at 310-301-3335, to discuss your rights free of charge. You can also reach us through the firm's website at www.schallfirm.com, or by email at [email protected]. The class in this case has not yet been certified, and until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member. The Schall Law Firm represents investors around the world and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222006074/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 22, 2023] Nissan's e-4ORCE video shows how innovative automotive technology can get tails wagging Nissan's latest 4WD system reduces the potential for motion sickness in pets YOKOHAMA, Japan, Feb. 23, 2023 /CNW/ -- Nissan today released a new video highlighting how e-4ORCE technology has the potential to reduce motion sickness for both people and their canine companions. Nissan's latest 4WD system manages the forces at each wheel through control of the brakes and twin high-output motors. By integrating 4WD control, chassis and electrification technologies, e-4ORCE can mitigate pitch and dive under acceleration and braking. Less vehicle movement means a reduction in the body motion that can cause carsickness. e-4ORCE can also calculate cornering loads in response to driver inputs and road conditions, then adjust the driving power of all four wheels. From everyday conditions to winding or slippery roads, this unprecedented system provides a powerful, responsive experience in all types of driving. Available on the electrified Nissan X-Trail and all-electric Nissan Ariya SUVs, e-4ORCE improves ride comfort for everyone including our four-legged friends and gives drivers added confidence on challenging road surfaces. Ryozo Hiraku, expert leader of Nissan's powertrain and EV engineering division, says "When people hear 'four-wheel drive,' special situations like off-road or in snowy conditions usually come to mind. But e-4ORCE is much more than that. It takes the daily driving experience to a new level. During testing, more than 100 employees tried e-4ORCE and all noted they could feel the difference in ride quality." He adds, "I was happy when one of them said, 'I don't think my dog will get carsick in this.' We hope the entire family, ncluding your furry friends, will get to enjoy driving with e-4ORCE." Watch video: https://youtu.be/Q1nOl1ljnns Nissan's pet pedigree As one would expect from a company whose corporate purpose is "Driving innovation to enrich people's lives," Nissan has a history of supporting our furry friends. Its commitment to pets dates back nearly two decades, when it dispatched a fleet of Micra hatchbacks to one of Europe's largest independent veterinary groups in 2005 to transport four-legged patients. A decade later, Nissan launched its #KnockKnockCats to prevent injury to cats seeking warmth under car hoods. In 2017, it sparked the interest of dog owners worldwide when it released the Rogue Dogue concept. And just this past year, Nissan released a guide to the best practices for transporting dogs. Learn more about e-4ORCE technology on the Ariya and X-Trail, here. For more media assets, here. For more information about our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit nissan-global.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn and see all our latest videos on YouTube. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2007846/Nissan_e_4ORCE_Dog_s_Best_Friend.jpg View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nissans-e-4orce-video-shows-how-innovative-automotive-technology-can-get-tails-wagging-301753336.html SOURCE Nissan Global [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 22, 2023] Arcadis welcomes "The 2023-24 Budget" with clear direction and specific goals for Hong Kong's building capacity HONG KONG, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Arcadis, the leading design and consultancy organization for natural and built assets, welcomes proposals set out in "The 2023-24 Budget", to support people in need and sustain the impetus to economic recovery through high-quality development. Responding, Francis Au, Greater China Growth Director said: "Arcadis welcomes the Government budget measures, with clear direction and specific goals for the development of Northern Metropolis and Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands. We are pleased the HKSAR Government is supporting the extensive application of advanced technologies in Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) to improve certainty on budget, quality and delivery time of projects." Develop Northern Metropolis and Kau Yi Chau Artificial Islands The Northern Metropolis is an important base for promoting the development of livable spaces and supporting the Innovation and Technology industries, thereby facilitating high-quality economic co-operation between Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. In parallel, the Budget also outlined preliminary proposals on the scope of reclamation, land use, transport infrastructure networks and financial arrangements regarding the Kau Yi Chau artificial islands. Arcadis embraces the multi-pronged approach by HKSAR Government, which will compress major projects time by half, from more than 10 years in he previous plan. Hence, more land resources will be released for public and private developments to improve quality of life for Hong Kong citizens. Application of Innovation and Technology in the Construction Industry Arcadis has developed an advanced forecasting model to predict Hong Kong construction manpower in the coming five years. The model suggests there will be a shortage of around 40,000 skilled workers and 15,000 professionals, supervisors, and technicians. Enhancing training and recruitment while driving the adoption of advanced construction methods and new technologies should be prioritized to increase capacity. We are delighted the Government addressed these issues and planned HKD $75 million for conducting studies on establishing the Building Testing and Research Institute, constructing an advanced construction industry building, and strengthening the supply chain for Modular Integrated Construction (MiC). Francis Au added: "By capitalizing on both our local and global expertise, we see opportunities to devise new standards, conduct testing and provide accreditation and related products to align with those in the international and China markets. "In addition, innovative ideas for implementing large-scale infrastructure projects can deliver benefits on time and on budget. We should consider partnerships between customers, consultants, contractors and suppliers, such as early contractor and supplier involvement, as well as revenue sharing mechanisms in procurement strategies." ABOUT ARCADIS Arcadis is the leading global design & consultancy organization for natural and built assets. We maximize impact for our clients and the communities they serve by providing effective solutions through sustainable outcomes, focus and scale, and digitalization. We are 36,000 people, active in more than 70 countries that generate 4.2 billion in gross revenues. www.arcadis.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1838726/Arcadis_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/arcadis-welcomes-the-2023-24-budget-with-clear-direction-and-specific-goals-for-hong-kongs-building-capacity-301753675.html [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] AVPN and Moody's Join Forces to Empower Early to Growth Stage Women-Led Enterprises SINGAPORE, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN), in partnership with Moody's, is thrilled to announce the launch of the second edition of Stimulating Entrepreneurship and Business Growth Programme, a capacity-building program that seeks to empower and support early to growth stage women-led enterprises in the Asia Pacific region. The programme aims at creating a pathway for lasting impact in the region by supporting the next generation of leaders. The programme is open to small businesses that are revenue-generating enterprises in the early to growth stage. Eligible small businesses must have a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) that is ready for validation and/or have scured their first customer. Small businesses should be registered and/or operating in the Asia Pacific region. Preference will be given to small businesses that are led by women in leadership positions and/or are focused on making an impact on women's issues. "We are really proud to once again continue this fantastic initiative to support early to growth stage women-led enterprises to gain the skills and resources they need to grow their business and make a lasting impact on their communities," said Naina Subberwal Batra, CEO of AVPN. "By empowering more women entrepreneurs in the Asia Pacific region, we aim to drive economic growth and lasting impact in the Asian communities." "We are excited to collaborate with AVPN on this innovative program," said Jennifer Stula Rivera, Global Head of Community Impact, Moody's. "By providing knowledge and resources, our aim is to help these entrepreneurs to grow their small businesses and fuel economic inclusion in their communities." Participants in the program will have access to other networking events organised by AVPN, such as the South Asia, South East Asia Summit. Additionally, participants will have visibility with AVPN's vast membership of social investors, through the Deal Share Platform listing. The application period for the program is from 23 February to 31 March 2023. Interested small businesses are encouraged to apply early to secure a spot in the program. For more information about the program and how to apply, visit https://avpn.asia/capacity-building/stimulating-entrepreneurship-and-business-growth/ About AVPN AVPN is the world's largest network of Social Investors in Asia, with over 600 diverse members across 33 markets. Their mission is to close the SDG gaps in Asia, by enabling their members to increase the flow of financial, human, and intellectual capital towards impact. Through sharing knowledge and innovating collaborations between policy makers, family offices, foundations and the private sector, AVPN improves the effectiveness of capital deployed; bringing to bear the local field needs, regional expertise, and policy insights. About Moody's Moody's (NYSE: MCO) is a global integrated risk assessment firm that empowers organizations to make better decisions. Its data, analytical solutions and insights help decision-makers identify opportunities and manage the risks of doing business with others. We believe that greater transparency, more informed decisions, and fair access to information open the door to shared progress. With approximately 14,000 employees in more than 40 countries, Moody's combines international presence with local expertise and over a century of experience in financial markets. SOURCE AVPN [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a Cap and Invest (C&I) plan during the State of the State address. This emission reduction plan will charge high emitting businesses a fee and the state will invest in emission reduction projects. The C&I plan states New Yorks buildings are the largest source of emissions in our state, If you own a building/home, this applies to you. People are leaving New York State, due in part to rising cost of living. Will the invest portion of this C&I plan offset owners out of pocket costs to meet reduce emissions requirements, such as: The 2030 ban on fossil fuel heating equipment sales (80% of New York buildings/homes use fossil fuel heat). President Bidens potential ban on gas stoves. Owners will have to retrofit buildings/homes to use electricity, in addition to buying electric replacements when old systems fail. The 2035 ban on fossil fuel vehicle sales. This means purchasing electric vehicle(s) and installing home vehicle charging station(s). The C&I plans to grade buildings energy usage. Will owners be required to invest in insulation, replacing doors/windows, etc. to reduce emissions? An owner will easily spend at least $10,000 to comply with emission reductions. The C&I includes roughly $1 billion in rebates for New Yorkers. Based on the $1 Billion being spread over just the single family homes, it will provide a few hundred dollars to each homeowner. Most money to achieve emission reduction plans will be provided by the owner. Will this C&I plan encourage migration out of New York? Mary Gilstrap Director Independent Oil and Gas Assn. of New York [February 23, 2023] Taulia Announces 2022 Results With New Client Wins Doubling Year-Over-Year Taulia, a leading provider of working capital management solutions, celebrates a landmark year in 2022. Following Taulia's acquisition by SAP, the world's largest provider of enterprise application software, it has seen rapid increase in new customers and growth in its network to over 3 million suppliers. In 2022, the business has more than doubled the number of new client wins compared to 2021, including signing international businesses such as Dole Asia, Hapag-Lloyd and World Wide Technology (WWT). WWT Executive Board & WWT President & MD International, Omar Mir said, "Taulia is a key partner to us and has supported us in achieving sustained growth during a period of economic uncertainty for our customers. Their innovative and flexible approach to Working Capital Management, strategic vision, and the backing of SAP enables our business to run better and provide a best-in-class experience for our customers." Othr achievements in 2022 include: Added new product capabilities for Accounts Receivable Finance and Sustainable Supplier Finance Established a strategic partnership with Standard Chartered Bank Grew its network of funding partners by 25% Increased headcount to more than 425 employees globally Appointed Danielle Weinblatt as Chief Product Officer and Steve McDermott as Chief Sales Officer "2022 was a pivotal year for Taulia," said Bob Glotfelty, Chief Growth Officer, Taulia. "Working alongside SAP, we've been able to amplify the impact we have on businesses both large and small, allowing them to accelerate their working capital and navigate a challenging economic environment. I couldn't be more excited to see what we can achieve together with our customers and partners in 2023." About Taulia Taulia is a fintech provider of working capital management solutions headquartered in San Francisco, California. Taulia helps companies access value tied up in their payables, receivables, and inventory. A network of more than 3 million businesses use Taulia's platform to determine when they want to pay and be paid. Taulia enables its customers to execute their working capital strategies, support their suppliers with early payment, and contribute to building sustainable supply chains. Taulia processes more than $500 billion each year and is trusted by the world's largest companies, including Airbus, AstraZeneca, and Nissan. In March 2022, Taulia became part of SAP. Taulia operates as an independent company with its own brand in the SAP Group. For more information, please visit www.taulia.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005230/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] New Studies at ECR 2023 Back Clinical Efficacy of Lunit's AI Solutions in Breast Cancer Diagnosis 4 oral presentations and 2 poster presentations, highlighting the most up-to-date research on Lunit's AI solutions for radiology, have been accepted for ECR 2023 The program will include studies evaluating the performance of Lunit's AI solutions for breast cancer diagnosis SEOUL, South Korea, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lunit (KRX:328130.KQ), a leading global provider of AI-powered cancer solutions, today announced its participation in the upcoming European Congress of Radiology (ECR) 2023, to be held in Vienna, Austria, on March 1-5. This year, Lunit will showcase 4 oral presentations and 2 poster presentations. In particular, 5 of the abstracts to be presented will highlight the effectiveness of Lunit's AI solutions for breast cancer diagnosis. One of the studies selected for oral presentation will feature Lunit INSIGHT DBT, Lunit's AI solution for digital breast tomosynthesis. Following its launch in the European market as the newest addition to the Lunit INSIGHT suite, Lunit INSIGHT DBT will be showcased at ECR through demonstrations at Lunit's booth, EXPO Hall X1, AI-37. Lunit will also deliver three oral presentations featuring Lunit INSIGHT MMG, the company's CE-marked and FDA-cleared AI solution for mammography. One study conducted with real-world data from a populationbased breast screening program suggests that Lunit INSIGHT MMG can help manage workloads more efficiently in mammography readings. Other studies include findings from comparing the AI solution's performance to human readers and another AI system. In an exploration of the relationship between AI and human readers, Lunit INSIGHT MMG's performance was compared with those of 1,868 UK radiologists. By applying a national external quality assurance (EQA) scheme for breast cancer screening to Lunit's AI algorithm, the study aimed to explore if there was a concordance between incorrectly labeled mammograms by AI and human readers. Overall, Lunit's AI performed as well as the human readers, as verified by the EQA scheme, which uses cancer cases with biopsy-proven pathological outcomes or normal follow-up at the next screening round to test the users. Lunit will also deliver a poster presentation on real-world data validating the clinical efficacy of Lunit INSIGHT MMG in actual medical settings. In this population-based prospective interventional study led by radiologist Dr. Fredrik Strand at the Karolinska Institutet, 55,581 patient cases from breast cancer screenings in actual clinical settings were analyzed. The study included three independent readers (Radiologist 1, Radiologist 2, Lunit INSIGHT MMG), allowing for results to be reviewed according to different reader combinations: two radiologists, Lunit AI + one radiologist, and each reader separately. Results showed that combining Lunit's AI with one radiologist generated greater cancer detection compared to two radiologists especially in high mammographic density cases, indicating a possibility of replacing the second reader with AI in a safe, effective, and cost-effective manner. "We are pleased to return to ECR this year to showcase new findings that demonstrate the clinical effectiveness of Lunit's AI solutions for breast cancer diagnosis," said Brandon Suh, CEO of Lunit. "Based on our technological achievements, we will continue to build partnerships with global healthcare companies and medical institutions and prove Lunit's positive impact across the medical field." Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2008493/Lunit_INSIGHT_DBT_Lunit_s_AI_solution_digital_breast_tomosynthesis.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1576401/Lunit_CI_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/new-studies-at-ecr-2023-back-clinical-efficacy-of-lunits-ai-solutions-in-breast-cancer-diagnosis-301754193.html [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] PingPong was invited to Co-organize Indonesia E-Commerce Conference 2023, as the only Cross-border Payment Solutions Provider at the conference PingPong launches a series of localized cross-border payment solutions for Southeast Asian businesses. JAKARTA, Indonesia, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PingPong Payments, a world's leading end-to-end payment solutions for global cross-border businesses, attended the Indonesia E-Commerce Conference 2023 as the only payment solutions provider to co-organize the conference. Jack Zhang, General Manager of International Marketing, was invited to share his thoughts about the market trends, consumer characteristics, and expertise in the cross-border e-commerce industry, and give an insightful presentation on PingPong's cross-border payment service solutions to companies that are looking to enter the cross-border e-commerce market. Zhang has explained how PingPong's service solutions are available for different types of business scenarios: 1. Supporting merchants to pay to China, including e-commerce merchants or independent e-commerce such as POD , and local importers purchasing from China; 2. Supporting for local merchants' collect cross-border export trade repayments, including from Amazon and other e-commerce platforms, stand alone web site and offline export trade; 3. Supporting the repayment of services for cross-border export by local merchants, we support Youtube, Google and Tiktok promotion platforms, game promotion platforms, Freelancer platforms, etc. Today, PingPong has expanded its reach in Indonesia (Jakarta), Singapore, Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi) and India (Bangalore and Jaipur)Supported with PingPong local service teams. The local team provides secure, efficient and professional services for customers in the Southeast Asian market. PingPong offers global and localized solutions in China, Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe and North America, allowing its client to expand their business globally with utmost confidence. About PingPong PingPong is one of the world's largest digital cross-border trade service providers, specialized in providing cross-border payment and payment collection services for its client from the global markets on various e-commerce platforms. It works with hundreds of global leading financial institutions including Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, Standard Chartered Bank and DBS Bank. PingPong offers global e-commerce sellers the ability to manage multiple currencies in a single, secure platform across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Now it maintains a long-term and stable partnerships with over 100 e-commerce platforms, such as, Amazon, Walmart and Shopee. As of the end of 2022, PingPong has accommodated business flows from over 200 countries/regions, serving over one million cross-border sellers. The Total Payment Volume (TPV) as of that date had reached nearly US$100 billion. SOURCE PingPong [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] Infosys Collaborates with Microsoft to Accelerate Industry Adoption of Cloud Infosys Cobalt and Microsoft Cloud solutions will help businesses uncover value and accelerate enterprise cloud transformation BENGALURU, India, Feb. 23, 2023 /CNW/ -- Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, today announced that it will expand its collaboration with Microsoft, to help accelerate enterprise cloud transformation journeys worldwide. According to the Infosys Cloud Radar, enterprises can add up to $414 billion in net new profits, annually, through effective cloud adoption. The report also calculated that adopting cloud improved speed to market and the ability to discover new revenue streams and resulted in increased profit growth by up to 11.2 percent YoY. The extended strategic collaboration between Infosys and Microsoft will greatly benefit enterprises by bringing them the best of Infosys Cobalt cloud offerings and Microsoft's cloud computing technologies, led by Azure, across the business value-chain. The deepening of the collaboration will entail the onboarding of Infosys Cobalt solutions to Microsoft's industry clouds, to empower enterprises to build agile cloud-powered platforms and innovate at scale. The joint capabilities across application modernization, enterprise solutions, data analytics and AI, digital workplace solutons, low-code, no-code power platforms and cybersecurity innovations will create a robust foundation for cloud-powered transformation. These will bring enterprises the benefits that come from best of breed Microsoft platforms, along with Infosys Cobalt suite of cloud-powered solutions, implemented to minimize time-to-market and maximize value. For example, Infosys Helix, running on Azure, is delivering for the healthcare industry value from an AI-first, people-centric platform suite to analyze, customize and democratize data for payers, providers, members, and governments. Another powerful example is Infosys Equinox a human-centric digital commerce and marketing platform that enables contextualized omnichannel buying experiences. This extended engagement will also enrich employee experience and enhance overall productivity. Infosys Cobalt solutions and Microsoft technologies are enabling over 300,000 Infosys employees with hyper-personalized, deeply humanized experiences enabled through an experiential app that is available across devices and serves as a hub for information and actions. It is also integrated with an array of enterprise systems, including Microsoft Dynamics365, and enabled with enterprise-grade security. Furthermore, collaboration between Infosys Cobalt and Microsoft Commerce to drive extreme automation for product launches is also an area where both organizations are jointly innovating across the business value-chain, using Azure. Microsoft is using Infosys' expertise to deliver the Support experience for its products, and this collaboration will further enhance the dedicated support and focus from the Microsoft CRM Center of Excellence set up by Infosys. Anand Swaminathan, Executive Vice President & Global Industry Leader Communications, Media and Technology, Infosys, said, "Infosys and Microsoft have a longstanding 360-degree strategic collaboration. On the one hand, Infosys plays a pivotal role in accelerating Microsoft's transformation with digital services. On the other, Infosys has embraced Microsoft technology and Microsoft cloud solutions to empower our over 300,000 employees. Microsoft and Infosys also work closely to bring to enterprises, the world over, the value of Infosys Cobalt cloud solutions, and accelerate time-to-value for Microsoft enterprises business solutions. This extended collaboration will serve to harvest most value from all aspects of our well-rounded alliance." Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India, said, "This engagement with Infosys extends our trusted relationship over the past two decades and will accelerate the innovation and transformation journeys of businesses worldwide. As we continue to shape the future of the industry cloud, we are pleased to bring together our complementary strengths and serve our strategic customers better through Microsoft Azure-powered solutions with Infosys Cobalt." About Infosys Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. Over 300,000 of our people work to amplify human potential and create the next opportunity for people, businesses and communities. With over four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer clients, in more than 50 countries, as they navigate their digital transformation powered by the cloud. We enable them with an AI-powered core, empower the business with agile digital at scale and drive continuous improvement with always-on learning through the transfer of digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. We are deeply committed to being a well-governed, environmentally sustainable organization where diverse talent thrives in an inclusive workplace. Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NSE: INFY) (BSE: INFY) (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next. Safe Harbor Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, financial expectations and plans for navigating the COVID-19 impact on our employees, clients and stakeholders are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding COVID-19 and the effects of government and other measures seeking to contain its spread, risks related to an economic downturn or recession in India, the United States and other countries around the world, changes in political, business, and economic conditions, fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India and the US, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry and the outcome of pending litigation and government investigation. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/633365/Infosys_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/infosys-collaborates-with-microsoft-to-accelerate-industry-adoption-of-cloud-301754229.html SOURCE Infosys [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] Blue Point-Backed Transtar Fuels Growth with Pro Form Products Acquisition Blue Point Capital Partners and its portfolio company, Transtar Holding Company, are pleased to announce the acquisition of Pro Form Products, a manufacturer of refinishing and repair products for automotive, aviation, industrial and marine applications. Based in Ontario, Canada, Pro Form will operate as a subsidiary of Transtar Autobody Technologies, a full-service provider of automotive repair, finish and industrial coating products. For over 50 years, Pro Form has provided customers across the U.S. and Canada with an extensive product line while focusing on unrelenting reliability and consistent performance. Pro Form's products play an essential role in the success and growth of its customers' businesses in the collision repair and refinish provider industry. "The Pro Form and Transtar teams have immense respect and appreciation for what the other has built, as well as shared culture, values and vision - all of which will benefit the most important parties involved, our customers and team," said Pro Form leader Jim Speck, who will join the senior leadership team of Transtar Autobody Technologies. Founded in Cleveland, Ohio, Transtar is a portfolio of automotive aftermarket brands with business units focused on parts distribution, cutting-edge e-commerce software, coatings products and more. Blue Point and Transtar announced their partnership in January 2021. "Pro Form and Transtar Autobody Technologies are well-paired from a strategic and commercial standpoint," said Transtar President and CEO Neil Sethi. "This addition to our portfolio of businesses will allow us to enter new end-markets - including industrial and marine - as well as expand the depth and breadth of our product line and provide complementary geographic coverage across the U.S. and Canada. We look forward to combining forces to enhance our capabilities and better serve our customers." "M&A is an important componentof Transtar's history and growth strategy, and we are excited to continue to create value with the acquisition of Pro Form," said Blue Point Partner Brian Castleberry. "Blue Point is committed to providing support and resources to the Transtar leadership team as they strategically expand and create ongoing value for new and returning customers." Pro Form Products is a manufacturer of refinishing and repair products for automotive, aviation, industrial and marine applications based in Ontario, Canada. Pro Form is proud to provide customers across the U.S. and Canada with an extensive, high-quality product line backed by the promise of unrelenting reliability and consistent performance. Transtar Holding Company is an integrated portfolio of brands that provides world-class customer service, distribution and manufacturing of OE and aftermarket automotive products. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Transtar uses its robust distribution network throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada to supply products to more than 80 countries. Blue Point Capital Partners is a private equity firm managing over $1.5 billion in committed capital. With offices in Cleveland, Charlotte, Seattle and Shanghai, Blue Point's geographical footprint allows it to establish relationships with local and regional entrepreneurs and advisors while providing the perspectives and resources of a global organization. The Firm focuses on opportunities where it can leverage its unique global supply chain, data & digital and human capital capabilities as well as its collective experience, extensive operating resource network and focused add-on acquisition efforts. Blue Point typically invests in businesses that generate between $30 million and $300 million in revenue. Note: Certain statements about Blue Point Capital Partners made by portfolio company executives herein are intended to illustrate Blue Point Capital Partners' business relationship with such persons, including with respect to Blue Point Capital Partners' facilities as a business partner, rather than Blue Point Capital Partners' capabilities or expertise with respect to investment advisory services. Portfolio company executives were not compensated in connection with their participation, although they generally receive compensation and investment opportunities in connection with their portfolio company roles, and in certain cases are also owners of portfolio company securities and/or investors in Blue Point Capital Partners-sponsored vehicles. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005053/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] Galaxy Completes Acquisition of Leading Institutional Custody Platform GK8 Asset Purchase Brings GK8's Team and Operations Under Galaxy's Ownership Acquisition Bolsters Galaxy's Commitment to Providing Leading Infrastructure and Prime Services to Institutions GK8 will Continue to Provide Innovative, Client-Driven Custody Solutions NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 /CNW/ - Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. (TSX: GLXY) ("Galaxy" or "the Company"), a financial services and investment management innovator in the digital asset, cryptocurrency, and blockchain technology sectors, has completed its previously announced acquisition of substantially all of the assets of GK8, a secure institutional digital asset custody platform, for approximately $44 million. By acquiring GK8's suite of innovative custody technology and services, Galaxy aims to enhance how clients interact with and store digital assets. GK8's patented technology puts custody of digital assets into the hands of the institutions that manage them. GK8's technology also broadens ecosystem access by enabling staking, decentralized finance networks (DeFi), tokenization, NFT support, and trading services. GK8 provides these services through its patented Cold and MPC vaults allowing institutions to securely manage their digital assets. The Cold vault enables the execution of blockchain transactions without connecting to the internet, while the proprietary multi-party computation (MPC) vault enables automated transactions. "Investor demand for innovative and secure custody services continues to grow, and the acquisition of GK8 enhances our efforts to offer clients best-in-class cold storage solutions along with cutting-edge wallet technology," said Mike Novogratz, Founder and CEO of Galaxy. "In addition to continuing to offer highly valuable custody technology to clients, the GK8 team will play a pivotal role in our evolution to offer a full-service financial platform for digital assets." With the backing of Galaxy, GK8 will continue to develop and offer its digital asset custody solutions for institutions, including banks, trust companies, broker-dealers, and trading platforms. Galaxy also plans to incorporate GK8's custodial technology into GalaxyOne, the Company's previously announced pime brokerage platform. Once launched, GalaxyOne will provide the full suite of digital asset financial services to institutions, including trading, lending, derivatives, cross-portfolio margining, and several custodial options, including GK8's custody solutions. Additional benefits of the transaction for Galaxy include adding an office in Tel Aviv, expanding the company's geographic reach, and bringing on a team of nearly 40 people, including cryptographers and blockchain engineers. The founders of GK8, CEO Lior Lamesh and CTO Shahar Shamai, have also joined to lead Galaxy's custodial technologies offering. "The closing of this transaction represents an exciting new chapter for GK8, our employees, and the institutions that rely on our best-in-class custody infrastructure and services," said Lamesh. "Galaxy has built an impressive reputation as one of the most trusted and client-focused companies across the digital asset space, and we are thrilled to join the Galaxy team to help them deliver an unparalleled suite of offerings to institutional clients." About Galaxy Digital Galaxy (TSX: GLXY) is a digital asset and blockchain leader providing institutions, startups, and qualified individuals access to the crypto economy. Our full suite of financial services is custom-made for a digitally native ecosystem, spanning multiple synergistic business lines: Trading, Asset Management, Investment Banking, Mining, and Ventures. Galaxy's CEO and Founder Michael Novogratz leads a team of crypto enthusiasts and institutional veterans working together on a mission to engineer a new economic paradigm. The Company is headquartered in New York City, with global offices across North America, Europe, and Asia. Additional information about Galaxy's businesses and products is available on www.galaxy.com . For more information on GK8, visit www.gk8.io . Disclaimers The TSX has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. CAUTION ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS The information in this communication may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") and "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team's expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including some statements about GK8 and GalaxyOne. In addition, any statements that refer to estimates, projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this press release may include, for example, statements about our expectations around the performance of the Company, GalaxyOne and GK8's business. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us taking into account information currently available to us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to (1) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (2) the possibility that the combined company may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; (3) changes or events that impact the cryptocurrency industry, including potential regulation, that are out of our control; (4) the risk that our business will not grow in line with our expectations or continue on its current trajectory; (5) the possibility that our addressable market is smaller than we have anticipated and/or that we may not gain share of it; (6) those other risks contained in the Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2021 available on the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and (7) other risks and uncertainties to be indicated from time to time in filings made on SEDAR. Factors that could cause actual results of the Company to differ materially from those described in such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, a decline in the digital asset market or general economic conditions; the possibility that our addressable market is smaller than we have anticipated and/or that we may not gain share of the stated addressable market; the failure or delay in the adoption of digital assets and the blockchain ecosystem and corresponding impacts to our business, including the rollout of GalaxyOne and integration of GK8. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, they could cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. We are not undertaking any obligation to update or revise any forward looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You should not take any statement regarding past trends or activities as a representation that the trends or activities will continue in the future. Accordingly, you should not put undue reliance on these statements. SOURCE Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] Nomi Health Launches Charitable Foundation to Expand Access to Affordable, High-Quality Healthcare Nomi Health, a direct healthcare company, has announced the creation of the Nomi Health Charitable Foundation to advance the company's efforts to expand access to high-quality affordable healthcare across the United States. The Foundation will take a comprehensive approach to break the healthcare inequity cycle, including removing barriers to care and addressing health disparities disproportionately impacting underserved communities. Nomi Health has donated $11 million since its founding in 2019 and is seeding the creation of the charitable foundation with an additional $5 million. The foundation will be continuously funded. "Our mission at Nomi Health is to rewire the U.S. healthcare system to run at half the cost while increasing access for all. We were proud to put that mission to work in the face of the pandemic, and we are broadening our impact every day," said Mark Newman, co-founder, and CEO of Nomi Health. "Until our mission is fulfilled, Americans across our country continue to struggle without access to affordable care. That's why we're launching the Nomi Health Charitable Foundation to formalize our years-long commitment to take on the deeply rooted inequalities in our broken healthcare system and to uplift those who have been left behind." Through philanthropic investments and partnerships, the Nomi Health Charitable Foundation will focus on four key areas of impact: Healthcare Equity: Nomi Health focuses on addressing health disparities by increasing access to affordable, high-quality care - including mental healthcare. Nomi Health also provides resources and financial support to those in underserved communities who pursue careers in frontline healthcare. Nomi Health focuses on addressing health disparities by increasing access to affordable, high-quality care - including mental healthcare. Nomi Health also provides resources and financial support to those in underserved communities who pursue careers in frontline healthcare. Financial and Health Literacy: Nomi Health partners with organizations that help patients better understand the healthcare system and afford the care they need by increasing awareness of healthcare savings and debt relief programs. Nomi Health partners with organizations that help patients better understand the healthcare system and afford the care they need by increasing awareness of healthcare savings and debt relief programs. STEAM Education: Nomi Health supports programs that encourage youth to explore careers in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). Nomi Health supports programs that encourage youth to explore careers in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). Community Social Determinants of Health (SDoH): Nomi Health's efforts will help solve issues impacting social determinants of health specific to the local communities we serve. The Nomi Health Charitable Foundation is launching a new signature program - The Frontline Futures Program - to support students and young professionals pursuing careers in healthcare. The need for healthcare workers has never been greater: by 2025, the U.S. is estimated to have a major shortage of healthcare workers - including physicians, nurse practitioners, lab technicians, and home health aides - which will only exacerbate existing shortfalls and inequities in our healthcare system. The Frontline Futures Program will offer tuition assistance, mentorship opportunities and wrap-around services - such as transportation and housing stipends - to traditionally underserved individuals who are studying or beginning their careers in frontline healthcare roles. By addressing specific barriers to success, The Frontline Futures Program allows people to be fully supported, financially and beyond, as they embark on their careers. The first phase of the program will be implemented with local partners in three states where Nomi Health operates: Miami Dade College in Florida, Goodwill Industries in Nebraska and the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement in Hawaii. "The launch of the foundation goes well beyond simply allocating funds. Our employees are active participants in the mission of this foundation and engage directly in efforts and events to serve others," said Rebecca Armstrong Langle, executive director of the Nomi Health Charitable Foundation, who also serves as director of social impact at Nomi Health. "Caring for and about people is embedded in our mission. The foundation is an extension of Nomi's strong track record of charitable giving and volunteerism. We are committed to deepening this impact across the communities where we live and work." Nomi Health has partnered with more than 70 nonprofit organizations nationwide, including Voices for Children in South Florida, Nebraska Children and Families in Nebraska, the University of Texas at Austin's WiSTEM, Encircle of Utah and the Special Olympics of Nebraska and Florida Healthy Athletes Program. The company also pledged $5 million to nonprofit Civica to address the crisis of skyrocketing insulin costs in the United States and partnered with RIP Medical Debt to pay off debt valued at more than $225 million for hundreds of Americans. In 2022, Nomi Health covered the cost of mental health support for frontline healthcare workers in six key states. Beyond philanthropic investments, Nomi Health is committed to decreasing the cost and increasing access to healthcare in America by disrupting the status quo of how people consume and pay for healthcare. During the pandemic, Nomi Health recognized that America's highest risk populations in our nation's care deserts were - and continue to be - grossly underserved. Nomi Health led the nation's largest known mobile COVID-19 vaccine and testing program in the nation, including launching a fleet of 100+ mobile care teams to prisons, long-term care facilities, homeless shelters, federal housing facilities, and other vulnerable populations. During the pandemic, Nomi Health served both insured and uninsured individuals with reliable, no out-of-pocket cost COVID-19 services at its locations nationwide, despite the ending of federal funding, and provided free COVID-19 tests for more than 1.5 million uninsured individuals last year at a value of more than $200 million. For more information about the Nomi Health Charitable Foundation, visit https://nomihealth.com/gives-back/ About Nomi Health Nomi Health is a nationwide direct healthcare system making it easier than ever for any buyer of healthcare to access the highest quality affordable care for their communities. The company's direct care ecosystem encompasses a real-time operating and payment platform- inclusive of analytics and payment infrastructure- as well as an integrated care delivery architecture featuring essential care services, pharmacy, and an open network. To date, Nomi Health has saved buyers of care an average of 30 percent compared to traditional healthcare costs, while enabling them to give their communities more access to lower-cost, high-quality care. Based in Orem, Utah, Nomi Health employs more than 2,000 nationwide, working to lower healthcare expenses, widen care access and improve the patient experience. An experienced, cross-functional leadership team leads the company with clinical, healthcare, technology, and finance backgrounds. Nomi Health has so far invested more than $10 million dollars in improving the well-being of the communities it serves. Visit us on Twitter @NomiHealth and www.nomihealth.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005144/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] KKR Appoints Pete Stavros and Nate Taylor as Global Co-Heads of Private Equity KKR, a leading global investment firm, today announced that Pete Stavros and Nate Taylor have been named Global Co-Heads of KKR's Private Equity ("PE") business. Since 2019, Stavros and Taylor have served as Co-Heads of Private Equity in the Americas. As Global Co-Heads, Stavros and Taylor will work closely with regional PE leadership and teams around the world to support alignment on global investment themes, share best practices and operational playbooks and facilitate greater mobility of talent. Of the appointment, Joe Bae and Scott Nuttall, Co-Chief Executive Officers of KKR, stated: "We are incredibly proud of our strong track record in Private Equity and the firm's leadership positions in the US, Europe and Asia. This new global role will further optimize the culture of collaboration that underpins the success we deliver for clients." KKR's Private Equity business has nearly doubled in assets under management since 2019. As of December 31, 2022, the $165 billion PE business includes approximately 300 investment professionals looking after a portfolio of more than 200 companies in KKR's flagship Private Equity, Middle Market, Core Private Equity, Healthcare Growth, Technology Growth, Impact, and Customized Portfolio Solutions strategies. In the flagship PE business, the firm manages three regional funds and operates with local leadership and global connectivity. Bae and Nuttall added: "Over their nearly two decades at KKR, Nate and Pete have proven themselves as not only extraordinary investors, but true role models and leaders within the Firm. They have also instituted a number of innovative frameworks for value creation, including broad based employee ownership and operational toolkits that have been instrumental in delivering value to our portfolio companies, their employees and communities, and for our clients." "We ar honored by this appointment and look forward to supporting KKR's local investment teams by delivering the Firm's global network, resources and expertise to highly localized investment opportunities worldwide," Pete Stavros and Nate Taylor, Global Co-Heads of Private Equity, said. About Pete Stavros Pete Stavros, 48, joined KKR in 2005. Prior to becoming Global Co-Head of Private Equity (PE), he Co-led KKR's Americas PE business and, before that, led the industrials investment team where he pioneered an innovative employee engagement and ownership model which has been central to a portfolio of successful investments including Ingersoll Rand, Capsugel, Capital Safety, CHI Overhead Doors and Minnesota Rubber & Plastics, among others. A longtime advocate of employee ownership as a key to improving the value of a business and the lives of employees in it, Stavros is Chairman of a labor center of excellence at KKR and is the founder of Ownership Works. About Nate Taylor Nate Taylor, 46, joined KKR in 2005. Prior to becoming Global Co-Head of Private Equity (PE), he Co-led KKR's Americas PE business and, prior to that, held a number of leadership roles, including helping build and grow KKR's PE business in Asia Pacific, establishing the firm's presence in India and leading the firm's investments in Academy, Bountiful Company, National Vision, US Foods, and 1-800 Contacts, among others. Taylor has been a key driver of KKR's efforts in employee ownership and engagement and serves on the Board of Ownership Works. About KKR KKR is a leading global investment firm that offers alternative asset management as well as capital markets and insurance solutions. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and supporting growth in its portfolio companies and communities. KKR sponsors investment funds that invest in private equity, credit and real assets and has strategic partners that manage hedge funds. KKR's insurance subsidiaries offer retirement, life and reinsurance products under the management of Global Atlantic Financial Group. References to KKR's investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds and insurance subsidiaries. For additional information about KKR & Co. Inc. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR's website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005398/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] ECS President John Heneghan Named Wash100 Award Winner ECS, a leader in advanced technology, science, and engineering solutions, announced today that President John Heneghan has been recognized as a 2023 Wash100 Award winner by Executive Mosaic, an international leadership organization and media company. The annual Wash100 list honors 100 "executives of consequence," the most influential private and public sector leaders in the government contracting industry. This marks the second consecutive year that Heneghan has been recognized on the list. Heneghan, who assumed the role of president of ECS in 2022, earned this year's award because of his efforts to spearhead new growth, expand public sector offerings, and steer ECS' company strategy over the last year. Highlights from the previous year under Heneghan's leadership include ECS' $430 million recompete win from the U.S. Army Cyber Command, being recognized as the top contractor providing artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to the Department of Defense (DoD), and new growth efforts with the acquisition of Iron Vine Security. "I'm honored to once again be named to the Wash100 list, but this award represents the excellent work of all ECS employees and the impact we as a company are having on our nation's top technology priorities," said Heneghan. "ECS is committed to providing innovative, results-driven solutions for our customers-whether it's applying AI technology to the warfighter and intel missions, helping organizations accelerate their digital transformation strategy, or securing our nation's most sensitive assets." "John has positioned ECS into the sweet spot of artificial intelligence and machine learning and securely entrenched the company into the DoD, including valued support for stabilizing the military efforts in Ukraine," said Jim Garrettson, chief executive officer of Executive Mosaic. "The Wash100 is a unique award because it is presented in advance of what the selection committee believes will be a consequential contribution in the year ahead, and John's leadership of ECS is on track to fulfill that prediction." About ECS ECS, ASGN's federal government segment, delivers advanced solutions in cybersecurity, data and artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, application and IT modernization, science, and engineering. The company solves critical, complex challenges for customers across the U.S. public sector, defense, intelligence, and commercial industries. ECS maintains partnerships with leading cloud, cybersecurity, and AI/ML providers and holds specialized certifications in their technologies. Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, ECS has more than 3,500 employees throughout the United States. For more information, visit ECStech.com. About ASGN Incorporated ASGN Incorporated (NYSE: ASGN) is a leading provider of IT services and solutions, including technology and creative digital marketing, across the commercial and government sectors. ASGN helps corporate enterprises and government organizations develop, implement and operate critical IT and business solutions through its integrated offering of professional staffing and IT solutions. For more information, visit us at asgn.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005192/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Corporate Social Responsibility Related News Releases and Story Ideas for Reporters, Bloggers and Media Outlets Following are the latest Corporate Social Responsibility news releases and story ideas available from Business Wire. These recaps, curated by Business Wire, provide reporters and bloggers around the globe instant access to the latest news releases, providing relevant and trending content to share with their audiences. Discover more news via Business Wire's Hot Topic recaps or create a custom news feed specific to your needs here. This service is provided at no charge to members of the media and financial communities. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005148/en/ PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Ken Frazier to Chair Transcarent Board of Directors Issuer: Transcarent BOSTON -- Fidelity Charitable donors recommend a record $11.2 billion in grants during 2022-bolstering nonprofits with $1 billion more during a year of economic downturn Issuer: Fidelity Charitable LONDON -- NatureAlpha Announces Collaboration With MSCI Issuer: NatureAlpha IRVINE, Calif. -- Non-Profits Shine at NASCAR: Jessie Rees Foundation Partners With Spire Motorsports to Bring National Attention to Kids Fighting Cancer Issuer: Jessie Rees Foundation MILWAUKEE -- Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Publishes 2022 Sustainability Report; Product Donations Provide Safer Drinking Water for School Children Issuer: Zurn Elkay Water Solutions LUGANO, Switzerland -- The Second Season of Sailing into the Future. Together Is About to Start Issuer: IBSA MUMBAI & HYDERABAD & BENGALURU & PUNE, India -- Wellness, Inclusive Camaraderie and Community Impact Take Center Stage at J.P. Morgan Run Issuer: JPMorgan Chase & Co. PARIS -- Teleperformance: 2022: Robust Growth and Record Profitability in a Highly Challenging Year Issuer: Teleperformance SE NEW YORK -- Colgate Women's Games Returns for 48th Season Issuer: Colgate-Palmolive Company MONTERREY, Mexico & ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. & LUGANO, Switzerland -- CEMEX, Sandia Labs, and Synhelion to Scale Solar Energy Technology to Produce Cement Issuer: CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. and Sandia National Laboratories and Synhelion TORONTO -- Xaba Closes Seed Funding to Drive Intelligent Automation for Sustainable Manufacturing Issuer: Xaba LONDON -- GSR Launches Foundation with $10m Pledge Celebrating 10 years of Business Issuer: GSR PITTSBURGH -- PPG, PPG Foundation invested $16.2 million in communities worldwide in 2022 Issuer: PPG EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Berry Appoints New VP of Global Diversity and Inclusion to Develop Leading D&I Strategy Issuer: Berry Global Group, Inc. DENVER -- CSG Publishes Inaugural Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures Report Issuer: CSG CHICAGO -- Motorola Solutions Foundation Sets a New Record of Giving Through Employee Volunteerism and Strategic Grants Issuer: Motorola Solutions OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Black & Veatch Appoints Industry Thought Leader to Sustainability Leadership Role Issuer: Black & Veatch MIAMI & DALLAS -- Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits Launches Incubator Academy Education Program for Diverse- and Women-Owned Brands Issuer: Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits NEW YORK -- Moody's Seeking Nonprofit Partners Aligned with Community Impact Strategy Issuer: Moody's Corporation Investor Relations CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. -- Aptar Again Receives Platinum Rating from EcoVadis Issuer: AptarGroup, Inc. WYOMISSING, Pa. -- UGI Launches Joint Venture with Archaea Energy to Develop Renewable Natural Gas Project in Pennsylvania Issuer: UGI Corporation PARIS -- After Colombia, Teleperformance Receives Independent Assurance from Bureau Veritas Regarding Use and Inclusion of International Standard ISO 26000 Guidelines in Six Countries Issuer: Teleperformance Group FREMONT, Calif., & CLEARWATER, Fla. -- TD SYNNEX Unveils First Corporate Citizenship Report Issuer: TD SYNNEX HERZOGENAURACH, Germany -- PUMA Joins Zero100 to Find Industry-wide Solutions to Reduce Carbon Emissions in the Supply Chain Issuer: PUMA MONTERREY, Mexico -- Volvo Trucks and CEMEX Unveil First Fully Electric Heavy Concrete Mixer Truck Issuer: CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. VANCOUVER, Canada -- Global Partners Announce Innovations for Marine Managers to Help Our Oceans With Private Sector Support From Mary Kay Inc. Issuer: Mary Kay NEWARK, Del. -- Application Window Open for The Sallie Mae Fund's Bridging the Dream Scholarship Program Issuer: Sallie Mae CHICAGO -- American Dental Association Foundation Kicks Off the 21st Year of Give Kids A Smile With Exclusive National Sponsors, Henry Schein and Colgate-Palmolive Issuer: ADA Foundation and Henry Schein, Inc. and Colgate-Palmolive Company LOS ANGELES -- Next Level Apparel and GK Global Form Strategic Nearshore Fabric Supply Partnership Issuer: Next Level Apparel CINCINNATI -- Cintas Kicks Off Heart Health Month with TJ McMahon's Life-Saving Story Issuer: Cintas Corporation JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Rayonier Advanced Materials Publishes 2022 ESG Progress Update Issuer: Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. HAMILTON, Bermuda -- Bacardi Plants a Tree for Every Employee to Celebrate 161st Anniversary With a Gift to the Planet Issuer: Bacardi Limited SWORDS, Ireland -- Trane Technologies Named to FORTUNE Magazine World's Most Admired Companies List for Eleventh Consecutive Year Issuer: Trane Technologies DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Ingersoll Rand Acquires Paragon Tank Truck Issuer: Ingersoll Rand Inc. BROOKWOOD, Ala. -- Warrior Met Coal Publishes 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report Issuer: Warrior Met Coal, Inc. NEW YORK -- Moody's Named to Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index for Fourth Consecutive Year Issuer: Moody's Corporation Investor Relations NEW YORK -- Church Pension Group Hosts Conversation on 2023 Sustainable Investing Landscape and Strategies Issuer: The Church Pension Group CHICAGO -- Hyatt Named to Institutional Investor 2023 All-America Executive Team Issuer: Hyatt Hotels Corporation PARIS -- Teleperformance Announces Results of Trust and Safety Global Employee Experience Survey Issuer: Teleperformance CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Leader of Impact: Cintas' Katie Gough-Edwards Issuer: Cintas Corporation DALLAS -- Colossal Biosciences Secures $150M Series B and Announces Plan to De-Extinct the Iconic Dodo Issuer: Colossal Biosciences PHILADELPHIA -- Aramark Publishes Annual ESG Progress Report: Company's Be Well. Do Well. Platform Provides Update on Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance Performance Issuer: Aramark NEW YORK -- Tapestry, Inc. Highlights Commitment to Sustainability and Inclusion in FY2022 Corporate Responsibility Report Issuer: Tapestry, Inc. WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- PPG global leaders transform Boys & Girls Club in Florida with COLORFUL COMMUNITIES project Issuer: PPG CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. -- Aptar Pharma Launches First Metal-Free Nasal Spray Pump, Meeting Growing Need for Highly Recyclable Packaging Issuer: AptarGroup, Inc. PARIS -- Teleperformance Commended by the OECD French National Contact Point for Implementing Its Recommendations and Maintaining Duty of Care Issuer: Teleperformance LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- GEA Debuts Launchpad Program for Diverse-Owned Suppliers Issuer: GE Appliances NEW YORK -- The BuildESG Membership Expands Features to Include Benchmarking of Private Equity and Venture Capital Firms' ESG Programs Issuer: BuildESG PARIS -- Teleperformance Opens Its Sites to Investors in Six Countries Across Four Continents Issuer: Teleperformance EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- Berry, Coca-Cola Collaborate to implement Tethered caps in EU markets Issuer: Berry Global Group, Inc. BENSHEIM, Germany -- CBM Distributes 600 Millionth Drug Dose to Protect Against Neglected Tropical Diseases Issuer: Christian Blind Mission About Business Wire Business Wire, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is the global leader in news release distribution and regulatory disclosure. Public relations, investor relations, public policy, and marketing professionals rely on Business Wire for secure and accurate distribution of market-moving news and multimedia. Founded in 1961, Business Wire is a trusted source for news organizations, journalists, investment professionals, and regulatory authorities, delivering news directly into editorial systems and leading online news sources via its multi-patented NX Network. Business Wire's global newsrooms are available to meet the needs of communications professionals and news media worldwide. For more information about Business Wire, please email us at info[email protected] or call 888.381.9473. Subscribe to our blog for communications industry trends and tactics delivered straight to your inbox, and follow Business Wire on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005148/en/ By Josh Smith SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean state media marked the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine by blaming the crisis on NATO and calling America's involvement a "trail to self-destruction." In a commentary carried by state news agency KCNA on Thursday on the eve of the Feb. 24 anniversary, international affairs critic Kim Yoo-chul said the conflict in Ukraine is the "inevitable product of coercion and hegemony" by the United States and its allies. The Ukraine war, the biggest land conflict in Europe since World War Two, has displaced millions, left Ukrainian cities, towns and villages in ruins and disrupted the global economy. North Korea has forged closed ties to Russia since the war began, publicly supporting Moscow in statements as well as at the United Nations. "If Ukraine had not blindly taken part in the U.S. policy of anti-Russian confrontation, if it had abandoned the dirty demons of the United States and promoted reconciliation and unity with its neighbours, the situation would not have reached the point where it is as bad as it is now," Kim wrote. "The current situation in Ukraine once again proves that there can be no peace in the world at any time unless the United States' policy of force, tyranny, and greedy aggression... is ended." The Kremlin says it regards NATO, which could soon expand to include Sweden and Finland, as an existential threat to Russia. The United States has accused North Korea of providing weapons to Russia, which both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied. (Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) [February 23, 2023] US Mortgage Performance Ends 2022 on Strong Note, CoreLogic Reports CoreLogic, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, today released its monthly Loan Performance Insights Report for December 2022. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005254/en/ Figure 1: National Overview of Loan Performance (Graphic: CoreLogic) For the month of December, 3% of all mortgages in the U.S. were in some stage of delinquency (30 days or more past due, including those in foreclosure), representing a 0.4 percentage point decrease compared with 3.4% recorded in December 2021 and less than a 0.1 percentage point increase compared with November 2022. To gain a complete view of the mortgage market and loan performance health, CoreLogic examines all stages of delinquency. In December 2022, the U.S. delinquency and transition rates and their year-over-year changes, were as follows: Early-Stage Delinquencies (30 to 59 days past due): 1.4%, up from 1.2% in December 2021. (30 to 59 days past due): 1.4%, up from 1.2% in December 2021. Adverse Delinquency (60 to 89 days past due): 0.4%, up from 0.3% in December 2021. (60 to 89 days past due): 0.4%, up from 0.3% in December 2021. Serious Delinquency (90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure): 1.2%, down from 1.9% in December 2021 and a high of 4.3% in August 2020. (90 days or more past due, including loans in foreclosure): 1.2%, down from 1.9% in December 2021 and a high of 4.3% in August 2020. Foreclosure Inventory Rate (the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process): 0.3%, up from 0.2% in December 2021. (the share of mortgages in some stage of the foreclosure process): 0.3%, up from 0.2% in December 2021. Transition Rate (the share of mortgages that transitioned from current to 30 days past due): 0.8%, up from 0.6% in December 2021. U.S. mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates remained consistently low throughout 2022 and closed the year in the same way. December's 3% overall delinquency rate and the 0.3% foreclosure rate were only slightly higher than numbers recorded over the previous six months. Both types of delinquencies bottomed out in early 2022 and are now showing signs of minor upticks. Most of that small increase comes from a change in early-stage delinquencies, which began inching up in mid-2022 after hovering near historic lows in the spring of 2021. Still, even with that slight market adjustment, delinquencies remain at the lowest level since the data series began in 1999. On the other hand, December's 1.2% serious delinquency rate has barely moved since last spring, which suggests that while some borrowers may have missed several mortgage payments, most are likely to recover relatively quickly. Despite 2022's exceptionally high mortgage performance, 65 U.S. metro areas posted at least slight annual increases in overall delinquency rates in December. This marks a substantial uptick from Noember and represents 17% of markets for which CoreLogic tracks data. While national home price annual gains are projected to continue slowing and may decline by the spring of 2023, positive employment reports and healthy amounts of home equity should help maintain a solid housing market foundation. "Mortgage delinquency rates continued to post some of the strongest performance in three years in December, as a healthy job market helped borrowers remain current on their payments," said Molly Boesel, principal economist at CoreLogic. "High amounts of home equity cushioned those borrowers who were far behind, keeping them from moving into foreclosure. While there was a small uptick in early-stage delinquencies and foreclosure inventory over 2022, other delinquency measures fell to new lows throughout the year." State and Metro Takeaways: In December, only one state posted an annual increase in its overall delinquency rate (Iowa, up by 0.1 percentage point). The states and districts with the largest declines were Louisiana (down by 1.1 percentage points); Washington, D.C. (down by 1 percentage point); and Alaska, Hawaii and New York (all down by 0.9 percentage points). The other states' annual delinquency rates dropped between 0.8 and 0 percentage points. In December, 65 U.S. metro areas posted an increase in overall delinquency rates, representing 17% of locations that CoreLogic tracks. The top three areas for mortgage delinquency gains year over year were Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida (up by 2.9 percentage points), Punta Gorda, Florida (up by 2.8 percentage points) and Altoona, Pennsylvania (up by 1 percentage point). All but four U.S. metro areas posted at least a small annual decrease in serious delinquency rates (defined as more than 90 days late on a mortgage payment). The metros that saw serious delinquencies increase were Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida (up by 1 percentage point), Punta Gorda, Florida (up by 0.9 percentage points) and Bloomsburg-Berwick, Pennsylvania and Williamsport, Pennsylvania (both up by 0.1 percentage points). Increases in Florida metros reflect damage caused by Hurricane Ian in September 2022. The next CoreLogic Loan Performance Insights Report will be released on March 23, 2023, featuring data for January 2023. For ongoing housing trends and data, visit the CoreLogic Intelligence Blog: www.corelogic.com/intelligence. Methodology The data in The CoreLogic LPI report represents foreclosure and delinquency activity reported through December 2022. The data in this report accounts for only first liens against a property and does not include secondary liens. The delinquency, transition and foreclosure rates are measured only against homes that have an outstanding mortgage. Homes without mortgage liens are not subject to foreclosure and are, therefore, excluded from the analysis. CoreLogic has approximately 75% coverage of U.S. foreclosure data. Source: CoreLogic The data provided is for use only by the primary recipient or the primary recipient's publication or broadcast. This data may not be re-sold, republished or licensed to any other source, including publications and sources owned by the primary recipient's parent company without prior written permission from CoreLogic. Any CoreLogic data used for publication or broadcast, in whole or in part, must be sourced as coming from CoreLogic, a data and analytics company. For use with broadcast or web content, the citation must directly accompany first reference of the data. If the data is illustrated with maps, charts, graphs or other visual elements, the CoreLogic logo must be included on screen or website. For questions, analysis or interpretation of the data, contact Robin Wachner at [email protected]. For sales inquiries, contact [email protected]. Data provided may not be modified without the prior written permission of CoreLogic. Do not use the data in any unlawful manner. This data is compiled from public records, contributory databases and proprietary analytics, and its accuracy is dependent upon these sources. About CoreLogic CoreLogic is a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider. The company's combined data from public, contributory and proprietary sources includes over 4.5 billion records spanning more than 50 years, providing detailed coverage of property, mortgages and other encumbrances, consumer credit, tenancy, location, hazard risk and related performance information. The markets CoreLogic serves include real estate and mortgage finance, insurance, capital markets, and the public sector. CoreLogic delivers value to clients through unique data, analytics, workflow technology, advisory and managed services. Clients rely on CoreLogic to help identify and manage growth opportunities, improve performance and mitigate risk. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., CoreLogic operates in North America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com. CORELOGIC and the CoreLogic logo are trademarks of CoreLogic, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005254/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] OffWorld Europe Makes Its Debut in Luxembourg Developing Space Mining Robots OffWorld is the global pioneer in AI-powered industrial Swarm Robotic Mining systems on Earth and the company is now expanding to take on space. The newly established OffWorld Europe is being run by Managing Director, Kyle Acierno, former CEO of ispace U.S. Kyle is an international expert in commercial space and a specialist in lunar exploration. OffWorld Europe will begin its first program on a multi-year program that focuses on developing and deploying modules for the extraction and storage of oxygen and hydrogen from volatiles and water deposits at the lunar surface. This will include mating modules to OffWorld's robotic technologies for cohesive lunar deployment. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005399/en/ OffWorld CEO and Co-Founder Jim Keravala and OffWorld Europe Managing Director Kyle Acierno (Photo: Business Wire) Kyle has led teams in Asia, Europe, and the United States, winning over $100M in lunar-related contracts. He sits on the board of World Space Week, the IAF Industry Relations Committee, and has served as the Chair of the Technical Committee of the Hague Space Resources Working Group. At initiation, OffWorld Europe will expand research into state-of-the-art lunar regolith processing and begin the design and development of the robotic workforce necessary to accomplsh a variety of volatile recovery tasks. The initial lunar focus will be on meeting projected near-term market needs of liquid propellants, water, and oxygen. Jim Keravala, OffWorld Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, said: "I'm proud to welcome Kyle as the Managing Director at our newly established OffWorld Europe division to lead and build an incredible team of experts. He is very well-seasoned in the space sector, and I am certain his talent and expertise will propel our mission of advancing the boundaries of space exploration forward. We have been proving our AI and robotic systems with the mining industry on Earth and our goal has always been to eventually expand our services to other celestial bodies, so OffWorld Europe has really been years in the making and I am thrilled to finally open our doors." Kyle Acierno, OffWorld Europe Managing Director, commented: "I am honored to take on the role of Managing Director of OffWorld Europe and to work alongside an incredible team of experts dedicated to pushing the boundaries of exploration on Earth and in Space. Our focus on the extraction and processing of lunar volatiles combined with our cutting-edge autonomous robotic technologies will pave the way for a sustainable future for humanity beyond Earth." The company's new line of autonomous robot species is built for surveying environments (on any surface and deep underground), performing precision excavation, and collecting, hauling, and processing material. Swarm robotic mining improves productivity and cost efficiency for all customers. OffWorld recognizes that people are its most valuable asset. With the launch of this multi-year program, there has never been a more exciting time to join the team and be a part of something truly remarkable. OffWorld Europe is looking to hire in several disciplines and is looking to onboard talent from all experience levels. If you are interested in joining the team paving the future of human civilization in space, visit https://www.offworld.ai/careers. About OffWorld: OffWorld is a private company that is pioneering the design, development, and manufacturing of AI-powered industrial swarm robotic platforms. It is headquartered in Pasadena, California, and has offices in South Africa, Australia, and Luxembourg. OffWorld was founded in 2016 with the goal of expanding human civilization beyond Earth with the help of thousands of smart robots. It is reinventing the mining, manufacturing, and construction industries by developing a new generation of swarm robotic species that can withstand extreme conditions and work collaboratively in an eco-friendly approach while keeping humans out of harm's way. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005399/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Arrcus Enables Economically Efficient 5G Network Service Delivery for Communication Services Providers Arrcus, the hyperscale networking software company and a leader in core, edge and multi-cloud network infrastructure, today announced new capability in the Arrcus Connected Edge (ACE) platform that automates the delivery and lowers the cost of 5G network services for communication services providers (CSPs) by using SRv6 technology. At Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, in collaboration with SoftBank Corp. ("SoftBank"), Arrcus is showcasing how ACE enables 5G network slicing with plug-ins for SRv6 Mobile User Plane (MUP) and integration with orchestration from partner Elisa Polystar. SoftBank, a leading telecommunications and IT company based in Japan, pioneered the introduction of the SRv6 MUP solution with Arrcus to bridge the gap between mobile and IP/cloud-native technologies, first demonstrated in concept at the TM Forum Catalyst project at DTW 2022 in Copenhagen. "5G networks are the backbone of the digital economy, and we are making it easier for service providers like SoftBank to monetize their infrastructure and deliver new and innovative services to their customers," said Shekar Ayyar, CEO and chairman at Arrcus. "Our ACE platform incorporating SRv6 is a game-changer in the industry, allowing CSPs to roll out these new revenue-generating 5G services with ease and at a fraction of the cost of traditional approaches." The ACE platform, through its components ArcOS and ArcIQ, provides traffic engineering and telemetry capabilities to bridge mobile and IP networks, reducing complexity and time to market. ArcOS now has enhanced support for advanced traffic engineering features based on SRv6 and IS-IS Flex Algo. Leveraging segment routing, an MPLS-based routing protocol that allows for more flexible and efficient networking, ArcOS enables service providers to divide their networks into smaller, more manageable segments, which can be easily controlled and monitored. That expedites service delivery and improves network scalability. In addition, ArcIQ, a modern network visibility and analytics platform, provides real-time, deep network views with proactive incident anagement and faster troubleshooting. "We are excited to partner with Arrcus and drive leadership in advancing the state of mobile infrastructure optimization," said Keiichi Makizono, SVP and CIO, SoftBank Corp. "We are strong proponents of the benefits of using SRv6 for Mobile User Plane - this will enable us and the industry to deliver 5G services to our customers with greater speed and efficiency." The new ACE release also enables easy integration with orchestration from partners like Elisa Polystar. This simplifies the configuration of the network as well as deployment of new network services, making it more efficient and cost effective for service providers to deliver high-speed, low-latency services to their customers. Arrcus, with support from SoftBank and Elisa Polystar, will be demonstrating the power of SRv6 for network slicing at Mobile World Congress, which runs Feb. 27 through March 2 in Barcelona. The MWC demo will showcase an end-to-end fabric that extends from RAN to 5G edge to IP transport networks, with seamless and automated support for network slicing and telemetry. Check out the demonstration and visit Arrcus in Hall 2, Stand 2D19. Secure a briefing with Arrcus here. Additional Resources About Arrcus Arrcus was founded to enhance business efficiency through superior network connectivity. The Arrcus Connected Edge (ACE) platform offers best-in-class networking with the most flexible consumption model at the lowest total cost of ownership. The Arrcus team consists of world-class technologists who have an unparalleled record in shipping industry-leading networking products, complemented by industry thought leaders, operating executives, strategic partners and top-tier VCs. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California. For more information, go to www.arrcus.com or follow Arrcus LinkedIn and @arrcusinc. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005023/en/ [February 23, 2023] INVESTIGATION REMINDER: The Schall Law Firm Announces it is Investigating Claims Against Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. and Encourages Investors with Losses to Contact the Firm The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces that it is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. ("Charles River" or "the Company") (NYSE: CRL) for violations of the securities laws. The investigation focuses on whether the Company issued false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose information pertinent to investors. Charles River disclosed on February 22, 2023, that it had received a DOJ subpoena regarding an investigation of its allegedly illegal transport of primates for research purpses. The Company admitted it would voluntarily stop importing primates from Cambodia. The Company also warned that the investigations and its suspension of imports would negatively impact its business. Based on this news, shares of Charles River fell by as much as 15% in intraday trading on the same day. If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate. We also encourage you to contact Brian Schall of the Schall Law Firm, 1880 Century Park East, Suite 404, Los Angeles, CA 90067, at 310-301-3335, to discuss your rights free of charge. You can also reach us through the firm's website at www.schallfirm.com, or by email at [email protected]. The class in this case has not yet been certified, and until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member. The Schall Law Firm represents investors around the world and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005367/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] Canada invests in energy efficient modernization of Imperial Theatre in Saint John SAINT JOHN, NB, Feb. 23, 2023 /CNW/ - Today, Wayne Long, Member of Parliament for Saint JohnRothesay and Li Song, Vice-President of Imperial Theatre Board of Directors, announced joint funding of more than $2.69 million to retrofit the historic Imperial Theatre in Saint John. The green modernization of this iconic theatre will help ensure it continues to provide the community with cultural experiences for generations to come. The Imperial Theatre was built in 1913. For 110 years, Saint John residents and visitors have been enjoying the theatre's performances and events. The funding announced today will support modernize this community hub, improve its environmental footprint, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Upgrades will include the replacement of the building's aging HVAC system and gas-powered boiler with new heat pump and control systems as well as upgrades to the building's lighting systems. These upgrades will enhance the building's energy efficiency by reducing energy consumption by 62% and GHG emissions by 135 tonnes. By investing in infrastructure, the Government of Canada is growing our country's economy, increasing the resiliency of our communities, and improving the lives of Canadians. Quotes "For more than 100 years, Imperial Theatre has lived at the heart of this historic neighbourhood. These retrofits will honour the theatre's rich history while helping it serve the community for 100 more. Once revitalized, the building will not only continue to deliver performances on a world-class stage and foster social connection, but it will also help contribute to a more sustainable future." Wayne Long, Member of Parliament for Saint JohnRothesay, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities "Imperial Theatre is known and loved for bringing diverse communities together through the performing arts. Together, we connect and evolve through culture, diversity and inclusion. This project is important to everyone's well-being and together, we lead by example in providing a diverse and healthy environment for all. The green modernization of this iconic theatre will help ensure it continues to provide our community with cultural experiences for generations to come." Li Song, Vice President of Imperial Theatre Board of Directors "Imperial Theatre is committed not only to the care and stewardship of this beautiful 110-year old Historic Theatre, but also to a sustainable and greener future. We have a responsibility to decrease our carbon footprint and make strategic changes in how our facilities operate by choosing cleaner and more efficient energy solutions. We also recognize it is a process; one that our organization takes seriously. This incredible grant will help Imperial take the next step toward that greener future. The Green Energy Retrofit will help to ensure that Imperial Theatre will remain here for generations to come, and that we can cntinue to inspire, enrich and engage our community through the performing arts." Angela Campbell, Executive Director of Imperial Theatre Quick facts The Government of Canada is investing $2,153,548 through the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) program, and Imperial Theatre is contributing $538,387 . is investing through the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) program, and Imperial Theatre is contributing . The Green and Inclusive Community Buildings (GICB) program was created in support of Canada's Strengthened Climate Plan, supporting the Plan's first pillar through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the increase of energy efficiency, and higher resilience to climate change. It is providing $1.5 billion over five years towards green and accessible retrofits, repairs or upgrades. Strengthened Climate Plan, supporting the Plan's first pillar through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the increase of energy efficiency, and higher resilience to climate change. It is providing over five years towards green and accessible retrofits, repairs or upgrades. The GICB program aims to improve the places Canadians work, learn, play, live and gather by cutting pollution, making life more affordable, and supporting thousands of good jobs. Through green and other upgrades to existing public community buildings and new builds in underserved communities, GICB helps ensure community facilities are inclusive, accessible, and have a long service life, while also helping Canada move towards its net-zero objectives by 2050. move towards its net-zero objectives by 2050. At least 10 percent of funding is allocated to projects serving First Nations, Inuit, and Metis communities, including Indigenous populations in urban centres. The Green and Inclusive Community Buildings program launched its second scheduled intake in December 2022 . Applications are being accepted for large retrofit projects to existing community buildings or new community building projects with total eligible costs ranging from $3 million to $25 million until February 28, 2023 Eastern Time. . Applications are being accepted for large retrofit projects to existing community buildings or new community building projects with total eligible costs ranging from to until Eastern Time. The program continues to accept applications for small and medium retrofit projects to existing community buildings ranging in total eligible cost from $100,000 to $2,999,999 until February 28, 2023 Eastern Time. to until Eastern Time. Announced in December 2020 , Canada's Strengthened Climate Plan includes 64 new measures and $15 billion in investments towards a healthy environment and economy. , Strengthened Climate Plan includes 64 new measures and in investments towards a healthy environment and economy. The funding announced today builds on the Government of Canada's work through the Atlantic Growth Strategy to create well-paying middle-class jobs, strengthen local economies, and build inclusive communities. Associated Links Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Infrastructure Canada - Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Program Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Program Investing in Canada Plan Project Map https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/gmap-gcarte/index-eng.html Strengthened Climate Plan https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-plan/climate-plan-overview.html Infrastructure in New Brunswick Infrastructure Canada - Infrastructure in New Brunswick Infrastructure Canada - Home Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn Web: Infrastructure Canada SOURCE Infrastructure Canada [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] ABI Names Entrust the Overall Leader in Government ID Credentials Entrust, a global leader in trusted payments, identities, and data, has been ranked the leader in the new Centralized Government Identity Issuance: Personalization Services and Secure Technologies Competitive Ranking report by ABI Research. In the report, Entrust scored the highest ratings in the categories of Overall Leader and Top Implementer. "With the increasing market need for secure identities, we are honored to be named the industry leader," said Dan Good, Vice President of Central Issuance at Entrust. "I'm proud of the team's leadership in innovation, providing governments with a broad range of high-tech security features to protect citizen identities. We've built a portfolio of innovative, secure and customizable solutions to power credential programs with universal access, interoperability and the future in mind." The report provides an overview of the Government Centralized Issuance competitive landscape and the market dynamics impacting issuers today. ABI gave Entrust the accolades for the breadth of its portfolio of solutions; the fact that it has enabled ID programs in more than 150 countris and 500 governments worldwide; the ability to seamlessly install different personalization modules to adapt to evolving government requirements, and the wide range of additional security features that give rise to truly customizable credentials, to name a few. In the report, ABI also cited Entrust as offering "the most advanced, innovative, and high-quality printing technologies available that enable highly secure and customizable ID documents." "Entrust offers a comprehensive portfolio of personalization and issuance solutions for high-volume centralized government contexts," said research analyst Lucas Stewart from ABI Research. "Given the strength and breadth of Entrust's personalization offering, with the highest-quality printing technologies and security features available on the market, Entrust justifies its leading position in terms of the number of governments that implement its solution". To learn more about how Entrust enables safe and seamless government ID programs, visit our website at: https://www.entrust.com/issuance-systems/central/passport-issuance/systems. About Entrust Entrust keeps the world moving safely by enabling trusted experiences for identities, payments, and data. We offer an unmatched breadth of solutions that are critical to enabling trust for multi-cloud deployments, mobile identities, hybrid work, machine identity, electronic signatures, encryption, and more. With more than 2,800 colleagues, a network of global partners, and customers in over 150 countries, it's no wonder the world's most entrusted organizations trust us. For more information, visit www.entrust.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005015/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] H-E-B and Favor Delivery celebrate 5-year anniversary together with nonprofit gifts The strategic partnership has provided Texans with an innovative, convenient delivery experience AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- To celebrate their five-year anniversary, H-E-B and Favor Delivery will support five Texas nonprofits with gifts totaling $100,000. Together, the companies have curated an innovative, convenient delivery service that has grown to serve Texans in more than 400 cities across the state. In honor of this anniversary and drawing on the Spirit of Giving philosophy that both companies share, H-E-B and Favor chose to support five Texas nonprofits focused on STEM education for underserved and underrepresented groups. The nonprofits were chosen for their drive to advance equity and inclusion and help diversify the tech industry pipeline, efforts H-E-B and Favor also champion throughout the year. "We are incredibly proud of the work our H-E-B and Favor teams have accomplished, which has enabled us to support Texans across the state," said Winell Herron, H-E-B Group Vice President of Public Affairs, Diversity, and Environmental Affairs. "To commemorate this anniversary, we are proud to support these committed nonprofits that work to expand opportunities in STEM fields for students in underserved communities." Each of the following nonprofits will receive $20,000 gifts to support their work across the state. Texas Alliance for Mnorities in Engineering (TAME) | Statewide : With 14 Chapters in Texas , the organization creates equitable experiences for students from underrepresented groups to explore futures in engineering at no cost to students. : With 14 Chapters in , the organization creates equitable experiences for students from underrepresented groups to explore futures in engineering at no cost to students. Code2College | Greater Austin : Mission to dramatically increase the number of minority and low-income high school students who enter and excel in STEM undergraduate majors and careers through placement into life-changing high school technical internships. : Mission to dramatically increase the number of minority and low-income high school students who enter and excel in STEM undergraduate majors and careers through placement into life-changing high school technical internships. talkSTEM | Greater Dallas : A partner with youth-serving organizations, the nonprofit makes unique, high-quality STE(A)M educational content available to all children from all income levels, ethnicities and genders. : A partner with youth-serving organizations, the nonprofit makes unique, high-quality STE(A)M educational content available to all children from all income levels, ethnicities and genders. Compudopt | Greater Houston : Provides technology access and education to under-resourced youth and their communities, helping facilitate growth in technical and digital literacy skills. : Provides technology access and education to under-resourced youth and their communities, helping facilitate growth in technical and digital literacy skills. Youth Code Jam | Greater San Antonio : Creates inclusive opportunities for all youth to experience computer science and explore with code by providing innovative, impactful and family-focused out of school time, and hands-on computing programs. Texas ," said Keith Duncan , Favor CEO. "Bringing together different perspectives and experiences in STEM is essential to future innovation, and this investment reflects our joint commitment to the communities we serve and the next generation of innovators in Texas ." In February 2018, H-E-B acquired Austin-based Favor, which is a wholly owned subsidiary that operates independently as a separate brand. With this powerful partnership, H-E-B accelerated its path to become a digital retail industry leader in Texas, growing its online presence to meet customers' evolving needs and expectations. With Favor, H-E-B has access to best-in-class consumer-facing technology and the on-demand company's advanced delivery system, which helps capture valuable insights to deliver the best customer experience possible. The partnership has positioned Favor as a leader in the on-demand delivery industry while providing H-E-B an invaluable tool that has helped enhance its digital offerings, including its Curbside and Home Delivery services, which have grown to support more than 270 H-E-B, Central Market, and Joe V's Smart Shop stores in Texas. Since joining H-E-B, Favor's corporate team has grown to over 400 team members and has quickly expanded its presence across the state of Texas, where its community of Runners has grown to over 100,000 contract delivery drivers who have completed over 70 million Favors across the state. Founded in 2013, Favor will celebrate its 10th anniversary later this year. Together, the companies have done more than facilitate the growth of one another's businesses. During the pandemic, both companies innovated to quickly support communities in lockdown, launching contactless doorstep deliveries, restaurant relief programs to support local businesses, and a Senior Support program, which provided an affordable, safe shopping solution for seniors. Both companies also worked to roll out the Be the Change initiative, which has become an integral program that is part of H-E-B's longstanding diversity and inclusion efforts. The largest privately held employer in Texas, H-E-B has more than 430 stores and 154,000 Partners in Texas and Mexico, and the retailer continues to be an economic driver as it expands across the state. As a multi-format retailer, H-E-B owns Favor Delivery and operates Central Market stores throughout Texas, as well as Joe V's Smart Shop and Mi Tienda store formats in Houston. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/h-e-b-and-favor-delivery-celebrate-5-year-anniversary-together-with-nonprofit-gifts-301754636.html SOURCE Favor [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] SafetyDriven Partners With AuditSoft for COR Auditing and Data Analytics Solutions CALGARY, AB, Feb. 23, 2023 /CNW/ - AuditSoft, the leading Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) auditing software, has been selected to provide auditing and data analytics solutions to the Certificate of Recognition (COR) program offered by SafetyDriven - Trucking Safety Council of BC. The partnership with SafetyDriven, which is based in Langley, British Columbia, means AuditSoft now supports the trucking industry in all of Canada's Western provinces. It follows a number of new partnership announcements from AuditSoft, which continues to grow and disrupt the COR auditing industry with user-friendly solutions that standardize auditing and drive business intelligence. "Demand for COR continues to grow, and forward-thinking associations are searching for ways to make the COR auditing process more efficient and effective," said Ben Snyman, Cofounder and CEO of AuditSoft. "AuditSoft is proven to reduce COR auditing time by up o 50% whilst unlocking a wealth of OHS information. SafetyDriven will be deploying the AuditSoft suite of software to streamline their auditing and quality assurance process, and we're thrilled to be supporting their COR program." As the administrator of WorkSafeBC's COR program for the transportation and warehousing sectors, SafetyDriven provides guidance to employers and owner/operators on how to obtain their Certificate of Recognition by creating an efficient operation that is committed to workplace safety and effective injury management. Companies who achieve COR are eligible for a 10 percent rebate on the previous year's WorkSafeBC premiums. "SafetyDriven is committed to the elimination of workplace injuries and fatalities across BC's trucking and supply chain industries through the delivery of COR. AuditSoft will add value to the COR auditing process, and our clients will benefit greatly from its auditing and data analytics solutions," said Earl Galavan, COR Manager at SafetyDriven. About AuditSoft AuditSoft is the leading OHS auditing software. Associations and Certifying Bodies partner with AuditSoft to supply their members with cutting-edge auditing tools and unlock valuable audit insights. Each year, AuditSoft is used to conduct thousands of audits in high-risk industries across Canada. Find more information on AuditSoft at www.auditsoft.co About SafetyDriven SafetyDriven is a not-for-profit Health and Safety Association that delivers training, services, mentorship, safety certification and programs for reducing injuries and fatalities across transportation and related supply chain industries. As the administrator of WorkSafeBC's COR program for the transportation and warehousing sectors, SafetyDriven's programs provide guidance on how to create an efficient operation that meets the standards for a COR audit. For more information visit www.safetydriven.ca . SOURCE AuditSoft [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] Wochit Launches a Free, Prompt-to-Video, AI-Powered Video Generator, Enabling the Instant Creation of Professional Looking, Editable Videos NEW YORK , Feb. 23, 2023 /CNW/ -- Wochit, a leader in the SaaS video creation space, today announced the launch of its new video creation tool, the Wochit Wizard (available at www.wochit.ai ). The solution leverages AI capabilities made available by ChatGPT and allows users to generate professional-looking videos from a simple text description. The Wizard takes in the prompt and puts together a script, scenes, footage, graphics, music, and effects, outputting a video that can either be downloaded as is or further edited and tweaked using Wochit's Frame online video editor. "The generative AI revolution and the potential it brings to video creation has been at the core of our recent R&D efforts. We see the great opportunity and have been hard at work experimenting with ways in which we can incorporate and leverage this technology to make our products even better for our customers," said Dror Ginzberg, Wochit's Founder and CEO. "While we are still developing and evaluating the best ways in which to fit this technology into our core products, we wanted to share some of our developments with the world. This is our way of not only leading the way for generative AI video creation but also contributing to the efforts of xamining and testing the capabilities and limitations these innovative technologies create." Creators are constantly on the lookout for new ways to get their ideas and visions out there quickly yet professionally. The Wochit Wizard taps into this need, providing any creator the ability to make compelling, creative content without compromising speed. A pioneer in the video creation space for over 10 years, Wochit takes its knowledge and expertise and applies it to all its products. The Wizard utilizes Frame, Wochit's scene-based online editor. Once the video is generated, users get access to a full-featured version, where they can expand, modify and enhance their creations. Prior to launching publicly, Wochit made the Wizard available company-wide to a select group of customers in order to collect feedback. Among these companies were Burda, LOCALiQ, Grupo Milenio, Business Insider Germany, and Groupe Cerise, all of which recognize the importance of AI and are also actively researching and examining the implications and possibilities of the field. The observations made by these partners have already begun fueling the implementation design of this technology into Wochit's core product offerings. About Wochit Wochit has been bringing the power of video creation to global businesses for over a decade. It is a trusted partner of some of the largest media companies in the world, and powers video creation for leading tech companies, brands, and marketplaces. Wochit's portfolio includes a variety of cloud-based editing tools, built for several use cases, workflows, and volumes. Wochit's products make creating, versioning, automating, and publishing, simple and smart. Media Contact: Liel Bari, VP Marketing, Wochit [email protected] +972-52-3395595 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wochit-launches-a-free-prompt-to-video-ai-powered-video-generator-enabling-the-instant-creation-of-professional-looking-editable-videos-301754672.html SOURCE Wochit [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] Alcott Enterprises and Flourish Software Partner to Deliver Leading I.T. Solutions for Cannabis Operators Alcott Enterprises, a national information technology consulting and managed service company, is pleased to announce its partnership with Flourish Software, a leading cannabis ERP and supply chain seed-to-sale tracking solution. As the cannabis industry continues to expand rapidly, operators are under pressure to be capital efficient, especially as certain markets mature and require sophisticated I.T. systems to remain competitive. The Alcott Enterprises team will work alongside the Flourish team to provide enhanced technical expertise, implementation services, support, and integration capabilities for Flourish customers. The partnership elevates and streamlines Flourish implementations by providing technical advice and managed infrastructure support for Flourish's current and future customers. The collaboration between Alcott and Flourish is already helping Kurvana, a top California brand, better drive revenue and rationalize its I.T. spending. "We are excited to be partnering with the Flourish team. Their industry-leading cannabis ERP and supply chain solution is critical for many cannabis organizations. This partnership will add tremendous value to Flourish's customer base. By having a go-to technical team with cannabis industry knowledge, the Alcott team can help speed up implementations, integrate additional ystems, and support customers' infrastructures," said Jordan Alcott, Founder and CEO of Alcott Enterprises. "Partnerships and integrations are core to providing customers with the tools and services they need to succeed in this rapidly growing market," said Colton Griffin, CEO of Flourish Software. "We are thrilled to partner with Alcott Enterprises, a company with a proven track record of delivering exceptional I.T. solutions to help drive measurable returns for leading cannabis operators across the country." About Alcott Enterprises Based in Los Angeles, CA, Alcott Enterprises offers over 50+ years of combined industry experience developing strategic alignment of business and technology, enabling digital transformations, and managing technical infrastructures working with startups to Fortune 500 companies. Our experts have been providing information technology consulting services for companies of all sizes across various industries and building next-generation company infrastructures that leverage the Cloud, A.I., and Machine Learning. For more information and updates, visit www.alcottenterprises.com. About Flourish Software Flourish Software is a leading seed-to-sale supply tracking and chain management platform built specifically for the cannabis, CBD, and hemp industries and deployed across 20+ states and Canada. Companies that cultivate, extract, manufacture, distribute, or retail cannabis, CBD, or hemp use Flourish's software to drive their supply chain operations, manage costs, and stay compliant. Find out more by visiting www.flourishsoftware.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230221005917/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] A missing 8-year-old boy was found safe Feb. 17, 2023 after disappearing from his Washington state home last summer, the FBI said. Breadson John disappeared from his home on June 17, 2022 sparking a multi-state hunt for the child. For nearly nine months, the disappearance of a Pacific Northwestern boy at the center of a nationwide child investigation remained a mystery to local, state and federal law enforcement. All the while, the FBI said, the 8-year-old boy's legal guardians remained mum on his whereabouts. But acting on a tip late last week, federal agents closed in on a location nearly 2,000 miles from the boy's Vancouver, Washington home, and found him safe. The rescue came after federal agent said they learned the boy's grandfather took him to Missouri in August, dropped him off and left him behind. A spokesperson with the the FBI Seattle told USA TODAY Wednesday that Breadson John, who had been listed as missing since June, was found "safe and apparently healthy" in Jasper County, Missouri. The county, with a population of about 122,000 people, is in the southwestern part of the state, about 60 miles west of Springfield near the Kansas state line. A 24-year-old teacher was murdered in 1971. DNA on a cigarette butt just solved the case. More: Vanderbilt University apologizes for using ChatGPT for 'disgusting' email on Michigan State shooting A welfare check and mum grandparents On June 17, Detectives from the Vancouver Police Department conducted a welfare check at the home where the boy lived after the agency received reports from the community concerned about the boy's whereabouts and well being. When police spoke with the boy's grandparents, they told detectives he wasn't missing, but would not tell police anything else, the spokesperson said. The couple, the spokesperson said, then moved out of their apartment a few weeks later. Last week, he said, agents developed a lead the boy's grandfather had taken him on a plane to Missouri in August, but only the grandfather had returned to Washington. "They were able to determine an address to a location of where the boy was and safely retrieve him," the spokesperson said. Story continues State charges of custodial Interference have been filed against the boy's grandfather, the FBI said. What remained under investigation Wednesday by local and federal authorities: Why the grandfather took the boy to Missouri, where the boy stayed, and what the boy was doing there. A missing 8-year-old boy was found safe Feb. 17, 2023 after disappearing from his Washington state home last summer, the FBI said. Breadson John disappeared from his home on June 17, 2022 sparking a multi-state hunt for the child. A bilingual boy, a poster and Hawaii ties In January, the FBI issued a missing person poster for the boy who also goes by Brxsan. After his disappearance, the FBI said Breadson had ties to or might visit Hawaii, Arizona, or the Federated States of Micronesia. Agents said he was born in Hawaii and speaks English and Chuukese, also spelled as Trukese, a tongue native to the Federated States of Micronesia. Colorado police shooting: He was picking up his brother at school. Now his family is suing in a fatal police encounter. Breadson was found unharmed Friday by agents from FBI Kansas City in response to the lead from the Seattle division, with help from Jasper County deputies, the FBI posted on Twitter Tuesday. On Wednesday the boy was in the care of the Missouri Department of Social Services, the FBI told USA TODAY. Staff from the Washington Child Protective Services department were en route to Kansas City to get the boy and return him to his home state, local outlet KGW reported. Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Missing 8-year-old boy Breadson John of Washington found in Missouri [February 23, 2023] Drake University announces $3.15 million philanthropic commitment from Sammons Financial Group Drake University announced today that Sammons Financial Group has committed $3.15 million to Drake to support the development of the Sammons Intercultural Center and Sammons Plaza, along with support for two scholarship funds that will create a total of 14 endowed scholarships. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222006001/en/ Beginning in 2024, Drake will use $1.75 million of the Sammons Financial Group gift to renovate and revitalize one of its most beautiful and historic buildings-Morehouse Hall. The 1930's building will be transformed from a classic residence hall to a dynamic student center that will be home to Drake's first dedicated intercultural space. Roughly $1 million of this gift will support the Sammons Intercultural Center, which includes 2,700 square feet dedicated to celebrating diversity through student-centric community programming. ??Another $750,000 will support the creation of a student-centered community outdoor area to be known as Sammons Plaza that will be developed adjacent to the center. Sammons Plaza will be a place for the Drake community to build relationships that are central to the university experience and that will propel graduates into the world. The investment in this project reflects Sammons' deep commitment to diversity and the Drake student body as a whole. "We are proud to further strengthen our relationship with Drake and help support the creation of a dedicated space for the campus' many multicultural organizations with our gift, which is centered around workforce development, D&I initiatives, and increasing community and campus engagement," said Esfand Dinshaw, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Sammons Financial Group and Drake alumnus. "Sammons Financial Group and Drake University have enjoyed a supportive, long-term relationship. As a financial services leader in the Des Moines area, it is incumbent upon our company to do all we can to invest in the next generation of business leaders." "I cannot wait to see how this space will transform our campus community," said Drake University President Marty Martin. "We are incredibly grateful to have such strong relationships with central Iowa businesses like Sammons Financial Group, who continue to invest in the advancement of Drake. Current Drake students and those who are still to come will deeply benefit from Sammons Financial Group's impactful gift and continued generosity." The financial services company's gift will also allow for the continued expansion of two scholarship programs that were announced as priorities with the launch of Drake's comprehensive campaign, The Ones: Drake's Campaign for the Brave & Bold-the Sammons Financial Group Changemaker Scholarship and the Sammons Financial Group Inclusive Scholars of Digital Proficiency Scholarship. ???Built upon the principles of leadership, entrepreneurship, and social responsibility, the Sammons Financial Group Changemaker Scholarships' four-year academic and business engagement program will help cultivate students' experience and understanding of solving societal challenges through mission-driven for-profit work. Changemaker Scholars will receive hands-on learning experiences with start-ups and corporations, tailored development tracks in entrepreneurism and leadership, and opportunities to use the power of free enterprise to make positive changes in the world-from neighborhoods to nations and everywhere n between. Each endowed Changemaker scholarship will be funded through an investment of $100,000 and students receiving those awards will pursue degrees in actuarial science, marketing, or finance at the Zimpleman College of Business as well as those those studying information technology, graphic design, and communication. Changemaker Scholars will develop professional relationships throughout the business community, including with Sammons Financial Group. The Sammons Financial Group Inclusive Scholars of Digital Proficiency Scholarship will be dedicated to enhancing the diversity of the technology and data analytics workforce by specifically recruiting high achieving students who are underrepresented in these fields and providing them with the resources needed to complete their degrees and secure employment. Each endowed Scholars of Digital Proficiency scholarship will be funded through an investment of $100,000 and students receiving those awards will pursue degrees in computer science, data analytics, artificial intelligence, actuarial science, information systems, mathematics, or mathematics education. With this investment, Drake will work with Sammons Financial Group to promote opportunities for engagement between the Inclusive Scholars and the company, including internships, mentorships, and programming. "We are especially excited to be lead sponsors of 14 endowed scholarships totaling $1.4 million," added Dinshaw. "These scholarships are not simply one-time gifts to qualifying students. Rather the students who receive a scholarship will have our support as long as they attend Drake. Longer term, we also hope they choose to consider working and living in the Des Moines community well beyond their university experience." In addition to long-time generous financial support from Sammons and its employees, the company continues to provide exceptional opportunities for engagement and internships for Drake students. Sammons is currently the professional home for dozens of Drake graduates. Sammons' significant gift is a part of Drake's comprehensive campaign, The Ones: Drake's Campaign for the Brave & Bold, which kicked off in 2021 with a $225 million goal. The campaign is making possible multiple transformative advancements across the university's campus, including the construction of state-of-the-art facilities like the Sammons Intercultural Center and new scholarship opportunities. With the support of its alumni, campus community and businesses like Sammons Financial Group that are working as a force for good, Drake is unlocking its potential and securing a more vibrant future for the generations of students to come. About Drake University Drake University is recognized as one of the finest national liberal arts universities. A distinctive and distinguished private university in Des Moines, Iowa, Drake enrolls nearly 3,000 undergraduate and more than 1,800 graduate students. Students choose from more than 70 majors, minors, and concentrations and 20 graduate degrees offered through seven colleges and schools. In addition, Drake offers a range of continuing education programs serving working professionals, community members, and area businesses. Drake recognizes the importance of its location in Iowa's capital city and seeks to connect its teaching and learning to the wealth of cultural, recreational, and business resources it provides. At the same time, it weaves global thinking and intercultural learning into everything it does, preparing students to lead in an increasingly interconnected world. About Sammons Financial Group, Inc. The companies of Sammons Financial Group help families and businesses protect their future to enjoy life's moments today. A subsidiary of Sammons Enterprises, Inc., Sammons Financial Group is privately owned with member companies that are among the most enduring and stable in the financial services industry. Our companies include Midland National Life Insurance Company (including Sammons Corporate Markets); North American Company for Life and Health Insurance; Sammons Institutional Group (including Midland Retirement Distributors and Sammons Retirement Solutions) and Beacon Capital Management, Inc. Together, we offer today's most sought-after life insurance, annuity, and retirement planning products. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222006001/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] Anne E. Tasca Gives NYU Stern $53.6 Million, the Largest Single Gift in the School's History Today, New York University Stern School of Business announced a landmark gift of $53.6 million from alumna Anne E. Tasca (BS '88) that represents three remarkable milestones for the School: the largest single gift in the School's history; the largest total giving amount from a woman donor; and the largest total testamentary commitment ever received from a single donor by the School. When fully realized, Ms. Tasca's gift will go primarily towards funding student scholarships at the undergraduate and MBA levels with a focus especially on global study and immersive travel to foster learning through an international lens. The gift will also endow a faculty chair in the name of her father, economist and American diplomat, Henry J. Tasca. In honor of Ms. Tasca and her unprecedented bequest, and independently of the many scholarships that will eventually be funded by her generous gift, NYU Stern will, in each year from the 2023-24 academic year, award four new scholarships in Ms. Tasca's name, two each in the undergraduate and MBA programs. "There is only one word to describe Anne's generosity and that is 'breathtaking,'" said Raghu Sundaram, Dean, NYU Stern. "We are deeply honored that she has chosen to make this truly exceptional gift to the Stern School. She is leaving a legacy that will provide generations of future Tasca Scholars access to the power of education and the ability to pursue it along with their dreams." "Education goes beyond ust being an important goal for bright young students - it is the bedrock of our society and the foundation of our future," said Anne Tasca. "I am thrilled to be providing talented students access to the extraordinary and life-changing opportunities that will come from an education at the Stern School, and that will enable them to become the shapers of tomorrow." Anne Tasca, a dual American and Italian citizen, was born in France, studied in Switzerland, attended high school at Sacred Heart, Tunbridge Wells, in England, and lived in many parts of Europe before moving to the United States in the 1970s, where she worked for the US Information Agency, contributing to the Voice of America. Ms. Tasca followed a non-traditional path, receiving a BS from Stern in her thirties while also working for Citibank. She then went on to pursue a master's degree in international relations. Today, she leads the family's real estate firm, Edilizia Rosazza SRL, in Rome, with her sister. "Anne is a role model who has elevated the standards around educational access to phenomenal heights," said Andre J.L. Koo (MBA '94), Chair of the Stern Executive Board. "We are enormously grateful for her vision, for her commitment, and for modeling so superbly the impact of what can be achieved through legacy giving." "Anne Tasca's generosity to her alma mater is simply extraordinary," added Alison Mass (BS '80, MBA '81), former Chair of the Stern Executive Board. "Her magnificent gift means that she will directly transform the lives of so many promising students with her legacy of education." About New York University Stern School of Business New York University Stern School of Business, located in the heart of Greenwich Village and deeply connected with the City for which it is named, is one of the nation's premier management education schools and research centers. NYU Stern offers a broad portfolio of transformational programs at the graduate, undergraduate, and executive levels, all of them enriched by the dynamism and deep resources of one of the world's business capitals. NYU Stern is a welcoming community that inspires its members to embrace and lead change in a rapidly transforming world. Visit stern.nyu.edu. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005819/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] Government announces new funding for research projects to enhance cyber security OTTAWA, ON, Feb. 23, 2023 /CNW/ - From electronic espionage to ransomware, the threats to Canadians from malicious cyber activity are greater than ever. That's why the Government of Canada is taking action to protect Canadians and the electronic infrastructure they rely on. This includes close collaboration with industry and academia to leverage everyone's strengths. The Minister of Public Safety, the Honourable Marco Mendicino, today announced new funding for two innovative cybersecurity projects at the Universite de Sherbrooke. Supported by $1.9 million in federal funding from the Cyber Security Cooperation Program, they will help keep Canadians safe online. Both projects will enhance critical infrastructure protection in Canada. The first, Evaluation of the resilience of an electrical redistributor in an Industry 4.0 context, focuses on protection of the electrical grid, particularly smaller electricity providers. The second, Security in the Industrial Internet of Things in a context of 5G connectivity and edge processing focuses on cyber security in the integration of service providers in a 5G wireless environment. The two projects are managed by the Universite de Sherbrooke's cyber security hub, which brings together researchers and graduate students from multiple faculties. The hub integrates key concepts in engineering, computer science, law, management and applied policy to the study of cyber security. Quotes "In the 21st century, cyber security is national security. Canadians are more connected than ever before, and we must protect them from emerging online threats. That's why we are working with Canada's best and brightest to find innovative solutions. The Cyber Security Cooperation Program accelerates this work by supporting cutting-edge projects, like those at Universite de Sherbrooke, to keep Canadians safe." - The Honourable Marco Mendicino, Minister of Public Safety "In a increasingly interconnected world, cyber security is a top priority for our government. Our researchers and professionals at the Universite de Sherbrooke are once again demonstrating their world-class expertise and their ability to partner with the private sector in order to deliver sustainable and effective solutions. They make our digital environment more reliable despite evolving threats." - The Honourable Elisabeth Briere, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health, and Member of Parliament for Sherbrooke "The specific issues addressed by our partners will guide our efforts, and our research will lead to broad, fundamental and practical advancements on a global scale. These partners will play a key role in sharing the knowledge generated by the project, with several of their representatives leveraging knowledge from their broader networks." - Sebastien Roy, Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering "The scope will be interdisciplinary and will address non-traditional dimensions such as governance, legal and regulatory compliance, and social acceptability. Through our commitment to teaching excellence, students from all levels will be involved in the project. In time, the partners will be able to hire them in order to maximize the transfer of knowledge in favour of the student experience." - Pierre Martin Tardif, Professor, Department of Information Systems and Quantitative Management Methods "This project is a perfect example of the Universite de Sherbrooke's interest in partnering with the private sector and the government in order to contribute to innovative solutions while offering a first-rate experiential learning environment for our student community. In this particular case, over 50 students, under the supervision of 11 faculty members from five faculties, will take part in the project. This is an excellent example of our contribution to society." - Vincent Aimez, Vice President, Value Development and Partnerships Quick Facts The Cyber Security Cooperation Program was launched in August 2019 under the National Cyber Security Strategy. Through the program, $10.3 million in funding was allocated to support projects that contribute to positioning Canada as a global leader in cyber security. Related Products The Government of Canada advances cyber security innovation and cooperation Associated Links Cyber Security Cooperation Program (CSCP) Universite de Sherbrooke's Interdisciplinary Research Group on Cybersecurity SOURCE Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] Blackmagic Design Announces New ATEM Television Studio HD8 Blackmagic Design today announced ATEM Television Studio HD8, a new family of all in one live production switchers that combine broadcast features with extreme portability. These new switchers feature broadcast grade control panels with advanced features such as streaming and recording. There is also an ISO model that can record all video inputs and can connect to up to 8 remote cameras. These new switchers also support live streaming, talkback and optional internal storage. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005932/en/ New family of HD live production switchers with built in broadcast control panel so they can be used for high end work while being extremely portable. (Photo: Business Wire) ATEM Television Studio HD8 is available immediately from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide from US$2,995. The new ATEM Television Studio HD is a professional live production switcher built into a broadcast control panel so it can be used for high end work while being extremely portable. This means customers can use it in small venues that don't have the access for equipment racks or broadcast vans. Customers get a powerful switcher with 8 standards converted SDI inputs, 2 aux outputs, 4 chroma keyers, 2 downstream keyers, SuperSource, 2 media players and lots of transitions. Plus it includes a whole television studio of features such as hardware streaming, recording, audio mixer, talkback, multiview and optional internal cloud storage. There's even an ISO model that records all 8 inputs for editing. While ATEM Television Studio HD is a compact design, it still includes very powerful broadcast features. Customers get an advanced broadcast grade switcher, with built in ATEM Advanced Chroma Keyers, Fairlight audio mixer, DVE, still store for graphics and much more. Most of the features can be operated from the front panel, or customers can use the free ATEM Software Control on Mac or Windows to access even more features. With a little fun experimentation it's possible for anyone to create high end broadcast quality live television. Customers can select from exciting transitions such as dissolve, or more dramatic effects such as dip to color, DVE squeeze and DVE push. Customers can even add a DVE for picture in picture effects with customized graphics. There are also media players which let customers store graphics with alpha channels for titles and graphics that customers can load as live video inputs. Then customers can live stream the results. The ATEM Television Studio HD combines a switcher and control panel into the same unit, so it's extremely portable. The front panel includes buttons for selecting sources, triggering transitions and setting up video effects. Plus the buttons are the same high-end type used on expensive broadcast switchers. Customers also get a built in t-bar for manual transition control. The front panel even has an innovative audio mixer control area with live metering on a dedicated LCD. With 8 3G-SDI video inputs, ATEM Television Studio HD lets customers connect multiple cameras for different views of the performance. Video cameras with SDI outputs, such as Blackmagic Studio Camera or Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2, are much better quality as they have better low light performance and use professional lenses. All video sources will re-sync to the switcher, even if they operate at different video standards. Everything just works so setup on location is easy and customers don't have to worry about technical problems. One of the benefits of ATEM Television Studio is the range of professional built in video effects. The t-bar fader can be used to transition video effects, or customers can do the transition automatically by pressing the auto button. There is a wide range of SMPTE wipes included, plus fun DVE effects that slide or squeeze the image off screen when transitioning between video sources. The built in media pool stores broadcast quality graphics and animations that can be played back using the built in media players. For highest quality, all media supports RGB colorspace with alpha channel, allowing transparency and layering. The media pool can hold 20 HD resolution stills. Motion graphics clips for animations and stingers can be up to 400 frames in 720HD and 200 frames in 1080HD. ATEM Television Studio is perfect for news and on-set presentation work because it features 4 ATEM Advanced Chroma Keyers for green screen keying effects. The chroma keyers are incredibly powerful and include features such as a color picker to sample background colors for automatic generation of the key parameters. Custoers get precise controls for edge and flare, and there is even a foreground color corrector so customers can match the foreground and background layers for seamless compositions. The keyer can also be used for pattern and DVE keying. In addition to the DVE in the ATEM Television Studio, there is also a powerful SuperSource multi layer processor. SuperSource gives customers 4 extra DVE layers plus a background layer, all layered together as an additional input source. SuperSource is perfect for doing multiple picture in picture displays with people being interviewed because customers can set up the effect so the viewer can see each person being interviewed all within a stylish graphic. The ATEM Television Studio HD features 8 independent 3G-SDI inputs, with each input featuring its own dedicated standards converter. That means it's possible to convert any 1080HD or 720HD input source to the video standard of the switcher. The ATEM Television Studio includes nine 3G-SDI program outputs so customers get enough connections to send a separate program return feed to all of their cameras. That's important because the SDI program return is used to send tally, talkback and control information back to the cameras. Customers also get 2 dedicated aux outputs for driving stage monitors and master recorders. For camera monitoring, there is a dedicated 3G-SDI and HDMI output for the multiview. With a built in Fairlight audio mixer, ATEM Television Studio HD makes it possible to do complex live sound mixing. The internal mixer features enough channels for all SDI inputs, as well as extra channels for the XLR, RCA and MADI inputs. Each input channel features the highest quality 6 band parametric EQ, compressor, limiter, expander and noise gate as well as level and pan controls. The audio mixer is extremely powerful and it can be adjusted from the front panel using the dedicated audio mixer controls and LCD. ATEM Television Studio HD includes a professional multiview that lets customers see all video inputs, preview and program on a single SDI or HDMI monitor. Each camera view includes tally indicators so customers know when each source is on-air, plus each view has custom labels and audio meters. Customers can fully customize the multiview layout with up to 16 simultaneous views. ATEM Television Studio HD has a built in hardware streaming engine for live streaming to a global audience. That means customers can live stream to services such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitch in better video quality and without dropped frames. Streaming works using the Ethernet connection to the internet, or customers can connect a smartphone to use mobile data. ATEM Television Studio HD supports recording to external USB flash disks. Or if an optional M.2 flash disk is installed, customers can record direct to internal cloud storage. The internal storage plus any external USB disks will be available to share over the local Ethernet network so other people can work on post production tasks such as editing, color correction and graphics preparation. All recordings are in H.264 format with AAC audio for broadcast quality video and small file sizes. An exciting feature is append record, which allows customers to re-start recording onto the previous file so customers can deliver customers a single file. Customers can use any video software with ATEM Television Studio HD because the USB connection will emulate a webcam. That means customers can plug into a computer and use any video software that works with a webcam. That guarantees full compatibility with any video software and in full resolution 1080HD quality. The ATEM Television Studio HD ISO model allows customers to edit their live event as it can record all inputs to separate video files. Customers get 8 separate video input files with matching timecode and sync, plus the program video is also recorded into a separate master video file. This means customers can edit using any NLE software that supports multi-cam editing. A DaVinci Resolve Project file is saved and linked to the input video files, so their live switching is converted into an edit timeline that customers simply click to open. With support for DaVinci Resolve project files in the ISO model, customers get a full post production workflow with editing, color correction, visual effects and audio mixing. Simply open the project and users will see their live production as an edit timeline. Customers can even relink to Blackmagic RAW camera files if customers want to finish in Ultra HD. Another exciting feature on the ATEM Television Studio HD ISO model is that it can connect to remote cameras. The Blackmagic URSA Broadcast G2, Blackmagic Studio Camera 4K Pro G2 and Blackmagic Studio Camera 6K Pro cameras can live stream in H.264 direct to the switcher. Plus customers even get camera control and tally. Program audio is also sent back to the camera which is great for live interviews. The ATEM Software Control app unlocks the hidden power of ATEM Television Studio HD by allowing access to all the features in the switcher. ATEM Software Control features a visual switcher user interface with parameter palettes for making adjustments. The software lets customers live switch, mix audio, color correct in the cameras and manage media. Customers can also build and run complex macros from the software. ATEM Television Studio HD supports multiple languages in the menus and in the ATEM Software Control, so customers can customize it to the language customers prefer. Customers get support for English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, German, French, Russian, Italian, Portuguese, Turkish, Polish and Ukrainian languages. If users are building a podcasting studio or customers need more microphones, then the ATEM Microphone Converter allows audio input expansion. It connects to the ATEM Television Studio using the MADI port, so there's no complex setup and customers can daisy chain units to add more inputs. Each converter has 4 analog inputs that are mic/line selectable and have phantom power. The design features amazing quality with an extremely low noise floor of -129dBV, a dynamic range of 131dB(A), low distortion of 0.002% and uniform tolerances across all channels. It even uses 8 separate ADCs on each input to collectively extend the dynamic range. Plus it has a fun HDMI monitoring output with scrolling audio waveforms. "These new ATEM Television Studio HD8 switchers are amazing as they pack so many features into an extremely portable design," said Grant Petty, Blackmagic Design CEO. "However we also wanted them to be high end broadcast grade switchers so customers don't have to compromise. We have achieved this as they feature full broadcast control panels, innovative audio mixing, plus streaming and recording all built in. It's very exciting!" ATEM Television Studio HD8 Features * All in one switcher and control panel design. * Supports connecting up to 8 x SDI cameras. * Wide range of professional video effects included. * Internal media for stills and motion graphics. * 4 ATEM Advanced Chroma Keyers for green/blue screen work. * Includes SuperSource multi layer processor with 4 DVEs. * 8 x standards converted 3G-SDI inputs. * 9 x 3G-SDI program video outputs and 2 x 3G-SDI aux outputs. * Audio mixer supports limiter, compressor, 6 band EQ and more! * 16 way multiview for monitoring all cameras on a single monitor. * Live stream via Ethernet or mobile phones via USB. * Records to USB flash disks or optional internal cloud storage. * USB output operates as a webcam and supports all video software. * ISO model supports recording all video inputs for later editing. * ISO model records a DaVinci Resolve project file. * Supports remote internet connected cameras on ISO model. * Includes free ATEM Software Control for Mac and Windows. * Localized for 13 popular languages. * Expands audio inputs with ATEM Microphone Converter. AVAILABILITY AND PRICE ATEM Television Studio HD8 is available now from US$2,995, excluding local duties and taxes, from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide. PRESS PHOTOGRAPHY Product photos of the ATEM Television Studio HD8, as well as all other Blackmagic Design products, are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/au/media/images. ABOUT BLACKMAGIC DESIGN Blackmagic Design creates the world's highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design's DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company's Emmy award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com/au. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005932/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP, a Leading Securities Fraud Law Firm, Announces Investigation of Block, Inc. (SQ) on Behalf of Investors Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP ("GPM"), a leading national shareholder rights law firm, today announced that it has commenced an investigation on behalf of Block, Inc. ("Block" or the "Company") (NYSE: SQ) investors concerning the Company's possible violations of the federal securities laws. If you suffered a loss on your Block investments or would like to inquire about potentially pursuing claims to recover your loss under the federal securities laws, you can submit your contact information at www.glancylaw.com/cases/Block-Inc-1/. You can also contact Charles H. Linehan, of GPM at 310-201-9150, Toll-Free at 888-773-9224, or via email at [email protected] to learn more about your rights. On January 31, 2022, Block completed its acquisition of Afterpay by acquiring all outstanding ordinary shares of Afterpay in exchange for shares of Block class A common stock. Block assured Afterpay shareholders that the Block securities issued in the transaction would be "issued in reliance upon an available exemption for suc registration requirements pursuant to Section 3(a)(10) of the Securities Act." However, it appears that Block did not satisfy mandatory conditions necessary to exempt it from registration and no registration statement has been filed with the SEC. As such, injured investors may have legal recourse. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. Whistleblower Notice: Persons with non-public information regarding Block should consider their options to aid the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower Program. Under the program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Charles H. Linehan at 310-201-9150 or 888-773-9224 or email [email protected]. About GPM Glancy Prongay & Murray LLP is a premier law firm representing investors and consumers in securities litigation and other complex class action litigation. ISS Securities Class Action Services has consistently ranked GPM in its annual SCAS Top 50 Report. In 2018, GPM was ranked a top five law firm in number of securities class action settlements, and a top six law firm for total dollar size of settlements. With four offices across the country, GPM's nearly 40 attorneys have won groundbreaking rulings and recovered billions of dollars for investors and consumers in securities, antitrust, consumer, and employment class actions. GPM's lawyers have handled cases covering a wide spectrum of corporate misconduct including cases involving financial restatements, internal control weaknesses, earnings management, fraudulent earnings guidance and forward looking statements, auditor misconduct, insider trading, violations of FDA regulations, actions resulting in FDA and DOJ investigations, and many other forms of corporate misconduct. GPM's attorneys have worked on securities cases relating to nearly all industries and sectors in the financial markets, including, energy, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, real estate and REITs, financial, insurance, information technology, health care, biotech, cryptocurrency, medical devices, and many more. GPM's past successes have been widely covered by leading news and industry publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Reuters, the Associated Press, Barron's, Investor's Business Daily, Forbes, and Money. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005384/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] Statement from Elizabeth Fegan, Managing Partner of FeganScott and Attorney Who Represented Jane Doe 4 and Ashley M for the Harvey Weinstein Los Angeles Trial Below is a statement from Elizabeth Fegan, managing partner of FeganScott and attorney who represented Jennifer Siebel Newsom (Jane Doe 4) and Ashley Matthau in connection with the Harvey Weinstein Los Angeles trial: "Today justice has been served. In delivering a 16-year sentence, Judge Lisa Lench has ensured that Harvey Weinstein will spend the rest of his life behind bars. The verdict and the sentence were possible because eight very courageous women stepped forward to confront this serial rapist. Each knew their testimony would force them to relive the trauma and horror he inflicted upon them. They also understood that by standing up to Weinstein in court, they would open themselves up to what turned out to be brutal, msogynistic attacks by his attorneys. "These women deserve our admiration, and our thanks. "My clients, California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Ashley Matthau, were resolute that they were not satisfied with Harvey Weinstein's New York sentence, especially with an appeal in play. Their testimony gave them the power to reclaim their voices, both for themselves and on behalf of the many other women who were abused by Harvey Weinstein. It can't erase the trauma they've endured, but it can serve as catalyst for change and provide hope to other survivors." About FeganScott FeganScott is a national class action law firm dedicated to helping victims of consumer fraud, sexual abuse, and discrimination. The firm is championed by acclaimed veteran, class-action attorneys who have successfully recovered $1 billion for victims nationwide. FeganScott is committed to pursuing successful outcomes with integrity and excellence while holding the responsible parties accountable. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005936/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] BoardProspects Celebrates Black History Month by Recognizing The Top 25 Black Board Members in the U.S. BOSTON, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BoardProspects.com, an innovative software platform which has disrupted traditional board recruitment by providing corporations with direct access to a prestigious community of thousands of credentialed board candidates, today announced that it is celebrating Black History Month by recognizing the Top 25 Black Board Member in the U.S. The recognition takes place in the February issue of Board Recruitment - BoardProspects' monthly e-publication examining the latest news and trends in board recruitment and composition. "We are thrilled to recognize these exceptional board members as part of our celebration of Black History Month," said Mark Rogers, CEO of BoardProspects. "Although there has been significant progress during the past couple of years in regard to the number of new Black board members being appointed to corporate boards, there is still a long way to go. Black History Month presents a tremendous opportunity to not only emphasize the need for corporations to continue their efforts to diversify their boardroom, but also recognize exception Black board members in the U.S." The process to select the Top 25 board members was undertaken by an independent committee which focused on identifying board members with extraordinary executive backgrounds and board service at large (market cap) corporations with a proven track record of convincing shareholder returns during their tenure. The 25 Black board members who were selected, include: Rodney C. Adkins Kimberly A. Nelson Paget L. Alves Clarence J. Otis, Jr. Shellye L. Archambeau Paula A. Price Gaurdie E. Banister, Jr. Debra A. Sandler Adriane M. Brown Rodney E. Slater Nelda J. Connors Gabrielle Sulzberger Kermit R. Crawford John W. Thompson W. Roy Dunbar Tracey T. Travis Venita Fields Robin L. Washington Linda R. Gooden Kathleen Wilson-Thompson Carla A. Harris Mary A. Winston Wayne M. Hewett Alfred W. Zollar Henry W. McGee To read about these amazing individuals, you can access a complimentary copy of the February issue of Board Recruitment at: Board Recruitment, February 2023. About BoardProspects.com BoardProspects.com is an innovative software platform which helps public and private corporations cost-effectively identify, assess and recruit world class board members from its community of thousands of highly credentialed board candidates. The BoardProspects platform leverages technology to improve the board recruitment process for publicly traded and private corporations and provides the tools and features necessary to create a diverse and talented board succession pipeline. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/boardprospects-celebrates-black-history-month-by-recognizing-the-top-25-black-board-members-in-the-us-301754969.html SOURCE BoardProspects.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] Wedbush Securities and Maybank Agree to Cross-border Trading Alliance Wedbush Securities Inc., one of the nation's leading diversified financial services firms, has entered into an agreement to form a transpacific trading alliance with Maybank, the fourth most valuable bank brand in the ASEAN region as of December 31, 2022. Wedbush and Maybank have signed a 15a-6 Chaperone agreement that will allow U.S. institutional investors to trade in Southeast Asian markets ("PacRim") such as Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, The Philippines, and Vietnam. Wedbush CEO, Gary Wedbush, remarked, "Wedbush is excited to enter into an alliance with Maybank to pursue our PacRim strategy. Maybank impressed us not only with its network and reach, but also its people, who are highly skilled, collaborative, and customer centric. We believe together we can distinctively serve investors and corporates who care about PacRim opportunities." The alliance will provide Wedbush customers with research and market insights from the leading home-grown investment bank in ASEAN. The bank has been recognized as Best Broker in Southeast Asia for nine consecutive years by Alpha Southeast Asia. As part of the alliance, which is intended to be open for trading on March 1, Jean-Louis Lee and Joe Borruso will join Wedbush Securities as Managing Directors. The two executives will be located in Wedbush Securities' New York office as part of the firm's Investment Banking & Capital Markets Division. About Wedbush Securities Wedbush Securities is the largest subsidiary of Wedbush Financial Services. Since its founding in 1955, Wedbush has been a leader in the financial services industry, providing our clients, both private and institutional, with a wide range of securities brokerage, wealth management, and investment banking services. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California with 100 registered offices and nearly 900 colleagues, the firm focuses on client service and financial safety, innovation, and the utilization of advanced technology. Follow Us: Wedbush Twitter Wedbush LinkedIn Wedbush Facebook Wedbush Instagram About Maybank Maybank is among Asia's leading banking groups and Southeast Asia's fourth largest bank by asset. The Maybank Group has an international network of over 2,600 offices in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Brunei, Laos, India, China, UK, USA, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan and Dubai. The Group offers an extensive range of products and services, which includes consumer and corporate banking, investment banking, Islamic banking, stock broking, insurance and takaful and asset management. It has over 42,000 employees worldwide. (www.maybank.com) View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005994/en/ [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] [February 23, 2023] Maple Reinders Awarded Royal BC Museum Collections and Research Building Project in Colwood, BC MISSISSAUGA, ON, Feb. 23, 2023 /CNW/ - Maple Reinders is pleased to announce that it has been awarded the contract for the construction of the Royal BC Museum Collections and Research Building in Colwood, BC, l?k?????n (Lekwungen) Territory, following an extensive procurement and partnering process with the Province of British Columbia, Royal BC Museum and Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. The new facility will be an advanced, sustainable, and culturally sensitive building that will serve as a community and learning hub for the region. Once complete, the new facility will house the Royal BC Museum's collections, reseach departments, learning spaces and the BC Archives. Mass timber construction will be used extensively and the building will meet CleanBC energy efficiency standards, and be LEED Gold Certified. Key areas of the Collections and Research Building will be open to the public, facilitating community access to the collections and to museum staff. Visitors will be able to interact with displays and artifacts that shed light on the history of the province and observe researchers at work in person and online in the media centre. The BC Archives will continue to provide research access to archival records of enduring value to the province in this new, state-of-the-art environment. "We are humbled to have been chosen to design and construct this important cultural facility," said Reuben Scholtens, Vice President of Major Projects at the Maple Reinders Group. "Our team is committed to delivering a world-class facility that will not only serve as a community and learning hub but will reflect and pay respect to the deep cultural connections the local Indigenous peoples have to the place where the facility will stand. There is a vibrant and compelling story to be told and we are enthused at the prospect of being able to assist in its telling." Construction on the project is set to begin in the coming months, with completion expected in 2026. About the Maple Reinders Group About the Maple Reinders Group: Maple Reinders is a leading design, construction, financing and facility management firm, recognized for its expertise in delivering complex and sustainable projects across Canada for over 55 years. The company has a long-standing commitment to building in partnership with the local communities and is dedicated to creating projects that are not only functional but also reflect the unique cultural heritage of the area and its people. SOURCE Maple Reinders Group [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] If we really wanted to play up the drama . . . This would've been our headline . . . MONORAIL CANDIDATE CLAY SEEKS FACE TO FACE WITH MAYOR Q FOR KANSAS CITY ELECTION SHOWDOWN!!! Okay . . . On second thought I like the way that looks and if I had more space I probably would've used it . . . A redesign around the dump might be in order . . . But I digress . . . Truth is . . . Clay Chastain is a dynamic and often controversial speaker but he's sweetheart in person and we've never seem him be anything but polite, respectful and dignified in the face of political opposition. For more than 30 years Clay has shown all of Kansas City that he's a very persistent man. And so . . . Our sneak peek . . . CLAY WILL BE VISITING CITY HALL AT AROUND 2:30 PM TO REQUEST A DEBATE WITH MAYOR Q THAT HAS BEEN DENIED SO FAR!!! Remember . . . This isn't so much about Clay . . . 1000 registered Kansas City voters signed a petition to put Clay on the ballot. In Jeff City, local Democratic leaders decry limits on the power of citizen petitions but here in KCMO our top ranking elected leader has yet to affirm the will of voters by doing the bare minimum and meeting his only opponent in person for the benefit of constituents if no one else. To be fair . . . All of Kansas City seems to be ignoring this election but as this nation "fights for Democracy" in Ukraine . . . It might be nice if our leaders show a bit of interest in the topic on the home front. And so . . . Because TKC has always been about giving the underdog a fair opportunity and celebrating our cowtown discourse . . . We share this word from the long-shot candidate and the only guy to ever win a citywide light rail vote . . . Clay Chastain Press Release: Mayor Quinton Lucas' refusal to debate his sole opponent (Clay Chastain) is an insult to public service, the Community and further proves he lacks the moral authority to lead Kansas City. First he told Pete Mondo he doesn't want to debate me. Then, he ignored Nick Haines' invitation to debate me at the KCPBS studios. (See email below). Why is Mayor Lucas afraid of debating Clay Chastain? Perhaps there is some sensitive subject matter,; perhaps it's his political career; or perhaps it's just easier to let a truck load of Fat Cats' money work for him. Lucas' behavior does not comport with the transparency he pledged the Community in 2019! Even stroke-disabled Senator Fetterman had the courage to debate his opponent. Even strong-armed Sly James had the integrity to debate his opponents. It is my view that voters should not reelect a Mayor who thinks... he is Emperor, above being transparent, above debating his opponent and above having to defend his record before the people of Kansas City. A New Kind of Mayor...For...A New Kind of City ################## Developing . . . Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin signed a resolution on submitting an agreement between Russia and Azerbaijan on cooperation in the field of pensions to the State Duma for ratification, Azernews reports. The agreement allows Azerbaijani citizens to be credited with their work experience acquired while working in Russia, while Russians will be credited with the work experience they acquired in Azerbaijan. The said document was signed by the Deputy Prime Ministers of the two countries, co-chairs of the Commission Shahin Mustafayev and Alexey Overchuk during the 20th meeting of the Intergovernmental State Commission on Economic Cooperation on April 26, 2022. Azerbaijan and Russia have mutual cooperation in different fields, such as economy, agriculture, customs, communications, high technology, and others. More than 230 intergovernmental and intercompany documents have been signed between the two countries and six "road maps" are being implemented. Azerbaijani investments in Russia's economy have exceeded $1.2 billion, with the majority of these investments being in the non-oil sector. In addition, Russian investments in Azerbaijan's economy totaled $6.3 billion, with $5 billion invested in the oil sector and $1.3 billion invested in non-oil sectors. Additionally, some 14 Russian companies have applied for participation in Azerbaijan's Karabakh reconstruction. The trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Russia amounted to $2.9 billion in 2021, making Russia Azerbaijans third-largest partner. IndieWire The Craft Top of the Line Although Oscar-winning production designer Rick Carter (Lincoln, Avatar) has worked closely with directors Robert Zemeckis (the Back to the Future sequels, Forrest Gump), James Cameron (Avatar), and J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker), his greatest collaboration spans 11 films with Steven Spielberg, from Jurassic Park to The Fabelmans. Indeed, Spielberg brings out the best in Carter, who enjoys exploring characters through the spaces they inhabit. Its a form of world-building based as much on psychology as visual design and has led to several self-discoveries for Carter about his own Goya-esque artistry and conscience in the post 9/11 cycle of war films: War of the Worlds, Munich, War Horse, Lincoln, and The BFG. More from IndieWire But The Fabelmans the directors most personal film and nominated for seven Academy Awards, including production design provided the greatest epiphany for the Oscar-nominated Carter because he was able to crack the Spielberg code: the set of themes and motifs that recur throughout his films, such as the splintering of the family unit, characters chasing their dreams or venturing into fantastical realms to escape their home life or restore a lost connection. This enabled the production designer to make the connection between artist and work more clearly specifically, how Spielbergs entire life has been a tug of war between artistry and pragmatism. Its part of his DNA that he inherited from his late parents: concert pianist mother Leah Adler and computer engineer father Arnold Spielberg. Read More: Weaving The Fabelmans from Steven Spielbergs Childhood Memories I was curious how he would manage the tightrope of how much is real and how much is fictionalized, said Carter, whose immersive art exhibition about his production design, Time, runs through March at ESMoA in El Segundo. I think thats one of the things that I enjoyed a lot about the movie was knowing some of it for real, just having been around Steven all these years, and having met his mother and father. But I also knew we were making a fable version about that gap between what is real and what is fictional. Story continues The Fabelmans: New Jersey Dining Room - Credit: NBC Universal NBC Universal Although Carter was always aware of the code, which he intuitively picked up on during their collaboration, he wasnt privy to many of the origins of certain scenes until working on The Fabelmans, which is filled with Easter eggs for Spielberg fans. For example, how the scene in Lincoln, where Lincoln (Daniel Day Lewis) talks with General Grant (Jared Harris) about the horrors of the war during the aftermath of the Petersburg battle was a direct reference to the climax of Spielbergs early World War II film, Escape to Nowhere, where the guilt-ridden sergeant walks alone after leading his platoon into an ambush. Part of why Stevens got such a range to deal with in his movies is that, once he knows that there is something spherical, he doesnt run away from it, Carter added. There may be an instance when he turns it into adventure, but think about the [Capuchin] monkey and how it plays in The Fabelmans, where hes taking all that crazy energy. The monkey was his mothers pet during her loneliness in Phoenix. But the monkey is the one that saves Indys life in Raiders of the Lost Ark. You realize: What if we have a scene with a monkey? Thatll be fun. And you see it in an adventurous way where the monkey eats the poisonous date intended for Indy and dies. The Fabelmans represents the first time that Spielberg made a film stripped of metaphor because his life is the subtext. Carter was inspired by the directors creative act of self-reflection to think back on his own development as an artist. As a result, the experience of designing the road trip for Spielbergs alter-ego, Sammy (Gabriel LaBelle) who travels with his family from New Jersey to Arizona to Northern California became his own nostalgic road trip. However, because of COVID, they were forced to film it all in California. This reminded the director and production designer of how they began their careers in the early 70s when L.A. was the center of production and a stand-in for anywhere in the country. We also became aware of our own mortality, Carter added. The Fabelmans: Phoenix House - Credit: NBC Universal NBC Universal The most important sets were the three Fabelman houses in Haddon Township, New Jersey, Phoenix, Arizona, and Los Gatos, California. Their many chambers contributed to Sammys psychological, emotional, moral, and artistic development. Carter and the art department (including set decorator Karen OHara, supervising art director Andrew Cahn, and prop master Andrew Siegel) drew on an abundance of photo reference material from the Spielberg family archives and visits to the directors childhood homes and haunts. Read More: How the Editors of The Fabelmans Helped Spielberg Convey the Emotional Truth of His Personal Story But their primary reference points were Spielbergs memories and those of his three sisters: Anne, Sue, and Nancy. In fact, Carters designs for the New Jersey and Arizona houses were based on floor plans Spielberg drew from memory (especially the downstairs of the New Jersey house). The production design aimed to interpret the space in a way that captured the spirit of the memories. You develop a rapport together, and you know him well enough about what he needs and what his likes and dislikes are, Carter said. But he loves being surprised by the interpretation you come up with as long as it hits the emotional core. The first Fabelman house in New Jersey was designed to capture Sammys interior life and how his love for filmmaking takes over every corner. A garage becomes a soundstage to shoot the crashing of toy trains; a small dark closet becomes Sammys private projection room. In terms of the aesthetics, we had a lot of latitude for the colors, but there was one color that was based upon something that he remembered, and he had a photograph of a green color in the living room, Carter said. The Fabelmans: Sammys Phoenix Bedroom - Credit: NBC Universal NBC Universal The Phoenix house was an elongated, one-story, ranch-style home. Its bright desert hues with splashes of blue were the favorite of Leah Adler. They even replicated a bronze picture that sat above the piano in the living room. What really got interesting in Phoenix was, as a filmmaker, he became more himself, added Carter. So not only the equipment there was accurate, but all the storyboards, which Steven drew so that they are accurate to the way he was filming the movie-within-the movie and the way he still draws today. The third Fabelman house was an archetypal Northern California Craftsman. The design was older, gloomy, and spare. It wasnt informed by any specific reference from Spielbergs childhood but chosen to reflect the darkening mood of the Fabelmans. The clutter of unpacked moving boxes reflects a family in transition physically and emotionally. The Fabelmans Steven Spielberg Storyboard - Credit: NBC Universal NBC Universal Each one of the houses has a different sensibility to it, added Carter, because not only is it moving forward in time, its really got almost a three-act structure of having started on the East Coast and moving across the desert to California in the sense that its the Promised Land. Carter describes Sammys heros journey as one that resembles Manifest Destiny to find himself. He winds up in Hollywood, where he encounters legendary director John Ford (a wonderfully cantankerous David Lynch), who sums up the importance of framing a shot by the correct placement of the horizon either on the top or the bottom. Spielberg actually improvised the finale shot of Sammy blissfully leaving the lot with the horizon on top. A way that I think about the production design of The Fabelmans,' Carter said, is that it is as much visually vertical as it is horizontal in regard to where it goes. From the John Ford sequence landscapes down into the film within the film that you are watching. Best of IndieWire Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Right now we help our readers keep up to date with rising violence across the metro and especially in KCMO. Remember . . . It's only February and we've already recorded at least 21 murders so far this year. Accordingly, we compile this list of local crime reporting and attempt to find some good news later on in the compilation . . . Check TKC news gathering . . . Suspect not impaired in crash that killed KCPD officer, pedestrian, K9 KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Pushback on charges filed in the crash that killed Kansas City Police Officer James Muhlbauer and his K9 Officer Champ, as well as pedestrian Jesse Eckes. Some are upset the charges aren't harsh enough. Jeeron Lightfoot was charged with two counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter. Attorney thinks prosecutor made the right call in charges for crash that killed KCPD officer A local attorney not involved in the case says Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker made the right charging decision against a Tonganoxie man accused of killing Kansas City police Officer James Muhlbauer, his K-9 companion officer Champ, and pedestrian Jesse Eckes in a high-speed crash Wednesday.Henry Service has worked Prosecutor: Malcolm Johnson investigation nears completion as community calls for answers KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Nearly two years after police in Kansas City, Missouri, shot and killed a man during a struggle at gas station, a special prosecutor said Tuesday that an investigation into the incident is nearing completion. Malcom Johnson died on March 25, 2021, at a gas station near east East 63rd Street and Prospect Avenue. Social justice group demands answers on KC police shooting KANSAS CITY, Mo. - It's been two years since 31-year-old Malcolm Johnson was shot and killed by Kansas City Police officers while buying a lottery ticket at a gas station on Prospect. The social justice group "It's Time 4 Justice" said it's been too long since Johnson's family has gone without justice, or answers. Judge strips child custody from alleged Excelsior Springs kidnapper, rapist Timothy Haslett KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Jackson County Circuit Court judge has given Timothy Haslett's ex-wife sole custody of the couple's child. Haslett is currently jailed in Clay County, Missouri, where he faces nine felony charges for allegedly holding a 22-year-old woman against her will at his Excelsior Springs residence, where he allegedly repeatedly beat and sexually assaulted her for more than a month. Woman found dead at vacant Kansas City car wash apparently missing since early February A 44-year-old woman whose body was discovered outside of a vacant Kansas City car wash was apparently reported missing from the city sometime in February, according to an online database of missing persons cases maintained by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Explosive device removed from Clay County home near railroad tracks MISSOURI CITY, Mo. - The Clay County, Missouri Sheriff's Office is investigating after an explosive device was found inside a home Tuesday morning. Around 10:30 a.m., deputies were following up on a resident's report of possible explosives placed in his yard near Gano and Water Streets in Missouri City. Did Platte County deputy assault Park Hill father? We have only one side of the video | Opinion Did a deputy with the Platte County Sheriff's Office assault a Northland father at a Park Hill preschool last week, as the father claims? We watched more than 20 minutes of video footage the man recorded of the encounter. 'My son suffered': Family of Kansas City murder victim asks for community's help KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Two months after a young Kansas City father was shot and killed in a car in broad daylight, his family is calling for witnesses to come forward. The Kansas City, Missouri Police Department says Matthew Gatson Jr. was shot and killed on December 11, 2022. Kansas City, Kansas police will soon have more high-tech help to fight crime KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City, Kansas police officers will soon have more high-tech support to help them fight crime. KCKPD Chief Karl Oakman said the department is building a Real-Time Intelligence Crime Center to provide officers the most up-to-date information as they respond to calls for service. Explosive mix-up: Clay County 911 caller misplaced bomb box MISSOURI CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Police Department's Bomb and Arson Unit safely detonated an explosive on Tuesday that was left in a man's yard in rural Clay County. The tense situation caused authorities to evacuate a neighborhood and shut down a set of train tracks for hours in the small town of Missouri City, Missouri. 'An Olathe legend': Late seamstress who altered law enforcement uniforms honored by deputies OLATHE, Kan. - If you've sewn on a button, patched a hole, or hemmed pants, you know it's not an effortless fix. Marcia Rider, a beloved seamstress in Olathe, made it seem that way. For Sheila Newbanks, the daughter of Rider, the sewing machine pulls at memories of her late mother. Developing . . . This week's news cycle has been kind of rough. For early morning denizens of the discourse we share local items that might be bittersweet but offer a somewhat inspiring peek at Kansas City life that doesn't fit anywhere else on this blog. Check TKC news gathering . . . 125 years later, Westport Library still remains an environment for community learning KANSAS CITY, Mo. - In the 1890's, there were an excess amount of funds available for a local judge to draft legislation to give Westport the money to build a public school library. It took just more than $5,000 to build the Kansas City Public Library's Westport Branch. Jewish Family Services launches new mobile pantry unit in Kansas City For years one of the biggest issues with area food pantries in Kansas City was trying to get those who need it to the pantry. Now, Jewish Family Services has started a mobile pantry unit aimed at solving that problem. RideKC provided more than 70,000 rides during Super Bowl parade KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Hundreds of thousands of Chiefs fans packed downtown Kansas City, Missouri, last Wednesday for the Chiefs Kingdom Champions Parade in celebration of the Super Bowl LVII victory. Tens of thousands of them got to and from the parade thanks to the five park-and-ride locations operated by RideKC. 9-year-old Pitbull the star of Wayside Waifs' No More Bullying Program An adopted Wayside Waifs Pitbull has become a celebrity with kids all over the metro for his rescue story.Maverick is the main attraction at Crossroads Academy on Quality Hill, but it started out as just a class project. He is a key part of the Wayside Waifs program that teaches kids about the harms of bullying. Kansas Citians say opening of new terminal is bittersweet KANSAS CITY, Mo. - In less than a week, the doors of Kansas City International Airport's old terminal will close permanently as the city gets ready to welcome travelers at its new terminal. For travelers like Deron Moore, who has lived in Kansas City all his life, the transition marks a bittersweet moment. Kansas City man donates blood for 100th time in honor of late sister KANSAS CITY, Mo. - It's been called the gift of life for a good reason. Large supplies of donated blood are used every day, and one Kansas City-area donor has given his share - and then some. Time and pints have added up for 72-year-old Terry Burns. 'She's my little fighter': Community rallying around Kansas City family as 2-year-old daughter begins fight with leukemia The community is rallying around a Kansas City family as their two-year-old daughter begins her fight with leukemia.Even a Chiefs player has joined the effort. Isiah Pacheco posted to Twitter sending encouragement to Kaylee Ross in her fight against cancer.Two-year-old Kaylee's parents took her to the hospital after noticing bruising on her body that was not going away and blood vessels in her eye that had ruptured. MLB Kansas City Urban Youth Academy aims to bring more diversity to baseball KANSAS CITY, Mo - After school 14-year-old Thomas Smith can be seen chasing his biggest dream at the MLB Urban Youth Academy, a place he frequents with his family at least six times a week. "It's pretty fun, they they have a lot of opportunities, even at my age," Smith explained. Welcome a new furry friend at Three Dog Bakery 'Adopt Love' event Feb. 24-26 Sugar Cookie is a dog who loves KC football and taking photos. // Courtesy KCPP Three Dog Bakery will host their Adopt Love event Feb. 24-26. Everyone is invited to meet and fall in love with the pups at the bakery nearest you. 'Honor the Fallen' T-shirts to benefit family of Kansas City police officer James Muhlbauer The tributes for the fallen heroes keep pouring in for the fallen officers, Kansas City police Officer James Mulbauer and K-9 Officer Champ. The partners and pedestrian Jesse Eckes were killed in a car crash approximately one week ago. One clothing store is honoring the duo with new T-shirts, which proceeds will go to the family. Developing . . . A roundup of today's tribute and some of the best coverage we've seen . . . Something to consider . . . "The officer and his K-9 partner were honored in a funeral at Municipal Auditorium where family and friends shared stories of the officer and his K-9.In the crowds along the procession route was a shared feeling of respect and sorrow, but also one of reluctance. Many wished they did not have to be there, yet again, for the funeral of a fallen officer." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Hundreds of spectators gather along funeral route for Officer James Muhlbauer, K-9 Champ KANSAS CITY, Mo - Hundreds of people lined a Northland funeral procession route Wednesday to pay their last respects to Officer James Muhlbauer and his K-9 partner, Champ. Muhlbauer, Champ and a pedestrian, Jesse Eckes, were killed last week when a vehicle raced through a red light at over 80 miles-per-hour at Truman Road and Benton Boulevard. LISTEN: Last radio call sounds for fallen KCPD officer Muhlbauer, K9 KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Family, friends, law enforcement and the community gathered Wednesday to pay their respects to Kansas City Police Officer James Muhlbauer and K9 Officer Champ. Hundreds of police cars from departments across the region were involved in the procession that ended at Municipal Auditorium around 9 a.m. Funeral service held Wednesday for fallen KCPD officer James Muhlbauer and K-9 partner Champ Proceedings can be streamed live above.Mourners are gathering Wednesday to remember two fallen public servants.The Kansas City, Missouri Police Department and the public are coming together to honor the memory of officer James Muhlbauer and his K-9 partner Champ.The partners and pedestrian Jesse Eckes were killed in a car crash approximately one week ago. Residents line procession route for Officer James Muhlbauer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Dozens waited along the procession route as Officer James Muhlbauer was taken to the cemetery at White Chapel Funeral Home. Retired KCPD officer and 28-year veteran Jim Helton was joined by his 6-year-old son. Helton checked his son out of school early to teach him a lesson. R.I.P. Or . . . THE STREETCAR RUNS OUT OF JUICE!?! A few factors that might be influencing this turn of events . . . Of course . . . KC Tenants will want to take credit. However . . . The Midtown corridor is far more populated with real life residents than new luxury downtown living space that's more of a real estate scheme funded by foreign money . . . And so, denizens of midtown have more of a stake than apartment dwellers who can quickly bail on KCMO . . . In the end, parking concerns and politicos helped put down this effort. But here's what everybody is missing . . . FEDERAL MONEY FOR STREETCARS HAS NEARLY DRIED UP!!! Prez Obama's administration loved toy trains . . . Now that cash is a bit harder to come by and that THAT tragic fact will lead to the streetcar fad conclude in this cowtown. Here's the official story . . . "The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority's board on Wednesday sided with a cadre of Midtown residents in voting against an expression of intent to give the Chicago developer a 15-year, 75% property tax exemption for its 1 W. Armour plan. Mac's project entails 300 apartments and 25,000 square feet of retail and restaurant in two new midrise buildings, plus a U.S. Bank branch renovation, throughout most of a full block." To be fair . . . It'll be a lot easier to try for these tax credits again AFTER election season . . . And so we urge neighbors not to celebrate too much. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . KCATA board votes no on bond incentives for Main Street & Armour Boulevard development KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The KCATA Board of Commissioners voted no Wednesday on a developer's request for taxpayer help to build a midtown KC apartment complex. Mac Properties already has a huge presence in Midtown, according to KC Tenants community organizer Gabe Coppage. "They own over 2,000 units pretty much all right here in midtown," he said. KCATA Rejects Tax Break for Mac Properties in Midtown Confronted by overwhelming testimony from opponents, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) board voted 6-2 Wednesday to reject a tax incentive request for a 300-unit apartment development proposed for Main Street and Armour Boulevard. The development proposed by Chicago-based Mac Properties had been endorsed for a 15-year tax abatement by the authority's development arm last week. Kansas City denies tax breaks for apartments on streetcar line after outcry from schools and tenants Chicago-based developer Mac Properties was again denied tax breaks to fund a project in Midtown - just a year after the Kansas City Council refused a similar request. Today a bold move by the Missouri AG targets STL political leadership . . . Here's is the basics of sitch that really goes back a few years when this politico helped bring down a creeper Guv who eventually resigned. Here's the word . . . Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, gave Gardner "until noon tomorrow" to announce her resignation, after a motorist who repeatedly violated his bond conditions on earlier charges crashed and injured a teenage volleyball player. "We are giving Kim Gardner until noon tomorrow to resign. If she refuses, she will face immediate removal proceedings in the form of a writ of quo warrant brought by our office," Bailey revealed on Twitter. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Missouri AG gives ultimatum to Dem attorney Kim Gardner following public outcry: resign or be removed The Missouri Attorney General has given embattled Democratic St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner an ultimatum amid public safety outcries following a major incident over the weekend: resign or be removed. Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, gave Gardner "until noon tomorrow" to announce her resignation, after a motorist who repeatedly violated his bond conditions on earlier charges crashed and injured a teenage volleyball player. MO attorney general demands Gardner's resignation, threatens to file removal proceedings ST. LOUIS (KMOV) -- Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey demanded Wednesday that St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner immediately resign or face removal proceedings by his office. Bailey said in a press release that if Gardner does not resign by noon Thursday, he will file removal proceedings against her. Missouri attorney general demands Gardner resign by noon on Thursday or face removal proceedings Many have called the case emblematic of the dysfunction in Gardner's office in St. Louis and some state and local leaders have also called for her resignation. ST. LOUIS - As a 17-year-old Tennessee girl remains in a St. Developing . . . Social media gossip and many suburbanites fearing their stash might be subject to police search given the differing legal codes in Missouri Vs. Kansas. According this this quote . . . Cracking down on users of KCMO legal weed thanks to new Missouri law isn't a top concern. Nevertheless, TKC advises everyone to OBEY THE LAW and realize that people say a lot of things that often don't hold up in court. Check-it . . . A police spokesman said patrolling their portion of I-435 as drivers head west from Missouri into Leawood and then Overland Park hasnt been a priority yet. We have to have probable cause, Lacy said. In other words, they have to be speeding. They have to make an illegal lane change, things of that sort. Lacy said their department has more important crimes to try to solve. Were here to catch murderers, robbers and rapists, things of that sort. Those are really the priority for us, he continued. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . 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. Campus Technology Insider AI in Education: Will We Need Humans Anymore? The Campus Technology Insider podcast explores current trends and issues impacting technology leaders in higher education. Listen in as Editor in Chief Rhea Kelly chats with ed tech experts and practitioners about their work, ideas and experiences. ChatGPT is groundbreaking, but it's also merely the first in what will likely be a series of innovations built on foundational developments in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing that are going to change the world. Higher education is already feeling the impact of generative AI technology in terms of plagiarism and instructional design concerns, but these challenges also come with immense opportunities to personalize learning and streamline time-consuming tasks. We spoke with Mark Schneider, director of the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences, about how AI is transforming education and the evolving role of humans in an AI-powered future. Resource links: Music: Mixkit Duration: 26 minutes Transcript Ways to Listen Campus Technology Insider is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify and Stitcher. Subscribe today or listen at campustechnology.com/podcast. Online Learning Pepperdine U Joins EdX Partner Network, Plans to Launch First MicroMasters Program Through a new partnership with online learning platform edX, Pepperdine University plans to launch its first MicroMasters master's degree program, available later this year. The new program will offer a flexible pathway to completing a master's degree through career-relevant, skill-based introductory courses. Students can apply these credits to an existing master's degree program at Pepperdine once admitted and enrolled. Pepperdine has had a partnership since 2017 with online education company 2U, which acquired edX in 2021. Under the existing partnership, 2U supports 10 online graduate programs at the university, with over 5,000 students enrolled. The MicroMasters program will build on that success, offering Pepperdine's graduate degree programs to edX students worldwide. Various existing online master's degree programs are offered through three of Pepperdine's five colleges: the Caruso School of Law, the Graziadio Business School, and the Graduate School of Education and Psychology. "Pepperdine's partnership with 2U has enabled us to offer best-in-class online degrees in psychology, law, and business that expand opportunity for thousands of additional students, regardless of geography. The reach and open access of the edX platform allows us to expand that impact," said Jay Brewster, provost and chief academic officer at Pepperdine, in a statement. "Our plans to offer a MicroMasters program will not only make a rigorous Pepperdine education accessible to edX's 48 million global learners, but also give students an affordable, stackable pathway to degree completion." "Our partnership with Pepperdine is a strong example of how we work together with our university partners to deliver high-quality online programs at scale," said Andrew Hermalyn, president of partnerships at edX. "This expansion of our partnership underscores Pepperdine's approach to research-backed, student-first online education and its overall commitment to evolving its offerings to meet the demand of today's learners by offering flexible, stackable education pathways." For more information on Pepperdine's existing online master's degree programs, bootcamps, and other courses, visit the Pepperdine online learning web page. Pepperdine University is an independent Christian university in Malibu, founded in 1937. It enrolls over 10,000 students in five colleges. For more information, visit the university's main page. EdX was founded by Harvard and MIT in 2012 and offers thousands of free and open courses, professional certificates, boot camps, credit-bearing microcredentials, and undergraduate and graduate degrees in technology, business, healthcare, science, education, social work, sustainability, and more. Visit edX's home page to learn more. EAU CLAIRE Chippewa Valley Technical College, with consortium partners Mid-State, Northwood and Western technical colleges, has been awarded a $4.9 million Strengthening Community College Training grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. The four-year project is based on triaging and accelerating training in rural health care. CVTCs total share of the award will be about $1.8 million. The colleges worked with area workforce development boards, employers and school districts to develop the project. The focus of the project is preparing rural and underserved populations for health care careers, said Shana Schmidt, CVTC director of college effectiveness. Key activities for CVTC will be to hire a rural outreach coordinator, a part-time virtual reality and telehealth technician, and the instruction of several K-12 health care academies, Schmidt said. Additionally, health care faculty from throughout the region will work to publish an open educational resource medical terminology textbook for students in several postsecondary health care programs. A full-time project director will lead the consortiums efforts. CVTCs consortium partners will be awarded about $1 million each. Sunem Beaton-Garcia, CVTC president, said this project will allow CVTC to recruit, train and prepare underserved individuals in health care careers to support economic mobility for individuals and the community. Our mission at CVTC is to help students fulfill their dreams, no matter where they live. We continually seek to identify those who need us the most, Beaton-Garcia said. We are lucky to have robust health care in west-central Wisconsin, and these opportunities are fulfilling, well-paid positions with great opportunity for career advancement. The grant award begins March 1. The national security minister says there's an emerging view that parents are the best crime Sweden's Defense Minister Pal Jonson has said that his country is open to sending some of its Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine. That's according to Sky News, Ukrinform reports. According to Jonson, support in Sweden's parliament has been growing to additionally contribute some of the country's 120 Leopard tanks. "We are open to that, and we are in close dialogue with Germany about it," the minister said. The country has delivered a string of military and civilian aid packages to Ukraine since Russia's invasion began a year ago. The latest instalment includes armored infantry fighting vehicles and the advanced Archer Artillery System. Jonson said this round of assistance would be the country's main contribution to Ukraine in terms of equipment for ground warfare. The State Material Reserves Administration of the Czech Republic has sent a new batch of bridge structures to Ukraine to restore services in areas affected by hostilities. The Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine said this in a post on Facebook, Ukrinform reports. "A new batch of humanitarian bridges has started arriving in Ukraine. The State Material Reserves Administration of the Czech Republic sent 14 metal structures. We thank the allied countries that came to help Ukraine rebuild its transport infrastructure during wartime," the report reads. The ministry clarified that the Czech Republic is the leader of an informal club of support for Ukrainian roads. The Czech Republic was the first country to send temporary metal bridges to restore services in the war-torn regions. During 2022, the Czech Republic provided Ukraine with ten bridges. Spain will allocate EUR 4.4 million to the Grain from Ukraine initiative together with the World Food Program. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said this at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Thursday, February 23, Ukrinform reports. "I supported President Zelensky's Grain from Ukraine initiative to reach those in need. We welcomed our contribution of EUR 4.4 million that Spain will devote to it together with the World Food Program," Sanchez said. He also supported Zelensky's peace formula and said that Spain was looking forward to its implementation. Sanchez added that in view of its upcoming presidency of the European Union in the second half of this year, Spain is ready to support and accompany Ukraine in the process of realizing its legitimate aspirations to become a member of the EU. In this context, he welcomed the reforms adopted and implemented by the Government of Ukraine, which are monitored by the European Commission. The Grain from Ukraine program was initiated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. It envisages the purchase of Ukrainian grain by partner countries and its transfer to states suffering from a humanitarian crisis. The program is implemented in partnership with the World Food Program under the auspices of the United Nations. More than 30 countries have already joined the program. In total, they provided almost $200 million for its financing. As part of Grain from Ukraine, 110,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat have already been delivered to one of the most socially vulnerable countries in Africa - Ethiopia and Somalia. President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the issue of food security with President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. I had a call with President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. We talked about enhancing food security, cooperation in opening food hubs in Africa by Ukraine, and the importance of continuing the Grain Initiative, Zelensky posted on Telegram. The leaders also endorsed the goals and principles of the UN Charter, in particular the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. As reported, at the opening of the World Leaders Summit at the UN Climate Change Conference COP27, the President of Egypt called for an end to the Russian-Ukrainian war. On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk met with the newly elected President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, and expressed hope for the support of the Czech Republic during the NATO Summit in Vilnius. The relevant statement was made by Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, I met with the newly elected President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel. I thanked the Czech Republic for its political decisions regarding Ukraine. First of all, for the recognition of the Russian regime as terrorist by the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic and the declaration of the 1932-1933 Holodomor as the genocide against the Ukrainian people by both houses of the Parliament, Stefanchuk wrote. In his words, Ukraine highly appreciates the military support that the Czech Republic began to provide immediately as the full-scale war started. Today, at the Security Forum, we frankly say that Ukraines victory depends not only on the quality of aid but also on the speed of necessary arms supplies, Stefanchuk noted. According to Stefanchuk, progress towards joining NATO is a critical security matter for Ukraine. I very much count on the support of the Czech Republic during the NATO Summit in Vilnius and its support of Ukraines aspiration to become a full member of the EU, Stefanchuk stressed. Additionally, Stefanchuk drew attention to the Peace Formula proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, noting that providing official support for this initiative, namely from the Czech Republic, is important to Ukraine. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is considering visiting Kyiv in the near future. According to an Ukrinform correspondent, Israel Hayom reported this on Tuesday, based on conversations with officials. "The officials confirmed that the matter is being considered, although the Prime Minister's Office declined to comment on the matter," the report said. It added that with Foreign Minister Eli Cohen's visit to Ukraine last week not prompting a strong reaction from Russia, officials believe that under the circumstances, Netanyahu can visit Kyiv without causing a stir in Moscow. "A Ukrainian official told Israel Hayom that an invitation has already been extended to the prime minister, but a date for the visit has not been set yet," the report said. Read also: Israeli parliamentary delegation visits Bucha So far, Jerusalem has refrained from providing Kyiv with weapon and defense systems for fear of triggering conflict with Russia, which has a military presence in Syria. It has, instead, opted for humanitarian aid and was the first country to open a field hospital on Ukrainian territory after the outbreak of the war. The international community should make every effort to support Ukraine in fighting off Russia's aggression. According to an Ukrinform correspondent, Governor General of Canada Mary Simon said this in Ottawa at a ceremony to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "As the attacks continue, the humanitarian crisis deepens. We need to take every opportunity to support Ukraine. We need to help people find safety and moments of normalcy amidst the chaos. We need to support Ukrainians as they rebuild their country, even as they fight for their country's future," Simon said. She added that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, "too many have suffered and are suffering still." "Yet, we have also seen the strength of humanity. Brave and resilient Ukrainians willing to fight for their freedom and the freedom of our world. Citizens standing firm and pushing back against their aggressors. People from many nations offering help, in defense of democracy and the rule of law," Simon said. She also called on the international community to "face this crisis together." "As we approach one year of Russia's continued attacks, let us all hope for lasting peace, for families brought back together, for the rebuilding of homes and livelihoods. Let us hope that this first year of war is the last," she said. The American Heart Association reports more than 356,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year in the U.S., with nearly 90% of them being fatal. With timely, crucial emergency medical treatment, many heart attack deaths may be prevented. On average, Americans wait two hours or more before seeking medical attention for heart attack symptoms, and far too many heart attack patients drive themselves or have a family member drive them to the hospital. During American Heart Month, HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Josephs hospitals are working to educate communities about the importance of not delaying medical care, especially if someone is experiencing heart attack or stroke symptoms. Sometimes people think it will be easier to just drive themselves to the hospital when theyre experiencing heart attack symptoms often because they dont know for sure it really is a heart attack but its far more beneficial to call 911 first, said Tyler Bowe, HSHS Sacred Heart and St. Josephs hospitals trauma coordinator. Emergency personnel will get to you faster, and (it is) safer than driving yourself. Bowe says getting treatment as quickly as possible may mean the difference between irreversible heart damage or a treatable condition, possibly even life or death. Dialing 911 without delay means treatment begins the moment emergency responders arrive, Bowe said. Minutes matter with a heart attack, which happens when blood flow to a section of heart muscle is abruptly blocked. If blood flow isnt rapidly restored, the affected muscle begins to die. Acting quickly can prevent or limit damage to the muscle and save your life. By calling 911, first responders can: Assess your situation immediately. Instantly forward your vitals and EKG information to the hospital. Administer treatment in the ambulance. Ensure the hospital emergency and heart team will be waiting and ready for your arrival. Effectively reduce the time from heart attack symptom to treatment. Every heart attack is different, but common symptoms include: Pressure in the chest or arms. It can feel like an uncomfortable pressure, fullness, pain or squeezing. Other upper body discomfort. It can affect one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, shoulder or stomach. Shortness of breath. This may occur on its own or with chest discomfort. Breaking out in a cold sweat or feeling nauseated or light-headed. If you or someone you know experiences symptoms, call 911 immediately. We would prefer that you come in with emergency responders and get evaluated to ensure you receive the quickest care possible, Bowe said. If it turns out not to be a heart attack, we can provide reassurance and diagnosis. Emergency departments at HSHS Sacred Heart Hospital in Eau Claire, 900 W. Clairemont Ave. and HSHS St. Josephs Hospital in Chippewa Falls, 2661 Co. Hwy I, are open 24/7 to provide personalized, expert care when you need it. To learn more about the warning signs of a heart attack, visit the American Heart Association. Russia is the biggest threat to the security of the Bucharest Nine countries, so the B9 countries will do everything possible to strengthen NATO's military presence on the eastern flank of the military alliance. The B9 leaders said this in a joint statement following their meeting in Warsaw on Wednesday, February 22, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. According to the document, the participation of U.S. President Joe Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the B9 meeting "serves as a testimony to the strength of the transatlantic bond and underscores NATO's unwavering commitment to defend every inch of Allied territory." The Bucharest Nine countries will continue to help Ukraine, which is fighting the Russian aggressor, and will support Ukraine's membership of the EU and NATO. According to the statement, a year ago, Russia ravaged peace and security in Europe by trying to subdue Ukraine by force. Kremlin's actions led to a drastic degradation of the security environment in the EuroAtlantic area, also gravely deteriorating the security of partners. "Russia is the most significant and direct threat to Allied security. In response to Russia's bloody war of aggression, Allies reacted decisively in a united and responsible manner," the statement reads. According to the document, to protect their populations and territory, Allies are committed to implementing the new baseline for NATO's deterrence and defense posture and to enhancing Allied military presence in the B9 countries. The statement adds that the member states of the Alliance agreed on forward defenses with robust inplace, multidomain, combatready forces to remain credible and capable of denying any potential adversary any possible opportunity for aggression. "In the runup to the Vilnius summit, we will continue to reinforce our deterrence and defense posture across the entire Eastern flank from the Baltic to the Black Sea," B9 leaders said. They added that NATO and its Article 5 commitment to defend each other stand as the backbone of EuroAtlantic security. The B9 leaders said they look forward to welcoming Sweden and Finland soon as NATO Allies. In the document, the Bucharest Nine condemned Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. According to the B9 leaders, Ukraine's civilian death toll is surging due to Russia's indiscriminate missile strikes and deliberate attacks on critical infrastructure, including using the Black Sea as a launchpad. "Those responsible for atrocities and war crimes will be held accountable. We are determined to sustain international pressure on Russia. We also condemn all those, including Belarus, who are actively facilitating Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine," the statement reads. The B9 leaders said that in line with the UN Charter and international law, Ukraine is exercising its legitimate right to defend itself against the Russian aggression to regain full control of its territory. "We will continue to support Ukraine's efforts to this end, as long as necessary," the document said. The leaders of the Bucharest Nine countries said "Ukraines future lies in Europe" and they "firmly support Ukraine's EuroAtlantic aspirations." The B9 leaders also expressed their support for the Republic of Moldova, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, that "are most at risk of Kremlin's destabilizing and malign influence, in the East and the South of the Alliance." The statement also says that Russia has gravely miscalculated by invading Ukraine and undermining the rulesbased international order. "We are stronger and more united than ever, reaffirming the enduring transatlantic bond among our nations. We will continue to strive for peace, security and stability in the whole of the EuroAtlantic area," the statement said. Warsaw on Wednesday hosted a joint meeting of the U.S. president and the heads of state of the Bucharest Nine. The B9 format includes Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The B9 format was launched in 2015 - after Russia's annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea. Canadas Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly says Russian President Vladimir Putin is losing his grip on reality, a year after his invasion of Ukraine. Thats according to Global News, Ukrinform reports. President Putin is entirely responsible for this war, and his latest address proves that he remains unmoored from this reality, Joly said. She condemned the address in which Putin announced he was suspending Russias participation in the strategic arms reduction treaty. Joly said it was reckless for Putin to leave the nuclear treaty, and said his speech amounted to recycled absurdities about the war. Read also: Biden does not believe Russia poised to use nukes after departing from START It is about choosing peace a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in Ukraine, she said. It is about choosing rules over chaos and clearly stating that no one, today and in the future, can disregard the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Theres no option but victory for Ukraine. Canada will be there to support Ukraines fight for freedom, for as long as it takes, said the top diplomat. Negotiations on ending the war without Ukraine's participation are possible only in the dreams of individual Hungarian politicians. According to Ukrinform, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said this in a post on Facebook, commenting on Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto's call for the U.S. and Russian presidents to hold negotiations to end the war. "The Hungarian foreign minister could do a much greater service to humanity if he stopped playing along with the Russians. Negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine itself are possible only in the dreams of individual Hungarian politicians," he said. Nikolenko noted that Hungary "is not in a position to decide when peace negotiations should begin." "Budapest had an opportunity to help win peace in Ukraine and Europe, but it chose the other side of history. If Peter Szijjarto really cares about ending the war as soon as possible, we have a piece of advice: before your next visit to Moscow or Minsk, visit Bratislava. Slovakia perfectly understands current threats in Europe. We are sure that our Slovak colleagues would be able to give [Szijjarto] some wise advice," Nikolenko said. Szijjarto on February 22 emphasized the need for direct negotiations between U.S. and Russian Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin in order to end the war. Prime Minister of Spain Pedro Sanchez visited Bucha and Irpin in Kyiv region on Thursday. "Bucha and Irpin demonstrate the wounds and scars of Putin's barbarism. Russia will not win this war. Entire Spain stands together with Ukraine," Sanchez posted on Twitter, publishing a video of the visit. The Prime Minister of Spain paid an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Thursday morning. At the capital's railway station, Sanchez was met by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Yevhen Perebyinis. The Prime Minister of Spain is expected to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and hold a joint press conference, as well as deliver a speech at the Ukrainian parliament, the PM's office informed. This is his second visit to Ukraine since the start of Russias full-scale invasion. Photo: Getty Images The Information and Security Service (SIB) of Moldova, jointly with the Prosecutor's Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases (PCCOCS), are probing a treason and espionage ring involving a network of assets, which included citizens of Moldova and another state, which has not been specified in the press release. This is reported by Ukrinform with reference to NewsMaker. As part of the investigation, the operatives identified five Moldovan citizens, two of whom were arrested in December 2022, and three others were designated as suspects. They had been recruited by the intelligence agencies of another state to violently destabilize the country and topple the constitutional system, reports the SIB press service. In addition, as part of the probe, the investigators identified citizens of another country who were engaged in espionage and financed the Moldovans engaged in the scheme. The inquiry was launched in 2020, documenting both intended and partially implemented actions. It is about money transfers, provoking inter-ethnic hatred, intolerance towards certain strata of the population, hiring individuals prone to violence to participate in protests. The Security Service noted that treason and espionage are punishable by 12 to 20 years of imprisonment. As Ukrinform reported earlier, President Maia Sandu of Moldova said Russia was plotting a coup d'etat in her country. According to Sandu, the Kremlin intends to set up opposition protests involving citizens of the Russian Federation, Belarus, Serbia, and Montenegro. The plan includes the seizure of government buildings and government toppling. Photo: SIB Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk discussed the issue of Russia's responsibility for its actions in Ukraine and the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russia for the crime of aggression with the parliamentary delegation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. "We discussed the issue of the Russian Federation's responsibility and the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russia for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. A topic of strengthening sanctions in sectors of special economic importance for Russia energy, trade, and finance was also raised," Stefanchuk posted on Facebook after this meeting. According to him, the parties paid attention to the development of a compensation mechanism for transferring the seized Russian assets to Ukraine because it is Russia that must pay for all the destruction. "And finally. Weapons. We need them for victory. Our priorities are air defense systems, fighter jets, long-range missiles, battle tanks, artillery, and ammunition," the Verkhovna Rada Chairman added. He thanked the government and parliament of Great Britain for their leadership and comprehensive support for Ukraine. Photo: Ruslan Stefanchuk / Facebook Video: TV channel Rada | By Becky Ceraul University of Maryland School of Pharmacy alumnus John Gregory, BSP 76, board chair and CEO of Gregory Pharmaceutical Holding, Inc., who also founded King Pharmaceuticals, has created the Natalie D. Eddington Pharmapreneurship Award for Health Care Innovation to support pharmacy students and their innovative, transformative early-stage pharmapreneurial ideas that have the potential to change pharmacy practice and health care. John Gregory, BSP 76, and Dean Natalie D. Eddington, PhD, FAAPS, FCP Under the umbrella of the School of Pharmacys Pharmapreneurship initiative and its Office of Pharmapreneurship, the visionary award will provide up to $100,000 in start-up funds over a one-year period to pharmacy student pioneers and innovators who present ideas at the schools new Pharmapreneurs Market competition. After initial submission of ideas and plans, a select group of pharmapreneurial students or teams will be invited to pitch their ideas to a panel of expert judges. One winner could receive the monetary award to help move their idea closer to reality. Dean Eddington has dedicated her time and talents as dean for more than 15 years, Gregory says. Her unique combination of innovation and leadership places her among the unique leaders of academic pharmacy in the United States. It was an honor and privilege to provide the resources to establish the Eddington Pharmapreneurship Award in honor and recognition of her expertise, influence, and impact. This annual award is a remarkable opportunity to build on the longstanding tradition of our School of Pharmacy as the home of Pharmapreneurship and our commitment to scientific discoveries, patient care, education, community service, and advocacy, says Eddington, PhD, FAAPS, FCP. As one of the largest awards available to students at any higher education institution, it helps further the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy as a hotbed for the next generation of talent. I am tremendously honored and grateful to John Gregory for his establishment of this award. The inaugural Pharmapreneurs Market competition will be held May 2 and is open to individual Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students or interprofessional teams led by a PharmD student. It seeks innovative early-stage, for-profit or not-for-profit companies, ideas, solutions, or products that are still in development and have modest or no revenues. Submissions will be narrowed by a selection committee of staff, faculty, and community members to a field of five finalists who will pitch their ideas to a team of judges, including Gregory. The winning student or team will receive the Natalie D. Eddington Pharmapreneurship Award for Health Care Innovation over a one-year period, with funds disbursed after the attainment of mutually agreed upon milestones and deliverables. Exclusive to the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Pharmapreneurship describes the schools commitment to supporting and best positioning both faculty and students to achieve their career aspirations and address our nations health care challenges. The term describes the schools faculty, staff, student, and alumni community of pharmacy entrepreneurs. Strategies and skills that pharmapreneurs across the fields of practice, sciences, and health outcomes research and pharmaceutical sciences might utilize include: Innovation of new products, services, or processes Continuous process improvement Exploration Technological innovation Business intelligence Development of future products and services Optimized talent management As the fourth oldest school of pharmacy in the United States, the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy globally engages and leads education, pharmacy practice, scientific research, and pharmapreneurial initiatives to collaboratively and equitably improve the health of society. With its cutting-edge research initiatives and innovative clinical services, the school fosters an unparalleled environment that both values and nurtures Pharmapreneurship among faculty and students alike. Eddington steps down from her 15-year tenure as dean at the end of the 2022-2023 academic year. She will remain on faculty and will have a new role as head of the University of Maryland, Baltimores EMBRACE initiative. Damaged residential buildings in Saltivskyi residential area, Kharkiv city. UNHCR/Colin Delfosse GENEVA Twelve months since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, more than 13 million people remain uprooted from their homes, including nearly 8 million refugees across Europe and more than 5 million internally displaced people within Ukraine. Their prospects for return in the near future, however, are clouded by continued hostilities, insecurity and destruction in their home regions, according to two new reports released today by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. The human suffering and hardship that has been caused by the war is beyond comprehension. With a third of Ukraines population forced to flee their homes, the situation remains unpredictable. We must continue to respond to the needs of the displaced and ensure their safety until they can return home, said Pascale Moreau, UNHCRs Regional Director for Europe. To understand the plight of the displaced and better channel assistance, UNHCR commissioned its third round of intention surveys*, interviewing thousands uprooted by the war. Titled Lives on Hold, the latest reports - one focusing on refugees, and another on IDPs - provide insights into the experiences of displaced Ukrainians a year on, as well as their intentions and the factors influencing their choices. Among the key findings from the two reports are: The vast majority of refugees and internally displaced Ukrainians some 77 per cent and 79 per cent respectively want to return home one day, however, only 12 per cent of both refugees and IDPs plan to do so in the next three months. The main impediments preventing refugees from returning are safety and security concerns in their areas of origin. Other concerns cited are about access to and availability of basic services - including electricity, water and healthcare, work opportunities and adequate housing, all of which have been hugely impacted by the war. Among the internally displaced, access to adequate housing is the second main barrier to sustainable and dignified return, after security and safety considerations. Refugees who expressed an intention to return in the next three months were mainly older, those separated from family still in Ukraine, or those facing inclusion challenges in host countries. The results also indicate that for those with specific needs or heightened vulnerabilities, prospects for socio-economic inclusion may be more difficult and this may influence some in their intention to return. Some 18 per cent of refugees surveyed are still undecided as to whether to return. We cannot think about the future or how the situation in Ukraine is, and for how long it will be like that. We can only think about the present, said a refugee participant. Despite the challenges of exile, some important improvements have been observed. Among a group of refugees who participated in both the second and latest survey, 45 per cent were in rented accommodation, up from 27 per cent in the previous survey. The number receiving income from employment also increased to 46 per cent from 37 per cent. However, among the same group, while the proportion relying on social protection or cash assistance had declined to 50 per cent from 57 per cent, a significant proportion remain unemployed. Many others have found low-skilled jobs, yet for the majority, the income is not enough to cover basic needs. Based on these and other findings, UNHCR makes a number of recommendations in the report. It is critical to ensure that refugees are continually assisted to make free and informed decisions on their future, and that host countries and local communities are supported so refugees can access their rights, services and decent work. Supporting displaced populations within Ukraine is also a key priority. Spontaneous returnees should be assisted through a combination of humanitarian, recovery, development and private sector programmes, paving the way for economic revival, recovery and reconstruction. Last week, UNHCR launched its Ukraine Situation Supplementary Appeal, outlining the response plan and financial requirements for 2023. The total needs amount to $1.1 billion $602.5 million inside Ukraine and $517 million in refugee host countries in Europe. UNHCR continues to urge the international community to support Ukraines displaced population inside and outside the country. For more information on this topic, please contact: In Kyiv, Celine Schmitt, [email protected] , +380 50 670 01 25 , +380 50 670 01 25 In Geneva, Shabia Mantoo, [email protected] , +41 79 337 7650 , +41 79 337 7650 In Geneva, Louise Donovan [email protected] , +41 792173058 Notes to the editor: The two reports are available here: *Lives on Hold: Intentions and Perspectives of Refugees from Ukraine is the third Ukraine refugee intention survey of its kind commissioned by UNHCR since the beginning of the war. The study is based on surveys with some 3,900 refugees from Ukraine hosted in Europe in December 2022 and January 2023. Lives on Hold: Intentions and Perspectives of Internally Displaced Persons in Ukraine, is the first Ukraine IDP intention survey UNHCR has commissioned since the beginning of the war and is based on 2,900 surveys with internally displaced people within Ukraine, in December 2022. Link to multimedia package: https://media.unhcr.org/Package/2CZ9LOBCWQ0H (login required) MILWAUKEE A 5-year-old boy died after accidentally shooting himself with a gun he found, Milwaukee police said. The shooting occurred around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, police said. The boy was transported to a hospital, Childrens Wisconsin, where he died, police said. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiners Office identified the boy as Elijo Gonzalez. Two men, ages 58 and 35, were arrested for leaving an unattended firearm, police said, and charges were pending with the Milwaukee County District Attorneys Office. Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson called the boys death extremely upsetting. "I cant fathom any reason why this 5-year-old should be dead. My heart aches for the families of all children hurt by gunfire. Please make sure to secure guns in a gun safe, with a gun lock, and out of the reach of children, Johnson said. UW-Madison will hold a memorial service for former Chancellor Rebecca Blank on March 4, with a dress code of Wisconsin Red encouraged. The memorial service, hosted by Blanks husband and daughter, Hanns and Emily Kuttner, will start at 2 p.m. at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1609 University Ave. UW-Madison will have a livestream of the memorial service available online. A reception will follow at Varsity Hall at Union South, 1308 W. Dayton St. UW-Madison will hold a separate remembrance event later this year. Blank died Feb. 17 of cancer at age 67. Blank led the university from June 2013 through the spring of 2022 and left to become the first female president of Northwestern University, where she was previously a professor of labor economics. She stepped down from the role the day she intended to start last July after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and opted to receive treatment at UW Health in Madison. Prior to taking the helm at UW-Madison, Blank taught economics at Princeton, Northwestern and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and was a dean at the University of Michigan. She worked with the U.S. Department of Commerce for four years under President Barack Obama, serving as both deputy and acting secretary between 2009 and 2013. During her tenure at UW-Madison, Blank helped put a university education in reach for low-income students through the Buckys Tuition Promise, steered the university through the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and brought billions in gifts and donations to expand research enterprise. In recent weeks, UW-Madison named its new Public History Project center in Blanks honor and announced an endowed professorship in her name the day before she died. The first step has been taken for the City of Columbus to potentially create a Business Improvement District (BID) in the downtown in hopes of funding future improvements. In a business improvement district, as allowed by Nebraska State Statute, a city can levy a special assessment against real estate located within the boundaries of such a district to fund certain projects. An existing Downtown Business Improvement Board (DBIDB) has been looking at the possibility of establishing an improvement district for several months. Information was mailed out in October, according to a memo from Planning and Economic Development Coordinator Jean Van Iperen, to provide details regarding the district. The board received feedback from property owners, adjusted the boundaries and eventually sent a second letter notifying property owners of a hearing, proposed boundaries, assessment information, proposed revenue and projects in February. The general area of the proposed BID is between 11th and 12th streets to the area between 15th and 16th streets from 21st to 33rd avenues. As currently proposed, a $200 assessment per $100,000 of valuation would be used for calculating the assessment of the properties. If approved, this years assessment would generate $69,197.09, with the city matching dollar-to-dollar for a total revenue of $134,394.18. Those who own more than one property in the district would be assessed for each property. Single family residences would be excluded from the assessment, as are entities that are exempt from paying property tax such as churches and government-owned buildings. Improvements could include district advertising, legal notices, events in the district, wayfinding signage, parking lot improvements, streetscaping, lighting, beautification, art and landscaping. The DBIDB would be in charge of allocating the funds. The Columbus City Council held a public hearing on the intent to create the improvement district during its regular meeting Feb. 21 and approved a resolution stating the citys intent to create the district and appointment of the DBIDB to proceed with the BID efforts. During the meeting, Van Iperen said 232 mailings were sent to property owners that would be located within the BID, with 61 coming back as no, 34 coming back as yes and one undecided. Twenty-six percent of the property owners were against it but, Van Iperen said, at least 50% of those mailings would have needed to come back as no for the BID effort to fail. The majority of property owners did not respond but City Administrator Tara Vasicek noted they needed to have selected no on their response in order for that to be considered a no response. The way all improvement districts work is a no response, according to state statute, is its an affirmative, Vasicek said. First Ward Council Member Beth Augustine-Schulte asked Van Iperen if she had followed up with the property owners who didnt respond to the mailing, to which Van Iperen said she didnt but had spoken to a few of them on the street. Usually when you send out mailings like this, if they don't have a strong feeling one way or the other, they usually don't even bother sending (it in), Van Iperen said. That's why I believe that the state looks at somebody who doesn't submit theirs as being an affirmative, because they don't have strong feelings against it. Fourth Ward Council Member Prent Roth said he would like to see the correlation between the property owners saying yes and the valuation of those properties. If these 34 yeses account for 80% of the assessed valuation, that gives me a pretty strong feelings that the folk are for it, Roth said. On the other hand, if these 34 yeses represent 20% of the valuation, then that's a pretty good indication that they're not for it. Several downtown property owners expressed concerns over the potential BID during a public hearing. Scott Mueller, who represents several groups such as Columbus in Action and the Columbus Innovation Center, said that while hes supportive of the downtown and the concept of a BID, there should be a clause so the BID can be reviewed after a period time. Wed like to see a sunset provision on it, for like four years, and have an intentional reevaluation of it at that time, Mueller said. We feel that way it's basically accountability to program and hopefully creates that motivation to keep moving forward. Gary Sharman, owner of Gass Haney Funeral Home, said hes not opposed to a BID either but thinks his business should be removed from it. I do not see my area over here being anything that you guys are going to be helping with, Sharman said. Were at the very, very edge of it. I don't think that this is going to be a benefit to my business at all. Joe Marksmeier, who owns the building at 2724 13th St.; Joe Wemhoff, who owns several properties on 33rd Avenue between 14th and 15th streets; and William Kurtenbach, who owns property at 1359 26th Ave.; all expressed they didnt believe the BID would benefit them. The way I can see it is, this is kind of the boutique type of shops that need traffic coming in off the street (are who) would benefit from this, Kurtenbach said. But as a professional law office, it wouldn't do me any good whatsoever. Kurtenbach added that he believed the last BID efforts from several years ago had not really made a difference in improving downtown businesses. Wemhoff noted how the BID would impact him financially. I pay an astronomical amount of taxes on those buildings, Wemhoff said. If I get assessed for this, this is going to increase my taxes just a little under $800 a year. And then what Ill have to do is pass it onto our vendors. I try to keep the rent down running a business isn't easy. Joshua Johnson, who was appointed to the DBIDB, spoke in favor of the creation of the BID. He said hes been back in Columbus for three years and has been working on efforts to keep youth in the community. The new community building is a good start but more is needed, he added. We can't just think for ourselves, we have to think for the community as a whole. The communities that the businesses serve are only going to be as good as what the community itself is, Johnson said. Is it thriving? Or is it not thriving? We look at it as how can we holistically attract and retain better talent in this town, not just for ourselves, but for future generations? Ward Three Council Member Ron Schilling expressed concern with how the BID is currently proposed. Schilling said he doesnt think Frankfort Square should be included in the list of potential improvements as he considers it a city park and downtown property owners shouldnt have their money used towards it. Its a public park that is used by the public, so consequently I will fight tooth and nail and not put it on here, he added. This has the opportunity for the city to give to the downtown people the maintenance, upkeep, repair whatever it needs to be done. The same goes for parking, Schilling said, as that should be a city project. He also noted the BIDs current boundaries are too big. The people that are being assessed on the outer outside of boundaries, I feel are probably at a disadvantage of any assistance of trying to get some help with anything that might happen, Schilling said, adding he agrees there should be sunset clause. As far as I'm concerned, there's too many variations going on and I'm not satisfied with that. I just think if nothing else, let's delay it. Let's not rush into this thing and hopefully we can get some answers that are pertinent to the situation. With the appointment of the DBIDB, City Attorney Neal Valorz explained to the city council, the creation of a BID will be further discussed at the boards level. What you're doing tonight is voting on the intent to establish one and making the board members authorized to do that, Valorz said. We'll get them a draft ordinance that will lay everything out and there'll be discussion there. And then it comes back to you guys a vote on as to the approving of the ordinance itself. Vasicek added once the ordinance would be drafted, it would be read three times at three separate city council meetings. Its possible the board could decide not to pursue creating the BID if it felt that to be the best course of action, she noted. There is nothing set in stone today, other than we're saying this can move forward with further discussion, which I think then would go forward with some of these concerns that have been brought up Mayor Jim Bulkley said. The resolution was approved 6-0, with Third Ward Council Member Rich Jablonski abstaining from the vote due to a conflict of interest and First Ward Council Member Charlie Bahr absent. The DBIDB is made up of business and property owners within the improvement district. The board members include Barbara Duffy, Joshua Johnson, Lindsay Thomsen, Bob Stachura, Dick Tooley, Kristin Stock, Kevin Johnson and Cory Reeder. Augustine-Schulte told the property and business owners in the crowd that their concerns can be addressed to the DBIDB board members. They're officially on the board so start calling them and telling what you think, she added. February 23 2023 The University of the West of Scotland (UWS) is preparing to open a new Dumfries Campus in conjunction with Dumfries and Galloway College. INCH Architecture has designed the new campus, scheduled to open next month, to prioritise collaborative learning with an emphasis on the health and social care sectors. Meticulous attention to detail will see healthcare wards, a GP surgery and a care home recreated as realistically as possible. Other facilities include an immersive learning suite offering wraparound video to simulate real-life situations in a controlled setting. Marcus Ross, vice-principal (planning & recruitment), added: The campus has been designed to offer modern and contemporary learning environments; ensuring that our students have access to the best facilities possible. The development builds on an already exciting learning experience at UWS Dumfries, combining our world-class teaching, with facilities to match. The new campus promises to treble the number of specialist lab facilities from the existing campus, preparing the next generation of healthcare workers to address a skills gap in the region. JAKARTA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Feb, 2023 ) :Indonesian President Joko Widodo met with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang here on Wednesday, as both sides promised to jointly maintain regional peace and stability. Widodo, during the meeting, wished for a successful outcome of the upcoming sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). He expected both sides to step up the implementation of the consensus reached at the Bali meeting between the two heads of state and duly prepare for the next phase of high-level exchanges. The Indonesian president said Indonesia and China have seen fruitful practical cooperation in recent years, with bilateral trade and investment growing rapidly and China becoming the second largest source of foreign investment in Indonesia. He said the two sides should speed up key projects including the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway, the North Kalimantan Industrial Park and the construction of the new capital, and expand cooperation in industrial chains and new energy. Widodo said Asia is the centre of global economic growth and should not be an arena of power struggle. Indonesia is willing to work with China to maintain regional peace and stability, and to facilitate economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, Widodo said. He said Indonesia appreciates China's support for ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) centrality and will address the Myanmar issue in line with the five-point consensus. For his part, Qin said the Chinese side is willing to work with the Indonesian side under the guidance of the important consensus reached between the two leaders, adhere to high-level guidance, strategic alignment and collaboration as major countries, and seek joint development in the pursuit of modernization. The two sides should make every effort to ensure the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway to be completed and opened to traffic as scheduled, and create more flagship projects of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), said the Chinese foreign minister. Qin said China is willing to import more bulk commodities and quality agricultural and fishery products from Indonesia, and encourage outstanding Chinese enterprises to participate in Indonesia's major infrastructure projects. Changes unseen in a century have seriously affected the Asia-Pacific region. Situations of great complexity call for stronger unity and cooperation between China and ASEAN to safeguard regional peace, stability, development and prosperity, he noted. The Chinese side fully supports Indonesia playing its role as the ASEAN rotating chair to lead and push the construction of the ASEAN Community with a shared future and East Asia cooperation to reap greater fruits, Qin said, adding that the Chinese side will continue its support for ASEAN centrality and solving the Myanmar issue in "the ASEAN way". During his visit, Qin and his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi jointly chaired the fourth meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation between the two countries. He also met with Indonesia's Coordinator for Cooperation with China and Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan and ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn separately. Antananarivo, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Feb, 2023 ) :A powerful cyclone was barrelling towards Mozambique on Wednesday after battering Madagascar where it killed five people but left less devastation in its wake than feared, emergency officials said. Authorities gave a provisional toll of five dead after Cyclone Freddy made landfall on the Indian Ocean island late Tuesday, packing winds of around 130 kilometres (80 miles) per hour. More than 16,700 people were affected and around 4,500 homes flooded or damaged, the National Risk Management Office (BNGRC) said in an update. France's weather service Meteo-France said Freddy weakened as it tracked across Madagascar, dropping to an average wind speed of 55 kph. But, the agency warned, the storm would pick up strength from the warm Mozambique Channel as it headed towards the African mainland. Cyclone Freddy is expected to land Friday in regions between central and southern Mozambique, more than 500 kilometres north of the capital Maputo, and could reach Zimbabwe. Mozambique's government has declared a red alert to allow agencies to prepare for a potential emergency. Freddy had developed into one of the biggest cyclones in recent years to threaten Madagascar, which is typically lashed several times during the annual November-April storm season. In the end, it brought less rain than feared but still ripped roofs off buildings and flattened rice fields and fruit trees. It made landfall north of Mananjary, a coastal town of 25,000 people that remains devastated by last year's Cyclone Batsirai, which killed more than 130 people. "It's a dry cyclone compared to Batsirai, so it brought fewer rains, but the winds were stronger, this is why infrastructure was badly affected," risk management senior official Faly Aritiana Fabien told AFP. "The recorded damage is almost only related to the wind." - 'Can't take this' - As Freddy closed in after brushing Mauritius and the French island of La Reunion without causing major damage, the authorities put in place an array of measures, including school closures and the precautionary evacuation of people in high-risk areas. Despite thousands of sandbags used to reinforce roofs, metal sheets and electric cables were blown off by the force of the wind. Pascal Salle sobbed as he assessed the damage after hardly recovering from last year's Cyclone Batsirai. "I didn't think there was a more powerful cyclone than Batsirai," he said, listing his losses which included a broken fence and a water tank that was smashed against a wall. "I can't take this every year, it's not possible," he said. But Red Cross spokeswoman Mialy Caren Ramanantoanina said the damage was not as bad as with Batsirai. "No immediate large-scale disaster," said Joaquin Noterdaeme of the French aid group Doctors of the World (Medecins du Monde). - Mozambique next - Freddy is the first cyclone and the second tropical weather system to hit during Madagascar's current season, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. The storm began to brew in the first week of February off the northwest of Australia and south of Indonesia and is now in its third week trekking across the Indian Ocean. At its height, Freddy was a "supercyclone", with average wind speeds of 220 kph and gusts of 320 kph, said Meteo-France's cyclone specialist for the Indian Ocean, Sebastien Langlade. The UN's World food Programme had estimated more than 2.3 million people in Madagascar could be affected. The cyclone coincides with a months-long drought in the southern part of the island that has inflicted widespread hunger. Freddy is expected to make landfall in Mozambique on Friday as a likely tropical storm, bringing the risk of pounding rain and flooding, according to forecasts. Mozambique is already in the middle of its rain season and the soil is saturated. Authorities reported that dozens of houses in the central port city of Beira had flooded Wednesday. Heavy rain could also hit parts of Zimbabwe and South Africa at the weekend. (@FahadShabbir) Beijing, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Feb, 2023 ) :The death toll from a collapse at a coal mine in northern China rose to five on Thursday, state media reported, as rescuers searched for dozens still missing after a massive landslide hindered recovery efforts overnight. More than 50 people were trapped when a 180-meter-high slope gave way at the open-pit mine in the Inner Mongolia region's Alxa Left Banner area at around 1:00 pm (0500 GMT) on Wednesday, according to state broadcaster CCTV. Hundreds of rescue workers were dispatched to the remote site, but another landslide later that day temporarily halted efforts to save those trapped beneath the rubble. Rescuers have since resumed their work, with CCTV reporting on Thursday afternoon that at least five people had been killed in the incident, with six injured and 48 still unaccounted for. Footage from the broadcaster showed rescue workers in orange overalls and yellow helmets dwarfed by a mountain of rust-colored rubble, and excavators working to clear some of the debris. "I had just started work when I saw slag falling down the slope. The situation got worse and worse," a rescued worker named Ma Jianping told CCTV. "We tried to organise an evacuation, but it was too late -- the slope came down," he said from a hospital bed in the neighbouring Ningxia region, a catheter protruding from his throat. The injured were all currently in stable condition, CCTV reported a doctor at the hospital as saying. State media reported that the collapse had affected a "wide area" of the mine operated by the Xinjing Coal Mining Company. It was not clear what caused the collapse, and calls to the company by AFP went unanswered on Thursday. CCTV on Thursday said police were investigating the collapse, with "the relevant personnel currently under control". The report did not share further details. A video posted on social media by a coal truck driver on Wednesday showed rocks cascading down a slope, kicking up clouds of dust that engulfed several vehicles. "The whole slope has collapsed... How many people must be dead from that?" a male voice can be heard saying in the background. "If I'd lined up over there today, I'd have died in there, too." Zhang Li, an injured miner speaking to the Beijing news under a pseudonym, said he had been driving toward the mine when the landslide pushed his vehicle into a ditch. "There are swollen bruises on my head and scratches on my hands," he said. Chinese President Xi Jinping has instructed authorities to "do everything possible to search for and rescue the missing people", state media reported Wednesday. Located in China's arid north, Alxa League -- which includes the Alxa Left Banner -- is a sparsely populated region whose economy runs largely on mining and other extractive industries. Mine safety in China has improved in recent decades, as has media coverage of major incidents, many of which were once overlooked. Accidents still occur frequently, however, in an industry where safety protocols are often lax, especially at the most rudimentary sites. Around 40 people were working underground when a gold mine in the northwestern Xinjiang region collapsed in December. In 2021, 20 miners were rescued from a flooded coal mine in northern Shanxi province, while two others died. Brussels, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Feb, 2023 ) :The European Commission has banned TikTok on official devices used by staff amid concerns over data protection, a spokesperson told AFP on Thursday. The ban also means European Commission staff cannot use the Chinese-owned video-sharing app on personal devices including phones that have official apps installed, the spokesperson said, confirming a report by news website Euractiv. Employees must remove the app as soon as possible and should do so by March 15. TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is Chinese, has faced increasing Western scrutiny in recent months over fears about how much access Beijing has to user data. The United States last year banned the app from Federal government devices, and some US lawmakers are trying to prohibit TikTok from operating in the United States. Last month, the Dutch government reportedly advised public officials to steer clear of the app over similar concerns. In November, TikTok admitted some staff in China can access the data of European users. TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew was in Brussels last month for talks with EU officials during which they warned TikTok to ensure the safety of European users' data. He insisted the company was working on a "robust" system for processing Europeans' data in Europe, an EU spokesman said at the time. TikTok has also promised to hold US users' data in the United States to allay Washington's concerns. The Columbus Police Department on Wednesday afternoon responded to a report at Columbus Middle School, 2200 26th St., of a student potentially having a weapon. A student made an initial report to a teacher about a potential weapon, according to CPD Capt. Doug Molczyk. Columbus police, in partnership with Columbus Middle School administration, investigated and no weapon was found. As a precaution, CMS was placed into a hold in place (students locked in classrooms, no one in halls and no one encouraged to come to CMS until the all clear is received). The hold in place was removed once it was determined there was no threat. Regular early Wednesday dismissal took place at 2:35 p.m. CPS parents and staff were notified about the incident and updates with voicemails and text messages. The police captain praised his officers and CMS administration for their efforts to ensure everyones safety. Columbus Public Schools did an excellent job in reporting the incident that was reported to them, and the Columbus Police Department responded in a timely fashion and was able to help resolve the issue, Molczyk said. Abuja, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Feb, 2023 ) :Nigerian tech entrepreneur Fred Oyetayo relocated to Britain last year, but the 29-year-old plans to fly back home to cast his vote in presidential elections on Saturday. "We all want change," he told AFP, blaming Nigeria's current and past leaders for the country's myriad problems, from a disastrous economy to the biggest security crisis in years. Despite the stream of grim developments in Africa's most populous nation, millions of energetic, creative, and successful young people are itching for the country to advance. Almost 40 percent of registered voters are under the age of 35 and many are hoping to finally trigger change by casting a ballot to replace President Muhammadu Buhari, who is stepping down after his two terms allowed by the constitution. "For the first time we have the usual terrible people and a good person," said 28-year-old Temidayo Oniosun who works in the space industry and has invested in dozens of early-stage startups. That "good" person according to the Lagos-based entrepreneur is 61-year-old Peter Obi, who represents the first credible challenge the country's main two parties have ever had. The ruling party's candidate is 70-year-old Bola Tinubu while the main opposition's candidate is 76-year-old Atiku Abubakar. Both are perceived by many as being corrupt though they have never been convicted of any charges and both deny any wrongdoing. Successful young professionals are not the only ones supporting Obi, who is also popular with students, a large pool of 26 million registered voters. On the campus of the University of Abuja in the capital, Brandon Okori and Daniel Ononaye are rushing to their political science class. "I am definitely voting (for) Obi," said 23-year-old Okori, while his friend Ononaye, 22, nods and adds: "Obi is not there for the money or the power, like the two others." A combination of factors have energised Nigeria's youth in these elections. For one, economic hardship has reached extreme levels, with months of university strikes and youth unemployment at more than 40 percent, leading to a rise in criminality. There is also a newfound belief that young people's voice matters, especially since youth-led protests erupted in late 2020. For the first time since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999, young people massively took to the streets across the country, demonstrating in a peaceful and organised way against police brutality and demanding better governance. The movement was violently repressed, revealing "the ruptured social contract between the Nigerian state and society," according to Leena Koni Hoffmann, a fellow at the British think tank Chatham House. Ramallah, Palestinian Territories, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Feb, 2023 ) :The lead Palestinian negotiator of the Oslo accords with Israel, Ahmed Qorei, who went on to serve as prime minister in the self-rule authority it created, has died aged 85. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas paid tribute to Qorei as an indefatigable "fighter" for the Palestinian cause after his death was announced by their ruling Fatah party. Better known at home under his nom de guerre Abu Alaa, Qorei rose to international prominence as the lead Palestinian negotiator in secret talks that led to the historic White House handshake between Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in September 1993. A banker by training, Qorei had previously been in charge of economic affairs within the Palestine Liberation Organisation, using his skills to boost its finances. After holding several ministerial posts in the fledgling Palestinian Authority, Qorei was elected speaker of parliament after the first Palestinian legislative elections in 1996. He retained that role until 2003 when he was named prime minister, replacing Abbas who had stepped down. When Arafat died in November 2004, Qorei served as interim president until Abbas was elected in January 2005. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said the austerity policy he had announced a day earlier would be enforced strictly and no laxity in that regard would be tolerated ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Feb, 2023 ) :Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said the austerity policy he had announced a day earlier would be enforced strictly and no laxity in that regard would be tolerated. The prime minister, chairing a meeting to review the implementation of the austerity policy, said the "historic" decisions made to promote austerity and simplicity would have a far-reaching impact that also got applause from the public. He directed the formation of a monitoring committee to oversee the implementation of the decisions. The committee would meet at least fortnightly. To be chaired by a cabinet member from a coalition party, the monitoring committee would comprise representation from all the allied parties. Other committee members would include Special Assistant to the PM Jahanzeb Khan, Principal Secretary to the PM and the Federal Finance Secretary. The prime minister said the austerity measures would help save national resources; however, effective outcomes depended on their full enforcement. Federal ministers Rana Tanveer Hussain and Tariq Bashir Cheema, Advisor Qamar Zaman Kaira, Minister of State Hashim Notezai, SAPM Jahanzeb Khan and relevant senior officers attended the meeting. (@Abdulla99267510) The approval has been given in accordance with Article 75 of the constitution. ISLAMABAD: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-Feb 23rd, 2023) President Arif Alvi has accorded approval to Finance Supplementary Bill 2023. The approval has been given in accordance with Article 75 of the constitution. The bill envisages additional taxes and duties of one hundred and seventy billion rupees to meet the understanding reached with the International Monetary Fund for the Extended Fund Facility. (@ChaudhryMAli88) PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Feb, 2023 ) :President, Dr Arif Alvi here Thursday underlined the need for creating mass awareness about non-communication diseases and active role of all stakeholders including political leadership and media in this regard. Addressing as a chief guest during the third international public health conference on "breaking the manacle: non- communicable diseases" here at Khyber Medical University (KMU), the President said that most of the diseases including cancer were non-communicable and if diagnosed and treated at an early stage could save precious lives. He said lung cancer was also curable if diagnosed timely and that late diagnoses and treatment could prove fatal. Dr Arif Alvi suggested that special programs should be aired and broadcast on media, especially during morning shows for public awareness about communicable and non-communicable diseases for a healthy and prosperous society. The President called for the implementation of the already existing health policies in letter and spirit to save many lives. "We have all the required policies but lacked implementation," he maintained. He said the rapidly increasing population was exerting extraordinary pressure on the economy and national resources, adding that nine million pregnancies were being reported annually in the country including about 50 percent unwanted pregnancies. Dr Alvi said that contraceptive techniques were being used in the world to control unwanted pregnancies and birth rates and suggested the use of such techniques here also to overcome the issue of overpopulation and poverty with a view to creating a balance between economic resources and population. The President observed that wangling among political forces would hardly serve any purpose rather focus should be made on the resolution to the issues of national priority. Dr Arif Alvi advised the doctors' community to do intellectual exercises and convincing of their patients during the treatment process for a healthy and prosperous society. Earlier, the President was warmly welcomed upon reaching to the venue and was briefed about the objectives of the international conference. The conference was attended by national and international doctors, health experts, scholars, faculty members of KMU and students. US President Joe Biden will meet virtually with Group of Seven (G7) leaders and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday morning to discuss continued support for Ukraine, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd February, 2023) US President Joe Biden will meet virtually with Group of Seven (G7) leaders and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday morning to discuss continued support for Ukraine, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday. "Tomorrow morning, President Biden will gather with G7 leaders and President Zelenskyy for a virtual meeting to continue coordinating our efforts to support Ukraine and hold Russia accountable for its war," Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing. The United States and G7 nations on Friday are also set to release a new round of sanctions on Russia, focused on addressing alleged sanctions evasion. The actions come on the one-year anniversary of the launch of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine. (@FahadShabbir) The United States wants to avoid making any moves that could cause a wider conflagration in the conflict in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursda WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd February, 2023) The United States wants to avoid making any moves that could cause a wider conflagration in the conflict in Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday. "President (Joe) Biden has been very clear from the start that our support for Ukraine is fundamental, that we're with him (Volodymyr Zelenskyy) for as long as it takes. but we also don't want to broaden this war and certainly do anything to create a wider conflagration," Blinken said during a virtual discussion hosted by The Atlantic. Blinken added that so far the United States has taken some risky steps that at some point were a concern of potentially escalating the Ukraine conflict but have not proven to be so far. The United States held off on providing Ukraine with US modern tanks to use amid Russia's special military operation over concerns it would escalate the conflict, but Biden gave the green light earlier this year. Kiev has long been asking the US and other NATO allies for F-16 fighter jets to use against Russia. Politico reported in January, citing sources, that a group of US military officials was quietly lobbying for the delivery of F-16s to Kiev and that it was gathering momentum in the US Defense Department amid Ukraine's preparations for a planned offensive this spring. In January, Biden said "no" when asked whether the United States was considering sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd February, 2023) A military aircraft crashed in Russia's Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Thursday, adding that an investigation team and employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are working on the ground. "In the Valuysky urban district, a (Russian) Defense Ministry plane crashed. An investigation team and employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are currently working on the ground. The reason for the incident is being investigated. The situation is under control," Gladkov wrote on Telegram. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Thursday during a visit to Kyiv that he hoped to send ten Leopard tanks to Ukraine in the coming months Kyiv, Ukraine, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Feb, 2023 ) :Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Thursday during a visit to Kyiv that he hoped to send ten Leopard tanks to Ukraine in the coming months. Speaking to reporters alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Sanchez said Spain was sending six Leopard tanks now and hoped to send four later. "Our intention is to see if we can bring this to a total of ten in the weeks and months to come," he said. Zelensky praised the Spanish prime minister for visiting the war-torn country for a second time since Russia invaded it in February last year. "I hope that this start of Ukrainian-Spanish cooperation will be followed by other decisions that will allow us to liberate our homeland as soon as possible," he said. "Ukrainian soldiers are already learning how to operate these (Leopard) tanks in Spain," Zelensky added. The Spanish prime minister's visit came shortly after US President Joe Biden made a surprise trip to Kyiv on Monday and a day later, Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also visited Ukraine. On Wednesday, Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles confirmed that Madrid would send six of its German-made Leopard tanks to bolster Ukraine's fight. As for the aviation support that Ukraine has been requesting for months, Sanchez said he would discuss the issue with other Western nations. "Obviously it's something that we will have to discuss with our allies both at NATO and at European level," he said in Kyiv. "This is not just about Ukrainian security, this is about European and global security," Sanchez said, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin "has given us daily reminders of why we support Ukraine". (@FahadShabbir) MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd February, 2023) Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez arrived in Kiev on Thursday to hold a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, media reported. The Spanish prime minister was received by Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Perebyinis, Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne reported. As part of his trip, Sanchez is scheduled to visit the cities of Irpin and Bucha, the report said. On Wednesday, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles said that Madrid would transfer six Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and could send more if required by the situation. Western countries, including numerous European nations, ramped up their military support for Ukraine after Russia launched a special military operation there on February 24, 2022. In December, Kiev said it hoped to receive tanks from Western countries in 2023. In February, Ukraine's government also started negotiations with its allies on the supply of longer-range missiles and jets to prepare for a counter-offensive. The Kremlin has repeatedly warned against further escalation that could lead to the direct involvement of the United States and NATO in the conflict. The Federal Aviation Administration lists 7,724 Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award recipients since the honors creation in 2003. On March 28, retired U.S. Army Col. Martin Kleiner of Carlisle will join that list. Named after aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright, who are known for creating and flying the first successful motor-operated plane, the award recognizes pilots who have practiced safe flight operations continuously for at least 50 years. Kleiner was drafted into the U.S. Army from Houston, Texas, in 1966. Two years later, he served as an assault/attack helicopter pilot with the 116th Assault Helicopter Company in the Republic of Vietnam. In May 1969, Kleiner was wounded in action. After recovering, he returned to Vietnam for a 12-month tour. Kleiner was assigned to the Military District of Washington in 1978 and served as commander of the Rotary Wing Priority Air Transport Division at Davison Army Airfield. He remained on active duty for the next decade, travelling to New Jersey, Arizona and Germany. In 1992, Kleiner retired from the Army after 26 years. He and his wife, Carolyn, moved to Hampden, Virginia, until 1998 when she returned to active duty with the Active Guard and Reserve program, taking them to places like Connecticut, New Jersey, Hawaii and California. Kleiner was inducted into the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame in 2000. About 20 years later, Carolyn also was inducted, making them the first married couple to have both been inducted. Carolyn retired in 2012 from her last assignment as a faculty member of the U.S. Army War Colleges Strategic Studies Institute and the couple settled in Carlisle. As retirees, the Kleiners spend their time constructing houses in Sebring, Florida, for Habitat for Humanity and supporting Project SHARE. Kleiner has received two awards of the Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Bronze Star Medals, two Purple Hearts, four Meritorious Service Medals, 27 Air Medals including the V device, an Army Commendation Medal, an Army Good Conduct Medal and the Parachute Badge. He said a good friend and fellow pilot and submitted him for the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, a process that requires letters from three other FAA certified pilots endorsing the nomination along with background information. An award presentation will take place at 2 p.m. March 28 at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center, 950 Soldiers Drive in Middlesex Township. The Sentinel spoke with Kleiner as he prepares to accept the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award next month for a look at his career and what the recognition means to him: Q1: What does this award mean to you? A: It means a lot in the sense that I have friends/fellow pilots that are thoughtful enough to recommend me for the award and take the time to do the paperwork and coordinate with the FAA and ensure that everything was in order. Q2: Did you always know you wanted to be a pilot? If so, what has it been like for you to achieve that dream? If not, what made you decide to become a pilot? A: I have dreamt of flying as long as I can remember. I did not think that becoming a pilot was within my reach as I was growing up, but the Army provided me with the opportunity to be all you can be and it turned out that I had the knowledge, skills and abilities to achieve that dream. Q3: Can you describe in detail what a typical day looked like for you as a pilot? A: For an Army aviator there is no such thing as a typical day, particularly in combat. Many days were spent flying helicopter gunships, firing rockets and machine guns in support of the infantry on the ground. Other days were spent rescuing aircrews that had been shot down by enemy fire. Another day might consist of exercising command and control of large-scale aviation operations or something as mundane as flying food and ammunition to outlying combat posts. In the peacetime U.S. I have flown many VIPs to include the Queen of Thailand and the chiefs of staff of the Army and other services as well as research and development flights for new equipment. Q4: What were the most challenging piloting and aviation operations skills for you to learn and why? A: Combat flying where you might be in a formation of 10 or more helicopters with spacing only a couple of meters apart, rotor blade tips moving at 600 mph, making a descent at 1,500 feet per minute and coming to an abrupt stop in a landing zone, while being shot at. Any inattention or error can be fatal, not only to you, but also your crew and passengers. Most of us that were doing this were 21 years old or younger. Q5: What are the most rewarding aspects of your career and how has serving as a pilot impacted your outlook on life? A: Clearly, saving other peoples lives, particularly in combat. On a strictly personal basis, simply enjoying the freedom of being able to move about the earth in three dimensions, turning and soaring like a bird, overcoming gravity and knowing that I am doing something that few people have the opportunity to experience. 2023 #APhotoADay in Cumberland County Dozens of miles inland from the English Channel, the Seine River port of Rouen is bustling with shipments of wheat, barley and other grains, a boom fuelled by the Russian chokehold on Ukraine's agriculture exports Rouen, France, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Feb, 2023 ) :Dozens of miles inland from the English Channel, the Seine River port of Rouen is bustling with shipments of wheat, barley and other grains, a boom fuelled by the Russian chokehold on Ukraine's agriculture exports. Moscow's invasion has forced countries worldwide to find other sources for essential cereals, propelling France to the world's fourth-largest exporter of wheat -- and making Rouen and its 18,000 workers a key player in the global market. "We've had unusual destinations such as Pakistan, Iran, India and Saudi Arabia. And countries like Algeria, which had shifted toward the Black Sea, have come back," said Manuel Gaborieau, head of cereals development at Haropa Port, which manages Rouen as well as the ports of Le Havre and Paris. Rouen, the biggest cereals port in Western Europe, saw record loadings of five million tonnes in the first half of 2022, usually the low point of the year, after Ukraine was attacked last February, he said. The port has a long history as a trading hub, but grains came to prominence only in the 1960s when producers built the first silos at the site. It now houses six grain terminals capable of storing 900,000 tonnes, and up to 110,000 tonnes can be loaded onto ships in a day. "In Europe, only the Romanian port of Constanta has this level of capacity," Gaborieau said. "Our huge advantage is being right next to the biggest grain producing region of France," said Alain Charvillat, export director at Senalia, the largest cereals operator at the port. The United States is going to target Chinese companies as part of a new sanctions package on Russia that is scheduled to be announced on Friday on the one-year anniversary of Russia's special military operation, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said on Thursday WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd February, 2023) The United States is going to target Chinese companies as part of a new sanctions package on Russia that is scheduled to be announced on Friday on the one-year anniversary of Russia's special military operation, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said on Thursday. "We have already made clear that we are prepared to sanction Chinese companies. We've done it already. There will be in the sanctions packages that we will be announcing tomorrow, on the one-year anniversary of the war. We will also be putting other constraints on entities, Chinese based or Chinese subs of entities in Europe, which we think are active in evading sanctions," Nuland said during a virtual discussion organized by The Washington Post. Yerevan expects Baku to take concrete steps to ensure unhindered movement through the Lachin corridor, the only road linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, as prescribed by the decision of the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ), Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday YEREVAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd February, 2023) Yerevan expects Baku to take concrete steps to ensure unhindered movement through the Lachin corridor, the only road linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, as prescribed by the decision of the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ), Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday. The ICJ ruled on Wednesday that Azerbaijan must "take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions." "As for the obligation established by the court to open the Lachin corridor, I would like to emphasize that Azerbaijan should make visible efforts and take measures to open the Lachin corridor," Pashinyan said at a government meeting. The prime minister added that in its first step, the Azerbaijani government could appeal to the environmental activists, alleged culprits of the road blockade, with a demand that they open the corridor. "In any case, the lack of specific actions on the opening of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan can and should lead to specific international consequences," Pashinyan added. Since December 12, 2022, the Lachin corridor, which runs through the Lachin district of Azerbaijan to link Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, has been blocked by a group of people from Azerbaijan described by Baku as environmental activists protesting alleged Armenian illegal mining in the area. Pashinyan has repeatedly said that the corridor's blockade violates the ceasefire declaration brokered by Russia between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020. The document delegated control of the Lachin corridor to Russian peacekeepers deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh. In late December 2022, Pashinyan alleged that the peacekeepers did not fulfill their obligations, a claim that was dismissed by Moscow. USM Marketing Student Earns Prestigious Lilly Sales Internship Wed, 02/22/2023 - 04:38pm | By: Van Arnold Madison Calkins, a marketing student at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM), has been selected for the prestigious Eli Lilly Sales Internship program to begin this summer. The internship is a 10-week program designed to give students real world experience in pharmaceutical sales. The internship consists of sales training at Lilly Corporate Headquarters in Indianapolis, IN and field-based training in an assigned territory. Calkins, a junior from Daphne, Ala., is pursuing a BSBA in marketing with a minor in social media content and strategy. She is also studying to obtain a professional selling certificate. I am so honored to have been chosen as a Lilly intern, and I cannot wait to learn the ins and outs of their company alongside other interns from across the country, said Calkins. The opportunity to work with such a respectable company is incredibly exciting, and I look forward to representing Southern Miss Business this summer. Calkins is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the Cintas Business Student Ambassadors, Order of Omega, American Marketing Association, and Chi Omega Fraternity. She currently serves as the College of Business and Economic Development Deans Office marketing intern and the College Panhellenic Councils Vice President of Recruitment. Kelli King, Assistant Teaching Professor and Program Coordinator for the Healthcare Marketing program at USM, expressed pride in Calkins achievement as well as previous USM students who have participated in the Lilly Sales Internship. The professional experience the Lilly internship provides is invaluable to students with interests in the pharmaceutical industry. I have no doubt Madison will be successful in this internship, said King. Internships are the primary entry point into a sales career at Lilly, with many interns receiving full-time offers. As a new sales team member, interns will sell across multiple disease focus areas, while choosing a unique career path that suits their interests and skills. The experience includes: Promoting Lillys products to health care professionals Conducting analyses on product and market trends Developing and executing territory business plans Coordinating efforts with territory partners in a team environment Eli Lilly and Company is an American pharmaceutical company headquartered in Indianapolis, IN, with offices in 18 countries. Its products are sold in approximately 125 countries. The company was founded in 1876 by, and named after, Colonel Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical chemist and veteran of the American Civil War. USM Theatre Students Receive Accolades at 2023 KCACTF Thu, 02/23/2023 - 01:15pm | By: Ivonne Kawas Students from The University of Southern Mississippi (USM)s School of Performing and Visual Arts receive accolades after competing with other nominees from throughout the Southeast region at the 2023 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival - Region IV (KCACTF) held this month at the campus of Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga. Acting competition participants and MFA in Theatre Performance candidates, Petron Brown, a native of the Bahamas and Abigail Anderson, a native of Hattiesburg, Miss., were selected as finalists in the coveted Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition. They performed with acting partners Kevin Thiel and Mark Swift, respectively. USM students also received several honors and awards for their work in performances from last season in some of the most popular categories, including: Hagan Harkins, a native of Slidell, La., was recognized as a national finalist (first place) for her projection design for She Kills Monsters; Shelby Ashley, a native of Hattiesburg, Miss., is the recipient of the Student Choice Award for her lighting design for The Addams Family; Jailan Patterson, a native of Pearl, Miss., is the recipient of the Heart of the Art Award for her makeup designs for She Kills Monsters; and Georgia Leming, a native of Thompsons Station, Tenn., was among the top 5 finalists in the Musical Theatre Initiative. The KCACTF boasts contestants from a diverse range of fields in theatre and puts students in a competition that celebrates the highest caliber of work produced in university and college theatre programs. In addition to performances showcasing the outstanding work of the region, each Regional Festival features a wide range of professional development opportunities in all areas of theater that our students were able to participate in. Its a joy each year to have our students recognized for their superlative work among others from around the region, and it highlights both their talent as well as the top-notch training they are receiving here at USM, said Dr. David Coley, assistant professor of theatre. The preliminary round for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition consisted of performing two short monologues on video. Once the students arrived at the festival, they announced the thirty-six individuals who would be moving on to the semi-final round in which they performed one monologue and one scene with an acting partner of their choice. Sixteen actors participated in the final round in which they performed two monologues and a scene. Anderson says being among the finalists was gratifying, It is very rewarding to be recognized for doing something you truly love, and it means a lot to me to represent our USM Theatre program because I have gained so much from this training. Harkins, a Theatre and Computer Science major, shares her excitement for the new projection design category, as it recognizes the work of those who assist as projection technicians. At last year's festival, projections were just a part of an allied category. Im beyond thrilled to be one of the first national finalists in this new category, on top of being a woman in tech, said Harkins. I often feel like much of what I do isn't always the easiest to quantify, so having people respond to my work and recognize that what I do matters is so gratifying. Additionally, I enjoyed being able to use elements of game design and computing to bring my projections to life. Ashley, a second-year MFA Design and Technology candidate with a specialization in lightning, recalls her experience of working on The Addams Family and notes how she enjoys making connections at the festival. I have always enjoyed how KCACTF allows us to deepen our friendships with those we come with, and the new friends we may make there, said Ashley. It was an honor to win the Student Choice Award, as The Addams Family was my first musical production ever. Ashley notes it has been her most difficult show to date and at the same time the most rewarding, It was an extremely strenuous process that took many days to cue. All of the LED programming such as effects, color matching, and work with our moving lights, were all self-taught! Although this was my most difficult show to date, it was by far the most rewarding design I have had the privilege to make. As I approach my final year at USM, for my thesis project, I will be the lighting designer for Into the Woods. Learn more about the Theatre program at USM. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Azerbaijan on February 27-28, spokesperson of the ministry Maria Zakharova said. According to Azernews, the Russian diplomat pointed out that the trip will coincide with the first anniversary of the signing of the declaration on "Allied Interaction between Azerbaijan and Russia" on February 22, 2022. During the visit, Lavrov will meet up with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov. Besides, he plans to review the aspects of bilateral cooperation, as well as critical regional and international issues. On the second day of the visit, the Russian minister will speak at the plenary session of the Russian-Azerbaijani expert council. The sides will pay special attention to the implementation of the trilateral agreements between Russia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia dated November 10, 2020, January 11, and November 26, 2021, as well as October 31, 2022. "These documents remain the most important element in ensuring the normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations. They should contribute to the transformation of the South Caucasus into a place of peace, stability, and prosperity," the spokesperson said. The declaration on "Allied Interaction between Azerbaijan and Russia" aims to raise Azerbaijan-Russia bilateral relations to a qualitatively new level - that of allied relations. The parties agree to promote cooperation in the political, economic, defense, cultural, humanitarian, educational, and social spheres, as well as healthcare, youth cooperation, and sports, based on mutual historical traditions of friendship and good neighborliness, as well as deep cultural and humanitarian ties. A New York man was sentenced this week in Cumberland County after pleading guilty in January to one count of ethnic intimidation after antisemitic stickers were left at the Asbell Center for Jewish Life on the campus of Dickinson College last year. According to court documents, Judge Matt Smith ordered Frank Petronio to serve a year of probation, have no contact with the Asbell Center for Jewish Life, to not be on the premises of Dickinson College, and attend a cultural awareness course. Police said video showed Petronio of New York placing stickers with inflammatory and intimidating messages on the Jewish Life buildings windows and doors on Jan. 23, 2022. Petronio pled guilty to the charge on Jan. 3. Misdemeanor charges for harassment and disorderly conduct were dismissed at sentencing Tuesday. The incident was investigated by the Carlisle Police Department and Dickinson Public Safety. Carnegie Mellon University and the Norman and Ruth Rales Foundation, named for a home-building supplies entrepreneur and his wife who built their fortune despite early struggles, hope a $150 million initiative will support a new generation of students trying to achieve that American dream. The foundation pledged $116 million Wednesday, in addition to $34 million from the university, to endow scholarships for graduate students studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics from groups underrepresented in the fields, including racial minorities, women and first-generation college students. Besides covering tuition, the scholarships include a stipend even for Masters students dedicated faculty and other mentoring and career support for 86 students starting in 2024 at the Pittsburgh-based university. Both my parents believed deeply in creating more opportunity and social mobility for others, just as they had in their lives and paying it forward, paying for their success, said Josh Rales, president and trustee of the foundation, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C. The gift represents more than half of the foundations assets which were listed at $221 million in 2020 tax data. It has funded education and scholarships previously, with annual grant disbursements between $6-8 million in recent years, but had not made a gift to Carnegie Mellon before. Josh Rales and his brothers, Mitchell and Steven, who founded the life sciences conglomerate Danaher Corp., first started talking with CMU president Farnam Jahanian in the spring of 2021. In 2010, Danaher acquired a company Jahanian co-founded, but they were reintroduced by a CMU trustee, Jahanian said. We felt strongly, not only this is an important issue that the country needs to tackle because of its implication for our economic prosperity, for our global competitiveness, as well as our national security, Jahanian said. But its also very much aligned with the mission of the university to educate the next generation and provide access and opportunity for everyone. The foundations interest in funding the program came in part from Mitchell and Stevens experience hiring for their company and seeing a need for more diverse voices in STEM fields, Josh Rales said. U.S. citizens and permanent residents, but not international students, will be eligible for the program, and the university will work with the Ron Brown Scholar Program, which grants scholarships to African American students, to identify candidates, among other recruitment efforts. Student debt from undergraduate degrees, as well as delayed entrance into the workforce, are major reasons racial minorities and first-generation college students do not pursue graduate studies in STEM, Jahanian said. That helped lead him to support providing stipends to all students in the program. If we didnt make them available to also Masters students, we would miss the opportunity to really move the needle in this case, he said. Beyond the financial barriers, Black and Native American students specifically may also be stereotyped and underestimated by professors and institutions, said Ebony McGee, a professor of education at Vanderbilt University, who wrote Black, Brown, Bruised: How Racialized STEM Education Stifles Innovation. Programs that broadly recruit from all underrepresented groups not specifically Black students, who along with Latinos are underrepresented among higher degrees in STEM wont reach the most marginalized populations, McGee said. She also urged universities recruiting Black students to STEM to provide professors with training on how to mentor them, because many advise students that if they work hard enough, people wont notice their race or gender. Just take as many STEM everything, do all the internships, make sure you have the right grades and your race or your gender doesnt matter, said McGee, adding that its a disservice to those students. You cant just pretend that race or gender or the intersection of it is not there. Thats the first thing people see when they look at you and they stereotype you because of that. Josh Rales, who has worked full time with the foundation since 2014, said it was humbling to try to make an impact in this field because the scale of need was so large but that as a result, they had decided to make fewer, bigger bets. Every day when he walks into the foundations offices, he said, he sees a photo of his parents hanging on the wall, which he sees as a reminder that, We better do a very good job because their name is on the line. The Pentagon reacts to Russias suspension of the New Start Treaty. A visit with NATO pilots in Romania, a pro-Ukraine rally in Australia and Russian naval exercises off the coast of South Africa. Plus we visit the site where alleged Russian war crimes shocked the world. Show more Show less Indonesia resumes gas exploration in the disputed South China Sea. Welcome to VOA Asia Weekly. I'm Chris Casquejo in Washington. That story is just ahead, but first, making headlines. One day after visiting the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, U.S. President Joe Biden delivered a speech from the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday, marking the one-year anniversary of Russias invasion by highlighting how the United States has unified NATO and the West in support of Ukraine. Russia and China showcased their deepening ties Wednesday in a series of meetings. Speaking at the start of talks with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, Russian President Vladimir Putin hailed ties between the two countries and added that the Kremlin expects Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Russia. North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles Monday morning in what it quickly made clear was retaliation for the United States joint aerial drills with South Korea. North Korean state media said a multiple rocket launching drill from the western front had sent two 600-millimeter rockets at targets 395 kilometers and 337 kilometers to the east. The United States, South Korea, and Japan on Wednesday held a trilateral missile defense exercise in the international waters off South Korea's east coast. Three Aegis-equipped destroyers from the US Navy, South Korean Navy, and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force took part in the drills held in the East Sea, which is known in Japan as the Sea of Japan. Taiwans president Tsai Ing-wen said Tuesday the self-ruled island will deepen its military ties with the United States. U.S. Representative Ro Khanna, part of the bipartisan group of lawmakers visiting Taiwan, told President Tsai the delegation is in Taiwan to affirm the shared values between the U.S. and Taiwan a commitment to democracy, a commitment to freedom. The countries of Southeast Asia have long maintained a fragile balance between resisting Chinas expansive claims in the South China Sea and maintaining good trade ties. But several, including Indonesia, are now standing firm in resisting those claims, as VOAs Ahadian Utama reports from Jakarta. Indonesia has approved an initial plan for the development of the Tuna Block gas field located in waters off its Natuna Islands. Its the same area where drilling in late 2021 led to a protest from China. Jakarta halted exploration then, but it isnt backing down now. "The gas drilling in the Natuna area by Indonesia is a clear sign that Natuna is Indonesian territory. The Natuna Islands themselves, off the coast of Indonesias Borneo, are Indonesian territory. But the waters about 200 miles away, where the Tuna Block is situated in the North Natuna Sea, is a source of contention. Indonesia considers it also part of its exclusive economic zone, based on the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS. But China includes it in its expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea, claims largely rejected by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague in 2016. Regarding Indonesia's activities in its national sea area, its based on the international maritime law, and Indonesia's position is that we do not have a dispute with any country that claims the South China Sea territory. The resumption of gas exploration could be seen as an escalation of tensions between Southeast Asias largest nation and China. In December, tensions were already high when Indonesia and Vietnam finalized the boundaries of their exclusive economic zones, prompting Beijing to send its coast guard near the Tuna Block and Vietnams nearby Chim Sao gas field. That move led Indonesia to send a warship to the North Natuna Sea. "If they catch fish or carry out exploration or exploitation of marine resources, that is prohibited. It must be licensed by the Indonesian government. If they are just passing by, that's allowed." The Indonesian Navy has now deployed five warships and a naval patrol plane to monitor the North Natuna Sea, which like many waters in the Indo Pacific, has also seen fishing activity from Chinese vessels, accompanied by the countrys coast guard. From Jakarta, Indonesia, Ahadian Utama, VOA News. Finally, a Japan-born giant panda set off for China on Tuesday from the Tokyo zoo where she was raised. About 60,000 people applied for 2,600 spots to see 6-year-old Xiang Xiang on Sunday on her last viewing day. Giant pandas are loaned to zoos around the world but China maintains ownership of them and their offspring. Visit voanews.com for the most up-to-date stories. Thats all the time we have here on VOA Asia Weekly. Thank you so much for joining us. Im Chris Casquejo. Please be sure to tune in again next week. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg toured the wreckage Thursday of this month's Ohio train derailment and toxic spill, and he urged freight rail companies not to stand in the way of tougher safety regulations. In a preliminary report, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the train engineer applied brakes as soon as an alarm rang on February 3 to warn of an overheated axle on the Norfolk Southern train. It said "defect detectors" showed the axle starting to heat up about 48 kilometers from the derailment site, but not to levels that would have triggered the audible alarm to warn the train engineer that far away. The NTSB said its investigation was focusing on the possibility that an overheated wheelset and bearing on a car triggered the derailment, prompting the evacuation of thousands of people and igniting health concerns. Wearing a hard hat and orange safety vest to the derailment site in East Palestine, Buttigieg met with NTSB staff and called on both Congress and the rail industry to work to increase rail safety. "Norfolk Southern and the other freight rail companies need to stop fighting us every time we try to do a regulation," Buttigieg told reporters. There was no immediate response from Norfolk Southern, whose chief executive apologized Wednesday at a CNN town hall event that highlighted residents' concerns about soil and ground water contamination. The rail industry says 99.9% of all hazardous material shipments reach their destination without incident and the hazmat accident rate has declined by 55% since 2012. Some rail safety requirements were withdrawn under Republican former President Donald Trump. Some Republican critics of the East Palestine response who previously opposed rail regulations have now expressed openness to new rules. The Biden administration had been criticized for not having made a high-level visit sooner, and Buttigieg said he did not want to make an earlier visit that might have impeded the emergency response. President Joe Biden and Buttigieg are both Democrats. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan visited East Palestine earlier this week. The NTSB was due to hold an afternoon news conference to further detail its initial findings. The NTSB also said it was investigating whether pressure relief valves on train cars carrying the toxic chemical vinyl chloride functioned properly following the wreck and subsequent fire. Experts had said that if those relief valves had functioned properly, authorities may not have needed to drain upward of 1.1 million pounds of vinyl chloride from cars and purposefully set it ablaze, heavily contaminating the environment. The NTSB said investigators were looking at how the defect detection system worked and whether the system might have alerted the train engineer to the train's problems earlier. Biden and his administration have said the company must pay for the damage and clean-up efforts, and the EPA ordered company officials to attend town hall events after executives failed to attend an earlier meeting. Buttigieg had said he would push major railroads to improve safety and seek bipartisan support in Congress to raise the cap on fines against railroads for violating safety regulations. Trump, who is campaigning for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, visited the area on Wednesday and criticized the Biden administration. East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway, appearing on Thursday with Trump ally Rudy Giuliani, told reporters that anybody was welcome in his town "as long as they're going to help our community ... no matter whether they're a Democrat or Republican." Ukrainian marine Artem Dyblenko spent more than four months as a Russian prisoner of war. On Wednesday, he appealed to the international community to help bring home the thousands of soldiers and non-combatants who remain in captivity and seek justice for all who have suffered human rights violations at the hands of Russia since its invasion of Ukraine nearly one year ago. "I was 125 days in Russian captivity; this is about 3,000 hours," Dyblenko, who was twice decorated for bravery, told a special meeting organized by Ukraine at the United Nations to discuss gross human rights violations caused by Russias war. "Three thousand hours of physical, moral, and psychological abuse," he said. "Three thousand hours of Russian hell." Illia Samoilenko was the deputy commander of the National Guards of Azov. In the place of the young, bearded officers left hand is a metal prosthetic. He said his men fought for 86 days defending Mariupol. He was also captured, and said he is often asked what Russian captivity was like. "Have you ever seen the movies about Gulag? Just imagine that, but worse," Samoilenko said. Dyblenko, the marine, who also served in the besieged southern city of Mariupol and later the ill-fated Azovstal steel plant, displayed a photo of his emaciated body when he was released a few months ago. He said no words could convey the horrors that happened to the prisoners of war. "Today, I am looking for justice in this building," Dyblenko said. His appeal followed a video message to the meeting from Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska, who asked for justice. "Justice for Ukraine is justice for the entire world," she said. "Thats why we call on the United Nations to establish a special tribunal for the crimes of Russian aggression. Its not only us who need it. We need that for everyone, so it will never be repeated again." Tens of thousands of allegations Ukraines prosecutor general so far has opened more than 60,000 investigations of suspected human rights violations since Russia invaded on February 24, 2022, and the list continues to grow. Russia, which has sought to justify the invasion of Ukraine by accusing Ukraine of carrying out genocide in eastern Ukraine, has questioned the proposed tribunals legitimacy. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the suspected crimes include forcible deportation, filtration camps, enforced disappearances, torture, summary executions, sexual violence and attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure. "But the most deplorable crime is the forcible transfers and deportations of Ukrainian children to Russia away from their families and caregivers," Kuleba told the meeting. "Hundreds of orphans and children without parental care were given to Russian families for adoption." He said 16,000 children have been sent to Russia or to the occupied Ukrainian territories. Kuleba warned that crimes recur when perpetrators feel they can get away with it. He said the only cure for Russian crimes is justice. "The accounts that we have seen fortify the conclusion, manifestly and ever more vividly, we are certain that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Rome Statue crimes appear to have been committed in Ukraine," Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, told the meeting during a remote briefing. The Rome Statute created the court in 2002 to deal with the most heinous crimes, including crimes against humanity and genocide. 'The evidence is overwhelming' This week and last, the United States said it believes Russian forces have committed crimes against humanity in Ukraine. "This is not a determination we make lightly, but in this case, the evidence is overwhelming," U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said. According to Ihor Sybiga, a former Ukrainian diplomat who now works for the government assisting prisoners of war and their families, Kyiv has gained the release of almost 2,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war, of whom 107 were civilians and 180 were women. The head of the International Committee of the Red Crosss delegation to the U.N. said all prisoners of war are entitled to receive regular visits from ICRC representatives. There have been some visits, but they need unimpeded, private access to prisoners. "For the thousands of people that we have not visited yet, we also want to shed light on their right to receive such visits for us to assess their condition and treatment, to share awaited news to their families and also to provide essential assistance," said Laetitia Courtois, ICRCs permanent observer to the U.N. "Thousands of lives of Ukrainian prisoners of war are under threat every day, every minute," said Nataliya Husak, the wife of a Ukrainian POW. "We live in constant stress every second. We worry and fear about the lives of our defenders children, husbands, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters." She said families are not accorded their rights under the Geneva Conventions and they lack information about the health and conditions of the detention of their loved ones. "Please save the lives of our dearest relatives," Husak said, choking back tears. A central Florida television journalist and a girl were fatally shot Wednesday afternoon near the scene of a fatal shooting from earlier in the day, authorities said. Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a news conference Wednesday evening that they've detained Keith Melvin Moses, 19, in connection to both shootings in the Orlando-area neighborhood. Besides the Spectrum News 13 journalist and the 9-year-old girl, a TV crewmember and the girl's mother were wounded during the second shooting. They were in critical condition at a local hospital. "I want to acknowledge what a horrible day this has been for our community and our media partners," Mina told a room full of reporters. "I work closely with all of you and know many of you and know the very difficult job that you do and also the very important job that you do for our community and for law enforcement. No one in our community not a mother, not a 9-year-old and certainly not news professionals should become the victim of gun violence in our community." Mina said they don't immediately have a motive for any of the shootings. "So, the suspect is not saying much right now," Mina said. "It is unclear if he knew they were news media or not. We're still trying to work all that out." Mina said the News 13 vehicle did not look like a typical news van with TV station markings. Deputies had initially responded to the Pine Hills area, just northwest of Orlando, on Wednesday morning following reports of a woman in her 20s being shot. Moses "was an acquaintance of the woman this morning, but as far as we know, had no connection to the reporters and no connection to the mother and the 9-year-old," Mina said. According to witnesses, a man approached the news vehicle later Wednesday and opened fire, hitting the two reporters. The man then walked to a nearby home and shot the mother and daughter. WFTV crews, who were also reporting on the morning shooting, tried to give medical aid to the Spectrum 13 journalists. Mina said Moses is already facing a murder charge for the initial victim, and charges are expected soon for the other four victims. Moses' criminal history includes gun charges, as well as aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and grand theft offenses, the sheriff said. "Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Twitter. Spectrum News 13 was not identifying the crew members who were involved in the shooting, according to a story on the TV station's website. "Please, please, say a prayer tonight for our coworker who is in critical condition. And while you're at it, please say a prayer for every victim of gun violence in this country," Spectrum 13 journalist Celeste Springer said during her live on-air report. Worldwide 40 journalists were reported killed last year, plus another two this year before Wednesday, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Only one of those was in the United States. Jeff German, who covered politics and corruption for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, was found dead outside his home with multiple stab wounds in September. Former Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles has been charged with murder in the case. In 2015, Virginia reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were shot and killed during their live TV broadcast for CBS affiliate WDBJ7. The suspect, a former reporter for the TV station, died by suicide during the law enforcement search for him. As Russian tanks rolled into eastern Ukraine a year ago, millions of Ukrainians fled to Poland. Many came by foot through the Medyka border crossing where aid agencies mounted a huge emergency response. Twelve months on, VOAs Henry Ridgwell returned to Medyka to see what has changed and how authorities are preparing for a possible new wave of refugees. Camera: Henry Ridgwell A visit this week by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Oman and a meeting in Damascus last week with the UAE foreign minister are seen by observers as a new push by some Arab countries to bring an isolated Syrian government back into regional and international politics. Assad's visit Monday to Oman was his first official trip to the Gulf country in more than a decade. Most Arab countries severed ties with Assad's government in 2011 following its brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters. But the devastating earthquake that hit parts of Turkey and Syria on February 6 could be an opportunity for the Syrian government to reestablish relations with some countries in the region, analysts say. In the wake of the earthquake, many Arab countries, particularly wealthy Gulf nations, rushed to provide humanitarian assistance to Syria. "'Earthquake diplomacy' will likely serve to accelerate the Syrian regime's reintegration into the Arab world's diplomatic fold," said Giorgio Cafiero, CEO of Gulf State Analytics, a Washington-based geopolitical risk consultancy. While some Arab countries such as the UAE and Bahrain have restored ties with the Syrian government in recent years, they have not been able to establish full-fledged relations as the conflict in Syria remains locked in stalemate. "Regional players like the UAE, Oman, Algeria, which have been opposed to efforts aimed at isolating Damascus will make the argument that easing such isolation is necessary for addressing the humanitarian crises that Syrians are suffering in the aftermath of this horrific disaster," Cafiero told VOA. He added that Assad's visit to Oman, and last year to UAE, would make it less controversial for other Arab governments to host the Syrian leader. "Assad's regime will achieve major breakthroughs when Saudi Arabia renormalizes relations with Syria, and Damascus returns to the Arab League," Cafiero said. "Both of those developments will possibly, perhaps likely, occur in 2023." Saudi Arabia, a major power in the Middle East, has opposed the Syrian government throughout the country's civil war, particularly for its close alliance with Saudi's regional archrival Iran. But over the weekend, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said the Arab world was looking for a new approach to Syria to respond effectively to that country's humanitarian crises, including the recent earthquake. "The status quo is not working," bin Farhan told the Munich Security Conference. "We need to find some other approach." "What that approach is, is still being formulated," he added. Seth Frantzman, director of the Middle East Center for Reporting and Analysis, said Syria's outreach to the Gulf is particularly important for accessing potential financial support to rebuild Syria in the wake of the war and earthquake. "The Gulf states, such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have already played a key role in supporting Egypt economically," he told VOA. "Support for Syria will ostensibly come with a view that Damascus should reorient itself to integration with the Arab states, including Jordan, Egypt and the Gulf." But Frantzman said Gulf states' outreach to Damascus would not achieve immediate political outcomes because of Syria's close ties with Iran. "Iran wants to use Syria as a launchpad for attacks on Israel, hollowing out Syria and moving its proxies into the power vacuum," he said. US stance In Washington, U.S. officials have repeatedly expressed their opposition to rapprochements between some countries and Syria, arguing that the time has not yet come to normalize relations with Damascus. "The only context in which we would encourage normalization or improvement of relations would be were the Assad regime to fulfill the political guidelines, the political roadmap that has been spelled out in the U.N. Security Council Resolution 2254," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a press briefing last week. Resolution 2254, adopted in 2015, aims at ending the Syrian conflict by pursuing a political transition. But analyst Cafiero said he didn't expect U.S. officials in Washington to do much beyond responding with rhetoric if Syria continues reintegrating into the region's diplomatic fold. "As the war in Ukraine rages on, U.S.-China tensions remain hot, and the Iranian nuclear program continues advancing, the Biden administration has its priorities and reversing the Arab trend toward renormalizing relations with Assad is very low on the list," he said. This story originated in VOA's Kurdish Service. Nigerias electoral commission says the country is ready for Saturdays presidential and parliamentary elections despite scattered violence in the run-up to the polls. Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), told journalists Thursday that the commission had begun dispatching sensitive materials to Nigerian states, and that it had been working with the nation's security forces to provide maximum safety for staff and election materials. "They have assured us of their preparedness to adequately secure the election," he said. "This is very important as it will assure voters of their safety during elections, which is cardinal to voter turnout." Nigeria is also dealing with shortages of cash and fuel, and experts say that changes the dynamics of the polls. "We've also had to consult with Nigerian National Petroleum Limited on the fuel situation," Yakubu said. "Likewise, the Central Bank of Nigeria will provide us with the necessary small amount of cash that we require from our budget to make payment for some critical service providers." This is the most contested election in history of Nigeria's democracy with 18 candidates running to be president. Nigeria has been struggling to stem widespread violence and kidnappings perpetrated by armed gangs. Security problems have gotten worse in the run-up to the polls, with several attacks and arson recorded on INEC offices. Officials said they had recorded over 50 attacks in all since the last elections in 2019. Police said a senatorial candidate was killed early Thursday by gunmen in southeast Enugu state on his way from a campaign event. Peace agreement This week, the governments National Peace Committee hosted an event where candidates signed a peace accord. Abduslsalami Abubakar, former head of state and chairman of the NPC, spoke during the event. "Issues of major concerns that have the potential to negatively impact on the integrity are emerging," he said. "One of such issues is the spread of fake news, and misinformation continues to pose a significant threat to the 2023 general elections." President Muhammadu Buhari spoke at the peace signing ceremony in Abuja. "I am aware of the deep concerns about the conduct of the 2023 general elections and outcomes they may throw up," he said. "However, since my assumption of office we have worked so hard to ensure that we pass on a legacy of free, fair, credible, safe and peaceful elections." The INEC said about 150,000 election observers were already in Nigeria, including delegates from the African Union, European Union and the U.S. Campaigning and the final push for votes was set to end Thursday. Harvey Weinstein, the onetime Hollywood titan who came to epitomize a culture of pervasive sexual misconduct by powerful men that ignited the #MeToo movement, was sentenced Thursday to 16 years in prison for the 2013 rape of an actress in Los Angeles. Weinstein was sentenced in a Los Angeles courtroom, where a jury in December found him guilty of rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual penetration by a foreign object. The charges stemmed from an assault on a former model and actress, identified in court as Jane Doe 1, at a Los Angeles hotel in February 2013. Weinstein, the powerful co-founder of Miramax Films, a U.S. movie production and distribution house, will serve the sentence after completing his 23-year sentence for a sexual misconduct conviction in New York. Allegations against Weinstein helped fuel the #MeToo movement, which has encouraged women to speak out about sexual harassment and abuse by powerful men in media, politics and other endeavors. The movement, which went viral on social media in 2017, seeks to break a culture of silence that has long allowed such conduct to go unchallenged. Weinstein, who produced "Pulp Fiction," "Shakespeare in Love" and other successful independent films, has said all of his sexual encounters have been consensual, and he pleaded not guilty in the Los Angeles case. Prosecutors called for a penalty of 24 years because of the prior conviction, rather than a sentence of 18 years that California law would otherwise prescribe, absent additional "aggravating" factors. Weinstein's team opposed the district attorney's recommendation for a consecutive sentence, given Weinstein's "advanced age and deteriorating health," defense lawyer Mark Werksman told Reuters in an email. The jury acquitted Weinstein of charges relating to a second alleged victim and failed to reach a unanimous verdict on charges arising from two other accusers. One of them, documentary filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, now the wife of California Governor Gavin Newsom, had disclosed she was the alleged rape victim referred to in court records as Jane Doe 4. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Lisa Lench declared a mistrial on the deadlocked charges. Defense attorneys argued that the women willingly had sex with Weinstein because they believed he would advance their careers, part of what they said was a widespread "casting couch" culture in the film industry. In two of the cases, they said the alleged sexual contact was fabricated. Weinstein was convicted of sexual misconduct in New York in February 2020. He was extradited from New York to Los Angeles prison in July 2021. Weinstein is appealing the New York conviction and prison sentence. Establishing a community foundation is among the options a committee looking at uses for proceeds of the sale of the county nursing home is considering. The volunteer committee set up by Cumberland County commissioners is in the early stages of considering recommendations for the use of about $7.4 million in proceeds from the sale of Claremont Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. Eventually, we will get to the point where the committee will decide which ones to move forward, chairman Lawrence Clark said during a committee meeting Tuesday night. At this point, no idea is a bad idea, he said. Were just trying to get things together and see what we have. We may have a meeting just on this [a community foundation]. It sounds very interesting. Last March, the county finalized the sale of Claremont to Allaire Health Services for $22.25 million. The commissioners in mid-November voted 3-0 to set aside $7,426,763 from the sale to be used for future projects, initiatives or funds that will be determined later. In December, commissioners appointed 12 people to the committee to explore options for managing the $7.4 million. Tuesday was the groups second public meeting. Foundation idea We read all the time that Cumberland County is the fastest growing county in the state, committee member Barry Denk said. The corporate presence in this county is phenomenal, so wouldnt it be nice if corporate interests could contribute and build this pot of funds to serve the common good. I was just wondering if somehow this pot of money could be leveraged on an ongoing basis and grown by the private sector, he said. Whats wrong with that, given all the economic growth that is occurring and some of the social challenges that [growth] is presenting to this county. Denk has been a resident of Lower Allen Township for the past 32 years. He retired in 2020 after 28 years as executive director of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a legislative research center for the state House and Senate. Denk said he has taught grant writing, funded grants and has been a reviewer of grant applications at the federal level. He compared what recipients go through to taking a run on a treadmill as they work to maintain an ongoing program only to watch the grant funding dry up over time. I have done a lot of work on community foundations, Denk said. I have been out to Nebraska multiple times. The Nebraska Community Foundation has been unbelievable. I have been in communities of 600 people that have foundations in the millions of dollars. Such foundations support a variety of initiatives including scholarship funds, economic development ventures, Main Street programs and affordable housing projects for older adults, Denk said. Out in Nebraska, they fund medical centers in rural communities so they have health care access, he said. The beauty of a community foundation is the community decides what the funds go for, what is most needed and what can be most supported. A foundation board of directors makes the decisions on the distribution of funds, Denk said. The members represent cross-sections of the community. Its not always the well-to-do, the movers and the shakers. The foundations structure gives donors the flexibility to restrict the use of contributions to programs they support, he said. In Nebraska, there have been cases where families have donated crops and farmland as equity that can be converted into cash, he said. In Pennsylvania, examples of success stories exist in the Elk County Community Foundation and the Kane Community Development Foundation, both in rural northwestern Pennsylvania, Denk said. It may not work with Cumberland County with this particular pot of funds. Its just a consideration, he said. A potential challenge Other committee members had similar thoughts. Rick Rovegno, a former county commissioner, suggested using the money as leverage while seeking funds from foundations in a strategic and methodical way. Rovegno also asked county officials to provide the committee with estimates outlining the collective resources devoted to all human service agencies from all the sources of funding so that the $7.4 million could be put into a context. I think that it would be helpful for us to understand and to put it into perspective so that we have a better idea of just what the committee has to work with, Rovegno said. We can use the $7.4 million to make a case statement to foundations. Cumberland County Treasurer Kelly Neiderer, a volunteer on the committee, identified a potential challenge to using the money to establish a community foundation. These proceeds are an asset of the county, Neiderer said. If the committee recommends a public/private partnership, there may have to be an agreement in place with the county commissioners because they could be relinquishing control of what is now a public asset. This is the not the first time where talk of establishing a foundation came out of the sale of a property important to public health and welfare. The Partnership for Better Health started off as the Carlisle Area Health & Wellness Foundation following the sale of Carlisle Hospital in 2001. From seed money of about $30 million, that foundation grew to almost $90 million at one point, Neiderer said. Its generating a lot of revenue to fund programs in the community. It would not make sense to try and replicate a success story like the partnership with only $7.4 million in Claremont proceeds, Neiderer said. But theres certainly room for discussion. During the first meeting in late January, Dana Best, county chief financial officer, said one mission of the committee is to research county needs and determine if any other funding mechanisms are available. We want to make sure that we dont provide funding in an area where there already is funding, Best said in January. If we supplant funding, the other funding may go away, so when this money is no longer available, we end up with a bigger gap than what we had originally. Follow-up meetings During that first meeting, members were divided evenly among four subcommittees tasked with identifying gaps in services for mental health, juveniles, older adults and people with drug and alcohol issues. County leaders from human service departments have been assigned to each subcommittee to serve as subject matter experts. The small groups then report to the whole committee. So far, there has been one round of subcommittee meetings followed by the Tuesdays committee meeting. Follow-up meetings of the full committee have been scheduled for 6 p.m. March 13 and 6 p.m. April 12. The locations for those meetings have not been determined. It was not clear Tuesday when the subcommittees plan a second round of research meetings. Clark asked the subcommittee members to relay that information as soon as possible to county officials so the meetings could be scheduled in enough time to meet the open meeting requirements under the Sunshine Act. Committee members Tuesday tabled discussion on how and when to schedule the public forum meetings to receive input in the lead-up to making their recommendations to the commissioners. Im not sure were there yet, Clark said. I want to get a better handle on the subcommittees first, before we decide to open it up to public forums. Ukraine said Thursday that it had repelled attempted Russian advances along the length of the front line of fighting in eastern and southern Ukraine, leaving the war in a stalemate a day ahead of the first anniversary of Moscows invasion. Russia controls about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, far short of the quick, countrywide takeover many military analysts predicted a year ago as Moscows tanks rolled into Ukraines eastern flank. In the most recent fighting, Moscows forces have made progress trying to encircle Bakhmut, with Ukrainian military spokesperson Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov saying Moscow was trying to use its manpower advantage to exhaust Kyiv's forces. "The enemy, despite significant losses, does not abandon attempts to surround Bakhmut," he said. But Ukraine said Russian troops have failed to break through Ukrainian lines to the north near Kreminna and to the south at Vuhledar, where they have sustained heavy losses assaulting across open ground. Gromov said Ukrainian forces had repelled 90 Russian attacks in the northeast and east in the last day. Ukraine said it had closed some schools for the war's anniversary on Friday in anticipation that Moscow might launch long-range missile attacks to mark the date. But Ukrainian officials said they believed Moscow no longer had the capability for a dramatic show of force, as some had feared. "Nothing unusual will happen. Usual [Russian] effort. A small missile strike is planned," military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov told the Ukrainska Pravda news website. "Believe me, we have experienced this more than 20 times." US alert However, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine issued an alert to Americans in the country about the threat of missile attacks across Ukraine, including in Kyiv and the surrounding region. The alert urged U.S. citizens "to observe air alarms, shelter appropriately, follow guidance from local authorities." Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin touted his countrys nuclear arsenal, announcing plans to deploy new Sarmat multiwarhead intercontinental ballistic missiles this year. Earlier this week, he suspended Russia's participation in the New START nuclear arms control treaty with the United States, the worlds last remaining such pact. Russia would "pay increased attention to strengthening the nuclear triad," Putin said in remarks released by the Kremlin, referring to nuclear missiles based on land, in the sea and in the air. In New York, the U.N. General Assembly is expected to mark the invasion's anniversary by approving a resolution demanding a halt to the fighting. Ukraine hopes to deepen Russia's diplomatic isolation by winning votes from nearly three-quarters of the worlds countries. Moscow, which says the invasion was justified by threats to its security, says the text is biased. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday denounced the invasion as a violation of the U.N. Charter. "We have heard implicit threats to use nuclear weapons. The so-called tactical use of nuclear weapons is utterly unacceptable. It is high time to step back from the brink," Guterres said. Meanwhile, Finland announced a $169 million aid package for Ukraine that includes three Leopard 2 tanks. Finlands defense ministry said in a statement that the tanks were equipped for de-mining, and that the aid package would include training for their use and maintenance. The announcement came a day after Spain said it would send six of its own Leopard 2A4 tanks. The German-made tanks are part of a wave of tanks being sent to Ukraine after Ukrainian officials requested them in order to better match up with Russian forces. Germany initially resisted authorizing the transfers amid concerns about escalating the conflict but has told allies that have the tanks they are free to send them to Ukraine. Some information for this story came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters. U.S. first lady Jill Biden was visibly moved during a visit to an informal settlement near Namibias capital Thursday, where she spent the better part of an hour listening to young beneficiaries of U.S.-funded programs describe their challenges and triumphs in a nation that ranks as one of the worlds most unequal societies. As a sudden afternoon storm beat down on the metal roofs of the hastily constructed Katutura neighborhood, Biden listened intently as teens and young adults described their work with the local Hope Initiatives program, which receives some U.S. grant money. VOA asked her if she would take these stories back and lobby for an extension of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief program, which, for two decades, has provided crucial support for nations struggling with the burden of HIV and AIDS. I don't know whether I'll be lobbying Congress, but certainly I will be taking it back and we'll see where it goes, I'll work with my staff and see where we'll take it, she responded. I mean how many lives it has saved and how many lives it will continue to save, it's what, 20 years now I think? Yeah, 20 years. So it's an amazing program. Biden encouraged an orphan who failed grade 11 because she had a baby, saying, Youll get there. You'll do it because you have to. Once you have a baby, you know, you have to take care of that baby, that's your responsibility right? You'll get there. You'll do it. Because the moms are the tigers, we fight for our kids, right? Celebrates Namibia's 'strong democracy' Motherhood and sisterhood have been themes of Biden's first visit to the continent as first lady, which she launched in the Southwest African nation of Namibia on Wednesday. She also praised female leadership, answering a reporters question about whether the U.S. is ready for a female president, saying It's always time to have a female president, no matter what country you're in. Earlier in the day, Biden praised Namibias vibrant democracy at a pomp-filled, wine-laden, dignitary-heavy state luncheon with Namibias first lady, Monica Geingos, and her husband, President Hage Geingob. I'm proud to be standing here standing with a strong democracy, Biden said. And as Monica said yesterday, a young democracy working together. As Joe said at the summit, African voices, African Leadership, and African innovation are all critical to addressing the most pressing global challenges and realizing the vision we all share is a world that is free. Thursday also happens to be the 30th anniversary of the first sitting of Namibias first post-independence upper house of parliament. Geingos, a Namibian entrepreneur and lawyer who is the presidents third wife, said she invited Biden to visit after meeting at Decembers U.S. Africa Leaders Summit in Washington. Of course, there will always be differences, she said. But what is important is what the Biden presidency represents. And that is decency, democracy, and diplomacy. This luncheon is to celebrate connection, and possibility. On Friday, Biden plans to speak to university students about youth empowerment. One such youth, the junior mayor of Windhoek, Moses Fillpus, thanked Biden for visiting and praised American ideals. Congratulate me for not fainting, quipped the 17-year-old in front of the room filled with some 200 people from the highest echelons of Namibian society, politics and diplomacy. For me, as a young African child growing up, I just consumed American media to the point where I even knew about it more than my own, he continued. And I think that I speak for most of the youth that now it is the goal of the modern youth to achieve the American dream that we see on TV so much. Visit helps fulfill President Biden's promise Jill Biden is the first White House official to visit the country after President Joe Biden last year pledged to send administration officials to the continent. She follows Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who visited earlier this year. Like Biden, Thomas-Greenfield focused part of her visit around a food security crisis in East Africa something Biden plans to highlight when she visits Kenya later this week. But these high-profile visits are also happening against the background of increased visits by top-level Russian and Chinese officials to the continent. While the nation is a multiparty democracy, the same party Geingo's South West Africa Peoples Organization has led since the nation won independence more than three decades ago. And that liberation struggle pulled in other countries for support. Earlier Wednesday, Biden laid a wreath at Heroes' Acre, a memorial to those who fought for the nation's independence. That memorial, with its brutalist sculpture and wide expanses of stone, bears an uncanny similarity to the Heroes' Acre in Zimbabwe's capital, maybe because both memorials were built by the same North Korean company. That same firm built the imposing, modernist gray cement State House where Biden was so warmly received by the first couple. Biden also spread some warmth. As she prepared to leave Katutura, she made an unscheduled stop on the street, emerging from her SUV with a navy blue tote bag. Scores of small children many in clothes that were torn or dirty swarmed her as she handed out small boxes of M&Ms bearing President Joe Bidens seal and signature. She and granddaughter Naomi quickly passed out every box, until she was faced with an empty bag and a young boy, his eyes wide. She motioned that she was out of candy and he turned away. Wait, she said to the little boy. He turned back. She handed him the tote bag. Jill Biden on Wednesday made the first visit by a U.S. first lady to the southwestern African nation of Namibia chosen, she said, because of its vibrant democracy. The Namibian president and first lady warmly welcomed her on the first stop of her first trip to the continent as first lady. When asked why she chose Namibia an arid, sparsely populated southern African nation as the first stop on what the White House says is a show of support and respect for the African continent, Biden did not hesitate. We wanted to come because you know this is a young democracy, and we want to support democracies around the world, she said. We met each other in December, and were just continuing the relationship. Monica and I think its safe to say that we became good friends instantly. That friend Namibian first lady Monica Geingos agreed. Theres a lot in Namibia that wed really like to show Dr. Biden. I know its her first visit to Namibia. I know its the first time an incumbent American first lady has come to the country, and I think what she talked about is very true. It is a very vibrant democracy. Weve got a very large youth population, who drives that democracy, very energetic and fully enabled by our constitutional values but also by the personal values of our leadership. He may not look it, but hes really the ultimate democrat. Jill Biden is the first White House official to visit the country after President Joe Biden last year pledged to send administration officials to the continent. She follows Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who visited earlier this year. Visit highlights hunger Like Biden, Thomas-Greenfield focused part of her visit around a food security crisis in East Africa something Biden plans to highlight when she visits Kenya later this week. But these high-profile visits are also happening against the background of increased visits by top-level Russian and Chinese officials to the continent. Geingos' husband, President Hage Geingob, waited alone in a foyer while the two first ladies were entertained by dancers from the Nama, Oshiwambo and Tswana people, who ululated and danced in a flurry of leopard print, white beads and hot pink springbok pelts. VOA asked him what he thought of the unprecedented visit. We are very happy and honored to have the first lady of the United States. It's a great honor to have her here, he replied. While the nation is a multiparty democracy, the same party Geingob's South West Africa Peoples Organization has led since the nation won independence more than three decades ago. And that liberation struggle pulled in other countries for support. Earlier Wednesday, Biden laid a wreath at Heroes' Acre, a memorial to those who fought for the nation's independence. That memorial, with its brutalist sculpture and wide expanses of stone, bears an uncanny similarity to the Heroes' Acre in Zimbabwe's capital, maybe because both memorials were built by the same North Korean company. That same firm built the imposing, modernist gray cement State House where Biden was so warmly received by the first couple. Biden plans on Thursday to visit a U.S.-funded project in the capital that focuses on empowering women and children, and to lunch with Geingos. Then she heads Friday to Kenya, where she will use her popularity and platform to draw attention to womens empowerment, childrens issues and the hunger crisis that is again ravaging the Horn of Africa. U.S. first lady Jill Biden praised Namibia's vibrant democracy Thursday at a pomp-filled, wine-laden, dignitary-heavy state luncheon with Namibia's first lady Monica Geingos and her husband, President Hage Geingob. "I'm proud to be standing here standing with a strong democracy," Biden said. "And as Monica said yesterday, a young democracy working together. As Joe said at the summit, African voices, African Leadership, and African innovation are all critical to addressing the most pressing global challenges and realizing the vision we all share is a world that is free." Thursday also is the 30th anniversary of the first sitting of Namibia's first post-independence upper house of parliament. Geingos, a Namibian entrepreneur and lawyer who is the president's third wife, said she invited Biden to visit after meeting at December's U.S. Africa Leaders Summit in Washington. "Of course, there will always be differences," she said. "But what is important is what the Biden presidency represents. And that is decency, democracy, and diplomacy. This luncheon is to celebrate connection, and possibility." Biden will also visit a U.S.-funded project near the capital, Windhoek, that focuses on empowering women and children and ensuring access to economic opportunities and health resources. And on Friday, she will speak to university students about youth empowerment. One such youth, the junior mayor of Windhoek, Moses Fillpus, thanked Biden for visiting and praised American ideals. "Congratulate me for not fainting," quipped the 17-year-old in front of the room of some 200 people from the highest echelons of Namibian society, politics and diplomacy. "For me, as a young African child growing up, I just consumed American media to the point where I even knew about it more than my own," he continued. "And I think that I speak for most of the youth that now it is the goal of the modern youth to achieve the American dream that we see on TV so much." After arriving in the country on Wednesday, Biden said Namibia was chosen because of its positive energy and vitality. "We wanted to come because you know this is a young democracy, and we want to support democracies around the world," Biden said. "We met each other in December, and we're just continuing the relationship. Monica and I think it's safe to say that we became good friends instantly." Geingos said there was a lot in Namibia she would like to show Biden, who is making the first visit to the country by an incumbent first lady. "It is a very vibrant democracy. We've got a very large youth population, who drives that democracy, very energetic and fully enabled by our constitutional values but also by the personal values of our leadership," Geingos said. Jill Biden is the first White House official to visit the country after President Joe Biden last year pledged to send administration officials to the continent. She follows Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who visited earlier this year. Like Biden, Thomas-Greenfield focused part of her visit around a food security crisis in East Africa something Biden plans to highlight when she visits Kenya later this week. But these high-profile visits are also happening against the background of increased visits by top-level Russian and Chinese officials to the continent. While the nation is a multiparty democracy, the same party Geingob's South West Africa People's Organization has led since the nation won independence more than three decades ago. And that liberation struggle pulled in other countries for support. Earlier Wednesday, Biden laid a wreath at Heroes' Acre, a memorial to those who fought for the nation's independence. That memorial, with its brutalist sculpture and wide expanses of stone, bears an uncanny similarity to the Heroes' Acre in Zimbabwe's capital, maybe because both memorials were built by the same North Korean company. That same firm built the imposing, modernist gray cement State House where Biden was received by the first couple. Jill Biden heads Friday to Kenya, where she will use her popularity and platform to draw attention to women's empowerment, children's issues and the hunger crisis that is again ravaging the Horn of Africa. Taliban authorities in Afghanistan said Thursday they had reopened a busy border crossing with Pakistan after four days of closure that saw thousands of travelers and trade convoys, with many carrying food items, stranded on either side. Pakistani officials said, without elaborating, they were still completing administrative requirements to restore all movements through the Torkham point of transit. The reopening came a day after a high-level Pakistani delegation visited the Afghan capital, Kabul, to discuss border security, counterterrorism, and economic cooperation with the Taliban leaders of the neighboring landlocked country. Torkham, one of several crossings on the nearly 2,600-kilometer frontier separating the two countries, was closed by the Taliban on Sunday, accusing Pakistani immigration authorities of misbehaving with Afghan travelers, including those seeking medical care in Pakistan. Officials in Islamabad rejected the charges, maintaining their tightening of border controls was meant to counter unlawful entrants linked to the banned Pakistani Taliban, commonly referred to as TTP, waging terrorist attacks in Pakistan out of Afghan sanctuaries. The Pakistani delegation, led by Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, shared irrefutable" evidence with Taliban interlocutors in the talks about the presence and activities of TTP leaders in Afghanistan, sources told VOA. The Pakistani side demanded the Taliban take practical steps to stop the militant activity on Afghan soil in line with their counterterrorism assurances to the world. They also cautioned a lack of action against TTP could force Islamabad to further reduce its diplomatic presence in Kabul besides tightening border security measures. Pakistan evacuated its chief diplomat in Afghanistan in December after he narrowly survived a gun attack while walking in his sprawling Kabul embassy compound. That shooting was claimed by the Afghan affiliate of the Islamic State terrorist group, known as Islamic State-Khorasan Province however. Sources described Wednesday's discussions in Kabul as productive and said, without elaborating, the Taliban also shared details of some of their actions against TTP and promised to do more. A post-meeting formal Pakistani statement suggested terrorism and security matters had figured high in the talks. Matters relating to the growing threat of terrorism in the region, particularly by TTP and ISKP came under discussion. The two sides agreed to collaborate to effectively address the threat of terrorism posed by various entities and organizations, said the statement, referring to the regional Islamic State branch. Both sides agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various fields to further enhance the fraternal relations between the two countries, the statement concluded. Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the two sides had held detailed discussions, covering, among other issues, "security concerns and activities of armed opposition groups." He did not elaborate on nor mention TTP in his statement. Mujahid said their deputy prime minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, led his side in the talks where the foreign minister, Taliban spy chief, the defense, and the interior ministers assisted him. TTP, designated a global terrorist group by the United States, is a Pakistani offshoot and a close ally of the Afghan Taliban. It provided recruits and shelter on Pakistani soil to the Taliban while they waged a deadly insurgency against U.S.-led NATO troops in Afghanistan for almost 20 years. The Taliban stormed back to power in August 2021 as foreign forces withdrew from the country. Pakistan says TTP leaders and commanders, who have long taken refuge in Afghanistan, have benefited from greater freedom and mobility for plotting cross-border terrorism since the Taliban reclaimed power in Kabul 18 months ago. Hundreds of Pakistanis, mostly security forces, have in recent months been killed by TTP-claimed suicide bombings and other terrorist attacks. Late last month, a powerful mosque bombing in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar killed nearly 100 people, mostly police officers. No foreign country, including Pakistan, has formally recognized the Taliban government in Afghanistan, citing human rights and terrorism concerns. However, Islamabad has recently stepped up economic and trade cooperation with Kabul, enabling the cash-strapped Taliban administration to generate much-need revenues through bilateral and transit trade using Pakistani land and seaports. Methamphetamine use in Thailand jumped 30% last year, new research shows, amid a production boom of the illicit drug in next door Myanmar flooding the region with ever-cheaper supplies. To cope with the surge, Thailands Public Health Ministry is pushing for tough new rules that could see anyone caught with more than one meth tablet prosecuted as a drug dealer, a move academics and social workers say would not help and could make the problem worse. According to a nationwide survey on drug use led by Thailands Chulalongkorn University, an estimated 57,900 Thais between the ages of 18 and 65 used meth at least once last year, up from some 44,500 the year before. Rasmon Kalayasiri, who heads the universitys Center for Addiction Studies, said the numbers are likely an undercount, as many may be wary of admitting to using an illegal drug, even though the study keeps them anonymous. Previous surveys by the governments Office of the Narcotics Control Board, which sample more people, have put the number of meth users in the hundreds of thousands in recent years. Rasmon said the results of the ONCBs next survey, typically carried out every three to five years, would offer a more definitive picture of the latest trends. But the universitys own study, she added, still suggests that meth use may be rising. Thailands Raks Thai Foundation, which provides harm reduction and needle exchange services for drug users across the country, has noticed the trend too. Nantapol Chuenchooklin, a technical officer for the group, said Raks Thai has anecdotally noticed more meth use over the past two years, just as street prices for the drug have crashed. It increased around 30% to 40% since the drug prices decreased a lot, he said. Easy access A tablet of powdered meth, commonly known as yaba, which means crazy medicine in Thai, now goes for as little as 86 cents or even 58 cents in the north of Thailand near the border with Myanmar, Nantapol said. That is as little as one-fourth of what it cost a few years ago. He said prices for more potent and addictive crystal meth have plunged over the same period too, from $52 to $58 before to anywhere from $14 to $29 now, depending on the purity. Rasmon said that has made the drug easier to get. People get access to it very easily because the cost [is] very low, so the availability ... is higher, she said. Apinun Aramrattana, who runs the Northern Substance Abuse Center for Thailands Chiang Mai University, said the social and health care workers his team works with are also reporting yaba prices in some parts of the country below $1. Some said its easier than find[ing] the cigarette, he added, making it easier in turn for those experimenting with lighter drugs like cannabis or kratom, another plant with sedative effects, to move on to meth. The plummeting prices coincide with rising seizures of meth across East and Southeast Asia, most of it made in Myanmar where a 2021 coup has pitched much of the country into chaos and flowing into or through Thailand. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, authorities across the region seized a record 171.5 tons of meth in 2021. Judging from the falling street prices in Thailand and elsewhere, the UNODC believes that points to a surge in production by the drug gangs in Myanmar. By the numbers Thailand has reacted by stepping up patrols along its northern borders with both Myanmar and Laos, which the drug gangs are also using to move their meth abroad. To close what he described as a loophole in Thailands drug laws being exploited by local dealers, Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul also announced plans late last month to amend government regulations so that anyone caught with more than one yaba tablet could be considered a distributor. Currently, anyone caught with 15 tables or less can be treated as a user and avoid jail by consenting to treatment. Dealers, though, can face prison sentences of up to 15 years, 20 if found selling to minors. Anutins hardline push follows Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ochas call for a crackdown on narcotics after a former police officer discharged for using drugs went on a killing spree last October and killed 37 people, including 24 children. Though the former officer, who took his own life, was suspected of harboring a meth addiction, an autopsy found no drugs in his system. Earlier this month, Anutin told reporters the tougher rules were still needed to address social problems in a definitive and effective way and to curb the spread of yaba pills. The change needs cabinet approval before taking effect, though, and as of Wednesday a government spokesperson told VOA the Public Health Ministry had yet to submit its proposal. The big picture A number of local groups are urging the government to reject the idea. More than 40 of them signed on to an open letter insisting it would undermine the intent of a package of reforms to Thailands drug laws passed by the National Assembly in 2021 emphasizing prevention and treatment over punishment for those caught with small amounts. It seems to be against the intent of the law that is pushing for ... treatment and rehabilitation, which is part of what we see as an intention to not channel people into prison but channel people into health intervention, said Raks Thais executive director, Promboon Panitchpakdi. He said he worries that prosecuting drug users as dealers will also scare more users away from exposing themselves to seek help voluntarily, making the problem even harder to address. Critics of the health ministers plan also say it will add needlessly to the burden of Thailands already overcrowded prisons. Part of the governments rationale for the 2021 reforms was to bring prisoner numbers down. Locking more people up just for using drugs, Rasmon added, will expose more non-violent drug offenders to hardened criminals inside prisons, where they are more likely to fall into existing criminal networks. Lowering the threshold for arrests would also give police, currently reeling from a string of bribery scandals, more scope to extort users in exchange for letting them go, said Verapun Ngamee of the Ozone Foundation, another local charity that helps drug users. Apinun, too, said Anutins plan risks flooding the courts with small scale drug cases while doing little if anything to stop the actual flow of drugs as dealers and their customers adapt to the new rules, as they usually do. It will be difficult to see [how] they will get a positive outcome in the big picture from that proposal, he said. When a South Korean court this week delivered the country's biggest legal victory for marriage equality, Kim Yong-min was immediately aware of how much and how little the ruling meant for LGBT rights. No one questioned the symbolic significance of Tuesday's verdict, which found the 32-year-old Kim can list his partner as a dependent on his plan in South Korea's national health insurance provider. It was the first time a South Korean court has ever recognized any right for same-sex couples. On the other hand, the victory was exceedingly limited, as Kim conceded in an interview with VOA. "When Koreans are married to someone of the opposite sex, they have about a thousand rights. We managed to get only one of those," he said. Winning that right required a two-year legal battle for Kim and his husband, So Seong-wook. The couple held a wedding ceremony in 2019, but it was not legally recognized by South Korea, which does not acknowledge same-sex partnerships. In 2020, apparently because of a clerical error, So was able to register Kim as his spouse with the National Health Insurance Service. That allowed Kim to be covered as a dependent on So's health care plan. After discovering the couple was gay, the NHIS withdrew the coverage and a lower court last year upheld that decision. On Tuesday, Seoul's High Court ordered So's coverage be reinstated, saying the NHIS had provided no grounds to treat same-sex unions differently from common-law marriages, which are granted spousal benefits under the insurer's rules. The NHIS says it will appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. Despite its narrow scope, rights activists hope the verdict can establish a precedent, enabling future rulings based on the same principles of equality and nondiscrimination. "Now we have a legal basis to demand more change," said Lina Yoon, a Korea researcher at Human Rights Watch. Achieving meaningful change is no small task, considering the rampant discrimination against, and even criminalization of, the LGBT community in South Korea. Under a provision of the Military Criminal Act, soldiers can be punished with up to two years in prison if they engage in same-sex activity. In recent years, South Korean courts have limited the law's application, yet refused to scrap it. Activists have also pressured South Korea's National Assembly to pass a comprehensive anti-discrimination law that would provide protections for a wide range of marginalized groups. But such a law failed to materialize, even when South Korea's liberal Democratic Party controlled the presidency and secured a legislative supermajority in early 2020. President Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative who took office in May, has warned that recognizing same-sex couples could have a "significant social impact." He has also courted social conservatives who have traditional views on gender. Yoon's approach has satisfied many evangelical Christian groups, a major force in South Korean politics, who often hold large public protests against LGBT rights. Such groups broadly condemned Tuesday's ruling. "This is a dangerous judgment, extra-legal and arrogant, based on judicial activism and it must be rectified by the Supreme Court," said Cheun Yun-sung with the Institute for Legal Policy for Freedom and Equality, a Seoul-based group of Christian legal scholars. In Cheun's view, the ruling may lead other individuals, such as roommates who do not even have romantic partnerships, to conclude they also deserve the same rights given to those in common-law marriages. "It is dangerous and misleading to conclude, based on the court's ruling and judicial activism, that there is social consensus within Korea on same-sex marriage," he told VOA. Polling on such issues is mixed. Nearly 6 in 10 South Koreans oppose the idea of same-sex marriage, according to a 2022 survey by the Hankook Research polling firm. However, 67% of South Koreans supported the passage of an anti-discrimination law, according to a 2022 poll conducted by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea. "A small number of voices get a disproportionate amount of attention," said Yong Hye-in, a National Assembly representative who is part of the progressive Basic Income Party. Yong, who supports LGBT rights, said her fellow lawmakers have a responsibility to protect the rights of marginalized groups. She hopes the High Court ruling will spur further progress toward LGBT rights. "The legislature and the executive branch should welcome this judicial judgment and work harder on their responsibility to protect minorities," she told VOA in an interview at her office Thursday. Kim and his husband will celebrate their legal victory in Australia, where they plan to attend the ongoing Sydney WorldPride Festival. "Once the verdict was announced, people celebrated this ruling as if it were their own personal matter," Kim said. However, he said more sweeping successes are needed to ensure marriage equality. "In my opinion, we can't afford to fight like this every time we want to have a basic right, and we won't win every time, either. It took us two years to get this single right," he said. "That's why same-sex marriage legislation should be passed quickly, so that marital rights can be given to everyone." An earlier version of this article incorrectly said that Kim was allowed coverage under So's plan. NATO's chief said Wednesday that the military alliance has seen some signs that China may be planning to support Russia in its war in Ukraine, and he strongly urged Beijing to desist from what would be a violation of international law. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also told The Associated Press in an interview that the alliance, while not a party to the war, will support Ukraine for as long as it takes. Asked whether NATO has any indication that China might be ready to provide arms or other support to Russias war, Stoltenberg said: We have seen some signs that they may be planning for that and of course NATO allies, the United States, have been warning against it because this is something that should not happen. China should not support Russias illegal war. Stoltenberg said potential Chinese assistance would amount to providing [direct] support to a blatant violation of international law, and of course [as] a member of the U.N. Security Council, China should not in any way support violation of the U.N. Charter, or international law. Putin hosts Chinese visitor On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted the Chinese Communist Party's most senior foreign policy official, Wang Yi, raising concern in the West that Beijing might be ready to offer Moscow stronger support in the almost year-old war. China has pointedly refused to criticize the invasion of Ukraine while echoing Moscows claim that the U.S. and NATO were to blame for provoking the Kremlin. China, Russia and South Africa are holding naval drills in the Indian Ocean this week. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said any Chinese involvement in the Kremlins war effort would be a serious problem. Ties between China and the U.S. are under severe strain over Taiwan and other issues. Stoltenberg spoke to The Associated Press in Warsaw, following a meeting of NATO's nine eastern flank members with U.S. President Joe Biden on the region's security. He stressed that while NATO is no party to the Ukraine conflict, its tasks are to ensure that Ukraine prevails and to prevent this war from escalating beyond Ukraine and becoming a full-fledged war between Russia and NATO. He said the main message from the meeting in Warsaw was that we will provide support to Ukraine for as long as it takes. It would be a "tragedy for the Ukrainians if President Putin wins in Ukraine, Stoltenberg said, and also dangerous for all of us because it would send the message to all authoritarian leaders that when they use military force, they get what they want. The Russian attack on Ukraine has prompted Sweden and neighboring Finland to abandondecades of nonalignment and apply to join the 30-nation alliance. But their bids, particularly Sweden's, are being delayed by Turkey, which wants the two countries to crack down on mostly Kurdish groups Ankara regards as terrorists. Stoltenberg told the AP that following talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week he could see Turkey is moving closer to being ready to ratify and [to] welcome Finland into the alliance. But [Ankara continues] to have some challenges with Sweden. He said he welcomed the fact that he and Erdogan agreed to a meeting soon of experts and officials in Brussels from the three countries involved to look into how we can make progress also on the ratification of Sweden as a full NATO ally. Pakistan's defense minister was in Afghanistan on Wednesday, meeting with officials there to resolve this week's closure by the Taliban administration of a key border crossing between the two neighboring countries, officials said. Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif's trip to Kabul and his meeting with Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban-appointed deputy prime minister for economic affairs, comes as tensions have increased between Afghanistan and Pakistan in recent months. Taliban security forces on Sunday closed the Torkham border crossing with Pakistan and on Monday traded fire with Pakistani border guards. The exchange wounded a Pakistani soldier. The border crossing has since remained shut, hampering trade on both sides of the troubled boundary. The Taliban government in Kabul said Torkham was closed because of Pakistans alleged refusal to allow Afghan patients and their caretakers to enter Pakistan for medical care without travel documents. For Pakistan, the crossing is a vital commercial artery and a trade route to Central Asian countries. But Islamabad has also accused the Afghan Taliban of providing sanctuary for Pakistani militants whose cross-border attacks into Pakistan have led to a spike in violence in the region. Since Sunday's closure of Torkham, more than 6,000 trucks with goods, including vegetables, fruit and other perishable food items, have been stuck on the Pakistani side of the border. Pakistans Foreign Ministry confirmed Asif was in Kabul, saying only that he was there to discuss security-related matters, including counter-terrorism measures. Two Pakistani security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss border issues, told The Associated Press that Torkham's closure was top of the agenda. In Kabul, a statement issued by Baradar's office about Asif's visit said the two sides discussed the current situation at the crossing. According to the statement, Baradar told the Pakistani delegation that necessary facilities should be provided for all passengers" at Torkham and also at Spin Boldak, another trade route located to the south, across from Chaman in Pakistan's restive southwestern Baluchistan province. Baradar was also quoted as saying special facilities" should be provided for the transportation of patients needing emergency medical care. The Pakistani side assured the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan that it would resolve solving the mentioned issues and ... work quickly on this matter," the statement said. Baradar also stressed it was important to separate commercial and economic issues from political and security issues so that it does not become prey to politics." Meanwhile, Ziaul Haq Sarhadi, a director at the Pakistan-Afghanistan joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, deplored the traffic halt at Torkham. Miles after miles you can see trucks loaded with various items, and the drivers are waiting for the reopening of the Torkham border," he told the AP. He said Afghan traders were also worried as the closure has caused problems on both sides of the border. Closures, cross-border fire and shootouts are common along the Afghan-Pakistan border. Each side has in the past closed both Torkham and Chaman for various reasons. The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 as U.S. and NATO troops were withdrawing from the country after 20 years of war. Like the rest of the world, Pakistan has so far not recognized Afghanistans Taliban government. The international community has been wary of the Talibans harsh measures, imposed since their takeover, especially in restricting the rights of women and minorities. Residents along the Turkey-Syria border were just beginning to return home to inspect the damage from the massive Feb. 6 earthquake when another tremor struck this week, said Myanmar psychology student Aung Naing Shwe, who is in the region serving as a humanitarian aid volunteer. It went on for what felt like 10 minutes, Aung said in a Zoom interview with VOA from Hatay, the city hit hardest by the earlier quake. We looked on in shock as we saw debris caused by collapsed structures, women crying and people fleeing their homes into the middle of the road, he said. It happened right at a time when people were starting to come back to buildings that had already been damaged, sifting through what used to be their homes, looking for possessions. Seeing this kind of disaster happen again, he told VOA, was terrifying for everyone, myself included. People who were just a few days ago living out in the streets under tents were again outside reliving all of the trauma of living through the earthquakes. So, it is an incredible concern for everybody who is here, especially those trying to rebuild their lives. Aung and his team from the nonprofit International Youth Forum in Ankara originally came to the hard-hit border area to help survivors of the Feb. 6 earthquakes that shook Turkey and Syria, killing more than 45,000 people. A large number of people are still missing in the rubble of the thousands of apartment buildings. Aung said he and his fellow humanitarian workers never could have imagined that during our five-day mission, we would witness another quake up close. Aung, who is currently studying for a doctorate, is based in Ankara. His fellow International Youth Forum members flew in from Malaysia, along with several other international nongovernmental organizations to assist the earthquake-torn regions of Hatay, Gaziantep and Kahramanmaras. From Ankara, the group of young volunteers traveled together to the Turkey-Syria border where they built temporary shelters and tents for refugees, helped survivors move their belongings and provided food, bottled water and clothes. They also assisted with logistics, distributing necessary materials to different areas and other distribution points. Aung said his studies as a psychologist have helped him connect with quake victims. In one instance, an elderly female survivor shared her story of losing her family, her home and all of her possessions. I called her 'grandmother' and asked her how I could help. She said she just needed to talk to someone. 'I had everything, and now I have lost it all,' she said. Then she held me, and we cried together. It was terrible and very moving, Aung said. Currently, the most important thing for the earthquake victims is survival. The cold weather has increased the need for items such as clothing, blankets, portable stoves, cookware, shoes and jackets, Aung told VOA. He urged the international community to help in any way they can. According to the Turkish governments Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, 9 million people have been affected in some way, and 47,000 buildings have been destroyed or damaged. The government is still scrambling to provide shelter for at least 1 million homeless survivors who are in urgent need of sanitary facilities two weeks after the two massive earthquakes. Aung praised the Turkish government's efforts. The government is well-organized in the relief effort. For example, requesting humanitarian aid and rescue teams from the international community and organizing and sending that aid to those who need it most. The government has been providing free food and water for anyone who needs it. They are also supplying free food at the checkpoints in Hatay, along the Syrian border. Those checkpoints were very strictly controlled by the Turkish military, but they have opened them for earthquake survivors in the region," he said. Explaining why he volunteered to do humanitarian aid work in Turkey, Aung said, Turkey has provided educational support to Rohingya students like myself, so I feel that it's my responsibility to help the Turkish people in any way I can. As a Rohingya Muslim from Myanmar, and a human rights activist, I also understand the feelings of people who are victims of forces beyond their control. I feel happy when I can offer support to others in need, he said. THORNDALE Authorities say a man was shot and wounded by a suburban Philadelphia police officer after ramming a police vehicle during a chase and threatening to shoot officers, although he turned out to be unarmed. The Chester County district attorney's office said police were told of a stolen vehicle in a convenience store parking lot in Downingtown shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday. Prosecutors said the person who had been driving it stole another car from the lot and fled into a residential neighborhood. Prosecutors said a Caln Township officer was trying to deploy stop strips to halt the stolen car, but as he was getting the strips from his police vehicle it was rammed head-on by the stolen vehicle at high speed and forced backward about 40 yards. Prosecutors said the officer had to dive out of the way and was showered by debris. Prosecutors said the other car stopped about 50 yards away and a man got out and started walking away, and when officers approached within 15 feet he stopped, turned to face them and threatened to shoot, holding his hands together and pointing them toward the officers. One officer fired four times, striking him in his right leg. Prosecutors said the man got up after being shot and continued to indicate that he was looking for a gun, and again made motions as if he had a firearm, but the officers were within arm's length and knew he wasn't armed. They tried to de-escalate things, but when he opened the door of the stolen car an officer deployed a stun gun. The wounded man was taken to Paoli Hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound to the thigh and an elbow fracture and was expected to be released soon. Prosecutors said their investigation continues and didn't immediately release information about charges. The head of South Africa's embattled state power company, Eskom, is leaving his job earlier than planned, after accusing high level officials of corruption. The CEO's departure came the same day South Africa's finance minister announced a massive bailout for the debt-ridden company amid record power cuts. Eskoms CEO, Andre de Ruyter, has been "released" from his job "with immediate effect," the company said Thursday in a statement. De Ruyter submitted his resignation late last year, saying he was unable to turn the graft-riddled utility around. Shortly afterward, he alleged there was a poisoning attempt on his life. However, he had been set to serve out his notice period until the end of March and a replacement has not yet been found. News of his early departure came shortly after de Ruyter gave an explosive interview on local TV this week accusing high level cabinet officials of being aware of and accepting corruption. Eskom spokesman Sikonathi Mantshantsha said the board had convened a special meeting on Wednesday during which it was mutually agreed to curtail his notice period. The board further resolved that Mr. de Ruyter will not be required to serve the balance of his notice period but that he will be released from his position with immediate effect, he said. Earlier this month, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a national state of disaster because of the electricity crisis. The power cuts, known as loadshedding, are meant to reduce pressure on the overstretched grid, with its many aging and badly maintained coal-fired power stations regularly breaking down. Sometimes running for as long as 12 hours a day, the blackouts have hit Africas most industrialized economy hard, said Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in his budget speech Wednesday. He then announced a large bailout for the company, which is $23 billion in debt. The lack of reliable electricity supply is the biggest economic constraint, he said. Record levels of load shedding were experienced in 2022. Im told 207 days of load shedding. Lumkile Mondi, an economics lecturer at Johannesburgs Witwatersrand University, told VOA the debt relief was a good move on the governments part. The taking of the debt into the nations balance sheet allows Eskom to use that money wisely, invest on new transmission infrastructure, while at the same time having money to sustain some of the viable coal fired power stations, so I think overall it is positive, he said. Independent analyst Asanda Ngoasheng noted the current crisis stems from a myriad of factors. During apartheid only a small percentage of the population, mainly whites, had access to electricity, so when South Africa transitioned to democracy the new government had to roll out power to the rest of the population. It was essentially a heady cocktail of ailing infrastructure that wasnt maintained, infrastructure that had to serve more people than what it had to serve before, and corruption, which then kind of made things worse than they already were, she said. De Ruyter was Eskoms 13th CEO in 10 years. The company has said it is seeking a replacement. South Sudans president is appealing to the more than 2 million South Sudanese refugees living in neighboring countries to start returning home. Salva Kiir says his government will provide returning refugees with the necessary security. There are more than 2.3 million South Sudanese living as refugees in nearby countries such as Kenya, Uganda and Egypt. Speaking Wednesday in Juba, Kiir said repatriating those citizens was at the top of the governments priority list. For those who will opt to return to their habitual areas of residence, the government will provide security and will work jointly with partners to organize logistics around what is needed to resettle successfully in those areas, Kiir said. He made the comments while speaking to representatives of South Sudans large population of internally displaced people. Kiir said the country also intended to resettle the IDPs, though not necessarily in the areas from which they came. Equally, for those who cannot go back to their residence, we have spoken with authorities in the states where IDP camps are located, to set aside land and to resettle them," he said. "I must add that this land, once designated, must be allocated to IDPs and IDPs only. Pope Francis had a similar gathering with IDP leaders in Juba during his visit to South Sudan earlier this month. Persuasion needed Kiir pledged the government would provide the IDPs with security, even though he acknowledged that it would take a lot of persuading for them to leave their current protected areas. Many South Sudanese IDPs were displaced by the 2013 civil war that broke out when Kiirs forces clashed with those of opposition leader Riek Machar. James Kok, an member of the national parliament, echoed the presidents message of declaring 2023 as a year of reconciliation, forgiveness and development. "This message must be sent to all South Sudanese people to let them know that the president has forgiven people this year, and people should also forgive him, so that individuals can continue to move forward and develop the nation," Kok said. In calling for the resettlement of refugees and IDPs, Kiir said nothing about South Sudans continued political or economic challenges. The country has yet to fully implement the 2018 peace accord that ended the civil war, and parts of the country are dealing with chronic violence. In the Upper Nile region, intercommunal violence, mostly caused by cattle rustling, has sparked a new wave of displacement. A chief in Unity state, Juma Nyundeng, said the IDPs made it clear to the president that all they wanted was peace. "We no longer want to see bloodshed," he said. "People are fighting in Upper Nile, and we dont want people from Upper Nile, Abyi and Twic fighting each other. "All we want is peace and our country back so that we can stay together. South Sudan has not seen an extended period of peace since winning independence from Sudan in 2011. Cate Charron spent the latter half of 2021 investigating how a student at Indiana University Bloomington had managed to re-enroll at the school after violating the terms of a sexual assault suspension. Under Indiana law, she was permitted to access records on the suspension, but the university denied the requests. It was just really difficult, Charron told VOA. The university was not easy to work with. Charron, a student and editor at Bloomingtons Indiana Daily Student, took her case to the states Public Access Counselor, who issued a non-legally binding opinion that the school should release the documents. With the slow process to access records, Charron had found other ways to get the details needed for her story before the university could respond to the Public Access Counselor opinion. Her article also cites a campus official as saying that under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the university cannot comment on any students conduct. But, she said, If I was even a little bit younger, didnt have as much experience, didnt have as much support as I did, I dont know if I would have been able to circumvent those issues. Charron also sees wider implications to the block on access to information, saying, [It] wouldnt really hurt me as much as it would hurt the community to not have a story with all the facts of a university that was trying to escape transparency. The communications department of Indiana University Bloomington did not respond to VOAs request for comment. Next generation The experiences of Charron, who graduated in December, underscore the issues student journalists face across the United States. Those range from reduced funding for student publications to blocked access to sources and information, experts in student press freedom told VOA. Despite those obstacles, student journalism remains an important training ground for the next generation of reporters, and in some cases, provides news in communities where other media outlets have been shuttered. Censorship is one of the most pressing issues, says Hillary Davis, advocacy director at the Washington-based Student Press Law Center (SPLC). The extent to which schools often see student journalism as a PR campaign for the schools and less of actual journalism training is concerning, she told VOA. Little hard data is available, Davis said, but when we ask for a show of hands at conventions and things like that, the majority of students have had some sort of censorship issue. But they dont necessarily report it because theres a whats the point feeling. It happens so often. Censorship at universities rarely takes the form of outright bans, but rather manifests in ways that make it harder for student journalists to report. Sometimes students dont even realize they are being censored, according to Anna Colletto. The student press freedom day co-chair at the SPLC is also editor in chief of The Maneater, a newspaper run by students at the University of Missouri-Columbia since 1955. While her university has not blocked the newspaper from covering issues or events, Colletto said there is an almost a weaponized incompetence, like taking a while to get back to us or being incredibly denigrating to reporters. Both Colletto and Davis said student reporters across the U.S. are frequently told to go through a schools communications team to get information. Its a lack of access, a lack of ability to get information directly from the person who knows it the most, Colletto told VOA about the general practice. It really harms the educational space that student media is designed to provide, she said, and it turns people away from the industry. The University of Missouri-Columbia told VOA that its communications department team do not mandate that anyone sends media to their office. The university has a strong history of investing in student journalism, said the facilitys news bureau director Christian Basi. At Mizzou, we treat all reporters the same. It does not matter whether they are students or professionals, we respond to them as quickly as we are able to do so and provide them with as much information as we can, he told VOA. Were also part of an educational institution, so were going to work to help educate them in their chosen profession. Community role Overall, Davis at the SPLC believes that the state of student press freedom is trending in a positive direction. Students know full well what the state of journalism is, and theyre going to go in to change it, she said. Theyre fixing it. And it might sound a little pie in the sky, but that makes me think were going to be better off. Student reporters are also increasingly supporting the news industry, especially in local markets. Since late 2019, more than 360 newspapers have closed around the United States, according to a June 2022 report by Northwesterns Medill School of Journalism. Economic pressures often result in the closures, the report found. Northwestern estimates that one-third the countrys remaining local newspapers will close by 2025. About 70 million U.S. residents or a fifth of the countrys population now live in areas with limited access to local news or without any local news at all, the report said. With the decline of local news, student journalists are filling in gaps, said Shannon Stocking, co-editor in chief of The Michigan Daily at the University of Michigan. When Ann Arbor lost two of its established local newspapers, The Michigan Daily found itself providing regular news to the citys residents. Its a really exciting thing. Its also stressful, Stocking said. But her student paper is telling stories that otherwise would go untold. The Michigan Daily has had to step into that role of broadening the city beats resources, making sure that its completely staffed at all times, Stocking said. Additionally, the paper is training news reporters that they are not only working at a student newspaper, but they are providing a community of 100,000 people with their primary news. Afghanistan's Taliban-led administration has set up a consortium of companies including some in Russia, Iran and Pakistan to create an investment plan focusing on power, mining and infrastructure, the acting commerce minister said Wednesday. The consortium includes 14 Afghan businessmen, and the ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with foreign companies that would send delegates to Kabul to look into projects worth up to $1 billion, Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters. Afghanistan's economy has been severely hampered since the Taliban took over in 2021, sparking the international community to cut most development funding and enforce sanctions on the banking sector. A series of attacks waged by the Islamic State group against foreign targets also has worried some investors. Security a focus Azizi said the administration was focused on launching several long-term business plans, including the consortium and special economic zones, and that it was working on ensuring security. "Lots of discussions on security have taken place in cabinet meetings. Also, commissions have been established and ... the hiding places [of militants] have been destroyed," he said. "The Islamic Emirate will ensure security and will support the private sector in the security field," he said, referring to the Taliban administration. Mining, power, possibly a tunnel As well as mining and power projects, he said the consortium was eyeing the possibility of building a second tunnel through the Salang pass that connects Afghanistan's north to the rest of the country, and a project to divert water from northern Panjshir province to the capital as well as rebuilding the main highway connecting Kabul to western Herat province. The minister said the Taliban administration was planning to focus on building special economic zones it hoped would attract foreign investment. His ministry has helped develop a plan to convert foreign bases into the zones, and a board was being set up with representatives of different ministries. He declined to elaborate while the details were finalized with other ministries and senior leadership. Shipments of oil, gas and wheat under a major deal with Russia last year had begun arriving in Afghanistan by road and rail through Central Asia, he said, after the payments were made via banking channels despite sanctions that have limited many international payments. He did not elaborate on which banks had facilitated the payment. During his unannounced trip to Kyiv this week, President Joe Biden spoke admiringly about the resilience of Ukraine's state and democracy. But a year earlier, the United States and its allies harbored grave doubts about Ukraines ability to stand up to Russias February 24, 2022, invasion. "The inflated estimates of Russian military capacity and the downplaying of that of Ukraine had real consequences," said Eliot Cohen, professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. "They slowed down not only the supply of weaponry to Ukraine but also policymakers' assessment of the realities." The belief that Ukraine would be quickly defeated prevented the West from supplying Ukraine with heavy military equipment early, agreed British political expert Taras Kuzio. "Western governments didn't want to give that because they were convinced that Ukraine would be quickly defeated." The re-examination of these early predictions began within weeks as the Ukrainian army turned back a Russian column driving toward Kyiv. Three primary explanations for the miscalculation have emerged. Lack of expertise "Very few people understand Russia sufficiently," said Alexander Vindman, who served as a director for European affairs for the U.S. National Security Council. "Even fewer people understand Ukraine," he said. A fundamental flaw was a failure to understand that Ukrainians "are people that had been engaged in a war for eight years, that these are very tough-minded folks," Vindman said, referring to Russias annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and its backing of separatists in eastern Ukraine. Kuzio said this misunderstanding was compounded by an approach to post-Soviet history that focuses mainly on the Russian perspective. "Those advisers to the governments are usually experts in Russia, and they believe that they have some God-given right to be also experts on the other 14 republics of the former U.S.S.R., which is completely ridiculous. It does not happen anywhere else in the world. If you're an expert on Argentina, you're not an expert on Brazil or Mexico," he said. "Many in the West mistakenly thought Ukraine was just like Russia but weaker, more corrupt, and chaotic," agreed Orysia Lutsevych, head of Chatham House's Ukraine Forum, in an article for The Guardian newspaper. "In fact, while Ukraine is by no means perfect, it is more agile and decentralized, compared to the autocratic and rigid Russian state." Western analysts also didn't account for the reform of the Ukrainian army since 2014, relying too much on "anecdotal studies of Ukrainian capabilities from 2014-2015," said George Barros, an analyst on Russia and Ukraine at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington. Kuzio believes that some Russian narratives were making their way into the Western analysis, which exaggerated the East-West divide in Ukraine and the weakness of the Ukrainian state. Cohen at Johns Hopkins suggested that "even a subconscious acceptance of Russian contempt for Ukraine as a lesser people" might have clouded the Western experts analysis. "Most of the Western expert opinion was based on the narratives Russia has been promoting for the last 30 years," said Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova in an interview with VOA. She said these narratives, which portrayed Russia as a mighty military force and Ukraine as a weak society that would welcome Russian troops, "originated from the Soviet Union and the Russian Empire." Markarova said the Western thinking also was influenced by the recent experience in Afghanistan, where President Ashraf Ghani fled the country as soon as the Taliban threatened Kabul in 2021. But President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his government stayed in Kyiv and millions of citizens rushed to defend their country, forcing Western leaders to re-evaluate the situation. "At least it all began to reduce negative expectations," Markarova said. Military assessment The experts also noted that, based on raw numbers and data alone, Russias military appeared to be an overwhelming force compared to the Ukrainian army. "Many analysts also overestimated the Russian military due to relying too heavily on net assessment the comparative analysis of military, technological, political, economic and other factors governing the relative military capability of states," said Barros. He explained that while the Institute for the Study of War was late to predict the invasion, it correctly assessed that the Russians would fail in their effort to capture Kyiv. "It is clear that the Russian military is suffering endemic problems with leadership, information, command and control, intelligence and other key aspects of combat power, despite having larger resources than Ukraine." Vindman brought up his experience working at the U.S. Embassy in Russia. "I spent three years in Moscow working with the Russian military. From monitoring and observing how they operate, it was clear to me that not everything would work, and that they would not be able to use it all in operational concepts that they could employ in Ukraine." According to Kuzio, Western experts also did not appreciate how Russias engrained corruption would affect its military. "If Russia is a mafia state, then the Russian military will be, too; it is a part of that state." Complex assessments "Military analysis is not fortune-telling," said Michael Kofman, director of the Russia Studies program at the Center for Naval Analysis. Kofman said he correctly predicted the looming war a year ago but underestimated the Ukrainian resistance. Still, he said, most analysts understood that Russia would have a hard time trying to control Ukraine. "The consensus was Ukraine would lose the conventional war, but Russia would not succeed in occupation. Many Ukrainian colleagues shared this view." Kofman said he believes the analysts did not misread Russian capabilities as much as they underestimated the Ukrainian ones. "There was little knowledge of Ukraine's plan for defense and no evidence of systematic preparation." He said the analysts had also assumed that Russia would mount "a joint force operation, taking Ukraines ability to resist seriously, rather than a risky decapitation strike with no Plan B for a sustained war, under the assumption Ukrainian resistance would collapse easily." Some factors that influenced the outcome ranging from the strength of Ukrainian society to the unknowns about FSB penetration of Ukrainian elite circles were too complex to assess, he said, referring to Russias Federal Security Service. Kofman underscored that the U.S. policy on intelligence support and military assistance to Ukraine changed dramatically after the first weeks. "I think we were never seriously asked how the war could look if the U.S. truly backed Ukraine," he said. Natalia Churikova contributed to this report. Ukraines foreign minister appealed to the international community Wednesday to stand by his country one year into Russias war against his nation. A year after, against all odds, Ukraine is effectively defending itself against a much stronger enemy, and I appeal to you: This is a decisive moment to show support, unity and solidarity, Dmytro Kuleba told a special emergency session of the U.N. General Assembly called to mark the anniversary of Russias invasion. This is the moment to prove that you stand for the U.N. Charter. The assembly will consider a draft resolution submitted by Ukraine underscoring the urgency to find a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in line with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. Kyiv and its allies hope for strong numbers in the vote planned for Thursday to signal to Moscow that international support remains strong with Ukraine a year into the conflict. Nearly 70 countries have co-sponsored the text. We need to send a strong and clear message that the U.N. Charter, including the principles of sovereign equality and territorial integrity of states, should serve as the basis for the process of peaceful resolution, Kuleba said. He reminded the assembly that Ukraine is exercising its right to self-defense and fighting for its survival. No one should be fooled by Russias empty calls for negotiations, the foreign minister warned. The current situation on the front lines proves they want war, not peace. They are on the attack all along the front line, from the Dnipro River to the Russian border. They keep striking Ukraines civilian infrastructure with salvos of cruise missiles and drones. Russias envoy urged countries to vote against the draft resolution, which he characterized as emptied out of substance and divorced from reality. He said if it is adopted, it would be used by the Kyiv regime and the West in their anti-Russian propaganda campaign against Moscow. Do we have any reason to trust the statements being made by Western representatives today when they say that they want peace? Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia asked. He said the West had shown its true colors and its goal to arm Ukraine in order to inflict strategic defeat on Russia and to dismember and destroy it. Nebenzia insisted that Moscow is not obstructing peace. We are ready for a search for a serious and long-term diplomatic solution. We have stated this on many occasions, he said. Our opponents have not yet recovered from their futile illusions that they could defeat a nuclear power. U.S. envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the resolution under consideration would promote diplomacy, dialogue and a lasting peace in Ukraine. Colleagues, this vote will go down in history. On the one-year anniversary of this conflict, we will see where the nations of the world stand on the matter of peace in Ukraine, she said. Speaking of her own trip to Ukraine late last year, Thomas-Greenfield said it was hard to overstate how much unnecessary anguish and pain President [Vladimir] Putin has caused. Speaking at the opening of the meeting, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reaffirmed his position that Russias invasion is illegal and violates the U.N. Charter. He reiterated the organizations commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders. Guterres has visited the country twice since the invasion a year ago. In the absence of an opening for peace talks, he has sought to use his good offices to alleviate some of the global consequences of the conflict, including getting grain and fertilizer out of both Ukraine and Russia to world markets, and to seek de-escalation around Ukraines nuclear power plants. While prospects may look bleak today, we must all work knowing that genuine, lasting peace must be based on the U.N. Charter and international law, Guterres said. The longer the fighting continues, the more difficult this work will be. A new report by four leading United Nations agencies and the World Bank estimates every two minutes, one woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth, mostly from preventable causes. The report, Trends in maternal mortality 2000 to 2020, was produced by WHO, UNICEF, and the UNFPA, along with the World Bank Group and UNDESA/Population Division. Health officials say the data presented in the report should be a wakeup call for world leaders to take action to end maternal deaths by investing in health care systems and closing the widening social and economic inequities that contribute to these deaths. While pregnancy should be a time of immense hope and a positive experience for all women, it is tragically still a shockingly dangerous experience for millions around the world, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organizations director-general. These new statistics reveal the urgent need to ensure every woman and girl has access to critical health services before, during and after childbirth, he said, And that they can fully exercise their reproductive rights. The report finds an estimated 287,000 women around the world died from a maternal cause in 2020. That is equivalent to 800 deaths a day, or one death every two minutes. These numbers show persistent inequities between countries which are undermining womens rights., said Anshu Banerjee, assistant director general for universal health coverage at WHO. There is over a hundred-fold risk of dying depending on where a woman delivers her baby, particularly in low-income countries compared to high income countries, he said. The statistics bear this out. While some significant progress in reducing maternal deaths was made between 2000 and 2015, the report notes this progress has largely stalled, and in some cases been reversed. For example, between 2016 and 2020, it says the maternal mortality rate increased in Europe, Northern America, Latin America and the Caribbean. While the number of deaths has gone up, the report says the regions have among the lowest maternal mortality rates in the world. During this same period, the report says two regions, Australia and New Zealand, and Central and Southern Asia, reduced maternal deaths significantly. The picture is quite different in sub-Saharan Africa, which has the highest rate of maternal mortality, accounting for 70 percent of maternal deaths worldwide. Jenny Cresswell, an epidemiologist at WHO and author of the report, said the maternal mortality ratio per 100,000 live births in sub-Saharan Africa in 2020 is estimated to be 545 maternal deaths for every 100,000 live births. This number is 136 times bigger than MMR (maternal mortality ratio) in Australia and New Zealand, the lowest region, Cresswell said. She adds, A 15-year-old girl in Chad in 2020 has a one in 15 chance of dying from a maternal cause during her lifetime, and that is 4,000 times greater than the probability in Belarus. In 2020, Belarus had one MMR per 100,000 live births compared to Chad, which had 1,063 MMRs per 100,000 live births. Leading causes The leading causes of maternal deaths include severe bleeding, high blood pressure, pregnancy-related infections, complications from unsafe abortions, and underlying conditions such as HIV/AIDS and malaria. Banerjee said nearly all these maternal deaths are preventable. Nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended, which is highlighting the lack of access of some 270 million women globally to modern family planning methods meaning they are unable to choose how and when to plan their families, he says. Many lack access to safe abortion, which increases risk of complications, including deaths associated with unsafe procedures, said Banerjee. Natalia Kanem, executive director of the U.N. Population Fund, said it is unacceptable that so many women continue to die needlessly during pregnancy and childbirth. She said, We can and must do better by urgently investing in family planning and filling the global shortage of 900,000 midwives so that every woman can get the lifesaving care she needs. We have the tools, knowledge, and resources to end preventable maternal deaths, she said. What we need now is the political will. The U.S. Congress has appropriated more than $112 billion in aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded one year ago. VOA Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson looks back at the scope of that assistance and reports on what happens next. VOA footage by Rob Parsons. The number of migrant encounters at the United States-Mexico border dropped nearly 40% from a record of about 252,000 in December 2022 to about 156,000 in January according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. CBP credits the decrease to a parole program that began on January 5 for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, the four countries that had the highest numbers of migrants trying to cross into the U.S. during the preceding months. The program is designed to decrease unauthorized migration, including crossing between ports of entry. The humanitarian parole program allows up to 30,000 migrants per month from each country to enter the U.S. and live for up to two years. Once their applications are approved, they are allowed to proceed with travel arrangements. The program also makes it easier to quickly expel migrants from those nations if they cross the border without authorization. On Monday, Alex Nowrasteh, director of economic and social policy studies at the Cato Institute, published a study showing that the number of migrants from the four countries arriving at the border declined by 75.8% in January. The number of [Venezuelan, Cuban, Nicaraguan, and Haitian] migrants showing up at the border fell to 22,082 in January of 2023, down from 91,330 in December 2022 a drop of 69,248. This is consistent with Catos theory that legal migration deters illegal migration and border crossings, Nowrasteh wrote. CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller said in a news release that the trends have continued into February, with average encounters of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans plummeting. The January monthly operational update clearly illustrates that new border enforcement measures are working, with the lowest level of Border Patrol encounters between Ports of Entry since February of 2021, Miller said in a statement. Migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela must apply for legal entry while outside the U.S. under the humanitarian parole authority. They must meet all health requirements, pass a background check, and have a U.S. sponsor. Using the CBP One app, migrants must request processing appointments, but the demand has overwhelmed and some complain the app was not working properly. One approved, applicants are required to arrange and pay for their own travel to the U.S. Under humanitarian parole, migrants can live in the U.S. legally for two years and apply for a work permit. Meanwhile, 20 states with Republican attorneys general have filed a lawsuit in Texas saying the Biden administration arbitrarily created these changes and overstepped its authority. Congress has given humanitarian parole authority to U.S. presidents since 1952. Given the programs early success at the U.S.-Mexico border and in anticipation of the May 11 end of Title 42, a policy that allows for the immediate expulsion of migrants during public health emergencies Biden officials on Tuesday proposed a policy that would block certain migrants from seeking asylum in the U.S. and allow the government to quickly deport them. Under the proposal, migrants who do not use available pathways to come to the U.S. or fail to seek humanitarian refuge in a country they pass through on their way to the United States, will be ineligible to seek asylum in the U.S. unless they qualify for certain exceptions. Besides applying through the CBP One app for humanitarian parole, some of the pathways available under immigration law are family sponsorship and employment-based visas, among others. While available, these options often are not easily accessible to migrants hoping to reach the U.S.-Mexico border. Those who do not qualify for an exception or cannot prove they sought asylum in another country will be barred from seeking asylum and quickly deported to their home countries without the chance to see an immigration judge. DHS officials said the public will have 30 days to comment on the proposed regulation before its implementation, which they expect to take place by May. CBP data show that 874,449 migrants have been encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border since October 1, 2022 the start of fiscal 2023. Of those, 264,963 were immediately removed under Title 42. Some of those migrants have tried to cross the border multiple times. Fiscal 2022 saw an estimated 2.3 million encounters with migrants, according to CBP. More than 1 million migrants were immediately expelled under Title 42, and 1.3 million were processed under Title 8, which means they were allowed to seek asylum in the U.S. or placed under expedited removal proceedings and sent back to Mexico or their home countries. The United States is nominating former Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga to lead the World Bank, President Joe Biden announced on Thursday, crediting him with critical experience on global challenges including climate change. The news comes days after Trump appointee David Malpass announced plans to step down in June from his role leading the 189-nation poverty reduction agency. His five-year term was due to expire in April 2024. Addressing the impacts of climate change at the multilateral bank is a priority for the U.S. And leading climate figures have urged the Biden administration to use Malpass' early departure as an opening to overhaul the powerful financial institution, which has been increasingly criticized as hostile to less-wealthy nations and efforts to address climate change. Malpass ran into criticism last year for seeming, in comments at a conference, to cast doubt on the science that says the burning of fossil fuels causes global warming. He later apologized and said he had misspoken, noting that the bank routinely relies on climate science. Banga, currently vice chairman at private equity firm General Atlantic, has more than 30 years of business experience, having served in various roles at Mastercard and the boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc. He is the first Indian-born nominee to the World Bank president role. "Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history," Biden said in a statement, adding that Banga "has critical experience mobilizing public-private resources to tackle the most urgent challenges of our time, including climate change." Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement that Banga's experience "will help him achieve the World Bank's objectives of eliminating extreme poverty and expanding shared prosperity while pursuing the changes needed to effectively evolve the institution," which include meeting "ambitious goals for climate adaptation and emissions reduction." Biden's climate envoy, John Kerry, said on Twitter that Banga was "the right choice." "He can help put in place new policies that help deploy the large sums of money necessary to reduce global emissions and help developing and vulnerable countries adapt, build resilience, and mitigate the impact of greenhouse gases," Kerry tweeted. The United States has traditionally picked the World Bank chief. The head of its sister agency, the International Monetary Fund, has traditionally come from Europe. But critics have called for an end to that arrangement and for developing countries to gain a bigger voice in the two organizations. The World Bank has promised to conduct "an open, merit-based and transparent selection process and said it would accept nominations through March 29. Eric LeCompte, executive director of the anti-poverty coalition Jubilee USA Network, said the United States was "looking to nominate people that will be supported by the developing world'' and that it was "incredibly relevant'' that Banga was born in India. "They want to be able to appoint people who have experience and roots with other economies,'' LeCompte said. "I can't think of a more intense time for a person to be coming into this job,'' said Clemence Landers, policy fellow at the Center for Global Development, a Washington think tank. The bank is under pressure to expand its mandate an effort that likely would require the next president to convince donor countries to provide more money. Critics say the bank should be doing more to help poor countries finance projects to combat and prepare for climate change without saddling them with heavy debt burdens. And Landers said it needs to do a better job at tackling problems that cross borders such as providing pandemic surveillance and backing broad vaccination programs. DUQUESNE A western Pennsylvania police officer and a suspect were both taken to hospitals after being wounded in an exchange of gunfire, authorities said. Allegheny County police say the Duquesne officer responded to a report of gunshots shortly before 12:30 a.m. Wednesday and was immediately met by gunfire before exiting his vehicle. Police said the officer was wounded in the foot in the ensuing exchange of fire and the suspect was hit in the leg. Police said the suspect went into the basement of a vacant home and was taken into custody by other officers. Police said the 28-year-old suspect is hospitalized under police guard and will face charges including attempted homicide and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. Senior officials from the United States and Taiwan have concluded discussions on a range of security and diplomatic issues, including the situation across the Taiwan Strait, tensions between the U.S. and China amid Russias invasion in Ukraine, high-level visits between Washington and Taipei, and Taiwans outreach to European nations that also face threats from Russia, a diplomatic source told VOA on Wednesday. Tuesdays substantial and high-level meetings followed a separate U.S.-Taiwan policy talk held at the American Institute in Taiwans headquarters in the United States on Jan. 6, 2023. The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) is responsible for implementing U.S. policy toward Taiwan under the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act because the U.S. has no official relations with Taiwan. Washington switched its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing to counter the then-Soviet Union in 1979. A 'robust and unofficial' relationship White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner, and other American officials met for several hours on Tuesday with a delegation led by Taiwans national security adviser Wellington Koo and Taiwans Foreign Minister Joseph Wu. Sherman told VOA during an interview on Thursday that the U.S. maintains a robust and unofficial relationship with Taiwan. We have said repeatedly that no one should take unilateral action to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, said the State Departments second-most senior official. It is in the world's interest that we maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait as we have done now for decades, said Sherman. She did not confirm nor deny Tuesdays talks. U.S. officials said there is no change in Washingtons long-standing policy. We continue to engage with Taiwan under the auspices of AIT and TECRO, and in line with our long-standing policy, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Wednesday. TECRO refers to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, Taiwan's office in the United States. Regarding our very important but unofficial relationship with Taiwan, I will just underscore that there's been no change to America's one China policy based on the Taiwan Relations Act, the three joint communicates and the six assurances to Taiwan, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink told reporters during a Wednesday briefing. He was asked if a potential visit to the U.S. by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen came up during Tuesdays meeting. Kritenbrink was among the U.S. officials who took part in Tuesdays meetings. He told VOA the U.S. thinks it is in the interest of the international community and individual partners to have a practical and functional relationship with Taiwan. To prevent miscalculation and escalation in the Taiwan Strait, we are working to maintain open lines of communication with the PLA, Ratner told VOA on Wednesday in the same phone briefing. He was referring to the Chinese military Peoples Liberation Army. The Pentagons Ratner added the U.S. is disappointed about Chinas unwillingness to engage with senior U.S. military leaders for deconfliction talks. We have had working-level communications between the Defense Department and PRC [Peoples Republic of China] counterparts both in Washington and in Beijing, but we have not had leader level communications despite U.S. requests, said Ratner. Concern about China-Russia relationship Tuesdays U.S.-Taiwan talks came amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China over a Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by the U.S. military, and because of Chinas increasing support for Russia as its invasion of Ukraine nears one-year mark. The U.S. is very concerned of deepening ties between PRC [Peoples Republic of China] and Russia, and a planned state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow in the spring, said the diplomatic source. Last Saturday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met face to face with top PRC diplomat Wang Yi in a meeting on the margins of Munich Security Conference. American officials said Wang lashed out during the candid, direct, and sometimes confrontational meeting that lasted about one hour. Afghanistan has a higher maternal mortality rate than all its six neighbors combined, according to a World Health Organization report released Thursday, and experts say the maternal health crisis is feared to get worse. The landlocked countrys 620 fatalties per 100,000 live births is the highest in Asia, where most developing countries have made steady progress in improving maternal health care. Despite the country's improved maternal mortality rates between 2001 and 2021 prior to international funding that coincided with the U.S.-led invasion, maternal mortality had been reported at 1,346 per 100,000 live births under the first Taliban regime in 2000 the militant rulers' August 2021 return to power has derailed that hard-won progress. Now experts say health risks among Afghan women in general are expected to increase. Taliban-enforced bans on womens education and work "prevent women from accessing healthcare," Brienne Prusak, a spokesperson for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Afghanistan, told VOA, adding that the bans have increased medical needs and exacerbated the country's already dire economic crisis. The bans "have dealt womens freedoms a grievous blow," the International Crisis Group said in a report on Thursday. "They are also impeding delivery of life-saving assistance, disrupting the worlds largest aid operation even as half the population suffers from acute hunger." Making matters worse: Foreign donors have stopped development assistance, which accounted for some 70% of public spending under the former Afghan government, crippling the national economy and forcing millions of Afghans into extreme poverty. "The public health care system in Afghanistan has been underfunded and overburdened for years," said Prusak, adding that health sector funding has dropped significantly since 2021. Significantly worse A large majority of Afghans, 88%, either delayed, suspended or decided not to seek medical care in 2022 mostly because of Taliban restrictions and poverty, according to MSF. "Sometimes, mothers are so malnourished they cant produce milk," said a medical staff with MSF in Afghanistan. "We see them putting tea in bottles to give to newborn babies only seven or eight days old which can be very dangerous." Meanwhile, human rights groups have warned about a sharp rise in cases of child marriage in Afghanistan, which often result in early pregnancy and serious health risks for young mothers. While the U.N. and nongovernmental organizations that track maternal mortality have not revised their figures for Afghanistan since 2020, public health experts say the numbers have worsened significantly over the past two years. "Approximately more than one third (36.6%) of respondents reported that infant/child mortality has 'increased a little' to 'increased a lot,'" reads a report by the John Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health, citing interviews conducted with dozens of health workers and NGOs in Afghanistan between February and April 2022. "Approximately one-third (31.4%) of respondents perceive that maternal mortality has increased in their community since August 2021," the report says. Maternal health indicators have seen alarming setbacks in many parts of the world over the last few years, according to the WHO. "In total numbers, maternal deaths continue to be largely concentrated in the poorest parts of the world and in countries affected by conflict," the organization said in its latest report. In terms of global ranking, South Sudan (1,223), Chad (1,063) and Nigeria (1,047) have the highest maternal mortality figures in the world, according to the WHO report, which draws on data from 2020. HARARE (AFP) - His name is whispered on the streets of the Zimbabwean capital Harare, or said behind hands cupped over mouths. Five months before the next election in Zimbabwe, many avoid uttering the name "Nelson Chamisa" in public when talking about the main rival to President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The southern African country is more and more like a "dictatorship", the 45-year-old lawyer told AFP. His Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) party is bracing for a "rough" presidential and legislative election campaign against Mnangagwa, known as "the Crocodile" for his ruthless cunning. A date has yet to be set for the votes, which are expected to be early in August. But the odds are stacked up against the opposition. "It's going to be a rough campaign, hard hat equipment is necessary," said Chamisa in his office in the centre of the capital, Harare. "It's quite a hostile environment, we need to be equipped for it." Even with polls looming, his party commonly referred to as "triple C" still has no formal structures, for fear of being infiltrated, according to one party official. Sitting in a leather armchair much larger than him, the politician known on the streets as "Mukomana" or "the young man", puts up a determined and combative face. But he admitted that his room to manoeuvre is narrowing in the face of a regime he described as a corrupt dictatorship. Zimbabwe's electoral process has "always attracted controversy" and is "littered with rigging, manipulation", he said. Typically the ruling Zanu-PF -- which has been in power since independence in 1980 -- distributes land or food aid to rural communities that vote for it to ensure continued loyalty, he claimed. And in towns, mostly controlled by the opposition, Zanu-PF uses "all sorts of strategies" to discredit local municipalities as is "typical of tyrannies and dictatorships all around the world", Chamisa added. "It's the DNA of Zanu-PF, they don't believe in service delivery, in performance, in accountability and responsibility," he claimed. 'Assassination plot' But Chamisa is "determined to win against all odds" despite coming under criticism, including from within his own camp, for failing to encourage young Zimbabweans to register to vote in a country where elections are characterised by low turnout. "It will be a tough campaign but we are tougher," Chamisa said. "We've had over 63 of our meetings cancelled over the past week," said Chamisa, adding that hundreds of others have been obstructed by police or by Zanu-PF supporters in recent months. The government strenuously deny the allegations, with Mnangagwa saying earlier this month that Zimbabwe is a democracy that has held elections without fail over the past four decades. "The contest is open to everyone," said Mnangagwa, adding "the more we have people who want to become president, the merrier it is." The CCC, however, is conspicuously absent from state media. "I have not appeared on state media, radio or newspaper for the past seven years," said Chamisa, since the coup that ousted longtime leader Robert Mugabe in 2017 in favour of Mnangagwa. "I only appear when they are saying something on my behalf, but they don't give me an opportunity to say... my side of the story". Chamisa was a target of what he calls an assassination plot in 2021 when shots were fired at his convoy. A bullet ripped through the left rear seat of his car where he normally sits. "I'm lucky to be alive," he said. A senior and outspoken CCC lawmaker, Job Sikhala, has been in prison for eight months without trial for allegedly inciting violence. His numerous applications for bail have been refused. Two other members of parliament were arrested in January, along with two dozen people who were at a meeting at a private house. The "persecution continues", Chamisa said. WASHINGTON - Catholic bishops have expressed concern over violence, the incarceration of political opponents ahead of Zimbabwes forthcoming general elections. In its latest letter, the bishops said it is worrying that some Zimbabweans are being silenced for being opponents of the government. A General Election is a sacred moment of synodality and communal discernment. Because synodality is about journeying together, an important watershed moment in the life of a people, a General Election, should never be preceded by violence. Because it is a time of communal discernment about the kind of leadership we want, and where we wish to go as a nation, a General Election, should never be in a context of intimidation and incarceration. We are going towards the General Elections with some people incarcerated for expressing their views. As we go for elections it is imperative that there is clarity about what we want from these elections, hence the need for the 40 days of fasting and prayer. If important elections such as these become nothing but a power game, seeking to attain or retain power and nothing else to offer beyond this, then as a nation, we are lost and we are doomed. The bishops said Zimbabweans are currently facing many problems ahead of the crucial polls/ Looking at where we are, we see that our people are witnesses and worse, victims of abject poverty and destitution. We live with these and there doesnt seem to be an exodus, a way out of this desperation, where people are without work, and those with work are paid never enough to feed themselves and look after their families. We see a growing population on the streets living on begging. We see a very high percentage of young people of school going age not going to school and a good number of them now being employed, by untouchable drug lords, to sell drugs and killing themselves and many others in the process. They are worried about politics in Zimbabwe. We also see that our people are being used as ponies in the power game. Clearly they are victims of political violence fanned by the reckless utterances of the political leadership in its quest for power. How many more people have to be maimed and how many have to be killed before we can put a stop to all this? Surely we can allow compassion for each other to breathe. We can tolerate political differences and we can learn from each other what to add to our own political vision and how to market it without the shedding of blood. Violence should never be a tool employed in politics. As Pope Francis reminded us, The instrument of politics is closeness, it is about confronting problems, understanding them....it is about something we have forgotten how to do: persuasion They noted that Zimbabweans are expected to elect a leader that has a clear plan about how to put families first by creating good employment so as to lower the increased number of our poor people living in desperate situations of outright deprivation. This election must bring to the highest office a leader who cares about the health of the excluded poor both young and old. Pope Benedict XVI, 14 years ago, called political leaders to create economies capable of including all people where all will be able to give and receive, without one group making progress at the expense of the other. No doubt the principal goal of the war of liberation was not only political emancipation but economic inclusivity, so as to ensure bread on every table and equal opportunities for all. The past attempts by our government building schools and universities, clinics and hospitals, and providing opportunities for the excluded in the public and private sector cannot go unacknowledged. We need to build on these successes and this is where we are failing. The altruistic approach that gave us the aforementioned successes seemingly has been aborted and replaced by a raw form of individualism seeking nothing but self-aggrandizement through corruption. The bishops said what is most worrisome is that rampart corruption by known players is not being nipped in the bud by the responsible offices but is seemingly supported by those in power by their silence and inaction. The Auditor Generals report of 2021 makes for painful reading as it confirms total disregard for structures of accountability. She writes that some ministries have not made their documents available for audit despite the fact that this is a requirement. Where there is no transparency and no accountability, we can conclude that there is corruption at a large scale. The chairperson of the Anti-Corruption Commission admitted in 2019 that the commission could do very little because the courts were corrupt. The bishops urged Zimbabweans to think about the leadership they want when they go to the polls. Can we choose from the candidates who will present themselves, people who will lead our country on the path of economic prosperity, justice and freedom for which our brothers and sisters gave their lives in the war of liberation? Can we choose those candidates who will be accountable to the people. Many countries in Africa have witnessed the shrinking of the democratic space through the increased use of force to silence dissenting voices. As Victor Hugo once said An invasion of armies can be resisted; an invasion of ideas cannot be resisted. Force can never erase the longing in the peoples hearts for freedom and accountability. Governments that ignore this may last for a while, propped up as they are by armies, but in the long run they will not succeed. They said the use of force has a long history in Zimbabwe dating back to the colonial times. The bishops added that while the 1970s were the most painful example of the use of force to try and destroy the aspirations of the black majority in our own times we continue to witness the use of force to silence dissent. We are witnesses, in our own times, of this abuse of power. What can we do to make this election different, before, during and after? Repentance can point us to an answer. There is no repentance that does not touch the core of our being. Whatever good we desire for our country must begin with us as individuals. The code has been copied to your clipboard. width px height px The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Police had to use rubber bullets in Bulawayo on Thursday to disperse vendors who were resisting eviction from the central business district. Reports say some people were injured. (Video: VOA) The URL has been copied to your clipboard The code has been copied to your clipboard. Vendors aligned to the ruling Zanu PF went on the rampage in Bulawayo today when city council security members attempted to evict them from the central business district. (Video: Kudzanai Musengi) Funeral Announcements A daily list of current funeral annoucements as heard on KXRA 1490 AM/100.3 FM News Updates The daily news, sports, and events delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Sports Update This current sports headlines delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Upcoming Events This email is the events of the area delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria. Breaking News The big news. Sent only as it happens. PHILADELPHIA Striking Temple University graduate student teaching and research assistants have overwhelmingly rejected a proposed new contract that would have brought their three-week-long walkout to an end. The Temple University Graduate Students Association said Tuesday night that members had voted 352 to 30 to reject the pact. The strike continues, the organization said on its Facebook page. Laurie Robins, a member of the negotiating committee, told the Philadelphia Inquirer the vote shows the proposed contract is insufficient to meet the needs of our members and should tell university officials that they need to offer a truly fair contract. Ken Kaiser, Temples senior vice president and chief operating officer, said officials are incredibly disappointed. Kaiser, who has been with the university for more than three decades, said it was the first time he could recall that a tentative agreement with the union has not been ratified. Were committed to getting back to the table and hopefully closing any of the gaps and keeping the lines of communication open, he said. The union also said it was willing to resume talks as soon as Wednesday, the newspaper reported. The association, which represents about 750 members, began the first strike in its two-decade-long history on Jan. 31 after more than a year of negotiations and no agreement. The students teach core undergraduate courses and assist professors with research. The university has said about 20% of graduate student teaching and research assistants have not continued to work, but the union said at least twice that many were on strike. Many classes were moved online to accommodate new instructors schedules and following reports of intimidation of students and instructors, the university said. Temple has withdrawn free tuition from the strikers, giving them a month to pay in full or face a late fee and a financial hold that would bar them from registering for more classes. Union leaders have said the university has also been deactivating striking students health care accounts. Temple said last week the proposed agreement included wage increases in each of the contracts four years, as well as a one-time payment, effective this month. The announcement on the universitys website said graduate students would retain free health insurance for themselves but didnt mention insurance for dependents, which the union has sought. he union was seeking to raise average pay from $19,500 a year to more than $32,000, while the university is offering 3% raises that would result in average pay of about $22,000 over the four-year contract. The strikers also wanted health care coverage for dependents and longer paid parental leave and bereavement leave. The long-running Wahkiakum Outdoors program, sponsored by the Wahkiakum County Marine Resources Committee, provides educational events regarding marine and natural resources and recreational opportunities in the SW Washington region. The program will host three presentations during March and April 2023. On Saturday, March 25, Jim Aalberg of Westport, Oregon will describe the history and evolution of the Wahkiakum-Westport Ferry (Catching The Last Ferry). The following Saturday, April 1, Dr. Madeline Kalbach from University of Calgary will present Wings Over the Long Beach Peninsula defining the bird life and habitats found on the nearby peninsula. Local musician/kayak guide/naturalist, Andrew Emlen of Skamokawa, will review The Unique Geology and Ecology of the Cathlamet Cliffs on April 22. All Wahkiakum Outdoors presentations will take place at 2:00 p.m., at the Hope Center, 320 S 3rd Street in Cathlamet. Contact Mike Passmore (601-831-0360) for questions about these upcoming events or to suggest other topics. After the cancellation of a winter camp due to inclement weather, this weekend people will dress in period attire and take to St. Joachim Catholic Church Grounds, located at 10120 Crest Road, Old Mines, for the La Brigade a Renault Winter Camp Renaudiere Meat Shoot and Rendezvous in Old Mines. Old Mines is celebrating its third century. The winter rendezvous has been going on since the late 1980s according to Dennis Boyer, a member of the La Brigade a Renault organization. Its not like some of your shoots where people go in and shoot these high-priced shotguns, but they have chances of winning prizes worth a lot of money, said Boyer. Its mostly for fun. The Saturday-through-Sunday event was made for those who enjoy primitive shoots, and is a chance for people to camp in weather conditions they may not be used to, Boyer said. While the event is not designed to be a money-maker, the organization raises funds by baking and selling traditional French four a pain bread made in wood-fired ovens on site. The round loaf of bread is very similar to what would have been used in the early 1800s, according to Boyer. Admission is free. Boyer said both days start at 9 a.m. Attendees may catch a glimpse of days gone by. Instead of using shotguns, shooters are using muzzleloaders. Boyer said there are different categories in which people can participate, including a flintlock and percussion rifle match, tradition shooting out of the pouch, smoothbore, and primitive archery. All participants in the meat shoot will receive a prize. There is a $10 shooting fee required for each event, and period-correct attire, usually from the 1790s through the 1840s, is required for all shooters, campers, and participants. The period-correct attire is required at the time of a shooters registration and has to be on at all times on the range, and must also be worn for the Friday night participants' dinner. The flintlock and percussion rifle match will start at 10 a.m. on both days, while the smoothbore division will start at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Primitive archery will also take place starting at 10 a.m. on both days of the event. The awards ceremony for all events is Sunday at 3 p.m. There is a $10 camp fee including traders, primitive, or modern camping. Modern camping with very limited electrical availability is offered. Water and firewood are also on hand as needed. No loaded guns are allowed in the camp, and no vehicles are allowed in the camp overnight. The shoot is just one of the many organized events to celebrate 300 years of Old Mines. The next event to celebrate the tricentennial is the Washington County Expo on March 19. The annual May edition of the La Brigade a Renault Rendezvous is set for the weekend of May 20, and is also at the St. Joachim Catholic Church Grounds. The event is subject to inclement weather, and could be called off or postponed. It is recommended to call before going, as it has been canceled in the past. Boyer can be contacted at 573-210-8362, or Dick Juliette, also a member of the La Brigade a Renault, can be contacted at 573-438-5350. A man faced felony charges last week after allegedly trying to steal a truck and reportedly pulling a gun on the truck's owner after being confronted. Candelario Raymond Gonzalez, 44, was charged in St. Francois County last Wednesday with one count of first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle and one count of unlawful use of a weapon - exhibiting. According to a probable cause statement from the Farmington Police Department, last Tuesday, an officer responded to a report of a suspect trying to take a 2008 Ford F-250, in an area of Hunt Road near Hillsboro Road. The vehicle's owner reportedly told police he discovered that a man inside his truck had started the vehicle and was attempting to drive it away. The truck's owner said he confronted the man, later identified as Gonzalez, who told the owner he was picking up the vehicle for a friend. The owner reportedly informed Gonzalez that the truck was his and started to call law enforcement. The report states Gonzalez immediately reached into a hip bag and produced a firearm, pointing it at the truck's owner. Gonzalez reportedly then left the scene on foot. The truck's owner managed to capture a photo of the man from behind as he walked away. Officers arrived at the location and radioed a general description of the suspect and his clothing to be dispatched to other officers in the area. About 30 minutes later, the report states, an officer found Gonzalez wearing clothing that matched the description. At the time, police said, the man was not wearing the blue jacket depicted in the photo, nor was he found possessing the firearm. A subsequent search was initiated with a St. Francois County K-9 Unit conducting a reverse track from the location where Gonzalez was found, resulting in the discovery of the blue jacket and a Ruger .357 revolver. Gonzalez was booked at the St. Francois County Detention Center, and a $20,000 bond was set in the case. If released on bail, the man was ordered to comply with GPS and pretrial monitoring and is prohibited from having contact with the alleged victim in the case. Gonzalez appeared in court Thursday, where he waived formal arraignment on the charges, entering a plea of not guilty on the two felony counts. The court denied a bond reduction in the man's case. He was scheduled to appear in court again on Thursday for a confined docket hearing. Court filings list Gonzalez's address as the Uplift Center, a shelter in Farmington operated by the East Missouri Action Agency. A search of Gonzalez's criminal history showed previous convictions in Missouri, Illinois, Colorado, and California. In December, the man pleaded guilty in Park Hills to violating multiple city ordinances for stealing/larceny/theft, trespassing, and property damage, for which he was fined several hundred dollars. Records indicate that in 2018, Gonzalez was convicted of felony carjacking and resisting arrest in Long Beach, California. He reportedly received a three-year prison sentence for the carjacking charge and a two-year prison term for resisting arrest. Filings state Gonzalez has other convictions for felonies, including aggravated fleeing of police, obstructing justice, resisting arrest, possession of dangerous drugs, receiving stolen property, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of controlled substances. Fondo Ambiente Italiano, The National Trust for Italy, restores and takes care of special places in Italy. The Places of the Heart census promoted by FAI awards this year's winner the little church of San Pietro dei Samari in Gallipoli, in the province of Lecce. It received 51,443 votes out of 1,500,638. Also on the podium is the Museum of the Mysteries in Campobasso (with just over 32,000 votes) and, behind by just a little, the church of San Giacomo della Vittoria in Alessandria. This year votes were collected for more than 38,800 places in Italy, often forgotten or little known, or simply in need of some extra attention. And this is precisely the spirit of the census, which since the first edition in 2003 has supported restoration for 138 properties in 19 regions of Italy, chosen precisely thanks to the participation of citizens who, with their votes, have often literally saved parts of Italian heritage. The Top Places The winners of this year will benefit from sums between fifty- thousand and thirty- thousand euros in order to be secured, restored, and enhanced. The first in the classification is, as mentioned, the little church of, in the province of Lecce, one kilometer from the sea. Located in the regional park of Punta Pizzo Isola di Sant'Andrea, the church was founded - according to a tradition recalled by a long inscription - by Ugo di Lusignano, a crusader returning from Palestine and who landed in Gallipoli in 1148, deciding to build a small place of worship where St. Peter himself, a veteran of Samaria, was thought to have celebrated a mass. Currently uninhabitable, the small church is the only example in the province of Lecce of an architecture with domes on axis. Coming in second is a place, literally, worthy of an Oscar. It is the Museum of the Mysteries of Campobasso, created in 2006 and dedicated to the installations (called "ingegni") made in the mid-eighteenth century by sculptor Paolo Saverio Di Zinno to parade through the city on the day of the Corpus Christi procession. It is in this very museum (which also inspired Alice Rohrwacher's short film Pupille, nominated for an Oscar in 2023) that the procession's participants prepare each year, and it is from here that the long procession through the streets of Campobasso begins. Ranked third is the church of San Giacomo della Vittoria, in Alessandria, founded in 1391 to commemorate the victory of the Alexandrians and the troops of Gian Galeazzo Visconti against the league led by John III d'Armagnac. Restored several times over the centuries (and also used over time as a hospital or barracks, and even a warehouse) the church now preserves little from the 14th century, but has a great many votive offerings, evidence of the strong bond between this place and the city. A bond also evident from the incredible number of votes received this year from Piedmont (almost 250,000) and the presence in the ranking of no less than four places from the province of Alessandria. There is also the medieval village of Cremolino, winner of the special section dedicated to "Villages and their places." On a hill surrounded by vineyards, the small village with its castle once played a very important strategic, for sighting and defense, role in a border area with the ancient Republic of Genoa. Stories from the land Even though the census is over, the projects don't stop. In fact, until September 15, people can send the Environmental Fund a voicemail to tell them about their favorite place. Anything goes: a memory, an intimate message or a description. In November, the place talked about by the winning message will be the subject of an enhancement project worth five thousand euros. The idea for this contest comes from journalist Marta Stella and writer Antonio Scurati, who is convinced that "telling about one's land is a manifestation of love, a way to take care of it, to guard it. Never as in this historical moment, in the face of the very serious environmental emergency and climate crisis, Italy calls us to take care of it, to guard it and to love it. I hope that so many Italians will respond to our appeal by helping to draw a sentimental map of our wonderful and fragile country." Doctor passed himself off as Italy's head of state. An Italian doctor faces charges of fraud and impersonation after posing as the president of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, in a clumsy attempt to land a job at a top hospital in Rome. The bizarre story involves a 56-year-old urologist who passed himself off as Italy's head of state in a series of phone calls to senior management at the Gemelli hospital, reports Rome newspaper Il Messsaggero. The man impersonated the president to recommend himself for the job at the Gemelli, with "Mattarella" telling hospital managers about the extreme professionalism of his "nephew" who was in the US but was keen to return to Italy. The doctor was duly summoned for interview and arrived with an impressive CV complete with a glowing reference from President Mattarella. Over the following days hospital managers became suspicious after an endless round of calls from the "president" to their private phone numbers. The doctor was soon unmasked after the hospital contacted Quirinale staff who rubbished his claims, with police subsequently tracing all calls from "Mattarella" to the man's cell phone. Photo credit: Gints Ivuskans / Shutterstock.com Valditara slams principal's letter as "improper". Italy's education minister Giuseppe Valditara faced calls to resign on Thursday for criticising a Florence high school principal who wrote a letter warning of the risks of fascism after two school students were assaulted last weekend. The student members of the left-wing Collettivo Sum group were punched and kicked outside the city's Michelangiolo school on Saturday by six youths belonging to the right-wing Azione Studentesca group, with footage of the incident going viral. The violence prompted Annalisa Savino, head of Florence's Leonardo Da Vinci high school, to send a letter to her students, warning of the risks of fascism. "Fascism in Italy was not born with large gatherings of thousands of people" - Savino wrote - "It was born on the edge of an ordinary pavement, with the victim of a beating for political reasons who was left on their own by indifferent passersby." Savino went on to cite the founder of the Italian Communist party, "the great Italian, Antonio Gramsci", who said "I hate the indifferent" and who the "fascists locked up in a prison until his death, scared like rabbits by the strength of his ideas." Principal Annalisa Savino. Photo ANSA. Speaking on the Mattina 5 television programme on Thursday, Valditara described the contents of Savino's letter as "completely improper", "ridiculous" and "propaganda", and stated that there was "no fascist danger in Italy". "It is not up to a principal to send out messages like this," said Valditara who warned that measures would be taken "if these attitudes persist" but stressed that "at the moment it is not necessary to intervene". The comments by the minister, who is part of the right-wing coalition led by prime minister Giorgia Meloni, were widely condemned by members of the centre-left opposition. Florence mayor Dario Nardella of the Partito Democratico (PD) on Twitter slammed Valditara's "offensive, outrageous" words and "intimidating tone", and called on the minister to "apologise or resign". Gianfranco Pagliarulo, president of the National Association of Italian Partisans (ANPI), issued a statement in which he described Valditara's response to Savino's letter as "unacceptable". "The veiled threat of future disciplinary measures is an indicator of the climate of authoritarian intolerance that this government is promoting and spreading by raising the climate of tension in the country", said Pagliarulo, who also noted the education minister's "very noisy silence" in relation to last weekend's assault on the students in Florence. An online petition has been launched by Priorita alla scuola, a committee of parents and teachers, in support of "Principal Annalisa Savino threatened by Minister Valditara". Photo credit: Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock.com Image of bear posted on hacked Italian sites. A Russian hacking group targeted the websites of several Italian institutions and companies on Wednesday following a visit to Ukraine by Italys premier Giorgia Meloni. The cyber attack was claimed by the pro-Russian group NoName057 which cited Italy's pledge of continued support for Ukraine, via its Telegram profile, reports news agency ANSA. The so-called "Distributed Denial-of-Service" (DDoS) attack affected the websites of Italy's ministry for foreign affairs, the Carabinieri, the BPER bank and the telecommunications company TIM, reports newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore. Messages in Russian posted on the sites contained references to "Russophobic Italy" with an image of a bear and a paw print on the Italian flag. Due to the quantity of information shared by officials during Monday's State of St. Francois County address at Mineral Area College, we are presenting the first in a series of three articles addressing: the following report from the Mineral Area College president; reports from city mayors which will be published on Friday; and a report from the presiding county commissioner which will appear in the weekend edition. Editorial staff Around 120 community leaders from across St. Francois County gathered Monday morning in Mineral Area Colleges Fine Arts Theater to hear the annual State of the County Address given by Presiding Commissioner Harold Gallaher. In addition to Gallaher, Mineral Area College President Dr. Joe Gilgour provided an update on the Park Hills-based community college. The event was sponsored by state representatives Mike Henderson and Dale Wright, and presented by the Farmington Regional Chamber of Commerce, as well as the chambers of commerce for Bismarck, Bonne Terre, Desloge, and Park Hills-Leadington. Serving as emcee, Gilgour kicked off the program by updating the audience on the college's recent construction, new and returning programs, and the ongoing celebration of MACs 100th anniversary. I want to really talk to you about the things we're doing in industry and technology education on campus, he said. As you all came through I'm assuming most of you came through off of the [Highway] 67, Flat River area so you probably saw the new building on the right-hand side. If you came through O Highway, go through the other way of campus when you leave because that building is super impressive, and it's really big. So please drive by and check that out. Campus construction Gilgour thanked representatives Henderson, Wright and Senator Elaine Gannon, along with Gov. Mike Parson, for their help in coming up with funding for the project, which included $5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), $5 million in House Bill 19, and another $5 million in the MoExcels Grant for workforce development projects approved by the governor. And so, we're very, very thankful for that $15 million, Gilgour said. And that year we got that, which was last year, it was the most funding any community college in the state got for any project they were doing. So, that's pretty good because we're not the biggest community college in the state by any means. We're competing against Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield and some others for funding in these cases." Gilgour also thanked the St. Francois County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) for providing funding for the buildings project manager. Actually, way back when we started this process it was back in 2021, I believe we hired a project manager, and St. Francois County IDA was generous enough to pay that person to come in and plan everything out for this building, he said. As for additional funding Gilgour anticipates MAC will be receiving from the state, he said, The governor has told us he was going to give $2.5 million this year well, this coming year, the next fiscal year to help with this project as well. So, we're excited about that. Also, we have raised or pledged a little over $500,000 in our capital campaign, which goes on for the next couple of years. Our total goal is about $22 million. That includes the $15 million we got from the state, so really, we're about $7 million off that, still going in that campaign. "And then the governor has also approved our next MoExcel's grant for the coming year, which is a $4.3 million ask to do automotive technology, and will take that 80,000-square-foot building that you see up there now and turn it into a 100,000-square-foot building. We'll be adding 20,000 square feet, with construction starting probably in August. All this is pending legislative approval, of course. We have no doubt these things are going to go through. "And then the future funding on there is the governor's $2.5 million that he wants to give us this next year. He has also said that in his last year in office, he wants to continue that and do that again. So, we're not counting that chicken quite yet, but we're happy to see that that money is coming down the road. It is all for workforce development, technical career, and education expansion. And that is, again, if you know the governor, that's his wheelhouse he cares about. Career/Tech Citing MACs mission to provide high school students with career and technical education (CTE), Gilgour said the community college enjoys great partnerships with the UniTec Career Center at North County High School, Arcadia Valley, Perryville Area Career and Technology Center, and Cape Girardeau, giving students a postsecondary option. He noted many students go to State Tech in Linn, Missouri, or Rankin Technical College, and while he praised Linn State, he noted "it's not here. We're providing an opportunity for students to stay here more affordably. This allows those students to stay close, start their families, and help grow this community even more." Gilgour mentioned MACs future plans to add fiber optic broadband training to the schools curriculum. As you know, there is a lot of need for broadband expansion, especially in rural southeast Missouri, he said. Between Farmington and Cape Girardeau, there's a lot of black holes when it comes to internet access for people. There's a lot of infrastructure money, federally and statewide, to help fund these things. There are not enough people to do the work, so we're hoping to be in the foreground of training employees to go out and do this work in the community. According to Gigour, other CTE programs MAC will be offering in the near future include commercial HVAC and automotive tech. Further down the road, he hopes auto body repair may be a part of the curriculum. Early Learning Academy Gilgour also mentioned MACs new Early Learning Academy. If you've been paying attention to that, the Early Learning Academy is by the highway patrol at the front of campus, he said. "Jennifer Sykes runs it and does an amazing job at that, but there's still some need for [more] kids. It's open five days a week, all day, and is $150 a week. So, if you know of people that are looking for childcare, she has an amazing facility and program. I mean, she's got kids doing yoga up there, all kinds of things. I toured it, and there's not a TV in the building. These kids aren't sitting down watching a movie for the day. They're interactive and involved. It's just a really great experience. You can go to the MAC website and find contact information. Speaking about the gradual return of a fine arts program to the community colleges course offerings, Gilgour said the nonprofit Mineral Area Fine Arts Academy (MAFAA) took off after college officials had to make difficult decisions about the arts curriculum. They've been doing outstanding work. Behind this curtain is the Hamlet set. So, if you want to come see Hamlet, it's next weekend. Tickets are still available. I encourage you to do that," he said. "They put on just amazing shows here. If you've seen them, you know they're all really good. This place is usually packed. It's really impressive. Our intention from the beginning and MAFAA's intention was to move [it] back into Mineral Area College so that we could bring our arts programs back. We've already started that. Amanda Dement was the first employee that we hired out of MAFAA. We just hired Jason Carr, who is the theater director, and Sherry Francis [will be] coming up next this summer, and those programs will come on. So, Im just really excited to see the arts coming back at Mineral Area College. It was a whirlwind couple of years there where things were really dark, but we're happy to see the light now and things coming back. Centennial celebration Gilgour concluded his presentation with a nod to the college's centennial celebration in 2022. You are in the middle of the 100th year of Mineral Area College's existence Flat River Junior College/Mineral Area College," he said. "We've had a really great year. It started off with a concert, fireworks, all these things. We've had homecoming. Youve probably seen some T-shirts around and a lot of advertising out there. And by the breakfast, you saw the banner. So it's really cool to celebrate that, of course. We're the second-oldest community college in Missouri, so we're pretty proud of that. But I also want to just acknowledge they're not here to be recognized but our 100th-anniversary team and our marketing team developed all these things, lapel pins, all kinds of things. They are now finalists nationwide, top three finalists for a national award for that marketing and that program for the 100th anniversary. They are the only finalists from Missouri through a national marketing organization." Gilgour makes it no secret that he's a big believer in getting the school's name out in the public forum. If you notice, in the last few years, we've really tried to step up our presence in the community being in the newspaper, being on the radio, being nationally recognized," he said. "We nominate our colleagues for a lot of awards. We try to get the word out about the college, and it's worth it. "I think all of you if you read the newspaper, if you listen to the radio here you know that Mineral Area College is mentioned on a regular basis. That's the intention, we really want to get the word out. Of course, we've been part of this community for 100 years, and we want to be here for at least 100 years more. Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share Ajay Banga, the former head of Mastercard Inc. who is President Joe Bidens choice to lead the World Bank, will be getting a lot of advice over the next few months as the nomination process unfolds. As the president himself says, the bank is at a critical moment. Here are my thoughts on how to restructure the institution for the better. First, contrary to the prevailing wisdom, the World Bank should not make climate change more of a priority. Climate-change issues are more closely associated with rich and middle-income countries than with the poorest countries. The very poorest countries, because they have small economies, do not as a rule emit much carbon. Indoor air pollution, such as burning wood or fuel for heat or cooking, is usually more of a problem. Those emissions can be toxic, and the World Bank should try to help reduce them. But that wont do much to cut carbon emissions. The World Health Organization estimates that about seven million people die each year from the direct effects of air pollution. For poorer countries, alleviating that problem should be a greater priority than fighting global climate change. Advertisement The reality is that if the World Bank can help elevate some very poor countries into middle-income countries, climate-change problems will become somewhat worse at least in the short to medium run. We make climate-change problems worse is not a marketable slogan. But it is selfish to try to get the World Bank to do more good for the wealthiest nations and less good for the poorest nations, which is essentially what prioritizing climate change would do. And of course the worlds wealthier nations are broadly coincidental with the major shareholders of the World Bank. To be clear: The world as a whole needs to do a lot more to address climate change. But the burden should be on wealthy countries, particularly their R&D expenditures and the structure of their consumption choices. For the poorest countries, at current margins of subsistence, the fight against climate change is very much a luxury. If there is any area where the World Bank should double down, it is in public-health interventions. Over the last several decades, the successes have been extraordinary. In Africa, for instance, child mortality rates have plummeted, and many public-health indicators have improved considerably, especially outside of major conflict zones. Why not invest more in what is working? Advertisement In contrast, global institutions have had much less success in pushing Africa toward solar power or small-scale nuclear plants. The most beneficial and sustainable approach in those areas would be to invest in R&D in wealthy countries, so those technologies are cheap enough for the worlds middle-income nations to adopt in a financially sustainable manner. Additional World Bank financing for some new solar-energy facilities wont be enough to significantly move the needle. Note also that public-health interventions, unlike large infrastructure projects, are usually done at smaller scale and often involve fewer opportunities for large-scale corruption and graft. Finally, the World Bank should consider taking more risks. Since its inception, the bank has had a top credit rating, and it makes sense to maintain that. But is the bank really close to losing its AAA status? It hardly seems so. If the World Bank somehow found itself in financial difficulty, the wealthier nations could recapitalize it. That would be a political embarrassment, but its a risk worth taking, at current margins. Advertisement From its founding in 1944 to June 2021, capital contributions from the banks shareholder countries to the main lending arms of the bank have totaled $19.2 billion, and that has funded more than $750 billion in loans plus additional bank services. (Most of its loans are self-financing.) If that is a good investment, why not do more at the margin? There have been no major or even moderate-sized financial crises resulting from the World Banks portfolio decisions. The case for keeping the World Bank at its current size doesnt make much sense; you should favor either abolishing the bank or expanding it. A review commissioned by the G-20, conducted by independent experts, concluded that an expansion of lending activity would be a better use of the banks resources and privileged position. The general reaction from the bank itself was a kind of nervousness, mostly out of fear it would lose some of its status and reputation for financial rectitude. But its worth asking how these concerns measure against the urgency of the worlds problems. Banga needs to face that question, and these issues, squarely and with courage. Advertisement More From Bloomberg Opinion: The World Bank Must Take Bolder Action on Climate: Michael R. Bloomberg Biden Can Make the World Bank a Leader on Climate Change: Mark Gongloff Lessons in Integrity at the IMF and World Bank: The Editors Want more Bloomberg Opinion? Subscribe to our daily newsletter. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Tyler Cowen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a professor of economics at George Mason University and writes for the blog Marginal Revolution. He is coauthor of Talent: How to Identify Energizers, Creatives, and Winners Around the World. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2023 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share Saturdays election in Nigeria, Africas most populous nation, has sparked unprecedented interest among young people tired of being ruled by an old guard whove done little to improve their living standards or chances of getting a job. That has given a fringe-party candidate, running against two long-familiar politicians in their 70s, a real shot at the presidency for the first time. All three have promised to right the ship, but it wont be easy. President Muhammadu Buharis eight years in power have been blighted by economic decay, soaring unemployment, heightened insecurity and an exodus of the educated elite topped this year by a painfully botched currency conversion and gasoline shortages. 1. Why is this election so important? While Nigerias fortunes have slipped in recent years, it is still Africas biggest economy and oil producer, and a major regional power broker. Its population of over 200 million is set to more than double by 2050, which would make it the worlds third-most populous nation. Previous presidential elections held in Nigeria since it returned to democracy in 1999 have been dominated by candidates from the ruling All Progressive Congress and the rival Peoples Democratic Party. But the shift in voting demographics is shaking up the status quo, with Peter Obi, an ex-governor of Anambra state and candidate of the Labour Party, galvanizing support among youth and taking an early lead in surveys. About 40% of the 93.5 million registered voters are younger than 35. In the US, that figure is about 25%. Advertisement 2. What are the key campaign issues? The economy and insecurity. By every economic metric, Nigerians are worse off than they were when Buhari took power in 2015. About 90 million live on less than $2 a day, according to the World Bank, among the highest number in the world. Most members of the potential workforce are under-employed or jobless. A lack of economic opportunities has stoked criminality, including a thriving kidnapping-for-ransom industry. The country also continues to battle a jihadist insurgency in the northeast that has claimed thousands of lives, and a secessionist movement in the southeast. Besides addressing those challenges, the winner will have to bring runaway state debt under control and decide whether to scrap popular fuel subsidies. In the run-up to the election, Nigeria has contended with widespread shortages of both gasoline and naira notes, leading to chaotic scenes at gas stations and banks across the country. With little refining capacity, Africas biggest crude producer relies almost entirely on imported fuel, which is often in such short supply that people are forced to sleep in their cars in queues outside gas stations. 3. Who are the leading candidates? Advertisement There are 18 contenders, but only three stand a realistic chance of winning: Bola Ahmed Tinubu, 70, the ex-governor of Lagos state, who is running on the ruling party ticket; PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar, 76, a wealthy businessman who served as vice president in the early 2000s and has made five previous unsuccessful runs at the presidency; and Obi, 61, a former banking executive. A September 2022 poll commissioned by Bloomberg News showed Obi with backing from almost three quarters of the 3,973 respondents; he has also held commanding leads in three other polls. Tinubu and Abubakar, who polled 16% and 9% respectively in the Bloomberg poll, have long been trailed by allegations of corruption, which they deny. The Pandora Papers linked Obi to businesses that were registered in off-shore tax havens. He denies having failed to disclose that information as required when he became governor of Anambra, or violating any other laws. 4. What are they promising? The three main candidates have made very similar campaign pledges that center around ramping up economic growth, creating jobs and tackling insecurity. To help achieve those goals, they intend to boost oil production, which has hit historic lows in recent months, and increase funding for the police and military. Theyve all also promised to remove fuel subsidies that cost the cash-strapped government billions of dollars a year a move the Buhari administration long resisted despite entreaties from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Obi has said he intends to extend the repayment of the nations loans. Nigerias total debt stock has almost quadrupled under Buharis rule, reaching about 44 trillion naira ($95 billion) as of the end of 2022, and the government spend 80 cents out of every dollar it collects on servicing it. Advertisement 5. What are Obis electoral weaknesses? His power base is concentrated in Nigerias predominantly Christian south, and there are doubts over his ability to muster support in the largely Muslim north, home to the majority of voters. His Labour Party, which currently has a single seat in the Senate, doesnt have the national profile and organizational capacity of its larger rivals, which will hurt his chances. While he has a passionate following of youthful Obidients, he may lack the financial muscle needed to secure victory, given that most previous Nigerian elections have seen contenders dispense vast sums of cash to voters and officials to shore up their campaigns. The use of new voter authentication technology should make the upcoming vote more transparent and harder to manipulate than previous contests. 6. Why is the oil-fired economy struggling? Advertisement Nigeria derives limited benefit from the current high international crude prices because it has no refining capacity and has to import costly fuel from abroad. Oil production has also been falling since 2020, reaching its lowest levels in decades last year, a slump the government attributes to the theft of as much as a fifth of output from pipelines that crisscross the oil-rich Niger Delta. With limited capacity to raise additional revenue, Nigeria has emulated several other African countries in borrowing to the hilt to offset the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic and to shore up the economy, placing further strain on its already stretched finances. 7. How will this election work? To win the presidency in the initial round of voting, a candidate must secure a majority of the ballots nationally and more than 25% in at least 24 of the 36 states and the federal capital territory. If no one meets those benchmarks, a run-off between the candidate who get the most votes and the one with the widest spread of support across the states must be held within three weeks. Winning that contest requires a simple majority. Advertisement 8. What are investors hoping for? All three leading presidential candidates have signaled that they will adopt a much more business-friendly approach than Buhari, and the winner will be expected to do more to lure investment, cut red tape and improve the patchy power supply and decrepit transport links. The new administration will also face pressure to ward off a potential debt crisis, usher in a more orthodox monetary policy and unify the countrys multiple exchange rates. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2023 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share Even for a nation hit by rolling blackouts since 2008, the more prolonged power outages that have dogged South Africa for months on end have been hard to endure. The problem: Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., the debt-stricken state utility that supplies more than 90% of the nations electricity, cant keep pace with demand from its old and poorly maintained plants. With the governing party in danger of losing its majority in 2024 elections, President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a national state of disaster, allowing his administration to bypass bureaucratic hurdles so it can accelerate new energy projects. The government intends to give Eskom 254 billion rand ($13.9 billion) in debt relief to free up funds for repairs and improving the transmission and distribution system. 1. Whats gone wrong for Eskom? A history of deep financial losses and poor planning, plus allegations of mismanagement and corruption, have plagued the utility. It ran into financial trouble in the early 1980s after committing to build plants that werent needed. Then, when White minority rule of South Africa ended in 1994, the company wasnt prepared for the sharp increase in demand as previously neglected areas were connected to the grid. Over the following two decades, Eskom suffered from erratic government decision-making and political interference. A lack of generating capacity led to regular power supply disruptions. The company has had 14 leaders since 2007, much of that turnover coming during the nine-year tenure of South African President Jacob Zuma. A judicial commission found the upheaval at Eskom was an orchestrated attempt by Zumas allies to raid its coffers with his tacit consent. Zuma denies the charge. Eskoms leaders have said the company hasnt been permitted to charge adequate prices to meet its costs. Advertisement 2. Whats been the fallout? South Africas National Treasury predicted the economy would expand by just 0.9% in 2023, down from 2.5% in 2022, and expects power rationing to persist until at least the end of 2024. Intentional outages imposed by Eskom to reduce demand, often lasting many hours, have affected water services (since pumps cant run without power), food safety (since refrigerators cant stay cold) and the ability of hospitals to provide care. These blackouts the result of a process known as loadshedding, which aims to prevent a total collapse of the grid are sapping business confidence in a country whose biggest industries, such as mining, depend on reliable access to cheap electricity. The central bank estimated that the crisis was costing the economy as much as 899 million rand a day. 3. Is this just a problem for South Africa? Advertisement No. South Africas dependence on coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, for four-fifths of its power has implications beyond its borders. When burned, coal emits almost twice as much carbon dioxide as natural gas. Getting countries to shift away from coal is part of the global effort to limit climate change. At the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in 2021, the US, the UK, the European Union, Germany and France offered South Africa $8.5 billion in funding to assist in its transition to more climate-friendly sources of energy. 4. Whats the plan to fix Eskom? A relief package unveiled in February was conditional on Eskom turning to private partners to help operate its plants and transmission network. The government is also making it easier for the utilitys rivals to build their own power stations by scrapping licensing requirements. Theyll be allowed to sell their surplus output to the grid, while households and business that install their own solar panels will get tax breaks. Ramaphosa intends to appoint a new minister in his office who will focus solely on bolstering the electricity supply. One challenge: The governing party, the African National Congress, is wary of disrupting the coal industry, not least because mineworkers are a key voting constituency. Advertisement 5. Why is coal still king in South Africa? South Africa has an abundance of coal and 90,000 people are employed at mines that feed Eskom power stations via conveyor belts. After its founding in 1923, Eskom rapidly built coal-fired plants, spurred by the needs of its gold mining industry, the worlds largest. In the 1970s, it began building a new fleet of power stations that operate to this day, along with the only nuclear plant on the African continent. Plans were announced in 2007 to build two giant new coal-fired plants Medupi and Kusile that were scheduled to be completed within eight years at a total cost of 163 billion rand. However, the construction process has been plagued by labor unrest, mismanagement and equipment defects, and the likely final price tag has since ballooned to more than 460 billion rand. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com 2023 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share Despite all the furor, the future of the internet does not hinge on a pair of cases argued this week at the US Supreme Court. Theres no risk that the statutory immunity that Congress granted long ago to internet service providers will collapse. The justices are being asked to decide a narrow and technical legal question. Should the ISPs lose, theyll make a handful of tweaks in the algorithms they employ to sort content. The experience of most users will barely budge. The two cases that have sparked the dire predictions involve lawsuits against Google and Twitter, respectively. The suits were filed by families who have lost loved ones to vicious acts of terrorism. The central allegation is that the companies abetted those acts through the videos and other materials they made available to users. The justices arent being asked to decide whether the allegations are true but whether the cases should go to trial, in which case the jury would determine the facts. Google is being sued based on the recommendations that YouTubes algorithms make to users in the familiar up next box. Twitter is accused of making insufficient efforts to remove pro-terror postings. The immunity issue is squarely presented only in the Google case. But because a Google victory would almost certainly bar the lawsuit against Twitter, the immunity argument is worth considering in detail. Advertisement The relevant question before the court is how to interpret Section 230(c)(1) of the Communications Decency Act, adopted by Congress in 1996, after a New York court held an ISP liable for purported defamatory material posted on a message board it hosted. The text is straightforward: No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider. When commentators refer to the statutory immunity of ISPs, this is the main provision they have in mind. Heres how the statute works: If I upload a video to YouTube, Im the content provider, but YouTube is neither the speaker nor the publisher. Therefore, should my video cause harm defamation, say YouTube isnt liable. Seems simple, right? But now we come to what the justices must decide: If Google creates an algorithm that recommends my harmful video to you, is the video still provided by another provider, or is the provider now YouTube itself? Or, in the alternative argument, does the algorithms recommendation transform Google into the videos publisher? Either interpretation of the statute would allow the plaintiffs to circumvent the statutory immunity. Advertisement Those arent easy questions to answer. But they also arent policy questions that should be tossed back to Congress. They involve nothing but the ordinary, everyday work of the courts, the determination of the meaning of a statute thats susceptible to more than one interpretation. In fact, the courts have ruled often on the bounds of Section 230 immunity. In perhaps the best-known example, the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled in 2008 that the section offered no protection to a roommate-matching site that required users to answer questions that those offering housing could not legally ask. The questions, wrote the court, made the site the developer, at least in part of the relevant content. In the Google case, on the other hand, the 9th Circuit held that the selection algorithm is just a tool to help users find the content they want, based on what the users themselves have viewed or searched for. Using the algorithm didnt make Google the creator or developer of the ISIS recruitment videos that are the centerpiece of the case because the company did not materially contribute to the videos unlawfulness. Judge Ronald Goulds dissent took the view that the plaintiffs should be allowed to go to trial on their claims that Google knew that ISIS and its supporters were inserting propaganda videos into their platforms and should share legal liability because YouTube, through its selection algorithms, magnified and amplified those communications. Advertisement At oral argument in the Google case, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wondered whether the ISPs are turning Section 230 inside out. The provision was written, she said, to allow the companies to block certain offensive materials. How, she asked, was it conceptually consistent with what Congress intended to use the section as a shield for promoting offensive materials? The answer depends on whether using an algorithm to decide which content to recommend is the same as saying to the user This is great stuff that we fully endorse! Here, my own view is that Big Tech has the better of the argument. But the case is an extremely close one. And I certainly dont think that a court ruling against the ISPs would cause the sky to fall. Google warns in its brief that should the plaintiffs interpretation of Section 230 prevail, the company will be left with no means to sort and categorize third-party videos, to say nothing of deciding which if any to recommend to a given user. And the company goes further: Virtually no modern website would function if users had to sort through content themselves. Advertisement Good points! But not as good as they would be if the companys YouTube subsidiary, along with other ISPs, hadnt spent so much time in recent years tweaking algorithms to meet government objections to the content recommended to users. Which is to say, should the ISPs lose, I think they would work it out. I suspect that what worries the ISPs is less the potential complexity of compliance with a smaller immunity and more the flood of lawsuits, many ungrounded, that would surely follow. Thats a genuine worry and unlike the proper interpretation of a statute, its exactly the sort of problem that we might want Congress to resolve. More From Bloomberg Opinion: A Tesla Autopilot Labor Union Would Be Short-Lived: Stephen L. Carter Ethics Code Wouldnt Fix Supreme Courts Legitimacy Crisis: Noah Feldman Advertisement Digital Detox Is a Fantasy. Do This Instead: Sarah Green Carmichael This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Stephen L. Carter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. A professor of law at Yale University, he is author, most recently, of Invisible: The Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down Americas Most Powerful Mobster. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2023 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share Why did Nicola Sturgeons career end in such humiliating failure? She dominated Scottish politics for more than a decade eight years as first minister and, before that, seven as the governments powerful number two; south of the border, prime ministers came and went. But she has astonishingly little to show for it: The nationalist movement is in turmoil and her country worse managed than the rest of the United Kingdom. Why did so much promise produce so little achievement? The answer to the question is stark: the great campaigner for Scottish nationalism suffered from a bad case of the English disease a habit of focusing on debate rather than action, on presentation rather than substance. She was all words, no practicality. The Scottish have always been far more pragmatic than the English. Their great thinkers, notably Adam Smith, focused on how people grew rich rather than the grand abstractions of traditional philosophy. In the 19th century, Jardine Matheson spearheaded by two University of Edinburgh graduates seized the commercial opportunities in East Asia, in an early example of the possibilities (and evils) of globalization. Scottish shipbuilders turned the Clyde into one of the worlds great industrial centers, producing the Dreadnoughts that defended the UK from the German challenge. Advertisement Thanks to this pragmatism, the Scots played a disproportionate role in inventing things and building infrastructure that made the modern world. James Watt invented the steam engine, Alexander Graham Bell the telephone, and John Logie Baird the television. John Loudon McAdam introduced the world to the smoothly-surfaced macadamized roads, Henry Bell built the first commercially successful steamship in Europe, James Nasmyth came up with the steam hammer, John Rennie built one of the great bridges over the Thames in London, Robert Thompson invented the rubber pneumatic tire. The English, by contrast, were talkers rather than doers. Elite education focused on verbal facility rather than practical skills future leaders studied talk-focused subjects such as classics and history and entertained themselves in debating societies where they furiously took apart whatever was the topic of the day. They actively looked down on subjects that might have any practical utility. In pre-World War II Oxford, students came up with lyrics to make fun of the new universities teaching practical subjects: He gets degrees in making jam/At Liverpool and Birmingham. When the university finally decided to embrace stinks and bangs, laboratories were built as far away from the town center as possible so that arts students werent in danger of stumbling upon them by accident. Advertisement Sturgeon falls on the talking rather than the doing side of the ledger. Indeed, she was the most talented in British politics in recent decades. She always has a fluent answer to every question, uninterrupted by the ums and ahs that afflict less gifted communicators. She naturally gravitated towards symbolic subjects that required clever framing rather than ones that required hard work. In the most egregious example of this, she apologized for the injustices inflicted upon women accused of witchcraft centuries ago but failed to think carefully about the practical implications of a gender ID system that allowed a rapist to demand a place in a female prison. This preference for talk over achievement defined her approach to nationalism. She didnt take the engineers option of making nationalism irresistible by running Scotland better than the rest of the UK hardly a difficult option given the Tory governments post-Brexit record in office. She focused instead on polarizing opinion and keeping the issue of the referendum at the top of politics. This worked brilliantly for a while. If things went wrong it was always the result of the evil English. But in the end it hollowed out support for the nationalist project. Public spending per capita is significantly higher in Scotland than England, thanks to a long-standing Treasury formula. Scotland also has a long tradition of providing excellent education (It had four universities in 1800 when Britain only had two). Yet under Sturgeons leadership, everyday life deteriorated significantly for the average Scot; public services are worse than they are south of the border. Advertisement Scotland has slipped down international rankings of mathematics and reading. The health care system has deteriorated, as has life-expectancy. The ferry service to the outlying islands is in danger of collapsing. Sturgeon did nothing to get a grip on Scotlands drug problem which is the worst in Europe and brings misery from the housing estates of Edinburgh and Glasgow to the smallest hamlets. Sturgeon has a remarkable amount in common with that other great talker, Boris Johnson: A belief that saying something is tantamount to doing it; a taste for divisive rhetoric; an inability to focus on the hard work of turning speeches into results; and, above all, a habit of putting the blame on someone else. In her case, Westminster; in his, Brussels and, after the UK left the EU, the Remainers who prevented Brexit from producing the promised results. There is a lot of worry north of the border that none of Sturgeons potential successors possess her gift of the gab. But is that such a bad thing? Scottish politics does not need another high-profile politician who has the right phrase for every occasion. It needs someone who can focus on fixing schools and hospitals and making sure the ferries keep operating. I profoundly hope that Scotland remains part of the United Kingdom. But in this respect, at least, I hope that the Scottish National Party finds a successor for Sturgeon who is less English and more Scottish. Advertisement More From Bloomberg Opinion: Nicola Sturgeon Was the Tories Best Foil. Now Shes Gone: Therese Raphael The UKs Political Fever Dreams May Finally Be Over: Martin Ivens When British Public Opinion Turns Scrooge: Adrian Wooldridge This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Adrian Wooldridge is the global business columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A former writer at the Economist, he is author, most recently, of The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2023 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share The Norfolk Southern Corp. train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, earlier this month looks more like a case of bad luck than gross negligence. But that doesnt mean the railroad or the industry is off the hook. Wp Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight The National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday released the preliminary findings from its investigation into the Feb. 3 accident, which sent cars carrying toxic chemicals off the tracks, forcing a controlled release and ignition of vinyl chloride a colorless, carcinogenic gas thats used to make hard plastic resin to prevent a potentially catastrophic explosion. The accident appears to have been triggered by an overheated bearing on the trains 23rd car, according to the NTSB. Norfolk Southern had equipped the rail line with heat detectors, which are designed to warn crews when wheel temperatures get out of whack. The train passed three of these sensors on its trip before derailing; the first and second checkpoints registered bearing temperatures that were below warning thresholds established by Norfolk Southern for conditions that warrant stopping and inspecting the train. When the train passed the third sensor some 20 miles later, the temperature of the bearing had jumped considerably and the rail line detectors sounded an audible alarm. The crew was trying to slow and stop the train when it derailed. The NTSB report is short; it runs only four pages. A deeper investigation will take many months and include an examination of Norfolk Southerns use of heat detectors and railcar inspection practices, the trains wheelset, tank car design and the accident response. There is no evidence of track defects or crew mistakes, NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said during a press conference Thursday. The NTSBs preliminary findings showed the train was operating under the speed limit and that the heat detectors worked as designed, Norfolk Southern said in a statement late Thursday afternoon. At least based on the information thats available so far, the train derailment cant be unequivocally attributed to deliberate safety laxness or corporate greed gone awry. Advertisement Unfortunately that public relations train, to borrow a phrase, has long left the station. Norfolk Southerns brief and procedural updates in the initial days after the accident created an information void that was filled by speculation and political punditry. Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania has accused the company of arrogance and incompetence. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has called out Norfolk Southern for its past efforts (along with the other large railroads) to lobby against measures intended to improve rail safety, including regulations on electronic braking. Rail unions have used the accident as an opportunity to highlight the risks of precision-scheduled railroading a cost-cutting strategy focused on shrinking the workforce, running longer trains and closing rail yards. Regardless of its ultimate culpability, Norfolk Southern made itself vulnerable to these criticisms. The industrys lobbying and cost-cutting records are unflattering when trains are operating as normal and make for an obvious punching bag when something goes wrong. Whether or not Norfolk Southern and the broader rail industry have a systemic problem with safety is a question that falls well outside the scope of the initial NTSB findings. But even if this accident is the unfortunate, one-off that it appears to be, that doesnt mean better safeguards arent a good idea. This was 100 percent preventable, Homendy said during the press conference in comments reported by Axios. We call things accidents. This is no accident. Every single event we investigate is preventable. Norfolk Southern has also said as much: Its pretty clear that our safety culture and our investments in safety didnt prevent this accident, Chief Executive Officer Alan Shaw said in an interview on CNBC this week. And so we need to take a look at this and see what we can do differently and what we can do better. Advertisement A big part of that starts with communication. It took Norfolk Southern way too long to issue a full-throated public statement of accountability, but it did eventually do so. Industrial operators typically allow government regulators and first responders to take the lead on communication in incidents such as this one. But in the age of 24/7 news cycles and social media, this gave the unfortunate impression of a company being dragged into doing the right thing after public pressure mounted. Not for nothing, this accountability moment came much faster for the railroad than it did for Boeing Co. in the wake of two fatal crashes of its 737 Max jet that killed 346 people. The aerospace manufacturer resisted calls for simulator training requirements for Max pilots until 10 months into a global grounding of the jet. No deaths or injuries have been connected to the train derailment accident, but local residents are understandably angry and worried about the impact of the crash and subsequent chemical release on their health and the environment. Norfolk Southern will stay here for as long as it takes to ensure your safety and to help East Palestine recover and thrive, Shaw said in a Feb. 16 letter to the community. The company has pledged to do whatever is necessary to clean up the site; this includes a plan announced this week to rip up its tracks to remove contaminated soil underneath. The Environmental Protection Agency has said it will use the federal Superfund law to make sure Norfolk Southern follows through. As for mechanical safety issues, operating standards for the heat sensors at the center of the NTSBs preliminary report dont currently fall under federal regulation; perhaps that should change. The rate of train accidents caused by axle and bearing problems has declined 59% since 1990 amid wider adoption of the heat detectors, the Federal Railroad Administration said in a 2019 report. Still, a bearing can become overheated very quickly and may even burn off in just 1 to 3 minutes, the agency wrote. Temperature alone may not be a sufficient indicator of bearing health and a better system may also take into account load and vibration, according to a 2019 article published in the International Journal of Rail Transportation and funded through a US Department of Transportation grant. In its statement, Norfolk Southern said its wayside detectors trigger an alarm at a temperature threshold that is among the lowest in the industry and that it inspects them every 30 days. The railroad will conduct additional checks on all the detectors in its network out of an abundance of caution. Advertisement Its worth noting that at no point over the past few weeks has the intricacies of heat-box detectors been the focus of any of the many politicians who have weighed in on the accident. Tougher standards on the durability for train cars carrying hazardous materials might also help. NTSB Chair Homendy has said a 2015 Obama administration rule requiring the installation of electronic braking systems wouldnt have applied to the Norfolk Southern train even if the regulations had not been overturned a few years later by the Trump White House. Its unclear if a broader mandate for a railroad braking overhaul would have made a difference in this derailment. Norfolk Southern needs to back up its pledge to work collaboratively with regulators on safety upgrades with actual action. It shouldnt come to this, but accidents have a way of forcing a deeper assessment of existing safety measures. Smoking gun or not, Norfolk Southern and the other main North American railroads must learn from this derailment and make their operations safer. Advertisement More From Writers at Bloomberg Opinion: We Shouldnt Need Bodies to Learn From Ohio Disaster: Faye Flam Railroads Get Off Track in Obsessing About Margins: Thomas Black A $30 Billion Railroad Bidding War Ends Here: Brooke Sutherland (Adds Norfolk Southern comment in the third and ninth paragraphs.) This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Brooke Sutherland is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals and industrial companies. A former M&A reporter for Bloomberg News, she writes the Industrial Strength newsletter. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2023 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share Earthquakes can neither be prevented nor predicted. If a Category 5 typhoon nears, evacuations are possible; there can be time to move to a safe zone before the pyroclastic flow of a volcano sweeps all in its path. But when the earth shakes, it almost never comes with a warning. Even in the most technologically prepared countries, theres typically just seconds to alert operating rooms and halt trains before the devastation hits. Its safe to say that Turkey and war-torn Syria are far from the most-prepared countries. The death toll from Februarys quakes is nearing 50,000, and expected to rise further with untold numbers still missing. The damage is continuing, with more deaths coming this week from powerful aftershocks collapsing buildings that survived the initial tremors. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that it was impossible to prepare for a disaster this big. In terms of preventing it from occurring, thats true. But considering the saying among seismic watchers that earthquakes dont kill people, buildings do and its convenient at best. Damage from temblors can never be eliminated, but it can be mitigated with modern building techniques. Japan, for example, has become a pioneer of cutting-edge techniques such as seismic isolation. Advertisement With over 300,000 apartments destroyed in Turkey, fingers are already being pointed at below-par building codes and corruption in construction quality and enforcement. A 2019 amnesty hailed by Erdogan seems to have allowed builders to simply pay fines to get around standards. Syria, meanwhile, is in no position to enforce such rules, with a dozen years of brutality by President Bashar Al-Assads regime devastating the country and bringing to the economy to its knees. It would be a mistake, however, to shrug this off as the problems of an increasingly authoritarian developing nation and one paralyzed by over a decade of war. Some experts warn that building codes in much of the US, on which Turkeys were based, mean disaster may not be so far from home. In most US states, including those at greatest risk from quakes like California, the relevant building code is a minimum requirement standard that specifically assumes buildings may be damaged even beyond repair, aiming to keep construction costs low while reducing the likelihood of death. That sounds good in theory, but in practice means that even if a temblor of expected strength hits California, the codes are not intended to ensure a building will be useable or even repairable after strong shaking, according to one report from the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center. Advertisement Its conclusions find that, if such a quake hits, the chances for life safety jargon for the prevention of deaths in so-called ordinary buildings such as homes, schools and offices is likely. Thats good news. But if a quake strikes at the upper bounds of what buildings were built for, that probability drops to possibly. The devastation of a West Coast event, even of recent magnitudes, could be much greater than many anticipate. Expectations are often rooted to the most recent occasions in living memory; for the US, this means 1989 in Loma Prieta and 1994 in Northridge. Both were below magnitude 7, causing fewer than 100 fatalities. But quakes occur on geological timelines, not human ones. The ancient past doesnt need to be examined to find far more damaging events: the 1906 magnitude 7.9 San Francisco tremor, for example, or the Cascadia subduction zone event in 1700, estimated to have had a magnitude of between 8.7 and 9.2. Advertisement A Cascadia event is estimated to happen about once every 500 years, with the last coming before the area had been settled by Europeans. The US Navy is so concerned, its halting four dry docks on the West Coast while it boosts safety standards. Preparations can be made. Just ask Japan. While 20,000 died almost 12 years ago when the strongest quake the country ever experienced struck off the north of the country, fewer than 5% came as a result of the shaking; the vast majority were killed in the subsequent tsunami. Thats down to tougher building standards, the result of tragic trial and error. Multiple revisions to the construction code have been made since the country rushed to rebuild after World War II. After extensive damage to housing from a tremor in 1978, it was significantly overhauled in 1981, becoming a standard that emphasizes both preventing collapse of buildings and saving the lives of those inside. Advertisement Some 80% of deaths in Kobe in 1995 came from collapsing buildings. But the damage was overwhelmingly to those made under the pre-1981 standard. Japan has doubled down, offering preferential loans for dwellings that meet newer codes. Most of the buildings that suffered the greatest damage in the 2004 Niigata temblor, the 2011 disaster or the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake were built under the old code, and few had been retrofitted, according to an analysis by veteran seismic specialist Tsuneo Okada of the University of Tokyo. The countrys disposable approach to buildings has its downsides, most notably in largely static property prices. But it also means that within the next decade, the government aims to mostly eliminate the stock of pre-1981 dwellings. Even so, experts have few delusions: a major earthquake is inevitable. Tokyo estimates a long-feared temblor directly under the city of similar strength to 1923s would still destroy as many as 175,000 dwellings from shaking alone. Combined with fires, it is expected to lead to up to 23,000 deaths. And Japan has its own history of dodgy construction issues: falsification of data has been found by both architects and firms supplying shock absorbers, while liquefaction was such an issue after 2011 that it closed Disneyland Tokyo for weeks. Advertisement Nonetheless, most estimates show lifting building standards to levels that would hugely improve outcomes isnt hugely expensive. Over a long enough timeline, devastating quakes are certain to hit major metropolitan areas we just cant know when. Just as with the Covid pandemic, rich countries like the US, in theory best placed to endure them, might end up the most vulnerable. The tragedy in Turkey and Syria must serve as a wake-up call. More from Bloomberg Opinion: An Erdogan Mea Culpa Must Precede Turkeys Recovery: Bobby Ghosh Dont Pay People to Leave Tokyo. Make More Tokyos: Gearoid Reidy Catastrophe Taught Japan to Remake Supply Chains: Anjani Trivedi This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Gearoid Reidy is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Japan and the Koreas. He previously led the breaking news team in North Asia, and was the Tokyo deputy bureau chief. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2023 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Comment on this story Comment Gift Article Share As he looks back on the year since the Russian invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy can draw satisfaction from his countrys performance on two fronts. In the battlefields of the east, his soldiers and generals have held out against a larger, better-armed enemy; in the west, he has routed his opposite number, Vladimir Putin, in the war of narratives. Zelenskiy has kept the US and Europe behind Ukraine, which has in turn given his military the morale and munitions it needs to keep Russia at bay. His personal charisma and adroit diplomacy helped to overcome early American and European reluctance to antagonize Putin, and to extract ever more potent weapons from NATO nations. Western commitment to the Ukrainian cause was underlined this week by US President Joe Bidens visit to Kyiv. But as he looks ahead to the second year of the conflict, the Ukrainian leader should direct more of his energies to a conspicuous gap in his communications campaign: the Global South. In most of the developing world, Ukraine has been unable to challenge Russias superiority in the war of narratives. Here, too, Kyiv will need some Western assistance but it also has some powerful weapons of its own. Advertisement In the first phase of the war, the Global South didnt feature prominently in Ukrainian priorities. Zelenskiy recognized that ensuring a steady flow of Western arms and assistance was absolutely crucial to preventing all of his country going the way of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, when Putin took advantage of an absence of support from the US and Europe. In the spring of 2022, the Wests attention and engagement were existentially important to Ukraine. But having secured his country from annihilation and annexation, Zelenskiy will need the support of the Global South to pressure Putin to end the war. When the time comes, Ukraine will also require an international consensus to force Russia to pay reparations and be held accountable for war crimes. This is dawning on the president and his cabinet. There is a strong awareness in the Ukrainian leadership that the Global South is a blind spot, says Fabrice Pothier, CEO of the political consultancy Rasmussen Global, who has advised the Ukrainian government. Addressing a joint session of the US Congress late last year, Zelenskiy characterized the conflict as a battle for the minds of the world, and talked of the need to ensure victory for countries of the Global South as much as for Ukraine. Advertisement Bringing the developing world onside will take more than soaring rhetoric. As in the early days of the invasion, the Ukrainians find themselves severely lacking in the resources required for a war of narratives. For a start, Kyiv has only a fraction of Moscows diplomatic wherewithal. They are struggling to find the right channels, says Pothier. They only have five ambassadors in the whole of the African continent, for instance. They cant compete with Russia in that respect. Ukraines foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has neither the rolodex nor international name-recognition of his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. Since the start of the war, Lavrov has flown around the developing world to sell the Russian narrative when hes not been receiving foreign ministers from the Global South in Moscow. Kuleba has not been ratcheting up the frequent flyer miles at anywhere near the same pace, nor has his red carpet seen much wear. In the West, Zelenskiy has made up for his travel limitations by delivering video addresses, whether to the European Parliament, to French lawmakers or to the World Economic Forum. But this approach doesnt work with skeptical audiences. When he addressed the African Union last summer, only four of 55 heads of state attended the virtual session. Many more African leaders have been happy to host Lavrov, lending a patient ear to his propaganda about Ukrainian (and Western) perfidy. Advertisement The developing world has, for the most part, voted against Russia in United Nations motions pertaining to the war. But there have been significant fence-sitters. Just days after hostilities began, 35 nations all from the Global South and collectively accounting for nearly half the worlds population abstained from a vote condemning Russias invasion. In October, the same number abstained from a vote to condemn Moscows annexation of parts of eastern Ukraine. (In both instances, only five countries voted against the motion.) And keep in mind that those were symbolic, non-binding votes like the one scheduled for later today, on a motion stressing the urgency of finding a comprehensive, just and lasting peace and calling for the support of UN members and international organizations. When it comes to actionable motions, sympathy for Russia has been stronger. In April, 58 countries abstained and 24 voted against a motion to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council over its conduct in Ukraine. This was just days after the world first glimpsed the gruesome images of murder and torture of civilians by Russian soldiers in Bucha, near Kyiv. The vote wasnt enough to keep Moscow on the council, but it put paid to any notions that Putin was isolated and friendless. The naysayers and fence-sitters included the Global Souths most prominent nations: China, Ethiopia, Iran and Algeria were among those that voted against, while India, Indonesia, Brazil, Nigeria and South Africa abstained. Advertisement Several factors explain this willful disregard of the facts of the war. The leaders of many developing nations, especially in Africa, retain fond memories of Moscows support during their freedom struggle against Western colonial powers. Some are more recent beneficiaries of Russian largesse. Still others are leery of losing long-term military ties. A few are opportunistically using the war to extract cut-price oil and gas from Russia. And some are taking their cues from China, Russias principal ally. Overcoming this combination of reasons will require different narratives than those that have given Zelenskiy so much traction in the West. True, as Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group recently noted, violations of sovereignty are something that even autocracies dont like: 21 of the 55 states that Freedom House classifies as not free supported Ukraine. Still, many countries in the Global South may not buy or care that allowing Putin to annex Ukraine would merely encourage him to demand other territories in Europe. Persuading developing countries that paying more for gas today will secure their future freedoms is a hard sell. But Zelenskiy can tell other stories that will resonate in the Global South. Nations that have suffered colonial and imperial oppression can be persuaded Ukraine now faces both those things. Advertisement A Ukraine narrative of a shared experience of colonialism and imperialism would be very powerful in the Global South, says Gaspard Estrada, a political scientist at Sciences Po who specializes in Latin America. Zelenskiy should also say, Like you, we reject the notion of areas of influence. This would be an especially strong argument with the new leftist leaders in Latin America, because it is their argument. Zelenskiy can invoke Cold War-era ties, too. Rashid Abdi, a geopolitics analyst and fellow at the Rift Valley Institute, points out that many African leaders who retain a sense of loyalty to the old USSR were trained and educated in Ukraine, not Russia. Ukraine has a longer relationship with Africa, more beneficial to Africans, he says. Its also a more diversified relationship, not only about wheat and fertilizer supplies. The Ukrainians have been very generous with scholarships, and before the war there were tens of thousands of African students there. Zelenskiy can also also reach out over the heads of political leaders to tap into the pro-Ukrainian sentiment of ordinary people. Among the public, it is the Western perspective that Russia is the invader that prevails, says Monica de Bolle, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. This is manifested in op-ed pieces, academic events and on how the war is portrayed on TV. There is admiration for Zelenskiy, even if its not as pronounced as in the West. Advertisement Since he must still spend time and energy to keep his Western benefactors onside, the Ukrainian leader will need surrogates to help carry the word to the developing world. Western leaders, given the complicated history of their countries in the Global South, may lack the credibility to pull that off. But Zelenskiy should be able to recruit proxies from leaders of countries in Russias periphery, who know all too well the implications of Moscows imperial ambitions. The West has a role, too: To provide economic and diplomatic cover for any losses that developing countries may incur if they get off the fence on Ukraines side. Favorable terms of trade, debt forgiveness and fresh aid: The US and European nations know how to reward those who choose to be on the right side of history. More From Bloomberg Opinion: Advertisement Putin Has Decided to Normalize His War: Leonid Bershidsky Russia Is Losing in Ukraine. So Is China: Minxin Pei Ukraines Future Is Not in NATO: Hal Brands This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Bobby Ghosh is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering foreign affairs. Previously, he was editor in chief at Hindustan Times, managing editor at Quartz and international editor at Time. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion 2023 Bloomberg L.P. GiftOutline Gift Article Senate Majority Leader Dole, left, and Secretary of State George P. Shultz talk with Rep. Sam Gibbons (D-Fla). Gibbons, 92, who briefly had been chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, died Oct. 10. (AP Photo) Former U.S. representative Sam Gibbons, a Florida Democrat who helped shepherd War on Poverty legislation at the start of his congressional career and briefly ascended to the chairmanship of the powerful Ways and Means Committee near the end of his 17 terms on Capitol Hill, died Oct. 10 in Tampa. He was 92. His son, Washington lobbyist Clifford Gibbons, confirmed the death but said he did not know the immediate cause. Rep. Gibbons, a gangly former Army paratrooper who landed at Normandy during World War II, said he pursued a legislative career largely because of the carnage he witnessed in battle. In the U.S. House from 1963 to 1997, he worked most ardently on extending trade and open markets. A world bound together by the ties of trade is a world strongly inclined toward economic growth and peace, he once said. Rep. Gibbons served Tampa as it grew from its industrial boomtown past into a thriving metropolis. As one of the few liberals in the Deep South, he delivered key votes for President Lyndon B. Johnsons Great Society program. In 1965, Johnson tapped Rep. Gibbons, then only a second-term congressman, to be his floor manager for the War on Poverty bills. In that position, he helped wrangle the votes needed to authorize social programs including the Head Start education initiative for low-income children. Rep. Gibbons worked closely with R. Sargent Shriver, director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, to win $1.75 billion in anti-poverty appropriations. We used to say we dont want any of that tainted federal money, Rep. Gibbons said at the time. Now we say taint enough. Ross K. Baker, a Rutgers University political scientist and an authority on congressional politics, called Rep. Gibbons one of peculiar species of white southern Democrats theres virtually no trace of them left who was conservative enough to give liberal presidents cover when they were trying to do something dramatic. Rep. Gibbons voted against the landmark civil rights act of 1964 that outlawed discrimination in public accommodations but was one of a handful of Southerners who supported the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In 1964, he voted in favor of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution that intensified U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War. In later years, he said he had been misled by Pentagon officials about the war and called it the sorriest vote I ever cast. In the early 1990s, he opposed entry by the United States in the Persian Gulf War. As he ascended to greater seniority, Rep. Gibbons mounted an underdog challenge against Majority Whip Thomas P. Tip ONeill Jr. (D-Mass.) for the position of majority leader in 1973. Rep. Gibbons quickly realized he had made a strategic error and withdrew his candidacy against the popular ONeill, who later became House speaker. It was a suicidal attempt, Baker said, adding that Rep. Gibbons never gained full access to ONeills inner circle. Nor did Rep. Gibbons become a consistently influential voice on Ways and Means, the legislative panel with sweeping authority over tax policy, trade, Social Security and Medicare. He chaired the committees trade subcommittee from 1981 to 1994, using that position to champion free trade. That stance put him in conflict with a party that courted the political support of union leaders. He was also a prominent supporter of the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement signed by President Bill Clinton to lower trade tariffs and other barriers among the economies of the United States, Canada and Mexico. On Ways and Means, Rep. Gibbons was the longtime No. 2 Democrat under chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), a chieftain of the Chicago political machine who had emerged as a widely regarded master of horse-trading and arm-twisting. Being number two on Ways and Means was really to be in a deep shadow, Baker said, noting Rostenkowskis near-total dominance of the committee. But as corruption charges emerged against Rostenkowski in the early 1990s, Rep. Gibbons positioned himself for a takeover and promised a more inclusive approach. Rosty is a soloist he is a virtuoso soloist, Rep. Gibbons told The Washington Post in 1993. I sing in a choir. He became acting chairman in June 1994 after Rostenkowski was indicted on multiple felony counts, including the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer dollars and campaign funds. Rostenkowski was unseated later that year by a Republican and two years later pleaded guilty to two counts of felony mail fraud. He served 15 months in federal prison and two in a halfway house. Clinton pardoned him in 2000. With the watershed election in November 1994 that swept Republicans to majority in both chambers of Congress, Rep. Gibbons was ousted from the chairmanship. The congressman also faced a rough reelection campaign, during which the gun lobby and Republicans criticized him for supporting an assault weapons ban. Im the only one in this room that fought with an assault rifle in World War II, he said during a debate against his much-younger challenger, and I know what damage it can do. Rep. Gibbons did not seek reelection in 1996 and subsequently joined his sons lobbying firm. Sam Melville Gibbons was born Jan. 20, 1920, in Tampa. After wartime service, for which he received the Bronze Star Medal, he earned a law degree in 1947 from the University of Florida in Gainesville. In the state legislature, he shepherded efforts to create the University of South Florida in Tampa. Later in the U.S. House, he used his seniority to direct funding to the university as well as to MacDill Air Force Base. Rep. Gibbonss wife of 57 years, the former Martha Hanley, died in 2003. The next year, he married Betty Culbreath, who survives along with three sons from his first marriage, Clifford Gibbons of McLean and Mark Gibbons and Timothy Gibbons, both of Tampa; and seven grandchildren. Rep. Gibbons was featured prominently in Tom Brokaws best-selling 1998 book about World War II veterans, The Greatest Generation. Shortly after the war, he told Brokaw, he and his brother spent an afternoon trying to count their friends killed in action. When we got to 100 we stopped counting and said, To hell with this. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Mr. Gibbons voted against a 1968 civil rights bill that prohibited housing discrimination. He voted in favor of its passage. The story has been updated. In one decade, the risk to U.S. national security secrets has morphed from ideologically driven protesters to digital natives who live life online and think secrecy is for losers. All the proposals of the Armenian delegation at the 10th Ordinary Session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly held in Moldova's Chi?in?u have been rejected, Azernews reports. During the session, the Azerbaijani Parliament was represented by six MPs led by the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Policy, Industry, and Entrepreneurship, MP Tahir Mirkishili. The Armenian delegation proposed amendments to the final document of the 10th Session, which included such challenges as "opening the Lachin-Khankendi road", "lifting the blockade of Karabakh", "withdrawal of the Azerbaijani Army from the territory of Armenia", and "activation of the OSCE Minsk Group". Former Charlottesville Mayor David Brown has withdrawn from the race for the 54th District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates 15 days after announcing his bid. After considerable thought and discussion with friends and family, I am withdrawing from the race for the Democratic nomination, Brown said in a written statement released on Wednesday. This will be a very competitive primary, and I realize that I am not prepared to make the sacrifices necessary to succeed. That leaves four Democrats in the primary race for the newly redistricted 54th District seat. Another former Charlottesville Mayor, Dave Norris, is still in the running. He is joined by Albemarle County School Board Chair Katrina Callsen, former Charlottesville Democrats co-Chair Dashad Cooper and former Police Civilian Oversight Board member Bellamy Brown. And more people could still join the Democratic primary field before the filing deadline of April 6. To date, no Republicans have filed to run, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Brown did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Progress on Wednesday. He said in his prepared statement that he still intends to remain active in local politics, but did not say if that meant a bid for a more local seat. I will continue to be involved in helping our community address the serious challenges we face, but will look for opportunities locally instead of in Richmond, Brown said in his statement. Some of those serious challenges include creating bikeable, walkable neighborhoods, preventing gun violence and supporting public education, he said. Brown served on City Council from 2004 until 2011 and was the citys mayor from 2004 through 2007. After he left City Council, Brown worked as a special assistant to Democratic House Minority Leader Del. David Toscano, who represented the Charlottesville area in the states lower chamber, from 2012 until 2014. Former Gov. Terry McAuliffe appointed Brown director of the Virginia Department of Health Professions in 2014, given Browns experience as a chiropractor and service on the Virginia Board of Medicine. Former Gov. Ralph Northam reappointed Brown in 2018. Brown left the role in October 2022. Brown urged whoever is elected to push for campaign finance reform. A bill that would have prevented Virginia lawmakers from using campaign funds for personal uselike a vacation or a country club membershipdied earlier this month in the House of Delegates. Virginias campaign finance laws are among the least effective in the country, and we need to fix this, Brown said. The Democratic primary will be June 20. Mark Zuckerberg spent Facebooks early days fending off claims he stole the idea from his Harvard classmates. More recently he has become far more comfortable taking inspiration from elsewhere. Since buying Instagram, Zuckerberg has seen off competition from Snapchat by aping its video features with Stories and is now trying to do the same with Reels, a short-form video feature meant to give TikTok a run for its money. Investor confidence in Zuckerbergs vision for the company has also slumped after a costly and as yet unsuccessful pivot to focus on the metaverse. Credit: AP Perhaps it was only a matter of time before Zuckerberg took a leaf out of Elon Musks book. On Sunday night, Metas chief executive announced that Facebook and Instagram would introduce a subscription service, the first time users have been offered the chance to pay for special perks on the advertising-funding platforms. Medibank Private has started to stem the loss of customers after last years cyberattack, which exposed the details of 9.8 million current and former customers, with the private health insurer signing up new policyholders. Medibank on Thursday reported that it had added 200 new policyholders in the first 18 days of this month, reversing a net exodus of 13,000 policyholders in the December quarter in response to the damaging cyber incident. Medibank faces a class action in the Federal Court over the damaging cyber attack. Credit: Kara Lau Medibank said the cost of the cyberattack topped $26 million for the December half year and is expected to be as much as $45 million for the full year. This only covers the costs of dealing directly with the incident and not the additional costs of the investor lawsuits and regulatory action. The loss of customers in the December quarter partially offset the boom in Medibanks international business, with the insurer adding more than 33,400 customers for the half year as international student, visitors and workers returned to Australia post-COVID. It also lost access to Western technology and talent, and experienced an exodus of its own intellectual capital. Brain drain Between the brain drain in the early months of the war and a second wave as the Kremlin implemented conscription, the best part of a million of Russias best and brightest have fled the country, diminishing not just the population, but Russias long-term economic capacity and capabilities. As Russia diverts an ever-larger proportion of government spending to the floundering campaign in Ukraine, its industrial base and military capabilities, starved of that western capital, expertise and technology, are being and will continue to be degraded. The sanctions are having a particular impact on the high-tech components that can be repurposed for military usage, and on the more complex oil fields in challenging environments that require western technology and expertise. The recent announcement that Russia would cut oil production by 500,000 barrels a day is being interpreted by the industry as an attempt to spin what is actually a deterioration in its production capacity. Those arent the sorts of changes that show up quickly, but they will profoundly impact both the size and nature of Russias economy in the medium to longer term. It will be a smaller, poorer and less sophisticated economy than it might otherwise have been a reversion to the insular economy and closed and repressed society of the Soviet era. More damaging in the near term, albeit with some very significant long-term impacts, will be the actions the West (the G7 economies and Australia) have taken to restrict Russias oil and gas revenues. Before the war, Russias revenue from oil and gas accounted for nearly half of all government revenue, and so they were an obvious target for western sanctions. The problem with attacking them directly and immediately was that Europe was dependent on Russian energy and the world was reliant on Russias oil. About 40 per cent of Europes gas and 25 per cent of its oil was sourced from Russia, which produced about 10 per cent of the worlds oil. The invasion saw the prices of oil and gas soar and, with Putin threatening to cut off the supply of gas to Europe, gave Russia a massive windfall. At the same time, it generated an energy crisis within Europe that, as its countries scrambled to find alternate supply, spilled over into the global market for gas. The Europeans and the Biden administration in the US were acutely aware that their inaction was allowing Russia to build its war chest, but confronted with the prospect of $US100-a-barrel-plus oil prices, even higher inflation rates and a severe global recession bought time to adapt and come up with a strategy that would keep Russias oil flowing into the global market, while reducing its oil income. Price caps It was only in December that Europe finally stopped buying Russian oil and, within the G7 framework, imposed a $US60-a-barrel price cap on it, backed by the withdrawal of insurance and funding from anyone shipping that oil at prices above that price. From this month, there are also price caps on sales of Russias refined products, such as diesel. Even before the price caps were in place, embargoes, whether formal or informal, meant that Russias oil was being sold almost exclusively to China, India and Turkey, and its customers were using the leverage of the looming caps to extract $US30-a-barrel-plus discounts on international oil. Loading Europe is no longer buying any meaningful volumes of Russian gas. Helped by a warmish winter, it has sufficient gas reserves to get through at least another year or two without a crisis and has also both reduced demand and accelerated its build-out of renewable energy technologies. So, in effect, Russia has lost permanently the major market for its gas, with no practical near-term alternate market, and is now heavily reliant on China and India to buy its oil at discounted prices. The caps on refined products will be even more effective because China and India are both net exporters they have no need for Russias diesel or lower-value-added products. It will lose volume as well as value. The risk for Russia is that reliance on China, in particular for its income and the goods and technology that it can no longer obtain from the West, will effectively turn it into a client state of China; a supplier of resources and agricultural products within a highly unequal relationship. Dependent on China Thats not quite what Putin would have foreseen from the no limits friendship he and Xi Jinping declared just ahead of the invasion. Last year, as noted, Russias economy shrank 2.1 per cent, far less than many in the West expected. From December, however, its budget started to shift from strong surpluses into deficits. In January, the deficit was about $36 billion, with oil and gas revenues almost halving and expenses surging almost 60 per cent. The price caps on oil and the costs of sustaining the war in Ukraine are starting to show up in a big way and will eat into Putins rainy day fund. At the end of last year, that was a $US187 billion fund, yet by the end of January, it had already gone down to $US148.4 billion. At this rate of depletion, there might be nothing in the fund by mid-year. Russia is targeting a budget deficit of 2 per cent this year, and there are forecasts for its economy that range from positive growth of 0.3 per cent (the International Monetary Fund) to minus 3 per cent (the World Bank). Loading As the energy price caps really bite, the outcomes could either be a lot worse than even the more pessimistic assumptions, and/or the balance of activity will shift even more towards that of a wartime economy. Russias economy is slowly being asphyxiated, with the Wests efforts to throttle its income only really becoming effective from December. Those efforts wont destroy Russias economy, just as they havent destroyed Irans or North Koreas, but they will increasingly diminish it, reducing the living standards of its people and its stature and influence within geopolitics in the process. Prominent publisher Morry Schwartz, the owner of Black Inc and Schwartz Media which publishes The Saturday Paper and The Monthly, has called on Louise Adler to resign as director of Adelaide Writers Week, claiming she invited authors of hate speech to the festival. Schwartzs comments come after major law firm MinterEllison withdrew its sponsorship of the festival, at which 15 Black Inc authors will be appearing, because of public statements made by two authors Adler has programmed at Writers Week, Susan Abulhawa and Mohammed El-Kurd. International technology company Capgemini has also withdrawn its backing. Louise Adler would not comment on Morry Schwartzs call for her to resign. Credit: Kristoffer Paulsen In a letter this week to The Australian, Schwartz said antisemitism was again showing its ugly historical face. It is again being normalised and made acceptable, regarding comments made by Abulhawa and El-Kurd. I call on Louise Adler, who invited the authors of these atrocities to Adelaide Writers Week, to disinvite them. And I call on her to resign, Schwartz said. The recent Northcote High School book cull has generated much discussion on the role of school libraries as gatekeepers of knowledge. Some are crying the decolonisation of the collection is akin to book burning, and wokeness engendered. As someone who regularly culls items in their collection, I can tell you the reality is much more mundane. In my library like most school libraries the reality is a teacher librarian with detailed knowledge of their collection, community and current curriculum assessing resources and, yes, binning those which are no longer fit for purpose. All lending libraries are culled and updated from time to time, including school libraries. Credit: Shutterstock It is this question of fit for purpose that elicits some controversy. As with many areas of society, politics and values influence what we teach and the books we provide in our schools. However, the purchase and retention of books that highlight cultural, religious and gender diversities is not only important for those who identify as such, but for all students. The danger in our school libraries is the inherent bias in all of us we all have our own stories and experiences which shape our picture of the world, and at times our collections. With the removal from the Northcote High School library of books that depict European colonisation as peaceful, the question was raised: What are they teaching kids at school these days? Its the Australian Curriculum particularly the year 9 history curriculum which contains content related to the effects of colonisation, such as frontier conflicts. If the school library does not include books in their collection that reflect this curriculum, and current teaching, then students are going to look online at resources that dont have the same quality control of published books. Australia will send military drones to Ukraine to help soldiers gain battlefield intelligence and defend their territory amid fears of a barrage of Russian missile strikes on the anniversary of an invasion that has displaced 14 million people. The new pledge will cost $33 million and will take the value of Australian military support to $510 million, alongside medical and other humanitarian support and another wave of economic sanctions against Russian leaders linked to the countrys president, Vladimir Putin. Drones purchased for the Ukraine army. Australia will send a further $33 million worth of drones to help with the war effort. Credit: Getty Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles will announce the new aid on Friday with a vow to back Ukraine for as long as it takes to end the illegal invasion. Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska will send a personal message to Australians on Friday to thank them for their support in a war that she describes as an attack that endangers all countries. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is using the Voice to parliament referendum to lay a political trap for the opposition, deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley claims, and as a possible springboard to an early federal election. In a fiery speech to Liberal Party true believers in the must-win Western Australian seat of Curtin, Ley will ramp up the Coalitions hostility towards the referendum, just a day after the Yes campaign was formally launched. Sussan Ley has attacked Albaneses handling of the referendum. Credit: James Brickwood Labelling the Indigenous recognition campaign a Labor vanity project, the deputy opposition leader will claim Anthony Albanese would rather see the Liberal Party say no and this referendum fail than the Liberal Party say yes and this referendum succeed. Thats at the heart of everything driving his agenda on this issue. A year after those comments, he was elected to parliament as Labors member for Perth. As housing and lands minister, Carey is in charge of unlocking land across WA for developers to house the states growing population over the coming decades. Carey said he had changed his stance since 2016. Im not embarrassed to say this I have changed my position, he said. Carey said as mayor he was never against density and worked with the council to increase it under a contemporary planning scheme. As housing and local government minister its clear to me, as it should be to everyone, we need more housing and more diverse housing options, he said. The simple fact is not all local governments are having conversations to support diverse housing, or are undertaking the work that they should in fact, we have local governments actively seeking to negate reasonable density that is compliant with planning schemes. Carey said the DAP system had been improved significantly since the McGowan government came to power. DAPs are alternative planning approval pathways developers can take under certain situations, circumventing the need for local councils to consider applications. But they have drawn criticism for taking planning power away from councils ever since their inception by the former Barnett government in 2011. Each panel is made up of five members, with three experts appointed by planning authorities and two members from the local government area where the building application is located. Loading Currently, developers can only use the DAP pathway for projects worth more than $2 million and, in the case of residential projects, contain 10 or more dwellings. Under sweeping reforms proposed by the McGowan government on Wednesday, the eligibility for the DAP pathway will be blown wide open to allow for any residential project with two or more dwellings. The $2 million threshold remains, but developers will be able to opt out and still use the council process if they choose to. The changes will pit the government against many western suburbs councils, which have been the most vociferous in opposition to higher-density developments. Cottesloe Mayor Lorraine Young took to 6PR on Thursday morning to blast the plans. She said higher-density developments needed to be built around train lines and not wherever developers wanted to put them, and lamented being called elitist for opposing development on her citys beachfront. We have a planning scheme designed to protect beachfront amenities; thats not just for locals but for the hundreds of thousands of people we welcome every year, she said. Objecting to putting high rises on the beachfront to allow wealthy people to enjoy views to the detriment of all those beach users doesnt strike me as elitist, it actually strikes me as quite egalitarian. WA Premier Mark McGowan again defended the planning reforms. Loading What were trying to do is make sure that if you want to do something, or you want to build a house or a home, or you want to do a development that creates opportunities for people to live, that you can get through the processes more effectively, efficiently and quickly. Now, whats wrong with that? he said. McGowan singled out the western suburbs councils as a major reason for the reforms, pointing to the City of Nedlands decision to oppose the construction of WAs first childrens hospice on the Swanbourne foreshore. Theres that major Blackburne development there in Peppermint Grove, that major high rise, and theres the other one in Subiaco, they will overwhelmingly be occupied by people who are downsizing from that suburb so it gives some choice, he said. Republicans in the House of Delegates have killed a bill that would have allowed Charlottesville and Albemarle County to raise the areas sales tax to fund school renovation and construction. We are sorry this didnt go forward, Charlottesville School Board Chair James Bryant told The Daily Progress in a written statement on Wednesday. It would have been such a straightforward solution letting local people vote on a local tax to support local school construction. The bill passed the state Senate on Jan. 23 in a 27-10 vote that garnered bipartisan support. A House finance subcommittee tabled the bill on Feb. 17 in a 5-2 party-line vote. The bill was left in the House on Wednesday. If signed into law, the bill would have allowed the city and the county to bring an up-to-1% sales tax hike to their respective voters, who would have then decided whether they were willing to take on the extra cost at the register. Each locality could have decided if it wanted to exclude a certain kind of good from the tax hike, such as groceries, officials had said. A 1% increase would have generated roughly $14 million for Charlottesville City Schools and $20 million for Albemarle County Public Schools, according to city and county officials. Thats a huge, huge amount, Albemarle County Board of Supervisors Chair Donna Price told The Daily Progress after the bill passed the Senate. Albemarle County Public Schools spokesman Phil Giaramita told The Daily Progress on Wednesday that the news the bill had been defeated was not a surprise. His remark echoes those made by Democratic state Sen. Creigh Deeds, who represents the Charlottesville area in the General Assemblys upper chamber and authored the bill. After introducing the proposed legislation, Deeds told The Daily Progress it would likely face strong opposition in the GOP-led House. I dont want to fool anybody into thinking its going to be easy, because its not, Deeds said. Deeds did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Progress on Wednesday. Deeds had said he wrote the bill that specifically targets Charlottesville and Albemarle County at the request of the city and county school divisions. Both city and county schools are roughly the same age, about 60 to 70 years old. Officials in both said that means their school divisions need capital funding to update and expand schools as student populations grow and their needs change. In the city, Cheuk said the school divisions proposed improvement projects are not the fanciest, shiniest thing you ever imagined. She said the higher sales tax could have benefited the Buford Middle School reconfiguration project, which would move sixth-grade facilities at Walker Upper Elementary School to Buford and convert Walker into a preschool. The first phase of that project is expected to cost $75 million, according to data from the city. In the county, a prioritized capital funding request lists two new elementary schools at the top of its list: a $50.6 million school in the northern part of the county and a $44.1 million one to the south. Also on the countys wish list is land for a third elementary school, which it estimates will cost $7.5 million to purchase. Giaramita said county schools hadnt been counting on the money for its capital budget, but the school divisions capital needs are high. Well over 90% of our students attend schools that are overcrowded, Giaramita said. It does have an impact on learning when you dont have adequate facilities. Albemarle County residents previously showed overwhelming support for raising taxes in support of school-funding projects. A 2016 bond referendum passed with 73.52% of the vote, allowing the county to issue $35 million in general bond obligations to fund school improvement projects. At the time, the Board of Supervisors projected a 1.3-cent increase to the real estate tax rate. Its a very democratic idea, Giaramita said. Taxpayers in Albemarle County have already signaled theyre willing to go for a tax increase for capital construction. A recently formed armed group based in the Old City of Nablus called the Lions Den, which has surged in prominence over the past months, confirmed the militants were its members. During the raid, the military said armed men in the city shot heavily towards the forces, which responded with live fire. It said others hurled rocks and explosives at the troops. The military released a video taken from inside an armoured vehicle as crowds of Palestinian youths pelt it with stones. There were no Israeli casualties. Demonstrator burns tires during a protest against the Israeli military raid. Credit: AP Time-stamped security footage widely shared online appeared to show two unarmed young men running down a street. Gunshots are heard, and both fall to the ground, with ones hat flying off his head. Both bodies remained still. Hecht called the video problematic, and said the military was looking into it. In the Old City of Nablus, people stared at the rubble that had been the large home in the centuries-old marketplace. From one end to the other, shops were riddled with bullets. Parked cars were crushed. Blood stained the cement ruins. Furniture from the destroyed home was scattered among mounds of debris. The Palestinian Health Ministry said 102 people were wounded, and six of them were in critical condition. Various Palestinian militant groups claimed six of the dead including the three from Lions Den targeted in the raid as members. But two men, ages 72 and 61, were also killed. There was no immediate word on whether the others belonged to armed groups. Palestinians carry the body of man who was killed in the clashes. Credit: AP Last month, Israeli troops killed 10 people in a similar raid in the northern West Bank. The following day, a lone Palestinian gunman opened fire near a synagogue in an east Jerusalem settlement, killing seven people. Days later, five Palestinian militants were killed in an Israeli arrest raid elsewhere in the West Bank. That was followed by a Palestinian car ramming that killed three Israelis, including two young brothers, in Jerusalem. The fighting comes at a sensitive time, less than two months after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus new hard-line government took office. The government is dominated by ultra-nationalists who have pushed for tougher action against Palestinian militants. Israeli media have quoted top security officials as expressing concern that this could lead to even more violence. Loading Israeli police announced they were beefing up forces and going on heightened alert in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. The cabinet includes a number of West Bank settler leaders, one of whom has been promised authority over settlement construction. Yesha, the settlement council, announced that Israeli planning officials had granted approval to nearly 2,000 new homes in settlements across the West Bank. The defence body that grants the approvals, the Civil Administration, said the meeting was still underway on Wednesday and that an announcement would only be issued on Thursday, after the two-day session is over. The Palestinians and most of the international community say settlements built on occupied lands are illegal and obstacles to peace. Over 700,000 settlers now live in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a future state. The Israeli decision comes in the wake of the UN presidential statement that strongly criticised settlements. The US blocked what would have been a legally binding council resolution. American diplomats claimed to have extracted an Israeli pledge to halt unilateral action in order to block the resolution. The approval of new settlements by Israel would appear to defy that claim. In the Gaza Strip, a spokesman for the ruling Hamas militant group issued a veiled threat following the Nablus raid. The resistance in Gaza is observing the enemys escalating crimes against our people in the occupied West Bank, and its patience is running out, said Abu Obeida, a spokesman for the group. Late Wednesday, Palestinian activists burned tires along Gazas frontier with Israel in protest. Hamas has battled Israel in four wars since seizing control of Gaza in 2007, and Israeli officials have expressed concerns about rising tensions ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins in the second half of March. At least 55 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, a pace that could exceed last years death toll. Last year, nearly 150 Palestinians were killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, making it the deadliest year in those areas since 2004, according to figures by the Israeli rights group BTselem. Israel says that most of those killed have been militants but others including youths protesting the incursions and other people not involved in confrontations have also been killed. An AP tally has found that just under half of those killed belonged to militant groups. Israel says the military raids are meant to dismantle militant networks and thwart future attacks while the Palestinians view them as further entrenchment of Israels open-ended, 55-year occupation. In a talk at the University of Virginia that attracted roughly 100 people, conservative British author Douglas Murray spoke freely about his belief that people cannot speak freely at U.S. universities. Murray made a number of claims on a variety of topics, sometimes contradicting himself and historical evidence. In one instance, he said that there is no DNA evidence linking the families of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson and slave Sally Hemings. In another, he argued that First Amendment rights are being infringed at U.S. universities, while criticizing the publication and teaching of works such as The 1619 Project. He also routinely decried what he has called a war on Western ideas, Western religion, Western philosophy. His book The War on the West is a New York Times bestseller. The Common Sense Society debating forum, which hosted Murrays visit in the ballroom at Newcomb Hall, had promised the event was sure to be controversial with student protests expected. There were no protests. During a question-and-answer session after the discussion, no one challenged the views of either Murray or Marion Smith, founder and CEO of the Common Sense Society, who joined Murray on stage. Murray, an associate editor at the conservative Spectator magazine and the host of the podcast Uncanceled History, is a known critic of the work of more liberal authors and media personalities. During the discussion on Tuesday, Murray claimed that works such as The 1619 Project, How to be an Antiracist and Nice Racism are not factually accurate and make bad faith arguments about Americas history and its current social structure. The 1619 Project and its author Nikole Hannah-Jones have been the target of Murrays ire since the work was first published nearly four years ago. The 1619 Project is a media project developed by Hannah-Jones and other writers at the New York Times and New York Times magazine that has run in the magazine as a long-form piece, published as a stand-alone book and aired as a six-episode miniseries. The project aims to reframe the countrys history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of the United States national narrative, according to the Times. Murray said Hannah-Jones and other authors have refused to debate in a public forum and defend their works. Murray on Sky News Australia last year said Hannah-Jones and those like her should take a rest. And if we cant persuade them to, lets take a rest from them, he told host Rita Panahi. While speaking at UVa, Murray also touched on the schools founder. There is absolutely no evidence to show that the DNA in Hemings line includes DNA from the Jefferson family, Murray told his audience. In 1998, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the nonprofit organization that owns and operates Jeffersons Monticello estate, affirmed a DNA study by Dr. Eugene Foster that found that a Jefferson family member had chromosomes with both Hemings and Jeffersons DNA. Murray on Tuesday criticized the foundation for not only accepting the data but incorporating it into its exhibits. In recent years Monticello has turned it into some sort of early interracial romance, Murray said. Murrays visit was hosted by the Common Sense Society in partnership with the Jefferson Council, a UVa alumni association dedicated to preserving the legacy of Thomas Jefferson, the Lawn, the Honor Code, and the intellectual diversity one would expect from Mr. Jeffersons university. Jefferson Council President Bert Ellis, himself a controversial figure, was recently appointed to UVas Board of Visitors. Ellis faced opposition from student, faculty and staff groups, which specifically cited a 2020 incident in which Ellis took a razor blade to Grounds. According to his own account, he intended to use the blade to remove a sign that read Fk UVA that had been posted on the Lawn room door of student. Ellis has defended his actions on the blog Bacons Rebellion. In an open letter that appeared on the blog, Ellis wrote that the universitys determination that the sign was protected under the First Amendment was a incredibly stupid position. Murrays visit to UVa was the first in a series of planned events with the Common Sense Society. Murray was scheduled to visit Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on Wednesday to discuss Where Can We Speak Freely? From there, Murray plans to travel to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he is slated to discuss Free Speech in the West on Thursday. He will return to Virginia on Friday for an event called Uncanceling Richmonds History at the Jefferson Hotel in downtown Richmond. Caroline Janney is scheduled to discuss the end of the American Civil War on Thursday as part of an Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society speaker series. Janney is the director of the John L. Nau Center for Civil War History at the University of Virginia. A UVa graduate and professor at the university, she will speak about the chaos that ensued after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lees surrender at the Appomattox Court House in 1865. The event is planned to begin at 6 pm. at the Center at Belvedere at 540 Belvedere Blvd. in Charlottesville. Members of the public can RSVP online to attend in person or watch the virtual stream on Facebook. The inventor of the inkjet printer may try to land some of the $52 billion in federal semiconductor funding due out this week, money that could bring some high-tech jobs back to Oregon, and specifically Benton County. A manager at HP Inc.s Corvallis facility appeared in front of Benton County elected officials Tuesday, Feb. 21, to ask for their support ahead of the U.S. Department of Commerce announcement this week of funding opportunities. We want to take advantage of that if we can, said James Thom, an HP operations director. Thom told county commissioners HP hopes to apply by May for the funding. A letter of support would signal that elected leaders stand behind HP. And the U.S. government likely will prioritize companies with local and state support, Thom said. We are up against many other states for the funding, Thom said. Thom said hell return to the Board of Commissioners to explain how the company can affect local housing, schools, and demands for electricity and water. I imagine youll be concerned about our utility usage, Thom said. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Corvallis Gazette-Times. Its not clear how many are employed at the companys site off of Circle Boulevard, where HP builds printer components and studies among other technologies how fluid behaves in microscopic channels. But Thom told commissioners HPs Corvallis site is the most advanced microfluidics research facility in the world. The company has netted more than 5,000 patents from its work in Benton County, he said. Researchers in the 1970s and 80s developed the consumer inkjet printer. HP locally holds more than $1 billion in high-tech manufacturing assets, Thom said, and any expansion would happen inside the footprint of the buildings on its 179-acre site, founded in 1976 in North Corvallis. After years of slowing growth and revenue in the industry, HP officials in October said the company is seeking to bring some jobs back to the region. Company CEO Enrique Lores and Tuan Tran, who heads the companys imaging and printing division, told news media that HP wants to bring some of the companys prototyping work to Corvallis. Reached by phone, Thom said HP doesnt have an official position on its potential funding application and that he was not authorized to speak about the companys business strategies even after speaking at a meeting of public officials. All Im trying to do is give them a heads-up that we may go after that funding, he said. Its really about fact-finding at this point. Thom told county commissioners HP is developing an application with the city of Corvallis for an enterprise zone. Local governments in Oregon typically sponsor enterprise zones to waive property taxes and bolster business development. The citys economic development supervisor said HP has not filed an enterprise zone application. HP officials along with the rest of the U.S. tech industry will find out by months end exactly who qualifies for the billions put aside under a program in the 2021 national defense budget, Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors CHIPS for America. Congress in 2022 expanded the program with a $52.7-billion appropriation. The Department of Commerce is set to fund manufacturing equipment and facilities through grants and loans that would bolster U.S. participation in the semiconductor market. Businesses that assemble, package or research semiconductors, or the material and equipment used in their fabrication, are eligible for $39 billion. The Commerce department is pointing the other $11 billion at the public-private network of innovation and research institutes called Manufacturing USA. That funding will add up to three institutes to the list of 16 that includes a facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts attempting to turn traditional fiber-based textiles into sensors for heart rate and blood oxygenation. Editor's note: This story was updated to clarify what HP Inc. builds at its Corvallis campus. Related stories: The highest court in the land will soon turn its attention to President Joe Bidens plan to erase up to $20,000 in federal student debt for some 40 million eligible borrowers. On Tuesday, Feb. 28, the Supreme Court will consider two key lawsuits that have put this one-time student debt relief on ice. The court will decide the fate of Bidens plan in the months to follow. Dont count on the relief happening yet. Heres what else borrowers need to know about the upcoming oral arguments and why you should still plan for repayment. Whats going to happen on Feb. 28? The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for two key lawsuits that have blocked Bidens student debt cancellation plan: Nebraska v. Biden : A federal appeals court in Missouri froze forgiveness rollout after six GOP-led states sued the Biden administration, alleging the debt cancellation would harm their states revenues. : A federal appeals court in Missouri froze forgiveness rollout after six GOP-led states sued the Biden administration, alleging the debt cancellation would harm their states revenues. Department of Education v. Brown: A federal judge in Texas declared the plan illegal, alleging the Education Department does not have the power to order student debt cancellation via the legal avenue it used. Oral arguments are a major part of how the court makes decisions, says Frederick M. Lawrence, a distinguished lecturer at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. The arguments typically last about an hour, and each side has about 30 minutes total to make their case. The justices will interject with questions throughout. All nine justices will ask questions in order of seniority, Lawrence explains. The parties will answer those questions as best they can, and they will have summarized their own arguments as well. Then, the case is fully submitted to the court. Justices may base their questions on publicly available documents called amicus briefs, which are intended to inform and influence the justices opinions. Advocacy groups, think tanks, legal experts and lawmakers have already submitted dozens of briefs to the court. A few days later, the justices will hold a conference behind closed doors, at which theyll deliberate the case and take an unofficial vote, says Lawrence. A majority of the court five justices must agree on the final opinion, which will determine if student debt cancellation stands or falls. Expect demonstrators on Feb. 28, too. More than a dozen organizations, including the NAACP, the Student Debt Crisis Center, or SDCC, and the National Education Association, are co-sponsoring a rally outside the court in support of student debt cancellation, while oral arguments unfold inside. Organizers anticipate hundreds of attendees, along with politicians and other speakers, says SDCC executive director Cody Hounanian. What will the Supreme Court decide? We dont yet know how the justices will rule, but its not likely to be a unanimous decision, says Lawrence. It's very, very hard to say in advance, he says. We don't really have a lot of learnings from these justices on this particular issue. The questions that justices ask during the arguments may indicate which way they are leaning, but thats not a sure bet. For example, justices could ask a specific question to fill a gap in their understanding or because they want to influence another justice, explains Lawrence. Borrowers should not count on any relief until a decision is issued. It's good to pay attention to what's coming out of the Supreme Court case, but I also think it's a really good idea to not base any action on what you hear about the case until we see a final decision, explains Stacey MacPhetres, senior director of college finance at education and child care company Bright Horizons. When will the final decision come out? The final decision will come out in the early summer, most likely. The court doesnt have a strict decision deadline, but they traditionally decide by the end of the current term the very end of June, or sometimes the first week of July, says Lawrence. Decisions sometimes roll out earlier, but Lawrence says thats unlikely in this case, because it deals with complicated issues of federal power. Typically, the ones that get decided quickly are relatively straightforward, he says. Borrowers likely wont hear any news out of the court between oral arguments and the final decision announcement. Whats at stake for borrowers? Bidens relief plan would act as an offramp to help struggling borrowers avoid falling into default and readjust to making monthly payments after three years of paused student loan bills, says Persis Yu, deputy executive director at the Student Borrower Protection Center, a nonprofit student loan borrower advocacy organization. All told, borrowers hold more than $1.6 trillion in outstanding federal student loan debt. I don't know many people in the world, and certainly none of the clients that I've ever worked with, who would say that, all of a sudden, I can start making several hundred-dollar payments that I didn't have to make the month before, Yu says. Its a big issue for older Americans, it's a big issue for people with disabilities, it's a big issue for communities of color, it's a big issue for low-income communities. Certain borrower groups would receive a bigger boost from the relief. For example, Black women carry more student debt proportionate to other groups and have the most to lose if the cancellation falls. And nearly 90% of the relief would go to borrowers who earn less than $75,000 per year, the White House estimated; two-thirds of relief applications came from neighborhoods with an average income below $40,000, a recent Politico analysis found. How does the hearing affect the student loan payment pause? The federal student loan payment pause's expiration date hinges upon the Supreme Courts schedule. The White House has already extended the pause, also called forbearance, nine times. Under current guidance, payments are scheduled to resume 60 days after the Supreme Court releases its final ruling, or 60 days after June 30, 2023 whichever comes first. Interest on student loan balances will also start accruing at that point. What should borrowers do while they await a final decision from the Supreme Court? Dont wait for the 60-day notice based on the Supreme Courts final decision: Evaluate your financial situation now. For those who have a balance above cancellation, you have to prepare, period. You're going back into loan repayment at some point regardless, MacPhetres says. Even if your balance could potentially be completely wiped out, she advises, start this month by reducing your budget by your payment amount and put that into a separate account. If [cancellation] passes, then you have a nice cushion that could be your emergency savings." If you dont know what your monthly student loan bills will look like, call your servicer and ask. If you dont know who your servicer is, log in to your studentaid.gov account or call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-433-3243. LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. Jose and Tetiana Class along with their daughter Sophia are living in Lancaster County. Jose, who is from Reading, said he will be taking his wife, who is from Ukraine, around America looking for a place to settle down. "I was able to settle into a pretty good job, and now we're just saving up to get a house," said Jose Class. In February of last year, Jose Class woke up one day hearing the sounds of sirens and jets flying in the sky above their Ukraine home. War had begun in the country. The family of three knew they had to get to safety, so they fled to Poland, ultimately arriving in America. 69 News was there as they arrived in Berks County. Tetiana still has friends and family in Ukraine. Her parents are among them. "My parents want to stay in Ukraine," said Tetiana Class. "They believe in a victory." Her parents still have many of Jose and Tetiana's belongings they were not able to bring here, since they had to drop everything and go. Even though they are not there, the stories keep coming in. "Just a couple weeks ago, they launched a missile right inside that house where people live," said Tetiana Class. "A lot of people died, a lot of kids died, it's terrible what's happening there." The couple says the Ukrainian military is not backing down, as war wages on. "I mean, you got this giant country trying to attack a very small country, and this country is really doing good defending itself," said Jose Class. "I think they're doing a very, very good job and every time I see, like the videos of our Ukrainian army, they are very positive people," said Tetiana Class. "They believe in the victory." They each have a message for the people of Ukraine. "To stay strong and everything will be good," said Jose Class. "The best you can do is just stay positive and stay safe and strong," said Tetiana Class. 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.. Tonight Mainly cloudy with a lingering shower in the evening, then some patchy fog or drizzle late. BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Bethlehem Zoning Hearing Board tabled a variance request for an apartment complex that crosses the city's border Wednesday night at City Hall. The proposal, offered by New Jersey-based BAXL-LLC, calls for the development of three five story buildings and one four-story building totaling 317 apartment units on an 8.74-acre lot at 2235 W. Broad St. in Bethlehem and along Hanover Avenue in Allentown on an 8.74 tract, south of the Lehigh Shopping center on West Union Boulevard. The development will be known as Hanover Apartments. The applicant sought a dimensional variance for building length. A total of up to 290 feet is proposed, while 180 feet is permitted. Additionally, a variance is required to allow parking on the street level of the building along West Broad Street. The parking use is proposed in lieu of required commercial use on the front street level. James Preston, an attorney representing the applicant, sought the postponement to seek clarification from the city's planning commission. He noted "concern" that the planning commission's solicitor, Matthew Deschler, was in attendance during Wednesday night's meeting. "Somehow I ended up at a hearing with the planning commissioners solicitor taking a position that I believe is averse to the planning commission," Preston said. Given the "mixed signals," Preston told the zoning hearing board he "will go back to the planning commission and come back to you with a definitive issue with how they feel about this project. I don't think we have that now. In fact, I'll be honest with you, I'm confused myself." The hearing is continued until April 12. A sketch plan presented to planners at their Feb. 9 meeting revealed the apartment buildings would be between 250 and 280 feet long. For this to be realized, BAXL must secure a variance from the zoning code, which limits them to 180 feet. Another variance is required to allow parking on street level in lieu of the required commercial space. The developer must also pay the city $475,500 in recreation fees alone. Director of Planning Darlene Heller said the city received comments from neighboring residents related to the building's height, parking, traffic, water mitigation and noise. Planners are recommending a four-foot barrier to screen a parking area and to mitigate lighting from carrying to neighboring properties. Planners did not make a recommendation on zoning relief at that meeting. On Wednesday night Preston described their review of the plan as "well received." EASTON, Pa. Representatives from Easton Urban Farm shared with Easton City Council Wednesday night how their organization is serving those in need and what their vision includes for the future. Located at 902 Old Philadelphia Road, EUF is a program with The Neighborhood Center, an organization that provides financial assistance, housing and food programs to those in need. The site's history dates to the 1970s when there were community farming plots. The location was organized as an urban farm under the West Ward Neighborhood Partnership in 2012. Two years ago, the EUF grew and distributed more than 10,000 pounds of produce for the first time, representatives said. The produce is distributed at various locations, including The Neighborhood Center Food Pantry, the Kellyn Foundation at West Ward Market, Easton Area Community Center, Harlan House and the St. Vincent de Paul and Salvation Army food pantries. In addition, the EUF fosters various educational initiatives. This includes teaching local volunteers through hands-on training and a partnership with Lafayette College Landis fellows, along with a high school internship program. Goals cited for this year include the installation of a greenhouse, expansion of the farm's footprint and use as a green space for residents, along with offering senior programming. ALLENTOWN, Pa. The Lehigh County Board of Commissioners authorized funding allocations to more than 50 nonprofit organizations Wednesday night at the government center. A total of $904,000 will be distributed under the third round of the Lehigh County COVID-19 relief nonprofit grant program. The largest recipient of funds totaling $150,000 is allocated to the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley. Several nonprofits will receive $25,000 under the bill. Those organizations include ArtsQuest, the Boys and Girls Club of Allentown, the Cancer Support Community of the Greater Lehigh Valley, Cetronia Ambulance Corps, Community Action Lehigh Valley, the Community Fire Company of New Tripoli, Holy Family Senior Living, Jewish Day School of the Lehigh Valley, Jewish Family Service of the Lehigh Valley, Jordan Lutheran Church, Lehigh Carbon Community College Foundation, Lehigh Conference of Churches, Lehigh County Historical Society, Lehigh Valley Zoological Society, Lily's Hope Foundation, Miller Keystone Blood Center, New Bethany Ministries, Operation Address the Homeless, WLVT-TV, Pinebrook Family Answers, The Greater Valley YMCA, Turning Point of the Lehigh Valley and Via of the Lehigh Valley. The Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley and the Syrian Arab American Charity Association received $20,000 and $18,000 each, respectively. Several other organizations received amounts ranging from $1,000 to $10,000. "Let's get money to these organizations so they can serve our county," Commissioner Zakiya Smalls said. Commissioners approved the bill on first reading. In other news, the legislative body approved a lease agreement for a detoxification and rehabilitation center Wednesday night at the Government Center. Detoxification center Lewisburg-based White Deer Run LLC has been performing those services at the Lehigh County Detoxification and Rehabilitation Center at 1620 Riverside Dr. in Salisbury Township for roughly 10 years. Wednesday night's deal continues that relationship between the two parties under the same 2012 lease terms originally negotiated. Like the COVID relief fund legislation, the bill was approved on first reading. Food management In other business, commissioners forwarded a contract with Morrison Living, a division of Morrison Management Specialists, to provide food management services at Cedarbrook Senior Care and Rehabilitation in Allentown and Fountain Hill. The pact is for three years, starting April 1 of this year and concluding on March 31, 2025. "This will provide a very important service for Cedarbrook Nursing Home," Commissioner Dan Hartzell said. Appointments Finally, the board made five appointments to various councils, board and authorities. Marc Grammes was appointed to the Lehigh County Authority board of directors, Sean Patton and Robert Zakos Jr. were selected for Lehigh County Aging and Adult Services, Peter Lewnes will serve on the Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority, and Santo Napoli will sit on the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission. HELLERTOWN, Pa. - It's called the After School Satan Club. It's an extracurricular being launched at Saucon Valley Middle School. "At what point do you stand up and say enough is enough," said parent Marjulee Colon when she heard this was becoming a reality. She said she couldn't believe her ears. "I thought that it was satire. I thought that it was a joke," said Colon. But to the surprise of many, it's far from being satire. In fact, June Everett, national campaign director for the After School Satan Club at the Satanic Temple, said the Saucon Valley location is their eighth one being launched. "The club is brought to you by your local, friendly, self-identified, non-theistic Satanists. The kids love it, the parents love it," said Everett. "The biggest complaint right now is that the club isn't running every week." And according to Everett, the Satan that Christians believe in is not the same Satan the Satanic Temple does. They claim they do not view Satan as evil, or as trying to wreak havoc on communities and do terrible things. "We look to Satan as a positive symbol," said Everett. But the club has already been at the heart of an incident for the school district. Saucon Valley had to close its doors Wednesday after Superintendent Jaime Vlasaty says a threatening voicemail was left at the district office at 4 p.m. Tuesday by a man who referenced the approval of the After School Satan Club. However, they have made the decision to reopen schools Thursday. "We have determined there is no longer an immediate threat to the safety and welfare of our students or staff," said Vlasaty. "We will have increased presence by the Lower Saucon Police Department at student arrival and dismissal as well as throughout the day." HELLERTOWN, Pa. - We now know the Saucon Valley School District was closed Wednesday due to a threat related to the new After School Satan Club. In a statement to parents, Superintendent Jaime Vlasaty said a threatening voicemail was left at the School District office at 4 p.m. Tuesday by a man who referenced the approval of After School Satan Club. In consultation with the Lower Saucon Police Department, she decided to close school Wednesday. In light of the threat and the disruption the threat caused to the district, the superintendent says, she will be recommending a full review of the club's use of the district's facility. Earlier on Wednesday, we talked with a representative from the Satanic Temple, and a parent who is opposed to the club to hear from both sides. Parent Marjulee Colon told us she couldn't believe it when she heard After School Satan Club had been approved at Saucon Valley Middle School. "I thought that it was satire. I thought that it was a joke," said Colon. We also talked with the national campaign director for After School Satan Club at the Satanic Temple, June Everett. She said it's anything but a joke. "We are run by the Satanic Temple, and we are, the club is brought to you by your local, friendly, self-identified, non-theistic Satanists," said Everett. Everett said the Satanic Temple does not believe in the same Satan that Christians do. "Although the Christian majority in this country does believe that Satan is a different symbol, to us, we do not view Satan as evil, we do not view Satan as trying to wreak havoc on communities and do terrible things. We look to Satan as a positive symbol," said Everett. For Colon, pentagrams and demons are not positive symbols. She already has her three children in private school, but she's worried for other parents. "There are so many parents who cannot make the same choice that I'm making, and if we don't speak up for this type of outlandish disregard to those of us who do have Judeo-Christian values, then when is it going to stop?" said Colon. Colon is planning a prayer event outside the school on March 8, the same day the club is first supposed to meet. There are already more than 100 people signed up on Facebook, but Superintendent Vlasaty said in a letter to parents "The District has approved... the "After School Satan Club." Everett said the community should learn to accept it. "We don't have to agree, we don't have to believe the same, but we do have the same rights that everybody else does to these public spaces," said Everett. The district said parents have to give written permission for their child to attend After School Satan Club. MAHANOY CITY, Pa. - A borough in Schuylkill County is finally financially stable after seven years. Mahanoy City announced Thursday morning it is officially being removed from the State's Act 47 program. "Schuylkill County should be proud of its native municipality Mahanoy City," said Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Economic League Gerald Cross at a news conference in Mahanoy City Borough Hall. "So many people throughout the years have contributed to bringing the Borough of Mahanoy City from the brink of bankruptcy. Today, the Borough stands in a very good financial situation," said Borough Council Chair Michael Connolly. But Cross said that good financial situation only came after years of hard choices. "There was $800,000 of unpaid bills that had to be addressed, they couldn't simply ignore them. So the hardest decision was to raise taxes," said Cross. Income taxes doubled, from 1% to 2%, in 2017 to help pay off the borough's debts, but those tax dollars were partially invested in street improvements you can actually see. Improvements include benches, improved sidewalks, and even public trash cans up and down Center Street. "When they raised taxes it was a hard decision, but the citizens saw something for it," said Cross. Deputy Secretary for Community Affairs Rick Vilello said what they're seeing is a historically fast recovery. "The only other municipality that stayed to schedule and got out in a timely manner was the City of Altoona, and they didn't have to deal with a pandemic," said Vilello. Now that Mahanoy City is financially stable, Connolly said he plans to keep it that way. "The Borough residents must understand, from this point forward, the Borough Manager and Council must be fiscally responsible to never allow us to get in that situation again," said Connolly. With Mahanoy City coming out of Act 47 protection, that brings the number of financially distressed localities in the state down from 12 to 11. PACKER TWP., Pa. - Pennsylvania State Police say a man will undergo medical and psychological treatment after a police incident in Carbon County Thursday morning. Troopers from the Pennsylvania State Police at Hazleton responded to St. Matthews Cemetery along Quakake Road in Packer Township shortly after 7:30 a.m. for an armed man wanting to harm himself, according to a news release from state police. A Pennsylvania State Police armored vehicle had been at the scene, down nearby Grist Mill Drive. Officers had been pointing long guns at a large wooded area, according to a photographer for 69 News at the scene. While on scene, the man shot himself in the abdomen, state police said. He was transported by Lehighton Ambulance to Lehigh Valley Medical Center in Hazleton for further medical and psychological treatment. The Pennsylvania State Police at Troop N will continue to investigate the incident. State police say updates will be provided when further information is available. DOYLESTOWN TWP., Pa. - Pennsylvania State Police are calling attention to an ongoing cold case about a 55-year-old woman that was found dead in her home in Bucks County decades ago. The body of Helen Drummond Fischer was found dead in her home on Pebble Hill Road in Doylestown Township on February 17, 1960. Fischer, a native of Chicago, was last seen alive by a friend on February 13, 1960. State police say Fischer was a self-employed travel agent who operated the business out of her home. At the time of her death, the victim was estranged from her husband, millionaire industrialist Kermit Fischer, from whom she was seeking a divorce and against whom she had pending charges of assault, state police said. Fischer has since died. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Troop M CIA Unit at 610-861-2026. You can call the Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers if you have information on this crime, any serious crime, or wanted person. Call the Pennsylvania Crime Stoppers Toll Free at 1-800-4PA-TIPS (8477). All callers remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward. DOYLESTOWN, Pa. - Police in Bucks County say a man possessed child pornography. Edward Bacon, 29, of Doylestown, was arrested Feb. 17, according to a news release from the Central Bucks Regional Police Department. Police say Bacon was a registered sex offender. Central Bucks Regional Police, working in conjunction with the Bucks County Detectives and Chesterfield County Police, Virginia, conducted a search warrant at Bacons residence acting on information provided out of Chesterfield County. Bacon possessed images containing child exploitation and prohibited sexual acts, according to the news release. Bacon was taken into custody, arraigned, and taken to Bucks County Prison. Bail is set at $1 million (10%). Additional charges are pending out of Chesterfield County, Virginia. A bride and groom in North Carolina are learning the meaning of "for better and for worse" right from the start. It's something Panav and Victoria Jha will always remember, that's for sure, and it made for some memorable photographs. The happy couple got stuck in an elevator just after getting married and had to be rescued by the Charlotte Fire Department. Panav and Victoria and four members of their bridal party were heading up to the 16th floor for an after party at the Grand Bohemian Hotel, but they never made it. The elevator they were in got stuck. "We got up maybe five feet and then boom, doors kind of stuck," Panav said. "The door started to open and so I could see like the concrete wall right in front of me, and I could see the concrete wall behind me. I was like, that's not normal." The Charlotte Fire Department came to their rescue and basically rebuilt a new elevator system using ropes, rescue equipment and anchors to hoist them all out, one by one. Two and a half hours later, they were all out of the elevator. Sadly by that time, the bar at the hotel was closed, but the groom says they had great friends who took care of all their guests while they were occupied in the elevator. Panav and Victoria said they were glad that at least they got stuck together and it wasn't just one of them in the elevator. After everyone got some sleep, the Jhas met up with their rescuers the next day to thank them in person. Pennsylvania lawmakers are proposing to lower the legal driving age in the state from 16 to 15 years old. Democratic State Representative Stephen Kinsey and Republican State Representative Eric Nelson argue that the current driving age limit restricts teenagers from working and limits their employment options. The proposed legislation would require 15-year-old drivers to undergo the same extensive training and safety measures currently in place for young drivers, including passenger limitations and nighttime driving restrictions. The lawmakers note that three neighboring statesWest Virginia, Ohio, and Marylandalready allow individuals under 16 to obtain learner's permits, which they argue would bring financial empowerment to Pennsylvania's youth and increased tax revenue for the state. The man accused of shooting killing a beloved Jefferson County Sheriff's K-9 faces eight charges including aggravated cruelty to animals and menacing, according to a news release from prosecutors. Eduardo Romero, 30, allegedly eluded police after a traffic stop on a Golden street, according to police. The 9-year-old German shepherd Graffit tracked Romero, a wanted felon, from town into the woods near Golden just after midnight Feb. 13 when his handler, Jeffco Sheriff Deputy Zach Oliver, unleashed him to apprehend the suspect. The dog died of gunshot wounds, according to police. In an earlier interview with The Denver Gazette, Oliver said he felt that the charges Romero faces for killing a law enforcement animal are not harsh enough. When it comes to the law, police dogs are considered property in many states including Colorado and therefore the penalties are not as harsh as some cops would like to see them. Colorado is one of ten states including Hawaii, Kentucky, Maryland and South Dakota that have not specifically enacted laws to protect police dogs. "Its heartbreaking to know the suspect can maybe get away with killing a police K-9 that saved our lives and the worst charge for that might be animal cruelty, said Oliver in an interview last week. Im hoping that can change because these dogs are more than just a typical animal. Graffit (pronounced gruh-FEET) was a family dog in the Oliver household when he wasn't on active duty. Oliver said that as soon as Graffit saw him put on his uniform, he was ready to go to work. Besides the aggravated and menacing charges, Romero is also facing counts of vehicular eluding, aggravated motor vehicle theft, resisting arrest, obstructing a police officer and DUI. His preliminary hearing is set for March 17 at 10 am in Jefferson County Court. Graffit was given a hero's funeral procession from Golden to Fort Collins where a necropsy was performed. Hundreds of people brought flowers, handwritten notes and even dog toys to a memorial set up on a Jefferson County Sheriff's vehicle in honor of Graffit, who was expected to retire from service this year. That memorial has been moved to the nearby Colorado School of Mines campus, at the request of administrators, until Feb. 24. Addressing a critical need for community education, Habitat for Humanity serving Winona County has announced its event: Affordable and Safe Rental Housing: Discussion and Panel Presentation. Expert panelists will take questions from the audience related to tenants rights and responsibilities. The event is 6:30-7:30 p.m. March 30 at the Science Laboratory Center 120 on the Winona State University campus. Mayor Scott Sherman will make opening remarks about the importance of safe and affordable housing in Winona. The core of the evening will be a panel discussion with these professionals: Attorney Joel Kinder with Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services works on both housing and economic justice issues. He spends two days a week in court working with people facing eviction and dealing with a variety of housing related issues. Joel sees many misunderstandings about what rights tenants have, and he values any opportunity to educate the community on topics that are of such high importance. Rachel Stoll is the HUB manager for the Winona Community HUB, which is a program of Live Well Winona. The Winona Community HUB is a health equity program that leverages community health workers to work one-on-one with participants to address barriers to accessing healthcare and to improve health outcomes. Since March 2022, the HUB has served 163 unique individuals, and 98 of those were in need of affordable and safe housing. Of those 98, only 20 were confirmed to have stable housing by the time of discharge from the HUB. The HUBs community health workers are experts in housing options and housing resources and were still only able to get about 20% of housing insecure participants the housing that they need. Prior to her current role as HUB manager, Rachel was a community health worker for the HUB program from January 2020 through March 2022. Nick Edstrom of Winona with Coldwell Banker Realty has been a real estate agent for almost 50 years. Nick spent much of his career working in student housing and still manages properties for adults 55+ years old. Given his experience, he has seen a large spectrum of the issues renters and landlords face in the rental market. Nick takes pride in the quality of service he provides his renters and is happy to share his knowledge. Chad Sommer with the city of Winona Inspections goes to rentals and helps decide if a home is suitable for habitation. Chad is well versed in the process that a renter should take to both raise and resolve issues they may have. Chad is hoping to share his well-grounded knowledge to help people practically resolve issues they may have without creating new ones in the process. Victims of October's deadly Lakewood apartment fire and relatives of the mother and daughter who died that night watched a hearing Thursday morning for one of the two boys accused of setting the blaze. The 12-year-old suspect appeared via WebEx in Jefferson County Juvenile Court from the Montview Youth Services Center, where he has been housed since he and a 14-year-old friend were arrested Nov. 6. After attorneys discussed a date for an IQ test, as well as a competency evaluation for the boy, First District Judge Ann Meinster closed the courtroom for the rest of the hearing to address sensitive issues regarding search practices for juvenile detainees. The boy's lawyers have filed motions voicing concerns related to the search policies of the juvenile detention facility. The two juveniles face 100 charges each including first degree murder-extreme indifference, 39 counts of attempted murder and 15 counts of 1st degree arson. Their names are not being released due to their ages. Kathleen Payton, 31, and her 10-year-old daughter Jazmine Payton-Aguayo were trapped in the bathroom of their second floor apartment where they died of smoke inhalation early the morning of Halloween 2022. At least 10 others were injured and dozens were displaced by the fire at the Tiffany Square Apartments, 935 Sheridan Blvd. After narrowly surviving the fire, Ayoncee' Hicks and her 1-year-old, Demarion, have moved back into one of the Tiffany Square apartments which has been reopened. She said she returned to the scene of her trauma against her best instincts, but rental prices everywhere else were too high. "It was between that and being homeless," Hicks told The Gazette. "It's all I could afford and it doesn't smell like smoke." She, Demarion and a friend were sound asleep directly above where the fire started and survived because they jumped out of a second story window. "I have to look at that burned out area every day, but my son is happy and that's all that matters," the single mother said. A donation drive sponsored by Denver7 allowed her to replace furniture and other belongings that were destroyed. When she returned to the complex, she requested a first-floor apartment, stipulating "Nothing second floor or higher." Investigators testified during the 14-year-old's preliminary hearing that the boys set fire to a pair of pants and threw them into a bush outside of the apartment of a woman who threw them out in the middle of the night. They said the bush went up in flames and quickly spread to a wooden walkway, which wrapped around the second floor units. She is angry about the fact under Colorado law, the longest sentence a juvenile can face for any crime is seven years meaning the 12-year-old suspect could be released at age 19 and the 14-year-old at age 21. "They knew what they were doing. Seven years is nothing," Hicks said. The 12-year-old suspect has a status conference hearing March 6. The 14-year-old's trial has been set for May 1. A former Kenosha man has been found guilty of stealing over $10,000 from a Portage restaurant in the summer of 2021. Adam R. Bileck, 41, was found guilty by a jury of his peers at a jury trial last week at the Columbia County Courthouse on charges of burglary of a building, possession of burglarious tools and felony bail jumping. Bileck was also found guilty of misdemeanor criminal damage to property. His sentencing is scheduled for May to give time for a pre-sentence investigation to be completed. The jury trial was three days from Feb. 15 to Feb. 17. Online court records show the jury deliberated for about 2.5 hours before coming back with the verdict of guilty on all counts. Bileck faces up to 7.5 years in prison followed by up to five years of extended supervision for the burglary charge. He could be sentenced up to 4.5 years in prison followed by five years of extended supervision for the bail jumping and burglarious tools counts. Portage police officers worked with Burlington police on this case. At the time of the Portage burglary, Bileck was out of jail on bond for a felony charge in Kenosha County and under investigation and suspect for similar type crimes throughout the State of Wisconsin, Portage police Captain Daniel Garrigan said following the verdict. According to the criminal complaint file on Aug. 2, 2021: On July 28, Portage police were contacted by the Burlington Police Department alerting them that Bileck was a suspect in a number of burglaries and that he might be in Portage. Burlington officers told Portage officers Bilecks vehicle had been tracked to Portage with GPS. Bileck was a suspect in as many as 70 different burglaries in and outside of Wisconsin. Burlington officers said they have numerous videos of a large man breaking into a restaurant with a crowbar or pry bar though the door of a drive-thru window. The suspect then entered the restaurant and disabled the cameras by either pulling them off the wall or smashing them on the ground. The suspect cut triangle holes into the safe and removed the money. Burlington officers added that in the videos the suspect then poured a liquid over the safe, possibly to remove DNA evidence. The complaint continues, Burlington identified Bileck as a suspect. He is 6 9 and approximately 275 lbs, drives a mini-van similar to those used in the Burlington burglaries. Bileck has a history of small burglaries; he was caught in the act in Nebraska and Colorado in 2008. Burlington police had been tracking Bilecks vehicle in real time and would notify Portage when it was mobile. Around 1 a.m. on July 28, Burlington police advised Portage police that Bilecks vehicle was leaving the Portage area. A Portage police officer checked the scene where the vehicle had been. The complaint states he went to La Tolteca on New Pinery Road to check on the building. A Portage officer saw what appeared to be fresh pry marks on a door around the deadbolt. Portage police contacted the owner of La Tolteca, who said the door was not as secure as it usually is and that the pry marks were new. They went inside and saw the safe on the floor with a triangle hole cut out of it and a camera was lying on the ground. The owner told officers that around $11,000 was missing from the safe. Portage Police reviewed surveillance video and saw a man pulling a camera out of the wall along with the wiring. Bileck was arrested by Wisconsin State Patrol and taken into custody. Authorities then executed a search warrant for his vehicle. During the search, a pair of toolboxes were found with various drilling, cutting including circular blades and a pry bar. Officers believe the pry bar, an angle grinder and the blades could have been used in the burglary. Authorities also found $11,695 in cash in Bilecks vehicle. Bileck is set to be back in Columbia County Courthouse for a sentencing hearing on May 9. The Portage sewers are clear of any material left behind after a fire at a milk producer in January. Actions taken by the fire department and DNR contained the material and preventing it from spreading into the Wisconsin and Fox Rivers. A fire at Associated Milk Producers Incorporated (AMPI) during the night of Jan. 2 led to about 20 gallons of liquid butter spilling into the Portage Canal and city sewers. The Portage Fire Department was called to along with a number of other area fire departments to help with the fire and also stop the spread of the butter into the large waterways in the area. Portages Director of Public Works Phil Livingston said it was a collaborative effort between multiple departments that allowed the cleanup to be handled quickly and efficiently. We had public works personnel and wastewater staff working that night to begin clearing the main sewers, Livingston said. Initial reports from the DNR stated that approximately 20 gallons of melted butter or anhydrous milk fat (AMF) was stored in the room where the fire started. The AMF flowed with the large amount of water used for fire suppression out of the building into storm sewers and the Portage Canal. The AMF entered the canal and sewers as a liquid and then solidified. The DNR handled cleaning the Portage Canal with help from the Portage Fire Department. Fire Chief Troy Haase said crews used absorbent booms last month to keep the waterways clear. We use absorbent booms anytime we want to control a material that flows into a waterway, Haase said. We worked with AMPI staff to locate the sewer grates where the butter was flowing into and placed absorbent materials to slow the flow into the canal, Haase explained. We then deployed teams to place absorbent booms to contain the butter between two outfalls so it wouldnt travel to the Fox River. There was AMF in sewer pipes leading from AMPI, 301 Brooks Street, to the Portage Wastewater treatment facility, 1600 E. Wisconsin Street. Those pipes are between 21 and 27 inches and even though the AMF never completely blocked any sewer pipes, something could potentially mix with the solid AMF and create a blockage in the pipes. There was a possibility that something could be stuck behind it and create a block, Livingston said. It could be something large that shouldnt have been flushed down the toilet that could cause a blockage along with the AMF material. Livingston said the Portage sewer lines have been clear for about two weeks. The city worked with an outside company to make sure all of the AMF was cleared from the sewer lines. A camera was sent down into the sewers to get a look at the AMF and staff noted there were minor blockages throughout the sewer system. City staff worked to determine the best course of action and used a low-PH grease emulsifying agent to clear AMF from the walls of the sewer pipes. The day after the fire there was a man hole opening just downstream from AMPI where the AMF could be seen like a shelf on top of the water. It was a great collaborative effort made by public works, wastewater site staff, the fire department and AMPI to get this under control and handled effectively, Livingston said. The sewers and canal are now clear from AMF and Livingston said they will continue to monitor them. He said each week they send reports to the DNR regarding the pipes and the water in the city. The general election phase of the state Supreme Court primary election has just begun, but outside groups have already spent more money on the 2023 cycle than any Wisconsin high court race before it. Sixteen groups supporting and attacking candidates have spent $5.63 million so far this cycle, breaking the previous $5 million outside spending record in the 2020 Wisconsin Supreme Court race, according to the nonpartisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. The biggest spender was Fair Courts America, a group funded by Illinois billionaire Richard Uihlein that supported conservative nominee and former high court Justice Daniel Kelly, which spent just under $2.4 million. The second-highest spending group, the liberal A Better Wisconsin Together Political Fund, spent $2.15 million to oppose losing conservative candidate Jennifer Dorow. That spending suggested that liberals preferred to go up against Kelly over Dorow in the general election. Four groups spent just under $2.6 million on advertising to support Kelly, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Five groups spent just under $500,000 to support liberal nominee Janet Protasiewicz, a Milwaukee County Circuit judge. Protasiewicz will face Kelly in just under six weeks, on April 4. The winner will replace retiring conservative Justice Patience Roggensack. The race will decide the future balance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which currently has a 4-3 conservative majority. While Kelly led Protasiewicz in outside spending, the opposite was true in candidate spending: Protasiewicz spent just under $1.2 million, double that of the other three candidates combined, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign report stated. The spending record between candidates and outside groups in a Wisconsin Supreme Court election is $10 million in the 2020 race. Candidates and outside groups have already committed to spending $9.2 million on this election, according to media tracking firm AdImpact Politics. Its on track to be the most expensive judicial election ever in the United States. In an exclusive interview with Azernews first deputy editor-in-chief Fuad Muxtar-Aqbabali from his spacious office on the capitals tallest skyscraper, Chilean Charge dAffaires Fidel Coloma proved to be both a good company and a skillful diplomat with tact. Azerbaijan venue for Chile to get access to the region Q: Mr. Fidel Coloma, Chilean Charge dAffaires to Azerbaijan, thank you very much for your consent to do this interview with Azernews the nations first English language newspaper that covers major national, regional, and worldwide developments. Lets talk about Chile, a nation geographically far away from Azerbaijan with diplomatic representation in Baku, which is very important for both nations. What is your take on this? A: Well, first, thank you for the interview. I think you are right. Chile is geographically far away from Azerbaijan. For example, it takes almost a day and a half by plane to get to Chile from Azerbaijan. As for Chiles decision to have a diplomatic representation in Baku, this is conducive to Chiles 40-year-long drive for open doors policy for the world. With this in mind, Chile has gone open to all regions of the world with diplomatic representations worldwide. Moreover, one of the regions, where we did not have any representation, was the South Caucasus, and we have chosen Azerbaijan as the first nation in this region to open our first diplomatic office in Azerbaijan, actually for the Central Asia region. So, Azerbaijan is like our point for further development towards other countries across the Caspian Sea for wider relations. Q: What are the major objectives of your diplomatic representation in Azerbaijan and for the whole South Caucasus? What are the issues on your agenda right now? A: The major objective is a long-term one. We have already had excellent relations established with Azerbaijan. This diplomatic representation was opened three years ago, and over these three years, I am very happy to say that we have had very solid, excellent relations with Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan is working very hard to become a country that links itself with infrastructure, and highway infrastructure to become a corridor between the east and the west. So, that's very attractive for us. We are a country, as I said, very open to commerce, very open and determined to reach different destinations. Azerbaijan presents itself as an ideal country, and as I said, this is a long effort. We want to take good use of these development opportunities that Azerbaijan is undertaking, and together be able to expand Chiles presence in the region, where, to be sincere, we are not very well known. At the same time, Azerbaijan is also opening itself to the world more and more. Now, it is displaying much interest in Latin America, not only in Chile but also in other countries with embassies there. It has started to deepen relations with that region of the world - the Latin American region and Latin American countries. Q: Chile is not often in the news. As a newsman with over 30 years in the sector, I rarely see media coverage of developments in Chile. We often hear when some negative issues take place. With this in mind, what would be as the Charge dAffaires of Chile your recommendations to modify the current state of affairs to have frequent coverage of developments in the national media of the two nations to be conducive to better recognition of both Azerbaijan and Chile? A: Well, I think Chile is very well-known in the world for its open market policy and the benefits that this open market has brought to the country. That has established us as one of the main exporters in the world of several products, additionally to what we have historically exported. Chile has been the number one exporter of copper in the world. But we are also among the first exporters of salmon, wines, fruits, wood, etc. We will begin to provide lithium to the world. So, there has been a diversification over the recent decades. Chile is well-known for receiving international investment due to the fact that our country is like a platform to commercialize products to and from the Pacific countries. Chile has more than 4,000 km of seashore facing the Pacific Ocean. Our alliances with the Pacific countries are very close. We are united with all the other countries of the Pacific Rim through several multilateral mechanisms. Q: Browsing the web, I came across a report about your meeting approximately two years or more ago with the chairman of the Azartac news agency, where you spoke about building media relations between the two countries. I wonder, have you achieved any progress on that so far? A: Well, we tried, we had items published both in the Azerbaijani and Chilean media outlets. Basically, media outlets take reports about worldwide developments from foreign news agencies, like Reuters or Xinhua, or whatever. So, what I can assure you is that whatever relevant happens in Azerbaijan appears in the Chilean media, and sometimes, it's very surprising. Other issues are also interesting, sometimes, the Azerbaijani ambassador sends letters to Chilean newspapers, the main newspapers, regarding different issues, and they are published. In that sense, I would say that the media is open for any country, not only Azerbaijan, for any country to receive whatever the news or whatever the event is if it's a major event to be published in Chile. Azerbaijans NAM chairmanship Q: Let's talk about the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and I believe this is also a platform for cooperation between Chile and Azerbaijan. So when did your country join NAM, and what is your take on Azerbaijans chairmanship of NAM? In March 2023, NAM is going to arrange a big event conference in Azerbaijan, and what would you like to tell our readers to this effect? A: The first thing I would like to say is that in my career, I have been linked with the NAM since 1991. I have a long experience in taking care of and negotiating within the framework of NAM with member countries. Chile became a member of NAM in 1973, and since then, we're an active and full member, and we have developed relations with many countries, and we participated in all summits and cooperated with all the chair nations. As for your question, I must say very sincerely that we're very happy with the chairmanship of Azerbaijan. We think that Azerbaijan has developed a significant chairmanship over the last two years, and Azerbaijan was requested to remain as the chairman for another additional year. That's because of the seriousness that Azerbaijan has given to this chairmanship and all the initiatives that they have been able to bring to fruition, which is very positive for the future of the NAM. Now, NAM has been a driving engine and an instrument for our bilateral relations with Azerbaijan, definitely, we cooperate together with Azerbaijan on this issue. Azerbaijan held meetings in Baku in November 2019, when they picked up the chairmanship. But then they had two more meetings. They had a meeting, an inter-parliamentary meeting last year and then they had a youth meeting in 2022. Well, people from Chile, from the parliamentary inter-parliamentary group came to the meetings. The delegation was headed by the president of the group of the Friends of Chile and Azerbaijan in the Chilean parliament. They were able to establish links and dialog with a group of friends of Azerbaijanis in the Azerbaijani parliament. So, they did not come only to NAM events, but also managed to establish contacts at the level of parliaments and be instrumental in establishing programs of cooperation that have been very successful. For instance, MP Azar Badamov, the chairman of the Chilean-Azerbaijani parliamentary group, visited Chile in January 2023. He received an invitation from the Chilean parliament and was in Chile to further deepen the relations. As you see, the process is underway and we have now a bilateral and inter-parliamentary group. It is both multilateral and bilateral and Azar Badamov was received by the head of the Senate and the head of the Deputies Chamber. So, that's a good example of how the NAM can be conducive to our cooperation. The same goes for the youth. The youth was another initiative of Azerbaijan to create under NAM. Q: Speaking about the youth, I heard you had a meeting with a group of young people several days ago. What made you want to meet young people? A: Well, Chile favors the youth in our country, and we were present here, in Baku, with a Chilean youth delegation when the NAM Youth Summit was held in Baku. So from then on, again, the idea is to establish links between the youth organizations of NAM countries. Azerbaijani and Chilean young people cooperate in different areas of interest for the youth. One of the reasons behind the meeting was their request to know a little bit more about Chile. A group of 40-50 young people from Azerbaijans NAM youth organization came and we made a presentation about Chile and the nature of friendship that exists between Chile and Azerbaijan. I think it was very constructive and productive and I informed the government of Chile about it. I promised them that there would be a follow-up so that these links become stronger in the future. Swap of students on the agenda Q: Speaking about inter-youth cooperation, do you have any plans, for example, education targeting young people from both countries? Any plans to exchange students? As part of NAM, Azerbaijan has been providing scholarships for Africans wishing to study in Azerbaijan. Do you have similar plans? Q: We definitely have plans of establishing contacts between universities of Chile and Azerbaijan. We are in an advanced conversation with a couple of universities. A university delegation from Chile last year visited with concrete plans of what you are saying - the exchange of students, bringing students here. Initially, we already had one Chilean student that studied in an Azerbaijani University for some years. As you can see, there have been some links already. But of course, this has to be improved, we have to enlarge this and we are willing and expecting maybe, this year a high-level delegation to visit Chile from Azerbaijan to further deepen relations between our governments. Q: Mr. Fidel Coloma, as a follow-up, let me switch to the cultural sphere. We know the culture as a whole and literature, cinema, and music as separate components play a huge role in bringing nations closer. Chilean culture with separate components keeps a low profile in this part of the hemisphere. Would you like to be a bridge, let's say, between the culture ministries of the two nations to narrow this gap and accelerate the relations? A: Well, we have had meetings with the culture minister, and there are plans to bring some cultural events from Chile to Azerbaijan in 2023. We have a famous poet Pablo Neruda, a Nobel Prize winner, and he was already published in Azerbaijan. I was happily surprised to learn that two books by Pablo Neruda were printed. Of course, the idea is to improve this and to bring more and to take culture from Azerbaijan to Chile, and to make Azerbaijan more well-known in Chile. We are working on it. We are working with other countries in Latin America on the possibility of organizing as in other parts of the world, establishing a week of Latin American cinema in Azerbaijan in which, of course, Chile would be part of it. So, yes, definitely that culture is something that always brings together nations and brings together people, which is the most important. Chile in the grip of wildfires Q: Let me ask you about wildfires. Regretfully, Chile is hit by wildfires and there are reports about victims, and thousands of hectares of areas have been burnt down. What is the reason behind such huge wildfires? A: Well, what I would like to really underline is that this is a tremendous tragedy; this is a huge human and ecological tragedy, not only for Chile but for the world. This is the first time in our history when we have been hitting by such a ferocious calamity. 25 people have died and at least 430 thousand hectares of forest have been burnt. The south of Chile is full of forests. Chile is a very long country, perhaps one of the longest countries in the world. So we have different types of climates. The south of Chile is full of forests. Normally, there have been fires, but of course, not all forest fires were of this magnitude that we have been confronted with this time. As I said, this is something that we have never seen before. And the conclusion is that the whole planet is starting to, unfortunately, experience the effects of climate change. So, over the past years, there has been very little rain in areas in the south of Chile where normal rain was abundant. That's why we had so much forest and so much vegetation. But last year, there was a drought in the south. That's one element. Now, what brings drought to the south of Chile, which has never been registered earlier? The only explanation is the climate change around the world. We are also being hit by temperatures that were simply never seen before. That is 40-42-43 degrees of temperature in areas where normally in summer it is 20 degrees. First, there have been droughts and no water. Second, high temperatures started to hit those areas that had never been hit before. And the third element was the wind. Yes, normally in the south, south of Chile, in the tip of Chile, it's very windy, but not so windy in the mid-south where the forest fires are occurring. So, those three elements combined together brought just a single spark and confronted us with one of the majors or the major fire that has ever hit Chile. Over 1,000 foreign volunteers joined the Chilean firefighters to extinguish the wildfires. It is really a tragedy for Mother Nature, a tragedy for ecology, and a tragedy for the green areas of the world. Luckily, we're starting, we are beginning to see the end, not really getting to the end, but we have already managed to bring the wildfires under control. There are still some fires going on. Experts say that it will take us to mid-March. Imagine mid-March all this time, one month and a half it will take us to extinguish the whole thing and to leave it. That's what I can tell you about the fire. We have to learn a lot of lessons from this and as I said, I thank the international community for their help. Editors note: At the end of the interview, the Charge dAffaires once again credited the relations as excellent, adding that they are working together with the Azerbaijani government to deepen the relations politically, economically, and commercially. This is a long-term goal. This is not something that's going to happen today or tomorrow. We have a lot to cover. But the will, the political will is there and I see only positive developments coming in the future in the relationship between Azerbaijan and Chile, Charge dAffaires Fidel Coloma added. As the Chief Nursing Officer for Denver Health, Kathy Boyle has read far too many internal reports of violence against health care workers. One patient picked up a heart monitor and threw it at a health care provider. Another backhanded a health care worker who was adjusting the patient's IV. And still another lashed out with racial slurs at health care workers doing their rounds. I would be shocked if it wasnt in every hospital, Boyle said. A newly released trends report by the Colorado Hospital Association (CHA) indicates violence against health care workers is on the rise. The statistics are sobering. Every thirty minutes in the U.S. a nurse is assaulted. Health care workers are five times more likely to be injured as a result of workplace violence. Nearly half of nurses according to a National Nurses United survey report increased workplace violence. That represents a 119% surge since 2021. Joshua Ewing, CHA vice president of government affairs, finds it outrageous that health care workers the heralded heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic who have dedicated their lives to caring for the ill are treated so poorly. Its just wrong, Ewing said. The association represents more than 100 member hospitals and health systems in Colorado. Inaction, Ewing added, is not an option. The reason for the increased violence? Ewing and local hospital officials blame in part the politicization of COVID-19 and the sentiments around public health measures, such as masking, vaccines and the shutdowns meant to curb the spread of the disease. Sign Up For Free: Weekly 7 Catch up with a rundown of the 7 most important and interesting stories delivered to your inbox every Thursday. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. The problem is were not seeing the increase, decrease now, Ewing said. Were still seeing assaults. Hospitals across Colorado have responded with zero tolerance policies, alarm monitors on company badges, security screenings, cameras and increased security. Denver Health has implemented all those measures and more, such as patient assessments and indications on bracelets and in electronic health records whether a patient has a history of violence. The health system also has created a support program for staff and encourages employees to not only report violence internally, but also, when appropriate, to law enforcement. People are not routinely reporting episodes of violence, Boyle said. The data are an understatement of the whats happening. Jennifer Rodgers, UCHealth vice president and associate chief nursing officer, agreed. We got into health care to care for people, so, seeing the trajectory is really alarming, Rodgers said. Rodgers fears this poor behavior will be normalized or become an expectation of the job. An untold number of nurses have left the field because of the violence, Rodgers and others The Denver Gazette spoke to said. CHA doesnt yet have any hard data on the issue but is working to quantify the problem, Ewing said. With estimates showing Colorado has lost between 20% and 30% of its health care workforce since the start of the pandemic, Ewing worries about recruitment and retention. The state is already experiencing a staffing shortage. Colorado right now is short about 5,000 nurses to meet the states population. The trend is only expected to worsen as Colorado is expected to face a shortfall of 10,000 nurses and 54,000 health care auxiliary staff by 2026, according to CHA data. This further stretches the existing workforce, Ewing said of violence against health care workers. Ewing added, What it comes down to is, we all, as Coloradans, have a right to have a safe place to seek care and our health care workers have a right to a safe place to deliver it. Click here, to read the full report. Several Colorado highways in the state's mountains are closed currently. 12:50 p.m.: Here is what is still closed: US 550 mile points 48-95 (Red Mountain, Molas, Coal Bank passes) US 160 mile points 157-184 (Wolf Creek Pass) CO 14 Eastbound mile points 35-61 (Cameron Pass) CO 17 mile points 0-17 (Cumbres-La Manga Pass) CO 65 mile points 28-35 (Grand Mesa) CO 125 mile points 0-52 (US 40 to Walden) 10:35 a.m.: Several Colorado highways in the state's mountains are closed currently. Here is a list: US 550 mile points 48-95 (Red Mountain, Molas, Coal Bank passes) US 160 mile points 157-184 (Wolf Creek Pass) CO 14 mile points 35-61 (Cameron Pass) CO 17 mile points 0-17 (Cumbres-La Manga Pass) CO 65 mile points 28-35 (Grand Mesa) CO 125 mile points 0-52 (US 40 to Walden) CO 139 mile points 32-40 (Douglas Pass) CO 145 mile points 48-61 (Lizard Head Pass) CO 318 mile points 0-60 (Maybell to Utah) Thursday's weather around Denver is forecast to have a 30% chance of snow, mainly after 5 p.m., with partly sunny skies and a high near 24, according to the National Weather Service in Boulder. Wind chill values as low as -8. Calm wind becoming north northeast 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 16 mph. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. 7:45 a.m.: I-25 southbound: Left lane closed at CO 2 (Denver) at Mile Point 204.1. The left lane is closed due to a crash. I-70 eastbound: Right lane closed between Exit 267: Kipling Street and Exit 269A: CO 121; Wadsworth Boulevard (Wheat Ridge) at Mile Point 268. The right lane is closed due to a crash. I-76 eastbound: Left lane closed between Exit 1A: I-70; Wadsworth Boulevard and Exit 1B: CO 95; Sheridan Boulevard (Arvada) at Mile Point 0.5. The left lane is closed due to a crash. US 6 eastbound and westbound: Road closed between Mile Point 222 and I-70 (7 miles east of Keystone) at Mile Point 226. Road closed expect delays due to a crash. I-70 westbound: Right lane closed between Exit 234: Downieville and Exit 232: US 40; Empire Junction (Downieville-Lawson-Dumont) at Mile Point 233.5. The right lane is closed due to a stalled vehicle. 6:30 a.m.: As a winter storm continues to move through the state and temperatures drop, many school districts in the Denver Metro area have announced two-hour delays. Click HERE for a list from Denver Gazette media partner KUSA. A wind chill advisory will take effect at midnight until 9 a.m. Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in Boulder. Dangerously low wind chills are expected and be as low as 25 below zero. 11 p.m.: A stalled vehicle is causing a right lane closure on I-70 between Exit 234: Downieville and Exit 232: US 40; Empire Junction (Downieville-Lawson-Dumont) Another stalled vehicle has caused the two right lanes further west on I-70 westbound between Empire Junction and CFCR 381 (Georgetown) to close. 10 p.m.: More school districts have announced school delays as snow continues to blanket the state. Denver Public Schools- 2 hour delay Clear Creek School District RE-1- 2 hour delay Colorado High School Charter- 2 hour delay Denver Cooperative Preschool- 2 hour delay Jeffco Public Schools- 2 hour delay Platte Canyon Dist. 1- 1 1/2 hour delay Rocky Mountain Deaf School- 2 hour delay Vertical Skills Academy- 2 hour delay Warren Village Early Learning Center- 2 hour delay 9 p.m.: Closures and delays around the Denver Metro area: 27J Schools- 2 hour delay Adams 12 Five Star Schools- opening 1 hour late Adams County School District 14- 2 hour delay Assumption Catholic School- 2 hour delay Aurora Public Schools- 2 hour delay AXL Academy- 2 hour delay Bromley East Charter School- 2 hour delay Colorado Early Colleges: Aurora- 2 hour delay Comm. College Denver: Adv Manufact. Cntr- closed Comm. College of Denver: Auraria- closed Comm. College of Denver: Lowry- closed Lotus School for Excellence- 2 hour delay Mapleton Public Schools- 2 hour delay New Heights Academy- 2 hour delay Pawnee School District RE-12- 2 hour delay Pickens Technical College- opening 1 hour late Pima Medical Institute: Denver- opening 1 hour late St. Pius X- 2 hour delay Westminster Public Schools- 2 hour delay For more closings and delays, visit Denver Gazette news partner 9news.com CDOT announced another closure on I-70. The right lane on I-70 eastbound is closed due to a crash between Exit 116: Glenwood Springs; Aspen and Exit 119: No Name (near Glenwood Springs) 8:30 p.m.: Latest snow totals from the NWS: Coal Bank Pass- 14 inches Molas Pass- 11 inches Wolf Creek Pass- 10 inches Red Mountain Pass- 10 inches Estes Park- 5.5 inches Cortez- 5 inches Beulah- 4.5 inches Manitou Springs- 4 inches Air Force Academy- 4 inches Arvada- 3.1 inches 7:00 p.m.: Two crashes on I-70 are causing closures: -A crash has closed I-70 eastbound between Eagle and Wolcott (5 miles west of Edwards). Slower speeds are advised and drivers should expect delays. -A crash on I-70 eastbound between Exit 133: Dostero and and Exit 140: Gypsum (Dotsero). Drivers should expect delays FlighAware is now reporting the total amount of delays at DIA have increased to 807. The total number of cancelations is now at 284. 5:00 p.m.: FlightAware reported that 710 flights are delayed in and out of Denver International Airport. Another 274 flights were canceled. CDOT has reported that a westbound lane on I-70 is closed between 32nd Avenue and Exit 263: Colorado Mills Parkway (Lakewood) due to a crash. It is unknown at this time when the lane will reopen. The United State Postal Service sent a news release asking Colorado customers to take care of their letter carrier by clearing sidewalks, porches and walkways of ice and snow so mail person doesn't have a "dangerous" fall. 3:25 p.m.: FlightAware has reported 607 flights delayed into and out of DIA this morning and 263 flights canceled. Lakewood is opening its first Extreme Weather Overflow Shelter for Wednesday and Thursday nights, according to a Lakewood news release. The shelter will be available from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Wednesday through Friday and is located at Lakewood's Whitlock Recreation Center at 1555 Dover St. The shelter is limited-capacity, with 50 available beds, and is meant to supplement other shelters already available known as the Severe Weather Shelter Network. More information can be found at Lakewood.org/ColdWeather. Denver has also activated an additional overnight shelter at Rude Recreation Center at 2855 W. Holden Pl. that will be open from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. More information can be found at denvergov.org/findshelter. 12:45 p.m.: The following Colorado highways are all closed: CO-65, mile 28-35 (Grand Mesa), Will be closed until 2/23/23. CO-145, mile 48-100 (Lizard Head Pass) CO-491, mile 30-65 (Yellow Jacket) CO-139, mile 32-40 (Douglas Pass) CO-62, mile 0-23 (Dallas Divide) US-550, mile 48-95 (Red Mtn, Molas, Coal Bank) US-160, mile 157-184 (Wolf Creek Pass) US-6, mile 222-229 (Loveland Pass) US-50, mile 109 10:05 a.m.: Interstate 70 eastbound at Beaver Brook is reopened. US 285 southbound: Road closed between County Road 7 and Ridge Lane (2 miles north of Fairplay) at Mile Point 186. Road closed expect delays due to a stalled vehicle. CO 9 northbound: Road closed at Mark Court (1 mile south of Blue River) at Mile Point 79.8. Road closed expect delays due to a stalled vehicle. 8:55 a.m.: I-70 eastbound: Two right lanes closed between US 6 and Exit 247: Beaver Brook; Floyd Hill (Floyd Hill) at Mile Point 245. Two right lanes are closed due to a stalled vehicle. Earlier Wednesday morning, drivers experienced a crash on northbound I-25 crash at I-225, a 3 car wreck involving a jack knifed semi. 7:00 a.m.: Over 200 flights are delayed and 194 canceled at DIA according to Flightaware.com. 6:00 a.m.: Click HERE for a list of closings and delays around metro Denver. I-25 northbound: Four left lanes closed between I-225 and Exit 201: Hampden Avenue (Denver) at Mile Point 200.1. Four left lanes are closed due to a crash. I-70 eastbound: Right lane closed between Exit 259: Golden and C-470 (near Golden) at Mile Point 259.6. The right lane is closed due to a crash. Ramp to C470 is closed by a crash. CO 65 northbound: Road closed between Crag Crest Trail and C.60 Road (16 to 23 miles north of Cedaredge) from Mile Point 28 to Mile Point 35. Road closed expect delays due to safety concerns. CO 139 northbound: Road closed between Hay Canyon Road (28 miles north of Loma) and Little Foundation Creek Road (31 miles south of Rangely) from Mile Point 32 to Mile Point 40. Road closed expect delays due to safety concerns. According to Flightaware, Denver International Airport has 48 delays and 189 cancellations as of 6 a.m., Wednesday. Please call your airline about your flight before traveling to DIA. Due to inclement weather, all Larimer County Offices will delay opening until 10 a.m., Wednesday. However, the 8th Judicial District Courts will be closed. Closures do not disrupt critical services at Larimer County. As a winter storm moves through parts of the state, many northern Colorado cities can expect snow overnight through Wednesday night. Heavy snow is expected along the northern foothills and along the northern Interstate 25 corridor, according to the National Weather Service in Boulder. Forecasters say the snow will become widespread in the mountains overnight and will fan out from north to south along the I-25 corridor. Denver is expected to get between 3 to 6 inches of snow now through Thursday morning. Boulder, Fort Collins, Morrison, Loveland and Arvada are expected to get 4 to 7 inches. Estes Park could get between 6 to 9 inches and Greeley is expected to get 3 to 5 inches through Thursday. A winter storm warning will take effect at 2 a.m. until 8 p.m. Wednesday night for the northern Front Range foothills, Fort Collins, Estes Park, Boulder and west Denver suburbs, the weather service said. A winter weather advisory will also go into effect at midnight for the I-70 mountain corridor until 5a.m. Thursday. Denver's forecast indicates a significant drop in temperature with a low of 0 degrees at 3 a.m. Temperatures are expected to stay under 30 degrees going into Wednesday afternoon. Icy roads are expected in the Denver Metro area around sunrise, according to the weather service. 11 p.m.: More closures, delays announced IBMC College: Fort Collins- Closed IBMC College: Greeley- Closed New Heights Academy- Remote learning Temple Grandin School- Closed 10 p.m.: Over 300 delays at DIA According to FlightAware, 335 flights have been delayed in and out of the Denver International Airport. Another 41 flights have been canceled. Of the 335 delays, Southwest makes up 94, United has 100 and SkyWest has 58. 9 p.m.: CDOT Winter Travel Alert The Colorado Department of Transportation announced crews are prepared to meet the demands of the winter storm in a news release. Blowing snow and poor visibility are expected to pose significant hazards for motorists treacherous mountain driving conditions is anticipated. CDOT urges drivers to avoid travel due to the extreme weather forecasted in parts of the west. 8 p.m.: Several school districts in northern Colorado announce closures and delays for Wednesday School closures and delays: Front Range Baptist Academy- Closed Greeley-Evans School District 6- Closed Johnstown-Milliken RE-5J- Closed Poudre School District- Closed Resurrection Christian School- Closed Rocky Vista University- Closed St. Marys Catholic School Greeley- Closed Thompson School Dist. R2-J- Closed University of Northern Colorado- Closed Weld County RE-1- Closed Weld RE-4 School District- Closed For more closings, visit Gazette news partner 9new.com A young spectator admires a dough figurine during the first China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Annual Meeting. [Xinhua/Zou Jingyi] The first China Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Annual Meeting was held in Yulin, northwest China's Shaanxi Province from Feb. 16 to 20. More than 200 intangible cultural heritage projects were displayed and over 500 inheritors showcased their techniques at the event. Tian Sheng, an inheritor of the Jiaonan New Year painting from Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province, attracted crowds with his drawing techniques at the event. Jiaonan New Year painting is an intangible cultural heritage item in Qingdao. It resembles folklore New Year paintings and draws inspiration from Gongbi, an ancient style of Chinese painting characterized by neat and meticulous strokes and the paper cutting art. Jiaonan New Year paintings are well-composed, colorful and have a simple yet exaggerated style, while cultural and creative products inspired by the paintings are adorable and exquisite. Chai Zhanzhu, a 58-year-old inheritor of "Jiaotai Ci," a national intangible cultural heritage in China, believes that the vitality of intangible cultural heritage lies in innovation. "Jiaotai Ci," which originated from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), involves porcelain clay of two or more colors and is known for its unique twisting and firing techniques. Chen Yanfen (left), a paper cutting artist, shows paper cutting works she made. [Xinhua/Zou Jingyi] "In the past, there were only a small number of patterns on the porcelain, such as patterns of feather and chrysanthemum. Now, images of landscapes, figures, flowers and birds can also be seen on the porcelain. We have worked with universities to upgrade our clay and glaze techniques and have obtained a number of patents," Chai said. According to Chai, Dangyangyu Village in central China's Henan Province where he comes from, has six enterprises, one professional cooperative and more than 20 family workshops engaged in the production, processing, sales and technological research of "Jiaotai Ci," with annual sales of 300,000 pieces (sets) of porcelain. In recent years, young inheritors are becoming a major force in promoting and popularizing traditional skills. Chang Yangyang from central Henan is a paper-cutting art inheritor and a vlogger with over 340,000 followers on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. "Social media serves as a bridge between traditional culture and young people, who show keen interest in traditional culture," Chang said. (Source: People's Daily Online) Julia Al-Amir, president of the Middle Eastern Student Association at the University of Rhode Island, speaks during a vigil held on the Kington campus on Feb. 15 to show support for the victims of the earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6. Al-Amir, of Pawtucket, organized the event with help of other URI organizations. Emergency vehicles appear near the site of a small aircraft crash in Little Rock, Arkansas, Wednesday, February 22. Former film producer Harvey Weinstein appears in court at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California, on October 4, 2022. A sexual assault victim has filed a lawsuit against Weinstein on February 9, 2023. Tanzania deactivated 970,046 SIM cards despite extending the deadline for its SIM registration law, a move to combat fraudulent activity through mobile phones. However, the vast majority of mobile users in Tanzania did register as 60.47 million out of 61.44 million signed up before the deadline, reported Ecofin Agency. The original deadline was January 31 but the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) extended it to February 14. Suspended SIM cards still can be reactivated within 90 days after February 14 by going through the verification process set by the TCRA. The SIM registration law has been enforced since 2019 to combat fraud through mobiles. The TCRA recorded 12,613 fraud cases using SIM cards between October and December 2022 alone. Scammers would use practices such as SIM box fraud, identity theft and financial scams. Winter storm in the North and heat wave in the South creates 100-degree difference across US Brazilian regulator Anatel enabled broadband providers to tap into the 6GHz spectrum band unlicensed for the next decade via higher-powered devices, a move that will enhance WiFi broadband coverage, and deliver US$163.5 billion to the Brazilian economy, according to industry bodies Abrint and the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance (DSA). In a statement from the DSA, Abrint said ISPs now have outdoor access to the 6GHz band through higher-powered devices thus enhancing coverage throughout Brazil. Equipment vendors Broadcom and Cisco will provide automated frequency coordination (AFC) technology to ISPs in Brazil to tap into the band. DSA president Martha Suarez said: License-exempt use of the entire 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi will be critical to address current pressing bandwidth demands for end users, applications and industries. To do so efficiently, the different use case operations from 5,925 to 7,125MHz will allow growing ultra-fast WiFi demands to be met, new applications such as augmented and virtual reality and new innovations that require high-quality, real-time connectivity. "Used for every aspect of our lives such as remote education, work and commerce, WiFi needs greater spectrum access in the 6GHz band to effectively support the modern digital ecosystem. Anatel allowed unlicensed access to the 5,925MHz 7,125MHz band for low-power indoor and portable devices in 2021. This apparently supported 20,000 ISPs to provide more reliable WiFi using the 6GHz band. The move enhanced WiFi in 25 million fixed access points via fibre-to-the-home connections. Allowing service providers to tap into the 6GHz band has been allowed by various regulators in western nations. The US Federal Communications Commission opened up the airwaves in 2020. Mexico recently only partially opened the 6GHz band to ISPs which prompted disappointment from providers. On Tuesday, the New York Times published an opinion piece by right-wing columnist and former climate change denier Bret Stephens promoting misinformation on the use of masks and mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, titled, The Mask Mandates Did Nothing. Will Any Lessons Be Learned? Stephens bases his conclusions on a poorly researched meta-analysis from the British-based Cochrane Library, as well as an interview with its lead author, Oxford epidemiologist Tom Jefferson, in which Jefferson voices false positions on the science of airborne transmission of the coronavirus. Stephens emphatically asserts that masking in general and mask mandates in particular have had zero efficacy in reducing the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses, writing, When it comes to the population-level benefits of masking, the verdict is in: Mask mandates were a bust. Those skeptics who were furiously mocked as cranks and occasionally censored as misinformers for opposing mandates were right. Stephens asks, What about N-95 masks, as opposed to lower-quality surgical or cloth masks? He cites Jefferson as saying, Makes no differencenone of it. Elsewhere in the interview cited by Stephens, Jefferson claims that the evidence [that COVID-19 is transmitted via aerosols] is as thin as air, despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary. In his op-ed, Stephens fails to explain that the Cochrane meta-analysis warned that the high risk of bias in the trial, variation in outcome measurement, and relatively low adherence with the interventions during the studies hampered drawing firm conclusions. Additionally, the authors note that they cannot draw definitive conclusions for a number of reasons, including that adherence among the study sample that was supposed to wear masks was low. If this group fails to wear masks regularly, they may be exposed to a viral infection and come down with similar rates of illness to the control group that was not supposed to wear masks. One of the fundamental difficulties with a review of large numbers of poor-quality studies, including randomized control trials, is that a large database of bad data can only lead to meaningless conclusions. If said studies are not addressing the same questions in the same manner, they will inevitably lead to erroneous conclusions. A recent report published in Science-Based Medicine by its executive editor, Dr. Steven Novella, offers a lengthy discussion on the lack of merit of the Cochrane review. First, he notes that the evidence finds that surgical masks work when worn correctly, and the better the mask, the better they work. Health care workers are routinely fitted with N95 respirators when dealing with infected patients, and years of experience in the surgical theater have shown they reduce surgical site infections. However, when these are assessed in the community, confounding variablessuch as how prevalent the virus is and how infections are being measuredwill determine their potential efficacy. Mask mandates are even more difficult to assess because population compliance is difficult to ascertain. Furthermore, virtually nothing has been done to educate the general public on the science of airborne transmission and the high degree of protection offered by well-fitting N95 respirators. Novella explained that the Cochrane meta-analysis is a review only of controlled studiesthe kind of study that is most likely to underestimate the effect of mask-wearing. They did not include other kinds of studies. Not all the studies reviewed were of COVIDthey included studies of other respiratory viruses (which therefore may be different) and they included studies that were not taking place in the middle of a pandemic. This is a huge red flag, as it is clear from existing data that masks only work in high-risk situations [when the prevalence of infections is high]. Novella continued, This recent Cochrane review is very limited in scope and is highly problematic in its methods. The most we can conclude from it is that we need better and more relevant controlled trials of mask wearing to determine its effect more precisely on the spread of COVID. But it does not show that mask wearing does not work or that mask policies dont work. Despite these and numerous other criticisms from leading experts, Stephens claims that the Cochrane review is the most rigorous and comprehensive analysis of scientific studies conducted on the efficacy of masks for reducing the spread of respiratory illnesses. One could ask why he didnt review and compare the study conducted at the University of Bristol by Gavin Leech et al. from May 2022 on population mask-wearing and not just mask mandates. Their results found that the reproduction number for viral transmission in the community declined by 19 percent, a significant drop. The authors wrote: Using several datasets from 92 regions [across six continents with 20 million people surveyed] and a state-of-the-art Bayesian hierarchical model, we find evidence that mask wearing is associated with a notable reduction in SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Our analysis adjusts for both NPIs [Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions] and mobility, and the results are robust to extensive sensitivity analyses. Our analysis of the mandatewearing correlation suggests that factors beyond mandates strongly affect wearing levelsbut does not imply that mandates have no role in curtailing transmission. Instead, the evidence that mass mask wearing reduces transmission implies that mandates (and other mask-promotion policies) may be effective against COVID-19 if and when they improve or increase the use of masks. In his screed against mask-wearing, Stephens falsely claims that masks were pushed on to the public by the increasingly mindless Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which thereby became the unwitting accomplice to the genuine enemies of reason and scienceconspiracy theorists and quack-cure peddlersby so badly representing the values and practices that science is supposedly to exemplify. Stephens has turned reality on its head. The CDC is culpable, but not for enforcing mask mandates and encouraging people to wear face masks, but rather systematically undermining the core value of public health in preventing disease. Under the supervision of both the Trump and Biden administrations, the CDC has undone every meaningful mitigation measure that protects the population to ensure any impediment to commerce is removed, with CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky denigrating masks as the scarlet letter of the pandemic. Underlying Stephens and the Times anti-scientific promotion of misinformation on masking are clear political motivations. It bears repeating that in March 2020, Times Opinion columnist Thomas Friedman first advanced the anti-lockdown mantra, the cure cant be worse than the disease. This was embraced by Trump to promote the homicidal reopening of workplaces and schools in pursuit of a mythical herd immunity, which has now led to the deaths of more than 1.12 million Americans and debilitated over 20 million more with Long COVID. The Times has also been staunchly supportive of the reactionary Brown University professor of economics Emily Oster, allowing her in 2020 to spout the criminal position that the coronavirus had no impact on children and therefore schools should be allowed to fully reopen. Over the past three years, COVID-19 has killed more children than the flu has in two decades. The Times has been foremost in advancing the failed vaccine-only public health campaign promoted by the Biden administration, which has proven to be an abysmal failure, allowing the virus to evolve into ever more immune-evasive and contagious variants. They have published numerous editorials by David Leonhardt, one of the most ruthless purveyors of misinformation surrounding the pandemic. In April 2020, when New York was at the epicenter of the pandemic, the Times also gave column space to Stephens to agitate for an end to lockdowns in the US, stating, Americans are being told they must still play by New York ruleswith all the hardships they entaildespite having neither New Yorks living conditions nor New Yorks health outcomes. This is bad medicine, misguided public policy, and horrible politics. The last three years of misery and hardship faced by the worlds population during the COVID-19 pandemic could have been avoided had the US and international community adopted an eradication strategy that was immediately called for by the World Socialist Web Site beginning in February 2020. Instead of heeding real pandemic response measures, the ruling elites and their pliant corporate media chose to place profits over life, forcing the working class back to work and allowing the coronavirus to spread unhindered. The timing of Stephens latest opinion piece is not coincidental. It was published shortly after the White House has announced its intention to declare the pandemic over in May, even though COVID-19 continues to kill hundreds of Americans each day. The Biden administration is scrapping all mitigation measures, emergency public health programs and data tracking, with significant implications for the working class and their communities as the fourth year of the pandemic begins. Additionally, there are growing concerns among scientists that avian flu could soon become the next pandemic among humans, which could have catastrophic impacts globally. The financial oligarchs, controlling the media and state apparatus, are determined to ensure that no lockdowns or public health measures will ever again interfere with the functioning of the economy. Hence, Stephens misinformation functions as a mechanism to disarm the reader to the vital importance of public health by implying the recent science on mask mandates has discredited it as a useful mitigation measure. The right-wing, libertarian political conceptions underlying this attack on public health must be consciously opposed by workers, and combated with a broad-based movement fighting for a socialist public health response to end the COVID-19 pandemic, eradicate other viruses and prevent future pandemics from developing. Former President Donald Trump speaks at the East Palestine Fire Department as he visits the area in the aftermath of the Norfolk Southern train derailment February 3 in East Palestine, Ohio, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. [AP Photo/Matt Freed] Former president Donald Trump visited East Palestine, Ohio Wednesday, in perhaps the most cynical of a series of visits by capitalist politicians this week. The small town has been devastated by the derailment of a huge Norfolk Southern train full of chemical tankers, five of which were set on fire by the railroad and state officials, releasing significant amounts of toxic chemicals into the environment. Trump, bringing along with him several cases of Trump-branded water, postured as the friend of the people of East Palestine, in a visit where he was accompanied by Ohios Republican Senator J. D. Vance, newly elected in 2022, and the local congressman, Bill Johnson, also a Republican. The event was only the third public appearance by Trump since he announced a presidential campaign last November for the 2024 election. East Palestine mayor Trent Conaway appeared alongside Trump, along with police and fire officials, whom Trump praised, while launching into a five-minute diatribe against the Biden administrations response to the disaster. He singled out the $100 billion in US aid to Ukraine for the US-NATO proxy war against Russia, contrasting this vast sum to the pittance being sent to East Palestine. Trump did not directly criticize the war, but rather suggested the European countries should pay more to support Ukraine, claiming the US share of war spending was disproportionate, given the size of the European economy. He also claimed that Biden administration officials were only coming to East Palestine because of his own visit, which had put them to shame. Actually, Trumps appearance was part of a steady stream of capitalist politicians touring the disaster site and striking a posture of concern, even though most are on the payroll of Norfolk Southern, which made $725,000 in campaign contributions, 51 percent to Democrats and 49 percent to Republicans, in order to ensure that the years of deregulation policies, including under both Trump and Biden, continue. On Sunday, Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown visited the town. On Tuesday, it was the turn of Republican Governor Michael DeWine and Michael Regan, head of the federal Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), which has taken over the lead role in the clean-up of the disaster site from Norfolk Southern. DeWine and Regan visited an East Palestine resident, assured her that tap water drawn from the municipal water system was safe, and to prove it, drank glasses of water in front of her as television cameras recorded the interaction. They were reprising the notorious appearance of President Barack Obama in Flint, when he drank a glass of water and contemptuously told the residents of the city to stop worryingalthough this time, at least, it appears that the two officials actually drank water drawn from the kitchen tap, not provided to them by an aide. DeWine and Regan were later joined by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (East Palestine is near the border between the two states.) Shapiro made a demagogic attack on Norfolk Southern, hailing the announcement by the EPA that the railroad would be assessed for the damage caused by the derailment, rather than continuing to make voluntary contributions to a fund for residents of the town. During his visit Wednesday, Trump made no criticism of the railroad, saying in response to questions that he was confident that Norfolk Southern would meet its obligations. When reporters asked him about the actions of his own administration, which lifted regulations on railroads, including repealing a requirement that trains carrying toxic chemicals should be clearly labeled and local and state authorities notified, he refused to answer. Instead, he launched into his typical attack on fake news, as well as on the Biden administration, claiming that both were seeking to blame him for the disaster. Trumps visit is to be followed Thursday by Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who released a proposal for stepped-up regulation of railroad safety in advance of his visit. This is an about face for Buttigieg, who last provoked anger with remarks minimizing the disaster on the grounds that more than 1,000 derailments take place every year in the US. Earlier this week, Buttigieg refused to commit to visiting East Palestine, saying he would only do so when the time was right. While there has been heavy coverage of the East Palestine derailment and fire in the national media, virtually no mention has been made of the connection between the disaster and the congressional action, less than three months ago, banning a strike by 120,000 railroad workers in which understaffing, overwork and the consequences for rail safety were the central issue. Senator Brown voted for the legislation, as did Republican Representative Johnson, who appeared alongside Trump on Wednesday. Both capitalist politicians, and their parties as a whole, bear responsibility for the events in East Palestine. While there were three workers on the train when it derailed, the train was 151 cars long, making it impossible for the workers to properly monitor its condition. Moreover, Norfolk Southern has eliminated the position of track monitor, a worker who would have noticed the flames shooting out of the wheels 20 miles before the train reached East Palestine, and then alerted the crew. The White House responded far more aggressively to Trumps criticism than to the original disaster, seizing upon Trumps own record in a bid to deflect attention from the Democrats role. White House spokesperson Andrew Bates declared, Congressional Republicans and former Trump Administration officials owe East Palestine an apology for selling them out to rail industry lobbyists when they dismantled Obama-Biden rail safety protections as well as EPA powers to rapidly contain spills. In a tweet, likely written by an aide while Biden continued his warmongering tour through eastern Europe, the president declared, Rail companies have spent millions of dollars to oppose common-sense safety regulations. And its worked. This is more than a train derailment or a toxic waste spillits years of opposition to safety measures coming home to roost. Accusing the Republicans of selling out to rail lobbyists is a monumental piece of cynicism. Less than three months ago, the White House and congressional Democrats imposed a contract on the rail workers devised by rail lobbyists and a federal panel appointed by Biden. Meanwhile, in East Palestine, federal officials are telling residents that despite the burning of tanker cars filled with vinyl chloride and other chemicals, producing a wide array of toxic byproducts, many still unknown, the air and water are safe and their complaints of headaches and other symptoms of illness are unwarranted. In the month since the publication of explosive accusations about its financial operations, the India-based Adani group of companies has been undergoing a not-so-slow train wreck. Congress party members demand investigation into allegations of fraud and stock manipulation by India's Adani Group in New Delhi, India, Monday, Feb.6, 2023. [AP Photo/Manish Swarup] The combined market value of the groups shares fell to below $100 billion earlier this week, bringing to $135 billion the loss of market capitalisation since the US-based Hindenburg Research published a report on January 24 alleging widespread accounting fraud and stock manipulation. The groups founder, Gautum Adani, at one stage ranked the third richest man in the world, has close connections with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Adani has denied the allegations and wrapped himself in the Indian flag, claiming they were an attempt to take down the country. But his protestations and efforts to provide assurances to the markets that the financial position of his group is sound have not halted the slide. The Hindenburg allegations, which it said were the result of a two-year investigation, claimed that the Adani Group was pulling the largest con game in corporate history. The increase in the groups share values over the past three years of more than $100 billion was largely through stock price appreciation in the groups seven listed companies which spiked an average 819 percent in that period. Despite its name, Hindenburgs investigation was not disinterested academic research. It is well known as a shorting investor. Shorting involves borrowing shares in a firm and selling them in the expectation the price will fall, then buying them back at the lower price, returning them to the lender and profiting from the transaction. While there are restrictions on such activities in India, Hindenburg seems to have found a way to short Adani stock, according to a report in the Financial Times. The founder of Hindenburg, Nathan Anderson, has not indicated how he organised his bet against the Adani group saying only that he had taken a short position through US-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments. But the withdrawal of money goes well beyond the activities of Hindenburg. Adani suffered a significant blow when the ratings agency Moodys cut its outlook on four companies in the group from stable to negative while leaving ratings unchanged. Moodys said its decision was the result of the significant and rapid decline in the market equity values of the Adani Group following the release of the Hindenburg report. Like many corporate giants, Adani has sought to advance an ESG (environment, social governance) program to capture funds from so-called ethical investment. Norways largest pension fund, KLP, recently dumped its entire holding of shares in Adanis Green Energy on the basis that it may have been financing polluting activities. In particular the Carmichael coal mine project in central Queensland, Australia, has been the subject of intense opposition on environmental grounds. Bloomberg reported that a public filing on February 10 made clear that Adani is using stock from its Green companies as collateral in a credit facility thats helping to finance the Carmichael coal mine. The money invested in the Adani green companies is not directly involved. But to the extent that it raises their share values it increases the value of the collateral used to finance other, polluting projects and thereby lowers the cost of loans to finance them. KLP has banned investment in coal. According to its head of responsible investing, Kiran Aziz, any indirect financing of the Carmichael project would be a breach of our commitments. The withdrawal of money could be extended. According to Bloomberg, there are more than 500 funds in the European Union which are registered as promoting ESG goals and which hold Adani stocks either directly or indirectly. According to the Hindenburg report, the notion that the operations of the Adani companies were in some way separate from each other was a fiction. It noted that Adani Group companies are intricately linked and dependent upon one another and that none of the entities are isolated from the performance, failure, of the other group companies. Announcing the withdrawal of money by KLP, which manages funds of around $75 billion, Aziz said: Adanis corporate structure created an unacceptably high risk that clean investment could be siphoned off towards coal mining. But this reaction could well be taken with a large grain of salt because the complex and interconnected structure of the Adani group was well known before the Hindenburg report. The intimate connection between the Adani group and the Modi government means that its possible demise will have significant political consequences. While the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has declared it has nothing to hide, Modi has remained silent. Others, however, are questioning whether Modi will be able to ride out the storm. Speaking at the recent Munich Security Conference, multi-billionaire George Soros, who made his fortune as a hedge fund manager, said: Modi and business tycoon Adani are close allies; their fate is intertwined. Soros said that Adani had tried to raise funds in the stock market but had failed. Adani is accused of stock manipulation and his stock collapsed like a house of cards. Modi is silent on the subject, but he will have to answer questions from foreign investors and in parliament. He claimed the Adani demise would weaken Modis stranglehold on the federal government, open the way for much needed institutional reforms and even bring about a democratic revival in India. What Soros means by a democratic revival is not an end to the domination of the Indian economy by corporate and financial giants. He wants a weakening of the control exercised by Modi over economy and finance which has been used for the benefit of insiders such as Adani. This would open the way for other sections of finance capital, for which Soros speaks, to benefit from the plunder of the countrys resources and the exploitation of its labour. On Saturday, the Stop the War Coalition (STWC) is holding a demonstration in London demanding Peace talks nowStop the War in Ukraine. Its main slogans are No to the Russian invasion, No to NATO and No to nuclear war. But the event will be another milestone in the collapse of the official anti-war movement and underscore the urgent need for a new political perspective. At a Stop the War national conference this January, vice-chair Andrew Murray noted that the organisation had led the vast demonstration 20 years ago against the Iraq war, mobilising a million or more people. Today the Stop the War Coalition is a shadow of its former self and the anti-war movement has been totally demobilised thanks to the policies it has pursued for more than two decades. Protesters pack London's Whitehall during a march to Hyde Park, to demonstrate against a possible war against Iraq. February 15, 2003 (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File) At the rally in 2003, the STWC, behind a heavy focus on denouncing Tony Blair as an individual, advanced the claim that a coalition of the Labour left, the trade union bureaucracy, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens could persuade the Labour government to adopt a more peaceful foreign policy, modelled on the supposedly more progressive powers, France and Germany. This was not an anti-imperialist strategy, but rather one levelled only against the United States and appealing directly to a section of the ruling class which felt Britain was paying too high a price for too little gain from US-led wars. The alternative proposed ever since was spelt out explicitly at the start of last year, amid the build-up to the war in Ukraine. In a January 21, 2022 statement, the organisation called for a new all-inclusive security architecture in Europe, not under the hegemony of any one state. We demand that the British government and the Labour Party distance themselves from the policies and priorities of the USA and develop an independent foreign policy. Over the last two decades, Stop the War has repeatedly appealed to successive UK governments to adopt this stance. The high point of its campaign should have been the election of Jeremy Corbyn to the leadership of the Labour Party, directly from his position as head of the coalition. But far from fighting for a more pacifist foreign policy, Corbyn abased himself in his grovelling before the Blairite right-wing; standing down from his position as Stop the War chair; allowing a free vote on the bombing of Syria; and abandoning opposition to NATO membership and the Trident nuclear weapons system. The disaster produced by this perspective is now all but complete. Its twin pillars have been destroyed. Both the Labour and trade union left and the European powers have lined up to an unprecedented degree behind NATOs war on Russia. STWC was forced to advertise its Saturday demonstration with the observation, Keir Starmers diktat a year ago prevented Labour MPs criticising NATO, effectively silencing all opposition in the PLP to the war in Ukraine. A year later, that silence is still deafening. For the first time in the organisations history, not a single Labour MP attended Stop the Wars national conference last month. Current chair, the Stalinist Andrew Murray, explained it away by claiming this was not because no Labour MP agrees with Stop the Wars position on [the Ukraine war] but because the leader of the Labour Party [Keir Starmer], revealing himself every day as more of an authoritarian imperialist, has made it clear that any Labour MP would sacrifice the whip and their seat in Parliament if they associate with the anti-war movementsomething even Tony Blair did not do. This is a disgusting apologia. Anyone who puts keeping the Labour whip ahead of opposing a conflict spiralling towards a third world war is a political scoundrel who will never stand against any policy advanced by either Starmer or his de facto war allies in the Conservative government. Corbyn has been expelled from the Parliamentary Labour Party and told by Starmer that he will never stand as a Labour MP again. But Corbyn has been just as silent as just 11 of his former allies in what remains of the Socialist Campaign Group (SCG) of Labour MPs, who all abandoned their support for the STWC within an hour of Starmer threatening them with expulsion for signing a February 18, 2022, Stop the War statement. The Stop the War Coalition February 18, 2022 statement now only lists the names of two MPs in support, both of whom sit as Independents in Parliament. These are former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was booted out of the Parliamentary Labour Party by Sir Keir Starmer, and Claudia Webbe, another former Labour MP. [Photo: screenshot-stopwar.org.uk] His last tweet on the war came in November last year and read, I condemn the Russian invasion, the war against Ukraine and the illegal occupation. Today, I asked the Foreign Secretary what role the UN can play in bringing about a process of peace to prevent any further loss of life. Now waging a deluded and degrading campaign to win the right to stand as a Labour MP in the next election, Corbyn appears to have pushed his connection with Stop the War even further into the background and is not listed as a speaker at Saturdays event. To promote this man as an anti-war leader is a deception and political crime. A significant number of Labour lefts are not just cowed by Starmer, but actively supporting the NATO war. Chief among these is Corbyns former shadow chancellor, John McDonnell. Writing for Labour Hub February 21, McDonnell insists that Ukraine must be given weapons, brushing off how others have argued that sending more arms risks escalating the war, since the arms argued for are for defence against the realistic prospect of [Ukraines] subjugation by an imperialist aggressor, meaning Russia. He lent his signature to a statement by the pro-NATO Ukraine Solidarity Campaign released last week which declares, A democratic, lasting peace for the peoples of Ukraine and Russia requires the defeat of Russias brutal imperialism and demands the gifting to Ukraine of all the surplus UK military equipment due to be replaced, especially the 79 Challenger tanks, 170 Scimitar reconnaissance vehicles, all Warrior infantry fighting vehicles, Typhoon fighter aircraft. Britains Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, left, embraces Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of Britains main opposition Labour Party during his speech on stage during the Labour Party Conference at the Brighton Centre in Brighton, England, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) McDonnell was joined as a signatory by fellow members of the SCG, Nadia Whittome, Clive Lewis, Rachael Maskell, Lloyd Russell-Moyle and Ian Lavery. Bar Lavery, these MPs joined an internal split from the SCG at the start of last year to forge a closer relationship with Starmers leadership. Other signatories included the General Secretary of the GMB union, Gary Smith, ASLEFs General Secretary Mick Whelan, Assistant General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union John Moloney, national executive committee members of the National Education Union and activists for the University and College Union, Unite and the Royal College of Nursing. The trade union bureaucracy has almost entirely abandoned the STWC and lent its support to British imperialisms war aims in Ukraine. In April last year, the GMB, rail unions ASLEF and TSSA, the civil servants union PCS, the UCU lecturers union, the Communication Workers Union and Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union all participated in a pro-war, Unions stand with Ukraine Demonstration, at which chants of Arm, arm, arm Ukraine! were raised. At the Trades Union Congress (TUC) conference last October, a motion drafted by the GMB calling for increased defence spending and a commitment to Britains nuclear weapons system was passed. This line up behind the war has left Stop the Wars demonstration on Saturday with only one speaker from the Labour Partyformer MP Emma Dent Coad, blocked by Starmer from standing again for parliament as a Labour representativeand two isolated trade union bureaucratsMartin Kavanagh, PCS Deputy President, and Carlos Barros, a Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union national executive committee member. The assertion that the European powers provide a counterweight to US imperialism was promoted so heavily at the 2003 rally that participants were led to cheer Vive la France! Today that call is being taken up by the Ukrainian armed forces in receipt of French AMX-10 RC armoured fighting vehicles, with Leclerc main battle tanks and Mirage fighter jets not ruled out. Germany has already pledged to send heavy Leopard tanks. And the European Union as a whole is preparing to pre-finance weapons and ammunition out of its own budget. Europes reluctance to involve itself in the invasion and occupation of Iraq of course never had anything to do with an opposition to war. Their aim was to slam the brakes on US imperialisms efforts to establish itself as the undisputed global hegemon in the unipolar moment produced by the end of the USSR and capitalist restoration. They opposed war in the Middle East because they were poorly positioned to advance their own interests in such a war. Now the same interests in the new circumstances of the Ukraine war have led them to accelerate their own military spending and war plans to secure a share of the oil, gas and essential mineral spoils of the conflict with Russia, and accounts for their desperate attempt to divert massively more advanced social tensions outward. The European alternative will therefore be represented at the STWC rally by Andrej Hunko, a member of the German Left Party aligned with the wing of the party led by Sahra Wagenknecht and Oskar Lafontaine. They make a direct appeal to leading figures in the military and the far right Alternative for Germany (AfD), with Lafontaine arguing in terms almost identical to the STWC that Germany and other European powers are the most loyal vassals of the UScalling for the liberation of Europe from US military tutelage through an independent European security and defence policy and a joint defence alliance between Germany and France. In 2016, following the US-Europe backed anti-Russian coup in Ukraine, the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) set out the fundamental programmatic basis for an anti-war movement today: The struggle against war must be based on the working class, the great revolutionary force in society, uniting behind it all progressive elements in the population. The new anti-war movement must be anti-capitalist and socialist, since there can be no serious struggle against war except in the fight to end the dictatorship of finance capital and the economic system that is the fundamental cause of militarism and war. The new anti-war movement must therefore, of necessity, be completely and unequivocally independent of, and hostile to, all political parties and organizations of the capitalist class. The new anti-war movement must, above all, be international, mobilizing the vast power of the working class in a unified global struggle against imperialism. On December 10 last year, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality held an online rally launching a global campaign to build a movement against the NATO-Russia war on these principles. Its objective basis has already begun to emerge in a wave of strikes and protests internationally, especially in Europe, against the cuts to wages and social services which will be deepened yet further in service to the war. On Saturday, the ICFI will be holding an international online meeting under the title The war in Ukraine and how to stop it: an online discussion of socialist anti-war strategy. It will argue that an anti-war strategy for workers and youth must be based on an understanding of its root causes and consequences: What is the historical background to the war? What are the geopolitical interests driving the US and the NATO powers? What social and political factors shaped the Putin regimes decision to invade Ukraine? What is the relationship between the war and the growth of the class struggle throughout the world? We urge workers, students and young people to attend that meeting and contact the Socialist Equality Party and the IYSSE to take their place in this new anti-war offensive. On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced a sweeping new immigration policy that bars entry to almost all immigrants at the southern border and denies them the right to apply for asylum. The new policy is to take effect on May 11, the day of the expiration of Title 42. This previously obscure public health provision of US law was first employed by Trump to ban immigration at the US-Mexico border under the false pretense that immigrants spread COVID-19. This cruel and hypocritical policy of blanket exclusion was then continued by Biden, even as he proclaimed the pandemic had ended. Bidens new policy is aimed at filling the gap left by Title 42s expiration. It means all immigrants who attempt to cross the southern border on foot will be deported without a court hearing or any right to apply for asylum. The administrations pseudo-legal justification is that all immigrants who pass through Mexico forfeit their right to asylum in the United States when they fail to do so in Mexico. But the reality is Mexico is wracked by the same violence and poverty that dominate all countries from which refugees flee. The administration of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been harassing, beating and persecuting Central American and Caribbean immigrants on behalf of American imperialism since he took office in 2018, while many thousands seeking refuge in the US have been condemned to languish in tent camps on the border, subject to cold, hunger and the predations of Mexicos infamous cartels. Biden came into office promising that he would reverse the anti-immigrant policies of the Trump administration and uphold the right to asylum. The policy now introduced by his administration makes a mockery of that pledge, grossly violating both international and US law, which both guarantee the right to asylum. The United Nations 1951 and 1967 protocols on the rights of refugees, which were ratified in the aftermath of the Holocaust and the Second World War, expressly guarantee the right to asylum and make it illegal to deport refugees, the legal term for those who meet the requirements for asylum. Article 33 of the 1951 protocol states, No contracting state shall expel or return a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of the territories where his life or freedom would be threatened. The decision will have a disastrous impact on the lives of masses of workers across Latin America. Countless people will be sent back into the clutches of their persecutors in societies devastated by over a century of US imperialist exploitation. Many will die or be tortured in violation of the United Nations Convention Against Torture, which bars countries from forcing people back to countries where they face a likelihood of suffering extreme persecution. Thousands more will be separated permanently from parents, children and relatives who are already in the US. Billions of dollars in remittance money will be lost, fueling starvation and poverty already worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and the US-NATO war against Russia. In the end, the policy will only force immigrants to cross under more dangerous conditions to avoid detection: deeper into the deserts, farther out into the sea, where many more will die. There are only three precedents in US history which were as sweeping and anti-democratic as this: The first is the Chinese Exclusion Act, which barred all immigration by Chinese laborers for 10 years beginning in 1882. The second is the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924, which excluded immigration from the impoverished countries of Southern and Eastern Europe in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution. Hitler wrote approvingly of the act, and, as Yale Law Professor James Whitman explained in his 2017 book Hitlers American Model, Nazi jurists drew on the Chinese Exclusion and the Johnson-Reed acts in shaping the race laws of the Third Reich. The third precedent is Donald Trumps executive order banning travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries in early 2017 which was met with large spontaneous demonstrations at airports across the country. Despite the historically reactionary character of the asylum ban, the move has been met with almost total silence in the corporate media, which is too single-mindedly focused on endless denunciations of Russias crimes, real and imagined, to acknowledge the ban. A day after it was announced, no article about the asylum ban could be found on the online front pages of the New York Times, Washington Post or CNN. The media silence is an acknowledgment that the asylum ban exposes the lie that US imperialism is a champion of democracy and is defending it in the US-NATO war against Russia. In June 2022, Biden issued a statement marking World Refugee Day in which he presented the US as a beacon of hope for asylum seekers and blamed Russias war against Ukraine for the fact that over 100 million people have been forced to flee their home countries. Bidens statement covered up the fact that most of those 100 million are fleeing countries devastated by US imperialisms wars of the last three decades: Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. Unlike Russia, he said, the United States is protecting and welcoming refugees and leads the world in responding to the needs of refugees. The hypocrisy and lies of American imperialism know no bounds. Speaking last week, Vice President Kamala Harris cited alleged Russian deportations of Ukrainians as proof the government is carrying out crimes against humanity. Russian authorities have forcibly deported hundreds of thousands of people from Ukraine to Russia, including children, Harris said. They have cruelly separated children from their families. While the Russian government has denied these claims, no one can seriously dispute that the United States leads the world in separating immigrant children from their parents. In 2021, the Biden administration detained 122,000 immigrant children at facilities across the US, according to a report by CBS News. Under Donald Trump, tens of thousands of children were deliberately separated from their families in a fascistic policy concocted in the sick mind of Trumps Nazi adviser Stephen Miller. Under Title 42, the Trump and Biden administrations have together expelled hundreds of thousands of immigrants on the false and racist pretense that they were likely to spread COVID-19. The Biden administrations decision is a major concession to the far-right elements who dominate the heavily militarized state deportation apparatus and who are two years removed from the January 6, 2021 plot to overthrow the Constitution. The Democratic Party, desperate to maintain bipartisanship with the increasingly fascistic Republican Party in order to prosecute the war against Russia, is driving the political system ever further to the right. The attack on immigrants is an international phenomenon. As the European imperialist powers escalate the conflict with Russia, right-wing nationalist elements are being emboldened to attack immigrants and refugees, while nation after nation close their doors to immigrants. After British Home Secretary Suella Braverman depicted the attempts of refugees to secure asylum in the UK as an invasion, a far-right mob assaulted immigrants at a hotel housing refugees last week in Knowsley, outside Liverpool. Refugee organizations published a letter earlier this month warning of a rise in premeditated extremist attacks against immigrants across the UK. According to the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, violent attacks on immigrants increased dramatically in 2022, with 65 separate incidents in the first ninth months of the year. In June 2022, the Spanish government of Pedro Sanchez massacred dozens of immigrants at the Melilla border crossing in North Africa. The defense of the rights of immigrants, the dismantling of the repressive deportation apparatuses and the fight against the far right must be joined with the fight against the US-NATO imperialist war against Russia. This is the subject of the WSWSs online meeting, The war in Ukraine and how to stop it, Saturday, February 25, at 1:00 p.m. US Eastern Time. The date for mailing ballots in the second round of the UAW election has passed, and only 136,114 workers have cast votes, according to the court-appointed Monitors website. This equals to just 12 percent of the 1.1 million eligible active and retired members of the UAW. Though the number will increase slightly in the last days before the vote count begins March 1, this abysmal turnout confirms that this election is a fraud that does not reflect the democratic will of the membership. Information on UAW runoff has been prominently displayed inside Flint Assembly [Photo: WSWS] The so-called run-off between Ray Curry and Shawn Fain is a contest between two career bureaucrats who both failed to win support from 4 percent of the membership in the first round. Only 9 percent of members voted in the first round, which concluded in November. I am the only candidate from the first round who has refused to endorse either candidate of the bureaucracy. Instead, my campaign has demanded and campaigned for a re-vote in which actual steps are taken to notify the membership that an election is taking place. The fact that only 12 percent of the membership has voted in the second round confirms everything in the official protest I filed to the Monitor in December demanding a re-vote with all candidates names on the ballot. In my protest, I laid out evidence gathered by over 100 workers across the UAW showing how the UAW bureaucracy intentionally suppressed turnout in order to stop the rank-and-file from learning we had a chance to remove them from office. Abysmal turnout in the run-off explodes the claim made by Ray Curry and Shawn Fain that low turnout in the first round was primarily due to worker apathy. The reality was the UAW bureaucrats systematically refused to inform their members that they had a right to vote, with only 10-15 percent of locals posting announcements on their Facebook pages or websites, and with almost no action taken to update the Local Union Information System (LUIS) to include workers names, emails and physical addresses. On the West Coast, several academic worker locals at the University of California and University of Washingtoncomprised of tens of thousands of memberssaw turnout of between 0.5 and 3 percent. Workers in some locals report the UAW is taking steps to tell them about the election now that there are only two candidates who both represent the bureaucracy. This shows the locals could have taken additional measures in the first round, when there were more candidates, but refused to. This accounts for the slightly higher turnout this time, though turnout is still extremely low. Two months have passed since I submitted my protest to the Monitor and they still have not issued a response, despite being obligated to under their own election rules. Though the Monitor has not even certified the first round yet, it is still powering through with a second round. This is despite the fact that more and more evidence of voter suppression has emerged in recent weeks. It is now clear that the vast majority of UAW locals deliberately refused to update their LUIS system so that workers would not receive ballots or receive emails about the election. In January, a former UAW member who was bargaining chair of Local 2320 filed an official protest with the Monitor exposing the fact that he received a ballot in the run-off despite changing jobs (and thereby leaving the UAW) over five years ago. Benjamin Brown said this showed that the UAW took no action to update LUIS since 2017. He explained that when he was bargaining chair, he protested to now-Region 9A Assistant Director Gordon Dean about the locals refusal to update its membership lists, and instead of taking action to update LUIS, Dean wrote Brown, saying he was disappointed that you felt it necessary to raise his concerns. This protest was filed on December 21, but the Monitor has refused to issue a ruling on it. In November 2022, another worker, Michelle Nadasky of Local 1264 in Sterling Heights, provided additional evidence that the UAW was refusing to update its systems. The Monitor admitted to Ms. Nadasky that the local had not updated LUIS, meaning that many workers did not receive ballots who should have. Now, after taking no action to address these concerns, the Monitor is presenting the run-off as legitimate. In November, I filed a federal lawsuit in the Eastern District of Michigan challenging low turnout. I asked the election be delayed a few weeks and for the UAW to be ordered to provide every member with notice that the election was taking place. Even the judge, who ruled against us, acknowledged that the LUIS system was never used to communicate with the membership, and was instead a tool by the bureaucracy to communicate internally, saying the LUIS system kind of cut out the membership from the election. Regardless of which of the two bureaucrats squeaks into office, the UAW bureaucracy will remain entrenched, with its hundreds of officials who are paid over $100,000 to collaborate with the corporations and suppress our struggles. That will not change until we, the rank-and-file, build a movement to take power from them and return decision-making power and control of union resources to the workers on the shop floor. But this will be a year of immense social struggles among UAW members and by workers in all industries in the US and across the world. Contracts are expiring at CAT in one week, and at the Big Three and Mack Trucks, where I work, later this year. As the cost of living spirals out of control and as the ruling class spends billions of dollars escalating a war in Ukraine against nuclear-armed Russia, the rank-and-file must prepare for the next stage in our struggles by linking up across plants and across industries in a network of democratically controlled committees through which we can leverage our strength and overcome the domination of the union bureaucracies. I encourage every worker interested in joining this global movement to contact my campaign and join the International Workers Alliance for Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) today. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used a featured address at the National Press Club yesterday to restate his complete commitment to AUKUS, a pact with the US and the UK aimed at preparing for war with China. He used his speech to also pound the drumbeat of national unity. This was directed against popular anti-war sentiment, as well as fears that deepening social inequality will result in major class struggles. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressing National Press Club in Canberra on 22 February, 2023. [Photo: @PressClubAust] Albanese delivered the speech after his Labor government received earlier this month its Defence Strategic Review (DSR) into the militarys purported capability gaps. The review has not been released, even in a redacted form, and Albanese said that would not occur until close to the May budget. But reports by journalists close to the national security establishment indicate that the DSR will recommend a vast expansion of a protracted military build-up that has already seen a bipartisan commitment of defence spending of $578 billion this decade. The DSR is tipped to recommend the extensive acquisition of new missile systems, fighter jets, advanced drones and possibly warships. That is entirely in line with declarations from US officials that they are preparing for a war with China, potentially over control of Taiwan, by 2025. The US, having provoked a war with Russia in Ukraine, is also carrying out continuous provocations against China. The conflict with Russia, aimed at weakening it militarily, and if possible breaking up the Russian Federation, is viewed in US strategic circles as a prelude to a full-blown war with China, which is viewed as the chief threat to US imperialist hegemony. In his address, Albanese touted in general terms his governments support for a major expansion of the military. He stopped short, however, of providing any concrete details. Nor did he refer to the purpose of the build-up, except for vague references to a time of profound geopolitical uncertainty, both in our region and around the world, and threats to our security. Albanese cited the foreword of the DSR, which proclaims: Australia has a strong and deep Alliance with the United States, a professional defence force and defence organisation, and an enviable international reputation as a capable country in military, peacekeeping and humanitarian and disaster relief. Albanese stated: [W]ith the right investments in our capability and our sovereignty, our defence force can be made ready for future challenges. He confirmed that the government would unveil next month its plan for the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines, which are among the most critical craft for modern maritime warfare. This would be the single biggest leap in our defence capability in our history. Albanese declared: AUKUS is about much more than nuclear submarines, or even technological inter-operability. AUKUS is about the future. It further formalises the common values and the shared interest that our three nations have in preserving peace and upholding the rules and institutions that secure our region and our world. The speechs silence on the concrete implications of this project was undoubtedly the subject of intensive backroom discussions between Albanese and sections of the military-intelligence establishment. While pressing ahead with the war drive and militarisation, the Labor government and the political establishment are acutely aware that the vast majority of workers and young people are hostile to war. As even critical defence analysts have recently noted, a war with China would be disastrous. It would result in mass immiseration, unprecedented battles, vast casualties and, if as is likely, nuclear weapons are involved, threaten the very future of humanity. That is why recent military acquisitions, including the purchase of HIMARS and naval strike missiles and ocean mines, have been made quietly and without fanfare. It is also why Labor has not trumpeted its commitment to a vast expansion of US basing. Americas nuclear-capable B-52 bombers are to be rotated, i.e., stationed through northern Australia, while US access to naval, air and army bases is being dramatically expanded. In addition, under conditions of budget cuts and a cost-of-living crisis, the defence expenditures will be enormous. Previous estimates have placed the cost of a fleet of eight nuclear-powered submarines at $170 billion. Hypersonic missiles, which Australia is also slated to acquire under AUKUS, have a price tag of $100 million each. Meanwhile, public hospitals, schools and basic infrastructure are in a state of breakdown. To cover over this sharp contrast, Albanese sought to present the military expansion as the focus of a purported national economic rejuvenation. AUKUS and the new weapons systems would result, not only in Australian jobs, but a revival of Australian manufacturing. A centrepiece, Albanese claimed, would be the $15 billion National Reconstruction Fund. The sectors to be boosted, however, are largely specialised and will likely involve only a relatively small and highly-skilled workforce. Particular areas are advanced manufacturing, critical technologies, such as artificial intelligence and robotics, minerals processing and some energy and metals production. Even on its own terms, the program will do little to restore the vast swathes of industry destroyed over the past 40 years, including the entire car manufacturing sector, most of steel production, textiles and much more. To the extent that jobs are created, moreover, they will be restricted to a highly-trained segment of the workforce, a small minority. The proposal, however, is in line with a broader international tendency of deglobalisation. The US and other major powers are seeking to restore limited aspects of their industrial bases. The aim is not to improve wages or working conditions, which are under a continuous onslaught. Instead, it is to ready their nations for war. This was alluded to by Albanese. He repeated the words of Defence Minister Richard Marles that national security demands a whole-of-nation effort. This program recalls the analysis made by the Russian Marxist Leon Trotsky in Nationalism and Economic Life. Written in 1934, the article noted that all the major imperialist powers were Back to the national hearth. The attempt to rewind the clock on the international division of labour was profoundly reactionary and irrational from the standpoint of humanitys economic development. It could only be understood as a preparation for war, with the nationally-based ruling elites gathering up their forces in anticipation of major state conflict. The other side of this program is an intensified assault on the social conditions of the working class. In one of the only critical questions from the press corps after Albaneses address, a journalist noted that the vast outlay on the military would have an impact on the national budget. Albanese responded by declaring that his government was committed to restraint. There were supposedly many things Albanese wished the government could fund, but that would simply not be possible. In other words, the war program will be paid for by further cuts to the already crisis-ridden public healthcare and education systems, along with other vital social services. The program of war is also incompatible with democratic rights. The night before Albaneses address, Mike Burgess, the head of ASIO, Australias domestic spy agency, delivered his annual threat assessment. Burgess asserted that foreign spies were virtually everywhere. He claimed that ASIO had recently busted up a hive of such agents. Its caseload was greater than ever and it was engaged in continuous conflict with foreign intelligence services. Though Burgess did not directly reference China, it was clear where his accusations were directed. Burgess presented not a shred of evidence. A years-long witch-hunt against supposed foreign interference, waged by the political and media establishment, has largely come up empty. Despite the bipartisan passage in 2018 of draconian laws against foreign interference, which is defined in the broadest possible terms, there has never been a successful prosecution. Most ominously, Burgess complained that unnamed academics, business leaders and political figures had encouraged him and ASIO to tone down their campaign against purported foreign interference, for fear that it would inflame tensions with other powers. Burgess was scathing of such proposals. At the National Press Club, Albanese backed ASIO to the hilt. He was asked: What would your message be to those that are pushing back against ASIO? He replied: That ASIO is doing the right thing and that they have the support of my government in all of their actions. Contact the SEP today to join the campaign! Phone: (02) 8218 3222 Email: sep@sep.org.au Facebook: SocialistEqualityPartyAustralia Twitter: @SEP_Australia Instagram: socialistequalityparty_au TikTok: @sep_australia Authorised by Cheryl Crisp for the Socialist Equality Party, Suite 906, 185 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000 For more than two-and-a-half years, the hard-right government of Ontario Premier Doug Ford has been sitting on a stockpile of personal protective equipment (PPE) that could have been utilized to stop the spread of COVID-19 and save lives. Throughout multiple waves of the pandemic and a profusion of virus variants, 100,000 elastomeric respirators have lain dormant in a warehouse as infections and deaths mount. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shakes hands with Ontario Premier Doug Ford in Toronto, August 30, 2022. [Photo: Doug Ford/@fordnation] From the beginning of the pandemic, engineer Nicolas Smit has worked to get governments across Canada and in the United States to recognize that COVID-19 is primarily transmitted via aerosols, small particles that can remain suspended in the air for long periods of time, and make workers, unions and employers aware that high-quality PPE is essential to stop its spread. His efforts continue to be met with silence from Fords government. The official opposition New Democrats and Liberals have wholeheartedly adopted the governments position that the pandemic is now a non-issue. Smit has been waging an uphill battle because Canadas entire ruling elite pursued a homicidal policy in response to the pandemic. The prioritization of corporate profits over human lives, shown most clearly in the reckless back-to-work campaign, led to well over 50,000 officially recorded deaths from COVID-19 nationwide and in reality, tens of thousands more. Smit documented the Canadian authorities disastrous pandemic response in an extensive interview for the Global Workers Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic. The federal Liberal government refused to publicly admit that COVID-19 is transmitted via aerosols through the air until November 2021. When it finally did so, the announcement was contained in a Friday afternoon tweet and no effort was made to explain to the population how they could use this knowledge to avoid infection. In particular, no campaign was launched to explain the appropriate types of masks to wear, with the result that many people continued to use medical-grade masks, which only provide limited protection against an airborne pathogen. Engineer Nicolas Smit exposes Canadian authorities refusal to protect workers from COVID aerosols Elastomeric respirators consist of a reusable mask, made with synthetic or natural rubber, that offer a vastly superior fit to medical-grade masks and even N95 respirators. Full-face versions can also protect the eyes. They are used with changeable filters and are designed to last for years. They were first used in a health care setting to protect workers from Tuberculosis in the 1990s and were recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during the SARS outbreak in 2003 and H1N1 pandemic in 2009. While originally designed for industrial use, elastomeric respirators offer a lower risk of transmitting infection between patients in a health care setting, can be easily cleaned and could potentially replace thousands of disposable masks. After SARS hit Ontario hard in 2003, causing 44 deaths, the provincial government began stockpiling medical equipment in 2007 to prepare for a future epidemic. But ten years later, 80 percent of the 26,000 pallets of supplies, including 55 million N95 respirators, face shields and needles, had expired. Storage costs were running at more than C$3 million a year, but no one ensured that the supplies were given to hospitals before their expiration and then replaced. Officials simply threw out the out-of-date stock, which was one of the main reasons why hospitals and long-term care facilities ran out of PPE in the COVID-19 pandemics early stages. The Ontario government acquired at least 100,000 elastomeric respirators in June 2020 and distributed some to long-term care homes. But the bulk of them remain in storage to this day. In 2021, the Ontario Nurses Association engaged in a court battle with the province to get access to respirators for all health care settings. At the same time, a coalition of doctors and other specialists demanded that the federal and provincial governments step up their COVID-19 precaution efforts in line with the recommendations of the Ontario SARS Commission report of 2006. Speaking to CBC News, Dorothy Wigmore, an occupational hygienist, said, theres no excuse for not giving those who need them real respirators. And this doesnt just include health care workers. It includes anyone who is in an enclosed space with a number of people for something beyond a few minutes. Her comments came a year after a paper published by the International Journal of Emergency Medicine entitled Elastomeric respirators are safer and more sustainable alternatives to disposable N95 masks during the coronavirus outbreak, which stated: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved respirator masks have three nonpowered particulate filter efficiency classes: 95, 99, and 100, for 95%, 99%, and 99.97% filtration of particulates down to 0.3 m, respectively. There are three levels of oil-particle resistance, N for no resistance, R for some oil resistance, and P for being completely oil proof. For most aerosols in healthcare settings, filter efficiency of at least 95% with no oil resistance is generally accepted. Each user needs to be fit-tested for these respirator masks to be effective. However, several studies show that healthcare professionals that do not frequently use N95 masks or wear masks for an extended duration tend to have inadequate seal. Nearly half of healthcare professionals who repeat a fit test 3 months after passing a fit test end up failing the second fit test. Another study finds that 4.0-m particulates were detectable inside respirator masks using portable aerosol spectrometers after only 10 min of body movements during nursing procedures. This is an indication that the seal is easily lost during extended use. Compared to disposable respiratory masks of the same filter efficiency, elastomeric respirators have been found to have 60% higher filtration performance and better seal. Although not as effective as powered airpurifying respirators (PAPRs), elastomeric respirators are still superior and preferred options over disposable respirators, especially given the severe shortage and increasing cases of healthcare professionals infected with coronavirus. By January 2022, the Ford government was faced with serious health care staff shortages due to fatigue caused by nearly two years of overwhelmed hospitals and a surge of COVID infections during the Omicron wave. The provincial government proposed sending workers who were potentially sick and/or infectious with COVID-19 back to work with the minimal condition that they wear a well-fitting medical-grade mask, i.e., a face covering that provides limited protection against airborne infection and transmission. In response, the President of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU)/CUPE and the President of SEIU Healthcare sent a letter to the Premier, Health Minister and others in which they warned: This completely disregards evidence that surgical masks are inadequate to prevent transmission of Omicron even in non-high-risk settings, and even amongst people who are not known to be sick or infectious. The document fails to recommend PPE appropriate to the situation of extreme risk that it contemplates. At a minimum, an elastomeric respirator, which has a higher rating than an N95 mask, must be standard for anyone returned to work who may still be contagious. Still the stockpile of elastomeric respirators remained untouched as the unions dutifully submitted to government policy. Throughout the pandemic, the unions repeatedly intervened to block efforts by rank-and-file workers in education, health care, and other sectors to take collective action to oppose dangerous working conditions. Six months later, as the Ford government removed the last mitigation measures across the province in line with the demands of the fascistic Freedom Convoy, the President of the OCHU wrote another letter, this time directly to the Chief Medical Officer of Health. It stated: The numbers of infections and deaths amongst health care workers lays bare the extreme cost of the failure in provision of adequate PPE in this province. In Ontario, the most recent PHO weekly epidemiological report which reports the statistic identified 54,019 infected health care workers since the start of the pandemic. Since June 4, 2022 the weekly report has not reported on this statistic, making the sacrifice of health care workers even more invisible and disrespected. Health care workers, those most directly exposed to the dangers of the virus, continue to be let down by their so-called representatives in both the government and the unions. Infections and deaths have continued while governments at all levels doubled down on their forever COVID strategy. The abolition of all COVID public health measures was overseen approvingly by the Trudeau Liberal government, which maintains the closest political ties to the unions of any Canadian government in decades. These decisions made 2022 the deadliest year of the pandemic in Canada so far. The fact that Canadas entire political establishment is implicated in the PPE scandal was shown once again in October 2022, when Smit spoke with NDP MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam concerning the details surrounding the elastomeric respirator stockpile. The conversation, which was recorded and posted on YouTube, consists of Smit patiently trying to explain the result of the Ontario governments refusal to release the stockpile since 2020. Smit outlined that because of the Ford governments negligence, the health care system was on the verge of collapse. Workers were unnecessarily infected and suffered mental health issues, anxiety and depression. He also pointed out that many of the problems in the economy, including worker shortages due to Long COVID, could have been avoided if the PPE that was already available had been distributed to those who needed it most. Additionally, the failure to utilize elastomeric respirators reinforced the false perception that they are unsafe for health care settings, even after both the CDC and Health Canada have long since approved them. Smit recounted how he reached out to various NDP politicians who knew about the issue but refused to get involved either because it was not in their political jurisdiction or their allies in the union leadership were not making it a priority. Wong-Tam responded by jumping through hoops to find an excuse not to advocate for the release of the critical public health equipment. She claimed that the Ford government, with its larger majority in the Ontario Legislaturesecured with the lowest voter turnout in the provinces historyis too dominant to challenge. She also asserted that there is no public appetite to review the failures of the response to the crisis, which is a flat-out lie given the large number of families still grieving the loss of loved ones. To top it all off, the NDP MPP declared that there is significant sympathy for the goals of the Freedom Convoy to eliminate all COVID-19 mitigation measures. In January 2023, as Smit once again tried to bring attention to the ongoing negligence in the provincial response to the most serious public health crisis in a century, Twitter censored posts he made about the elastomeric respirator issue, deeming them too controversial. The government, their political opposition, unions, public health officials and the social media giants are determined to make the Covid-19 pandemic taboo as they ignore the public health catastrophe, and instead turn their attention to the need for austerity and attacks on working conditions to fund Canadian imperialisms major role in the US-led war on Russia. US President Joe Biden met Wednesday in Poland with representatives of the Bucharest Nine, the group of Eastern European countries added to the NATO alliance during the Clinton and Bush administrations, pledging to defend literally every inch of NATO against Russia. The members of the "Bucharest Nine" include Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. [Photo by Super Dromaeosaurus / CC BY-SA 4.0 Biden began his remarks by stating, As some of you may remember, years ago, when we were expanding NATO, I was the one in the United States Senate who was pushing the hardest to expand NATO for membership of many of you sitting around this table. His comments are a testament to the deep historical roots of the war that erupted one year ago. According to the White Houses well-worn narrative, the war in Ukraine is a war of choice launched by a single man in February 2022. Putin started the war, and only Putin can end itby withdrawing Russian troops to where they were last year, the White House endlessly repeats. But this simplistic and false presentation has nothing to do with the historical record. In reality, the United States has sought to bring the republics of the former Soviet Union and the Eastern European buffer states into the NATO alliance, while fomenting domestic nationalist uprisings within Russia with the aim of destabilizing and breaking up the country. The expansion of NATO [Photo by glentamara / CC BY-SA 3.0 In 1998, the Senate voted in favor of expanding NATO to include Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. This, in fact, is the beginning of another 50 years of peace, Biden said, upon setting into motion the events that would ultimately lead to the eruption of the war in Ukraine. Well be righting an historical injustice forced upon the Poles, Czechs and Hungarians by the Soviet Union. The United States is a European power, testified Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright in 1997 to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, of which Biden was the ranking member. We have an interest not only in the lands west of the Oder River, but in the fate of the 200 million people who live in the nations between the Baltic and Black Seas. On June 15, 2001, in a speech in Warsaw, Poland US President George W. Bush declared his Plan to enlarge NATO in order to create a ring of countries that would stretch from the Baltic to the Black Sea. Biden supported the 2004 expansion of NATO with the inclusion of Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. And in 2008, when Bush declared that having Ukraine join NATO is in the interest of the United States, he had the enthusiastic support of Biden. Under Bushs guidance NATO declared that Ukraine alongside Georgia will become members of NATO. The Obama administration, while publicly distancing itself from the Bush administrations most criminal actions, such as the systematic torture of prisoners, vociferously defended Bushs call for Ukraine to become a member of NATO. The strategy underlying the eastward expansion of NATO has drawn heavily on the conceptions of the right-wing dictator Jozef Pisudski, who ruled Poland for much of the interwar period. In 2014, US geostrategist Robert D. Kaplan stressed in a piece from August 2014 titled Pisudskis Europe that it is Poland and Romania, the two largest NATO states in northeastern and southeastern Europe respectively, that are crucial to the emergence of an effective Intermarium to counter Russia. Together they practically link the Baltic with the Black Sea. As a compliment to the theory of the Intermarium, Pisudski advocated the concept of Prometheism, declaring that Polands strength and importance among the constituent parts of the Russian state embolden us to set ourselves the political goal of breaking up the Russian state into its main constituents and emancipating the countries that have been forcibly incorporated into that empire. Only then, Pisudski stressed, will Russia be sufficiently weakened that she will cease to be a formidable and dangerous neighbor. At the Wednesday meeting of the nine member countries spanning from the Baltic to the Black Sea, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declared, We cannot allow Russia to continue to chip away at European security. We must break the cycle of Russian aggression, the Secretary General said. Speaking at last weekend's Munich Security conference, Stoltenberg acknowledged the extent to which the Eastern NATO powers had militarily rearmed for years in preparation for the present conflict. The war didn't start in February last year, it started in 2014. And since 2014, we have implemented the biggest reinforcement of our collective defense, with more troops, higher readiness, presence in eastern part of the Alliance, new defense plans, and also increased defence spending. In 2017, NATO created four multinational battalion-size battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Following the outbreak of the Ukraine war, NATO reinforced its existing four battle groups in Eastern Europe and pledged to form four additional battle groups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. A graphic created by NATO showing the military alliances eastern flank. [Photo: NATO] This has brought the total number of multinational battlegroups to eight, effectively doubled the number of troops on the ground and extended NATOs forward presence along the Alliances eastern flankfrom the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south, NATO said in a statement last week. This expansion is proceeding further, with NATO allies pledging at the June summit in Madrid to enhance the multinational battlegroups from battalions up to brigade size. Amid a deterioration of the military position of the Ukraine and evermore direct NATO involvement, there is a looming threat that the massive NATO military presence on Russias borders will be transformed into an active geographic expansion of the war to the whole of Eastern Europe. Striking Temple University graduate students [Photo: Temple University Graduate Students' Association - TUGSA] The Temple University graduate students 92 percent vote to reject the rotten tentative agreement (TA) Tuesday night has raised fundamental questions of strategy and class orientation for the striking university teaching and research assistants. The sellout contract offer solved none of the pressing demands the 750 members of the Temple University Graduate Student Association (TUGSA) Local 6290 face. The workers have been on strike since late January. Their demands for a living wage, expanded medical coverage for their families, flexible parental leaves and other basic requirements have been callously ignored by the university, which has deployed every underhanded tactic and trick to weaken their resolve. In response to the rejection vote, Temples Chief Operating Officer Ken Kaiser published a message to the university community declaring the school was disappointed with the outcome. Although the TUGSA leadership left the Friday meeting promising to unanimously recommend the agreement for ratification, the TUGSA membership did not ratify the agreement, he said. While TUGSA has denied this claim, its leadership has proven itself incapable and unwilling to conduct a genuine defense of its members interests. This has led to it working in tandem with Temple to produce a tentative offer no better than the one which led them to strike in the first place. The TUGSA contract negotiating team (CNT) has claimed that the resounding no vote has given the negotiators a democratic mandate to return to the table quickly and settle a contract that provides members with what they need and can pass ratification. But whatever the bargaining committee is saying now, after the fact, a rejection is clearly not the outcome that it was hoping for. The only possible purpose in bringing a deal to a vote which includes none of the strikers demands was to try to shut down the strike. In fact, TUGSA negotiators already had a democratic mandate to reject the universitys poverty pay offers when they first went on strike. The universitys concessions, which amount to minor shifts in the rate of pay over the course of the contract, were worth less than the paper that they were printed on. The TUGSA negotiators are completely in the thrall of the university. When Temple made this offer and said to bring it to the members for a vote, the bargaining committee did just that. Rather than refusing the thuggish offer, the negotiators worked wholeheartedly to ensure the legitimacy of that vote. TUGSAs staff then worked to enforce a strict gag order on members, forbidding any discussion of the rotten contract offer publicly. But while it does not appear that it campaigned openly for its ratification, neither did it call for it to be rejected. Moreover, it handed to the administration and corporate press the ability to conduct a public relations campaign portraying the mere existence of the TA as meaning the automatic end of the strike. Before the ink on the TAs paper was dry, Temple issued a statement to the local media declaring that the strike was over. It then sent a campus-wide email saying the same thing. This ambush attack sowed confusion and demoralization among the striking campus workers and their supporters. In fact, the Philadelphia Inquirer published an article along these lines even before the announcement of the deal by the Temple administration, pointing to the existence of plans worked out in advance to shove the contract down strikers throats. This false claim was also taken up by the Pennsylvania American Federation of Teachers, TUGSAs parent union. AFT-Pennsylvania President Arthur Steinberg released statements celebrating the strikes ending, absurdly declaring While the details are not yet available, its clear that the pressure our union put on the University will result in a more favorable contract for TUGSA members. The AFT, whose President Randi Weingarten brings in a hefty $564,000 a year to sell out teachers struggles, has not sent the striking students one cent in strike benefits, even as members are forced to subsist on donations and food kitchens. In response to the TAs rejection, Weingarten merely cited Temples attitude as the problem, suggesting a friendlier partnership between TUGSA and Temple would have gotten the deal ratified. The effort to sell out the strike was only halted when the rank and file members rallied to reject the sellout offer and voted almost 10 to 1 against it. Temple graduate students must recognize they are in a two-front war against both the administration and their own leadership. TUGSA leaders have bent over backwards to placate Temples intransigence. Students require an effective strategy and organization to expand their strike and bring Temple administrators to their knees. The AFT has signed enfeebling no strike clauses with other campus bargaining units, forcing them to remain quiet as the strike goes on. Instead, graduate students and other workers must take the initiative into their own hands. In bringing the contract to a vote, the existing bargaining committee has proven that they cannot be trusted to lead this struggle. They must be thrown out and replaced with a new bargaining committee, elected from the rank and file and not from aspiring union bureaucrats. Graduate students must organize themselves to turn out broadly to unite with their peers at Temple and expand their strike throughout the college and the city in order to force Temple to negotiate favorably. The support such a strategy can receive is evident in the many acts of solidarity that the strike has generated. Rather than allowing themselves to be isolated and betrayed by the bureaucratic trade unions, workers must take the initiative upon themselves before it is too late. We encourage striking workers to contact the World Socialist Web Site, which stands ready to lend all efforts to assist in this struggle. At a town hall meeting February 16, hundreds of East Palestine, Ohio, residents demanded answers for the health threat to their community due to the intentional burning and release of toxic chemicals by Norfolk Southern railroad following the derailment of its 100-car train in their town. Protest on the third Anniversary of the switch to Flint River Water [Photo: WSWS] Residents described inhaling toxic smoke, finding dead fish in local streams, pets getting sick and dying, the persistence of chemical smells and sickness. After a state EPA official dodged their questions and again claimed the water and soil was safe, someone from the crowd was heard shouting, Flint, Michigan!referring to the residents of that city whose health concerns were ignored for eighteen months before the state government acknowledged in late 2015 that the citys water system had been poisoned by lead. In both cases, entire populations in largely working class communities were poisoned in the pursuit of profit. And one again both Democrats and Republicans at every level of government are working to conceal their complicity in these social crimes as they grandstand about how much they care. But reality is forcing the victims to draw parallels between East Palestine, Flint, Love Canal, New York; Newark, New Jersey; Martin County, Kentuckyand the list goes on. The WSWS recently spoke to workers from Flint about the comparison of the disastrous derailment in East Palestine and the ongoing Flint water crisis which was set into motion nearly nine years ago. Flint resident, Florlisa Fowler one of the water activists who helped make the voices of residents heard told the WSWS, Like Flint, East Palestine was a man-made disaster. While residents who were living with the effects of lead and other contaminants in the water, the State of Michigan and the Environmental Protection Agency were telling the population that the water was safe to drink. Fowler explained, Obama came here with a crew to do a PR cleanup job. He came in 2016. By that time the whole world knew about how our water in Flint was poisoned. His job was to shut us up and tell us everything was okay with the water as he took a sip. Let them drink lead was the message! The shift from a safe water source to the Flint River in 2014 was done without adding corrosion control chemicals which would have prevented the leaching of lead from the citys lead pipes. The switch was carried out under the auspices of former Republican Governor Rick Snyder, his Democratic state treasurer Andy Dillon, and an emergency manager appointed by the state to impose austerity measures dictated by the banks. The chief beneficiary of the water switch was a new private water entity, the Karegnondi Water Authority, a money-making enterprise backed by big investors. Nearly 100,000 people were impacted by the Flint water poisoning which caused deaths, miscarriages, and developmental problems particularly in children. Not a single official or politician has been convicted in what was at the time one of the largest health and environmental crises in US history. A GM worker who lived in Flint throughout the water crisis, which for many residents is still ongoing, described what she saw then: I saw people whose hair had fallen out. Teeth had fallen out. I saw people with all kinds of skin problems. I saw one guy who had a hole in his neck. And I saw children who werent developing. Several children I saw were not able to speak even though they were of age to be able to. The worker continued: I had a dog that died. My other dogs became untrainable. She said that she knew there was a problem with the water even before the story broke in the news. The water tasted horrible. I knew it wasnt safe, and I quit drinking it. The state gave us bottled water for a while, the worker said. They didnt fix the pipes. Theyre still not all fixed. Asked if she was surprised at the governments response to the Flint water crisis, the worker said, No. They knew. They never cared. Just like Ohio. Were going to see down the road in a couple of years its going to be the same as Flint. Its so bad. The GM worker noted that Norfolk Southern was aware of the problems before the derailment occurred. They already knew that area had a bad reputation. She also mentioned that the same train had broken down two days prior to the derailment in East Palestine. All they care about is profits, she concluded. Responding to an MSNBC reporters question last week about the appropriateness of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigiegs complacency regarding the East Palestine disaster, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders quipped, Was he driving the train? Instead of placing the blame for the derailment and subsequent contamination of the environment on the trains crew, as Sanders did, the GM worker recognized the impossible position railroad workers have been put in by an industry that has slashed positions, increased hours for those who still have jobs, and made a practice of running trains that are longer and heavier than is safe (the train that derailed in East Palestine was approximately two miles long). Its life or death for railroad workers now, the worker said. The worker said she can absolutely relate to the exploitation of railroad workers by the railroads. But she also spoke of the role of the unions in enforcing that exploitation: The rail workers unions didnt support them when they wanted to go on strike. Its just like at the plant. The UAW [United Auto Workers] tries to cover up injuries. They work in favor of management. They lie to us, tell us what we want to hear and disappear. They lie to our faces. As long as the line is moving, they dont care, she said. They sped up the line recently. It was our Christmas present. There have been a lot of accidents since then. Like the railroaders, the worker said, workers at GM Flint have been put in an impossible situation. Were supposed to do our jobs according to the instructions in the book. But the line moves so fast that, if you do follow the book, the light goes off and you stop the line. You can get in trouble for not following the book, and you can get in trouble if you do follow the book. Its us workers who have to stand up and take over, she said. If the workers dont take a stand, conditions will keep getting worse. Asked what taking a stand would look like, the worker said, You have to interrupt profits. Mary Miller, a retired GM worker from Flint also spoke to the WSWS. Biden went to Kiev, Ukraine but not to East Palestine, Ohio. It lets you know who they are for, and its not the working class. The authorities are doing the same thing to the residents of East Palestine, Ohio, as they did to us, to the population of Flint. Lets be clearthis is not about a few seconds of exposure. This is about impacting people over a lifetime. When you live through something like this, you dont forget it. When I see what is happening to the people of East Palestine, it re-traumatizes me. You relive it all again. What area will be next? The situation in Flint did not happen overnight. The Flint River became contaminated by General Motors after years of pouring chemicals from the plant drains into the river. Growing up, it was a running joke that you didnt use anything from the Flint River. You didnt even fish there. Several members of my family lived on one block in a Flint neighborhood on St. John Street. General Motors stole our neighborhood way back when they built Buick City, which is now closed. They bought everything up and threw us out. They took our livelihoods, our families, our schools, and then our health. When the politicians switched to the Flint River in 2014, we couldnt believe it. It wasnt their families being poisoned. Instead, in Flint and East Palestine, its the workers who are made to suffer. Even when the officials were aware, they did not do anything. We the residents suffer. Its heartbreaking. There needs to be an overhaul of everything. The same people are allowing the same thing to happen over and over. Its proof that we dont matter to them. You cant trust the government, but you cant fix the water by yourself. I think we workers are the only ones who can make it right. I have found the World Socialist Web Site to be an awakening for me because it explains what is behind everythingcapitalism. Xi orders all-out rescue efforts after Inner Mongolia coal mine collapse Xinhua) 08:26, February 23, 2023 BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday demanded all-out efforts in the search and rescue of the missing and treatment of the injured after a coal mine collapsed in Alxa League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the instruction following the accident, urging efforts to ensure the safety of people's lives and property, and to maintain overall social stability. The collapse has so far left two people dead, six injured and 53 missing. Xi urged efforts to ascertain the cause of the accident as soon as possible and hold the relevant people accountable, while avoiding any loopholes in management. All regions and related departments should screen for and rectify all types of risks and hidden dangers with a sense of responsibility, enhance prevention measures and ensure strict implementation to better coordinate development and safety, Xi noted. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also made an instruction, requiring the Work Safety Committee of the State Council and the Ministry of Emergency Management to urge all localities to shoulder their responsibilities and implement measures for workplace safety, intensify efforts to rectify major hidden dangers, and resolutely prevent major accidents from happening. The Ministry of Emergency Management has sent a work team to Inner Mongolia to guide rescue work. On-site rescue work by local authorities is underway. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Spokesperson of Russias Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova expressed that the country considers freezing of talks on the normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations counterproductive. Speaking at the weakly briefing, the official pointed out Moscows consistent contribution to the normalization of Baku-Yerevan relations. "The Russian Defense Ministry and Russian peacekeepers have been making enormous efforts in conjunction with Foreign Ministry to resolve the situation around the Lachin-Khankandi road. Since December 12, 2022, more than two and a half tons of humanitarian cargo was delivered to the region in interaction with charitable organizations. No matter how tense the situation in the region is, we consider freezing the negotiation processes under this pretext counterproductive," she added. Emphasizing that such linkages delineate the prospects for sustainable peace and stability throughout the South Caucasus, Zakharova noted that Russia will provide all the necessary support to hold the regular meetings of the trilateral working group for unblocking economic and transport ties in the region and the commission on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border, as well as new negotiating rounds on a peace treaty at the level of foreign ministers. Similarly, in an interview with TASS, Russias Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin underlined that the country welcomes any initiatives that can support efforts to normalize relations between Baku and Yerevan. According to him, as long as duplication and competition among the mediation efforts are undertaken, any efforts are welcome. "It is in this vein that we perceive the initiative of such a large and influential country as Egypt to assist the peace process between Baku and Yerevan," Galuzin added. He also stated that Russi provides consistent assistance to Azerbaijan and Armenia in developing the parameters of a peace treaty. We provide consistent assistance to the parties in the development of a peace treaty. These steps should lead to the creation of conditions for a lasting, sustainable and just peace in the region, which will be a reflection of the peace agreement," the deputy minister said. The official emphasized that the country's mediation will ensure a constructive and meaningful dialogue in order to find mutually acceptable solutions that take into account the interests of both sides. We also conveyed to our partner's Russian considerations on the basic principles and parameters of the peace process, taking into account the approaches of the parties, he added. About 2,000 Russian peacekeepers have been deployed for five years in Karabakh under the trilateral cease-fire deal signed by Baku, Moscow, and Yerevan on November 10, 2020. The signed agreement obliged Armenia to withdraw all its troops from the Azerbaijani lands that it had occupied since the early 1990s. The trilateral ceasefire deal signed by the Azerbaijani, Russian, and Armenian leaders on November 10, 2020, ended the three-decade conflict over Azerbaijans Karabakh region, which along with the seven adjacent regions came under the occupation of the Armenian armed forces in the war in the early 1990s. The deal also stipulated the return of Azerbaijan's Kalbajar, Aghdam, and Lachin districts. Before the signing of the peace deal, Azerbaijan liberated 300 villages, settlements, city centers, and historical Shusha city that had been under Armenian occupation for about 30 years. The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution on Thursday to call for peace in Ukraine in a vote that marked the anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion. But the vote was not unanimous. The resolution, which called for Russia to withdraw its forces from Ukraine and for peace to be restored to the region, passed with 141 countries voting in favor, six countries joining Russia in voting against it and 32 countries abstaining. The six countries to vote against the resolution were Belarus, North Korea, Syria, Eritrea, Mali and Nicaragua. That number is an increase from the four that voted along with Russia against an October resolution denouncing Russias annexation of four occupied regions of Ukraine. Belarus, North Korea, Syria and Nicaragua voted against that resolution, while Mali and Eritrea were among the abstainers. On a resolution last March calling on Russia to immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw from Ukraine, Nicaragua and Mali abstained from the vote, while Eritrea joined the other dissenters in opposing it. The resolutions do not have force in international law but represent a global rebuke of Russias invasion. Binding enforcement actions are up to the U.N. Security Council, where Russia has unilateral veto power as a permanent member of the council. The 32 countries that abstained from the resolution on Thursday included China, India, Pakistan and South Africa. The war will reach its first anniversary on Friday. Russia is expected to ramp up its spring offensive in the weeks ahead, while Ukraine is also planning renewed counteroffensives. However, the course of the second year will depend largely on forces outside of either country. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Alec Baldwin pleaded not guilty Thursday in the shooting death of "Rust" cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and waived an anticipated virtual appearance Friday before a New Mexico judge. Baldwin and "Rust" armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed have both been charged with involuntary manslaughter. Gutierrez-Reed's attorney told USA TODAY Thursday that his client still plans to appear at the hearing virtually. On Oct. 21, 2021, Baldwin was rehearsing a scene inside a church on a movie set outside of Santa Fe. He was handed a gun that was supposed to be harmless but in fact contained one live bullet. In lining up the camera for the scene, Baldwin was pointing the weapon in Hutchins' direction when it went off, killing her and injuring director Joel Silva. Prosecutors have argued that the loaded gun was Gutierrez-Reed's responsibility. What did Alec Baldwin plead? In this image from a video released by local police officials, Alec Baldwin gestures while talking with investigators following the fatal shooting on the set of "Rust" in October 2021. In legal paperwork filed Thursday, Baldwin listed as Alexander Rae Baldwin III checked a box reading "not guilty" and acknowledged through his electronic signature that he understands the "offenses charged." The judge in the case, Mary Marlowe Sommer, agreed to allow Baldwin to stay free on his "personal recognizance." The checked stipulations for his continued release included continuing to obey federal, state and local rules; not possess firearms or dangerous weapons; not consume alcohol; and maintain contact with defense attorney. What is Alec Baldwin being charged with? Initially, both Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed were charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, which carried a fine as well as up to five years in jail. But attorneys for the defendants successful argued that their clients were being unfairly charged based on a new law that had gone into effect after the shooting. On Monday, New Mexico prosecutors agreed to drop the "firearms enhancement penalty," which reduces the maximum jail time to 18 months. What about the civil lawsuits in the 'Rust' case? A variety of people have filed civil lawsuits in the "Rust" case, including Baldwin. In January, he filed lawsuits not only against Gutierrez-Reed but also assistant director Dave Halls, who handed Baldwin the gun after declaring it "cold," or harmless. Story continues Director of Photography Halyna Hutchins who was killed on set while filming the movie "Rust" in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Oct. 21, 2021. An earlier lawsuit filed against Baldwin by Hutchins' widow, Matthew, was settled. Matthew Hutchins is now one of the producers of "Rust," a mid-tier Western that is slated to resume production in Montana. More recently, Hutchins' mother, father and sister, all of whom live in Hutchins' native Ukraine, filed a suit against Baldwin and the "Rust" production. The family is arguing that they were relying on Hutchins' for financial support. The latest in the 'Rust' shooting case This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alec Baldwin pleads not guilty in 'Rust' case manslaughter charges Alec Baldwin in Mission: Impossible: Fallout Despite the tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set of Rust in October 2021, the Western movie is still moving forward. Alec Baldwin, who was holding the prop gun that discharged the live round that fatally injured Hutchins and struck director Joel Souza in the shoulder, is still attached to lead the upcoming movie as he awaits the involuntary manslaughter case leveled against him. Word has now come in that Rust has made a big production change: shifting filming locations. When Rust began principal photography, cameras were set up at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Bonanza City, New Mexico. Production is expected to resume this spring, and the movies producers confirmed to Deadline that Rust will now film at the Yellowstone Film Ranch in Livingston, Montana. This news follows after it was announced that several of the crew members from Rusts original start, including Joel Souza, will return to complete the movie. Souza expressed his gratitude to Yellowstone Film Ranch co-founders Richard Gray, Carter Boehm and Colin Davis for letting Rust film at that location in the following statement: I am deeply grateful to Richie, Carter, and Colin for the invitation to the Yellowstone Film Ranch in Montana. Their unwavering friendship, support, and now partnership in completing Rust and honoring Halyna means the world to me and our entire production team. The beauty of Montana surpasses words, and the warm hospitality and kindness extended by everyone Ive met has been both humbling and inspiring. It is a privilege to work with such great partners as we see this through on Halynas behalf. Among the new crew members who are joining Rust as it moves to Montana is Marcel the Shell with Shoes On cinematographer Bianca Cline taking over the late Halyna Hutchins duties and is reportedly donating her salary to charity in honor of Hutchins. The Yellowstone Film Ranch has previously housed movies like the recent Nicholas Cage-led Western The Old Way, which is also where Rusts armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, first served as a productions armorer. Like Alec Baldwin, Gutierrez-Reed has been charged with involuntary manslaughter over Hutchins death. Rust was originally set to resume filming in January of this year, and its unclear what unfolded behind-the-scenes that resulted in this not happening. Still, now that this arrangement with the Yellowstone Film Ranch has been set up, the movie is on track to pick up where things left more than a year and a half ago. Rust will also now see Halyna Hutchins husband, Matthew Hutchins, acting as an executive producer. Whether Rust will be finished in time to be a 2023 new movie release or will be saved for 2024 remains to be seen. As for Alec Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, they were both hit with an additional firearm enhancement charge earlier this month, which meant they potentially faced an extra five years in prison. That particular charge was recently dropped, but Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed are still looking at a maximum of 18 months in prison if found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The first hearing is on Friday. The Rust movie itself was fined $136,793 last April. FORT RUCKER To a standing ovation and thunderous applause from family, friends, and fellow military personnel, the 43 soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 58th Aviation Regiment marched in formation into the Yano Hall hangar here for a welcome home ceremony Thursday morning. The airfield operations battalion had returned to Fort Rucker about an hour prior to the ceremony after a nine-month deployment to the Horn of Africa in support of Operation Enduring Sentinel in the areas of Somalia, Kenya, and Djibouti. Know how proud we all are of your service and the sacrifices of you and your families, said Bob Doerer, Deputy to the Commanding General of the United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker, to the soldiers, unofficially nicknamed the Guardian Eagles. I like to say, You must improve your foxhole every day, Doerer said. And you did just that through execution of 12 projects at Manda Bay, Kenya, worth over $1 million: precisions approach lights; a two-ship helipad; ramp repaving and more. You safely directed over 15,000 aircraft movements, including 231 precision approaches, provided ATC services to the joint forces and the Kenyan Air Force, he added. Know how proud we are of all of your service and the sacrifices of you and your families, Doerer said. Thanks for showing thousands of people in Africa, the finest Americans we have, the America soldiers. Mission accomplished. Welcome home. Lt. Col. Travis Betz, commander of the re-deploying group echoed that thought. Mission success, he said, after the soldiers marched into the hangar to the sound of Toby Keiths American Soldier playing over the loudspeakers. Everyone is back home safe. We are elated to be back home. As he watched the families reunited with their soldiers after the formation was released, Betz had high praise for both his soldiers and their families. We dont do what we do quite as successfully without the support of our families, he said. I cant thank them enough because they are the ones back home taking care of our families. It is definitely good to be home, said returning soldier Sgt. Benjamin Santiago who was surrounded by duffel bags, his wife, children, stepfather, and his mother, who had come from Springfield, Massachusetts, for the reunion. Santiagos daughter, Zoey, 8, and a Parker Elementary School second grader, said she was very, very excited, when the hangars metal doors rolled open, and she saw her father for the first time in nine months. Santiagos mother, Lizzette Delgado, agreed. I am very, very happy, she said. Thank you, God, for bringing him home. Army Chaplin Maj. Tim Shepherd is the battalions chaplain, and was among those welcoming the solders home. Families reunited are one of the great days you look forward to as a soldier, Shepherd said. God calls us to serve and we serve. A set of winter storms are making their way through the Western United States this week, bringing strong winds and colder-than-usual conditions with rain and snow. The state will see a brief break in windy, snowy weather, as a second storm moves in over the weekend. A winter storm warning expired Friday morning for most of the state, but remained in place through Sunday morning for the area around Kinman and Lake Havasu City. Check back for updates throughout the week. 3:30 p.m. Friday: Winter weather advisory in effect until Sunday evening The National Weather Service said Friday afternoon that a winter storm warning would be in effect from 5 p.m. Saturday to 5 p.m. Sunday as a new snowstorm rolls into northern Arizona this weekend. The period of heaviest snow accumulation will be between 11 p.m. Saturday through 11 a.m. Sunday with total accumulation estimated of 6 to 12 inches, according to the weather service. Winds are forecasted to gust up to 50 mph during this time. Areas near Doney Park, Flagstaff, Forest Lakes, Heber-Overgaard, Prescott, Prescott Valley, Sedona, Seligman andWilliams will be most affected. Travel during the hours of the advisory could be difficult or impossible as patchy snow could significantly reduce visibility. These conditions could impact morning commutes on Sunday and Monday, according to the National Weather Service. 10:20 a.m. Friday: More highways reopen, few closures still remain More highways have reopened as only a few winter weather closures remain in place. Interstate 40 eastbound at US 93, State Route 260 between McNary and Greer, and State Route 273 between SR 260 and Sunrise Park have all reopened, joining State Route 87 and I-40 eastbound at Ash Fork, which reopened earlier Friday. The following closures remain in place: US 180 north of Snowbowl (milepost 236-248). S.R. 64 near the Grand Canyon (milepost 240-264). US 191 south of Alpine (milepost 188-252). Additionally, the snowfall impact has been downgraded from extreme to moderate, as snowfall rates have dropped from 2 to 3 inches per hour to 0.5-1 inch. A winter storm warning expired for most of the state, but remained in place through Sunday morning for the area around Kingman and Lake Havasu City. Story continues UPDATE: SR 260 eastbound between McNary and Greer (MP 360-385) and SR 273 between SR 260 and Sunrise Park (MP 377-383) are now OPEN. These highways remain closed. pic.twitter.com/UsJMXv7R0B Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) February 24, 2023 Kye Graves 9:45 a.m. Friday: Northern Arizona school, business, public facility closures and reopenings After multiple days of closures due to the winter storm, northern Arizona residents can expect some of those closures to continue and some to end. Flagstaff said city administrative offices and non-essential facilities such as recreation centers, libraries, and the Flagstaff Visitor Center would open at 10 a.m. and close at their normally scheduled time on Feb. 24. Coconino County administrative offices and courts opened at 8 a.m. with minimum staffing. All Flagstaff and Williams public schools are in a third day of closures on Friday, according to Coconino County. Humboldt and Prescott Unified School Districts opened with a two-hour delayed start, citing encouraged safety on roadways while driving to school. Northern Arizona University's Flagstaff campus would open with a delayed start at 10 a.m. following two days of closure. Coconino County Community College, which cited heavy snowfall as a reason for closing Thursday, remains closed on Friday. 8:45 a.m. Friday: A reprieve in Flagstaff and Phoenix with storm chances returning Saturday With winds expected to wind down in Flagstaff and the sun breaking through in Phoenix on Friday, the National Weather Service reminds people storms may return on Saturday. Those that have been glued to weather updates the past few days know that the ongoing storm system would come in waves. As it stands, Friday signals the end of phase two, hopefully giving those up north a bit of a break. As the current winter storm winds down this morning, we are tracking the next one that is due Saturday night - Sunday. Another round of heavy snow for high terrain, with lighter snow down to 3500-4000 ft. Travel will be impacted again. https://t.co/N9Ov2qx2CL for more. #azwx pic.twitter.com/dE5KEyX6rf NWS Flagstaff (@NWSFlagstaff) February 24, 2023 Saturday, however, heavy snow in mountainous areas will be back. Travel is said to be heavily impacted again. In Phoenix, the forecast is more promising. The National Weather Service Phoenix office said on Twitter on Thursday night that more sunshine is expected on Friday, with warmer afternoon temperatures. Rain chances do return on Saturday, as does the wind, forecasted to be around 30-35 mph for the greater Phoenix area. After the clouds and light showers move through tonight, more sunshine is expected tomorrow (Friday). Afternoon temperatures will be warmer but still a few degrees below normal. The next chance for rain arrives Sat-Sun. #azwx #cawx https://t.co/YIy4I2JXwH pic.twitter.com/Ep3unEsNlO NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) February 24, 2023 Kye Graves 7:30 a.m. Friday: State Route 87 and I-40 eastbound at Ash Fork now open, some closures remain The Arizona Department of Transportation announced Friday morning that State Route 87 between Winslow and north of State Route 260 and eastbound Interstate 40 at Ash Fork reopened. However, the following closures remain in place: I-40 eastbound from US 93 to Flagstaff (milepost 72-196). S.R. 260 eastbound between McNary and Greer (milepost 360-385). S.R. 273 between S.R. 260 and Sunrise Park (milepost 377-383). US 180 north of Snowbowl (milepost 236-248). S.R. 64 near the Grand Canyon (milepost 240-264). US 191 south of Alpine (milepost 188-252). UPDATE: State Route 87 between Winslow and north of State Route 260 (MP 342-290) is now OPEN. These highways remain closed. Download the AZ511 app for real-time highway conditions: Apple: https://t.co/ZBt7iIAdRd Android: https://t.co/PEVlWCgkxj pic.twitter.com/aHtUo91Yru Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) February 24, 2023 Kye Graves 4:30 p.m. Thursday: Extreme winter weather conditions close roads in Kaibab National Forest The Kaibab National Forest announced new road closures on Thursday evening due to extreme winter weather conditions that are making the roads impassable. The following closures were in place until further notice: Williams Road: 107, 108, 109, 110, 132, 140 Tusayan Road: 302, 307, 310, 320, 688 New FS road closures until further notice - extreme winter weather conditions Williams RD: 107, 108, 109, 110, 132, 140 Tusayan RD: 302, 307, 310, 320, 688 Roads impassable - County emergency responders conducted numerous rescues - do not bypass closures/blindly follow GPS. pic.twitter.com/0F8CeN4XDX Kaibab NF (@KaibabNF) February 23, 2023 Kye Graves 1:45 p.m. Thursday: Coconino County warming stations welcoming people The American Red Cross was operating two warming stations in Coconino County. The Arizona Emergency Information Network's website listed the following centers: Munds Park Community Church at 17670 S. Munds Ranch Road in Munds Park Sinagua Middle School at 3950 E. Butler Ave. in Flagstaff Snacks and water were available at the warming stations. People can bring a bag or backpack containing personal items. Pets are only allowed if they are in dog kennels or cat carriers and owners must provide food for them. "Residents are asked to check on elderly or disabled neighbors to be sure they are safe," read a message on AEIN's website. Jose R. Gonzalez 11:10 a.m. Thursday: Northern Arizona winter storm warning extended The National Weather Service Flagstaff office has extended their winter storm warning for a slew of areas in northern Arizona until 8 a.m. Friday. The weather service has extended the winter storm warning due to heavy amounts of snow expected later Thursday afternoon through the night. Additional snow accumulations are listed to be between 612 inches with wind gusts of 30 to 45 mph. According to the weather service, Flagstaff could see another 12-18 inches of snow on top of the more than 6 inches that fell earlier this week, with snowfall rates in some areas that may approach 1-2 inches per hour. The extension was listed for the areas near Flagstaff, Doney Park, Forest Lakes, Fredonia, Prescott, Prescott Valley, Heber,-Overgaard, Jacob Lake, Sedona, Seligman and Williams. Snow forecasts ranging from 2 a.m. Thursday to 8 a.m. Friday shows no sign of the snow easing up. Flagstaff: 15 to 21 inches Forest Lake: 14 to 20 inches Williams: 12 to 18 inches Doney Park: 9 to 15 inches Jacob Lake: 8 to 12 inches Prescott: 7 to 11 inches Prescott Valley: 3 to 5 inches Sedona, Heber-Overgaard, Fredonia, Seligman: 2 to 4 inches The National Weather Service says to avoid travel, as it could be "difficult to impossible," with reduced visibility due to blowing snow. Kye Graves and Lacey Latch 10 a.m. Thursday: Interstate 40, northbound I-17 reopen in northern Arizona The Arizona Department of Transportation announced Thursday morning that some northern Arizona highways have reopened following overnight closures due to the winter storm-related weather. The agency also mentioned these closures may be reinstated if the weather worsens. I-17 northbound has reopened between State Route 179 and Flagstaff (mileposts 298-340). I-40 eastbound has reopened at U.S. 93 (milepost 72). I-40 westbound has reopened at Holbrook (milepost 289). State Route 89A has reopened between Sedona and Flagstaff. State Route 260 from east of Camp Verde to the State Route 87 Junction (milepost 229-252). ADOT reminded drivers to slow down and travel at reasonable and prudent speeds for winter driving. If the weather worsens, the reopened highways will likely face closure again by early evening, ADOT said, pointing to National Weather Service forecasts about blowing snow, winds and freezing temperatures. Other closed highways may reopen based on weather conditions, ADOT noted. These highway closures remain in place. State Route 87 between Winslow and Payson (mileposts 342-252). State Route 260 eastbound between McNary and Greer (mileposts 360-385). State Route 273 between State Route 260 and Sunrise Park (mileposts 377-383). U.S. 180 north of Snowbowl (mileposts 236-248). State Route 64 near the Grand Canyon (mileposts 240-264). U.S. 191 South of Alpine (milepost 188-252). Drivers traveling on other roadways this week should be prepared to spend extended time on the road in extreme winter conditions, ADOT advised.You should avoid traveling in winter weather to avoid situations where highways are impassable for long periods of time. Tracking the forecast and packing an emergency travel kit before traveling are among ADOTs safety recommendations, read a statement from the agency. Jose R. Gonzalez 8 a.m. Thursday: Northern Arizona businesses and schools close Thursday The winter storm from this week continues to impact northern Arizonans schedules as institutions and businesses Thursday changed their operations, including closing for the day. Northern Arizona University's Flagstaff campus's in-person classes were canceled for the day, according to information on the schools website."The safety of our students, faculty and staff is a priority, and we ask that everyone take care in traversing campus as the facilities crews work to keep up with the snow-clearing effort," read a statement on its website. This closure prompted the Mountain Lion bus system to operate on a weekday holiday and holiday break schedule with buses running every 20 minutes. Coconino County Community College cited heavy snowfall in closing campus. Flagstaff Unified School District has closed school for the day, as has Williams Unified schools. Humboldt and Prescott Unified School Districts are working on a two-hour early release schedule. Road conditions forced Sunrise Ski Resort to close for Tuesday, the resorts website announced, noting two Arizona Department of Transportation snow plows are stuck on Highway 273 and have struggled due to high winds. Coconino County administrative offices did open at 8 a.m. and City of Flagstaff administrative offices will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. @CoconinoCounty's Administrative Offices and Courts will open today at 8am with minimum staffing. Public Works crews report they are making progress clearing county roads, however, hazardous driving conditions remain a concern for the morning commute. Be safe and cautious today! pic.twitter.com/PmRqnik5vo Coconino County (@CoconinoCounty) February 23, 2023 Jose R. Gonzalez 7:40 a.m. Thursday: Highways remain closed in northern Arizona The Arizona Department of Transportation said the following highways were still closed as of Thursday morning: Interstate 40 eastbound between U.S. 93 and Winslow (milepost 72-252) I-40 westbound between Holbrook and U.S. 93 (milepost 289-72) S.R. 87 between Winslow and Payson (milepost 342-252) S.R. 260 in both directions from Camp Verde and Payson (milepost 220-252) S.R. 260 eastbound between Indian Pine and Greer (milepost 360-385) U.S. 180 north of Snowbowl (milepost 236-248) S.R. 89A Sedona and I-17 (milepost 375-398) I-17 northbound between S.R. 179 and Flagstaff (milepost 298-340) S.R. 64 near the Grand Canyon (milepost 240-264) U.S. 191 near Alpine (milepost 225-252) P. Kim Bui 6:20 p.m. Wednesday: Highway closures in northern Arizona remain in effect ADOT shared an updated list of highway closures still in effect. Two sections on the S.R. 260, between mileposts 220 and 302, as well as a stretch of the U.S. 60 near Show Low, were now open. The following closures were still in effect Wednesday evening: I-40 westbound between Holbrook and U.S. 93 (milepost 289-72) I-40 between U.S. 93 and the Arizona-Winslow (milepost 72-252) S.R. 87 between Winslow and Payson (milepost 342-252) S.R. 260 eastbound between Indian Pine and Greer (milepost 360-385) U.S. 180 north of Snowbowl (milepost 236-248) S.R. 89A Sedona and I-17 (milepost 375-398) I-17 between S.R. 179 and Flagstaff (milepost 298-340) S.R. 64 near the Grand Canyon (milepost 240-264) U.S. 191 near Alpine (milepost 225-252) Joanna Jacobo Rivera Not so sunny:Rare blizzard warning issued for Los Angeles area, officials say 4 p.m.: 2nd warming center opens in Coconino County A second warming center in Munds Park opened in Coconino County following extreme cold and widespread outages in the area. The following centers were open: In Coconino County : Sinagua Middle School, 3950 E. Butler Ave. in Flagstaff. In Coconino County: Munds Park Community Church, 17670 S. Munds Ranch Road in Munds Park. In Yavapai County: Humboldt Unified School District Office, 6400 Robert Road in Prescott Valley, until 7 p.m. Coconino County officials said the centers would remain open during extreme weather conditions. Joanna Jacobo Rivera Dangerous weather:More than 20 million Americans under winter storm warnings as blizzards barrel across Midwest, West 2:45 p.m.: Winter weather advisory in effect for northern Arizona The National Weather Service in Flagstaff announced a winter weather advisory on Wednesday, in effect starting at 2 p.m. until 11 a.m. Friday. Flagstaff area residents can expect to see moderate to heavy snowfall beginning on Wednesday into Friday morning. The weather service recommended residents winterize their vehicle, pack an emergency supply kit and avoid all nonessential travel during the high-impact winter storm periods. Some tips from the Arizona Department of Transportation include keeping an adequate distance from any snowplows, driving slow with slow accelerations, planning and checking routes ahead of driving and making sure your vehicle is properly prepared for snow. Joanna Jacobo Rivera 2:30 p.m.: Park service closes roads near Grand Canyon Due to the adverse weather conditions, the Grand Canyon National Parks Service announced new road closure on Wednesday afternoon. Here is the most recent update: Desert View Drive between Grand Canyon Village and the east entrance at Desert View was closed. Hermit Road from the village to Hermits was closed. The South Entrance Road to Grand Canyon Village was open. The parks service advised drivers to check recorded park road closures and reopening information by calling 928-638-7496. Andrea Morabito 1:50 p.m.: ADOT closes highways in Show Low, Holbrook ADOT announced further closures in northern Arizona on Thursday due to extreme winter weather: US 60 both directions just east of Show Low (mileposts 345-348) I-40 westbound between Holbrook and US 93 (milepost 289-72) The following closures were still in effect: I-40 between US 93 and the Arizona-Winslow (milepost 72-252) S.R. 87 between Winslow and Payson (milepost 342-252) US 180 north of Snowbowl (milepost 236-248) S.R. 260 between Indian Pine and Greer (milepost 385-360) S.R. 260 between Camp Verde and SR 87 (milepost 220-252) S.R. 260 between Star Valley and Heber-Overgaard (milepost 257-302) S.R. 89A Sedona and I-17 (milepost 375-398) I-17 between S.R. 179 and Flagstaff (milepost 298-340) S.R. 64 near the Grand Canyon (milepost 240-264) US 191 near Alpine (milepost 225-252) Joanna Jacobo Rivera 1:30 p.m.: Power outage on Mount Lemmon to continue into Thursday Trico Electric Co-op tweeted on Wednesday afternoon that a power outage on Mt. Lemmon until at least Wednesday afternoon as dangerous weather conditions prevent crews from repairing damaged electrical lines. "At that time, we will work to make necessary repairs as quickly as practical," the company said. "Please note that portions of the mountain may have power restored at different times." An Arizona Public Utility outage map showed 659 customers were without power due to a downed power pole. Power was expected to be restored by 5 p.m. Wednesday. Perry Vandell 1:15 p.m. Rain totals in Phoenix metro remain below one inch The National Weather Service in Phoenix released the waterfall reports in the region. The average rainfall across the area was 0.09 inch with 93% coverage, the weather service tweeted. Other reports include: Some areas north of Phoenix, in the foothills, measured upward of 0.5 inch to nearly an inch. Phoenix Sky Harbor received about 0.08 inch. Chandler and Mesa picked up about 0.12 inch. Scottsdale received 0.08 inch of rain. The Flood Control District of Maricopa County reported peak rainfall at 0.83 inch in Camp Creek, though most of the Valley received about 0.08-0.12 inch in the past 24 hours. Andrea Morabito Here is a look at the Phoenix area rainfall through the morning. Average across the area was 0.09" with 93% coverage. Some areas just north of the Phoenix area, north of this map, in the foothills measured upwards of 0.50-1.00". Phoenix Sky Harbor picked up 0.08". #azwx pic.twitter.com/Gegs2S7uRJ NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) February 22, 2023 1 p.m.: Warming shelters open in Yavapai, Coconino counties Because of power outages and high winds in Arizona, at least two counties have opened warming shelters. In Yavapai County: Humboldt Unified School District Office, 6400 Robert Road, Prescott Valley, until 7 p.m. In Coconino County: Sinagua Middle School, 3950 E. Butler Ave. in Flagstaff. P. Kim Bui Noon: High wind warning in southeast Pinal County; dust storm warning issued for Bowie and San Simon areas Windows rattled and trees swayed as heavy winds with strong gusts enveloped Tucson on Wednesday. Gray storm clouds covered the Santa Catalina mountains and heavy rain fell sporadically throughout the day. The National Weather Service released a wind advisory for the Tuscon area and surrounding towns, forecasting southwest winds of 30-40 mph with gusts up to 55 mph with areas of blowing dust with reduced visibilities possible. The weather service also sent out a high wind warning Wednesday through 8 p.m. warning residents in southern Arizona towns of southeast Pinal County, upper San Pedro River Valley and the Chiricahua Mountains that southwest winds would be expected to increase to 35-45 mph with gusts up to 70 mph expected. Damaging wind could blow down trees and power lines, and widespread power outages were possible. A dust storm warning was in effect until 2:15 p.m. for the areas of Interstate 10 near Bowie and San Simon. Wind gusts of 50-60 mph area would limit visibility in the area. A Dust Storm Warning is in effect for the San Simon & Bowie areas along I-10 until 215 PM. A wind gust to 70 mph just occurred at San Simon on I-10. If encountering dense blowing dust, Pull Aside Stay Alive. #azwx pic.twitter.com/hpz6R8BAKS NWS Tucson (@NWSTucson) February 22, 2023 Sarah Lapidus 11:20 a.m.: State Route 77 added to list of ADOT highway closures The Arizona Department of Transportation announced it was also closing S.R. 77 south of Globe, from milepost 159 to 170. The following closures, announced overnight, remain in effect: I-40 between US 93 and the Arizona-Winslow (milepost 72-252) S.R. 87 between Winslow and Payson (milepost 342-252) US 180 north of Snowbowl (milepost 236-248) S.R. 260 between Indian Pine and Greer (milepost 385-360) S.R. 260 between Camp Verde and SR 87 (milepost 220-252) S.R. 260 between Star Valley and Heber-Overgaard (milepost 257-302) S.R. 89A Sedona and I-17 (milepost 375-398) I-17 between S.R. 179 and Flagstaff (milepost 298-340) S.R. 64 near the Grand Canyon (milepost 240-264) US 191 near Alpine (milepost 225-252) Andrea Morabito 10:50 a.m. Northern Arizona University, others cancel classes and services In anticipation of the storm, NAU announced Tuesday night they would cancel Wednesdays classes and closed campus, a move that was soon followed by Flagstaff Unified School District and Coconino Community College. Nearby school districts in Williams and Grand Canyon similarly announced closures for Wednesday. Down in Prescott Valley, Yavapai College and Humboldt Unified School Districts also closed while Prescott public schools had a two-hour delay. Flagstaff also decided Tuesday night to suspend all non-essential services until the weather improves, including trash collection. Due to inclement weather conditions and limited accessibility, the City of Flagstaffs Solid Waste section has temporarily suspended residential trash and recycling collection services as of Wednesday, Feb. 22. pic.twitter.com/HCqOzGBwPL City of Flagstaff (@CityofFlagstaff) February 22, 2023 Businesses, including the Flagstaff Mall, and medical centers began announcing closures Wednesday morning. North Country HealthCare closed their offices in Show Low and Flagstaff and will have minimal staffing in Williams and Grand Canyon due to the weather and related power outages. The provider also closed their pediatric care unit, specialty clinics and suspended operation of the mobile medical unit. Poor driving conditions and limited visibility have also forced Flagstaff's bus system to operate on a modified schedule. 10:15 a.m. update: This alert has expired and buses are currently running on weekend frequency with a weekday span of service. Snow day schedules at: https://t.co/0jFCQUWVgT Mountain Line (@FLGMountainLine) February 22, 2023 Lacey Latch 10:30 a.m.: Wind speed in northern Arizona tops 88 mph The National Weather Service in Flagstaff released high wind reports in the region. The highest report was 88 mph at Sunset Point, registered at 6:53 a.m. Other high wind reports include: Humbug Creek in Yavapai County: 72 mph at 6:48 a.m. Limestone Canyon in Navajo County: 70 mph at 7:24 a.m. Interstate 40 at Pine Springs (mile marker 159) in Coconino County: 78 mph at 7:03 a.m. Flagstaff Airport in Coconino County: 74 mph at 5:14 a.m. State Route 260 at Mile post 378 in Apache County: 70 mph at 8:03 a.m. P. Kim Bui 9:50 a.m.: Up to 6 inches of snow in Flagstaff area High winds began moving in across northern Arizona overnight and Flagstaff residents woke up to another 3 to 6 inches of snow throughout the city.Driving conditions are poor at best across much of the high country where drivers have been met with extensive road closures, including long stretches of Interstate 17 and Interstate 40, due to poor road conditions and limited visibility. In Flagstaff, despite the work of round-the-clock plows, poor driving conditions have also prompted the suspension of Flagstaffs Mountain Line bus route on Wednesday morning. Winds are slowly decreasing at this time in the Flagstaff area, now gusting 35-50mph. Snow reports in the area around 3-6" at this time. #azwx NWS Flagstaff (@NWSFlagstaff) February 22, 2023 In anticipation of the storm on Tuesday night, NAU canceled Wednesdays classes, a move that was soon followed by Flagstaff Unified School District and Coconino Community College. Flagstaff also suspended all non-essential services until the weather improves. Lacey Latch 9:15 a.m.: Winds, dangerous driving conditions forecast for Phoenix area A strong cold front is moving through the state quickly, with thunder and rain now focused in Superior. The front will bring small hail and wind gusts over 40 mph to the Miami-Globe area within the next 15-20 minutes, according to the National Weather Service Phoenix. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued and expired at 7:45 a.m. as a cold front pushing through the state generated rain showers, lightning strikes, hail and wind gusts between 25-35 mph across most of metro Phoenix. Winds reached up to 60 mph in the Tonto Basin, Tortilla Flat and Roosevelt area, according to the weather service. The weather service was warning of dangerous driving conditions for all vehicle as the gusty winds continue through morning rush hour. Blowing dust will make visibility particularly bad for drivers on north and south-oriented roads. With these winds will come the potential for blowing dust, especially in dust-prone areas, which will make travel dangerous due to reduced visibilities, said National Weather Service Phoenix in a forecast discussion. Impacts across the area will also include light unsecured objects being blown around while areas that see the strongest winds are more likely to have power outages and property damage, according to National Weather Service Phoenix. The weather service recommends residents anchor temporary structures and secure loose outdoor items that could be blown away by the winds. Downed tree branches are another hazard residents should be aware of. High winds will remain in effect across south-central Arizona and metro Phoenix throughout the afternoon and early evening as the cold front continues to pass through the state, said National Weather Service Phoenix. Thunderstorm chances will be low but light showers and the a few lightning strikes will persist throughout the day. Sydney Carruth 8:30 a.m.: More than 60 flights canceled at Sky Harbor According to the FAA, a ground stop or delays are possible at Sky Harbor Airport until 9 a.m., with other airports nationwide, like Denver and LaGuardia, experiencing more than 30-minute delays. Sky Harbor lists 63 flights as canceled from Wednesday through Thursday morning, with nearly 30 delayed until late Wednesday morning or early afternoon. More than 1,200 delays into or out of the United States were noted by the flight tracking site, FlightAware, and nearly 2,000 cancellations Wednesday so far. Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport was the most impacted by the storm. Weather:Wind from Winter Storm Olive could disrupt flights in Phoenix. What flyers should know P. Kim Bui 8:15 a.m.: Power outages strike thousands in Arizona More than 5,700 homes were without power Wednesday morning in metro Phoenix, as well as 10,000 homes affected in Flagstaff and the northern part of the state with electric companies attributing the weather as a cause. There are 2,653 homes impacted in northeast Phoenix and 919 in southwest Phoenix. There are also 1,057 without power in Scottsdale and 977 affected in South Mountain Reserve Park. There are also about another 140 in west and northwest Phoenix without power, according to SRP. In Flagstaff, 9,490 homes were without power. While there were 3,138 homes affected in Show Low, according to APS. Jose Gonzalez 7:15 a.m.: Northern Arizona highways closed due to extreme winter weather The Arizona Department of Transportation on Wednesday morning announced that the following highways are closed due to extreme winter weather: I-40 between US 93 and the Arizona-New Mexico state line (MP 72-359) SR 87 between Winslow and Payson (MP 342-252) US 180 north of Snowbowl (MP 236-248) SR 260 between Indian Pine and Greer (MP 385-360) SR 260 between Camp Verde and SR 87 (MP 220-252) SR 89A Sedona and I-17 (MP 375-398) I-17 between SR 179 and Flagstaff (298-340) SR 64 near the Grand Canyon (MP 240-264) US 191 near Alpine (MP 225-252) Additional closures may become necessary if weather conditions continue to deteriorate, according to ADOT. UPDATE: The following highways are closed due to extreme weather. ADOT strongly advises against traveling during the current winter storm warning. #aztraffic #azwx pic.twitter.com/KgyrjnVmvB Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) February 22, 2023 Weather service: 'A broad scale big wind event' According to the National Weather Service Phoenix office, peak gusts in the Phoenix area could reach as much as 55 mph with more mountainous areas, such as Prescott, climbing north of 70 mph. "The mountains certainly could be seeing 60-70 mph winds pretty easily," National Weather Service Phoenix office meteorologist Paul Iniguez told The Arizona Republic. Thankfully, strong winds do not mean tornadoes. "This is a broad scale big wind event so probably when some of the strongest gusts are happening is just going to be where the system is, so we're not really anticipating any tornadic threat with this," Iniguez said. The Arizona Department of Transportation recommended drivers: Pull off the road. Turn off the lights. Set the emergency brake. Remove foot from the brake. Remain buckled. Wait for the storm to pass. Kye Graves This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona storm updates: Live coverage from across the state EXCLUSIVE: Australian outfit Bronte Pictures is lining up musical feature film 1978, written by Pete McTighe, whose credits include Doctor Who, A Discovery of Witches, The Rising and The Pact. The screenplay will take in the key narrative moments in the birth of Sydneys gay and lesbian Mardi Gras and reimagines them in musical form. More from Deadline Set in the heart of Kings Cross, the film explores the now infamous riots, community response and the internal conflict within the community leading up to the first Mardi Gras parade. The project is described to us as a coming-of-age love story set gainst the backdrop of what would become a major civil rights milestone. Attracting 500,000 people each year, Sydney Mardi Gras has the largest Pride event in Oceania. Producers are aiming to shoot in Australia in early 2024. Conversations are underway with key creatives. Writer-exec producer McTighe is best known for writing multiple episodes of Doctor Who (including episode Kerblam! pictured above), Sky Originals A Discovery of Witches and The Rising and BBC and AMC+ drama The Pact, on which he was writer/creator/showrunner. He was also the originating writer of prison drama Wentworth, which screened internationally on Foxtel in Australia and internationally on Netflix for nine seasons. Bronte Pictures current slate comprises multiple film and TV series in different stages of production, including The Greatest Surf Movie In The Universe which is set to star Luke Hemsworth (Westworld), and eleven-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater (Baywatch). Previous movies include Wyrmwood: Apocalypse. Managing Director of Bronte Pictures, Blake Northfield, said of 1978: This film has been in the works for quite some time. Its something so special and a film we are so proud to be producing. Pete has penned an incredibly moving screenplay and its a privilege to be working with him on this. Story continues McTighe added: What a project to be a part of! Most of us in the LGBTQ+ community are very aware that the freedom we enjoy in Australia today was forged in the fires of conflict, decades ago, by those brave enough to march the streets and fight for our rights. This film is a love letter to a turbulent time in our political history, celebrating the people who changed our society for the better. With dancing! Its a story of romance born amid the conflict, a message of hope and joy that we hope will resonate with audiences all across the world. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. jason-rapert.jpg jason-rapert - Credit: Photograph in composite by Danny Johnston/AP Jason Rapert has likened himself to an Old Testament seer, conveying hard truths on behalf of an angry God. On his broadcast Save the Nation, the 50-year-old preacher and former Arkansas state senator calls himself a proud Christian Nationalist, insisting: I reject that being a Christian Nationalist is somehow unseemly or wrong. Long a shadowy force in American politics, Christian Nationalism is having a coming out party. The movement seeks a fusion of fundamentalist theology with American civic life. They believe that this country was founded for Christians like them, generally natural-born citizens and white, says Andrew Whitehead, author of Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States. Whitehead emphasizes that the danger of Christian Nationalism to democracy is that the movement sees no room for compromise their vision must be the one that comes to pass. More from Rolling Stone Thanks to Rapert, the Christian Nationalist movement now commands a burgeoning political powerhouse, the National Association of Christian Lawmakers. A first-of-its-kind organization in U.S. history, NACL advances biblical legislation in Americas statehouses. These bills are not mere stunts or messaging. Theyre dark, freedom-limiting bills that, in some cases, have become law. NACLs impact has already been felt nationally. The group played a significant role in the legal fight that culminated in the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. NACL member Bryan Hughes, who serves in the Texas legislature, led passage of S.B. 8, the bounty-hunter bill that all-but outlawed abortion in Texas by allowing private citizens to sue women who terminate pregnancies after six weeks, and their doctors, in civil court. By the time that bill passed in Texas in Sept. 2021, it had been adopted by NACL as model legislation. The reproductive-rights group NARAL later tracked copycat legislation in more than a dozen states. Rapert takes substantial credit for that spread: NACL was the first and only para-legislative organization in the country to adopt the Texas methodology as a model law, he tells Rolling Stone, and we promoted it to be passed in every state. Story continues The NACL logo is a crusaders shield: red emblazoned with a white cross. Rapert says the red represents the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross as a sacrifice for the salvation of all humanity. The emblem, he says, is meant to evoke the biblical shield of faith that promises to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Yet far from the defensive posture suggested by its shield, NACL is unabashedly on the offense. Rapert brags that NACL is at the forefront of the battles to end abortion in the individual states and also seeks to drive queer Americans back into the closet. For far too long, Rapert insists, we have allowed one political party in our nation to hold up Sodom and Gomorrah as a goal to be achieved rather than a sin to be shunned. Today, NACL has legislative members in 31 states, and touts a dozen model laws that its members can introduce in legislative bodies around the country. NACL previously made four of its model laws public including the Texas-style anti-abortion bill and a bill to mandate the display of In God We Trust in public buildings. Rapert would not share NACLs current legislative lineup, though he promised the groups website would soon be updated with its model bills posted for public viewing. Meantime, Rapert shared that NACLs top priorities include the fight to block radical LGBTQ indoctrination in our public schools and to halt radical transgender ideology and irreversible genital mutilation of minor children. With a national agenda and a state-by-state focus, NACL is emulating the American Legislative Exchange Council. An infamous corporate front group, ALEC pioneered the strategy of pushing for national political goals by advancing carbon-copy bills through state legislatures. But where ALEC serves far-right billionaire masters and polluting special interests, NACL sees itself as serving the Lord on high. Rapert has touted NACL as basically ALEC from a biblical worldview. Founded in Aug. 2020, NACL is tied to top Christian spiritual and political leaders. The groups advisory board includes onetime presidential candidate Mike Huckabee the former governor of Arkansas and father of the new governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, and Mat Staver, president of Liberty Counsel. (Liberty Counsel is a frequent litigant before the Supreme Court; the head of its ministry, Rolling Stone exposed, bragged of praying with SCOTUS justices.) Rapert declares that America was founded as a Judeo-Christian nation. And he believes that from the moment the founding fathers dedicated this nation to God that Satan and his forces [have] put a target on the United States of America, trying to take us out. Rapert sees America embroiled in a spiritual struggle that is predicted and prophesied in the 66 books of the bible. He rails against the separation of church and state as a myth, and insists that Americas struggles with debt and division are the result of straying from a Godly path. To regain heavenly favor, he says, the country must free itself from the yoke of bondage [to] the LGBTQ movementand the abortion movement. Typical of Raperts political views, in December, NACL called on Congress to reject the Respect for Marriage Act, which now requires all states honor the marriage licenses of same-sex couples. Rapert condemned the act as Satan dressed up as a family man arguing the law demands respect for every kind of marriage except the only acceptable one the sacred union of one man and one woman. Rapert accuses the current administration of using the reigns of government to drive our nation into unrighteousness. And he levies a warning for the White House: Im telling you Joe Biden, you cannot keep mocking God and expecting there not to be a consequence. There will be a consequence. Theologically, Rapert is a dominionist, who believes that Christians are charged by God to remake the world according to Old Testament mandates. God told us to go out there, fill the Earth subdue it and have dominion over everything, he said on a recent episode of his broadcast. The reason this country is struggling is because the Christians in America have failed to take authority. To join NACL, legislators must agree to a statement of faith that anchors them on the fundamentalist fringe. It calls the bible the supreme and final authority and proclaims belief in the imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as well as the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust and the everlasting conscious punishment of the latter. NACL legislators must also agree to a mission statement that inveighs against the spiritual decay of our culture (including churches). It blasts the aggression of atheists and anti-Christian groups and it blames these godless entities for trampling on the Christian liberty we have enjoyed in this country for centuries. Despite this decried downfall, it proposes that the fervent prayer and action of the Christian remnant in America can make a positive difference. As a matter of policy, NACL members must pledge to uphold the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception to natural death; to define marriage as the sacred union exclusively between one man and one woman; and to oppose unhealthy influences such as alcohol abuse, drug addiction, pornography, prostitution, violence, gambling and crime. Ironically, NACLs website is Powered by GoDaddy, a web service firm that sells .sex and .porn domains. NACL is a natural outgrowth of Raperts own history as a member of the Arkansas state Senate from 2011 until he retired this year, due to term limits. Rapert has a nose for controversy and intolerance. At the beginning of his career, he was caught on tape ranting that then-President Obama didnt represent the country that I grew up with and vowing to his constituents: Were not going to let minorities run roughshod over what you people believe in. (Today, Rapert insists that NACL stands publicly against racism and antisemitism.) In 2013, Rapert spearheaded passage of what was then the nations first heartbeat anti-abortion legislation, prohibiting the procedure after fetal cardiac activity is detectable. (That law was ruled unconstitutional). In 2015, Rapert successfully got a revolutionary war banner, featuring a pine tree and the words An Appeal to Heaven, raised over the state Capitol in Little Rock. The flag-raising was nominally an homage to George Washington. But the Appeal To Heaven banners revolutionary and Godly sentiment have been adopted by Christian Nationalists who believe a Christian America is fated to remake the world, biblically, in advance of Jesus Second Coming. Taking a page out of Roy Moores handbook, in 2017 Rapert passed a bill to install a 10 Commandments monument at the state Capitol in Little Rock. (The monument was almost immediately destroyed by a vandal driving a Dodge Dart, but later rebuilt.) Last year, Rapert settled a related legal case, after being sued for blocking atheist constituents on his official social media accounts. The June 2022 Supreme Court decision Dobbs legalized direct limits on reproductive freedom. That decision, in turn, activated previously-passed, state-level legislation known as trigger laws. These bills specified that if Roe were to fall, abortions would immediately be banned. The lead sponsor of the trigger law in Arkansas was one Jason Rapert, and he brags: Now the Little Rock surgical abortion clinic has completely shut down. Rapert founded NACL because, he believes ungodly leaders have led to ungodly results. He calls his organization the strongest force for good this nation has seen since the American Revolution. Even the groups acronym is biblical: NaCl is the chemical composition for salt. It is meant as an allusion to the biblical instruction that Christians should act as the salt and the light to preserve and purify holiness on Earth. To Rolling Stone, Rapert insists: I am simply a child of God who understands that Psalm 33:12 says, Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. In a sign that NACL is not just targeting state legislatures, but also governors mansions, a top member of the groups governing board, Hunter Lundy, recently launched his bid to become the governor of Louisiana, promising to be a fighter for Faith, Family and Freedom. (Lundy, in a legitimate excuse for a man from Southern Louisiana, was unavailable to be interviewed due to Mardi Gras.) Apart from his leadership of NACL, Rapert has recently made waves seeking friends in high places and even on the high court. During a recent trip to Tallahassee, Rapert visited with Florida state legislators and left a a hand-written note on the desk of Ron DeSantis, telling the GOP governor, Were proud of your stand for God and Country. (Rapert later praised DeSantis as one of the best governors in America, calling him a Proven leader with a Backbone of steel.) While in Florida, Rapert also bragged about meeting Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Rapert said he approached the justice after a dinner meeting, saying he shook his hand and told the conservative justice we have been praying for them before telling Roberts about the National Association of Christian lawmakers and handing the justice our NACL card. (A spokesperson for Roberts has described the encounter as a passing greeting of a stranger.) Rapert is a paradoxical figure, a man who wraps himself in language of Christian love while preaching a doctrine that sounds a lot like hate. Rapert calls gay marriage a stench in the nostrils of God. He sees the growing rights of trans Americans, whom he calls the transgenders, as a mortal threat: Now is the time to fight to save the country, hes said. Do you think that America is going to be free with a bunch of drag queens running this place? On Twitter, Rapert often seems possessed of the Trolly, rather than the Holy, Spirit. Last week he praised a headline-making exchange in the Arkansas legislature, where a GOP senator demanded that a trans witness identify the makeup of her genitals before the body: You said that youre a trans woman, the legislator asked. A trans female, yes sir, replied the witness. The senator then probed, to horrified gasps in the room: Do you have a penis? Rapert was equal parts pleased and amused. The Arkansas Senate is in good hands! he tweeted, offering congratulations to his former colleague for refusing to play the crazy LGBTQ games and demanding truth. The head of NACL added, for good measure: It was a fair question! Best of Rolling Stone Click here to read the full article. Controversial social media influencer Andrew Tates detention in Romania on suspicion of organized crime and human trafficking has been extended by another 30 days by a court in Bucharest. Tate, 36, was initially arrested on Dec. 29 alongside his brother, Tristan, and two Romanian women after authorities descended on his Bucharest property, the Associated Press reported. None of the four has been formally charged as of yet. The two women will be put under house arrest while the Tate brothers have been ordered held for the third 30-day extension since their arrest, according to Ramona Bolla, spokesperson for Romanias anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT. Bolla noted that if prosecutors can prove that Tate earned a profit from human trafficking, the assets could be used to cover the expenses of the investigation and compensate the victims, according to previous Associated Press reporting. RELATED: Mother And Her Son Murdered Her Husband As He Slept In Bed Over $1,500 Debt The court cited the particular dangerousness of the defendants, who had a history of identifying victims with an increased vulnerability, in search of better life opportunities, as basis for the decision to keep them in custody, the AP noted. Andrew Tate arrives to court Andrew Tate arrives handcuffed and escorted by police at a courthouse in Bucharest on February 1, 2023. Photo: Getty Images The Tate brothers appealed a judges Jan. 20 decision to keep them behind bars throughout the investigation, but that was denied on Feb. 1. Before Tuesdays ruling, their lawyer, Eugen Vidineac, told journalists that they intended to fight any potential 30-day extensions. Since the December arrest, Romanias anti-organized crime agency has identified six alleged victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation by members of Tates group. A police handout of Chester Weger Romanian prosecutors have accused the Tates of seducing victims under the false pretenses of a relationship, coercing them into producing and posting pornographic content. Story continues Tate gained a large following on social media by boasting about this content and marketing himself as a self-declared misogynist. A history of posts containing hate speech have resulted in the influencer's ban from several social media platforms. Tate continues to voice his opinion his case through Twitter, on which he has more than 5 million followers. On Monday, one day before the decision of his 30-day extension, Tate tweeted My enemies lie about me in a desperate bid to slander my name. Oxy App The testimony of the six women accusing the Tate brothers of sex crimes will likely play an integral role in the investigation, though Tate recently threatened legal action against a woman that accused him of rape and human trafficking, according to the New York Post. Both Tate brothers are represented by a United States law firm that allegedly sent a cease-and-desist letter to the womans lawyer in December, threatening to pursue a $300 million lawsuit if the accusations were not rescinded. [It] was intended to shut down the witness; stop the witness from bringing testimony forward in any proceedings noted Benjamin Bull, the lawyer of the letter's recipient. The Tate brothers and their lawyers deny the letter was sent as a means of intimidation. Dom Dolla and MK | Photo supplied Dom Dolla and American DJ Marc Kinchen (aka MK) will release their viral hit Rhyme Dust this Friday, 24th February. The producers began road-testing the track which prominently samples Q-Tips 1999 solo single Breathe and Stop back in July 2022. In November, it featured during Doms 90-minute Selected Sessions set, filmed on the roof of a high rise apartment in Belgrade, Serbia. Since then, demand for the track to be released has soared. A video posted by Dom with a snippet of the track has been viewed more than 3.2 million times, and more than 7000 videos have been made using the sound on TikTok. Listen to a Snippet of Rhyme Dust Below Last week, in a video shared on TikTok, Dom explained how fan demand on social media had pushed up the release schedule for Rhyme Dust. TikTok is a very interesting place and it is changing the landscape for IDs and DJ culture, the Australian DJ and producer said. We used to post stuff online to see if people liked it and if people like it you wrap it up, you finished it and you released it. The producer explained that Rhyme Dust was a demo he and MK had planned to release in mid-2023, but after posting it to TikTok to see what the vibe was, fans ran away with it and posted it again and again and again. All of a sudden the amount of hype and demand for the record to be released immediately was intense, he said. It was Christmas time, the record label was closed, everyone had gone home to see their families, me and MK are touring, respectively on different sides of the planet. Not only that, we had a bunch of releases planned for 2023. MK and I have our own individual songs. Weve got collaborations with people, remixes, all that sort of stuff We basically had to go back and re-negotiate our release schedules. Rhyme Dust will mark Doms first release for the year. In 2022, he released the Clementine Douglas-assisted Miracle Maker, which landed at 37 on triple js Hottest 100 of 2022. In November, he shared an official remix of Gorillaz Tame Impala and Bootie Brown collab New Gold. Story continues Further Reading Beyond the Valley 2022/23 Review An All-Star Lineup and a Logistical Learning Curve Kota Banks Decries Experiment by TikTok: It Puts Artists at a Disadvantage Marc MK Kinchen On Headlining Harbourlife, Working With Idris Elba & The Evolution Of House The post Dom Dolla and MK Are Releasing Viral Hit Rhyme Dust This Week appeared first on Music Feeds. President Kristina Johnson leads the Ohio State University spring commencement ceremony held May 9, 2021, in Ohio Stadium. James H. Finkelstein is professor emeritus of public policy at George Mason University and holds both a master's degree and Ph.D. from Ohio State University. Judith Wilde is research professor of public policy in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. Questions and speculation continue to surround the sudden and unexpected resignation of Kristina Johnson as president of Ohio State University. Recent articles in "Columbus Monthly" and the "Columbus Dispatch" offer a range of opinions and theories. However, both the university and Johnson have remained steadfastly silent on what led to her leaving the presidency just halfway through her term. Letters: Lex Wexner sent 'flying monkeys' after Ohio State President Kristina Johnson We've been studying the contracts of public university presidents for well over a decade. We've collected approximately 300 contracts from a wide range of universities, including most of the public flagship universities and public members of the prestigious American Association of Universities. What's in Ohio State President Kristina Johnson's contract? Johnson's contract is, in most regards, typical of what we've seen for other major public research universities a nearly $1 million base salary, eligibility for a substantial performance bonus, moving expenses, housing, deferred compensation, club memberships, a sabbatical, and a tenured faculty position. Judith Wilde is research professor of public policy in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. She also had some unusual benefits including an annual $85,000 "fringe benefit allowance," a $50,000 "research support fund," and a somewhat complex "split dollar life insurance benefit." Columbus Monthly:The Dazzling Rise and Stunning Fall of Ohio State University President Kristina Johnson What could have happened if Johnson were fired? Over the years, one of the most important trends we've noticed is the increased sophistication of termination clauses, especially those regarding termination without cause. In her Bricker Hall office, Ohio State University president Kristina Johnson works at a makeshift workstation on a conference table as paperwork is piled on her desk. Johnson's contract provided two scenarios. The first was that she could receive her base salary, just more than $925,000, for one year if she left the university completely. Story continues If she decided to stay at the university, the contract allowed her to return to the college of engineering as a tenured full professor for at least three years, with an annual salary equal to the highest-paid faculty member in the college. After that, the dean of the college would determine her salary. As of this past September, her annual faculty salary would have been $458,870. If she were to work for half of her remaining life expectancy, almost 16 years, without any raises and excluding the value of fringe benefits, she would receive nearly $3.7 million. What does Johnson's contract say about resignations? However, based on all reports in the media, Johnson was not terminated without cause. Rather, everything we read stated that she resigned. Curiously, her contract does not include any language regarding resignation prior to the end of her term an omission that would not be considered best practice. More:What did expensive search net Ohio State? A 'failed presidency,' experts say Is there an exit agreement? We don't know if Johnson simply went off the payroll as of the effective date for her resignation or if she entered into what we have called an "exit agreement." Exit agreements are either an amendment to the original employment contract or an entirely new agreement that define the terms of separation. In our research, we've found that many of these exit agreements provide substantially greater remuneration than would have been provided under the original contract. At Auburn University, a former president was paid $4.5 million to leave after just 17 months of a 5-year contract. Most often universities enter into these agreements in order to avoid potential litigation and/or to avoid prolonged negative publicity and the associated reputational harm. Like the original contracts for public university presidents, these agreements are typically public documents, although many times we, as well as journalists, have to make freedom of information requests to obtain them. As an example, the recent trustee's agenda at Illinois State University included the terms of the presidents exit agreement. We have no idea if there is such an agreement between Ohio State and Dr. Johnson. But in our experience, we think there could be. Is Ohio State hiding something? In fact, when the Columbus Dispatch filed a freedom of information request for "Any other contracts or agreements between The University and President Johnson related to the cessation or separation of her employment from The University the reply they received was, "To the extent any other responsive records to your request exist, they are protected from release by the attorney-client privilege and/or attorney work product." Neither of us is an attorney. But we have considerable experience with such requests, having made hundreds of these as part of our research. OSU's Kristina Johnson: 'I wont apologize for pushing us all to achieve' levels deserved We've never come across a case where an employment agreement has been protected by attorney-client privilege or considered to be an attorney work product. This response makes us wonder whether Ohio State is hiding something. Higher education is facing a crisis of public confidence across the country. Many no longer see a college degree as the path to financial security. Student debt has spiraled out of control. Administrative bloat is well documented. Many don't see universities as accountable and view faculty as members of the privileged elite. Secrecy is antithetical to the values of universities where the open exchange of ideas and the sharing of knowledge have long traditions. But it may well be that the reasons for Kristina Johnson's early departure may never be known. Even though she was likely the highest paid public chief executive in Ohio, Johnson should be entitled to privacy if her reasons for leaving were entirely personal. However, if Ohio State is requiring Johnson to remain silent in exchange for some consideration, as is the case at Illinois State, then we believe that the public has a right to know the terms of any such agreement, even if the funds were provided by a third party on behalf of the university's interests. For the university to refuse to confirm or deny that there is such an agreement only fuels distrust and diminishes this great university. James H. Finkelstein is professor emeritus of public policy at George Mason University and holds both a master's degree and Ph.D. from Ohio State University. Judith Wilde is research professor of public policy in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Is Ohio State hiding something about Kristina Johnson's resignation? A family of nine escaped from a huge blaze that destroyed their home in North Carolina. (Twitter/RowanCounty990) A family of nine escaped from a huge blaze that destroyed their home in North Carolina. Homeowners Doug and Heather Bowers and their seven children, who are aged between three months and 16 years old, were all uninjured by the fire in the states Rowan County. Firefighters arrived at the scene at around 5am, but the flames spread quickly through the three-floor property and destroyed it. Very quick and it could not be stopped, Mr Bowers told WBTV. He told the channel that his children had been taught to grab the battle buddy they share a bedroom with and to get out of the house quickly in case of an emergency. The boys had been trained since our first home, meet up at the playground, he said. Dont worry about anything else grab the brother thats in your room, your battle buddy, go to the playground. Thats what they did, grabbed their brothers, went to the playground. A family of nine escaped from a huge blaze that destroyed their home in North Carolina. (WBTV) The family says it took them six minutes from the moment the alarm went off until they were gathered outside watching their house go up in flames. The fire may have been caused by an electrical issue with an HVAC unit, according to Mr Bowers. All nine members of the family are now staying with relatives. Beyond the festival element of Series Mania, one major draw for international industry professionals is its industry strand, Series Mania Forum, which runs from March 21-23. The popular event, which largely centers around its Co-Pro Pitching Sessions, panels and conferences, nicely wraps up with its Lille Dialogues one-day summit on March 23. This year, the Forum is expecting delegates from Europe, North America, South America and Asia to touch down with a number of top industry execs set to speak. Notably, HBOs Casey Bloys, will be doing an In Conversation keynote speech during the Lille Dialogues titled How HBO and HBO Max Are Diving into The Future. More from Deadline The theme for this years Lille Dialogues is Shaping the Future with the Audiovisual Sector and additional speakers at the summit include: Beta Group CEO Jan Mojto; Prime Videos Head of Local Originals James Farrell; Sky Studios CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz; France Televisions CEO Delphine Emotte Cunci; and an In Conversation with TF1s Rodolphe Belmer. (Belmer is the former President of Series Mania, who was replaced this year by Anne Bouverot). We want to address the bigger issues about the industry as a whole and the challenges in the media and how to adapt, says Series Mania Forum head Francesco Capurro, who notes this is a strand of the event that keeps getting bigger and bigger. Its great that we continue to be able to attract some of the most important names in the business to come and speak each year. Francesco Capurro The Forums popular Co-Pro Pitching Sessions will continue to lure in industry professionals as well. This year, Series Mania received 460 applications from 66 countries, of which 15 were selected to get a chance to pitch their projects in front of a panel of potential financiers: broadcasters, distributors, producers as well as public and private funds. Story continues We have had more and more projects from outside Europe, says Capurro. And an increasing number from Africa such as Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal, which is very encouraging, as well as from other major markets like Canada, Turkey and Taiwan. Projects include a fiction series dubbed Asma, which is a biopic of Syrian dictator Asma Al Assad, war project Unspoken, which chronicles a man who drives from Poland to Kiev to save his wife and children at the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, and a coming-of-age drama about the Bronte sisters from The Fall exec Patrick Irwin. This year, Series Mania has received a record number of industry applications but, says Series Mania general director Laurence Herszberg, the festival is capping the number at 3,800 attendees. I want people to enjoy it and make the most of their time here, she says. I dont want it to feel overwhelming. For her, its important to keep a somewhat intimate event where delegates can meet people freely. I want people to come because they know that Series Mania can be a place where they can feel they are a step forward. Capurro agrees, adding, We want to keep it cool. I think with the Forum being a part of the festival adds something to this atmosphere and also, because we are focused on the development side of things, lots of producers and screenwriters attend the event. Many of these attendees, he notes, are also from the Series Mania Institute, a school which offers writers residencies and classes throughout the year and is solely focused on writing for series. People make good connections here, says Herszberg. Were not a market and we dont close our business lounge, so we are open to everyone. I think the reason for our success, if I have to analyze it, is that we are open to any idea and needs from the industry. And sometimes we understand, just by listening to our delegates, how we can be a part of the solution. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. The Palm Beach art dealer Daniel Elie Bouaziz pleaded guilty yesterday to selling a counterfeit artwork by Andy Warhol, according to recent court filings. In the spring of 2022, special agent Marc A. Gervasi, of the FBIs Art Crime Team, submitted a complaint to the Southern Florida District Court outlining the findings of his investigation into the dealings of Bouaziz. Gervasi suspected Bouaziz of selling faked works by artists such as Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring and Banksy out of his two Palm Beach galleries, Danieli Fine Art and Galerie Danieli, to at least six people. More from Robb Report During the course of the investigation, law enforcement officials went undercover and bought a fake work from Bouaziz for $25,000, a Superman print. During the deal, Bouaziz allegedly told the undercover agent, This is very rare . . . He like a hundred of Superman, a hundred of them. This is, this is one of [sic] to me, this is one of the good ones. You know, thats a beauty. Its a small number. Its really good. The back of the print had a stamp from the Carnegie Museum of Art; Bouaziz allegedly put it there to make the work look more authentic. Gervasi said he checked with the Andy Warhol Foundation and Carnegie Museum and found that the museum was not authorized to produce and distribute Superman edition prints and had apparently not done so. Gervasi and undercover agents continued to buy works from Bouaziz. Each time, Bouaziz allegedly provided proof of their authenticity and promised the undercover agents were getting good prices. Bouaziz often claimed to have sourced work from a German millionaire living in Peru or from reputable galleries and auction houses. Story continues Each time, Gervasi and the undercover agents would document the pieces and their attendant provenance documents and find that they were faked. In their final sting, in late 2021, the Art Crime team agreed to purchase a collection of works by Basquiat, Haring, Banksy and Georgia OKeeffe for $22 million. The team gave Bouaziz a downpayment in Bitcoin. Included in this collection was a work by Basquiat that Bouaziz was selling for $12 million. Gervasi found that Bouaziz had sourced that exact work from an auction website for $495. The FBI did not observe a single transaction in those accounts in which Bouaziz or his galleries purchased high-value artwork commensurate with the artwork Bouaziz sold to victims as original pieces, wrote Gervasi in his complaint. Bouaziz purchased low-cost reproductions from online auction sites that he then resold to unsuspecting victims, as originals, at drastically increased prices. Further complicating matters is the fact that Bouaziz is in America on a B-2 visa, or a tourist visa, which means he is not allowed to operate a business in the US. Yesterday, Bouaziz pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering, referencing a sale of counterfeit Warhol works to an unnamed victim. Bouaziz received a down payment of $200,000, which he then wired to other accounts. The court agreed to drop 16 other counts. Bouaziz will be sentenced on May 30. Best of Robb Report Sign up for Robb Report's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. The post Harvey Weinstein Guaranteed to Spend Rest of Life in Prison appeared first on Consequence. A Los Angeles judge has effectively guaranteed that Harvey Weinstein will never be a free man again. On Thursday, February 23rd, the disgraced Hollywood mogul was sentenced to 16 years in jail for three counts of rape and sexual assault. That 16 years gets added to Weinsteins previous sentence from 2020, in which he was given 23 years by a New York court Weinstein is currently 70 years old, and will turn 71 in March. Weinsteins conviction Thursday was in connection to the 2013 rape and assault of a European model known as Jane Doe #1. However, over 100 women have stepped up in recent years to testify to his behavior as one of the most powerful producers working in film and television. That career ended in the fall of 2017, when explosive exposes in the press revealed Weinsteins pattern of abuse and assault going back decades. Thursdays sentencing is just the latest chapter in this legal drama, though, as Weinsteins attorneys continue to appeal his previous conviction the New York Court of Appeals, the states highest court, granted Weinstein leave to appeal in August 2022, which could lead to the court holding up the original verdict or ordering a new trial. Should that appeal go in Weinsteins favor, he would not be the first accused sexual predator to become free after a prior conviction: In 2021, Bill Cosby was released from prison when his conviction was vacated by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. If Weinsteins convictions do hold up, however, his cumulative sentences mean he would remain in jail until 2059, at which point he would be 107 years old. Maybe his lawyers will be able to sneak him some more Milk Duds at some point. Harvey Weinstein Guaranteed to Spend Rest of Life in Prison Liz Shannon Miller Popular Posts Subscribe to Consequences email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox. Forty-seven years after the disappearance of Auburn student Kyle Clinkscales, the Troup County Sheriffs Office says the missing 22-year olds remains have been positively identified. The sheriffs office received the news from the Troup County Coroners Office on Sunday. On Dec. 7, 2021, Clinkscales car, a 1974 Ford Pinto Runabout, was found in a creek in Chambers County. The car was then transported to Troup County, Ga., where local investigators along with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) processed the vehicle. The Runabouts license plate and VIN number both matched with Clinkscales missing car. Additionally, Clinkscales wallet and 50 different skeletal remains, including a partial skull bone, had been found inside the vehicle. Those remains were positively identified as that of Kyle Clinkscales, said a press release from the Troup County Sheriffs Office that was released on Sunday. The Coroners Office received this information from the GBI at which time they released it. A DNA analysis of the remains was completed by an FBI lab at the request of the GBI. According to the press release, an official report has not been completed or released by the GBI as relates to the manner of death. Kyle Wade Clinkscales, originally from LaGrange, Ga., was a student at Auburn University. He disappeared on the night of Jan. 27, 1976. Clinkscales had reportedly left the Moose Club in LaGrange where he worked as a bar tender to drive back to school. However, neither Clinkscales nor his Ford Pinto Runabout ever made it back to Auburn. While authorities believed the young man had been murdered, his disappearance remained a mystery for 45 years. During the mid-90s and early 2000s, tips alleged that two different men, Ray Hyde and Jimmy Jones, had possibly murdered Clinkscales. However, nothing definitive ever materialized in either of those cases. Information lead Troup County authorities to search a junkyard on Hydes property, but nothing was found. Hyde, however, was arrested in connection to felony gun charges. Two different lakes in Troup County were also drained in the search for Clinkscales. One lake was drained in 1996. The other was drained around 2005. Again, nothing definitive was ever found. Authorities believed the body of Clinkscales was hidden in one of the lakes and removed before they could find it. Jones was sentenced to prison and incarcerated from September 2007 until January 2013 on charges of giving false and conflicting statements to police regarding Clinkscales murder. Authorities finally got a break on Dec. 7, 2021 when the Runabout was found. Around 11:30 a.m., a trucker driving along Chambers County Road 83 spotted a vehicle partially submerged in a creek alongside the road. The trucker then notified the Chambers County Sheriffs Office. That vehicle turned out to be a white two-door 1974 Pinto Runabout. Once the vehicle was pulled from the water, deputies saw it had a 1976 Troup County license tag. The car was later confirmed to belong to Clinkscales. In 2021, former Troup County Sheriff Donny Turner, who originally worked the Clinkscales case, told AL.com, How he got into that creek (where he was found Tuesday), I have no explanation at all But we do have a person that told us the body was moved out of the lake, put in the car and the top of the car was smashed with a backhoe. Photos of the Runabout as it was pulled from the creek indicate a crushed-in roof. This case remains under investigation. Sitaram Koppaka, the Hindu Swayamsevak Sanghs (HSSs) president for Ohio (left) and Jitender Sandadi, HSSs joint executive director for the Great Lakes region. A traveling exhibit on Hinduism is on display in the Capitol rotunda this week, aiming to educate Ohios lawmakers about their Hindu constituents belief system. Darshana: A Glimpse into the Hindu Civilization is presented by the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA, an American nonprofit group that takes inspiration from the Hindu nationalist movement in India. The exhibit, which will be displayed through 4 p.m. Thursday, comes roughly a month after some state representatives floated a proposal to allow Christian-only prayer at the beginning of legislative sessions. This is about education about Hinduism. So we want to see the local communities coming, said Sitaram Koppaka, the Hindu Swayamsevak Sanghs (HSSs) president for Ohio, who lives in Powell. Related Hindu article:Thousands in Reynoldsburg celebrate Tihar, the Nepali version of Diwali The exhibit's 24 posters explain various aspects of Hindu belief and practice, ranging from a definition of dharma (the natural order underlying existence) to commentary on Hindu contributions to mathematics, science and architecture. An abridged version is online. According to its website, the HSS is a social, educational, and cultural organization inspired by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Hindu nationalist group whose political arm is Indias ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP. The BJP has faced criticism from human rights groups for passing laws and policies that discriminate against Muslims and other religious minorities in India, and for restricting freedom of the press. We are a US-based nonprofit organization. We have nothing to do with what happens in India. India is a sovereign country, Jitender Sandadi, HSSs joint executive director for the Great Lakes region, told The Dispatch. In January, a proposal by some Republicans to require a specifically Christian prayer before legislative sessions was dismissed by House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) and condemned by Democrats. Story continues Lawmakers reaction to the rotunda exhibition this week has generally been positive, according to Sandadi. (Lawmakers) have been very excited, thrilled to see this here and to learn different facts about our Hindu (religion), said Sandadi. The Hindu community in Central Ohio In Franklin County, the Indian and Bhutanese Nepali communities many but not all of whom are Hindu are among the fastest growing groups. Hindus make up less than 1% of adult Ohioans, according to the Pew Research Center. There are currently two Hindus in the Ohio Statehouse Rep. Anita Somani (D-Dublin) and Senator Niraj Antani (R-Miamisburg). Darshana: A Glimpse into the Hindu Civilization is presented by the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA, an American nonprofit group that takes inspiration from the Hindu nationalist movement in India. Koppaka said that the HSS has around 250 chapters across the U.S, including three in Franklin County. The exhibition will continue touring in community centers, libraries, and schools in the area. Two Indian-American teenagers from Dublin helped curate the exhibition on Wednesday. It's important to be aware of people around you, because the more you know, the more you create connections with people, said Pradnya Kannan, 15. We think that educating people through this exhibition can help the community know more about Hinduism and make sure misconceptions don't happen. Peter Gill covers immigration and new American communities for The Dispatch in partnership with Report for America. You can support work like his with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America here:bit.ly/3fNsGaZ. pgill@dispatch.com @pitaarji This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh's Statehouse exhibit aims to educate lawmakers UPDATE, Thursday: Dylan Lyons, 24, was the Spectrum News 13 journalist who was shot and killed while covering the scene of a homicide on Wednesday. A fellow reporter and friend, Josh Miller, said, per the news outlet, He took his job very seriously. He loved his career. He loved what he did. He loved the community, telling the stories of people, reporting on the news, and he was just passionate about what he did. More from Deadline A photo journalist, Jesse Walden, also was critically injured in the shooting. Police have also identified a suspect, Keith Melvin Moses, 19. PREVIOUSLY, Wednesday, 5:34 p.m. PT: An Orlando journalist was killed today while covering a shooting that occurred earlier Wednesday. The Orange County Florida Sheriffs Office now says it has taken a 19-year old man into custody for the death of the Spectrum News 13 employee and a 9-year old girl. We have detained the person believed to be responsible for the murder this morning as well as the shooting this afternoon, Sheriff John Mina said in a hastily called press conference. He is being formally charged in the murder from this morning and we expect additional charges for the shooting of the four people this afternoon. As well as being implicated in the death of a women in her 20s earlier Wednesday as well as the journalist and the young girl, the suspect shot another News 13 staffer and the 9-year olds mother. The other journalist and the parent are in critical condition in a nearby hospital, according to law enforcement officials. Sheriff Mina said the photographer and reporter were in their news van at the Pine Hills location at around 3 PM ET when the suspect approached their vehicle and fired inside. Soon afterwards, the suspect went to a home close by and shot the child and her mother inside. Officers were close by because of the earlier shooting. Story continues Its unclear why exactly they were targeted, Sheriff Mina admitted of the shooting of the news crew. And, you know, certainly were going to look into that. The suspect, whose name Deadline is declining to publicize, has a lengthy criminal history, according to the Sheriff. Besides the arrested suspect, no names have been released as of yet. As news of the killings began to come out, Radio Television Digital News Association president & CEO Dan Shelly took to social media to offer condolences: It is with deep sadness that @RTDNA learns of the death of a @MyNews13 journalist in Orlando. He was 1 of 2 of the station's journalists shot covering a previous crime in a residential area. Sending thoughts of peace and comfort to their families, friends & the other victims. https://t.co/B74aGdJIKv Dan Shelley (@MurrowNYC) February 23, 2023 White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre wrote on Twitter, Our hearts go out to the family of the journalist killed today and the crew member injured in Orange County, Florida, as well as the whole Spectrum News team. Our hearts are also with the other shooting victims today, their families, and the entire community. Too many lives are being ripped apart by gun violence. Our hearts are also with the other shooting victims today, their families, and the entire community. Too many lives are being ripped apart by gun violence. Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) February 23, 2023 Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. This month with the help of Sen. Gerald Neal, student journalists spurred the filing of SB 132, The New Voices Act, a bill to protect the freedom of school-based reporting. The need for more just, democratic Kentucky schools is especially apparent in a time when the free press in the commonwealth and the United States is struggling. Kentucky has been hit hard by the consolidation, closure and commercialization of local journalism. However, the genesis of journalism's woes cannot be separated from the weakening of scholastic journalism programs across the state. The programs themselves, which comprise an essential pipeline to sustained, quality coverage that is both informative and transparent, appear to be both underserved and under-examined. More:I was elected into office at age 17, I represent what young people can do in politics Kentucky needs more student journalism None of the sources we investigatedthe Kentucky Department of Education, Western Kentucky Universitys Office of Student Publications and the Kentucky Press Associationkeeps close track of high school journalism across the state, but anecdotal evidence from students we have surveyed and interviewed suggests that the vast majority of Kentucky public high schools lack any sort of student journalism program at all. Furthermore, established newsrooms are primarily concentrated in large schools with magnet programs, as well as within student bodies from disproportionately higher socioeconomic backgrounds. In an era in which education and classroom experiences are plagued by political polarization, resources that provide for and enrich schools potential as engines of democracy and student voice hold unique power. Scholastic journalismalongside the rights and agency of its student writersis a critical tool in shaping and strengthening the future of the journalism field, as well as in supporting young people to tell the stories from inside their education experience. A lack of student journalism is a lack of an essential feedback loop about what is working or not in Kentucky education. Story continues In schools without a newspaper altogether, pressing issues can go unacknowledged. Hayden Watkins, a Rowan County Senior High School junior provided a ready example. My school's student government tried to amend the school's dress code to include the confederate flag as a hate symbol but was shot down almost immediately by administration because they didn't want to rock the boat. [But] without rocking the boat, several students in my school still feel unwanted and unheard, he told us. Student journalism programs are a direct avenue towards ensuring equity is not just articulated, but also implemented. Arnav Dharmagadda, a Russell High School senior, who also has no newspaper in his school explained how the benefits of student journalism transcend the impact on the student journalists themselves. Student journalism is a highly effective avenue to create accountability for a system that works for all, he said. The Kentucky Voice Team's Emma Nesmith, 18, of Danville, issued results from the Race, Ethnicity and School Climate survey of 10,000 middle and high school students from across Kentucky on the steps of the Capitol Annex in Frankfort, Ky. on Mar. 10, 2022. More:LIST: Here's the latest on key bills from the 2023 Kentucky legislature Protecting student journalism The New Voices Act effectively promotes scholastic journalism as it protects it. It specifies that student media may be censored only if it is libelous or slanderous, contains an unwarranted invasion of privacy, violates state or federal law, or incites students to violate the law or school policy or disrupt the orderly operation of a school. The bill further protects student media advisers who refuse to censor student journalists. Those worried about the legal implications of a freer student press can take comfort in the evidence. Libel and other content-based lawsuits against student newspapers are extremely rare. This is from data derived from more than 170 years of combined legal history in 14 other states with similar laws. The bill establishes that the work of student journalists does not reflect the views of a school. Students within a school setting do not and should not have the same rights as experienced professionals because of a schools goal of being a safe, effective place to learn and this bill further affirms that. We know through experimentation with youth-led education research, analysis, storytelling and advocacy that primary stakeholdersstudents themselves who spend upwards of 35 hours each week observing schools up closecan play a powerful role in holding schools accountable. Robust high school journalism allows for students to examine their education with a critical eye and better supports young people to serve as the current, and not just future, education improvement partners we can and should be. And although most students are not old enough to vote, access to strong journalism programs ensures that we are not too young to have a voice in the democratic process. Please join Kentuckys youth journalists in recognizing Student Press Freedom Day on February 23rd and supporting the New Voices Legislation. Brennan Eberwine is the editor-in-chief of Manual RedEye and a senior at duPont Manual High School. Cooper Bass is a sophomore at Bullitt East High School and is the content editor and social media director of Livewire. Ramona Pierce is a senior at Danville Independent High School. She is also an editor of The New Edu and coordinates the Kentucky Student Voice Teams Press Corps This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: The New Voices Act is exactly what Kentucky student journalists need Manchester Orchestra has announced a new project, The Valley of Vision. Accompanied by an awe-inspiring film that immerses viewers in 180 degrees of virtual reality, the album finds the band reinvigorated once again, delivering a serene salvo of songs that defy the heavy weight of adulthood, faith, and self-redemption through sounds unlike anything they have made before. Following their previous 2021 LP, The Million Masks of Godan acclaimed collection that cried for help as it explored a mans encounter with the angel of deathThe Valley of Vision puts forth a collective, cathartic expression of gratitude that is brought to life in both the songwriting of frontman Andy Hull, and the cinematic story directed by Isaac Deitz. On the heels of sold-out screening events in Los Angeles tonight (February 23) and New York City on March 1, The Valley of Vision will debut in a worldwide watch party on Manchester Orchestras YouTube channel on March 9, before the albums digital release on March 10. To celebrate the release, the band has unveiled the projects first single and opening track, Capital Karma, out now via Loma Vista Recordings. The albums forthcoming physical edition is also now available for pre-order. In the days leading up to todays announcement, the bands website previewed The Valley of Visions artwork through experimental 3D animation. Using state-of-the-art, real-time, physically-based rendering graphics technology, a high-fidelity digital human with photoreal facial animation came to life as it unveiled the record, and can now be viewed in its full form. Lead vocalist and co-producer Andy Hull says: Making The Valley of Vision was an exciting idea of what the future could be for us in terms of how we create. None of these songs were written with the band being in the same room in a live setting. They were really like science experiments that started from the bottom and were added to gradually over time. Were intrigued by doing things the wrong way, or attempting things we haven't done before and getting inspired by them. Story continues Pre-order The Valley of Vision. For the latest music news and exclusive features, check out uDiscover Music. uDiscover Music is operated by Universal Music Group (UMG). Some recording artists included in uDiscover Music articles are affiliated with UMG. Richard "Alex" Murdaugh was given two consecutive life sentences Friday following a guilty verdict in a trial in Walterboro, South Carolina, where he was accused on murdering his wife and son. Coincidentally, Netflix on Feb. 22 released its three-part docuseries, "Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal," that tapped into interest in the case. . The project, directed by Julia Willoughby Nason and Jenner Furst, the team behind Amazon's "LuLaRich" and Netflix's "The Pharmacist," centers on the scandals and criminal allegations surrounding the disbarred attorney and the fall of his disgraced family dynasty. Prison time: Former South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh sentenced to life after murder convictions "For over a century, the Murdaughs were law and order here in the 14th Circuit," USA TODAY Network journalist Michael DeWitt Jr., who has covered the story for years, says in the trailer. Here's what to know ahead of your "Murdaugh Murders" binge. Alex Murdaugh with Morgan Doughty, who dated Paul Murdaugh and Maggie Murdaugh. Paul and Maggie were killed on June 7, 2021. What does 'Murdaugh Murders' cover? While other true-crime documentaries have explored the Murdaugh saga, Netflix's series explores the fatal February 2019 boat crash involving Murdaugh's younger son, Paul; the unsolved 2015 homicide of Hampton County teen Stephen Smith that has been linked to the Murdaugh family by state police; and the June 2021 murders of Paul and his mother, Maggie, for which Alex Murdaugh was charged, along with more than 100 other crimes. The Murdaughs were one of South Carolinas most prominent families, but the death of teenager Mallory Beach in a drunken boating accident began the unraveling of their legacy. When Paul Murdaugh the alleged driver of the boat and his mother were found murdered two years after the crash, a century of corruption, power and cover-ups is brought to light. What the docuseries says about Maggie and Paul's murders The deaths of Richard Murdaugh's wife and their son are addressed in the docuseries' second episode, "Murders at Moselle." Murdaugh told investigators he woke up from a nap at home at 7:31 p.m. on June 7, 2021 and didn't see either of his family members. He then texted his wife and son that he was going to visit his ailing parents. Story continues Murdaugh says he returned after 10 p.m. and discovered his wife, 52, and son, 22, had been shot near the dog kennels on their property. A sobbing Murdaugh called 911 to report their deaths. Some wondered if the killer might have been motivated by a desire to avenge Beach's death. The third episode of the docuseries presents evidence that Alex Murdaugh was at home at the time of Paul and Maggie's deaths. The presence of high-velocity impact spatter on Murdaugh's clothes indicates that he was with one of the victims at the time of their death. And a video taken at 8:44 p.m. on Paul's phone captures Murdaugh's voice about 15 minutes before the murders are thought to have occurred. Though that doesn't prove Murdaugh is responsible, it does dispute his account of the evening. In July 2022, Alex Murdaugh was indicted on murder charges. That month, he pleaded not guilty and was denied bond. Murdaugh did not respond to requests for an interview from the filmmakers. Updates on the Alex Murdaugh trial Murdaugh's double murder trial in the deaths of his wife and son began Jan. 23. Murdaugh's surviving son, Buster, took the stand to open the session. While his testimony was emotional at times, it offered no real insight or new evidence. Buster, who is nicknamed after his great-grandfather, the former longtime 14th Circuit Solicitor, said that June 7, 2021, was just a normal day with normal conversations and text messages between family members, until his dad called him about 10:30 that night to tell him his mother and brother had been shot and killed. After listening to more than five weeks of testimony from over 75 witnesses including Murdaugh himself and visiting the crime scene, the jury took less than three hours on March 2 to find Murdaugh, 54, guilty of two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon in the commitment of a violent crime. Murdaugh must then stand trial on more than 100 other criminal charges. Trial dates and locations have not been set in these cases. Along with the criminal charges, a slew of civil court cases have been filed against the disbarred South Carolina attorney. Murdaugh has already signed a $4.3 million confession of judgment in one lawsuit involving the Gloria Satterfield Estate. The wrongful death suit of Mallory Beach could be heard as early as this summer, according to The State newspaper. Trial dates have not been set for the remaining civil suits against Murdaugh. Alex Murdaugh's son Buster Murdaugh testifies at his fathers trial in Walterboro, South Carolina on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023. More specials about the Murdaugh saga Last fall, HBO Max and CNN released specials on the tragedies. HBO Max unveiled its three-part docuseries, "Low Country: The Murdaugh Dynasty," in November. In October, CNN aired The Murdaugh Murders: A Twisted Tale of Power and Money, featuring roundtable discussions with journalists, attorneys and alleged victims of the Murdaughs. It's available on CNN.com and CNN apps. More on the Murdaughs This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: 'Murdaugh Murders': Netflix doc timed to Alex Murdaugh guilty verdict LAS VEGAS Nikita Krylovs return to the cage will be more than just another fight in his lengthy career. The veteran UFC light heavyweight competes this Saturday against Ryan Spann at UFC Fight Night 220, which takes place at the UFC Apex and streams on ESPN+. This 205-pound matchup serves as the main event of the card, something Krylov (29-9 MMA, 10-7 UFC) is very excited and proud about being his first headlining role in the company. Its a big deal for me, Krylov told reporters at the UFC Fight Night 220 media day on Wednesday. Its the first main event for me. I feel myself great. Ive had a great camp, good acclimatization, and now I just wait for Saturday. For Krylov, its more than just having his face on the poster and being able to say he fought main event of a UFC card. This headlining bout against Spann (21-7 MMA, 7-2 UFC) is a sign of progression for Krylov. It means that Im progressing, that Im moving forward, and Im not just staying in one place, Krylov explained. It means the organization is seeing what Im doing and believes in me and trust me to main event in such an important organization, so I think its great. I feel great about it. More UFC! Montana De La Rosa says Tatiana Suarez 'the one with the pressure' before UFC Fight Night 220 Andre Muniz welcomes Brendan Allen's jiu-jitsu challenge at UFC Fight Night 219 Ryan Spann reveals why UFC Fight Night 219 main event vs. Nikita Krylov nearly did not come together As far as the opponent, Krylov is also happy to be fighting someone like Spann. Although he admits the chance to be the top billing of a card was deal maker for this fight. I want fights with guys who are higher than me in the rankings because I want contender fights, but when my manager sent me, I have main event for Ryan Spann, thats first for me, so listen its a main event, so its good, Krylov said. Thats why Spann is Ok. Hes a tough guy, interesting fight. For more on the card, visit MMA Junkies event hub for UFC Fight Night 220. Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie Donald Trump attends a rally in Ohio (Getty Images) When Donald Trump won office in 2016, it wasnt initially clear who would take the credit, or blame, for the election of a reality TV star to the US presidency. While Democrats including Hillary Clinton initially focused their fire on Russian disinformation and the role of conspiracies on social media, others pointed to a different phenomenon: the growing conservatism of the Rust Belt, the heartland of Americas manufacturing power. It was here where progressives and Maga Republicans diagnosed the same problem: an entire region, spurned once too often by the shuttering of massive plants and the resulting regional economic collapses which followed, had turned towards the only politician unwilling to dismiss them as flyover country Donald Trump. Even Democrats find themselves admitting that Mr Trump successfully painted himself as a hero of Americas working class, and in particular a hero of the kinds of blue collar union workers whose families had voted Democrat for years, maybe even decades. That was the embarrassed anger which was evident whenever progressives and even some centrist Democrats noted that Ms Clintons campaign had failed to reach out to and campaign alongside labour unions in Michigan, or even worse, failed to even show up at all in Wisconsin. After 2016, the question for the left was clear: had the Democratic Party sacrificed its connection to the working class, and in particular to unions, in favour of chasing the suburbanite Republicans and independents whom they wagered were turned off by Donald Trumps caustic rhetoric? For progressives, the answer continues to be yes. Sen Bernie Sanders, the progressive insurgent who gave Ms Clinton a run for her money during the 2016 primary, writes in his new book Its OK to Be Angry About Capitalism, published this week, that Mr Trump was able to to capture those voters from Ms Clinton without pushing policies that actually benefited them. "Look, you cant simply go around to wealthy peoples homes raising money and expect to win elections," he said in a scathing 2017 interview about Ms Clintons strategy. "Youve got to go out and mix it up and be with ordinary people." Story continues It was that effort to mix it up with ordinary people that turned the odds back in Joe Bidens favour in 2020. There were still clear issues in reconstructing the so-called blue wall that had long existed for Democrats in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan but some signs, at least, pointed to a recovery in that area. Mr Biden won 57 per cent of union households in 2020, nearly twice the margin by which Ms Clinton won them over Mr Trump in 2016. Thats a clear advantage going into these states, but not enough to claim the kind of dominance which his party relied upon in the past. He still failed to capture Ohio, once a solidly purple state but now turning deeper red as the states blue collar areas fume over the continued dilapidation of Americas manufacturing while the suburbanite GOPers chafe over other issues like Covid guidelines and culture war issues. Still, he recaptured Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin; all three states delivered victories for Mr Biden thanks to hand-in-hand successes in flipping some union households back blue while turnout surged in urban areas in a way it simply did not in 2016. A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) This week, the president faces another test in the Rust Belt: growing anger over a shocking freight train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which has sent a black column of smoke billowing into the sky for days. Dangerous chemicals on board the train, which the EPA said on Tuesday it would require train operator Norfolk Southern to cover cleaning up, have led to fears from residents about tainted groundwater and other serious environmental and public health concerns. Republicans and Democrats are now dueling over responsibility for safety on Americas freight rail system, and have begun trading blows over deregulation efforts. Meanwhile, reports of dead household pets and health issues arising after the crash continue to flood social media as residents question whether state and federal officials are acting with enough urgency, the latest example, they say, of an out-of-touch Washington ignoring any problem that doesnt directly affect coastal metropolises. EPA chief Michael Regan headed to the region this week, but now Mr Biden is facing that same accusation of forgetting flyover country after he took a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine this week before he or Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had visited the region affected by the crash. Those frustrations were summed up by the mayor of East Palestine, Trent Conaway, who delivered a message that echoed the frustrations that many residents have aimed at Washington for many years. "That was the biggest slap in the face," he said on Fox News. "That tells you right now he doesnt care about us." Perhaps capitalising on that anger, Mr Trump is set to visit the town on Wednesday. Ohio remains one of his favourite states to campaign in it handed him two easy batches of electoral votes in 2016 and 2020, and last November saw the election of JD Vance, the one Trump-backed Senate candidate in a competitive race who actually won. Mr Vance capitalised on the support of the former president. The current president has yet to announce plans to visit, though he addressed the derailment on Twitter Tuesday evening: We'll continue to hold rail companies accountable when they fail to put safety first. But first, weve got Norfolk Southerns mess to clean. I want affected residents to know that weve got your back. And as I said to your govs, they'll have every resource that they need. Donald Trump watches approvingly as his endorsed Senate hopeful JD Vance speaks in Youngstown, Ohio. (Getty Images) Residents of the Lordstown, Ohio region spoke to The Independent in 2022 amid the crucial Senate race that played out between the man hand-picked by Donald Trump as his stand-in for the race and Tim Ryan, a Democrat who tried to paint himself as a maverick in his own party who bucked the directives of party leaders from coastal regions at the time, most significantly, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In interviews, there was respect evident for Mr Ryans efforts to separate himself from his own party but a clear sense from voters on both sides that the Democratic Party had abandoned the state and, more importantly, the American union worker. [Democratic Senator] Sherrod Brown knew for nine months that [the Lordstown plant] was going to shut down, and he chose to stay quiet, one Republican voter, John Pleva told The Independent in September. We dont need any more help like that. He and others spoke of the devastation that played out after GMs pullout. The end of well-paying union jobs for even a few thousand of the citys residents, as the largest employer, devastated businesses across a wide range of sectors. Those people had home loans. They had IRAs, Mr Pleva said, frustration evident as he spoke about Youngstowns city centre. They had a lot of stuffa lot of them lost their homesit was like a torpedo went off. The buildings are still there, but theyre shells. In Ohio, Mr Biden and the Democrats still face steep challenges when it comes to winning back union households and convincing voters that their state was not left behind by lawmakers in Washington who saw Americas manufacturing sector as an afterthought. There are much better signs, however, in Wisconsin and Michigan where Democrats are seeing Republicans similarly abandon urban areas and minority voters in favour of their increasingly old, white base. Michigan in particular was a source of pride for Democrats after the 2022 midterms, when the party saw Gov Gretchen Whitmer coast to a clean reelection over her Trump-backed challenger and Democrats likewise captured the state legislature for the first time in decades. In Wisconsin, Mandela Barnes came within a hair of knocking out an incumbent Republican senator despite a brutal wave of attacks that went largely unanswered by Democratic operatives. And in Pennsylvania, Democrats had another strong showing this cycle with the dual victories of Governor Josh Shapiro and Senator John Fetterman. With 2024 looming closer by the day, the Rust Belt remains a heated battlefield which neither party is willing to cede. As Joe Biden gears up for his presumed reelection bid, his campaign will face a crucial challenge in both rhetoric and focus as the president doubles down on the pro-worker, pro-labour pitch that saw him recapture areas once considered one of his partys most reliable bastions. Oscar-nominated actor Paul Mescal has revealed he was groped by a fan outside Londons Almeida Theatre, where he is starring in a sold-out season of Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire. Mescal, who is nominated for best actor for Aftersun, told U.K. outlet ES Magazine that he agreed to pose for a picture outside the Almeida. As we posed for it, she put her hand on my ass, Mescal said. The actor said he thought it was an accident and moved away, but the hand followed. I remember tensing up and feeling just, like, fury. I turned to her and said, Whatre you doing? Take your hand off my ass.' More from Variety The last thing I want to do is call somebody out in front of the theater its uncomfortable for everyone involved but it was really not okay. It was so gross, creepy. On the price of fame Mescal told the magazine: 97% it is really nice then 3% is somebody, like, grabbing your ass. On his upcoming appearance at the Oscars, Mescal said hell have a speech ready in case he wins. The actor did not have a speech handy when he won the lead actor category for the 2021 BAFTA TV Awards for Normal People. I was convinced I wouldnt win and then had a full brain. I saw Michaela Coel [who won leading actress for I May Destroy You] backstage straight after and she was like, Well done, well done you should have prepared a speech. So Im going to write one and then have it framed when I never have to use it. A Streetcar Named Desire is one of the best reviewed productions at the West End this year. It is directed by Rebecca Frecknall, whose Cabaret won several Olivier Awards. The play will transfer to the West Ends Phoenix Theatre from March 20 for a six-week run. Story continues Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Faced with severe staffing shortages at local hospitals, the Polk County Board of Supervisors is making a big investment to boost the local health care workforce. County officials announced Wednesday they awarded $1 million in federal relief funds to establish the Health Care Workforce Collaborative, a partnership between local higher education institutions and health care organizations will be overseen by the Des Moines Area Community College. The partnership plans to launch a comprehensive recruitment and retention program to entice students from across Central Iowa to seek out health care careers. In the long term, county officials say this will help alleviate the ongoing health care workforce shortages that hospitals have struggled with since the pandemic began nearly three years ago. "We hope that this will help us solve our healthcare workforce shortage and will become a model for other communities to look at," Polk County Supervisor Angela Connolly said during a news conference Wednesday. What is the health care workforce collaborative? Des Moines' three hospitals have partnered with local colleges and universities to aid DMACC in its efforts to teach local students about careers in the medical field. Fewer Iowa public high school graduates are choosing to go to college, according annual state reports. Of Iowa's 2020 graduates, about 61% enrolled in a degree program within a year of graduation. That's dropped from the class of 2012, when 69% of students sought a higher degree. DMACC President Rob Denson said by providing students with information on their options and support, they hope to entice them into health care. In the long term, entities hope to engage these students long enough that they will seek medical training in the Des Moines area and eventually apply for jobs at local health systems. The work has already begun, Denson said. The community college will be hosting about 150 high school students next month in an event to highlight careers within the health care industry. Story continues "There are a lot of middle and high school students that are excited about their careers, but really don't understand what the opportunities are," Denson said. "This is probably the best thing we're going to be able to do." The collaborative "is exactly what's needed" to help alleviate ongoing shortages in health care workers, said Bob Ritz, chief executive officer of MercyOne, who called the problem "the greatest I've ever seen in 38 years of healthcare leadership, and I don't think it's going to get better anytime soon." How will this funding be used? The $1 million allocation which comes from the $95 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars Polk County received will fund the initial startup of the partnership, including the hiring of full-time staff members to launch the program. Ritz said two staff members will serve as navigators between students and the entities in the collaborative, helping students understand the requirements to enter the field and reach those goals. "We have an obligation to create the future and doing it together, I can't think of a better way of doing it," Ritz said. The third staffer will oversee the collaborative's marketing efforts, according to officials. The initial allocation will fund the collaborative for the first few years. Moving forward, the health care organizations and higher education institutes involved with the collaborative will be responsible for funding the estimated $300,000 to $400,000 projected cost, Connolly said. How have workforce shortages affected local hospitals? A report on Iowa's nursing demand last year found nearly 60 percent of health care facilities statewide reported a shortage of qualified applicants for open nursing jobs. Of those, about 19 percent reported an extreme shortage and roughly 36 percent reported a great shortage. Iowa's healthcare and social assistance sector was down 7,200 workers in November compared with February 2020, before the pandemic. Earlier in February, there were nearly 4,000 open job postings for registered nurses, far outpacing demand for other jobs, according to Iowa Workforce Development. It was followed by nursing assistance with about 1,100 open jobs. The extreme challenges of the pandemic are being blamed in part for the exodus of those professionals from traditional hospital jobs. Many nurses and other medical professionals signed on with travel agencies that offered higher pay and enticing benefits packages, forcing hospitals to increasingly rely on temp agencies. During a COVID-19 surge in December 2021, Iowa spent more than $9 million to place 100 out-of-state nurses and respiratory therapists at health care systems across Iowa. Staff shortages have meant patients could face long wait times at their local clinic or emergency room, just as they did earlier this winter, when a surge of RSV, flu and other respiratory viruses created a bottleneck for hospitals to provide care. The effect of overcrowded urban health care systems trickled down to Iowa's rural hospitals, which struggled to find open beds to transfer patients in need of a higher level of care. In some cases, small hospitals have had to board patients in its facilities for days waiting for another bed elsewhere. "Our communities, our state, and certainly our county, they rely on us and we need to be here for them," Ritz said. "So we're very excited about facing this challenge together." Michaela Ramm covers health care for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached at mramm@registermedia.com, at (319) 339-7354 or on Twitter at @Michaela_Ramm. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Polk County invests $1M to help fill chronic hospital staff shortages This article originally appeared on Climbing Far up the coast of California, redwood mist creeps down from the forest to touch ocean cliffs. In the late '90s, eighty feet above Highway 101, Arcata punk Paul Humphrey developed a route with an ocean view. Humphrey attempted to climb the same section of the wall while logging trucks thundered past below. It was his first-ascent debut, the start of his addiction. He finally strung the moves together after discovering a hidden pocket. Then a hold broke, and he whipped back to where he started. Just like Sisyphus, he returned the next day with a purpose. "Two kneebars and a scream saw me through," Humphrey later wrote in a trip report. "I tried so hard when I finally pulled the move, I felt as if I had not just climbed up, but into the stone. For a brief moment, the rush was perfect. The drug took over, and I could no longer distinguish myself from the rock and moss." Humphrey went on to bolt endlessly, until he was out of skin and out of cash. But his contributions in the '90s weren't the first routes to grace Redwood Coast rock. Climbers had been exploring Humboldt's beach sea stacks since the '60s; sport climbing simply brought a new appreciation--and vision--to the area. The Redwood Coast climbing area covers all of Humboldt County and bleeds into the adjacent counties. To the north, it reaches Del Norte County, and to the east into Trinity County. Turns out, the redwood curtain hiding cannabis farms for so long was also hiding superior limestone crags. Though some crags are just a stone's throw from the highway, Redwood Coast climbing is overwhelmingly remote and seldom trafficked, with hours of winding curves up the 101. In this corner of California, you'll catch sights of whales from the anchors; the access to oceanic landscapes with perfect stone and no crowds is unmatched. Eric Chemello sends his FA Osteoporosis (5.11b/c) at Footsteps Rocks. Note the camera tilt: the route is not quite this steep. (Photo: Courtesy Eric Chemello) Pro climber Ethan Pringle has climbed some of the hardest routes in the world and established several of his own, including along the Redwood Coast. Humboldt is just a four hour drive from his home in The Bay, and it's where Pringle boasts a handful of unrepeated 5.14 first ascents, tucked away at crags like Cecileville Bluffs. "Cecileville Bluffs is like a little piece of France in Northern California," Pringle said. "The limestone up there is like second to none in the state." Story continues The Redwood Coast hosts just under 1,000 routes on sandstone, quartzite, granite, and limestone. The desolation of the area adds a bit of adventure to the Redwood Coast climbing scene, but it is more than made up for in a lack of crowds and quality of climbing. The following four routes highlight the history of climbing in the region, told through the stories of the people who developed them. California Coast (5.13a X), Sue Meg State Park In the late '60s, two Humboldt State University students founded the Boot'n'Blister Club, a group for amateur adventurers looking to explore the sea of hills in the Humboldt area. Bruce Price had just returned from military service in Europe after WWII to attend Humboldt State University. He learned to climb in the European Alps in the military. Back in Humboldt, Price hauled hiking enthusiasts to the rocky shores and up steeply forested hills. He developed routes and recruited new climbers in the early ages of the sport. One of his recruits was fellow Humboldt student Frank Jager. Price and Jager developed 100-foot aid routes, A3 and A4, on Humboldt beaches. They didn't consider the coastal climbing much more than practice for the "real stuff": multi-pitch aid routes in Yosemite and the Trinity Alps. Regardless, these short routes laid the foundation for Price's later career as a Yosemite regular, and the aid climbs he developed with Jager are now beginner-friendly top-rope classics. "We were early climbers here, but Im sure we werent the first," Jager said. Jager and Price found anchors along the coastal crags north of Arcata, California, in Sue Meg State Park. It was unclear if mystery climbers of yore bolted them or if surveying conservationists left them. Of course, the Yurok people have held the rocks and land of Sue Meg in reverence for centuries. Jager and Price developed top-rope routes on Karen Rock at Moonstone Beach and at Sue Meg State Park. Today, Karen Rock is so popular on weekends that the crag appears lashed tightly to the beach, with top ropes strung from every anchor. Jager and Price led California Coast as A3+ in 1968. In their day, they climbed up the steep face with a series of precarious piton placements. The likelihood of decking was high. On aid, this route is trickiest at the start with the relief of a thin crack at the end. The opposite is true for modern-day free climbers. The crack is a great host to slim pitons but useless for free-climbing fingers. The lower section goes at 5.12-, thanks to plentiful face holds, while the upper third is a technical and relentlessly crimpy 13a. Modern route developer and local guidebook author Evan Wisheropp attempted to revive the route after 40 years. "The fact that those guys aided the route and survived is inspirational. I still wondered if the route could go free, so I tested the gear placements on top rope and found that, without pitons, it couldn't be aided at less than C4+," Wisheropp said. "I resorted to freeing on top rope, which was still so special to climb such a beautiful face, but it leaves the nagging question of if it will ever go free on lead." Blackbeard's Tears (5.14c), Promontory At Promontory, tilted hallways of slab travel down to the ocean. The high tide splashes and crashes at increasingly uneasy belayers. Seeing the main wall of tafoni pockets will give any climber trypophobia. Down each corridor, one wall offers techy slab while the other overhangs. In 1986, the Greenstone routes at Sue Meg were not enough to keep local climbers busy. Matthias Holladay drove up to Klamath, California, to climb at the locals-only spots. On his adventures, he found a crag north of the Klamath River's mouth along the 101. A walk along the beach and by a fjord across Wilson Creek, and then Holladay was exploring giddily through the other-worldly corridors of Promontory; honeycombed pockets, steep splitters, and textured crimps adorned each wall. Holladay climbed Blackbeard's Tears on aid during an early foray and ran back home to tell his skeptical climbing buddies about it. Alongside Mark Petrolingo, Rick Shull, Richard Ludwig, Tim Wilhelmi, and Doug Lafarge, Holladay would later introduce modern sport climbing to the area in the late '80s, developing several now-classic areas. But as free-climbing standards rose during that era, Holladay would often wonder if Blackbeard's Tears would ever be freed. Blackbeard's Tears splits into three efforts: a slightly overhanging 5.10+ that serves as a warm up; an ever-steepening 5.13c splitter up clean, burnished stone; and a 5.14c outro with, reportedly, a wild V11 bulge. Ethan Pringle, who would make the first free ascent in 2016, called the line "one of the sickest single-pitch rock climbs Ive ever seen." This route proved that the Redwood Coast holds world-class climbing; at the time it was one of only two 5.14c crack climbs in the world. "I would love it if more expert climbers went and tried my routes," Pringle said. " I have almost ten 5.14's in Northern California, and none of them have seen a repeat." View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ethan Pringle (@ethan_pringle) Put Up or Shut up (5.10b), Trinity Aretes East of Highway 101, 1,500 miles of streams carve through the land, bubbling and rushing beneath long outcrops of bullet limestone. The approach gatekeeps the inland crags with a two-hour drive from Arcata up road-sick curves of Highway 299. Dilapidated buildings and small towns brandish "Bigfoot Country" signs along the way. As the car turns each corner, keep your eyes up. These crags sit high on the hill staring climbers down from their perch. Eric Chemello was a Humboldt student turned local. He'd sent all the coastal routes from the '70s and, by the mid '90s, was growing tired of the area."I was going down to Vegas every winter, Red Rock and all that," he said. "I was getting ready to move to Vegas. Thats when Humphrey found the Trinity Aretes--and then I wasn't going anywhere. I was sold." Humphrey was another local climber who clung to Humboldt rock after graduation. He was committed to NorCal crags, seeing adventure and opportunity in Humboldt's hills where few others did. While working at the local Adventure's Edge gear shop, Humphrey would scour maps and drive out to inspect potential crags. He adventured through rough mountain roads hoping to avoid warning shots from many illegal grow operations. It was during this fervent period that Humphrey diagnosed himself with AAD: ascension addiction disorder. The Trinity Aretes stayed cool in the summer, and Cecilville Bluffs stayed warm in the winter. Now, Redwood Coast climbing was on year round. The Aretes are steep and loom over the Trinity River. They are comprised of blue limestone, where every hold is unique and houses some of the area's highest-quality stone; holds of every shape and texture abound, from popcorn bubbles to velcro pockets and sharp flaky crystals. At Footsteps Rocks, Paul Humphrey climbs Pelicans BVD (5.11b), which he FAd in 1998. (Photo: Courtesy Eric Chemello) "Paul Humphrey really just took the ball and ran with it," Chemello said. "It was his vision, and tenacity, and perseverance of driving around looking and finding all these crags. His crowning achievement wasn't necessarily a difficult route. It was Put Up or Shut Up." In the late '90s, Humphrey and Chemello prioritized onsight climbing, leaving whatever didn't click right away. They left a legacy of great routes and set the next generation of climbers up for success. Humphrey wrote about and photographed everything. He left a well-documented history on a site doomed to be shut down by 2019. He spent time defending his routes from critics who never contributed but always complained. They complained about too few bolts, too many bolts, too much cleaning or not enough, the bolts that were too high or low. It seemed he could never please everyone. He made climbing accessible but not unchallenging. Humphrey bolted with ethics, painting bolts to keep them invisible, and avoiding over-bolting rock faces. His choices received critique just as any niche internet community gives. Driven by spite, Humphrey hauled out to the Trinity Aretes to make a statement. "He did the first ascent on lead, carrying a drill, peaking out on psychedelic mushrooms," Chemello said, recalling holding the other end of the rope. "And then, when he finished it, he just called it Put Up Or Shut Up." Humphrey wrote about the psychedelic experience on the climber's forum SuperTopo under the name DisasterMaster. "I traversed up and left until I found myself floating above the lip of a gaping limestone grotto's ceiling," Humphrey said. "I stuck my pinky into a small air-bubble pocket and twisted my hand until the knuckle jammed in the diminutive hole. Leaning back, I let a single knuckle take my weight." Humphrey monoed a limestone pocket with a 9-pound drill hanging from his shoulder. The effort and ethic Humphrey put into Put up or Shut up shows. It isn't the most-traveled climb at the crag, but its lore is infamous and it is a classic local's "tick." My Up and Down Life (5.11b), Marble Caves Humphrey's climbing buddies described him as a true punk. He matched the eclectic Arcata scene with his bright blue and pink mohawk. He always wore a leather jacket and called himself the Disaster Master. But by 2004, having spent countless hours on sunny cliffs, the sun exposure came back to bite him. Tests for an innocent-looking mole returned as melanoma. Instead of progress on his climbing projects, he wrote about the progress of experimental treatments. He wrote a trip report on SuperTopo titled My up and down life that followed Humphrey through years of loss. "The cancer had been caught in the nick of time, and the wounds were healing, but my mind was still reeling," Humphrey said. "Once again, I sought solace in stone." Instead of facing his problems, he escaped to crags and developed My Up and Down Life. Humphrey faced a financial struggle after medical bills and a decade's worth of bolts weighed on his credit card. Armed with a crossbow and a rope, he returned to work as a surveyor climbing trees and searching for an arboreal vole in California and Oregon old growth. One day, while perched 80 feet up a tree, he heard a gut-wrenching snap! as the branch supporting his line buckled. "I was going all the way, 80 feet, no stops," Humphrey said. "My mind lit up. I saw no images of my life, no white light. I saw Christopher Reeves, former Superman, in his wheelchair breathing through a tube in his throat." Gravity became his kryptonite on the journey down. Humphrey's spine caught his fall. His spine fractured, his rib cage broke, and his L2 vertebrae shattered. Hours later he was loaded as cargo enroute to the hospital. "The bolter had become the bolted," Humphrey said. His spine was in two pieces and held together with titanium bars and screws. "It felt like Id had the Peter Pan beat out of me. My pixie dust was used up. So this is true pain." Humphrey lived in a custom torso cast clad in stickers like a college student's Subaru. A cocktail of opiates and beer defined his life for a while, until the memories of flowing up vertical rock returned and he resolved to climb again. Humphrey did climb again, for a while, until 2010 when his cancer returned and spread everywhere. He started a forum called "Malignent [sic] Melanoma Survivors who climb" where he recorded his treatments. He returned to the thread for years to warn others, crowdsource solutions and ponder mortality. He wrote poems and articles about climbing. Humphrey left a vast digital record of recommendations, beta, and trip reports on climbing the Redwood Coast. Eric Chemello climbs the first free ascent of Great White (5.12b/c) at Promontory in the late 90s. (Photo: Courtesy Eric Chemello) He fought to climb but grew weaker. His 5.7 efforts began to feel like 5.11 efforts. He struggled to carry his trad rack from car to crag. His posts expressed frustration with a slow death. The community wrote to check in and tell him of the climbing world. To let him know how all his routes are doing. On July 29, 2011, Paul Humphrey died at 39 years and eight months. He left an immense legacy, not the least of which was a habitat for Humboldt climbers. "Climbers who call Humboldt home do so for more than the rock," Humphrey said. " After all, theres no other place like it. Climbers live and play here for the sunsets and the camaraderie. They climb because pursuit of the sport itself draws them out for a walk through the redwoods to find routes." Humphrey spent his time in Humboldt stepping off the beaten path. He inspired a local climbing culture to remain offbeat and in touch with the unknown, peeking around cliff-side corners and venturing further into the redwood curtain. Nowadays, people rarely have the opportunity to discover their own adventure. Humphrey spent his life building access to these novel opportunities. Whether climbing in the ocean spray above the Pacific or deep in the woods on blue-streaked limestone you're sure to have a unique experience. Ollie Hancock (they/them) is a freelance journalist and recreational climber based in Arcata, California. They organize events to uplift trans climbers in their community with an emphasis on building access for marginalized communities. Also read: For exclusive access to all of our fitness, gear, adventure, and travel stories, plus discounts on trips, events, and gear, sign up for Outside+ today. One of the five Asian black bears that is handed over to the Animals Asia Foundation on February 22, 2023. Photo by the foundation Five Asian black bears kept in captivity for 21 years in a house in Hanoi are now free after their owners handed them over to rescuers. The animals had been captured as cubs. The family in Phuc Tho District bought them in Son La, a mountainous province in the north, in 2002 and kept them in cages. The family said they have kept the bears for "commercial purposes." The family voluntarily handed them over on Wednesday after persistent efforts by animal rights activists and local authorities to persuade them. All the bears suffer from fur loss and dermatitis and have been transferred to the Animals Asia Foundation (AAF). Once they arrive at the foundation's rescue center, they will have their health monitored for a period before they are released into a sanctuary. The Hong Kong-based AAF is devoted to ending bear bile farming and improving the welfare of animals across Asia. The foundation was officially established in 1998, but its teams had started rescuing bears since 1994. It has offices in Australia, China, Germany, the U.K., and the U.S. and moon bear sanctuaries in Vietnam and China. In the last two years alone it has rescued 14 captive bears in Vietnam. According to Hanoi's Forest Protection Department, 116 bears still live in captivity in Phuc Tho District, and authorities will continue to persuade their owners to turn them in. In most cases, local residents keep their bears to extract their bile for sale. This story has been updated to clarify the election is Tuesday, Feb. 21. ROCHESTER Last Novembers elections gave New Hampshire Republicans a razor-thin majority: 201 to 198. But one House seat, representing Rochesters Ward 4, is still up for grabs. That race, which ended in a tie, will be decided Tuesday, Feb. 21 in a special election pitting the same candidates against each other once again. And though the stage is small just a few square miles on Rochesters west side the stakes are high. With the New Hampshire House of Representatives as closely split as its been in a century, one more seat for either party could help determine major decisions on the state budget, abortion policy, school choice and more. It is only one seat, says David Walker, the Republican candidate. But if three people are sick and dont show up to vote, you just lost your majority. So this seat is of big importance to both parties. More:Rochester special election matching Grassie vs. Walker is first test for new NH voting law Chuck Grassie (left) and David Walker (right) are running against each other in a closely watched special election. They live on the same street in Rochester's Ward 4. Walker and his opponent, Democratic incumbent Chuck Grassie, have not stopped campaigning since the summer. Im sick of it, says Walker. Its tiring, but well get there. Both parties are pouring energy and money into the election. According to campaign finance reports, Democrats have spent a little under $180,000 on the special election. The New Hampshire Republican Party hasnt filed reports with the Secretary of States office as of Friday and did not answer NHPR inquiries about expenditures. But theyre also spending money on social media ads and glossy mailers. More local news:Complaints filed against Somersworth landlord for rats, no heat. Residents band together. On a recent Saturday, both campaigns sent volunteers and staff to voters doors. Their message was simple: Expect the February revote to be just as tight as the tie last November. Jason Sank, a volunteer for the Walker campaign, said he rarely meets a voter whos undecided. Story continues The way things are right now in American politics, and just life in general, a lot of people dont need pitch, he said Theyre straight party loyalty. Chuck Grassie, a retired town planner and special education teacher, is running for re-election after tying in November with his neighbor, David Walker. Despite the partisan tone to this election, Walker and Grassie have some things in common. They lived on the same street, near the local elementary school. Theyve helped each other out with yard projects, even as theyve put opposing political signs on their lawn. And they worked together on Rochester's city council for years. I would say 99% of the time, Dave and I voted together on the city council. When we teamed up together, we got things passed, said Grassie. Ive known Chuck for 25 years, said Walker, who also served as Rochester mayor. Were friends. Grassie served as a state rep in the 1970s and 80s, then returned to the State House six years ago. He grew up in Ward 4 and tells voters what their street used to be like when he was a kid there in the 1950s. More local news:Portsmouth Naval Shipyard seeks 1,200 more workers, offers $5,000 bonus: How to apply The ward like a lot of Rochester is full of modest single family homes and converted rentals. One of the neighborhoods, on the west side of the Cocheco River, is named Frenchtown after the French Canadians who settled here when Rochester was a bustling mill town. Grassie says most residents work long hours, and they dont have a lot of time for politics. Kalpesh Thakar, the owner of a neighborhood convenience store that sits along the river, said that despite the attention this special election is getting, residents are weary. No one is interested I dont know why, he said. Im interested, but I dont know I am working full-time all the time over here. The partisan nature of the race is also taking its toll. Several voters said they didnt want to share who they plan to vote for, because their neighbors might stop talking to them. Grassie said regardless of the election results, he and Walker will still be friends. Well move on, and the next day Ill honk at him when I see him taking his grandchild to school and when he goes by my house if Im out on the front yard hell honk at me he said. We live on the same street, but on opposite ends of the street. These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org. This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Rochester NH: Grassie vs. Walker special election vote closely watched Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) outlined an optimistic vision for the U.S. and the Republican party in a speech on Wednesday in Iowa as he continues to weigh a 2024 White House bid with trips through early primary and caucus states. Scott, while speaking at Drake University, delivered an encouraging speech a step back from the gloomy and distressed messaging other Republicans have focused on, centered on the Biden administration, early in the campaign. I see 330 million Americans getting back to celebrating our shared blessings again, tolerating our differences again, and having each others backs again, Scott said, according to the remarks. This is what I see. A new American sunrise. Even brighter than before. We know people will say that our message is naive. That our faith is foolish, he continued. But they dont know who theyre talking to. While the South Carolina senator has yet to officially declare a run for the race, former President Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley have both launched their White House campaigns. The two have largely stuck to a message of attacking President Biden and Democrats for policies they said are harming the country and Scott too mentioned his concerns with Biden. Let me be clear: These painful parts of Americas past are not Joe Bidens to dredge up and exploit every time he is losing an argument, Scott said, referring to comments made by the president that labeled a GOP voting law in Georgia as Jim Crow 2.0. I understand that President Biden likes to live in the past. I get it. Hes been in Washington for fifty years. But we need new leaders who will lift us up, not tear us down, he added. Scott, who is the only Black Republican in the Senate, said he is living proof that the Founding Fathers are geniuses who should be celebrated, not canceled. Story continues Were a land of opportunity, not a land of oppression, the senator quipped. This is just my American story. Each of you and your families have your own. Scott, who is also expected to speak in the states most populous county at the Republican Party of Polk County Iowas annual Lincoln Dinner on Wednesday evening. He is visiting early primary and nominating states as part of his Faith in America Tour to tout his Opportunity Agenda. Will you join me as a messenger of hope, a missionary for the power of our ideas? he said in his remarks. I know you conclude a speech with God Bless America. But we should know God has already blessed us, Scott said. So let us be a blessing. Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence who has also floated a bid for the GOP nomination in the 2024 presidential race have also made appearances in Iowa in the past week. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images) A sequel to the 2020 spy comedy film My Spy is in the works, with several of the stars of the original film set to return, including Dave Bautista. Alongside Bautista, Chloe Coleman, Kristen Schaal, and Ken Jeong will all return to the sequel, titled My Spy: The Eternal City, which is set to be directed by returning director Pete Segal. The returning cast members will also be joined by newcomers Anna Faris (Mom, Scary Movie), Craig Robinson (The Office), and Flula Borg (Pitch Perfect, The Suicide Squad). The sequel to My Spy will focus on a now teenage Sophie (Chloe Coleman), who convinces J.J. (Dave Bautista) to chaperone her school choir trip to Italy where they both unwittingly end up pawns in an international terrorist plot targeting CIA Chief, David Kim (Ken Jeong), and his son, Collin also Sophies best friend. We were so delighted with the success of My Spy. It is an absolute privilege to reunite with Pete Segal, Dave Bautista, Chloe Coleman, and the rest of the talented cast and filmmakersalong with some very exciting additions, said Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon and MGM Studios. With the sequel, our Prime Video customers are in store for another dynamic story, complete with twists, hilarious performances, and even a little romance. The original film was released in 2020 and told the story of a CIA agent (Bautista) who finds himself having to deal with a nine-year-old girl in a family that he and his tech support are surveilling while undercover. Kristen Schaal played Bobbi, J.J.s tech specialist, while Ken Jeong played David Kim, J.J.s boss at the CIA. The film was a hit for Amazon, becoming the third most-watched SVOD (subscription video-on-demand) film of the year, according to Screen Engine. The post My Spy 2 Gets Official Title, Dave Bautista & More to Return appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. Former president Donald Trump is visiting the site of the train derailment in East Palestine near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border on Wednesday and is reportedly planning to meet with local officials and donate thousands of gallons of cleaning supplies and water to support the cleanup effort. The move has been blasted as a political stunt by former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, a Republican who served in the Obama administration. Mr Trumps visit comes as the CEO of the rail operator, Norfolk Southern, faced tough questions from a reporter on how long the company will commit to remaining in East Palestine for the clean-up effort. The CEO dodged a question on the companys lobbying efforts against some federal rail safety measures. What were really interested in is solution-based safety rules, and were very focused on following the science, CEO Alan H Shaw said. On Tuesday, another derailment took place in Nebraska when 30 cars from a Union Pacific coal train slid off the tracks outside of Gothenburg in the early hours of the morning, sparking a fresh emergency response operation. Fortunately, no one was injured. Key points Trump to visit site of Ohio train derailment today Nebraska coal train derailment sparks emergency operation Pennsylvania governor hits out at Norfolk Southern greed and incompetence Ohio officials share video of them drinking tap water to encourage residents Toxic spill health concerns prompt state to open East Palestine clinic Angry Ohio residents seek answers on train's toxic spill Trump tells Joe Biden to get over here during East Palestine visit 08:00 , Graig Graziosi During a visit to East Palestine, Ohio, the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment, Donald Trump was asked if he had a message for Joe Biden. Mr Trump replied by saying Get over here. Mr Biden has been under scrutiny by Republicans, including the villages mayor Trent Conaway, for taking a trip to Ukraine but not visiting the site of the train derailment. Story continues TRUMP IN EAST PALESTINE, OHIO Reporter: "What's your message to Joe Biden?" Trump: "Get over here." pic.twitter.com/LsmVnboL2I VINnews (@VINNews) February 22, 2023 07:00 , Graig Graziosi Trump tells East Palestine residents they wont be forgotten Donald Trump told residents of East Palestine, Ohio the site of a Norfolk Southern train derailment that they wont be forgotten, and that he stands with them in their struggle for restitution following the accident. Mr Trump donated bottled water and cleaning supplies to the residents during his visit. Trump to East Palestine, Ohio residents: "You are not forgotten ... We stand with you" pic.twitter.com/kHy7VqqnBI The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 22, 2023 Yesterday the Biden administration announced that the EPA was issuing a binding order to ensure that Norfolk Southern stayed at the site and continued its clean-up efforts in the village. If the company deviates from the EPAs plan it will continue the work and charge the company triple the costs of the work that needs done. Pure political theater: Lincoln Project overshadow Trumps Ohio visit with video highlighting rail safety hypocrisy 06:00 , Graig Graziosi The Lincoln Project has released a scathing video criticising former president Donald Trump for rolling back railroad regulations ahead of his visit to East Palestine, Ohio. The group, run by former Republicans opposed to Mr Trumps grip on the party, released the video as the former president heads to the location of the toxic train derailment that has local residents concerened. As Donald Trump travels to East Palestine, Ohio today, lets ask him one question, the videos narrator says. Why did he end the railroad regulations? Read more: Lincoln Project overshadow Trump Ohio visit with video on rail safety hypocrisy Why did the Norfolk Southern train derail in Ohio? 04:59 , Graig Graziosi The National Transportation Safety Board is in the midst of an investigation into the crash. It has released some preliminary reports, but a full report is likely still some time away. The NTSB has already established that the immediate cause of the crash was the failure of a wheel bearing due to overheating. NTSB investigators have identified and examined the rail car that initiated the derailment. Surveillance video from a residence showed what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment. The wheelset from the suspected railcar has been collected as evidence for metallurgical examination, the agency said in its report. The suspected overheated wheel bearing has been collected and will be examined by engineers from the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, D.C. Read more: Why did a Norfolk Southern train derail in Ohio? Norfolk Southerns $4m-a-year CEO dodges question on spending millions to lobby against new safety rule 04:00 , Graig Graziosi Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw appeared unwilling to provide details when pressed on why he lobbied against increased safety measures for the rail industry. From the story: Steven Ditmeyer, a former top official at the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), has told investigative news outlet The Lever that the severity of the Ohio crash might have been aggravated by the lack of ECP brakes. During the PBS interview, Mr Bennet asked Mr Shaw about another rule change his company had opposed: In November and December, Norfolk Southern met with federal regulators and pushed back against this proposed rule that would have, in most cases, mandated at least two crew members on trains. Why did Norfolk Southern spend so much money, millions upon millions of dollars, lobbying against it? Read more: Norfolk Southerns $4m-a-year CEO dodges question on lobbying against new safety rule Watch: The Lincoln Project releases ad highlighting derailment and Trumps deregulation efforts hours before former presidents visit to East Palestine 03:00 , Graig Graziosi The Lincoln Project has released a new video focused on the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and rail industry deregulation efforts Donald Trump made possible during his time in office. The group released the video just hours before Mr Trump is set to visit the village. At the site of the Ohio train derailment, Trump fires up his 2024 battle plan 02:00 , Graig Graziosi When Donald Trump won office in 2016, it wasnt initially clear who would take the credit, or blame, for the election of a reality TV star to the US presidency. While Democrats including Hillary Clinton initially focused their fire on Russian disinformation and the role of conspiracies on social media, others pointed to a different phenomenon: the growing conservatism of the Rust Belt, the heartland of Americas manufacturing power. It was here where progressives and Maga Republicans diagnosed the same problem: an entire region, spurned once too often by the shuttering of massive plants and the resulting regional economic collapses which followed, had turned towards the only politician unwilling to dismiss them as flyover country Donald Trump. Even Democrats find themselves admitting that Mr Trump successfully painted himself as a hero of Americas working class, and in particular a hero of the kinds of blue collar union workers whose families had voted Democrat for years, maybe even decades. That was the embarrassed anger which was evident whenever progressives and even some centrist Democrats noted that Ms Clintons campaign had failed to reach out to and campaign alongside labour unions in Michigan, or even worse, failed to even show up at all in Wisconsin. After 2016, the question for the left was clear: had the Democratic Party sacrificed its connection to the working class, and in particular to unions, in favour of chasing the suburbanite Republicans and independents whom they wagered were turned off by Donald Trumps caustic rhetoric? Read more: At the site of the Ohio train derailment, Trump fires up his 2024 battle plan How the Biden administration responded to the Ohio train derailment 01:00 , Graig Graziosi Despite Mr Buttigiegs comments there, the Biden administration has faced increasing scrutiny in the wake of the Ohio train derailment as locals ask wheres Pete? and East Palestines mayor (as we saw earlier) called the presidents Monday visist to Ukraine a slap in the face. Since the disaster on 3 February there have been criticisms, both locally and nationally, that the Biden administration was too slow to react. So what exactly have the president and his transportation secretary done since the train derailment and are the criticisms warranted? Graig Graziosi has the answers. What the Biden administration has done in response to the Ohio train derailment ICYMI: Pennsylvania governor calls out corporate greed and incompetence of Norfolk Southern over train derailment 00:00 , Graig Graziosi Cleanup gets underway at site after Ohio train derailment 23:00 , Graig Graziosi League of Conservative Voters says Trump feigning concern for East Palestine 22:15 , Graig Graziosi Sara Chieffo of the League of Conservative Voters called out Donald Trump, saying he was feining concern for residents of East Palestine during his visit to the site of a train derailment in the village. Its the height of hypocrisy for Trump to feign concern for the community of East Palestine after years of openly mocking and rolling back environmental safeguards, she said. "Its the height of hypocrisy for Trump to feign concern for the community of East Palestine after years of openly mocking and rolling back environmental safeguards." LCV's @SaraChieffo Trump put communities like East Palestine in harm's way. Period.https://t.co/vgv85CLEUz LCV League of Conservation Voters (@LCVoters) February 22, 2023 Trump tells crowd of East Palestine supporters to have fun everybody during visit to train wreck site 22:00 , Graig Graziosi Donald Trump was greeted by crowds of supporters in the village of East Palestine Wednesday, during which he told fans to have fun everybody while he was visiting the site of a derailed Norfolk Southern train whose cargo of hazardous chemicals was vented and burned over the village. Mr Trump also bought lunch for first responders at a local McDonalds and passed out water and cleaning supplies during his visit. Trump brags about bringing Trump water to families affected by Ohio train derailment 21:40 , Graig Graziosi Donald Trump traveled to East Palestine, Ohio on Wednesday where he bragged about bringing clean Trump water to families whose lives were upended by a massive train derailment earlier this month. The ex-president was flanked by local officials as he noted that he was bringing water, Trump water, actually, most of it, to families in the region. It couldnt immediately be verified what percentage of the bottles donated by the president were branded with his own name. Some of it, we had to go to a much lesser quality water, quipped the former president. It was a scene that played out as a perfect headache for the Biden White House, as the ex-presidents visit occurred just hours before Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was set to visit the region and therefore allowed Mr Trump to claim the mantle of first to the scene. Read more: Trump brags about bringing Trump water to families affected by Ohio derailment Trump accuses federal government of indifference and betrayal in response to East Palestine train derailment 21:30 , Graig Graziosi Donald Trump has accused the federal government of indifference and betrayal in response to East Palestine train derailment. Officials from the EPA, the NTSB, and the DOT were on site in East Palestine on the day the accident occurred. The EPA has also bound Norfolk Southern under penalty of fine to continue its work paying for and cleaning up the crash site. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said during a press conference that Joe Biden had reached out personally to offer additional federal aid. Mr DeWine did not ask for further federal assistance until 16 February, which the White House responded to by dispatching a multi-agency team, including FEMA officials. Trump buys lunch for firefighters and first responders at East Palestine McDonalds 21:20 , Graig Graziosi Donald Trump bought lunch for the firefighters and first responders in East Palestine during his visit to the village where a Norfolk Southern train derailed. The former president took the group of workers to the villages McDonalds location for their meals. President Trump buying lunch for all the firefighters and first responders in East Palestine, Ohio pic.twitter.com/5D6ba1BmjD Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 22, 2023 Trump says East Palestine mayor easy to find and compliments village on having no crime and no problems while standing at train crash site 21:10 , Graig Graziosi Donald Trump praised the village of East Palestine during his visit to the train derailment site, complimenting it for having no crime. Its a nice place, right? What do you have, zero crime? Zero crime, no problems, he said while looking over the spot where a Norfolk Southern train derailed, after which its cargo of hazardous vinyl chloride was vented and burned, sending a pillar of toxic smoke into the air above the village. He met with several local officials during his trip, including Senator JD Vance, Congressman Bill Johnson, and the villages mayor, Trent Conaway, who he said was very easy to find. WATCH: Trump on the ground with the Mayor of East Palestine, Ohio "It's a nice place, right? What do you have, zero crime? Zero crime, no problems." pic.twitter.com/1VpNFraun7 Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 22, 2023 Trump touts his Trump water, during visit 21:02 , Graig Graziosi Donald Trump visited the site of the Ohio train derailment in East Palestine today, where he was welcomed by crowds of supporters. Mr Trump brought thousands of bottles of water as well as cleaning supplies with him to distribute to the residents of the village. He told residents they should try to get their hands on his Trump water rather than the much less quality water his team had to source in order to provide enough to distribute. Trump says he brought "Trump water" for the residents of East Palestine, and also "much lesser quality water" pic.twitter.com/DpLwcPfNQk Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 22, 2023 Trump bashes Biden during East Palestine visit, silent on Norfolk Southern 20:30 , Graig Graziosi Donald Trump took the opportunity during his visit to East Palestine, where a Norfolk Southern train derailed, to take a few shots at Joe Biden. He said Mr Biden should get over here when asked if he had a message for the president, and later noted that he had visited Ukraine, and wondered aloud if the president would have money left for the residents of East Palestine. The federal government has issued a binding order forcing Norfolk Southern to clean-up and pay for the clean-up efforts in the village. The Biden administration also dispatched EPA, NTSB, and DOT teams to the site immediately after the crash, and Governor Mike DeWine noted during a press conference that the president reached out personally and offered additional federal assistance, which the governor declined until 16 February. Mr Trump took credit for the federal response to the accident, which began before he announced he planned to visit the village. Trump tells Joe Biden to get over here during East Palestine visit 20:10 , Graig Graziosi During a visit to East Palestine, Ohio, the site of the Norfolk Southern train derailment, Donald Trump was asked if he had a message for Joe Biden. Mr Trump replied by saying Get over here. Mr Biden has been under scrutiny by Republicans, including the villages mayor Trent Conaway, for taking a trip to Ukraine but not visiting the site of the train derailment. TRUMP IN EAST PALESTINE, OHIO Reporter: "What's your message to Joe Biden?" Trump: "Get over here." pic.twitter.com/LsmVnboL2I VINnews (@VINNews) February 22, 2023 Trump tells East Palestine residents they wont be forgotten' 19:49 , Graig Graziosi Donald Trump told residents of East Palestine, Ohio the site of a Norfolk Southern train derailment that they wont be forgotten, and that he stands with them in their struggle for restitution following the accident. Mr Trump donated bottled water and cleaning supplies to the residents during his visit. Trump to East Palestine, Ohio residents: "You are not forgotten ... We stand with you" pic.twitter.com/kHy7VqqnBI The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) February 22, 2023 Yesterday the Biden administration announced that the EPA was issuing a binding order to ensure that Norfolk Southern stayed at the site and continued its clean-up efforts in the village. If the company deviates from the EPAs plan it will continue the work and charge the company triple the costs of the work that needs done. Pure political theater: Lincoln Project overshadow Trumps Ohio visit with video highlighting rail safety hypocrisy 19:45 , Graig Graziosi The Lincoln Project has released a scathing video criticising former president Donald Trump for rolling back railroad regulations ahead of his visit to East Palestine, Ohio. The group, run by former Republicans opposed to Mr Trumps grip on the party, released the video as the former president heads to the location of the toxic train derailment that has local residents concerened. As Donald Trump travels to East Palestine, Ohio today, lets ask him one question, the videos narrator says. Why did he end the railroad regulations? Read more: Lincoln Project overshadow Trump Ohio visit with video on rail safety hypocrisy Why did the Norfolk Southern train derail in Ohio? 19:30 , Graig Graziosi The National Transportation Safety Board is in the midst of an investigation into the crash. It has released some preliminary reports, but a full report is likely still some time away. The NTSB has already established that the immediate cause of the crash was the failure of a wheel bearing due to overheating. NTSB investigators have identified and examined the rail car that initiated the derailment. Surveillance video from a residence showed what appears to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment. The wheelset from the suspected railcar has been collected as evidence for metallurgical examination, the agency said in its report. The suspected overheated wheel bearing has been collected and will be examined by engineers from the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, D.C. Read more: Why did a Norfolk Southern train derail in Ohio? Trump arrives in East Palestine, speaks with mayor and Senator JD Vance 19:27 , Graig Graziosi Donald Trump has arrived in East Palestine, Ohio, to visit the scene of the Norfolk Southern train derailment. Mr Trump was seen chatting with Trent Conaway, the mayor of East Palestine, and Senator JD Vance of Ohio. Former President Donald Trump speaking with J.D. Vance and the mayor of #EastPalestine @wkyc pic.twitter.com/B7zMQ2P0hz Neil Fischer (@NeilFischerTV) February 22, 2023 GOP Congresswoman attacks Biden, Buttigieg over train derailment response 19:15 , Graig Graziosi Republican Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee attacked US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Joe Biden over their response to the Ohio train derailment. Her attack comes just as Donald Trump is set to visit East Palestine. When East Palestine pleaded for help after a massive toxic spill, Biden left the country for a photo op and his Secretary of a Transportation, Pete Buttigieg, took personal time. Which excuse is worse? Rep. Diana Harshbarger (@RepHarshbarger) February 22, 2023 While Ms Harshbargers attacks target Mr Biden and Mr Buttieig, it omits that the federal government, including the EPA, NTSB, and DOT officials have been responding to the train accident since its initial derailment on 3 February. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw to participate in cable news townhall tonight 19:00 , Graig Graziosi Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw is reportedly joining a CNN townhall that will be televised tonight. Mr Shaw and officials from Norfolk Southern skipped an earlier townhall meeting in East Palestine last week, claiming officials felt their safety might be threatened if they participated. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and EPA Administrator Michael Regan will also be participating in the event. JUST CONFIRMED TO JOIN CNNS LIVE TOWN HALL, TONIGHT AT 9PET: Norfolk Southern @NSCorp CEO Alan Shaw EPA Administrator @EPAMichaelRegan Director of @OHdeptofhealth Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff Director of @OhioEPA Anne Vogel https://t.co/4i2B4hFHRP CNN Communications (@CNNPR) February 22, 2023 Crowds gather in East Palestine to meet with Trump 18:42 , Graig Graziosi Reporters on the ground in East Palestine report that crowds have gathered in the village in anticipation of Donald Trumps visit to the village today. Columbiana County, where East Palestine is located, voted overwhelmingly for Mr Trump in the 2020 election. A few hundred people waiting to get a glimpse of former President Trump who is headed to East Palestine after landing in nearby Youngstown. All as Norfolk Southern trains continue to barrel through. Many tell us they hope the extra attention will ensure support. pic.twitter.com/sveGCwn5nW Evan Lambert (@EvanLambertTV) February 22, 2023 Donald Trump lands in Ohio 18:26 , Graig Graziosi Former President Donald Trump has landed in Vienna, Ohio, approximately 36 miles north of East Palestine. Mr Trump plans on visiting East Palestine and donating bottled water and cleaning supplies to the village during his stop. Former President Donald Trump is on the ground in Ohio today to meet with folks impacted by the East Palestine train derailment & donate supplies. pic.twitter.com/JWReXm6fUT Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) February 22, 2023 Norfolk Southerns $4m-a-year CEO dodges question on spending millions to lobby against new safety rule 17:38 , Graig Graziosi Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw appeared unwilling to provide details when pressed on why he lobbied against increased safety measures for the rail industry. From the story: Steven Ditmeyer, a former top official at the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), has told investigative news outlet The Lever that the severity of the Ohio crash might have been aggravated by the lack of ECP brakes. During the PBS interview, Mr Bennet asked Mr Shaw about another rule change his company had opposed: In November and December, Norfolk Southern met with federal regulators and pushed back against this proposed rule that would have, in most cases, mandated at least two crew members on trains. Why did Norfolk Southern spend so much money, millions upon millions of dollars, lobbying against it? Read more: Norfolk Southerns $4m-a-year CEO dodges question on lobbying against new safety rule Pete Buttigieg reportedly heading to East Palestine on Thursday 17:08 , Graig Graziosi US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is reportedly travelling to East Palestine, Ohio on Thursday. He will arrive the day after Donald Trumps visit to the village. Exclusive >> Pete Buttigieg headed to Ohio, day after Trump is there and 20 days after accident, highlighting what a huge political problem this has become for the administration. https://t.co/p1H3ldH09P Matthew Kaminski (@KaminskiMK) February 22, 2023 East Palestine preps for Trump visit with welcome signs and even a Trump honey vendor 16:37 , Graig Graziosi Some residents of East Palestine, which is located in reliably red Columbiana County, Ohio, appear to be excited for former President Donald Trump to visit. NBC News Henry Gomez shared images from the village ahead of Mr Trumps arrival. Todd Gerhart, a Trump supporter from Charleston, S.C., drove here last night to sell his honey in downtown East Palestine today. He says 100% of the profits will go to community cleanup efforts. pic.twitter.com/fWmDUZJYd9 Henry J. Gomez (@HenryJGomez) February 22, 2023 Trump begins his travel to East Palestine 15:55 , Graig Graziosi Donald Trump appears to be on his way to the village of East Palestine. Few details of his visit were made public. Its unclear where hell be or how long he plans on staying in Ohio. Donald Trump heads to East Palestine Ohio pic.twitter.com/aYcnTicgoX Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) February 22, 2023 Trump to donate water, cleaning supplies during East Palestine visit 15:40 , Graig Graziosi Donald Trump will reportedly donate 13 pallets of bottled water as well as cleaning supplies to the village of East Palestine during his trip on Wednesday. Mr Trump will be joined by East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway, Senator JD Vance, Congressman Bill Johnson and other Republican state officials. Watch: The Lincoln Project releases ad highlighting derailment and Trumps deregulation efforts hours before former presidents visit to East Palestine 15:20 , Graig Graziosi The Lincoln Project has released a new video focused on the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and rail industry deregulation efforts Donald Trump made possible during his time in office. The group released the video just hours before Mr Trump is set to visit the village. What the Biden administration has and hasnt done in response to the Ohio train derailment 15:00 , Graig Graziosi The Biden administration has faced increasing scrutiny in the wake of the Ohio train derailment, as locals question wheres Pete and East Palestines mayor calls the presidents Ukraine visit a slap in the face. Norfolk Southern was forced to vent and burn the trains load of vinyl chloride, a hazardous material used in the manufacturing of certain plastics, leaving East Palestine residents worried about their health and the longterm effects it might have on their small community. Since the 3 February derailment there have been criticisms, both locally and nationally, that the Biden administration was slow to move to address the disaster. What exactly have Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg done since the train derailment, and are the criticisms warranted? Read more: What the Biden administration has done in response to the Ohio train derailment At the site of the Ohio train derailment, Trump fires up his 2024 battle plan 14:32 , Graig Graziosi When Donald Trump won office in 2016, it wasnt initially clear who would take the credit, or blame, for the election of a reality TV star to the US presidency. While Democrats including Hillary Clinton initially focused their fire on Russian disinformation and the role of conspiracies on social media, others pointed to a different phenomenon: the growing conservatism of the Rust Belt, the heartland of Americas manufacturing power. It was here where progressives and Maga Republicans diagnosed the same problem: an entire region, spurned once too often by the shuttering of massive plants and the resulting regional economic collapses which followed, had turned towards the only politician unwilling to dismiss them as flyover country Donald Trump. Even Democrats find themselves admitting that Mr Trump successfully painted himself as a hero of Americas working class, and in particular a hero of the kinds of blue collar union workers whose families had voted Democrat for years, maybe even decades. That was the embarrassed anger which was evident whenever progressives and even some centrist Democrats noted that Ms Clintons campaign had failed to reach out to and campaign alongside labour unions in Michigan, or even worse, failed to even show up at all in Wisconsin. After 2016, the question for the left was clear: had the Democratic Party sacrificed its connection to the working class, and in particular to unions, in favour of chasing the suburbanite Republicans and independents whom they wagered were turned off by Donald Trumps caustic rhetoric? Read more: At the site of the Ohio train derailment, Trump fires up his 2024 battle plan ICYMI: Ohio officials drink East Palestine water after train derailment 14:00 , Joe Sommerlad Local and state officials drank from an East Palestine sink to help assuage fears that the villages water was contaminated following a Norfolk Southern train derailment in early February. How the Biden administration responded to the Ohio train derailment 13:00 , Joe Sommerlad Despite Mr Buttigiegs comments there, the Biden administration has faced increasing scrutiny in the wake of the Ohio train derailment as locals ask wheres Pete? and East Palestines mayor (as we saw earlier) called the presidents Monday visist to Ukraine a slap in the face. Since the disaster on 3 February there have been criticisms, both locally and nationally, that the Biden administration was too slow to react. So what exactly have the president and his transportation secretary done since the train derailment and are the criticisms warranted? Graig Graziosi has the answers. What the Biden administration has done in response to the Ohio train derailment Pete Buttigieg calls out Marco Rubio for softening rail safety requirements prior to Ohio train derailment 12:00 , Joe Sommerlad The US transportation secretary replied to criticism levied at him by Republican senator Marco Rubio by pointing out the lawmaker had voted to soften safety regulations prior to the Ohio train derailment in East Palestine. The facts dont lie. The 2021 letter you signed was obviously drafted by railroad industry lobbyists. It supports waivers that would reduce visual track inspections, he wrote. Now: will you vote to help us toughen rail safety accountability and fines, or not? The facts don't lie. The 2021 letter you signed was obviously drafted by railroad industry lobbyists. It supports waivers that would reduce visual track inspections. Now: will you vote to help us toughen rail safety accountability and fines, or not? https://t.co/o5MGvbEZbA Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) February 21, 2023 Pennsylvania governor calls out 'corporate greed and incompetence' of Norfolk Southern over train derailment 11:00 , Graig Graziosi Cleanup gets underway at site after Ohio train derailment 11:18 , Joe Sommerlad Its 9:15 a.m. in Seoul, and most of the nine members of TWICE have just woken up. Theyre barefaced, dressed casually and cozily in warm knits and sweatshirts; Chaeyoung still wears her parka hood, her blonde hair peeking out of the bottom. Nayeon, seated next to her, cleans her glasses with her shirt sleeve. Tzuyu, however, is alert and attentive. When I ask (through a translator) whos the early riser of the group, everyone points to her. This morning, the women of TWICE look more like students whove arrived at an early-morning class than the wildly popular K-pop girl group they are. But for their globe-spanning cohort of fans (known as ONCE), this is a familiar sight. The groups long-running YouTube reality and vlog show, TWICE TV, along with other online vlog content, have gone behind the scenes with the act since its 2015 debut. Over the past seven-plus years, fans have followed along as Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung and Tzuyu (who range in age from 23 to 27) have recorded music; toured across South Korea and Asia; attended award ceremonies; debuted their first-ever English-language single, The Feels; and, last year, played and sold out U.S. arenas, a still-rare feat for K-pop artists. More from Billboard That was our first time having a concert of that scale, so it was really shocking for us to see so many fans in the U.S., says Jihyo, recalling TWICEs two nights in May 2022 at Los Angeles Banc of California Stadium. Read TWICEs full Billboard Women in Music interview here. You can purchase the exclusive TWICE zine here. Best of Billboard Click here to read the full article. UGA Law School faculty member Lisa Milot poses with her dog, Indie. The University of Georgia is looking to provide more legal protections for our four-legged companions. The University of Georgia School of Law is the recipient of a $1.35 million grant from a foundation based in New York City that provides money directed at the welfare of dogs. UGA Law recently announced the grant, saying the money will be used to help reduce the neglect and abuse of dogs. The moneys use will be directed through the schools Practicum in Animal Welfare Skills (PAWS) and its director Lisa Milot. The Stanton Foundation, established by former CBS president Frank Stanton, directs its grants to canine welfare along with non-animal endeavors like nuclear security and First Amendment rights. The UGA Law school is proud to be pioneering this important work and advancing legal education with the help of The Stanton Foundation, noted Dean Peter Bo Rutledge in a statement announcing the grant. Oconee Blotter: Muffin delivery by drone takes bad turn after crash landing Animal Welfare:Athens dog Arte, victim of horrific abuse, now loves kids, a couch and trips to Normal Hardware How the grant will help The money will be used to expand on the law school's programs that already deal with animal welfare in Georgia. Plans also call for a one-credit course focusing on animal welfare for law and undergraduate students. Milot said a proposed one-credit course on animal welfare would likely attract students. She said the animal welfare clinic that she teaches attracts more students that she can accept for the class. PAWS works with jurisdictions throughout Georgia to prevent neglect and cruelty to animals, including hosting workshops to train animal control staff, law enforcement officers and others working with animal welfare cases, according to Milot. PAWS also reviews local ordinances and sometimes drafts the language for ordinances to help various jurisdictions pass those laws, she said. The law school program also has community programs to help residents in need with veterinary care for their pets in an affordable way, she said. Story continues Numerous counties in Georgia dont have basic care standards for animals, according to Milot. About one-third of Georgias counties dont have local animal control ordinances; she noted Oglethorpe County as a local example. In Oglethorpe County, local law enforcement only enforce state laws addressing animal cruelty cases. A personal interest in animal welfare Milot is personally interested in the welfare of animals and has pet dogs that she adopted that were in shelters and slated to be euthanized as they were not considered adoptable. She has been interested in laws on animal welfare since she was a partner in a law firm in Washington, D.C., where she was also a volunteer at a shelter. When I moved down here, I started volunteering at the shelter. I walked out the first time crying and decided I was going to change things, she said. She created a nonprofit called Athens Pets and in 2017 was given the opportunity to develop a practicum for the law school. Since that time, the euthanizing of cats and dogs at the animal control shelter in Athens has dramatically dropped, according to Milot. She also began volunteering with animal control and going into the field with its officers. I learned a lot of it (abuse) wasnt intentional and a lot could have been fixed simply with having resources available, she said. Milot said she began putting an emphasis on prevention and trying to keep animals in good homes. This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Animal welfare to benefit from grant donated to UGA Law School A company that did repair work following a fire Aug. 4, 2020, at the Fenix Apartment complex, 2315 Sprague Ave., is suing the owner for breach of contract. A $1 million breach of contract lawsuit filed in Pueblo County District Court alleges the owner of Pueblo's historic Sacred Heart Orphanage building has not paid for repairs made by a Peyton roofing company. The former orphanage building located at 2315 Sprague Ave. was built in 1904 and has been used in recent years as an apartment complex and a meeting place for Victory Life Ministries. A fire on Aug. 4, 2020, destroyed one of the complexs 50 units and forced residents out due to severe damage to another 11 units, the Chieftain reported. The lawsuit, filed Feb. 7 by Tectum Roofing LLC of Peyton, lists defendants Fenix Historic Investments, Bellco Credit Union and the Public Trustee of Pueblo County, which is a beneficiary under the deeds of trust for the building. The lawsuit alleges Tectum, as general contractor, entered into an insurance contract for roofing and other insurance work on the building. Fenix has materially breached the contract by failing to pay Tectum all amounts due and owing under the contract, the lawsuit states. Tectum supplied certain equipment, materials and labor to Fenix for incorporation into the project with the reasonable expectation it would be paid. The lawsuit indicates Tectums last substantive work on the contract took place Jan. 10. It indicates the company recorded a statement of lien for a little more than $1 million on Jan. 26 with the Pueblo County Clerk and Recorders Office. The lawsuit, filed by Murray Weiner and Hilary Roland of the Mulliken, Weiner, Berg & Jolivet law firm in Colorado Springs, seeks payment of the contract plus interest. According to the Pueblo County assessors website, the building has a $3 million assessed valuation. A search of Colorado Secretary of States records indicates Fenix has a Castle Rock mailing address and a principal street address in Lone Tree. Denver-area Realtor James Yeager is listed as the registered agent on the business summary. I own the building for the moment, but it is under contract for purchase, Yeager said Friday. The terms of the contract are subject to a confidentiality agreement. Story continues The building's new owners did not respond to the Chieftain's request for comment. The district court has not yet set a hearing date on the lawsuit. More on fire:Pueblo United Way leads effort to help displaced fire victims Chieftain reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached by email at tharmon@chieftain.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps. This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Roofing company sues Pueblo apartments owner for breach of contract The United States has supplied weapons of increasing cost and sophistication to Ukraine including M777 towed howitzers, Javelin top-attack anti-tank missiles, and eventually M1 Abrams main battle tanks and Patriot air defense systems. But military aid need not always be exotic to have an impact. Starting before Russias invasion of Ukraine one year ago and continued since, the U.S. also provided modest quantities of low-tech infantry support weaponsM240 and M2 machine guns, 60-millimeter mortars, Mark 19 automatic grenade launchers, and M82 Barret sniper rifles. These small arms have made their way both to elite commando units, but also to some of Ukraines most under-equipped troops, where they are making a difference as testified by Olha Bihar, known by her callsign Witch (Vyzdma). Formerly a lawyer working on her Ph.D., Witch now commands a mortar platoon in the 204th battalion of the 241st Separate Territorial Defense Force (TDF) Brigade. At least 57,000 women serve in Ukraines armed forces, including at least 13,000 in roles near frontline combat. The lightly armed 241stostensibly formed for local defense of the capital Kyivwas one of several brigades thrust into the thick of the fighting for Bakhmut, a town in Eastern Ukraine of middling strategic value that has become an obsessive focus of Russian offensive operations. Since the fall of 2022, tens of thousands of Russian soldiers and mercenaries have been killed or wounded attempting to capture the city. In a video, Witch recounts an intense battle between October 5-8, 2022 when her platoon defended Bakhmuts Siniat ALC asphalt mixing plant. (Her translated comments have been lightly altered for concision.) Witch tells the story of the Bakhmut Asphalt Plant pic.twitter.com/UC3y0NsDjQ Sofia Ukraini (@SlavaUk30722777) February 22, 2023 The battle was brutal. We faced the enemy three times our number in close quarter gun fightsand Russian long-range artillery on top of that. The Muscovites [Russians] were able to penetrate a quarter of the territory we were defendingSo, the orcs occupied part of the planet and we set out to provide fire support to our people pinned there. The fire support team had to work from a depression, without a line of sight. Story continues As far as artillery, all we had was a small 60-millimeter mortarfiring range 1.5 kilometers [1 mile] at most. And the American Mark 19 grenade launcher, that saved our butts on multiple occasions, despite its equally short 2 kilometer [1.24 mile] firing range. But again, you dont see what youre shooting at, you fire blindly, guided from a drone. Though intended for direct fire as particularly beastly machine gun, the Mark 19 can be adapted for high-angle indirect attacks, a method improvised by a Marine unit to dispatch Taliban ambushers in Afghanistan. Reportedly, tables for indirect fire between 900 meters to 2 kilometers were included in prior Mark 19 field manuals, but not the latest publication. Witch continues: In my platoon, I have this hothead name Sheva. He supported us with the Mark 19 in that depression to fire ballistically [in an arc] at the attacking Russiansyou have to shoot carefully so as not to hit your own troops. He fires onenails a Moscovite right in the ass. Fires a secondhits another one. Sheva is holding off the Russian attack when suddenly the Mark 19 jams. Meanwhile, the Russians called in the artillery and started adjusting it towards Shevas position. Without much deliberation, Sheva whips out that teeny-weeny mortar, basically a toy, an oversized under-barrel grenade launcher. He sticks it into the ground and starts blasting. Just look at how he was aiming it! In the interview, Witch produces a cell phone video in which Sheva can bee seen adjusting the mortars firing angle by propping it up with a chunk of rock. How else were you gonna aim it? That old American mortar didnt have a bipod. Yet he managed to hit the same enemy trench three times with it. Russian artillery eventually wounded Sheva and his entire crew. He was forcibly evacuated, because he refused to leave, and I had to threaten to arrest him if he didnt go to the hospital. A shell fragment had busted his helmet and sliced his rifles [noise-reducing] suppressor cleanly in half, as if with a knife. When he left, the first thing he did was to pluck a rose. Bakhmut is famous for its roses. This is not Witchs only story involving Bakhmut, Sheva, and their creative use of American weapons, as recounted in an earlier video. Witch had a crazy idea in Bakhmut #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/HyjoV1yqHj Sofia Ukraini (@SlavaUk30722777) February 19, 2023 From where we are, we couldnt see the Russian positions. But from the recon drone I can see them constantly mucking about in the rear. So I said, What if we put a Mark 19 on a pickup truck, race up the Road of Life [one of the few supply lines Ukraine maintains with Bakhmut] stop behind a hill and lob a full magazine of grenades at them. Theres enough time to empty out all 32 grenades and be gone before return mortar fire reaches us. I did the math! Though the driver was aghast, they gave the idea a try: Minefield to the right, minefield to the left, orcs in front, clear line of sight. They swerve the truck, loose a full belt of 40-millimeter grenades. As soon as they dart off, mortar bombs begin falling where they just stood. We terrorized them for two whole weeks this way. Intercepted communications apparently revealed Russians forces were vexed by the devils chariot, which seemed to combine the rate of fire of an automatic grenade launcher with the trajectory of a mortar. The asphalt plant eventually fell to Russian troops in mid-October 2022, only to be recaptured later that month by a Ukrainian counterattack. Control has seesawed since. While Russia has struggled to hold any parts of Bakhmut proper, it has made progress interdicting all but one of the road Ukraine relies upon to resupply the Ukrainian garrison. Ukrainian forces may therefore eventually be compelled to withdraw while a line of retreat remains openbut only after having absorbed much of the brunt of Russias winter offensive. Tiny Artillery in a Big War 60-millimeter mortars are a relatively recent addition to Ukraines armed forces, as their progenitor, the Soviet Red Army, didnt much use of light mortars, unlike the U.S. and British armies in World War II. Though much less powerful than medium or heavy mortars, light mortars are highly portable, and can give low-level infantry units a weapon that can accurately bombard points targets with indirect fire. Video from Ukraines SSO reportedly showing a Russian sniper pair coming under 60mm mortar fire. https://t.co/kywzMppr0v pic.twitter.com/JEZ6c4kMc6 Rob Lee (@RALee85) May 14, 2022 Given the prevalence of small-unit actions in Ukraine (squads/platoons/companies), and the difficulty such units can have obtaining support from distant artillery, the mortars give lower-level commanders more flexibility. The U.S. is known to have supplied Ukraine with 60-millimeter M224 systems, which weighs 47 pounds (or 37.5-lbs for the newer M224A1 model), have a maximum range of 2.1 miles using modern ammunition, and a maximum firing rate of 20 to 30 rounds per minute. Banding visible on the mortar tube in the video appears to identify it as an M224A1, but one apparently missing its M170 bipod. If you look carefully at her smartphone video - the tube has the evenly spaced bands of the M224A1 In an earlier interview by the Territorial forces media - there were clearer views of it - but Olha somewhat confusingly called it M2 pic.twitter.com/IXMrt14F5Q Ray Cheung (@RayCh761872) February 24, 2023 Poland also began donating LM-60D and LMP-2017 commando mortars just before the war began. Croatian M84 mortars, Chinese Type 63, and Bulgarian M60CMA 60-millimeter mortars have also been sighted. Ukraine also appears to have acquired Chinese 60-millimeter shells via Albania, Japanese-manufactured bombs and fuses likely supplied via the United States, and even Iranian and Croatian mortar rounds. Ukraine itself has devised its own light 60-millimeter mortar, the KBA-118, which at 27.5 pounds is two-thirds the weight of the older World War II-era American M2 mortar its based on. Its also producing the beefier 44-pound M-60A Kamerton (Tuning Fork) which has a greater range of 2.17-3.4 miles. Kyivs forces have more experience with automatic grenade launchers like the 30-millimeter Soviet AGS-17. The larger-caliber 40-millimeter Mark 19 supplied by the U.S. weighs 77 poundsand thus is often mounted on a vehicleand has a practical rate of fire of 60 rounds per minute. It is fed belts of 32 or 48 grenades, shot out at a velocity of 241 meters a second, with an effective blast radius of 10-15 meters using M383 high-explosive rounds. The dual-purpose M430 round has a smaller radius of 5 meters but can penetrate up to three inches of armor, making it effective against light armored vehicles. You Might Also Like Making semiconductors in the U.S. is critical for national security, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo told reporters on Wednesday, ahead of a speech she'll give on supporting domestic manufacturing. Raimondo's remarks at Georgetown University on Thursday will focus on the importance of semiconductors after Congress passed the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act last year. The Commerce Department is responsible for implementing the bipartisan legislation, in what Raimondo said Wednesday was an effort to bring back more of the semiconductor industry to the U.S., where it began. "Over the past few decades, we as a country have taken our eye off the ball and let chip manufacturing [go] overseas," she said. In 2001, the U.S. had more than 300,000 semiconductor jobs but has lost one third of those in the past 20 years, Raimondo explained. She cited lower labor costs in other countries and a lack of private investments in manufacturing. MORE: The country has a major microchip problem -- and the Senate has a $52 billion solution Semiconductors are essential computer chips for numerous everyday items, such as refrigerators and dishwashers, cars and smartphones and more. They are primarily made internationally right now, largely in Taiwan. But the CHIPS and Science Act gives the U.S. an opportunity to make investments that are "consequential for America's future," Raimondo said. The legislation directs tens of billions to spur research in and development of the domestic semiconductor industry. PHOTO: FILE - Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo addresses the U.S. Conference of Mayors 91st Winter Meeting at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images, FILE) Raimondo linked the need for the chips to the shortage of them seen during the supply chain crunch in the COVID-19 pandemic. "I think that when people needed product, whether it was chips or anything else that we couldn't get during the pandemic, and then realized how utterly reliant we are -- in the case of chips, on a single company in Taiwan; or in the case of other things, China -- we realized that's just not good for our security and stability," Raimondo said. "And so we've decided we had to make some changes." Story continues The semiconductor shortage had broader economic effects in the U.S., hurting other kinds of manufacturing, Raimondo said. "Last year, because Ford didn't have access to enough chips, even for simple things like windshield wipers, their workers in places like Michigan and Indiana only worked a full week three times in the year," she said. But by 2030, the secretary wants to make America the largest producer of semiconductors in the world, and she said she intends to help do that by increasing production capabilities and increasing research and innovation. PHOTO: In this Dec. 6, 2022 file photo Gina Raimondo, U.S. secretary of commerce, during a 'First Tool-In' ceremony at the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. facility under construction in Phoenix. (Caitlin O'Hara/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE) Raimondo, echoing other administration officials, said that the CHIPS Act has moved into a key phase of being implemented well so the law is effective. "What we're out to do here is to ensure that at the end of implementation, the United States of America is the only country in the world where every company capable of producing leading-edge chips will have a significant research and development and high-volume manufacturing presence in our country," she said. Next week, the Commerce Department will roll out the application process for companies to apply for federal funds allocated in the CHIPS and Science Act. CHIPS Act will strengthen US national security by boosting access to semiconductors: Raimondo originally appeared on abcnews.go.com The claim: Video shows theater where elites sacrifice children A Jan. 19 Instagram post features a screen recording of a now-deleted TikTok. The video shows a woman opening two hidden doors to show an underground theater. "This is where elites sacrifice kids," reads the text at the beginning of the video. The video garnered more than 20,000 likes in four days. Similar versions of the claim have been shared on Instagram. Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks Our rating: False This is yet another baseless QAnon conspiracy theory. The theater was built in Italy in the 19th century and hosts performances, workshops, concerts and events for children. There's no evidence in the video or anywhere else of child sacrifices occurring there. Video shows historic theater in Italy The same video has been shared in recent years by users on Facebook and YouTube minus the conspiracy theory text. It shows the Donnafugata Theater, the website for which features photos of the theater's interior, which match the theater shown in the Instagram video. Housed in a medieval era castle in Sicily, Italy, the theater was built in the early 19th Century and restored in 2004 as a family theater. It regularly hosts performances, workshops, concerts and events for children, according to the website. There's no evidence the theater has ever been the venue for child sacrifices. People march during a "Save the Children" rally outside the Capitol on Aug. 22, 2020, in St. Paul, Minn. Some of the hundreds of rallies around the country decrying human trafficking and pedophilia were linked to social media accounts promoting the QAnon conspiracy. This claim of child sacrifice is one of the numerous baseless conspiracy theories perpetuated by QAnon, whose followers believe the world is run by a cabal of Satan-worshipping, cannibalistic pedophiles. QAnon conspiracy theories lack evidence or grounding in reality and have repeatedly failed to materialize in recent years. For example, in 2021, a crowd of supporters gathered in Dallas, Texas waiting for John F. Kennedy Jr. to reappear and announce that former President Donald Trump would be reinstated as president. Kennedy, who has been dead for more than 20 years, never appeared. Earlier that year on Inauguration Day, many supporters awaited a Great Awakening, where they believed Trump would declare martial law and bring his political enemies to justice. This also never happened. Story continues Fact check: Photo of Brazilian 'QAnon shaman' dates back to 2021, not Jan. 8 riots USA TODAY has previously debunked several other QAnon claims, including the claim that a historical sculpture shows adrenochrome being harvested from a child and that a set of images proves a QAnon-related cannibalism conspiracy theory. USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment. This claim has been debunked by PolitiFact as well. Our fact-check sources: Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Theater in viral video hosts plays, not child sacrifices Safety issues, as well as noise and waste problems, have sparked a debate as to whether or not pets should be allowed at apartment buildings in Vietnam. "Can anyone see whose dog is barking on the 20th floor? I'm sick and tired, yet I can't sleep," said a text message that pinged Anh Khue's phone at midnight. The text sparked a familiar litany: "Yes! My child woke up and cried immediately," said a message in reply. "Dog lovers, please keep your windows shut. My head hurts so much I could die," said another. Then another, accusatorily: "It's Xs dog. It stinks and its barking hurts my head. I can send you a recording if you don't believe me..." The stream of text messages continued. Khue, 32, who lives in Hanoi, said these kinds of conversations are regular in her neighborhood's group chat. Like many apartment complexes in Hanoi, Khue's place allows pets. All the building's management board asks is that "public order and hygiene be maintained" and that "other households not be affected" by the domesticated animals. Chip off the shoulder Earlier last year, when Khue and her husband first moved in, they looked into the matter carefully as they wanted to bring their dog Chip with them. Chip was a gift to Khue from her husband 6 years ago, but raising a 20 kg dog in a building with nearly 300 families brings with it numerous issues. Not only does Khue spend much of her free time constantly vacuuming the apartment (usually at least once a day, but often more), she also has to close all her windows, doors and balconies when she goes to work every morning because lonely Chip barks nonstop when the house is empty. Pet owners who don't fully close up their apartments often face complaints of unpleasant pet odors as well. Because the apartment complex has many small children in it, Khue muzzles her dog when she brings it in and out of her building. Khue says that parents often tell their children to stay away, while shooting her and her dog mean looks. Chip, a dog of a woman named Khue in Hanoi. Photo courtesy of Khue "So disgusting," some whisper under their breath. Khue said her relationships with her neighbors have ups and downs, often related to accusations around the building of who let their dog defecate in public. After two months, Khue and her husband left Chip to live at their parents' house. "As someone who raised a dog, I still support a ban on raising pets in apartment complexes, for the sake of both our neighbors and our pets," Khue said. 'Conflicts' Duc Hieu, 43, from Thanh Xuan District, said he has grown all too weary to all the debates regarding dogs and cats at his apartment complex. In mid-2022, the building's management board proposed extra fees of around VND100,000-300,000 ($4.21-12.64) a month for families with dogs and pets. The money would be slated for public purposes, including cleaning and renovating public structures. Hieu, however, vehemently opposed the suggestion, saying that dog owners would weaponize the extra fee to justify the disturbances their pets bring. "Besides, I don't see how I would benefit from this extra fee," Hieu said. A management board member at a Hanoi building said their complex did not even have a playground for children, let alone infrastructure for dogs and cats. "The law does not ban pets in apartment complexes, and all that the management board can do is mediate conflicts," said the board member. But sometimes such conflicts cannot be solved internally and get taken to the courts. Dog court Vo Thi Dung, 39, told the Binh Chanh District People's Court last year that she was attacked at her apartment building by a dog owned by 68-year-old Tuyet. Tuyet lives in the same apartment complex. Dung alleged the dog bit her, causing bloody injuries to her thigh. The attack was witnessed by two security guards at the scene. Dung went to get a rabies shot. Tuyet did not apologize to Dung, nor offer any compensation. Tuyet later moved to District 7, forcing Dung to track her down, just to monitor the dog's health and see if it had any disease. Dung decided to sue both Tuyet and the building's management board, believing the board had done nothing to deal with issues regarding pet problems at the apartment complex. She wanted VND100 million as compensation. After the case was brought to the Supreme People's Court, Tuyet agreed to compensate Dung with VND10 million, while the management board said it had done everything right in accordance with the building's regulations and Vietnamese law regarding pets in apartment complexes. The board nevertheless agreed to compensate Dung with VND10 million. Dung then dropped her suit against the board, but continued pursuing Tuyet for a total compensation of VND80 million. To pet or not to pet? Nguyen Dai Hai, a lawyer with the Fanci law firm, said raising pets is considered by Vietnamese law similar to animal husbandry, which is legal. However, certain requirements must be met, including the completion of rabies shots, the maintenance of a clean environment, and the prevention of any danger to neighbors. If one's pet incurs damages to anyone's health or property, compensation is required, said Hai. Meanwhile, the Law on Animal Husbandry states that "pets include cattle, poultry and other animals in animal husbandry." At the same time, a governmental decree states that "cattle and poultry must not be raised within apartments," Hai said. But another legal document on apartment management by the Ministry of Construction stated that dogs and cats are not classified as either cattle or poultry. Therefore, raising dogs and cats in apartments is legal, Hai said, adding that citizens should cooperate with buildings' management board to create their own regulations regarding pet-raising. For example, Hai suggested that such regulations could limit the number of pets allowed. They could also delineate safety requirements and limits on the size of dogs allowed, he said. *Names have been changed for anonymity. One year into the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, a new report by the social media company Meta details the evolution of pro-Russian influence campaigns online. The report describes a declining presence for Russian state media outlets on Meta's platforms Facebook and Instagram, as well as crude efforts by covert pro-Russian networks to maintain their reach in the face of a crackdown by Meta. According to Meta's report, the company responded to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine with restrictions on Russian state-controlled media outlets, including curbs on advertising and limiting the reach of the outlets' content in users' feeds. Since then, Meta observed, Russian state media outlets have become less active on its platforms and their posts have attracted less attention. However, at the same time, some Russian state media outlets have been inviting their audiences to follow them on other platforms. "Russian state media outlets have significantly reduced their activity on our platforms and pivoted elsewhere," the company noted. PHOTO: A person types on a laptop in this undated stock image. (STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images) Meta also cracked down in 2022 on covert, unofficial networks promoting Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including a group it identified as "Cyber Front Z," which the company said had links to Yevgeny Prigozhin, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Prigozhin was charged in 2018 by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller for allegedly funding the Internet Research Agency, an online "troll farm" accused of attempting to influence U.S. politics. In Nov. 2022, Prigozhin admitted in a social media statement that he had interfered in U.S. elections. In an August 2022 report, Meta said the Cyber Front Z network was operated in part by individuals linked to the Internet Research Agency. The network's existence was first revealed earlier that year in a March expose by the Russian outlet Fontanka. Along with another pro-Russia network known as "Doppleganger," Cyber Front Z was reportedly active not just on Meta's platforms but on other services including Telegram, Twitter, TikTok and LinkedIn. Story continues In the August report, Meta said the Cyber Front Z network was "clumsy and largely ineffective," noting that on Instagram, for example, more than half of the fake accounts created by the network were quickly detected and removed upon creation. "On our platforms, these networks resembled brute-force, 'smash-and-grab' attempts to use a large number of low-quality accounts all at once, in the hope that at least a few might survive and escape detection," the company said in its latest report. PHOTO: In this July 4, 2017 file photo Russian businessman and Wagner mercenary group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin at the Kremlin in Moscow. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool via Reuters, FILE) When Meta cracked down on Cyber Front Z and Doppleganger, they responded "aggressively" in an effort to restore their online presence, at a scale the company described as unusual for Russia-based covert influence campaigns. Meta said in its report that it had detected and disrupted "thousands" of attempts to create fake accounts and "hundreds more" efforts at sharing fake websites, including some masquerading as real news outlets. Meta suggested in its report that this aggressiveness could result from a lack of preparation by the networks' operators for the unique context of a fast-paced, full-scale war, adding that those responsible for the covert networks were likely still paid despite the low quality and minimal impact of their work. "These actors can provide plausible deniability to their customers, but they also have an interest in exaggerating their own effectiveness," Meta said in its report. Prigozhin, the Internet Research Agency's alleged operator, is also known as the owner of the private military company Wagner, whose members have fought alongside Russian troops in Ukraine. Meta's latest report on covert pro-Russian online networks comes amid an increasingly public feud between Prigozhin and the Russian military establishment. In a recent audio statement, Prigozhin accused top Russian military and defense officials of depriving Wagner fighters of ammunition. One year in, how pro-Russia online campaigns evolved originally appeared on abcnews.go.com LONDON 1 Granary, the London-based education and design platform born out of a Central Saint Martins student-led magazine has reached a partnership with The Bear Scouts, an international production and supply specialist that aims to provide access to technical innovations and implement sustainable solutions for young talents. Olya Kuryshchuk, founder of 1 Granary, said this collaboration signals a strategic shift in focus for the group. Now, 1 Granary will move beyond the promotion of change and focus more on the creation of innovative, forward-thinking and responsible products. More from WWD Young creative minds often do not know how to access sustainable innovations, as the industry made production invisible, isolating independent production facilities. That is why 1 Granary is dedicating itself to bridging this gap between design and production, idea and execution, Kuryshchuk said. She added that the partnership with the Bear Scouts is a first step in this new strategy, which aims to assure anything thats created with its support considers the environment first. As our industry grapples with an environmental crisis, young designers are often brought forward as harbingers of change without being given any of the tools to actually implement it. That is why this partnership will also focus on a structural re-education of the industry, rethinking the relationship between young brands and producers. Through the Bear Scouts wide-reaching global connections, we can access an unparalleled network of material and technical innovation. In the flexible, agile and forward-thinking hands of young designers, these innovations can be tested and perfected to spread out to the industry at large, she added. Dio Kurazawa, founder of the Bear Scouts, said with this collaborative effort, he wants to start normalizing brands visiting the factory from idea until the sample is finished. Story continues That to me doesnt have as much to do with their sampling process. But more to do with exposing them to the supply chain as it is at the moment and where its going. Because that education and knowledge help them to disrupt the way they create things, he said. Since its inception a decade ago, 1 Granary has become one of the most active advocates via its annual print issue, website and social media channels promoting emerging fashion talents who come out of some of the most prestigious fashion schools every year. Through initiatives like VOID and Child Showroom, as well as individual mentoring and consulting, the platform has also assisted in the development of multiple fashion design businesses, including Chopova Lowena, KNWLS, Ranra, Paolina Russo and Talia Byre. Best of WWD Click here to read the full article. The Oregon Ducks have done a great job getting out to a hot start on the recruiting trail after finishing the 2023 cycle with one of the top 10 classes in the nation. Already, Oregon has the No. 8 class in the 2024 cycle, with a handful of highly-rated 4-stars. However, it appears that the defending national champions are working to steal one of those highly-rated recruits away. It was announced on Wednesday that 4-star OT Fox Crader, who committed to Oregon back in December, received an offer from the Georgia Bulldogs. Crader, who stands at 6-foot-6, 275 pounds, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 23 OT and 343 overall player in the 2024 class. Coming from Vancouver, Washington, Crader has been recruited heavily by the Ducks, who wanted to keep him in the Pacific Northwest for his college years. There is no word yet on whether a visit will eventually come of this offer. Crader is not the only Oregon commit who has become a hot commodity on the recruiting trail. 4-star WR Jordan Anderson, the No. 13 WR in the 2024 class, received an offer from Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes earlier in the year as well. Fox Craders Recruiting Profile Twitter Ratings Story continues Stars Overall State Position 247 3 89 WA OT Rivals 3 5.5 WA OT ESPN N/A N/A WA OT On3 Recruiting 3 86.71 WA OT 247 Composite 4 0.8915 WA OT Vitals Hometown Vancouver, WA Projected Position Offensive Tackle Height 6-foot-6 Weight 275 pounds Class 2024 Recruitment Received Oregon Offer on June 17, 2022 Committed to Oregon on November 21, 2022 Highlights Story originally appeared on Ducks Wire Alex Murdaugh says he lied to investigators during testimony in double murder trial Alex Murdaugh, a disgraced South Carolina attorney accused of killing his wife and youngest son, is testifying in his own defense in his double murder trial -- admitting to jurors that he lied to investigators but denying that he committed the brutal murders. The bodies of Margaret Murdaugh, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22, were found dead from multiple gunshot wounds near the dog kennels at the family's home near Islandton, South Carolina, in June 2021, authorities said. Alex Murdaugh, 54, who called 911 to report the discovery, was charged with their murders 13 months later. PHOTO: Alex Murdaugh gives testimony during his murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., Feb. 23, 2023. (The Post And Courier via AP, Pool) Alex Murdaugh took to the stand for the second day in a row on Friday. In their cross-examination, prosecutors grilled the former attorney on his actions around the time investigators believe the murders occurred. Prosecutor Creighton Waters asked him to recount what he did during a "crucial" four-minute period around 9 p.m. that night, when Alex Murdaugh said he was in his home getting ready to visit his mother. Waters asked Alex Murdaugh if phone calls he made during that time, including to his wife, was to "manufacture an alibi." "It is an absolute fact that I am not manufacturing an alibi," Alex Murdaugh said. "I never manufactured any alibi in any way shape or form, because I did not and would not hurt my wife and my child." Weeks into the trial, Alex Murdaugh was called to take the stand by his defense team on Thursday. His attorney, Jim Griffin, asked right away if he shot his wife and son in the head. "No, I did not," Alex Murdaugh said. "I didnt shoot my wife or my son any time, ever." BREAKING: "I didn't shoot my wife or my son, anytime. Ever." Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh denies killing his son and wife while taking the stand in his own defense during double murder trial. https://t.co/8cC6O3h8m2 pic.twitter.com/IZPAIof0a4 ABC News (@ABC) February 23, 2023 He grew emotional when asked by his lawyer what he saw at the scene of their murders. Story continues "I saw what yall have seen pictures of," he told the jurors, crying. "So bad." PHOTO: Defense attorney Jim Griffin, right, questions Alex Murdaugh, left, as he gives testimony during his murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., Feb. 23, 2023. (The Post And Courier via AP, Pool) MORE: Murdaugh murders and mysteries timeline: Key events in the South Carolina family's scandals and deaths Prosecutors have focused on footage taken from Paul Murdaugh's cellphone the night of the murders, including a video taken at the kennels several minutes before the victims were believed to be killed that investigators said has Alex Murdaugh talking in the background. Alex Murdaugh told investigators early in the case that he was not down by the kennels that night and had last seen his wife and son at dinner before finding bodies upon returning home from visiting his mother. When asked by his lawyer about those prior statements, Alex Murdaugh admitted to lying to investigators. "I did lie to them," he said, and confirmed he was in the video the night of their murders on June 7, 2021. When asked why he lied about the last time he saw his wife and son, Murdaugh blamed his addiction to painkillers, which he said caused "paranoid thinking." "On June the 7th, I wasn't thinking clearly," he said. "I don't think I was capable of reason and I lied about being out there and I'm so sorry that I did." Alex Murdaugh detailed on the stand a 20-year addiction to opioids, noting that he has been clean for 535 days. "I battled that addiction for so many years, I was spending so much money on pills," he said. PHOTO: Alex Murdaugh, right, speaks with defense attorney Jim Griffin during a break in his trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., Feb. 15, 2023. (Joshua Boucher/The State via AP, Pool) Alex Murdaugh faces 30 years to life in prison without parole if convicted of the killings, for which he has pleaded not guilty and adamantly denied. During the trial, which began last month, prosecutors have presented more than 60 witnesses and evidence, including body camera footage of police arriving at home following the murders and an interview Alex Murdaugh gave to police two months later, in which he denied killing his wife and son. In the body camera footage from that night, a distraught Alex Murdaugh told officers, "It's bad, it's bad," and mentioned that his son had been getting threats following a boat wreck he was involved in. PHOTO: Crime scene specialist Kenneth Kinsey, right, shows where he believes a shotgun round entered Paul Murdaugh during Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse, Feb. 16, 2023, in Walterboro, S.C. (Joshua Boucher/The State via AP, Pool) At the time, Paul Murdaugh was awaiting trial on a charge of allegedly boating under the influence after a crash in February 2019 that killed a 19-year-old woman, Mallory Beach of South Carolina. In the months following his wife's and son's murders, Alex Murdaugh resigned from his law firm, which sued him for allegedly funneling stolen money from clients and the law firm into a fake bank account for years. He also said he entered a rehab facility. Prosecutors claim that Alex Murdaugh, who comes from a legacy of prominent attorneys in the region, killed his wife and son to gain sympathy and distract from his alleged financial wrongdoings. Meanwhile, the defense has portrayed him as a loving husband and father and argued that police ignored the possibility that anyone else could have killed them. MORE: Family of dead teenager seeks justice after a 2019 boating accident involving a prominent South Carolina family During hours of questioning on Thursday, Alex Murdaugh's attorney asked if he believed his "financial house of cards was about to crumble" on June 7, 2021, to which Alex Murdaugh replied, "Absolutely not." The trial adjourned Thursday evening while prosecutors were in the middle of questioning Murdaugh about his financial dealings as a lawyer -- during which he admitted to stealing money from several clients. "I did a lot of damage, I wreaked a lot of havoc, there's no question," Alex Murdaugh said. The trial has drawn a packed courtroom, with lines outside. After two jurors tested positive for COVID-19, both sides were worried an outbreak could sicken more jurors and force a mistrial. Alex Murdaugh faces about 100 other charges for allegations ranging from money laundering to staging his own death so his surviving son could cash in on his $10 million life insurance policy. He was also charged for allegedly misappropriating settlement funds in the death of his housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, who reportedly died after a falling accident in the Murdaugh family home in February 2018. Alex Murdaugh says he lied to investigators during testimony in double murder trial originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Arsenio Romero, a native of Belen and veteran superintendent of school districts stretching from the Mexico border to Los Lunas near Albuquerque, has been nominated as New Mexico's latest education secretary. He takes up the position March 6. SANTA FE - Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham tapped a Hispanic school superintendent from southern New Mexico on Tuesday to oversee the state's K-12 education system as secretary of the Public Education Department. Arsenio Romero, a native of Belen and veteran superintendent of school districts stretching from the Mexico border to Los Lunas near Albuquerque, takes up the position March 6. The Public Education Department is grappling with surging absenteeism among students and below-average high school graduation rates. Student proficiency is lagging in subjects from math and science to reading and writing, even as the state has ramped up K-12 spending in recent years including for teacher salaries and programs aimed at expanding classroom instructional time. According to the results of student assessments announced in September 2022, only 25% of those tested were proficient or better in math, and about a third were proficient or better in science and reading and writing. In a statement, Lujan Grisham highlighted Romero's "vision and experience" as a former teacher and principal. Romero will become the fourth education secretary since Lujan Grisham took office in January 2019. The appointment was applauded by Fred Nathan, director of the nonpartisan policy group Think New Mexico, which is advocating for increased instructional time, improved teacher training, more relevant curriculum and more. "We regard Dr. Romero as a reformer who has a student-centric view," Nathan said. "His openness to rethinking the public school system and his track record of successful leadership in New Mexico are critically needed." Romero previously served as superintendent of Los Lunas Schools as well as Deming Public Schools, where some students cross the border from Mexico each day to attend classes. Romero also oversaw school curricula as an assistant superintendent in the Roswell Independent School District, located in a conservative, oil-producing region. Story continues New Mexico has begun investing heavily in early childhood education in hopes of making lasting academic gains, partly through an expansion of pre-K at public schools overseen by the Public Education Department, as well as with private providers. Voters last year approved increased withdrawals from a multibillion-dollar trust to bolster K-12 spending and additional programs overseen by a recently formed agency, the Early Childhood Education and Care Department. At the same time, lawmakers are responding to litigation from school districts and parents that highlights deficiencies in public educational opportunities for vulnerable children from minority communities, non-English-speaking households, impoverished families and students with disabilities. Morgan Lee is a reporter for the Associated Press. Others are reading: This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Arsenio Romero nominated for education secretary, challenges await Steven Asmussen, trainer for Preakness entrant Epicenter, the runner up in the Kentucky Derby, talks to the media ahead of the Preakness Stakes Horse Race at Pimlico Race Course, May 19, 2022, in Baltimore. HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Steve Asmussen became the first trainer with 10,000 victories in North America on Monday, when Bet He's Ready won the fifth race at Oaklawn Park. He's already the all-time winningest trainer in the United States and Canada, having the set mark of 9,446 on Aug. 7, 2021, at Saratoga to surpass Dale Baird. The 57-year-old was joined in the winner's circle at Oaklawn by family members. The Arkansas track said it would donate $10,000 to charity in his name. Asmussen has trained such champions as Curlin, the Horse of the Year in 2007 and 2008; filly Rachel Alexandra, Horse of the Year in 2009; and Gun Runner, 2017 Horse of the Year. Asmussen's first win as a thoroughbred trainer came July 19, 1986, at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico. His mother is a retired trainer and his father is a retired jockey. His brother, Cash, was a champion rider in France. Others are reading: This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Asmussen 1st trainer to notch 10,000 wins in North America The Biden administration has faced increasing scrutiny in the wake of the Ohio train derailment, as locals question "wheres Pete" and East Palestines mayor calls the presidents Ukraine visit a "slap in the face." Norfolk Southern was forced to vent and burn the trains load of vinyl chloride, a hazardous material used in the manufacturing of certain plastics, leaving East Palestine residents worried about their health and the longterm effects it might have on their small community. Since the 3 February derailment there have been criticisms, both locally and nationally, that the Biden administration was slow to move to address the disaster. What exactly have Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg done since the train derailment, and are the criticisms warranted? Pete Buttigieg US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has taken the brunt of the criticism since the accident. Right-wing lawmakers and media, including Congressman Jim Jordan and Senator Ted Cruz, have taken aim at the agency head, claiming hes been too busy playing politics to address the East Palestine disaster. "Secretary Buttigieg laughing about Chinese spy balloons, while ignoring the Ohio train derailment, shows you how out of touch Democrats are," Mr Jordan tweeted on 14 February. A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains, on Feb. 6, 2023. (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Mr Cruz offered similar criticisms, saying Secretary Buttigieg in my view instead of engaging in politics should be focused on the job he has now and addressing the very serious transportation crises were seeing playing out across the country, according to The Washington Post. Mr Buttigieg even took a hit from Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who called on him to directly intervene in the ongoing situation in East Palestine. "East Palestine railroad derailment will have a significant negative impact on the health and wellbeing of the residents for decades and there is almost zero national media attention," she wrote on Twitter. "We need Congressional inquiry and direct action from @PeteButtigieg to address this tragedy." Story continues Glad to see newfound bipartisan agreement here. We could start by discussing immediate steps Congress could take to address rail safety & reduce constraints on USDOT in this area. Give us a call, we can do some good work. https://t.co/aqepKENjZz Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) February 15, 2023 Mr Cruz said he "fully agreed" with Ms Omar. Mr Buttigieg responded to the "newfound bipartisan agreement" between the two lawmakers by pointing out that it is Congresss job to pass laws giving federal agencies the teeth to effectively regulate industries. "We could start by discussing immediate steps Congress could take to address rail safety & reduce constraints on USDOT in this area. Give us a call, we can do some good work," he replied. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) He also called out Senator Marco Rubio, who claimed Mr Buttigieg was "MIA on the derailment," by pointing out the lawmaker previously supported a letter softening visual rail track inspection regulations. "The facts dont lie. The 2021 letter you signed was obviously drafted by railroad industry lobbyists. It supports waivers that would reduce visual track inspections," he wrote. "Now: will you vote to help us toughen rail safety accountability and fines, or not?" Mr Rubio denied that his involvement with the 2021 letter was an effort to deregulate the rail industry. Mr Buttigieg, who said he planned to visit East Palestine, has maintained that USDOT agency officials have been on the ground in East Palestine since "day one," and noted that the National Transportation Safety Board must be given time to carry out its investigation without the interference of lawmakers. He said that the lack of federal visitation to the village was to allow the NTSB to work without pressure or bias from lawmakers. On Tuesday, Mr Buttigieg suggested that Congress should raise the cap on fines rail companies can be given as a result of accidents. "Congress can help strengthen our hand by raising the cap on fines for egregious safety violations. The current maximum of $225,455 is not enough for a multibillion-dollar railroad company," he wrote. In addition to pressuring Congress to raise the fine cap, he also said the USDOT would push for rail companies to be forced to notify residents when hazardous materials are being transported through their communities, and for regulations requiring better safety conditions for crews manning trains, including more robust safety inspections. Joe Biden Mr Biden, and the federal government at large, has been the subject of right-wing criticism for taking a trip to Ukraine rather than visiting East Palestine and distributing money to the residents. During an appearance on Fox News, East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway said he was angered when he learned of Mr Bidens visit. Joe Biden in Ukraine. (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) "Absolutely. That was the biggest slap in the face," Mr Conaway said. "That tells you right now he doesnt care about us." The mayor said Tuesday that he stands by those comments, but that he would welcome the president if he chooses to visit the village. Its difficult to argue that Mr Biden has not been personally quiet concerning the ongoing situation in East Palestine; while his administration has responded with the deployment of federal agencies to the village and offerings of ongoing support, he only recently made a public statement addressing the disaster. Since 3 February, the day the train derailed, Mr Biden has tweeted extensively about the war in Ukraine, met with Brazils president, boasted of accomplishments in employment, manufacturing, and infrastructure, given a State of the Union address, memorialised the University of Michigan mass shooting, offered condolences to the victims of the earthquake in Syria and Turkey, and congratulated the Kansas City Chiefs on their Super Bowl victory. He finally addressed the East Palestine situation on 21 February. After my speech today, I spoke with @EPAMichaelRegan, @SenSherrodBrown, @RepBillJohnson, @GovernorShapiro and @GovMikeDeWine about our ongoing efforts in East Palestine, OH. I reaffirmed my commitment to making sure they have everything they need. Let me give you the latest. pic.twitter.com/nr3ZzBraeD President Biden (@POTUS) February 21, 2023 While Mr Biden has not visited the site, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted that federal agencies have been active in the response since the day the train derailed, according to The Washington Post. Hours after the derailment, the EPA team was on the ground, she told reporters during a press conference. I just want to make sure that the American people understand that we did take action and folks were on the ground. She assured reporters that the administration is committed to making sure that the community gets what it needs, and well be there on the ground for as long as it takes. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine told reporters last week that Mr Biden had spoke to him after the derailment and offered federal assistance. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine meets with reporters after touring the Norfolk Southern train derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 6, 2023 (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) On 16 February, Mr DeWine requested further federal aid in response to the crash, which the White House provided in the form of an inter-agency mobilisation to the village. "Today, in response to Governor DeWines and the Ohio congressional delegations request on February 16 for additional federal public health support, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced they are deploying a team of medical personnel and toxicologists to conduct public health testing and assessments," the White House said in a statement. "The team will support Federal, state, and local officials already on the ground to evaluate individuals who were exposed or potentially exposed to chemicals and help ensure timely communications to the public." On Tuesday, EPA Administrator Michael Regan announced that the agency was taking over the clean-up operation in East Palestine, and would use a binding order to ensure that Norfolk Southern continues to rectify the accident under penalty of fine. Prior to that order Norfolk Southern was voluntarily responding to the crash. Under the new directive, the company will work under EPA supervision and will be bound to meet the EPAs guidelines as it continues its response in the village. If Norfolk Southern fails to meet those standards, Mr Regan said the agency will step in and conduct the work while fining Norfolk Southern triple the cost of the work. There is no word on whether or not Mr Biden plans to visit the village in the coming days or weeks. His predecessor, former President Donald Trump, has planned a visit for Wednesday, and has already erroneously taken credit for the increased federal response to the disaster. Despite the criticism, the train derailment doe not appear to have affected Mr Bidens apporoval ratings. According to a Rasmussen Reports daily analysis of the presidents approval rating, Mr Bidens approval has been consistent since the disaster, even gaining a point from 43 to 44 per cent approval between 3 February and 20 February. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will travel Thursday to the site of a toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, a person familiar with his plans told POLITICO. The visit is due to happen 20 days after a 150-car train carrying oil and toxic chemicals derailed, causing a fire and spilling toxic chemicals into the air and water, setting the region on edge and stirring a national furor over rail and chemical safety. Buttigieg had told reporters earlier this week that he would visit the city when the time was right. The visit comes two days after the Environmental Protection Agency, which is overseeing the contamination cleanup, announced that it is moving from the emergency phase of the response to the longer-term recovery phase. While in the eastern Ohio community of about 5,000 people, Buttigieg will receive an update from the National Transportation Safety Board the lead agency investigating the crash on its probe, which could take as long as 18 months to complete. He is also expected to meet with DOT officials who arrived on the ground within hours of the derailment. Buttigieg's visit comes as Republicans such as Florida Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio have sharply criticized his handling of the issue, including his slowness to visit the scene of the derailment. It is exceedingly rare for a transportation secretary to visit the site of a train derailment, especially one that resulted in no fatalities even though this crash has resulted in unusually heavy national media attention, partly driven by the televised image of the accidents toxic black plume and residents anger over the safety of their air and water. About 1,000 train derailments occur each year, according to federal data. The secretary is going now that the EPA has said it is moving out of the emergency response phase and transitioning to the long-term remediation phase, the person familiar with Buttigiegs thinking told POLITICO. The trip comes the day after former President Donald Trump was expected to meet with locals Wednesday and deliver cleaning supplies and pallets of bottled water. "The Department of Transportation will continue to do its part by helping get to the bottom of what caused the derailment and implementing rail safety measures, and we hope this sudden bipartisan support for rail safety will result in meaningful changes in Congress," DOT said in a statement Wednesday. Ever since the Essex truck tragedy in 2019, John Hurson has wanted to share his condolences in person with the families of the 39 Vietnamese who lost their lives. Earlier this month, he finally got his chance. On the morning of February 11, Hurson, a 53-year-old truck driver from County Tyrone in Northern Ireland, uneasily visited five families in Thien Loc Commune, Can Loc District, Ha Tinh Province, central Vietnam. Out front of a one-story house, Hurson was able to share his feelings with a couple around his age who had lost a child in the incident. "People in my hometown are also very sad and outraged by the tragedy," he said. "We feel we are partly blame for the great loss of your family. I would like to apologize you on behalf of our people." Vo Nhan Que and his wife are one of five families in Thien Loc whose relatives died in Essex. "He was the only boy in our family," Que told Hurson with tears in his eyes. The altar in the middle of Que's home is adorned with a photo of a smiling young man whose life ended at the age of 20. Hurson had to avert his eyes as the boy's mother burst into tears while recalling the story of their family tragedy. Before saying goodbye, Hurson presented the family with a miniature replica of the Ardboe High Cross (a symbol of Tyrone County, made in the 10th century) and posed for a photo with a flag that reads "From Tyrone to Vietnam" as a symbol of friendship. John Hurson (L) visits the family of Nguyen Thi Huong (R), the wife of Tran Manh Hung, one of 39 Vietnamese victims found in a truck in Essex, the U.K. in 2019, February 11, 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Duc Trung Hurson called on four more families in the same village. At each house, he gave gifts and bowed at the altar before the spirits of the deceased. During his visit to the second family, he was able to speak with Dang Thi Quyen in English. She sobbed, talking about her husbands death at the age of 30, and her struggle to raise three children today. After hearing her story, Hurson was speechless. He stepped out of the house and lit a cigarette on the porch. "The sentences for the human traffickers are too light," he said, "not enough of a deterrent." The tragedy On October 23, 2019, 39 bodies, including 31 men and eight women, were discovered in a refrigerated container truck in Essex County, eastern England. The victims were identified as Vietnamese nationals who had illegally entered the U.K. in the container on a ferry from Belgium. The U.K. arrested four suspects in the case, and Vietnam arrested 11 suspects associated with a human trafficking ring that brought laborers to the U.K. illegally. In early 2021, a British court sentenced four defendants to 13-27 years in prison for their involvement in the human trafficking conspiracy that led to the deaths of the 39 Vietnamese. In January 2022, a Belgian court sentenced 18 defendants related to the case, including the groups Vietnamese ringleader. In March 2022, a British court sentenced another defendant to 3 years and 10 months in prison. John Hurson at a hotel in Hanoi, holding a miniature replica of a cross. Photo by VnExpress/Phan Duong 'Fresh in my mind' Hurson said he wanted to visit all 39 victims'relatives, but he couldnt because they live in several different provinces throughout north and central Vietnam. While he visited those he could, he said he could feel the unresolved pain of the families. After the visits, Hurson said that what he'd experienced that day would stay "fresh in my mind": photos of the deceased, incense and the grieving faces of those who lost loved ones. He said that while it was sad and sorrowful to think of the communities so devastated by the deaths, being able to share his condolences in person had provided at least a modicum of "relief." Chase Stokes may have landed a starring role in Netflix's Outer Banks, but there was another huge series with the streaming service that first caught his eye Stranger Things. Chase dished to Access Hollywood about flubbing his lines while auditioning for the role of Steve Harrington in the Duffer Brothers series. "I actually read for Steve Harrington, and I forgot all the lines and absolutely effed up," Chase said. "I drove eight hours from Atlanta back to Orlando, regretting every moment of my life on that. While he may not have landed the role of Steve, The Duffer Brothers did cast Chase in the show's premiere season as a character named Reed. According to Chase, his character didn't have any lines, but he still appreciated the role. "I'm just thankful for the Duffer brothers for giving me an opportunity to, like, do my job and start my career. I mean if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be here." ST fans know Joe Keery actually landed the role of Steve, and Chase couldn't be more proud. "Joe Keery is an absolute legend who is so good as Steve Harrington," the OBX star said. "I'm super proud of him. I've talked to him a little bit through the years." Things may not have panned out for Chase in Hawkins, Indiana as a member of Stranger Things, but he managed to make a lasting impression as the leader of the Pouges in the barrier islands off the coast of North Carolina in Netflix's Outer Banks. You Might Also Like Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Shanghai in May 2014. Reuters/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin The US is again warning China not provide military support to Russia for its war in Ukraine. Russia's military has structural problems that foreign gear can't fix, a retired US general says. Russia and Ukraine face similar supply issues and are seeking support for major operations this year. The US has renewed its warnings to China about providing military support to Russia in response to what officials say are signs that Beijing is considering supplying "lethal" aid to Moscow, but Chinese hardware may not be enough to fix the Russian military's structural issues, according to a former commander of US forces in Europe. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued the new warning to his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, during a meeting on February 18, warning Wang "about the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia or assistance with systemic sanctions evasion," the State Department said afterward. Blinken then went public, saying in interviews that the US has "growing concern" that China "is considering providing lethal support" to Russia comments echoed by allies, including NATO Secretary General Jens Stotlenberg, who told the Associated Press on Wednesday that Western officials "have seen some signs" that China "may be planning" to provide Russia with arms or other support. US officials have not specified what they have seen or what they consider "lethal" aid. On Wednesday, deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said Chinese officials haven't taken such aid "off the table" but avoided "characterizing" what it would consist of or what "consequences" China would face for providing it. (US officials are reportedly considering releasing the intelligence on which their accusations are based.) Putin and Wang meet in Moscow on February 22. ANTON NOVODEREZHKIN/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images But more hardware may not tilt the balance if Russia's military remains unable to employ its troops effectively, according to Philip Breedlove, a retired US Air Force general who led US European Command from May 2013 to May 2016. Story continues "Clearly, if China brings industrial mass to the problem, that's going to be a problem for Ukraine, but I still want us to have a sober view of what Russia can do, because they now have structural problems in their ability to effectively act as a unit on the battlefield," Breedlove said Tuesday during an event hosted by American Purpose and the American Enterprise Institute. Russian forces have struggled with command-and-control throughout the war, facing issues ranging from tactical-level communications problems to a force-wide lack of experienced enlisted troops and junior officers, the latter of which has been exacerbated by heavy losses. Russia has scrambled to replace those losses. In September, Moscow called up several hundred thousand troops, many of them older reservists or inexperienced conscripts, in a "partial mobilization." The Kremlin has also relied more on mercenaries, particularly the Wagner Group, which has stoked infighting among Russian commanders. "You can't build a leader overnight, so even if they have huge mobilizations, they're missing those junior officers," said Breedlove, who also served as NATO's top officer. "Remember, they don't have an NCO corps like we have an NCO corps, and this sort of density of ability to lead, think, and fight independently is not something that Russia is demonstrating on the battlefield." A US Army instructor briefs Ukrainian soldiers at a training center in Ukraine in April 2017. Oklahoma Army National Guard/Sgt. Anthony Jones Ukraine's military has benefited from Western training, including training to develop noncommissioned officers, or NCOs, and has adapted its tactics throughout the war, but Russia's military appears to not be applying battlefield lessons across its force. "In terms of Russia as a learning organization, the evidence isn't very good for the Russian side. We keep seeing them make similar mistakes," Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said at a think tank event Wednesday. While lower-level Russian units have been able to adapt, "I think the big problem in the Russian military is that the culture is not very conducive to" learning, added Lee, an expert on Russia's military. "It's very top-down. It's not bottom-up, and so when when there's developments at the bottom level, those do not make it the top level" because Russian generals are not "open to learning." Russian military leadership failings and inability to perform under fire will limit the utility of whatever hardware Beijing may provide, Breedlove said. "You can pile stuff on top of bad leadership, bad execution, and bad skills, and yes, the mass will have some ability, but I think the real limit now of the Russian military is their soldiers and the leaders of their soldiers and the strategic leaders of the leaders of their soldiers," Breedlove said. "They have demonstrated a lack of capability and proficiency on the battlefield." While China has generally avoided violating international sanctions on Russia, Beijing has provided consistent political and economic support and rejected Western criticism of its close ties with Russia. Chinese armed police and Russian national guards during a joint counter-terrorism drill in China in December 2017. REUTERS/Stringer Asked about Blinken's warning at a press conference on February 20, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said it was "the US, not China, that has been pouring weapons into the battlefield. The US is in no position to tell China what to do." While US officials have not specified what military support China may provide, there are signs Russia is using artillery ammunition more sparingly. Russia's missile stocks also appear to be dwindling, prompting it to repurpose air-defense and anti-ship missiles to attack ground targets in Ukraine, often inaccurately. Moscow has looked abroad for supplies, using drones and missiles from Iran and reportedly seeking rockets and artillery rounds from North Korea. The US released photos in January that it said showed North Korean "material" on its way to Russia. Ukraine faces similar supply issues. While Ukrainian leaders have secured hundreds of Western-made tanks and are looking to acquire Western-made fighter jets, Western officials say that air-defense systems and ammunition, particularly artillery ammunition, are still top priorities for the ongoing aid effort. Both sides are now preparing for major operations this year a Russian offensive appears underway already and support from their partners will be central to how the war unfolds in the coming months. "A lot of this depends on foreign support," Lee said Wednesday. "A lot depends on artillery ammunition and availability, and those things are really hard to predict six months in the future because who knows if China, North Korea, NATO, how much they'll provide and how much they can provide." Read the original article on Business Insider Federal court records portray a sloppy system for tracking the country's most important secrets, amid a controversy over classified documents involving President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence. Stashes of secret documents have been scattered through homes, sheds and cars of intelligence agency staffers and contractors. Yet, penalties for mishandling documents vary greatly. Here's what else is happening in politics: The blame game: The White House is blaming the Trump administration and the GOP for undoing Obama-era rail safety measures designed to avert disasters like the toxic East Palestine, Ohio train derailment. Debt limit standoff: Former Vice President Mike Pence said cuts to Social Security and Medicare may need to be considered at some point amid debt ceiling talks. Ideological tilt at stake: Wisconsin voters decided on two candidates to advance to a general election for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, a key race that could decide the future of policies in the battleground state. "The revolution had failed": Prosecutors allege that the Proud Boys, fueled by desperation to keep Donald Trump in the White House, conspired to stop the certification of the 2020 election. U.S. Secret Service agents are seen in front of Joe Biden's Rehoboth Beach, Del., home on Jan. 12, 2021. Stay in the conversation: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter Biden administration seeks semiconductor clusters with $52M chips program Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Thursday the Biden administration wants to create at least two major semiconductor clusters in the U.S. with federal funding approved last year in the $52 billion CHIPS and Science Act. Raimondo outlined a vision for a generation of innovators in a speech at Georgetown University in Washington before semiconductor companies next Tuesday can start applying for $39 billion in incentives and other government backing. Story continues Raimondo said the hope is for each cluster which would employ about 10,000 workers to consist of a leading-edge microchip fabrication plant, research and development facilities, a robust suppler ecosystem and specialized infrastructure. She did not say where the clusters would be located, but the push comes amid significant microchip investments from companies in Ohio, Texas and Arizona. Joey Garrison White House decries bad faith attacks against Buttigieg Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks during a news conference near the site of the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pushed back Thursday at bad faith attacks targeting Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has been roundly criticized by Republicans for his handling of the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. It is pure politics. It is pure political stunts, Jean-Pierre said, arguing there werent the same outcries during chemical spills while Elaine Chao, transportation secretary under former President Donald Trump, held the post. Nobody was calling for her to be fired. Buttigieg, who Republicans have accused of being too slow to respond to the derailment and toxic spill, made his first visit to East Palestine, Ohio on Thursday. Trump visited Wednesday. There are no current plans for Biden to do the same. Joey Garrison Ohio rail disaster: Just how dangerous is the Ohio derailment disaster? Why it's confusing. Biden nominates Ajay Banga, former Mastercard CEO, to lead World Bank President Joe Biden has tapped Ajay Banga, former president and CEO of Mastercard and current vice chairman of the private equity firm General Atlantic, as president of the World Bank. The nomination of Banga a native of India and former chairman of the International Chamber of commerce comes after the banks current leader, David Malpass, announced his resignation last week amid a backlash over statements he made skeptical of climate change. Biden called Banga uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank, a global development institution that provides grants and loans to low-income countries. Biden pointed to Bangas work to bring investment to developing economies and record of enlisting the public and private sectors to "tackle the most urgent challenges of our time, including climate change.. Banga still needs confirmation by the banks board before he becomes president. Its unclear whether there will be additional nominees from other nations. Joey Garrison The revolution had failed, ex-Proud Boy and DOJ star witness testifies As efforts to prove the 2020 election was stolen repeatedly failed and it became more and more apparent that Donald Trump would not remain president, the Proud Boys were overcome with a sense of desperation. Prosecutors allege that the members of the right-wing extremist group on trial, fueled by that desperation to keep Trump in office, conspired to stop the certification of the 2020 election by weaponizing an already-inflamed pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6, 2021 against the Capitol. When rioters began to clear out of the Capitol on Jan. 6 and House members planned to reconvene, the Proud Boys expressed disappointment in private chats. In testimony Thursday, ex-Proud Boy Jeremy Bertino the only member of the group to plead guilty to sedition expanded on those messages: "The revolution had failed," Bertino testified. Ella Lee Tim Scott inches toward 2024 run Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. speaks during the Republican Party of Polk County Lincoln Dinner, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023, in West Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) ORG XMIT: IACN118 As Sen. Tim Scott inches closer to an expected 2024 presidential run, he called for a revival of American hope through conservative ideals in a pair of Iowa speeches Wednesday. Scott called for trusting each other, overcoming our differences and then creating converts to conservatism a subtle nod to the fact that Republican presidential candidates have not won the popular vote since 2004, even as Donald Trump carried the Electoral College in 2016. It comes on the heels of a midterm election that left Republicans across the country disappointed in their performance, with many blaming the former president for elevating fringe candidates who alienated some Republican and independent voters. Brianne Pfannenstiel, Francesca Block; Des Moines Register Ex-Arizona AG withheld reports that debunked 2020 election fraud claims The Arizona Attorney General's Office concluded months ago there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election results in Maricopa County but the state's top prosecutor sat on the information and suppressed mitigating details, newly released records show. An investigative report and two internal memos from 2022 indicate then-Attorney General Mark Brnovich was aware his investigators "did not uncover any criminality or fraud" in the 2020 election weeks before Brnovich reported the county's election system was vulnerable and the process for verification and handling of early ballots was broken. The three documents were made public Wednesday by newly elected Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, who described them as "deeply unsettling and unacceptable." Brnovich, a Republican, did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. Robert Anglen, Arizona Republic How federal workers got away with taking classified documents home A software developer for the National Security Agency took home secret documents in a misguided effort to work more for a promotion. A civilian Defense Department worker who was studying at National Intelligence University copied and removed classified records for her thesis. A military contractor mailed home to Texas from Afghanistan entire laptops and hard drives filled with secrets. These were federal criminal cases of federal workers or contractors convicted of mishandling classified documents before caches were found at the homes of President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence. In some cases, workers just hoarded documents. Sloppy handling in some cases went on for decades, despite the secrets at stake being among the countrys most important. The names of undercover intelligence agents and descriptions of how the country gathers its information were included. Adm. Mike Rogers, then head of the National Security Agency, cited very significant and long-lasting harm because of uncertainty over whether secrets had been revealed to adversaries. Bart Jansen Georgia Trump investigation: Foreperson media comments highly unusual Public remarks by Georgia grand jury foreperson Emily Kohrs pierced a veil of secrecy into the investigation of 2020 election interference by Donald Trump. Kohrs, in a series of media interviews, offered up provocative details about key witnesses and charging recommendations potentially involving a dozen or so people. Legal analysts said Kohrs public comments were at a minimum highly unusual for any grand jury inquiry and, at most, not particularly helpful to any potential case the district attorney may bring. Im not aware of any other case in Georgia in which a grand juror has spoken with the media about witnesses appearing before the grand jury, said Clark Cunningham, a Georgia State University law professor who has closely followed the investigation. Kevin Johnson More: Georgia grand jury foreperson's public comments add unusual wrinkle Biden calls Putins suspension of nuclear arms treaty a 'big mistake February 21, 2023: President Joe Biden delivers a speech marking the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at the Royal Castle Gardens in Warsaw. Russias suspension of a nuclear arms treaty is a big mistake, President Joe Biden said Wednesday, as the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion approaches. Biden made the brief comment to reporters as he entered the presidential palace in Warsaw where he is meeting with leaders from nations on the eastern edge of the NATO alliance. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Tuesday he is suspending Moscows participation in New START, a strategic nuclear arms reduction treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms reduction deal between the U.S. and Russia. It limits each side to 1,550 long-range nuclear warheads. Maureen Groppe More: What is the nuclear arms treaty? A new record of women will serve in Congress State Sen. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, celebrates at her election party after winning the seat for Virginia's 4th Congressional District on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in Richmond, Va. A historic number of women will serve in the 118th Congress once congresswoman-elect Jennifer McClellan, D-Va., is sworn in to office. A total of 150 women will serve in Congress, surpassing the previous record set at the swearing-in of the 118th Congress last month, according to Rutgers Universitys Center for American Women and Politics. Additionally, 125 women, 92 Democratic women and 28 Black women will serve in the House new records for each category. McClellans special election victory Tuesday also made her Virginias first Black female member of Congress. Mabinty Quarshie More: McClellan just won election to Congress. Black women say it's not enough This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Recap: Beyond Biden, Trump and Pence, how others took documents home Warning: The following contains spoilers for Wednesdays Abbott Elementary. Proceed at your own risk! Abbott Elementary on Wednesday took a big step forward with the will-they-or-wont-they sexual tension between Janine and Gregory. More from TVLine The episode began innocently enough, with Janine psyched for the Pennsylvania Educational Conference, while Gregory was planning to take his girlfriend Amber away for a romantic weekend of constant activities to make up for his Valentines Day gift blunder. Needless to say, Amber was as enthused about Gregorys jampacked getaway schedule as she was about the LEGO flowers. Abbott Elementary Recap After getting dumped, Gregory found himself at the conference, where Janine set out to distract him from his breakup with the days many planned panels and activities, aka Gregory idea of unwinding. And whats a work conference without a mixer flowing with free booze? So Janine and Gregory got a bit tipsy, and he began to lament the fact that he is the one whos always getting dumped. Janine reassured Gregory that theres nothing wrong with him and that he deserves someone who appreciates him for the weirdo he is. Gregory, in turn, replied that people shouldnt sleep on Janine either. A photo booth session followed, complete with silly props, after which the pair broke into a stunning exhibit featuring a classroom made entirely out of flowers. When they heard someone approaching, Janine and Gregory crouched to hide amongst the lush vegetation. Then Gregory leaned in and planted a kiss on his fellow teacher, and Janine was definitely into it judging by the way she pulled on his lanyard to bring him back in for another kiss. But as soon as they pulled apart, realization dawned on both of them and things got awkward real fast. That was a whoops, Janine told the camera crew. We got caught up in the moment. Story continues Thats what she said? Gregory asked the documentary team, before agreeing with Janines assessment of the heated smooch. Back at school, the pair agreed to throw it out because it was nothing. But you cant take back a kiss, especially one the series has been building toward and perhaps delivered a little too soon? While theres no need to drag things out too long between Janine and Gregory, it still feels like were in the yearning phase of this relationship. After all, this is only the middle of Season 2, and were still getting to know the characters, individually and within their relationships, and have barely seen them date other people on screen. Plus, Gregory and Amber just broke up, and as Janine pointed out, shes dating Maurice. And some more loaded moments between Janine and Gregory before their first kiss would have been the delicious kind of torture. Abbott Elementary fans, what did you think of the timing of Janine and Gregorys liplock? Hit the comments! Best of TVLine Get more from TVLine.com : Follow us on Twitter , Facebook , Newsletter Click here to read the full article. Screenshot: Libs of TikTok via Twitter (Fair Use) A 6th grade teacher has been placed on leave after creating a series of skits throwing shade at Floridas consistent efforts to erase Black History, per WESH 2 News. The TikTok videos of the skits infuriated the school district. However, both parents and students are left wondering what the fuss was all about. Our take: Its Florida, and thats the big deal. Read more In the videos, Howard Middle School teacher Ethan Hooper performs a series of skits with his students. In the first one, he mocks the states book ban by going around to each student holding problematic books including Harry Potter and The Hate U Give and closing the books shut. Then, the camera pans to all the students reading plain ol dictionaries. In another hilarious clip, Hooper is seen making the students read lines off the chalkboard which were, I shall not read books. Books are bad. If I read, its approved by the Feds. However, the clip that has right-wing parents in a tizzy is the one entitled POV: A Florida Classroom where three Black students sit side-by-side, being fed candy and fanned by their white peers. Hundreds of students were recreating the reparations-esque skit at the beginning of Black History Month. Even as the children visibly and audibly laughed in each clip, the Orlando County Public Schools district accused Hooper of making his students political pawns and exploiting them for political purposes. Oh please, it was just a joke: just like Floridas efforts to erase Black literature from schools. Hoopers students even came to his defense saying he didnt do anything wrong. Read more from WESH 2 News: One student in the video said she doesnt think they were used in a political way. She also said it was their idea. They recorded the videos during lunch. We all agreed to it, said Jaida Jackson, who appeared in one of the videos. He didnt really do anything wrong. She said other students in her class agreed and want Hooper back in the classroom soon. None of them think that this should be really happening. Hes one of my favorite teachers. Hes probably the best. Its just not fair, Jackson said. Another mother sent a statement supporting Hooper, saying, He did nothing wrong. Its so sad. My daughter said they were simply doing skits. I saw one of the videos, and its nothing bad at all. She was in tears and said thats one of her favorite teachers that takes time and allows all students, no matter race or gender, to be themselves. Story continues Some parents were frustrated they received a random email from the school saying a staff member was placed on leave but offering no other details. Then, others were angered by the incident, believing Hooper should get fired. If one of the teachers was using my kid for political gain, that would upset me. What if I dont believe in that, and, you know, thats not what Im teaching my kid, said CJ Johnson (a Black parent) to ClickOrlando. Do you believe your childs library should be censored and exclude stories they could identify with or use to understand their history? Once again, children are not the ones considered in the education-politics battle. Now, theyve nearly lost a beloved teacher. More from The Root Sign up for The Root's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. The mood at Informa Markets Fashions Coterie and Magic New York trade shows this week was optimistic, with many brands bullish on fall 2023 as volatile shipping and inventory concerns seem to be stabilizing. But just like at this seasons Micam and Atlanta Shoe Market trade shows, rising costs and worries of a recession are top of mind for many in attendance. More from Footwear News As VP of global sales at Cougar Janelle LeBlanc puts it, purchasing power is still high despite talks of a recession. In most cases freight rates have leveled off, which have offered us the ability to mitigate our costs, so we dont have to necessarily pass those on to our retailers, LeBlanc told FN. Credit: Courtesy of Informa Markets Fashion Courtesy of Informa Markets Fashion In general, I think the bigger problem right now is the inventory levels that retailers are still contending with given the supply chain irregularities and some brands producing too many units over the last few years, LeBlanc added. For us, we are being impacted by the mild winter we are seeing this season. Luckily, we were able to pivot easily to more rain styles. But the inventory woes plaguing larger shoe brands right now spell opportunity for smaller labels like Queens-based footwear company Lilith NYC. I think a lot of retailers are looking to independent brands to fill their shelves with new products, Lilith founder Sarah Sukumaran told FN. Its good news for us. Sukumaran, a Nike alum, started her brand during the height of COVID and learned quickly that producing in China during a pandemic isnt the best option. She moved her production to Portugal and has since left supply chain and inventory issues behind for the most part. Believe it or not, my biggest issue is paper, Sukumaran admitted. Youd think paper shortages wouldnt affect footwear, but Ive had to search for new packaging suppliers because of the problem. Story continues Credit: Courtesy of Informa Markets Fashion Courtesy of Informa Markets Fashion At Spanish shoe brand Victoria, its a similar story. While the brand hasnt reported any sourcing issues, it is seeing tremendous interest from buyers. We have opened up about 100 new accounts since I have been working in New York these past few weeks, Juan Sevilla, international sales agent for Victoria, said. Weve only been selling in the U.S. for two years now and a lot of buyers are looking for new product. Its great for us. And for some footwear brands like Paraboot, the only issue it is facing is turning away customers. We are unable to sign new retailers since our factory in France is at capacity, North American sales director Cameron Shirvani said. Our craftspeople can only hand stitch so fast, so we are limiting orders this season and working with some larger department stores on exclusives. As for show management, Kelly Helfman, president of Informa Markets Fashion, said the overall vibe on the trade show floor is optimistic. Of course, everyone is realistic with what is happening with the economy right now, but overall people are excited to be back post pandemic and are learning how to evolve their businesses to adapt to the environment, Helfman said. Even at Vegas last week and here in New York now, a lot of great buyers are back at our show and are ready to write orders. Credit: Courtesy of Informa Markets Fashion Courtesy of Informa Markets Fashion Helfman did note that there were over 800 exhibitors at Coterie this season, with close to 90 footwear brands on the floor. Magic New York had over 300 total vendors with nearly 50 shoe brands exhibiting this February. Coterie is up 30% year-over-year for this edition, which is a great sign that more and more brands are back and ready to do business. Helfman added that buyers are writing differently now, though, given the state of the market. Some brands have been telling me that the days of buyers writing huge orders are over, for now, she said. With these more conservative orders, vendors are now shifting strategies to limit distribution and add additional revenue streams to diversify their businesses. Best of Footwear News Sign up for FN's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Johannesburg A German foreign ministry quip about leopards and an African tour by Russia's top diplomat has sparked a cool response on the continent, ranging from bewilderment to accusations of insensitivity. On Wednesday, Germany said it would deliver 14 of its top-of-the-line Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, bolstering support for the country in its fight against the Russian invasion along with the U.S., which promised 31 M1 Abrams tanks. The move was announced as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was in southern Africa on a trip aimed at drumming support for Moscow. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meets South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor (not seen) during his official visit in Pretoria, South Africa, January 23, 2023. / Credit: Ihsaan Haffejee/Anadolu Agency/Getty U.S. "concerned" over South Africa's looming war games with Russia "Lavrov is in Africa, not to see (leopard emoji) but to bluntly claim that #Ukraine's partners 'want to destroy everything Russian'," the German foreign office tweeted. The Russian Foreign Minister #Lavrov is in Africa, not to see , but to bluntly claim that #Ukraines partners want to destroy everything Russian. Here is a with all of his evidence: 1/3 GermanForeignOffice (@GermanyDiplo) January 24, 2023 Some were unimpressed by the pun and hit at the emoji as a stereotype of Africa as a land for little more than safaris. Ebba Kalondo, spokeswoman for the African Union's chair, replied asking whether German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had also "come to see animals" when she visited the Ethiopia-based AU headquarters this month. "Or is the Continent of Africa, its people & wildlife just a joke to you?" she wrote. Can the U.S. catch up with China and Russia's African outreach Zainab Usman, head of the Africa Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the tweet was "not a good look." Story continues This is not a good look, @GermanyDiplo. Using terrible stereotypes of Africa (Africa is a vast landscape of wild animals in the bush) to score a geopolitical upper cut to an adversary in a European war will not win you any African friends. Tone deaf! Do better! https://t.co/YwOZopBg1M Zainab Usman (@MssZeeUsman) January 25, 2023 "Using terrible stereotypes... to score a geopolitical upper cut to an adversary in a European war will not win you any African friends. Tone deaf! Do better!" she wrote on Twitter. Later the German foreign office replied it was "sorry" and the tweet was "in no way intended to mean offense" but to call out "the lies that Russia uses to justify its war of aggression." "Point taken. Thinking of a different, German breed of leopards may have made us miss the connotation you are pointing out," it said in a reply to Usman. M&M's "spokescandies" removed from marketing in favor of SNL alum Maya Rudolph Colorado man arrested after police say he "intentionally" drove his truck into police station FDA advisory panel considers simplifying COVID-19 vaccination schedule An illustration of Late Devonian animals. An illustration of Late Devonian animals swimming in the water. About 350 million years ago, long before the dinosaurs stalked the planet, a gigantic fish with deadly fangs hunted river waters on the ancient southern supercontinent Gondwana , a new study finds. This fish, measuring up to 9 feet (2.7 meters) long, is the largest bony fish on record from the Late Devonian (383 million to 359 million years ago) and was predatory, prompting researchers to call it Hyneria udlezinye, or the "one who consumes others," in IsiXhosa, a widely spoken Indigenous language in the region of South Africa where the bones were found. "Picture a huge predatory fish, easily topping 2 meters [6.5 feet] in length and looking somewhat like a modern alligator gar but with a shorter face like the front end of a torpedo," study co-author Per Ahlberg , a professor in the Department of Organismal Biology at Uppsala University in Sweden, told Live Science. "The mouth contained rows of small teeth, but also pairs of large fangs which could probably reach 5 centimeters [2 inches] in the largest individuals." Researchers discovered the first clues of the ancient fish's existence in 1995, when they unearthed a series of isolated fossilized scales at an excavation site called Waterloo Farm near Makhanda (formerly known as Grahamstown), in South Africa. Now, in a study published Wednesday (Feb. 22) in the journal PLOS One , the researchers have finally pieced together a skeleton of the newfound species of giant tristichopterid, a type of ancient bony fish. "It's been a long journey ever since then, assembling the answer to where these scales came from," study co-author Robert Gess , a paleontologist and research associate at the Albany Museum and at Rhodes University in South Africa, told Live Science. Related: 'Never seen anything like it': Impeccably preserved Jurassic fish fossils found on UK farm The skeleton reveals that H. udlezinye was a voracious predator. "The fins are mainly towards the back of the body. This is an ecological characteristic of a lie-in-wait predator; it can put on a sudden spurt. Hyneria would have lurked in the dark shadows and waited for passing things," Gess said. "It's the one that consumed others." Story continues The giant fish probably preyed on four-legged creatures known as tetrapods, the ancestral group that led to the human lineage. "The tristichopterids evolved into monsters that, in all likelihood, ate [our ancestors]," Ahlberg said. Previous research identified another species of the same genus, H. lindae, at an excavation site in Pennsylvania, which was part of the supercontinent Euramerica during the Late Devonian. The fossils from Waterloo Farm are the first to indicate that Hyneria lived in Gondwana. The new study also reveals that giant tristichopterids lived not just in the tropical regions of Gondwana, but across the continent and even in the polar circle. A close up of fossilized Hyneria scales. Most tristichopterid fossils found to date have been excavated in Australia, skewing our perception of the distribution of these animals. Other regions which belonged to Gondwana, like Africa and South America, are less well researched. "Because Australia was in the tropics, and because all the well-sampled sites from this period and from Gondwana happen to be in Australia, there was a feeling that these giant tristichopterids originated in what is now Australia along the tropical coast of Gondwana," Gess said. RELATED STORIES Great white-shark-sized ancient fish discovered by accident from fossilized lung 'Hell fish' likely killed by dinosaur-ending asteroid is preserved in stunning detail 'Wonderfully-shaped feces' found inside ancient fish skull. What left the pretty poops? Now, for the first time, researchers have found the remains of a giant tristichopterid in what would have been a polar region at the time. "We have this guild of ginormous predatory fish and this is the only example we have from the polar regions," Ahlberg said. WASHINGTON A federal appeals court raised conflicting questions Thursday about whether a Republican congressman, a close ally of Donald Trump, could block the Justice Department's special counsel from searching contents of his cell phone by invoking a shield protecting lawmakers from questions about their legislative duties. The hearing offered the rare public, albeit brief, glimpse into Justice special counsel Jack Smith's largely shrouded investigation into the former president's efforts to cling to power following President Joe Biden's election. In August, federal investigators seized the cellphone of Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, also a central figure in a special House committee investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack. The congressional inquiry identified Perry as assisting the former president in his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. More: Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, a Trump ally, says FBI agents seized his cellphone Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., questions Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on April 28. On Thursday, the congressman's lawyer John Rowley argued that Perry's cell phone essentially served as an extension of the lawmaker's office and the communications were protected by a provision of the Constitution's speech and debate clause. Rowley seized on the cell phone as representing a unique expansion of the constitutional protections based on the "realities of technology." The judges, however, pushed back, casting the congressman's position as a kind of protection without limit. D.C. Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas, a Trump nominee, suggested that Rowley's interpretation would extend protections to the congressman's conversations with "anyone in the world." 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. Justice Department attorney John Pellettieri urged the three-judge panel to apply a strict standard, arguing that the protections should only extend to a lawmaker's internal deliberations linked to a legislative purpose, largely excluding lawmakers' communications outside of Congress. But the argument also drew a series of inquiries from Katsas and D.C. Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, another Trump appointee, who suggested the government's position offered an overly rigid definition of the constitutional protection. Story continues The second half of the hearing was closed, but the court's decision could have broader implications for the special counsel's inquiry. More: Mike Pence subpoenaed by Justice Department special counsel in Trump investigations Last week, former Vice President Mike Pence vowed to challenge a subpoena for his testimony in the special counsel's Jan. 6, 2021 inquiry, arguing he also is shielded by the Constitutions speech or debate clause because he was acting in his dual role as president of the Senate on the day the Capitol was ransacked. On the day of Jan. 6, I was acting as President of the Senate, presiding over a joint session described in the Constitution itself, Pence said last week. And so I believe that that speech and debate clause of the Constitution actually prohibits the executive branch from compelling me to appear in a court, as the Constitution says, or in 'any other place.' Contributing: Brianne Pfannenstiel This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rep. Scott Perry fights Jan. 6 probe efforts to search his cell phone Feb. 16The New Hampshire man accused of killing a man inside a home in Berwick last month entered a not-guilty plea during his arraignment Thursday in York County Superior Court. Daniel Lafrenier, 31, of Rochester has been charged with murder in the January death of 37-year-old Mark Forest of Berwick. He also was charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. During a brief appearance before Justice Wayne R. Douglas, attorney Tina Nadeau entered a not-guilty plea on behalf of her client. Lafrenier, who appeared via Zoom from York County Jail, spoke only to acknowledge that he could hear the proceeding. Lafrenier will continue to be held without bail. An affidavit filed by Maine State Police Detective Michael Chavez was unsealed this week and provides the first details about what police allege happened inside the home on Katabel Lane on Jan. 12. Lafrenier's mother, Luann Lafrenier, called 911 at 7:48 a.m. to report that a man had shot himself and was not breathing. But another witness later told police it was Daniel Lafrenier who fired the shot, after getting into an argument with Forest. Berwick police officers found Forest lying on the couch with wounds to his head, according to the affidavit. He was taken to Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover, New Hampshire, where he was later pronounced dead. According to the affidavit, Luann Lafrenier called her son and asked him to pick her up because Forest had threatened to beat her during an argument over some stolen clothes. When Daniel Lafrenier arrived with another man and began to argue with Forest and others, he pointed a gun at Forest's head. The affidavit said Forest either tried to push the gun away or grab it. "Sorry," Daniel Lafrenier said to his mother, telling her that the gun had "gone off," Chavez wrote. Luann Lafrenier later told police that she heard a bang and then heard another witness yell "There's blood everywhere." Story continues Daniel Lafrenier was arrested later that day after allegedly trying to break into a home in York. As he was being taken into custody, he told an officer that the gun was in his backpack, according to the affidavit. Forest, who was married and had six children, worked for many years in the electrical field. He enjoyed carpentry work, landscaping, cooking, riding his motorcycle and custom LED lighting work, according to his obituary. His family described him as a hardworking and protective person who had a way with words and was known for "making something out of nothing." "Mark was very passionate about his family, especially spending quality time with his children and making special memories with each one of them," his family wrote in his obituary. After Forest's death, nearly $6,000 was raised through a GoFundMe campaign to help his family with funeral arrangements. Foreign-invested firms have called on the Vietnamese government to ease visa restrictions and improve airport infrastructure to turn Vietnam into an attractive tourist destination. Alain Cany, chairman of EuroCham, said at a meeting with HCMC top leaders on Wednesday that the country should extend its visa-free stays from the current 15 to 30 days for all European visitors as tourism is a key for economic development in the southern metropolis, Thanh Nien newspaper reported. Belarus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Russia, Spain, and Sweden are currently the European countries whose citizens are permitted to enter Vietnam without having to obtain a tourist visa for stays of up to 15 days. Eurocham also made this request regarding visa exemption for all EU members in its White Book released on Feb. 16. At the meeting, some foreign investors suggested the government resume its multi-entry three-month visa policy that was available before Covid, as Vietnam now offers just a one-month single-entry e-visa to visitors from 80 countries. In addition to visa policy, airport infrastructure is also a concern of foreigners. Eurocham has received many complaints from visitors about their unsatisfactory experiences at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCMC, as they have to wait for hours to board their flights, Cany says as cited by Phap Luat newspaper. Despite being the countrys busiest airport, the airport has no special lanes for business class passengers, investors, or participants at MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) events. James Ollen, executive director of AmCham in HCMC, said limited infrastructure has hindered manufacturing and tourism activities in the southern economic hub. He suggested the city should improve transport infrastructure and simplify procedures to attract foreign tourists. Michael D'Ercole, president of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, proposed the city improve its living environment to attract more investors and tourists from Europe. Despite being one of the first Southeast Asian countries to fully reopen, Vietnam only received 3.6 million foreign tourists last year, around 20% of pre-pandemic levels. This year it is targeting 8 million arrivals. Courtesy of Netflix Content warning: This article contains references to murder some may find upsetting. Reader discretion is advised. The bulk of Netflix's newest true crime series, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, focuses on both a deadly boating accident that injured five teenagers and killed one of them, as well as on a double murder of a mother and son. However, there are more deaths involved with the wealthy and somewhat notorious Murdaugh family from South Carolina. Whether you're about to dive in and want a preview of what's to come, or you've just finished binging the series and need a refresher, check out our timeline of this chilling true crime case. July 8, 2015 Stephen Smith's body was found in the middle of the road in Hampton County, South Carolina, his car parked a few miles away. The 19-year-old had severe head trauma and, as one of the troopers there that night said in the documentary, "Nothing at the scene appeared that it was a vehicular accident." The incident happened not too far away from where classmate Mallory Beach (more on her later) lived. Stephen was an openly gay teenager, who, as his friend Olivia said, "did not give a sh*t about what people thought about him." Stephen's case went cold, and when a private investigator hired by Stephen's mother dug into the murder, he spoke with many people who all said they had heard Buster Murdaugh Alex Murdaugh's eldest son allegedly committed the crime. There were rumors Stephen and Buster were secretly intimate together, which would have "damaged" the Murdaugh family name. One theory went, according to Olivia, that Stephen ran out of gas and called Buster for help. Buster, and possibly one or two other people, who happened to be in the area, pulled up and offered him a ride. But not long after, "that's when it all started to unravel." Once the Murdaugh's name entered the chat, the investigation into Stephen's death "just fade[d] away," according to private investigator Steve Peterson. His murder has never been solved and, per People, how Stephen died "remains a mystery to this day." Story continues February 2, 2018 Three years after Stephen died, the Murdaugh housekeeper (who was a second mother to Alex Murdaugh's youngest son, Paul Murdaugh, according to Paul's ex-girlfriend, Morgan Doughty), Gloria Satterfield, was injured while working at the Murdaugh house and later died. Maggie Murdaugh, Paul and Buster's mother, called 911, saying Gloria had "fallen," and had done so "going up the [brick] steps" to the Murdaugh house. According to Valerie Bauerlein from The Wall Street Journal, who investigated the murders and was interviewed for the docuseries, Gloria's family members were told Gloria "tripped over the [Murdaugh] family dogs on the stairs, and fell backward, and hit her head violently and died." Gloria's death wasn't immediate; she died on February 26. But, as her brother Eric put it, his sister "really wasn't responsive to [her family] the whole time she was in the hospital." Morgan Doughty, Paul's girlfriend, shared that Alex Murdaugh was addicted to painkillers and Gloria had allegedly found drugs taped underneath Alex's bed. According to Morgan, Gloria told Paul what she had found because she was "scared" to go to Maggie, Alex's wife, about the situation. According to the docuseries, some people felt Gloria knew too much and that knowledge got her killed. In June 2022, news broke that Gloria's body was going to be exhumed, since, as reported by WJCL, "her death was never reported to the coroner. And no autopsy was performed [at the time]." (However, there does not appear to be any new updates about the exhumation at this time.) February 23-24, 2019 Courtesy of Netflix After a night of drinking and partying at an oyster roast, a group of six friends three sets of couples headed home on Paul Murdaugh's boat. However, Paul, who was reportedly driving the boat while intoxicated, accidentally crashed it into a piling, according to both the docuseries and The Post and Courier. Five of the teens were thrown from the boat and suffered serious to mild injuries, but the sixth person on the vehicle, 19-year-old Mallory Beach (pictured left in the above photo), never surfaced. No one could find her. Seven days after the crash, Mallory's body was recovered. According to the docuseries, she had blunt-force trauma to her head and, after that, she drowned. Two months after Mallory's death, Paul was charged with boating under the influence causing death and two counts of boating under the influence with great bodily injury. Paul pled not guilty. Unfortunately, he was murdered before he could stand trial. June 7, 2021 Courtesy of Netflix Paul Murdaugh, then 22 years old, and Maggie Murdaugh were murdered at their home, near the dog kennels, which, as The Wall Street Journal's Valerie Bauerlein put it, "were a short drive away from the main house." Alex Murdaugh allegedly came home from checking on this ailing parents to find his wife and younger son had been shot and called 911. Maggie had been shot several times in the chest and back. Paul was shot once in the chest and then shot a second time at the neck and head. As of this writing, Alex is currently on trial for the double homicide of Maggie and Paul. You Might Also Like First lady Jill Biden met with Namibian President Hage Geingob on Wednesday to kick off her five-day, two-country visit to Africa. We wanted to come because this is a young democracy and we want to support democracies around the world, Biden said ahead of the meeting. Biden visited with Geingob and Namibian first lady Monica Geingos at the State House and after a photograph together, the three had a closed-door meeting. Geingob asked Biden how her husband was ahead of the meeting and she replied, Hes great. I will tell him you were asking for him. Her focus in Namibia is on the role of young people in continuing to shape their democracy and advance health cooperation, senior administration officials said on Tuesday. The last time a senior White House official visited Namibia was former Vice President Al Gore in 1996. When she first landed in Namibia, she was greeted by Geingos at the airport. Biden and Geingos then visited Heroes Acre, an official war memorial of the Republic of Namibia, and the first lady laid a wreath to open her trip. We met each other in December and we just continued the relations, Biden said about her relationship with Geingos later on Wednesday. I think its safe to say we became good friends instantly. It was one of those things where you meet somebody and you connect and we work on the same issues. And thats why it was important I continue my work and come and show support for Namibia, she added. Geingos noted that the trip is the first time a first lady has come Namibia and that it is a very vibrant democracy. We have a very large youth population who drives that democracy- very energetic and its very enabled by our constitutional values of our leadership, she said. Later on Wednesday, Biden will meet with Namibian Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah. This whole trip will be exciting and we have a lot to accomplish, Biden said when she left the White House on Tuesday. Story continues Her next stop is in Kenya, where she will look at the impacts of drought on families and communities hardest hit, officials said on Tuesday. In both Namibia and Kenya, the first lady will participate in engagements about womens and youth empowerment, gender-based violence, as well as about sexual and reproductive health programs and HIV support. Biden said before leaving that it should be a really good trip. Her granddaughter Naomi Biden joined her on the trip, which takes place while the president is in Poland until Wednesday evening. The first lady, who will be in Africa until Sunday, is the third U.S. official to visit Africa this year after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. The trip will be her sixth overall visit to the continent, including her first visit to Namibia and third visit to Kenya. President Biden announced at the end of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in December that he will travel to sub-Saharan Africa in 2023. He said at the time that there will be other visits to Africa from officials, including his wife. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Reuters/Pixabay Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) spends more of her campaign funds on security than nearly every other member of Congressshes underwritten well over $560,000 for her protection since late 2021but whats more unusual than how much she spends is who she spends it on. According to federal campaign finance filings, Sinemas campaign committees have paid a combined $307,000 in security expenses to an Arizona-registered entity called TOA Group LLC. And official documents show that TOA Group LLC has just one officer: Vrindivan Gabbard Bellord, best known as the sister of and occasional spokesperson for Tulsi Gabbard. Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman and presidential candidate turned right-wing political figure, has long had a friendly relationship with Sinema. And Gabbards sister, Bellord, also appears to be quite close to the senator. Since fall 2021, Bellord has been employed as the security director in Sinemas Senate office, a role that has paid her over $50,000, according to Senate records. Bellord has also apparently been the exclusive security provider to Sinemas campaign. She appears to have no other clients aside from the Arizona senator. Disrespectful and Even Abusive: Kyrsten Sinema Hit With Ethics Complaint Beyond paying Bellords salary, Sinemas campaign committee and personal PAC have spent over $240,000 on other security-related expensesairfare, lodging, meals, and other benefits for security detail, presumably meaning Bellord. In 2022, Sinemas campaigns spent over $56,000 for security detail lodging at Marriott hotels alone. Notably, there are also two separate charges totaling over $100,000 for security detail vehicle. Bellord may have also benefited from Sinema campaign expenses that were not listed as specifically security-related. In February 2022, Sinemas personal PAC paid $95 to a fat bike tour company in Park City, Utah. Days before, Bellord posted a photo to Instagram showing two bikeswith fat wheelsin snowy mountain surroundings. In response to a comment from Gabbard, Bellord said, thanks to our friend, with a winky-face emoji. (Sinema liked the post.) Story continues The Kyrsten Sinema Connection The connection between Sinema and Bellord is far from coincidental. Sinema and Gabbard first became friends when both arrived in the U.S. House as freshmen in 2013. During Gabbards time in Washington, Bellord reportedly lived with her sisterand likely got to know Sinema there. According to property records, Bellords primary residence now is in Texas. As a former U.S. marshaland the de facto driver and body woman for Gabbards 2020 presidential campaignBellord surely has applicable security expertise. But the previously unreported arrangement between Sinema and Bellord raises several ethics concerns, according to campaign finance law experts. These experts told The Daily Beast that Sinema has an obligation to explain the relationship further. The newly independent Arizona senator has not announced whether she will run for re-election in 2024, but she has already drawn a challenger in Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ). Since 2017, the Federal Election Commission has permitted candidates to spend campaign money for their personal security. Saurav Ghosh, a former campaign finance attorney now at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, said security is not the craziest thing for a campaign to spend money on. But Ghosh remarked the $300,000-plus sum that Bellord received from Sinema was eye-opening and that the fact that the senator is her only apparent client is one of the biggest red flags. That Bellord is being paid with campaign funds for security while drawing a taxpayer-funded salary for the same kind of work is exceptionally rare, said Brendan Fischer, executive director of the watchdog group Documented. Arizona Democrat Ruben Gallego Launches Bid for Sinemas Senate Seat Fischer expressed surprise that Sinema wasnt paying Bellord entirely with campaign funds, while saving her limited, taxpayer-funded official Senate budget to hire an additional legislative or press staff member. That Sinema and Bellord have pre-existing personal connections adds to the need for transparency, the experts saidparticularly because there are so many charges for expenses that Fischer describes as fringe benefits. Its interesting from the perspective of optics, more than legality, Ghosh said. He added that Bellord would not be subject to the FECs rule that campaign funds cannot enrich a candidates relatives, but its always questionable whether someone is providing real, legitimate security services, or whether this is a sweetheart deal. Its usually somewhere in the middle. Using both campaign and taxpayer funds to pay tens of thousands of dollars to a close friends sisteras well as a number of fringe benefitswarrants some degree of an explanation, Fischer said. A spokesperson for Sinema did not respond to requests for comment, which included a list of questions about the nature and extent of Bellords security duties, her compensation structure, and the official policy for covering Bellords expenses. Sinema, of course, is hardly the only member of Congress to spend lavishly on security in a moment when lawmakers are facing historic rates of violent threats. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), who ran two high-profile campaigns in two years, sank some $1.5 million into security; other top spenders include Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), and Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO). Sinema is not an outlier in Arizona: her colleague, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), spent $562,000 on security over the last two years. But Sinema appears to diverge significantly from some colleagues in their organization of security. Kellys campaign spending reports, for instance, show various payments of several hundred dollars, or a few thousand dollars, for security to nearly a dozen people, several of whom appear to be former law enforcement officers. There are no payments for meals, lodging, or other personal expenses for security detail. Its unclear how close Sinema and Gabbard are today, but they have considerable history. The two became quick allies after their elections to Congress in 2012. From 2013 to 2014, they shared a joint fundraising committee. A lengthy internal guide to staffing Sinema, obtained and reported on by The Daily Beast last year, listed her five closest friends in Congress. Gabbard was one of them. Tulsi Gabbard Doesnt Really Stand for Anything News articles from Gabbards time in Congress, and her presidential campaign, detailed her sisters pivotal role in her political life. When Gabbards 2020 campaign manager and consulting firm cut ties with the candidate before she even launched, Gabbard was leaning on her sister, Vrindavan, to fill the void, Politico reported at the time. A New York magazine profile of Gabbard from the 2020 campaign trail portrayed Bellord as a key member of her brain trustnot to mention the campaign driver and one of two members of a traveling staff that consisted of her and her brother-in-law. During debates, Bellord lobbed attacks at fellow primary contenders during debatesand took over the campaign Twitter accountechoing her sisters fiery anti-establishment politics all the while. As Gabbard continued to distance herself from the Democratic Party after her presidential run and embrace the right, she publicly defended Sinema, who was facing criticism within the party for her stance supporting the Senate filibuster rule and opposing changes to the U.S. tax code that her colleagues had pushed for. Often, that criticism was public and in the senators face. What I've told her directly and personally is hold your ground and put the American people first, Gabbard said on Fox News in October 2021, when asked by a host about Sinema being on the outs with the elite. Strictly Business The business relationship between Sinema and Bellord appears to have begun in October 2021the same month that angry activists followed the senator into a bathroom at Arizona State University and, separately, confronted her on an airplane and in the airport. At the end of the month, Bellord began receiving a paycheck from Sinemas Senate office for her duties as security director. In December, Bellord filed paperwork in Arizona to form TOA Group, listing as its address an office park outside Tucson used by several other LLCs. Beginning in 2022, Sinemas campaign, as well as her personal Getting Stuff Done PAC, began paying TOA Group for security detail and spending on various security-related expenses. These ranged from airline tickets and hotel rooms to in-flight WiFi to meals at a variety of restaurants. The expenses, cataloged in FEC reports, indicate the extent of Bellords travel with Sinema. In addition to the $56,000 Sinemas campaigns spent on security detail lodging at Marriott, over $35,000 was spent for security detail airfares. Watchdogs say that, because using campaign funds to pay for security is broadly allowed, candidates enjoy wide latitude in their spending. Typically, the basic threshold for a permissible campaign expense is whether it would not be required if the candidate were not running for or holding public office. Given that candidates may want and need security because of their public-facing rolesand do not require any less protection when they travel or conduct other businesssecurity spending can balloon quickly, often with little scrutiny into the nature of the expenses. But watchdogs said that does not mean candidates should not have to explain how they are stewarding donors money. In Sinemas case, ascertaining the fairness of the arrangement is especially hard. The fact that Bellord appears to have only one client, said Ghosh, makes it difficult to ascertain whether her compensation rates are consistent, or whether she has as many expenses covered by other employers. Fischer, with the watchdog group Documented, said that candidates should be able to spend campaign funds to stay safe in dangerous times, but that there are a few things about these particular payments that are unique. No ones questioning the value of hiring security, he said, but Sinema should be able to tell her constituents why so much money is being paid to this particular person and for these particular expenditures. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. LANSING The first injection of what is expected to be hundreds of millions of dollars from lawsuit settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors is being funneled to local Michigan governments, leaving local officials to decide what to do with the money. Michigan is expected to ultimately get about $1.4 billion from opioid damage settlements, with about $776 million from three distributors and a manufacturer of opioid pills in a first settlement, expected to be paid out over 18 years. The rest is expected from other court agreements, according to a January statement from the state Attorney General's Office. The allocation of the funding is based on the damage believed to have been caused by opioids, using a formula that includes the number of pills, the number of overdoses and other measures of opioid damage. The state's smaller counties are expected to get larger per-capita settlements, reflecting more intense damage from opioids. For example, the three largest Michigan counties - Wayne, Oakland and Kent - each received an average of less than $20 a person while the three smallest got an average of $30 a person, according to a Lansing State Journal analysis of data from the Michigan Association of Counties. The Michigan Association of Counties estimates Ingham County should get $7.4 million over 18 years for opioid addiction treatment and prevention; Eaton County, $3.1 million; and Clinton County, $1.7 million. "It's a lot of money," said Dr. Nike Shoyinka, Ingham County's top health care officer. She expects Ingham County will use its opioid settlement money for community priorities centered on treatment and prevention that a new committee will establish. Across the state, the expected payouts range from Wayne County's $35 million to Keweenaw County's $12,087, and include $6.9 million for St. Clair County, $5.5 million for Calhoun County, $2.5 million for Shiawassee County, $2.2 million for Montcalm County, at least $1 million for Gratiot, Ionia and Sanilac counties, and less than $1 million for Barry County, according to the state county association's most recent summer estimates. Story continues The five counties receiving the largest per-capita payments all have 25,000 people or fewer. Ogemaw, Crawford, Roscommon, Iosco and Manistee counties are expected to get between $40 and $100 a person, according to Michigan's county association. The five counties with the smallest per-capita payments - Keweenaw, Ottawa, Midland, Allegan and Missaukee counties - are expected to get between $6 and $12 a person. While half of the $776 million will be paid to Michigan's local governments, those dollars will also be shared between a total of 269 counties, cities and townships. The Michigan Association of Counties calculated expected county payments, but a similar breakdown of city and township payments was not available from the association, Michigan Municipal League or the Attorney Generals office. Communities across the state are figuring out how they'll handle their payouts since a Michigan judge dismissed last month an Ottawa County challenge that was preventing distribution of $81 million in settlement money for local governments. Ottawa County contended the money was being disbursed wrongly and its residents deserved more than the $2.6 million it is expected to receive. The $81 million reflects three months worth of deposits that were delayed by Ottawa County's lawsuit and now will become regular. That $81 million began hitting county, city and township accounts Jan. 31. Representatives from several local governments say they haven't spent the money yet or determined exactly how to spend it. In Livingston County, which is slated to get $4.5 million over 18 years, the money will likely go to a variety of uses, such as educating first responders, more access for opioid-countering medications and support to interventions, said Matt Bolang, deputy health officer for the county's health department. "We're starting to think about how to best use this for our community," he said. "It's certainly something we have a need for and we are in the process of prioritizing the need." Counties are doing the right thing by planning their spending and working with community groups, said Amy Dolinky, technical advisor for opioid settlement funds for the Michigan Association of Counties. There are no pressing deadlines for spending the money, she noted. So far, Michigan has received about $39 million for the state's share of the national settlement of at least $21 billion, and, in time, the payouts for local governments and the state should be about equal, state officials said. However, Dolinky emphasized some restrictions for the money both local governments and the state will receive. They fall into three major categories: Mitigating the misuse or abuse of opioids, treating related disorders, and dealing with side effects, Dolinky said. She added that about 85% of the money needs to be spent on opioid-related efforts, and most of that 85% needs to be spent on future programs. The rest can be spent on administrative costs and other programs that can include reimbursement. Municipalities should have plenty of options, from providing jail and medications like naloxone (often known as Narcan), supporting treatment centers, adding more staff to handle treatment and outreach efforts and even efforts like career program for at-risk people, she said. The state's money, at least the first batch, will go toward prevention, training and research and the money should touch those who are addicted, people starting to take opioids, drug stores, medical professionals, first responders, community health groups and treatment centers, health and human services officials said. The state released on Friday an initial list of projects for its first $39 million. In Michigan, we are using this long-term funding to address the multi-generational impact of the opioid epidemic as well as address racial disparities that exist as part of the opioids crisis, MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel said in the release. Settlement dollars will allow us to invest in supports, improvements and enhancements to further our efforts to decrease substance use disorders, improve treatment options and improve recovery success. A survey of 1,000 people in 2022 by the University of Michigan's Centers for Health Research and Transformation found treatment was one of the most sought-after uses for the money in Michigan. The priorities for the money, according to the survey: Recovery treatment, including residential centers and mental health assistance Prevention programs, including in schools and for both first responders and medical workers Expanding medication access and treatment options for opioids State figures show drug overdoses, including but not limited to opioids, killed 3,096 people in the state in 2021 and 85% of those, 2,504 deaths, were attributed to opioids, a broad term that health experts say encompasses prescription opioids, heroine, cocaine, stimulants, methamphetamines, and manufactured fentanyl. About three quarters of those opioid overdose deaths involved illicit fentanyl, according to federal CDC figures from 2021, the most recent year available. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate indicate street drugs are a bigger problem than prescription drugs. About 2,260 people in Michigan died in 2021 of an overdose linked to illicit fentanyl, that's about 75% of all overdose deaths; about 391 people fatally overdosed with prescription opioids in the same year, according to federal CDC figures from 2021, the most recent year available. Heroin, another opioid, was linked to about 270 deaths in Michigan in 2021. That was an increase from 2020, when 2,738 people died of overdose. The deaths are most common in young people and men but overdoses for those older than 65 years rose the fastest, accounting for almost 12% more deaths in 2022. In Ingham County in 2021, 126 deaths involved opioids out of 151 drug-related deaths, according to an annual medical examiner's report. In Eaton County opioids were identified in 15 of 22 drug-related deaths. Contact Mike Ellis at mellis@lsj.com or on Twitter @MikeEllis_AIM This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: State, counties figuring out how to spend millions from opioid settlements Like a Stephen King movie. A massive, ever-growing blob of brown seaweed stretching across the Atlantic Ocean could spell trouble for beachgoers again this year as it moves west towards Florida. According to University of South Florida (USF) scientists, the sargassum patch doubled in size for the second consecutive month in January, reaching 8.7 million tons and breaking the previous January record of 6.5 million tons set in 2018. And its only getting bigger. Marcial Gonzalez/Getty Images This is very rare in history, USF oceanography professor Chuanmin Hu told USA Today. "All we can do now is keep a close eye on what's going on." The recurring event, which scientists believe is caused by climate change and fertilizer runoff in the Amazon, has been documented since 2011. Last year was a record-breaker for the total amount of sargassum, reaching a peak of 22 million tons in July. Hu predicts that 2023 will be another major sargassum year, with the potential to surpass even 2022. Florida Atlantic University research professor and algae expert Brian LaPointe told USA Today that years with large amounts of sargassum build on each other because there is so much seed material to start the next crop. It really becomes a problem when it piles up in the mangroves and causes these dead zones, LaPointe explained. It literally fills man-made canals, coming right up in front of peoples homes and surrounding docks. In the right amounts, sargassum is essential for marine life. But too much can cause environmental, ecological, and economic problems. Thick mats of it make it hard for sea creatures to move and breathe, and when it dries, sargassum releases hydrogen sulfide gas, which smells like rotten eggs. It's also an eyesore. Our beach could literally be clean at 8 a.m. and three to four hours later a giant mat of sargassum the size of a mall will come in like the blob, like a Stephen King movie, Tom Mahady, city of Boynton Beach Ocean Rescue chief, told USA Today. "It's not pleasant for swimmers." For more Southern Living news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Southern Living. What has made the duo of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer so promising in the Buffalo Bills secondary over the years is their knowledge. Both are dynamic athletes and can move around Buffalos defense to make plays. With Poyer as one of the Bills top pending free agents this spring, using a top pick to replace him over the short and long term could be a possibility. Enter Texas A&M safety Antonio Johnson. A versatile defensive back, Johnson could be on Buffalos radar at the upcoming draft and thats the direction the team goes in a recent mock by The 33rd Team. At the No. 27 overall selection in Round 1, the Bills take Johnson. Hes a player who would clearly be part of the rebuilding process of the secondary. The 33rd Team is assuming Buffalo loses Poyer during free agency by making this pick. While losing Poyer wouldnt be great, Johnson would get at least a year to work with Hyde as he still has one year remaining on his contract unlike Poyer. At 6-foot-3, Johnson has ideal size for a defensive back. During his college career, hes also helped out across Texas A&Ms defense, like in the slot. Such a tool in Buffalos secondary would certainly be appealing to general manager Brandon Beane if Poyer walks. Regarding The 33rd Teams mock, heres how the selection is broken down: 27. Buffalo Bills: Antonio Johnson, S, Texas A&M A clear position of need for the Buffalo Bills, they select a safety that has length and is an outstanding athlete. Johnson (scouting report) can cover tight ends and is physical in the run game. Related 2023 NFL Draft: Prospects who could shine at the scouting combine Where PFF graded Bills' Tremaine Edmunds (& Matt Milano) among NFL's top LBs in 2022 PFF: Bills' Tremaine Edmunds named 17th best free agent in 2023 Story originally appeared on Bills Wire Passengers will sail from Japans northern Tohoku and Hokkaido regions during cherry blossom season and travel all the way to Anchorage. Courtesy of Princess Cruises Princess Cruises will sail from Japan all the way to Alaska, introducing a new voyage that brings travelers from cherry blossoms to glaciers. The new itinerary, which is part of the companys 2024 Japanese cruise season, will take travelers from Japans northern Tohoku and Hokkaido regions during cherry blossom season and travel all the way to Anchorage over 15 days, according to Princess. Passengers will also have the option to extend their voyage and travel to Vancouver for a total of 22 days on the cruise. The cruise, which will depart Tokyo on April 27, 2024, will sail on the Royal Princess, marking the first time the cruise line's Royal-Class ship will sail in the region. PAUL NORDMANN/Courtesy of Princess Cruises Japan has been a popular homeport and destination experience for Princess guests for many years and were thrilled to offer such a culturally-rich season of cruises in this region for the 2024 season, John Padgett, Princess Cruises president, said in a statement. In addition, Princess will sail its Diamond Princess ship, which is based in Japan from March through August 2024. That ship will sail roundtrip from Tokyo and stop in 35 different destinations across three countries with trips that range from seven to 23 days. The Diamond Princess gained widespread notoriety at the start of the pandemic when it suffered a COVID-19 outbreak in Japan, but started sailing again last year. The ship is now classified as a MedallionClass ship and includes features like keyless stateroom entry, turn-by-turn directions to navigate through the ship, and the ability to order food, drinks, and more for delivery through the app. For its part, Japan reopened to independent travelers last year, but requires all travelers to show either proof of three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine or proof of a negative test conducted within 72 hours of departure, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Travel & Leisure. Growing up in North America, you might assume the entirety of Italian horror movies are either proto-slasher giallo films or gory zombie flicks. But not so! While giallo owned the 70s and zombies devoured the 80s, the 60s saw a much more austere and traditional spate of horror in the form of a cycle of Gothic horror. These fascinating and varied films have seen a renaissance on home media in the past few years, and boutique distributor Severin Films have been at the forefront. Now we have a brand new, all-Gothic, all-Italian box set coming our way: Danza Macabra Volume One. Sure, Gothic horror has castles, crypts, and candelabras, but the genreespecially in Italyalso includes lots of other delicious, devilish delicacies. Youve got repressed sexuality, family secrets, violence, and growing madness. The four films in Danza Macabra Volume One might not be super well known; however, they have wall-to-wall examples of the best of the genre. Severin Films In 1964s The Monster of the Opera, director Renato Polselli and screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi craft a surreal erotic shocker set within a contemporary dance troupe. Perhaps the genres rarest film, the berserk supernatural narrative of 1965s The Seventh Grave also makes it among the strangest. For 1970s Scream of the Demon Lover, director Jose Luis Merino gathers classic traditions, then strips them naked and ties them to a torture rack. And 1971s Lady Frankenstein delivers iconic EuroCult talent on both sides of the camera for one of the most luridly entertaining shockers of the decade. Severin Films Severin Films Severin Films Severin Films As with all of Severins recent box sets (like The Eurocrypt of Christopher Lee; The Lenzi/Baker Collection; and especially their amazing All the Haunts Be Ours folk horror compendium), Danza Macabra will have tons of great special features. Each film will have at least one commentary track from authors and critics such as Kat Ellinger; Rachael Nisbet; Rod Barnett and Robert Monell; Annie Rose Malamet; and Alan Jones and Kim Newman. Video essays, interviews with filmmakers and luminaries, and documentaries round out the set. Complete list of extras below. Special Features for MONSTER OF THE OPERA Audio Commentary With Kat Ellinger Terror At The Opera Interview With Screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi Capodimonte Gothic Interview With Mark Thompson-Ashworth Radio Polselli Archival Audio Interview With Director Renato Polselli French Trailer Feature Specs for MONSTER OF THE OPERA Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Audio: Italian Mono Subtitles: English Region: A Special Features for SEVENTH GRAVE Audio Commentary With Rachael Nisbet Seven Graves And A Mystery Interview With Film Historian Fabio Melelli English Aesthetic With Giallo Blood Video Essay By Rachel Knightly Feature Specs for SEVENTH GRAVE: Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Audio: Italian Mono Subtitles: English Region: A/B/C Special Features for SCREAM OF THE DEMON LOVER Audio Commentary With Rod Barnett And Robert Monell Scream Erna Scream! Interview With Actress Erna Schurer In The Castle Of Blood Video Essay By Stephen Thrower, Author of Eyeball Compendium Trailer Feature Specs for SCREAM OF THE DEMON LOVER Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audio: English Mono, Italian Mono Closed Captions: English SDH Region: A Special Features for LADY FRANKENSTEIN Audio Commentary With Kat Ellinger And Annie Rose Malamet Audio Commentary With Alan Jones And Kim Newman Meet The Baroness Featurette With Actress Rosalba Neri And Film Historian Fabio Melelli Piecing Together LADY FRANKENSTEIN The Lady And The Orgy Documentary Short On Director Mel Welles The Truth About LADY FRANKENSTEIN (2007) German TV Documentary Clothed Insert Shots Video Short Illustrating BBFC Censorship Cuts Italian Opening Credits Bigfilm Magazine (1971) Italian LADY FRANKENSTEIN Photo Novel Extensive Image Gallery Home Video Gallery Radio Spots TV Spot Trailers Feature Specs for LADY FRANKENSTEIN Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Audio: English Stereo, Italian Stereo Subtitles: English Closed Captions: English SDH Region: A/B/C Danza Macabra Volume One will arrive on March 28. You can never start Gothic season too early. Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd. You might not have heard of Kanab, Utah, but if you want to visit beautiful national parks in Utah and Arizona, this is the place to be. Visit Utah/Olivier Barthez The tiny town of Kanab, Utah, is perfectly perched within reach of the most iconic sites in the southwest. Three popular national parks Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce Canyon are one to three hours away by car, and Kanab acts as the gateway to The Wave, a popular red rock formation that resembles a wave in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness. And while Kanab serves as the perfect home base for exploring these famous sites (and more), it's still relatively unheard of in fact, its motto is "Magically Unspoiled." The tiny town of roughly 5,000 people includes athletes and outdoor lovers who cant get enough of the adventures that await just outside their door. Heres why theyve chosen to call Kanab home, and what you, as a visitor, wont want to miss during your stay. Best Things to Do in Kanab Kanab is a short drive from not one, but three national parks. The North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park is under a two-hour drive to the south, and Zion National Park is about an hour northwest. The hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park are slightly further afield at an hour and a half from Kanab though they still make for an easy day trip. Those who want to stick closer to Kanab can check out the human-made Sand Caves, a mere five-minute drive out of town, or Belly of the Dragon, a visually stunning tunnel thats 20 minutes north of Kanab. Visitors should also put in for a permit to see The Wave. The popular site is limited to just 64 people per day (48 permits are given three months in advance, and 16 are given one day in advance). Those who nab a permit to witness the formation, which resembles a wave carved into red sandstone, will need to come prepared to complete the six-mile round-trip hike. Permit holders can also see attractions like The Second Wave, Melody Arch, and Fatali's Boneyard. Story continues If you missed out on a permit, head to White Pocket, a similar but less popular site that also sits within the remote Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness. Where to Stay in Kanab For a complete outdoor experience, book one of the fully outfitted safari tents at BaseCamp 37, located eight miles east of Kanab. Each glamping tent comes with a California king and deck with desert views. Theres also a communal kitchen, plenty of outdoor seating, and hammocks primed for stargazing. If youre traveling with a furry friend, theres no better place to lay your head than Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile, a pet-centric property with free shuttles to Kanabs famous pet sanctuary, which just so happens to be the largest animal sanctuary in the U.S. Best Time to Visit Kanab If you have your heart set on seeing The Wave, your best bet is to visit between December and February when the demand for permits drops slightly. During the most popular months to visit The Wave typically April, May, September, and October there's often around 300 people vying for the 16 daily permits. The Wave aside, Kanab shines in the spring and fall when the weather is cool and temperate. If you wish to visit Kanabs neighboring national parks, make sure to research whats open during your travel window. All three parks are open year-round, but the trails may be limited in the winter and the north entrance to the Grand Canyon (which is the most accessible from Kanab) is typically closed between early December and mid-May. Where to Eat and Drink in Kanab For freshly baked goods and a cozy vibe, head to Kanab Creek Bakery, which doles out coffee and croissants along with full breakfast options in the heart of downtown. For a nice evening meal, book a table at Sego Restaurant. Here, youll find a hefty vegetarian menu along with specialties like bone-in prime rib and scallops. Sego also has a great cocktail menu, wines, and beers on draft. If youre willing to make the 20-minute drive, head to Thunderbird Restaurant in Mount Carmel Junction, just north of Kanab. Its hard to miss the restaurants bright, neon sign, which sets the tone for its retro interior. Dont leave without trying a piece of their famous "Ho-Made Pie." Getting to Kanab The best way to reach Kanab is by flying into neighboring St. George, home to the St. George Regional Airport (SGU). From this airport, its around an hour and a half by car to Kanab. Those who want more flight options should consider flying into Las Vegas (LAS), which is a three-hour drive to Kanab, or Salt Lake City (SLC), which is five hours away. Similarly, you can fly into Phoenix (PHX) and make the 5.5-hour drive to Kanab. If you plan on exploring the nearby national parks and rock formations, make sure to rent a car. For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Travel & Leisure. SAN DIEGO - Petty Officer 3rd Class Jody Wright Jr. serves the U.S. Navy aboard one of the countrys most versatile combat ships, USS Montgomery, operating out of San Diego, California. Wright is the son of Fort Stewart, Georgia, resident, Jody Wright Sr. Wright, a 2018 Garfield High School graduate, joined the Navy four years ago. I have other family members in the military, so growing up I had a lot of military influence that inspired me to join, said Wright. More:Fort Stewart specialist creates an app to help combat mold in Army barracks Officials: Soldier shot, killed in Fort Stewart shooting More:Magnet fishers fined after reporting ammunition catch at Fort Stewart Montgomery is a fast, optimally-manned, mission-tailored surface combatant that operates in near-shore and open-ocean environments, winning against 21st-century coastal threats, according to Navy officials. Littoral combat ships integrate with joint, combined, manned and unmanned teams to support forward-presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence missions around the globe. Littoral combat ships are hybrid surface combatants that lead manned-unmanned teams using unmanned aerial systems like the Fire Scout and Expeditionary Ordnance Disposal forces unmanned underwater vehicles. They conduct forward and maritime security missions like the Secretary of Defense Oceania Maritime Security Initiative. The ships also strengthen partnerships through port visits in small island nations like Tahiti and Fiji due to their shallow-depth hull. Petty Officer 3rd Class Jody Wright Jr. of Fort Stewart, Georgia According to Navy officials, the path to becoming an LCS sailor is unique and challenging. The culmination of their 18-month training pipeline, sailors qualify on a virtual reality simulator that is nearly identical to the ship. This intense and realistic training pipeline allows sailors to execute their roles and responsibilities immediately upon stepping on board. Given the optimized manning aboard our ships, each and every LCS Sailor must be versatile, adaptable, and extremely competent in the multiple jobs they perform," said Capt. Marc Crawford, Littoral Combat Ship Squadron ONE commodore. "Our Sailors constantly amaze me with their relentless drive and technical expertise; It is a privilege to serve beside them." Story continues With 90 percent of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to trained sailors and a strong Navy. Reunited: 280 soldiers return to Fort Stewart after six-month deployment to Europe "Our mission remains timeless - to provide our fellow citizens with nothing less than the very best Navy: fully combat ready at all times, focused on warfighting excellence, and committed to superior leadership at every single level," said Adm. Mike Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations. "This is our calling. And I cannot imagine a calling more worthy." As a member of the Navy, Wright is part of a world-class organization focused on maintaining maritime dominance, strengthening partnerships, increasing competitive warfighting capabilities and sustaining combat-ready forces in support of the National Defense Strategy. The Navy keeps an eye out to keep the waterways safe, said Wright. We protect those who may not be able to protect themselves. Wright has many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during military service. My proudest accomplishment was making petty officer third class in 2021, said Wright. This gives me the opportunity to step up to the next level as a leader. It also made my family proud. As Wright and other sailors continue to perform missions, they take pride in serving their country in the United States Navy. I'm proud to serve my country, protecting my family and other families, said Wright. It's a good feeling knowing that you're helping others. Wright is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible. I'd like to thank my family, added Wright. They're the reason I'm here. This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Son of Fort Stewart GA resident serves aboard Navy combat ships Armed conflict, along with economic and political instability, are a proven recipe for food insecurity. It is therefore no surprise that strife, triggered by the February 2021 ousting of Burmas civilian government by the military, has caused a significant rise in humanitarian needs countrywide. Burmas poor and worsening economy, wide-spread poverty, internal displacement, and the COVID-19 pandemic, have exacerbated the situation. According to the Humanitarian Needs Overview, recently released by the United Nations, more than 17 million people across Burma, nearly one third of the countrys population, are in need of humanitarian assistance this year, compared with less than one million in 2020. This means that nearly one in three Burmese people, particularly those who live in conflict zones, are not able to secure sufficient amounts of safe, nutritious food for their day-to-day needs. Women, girls, elderly people, and persons with disabilities, as well as minorities, are hardest hit. Malnutrition poses a particular problem for pregnant and lactating women, as well as for children, especially kids under the age of five. Thats because womens bodies need more nutrition to support pregnancy, and exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of an infants life, while plentiful and high-quality nutrition is necessary for the typically rapid growth of childrens bodies and brains. This means that improving the nutrition of young children and lactating mothers, as well as mothers-to-be, helps prevent developmental problems in children, such as stunting, poor brain development, difficulty in learning, low immunity to disease, and increased rates of infections, according to UNICEF. That is why the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, is providing an additional $50 million in humanitarian aid for emergency food and nutrition assistance in Burma. USAID will collaborate with the United Nations World Food Program to treat and prevent malnutrition in conflict-affected states, benefiting more than 750,000 people. These funds will be used to provide, among others, monthly food rations, as well as nutrition commodities for children under five, and pregnant and lactating women. Children who eat poorly, live poorly; and that bodes ill for any countrys future. The United States remains committed to providing immediate and emergency life-saving support to people in need throughout Burma, and commends those working peacefully towards an inclusive and democratic future for the people of Burma. S.D. Representatives Chris Karr and Jim Mehlhaff chat during the first day of legislative session on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre. The state House of Representatives passed a bill to impose mandatory minimum sentences on anyone who gets four or more driving under the influence convictions. The passage of House Bill 1170 comes shortly after Senate passage of a proposal to limit parole for the most violent offenders. HB 1170 comes from Rep. Chris Karr, R-Sioux Falls, who lost his grandmother to a drunken driver who had nine DUI convictions. In its original incarnation, four DUIs would have resulted in a year in prison for those with four DUIs, three years in prison for fifth offenses and five years for those with six or more. The original bill also barred repeat DUI offenders from parole eligibility. The bill that passed 58-12 Tuesday afternoon was amended to earn the support of lawmakers who voted against the version that passed 8-5 out of a House committee. The bills next stop is a Senate committee. The amended bill allows judges to suspend sentences through participation in one of the states DUI courts. It bumps up the minimum penalties to two years for a fourth offense, four for fifth offenses and six for sixth and subsequent DUIs, but requires the final year of each sentence to be served on parole. Karr told the House that the change was meant to reflect the importance of supervision to public safety. Part of that amendment came through suggestions from the Department of Corrections regarding that parole piece, Karr said. I heard from a lot of folks in law enforcement, as well as corrections, on how important the parole process is. House Majority Whip Mike Stevens, R-Yankton, was among those who voted against HB 1170 in committee but switched his vote Tuesday. Stevens said he understands the importance of the issue, in part because his father was an alcoholic. He changed his mind when Karr agreed to encourage the use of DUI courts. Whats really important about that is that they have shown over the years that their rehabilitation is really at a high level, Stevens said. There may be other institutions out there that have a high success rate, but I do know for the DUI court, recidivism rate is only 20%. Story continues Republican Rep. David Kull, a former police chief from Brandon, also voted against the bill in committee. Like Stevens, he switched his vote because of the amendments. Kull said the change is about accountability for those who fail to heed the lessons of their first few convictions. When we start talking about people that are in that fourth, fifth and sixth category, were talking about people that have had numerous, numerous opportunities to get this figured out, Kull said. Opponents included Rep. Tim Reisch, R-Miller, who served as DOC secretary for more than a decade, including a stint as interim secretary in 2021 and 2022. Reisch argued that the cost would be too high, noting that we are bursting at the seams in our womens prison. Lawmakers are being asked to fund a new $60 million womens prison this session, and to fund a new penitentiary at several times the cost in the years ahead. If we start passing criminal justice laws based on unique individual cases that had a horrible outcome, wed better start piling up a fortune for prisons because thats the road well be on, Reisch said. Correctional data suggests that the swiftness and certainty of a sanction are more important than its severity, Reisch argued. He did offer that the bill is in much better shape because of the amendments. Karr countered that the bill was borne not only of his own personal story, but from the stories of others and the collection of data on lax sentences. Its not just about one instance, weve heard several stories over the years, Karr said. Rep. Kadyn Wittman, D-Sioux Falls, asked Karr what the cost might be, asking for figures from a prison-jail population cost estimate. The original bill would have cost more than $9 million over 10 years for the DOC, but Karr did not ask for an update with the amendment. Gov. Kristi Noem recently signed a bill repealing cost estimate requirements for public safety bills. Wittman said she planned to vote against the bill regardless of the cost, because it still imposes mandatory minimum sentences. Ive seen that negatively impact people, especially individuals that are struggling with substance use disorder in our state, Wittman said. Just before the successful vote, Karr told the House that his bill was meant to force a societal shift in thinking about drunken driving. We need to stop thinking about DUIs like theyre harmless, he said. This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota House advances mandatory minimums for drunken driving The Oregon Ducks are working hard to pick up a recruit who ended up turning down the USC Trojans. 4-star athlete Aaron Bulter, a top-50 rated player who decommitted from USC back in January, recently announced his top five schools, keeping Oregon in the mix alongside Georgia, Alabama, Colorado, and Washington. Butler is rated as the No. 42 overall player in the 2024 class, and the No. 7 athlete. He is expected to play either at cornerback or wide receiver at the next level. Butler has not yet taken a visit to Eugene, but he could do so in the coming months. He recently took visits to both Washington and Georiga. The Bulldogs currently lead in predictions to land Butler, according to the 247Sports Crystal Ball. Aaron Butlers Recruiting Profile Twitter BREAKING: Four-Star ATH Aaron Butler is down to 5 Schools! The 61 170 ATH from Calabasas, CA is ranked as a Top 100 Player in the 24 Class. Where Should He Go?https://t.co/DVfU50095I pic.twitter.com/7vkbU1MYAT Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) February 23, 2023 Ratings Stars Rating State Projected Position 247Sports 4 92 CA CB/WR 247Sports Composite 4 0.9615 CA CB/WR Rivals 4 5.8 CA CB/WR ESPN 4 84 CA CB/WR On3 Recruiting 4 91 CA CB/WR Vitals Height 6-foot-1 Weight 170 pounds Hometown Calabasas, California Projected Position Cornerback/Wide Receiver Class 2024 Recruitment Received Oregon offer on March 5, 2022 Has yet to take visit to Oregon Top Schools Oregon Ducks Georgia Bulldogs Alabama Crimson Tide Colorado Buffaloes Washington Huskies Highlights Story originally appeared on Ducks Wire A field near the likely location where Albert Thompson, a Black farmer, shot Sam Echols, a white farmer, in 1922 is pictured. The incident sparked the forced removal of 175 Black residents from the Jay area. Reader warning: This story includes a reference to signs containing an offensive racial slur toward Black people, as part of more extensive reporting about historic discrimination practices in Florida towns. Standing in a barren field dotted by a few trees along a Santa Rosa County road in the Florida Panhandle, Pensacola historian Tom Garner held a solitary vigil in February for the 100th commemoration of a violent confrontation between a Black farmer and white farmer one that would have profound consequences for the way the northern part of the county would be shaped for the rest of the century. The Jay area back then had 175 Black residents, almost all of whom were farmers making a living on the land. By 1930, all the Black residents had been forced out. Today, the Jay area only has 13 Black residents and the town itself has only four Black residents, according to the 2020 census. Jay's story: A fight over a stalk cutter in 1922 turned into a mass exodus of Black residents What is a 'sundown town'?: When and where American racism was in full public view Pensacola historian Tom Garner talks about how a 1922 shooting involving a Black man and a white man in Jay fueled an exodus of Black residents from the Jay area, establishing Jay as a sundown town. What happened in 1922 and the aftermath, the Black population being forcibly removed, its arguably the most significant thing that ever happened historically up there, said Garner, who spent the last 15 years working in his spare time to uncover the story. Garners search for the truth reveals the roots of Jay as a sundown town a white community that sought to keep Black people out and recounts the intense racial tension of a Florida town that prefers to leave the untold story in the past. In 1922, Jays racial legacy forms after altercation between two farmers The story of Jays racial legacy began with an argument over a piece of farm equipment between two farmers. One was a Black farmer named Albert Thompson. The other was a white farmer named Sam Echols. The year was 1922. The pair got into an altercation over a stalk cutter Thompson owned. Echols wanted to use the expensive piece of equipment and Thompson told him hed have to wait a day or two for others to finish using it first, according to newspaper accounts at the time that Garner compiled. Story continues Echols tried to take it anyway and when Thompson tried to stop him, they got into a fight. Echols began to beat Thompson with an iron bar, and Thompson pulled out his pistol, shooting Echols three times. Echols died and Thompson fled, and was nearly lynched before he was put in protective federal custody at Fort Barrancas, according to court documents and oral histories Garner has uncovered about the aftermath of the altercation. Garner also confirmed that Thompsons shooting of Echols was the catalyst that forced the remaining Black families to leave north Santa Rosa County by the end of the decade. Thered be hundreds or thousands of descendants (of the 175 people forced out of Jay), and a lot of them would still be in Jay. The face of Jay would be completely different today, Garner said. In Jay, the only public mention of the events of 1922 is in a book for sale in the Jay Museum in which author J.C. Franklin recounts growing up in Jay and mentions that all the Blacks were moved from the area after a Black man killed a white man. Dig Deeper: Be out of Jay by sundown Jewel Cannada-Wynn grew up in Century, a small town across the Escambia River from Jay with a large Black population. Cannada-Wynn, who is now a former Pensacola City Council member, was 7 years old when she began working as a field hand with her family, pulling weeds out of peanut and soybean fields in Jay in 1966. The rule was that you had to be out of Jay by sundown, Cannada-Wynn said. Her father was in charge of everyone working in the field and made sure that work was stopped by 4 p.m. or 5 p.m. so everyone would have enough time to get back across the river before dark. Jewel Cannada-Wynn Cannada-Wynn said she never saw any signs herself but knew about the attitude toward Black people in that community. It was known, she said. It was not something that was misunderstood or anything. Cannada-Wynn never knew the details of the Thompson-Echols shooting but heard stories as a child about Black people being forced out of the area. One memory in particular, from a friend of her godmother, stood out. She would always talk about these stories about how she lived in Jay, and that they made her leave, Cannada-Wynn said. Now, of course, as a child, we were not allowed to interrupt or to ask questions of adults, because that was not appropriate. But I remember this one person actually talking about it. Mitzi Bray Dixon, a lifelong resident of Jay, saw Garners brief history shared on Facebook. She said she heard about the story her whole life and it has bothered her that she has never really gotten a full picture of what happened. We have to fully and accurately tell our full history local and nationally for there to be full healing, Dixon said. The exterior of the Jay Historical Society is seen June 1. The history of Jay as a sundown town, a white community that sought to keep out Black people, is rarely acknowledged. Today, the Jay area has only 13 Black residents and the town itself has only four, according to the 2020 Census. What defines a sundown town? The concept of a sundown town dates back to the earliest days of America, where rules were in place to keep minorities from living in a community. But the term sundown town arose in the 20th century when towns would post public signs to warn Black people or other minorities that they had to be out of the town by dark or risk becoming a victim of physical violence. N-----, dont let the sun set on you in Jay signs were common until around 1970, according to multiple oral histories Garner has collected. More on sundown towns across the nation: Another telltale sign: the census. Sundown towns saw their Black population decline dramatically from one decade to the next. James Loewen was a best-selling writer and prominent critic of Confederate monuments and pro-Confederate textbooks who studied sundown towns for many years. After the civil rights movement of the 1960s and federal legislation, any formal enforcement keeping people from moving into a town based on their race began to die out, but the legacies of these places continue. The late James Loewen, a sociologist and historian who taught at the University of Vermont and the Catholic University of America, spent years studying sundown towns, documented hundreds of such towns across the country and found evidence of them in every state in the continental United States. He authored the book, Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism. Loewens research into the existence of sundown towns led to the creation of an online database to document places where sundown towns existed that can be updated by members of the public. The database lists 22 documented sundown towns in Florida. Among the towns listed are places like Miami Beach, Delray Beach, and Daytona Beach Shores. Its not complete, as it relies on public knowledge decades after the fact. Jay, for instance, isnt included. Ocoees deadly history and racial past widely recognized Two voter registration ledgers and a ballot box from the early 19th century are among artifacts on display at the Ocoee Massacre exhibit at the Orange County Regional History Center. The 1920 incident started when a Black man was refused his right to vote. In contrast to Jay, which has yet to acknowledge its history of racial strife, the Central Florida city of Ocoee has in recent years recognized its dark past. Like Jay, Ocoee also had a horrific racial incident just two years earlier than Jay that also led to the exodus of Blacks for decades. Known as the 1920 Ocoee Massacre, it is considered the deadliest incidence of voting-day violence in U.S. history, according to the Orange County Regional History Center, which recounts the events as follows: Events unfolded on Election Day 1920, when Mose Norman, a Black U.S. citizen, attempted to vote in Ocoee and was turned away from the polls. That evening, a mob of armed white men came to the home of his friend, July Perry, in an effort to locate Norman. Shooting ensued. Perry was captured and eventually lynched. An unknown number of African American citizens were murdered, and their homes and community were burned to the ground. Most of the Black population of Ocoee fled, never to return. Stephen Nunn, great-grandson of Julius July Perry, and others talk following a road designation ceremony July 8, 2020, in honor of Perry at the Ocoee Massacre Memorial. Researchers at the history center have confirmed that at least four Black people and two white people were killed. Associated Press reports at the time said six Black people were killed. Oral histories collected about the incident report dozens of people killed. Said Pamela Schwartz, executive director of the Orange County Regional History Center: We do not know how many Black people were murdered. We will probably never know. From 2020: As racism protests roil US, Florida revisits violent and brutal past At the time of the Ocoee Massacre, 75 Black families owned property in Ocoee. By 1930, there were only two Black people recorded as living in Ocoee, Schwartz said as servants working in white households. For most of the 20th century, Ocoee had no Black residents, and Black people in Orange County actively avoided the city. Schwartz said school buses with Black students would even refuse to drive through the town. They would drive around Ocoee because heaven forbid the bus break down or something happens, she said. She said Black families began moving into the town in the mid-1970s, but they were not welcomed. This historical marker about the lynching of July Perry and the Ocoee massacre was unveiled in 2019 outside the Orange County Regional History Center. A similar marker was erected the following year outside Ocoees Lakeshore Community Center. Eventually, more Black families came to Ocoee. Today, it has a Black population of 11,142, which is about 24% of the citys total population. In the early 2000s, one of those Black families was that of George Oliver. He moved his family to the city in 2002, and in 2018, he became the first Black city commissioner elected in Ocoee. Oliver is originally from Georgia, but his wife is from Orlando. He said she had been told her whole life to avoid Ocoee. But when they were shopping for a home for them and their five sons, he thought Ocoee was the best place to buy a house. It wasnt until we told her Uncle Joe that were going to move there, Oliver said. And he said, Thats great, but Ill never come visit you. Thats when he told us the whole story about Ocoee. The stories about his uncle being killed in Ocoee, and them fleeing into Apopka and Orlando. He told us the whole history of it. Oliver said the city still has a long way to go before it reckons with the past but compared to the town of 1920, it is like night and day. In ideology and ethnic makeup and political spectrum, it is like night and day because our city is thriving, Oliver said. Our city is probably one the most diverse cities in Central Florida right now. Oliver helped lead the fight on the commission two years ago to pass the resolution to place a historic marker outside the Lakeshore Community Center. The mayor read aloud for the first time an official apology. Almost 100 years later, it shouldnt have taken that much political pressure to make it happen, said Oliver. In Ocoee, the growth of the Orlando area pushed into the small town, and outsiders moved in, including Black residents unaware of the towns past. In 2018, the city issued a formal proclamation acknowledging and expressing regret for the Ocoee Massacre, and in 2020, the City Commission and mayor signed a formal apology. The story of what happened has been told through writings, films and museum exhibits. In 2020, Gov. Ron DeSantis, who decries the teaching of critical race theory, signed a law requiring the history of the Ocoee Massacre to be taught in history classes. The Orange County Regional History Center held a large exhibit on Ocoee and the massacre that brought new levels of academic historical work to the story. Today, Jay is welcome and safe for everyone In Jay, there has been no public acknowledgment of what happened in 1922 when the two farmers fought and how it triggered the intimidating departure of Blacks from the town. Jay remained a small farming community, but in the 1970s, the town saw an oil boom that brought new levels of prosperity to the community. Signs that were around town marking the community as a sundown town disappeared. Today, few Black residents live in the town of Jay, a community with a history as a sundown town. Dixon said she believes that today everyone is welcome and safe in Jay, and the town is filled with loving and compassionate people, but more needs to be done to tell the full story of the towns past. Theres a lot of good people in Jay and they feel the same way I do, but theyre just afraid to say anything, Dixon said. Garner, the Pensacola historian, said the town of Jay cannot ignore its past racial troubles and make it go away, even if it means uncovering a century-old incident that paints a pernicious and painful chapter of its history. This history happened. We need to look at it, Garner said. We owe it to the Black community and the white community to know what the truth is. Jim Little can be reached at jwlittle@pnj.com and 850-208-9827. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Floridas sundown towns: Jay, Ocoee grapple with past racial legacies HBO Maxs period drama Spy/Master is more John le Carre than Ian Fleming, state its creators. Following Victor Godeanu, a high-ranking officer in Romanias secret service, advisor to president Nicolae Ceausescu and a spy who decides to defect in 1978. As a child, I used to watch James Bond, which is a very cartoony version of espionage. It was something we really wanted to avoid. We wanted it to feel real, says Kirsten Peters. More from Variety Adina Sadeanu adds: John le Carres novels, for example A Perfect Spy, are so complex. These characters run away from their own humanity. I have always wondered: How do they live? How do they wake up in the morning, after saying so many lies? For Sadeanu, her journalistic background as well as Romanian roots came in handy as well. Over the years, I met many people working in intelligence. They werent these James Bond types, with an exception of maybe one guy. It helped me understand the way they hide. Their stoic hero is played by Alec Secareanu. In 2017, he starred alongside Josh OConnor in Francis Lees Gods Own Country, later adding The Bike Thief and Happy Valley to his resume. Parker Sawyers and Svenja Jung also act in the show. You are not able to read him thats his job. He is an unreliable narrator to his own story. But he does break in the end, in his own way, says Peters, with her collaborator adding: He is ambivalent. As Kirsten has said, he has been doing it for his entire life. We wanted to give him a weakness and have him deal with that, too. He has to confront himself. He has no choice. Mostly because Victor is a family man: Husband, father. Which makes things even more complicated. Story continues At that time, during communism, you had to have a family. Otherwise, people would get suspicious. His family gets to play a role in this too, because leaving his daughter behind is such a big thing, says Sadeanu. In some ways, in Romania this regime was much tougher [than in many communist countries]. People were afraid to talk. It really plays an important part in the way he is and how he survives. The Berlinale Series title, produced by HBO Romania and Warner TV Serie, was also overseen by Proton Cinema and Mobra Films, the latter co-founded by arthouse darling Cristian Mungiu. So many people are looking into producing shows in Romania right now. I am sure there will be more, says Sadeanu, even though the future of some European HBO Max Originals seems shaky. We are happy to break the ice as the first Romanian show in Berlin. Winner of HBO Romanias screenwriting competition, it was developed as a standalone series with six episodes directed by Christopher Smith but we all like to dream, laughs Peters. Observing that although the challenge was to keep things fresh while staying close to the era, the shifting political landscape and Russias invasion of Ukraine suddenly made it timely. I definitely think the show will be seen differently now than when we first started to develop it. But my interest at that time was not about making a political statement about West versus East. It was about these characters, trying to navigate very precarious situations. They decided to embrace Victors duplicity, they state. I loved watching The Americans, because that was really the core of that show: Leading this double life, says Peters. You can sense that he is enjoying it sometimes, you can see it in his eyes. Because he thinks he is going to win. Victors ever-changing fortunes in the CIA, Romanias Securitate or KGB, and his fight for survival once he is about to be exposed, allowed them to combine multiple storylines right from the start. All these people [he meets] are crushed by history, in a way. He has a plan, he is the king, he used to have everything at his fingertips. But then boom something happens. He becomes a pawn in somebody elses game, notes Sadeanu. He wakes up one day and realizes that no one is welcoming him with open arms. The only way for the pawn to become a king once again is to make it until the end. Spy/Master will be available to stream on HBO Max in May. In Germany, it will air on Warner TV Serie this summer. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. FG Trade - Getty Images When Sarah Marpells 5-year-old daughter came home from school and told her mom the lunchroom monitor called her a monkey, she was incensed. As a mom of a Black child, shes used to speaking up about racial bias in her Houston community, and posted about the incident on social media. Like many parents, Marpell took her kids story as an actual account of what happened. However, kindergarteners are not always the most reliable reporters: It turned out to be a lunch monitor who had made the comment as she was teaching kindergarteners how to open a banana. Marpell says she didnt think about posting before doing so, but now realizes her first step should have been to talk to the school and find out exactly what happened. The lunch monitor, a friend of Marpell's, saw the post and was able to explain what actually had happened. The friend explained and apologized, but it was awkward for a while, she says though they remain friends now. Like most parents, Marpell reacted emotionally when she heard her kid had been hurt. And, like most modern parents, she turned to the internet with her frustrations. In a 2020 study on parent attitudes by Pew Research, two-thirds of parents think that the increased use of smartphones and technology has made parenting harder than it was 20 years ago no doubt in part because of the thorny social situations that arise from its use. Its becoming more common that situations blow up or morph in online spaces, often making things worse. With the ability to connect with nearly any teacher or fellow parent in the virtual world, its left the lines blurred for some parents about when they should actually intervene in their kids issues and how. For Imani Jackson*, a parent in Washington, D.C., issues that began at school spilled over into every aspect of her personal life due to online interactions. In 2019, students of color in her childs 5th-grade class were asked to role-play various scenes from history, including slavery and drinking out of a segregated water fountain. While the incident itself received national press , the fallout from parent opinions infiltrated the entire school community. Jackson was horrified as she heard her daughter and friends discuss the incident. One of her friends was made to be a slave, she said. Another girl was cast as a slave owner and had to participate through tears. Story continues While the school apologized and altered its instructional strategy, parental opinions about the incident raged online. In an unofficial Facebook group associated with the school as well as the anonymous DC Urban Moms forum, accusations flew, real-life relationships became awkward and Jackson says it became very clear that some white parents were not concerned with equity. For a neighborhood that likes to think itself very socially and politically progressive, when the rubber hit the road, it was only a problem if it affected me and mine," she says. While leading events at a community organization for kids, Jackson has had to navigate strained conversations with other parents who she knows from their posts view the world very differently than her. She ended one relationship entirely. There was a mom who I considered a friend, but I distanced myself from her after her comments on social media, she says. Jackson now has a smaller chat group where she feels comfortable, but after she saw so many parents trash other parents publicly, shes been more careful about what she shares in public spaces. Part of the issue, says Emily King, Ph.D., is that society is still learning how to navigate a world with blurred digital boundaries. As a school psychologist who now works in private practice, she sees families trying to figure out how to parent with these blurred lines every day. Sometimes, like in Marpells situation, talking to the school first would have provided helpful insight. Other situations dont need parental mediation at all, but the urge to intervene can be strong given how accessible other parents and teachers now are. Its important to practice what we preach and model in-person social interactions for our kids when emotions run high or we dont know someone well, says King. Her rule of thumb is this: If you dont know the parent well enough to have the conversation in person, you probably should not approach them about it online. We are the generation of social media users who were never taught how to use it, King says. Shes never surprised, she says, when parents who remember life without social media now struggle to use it to communicate effectively. Take a step back and look thoughtfully at each situation before deciding how to intervene if at all. It benefits kids if they can handle their drama without adult help. The first thing parents should look at when their child tells them about a conflict is if it needs parental involvement as, says Tasha Brown, Ph.D. . As a child psychologist in New York, she spends her days helping families navigate all sorts of conflict and also helping them realize when they need to step back and let their kids exercise some autonomy. When we were growing up and something happened at school it happened at school, she says. It was silent until the next day. But now what happens, is something that occurred at school spills over into the evening. Parents get unnecessarily drawn into situations that kids might be able to navigate themselves, sometimes even amplifying it. The ensuing drama is what happens when a culture of over-involved parenting meets a world thats constantly connected through social media, apps, group chats and other points of digital access. In Milwaukee, Brandi Hampton* dealt with unsolicited social media messages sometimes daily from a mom about their daughters, who were in early elementary school at the time. The complaints were minor, says Hampton. It was usually something petty like her child thought my child made a face at her, she says. She always framed it as my kids fault and said that I needed to talk to her about it. Yet it was never anything that Hampton felt needed adult intervention, and she says she was glad when the girls drifted apart as friends. To her, these minor friendship squabbles were something the girls should be able to resolve on their own as a part of growing up. King agrees that letting kids handle minor disputes is a good thing. I recommend allowing kids to work things out on their own in any setting, she says, unless name-calling, teasing, or physical contact occurs at which time an adult is needed to diffuse the situation. Laura Bierbower, a licensed school counselor in northwestern Pennsylvania, is a mom as well as an administrator. As with all things, kids learn the most when parents model it for them. Teaching your child to self-advocate is incredibly important, she says. Empowering them to tell a grown-up at school, and following up to ensure it happened, if appropriate, helps them build an important life skill. As a parent, you're not always going to be in a situation where you can fix things for them. Remember that kids are watching how parents talk about and interact with other parents at the school, too, and model respect whenever possible. When kids cant work it out, go to the school before heading online. While teaching kids to navigate conflict is an absolutely crucial life skill, there are times when parents will need to involve the school. If the conflict is with a friend and you know the parents well, a face-to-face conversation or phone call can often diffuse smaller skirmishes. When a child is struggling with a teacher, is being bullied, or when an issue seems just too big to let kids navigate alone, its best to reach out to the teacher or administrative team during school hours. Bierbower says there are many instances when its better to talk to the school before blasting a teacher online or sliding into another parents DMs. Give schools the benefit of the doubt," she says. "Chances are if they've done nothing it's because no one has made them aware. Even schools that do a great job staying on top of issues will miss things. Marpell knows now that an adult at the school might have had more insight into what happened with her kid. That would have helped her understand what actually happened. When your child is in a school setting, there are other adults present, Brown says. This provides a broader lens than what a child will relay to their parent, or what another parent posted in a Facebook group. There are a lot of other factors that may be at play for conflict that occurs at school, Brown says. It could be the time of day that the conflict happened. There may be other kids involved. There may be an instruction that the teacher gave. A lot happens at school that parents aren't privy to because theyre not there. Some situations just cannot be remedied between kids or with teacher intervention. Sometimes the issues are more complex than a classroom teacher can handle, and at other times the conflict is with the teacher themselves. All schools have a system for handling escalated conflicts, so lean on your school as a resource. For parents who arent comfortable talking directly to their childs teacher, administrators are used to being the intermediary. There are also educational laws that provide guidelines for mediating larger conflicts and accusations that occur at school. Due process proceedings are used to mediate educational disputes, and school counselors are well-trained in peer conflicts and bullying . Blasting a child, parent or school staff online (yes, even if it's vaguebooking, where frustrations are vented on social media with some of the specifics left out) doesnt make logical sense given all of the other avenues that are available. Each state also has organizations, unaffiliated with local schools, that help families navigate conflict with their home district. The National Parent Teacher Association has resources for mediation and advocacy. Bierbower encourages parents to just come to them it is their job. We have tons of experience helping kids navigate conflict. She recognizes that this can be hard. Let's face it, as parents, we are emotionally involved in our children's lives so objectivity is challenging, she says. Personally, it's way easier for me to help someone else's kids with various problems than my own child. My school counselor lens is much broader than my parent lens. You Might Also Like Alex Murdaugh, a disgraced South Carolina attorney accused of killing his wife and youngest son, is testifying in his own defense in his double murder trial -- admitting to jurors that he lied to investigators but denying that he committed the brutal murders. The bodies of Margaret Murdaugh, 52, and Paul Murdaugh, 22, were found dead from multiple gunshot wounds near the dog kennels at the family's home near Islandton, South Carolina, in June 2021, authorities said. Alex Murdaugh, 54, who called 911 to report the discovery, was charged with their murders 13 months later. PHOTO: Alex Murdaugh gives testimony during his murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., Feb. 23, 2023. (The Post And Courier via AP, Pool) Alex Murdaugh took to the stand for the second day in a row on Friday. In their cross-examination, prosecutors grilled the former attorney on his actions around the time investigators believe the murders occurred. Prosecutor Creighton Waters asked him to recount what he did during a "crucial" four-minute period around 9 p.m. that night, when Alex Murdaugh said he was in his home getting ready to visit his mother. Waters asked Alex Murdaugh if phone calls he made during that time, including to his wife, was to "manufacture an alibi." "It is an absolute fact that I am not manufacturing an alibi," Alex Murdaugh said. "I never manufactured any alibi in any way shape or form, because I did not and would not hurt my wife and my child." Weeks into the trial, Alex Murdaugh was called to take the stand by his defense team on Thursday. His attorney, Jim Griffin, asked right away if he shot his wife and son in the head. "No, I did not," Alex Murdaugh said. "I didnt shoot my wife or my son any time, ever." BREAKING: "I didn't shoot my wife or my son, anytime. Ever." Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh denies killing his son and wife while taking the stand in his own defense during double murder trial. https://t.co/8cC6O3h8m2 pic.twitter.com/IZPAIof0a4 ABC News (@ABC) February 23, 2023 He grew emotional when asked by his lawyer what he saw at the scene of their murders. Story continues "I saw what yall have seen pictures of," he told the jurors, crying. "So bad." PHOTO: Defense attorney Jim Griffin, right, questions Alex Murdaugh, left, as he gives testimony during his murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., Feb. 23, 2023. (The Post And Courier via AP, Pool) MORE: Murdaugh murders and mysteries timeline: Key events in the South Carolina family's scandals and deaths Prosecutors have focused on footage taken from Paul Murdaugh's cellphone the night of the murders, including a video taken at the kennels several minutes before the victims were believed to be killed that investigators said has Alex Murdaugh talking in the background. Alex Murdaugh told investigators early in the case that he was not down by the kennels that night and had last seen his wife and son at dinner before finding bodies upon returning home from visiting his mother. When asked by his lawyer about those prior statements, Alex Murdaugh admitted to lying to investigators. "I did lie to them," he said, and confirmed he was in the video the night of their murders on June 7, 2021. When asked why he lied about the last time he saw his wife and son, Murdaugh blamed his addiction to painkillers, which he said caused "paranoid thinking." "On June the 7th, I wasn't thinking clearly," he said. "I don't think I was capable of reason and I lied about being out there and I'm so sorry that I did." Alex Murdaugh detailed on the stand a 20-year addiction to opioids, noting that he has been clean for 535 days. "I battled that addiction for so many years, I was spending so much money on pills," he said. PHOTO: Alex Murdaugh, right, speaks with defense attorney Jim Griffin during a break in his trial for murder at the Colleton County Courthouse in Walterboro, S.C., Feb. 15, 2023. (Joshua Boucher/The State via AP, Pool) Alex Murdaugh faces 30 years to life in prison without parole if convicted of the killings, for which he has pleaded not guilty and adamantly denied. During the trial, which began last month, prosecutors have presented more than 60 witnesses and evidence, including body camera footage of police arriving at home following the murders and an interview Alex Murdaugh gave to police two months later, in which he denied killing his wife and son. In the body camera footage from that night, a distraught Alex Murdaugh told officers, "It's bad, it's bad," and mentioned that his son had been getting threats following a boat wreck he was involved in. PHOTO: Crime scene specialist Kenneth Kinsey, right, shows where he believes a shotgun round entered Paul Murdaugh during Alex Murdaugh's double murder trial at the Colleton County Courthouse, Feb. 16, 2023, in Walterboro, S.C. (Joshua Boucher/The State via AP, Pool) At the time, Paul Murdaugh was awaiting trial on a charge of allegedly boating under the influence after a crash in February 2019 that killed a 19-year-old woman, Mallory Beach of South Carolina. In the months following his wife's and son's murders, Alex Murdaugh resigned from his law firm, which sued him for allegedly funneling stolen money from clients and the law firm into a fake bank account for years. He also said he entered a rehab facility. Prosecutors claim that Alex Murdaugh, who comes from a legacy of prominent attorneys in the region, killed his wife and son to gain sympathy and distract from his alleged financial wrongdoings. Meanwhile, the defense has portrayed him as a loving husband and father and argued that police ignored the possibility that anyone else could have killed them. MORE: Family of dead teenager seeks justice after a 2019 boating accident involving a prominent South Carolina family During hours of questioning on Thursday, Alex Murdaugh's attorney asked if he believed his "financial house of cards was about to crumble" on June 7, 2021, to which Alex Murdaugh replied, "Absolutely not." The trial adjourned Thursday evening while prosecutors were in the middle of questioning Murdaugh about his financial dealings as a lawyer -- during which he admitted to stealing money from several clients. "I did a lot of damage, I wreaked a lot of havoc, there's no question," Alex Murdaugh said. The trial has drawn a packed courtroom, with lines outside. After two jurors tested positive for COVID-19, both sides were worried an outbreak could sicken more jurors and force a mistrial. Alex Murdaugh faces about 100 other charges for allegations ranging from money laundering to staging his own death so his surviving son could cash in on his $10 million life insurance policy. He was also charged for allegedly misappropriating settlement funds in the death of his housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, who reportedly died after a falling accident in the Murdaugh family home in February 2018. Alex Murdaugh says he lied to investigators during testimony in double murder trial originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Washington A federal appeals court will decide whether Justice Department investigators probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol were legally allowed to seize Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry's cellphone last year, and whether they are allowed to access its contents. Judges sitting on the Washington, D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on Thursday from attorneys representing Perry and special counsel Jack Smith's office and examined whether Perry's argument that the Speech or Debate Clause protects him from certain investigative steps hold up. The panel pushed prosecutors to clarify their interpretation of the law and later held a sealed hearing about the matter; much of the proceedings and legal rulings in this case have remained behind closed doors. In August, FBI agents seized Perry's phone, made a digital copy of it, and returned the phone to him. He later filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department seeking to block investigators from examining the contents of the phone as part of their investigation. The lawsuit revealed that on Aug. 2, 2022, a magistrate judge in Pennsylvania authorized a federal search warrant for the seizure of Perry's phone and prosecutors later told Perry's legal team they intended to seek a second warrant to authorize examination of the phone's contents. Perry's lawyers filed a lawsuit to challenge the acts and argued that the Constitution's Speech and Debate clause protects lawmakers from being questioned by other branches of government about actions carried out in the course of lawmaking. Perry's phone, they contended, should be included under that protection. "The Constitution authorizes only him, as the member of Congress whose records are at issue, to make determinationsabout the extent to which the Speech or Debate clause applies to those records," Perry's attorneys wrote in the lawsuit. Story continues The suit was later dropped by Perry's defense attorneys and the status of the investigation became unknown. Later, the case was taken under the control of the chief judge of the D.C. federal court, who reportedly ruled in a sealed order that Perry's phone was fair game for investigators. The three-judge panel who heard the case on Thursday put a secret hold on that ruling, pending the proceedings. In court on Thursday, Perry's attorneys revealed that the chief judge's decision to side with the Justice Department was based on the contention that "informal" fact-finding by members of Congress is not protected by the clause. Perry was one of a few Republican lawmakers subpoenaed by the now-defunct House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, after he echoed calls to decertify Joe Biden's victory in Pennsylvania. According to the committee, congressional investigators said they had evidence that the Pennsylvania Republican had played an "important role" in efforts to install former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark as acting attorney general as then-President Donald Trump was continuing to promote his unfounded claims of election fraud. They said he had also communicated with Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows about Clark via text and encrypted messaging, the committee said. John Rowley, an attorney for Perry, argued the congressman had used his phone in the furtherance of two legislative acts his votes on certifying the election results on Jan. 6 2021 and on H.R. 1, known as the For the People Act so the disclosure of his device to investigators should not have happened. He added that Perry had been engaged in fact-finding that may have been related to the possible legislative acts. "It is an absolute privilege," Rowley said of the records contained on the phone, in arguments before Judge George Katsas and Naomi Rao, Trump appointees, and Judge Karen Henderson, a Geroge W. Bush appointee who attended remotely for part of the hearing. "It may be inconvenient to law enforcement at times," Rowley added. Perry's defense that he was using his phone was "not hypothetical," Rowley told the judges, but a real-life scenario that warrants the protection. The judicial panel appeared skeptical and pushed Rowley on whether communications between a member of Congress and someone outside of the legislative branch were privileged. Katsas called Rowley's legal argument "odd," saying that it would mean "the communication can be to anyone in the universe." Raising numerous hypothetical situations like one in which a member of Congress was accused of taking a bribe, Katsas and Rao tried to parse why a private conversation between a representative and someone outside of Congress would be shielded from executive branch investigation. But the Justice Department prosecutor, John Pellettieri, was also met with skepticism by the judges as they searched for a legal boundary between privileged and non-privileged congressional communications. Pellettieri argued that privilege must be explicitly connected to "Congress' exercise of fact-finding authority." The panel again posed several hypothetical questions to the prosecutor, ultimately prompting him to assert that a member of Congress seeking outside advice on how to vote on a bill is not protected from disclosure of those communications by the Speech or Debate Clause. Katsas called it an "odd line" and said the Justice Department's view of the privilege might be too "narrow." Rao asked, "How far does the confidentiality extend?" Pellettieri contended that this was a line for the courts to draw, urging the judges to "balance" the constitutional idea with real-life application, and warning Perry's interpretation of the Speech or Debate Clause "cloaks members of Congress in very broad, almost absolute immunity." In June, former White House aide and Jan. 6 committee witness Cassidy Hutchinson testified that in a Dec. 2020 phone call, Perry expressed support for encouraging people to march to the Capitol on Jan. 6. At the time of his subpoena, Perry, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, told reporters the committee's demands were "all about distracting America from their abysmal record of running America into the ground." The three-judge panel filed the first-publicly available document in the sealed case last week, telling the attorneys for both sides that they were to answer questions about whether the Speech or Debate Clause protects communications between members of Congress and individuals working in the executive branch. Perry is not the first individual to try to use the Speech or Debate Clause for protection. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham asked federal courts to immunize him from testifying before a special grand jury in Georgia investigating allegations of election interference by the Trump campaign. The court ultimately narrowed the scope of questioning Graham would have to answer. And this month, former Vice President Mike Pence has said he intends to invoke the separation of powers argument to shield him from a grand jury subpoena issued by the special counsel investigating the events surrounding Jan. 6, 2021. Kherson Under Fire | Sunday on 60 Minutes Ukrainian soldier reflects on pivotal battle at Hostomel Airfield Ukraine's needs in order to end the Russian invasion MUNCIE, Ind. A Marine from Muncie charged in the January 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol will be returning to the District of Columbia in April. A status hearing in the case of Micah Coomer, 22, is scheduled in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on April 13. Coomer and two other active-duty Marines were each charged with four related crimes on Jan. 17, two years and 11 days after the uprising at the Capitol. Those offensives are misdemeanors knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. Coomer and his fellow Marines Joshua Abate from Virginia and Dodge Dale Hellonen of Michigan are accused of entering the Capitol during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021. More:Muncie Marine charged in Capitol riot ordered to remain in California The Marines were reportedly in the building for nearly an hour, at one point placing a "Make America Great Again" hat on a statue and taking photos. Coomer, assigned to Camp Pendleton in southern California, was arrested Jan. 18 in nearby Oceanside, California. He was released on his own recognizance after a hearing in a federal court in that state. The release order also indicated the Muncie man "may possess firearms as authorized by (his) commanding officer for purposes of USMC duties." He was directed to remain in San Diego County except when required to attend court hearings in Washington. The Delta High School graduate enlisted in the Marines in September 2018. Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Muncie Marine charged in U.S. Capitol riot set to return to Washington Feb. 21A Maine attorney facing disbarment and criminal charges has filed a lengthy civil lawsuit against several towing companies, law enforcement and state agencies, alleging a multi-county scheme to illegally seize and sell vehicles. Attorney Scott Fenstermaker filed the complaint in U.S. District Court on Feb. 9. on behalf of three plaintiffs, all of whom, Fenstermaker said, had their cars seized by law enforcement officers following traffic stops and a minor crash. Fenstermaker who once represented detainees at the Guantanamo Bay military prison is charged with assault and trespassing after he was arrested in September at the lot of one of the towing companies he's now suing. The lawsuit names the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles, the Maine Secretary of State, the Washington and Hancock county sheriff's departments, the Ellsworth and Dexter police departments, Therriens Used Cars Towing & Recycling and its owners, Dave's Auto Repair & Towing; and All Time Towing & Automotive. Fenstermaker is alleging they violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, Act on organized crime, a federal statute that is notoriously difficult to prove. In each case, it claims that officers used private towing companies to remove the cars and gave the plaintiffs various reasons why they couldn't get their cars back. In one case, Fenstermaker alleged his client was involved in a "minor" accident in May. Police refused the man's request to have the American Automobile Association help move his car, Fenstermaker said, and instead contacted All time Towing, which later obtained ownership of the car. All Time Towing owner Rob Trask said those allegations are misleading and often inaccurate. Trask said Tuesday that his company was not immediately called to the scene. Instead, police requested their help more than 12 hours after the crash, Trask said, after a property owner near the crash site called to complain that the car was still there. Trask also disputed that the collision was "minor," saying that all of the airbags were deployed and the vehicle was totaled. Story continues Trask said All Time Towing gave the vehicle owner more than two weeks to pay their fees to get the car back before reaching out to the BMV for a title transfer which requires another three weeks' notice to the vehicle's owner and ultimately removing the car from their lot and crushing it. "As far as my side of this goes, everything was done by the laws passed by the Maine State Legislature," Trask said. He said his company moves thousands of vehicles a year and they only seek a title transfer 50 to 100 times. Having read the complaint, Trask said he's not worried about the allegations because there's "no merit" to them. Michael King, the vehicle's original owner, told the Portland Press Herald Tuesday that the car would have been OK once the airbags were replaced and the vehicle's bumper was repaired. He said he wouldn't have tried to retrieve the car if it was irredeemable, and now his family is without a vehicle. The Portland Press Herald attempted to contact all of the other defendants named in the complaint to address the allegations against them. Most did not respond to the Press Herald's inquiries or referred a reporter to their attorneys. The Maine Secretary of State's Office, which oversees the BMV, and the Maine Attorney General's Office, which will represent the state agencies, declined to comment because of the ongoing litigation. The Washington County Sheriff's Office declined to comment to avoid jeopardizing any active investigations against Fenstermaker. Only Trask agreed to speak with the Press Herald. The other towing companies did not respond to messages asking to discuss the allegations. Fenstermaker is requesting class-action status, which would allow the three plaintiffs to represent all Mainers in similar situations. "These three clients are not the only people that I've seen affected by it," said Fenstermaker. He called the issue a "widespread epidemic" across Maine. LEGAL CAREER IN JEOPARDY But the case and Fenstermaker's legal career in Maine could be in jeopardy because of his September arrest, during which Fenstermaker was served a summons but was never jailed. The Hancock and Washington County District Attorney's Office is asking a judge to bar Fenstermaker from representing any criminal defendants and to prevent him from contacting the DA's office because he has not yet indicated whether he intends to represent himself or hire an attorney. Fenstermaker is asking a judge to move that case to a different district. That request is scheduled for a hearing on Feb. 28. A prosecutor with the DA's office for Hancock and Washington counties has also asked the Maine Bar Board of Overseers to disbar him, according to the Bangor Daily News. Fenstermaker has only been practicing law in Maine since last May and briefly represented clients through the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services, though he was suspended from taking on new cases in November. Fenstermaker is accused of trespassing at Therriens Used Cars Towing & Recycling another of the companies named in the class action lawsuit. Therriens, owned by Donald and Vivian Therrien, did not respond to several phone calls and a Facebook message seeking a response to the allegations. Fenstermaker said Tuesday he has been unable to officially serve them a copy of the civil complaint because the conditions of his release currently bar him from communicating with the Therriens. The company seized Jennifer Coates' vehicle following her arrest by the Washington County Sheriff's Office in August 2022, according to the complaint. Fenstermaker said he and Coates went to the Therriens' lot on Sept. 28, 2022, to get her car back. Fenstermaker was attempting to jump-start Coates' vehicle when the Therriens came outside and tried to stop them. Fenstermaker said in an interview Tuesday that Vivian Therrien told them they had to leave. "I said to her, 'I'm not leaving without my client's car,' " Fenstermaker said. He said Donald Therriens used towing equipment to block Fenstermaker from leaving. In the complaint, Fenstermaker alleges that's how the Therriens restrained them "in a place where they were not likely to be found," in a rural, wooded area of Washington County, an incident he later called a "kidnapping." To hinder Vladimir Putins ability to wage war against Ukraine, the United States and its partners last year imposed crippling new sanctions on Russias military-industrial complex and tightened those that were introduced after Russias invasion of Crimea in 2014. As Russia lost access to key components necessary for the operation of its more sophisticated weapons systems, it began to look for other ways to acquire them. On February 1, the U.S. Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, imposed sanctions, pursuant to Executive Order 14024, on 22 individuals and entities around the world, for their connection to a global sanctions-evasion network supporting Russia's military-industrial complex. Russia- and Cyprus-based arms dealer Igor Vladimirovich Zimenkov leads the network. Its members have procured materials for, and supported key parts of, Russias military-industrial complex, including state-owned Russian defense entities Rosoboronexport and State Corporation Rostec. OFAC has previously sanctioned both of these entities. Igor Zimenkov and his son Jonatan Zimenkov have worked with numerous individuals and entities to enable Russian defense sales to third-country governments, thus helping to finance the network. Igor and Jonatan Zimenkov were designated pursuant to Executive Order 14024 for operating or having operated in the defense and related materiel sector of the Russian Federation economy, and Jonatan Zimenkov for having materially assisted and supported Igor Zimenkov. Also designated were the Singapore-based Zimenkov network shell company, Asia Trading & Construction PTE Limited and its director, Serena Bee Lin Ng; and Texel F.C.G. Technology 2100 Limited and its Chief Operating Officer, Marks Blats, as well as Elektro-optika SIA, which Blats owns. Alexander Volfovich, a Cyprus-based arms broker, was sanctioned for being an owner and director of GBD Limited, and the public, registered owner of six other companies in the Zimenkov network. Also designated under Executive Order 14024 were Stanislav Volfovich and Ariel Volfovich; Maks Borisovich Piflaks and his son, Gilad Piflaks; Igor Palnychenko; and Palnychenkos two companies, Pitaron Limited and Terra-Az Limited. Russias desperate attempts to utilize proxies to circumvent U.S. sanctions demonstrate that sanctions have made it much harder and costlier for Russias military-industrial complex to re-supply Putins war machine, said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. Targeting proxies is one of many steps that Treasury and our coalition of partners have taken, and continue to take, to tighten sanctions enforcement against Russias defense sector, its benefactors, and its supporters. Alec Baldwin on the set of "Rust" after the October 21, 2021 fatal shooting. Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office A New Mexico prosecutor admitted in a private email it was wrong to hit Alec Baldwin with a weapons charge in the "Rust" shooting. Prosecutors have since dropped a gun enhancement charge filed against Baldwin in the shooting. Baldwin's defense attorneys had argued in the motion that the charge was "unconstitutional." A New Mexico prosecutor admitted that it was "100 percent" wrong to hit Alec Baldwin with a gun enhancement charge that carried a five-year potential prison sentence in the "Rust" movie set shooting death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, emails show. Baldwin's defense attorneys on Tuesday withdrew their motion challenging the firearm enhancement as "unconstitutional" after it was officially dropped by New Mexico First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies. The court filing contains emails from the special prosecutor appointed by the DA to the case, Andrea Reeb. In a February 12 email to Baldwin's lawyers, Reeb wrote: "We are a tad confused on your motion on the firearm enhancement," according to the court documents. Roughly 20 minutes later, Reeb sent over another email saying: "And alsolet me look at the specific numbers and sections and make sure we have it correct," the court papers show. About an hour-and-a-half after that Reeb sent an additional email explaining that she had taken the morning "to look at your firearm enhancement issue." "I 100 percent agree with your assessment on the issue," Reeb wrote in the email, according to the court documents. "I will have our documents drafted to amend the criminal information to take off the firearm enhancement and file something withdrawing the firearm enhancement. We missed it by 3 months." Reeb added, "So, hopefully, once these documents are filed, you will withdraw those motions as they are moot." Baldwin's defense team filed its motion on February 10 arguing that prosecutors made an "unconstitutional and elementary legal error" with the application of the gun enhancement because the statue did not exist at the time of the October 2021 shooting. Story continues A spokesperson for the DA's office downplayed that motion in a statement to Insider on the day it was filed. "Another day, another motion from Alec Baldwin and his attorneys in an attempt to distract from the gross negligence and complete disregard for safety on the 'Rust' film set that led to Halyna Hutchins' death," spokesperson Heather Brewer said as she explained that the DA's office would review the motion. Brewer went on to say that the DA and the special prosecutor's "focus will always remain on ensuring that justice is served and that everyone even celebrities with fancy attorneys is held accountable under the law." The DA's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Insider on Wednesday. Baldwin scored a legal win after prosecutors dropped the gun enhancement charge filed against him in connection to the accidental shooting of 42-year-old Hutchins on the Santa Fe, New Mexico film set. He was charged earlier this month with two counts of involuntary manslaughter one of which carried the more serious firearm enhancement. Baldwin was facing a maximum sentence of 6-and-a-half years in prison, but now due to the removal of the enhancement charge, the TV star faces a maximum of 18 months behind bars if convicted. "Members of the prosecution team had amplified the error in the Original Information by repeatedly giving interviews on national television in which they erroneously claimed that the enhancement was not only applicable to Mr. Baldwin, but mandatory, and that Mr. Baldwin was facing an additional five years in prison as a result," Baldwin's lawyers wrote in the Tuesday court documents. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the armorer in charge of weapons on the "Rust" set, faced with the same charges as Baldwin; the firearm enhancement was also dropped for her. Read the original article on Insider About 2-3 inches of snow are expected from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday UPDATE: The winter storm warning issued for northeastern Wisconsin will end at noon Thursday, the National Weather Service said, with about 2-4 inches of additional snow. "Gusty winds will create blowing snow and drifts," the weather service said. "Travel will continue to be hazardous through the morning hours." Some snowfall totals from 7 a.m. Wednesday until 7 a.m. Thursday from the National Weather service for northeastern Wisconsin: Oconto Falls. 9.6 inches Sister Bay: 8 Pulaski: 7.5 Mountain: 7.5 Green Bay: 7.4 Casco: 6.5 Wrightstown: 6 36-hour snowfall reports With the 2-3 inches that the area received Tuesday night and early on Wednesday, the Green Bay area received about 10 inches of snow in a 36-hour span. Many schools closed early on Wednesday and all Brown County schools were closed on Thursday. Crews clear sidewalks and roads Wednesday morning in Pulaski after the area received 2-3 inches of snow. Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport Flights in and out of Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport have been canceled on Wednesday evening. Most of Thursday morning's flights have been canceled, too, said Airport Director Marty Piette in a statement. Piette said travelers on canceled flights have been rebooked and that people with flight plans in the next 24 hours should check with their airline to get the most up-to-date information. The airport's runways still will be cleared of snow for general aviation traffic, but the airport will not resume normal operations until commercial flights resume. As Wisconsin, and much of the nation, is hit with a major winter storm, airlines serving Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport (GRB) have proactively canceled flights for the rest of today and have rebooked travelers," Piette said in a media statement. "There are no additional commercial flights in or out of GRB today. Additionally, most flights for tomorrow morning have also been canceled." Prevea Health Prevea Health will be open Thursday after closing all locations, including urgent care sites, in Wisconsin starting at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Story continues Prevea, based in Green Bay, has locations in northeastern Wisconsin and western Wiscosnin in the Eau Claire area. Lambeau Field Atrium The Lambeau Field Atrium and its businesses Packers Pro Shop, 1919 Kitchen & Tap, Packers Hall of Fame and stadium tours will close at 5 p.m. today and all day Thursday. Tubing and skating at Titletown Ariens Hill and Hy-Vee Plaza will be closed today and Thursday, as will 46 Below and Rockwood Terrace. Neville museum closing early, all day Thursday The Neville Public Museum of Brown County will close at 2 p.m. today and be closed all day Thursday, It will reopen at 9 a.m. Friday. Updates can be found on its Facebook page. Green Bay snow emergency The city will be under a snow emergency until 10 p.m. Thursday. In a snow emergency: No vehicle is allowed to park on any Green Bay street until the snow emergency has expired. Overnight on-street parking permissions will not be granted. Vehicles found parking on-street during the snow emergency will be tagged, ticketed, and towed at the owner's expense. Ashwaubenon snow emergency The village is under a snow emergency from 6 p.m. today until 6 a.m. Friday. No parking is allowed on village streets. Howard snow emergency The village of Howard declared a snow emergency that goes into effect at 5 p.m. Wednesday and lasts until 5 a.m. Friday. Under the snow emergency: On-street parking will not be granted for the duration of the snow emergency. Vehicles found stuck or abandoned in the street or parking on-street during the snow emergency will be tagged, ticketed and towed at the owners expense. Street parking will resume Thursday morning if your street has been plowed completely (from curb to curb) for one hour after plowing. Garbage collection will remain on schedule. Hobart weather delays, closings The village declared a snow emergency from 6 p.m. Wednesday until 6 p.m. Thursday. No vehicles can be parked on village streets and roads during this time. Also, Thursday's garbage and recycling collection will be delayed until Friday. The village office will also be closed Thursday. The Village Board meeting tonight will still be held, starting at 6 p.m. De Pere delays garbage/recycling pickup De Pere will not pick up garbage and recycling on Thursday; collection will occur on Friday. The city asks residents not to place carts out on Thursday because of the heavy snow and high winds forecast. The city has also declared a snow emergency from 5 p.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. Friday. "No vehicles should be parked on the streets during this period to facilitate snow plowing operations." Crews clear sidewalks and roads Wednesday morning in Pulaski after the area received 2-3 inches of snow. UPDATE: All UW-Green Bay classes online Thursday The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay has canceled classes from 2:15-5 p.m. today. Evening classes today will be online. All Thursday classes will be online. This story will be updated. This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay airport cancels flights, area schools and municipalities A Texas man has been sentenced to 38 months in prison for charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, which included assaulting a police officer and interstate threat to injure or kidnap, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday. Garret Miller, 36, of Richardson, Texas, was "at the forefront of every barrier overturned, police line overrun, and entryway breached within his proximity," during the riot, the Justice Department said. Prior to entering the Capitol Building, Miller was detained twice, one time even being put in handcuffs, but was released after saying he would leave, according to the Justice Department. Garret Miller / Credit: Dallas County Sheriff's Office Miller instead stayed and continued to record himself "talking about a revolution," the department said, and entered the Capitol Building. While police were trying to clear the building, "Miller stayed on the front lines, assaulted an [Metropolitan Police Department] Sergeant, and engaged in a physical altercation with no fewer than six officers." The Justice Department said that Miller traveled to Washington, D.C., that day with "rope, a grappling hook, a mouth guard and a bump cap." The department also said that Miller had threatened multiple people on social media, including Senator Chuck Schumer, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. After leaving the Capitol grounds on Jan. 6, Miller replied to a tweet from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with, "Assassinate AOC." The Justice Department said that, until his arrest on Jan. 20, Miller continued to brag about his actions during the riot and expressed a desire to find the police officer who shot and killed rioter Ashli Babbitt and "hug his neck with a nice rope." When Miller was arrested, he was wearing a shirt with Trump on it that read "I was there, Washington, D.C., January 6, 2021," the Justice Department said. In addition to the 38 months in prison, Miller will also have to serve 36 months of supervised release. Baking helped her overcome addiction, so now she's using her bakery to help others Ukrainian Armed Forces solder shares her life on the front line Gaza fires rockets at Israel one day after 11 Palestinians died in West Bank raid Kelsea Ballerini recently shared her initial reaction to ex-husband Morgan Evans post-divorce song Over for You in the latest episode of Alex Coopers Call Her Daddy podcast. If Im being honest, I felt like that was really opportunistic for him to put that out when he did when we were still going through the legalities of getting divorced, Ballerini said. I felt really used in that moment. And again, his healing journey is his healing journey, I respect that. But publicly exploiting it feels a little nasty to me, before its final. More from Billboard The three-time Grammy nominee added that she was initially so angry, so angry after hearing the song. I had a pretty good grasp on my grieving journey until that song came out and I was livid. I think that maybe theres a world that he was blindsided. I did not blindside him. Two things can be true at once, and I think like if he truly was blindsided, then where was he? Shortly after news of the couples divorce went public in August 2022, Evans released Over for You, featuring the pointed lyrics, How many times did you say you loved me when it wasnt true?/ Im just wondering how long has it been over for you? The couple met when Ballerini was 22 and became engaged nine months later, on Christmas Day in 2016. Ballerini and Evans wed in 2017 in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Ballerini revealed her own perspective on the relationships dissolution on her recent six-song EP, Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, which was released on Valentines Day. The albums handful of songs are littered with details of the couples crumbling marriage and the emotional wreckage left in its wake. In one song, Ballerini recalls sleeping on the couch and heading out to a big awards show separately from her husband. Elsewhere, she detailed how physical distance led to emotional distance. Story continues In the new Call Her Daddy interview, Ballerini also said she wished she had released the album back in August, when the relationship was reaching the peak of its dissolution. I wish I would have had it in August, she said. I wish in August when I would have been like, Im blowing up my life, Im doing it that someone would have had those six songs that I could have listened to, to like go through the intricacies of the emotions of everything you think your life is going to look like, its not. On Tuesday, in the wake of Ballerinis media comments, Evans took to his socials, stating, Its really sad for me to see this person, who I spent so much of my life with, and loved with all my heart, saying things that arent reality and that leave out what really happened. She knows Im not the type of guy to speak on those things publicly. If this is what she needs to heal, I hope it helps. All I ask is that if youre on my pages, please dont be mean. Dont be mean to Kelsea, dont be mean to each other. Lifes too short. Ballerini now says shes moved on from the pain of hearing Evans song. Now were like months past it, she said. Were moving on and Ive taken the time to, like, actually sit in my feelings and go through that grieving process and take ownership of what I brought to the table too. Ballerini has recently been seen with Outer Banks actor Chase Stokes, also telling the Call Her Daddy podcast that the two met by Ballerini sliding into the actors DMs. I was ready to open back up, Ballerini told Cooper. I just felt, why not? Ive never really dated; I dont know how it works. Im like, Lets just put ourselves out there lets just vibe. And its been fun. She added, Ive never seen his show, but I just knew of him, and I just swan-dove right on in. His handle is @hichasestokes, and I said, Hi, Chase Stokes. She also added that she had not taken her exs feelings into consideration when moving on, because Im not married to him anymore and I dont need to care about his feelings anymore. I mean that with all the respect in the world, but his journey is not mine anymore. I hope he is protected from whatever he needs to be protected from seeing I hope he has people in his life that help him do that [but] that is not my job. Best of Billboard Click here to read the full article. Liam Neeson celebrated his 100th film Marlowe during a special screening Wednesday night at New York Citys Crosby Street Hotel. How did I get so lucky? Do you ever get moments like that? Where you think, if I was 15 years of age in a chemistry class or a math lesson in school, and someone showed you a video of where you are now youd say, I dont believe it, Neeson told Variety. Especially working with Jessica Lange, Alan Cumming, Diane Kruger. Its just a great cast. More from Variety Based on John Banvilles novel The Black-Eyed Blonde, the neo-noir crime thriller follows Raymond Chandlers iconic detective Philip Marlowe (Neeson), who is hired to find heiress Clare Cavendishs (Diane Kruger) missing former lover. Although the private eye has been portrayed by such screen veterans as Humphrey Bogart, Elliott Gould and Robert Mitchum, Neeson didnt feel intimidated by these other actors, as great as they were. Growing up in the north of Ireland, on my TV screen in our living room. Every Sunday afternoon, there seemed to be a film noir. Someone with their trench coat turned up and the Shelby hat and the rain pouring down, Neeson said. So I feel like I have grown up with that kind of character. Neeson and director Neil Jordan watched a series of noir films to prepare for Marlowe, particularly those adapted from Chandlers work like 1946s The Big Sleep and 1973s The Long Goodbye. We watched everything in the noir library, lets put it that way, Jordan explained. And I just wanted to make a film that was saturated with color. I didnt want to make a black-and-white movie, I didnt want to make a movie that was full of shadows, and I didnt even want to approximate the color palette to something that looked like a black-and-white film. Story continues On working with longtime collaborator Jordan, Neeson recalled a moment he shared with the director on set of their first film together: the 1988 comedy High Spirits. It was a bleak Monday morning at Shepperton Studios in London. Freezing and of course, those studios in London they have no heat, they have no air conditioning. I was semi-naked, covered in sparkly dust, and we did a take. Neil comes in like, Liam, could you be funnier? he said with a laugh. So his direction has gotten better over the years. I can tell when he comes from behind the monitor hes chewing his inner gum I know hes gonna say something, hes got a note. We have this kind of shorthand language. Its great to have an actor you can actually share burgeoning ideas with, Jordan said, teasing their next project together, titled The Rikers Ghost. Marlowe is in theaters now. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. Way to throw a monkey wrench into spring break plans, Megabus. After less than a month of operation in Indianapolis, the low-cost bus service told customers it was halting the vast majority of service here and in other Midwest cities starting Thursday, Feb, 23. Megabus emailed customers Wednesday to cancel service on some trips. The company says it's unable to sell tickets because of partner Miller Transportation. Due to a recent business decision made (by) our operating partner, Miller Transportation, Megabus will no longer be able to sell tickets in select Midwest cities and will need to cancel trips operated by Miller Transportation, Megabus told customers. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and hope to find opportunities to resume service in the future. The company provided automatic refunds to impacted customers. Megabus in Indianapolis:Megabus returns to Indy with $1 fares to select destinations As of Feb 23, Megabus is no longer servicing the Midwest via Miller Transportation, a partnership that was announced in January 2023. After pulling out of the market in mid-2020, the low-price bus service rides are as cheap as $1 plus the $3.99 booking fee returned to Indy on Jan. 25 with service to dozens of cities, providing connections to Chicago, Nashville, Detroit, Gary and South Bend. Now, in Indianapolis specifically, service will be reduced but will still be offered to Kokomo, Peru, Rochester, Plymouth, South Bend and Elkhart, the company told IndyStar on Thursday afternoon. Megabus, which has its U.S. operations based in New Jersey, added several new markets through partnerships with regional transportation companies. In the Midwest, that was Miller Transportation. The 85-year-old company and its subsidiary Hoosier Ride, have shuttled riders throughout Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. Miller would sell its excess seating through the Megabus website. Neither company has issued a release or website posting about the change. Megabus said it would alert more impacted customers in coming days. IndyStar has reached out to Miller Transportation for comment. 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: Megabus cuts services in Indianapolis and Midwest after only a month Felons whove served their incarceration term, but are still on probation or parole could soon be able to vote in Minnesota under the Restore the Vote legislation debated Tuesday in the state Senate. Senate President Bobby Joe Champion, DFL-Minneapolis, who is the chief sponsor of the bill, said restoring released felons right to cast ballots is an important step in helping criminals rejoin their communities. It is important for us to restore the vote, Champion said. We all agree voting is important, it is our voice, we do not want to disenfranchise anyone from voting. Supporters of the legislation point to Minnesotas long probationary terms as reason to allow released felons to vote. Opponents have argued that probation and parole are part of the punishment handed down by the court. Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, noted that the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission recently capped probationary terms for most crimes at five years. He urged lawmakers to amend the legislation to prohibit violent felons from voting until they complete their entire sentence. The bottom line is no, they should not get the right to vote until their sentence is done, Limmer said when the chamber took a recess. He promised several amendments to put restrictions on which offenses would get their voting rights back. I dont think they really realize what theyre asking, Limmer said. There are some offenders whove committed heinous crimes against innocent citizens, I dont think the senate understands that. Sen. Andrew Mathews, R-Princeton, speaking in support of the changes said felons whove committed crimes such as murder and manslaughter permanently took their victims right to vote. It is unconscionable how wide open this bill is, Mathews said. Last week, the Minnesota Supreme Court handed down a long-awaited decision on the current prohibition of felons voting while still on probation or parole. The ruling found the law constitutional and said it was up to the Legislature to change it. Story continues Lawmakers discussed the bill Tuesday are expected to debate it further after a recess. It has already passed the House and if it wins approval in the Senate would go to Gov. Tim Walz who has said he will sign it. Related Articles Giant panda Xiang Xiang is seen at a cage during her last viewing day at Tokyos Ueno Zoo, Sunday, 19 February 2023 in Tokyo, Japan. - Xiang Xiang, who was born six years ago, is the first giant panda to be born and raised naturally at the zoo and is being sent back to China for breeding purposes (Masanori Takei/Kyodo News via AP) Xiang Xiang, a beloved giant panda born in a Tokyo zoo in 2017, bid farewell to Japan and was sent to China on Tuesday. China had loaned Xiang Xiangs parents Ri Ri and Shin Shin to Japan as a part of its panda diplomacy. Sunday was Xiang Xiangs last day with the public. At least 2600 fans of the giant panda bid farewell to the idol of Tokyos Ueno Zoo. The zoological park had organised a lottery for the admirers of Xiang Xiang since the demand to see the animal was so high. Local reports said the fans of the giant panda were teary-eyed to see it for one last time and many held up their cameras to capture Xiang Xiangs image on their phones. China sends giant pandas to several counties as a goodwill gesture often labelled panda diplomacy but it maintains its ownership over the animals and any of their offspring. Xiang Xiang was originally supposed to be returned to China in December 2020 but it was delayed due to the pandemic. Reports suggest that she is being sent back to China for breeding purposes. Reuters reported that Tokyo Ueno Zoos first naturally-conceived panda Xiang Xiang was also the first born there for years. Another baby panda died shortly after birth in 2012. Xiang Xiangs parents are still at the zoo, as are her younger twin siblings. Among the hundreds of teary-eyed fans of the giant panda on Sunday, was Keiko Nakamura, a 59-year-old homemaker from the city of Okayama, who has been staying in Tokyo since November to see the panda and made sure to visit almost every day before the lottery system came in. She told Japan Times: I dont know if I can live without Xiang Xiang. Kodai Yasuda, 38, came from Kashiwa in Chiba Prefecture with his baby, who he had dressed in a panda outfit. Im glad we could see her on the last day and, while it is sad, Id love it if she can become a mom over in China. Some 60,000 people applied for 2,600 spots to see her on Sunday, it was reported. Xiang Xiang is not only cute but charming and funny, a visitor named Yukie told Reuters. Story continues Shes so attractive that if you see her once, you want to see her more. I dont think there is any panda like her in the universe. Thousands of Japanese fans, some wiping away tears, bid farewell to a beloved Japanese-born giant panda that made her final public appearance Sunday before flying to her home country, #China.#giantpanda #xiangxiang pic.twitter.com/r4GxOX533n (@realGuancha) February 20, 2023 The visitors were given only a few minutes to quietly say goodbye to Xiang Xiang. On Tuesday, a crowd gathered at Tokyos Narita Airport to take photos, wave and shout as the plane carrying Xiang Xiang took off. I wish Japanese-born pandas could stay in Japan, Takamichi Masui, an auto parts maker who travelled from Mie, in central Japan, told the Associated Press. So many people who came today and fans are sad to see her go. When I saw [Xiang Xiang], I got teary. I wish Xiang Xiang could stay, though I understand its difficult. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attends a news conference during a NATO defence ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 15, 2023. Johanna Geron/Reuters NATO's chief said on Wednesday that there are signs China may send lethal aid to Russia. Washington has warned of "serious consequences" if China further involves itself in the war. US official believes Russia is running out of munitions and has lost up to half of its tanks. NATO is growing concerned that China is planning to send military aid to Russia and has joined the US in urging Beijing against further involvement in the war in Ukraine. "We are also increasingly concerned that China may be planning to provide lethal support for Russia's war," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters earlier this week. During a Wednesday interview with the Associated Press, Stoltenberg was asked if the military alliance is aware of any indication that China is preparing to do so. "We have seen some signs that they may be planning for that and of course NATO allies, the United States, have been warning against it because this is something that should not happen. China should not support Russia's illegal war," he told the outlet. Stoltenberg added that if China decided to send lethal aid to Russia, it would be a "blatant violation of international law." His comments mark the latest words of caution from the West, which has routinely urged China to reconsider its relationship with Russia as Moscow's full-scale war in Ukraine reaches its one-year anniversary. Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters at a Thursday briefing that while China has yet to actually send lethal aid to Russia, "they haven't taken it off the table." Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Chinese President Xi Jinping at BRICS Summit in Brasilia Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images "We reinforced there that, again, there will be consequences for China should this partnership with Russia further deepen," Singh said, later adding that "we're coming to the one-year anniversary just at the end of this week and it would certainly be a miscalculation of China to provide lethal aid to Russia." Singh's comments echo earlier sentiments from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. During a recent interview with Margaret Brennan of CBS News' "Face the Nation," Blinken shared that he had a conversation with senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi about the Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down over US airspace earlier this month, and also about China's involvement in Russia's war in Ukraine. Story continues "And I was able to share with him, as President Biden had shared with President Xi, the serious consequences that would have for our relationship," Blinken said. He noted that the US has seen China "provide non-lethal support to Russia for use in Ukraine." "The concern that we have now is based on information we have that they're considering providing lethal support, and we've made very clear to them that that would cause a serious problem for us and in our relationship," he said. Washington's concerns about possible Chinese support of Russia's war come as US officials warn that Moscow is struggling to provide military equipment to its forces in Ukraine. In the past, Russian President Vladimir Putin has turned to countries like Iran and North Korea for military support. "Russia is also running out of munitions and has lost as much as 50% of its tanks," US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Tuesday, adding that Moscow had to "turn to mothballed Soviet-era weapons." Read the original article on Business Insider ELKO Snow blowers, shovels and ice scrapers have been a frequent sight around Elko and surrounding areas this winter as storms have dropped 50 inches of snow in the valleys along with temperatures hovering in the low 20s. The snowy and cold weather could have another impact that weather agencies are watching closely: a potential for flooding when warmer weather arrives, as happened in the 2017 Humboldt River flood. According to a report released by the National Weather Service on Feb. 6, the amount of water in the current snowpack is well above normal across northern and central Nevada, and is fairly comparable to early February 2017. That was when the waters from the Humboldt River flooded Southside neighborhoods due to backed-up storm drains along streets north and south of the river. Rising waters caused damage throughout Elko County, closing U.S. Highway 93 and State Route 233 to Montello, washing out 63 roads, flooding 56 homes, closing Southside School and overflowing the Winecup/Gamble Ranch 21-Mile Dam. A report prepared by former Elko County Emergency Manager Annette Kerr one year later recapped the impact of the flood, reporting that 8 inches of snow had melted between Feb. 1 and 17 due to rain and unseasonable warm temperatures. This year snow depths are high, except for parts of Humboldt and northern Nye counties, the Weather Service stated in its report. Precipitation outlook through February 18 favors above normal values and storms added more snow this week. But is the City prepared in case history repeats itself? Former City Public Works Director Dennis Strickland said a month after flood waters receded, workers inspected the area and found that a few drains malfunctioned. That stopped water from going back up the culverts as they were designed to do. The City also acknowledged that flap gates at the levees were not designed to prevent flooding. The City received criticism for drainage issues that led to storm drains overflowing in residential areas along the river. A lawsuit filed by 70 southside residents claimed the City was responsible for the flood after the Humboldt River was shifted for relocation of the railroad tracks for Project Lifesaver in 1979. They also blamed inadequate construction of a levee at 12 Street Bridge 13 years later. The suit was settled by the City for $835,000. According to city officials, steps have been taken to minimize the risk of flood damage happening again. On March 22, 2022, Elko City Council approved a resolution that established a maintenance program for the Humboldt River area and also furthers the goals of the Humboldt Area Recreation Project. The program works with HARP and requires flap gate and storm drain inspections, maintenance and repair. It also includes vegetation control in the form of goat grazing or mowing areas bordering the river and maintaining the area in a condition suitable for various types of wildlife. Assistant City Manager Scott Wilkinson said city crews regularly inspect storm drains for debris and sediment throughout the City, either promptly removing blockages when discovered, or, if appropriate, instruct the responsible party to do so. Inspections are completed when storm drains are accessible, he added. The City is committed to the responsible operation and maintenance of the municipal storm drain and sanitary sewer system, as well as existing public improvements in the vicinity of the Humboldt River, Wilkinson said. However, the City Council stated that the maintenance program is not a guarantee that flooding will never occur again. The City Council recognizes that the Humboldt River Area Maintenance Program set forth in this resolution will not prevent flooding within the City. However, the Program will improve the environment along the Humboldt River for both the people and the wildlife using the area. But is there still a flood risk for those living in the residential areas along both sides of the river? Neighborhoods in areas adjacent to the Humboldt River are subject to natural inflow and infiltration from groundwater due to geological conditions, Wilkinson explained. Because of natural features in those and surrounding areas, there may be flood events that cannot be prevented or even substantially mitigated without the expenditure of significant public resources. With these factors in mind, the City will continue to balance the needs of the public in making decisions concerning maintenance, operation, and construction of public infrastructure in the Humboldt River area, he said. Cherokee Fire and Rescue and Henderson County Rescue Squad, are assisting Madison County EMS and Madison County Sheriff's Office Feb. 21 on Marshall's Blannahassett Island with the search of missing Madison County man Philip Shelton. MARSHALL - On Feb. 23, Madison County officials said search and rescue teams would limit their scope to one particular area in the search for a Marshall man who went missing on the French Broad River. A family member said Phillip Shelton, 64, of Marshall, went missing the afternoon of Feb. 18 after heading to the French Broad River with his dog, Zip. Rescue officials set up shop on Blannahassett Island near downtown Marshall Feb. 21 to continue the search, as rescue teams from four different counties assisted with the search from Marshall to the Tennessee state line. On Feb. 23, the county said search and rescue teams would narrow the scope of the search from the 25-mile Marshall to the state line area to an area of concern above the Marshall Dam. A dive team from Henderson County added an additional capability to existing search efforts. "He had a friend that spoke with him around 8:30 a.m. (Feb. 18)," Shelton's niece, Lisa Shelton, said. "This is nothing abnormal. They cross that river in that one place. When the dog was running, that's when we knew something was wrong." Madison County resident Philip Shelton has been missing since Feb. 18, according to his family. According to Interim County Manager Rod Honeycutt, search officials discovered his dog, canoe, as well as his vehicle, a red Ford Explorer, on the evening of Feb. 18. On the afternoon of Feb. 20, officials discovered a backpack carrying some of Shelton's belongings, Honeycutt said. According to Honeycutt, the family called 911 around 6 p.m. on Feb. 18 to notify officials that Shelton was missing. "At that point, it is both a missing person from the Sheriff's Office point of angel operation and a search and rescue from a County EMS perspective, (as) no one actually saw him go into the water," Honeycutt said. "So, we can assume that he went in, but the Sheriff's Office has to do their due diligence and continue the missing persons operation." On Feb. 21, Buncombe County Task Force, Cherokee Fire and Rescue and Henderson County Rescue Squad also assisted with the search, heading from Marshall to the Tennessee state line. Story continues On Feb. 22, Western Carolina University added a cadaver dog capability to the existing search efforts. According to Honeycutt, Henderson County Rescue Squad brought sonar capabilities to aid in the search. According to Interim County Manager Rod Honeycutt, Henderson County Rescue Squad has sonar capabilities and will be assisting with the search of Madison County man Philip Shelton, who was reported missing Feb. 18. But family members are fearing the worst. "It's just one of those things. Nobody really knows," Lisa Shelton said. "He had a lot of knowledge of the river, and was on the river all the time. His car was there locked up, and his dog was out. Him and Zip were absolutely inseparable. That was the key to us - when the dog was running, we knew something was wrong." Buncombe County Emergency Services is on hand Feb. 21 to assist with the search of missing Madison County resident Philip Shelton. Lisa Shelton said she may never know exactly what happened to her uncle. "Just like any of us growing up, I mean, we were on that river our whole lives - he has been, I have been, my dad. We're all very familiar with the river," Shelton said. "It's just one of those things. It's tragic. He was a super good guy, and he was very knowledgeable about the outdoors. He was an avid hunter, fisherman, outdoorsman. This was nothing unusual for him. "Who's to say we'll ever find out what happened. We'd love to know that he's going to come out of the river, but at this point it's not looking too good." Shelton said she is grateful for the community's support during this time. "We appreciate everybody that has helped us look," Shelton said. "We appreciate everybody's help." This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Madison man missing: Search continues along French Broad River Tennessee House Republicans on Thursday overwhelmingly passed a ban on gender-transition health care for minors, which will require transgender children to end their current medical treatment by March 2024. The bill prohibits children from receiving puberty blockers, hormone therapies or surgical procedures. People who received the treatments as minors would also be able to sue parents, guardians and physicians for authorizing the care under a statute of limitations under the legislation. Bill sponsors initially included language to categorize parents seeking such treatments for their kids as abuse or neglect, but that section was later stripped from the bill as it made its way through committees. If it becomes law, the bill would officially take effect this summer and give existing patients until March 31, 2024, to cease treatment, a timeline House Democrats have argued could medically harm patients. The bill will soon be sent to Gov. Bill Lee's desk, which kicks off a 10-day countdown, not including Sundays, for Lee to sign it into law. Even if Lee chooses not to sign, the bill becomes law without his signature unless he vetoes it. Though he rarely takes an explicit position on pending bills, Lee on Friday signaled he is "supportive" of the bill's content. The American Civil Liberties Union plans to sue Tennessee if Lee signs it into law. "All Tennesseans should have access to the healthcare they need to survive and thrive," Lucas Cameron-Vaughn, ACLU-TN staff attorney, said in a statement. "Gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth is safe, necessary, effective and often life-saving. Legislators are risking trans young peoples health, wellbeing and safety with this dangerous legislation. We urge Governor Lee to veto this overreaching, discriminatory bill, or we will see him in court. House Bill 1 bans minors in Tennessee from accessing gender dysphoria and transition treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapies, in addition to surgeries. Story continues "These treatments and procedures have a lifetime of negative consequences that are irreversible," bill sponsor Rep. William Lamberth, R-Portland, said. Lamberth has called transition care experimental and dangerous for children. Major U.S. medical associations, such as the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, have supported gender transition health care as evidence-based medicine. The legislation was narrowly tailored to allow the same medications to be used medically elsewhere, as long as they are not used to treat gender dysphoria, while Republicans rebuffed pointed Democratic attempts to block other plastic and reconstructive surgeries that minors can obtain in Tennessee. "It has nothing to do with protecting children from unnecessary medical procedures," Rep. Bo Mitchell, D-Nashville, said. "(Some children) can get their breast enhancements, their nose jobs, that's OK, but these children can't have any medical procedures?" Mitchell said the legislation was unfairly targeting transgender children, and the state would have to answer for it in court. Filed as the first bill of the session following a high-profile controversy that erupted last fall over Vanderbilt University Medical Center offering gender-transition care, the legislation moved quickly through the General Assembly. More:Vanderbilt pauses gender affirmation surgery for minors amid backlash Conservative media personalities and two young women who said they regretted beginning gender transitions as teenagers have testified in support of the bill. Both women received their gender transition care outside of Tennessee. "The vote on the floor today was extremely strong," Lamberth said. "We're going to protect our children, we're going to support our children to mature naturally and give them the love and assistance, mental health treatment, that they need." Multiple Tennessee parents, including at least one whose child will have to stop an ongoing medication regimen, testified against the bill, imploring lawmakers to trust them and their doctors to make the best decisions with their children. The Human Rights Campaign on Thursday urged Lee to veto the bill. This attempt by radical politicians in Tennessee to ban gender-affirming care is only the latest effort in their war against the LGBTQ+ community, especially against transgender kids," HRC Senior Counsel Cathryn Oakley said. "The state has not only introduced more anti-LGBTQ+ legislation than any other state in this country, but attacks on the fundamental rights of thousands of LGBTQ+ people in Tennessee have been unrelenting for nearly a decade. These extremist lawmakers have intentionally made life harder and more dangerous for trans kids. Gender affirming care is age-appropriate, life-saving, medically necessary care that is only provided after the consent of parents and doctors." Kelly Puente contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee legislature passes ban on gender-affirming care for minors As U.S. Sen. Tim Scott inches closer to an expected 2024 presidential run, he called for a revival of American hope through conservative ideals in a pair of Des Moines-area speeches Wednesday, urging Iowans to support a vision he said will help bring people into the party and help Republicans win elections. I see a future where common sense has rebuilt common ground, he said Wednesday afternoon from the Drake University campus in Des Moines. Where weve created real unity, not by compromising away our conservatism, but by winning converts. Where our movement can once again carry 49 states and the popular vote. Wednesday evening, speaking at the Polk County Republican Partys Lincoln Dinner in West Des Moines, Scott called for trusting each other, overcoming our differences and then creating converts to conservatism. Its a subtle nod to the fact that Republican presidential candidates have not won the popular vote since 2004, even as Donald Trump carried the Electoral College in 2016. And it comes on the heels of a midterm election that left Republicans across the country disappointed in their performance, with many blaming the former president for elevating fringe candidates who alienated some Republican and independent voters. At both events, Scott called for moving away from the grievance politics of the left, suggesting that President Joe Biden and the Democrats have done everything short of drafting an actual blueprint to ruin America. I understand that President Biden likes to live in the past. I get it. Hes been in Washington for 50 years, Scott said at Drake University. But we need new leaders who will lift us up, not tear us down. Scott laid out his own vision for America that relies on freedom and responsibility as its bedrock two simple ideas that he said have taken our nation to unbelievable heights. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds attended the evening event in West Des Moines, telling the crowd she and her husband, Kevin, had hosted Scott for dinner the previous evening. She also joined Scott for a tour of St. Anthony Catholic School in Des Moines earlier in the day where they touted school choice policies. Story continues He really embodies the American Dream, and he turns the left's identity politics agenda on his head, Reynolds said, introducing Scott to the crowd. As Sen. Scott often says, We have to believe in our country and each other for America to reach its full potential. And I couldn't agree more. More:Uniquely powerful, Kim Reynolds could be a caucus kingmaker. Why she won't play favorites. Scott grounded both speeches in his familys story, thanking his grandfather, a cotton farmer, for his deep and stubborn faith, which he said helped his family achieve the American dream. He spoke about his journey from growing up in a poor single-parent household to being sworn into the U.S. Senate after a special election win in 2013, and again for a full term in 2016. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., speaks to a gathering at Drake University, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. He called for removing conversations about gender ideology in the classroom and praised Reynolds for passing "school choice" legislation. He also advocated for traditional conservative policies, such as lowering taxes and securing the Southern border. Above all, Scott called for the restoration of faith in all aspects of American life as he critiqued President Joe Biden and the current Democratic Partys policies, including Democrats' views on policing, school curriculum and abortion, among other topics. Multiple Drake University students who attended the campus event Wednesday said they were unfamiliar with Scott or his policies before his visit, but that after hearing his speech, they were eager to learn more about him and were interested in his potential campaign. I think Id probably have to do a little bit more research into him and see a little bit more, but after just hearing him talk, I am a lot more intrigued and I am willing to do a lot more research into him if he were running for president, said Reagan Cobb, a Drake University freshman from Kildeer, Illinois, who said she had never heard of Scott before Wednesdays event. Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., greets supporters after speaking to a gathering at Drake University, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. First-year Drake law student and Fort Dodge native Haley Ledford, who identifies as a Republican, said she thinks Scotts track record as a pro-life Republican who has advocated for lower taxes will make him a strong potential candidate. More:Gov. Kim Reynolds says "All Eyes are on Iowa" at Nikki Haley's first campaign visit I like his story, I like his background, Ledford said. I think that sets him apart in the field that we have so far. He brings a good conservative track record with him. I think he fits what a majority of Republicans are looking for coming into 2024. Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Register. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on Twitter at @brianneDMR. Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at@francescablock3. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Tim Scott tells Iowa 'we need new leaders,' inches closer to 2024 run A top State Department official on Thursday said a sanctions package coinciding with the one-year mark of Russias war in Ukraine will include Chinese companies that the Biden administration says are violating export bans against Moscow. Victoria Nuland, the under secretary of State for political affairs, said the administration has identified Chinese-based or Chinese entities in Europe that are actively evading existing sanctions against Russia aimed at strangling the nations ability to finance and supply its war in Ukraine. There will be in the sanctions package, that we will be announcing tomorrow on the one-year anniversary of the war. We will also be putting other constraints on entities, Chinese-based or Chinese subs of entities in Europe, which we think are active in evading sanctions, Nuland said during a Washington Post Live event on Thursday. The sanctions move comes after Biden administration officials have stated that they believe the Chinese government is thinking about providing lethal aid to Russia and warned Beijing against taking such action, without spelling out concrete consequences. We know that the Russians have consistently been asking the Chinese for weapons. We also know that some Chinese companies, whether the government is witting or not, have been sneaking up to the edge and trying to provide some support, Nuland said. In January, the U.S. sanctioned the Chinese company Spacety for providing geolocation technology to a Russian company that the U.S. said is supporting the Wagner Group, the private Russian mercenary company fighting alongside the Russian military in Ukraine. The sanctions package expected to be announced on Friday is targeting entities that the U.S. and allies part of the Group of Seven nations have found are evading existing sanctions against Russia, Nuland said. Independent analysis has found that Russia is using third-countries to access foreign commodities that it was banned from importing related to sanctions imposed since February 24. Story continues Many of these imports such as laptops, smartphones, dishwashers, washing machines and cars include advanced semiconductor chips that the U.S. warns could be diverted towards Russian military manufacturing. They are importing a thousand percent more laptops, iPhones, dishwashers from third countries, not because they need to, you know, work at home on their laptops but so they can cannibalize this machinery to get the advanced chips that we have denied them so that they can make more rockets, et cetera, Nuland said. This is not about helping the Russian people or the Russian economy, she added. Its about the war machine. So we will clamp down on that evasion starting tomorrow. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: White House blames Trump administration and Republicans over Ohio spill The White House is blaming the Trump administration and Republicans over the Ohio train derailment and toxic chemical release. Plus, blizzard warnings have been issued near Los Angeles, USA TODAY Senior Data Reporter Doug Caruso looks at whether Amber Alerts really work, Idaho Republicans introduce a bill that would criminalize giving mRNA vaccines and USA TODAY Health Reporter Ken Alltucker breaks down a report that says nursing homes are not safe amid the world's climate crisis. Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here. Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text. Taylor Wilson: Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Thursday, the 23rd of February 2023. Today, the blame game over the Ohio train derailment. Plus blizzard conditions near Los Angeles, and we look at the effectiveness of Amber Alerts. The White House is blaming the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress in the wake of the Ohio train derailment and toxic chemical release. The Biden administration is blaming them for undoing Obama-era rail safety measures designed to avoid such disasters. The rebuttal from a White House spokesman came as former president Donald Trump visited East Palestine, Ohio yesterday. And Republicans have increasingly attacked the Biden administration, especially Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for his response to the disaster. Among the safety rollbacks cited by the White House, the Trump administration withdrew a 2015 proposal to require advanced braking systems on trains carrying highly flammable material. They also ended regular safety audits of railroads and scrapped a proposal to require at least two crew members on freight trains. Story continues Some 35 million Americans are under winter weather advisories this week, and that includes millions in California. In the mountains above Los Angeles, blizzard warnings have been issued with wind gusts of up to 75 miles an hour expected and several feet of snow over the next few days. Even beach-side communities in Southern California like Santa Monica and Venice will see temperatures in the low forties with rain. Meanwhile, more typical for this time of year are blizzard warnings in effect today for parts of Minnesota and the Dakotas, and winter storm warnings are in effect for parts of New York and New England through this afternoon. For updates throughout the day, stay with USATODAY.com. You've probably gotten a notification on your phone or seen messages on the highway announcing that a child in the area is missing. These so-called Amber Alerts are supposed to help bring missing kids home, but how often are they actually given and do they succeed? I spoke with USA TODAY Senior Data Reporter Doug Caruso to find out. Doug, welcome to 5 Things. Doug Caruso: Thank you. Taylor Wilson: I want to start with some basics here for those who may not know. What is an Amber Alert, and what are the requirements to get one when a child goes missing? Doug Caruso: An Amber Alert is an alert that gets sent out almost always for abducted, endangered children under the age of 17, when local law enforcement requests one. They started in 1996 in Texas after a girl named Amber Hagerman was abducted and killed, and local radio and television stations banded together so that in the future they would be able to quickly broadcast news about abductions and rescue children. Taylor Wilson: And so if and when a child goes missing, what are some of these requirements to actually have an Amber Alert issued for that child? Doug Caruso: Most Amber Alert coordinators and states and regions across the United States will want to see four things. It's a child under the age of 17, that this child has been abducted, and that the child is in danger from that abduction, and that they have adequate descriptions of the vehicle or the abductor or the child to help the public actually find the person or help authorities find the person. Taylor Wilson: You did some deep analysis on the frequency of Amber Alerts. So Doug, I'm wondering what do the numbers say about Amber Alert frequency in America and how effective are they really at finding missing children? Doug Caruso: What we found is that they're extremely rare. For example, in 2021, local police agencies reported to the FBI that they took 337,000 missing child reports. So we're talking about roughly a third of a million missing child reports, right? There were 254 Amber Alerts issued. These are extremely rare. The criteria reduced the number of alerts issued to a fairly small amount. Your state is likely to only have a handful in a year, for example. Are they effective? Last year over about six months, we called the police department in every Amber Alert case across the country. That was 96 cases, and we asked them whether the Amber Alert was the reason that the child was found. And in about a quarter of cases they said yes. So 75% of the time, for some other reason, the child was found. 25% of the time, of an already rare event, they said that the Amber Alert was what led to the child's recovery. Taylor Wilson: Did you find in the data, Doug, that kids are still being found even without the Amber Alerts? Doug Caruso: They are being found even without the Amber Alerts. Most children are recovered successfully. We talked to a researcher who has studied this pretty carefully and done statistical analysis on the reasons kids are returned safely who have been issued Amber Alerts. And he essentially said that he doesn't think the Amber Alert matters very much, that it matters a lot more whether the child was abducted by a stranger or somebody the child knows, and that whether or not the Amber Alert provided a tip is almost beside the point. He's saying that it's not true that Amber Alerts are rescuing children. He called them Crime Prevention Theater. Taylor Wilson: Considering their effectiveness, is there any movement to improve this system? Doug Caruso: Parents put a lot of faith in them, and when you talk to people who have been through this process, you often hear that they would like it to change. They didn't feel like theirs went out fast enough. They felt like they should have gotten one when they did not. And there have been calls in Pennsylvania, the family of a little girl who was abducted and killed after her Amber Alert went out, has been seeking a law that would require the alert to be issued immediately, not without a lot of back and forth between police and the state police over issuing it, especially in cases where the child has been abducted by a stranger and the family calls in the abduction. There are groups that would like... Essentially by saying that you have to be abducted in order to get an Amber Alert, you're ruling out kids who are labeled runaways and they would like to get that runaway designation taken away because that rules out too many kids who might be in legitimate danger, but then don't get an Amber Alert because they're labeled a runaway and not an abduction. Taylor Wilson: All right. Doug Caruso is a senior data reporter for USA TODAY. Thanks for your time, Doug. Really appreciate it. Doug Caruso: Thank you. Taylor Wilson: You can find a link to the full story in today's show notes. Republican lawmakers in Idaho have introduced a bill that would criminalize giving mRNA vaccines across the state. That's the same technology used in vaccinations for COVID-19. State Senator Tammy Nichols and State Representative Judy Boyle introduced the bill. It doesn't specifically mention COVID, but Nichols in her presentation referred to the two COVID mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. They were authorized by the FDA and have been supported by a number of public health agencies. Researchers are also working on mRNA vaccines that would prevent other diseases, including cancer. Nursing homes are not safe amid the world's climate crisis. That's according to a report from the Senate and things may be getting worse. USA TODAY Health Reporter Ken Alltucker has more. Ken, thanks for coming on the podcast. Ken Alltucker: Thanks for having me. Taylor Wilson: What did this report find about the risks to nursing home residents during extreme weather events? Ken Alltucker: Yeah, this was a report by two Senate committees and they wanted to look at ... with climate change events raising a risk for all facets of society, but in particular vulnerable residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities. So they wanted to take a look at an incident in Texas. There was a freeze that essentially wrecked the power grid there in February 2021, and examined really how that affected people who depended on medication, depended on things like oxygen. So they really needed to have power and kind of a comfortable living environment to survive. Taylor Wilson: And so what does this report recommend to better protect long-term care residents, especially as weather events like these, Ken, are going to become more common in the coming years? Ken Alltucker: So about five years ago, the same senate committee did a report after hurricanes in Texas, in Florida, and found widespread issues. So five years later, they decided to do a check on how the federal agencies are regulating this and how the nursing homes are complying. Now, the agency that oversees Medicare now requires these nursing homes to do some level of emergency planning. So that's one thing that they did check, and it was kind of hit or miss. A lot of homes did do the planning, but many did not. And this wasn't a comprehensive check by any means, it was sort of a spot check done by another government watchdog agency, Office of Inspector General. Of the homes they looked at in eight states, roughly two thirds had not completed all the planning that they needed to in the event of a fire or a hurricane or a tornado or in Texas, in this case, a deep freeze. Taylor Wilson: So you mentioned these recommendations back in 2018. What's different this time around? Ken Alltucker: Post pandemic, it's sort of a different environment. We've had COVID and that sort of has uncovered a lot of the issues that nursing homes face. There are so many deaths due to COVID during 2020 and 2021 that the Biden administration has really highlighted improving nursing home safety. They've announced some things, like they want to look at a minimum staffing ratio to make sure there are enough workers in the nursing homes to take care of the residents, and they want to look at safety metrics, and they also want to kind of put homes on notice that have a kind of poor track history of patient care. The Biden administration has also said they do plan to come out with more details on what they want to do in the way of emergency planning. They recognize it's a big issue. Taylor Wilson: So what do the nursing homes themselves say they need on this issue? Ken Alltucker: Right now, they're facing many challenges. During the pandemic, they had a hard time even getting enough workers in the door, not to mention that the workers that they did employ, many of them died tragically during COVID. So staffing is one of the foremost concerns right now. They want to get enough workers in their doors to take care of the residents who live there. What they're saying about this particular report is they say, hey, what we don't need right now is more regulation. How you could really help us out is to better coordinate in the event of a power outage, make sure the utility in local, state, and federal emergency management planners prioritize restoring power to these homes because people who live there are so vulnerable. One of the recommendations in the report is for homes to have some sort of backup power supply, but the homes right now say, hey, we have limited resources. We really want to focus on what's challenging to us right now, and certainly that's staffing and safety. Taylor Wilson: Great info. Ken Alltucker covers health for USA TODAY. Thanks, Ken. Ken Alltucker: Thank you. Taylor Wilson: Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us every day of the week right here, wherever you're listening right now. I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WH blames Trump for East Palestine, LA blizzard warning: 5 Things podcast The White House praised Omans decision on Thursday to open its airspace to all civilian planes, including those from Israel, following a similar move from Saudi Arabia last year. This historic step completes a process begun last year, during President Bidens visit to the Middle East region, when Saudi Arabia similarly opened its airspace to all civilian planes, National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement. Saudi Arabia opened its airspace to Israeli flights last July, which Biden hailed at the time as an important step towards building a more integrated and stable Middle East region. Neither Saudi Arabia nor Oman has formal diplomatic ties with Israel. While the opening of Saudi airspace was itself touted as historic, it was part of a larger effort to open an air corridor for Israeli planes, which required the cooperation of Oman. For the first time in history, passengers flying to and from Israel will now be able to travel on direct routes between Israel, Asia, and points in between, Watson added on Thursday. The United States was pleased to support these efforts through months of quiet diplomatic engagement. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen similarly touted the Omani announcement on Thursday, thanking the U.S. for its support in the process. This is a historic decision that will shorten the flying time to Asia, lower costs for Israeli citizens and help Israeli airlines to be more competitive, Cohen said in a statement. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Feb. 21, 2023; Columbus, OH, U.S.; Two wild turkeys walk in a parking lot adjacent to businesses on Leap Road in Hilliard. The "Hilliard Turkey Gang" has a Facebook page with hundreds of fans but the city has concerns about the birds who stop traffic crossing Cemetery Road to roost in the evenings. A third turkey was injured is currently being cared for at the Ohio Wildlife Center. Mandatory Credit: Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch For almost two years, wild turkeys have captivated the hearts of many up and down Cemetery Road. Brash and often petulant, the animals have pecked at police cruisers, peered in business windows, chased snow plows and snarled traffic. At night, they roost high up in suburban treetops, only to return energized each day. After amassing more than 5,000 followers on the Hilliard Turkey Gang Facebook page, loyalists are sad that this avian odyssey may be ending. Others who prefer their birds on a plate with mashed potatoes and gravy are relieved. After Hilliard Police told The Dispatch this week that there were no plans to install warning signs at the bird's most frequent road crossings, a city official acknowledged that there were imminent plans to relocate them instead. Read more about Hilliard's wild turkeysHilliard Turkey Gang "We will not be putting up any signs," said Sgt. Suzanne Muraco. "It would be like any other animal crossing ... a goose, a dog or a deer." ODNR officials agree to relocate the turkeys But on Tuesday, David Ball, director of community relations, said that wildlife officers with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources had agreed to catch, relocate and release the animals at an undisclosed area. He said he had not been given a date or time. Earlier this year, one of three male birds was injured either in a mishap with a car or assault by a resident, depending on whom you ask. He is recovering from a leg injury at the Ohio Wildlife Center in Northwest Columbus. Feb. 21, 2023; Columbus, OH, U.S.; Mechanic Tucker "Tuck" Topping offers peanuts to two wild turkeys walk in the Goodyear Boyd's Hilliard Tire & Service parking lot next to Leap Road in Hilliard. The "Hilliard Turkey Gang" has a Facebook page with hundreds of fans but the city has concerns about the birds who stop traffic crossing Cemetery Road to roost in the evenings. A third turkey was injured is currently being cared for at the Ohio Wildlife Center. Mandatory Credit: Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch The animals, named after the city's three high schools: Davidson, Darby and Bradley, have been featured in numerous news reports replete with puns like having a leg up, being fowl intruders, gobbledygook or pecking order. But they've also taught motorists much about patience and kindness. "We as a community need to treat the turkeys as if it was your pet, and watch for it if its in the streets. Would you want somebody to hit your animal?" asked Tonya Moore, a frequent Facebook poster. Story continues "We could all benefit by practicing more patience," replied another Facebook follower. And another: "People around here just need to slow down and appreciate that we get to coexist with native species even though we have destroyed their habitat!" Related article:Wild turkeys have been disappearing from Ohio. State officials blame the weather At daybreak they meander down busy streets, staring back at gawkers, chasing motorists who honk and exploring back alleys and shops. A Facebook video purported to show an attempted abduction in the nearby Kroger parking lot. Witnesses said the assailants saw the birds as dinner. But even hunters have grown fond of the remaining pair. Feb. 21, 2023; Columbus, OH, U.S.; A wild turkey looks in the shop bay windows of Goodyear Boyd's Hilliard Tire & Service on Leap Road in Hilliard. The "Hilliard Turkey Gang" has a Facebook page with hundreds of fans but the city has concerns about the birds who stop traffic crossing Cemetery Road to roost in the evenings. A third turkey was injured is currently being cared for at the Ohio Wildlife Center. Mandatory Credit: Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch The turkeys have friends in Hilliard "Once you get used to seeing an animal regularly, they become more like a pet," said John Brown, who is engaged to Tonya Moore. The pair visit the area near Cemetery and Leap roads nightly. "They've got friends at Taco Bell," Brown said of the remaining pair. "They give them the stale taco chips." How and why the birds relocated at such a busy area is somewhat of a mystery. A short walk north on Leap Road at the Mulberry Apartments finds there are 15 fully stocked bird feeders, some with suet. Some say that's a natural draw. Others say that the bird-Samaritans who feed the animals bread, nuts and leftover sandwiches are responsible. Hilliard officials in January said that relocating the birds was "not an option," according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources because methods to capture them in remote areas "are often impractical or ineffective in suburban areas due to safety or disturbance." A Hilliard Facebook post ended with "remember that Hilliard is their home too." Feb. 21, 2023; Columbus, OH, U.S.; A wild turkeys is silhouetted in front of a sign at Grismer Tire & Auto Service on Leap Road offering a discount for customers who take a selfie with the birds. The "Hilliard Turkey Gang" has a Facebook page with hundreds of fans but the city has concerns about the birds who stop traffic crossing Cemetery Road to roost in the evenings. A third turkey was injured is currently being cared for at the Ohio Wildlife Center. Mandatory Credit: Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch But on Tuesday and employee of Grismer Tire & Auto Service, whose sign offers 10 dollars off if you present a selfie with the turkeys, said that an ODNR wildlife officer asked him to lead the turkey pair into his lobby where it would be easier to capture. That didn't happen. Mark Schuler, the assistant manager, said the officer said he'd return with backups and a new plan. Schuler has seen the birds peer in his front windows, parting only for customers. Same at the busy post office next door. "The good thing is that they chase the geese away," Schuler said. "We haven't had that problem for a long time." Once gone, many say there will be a void in the return to normal with only keepsake glasses and T-shirts with the "Turkey Gang" logo left as keepsakes. "It's very divisive," said Libby Gierach, head of the Hilliard Chamber of Commerce whose mantra is "Choose Hilliard," apparently not lost on the turkeys. More:Efforts underway to increase Ohio's game birds populations "I see them almost every day," said Phil Hinkelman, who owns a paper products company and mails packages frequently, sometimes bringing his young daughter. "People are very defensive about them, People will be upset," Hinkelman said. "When people try to shoo them out of the street, others stop them and say 'How dare you.'" "It'll ruffle some feathers," said Aaron Rhoades, who lives a half-mile west along Cemetery Road where the birds often roost in his towering maple. How does he know they're there? "They start talking to you," he said. Turkey loyalist Tonya Brown said when they're gone "I'll cry for a couple of days. But I'll be glad they're somewhere safe." dnarciso@gannett.com @DeanNarciso This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Adopted by Hilliard, ODNR to capture wild turkeys, relocate them Alec Baldwin has pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter, and waived his appearance in court on Friday. Baldwin remains free without having to post a bond. The actor was due to make his first court appearance on Friday via Google Meet, but chose instead to submit his not guilty plea through a court filing. More from Variety Baldwin faces up to 18 months in prison if convicted in connection with the death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. The Santa Fe D.A. alleges that he acted with criminal negligence when he fired a loaded weapon during preparation for a scene at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in October 2021. Baldwin has denied the allegations, and maintained that others were responsible for making sure the gun was not loaded. Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the films armorer, is due to make her first court appearance on Friday. Her attorney said that she will not waive the appearance. She is also accused of involuntary manslaughter for loading the gun and failing to make sure that all the rounds were dummies. On Monday, prosecutors dropped a firearm enhancement that could have tacked on an additional five years to each of their sentences. The enhancement allows an extra punishment for discharge of a weapon in the course of a felony, but did not apply to the Rust case because it took effect seven months after the shooting. Baldwin is set to head to Montana this spring to complete the film, which has been suspended since the shooting. The producers announced a settlement in October with Hutchins widower, Matthew, in which he will become an executive producer. The filmmakers have said that they intend to finish the film as a tribute to Hutchins final work, and are also cooperating with a documentary crew. Story continues The witness list in the case includes at least two people who are working on the film: actor Jenson Ackles and director Joel Souza. Under the terms of Baldwins release, he is allowed to talk to potential witnesses about things like completing the film and other related and unrelated business matters, but he is barred from discussing the shooting with them. The release terms also allow him to retain Matthew DelPiano as his agent. DelPiano is a producer on Rust. He may also discuss the case with fellow civil defendants, provided attorneys are present. Baldwin is barred from consuming alcohol and forbidden from possessing firearms or other dangerous weapons. The actor wrote in his memoir that he has been sober since 1985. Baldwin and Gutierrez Reed have a right to a preliminary hearing within 60 days of pleading not guilty. They are expected to appear in person for that hearing, at which prosecutors must put on enough evidence to convince a judge to order a trial. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. MEXICO CITY, February 23, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "a-" (Excellent) of Virginia Surety Seguros de Mexico S.A. de C.V. (VSSM) (Mexico City, Mexico). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is positive. AM Best also has affirmed the Mexico National Scale Rating (NSR) of "aaa.MX" (Exceptional) of VSSM. The outlook of the NSR is stable. The ratings reflect VSSMs balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The positive outlooks reflect the companys consistent reinforcement of its strong balance sheet strength while maintaining the strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalization on a consolidated basis, as measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), underpinned by positive bottom-line results in conjunction with strategies to become more efficient. The companys balance sheet strength has been assessed at a strong level since it began operations in Mexico. The ratings of VSSM also factor its recent affiliation and strategic importance to Assurant, Inc., the ultimate parent, as well as its risk-adjusted capitalization at the strongest level, as measured by BCAR. VSSM is a subsidiary of Virginia Surety Company, Inc., a general underwriting entity part of The Warranty Group, Inc. In 2017, The Warranty Group, Inc. completed a merger agreement with Assurant, Inc., with the purpose of combining insurance operations in various jurisdictions, including the operation in Mexico. VSSM started operations in Mexico in January 2017, underwriting premiums in the property/casualty segment, focused on the auto insurance line of business and other miscellaneous business lines. VSSM also underwrites specialty products, providing coverage for risks that usually are not underwritten in the traditional automobile insurance. In its miscellaneous lines of business, VSSM mainly offers coverage in case of theft or accidental damage for consumer technology products, such as cellphones, photographic and sound equipment and home appliances. VSSM places its coverage products through its network of business partners, which include manufacturers, distributors and retailers. Story continues VSSM operates under the same management as Assurant Danos Mexico, S.A. and Assurant Vida Mexico, S.A., subsidiaries of Assurant, Inc. These companies operate separately but do not compete against each other; moreover, VSSM takes advantage of the operational synergies derived from being part of the Assurant group. Factors that could lead to positive rating actions for VSSM include a sustained reinforcement of its strong balance sheet strength, underpinned by risk-adjusted capitalization at the strongest level, as measured by BCAR, and favorable results in operating performance. Conversely, negative rating actions could take place if operating performance substantially deteriorates, resulting in a decline in risk-adjusted capitalization to a level no longer supportive of the current ratings. Negative rating actions also could occur if the subsidiaries parental support or its strategic importance to the group deteriorates in AM Bests view. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Bests Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Bests Credit Ratings, Bests Performance Assessments, Bests Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Bests Ratings & Assessments. AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specializing in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright 2023 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230223005813/en/ Contacts Ricardo Rodriguez Financial Analyst +52 55 1102 2720, ext. 139 ricardo.rodriguez@ambest.com Salvador Smith Senior Financial Analyst +52 55 1102 2720 ext. 109 salvador.smith@ambest.com Christopher Sharkey Manager, Public Relations +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159 christopher.sharkey@ambest.com Al Slavin Senior Public Relations Specialist +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5098 al.slavin@ambest.com An agreement on international road transport was signed between Azerbaijan and the governments of the United Kingdom, Azernews reports citing a tweet by Rashad Nabiyev, Azerbaijans Minister of Digital Development and Transport Ministry. According to a tweet, Rashad Nabiyev, received Leo Dockerty, British Minister of State for Europe and North America who is on an official visit to Azerbaijan. R. Nabiyev noted that the agreement will create favorable conditions for the smooth movement of goods for the growth of mutual trade between the two countries. We met with the Minister of State for Europe, Leo Dockerty, Deputy Secretary of State for Parliamentary Relations at the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, who is visiting our country. We signed the "Agreement on international road transport between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". The agreement will create favorable conditions for the smooth movement of goods for the growth of mutual trade between the two countries, NEW YORK African, Caribbean and Black American magic resided on the fifth-floor showroom at Spring Studios during New York Fashion Week. Black in Fashion Council designers JEOFROI, Ellae Lisque, Madamette, TORLOWEI, Made By Ciriaco, Oak & Acorn, CISE, Sincerely Ria and Diotima sold opulence and visualized the importance of drawing back to your community with their collections. Many of the designers paid homage to their origins and the struggles faced across the diaspora to get recognition in the fashion industry. Here's a look at some of the brands and what they are doing in the design space. Diotima shares 'new vision' Diotima was created "with the intent to present a new vision of Caribbean style one that's not nostalgic, but that is rooted in the craft that's made in Jamaica specifically and the rest of the Caribbean and present it in a luxury setting," designer Rachel Scott says as Mr. Fingers' house beat "Mystery of Love" plays in the background. Best photos from New York Fashion Week 2023: See the NYFW runway looks, all the celebs New York aside, Milan, London and Paris have been the epicenter of fashion in today's world. Diotima's goal since its creation in 2021 is to "decenter the notion that luxury only comes from Europe." With all the brand's crochet coming from Jamaica and "a very strong dance hall influence," the garments open the door to seeing what the modern Caribbean has to offer. It's not just cruises. The intricacy in the mesh and crochet designs makes you want to settle into the sun and then head to a dimly lit bar in the evening wear pieces. JEOFROI shares wearable, upscale fashion In contrast to Diotima, JEOFROI presents luxury as over-the-top glam with sash feathers acting as the hem to garments, boleros with full-length gloves and fun structured tops. The collection is bringing back the drama in fashion, something founders Jeff Taylor and Roy Carey-Ware say they haven't seen in the industry in a few years. Story continues "We specialized in pret-a-couture, which is a combination of pret-a-porter and couture," Carey-Ware says. The ready-to-wear is upscaled by "adding different finishings to elevate the garment in a couture way." Madonna's daughter Lourdes Leon, Julia Fox hit hellish runway for Valentine's Day show If you're paying a high cost for couture, you should be able to wear an item frequently, JEOFROI founders stress. That's the reason the designers "love to offer separates for evening." Carey-Ware points out that the structured satin tops could be paired with jeans for the daytime or a matching skirt for a glamorous night out. Oak & Acorn, TOROLOWEI, CISE are giving back Oak & Acorn designer Miko Underwood is deconstructing the politics around fabrics and materials that are often credited to apparel brands created by white founders. "We pay homage to the untold legacy of Black, Indigenous and enslaved Africans' contributions to denim," Underwood says. "Denim didn't start with Levis or Wrangler it started on the plantations of the American South. Denim was first regarded as a uniform for the enslaved populations and deemed unfit for anyone else to wear." The Harlem-based brand sees denim as "a social, cultural and political icon throughout American history," which is further evident with the slave trade origins behind indigo. Indigenous people from Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas "understood how to use indigo for a medicinal purpose but also understood it in textile," Underwood says. Oak & Acorn's "Only For the Rebelles" is a sustainable denim brand that pays homage to the Indigenous Americans and enslaved Africans' origins of the fabric. Alexander Wang leads with love for first NYC fashion show post-sexual assault scandal Oak & Acorn isn't just honoring the past. Through purchase of their coveralls, "one of the first staple uniforms of the American farmer, the enslaved worker and the prisoner," the brand gives 20% of its proceeds to their social impact partner We Got Us Now, Inc. The non-profit bipartisan company provides support to children and young adults impacted by parental incarceration. Giving back to the community seems to be in the fabric of Black creators. Nigerian-based lounge and lingerie company TOROLOWEI partners with charities to help at-risk individuals and also provides young girls access to safe, reusable and hygienic sanitary products to fight period poverty. CISE, known for their "Protect Black Women" bags donated over $43,000 to "organizations and businesses that support the Black community." Black in Fashion Council designers all share the common thread of strengthening the diaspora whether it's through activism, imploring sustainable practices, empowerment from wardrobe or simply existing in the white-dominated space of fashion. It's what makes you smile by the time you exit the fifth-floor IMG showroom. Sergio Hudson: Kimora Lee Simmons cheers on lookalike daughter Aoki walking in NYFW show This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Black designers at fashion week show luxury, pay homage to diaspora Former friends of the Idaho university murder suspect Bryan Kohberger have spoken out about the accused killers struggle with heroin addiction. In an interview with the Idaho Statesman, high school friends and acquaintances of Mr Kohberger addressed previous reports that he was bullied because of his weight. They told the newspaper that Mr Kohberger found in marijuana a way to cope with the constant targeting that he suffered as a teenager before he escalated to heroin addiction. I feel he was looking for validation, and thats why he fell into that crowd, Casey Arntz, who went to the same high school as Mr Kohberger, told the Statesman. And honestly, its why he fell into the whole drug scene. Mr Kohberger stands accused of murdering University of Idaho students Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kerndole and Ethan Chapin in an off-campus rental home in Moscow on 13 November. The 28-year-old was arrested on 30 December at his family home in Pennsylvania, where he had been spending the holidays. He is now in custody at Latah County Jail in Idaho, awaiting his 26 June preliminary hearing for the quadruple slaying. Ms Arntz recalled an instance in which Mr Kohberger asked her to drive him to pick up needles for his aunt because his car had broken down. In reality, Mr Kohberger was buying drugs from a dealer, Ms Arntz claimed. He literally used me to get it, she added. I was freaking out and not happy I had heroin in my car and didnt even know. Around that time, Ms Arntzs brother Thomas Arntz says that Mr Kohberger had a personality shift. He lost weight, became dependent on drugs and would allegedly try to play mind games with Mr Arntz to make him feel inferior. He always wanted to be dominant physically and intellectually, Mr Arntz told the Statesman. He had to show that he was smarter and bigger than you, and try to put me down and make me feel insecure about myself. So much of that was a torment and I didnt want to be around him anymore. Story continues Mr Arntz added: It almost seemed to me he had a desire to be the alpha ... For no reason, hed try to grapple me and put me in headlocks when I didnt want to. He tried to portray it as just boys being boys, but thats not the way I ever took it. The addiction rapidly escalated, with Mr Kohberger withdrawing from college to go to rehab. Many of Mr Kohbergers friends have publicly spoken about his addiction following his surprise arrest. Among the revelations in the Statesman article is that Mr Kohberger developed an eating disorder that required hospitalisation and a tummy tuck surgery to remove excess skin it had been previously reported that he lost weight but not to that degree. Mr Kohberger was eventually able to resume his education. He studied criminology at DeSales University first as an undergraduate and then finishing his graduate studies in June 2022. While there, he studied under renowned forensic psychologist Katherine Ramsland who interviewed the BTK serial killer and co-wrote the book Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer with him. As a criminal justice PhD student at WSU, he lived just 15 minutes from the victims over the Idaho-Washington border in Pullman. He had moved there from Pennsylvania and began his studies there in August, having just completed his first semester before his arrest. Mr Kohberger was linked to the murders through DNA found on a knife sheath left behind at the scene, cellphone data and surveillance video of what prosecutors believe to be his white Hyundai Elantra leaving the scene after the slayings. One of the victims surviving roommates was also able to partially describe the killer to investigators after she came face to face with him in the aftermath of the murders. The murder weapon a fixed-blade knife was not recovered during the searches and it is still unclear where it may be. A Carlsbad man was sentenced in federal court to 14 years in prison after he exchanged sexually explicit text messages and photos with a nine-year-old Florida girl. Billy George West, 79, pleaded guilty Jan. 10 to a charge of enticement of a minor in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, and was sentenced for the crime on Feb. 21. In addition to this prison sentence, West was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015. More:Police search unsuccessfully for jet skier reported missing at Brantley Lake On April 30, 2021, West sent a photo of his genitals to the girl and received one of her genitals after investigators said he knowingly convinced her to, records show. West also admitted in court that he knew the girl was a minor, records show. Court records show that West was initially accused of the crimes during the investigation originating in Palm Beach, Florida. Police said detectives with the Carlsbad Police Department were contacted by investigators with the New Mexico Attorney Generals Office to review the case. More:Wanted Carlsbad man shot after wielding sledgehammer during police standoff at home Detectives in Florida originally spoke with the girls mother. She alleged her daughter had received messages from West who was using the alias Piper. The Piper account was linked to cellphone within Carlsbad city limits, records show, and Carlsbad police matched it to West. Screenshots of the exchange showed nude images of the girl and West, and sexually explicit text messages, read a criminal complaint, on the Discord online platform. West also solicited the girl to get her cellphone number, police said. He was arrested in June 2021, and initially charged with three felonies before reaching a plea deal in U.S. District Court. Upon his arrest, West was charged in Carlsbad Magistrate Court with criminal sexual communication with a child, child solicitation by electronic communication device (under 13) and causing or permitting a child to engage in sexual exploitation (child under 13). Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter. This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Carlsbad man gets 14 years for sexual texting with 9-year-old NEW YORK Pandoras senior vice president and creative director duo Francesco Terzo and A. Filippo Ficarelli are focusing on micro communities in key, influential cities to continue to drive excitement for the brand in this post-pandemic moment. The designers, who split their time between Milan and Pandoras home city of Copenhagen, were in New York City at the start of fashion week, where they hosted a dinner with actor and skateboarder Evan Mock. More from WWD Partnerships like the one with Mock speak to Terzo and Ficarellis new strategy for reaching engaged, fashion-forward consumers. While Pandora is among the worlds largest jewelry brands, the designers hope to maintain an air of community in the work that they do. We translate the idea of big business into an amplification of work with our communities. The more cultural relevancy we can express, the more we believe that people will be engaged with us or come into contact with us or discover us, Terzo said. Authenticity is something we can share with people. Evan is an example of that message, of bringing a community into our universe and then they can see you and how you can have a product engraved or personalized. It becomes yours. These are the tools we want to offer. An experience around modality is our point of view when it comes to jewelry, Ficarelli added. This pursuit of community is taking Terzo and Ficarelli on a world tour, post-COVID-19 lockdown. Prior to spending a week in New York, where they visited everything from downtown vintage stores to key malls in Queens, they had been in Thailand visiting Pandoras production facilities. Next up, the designers were scheduled to see Mexico City, as the brand looks to capture more market share in Latin America. We want to visit different parts of our community and be inspired. We are going to Latin America, which is very interesting. Mexico City is becoming an exciting space for us and they have new growth and a strong cultural point-of-view. We are planning to embrace art and music and culture there. We want to go experience it in person [to develop a deeper understanding], Ficarelli said. Story continues Terzo and Ficarelli are mindful of Pandoras status as one of the worlds largest jewelry brands. There is a sense of power but also a thought about how will we manage it? Its about having a point of view and using our power to inspire people and this is the reflection we had during the pandemic that we are ready to share with a larger audience, Ficarelli said. In an effort to ensure that its offering does not feel too mass market or boring, the designers are focusing on personalization as a means to capture consumers from different communities in countries across the globe. Pandora is in the process of installing engraving machines in each of its key stores across the world. We are trying to inspire people by giving them their own personal touch. Expression in jewelry is fundamental. So I think that the styling approach we have, the idea that everything can be personalized, gives the opportunity to reach a wide range of people, ages and communities, Ficarelli said. While the designers declined to reveal specific plans for any new collections this year, they said that customization will be an important component of a new collection involving lab-grown diamonds. Capturing a new generation, Terzo and Ficarelli are also focusing on gender-neutral collections for the future. This was first seen in their revamped version of the Pandora Me collection, released in 2020. After the pandemic, you have to be the brand people want to be a part of, Terzo said. Best of WWD Click here to read the full article. RIFLE, Colo. When Lenny Klinglesmith, a rancher from Meeker in northwest Colorado, took the microphone at a public wildlife commission meeting here this month, he endorsed the states draft plan to reintroduce wolves. Then, he laid out a doomsday vision. Since Colorado voters passed a referendum in 2020 to reintroduce wolves to the states rural Western Slope, opponents have feared that the restored predators will decimate elk herds and eat into profits from ranching a difficult business in the best of times. This Nov. 7, 2017, file photo, provided by the National Park Service, shows a gray wolf in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. This Nov. 7, 2017, file photo, provided by the National Park Service, shows a gray wolf in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. In the scenario Klinglesmith laid out at the meeting, each wolf would eat around 20 elk per year. Some of those elk would die from harsh winters or scarce forage regardless, so Klinglesmith guesstimated that wildlife officials might factor about 85% of those wolf kills into their calculations when issuing hunting permits. That back-of-the-napkin math translates to 1,700 fewer elk for hunters for every 100 wolves in the state. Since fewer than 1 in 5 hunters who buy an elk permit actually kill one in any given year, the state might have to cut back tags by about 10,500 for each 100 wolves. By the time Colorado reaches 1,000 wolves, a milestone that Klinglesmith expects to reach in a little more than a decade, lost revenue from a plunge in elk license sales could top $30 million. It could be severe, Klinglesmith said. This plan is going to fall on the next generation. Klinglesmiths conclusions could easily prove incorrect. High mortality is a fact of life for prey species like elk that evolved as food for predators like wolves. A lot of them, especially males and calves, can die without cratering the population as a whole. Wolves regulate themselves at some level, said Gary Skiba, wildlife manager for the San Juan Citizens Alliance, a group that backed the 2020 wolf referendum. These predictions of disaster are a worst-case scenario that has never happened anywhere else. Story continues Still, fears like Klinglesmiths have dogged wolf reintroduction since the federal government launched a recovery program for the Endangered Species Act-protected animals at Yellowstone National Park and in central Idaho in the mid-1990s. The main method that Republican-dominated states of the northern Rockies have used to calm those concerns is lethal control. Idaho, Montana and Wyoming wrested wolf management from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as soon as possible to implement hunting and trapping seasons and make it easier for farmers and ranchers to kill wolves that threaten livestock policies that have led to more than two decades of court battles with pro-wolf environmental and animal rights groups. But in Colorado, for the first time, a state led by Democrats will start releasing wolves with no plans to rely heavily on lethal control a hands-off policy that will turn the state into a testing ground to prove whether fears of elk and cattle decimation are well founded, or whether wolf advocates have been right all along to dismiss them. Colorado voters passed a referendum in 2020 by a margin of just under 2 percentage points mandating the reintroduction of wolves on the Western Slope of the continental divide. Urbanites generally favored the measure, while rural Coloradans largely opposed it. Since then, state wildlife officials have scrambled to build a plan that complies with state law, assuages rural Coloradans concerns, and dovetails with federal law. The state plans to release its first wolves this December. Nobody is going to get exactly what they want, acting Colorado Parks and Wildlife Director Heather Dugan told the crowd at the Rifle meeting. Were hoping to get a plan we can live with. No one doubts wolves will thrive here. With public land accounting for 43% of Colorado, including 3.7 million acres of federal wilderness, wolves will have ample room to roam. And with the countrys largest elk herd, the canine apex predators will have plenty to eat. The question now looming over those who will have to live and work alongside the restored predators is how much its going to cost them. Shouldering The Costs Ranchers and hunting outfitters packed an auditorium at Colorado Mountain College in Rifle, a small town in northwest Colorado, to air their grievances. One referred to wolves as Satan. A young woman who had recently moved here from Fairbanks, Alaska, worried that locals wouldnt know how to deal with predators with a pack mentality. Virtually all of them appeared to think that supporters had vastly underestimated costs to ranchers, the hunting industry and the states own parks and wildlife division. Warren Roberts, a sheep rancher, watches a public comment meeting on the state's wolf reintroduction plan in Rifle, Colorado, on Feb. 7. Warren Roberts, a sheep rancher, watches a public comment meeting on the state's wolf reintroduction plan in Rifle, Colorado, on Feb. 7. The biggest and most organized industry that wolves will affect is ranching, a major enterprise across the states western half, where cattle and sheep graze on both private and public ground. The draft plan commits the state to pay fair-market value for livestock, working dogs and horses killed by wolves, with a yet-to-be-finalized cap that the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission has currently slated at $15,000 per head. Those costs could stack up quickly in a state that plans to manage wolves with a light hand. If the wolf population were to reach 1,000 wolves, compensation costs could run up to $100,000 in a single night, according to Ken Spann, a member of the Gunnison County Stockgrowers Association. These costs were mandated by the people of the state of Colorado, and they should be paid for by the people of Colorado, Spann said at the meeting. The added labor cost of guarding livestock from wolves also threatens to eat into ranchers bottom lines. Spending all night in the snow protecting calving cows thats a real cost, Spann said. Hunting outfitters are far more exposed. Wolves dont have to attack elk to upend their businesses. A rumor that wolves have made their way into a permitted hunting area is enough to scare off clients. The draft plan doesnt compensate outfitters for business losses, even though hunting is a major part of rural Colorados economy, propping up an off-season tourism industry catering to moneyed out-of-staters. Many ranchers run hunting outfits on the side to add a second income stream to a tough business. The wolves coming to Colorado are really falling on our backs to pay for, outfitter Curtis Ellgen told the crowd at the Rifle meeting. Are you willing to give up your livelihood to make this happen? Or just mine and those of people like me? Colorado Parks and Wildlife will also need to hire more damage specialists to work on wolves exclusively, along with new district managers in areas that emerge as wolf hot spots, according to Justin Rutter, CPWs assistant director of financial capital services. And wolves will have some impact on Colorados elk herd of 300,000 animals North Americas largest by far. But the math almost certainly wont work out as neatly in practice as Klinglesmiths gloomy estimate suggests. Several studies have shown that wolves can decimate an elk herd in the years following reintroduction. But the effect is usually specific to a small site and often short-lived possibly indicating that elk need time to adjust to the new danger. Elk numbers in Idaho dipped after wolves returned to the state in the late 1990s, but eventually recovered, even as the wolf population topped 1,500. The annual hunter kill currently stands well above long-term averages, according to Idaho Fish and Game spokesman Roger Phillips. And although wolves do prefer to eat elk, they tend to target calves and older females. That bias toward culling older and weaker animals can help improve overall herd health. It also means wolves dont directly compete with most hunters, who typically go after mature males with large antlers. Wolves could, however, combine with other trends to make a major dent in the states elk herds. For example, the calf survival rate in southwest Colorado has taken a nosedive in recent years, partly due to prolonged drought. And all over the state, urban sprawl and rural subdivisions are swallowing up the lower-elevation mountain valleys that elk rely on to survive the winter months. Regardless of whether wolves tip elk numbers into the chasm envisioned by Klinglesmith, a serious drop in numbers and therefore decreased hunting permits could blow a major hole in CPWs budget. Elk licenses for nonresidents cost $760 each. Wolves will have to be established for an extended period before the state can evaluate their effect on hunting permits, CPW spokesman Travis Duncan wrote in an email. Still, wolf advocates view most of these concerns as overblown. And most prioritize what they see as correcting the historical wrong of exterminating wolves over maintaining good hunting and protecting livestock. Americas wildlife has been pillaged for profit and greed for hundreds of years, wolf advocate Rainer Gerbatschtold the crowd at the meeting in Rifle. Success really requires that all of nature receive the status of legal persons. At Odds Over Lethal Control The biggest divide between rural and urban Coloradans when it comes to wolves remains lethal control. The draft planissued by CPW two months ago initially allows only for the targeted killing of specific wolves suspected of preying on livestock. But once wolf numbers in Colorado top 150 for two years in a row or 200 in a single year, CPW would no longer consider them endangered under state law. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service used a similar benchmark to remove Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in Idaho and Montana. That benchmark, which Colorado could hit within a few years, opens the door to targeted state killing of wolves to avoid letting elk herds collapse. And when wolf numbers reach an unspecified stable and growing population known as phase 4, state wildlife officials envision open a recreational wolf hunting season. Allowing hunters to kill wolves is one of the most common ways that wildlife officials manage their numbers. The fact that the draft plan leaves that possibility open is one reason why ranchers like Klinglesmith have thrown their support behind it, even though they see wolves as an existential threat to their way of life. If you pull out phase 4, its going to be devastating, Moffat County Commissioner Tony Bohrer told the crowd in Rifle. Please dont allow political pressure to burn bridges that have taken years to build between CPW, sportsmen and livestock producers. But the commission appeared divided on the question of whether or how to include phase 4. A parade of advocates at an earlier meeting in Colorado Springs heaped scorn on the idea of trophy hunting wolves for sport. Some commissioners noted that the law implementing the wolf reintroduction defines wolves as a nongame species. That probably means that only the Democrat-dominated legislature could open a hunting season for them, giving the question a political dimension. Most wolf backers think thats a good thing. Erik Molvar, executive director of the Western Watersheds Project, told the crowd that both elk populations and hunter success have remained stable in Idaho and Montana, the states outside of Alaska where gray wolf numbers are highest. And studies showed a three-decade attempt to boost moose populations by shooting wolves from aircraft had failed to work. Adam Gall feels less confident. As a wildlife biologist, he worked for the Nez Perce Tribe to help reintroduce wolves in Idaho in the early 2000s. Not long after he left his job in 2005, wolves met their recovery goals. But pro-wolf groups repeatedly challenged Idahos attempts to take over management from the federal government, pushing back state management for years. That just created a pressure cooker politically, and it finally exploded, Gall said. Thats why youre seeing the stuff youre seeing up north now you can hunt at night, snare them things that in my opinion fly in the face of the North American model [of wildlife management]. Now a hunting guide in Colorado, Gall knows that news of wolves prowling the drainages he hunts could torpedo his business. But the future of wolves in the state, he says, hinges on social tolerance, which in turn requires letting wildlife officials manage all animals to reduce conflicts. If the state never has to issue tags to hunt wolves because rural Colorado manages to coexist peacefully with them, that would be awesome, Gall said. But taking the option off the table altogether would be a mistake. For better or worse, wolves are a social issue, Gall said. Theyre not a biological one. Related... The Daily Pressed owner Chris Sedlock in front of his new South Main Street establishment in Akron. Restaurateur Chris Sedlock is bringing a taste of Europe to downtown Akron with his new bistro and cocktail lounge, The Daily Pressed. The restaurant, which had its grand opening Tuesday, features a menu inspired by Sedlock's travels through Southern Italy. Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan, who said the restaurant opening was part of the revitalization of downtown, led the early afternoon ribbon-cutting ceremony. The Daily Pressed is currently offering a small brunch menu through mid-afternoon and speakeasy-style cocktails through the evening, with a dinner menu to be added soon. Owner Sedlock, 34, said the name The Daily Pressed has multiple meanings, starting with the fact that everything, including all of the juices, syrups and sours, are made in-house daily. "The concept is you can get a French press coffee, you can get pressed juices, you can get a pressed sandwich and then at night, you can get a vodka press," said Sedlock, the latter referring to a 1930s drink made with vodka, club soda and lemon-lime soda that he plans to add to the menu. "The whole premise now is coffee and cocktails." An Empress gin cocktail and a signature breakfast sandwich at the opening of The Daily Pressed on South Main Street in downtown Akron. 'Your business is who you are' The Daily Pressed is located at 323 S. Main St., in a 3,000-square-foot space that housed Sedlock's previous business, the bar and hookah lounge Karma Kafe, from 2010 to early 2022. He opened that business, which drew a college crowd, when he was 22. The new restaurant is in the 1877 Kaiser Building owned by Tony Troppe. It's next door to Twisted Tomato Pizzeria, which Sedlock co-owns. The two businesses are connected by a short hall and share bathrooms. Sedlock is going back to his Italian roots with The Daily Pressed: His mother Frances Lomelo's family is from Bari in southern Italy, where he's spent a lot of time. "You know what I like more than being around college kids? Coffee," Sedlock said. "Your business is who you are." Local chefs Christopher and Ernie Cornelius, who are brothers, helped launch The Daily Pressed, which has seating for 100. Sous chef Christopher Cornelius is running the kitchen while head chef Ernie, who helped Sedlock develop the menu, will come in once a week on Tuesdays to do a chef's specialty. Story continues Ernie Cornelius, previously a chef at DBA: Dante Boccuzzi Akron as well as a co-owner of the former Sunrise Diner in Firestone Park, is now a cook at Restaurant Dante in Cleveland's Tremont area. Christopher most recently worked at Pick's at Portage Lakes. Brunch at The Daily Pressed runs 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. The restaurant closes from 3 to 5 p.m. and reopens for the evening, which currently includes appetizers, from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. "Our goal is to bring a good brunch back to downtown Akron," Sedlock said. The brunch menu includes a daily pressed signature panini; turkey, bacon and swiss sandwich; chilled grain bowl with quinoa; four salad choices; brioche French toast and several varieties of egg and sausage sandwiches. Appetizers are southern European-style, including marinated olives with house-marinated mozzarella cheese, a Boursin and bruschetta bake and roasted seasonal vegetables with dipping sauces. The Daily Pressed employees get ready for the ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday. Daily Pressed interior reflects speakeasy style Inside The Daily Pressed, a 33-foot white granite bar serves coffee on one side and cocktails on the other. At the restaurant's back right corner is a wine bar with six seats. Sedlock, who has been working on the new restaurant for the last eight months, renovated the space in the style of an elegant 1930s speakeasy, building around the style of the white granite as well as steel pendant and chandelier lighting. The space includes a stage, where live music nights are expected to start next month. The restaurant has an extensive speakeasy-style cocktail menu, from gimlets, sazeracs and aperol spritzes to The Daily Pressed, which features an espresso shot, cognac, contreau, chocolate bitters, fresh-squeezed orange juice and a coffee bean garnish. The house cocktail menu was created by Mike Antonace, one of the bar managers. Restaurateur Sedlock, who is a Tallmadge resident, said a dinner menu will be coming in the next few weeks. His mother has been in The Daily Pressed kitchen tweaking recipes that Sedlock grew up with, including an Italian burger. "It's a big giant meatball flattened into a burger," Sedlock said. In the next couple months, Sedlock also expects to open a coffee drive-thru on the north side of the restaurant, the only coffee drive-thru downtown. It will open at 7 a.m., along with the restaurant. Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com. Details Restaurant: The Daily Pressed Where: 323 S. Main St., Akron Hours: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily Phone: 330-535-4000 Information: www.thedailypressed.com, The Daily Pressed on Facebook and the_daily_pressed on Instagram This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: The Daily Pressed in downtown Akron focuses on coffee, cocktails A buzz title at Berlinale Series and one of Disney+s early big plays in Southern Europe, U.K.-Italian mafia series The Good Mothers walked off on Wednesday night with the Berlin Festivals inaugural Berlinale Series Award. A large virtue of the series is to come in at the mafia from a novel angle: a real story of women who dare to defy the Italian mob. More from Variety The title forms part of the first European slate by new Disney+ international streaming service Star. It tells how bosses at the the Calabrian mob were targeted by a female prosecutor thanks to the collaboration of three women inside the Ndrangheta organized crime clan. The Good Mothers brings large production pedigree to the table both from the U.K. and Italy, being produced by Juliette Howell, Tessa Ross and Harriet Spencer for Londons House Productions, which originated the project, and by Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Gangarossa for Romes Wildside, a Fremantle company. Wildsides credits include My Brilliant Friend, Paolo Sorrentinos The New Pope and Luca Guadagninos We Are Who We Are. Based on a book by U.K.-based journalist Alex Perry and adapted for the screen by Stephen Butchard (Bagdad Central, The Last Kingdom), the series is lead-directed by the U.K.s Julian Jarrold (The Crown) and by emerging Italian director Elisa Amoruso (Chiara Ferragni: Unposted). Former Yes Studios boss Danna Stern, Moonlight star Andre Holland and Danish writer Mette Heeno, behind DR smash hit Carmen Curlers comprised the Awards jury. Story continues The Good Mothers captured us with its multilayered characters that have been treated with care and allowed to evolve before our very eyes. We were moved, anxious and at times, breathless, said Stern. This project has been so special to us. These women existed, some of them are still with us, some unfortunately are not. This award will give them a voice, because they have been so brave. Probably it will help us to fight this local mafia too, one that doesnt just exist in Italy, said Amoruso. Also scoring on Wednesday night, Kerren Lumer-Klabbers The Architect, a Viaplay title from Nordisk Film Production, took a special mention for its story of an Oslo architect, Julie, who comes up with the idea of convert underground car parks into residential buildings. By placing The Architect in the future, we have the freedom to enhance and enlarge trends in our society today, Lumer-Klabbers told Variety. The jury praised the show as being innovative, distinct, efficient. Launched by the Berlin Festival and backed by Deadline Hollywood, the first Berlinale Series Award was seen, like the section itself at one of the biggest festivals in the world, as a further step towards artistic recognition for drama series. It feels like we have arrived, Dana Stern noted. I speak for the television industry at large. To be given the opportunity to showcase your work on such a prestigious stage, an international festival at this level, is phenomenal and really groundbreaking. I hope its just the start. The jurors said they were blown away by the depth and diversity of the inaugural competition. For real: When I say it wasnt easy, it wasnt easy. The conversation was robust, it was dynamic. Its a testament to the work you did, laughed Holland. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. FILE PHOTO: As an oil boom unfolds, Guyana lacks capacity to absorb it By Sabrina Valle HOUSTON (Reuters) -Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) on Wednesday warned in a securities filing of potential risks to its Kazakhstan oil operations, which provided $2.5 billion in earnings last year. Threats to Kazakhstan oil exports have been in the spotlight since Moscow invaded Ukraine a year ago this week. Exxon and Chevron are major holders in the Central Asia country's oil production and related export pipeline. Kazakhstan shares a 4,750 mile (7,644 km) border with Russia and its oil exports travel mainly through a Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) line through Russia and lands at a Russian Black Sea export terminal. Any closure of the CPC pipeline or terminal would shut in more than 1% of global oil supply and cost its producers billions of dollars in lost income. Exxon said its stake in Kazak oil fields produced 246,000 barrels of oil and gas per day last year. That oil provided after-tax earnings of about $2.5 billion, the filing said. Exxon "could experience a loss of cash flows of uncertain duration from its operations in Kazakhstan," the filing said, if oil exports through the CPC pipeline are "disrupted, curtailed, temporarily suspended." The U.S. oil major owns a 25% interest in the Chevron-led Tengizchevroil (TCO) oil production joint venture, which controls the Tengiz and Korolev oil fields in Kazakhstan, and a 16.8% working interest in the Kashagan field. Chevron produces around 380,000 bpd, or more than 12% of its total output from Kazakhstan. The company aims to boost total output by 40% at Kazakhstan's largest field Tengiz, to around 1 million bpd. Last month, Chevron finance chief Pierre Breber said its 2022 Kazak production lost less than 10,000 barrels a day on average from temporary outages. "We have risks in our business, everywhere. And of course, we manage those risks," Breber said. "I can't predict the future but CPC was very reliable in 2022." Story continues London-based Shell PLC and Italy's Eni also have stakes in the CPC. Exxon's filing showed its global workforce fell by 1,000 last year to 62,000 employees as it continued to cut costs and boost shareholder returns. It was the third year in a row Exxon reduced its workforce. (Reporting by Sabrina Valle; Editing by Stephen Coates) The flexible model comes after Fiji dropped all of its COVID-19 protocols. For travelers looking to explore the more than 300 islands of Fiji, the journey just got a little easier, and potentially cheaper. Beginning March 3, Fiji Airways will roll-out new "unbundled" airfares as part of their new Fly Your Way program. The different fare tiers include Lite, Value, Comfort, and Plus. Each tier has a variety of options (such as Lite only includes 1 carry-on bag, where Plus includes two checked bags, and Priority Boarding + Baggage). The unbundling is similar to what many United States domestic carriers have rolled out under the name of Basic Economy. Jay Topping/Getty Images Tickets purchased prior to March 3 will be categorized as Value. Our customers have various needs when they travel whether for business or leisure, and with this new concept, we give them the ability to choose the product that best suits them. said Andre Viljoen, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer for Fiji Airways in a statement. Fiji Airways is currently advertising flights from Los Angeles to Fiji for $899 roundtrip. Earlier this month, Fiji dropped all remaining COVID-19 restrictions, according to its tourism board. Travelers arriving from the United States will no longer have to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination and travel insurance. Fiji has already seen a rise in visitors for 2023. The tourism department has shared that there was an 11% increase in travelers from North America in January, and the average room rate for the month was $481. The government of Fiji previously shared that the country welcomed over 894,389 travelers in 2019. Fiji is recognized as a top travel destination for their 333 islands that have beautiful beaches, surfing, diving, and hiking. T+L has previously spotlighted some of the top hotels and destinations within Fiji to explore. For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on Travel & Leisure. HANOI, Vietnam, February 23, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vietnams leading technology firm, FPT Software, today announces its acquisition of Intertec Internationals (Intertec) IT Services division, to further strengthen its North American nearshore delivery capabilities. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005840/en/ FPT Softwares Board of Management paid a visit to Intertec International on February 19, 2023 (Photo: Business Wire) Following the success of an initial investment in Intertec in 2021, this majority investment enables FPT Software and Intertec to provide its customers with a seamless experience by leveraging both organizations' strengths. Intertec Engineering, the companys Technical Services division focused on aerospace and government, will remain an independent entity. This investment enables FPT Software to further address increasing demands for Agile software engineering and bridge the time zone difference. The Vietnamese IT firm will continue to leverage and build upon Intertecs delivery centers and operational experience in Costa Rica, Colombia, and Mexico. "Seeing the synergies and success of our relationship with Intertec made this deal a natural next step," said FPT Americas Chief Executive Officer Dang Tran Phuong. "We are committed to providing exceptional services to our customers and have listened to their needs for a mix of offshore, nearshore and onsite delivery models to help them realize their speed-to-market goals and provide 24/7 support." As an FPT Software company, Intertec customers will find a trusted partner providing greater scale and global delivery options through FPT Softwares extensive network of 27,000 employees in 29 countries. Customers will also have access to enhanced service offerings, including Data, Cloud, Digital platforms, RPA, AI, IoT, Business Applications, Application Services, Managed Services, and more. Story continues "We have worked with FPT for several years and we look forward to taking our relationship to the next level," said Intertec Internationals CEO Rickard Hedeby. "By combining forces, we can provide greater value to our customers and expand career opportunities for our employees." "Each M&A deal bears good fruit to FPT. We expect this acquisition to resonate greatly with FPT's goal of expanding business operations globally, especially in the English-speaking markets," shared FPT Corporation Chairman Dr Truong Gia Binh. The move is a part of FPT Software's global growth strategy and will boost its presence in the Americas. With this investment, the company gains nearly 300 employees and 4 offices. In the next two years, FPT Software sets its sight on growing its headcount in the Latin American region to 1,000. About FPT Software FPT Software is a global technology and IT services provider headquartered in Vietnam, with more than $803 million in revenue and 27,000 employees in 29 countries. As a pioneer in digital transformation, the company delivers world-class services in Smart factories, Digital platforms, RPA, AI, IoT, Cloud, AR/VR, BPO, and more. It has served 1000+ customers worldwide, a hundred of which are Fortune Global 500 companies in Automotive, Banking and Finance, Logistics & Transportation, Utilities, and more. For further information, please visit https://www.fpt-software.com About Intertec International Intertec International is an IT & Technical Services company founded in 2002, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, with offices across the US, UK, and Nearshore Technology Centers in Costa Rica, Colombia and Mexico. Intertec International provides technology solutions and services to Fortune 500 and mid-size companies in a variety of vertical markets. Managing challenging industry-specific IT programs is one of Intertecs core competencies. Its organizational flexibility allows it to offer customized solutions to new industries in our portfolio by using proven methodologies for initiating and implementing programs. Intertecs experience and subject matter expertise include industries such as banking, financial services, insurance, CPG, logistics, and technology. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005840/en/ Contacts Media Mai Duong (Ms.) FPT Software PR Manager Email: MCP.PR@fsoft.com.vn Website: https://www.fpt-software.com/newsroom/ For over a week, a Chinese surveillance balloon was permitted to float across the territorial U.S. and linger over important military installations. It was first detected on Jan 28 over the Aleutian Islands. The balloon traversed Alaska, parts of Canada, re-entered the U.S. in Idaho and passed over a swath of the U.S. until it was shot down off South Carolinas coast on Feb 4. The balloon was 200 feet tall and had a payload weighing more than 2,000 pounds. President Bidens justification for the long delay in shooting it down was the risk of falling debris. The White House kept its knowledge of the balloon secret until it was spotted by civilians on the ground in Billings, Montana, making disclosure unavoidable. Multiple eyewitness reports and local newspaper photos documented the Chinese spy balloon hovering in place on Feb 1 and 2. Billings, Montana is the home to Malmstrom Air Force Bases 341st missile wing and site of Minuteman III missile silos. The first public acknowledgement of the spy balloon came from the Pentagon late on Feb 3, saying it was expected to remain over U.S. airspace for a few days. Would the Biden administration have told the American public about the balloon if it hadnt been seen by civilians in Billings? Biden came in for blistering bipartisan criticism for the delay in taking action. I dont want a damn balloon going across the United States when we could have taken it down over the Aleutian Islands, Montanas Democratic Senator Jon Tester said. An angry Lisa Murkowski, Alaskas Republican Senator, demanded to know why the Chinese spy balloon wasnt shot down over Alaska. We need to be clear and unequivocal that we dont tolerate this, period, Murkowski fumed. This incident is only the latest in a series of increasingly brazen violations of U.S. sovereignty. Disturbingly, the Pentagon admitted at least four Chinese spy balloons had previously entered U.S. airspace undetected at the time. Three of the incidents occurred during the Trump administration, and one other during the Biden administration, the Pentagon said. The Trump-era balloon intrusions were discovered only recently after the fact from information gathered by the intelligence community. Last February, a high-altitude balloon flew near the Hawaiian island of Kauai, the site of a missile test range and other military facilities, but the U.S. opted not to shoot it down. An undetected balloon would be able to deliver a nuclear explosive that could detonate above the ground and cripple the U.S. electrical grid. China has ramped up its overall surveillance efforts in recent years, including operating a fleet of high altitude balloons on five continents. Bidens tardy response to the Chinese spy balloon was a little trigger happy, as House Intelligence Committee Chair Rep. Mike Turner put it. Biden ordered the shootdown of three other mysterious objects in three days over Alaska, Canada and Lake Huron out of an abundance of caution. The objects were likely balloons connected to private companies or scientific research. They were taken down by Sidewinder missiles that cost over $400,000 each, with one of the objects shot down reportedly being a $12 hobby balloon. Chinese officials mocked the U.S. response and Chinas defense minister refused to answer a crisis line call from Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. FBI Director Christopher Ray says Chinese intelligence steals staggering amounts of information in the U.S. Add to this the building of military bases in the South China Sea, the takeover of Hong Kong, fighter jets flying over Taiwan, whose capture is an explicit Chinese goal, make China our malign adversary. In belated White House remarks on Feb 16, Biden offered little of substance on Chinas audacious spy mission. Appearing weak, he shuffled off after eight minutes without taking questions. Biden needs to wake-up from his fog that China is merely our benign competitor. FRAMINGHAM As part of a strategy to increase affordable housing options in the city, Framingham has officially raised the minimum percentage of affordable housing units on future multi-unit housing proposals from 10% to 13%. The measure was approved during last week's City Council meeting, and finalizes a long-term goal of Planning Director Sarkis Sarkisian and Mayor Charlie Sisitsky's administration. The new standard means that going forward, all multi-unit housing proposals brought before the city must have a minimum of 13% of their units be classified as affordable. "We've increased the affordability requirement for housing to 13%," Sarkisian said. "Through the mayor and the council and their leadership, what we are trying to do is meet that demand (for affordable housing)." Earlier:Framingham officials mull 15% affordable housing minimum for multi-unit proposals Affordable housing is classified by Massachusetts state law as housing options that are open only to residents who earn less than 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), which is calculated annually by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In Framingham, a single-person household that earns $67,400 or less annually is eligible for affordable housing. That number rises to $77,000 for two-person households, $86,650 for three-person households and $96,250 for four-person households. In Massachusetts, communities that have less than 10% of their housing stock designated as affordable are subject to so-called 40B projects housing developments that can be built by right, with little local control. Last August, Framingham reported that 10.7% of its housing stock was considered affordable, narrowly above the statewide threshold. The move to increase the city's minimum requirement was made in part to ensure it remains comfortably above the 10% threshold. Commuter housing: New zoning rules could increase local housing stock near MBTA stops by 22% Story continues In addition, the new bylaw states that at least 2% of Framingham's housing units must be open to those whose earnings are below 60% of AMI, which is sometimes classified as "very" affordable housing. "A lot of cities and towns are looking at how they can reach out to people who are below the 80% AMI," Sarkisian said. "One of the ways is through changing the bylaws. The 60% are the folks making less than $55,000, and those are the folks people who work in restaurants, teachers who are just starting out, first responders those are the people we are trying to meet." Sarkisian said the city originally sought to raise its minimum affordable housing requirement to 15%, but later determined that 13%, with the 2% mandate for very affordable housing, was a compromise that allowed Framingham to remain attractive to developers. Activity resumes: With Framingham apartment moratorium ended, 176-unit complex is proposed "Originally we were talking around 15%, but we had a discussion and this is fair compromise," Sarkisian said. "There was concern that if we went too high too fast, we would stop development. We did a survey of what other cities and towns have done. We've had some very successful projects in Framingham, and we want to continue that success, and this is a major step forward for affordable housing." The change comes as new projects will likely soon be proposed to accommodate a new state zoning law that requires allowing high-density housing projects by right in areas near MBTA stops. Sarkisian said Framingham has adopted the changes necessary to permit the required number of housing units in and around the MBTA, and that any future project must meet the 13% requirement. "The reason for doing this is to capture more affordable units, with some of the larger projects that may be coming through for approval," Sarkisian said. This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Framingham City Council approves higher affordable housing requirement A Minnesota state senator is getting criticized after a speech where he claimed the states Republican Party isnt bigoted and included a slur against Polish people in the process. During a hearing about potential legislation that would allow undocumented immigrants to get ID cards and Class D drivers licenses, Sen. Mark Johnson (R), the Senate Minority Leader, argued that GOP lawmakers had good-faith objections to the bill, according to the Independent. There are holes in this bill, Johnson said, while insisting he wasnt attacking any particular demographic groups. Were not calling groups any names. What were saying is we need to protect Minnesotans. However, he may have hurt his cause with his next statement. Doesnt matter what your race, your color, your creed, Norwegian, Polack, Somalian, you name it. But folks, we have concerns about this and yet when we bring those concerns up on this floor, tonight we were called white national racists, he said. Minnesota House Minority Leader Mark Johnson (R), while arguing that Republicans aren't bigoted, uses a derogatory term for Polish people: "We are not calling groups any names ... It doesn't matter what your race, color, your creed. Norwegian, Polack, Somali, you name it." pic.twitter.com/9dvlxXOcCn Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) February 23, 2023 For those who might be unaware, Polack has been considered a derogatory term for Polish people for decades, and was most famously spouted by Archie Bunker, a bigoted character in the 1970s sitcom All in the Family. In addition, some media have reported that Johnson may have used the word Somalian in his speech, though its not conclusive. The term Somalian, while not necessarily a slur, is incorrect, as the term Somali is preferred. Story continues Of course, many Twitter users found it ironic that a GOP politician used a slur in a speech claiming his party isnt bigoted. Fellow Minnesota state Sen. Andy Smith (D) said Johnsons remarks were telling. After using a derogatory term for Polish people, whats the next word association: Somali, one of the largest groups of color in our state. Telling. https://t.co/EDHj6fwG4E Rep. Andy Smith (@AndySmithMN) February 23, 2023 Others chimed in. How to declare you're dumber than a Trash Bag without using those words. https://t.co/J9KbJQDQVW Charles Adler (@charlesadler) February 23, 2023 He called polish people Polacks while saying hes not bigoted. Rex Chapman (@RexChapman) February 23, 2023 He doesn't even know Polack is a derogatory term. They're all Archie Bunkers, without the charm. Robert Lusetich (@RobertLusetich) February 23, 2023 A conservative trying to show he's open-minded. https://t.co/Z8E6M3cRbR Doug Aoki (@Nantanreikan) February 23, 2023 HuffPost reached out to Johnson for comment, but no one immediately responded. Related... Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) touched a nerve across the political spectrum this week with her call for a national divorce that echoed the nations history surrounding secessionism. Greenes call for the U.S. to be split into two nations of red and blue states has infuriated members of both parties, while giving Republicans an unwanted headache. While Greene is known for incendiary rhetoric sure to provoke Democrats and Republicans alike, her words take on new importance now that she is a key ally of Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and serves on the House Homeland Security Committee. She also has her eyes on a possible vice presidential bid on a ticket led by former President Trump. That is the biggest change. There have absolutely always been gadflies in both parties who were extremists who were kind of going places that no one was comfortable with, Brian Rosenwald, a political historian at the University of Pennsylvania, said. Having an extremist in Congress is not new. Having someone willing to say insane and incendiary things [is] not really new. What I think is new is that heres someone saying these things and doing these things and being embraced by leadership. Greene made similar statements in late 2021, and her latest pitch to divide the nation by political ideology came on Presidents Day. She followed it up on Tuesday with an extensive Twitter thread expanding on her reasoning. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greenes comments on a national divorce is not the first time she has called on the country to be divided by political beliefs. (Greg Nash) Others in her party have been notably silent on the issue. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) labeled the idea evil, and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) tweeted that Secession is unconstitutional. No member of Congress should advocate secession, Marjorie. GOP governor says Greenes call for a national divorce is evil But neither House GOP leadership nor rank-and-file Republicans in the lower chamber have responded. Story continues Why are so many in the GOP not responding to Greene? House Republicans A majority of House Republicans have not responded to Majorie Taylor Greenes call for the U.S. to be split into two nations of red and blue states. (Greg Nash) Multiple GOP strategists told The Hill that some on the right are staying quiet because they believe Greenes comments were meant to get a reaction and help her fundraise. She wants you to cover it. She wants the MSNBC love so she can raise money off it. She wants people talking about it, one GOP operative told The Hill. A second GOP strategist echoed that thought, adding her comment doesnt make much sense no matter how you slice it given her home state. Does she forget her state is kind of blue and has two Democratic senators? a GOP operative involved in House races said. I think its a lot of people just writing it off and being like oh this is the shit she says. Sounds like wishful thinking, the operative said. Shes just trying to stir the pot a bit, and Im sure shell raise some money on it. But Rosenwald says those dismissing Greenes comments should do so at their own peril, especially in a party that has in recent years seen outsiders rise up and become prominent parts of the party apparatus. This is the problem with how things get normalized. Part of the problem the Republican Party has had for probably 40-plus years is they roll their eyes at the fringe of the party, Rosenwald said. These are the people who are getting more and more popular with their base and these are the people that are getting the attention and sort of setting the agenda. Cheney fires back at Greenes call for national divorce Democrats slam lack of response to Greenes rhetoric Vice President Harris speaks with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) Democrats have slammed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other House Republicans lack of response to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greenes national divorce comments. (Greg Nash) Democrats have pounced on Greenes comments, eager to tie her to McCarthy and the greater GOP. Kevin McCarthys shameful silence on Marjorie Taylor Greenes divisive calls for secession of states sends a dangerous message to conspiracy theorists and anarchists, Tommy Garcia, a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesman, said in a statement. Apparently, upholding and defending the Constitution is merely a suggestion to the House Republican party. Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison tweeted, Kev, Call your caucus McCarthys office did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. As the 2024 cycle kicks into gear, the larger concern for Republicans is that Democrats can use Greenes comments in advertisements to pan the entire party. Distancing themselves from Sen. Rick Scotts (R-Fla.) call to sunset all federal legislation after five years didnt protect other Republicans from Democratic attacks that the GOP was trying to cut Social Security and Medicare. Democrats embrace Rick Scott as midterm boogeyman Its easy to see Democrats latching onto some of her comments and using it as a way to define the rest of the Republican Party, a third GOP operative told The Hill. Democrats will be anxious to use a lot of this stuff to define us as the party that has lost our way and not focused on issues that have a real chance of being put into action. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Harvey Weinstein was sentenced Thursday in downtown Los Angeles to 16 years in prison for rape and other sex crimes. With the already incarcerated former producer in attendance at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center courtroom today, the somewhat delayed ruling by Judge Lisa B. Lench is in addition to the 23 years the much-accused Weinstein was sentenced to by a Manhattan judge in March 2020 for other rape and other sex crimes. More from Deadline Of the trio of L.A. counts for which he was convicted last year, Weinstein was given eight years on Count #1, six years for Count #2, and two years for Count #3. The judge said the sentences are to run consecutively. These are not easy decisions to make, but this is my decision, Lench told the packed courtroom of her ruling. After an impact statement from Jane Doe #1 but before sentencing today, a seated Weinstein addressed the court. I maintain that Im innocent, he said. I never raped or sexually assaulted Jane Doe #1. I never knew this woman, and the fact is she doesnt know me. This is about money. Please dont sentence me to life in prison, the soon-to-be 71-year-old added. I dont deserve it. There are so many things wrong with this case. In her statement in court Thursday, a tearful Jane Doe #1 said that Weinstein had broken me into a million pieces. Thanking the jury for their verdict, Jane Doe #1 also said: Ten years later, the effects of this rape are still raw and difficult to discuss. Addressing Judge Lench directly, she concluded, Your honor I hope you can understand my suffering. There is no prison sentence long enough to undo the damage. I hope that you give him the maximum sentence allowable. Story continues Ahead of todays sentencing hearing, the Los Angeles District Attorney had asked Lench to give Weinstein to the high-term maximum sentence of 24 years based on the prior New York City conviction. Even with an ongoing appeal of that East Coast conviction, the 70-year-old Weinstein will serve his West Coast sentence after completing his current confinement, Judge Lench ruled Thursday. Which means, unless his NYC appeal or already announced L.A. appeal is successful, it is almost certain at this point that Weinstein will die in prison. The ailing and shuffling Weinstein is not eligible for parole on his East Coast sentence until 2039, when he will be 86. The ex-Miramax boss has been behind bars and housed in Los Angeles Twin Towers Correctional Facility since being extradited from a prison outside Buffalo in the summer of 2021. As he did following a explosive 2017 expose by the New York Times and dozens of allegations over more than 40 years, Weinstein has always insisted he is not guilty of the allegations in the L.A. case, and the sex that he said did occur was consensual. Following a nearly two-month Los Angeles trial with more than few breaks, the jury found Weinstein guilty on December 19 on all counts in relation to Jane Doe #1. However the panel of eight men and four women determined he was not guilty of sexual battery of Jane Doe #2, and they were deadlocked on charges on Jane Doe #3 and Jane Doe #4, that latter being California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. After the initial charges against Weinstein were trimmed mid-trial in November, he faced grand jury indictments of two counts of rape and five counts of sexual assault in incidents in L.A. County spanning 2004 to 2013. In the aftermath of the mixed verdict, Weinsteins Werkman Jackson & Quinn attorneys filed paperwork last month requesting a new trial. Claiming that the jury was left with a false impression of Jane Doe #1 and her allegations and overall credibility, the motion also took a specific swipe at LA Deputy DAs Marlene Martinez and Paul Thompson for creating a false version of events and circumstances in the presentation of their case. That motion was denied today by Lench. Further complicating matters, on February 9, Jane Doe #1 filed a civil lawsuit against Weinstein claiming sexual battery, false imprisonment, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress regarding the alleged February 2013 sexual assault in her Beverly Hills hotel room. That suit became the focus of more filings by the defense team, now saying that witnesses lied on the stand during the trial and that Jane Doe #1 is looking for money as Weinstein himself reiterated today. Unlikely as it is, the D.A.s office has not officially decided if they will seek a retrial on the hung counts from last year. A hearing is scheduled for March 14 to address that matter, if prosecutors havent made it public beforehand. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Click here to read the full article. FLEMINGTON Time has run out for TikTok. The Hunterdon County Board of Commissioners has banned the social media platform on all county devices over its security risk. Protection of the countys IT network and systems is vital for the effective operation of county government," Commissioner Susan J. Soloway, the boards liaison to the county's Information Technology Department, said in a statement. "The TikTok platform is a security risk, as recently the FBI Director stated that the Chinese government could use the app to influence users or control their devices." Not only is the social media platform, owned by a Chinese company, considered risky, county employees shouldn't anyway be "engaging TikTok on county devices and during the workday," Soloway said. Congress and more than half of U.S. states have banned TikTok from government devices. Related:TikTok ban proposed amid national security concerns over China surveillance TikTok has become a globally popular domain for catchy videos. It's estimated, according to the Associated Press, that a third of American teenagers visit TikTok. In Washington, there has been bipartisan worries that Beijing would use legal and regulatory power to seize American user data or try to push pro-China narratives or misinformation on TikTok. In January, Gov. Phil Murphy barred certain high risk social media platforms like TikTok on state devices. Among the other sites included in the ban are WeChat and Alibaba. We are aware TikTok is popular, and many will wish to access the app on their own devices and time, which is an individuals prerogative," County Commissioner Shaun Van Doren said in a statement. "However, all users should be aware of the warnings out there. Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account. This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Hunterdon county government bans TikTok on its devices Joe Biden has supported President Zelensky, left, while dealing with the fallout from the presidency of Donald Trump, right, and Vladimir Putins war (Getty/EPA/AP) A year after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine, Nato is on a war footing not seen in decades. The alliance is perhaps more united now than it was on 4 October 2001, when the mutual self-defence pact laid out in Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty was invoked following the September 11 terrorist attacks. While a small number of Republicans have continued to repeat what has become an oft-used trope among the political right that it is Mr Bidens alleged weakness not Mr Putins own avarice that prompted Russias tanks to roll towards Kyiv a year ago, most experienced foreign policy hands and Ukraine experts say the 46th presidents actions over the last year have been anything but weak. Just this week, Mr Bidens took a 10-hour train ride from Poland into wartime Kyiv, where he walked the streets of Ukraines embattled capital with Mr Zelensky before returning to Warsaw, where he delivered a rousing address celebrating Natos unity and Ukraines heroic defence efforts before a crowd of thousands. One major Nato power, Germany, has cast off more than 75 years of postwar pacifism by sending Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, where they will face off against Russian armoured forces for the first time since the Nazi-era Wehrmacht exchanged fire with Stalins Red Army. And two long-neutral nations, Finland and Sweden, have each committed to join the Nato alliance, which, if approved, would bring the pacts membership to 32 countries. Even Switzerland, such a longstanding bastion of neutrality, has thrown in with Ukraines defenders by joining international efforts to impose crippling economic sanctions on Moscow. Indeed, the efforts to bolster Kyiv and punish Russia over the last year have brought forth a stunning display of Western unity that wouldve been impossible just two years earlier, when the sitting US president was Donald Trump, a man who frequently described the transatlantic alliance as more of a protection racket than a mutual defence pact. Story continues John Bolton, the hawiskh former UN ambassador who spent a year as Mr Trumps national security adviser, told The Independent that some of the credit for bringing the west together belongs to Mr Biden, particularly since Mr Trump, in his estimation, planned to withdraw America from the alliance had he won a second term. He said the early transfers of weapons and intelligence sharing by the Biden administration enabled Ukraines defence forces to withstand the initial Russian assault during what has now been dubbed the Battle of Kyiv. Preventing the fall of the country, its an important success, he said. He said Mr Biden is certainly committed to the alliance, but suggested that casting him in a savior role simply by not withdrawing the US from Nato is setting a low bar. The election of almost anybody not named Trump in 2020, would have improved internal Nato relations. I don't think there's much doubt of that, he said. Mr Bolton, a frequent critic of Democratic foreign policy positions, also suggested that Mr Biden hasnt been aggressive enough in leading Nato to offer up materiel and assistance in ways that push the envelope past what more conciliatory-minded member states particularly Germany and France had previously been willing to do. The ex-diplomat, who is reportedly considering entering the 2024 Republican presidential primary, also faulted Mr Biden for not acting more decisively to deter Russia before the invasion began last year, pointing to a gaffe the president made during an early 2022 press conference in which he suggested Nato members would quibble over how to respond to a minor incursion by Russia. Yet one of his former Trump administration colleagues was far more fulsome in his praise for the 46th presidents approach to US-Ukraine relations and commitment to Nato. President Joe Biden delivers a speech marking the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Ambassador William Taylor was certainly no stranger to Kyiv when an aide to then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked him to return to there as a charge daffaires a temporary chief of mission who serves as a de facto ambassador at the US embassy there in June 2019. A career foreign service officer whod been selected as the US ambassador to Ukraine by then-president George W Bush in 2006, Mr Taylor was held in high enough esteem that he was asked to stay on during the first months of the Obama administration. His return to Kyiv came after a stint as executive vice president at the US Institute for Peace, where he currently serves as the insitutes vice president for Europe and Russia, and was meant to bring an experience hand back there after the previous ambassador, Marie Yovanovich, had been ousted by Mr Trump as part of the machinations that would eventually lead to the first of his two impeachment trials. Mr Taylor told The Independent the entire episode Mr Trumps unlawful withholding of hundreds of thousands of needed defence assistance funds from Mr Zelenskys government, coupled with a demand that the then-newly inaugurated Ukrainian leader announce sham investigations into Mr Biden and his family left relations between Washington and Kyiv in a troubled state. Ukrainians did not understand why they would be asked to take political actions in return for some of the military assistance flowing, so they were confused and troubled, he said, adding that Mr Bidens arrival in the White House caused the bilateral relationship to improve dramatically. He also credited Mr Biden with a lot of rebuilding of Americas relations with her fellow Nato allies and other western democracies because those relationships had never been a high priority for Mr Trump, who was far more concerned with gaining the approval of autocrats such as Mr Putin. John Bolton, left, with Donald Trump in the White House (Getty Images) But the areas where Mr Taylor gave the 46th president the most credit for bolstering Ukraines defence and warding off an aggressive Russia included actions Mr Biden took in the late winter of 2021, when Mr Putin first began massing troops along his countrys border with Ukraine, as well as during the build-up that immediately preceded the start of the war. President Biden took pretty strong steps to address that first build up just a couple of months into his administration, he said, including warnings to Mr Putin to withdraw the troops (which he later did) and against future meddling in US elections. Another Ukraine expert who rose to prominence during that first Trump-era impeachment debacle, Alexander Vindman, said Mr Bidens administration did more than just repair relations that had been frayed by the Trumpian quid pro quo affair. In a phone interview, Mr Vindman who was forced out of the US Army after testifying about Mr Trumps demand that Mr Zelensky announce fake investigations to damage Mr Biden ahead of the 2020 election said Mr Trumps successor deserves credit for bringing the US towards a Ukraine policy that is separate and apart from American policy towards Russia. If we were, let's say, less thoughtful about our policy with regards to Russia and Ukraine under the Bush and Obama period, it was disastrous under the Trump administration, he said, adding later that in his view Mr Trump deserves a measure of blame for what Mr Putin has done to Ukraine over the last year. I think those seeds of the war were planted by the Ukraine scandal, when [under Trump] it was clear that our rhetoric around a strategic partnership with Ukraine was all just rhetoric, and that we were prepared to look the other way on US national security interests in favour of political aims, he said. President Biden with President Zelensky at St. Michael's Golden-Domed Cathedral during an unannounced visit, in Kyiv (POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Mr Vindmans assessment of the Trump-Ukraine scandals long tail stands in stark contrast to how many of Mr Bidens GOP critics see the current administration. Many Republicans have spent the last year claiming that Mr Putin wouldnt have dared invade on Mr Trumps watch. But Mr Taylor, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, said Mr Biden has operated from a position of strength over the entire crisis, and said even the failure to deter Mr Putin had long-term benefits because of the presidents conduct before the invasion. Specifically, he said Mr Bidens decision to begin declassifying and releasing US intelligence findings detailing Russias plans for the invasion was a key one because it prevented Russia from engaging in the disinformation-laden shenanigans it had used to obscure previous attacks on Ukrainian territory dating back to the unlawful annexation of Crimea in 2014. The release of this intelligence indicated that we knew what was coming and they couldn't kind of sneak it in and they couldn't blame the Ukrainians, Mr Taylor said. The decision to release US intelligence in the run-up to the war was also a significant factor in why Mr Biden was able to bring Nato and the European Union along in such a rapid and unprecedented way, he said, because it shored up perceptions of Americas intelligence community that had long been tarnished by the Bush-era debacle surrounding the lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. In the fall of 2021, and the winter of 2021, the CIA was telling people both publicly and privately, this was happening, this is happening, or it could happen but a lot of people didn't believe that, he recalled. William Taylor, who ws US ambassador to Ukraine from 2019 to 2020 (Getty Images) He said the reply from Europe was along the lines of: Your intelligence was not great about Iraq. So why should we believe you now? But after the fact, after they invaded, everybody understood that the CIA was right, the Americans were right that did give us exactly what you just said. That did give the Biden administration, a lot of credibility in doing the next step, which was really assembling the grand coalition of both the [Nato] alliance as well as the coalition of the rest of the Europeans and East Asians, he said. Bringing together that coalition the largest international alliance assembled since George HW Bush brought together 35 nations to drive Iraqi invaders out of Kuwait in 1990 was a task Mr Biden had been preparing for over the majority of his adult life. Elected to the US Senate at age 29, Mr Biden spent the next three and a half decades serving on the upper chambers foreign relations panel including many years as its chairman which allowed him to developing relationships with leaders in countless nations. It also gave Mr Biden an understanding of and appreciation for the alliances that Mr Trump was so disdainful of. Wesley Clark, the retired US Army general who served as Supreme Allied Commander, Europe from 1997 to 2000, told The Independent Mr Bidens decades in public service made him even more qualified for the tasks he has faced than Mr Bush, who also came to the presidency after two terms as vice president. He was in the Senate since 1973, he's seen the Cold War, he's seen the end of the Cold War. He was then the vice president for eight years and saw the insides of executive branch policymaking. I dont think theres ever been anyone better prepared than Joe Biden, he said. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman is sworn in to testify before the House Intelligence Committee over his dealings with Donald Trump and Ukraine (Getty Images) The former Nato commander said Mr Biden has done a really brilliant job of working with our European allies and bringing them along over the last year. He has managed the difficult relationships between the Western Europe and East European allies. He's close to the British despite your change of Prime Ministership and he's at the top of an excellent team that does a lot of consultation and is very experienced in these things. Mr Taylor, the ex-US ambassador to Ukraine, went even further in his assessment of Mr Bidens role. He told The Independent that were it not for the 46th president, the western alliance now backing Kyivs defenders would never have come to be. Asked what would have happened had Mr Trump remained in office for a second term, he said the US would have likely played only a passive role. The United States would not have assembled that coalition, that alliance would not have put on sanctions would not have beefed up NATO would not have provided the weapons to Ukraine. And my bet is, the Russians would have would have succeeded in what they're trying to do, Mr Taylor said. Putin might not have had to even mount the invasion. If he had gotten an indication from the Americans that they weren't going to oppose. They weren't going to support the Ukrainians. So we could clearly say it would have been very different. And what we can clearly say is that Ukraine would not be in the good position that it's in right now had it not been for the Biden administration actions. Mr Vindman, who was born in what is now Ukraine during the Soviet era and held in high enough esteem by Ukraines government that he was once asked if hed accept appointment as Ukraines defence minister (he declined the offer, but told The Independent in jest that Russia would never have dared to invade had he accepted the post), took pains to stress that he doesnt view Mr Bidens time in office through rose-coloured glasses. Vladimir Putin attends a concert for Russian service members in Moscow on Wednesday. (via REUTERS) He said there are indeed legitimate reasons to find fault with the pace, breadth and scale of the assistance that has been provided to Kyiv by the US and her allies over the last year. But despite those criticisms, one area where Mr Vindman stressed that the Biden administration deserves quite a bit of credit is in how Mr Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have been able to coherently build consensus across the entire democratic world for sending support to Ukraine. The one thing that they have been pretty good on is coherence in building consensus amongst the democratic world for support to Ukraine. Thats true. You know, Secretary Blinken gets quite a bit of credit for that. President Biden gets credit for that, he said. He added that the relatively paltry sum the US has devoted to supporting Ukraines defence needs has netted a pretty amazing return on investment by allowing the Ukrainians to eviscerate Russias conventional forces. What happens in Ukraine will determine how acute America's security challenges will be in the 21st century, for at least the next couple of decades and frankly, just as a dollars and cents case for how efficient our support for Ukraine has been, for what amounts to like five per cent of the defence budget, Russia, an inveterate militarized, aggressive state has basically been neutered, and is no longer a conventional threat for the coming decade or two, Mr Vindman said. MUNCIE, Ind. Veteran Judge Linda Ralu Wolf announced Thursday she will retire from the Delaware Circuit Court 3 bench effective Aug. 31. Wolf is in her 15th year as judge of that court and was previously judge of Muncie City Court for 21 years. Linda Ralu Wolf She was presiding judge of the Delaware Circuit Court system for four years, and twice was president of Delaware County Community Corrections. Last year she assisted in the establishment of the Delaware County Justice Reinvestment Advisory Council. Wolf "is most grateful to the citizens of Delaware County for the honor and privilege of serving as an elected judge and will always cherish the trust that they placed in her," according to a news release. Her successor will be selected by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb. Wolf first won election to the Circuit Court 3 bench in 2008, and won re-election to six-year terms in 2014 and 2020. Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Judge Wolf to retire from Delaware Circuit Court 3 bench U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks during a campaign fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Courtyard By Marriott Iowa City-University Heights in University Heights, Iowa. Americans deserve better So, Rep. Jim Jordan wants to put forth legislation related to the border, big tech censorship of lies, and Department of Justice and FBI investigations into matters involving misconduct by some members of Congress and past presidents. Jordan asked why the Democrats did not solve the border problem when they had the House, Senate and White House earlier. Well Jim, why didnt the Republicans solve it when they had Congress and Donald Trump in charge? You didnt solve anything, did you? And probably wont do anything useful for the nation going forward. It seems all you can do is bad mouth someone else. Plus, you dont like that social media platforms hold the GOP accountable for lies about elections and you want to censor them, or you dont want the FBI and DOJ maybe looking into who in government took part in the Jan. 6 insurrection? Why dont you check on your colleagues buying defense stocks days before Russia invaded Ukraine, or do you agree with Marjorie Taylor Greene when she said War and rumor of war is incredibly profitable and convenient?" War and rumors of war is incredibly profitable and convenient. And just like that, the media now has a lie to use as the reason for our shattered economy and out of control inflation. What a sad existence it must be to shill for Globalism & America Last politicians. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) February 23, 2022 People elected Congress to get the nation running, not for some personal vendetta against anyone who doesnt agree with you. So Jim, get to work and quit grandstanding. John Dirina, Columbus Feb 3, 2023; Columbus, OH, USA; Christa Herouvis, a Section 8 housing choice voucher holder who has not been able to move into a place due to repeated delays in inspections, has a long drive everyday she works an an Amazon warehouse. She is staying at a friend's house in Centerburg and works at the Amazon warehouse in Etna. Mandatory Credit: Doral Chenoweth-The Columbus Dispatch We need a renter's tax credit It was disheartening to read the well-researched Feb. 20 article "Housing voucher program failing many." While the concept started out offering hope of assistance to low-income renters, the fact that only one in four people who qualify for a voucher actually gets one and may wait years for it is a disgrace. Story continues More:Class-action lawsuit against Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority over vouchers dismissed Even more upsetting is the dehumanizing treatment of tenants described in the article. It's hard enough to be threatened with the loss of one's home without being treated so callously. A new idea for aid to low-income renters is using the tax code to assist with the high cost of rent; much like how homeowners are helped by a mortgage interest tax break. A renter's tax credit would supplement the difference between a person's rent and 30% of their income (which is what housing is supposed to cost so people have money left for food, utilities and other needs) It would go directly to the renter on a monthly basis and eliminate all the red tape, waiting, humiliation, stigma and insecurity attached to Housing Choice Vouchers. There is no one thing that will fix this overwhelming and growing affordable housing crisis but increasing the affordable housing stock over the next few decades and enacting a change in the tax code to immediately give some relief would be two steps that would go a long way toward relief. A renter's tax credit should be seriously considered by our legislators as a way to right some long standing wrongs in seeking the American Dream of having secure housing. Virginia M. Vogts, Columbus Don't give our water to the west I write today to help sound the alarm about our water crisis. Water, one of our most precious natural resources has been so abused and misused that the situation out West is not sustainable. The Colorado River is siphoned off to maintain the lives of some 40 million people. With the Southwestern border collapse, this number dramatically increases every day. Immigrants coming in from virtually all corners help drink, flush and drain this priceless commodity from Washington to Mexico and California to New Mexico. The recent increase in rainfall and snowpacks in the west are only a stopgap happenstance. The on-going drought situation there has been known and slightly-heard alarm bells heard for many years. But between area greed and politics little has been done. More recently we see messages from "experts" suggesting obtaining water from more remote sources, ie. Mississippi River or Great Lakes. Opinion:You can't fish through an 'algal blooms.' Threat about more than drinking water Already, there have actually been overland shipments from Kansas. This gives us some idea how acute the shortage has become. When one is confronted with the degree of dependence on the Colorado River and the bare walls of canyons not exposed for decades and the small number of feet the Lake Mead water has to drop to lack enough volume to generate electric power for Los Angeles and Las Vegas, the problem comes into focus. What to do? I suggest one thing NOT to do. That is to give in to demands for sharing the water from Old Man River or The Great Lakes. Even if the technological and financial problems could be solved, the fact remains that the westerners not only do not deserve it, but we will need it just as much when the time comes. And it is coming. A step in the right direction would be a plan which is in the works now. The western states are making the effort with a concrete plan- although the liberals in California are refusing to flush less and use less water for irrigation. This plan along with closing of the border may help use fewer gallons from the Colorado. Have they really considered that fewer people drinking and flushing will help? Hopefully, they can set it right. Don Denton, Westerville Stop kicking the Medicare and Social Security cans Although everyone knows that Medicare and Social Security systems are heading toward insolvency, politicians on both sides of the aisle have declared and promised that they will keep the status quo. Politicians are just kicking the can down the road in order to avoid making hard decisions that may scare and alienate senior citizens. However, these delays will make the problem harder to handle in the future and sooner or later they have to face the issue. Our leaders should make it clear that reforming the system doesnt necessarily mean inflicting pain on senior citizens. If the reform is done right, we would avoid insolvency, increase efficiency and eliminate fraud. George A. Elmaraghy, Columbus Letters to the Editor More:How to submit a letter to the editor for The Columbus Dispatch What a waste of money Downtown Scioto Mile Fountain to be replaced with $15M upgrade, add year-round amenities. Renderings from Columbus Downtown Commission Submission. It hard to believe that our city leaders are putting $15 million into a perfectly good fountain. Why? Why?Why? What a waste of a lot of dollars. How about putting that $15 million into affordable housing for our citizens? That is where many real people have the real need. Rose Hart, Columbus Gut feeling shouldn't be a factor in child custody In the Feb. 16 letter "A judge should not just go with their gut'," Bill Shaul and Robin Harbage rightly point out the risks of simply relying on judges to go with their gut in criminal cases. There are similar risks involved with such broad discretion in child custody cases. Under current Ohio law, judges and magistrates are to decide custody of children of divorced/separated parents in the best interest of the child. This is a very desirable goal, to be sure. But it boils down to go with your gut about whats in the best interest of the child. Ohio statutes provide a laundry list of factors to be considered in determining the best interest of a child ORC Sec. 3109.04(F)(1) , but this list does little to guide different courts to the same outcomes when presented cases with the same fact patterns. In effect, current Ohio law says, consider all these factors and then go with your gut." One problem is that judges guts go in very different directions. That is obvious from the diversity of the local parenting time rules. Some courts begin with a presumption that children benefit from substantially equal time in the care of each of their fit and loving parents. Most, though, are stuck in a 1950s mindset where children are thought to benefit most from being with one of their parents only every other weekend and one evening a week. Childrens relationships with their parents should not rest on the gut feelings of whoever happens to be assigned as the judge in their case. Fortunately, there is a fix under consideration. Representatives Rodney Creech and Marilyn John have introduced House Bill 14, which will create a presumption that a childs best interest is served by both parents being equally involved in day-to-day child rearing. Courts will still have discretion to deviate from this starting point when there are good grounds for doing so, of course. The effect of House Bill 14 would be to provide more guidance to the courts about a childs best interestguidance thats based on over 40 years of research. It will make it less likely that a childs relationship with each fit and loving parent will depend on a mere gut feeling of a judge. Don Hubin, Chair, National Parents Organization, Columbus This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Letters: Jim Jordan looking to settle personal vendettas MADISON This was a start for Wisconsin coach Greg Gard and his players. Down to four regular-season games remaining and needing any kind of victory to enhance their NCAA resume, the Badgers defended exceptionally well at times, ran an efficient offense that led to a plethor of shots in the paint and hit just enough free throws to grind out an impressive 64-52 victory over Iowa Wednesday night at the Kohl Center. The victory came four days after a crushing 58-57 home loss to Rutgers. "The thing about this group is theyve been very resilient," Gard said. "They havent hung their heads. They havent pouted. They always bounce back and respond when they take on the chin a little bit. That is always a good sign as a coach that they keep coming back and want to learn and want to get better." The Badgers (16-11, 8-9 Big Ten) swept their rivals to move within one game of the .500 mark in league play. Wisconsin forward Tyler Wahl (5) stops on a dime front of Iowa guard Tony Perkins (11) during the first half of their game Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. Iowa (17-11, 9-8) was awful from three-point range for the second consecutive game. The Hawkeyes hit just 3 of 24 three-pointers (12.5%) in a 20-point loss Sunday at Northwestern and hit just 3 of 28 attempts (10.7%) in the loss to UW. "I didnt think the shots we took were bad," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. "I think you always go back and say: Could we have worked the ball a little bit more, maybe gotten a post feed? But we typically let our guys go. We let them shoot the ball. I encourage them to shoot open threes. "It was a frustrating night from that standpoint. Thats two games in a row where it just wasnt dropping from three." Gard got contributions big and small from up and down his lineup. BOX SCORE: Wisconsin 64, Iowa 52 Connor Essegian, 0 of 7 from three-point range and 0 of 10 overall in the loss to Rutgers, hit 2 of 7 three-pointers and 5 of 13 shots overall against Iowa. He finished with 17 points and five rebounds. Tyler Wahl, who scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds in UWs overtime victory at Iowa, burned the Hawkeyes with 11 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, one steal and solid defense on Iowa's Kris Murray. Those contributions more than made up for three first-half turnovers. Story continues "(Tyler) was great today," Steven Crowl said. "As you can see, his ankle is starting to get fully healthy. Were starting to see the old Tyler we saw earlier this season." Chucky Hepburn contributed 12 points, five assists, four rebounds and just one turnover in a solid floor game. He played 18 minutes 58 seconds of the second half and had nine points, three assists and no turnovers to help UW pull away from a one-point halftime lead. "Five assists, one turnover with the pressure that he saw?" Gard said. "And having to make decisions every time up the floor. I thought he was physical at the rim, trying to go through contact more. That is a good sign." Crowl sat out the final 15:28 of the opening half after picking up his second foul and played just 12:40 overall. Still, he finished with eight points and three rebounds Max Klesmit (four points, three rebound), Jordan Davis (four points, three rebounds) and Carter Gilmore (four points, two rebounds) all made key plays. "Theyve got a lot of different guys that can score," McCaffery said. "Theyre hard to guard." UW entered the night No. 1 nationally in fewest turnovers per game at 8.7. The Badgers had five on their first nine possessions and finished the first half with eight. Iowa scored 11 points off those turnovers to stay close. "In the beginning of the game were just throwing the ball around, not being too careful with it, being a little reckless," Wahl said. "And then the second half we just got back to Wisconsin basketball, breaking the press, getting into the middle and doing a good job of pushing it." The Badgers had only three turnovers after halftime, which allowed them to do a better job setting their half-court defense. Struggling from three-point range, Iowa finished 20 of 62 overall (32.3%). The Badgers hit just 4 of 18 three-point attempts (22.2%) but they worked the ball into the lane and hit 21 of 30 two-point attempts and finished with 38 points in the paint. "Obviously, the second half we did a much better job taking care of the ball," Gard said. "Part of helping our defense was not turning the ball over in the second half. We could get our defense set for the most part. I thought we did a decent job. "(And) we did a decent job of getting the ball inside, finishing much better." Murray, averaging 20.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, missed the final 8:34 of the first half after picking up his second foul. His first points came with 16:15 left in the game on a corner three-pointer and he finished with just five points. He hit just 1 of 5 three-pointers and 2 of 10 shots overall. "They worked hard guarding him," McCaffery said. "They were physical. They were chasing him around. That is kind of what he gets every game, but I thought they were really paying attention to him." Filip Rebraca (13.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg) and Tony Perkins led Iowa with 13 points apiece for the Hawkeyes. Payton Sandfort, who missed all seven shots he took in the teams first meeting, contributed 10 points Wednesday. The game remained close for most of the second half until UW used a 10-2 run to take control. Gilmore hit a tough turnaround jumper with 7:13 left to spark the run; Hepburn hit two free throws to push the lead to eight; hit a tough turnaround jumper for a 57-47 lead with 5:01 left; and fed Gilmore for a lay-in with 4:20 left. The lead was 12 and UW, which hit 8 of 14 free throws after halftime, was in control. Four days after a one-point home loss to Rutgers, the Badgers got a critical victory with a road game looming Sunday against Michigan. "I was happy with how our guys responded coming off of Saturdays finish," Gard said. Game over. Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal. DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: The Wisconsin Badgers start key stretch with much-need win over Iowa STUART The Martin County Sheriffs Office is reporting that 78 undocumented Haitians were detained Wednesday night as the group came ashore Hutchinson Island in a yacht. What happened: According to sheriffs officials, 78 Haitians were intercepted just past 9 p.m. at the St. Lucie Inlet near Sailfish Point. According to Sheriff William Snyder, its the largest number of migrants on a single vessel intercepted in Martin County waterways in the countys history. Officials initially stated 59 migrants were on the boat. Law enforcement response: Martin County Marine Patrol deputies were alerted by U.S. Homeland Security agents and responded to assisted U.S. Coast Guard and Custom and Border Patrol officials in detaining the Haitian migrants as they were spotted heading to land. The boat was intercepted before making it to shore, Snyder said Thursday. Fallen hero:Sgt. Gary Morales' death a decade later: 'We definitely don't want to forget him' Sandypines Residential Treatment Center:MCSO: Reported assaults, missing patient incidents at SandyPines draw concern People involved: The 50-foot vessel, named Alpha, had aboard more than 27 men and 20 women including two pregnant women seven children and three smugglers, according to sheriff's spokesperson Christine Christofek. The Martin County Sheriffs Office reported 59 undocumented Haitians were detained Wednesday night, Feb. 22, 2023 as the group came ashore in a yacht at the St. Lucie Inlet on Hutchinson Island near Sailfish Point. In custody: Those aboard were turned over to federal authorities. The suspected smugglers were arrested and taken into custody by Border Patrol. Nestor Yglesias, public information officer for Homeland Security Investigations, said the incident is under investigation. Martin County Sheriff reacts: Snyder on Thursday wrote a letter to President Joseph Biden about the incident, telling him that as president, your duty is to protect the people of the United States. A federal officer related last night that his unit is overwhelmed and desperate for additional resources. He believes that they are missing many more illegal immigrants than they are apprehending, Snyder wrote to Biden. "I will continue fulfilling my oath to protect my constituents With all due respect, I urge you to reflect on the oath you took and dedicate yourself and your administration to protecting our boarders and, by extension, protecting the citizens of this country. Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers, and is writer and co-host of Uncertain Terms, a true crime podcast. Reach her atmelissa.holsman@tcpalm.com. : If you are a subscriber, thank you. If not,become a subscriber to get the latest local news on the Treasure Coast. This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: A yacht with 78 Haitians aboard was intercepted off Hutchinson Island Three European countries looking into the details surrounding last September's Nord Stream pipelines explosion said on Tuesday they are not sure when their probes will be complete, even as allegations swirl that the United States may have been responsible for the underwater blast. A leading European analyst told Xinhua on Tuesday potential proof of U.S. involvement would impact the way each side of the Ukraine crisis is viewed internationally. Davide Tabarelli, a professor of industrial engineering at the University of Bologna and president of Nomisma Energia, an energy research consultancy, said rumors of possible U.S. sabotage were out even earlier than the latest debate. "We have heard rumors of a possible involvement by the United States for several weeks, well before the latest accusations," Tabarelli told Xinhua. The Nord Stream pipelines, which transported natural gas from Russia to European markets via Germany, were severely damaged last September after blasts in the Baltic Sea. One pipeline, Nord Stream 1, was in operation at the time of the explosion and Nord Stream 2, though had not been operational, was filled with gas. Recent allegations from Pulitzer Prize-winning U.S. journalist Seymour Hersh and others said that the attack had been carried out by divers from the U.S. Navy. Hersh, who has pledged to share more information from his investigation soon, said explosives were planted during exercises involving countries allied within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) around three months prior to the blast and only detonated in September. This photo taken on Jan. 20, 2023 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States.(Xinhua/Liu Jie) U.S. National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby on Monday dismissed allegations of U.S. involvement in the explosions. Russia requested that the United Nations (UN) Security Council call for an international investigation into the explosion. On Tuesday, the Security Council heatedly debated Russia's request for a UN-led inquiry into the incident. An investigation by the UN Security Council into the explosions that blew up the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines in September 2022 is a high global priority, said Jeffrey Sachs, a world-renowned economist, on Tuesday. "The destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines on Sept. 26, 2022, constitutes an act of international terrorism and represents a threat to the peace," Sachs told the Security Council in a briefing. Photo taken on April 28, 2022 shows the office of Russia's energy giant Gazprom in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/Xinhua) China supports speeding up the investigation into the Nord Stream explosions so as to swiftly find out the truth, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday. Noting the Nord Stream gas pipelines are major transboundary infrastructure and energy transportation arteries, Wang said the explosions had a major negative impact on the global energy market and the ecological environment. In a joint letter to the Security Council, Denmark, Sweden and Germany -- the three countries closest geographically to the part of the Baltic Sea where the explosions took place -- said that their investigations were ongoing and that it was unclear when they would conclude. Noting the "consequences as concerns greenhouse gas emissions are substantial and worrisome," the letter reiterated that "deliberate acts, such as those committed against the Nord Stream pipelines, are unacceptable, endanger international security and give cause for our deep concern." This aerial photo provided by the Swedish Coast Guard on Sept. 28, 2022 shows the fourth leak on Nord Stream 2 pipeline in Sweden's exclusive economic zone. (The Swedish Coast Guard/Handout via Xinhua) Croatian security expert Mirko Vukobratovic told Xinhua on Tuesday that the alleged involvement of the U.S. Navy in the September 2022 Nord Stream explosions, is "not impossible" because the United States has benefited the most from the incident. Colorado schools became the latest to field fake emergency phone calls about active shooter and bomb threats on Wednesday in what has become an alarming trend that strains emergency resources and rattles communities nationwide. Schools in around a dozen districts across Colorado, including Boulder High School and Aspen Elementary School, were forced to go into lockdown mode, according to the Denver Post. Some of the lockdowns were lifted after just a few minutes, but some lasted hours and led to canceled classes. As it has been doing in other states, the FBI is assisting local law enforcement agencies with their investigations, but the federal agency has not offered many answers. Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold could not confirm in a news conference whether all of the recent calls came from the same person, but she said they were made in a systematic way. Herold told reporters she listened to the call about the supposed shooter at Boulder High, and that in the background, you can actually hear shots being fired. Authorities then rushed to the school and worked to clear every room on every floor. Its a problem that officials in many states have had to contend with as the threat of real mass shootings remains ever-present in the United States. Obviously, this is the scariest kind of call a 911 call as you can get, especially as you look across the country and you see how many of these shootings are occurring, Herold said. Very scary call. Teachers and students are escorted out of Boulder High School. Teachers and students are escorted out of Boulder High School. On Feb. 7, schools in at least eight districts in Michigan received calls about an active threat that turned out to be fake. At least 21 individual public and private schools in Vermont were the targets of hoax calls the day after, prompting dozens of officers to descend on Montpelier High School. This is terrorism to invoke fear and chaos in a community, Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison said, local CBS affiliate WCAX reported. Story continues Last week, Massachusetts school districts fielded fake school shooter and bomb threats for three straight days, impacting more than 30 schools. The list goes on. Schools all over California have also been receiving hoax callsthis month. NPR reporter Odette Yousef counted well over 100 such calls around the country over a three-week span last fall. Many law enforcement officials refer to the incidents as swatting, a term popularized by the online gaming community after malicious viewers learned it was not difficult to convince a local SWAT team to show up at a gamers front door during a livestream as a so-called prank. In some cases, the caller uses an internet phone number to dial emergency services or to call a school directly. A threat against Jackson High School in Jackson, Michigan, came in via an unknown Google number, the districts superintendent said in a statement. Given the available technology, it can be hard to track down the callers, homeland security expert Juliette Kayyem said last week in an interview with WGBH, a Boston-based public radio station. An NPR investigation published in October found that it was exceedingly easy to use a service like TextNow to sign up for a new phone number capable of making calls or texts from a web browser. If the number gets blocked, its just as easy to make a new one. Using open records requests, NPR gained access to a report compiled by a Louisiana sheriffs office last spring. The records showed how just one internet phone number made or received well over 400 calls, with most being outgoing calls to schools or law enforcement in several states. The IP addresses tied to the number were linked to Ethiopia. But NPR cautioned that this did not mean the caller was physically located in Ethiopia, as there are other ways to make it look like that was the case. NPR noted that the caller spoke with a heavy accent, a phrase that Michigan authorities used to describe the caller who targeted schools there, according to WWMT, a local CBS affiliate. Colorado authorities have not commented on the provenance of the calls made Wednesday. In a statement to local news outlet KDVR, the FBI said: It is important to note that law enforcement will use all available resources to investigate a threat until we determine whether it is real or not. Investigating hoax threats drains law enforcement resources and diverts officers from responding to an actual crisis. When schools make students and staff go into lockdown without being able to tell whether a threat is legitimate or not, it raises the question of psychological impact on a generation of kids. The traumatic effects of this on kids are just you cant even measure it at this stage. Lock down or dont lock down? Is it real? Is it not real? Kayyem remarked on WGBH. Herold declined to offer specifics on how the Boulder High School students were feeling. She added: In my wildest imagination, I cannot imagine doing this to people. Related... A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole. After a rather flat Wall St finish, Asian stocks have done better so far on Thursday thanks in part to an earnings beat from chip designer Nvidia Corp. Its stock surged almost 9% after the bell and helped lift Nasdaq futures up 0.9%, with a spillover to South Korean and Taiwan tech. That offered a brief break from brooding on interest rates, only for the Bank of Korea to spoil the mood with a hawkish-pause on hikes. While it held rates at 3.5% as expected, the commentary warned that restrictive policy would be needed for a "considerable time". Five of the seven-member board also wanted to keep open the option for rates to reach 3.75%, perhaps with an eye on staunching further losses for the won. This is all part of the higher for longer theme that saw central banks in New Zealand and Israel hike by 50 basis points this week and flag yet more to come. Minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting showed unanimity on the need to go higher, and that was before the barnstorming January payrolls report quashed all talk of imminent recession. Fed fund futures now price in three more hikes to 5.25-5.50% and have drastically scaled back the outlook for future rate cuts, with barely one priced in by December. For sure, markets always doubted the world would go back to the past decade of uber-low rates, but there was a general felling they might settle in a 1-3% range further out. Now the range is looking more like 3-6%, a challenge for assets other than bonds and especially equities with high PE ratios - maybe including Nvidia's 88.3. New York Fed President John Williams sounded suitably stern late Wednesday, noting that with global supply chains still disrupted, goods prices may not continue their recent decline and inflation in core services excluding housing continues to be far too high. Indeed, it's looking like global supply chains will never be the same, what with the pandemic, the Russian-Ukraine war and Sino-U.S. tensions. Trade blocks are back in, while just-in-time manufacturing is out the window and nations are all about onshoring and securing domestic supply. Story continues Add to that the impact of climate change, both directly on food prices and indirectly through the cost of transitioning to renewables. Most developed nations also face a decline in working-age populations and sharply rising dependency ratios. Unless and until productivity makes a comeback, fewer hands to make things will tend to lead to rising prices. All of which suggests higher inflation is here to stay and the neutral level of real interest rates has shifted upward. Welcome to the new R*. Key developments that could influence markets on Thursday: - The final read of EU January CPI is expected to see an upward revision to 8.6% y/y, from 8.5% - U.S. second estimate of Q4 GDP is seen staying at 2.9%, while weekly jobless claims are forecast to edge up to 200,000 - Fed presidents Daly and Bostic are on speaking duties (Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Sam Holmes) Grace Beahm Alford/AP/Shutterstock "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, a Netflix true crime docuseries, dives into the real events and sad story behind the killing of two members of an elite southern family from South Carolina. Paul Murdaugh, 22, and his mother Margaret "Maggie" Murdaugh, 52, were found dead in their family hunting lodge in June 2021. But the scandals of the Murdaugh family begin long before that. A few years earlier, Paul had been involved in a boating accident that resulted in 19-year-old Mallory Beach's death. At the time of his own death, the then-22-year-old Paul was out on bail after being charged with felonies related to the fatal crash, according to The New York Times . The Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal opens with Mallory's death. The teen had been ejected after a crash in a Murdaugh family boat, which allegedly was driven by a drunk 19-year-old Paul, according to people on the boat, per The New Yorker . This tragic event was followed by Paul and Maggie Murdaugh's murder in June 2021. For the last few months, Alex Murdaugh, Paul's dad and Maggie's husband, was on trial for their deaths. Despite maintaining his innocence, he was indicted on two counts of murder back in July 2022, per The New York Times. During the trial, he even took the stand to defend himself and answer questions about his wife and son's deaths. The trial finally reached its verdict this week. Here is everything you need to know about the subject of the new Netflix docuseries and the viral court case. Who is Alex Murdaugh? Alex Murdaugh, 54, is a member of the Murdaugh family in South Carolina. He is the father of Paul, and his older brother, who goes by Buster, and the husband of Maggie. The Murdaugh family served as prosecutors in South Carolinas Fourteenth Judicial Circuit for three generations (some 100 years) until 2005, according to the Office of the Solicitor, Fourteenth District . This long history of local legal leadership created an influx of wealth and power into the Murdaugh family. Story continues Alex Murdaugh never ran for the prosecutor job, but he did volunteer as a prosecutor for the district. He was officially removed from that role in September 2022, per The New York Times . He was found guilty on two counts of murder. On March 2, 2023, Alex Murdaugh was found guilty on two counts of murderfor both his son Paul, 22, and wife Maggie, 52. He was also found guilty of two counts of possession of a weapon in the commission of a violent crime. The jury deliberated for under three hours before finding Alex guilty. Judge Clifton Newman denied the defense's motion for a mistrial, saying there was an "overwhelming amount of testimony and evidence," per CNN. The prosecutors never sought the death penalty for Alex's crimes. "I don't question at all the decision of the state not to pursue the death penalty. But as I sit here in this courtroom and look around at the many portraits of judges and other court officials and reflect on the fact that over the past century, your family including you have been prosecuting people here in this courtroom, and many have received the death penalty, probably for lesser conduct," Judge Clifton Newman said in court, per CNN. Alex was sentenced to life in prison on March 3, 2023. What are the Murdaugh murders? In addition to the killings of Paul and Maggie Murdaugh, the family has been linked to several other deaths and crimes. However the phrase Murdaugh murders most often refers to the shootings of Paul and Maggie at their family hunting lodge in June 2021, per The New York Times. Paul was reportedly shot with a shotgun in the head and chest, while his mother was killed with an assault rifle, per PEOPLE . Alex Murdaugh called 911 that night, reporting he found the bodies near the family's dog kennels, per The New York Times. The call was made just after 10 p.m. And Alex told authorities that his son had been receiving threats related to the death of Mallory Beach. No arrests were made in the case for more than a year. Alex Murdaugh took the stand in his own trial. On February 23, 2023, Alex Murdaugh took the stand to testify in his double murder trial. He has pleaded not guilty to the two murder charges and two weapons charges, per CNN. "I am going to testify," he told the judge, CNN reported. "I want to testify." The 54-year-old's biggest challenge in the courtroom was explaining why he originally told authorities he was visiting his parents during the time of the murders, when he had actually been at the family's dog kennels where the bodies were found, per The New York Times. A video on Paul Murdaugh's cell phone confirmed that Alex was actually present at their Moselle residence just before the murders took place, per The New York Times. Alex claimed he lied because of paranoia (which he lated denied saying on the stand on February 24) fueled by his addiction to oxycodone. "I lied about being down there, and Im so sorry that I did, he said, per The New York Times. Alex claimed that he did not want to go down with his family to the kennels, but Maggie asked him to join them, per NBC News. However, Alex said he left the scene before the murders actually occurred and visited his parents at 9:07 p.m., per The New York Times. Prosecutors argued that Alex went to visit his parents after Paul and Maggie's deaths to establish an alibi. "What a tangled web we weave. Once I told a liethen I told my familyI had to keep lying, Alex said on the stand, per The New York Times. Alex also went on to admit that he asked someone shoot him in September 2021. He said on the stand that he did not want to kill himself because he believed it would prevent his son, Buster, from collecting his life insurance policy. He also admitted to stealing money from his clients during his time as a lawyer, to fuel his drug addiction. "It was amazing to have you come and testify, that [the day of the murders] was just another ordinary day," Judge Clifton Newman said later, during Alex Murdaugh's sentencing per CNN. "Not credible. Not believable." How many sons does Alex Murdaugh have? Alex had two sons with Maggie: the late Paul Murdaugh and Alexander Buster Murdaugh, 26 , who recently testified at his murder trial. He was a lawyer. Alex worked for a family law firm in Hampton County, South Carolina, called Peters Murdaugh Parker Eltzroth and Detrick . He primarily worked with settlements for fatal accidents and workplace injuries, according to the Associated Press . In September 2021, the firm reported that Alex had stolen funds from clients, per the Associated Press . At the time, the firm estimated Murdaugh had stolen over $1 million, per PEOPLE . Grace Beahm Alford/AP/Shutterstock Alex Murdaugh said he played football in college. In the Murdaugh Murders documentary, Marty Cook, the father of Connor Cookanother boy in the boat accident with Paul in 2019said he and Alex Murdaugh went to Hampton High School together. The men also appear to have played on the football team together, based on photos in the docuseries. According to his court testimony, Alex Murdaugh went on to play football in college. He attended University of South Carolina, but it is unclear if he played for the school's team. Alex said that he experienced a knee injury at that time, which reportedly led to his oxycodone addiction, per The New York Times. While taking the stand on February 24, 2023, Murdaugh explained that Maggie and Paul were concerned about his drug addiction. Both knew he was addicted to oxycodone and tried to get him to detox many times, per NBC News. Alex Murdaughs brothers maintained his innocence. In a Good Morning America appearance shortly after the Paul and Maggie's murders, John Marvin Murdaugh and Randolph Murdaugh, Alexs brothers, maintained his innocence. My brother loved Maggie and loved Paul like nothing else on this earth, just like he loves [his older son] Buster," Randolph told GMA . "So there's no possible way he could have anything to do with this, I can assure you. Alex also maintains that he was not present during the murders, reporting he was visiting his ailing mother at the time, according to the Associated Press . Alex's younger brother, John Marvin Murdaugh, testified that he cleaned up the remains of Paul Murdaugh following his murder during Alex's trial, per PEOPLE. "I felt like I owed him, and I just started cleaning, and I promise you, no mother, father, aunt, or uncle should ever have to see and do what I did that day. It's the hardest thing I've ever been through in my life," he said. John Marvin Murdaugh said he willed to find whoever committed the crime. "I told Paul I loved him, and I promised him I'd find out who did this," he testified, per PEOPLE. Alex Murdaugh attempted to commit insurance fraud. In September 2021, Alex was shot in the head while changing a tire on the side of the road, according to his lawyer Jim Griffin, per PEOPLE . However, this was a pre-planned attack, as Alex apparently was trying to make the planned suicide look like murder so that his living son, Buster, could collect $10 million in life insurance, per PEOPLE . Alex had hired a man named Curtis Edward Smith to shoot him, according to Smiths affidavit following his arrest in mid-September 2021. Alex's gunshot wounds from the shooting were superficial. He also turned himself in and was charged with insurance fraud following Smiths arrest, according to PEOPLE. Alex's lawyer said that his opioid addiction and depression after his wife and son's deaths prompted him to create the scheme, per PEOPLE. Alex was involved in another crime related to their housekeeper's death. In addition to Paul and Maggie's deaths, Alex Murdaugh has been connected to other crimesincluding another life insurance scheme following the death of the family housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, in 2018. Gloria died at the Murdaugh family home after allegedly tripping over the family dogs and falling down stairs, the doc explains. Alex introduced Satterfields sons to a lawyer named Cory Fleming to help them with her case," according to the New York Times . Fleming is reportedly a close friend of Alex, which Satterfields sons testified to having no knowledge of in a recent lawsuit. The prosecution also said Alex told Gloria's sons he could admit fault in her death and sue his insurance companies for a large settlement, per ABC. But the sons never saw the settlement money. Alex was arrested in October of 2021 for allegedly misappropriating funds that were supposed to go to the Satterfield family, per CNN. In June of 2022, he agreed to pay the family $4.3 million. What is Alex Murdaugh's net worth? There isn't a reported number out there for Alex's total net worth at the moment. While he came from a wealthy southern family, his fraud charges seem to suggest he may have been struggling financially. Where is Alex Murdaugh now? Alex Murdaugh was convicted of all four counts for which he was chargedtwo counts of murder, and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He was given double life sentences for both the murder of his wife and son. Alex Murdaugh will be held at the South Carolina Department of Corrections during his intake and evaluation process. This may take several weeksthe average time is 45 days, per CNN. Alex has been in jail since October 2021, according to The New York Times . He was initially arrested on fraud charges related to the Satterfield family's life insurance claim. However, the former lawyer reportedly defrauded clients out of a total of $8.8 million over the years, the NYT reported. The prosecution argued he killed his family members to cover up his other financial crimes. The trial for the killings of Paul and Margaret Murdaugh began in January 2023 wrapped up in March 2023. Alex maintained his innocence throughout the trial and pleaded not guilty. Before the trial, his lawyers said that he looks forward to this opportunity to clear his name," per the NYT. Just before his sentencing, Alex claimed his innocence again. "I'm innocent," he said, per CNN. "I would never hurt my wife Maggie and I would never hurt my son [Paul]." Judge Clifton Newman does not think Alex Murdaugh will ever confess to the crimes, according to CNN. You can learn more about the Murdaugh family and Alex's trial in Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, streaming on Netflix now. You Might Also Like The McCracken County Sheriff's Office in Kentucky said Robert Pannell, 55, of Palm Coast, fatally shot a hotel worker in Kentucky. He was traveling to see his family in Illinois and had stopped at a hotel in Paducah where he shot the woman, sheriff's detectives said. A Palm Coast man who shot an employee at a Kentucky hotel last week where he was a guest was on his way to see his cousin in Illinois whom he had threatened to kill the night before the shooting, Flagler County sheriff's investigators said. The cousin said Robert Pannell, 55, was off his medication, and a neighbor told Flagler County deputies that Pannell suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and was known to easily lose his temper, according to a Flagler County sheriff's report obtained on Tuesday by the News-Journal. Robert Pannell was arrested on Feb. 11 in Paducah, Ky., after he fatally shot a woman who worked at a Best Western hotel at 9:48 a.m., authorities said. More:Police seek motive for why Palm Coast man fatally shot woman in Kentucky Sheriff Ryan Norman said Tuesday that investigators in McCracken County still have not determined why Pannell shot the hotel employee. Pannell was being held in the McCracken County Jail on Tuesday on $2.25 million bail, Norman said. Pannell was charged in Kentucky with first-degree murder, first-degree assault, two counts of fourth-degree assault, four counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, third-degree assault, second-degree menacing, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Norman said his investigators believed Pannell was on his way to see family in Illinois, and was passing through Paducah. Robert Pannell threatened to kill Illinois cousin In the report released to the News-Journal on Tuesday, Flagler County sheriff's deputies shed more light on the alleged killer's state of mind. On the morning of Feb. 11, the cousin in Illinois woke up to an overnight voicemail from an upset Pannell, who claimed his cousin was using his name in vain and that Pannell was going to kill him, the report detailed. Pannell's cousin called Flagler County deputies and asked that a well-being check be done. The cousin reported to Flagler County deputies that a few days before Feb. 11, he and Pannell had argued after Pannell lied to him that he was in Illinois while he was in Florida, Flagler County deputies said. Story continues Off his meds, suffered from PTSD The cousin informed deputies that Pannell was off his medication and made several comments that he was God, deputies noted in the document. Flagler County deputies went to Pannell's Palm Coast home at 11:30 a.m. on Feb. 11 but discovered that he was not home. Deputies then learned from a neighbor that Pannell had asked that his home be taken care of and that his cat be fed. The neighbor told Flagler deputies that Pannell had left for Illinois to see family on Friday, Feb. 10, at 5 a.m., according to the report. The neighbor also told deputies that Pannell was ex-military and that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and was known to lose his temper easily, the report said. When Flagler County deputies learned that Pannell was headed to Illinois, they called his cousin to make him aware and advised him to call police where he lived, the report documents. Robert Pannell shoots Best Western employee Then at 2:10 p.m., a detective with the McCracken County Sheriff's Office contacted Flagler County deputies to let them know that Pannell had been arrested for assaulting an elderly couple outside the hotel and for shooting a Best Western employee in Paducah, the report noted. Pannell also shot at various hotel guests the morning of Feb. 11, authorities said. The McCracken County sheriff's detective said multiple firearms and ammunition were recovered from Pannel's hotel room, who checked in on Friday night at the hotel in Paducah, the report shows. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Palm Coast man who shot Kentucky woman had threatened cousin in Illinois NFL free agency will begin in just over three weeks and then the frenzy will be on. But before then, analysts from around the league will try their hand at predicting where each of the top 50 free agents will sign. Pro Football Focus recently took on that very exercise and concluded that four of the top 50 available players will end up with the New York Giants. Two are obvious and dont necessarily need a further breakdown: quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Saquon Barkley. After that, things got a bit more interesting. With safety Julian Love seemingly headed to the open market, the Giants will find themselves on the hunt for a replacement (assuming hes not re-signed). In that scenario, PFF predicts Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer reunites with general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll. Predicting Poyer to the Giants feels too simple, but there are too many connections between him and the Giants coaching staff/front office with Brian Daboll and Joe Schoen. Additionally, both Julian Love and Tony Jefferson are set to be free agents, leaving a hole at safety, which Poyer would be able to fill. Poyer has been an excellent safety for the Bills since 2017, grading below 70.0 for only one season. He would be a huge addition to the Giants secondary, which struggled to contain some of the better passing offenses in the league. Were not exactly sure that Poyer represents an upgrade over Love but he would be a solid replacement if the Giants captain sets sail. Next up, PFF predicts the Giants will sign Tennessee Titans linebacker David Long, which would be seen as an immediate upgrade. The Titans dont have much cap space heading into free agency, and while Long was a huge part of their No. 1-ranked run defense in 2022, theyll likely let him walk, especially with Zach Cunninghams deal on the books. The Giants just had one of the leagues worst linebacker rooms, starting a playoff game with Jaylon Smith and Jarrad Davis. They desperately need to upgrade the position, and Long would be that guy. In the regular season, Long posted the seventh-best run stop percentage among all linebackers, while recording a 1.1-yard average depth of tackle (best). The Giants run defense was pretty bad in 2022, so adding Long would help to shore that part of the defense up heading into 2023. Story continues Long may be dominant against the run but he does struggle at times in coverage. The trade-off may be worth it after a year in which the Giants were routinely carved up on the ground. Still, that would leave them in search of additional linebackers who can also cover running backs and tight ends. Related Drue Tranquill named a 'best fit' for Giants Giants, Saquon Barkley trying to close 'gap' in negotiations Report: Giants met 'extensively' with Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker Story originally appeared on Giants Wire PowerSchools partnership with OneConnect will help grow the companys customer base in Africa FOLSOM, Calif., February 22, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC), the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America, today announced the expansion of its Global channel partner initiative, the PowerPartner Program, with the programs first channel partner in Africa, OneConnect. OneConnect is an innovative provider of turnkey technology services and solutions in South Africa and throughout the African continent. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005985/en/ OneConnect Education Managing Director, Rogers Sithole, and PowerSchool CEO, Hardeep Gulati, finalize partnership plans to expand PowerSchool solutions across Africa. (Photo: Business Wire) The PowerPartner Program leverages PowerSchools regional channel partners to support localized marketing, sales, and customer deployment efforts. As the first channel partner in Africa, OneConnect will help grow PowerSchools customer base in South Africa and throughout the region and is expected to help the company serve more than 500,000 students across the continent in the next year. "We are excited to announce our partnership with OneConnect," said Hardeep Gulati, CEO of PowerSchool. "Weve seen the innovative impact of OneConnects technology services and solutions, and know they are the right partner to expand our support to the over 240 million students enrolled in Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond." Through the OneConnect partnership, educators in South Africa and across the continent can access mission-critical tools, including products from PowerSchool Unified Classroom, PowerSchool Unified Talent, PowerSchool Unified Insights, and PowerSchool Unified Operations to support even more educators, students and families and help them realize the promise of personalized education. Story continues "OneConnect understands the unique experience, opportunities, and challenges of education leaders in South Africa and throughout the Continent," said Rogers Sithole, Managing Director: OneConnect Education. "Education technology, like the solutions offered from PowerSchool, are key to democratizing education through improving digital access, professional development, and personalized learning across the continent." Currently, PowerSchool channel partners serve customers in India, the Philippines, and Uruguay, with plans to rapidly expand the program this year. "With PowerSchools extensive and growing customer base in the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region, exceptional partners, like OneConnect, will further support the companys efforts for global expansion," said Tim Russell, Vice President for International Channel Development. "PowerSchool will continue to add additional partners across the Middle East, Asia, New Zealand, and Latin America regions this year." The OneConnect partnership news follows the companys recent announcement of plans to open its first Middle East & Africa (MEA) office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Spring 2023. About OneConnect OneConnect is a multi-faceted technology company headquartered in South Africa with regional offices in Kenya and Mozambique, offering over 14 years of turnkey Technology services and solutions to small, medium and large business throughout Africa. Their hallmark suite of innovative technology solutions and products, complemented by the experience and qualifications of their people, offer excellence in execution and after-sales service and support on an on-going basis. OneConnects Education division aims to democratize education on the Continent by offering solutions for every stage of the education cycle. For more information, please visit https://www.oneconnect.co.za/. About PowerSchool PowerSchool (NYSE: PWSC) is the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education in North America. Its mission is to power the education ecosystem with unified technology that helps educators and students realize their full potential, in their way. PowerSchool connects students, teachers, administrators, and parents, with the shared goal of improving student outcomes. From the office to the classroom to the home, it helps schools and districts efficiently manage state reporting and related compliance, special education, finance, human resources, talent, registration, attendance, funding, learning, instruction, grading, assessments and analytics in one unified platform. PowerSchool supports over 50 million students globally and more than 15,000 customers, including more than 90 of the top 100 districts by student enrollment in the United States, and sells solutions in more than 90 countries. Visit www.powerschool.com to learn more. PowerSchool. PowerSchool and other PowerSchool marks are trademarks of PowerSchool Holdings, Inc. or its subsidiaries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222005985/en/ Contacts PowerPartner Channel Program Contact: Tim Russell tim.russell@powerschool.com Media Contact: WE Communications for PowerSchool WE-PowerSchool@we-worldwide.com (503) 443-7155 BRISBANE, Australia, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- QIC has appointed Simon La Greca as Global Head of its Private Debt capability. Simon La Greca has been appointed QIC Head of Private Debt. Mr. La Greca joins QIC from Ares Management where he was Partner and Head of Infrastructure Debt Asia. In this position, he was responsible for investing in mezzanine infrastructure debt assets, attracting investors to infrastructure debt funds, and leading the build out of the investment team in Asia. Prior to this, he was a founding member of the AMP Capital Infrastructure Debt team and Partner, Head of Infrastructure Debt Asia, from May 2003 to February 2022. QIC CEO Kylie Rampa highlighted Simon's extensive expertise in the domestic and global markets. "Simon is a highly respected investor with global experience and strong industry relationships," Ms. Rampa said. "I look forward to him joining the leadership team later this year." Mr. La Greca's appointment follows QIC's former Head of Private Debt Andrew Jones' decision to transition to a new role as Deputy Chair of QIC's Private Debt Investment Committees and strategic advisor. Jones' decision comes after a more than 30-year career leading private debt capabilities and following the successful build out of QIC's private debt strategy and team, which he has led for almost two years. Ms. Rampa thanked Andrew for his commitment to establishing QIC's Private Debt capability. "Andrew has reached a stage in his life where he is keen to reset his working arrangements," Ms. Rampa said. "I am so pleased QIC continues to benefit from his expertise and approach moving forward in this new capacity as a strategic advisor." In 2021, QIC launched its Private Debt capability with the initial global Infrastructure Debt offering aiming to provide institutional investors with purpose-driven capital solutions that combine the stability of infrastructure assets with the downside protection and complexity premium of private lending. QIC has since launched its Multi-Sector Private Debt capability that seeks to deliver for clients a steady, high yielding income stream and capital stability from a diversified portfolio of floating rate corporate and leveraged loans, ABS and real estate debt. Story continues QIC Private Debt now has US$850 million committed capital and assets under management with investment professionals in Australia, the US and the UK. For further information, please contact: Ben Brew Marketing & External Communications Advisor bbrew@qic.com 0477 790 145 About QIC*: QIC is a trusted investment manager and adviser providing risk adjusted returns for the clients we serve. As one of Australia's leading institutional investment managers, we deliver alternative real asset solutions across infrastructure, real estate, private debt, private capital, natural capital in addition to a liquid market offering for our 125 Australian and global clients. We also act as the Queensland Government's independent investment advisor, managing a fully funded Defined Benefit scheme and the Queensland Future Fund, both of which delivers on the State's long-term investment objectives. We have A$98.7bn (US$67.9bn) in assets under management and are headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, New York, San Francisco and London. * As at 30 June 2022 Important Information QIC Limited ACN 130 539 123 ("QIC") is a wholesale funds manager and its products and services are not directly available to, and this document may not be provided to any, retail clients. QIC is a company government owned corporation constituted under the Queensland Investment Corporation Act 1991 (Qld). QIC is regulated by State Government legislation pertaining to government owned corporations in addition to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ("Corporations Act"). QIC does not hold an Australian financial services ("AFS") licence and certain provisions (including the financial product disclosure provisions) of the Corporations Act do not apply to QIC. Other wholly owned subsidiaries of QIC do hold AFS licenses and are required to comply with relevant provisions of the Corporations Act. QIC also has wholly owned subsidiaries authorised, registered or licensed by the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA"), the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and the Korean Financial Services Commission. For more information about QIC, our approach, clients and regulatory framework, please refer to our website www.qic.com or contact us directly. The statements and any opinions in this document (the "Information") are for commentary purposes only and do not take into account any investor's personal, financial or tax objectives, situation or needs. The Information is not intended to constitute personal legal or investment advice and it does not constitute, and should not be construed as, an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy, securities or any other investment, investment management or advisory services. SOURCE QIC A blizzard warning has been issued for the Los Angeles area this week for the first time since 1989. Residents in Los Angeles and Ventura counties who live in the mountains above the city are under a blizzard warning the first one in the area since Feb. 4, 1989 until Saturday afternoon. The National Weather Service (NWS) forecasted that areas with more than 4,500 feet of elevation may see 2 to 5 feet of snow, areas between 2,500 and 4,000 feet of elevation may see 6 to 12 inches, and elevation levels between 1,500 and 2,500 feet could see 1 to 4 inches. The NWS also predicted that higher elevations in the area could see 7 to 8 feet of snow and warned residents in the Los Angeles area to avoid travel, as it could be impossible to do so. The area could see up to 80 mph wind gusts, which could cause dangerous cold wind chills. Travel could be very difficult to impossible, the NWS warning read. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute. Strong winds could cause tree damage. The dangerously cold wind chills as low as 40 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. The NWS also said that temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees below normal, and mountain wind chills are predicted to be zero to 10 degrees. Other parts of California are also expecting a wintry mix of weather; a freeze warning was issued for the San Francisco Bay Area until Friday, warning of below-freezing temperatures. As of Thursday, more than 40,000 people have reported power outages during the storm, according to Poweroutage.us. The winter storm swept across the country this week from California to Maine, causing widespread power outages and hazardous road conditions. In Michigan, more than 730,000 residents were without power as of Thursday, and in Wyoming, state officials closed portions of I-80 due to winter conditions. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. DUBLIN After everything hes seen, everything hes experienced, everything thats happened and continues to happen in his war-torn country, how can Yaroslav Amosov possibly focus on an MMA fight? Thats the task in front of the Bellator welterweight champion, who will unify the 170-pound title when he meets interim champ Logan Storley in the Showtime-televised Bellator 291 main event Saturday at 3Arena. Its a rematch of a November 2020 fight that Amosov won by split decision. Amosovs return to the cage comes on the heels of spending nearly 10 months serving in Ukraines military. When Russian forces invaded his country last February almost one year to the day Amosov put his MMA career on hold. And, quite frankly, put his life on the line to defend his country. During one portion of his media day session with reporters Wednesday, Amosov reflected on his decision and how it impacted his wife. Shes scared. She understands maybe I dont call today, maybe not tomorrow. We dont know, Amosov said. When the war started, she listened to what happened, because the first attack was close to my city. She heard rockets, airplanes shooting. She listened to all of this. Of course, shes scared. All people scared. Eight months prior to the Russia-Ukraine war beginning, Amosov won gold by beating then-champ Douglas Lima in a lopsided unanimous decision at Bellator 260. Amosov was slated to make his first title defense vs. Michael Page, but the tensions back home prevented him from focusing on training before he ultimately withdrew. As he gets set for his first competition in 19 months, Amosov said the fighting back home which has resulted in the deaths of more than 7,000 Ukrainian civilians does serve as motivation, but he admits his outlook is a little bit different. The situation in Ukraine now is motivation, said Amov, who will return to Ukraine to fight after Bellator 291, but not after he sees his wife and son. Sometimes I think Im training, and I think its hard training for me, not very good. Then after I think, I know why Im fighting. For (Ukrainian soldiers), its hard. For me, just training. Story continues He continued, Its now a little bit different, because I understand. Before I was only a fighter, a sportsman. The cage was my home. Now I understand its only sports. Its a big motivation for me, of course. I train, hard training. But I understand its not No. 1. No. 1 is save your family, you know? Your people. Its different. Related Logan Storley: Yaroslav Amosov rematch at Bellator 291 comes down to pushing pace for 25 minutes Bellator 291 breakdown: Can Logan Storley wrestle to title unification in rematch vs. Yaroslav Amosov? Why Bellator champ Yaroslav Amosov decided to return as Russia-Ukraine war wages on For more on the card, visit MMA Junkies event hub for Bellator 291. Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie Just in the recent past, two new anti-Chinese hate incidents have been identified with the left in the United States. The cases are different, but the bias is not. One stems from liberal educators who kept secret the notifications of students who had attained National Merit Scholar status in order to advance equity (dictated by the deep state and opposed to the equality of opportunity that is an American tradition). The second is the case of Asians killed during the Chinese New Year celebrations in Los Angeles. The first involved mostly Asian students 75 percent of the victims are of Asian origin with the majority of them being Chinese who excelled in their high school in Virginia. Left-leaning schoolteachers and principals withheld news of the merit scholar list ostensibly to not offend students who were not high achievers and to advance equity. Many of the students who were kept in the dark about their merit status were cheated out of money in the form of a scholarship and/or an accolade that would have helped them get admission to a good university and likely a scholarship. The students were not informed on time to meet university application deadlines as the official merit lists were kept at the school or were with teachers or school officials for a week or more. The students were "robbed" and their academic career scarred. Most were discriminated against because of their race and because they are intelligent, hardworking and driven to excel. Critics argue that this policy is not only racist, but also demeans the US and puts the country at a disadvantage in global competition against China and other countries at a time when the US is in decline and fast losing its status as a great power. Some even compare it to Hitler's pogroms of Jews during World War II, which forced many Jewish scientists to migrate to the US where they helped build the atomic bomb, which brought the war to an end, and later played a crucial role in the US' space program that led to American astronauts landing on the moon. Similarly, many Chinese scientists have returned home in recent times because of the anti-Chinese hate crimes and the Biden administration's anti-China policies. What the school administrations and teachers did is said to have advanced the American Teachers Association's liberal ideas. Yet the incident came to light only after students at Thomas Jefferson High School in northern Virginia, the top high school in the US according to the US News and World Reports, complained to the higher authorities about the discrimination. But many say that this has been happening in schools elsewhere in the US for some time now. However, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin, a conservative Republican just elected to office, took measures to make the practice unconstitutional, for which he has been widely applauded so much that some people have said he has a chance of becoming the Republican Party's candidate for president in 2024. The second anti-Asian hate incident occurred in Los Angeles. In a violent attack on a Lunar New Year event, 11 people were killed and nine injured. Since the perpetrator was a person of Vietnamese origin who subsequently killed himself, details about his motives are not certain. The history of anti-Asian killings and racial discrimination against Asians in Los Angeles is legend. According to the Los Angeles Times, anti-Asian hate crimes increased 177 percent in Los Angeles in 2021, with some California officials calling it an "epidemic of hate". The Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism says Los Angeles is the number one city in the US when it comes to the number of hate crimes. Many crime suspects in Los Angeles are not prosecuted owing to the extremely liberal policies of the city government under district attorney George Gascon, who was elected with the help of George Soros, a financier with leftist views who contributed $2 million to Gascon's election campaign. Gascon's policy of going soft on many perpetrators of hate crimes has hit Asians hard, with many protesting against him and his administration. Defending the police, to many Asians, has become an excuse for not enforcing the law when the victims of hate crimes are Asians with people of Chinese origin being at the top of the list. USA Today reported that Monterey Park, the small suburb of Los Angeles County sometimes called the Chinese Beverly Hills, where the incident occurred, was the site of a disproportionate number of incidents of anti-Asian violence and crimes. Monterey Park is known in Los Angeles as an Asian haven, with two-thirds of its residents being Asians, almost 50 percent of whom are Chinese. The mayor is Chinese as are a number of other city officials. Many say a large share of business in the city is conducted in Mandarin. Monterey is a prosperous place, and eschews teaching woke and following leftist ideals, provoking the left in Los Angeles. The media often reports that hate against Asians intensified after previous US president Donald Trump said the novel coronavirus originated in China, and called COVID-19 the "kung flu" and launched the trade war with China. A Pew Foundation poll, however, showed this is not a serious concern to Americans. No wonder students at Harvard, led by Chinese students, sued the university for racial bias, alleging that the number of Asian students would be double in the university if it were not for the racial bias in the admission policy. While Trump supported their suit when he was in office, in a similar suit filed by students at Yale during Biden's tenure, the Department of Justice refused to hear the case. Behind the anti-Asian, anti-Chinese in particular, hate crimes is the ill-will espoused by the mainstream media toward China, alleging that China is trying to destroy the liberal world order, spying on the US, stealing US technology, and perpetrating human rights abuses. This is blatant provocative propaganda, aimed at inciting anti-Chinese sentiments in the US which must be exposed for what it is. Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy announces that the murder of Christina Lynn Castiglione has been solved during a press conference at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. HOWELL, Mich. Michigan police say they have identified a suspect in the nearly 40-year-old cold case murder of Christina Castiglione by using genealogical DNA comparisons. Charles David Shaw, who lived in less than 5 miles from where Castiglione went missing, died in November 1983 of accidental sexual asphyxiation, according to Detective Sgt. Matt Young, who contacted the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office when his name came up as a suspect. "When there's a homicide, there's normally some sort of a connection between the victim and the suspect and, in this case, there was none. That's one of the reasons that this was 40 years in the making. There was no tips. There was no evidence. There was no indication that would lead us to Charles Shaw," Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy said. Who was Christina Castiglione? Castiglione, 19, lived with her mother and father in Redford. She graduated from Redford Union High School and was active in sports, the release said. She was not married but had a steady boyfriend. She was employed by the Detroit Edison Company as a clerk in the research department and had contacted an Army recruiter prior to her disappearance. More: A 24-year-old teacher was murdered in 1971. DNA on a cigarette butt just solved the case. Foot in shoe: A Washington cold case involving a woman's foot found in a New Balance sneaker has been solved Christina Castiglione What happened to Christina Castiglione? On March 21, 1983, 19-year-old Castiglione was reported missing by her mother in Redford Township, about 15 miles west of Detroit. On March 29, 1983, the Livingston County Sheriff's Office found Castiglione's body in the Oak Grove State Game Area, a park in nearby Livingston County's Deerfield Township, after a tip. Castiglione was partially clothed and her body was in a remote wooded area. Detectives found evidence that Castiglione had been strangled to death and sexually assaulted. During the autopsy, the medical examiner found male DNA that was collected and preserved. Story continues The work that was done back in 1983 to preserve the evidence, to process the scene, was an outstanding effort by everybody that was at the scene, detectives as well as the responding deputies, Murphy said. The samples were later entered into CODIS by the Michigan State Police Crime Lab in the early 2000s, but a suspect was not identified at that time. In Alabama: A college student disappeared in 1976. His remains were identified 47 years later. Suspect ID'd In March 2022, the Sheriff's Office applied for and received grant funding through Season of Justice to conduct advanced DNA testing on the samples taken in 1983. Season of Justice is a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding DNA testing on unsolved cold case homicides, the Sheriff's Office said in a press release. In May 2022, DNA evidence from the case was sent to Othram Inc., a private forensic laboratory in Texas. Othram scientists used "forensic-grade genome sequencing" to develop a comprehensive genealogical profile from the DNA of the unknown suspect, which returned leads to authorities. Charles David Shaw The investigation led to the identification of Shaw. His identification was confirmed by three separate familial DNA comparison tests. What is everyone talking about?: Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day Shaw family shocked by news Young said Shaw's brother was shocked by the news. "He had no idea. He was a little bit older than Charles Shaw, so he was in the military when a lot of this was going on in Charles' life, so we wasn't around to witness all of it first hand," Young said. Based on information received from Shaw's family, the Sheriff's Office said, he was a sex addict with a disturbing life who struggled with mental illness and his gender identity. "Charles Shaw had several interactions with law enforcement beginning at a young age. One such interaction resulted in his arrest in 1981 for the attempted abduction of a woman in the Fowlerville McDonald's parking lot," the release noted. In 1973, Shaw was arrested by the Livonia Police Department on a breaking-and-entering charge. In 1977, he was arrested by the LPD on a drug possession charge. In 1981, he was sentenced to two weeks in jail and probation for the Fowlerville incident, according to Young. And in 1982, he was arrested for larceny of women's shoes from a Kmart. "The cooperation of the Shaw family during the investigation was paramount to identifying Charles Shaw as the person responsible for the homicide of Christina Castiglione," the release said. "We are hopeful that the surviving family members of Christina Castiglione, along with victims and families of other violent unsolved crimes who have been awaiting justice for decades, experience closure as genealogical DNA continues to help law enforcement advance efforts to achieve justice for victims." This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: 1983 Michigan cold case: Christina Castiglione murder suspect ID'd PARIS, February 23, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- TotalEnergies (Paris:TTE) (LSE:TTE) (NYSE:TTE) has signed Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPA) with Sasol South Africa and Air Liquide Large Industries South Africa for the supply of 260 MW capacity of renewable electricity over 20 years. TotalEnergies will develop a 120 MW solar plant and a 140 MW windfarm in the Western Cape province to supply around 850 GWh of green electricity per year to the Sasols Secunda site, located 700 kilometers further North-East, where Air Liquide operates the biggest oxygen production site in the world. The two projects will provide competitive and available renewable electricity to decarbonize Sasol and Air Liquides production. These agreements demonstrate TotalEnergies positioning to contribute to the evolution of the energy mix in South Africa. The projects will have a direct impact on the local community through job creations. "Power generation in South Africa is still 80% based on coal and power cuts occur daily. With these developments we are proud to support Air Liquide and Sasol for their supply of green electricity. Meanwhile, we are pleased to contribute to South Africas energy transition which consists of increasing its share of renewables and gas as an alternative to coal" said Vincent Stoquart, Senior Vice President, Renewables at TotalEnergies. "There is a dynamic market for corporate PPAs in South Africa and we want TotalEnergies to take a strong leadership position." The two projects are expected to be operational in 2025. The CPPAs with SASOL and Air Liquide were signed with a consortium of TotalEnergies Marketing South Africa1 (70%), its partner Mulilo (17%) and a to-be-announced B-BBEE partner (13%). These projects are subject to regulatory approvals. TotalEnergies and renewables electricity As part of its ambition to get to net zero by 2050, TotalEnergies is building a portfolio of activities in electricity and renewables. At the end of 2022, TotalEnergies' gross renewable electricity generation installed capacity was 17 GW. TotalEnergies will continue to expand this business to reach 35 GW of gross production capacity from renewable sources and storage by 2025, and then 100 GW by 2030 with the objective of being among the world's top 5 producers of electricity from wind and solar energy. Story continues About TotalEnergies TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and electricity. Our more than 100,000 employees are committed to energy that is ever more affordable, cleaner, more reliable and accessible to as many people as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts sustainable development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations to contribute to the well-being of people. TotalEnergies Media Relations: +33 (0)1 47 44 46 99 l presse@totalenergies.com l @TotalEnergiesPR Investor Relations: +33 (0)1 47 44 46 46 l ir@totalenergies.com @TotalEnergies TotalEnergies TotalEnergies TotalEnergies Cautionary Note The terms "TotalEnergies", "TotalEnergies company" or "Company" in this document are used to designate TotalEnergies SE and the consolidated entities that are directly or indirectly controlled by TotalEnergies SE. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" may also be used to refer to these entities or to their employees. The entities in which TotalEnergies SE directly or indirectly owns a shareholding are separate legal entities. This document may contain forward-looking information and statements that are based on a number of economic data and assumptions made in a given economic, competitive and regulatory environment. They may prove to be inaccurate in the future and are subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TotalEnergies SE nor any of its subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information or statement, objectives or trends contained in this document whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Information concerning risk factors, that may affect TotalEnergies financial results or activities is provided in the most recent Universal Registration Document, the French-language version of which is filed by TotalEnergies SE with the French securities regulator Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF), and in the Form 20-F filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 1 TotalEnergies Marketing South Africa is a South African registered company of TotalEnergies (50.1%) and a number of South african BBBEE investors (49.9%). View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230222006140/en/ Contacts TotalEnergies Sylvester Stallone unknowingly took a sip of Donald Trumps water and he shared a blunt review of its taste in a resurfaced Access Hollywood clip from 2007. (You can watch the Rocky actors review below.) The clip of Stallone, who once gave the water business a try with his Sly Water brand, reappeared on Twitter following Trumps promise that hed bring thousands of his Trump Spring Water bottles to residents of East Palestine, Ohio, on Wednesday. The former president, who made the vow to the community devastated by a toxic train derailment earlier this month, added that some of the bottles hed brought for residents were of lesser quality than his own water brand. In the resurfaced video, Stallone spoke with Access Hollywood host Billy Bush, infamously known for another Trump clip, and boasted about his own Sly Water brand before the host set him up with a taste test of a different water. Whatever it is, I wouldnt wash my socks in this, Stallone said after a swig of the other water. Bush revealed the other water was Trump Ice, a water brand that has been defunct since 2010 though Trump Natural Spring Water is now served at Trumps restaurants, and the two couldnt help but laugh about the water. I love Donald, Im sorry, Stallone said before engaging his water bottle in a Rocky-like fight with a Trump Ice bottle. Related... WASHINGTON James Wolf raised corn, soybeans and wheat on a family farm in Cottonwood County for decades when he did what many Minnesota farmers do applied for certification to sell his crops as organic, which would command much more money per bushel. From 2014, when he received his certification, to 2021, Wolf made $46 million selling what he promoted as organic grains to buyers in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. The money allowed Wolf, 65, to purchase a winter home in Arizona and two Chevy Corvette convertibles. But the FBI says the crops Wolf sold as organic were not. The Minnesota farmer was indicted by the U.S. Attorneys office in Minnesota last year for involvement in an increasingly common agricultural crime organic fraud which could result in jail time and millions of dollars in restitution. Wolf has pleaded not guilty. On Thursday, another farmer who is accused of conspiring with Wolf, Adam Clifford Olson, 45, will make his first court appearance in U.S. District Court in St. Paul on Thursday and is expected to plead not guilty. The booming organic produce market is worth at least $63 billion per year. Increasing demands for organic grains have raised their prices to double or even triple the cost of grains grown conventionally with synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. But for those who purchase grain, its difficult, if not impossible to tell organic grain from non-organic grain, making fraud hard to detect and prosecute. And the temptation to sell crops at a much higher price is difficult for some to resist. There are incentives to cheat, said Kate Mendenhall, executive director of the Organic Farmers Association and an Iowa farmer. That has led the USDAs National Organic Program to release final rules this month that are aimed at curbing organic food crime. The USDA said the tighter regulations may have prevented much of the fraud Wolf is accused of. This rule includes more robust traceability and verification practices that would have helped identify and stop this type of fraud earlier, preventing further sale of the fraudulent products and reducing the impact of the fraud, the USDA said. Story continues Wolfs is a high-profile organic fraud prosecution involving the FBI, the U.S. Attorneys office in Minnesota and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But it is not the largest case of this type of agricultural crime. In 2021, South Dakota grain broker Kent Duane Anderson was accused of buying conventionally grown grain and fraudulently selling it as organic at a huge profit, reaping about $71 million in proceeds, according to court documents. Anderson, who used the gains from his fraud to finance a lavish lifestyle in Florida, pleaded guilty. I purchased thousands of tons of small grain and seed products from non-organic suppliers and then re-sold those products to wholesale distributors, brokers, and other buyers at marked-up prices, falsely representing the products were organic, Anderson said in his guilty plea to the court. Those buyers, who believed the grain I sold them to be organic, were defrauded. Meanwhile Missouri grain broker Randy Constant was prosecuted for engaging in an even larger scam. Like Wolf, Constant sold bushels of conventionally grown grain and falsely labeled it as organic. The grain Constant sold between 2010 and 2017 was mainly used as feed for cattle and chickens to produce premium-priced meat and eggs that were marketed as organic. Prosecutors said Constant used the proceeds of his fraud to travel more than 20 times to Las Vegas, where he stayed in luxury hotels, hired escorts and gambled. He died by suicide in 2019 after being sentenced to 11 years in prison. Scams damage the credibility and integrity of the organic food industry, which relies largely on trust, and hurts consumers and legitimate organic farmers whose credibility is at stake. There are a lot of farmers who are working real hard to produce good organic food, Mendenhall said. The dumping of non-organic grains and other foodstuff on the organic market also depresses prices for these farmers, she said. USDA steps up fraud prevention efforts Besides the temptation of earning a lot more money for conventionally grown crops, there is an opportunity to cheat thats a result of the booming and complex organic food industry. The USDA says the rapid growth of that industry has attracted many businesses to the USDA organic label and increased the complexity of global organic supply chains. Its also overwhelmed organic food industry watchdogs. Complexity makes oversight and enforcement of the organic supply chains difficult because organic products are credence goods, which means that their organic attributes, or integrity, cannot be easily verified by consumers or businesses who buy organic products for use or resale, the USDA said in its release of new rules last week. The elements needed to guarantee organic integrity transparent supply chains, trusted interactions between businesses, and mechanisms to verify product legitimacy are more difficult to achieve in the increasingly complex modern organic industry. The USDA has accredited dozens of entities that issue organic certifications. They include for-profit companies, nonprofits and state-run agencies. Mendenhall of the Organic Farmers Association said transitioning from conventional farming to organic farming usually takes three or four years. Once that is completed, an inspector from a certification agency usually visits the farm, checks fields, and audits invoices and receipts. But some inspections are more rigorous than others. Wolf and Olson received their certifications from the Organic Crop Improvement Association, a certification company based in Lincoln, Nebraska. The association revoked Wolfs organic certification on June 2, 2020. Prosecutors allege Wolf continued to sell conventionally grown grain as organic, using Olsons certification, which was revoked a little over a year later, on Aug. 9, 2021. The Organic Crop Improvement Association did not return requests for comment, but its likely it eventually notified the USDA of noncompliance at the Wolf and Olson farms and the USDA followed up by contacting federal law enforcement authorities. The USDAs new organic regulations tighten certifications for grain imports sold as organic and require certifiers to conduct unannounced inspections for a minimum of 5% of the operations they certify annually. Record-keeping for organic farmers and their certifiers has also been beefed up, and theres a new requirement for certifiers to develop fraud prevention plans and conduct chain audits of operations considered high risk of fraud. The Strengthening Organic Enforcement rule is the biggest update to organic regulations in 30 years. The new regulations will take effect on March 20, and those impacted will have a year to comply with the changes. In its public comments on the new regulations, the Organic Farmers Association said they were a long overdue first step towards the robust enforcement we need to protect the integrity of the organic label and the viability of organic farms that rely on consumer trust in that label. Yet the association said there is still more work to do to prevent fraud in the organic sector. After Wolf was indicted for fraud last year, the FBI seized the farmers Corvette, a long list of farm equipment and more than $3 million in cash held in several accounts. Yet Wolf, who is awaiting trial, wanted to continue to farm. His request to have his farm equipment returned temporarily so he could harvest his crops last year was rejected by the FBI, but an appeal was approved by a U.S. District Court judge. The court system let him farm until there is an adjudication of the case. Its fair they do so, said Paul Engh, who is Wolfs attorney. Engh also said hes not surprised at the vigorous federal prosecution of Wolf and Olson. Its a big case for them, he said. This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: USDA tightens organic rules amid cases like alleged MN farmer scheme 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. Rev. Shane Moore of Wesley United Methodist Church speaks during the start of a Moment of Blessing ceremony mourning those lost to gun violence on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, at Millennium Plaza in downtown Yakima. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Laos Saleumxay Kommasith (R) receives Le Hoai Trung, member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and Chairman of its Commission for External Relations. (Photo: VNA) On February 22, General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith, National Assembly Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith received, while Thongsavanh Phomvihane held talks with the Vietnamese delegation. At the receptions, the Lao leaders spoke highly of the outcomes of the working session between the CPV Central Committee's Commission for External Relations and its Lao counterpart, saying that those have contributed to further deepening the Vietnam - Laos special solidarity. The Lao leaders congratulated Vietnam on its achievements, expressing their delight at the fruitful development of the bilateral relations. They affirmed that Laos attaches great importance to the relationship with Vietnam, stressing that the two commissions need to continue to closely coordinate, enhance the exchange of information and experience, and support each other, thus successfully implementing resolutions of their party congresses and agreements between senior leaders of the two Parties and States. For his part, Trung affirmed that Vietnam's foreign policy always attaches importance and gives top priority to developing the special relations between the two countries. He acknowledged with pleasure that the cooperative relationship between the two Parties and States has increasingly developed in a more practical and effective manner in all fields, contributing to maintaining the stability and development of each country. The official took this occasion to convey the regards of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and other senior Vietnamese leaders to Party General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith and other leaders of Laos. At their talks, Trung and Thongsavanh reviewed the cooperation between the two commissions. They also emphasised the necessity to further boost coordination between the agencies in implementing agreements between senior Party and State leaders of the two nations and expand and improve the efficiency of cooperation between other commissions of the two Parties./. Mr. Luu Thai Hung (third from left) and members of the VPA team in Hatay province of Turkey (Photo: VNA) Mr. Luu Thai Hung, living in Istanbul about 1,000km from the earthquakes epicenter, studied in Turkey and has resided in the country for many years. Leaving aside his job as a director of VT Travel Plus the first and also only tourism company run by a Vietnamese in Turkey, he assisted the team of the Vietnam Peoples Army (VPA) in performing their tasks in Hatay province. Hung told the Vietnam News Agency that deep sympathies for the Turkish people and their enormous pain and loss as well as his love for the country have prompted him to volunteer to help locals surmount these trying times. Right then the VPA team arrived to help with search and rescue work, he felt both moved and proud, and immediately decided to join the team and served as an interpreter to help them fulfill their duties. He said that he and other volunteers gained strong support from colleagues in his company. Accompanying the team, he has seen how the rescuers encountered and surmounted various difficulties such as in locating the exact positions of victims in devastated areas, ensuring equipment, or preparing meals amid limited conditions. However, they also received assistance from the coordinating agency, police, and Turkey's military. Braving hardships and challenges, the military officers and volunteers like him maintained the determination to fulfill duties, Hung went on, and they obtained encouraging results. One thing that left a strong impression on him was the Turkish peoples sentiment and gratitude toward the VPA team. They were warmly welcomed by locals in every place they came, and many residents shared food and water with the team even though the Turkish people themselves were still struggling with difficulties, he said. Hung added that he and other Vietnamese in Turkey are always ready to help the Vietnamese task force perform tasks in the most effective manner./. Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. Providing Ukraine with military support was the main topic of the meetings in Brussels, in which officials of the Hungarian Ministry of Defence participated last week but this is hardly known to anyone who follows pro-government media in Hungary. We had to travel to Belgium to see for ourselves the Hungarian participation happening: on-the-spot report on the international meetings held at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. In mid-February, all major state media reported in detail, in several reports, that the President of Kyrgyzstan had visited Hungary. According to the public media, this was the most important foreign policy event of the week, even though at the same time a Hungarian delegation at ministerial level was attending another summit with over fifty countries, about which virtually nothing was reported in the media: the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, this time in Brussels, Belgium. Early into the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Viktor Orbans government announced that unlike most European countries they will not provide weapons to Ukraine. This was one of their most promoted policies during the 2022 April general elections, where they framed their opposition as wanting to drag Hungary into war by aiding Ukraine, and themselves as preserving peace and security. Since then, members of the Orban government, including the Prime Minister, have consistently attacked the idea of giving weapons to Ukraine. In their rhetoric, arming the nation only leads to the prolongation of the war and more suffering not-so-subtly implying that they expect a Russian military victory as an inevitability, which can only be delayed by aiding Ukraine. While the Hungarian government officially supports Ukraine in line with the common EU and NATO position, a large part of the governing Fidesz partys media machine has openly spread pro-Moscow propaganda, following the Russian occupation of Donetsk and Luhansk and the attack against Ukraine proper. Several media channels associated with Viktor Orbans government publicized fake news portraying Ukraine as the aggressor, and there have even been calls for Hungary to take part in a partition of Ukraine. In January this year, talking to foreign journalists, PM Viktor Orban also reportedly said that Putin cannot afford to lose and will not lose that time is working for Russia, and that Ukraine will soon run out of troops. Government mouthpieces typically go much further, portraying Ukraine and the West as the real aggressor, or openly hoping for a Russian victory. Among them are the media outlets of KESMA, the media empire funded largely by public money, and which the government had previously designated as a strategic partner. In February, an organ of KESMA aired a talk between its editor-in-chief Laszlo Nezo and journalist Andras Bencsik, where the latter said that he was rooting for the Russians and that he had never met a person in the country who wasnt rooting for them. Ramstein Group, not NATO With all of this in mind, it is surprising that Hungary regularly participates in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an alliance created to discuss and facilitate arms shipments to Ukraine. The Contact Group first convened in April 2022 at the Ramstein military airbase in Germany (thus it is often called the Ramstein Group) and has met eight times since then. Although most of its members are NATO member states, the group is independent of NATO. It is led by the United States and includes non-NATO members like Ukraine, Sweden, and Georgia. On February 16, the Hungarian Defense Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky posted a video on Facebook where he stated that he travelled to Brussels for a two-day gathering of NATO defence ministers to discuss NATOs collective defence policy, the revival of the European defense industry, and the development of the Hungarian armed forces. He however completely omitted that during these two days, the ministers not only took part in the North Atlantic Council meetings (NATOs political decision-making organ) but also that of the Ukraine Defense Contact Groups. Invisible Hungarian participants Having a reporter on ground, Atlatszo confirmed that Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczki was the official Hungarian representative at the meeting of the Ramstein Group. However, he could not be seen at the beginning of the event when reporters were allowed to be present as he arrived late. Other Hungarian representatives however are visible: on Deutsche Welles livestream, we recognized Balazs Geczy, deputy representative of the Hungarian NATO representation. Also present was the Hungarian Air Force colonel Joszef Szucs, who used to be the commander of the Air Command and Control Centre, and since 2019 participates in the Zrinyi 2026 army modernization initiative. Szalay-Bobrovniczky also participated in two meetings of the North Atlantic Council. The first of these meetings also discussed supporting Ukraine, and even Oleksy Reznikov, Ukraines Minister of Defense was present. Ironically, Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczkis social media video contains footage of this meeting, however, his editor evidently made sure that Reznikov cannot be seen in any of the scenes but he wasnt careful enough: for a few seconds, a Ukrainian flag can be seen on the table. Dont say Russians go home! Hungary also participated in previous Ramstein meetings: Hungarian representatives can be spotted on foreign news footage and photos of the events. Hungarian coverage of these events is deeply dishonest: government media regularly covers these events (often condemning these pro-war politicians for supplying weapons to Ukraine), while omitting that incidentally, Hungarian government officials are also present in the meetings. Official sources, such as the websites or social media accounts of the Ministry of Defense also never report on Hungarys participation in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. The only exception was Tamas Vargha a deputy at the Ministry of Defense, who in September 2022 did post on his moderately-sized Facebook page that he is going to the Contact Groups meeting. While politicians attend the Ukraine-supporting groups meetings practically in secret, media influenced by Fidesz continue to broadcast the Kremlins messages to the Hungarian public. Unsurprisingly, polls show that only a minority of Fidesz voters blame Russia for the war. The situation is well-illustrated by the fact that when Zsolt Nemeth, a Fidesz MP, posted the message Russians go home! Let there be peace! many pro-government commenters attacked him and expressed support for the Russian invasion. A similar situation arose during President Katalin Novaks visit to Kyiv: many of her followers were outraged that she dared to meet with President Zelensky and speak about helping the country under attack. Source: atlatszo.hu - republished with permission A conservative and a centrist columnist fear that the violence perpetrated by extremist groups could be followed by more turbulence and uncertainty in Hungary. In Magyar Demokrata, Balazs Agoston accuses left-wing ideological elites of being complicit in the radicalization of extremist anti-fascist groups, and, consequently, in their violent acts. The conservative commentator thinks that the bored children of middle-class families translate into practice the views of mainstream left-wing ideologues who stick the fascist label on anyone who considers nation and national identity important. Agoston also accuses the German secret services of responsibility for the violent acts in Budapest because, while they prevented far-right activists from leaving Germany, they failed to stop members of left-wing extremist groups traveling to Hungary. He concludes by suggesting that radical left-wing antifa groups should be considered terrorist organizations, and all Hungarians should denounce violence committed by foreigners on Hungarian individuals, regardless of their political views. In Magyar Hang, Tamas Koncz finds all violence unacceptable, even if it targets far-right radicals. The moderate columnist sees no difference between the brutal and aggressive acts of far-left antifascists on far-right extremists and the attacks by the latter against the Roma and immigrants. Koncz finds it distressing and alarming that a bunch of violent extremists could revive the atmosphere of Berlin in the 1920s, which was marked by daily clashes between far-right and far-left extremist groups. Koncz fears that violence and hatred could easily get out of hand during a time of uncertainty, in which many fear the war on Hungarys doorstep could turn into a Third World War. This opinion does not necessarily represent the views of XpatLoop.com or the publisher. Your opinions are welcome too - for editorial review before possible publication online. Click here to Share Your Story YORK An arrest warrant has been issued for William Willden, 53, of Casper, Wyoming, who was found sleeping in a York County residents bed while highly intoxicated from controlled substances. Willden was arrested a couple of months ago for that offense and eventually made bail. This past week, he was supposed to be in York County District Court for arraignment but did not appear. Because of his failure to appear, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest and he has now been charged with an additional Class 4 felony. The original case began in the middle of the night when the York County Sheriffs Department received a call from a man who lives on a nearby farm who said two suspicious men were at his home, not making sense and likely under the influence of something. The man said it appeared they had been there for four to five hours and they said they had run out of gas. Deputies went to the farmstead and when they arrived, they saw a vehicle with Utah plates. The windows were iced over and there were many items in the vehicle it appeared to be trashed with garbage and other items. While the deputies were looking at the vehicle, the man who reported the situation came outside from a shop building and said the two men in question were inside his house. He also told the deputies they were out of it. Deputies found Willden sleeping in a bed and the other man, identified as Gideon Jackson, 19, was in the room as well. The affidavit filed with the court says Jackson acted very strange by not sitting still and was very fidgety. The deputies spoke with Willden, who appeared to be very tired but spoke very fast while slurring his speech. They believed he was under the influence of methamphetamine and was crashing. Deputies said in court documents, Willden said they ran out of gas but he didnt remember much because he was sleeping while Jackson was driving. Meanwhile, another deputy found methamphetamine on Jacksons person and he was arrested. After a York County drug dog alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle, a search was conducted and deputies allegedly found a bag of methamphetamine, a loaded syringe, two used syringes and seven unused capped syringes. Willden was arrested as well. Now that Willden has failed to appear, he is facing two Class 4 felonies. Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, a UAE-based low-cost carrier, is ready to commence flight operations to Kolkata from the UAE capital - Abu Dhabi, from March 15 onwards. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) said in a statement here on Thursday. The new service between Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport, Kolkata and Abu Dhabi International Airport will be available three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, the statement said. According to the statement, the aircraft will leave Abu Dhabi at 2.25 pm (local time) and reach Kolkata 8.20 pm (local time) on all three days. The return flight will leave Kolkata at 9.05 pm (local time) the same day and reach Abu Dhabi at 1.05 am (local time). The airline will operate an Airbus A320 aircraft on the route. In a press release shared by Air Arabia Abu Dhabi on its website, it said that Kolkata marks the seventh destination for the airline in India after Cochin, Calicut, Trivandrum, Chennai, Mumbai, and Ahmedabad. Quoting Adel Al Ali, the group chief executive officer of Air Arabia, the statement also said that the service will provide its customer base with more convenient and affordable opportunities for business, leisure, and cultural exchanges between the two countries. Also How Pawan Khera's Arrest Created Chaos at Delhi Airport, Distress for IndiGo Passengers? Well, last month, a Sharjah-bound Air Arabia flight was grounded after a bird strike. Two eagles struck the aircraft's left engine moments before takeoff, forcing the plane to land in Coimbatore on Monday. The plane was taxiing through the runway when the birds struck the engine. After colliding with the engine blades, one of the two eagles dies. After the incident all 164 passengers exited the aircraft. In the past seven years, there have been three bird strikes on aeroplanes taking off from Coimbatore on average, but this was the first occasion all passengers had exited the aircraft to see the damage. An Airport in Japan recently made headlines for not letting a Japan Airlines plane from landing for arriving 10 minutes late. As per reports, the plane was flying from Tokyo's Haneda airport to the Fukuoka Airport situated in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka prefecture and was carrying 335 passengers. The plane started late from the originating airport, resulting in a delay in the arrival at the destination airport, which has a final landing cutoff of 10 pm. The plane arrived at 10.10 PM and was made to take a U-Turn and return back to the Tokyo Airport situated 1,000 km apart. As per a local newspaper, Asahi Shimbun, the plane was scheduled to take off at 6.30 PM on February 19, 2023 but was delayed until 8 PM, due to unknown reasons. Situated more than 1,000 kilometres apart, the plane covered the distance in 2.10 hours, and arrived in Fukuoka 10 minutes after the final landing cutoff time of 10 PM. The airport returned the plane back and 335 passengers onboard the flight had to travel another five hours back to Tokyo. The report further states that the delay in arriving back was caused due to a brief layover at the Kansai Airport for maintenance and refuelling. The plane landed back at the Tokyo's Haneda Airport at 2.50 AM. The airline arranged a hotel for the passengers to stay, and a flight took the passengers to Fukuoka on the morning of February 20, 2023. As per the airport guidelines in Fukuoka, no planes are allowed to land after 10 PM to avoid disturbing people living nearby. While the rule can be relaxed in case of a bad weather and other unavoidable delays, officials at the decided that the Japan Airlines delay was unavoidable. Interestingly, aviation analytics firm OAG, Japan Airlines is the second most punctual airline in the world with an OTP of 88.07 per cent, while Tokyo's Haneda Airport is among the most punctual airports in the world. The Japanese transportation system, including Trains, Metro and Aviation is considered to be the most punctual in the world. High voltage drama was witnessed at the Delhi airport on Thursday after Congress leader Pawan Khera was deplaned from a Raipur-bound aircraft, leading to sloganeering and dharna at the tarmac by party leaders, even as other passengers quizzically stared at the goings-on. The majority of the passengers had boarded IndiGo's flight 6E 204 when commotion was heard at the front-end seats. To start with, everyone thought it as some confusion over luggage but soon Khera along with other senior Congress leaders like K C Venugopal and Randeep Surjewala got down the plane. Several reporters and leaders, travelling to Raipur for the Congress' plenary session, realised that there was something wrong and slowly began to gather at the tarmac where Khera and other Congress leaders were seen asking why he was deplaned. Soon, Delhi Police reached the spot and asked for Khera to come along with them on account of an Assam Police request. Congress leaders refused to allow Khera to be taken by the police demanding written documents such as an FIR or an arrest warrant. By this time, several senior leaders and former ministers such as Mani Shankar Aiyar and Tariq Anwar, who were travelling in the plane, also came down and joined the protest. Unprecedented scenes were witnessed as Congress leaders sat on a dharna near the aircraft at the tarmac and raised slogans such as 'Jab jab Modi darta hai, police ke peeche chupta hai' and 'Tanashahi nahi chalegi'. Amid the sloganeering, several passengers, distressed by the delay, came down to witness the goings-on while many just sat in the plane asking those returning to the aircraft after witnessing the scenes how much delay would happen. Several passengers said common people should not suffer like this and the matter should be dealt with in a manner that does not hamper their schedule. Some also complained that they had small children waiting for them at home and the delay had put them in a fix. When the deadlock between the police and the Congress leaders continued the other passengers were requested by airline staff to come down from the plane with their cabin baggage and board the buses to be taken to the terminal. Meanwhile, the deadlock was broken when police showed documents from Assam Police requiring the help of Delhi Police in detaining Khera over a case under their jurisdiction. Common passengers were taken by bus back to Terminal 1 of the Delhi airport and handed refreshments. They later were brought back to the same plane as the flight readied for take-off after about four hours of delay. The flight finally took off around 4 pm. Amid the furore, IndiGo said the passenger was deplaned by the police and it was following the advice of authorities concerned. "The flight is delayed as of now and we regret the inconvenience caused to other passengers," the carrier said in a statement. "A passenger was deplaned by the police at the Delhi airport from Raipur-bound flight 6E 204. Some other passengers have also decided to deboard on their own accord," it added. The Congress top brass will be in attendance at the 85th plenary session that will primarily endorse the presidentship of Mallikarjun Kharge and will pave the way for the new working committee led by him. The February 24-26 session, which comes in the backdrop of the Bharat Jodo Yatra that has been touted as a success by the party, will be attended by around 15,000 delegates. At automobile assembly plant of Ford in Hai Duong province (Photo: VNA) According to the article, Vietnam recorded the strongest economic growth in Asia in 2022 following a period of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Switzerland is well-positioned to leverage advantages brought about by the Vietnamese economy. Two-way trade between the two countries reached about 3.2 billion USD in 2020. Hundreds of Swiss companies have been among the most important European investors present in Vietnam. In particular, the Swiss industrial equipment sector should fully tap the growing trend of "Made in Vietnam" products. The article also said that the industrial boom in Vietnam could be clearly felt when entering the Van Trung Industrial Park, which is an hour's drive to the north of Hanoi. Early in the morning, many people were lining up in front of recruitment office of Foxconn - the most famous subcontractor for Apple. In front of a large dormitory for workers, there is also a large poster with a notice that Foxconn is recruiting 10,000 employees with favourable working conditions. Foxconn is not the only factory hiring a large number of workers. Not far away, LuxShare, a competitor, is announcing that it will recruit 13,000 new employees. An automobile supplier is seeking 700 eligible positions while a solar panel manufacturer is announcing the recruitment of 6,000 positions. Large industrial zones are being built and taken over by advanced electronics manufacturers, said the article. The Republic of Korea's electronics conglomerate Samsung inaugurated a brand new research and development centre in Hanoi in December 2022. It also plans to invest around 3.2 billion USD to produce semiconductors in a neighbouring province. The USs semiconductor equipment company Amkor Technology will soon open a factory near the airport. And Pegatron of Taiwan (China) that produces components for electric carmaker Tesla and assembles iPhones, has recently begun operations near Ha Long Bay. Vietnam's above-said attraction to various factors such as a stable investment environment, 15 free trade agreements, including one signed in 2020 with the European Union (EU) help Vietnam become a hub of industrial production at affordable costs, said the article. Vietnam is being rated by foreign investors as a top priority for investment. Therefore, the country will continue to witness the emergence of super factories in the future, it concluded./. The Goa International Airport in Dabolim suffered with low visibility due to bad weather on Wednesday, causing disturbances in the air traffic movement. Eight flights in total were diverted to other cities, which were initially scheduled to land at the Goa International Airport. More than 20 flights were delayed due to poor visibility, he added. Diverted flights later "landed back at the Goa International Airport, Dabolim," the airport authority said in a statement. The flights which were diverted included an Oman Air flight which was taken to Mumbai. It was supposed to arrive at 2.35 am, the official said. Go First flight G8-575 and Air India flight AI-685 were diverted to Mumbai. Air Asia's flight I5-818 and IndiGo's flight 6E-743 were diverted to Hyderabad while Air Asia's Delhi Goa flight I5-779 was diverted to Bengaluru. IndiGo flights from Cochin and Bengaluru were also asked to head to Mumbai till visibility improved at Goa. A similar situation was observed in Northeast India, resulting in cancellation of over 7 flights, which were scheduled to fly from Guwahati, Tezu, and Tejpu. The list included flights that were operating on Guwahati to Tezu and Tezu to Guwahati route. They aborted operations considering the bad weather, and low visibility engulfing the sky over the capital city. "The Tezu-Imphal flight was cancelled due to poor visibility. All these three flights are operated by FlyBig airlines," he said. Due to bad weather, Tezpur-Guwahati and Guwahati-Tezpur services by Pawan Hans were cancelled, the official said. Also read - Uttar Pradesh to Soon Become Only States in India to Have 5 International Airports "The Guwahati-Dimapur-Imphal and the return Imphal-Dimapur-Guwahati flight of Alliance Air were also cancelled during the day," he said. Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) scientist Sanjay O'neil Shaw said the weather conditions and visibility are likely to improve over the next 2-3 days. "There will be generally cloudy sky in Guwahati with the expectation of light rain or drizzle on Thursday. It will be similar on Friday as well," he added. An official of AAI, which controls the Air Traffic Control (ATC) in Guwahati, said the minimum visibility required to land a flight at the airport is 1,300 metres, while it is 300-350 metres for take-off With PTI inputs With visibility getting poor in the Northeast due to bad weather conditions, a minimum of seven flights were cancelled from operating, an official of Airports Authority of India revealed on Wednesday. The list included flights that were operating on Guwahati to Tezu and Tezu to Guwahati route. They aborted operations considering the bad weather, and low visibility engulfing the sky over the capital city. "The Tezu-Imphal flight was cancelled due to poor visibility. All these three flights are operated by FlyBig airlines," he said. Due to bad weather, Tezpur-Guwahati and Guwahati-Tezpur services by Pawan Hans were cancelled, the official said. "The Guwahati-Dimapur-Imphal and the return Imphal-Dimapur-Guwahati flight of Alliance Air were also cancelled during the day," he said. Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) scientist Sanjay O'neil Shaw said the weather conditions and visibility are likely to improve over the next 2-3 days. "There will be generally cloudy sky in Guwahati with the expectation of light rain or drizzle on Thursday. It will be similar on Friday as well," he added. An official of AAI, which controls the Air Traffic Control (ATC) in Guwahati, said the minimum visibility required to land a flight at the airport is 1,300 metres, while it is 300-350 metres for take-off. Also, a total of eight flights scheduled to land at the Goa International Airport at Dabolim were diverted on Wednesday morning due to visibility issues, an official said. Also read - Uttar Pradesh to Soon Become Only States in India to Have 5 International Airports More than 20 flights were delayed due to poor visibility, he added. Diverted flights later "landed back at the Goa International Airport, Dabolim," the airport authority said in a statement. The flights which were diverted included an Oman Air flight which was taken to Mumbai. It was supposed to arrive at 2.35 am, the official said. Go First flight G8-575 and Air India flight AI-685 were diverted to Mumbai. Air Asia's flight I5-818 and IndiGo's flight 6E-743 were diverted to Hyderabad while the Air Asia's Delhi Goa flight I5-779 was diverted to Bengaluru. IndiGo flights from Cochin and Bengaluru were also asked to head to Mumbai till visibility improved at Goa. With inputs from PTI The Delhi Police on Thursday, February 23, 2023 arrested Congress leaser Pawan Khera at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. He was deplaned from a Raipur-bound IndiGo flight, ready to take off from Terminal 1 of Delhi Airport. This created a ruckus at the Airport, causing a delay of the IndiGo flight, as all the passengers were deboarded from the plane and taken back to the airport terminal. The passengers of the Flight 6E 204 were later taken in another IndiGo flight that left Delhi airport for Raipur at around 2.30 pm, according to officials. IndiGo, now, has issued first official statement amid a political furore over Congress leader Pawan Khera being deplaned at Delhi airport. The airline said the passenger was deplaned by the police and it is following the advice of concerned authorities. "The flight is delayed as of now and we regret the inconvenience caused to other passengers," the carrier said in a statement. "A passenger was deplaned by the police at the Delhi airport from Raipur-bound flight 6E 204. Some other passengers have also decided to deboard on their own accord," it added. The incident happened at Terminal 1 of the Delhi airport. Khera was later detained. The majority of the passengers had boarded when drama ensued as Khera was asked to deplane. Several Congress leaders deboarded with Khera and staged a dharna on the tarmac. As the protest continued, the airline staff asked passengers to deboard and took them back to the terminal. The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a notice to Assam and the UP Police over Congress leader Pawan Khera's plea seeking clubbing of FIRs and granted him interim protection from arrest. The Supreme Court further directed the Dwaraka Court to release the petitioner on interim bail till the next date of hearing. Pawan Khera recently referred to the Prime Minister as "Narendra Gautamdas Modi" while criticising the Central government over the row involving the business conglomerate headed by Gautam Adani. The ruling party has accused him of making fun of the prime minister and his late father. With agencies inputs New Delhi World Book Fair 2023: Good news book lovers! The much-awaited World Book Fair 2023 is finally just around the corner and is all set to be held in New Delhi. It's time to make some space on your shelves to welcome new books to your collection! Further, now is the time to meet your favourite author and make your dream come true! The Education Minister of India, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan will be inaugurating the New Delhi World Book Fair on February 25, 2023, at 3 pm at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, and this year, the Guest of Honour country would be Frace. The New Delhi World Book Fair 2023 will be 9 days long, starting from February 25-March 5 from 11 am-8 pm (daily). This will open gates for all the bibliophiles out there to get their much-awaited books! About the New Delhi World Book Fair 2023 With India completing its 75 years of Independence, this year the theme of the New Delhi World Book Fair 2023 would be Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of India and its glorious history. Further, the New Delhi World Book Fair will not just stay confined to books, but will also have a lot more to check out. This year, cultural presentations, open mics, performances by the army and police band, talk shows, and folk and cultural performances will also be organised on Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. To make the book fair more interactive, there will be interactions with War Heroes, recitals of Shaurya Gathas, Patriotic songs, stories, skits, and a lot more. Also read: Bhasha Diwas: Why 21 February Is Observed As Bengali Language Movement Day? Significance And History Check Whats New at World Book Fair 2023 In a specially designed Pavilion by NID Ahmedabad, an exclusive exhibition of more than 750 titles on Freedom fighters, the national movement of India, in all major Indian languages and English, along with, 100+ publishers on Digital Exhibition of Indias achievements during the last 75 years will be displayed, followed by panel discussions, books, and photo exhibitions. Pavilions at the New Delhi World Book Fair 2023: Foreign Pavilion With France been designated as the Guest of Honour at World Book Fair 2023, book lovers will be afforded a unique opportunity to browse and avail several French books and translated works as well as interact with French delegation of over 60 memebrs. These will include writers, publishers, literary agents, cultural representatives along with numerous literary activities at the Foreign Pavilion. G20 Pavilion The G20 theme will be integrated with the world book fair and activities such as exhibition of books from G20 member countries will be organised. NEP Pavilion An exclusive NEP 2020 Pavilion will be designed by the National Institute of Design across 1000 sq.m., featuring an Ed-Tech zone, an event zone, and a presentation area. Children's Pavilion Activities promoting children's literature and reading habits like skits, dramas, street plays, story telling sessions, workshops and panel discussions will be organised in this pavilion. Corners at the New Delhi World Book Fair 2023: There will be four corners at the World Book Fair 2023: Author's Corner YUVA Corner Child author's Corner International events corner New Delhi World Book fair 2023: Dates, Timings, Entry Fees The New Delhi World Book Fair will be organised at Pragati Maidan from February 25-March 5. Timings: 11 am - 8 pm (daily) Entry Fees/Ticket: Entry fees for New Delhi World Book Fair 2023 will be 'free' for school children, senior citizens, and differently-abled. However, the tickets for New Delhi World Book Fair would cost Rs 10 (for children) and Rs 20 for adults. Visitors can avail tickets online too at itpoonline.gov.in. The entry to the fair would be from Gate no. 4 and 10. Bengaluru: IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri has sent a notice to IPS officer D Roopa for allegedly making "false and defamatory posts" against her and warned of criminal proceedings if she does not issue an unconditional apology in writing within 24 hours. This comes after IPS officer D Roopa accused the IAS officer of corruption. Roopa also posted Sindhuri`s pictures on Facebook alleging that she had shared them with three IAS officers in 2021 and 2022. Roopa had claimed that Sindhuri had violated the rules of service conduct by sending her pictures to male IAS officers. Following the accusations, the IAS officer sent a notice through advocate CV Nagesh and demanded an unconditional apology stating that the "serious allegation" against her touches her "character". "As things stood, while my client was discharging her duties under her current position she has come across a Facebook post dated February 18, 2023, which incidentally your Facebook page bearing the name "D Roopa Moudgil" wherein you have alleged that no IAS Officer would go for a settlement with an MLA or Politician regarding their official work/ service and that for the first time you heard about such an incident and has cast aspersions on our client that she has done so and has alleged/questioned why our client went for a settlement with Sri Sa Ra Mahesh, an MLA and implying that our client is trying to cover-up something with respect to either her service or corruption," the notice said. Also Read: Karnataka: IAS Rohini Sindhuri, IPS D Roopa Transferred After Fight on Social Media Over Private Pictures "Presumably not having received the desired media attention to such per se false and defamatory posts, you have indulged in uploading photos of our client and projecting the same to be explicit photos by imputing a meaning that the said photos ought to be seen in "context" with a malafide intention of colouring the photos with meanings that the same are explicit by falsely alleging that they were sent to "three lAS Ofticers". "You have made such serious allegation against our client which touches her character and conduct knowing fully well that the same are false and far from truth," it further read. The notice further said that the posts and allegations were made with the objective of "tarnishing the professional, personal and social image" of Sindhuri. The IAS officer sought compensation of Rs 1 crore for the same. "From the course of your conduct in making the per-se defamatory comments/statements/allegations, knowing and having reason to believe that the said comments/statements/allegations are false and far from truth, you have committed a serious offence which is made penal under Section 500 of the Indian penal Code," the notice said. "Under the circumstances stated above, we have been instructed to demand of you which we hereby do, that you should within 24 Hours of the receipt of this notice, tender to our client an unconditional apology in writing for having made the said per se defamatory comments/statements/allegations," it added. She further warned of criminal proceedings if the IPS officer failed to comply to the demands. "If you fail to comply with the above demands, our client would be constrained to institute appropriate Criminal proceedings against you by filing an appropriate compliant before the jurisdictional Magistrate for an offence which is made penal under section 500 of Indian Penal Code," the notice said. New Delhi: Congress leader Pawan Khera was arrested by Assam police at the Delhi airport on Thursday (February 23) after he was deplaned from a Delhi-Raipur Indigo flight by authorities. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea related to his arrest and consolidation of multiple FIRs filed against him at 3 pm on Thursday after Congress approached the apex court. In a video shared by ANI, police personnel can be seen escorting Khera to their vehicle. Khera, while speaking to reporters, said that he will fight whatever case he was detained for. Prasanta Kumar Bhuyan, IGP L&O & Spox of Assam police to ANI that a case has been registered against Congress leader Pawan Khera at Haflong police station in Assam's Dima Hasao district. He will be presented in a Delhi court and will be taken to Assam on transit remand. Assam Police arrests Congress leader Pawan Khera. He will be presented in a Delhi court and will be taken to Assam on transit remand pic.twitter.com/GGlU0zkgKn February 23, 2023 #WATCH | "We will see (in which case they are taking me). It's a long battle and I'm ready to fight," says Congress leader Pawan Khera as Delhi Police takes him after he was deboarded from an aircraft at Delhi airport pic.twitter.com/cKXeo6kSb4 ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2023 A political drama unfolded at Delhi airport after Pawan Khera was deplaned from a Raipur-bound IndiGo flight. Earlier several party leaders got off the plane after Khera was deboarded and staged a dharna on the tarmac. Khera was on his way to Raipur for the Congress plenary. As drama escalated at terminal one of the domestic airport here, flight staff told Congress leaders there was confusion with Khera's bags. They said the police were on their way and would explain the reason to him. However, later, Delhi police handed over a document from Assam Police seeking their help in the detention of Khera. According to PTI, a case has been registered against Khera under various sections of the IPC for his alleged remarks against the prime minister. "We are all on the @IndiGo6E flight 6E 204 to Raipur and all of a sudden my colleague @Pawankhera has been asked to deplane," Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, who was also on the flight, said on Twitter. "What sort of high-handedness is this? Is there any rule of law? On what grounds is this being done and under whose order?" she said. (With agency inputs) New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate, on Thursday (February 23) summoned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's PA Bibhav Kumar for questioning in connection with its ongoing probe into the Delhi Excise Policy case as per ANI. The questioning is currently underway, according to reports. Earlier, on Monday (February 20), Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was summoned by the CBI in the Delhi Excise Policy case for questioning on February 26. However, Sisodia has continued to deny any wrongdoing and accused the BJP of targetting him and the AAP-led Delhi government through central agencies. Last week, he had tweeted, "They have used the full power of CBI, ED against me, raided my house, searched bank locker, but nothing was found against me." He said that the CBI has been made to go after him because "they" want to stop him from doing "good work" on the education of the children in Delhi. The ED and the CBI had, last year, alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the Excise Policy, undue favours were extended to licence holders, the licence fee was waived or reduced and the L-1 licence was extended without the competent authority`s approval. The beneficiaries diverted "illegal" gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection. (With agency inputs) New Delhi: Although Pakistan has received a huge amount of funding as flood relief donations from the International Monetary Fund and its all-weather ally China has also lent 700 billion USD the country is still reeling under a huge economic crisis. In today's DNA, Rohit Ranjan analysed how Pakistan is trying to fight its economic crisis by applying the cost-cutting formula in the country. To deal with its crippling economy, the Pakistan government has now decided that several officials of the Pak government including the country's PM Shebaz Sharif will not get salaries. Pak PM has announced that his cabinet minister will not get paid and the PM himself along with his special advisors will also not take the salaries to take off some load from the shattering economy of the country. Sharif also announced that all government VIPs in Pakistan will now pay their bills for electricity, water, phones etc and the luxury cars of all the VIPs will also be taken back to deal with the crippling economic situation. The Pakistan government has also decided to manage all its meetings via video conferencing to cut travel expenses and for the meetings which are scheduled to be attended outside the country, the officials will travel in the economic class of the airlines. New Delhi: The Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena told the Supreme Court on Thursday the formation of a new government in Maharashtra under Eknath Shinde was the "direct and inevitable result" of two orders of the apex court that "disturbed the co-equal and mutual balance" between judicial and legislative organs of the State. Senior advocate A M Singhvi, representing the Thackeray camp, told a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud that the orders of the top court dated June 27, 2022, and June 29, 2022, "cumulatively and conjointly", were not orders that merely protected the status quo but created a new status quo. "The formation of a new government on June 30, 2022, was the direct and inevitable result of two orders by the Supreme Court. By June 27, 2022 order this court gave a negative injunction by not allowing the deputy speaker to decide the pending disqualification petitions and, by order dated June 29, 2022, a positive order was passed allowing the trust vote to be held on June 30, 2022," he said. Singhvi told the bench, also comprising Justices MR Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha, that by the order dated June 29, 2022, the court clearly made all acts and omissions which were to follow subject to the final outcome of the pending petitions in the matter. He said "subject to" necessarily and only means that the court is issuing an 'in rem' (directed against a thing rather than an individual) warning that all those who act after the "subject to" order do so at their own risk and any consequences, equities, rights, or new status quo created after the order will be liable to be reversed and status quo ante restored. "The consequence of change of government happened fundamentally because the Deputy Speaker was disabled/ fettered in the interim from discharging his constitutional duties under the Tenth Schedule (disqualification law)," he submitted, adding the June 27, 2022 decision was contrary to the 1992 five-judge verdict in Kihoto Hollohan case. The SC judgement in the Kihoto Hollohan case upheld the sweeping powers of the Speaker in deciding the disqualification of MLAs. "It disturbed the co-equal and mutual balance between judicial and legislative organs, the latter represented by the Deputy Speaker, contrary to detailed Supreme Court judgments," he said, adding "the orders dated June 27, 2022 and June 29, 2022, cumulatively and conjointly, did not order merely protecting the status quo, but created a new status quo." Singhvi, referring to the 2016 Nabam Rebia case, said the top court has sufficient judicial precedents where a complex and intertwined set of acts and omissions have been reversed with restoration of status quo ante based upon purposive interpretation and the intent to do complete justice while judicial adjudication is ongoing. CJI Chandrachud told Singhvi that by applying Nabam Rebia case here, the Speaker could not have decided the disqualification petitions against the MLAs as the 2016 verdict says where a motion for removal of Speaker is pending he cannot decide on disqualification. Singhvi said the facts and sequence make it "indubitably and unambiguously" clear that a reference back to the Speaker for a decision on the disqualification petitions filed by the petitioner (Uddhav faction) would be a futile exercise involving a foregone conclusion. "It is respectfully submitted that if this court does not itself decide the question of disqualification, the result will be that the Respondents (Eknath Shinde faction), who have now got an order from the Election Commission that they are entitled to the symbol of the Shiv Sena, would be able to issue whips to the petitioners, defiance of which will result in disqualification of the petitioners," he said. Singhvi submitted that allowing the disqualification petitions to be decided by a person who has been appointed as Speaker with the active support of the Eknath Shinde group, and who has conducted himself in a biased and mala fide manner, will result in incentivising the constitutional sin of defection, and would be against the spirit and intent behind the Tenth Schedule. "The same would be in the teeth of constitutional morality. Thus, the principle of purposive interpretation demands that the present Speaker not be entrusted with the task of deciding the disqualification petitions", he said. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, also appearing for the Uddhav faction, had, in an unusual move on Tuesday, urged the top court to decide the disqualification proceedings pending against Shinde and Shiv Sena MLAs belonging to his camp, saying that would be the only way to "uphold the democratic spirit of the Constitution". The hearing remained inconclusive and will continue on February 28. A political crisis had erupted in Maharashtra after an open revolt in the Sena and, on June 29, 2022, the apex court refused to stay the Maharashtra governor's direction to the 31-month-old MVA government to take a floor test in the assembly to prove its majority. Thackeray resigned as the chief minister before the floor test to avoid an impending defeat. On August 23, 2022, a three-judge bench of the top court headed by then chief justice N V Ramana had formulated several questions of law and referred to the five-judge bench petitions filed by the two Sena factions which raised several constitutional questions related to defection, merger and disqualification. The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution provides for prevention of defection of the elected and nominated members from a political party and contains stringent provisions against it. New Delhi: C R Kesavan, Congress leader and the great-grandson of the countrys first Indian Governor-General C Rajagopalachari, announced his resignation from the party on Thursday morning (February 23). He shared his resignation letter addressed to Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on social media. In it, he listed the reasons for his departure from the party. He said that he doesn't identify with the party anymore which is why he "declined an organisational responsibility at the national level and also refrained from participating in the Bharat Jodo Yatra." CR Kesavan, great grandson of India's first Indian Governor-General, C Rajagopalachari, resigns from Congress party pic.twitter.com/lIBLc0odkY ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2023 He wrote, "I am truly sad to say that for a while now, I have not seen any vestiges of the values that made me work for the party with dedication for over two decades. I can no longer in good conscience say that I concur with what the party symbolises, stands for, nor seeks to propagate. This is why I had recently declined an organisational responsibility at the national level and also refrained from participating in the Bharat Jodo Yatra." Bidding adieu to the grand old party, he said, "It is time for me to chart a new path and therefore I resign from the primary membership of the Congress party with immediate effect. There will be speculation of me going to another party but to set the record straight, I have not spoken to anybody and honestly do not know what will unfold next." "I earnestly thank the Party and Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji for all the responsibilities entrusted to me over the years in Government and the organization," Kesavan had written in the letter. Banner introducing the ietnam Amazing Brewing Master 2023 (Photo: Vietnam Amazing Cup) The event, within the framework of the annual Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival, has so far attracted 33 contestants from nine localities to register. Accordingly, at the competition, contestants will perform by making traditional filter coffee and using V60 (brewing equipment). In the qualifying round, they will be divided into three groups, with each group expected to have seven to 10 candidates. Contestants will then compete individually and two contestants of each group with the highest scores will enter the final round. The final round will have six contestants compete individually and score points. The contestant with the highest score will win the contest. According to the organisers, one first prize, one second prize, and one third prize will be awarded to excellent contestants. The competition aims to discover, honour, and promote outstanding talents in coffee brewing, motivating baristas to constantly practice, improve their skills and creativity, and enhance the role of baristas to create premium coffee to meet the increasing needs of consumers. In addition, it also helps to promote and develop the countrys specialty coffee industry and Vietnamese coffee culture, contributing to increasing domestic consumption and the value of Vietnamese coffee globally. The competition is a place for people who are passionate about coffee, allowing them a platform to share knowledge and experience, and create an attractive connection space for the coffee community, according to the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association. The contest is considered the highlight of the 8th Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival, contributing to the realization of the goal: "Buon Ma Thuot - the destination of world coffee"./. New Delhi: Congress leader Pawan Khera, who was earlier deboarded, detained and then finally arrested by Assam Police for making alleged insulting remarks against PM Narendra Modi, said on Thursday that he is ready for a long battle even as he complained about the ill-treatment given to him. Talking to reports shortly after being granted interim bail by the Dwarka court at the orders of the Supreme Court, Khera alleged that he was deboarded from the aircraft and arrested by Assam Police in an illegal manner. Khera further alleged that he was arrested without any notice being served to him. I was asked to deplane as if I am a terrorist. This is not the only example of people's lives and liberties being curtailed. It can happen to anyone tomorrow," he said. I have complete trust in the judicial system which protected my freedom of expression today," Khera told reporters. The Congress leader further said that he would strengthen the efforts of his leader Rahul Gandhi to protect this nation and protect constitutional values. "Our struggle to protect this nation, protect constitutional values - my leader Rahul Gandhi is carrying on his struggle fearlessly, I will strengthen his efforts," he said. When asked about his next step for the ongoing 85th plenary session of Congress, Khera said that he would be going there now. Meanwhile, counsel for Pawan Khera, Aadil Singh Boparai said that the main contention is that he was arrested arbitrarily and has been a breach of the Supreme Court`s direction. "The only contention is that he was arrested arbitrarily and has been a breach of the Supreme Court`s direction. He was not served any notice and till 4 pm we were not given the FIR copy. We will exercise all our legal remedies," said Aadil Singh Boparai. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Archana Beniwal granted interim bail to Khera on furnishing a bond of Rs 30,000. The court while granting the relief also imposed some conditions. The court granted the relief after considering the order passed by the Supreme Court earlier in the day. It was received through email at around 6 PM. The court granted the relief after hearing the submissions made by Randeep Surjewala and the Assam Police. Assam police sought the transit remand of Pawan Khera. Randeep Surjewala submitted to the court that Assam police have not complied with the guidelines of the Arnesh Kumar case. He submitted that the grounds of arrest have not been provided and communicated. He also said, "I am the pairokar` of the person being detained by the police. The matter was taken up today by the Chief Justice of India (CJI). CJI passed an order stating that the person be released on interim bail. CJI was very gracious to pass the order." Who Filed The Case Against Pawn Khera In Assam? The Congress leader was arrested by the Assam Police after a complaint was lodged by Hen Samuel Changsan against him at Haflong police station. Changsan, who is a BJP leader, had filed a complaint against Khera on Wednesday for his comments on PM Modi and other issues. Changsan is a BJP leader and currently an Executive Member of the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council. "His (Khera) comments against the PM form one part of the FIR. In his complaint, Changsan alleged that Khera's remarks at a press meeting on February 17 were not only "insulting, defamatory and derogatory" to Modi and his deceased father, but also "provocative" to BJP workers and the PM's followers. The complainant also alleged that Khera's remarks were "a part of a wider conspiracy to degrade and destabilise our nation by defaming and disreputing the person, who is holding a high constitutional post as Prime Minister of India". Pune: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said the image of India today is that of a country that is willing to go to any extent to protect its national security. Every country has its challenges and no challenge is as sharp as that of national security, he said, adding that India is a country that will neither be pushed out nor will it allow its basic bottom lines to be crossed. The minister was addressing 'Festival of Thinkers', an event organised by Symbiosis International University here. "In the last few years, we have been tested for a long time on our western border. I think things are a little different now and everyone will agree. Few things had happened in 2016 and 2019 and we have been tested and we are being tested on our northern borders," he said. "How India comes through this test will show our ability to stand up," Jaishankar said. "We have today the image of the country which is willing to do what it takes to defend its national security. It (India) is a very forbearing country, a patient country, it is not a country that goes around picking fights with other people, but it is a country that will not be pushed out. This is a country that will not allow its basic bottom lines to be crossed," he said. Also Read: India-China Standoff: S Jaishankar Slams Rahul Gandhi, Says it was PM Modi who Sent Army to LAC "Since it is a polarised world, different countries will try to prejudice you. They will urge you. Sometimes they use pretty strong words. Now how do you stand up for your interests and sometimes the interests of others who may not have the same ability and strengths that you do. We are seeing that today," he added. Referring to the Ukraine conflict, he said the pressures which came with that conflict were also the moment when our sense of independence and sense of confidence were tested. "We are seen as independent and also seen as not just standing up for our rights, which we should and we are (doing it), but we are also becoming the voice of the global south. Last month, we had a consultation process ahead of the G20. It was the first time it happened. We as the president of the G20, at the level of Prime Minister, myself, Finance Minister, Trade Minister and Environment Minister, had a consultation with 125 countries of the global south." "We want to go into G20 saying that there is a large part of the world which is not sitting on that table but they have a legitimate interest and somebody needs to speak up for them. India today is perceived by the rest of the G20 not only as the voice of independence and self-confidence but also as the voice of the global south," Jaishankar said. Pune: In an apparent attack on Pakistan, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that no country can come out of its problems and emerge prosperous if its basic industry is terrorism.Replying to a question on whether India will be helping its western neighbour facing troubles, EAM Jaishankar said terrorism is the fundamental issue of the India-Pakistan relationship, which one cannot avoid and "we cannot be in denial of the fundamental problems". "No country is ever going to come out of a difficult situation and become a prosperous power if its basic industry is terrorism," he said at Asia Economic Dialogue here organised by the external affairs ministry. "...If I were to look at any big decision I am making, I will also look at what is the public sentiment. I would have a pulse what do my people feel about it. And I think you know the answer," he added. On Protecting India's Sovereignty In another event, EAM Jaishankar said the image of India today is that of a country that is willing to go to any extent to protect its national security. He further asserted that no challenge is as sharp as that of national security and added, India is a country that will neither be pushed out nor will it allow its basic bottom lines to be crossed." The minister was addressing 'Festival of Thinkers', an event organised by Symbiosis International University in Pune. On Trade Imbalance With China The External Affairs Minister also said the responsibility for the trade imbalance with China rests squarely on businesses as well, blaming Indian corporates for not developing the right sourcing arrangements. Speaking at the Asia Economic Dialogue here, Jaishankar said the government is doing its bit by bringing in policies like the thrust on Atmanirbhar Bharat and made it clear that the "massive external exposure" puts national security at threat. Terming the challenge posed by the trade imbalance with China as very serious and formidable, the career bureaucrat turned politician said the responsibility here is not just of the government, but it is an equal responsibility of businesses as well. "Indian corporates have not developed the kind of backwards (integration), vendor supplies, components and parts, ingredients and intermediates that should be supporting us," he said. With lots of people, including former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, asking India to focus on services, Jaishankar warned that those who "do down" manufacturing are "actually damaging India's strategic future". Mumbai: `Saamna`, the official newspaper of Uddhav Thackeray faction on Thursday (February 23) appreciated Bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar for showing the mirror to Pakistan during the `Faiz` festival in Lahore as he slammed the country for 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. Saamna`s editorial stated, "A Muslim writer-poet did what PM Modi and his blind devotees could not do to Pakistan. Senior poet-lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar was invited to Lahore`s celebration on poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz`s commemoration day." The publication hailed Javed Akhtar`s guts to accuse Pakistan in Lahore and slammed the Modi-led central government for only indulging in narratives and wrote, " It is not easy to go to Pakistan and utter such strong words` as Akhtar did. It is easy to threaten Pakistan by sitting here in Delhi and Mumbai. A roar of "Ghuskar Marenge" by doing a `surgical strike` during elections is common but saying the enemy,` You are the enemy of our country on their face is not easy. Only a true patriot can do this." Saamna in its latest editorial further took on Bharatiya Janata Party for having different definitions for nationalism and treason as "for them who do not follow them (the party) or are not ready to be their slaves are termed traitors in their eyes. According to BJP, one who is not a Modi devotee does not belong to be in the country." ALSO READ: Live Updates| 'They are Choking Opposition Parties': Sanjay Raut Slams BJP On the occasion, Akhtar said, "The mastermind of the 26/11 terrorist attack on Mumbai is still roaming freely in Pakistan. We are Mumbaikars. We have seen the attack on our city. The attackers didn`t come from Norway or Egypt, they came from your country. If Indian people have a complaint about this, then the people of Pakistan should not consider it an insult," the editorial read further. Akhtar also said, "`I wouldn`t hesitate to say that though we have organised so many grand functions of Nusrat (Fateh Ali Khan) sahab and Mehdi Hassan sahab in our country, you couldn`t organise a single event of Lata (Mangeshkar) ji," Akhtar said. ALSO READ: Shiv Sena Workers Protest Against Sanjay Raut By Getting 'Admitted' To Mental Health Hospital "The audience also gave a loud round of applause to Javed Akhtar. The courage of the audience who supported Akhtar must also be appreciated. Akhtar has set an `example` of patriotism and courage in front of the country," the letter reads further. Meanwhile, questioning India`s leaders Saamna said, "The special thing about Pakistani`s audience and their rulers is that they tolerated these statements on their land, but is there so much tolerance and restraint left in our country today?" Attacking on BJP, Saamna wrote, "BJP`s leaders and ministers openly say `we eat beef`, and burn innocent Muslim youths in the name of cow protection. They create Hindu-Muslim, and India-Pakistan tussle to win elections." "Pakistan is the enemy of the country, and so is China, but Modi only stands against Pakistan and is afraid of China. Modi government`s courage against China is only limited to the banning of some Chinese `apps`. These people create a raging atmosphere against the common Muslims of Pakistan and India for political benefits," the editorial added. "There was a time when the Tricolour was unfurled in Lahore as well and now Mr Javed Akhtar hoisted it again on the occasion of the memorial ceremony of poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz in Lahore," the editorial stated."Javed Akhtar showed what a 56-inch chest is. Special congratulations to him!" the letter added. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a notice to Assam and the UP Police over Congress leader Pawan Khera's plea seeking clubbing of FIRs and granted him interim protection from arrest. The Supreme Court further directed the Dwaraka Court to release the petitioner on interim bail till the next date of hearing. Supreme Court issues notice to Assam Police & UP Police on Congress leader Pawan Khera's plea seeking clubbing of FIRs. SC says, till the next date of hearing,the petitioner will be released on interim bail by Dwarka court SC directs Dwarka court to grant interim relief to Khera pic.twitter.com/PyTalWRrAl ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2023 The top court passed the order while hearing a plea challenging Congress leader Pawan Khera's arrest in connection with his alleged insulting statements on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's father. Khera has earlier moved the Supreme Court seeking relief in multiple FIRs lodged against him in Assam, and Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow and Varanasi. Senior advocate A M Singhvi appeared for Khera in the matter which was listed before a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud. Singhvi had sought interim relief for the Congress leader and consolidation of FIRs since several are being registered across the country. Singhvi told the Supreme Court that Khera had apologised and said that it was a mistake, a slip of tongue. The lawyer appearing for Assam Police told the Supreme Court that Khera was arrested and would be presented before the court for transit remand. The CJI began hearing the matter around 3 PM. Khera was arrested on Thursday at the Delhi airport after being deplaned from a flight to Raipur in connection with his alleged remarks against Modi at the request of Assam Police. During the hearing, Singhvi told the bench that multiple FIRs have been lodged against Khera over his alleged remarks against the prime minister. "He (Khera) has made statements in a press conference. He has made certain statements which I cannot say in the court but I personally would not have made," Singhvi said. He said due to the statements, multiple FIRs have been lodged against Khera in different states and, currently, Assam Police are at the airport to take him into custody. Khera, against whom a case has been registered in Assam, was asked by the Delhi Police to deplane. Congress leaders accompanying him sat on the tarmac in protest and resisted efforts to take him away without an arrest warrant. Senior Delhi Police officials later handed over a document from Assam Police seeking their help in arresting Khera. Congress leader Randeep Surjewala accompanied Khera to a police station at the airport where there was a huge deployment of CISF. Pawan Khera was arrested under various sections of 120B/153A/153B/500/504/505/502, which includes criminal conspiracy and inciting communal disharmony. Pawan Khera recently referred to the Prime Minister as "Narendra Gautamdas Modi" while criticising the Central government over the row involving the business conglomerate headed by Gautam Adani. The ruling party has accused him of making fun of the prime minister and his late father. PM's Modi's full name is Narendra Damodardas Modi, with the middle name Damodardas standing for his father's name, a common practice in many parts of the country. New Delhi: Another 'pee-gate' shocked the country and this time the incident took place in a government bus of Karnataka. This time a 32-year-old drunk man urinated on a woman co-passenger on Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus. As per media reports, the incident happened on Tuesday (February 21) near Hubballi when the drunk man urinated on a woman passenger's seat in a non-AC sleeper bus that was en route to Mangaluru from Vijayapura. However, later it was reported that the man did not urinate on the woman passenger but on her seat, and he was deboarded near hotel in Hubballi. As per TOI report, the woman did not file any complaint regarding the incident. Last year, on November 26, a similar incident happened when a drunk man reportedly urinated on his woman passenger on the business class New York-Delhi Air India flight. Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): Former AAP leader and poet Kumar Vishwas on Wednesday, apologised for his remark on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and said that he did not have the intention to hurt anyone`s feeling. Addressing the Day-2 of the Vikramotsav event in Madhya Pradesh`s Ujjain on Wednesday, Kumar Vishwas said, "I had just told the child that it would not happen just by speaking son, you will have to study, you do not study." "Some friends found that thing bad. If any friend felt that I had said such a thing, then I apologize," said the former AAP leader in Ujjain on Wednesday night. "I told the organisers that if anyone has objections, I will not come from tomorrow. But, people from Delhi to Bhopal said that I should definitely come and express my views," said Vishwas. Also Read: #ShameOnKumarVishwas: Kumar Vishwas Trolled For Calling RSS Illiterate, BJP Says 'Perform Ram Katha But Dont Give Certificate' He further added saying, "Even my 87-year-old father keeps on telling me that I have not studied properly, but that`s good because as long as he keeps on telling me that, I will keep on studying and learning." Earlier on Tuesday, Vishwas during the Vikramotsav event in Ujjain recalled an incident and said, "A boy who works with the RSS asked me how the budget should be. I said, you have voted the government for Ram Rajya, so the budget should also be like that." "There was no Budget in Ram Rajya, said the boy, to which I said this was your problem. While you are illiterate, communists are ill-informed," Vishwas had added. His comment on the RSS went viral on social media, drawing strong criticism from the right wing. Jaipur: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday lashed out at the Centre over the arrest of Congress leader Pawan Khera alleging that the situation in the country is "worse than Emergency".He said that there is an "Emergency-like situation" in the country without declaration."Today the situation in the country is worse than the Emergency. There is an emergency-like situation in the country without declaring it. His arrest has defamed our country all over the world. Nothing can be more unfortunate than this, that is why we say democracy is in danger and the Constitution is being torn to shreds. This pride of theirs will not work, the public will destroy their pride," he said.Earlier today, Congress leader Pawan Khera said that he is "ready to fight the long battle" soon after Assam Police arrested him in the national capital. Khera will be presented in a Delhi court and will be taken to Assam on transit remand."We will see (in which case they are taking me). It`s a long battle and I`m ready to fight," said Khera as Delhi Police took him after he was deboarded from an aircraft at Delhi airport.It is pertinent to mention that earlier today Pawan Khera was stopped from boarding a plane at Delhi airport after a request was received from the Assam Police to stop him," Delhi Police said on Thursday. Earlier, the Assam Police registered a case against the Congress leader in the Dima Hasao district. The Congress leaders protested after Khera was stopped by Delhi Police from boarding the plane at the airport.In a video shared on Congress`s Twitter handle, Pawan Khera said that he does not know why was he deboarded."I don`t know. I was told that your baggage has to be checked. I said I do not have any luggage except a handbag. When I came down, I was told that I cannot go, a DCP would come. We are waiting for the DCP for the last 20 minutes. I don`t know why I am being stopped," he said.Congress leader Supriya Shrinate alleged that the Congress leaders were en route to Chhattisgarh`s Raipur to attend the party`s 85th Plenary Session when Khera was asked to deboard. She accused the BJP government of "dictatorship"."We were going from Delhi to Raipur by Indigo flight 6E-204. Pawan Khera, KC Venugopal, Randeep Surjewala was also with us. We were heading to Raipur for the Congress Plenary Session. Pawar Khera was taken away stating that his bag has been exchanged but he was not carrying check-in baggage. He was then told that he had been deplaned and a DSP of CISF would come and serve him notice. If this is not a dictatorship, then what is it? Would you stop people from boarding the flight? The dictator got ED raids done before the session and now the government has come down to this kind of act," she said in a video tweeted by the Congress party. She further asked the sections under which action was being taken against Khera and said that they would not board the flight to Raipur until the Congress leader is allowed to board along with others."What wrong has he done that this action is being taken? The action is being taken under which sections, they will have to tell. We will keep standing here until the flight departs along with all of us including Pawan Khera," she said. KC Venugopal who was also accompanying the group, tweeted, "Modi govt is acting like a bunch of goons by deplaning @Pawankhera ji from the Delhi-Raipur flight and preventing him from joining the AICC Plenary. Using a flimsy FIR to restrict his movement & silence him is a shameful, unacceptable act. The entire party stands with Pawan ji. " Today we were going for the Congress Plenary Sessoin to Raipur, and our colleague Pawan Khera was told that he left his luggage but he was not carrying any luggage. Then the Police came and said Assam Police has registered an FIR," Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said."We asked them to show an arrest warrant but they did not show any order. It is completely illegal Assam and Delhi Police have stopped our flight forcefully," Surjewala added. Kolkata: A Left-leaning student group was prevented from screening the controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Visva-Bharati University on Thursday evening as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the campus to attend a cultural function organised by the authorities. Singh, who will attend the Convocation of the central university on Friday, reached the campus on Thursday afternoon. According to reports, a group of students decided to screen the controversial documentary after hearing the news of Rajnath Singh's arrival ''to express silent protest against freedom of expression.'' A spokesperson of the Democratic Students Organisation (DSO), the student's wing of the Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist), said both the university authorities and the police prevented them from screening "India: The Modi Question'' on ground by not allowing a projector and a screen inside the campus. "We had initially thought about screening the film in January but later on decided to defer it. After coming to know that Rajnath Singh, who is an important member of the Narendra Modi cabinet, would reach Visva-Bharati on Thursday, we decided to screen it in the evening, he said. A police official said there was no information about any screening of the said BBC documentary on the campus and the police took the required steps as per standard security protocols owing to the presence of a VVIP like the defence minister. Earlier, Singh arrived in a helicopter at the campus and discussed the university's academic activities with Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty. He later watched a cultural programme performed by students of Visva-Bharati. However, the move has been severely criticised by the BJP. BJP's Birbhum district president Dhruba Saha said that a member of a students' wing "with Maoist affiliation" had deliberately planned this screening at the time of the Defence Minister's visit just to insult him. "These fake leftists tried to create a similar ruckus within Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi over this documentary. However, the people of India do not trust them and they are totally isolated from the people," he claimed. The banned BBC documentary was earlier screened at the Presidency University and Jadavpur University by the Left students' wing, SFI, without any permission from varsity authorities. The two-part documentary "India: The Modi Question" features the role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was the chief minister of the state during the 2002 riots. The ruling government thrashed the documentary and termed it as a "propaganda piece" that lacks objectivity and reflects a colonial mindset. On January 21, the government had issued directions to block multiple YouTube videos and Twitter posts sharing links to the documentary. Several opposition parties slammed the government's action and said they would oppose any censorship. The Supreme Court has dismissed a plea seeking the imposition of a complete ban on the BBC in India in the wake of the controversial documentary, terming the petition "entirely misconceived" and "absolutely meritless". This undated photo shows a staff member introducing a centuries-old large Buddha footprint statue at a museum in Siem Reap province, Cambodia. Centuries-old Buddha's right footprint statue, weighing about three tons, is on public display at the Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum in northwest Cambodia's Siem Reap province, the Apsara National Authority (ANA) said in a news release on Tuesday. (ANA/Handout via Xinhua) PHNOM PENH, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Centuries-old Buddha's right footprint statue, weighing about three tons, is on public display at the Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum in northwest Cambodia's Siem Reap province, the Apsara National Authority (ANA) said in a news release on Tuesday. The exhibition would help members of the public research, study, and understand important information about religion, arts, and history with events that took place more than 600-700 years ago in the famed Angkor Archeological Park, said the ANA, which is the government agency responsible for managing, safeguarding and preserving the Angkor. Kun Phally, head of the exhibition team and guide at the Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum, said the footprint statue is 2.1 meters long, 1.15 meters wide, and 31 centimeters high. "The ancient sandstone Buddha footprint was carved between the 14th and 16th centuries," he said. "In the center of the Buddha footprint statue, there is a wheel with 16 spokes and there are 108 different carvings around the wheel." The Buddha footprint statue was painted in black, red, and gold, Phally said, adding that studies showed that in the past, the Buddha footprint statue was considered by Cambodian Buddhists as an important object for worship and was kept at the Angkor Wat's One Thousand Buddhas Gallery from the 14th century until 1985. He added that later, the Buddha footprint statue was taken to be preserved and restored by the Angkor Conservation Team before being exhibited at the museum. Located in Siem Reap city, the Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum is open to national and international tourists from Tuesday to Sunday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, the ANA said. This undated photo shows a centuries-old large Buddha footprint statue at a museum in Siem Reap province, Cambodia. Centuries-old Buddha's right footprint statue, weighing about three tons, is on public display at the Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum in northwest Cambodia's Siem Reap province, the Apsara National Authority (ANA) said in a news release on Tuesday. (ANA/Handout via Xinhua) Editor: WXY Gurugram: A 19-year-old Delhi-based girl student was allegedly raped several times over a year by her Instagram friend, who also threatened to kill her, police said on Thursday. The victim, who had first met the man when she was underage, moved to the police after he started blackmailing her into sleeping with his friends. According to the complaint she filed on Wednesday, she met Abhishek, a Gurugram resident, in July 2020 through Instagram. She met him first in a park in Gurugram. "In September 2021 we met again in MGF mall from where he took me to a guest house in DLF Phase-2 area where he raped me," said the BA first-year student. From thereon, the accused would often call her and submit her to have sex with her. According to the complaint, the accused raped her several times in a hotel in Manesar, police said. "He started blackmailing me and once again raped me in September last year," she said. Following her complaint, an FIR was registered against the accused, Abhishek, under Section 6 of POCSO Act as the victim was a minor in 2020, and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC at DLF Phase 2 Police Station on Wednesday. A senior police officer said that after a medical examination, the victim was produced in a city court for her testimony under section 164 of CrPC. "We are conducting raids to nab the accused and he will be arrested soon," the officer added. New Delhi: Scuffle broke out between police and followers of self-proclaimed religious leader Amritpal Singh, president of Waris Punjab Dae, at Ajnala in Punjab's Amritsar on Thursday. A big number of Amritpal supporters began assembling in Ajnala early Thursday morning to hold a demonstration in front of the police station against the filing of an FIR against Amritpal and his associates. Police had also set up tight security and barricades to prevent Amritpal and his companions from reaching the Ajnala police station. Police from five districts were deployed in Ajnala to prevent any untoward incident. Amritpal had warned to convene a rally in Ajnala and to arrest him if the government did not drop the FIR against him and his associates. 'Supporters of 'Waris Punjab De' Chief Amritpal Singh break through police barricades with swords and guns outside Ajnala PS in Amritsar They've gathered outside the PS in order to protest against the arrest of his (Amritpal Singh) close aide Lovepreet Toofan,' as quoted by ANI. #WATCH | Punjab: Supporters of 'Waris Punjab De' Chief Amritpal Singh break through police barricades with swords and guns outside Ajnala PS in Amritsar They've gathered outside the PS in order to protest against the arrest of his (Amritpal Singh) close aide Lovepreet Toofan. pic.twitter.com/yhE8XkwYOO ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2023 Notably, Varinder Singh, a Chamkaur Sahib local, had filed a complaint against Amritpal and his followers for allegedly kidnapping and thrashing him while he was in Ajnala for a religious occasion. Amritpal had refuted the claims, claiming that the police had opened an investigation into him and his followers after receiving a complaint from a mentally unstable person who had previously been spewing hate against his jatha. The Supreme Court today awarded interim bail to Congress leader Pawan Khera in a case involving his alleged insult to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, hours after his dramatic removal from an aircraft and arrest at the Delhi airport. Congressman Khera was detained by the Assam police for allegedly making disparaging comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a recent press conference. The Supreme Court has ordered a Delhi court to grant interim bail to Khera. Let us inform you that Pawan Khera is an Indian politician, public speaker, and social activist who belongs to the Indian National Congress party. Here are 10 important facts about him: Born on 31 July 1968, Pawan Khera worked as a journalist before joining politics. Later he came in contact with the then Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit and was greatly influenced by her political views. A few days later, Sheila Dixit made him her personal secretary. During this, Pawan Kheda learned all the subtleties of politics by staying with her. Pawan Khera joined the Congress party in 2013 after Sheila Dixit stepped down from the post. He is known for his powerful oratory skills and has delivered several speeches on various political and social issues. He has also worked as a spokesperson for the Indian National Congress and has appeared on several news channels as a political analyst. He has been a vocal critic of the ruling party, BJP, and has often spoken out against their policies and decisions. Kheda is also the chairman of the media and communication cell of the party these days. In 2021, he was appointed as the national spokesperson of the Indian National Congress party. Drama At Delhi Airport Following hours of drama at the Delhi airport, senior Congress politician Pawan Khera was detained by the Assam Police on Thursday after a FIR was filed against him for his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Khera had previously disembarked from an IndiGo flight bound for Raipur, where he intended to join the AICC plenary session that would start on Friday. For some reason involving his luggage, the flight attendants requested Pawan Khera to exit. He was informed as he descended that the DCP was approaching and that he would be unable to travel. As the Delhi Police and the Assam Police arrived at the airport, Congress officials began to chant anti-government slogans on the tarmac. However, Congressman Pawan Khera, who was detained after being removed from an IndiGo flight for allegedly making "derogatory" comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, informed the Supreme Court that he had since apologised for the remarks. Following the Congress leader's apology, the Supreme Court instructed the Dwarka court to provide Khera with temporary respite. Hyderabad: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Thursday slammed the NDA government at the Centre over the India-China border row, and sought to know why it was "running away" from a discussion in Parliament on the issue if it has nothing to hide. Addressing reporters, he said, "It is completely bluster and bluff. If the Modi government has nothing to hide, why is it running away from a debate in Parliament?" He was responding to a query about External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's reported comments on the India-China border dispute in an interview to a news agency. "It is a fact that the NDA government does not want to debate on the Chinese PLA Army occupying 2,000 sq km of land in Depsong and Demchok," he claimed. "... Is he (Jaishankar) accepting that the Prime Minister misled the nation by saying 'na koi ghusa hai, na koi ghusega?" the Hyderabad MP asked. Citing a research paper submitted at the annual police meet held in Delhi in January last, he said the Indian army has lost access to 26 out of 65 patrolling points along the LAC. How can the External Affairs Minister forget the paper presented in the DGPs conference, Owaisi asked. "Basically, we have not got the status quo ante which was there before 2020 June or July." Owaisi accused the NDA government of being "scared of truth" and said thats why a BBC documentary on the 2002 Gujarat riots had to be banned by it. Hitting out at former Rajasthan Deputy CM Sachin Pilot, the Hyderabad MP charged that the Congress leader took the help of the BJP when he wanted to become chief minister of that state. "He (Pilot) wanted to become the chief minister and he took the help of the BJP. The whole world knows about it. He brought his group of MLAs and he was supported, promoted, and encouraged by the BJP. He was not successful in achieving that, that is true," he said. Owaisi further asserted that AIMIM has been consistently fighting the BJP on ideological grounds. Referring to the killing of two Rajasthan men in Haryana recently, the AIMIM chief said Pilot could not utter the names of the deceased -- 'Junaid and Naseer' and wanted to know what would be the former's reaction if those belonging to his own community were killed the same way. Owaisi took AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge's comments that an alliance led by the Congress would come to power at the Centre next year with a pinch of salt, saying there are several internal squabbles within the grand old party. "It would be known in 2024. We cannot say anything now," he said. In 2019, the Congress and BJP were in a direct contest in 186 Lok Sabha seats and the former could win only 16 seats. "Their party's senior leader lost in Amethi," Owaisi said. He also recalled the electoral failures of Congress in Telangana, Maharashtra and Delhi Assembly polls despite being in power in those states once. On Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan's alleged remarks in support of the uniform civil code, Owaisi said, "the Governor, unfortunately, is behaving as a ruling party member". "I am not denying that he has no right to say. But, the Governor's post, conventionally, the Governors do not interfere in the promotion of the ruling party's agenda or politics . That is what he has been doing." Claiming that triple talaq has not done justice to Muslim women, he questioned why Khan cannot talk about the "Hindu undivided tax rebate", condemn the "love jihad laws" and discuss the "religious conversion laws" passed by BJP. New Delhi: Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera has been the biggest newsmaker on Thursday (February 23, 2023). The high drama at the Delhi Airport over his arrest by the Assam Police and after having him deplaned made him the most searched person on the internet and the biggest talking point on Twitter with over 15 tweets and re-tweets on hashtag #PwanKhera. What Happened At Delhi Airport? The senior Congress leader was earlier this morning deplaned and arrested by the Assam Police in connection with several FIRs filed against him for making alleged derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Khera had boarded a flight from New Delhi to Raipur to attend the Congress plenary session when he was deplaned, detained and finally arrested by the Assam Police in connection with an FIR lodged in Haflong. After his arrest, Assam Police said that Pawan Khera was arrested for a cognizable offence and a warrant was not needed in this case. He was arrested under Section of 153A, 120B of the IPC. Pawan Khera was allegedly forced to exit an IndiGo flight, despite a boarding pass, moments after party leaders boarded the plane. Soon after the news about Khera's detention broke, Singhvi mentioned the matter for urgent listing at 2 pm before a five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice Chandrachud which was hearing the Maharashtra Shiv Sena matter. Soon after the news about Khera's detention broke, the Congress party approached the Supreme Court and sought an urgent listing over the issue. What Happened in Supreme Court? Responding to the plea against Kheras arrest, the five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud which was then hearing the Maharashtra Shiv Sena matter, ordered the Dwarka Court to grant him interim bail. A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said that Khera will be produced before the competent magistrate in Delhi and released on interim bail. Why Was Pawan Khera Arrested? Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters on February 17, Pawan Khera referred to PM Modi as Narendra Gautam Das Modi while demanding a joint parliamentary probe into the Adani-Hindenburg row. "If Narasimha Rao could form a JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee), if Atal Bihari Vajpayee could form a JPC, then what problem does Narendra Gautam Das...sorry Damodardas...Modi has?" he said, appearing to confirm the middle name with a colleague. The fumble was deliberate, the ruling BJP alleged and raised strong objections to it while also demanding his immediate arrest. An FIR was also filed against him in Lucknow by a BJP MLC Mukesh Sharma. He said that Pawan Khera mocked PM's father by linking his name with Adanis father and insulted him. People are very upset. It's also a punishable offence. Thereafter several FIRS were filed against him in Uttar Pradesh and Assam and other parts of the country. The video of Pawan Kheras press conference also became viral on social media evoking a strong response from the netizens. Who Filed The Case Against Pawn Khera In Assam? The Congress leader was arrested by the Assam Police after a complaint was lodged by Hen Samuel Changsan against him at Haflong police station. Changsan, who is a BJP leader, had filed a complaint against Khera on Wednesday for his comments on PM Modi and other issues. Changsan is a BJP leader and currently an Executive Member of the North Cachar Hills Autonomous Council. "His (Khera) comments against the PM form one part of the FIR. In his complaint, Changsan alleged that Khera's remarks at a press meeting on February 17 were not only "insulting, defamatory and derogatory" to Modi and his deceased father, but also "provocative" to BJP workers and the PM's followers. The complainant also alleged that Khera's remarks were "a part of a wider conspiracy to degrade and destabilise our nation by defaming and disreputing the person, who is holding a high constitutional post as Prime Minister of India". Bhopal: Targeting former CM and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) Chief Kamal Nath over his `Madira Pradesh` remark, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Thursday said that he would not tolerate the insult of Madhya Pradesh. CM Chouhan said that PCC Chief Kamal Nath has no attachment to the soil of Madhya Pradesh, its rituals, and its culture. "He is not connected to the roots of the state, CM Chouhan said, adding that Nath is calling Madhya Pradesh a `Madira Pradesh`, it is an insult to the state. It is an insult to the 8.5 crore people of the state. It is an insult to the culture and traditions of the state," he said. "The people of Madhya Pradesh are hardworking, honest, dutiful, and patriotic. Nath is insulting them. He should not hurt the people of the state like this. If you (Nath) are against us, then you can abuse us, but we will not tolerate the insult of Madhya Pradesh," Chouhan said. If the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-the led state government has made an excise policy then it has been made considering the public sentiments and by keeping in mind the respect of women. It has been formed to discourage intoxicants, Chouhan added. Making an attack on Kamal Nath, Chouhan said, "When You (Nath) were in power, you had decided at that time that liquor contractors would be able to open sub-shops. You had fixed an amount that after depositing certain crores of rupees contractors would open a sub shop."CM Chouhan alleged that the Congress-led Kamal Nath government had made a policy to ease the liquor licence rules. He made provision for Liquor to be sold online, and there would be separate liquor shops for women. If your policy was made, it would have been made for the contractors. It was made under pressure, it was made according to contractors. BJP`s policy is to discourage intoxicants, to maintain the honour of women. Therefore, we decided that we will close all the Ahatas (places attached to liquor shops to facilitate drinking), Chouhan said, adding that Nath may oppose him but not insult Madhya Pradesh. Nath should have a sense of respect at least for Madhya Pradesh."Nath has insulted the state, the public will not tolerate it," Chouhan added. On the Contrary, reacting to CM Chouhan`s statement, Kamal Nath wrote on Twitter, "Shivraj ji, you have become a victim of a hallucination. Earlier you said that you would ask a false question about the promissory note every day. But sometimes you ask questions and sometimes you forget. The question you asked today has nothing to do with the promissory note. This means that you are completely satisfied with the rest of the promises of the promissory note of Congress. " Secondly, Chouhan objected to the word `Madira Pradesh`. But it was he who had used this word for Madhya Pradesh. He was running a whole campaign for `Madira Pradesh`. Emphasize the mind, everything will be remembered, Nath wrote. Thirdly, the Shivraj government has almost doubled the number of liquor shops in the state by opening a joint shop of country-made liquor and foreign liquor. Your policy is clear that expensive rations and cheap liquor, he further wrote, elaborating that apologize to the people of Madhya Pradesh for your policy of door-to-door delivery of liquor. New Delhi: Shares of eight Adani Group firms out of the ten listed entities ended the day in the negative territory, extending their previous day's decline, amid an overall weak trend in the equity market. On Thursday, Adani Transmission stock declined by 5 percent, Adani Green Energy dipped by 5 percent, and Adani Total Gas (4.99 percent) and Adani Power (4.98 percent) on the BSE. Shares of Adani Wilmar fell 3.97 percent, Adani Enterprises slipped 1.51 percent, ACC (0.82 percent), and NDTV (0.45 percent). Some of the group firms also hit their lower circuit limits during the day. However, two group firms managed to end the trade in the green, with Adani Ports climbing 0.96 percent and Ambuja Cements gaining 0.43 percent. Shares of Adani Group firms had fallen sharply on Wednesday, with all the listed firms ending in the red. In the broader market, the BSE Sensex fell 139.18 points or 0.23 percent to settle at 59,605.80, registering its fifth day of decline. Adani Group stocks have taken a beating on the exchanges after US-based short seller Hindenburg Research last month made a litany of allegations, including fraudulent transactions and share-price manipulation, against it. The group has dismissed the charges as lies, saying it complies with all laws and disclosure requirements. All the ten listed firms have together lost Rs 11,81,750.04 crore in market valuation since the US short-seller came out with its report on January 24. New Delhi: Young Bollywood star Ayushmann Khurrana is a live-wire host on stage and he returns to mesmerise audiences with his impeccable comic timing and brilliant hosting skills at the Zee Cine Awards this year! Ayushmann is a crowd favourite at live events and he will bring his A-game on at this awards ceremony for which he has already started prepping to deliver a blockbuster performance on stage. Ayushmann is one of the best live show performer and host of our times. Ayushmann will be hosting the awards ceremony! He has established himself as a great host over the years. So, all eyes on how he can brilliantly host the night with his charming act and captivate audiences, informs a trade source aware of this development. On the work front, Ayushmanns much-awaited next is the comedy Dream Girl 2, a sequel of his blockbuster 2019 comedy in which he left the nation in splits with his impeccable comic timing. More film announcements are coming our way from Ayushmann real soon. New Delhi: 7th Pay Commission DA Hike update --The Narendra Modi government might give festive bonanza to the central government employees this Holi. As per media reports, the central government might announce DA Hike for employees during Holi. When the Labor Ministry releases the All India Consumer Price Index (AICPI) numbers on February 28, there may be a hint about the upcoming Dearness Allowance (DA) increase. For central staff, just the AICPI index is used to determine their daily stipend. The country as a whole and 88 centres were included in the index. The AICPI is released on the final working day of each month. The December 2022 AICPI statistics were 132.3. According to media reports, the dearness allowance would rise by 3% if the future index (for January 2022) increases. As a result, from its current 38 percent, the DA will increase to 41 percent. How much salary will increase if government announces 3% hike in DA taking it to 41 percent Taking Minimum Basic salary at Rs 18,000 If DA is hiked to 41% = Rs 7,380/month Current 38% DA = Rs 6,840/month Salary increases by Rs 900 per month (Rs Rs 7,380 minus Rs 6,840) Annual salary hike Rs 900 X 12 = Rs 10,800 Taking Minimum Basic salary at Rs 56,900 If DA is hiked to 41% = Rs 23,329/month Current 38% DA = Rs 21,622/month Salary increases by Rs 1,707 per month (Rs 23,329 minus Rs 21,622) Annual salary hike Rs 1,707 X 12 = Rs 20,484 7th Pay Commission: DA hiked by 4 percent to 38 percent The Union Cabinet had on 28 September 2022, approved the release of additional instalment of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief @ 4 percent to Central Government employees and pensioners due from 01.07.2022 based on the percentage increase in 12 monthly average of All India Consumer Price Index for the period ending June, 2022. The Central Government employees and pensioners had become entitled to higher amount of Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief respectively, w.e.f. 01.07.2022. The additional financial implications on account of this increase of Dearness Allowance to Central Government employees are estimated at Rs.6,591.36 crore per annum; and Rs.4,394.24 crore in the financial year 2022-23 (i.e. for a period of 8 months from July, 2022 to February, 2023). The additional financial implications on account of this increase of Dearness Relief to pensioners are estimated at Rs.6,261.20 crore per annum; and Rs.4,174.12 crore in the financial year 2022-23 (i.e. for a period of 8 months from July, 2022 to February, 2023). The combined impart on the exchequer on account of both Dearness Allowance and Dearness Relief would be of the order of Rs.12,852.56 crore per annum; and Rs.8,568.36 crore in the financial year 2022-23 (i.e. for a period of 8 months from July, 2022 to February, 2023). People view antiquities at the Egyptian Museum after its development in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 20, 2023. After more than three years of renovation, Egypt has announced the completion of the first development phase of the iconic Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC). (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) CAIRO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- After more than three years of renovation, Egypt has announced the completion of the first development phase of the iconic Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC). Entitled "Transforming the Egyptian Museum of Cairo," the EMC development project that began in 2019 was funded with a grant of 3 million euros from the European Union. The renovation involved enhancing and renewing the museum display system including the lighting and showcases of some of the gallery rooms and halls. The project was carried out through collaboration between an Egyptian archaeological committee and a consortium of five major European museums: the Louvre Museum in Paris, the British Museum in London, the Egyptian Museum in Italy's Turin, the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection in Berlin, and the National Museum of Antiquities in the Netherlands' Leiden. During a ceremony held on Monday evening, Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Ahmed Issa described the EMC which was opened in 1902 as "the oldest museum of Egyptian antiquities in the world and an icon of the ancient Egyptian civilization over 120 years (since its opening)." "The Egyptian Museum in Tahrir was and will remain one of the most important museums in the world. It is a destination for Egyptian visitors, foreign tourists and antiquities lovers from all countries of the world," the minister said. In his remarks, Christian Berger, head of the EU delegation to Egypt, referred to the EMC as "the mother of all Egyptian museums" and "a beautiful building housing a world-class collection on behalf of humanity." The EMC development project was a complex project because of the scope of the work undertaken, which includes developing a masterplan for the museum's new display in five galleries, producing a detailed study of the building and updating the information labels for the public, Berger noted. The two-floor EMC hosts more than 180,000 objects of iconic artifacts and ancient Egyptian masterpieces from prehistory to the Graeco-Roman periods, including colossal statues, busts, statuettes, coffins, reliefs, stelae and papyri. Some precious pieces were transferred from the EMC to new museums in Cairo to enrich their collections, including over 20 ancient royal mummies to the newly-opened NMEC and a collection of famous King Tutankhamun to the recently-built GEM. However, "it still contains treasures that compensate for the collections taken away from it, such as the Tutankhamun's collection and the royal mummies," Ali Abdel Halim, the EMC director general, told Xinhua during the ceremony. "They are all Egyptian museums of which we're proud. Each of them has its own nature and they complement each other," he said, describing the museum in Cairo as "the mother of all the world's museums containing Egyptian antiquities." People view antiquities at the Egyptian Museum after its development in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 20, 2023. After more than three years of renovation, Egypt has announced the completion of the first development phase of the iconic Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC). (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) A visitor takes photos inside the Egyptian Museum after its development in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 20, 2023. After more than three years of renovation, Egypt has announced the completion of the first development phase of the iconic Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC). (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) This photo taken on Feb. 20, 2023 shows the Egyptian Museum after its development in Cairo, Egypt. After more than three years of renovation, Egypt has announced the completion of the first development phase of the iconic Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC). (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) This photo taken on Feb. 20, 2023 shows an antiquity at the Egyptian Museum after its development in Cairo, Egypt. After more than three years of renovation, Egypt has announced the completion of the first development phase of the iconic Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC). (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) People view antiquities at the Egyptian Museum after its development in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 20, 2023. After more than three years of renovation, Egypt has announced the completion of the first development phase of the iconic Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC). (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) People view antiquities at the Egyptian Museum after its development in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 20, 2023. After more than three years of renovation, Egypt has announced the completion of the first development phase of the iconic Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC). (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) This photo taken on Feb. 20, 2023 shows an antiquity at the Egyptian Museum after its development in Cairo, Egypt. After more than three years of renovation, Egypt has announced the completion of the first development phase of the iconic Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC). (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) A visitor views antiquities at the Egyptian Museum after its development in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 20, 2023. After more than three years of renovation, Egypt has announced the completion of the first development phase of the iconic Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC). (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) A visitor takes photo inside the Egyptian Museum after its development in Cairo, Egypt, on Feb. 20, 2023. After more than three years of renovation, Egypt has announced the completion of the first development phase of the iconic Egyptian Museum in Cairo (EMC). (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) Editor: WXY San Francisco: Google on Thursday said that it has fixed the Gmail sync issue it was having with Microsoft servers when using Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), which most likely affected Outlook users. "The Gmail sync issue with Microsoft servers when using IMAP is now resolved. Thank you for your patience while we resolved the problem," the company said in its status page. According to Google, because of the outage, that started on Wednesday, users were not able to sync new messages while accessing Outlook or Hotmail email accounts on the Gmail application across all device platforms. On Wednesday, the company had said that its engineering team was working in partnership with the Microsoft team to investigate the email sync issue via IMAP. "Update: Microsoft team has acknowledged that other large mail providers beyond Gmail are also not able to sync with Microsoft's IMAP server. They are working on the issue," it added. Taking to Twitter, several users had reported the issue. One user asked: "My outlook email has been down since the middle of the night last night. I have seen a few tweets regarding this but not many. Anyone else having issues with no emails at all from Microsoft outlook???" Another queried: "Is anyone else having problems with #gmail accounts and #Outlook?" Bangladesh: According to news source BSS, the Saudi Arabian government will begin issuing biometric visas to Bangladeshi Hajj pilgrims this year. An announcement made on Wednesday states that under the new system, pilgrims from Bangladesh must apply for visas using the biometric method in order to perform the Hajj this year. The notification also stated that the necessary preparations are being made in order to handle visa applications using biometric technology. Instead of submitting their passports to the Ashkona Hajj Office, pilgrims are asked to retain them with them. Passports that have already been turned in should be retrieved. The notification also stated that when the visa procedure begins, all concerned involved will be notified. Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims around the world undertake at least once in their lifetime, provided they are physically and financially capable. Bangladesh is a predominantly Muslim country, and every year thousands of Bangladeshis make the journey to Mecca to perform Hajj. The government of Bangladesh, through the Ministry of Religious Affairs, organizes the Hajj pilgrimage every year. They work with various private Hajj agencies to facilitate the journey and accommodation of the pilgrims. The number of Bangladeshi pilgrims allowed to perform Hajj is determined by the Saudi Arabian government, and the process of selecting the pilgrims is overseen by a committee set up by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. In recent years, the number of Bangladeshi pilgrims allowed to perform Hajj has been around 120,000, but this number has been reduced significantly in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The pilgrims usually leave for Saudi Arabia in batches, and the entire process takes several weeks, during which they perform various rituals and prayers in Mecca and other holy sites. The Hajj pilgrimage is considered a very important event in the lives of Muslims, and many Bangladeshis save up for years to be able to undertake the journey. The government of Bangladesh and various private organizations work hard to ensure that the pilgrimage is safe, comfortable, and memorable for all the pilgrims. United Nations: Ukraine's foreign minister has urged the world's nations as the anniversary of Russia's invasion nears to prove they stand for the United Nations Charter and vote in favour of a UN resolution calling for a peace that ensures his war-ravaged country's "sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity". Dmytro Kuleba told an emergency special session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that despite Moscow's "empty calls" for negotiations, "Russia still wants to destroy Ukraine as a nation". He said the resolution, to be put to a vote Thursday in the 193-member world body, "will contribute to our joint efforts to bring the war to an end as well as protect the fundamental principles of international law and the UN Charter". Calling this "a decisive moment to show support, unity, and solidarity," he recalled standing in the assembly urging its member nations to prevent war days before Russia's February 24, 2022 invasion. Against all odds, he said, Ukraine exercised its right to self-defence enshrined in the UN Charter and has been able "to stop the much stronger aggressor and kick him out of half of the newly occupied territory". Kuleba said he had a message for countries that want to be friends with both sides and want an end to the war with whatever result: "In this war, there are not two sides, there is an aggressor and a victim." "Never in recent history has the line between good and evil been so clear," he said. "One country merely wants to live. The other wants to kill and destroy. There is no other country in the world that wants peace as much as Ukraine does." If countries don't want to take Ukraine's side, Kuleba urged them to take the side of the UN Charter, international law and five General Assembly resolutions adopted since the invasion and stand up for the preservation of every country's territorial integrity. "Is there anyone in this room who is ready to give away one square meter of its territory to a blood-thirsty neighbour," he asked, surveying diplomats in the vast assembly chamber. Assembly President Csaba Korosi and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the emergency special session, and almost 80 countries will speak before the vote, including more than a dozen ministers. Guterres called Russia's invasion "an affront to our collective conscience" that violates the UN Charter and challenges the "cornerstone principles and values of our multilateral system." The UN's position is "unequivocal" in supporting the Charter's principles, he said. "We are committed to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders." Over the past year, the UN chief said, the suffering, devastation, and human rights and humanitarian consequences of Russia's invasion have grown and it is also becoming more evident just how much worse it could all still become. "The possible consequences of a spiraling conflict are a clear and present danger," Guterres warned, pointing to the irresponsible military activity at Europe's largest nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia, implicit threats to use nuclear weapons, and increasing regional instability and global tensions and divisions. "It is high time to step back from the brink," the secretary-general said. "Complacency will only deepen the crisis, while further eroding our shared principles proclaimed in the Charter." The General Assembly has become the most important UN body dealing with Ukraine because the Security Council, which is charged with maintaining international peace and security, is paralyzed as a result of Russia's veto power. While the assembly's five previous resolutions on Ukraine are not legally binding as council resolutions are they are important as a reflection of world opinion. There are no vetoes in the assembly, so the resolution is certain to be approved Thursday, but the big question is how many 'yes' votes it will get. An October 12 resolution condemning Russia's "attempted illegal annexation" of four Ukrainian regions and demanding its immediate reversal got the highest vote of the five resolutions 143-5 with 35 abstentions. Russia's close ally Belarus proposed a series of amendments which will be voted on first. They would delete language referring to the "full-scale invasion of Ukraine", "aggression by the Russian Federation", and the demand that Russia immediately withdraw all its military forces from Ukrainian territory. They would also call for the start of peace negotiations, urge countries "to refrain from sending weapons to the zone of conflict," and call on UN member states address the root causes of the conflict "including legitimate security concerns of member states." Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia claimed that Ukraine spent "all of its military potential" in the first weeks after "the active stage of the Ukraine crisis began" and said a year later, it is the collective West including the US, NATO and the European Union that is providing Kyiv with weapons, ammunition and intelligence information. "It's becoming very clear that the Ukrainian crisis will only become a catalyst for the visceral Russophobia to come to the surface," he said. "It has now contaminated the American and European elites who are competing against each other to impose sanctions when in fact the sanctions are hitting the developing world hardest." Qabil Ashirov Read more Ruben Vardanyan, a criminal oligarch and a Russian billionaire of Armenian origin, was sacked from his so-called "post" in Karabakh, Azernews reports. The separatist regime in Karabakh even made a hasty replacement appointing "chief prosecutor" Gurgen Nersisyan, instead of Vardanyan. Noting that the Azerbaijan government has repeatedly stressed that Azerbaijan never takes a person like Ruben Vardanyan, a self-styled "leader" in Karabakh. We are ready to talk about it with the Armenians living in Karabakh, but not the people sent by Moscow with money stolen from the Russian people in their pockets. Even at the Munich Security Conference, President Ilham Aliyev repeated his words again. "However, we can do this only when the Russian citizen, criminal oligarch, the person involved in money laundering in Europe - Vardanyan leaves our territory." Staff members transfer giant panda Ouhin at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 22, 2023. The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday. Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing) SHIRAHAMA, Japan, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Eimei, a giant panda that has lived in Japan for 28 years, left west Japan's Wakayama park along with his twin daughters to fly back to China on Wednesday. The 30-year-old male panda, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama in Wakayama prefecture. Around 7:15 p.m. local time, the three pandas boarded a plane that will take off from the Kansai International Airport to a facility in southwest China's Sichuan province, escorted by Koji Imazu, director of the park. Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. "The Eimei family has established a deep friendship with the Japanese people with irreplaceable and special contributions to the promotion of Sino-Japanese people-to-people friendship," Chinese Deputy Consul General in Osaka Fang Wei said at the ceremony. The three pandas returning to China will always be shared stars and witnesses to the friendship between China and Japan, said Fang when delivering a speech on behalf of Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian. On Tuesday, the famous Japan-born female giant panda Xiang Xiang left Tokyo's Ueno Zoo and arrived at a giant panda research and breeding facility in the city of Ya'an of Sichuan. Tuesday also marked the three pandas' final public appearance in Japan, when many fans waited hours in line at the park, some in tears, to bid goodbye by taking photos of Eimei and Touhin munching on bamboo. Touhin's twin sister, Ouhin, was not on display as she was showing signs of being in heat. "I captured the image of Eimei enjoying the food with his eyes closed!" Aya Ito said with much excitement as she walked out of the panda house. "One day when I turned to the last page of Eimei's memorial album and saw his smiling face, I immediately booked a round-trip ticket for this final visit." The interior designer who now works in Tokyo told Xinhua that she has recently been motivated to learn Chinese because of the pandas, hoping to visit them in China one day. Eimei, or Yong Ming in Chinese, with his age the human equivalent of 90, is the oldest giant panda living in Japan. Coming from China in 1994, it is fondly nicknamed "Super Papa" for fathering 16 giant panda cubs born at Adventure World, setting the world record for being the oldest giant panda to have successfully bred in captivity. Last year, Eimei was appointed as a special envoy for Sino-Japan friendship. Thanks to the friendly cooperation between the Adventure World and the research base of giant panda breeding in China's Sichuan province, Wakayama and Sichuan forged a prefecture-province friendship relationship in January 2022, said Shuhei Kishimoto, governor of Wakayama prefecture. Upon the pandas' return, only four giant pandas, all females, will be living at the Adventure World. Staff members line up to bid farewell to giant pandas Eimei, Ouhin and Touhin at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 22, 2023. The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday. Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing) A visitor takes photos of a banner with a picture of giant panda Eimei and a slogan which reads "Thank you, Eimei!" at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 21, 2023. The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday. Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing) Giant pandas Ouhin, Touhin and Eimei (L-R) are about to set off for China at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 22, 2023. The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday. Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing) Staff members transfer giant panda Eimei at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 22, 2023. The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday. Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing) Visitors take a selfie at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 21, 2023. The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday. Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing) Visitors take photos of giant panda Eimei at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 21, 2023. The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday. Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing) A visitor attends a farewell ceremony held for giant pandas Eimei, Ouhin and Touhin at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 21, 2023. The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday. Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing) Staff members transfer giant panda Touhin at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 22, 2023. The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday. Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing) Visitors shoot videos of giant panda Eimei at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 21, 2023. The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday. Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing) A staff member feeds giant panda Touhin with apples at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, Feb. 22, 2023. The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday. Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing) This photo taken on Feb. 21, 2023 shows giant panda Eimei at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan. The 30-year-old male panda Eimei, along with his eight-year-old Japan-born twin daughters Ouhin and Touhin, has left their current home at Adventure World, a theme park in the town of Shirahama to fly back to China on Wednesday. Prior to their departure, a farewell ceremony was held at the park on Tuesday afternoon, joined by a crowd of 2,000 visitors, and was livestreamed on YouTube for 13,000 viewers. (Xinhua/Yue Chenxing) Editor: WXY Photo taken on Feb. 19, 2023 shows the cargo ship en route to the Qianwan Container Terminal of Qingdao Port, Shandong Port, east China's Shandong Province. The cargo throughput of Shandong Port reached 142.965 million tons in January, up 5.3% year-on-year. The number of containers reached 3.328 million TEUs, up 10.2% year-on-year, making a good start of the year. (Han Jiajun/Guangming Picture) Photo taken on Feb. 19, 2023 shows the cargo ship en route to the Qianwan Container Terminal of Qingdao Port, Shandong Port, east China's Shandong Province. The cargo throughput of Shandong Port reached 142.965 million tons in January, up 5.3% year-on-year. The number of containers reached 3.328 million TEUs, up 10.2% year-on-year, making a good start of the year. (Han Jiajun/Guangming Picture) Editor: WXY Maria Mezentseva, People's Deputy of Ukraine, Head of inter-factional association "Bezzaive" While the Armed Forces of Ukraine are liberating the occupied territories, Ukrainians are starting to rebuild the country step by step. In April of this year, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, signed an order to create the National Council for the Recovery of Ukraine from the War. And in July, the international "Ukraine Recovery Conference" was held in Lugano, Switzerland, to ensure international support of this cause. As Volodymyr Zelenskyi noted in his address, the Ukraine recovery plan is based on the "build back better" principle to rebuild better than it was. For Ukraine, it is not just recovery to the pre-war state that is important, but "green" recovery reconstruction based on the principle of sustainable development and conscious consumption. According to the calculations of the Ukrainian government, the damage to the environment due to the invasion of the Russian army has reached almost 36 billion euros, and this figure is not final. And due to Russian terror, about 40% of Ukraine's energy infrastructure was damaged as of the beginning of November. The call for conscious consumption is now coming from the state level because it is essential for restoring the energy system. The war with Russia only exacerbated the problem of excessive energy consumption in the country. According to the State Energy Efficiency Agency, the energy intensity of Ukraines GDP in 2020 was one of the highest in the world. Compared to other countries, Ukraine still uses excessive energy to generate the gross domestic product. This indicator needs to be reduced through sustainable state recovery approaches that consider the interests of producers, the public and the environment. At the legislative level, Ukraine's "green" recovery policy is suggested by draft law No. 6544, "On responsible consumption of natural resources". The Verkhovna Rada registered it in the winter before the full-scale invasion of Russia. Then the draft law was approved by 23 MPs and supported by the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on environmental policy and nature use, Oleh Bondarenko. Draft Law No. 6544 can become a crucial step towards joining the European Union because one of the prerequisites for this is the harmonisation of the legislation of Ukraine and the EU. And sustainable development is one of the main principles of the Treaty establishing the European Community. In addition, it also complies with the European Green Deal, the goal of which is a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. Last year, Ukraine expressed its intention to adapt its legislation and policies to the European Green Deal and started a dialogue on the "green" transition. In this context, draft law No. 6544, "On responsible consumption of natural resources", can become a framework, as it defines the legal norms of conscious consumption. It lays the foundations for further changes in the rational use of natural resources. Thanks to such efforts, the Ukrainian government will be able to start promoting a culture of a conscious attitude to the environment and a responsible model of production and consumption. The latest evaluations and approaches to developing consumer market regulation defined by the European Union, particularly the "New Consumer Agenda", served as an example for creating the foundations of Ukraines "green" policy. Therefore, the bill provides for a gradual "green" transition and mechanisms to ensure the availability of eco-friendly products. The draft law amends five codes of Ukraine and several regulations of Ukraine, such as the Laws "On Environmental Protection", "On Alternative Energy Sources", and "On Protection of Consumer Rights". It will, therefore, apply to many market participants: consumers, producers and entrepreneurs, and various organisations (for example, public and scientific). Here are examples of how the bill could affect each of these categories. Consumers. There are practically no mechanisms in Ukraine that encourage Ukrainians to change their consumer habits and behaviour. There are some bans or restrictions, such as limited circulation of plastic bags, but there are no bonuses for conscious consumption. The bill will give impetus to change this. Business. Thanks to draft law No. 6544, the state can introduce tax benefits or support for responsible producers and eco-enterprises, especially at the local level. Such a business will obtain the status of a participant in the National Project for Implementing the Rational Consumption Model. It should be noted that the draft law does not introduce specific rates for businesses for conscious entrepreneurship the authorities will implement such changes later, depending on the circumstances. Organisations. Scientific or public organisations will also be able to become participants in the National Project for Implementing the Rational Consumption Model. The authorities will encourage the development of products or solutions to reduce the negative impact of certain activities on the environment. Draft Law No. 6544 suggests systemic changes to the Law of Ukraine "On Withdrawal from Circulation, Processing, Disposal, Destruction or Further Use of Low-Quality and Dangerous Products." As a result, we will define the main directions of state policy regarding the consumer market and the National Program for Implementing the Rational Consumption Model and its participants. Moreover, terms, criteria and indicators will be developed at the legislative level to determine the positive impact of technological solutions, goods, works and services, and business solutions on the environment and public health. Currently, experts and the public are discussing what the recovery of Ukraine should be like, given the importance of implementing a "green" path. Draft law No. 6544 provides just the path and lays the foundation for implementing the policy of conscious consumption and rational use of natural resources. Thanks to its adoption, the Ukrainian government will be able to rebuild the country better than it was and implement the principle of "build back greener" recovery with care for the environment. Ukraine's development partners, including the World Bank, are supporting the country's government in pursuing a fast recovery, without waiting for the end of the war, with priorities such as restoring energy and critical infrastructure and boosting economic activity, World Bank Regional Country Director for Eastern Europe Arup Banerji has said. "Fast recovery (sometimes called emergency repairs) must now run simultaneously with continued support for essential services, and planning for reconstruction efforts will also need to start before the war is over," he told Interfax-Ukraine. Banerji said that the first priority is continued support to the government budget for the core public services such as health, education, and social protection. He recalled that Ukraine needs about $3-4 billion per month for these purposes this calendar year. The second priority, he said, is to repair and restore the energy system, which is continually under attack. Third is to help restore critical infrastructure which includes repairing schools and hospitals, ensuring heating, electricity and water services, transport repairs for connectivity and service delivery, as well as repair of lightly damaged housing to ensure adequate shelter. "Finally, boosting economic activity including support to farmers for the next agricultural planting season, and support to small and medium businesses," the regional country director added. He pointed out that the major support the World Bank is engaged in in Ukraine is the project called Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Enhancement in Ukraine (shortened to the English acronym PEACE in Ukraine). This project has by now mobilized over $20 billion and already distributed over $17 billion, and is the largest single project in the World Bank's almost 80 year old history. Asked about the Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund (URTF) set up by the World Bank late last year to coordinate grant financing, Banerji said the fund has received $295 million in donor contributions to date. According to him, the first signed and approved URTF grant was announced on February 10: the RELINC project will allocate $50 million to repair and restore Ukraine's transport network to support immediate humanitarian relief and recovery, and increase capacity of import and export corridors. An additional $210 million in grant financing has also been committed to new recovery projects in the health sector the HEAL Ukraine Project, which is improving and strengthening primary health care, addressing increased demand for mental health and rehabilitation services and supporting capacity building for key health institutions, the World Bank representative added. "Soon the Restoration Project of Winterization and Energy Resources (REPOWER), which is helping Ukraine purchase key equipment to restore power to Ukrainians. The URTF will soon fund additional projects in the pipeline, as additional funds become available," Banerji also said. The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine transferred 8 tonnes of power equipment to JSC Sumyoblenergo for restoration and repair work. According to a message in the Ministry's Telegram channel on Thursday, the transferred cargo included, in particular, batteries, generators, and power transformers. The ministry summed up that, in general, under its coordination, more than 113 tonnes of equipment for restoration work were transferred from international partners to the power engineers of Sumy region. "Sumy region is a border region, the energy infrastructure of which is subjected to regular shelling by Russian invaders. The region's power engineers are working around the clock to restore electricity and heat supply, and the equipment handed over to them will help carry out repair work more quickly," Herman Halushchenko, Minister of Energy, is quoted in message. At the same time, he thanked the UK, Canada and Germany for their help. As reported, according to the Ministry of Energy, as of February 1 this year, the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, established by the Energy Community Secretariat in April 2022, received EUR 144.366 million, of which EUR 108 million was allocated for the purchase of energy equipment, fuel, and services to meet critical needs of Ukrainian energy companies. Some 47% of companies experienced a decrease in sales by more than 30% due to Russian aggression, including 19% of the decline exceeded 50%, with agriculture, retail, mining, and metallurgy being the most hit, according to a new Business Resilience Survey presented by the American Chamber of Commerce. "The war has put a massive toll on Ukrainian business, however, companies demonstrated strong resilience, with some even capturing growth opportunities," the report says. According to a survey conducted jointly with McKinsey & Company Ukraine on the eve of the first anniversary of the war, 3% of companies increased sales in 2022, 10% each either maintained them or kept the decline within 10%. Growth opportunities were noted by representatives of the banking and financial sector, IT. Only 4% reduced the number of staff by more than 30%, while 29% had a reduction in the range of 10-30%, and 2% even increased the staff. Some 4% of companies have stopped operations and do not know when they will be able to resume them, while 30% have stopped, but have already resumed. According to those surveyed, the war pressure on business is likely to stay or even increase in 2023. Also among the disappointing forecasts is deterioration in aggregate demand as overall GDP growth remains uncertain, and the consumer spending power might further weaken due to drain of savings, increasing unemployment, and salaries cuts. According to the results of the survey, 90% of companies have developed internal "contingency plans." As part of these plans, 61% have established pre-war dedicated task forces (cross-functional teams or specialized risk function), 33% have developed such plans by the business units, and 6% have leveraged professional external help to prepare such plans. 40% of companies acknowledged that the plan did not properly work, including 29% did not anticipate the scale of disruption, and 7% did not have adequate resources to implement the plan. According to published information, the main single challenging impacts of war in 2022 for 25% of respondents were Decreased demand for products or services (60% in engineering, 42% in retail), for 23% - physical damage of facilities (67% in FMCG, 50% in transport/engineering). %), 19% - disrupted supply chains (50% pharmaceuticals, 40% in mechanical engineering). The energy disruption was named the main problem by 10% of respondents (30% in IT, 25% in banks), but among the top three problems it leads with 66%, ahead of disrupted supply chain 60% and decreased demand 52%. Agile operating model and strong corporate culture have been seen by business as the key factors, helping to address the war challenges. "While agile operating model is seen as the most helpful factor to address ongoing crisis, going forward businesses see diversification, more effective contingency planning, and building resilient teams as key priorities," the study says. Going forward, the companies see the following priorities to better prepare for the crisis: strategy and business diversification, which would require rethinking investment plans (46%); more effective (and unbiased) contingency planning (29%); attracting and maintaining a resilient team and workforce (18%). The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has included the French corporation Auchan Holding in the list of international sponsors of the war. According to the NACP press service, the reason for being included in the list of international sponsors of the war was that during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the company refused to stop financing the terrorist state and did not close its business in the Russian Federation. "For Auchan, Russia is the second most important sales market after France. In 2020 alone, Russian Auchan paid $167 million to the Russian budget. According to journalists, this is equal to the cost of 15 SU-25 aircraft, 42 tanks, 222 Kalibr missiles, or 477,000 AK-74 assault rifles. We cannot allow Russia to continue to receive these funds, for which they then kill Ukrainians. We want any company to be ashamed of collaborating with killers. The institution of reputation must act, therefore we have included Auchan in the list of international sponsors of the war," NACP chairman Oleksandr Novikov said. As previously reported, thanks to investigative journalism by The Insider, Le Monde and Bellingcat, it became known that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Russian subsidiary of French Auchan had been supplying goods to the Russian military in the occupied Ukrainian territories under the guise of "humanitarian aid," and also helped with mobilization events in Russia. Previously, the NACP has already included the following companies in the list of international sponsors of the war: Procter&Gamble, OpenWay Group, Danieli, TMS Tankers Ltd., Minerva Marine Inc., Thenamaris Ships Management, Delta Tankers Ltd., Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd. Mondi Group/Mondi PLC, eKassir, Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry and Bonduelle. All companies included in this list are included in the World-Check database from the international company London Stock Exchange Group in order to protect the financial sector from the sponsors of the Russian war. The European Commission has proposed on Thursday to renew the suspension of import duties, quotas and trade defense measures on Ukrainian exports to the European Union known as the Autonomous Trade Measures (ATMs) for another year. "This is a continuation of the EU's unwavering support for Ukraine's economy and helps alleviate the difficult situation faced by Ukrainian producers and exporters because of Russia's unprovoked and unjustified military aggression. The main objective of the ATMs is to support Ukraine, but the measures are also mindful of EU industry concerns," the Commission said in a statement on its website. To this end, and considering a significant increase in imports of some agricultural products from Ukraine to the EU in 2022, the renewed ATMs contain "an expedited safeguard mechanism to protect the Union market if necessary." The proposal will now be considered by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union with a view to ensuring seamless transition from the current regime of ATMs to the new one. Germany joined the international project for the restoration of Ukrainian cities #UN4Kharkiv-Mykolaiv and allocated EUR 5 million. As reported, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) created working groups #UN4Kharkiv and #UN4Mykolaiv and invited international architects to help these cities develop forward-looking master plans. Kharkiv is assisted by the Foundation of British architect Norman Foster, in Mykolaiv the work is coordinated by the global design and architectural company One Works (Italy). The accession of the German side to the projects became known during an online meeting of working groups, which was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, UNECE, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany, local governments of Mykolaiv and Kharkiv and other international organizations. "Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale aggression, we have been sending the most necessary assistance to Ukraine. And at the same time, we are thinking about how to support you in rebuilding after the end of the war, because you should prepare for this now. I personally received the task from German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz to represent our country in this work," said Jochen Flasbarth, State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. He recalled that in December last year, a meeting of the G7 countries took place, during which the participating states expressed their understanding that Ukraine needs comprehensive assistance. Flasbarth announced that the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development would provide financial support of EUR 5 million to the international project #UN4Kharkiv-Mykolaiv. "We are giving the green light and preparing funds for these projects to be successfully implemented. We hope that the terrible war will end as soon as possible, and we will begin to rebuild Ukraine," Jochen Flasbarth said. With the participation of CFI, Agence francaise de developpement medias, as part of the Hub Bucharest Project with the support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs Zelenskyy in his talk with Sunak: Speed of delivery of military aid today is Ukraine's success on battlefield Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak discussed the implementation of agreements between the two countries on the speed of military aid supplies. I had a call with a true friend of Ukraine, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak. We discussed the implementation of the agreements reached during my visit to London. I appreciate the UK's understanding that the speed of military aid supplies today means Ukraines success on the battlefield. Together we are bringing our common victory closer! Zelensky said on his Telegram channel. The Azerbaijani military medical personnel, equipped with all types of medical equipment, is continuing operations in Turkiye's quake-hit province of Kahramanmaras with the representatives of the Ministry of Health of Turkiye and the Turkish Armed Forces, Azernews reports, citing the Defense Ministry. The Azerbaijani medical team, which is helping the earthquake victims in the brotherly nation, successfully completed the following 10 surgeries and examined 49 injured people. 468 patients received ambulatory care from Azerbaijani military doctors, who have performed a total of 71 surgical procedures. The 20 military medical personnel from the Azerbaijani Army, including a general surgeon, traumatologist, otolaryngologist, ophthalmologist, neurosurgeon, rheumatologist, anesthesiologist, plastic-reconstructive surgeon, medical attendant, operating nurses, and anesthetists, were dispatched to Turkiye on the president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev's orders. A 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit Turkiye's southeastern part on February 6, 2023, according to the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre. The overall death toll in Turkiye has risen to above 43,000. Azerbaijan was the first country to provide assistance to Turkiye immediately after the earthquake without a call for aid. Azerbaijani rescuers are currently working in the quake-hit regions of Turkiye with young volunteers on the scene to provide survivors with aid. The court seized the property of Oksana Marchenko, the wife of Viktor Medvedchuk, who is suspected of financing Russian occupational groups, the State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has said. "Based on the materials of the State Security Service, the court seized the property of Oksana Marchenko, suspected of financing Russian occupational groups. The total value of the seized assets is more than UAH 5.6 billion," the SBU said in Telegram channel on Thursday. According to the report, the court decision concerns 14% stakes in two oblenergo companies and more than 4% in a third, which Marchenko owns through five offshore companies. Two land plots, four residential buildings in Kyiv and Crimea, as well as ten cars belonging to the figurant were also seized, the service said. "In addition, Marchenko's assets were seized in 18 investment, agro-industrial, telecommunications and other enterprises. Among them are Kyiv companies Terra-Invest, Ukrkapital and Sport-Tour, which Medvedchuk's wife used to carry out subversive activities against Ukraine," the SBU said, specifying that "it was they [these companies] who founded the company according to the laws of Russia, through which Marchenko transferred millions of sums to the accounts of the National Guard and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the occupied Crimea, and also paid "taxes" to the Russian budget." Finland to send three Leopard 2 tanks for mine clearance to Ukraine, Sweden also announces its readiness to send tanks to Kyiv Finland will give Ukraine three Leopard 2 tanks for demining territories as part of a new package of military assistance to Kyiv, the press service of the Finnish Defense Ministry said According to the Ministry of Defense, the Finnish input is not expected to be large as the Leopards are important for Finland's own defence. The country has the EU's longest land border with Russia. Participation is also limited by the fact that Finland is not yet a member of NATO, the portal cites the military department's point of view, the Yle publication reported. It clarifies that, as part of international cooperation on the transfer of armored vehicles to Ukraine, Finland will transfer three Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv for mine clearance, as well as provide training related to their use and maintenance. As Finnish Defense Minister Mikko Savola said at a press conference, the tanks are designed for clearing the area, a special device is attached to their front. It is very good and necessary equipment, he said. Savola called the decision important. He said that Ukraine needs much more support than tanks, and Finland's support for Ukraine will not waver. The tanks will be sent as part of the 13th package of defence materiel to Ukraine. Its total amount is EUR 160 million. The previous, January package, worth more than EUR 400 million, was the largest to date. The combined value of all defence materiel packages submitted so far by Finland is now EUR 750 million. In turn, Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson also announced his country's openness to send some of its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. According to Anadolu agency, Jonsson told journalists of the Swedish TT agency about this. At the same time, according to him, Sweden is currently "in close contact with Germany," the manufacturer of Leopard 2 tanks, over the issue of sending tanks to Ukraine. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has received assurances from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez regarding the supply of Leopard tanks. "I received assurances that Spain would transfer Leopard tanks to Ukraine. The Ukrainian military is already learning how to operate these tanks in Spain," Zelenskyy said at a press conference after talks with the Spanish Prime Minister in Kyiv on Thursday. Sanchez, in turn, confirmed that "Spain will provide six Leopard A4 tanks." "In the coming weeks and months, we will raise this figure to ten," he said. "We will provide this assistance as soon as possible," he also said. "I thanked Spain for the significant defense support, including the supply of air defense systems, which will enhance the ability to protect the skies. You really help save the lives of Ukrainians," Zelenskyy said. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said pressure on Ukraine with a proposal to start peace talks does not make sense. "The pressure on us was greater before the war. And after the start of the invasion, everyone understands that Russia is not a state, but a terrorist organization that came to kill and seize territories. Everyone understood that the question is about the destruction of Ukraine and everything Ukrainian," the President of Ukraine said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday after talks with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. According to him, "it is impossible to put pressure on us." "Does anyone want to? Yes, someone does. But these people speak out loud less and that's great, they understand more with whom they used to have a dialogue," Zelenskyy said. He said Russia's goal is to seize the territory of Ukraine. "The theme of historical borders is raised again. This suggests that they want to seize and are looking for justification for these seizures," the president said. "There is no point in putting pressure on Ukraine. Because otherwise Russia will come to Europe to put pressure on Europe," Zelenskyy said. On the eve of the anniversary of the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 23 and 24, Head of the Main Intelligence Agency Kyrylo Budanov expects a "small missile strike." "Nothing unusual will happen. Usual attempts... A small missile strike is planned. [February] 23 and 24, they have two dates. Believe me, we have experienced this more than 20 times already," he told Ukrainian Truth, published on Thursday. According to Budanov, a lot of events are expected in the spring that will be outstanding in this war: Russians will try to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions before March 31, Ukraine is planning a counteroffensive. Russia is preparing to "implement task number one. That is, by March 31, 2023, this is the duty deadline, to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions," Budanov said. According to Budanov, Russia strives to end this war as soon as possible. "Russia is trying in every possible way to end the war as quickly as possible. But their military bloc is still trying to prove that "we can, let's limit ourselves to Donetsk and Luhansk regions, but we will definitely do it and stop it." There are several people who believe that the prolongation of the conflict is in the hands of Russia. And there are a certain number of people who believe that this is in the hands of Ukraine," the agency's head said. Meanwhile, Budanov said there are people in Russia who adequately assess the situation. "There are also guys there who understand that no one has time. The longer this goes on, the more and faster the complete destruction of both the armed forces and the economy will come," Budanov said. According to him, there are Intelligence Agency's agents in Putin's entourage. "Since the situation in Russia is deteriorating every day, it becomes easier to find people willing to cooperate." Answering a question about Prigozhin's role, his public conflict with Defense Minister Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov, Budanov said this conflict "is definitely a plus for us. The more quarrels and serious conflicts they have within the system, the sooner our victory will come." Commenting on the role of Denys Kireyev, who participated in the negotiation process at the beginning of the war [later he was found shot dead], Budanov said: "I have already publicly answered all the questions. I can say that everything is at the investigation stage. Let's wait for the results." "The only thing I can say is that there has been an information surge. This is a guarantee that the investigation will someday end, because it is impossible to bury it," he said. According to Budanov, they had a conversation with the head of the SBU, Maliuk, discussing the case of Kireyev: "We agreed not to incite discord among our services we have something to do." Summing up, Budanov confirmed his point of view that "we have every chance for ending the war with our victory with the return of all our borders of the 1991 model. These are my opinions and assessments. I will not deviate from them anywhere." There are no signs of an increase in the groups of the aggressor state in the territory of Russia bordering Ukraine's Sumy and Chernihiv regions, Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Serhiy Nayev has said. "As of today, there have been no changes in the number and location of enemy forces in Volyn, Rivne, Zhytomyr, Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy directions," Nayev said in a video message posted on the Facebook page of the Joint Forces Command on Thursday. "The air defense system is on alert. Our soldiers are on active duty in all positions assigned to them," the commander said. Earlier, reports appeared that the command of the aggressor country was allegedly transferring units to Russia's Bryansk and Kursk regions that could take part in diversionary maneuvers in Sumy and Chernihiv directions. The Ukrainian Ground Forces reported that photos and videos of the transfer of Ukrainian military equipment appeared on the network and appealed to residents of Chernihiv and Sumy regions with a reminder of the ban on photo and video recording of military equipment and personnel. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed with President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi issues of strengthening food security and cooperation in opening food hubs in Africa by Ukraine. As reported in the Telegram channel of the head of the Ukrainian state on Thursday, the parties also noted the importance of extending the Grain Initiative. "We endorsed the goals and principles of the UN Charter, in particular the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states," the president said. The National Information Bureau under the Ministry for the Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories has been instructed to create a register of Ukrainian citizens who are illegally detained by Russia in connection with their political or social activities, Minister Iryna Vereschuk said. "Recently, I instructed the National Information Bureau under the Ministry of Reintegration to create a separate registry of Kremlin prisoners. I mean civilians who were illegally captured by the aggressor state because of their political or social activities," Vereschuk said on her Telegram channel. She said we are talking primarily about the Crimean Tatars, but among the Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia there are other citizens of Ukraine who were captured by Russia both before and after February 24, 2022. "Ukraine and the world must know our heroes and do everything to free them from the clutches of the Russians," the minister said. Head of the President's Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak said a sanctions forum will be held in Kyiv to improve the sanctions policy against Russia. "As part of this event, we will continue to work on improving restrictive mechanisms against the terrorist state that has challenged the entire world community. I invite you to join its work," Yermak said during an online speech at a meeting of the Sanctions Coordinators Forum, which takes place in Brussels, according to the President's Office press service. He also noted the need to continue to deprive Russia of the opportunity to continue an aggressive war against Ukraine. He is convinced that the general policy of economic pressure on Russia is producing results. "Sanctions are an effective tool in confronting an aggressor country. They deprive Russia of money to continue the war and weaken its military power," Yermak said. He thanked all partners for their work on the sanctions track over the past year. According to him, joint efforts have reduced Russia's oil and gas revenues and significantly weakened its military-industrial potential. Separately, the head of the President's Office noted initiatives related to sanctions against Russian propagandists. At the same time, Yermak said the effectiveness of sanctions depends on synchronicity, consistency, decisiveness and creativity in their implementation and implementation. In addition, the potential of individual sanctions mechanisms has not been exhausted, and these mechanisms need additional efforts to implement them. He expressed his conviction that further sanctions should apply to Rosatom, since this company is directly involved in acts of aggression and blackmail. It is also necessary to rid Russia of income from the diamond trade. "Russia is actively working to avoid isolation. The terrorist state is reorienting its producers to new markets. Changing logistics routes. It is attracting third countries as intermediaries to ensure trade operations," he said. Yermak also said the Yermak-McFaul International Expert Group is working on new formats for monitoring compliance with sanctions and a new plan for tightening sanctions restrictions against Russia. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with a delegation of the United for Ukraine global parliamentary network, which included representatives of the parliaments of 13 European countries and the European Parliament, the head of state said on its website on Thursday. "Thank you for your visit. It is an important signal of support. We are glad that we have such wonderful partners who help our country not lose its independence and the lives of our people. After all, people are our biggest priority," Zelenskyy said. The president noted the importance of armed, diplomatic, sanctions support from the European community, and also thanked for the decisions taken to recognize the Holodomor of 1932-1933 as a genocide of the Ukrainian people. Separately, he focused on the historic decision to grant Ukraine the status of an EU candidate and support the future membership of our country in the European Union. "This motivates Ukrainians to live, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine to defend the territorial integrity of the state on the battlefield," Zelenskyy said. The president said today in Ukraine there is an extremely large support for membership in the EU and NATO, to which there is no alternative. The head of state said after the war, Ukraine needs reliable security guarantees and the non-recurrence of such aggression. In this regard, according to Zelenskyy, it is very important that as many states of the world as possible support the Ukrainian formula of peace. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has signed a Decree to reorganize the regional cultural departments, which are part of the Ministry of Culture, and amend the Presidential Decree No. 1932 of March 29, 2016 "On improving the structure of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan". to be updated Interview for Interfax-Ukraine news agency of Arup Banerji, World Bank Regional Country Director for Eastern Europe According to the forecasts of many experts and analysts, the war is protracted and may last for years. How does awareness of this affect financial, humanitarian and technical assistance to Ukraine? Do priorities change? As we look back on this terrible year, I remain amazed and impressed by the resilience and bravery of Ukraines people and its leadership. But obviously, the longer Russias invasion of Ukraine continues, the greater the cost to Ukraine and its people, and the greater the financial need for recovery and reconstruction. Ukraines current and future financing needs are staggering. Ukraine still needs approximately about US$3-4bn/month just for essential services pensions, salaries, education, social transfers in this calendar year. More is needed for critical investments to help repair not even rebuild destroyed infrastructure and to help farmers and businesses revive economic activity. The government, faced with these challenges, has been clear on its priorities for economic needs, and has communicated this to all its development partners, including the World Bank. This is also based on the important data coming from the September 2022 Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, but also the evolution of damages and needs since then. The first priority is continued support to the government budget for the core public services such as health, education, and social protection. The second is to repair and restore the energy system, which is continually under attack. Third is to help restore critical infrastructure which includes repairing schools and hospitals, ensuring heating, electricity and water services, transport repairs for connectivity and service delivery, as well as repair of lightly damaged housing to ensure adequate shelter. Finally, boosting economic activity including support to farmers for the next agricultural planting season, and support to small and medium businesses. Fast recovery (sometimes called emergency repairs) must now run simultaneously with continued support for essential services, and planning for reconstruction efforts will also need to start before the war is over. To what extent are you satisfied with the current reporting on the use of money, does it need improvement and what kind? The major support the World Bank is engaged in in Ukraine is the project called Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Enhancement in Ukraine (shortened to the English acronym PEACE in Ukraine). This project has by now mobilized over $20 billion and already distributed over $17 billion, and is the largest single project in the World Banks almost 80 year old history. It supports the governments core social expenditures every month, using the Ministry of Finances reliable systems for transparency and verification. Specifically, once the government pays its civil servants and teachers, and provides funding to the national pension system, the World Bank verifies that these payments have gone to the intended beneficiaries. Once confirmed, we then make the disbursement to the government. This helps to ensure that we know that the Government is funding the agreed expenditures and recipients but we are also following up with specific audits and other verifications, and there are also opportunities for individuals to report if they are owed specific payments and they have not been paid. It is important to note that, despite this providing support to 12 million Ukrainians, there have been no major complaints or problems that we have found. Going forward, as the World Bank moves more into helping Ukraine with recovery and eventually reconstruction, things will become more complex and will need additional strengthening of systems which we are discussing with the authorities such as more systematic use of systems such as ProZorro. According to the World Banks forecasts, the level of poverty in Ukraine may exceed 50%. In such conditions, is there room for liberal reforms, transition to market tariffs and pension reform? Indeed, the invasion of Ukraine is a tragedy that is having far-reaching human and economic impacts. We estimate that 8 million additional Ukrainians are now living in poverty compared to before the war which is a 15-year setback in poverty reduction in Ukraine. At the same time, the remarkable resilience Ukraine and Ukrainians have shown is in large part attributable to the difficult and successful reforms in macroeconomic management and institution-building that the authorities undertook in recent years, prior to the war. This attention to reform and deepening the capacity and transparency of governance will be essential for the transition to post-war recovery. Throughout the recent reform period both before and during the war Ukraine has managed to balance efforts towards enhancing competition and economic efficiency with the protection of the most vulnerable. This is exemplified by the authorities ability to maintain critical social assistance and pension payments even as the war has squeezed its fiscal space. Maintaining this balance by continuing to realize opportunities that a more competitive market economy offers while strengthening the coverage and targeting of social assistance systems will be key to realize inclusive post-war growth that benefits all Ukrainians. The World Bank was expected to update the RDNA in early 2023, compared to the first assessment on June 1, 2022. What is the reason for the delay? Is there already any previous data? The next RDNA report an update will present a one-year snapshot of the impact from Russias invasion of Ukraine. After February 24, the team will analyze the data and finalize the report and expect to share the report in early April 2023. Ukraine estimates the need for financing Rapid Recovery Plan in 2023 at $17 billion. What are your assessments of Ukraine's needs and its ability to absorb aid for Rapid Recovery Plan? The needs are, of course, enormous, and we will have reliable numbers once we have the RDNA update in a little over a month. But whatever the amount turns out to be, for both the Ukrainian authorities and their partners, the major challenge is establishing priority spending and then managing the spending process efficiently, transparently and effectively. There is a lot of detail that the Ukrainian authorities have to work out, with the help of its partners, in terms of new, streamlined processes that minimize bureaucracy but also manage the risks that come with a huge amount of spending over a very short time period. As all of us work together on this, Ukraine will rely on a set of principles it adopted (in July 2022 at the Lugano Conference) to guide recovery planning. This includes transparency and good governance, balancing the needs of different oblasts, emphasizing local-level solutions and community needs, and ensuring that the spending is inclusive and especially addresses the needs of the poorest Ukrainians. Ukraine created the Recovery Agency by combining "Ukravtodor" and the Agency for Infrastructure Projects. To what extent, in your opinion, can the new institution be a partner of the IFIs and other international partners in the recovery process? What requirements should it meet? We have a long history of working with Ukravtodor and we are already working with the new Recovery Agency under the recently approved Restoring Essential Logistics Infrastructure and Network Connectivity (RELINC) project, which helps repair critical road and rail connections damaged by the war. We do envisage that collaboration to continue into the future. Many of the staff that have been taken into the new Recovery Agency have experience of implementing projects financed by the World Bank and other international partners. Specifically, this includes knowledge of the Banks social, environmental, and fiduciary standards, which are essential for any project that we finance. The requirements for other international financial institutions (IFIs) are broadly similar. We could therefore expect to see the new Recovery Agency become a key counterpart for multiple IFIs. Maintaining and hopefully even expanding their capacity to implement IFI-financed projects to high standards will facilitate that. At what stage is the structuring of the first projects for financing through the Ukraine Recovery Trust Fund (URTF)? What is the current confirmed/estimated amount of money raised by the fund in 2023? Which projects have the highest priority and what will be the distribution of funding between them? The Ukraine Relief, Recovery, Reconstruction and Reform Trust Fund (URTF) was set up by the World Bank to coordinate grant financing for sustaining Ukraines government functions, delivering services, and implementing relief efforts. The URTF has received $295 million in donor contributions to date. These, along with all donor World Bank-mobilized support to Ukraine since February 24, 2022, can be reviewed on the World Banks Ukraine website. The first signed and approved URTF grant was announced on Feb 10, 2023, - $50 million to repair and restore Ukraines transport network to support immediate humanitarian relief and recovery, and increase capacity of import and export corridors through the RELINC Project. An additional $210 million in grant financing has also been committed to new recovery projects in the health sector the HEAL Ukraine Project, which is improving and strengthening primary health care, addressing increased demand for mental health and rehabilitation services and supporting capacity building for key health institutions and soon the Restoration Project of Winterization and Energy Resources (REPOWER), which is helping Ukraine purchase key equipment to restore power to Ukrainians. The URTF will soon fund additional projects in the pipeline, as additional funds become available. What is the best way to ensure the involvement of both foreign private capital and war-affected Ukrainian private business in the recovery process? The international Finance Corporation (IFC), our private sector arm, is supporting the government to develop an approach to attract private investment and know-how for Ukraines reconstruction. IFC is also providing working capital to businesses and helping to keep Ukraines trade lines open. IFC has made recent investments totaling $95 million, including injection of capital, to help create jobs, accelerate the growth of Ukraine's technology sector and contribute to food security through sourcing and exporting grains from Ukraine. IFC and the EU are also channeling 50 million in grants to provide temporary accommodations for internally displaced people and to restore war-damaged residential buildings. In December 2022, IFC announced a $2 billion package to support Ukraines private sector focusing on agribusiness and on the provision of essential goods and services to the population. The Multilateral Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is supporting Ukraine with guarantees to help attract investments to important sectors of the economy, including the financial sector. To further support reconstruction, MIGA is working to address the impacts of the war on the private sector through donor-supported guarantee issuance. AXOR Industry invested $10 million in expanding production of fittings for windows and doors in Ukraine, the total investment in the enterprise reached $35 million, the company's press service told Interfax-Ukraine. "We have continued to invest both in the development of new products, as well as in new equipment and new production workshops. In 2022, two workshops for painting aluminum fittings for windows and doors began operation," said Osman Yilmaz, CEO of AXOR Industry, whose words are quoted in press release. He added that $10 million had been invested in the expansion of production, and in total since 2011 - $35 million. At the same time, it is noted that AXOR Industry is the only enterprise in Ukraine producing fittings for windows and doors. Its production facilities are located in Dnipro. Since the beginning of the war, the company has not stopped its work. Before the full-scale invasion of the Russian occupation forces into Ukraine, AXOR fittings were supplied to 26 countries of the world. Since February 24, deliveries to Russia and Belarus have been stopped. The company lost a significant amount of sales, but despite this, it retained jobs for Ukrainians (now there are 365 of them). "Only by providing jobs and developing international relations, it is possible to win the war and further ensure the development of both the production itself and the country. Therefore, in 2023 we aim to increase the presence of AXOR fittings on the international market and develop new lines of fittings and accessories for windows and doors," Osman said. According to the director general, from the first days of the full-scale invasion of Russia, the enterprise began to help its employees, who were called up to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and internally displaced persons. It also cares for the families of deceased employees. Interfax-Ukraine to host discussion 'Change in attitudes towards Ukraine in the world over the last 12 months' On Monday, February 27, at 12.00, the press centre of the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency will host a discussion entitled "Change in attitudes towards Ukraine in the world over the last 12 months." Participants include political analyst Kostiantyn Matviyenko; political scientist, co-founder of the National Platform for Sustainability and Cohesion Oleh Sahakyan; political analyst Taras Semeniuk (8/5a Reitarska Street). The event will be streamed on the YouTube channel of Interfax-Ukraine. Admission of journalists requires registration on the spot. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi called on Saturday on Sudanese sides to prioritise the language of dialogue and national consensus, and to uphold the supreme interests of the brotherly Sudanese people. Pop diva Celine Dion announced the release of new music on Thursday -- her first since revealing last year that she was suffering from a rare neurological disorder that was affecting her singing. Egypts Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has cancelled the Hajj (annual Islamic pilgrimage) at the expense of the Egyptian state for the second year in a row. Muslims perform the hajj, the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, every year during Dhul-Hijjah month, the last month of the Islamic year, which coincides this year with June. Some of the state's authorities, including the ministries of social solidarity and religious endowments, have traditionally paid for part of the costly hajj expenses for some of their employees. The government had also cancelled its hajj sponsorship last year, a few months after the war in Ukraine broke out, which put pressure on the global economy. All capable Muslims are required to perform the Hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, at least once in their lifetime. Repeating Hajj is voluntary. Following last years cancelation of the government-paid hajj trips, Minister of Social Solidarity Nevine El-Qabbaj said that the state was working to secure foreign currency resources amid global developments. Minister of Religious Endowments Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa said in April that the previous decision to cancel the state-sponsored Hajj was so as to give priority to projects that benefit the vulnerable, such as providing food and medicine. If we have 100,000 [pilgrims] and each of them needs $10,000 [to perform Hajj], then we would need $1 billion, the minister had said. Around 35,000 Egyptians reportedly travelled to Mecca to perform the hajj last year, when Saudi Arabia had allowed a million pilgrims to perform the rituals from inside and outside the country after two years of drastically limited pilgrimages due to the pandemic. Search Keywords: Short link: Saudi Arabia will not impose limits on the number of pilgrims for this year's hajj, a Saudi minister said Monday, after three years of restrictions to curb the Covid-19 pandemic. "The number of pilgrims will return to what it was before the pandemic, without any age limit," Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq al-Rabiah told reporters in Riyadh. The pilgrimage -- one of five pillars of Islam, and which all able-bodied Muslims with the means are required to perform at least once -- is scheduled for June. In 2019, about 2.5 million people took part in the rituals. For the next two years numbers were drastically curtailed numbers due to the pandemic. In 2022, nearly 900,000 pilgrims, including some 780,000 from abroad, were welcomed to Islam's holiest cities of Mecca and Medina. At that time, they had to be aged under 65, as well as have a vaccination against Covid-19 and present a negative test. Search Keywords: Short link: One month into the invasion of Ukraine, President Joe Biden stood in the courtyard of a grand Polish castle and laid out the punishing economic costs that the U.S. and its allies were inflicting on Vladimir Putin's Russia, declaring that the ruble is almost immediately reduced to rubble. Russia is now the world's most heavily sanctioned country, according to U.S. officials. The ruble did in fact take a temporary dive and has been slipping again in recent months. But as the war nears its one-year mark, it's clear the sanctions didn't pack the instantaneous punch that many had hoped. The ruble trades around the same 75-per-dollar rate seen in the weeks before the war, though Russia is using capital controls to prop up the currency. And while Russia's economy did shrink 2.2% in 2022, that was far short of predictions of 15% or more that Biden administration officials had showcased. This year, its economy is projected to outperform the U.K.'s, growing 0.3% while the U.K. faces a 0.6% contraction, according to the International Monetary Fund. The West's export controls and financial sanctions appear, instead, to be gradually eroding Russias industrial capacity, even as its oil and other energy exports last year enabled it to keep funding a catastrophic war. Large American multinationals like McDonald's and General Electric fled the country, and some of the country's richest citizens are forbidden from traveling to the U.S. But if Muscovites can't get a latte at Starbucks, there's an imitation waiting for them at the knockoff Stars Coffee as Russia has adapted. U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo stressed in an interview that the Western sanctions are only one tool as part of a larger strategy" and that the U.S. continues to adjust its sanctions to outmaneuver Russia's own shifts in strategy. You look at the exodus, the brain drain from Russia, Adeyemo said. "The Russian economy is far smaller, far more closed and will look more like Venezuela, North Korea and Iran than like a major G-7 economy. Still, a December Congressional Research Service report drew an underwhelming conclusion from all the economic parrying, stating that the sanctions have created challenges for Russia but to date, have not delivered the economic knockout that many predicted. A closer look at what's been done so far and what lies ahead: WHAT'S BEEN SANCTIONED, BY WHOM AND WHY? Biden last year called the West's sanctions a new kind of economic statecraft with the power to inflict damage that rivals military might. The sanctions, imposed largely through executive orders, are meant to punish Russia and block its access to the international financial systems and bank accounts that it needs to finance its war effort. Export controls also limit its access to computer chips and other products needed to equip a modern military. Simultaneously, the U.S. and its allies devoted billions to provide Ukraine with weapons, munitions and other military aid and direct financial assistance. More than 30 countries, including the U.S., EU nations, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan and others representing more than half the worlds economy are part of the unprecedented effort. They've imposed price caps on Russian oil and diesel, frozen Russian Central Bank funds and restricted access to SWIFT, the dominant system for global financial transactions. Beyond targeting key institutions and economic sectors, the West has directly sanctioned roughly 2,000 Russian firms, government officials, oligarchs and their families. The sanctions are depriving them of access to their American bank accounts and financial markets, preventing them from doing business with Americans and traveling to the U.S, and more. Unlike the countrywide sanctions on Iran and North Korea, the restrictions placed on Russia target specific industry sectors, firms and individuals. This approach was designed to keep Russian oil and natural gas flowing, in order to limit disruptions to the wider global economy. But energy exports also enabled Russia to replenish its finances and stave off a sharp decline. An industrialized country of its size the 11th largest economy in the world in 2021 has never faced such financial pressure. Daniel Fried, a former assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said that policy making of this kind is always a shot in dark." You're looking for hits on the Russian economy, it doesnt happen overnight, Fried said, noting that military aid was far more important as Ukrainian troops have performed better in repelling Russian attacks than U.S. and European officials expected. DIFFERENCES EMERGE While there has largely been unity among Western governments on the necessity to punish Russia, there have been differences in the lengths to which countries are willing to go. European and Asian countries are more dependent on Russian oil and natural gas than was the U.S. That made a ban on Russian exports hard for the alliance and forced compromises that took months to forge. Ultimately, the countries in December settled on a $60 price cap, which some critics said came too late and was too high to significantly hurt Russia. Experts and administration officials have said putting greater downward pressure on the sale of oil and other energy products from Russia would make sanctions more effective. To Marshall Billingslea, assistant Treasury secretary for terrorist financing in the Trump administration, the sanctions were far from bulletproof and easy for the Kremlin to elude. Russia has shot holes through the administration's sanctions," Billingslea said. Tom Firestone, a sanctions attorney, said more time is needed for the sanctions to take their course. Anyone who expects massive sanctions on Monday, and on Tuesday the Russian regime would fall is not reasonable," Firestone said. "Its a large economy that has large reserves. It has a large variety of trading partners. What we're seeing and what the government is saying is they're on track and it's seriously curtailed Russia's ability to operate." Russia is also seeking deeper ties with countries that have refused to join the sanctions effort. Its exports to Brazil, China, India and Turkey have increased by at least 50% since the war started compared with the previous year, according to the Congressional Research Service. HOW RUSSIA HAS BEEN IMPACTED Russia is a different country today than it was just a year ago, says Adeyemo, and theyve given up almost 30 years of progress in terms of their economic policy in the course of one year. But on a day-to-day consumer level, its a mixed picture. Shopping centers have a lot of shuttered shops, but Russian entrepreneurs are helping fill the gaps. One Russian startup has created a reasonably convincing analogue of McDonalds. Some sectors have suffered greatly from sanctions and the departure of foreign companies. Russia's automobile sector, for example, has taken a particular hit. A market analysis from the Association of European Businesses, representing European companies in Russia, said sales of new cars in January were 63% lower than a year earlier. Still, Russia continues to export some lumber, aluminum and other goods to the U.S., based on the need for the products in America. Russian goods imported to the U.S. totaled $14.5 billion in 2022. Thats less than 1% of all U.S. imports and about half the $30 billion imported from Russia in 2021. The Justice Department last year formed a task force to target the ill-gotten proceeds of Russian oligarchs, whom the U.S. sees as enabling Moscows war against Ukraine. As part of that effort, the department has seized two luxury yachts in Fiji and Spain alleged to belong to oligarchs. Prosecutors have also brought criminal charges against oligarchs accused of sanctions violations, including Oleg Deripaska, an aluminum magnate and close Putin associate. Deripaska remains at large. WHAT COMES NEXT The U.S. government is not finished by any means. Biden, in Poland on Tuesday, promised were going to announce more sanctions this week together with our partners. The Treasury Department is expected to impose another large round of sanctions on Russia with a likely focus in 2023 on logistics and manufacturing firms. Daniel Pickard, a sanctions attorney, said it's a safe bet that sanctions "will continue to be used with greater frequency with this administration and other administrations. It allows the president to take action without having to consult Congress and can be adjusted with regard to changing events on the ground. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt has condemned Israeli forces' storming of the Palestinian city of Nablus in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday which left ten Palestinians dead and more than a hundred injured. Egypt expresses its deep concern about the ongoing and dangerous escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories recently, which increases the complexity and aggravation of the situation every day, read a statement issued by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The recent escalation undermines efforts to achieve calm between the Palestinian and Israeli sides, and jeopardises the chances of reviving the peace process on the basis of international legitimacy decisions and the principle of the two-state solution, the statement added.. Earlier today, Israeli troops raided the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, killing 10 Palestinians and injuring dozens. The injured were admitted to hospitals with gunshot wounds According to the Palestinian health ministry, those killed in the raid were aged 16 to 72. The Arab League said the raid amounted to a "heinous crime". "The occupation authorities and the far-right Israeli government are responsible for this horrible massacre," said Said Abu Ali, the Arab League's assistant secretary-general for Palestinian affairs. Since the start of this year, Israeli raids in the West Bank has claimed the lives of 59 Palestinian adults and children. Nine Israelis, including three children, one Ukrainian civilian and a police officer have been killed over the same period, according to an AFP tally based on official sources from both sides. In several recent statements, Egypt has called on Israel to seize building illegal settlements in the occupied territories. Egypt has also called on Israel to refrain from deadly attacks on Palestinians and urged both sides to excercise restraint to prevent any further escalations in the conflict.. Search Keywords: Short link: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for an end to Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian lands. Israel's right-wing government has in recent weeks faced intense international criticism, including from the United States, over a decision to give retroactive permission to multiple settlement outposts in the occupied West Bank and to build new homes. And on Monday, the UN Security Council's 15 members expressed "dismay" over the plans. "Each new settlement is another roadblock on the path to peace," the UN chief told the body's Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. "All settlement activity is illegal under international law. It must stop," Guterres said, adding that "incitement to violence is a dead end. Nothing justifies terrorism." "Our immediate priority must be to prevent further escalation, reduce tensions and restore calm," he said. He noted, "the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is at its most combustible in years." Hours before Guterres' speech, Israeli troops killed 10 Palestinians in a raid on the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, while more than 100 people were injured, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The Israeli occupation army said the raid targeted militant suspects in hiding. Another 10 people were killed in an Israeli occupation army raid in the city of Jenin last month, the deadliest West Bank operation since at least 2005. Since the start of this year, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed the lives of 59 Palestinian adults and children, including militants and civilians. Israel has occupied the Palestinian territory included Eastern Jerusalem since the Six-Day War of 1967. Last year was the deadliest year in the territory since the United Nations started tracking casualties in 2005. Search Keywords: Short link: The Georgian delegation paid visits to Special Forces and Naval Forces units of the Azerbaijani Army. First, the guests paid tribute to the memory of national leader Heydar Aliyev and martyrs who gave their lives in defense of Azerbaijan's independence and territorial integrity by laying wreaths at the bust and monument erected on the military unit's territory, Azernews reports per the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. The delegation was given detailed information about the special forces training process, and the guests' questions were answered. The head of the Georgian delegation signed the military unit's Book of Remembrance. After, the Georgian representative paid a visit to the Naval Forces military unit and placed flowers at the memorial for martyrs. The delegation learned about the working conditions created for the personnel in the military unit. A presentation was made outlining the establishment history and current operations of the military unit. The delegation then observed the naval special forces' demonstration classes. The visitors saw the cutting-edge equipment that marines and special forces have access to, including combat and motor vehicles. After exchanging gifts, a photo was taken. US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called Russia's suspension of a nuclear treaty a "big mistake" as Moscow sought closer ties to China and said it was fighting for "historical" lands in Ukraine. Biden spoke before meeting NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and eastern European leaders in a bid to shore up support for Kyiv nearly a year after Russia invaded Ukraine. Asked by a journalist for a reaction to Russia's decision, Biden at first joked in Warsaw that he didn't "have time", then said: "big mistake". The leaders of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia attended the talks with Biden in Warsaw amid widespread concern in their countries that the conflict could spill over. Stoltenberg urged allies to "step up our support for Ukraine" saying that "we cannot allow Russia to continue to chip away at European security". In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin attended a patriotic rally, telling a crowd of tens of thousands that Russia was fighting "for our historical lands, for our people". Earlier, he held talks with China's top diplomat Wang Yi, who was visiting Moscow after Washington and NATO voiced concern that China could be preparing to supply Russia with weapons to pursue its war in Ukraine. "We will not be overwhelmed by threats and pressure from third parties," Wang said. On Tuesday, Putin announced the suspension of Moscow's participation in the New START arms treaty and vowed to press on with the campaign in Ukraine, during a state of the nation address. Wang in Russia On Wednesday, Russian lawmakers approved the suspension of the 2010 deal -- the last remaining nuclear arms control treaty between the world's two main nuclear powers. Putin's treaty announcement was met with widespread international condemnation, though Russia's foreign ministry later said Moscow would continue to comply with the treaty's restrictions in a "responsible approach". Biden on Tuesday delivered a rock star-style speech to a flag-waving crowd in Warsaw, one day after making a surprise visit to Kyiv. He vowed that Ukraine would "never be a victory for Russia" and that "our support for Ukraine will not waver". Russia's state-organised patriotic rally packed Moscow's main Luzhniki stadium for performances and speeches hailing Russian fighters in Ukraine. "I just heard from the top military leadership of the country that a battle is ongoing right now, for our historical lands, for our people," Putin said. Wang is on the last stop of a European tour during which he also met Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. Beijing has sought to position itself as a neutral party, while maintaining close ties with strategic ally Russia. It has said it is "deeply concerned" and that the conflict is "intensifying and even getting out of control". China has promised to publish a proposed "political solution" to the Ukraine conflict this week. Tensions with Wagner At the start of the meeting with Wang, Putin said cooperation between Russia and China was "very important to stabilise the international situation". When the Kremlin launched its Ukraine offensive, the operation was designed to be a rapid conquest leading to capitulation and the installation of a pro-Russian regime. Since then, Russia has been forced to give up ground but has kept up a barrage of drone and missile attacks, while the military and civilian toll has spiralled. Various Western sources estimate the conflict has caused 150,000 casualties on each side. Moscow's relentless struggle to capture the city of Bakhmut has also exposed tensions between the Russian military and the Wagner mercenary group. The group's head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, on Wednesday urged Russians to pressure the country's regular army into sharing ammunition with his fighters in Ukraine. Prigozhin stopped short of calling on Russians to protest but urged everyone from "driver" to "flight attendant" to help him. He already made headlines on Tuesday when he accused Russia's top brass of essentially committing "treason". Russia's defence ministry denounced reports of ammunition shortages as "absolutely false". Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt launched on Thursday the second phase of the technical support programme for the digitalisation of the Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) in collaboration with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The action came under the EBRDs country strategy (2022-2027) for Egypt, which focuses mainly on promoting an inclusive economy, accelerating Egypts green economy transition, and enhancing the countrys competitiveness by supporting private-sector growth and strengthening governance. The launch was witnessed by Egypts Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat, CEO of the SCZone Walid Gamal El-Dein, EBRDs Vice President Alain Bello, and EBRDs Managing Director of the SEMED Region Heike Harmgart. The second phase of the programme is meant "to strengthen the region's position as a centre for global investments, building on what was achieved in the first phase, which was successfully completed in 2020, Al-Mashat said during the event. She added that the first phase of the programme achieved great progress in terms of accelerating the pace of procedures for investors in the SCZone, which enhances the efficiency of the services provided, supports Egypts priorities to transform the region into a major development hub, and boosts the competitive advantages available to investors from different sectors across the world. The second phase aims to simplify administrative procedures and speed up the management of investor services, launch a unified and automated window that provides services to investors, and develop an effective, competitive, and environment-friendly business environment, according to the minister. Al-Mashat asserted the importance of digital transformation in providing job opportunities, promoting expansion in economic sectors, such as financial services and e-commerce, and promoting comprehensive and sustainable growth. The ongoing portfolio of the Ministry of International Cooperation with the EBRD includes 35 projects in innovation, digitisation and entrepreneurship, which contribute to achieving 11 SDGs, with a total development financing of $1 billion. The projects represent 4.5 percent of the ministry's development financing portfolio, according to Al-Mashat. These funds were made available by 13 bilateral and multilateral development partners. Egypt is one of EBRDs founding members. In 2021, Egypt became a country of operation with 10 billion in over 160 projects, of which 70 percent has been dedicated to the private sector. Search Keywords: Short link: The United States plans to significantly boost the number of American military personnel deployed in Taiwan to help train local forces, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The move comes at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing over an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down by a US warplane earlier this month. The deployment of between 100 and 200 American troops to the island is to take place in the coming months, a major increase from the roughly 30 who were there a year ago, the newspaper said, citing unnamed US officials. The US troops will train Taiwanese forces on military maneuvers as well as on American weapons systems, the Journal said. Beijing claims the democratic island as part of its territory to be seized one day, and has ramped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure during the tenure of Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen. Tsai said earlier this week that Taiwan would boost military exchanges with the United States. "Going forward, Taiwan will cooperate even more actively with the United States and other democratic partners to confront such global challenges as authoritarian expansionism and climate change," he said Tuesday, without providing details. The same day, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin accused Taiwanese leaders of "provocation," warning that "any futile separatist conspiracy or scheme relying on foreign forces to undermine cross-strait relations will only backfire and never succeed." Washington diplomatically recognizes Beijing over Taipei, but is also the self-governing island's most important international benefactor and supports Taipei's right to decide its future. Search Keywords: Short link: An Alexandria misdemeanour court sentenced on Thursday vlogger Osama Lotfy Sharaf El-Din to three years in prison for insulting Christianity through social networks. Dubbed The Egyptian Prince in Arabic on Facebook and Tiktok, Sharaf El-Din was arrested in October 2022. His arrest followed orders by the Prosecutor General to investigate his videos and posts through various social media accounts. The public prosecution accused Sharaf El-Din of using religion to spread radical thought using audio and video content online and of holding in contempt an Abrahamic religion -- Christianity -- and sowing discord among Egyptians in a way that threatens national unity. Videos of Sharaf El-Din on Facebook and TikTok showed him mocking the Bible, Christianity and its symbol. The prosecution presented evidence to the court including testimonies of two eyewitnesses as well as the clips of the defendant. Thursdays ruling is a first-degree verdict that can be appealed. Search Keywords: Short link: The American University in Cairo's Political Science Students Association hosted on Wednesday Ambassador Christian Berger, where he outlined the EU's initiatives to support the Egyptian economy directly and bolster trade ties to revitalise markets in Egypt. Berger said that the European Union has issued grants to Egypt and has been steadily increasing its involvement in the Egyptian economy in an effort to contribute to its sustainable growth. According to Berger, the EU provides active assistance to Egypt with about 1.2 billion euros a year. The European investment bank is very active in Egypt, he said, explaining that Egypt has the second largest portfolio [for the bank]. On the issue of food security, he mentioned that the EU has reached out and is providing assistance worth about 100 million euros to help in stabilising prices. Berger also said the EU followed very closely the discussion that Egypt has had with the IMF for its latest loan agreement, which he said the EU supports. Trade between the EU and Egypt Ambassador Berger noted that the EU representation in Egypt collaborates closely with the Egyptian government to ensure that trade continues flowing in an uninterrupted manner, so that the strong commercial ties reinvigorate markets in Egypt. Moreover, Berger said that the EU plans to begin importing electricity from new countries, including Egypt, which would add a significant new source of income for the Egyptian economy. Egypt has an abundance of solar and wind energy Europe will be very happy to buy this electricity. Exporting energy on a larger scale to Europe will provide a new revenue stream for the Egyptian government, which will in turn create more jobs and have positive effects on local markets, bringing more foreign currency into the economy and attracting more foreign investment. A memorandum of understanding has already been signed between the EU and Egypt for exporting Liquified Natural Gas, Berger said, adding that this is an important avenue of cooperation between the EU and Egypt. Search Keywords: Short link: Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly has affirmed the UKs commitment to work with international and regional partners, especially Egypt, in order to contain the current tensions between the Israeli and Palestinian sides and encourage them to return to the peace talks. In a phone call with Egypts Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry on Thursday, Cleverly expressed the UKs deep concern regarding the deterioration of the security and humanitarian situations in the Palestinian lands and the heightened violence between the two sides, the Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement. The phone call discussed the latest critical developments in the occupied Palestinian territories and means of enhancing international and regional efforts to contain the current tensions between the Israeli and Palestinian sides. Shoukry reviewed with Cleverly the Egyptian efforts that have been made for reinforcing calm in the occupied lands, and encouraging the Israeli and Palestinian sides to return to negotiations and break the current stalemate in the peace process. Israeli forces killed 11 Palestinians and injured over 100 others during a Wednesday raid on Nablus city in the occupied West Bank, according to officials, in the latest incident of a series of bloody raids by the Israeli troops this year. Egypt condemned the Wednesday raid in a statement by the foreign ministry, warning that the ongoing and dangerous escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories recently increases the complexity and aggravation of the situation. Since the start of this year, Israeli raids in the West Bank has claimed the lives of 59 Palestinian, both adults and children, and triggered Palestinian retaliatory attacks. The Israeli forces carried out a deadly raid on Jenin camp late in January, which killed nine Palestinians. On the following day, a Palestinian man opened fire outside a synagogue in East Jerusalem, killing seven people. Egypt has repeatedly called on Israel to refrain from deadly attacks on Palestinians and urged both sides to exercise restraint to prevent any further escalations in the conflict. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypt handed over on Thursday the first batch of medical aid to Djibouti as part of the cooperation in the medical field between the two countries, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said. According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Egypts Ambassador to Djibouti Hossam El-Din Reda handed over the first batch of medical aid which amounts to about 20 tons of medicine and medical supplies to the Djiboutian assistant Minister of Health. Ambassador Reda stressed that Egypt is always ready to cooperate with Djibouti in all fields, especially the field of health care. For his part, the Assistant Minister of Health of Djibouti praised the Egyptian gift, stressing that Egypt has always represented reliable support and that what it offers to Djibouti in the medical sector and other sectors is appreciated and welcomed at all political and popular levels in Djibouti. He added that the aid shipment will be distributed to all Djiboutian provinces starting tomorrow. Search Keywords: Short link: Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi discussed on Thursday the food security issue, especially in Africa, as well as the latest developments in Ukraine with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the Egyptian presidency announced. The Egyptian President discussed in the telephone call he received from his Ukrainian counterpart the food security issue in light of the great suffering of many people around the world due to the current crisis, especially in Africa. He also stressed the extreme importance of stabilising the world food market, according to the Egyptian presidency. The Ukrainian president agreed with El-Sisi, sharing his countrys efforts in ensuring global food security. Both El-Sisi and Zelensky discussed the importance of continuing the grain export initiative, according to the presidency. In a tweet on his official Twitter account, Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he talked with president El-Sisi about enhancing food security and cooperating in opening Ukrainian food hubs in Africa. According to the Egyptian Presidency, El-Sisi also discussed with Zelensky the latest developments on the ground and the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. The Egyptian president asserted Egypts support of all efforts aiming to calm the situation and to advance efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the conflict in a way that prevents bloodshed and paves the way towards peace. El-Sisi noted that Egypt was ready to continue making the necessary efforts in this regard, according to the Egyptian presidency. The Ukrainian president, for his part, expressed appreciation of Egypts efforts, highlighting Egypt's influential role at the regional and international levels. Search Keywords: Short link: An Egyptian supply ship arrived in Turkey and Syria carrying tons of relief aid to the quake-hit countries, the Egyptian Armed Forces announced on Thursday. The Egyptian army also announced on Thursday that two military cargo planes took off for Turkey carrying large quantities of humanitarian aid. Officials from both Turkey and Syria expressed appreciation for the efforts exerted by Egypt to help them overcome the devastating effects of the deadly quake that has left thousands dead and wounded. The hand of brotherhood extends today from Egypt to Turkey; we will always remember this brotherly attitude in difficult days, Turkish charge daffaires in Cairo Ambassador Salih Mutlu tweeted on his official Twitter account on Thursday. The Egyptian supplies were provided by the ministries of defence and social solidarity, Al-Azhar, the Red Crescent Society, and the Long Live Egypt Fund, the Egyptian military spokesman said in a statement. Over 46,000 people have died due to the powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck northwest Syria and southern Turkey on 6 February, making the quake one of the deadliest this century. Countries and organisation from across the globe have been providing human aid, with over 140 aid trucks entering Syria as of Friday, according to the UN. On Monday, an Egyptian naval supply ship arrived at the Port of Latakia, Syria to deliver hundreds of tons of relief aid. In the immediate aftermath of the quake, Egypt sent five military planes two to Turkey and three to Syria carrying large quantities of medical aid the day after the disaster. Egypt also sent a rescue team of medical specialists and rescue technicians alongside the medical aid to Syria The Egyptian Red Crescent also launched a donation campaign for Syrias earthquake victims. Additionally, Egypts Tahya Masr designated on Wednesday a bank account at all state-owned banks to receive donations from inside and outside Egypt to send basic goods and pharmaceutical supplies to the victims. Search Keywords: Short link: German Condor airline and the Egyptian Airports Company (EAC) celebrated Thursday the start of scheduled flights, twice a week, between Frankfurt and Sphinx International Airport in March 2023. Speaking at the event, Chairman of the EAC Ahmed Mansour underscored the strategic and economic importance of Sphinx International Airport. Mansour added that the company is looking forward to promoting cooperation and partnership in the period to come. German Condor said that this airport is the most appropriate as it is very close to the Grand Egyptian Museum, the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, especially with the opening of a number of new roads in Egypt. It is also the best and the closest to downtown Cairo. The Condor airlines main operations center is located at Frankfurt International Airport. It operates 34 weekly flights to Hurghada only, in addition to flights to Marsa Alam and Sharm El-Sheikh. German Condor is the second airline to announce operating from this new airport, after Air Cairo. Sphinx International Airport has been flying domestic and international flights since the beginning of November. Search Keywords: Short link: A senior European Union official will be in Ankara on Feb. 22 for the preparations of an international donors conference as part of the EUs assistance to the disaster-hit people in Turkiye and Syria. Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi will hold talks with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and other Turkish officials in the Turkish capital. Ahead of my visit to prepare the International Donors Conference, another devastating earthquake hit Turkiye. Our condolences to the victims and their families. The EU stands firmly with Turkiye. Our solidarity and support remains unwavering in these difficult times, he tweeted. Turkiye and Syria were hit by devastating earthquakes on Feb. 6 that claimed the lives of more than 40,000 people. An additional six people were killed due to a powerful aftershock tremor in Hatay late on Feb. 20. Varhelyi and Cavusoglu will hold talks about the modalities of the donors conference to be jointly organized by the EU Commission and EUs term president, Sweden, on March 16 in Brussels. It will be open to EU Members, neighbors, U.N. members, international financial institutions and relevant stakeholders and will aim to raise resources and coordinate a response to support Turkiye and Syria. The conference will be chaired jointly by Commissioner in charge of Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations, Oliver Varhelyi, and the Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Johan Forssell. At least 96 people have been killed in more than two weeks of clashes between security forces and clan members in the breakaway Somali region of Somaliland, a hospital director said Thursday. "We have 96 dead and 560 wounded," Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, director of the main hospital in the contested town of Las Anod, told AFP by telephone. Garaad Jama Garaad Ali, a senior clan chief, had said on Wednesday that 150 people had been killed and 500 wounded. Somaliland, which has claimed independence from Somalia since 1991, but has never been recognized internationally, is often seen as a beacon of stability in a chaotic region. However, political tensions have surged in recent months, leading to deadly violence between government forces and militias loyal to Somalia. The latest fighting broke out on February 6 in Las Anod, which straddles a key trade route and is claimed by both Somaliland and neighboring Puntland, a semi-autonomous state of northeastern Somalia. The UN says more than 185,000 people have been displaced by the violence. Heavy fighting was still raging on Thursday, according to the region's clan leaders and witnesses. "It started in the early morning and already several artillery and mortar shells landed in the town," resident Mohamed Saleban said by phone, adding that people were fleeing. On Wednesday, Hassan said the hospital itself had been bombarded and that several employees had on "a number of occasions" survived shellings. "They have destroyed the electricity system of the hospital, the oxygen system, the blood bank, the office of the human resources and other parts of the hospital building," he told reporters, vowing to continue working. Investigation call The violence erupted after elders in the Sool region, where Las Anod is located, issued a statement pledging support for Somalia's federal government and urged Somaliland authorities to withdraw their soldiers from the area. Somaliland authorities announced a ceasefire on February 10, but days later accused Somalia of attacking its forces. The UN said last week that more than 185,00 people had been uprooted from their homes, with aid workers struggling to respond to the situation due to inadequate resources. Women and children accounted for an estimated 89 percent of the displaced population, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement. Many were reportedly seeking shelter under trees or inside schools, which have been forced to shut. In addition to those displaced inside Somaliland, more than 60,000 others have fled to Ethiopia's Somali region to escape the violence, the UN's refugee agency said. UN rights chief Volker Turk this month called on authorities to conduct a "credible and impartial investigation" into the clashes and warned that they compounded the already fragile humanitarian situation in the region. Somaliland, a region of 4.5 million people, is a former British protectorate. It prints its own currency, issues its own passports, and elects its own government but its quest for statehood has gone unrecognized, leaving it poor and isolated. However, the region has been relatively stable in comparison to Somalia, which has witnessed decades of civil war and Islamist insurgency. Search Keywords: Short link: The late Burkina Faso revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara was reburied Thursday, eight years after his body was exhumed as part of an investigation. Sankara's body, and those of the 12 people who died with him, were reburied at the site of his assassination, which has since become a memorial for Sankara featuring a life-sized statue of the former leader pumping his fist in the air. Soldiers and community leaders paid tribute during a ceremony Thursday, some posing for pictures by Sankaras coffin. All the coffins were draped in Burkina Faso flags with a photo beside them. Sankara and the others were gunned down in the capital, Ouagadougou, during a 1987 coup and buried hastily. Their bodies were allowed to be dug up in 2015, after the ousting of former President Blaise Compaore. Sankara, a charismatic Marxist leader with a reputation as "Africas Che Guevara," came to power in 1983 at the age of 33 after he and Compaore led a leftist coup that overthrew a moderate military faction. But in 1987, Compaore turned on his former friend in a coup in which he seized power and then ruled the country for 30 years. Last year, Compaore, who now lives in Ivory Coast, was tried in absentia and convicted of complicity in their murders. A Burkina Faso military tribunal sentenced him to life imprisonment. Compaores right-hand man, Gilbert Diendere, and former spy chief Tousma Yacinthe Kafando were also given life sentences. Eight other people were found guilty of a range of charges including giving false testimonies and complicity in undermining state security. While Sankara's family was happy that he was finally laid to rest, they said the place of burial was like a slap in the face because of the horrors that occurred there. The family asked the government to bury him elsewhere but was told it was at the armys discretion since Sankara was a soldier. That place is painful for us to put our feet there. A lot of people were tortured there and crimes committed there and murders, his younger brother Paul Sankara told The Associated Press by phone from the United States, where he lives. The West African nation has struggled ith a jihadi insurgency linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that has killed thousands and displaced nearly 2 million people and sowed division among the population, leading to two coups last year. The current junta leader, Capt. Ibrahim Traore, has been likened by some to Sankara, as an anti-imperialist pan-African leader, and is using the reburial to increase support, analysts said. With undertaking a symbolic state funeral for Sankara, Traore aims to boost his image by appealing to the collective memory of the young revolutionary leader that still shapes society in Burkina Faso, said Mucahid Durmaz, senior analyst at Verisk Maplecroft, a global risk intelligence firm. Search Keywords: Short link: Russias president and the deposed leader of Afghanistan were among the top gift givers to President Joe Biden and his family in 2021, according to federal documents published on Thursday. In happier times between all three countries, Vladimir Putin gave Biden a $12,000 lacquer writing box and pen when they met at a highly anticipated summit in Geneva, Switzerland in June 2021. And, then-Afghan President Mohammed Ashraf Ghani and his wife gave the U.S. president and first lady Jill Biden silk rugs worth an estimated $28,800 later that month. Relations between the U.S. and Russia turned sour shortly after the Geneva meeting and have plummeted since Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February. Ghani, meanwhile, fled Afghanistan shortly after the U.S. withdrew from the country on Biden's orders in August, 2021. The details were contained in the State Departments annual accounting of gifts to U.S. officials from world leaders posted on the website of the Federal Register on Thursday. The formal publication of the list, covering 2021, will come on Friday. Both the Putin and Ghani gifts were transferred to the National Archives, a requirement for any gift to a U.S. official valued at more than $415. The recipient has the option of paying the estimated value and keeping the gift. According to the records, Putin gave Biden a Kholuy Lacquer Miniature Workshop Desk Writing Set and Pen on the occasion of their meeting in Geneva on June 16, 2021. There are no other gifts from Putin or other Russian officials to Biden or U.S. officials documented in the filing. Later that month, well after Biden had given the order for American forces to withdraw from Afghanistan in April, Ghani and his wife, Rula, gave Joe and Jill Biden two silk carpets: one valued $9,600 and the other $19,200, according to the list. At the time, U.S. officials believed that Ghani's government and security forces could survive the withdrawal of American troops. A White House statement from Biden's meeting with Ghani on June 25th said that the U.S. and Afghan leaders firmly agreed that although U.S. troops are leaving Afghanistan, the strong bilateral partnership will continue. Search Keywords: Short link: US President Joe Biden said Thursday that Washington is nominating former Mastercard Chief Executive Ajay Banga as a candidate to lead the World Bank, after its current head announced plans to step down early. The development lender has just started accepting candidate nominations in a process set to run until March 29, with the bank saying that women contenders would be "strongly" encouraged. The president of the World Bank is typically American, while the leader of the International Monetary Fund is customarily European. Banga, 63, is Indian-American and currently serving as vice chairman at equity firm General Atlantic. He was previously chief executive at Mastercard, and has also served on the boards of the American Red Cross, Kraft Foods and Dow Inc, said the White House in a statement. Banga has "critical experience mobilizing public-private resources to tackle the most urgent challenges of our time, including climate change," said Biden in a statement. Last week, current World Bank President David Malpass said he would step down nearly a year early, ending a tenure that has been clouded by questions over his climate stance. Malpass, who was appointed to the post in 2019 when Donald Trump was president, would originally have ended his term in 2024. Banga's nomination comes amid a push for development lenders to revamp and address global problems like environmental issues more effectively. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen earlier said that lenders' core models, where countries borrow to make specific investments addressing developmental constraints, is "insufficient to meet the moment." The United States is the World Bank's largest shareholder. Any of the bank's 189 members can nominate a candidate, though in 2019, Malpass was the lone nominee to take over the helm of the institution. Green transition Speaking to reporters, a senior US administration official said: "At Mastercard and General Atlantic, Ajay has made combating climate change and mobilizing private capital to help power the green transition a priority." "These are experiences and priorities that will guide and drive his work in the years ahead at the World Bank," the official added. In a separate statement, Yellen said that she applauded Biden's decision. Banga "has the right leadership and management skills, experience living and working in emerging markets, and financial expertise to lead the World Bank at a critical moment in its history," Yellen said. She added that his record of forging partnerships between the public sector, private sector and non-profits will serve him in helping to "mobilize the private capital and press for the reforms needed to meet our shared ambitions." Growing disconnect Luis Alberto Moreno, former president of the Inter-American Development Bank, told AFP that the World Bank is at a transformative moment as the global community grapples with heightened tensions and major development challenges, "the biggest of which has to do with the whole energy and climate transition." Carrying out a successful reform would require balance between the developed and emerging worlds, he said. "We're in a moment where there's a growing disconnect between the global north and the global south. Just bringing that together takes somebody that not only has the technical skills, but the political skills," Moreno added. Asked about the World Bank's encouragement for women candidates, a US official told reporters that Banga -- who was born, raised and spent an early part of his career in emerging market India -- had a "personal conviction and excellent track record" in promoting diversity in his work. The World Bank has been led by men since its founding in the aftermath of World War II. Search Keywords: Short link: The European Commission has banned TikTok on official devices used by staff amid concerns over data protection, a spokesperson told AFP on Thursday. The ban also means European Commission staff cannot use the Chinese-owned video-sharing app on personal devices including phones that have official apps installed, the spokesperson said, confirming a report by the news website Euractiv. Employees must remove the app as soon as possible and should do so by March 15. TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is Chinese, has faced increasing Western scrutiny in recent months over fears about how much access Beijing has to user data. The United States last year banned the app from federal government devices, and some US lawmakers are trying to prohibit TikTok from operating in the United States. Last month, the Dutch government reportedly advised public officials to steer clear of the app over similar concerns. In November, TikTok admitted some staff in China can access the data of European users. TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew was in Brussels last month for talks with EU officials during which they warned TikTok to ensure the safety of European users' data. He insisted the company was working on a "robust" system for processing Europeans' data in Europe, an EU spokesman said at the time. TikTok has also promised to hold US users' data in the United States to allay Washington's concerns. Search Keywords: Short link: Pianist and composer Omar Khairat has announced a competition on his Facebook page where the winner will be awarded free tickets to his Alexandria concerts. Khairat has just concluded two concerts at the Cairo Opera House (20 and 21 February) and is now preparing to perform at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina on 3 and 4 March 2023. Addressing 3.5 million followers on his Facebook page, Khairat asks the listeners to name his compositions that were featured in Fawazeer Ramadan starring dancer Nadine. "Name the compositions used in three songs, and win two tickets to my concert," Khairat said in the announcement, pointing to three Fawazeer episodes broadcast in the mid-2010s: Al Helw Ma Yekamelsh, Giran Alhana, Ma Nestaghnash. The Fawazeer (Arabic for riddles) is an Egyptian television show broadcast during the month of Ramadan. The iconic dancers that presented the Fawazeer in the past were Sherihan and the Armenian-Egyptian Nelly, who starred in the show in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and again for five years starting 1990. Later attempts to revive the Fawazeer included actress Sherine Reda and Oriental dancer Nadine, among others. However, none of them proved as successful as Sherihan or Nelly. One of the top musicians of the Arab world, Khairat has hundreds of compositions in his repertoire. He has written scores for numerous films and television series, including The Sixth Day (1984), The Terrorist (1993), Mafia (2002), Girls Love (2003), The Embassy is in the Building (2005), and Deers Blood (2006). In his concerts, Khairat usually features the best-known compositions, all works that are beloved by generations of his followers. Search Keywords: Short link: Famed American boy band Backstreet Boys will give a concert in Egypt, UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, as part of their DNA World Tour Arriving from Iceland's leg of their tour, the Backstreet Boys will make a stop in Egypt on 1 May, before continuing to India, UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. The tour promoting their ninth studio album, DNA (2019), includes a total of 150 shows in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia and Australia. It was first announced in 2019; but due to COVID-19 pandemic many of its segments were, however, modified. In February 2023, the Backstreet Boys embarked on the second of the tour's eight legs, and one that will continue until the end of May. The concert in Egypt will take place at ZED East, one of the luxury compounds located in New Cairo. ORA, the company organising the event, announced the news, mentioning that "tickets will be released soon" via the event's partner Ticketsmarche. For the time being, the American band's fans can make a pre-booking on the Ticketsmarche's website. Formed in 1993, the Backstreet Boys became the highest selling boy band of all time with 130 million records sold. They reached the peak of their popularity during the 1990s and 2000s. Their last album from that period -- and their eighth studio album -- entitled In a World Like This was released in 2013. Their latest album, entitled DNA, was released in 2019. Search Keywords: Short link: The WHO said it was capitalising on the chance brought about by the suspending of sanctions to carry out some rapid procurement and revitalise Syria's shattered health services. The UN health agency called on Syria's warring factions to see the earthquake as an opportunity to end the civil war for good. The massive 7.8-magnitude tremor on February 6 has killed more than 42,000 people in Turkey and more than 3,600 in Syria, while the WHO said more than 125,000 have been injured. Damascus has been hit by more than a decade of economic sanctions, and while they were not designed to impede aid, they were blamed by some for the slow arrival of assistance after the quake. The United States has since temporarily lifted some sanctions, hoping to ensure that aid moves as quickly as possible to those affected. "WHO is moving very rapidly right now, together with our partners, to take advantage of this pause in the sanctions," Richard Brennan, the WHO's Eastern Mediterranean regional emergency director, told a press conference. "We have already started ordering equipment and supplies and we are working with UN partners on a collective approach to take advantage of the pause," he said from Gaziantep in southern Turkey, having returned from northern Syria. Medicines, vaccines, X-ray machines and surgical tools were needed, he added. "We will be moving very rapidly to do the procurement, capitalising on this important opportunity that we have." Four planes filled with supplies have flown into Syria since the earthquake. The Syrian conflict started in 2011 with President Bashar al-Assad's brutal repression of peaceful protests, and escalated to pull in multiple foreign powers and global jihadists. Nearly half a million people have been killed, and the conflict has forced around half of Syria's pre-war population from their homes. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on the warring factions to use the earthquake as a chance to come together and resolve the civil war. "Warring parties now should use this earthquake as an opportunity to talk to each other and bring a political solution," he said. "The Syrians actually believe that the earthquake is a lesser evil. It's another evil but a lesser evil compared to the 12 years of conflict, but not only that: the displacement, the economic meltdown. "Anybody can see through what kind of hell the Syrian people are passing." He said seven hospitals and 145 health facilities in Syria have been damaged, many in the northwest. In Turkey, at least 15 hospitals had been damaged, with many health facilities also affected. "WHO calls on the global community to support the response and provide hope to those who are grieving, traumatised and fearful about the future," Tedros said. Namibia's Minister of Agriculture, Water and Land Reform Carl-Hermann Gustav handed over AMCOW presidency to Egypts Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Hani Sewilam. During the virtual session, Gustav encouraged Sewilam to carry on the work of AMCOW to facilitate the delivery of the African water agenda. In a speech after the handover, Sewilam affirmed Egypts aspiration to cooperate with all African countries to enhance economic integration and ensure prosperity, security, peace, and stability for the continent. The Egyptian minister also affirmed keenness to prioritise the water axis within the context of the issues that serve the development goals in Africa. He stressed his belief in African countries ability to turn challenges into opportunities for ensuring cooperation, exchanging expertise, addressing the informational and technological gap, and boosting investments in the water sector. The minister also highlighted the importance of building the capacities of workers in the water sector and raising awareness on the importance of water to improve water management and tackle the issues of overpopulation and water scarcity. Sewilam highlighted the vital role played by the AMCOW through its ambitious programmes and initiatives to provide the necessary directives to implement measures that achieve sustainable social and economic development. He also hailed the role of AMCOWs programmes in preserving the African ecological systems and confronting challenges that obstruct the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Africa Water Vision 2025, and Africas Agenda 2063. During his speech, Sewilam stressed the need to translate policies in this regard into actual measures on the ground, boost the reliance on innovative policies and practices, and develop technology in order to reach tangible results in water management and to face climate change. The minister called for all countries to support the global initiative that Egypt launched along with international partners at the 27th UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm El-Sheikh city last November, which aims to encourage comprehensive cooperation in the field of water amid climate change. During the COP, Sewilam had announced the launch of the Action on Water, Adaptation, and Resilience (AWARe) initiative in partnership with several international parties, including the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The initiative seeks to offer transitional adaptation solutions for the planet and people, starting with the worlds most vulnerable communities and ecosystems in Africa. In his Thursday speech, Sewilam affirmed Egypts keenness to become an African hub for training and capacity building under the initiative to train African technical cadres in the water field. Founded in 2002 in Nigeria, 55-member AMCOW aims to promote cooperation and development and eliminate poverty among the African Unions member states through effective water resources management in Africa. Stoltenberg said potential Chinese assistance would amount to providing "[direct] support to a blatant violation of international law, and of course [as] a member of the UN Security Council, China should not in any way support violation of the UN Charter, or international law." Asked whether NATO has any indication that China might be ready to provide arms or other support to Russia's war, Stoltenberg said: "We have seen some signs that they may be planning for that and of course NATO allies, the United States, have been warning against it because this is something that should not happen. China should not support Russia's illegal war." NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also told The Associated Press in an interview that the alliance, while not a party to the war, will support Ukraine "for as long as it takes." NATO's chief said Wednesday that the military alliance has seen "some signs" that China may be planning to support Russia in its war in Ukraine, and he strongly urged Beijing to desist from what would be a violation of international law. Putin Hosts Chinese Visitor On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted the Chinese Communist Party's most senior foreign policy official, Wang Yi, raising concern in the West that Beijing might be ready to offer Moscow stronger support in the almost year-old war. China has pointedly refused to criticize the invasion of Ukraine while echoing Moscow's claim that the U.S. and NATO were to blame for provoking the Kremlin. China, Russia and South Africa are holding naval drills in the Indian Ocean this week. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said any Chinese involvement in the Kremlin's war effort would be a "serious problem." Ties between China and the U.S. are under severe strain over Taiwan and other issues. Stoltenberg spoke to The Associated Press in Warsaw, following a meeting of NATO's nine eastern flank members with U.S. President Joe Biden on the region's security. He stressed that while NATO "is no party" to the Ukraine conflict, its tasks are to "ensure that Ukraine prevails" and to "prevent this war from escalating beyond Ukraine and becoming a full-fledged war between Russia and NATO." He said the main message from the meeting in Warsaw was that "we will provide support to Ukraine for as long as it takes." It would be a "tragedy for the Ukrainians if President Putin wins in Ukraine," Stoltenberg said, and also "dangerous for all of us" because it would "send the message to all authoritarian leaders that when they use military force, they get what they want." The Russian attack on Ukraine has prompted Sweden and neighboring Finland to abandondecades of nonalignment and apply to join the 30-nation alliance. But their bids, particularly Sweden's, are being delayed by Turkey, which wants the two countries to crack down on mostly Kurdish groups Ankara regards as terrorists. Stoltenberg told the AP that following talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week he could see Turkey "is moving closer to being ready to ratify and [to] welcome Finland into the alliance. But [Ankara continues] to have some challenges with Sweden." He said he welcomed the fact that he and Erdogan agreed to a meeting soon "of experts and officials in Brussels" from the three countries involved "to look into how we can make progress also on the ratification of Sweden as a full NATO ally." On February 22, Turkiye's foreign minister thanked the EU and the international community for their assistance and support in the wake of earlier this month's deadly earthquakes. The EU has shown great solidarity with Turkiye during such a difficult period, Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a joint press conference in the capital Ankara with EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi, and Johan Forssell, the international development minister of Sweden, currently the EU's term president. Cavusoglu stated that the EU activated integrated political crisis response (IPCR) immediately following the earthquakes and that the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism was also activated quickly upon Turkiye's request because it is a member of the mechanism. He noted that 32 search and rescue teams as well as five medical teams were dispatched to Turkiye within the framework of the mechanism, and said: "With the hard work of 1,750 search and rescue officers, 79 of our citizens were rescued from the rubble." The Turkish foreign minister also announced that Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto will pay a visit to Turkiye, bringing aid collected for earthquake victims. Underlining that Turkiye has benefitted from EU solidarity funds and its Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) as a candidate country, Cavusoglu said there had been interruptions in IPA funds before and that such interruptions were not beneficial. During the discussions with Varhelyi and Forssell, the minister said they addressed directing the funds to the citizens affected by the earthquake and infrastructure investments. "One thing we agreed on today is that such cooperation and aid should be sustainable, sufficient, and flexible. Because we will rebuild many cities," he added. We care because we are friends For his part, EU Commissioner Varhelyi conveyed his condolences over the deadly earthquakes and said they were in Turkiye to help. "We care because we are friends because we are allies and I think this cannot be underlined strongly enough." "My generation for sure has not seen such a devastating earthquake on the planet and this is why the human suffering is immense," he stressed. Noting that the EU has "mobilized roughly 5.5 million in support for the immediate and most urgent needs," Varhelyi said it is "only a first response." "This is to provide immediate support and also the search and rescue operations. But it is clear that we will need to do significantly more to overcome the human suffering and alleviate all the damages that have been done by the earthquake," he affirmed. Noting that the damage caused by the massive earthquakes in southern Turkiye is "substantial," the EU Commissioner said they are "ready to meet this challenge." "The European Commission is ready to do everything in its power, to help and we are ready to participate in building new houses schools, new hospitals, and new nurseries so that normal life can return to these regions in Turkiye." Asked if Turkiye-EU relations would be on a positive course after this earthquake, Varhelyi said: If out of this (earthquake), we will have even reinforced friendship and partnership with Turkiye, so much the better." Unimaginable catastrophe Forssell also conveyed a message of "solidarity and of commitment to the people in Turkiye affected by the devastating earthquakes." "There are, of course, no words of condolences from the outside world that will properly match this unimaginable catastrophe and its consequences for the Turkish people. But, we can take action and we will take action, and that is why we are here today," Forssell added. He said that the "links between Sweden and Turkiye are strong on a human level, but also economically and politically," adding: "As the Minister not only for economic cooperation, I'm also the Minister for Foreign Trade, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight the strong commitment that many Swedish companies have manifested in providing support to Turkiye, in the aftermath of the earthquakes and in the time ahead." "We look very much forward to strengthening our cooperation in areas such as trade and investments, where we see a great potential that we should explore," he added. At least 42,310 people were killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Turkiye on Feb. 6. Thousands of others were injured. The Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said the quakes, centered in the Pazarcik and Elbistan districts of Kahramanmaras province, were followed by 7,184 aftershocks. Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the tremors that struck in less than 10 hours. A total of 14,740 local and international search and rescue personnel are currently working in the field, AFAD said. The teams have set up tent and container cities in the earthquake zone as well as mobile health clinics to provide psychological support to the victims. Separately, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced at a press briefing that at least six people were killed and 562 others wounded with 18 in critical condition after a fresh earthquake jolted Turkiyes southernmost province of Hatay late on Monday. A British woman whose U.K. citizenship was revoked after she traveled to Syria as a teenager to join the Islamic State group has lost an appeal in her fight to have her citizenship restored. Shamima Begum, now 23, was 15 when she and two other girls from London joined the extremist group in February 2015. Authorities withdrew her British citizenship on national security grounds soon after she surfaced in a Syrian refugee camp in 2019. The Special Immigration Appeals Commission, a tribunal which hears challenges to decisions to remove someone's British citizenship on national security grounds, ruled there was a "credible suspicion" that Begum was trafficked to Syria for "sexual exploitation." It said there also were "arguable breaches of duty" by state bodies in allowing her to travel to the country. But Judge Robert Jay said that evidence was "insufficient" for Begum to win the argument that the deprivation of her British citizenship failed to respect her human rights. Given that she remains in Syria, U.K. authorities are not compelled to facilitate her return, the judge said. "Reasonable people will differ as to the threat she posed in February 2019 to the national security of the United Kingdom, and as to how that threat should be balanced against all countervailing considerations,'' Jay said in delivering the decision of the tribunal. "However, under our constitutional settlement, these sensitive issues are for the secretary of state to evaluate and not for the commission." Arguing the ruling gave far too much power to the Britain's home secretary, Begum's lawyers promised an appeal. Daniel Furner, part of Begum's legal team, said the case was "nowhere near over." "What else this judgment calls out for though is some courage and some leadership from the home secretary to look at this case afresh in light of the clear and compelling factual findings this court has made," Furner said. "We are going to challenge this decision." South Korea, the U.S. and Japan staged a maritime drill in international waters on Wednesday to practice detecting, tracking and intercepting North Korea's medium- and long-range ballistic missiles. The drill was a rare trilateral show of force which came after the North launched an intercontinental ballistic missile last week. "The drill was a warning message to the North that the three countries have the capabilities to intercept its ballistic missiles anytime," the Joint Chiefs of Staff here said. Three Aegis destroyers took part -- South Korea's 7,600-ton Sejong the Great-class guided missile destroyer, the U.S. Navy's 6,900-ton USS Barry and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's 7,700-ton Atago-class guided missile destroyer. The exercise was conducted in international waters about 185 km from Dokdo Islets and some 120 km from the Japanese mainland. The three countries "strengthened security cooperation and further consolidated the emergency response system through the latest missile defense exercise," the JCS added. A JCS spokesman said the three countries will engage in such cooperation more frequently. "North Korean nuclear missiles pose a direct threat not only to South Korea, but also to U.S. military bases in Japan and the U.S. mainland," a government source here said. "It won't be possible to respond properly unless the three countries cooperate because North Korean missiles are getting more advanced and better at avoiding interception." Korea will ease COVID restrictions for travelers from China by scrapping PCR tests on arrival now that new daily cases are on the decline. But they still need to show a negative test taken before arrival. Health authorities said on Wednesday that they will scrap mandatory PCR tests for arrivals from China on March 1. Korea's birthrate dwindled over the past 50 years from 1 million to 250,000 and the decline is speeding up. According to Statistics Korea on Wednesday, annual childbirths plunged from 1.007 million in 1970 to 249,000 last year, resulting in the fertility rate -- the average number of children per woman over a lifetime -- falling from 4.53 to 0.78. While it took 30 years for the birthrate to fall from a million to half a million in 2002, it only took another 20 years to halve again. Last December, 16,803 babies were born in Korea, which was the lowest in 41 years and down 2.2 percent from the previous monthly low a year earlier. Korea's fertility rate hovered around 1.2 from 2002 to 2015, but then fell steeply again due to a sharp decline in marriages. According to the World Bank, Korea became the first among 252 countries whose fertility rate fell to 0.8 in 2020, and it is the only OECD country with a fertility of less than one child. The average rate in the OECD is a relatively healthy 1.6, and even Japan, which is already a super-aged society, reports 1.33. The average age when Korean women give birth to their first child now stands at 33.5, another 0.2 year older than in 2021. Only 31.5 percent of women give birth within the first two years of marriage, down 0.3 percentage points from 2021. That makes Korean mothers the oldest in the OECD, where the average age is 29.3. Korea's total birthrate has plunged to 0.78 child per woman, down from 0.8 in 2021 and the lowest birthrate in the world. Korea is the only member of the OECD with a birthrate of less than one child per woman compared to the OECD average of 1.59 in 2020. Even more worrying is that the rate of decline is speeding up. But the government is at a total loss what to do about it. A presidential committee tackling the low birthrate was launched in 2005, but none of its policies have had any effect. Last year, only 249,000 babies were born in Korea, half as many as two decades ago. Elementary schools are closing across the country, colleges outside of the capital are facing bankruptcy and pediatric clinics are shutting down. That is bad news for the economy since declining numbers of workers leads to a drop in tax revenues, while welfare expenses for the elderly shoot up. In other words, the country slowly goes bankrupt. A shortage of jobs for young people, ridiculously high home prices and exorbitant tuition fees all played a part in dissuading young Koreans from having children. At this rate, the government's hopes for pension and education reform will be impossible to realize. The reform plans are based on the assumption that Korea maintains a birthrate of 1.21 children from 2046 to 2070. Japan went all out to boost its birthrate, which fell to 1.26 children in 2005, and managed to raise it to 1.45 in 2015 and around 1.3 even during the coronavirus pandemic. KYODO NEWS - Feb 23, 2023 - 21:38 | Feature, All, Japan Just 16 percent of prefectural and municipal assembly leaders in Japan believe there should be further debate on whether to grant foreign residents the vote in local referendums, results of a Kyodo News survey showed Thursday, with many citing a need for care in approaching the issue. Individuals without Japanese citizenship are not permitted to vote in elections, but local governments have the power to introduce ordinances allowing them a say in referendums. But responses from the survey on forms of local participation for foreign residents showed that 56 percent of assembly leaders polled feel that they "could not say either way," and another 24 percent stated they "do not think it should be pursued further." Amid sustained falls in the native population and rising foreign resident numbers, the central government has revised its policies for a multicultural society to include measures to actively encourage community participation by foreign residents. However, while Japan had a record 2.96 million foreign residents according to Justice Ministry figures for the end of June 2022, their number still only accounts for about 2 percent of the total population. Assembly chiefs who expressed reservations offered reasons including that many foreign nationals living in Japan are technical intern trainees or holders of other residence categories that mean they are likely to stay for a limited period before ultimately returning home. Among the reasons provided by respondents who said further debate should be had, one assembly leader stated it would be "right" that individuals who work and pay taxes should be allowed to participate, while another said "support is needed" for people working and becoming part of society. Respondents who said they could not say either way put forward that there is currently no need for further debate and that making participation a reality still faces numerous barriers such as obtaining staff to respond to foreign residents. The survey was held between November and January and targeted all 1,788 assembly heads in prefectures and municipalities across Japan, of which 99.7 percent responded. Related coverage: Japan's foreign worker population hits record 1.82 million FOCUS: More Indonesians in Japan's foreign trainee program amid weak yen Quarter of trainees in Japan told to return home if pregnant: survey KYODO NEWS - Feb 23, 2023 - 20:15 | World, All A Japanese man in his 50s was sentenced to 12 years in prison in China earlier this month for espionage, a Japanese Foreign Ministry source said Thursday. The man, who has been detained in Changsha in central China's Hunan Province since July 2019, was given the sentence by an intermediate court in the city on Feb. 8, but the ruling did not provide details of his spying activities, according to the source. The man could appeal the court decision. The Japanese government has been calling on China to release him at an early date and ensure transparency in judicial procedures related to his case, the source said. Since 2015, at least 16 Japanese citizens have been detained in China on such charges as espionage. Of them, 10 nationals including the man in his 50s have been sentenced to jail terms of up to 15 years. China has been stepping up its scrutiny of foreign organizations and individuals in the name of protecting national security, with a number of foreigners detained particularly after a counterespionage law took effect in 2014 and a national security law in 2015. Related coverage: Chinese woman's "purchase" of uninhabited Okinawa island causes stir China lifts visa issuance restrictions on Japanese citizens China handed over North Korean defector to Japan in 2020: source KYODO NEWS - Feb 23, 2023 - 22:00 | All, Japan, World The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News. ---------- Japan emperor expresses sorrow at world suffering, prays for peace TOKYO - Emperor Naruhito, on the occasion of his 63rd birthday Thursday, expressed deep sorrow at the suffering of people in conflicts around the globe and offered prayers for peace in Japan and the rest of the world. While the agency in charge of the imperial family's affairs has been considering a new approach to public relations, potentially including the use of social media, the emperor acknowledged the need to send out information "in a manner that is easy to understand." ---------- U.N. General Assembly holds meeting on Russia war ahead of 1st anniv. NEW YORK - The U.N. General Assembly convened an emergency session Wednesday in an effort to adopt a resolution urging Russia to halt its offensives in Ukraine. The extraordinary high-level meeting of the 193-member assembly, which was requested by 11 countries including Japan as well as the European Union, comes before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of its neighboring country. ---------- Putin tells China's top diplomat he awaits Xi's Russia visit BEIJING - Russian President Vladimir Putin told China's top diplomat Wang Yi on Wednesday he is awaiting a visit to Russia by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the spring, as the two countries deepen ties amid the deterioration of their relations with the United States. Putin expressed appreciation for the fast development of bilateral cooperation at the outset of his talks with Wang, the Chinese Communist Party's top foreign policy official. The meeting in Moscow was broadcast by the two countries' media. ---------- FOCUS: G-7 chair Japan urged to lead global efforts to rebuild Ukraine TOKYO - With Friday marking one year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, calls have been mounting for Japan, this year's chair of the Group of Seven countries, to take the lead in global support for Kyiv, including postwar reconstruction. Foreign affairs experts have also urged Japan, the only nation to have been attacked with atomic bombs, to show its unwavering commitment to tackling nuclear threats at a G-7 summit in Hiroshima in May, amid fears that Russia could use nukes in the war. ---------- Glico opens largest "Pocky" plant in Indonesia, targeting Asia, U.S. KARAWANG, Indonesia - Japanese confectioner Ezaki Glico Co. has opened in Indonesia what it calls its largest-ever factory for its mainstay "Pocky" chocolate snack, aiming to supply the growing Southeast Asian market as well as North America. Indonesia will be Glico's "new growth engine" as it is the most populous country in Southeast Asia and the fourth in the world with a rising middle-class population, Asia Pacific Chief Operating Officer Hideaki Nagahisa said Thursday as the company invited media to tour the plant that began production in November. ---------- Basketball: Japan down Iran 96-61 to open World Cup year TAKASAKI, Japan - Japan opened the men's basketball World Cup year with a win Thursday, easing past Iran 96-61 in Group F in the second round of Asian qualifying. Japan, already qualified as a tournament co-host alongside the Philippines and Indonesia, got a game-high 20 points from debutant Ren Kanechika in a promising win at Gunma Prefecture's Takasaki Arena. ---------- 3 giant pandas arrive in China from western Japan zoo WAKAYAMA, Japan - A 30-year-old giant panda and his 8-year-old Japan-born female twins arrived in China on Wednesday night after spending years at a zoo in western Japan under a joint breeding program with the two countries. Eimei and twins Ouhin and Touhin flew from Kansai airport in Osaka Prefecture on a charter plane after they had been transported from Adventure World zoo and amusement park in Wakayama Prefecture. ---------- Japan to offer 2 COVID-19 booster shots to elderly by year-end TOKYO - Japan will offer two more booster shots to the elderly and other people at high risk of serious illness from the novel coronavirus by the end of this year, health ministry officials said Wednesday. People aged 65 years or older, those with underlying medical conditions and health care professionals will have a chance to get inoculated from May to August, as well as from September to December. Other age groups eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations can also get a shot during the four months through December. ---------- Video: Steller's sea eagles on drift ice KYODO NEWS - Feb 23, 2023 - 06:25 | All, World The U.N. General Assembly convened an emergency session Wednesday in an effort to adopt a resolution urging Russia to halt its offensives in Ukraine. The extraordinary high-level meeting of the 193-member assembly, which was requested by 11 countries including Japan as well as the European Union, comes before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of its neighboring country. "Invasion is an affront to our collective conscience," U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a speech to the assembly. "It is a violation of the United Nations Charter and international law." "Ukrainians, Russians and people far beyond need peace," Guterres said. The resolution, which was co-sponsored by Japan and Western countries, calls for the "achievement of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine" through the cessation of hostilities and withdrawal of Russian troops, whose military campaign began on Feb. 24 last year. The resolution "demands" that Russia stop its attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure, including schools and hospitals. Resolutions passed by the General Assembly are not legally binding but are viewed as sending a political message. The vote on the resolution, which is expected to take place Thursday, will be a key test of the world body's support for Ukraine. An overwhelming vote in favor of the resolution could be seen as further isolating Russia. Since the war started, only a minority of the assembly has voted against resolutions condemning Russia's actions in Ukraine. While 143 countries voted to condemn Russia's annexation of four regions of Ukraine last October, 94 voted in favor of another resolution the following month to establish a mechanism for reparations to the war-torn country. The resolutions were both adopted. "This is not somehow about choosing between the United States and Russia," Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters ahead of the session. "This is about defending the U.N. Charter, this is about doing our part to end the scourge of war, and this is about reaffirming one of this institution's core principles that...one country cannot take the territory of another by force." Since the Security Council has been stymied by veto-wielding Russia, the General Assembly is seen by Western diplomats as the main vehicle for passing resolutions on Ukraine. Unlike in the Security Council, there are no vetoes in the world body's assembly. A ministerial-level meeting on Ukraine is expected to occur in the Security Council on Friday with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in attendance. Related coverage: Biden makes surprise visit to Ukraine ahead of Russia war anniv. China urges West to "stop fueling fire" in Ukraine war Security Council "paralyzed" amid Russia's war: U.N. assembly chief KYODO NEWS - Feb 23, 2023 - 13:02 | All, Japan Emperor Naruhito, on the occasion of his 63rd birthday Thursday, expressed deep sorrow at the suffering of people in conflicts around the globe and offered prayers for peace in Japan and the rest of the world. While the agency in charge of the imperial family's affairs has been considering a new approach to public relations, potentially including the use of social media, the emperor acknowledged the need to send out information "in a manner that is easy to understand." "I strongly feel the importance of thinking beyond one's own country to engage in dialogue to overcome differences and cooperate in solving problems," the emperor told a press conference held at the Imperial Palace ahead of his birthday and as Friday marks one year since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Each of us is being asked once again what we can do to realize a peaceful world," he added. Regarding his 30th wedding anniversary this June, the emperor said he and Empress Masako "have come this far by sharing our joys and sorrows." The empress "is an important presence who supports me in daily life and someone with whom I can talk regarding both public and private matters," he said. On ways to improve information dissemination by the Imperial Household Agency, the emperor said, "It is also important to communicate information about the imperial family at the right time and in a manner that is easy to understand in order to build relationships of trust with the public through repeated exchanges." Experts say an overhaul of the agency's communication style, including greater exposure of the family, is long overdue, in sharp contrast with the big online presence of the British and other European royal families. At the press conference, the emperor also expressed hope that people would support each other to overcome challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic and the skyrocketing cost of living. Imperial family visits to Japan's regions have resumed after the pandemic prompted their suspension for around three years. The emperor said his visit to Okinawa last October for the 50th anniversary of its reversion to Japan from U.S. rule after World War II "engraved in my heart the importance of peace, in the hopes that the horrors of war will never happen again." Emperor Naruhito greeted the public Thursday, expressing his gratitude to preselected visitors from a balcony at the palace in his first birthday appearance since he ascended the throne. The event was canceled for the past three years due to the pandemic. "I am truly grateful for having my birthday celebrated in this way by all of you," he said. "I hope that this spring will be a peaceful one for each and every one of you." Around 4,800 people have been selected by lottery to attend the event. The emperor, who was diagnosed with an enlarged prostate last year but no further abnormalities, has expressed gratitude for the public's concern, saying in the press conference, "I am spending my days as usual." Related coverage: FOCUS: G-7 chair Japan urged to lead global efforts to rebuild Ukraine U.N. General Assembly holds meeting on Russia war ahead of 1st anniv. Japan's emperor hopes COVID-disrupted lives return to normal in poem According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, 19 nations have established 22 field hospitals in southern Turkiye, which was shaken by two powerful earthquakes on February 6. With the help of foreign representatives, a total of 90,015 tents, 167 living containers, and 999 mobile restrooms have been delivered to Turkiye, the organization wrote on Twitter. 1,344,234 blankets, 196,538 sleeping bags, 74,750 beds, 26,622 generators, 5,722 tons of clothing, 3,065 tons of hygienic medical supplies, and 5,678 tons of food were among the items that arrived in Turkiye as part of aid in kind, the report stated. According to the nation's disaster management agency, the earthquakes have claimed the lives of over 42,000 people. The powerful tremors were centered in Kahramanmaras and shook 10 other provinces - Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkiye will begin constructing more than 200,000 homes as early as March in areas devastated by the earthquakes and complete the process within one year. By Keita Nakamura, KYODO NEWS - Feb 23, 2023 - 10:02 | All, World, Japan With Friday marking one year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, calls have been mounting for Japan, this year's chair of the Group of Seven countries, to take the lead in global support for Kyiv, including postwar reconstruction. Foreign affairs experts have also urged Japan, the only nation to have been attacked with atomic bombs, to show its unwavering commitment to tackling nuclear threats at a G-7 summit in Hiroshima in May, amid fears that Russia could use nukes in the war. So far, Japan has only offered nonmilitary assistance to Ukraine due to restrictions on the provision of weapons, while Western countries have expanded their lethal aid, including battle tanks. As G-7 chair, Japan's key role is to solidify unity on the provision of nonlethal support for Ukraine, while trying to prevent Russia from launching a nuclear attack on its neighbor, the experts said. Since the start of the war on Feb. 24, 2022, the government of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has imposed tough sanctions on Russia in line with the other G-7 nations -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United States, plus the European Union. Among the punitive steps are asset freezes on President Vladimir Putin and Russia's central bank, revocation of the country's "most favored nation" trade status, and export bans on cutting-edge technology. Japan has also offered financial support to Ukraine worth $600 million, along with humanitarian and medical supplies as well as defense equipment such as bulletproof vests and helmets. Tokyo has also pledged an additional aid of $5.5 billion for Kyiv. But Tokyo has not delivered weapons to Ukraine as a law enacted in accordance with Japan's postwar pacifist Constitution does not allow the Self-Defense Forces to provide arms to foreign forces without compensation. In addition, the Japanese government's "three principles" on overseas transfers of defense equipment and technology effectively ban weapons exports, except for joint development or production projects with another country. Under the circumstances, what Tokyo can do is exhibit its leadership in nonmilitary areas, such as helping to rebuild Ukrainian infrastructure, said Shinji Hyodo, director of the Policy Studies Department at Japan's National Institute for Defense Studies. "Japan has gained know-how on reconstruction work based on its past experience of natural disasters, including earthquakes and tsunami," said Hyodo, a Russia and international relations expert. As an example, Hyodo cited collaboration between Japan and Cambodia in supporting the clearance of Russian landmines and unexploded bombs in Ukraine. Training for the work already started in January. Japan has contributed to demining efforts in Cambodia, where millions of landmines are believed to have been laid during the 1970-1991 civil war in the Southeast Asian country. "Western nations are now focusing on how to bring the war to an end by beefing up their military support for Ukraine, but it is difficult for Japan" to follow suit, Hyodo said, adding Tokyo should act in anticipation of a termination of hostilities. The United States, Britain, Germany and other European countries recently decided to send tanks to Ukraine, amid speculation that Russia could launch a large-scale offensive in the spring. The potential escalation may be linked to Russia's presidential election scheduled for March 2024, when Putin would be eager to tout his "military achievements," Hyodo said. If Ukraine is able to utilize the tanks provided by the West to recapture territory occupied by the Russians, Putin could consider using nuclear weapons, he said. "For Ukraine to win, Russia must lose. The G-7 states and other nations should have a common understanding on how the war can be ended without the use of nuclear weapons by Russia," Hyodo added. This year's G-7 summit is slated to take place for three days from May 19 in the western Japan city of Hiroshima, which was devastated by a U.S. atomic bomb in August 1945. Masafumi Ishii, a special adjunct professor at Gakushuin University, said Japan can take the initiative on the Ukraine crisis at the G-7 summit, given that the leaders would sternly warn against any use of nuclear weapons. Ishii, a former Japanese ambassador to Indonesia, also highlighted the importance of Tokyo ensuring that the other G-7 members also pay attention to the security situation in the Indo-Pacific region, where China has been intensifying its military activities. Kishida has warned that "Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow," in a veiled reference to China's territorial ambitions, including its claim to democratic Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. At the summit, Japan and the other G-7 countries "should send a message that any attempts to change the status quo by force are unacceptable in the East and South China seas, and the Taiwan Strait," Ishii said. Related coverage: U.N. General Assembly holds meeting on Russia war ahead of 1st anniv. Biden makes surprise visit to Ukraine ahead of Russia war anniv. Zelenskyy open to visiting Hiroshima for G-7 summit: Ukraine envoy Tourists have been swarming to Sanya, a popular holiday resort in south China's island province of Hainan after the country optimized its COVID-19 response. Figures released by the city government show, during the Spring Festival holiday, Sanya recorded more than 1.6 million tourist trips, 616,400 more than the number for the same period in 2019. Total tourism revenue stood at 4.87 billion yuan (710 million U.S. dollars), up 25.98 percent year on year. Even weeks after the Spring Festival holiday, tourist attraction sites, hotels and duty-free shops are still packed with people. According to a national plan, China aims to build Hainan into an international tourism and consumption center by 2025. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Nestled in a mountainous area, Laodabao, in Pu'er region of China's southwestern province of Yunnan, is home to hundreds of villagers from the Lahu ethnic group. A decade ago, around 80 percent of its population lived below the country's poverty line. Li Naluo, 39, was one of a few villagers who got the chance to see the outside world as she learned to play guitar as a child and followed her father to go out of the village to perform. In 2013, she established a performing arts company, engaging more than 200 villagers of different ages. Performing their cultural songs and dances for visitors from across the country has become a part of the villagers' routine and they have also taken their performances to stages in big Chinese cities and even abroad. Since its establishment, the company has performed on more than 960 occasions in front of a total of over 153,000 visitors, generating an income of more than 4.75 million yuan (about 688,750 U.S. dollars). The transformation in Laodabao is a shared experience in Pu'er, a border city inhabited by 26 different ethnic groups. Banli, another Lahu ethnic minority village in Pu'er, has also been turning its distinctive culture into an invaluable tourism asset. The village now has its own performance art company famous for the "swing dance," a traditional Lahu dance featuring movements described as gentle, neat and graceful, while also involving a degree of stretching. Besides tapping into ethnic cultures, Pu'er has also been discovering new opportunities resulting from their traditional tea planting. Zhengwan Village has kicked off the development of a modern tea industry by launching farmers' cooperatives in recent years. Lu Jiashou, a local tea farmer, joined a tea cooperative in 2007. Produced by Xinhua Global Service A rescue team sent by China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government has successfully rescued four survivors during the nine-day mission in quake-stricken Turkiye, the team's leader said Monday. Produced by Xinhua Global Service STOCKHOLM, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Talks between Sweden, Finland and Turkiye would resume in mid-March, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told local media Wednesday night. "We have just confirmed this today," Kristersson told Swedish public television broadcaster SVT, without specifying the date for such talks. Turkiye has postponed a trilateral meeting with Sweden and Finland on their North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bids slated for February following the burning of a copy of the Quran in Stockholm. Despite the U.S. attempts to push for both countries' rapid accession into NATO, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday reaffirmed Ankara's demand for more efforts from Sweden over its security concerns. Ankara's stance on Finland's accession could be different and its membership could be ratified earlier, he said. Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022 in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Their accession needs the approval of all member states of the military alliance. Turkiye and Hungary, both members of NATO, have yet to give their approvals. Turkiye requests that the two Nordic countries to "speedily and thoroughly" extradite individuals it considers to be terrorist suspects. This aerial photo released by the Danish Ministry of Defense on Sept. 27, 2022 shows the Nord Stream gas pipeline leak site. (Danish Defense Ministry/Handout via Xinhua) A leading European analyst told Xinhua on Tuesday potential proof of U.S. involvement would impact the way each side of the Ukraine crisis is viewed internationally. ROME, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Three European countries looking into the details surrounding last September's Nord Stream pipelines explosion said on Tuesday they are not sure when their probes will be complete, even as allegations swirl that the United States may have been responsible for the underwater blast. A leading European analyst told Xinhua on Tuesday potential proof of U.S. involvement would impact the way each side of the Ukraine crisis is viewed internationally. Davide Tabarelli, a professor of industrial engineering at the University of Bologna and president of Nomisma Energia, an energy research consultancy, said rumors of possible U.S. sabotage were out even earlier than the latest debate. "We have heard rumors of a possible involvement by the United States for several weeks, well before the latest accusations," Tabarelli told Xinhua. Aerial photo provided by the Swedish Coast Guard on Sept. 28, 2022 shows a gas leak on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. (The Swedish Coast Guard/Handout via Xinhua) The Nord Stream pipelines, which transported natural gas from Russia to European markets via Germany, were severely damaged last September after blasts in the Baltic Sea. One pipeline, Nord Stream 1, was in operation at the time of the explosion and Nord Stream 2, though had not been operational, was filled with gas. Recent allegations from Pulitzer Prize-winning U.S. journalist Seymour Hersh and others said that the attack had been carried out by divers from the U.S. Navy. Hersh, who has pledged to share more information from his investigation soon, said explosives were planted during exercises involving countries allied within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) around three months prior to the blast and only detonated in September. This photo taken on Jan. 20, 2023 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) U.S. National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby on Monday dismissed allegations of U.S. involvement in the explosions. Russia requested that the United Nations (UN) Security Council call for an international investigation into the explosion. On Tuesday, the Security Council heatedly debated Russia's request for a UN-led inquiry into the incident. An investigation by the UN Security Council into the explosions that blew up the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines in September 2022 is a high global priority, said Jeffrey Sachs, a world-renowned economist, on Tuesday. "The destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines on Sept. 26, 2022, constitutes an act of international terrorism and represents a threat to the peace," Sachs told the Security Council in a briefing. Photo taken on April 28, 2022 shows the office of Russia's energy giant Gazprom in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/Xinhua) China supports speeding up the investigation into the Nord Stream explosions so as to swiftly find out the truth, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday. Noting the Nord Stream gas pipelines are major transboundary infrastructure and energy transportation arteries, Wang said the explosions had a major negative impact on the global energy market and the ecological environment. In a joint letter to the Security Council, Denmark, Sweden and Germany -- the three countries closest geographically to the part of the Baltic Sea where the explosions took place -- said that their investigations were ongoing and that it was unclear when they would conclude. Noting the "consequences as concerns greenhouse gas emissions are substantial and worrisome," the letter reiterated that "deliberate acts, such as those committed against the Nord Stream pipelines, are unacceptable, endanger international security and give cause for our deep concern." This aerial photo provided by the Swedish Coast Guard on Sept. 28, 2022 shows the fourth leak on Nord Stream 2 pipeline in Sweden's exclusive economic zone. (The Swedish Coast Guard/Handout via Xinhua) Croatian security expert Mirko Vukobratovic told Xinhua on Tuesday that the alleged involvement of the U.S. Navy in the September 2022 Nord Stream explosions, is "not impossible" because the United States has benefited the most from the incident. HOHHOT, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Manzhouli, China's largest land port, handled 4,818 China-Europe freight trains in 2022, up 37.6 percent year on year, according to data from the customs of Manzhouli in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The trains carried 382,058 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo during this period, with a total value of 48.66 billion yuan (about 7 billion U.S. dollars). The two figures each represented a year-on-year increase of 38.6 percent and 36.5 percent, respectively. Currently, 57 China-Europe freight train routes pass through this land port, reaching 28 cities in 11 European countries and carrying about 30 percent of the total freight volume of China-Europe freight train service. GAZA/JERUSALEM, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Israel launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip after Palestinian militants fired six rockets at southern Israel early Thursday, said the Israeli military and Palestinian security forces. The latest conflict came as an escalation of tension only hours after an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank killed 11 Palestinians. The rockets fired from the besieged Palestinian enclave triggered sirens in the southern Israeli cities of Ashkelon and Sderot and several communities near the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said five rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defense array, while one rocket fell in an open area. A few hours later, Israel's air force launched a series of airstrikes on Gaza. Amateur video footage showed a large cloud of black smoke emerging from a building in Gaza. In a statement, the Israeli military said that its fighter jets struck a weapons manufacturing site in the central Gaza Strip and a military compound in the northern Gaza strip, both of which belong to the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), an Islamist Palestinian movement that runs Gaza. Meanwhile, Palestinian security sources told Xinhua that the Israeli warplanes bombed a military post that belongs to Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. Another post in western Gaza was also attacked. Damage was caused to both posts and columns of smoke were seen rising while several nearby houses were slightly damaged due to the heavy airstrikes, but there was no report of any injuries, said the sources. Eyewitnesses said that Gaza militants fired anti-aircraft missiles at the raiding Israeli fighter jets. BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Natural Resources has launched emergency rescue efforts after a coal mine collapsed in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Following the disaster on Wednesday, the ministry immediately sent experts to the site of the accident, arranged to make remote-sensing comparison maps overnight, assisted in search and rescue efforts and the analyzing of the causes of the accident, offered technical support for rescue efforts and the prevention of secondary disasters. Meanwhile, the ministry dispatched six inspection teams to 12 provincial-level regions to carry out special supervision and inspection of major hidden dangers in workplace safety within the natural resources sector. The early warning for geological disasters has also been launched ahead of schedule to guide local governments in preventing geological disasters, the ministry said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at a plenary meeting of the 11th emergency special session of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on Feb. 22, 2023. Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine is "a clear and present danger." (Evan Schneider/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine is "a clear and present danger." "Over the past year, not only have we seen suffering and devastation grow, it is also becoming more evident just how much worse it could all still become. The possible consequences of a spiraling conflict are a clear and present danger," he told a resumed emergency special session of the UN General Assembly. The conflict in Ukraine is also fanning regional instability and fueling global tensions and divisions, while diverting attention and resources from other crises and pressing global issues, he said. "Meanwhile, we have heard implicit threats to use nuclear weapons. The so-called tactical use of nuclear weapons is utterly unacceptable. It is high time to step back from the brink," he said. Guterres called for peace. People in Ukraine are suffering enormously. Ukrainians, Russians and people far beyond need peace, he said. "While prospects may look bleak today, we must all work, knowing that genuine, lasting peace must be based on the UN Charter and international law." The longer the fighting continues, the more difficult this work will be, he warned. "We don't have a moment to lose." The 11th emergency special session of the General Assembly resumed on Wednesday as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is approaching its first anniversary. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (on screens) speaks at the 11th emergency special session of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, Feb. 22, 2023. Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine is "a clear and present danger." (Xinhua/Xie E) Turkish Airlines will increase the number of flights from Istanbul (Turkiye) to Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) from March 24, 2023. According to the information, at the moment the airline operates flights to Ashgabat on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and from March 24 it will start flying every day. The cost of an Istanbul-Ashgabat one-way ticket is sold from 7,393 Turkish lira ($391.6), and in the opposite direction Ashgabat - Istanbul is $367. Departure from Istanbul is scheduled for 20:30 (GMT+3) with arrival in Ashgabat at 02:20 (GMT+5). The return flight is at 03:45 (GMT+5) with arrival in Istanbul at 05:55 (GMT+3). At the same time, the flight program on the Istanbul - Turkmenbashi (Turkmenistan) - Istanbul route will stop on March 23. Meanwhile, recently the Turkmen Hosh syyahat economic association signed a contract on expanding cooperation and selling tickets to Turkish Airlines. Within the framework of this contract, a new representative office of Turkish Airlines was opened in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan. Thus, the Hosh syyahat economic association became the authorized agent of Turkish Airlines in Turkmenistan. MOSCOW, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- An SU-25 fighter jet crashed while returning to its base airfield in the Belgorod region on Thursday "after completing a combat mission," the Russian Defense Ministry said. The plane crashed in a deserted area, killing the pilot and causing no damage on the ground, the ministry said, adding that a technical malfunction had led to the incident. Earlier in the day, Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region, said on Telegram that a Defense Ministry aircraft had crashed in the Valuysky district of the Belgorod region and an investigation team was working at the site. It was previously reported that the pilot ejected from the aircraft and survived. The Belgorod region is located in southwest Russia near Ukraine. Swans forage in Hongcun Village, Bajiazi Township, Beipiao of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 21, 2023. Thanks to the improvement of water quality and people's awareness of animal protection, the number of swans overwintering here has increased from over 40 to more than 400 since 2011. And the swans also attract tourists to the river bank. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) A swan forages in Hongcun Village, Bajiazi Township, Beipiao of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 21, 2023. Thanks to the improvement of water quality and people's awareness of animal protection, the number of swans overwintering here has increased from over 40 to more than 400 since 2011. And the swans also attract tourists to the river bank. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) Swans are seen in Hongcun Village, Bajiazi Township, Beipiao of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 21, 2023. Thanks to the improvement of water quality and people's awareness of animal protection, the number of swans overwintering here has increased from over 40 to more than 400 since 2011. And the swans also attract tourists to the river bank. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) A swan flies in Hongcun Village, Bajiazi Township, Beipiao of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 21, 2023. Thanks to the improvement of water quality and people's awareness of animal protection, the number of swans overwintering here has increased from over 40 to more than 400 since 2011. And the swans also attract tourists to the river bank. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) Visitors watch swans in Hongcun Village, Bajiazi Township, Beipiao of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 21, 2023. Thanks to the improvement of water quality and people's awareness of animal protection, the number of swans overwintering here has increased from over 40 to more than 400 since 2011. And the swans also attract tourists to the river bank. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) A swan flies in Hongcun Village, Bajiazi Township, Beipiao of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 21, 2023. Thanks to the improvement of water quality and people's awareness of animal protection, the number of swans overwintering here has increased from over 40 to more than 400 since 2011. And the swans also attract tourists to the river bank. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) Swans fly in Hongcun Village, Bajiazi Township, Beipiao of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 21, 2023. Thanks to the improvement of water quality and people's awareness of animal protection, the number of swans overwintering here has increased from over 40 to more than 400 since 2011. And the swans also attract tourists to the river bank. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) Swans are seen in Hongcun Village, Bajiazi Township, Beipiao of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 21, 2023. Thanks to the improvement of water quality and people's awareness of animal protection, the number of swans overwintering here has increased from over 40 to more than 400 since 2011. And the swans also attract tourists to the river bank. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) A photography enthusiast takes photos of swans in Hongcun Village, Bajiazi Township, Beipiao of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 21, 2023. Thanks to the improvement of water quality and people's awareness of animal protection, the number of swans overwintering here has increased from over 40 to more than 400 since 2011. And the swans also attract tourists to the river bank. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) Volunteer Li Haifeng feeds swans in Hongcun Village, Bajiazi Township, Beipiao of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 21, 2023. Thanks to the improvement of water quality and people's awareness of animal protection, the number of swans overwintering here has increased from over 40 to more than 400 since 2011. And the swans also attract tourists to the river bank. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) Swans forage in Hongcun Village, Bajiazi Township, Beipiao of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 21, 2023. Thanks to the improvement of water quality and people's awareness of animal protection, the number of swans overwintering here has increased from over 40 to more than 400 since 2011. And the swans also attract tourists to the river bank. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) Swans are seen in Hongcun Village, Bajiazi Township, Beipiao of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Feb. 21, 2023. Thanks to the improvement of water quality and people's awareness of animal protection, the number of swans overwintering here has increased from over 40 to more than 400 since 2011. And the swans also attract tourists to the river bank. (Xinhua/Yang Qing) BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's three telecom giants have launched their emergency response mechanism to provide communication support for the rescue efforts at a collapsed coal mine in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom have dispatched support personnel, communication repair vehicles and emergency communication vehicles to the scene. Meanwhile, the companies have opened 5G and 4G base stations and provided the rescue team with satellite phones, so as to ensure a smooth communication network at the scene and surrounding areas. The accident happened on Wednesday afternoon, with four people confirmed dead so far and 49 others still missing. Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (C) speaks at a press conference with Finland's President Sauli Niinisto (R) and Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store in Harpsund, Sweden, on Feb. 22, 2023. The leaders of Sweden, Finland and Norway vowed to strengthen defense cooperation on Wednesday in the face of common security challenges. (Ninni Andersson/Government Offices of Sweden/Handout via Xinhua) STOCKHOLM, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The leaders of Sweden, Finland and Norway vowed to strengthen defense cooperation on Wednesday in the face of common security challenges. Finland's President Sauli Niinisto, Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store met on Wednesday in Harpsund, about 120 km southwest of Stockholm. Harpsund is a country retreat for the prime minister of Sweden. The three discussed common security challenges and cooperation on foreign, security and defense policy issues. A Swedish government statement released on Wednesday said that the security situation had deteriorated due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "Norway, Finland and Sweden, together with our Nordic neighbors, have a shared responsibility to respond to security challenges in the region, including in our northern areas," the statement said, adding that as Sweden and Finland are on their way to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), "we are working in a more integrated way to strengthen security." "We will continue to deepen our cooperation in large-scale exercises in the coming years. Our defense cooperation is closely coordinated with our Nordic neighbors and our close partners, including the United States and the United Kingdom," it said. "Our countries' northernmost regions are more sparsely populated than other areas, and their climate and geography present particular challenges. At the same time, there is great potential for deeper cooperation in these areas, given their location and unique conditions for collaboration on the green transition, space and the extraction of rare earth metals," it said. Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022 in the wake of the outbreak of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Their accession to NATO requires the approval of all member states of the military alliance. Turkiye and Hungary, both members of NATO, have yet to give their approval. Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks at a press conference with Finland's President Sauli Niinisto and Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store (not in the picture) in Harpsund, Sweden, on Feb. 22, 2023. The leaders of Sweden, Finland and Norway vowed to strengthen defense cooperation on Wednesday in the face of common security challenges. (Ninni Andersson/Government Offices of Sweden/Handout via Xinhua) Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store speaks at a press conference with Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Finland's President Sauli Niinisto (not in the picture) in Harpsund, Sweden, on Feb. 22, 2023. The leaders of Sweden, Finland and Norway vowed to strengthen defense cooperation on Wednesday in the face of common security challenges. (Ninni Andersson/Government Offices of Sweden/Handout via Xinhua) Finland's President Sauli Niinisto speaks at a press conference with Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store (not in the picture) in Harpsund, Sweden, on Feb. 22, 2023. The leaders of Sweden, Finland and Norway vowed to strengthen defense cooperation on Wednesday in the face of common security challenges. (Ninni Andersson/Government Offices of Sweden/Handout via Xinhua) HARARE, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- An official of Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party has said China remains a positive force in global development, adding that China has made astounding achievements. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (3rd R, front) and Chinese ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo (4th R, front) visit the Chinese exhibition booth of the 44th Belgrade international tourism fair in Belgrade, Serbia on Feb. 22, 2023. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic extended his welcome to Chinese tourists Wednesday at the opening of the 44th Belgrade international tourism fair, where China is the guest of honor for the first time. (Xinhua/Shi Zhongyu) BELGRADE, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic extended his welcome to Chinese tourists Wednesday at the opening of the 44th Belgrade international tourism fair, where China is the guest of honor for the first time. "I want to invite Chinese citizens to our country... I can guarantee them that nowhere in any other country in Europe will they be welcomed as cordially, with open arms and an open heart, as they will be welcomed in Serbia," Vucic said. From 2012 to 2019, the number of Chinese tourists in Serbia increased 30 times, Vucic said, adding that direct flights will attract even more Chinese tourists to Serbia, and vice versa. Serbia has made huge efforts to improve its tourism industry in recent years, he said. The country's tourism income has increased by 3.5 times compared to 2012, and the number of tourist arrivals has doubled. Representatives from over 30 countries attended the fair, which has drawn 350 exhibitors. Over 100 local municipalities will also present their programs and tourist destinations. "China and Serbia have two unique advantages for tourism cooperation: mutual visa exemption and direct flights," said Chinese Ambassador Chen Bo. Such cooperation has a broad prospect, as it will promote cultural exchanges between China and Central and Eastern European countries and boost economic development, said Chen. "I look forward to seeing more Chinese tourists in Serbia and Central and Eastern European countries, and would like to welcome friends from all over the world to visit China," he added. During his performances at the opening ceremony, Serbian musician Jovan Trkulja mixed "Love Song of Kangding," a traditional Chinese folksong, with Serbian elements. Serbian musician Jovan Trkulja performs at the opening ceremony of the 44th Belgrade international tourism fair in Belgrade, Serbia on Feb. 22, 2023. The musician mixed "Love Song of Kangding," a traditional Chinese folksong, with Serbian elements. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic extended his welcome to Chinese tourists Wednesday at the opening of the 44th Belgrade international tourism fair, where China is the guest of honor for the first time. (Xinhua/Shi Zhongyu) Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic speaks at the opening ceremony of the 44th Belgrade international tourism fair in Belgrade, Serbia on Feb. 22, 2023. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic extended his welcome to Chinese tourists Wednesday at the opening of the 44th Belgrade international tourism fair, where China is the guest of honor for the first time. (Xinhua/Shi Zhongyu) Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo speaks at the opening ceremony of the 44th Belgrade international tourism fair in Belgrade, Serbia on Feb. 22, 2023. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic extended his welcome to Chinese tourists Wednesday at the opening of the 44th Belgrade international tourism fair, where China is the guest of honor for the first time. (Xinhua/Shi Zhongyu) This photo taken on Feb. 23, 2023 shows the exterior view of the venue of the 44th Belgrade international tourism fair in Belgrade, Serbia. (Xinhua/Shi Zhongyu) People visit a Chinese booth during the 44th Belgrade international tourism fair in Belgrade, Serbia, Feb. 23, 2023. (Xinhua/Shi Zhongyu) People visit a Chinese booth during the 44th Belgrade international tourism fair in Belgrade, Serbia, Feb. 23, 2023. (Xinhua/Shi Zhongyu) Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (L) shakes hands with ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn during their meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Qin) JAKARTA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn on Wednesday called for joint efforts to push forward the ASEAN-China comprehensive strategic partnership to a new high. At a meeting with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, he appreciated the longstanding, utmost importance China has attached to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its valuable support for ASEAN integration, saying that China is the first major country to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, and is also a vital strategic partner of ASEAN. The relationship between the two sides has been strategically upgraded, and cooperation has been deepened with growing mutual trust, said the secretary-general. Qin said during the meeting that ASEAN is one of the most successful regional cooperation organizations, and its position has become even more important against the background of profound changes on the global and regional landscape. The China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership is developing at a sound momentum, he said, noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future and the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. The Chinese foreign minister said China is willing to continue to promote the construction of the "five homes" with ASEAN, constantly enrich the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides, and keep supporting the ASEAN Secretariat in jointly promoting new achievements in China-ASEAN cooperation and East Asia cooperation. As the world economic recovery is lackluster and the crisis in Ukraine has dragged on with growing geopolitical competition, the Asia-Pacific region faces a choice between peace and confrontation, cooperation and division, Qin noted. China firmly supports maintaining the ASEAN centrality, he said, adding that the Chinese side is willing to join hands with ASEAN to face up to challenges, and reject "decoupling" and "erecting walls". Both sides will accelerate the resumption of personnel exchanges in an orderly manner and promote closer people-to-people ties between China and ASEAN. The two sides will work together to push for new progress in the consultation on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, so as to provide institutional safeguards for maintaining peace and stability in the sea. At a meeting between Qin and members of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN on Wedensday, the two sides believe that China-ASEAN cooperation is mutually beneficial and dynamic, benefiting 2 billion people in 11 countries on both sides. Such cooperation will also strengthen the synergy of regional sustainable development with the Global Development Initiative, expand cooperation in various fields such as tourism and transportation, digital economy, disaster response, clean energy, health care and capacity building, promote regional connectivity, and enhance the resilience of supply chains. Qin stressed that China will continue to regard ASEAN as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy, firmly support ASEAN unity and the bloc's community building, and consolidate the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership. Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (C) meets with members of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Qin) A child walks past closed shops during a general strike in the Old City of Jerusalem on Feb. 23, 2023. The general strike was launched to condemn the killing of 10 Palestinians and wounding of 102 others during an Israeli raid in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. (Photo by Muammar Awad/Xinhua) RAMALLAH, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Palestine will request a UN Security Council emergency session on the killing of ten Palestinians on Wednesday by Israeli soldiers in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, the official Palestinian news agency quoted a Palestinian report as saying. The report said that Palestine would request international protection for the Palestinian people in the Palestinian territories and condemn "the massacre committed by the Israeli occupation forces in Nablus." Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority requested an emergency meeting of the Arab League at the level of delegates, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki said in a press statement. He also said the Palestinian Authority requested an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, adding that "the meetings aim at getting massive and individual condemnation of what the Israeli soldiers did in Nablus." On Wednesday, ten Palestinians were killed and 102 were injured, including six in critical condition, by Israeli soldiers during an Israeli military operation in Nablus that lasted four hours. The International Committee of the Red Cross expressed its "grave concern" about the events that took place in Nablus on Wednesday. A shop is closed during a general strike in the Old City of Jerusalem on Feb. 23, 2023. The general strike was launched to condemn the killing of 10 Palestinians and wounding of 102 others during an Israeli raid in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. (Photo by Muammar Awad/Xinhua) People walk past closed shops during a general strike in the Old City of Jerusalem on Feb. 23, 2023. The general strike was launched to condemn the killing of 10 Palestinians and wounding of 102 others during an Israeli raid in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. (Photo by Muammar Awad/Xinhua) People walk past closed shops during a general strike in the Old City of Jerusalem on Feb. 23, 2023. The general strike was launched to condemn the killing of 10 Palestinians and wounding of 102 others during an Israeli raid in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. (Photo by Muammar Awad/Xinhua) People walk past closed shops during a general strike in the Old City of Jerusalem on Feb. 23, 2023. The general strike was launched to condemn the killing of 10 Palestinians and wounding of 102 others during an Israeli raid in the northern West Bank city of Nablus. (Photo by Muammar Awad/Xinhua) A woman walks on a street during a strike in the West Bank city of Nablus, Feb. 23, 2023. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) RAMALLAH/GAZA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- A total of 10 Palestinians were killed and 102 others injured on Wednesday in clashes with Israeli soldiers in the northern West Bank city of Nablus, according to the Palestinian health ministry. In a statement, the ministry published the names of 10 victims, which include an old man, a teenager and eight members of the Palestinian militant group known as the Lions' Den. In addition, 102 Palestinians, including three local journalists, were injured by Israeli soldiers during the four-hour clash in the Palestinian city, with six of them in critical condition, according to the statement. Thousands of Palestinians gathered in front of the three main hospitals in the city, where the dead and wounded were accommodated, and chanted slogans against Israel. In separate statements, Palestinian factions declared a general strike on Thursday to mourn those killed in Nablus, calling on the Palestinians to confront the Israeli forces all over the West Bank. Local sources and eyewitnesses said the clash broke out when an Israeli force backed by armored vehicles stormed the outskirts of the old city of Nablus and surrounded a house to arrest several Palestinians wanted by Israeli army. They said the wanted Palestinians were armed and exchanged fire with the soldiers, adding several explosions and gunfire were heard in the entire city. Meanwhile, in the city's streets, dozens of Palestinians threw stones and empty bottles toward the soldiers, who fired back to disperse them. The Israeli military said in a statement that the raid aimed at arresting suspects for the killing of a soldier near an Israeli settlement last year, adding no injuries were reported among its soldiers. Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Ishtaye condemned the Israeli killing. "The Israeli aggression is an organized terrorism through which Israel seeks to export its internal crisis to the Palestinian arena," he said. "Whatever is practised against our people will not deter them from continuing their legitimate struggle to achieve their goals of freedom, ending the occupation, and establishing their independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital," the prime minister added. In Gaza, Abu Obeida, military spokesman of Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the ruling faction Hamas, said in a short statement that "the patience of the Palestinian resistance in Gaza is running out." The tension between Israelis and Palestinians has been flaring since early January in the West Bank. Israeli forces killed at least 61 Palestinians since the beginning of 2023, mainly during daily raids allegedly aimed at arresting suspects in deadly Palestinian attacks, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Meanwhile, official figures from Israel showed 11 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks since the beginning of 2023. A man walks on a street during a strike in the West Bank city of Nablus, Feb. 23, 2023. (Photo by Ayman Nobani/Xinhua) A man sits in front of a closed shop during a strike in the West Bank city of Hebron, Feb. 23, 2023. (Photo by Mamoun Wazwaz/Xinhua) A man walks in a street during a strike in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, Feb. 23, 2023. (Photo by Khaled Omar/Xinhua) A man passes a closed shop during a strike in the West Bank city of Hebron, Feb. 23, 2023. (Photo by Mamoun Wazwaz/Xinhua) A shop is closed during a strike in Gaza city, Feb. 23, 2023. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua) BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed the importance of gaining a deep understanding of the Lei Feng spirit so that the spirit will shine more brightly in the new era. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in an important instruction on further carrying out the activities of learning from Lei Feng, a late ordinary soldier and a household icon in China celebrated for selflessly helping others. Xi noted that 2023 marks the 60th year since revolutionaries of the older generation, including Mao Zedong, wrote inscriptions for comrade Lei Feng. He said that activities of learning from Lei Feng have been carried out continuously and extensively over the past six decades. Lei Feng has become a household name in China, and his deeds resonate with the public, Xi said, adding that his spirit has nurtured the minds of Chinese people from generation to generation. It has been proved that no matter how times change, the spirit of Lei Feng will always be relevant, Xi said. Xi underlined the importance of earnestly grasping the contemporary connotations of the Lei Feng spirit, and of giving full play to the exemplary role of Party members and officials. Xi urged redoubled efforts to guarantee and support volunteer services, continue fostering and expanding volunteer teams dedicated to learning from Lei Feng, and promote such activities throughout society, especially among the youth, thus creating a mighty force for building a modern socialist country in all respects and advancing national rejuvenation on all fronts. Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, on Thursday addressed a symposium marking the 60th anniversary of the call to learn from Lei Feng by Mao Zedong and other older generation revolutionaries. He stressed the importance of studying in depth Xi's important expositions on carrying forward the Lei Feng spirit to guide Party members, officials and the general public to pursue lofty ideals, practice core socialist values, and consciously integrate their personal aims into hard work for the cause of the Party and the people. Efforts should be made to deepen the study and interpretation of the Lei Feng spirit, strengthen theoretical and political guidance, and give full play to the exemplary role of Party members, officials and role models, Cai noted. He said the platforms hosting activities on learning from Lei Feng should be enriched to ensure such activities are appealing in this era, and that they are carried out on a regular and long-term basis. A symposium marking the 60th anniversary of the call to learn from Lei Feng by Mao Zedong and other older generation revolutionaries is held in Beijing, China, Feb. 23, 2023. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made remarks in an important instruction on further carrying out the activities of learning from Lei Feng, a late ordinary soldier and a household icon in China celebrated for selflessly helping others. Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, addressed the symposium and stressed the importance of studying in depth Xi's important expositions. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) China urges U.S. to resolve damage its abuse of force has done to bilateral ties Xinhua) 08:28, February 23, 2023 BEIJING, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- China urges the U.S. side to demonstrate sincerity, rectify its wrongdoing, and acknowledge and resolve the damage its abuse of force has done to China-U.S. relations, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday. Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks at a regular press briefing in response to a query about U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's recent statement related to the China's airship issue. Wang said that China has explicitly told the United States multiple times that the entry of a Chinese civilian unmanned airship into the U.S. airspace was an entirely unintended, unexpected and isolated event caused by force majeure. "We have repeatedly asked the U.S. side to properly handle the matter in a calm, professional and restrained manner," Wang said. However, the United States ignored facts and fabricated the "spy balloon" narrative, Wang said, adding U.S. President Biden personally gave the order to brazenly shoot down a civilian airship by firing a missile from an advanced fighter jet. "This is a hundred percent an abuse of force, act of hysteria and overreaction. It gravely violates customary international practice and relevant international conventions," he said. Wang said that instead of reflecting on and acknowledging what it has done wrong, the United States chose to smear and attack China, sanction Chinese companies and keep escalating the situation. Noting those irresponsible remarks made by Secretary Blinken were a clear misrepresentation of the facts, Wang pointed out that it is the United States who is the number one country in the world in violating other countries' sovereignty, breaking international law and massively eavesdropping and spying on other countries. "We strongly condemn the egregious behavior of the United States and have repeatedly protested it strongly to the U.S. side," he said. Wang mentioned that U.S. President Biden has pledged openly many times that the United States does not seek a new Cold War with China and that it has no intention to seek a conflict with China, adding that it is hoped that as the leader of a major country, President Biden will keep his word rather than say one thing but do another. "We once again urge the U.S. side to demonstrate sincerity, rectify its wrongdoing, and acknowledge and resolve the damage its abuse of force has done to China-U.S. relations," he said. Quoting a Chinese saying that it's inappropriate not to reciprocate, Wang said that if the U.S. side continues to fuss over, dramatize and escalate the crisis, it should not expect the Chinese side to flinch and should be prepared to bear all potential consequences. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Americana Restaurants International and its subsidiaries including KFC, Pizza Hut and Hardees maintained strong growth momentum in 2022 with annual revenue of $2.38 billion a 15.9% increase year-on-year. Net income (attributable to shareholders of the Parent Company) grew to $259.2 million in 2022, up 27.1%, resulting in a net income margin of 10.9%, the company said in its first announcement of financial results since its historic concurrent dual listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul). Americana Restaurants top-line growth was driven by robust like-for-like sales growth of 13.6%, and 220 gross new store openings. The company generated adjusted EBITDA of $536 million, increasing by 15.4% vs. 2021, and a healthy EBITDA margin of 22.5%. Landmark year Mohamed Ali Rashed Alabbar, Chairman of Americana Restaurants, said: As a pioneer with over 50 years of heritage across the Middle East and North Africa, 2022 was a landmark year. Americana Restaurants elevated its global presence as a publicly listed company, in readiness for its next chapter as one of the most profitable, growth-oriented and diversified F&B operators. The Mena region remains uniquely attractive for out-of-home dining, with strong macroeconomic tailwinds, a growing youth population and soaring urbanisation. These dynamics, coupled with the cultural internationalism of our target markets, provides our business with a springboard for growth across Mena and Kazakhstan. Americana Restaurants near-term focus will be to leverage the strength of its platform to increase the penetration of existing brands, enter new categories and expand geographically both organically and inorganically by entering new markets. The company will also continue to invest in restaurant redesigns and organisational efficiency to minimise capital recovery periods and maintain cost discipline. Americana Restaurants closed 2022 with 2,183 operating restaurants, including 186 gross openings for its Power Brands KFC, Pizza Hut, Hardees and Krispy Kreme. With its omnichannel platform continuing to grow in strength and scale, Home Delivery contributed 39% of total revenue, followed by Takeaway (24%), Dine-in (21%), Drive-thru (10%) and Others (6%). Dividend outlook Americana Restaurants Board announced H2 2022 dividends at $103.5 million or the equivalent of $0.0123 per share in line with its previous guidance. The dividend will be subject to shareholders approval at their Annual General Meeting (date to be announced). KFC KFC contributed approximately 61% of the companys revenues in FY2022 ($1.5 billion), crossing a record 100 million transactions for the first time. The brand delivered strong like-for-like sales growth of 17.9%, cementing KFCs position as the #1 brand in the chicken segment. In 2022, KFC opened 54 gross new units, with expansion primarily focused on Saudi Arabia, Morocco and the UAE. Hardees FY2022 was a transformational year for Hardees and the brand generated revenues of $403 million, contributing approximately 17% of the Companys revenues. These results were driven by solid performance in all key markets, particularly Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and UAE. Hardees added 18 gross new stores in 2022, reaching a total of 391 stores across 10 operating markets. Pizza Hut Pizza Hut accounted for approximately 11% of Americana Restaurants revenues ($264 million) in FY2022. The brand had a consistent year maintaining its leadership position across core markets by delivering total revenue growth of 12%. Americana Restaurants relaunched Pizza Hut in Saudi Arabia in June 2022, acquiring country-wide franchise rights (excluding Jeddah). The revamped value proposition of Pizza Hut drives brand relevance for the Saudi consumer through superior quality, pizza innovation, value for money and omni-channel experiences. The brand footprint has grown successfully in the kingdom, with 30 stores opening in the second half of 2022. Krispy Kreme Krispy Kreme contributed approximately 4% of annual revenues, generating $90 million in sales, supported by its opening in Jordan and accelerating growth in Egypt. During 2022, Krispy Kreme enhanced product innovation by collaborating with major confectionary brands such as KitKat and Lotus. It opened 68 gross new units, with off-premise focused footprint expansion primarily in Saudi Arabia. Balance sheet & cashflow Americana Restaurants maintains a very healthy balance sheet and strong overall financial position. With adjusted Free Cash Flow for the period of $179 million and a cash conversion ratio of 49.3%, the Company is well positioned to meet its growth and capital expenditure commitments and support its dividend policy. Management outlook Looking ahead, Americana Restaurants is ready to capitalise on opportunities to improve profitability by maintaining a sharp focus on revenue growth and margin expansion. Management will continue to execute and refine the companys long-term strategy across the Middle East, North Africa and Kazakhstan in pursuit of industry-leading shareholder value creation.-- TradeArabia News Service Rescuers work on a damaged section of the road in Sao Sebastiao, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Feb. 22, 2023. The death toll in southeast Brazil's flood-ravaged Sao Paulo state rose to 48 as rescuers continued to search for missing people, local authorities said Wednesday. Sao Paulo's state government said 47 victims were in the municipality of Sao Sebastiao, and one was in Ubatuba. (Rovena Rosa/Agencia Brasil via Xinhua) SAO PAULO, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in southeast Brazil's flood-ravaged Sao Paulo state rose to 48 as rescuers continued to search for missing people, local authorities said Wednesday. Sao Paulo's state government said 47 victims were in the municipality of Sao Sebastiao, and one was in Ubatuba. Some 40 people are still missing, and most are believed to be buried under a mountain of mud left by landslides in the state. According to the government, three children have been rescued, and 28 people, including six children, have remained hospitalized since Sunday. The coastal region, one of the state's top tourism destinations, was battered in 24 hours by twice as much rain as February typically receives. Brazil's Navy has set up a mobile port in the area, 190 km northeast of the city of Sao Paulo, to allow the numerous tourists stranded by impassable roads to leave. Rescuers inspect the disaster-stricken area in Sao Sebastiao, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Feb. 22, 2023. The death toll in southeast Brazil's flood-ravaged Sao Paulo state rose to 48 as rescuers continued to search for missing people, local authorities said Wednesday. Sao Paulo's state government said 47 victims were in the municipality of Sao Sebastiao, and one was in Ubatuba. (Rovena Rosa/Agencia Brasil via Xinhua) Rescuers inspect the disaster-stricken area in Sao Sebastiao, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Feb. 22, 2023. The death toll in southeast Brazil's flood-ravaged Sao Paulo state rose to 48 as rescuers continued to search for missing people, local authorities said Wednesday. Sao Paulo's state government said 47 victims were in the municipality of Sao Sebastiao, and one was in Ubatuba. (Rovena Rosa/Agencia Brasil via Xinhua) This photo taken on Feb. 22, 2023 shows the location of a landslide in Sao Sebastiao, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Feb. 22, 2023. The death toll in southeast Brazil's flood-ravaged Sao Paulo state rose to 48 as rescuers continued to search for missing people, local authorities said Wednesday. Sao Paulo's state government said 47 victims were in the municipality of Sao Sebastiao, and one was in Ubatuba. (Rovena Rosa/Agencia Brasil via Xinhua) People take part in relief operations in Sao Sebastiao, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Feb. 22, 2023. The death toll in southeast Brazil's flood-ravaged Sao Paulo state rose to 48 as rescuers continued to search for missing people, local authorities said Wednesday. Sao Paulo's state government said 47 victims were in the municipality of Sao Sebastiao, and one was in Ubatuba. (Rovena Rosa/Agencia Brasil via Xinhua) UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous (Front) speaks during a Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 22, 2023. Sima Bahous on Wednesday regretted the retrogress in women's political participation and the rise in sexual violence in Somalia. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua) UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous on Wednesday regretted the retrogress in women's political participation and the rise in sexual violence in Somalia. Women's political participation and leadership is a pre-requisite for more inclusive societies, for finding solutions to lasting peace and achieving sustainable development. In the last few years, Security Council members have raised the importance of the 30 percent quota for women politicians and new legislation on sexual violence, she said. Yet, the quota in Somalia was not met, women's representation fell, sexual violence increased, and the Sexual Offences Bill adopted unanimously by the Council of Ministers five years ago has still not been passed by Parliament. Instead, its opponents are pushing for alternative legislation that would legalize child marriage, omit the age of consent, reduce the types of admissible evidence, and take away the rights of survivors, she told the Security Council in a briefing. In the 2016 elections, women's representation had jumped from 14 percent to 24 percent and there was a commitment to reach 30 percent in the next elections. Instead, the number of women in both chambers declined from 80 to 67. The decline in women's representation is not limited to the results of the last election. Only 13 percent of current members of the Cabinet are women, despite advocacy efforts during government formation talks, she said. Conversely, rates of sexual violence have registered an alarming increase since 2020. They doubled then, compared with 2019. And they have continued to rise as the worst drought in many decades is having a devastating impact on all Somalis, and women and girls are disproportionately impacted. CARE International recently found a 200 percent increase in gender-based violence cases among people displaced by the drought compared with the previous year. In UN Women's recent assessment of the impact of the drought, it found that women take on increased economic burdens, skip meals, find themselves separated from or abandoned by their husbands, and are more vulnerable to sexual assault as they travel longer distances to fetch water and firewood. Yet, much of this goes unpunished. UN Women data indicate that 80 percent of sexual and gender-based violence cases do not reach the judiciary, and when they do, they are often met by male judges in a system where less than 1 percent of judges are women, she said. Bahous asked the Security Council to make specific demands with regard to women's political participation. "That includes participation not only in elections, but also in the stabilization agenda that is a key current priority for the federal government and federal member states of Somalia. It includes participation in the civil service, the constitutional review, the reforms of the justice and security sectors, and all efforts related to peace-building, state-building, preventing violent extremism, early warning, transitional justice, and humanitarian aid," she said. "It is only when women are included in all areas of public life that we will have a chance at peace and at ensuring that we support the rebuilding of a society that is resilient to future shocks," she said. An investigation by the UN Security Council into the explosions that blew up the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines in September 2022 is a high global priority, said Jeffrey Sachs, a world-renowned economist. Produced by Xinhua Global Service HONG KONG, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) remained one of the world's premier capital raising venues throughout 2022, with positive sentiment returning to the IPO market in the second half, according to the HKEX Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Aguzin. Aguzin said in the HKEX's 2022 final results released Thursday that a total of 90 new companies from a range of sectors and geographies successfully joined the Hong Kong markets in 2022, raising 104.6 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 13.33 billion U.S. dollars), 65 percent of which was for the new economy sector, putting Hong Kong in the top four markets globally in 2022. According to the HKEX, it recorded 18,456 million Hong Kong dollars in revenue and other income for 2022, 12 percent lower than the record in 2021. Core business revenue was down 9 percent against 2021, reflecting reduced trading and clearing fees, lower depository fees and listing fees, which was partly offset by the increase in net investment income from margin funds and higher trading fees from the derivatives market, it showed. Northbound Bond Connect average daily trading reached a record high of 32.2 billion RMB (about 4.67 billion U.S. dollars), up 21 percent compared with 2021. Laura Cha Shih May-lung, chairperson of the HKEX, said that 2022 was a good year of strategic progress for the HKEX, and a significant number of important strategic initiatives were accomplished or announced during the year, which have positioned the HKEX well to continue to lead and shape the development of the region's global capital markets. (1 U.S. dollar equals 7.84 HK dollars) Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang (L) shakes hands with ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn during their meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Feb. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Xu Qin) China and ASEAN express willingness to elevate partnership to a new high. JAKARTA, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are willing to work together to elevate their comprehensive strategic partnership to a new high. At a meeting with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Wednesday, ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn appreciated the longstanding, utmost importance China has attached to ASEAN and its valuable support for ASEAN integration, saying that China is the first major country to join the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, and is also a vital strategic partner of ASEAN. The relationship between the two sides has been strategically upgraded, and cooperation has been deepened with growing mutual trust, said the secretary-general. Qin said during the meeting that ASEAN is one of the most successful regional cooperation organizations, and its position has become even more important against the background of profound changes on the global and regional landscape. The China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership is developing at a sound momentum, he said, noting that this year marks the 10th anniversary of building a closer China-ASEAN community with a shared future and the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as the 20th anniversary of China's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia. The Chinese foreign minister said China is willing to continue to promote the construction of the "five homes" with ASEAN, constantly enrich the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides, and keep supporting the ASEAN Secretariat in jointly promoting new achievements in China-ASEAN cooperation and East Asia cooperation. As the world economic recovery is lackluster and the crisis in Ukraine has dragged on with growing geopolitical competition, the Asia-Pacific region faces a choice between peace and confrontation, cooperation and division, Qin noted. China firmly supports maintaining the ASEAN centrality, he said, adding that the Chinese side is willing to join hands with ASEAN to face up to challenges, and reject "decoupling" and "erecting walls". Both sides will accelerate the resumption of personnel exchanges in an orderly manner and promote closer people-to-people ties between China and ASEAN. The two sides will work together to push for new progress in the consultation on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, so as to provide institutional safeguards for maintaining peace and stability in the sea. At a meeting between Qin and members of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN on Wedensday, the two sides believe that China-ASEAN cooperation is mutually beneficial and dynamic, benefiting 2 billion people in 11 countries on both sides. Such cooperation will also strengthen the synergy of regional sustainable development with the Global Development Initiative, expand cooperation in various fields such as tourism and transportation, digital economy, disaster response, clean energy, health care and capacity building, promote regional connectivity, and enhance the resilience of supply chains. Qin stressed that China will continue to regard ASEAN as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy, firmly support ASEAN unity and the bloc's community building, and consolidate the China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership. BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- China has declared a major and decisive victory in its response to COVID-19 recently, as the country is steadily entering a new phase of COVID-19 prevention and control, which has been downgraded under the management of Class B infectious diseases. Over the past three years, an unchanged philosophy guiding the decision-making in the country's response to COVID-19 is putting the people and their lives first. SAVING LIVES AT ALL COSTS In early 2020, the sudden onslaught of the previously unknown virus plunged the central hub city of Wuhan into chaos. More than 40,000 medical workers nationwide were mobilized to the rescue. In a short period, 16 stadiums and conference and exhibition centers were revamped into makeshift hospitals. As a result, 94 percent of local COVID-19 patients recovered. Since then, the COVID-related medical expenses incurred during concentrated hospitalization have been covered by the government. The research and development of vaccines, testing reagents, and medication gathered speed. All residents got the choice to get vaccinated for free. As of January, more than 90 percent of the 1.4 billion population have been fully vaccinated. China has also been improving its medical treatment capacity. By the end of 2022, the number of intensive care unit (ICU) beds in China had reached 216,000, and 135,000 hospital beds could be converted to intensive care. Since November last year, China has been optimizing its response measures to focus on safeguarding people's health, preventing severe cases, and securing a smooth transition within a relatively short period. More than 200 million patients were treated, and nearly 800,000 patients in serious conditions received effective treatment in the transition phase. The country's mortality rate for COVID-19 has been kept at the lowest level globally. MINIMIZING IMPACT ON PEOPLE'S LIVELIHOOD Living in central China's Changsha, a 77-year-old woman surnamed Li did not have to leave home amid the epidemic peak in December, as volunteers would deliver daily necessities such as eggs, meat, vegetable and medicine to her doorstep. The country has endeavored to ensure people's livelihood in times of hardship. China has pooled every possible effort to ensure sufficient medical supplies, especially in rural areas. For example, before the Spring Festival of 2023, authorities made sure the provision of two finger-clip oximeters for every village health clinic across the country free of charge. During the regular epidemic prevention period, China poured resources into stabilizing employment and prices to minimize the epidemic's impact on people's lives. As a result, in 2022, China's consumer price index (CPI) rose by just 2 percent from the previous year, much lower than that of developed economies. In the meantime, a total of 37.5 billion yuan (about 5.43 billion U.S. dollars) in price subsidies have been distributed to hundreds of millions of people in need during the pandemic. ADJUSTING MEASURES IN TIME The country has been monitoring the evolving situation concerning the epidemic and adjusted its COVID-19 response measures accordingly. In recent months, China has made active adjustments in its COVID response, ranging from 20 measures in November and ten new ones in December. It also changed the Chinese term for COVID-19 from "novel coronavirus pneumonia" to "novel coronavirus infection." Since Jan. 8, China has been managing COVID-19 with measures designed to combat Class B infectious diseases instead of Class A ones. In the meantime, the country has implemented policies to alleviate financial stress for COVID-19 patients and ensure their medical needs are addressed in time. So far, there are more than 600 kinds of drugs for treating COVID-related symptoms in the catalog of medicines covered by the national medical insurance system. A meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee held on Feb. 16 stressed the need to thoroughly review the experience and practices of the past three years, especially those implemented in the recent period. The meeting called for improving relevant mechanisms and measures, strengthening the COVID-19 prevention and control work in the new phase, building a stronger health service system, and firmly consolidating achievements. BEIRUT, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Arab region is expected to import 55 percent more grain over the next decade if it continues to adopt traditional agricultural production techniques, said Khaled Hanafi, secretary general of the Union of Arab Chambers, on Thursday. "Over the next decade, the Arab countries collectively are expected to become the largest net importers of foodstuffs per capita and the second largest in absolute terms ... This will increase the Arab region's import bill and put it at the mercy of the prevailing price fluctuations in global markets," the National News Agency quoted Hanafi as saying at a forum held in Beirut. Dubbed "Digital Transformation and Smart Agriculture Technology - Challenges and Opportunities," the forum discusses the importance of technology in boosting the agricultural sector worldwide and in the Arab world. Hanafi emphasized the need to use modern techniques and technology in smart agriculture by strengthening the role of the private sector and encouraging it in digital transformation to develop sustainable agricultural practices, improve rural development programs, and adopt sustainable solutions for the future of agriculture and food security in the Arab region. "Certainly, this approach will help us effectively support the development and ensure food security in a changing climate," he said. For his part, Hashim Hussein, head of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization - Investment & Technology Promotion Office, said the Arab region will meet 63 percent of its calories demand through imports in 2030, making it more vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and price fluctuations. "In light of these challenges, it is necessary to work jointly to stimulate investment in the agricultural field, develop traditional agricultural mechanisms, and train farmers to use modern technologies such as artificial intelligence and computer programs," he added. Lebanese Agriculture Minister Abbas Hajj Hassan said, "there is an increasing need to teach farmers how to use modern agricultural technology, which can make farming easier, more affordable, and less costly." "It also helps us in pre-warning of any crisis and thus reduces the losses that affect the sector," he said. According to the United Nations, the world needs an annual investment of 265 billion U.S. dollars to achieve the two Sustainable Development Goals of eradicating poverty and hunger, of which 140 billion U.S. dollars should focus on the agricultural sector. A contestant speaks at the first Chinese speech competition for Iranian college students in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Wencheng) by Xinhua writer Gao Wencheng TEHRAN, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- With Chinese New Year ornaments like red lanterns, and Haft-Sin table, a tradition of Iranian New Year Nowruz, mixed to decorate the same podium, Iranian youngsters on Wednesday shared their thoughts on the similarities between Nowruz and Spring Festival. Twelve contestants from three prestigious Iranian universities -- University of Tehran (UT), Shahid Beheshti University (SBU), and Allameh Tabataba'i University (ATU) -- attended the first Chinese speech competition for Iranian college students. The speakers found many in common in the New Year cultures of the two different countries from diverse perspectives. In both countries, people will clean their houses before festivals and greet relatives and friends on the first days of the New Year. Every New Year, the elders will give the younger generation lucky money. Also, there must be fish on the New Year's table of the two countries. Picture taken on Feb. 22, 2023 shows Haft-Sin table, a tradition of Iranian New Year Nowruz, set at the first Chinese speech competition for Iranian college students in Tehran, Iran. (Xinhua/Gao Wencheng) Similarly, Iranians jump over fires at the end of the old year and the beginning of the new year, and the Chinese set off firecrackers, showing their joint hope for good fortune in the new year through the fire, they added. "Both nations value reunion and family," Faeze Mirzabe, a UT student, noted, referring to the two countries' similar spiritual pursuit when celebrating the New Year. Li Mei, the Chinese director of the UT Confucius Institute, who served as one of the judges of the competition, said the contestants carefully prepared both speech skills and speech content. "Their speeches not only cover the resemblance in festive customs, but also the resemblance in value orientation, showing their deep understanding of Chinese culture," Li added. Fu Lihua, charge d 'Affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Iran, said at the award ceremony that cooperation starts with mutual understanding, and language plays the role of the carrier of culture and the key to mutual understanding. Fu said she looks forward to more Iranian young students learning Chinese, understanding the real China through their eyes and hearts, and contributing to friendly exchanges between the two sides and the development of bilateral ties. A contestant speaks at the first Chinese speech competition for Iranian college students in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 22, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Wencheng) Farhad Javanbakht Kheirabadi, a China scholar at SBU, which hosted the contest, said the competition focused on the cultural similarities between Iran and China and helped bolster public diplomacy. The competition will not only motivate Chinese language majors in Iran, but also prepare for more such activities in the future and deepen cultural ties between the two countries, he said. Arezoo Sheikhi, a player from ATU, won the first prize and hugged excitedly her family and friends after accepting her award. "My major is the Chinese language because I want to work in the field of communication between these two countries in the future," Sheikhi said, adding that "I would like to go to China so that I can contribute to the long-standing relationship between these two countries." Talking about the reason for Sheikhi's impressive performances, her teacher Sara Almasieh said the teachers usually introduce Chinese customs during important Chinese festivals and organize lectures on Chinese culture every year to guide students to think about the similarities between the two civilizations. Delegates attend the launch ceremony of a block train service for facilitating transportation of products from Chinese home appliances manufacturer Hisense, in Trieste, Italy, on June 27, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Yongqiu) Italy's former prime minister urged the two countries to quickly resume direct exchanges which were hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past three years. ROME, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Italy looks forward to the full resumption of bilateral exchanges with China at an early date and aims to strengthen cooperation -- especially in economy and trade -- to better benefit the two peoples, senior figures in the country's political circle have said. China and Italy are both members of the Group of 20 (G20) and representatives of extremely important civilizations in the world, Gian Marco Centinaio, vice president of the Italian Senate, said at a welcome reception on Wednesday evening for Jia Guide, China's new ambassador to Italy. "As in the past, trade is a key element in the relations between our countries today," Centinaio said, adding that he expects two-way tourist flows to significantly increase after the easing of pandemic restrictions. A visitor views exhibits at the exhibition titled "Tota Italia -- Origins of a Nation" at the National Museum of China in Beijing, capital of China, July 11, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) The relations between Italy and China have a long history and a bright future, Centinaio told Xinhua. Italy and China have lively economic and cultural relations, he said. He praised China's efforts in managing the pandemic and to improve bilateral ties, which "allow trade relationship to improve further." China is an important and expanding market for Italy, Centinaio said, recalling that he served as his country's minister of agriculture about five years ago. Chinese consumers have shown growing interest in Italian brands and products across fashion, engineering, automotive, and agricultural industries, he said, adding that Italian wine and food products are also entering the daily life of Chinese consumers. "This allows us to look at China as a preferred interlocutor with whom we can establish further business relations," he said. A journalist visits the exhibition titled "Tota Italia -- Origins of a Nation" at the National Museum of China in Beijing, capital of China, July 11, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) Romano Prodi, former president of the European Commission and Italy's former prime minister, told Xinhua at the reception that Italy-China relations and Europe-China relations are a crucial "component of the future," highlighting "indispensable" cooperation and dialogue between the two countries. Noting that bilateral direct exchanges have been largely hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past three years, Prodi urged the two countries to quickly resume direct exchanges in various areas. "Right now, from an economic point of view, China's recovery is indispensable for Europe's recovery," said Prodi, adding that the two countries need to strengthen their Belt and Road cooperation. A staff member works at a production line in a new material company in Zaozhuang, east China's Shandong Province, Feb. 11, 2023. (Photo by Sun Zhongzhe/Xinhua) According to China's foreign ministry's October 2022 figures, China was Italy's largest trading partner in Asia and Italy was China's fourth largest trading partner in the European Union. Two-way trade between China and Italy totaled 77.88 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, Chinese customs said. Photo taken on Feb. 20, 2023 shows the scene of a shooting during a carnival parade on Feb. 19 in New Orleans, Louisiana, the United States. (Photo by Lan Wei/Xinhua) Gun violence disproportionately affects Black communities. NEW YORK, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- As of mid-February, the Gun Violence Archive had counted 81 mass shootings in the United States in 2023, reported The New York Times (NYT) on Wednesday. This was an average of more than one per day, including the shooting that killed three Michigan State University students and badly wounded five others on Feb. 13, said the report. Gun violence disproportionately affects Black communities. And according to one study, Asians, Pacific Islanders and native Hawaiians living in California were more worried about becoming victims of gun violence than other racial or ethnic groups, it added. Royal Golden Eagle (RGE), a global group of firms headquartered in Singapore, has said that its member company Apical Group has closed $787 million in Sustainability-Linked Loans (SLLs), with strong support from Middle Eastern banks. UAEs largest bank, First Abu Dhabi (FAB), and Kuwaits largest financial institution, the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), were among the mandated lead arrangers, bookrunners and underwriters for the SLLs. Other Middle Eastern lenders in the consortium of more than 20 banks included the National Bank of Fujairah (NBF) and Invest Bank. Tey Wei Lin, President, RGE, said: Sustainability is at the core of our business model and sustainable financing is the way forward for RGE. Encouraged by the strong participation from Middle Eastern banks for Apicals latest round of SLLs, we aim to contribute more to the growth of sustainable financing in the region, as we grow our business. Green debt Green and sustainability-linked debt issuance in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region has outpaced global growth, rising from $4.5 billion in 2020 to $18.64 billion in 2021. In addition, 2022s green debt issuance in the Gulf was record-setting as it exceeded oil, gas, and coal-related financing for the first time since 2015. FAB, which is leading the sustainable finance agenda in the Mena region, has extended some of the biggest SLLs in the region to notable names like Majid Al Futtaim and Etihad Airways. Fawaz Abusneineh, Acting Head of Global Corporate Finance, FAB, said: We are thrilled to have successfully closed this sustainability-linked syndicated loan to raise $787 million for Apical, which is part of the RGE group of companies. Acting as one of the mandated lead arrangers, bookrunners and underwriters, we have worked closely with RGE to promote this transaction in the Middle East and Asian loan markets. In line with FABs vision to promote sustainable economic growth in the region and our commitment towards the Net Zero Banking Alliance, we will continue to support our key clients, such as RGE, in raising sustainability-linked or green financing facilities. Global agribusiness Structured as a two-year revolving credit facility, the $787 million SLLs will support Apicals growth as a global agribusiness with strong downstream segments, covering oleochemicals, functional fats, animal feed and packed oil. Apical is scaling its global operations to address growing consumer needs and to address issues such as global food security. The latest round of SLLs by Apical reinforces an alignment of the companys practices with Apical2030, its sustainability roadmap anchored by commitments and targets covering environmental and social pillars, including: attaining net zero by 2050; a 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emission intensity; and deeper engagement with suppliers to promote more sustainable practices. The goals under Apical2030 are aligned with Menas push on key environmental initiatives such as UAE Net Zero 2050 and Kuwaits Sustainable Development Agenda 2030. Four KPIs Apicals $787 million SLLs are tied to four key performance indicators (KPIs), with specific and measurable ESG targets to meet. These KPIs include raising the level of verified traceability to its plantations, increasing engagement of suppliers to promote sustainable practices and traceability, increasing the number of Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certifications among smallholder farmers, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions through methane capture facilities. In 2021, RGE was among the first non-property players in Singapore to secure an SLL, and the second-largest borrower of SLLs in the country. In 2022, including this latest round of $787 million SLLs, RGE raised approximately $1.6 billion in SLLs for its pulp and paper, and agri businesses.-- TradeArabia News Service Staff members pose for a photo in front of a Chinese exhibition booth during the International Tourism Fair FITUR 2023 in Madrid, Spain, Jan. 18, 2023. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua) Orriols said Spanish companies have a great opportunity to help satisfy the growing demand in China for quality consumer products and services. BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- "My business advice after working in and interacting with the Chinese market since 2004 is that we should not see China as a threat but as an opportunity," Marin Orriols, director of the International Department of the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, told Xinhua in an interview on Thursday. "The best advice I can give as a specialist is to learn about the Chinese market, visit that market, talk to that market, forge alliances with that market," and try to benefit from the market knowledge, he said. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Spain in March 1973, bilateral trade has increased to more than 43 billion euros (45.5 billion U.S. dollars), according to 2021 figures from the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX). A resident poses for a photo with a lion dancer during an event to celebrate the Chinese New Year in Madrid, Spain, Jan. 20, 2023. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua) "I encourage our businesspeople to go to China, to do business in China. It's complicated ... but it is worth it, and we are in a fantastic position to become good trading partners," Orriols said. He argued that Spanish companies have a great opportunity to help satisfy the growing demand in China for quality consumer products and services. "Trade is growing rapidly," he said, "while the consumption of China's expanding middle class continues to grow, it favors Spanish exports." In the past 50 years, economic links between the two countries have been strengthened by high-level visits. According to Spanish press reports, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is scheduled to visit China this year. Chinese New Year posters are seen on a street in Madrid, Spain, Jan. 21, 2023. (Photo by Gustavo Valiente/Xinhua) Travel is another business opportunity that Orriols points to, with Spain being a global powerhouse in the tourism industry and China being the largest source of international tourists, especially now that the pandemic restrictions have been removed. Orriols said that in places like Barcelona, more groups of Chinese tourists are seen. The tourists not only generate very significant revenue but also act as ambassadors for Spanish products and services when they return China. Orriols also believes that China's increasing investment abroad offers new business opportunities for Spanish companies. "What do the Chinese need? Local partners. So, if we find that Chinese business with a good product or service that we believe has a future here, then what makes the most sense is to ally with them and to grow stronger together." Spanish buyer Daniel Javier Salvador (C) talks with an exhibitor at the booth of a home appliances producer during the 130th session of the China Import and Export Fair, or the Canton Fair, in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, Oct. 15, 2021. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei) JERUSALEM, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Researchers from Israel and the United States have found evidence of a skull surgery performed about 3,500 years ago. In a new study published in the U.S. scientific journal PLOS ONE on Wednesday, the researchers examined the skeletons of two young brothers who were buried under the floor of a structure from the Late Bronze Age (about 1550 - 1450 BC), in the modern village of Megiddo in northern Israel. The researchers found that the two brothers suffered from developmental disorders, and discovered extensive bone remodeling consistent with a chronic infectious disease in both. It was found that one brother had a large square piece of bone cut from the frontal bone, as part of a cranial trephination, which is an operation during which a hole is drilled or cut in the skull. Unfortunately, he did not survive the operation, and died a short while after it, the researchers noted. The infrequency of trephination in the region indicates that only selected people could access such a procedure, and the severity of pathological lesions the young man suffered from suggested that the cutting was intended to cure his deteriorating health, the researchers wrote. The burial of the two brothers, along with Cypriot pottery and other valuable possessions, showed that they were members of elite society. The team included researchers from Brown University, the State University of New York, the Albright Institute for Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, and the University of Haifa in northern Israel. ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned over multiple disease outbreaks that are ongoing in the Horn of Africa region as countries in the region face serious food insecurity. The WHO, in its Horn of Africa food insecurity and health situation update issued late Tuesday, said countries in the region are facing a serious food insecurity crisis due to failed rainy seasons as well as flooding in other areas and various other factors. "Multiple disease outbreaks are ongoing in the Horn of Africa region," the WHO said. In Djibouti, the disease outbreaks include measles, malaria, dengue, and acute watery diarrhea (AWD). It said as of November 2022, some 546 suspected cases of measles were reported in the country. Various vaccination campaigns had significantly interrupted the transmission of the disease, resulting in a decreased infection rate by the end of 2022. In Ethiopia, the WHO said the risk of further disease outbreaks remains high, which is currently in the grip of cholera and measles outbreaks in drought-affected areas. As of Dec. 14, some 669 cholera cases were reported, with 24 associated deaths. In Kenya, measles outbreaks have been reported in six counties, the WHO said, adding 392 cases were reported from June 26 to Dec. 31. The WHO said increased incidents of waterborne diseases, especially cholera and pathogens causing AWD, have been observed among the drought-affected populations in Somalia. South Sudan has reported sustained cases of measles, and hepatitis E. The increase in measles cases continues across most of the states in South Sudan and confirmed cases have been reported from 15 counties since the beginning of 2022, it said. The WHO said it continues to provide support by coordinating the efforts of health sector partners, in addition to scaling up its assistance to the seven countries in the region to enable them to detect and respond to disease outbreaks. PHNOM PENH, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal and the Cambodia-China Free Trade Agreement (CCFTA) have provided a lot of benefits to both business people and consumers, business people in Cambodia have said. Both the RCEP and the CCFTA entered into force on Jan. 1, 2022. The RCEP comprises 15 Asia-Pacific countries including 10 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) member countries -- Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- and their five trading partners, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Yiv Phanna, chief executive officer of Yadea Cambodia, said the two FTAs have allowed his company to import electric two-wheeled vehicles from China into Cambodia with preferential tariffs. "The RCEP and the CCFTA have provided a lot of benefits to both merchants and users in Cambodia," he told Xinhua. "Under these free trade agreements, we have imported Yadea electric bikes from China to sell in Cambodia at a competitive price." Phanna said he believes the two FTAs are catalysts for long-term trade and investment growth between Cambodia and China. Jack Lee, chief executive officer of online market Smile Shop in Cambodia, said that under the two trade pacts, Cambodia and China could sell products at a much cheaper price to each other. "A lot of products Cambodia can export to China with free tax and a lot of good products made in China can be exported to Cambodia with low customs tariff," he told Xinhua. "The RCEP and the CCFTA have brought more and more benefits to both countries." Paul Kim, managing director of Mayura, an online marketplace platform for cosmetic and health products, said both free trade deals have further promoted the flows of goods and services as well as investments between the two countries and among other RCEP member countries. "With preferential tariff rates under these agreements, people in all member countries will enjoy buying products and other necessities at a competitive price," he told Xinhua. Lim Heng, vice-president of the Cambodia Chamber of Commerce, said the two FTAs have provided tremendous opportunities to Cambodia to increase and diversify its exports. "Both trade pacts have given a boost to Cambodia's trade and investment ties with China and with other RCEP member countries in the post-pandemic era," he said. "We hope these agreements will help Cambodia become a hub of distributing Chinese products to other ASEAN member countries in the future," Heng said. SYDNEY, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- After disappearing from the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) for more than a century, eastern bettongs will be reintroduced to Sydney in the coming weeks. In a statement released on Thursday, the NSW Department of Planning and Environment confirmed that a pioneering group of six bettongs would be translocated from Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary in Australian Capital Territory to Yiraaldiya National Park, a 555-hectare feral predator-free national park located in Western Sydney. "The last eastern bettong disappeared from mainland Australia in the 1920s, surviving only in Tasmania, and this upcoming release will mean we've returned 11 species that were once extinct in New South Wales back into our national parks - a globally significant outcome," said NSW minister for environment James Griffin. According to the statement, after the initial founding population of up to 40 bettongs is reintroduced to Yiraaldiya, the combined population across all 3 NSW government coastal feral predator-free sites is expected to grow to over 1,000 within the next decade. Known as "ecosystem engineers," eastern bettongs are small, kangaroo-like marsupials that typically reach 2 kg in weight and are yellowish-grey above and white below. They can play a critical role in digging and aerating soil during their search for food, helping return bushland to its original state. The species became extinct on the Australian mainland in the early decades of the 20th century mainly because of predation by foxes and large-scale land clearance. Data from the NSW environment department indicated that feral cats and foxes pose a huge threat to native species and become a key driver of extinctions, as they kill more than 1.8 billion Australian native animals each year. KABUL, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan's former president Hamid Karzai has met with Markus Potzel, the UN secretary-general's deputy special representative for Afghanistan, and stressed the need for a national dialogue to be held for achieving lasting peace in the war-torn country, local television channel Tolonews reported on Thursday. In the meeting held on Wednesday at Karzai's residence, they also discussed about Afghanistan's current situation as well as reopening schools and universities for girls, according to the report. The report also said that chief spokesman for Afghanistan's Taliban-run caretaker government Zabihullah Mujahid has expressed objection to the national dialogue proposal, noting in talks to Tolonews that the time for a national dialogue has passed and that such a dialogue is currently not necessary. BEIJING, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- A working team has been dispatched to north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region after a coal mine collapsed in Alxa League. The working team sent by the Ministry of Emergency Management urged all-out efforts to search for the missing personnel without delay, and not to lose hope of finding them. Saving lives is still the top priority, the work team said, adding that efforts should also be made to prevent secondary disasters. Meanwhile, the work team called for comprehensive investigations and governance on major potential safety hazards of coal mines. The collapse happened at the open-pit mine in Alxa League around 1 p.m. Wednesday. So far, four people have been confirmed dead and 49 others remain missing. ROME, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- The conflict in Ukraine has brought the decades-old issue of the European Union's (EU) strategic autonomy back into the spotlight, according to analysts. In many ways, the United States has been a leader in setting policies that have backed the Ukrainian cause, with European countries largely following its steps. Ukraine has benefited from strong support from the EU as well. But analysts say it is clear the U.S. has taken the leading role. "The powers the EU has in regard to foreign policy and security policy are very limited compared to the powers it has in other policy areas," Mattia Guidi, a political scientist at Rome's LUISS University, told Xinhua. He says there are multiple reasons for that, including the depth of the influence of the United States and the way geopolitical issues are decided in Europe. "The EU makes decisions based on a unanimity rule, which means that it is necessary to put all 27 member states around a table and find a solution that fits everyone," Guidi said. "That is very difficult. What usually happens is that with foreign and security policy, the European Union can't decide anything substantial." That was the case earlier this month, when Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky met with European leaders in Brussels for the European Council summit on Feb. 9. There was consensus in terms of pledging continued support for Ukraine, but wide differences remained on what that meant: some countries wanted to support Ukraine in possible peace talks, some wanted to limit support to financial mechanisms, and others wanted to continue military support. There was also criticism from Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that the trilateral talks between Zelensky, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Paris one day before the summit were "inappropriate" given the unanimity principle, Guidi said. Analysts say those issues have increased the influence of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which is now the principal support framework for Ukraine, and one that had already started to support Kiev years before the conflict broke out. Facing a large-scale conflict at its door, the EU's capacity was limited in how it could respond. At the same time, NATO has expanded military presence on its eastern flank. Its regular defense ministers' meeting and the larger Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at the U.S. airbase in Ramstein, rather than the EU Council of foreign and defense ministers, now make decisions concerning the conflict. "NATO is already there. It is a more functional organization for managing these issues, and it is where, of course, the United States plays a central role," Guidi said. "It's also easy for this shift to take place because there is such a large overlap between NATO and the EU." NATO has 30 member states, including 21 members of the EU. Two more EU member states, Sweden and Finland, are in the process of joining NATO, while multiple non-EU NATO member states are seeking EU membership. According to Ingo Peters, a foreign policy expert at the Free University of Berlin, the issue of the strategic autonomy of the EU is one that has often come to the surface in the past, since the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s. "The strategic autonomy of Europe has already been favored by some, but not by all," Peters, who is currently a visiting scholar at the Center for European Studies at the U.S. University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, told Xinhua. "Germany, for example, has always said that the EU should not go forward without the United States, which it has said is something essential to strengthening the European Union," Peters said. Germany reportedly agreed to send advanced Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine in late January only after the United States decided to send M1 Abrams tanks. "There are historic reasons for this, since we Germans believe there is a need for United States influence in Europe as a kind of external balance in order to keep our friends and neighbors calm," Peters said. Germany is EU's largest economy, but Peters noted it has not always been a major player in issues related to international relations and security in part due to its legacy from the two World Wars of the 20th century. But that has begun to evolve in the year since the Ukraine conflict began, Peters said. "Over the last months, Europe's strategic autonomy has been given a reality check," said Ulrike Franke, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. "Europe needs to become stronger and more united, less immediately dependent on a United States that is less and less keen to focus its efforts, attention and money on Europe," Franke said. LONDON, Feb. 23 (Xinhua) -- Three men have been arrested for shooting an off-duty officer in Northern Ireland, local police said on Thursday. "This morning we have arrested three men, aged 38, 45 and 47," in connection with the attempted murder of the officer on Wednesday, Simon Byrne, chief constable of Police Service Northern Ireland (PSNI), told a press conference. Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell, a high-profile PSNI officer who has led major investigations, including the 2011 murder of his colleague Ronan Kerr by dissident republicans, was shot multiple times in the town of Omagh in County Tyrone late Wednesday. Caldwell was taken to hospital and is in a "critical but stable" condition, according to Byrne. Assistant Chief Constable of PSNI Mark McEwan said while the attempted murder investigation is at an early stage, "the primary focus is on violent dissident republicans and within that, there is a primary focus as well on New IRA." The New Irish Republican Army, or New IRA, is a small armed nationalist group opposed to the 1998 Good Friday peace deal designed to end 30 years of violent conflict in Northern Ireland, known as The Troubles. HOUSTON, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of the Interior said on Wednesday it has proposed the first-ever offshore wind sale in the Gulf of Mexico in a bid to grow the country's clean energy economy. The proposed sale includes a 102,480-acre (414.7 sq km) area offshore Lake Charles, Louisiana, and two areas offshore Galveston, Texas, one comprising 102,480 acres(414.72 sq km) and the other 96,786 acres (391.7 sq km), the department said in a press release. It added that these areas could power almost 1.3 million homes with clean energy. The move is part of the leasing path announced by Secretary Deb Haaland in 2021 to meet the Biden administration's goal to deploy 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030, it noted. "There is no time to waste in making bold investments to address the climate crisis, and building a strong domestic offshore wind industry is key to meeting that challenge," said Haaland. Erik Milito, president of the National Ocean Industries Association, said that offshore wind "will be additive to the incredible benefits the offshore oil and gas sector provides our nation." Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Elizabeth Klein said the public would have 60 days to comment on whether one or both Galveston areas should be offered in the final sale notice, which must be published at least 30 days before the sale. According to the bureau, the Gulf is the primary offshore source of oil and gas, generating about 97 percent of all oil and gas production on the country's Outer Continental Shelf. The Biden administration has held three offshore wind lease auctions since 2021, including sales in New York and the Pacific Coast in California. Leading Saudi developer Dar Al Arkan today (February 23) announced the admission of Dar Global, its independent international development subsidiary, to the Standard Segment of the Official List of the FCA and to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange. The official direct listing on the London Stock Exchange makes Dar Al Arkan one of the first Saudi homegrown brands to list on the London stock exchange. Dar Global was formed as a platform for international growth and an independently listed vehicle to house the international assets of Dar Al Arkan, one of the largest listed real estate developers in Saudi Arabia with a market capitalisation of $4 billion and total assets of $8.5 billion. It was established to take advantage of the growing second home markets in internationally recognised luxury locations in Europe and the Middle East, including downtown Dubai, Muscat in Oman, Costa del Sol in Spain and Central London. Dar Al Arkan remains the majority shareholder of Dar Global after the listing, holding 88% of its share capital on admission. While building a robust portfolio, the company also collaborates with global luxury brands, including Missoni, W Hotels, Versace, Elie Saab, Automobili Pagani, and Automobili Lamborghini. Every Dar Global offering will be bold and sophisticated, modelled by renowned design icons, and maintained by experts within the field, boosting all things bespoke. Along with an extensive pipeline, the company currently has eleven premium projects in six different countries, with three of its developments, including Urban Oasis, the Da Vinci Tower in Dubai, and Sidra in Bosnia, set to be completed in Q4 2023. On the key milestone Dar Al Arkan Chairman Yousef Al Shelash said: "This is an extremely proud moment for us. After pioneering a distinct approach to development in the Kingdoms real estate sector, we believe it is time further to diversify the groups offerings across international communities with Dar Global." "London is the ideal venue as Dar Global looks to access a larger pool of investors and partners to support its expansion ambitions in the global luxury real estate landscape. We thank the Ministry of Investment in Saudi Arabia for facilitating and supporting our global expansion and assisting us in spreading the brand of Saudi Arabia globally," he added. Dar Global was established in 2017 to upend the global luxury real estate market and develop the international assets of Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company (DAARE). The company will be steered by a highly experienced international executive team led by industry stalwarts like its CEO Ziad El Chaar and David Hunter as the Independent Non-Executive Chair of the board of directors. Liberum Capital Limited acted as capital markets advisor on the listing, while Norton Rose Fulbright was legal advisor. This image released by the Orange County Sheriff's Office shows the 19-year-old suspect Keith Melvin Moses (C) in Orange County, Florida, the United States, on Feb. 22, 2023. Police in Orange County, Florida, took into custody Wednesday night a suspect in a series of shootings that left three people dead. The victims are a woman in her 20s, a 9-year-old girl and a news company employee, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. The suspect, identified as 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, is said to have a lengthy criminal history. (Orange County Sheriff's Office/Handout via Xinhua) WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Police in Orange County, Florida, took into custody Wednesday night a suspect in a series of shootings that left three people dead. The victims are a woman in her 20s, a 9-year-old girl and a news company employee, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. The suspect, identified as 19-year-old Keith Melvin Moses, is said to have a lengthy criminal history. The girl's mother and a second crew member from the news company are reportedly in critical condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Both shootings were reported on Wednesday afternoon. Moses is believed to have carried out another shooting in the morning, which left a woman in her 20s dead. Spectrum News 13, an American cable news television channel owned by Charter Communications, said their journalists were shot at. "We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and the other lives senselessly taken today," Charter Communications said. "Our thoughts are with our employee's family, friends and co-workers during this very difficult time," the statement read. "We remain hopeful that our other colleague who was injured makes a full recovery." On Wednesday night, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tweeted that "too many lives are being ripped apart by gun violence." As of Wednesday, the United States has lost more than 6,100 lives to gun violence so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. HOUSTON, Feb. 23 (Xinhua)-- Five people were killed in a plane crash on Wednesday in Little Rock, southern U.S. Arkansas, while heading to the scene of a metal factory explosion in Ohio to provide environmental support, officials said. The twin-engine Beech BE20 crashed in a wooded area shortly after taking off from Little Rock's Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Little Rock police said there were no survivors on board. "We had a bad storm front move in at that time. I don't know if the two are related, but the winds were bad, the rain was bad for a few minutes," A spokesperson for Little Rock police said. All the dead were employees of the Center for Toxicology and Environmental Health (CTEH), a Little Rock-based consulting firm. "We are incredibly saddened to report the loss of our Little Rock colleagues," Paul Nony, senior vice president of CTEH, told ABC News in a statement. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident. One person died and 13 others were injured after an explosion rocked a metal manufacturing plant on Monday in Bedford, Ohio. Multiple communities reported a bad smell in the air following the incident. Adani Green Energy, a subsidiary of the Adani Group, announced on Thursday that Sri Lanka had approved a USD 442 million wind power project. This is the cash-strapped nation's first significant outward investment. According to AFP, two wind farms will be built in the island's north by Adani Green Energy, a division of the Gautam Adani business conglomerate. The BOI stated in a statement that "the total investment would exceed USD 442 million and the two plants will be producing power to the national grid by 2025." In 2021, Sri Lanka awarded Adani a contract for a $700 million major port terminal project in Colombo. At Colombo Harbour, the only deep-sea container port between Dubai and Singapore, the company is constructing a 1.4-kilometer, 20-meter deep jetty immediately adjacent to a Chinese-operated terminal. Kanchana Wijesekera, the energy minister, reported that he met with Adani representatives on Wednesday in Colombo to finalise the wind farm deal. By December 2024, "we anticipate the power plants to be operational," he stated. This occurs at a time when the Adani Group is under fire following accusations of accounting fraud and pricing manipulation from a US-based short-selling firm called Hindenburg Research. The shares of the Adani Group have lost 60% of their value since Hindenburg's shocking report was published on January 24. Adani Group, meanwhile, has refuted each and every accusation. In 2019, a Chinese company was given a $12 million contract from the Asian Development Bank to construct three wind farms on islands in the Palk Strait, which separates India and Sri Lanka. However, New Delhi objected to the proposal, and it was canceled. China accounts for 52% of bilateral credit and is Sri Lanka's largest government lender. For Colombo to receive a $2.9 billion rescue from the International Monetary Fund, Beijing must provide financial guarantees. Hindenburg impact: Adani no longer among worlds 25 richest Adani Ports repays Rs1,500 cr to SBI MF, Aditya Birla Sun Life Bank of Baroda is willing to keep more lending to Adani Group Bangalore: The G7 financial chiefs will meet on February 23 to discuss penalties against Russia that will put pressure on it to end the conflict in Ukraine. Under Japan's direction, the finance ministers and governors of the central banks of the G7 nations will meet in Bangalore. It will be held more than a year after Russia invaded Ukraine in what it called a "special military operation." Ukraine is under extreme pressure to raise money since Russian forces largely damaged the nation's industrial base, food exports, and key infrastructure a year into the war. As a result, the economy contracted by nearly 30% in 2022, leaving the government unable to pay its basic responsibilities. Japan will host the G7 ministerial meetings in 2023 prior to the G7 leaders' summit conference, which will take place in Hiroshima on May 1921. The G7 consists of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States. According to people familiar with the issue who talked to Bloomberg, the G7 nations want to offer key support for Ukraine's efforts to receive funding from the IMF by the end of March as IMF officials have begun talks with the US. The G7 governments are anticipated to publicly entrust their officials with stepping up cooperation with the IMF and Ukraine in order to achieve an ambitious programme. The G7's consent is one of the IMF conditions for reaching an agreement. Following the G7 conference in Bangalore, India, which is now holding the G20 presidency, will host a larger meeting of G20 finance leaders from the major nations of the world in Bangalore. The primary subjects of conversation, according to Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki, will be support for Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. To achieve the ultimate goal of inducing Russia to withdraw, "we will continue to closely collaborate with the G7 and the international community to strengthen the effect of sanctions." Putin: US dollar and other Western currencies will lose ground in cross-border trade on a global scale Germany's views on Ukraine's purchase of fighter jets Ukraines anti-graft agency declares Auchan international sponsor of Russias war 23 February, 05:37 PM Only in 2020, Auchan in Russia paid $167 million to the Russian budget (Photo:TverezoInfo/Twitter) Ukraines National Agency on Corruption Prevention or NACP has declared French corporation Auchan Holding an international sponsor of war, the agency reported on Feb. 23. The corporation was added to the list as it had refused to stop financing the terrorist state since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine and continues to operate in Russia. Thanks to a joint investigation by the Insider, Le Monde, and Bellingcat, it became known that the Russian division of Frances Auchan supermarket chain had been supplying goods to Russian invasion forces in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war. Video of day Journalists noted that the supplies to the military were positioned as humanitarian aid. The investigation also found that in addition to supplying goods, Auchan helped military enlistment offices mobilize conscripts from among its employees. Thus, Auchan as Auchan Russia is a direct sponsor of the war against Ukraine. For Auchan, Russia is the second most important sales market after France, said NACP Head Oleksandr Novikov. In 2020 alone, Auchan Russia paid $167 million to the Russian budget. According to journalists calculations, this is equal to the cost of 15 SU-25 aircraft, 42 tanks, 222 Kalibr missiles, or 477,000 AK-74 assault rifles. We cannot allow Russia to continue receiving these funds, for which it then kills Ukrainians. We want any companies to be ashamed of cooperating with murderers. The Institute of Reputation must act, thats why we included Auchan in the list of international sponsors of war. Earlier NACP included the following companies in the list of international sponsors of war: Procter&Gamble, OpenWay Group, Danieli, TMS Tankers Ltd., Minerva Marine Inc., Thenamaris Ships Management, Delta Tankers Ltd., Dynacom Tankers Management Ltd., Leroy Merlin, ComNav Technology, Mondi Group/Mondi PLC, eKassir, Liberian International Ship &Corporate Registry, and Bonduelle. All these companies have been included in the World-Check database of the London Stock Exchange Group international company to protect the financial sector from sponsors of the Russian war. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News Finland to transfer three Leopard 2 mine clearing tanks to Ukraine 23 February, 06:55 PM Flag of Finland (Photo:stanjourdan/flickr) Finland will hand over three Leopard 2 mine clearing tanks to Ukraine as part of the 13th package of defense materiel worth over EUR 160 million, the countrys Defense Ministry said in a press release on Feb. 23. The aid package also includes training related to the use and maintenance of these tanks. We will send more defense materiel and participate in the Leopard cooperation together with our partners, said Finnish Minister of Defense Mikko Savola. According to the agency, for operational reasons and to ensure that the delivery reaches its destination, more detailed information on the content of the assistance, manner of delivery or schedule will not be provided. Video of day The combined value of all defence materiel packages submitted so far is now EUR 750 million. Earlier, Savola said that the country would take part in the supply of Leopard tanks to Ukraine, but its contribution would be small. U.S. newspaper the Wall Street Journal reported on Feb. 9 that Finland does not plan to directly transfer tanks to Ukraine until Ukraine becomes afull NATO member. Polands Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on Feb. 15 that Poland, Norway, Canada, Spain, and Finland had equipped a battalion of Leopard-2A4 tanks to be sent to Ukraine. On Feb. 14, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that a group of countries, including Germany, Poland, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Norway, Denmark, and the Netherlands, are working on the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. On Jan. 25, after long hesitation, Germany approved the transfer of 14 Leopard-2 tanks to Ukraine and their re-export from partner countries. On the same day, the United States announced the delivery of 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that the first tanks could be sent to Ukraine by the end of March. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated that Ukraine would receive 120-140 modern Western tanks in the first wave. On Feb. 7, Berlin issued a license to German military companies to supply Ukraine with 178 Leopard-1A5 tanks. Pistorius stated that Ukraine would receive more than 100 Leopard-1A5s from several European countries. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine needs 300-500 tanks for a major counter-offensive to liberate all Ukrainian territory from Russian occupation. Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron! Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News Description Nick & Tonis will host a special wine pairing dinner on Thursday, February 23 beginning at 6:30 p.m. The Italy: Top of the Boot will feature a five course menu crafted by Chef Michael Zuckerman and Pastry Chef Kelsey Roden, paired with Italian wines chosen by Beverage Director Chimene Macnaughton. The cost is $150 per person, plus tax and gratuity, for the five-course dinner. Wines from the menu will be available with special event pricing pre-order directly through Jacques Franey of Domaine Franey on the night of the event. "The inspiration for this month's dinner came from an email exchange I've been having with the brilliant Friulian winemaker Giampaolo Venica. In talking about his latest project Dalia Maris- itself inspired by the whites of France's Northern Rhone valley where Giampaolo recently worked several harvests- Giampaolo shared with me his passion for and commitment to the indigenous whites of his native Friuli, and reading his extolling of their terroir, and his pure joy in describing these wines- I just had to take us all there- if only for one night." For reservations go to http://bit.ly/3wRXAta. The menu, subject to change, is as follows: ASSAGGINI Grappa Cured Trout Horseradish Creme Fraiche Prosciutto San Daniele Dates, Malga Cheese Cotechino Plum Mostarda Carte de Musica Grilled Octopus Aged Balsamic NEBBIOLO METODO CLASSICO Luigi Giordano Barbaresco Brut Zero 2017 ANTIPASTI Frico Fruilano Potato, Montasio Cheese, Quail Eggs PINOT GRIGIO VIA ALPINA [GIAMPAOLO VENICA] Friuli 2021 [PRACT ORG] PRIMI Capesante Gratinate Sea Scallops, Breadcrumbs, Parmigiano Reggiano SAUVIGNON BLANC VENICA & VENICA Ronco de Cero Collio 2021 SECONDI Goulash Triestino Braised Beef Short Rib Creamy Polenta, Thumbelina Carrots SPANNA CASCINA PREZIOSA Castellengo 2019 DOLCE Gubana Dried Fruits, Pignoli LIQUORE ALLALBICOCCA JEAN-MARC ROULOT LAbricot de Roulot NV Gnocchi di Prunge alla Trieste Prunes, Potato, Cinnamon Company Logo Dublin, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "CAR/TCR Therapies in Oncology: Analytical Tool" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) and T Cell Receptor (TCR) therapies are a game changer within cancer therapies and there is a place in history and huge recognition to both Novartis and Kite Pharma (now Gilead Sciences) for being the first companies to bring these novel therapies to market with Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel-t) and Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) respectively. CAR/TCR Therapies in Oncology: Analytical Tool is the must have handbook for any business developer, BI/CI operative or clinical developer who needs to be on top of this hot and fast moving area of immune-oncology. This unique product is truly the only tool of its kind and is designed to give you a competitive edge in your CAR/TCR drug surveillance and intelligence, allowing you to power your decision making and advance your own interests. Keeping you "In the know" Simply put, our mission is to fuel your knowledge of immune-oncology, to make you the first to know about very early technologies and startups, emerging clinical trial results, drug approvals and the ever-changing competitive landscape. CAR/TCR Therapies in Oncology: Analytical Tool achieves this by continuously scanning development in CAR/TCR and reporting: Deals & Collaborations New technologies/drugs (emerging from patents, grants, abstracts (see Conference Coverage) etc.) Funding/Grants/IPOs Filings & Approvals Latest Clinical Trial Development & Results Newly launched clinical trials Conference Coverage of the world's twelve leading meetings in oncology* Quarterly & Annual Reporting This puts you in control of most, if not all, day-to-day developments in your field while also benefiting from one of the most comprehensive commercial pipeline review & competitive assessment tools available on the market today! Identify, prioritize, and lead scientific assessment of oncology opportunities and competition by multiple factors such as: Story continues Emerging Technologies Target Novelty Recent Funding Early & Late Stage Pipeline Biomarker/Companion Diagnostic Development (featured below) Entered Deals & Alliances Conference surveillance of world leading cancer meetings (featured below) Combination Therapy Choices (featured below) Outcome of Clinical Trials Indication Selection & Expansion Choices Drug Repositioning Opportunities For 20 years we have supported better decision making across the oncology drug development industry. Your CAR/TCR Therapies in Oncology: Analytical Tool is based on two decades of proven methodology and transforms your computer's desktop into a high capacity workbench within your area of choice. Even before launching this tool you have already eliminated the hundreds of hours of work needed to discover, process and piece together the thousands of sources that our team of oncology dedicated and highly experienced contents specialists have done on your behalf. Your CAR/TCR Therapies in Oncology: Analytical Tool covers more than 173 companies plus partners who are today developing 520 CAR/TCR drugs where of 499 are in active development in cancer across 120 different targets. Any data and/or analysis from the Analytical Tool is yours to keep and data/graphs/tables can be easily exported into Excel/PDF and various graphic formats for mixing with your own proprietary information. Let our expertise work for you With a simple point and click interface you can navigate the environment of current development, drill down into specific areas such as ongoing combination trials, biomarker analysis, selected scientific abstracts etc. and generate drug profiles, drug target profiles and company profiles (including Business Development & Licensing contacts). Any analysis generated by you is packed with presentation-ready graphs and tables to use in your reports and presentations. Your key to access development at the world-leading cancer meetings The CAR/TCR Therapies in Oncology: Analytical Tool is continuously updated according to twelve of the world's most influential meetings in oncology (AACR, ASCO, ASGCT, ASH, CMIT, EHA, EORTC-NCI-AACR, ESMO, SITC and BIO (International, Europe and Asia). If you are not able to attend any of the conference(s) in person, this Analytical Tool ensures that you are not missing out on the important take home messages you need to know about. Run combination therapy analysis like no other The CAR/TCR Therapies in Oncology: Analytical Tool delivers comprehensive combination therapy analysis, allowing you to analyze combination therapies from multiple perspectives; from a single drug to virtually any cross section of oncology drugs of interest. Unparalleled biomarker surveillance We also provide an outstanding oncology clinical biomarker surveillance & analysis, highlighting clinical phenotyping and patient stratification in trials. This analysis is based on our monitoring of the presence and usage of more than 1,000 biomarkers across tens of thousands of cancer clinical trials. Support and inspiration at your finger-tips You also have access to a great selection of How-to Training Videos showing best practice approaches to aspects such as competitive pipeline analysis right through to many real world case examples put forward by other users of our Analytical Tools. A tool to grow with and keep you informed Unlike a static report which just represents a particular snapshot in time, all of the Analytical Tools come with one year of online access to twice-weekly updates in both contents and features, pipeline alerts and online support etc. You can choose to renew your access to these updates and support on a yearly basis or go over to our industry leading full service platform covering all oncology drug development, 1stOncology. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/vbkili-therapies?w=12 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 Future Market Insights Global and Consulting Pvt. Ltd. Asia Pacific is the largest 3D bioprinting market. The 3D Printed Hip and Knee Implants Market is expected to grow at 7% CAGR during 2023 to 2033. The global 3D Printing Market is forecasted to surpass US$ 27.6 billion in 2023 NEWARK, Del, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global 3D Bioprinting Market is expected to create lucrative growth opportunities over the assessment period from 2023 to 2033 by registering a CAGR of 12.6%. The market is projected to hold a valuation of US$ 2 billion as of 2023. By 2033, the market is expected to be valued at US$ 6.5 billion. The historical CAGR for the global 3D bioprinting market was 12%. Owing to the high risk of peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, gangrene cases, and osteoarthritis amongst the geriatric population, we might witness an increase in the adoption of 3D bioprinting. According to the statistics released by World Health Organization, the world is rapidly aging at a fast pace. Between 2000 and 2050, the geriatric population is expected to surge from 11% to 22% worldwide. Manufacturers are working on 3D bioprinting multicellular vascular models over the assessment period. Request Sample Report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-808 There was significant demand for 3D bioprinting when the world was facing a shortage of skilled medical professionals across the flu period. These were particularly when there was a severe supply chain shortage. Thus, medical professionals were majorly relying on 3D printers and related software. Furthermore, numerous pharmaceutical companies are utilizing 3D bioprinting technology throughout the drug development process. The rapid adoption of 3D bioprinting enables pharmaceutical companies to test drugs at a lower cost. Moreover, 3D bioprinting allows pharmaceutical companies to test drugs within a few hours in comparison to a conventional method. Besides this, the application of 3D printing medical devices drastically reduces the usage of animals for drug testing. Story continues The favorable regulatory enforcements are anticipated to propel the sales of 3D bioprinting during the assessment period. the FDA in the USA has classified 3D-printed medical devices into Class I, Class II, and Class III devices. The classification of these devices has helped manufacturers to lay emphasis on the system to be manufactured based on the intensity of the disease. Throughout the valuation period, even surgeons might make use of 3D bioprinting technology on a consistent basis. This is attributed to the increasing demand for reconstructive surgery. Consequently, we might get to see the manufacturers focusing on bio 3D printing devices and related devices as a part of their manufacturing strategy. Ask An Analyst: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-808 Key Takeaways The 3D cell culture method is an effective alternative to overcome the existing organ donation shortage crisis faced by the world. According to the U.S. Government Information on Organ Donation and Transplantation, more than 113,000 people are on the waiting list as of July 2019. The unavailability of organs for transplant cause the death of 20 patients per day. 3D bioprinting can be a significant solution to the organ transplant waiting for crisis so that patients can receive an organ for transplant in time. 3D bioprinting technology has been used in regenerative medicine through printed devices such as 3D printing surgical instruments and prosthetics. Currently, researchers are testing out bio-ink as a way of printing cartilage, bones, and vital organs. The ongoing research on regenerative medicine and advancements in tissue engineering are focusing on the regeneration of damaged tissues and organs with the help of 3D bioprinting. A group of scientists from Tel Aviv University developed a fully vascularized heart using 3D bioprinting by using fat tissue cells from a donor. This has led to the development of 3D bio-printed heart tissue. Scientists from Swansea University UK developed a 3D bioprinting process by using regenerative and durable biomaterial. Request Customization: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/customization-available/rep-gb-808 Competitive Landscape The key players operating in the 3D bioprinting market are currently strengthening their materials portfolio. This is mainly done by adding new metals to the product portfolio. Apart from that, technological upgradation is also being done by the key players to simplify the processes. 3D Systems, GE Healthcare, ExOne, Electro Optical Systems, Renishaw plc, and others are the top player of the 3D bioprinting market. More Insights into the 3D bioprinting market The Asia Pacific region is expected to dominate the global 3D bioprinting market over the assessment period. As per FMI analysis, developing economies like India, China, and Japan are expected to make massive contributions, owing to massive investment in the healthcare sector. Additionally, increasing disposable income is also expected to surge the market share in this region. China is expected to generate reasonable revenue in the global market since the Chinese government is offering to fund the establishment of a manufacturing facility for the production of biomaterials and studying 3D-printed organs and tissues. In 2015, Materialise NV. opened its first pediatric 3D medical research facility at the Childrens Medical Center, in Shanghai, China. The focus was on pediatric 3D modeling and medical imaging and 3D fabrication. 3D Bioprinting Market Segmentation By Technology: Stereolithography Selective Laser Sintering Electron Beam Melting Fused Deposition Modeling Laminated Object Manufacturing Inkjet Printing Multi-phase Jet Solidification By Application: Surgical Simulation and Training Models Prosthetic Devices Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Orthopedic Implants Dental Implants Medical Sensors Others By End User: Medical Device Manufacturers Pharmaceutical Companies Research & Academic Institutions Contract Research Organizations By Region: North America Latin America Europe East Asia South Asia Oceania MEA Get Full Access: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/3d-bio-printing-market Table of Content 1. Executive Summary 1.1. Global Market Outlook 1.2. Demand-side Trends 1.3. Supply-side Trends 1.4. Technology Roadmap Analysis 1.5. Analysis and Recommendations 2. Market Overview 2.1. Market Coverage/Taxonomy 2.2. Market Definition/Scope/Limitations 3. Market Background 3.1. Market Dynamics 3.1.1. Drivers 3.1.2. Restraints 3.1.3. Opportunity 3.1.4. Trends Explore FMIs related ongoing Coverage on Healthcare Market Insights Domain Medical Ventilators Market Size: The global market for medical ventilators is predicted to reach US$ 1.7 billion in value by 2023. Between 2023 and 2033, the market is anticipated to grow at a 9.1% annual rate. The market is anticipated to reach $4 billion in sales by 2033. Home Healthcare Market Share: The home healthcare industry is anticipated to reach a worth of US$ 3.2 billion in 2023 and is estimated to increase at US$ 4.4 billion by 2033. Throughout the projection period, it is predicted that the market will grow at a CAGR of 3.1%. The following list of market-size-influencing factors. Intraocular Lymphoma Treatment Market Growth: By the end of 2023, the market for intraocular lymphoma treatments is expected to be worth US$ 1.2 billion. The market is anticipated to grow at a 6.7% CAGR through 2033 and reach a value of US$ 2.3 billion. Kidney Transplant Market Demand: The market for kidney transplants is expected to reach a value of US$ 5.8 billion in 2022 and grow at a CAGR of 2.8% during the ensuing years. In 2022, a share of the global market for deceased-donor kidney transplants is expected to be at 74.7%, according to a new analysis by Future Market Insights. Advanced Wound Management Market Opportunity: By 2023, the advanced wound management market is projected to be worth US$ 8.1 billion, and by 2033, US$ 11.5 billion may be the market valuation, according to FMI. Throughout the forecast period, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.6%. About Future Market Insights, Inc. Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in Dubai and has delivery centers in the UK, U.S., and India. FMI's latest market research reports and industry analysis help businesses navigate challenges and make critical decisions with confidence and clarity amidst breakneck competition. Our customized and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. A team of expert-led analysts at FMI continuously tracks emerging trends and events in a broad range of industries to ensure that our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers. Contact Us: Future Market Insights, Inc. Christiana Corporate, 200 Continental Drive, Suite 401, Newark, Delaware - 19713, USA Tel: +1-845-579-5705 Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Web: www.futuremarketinsights.com LinkedIn | Twitter | Blogs | YouTube Afarak Group Plc 08:30 London, 10:30 Helsinki, 23 February 2023 - Afarak Group SE ("Afarak" or "the Company") (LSE: AFRK, NASDAQ: AFAGR) AFARAK SOUTH AFRICA (PTY) LTD - TERMINATION OF BUSINESS RESCUE PROCEEDINGS Stock Exchange Release On 8 May 2020, Afarak issued a Stock Exchange Release informing that Afarak South Africa (PTY) Ltd had filed an application to commence a Business Rescue Proceedings in accordance with Chapter 6 of the South African Companies Act. Following the successful Business Rescue Process, the business rescue practitioner has concluded that there are no longer reasonable grounds to believe that the company is financially distressed and thus the proceedings are terminated. Afarak South Africa (PTY) Ltd will continue its business operations normally. Helsinki, February 23, 2023 AFARAK GROUP SE Board of Directors For additional information, please contact: Guy Konsbruck, CEO, +356 2122 1566, guy.konsbruck@afarak.com Financial reports and other investor information are available on the Company's website: www.afarak.com . Afarak Group is a specialist alloy producer focused on delivering sustainable growth with a Speciality Alloys business in southern Europe and a FerroAlloys business in South Africa. The Company is listed on NASDAQ Helsinki (AFAGR) and the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (AFRK). Distribution: NASDAQ Helsinki London Stock Exchange Main media www.afarak.com UAEs Edge Group entity, AL TAIF, will jointly work with US L3Harris Technologies to identify business opportunities within communication systems maintenance. For this AL TAIF, a leading provider of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services for military equipment, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with L3Harris International, a subsidiary of L3Harris Technologies, and leading US-based aerospace and defence technology innovator. The signing occurred during the ongoing International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2023) that runs until February 24 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (Adnec). Holistic MRO Saif Al Dahbashi, CEO of AL TAIF, said: As the premier centre of excellence for comprehensive lifecycle support of defence systems in the region, AL TAIFs holistic MRO offering and extensive technical curriculum positions AL TAIF as an ideal recurrent partner for L3Harris. We are proud to be working with such an esteemed defence technology organisation and look forward to the opportunities in communications systems and maintenance presented by our joint effort. L3Harris, a global leader of end-to-end resilient solutions that meet its customers mission critical needs is one of the largest American technology and defence contractors providing Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber-Defence and Combat Systems and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance solutions for defence and commercial use. AL TAIF continues to be an exceptional partner to L3Harris as we continue to forge effective collaborations, said Kevin Steubing, Senior Director, Sales and Business Development for UAE, L3Harris International. Its extensive knowledge and vast experience as a leading MRO solutions company will certainly result in transformative programmes within our target arena. Lifecycle services AL TAIF provides essential lifecycle services and technical capability development to guarantee the ultimate asset performance and mission readiness for its customers. Its eleven state-of-the-art workshops are geographically distributed to offer seamless convenience and flexibility, while a mobile unit can quickly and efficiently address all types of MRO needs. The company is part of the Platforms & Systems cluster within Edge, one of the worlds leading advanced technology groups.-- TradeArabia News Service JAKARTA, Indonesia, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- PT Air Liquide Indonesia ("ALINDO"), a fully owned subsidiary of Air Liquide, has signed a contract with Saint-Gobain Abrasives Diamas to supply low carbon liquid nitrogen, marking this as the first low carbon industrial gas supply in Indonesia. Air Liquide Air Liquide's low carbon offer to Saint-Gobain relies on the access to sufficient renewable energy to produce the volumes required by Saint-Gobain. This supply is guaranteed by certificates. This partnership between Air Liquide and Saint-Gobain underlines the commitment of both companies to reduce their carbon footprint, in line with the Indonesian government's climate objectives. Marloes Moerman, Air Liquide Indonesia President Director: We are pleased to embark on this decarbonization-driven collaboration with Saint-Gobain as our first low carbon gas customer in Indonesia. This will help us achieve our shared climate goals, using our expertise and commitment to lowering carbon emissions. With our customers and industrial partners, we look forward to building a sustainable future together. Dzulfikri, Saint, Saint-Gobain Industrial Director: This joint-project is fully in line with Saint-Gobain Group's Grow & Impact strategy, successfully implemented to reinforce its leadership in the industrial markets with a commitment to decarbonize our own operations and offer integrated solutions for the decarbonization of clients through a continuous innovation process providing sustainability and performance. The Saint-Gobain Group's commitment is guided by its purpose, "Making the World a Better Home". About Air Liquide A world leader in gases, technologies and services for Industry and Health, Air Liquide is present in 75 countries with approximately 66,400 employees and serves more than 3.8 million customers and patients. Oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen are essential small molecules for life, matter and energy. They embody Air Liquide's scientific territory and have been at the core of the company's activities since its creation in 1902. Story continues Taking action today while preparing the future is at the heart of Air Liquide's strategy. With ADVANCE, its strategic plan for 2025, Air Liquide is targeting a global performance, combining financial and extra-financial dimensions. Positioned on new markets, the Group benefits from major assets such as its business model combining resilience and strength, its ability to innovate and its technological expertise. The Group develops solutions contributing to climate and the energy transitionparticularly with hydrogenand takes action to progress in areas of healthcare, digital and high technologies. Air Liquide's revenue amounted to more than 23 billion euros in 2021. Air Liquide is listed on the Euronext Paris stock exchange (compartment A) and belongs to the CAC 40, CAC 40 ESG, EURO STOXX 50 and FTSE4Good indexes. SOURCE Air Liquide Indonesia CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKBA) today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has adopted a positive opinion recommending the European Commission (EC) to approve Vafseo (vadadustat), an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase (HIF-PH) inhibitor for the treatment of symptomatic anaemia associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in adults on chronic maintenance dialysis. The EC will review the CHMP recommendation and deliver a final decision in approximately two months. The decision will be applicable to all 27 European Union member states plus Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: AKBA), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for people living with kidney disease (PRNewsfoto/Akebia Therapeutics, Inc.) "We are extremely pleased by the CHMP's positive opinion for our marketing authorisation application for Vafseo for patients on dialysis," said John P. Butler, Chief Executive Officer of Akebia. "We are driven to better the lives of people impacted by chronic kidney disease and a positive opinion is a critical step toward delivering on this purpose. We believe more treatment options are needed for patients with anaemia on dialysis, and if we receive a positive EC decision Vafseo could offer an oral treatment to help address this need. This is also an important milestone in our process to identify and secure a potential partner in Europe to bring Vafseo to those patients." The CHMP based its positive opinion on data from a comprehensive development program that included over 7,500 patients, including the global Phase 3 clinical program of vadadustat for the treatment of anemia due to CKD in adult patients on dialysis (INNO 2 VATE). In the study of adult patients on dialysis, vadadustat achieved the primary and key secondary efficacy endpoint in each of the two INNO 2 VATE studies, demonstrating non-inferiority to darbepoetin alfa as measured by a mean change in hemoglobin (Hb) between baseline and the primary evaluation period (weeks 24 to 36) and secondary evaluation period (weeks 40 to 52). Vadadustat also achieved the primary safety endpoint of the INNO 2 VATE program, defined as non-inferiority of vadadustat versus darbepoetin alfa in time to first occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events, which is the composite of all-cause mortality, non-fatal myocardial infarction, or non-fatal stroke across both INNO 2 VATE studies. Story continues About Akebia Therapeutics Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company with the purpose to better the lives of people impacted by kidney disease. The Company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit our website at www.akebia.com, which does not form a part of this release. About Vadadustat Vadadustat is an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor designed to mimic the physiologic effect of altitude on oxygen availability. At higher altitudes, the body responds to lower oxygen availability with stabilization of hypoxia-inducible factor, which can lead to increased red blood cell production and improved oxygen delivery to tissues. Vadadustat is an investigational new drug and is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On March 29, 2022, the FDA issued a complete response letter to Akebia's New Drug Application for vadadustat for the treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease (CKD). Vadadustat is currently under review by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of anemia due to CKD in adults. In Japan, vadadustat is approved as a treatment for anemia due to CKD in both dialysis-dependent and non-dialysis dependent adult patients. Forward Looking Statement Statements in this press release regarding Akebia Therapeutics, Inc.'s ("Akebia's") strategy, plans, prospects, expectations, beliefs, intentions and goals are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, and include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: Akebia's expectations on the timing of a decision from the European Commission and, if approved, Akebia's plans with respect to commercializing and identifying a partner for Vafseo in Europe. The terms "expect," "intend," "believe," "plan," "goal," "potential," "will," "continue," derivatives of these words, and similar references are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Actual results, performance or experience may differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement as a result of various risks, uncertainties and other factors, including, but not limited to, risks associated with: decisions made by health authorities, such as the FDA and the European Medicines Agency, with respect to regulatory filings; the potential therapeutic benefits, safety profile, and effectiveness of vadadustat; the direct or indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on regulators and Akebia's business, operations, and the markets and communities in which Akebia and its partners, collaborators, vendors and customers operate; manufacturing, supply chain and quality matters and any recalls, write-downs, impairments or other related consequences or potential consequences; early termination of any of Akebia's collaborations; and the competitive landscape for vadadustat, if approved. Other risks and uncertainties include those identified under the heading "Risk Factors" in Akebia's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, and other filings that Akebia may make with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the future. These forward-looking statements (except as otherwise noted) speak only as of the date of this press release, and, except as required by law, Akebia does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Akebia Therapeutics and Vafseo (vadadustat) are registered trademarks or trademarks of Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. Akebia Therapeutics Contact Mercedes Carrasco mcarrasco@akebia.com Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/akebia-receives-positive-chmp-opinion-in-europe-for-vafseo-vadadustat-for-the-treatment-of-symptomatic-anaemia-associated-with-chronic-kidney-disease-in-adults-on-chronic-maintenance-dialysis-301754922.html SOURCE Akebia Therapeutics Aquila Group of Funds NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aquila Investment Management LLC (Aquila), Investment Adviser and Administrator to Aquila Group of Funds, has announced that Tim Iltz and Vasilios Gerasopoulos will join the company as portfolio managers and employees. Mr. Iltz has been a portfolio manager of Aquila Tax-Free Fund of Colorado and Aquila Tax-Free Trust of Oregon, while being an employee of Davidson Fixed Income Management, Inc. (doing business as Kirkpatrick Pettis Capital Management), which has served as Sub-Adviser to the Funds. Effective March 6, 2023, Davidson Fixed Income Management, Inc. will no longer serve as Sub-Adviser, and Aquila Investment Management LLC will remain as each Funds Investment Adviser. Upon joining Aquila on that date, Mr. Iltz will continue as a portfolio manager of Aquila Tax-Free Fund of Colorado and Aquila Tax-Free Trust of Oregon. There will be no changes to either Funds investment objectives, principal investment strategies, fees, or expenses in connection with the change. Mr. Gerasopoulos joins Aquila as a portfolio manager after serving as Credit Analyst at Davidson Fixed Income Management, Inc. since 2015. Effective March 6, 2023, he will join Mr. Iltz as portfolio manager of Aquila Tax-Free Fund of Colorado. The Funds portfolio management team will also include Royden Durham, who has served as lead portfolio manager of Aquila Churchill Tax-Free Fund of Kentucky since 2011. Aquila is also expanding the portfolio management team of Aquila Tax-Free Trust of Oregon, adding Anthony Tanner and James Thompson to serve as co-portfolio managers alongside Mr. Iltz. Mr. Tanner and Mr. Thompson are currently lead portfolio managers of Aquila Tax-Free Trust of Arizona and Aquila Tax-Free Fund For Utah, respectively. We are excited to welcome Tim Iltz and Vasilios Gerasopoulos as portfolio managers and employees of Aquila. Having worked closely with them over the years, we know their transition to Aquila will be seamless, and the management of the Colorado and Oregon municipal bond funds will continue smoothly and reinforce our locally-based investment focus, said Diana Herrmann, President and CEO of Aquila Investment Management. The addition of seasoned managers Royden Durham, Anthony Tanner and James Thompson will bring their extensive expertise in fixed income investing to the Funds and will further the strength of Aquilas investment management team. Story continues Aquila Tax-Free Fund of Colorado and Aquila Tax-Free Trust of Oregon are municipal bond funds designed especially for residents of those states. Their primary investment objectives are to provide as high a level of current income exempt from state and federal income taxes, as is consistent with preservation of capital by investing in municipal obligations, which pay interest exempt from Colorado and Oregon state and federal income taxes. Timothy Iltz has served as a portfolio manager of Aquila Tax-Free Trust of Oregon since 2018 and became a portfolio manager of Aquila Tax-Free Fund of Colorado in December 2022, as co-portfolio manager Chris Johns plans to retire effective February 28, 2023. Mr. Iltz has over 20 years of experience in the fixed income industry, serving clients as portfolio manager, financial advisor, investment banker, analyst and consultant. He has been employed by Davidson Fixed Income Management, Inc. since 2011 where he currently serves as a Vice President and Municipal Bond Credit Analyst. Prior to that, he worked as a Vice President in Fixed Income Banking for Wedbush Securities in Portland and has over 11 years of public finance investment banking experience, including the full spectrum of bond issues available to local governments. Vasilios Gerasopoulos has been a Credit Analyst at Davidson Fixed Income Management, Inc. since 2015. Previously, he was a Senior Financial Analyst, Bond and Debt, for Jefferson County, Colorado from 2012 -2015. Mr. Gerasopoulos has over 10 years of experience in the public finance industry, working for local government entities and in public finance investment banking. ABOUT AQUILA GROUP OF FUNDS As investment managers for more than 35 years, we have always believed that investing successfully depends on knowing what you own and why you own it. We think this is particularly important in todays markets. Within Aquila Group of Funds, each Fund is managed to our high standards of quality and care, which we apply when implementing our municipal bond, equity and high-yield corporate bond strategies. We combine rigorous, hands-on investment research with a strong commitment to service and approachability. As of January 31,t 2023, we manage approximately $2.4 billion in assets. Aquila Management Corporation, the Funds founder and sponsor, is a family-owned, privately-held firm established in 1984 to serve the needs of investors and financial advisors. Please see Aquila Group of Funds Guiding Principles here. Before investing in any Funds offered by Aquila Group of Funds, carefully read about and consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and other information found in the Funds prospectus. Prospectuses are available from your financial advisor, and when you call 800-437-1000 or visit www.aquilafunds.com. Contact: Victoria Odinotska KANTER Tel. 703/685-9232 Diana Herrmann Aquila Group of Funds Tel. 212/697-6666 Avelo's four new exclusive routes will provide affordable, convenient and reliable nonstop air service to LA and Orlando Brownsville / South Padre Island will be Avelo's first home-state market Avelo to offer the only nonstop flights to both SpaceX's LA headquarters and Florida's Space Coast from SpaceX's South Texas spaceport Introductory one-way fares start at $49 HOUSTON, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Avelo Airlines announced today it is continuing to expand its national network with the addition of three new destinations: Brownsville-South Padre Island, Texas; Charlottesville, Virginia; and Colorado Springs, Colorado. With the addition of these three new markets, Avelo will now serve 35 destinations across the U.S. Avelo Airlines Chairman and CEO Andrew Levy said, "Avelo is growing again. The addition of these three new destinations and four new exclusive nonstop routes exemplifies our commitment to bringing affordable, convenient and reliable air service to unserved and underserved communities across the country. We are confident the low fares and smooth travel experience we are introducing to these three new communities will inspire their residents to travel even more. As a Houston-based company, we are especially excited to welcome our first Texas market to Avelo's network." Two new Burbank routes: Brownsville-South Padre Island and Colorado Springs From its base at Los Angeles' most popular airport Hollywood-Burbank Airport (BUR) Avelo will offer exclusive nonstop service to Colorado Springs Airport (COS) and Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport (BRO). Avelo will begin serving COS on May 3 and operate three-times weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Avelo will begin serving BRO on May 17 and operate twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays. With the addition of these two new routes, Avelo will expand its affordable, convenient and reliable service to 10 popular destinations from BUR. BRO and COS join Boise, Idaho (BOI); Pasco Tri-Cities, Washington (PSC); three Oregon cities: Bend/Redmond (RDM), Eugene (EUG) and Medford/Rogue Valley (MFR); and three other California cities: Sonoma/Santa Rosa (STS), Eureka/Arcata (ACV) and Redding (RDD). Story continues Introductory one-way fares between BUR and COS start at $49* and fares between BUR and BRO start at $89*. Two new Orlando routes: Brownsville / South Padre Island and Charlottesville From its base at Orlando's most convenient airport Orlando International Airport (MCO) Avelo will offer exclusive nonstop service to Brownsville / South Padre Island and Charlottesville Albemarle Airport (CHO). With this announcement, Avelo will now serve 11 nonstop destinations from MCO, joining Binghamton, New York (BGM); Dayton, Ohio (DAY); Dubuque, Iowa (DBQ); New Haven, Connecticut (HVN); Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina (RDU); Wilmington, Delaware (ILG); Wilmington, North Carolina (ILM); and two Michigan cities: Kalamazoo (AZO) and Lansing (LAN). The MCO to CHO route will begin on May 3 and operate twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays with introductory one-way fares starting at $49**. The MCO to BRO route will begin on May 17 and operate twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays with introductory one-way fares starting at $69*. Avelo is the only airline flying all four routes which will operate on Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft. Customers can make reservations at AveloAir.com. Connecting SpaceX employees and families When Avelo inaugurates service at BRO in May, it will be the only airline providing nonstop service to both SpaceX's LA headquarters and Florida's Space Coast from SpaceX's South Texas spaceport. SpaceX is expected to attempt its first Starship orbital flight next month from its Boca Chica Star Base located 20 miles east of BRO. America's Affordable and Convenient Airline Avelo was founded with a vision to help its Customers save money and time. Since taking flight on April 28, 2021, Avelo has flown more than 1.7 million Customers on more than 14,000 flights. In addition to offering Customers everyday low fares on every route, Avelo Customers can always change or cancel their itineraries with no extra fees. Avelo also offers several unbundled travel-enhancing options that give Customers the flexibility to pay for what they value, including priority boarding, checked bags, carry-on overhead bags, and bringing a pet in the cabin. Additionally, the American-made Boeing 737 jets Avelo flies offer a more spacious and comfortable experience than the small regional aircraft currently operating at most of the airports Avelo serves. Customers who value an advance seat assignment can choose from several modestly priced seating options, including seats with extra leg room, as well as pre-reserved window and aisle seating. One third of seats on Avelo aircraft are available for Customers who appreciate the comfort of extra legroom. Avelo serves 35 destinations across the U.S. The airline has unlocked a new era of convenience, choice and competition in air travel by flying unserved routes to primarily underserved communities across the country. At least one airport on every Avelo flight is a small hometown airport making every Avelo journey easier and more enjoyable. At Avelo, every flight is also nonstop. This connection-free travel experience not only provides Avelo Customers with a faster and simpler travel experience, but also minimizes delays, cancellations and lost bags. In fact, Avelo has established itself as one of America's most reliable airlines with industry-leading on time, completion factor checked bag handling performance. Avelo is distinguished by its Soul of Service culture. The culture is grounded in Avelo's One Crew Value which promotes a welcoming and caring experience. By caring for one another and owning their commitments, Avelo Crewmembers focus on anticipating and understanding Customer needs on the ground and in the air. About Avelo Airlines Avelo Airlines was founded with a simple purpose to Inspire Travel. The airline offers Customers time and money-saving convenience, low everyday fares, and a refreshingly smooth and caring experience through its Soul of Service culture. Operating a fleet of Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft, Avelo serves 35 popular destinations across the U.S., including its five bases at Los Angeles' Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR), Southern Connecticut's Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN), Orlando International Airport (MCO), the Delaware Valley's Wilmington Airport (ILG) and Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU). For more information visit AveloAir.com or the Avelo Newsroom at AveloAir.com/Newsroom. Media Contacts: Avelo Airlines Jim Olson jolson@aveloair.com Courtney Goff cgoff@aveloair.com *Very low, one-way fares include government taxes and fees. Fares start at $49 between BUR and COS; at $89 between BUR and BRO; and at $69 between MCO and BRO, fares must be booked by March 2, 2023. Travel must be completed by September 6, 2023. Fares are available on a limited number of flights and seats. Additional fees for carry-on and checked bags, assigned seats and other optional services may apply. A $20 charge per seated traveler applies to all bookings or changes made through Avelo's Customer Support Center. For full terms and conditions, please see Avelo's Contract of Carriage. **Very low, one-way fares include government taxes and fees. Fares start at $49 between MCO and CHO, fares must be booked by February 28, 2023. Fares are available on a limited number of flights and seats. Additional fees for carry-on and checked bags, assigned seats and other optional services may apply. A $20 charge per seated traveler applies to all bookings or changes made through Avelo's Customer Support Center. For full terms and conditions, please see Avelo's Contract of Carriage. BURBANK, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 28: Avelo Airlines takes off with first flight between Burbank and Santa Rosa at Hollywood Burbank Airport on April 28, 2021 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Avelo Air) (PRNewsfoto/Avelo Airlines) Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/avelo-airlines-announces-three-new-destinations-brownsville-south-padre-island-tx-charlottesville-va-and-colorado-springs-co-301754708.html SOURCE Avelo Airlines VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Aztec Minerals Corp. (TSXV:AZT)(OTCQB:AZZTF) ("Aztec" or the "Company") announces that it has closed a CAD$1.1 million non-brokered private placement equity financing. The private placement consisted of 4,378,168 million common shares of the Company (the "Shares") priced at CAD$0.25 per Share for gross proceeds of CAD$1,094,542 (the "Private Placement"). No warrants were issued, and no finders fees were payable with respect to this Private Placement. The Private Placement included participation by Alamos Gold Inc., sophisticated investors, existing shareholders and a director of Aztec. Alamos Gold Inc. ("Alamos") (TSX:AGI, NYSE:AGI) participated in the Private Placement with a subscription for 400,000 Shares, for aggregate consideration of $100,000. Prior to the closing of the Private Placement, Alamos held 7,926,089 common shares and 7,926,089 warrants to purchase common shares of the Company. Since Alamos' last Early Warning Report, Aztec completed an acquisition whereby the Company issued 10,000,000 common shares, dropping Alamos' security holding percentage. Consequently, immediately prior to the closing of the Private Placement, Alamos' security holding was 16.16%, on a partially diluted basis, an overall decrease of 1.84% in its security holdings because of Aztec's issuer event. Following the closing of the Private Placement, Alamos holds 8,326,089 common shares and 7,926,089 warrants to purchase common shares of the Company, for a security holding percentage of 15.86% on a partially diluted basis, a further decrease of 0.30% in its security holding resulting in an overall decrease of more than 2% since its last Early Warning Report. Alamos acquired the common shares for investment purposes, which will be evaluated and may be increased or decreased from time to time at Alamos' discretion. A copy of Alamos' Early Warning Report will be available on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com or can be requested by contacting Scott K. Parsons, Senior Vice President, Investor Relations, at SParsons@alamosgold.com, 416-368-9932 (ext. 5439) or by mail at Brookfield Place, 181 Bay Street, Suite 3910, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2T3. Story continues Two insiders of the Company subscribed for an aggregate 440,000 Shares under the Private Placement, which constitutes a "related party transaction" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company has relied on the exemption from the formal valuation requirement in Section 5.5(b) of MI 61-101, as the Company's common shares are not listed or quoted on any of the markets enumerated therein. The Company has also relied on the exemption from minority shareholder requirement in Section 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as the fair market value of the subscriptions for Shares by the insiders of the Company do not exceed, in aggregate, 25% of the Company's market capitalization. Aztec intends to use the proceeds of the Private Placement to conduct exploration work on its Cervantes porphyry gold-copper project in Sonora, Mexico, and its Tombstone epithermal gold-silver & CRD silver-lead-zinc-copper-gold project in Arizona, USA, as well as for general working capital purposes. The Private Placement is subject to the final acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Shares issued pursuant to the Private Placement are subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day from the closing of the Private Placement. About Aztec Minerals - Aztec is a mineral exploration company focused on two emerging discoveries in North America. The Cervantes project is an emerging porphyry gold-copper discovery in Sonora, Mexico. The Tombstone project is an emerging gold-silver discovery with high grade CRD silver-lead-zinc potential in southern Arizona. Aztec's shares trade on the TSX-V stock exchange (symbol AZT) and on the OTCQB (symbol AZZTF). Contact Information - For more information, please contact: Simon Dyakowski, President & CEO, Director Tel: (604) 619-7469 Fax: (604) 685-9744 Email: simon@aztecminerals.com Website: www.aztecminerals.com This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements under Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "expects" or "it is expected", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from results contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Accordingly, the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. SOURCE: Aztec Minerals Corp. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/740437/Aztec-Minerals-Closes-11-Million-Private-Placement-Financing Future Market Insights Global and Consulting Pvt. Ltd. The rising demand for flexible and sustainable packaging solutions will continue driving sales, especially in food and beverages sector. In order to cater to the rising demand, companies are focusing on various innovations. NEWARK, Del, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As per Future Market Insights latest industry analysis, Sales of bag-in-box market packaging are expected to witness a growth of 1.7 times between 2023 and 2033. Need to keep alcoholic beverages free from contamination can be attributed to growth. This type of packaging will be used by alcoholic beverage manufacturing companies. In 2023, it is anticipated that the global bag-in-box market will be worth US$ 3.5 billion . It is expected to generate a US$ 6.1 billion by 2033. From 2023 to 2033, the global market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 5.7% . Request Sample Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-13064 In recent years, bag-in-box packaging for alcoholic beverages is gaining traction. It offers high convenience and cost-effectiveness. Shelf life, easy dispensing, storage, and handling are key factors attracting consumers. Manufacturers are also using bag-in-box in alcoholic beverage packaging. Manufacturers are experimenting with new packaging formats. They are using bag-in-box for beer and cocktails to differentiate their product offerings. Use of bag-in-box by restaurants and bars is increasing in North America and Europe. Sales of bag-in-box globally are estimated to record a significant rise. Increased popularity across developing and underdeveloped economies would drive demand. India and China are expected to witness high growth. Presence of numerous beverage manufacturers would also push sales. Key Takeaways from Bag-in-Box Market By capacity, the less than 5 liters segment is anticipated to register a 7.0% CAGR between 2023 to 2033. By end user, the beverage industry is set to hold around 66 % of bag-in-box market share by 2033. By material, the low-density polyethylene sub-segment will capture around 1/3rd of the global market in 2033. Story continues Sales of bag-in-box are estimated to register a whopping 5.7 % CAGR over the forecast period. The USA bag-in-box market is set to surge 1.6 times between 2023 and 2033. Increasing consumption of alcoholic beverages would drive bag-in-box sales. Demand for sustainable packaging for wine would also augment sales, says a lead analyst at Future Market Insights. Ask an Analyst @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-13064 Bag-in-Box Manufacturers to Open New Production Facilities across the Globe High per capita food expenditure is propelling demand in the market. Sales of hygienic and lightweight food packaging solutions would surge. Bag-in-box manufacturers are focusing on commissioning new production facilities. They want to cater to rising demand across various industries. Renowned bag-in-box manufacturers are focusing on expanding their international presence. They are setting up operational facilities or distribution centers over high-growth offering markets. Rising production of bag-in-box to meet innovative packaging needs would aid demand. Chemical and petroleum industries are also adopting innovative bag-in-box packaging. Rising Demand for Bag-in-Box Containers from the Wine Industry to Boost Sales Wine producers are inclining towards the use of bag-in-box containers for wine packaging. They offer various advantages over glass bottles. They are easy to pack & distribute and are cost-efficient. Oxygen transmission rate (OTR) is a prime factor in determining the quality of wine. Bag-in-box offers a low oxygen transmission rate over glass bottles. Hence, it is preferred by wine producers across the globe. Wine manufacturing industry holds around half of the global bag-in-box container demand. Industry sentiments for wine are expected to be rather optimistic. Growth of the wine industry would translate into rising demand for bag-in-box containers. In Italy, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom, bag-in-box wine packaging is very popular. Emerging countries are expected to follow their footprints. Request Customization @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/customization-available/rep-gb-13064 Competitive Landscape: Bag-in-box Market Main suppliers of bag-in-boxes are concentrating on offering novel packaging formats. To draw customers, they use raw resources that are sustainable. Other businesses are forming strategic alliances with important sectors. They are trying to keep one step ahead of their rivals. A Few Key Companies in Global Bag-in-box Market Smurfit Kappa Group Liqui-Box Corporation (DS Smith Plc.) Amcor plc Scholle IPN CDF Corporation TPS Rental Systems Ltd Optopack Ltd. Aran Group TriMas Company (Rapak) Montibox STI - Gustav Stabernack GmbH Get More Insights into Bag-in-box Market Report Future Market Insights, in its new report, offers an unbiased analysis of the bag-in-box market, analysing historical demand from 2016 to 2022 and forecast statistics for 2023 to 2033. The study reveals growth projections on the bag-in-box market based on capacity (less than 5 liters, 5 to 10 liters, 10 to 15 liters, 15 to 20 liters, more than 20 liters), material (paper & paperboard, plastic), and end use (food, beverages, chemical, petroleum, homecare, cosmetics & personal care) across seven regions. Key Market Segments Covered in Bag-in-Box Industry Research By Capacity: Less than 5 liters 5 to 10 liters 10 to 15 liters 15 to 20 liters More than 20 liters By Material: Paper and Paperboard Plastic Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Ethylene Vinyl Acetate Metallized-PET Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol (EVOH) Nylon By End Use: Food Dairy Products Sauces, Vinegar & Flavoring Liquid Egg Products Beverages Alcoholic Beverages Non Alcoholic Beverages Water Chemicals Petroleum Homecare Cosmetic & Personal Care Table of Content 1. Executive Summary | Bag-in-Box Market 1.1. Global Market Overview 1.2. Analysis and Recommendations 2. Market Overview 2.1. Market Definition 2.2. Market Coverage 3. Key Market Trends 3.1. Key Trends Impacting the Market 3.2. Product Innovation / Development Trends Read Full Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/bag-in-box-market Explore FMIs Extensive Coverage on Packaging Domain: Bag-in-Box Filler Market Size: The global bag-in-box filler market size was around US$ 146.7 million in 2021 and is projected to reach a valuation of US$ 154.6 million by 2022, growing at a yearly (Y-o-Y) growth rate of about 5%. Wine Packaging Market Demand: Throughout the forecast period, the global wine packaging market is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 5.4%. (2022-2032). By 2032, the market value is expected to have grown from US$ 3.4 billion in 2022 to US$ 5.7 billion. Beverage Packaging Market Growth: With a 4.1% CAGR, the market for beverage packaging is projected to reach US$ 156.7 billion in 2032. In 2022, the market is anticipated to be worth US$ 104.8 billion. Bag in Box Barrier Film Market share: The global bag-in-box barrier market is expected to secure US$ 317.3 Million in 2022, surging to US$ 521.8 Million by 2032. During 2022-2032, the market is likely to display a CAGR of 5.1%, against 4.3% in 2016-21. Wicketed Bagging Machines Market Opportunities: Throughout the assessment period of 20222032, it is predicted that demand would increase at a CAGR of roughly 4%5% in the market for wicketed bagging machines. About Future Market Insights, Inc: Future Market Insights, Inc. is an ESOMAR-certified business consulting & market research firm, a member of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce and is headquartered in Delaware, USA. A recipient of Clutch Leaders Award 2022 on account of high client score (4.9/5), we have been collaborating with global enterprises in their business transformation journey and helping them deliver on their business ambitions. 80% of the largest Forbes 1000 enterprises are our clients. We serve global clients across all leading & niche market segments across all major industries. Contact Us: Future Market Insights Inc. Christiana Corporate, 200 Continental Drive, Suite 401, Newark, Delaware - 19713, USA T: +1-845-579-5705 LinkedIn | Twitter | Blogs | YouTube For Sales Enquiries: sales@futuremarketinsights.com Source: Bag-in-Box Market projected to reach US$ 6.6 Bn by 2031 Contrive Datum Insights Pvt Ltd According to a market research study published by Contrive Datum Insights, In 2021, the Asia-Pacific market had the biggest share, worth USD 0.90 billion. Farmington, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global Bubble Tea Market Size Was Valued At USD 2.17 Billion In 2021. The Market Is Projected To Grow From USD 2.29 Billion In 2022 To USD 3.78 Billion By 2030, Exhibiting A CAGR Of 7.40% During The Forecast Period. The COVID-19 pandemic has been shocking and has never happened before. As a result, the demand for bubble tea is lower than expected in all areas compared to before the pandemic. Our research shows that the world market will grow 2.76 percent less in 2020 than it did in 2019. Bubble Tea kept getting more and more popular in the area where it began. It then spread to other western countries like Canada and the U.K., where it is now a mainstay because of its unique recipe. This popular sweet tea is made with high-quality milk, tapioca pearls, fruit powder, creamer, and sweeteners. Bubble milk tea has become a worldwide cultural icon. It shows how Taiwan is trying to improve its reputation in the food service business by coming up with new food ideas. Nextrends Asia 2021 showed, among other things, that from 2018 to 2021, Taiwan's exports of the raw materials, packaging, and machinery used to make pearl milk tea went up by 330%. Also, the growth of gastronomic tourism, the rise of health-conscious people, and the impact of social media have all helped the country's potential to grow. Request Sample Copy of Report Bubble Tea Market Size, Share & Trends Estimation Report By Type (Black Tea, Green Tea, Oolong Tea, and White Tea), By Flavor (Original, Fruit, Chocolate, Coffee, and Others), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 - 2030 , published by Contrive Datum Insights. Recent Developments: April 2022 : BUBLUV, a New York-based startup, introduced better boba alternatives nationwide. The drink is essentially keto-friendly and gluten-free and comes in three flavors: Black Milk Tea with Tapioca Pearls, Matcha Soy Latte with Tapioca Pearls, and Passionfruit Oolong Guava with Tapioca Pearls. May 2022: Barroco by Cafe De Bangkok offers boba tea in approximately 21 flavors, including cotton candy and Japanese sweet potato, to meet consumer demand. The cafe also serves exciting Thai bubble tea served with cream cheese. Story continues Segment Overview Type Insights: More people are buying black tea because it is good for them. This is good for the market. During the period covered by the forecast, the segment of black tea is expected to grow at a high CAGR. This is because people in every part of the world who care about their health like black tea more and more. People are told to drink black tea because it has powerful anti-aging, anti-diabetes, and antioxidant properties. More and more people are buying natural and organic food and drinks. One of the most important things that will help this market segment grow is this. The segment for black tea is expected to have the biggest share of the market, followed by the segment for green tea. NCBI says that eating healthy, natural ingredients like green tea on a regular basis can help prevent weight gain and cause weight loss. Green tea has been shown to help people keep their weight in check and give them more energy over time. Flavour Insights: Fruit Flavour Segment is Dominating It has a lot of support from customers. The market is split up into coffee, fruit, chocolate, original, and other flavours. The most popular flavour is fruit, and this part of the market dominated in 2019. It comes in flavours like lychee, mango, passion fruit, peach, plum, strawberry, avocado, banana, grape, kiwi, lemon, and more. This segment is expected to grow a lot over the next few years because it has a higher nutritional value than other flavours, consumers prefer it, and tea-based fruity drinks are very popular. People of all ages want more drinks with chocolate in them, so the chocolate segment is expected to grow the most in the coming years. Milk tea that tastes like chocolate is very popular. Mixing chocolate powder with milk makes it taste better. Aside from this, coffee flavour is also expected to have a large market share over the next few years because coffee is becoming more popular as a healthy drink. Regional Outlook: In 2021, the Asia-Pacific market was worth USD 0.90 billion and had the largest share. Countries like Vietnam and Taiwan are likely to sell the most. Manufacturers or business owners in the boba tea industry are opening their own restaurants or cafes to attract customers and strengthen their presence on the market. In September 2020, Chen Shucheng opened a bubble milk tea franchise called Meme Xpress in Singapore. North America has the second-largest share of the bubble tea market, after Asia and the Pacific. This is likely to stay the same during the forecast period. Tea-based drinks are becoming more popular, so people in North America are slowly drinking more of this tea. Also, there are more boba stores in the U.S. and Canada now that people are more interested in drinks with no or little alcohol. Because of this, the market has grown even more. The market for pearl milk tea grew in both Asia and Europe around the same time. In 2009, boba drink factories for brands like CHATIME and Bubbolitas opened for the first time. Since then, the market has continued to go up. For example, the first Italian bubble tea chain, Frankly, grew by about 148% in June 2022 compared to June 2021 thanks to a crowdfunding campaign. Because the campaign made so much money, it will go on for longer. Because of this, the company wants to add more products and build up its brand. These kinds of projects make the huge growth potential of the companies even bigger. Buy this Premium Research Report@ https://www.contrivedatuminsights.com/buy/248561 Scope of Report: Report Attributes Details Growth Rate CAGR of 7.40% from 2023 to 2030. Revenue Forecast by 2030 3.78 Billion By Type Black Tea, Green Tea, Oolong Tea, White Tea, Other By Flavour Fruit, Original, Chocolate, Coffee, Others By Companies Chatime Group (China), Gong Cha (Taiwan), Coco Fresh Tea & Juice (Taiwan), Quickly (U.S.), Xing Fu Tang (Taiwan), Lollicup USA, Inc. (U.S.), TIGER SUGAR (China), Yummy Town (Cayman) Holdings Corporation (Happy Lemon) (Taiwan), O.I. The Co, LTD. (Taiwan) Regions and Countries Covered North America: (US, Canada, Mexico, Rest of North America) Europe(Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Nordic Countries, Benelux Union, Rest of Europe) Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, India, Australia, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Rest of Asia-Pacific) The Middle East & Africa(Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa, Rest of the Middle East & Africa) Latin America(Brazil, Argentina, Rest of Latin America) Rest Of the World Base Year 2022 Historical Year 2017 to 2022 Forecast Year 2023 to 2030 Latest Trends: People are becoming more interested in teas with strong, new flavours. This is a big trend. People from all over the world talk about Bubble Tea because it is becoming more popular and is different from other drinks. Consumers are becoming more interested in new drinks with bold flavours and are willing to try out different flavours. This keeps their attention and helps the market grow. Bubble milk tea has become a symbol of Gen Z because more young people than any other age group drink it. For example, a study by the "Business Times Newspaper" found that Southeast Asia spent about USD 3.7 billion in August 2021 to meet the growing demand from young people for "milk tea" and other similar new drinks. Also, a study by the finance startup Momentum Works and the payment startup Qlub found that Indonesia had the best bubble milk tea market in all of Southeast Asia. Aside from this, the fact that bubble tea is low in fat and calories and has many health benefits, such as a high antioxidant value, makes it more popular on both the domestic and international markets. Driving Factors: For growth, it's important to have a wide range of products that appeal to younger people. More and more people choose products based on how they taste, how much they cost, what brand they are, and how easy they are to get to. Because of all of these things, it's important for companies to make high-quality teas that meet the needs of customers. Bubble milk tea is becoming more and more popular because it tastes good, is cheap, and the basic tea recipe is changed all the time. Bubble milk tea has a big market potential because it comes in many different types and flavours, such as fruit-flavored, green jasmine, and black tea-based milk teas. For example, in April 2022, a U.S. company called Bubluv Inc. started selling bubble tea made with tapioca starch and konjac in three flavours: black milk tea with tapioca pearls, matcha soy latte with tapioca pearls, and oolong guava with tapioca pearls. Also, the companies are aware that lactose intolerance is becoming more common and are working to make lactose-free bubble milk tea for people who need it. For example, in April 2020, Chatime, a company that makes bubble tea, started selling teas made with oat milk for people who can't have lactose. These teas include Chatime Pearl Milk Tea and Grass Jelly Roasted Milk Tea. There are different kinds of milk tea, so people can choose which one they want. These new product lines are also a way to attract a lot of customers from all over the world through marketing. Also, the growth has been helped by the fact that millennial are now more interested in these kinds of products because they want high-quality teas with unique flavours. The fact that people are looking for healthier options will help growth. People who have a lot going on in their lives are more likely to have health problems like diabetes and obesity. Because of this, they have started drinking healthier drinks like ginger tea and boba teas, which are easy to change. Milk tea is becoming more popular because it is easy to make your own with different tea bases and toppings like jelly, fruit bits, syrups, and tapioca balls. Studies have shown that green tea milk tea can help lower blood pressure and the chance of getting cancer. Bubble milk tea also helps keep the right balance of vitamins and minerals in the body because it has yoghurt, cream, fruit bits, and other things in it. The National Library of Medicine published a study in 2022 that says chewing tapioca pearls can raise the levels of C-protein (CRP) and calcium (Ca) in the saliva. Milk tea is also becoming more popular in the Middle East and Africa, just like it is in the U.S. and Asia. In September 2021, for example, a lot of new bubble tea shops opened in Dubai. By opening more boba milk tea shops, companies like Koi The Co, Moge Tee, and M.A.D. Modern Asian Desserts grew their business in the country. Restraining Factors: Growth will be slowed by the fact that there are other drinks with caffeine. Even though there is a growing demand for these new types of tea drinks, the growth of the market is threatened by the wide availability of other caffeinated and traditional drinks, like coffee and chocolate, and by the fact that Western countries drink a lot of coffee. Coffee and tea are the most popular and well-liked nootropic drinks all over the world. A lot of people need these drinks with caffeine to get going in the morning. The growth of the global market is also slowed by the fact that there are good alternatives that offer similar benefits, such as unsweetened tea, coconut water, teas with fruit added, and others. Also, they depend a lot on Asian countries like Taiwan to get raw materials like tapioca balls, which slows down production and changes how they run their business as a whole. All of these issues make it harder for the global market to grow. Key Segments Covered: Top Market Players: Chatime Group (China), Gong Cha (Taiwan), Coco Fresh Tea & Juice (Taiwan), Quickly (U.S.), Xing Fu Tang (Taiwan), Lollicup USA, Inc. (U.S.), TIGER SUGAR (China), Yummy Town (Cayman) Holdings Corporation (Happy Lemon) (Taiwan), O.I. The Co, LTD. (Taiwan), and others. By Type Black Tea Green Tea Oolong Tea White Tea Others By Flavour Fruit Original Chocolate Coffee Others Regions and Countries Covered North America: (US, Canada, Mexico, Rest of North America) Europe: (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Nordic Countries, Benelux Union, Rest of Europe) Asia-Pacific: (Japan, China, India, Australia, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Rest of Asia-Pacific) The Middle East & Africa: (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa, Rest of the Middle East & Africa) Latin America: (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of Latin America) Rest Of the World Check out more related studies published by Contrive Datum Insights: Bubble Tea Market - The Global Bubble Tea Market Size Was Valued At USD 2.17 Billion In 2021. The Market Is Projected To Grow From USD 2.29 Billion In 2022 To USD 3.78 Billion By 2030, Exhibiting A CAGR Of 7.40% During The Forecast Period. Enzymes in Beverage Market - The global enzymes in beverage market size was valued at USD 11.47 billion in 2021 and is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5% from 2022 to 2030. Olive Oil Market - The Global Olive Oil Market Size Was Valued At USD 13.77 Billion In 2021. The Market Is Projected To Grow From USD 14.19 Billion In 2022 To USD 17.79 Billion By 2030, Exhibiting A CAGR Of 3.28% During The Forecast Period. Customization of the Report: The report can be customized as per client needs or requirements.For any queries, you can contact us on anna@contrivedatuminsights.com or +1 215-297-4078. Our sales executives will be happy to understand your needs and provide you with the most suitable reports. About Us: Contrive Datum Insights (CDI) is a global delivery partner of market intelligence and consulting services to officials at various sectors such as investment, information technology, telecommunication, consumer technology, and manufacturing markets. CDI assists investment communities, business executives, and IT professionals to undertake statistics-based accurate decisions on technology purchases and advance strong growth tactics to sustain market competitiveness. Comprising of a team size of more than 100 analysts and cumulative market experience of more than 200 years, Contrive Datum Insights guarantees the delivery of industry knowledge combined with global and country-level expertise. Social: Facebook / LinkedIn / Twitter Contact Us: Anna B. | Head Of Sales Contrive Datum Insights Phone: +91 9834816757 | +1 2152974078 Email: anna@contrivedatuminsights.com Website: https://www.contrivedatuminsights.com Contrive Datum Insights Press Releases Latest Contrive Datum Insights Latest Reports NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 22, 2023 /CNW/ - CareSpan Health, Inc. (TSX-V: CSPN) ("Company" or "CareSpan"), announces that, further to its news release dated January 13, 2023, it has issued an aggregate of 1,311,288 common shares in the capital of the Company (the "Common Shares"), at a deemed price of CAD$0.12 per Common Share, pursuant to salary deferral agreements entered into with certain employees and Rembert de Villa, the Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the Company, with respect to salary payments deferred by these individuals during the 2022 calendar year (the "Deferred Salary"). The Company issued the Common Shares in full satisfaction of the Deferred Salary. Rembert de Villa is a "Non-Arm's Length Party" (as such term is defined under the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV")) of the Company and the issuance of the Common Shares to Mr. de Villa constitutes a related party transaction as defined under MI 61-101. Such transaction is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 as neither the fair market value of the Common Shares issued to the interested party, nor the Deferred Salary owed to such interested party, exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization. All Common Shares issued pursuant to the settlement of the Deferred Salaries are subject to a hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance of the Common Shares in accordance with applicable securities legislation and the polices of the TSXV. Shares for Services As previously disclosed by the Company, the Company entered into an arm's length consulting agreement dated June 1, 2022 (the "Consulting Agreement"), pursuant to which a consultant shall provide certain work in the IT and operations area of the Company as directed by the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. As part of the consideration payable by the Company under the Consulting Agreement, the Company has agreed to issue that number of Common Shares equal to USD$2,500 per month, to be issued on a quarterly or semi-annual basis and pursuant to the policies of the TSXV. Story continues For services rendered under the Consulting Agreement between the period of October 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022, the Company issued 84,877 Common Shares at a deemed price of CAD$0.12 per Common Share. All Common Shares issued pursuant to the Consulting Agreement are subject to a hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance of the Common Shares in accordance with applicable securities legislation and the polices of the TSXV. Warrant Repricing Further to its news release dated February 10, 2023, the Company intends to reduce the exercise price of 2,491,131 common share purchase warrants (the "Warrants") issued on September 14, 2022 pursuant to the closing of a non-brokered private placement of units of the Company (for further details on such private placement see the Company's news release dated on September 14, 2022). CareSpan will lower the exercise price of the Warrants from $0.40 to $0.17 per Warrant Share (the "Warrant Repricing"), in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") and subject to approval from the TSXV. No Warrants have been exercised to date. Certain individuals who are each considered a "related party" (as such term is defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101, Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101")) hold the class of Warrants which were subject to the Warrant Repricing: Related Party Warrants Held Rembert de Villa (Chief Executive Officer) 260,700 William Bradford White 1,200,000 ICME International AG* 263,157 * ICME International AG is a healthcare consulting organization based in Germany and Switzerland, which Holger Micheel-Sprenger (a director of the Company) is CEO and has an ownership stake in. The Warrant Repricing constitutes a related party transaction as defined under MI 61-101. Such transaction is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 as neither the fair market value of the Warrants held by the interested party, nor the consideration for the Warrants paid by such interested party, exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization. Pursuant to the policies of the TSXV, because Rembert de Villa and Holger Micheel-Sprenger beneficially own, in the aggregate, more than 10% of the Warrants subject to the Warrant Repricing, the aggregate number of their Warrants repriced was limited to 10% of the total number of repriced Warrants. About CareSpan Health CareSpan is a healthcare technology and services company that has developed and deployed a unique, proprietary integrated digital care platform, the CareSpan Clinic-in-the Cloud, that creates easy access to care for the underserved. With a patient-centric approach focused on improving health outcomes, CareSpan uses sophisticated digital tools and capabilities to improve patient outcomes in primary care, chronic care, urgent care, and mental health. In addition to the integrated digital care platform, CareSpan has built and deployed a business support infrastructure for its professional networks, American-Advanced Practice Network and AmericanMedPsych Network. American-Advanced Practice Network harnesses the clinical capabilities of Nurse Practitioners to address the shortage in primary and chronic care in the country. American-MedPsych brings together providers to tackle shortages mainly in mental health. Clinic-in-the-Cloud is a trademark of CareSpan USA Inc., a subsidiary of CareSpan Health, Inc. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: "Rembert de Villa" Rembert de Villa Chief Executive Officer For more information, visit: www.carespanhealth.com NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES WIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES. THIS NEWS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY ANY OF THE SECURITIES IN THE UNITED STATES. THE SECURITIES HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE "U.S. SECURITIES ACT") OR ANY STATE SECURITIES LAWS AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OR TO U.S. PERSONS UNLESS REGISTERED UNDER THE U.S. SECURITIES ACT AND APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS OR AN EXEMPTION FROM SUCH REGISTRATION IS AVAILABLE. THIS NEWS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OR SALE OF SECURITIES IN THE UNITED STATES. The TSX-V and its Regulation Services Provider have not approved the contents of, nor taken responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of, this press release. SOURCE CareSpan Health, Inc. Cision View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2023/22/c4200.html DUBLIN, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "China Data Center Market, By Solution (IT Infrastructure, General Infrastructure, Electrical Infrastructure, Mechanical Infrastructure and Others), By Type (Corporate and Web Hosting), By End User Industry, By Region, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2027" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Research_and_Markets_Logo The China data center market is anticipated to witness a growth of double-digit CAGR in the forecast period, 2023-2027 Expansion of the IT industry, use of advanced technologies by enterprises to remain competitive in the market, and the rapid construction of data centers are the primary factors driving the growth of the China data center market in the forecast period. Advancement Of IT Infrastructure in Enterprise Drives the Market Growth The rise in efforts to construct data centers at a large scale to meet the accelerating demand from enterprises to scale up their data centers operations is influencing the market demand. The application of novel technologies such as the internet of things, artificial intelligence, machine learning, along with the deployment of 5G technology, fuel the demand for reliable data services to meet the enterprises' high computational power needs. The development of the telecommunication industry and rapid growth of internet users in the country is expected to boost the demand for China data center market. China boasts of one of the largest numbers of supercomputers around the world and witnesses a high demand for fast computational speed for commercial applications. The surge in the efforts made by the leading authorities to make China one of the prominent powerhouses in the world is fueling the construction of data centers in the country. Leading authorities are encouraging the adoption of internet technology in the private and public business sectors, promoting the country's digital transformation. The proliferation and adoption of online payment gateways, mobile wallets, net banking by the consumers, and the rise in the number of IT players operating in the province are expected to fuel the China data center market growth. Proliferation Of E-Commerce Sector Fuels Market Growth An increase in the number of market players availing the online sales channel as a medium to sell the products and expand the consumer base to boost the reach of their products at global levels is expected to influence the market demand. Story continues Market players are investing in providing a personalized shopping experience to customers by buying various data analytics tools and software to enhance the services offered to the customers. They store vast amounts of data for processing and generate needful insights to make marketing strategies stay ahead. Customers enter their personal information along with contact and delivery details to facilitate easy delivery of products which is expected to propel the need for data centers to store and manage the data efficiently. Competitive Landscape Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in China data center market. 21Vianet Group GDS Holdings Limited Alibaba Group Holding Limited China Mobile Limited Beijing Sinnet Technology Co. Ltd China Telecommunications Corporation Shanghai AtHub Co. Ltd. Wangsu Science & Technology Co. Ltd. China United Network Communications Group Co. Ltd. Report Scope: China Data Center Market, By Solution: IT Infrastructure General Infrastructure Electrical Infrastructure Mechanical Infrastructure Others China Data Center Market, By Type: Corporate Web Hosting China Data Center Market, By End User Industry: IT & Telecom Government BFSI Healthcare Others China Data Center Market, By Region: East China North China North East China South Central China North West China South West China For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/d9mxw1-data-center?w=5 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/539438/Research_and_Markets_Logo.jpg Cision View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/china-data-center-markets-competition-forecast--opportunities-2022-2027---increased-efforts-to-construct-data-centers-at-a-large-scale-to-meet-the-accelerating-demand-bodes-well-for-the-sector-301754319.html SOURCE Research and Markets VANCOUVER, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- City Office REIT, Inc. (NYSE: CIO) ("City Office" or the "Company") today announced the appointment of a new member to the Company's Board of Directors (the "Board") and changes to Board roles. City Office REIT Logo (PRNewsfoto/City Office REIT, Inc.) Michael Mazan, a finance and investment industry veteran, has been appointed to the Board, effective today. Mr. Mazan joins the Board with over 30 years of experience in investing, management consulting and investment banking. Currently, Mr. Mazan serves as a founding partner of KingsPeak Partners, a boutique private equity investment firm. Prior to that, from 1999 to 2018, Mr. Mazan was a partner at Birch Hill Equity Partners, a leading private equity firm, where he was responsible for all parts of the investment lifecycle, with a focus on portfolio company building and governance. From 1992 to 1999, Mr. Mazan held various finance and consulting roles at prominent firms, including Credit Suisse First Boston and McKinsey and Company. Mr. Mazan also has extensive experience serving as a director for various private and publicly listed companies, having served on 12 boards during his career. Mr. Mazan will join the Board's Audit Committee as its Chairman. Further, as part of the Company's long term succession planning, the Board has approved the appointment of John Sweet as Chairman of the Board, effective today. Mr. Sweet has served as an Independent Director of the Company since 2017 and is currently the Chairman of the Investment Committee. Mr. Sweet's contributions to the Company to date and his exceptional real estate industry knowledge base, along with prior experience leading a public company board, make Mr. Sweet an excellent fit as Chairman of the Board. Mr. Sweet assumed the role from John McLernon who is continuing to serve as an Independent Director of the Company. In addition, William Flatt, effective today, will step down from the Board after nearly ten years of service to the Board. Since the Company's initial public offering in 2014, Mr. Flatt has been a valuable contributor to the Company's growth and strategic execution, and the Board thanks him for his outstanding service. Story continues John Sweet commented, "I am honored to serve as the new Chairman of the Board, and as a first order of business I would like to express the Company's excitement at the appointment of Michael Mazan to the Board and the Company's gratitude to John McLernon for his tenure as Chairman and his continued service as an Independent Director. John has led the Board with sage strategic insight and guidance since the Company's inception and we look forward to his continued contributions. We also highly anticipate the future contributions from Michael, who is thoroughly respected by his industry peers and brings a successful governance and investing track record. Finally, I'd like to express the Company's sincere gratitude to Will for his years of dedication, insight and positive contributions." With the addition of Mr. Mazan as an Independent Director and the departure of Mr. Flatt, the Company's Board will consist of six Directors, five of whom the Board of Directors has determined meet the independence standards of the NYSE Listed Company Manual and the Company's corporate governance guidelines. About City Office REIT, Inc. City Office REIT is an internally-managed real estate company focused on acquiring, owning and operating high-quality office properties located predominantly in Sun Belt markets. City Office currently owns or has a controlling interest in 6.0 million square feet of office properties. The Company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Forward-looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on management's current expectations, assumptions and beliefs. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by words such as "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "may" and similar expressions, and variations or negatives of these words. They are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among other things, changes to CIO's expected liquidity position and the risk factors set forth in CIO's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The statements made herein speak only as of the date of this press release, and, except as required by law, CIO does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. Contact City Office REIT, Inc. Anthony Maretic, CFO +1-604-806-3366 investorrelations@cityofficereit.com Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/city-office-reit-announces-new-board-member-and-board-role-changes-301753836.html SOURCE City Office REIT, Inc. Dubai Chamber of Commerce, operating under Dubai Chambers, has launched six business groups within the F&B industry for Horeca traders, meat and poultry, bakeries, organic food, groceries as well as hypermarkets and supermarkets sectors. We are on track to reach our goal of setting up 100 business groups by March 2023. These six new business groups will help boost the dynamism of Dubais F&B industry where UAE consumer foodservice outlets sales are expected to reach AED86.4 billion by 2027," said Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, President & CEO of Dubai Chambers. Business groups are imperative in ensuring representation of all the business and economic sectors in Dubai. They help facilitate mutual dialogue between stakeholders and government entities and are key to addressing policy matters and enhancing the competitiveness of their respective sectors, he added. According to Euromonitor, UAE consumer foodservice sales value reached AED58.4 billion ($15.8 billion) in 2022. This figure was driven by the rapid response and recovery from the pandemic as well as strong economic growth. Fresh food sales are anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 4.9 per cent between 2022 and 2027, while packaged food will see a predicted growth of about 3.9 per cent between the same period. Food manufacturers across the Middle East are predicted to grow profits by a CAGR of 3.6 per cent up to 2026. Positive outlook According to Euromonitor International, retail sales of traditional groceries are set to rise at a current value CAGR of 3% over the forecast period (2021-2026) to reach AED11.4 billion. Retail sales of supermarkets in the UAE are set to rise at a current value CAGR of 4% over the forecast period (2021-2026) to reach AED19.7 billion. Foodservice value sales of full-service restaurants in the UAE rose by 24% in current terms in 2022 to reach AED32.5 billion. The retail value sales of organic packaged food grew by 6% in current terms in 2021 to AED120 million. Dubais total trade of meat and edible meat offal reached AED32.4 billion during the period 2015-2021, whereas Dubais total trade of bread, pastry, cakes and biscuits reached AED11.3 billion during the same period. The food industry in Dubai and the wider UAE is set for a positive future. As integral parts of the industry, the business groups will focus on promoting the development of food companies, raising the profile of Dubais F&B industry in the international business community. By providing a forum that facilitates mutual dialogue between the sectors stakeholders and government entities, the business groups will tackle industry-level challenges and address policy matters related to the industry, amongst others. TradeArabia News Service VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Core Assets Corp., ("Core Assets" or the "Company") (CSE:CC)(FSE:5RJ)(OTCQB:CCOOF) is pleased to announce surficial assay results from rock samples collected at the Kim Target ("Kim") - a historic high-grade Fe-Cu-Ag skarn occurrence located 22 KM north-northwest of the Silver Lime Porphyry-CRD Project ("Silver Lime"), north-central Blue Property ("Property"); Atlin Mining District of NW British Columbia. During the 2022 exploration program, regional prospecting and channel sampling extended skarn mineralization at the Kim Target by 425 meters following the southern edge of the inferred Kim Creek Fault - coincident with Kim Creek. Rock grab samples collected at the historic skarn showing typically contained minerals indicative of supergene enrichment including azurite, chalcocite, and chrysocolla (Figure 1) and returned assay values of up to 8.3% Cu, 240g/t Ag, 0.16% Mo, 0.39g/t Au, and 0.21% Zn. Rock samples collected along trend to the southeast yielded higher Zn grades of up to 11.8% Zn with 4.7% Cu, and 137g/t Ag, and local impressive molybdenum (Mo) and tungsten (W) values of 0.35% and 0.29% respectively (Figure 2). Following promising results at the Kim Target, Core Assets increased the size of the Blue Property Mineral Tenure by staking two contiguous claims totalling 2,326 ha that cover the north side of the Kim Creek Fault (Figure 2). Assay results from 2022 channel sampling collected over a 17m length at the historic Kim Skarn Showing are pending. Figure 1: Photograph of 2022 grab sample D935096 collected from the Kim Skarn Target. Sample consists of massive magnetite-chalcopyrite skarn containing local azurite. D935096 graded 2.16% Cu, 109g/t Ag, 0.39g/t Au, and 0.16% Mo. "We are continuing to grow our Project and its footprint, making it one of the largest contiguous and prospective land packages in British Columbia." said Core Assets' President & CEO, Nick Rodway. "We are eager to receive the 2022 channel sample assays from the high-grade Kim Target. Mineralization at Kim is hosted within the same sedimentary package as the high-grade skarn and carbonate replacement massive sulphide mineralization observed at the Silver Lime Porphyry-CRD Project, located over 20 KM to the south. Full 2022 diamond drilling results are near completion and we anticipate their release in the coming weeks." Story continues Figure 2: Schematic plan view map of the Kim Skarn Target at the Blue Property showing 2022 surficial sample locations, Cu (%) assay highlights, and additional claims staked north of Kim Creek in 2023 (orange claims highlighted on inset map). About the Kim Skarn Target The Kim Skarn Target was originally identified in 1965 by Falconbridge Nickel Mines Ltd. near the confluence of the Kim and Fault creeks. That same year, Falconbridge reported an average grade of 4.03% Cu, 0.82% Zn, 99.5g/t Ag, 0.62g/t Au from chip samples collected from a massive magnetite-chalcopyrite-rich skarn1. The original showing was delineated over an area of 37m2 along the contact between marble and a Cu-bearing felsic intrusion. 1McDougall, J.J. (1965). Preliminary Report on Atlin Area Prospects. Falconbridge File. ARIS report 650344. QA/QC and Sample Preparation Rock samples collected at the Kim Target in 2022 were bagged, tagged, and labelled prior to being shipped by ground to ALS Preparation Facility in Whitehorse, YT where they were finely crushed and sieved to <75 microns. Samples were then shipped to ALS Geochemistry in North Vancouver, BC where they were analysed for gold by fire assay with an AA finish, over limits for Ag, Pb, Cu, Zn, and additional elements were analysed using four acid digestion with an ICP-AES finish. National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure Nicholas Rodway, P.Geo, (Licence# 46541) (Permit to Practice# 100359) is President, CEO and Director of the Company, and qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Rodway supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release. About Core Assets Corp. Core Assets Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of mineral projects in British Columbia, Canada. The Company currently holds 100% ownership in the Blue Property, which covers a land area of 114,073.93 ha (~1,114 km). The Property lies within the Atlin Mining District, a well-known gold mining camp located in the unceded territory of the Taku River Tlingit First Nation and the Carcross/Tagish First Nation. The Blue Property hosts a major structural feature known as The Llewellyn Fault Zone ("LFZ"). This structure is approximately 140 km in length and runs from the Tally-Ho Shear Zone in the Yukon, south through the Blue Property to the Alaskan Panhandle Juneau Ice Sheet in the United States. Core Assets believes that the south Atlin Lake area and the LFZ has been neglected since the last major exploration campaigns in the 1980's. The LFZ plays an important role in mineralization of near surface metal occurrences across the Blue Property. The past 50 years have seen substantial advancements in the understanding of porphyry, skarn, and carbonate replacement type deposits both globally and in BC's Golden Triangle. The Company has leveraged this information at the Blue Property to tailor an already proven exploration model and believes this could facilitate a major discovery. Core Assets is excited to become one of Atlin Mining District's premier explorers where its team believes there are substantial opportunities for new discoveries and development in the area. On Behalf of the Board of Directors CORE ASSETS CORP. "Nicholas Rodway" President & CEO Tel: 604.681.1568 Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS Statements in this document which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions regarding the future. Forward looking statements in this news release include expectations regarding the pending core assays, including speculative inferences about potential copper, molybdenum, gold, silver, zinc, and lead grades based on preliminary visual observations from results of diamond drilling at the Silver Lime Project; that preliminary results of drilling have exceeded the Company's expectations; the Company's plans to further investigate the geometry and extent of the skarn and carbonate replacement type mineralization continuum at Silver Lime through additional field work and diamond drilling; the proposed diamond drilling program planned for Silver Lime in 2023; that drilling efforts will aim to confirm and extend certain targets and mineralization on the property; that the Company's exploration model could facilitate a major discovery at the Blue Property; that the Company anticipates it can become one of the Atlin Mining District's premier explorers and that there are substantial opportunities for new discoveries and development in this area. It is important to note that the Company's actual business outcomes and exploration results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include that expectations regarding pending core assays based on preliminary visual observations from diamond drilling results at Silver Lime may be found to be inaccurate; that results may indicate Silver Lime does not warrant further exploration efforts; that the Company may be unable to implement its plans to further explore Silver Lime and, in particular, that the proposed diamond drilling program planned for Silver Lime may not proceed as anticipated or at all; that drilling efforts may not confirm and extend any targets or mineralization on the Silver Lime; that the Company's exploration model may fail to facilitate any commercial discovery of minerals at the Blue Property; that the Company may not become one of Atlin Mining District's premier explorers or that the area may be found to lack opportunities for new discoveries and development, as anticipated; that further permits may not be granted in a timely manner, or at all; that the mineral claims may prove to be unworthy of further expenditure; there may not be an economic mineral resource; that certain exploration methods, including the Company's proposed exploration model for the Blue Property, may be ineffective or inadequate in the circumstances; that economic, competitive, governmental, geopolitical, environmental and technological factors may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and prices; our specific plans and timing drilling, field work and other plans may change; we may not have access to or be able to develop any minerals because of cost factors, type of terrain, or availability of equipment and technology; and we may also not raise sufficient funds to carry out or complete our plans. Additional risk factors are discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for its recently completed fiscal period, which is available under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com . Except as required by law, the Company will not update or revise these forward-looking statements after the date of this document or to revise them to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated events. SOURCE: Core Assets Corp. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/740440/Core-Assets-Samples-83-Cu-240gt-Ag-and-118-Zn-at-the-Kim-Target-and-Strengthens-Land-Position-at-the-Blue-Property-to-1114-Square-Kilometres (Bloomberg) -- Dole Plc said it was recently hit with ransomware, the latest company to be targeted in a series of high-profile cyberattacks. Most Read from Bloomberg The fresh food producer said Thursday it was working with cybersecurity experts to contain the impact of the hack, and was cooperating with a police investigation. The effect on operations was limited, the company said in a statement, without giving any further details. CNN, which earlier reported the incident, said production at several of of Doles food processing plants had been temporarily shut down, citing a memo from a company unit executive sent to distributors. A Dole spokesman declined to confirm CNNs report. Ransomware infects a businesss systems to encrypt company files, rendering them unusable. The files usually can only be recovered after paying a ransom in return for a decryption key, a process that can take months. British postal organization the Royal Mail, financial firm ION Trading UK and chipmaker MKS Instruments Inc. were recently attacked by ransomware. The hack of MKS Instruments caused one of its customers, chipmaker Applied Materials Inc., to lose $250 million in sales because of delays. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. TORONTO, Feb. 23, 2023 /CNW/ - Enriched Investing Incorporated ('Enriched Investing') today announced that the Canadian Conservative Growth Strategy ('CCGS') is marking its 5-year anniversary with continued strong performance. With above average growth, below average valuation, and lower volatility the CCGS significantly outperformed the S&P/TSX Total Return Index (S&P/TSX TRI) over the past 1-, 3-, and 5-year periods ended January 31,2023. CCGS Return S&P/TSX TRI Return CCGS Out- Performance 1 year 6.89 % 0.02 % 687 bps 3 years 10.37 % 6.81 % 356 bps 5 years 6.81 % 6.12 % 69 bps The CCGS, created by Bay Street veteran, Robert McWhirter, uses fundamental and technical factors. Up to fifteen Canadian dividend paying stocks are selected monthly. "I designed the CCGS as a conservative total return strategy targeting above average growth with lower volatility to help investors sleep well at night." "We are very pleased with the results," said Margaret Samuel, President, CEO and Portfolio Manager at Enriched Investing. "We maintain a consistent, disciplined approach, which is the foundation for the continued success of the CCGS," she added. Risk Analysis: S&P/TSX TRI Compared to S&P/TSX TRI CCGS Sharpe Ratio (4%) 0.33 34% better 0.44 Maximum Drawdown: 12 month -22.75% 30% better - 19.46 % Annualized Standard Deviation 15.66% 16% better 13.22 % Sortino Ratio 0.37 20% better 0.45 About Enriched Investing Founded in 1989, Enriched Investing Incorporated is a well-respected discretionary portfolio management firm in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. Owned and managed by industry veterans, their expertise centers around building low volatility investment portfolios designed to grow capital and provide a dependable, growing stream of income for pension, trust, endowment funds and high net worth individuals. Story continues www.enrichedinvesting.com This document is for information only and should not be construed as an offer, or a solicitation of an offer, to buy a security. Before making an investment, prospective investors should review each investment's offering documents which summarize the objectives, fees, expenses and associated risks. The Canadian Conservative Growth Strategy is not guaranteed, its values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated. This is addressed to residents of British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec only. SOURCE Enriched Investing Incorporated Cision View original content: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2023/23/c4704.html Company Logo European Precast Concrete Market European Precast Concrete Market Dublin, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Europe Precast Concrete Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Regional Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Europe precast concrete market is expected to grow from US$ 29,798.97 million in 2022 to US$ 44,978.37 million by 2028. It is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7.1% from 2022 to 2028. Need for Cost-Effective, Safe, and Eco-Friendly Products is driving the growth of Europe Precast Concrete Market Precast technology is often correlated with performance, protection, and durability, all of which are good advantages over traditional building methods. However, one of the essential advantages of precast is its potential to reduce construction costs and provide substantial savings before, during, and after the project. Moreover, unlike other materials used in conventional building components, precast components are usually made of locally available natural raw materials such as cement, stones, sand, and gravel, and they can be reused or recycled completely, which helps to reduce the environmental impact of raw materials over their life cycle. In addition to this, focus have been made to promote safe and digitized construction which could lessen the number of fatalities at the site. For instance, several reported incidents suggest the fatalities caused while lifting hollow-core slabs with clamps. Hence, the use of precast components in the construction work can has ensure the safety and protection at construction sites. Precast concrete is also a popular building material for office buildings. The building's walls can be fabricated while the on-site foundations are being built, thereby saving time, and ensuring early occupancy. Due to the speed and ease with which precast structures can be constructed, precast has become a popular building material for parking structures. Precast concrete allows for safe, cost-effective construction in all weather conditions. Story continues It also provides long clear spans and open spaces needed in parking structures. In addition, precast concrete saves time and money, and it has greater quality control than on-site concrete construction. Precast concrete construction has many benefits such as ecofriendly, earthquake resistance, energy- efficient, and others than cast-in-situ concrete structures, as well as steel, timber, and masonry structures. It allows for a faster and more reliable construction process. The rising focus toward cost-effective, safe, and environment-friendly products is expected to stimulate the growth of the Europe precast concrete market . Europe Precast Concrete Market Overview The Europe precast concrete market region includes Germany, France, Italy, the UK, Russia, and the Rest of Europe. The automotive industry contributes 6.8% to the GDP of the region. The automotive sector supports the growth of the economy by assisting the supply chain that results in the creation of a diversified array of business opportunities and services. The automotive sector of the EU is a crucial industry as it significantly contributes to the country's GDP as well as employs Mns of people in the region. High production of the automobile in Europe region depicts more demand for precast concrete processes and products. Precast concrete is primarily used in construction of multi-storey car parks. The constructions include putting together precast parking parts such as multi-story structural wall panels, interior and exterior columns, structural floors, girders, wall panels, stairs, and slabs. These parts can need to be lifted into place with the help of precast concrete lifting anchor systems. Market Dynamics Market Drivers Need for Cost-Effective, Safe, and Eco-Friendly Products Rise in Renovation and Remodeling Activities Across the Region Market Restraints Volatility in Raw Material Prices Market Opportunities Supportive Government Initiatives Future Trends Significant Investment in Innovation and Product Development Europe Precast Concrete Market Segmentation The Europe precast concrete market is segmented into structure system, end use, and country. Based on structure system, the Europe precast concrete market is segmented into beam and column system, floor and roof system, bearing wall system, facade system, and others segment. The beam and column system segment registered the largest market share in 2022. Based on end use, the Europe precast concrete market is segmented into residential, commercial, and others. The commercial segment registered the largest market share in 2022. Based on country, the Europe precast concrete market is segmented into Germany, France, Italy, the UK, Spain, Poland, Netherlands, and the Rest of Europe. The Rest of Europe dominated the market share in 2022. Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 98 Forecast Period 2022 - 2028 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2022 $29798.97 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2028 $44978.37 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 7.1% Regions Covered Europe A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes Betongindustri AB Boral CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V. Centrum Pile Ltd. Consolis Elementbau Osthessen GmbH & Co., ELO KG Forterra LafargeHolcim For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ivf6sr-precast?w=12 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Attachment CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 NEW DELHI, Feb. 23, 2023 /CNW/ -- FreshToHome , the world's largest fully integrated online consumer brand for preservative and antibiotic-residue free fresh fish and meat, has closed $104 million in Series D funding with Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund leading the round. Existing investors in FreshToHome including Iron Pillar, Investcorp, Investment Corporation of Dubai (the principal investment arm of the Government of Dubai), Ascent Capital and others have also participated in this round. New investors joining this round include E20 Investment Ltd, Mount Judi Ventures and Dallah Albaraka. JP Morgan was the placement agent to FreshToHome for the fundraise. Shan Kadavil, CEO & Co-founder, FreshToHome (PRNewsfoto/FreshToHome) The current funding will strengthen FreshToHome's mission to make 100% preservative and antibiotic-residue free fish, seafood, and meat accessible and affordable to millions of meat lovers. Launched in 2015, FreshToHome operates in 160+ cities in India and the UAE and offers more than 2,000 certified fresh and chemical-free products. Shan Kadavil, CEO & Co-founder, FreshToHome said, "We are excited to have Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund lead our Series D funding round. FreshToHome has pioneered the revolution of making 100% preservative and antibiotic-residue free fresh fish, seafood, meat and meat products accessible and affordable to all and that is our biggest USP. We are now a 'Proficorn' with operational profitability across the company. As we strive to offer more value to our farmers and fishers, customers, employees and investors, our focus is on profitability and sustainable value creation." Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund, through its official spokesperson stated "Our vision with the $250MM Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund is to empower the next generation of innovative, technology enabled companies led by visionary founders. We are impressed with the FreshToHome management team led by Shan Kadavil and they have done some quality work in creating a robust technology enabled supply chain and scalable backward integrated capabilities to serve both customers as well as farmers and fishers. We are excited to partner with FreshToHome for the next phase of its growth." Story continues FreshToHome's core strengths lie in its brand promise for its quality and consumer trust and in its technology-enabled offering - Commodities Exchange, empowering over 4,000+ fishers and farmers to electronically auction their produce for sale on www.FreshToHome.com . Two years ago, FreshToHome raised $121MM in its Series C round, led by Dubai's Investment Corporation of Dubai, Investcorp, IronPillar, Ascent Capital and U.S. Government's development finance institution DFC. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2008893/FreshToHome_CEO.jpg Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/freshtohome-closes-104mm-in-series-d-funding-with-amazon-smbhav-venture-fund-as-the-lead-investor-301754773.html SOURCE FreshToHome Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2023/23/c8762.html ReportLinker Ambient assisted living (AAL) is a technology-enabled service that helps older citizens with disabilities live more independently within their homes. Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) uses devices and techniques to ensure that older person is safe in their homes. New York, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Ambient Assisted Living Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By Product, By Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2022 - 2028" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422424/?utm_source=GNW These devices are sensors IoT (Internet of Things) and mobile devices to connect people with healthcare professionals & caregivers when in need. The main objectives of AAL are to enhance the quality of life, independence & safety of older people. It further includes wireless networks, smart devices, computers, medical sensors & software applications. These technologies ensure aging in the chosen place by the individual. AAL makes lives more accessible and, to some extent, less dependent on others. The methods & techniques utilized in AAL are user-centric and integrated into the users living environment. Its utilization by older adults can be advantageous as it aids in preventing, curing, and enhancing their wellness. The demographic changes have led to the introduction of AAL technologies. AAL can reduce the high cost associated with healthcare. People want a superior quality of life at every stage. So AAL provides the user with the potential to live alone without the need for anybodys assistance. AAL addresses comfort and security concerns by integrating itself with the social environment. COVID-19 Impact Analysis The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted the Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) market. As the pandemic spread, the pressure on the healthcare industry continued to rise. It included handling the pandemic infected patients, regular check-ups, regular hygienic processes, and monitoring of the elderly population & vulnerable patients. The COVID-19 affected patients were very harmful to older people as they have weak immunity, which puts them at higher risk of infection. That is why devices which can ensure safety & health monitoring of old adults from their homes become popular. Due to their smart home technologies & services, they are expected to move the ambient assisted living market at a faster growth rate. Market Growth Factors The rising geriatric population According to the WHO, one in every six people in the world will be aged 60 years or over by 2030. During that time, the share of the population aged 60 years or over will rise from 1 billion in 2020 to 1.4 billion. By 2050, the worlds population of people aged 60 years & older will double to 2.1 billion. The number of persons aged 80 years or older is also expected to triple between the years 2020 & 2050 (426 million). By 2050, two-thirds of the worlds population over 60 is expected to live in low- and middle-income nations. The rising geriatric population and numerous health conditions related to old age are expected to increase the utilization of ambient assisted living devices and propel market growth. Increased demand for home-based care Healthcare services provided by home health aides and personal care aides are likely to experience more growth and demand than almost any other occupation in coming years. At present, there are millions of nurses & aides working in this field, and that number is expected to increase significantly in the next decade. This is described as a much faster-than-average rate compared to all other occupations. A growing preference for home-based care over institutionalized care is boosting the demand for ambient assisted living devices & solutions, and thus supporting the market growth. Market Restraining Factors High implementation cost Choosing the most efficient technology is related to not only functionality & compatibility but also cost. The high cost of the Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) devices cost is the most common factor for the low adoption rate of smart homes. Development in rural areas is challenged explicitly by the cost aspect due to the average income, which is lower than the urban regions. Thus, the universal application of AAL technology in rural areas is not viable due to the high cost, which is not economically accessible to many consumers. The high price of the devices and issues faced while implementing ambient assistance living devices will hinder the market growth. Product Outlook Based on the product, the ambient assisted living market is segmented into medical assistance products, safety & security, telemonitoring, mobility, communication devices, compensatory impairments and others. The communication devices segment procured a significant revenue share in the ambient assisted living market in 2021. This is due to their usage in connecting the patients with their families & care providers. These devices are utilized to receive & send phone calls, text messages, video chat and more. These types of technology are highly beneficial for people with physical or cognitive disabilities who might have difficulty communicating. Regional Outlook Region-wise, the ambient assisted living market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and LAMEA. The North America region registered the largest revenue share in the ambient assisted living market in 2021. The growth is attributed to the rising adoption of smart homes and high technical expertise. The region has a vast customer base and a proclivity toward new technology. Also, the worlds aging population is anticipated to positively impact the demand for energy-saving and low-carbon emission-oriented solutions considerably. The rising number of old adults coupled with technological advancements is expected to propel further the growth of the ambient assisted living market in the region. The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include Honeywell International, Inc., Panasonic Corporation, ADT, Inc., EnOcean GmbH, 2PCS Solutions GmbH, Assisted Living Services, Inc. (Assisted Living Technologies, Inc.), Televic Group NV, Bay Alarm Medical (Bay Alarm Company), Sensara B.V., and LifeStation, Inc. Scope of the Study Market Segments covered in the Report: By Product Safety & Security Communication Devices Medical Assistance Products Mobility Telemonitoring Compensatory Impairments Others By Geography North America o US o Canada o Mexico o Rest of North America Europe o Germany o UK o France o Russia o Spain o Italy o Rest of Europe Asia Pacific o China o Japan o India o South Korea o Singapore o Malaysia o Rest of Asia Pacific LAMEA o Brazil o Argentina o UAE o Saudi Arabia o South Africa o Nigeria o Rest of LAMEA Companies Profiled Honeywell International, Inc. Panasonic Corporation ADT, Inc. EnOcean GmbH 2PCS Solutions GmbH Assisted Living Services, Inc. (Assisted Living Technologies, Inc.) Televic Group NV Bay Alarm Medical (Bay Alarm Company) Sensara B.V. LifeStation, Inc. Unique Offerings Exhaustive coverage Highest number of market tables and figures Subscription based model available Guaranteed best price Assured post sales research support with 10% customization free Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422424/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Story continues CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 ReportLinker Decision Intelligence (DI) is the practical application of AI to every aspect of business decision-making. It is outcome-focused and has to meet business goals. As a result, decision intelligence is being used by businesses to optimize every function and boost productivity. New York, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Decision Intelligence Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By Deployment, By Component, By Platform Type, By Organization Size, By Vertical, By Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2022 - 2028" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422348/?utm_source=GNW Decision Intelligence allows businesses to leverage data and AI to quickly, accurately, and consistently decide how to proceed with various business demands and issues. It enables data collection and machine learning modeling to forecast precise results for the best business decision-making. It gives businesses the ability to process and forecast data to make more educated decisions at every level of the organization, gain better visibility into their operations, and produce game-changing business results. Major factors anticipated to propel market revenue growth during the forecast period include the requirement to make quick and precise decisions to assure better outcomes and an increasing need for multiple problem-solving solutions. Going forward, it is anticipated that a major portion of the market revenue growth for decision intelligence will be driven by the growing need to reduce specific risks related to human decision-making. However, decision intelligence technology can assist in addressing and alleviating poor human decision-making through the processing and analysis of data arrays, the making of intelligent predictions based on historical data, and the more accurate suggestion of the best possible decisions from inputs, that can then be utilized to estimate error-free decisions. There are numerous strategies to solve organizational issues. Even if one of the parameters is altered, these solutions can be flexible and emphasize more than one result of a certain choice. As a result, numerous solutions are developed, assisting a corporation in achieving its goals. As a result, decision intelligence technology is favored by many businesses because it saves time that would otherwise be wasted on human decisions based on sparse data. The technology also uses a variety of data sources to foresee an intelligent solution, which is anticipated to accelerate market growth throughout the forecast period. COVID-19 Impact Analysis While the COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on several industries, it has had a positive impact on the market for decision intelligence. Many companies and organizations had to close their doors to stop the deadly coronavirus from spreading. During this period, many businesses switched to using intelligence software to simply and remotely monitor the workflow and make better judgments. By beginning with a decision and the business problem it is intended to solve, decision intelligence sets itself apart from other analytical methodologies. From there, it looks for relevant data to the decision and problem. These factors have sped up the markets expansion during the crisis. Market Growth Factors The emergence of ML and ai is enabling a variety of sectors to fully utilize decision intelligence. These industries have a pressing demand for precise decision-making. By examining the data gathered from various sources, providers have been able to better comprehend client perceptions due to the development and application of ML and AI. Businesses now prioritize providing a consistent customer experience throughout all channels and delivering offers in real-time by examining consumer purchasing trends. This is predicted to contribute to the market growth during the projection period. Advances in big data technology for actionable business intelligence Decision intelligence is a fast-growing area of artificial intelligence and data science. Many tasks connected to decision intelligence-related software, like morphological and syntactic analysis, have been solved and integrated that are utilized on the internet. Large Data analytics and decision intelligence can be combined to create robust systems that can handle big data at enormous scales, do text analysis & opinion mining, and support management and business decision-making. Market Restraining Factors Excessive information and reliance on decision-support systems A decision-maker finds it difficult to ignore unimportant information when it is present, though. It is true that organizations use decision support systems (DSS) to facilitate and accelerate routine choices. Some decision-makers tend to refuse to utilize their own discretion and to depend too heavily on automated decision-making. Undoubtedly, the emphasis has shifted, and because DSS is used so frequently, decision-makers may not be able to advance their abilities. These factors are therefore impeding the expansion of the decision intelligence market. Component Outlook Based on component, the decision intelligence market is segmented into platform, solutions, and services. The solution segment garnered a significant revenue share in the decision intelligence market in 2021. Businesses can automate administrative processes, increase productivity, and save costs using decision intelligence technologies. DI may transform a system that tells users which device is most likely to fail into one that guides them in selecting the best course of action for the best possible business results. Deployment Outlook Based on deployment, the decision intelligence market is segmented into cloud and on-premises. In 2021, the cloud segment witnessed the largest revenue share in the decision intelligence market. This is because cloud-based AI services are the ideal option for many enterprises. Instead of building a massive data center, companies can use the infrastructure already in place to access enterprises. In reality, one of the reasons AI has become so commonplace is the availability of multiple plug-and-play AI cloud services via cloud providers, in addition, to access to appropriate, pre-trained models to build AI applications. These elements are propelling the cloud segments expansion in the decision intelligence market. Organization Size Outlook Based on organization size, the decision intelligence market is segmented into large enterprises and small & medium enterprises. In 2021, the large enterprise segment generated the maximum revenue share in the decision intelligence market. A growing number of businesses are using artificial intelligence to aid in decision-making. Because AI can process enormous volumes of data employing algorithms and processing power, its advantages increase with decision complexity. These AI technologies are being used by more and more businesses to aid in decision-making. Vertical Outlook Based on vertical, the decision intelligence market is segmented into BFSI, retail & eCommerce, government & defense, healthcare & life Sciences, manufacturing, telecom, IT & ITeS, energy & utilities, transportation & logistics, and other verticals. The healthcare segment projected a prominent revenue share in the decision intelligence market in 2021. The healthcare sector is offering more prospects for growth in the decision intelligence industry. As innovative analytics techniques grow more precise and applicable to a wide range of tasks, AI has captured the attention of the healthcare sector. Regional Outlook Based on Region, the Decision Intelligence Market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and LAMEA. In 2021, the North America region led the decision intelligence market by generating the highest revenue share. Due to the widespread deployment of these technologies in developed countries like the US and Canada across numerous industrial sectors, decision intelligence is growing in this region. Due to increased costs associated with the research and development process, the region is likely to grow more quickly throughout the estimated period of time. It is projected that the decision intelligence market will continue to grow due to the industrys rising regional player base. Additionally, it is anticipated that leading vendors will increase their investments in product development and business expansion, supporting the industry. The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include Oracle Corporation, IBM Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Intel Corporation, Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.), Domo, Inc., Board International S.A., Provenir, Pyramid Analytics BV, and H2O.ai, Inc. Strategies Deployed in Decision Intelligence Market Dec-2022: Oracle Corporation took over Newmetrix, a cloud-based platform that uses artificial intelligence to highlight construction problems focused on project safety. Through this acquisition, Oracle Corporation would be able to able to fasten its abilities in utilizing Machine Learning and AI to construct more predictive behaviors. Oct-2022: Google LLC partnered with Sisu Data, the decision intelligence company. Under this partnership, Google Cloud would be able to aid more organizations to improve fuel decision-making, analyst efficiency, and drive metric improvement. Moreover, Google Cloud would be able to deliver effortless access to Sisu capabilities inside Google Clouds Looker, Data cloud products, and BigQuery. Oct-2022: Oracle Corporation partnered with NVIDIA Corporation, a global leader in artificial intelligence hard- and software. Under this partnership, both organizations would aid their customers to resolve business hurdles with revved AI and Computing. Moreover, Oracle Corporation would be able to integrate the whole NVIDIA accelerated computing stack from GPUs to systems and further to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). Jan-2022: IBM Corporation took over Envizi, a leading data and analytics software provider for environmental performance management. Through this acquisition, IBM Corporation would be able to build more sustainable and resilient operations and supply chains with the help of IBM Sterling supply chain solutions, IBM Maximo asset management solutions, and IBM Environmental Intelligence Suite. Nov-2021: Oracle Corporation unveiled the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) AI services. These new AI services are the array of services that make it more manageable for developers to apply AI services to their applications without needing data science expertise. Additionally, these services provide developers the option of leveraging out-of-the-box models that have been taught on business-oriented data or custom training the services established on their organizations data. Sep-2021: Microsoft Corporation partnered with Truveta, a healthcare data platform collaboration with physicians and life science researchers. Under this Partnership, Microsoft Corporation would be able to provide the strength of Microsoft Azure and AI to aid Truveta to accomplish its idea of saving lives with data. Moreover, this partnership would support Truveta to fasten possibilities for more health providers to become members and contribute their data for understandings for the common good of humanity. Oct-2019: Domo, Inc., came into partnership with Snowflake, Inc., a cloud computingbased data cloud company based in Bozeman, Montana. Through this partnership, both organizations would be able to influence customers as they drive more data to the cloud to leverage the scalability, security, and flexibility it delivers. Dec-2018: IBM Corporation came into partnership with IIT Delhi, a public institute of technology located in New Delhi, India. Under this partnership, IBM Corporation would be able to focus on finding Novel AI techniques that would further help the organization make informed decisions by being capable to reason with their AI systems logically. Scope of the Study Market Segments covered in the Report: By Deployment Cloud On-premise By Component Platform o Integrated o Standalone Solution Services By Organization Size Large Enterprises SMEs By Vertical BFSI Telecom & IT Healthcare Retail & Consumer Goods Manufacturing Government & Defense Energy & Utilities Transportation & Logistics Others By Geography North America o US o Canada o Mexico o Rest of North America Europe o Germany o UK o France o Russia o Spain o Italy o Rest of Europe Asia Pacific o China o Japan o India o South Korea o Singapore o Malaysia o Rest of Asia Pacific LAMEA o Brazil o Argentina o UAE o Saudi Arabia o South Africa o Nigeria o Rest of LAMEA Companies Profiled Oracle Corporation IBM Corporation Microsoft Corporation Intel Corporation Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.) Domo, Inc. Board International S.A. Provenir Pyramid Analytics BV H2O.ai, Inc. Unique Offerings Exhaustive coverage Highest number of market tables and figures Subscription based model available Guaranteed best price Assured post sales research support with 10% customization free Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422348/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Story continues CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 ReportLinker Cybersecurity protects assets from terrorism, cybercrime, and other network service disruptions. Cybersecurity solutions aid defense organizations in detecting, supervising, reporting, and tackling the cyber threats that internet-based attempts to disrupt or damage the information systems and hack essential information utilizing malware, spyware and phishing to steal data from these organizations. New York, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Defense Cyber Security Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By Deployment, By Type, By Offering, By Application, By Regional Outlook and Forecast, 2022 - 2028" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422353/?utm_source=GNW Presently, cyber threats are more persistent, smarter and concentrated on high-value assets, which have increased the demand for a strong and high-tech cyber security system for defense industry. Furthermore, the growing risk of the cyber threat to critical infrastructures by criminal organizations and the technological enhancement in the cyber security industry is the major driving factor in its increased utilization throughout defense organizations. A more connected defense & intelligence world would ensure that the soldiers get information with precision and in less time. But increased connectivity also means more ways for cyberattacks, data leaks, and other breaches in IT (information & technology) security. This remains the issue at the crux of modern cybersecurity problems. However, technological developments would give organizations more techniques and tools to protect themselves from any significant cyberattack on their networks. Various cybersecurity companies are introducing new and enhanced products which can aid cybersecurity professionals in defending legacy and cloud networks, which can help the defense forces to work soundly while keeping their networks safe. COVID-19 Impact Organizations are speeding up their digital transformation and cyber security as much of the work starts to get online. With this, the operational, legal, reputational, and compliance implications would be significant if the cybersecurity risk is neglected. Out of these organizations, defense is among the top most sector to adopt cyber security solutions to safeguard their confidential data from cyberattacks. Many governments have increased funding for adopting cyber security in the military, which aids the government & military in blocking any upcoming threats and sharing intelligence about the cyber activity. The defenses increasing adoption of cyber security to secure their database and information has propelled the market growth during the pandemic. Market Growth Factors Rising IT expenditure for defense Defense IT expenses are on the surge across many developed nations. The growth of IT software, hardware, and services has implemented several changes in the defense sector, including live combat surveillance, superiority in air & space, smart weapons and battlefield management in network-centric environments, and force multipliers-related software. In addition, implementing IT solutions has become significant in defense operations due to the increasing evolution in the type and occurrence of attacks globally. The rapidly increasing usage of autonomous aircraft The rising number of artificial intelligence applications in aircraft may require reliable and high-tech defence cyber security solutions. New technological advancements like the maintenance capability are used to defend the aircrafts onboard systems from cyber-attacks. These new systems aid in increasing the aircraft defence against cyber threats and give the flight-critical abilities to verify and install multiple software and mission data files onto the aircraft. This development of autonomous aircraft to protect them from cyberattack and ensures their proper operation while being efficient by the military is expected to boost the defence cybersecurity markets growth. Market Restraining Factors Less awareness regarding cybersecurity Against any intrusion by offenders, criminals, or antagonistic countries, the government workforce is the first line of defence. The internet has made it easier for the antagonist to attack any department, municipality, agency, or department of any nation. Nations with IT technology are easily targeted for malware infections or ransomware attacks. That is why attacker targets under-prepared government bureaucrats with malware, email phishing scams, or stolen passwords to enter and steal confidential government data or lock up critical systems needed for the services and operations. For instance, phishing scams utilize fake emails or text messages to lure individuals into clicking on sketchy website links to steal personal information. Deployment Outlook By deployment, the defense cyber security market is classified into on-premise and cloud. The cloud segment projected a prominent growth rate in the defense cybersecurity market in 2021. This is because cloud-based technology operates on remote system servers over the internet, which dont require any dedicated server specialist for maintenance. The cloud-managed services are generally available as SaaS (security as a service) models with annual or monthly charges. These charges cover the monitoring, supervision of network servers, cloud storage for all data, backup recovery, system optimization, etc. Type Outlook On the basis of type, the defense cyber security market is divided into endpoint security, network security and content security. The endpoint security segment held the highest revenue share in the defense cyber security market in 2021. The growth is due to the increasing usage of behavioral and automation analysis for threat detection. These solutions are considered to be an essential asset of the defense sector. Also, many key players have started to invest heavily in these solutions. Hence, the rising investments, with the growing amount of data across different verticals within the defense sector have surged the segments market expansion in the forecasted period. Offering Outlook Based on offering, the defense cyber security market is bifurcated into solutions and services. The services segment held the highest revenue share in the defense cyber security market in 2021. This is due to their assistance in identifying vulnerabilities, ensuring security, and closing protection gaps, which work efficiently to prevent any cyber breach. With cyber security, organizations attain a synergistic balance from all three facets of defense in depth strategy, which are operation, people, and technology. This would support the market expansion in this segment. Application Outlook Based on application, the defense cyber security market is segmented into military, public utilities, communication networks and others. The military segment dominated the defense cyber security market with the maximum revenue share in 2021. This is because various defense groups can only operate efficiently if the information is shared securely. Using cyber security systems, the military can send messages, media, reports, and broadcasts while also being able to make secure calls. As a result, security officers may access needed information securely. Regional Outlook Region-wise, the defense cybersecurity market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and LAMEA. The North America region held the highest revenue share in the defense cyber security market in 2021. This is due to the robust presence of various market incumbents, combined with the regions recent threats. The defense sector in many nations across the region are increasing their spending, which has surged the requirement for defense cyber security. As many developed countries depend on the internet for their daily work and various other operations, cybersecurity applications have increased and thereby boosted the market growth in the region. The major strategies followed by the market participants are Partnerships. Based on the Analysis presented in the Cardinal matrix; AT&T, Inc., Intel Corporation and Cisco Systems, Inc. are the forerunners in the Defense Cyber Security Market. Companies such as Thales Group S.A., BAE Systems PLC, and IBM Corporation are some of the key innovators in Defense Cyber Security Market. The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include Intel Corporation, AT&T Inc., IBM Corporation, BAE Systems plc, Thales Group S.A., DXC Technology Company, Cisco Systems, Inc., Raytheon Technologies, Corporation (Collins Aerospace), Lockheed Martin Corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation. Recent Strategies Deployed in Defense Cyber Security Market Partnerships, Collaborations and Agreements: Nov-2022: Raytheon Technologies came into collaboration with Microsoft, a global IT technology company. This collaboration would aim to upgrade the aerospace and defense businesses employees with cloud-based tools, technologies, and platforms to increase collaboration, enhance operations and discover insights that propel larger value for customers. Nov-2022: Lockheed Martin signed an agreement with Microsoft, a global Information technology company. This agreement would aim to help power the next generation of technology for the Department of Defense. The agreement would operate in four critical areas that include Classified Cloud Innovations, 5G.MIL Programs, and Digital Transformation. Oct-2022: Cisco announced a partnership with DGC, a company engaged in offering cybersecurity solutions. Under this partnership, the latest cybersecurity package consists of a subset of managed security services that had been created to deliver critical data protection and risk detection abilities with the potential of coping with emerging complex cyber threats in the region. Oct-2022: Thales announced a partnership with Monaco Cyber Securite, the security player in the principality. Through this partnership, Thales would bring cyber incident feedback to customers in the zone and beyond. Jun-2022: BAE Systems teamed up with Clavister, a Europe-based cyber security specialist. This collaboration would aim to enhance the cyber security of its CV90 IFV solution. Additionally, BAE Systems and Clavister integrated its battle-proven technology and years of specialization in cyber security with the new European research and developments in AI technology. Mar-2022: Lockheed Martin teamed up with SpiderOak Mission Systems, a U.S.-based software company that creates cybersecurity products and solutions. In this collaboration, both collaborations are developing and testing a zero-trust cybersecurity platform to secure data in the space data supply chain. Feb-2022: Northrop Grumman Corporation came into an agreement with Echodyne, the radar platform company. In this Agreement, the companies would work to determinate additional applications for Echodynes line of commercially advanced radars. Jan-2022: IBM partnered with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). In this partnership, IBM would participate as an Alliance partner in the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative and its critical mission to build a coordinated and collective defense against cybercrime. Dec-2021: IBM formed a partnership with Du, Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company. Under this partnership, Du would leverage IBMs security software and solutions across its Digital Trust portfolio and its Cyber Defense Centre. Dec-2021: Thales partnered with Du, an Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company. The team-up would make sure the DU aligns with Thales technology to improve the du Cybersecurity Defense Centre and Digital Trust offering. Data breaches evolving in frequency across the digital landscape and regulatory needs mandating related compliance. Oct-2021: Raytheon Technologies collaborated with IBM, a global hybrid cloud and AI and business services provider. In this collaboration, both companies would develop artificial intelligence, quantum, and cryptographic solutions for the intelligence, defense, and aerospace industries, consisting of the federal government. Moreover, with the combined expertise of IBMs breakthrough commercial research with Raytheon Technologies research plus defense and aerospace expertise, both companies would be able to solve challenges. Jan-2021: Thales signed an agreement with TT Electronics, a provider of engineered electronics for performance-critical applications. Under this agreement, both companies would allow the future development of operational technology-based cybersecurity research and initiatives. This agreement makes sure TT delivers an additional level of security assurance for its aerospace, medical, industrial, and defense customers who rely on Thales to produce highly complex systems. Feb-2020: Raytheon Company collaborated with IronNet Cybersecurity, Inc. a network security company that enables nations and enterprises to defend against emerging threats in real-time. The integrated solutions are created to be part of a combined defense portfolio for important infrastructure and national security systems and networks. Product Launches and Expansions: Oct-2022: BAE Systems unveiled the Viper Memory Loader Verifier II (MLV II), the latest version of maintenance ability that would decrease vulnerability to cyber-attacks for F-16 aircraft. This latest version of the product would consist of cyber-hardened aircraft mission capabilities with an open system architecture that decreases lifecycle costs. Nov-2021: AT&T introduced a combined, controlled cybersecurity solution to help U.S. Federal agencies upgrade and secure their IT infrastructure in compliance with TIC 3.0 cybersecurity guidance. AT&T Government trusted Internet integrates and provides fiber connectivity, security capabilities, and software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) technology through a single provider. Acquisitions and Mergers: Oct-2022: Thales acquired S21sec, a European cybersecurity company based in Spain and Portugal, and Excellium, a European cybersecurity company based in Luxembourg and Belgium. Through this acquisition, Thales would add value to the companys cyber solutions portfolio as well as make sure S21sec and Excellium customers from long-term continuity, improved high-performance solutions, and long-term continuity. Jul-2022: Thales took over OneWelcome, a company involved in Customer Identity and Access Management. Under this acquisition, Thales would strengthen its leading place as a global cybersecurity player and a provider of trusted and secure digital identities. Mar-2022: BAE Systems acquired Bohemia Interactive Simulations, a global software company at the forefront of simulation training solutions for military and civilian organizations. This acquisition would place BAE Systems to fulfill its customer evolving requirements in the quickly rising market for global military training and provide next-generation virtual systems to help the U.S. military and its allies successfully prepare for future scenarios. Geographical Expansions: Apr-2022: Thales expanded its business to Morocco by opening a Cyber Security Operations Center. This facility would offer real-time security against cyber-attacks in Morocco and across the African Continent. With this facility, Thales strengthen its position as a cybersecurity leader with the creation of the latest security operations center across the African continent. Feb-2022: IBM opened a new cyber-security facility in Bengaluru, India. This expansion would address the issues of its clients across the Asia Pacific region and help enterprises plan for and manage the rising threat of cyberattacks to businesses. The Center would operate as a strategic hub for IBMs cybersecurity activities in the region, consisting of IBM Research, IBM Garage, and IBM Consulting. Scope of the Study Market Segments covered in the Report: By Deployment On-premise Cloud By Type Endpoint Security Network Security Content Security By Offering Solution o Identity & Access Management o Security & Vulnerability Management o Data loss Prevention Management o Threat intelligence & Response Management o Unified Threat Management o Enterprise risk & Compliance o Managed Security o Others Services By Application Military Communication Networks Public Utilities Others By Geography North America o US o Canada o Mexico o Rest of North America Europe o Germany o UK o France o Russia o Spain o Italy o Rest of Europe Asia Pacific o China o Japan o India o South Korea o Singapore o Malaysia o Rest of Asia Pacific LAMEA o Brazil o Argentina o UAE o Saudi Arabia o South Africa o Nigeria o Rest of LAMEA Companies Profiled Intel Corporation AT&T Inc. IBM Corporation BAE Systems plc Thales Group S.A. DXC Technology Company Cisco Systems, Inc. Raytheon Technologies Corporation (Collins Aerospace) Lockheed Martin Corporation Northrop Grumman Corporation Unique Offerings Exhaustive coverage Highest number of market tables and figures Subscription based model available Guaranteed best price Assured post sales research support with 10% customization free Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422353/?utm_source=GNW About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Story continues CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Source: ReportLinker The Global Industrial Cooking Fire Protection System Market size is expected to reach $57.5 billion by 2028, rising at a market growth of 8.4% CAGR during the forecast period. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422481/?utm_source=PRN In order to help battle fires before they start and limit their damage to lives and property, commercial and industrial kitchens and food production plants have fire prevention equipment and fire detection management systems installed. However, industrial food processing plants are subject to fire disasters that might lead to irreparable loss of life or property because they employ high-energy cooking equipment. Commercial kitchens and food processing facilities that carry out cooking operations in the Industrial cooking fire protection system industry employ equipment designed for commercial usage that burns hydrocarbons and generates a significant quantity of heat or energy. Commercial cooking supplies in the industrial cooking fire protection system include deep-fat fryers, industrial oil cookers, and other machinery. Commercial kitchens and food processing facilities have fire prevention and detection management systems built to support fighting fires before they start and lessen their effect on lives and property. However, high-energy cooking equipment used in industrial food processing facilities makes them vulnerable to fire mishaps that might result in irreparable loss of life or property. Commercial-sized cooking equipment that burns hydrocarbons and produces a considerable quantity of heat or energy is used in commercial kitchens and food processing facilities that conduct cooking activities. Deep fat fryers, industrial oil cookers, ovens, and other equipment are a few commercial cooking tools utilized in food processing facilities. COVID-19 Impact Analysis The COVID-19 outbreak has considerably influenced the market growth for industrial cooking fire prevention systems. This was the outcome of a significant effect on key supply chain actors. However, over the projected period and during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is anticipated that rising public awareness of the dangers of cooking fires and substantial government restrictions will positively affect market development. Most restaurants and hotels had to shut down permanently or temporarily due to the limitations imposed by afflicted countries. The COVID-19 pandemic also caused several challenges for the market, including a shortage of qualified workers and project delays or cancellations due to partial or total lockdowns worldwide. All of these elements had a detrimental impact on the market expansion. Story continues Market Growth Factors Increasing use of water MIST systems The foam-based fire prevention system is a collection of aqueous solution-derived air-filled bubbles. Compared to other flammable liquids, it is less dense. In order to avoid fires while excluding air and cooling the fuel, this foam-based technology is primarily utilized to create a cohesive floating blanket atop flammable and combustible liquids. Through the suppression of the creation of flammable gases, this technology also aids in the prevention of re-ignition. Additionally, it adheres to the surfaces by offering defense against nearby flames. Because of this, their demand is expanding so quickly on the market. Expansion of the hotel sector The constantly expanding hospitality sector globally is one of the key reasons for propelling the industrial kitchen fire prevention systems market. Businesses (groups, individuals, or partnerships) in the hospitality industry provide lodging and cooked meals, snacks, or drinks for customers to eat directly. It also covers companies that market related goods. The hotel and eating market comprise both services since the same company typically offers them. Because of this, their demand is expanding so quickly on the market. Market Restraining Factors Heavy investments in implementation and maintenance The companies must invest a significant amount in installing fire protection systems. Due to the increasing number of fire accidents, fire safety providers are making continuous advancements in the existing solution & and are also introducing the latest technologies and products. The investment of large amounts by the manufacturing companies is raising the purchasing costs of these solutions for private & government agencies. This would restrict such enterprises to adopt fire hydrants which may hamper the growth of the fire hydrant market over the forecast period. Product Type Outlook Based on product type, the industrial cooking fire protection system market is divided into fire alarm type and detector type. Fire alarm-type segment generated the highest revenue share in the market in 2021. A fire alarm system's main function is to alert us to a situation so that we can take the necessary safety measures to protect the public, our workers, and ourselves. A remote signal system that might notify the fire brigade through a central station may also be included in the fire alarm system. Connectivity Outlook Based on connectivity, the industrial cooking fire protection system market is classified into wired and wireless. The wireless segment in 2021 accounted for a substantial share of the industrial cooking fire protection market. The adoption of fire prevention systems for industrial cooking is primarily motivated by the fast expansion of food production and processing facilities, and the legal framework for industrial safety further fuels it. As a result, fire alarm systems with wireless, automated, and small designs that suit most industrial floor plans and adhere to standards established by regulatory organizations like the NFPA are expected to become increasingly popular. End Use Outlook Based on end use, the industrial cooking fire protection system market is classified into restaurants & hotels, food & beverages, and others. The restaurants and hotels segment accounted for the largest revenue share in the market in 2021. Living standards and habits have evolved along with increased urbanization and rising personal discretionary income. As a result, consumers increasingly choose to eat and party out more often. Due to the rapid expansion of upscale eateries, there is an increasing need for industrial kitchen fire prevention systems. Regional Outlook Based on region, the industrial cooking fire protection system market is categorized into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and LAMEA. The North American region contributed the majority of the revenue share in 2021. Commercial cooking facilities in the area are equipped with cutting-edge fire prevention systems that raise the alert as soon as smoke, or an oil buildup that might start a fire is detected. The rising number of food processing facilities in the United States is driving North America's industrial cooking fire protection system market. In addition, the United States' strong regulatory requirements maintained by organizations and governmental bodies to avoid fire incidents in industrial cooking areas fuel this industry. The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include Honeywell International, Inc., Siemens AG, Robert Bosch GmbH, Johnson Controls International PLC, Carrier Global Corporation, Eaton Corporation PLC, Halma PLC, Napco Security Technologies, Inc., Hochiki Corporation, and NITTAN Company, Limited. Scope of the Study Market Segments covered in the Report: By Product Type Fire Alarm Type Detector Type By Connectivity Wired Wireless By End Use Restaurants & Hotels Food & Beverages Others By Geography North America o US o Canada o Mexico o Rest of North America Europe o Germany o UK o France o Russia o Spain o Italy o Rest of Europe Asia Pacific o China o Japan o India o South Korea o Singapore o Malaysia o Rest of Asia Pacific LAMEA o Brazil o Argentina o UAE o Saudi Arabia o South Africa o Nigeria o Rest of LAMEA Companies Profiled Honeywell International, Inc. Siemens AG Robert Bosch GmbH Johnson Controls International PLC Carrier Global Corporation Eaton Corporation PLC Halma PLC Napco Security Technologies, Inc. Hochiki Corporation NITTAN Company, Limited Unique Offerings Exhaustive coverage Highest number of market tables and figures Subscription based model available Guaranteed best price Assured post sales research support with 10% customization free Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06422481/?utm_source=PRN About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. Contact Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-global-industrial-cooking-fire-protection-system-market-size-is-expected-to-reach-57-5-billion-by-2028--rising-at-a-market-growth-of-8-4-cagr-during-the-forecast-period-301753056.html SOURCE Reportlinker Extrapolate Our comprehensive research report offers valuable insights into the Modular Construction Market and Construction Chemical Market, allowing you to gain a competitive advantage over your rivals by making informed decisions. With a projected market size of USD 168.7 billion and USD 69.1 billion, respectively, these markets present a lucrative opportunity for growth. Order your copy now to unlock the full potential of these markets and stay ahead of the curve. Dubai, UAE, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global Modular Construction Market Report Forecast 2032: According to a recent market research report published by Extrapolate, the global Modular Construction Market size was valued at USD 101.3 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to reach a valuation of USD 168.7 billion by 2032, recording a CAGR of around 5.8% during the projection period 2023-2032. Modular construction is gaining popularity in developing economies due to rapid urbanization, cost-effectiveness, time efficiency, minimal site interruptions, and reduced waste. Construction work conducted inside plants reduces weather-related risks, increases flexibility, and saves energy. Demand for modular construction has increased, especially in the residential and commercial sectors. The release of the I-Class Kitchen by Panasonic in November 2022 is an example of marketing initiatives driving growth. Reduced prices, increased supply, population growth, novel manufacturing techniques, and urbanization are fueling this growth. AMANA Investments' DuPod and DuBox platforms are introducing innovative manufacturing methods, and increased investment in infrastructure projects is expected to further expand the industry. Get a Sample Copy of the Report @ https://www.extrapolate.com/sample/machinery-equipment/modular-construction-market/87357 In February 2023, Roy Vitteril, a business development manager at RCM, made a statement declaring that modular construction technology has reached an inflection point and is so powerful that it is transforming society. He believes that prevailing foundational beliefs are being unraveled and that organizations are now determining the future through intentional design. One of the major design trends he sees is the increasing adoption of modular construction due to its fixed price, lump-sum costs, minimal job site interruptions, single source responsibility, and shorter schedules. Story continues Competitive Landscape The competitive landscape for the modular construction industry consists of key players such as Red Sea International, Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS), Bouygues Construction, Northgate Industries Ltd., and ATCO LTD. For instance, a consortium of investors led by Trinity Capital Inc. and Horizon Technology Finance Corporation provided money to Nexii Building Solutions in the amount of USD 35 million in July 2022. With the aid of this financing, Nexii was able to establish a cutting-edge, efficient, and environmentally friendly facility that accelerated its manufacturing capacity and ongoing expansion. Key Players: Red Sea International Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS) Bouygues Construction Northgate Industries Ltd ATCO LTD Kleusberg GmbH & Co KG Laing O'rourke Ramtech Building SystemsInc VESTA Modular Sika AG Panasonic Corporation MiTek Inc Nexii Building Solutions Inc Have an Enquiry? Talk to our Analyst @ https://www.extrapolate.com/enquire/machinery-equipment/modular-construction-market/87357 The global modular construction market is segmented as follows:: Segmentation By Material Wood Steel Concrete Others Segmentation By Type Relocatable Permanent Permanent Modular Construction Segment to Generate over 63.9% Market Revenue The permanent modular construction segment dominated the sector in 2021 and is expected to continue holding its significant modular construction market share over the predicted period. The segment accounts for more than 63.9% of the total revenue share. Additionally, it is anticipated to increase at the fastest rate between 2022 and 2030. Compared to on-site construction, it provides superior quality control. These modules can be created to stand alone or be integrated into an existing building. The permanent modular construction segment is experiencing the fastest growth as it can be delivered quickly and affordably as a turnkey solution or retrofitted into existing buildings. These structures were created with the intention of being relocated to other project locations and then reused and repurposed. Given the growing relevance of temporary housing for emergency and relief operations over the past few years, relocatable modular construction is anticipated to experience steady expansion. Purchase this Premium Research Report @ https://www.extrapolate.com/complete-checkout-buyal/87357 Segmentation By Module Type Open-sided Partially Open-sided Four-sided Mixed Modules & Floor Cassettes Others Segmentation By Application Commercial Residential Healthcare Hospitality Others Residential Segment to Dominate Global Modular Construction Market Owing 52.60% of Overall Revenue In 2021, the residential segment accounted for the biggest portion of overall revenue (52.60%), and from 2022 to 2030, it is predicted to expand at the fastest growth rate. The demand for the residential segment is attributable to driving factors such as quick construction, the practicality of difficult designs, and the construction of distinctive and adaptable dwellings that meet community needs. Single-family homes, multi-story residential structures, and rental housing complexes are all included in the residential application section. The capacity of modular construction to considerably reduce building costs and time is driving its fast adoption in residential applications. Browse the Complete Report Here @ https://www.extrapolate.com/machinery-equipment/modular-construction-market/87357 Europe Captured Over 45.60% of Revenue, Conferring Dominance in the Modular Construction Market Europe accounts for more than 45.60% revenue share of the global modular construction market. High market penetration in Germany, Finland, the United Kingdom, and Sweden is contributing to the market growth. Additionally, the growing number of migrants is expected to stimulate the building of both temporary and permanent housing structures in the area. The regional market in Europe is also being driven by elements such as heavy investments and the adoption of cutting-edge technologies. The European Commission created a funding initiative worth USD 4.08 billion in 2020 with the objective of fueling the construction of green modular buildings. The program's goals include increasing modular construction by 25% by 2025 while lowering energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The funding will be used to create novel building methods and technologies as well as to retrofit existing structures with modular building systems for greater resilience and sustainability. Key Points from TOC: Chapter 1. Executive Summary Chapter 2. Research Methodology Chapter 3. Market Outlook Chapter 4. COVID-19 Impact On Modular Construction Market Chapter 5. Global Modular Construction Market Overview, By Type, 2018 - 2032 (USD Million) Continued. Part II: Global Construction Chemicals Market Outlook To 2032: As per the latest research report released by Extrapolate, the global Construction Chemicals Market size was valued at USD 37.9 Bn in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 69.1 Bn by 2032, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.1% during the projection period of 2023-2032. The growth of the construction chemicals market is expected to be driven primarily by the expanding new construction and repair & rehabilitation sectors in developing economies. The industry's growth is likely to be fueled by the increasing demand for residential and non-residential buildings in several nations, owing to the rapid population increase. As a result, the use of cement has also increased, which has led to a high demand for various construction chemicals. Get a Sample PDF of the Report: https://www.extrapolate.com/sample/chemicals-and-advanced-materials/construction-chemicals-market/87424 Key Insights Based on the product, the concrete admixtures segment is anticipated to hold the largest share of the global construction chemicals market. Based on the end-user, the residential segment is expected to grow at a rapid CAGR throughout the projection period. The growing construction sector in developing economies is contributing to market growth. By region, the market is expected to be dominated by North America. The global construction chemicals market is segmented as follows: Segmentation By Product Protective Coatings Industrial Flooring Waterproofing Concrete Admixture Surface Treatment Adhesives & Sealants Others Inquire Before Buying This Report: https://www.extrapolate.com/enquire/chemicals-and-advanced-materials/construction-chemicals-market/87424 Concrete Admixture Segment to Account for Maximum Revenue of Global Construction Chemicals Market The concrete admixture segment is anticipated to hold the largest market share during the projection period. Concrete admixtures improve the concrete by offering numerous advantages such as a low cement-water ratio, a quicker setting time, less segregation, and improved permeability leading to the rising use of concrete admixture in the construction industry. The growing construction sector in nations such as the United Kingdom, and Germany is the major factor in the increasing use of concrete admixtures, which is ultimately bolstering the growth of the segment. Additionally, the waterproofing segment is projected to experience steady growth during the forecast period. The increasing utilization of waterproofing chemicals at the construction stage as a maintenance and preventative waterproofing element is anticipated to support the segment's growth in the forthcoming years. Browse Complete Report Here: https://www.extrapolate.com/chemicals-and-advanced-materials/construction-chemicals-market/87424 Segmentation By End-user Commercial Industrial Residential Residential Segment to Hold Largest Share of Global Construction Chemicals Market The residential segment is predicted to dominate the market share throughout the projection period. The segment is likely to grow in the upcoming years owing to several factors such as comfort, prestige, and privacy. A lot of locals have shown a great deal of interest in purchasing luxury residences worldwide. The segment's growth has eventually been aided by the growing number of elite housing projects across the globe. The demand for luxury residences is anticipated to rise in several nations such as the United States, Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom due to the expanding economic strength and significant investments made by the elite class. As a result, the market for construction chemicals is likely to gain from it. For instance, the Sao Paulo State Housing Union (Secovi-SP) reported that 5,555 brand-new luxury homes were sold in Sao Paulo in October 2021. As a result of the consumer expenditure on residential housing, the number is more likely to rise. In addition, the sector for residential construction is anticipated to be supported by Brazil's expanding single-family housing trend in the upcoming years. North America to Dominate Global Construction Chemicals Market According to Extrapolate, North America is projected to dominate the market during the forecast period. The rapid industrialization of the developing economies leads to significant growth opportunities in developing nations throughout the North American region. The growth of the North American market is primarily supported by rising government investments as well as foreign investments related to construction activities. Recent years have experienced significant growth in the regional construction sector due to favorable government initiatives in nations such as the US and Canada to support the infrastructure sector, along with the booming residential sector. Purchase this Premium Research Report: https://www.extrapolate.com/complete-checkout-buyal/87424 The global market for construction chemicals is being driven by the rapidly rising demand for public, commercial, and residential structures as well as the technologically advanced construction sector. Moreover, the regional market is being driven by demand for structures, including dams, highways, bridges, and tunnels, to improve the nation's infrastructure. As a result of this trend, construction chemical sales are estimated to rise in the forthcoming years. Competitive Landscape of Global Construction Chemicals Market The global construction chemicals market is highly competitive with the presence of local and international market players. To enhance their overall market share, industrial participants are primarily concentrating on mergers and acquisitions as well as strategic alliances. Also, most firms are investing in the development of novel and innovative products to provide themselves with a competitive edge in both domestic and international markets. For applications in both new and old infrastructure, prominent market players also provide a wide range of construction chemicals. For instance, Sika AG offers a variety of chemical building products that are utilized in flooring, insulation, repair & rehabilitation, cement, and other applications. Key Players Arkema Ashland BASF SE DuPont JSW Cement M&I Materials Ltd Nippon Paint Pidilite Industries Ltd. RPM International Inc. Sika AG Browse Complete TOC: https://www.extrapolate.com/toc/chemicals-and-advanced-materials/construction-chemicals-market/87424 Key Points from TOC: Chapter 1. Executive Summary Chapter 2. Research Methodology Chapter 3. Market Outlook Chapter 4. COVID-19 Impact on Global Construction Chemicals Market Chapter 5. Global Construction Chemicals Market Overview, By Product, 2018 - 2032 (USD Million) Continued.. About Us: Extrapolate is a Global Market Research, Advisory, and Consulting firm that works closely with Industry experts from various industries to bring the latest and most accurate research reports. In an era of breakneck change and a low tolerance for missed or misread opportunities, businesses need astute guidance to shape markets - not merely respond to them. Extrapolate helps clients develop market perspectives that drive success. CONTACT: Extrapolate Phone: (+1) 888 328 2189 E-mail: talk@extrapolate.com Website: https://www.extrapolate.com Blog: https://www.extrapolate.com/blog UAE-headquartered international conglomerate Ghassan Aboud Group and Halal Quality Control (HQC) Group will launch of Halal certification solutions for UAE companies producing and exporting Halal goods. Announced at the world's largest annual global food and beverage sourcing event, Gulfood, the joint venture will provide accreditation and business solutions that maintain high standards and regulations in line with international halal requirements to facilitate the growth of the Halal economy in the UAE and boost trade to the whole region through an online application process on its dedicated online platform. With the Halal economy estimated to be worth $3.2 trillion by 2024 according to the second edition of the Halal Guidebook released last year the UAE has established itself as a key player in producing and exporting goods and products across a number of industries as demand surges. Key milestone Ghassan Aboud, Founder and Chairman of Ghassan Aboud Group, said: The partnership between the Group and HQC, which has been established within the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) ecosystem, is a significant milestone in our efforts to contribute to the UAE's position as a leader in the Halal industry. The joint venture has been set up to assist its customers on their journey to becoming Halal-certified and will help realise new avenues for trading through halal certifications and training. Dr A M Al Chaman, Founder of HQC and European Representative of the World Halal Food Council, said: The partnership is a turning point to promote Halal certification services from the UAE to meet the consumers growing demand for Halal products globally. We understand there was a gap in Halal certifications, and we are working with DMCC to provide unified and trusted certification to exporters in the Gulf region to enhance commodity trade flows through Dubai. The new joint venture will assist in end-to-end Halal certification process with easy access and a seamless experience. We are looking forward to expanding the services to the wider Asian markets that have an ever- increasing demand for Halal products and improved import and export policies. Halal certification Established in 1983, HQC is an internationally accredited Halal certification body ranked as one of the first trustworthy accredited Halal certification bodies established in Europe. The thorough application process will see companies assessed across a number of metrics, including production environment and cleaning processes, this concludes with an on-site audit from HQCs Shariah and Technical auditors. Once passed, the organisation will be awarded a certificate allowing it to enter the global Halal market. This process is repeated yearly, in line with international standards and regulations.-- TradeArabia News Service CHICAGO, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Green Ammonia Market is projected to reach USD 17.9 billion in 2030 from USD 0.3 billion in 2023 at a CAGR of 72.9% according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. The Green Ammonia Market has promising growth potential due to the rising deployment of fuel cell vehicles. MarketsandMarkets_Logo Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=118396942 Browse in-depth TOC on "Green Ammonia Market" 223 - Tables 51 - Figures 223 - Pages Green Ammonia Market Scope: Report Coverage Details Market Size USD 17.9 billion in 2030 Growth Rate 72.9% of CAGR Largest Market Europe Market Dynamics Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities & Challenges Forecast Period 2023-2030 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered by technology, application and region Geographies Covered Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, and Rest of the World Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities Growing demand for biofuels Key Market Drivers Increased need for eco-friendly fertilizers with rising agricultural production Alkaline water electrolysis expected to dominate Green Ammonia Market, by technology, during the forecast period The alkaline water electrolysis segment holds the largest share of the Green Ammonia Market. The large market share can be attributed to the increasing number of large scale projects for the green hydrogen production. Power generation to witness fastest growth rate in Green Ammonia Market, by application, during forecast period The Green Ammonia Market, by application, is divided into power generation, transportation and industrial feedstocks, wherein industrial feedstocks accounts for the largest share. Power generation is the fastest growing segment during the forecast period. The growth is attributed to the increasing number of deployments of alkaline water electrolysis for small scale power generation applications in Europe and Asia Pacific. Story continues Europe expected to dominate Green Ammonia Market during forecast period In this report, the Green Ammonia Market has been analyzed for four regions: Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and the rest of the World. Europe is a significant contributor to the Green Ammonia Market in the current scenario of electrolysis technology, owing to the rapidly increasing cost-competitiveness which enables consumers to have access to clean electricity. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=118396942 Green Ammonia Market Dynamics: Drivers: Need to store renewable energy for longer term Enforcement of regulatory policies and provision of incentives to reduce GHG emissions Increased need for eco-friendly fertilizers with rising agricultural production Restraints: High initial cost to set up green ammonia plant Opportunities: Potential of ammonia as maritime fuel Increasing focus on building hydrogen-based economy Challenges: Lack of information about green ammonia among chemical manufacturers Low level of technology readiness for using ammonia as zero-carbon fertilizer, fuel, and energy storage Key Market Players: To enable an in-depth understanding of the competitive landscape, the report includes the profiles of a few of the top players in the Green Ammonia Market. The Green Ammonia Market is dominated by a few major players that have a wide regional presence. The leading players in the Green Ammonia Market are Siemens Energy (Germany), NEL ASA (Norway), ThyssenKrupp AG (Germany), ITM Power (UK), YARA International (Norway), and BASF SE (Germany) and others. Recent Developments In November 2022, Siemens Energy partnered with Fortescue Future Industries, a green hydrogen manufacturing company and GeoPura, which provides renewable energy & EV charging, & emission-free electricity, to develop an ammonia cracker prototype designed to produce green hydrogen at an industrial scale and help tackle climate change and reduce carbon emissions. The prototype would use ammonia to deliver 200 kg of hydrogen a dayenough to power around 510 hydrogen fuel cell electric buses. In September 2022, Uniper SE and Vesta signed a Memorandum of Understanding to expand an existing storage facility to build the first green ammonia hub named Greenpoint Valley in Northwest Europe. Uniper SE seeks to establish a presence in developing green ammonia and hydrogen sectors in Northwest Europe. The development of green ammonia and hydrogen markets will help boost European supply security. In August 2022, Uniper SE signed a Memorandum of Understanding with EverWind Fuels to purchase green ammonia from EverWind's initial production facility in Nova Scotia. EverWind and Uniper intend to negotiate a binding offtake agreement for 500,000 tonnes of green ammonia per annum. In January 2022, ITM Power contracted with YARA International, an EPC company. ITM Power provided a 24 MW electrolyzer to YARA International, which was agreed to be installed at a site operated by Yara Norge AS. Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=118396942 Browse Adjacent Markets: Energy and Power Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Hydrogen Generation Market - Global Forecast to 2027 Hydrogen Energy Storage Market - Global Forecast to 2027 Fuel Cell Market - Global Forecast to 2027 Power-to-gas Market - Global Forecast to 2024 About MarketsandMarkets: MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/green-ammonia-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/green-ammonia.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg Cision View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/green-ammonia-market-worth-17-9-billion-by-2030---exclusive-report-by-marketsandmarkets-301754055.html SOURCE MarketsandMarkets VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 23, 2023 / Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd. (the "Company" or "GSilver") (TSXV:GSVR)(AQUIS:GSVR)(OTCQX:GSVRF) is pleased to provide drill results from the Company's wholly owned San Ignacio mine ("San Ignacio") in Guanajuato, Mexico. James Anderson, Chairman and CEO said, "SI22-006 is the best drill hole the Company has drilled at any of its mines recently acquired from Great Panther Mining in August of 2022. With almost five meters of true width intersecting 1,219 g/t AgEq, which includes 0.42m true width of 6,981 g/t AgEq, this may represent a game changing result for the mine. The primary focus of our most recent San Ignacio drill program was to target the Melladito vein system with the goal of extending silver and gold mineralization in the south and north areas of the mine. This outstanding result will be followed up with additional drill holes attempting to follow the down dip extension of the vein within the Company's 2023 drill campaign. In parallel, we are in the midst of driving a 400-metre access ramp from Melladito to the analogous Purisima vein, which offers the potential for expanded production at San Ignacio." The Melladito vein dips to the east, with a true width ranging from 0.25 m to over 19 m; the vein has been delineated to a depth of 350 metres but retains deeper potential. Additionally, the vein often returns proportionately higher gold with lesser silver values. Current production from San Ignacio comes mostly from the Melladito and the Nombre de Dios vein systems. Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd., Wednesday, February 22, 2023, Press release picture Note: All silver equivalent (AgEq) values are calculated based on a long-term gold to silver price ratio of 80:1. Abbreviations used in this news release include the following: g/t: grams per tonne; Au: gold; Ag: silver; m: metre, AgEq: silver equivalent. New Ramp to Purisima Vein As part of the Company's 2023 development program, GSilver is currently developing Ramp 430, which will allow for development and production from the Purisima vein located approximately 400 metres to the east of the Melladito vein; approximately 40% of Ramp 430 has been completed (see Figure 1 below). The Purisima vein mirrors the Melladito vein system and has the potential to considerably impact production as well as overall mine life once the vein is encountered. The new ramp is expected to be finished within six months, which will facilitate production of mineralized material from San Ignacio at an expanded rate of over 12,000 tonnes per month. Story continues Figure 1 - Cross Section of the Ramp 430 Project Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd., Wednesday, February 22, 2023, Press release picture Figure 2 - Long Section Melladito Vein - Drillhole SI22-006 Highlighted Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd., Wednesday, February 22, 2023, Press release picture About the San Ignacio Mine Mineralization at San Ignacio is consistent with high-grade epithermal vein systems that are common within the Guanajuato Mining District; silver and gold mineralization is contained within vein stockworks and breccias. To date, eighteen veins have been defined at San Ignacio. Once mined, mineralization is transported using 20-tonne trucks approximately 20km for processing at the Company's wholly-owned Cata mill at the Valenciana Mines Complex. New Resource Calculation Initiated The Company also confirms that APEX Geoscience Ltd. of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada ("Apex"), has been engaged to provide a current mineral resource estimate for San Ignacio; the new mineral calculation is expected to be completed by Q3, 2023. A historical resource estimate at San Ignacio was completed by Robert F. Brown and Mohammad Noupour on behalf of Great Panther Mining Limited effective July 31, 2021 as part of a "NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Update Technical Report on the Guanajuato Mine Complex, Guanajuato and San Ignacio Operations, Guanajuato State, Mexico" dated February 28, 2022 (the Great Panther Report") and is summarized below: Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd., Wednesday, February 22, 2023, Press release picture Notes: Cut-offs were based on the marginal operating costs per mining area being USD$127.40/tonne for San Ignacio. Block model grades converted to USD$ value using plant recoveries of 87.15% Ag, 86.70% Au, and net smelter terms negotiated for concentrates. Rock Density for San Ignacio is 2.64t/m, Totals may not agree due to rounding. Grades in metric units. Contained silver and gold in troy ounces. Minimum true width 0.5m. Metal Prices USD$20.00/oz silver, and USD$1,650.00/oz gold. AgEq oz were calculated using 85:1 Ag:Au ratio. Inferred Mineral Resources have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether they can be mined legally or economically. It cannot be assumed that all or part of the Inferred Mineral Resources will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves have no demonstrated economic viability. The potential quantity and grade is conceptual in nature, there has been insufficient exploration to define a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a Mineral Resource. GSilver is not treating this historical estimate as current mineral resources, as a qualified person on behalf of GSilver has not done sufficient work to classify these estimates as current mineral resources. A thorough review by Apex of all historic data as well as additional production (mining depletion), drilling and underground sampling completed at San Ignacio since July 31, 2021, along with additional exploration and validation work to confirm results and estimation parameters, will be required in order to produce a current mineral resource estimate for San Ignacio. See the Great Panther Report, a copy of which is available for review under Great Panther's profile on SEDAR, for details of the key assumptions, parameters, and methods used to prepare the above historical resource estimate. Sampling and quality assurance/quality control Drill core was first reviewed by a Company geologist, who identified and marked intervals for sampling. The marked sample intervals were then cut in half with a diamond saw; half of the core was left in the core box and the other half was removed, placed in plastic bags, sealed and labeled. Intervals and unique sample numbers are recorded on the drill logs and the samples are sequenced with standards and blanks inserted according to a predefined QA/QC procedure. The samples are maintained under security on site until they are shipped to the analytical lab. The analytical work reported on herein was performed by Corporacion Quimica Platinum S.A de C.V., Silao, Guanajuato, Mexico. To validate our assay results and our preparation procedures, GSilver sends additional random samples representing approximately 20% of all analytical samples to Bureau Veritas in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. Bureau Veritas is an ISO/IEC (International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission) geo-analytical laboratory and is independent of GSilver and its "qualified person". In order to further validate our assay results and our preparation procedures GSilver sent additional random samples representing approximately 10% of all analytical samples to SGS Mexico, S.A de C.V, Durango, Mexico. SGS is also an ISO/IEC geo-analytical laboratory and is independent of GSilver and its "qualified person". Core samples were subject to crushing at a minimum of 70 per cent passing two millimeters, followed by pulverizing of a 250-gram split to 85 per cent passing 75 microns. Gold determination was via standard atomic absorption (AA) finish 30-gram fire assay (FA) analysis, in addition to silver and 34-element using fire assay and gravimetry termination. Following industry-standard procedures, blank and standard samples were inserted into the sample sequence and sent to the laboratory for analysis. Data verification of the analytical results included a statistical analysis of the standards and blanks that must pass certain parameters for acceptance to ensure accurate and verifiable results. GSilver detected no significant QA/QC issues during review of the data and is not aware of any sampling, recovery or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the drilling data referred to herein. About Guanajuato Silver GSilver is a precious metals producer engaged in reactivating past producing silver and gold mines in central Mexico. The Company produces silver and gold concentrates from the El Cubo Mine, Valenciana Mines Complex, and the San Ignacio mine; all three mines are located within the state of Guanajuato, which has an established 480-year mining history. Additionally, the Company produces silver, gold, lead, and zinc concentrates from the Topia mine in northwestern Durango. With four operating mines and three processing facilities, Guanajuato Silver is one of the fastest growing silver producers in Mexico. Technical Information Reynaldo Rivera, VP of Exploration of GSilver, has approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Rivera is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM - Registration Number 220979) and a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS "James Anderson" Chairman and CEO For further information regarding Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd., please contact: JJ Jennex, Gerente de Comunicaciones, T: 604 723 1433 E: jjj@GSilver.com Gsilver.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and information, which relate to future events or future performance including, but not limited to, the identification of the Melladito vein system as a gold and silver rich vein system with the potential for deeper mineralization, the potential of the Purisima vein as an analogue to the Melladito vein system with the ability to expand production at San Ignacio to more than 12,000 tonnes per month and extend the existing mine life, the estimated timetable for completion of Ramp 430 to connect the Purisima and Melladito veins and the anticipated increase in production resulting therefrom, the ability of the Company to quickly assess the deeper mineralization and characteristics of the Melladito vein system and the timing and quantity of production therefrom, the Company's current and projected mined output from San Ignacio for 2023 and the Company's status as one of the fasting growing silver producers in Mexico, the ability of the Company to continue to increase production, tonnage and recoveries of mineralized material at San Ignacio, Valenciana, El Cubo and Topia in accordance with its objectives and timetable including increasing silver and gold grades, improving metallurgical recovery rates, increasing revenues, and reducing production costs (including AISC) consistent with the Company's expectations and production model, the Company's future development and production activities; estimates of mineral resources and mineralized material at the Company's mining projects and the accessibility, attractiveness, mineral content and metallurgical characteristics thereof; the opportunities for future exploration, development and production at the Company's mines including the Melladito, Nombre de Dios and Purisima veins at San Ignacio and the proposed exploration, development and production programs therefor and the timing and costs thereof; and the success related to any future exploration, development and/or production programs. Such forward-looking statements and information reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to and assumptions made by the Company; which assumptions, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant operational, business, economic and regulatory uncertainties and contingencies. These assumptions include: the potential quantity, grade and metal content of the mineralized material at the Melladito, Nombre de Dios and Purisima veins, the geotechnical and metallurgical characteristics of such material conforming to sampled results and metallurgical performance; available tonnage of mineralized material to be mined and processed; resource grades and recoveries; assumptions and discount rates being appropriately applied to production estimates; prices for silver, gold and other metals remaining as estimated; currency exchange rates remaining as estimated; availability of funds for the Company's projects and to satisfy current liabilities and obligations including debt repayments; capital, decommissioning and reclamation estimates; prices for energy inputs, labour, materials, supplies and services (including transportation) and inflation rates remaining as estimated; no labour-related disruptions; no unplanned delays or interruptions in scheduled construction and production; all necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals are received in a timely manner; and the ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. The foregoing list of assumptions is not exhaustive. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements and information are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results, level of activity, production levels, performance or achievements of GSilver to differ materially from those expected including, but not limited to, market conditions, availability of financing, currency rate fluctuations, rising inflation and interest rates, geopolitical conflicts including wars, actual results of exploration, development and production activities, actual resource grades and recoveries of silver, gold and other metals from the Melladito, Nombre de Dios and Purisima veins or otherwise, availability of third party mineralized material for processing, unanticipated geological or structural formations and characteristics, environmental risks, future prices of gold, silver and other metals, operating risks, accidents, labor issues, equipment or personnel delays, delays in obtaining governmental or regulatory approvals and permits, inadequate insurance, and other risks in the mining industry. There are no assurances that GSilver will be able to continue to increase production, tonnage milled and recoveries rates, improve grades and reduce costs at San Ignacio to process mineralized materials to produce silver, gold and other concentrates in the amounts, grades, recoveries, costs and timetable anticipated. In addition, GSilver's decision to process mineralized material from San Ignacio including the Melladito and Nombre de Dios vein systems and newly discovered Purisima vein is not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability and therefore is subject to increased uncertainty and risk of failure, both economically and technically. Mineral resources and mineralized material that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability, are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them, and may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, socio-political, marketing, and other relevant issues. There are no assurances that the Company's projected grades of gold and silver at the Melladito, Nombre de Dios and Purisima veins and the anticipated level of production therefrom will be realized. In addition, there are no assurances that the Company will meet its production forecasts or generate the anticipated cash flows from operations to satisfy its scheduled debt payments or other liabilities when due or meet financial covenants to which the Company is subject or to fund its exploration programs and corporate initiatives as planned. There is also uncertainty about the continued spread and severity of COVID-19, the ongoing war in Ukraine and rising inflation and interest rates and the impact they will have on the Company's operations, supply chains, ability to access mining projects or procure equipment, contractors and other personnel on a timely basis or at all and economic activity in general. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information. All forward-looking statements and information made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those in our continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com including the Company's annual information form for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. These forward-looking statements and information are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances save as required by law. SOURCE: Guanajuato Silver Company Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/740449/Guanajuato-Silver-Drills-6981-gt-AgEq-at-San-Ignacio-and-Prepares-to-Expand-Production Contrive Datum Insights Pvt Ltd According to a market research study published by Contrive Datum Insights, North America has a big share of the healthcare cloud computing market, and this isn't likely to change much over the next few years. Farmington, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global Healthcare Cloud Computing Market Size Was Valued At USD 35.61 Billion In 2022 And Predicted To Surpass Around USD 127.04 Billion By 2030 With A Registered CAGR Of Around 17.2% During The Forecast Period 2022 To 2030. Most of what drives the market for Healthcare Cloud Computing is how much the energy industry needs it. Healthcare Cloud Computing, which is also called "winding wire," is an electrical conductor that is wrapped around a coil and turned on to make an electromagnetic field. This can be used to change something else's energy. The product is usually made of copper or aluminium, and it is used in transformers, motors, and other electromagnetic equipment. Changes in technology and rising demand from many end-use industries, like electrical and electronics, transportation, industrial, infrastructure, and others, are driving up the market's revenue. Healthcare Cloud Computing is an electrical conductor made of insulated aluminium or copper. It is also known as a "winding wire." It is used in electrical and electromagnetic devices like transformers, motors, speakers, potentiometers, hard disc head actuators, and many more. Healthcare Cloud Computing is used in everything from cell phones to high-voltage transformers, which means it is in 90% of all electrical devices. Request Sample Copy of Report Healthcare Cloud Computing Market Size, Share & Trends Estimation Report By Cloud Deployment (Private,Public, Hybrid), By Service (Paas, Iaas,and Saas); By Application ( Non-clinical Information System and Clinical Information System) By End-use (Healthcare Providers and Healthcare Payers), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 - 2030 , published by Contrive Datum Insights. Recent Developments: In February 2022 , IBM (US) acquired Neudesic, LLC (US), which aims to expand IBM's portfolio of hybrid multi-cloud services and further advance the company's hybrid cloud and AI strategy. In February 2022, Lyniate (US) will help customers more easily embrace a hybrid cloud approach and move mission-critical workloads from SAP solutions to the cloud in regulated and unregulated industries. Story continues Segment Overview Application Insights: Clinical information system includes telehealth solution, computerised physician order entry, population health management (PHM) solutions, electronic medical records, pharmacy information system, radiology information system, and others. In 2022, clinical information systems made up a big part of the market in terms of revenue. This was because there was a growing need to store raw data from doctors and physicians. Notes from pharmacists, doctors, and doctors, as well as prescriptions, are part of this data. While this is going on, huge amounts of clinical data are made every year, which makes it very important to have a laboratory information management system and a health information system. All of these things are making this part of the market grow. Cloud Deployment Insights: The healthcare cloud computing market is divided into hybrid cloud, private cloud, and public cloud based on how they are used. In 2022, the private cloud segment brought in a lot of money. This is because very sensitive patient information needs to be stored in a safe way to avoid a privacy breach that could have legal consequences. Services Insights: This market study looks at three different types of services: infrastructure-as-a-service, software-as-a-service, and platform-as-a-service. In 2022, SaaS services brought in the most money for the market. This is because this model has many benefits, such as safety, faster deployment, less total cost of ownership, and lower initial capital expenditures. Regional Outlook: Geographically, North America has a big share of the healthcare cloud computing market, and this isn't likely to change much over the next few years. The U.S. is a leader in healthcare cloud computing, mostly because healthcare IT services are used by a lot of people and are always backed up by the government. On the other hand, the market for healthcare cloud computing in Europe is also expected to grow quickly over the next few years. This is because more and more people are learning how easy it is to get better healthcare cloud computing solutions. Also, more people are going to hospitals because the number of older people is growing, and older people are more likely to get sick. All of these are seen as good signs for the demand for healthcare software in the cloud in Europe. Buy this Premium Research Report@ https://www.contrivedatuminsights.com/buy/248558 Scope of Report: Report Attributes Details Growth Rate CAGR of 17.2% from 2023 to 2030. Revenue Forecast by 2030 USD 127.04 Billion By Cloud Deployment Public, Private, Hybrid, Other By Application Clinical Information System, Non-clinical Information System, Others, Others By Service Platform as a service (Paas), Infrastructure as a service (Iaas), Software as a service (Saas), Others By End Users Healthcare providers, Healthcare payers, Others By Companies Cisco Systems Inc, Allscripts Healthcare Solution Inc, Microsoft Corp, Iron Mountain Inc, Qualcomm Inc, AthenahealthInc, GNAX Health, Dell Inc, EMC Corp, IBM Cor, VMware Inc, Oracle Corp Regions and Countries Covered North America: (US, Canada, Mexico, Rest of North America) Europe(Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Nordic Countries, Benelux Union, Rest of Europe) Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, India, Australia, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Rest of Asia-Pacific) The Middle East & Africa(Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa, Rest of the Middle East & Africa) Latin America(Brazil, Argentina, Rest of Latin America) Rest Of the World Base Year 2022 Historical Year 2017 to 2022 Forecast Year 2023 to 2030 Drivers: The main thing that drives demand is the growth of IT infrastructure in developed countries. One of the main things that drives demand is the fact that IT infrastructure is getting better in developed countries. Care facilities have to deal with more patients and more information about them. This means they need access to data in real time and integration of data. Both the public and private sectors are putting money into the healthcare IT industry because of how much it could grow. This is probably going to help the market grow. Restraints: Two of the biggest worries that keep the market from growing are cybercrime and privacy risks. Two big problems that make it hard for businesses to grow are cybercrime and privacy risks. Recent improvements in telemedicine, digital medical libraries, and management information systems are all based on cloud infrastructure. Opportunities: The market has chances because of research and development in healthcare infrastructure and the growing use of technology. Having more cash on hand, digitising faster, and making accountable care organisations are all good things for cloud computing in healthcare. Also, the arrival of the tele cloud and the use of blockchain in the health cloud will give market participants chances to make money during the time period covered by the forecast. Key Segments Covered: Top Market Players: Cisco Systems Inc, Allscripts Healthcare Solution Inc, Microsoft Corp, Iron Mountain Inc, Qualcomm Inc, AthenahealthInc, GNAX Health, Dell Inc, EMC Corp, IBM Cor, VMware Inc, Oracle Corp, and others. By Cloud Deployment Public Private Hybrid Others By Application Clinical Information System Telehealth Solutions Computerized Physician Order Entry Population Health Management (PHM) Solutions Electronic Medical Records Pharmacy Information System Radiology Information System Others Non-clinical Information System Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) Billing & Accounts Management Solutions Claims Management Others Others By Service Platform as a service (Paas) Infrastructure as a service (Iaas) Software as a service (Saas) Others By End Users Healthcare providers Healthcare payers Others Regions and Countries Covered North America: (US, Canada, Mexico, Rest of North America) Europe: (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Nordic Countries, Benelux Union, Rest of Europe) Asia-Pacific: (Japan, China, India, Australia, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Rest of Asia-Pacific) The Middle East & Africa: (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa, Rest of the Middle East & Africa) Latin America: (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of Latin America) Rest Of the World Check out more related studies published by Contrive Datum Insights: 3D Printing Market - The global 3D printing market size was valued at USD 12.6 billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 34.8 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 18.2% during the forecast period. Apps Market - The global apps market size was valued at USD 206.85 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.8% from 2023 to 2030. Automotive Battery Management System Market - The Global Automotive Battery Management System Market Size Was USD 5.14 Billion In 2021. The Market Is Projected To Grow From USD 5.56 Billion In 2022 To USD 15.18 Billion By 2030, Exhibiting A CAGR Of 15.4% During The Forecast Period. Customization of the Report: The report can be customized as per client needs or requirements.For any queries, you can contact us on anna@contrivedatuminsights.com or +1 215-297-4078. Our sales executives will be happy to understand your needs and provide you with the most suitable reports. About Us: Contrive Datum Insights (CDI) is a global delivery partner of market intelligence and consulting services to officials at various sectors such as investment, information technology, telecommunication, consumer technology, and manufacturing markets. CDI assists investment communities, business executives, and IT professionals to undertake statistics-based accurate decisions on technology purchases and advance strong growth tactics to sustain market competitiveness. Comprising of a team size of more than 100 analysts and cumulative market experience of more than 200 years, Contrive Datum Insights guarantees the delivery of industry knowledge combined with global and country-level expertise. Social: Facebook / LinkedIn / Twitter Contact Us: Anna B. | Head Of Sales Contrive Datum Insights Phone: +91 9834816757 | +1 2152974078 Email: anna@contrivedatuminsights.com Website: https://www.contrivedatuminsights.com Contrive Datum Insights Press Releases Latest Contrive Datum Insights Latest Reports 127.04 Billion SkyQuest Technology Consulting Pvt. Ltd. SkyQuests research report on the horizontal axis wind turbine market is compiled using a robust methodology using a sound methodology that incorporates SWOT analysis, technological evaluation, cost analysis, product benchmarking, recent advancements, and precise forecasting. This process guarantees that the research offers trustworthy and accurate market insights. For investors, business experts, and other participants concerned with this industry, this market report offers a useful resource. Westford, USA,, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The share of the horizontal axis wind turbines market is anticipated to be dominated by the Europe region. The growth of the market can be ascribed to the increasing installation of turbines in the region. Rapid improvements in the creation of renewable energy systems, such as both stationary and floating offshore wind farms, are what propel technology acceptance. Having little environmental impact, needing little maintenance, and having cheap labor expenses are a few of the primary variables estimated to influence market share during the forecast period. Additionally, both public and private funding in utility-scale projects and continuous efforts to locate viable offshore wind project locations are fueling the industry's overall growth. SkyQuests latest research report shows that the increasing power demand across the globe, backed by the inclusion of renewable energy sources and the greater consumption of clean energy are driving forces behind overall industry expansion. The analysis also projects that, from 21.5 billion MWh in 2010, worldwide electricity generation will have climbed by 123% to 150% by 2050, reaching 53.6 billion MWh. Get sample copy of this report: https://skyquestt.com/sample-request/horizontal-axis-wind-turbine-market Browse in-depth TOC on " Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Market" Pages - 221 Tables - 61 Figures 68 Wind turbines with a horizontal axis (HAWTs) The most popular types of wind turbines in use today are HAWTs. HAWTs use rotors that can be either upwind or downwind-positioned and are mounted with aerodynamic blades (also known as airfoils). Often having two or three blades, HAWTs move quickly at the blade tips. The generator is operated when the rotor converts the static energy of the wind into rotational kinetic energy. With the shape of an airfoil, the air passes through the blades. It moves quickly over the blade's longer side, reducing the pressure above the wing and causing the blades to spin. Story continues Prominent Players in Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Market Northern Power Systems (US) WES Wind Energy Solutions (Netherlands) Kingspan Global (Ireland) Shanghai GHREPOWER Green Energy Co., Ltd. (Shanghai) Endurance Wind Power Inc. (Canada) Fortis wind energy (Germany) WindPower SA (Portugal) Nanjing Oulu Electric Corp., Ltd. (China) Bergey Windpower Co. Inc. (Oklahoma) Polaris (US) Britwind Limited (UK) HY Energy Systems Inc. (US) XZERES Corp. (US) City Windmills Ltd. Hi VAWT Technology Corp. Small Type Horizontal Axis Turbine Segment to Gain the Largest Market Share Owing to Benefit of its Compact Size The horizontal axis wind turbine market is divided into large and small players based on Type. The small type has the biggest market share because of its compact size, which makes it simple to install in a variety of areas to deliver energy, including buildings, homes, and others. Rural settings with lots of open space and little barriers to wind speed are the greatest places for small wind turbines. Moreover, the rising installation of this type of turbine is predicted to boost the segment growth over the upcoming years. SkyQuest noted that there is large space available in rural areas where this small turbine can easily be installed as each installed wind turbine can produce over 2.2 MW and can meet the additional power demand of the area. Europe region is estimated to remain a leader in the horizontal axis wind turbine market by gaining the largest market share during the forecast period. The growth of the market can be ascribed to the increasing installation of wind turbines and the rising demand for renewable power sources in the region. SkyQuest found during research that the European Green Deal project can only be implemented with the use of offshore wind energy. By utilizing the enormous potential of the five EU sea basins, the operational offshore wind capacity in the EU, which was 14.5 GW in 2021, is expected to expand by more than 24 times by 2030. Browse summary of the report and Complete Table of Contents (ToC): https://skyquestt.com/report/horizontal-axis-wind-turbine-market Offshore Segment to Gain Highest Market Share Thanks to Increasing Investment in Offshore Installations Onshore and offshore make up the market segments for horizontal axis wind turbines based on application. The market share that belonged to the offshore segment is estimated to be the largest during the forecast period as offshore power generation commonly uses horizontal axis wind turbines. The increasing construction of significant offshore wind farms across the globe is predicted to fuel the segment growth. Future wind farms are predicted to be massive, with capacities between 50 and 100 MW, and due to their size and remoteness, they need to be located many miles offshore. Moreover, over the next few years, the Asia Pacific horizontal axis wind turbine industry is expected to expand considerably. It is projected that China would have a substantial impact on the Asia Pacific wind turbine market. It is projected that lower component costs and increased domestic system production will enhance the regional market environment. SkyQuest noted that over 69.5% of the newly built wind capacity in 2021 came from China, the United States contributed 14%, and Brazil contributed 7%. China will hold the title of the largest manufacturer of wind power equipment by 2028. Goldwind, based in the province of Xinjiang, is China's largest domestic maker of wind turbines. An extensive study of the industry's size, share, and major players is included in a new research report that focuses on the global horizontal axis wind turbine market. The research also provides a thorough analysis of the state of the industry today and takes into account the effects of important occurrences and regional market circumstances. The leading players in the market are also included in the report, together with their market shares, strategies, and significant advancements. Key Developments in the Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Market The top offshore wind turbine producer in Europe is Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. The Spanish-based firm, which runs 3,675 turbines and produces around 17 gigawatts of electricity, accounted for 68.1 percent of all total installations in 2020. Recently on November 2022, the largest offshore wind turbine, a 16 MW unit created in China's Fujian Province, with a 145-meter turbine hub and a 251-m dia, was erected by China Three Gorges Corp. and partner Goldwind, X1 Wind, a startup in the field of renewable energy, has created an innovative and ground-breaking offshore wind turbine floater with significant operational and environmental advantages. Technip Energies, a leading engineering and technology company committed to advancing the energy transition, announced that it has acquired a 16.3% stake in X1 Wind. Speak to Analyst for your custom requirements: https://skyquestt.com/speak-with-analyst/horizontal-axis-wind-turbine-market Key Questions Answered in the Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Market Research Report What are the main forces influencing development in the target market? What segments of the target market are growing the fastest, and why? What effects do extraneous factorslike the state of the world economy and political developmentshave on the target market? Are there any particular difficulties that enterprises must overcome when making investments in the target market that set it apart from other places? Related Reports in SkyQuests Library: Global Food Processing Equipment Market Global Thermal Printing Market Global Pad Mounted Transformer Market Global Portable Generator Market Global Heat Recovery Steam Generator Market About Us: SkyQuest Technology is leading growth consulting firm providing market intelligence, commercialization and technology services. It has 450+ happy clients globally. Address: 1 Apache Way, Westford, Massachusetts 01886 Phone: USA (+1) 617-230-0741 Email: sales@skyquestt.com LinkedIn Facebook Twitter HYTN Innovations Inc. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HYTN Innovations Inc. (HYTN or the Company) (CSE: HYTN) announced that it has successfully initiated cultivation of psilocybin mushrooms under its Dealers License granted by Health Canada in accordance with the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. This announcement is a significant development supporting HYTN's mission to be a leading manufacturer of psychoactive and psychotropic compounds. The company also announced it has installed state-of-the-art equipment at its Kelowna facility, including high-performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatographymass spectrometry, to support the development of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and strengthen the company's technological capabilities. HYTN has also established a partnership with Graeme Staley, founder of Entheopharm Solutions Inc., and Dr. Philippe Henry, enabling the company to commence development of APIs containing a wide range of compounds, with the goal of positioning it as a leader in the emerging field of psychedelics. Jason Broome, HYTN's Chief Operating Officer, expressed his confidence in the company's capability to meet API level specifications for psilocybin, as well as other psychoactive and psychotropic compounds. "With the necessary licenses, systems, and expert personnel, HYTN is well-positioned to develop a diverse portfolio of APIs. The company's historical success commercializing novel formulations showcases our understanding of the regulatory systems in which we operate." To meet global standards, the company notes it is actively pursuing Current Good Manufacturing Practice ("cGMP") certification through both the Canadian and Australian health authorities. Pending cGMP accreditation, HYTN will concentrate on producing high-quality psilocybin extracts, expanding its cannabis product lines, and refining approved substances. HYTNs Chief Executive Officer, Elliot McKerr, stated that "the company remains committed to expanding its product offerings and leveraging its manufacturing site and quality systems. HYTN is confident in its ability to achieve cGMP certification and become a leading producer of high-quality APIs worldwide. HYTN's nationally and internationally listed cannabis products, featuring Elevation Technology, will remain a cornerstone of its strategy. These products are available in both medical and recreational marketplaces and are known for their superior bioavailability, quality, and consistency." Story continues About HYTN Innovations Inc. HYTN Innovations Inc., formulates, manufactures, markets, and sells premium products containing psychoactive and psychotropic compounds, including cannabis-derived cannabinoids. The company aims to be the leading provider of these products in all federally regulated markets and focuses on identifying category opportunities while taking an innovative approach to rapidly commercializing products within its elevated development platform. Please visit www.hytn.life for more information or contact: Elliot McKerr Chief Executive Officer 1.866.590.9289 HYTN Investor Relations 1.866.590.9289 investments@hytn.life The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed, approved, or disapproved the contents of this press release. Certain information contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, statements regarding: (i) The successful cultivation of psilocybin containing mushrooms; (ii) The addition of equipment for API Development; (iii) The partnership with related parties allowing for the development work of APIs; (iv) The company becoming a leader in the rapidly emerging field of psychedelics; (v) The company's ability to meet API specifications for psilocybin and other psychoactive and psychotropic compounds.; (vi) Obtaining cGMP certification by any health authority (vii) The future potential of high-quality APIs worldwide. Factors that could cause actual results to vary from forward-looking statements or may affect the operations, performance, development and results of the Companys business include, among other things: the Company's ability to generate sufficient cash flow from operations to meet its current and future obligations; the Company's ability to access sources of debt and equity capital; competitive factors, pricing pressures and supply and demand in the Companys industry; general economic and business conditions; and the effects and impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the extent and duration of which are uncertain at this time, on the Company's business and general economic and business conditions and markets. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact are deemed to be forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and, except to the extent required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements whether made in this news release or otherwise, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary note. HONG KONG, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hong Kong-based fintech company Goldhorse Capital Management (HK) Limited ("Goldhorse Capital") today announced it is supporting KGI Asia Limited ("KGI Asia") to strengthen its provision of structured products and wealth management solutions. By understanding clients' goals and unique aspirations, KGI Asia analyses the overall situation and recommends strategic asset allocations throughout all stages of their lives. Combining bespoke services and investment insights, KGI Asia Sage, targets to provide clients in Asia with wealth management needs. Extramile further empowers KGI Asia's professional team's ability to offer unrivalled structured products solutions based on clients' need anytime, anywhere. "KGI Asia is committed to providing better wealth management services to our clients, and structured products is an important part of our wealth management portfolio," said Kevin Tai, Head of International Wealth Management of KGI Asia. "Through our partnership with Goldhorse Capital, we hope to further enhance the variety, depth and breadth of our structured products solutions for our clients." "Goldhorse Capital is very proud to be chosen by KGI Asia as their partner in fintech." said Long Lee, Chief Executive Officer of Goldhorse Capital. "Extramile is an industry-leading, efficient, scalable and cost-effective solution, we look forward to supporting Sage to achieve the 4Es Exclusivity, Expertise, Effectiveness and Extraordinariness. This partnership with KGI Asia is another important vote of confidence by leaders in the private wealth management eco-system in APAC, in our innovation as well as the value of the Extramile Community." About Goldhorse Capital Management (HK) Limited Goldhorse is a unique and leading financial products platform provider found and based in Hong Kong. The Company is licensed by the SFC to carry out Type 1 (dealing in securities) and Type 4 (advising on securities) regulated activities, allowing it to offer a true fin+tech solution to both the buyside intermediaries and the product suppliers in the High-Net-Worth market. Through Extramile, Goldhorse delivers multi-issuers RFQs, encrypted dealing process, and automated post-sales life cycle management solution into the hands of decision makers at Private Banks, Brokerage Houses, and External Asset Managers. Unbiased product education as well as tri-lingual local technical support are as well very valuable proposition to our clients, to enhance the way they service their end-clients. Story continues For more information, please visit www.goldhorse.com.hk. About KGI Asia Limited KGI Asia is one of the region's leading financial brand since 1997. Our scope of business compasses brokerage, wealth management, investment banking, fixed income, and asset management. We are committed to offering a broad range of financial products and services to corporate, institutional, and individual clients throughout Asia. Backing by KGI Securities Co. Ltd. and China Development Financial Holding Corporation in Taiwan, we have a robust Asia footprint covering Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand. KGI Asia Limited attained a BBB+ rating by Standard & Poor's and received the "Private Wealth Management Award" at the 2022 Corporate Brand Awards of Excellence organized by the Hong Kong Economic Journal. For more information, please visit www.kgi.com.hk. SOURCE Goldhorse Capital Management (HK) Limited The Insight Partners The Manhole Covers Market size is growing from USD 3.86 billion in 2022 to USD 5.13 billion by 2028; it is estimated to record a CAGR of 4.9% from 2022 to 2028. New York, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to The Insight Partners, Manhole Covers Market Forecast to 2028. Manhole Covers Market growth can be attributed to the increasing construction activities. The manhole covers market is highly competitive, owing to the presence of many regional and global players. Players compete based on product quality, product differentiation, and price. Market players are adopting different strategies to stand out as strong competitors in the market. Download PDF Brochure at https://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPRE00022649/ Global Manhole Covers Market Report Scope: Market Size Value in USD 3.86 Billion in 2022 Market Size Value by USD 5.13 Billion by 2028 Growth rate CAGR of 4.9% from 2022 to 2028 Forecast Period 2022-2028 Base Year 2022 No. of Pages 167 No. of Tables 87 No. of Charts & Figures 100 Historical data available Yes Segments covered Product, Type and Application Manhole Covers Market: Competition Landscape The major players operating in the global manhole covers market include EJ Group Inc, John Bouchard & Sons Co, LF Manufacturing Inc, Neenah Foundry Co, Terra Firma Industries Pty Ltd, Fibrelite Composites Inc, Eagle Manufacturing Corp, Industrie PoliecoMpb Srl, Co Pvt Ltd, and Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA, and Crescent Foundry. Manufacturers operating within the global manhole covers market focus on product innovation. This has led to significant investments in research and development activities, and in expanding production capacities by the manufacturers. Inquiry Before Purchase: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/inquiry/TIPRE00022649/ Key Developments In September 2021, Neenah Foundry launched InfraLOCK heavy duty manhole cover. Neenah Foundry's InfraLOCK heavy duty manhole cover incorporates the ultra-strong ABLOY PLM340 padlock, designed specifically to protect the underground infrastructure. In October 2021, Fibrelite launched new Radio Frequency (RF) friendly manhole covers. These are a new generation of covers designed for remote underground monitoring and supporting data transfer between antennas underground and aboveground. RF/smart manhole covers are used as a part of (real-time) remote underground monitoring systems/telematics in utilities, where transmitters under covers are used for monitoring and/or controlling oil/water usage, sewer flow, floodwater, etc. RF/smart manhole covers also have applications in the mining and telecom industries. Story continues In 2022, Europe region accounted for the largest share of the global manhole covers market and the market in the region is segmented into France, Germany, the UK, Italy, Russia, and the Rest of Europe. The construction industry in Europe contributes a major part to the GDP of the region. The construction industry supports the growth of the European economy by assisting the supply chain, which creates several services and business opportunities. Germany, the UK, and Russia are a few economically strong European countries which witnessed significant growth in the construction sector. In 2021, various construction projects were commenced that included A303/A30/A358 Road Corridor Improvement Check Discount on this Report at - https://www.theinsightpartners.com/discount/TIPRE00022649/ The project involves the construction of a 12.8 km road corridor between Honiton, Taunton, and Amesbury (Somerset, the UK); E39 Herdal-Royskar Motorwaythe project involves the construction of a 110 km, four-lane motorway between Herdal and Royskar in Norway; Nizhnekamsk-Naberezhnye Chelny Bypassthe project includes the construction of the Nizhnekamsk-Naberezhnye Chelny Bypass in Tatarstan, Russia; Banja Luka-Prijedor-Novi Grad Motorwaythe project involves the construction of an 80 km motorway from Banja Luka via Prijedor to Novi Grad in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Llogara Tunnelthe project involves the construction of 12.8m wide, two-lane, 5.76 km long tunnel from St. Eliza Bridge to Palasa Bridge in Albania. Such initiatives by governments of European countries are further bolstering the demand for manhole covers in the region. Composite manhole covers are widely used as a substitute for iron or metal covers. Composite covers are not corroded by gases, water, crack, or fracture and they do not conduct electricity. Furthermore, composite manhole covers block rainwater seeping into underground tanks through the soil. Traditional cast iron and steel products produce noises due to improper installation. Composite manhole covers reduce noises and cause minimal radio frequency interference. Composite manhole covers have demand in electricity power stations, railway stations and lines, or gas/oil filling stations. These innovative features of composite manhole covers make them a better option for urban development, which, in turn, is anticipated to drive the manhole covers market during the forecast period. Based on product type, the manhole covers market is segmented into metal covers, composite covers, and concrete covers. The composite covers segment is expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Composite manhole covers are of different types and available in various designs and materials, and each material offers different benefits. These composite manhole covers are made of fiber reinforced plastic; it consists of unsaturated polyester resin, glass fiber, quartz, and two different types of additives such as bulk molding compounds and sheet molding compounds. Fiber reinforced composite manhole covers have a good surface, are wear-resistant, and have a high load-bearing capacity. Moreover, glass reinforced plastic composite manhole covers are strong, lightweight, corrosion resistant, nonthermal and nonconductive and require minimal maintenance. Buy Premium Copy of Manhole Covers Market Growth Report (2022-2028) at: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/buy/TIPRE00022649/ Based on the application, manhole covers market is categorized into municipal, commercial facilities, industrial facilities, and utility pits and others. Municipal segment is predicted to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Manhole covers are defined as removable covers used for the opening of a manhole leading to a drain or sewer. The municipal utilization of manhole covers includes stormwater systems, sewer systems, wastewater collection systems. Manhole covers are used in gas lines, water distribution systems, drainage pipelines, and various other municipal applications. They also allow easy and safe access passage to the utility pits for performing maintenance and regular checking. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Manhole Covers Market The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted various economies across the globe. The pandemic significantly hampered the manhole covers market growth, due to adverse effects on the growth of the building & construction industry. In Asia Pacific, a decline in consumer demand due to job security and income concerns led to low investment in the building & construction industry, reducing the need for manhole covers. Further, many manhole covers manufacturers suffered from a shortage of raw materials, resulting in rising costs and lengthening of lead times. However, the building & construction sector revived with the resumption of operations in 2021. This has positively impacted the manhole covers market growth. Browse related reports published by The Insight Partners: - Underground Waste Containers Market Forecast to 2028 - Covid-19 Impact and Global Analysis - by Material (Metal, Plastic, and Others); Capacity (Less than 1000 Litres, 1001-3000 Litres, and Above 3000 Litres); and Application (Residential, Commercial, Industrial, and Others) Underground Machine Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Offering (Equipment, Services); Equipment Type (Bolter Miners, Shearers, Continuous Miners, Feeder Breakers, Others) and Geography Water Pipeline Leak Detection System Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Offering (Hardware and Software and Services), Equipment Type (Acoustic and Non-Acoustic), Pipe Type (Plastic Pipes, Ductile Iron Pipes, Stainless Steel Pipes, and Others), and End User (Non-Residential and Residential), and Geography Rainwater Harvesting System Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Harvesting Process (Surface Runoff, Rooftop Rainwater); Component (Tanks, Filters, Pumps and Controls, Other Accessories); Application (Residential, Commercial, Industrial) and Geography Intelligent Pipeline Pigging Market to 2025 - Global Analysis and Forecast by Application (Metal Loss/ Corrosion, Geometry & Bend Detection, Crack & Leak Detection and Others), Technology (Ultrasonic Pigging and Magnetic Flux Pigging) and End-users (Chemical, Oil, Gas and Others) Offshore Pipeline Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Diameter (More than 24 inches and Less than 24 inches), Line Type (Export Line, Transport Line, and Others), and Product (Oil, Gas, and Refined Products) Reinforced Thermoplastic Pipes Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Inner Layer Material (Polyamide, Polyethylene (PE), Other); Reinforced Material Type (Aramid, Steel, Other); Application (Oil and Gas, Irrigation, Other) and Geography Leak Detection And Repair (LDAR) Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Product (Handheld Gas Detectors, UAV-Based Detectors, Vehicle-based Detectors, Manned Aircraft Detectors); Technology (Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) Analyzer, Optical Gas Imaging (OGI), Laser Absorption Spectroscopy, Ambient/Mobile Leak Monitoring, Acoustic Leak Detection, Audio-Visual-Olfactory Inspection) and Geography Underground Mining Equipment Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Mining Type (Strip Pillar Mining, Room and Pillar Mining, Thickness-Limited Extraction); Application (Coal, Metal, Mineral) and Geography Underground Utility Mapping Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis By Component (Solutions, Services); End-user Industry (Telecommunication, Oil and Gas, Government and Public Safety) and Geography Underground High Voltage Cables Market Forecast to 2028 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Voltage Rating (Less than 100 kV, 101- 200 kV, 201-300 kV, Above 300 kV); Application (Industrial, Utility) and Geography About Us: The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We specialize in industries such as Semiconductor and Electronics, Aerospace and Defense, Automotive and Transportation, Biotechnology, Healthcare IT, Manufacturing and Construction, Medical Device, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Chemicals and Materials. Contact Us: If you have any queries about this report or if you would like further information, please contact us: Contact Person: Sameer Joshi E-mail: sales@theinsightpartners.com Phone: +1-646-491-9876 Press Release: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/pr/manhole-covers-market (Bloomberg) -- British lawmakers quizzed representatives from Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc.s Google, and BT Group Plc about the development of artificial intelligence during an evidence-gathering session in Parliament. Most Read from Bloomberg Over the span of the 90-minute hearing Wednesday, the word bias was used 26 times, compared with 25 uses of opportunity, 15 of regulation and 11 of worried. Bias was also one of the few talking points which included themes such as Chinas use of AI for surveillance, and British competitiveness in global talent markets during which a question failed to be confidently answered by an interviewee. Labour Party MP Dawn Butler asked Microsofts legal affairs manager Hugh Milward whether his companys AI engineers made sure testers of products such as the Bing AI search tool came from diverse backgrounds. Its a good question, Milward said. I actually dont know the answer to that. Read More: Microsoft Unveils Bing Search Engine Using OpenAI Technology Governments and businesses are grappling with questions around how AI is developed and used after OpenAIs ChatGPT, which is being deployed in Microsofts Bing alongside rollouts of similar technology at Google and other rivals, promised to revolutionize search. The technology has the potential to drive big changes in education, customer service programming and a host of other industries. Separately, when asked about how AI should be regulated, Milward said laws should focus on restricting how the technology is used by companies, not whether its allowed to be developed in the first place. Butler asked Jen Gennai, a director in Googles responsible innovations team, whether it was possible to actually build an AI system free of biases. Story continues I think it is very hard to say there will ever be fully fair products, Gennai said. They should always be fairer than they wouldve been without these sorts of tests and balances. And it should involve constant monitoring. Representatives for the companies were voluntarily giving evidence as part of an ongoing inquiry by lawmakers into the development of AI. The result of such sessions are used to produce recommendations to government for improving laws, but arent legally binding. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Middlefield Canadian Income PCC Net Asset Value Middlefield Canadian Income PCC Middlefield Canadian Income - GBP PC (a protected cell company incorporated in Jersey with registration number 93546) Legal Entity Identifier: 2138007ENW3JEJXC8658 Net Asset Value As at the close of business on 22 February 2023 the estimated unaudited Net Asset Value per share was 131.71 pence (including accrued income). Investments in the Company's portfolio have been valued on a closing price basis. Enquiries: JTC Fund Solutions (Jersey) Limited 01534 700 000 Abu Dhabi Ship Building, a leader in the design, new build, repair, maintenance, refit, and conversion of naval and commercial vessels, said it has signed an co-operation agreement with Sagar Defence Engineering. As per the deal, the duo will assess the viability of entering into definitive agreement for the provision of 12 metre platforms, as well as a transfer of technology (ToT) programme for the Indian market. It was signed by Sagar Defence Engineering Founder and CEO Nikunj Parashar and David Massey, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ship Building. Abu Dhabi Ship Building is an entity of EDGE Group, one of the world's top 25 advanced technology groups for defence and beyond.-TradeArabia News Service Persistence Market Research Market Study on Mobile Apps and Web Analytics: Rising Digitization and Need of Enhanced Customer Experience Pushes the Demand New York, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Mobile Apps and Web Analytics Market is predicted to record a CAGR of 16.4% during the forecast period, from US$ 9.6 Billion in 2022 to US$ 44.0 Billion by 2032. The increased emphasis on improving customer experience, as well as the expanding trend of digitization, is likely to fuel mobile applications and web analytics market expansion. The difficulty of data synchronisation, on the other hand, is projected to limit mobile applications and web analytics market expansion. Opportunities would be created by factors such as rising demand for massive amounts of data analysis and increased usage of mobile applications, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 epidemic has highlighted the actual value of data and how analytics may help with pandemic management. Significant prospects for mobile app and web analytics market players may be observed as organizations fight for sustainability to withstand the effect of this epidemic. Click Here to Get Free Sample Copy of this Report@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/33087 Notable attempts are being made throughout the world to use advanced analytics to grasp the real-time scenario of a pandemic via mobile applications and online navigation. The government, public agencies, and hospitals are utilizing mobile applications and web analytics to interact with the public and raise awareness about the necessary precautions during the epidemic, which is further anticipated to create opportunities for the mobile apps and web analytics market players. Media firms and stakeholders are exploring new methods to communicate with their audiences and have resurrected their business strategy through social media. Hence, the adoption of mobile apps and web analytics is likely to grow during the forecast period. Story continues Companies would focus on customer experience management and measure it using a single perspective of customer interactions. Customer journey management, social media management, mobile apps, and online data management would be useful for activities such as reporting a detailed and real-time analysis of customer behavior-driven engagement. Although many mobile applications and web analytics market verticals are seeing a decline in product demand, there are a few industry verticals that are experiencing a surge in product demand. For example, as millions of workers work from home, the adoption of Microsoft Teams and Zoom Meeting has skyrocketed throughout the world. Online streaming services have also seen a significant increase in their subscriber base across North America, Europe, and APAC. People are experiencing social isolation as a result of Covid-19, with the majority choosing to purchase their everyday supplies through an online eCommerce site. Hence, the demand for analytics is rising to estimate the future demand from the eCommerce platforms. The solutions sector is an important mobile applications and web analytics market component that helps marketers comprehend customer experience management. Data analytics, data discovery, data visualisation, and data management are all part of mobile apps and web solutions. Organizations are having difficulty handling this massive number of data, which is reducing corporate productivity and revenue. Get Full Access of this Report@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/33087 During the projected period, the cloud deployment model is predicted to increase at a faster CAGR. Cloud-based solutions are gaining traction in the mobile applications and web analytics market due to a variety of advantages, including cost management, resource sharing, and reduced deployment time. Cloud deployment provides advantages in terms of flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, which provides companies with better control over the server, infrastructure, and systems, thereby improving the growth prospect of the mobile apps and web analytics market. KEY TAKEAWAYS: In the component sector , solution from the marketing attribution software market is anticipated to flourish at the quickest CAGR of 16% through 2032. With a CAGR of 16.2% through 2032, Cloud is predicted to grow significantly in the deployment mode segment of the marketing attribution software market. The market size for marketing attribution software market in the United States is expected to reach US$ 15.3 Billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 16.2% during the forecast period. China is anticipated to reach a market size of US$ 3.1 Billion in marketing attribution software by 2032, with a CAGR of 15.7% during the forecast period. UKs marketing attribution software market is anticipated to be worth US$ 1.9 Billion by 2032, with a CAGR of 15.3% over the forecast period. Japan is expected to have a market size for marketing attribution software of US$ 2.5 Billion by 2032, with a CAGR of 14.6% during the forecast period. By 2032, South Korea is expected to reach a market size of US$ 1.6 Billion in marketing attribution software, with a CAGR of 13.8% during the forecast period. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE: Major solution providers in the mobile applications and web analytics market include Microsoft (US), Google (US), Oracle (US), IBM (US), Salesforce (US), Adobe (US), SAP (Germany), TIBCO Software (US), Micro Focus (US), SAS Institute (US), Teradata (US), AWS (US), Splunk (US), MicroStrategy (US), AT Internet (France), Webtrends (US), comScore (US), Mixpanel (US), and Upland Localy (US). You Can Customize this Report As per Your Requirement Click Here@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/request-customization/33087 RECENT DEVELOPMENT: IBM and Siemens will collaborate to create a service lifecycle management solution in June 2020. To constantly enhance product performance, maintenance, and operations, the solution integrates aspects from Siemens' Xcelerator range with IBM Maximo . Additionally, the system allows OEMs to obtain important data on asset performance, maintenance, and failures in the field. Teradata announced a slew of updates to its Teradata Vantage as-a-service solutions on public cloud providers Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure in June 2020. Teradata users may now store data separately and only when needed with the new service. The service allows Teradata cloud users to match features and performance to a variety of business requirements. Other Trending Reports: About Persistence Market Research: Business intelligence is the foundation of every business model employed by Persistence Market Research. Multi-dimensional sources are being put to work, which include big data, customer experience analytics, and real-time data collection. Thus, working on micros by Persistence Market Research helps companies overcome their macro business challenges. Persistence Market Research is always way ahead of its time. In other words, it tables market solutions by stepping into the companies/clients shoes much before they themselves have a sneak pick into the market. The pro-active approach followed by experts at Persistence Market Research helps companies/clients lay their hands on techno-commercial insights beforehand, so that the subsequent course of action could be simplified on their part. Contact Rajendra Singh Persistence Market Research U.S. Sales Office: 305 Broadway, 7th Floor New York City, NY 10007 +1-646-568-7751 United States USA - Canada Toll-Free: 800-961-0353 Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com Results Include 2.4% Total Rare Earth Oxide And 0.94% Heavy Rare Earth Oxide VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 23, 2023 /CNW/ - Monumental Minerals Corp. ("Monumental" or the "Company") (TSXV: MNRL) (FSE: BE5) (OTCQB: MNMRF) is pleased to provide an update on exploration at the Jemi rare earth element (REE) project (the "Project") located in Coahuila, Mexico, about 40 km south of the Texas, USA border. Rock sampling across a broad area has discovered high grades of the critical magnet metals dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb) and defined a series of high priority drill targets. Four months of exploration has been completed at Jemi, with the objective to delineate discreet drill targets. Recent work consisted of detailed geological mapping, regional stream sediment sampling, ground radiometric geophysical surveys, and lithogeochemical sampling. Exploration focused on the Jemi Dykes and Veladora North areas, which host peralkaline intrusion related REE mineralization. To date, 188 assays from rocks collected at Jemi Dykes and Veladora North have been received while results for 177 samples from Veladora North are pending. Of the 188 samples with assay results, over one third (76 samples) returned values greater than 0.15% total rare earth oxide (TREO1), including 5 samples that returned values greater than 1.0% TREO1 to a maximum value of 2.4% TREO1 (sample number 22309) (Table 1). The average TREO for all samples is 0.21%, and a minimum value of 9 parts per million (ppm), which was returned in an iron-oxide/calcite vein. Dysprosium oxide (Dy 2 O 3 ) and terbium oxide (Tb 2 O 3 ) in samples classified as peralkaline range between 959 ppm and 3 ppm; and 147 ppm and 0.6 ppm, respectively. The average concentration for Dy 2 O 3 is 83 ppm; and the average for Tb 2 O 3 is 13 ppm. Light rare earth oxides, namely neodymium oxide (Nd 2 O 3 ) and praseodymium oxide (Pr 2 O 3 ), return values that range between 3173 ppm and 19 ppm; and 824 ppm and 5.5 ppm, respectively. The average concentration for Nd 2 O 3 is 359 ppm; and for Pr 2 O 3 it is 103 ppm. Story continues Heavy rare earth oxide (HREO2) concentration greater than the 75th percentile is 1062 ppm in peralkaline-classified rocks (31 samples), including ten that exceed 2500 ppm. These values are in trend with LREO3 concentrations and the ratio of HREO2 to LREO3 is consistently on average 1:2, suggesting similar REE-hosting phases in the peralkaline rock samples. Dr. Jamil Sader, CEO and Director comments: "Mapping, sampling and geophysics at Jemi Dykes and Veladora North has resulted in the definition of a new previously unknown zone of mineralized dykes. Of most significance, we have discovered what we believe to be some of the highest grades of HREO, including the magnet metals dysprosium and terbium, of any rocks in North America. We anticipate having drill locations mapped out at both the Jemi Dykes and Veladora North areas before Q2 2023." ________________________________________________ 1 Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO) includes: La2O3, Ce2O3, Pr2O3, Nd2O3, Sm2O3, Eu2O3, Gd2O3, Tb2O3, Dy2O3, Ho2O3, Er2O3, Tm2O3, Yb2O3, Lu2O3, Y2O3. 2 Heavy Rare Earth Oxides (HREO) includes: Eu2O3, Gd2O3, Tb2O3, Dy2O3, Ho2O3, Er2O3, Tm2O3, Yb2O3, Lu2O3, Y2O3, 3 Light Rare Earth Oxides (LREO) includes La2O3, Ce2O3, Pr2O3, Nd2O3, Sm2O3. Rock samples with the highest REE content are those that are classified as peralkaline (sodium plus potassium concentrations are greater than aluminum concentrations). In most hard rock HREE ore deposits, rocks must be peralkaline in order for HREE bearing silicate minerals such as eudialyte to crystalize. Eudialyte is the dominant REE host mineral at Jemi, that can contain up to 10% RE 2 O 3 (enriched in HREEs), and 12% ZrO 2 . In addition to being REE-mineralized, samples are also mineralized with respect to tantalum (Ta) and niobium (Nb). Laboratory determination of these critical elements in all samples from the Jemi project return values to 975 ppm Ta 2 O 5 and greater than (>) 3576 ppm Nb 2 O 5 , with an average concentration of Ta 2 O 5 of 60 ppm and Nb 2 O 5 of 665 ppm. At the Jemi Dykes area, the highest REE concentrations are from eudialyte +/- aegirine rich dykes that are clustered in an approximately 150 m wide; 1600 m long zone oriented parallel to the La Vasca intrusive complex (Figure 1). These mineralized dykes are commonly between 0.5 to 2 m in width, with the higher grade ones situated in the southern part of the survey area. Three-dimensional airborne magnetics modeling suggests that magma sources for the mineralized dykes are at a shallow depth (less than 300 m), and that they are spatially associated with the 150 m wide zone of mineralized dykes observed at the surface. These zones of favourable dyke geology, lithogeochemistry, and geophysics will be the focus of drilling. Table 1. Top 15 assay results for rare earth elements and other critical metals from the Jemi Dykes and Veladora North area of the Jemi Project. Rock grab samples are selective samples by nature and as such are not necessarily representative of the mineralization hosted across the Jemi Project. (CNW Group/Monumental Minerals Corp.) Rare Earth Element Value and Applications for the Energy Transformation Because of their unusual physical and chemical properties, the REEs have diverse defense, energy, industrial, and military technology applications. Demand for REEs is expected to outstrip supply in less than 2 years, and it is expected that there will be a shortage of the metals until at least 20302 - dominantly due the increase in demand for neomagnets for EV motors, as well as other types of electric motors (e.g., wind turbines, water pumps). Neodymium-iron-boron magnets, which are the strongest known type of magnets, are used when space and weight are restrictions are present. The addition of HREEs terbium or dysprosium to magnets can double their optimal operating temperature from 80C to 160C. In addition, dysprosium with praseodymium increases a magnet's coercivity (the resistance of a magnetic material to change in magnetisation). _______________________________________________________ 2 Macquarie Rare Earth Market Research, December 9, 2021 The four key REEs represent 94% of the REE market by value (Nd, Pr, Dy, and Tb), all of which are enriched at Jemi. Concentrations of Nb and Ta also meet the threshold to be considered potentially economically significant (Table 2). Table 2. Current spot prices for oxide Nd/Pr/Dy/Tb, Nb, and Ta. (CNW Group/Monumental Minerals Corp.) Figure 1. Map of 3D airborne geophysical anomaly (see Companys news release dated May 3, 2022) interpreted to represent a magmatic intrusion at the Jemi Dykes area, which is likely the source of mineralized peralkaline dykes mapped at surface. Heavy rare earth oxides are as high as 3228 ppm in these rocks and present highly favourable drilling targets. (CNW Group/Monumental Minerals Corp.) Methodology and QA/QC The analytical work reported on herein was performed by ALS Canada Ltd. (ALS) at Hermosillo, Mexico (sample preparation) and Vancouver, B.C. (ICP-MS fusion). ALS is an ISO-IEC 17025:2017 and ISO 9001:2015 accredited geoanalytical laboratory and is independent of Monumental Minerals and the QP. Rock samples were subject to crushing at a minimum of 70% passing 2 mm, followed by pulverizing of a 250-gram split to 85% passing 75 microns. A 0.1-gram sample pulp was then subject to multi-element ICP-MS analysis via lithium-borate fusion to determine individual REE content (ME-MS81). Monumental Minerals quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) program for field rock samples includes the insertion of certified reference standards into the sample sequence to confirm the accuracy of the reported results. Monumental Minerals detected no significant QA/QC issues during review of the data, and is not aware of any sampling, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy of the results. Qualified Person The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Kristopher J. Raffle, P.Geo. (BC) Principal and Consultant of APEX Geoscience Ltd. of Edmonton, AB, a Director of the Company and a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Raffle verified the data disclosed which includes a review of the sampling, analytical and test data underlying the information and opinions contained therein. About Monumental Minerals Corp. Monumental Minerals Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral resource properties in the critical and electric metals sector. The Company's flagship asset is the Jemi HREE project located in Coahuila, Mexico near the Texas, USA border which the Company has an option to acquire 100% of the 3,650-hectare project. The Company has an option to acquire a 75% interest and title to the Laguna cesium-lithium brine project located in Chile and a 50.01% interest in the Salar De Turi lithium project in Chile. On behalf of the Board of Directors, /s/ "Jamil Sader" Jamil Sader, Chief Executive Officer and Director Contact Information: Email: jsader@monumentalminerals.com Or Max Sali, VP Corporate Development and Director Email: msali@monumentalminerals.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Forward Looking Information This news release contains "forwardlooking information or statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, which may include, without limitation, the potential plans for the Company's projects, receipt of additional assay results from Jemi, the expected timing and completion of potential drilling at Jemi, other statements relating to the technical, financial and business prospects of the Company, its projects and other matters. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the price of metals, the ability to achieve its goals, that general business and economic conditions will not change in a material adverse manner and that financing will be available if and when needed and on reasonable terms. Such forward-looking information reflects the Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including the risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of exploration results, risks related to the inherent uncertainty of exploration and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses and those other risks filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. While such estimates and assumptions are considered reasonable by the management of the Company, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive and regulatory uncertainties and risks. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include, but are not limited to, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions, failure to secure personnel and equipment for work programs, adverse weather and climate conditions, risks relating to unanticipated operational difficulties (including failure of equipment or processes to operate in accordance with specifications or expectations, cost escalation, unavailability of materials and equipment, government action or delays in the receipt of government approvals, industrial disturbances or other job action, and unanticipated events related to health, safety and environmental matters), risks relating to inaccurate geological assumptions, failure to maintain all necessary government permits, approvals and authorizations, failure to obtain surface access agreements or understandings from local communities, land owners or Indigenous groups, fluctuation in exchange rates, the impact of Covid-19 or other viruses and diseases on the Company's ability to operate, an inability to predict and counteract the effects of COVID-19 on the business of the Company, including but not limited to, the effects of COVID-19 on the price of commodities, capital market conditions, restriction on labour and international travel and supply chains, decrease in the price of rare earth elements, lithium, cesium and other metals, loss of key employees, consultants, or directors, failure to maintain community acceptance (including from the Indigenous communities), increase in costs, litigation, and failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations. The Company does not undertake to update forwardlooking statements or forwardlooking information, except as required by law. Monumental Minerals Corp. logo (CNW Group/Monumental Minerals Corp.) SOURCE Monumental Minerals Corp. Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2023/23/c5552.html WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Following is a statement from National Press Club President Eileen O'Reilly and National Press Club Journalism President Gil Klein on the shooting of two Spectrum 13 (Orlando) journalists today. NATIONAL PRESS CLUB LOGO. (PRNewsFoto/NATIONAL PRESS CLUB) (PRNewsfoto/National Press Club) (PRNewsfoto/National Press Club) We were horrified to hear the news that two journalists for Spectrum News 13 were shot while reporting on the scene of a third (earlier) shooting of a young girl in Pine Hills, Fla. tonight. One of the journalists has died and the other is injured. Our hearts go out to the families of the journalists and to their colleagues in the Spectrum 13 newsroom. Police have detained a 19-year old suspect. They believe all three shootings are connected. This is another tragic reminder that journalism is a dangerous business and that criminals and those that are the subject of reporting can become violent toward reporters who are doing their jobs. We urge all reporters in the field to take extra precaution and redouble efforts to work safely. We call on those who use hateful rhetoric against journalists online to carefully consider the consequences of their actions. These journalists, whose names have not been released by Spectrum 13, join Las Vegas journalist Jeff German as among those U.S. journalists who have been brutally attacked for their work in just the past year. " Founded in 1908, the National Press Club is the world's leading professional organization for journalists. With 3,000 members representing nearly every major journalism organization, the Club is a strong advocate for press freedom worldwide. The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged, global citizenry through an independent and free press and equips journalists with the skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. The NPCJI is the non-profit affiliate of the National Press Club. Contact: Bill McCarren, 202-662-7534 for the National Press Club Story continues Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/national-press-club-statement-on-shooting-of-florida-tv-journalists-301754003.html SOURCE National Press Club INVL Technology In accordance with Article 65(1) of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Companies, Novian Systems UAB ir ELSIS PRO UAB, managed by INVL Technology, hereby notify of the terms of the reorganisation of Novian Systems UAB, code: 125774645, registered office address: Vilnius, Gyneju Str. 14, and ELSIS PRO UAB, code: 300064148, registered office address: Vilnius, Baltupio Str. 14, on the basis of which ELSIS PRO UAB is merged with Novian Systems UAB, that is continuing operations. One hundred percent of the shares of Novian Systems UAB are held by Novian UAB. One hundred percent of shares of ELSIS PRO UAB are held by Novian Systems UAB. The reorganisation period will continue until the reorganization is completed, i. e. until a new version of the Articles of Association of Novian Systems UAB, which will operate after the reorganisation, is registered in the Register of Legal Entities. Novian Systems UAB will take over all assets, rights, and obligations of ELSIS PRO UAB, all of the rights and obligations of ELSIS PRO UAB by transaction will be transferred to Novian Systems UAB, transactions of ELSIS PRO UAB will be included in the financial accounting of Novian Systems UAB at the end of the day of the completion of the reorganization, without signing acts of acceptance and transfer confirming this. Every shareholder and creditor is given the opportunity to get acquainted with the Terms of Reorganisation, the project of a new version of the Articles of Association of Novian Systems UAB, and financial reports by prior agreement in Vilnius at Gyneju Str. 14, also in the electronic publication issued by the Register of Legal Entities. Additional information is available by email pro.elsispro @novian.lt . On the basis of Article 66(2) of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Companies, creditors of the companies may submit their claims from the first day of publication of the terms of reorganisation until the day of the general meeting of shareholders the agenda whereof provides for the adoption of a decision on reorganisation of the relevant company. Story continues Additional information: The IT services group Novian is consolidating its software development capabilities. The groups software service providers Novian Systems and Elsis PRO will be merged and continue as Novian Systems. The decision to merge the companies was approved by the Investment Committee of INVL Technology, which owns the Novian group, on 19 January. As per that decision, terms have been submitted to the Lithuanias Centre of Registers for a reorganisation in which Elsis PRO it will be merged into Novian Systems. Completion of the process is planned at the end of March this year. By combining two companies with great experience, we are creating new potential across a wide range of competencies: from tax administration, municipal projects and risk management to solutions for the defence, aerospace and aviation industries. We believe that this move will enable us to intensify innovation in these areas, including the development of artificial intelligence and big data technologies, thereby increasing value for our customers, said Evaldas Rekus, the CEO of the Novian group and of Novian Systems. He said the merger will also allow Novian Systems to expand the geography of its operations. Its Baltic projects will be complemented by projects in other European Union countries. As a single, larger company, its weight and competitiveness on the market will increase. It will be able to carry out larger and more complex projects, be more active internationally and participate in projects funded by the European Union. After the merger, Evaldas Rekus will remain the CEO of Novian Systems, while Rimvydas Janciauskas, who is currently the CEO of Elsis PRO, will be the Managing Director. On completion of the merger, Novian Systems will assume the obligations of Elsis PRO. We aim to make the transition to joint operation as smooth as possible so the process has minimum impact on ongoing projects, Rimvydas Janciauskas said, adding that there will be no major changes for customers or partners due to the merger. It is planned during the merger to sharpen the business directions within the company by pooling competencies and adapting the organizations structure accordingly. The merger is estimated to have a positive financial effect as it will enable optimisation of business processes and administrative costs. Following the merger, Novian Systems portfolio of competencies will be augmented by Elsis PROs own expertise in artificial intelligence, intelligent data exchange and big data analytics. Novian Systems until now has focused on custom systems development, artificial intelligence, data analytics, big data, and process robotics, and has implemented nationwide and municipal projects as well as business analytics and process automation solutions. Novian Systems and Elsis PRO had aggregated revenue of EUR 6.93 million in 2021, or 8.8% more than in 2020. Their EBITDA in 2021 was EUR 0.67 million and grew 0.7% compared to the previous year. Elsis PRO, established in 2004, joined the Novian group at the end of 2021, with 100% of its shares owned by Novian Systems following an acquisition. The Novian software and IT infrastructure services group had aggregated revenue of EUR 25.8 million in 2021 which was 7.1% more than in 2020. The groups EBITDA in 2021 was EUR 1.7 million and shrank 3.5% compared to 2020. Operating profit of EUR 0.81 million was down 18.3% year-on-year. The Novian group also includes the companies in the Novian Technologies area and Zissor. The person authorized to provide additional information: Kazimieras Tonkunas INVL Technology Managing Partner E-mail k.tonkunas@invltechnology.lt Attachments ATLANTA, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) issued the following statement on Thursday in response to the National Transportation Safety Board's (NTSB) preliminary report on the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment. Norfolk Southern Corporation Logo (PRNewsfoto/Norfolk Southern Corporation) Statement from Norfolk Southern Since the incident, Norfolk Southern has focused on supporting the Village of East Palestine and the NTSB throughout their investigation. NTSB investigators have worked tirelessly, and we appreciate everything they are doing. We share the NTSB Chair's frustration about the significant misinformation about the incident. Norfolk Southern will continue to support the NTSB's investigation. Their preliminary report indicates: The rail crew operated the train within the company's rules. The rail crew operated the train below the track speed limit. The wayside heat detectors were operating as designed. Once the rail crew was alerted by the wayside detector, they immediately began to stop the train. The company's wayside detectors on its network trigger an alarm at a temperature threshold that is among the lowest in the rail industry. At Norfolk Southern, our highest priority is the safety of our people and the communities and customers we serve. Under the supervision of the Federal Railroad Administration, the company has inspected all wayside detectors in the area of the incident and found they were operating as designed. Out of an abundance of caution, Norfolk Southern is now inspecting all of the nearly 1,000 wayside heat detectors on its system on top of the regular inspection of the detectors every 30 days. We and the rail industry need to learn as much as we can from this event. Norfolk Southern will develop practices and invest in technologies that could help prevent an incident like this in the future. We will also work with the owners of the rail cars on the integrity and safety of the equipment we use. The speculation and misinformation about this incident have been extremely upsetting to the citizens of East Palestine. Norfolk Southern remains committed to the people of the community and will continue its work to help them thrive. Already, we have made significant progress in cleaning the site, engaging the community, and providing financial support for families and small businesses, all to help East Palestine. Story continues About Norfolk Southern Since 1827, Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC) and its predecessor companies have moved the goods and materials that drive the U.S. economy. Today, it operates a customer-centric and operations-driven freight transportation network. Committed to furthering sustainability, Norfolk Southern helps its customers avoid 15 million tons of yearly carbon emissions by shipping via rail. Its dedicated team members deliver more than 7 million carloads annually, from agriculture to consumer goods, and is the largest rail shipper of auto products and metals in North America. Norfolk Southern also has the most extensive intermodal network in the eastern U.S., serving a majority of the country's population and manufacturing base, with connections to every major container port on the Atlantic coast as well as the Gulf of Mexico and Great Lakes. Learn more by visiting www.NorfolkSouthern.com. Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/norfolk-southern-statement-on-the-ntsbs-preliminary-east-palestine-report-301755009.html SOURCE Norfolk Southern Corporation Company Logo IT Job Market Growth 2023 to 174K IT Job Market Growth 2023 to 174K Why New Hires Fail Why New Hires Fail Dublin, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "North America IT Hiring Kit Best Practices" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The IT Hiring Kit includes the latest salary survey (PDF), most recent salary data (Excel) for 73 key IT positions and 73 full job descriptions (Word) - Interview and Hiring Guide with electronic forms and key job descriptions. Hiring is more difficult in today's IT Job Market IT Pro's Hiring Kit - Includes latest IT Salary Data, Interview and Hiring Guide, and 320 Job Descriptions - In today's economy, nearly every organization faces pressure to have the right talent in place, run at peak efficiency and "do more with less". With the economy improving and the lowest unemployment numbers in several years, HR departments are pressured to get qualified professionals on board now. Every component of the IT Hiring Kit was updated for post pandemic requirements - including WFH This indispensable resource provides up-to-date salary data gathered through an extensive survey of businesses throughout the United States and Canada, plus polished job descriptions for the 73 IT positions surveyed. This proprietary information reduces the time it takes to recruit top talent and ensures that you get the right person for each job. Growth of IT Job Market (updated) IT Job Market continues to grow at a pace that is slightly slower than that of the post-COVID recovery. Janco's initial forecast for the number of new IT jobs to be added in 2023 is approximately 174,000. In today's employment market, it is critical to make every hire count. There is little room for error. It is crucial for senior-level leadership, human resources and hiring managers to all be on the same page and do the right things. In addition, it's a good time for CIO and IT managers to direct HR to keep the hiring pipeline flowing. To that end, Janco has created an IT Hiring Tool Kit aimed at getting that process flowing. With it in place, HR and IT teams can work together to get results. Story continues Building an excellent IT staff your company requires offering the right jobs at the right salary levels. Only the IT Hiring Resource Kit provides the industry-standard job descriptions and up-to-date salary data you need to recruit top talent as effectively and efficiently as possible. The salary survey includes a list of the benefits provided by enterprises of all size. Is your company providing the right benefits. Hiring IT Pros will be more difficult in 2023 Many Hiring failures hinder progress in IT With the limited labor supply of IT professionals, every hiring mistake is magnified. In our review of "hiring failures" we have found two factors associated with which stand out. Interpersonal issues associated with these failures (29 percent) and poor corporate culture fit (28 percent) with the others. Most of these can be filtered out during the recruiting and interviewing process. The 2023 Edition of the IT Hiring Kit provides solutions for hiring managers. Some of the solutions that are defined in the kit to minimize hiring mistakes are things to consider or alter in the recruiting and hiring process. Included are: Do not hire based on an outdated job description. Times change and jobs change. Update the description. The most common mistake is not ensuring that the job posting aligns with the job. When filling a role where the former employee was in the role for a while, their duties shift, but often job postings don't accurately represent all the other responsibilities that have been added over time, which can end up in misalignment. It's important to capture all the responsibilities of the role before you start the recruiting process so the candidates who apply are aware of the role in its true and full form. Look for team players. The single most important quality in an IT hire is compatibility with the existing team. A newly hired employee with a "hero mentality" should be avoided. The most successful employees bring up their entire teams enabling them to accomplish more than simple individual wins. Look out in job interviews for candidates who focus only on their own accomplishments. Avoid inflated resumes. A bad IT hire is an individual who sells themselves well in the interview but exaggerated their skills. It is important for hiring managers to catch these types of candidates during the job search with a variety of skills testing." Avoid team killers. As a manager, you must consider whether it's worth sacrificing one individual for the sake of the team, or the team for the sake of this one individual. In most cases, world-class managers choose the former option. The hardest part is when an individual is very good at their job but just did not fit in with the culture of the wider group. Avoid poor skills fit. For example, an extremely bright candidate was hired into the wrong role. Everyone is impressed by how smart they are but frustrates the individual's manager who was trying in vain to transform them into the role they need. Validate motivation. Engagement during the interview process is a great sign of whether the candidate is truly excited about the role. If you're transparent about the process and the culture and there's a high degree of engagement, there's a greater potential for a good fit. Avoid red flags. You can spot any glaring red flags Do not give them access to confidential and sensitive information before there is any need to Avoid inflexible hiring. When bringing on new team members, leaders that are willing to show some flexibility in their requirements are finding the most success Avoid careless individuals. When and why did you start in IT? It's been the best indicator of whether the candidate is going to be a good fit for the team. Avoid the prima donna. Candidates who can't get past their own opinions, causing rifts in his business technology department. When you push back and say it does not address all the questions or concerns, they are prone to shutting down. Tools contained in the Hiring Kit are: 40-page Interview Guide and checklist 2023 IT Salary Survey 73 to 324 Job Descriptions based on the version ordered HR HandiGuide with all mandated requirements For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/rvb2vg-america-it?w=12 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Attachments CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 Nova Royalty Logo (CNW Group/Nova Royalty Corp.) TSXV: NOVR OTCQB: NOVRF VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 23, 2023 /CNW/ - Nova Royalty Corp. ("Nova" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Hashim Ahmed as Chief Financial Officer of the Company ("CFO"). Mr. Ahmed's transition into the CFO role is expected to be effective at the start of the second quarter and will result in the replacement of Bill Tsang who will be departing the Company at the same time. Alex Tsukernik, President and CEO of Nova, commented, "On behalf of the Board of Directors and management, I would like to congratulate Hashim on his appointment to the executive leadership team at Nova. Hashim has deep industry experience in the mining sector and a strong background in finance, accounting, tax, and governance. He is a welcome addition to our leadership team and I am confident that he will be a positive contributor to Nova as we continue to work towards delivering the next phase of growth. I would like to also thank Bill Tsang for his dedicated service to the Company and wish him all the best in his future endeavours." Mr. Ahmed commented, "I am excited to join Nova Royalty and look forward to working with such an accomplished board and management team. The current team has accumulated a portfolio of strong and attractive copper royalty assets and is positioned to be a unique player in the growth of the global copper sector. With the advent of electric vehicles, the demand for copper is expected to rise exponentially. I plan to support the board and management in scaling Nova Royalty and delivering superior returns to shareholders." Hashim Ahmed Prior to joining Nova, Mr. Ahmed was with Jaguar Mining, where he served as Chief Financial Officer since 2016. Mr. Ahmed has approximately 20 years of experience in finance, accounting, tax, and corporate governance. He obtained his CA/CPA designation with PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP and later worked with Ernst & Young LLP in their advisory practice. Mr. Ahmed also worked with Barrick Gold for seven years, where he held progressively senior positions in finance functions. Mr. Ahmed is a member of the Board of Directors of Stratabound Minerals and a Member of the Audit Committee of the Government of Ontario. Story continues Corporate Update Nova also announces the grant of 1,907,500 restricted share units (each an "RSU") and 1,347,500 stock options (each an "Option") to certain directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Company in accordance with the Company's share compensation plan. The RSUs and Options vest in equal annual installments over a period of two years, except for those allotted to Mr. Ahmed which vest in equal installments over a period of four years. Each vested RSU entitles the holder to receive one common share of the Company and each vested Option is exercisable for a period of five years at an exercise price of C$1.47 per common share. About Nova Nova is a royalty company focused on providing investors with exposure to the key building blocks of clean energy copper and nickel. Nova has assembled a portfolio of royalties on a significant proportion of the next generation of major copper projects located in 1st-tier jurisdictions, providing investors exposure to some of the most critical resource assets for the clean energy transition. These projects are being advanced by the world's premier mining companies, which include First Quantum, Lundin, Hudbay, Anglo American and Glencore, among others. The Company is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol "NOVR" and on the US OTCQB under the trading symbol "NOVRF". ON BEHALF OF NOVA ROYALTY CORP., (signed) "Alex Tsukernik" President and Chief Executive Officer Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively, "forward looking statements"). The forward-looking statements herein are made as of the date of this press release only, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budgets", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "projects", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding future departure of Mr. Tsang and timing thereof, board contributions, vesting of RSUs, potential vesting and exercise of stock options as well as copper demand fundamentals, and shareholder returns. Forward-looking statements are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the ability of Nova to control or predict, that may cause Nova's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied thereby, and are developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out herein, including, but not limited to, the risk factors set out under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form dated April 29, 2022 and other filings available for review on the Company's profile at www.sedar.com . Such forward-looking information represents management's best judgment based on information currently available. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. SOURCE Nova Royalty Corp. Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2023/23/c5592.html (Bloomberg) -- Nvidia Corp. jumped after giving a bullish revenue outlook for the current quarter, suggesting that a push into artificial intelligence processors is helping offset sluggish demand for personal computer chips. Most Read from Bloomberg When you have the next big thing in tech, its natural for investors to scramble to find ways to play the theme, said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell. Nvidias involvement in the AI space now puts it directly under the spotlight. The stock rose 13% in early New York trading Thursday, the biggest intraday advance since November. If the gain holds, Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia would be on track to add about $64.3 billion in market value, taking its year-to-date gains to about $214 billion. The forecast signals that Nvidias foray into AI computing chips is paying off. Under Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Jensen Huang, the company has parlayed its dominance of graphics processors into a strong position in the growing market for AI hardware. Its chips excel at the kind of parallel processing that allows computers to make sense of large amounts of data and train software to make decisions. Sales in the three months ending in April will be about $6.5 billion, Nvidia said in a statement Wednesday. That compares with an average of analysts estimates of $6.35 billion, according to data complied by Bloomberg. Nvidia also announced its own AI cloud service on Wednesday. The company is teaming up with Oracle Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.s Google to offer the ability to use Nvidia GTX machines to do AI processing via simple browser access, Huang said. The new platform, which will be carried by other cloud service providers, will help companies that dont have the technical expertise to build their own infrastructure. Story continues The interest in ChatGPT has opened the eyes of business leaders to the power of artificial intelligence, Huang said in an interview. But right now, its mostly general-purpose software. The value will come from tailoring it to companies own needs so they can improve their services and products, he said. Its a wake-up moment for the capabilities of AI, he said. The challenge is there is no such thing as one AI model for everyone. This is really where we can be of great value for the industry. The shares have already been the best performer in the Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index this year, gaining 42%. Investors have piled into Nvidia making it the worlds most valuable chipmaker again as they bet that demand for AI systems such as ChatGPT will boost orders for the companys products. Nvidias dependence on the PC market for a large chunk of sales still dragged on its results last quarter, though not as much as feared. Computer makers have been slashing chip orders in an attempt to work through stockpiles of unused inventory. The companys gaming business heavily reliant on the PC industry had revenue of $1.83 billion last quarter, a decline of 46%. Still, it topped the average estimate of $1.6 billion. Data-center sales grew 11% to $3.62 billion, coming in short of an average prediction of $3.86 billion. Overall revenue fell 21% to $6.05 billion, marking Nvidias second decline in 13 quarters. Profit was 88 cents a share, minus certain items. On that basis, analysts had predicted a profit of 81 cents on sales of about $6 billion. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. Pershimex Resources Corporation Inc. VAL-DOR, Quebec, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pershimex Resources Corporation (Pershimex or the Corporation) (TSX GROWTH: PRO) would like to provide a corporate update regarding the transaction with Mines Abcourt inc. The Board of Directors reviewed the progress of Abcourt's steps on the state of its financing to allow the conclusion of the merger approved by the shareholders of Pershimex on December 27th 2022. The difficult and exceptional financial circumstances, affecting the Canadian capital markets and more specifically the mining industry, require an extension of the deadline for closing the merger by 60 days. Noting that Abcourt's sustained efforts to enable the merger between the companies to be completed as quickly as possible, Abcourt's assurance and renewed support that Pershimex's current plans and Pershimex's financial structure are in the interests of 'Abcourt to be promoted and protected, the Board of Directors of Pershimex has expressed its support and has approved to extend the deadline for closing the merger by 60 days from the date hereof. About Pershimex Resources Corporation Pershimex Resources Corporation is a mining exploration and development corporation with projects located primarily in the Abitibi region of Quebec, Canada, focusing on the discovery and development of high-grade gold deposits. For more information, please contact: Robert Gagnon, President Tel.: (819) 825-2303 Mobile : (819) 860-2621 Warning Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the information contained in this press release. Facts stated in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements and readers are cautioned that such statements are not guarantees of success and that future developments and results may differ from those projected in such forward-looking statements. The second edition of the DIFC Sculpture Park once again sees the participation of Oblong Contemporary Art Gallery among the protagonists of the 2023 exhibition event entitled Tales Under the Gate. The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), one of Dubai's most beautiful destinations, is now transformed into an extraordinary contemporary sculpture park. Oblong Contemporary Art Gallery, a leading international art gallery based in Dubai's Bluewaters Island, contributes to the initiative by installing the works of three of the gallery's artists: Antonio Signorini, Gianfranco Meggiato and Michelangelo Bastiani. The three artists, chosen by Oblong's Gallerist Paola Marucci to exhibit in this special exhibition, represent the world of contemporary sculpture through different themes and artist's poetics showing a great creative intensity and intrinsic beauty. Antonio Signorini, whose two white flying horses are on display in DIFC Sculpture Park, is also currently the protagonist of a large solo exhibition taking place in the most evocative squares of the historical center of Florence (Italy), organised by Oblong Contemporary Gallery together with the city of Florence. Meggiato displays at DIFC a gilded bronze sculpture entitled Shell Sphere, the central sphere represents the harmony and the search for peace in the intricate but precious weave of life. The artist has recently exhibited in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa (Italy), in front of the world-famous Leaning Tower, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Bastiani creates sculptures in special materials and installations with holograms and interactive video projections on LED screens to explore the theme of liquidity. Earth and air in your steps, Cloud in the desert and Trail, are the three works installed at DIFC that show the artist's various areas of research. Bastiani has exhibited in many parts of the world, including Florence, Rome, Venice, Milan, London, Istanbul, Frankfurt, New York, and Miami. "I am very happy to participate with the artists of my gallery in this important event, which sees sculpture in the foreground. We are at the second edition, and being there, once again this year, means contributing to the success of the initiative and its dissemination to a public that is growing and that we hope will be even more numerous in this edition," said Marucci. -TradeArabia News Service VANCOUVER, BC, Feb. 23, 2023 /CNW/ - A class action lawsuit about the July 8, 2020, fire at the Prince George Econo Lodge City Centre Inn has been allowed to proceed by the British Columbia Supreme Court. The plaintiff, Leonard Hay, has filed the class action to seek compensation for himself and other Class Members who suffered losses or injuries as a result of the fire. CFM Logo (CNW Group/CFM Lawyers LLP) You may be a Class Member if: You were a registered guest at the City Centre Inn on July 8, 2020; You were present at the City Centre Inn on July 8, 2020 at the time of the fire; You were present at Yolks All Day Family Restaurant on July 8, 2020 at the time of the fire; or You are a family member of one of the victims who was killed in the fire. However, you are not a Class Member if you intentionally started the Fire, conspired to start the Fire, or were an employee of one of the defendants in the class action. The defendants are: Mundi 910 Victoria Enterprises Ltd.; Choice Hotels Canada Inc.; The City of Prince George; and All Points Fire Protection. The class action will seek to claim compensation for Class Members who suffered losses as a result of the fire, including: Wrongful death; Personal injury, including physical and psychological injuries; Lost or damaged possessions; Room costs that were not refunded; and Expenses caused by the fire, such as transportation and hotel costs. Participating in the Class Action Your legal rights will be affected if you are a Class Member. You do not need to sign up for the class action for your legal rights to be affected. If you do nothing: you will be eligible to participate in the ongoing class action, and you will be bound by the outcome of the class action, including any judgment on the common issues for the class, whether favourable or not, and you may receive money from the class action, but you will not be able to start or continue your own case against the Defendants regarding the claims made in the class action. If you believe you are a Class Member and would like to know more about your rights and the class action, please contact Class Counsel for more information. Story continues You should save any documents you have that might relate to your losses, such as receipts for any expenses you incurred because of the fire, medical records, and booking information with the City Centre Inn. Choosing not to Participate in the Class Action If you do not wish to participate in the class action you must take action to exclude yourself before May 24, 2023. This will be your only opportunity to opt out of the class action. If you opt out: you will not be eligible to participate in the ongoing class action, and you will not be bound by the outcome of the class action, including any judgment on the common issues for the class, whether favourable or not, and you will not receive any money from the class action, but you will be able to start or continue your own case against the Defendants regarding the claims made in the class action. If you wish to opt out of the class action you must do so on or before May 24, 2023 by sending a letter or email, signed by you, stating that you are opting out of the Class Action to Class Counsel. The letter or email must also include: (i) your full name, (ii) your current address, (iii) your telephone number, and (iv) a statement that you wish to opt-out of the Class Action. Contacting Class Counsel To contact class counsel please send a letter to: CFM Lawyers 400 856 Homer Street Vancouver, B.C., V6B 2W5 ATTN: Amy Mileusnic The law firms of CFM Lawyers LLP and Dick Byl Law Corporation represent Class Members. If the Class Action is successful, Class Counsel will ask the court for approval of their fees, which will be a percentage of the money recovered from the defendants. To find out more, please visit www.cfmlawyers.ca or www.dbylaw.com or contact Class Counsel through the address and email above. db Law Logo (CNW Group/CFM Lawyers LLP) SOURCE CFM Lawyers LLP Cision View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2023/23/c5255.html Market Research Future Quick Service Restaurants Market Trends and Insights Research Report Information By Service Type (Self-serviced, Assisted self-serviced, Fully serviced), By Category (Single Outlet, QSR Chain), And By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, And Rest Of The World) Competitive Market Growth, Size, Share and Forecast to 2030 New York, US, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quick Service Restaurants Market Overview According to a Comprehensive Research Report by Market Research Future (MRFR), Quick Service Restaurants Market Information By Service Type, Category And Region - Forecast till 2030"; the market will reach USD 603.3 billion by 2030 at a 3.65% CAGR. Market Synopsis During the anticipated term, the fast-food business is expected to increase significantly. Because these restaurants are the primary distributor of this bulk food, luring many people to experience and use their services, quick-service restaurants and fast-food establishments have emerged. Some crucial elements working in the quick-service restaurant and fast-food market's favor include good flavor, convenience, and cost- and time-effectiveness. Most fast-service restaurants offer various services, including takeaway, drive-thru, delivery services, and sit-and-dine options, making them ideal for modern lifestyles. In terms of optimizing gains, the restaurant business has also profited from this. The market has expanded partly because of the massive expansion of fast food chains, particularly in emerging nations. Quick-service restaurants are creating inventive food concepts to draw customers, such as vegan fast food, fusion cuisines, and others. This promotes corporate expansion. The prominence of delivery has been further boosted by third-party delivery firms extending the courtesy of supplying food at unusual hours. As a result, individuals who decide to dine at home contribute significantly to the quick-service restaurant sector's ability to make money. Consumers' paradigm shift toward convenient pick-up choices and third-party delivery is driving demand for the sector. Due to takeout and delivery-only alternatives, there was an increase in reliance on third-party quick delivery services. As digital developments are linked with the operations of restaurants, the sector is anticipated to expand. Digital innovations are anticipated to have a significant role in driving future income and retaining current customers. Story continues Get Free Sample PDF Brochure @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/10541 Report Scope: Report Attribute Details 2030 Market Size USD 603.3 billion CAGR 3.65% (20222030) Base Year 2021 Forecast Period 2022-2030 Historical Data 2020 Forecast Units Value (USD billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered By Service Type, Category And Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW) Key Market Drivers Growing demand for a variety of fast food items increasing e-commerce channel penetration Market Competitive Landscape: The illustrious contenders in the quick service restaurants market are: Domino's Pizza Inc. (US) The Cola-Cola Company (US) The Wendy's Company (US) Subway Ip Llc (US) Restaurants Brand International Inc. (Canada) Inspire Brands Inc. (US) Papa John's International Inc. (US) Wallace Fujian Food Co. Ltd (China) Browse In-depth Market Research Report (90 Pages) on Quick Service Restaurants: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/quick-service-restaurants-qsr-market-10541 Market U.S.P. Covered: Market Drivers: As a result of concerns over increased fast food consumption, most fast food companies are now forced to offer healthier items. Most eateries have modified their menus and recipes to produce healthier fast-food options. The prevalence of vegetables and fruits over processed foods, which are unhealthy, can be seen in many fast-food dishes. Veganism and vegetarianism are also shaping the modifications in the menu, in addition to healthy eating practices. Growing the number of plant-based items on the menu is a significant trend that, in addition to satisfying specialized client needs, aids in establishing a sustainability-focused reputation. Additionally, it is projected that changing consumption patterns, people's busy schedules, and a rise in the penetration of e-commerce platforms would drive up demand for quick-service restaurants. Young people are particularly interested in quick-service restaurants since they offer takeout, delivery services, and many more quick services to enhance the customer experience and keep up with modernization. Consumers' increased desire for fast meals has positively impacted the market for quick-service restaurants. The market has grown due to the millennial generation's excessive consumption of ready-to-eat meals. The younger generation's growing inclination to hang out in cafes has aided in the market expansion of the quick-service restaurant sector. Client loyalty programs also allow restaurants to customize and improve their customer connections. The working population has expanded their appetite for convenience foods due to their fast-paced lifestyles, which has impacted the market expansion of quick-service restaurants. Buy Now: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=10541 Market Restraints: Lack of personnel, adequate infrastructure, and technological capacity limit the expansion of many small and mid-sized businesses in emerging nations, which results in the delivery of inferior food to consumers. The reduction has hampered the market's expansion in food quality brought on by fast-service restaurants' disregard for standard procedures. COVID 19 Analysis The acceptance of cloud kitchens has grown since the outbreak. These businesses offer a restaurant's kitchen but prioritize fast delivery and off-premise dining. These operations offer significant reductions due to low startup costs and few employees. The Quick Service Restaurants business still had a big global impact at the beginning of COVID-19. Due to the pandemic and shelter-in-place directives, many operators temporarily closed their in-service restaurants. The outbreak resulted in the permanent closure of numerous enterprises. Because they were worried about getting sick, they opted to remain in and cook rather than go out. As a result, the business experienced a sharp decline in demand over that period. On the other hand, the coronavirus outbreak caused a rise in demand for the industry as customers boosted their off-premise takeout and delivery purchases. In contrast to the traditional restaurant business, 90% of quick-service operators responded to the epidemic, as opposed to 56% of those in the regular restaurant sector. Market Segmentation By service type, the market includes self-serviced, assisted self-serviced, and fully serviced. By category, the market includes a single outlet and a QSR chain. Share your Queries @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry/10541 Regional Insights In North America, the market for quick-service restaurants is expanding significantly. Its market is developing due to ready-to-eat meals becoming increasingly well-liked and consumers' increasing demand for rapid, inexpensive, ready meals from quick-service restaurants. The primary factors driving the regional spread of the quick-service restaurant sector include shifting eating patterns, an increase in the popularity of dining out, and less time spent cooking. Consumer demand for quick, affordable, fast food from quick-service establishments is growing, and ready-to-eat meals are becoming more and more popular. The key factors driving the intensive growth strategies of the quick-service restaurant business include shifting eating patterns, increasing the attractiveness of dining out, and less time spent cooking. In the following years, significant growth is predicted for Europe. The market for quick-service restaurants is expanding due to factors like the increase in casual dining establishments, the addition of new products to the menu, and the addition of value meals by restaurants and fast-food providers. Quick-service restaurants are preparing meals using organic and vegan components to differentiate themselves from other fast-food concepts and support their market expansion. Discover more research Reports on Consumer And Retail industry , by Market Research Future: Spiral Mixers Market Research Report: Information by Type (Fixed Bowl Mixers and Removable Bowl Mixers), End Use (Bakeries, Pizzerias and others) and Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World) - Forecast till 2027 Sewing Bags Market : Information by Product Type (Travel Bags, Cosmetic Bags, Backpacks, Lunch Bags and others), Distribution Channel (Store-Based and Non-Store-Based) and Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World) - Forecast till 2027 Sleeping Pillow Market Research Report: Information by Type (Feather Sleeping Pillows, Down Sleeping Pillows, Memory Foam Sleeping Pillows, Microbead Sleeping Pillows, Buckwheat Sleeping Pillows and Others), End-Use (Residential and Commercial), Distribution Channel [Store-Based (Hypermarkets and Supermarkets, Specialty Stores and others) and Non-Store-Based] and Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World) - Forecast till 2030 About Market Research Future: Market Research Future (MRFR) is a global market research company that takes pride in its services, offering a complete and accurate analysis with regard to diverse markets and consumers worldwide. Market Research Future has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions. Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter CONTACT: Market Research Future (Part of Wantstats Research and Media Private Limited) 99 Hudson Street, 5Th Floor New York, NY 10013 United States of America +1 628 258 0071 (US) +44 2035 002 764 (UK) Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Website: https://www.marketresearchfuture.com NEWARK, DE / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / The global rapeseed oil market is expected to cross a valuation of US$ 27.7 billion by 2033. The market is projected to advance at a CAGR of 4.6% from 2023 to 2033. In 2023, the market is anticipated to be valued at US$ 17.7 billion. According to a survey, nearly 550 million heart patients worldwide, and owing to lifestyle factors, the number is expected to surge. Rapeseed oil is rich in omega-3, which helps in the smooth functioning of the heart. This might increase the demand for rapeseed oil during the forecast period. Professional chefs working in luxury hotels have started adopting rapeseed oil. Owing to the lack of taste associated with rapeseed oil, the application does not alter the taste of the food that is mixed with it. Moreover, these can be heated at a temperature greater than 400 0C, which leads to the fact that the taste does not get ruined due to excess heating. These factors are expected to surge the sales of rapeseed oil during the forecast period. Ask for Report Sample @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-7956 Owing to the soaring cases of Vitamin E deficiency, many people have started consuming multivitamin capsules. Manufacturers who are into the production of multivitamin capsules are making use of rapeseed oil as it is an extremely rich source of Vitamin E. One of the key applications of rapeseed oil is in the booming personal care products market. Being a rich source of Vitamin E, personal care product manufacturers are making use of rapeseed oil as these help in improving skin texture. Thus, as per the insights provided by FMI researchers, it can be inferred that an increase in cholesterol cases, high preference among chefs, surging personal care market, and other factors are expected to surge the rapeseed oil market growth during the forecast period.' Key Takeaways: The market is expected to hold a value of US$ 17.7 billion in 2023. By 2033, the valuation is expected to surge beyond US$ 27.7 billion. The CAGR is projected to be at 4.6% during the forecast period. Based on regional analysis, Europe is expected to be the dominant market during the forecast period. The United States market is expected to record a CAGR of 2.8%. The United Kingdom market is anticipated to post a CAGR of 3.8%. France market is projected to register a CAGR of 6.8%. China market is expected to advance at a CAGR of 5.4%. Japan market is anticipated to record a CAGR of 4.4%. Based on product type, the processed segment is expected to hold the leading market share and is projected to advance at a CAGR of 4.5%. On the basis of end users, the food service segment is projected to hold the dominant market share and is expected to register a CAGR of 4.6%. Story continues Consult an Analyst @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-7956 Competitive Landscape The key players operating in the rapeseed oil market are making moves to indulge in profitable mergers and acquisitions. This comes at a time when the manufacturers are taking all steps to increase their market share. The manufacturers are also taking steps to invest amounts in marketing and sales activities to spread awareness about the kind of product being manufactured by them. The idea is also to rope in some sharpest minds who have been a part of the niche for decades and helped the previous companies post record-breaking profits. Key developments in the rapeseed oil market: In November 2022, Wilmar was ranked second globally in the human rights benchmark. In January 2023, Interfat announced that it had launched its website in French to specifically cater to the French audience. Future Market Insights, Inc., Wednesday, February 22, 2023, Press release picture Key segments By Product Type: Processed Virgin By Distribution Channel: Franchise Outlets Modern Trade Online Specialty Stores By End User: Food Processor Food Service Retail By Region: North America Latin America Europe Japan Asia Pacific excluding Japan The Middle East and Africa View Full Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/rapeseed-oil-market Table of Content 1. Executive Summary | Rapeseed Oil Market 1.1. Global Market Outlook 1.2. Demand-side Trends 1.3. Supply-side Trends 1.4. Technology Roadmap Analysis 1.5. Analysis and Recommendations 2. Market Overview 2.1. Market Coverage / Taxonomy 2.2. Market Definition / Scope / Limitations 3. Market Background 3.1. Market Dynamics 3.1.1. Drivers 3.1.2. Restraints 3.1.3. Opportunity 3.1.4. Trends Buy Report Now@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/7956 Explore FMI's related ongoing Coverage in Food and Beverage Domain Olive Oil Market Value: The global olive oil market is expected to be valued at US$ 13.79 billion in 2023 and reach a valuation of US$ 18.35 billion by 2033. The demand for olive oil is estimated to record a steady 2.9% CAGR. Cold-Pressed Oil Market Trends: The global cold-pressed oil market share is expected to reach valuation of US$ 25.2 Bn in 2022 and expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.8% from 2022 - 2032. The cold-pressed market growth is likely to boost up to US$ 37.3 Bn by 2032. Cottonseed Oil Market Volume: The Cottonseed Oil Market is valued at US$ 4 Billion in 2021. The market is likely to grow at a CAGR of 3.2% through 2028, reaching US$ 5 Billion. Lime Seed Oils Market Demand: The global lime seed oils market is poised to register a CAGR of 6% from 2022 to 2032, projected to garner a revenue of US$ 708 million by 2032, up from US$ 488 million in 2022. Sustainable Palm Oil Market Outlook: The Global Sustainable palm oil market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.0%. The market value is projected to increase from US$ 913.8 Mn in 2022 to US$ 1,636.5 Mn by 2032. About Future Market Insights, Inc. Future Market Insights, Inc. is an ESOMAR-certified business consulting & market research firm, a member of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce and is headquartered in Delaware, USA. A recipient of Clutch Leaders Award 2022 on account of high client score (4.9/5), we have been collaborating with global enterprises in their business transformation journey and helping them deliver on their business ambitions. 80% of the largest Forbes 1000 enterprises are our clients. We serve global clients across all leading & niche market segments across all major industries. Contact Us: Future Market Insights Inc. Christiana Corporate, 200 Continental Drive, Suite 401, Newark, Delaware - 19713, USA T: +1-845-579-5705 LinkedIn| Twitter| Blogs | YouTube For Sales Enquiries: sales@futuremarketinsights.com SOURCE: Future Market Insights Inc. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/740315/Rapeseed-Oil-Market-Valuation-is-Anticipated-to-be-at-US-277-Billion-by-2033-Report-by-Future-Market-Insights-Inc A Russian Soyuz crew ferry ship blasted off from Kazakhstan Thursday, kicking off an unpiloted but critical flight to the International Space Station to replace a damaged Soyuz and provide an eventual ride home for three of the lab's crew members. Lighting up the pre-dawn sky, the Soyuz 2.1a booster carrying the Soyuz MS-23/69S crew ship shot away from the sprawling Baikonur Cosmodrome at 7:24 p.m. EST (5:24 a.m. local time Friday), kicking off a 9-minute climb to space. A Soyuz rocket carrying an unpiloted Russian crew ship blasted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome Thursday and set off after the International Space Station. The Soyuz MS-23/69S spacecraft will replace a damaged Soyuz, providing an eventual ride home for three stranded station fliers. / Credit: Roscosmos (via NASA) If all goes well, the Soyuz, loaded with equipment and supplies in place of a crew, will carry out an automated rendezvous with the space station, docking at the Russian Poisk module at 8:01 a.m. Saturday. The spacecraft originally was scheduled for launch next month to ferry two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut to the lab complex to replace another Soyuz that was expected to carry three other station fliers Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitri Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio back to Earth to wrap up a six-month mission. But on December 14, their Soyuz was hit by a presumed micrometeoroid that ruptured a coolant line. Russian engineers called off the planned return to Earth after concluding the lost coolant could lead to higher-than-normal, possibly unsafe internal temperatures. Instead, managers ordered engineers to speed up processing for the Soyuz MS-23 vehicle and, after a delay caused by additional problems with a Progress cargo ship, moved launch to Thursday. The original MS-23 crew Oleg Kononenko, Nikolai Chub and NASA astronaut Laral O'Hara now plan to fly in September aboard the next Soyuz in the sequence, replacing Prokopyev, Petelin and Rubio. Prokopyev and company originally planned to spend six months in space as part of a normal crew rotation. But the damage to their ship and the decision to replace it means they'll now have to stay in space for a full year. The crew of the International Space Station poses for a group photo. Starting at far right and moving clockwise: Soyuz flight engineer Dmitri Petelin, Soyuz commander Sergey Prokopyev, Soyuz passenger/NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, Crew-5 commander Nicole Mann and her three crewmates, cosmonaut Anna Kikina, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and Crew-5 pilot Josh Cassada. / Credit: NASA In any case, the Soyuz MS-23 launching Thursday was critical to providing the trio with a safe ride home at the end of their extended mission as well as serving as the crew's lifeboat in case of an emergency that might require an immediate evacuation of the space station. Story continues Since the MS-22 vehicle was damaged in December, NASA and the Russian space agency Roscosmos have been forced to rely on a less-than optimal "plan B." In case of an emergency before the replacement Soyuz arrives, Rubio would squeeze into a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule and join that ship's four crew members for a quick descent to Earth. Prokopyev and Petelin would attempt re-entry in the damaged Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft. With just two crew members aboard, not as much cooling would be required and Russian engineers are confident the ship could carry out a safe re-entry. But assuming Thursday's launch and rendezvous go well, the station will again have two healthy crew lifeboats for use as needed. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the next station-bound Crew Dragon ferry ship was erected at pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center overnight Wednesday, setting the stage for launch early Monday. On board will be two NASA astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and a United Arab Emirates flier. / Credit: CBS News Against that backdrop, NASA and SpaceX are gearing up to launch a Crew Dragon spacecraft to the station early Monday carrying Crew-6 astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, along with cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev and Emerati astronaut Sultan Alneyadi. Crew-6 will replace four other station crew members Nicole Mann, Josh Cassada, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and cosmonaut Anna Kikina who plan to return to Earth around March 6 aboard their Crew-5 Dragon. New Soyuz capsule headed for International Space Station Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo explains plans for sanctions on Russia and possibly others 2 former ambassadors look back on Russia's invasion of Ukraine Increased demand for personal and beauty care service providers is projected to result from rising per capita income, consumer preference for skin and hair care products, and population growth in major cities. Also, the expansion of salon franchises, particularly in developing nations like China and India, is expected to increase the demand for salon chairs. PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Salon Chairs Market by Mechanism (Electric and Hydraulic), by Salon Types (Hybrid Salons, Hair Care Salon, Facial and Skin Care Salon, Others), by Distribution channel (Direct Sales, Indirect Sales): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031". According to the report, the global salon chairs industry generated $12.9 billion in 2021, and is anticipated to generate $22.5 billion by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 5.6% from 2022 to 2031. Allied_Market_Research_Logo Download Free Sample Report: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/14926 Prime determinants of growth Rising demand for personal and beauty care services from the middle-class segment is likely to increase salon services across the globe. Furthermore, luxurious salon chairs are used in salon shops to provide immense comfort and flexibility to customers. Moreover, an increase in the number of various beauty services and treatments propels the growth of the salon chair market. Covid-19 Scenario The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the global salon chairs market, owing to the temporary closure of salon services during the lockdown. The pandemic disrupted growth of the business environment of every country, which is expected to be the major challenge for the salon chairs market growth. The electric segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period Based on mechanism, the electric segment held the highest market share in 2021, accounting for around two-thirds of the global salon chair market, and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. In addition, various features and designs are used in electric salon chairs to enhance the salon experience for the customers. Some of the electric salon chairs are designed with robust bases and comfortable seat cushions. Furthermore, electric salon chairs can be widely used in almost all varieties of salon procedures, hence such factors are increasing the demand in the salon chairs market. Story continues Procure Complete Report (280 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures): https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/checkout-final/bd0100cdafb3863bd9fd4bb0753266a5 The hybrid salon segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period Based on salon shops, the hybrid salon segment held the highest market share in 2021. The business strategy for hybrid salons combines components from spas, salons, aesthetic clinics, stores, and other establishments. Some manufacturers provide other facilities such as bars and event rooms in addition to cosmetic services. Furthermore, entrepreneurs in the personal and beauty care services sector are opening hybrid salons due to positive feedback from their customers. The direct sales segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period Based on the distribution channel, the direct sales segment accounted for the largest share in 2021. Moreover, direct sellers are distributors who deal directly with consumers who are likely to offer customized salon chairs across the globe. Due to the close client contact involved, direct selling frequently helps to build skills in sales, customer service, and marketing. Moreover, manufacturer discounts, large order discounts, more product alternatives, and cost-effectiveness, businesses providing salon services typically favor direct sales channels. As a result, during the projected period, the aforementioned factors are likely to support the market for salon chairs through direct sales. Asia-Pacific to maintain its dominance by 2031 Based on region, Asia-Pacific held the highest market share in terms of revenue in 2021 and is likely to dominate the market during the forecast period, owing to the increased demand for salon chair products in the countries, such as India, China, South Korea, and Japan. The expansion of independent salon chains and the rise in population are significant drivers of the salon chairs industry in this area. An increase in salon shops and rising spending on personal and beauty care services are specifically driving the growth of the Asia-Pacific salon chairs market. The demand for salons is also predicted to expand due to the growth of salon shop chains, an increase in the urban population, and a concentration of people in large cities, all of which would significantly increase the demand for salon chairs in the Asia-Pacific region. Enquire before buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/14926 Leading Market Players: - HBA Salon Equipment Pty Ltd. Salon Ambience DIR Group Foshan Yoocell Furniture Co. Ltd. Collions Manufacturing Co. SSIZ International Pvt. Ltd. Maletti S.p.A. GAMMA & BROSS S.p.A. Pietranera S.r.l. Takara Belmont Corporation Keller International, LLC LCL Beauty Inc. Buy-Rite Salon & Spa Equipment Marc Salon & Beauty Equipments Private Limited EarthLite, LLC Trending Reports in Consumer Goods Industry (Book Now with 10% Discount): About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States USA/Canada (Toll Free): +1-800-792-5285, +1-503-894-6022 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1(855)550-5975 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/reports-store/consumer-goods Follow Us on Blog: https://www.dailyreportsworld.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg Cision View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/salon-chairs-market-to-reach-22-5-billion-globally-by-2031-at-5-6-cagr-allied-market-research-301754257.html SOURCE Allied Market Research REPORTSINSIGHTS CONSULTING PVT LTD The global semiconductor intellectual property (IP) market is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period of 2023-2030, with a projected CAGR of 8.30%. This growth can be attributed to several factors such as the increasing demand for IoT devices and the implementation of energy efficiency regulations. New York, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Reports Insights Study the projected growth of Global Semiconductor Intellectual Property (IP) Market impressive, with an estimated CAGR of 8.30% from 2023 to 2030. The market's worth was USD 4.87 Billion in 2022 and is expected to reach over USD 9.41 Billion by 2030. The demand for semiconductor IP is driven by the increasing adoption of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, 5G, and IoT. Recent Developments In May 2020, Arm Limited announced the launch of its new Cortex-A78 CPU IP, which is designed to deliver high performance and energy efficiency for advanced mobile, laptop, and edge devices. In April 2021, Cadence Design Systems announced the release of two new digital signal processing (DSP) intellectual property (IP) cores for embedded vision and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The new cores are part of the company's Tensilica Vision DSP product family, which is a popular line of products that enable developers to create high-performance, energy-efficient vision and AI applications. Global Semiconductor Intellectual Property (IP) Market By IP Type (Processor IP, Memory IP, Interface IP, Analog IP, and Others), Core Type (Soft Core and Hard Core), Source Type (Licensing, Royalty, Servicing), Application (Consumer Electronics, Telecommunication, Automotive, Aerospace, Healthcare, Agriculture and Others), and By Region, Forecast Period 2023 2030. Requst Free Sample Report https://www.reportsinsights.com/sample/673778 The semiconductor IP refers to intellectual property (IP) related to the design and manufacture of semiconductors. Semiconductor IP includes a wide range of pre-designed components, modules, and sub-systems that are integrated into larger semiconductor designs to help accelerate the development process and reduce time-to-market for new products. The market for semiconductor IP is highly competitive, with a large number of players offering a wide variety of products and services. Some of the key players in the market include major semiconductor companies, specialized IP providers, and IP licensing companies. The market is expected to continue to grow in the coming years, driven by the increasing demand for advanced electronic devices in a variety of industries, including telecommunications, consumer electronics, automotive, and healthcare. Story continues Increasing complexity of semiconductor designs is one of the key factors driving the market growth. Modern semiconductor designs are becoming increasingly complex, with the integration of more advanced features, such as AI and machine learning, high-speed interfaces, and increased functionality. This requires a greater number of specialized IP blocks to be integrated into the design, driving demand for semiconductor IP. Additionally, modern artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) applications require high-performance processors and complex memory architectures. Developing such complex designs from scratch can be time-consuming and expensive, making it difficult for semiconductor companies to meet the demand for these products in a timely and cost-effective manner. However, by using pre-designed processors and memory IP blocks, companies can accelerate the design process, reduce the risk of design errors, and shorten the time-to-market for these advanced products. Further, increasing demand for electronic devices is another driver for the growth of the semiconductor IP market. The demand for electronic devices has been increasing steadily over the years, driven by advancements in technology and the growing reliance on electronics in various industries, including consumer electronics, automotive, healthcare, and industrial automation. For instance, in the consumer electronics industry, there is a growing demand for smaller, faster, and more power-efficient devices such as smartphones, laptops, and wearables. These devices require advanced semiconductor designs with high-performance processors, low-power memory, and specialized sensors. By using pre-designed IP blocks for these components, semiconductor companies can save time and resources in developing these designs, leading to faster product development and time-to-market. Semiconductor IP Market Report Scope:- Report Attributes Report Details Market Size By 2030 USD 9.41 Billion Forecast Period 2023-2030 CAGR (2023-2030) 8.30% Base Year 2022 Study Timeline 2017-2030 Key Players Arm Limited, Synopsys, Cadence Design Systems, Rambus, Imagination Technologies, Ceva Inc., Mentor Graphics (A Siemens Business), eSilicon, Virage Logic (Acquired by Synopsys), Silicon Creations, Silicon Labs, NXP Semiconductors, Broadcom, Marvell Technology Group, TSMC IP, Verisilicon, Open-Silicon, Kilopass Technology, Silicon Storage Technology (SST) By IP Type Processor IP, Memory IP, Interface IP Analog IP, and Others By Core Type Soft Core and Hard Core By Source Type Licensing, Royalty, and Servicing By Application Consumer Electronics, Telecom, Automotive, Aerospace, Healthcare, Agriculture, and Others Report Coverage Company Ranking and Market Share, Growth Factors, Total Revenue Forecast, Regional Competitive Landscape, Business Strategies, and more. By Geography North America, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Europe, Middle East & Africa Immediate Delivery Available, Buy Now @ https://www.reportsinsights.com/buynow/673778 Key Market Highlights The Global Semiconductor IP Market size is estimated to exceed USD 9.41 billion by 2030 and grow at a CAGR of 8.30% during the forecast period (2023-2030). Globally, Semiconductor IP are divided based on the IP type into processor IP, memory IP, interface IP, analog IP, and Others. In the context of Core Type, the market is separated soft core and hard core. On the basis of Source Type, the market is categorized into licensing, royalty, and servicing. On the basis of application, the market is classified into consumer electronics, telecom, automotive, aerospace, healthcare, agriculture, and others. The market is geographically divided into five regions: Europe, South America, the Asia-Pacific, North America, and the Middle East and Africa. Asia Pacific and North America are estimated to support the market growth during the forecast period in terms of the large presence of market players combined with high expenditures on technological advancements in Semiconductor IP. Global Semiconductor IP Market Segmentation Details: Based on IP Type, the memory IP segment contributed the largest shares to the market growth in 2022. Memory IP is a specific type of semiconductor IP that provides pre-designed memory circuits and blocks for use in semiconductor designs. Memory IP blocks are essential components of most semiconductor designs and are used to provide the necessary data storage and access capabilities required for a wide range of electronic devices. Memory IP providers offer pre-designed memory blocks that have been tested and verified, reducing the time and cost of developing new memory circuits and speeding up the design process, in turn driving the market growth. Based on Core Type, both soft core and hard-core segments are anticipated to offer substantial shares to the Global Semiconductor IP Market growth during the forecast period. Hard core semiconductor IP refers to pre-designed semiconductor IP blocks that are implemented as physical circuits on an integrated circuit (IC) chip. The hard-core semiconductor IP blocks are typically used for complex functions such as microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), and graphics processing units (GPUs). They are often used in high-performance applications where low latency and high throughput are critical. One of the advantages of hard-core semiconductor IP is that it is usually available in multiple foundries and process technologies, this is anticipated to fuel the segment growth during forecast period. Based on Source Type, the royalty segment contributed the largest shares to the market growth in 2022. Semiconductor IP providers often charge a royalty fee to license their IP blocks to semiconductor companies, which is considered to be a significant source of revenue for these providers. Factors such as faster time-to-market, improved product quality, and lower development costs are driving the segment growth. Additionally, the royalty-based licensing model used by many semiconductor IP providers allows semiconductor companies to predict their costs for using pre-designed IP blocks. This can help companies budget more effectively and reduce the risk of unexpected expenses. Based on Application, the aerospace segment is anticipated to offer substantial shares to the Global Semiconductor IP Market growth during the forecast period, as the IPs enables development of high-performance, reliable, and efficient electronic systems used in a wide range of applications. Further, aerospace systems often need to operate in extreme temperatures, radiation, and other challenging conditions, and semiconductor IP blocks can be designed to meet these requirements. For instance, hardened versions of semiconductor IP blocks are available for radiation-hardened applications in space. Moreover, increasing adoption of semiconductor IPs in the aerospace industry to reduce the weight and size of electronic systems is expected to fuel the market growth during the forecast period. Based on region, Asia Pacific accounted for the largest share contribution to the market growth in 2022. Asia Pacific region is home to many semiconductor IP providers, who offer a wide range of IP blocks for different applications. For instance, some of the major semiconductor IP providers in the region include ARM, Synopsys, and Cadence Design Systems. In addition, the Asia Pacific region is also a major market for specialized semiconductor IP, such as IP blocks for artificial intelligence and machine learning. With the growing demand for these technologies in applications like autonomous vehicles, robotics, and smart cities, the use of specialized semiconductor IP is expected to continue to grow in the region. Browse Full Report @ https://www.reportsinsights.com/industry-forecast/global-semiconductor-ip-market-statistical-analysis-673778 List of Major Global Semiconductor IP Market Players The market research report examines various market factors to determine the key drivers, limitations, and opportunities affecting market players. The report includes a SWOT analysis, regional analysis, and segment analysis to give a complete view of the market situation. This evaluation helps to identify possible growth opportunities through the implementation of technology, product utilization, business strategies, and the launch of new products. The following are major market players operating in the market environment Arm Limited Synopsys Cadence Design Systems Rambus Imagination Technologies Ceva Inc. Mentor Graphics (A Siemens Business) eSilicon Virage Logic (Acquired by Synopsys) Silicon Creations Global Semiconductor IP Market Segmentation: By IP Type Processor IP Memory IP Interface IP Analog IP Others By Core Type Soft Core Hard Core By Source Type Licensing Royalty Servicing By Application Consumer Electronics Telecom Automotive Aerospace Healthcare Agriculture Others Our Others Research Reports here:- Structured Cabling Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis, By Solution (Hardware and Services), Cable Type (Cat5E, Cat6/6A, Cat7/7A, and Others), Application (Local Area Network (LAN) and Data Centers), End-Use (IT & Telecommunications, BFSI, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Education, and Others), By Region, Forecast Period 2023 - 2030 Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis, By Function (Recording, Editing, and Mixing), Component (Software and Service), Deployment (Cloud and On-premises), OS Compatibility (Windows, Android, Apple OS, and Linux), End-User (Music studio, Professional/Audio engineers & mixers, and Electronic musician), By Region, Forecast Period-2023 - 2030 Power over Ethernet (POE) LED Lighting Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis, By Component (Hardware, Software and Services), Wattage (Up to 25 Watt and Above 25 Watt), End-Use (Residential, Industrial and Commercial), By Region, Forecast Period 2023 - 2030 Base Station Antenna Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis, By Type (Omni-Directional Antenna, Dipole Antenna, Multibeam Antenna, Small Cell, and Other), Provision (Urban, Semi-urban, and Rural), Technology (3G, 4G/LTE, and 5G), Application (Mobile Communication, Intelligent Transport, Industrial, Smart City, Military and Defense, and Other), By Region, Forecast Period 2023 - 2030 Digital Transformation Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis, By Component (Solutions, and Services), Deployment (Cloud, and On-premises), Organization size (Large enterprise and Small & Medium enterprise), Technology (IoT, Big data & Analytics, Cloud computing, Mobility & Social media management, Artificial intelligence, and Cybersecurity), End-User (BFSI, IT & Telecom, Healthcare, Retail, and Others), By Region, Forecast Period-2023 - 2030 About Reports Insights Consulting Pvt Ltd ReportsInsights Consulting Pvt Ltd. is the leading research industry that offers contextual and data-centric research services to its customers across the globe. The firm assists its clients to strategize business policies and accomplish sustainable growth in their respective market domains. The industry provides consulting services, syndicated research reports, and customized research reports. Topnotch research organizations and institutions to comprehend the regional and global commercial status use the data produced by ReportsInsights Consulting Pvt Ltd. Our reports comprise in-depth analytical and statistical analysis on various industries in the foremost countries around the globe. CONTACT: Contact: Email: sales@reportsinsights.com USA: +1-214-272-0393 Europe: +44-20-8133-9198 A U.S. flag waves in front of the Supreme Court building in Washington. (Associated Press) The Supreme Court justices sounded split Wednesday over whether social media firms can be sued and potentially held liable for aiding international terrorists. At issue is how to interpret a 2016 federal law that gives victims of international terrorism and their survivors the "broadest possible basis" to sue those who aided and abetted terrorists. Washington attorney Seth Waxman, representing Twitter, said the court should dismiss the lawsuit against the social media firm on the grounds that the site did not give "substantial assistance" to Islamic State. But some justices sounded open to allowing lawsuits against Google, Facebook or Twitter for giving a platform to terrorists. "You're not liable for providing a platform that you knew [terrorists] were using to recruit people and to help arrange other terrorist acts?" Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked dubiously. The complaint alleged Islamic State had openly maintained accounts on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and used them to recruit thousands of new members. Justice Elena Kagan said Twitter was sued because it provided a platform that allowed Islamic State to communicate with its members and recruit new ones. Moreover, the social media firms were aware of the activity because they had been repeatedly warned by government officials. Justice Clarence Thomas who also sounded skeptical of Twitter's argument asked its attorney about the meaning of aiding and abetting. "I assume you would agree that if I had a friend who was a mugger, a murderer and a burglar but other than that a good guy and I loaned him a gun, but not knowing and not wanting to know what he was going to do with it, that I possibly could be aiding and abetting?" No, Waxman told Thomas, not unless there was more evidence that you knew your friend was about to commit a crime. Waxman seemed to make more headway by warning of the consequences of a ruling that would open the door to such lawsuits. Noting that social media companies serve hundreds of millions of users in this country, he said "every time there is a foreign terrorist incident, every one of them could be liable for treble damages," he said. Story continues In addition to social media firms, he added, banks, cellphone providers and other businesses could be alleged to have aided a terrorist. Deputy Solicitor Gen. Edwin Kneedler, siding with Twitter, agreed the suit should be dismissed because there was no evidence that the social media site deliberately aided terrorists. He said it would be a mistake to allow broad and costly lawsuits against businesses that serve hundreds of millions of people. Under such a rule, even charities and humanitarian groups could be sued for aiding terrorists, he said. The case of Twitter vs. Taamneh arose from a terrorist attack on the Reina nightclub in Istanbul in 2017. The attacker had been trained by Islamic State, and he shot into a crowd, killing 39 people and injuring 69 others. The American relatives of one victim sued the three major social media sites under the 2016 law. A federal judge initially dismissed the suit, but the 9th Circuit Court ruled it could proceed. Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh said he questioned the notion that general businesses serving the public whether banks, rental car companies or social media sites would be held liable for aiding terrorists. Thomas said he had the same concern. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch saw a separate reason to dismiss the suit. The 2016 law refers to aid or assistance to the "person who committed an act of international terrorism." The complaint against Twitter describes aid to Islamic State in general, he said, but it does not point to specific evidence involving the attacker who carried out the Istanbul attack. After nearly three hours of argument, it was not clear how the majority would decide. On Tuesday, tech industry lawyers were relieved when the justices sounded skeptical of weakening a separate federal law, known as Section 230, that shields websites from being sued over the content posted by others, including by terrorists. At issue in that case was whether the computerized algorithms used by YouTube to refer users to similar content was protected by Section 230. Several justices suggested the issue was better addressed by Congress. The justices will meet privately on Friday to discuss both terrorism cases and cast their votes. The decisions may not come until the end of June. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. This week, Payscale released the results of its bellwether survey, the 2023 Compensation Best Practices Report. Its not wonderful news for employees: fewer employers are offering pay raises and those that will arent exactly being generous. As for folks who love the idea of more flexibility in their working lives? The survey reveals theres a growing kibosh on remote work arrangements. Senator Bernie Sanders four-day work week? Forget about it. The report, conducted between October 2022 and December 2022, of nearly 5,000 employers headquartered in the U.S. (69%), Canada (8%), and Europe, The Middle East and Africa (17%), is a bit of a downer. Workers are still hitting the exits voluntarily Its been a tough slog in the labor market for many companies. Six in ten organizations experienced labor shortages and trouble attracting and retaining talent in 2022, according to the report. And while many expect that the turnover rate for workers is likely to dip to around 25%, down from 36% in 2022, its still a crucial issue. Last year, for many employers dangling the ability to work remotely was a saving grace when it came to hiring and holding onto workers. In our monthly job seeker confidence surveys last year, we found that 60% of job seekers on ZipRecruiter say they would prefer to find remote jobs, Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, the employment search site, told Yahoo Finance. Many job switchers have taken advantage of a hot labor market to move into remote or hybrid positions. And for companies, converting jobs to remote has dramatically increased recruitment and retention, and reduced wage growth pressures since they are now able to recruit in lower-cost parts of the country, she said. Source: Payscale 2023 Compensation Best Practices Report Its not that corporations have their head in the sand, they get it. A majority of organizations (55%) said that insisting that workers come to the office puts them in the back seat when it comes to hiring and competing for talent, according to the Payscale data. Thats up 11% from last year when nearly half of organizations felt that pinch. Story continues In fact, the bulk of organizations (51%) surveyed by Payscale are experiencing resistance by their workers when asked to return to the office, according to the report. That defiance wont surprise Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, who recently announced a mandated return-to-office of at least three days a week beginning May 1 much to the utter dismay of thousands of angry employees who have launched a petition to fight back. The bulk of organizations (51%) surveyed by Payscale are experiencing resistance by their workers when asked to return to the office, (Getty Creative) Workers push back on returning to the office; employers arent backing down Less than a quarter of those firms grappling with workers who want to stay remote feel that the impact is great enough to consider a policy change. Lets call it what it is, a shrug. In the meantime, one of the more egregious findings: about a quarter of employers surveyed by Payscale pay employees who dont come into an office less than those who do for the same position. A few firms are glomming on to the middle ground 10% believe that hybrid offices are the sweet spot and have done a swell job of slowing resignations and boosted workers job satisfaction and engagement in their work, Payscale found. And according to the data, thats the work environment for just over a quarter, or 27% of employers. Most organizations, close to 60%, describe their office environment as either traditional or hybrid, which means that all or most employees would need to live within a commutable distance to an office even if they work from home some of the time, Amy Stewart, associate director of content and editorial, told Yahoo Finance. Companies that offer truly remote work, however, which is around 11% of those surveyed, will still have a major competitive advantage this year in attracting and retaining talent, Stewart said. Sanders tweet Four-day week? Dream on Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) is an advocate of shortening the work week from five days to four and believes that workers shouldnt have their pay cut as a result. With exploding technology and increased worker productivity, its time to move toward a four-day work week with no loss of pay, Sen. Sanders tweeted from his government account earlier this week. Workers must benefit from technology, not just corporate CEOs. The impetus for his remarks were the new findings from a six month pilot program with about 2,900 workers across 61 companies in the UK that ended in December 2022. The British companies in industries ranging from marketing to construction allowed employees to work four days a week for identical pay. The upshot: Employee morale, productivity, and retention all increased. And more than 9 in 10 of the businesses will continue the shorter week schedule, according to the report. Thats a good thing because a whopping 15% of the employees who participated said no amount of money would convince them to go back to working five days a week. But dont get too amped up that you will see anything similar in this country anytime soon, even with Sen. Sanders' endorsement. A tiny 10% of U.S. companies plan to offer shorter weeks in 2023, up from 9% in 2022, Payscale found. Yahoo Finance Take: Theres little doubt that to build loyalty and a company culture, bringing a team together can be magic, especially for younger workers on-boarding to their first professional jobs. In the end, the hybrid-model seems to resonate and meet the needs of both. Given that employers are still grappling with workers hitting the exits at a brisk pace, this is worth considering. The four-day work week? Like we said, dream on. Kerry is a Senior Reporter and Columnist at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @kerryhannon. Click here for the latest economic news and economic indicators to help you in your investing decisions Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Download the Yahoo Finance app for Apple or Android Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and YouTube. (Bloomberg) -- TikTok was caught completely off guard when the European Unions executive arm told staff to delete the video-sharing app from phones on Thursday. Most Read from Bloomberg Theo Bertram, TikToks vice president of European public policy, told Bloomberg that TikToks executives found out via media reports. The European Commission department that issued the suspension never reached out to the company about any concerns. Weve never talked to them. Theyve never asked us for any input, so its a surprise, Bertram said. Normally we would expect some engagement and then some ability to understand what the case is against us, what the evidence is, to address that. And, in this instance, we havent had any of that. The ban was part of a growing movement to restrict TikTok on government devices, spurred by concern about cybersecurity risks and the companys ties to the Chinese government. The US Congress also has barred the app from government devices, and some officials there have called for a broader ban of TikTok, whose parent company is Chinas ByteDance Ltd. TikTok Chief Executive Officer Shou Zi Chew was in Brussels last month visiting a number of European commissioners, some of whom raised concerns about data protection. That followed a December scandal in which TikTok employees accessed user data. Bertram said these officials stressed that TikTok is able to do business in Europe as long as the company follows the EUs rules spanning everything from data protection to content moderation. They never gave us any impression that this was something that was being considered, Bertram said. Not to be told what the process is, it feels un-European. Story continues The commissions internal IT department sent an email to employees Thursday morning telling them to delete the app from official phones and devices by March 15. Bertram said the company wants the opportunity to find out what the commissions concerns are before that deadline, to explain how they are safeguarding Europeans data and to find out how the suspension could be lifted. TikTok wrote to the commission department responsible but has only received a holding response so far. Commissioner Johannes Hahn, who oversees the EUs corporate management board that made the decision, downplayed the gravity of the move at a briefing with journalists on Thursday, saying there was no immediate threat to commission officials. Still, they are constantly monitoring the situation, he said. Its of course not a secret that we are under an increased cybersecurity threat, therefore we should have to take measures in order to avoid anything in the future, Hahn said. He said the move was part of an ongoing assessment and training of commission staff. From our professional perspective its I wouldnt say business as usual but its part of our daily work. Still, the move shows how the EU is becoming more aggressive in its approach to TikTok. After a call with Chew in January, Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said the EU will ban the platform if it doesnt follow content moderation and data rules. We will not hesitate to adopt the full scope of sanctions to protect our citizens if audits do not show full compliance, Breton wrote. Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager has been more cautious about threatening a complete ban of the platform like the US has discussed, telling Swedish media this month that such a move is not on the table. The Dutch intelligence agency is also probing potential risks associated with government workers using TikTok on their phones. And French President Emmanuel Macron has raised concerns about the platform and its impact on young users. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. AI-powered logistics planning solutions provider Transmetrics completes a convertible round led by the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, Impetus Capital, and existing shareholders ahead of the planned Series A round. Featured Image for Transmetrics Featured Image for Transmetrics SOFIA, Bulgaria, Feb. 23, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Transmetrics, a state-of-the-art AI platform developed exclusively for the supply chain industry, today announces the successful closing of a 2.5 million funding round. The convertible funding was led by the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, together with Impetus Capital, following Transmetrics' selection in the ultra-competitive 2022 EIC Accelerator program. Transmetrics' existing shareholders and angel investors also joined the round. As a result, the company has raised nearly 7.5 million in equity and grants since launching in 2013. Transmetrics will use the funds to continue to invest in its unique AI-powered analytics, forecasting, and optimization for logistics through strategic collaborations, commercial growth, and expansion into new markets. Furthermore, the company will devote resources to R&D to ensure they provide logistics companies with planning tools that support efficient and resilient supply chains. "Transmetrics receives this round at a crucial moment for the industry and the company. The technological impact on logistics is something that moves the industry forward we see a lot of logistics companies investing in AI and other technologies to make their business more efficient and future-proof. By closing this round, Transmetrics will be at the forefront of this movement, offering state-of-the-art solutions that empower logistics planning and provide tangible value for our clients and the sector as a whole," said Asparuh Koev, Co-Founder and CEO of Transmetrics. EIC's Fund Board member Hermann Hauser added: "We are happy to announce our investment in Transmetrics, a leading provider of AI-powered logistics planning software. EIC's ambition is to support cutting-edge innovations that transform industries and drive positive impact. Thanks to EIC funding, Transmetrics can develop its technology, expand its customer base, and help drive sustainability and efficiency in logistics." Story continues Transmetrics is well-known for its successful work with some of the leading logistics companies in the world, such as Kuehne+Nagel, Matson, DPDgroup, Gebruder Weiss, and more. Transmetrics' software aims to address extreme inefficiencies in logistics. For example, on average, trucks in the EU drive half-empty, wasting economic resources and creating unnecessary emissions, while logistics is responsible for 30% of the world's carbon emissions from fuel combustion. About Transmetrics: A leading provider of AI solutions for the supply chain industry, Transmetrics optimizes logistics planning by leveraging the power of predictive analytics and ML. Transmetrics combines the strengths of humans with those of AI, ensuring the highest operational benefits and reducing the environmental impact of logistics. Its unique approach analyzes, models, and predicts transport flows with very high accuracy. Transmetrics clients experienced an up to 25% reduction in transport costs while increasing their fleet utilization by up to 14% and maintaining high service levels. About EIC Fund: The EIC Fund from the European Commission is agnostic: it invests across all technologies and verticals and all EU countries and countries associated with Horizon Europe. It provides the investment component of the EIC Accelerator blended finance. The EIC Fund aims to fill a critical financing gap, and its primary purpose is to support companies in developing and commercializing disruptive technologies. Bridging with and crowding in market players, they share risk by building an extensive network of capital providers and strategic partners suitable for co-investments and follow-on funding. The Fund pays particular attention to the empowerment and support of female founders as well as the ambition to reduce the innovation divide among EU countries. Contact Information: Alexander Lapshin Head of Marketing alex.lapshin@transmetrics.ai Related Images Image 1 This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com. Attachment The Lufthansa Group is further expanding its portfolio of sustainable travel offers and will be the world's first airline group to offer a new product for more climate-friendly flying from February 15, 2023: The Green Fares. The Green Fares will make it possible to fly more sustainably in the future with just one click, as the new fares already include offsetting of flight-related CO2 emissions. This is achieved by using 20 percent Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and 80 percent by contributing to high-quality climate protection projects. The Green Fares also offer additional status miles and a free rebooking option. The new Green Fares will be offered by Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, SWISS, Edelweiss, Eurowings Discover and Air Dolomiti on more than 730,000 flights per year within Europe and to Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. The fares can be booked via the airlines' websites as well as the NDC platform in Economy Class and Business Class. The new product for more sustainable flying now adds another pillar to the Lufthansa Group's fare structure, which has been in place since 2015. "People don't just want to fly and discover the world - they also want to protect it at the same time. We support our guests in this with suitable products. We already offer the most comprehensive portfolio for more sustainable travel and are now expanding this further with the Green Fares. The product launch is an important building block in our efforts to make air travel more climate-friendly," said Christina Foerster, Member of the Lufthansa Group's Executive Board responsible for Brand and Sustainability. Harry Hohmeister, Member of the Lufthansa Group's Executive Board responsible for Global Markets and Network, said: "The Green Fares were already successfully tested last year for flights from Denmark, Sweden and Norway. This showed that the demand for more sustainable travel offers is increasing. Now we are consistently taking the next logical step and are adding Green Fares to our well-known fare structure for flights throughout Europe and North Africa. We are thus pioneering the industry and living up to our ambition to develop innovative solutions for aviation of the future. And we are making it even easier for our customers to book more sustainable offers." TradeArabia News Service CHICAGO, Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ultrasound probe covers are expected to become more widely available in the near future. As technology continues to advance, the need for these covers will likely grow. They will be used to protect the probes from dust, dirt and other contaminants that could interfere with the accuracy of the imaging. They will also be used to reduce the risk of cross-contamination between patients. In addition, they will be able to provide additional protection to the patient and reduce the risk of infection. As more ultrasound machines are being used in clinical settings, it is likely that the need for ultrasound probe covers will continue to grow. MarketsandMarkets Logo Ultrasound Probe Covers Market in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth $213 million in 2022 and is poised to reach $ 283 million by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 5.9% from 2022 to 2027 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. The overall increase in the number of ultrasound procedures performed globally is the major factor driving the market during the forecast period. This increase can be attributed to the rising population of people aged 65 years and above, along with the drastically growing prevalence of chronic diseases, among other factors. Download an Illustrative overview: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=120737591 Browse in-depth TOC on "Ultrasound Probe Covers Market" 159 - Tables 54 - Figures 209 - Pages Ultrasound Probe Covers Market Scope: Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2022 $213 million Estimated Value by 2027 $283 million Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 5.9% Market Size Available for 20202027 Forecast Period 20222027 Forecast Units Value (USD Million) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Ultrasound probe covers Material, Type, End User, Application, Region Geographies Covered Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities High growth opportunities in emerging countries Key Market Drivers Advancements in ultrasound imaging modalities Additionally, emerging countries present an opportunity for the market to grow in the forecast period. Story continues This report divides the ultrasound probe covers market into five segments type, material, application, end user, and region. "During the forecast period, the endocavitary probe covers segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment of the ultrasound probe covers market." Under application, endocavitary probe covers is forecasted to grow at the highest CAGR from 2022 to 2027. An increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular, gynecological, and age-related chronic diseases, which require ultrasound imaging for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes, is expected to fuel the growth of this market segment. "In 2021, by end user, hospitals and diagnostic imaging centers held the largest share of the ultrasound probe covers market." By end user, the ultrasound probe covers market can be segmented into hospitals and diagnostic imaging centers, ambulatory care centers, research and academic institutes, maternity centers, and other end users. Due to the large share of ultrasound procedures performed at hospitals and diagnostic imaging centers, this segment occupied the largest share of the market in 2021. Additionally, there has been an increased focus on eradicating hospital-acquired infections, which has led to an increasing demand for ultrasound probe covers. "In 2021, North America was the region with the largest market share in the ultrasound probe covers market " The ultrasound probe covers market is segmented into five major regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. North America accounted for the largest share of the ultrasound probe covers market in 2021. The high prevalence of target diseases, rising preterm births, and presence of major players in the US is driving the growth of the ultrasound probe covers market in the region. Request for FREE Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=120737591 Ultrasound Probe Covers Market Dynamics: Drivers: Advancements in ultrasound imaging modalities Rising global geriatric population and increasing prevalence of chronic diseases Adoption of ultrasound imaging for early diagnosis Rising incidence of hospital-acquired infections due to improper reprocessing of ultrasound probes Increasing birth rate/number of pregnancies Restraints: Lack of awareness about probe reprocessing and infection control Opportunities: High growth opportunities in emerging countries Challenges: Lack of trained professionals Adoption of remote ultrasound technologies Key Market Players: Key players in the ultrasound probe covers market include CIVCO Medical Solutions (US), Becton, Dickinson and Company (US), Ecolab, Inc. (US), Sheathing Technologies, Inc. (US), and Aspen Surgical (US). These companies adopted strategies such as partnerships, acquisitions, and investments to strengthen their presence in the ultrasound probe covers market. Recent Developments In April 2022, Audax Private Equity (US) invested in Aspen Surgical (US), which will allow Audax to continue to support Aspen as it pursues imminent organic growth and larger-scale acquisition opportunities to expand globally. In December 2021, GE Healthcare (US) acquired BK Medical (US) to add the field of real-time surgical visualization to its pre- and post-operative ultrasound capabilities. In March 2021, Aspen Surgical (US) acquired BlueMed Medical Supplies (Canada) to strengthen its broad portfolio of surgical disposables and patient and staff safety products. In February 2021, CS Medical LLC (US) renewed its partnership with Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC, US) for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=120737591 Ultrasound Probe Covers Market Advantages: Ultrasound probe covers are designed to provide a sterile environment and reduce the risk of cross contamination during medical examinations. They can be used for multiple applications such as general imaging, obstetrics, and gynecology, as well as cardiology, neurology, and other specialties. The covers are easy to use and provide an effective barrier against bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms. They are cost effective and come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and materials, making them suitable for different types of medical procedures. The covers are also available in disposable and reusable varieties, providing more convenience and cost savings. Browse Adjacent Market: Related Reports: Medical Device Cleaning Market - Global Forecasts to 2027 Infection Control Market - Global Forecasts to 2027 Veterinary Ultrasound Market - Global Forecasts to 2027 Ultrasound Probe Disinfection Market - Global Forecasts to 2026 Ultrasound Market - Global Forecasts to 2026 About MarketsandMarkets: MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. We have the widest lens on emerging technologies, making us proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are molded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/ultrasound-probe-covers-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/ultrasound-probe-covers.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg Cision View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ultrasound-probe-covers-market-worth-283-million--marketsandmarkets-301754121.html SOURCE MarketsandMarkets (Bloomberg) -- As President Joe Bidens administration prepares to accept requests for $39 billion in funding to jumpstart US production of microchips, his commerce chief emphasized the programs focus is strengthening national security rather than boosting struggling chipmakers. Most Read from Bloomberg The US next Tuesday will unveil applications for the manufacturing part of the funding under the Chips and Science Act passed last year and will be crystal clear in its selection criteria, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said. I expect there will be many disappointed companies who feel that they should have a certain amount of money. The reality is the return on our investment here is the achievement of our national-security goal, Raimondo told reporters. She spoke ahead of a speech in Washington on Thursday where she laid out the broad vision for the program through 2030. The plan is to try to return manufacturing to the US by building at least two new clusters of leading-edge logic-chip manufacturing, with a supplier ecosystem and research and development facilities, employing thousands of workers. US defense capabilities from hypersonic weapons, drones and satellites depend on the supply of chips that currently arent produced in the US, she said in the speech. The US share of global chip manufacturing is down to 12% from 37% in 1990, Raimondo said. America needs to design and produce the worlds most advanced chips right here in America, she said. Congress passed the law last year after pandemic lockdowns and supply-chain disruption laid bare US reliance on chips from Asia and particularly Taiwan, the target of frequent threats from China. The shift arose over decades of companies focusing on peak efficiency, making the US reliant on other countries for chips used in everything from cars to military equipment. Story continues Many chipmakers are suffering steep drops in revenue and profit as computer and phone producers in particular cut orders to work through large stockpiles of unused parts. Most arent forecasting a rebound until the second half of the year, at the earliest. Many have already mapped out for investors the improvements to their balance sheet they expect from public money grants and tax relief. The purpose of this legislation isnt to subsidize companies because theyre struggling in a cyclical downturn, said Raimondo. It isnt to help companies necessarily become more profitable in America. Raimondos assertion may also heighten the competition among chipmakers as they try to persuade the government that theyre the most worthy recipients of grants that will help them build and equip new factories, facilities that can come with a bill of more than $20 billion each. New Facilities Right now, the industry in the US is fragmented among a number of geographic areas, mostly around facilities operated by Intel Corp., formerly the worlds largest chipmaker. Intel is building new plants in Arizona, where rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is opening a new facility north of Phoenix. Intels largest current cluster is near Portland, Oregon and its planning a new site in Ohio. Samsung Electronics Co., the worlds largest chipmaker by revenue, is investing in its existing site in Austin, Texas. Companies such as Texas Instruments Inc. and GlobalFoundries Inc. are also expanding in locations ranging from the Dallas suburbs to Lehi, Utah and upstate New York. Those two companies and others such as memory maker Micron Technology Inc. dont specialize in whats normally classified as leading-edge logic. The $39 billion of funding over five years is small compared with the investment needs for the industry overall and the goal of returning production from overseas. Its also a rare foray into industrial policy by the US, which doesnt have a history of recent success compared with rival economies in Asia. Raimondo said in her speech on Thursday that the US government needs the private sector to invest along with it, bringing in at least $500 billion in additional funding for manufacturing and research and development. Historic Investment The act will be judged based on whether it enables the US to build a reliable and resilient semiconductor industry, and whether those implementing it are good stewards of taxpayer money, Raimondo said on Thursday. The US isnt aiming for self-sufficiency in chips or make all the semiconductors it uses, but rather to win the innovation race and protect its national security and economic future. The US also needs to reduce prohibitive barriers to entry for startups in the chip industry, Raimondo said, lamenting that funding for technology hardware makes up only 3% of US venture capital, down from 20% in 2005. Raimondo also highlighted the importance of export controls, warning that very bad things can happen if technologies reach malign actors. The commerce chief places the new Chips and Science Act in the arc of historical investments made by the US government, including the nuclear program of the 1940s and President John F. Kennedys promise in the early 1960s to put a man on the moon. Just as the moon mission spurred a doubling in the number of American doctoral scientists and engineers, the US needs colleges and universities to triple the number of graduates in semiconductor-related fields over the next decade. The law includes $11 billion for research and development, beyond the $39 billion in financial assistance to manufacturers. At the same time, semiconductor-manufacturing plants, called fabs, provide opportunities for high-paid jobs that dont require a college degree, Raimondo said. The chips program presents a once-in-a-generation chance for the United States to marshal all of our resources and mobilize around a common goal, she told reporters. My job here isnt to displace the private sector; its to lay the foundation to allow American businesses to do what they do best; innovate, scale and compete, Raimondo said. (Updates with Raimondo comments from speech in fifth paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2023 Bloomberg L.P. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 22, 2023 / Victory Battery Metals Corp. (CSE:VR)(FWB:VR61 (OTC PINK:VRCFF) ("Victory" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has closed the third tranche of its non-brokered Unit Private placement (the "Financing"). In the first tranche the Company raised proceeds of $448,000 through the sale of 5,600,000 Units. In the second tranche the Company accepted subscriptions for 4,550,000 Units, for gross proceeds of $364,000. In the third tranche the Company accepted subscriptions for 8,607,500 Units at $0.08 per Unit, for gross proceeds of $688,600. The Company paid finders fees on the third tranche to a qualified finder of $2,560 and issued 32,000 broker warrants, which are on the same terms as the warrants forming part of the Units. Pursuant to the terms of the Financing, each Unit is offered at a subscription price of $0.08 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one common share and one common share purchase warrant exercisable at $0.12 for a two year period, subject to the right of the Company to accelerate expiry upon 30 days' notice if the common shares trade at $0.17 or higher for a period of 10 days, including days where there is no trading. The Company intends to use net proceeds of the Financing for working capital requirements and other general corporate purposes. For further information, please contact: Mark Ireton, President Telephone: +1 (236) 317 2822 or TOLL FREE 1 (855) 665-GOLD (4653) E-mail: info@victorybatterymetals.com About Victory Battery Metals Corp. VICTORY BATTERY METALS CORP. (CSE:VR) is a publicly traded diversified investment corporation with mineral interests in North America. The company is also actively seeking other exploration opportunities. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Story continues Forward Looking Statements Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial position, business strategy, use of proceeds, corporate vision, proposed acquisitions, partnerships, joint-ventures and strategic alliances and co-operations, budgets, cost and plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. A number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results or performance to materially differ from any future results or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions and dependence upon regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by securities laws. SOURCE: Victory Battery Metals Corp. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/740434/Victory-Battery-Metals-Corp-Announces-Closing-of-Third-Tranche-of-Financing Jimmy Carter greets the Rabbi Hershel Fogelman, right, with Rabbi Mendel Fogelman. More than 40 years ago, Worcester Rabbi Mendel Fogelman had a brief meeting with President Jimmy Carter. Fogelman, leader of the Central Massachusetts Chabad in Worcester, was in his early 20s when he met Carter in 1977 at a hotel in Boxborough. I remember Carter saying, Its nice to meet you, Mendel,' Fogelman said Monday. The meeting with the former president was recalled after Carter's family announced Saturday that the oldest living president in U.S. history, at 98, is spending his final days in hospice care at his Georgia home. The 1977 meeting was short, lasting long enough to shake hands and exchange pleasantries, and it was arranged by Joseph D. Early Sr., the late Worcester congressman. As Fogelman tells it, Early was friendly with Fogelmans father, the late Rabbi Hershel Fogelman, a prominent Lubavitch leader in Worcester who died in 2013 at 91. Early told Carter that he had to meet Hershel Fogelman, and it was arranged. The meeting happened in a hallway outside the hotel dining room where Early and Carter broke bread. (Carter) wished us well, we wished him well. It was pleasing meeting him, said Fogelman. A photo captured the moment: A smiling Carter shaking hands with Hershel Fogelman, with a smiling Mendel Fogelman standing next to his father. Although the younger Fogelman does not remember the date of the brief meeting, it likely occurred about the same time Carter was in the region for a town hall-style meeting in Clinton. Not fans of Carter's presidency But while Fogelman said he and his late father are fans of government, theyre not fans of Carters presidency. Hes no friend of Israel, Fogelman said, citing the Camp David Accords signed in 1978 by Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin that established a peace treaty between the two countries. Fogelman explained that before the treaty, Israel didnt pay for its oil because it controlled the resource. But because Israel had to relinquish the entire Sinai Peninsula as part of the peace deal including oil fields, the days of Israel's free oil were over. Story continues As for Carters legacy, which includes the Carter Center that promotes democracy worldwide and a decades-long association with Habitat for Humanity, Fogelman mentioned rampant inflation during Carters one-term presidency from 1977-1981. But Fogelman also remembers a nice meeting with Carter in the hotel lobby. We respected (Carter). Hes president and we have great respect for the president, said Fogelman. Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @henrytelegram More:Presidents Day in Worcester: These sitting presidents visited the city This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: President Jimmy Cater is remembered by a Worcester rabbi America's Oldest Brewery's collection of coveted beers can now be purchased across the three new states POTTSVILLE, Pa., Feb. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Yuengling Company announced that the brand's flagship beers are now officially available across Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. Millions of beer fans in these newest expansion states now have their pick from a selection of Yuengling's iconic portfolio, which includes a beer for every taste, on every occasion. Courtesy of D.G. Yuengling & Son "Today marks an important day for our brewery as we continue to make our beers available to more consumers," said Wendy Yuengling, Chief Administrative Officer and 6th generation family member, D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc. "On behalf of our entire Yuengling family, we are humbled to bring Yuengling beer to our fans in Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma." The diversified Yuengling portfoliospanning the brewery's iconic Yuengling Traditional LAGER, Light Lager, Golden Pilsner, and FLIGHT by Yuengling, the Next Generation of Light Beeroffers consumers a taste of Yuengling's distinct flavor and quality craftsmanship. Fans can stay up to date on where to find these iconic brands at their nearest retailer, bar or restaurant by checking the "Find Our Beer" link at https://www.yuengling.com/find-our-beer/. "As a 6th generation family-owned business, we have been making great quality beer for over 194 years and today we couldn't be happier to welcome beer drinkers in these new states into our Yuengling community," said Wendy Yuengling. "We thrive on delighting our many fans who trust us to brew the best beer possible, and we look forward to continuing to do so." "The Yuengling family and all our business partners are proud to bring the rich tradition and authentic quality of America's Oldest Brewery's beers to these new states," said Pat Pikunas, General Manager, The Yuengling Company. "The opportunity to engage and serve a new set of fans from some of the most iconic beer-drinking states is an opportunity we take very seriously. We are confident about meeting high expectations and delivering the very best, great tasting Yuengling beers that have built our quality reputation over 194 years." Story continues About D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc. D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc., America's Oldest Brewery, is family-owned and operated since 1829. Principal beer brands include Yuengling Traditional Lager, Light Lager, Black & Tan, Golden Pilsner, Premium, Light, Dark Brewed Porter, Lord Chesterfield Ale, Oktoberfest, Yuengling Hershey's Chocolate Porter, FLIGHT by Yuengling, and Bongo Fizz. Production is supplied by two breweries in Pottsville, PA and one in Tampa, FL. A separate joint venture called The Yuengling Company was recently established with Molson Coors Beverage Company to expand production and distribution further west. Yuengling beer is currently available in 23 states and will expand into Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma in 2023. Get news, updates, and access media images at https://www.yuengling.com/news. For more information about Yuengling, fans are encouraged to follow the Yuengling Facebook page, follow Yuengling on Twitter and Instagram, or visit www.Yuengling.com. Contact: Paul Capelli D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc. pcapelli@yuengling.com (508) 728-1271 Cision View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/yuenglings-iconic-beers-officially-begin-pouring-in-kansas-missouri-and-oklahoma-301753721.html SOURCE D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc. A total of 55 library books have been challenged in Spotsylvania schools since May 2022, according to information provided by the school division this week. Of these, 16 were professionally reviewed and removed from school libraries early in the appeal process, which according to the divisions policy for the selection and review of instructional material, starts with the school principal. The policy, IIA-R, states that after complainants have filed their objections to a book in the school library, the principal assembles an ad hoc committee of parents, staff and community members to review it. The 16 books that were removed from libraries prior to ad hoc committee review are Red Hood and What Girls are Made Of by Elana K. Arnold; Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston; Anatomy of a Single Girl and Anatomy of a Boyfriend by Daria Snadowsky; Collateral, Tilt and Identical by Ellen Hopkins; Blankets by Craig Thompson; Red at the Bone by Jaqueline Woodson; l8r g8r by Lauren Myracle; Beautiful by Amy Reed; Dead End by Jason Myers, How Beautiful the Ordinary, an anthology of LGBGQ short stories; The Carnival at the Bray by Jessie Ann Foley; and Boy Toy by Barry Lyga. According to information provided by division spokeswoman Tara Mergener, one book, Blazed by Jason Myers, is still pending review by the ad hoc school-level committee. All other books in the challenge process have been reviewed by the ad hoc committees. The committees determined that two of the challenged books Me, Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews and Fade by Lisa McMann are not appropriate for middle school libraries, but that all are appropriate for high school readers. The majority of the book challenges were initiated by one parent, who has appealed the decisions of the committees. According to policy IIA-R, the appeal then goes to the superintendent for consideration and finally to the school board. Fourteen of the challenged books are now being reviewed by Superintendent Mark Taylor. These include The Bluest Eye and Beloved by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, as well as Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. The remaining challenged books are under or pending division committee review. Mergener said the committee consists of 4 to 5 volunteer community members that read the book and make an individual recommendation to the superintendent. The Office of Teaching and Learning facilitates the committee meetings which include an overview meeting and a discussion meeting, Mergener said in an email. The bee is back! After winning their class and division competitions, 14 local students hard work will come to fruition at the Fredericksburg Regional Spelling Bee, planned for 10 a.m. Saturday at James Monroe High School. Competitors range from grades 48. The youngest of the group is fourth grader Joel Washington from Bowling Green Elementary School in Caroline County. This years school district bee was my first spelling bee ever, he said. My mom is helping me to study for the regional. I study words on flashcards and shell randomly call them out to me. Following his win at the Caroline bee, Joel intended to keep a low profile and tell only a few of his close friends. However, just about everyone in his class at school knew about his achievement. My class surprised me when I came back from the competition, he said. They were just happy that I was able to get there so they ended up throwing a huge surprise party for me when I came to class. Describing himself as feeling somewhere in between nervous and the feeling when youre happy that youve made it, Joel thinks that, no matter the results of the competition, he will keep spelling for years to come. Yet, for some spellers, this years bee marks a bittersweet ending to a journey, as students are no longer eligible to compete after passing the eighth grade. Ive done this for many years, so its kind of sad in a way, but also exciting, said eighth grader Caroline Brand. Caroline, representing Grymes Memorial School, has been competing in local bees since she was a second grader, and humbly admits to owning a collection of first- and second-place titles. Last year was Carolines first time attending the regional competition, where she tied for third. I didnt really know what to expect, she said. This year, Caroline is happy her family members will be in the audience to cheer her on. Last year, only my dad and one of my teachers were able to come because of COVID, but this year, probably my whole family will come: my mom, dad and four siblings, she said. Carolines motivation to spell competitively stems from her love of learning and reading. I like to read a lot. I love being able to see the words that Ive studied in the books I read, she said. I wish my competitors luck and just to go out and have fun. Luke DiMaso, an eighth grader at St. William of York Catholic School, also reflected on the significance of this years competition. My goal ever since fourth grade was to make it to the nationals, he said. So this is my last year to try and achieve that. Luke stumbled upon the bee as a fourth grader and has been passionate about it ever since. The first year I competed, I didnt know about any of the study material. I just tried it and I did pretty well, he said. Since then, Luke has established a consistent study routine with his parents and younger sister. Competition can always be nerve-wracking, but Luke doesnt try to shake off the nerves. I really do welcome a bit of nervousness at the beginning, he said. Before we go out, I really just try to tell myself whatever happens, I couldnt have prepared any more than I did. And whatever the outcome, I tried my best. These kids have worked so hard and really handled the pressure well, said Darcie Caswell, youth services coordinator at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library. There is really nothing like being present and watching this event occur. Its so exciting and so fun to watch these young people share their knowledge. University of Mary Washington Associate Professor of Linguistics Dr. Paul Fallon will serve as the pronouncer for the event. Judges will include Martha Hutzel, director of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library; Adele Uphaus, staff reporter at The Free LanceStar; Phil Jenkins, editor at the Council of Chief State School Officers; and Ann Woolford, retired vice president for Academic Affairs and Student Services at Germanna Community College. Saturdays bee is sponsored by Central Rappahannock Regional Library and The Free LanceStar. The winner of the regional contest will advance to the 95th Scripps National Spelling Bee, which will be held at the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, from May 30 to June 1. Spotsylvania eighth grader wins Fredericksburg Regional Spelling Bee As Leanna Gonzales was on her way to James Monroe High School for the Fredericksburg Regiona RICHMOND Lawmakers did not pass bills introducing penalties for improperly storing a firearm, but did agree to incentivize firearm safety through a tax credit. Lawmakers last week passed a measure introduced by Del. Alfonso Lopez, DArlington. The House bill, which had bipartisan support in both chambers, will create a tax credit for purchasing a firearm safety device, such as a gun safe or locker. Anyone who purchases a gun safe, or similar device that can be used to store a firearm by means of a key or combination, will be eligible for a tax credit, according to the bill. Taxable years for this credit are between Jan. 1 and Jan. 1, 2028. The purchaser of a gun safe will receive no more than one tax credit a year for up to $300 of the purchase price of one or more firearm safety devices, according to the bill. Lawmakers agreed to cap the pool of available credits allowed at $5 million annually, on a first-come, first-served basis. Taxpayers are required to submit receipts for the purchases. Democratic lawmakers think more is needed to curb gun violence, and introduced several gun control measures that were not passed this session. The number of gun-related deaths among Virginia minors from 201722 is about 500, according to statistics shared by Kathrin Hobron, chief medical examiner for the Virginia Department of Health. The number of cases for 2022 is about 90, but are still being counted and are subject to change, Hobron stated. Sen. Jennifer Boysko, DFairfax, introduced Senate Bill 1139. The bill required that a firearm owner who lives with a minor, or someone prohibited from using firearms, to safely store their personal firearms. It also required gun stores to post notice of the law and penalty for violation. Boysko introduced the bill due to the increase in gun violence, she said. Children are killed by gunfire more than any other reason in the U.S. and in Virginia, Boysko said. I think its time that we do something about it. Over 100 incidents involving a firearm were reported throughout Virginia schools in the previous school year, according to student behavior and administrative response data collected by the state Department of Education. A 6-year-old shot their teacher at a Newport News elementary school in January. The family released a statement which read, in part, the firearm our son accessed was secured. Senate lawmakers amended Boyskos bill to reduce the penalty charges. The original penalty was a Class 1 misdemeanor charge, which is equal to 12 months in jail, a fine of up to $2,500, or both, according to Boysko. The penalty was reduced to a Class 4 misdemeanor, which is a fine of up to $250. We dont want to send people to prison, Boysko said of the reduced penalty. We want to help them change behavior so that theyre behaving responsibly with their firearms. The Senate passed the bill on a 2216 vote, with two Republican votes of support. Boysko was thrilled to see the bill pass. It was nice to see that we got a little bit of bipartisan support, Boysko said. The thrill was short-lived. The bill was assigned to the House Public Safety subcommittee, where it died the next day without a chance for Boysko to present the bill to the panel. Some concerns with the bill in the Senate centered around hunting. There are those of us who live in rural Virginia, and we are raised up with hunting guns, said Sen. Richard Stuart, RKing George, ahead of a vote on the bill. And they are not assault weapons. The bill needed a lot more work to reach its true intentions, Stuart said. Del. Marcus Simon, DFairfax, introduced a similar firearm storage bill in the House that never made it out of subcommittee. Philip Van Cleave is the president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, an organization that lobbies for gun rights. Van Cleave opposed the bill and said it was a one-size-fits-all bill. There are some families, probably quite a few, especially in rural parts of the state, where a person in their teens has grown up around guns, Van Cleave said. Their parents have taught them how to safely handle guns, how to shoot them and everything else. Firearm owners dont deserve to be punished because of a few irresponsible parents, according to Van Cleave. Almost 50 firearm-related bills gun control measures and efforts to roll back gun control measures were introduced this session, but few are anticipated to complete the path through both chambers, which are currently controlled by opposing parties. Its never been this bad, Van Cleave said about the partisan divide around firearm legislation. Stephen Farnsworth is the director of the University of Mary Washington Center for Leadership and Media Studies and a political science professor. Firearms need to be secured effectively, especially in places where kids are present, Farnsworth said. What we learned in the wake of what happened at that Hampton Roads elementary school is that standards to keep guns from children could stand to be improved, Farnsworth said. Republicans who represent rural areas are attempting to be competitive with their messaging to capture votes in the looming primary races, according to Farnsworth. A significant number of Republicans actually favor gun safes and trigger locks, but folks who vote in primaries are much more extreme, he said. They are much more likely to be single-issue voters on things like guns and abortion, Farnsworth said. Lawmakers will continue to reach a deadlock on gun control laws until the two parties can come to a mutual agreement, Farnsworth said. What you can expect with gun control and the legislature is what you can expect would be the fate for just about every hot-button issue in the Commonwealth right now divided government equals stalemate, Farnsworth said. The Lenten season is here which also means its time for fish fries. The popular meals offer a variety of fish and side dishes, as well as options for non-fish eaters such as macaroni and cheese and chicken tenders. Enjoy the annual tradition and try out one or several of these area fish fries: Fremont Knights of Columbus The Fremont Knights of Columbus Phil Sheridan Council 1497 will be sponsoring a fish fry from 5-7:30 p.m. every Friday during Lent at St. Pats Auditorium, Fourth and Union streets, in Fremont. Pollock, baked beans, coleslaw, cornbread and drinks will be served. Shrimp and cheese pizza also will be available. Dinners are $13 for adults and $8 for kids. Catholic Daughters will have desserts for sale. The Bergan Booster Club will be running the bar. Sons of American Legion The Cedar Bluffs Sons of the American Legion will be hosting a weekly fish fry from 5-8 p.m. each Friday, Feb. 24 through March 31, at American Legion Post 158, 101 S. Second St., in Cedar Bluffs. Fried Pollock will be served along with coleslaw, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, bread and a pickle. The cost is $14 for adults and $7 for kids 12 and under. Vietnam veterans can eat free on March 31. Desserts will be available for purchase by the auxiliary. Takeout meals are available. There also will be raffles and a weekly split-the-pot contest. The raffle tickets are $20 or six for $100. First prize is a Polaris Ranger 570 Side by Side. Second prize is a John Deere 42-inch zero turn mower. A Green Mountain Wi-Fe Pellet Grill will be given away for third prize. The fourth and fifth prizes are $500 and $250 cash, respectively. The raffle winners will be drawn on March 31 (need not be present to win) Snyder Fire & Rescue The Snyder Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department will be having a fish fry from 4:30-8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, at Snyder Firemens Ballroom. Alaskan Pollock, grilled cheese sandwiches, scalloped potatoes, baked beans and coleslaw will be served. Carryout meals and a drive-thru service will be available. There also will be a cash bar. The cost is $12 for adults and $6 for children. North Bend Knights of Columbus The North Bend Knights of Columbus Council 3736 will be sponsoring a fish fry from 5:45-8 p.m. each Friday from Feb. 24 through March 31 at St. Charles Parish Center, 811 Locust St., in North Bend. The fish fry features all-you-can-eat fish and grilled cheese sandwiches. Sides include vegetarian baked beans, southwest or regular macaroni and cheese, fried potato rounds, coleslaw and marbled rye bread. Gluten-free fish is available upon request. Takeout meals are available. There also will be raffles and adult beverages. The cost is $12 for adults, $7 for ages 7-13, and $34 for families. Woodcliff Veterans Club The Woodcliff Veterans Club will be having all-you-can-eat fish fries from 5-8 p.m. Feb. 24, March 10 and March 24 in the Woodcliff Community Center, 980 County Road W, south of Fremont. The cost is $14 for ages 11 and above, $7 for kids ages 5-10, and free for kids 4 and younger. Takeout meals are available. There will be a cash bar. Izaak Walton The Fremont Izaak Walton Chapter will be hosting a fish fry from 6-8 p.m. each Friday from Feb. 24 through April 7 at Fremont Izaak Walton Park, 2560 W. Military Ave., in Fremont. Fried Pollock (regular or spicy), baked fish, chicken strips, coleslaw, fries, bread and dessert will be served along with a soda or water. The cost is $10 (cash or check only). Anyone wishing to become an Izaak Walton member may talk to any member at the dinner. St. John Catholic Church St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church at 307 E. Meigs St. in Valley will host a fish fry from 5-8 p.m. each Friday, Feb. 24 through March 24. The fish dinners include shrimp or white fish with homemade coleslaw, bread and baked potato or chips. Assorted beverages and desserts are available. Macaroni and cheese is available on the kids menu. The cost is $13 for adults and $5 for kids. A family discount is offered. For takeout meals, call 402-359-5217. Proceeds will be donated to local charities. Dubais Museum of the Future (MotF) recently welcomed over 1000 children of determination along with their family members and caregivers as part of an exclusive visit in celebration of the museums first anniversary. The children enjoyed an exclusive tour of the museums various exhibits including the Future Heroes floor which is designed for children under the age of ten. The exhibit encourages them to discover the world through a range of recreational activities centred around future-proof skills including curiosity, creativity, confidence, communication, and collaboration. In addition, the children and their companions were given the chance to learn more about the museums other exhibits including OSS Hope, The Heal Institute, Al Waha, and the Tomorrow Today exhibition. Majed Al Mansoori, Deputy Executive Director at the Museum of the Future said: Our distinguished visitors were able to learn about all the unique experiences that shed light on endless possibilities revolving around the future. We were delighted to see their enthusiasm and joy as they explored various technologies, innovations and future opportunities that are showcased throughout the Museum of the Futures various exhibits. Since its inauguration, the Museum of the Future has welcomed over a million visitors from 163 countries across the world, during its first year of operations since officially opening on 22 February 2022, and has hosted more than 180 local and global activations, events, conferences and forums that cover various future-specific sectors. In addition, more than 1,000 international dignitaries, ministers, officials and experts visited the museum throughout the past year, including around 20 heads of government and official delegations from South Korea, Estonia, Luxembourg, China, Greece, Hong Kong, Thailand, Rwanda and Mauritius, among others. TradeArabia News Service Dodge County Attorney Pam Hopkins said on Wednesday, Feb. 22, that the parents or legal guardians of a student who brought a handgun to Milliken Park Elementary School on Jan. 27 will likely not face any criminal charges or allegations. I am not aware of any criminal conduct by the parents, Hopkins said. It is possible that other things may be happening that are not appropriate for public comment because it involves a minor child. What I would be able to say at this time is, I do not have any information that indicates the parents engaged in any criminal conduct. Hopkins declined to answer several questions about whether or not the male fourth-grade student could face any criminal charges citing the fact he is a minor. If it involves a minor child, we are not going to comment. Obviously that incident involves a minor child, so I think it would be consistent with state law and our office policy that we dont comment on events involving minor children, Hopkins said. The incident occurred at about 8 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 27, at Milliken Park Elementary School. According to press releases from both the Fremont Public Schools and the Fremont Police Department on the day of the incident, there were no injuries and no threats were made with the firearm. Hope Pierce, a spokesperson for the Fremont Public Schools, stated in a press release in January that the handgun was found in the backpack of a fourth grade student at Milliken Park elementary. The semi-automatic handgun had a magazine containing bullets inserted into it, but there was not a live bullet in the firing chamber. In a telephone interview with the Tribune, Pierce said an astute homeroom teacher who was supervising the students in her class shortly after 8 a.m. noticed suspicious activity in regard to students congregating together, leading to the discovery of the firearm. Several students were gathered around the student with a backpack, and the teacher went to go over and see what the students were looking at, and saw the gun in the backpack and got that taken care of immediately, Pierce explained in January. This is a very rare occurrence. Pierce said the teacher who found the firearm escorted the student to the administrative office at the school, noting that the child did not resist and was fully compliant with the teacher and staff. As the student was taken to the administrative office, school officials contacted the Fremont Police Department. Fremont police Capt. Kurt Bottorff said in a press release that at 8:19 a.m., officers responded to the school in reference to a juvenile student bringing a firearm to campus. In a telephone interview with the Fremont Tribune, Bottorff said the investigation into the incident involved many factors, including who owned the firearm, how the child acquired the gun and how he took it to the school. We do know who the owner of the firearm is. It was collected as evidence. There are all kinds of laws related to firearms, there is child abuse, child neglectyou could go down those avenues. All of this will be looked at, Bottorff said in a January interview. Following a several week investigation of the incident, Fremont police detectives turned over their findings in mid-February to Hopkins. In the district press statement the day of the incident, Associate Superintendent Brad Dahl assured the community, students, district staff and parents that there were no injuries and all staff and students are safe following the police response. Pierce stated district officials sent a communication to parents which, encouraged them to reinforce the following points with their student: schools are a safe place; teachers and staff help keep students safe; and reminded stakeholders of the motto, If you see something, say something! If you know something, tell someone! In addition to communicating with parents, Pierce said fourth grade students at the school were visited with by school administrators, teachers and counselors who spoke to the students about safety in the classroom as well as any concerns that may have arisen. Avelo Airlines on Thursday announced exclusive nonstop service from the Colorado Springs Airport to Los Angeles via the Hollywood-Burbank Airport. The new route will begin on May 3 and operate three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. The new flights will offer Colorado Springs the only nonstop flights to L.A. United previously offered nonstop service to Los Angeles International Airport but discontinued that service at the start of the year. Introductory one-way fares between Colorado Springs and the Hollywood-Burbank Airport start at $49 for travel booked by March 2 and completed by Sept. 6. Customers can make reservations at AveloAir.com. Were thrilled to welcome Avelo Airlines to the Colorado Springs Airport," Greg Phillips, the city's aviation director, said in a news release. "Avelo inspires travel through world-class service at affordable prices and their purpose aligns with ours. Although were Colorados small airport, were big on customer service and friendliness, and we are looking forward to having Avelo join our airport family." Avelo is a new airline, with the low-fare carrier taking flight for the first time on April 28, 2021. It serves about three-dozen destinations across the U.S. Colorado Springs is Avelos only destination in the Mountain Time Zone besides Boise, Idaho. They have ... destinations up and down the East and West Coast, very well covered, Doug Price, president and CEO of Visit Colorado Springs, said during a news conference Thursday. But Colorado Springs is this new dot right in the center of the country. Avelo also announced Thursday the addition of a route between Hollywood-Burbank Airport and Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport, Courtney Goff, the airline's communication manager, said. Sign Up for Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. We knew they were well managed, well-funded, Phillips said of Avelo. ... They have grown smart and grown quickly. The new route will be flown on Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft with Burbank-based crews, Goff said. The addition of the Burbank route follows Southwest Airlines' announcement this month of a new nonstop route between the Colorado Springs Airport and Long Beach, Calif., that will begin in July. The L.A. basin is a large, underserved market for COS, Phillips said. "If an airline wants to come in here, we'll make it work," he said. "... In the end, our goal is to serve our community." HB23-1115 would eliminate Colorados statewide prohibition of municipal rent control, in place since 1980. In this legislative session of horribles, it would not merely repeal a section of the Colorado Revised Statutes, it would attempt to repeal the laws of economics as hopeless and delusional as attempting to repeal the law of gravity. Rent control is a terrible idea, not only because it doesnt work, but because all of its effects hurt the people it is allegedly supposed to help. Because the returns are lower than expected for property owners, rent control reduces investment both in new housing and in maintenance of existing rental stock, meaning that housing supply stagnates, and controlled property steadily becomes less appealing to live in, especially for those at the lower end of the income scale. A study of what happened when rent control was repealed in Cambridge, Massachusetts shows that this ends up depressing property values, even in those properties not directly controlled. As a side note this means that for the duration of control, it will mean lower property tax revenue than anticipated for the city. Worse, the benefits dont reach the people theyre intended to. People end up renting apartments they dont need merely because theyre available at substantially below-market rates, and its a means either of saving more money to buy a home, or of living closer to the city center. A study of St. Pauls experience with rent control showed that those beneficiaries tend to be white and higher-income. At the same time, the property-owners who shoulder most of the burden tend to be lower-income. So rent control ends up being wealth redistribution, to be sure, but upward redistribution, from lower-income to higher-income individuals. All of this means that rent control, far from providing security and stability, ends up making the city less affordable and more economically stratified than it was before. Unfortunately, the idea appears to be gaining some traction in Denver. In the first mayoral debate, most of the major candidates opposed it, but Lisa Calderon openly supported it, while Rep. Leslie Herod, unaccountably, didnt answer the question. In the second mayoral debate, most candidate reiterated their stances, but Rep. Herod said that it should be on the table, the closest shes come to articulating a position on nearly any major issue. Surprisingly, the mayoral candidate who has best articulated the problems with rent control is Denver state Sen. Chris Hansen, who simultaneously believes that the city government is smart and powerful enough prevent climate change. In his debate remarks, he pointed out that both New York and San Francisco had had bad experiences with rent control. He might have added Los Angeles, meaning that it has failed to create housing affordability in the three most densely-populated counties in the country. The situation with the candidates for the at-large City Council seat is even worse. Former state Senator Penfield Tate has supported the idea for decades; Sarah Parady supported it, and current state Rep. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez is actually a co-sponsor of the House bill. All of the candidates, when asked if they wanted to explore the idea, said yes, even those who brand themselves as not progressives. This is how bad ideas gain momentum, when those who do oppose them in principle are reluctant to say so out loud. I reached out to my own city councilman, Amanda Sawyer, for a position, and found her to be unresponsive, first answering that she believed in local control, and then refusing to comment even in principle about the idea, without specific city legislation in front of her. There will, of course, be no such specific legislation before the election. Even Gov. Polis has expressed skepticism of the House bill, probably because it would interfere with his own top-down plans for remaking how you live. Local media reports are that he favors state centralization of land-use policy in order to facilitate regional planning a level of government that exists nowhere in the state constitution. Bills permitting rent control or other municipal anti-landlord measures would complicate that effort. As of this writing, the bill passed out of the House Transportation, Housing & Local Government Committee on an 8-5, near-party-line vote and is headed for consideration on the House floor. Should the bill become law, and should Denvers government take advantage of it, it would also complicate property-ownership, depress tax revenue, lower property values, and reduce rental options for the people they purport to assist. Lets hope we dont go down that path. Joshua Sharf is a senior fellow in fiscal policy for the Independence Institute in Denver, focusing on public pensions and data-driven analysis of other policy areas. He holds an MBA and a MS in finance from the University of Denver. Prosecutors say Staff Sgt. Cory Penven sexually assaulted a Fort Carson second lieutenant after a night of dancing and drinking downtown in October 2021. In opening statements at a court-martial that began Wednesday, Penvens defense attorney Lance Wood said the defense is not contesting that Penven had sexual contact with the woman, but rather whether the woman consented. However, prosecutor Capt. Mitch Bailey said that evidence will prove to the panel that Penven is guilty of sexual assault. The woman testified Wednesday that she cannot even remember being at Penvens house the night of the alleged incident over two years ago, where her mother and sister said they found her unconscious and in a state of undress. The woman was picked up at her home in Fountain around 9 p.m. Oct. 16, 2021, by Penven, whom she had met a few months earlier with her sister and another friend at a bar. They were in the same friend group, and Penven was described as part of the family by the victims mother and sister. He and the woman were never romantically involved, and she testified that she was never romantically interested in him. Penven drove the woman to downtown Colorado Springs the night of the alleged sexual assault, where they met another female friend for drinks and dinner at a local sushi restaurant before walking to a nightclub. Witnesses described the womans demeanor in the nightclub as intoxicated, as she was allegedly stumbling and not able to walk on her own by the end of the night. The female friend testified that the two went into the nightclub's bathroom, where the woman said, Please dont let me go home with him, referring to Penven. Sign Up for free: Military Brief Your weekly local update on local military news and events, sent straight to your inbox. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Penven and the woman were later seen kissing, something that the woman said she does not remember; in fact, she testified that the last thing she remembers is holding a drink and dancing on the dance floor and has no memory of the rest of the night. Penven is said to have walked the woman to his truck and drove her to his home in Fountain, according to witness testimony. The woman was found unconscious and only wearing undergarments in Penvens bed later that night by her mother and sister, they said. They took her home and when she woke up the next morning, she felt bad and did not remember how she got home or being at Penvens house at all, according to testimony. Attempting to piece together what happened, she spoke with her sister and the female friend she was with the night before. The woman said she went to the hospital on Oct. 18, 2021, for a sexual assault examination in pursuit of answers. I never thought I would be in that position because I was with someone I trusted, she said during her testimony. Penven previously pleaded not guilty to the charge of sexual assault. Wednesday morning marked the beginning of the multi-day preliminary hearing of accused Club Q shooter, Anderson Aldrich. The courtroom was at capacity with more than 40 in attendance including victims along with their family and friends and reporters. The shooting three months ago at the popular LGBTQ+ nightclub on North Academy Boulevard in Colorado Springs left five dead and more than a dozen injured. Aldrich appeared in custody in an orange jumpsuit and shaved head. The morning started with a request for a continuance from Aldrichs defense attorney Joseph Archambault, the third such request since Aldrichs arrest in November. Archambault requested the continuance over an issue with a potential witness the defense planned to call on but was told would not be able to testify. The request for a continuance was denied, but Judge Michael McHenry took the request under advisement and said he would reevaluate at the conclusion of the prosecutions evidence and testimony. See below for tweets from the courtroom from Gazette reporter Zach Dupont and scroll further for more of the story. Click or tap here to follow @ZachNDupont on Twitter. The first witness to testify on Wednesday was Colorado Springs police officer Connor Wallick, who was one of the first responders to Club Q the night of Nov. 19. Wallick testified that when he arrived he first saw a man who informed him that the suspect was already on the ground. Wallick testified that after entering Club Q he could hear screaming and crying from the patrons within the nightclub and loud music. Wallick was told that the suspect had been apprehended by a patron of the club. Wallick testified that he eventually found the suspect who was pinned down, was wearing a ballistic vest, was in possession of an AR-15 style rifle, and had a grenade. Wallick said that Aldrich was not complying with his commands, and that he had to be forcibly detained with handcuffs. Wallick testified that the person he placed in handcuffs was Aldrich, pointing them out inside the courtroom. After the arrest, Aldrich allegedly told Wallick that they were not the shooter and that the person on top of Aldrrich was the shooter, and that the shooter was still hiding within the club. Wallick said despite these claims he knew Aldrich was the correct suspect. While Aldrich was being detained Wallick stated that Aldrich was bleeding significantly from their head and that Aldrich claimed they were shot and would succumb to their injuries if they werent helped immediately. Wallick testified that although Aldrich was bleeding it was clear they had not been shot. During the entire interaction, Wallick testified that Aldrich never once took responsibility for the shooting. Jason Gasper, a detective with Colorado Springs police, was the prosecutions second witness of the morning, and he reviewed photographs from the scene of Club Q following the shooting. The photos included numerous blood stains and bullet cartridges scattered across the entirety of the nightclub, as well as pictures of the bodies of all five victims of the Club Q shooting. Daniel Davis Aston, Kelly Loving, Ashley Paugh, Derrick Rump and Raymond Green Vance were killed in the shooting. Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. While the photos were being displayed Aldrich could be seen having a visibly emotional reaction, rocking back and forth and at one point taking a tissue from one of their attorneys. Photos were also shown from the inside of Aldrichs apartment which included numerous signs of gun ownership, a rainbow-colored target, a black mask, a ghillie suit and a hand-drawn map of the inside of Club Q. Additionally, a picture of a hand-written note by Aldrich with the words how long must I wait, was shared. Surveillance footage from inside Club Q was entered into evidence but not played to the court. However, screenshots from the video showed Aldrich entering the club in a ballistic vest while holding an AR-15-style rifle. Another screenshot shows Aldrich aiming down the sights of the AR-15 rifle within the club while shooting. During cross-examination Michael Bowman, a defense attorney representing Aldrich, entered a screenshot of Club Qs surveillance footage into evidence showing Aldrich at the bar of Club Q on Oct. 29, 2022, three weeks before the shooting. Throughout cross-examination Bowman attempted to point at a lack of evidence showing that Aldrichs motives for the shooting were due to a hatred of the LGBTQ+ community; potentially to dispute the numerous bias-motivated crime charges Aldrich currently faces. The third witness of the day was Colorado Springs police detective Ashton Gardner, who reviewed all of the Club Q shooting victims with the prosecuting attorney to establish where they were at the time of the shooting, what they were doing and the extent of the injuries they sustained. Gardner reviewed numerous victims gut-wrenching stories from the night of the shooting, including that of a mother who was shot in the face attempting to help her daughter flee the club, and the man who U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Thomas James was shot in the stomach while attempting to apprehend Aldrich within the club and the man Barrett Hudson who was shot seven times while fleeing the club, but survived. During the description of the victims injuries Aldrich again could be seen getting visibly emotional, accepting several tissues and shaking throughout the testimony of detective Gardner. Aldrichs preliminary hearing was expected to last at least two days, but District Attorney Michael Allen stated before the lunch break that the prosecution may be able to complete its side of the hearing before the end of the day. Whether the remainder of the hearing will be continued because of the defense witness who is unable to testify this week remains to be seen. If McHenry at the end of the preliminary hearing opts to bind over Aldrich on the 323 charges, Aldrich's attorneys will then be forced to enter a plea at an arraignment at a later date. Prosecutors have mentioned over the past few months that the mental competency of Aldrich could play a role after the preliminary hearing, implying that Aldrich may plead not guilty by reason of insanity. Aldrich, who was 22 years old at the time of the shooting, originally faced 305 charges. But since the time of Aldrich's arrest, the prosecution has added 18 charges. Aldrich remains in custody at the El Paso County jail. Click or tap here for more. A Colorado Springs man was arrested in connection with a pattern of burglaries along the Front Range being investigated since January, according to Colorado Springs police. The man is said to have targeted fast-food restaurants in Colorado Springs, Fountain, Castle Rock and Denver. John Homesley was arrested at 1658 Keaton Lane in east Colorado Springs on suspicion of six counts of burglary, felony criminal mischief and felony theft, according to police. Court records show that Homesley is in custody on a $200,000 bond. He has previously faced charges in El Paso County, including stalking and harassment. Police said the ongoing investigation is a result of their focus on pattern crimes and prolific repeat offenders. Canon City High School joined a long list of schools statewide that were placed on lockdown Wednesday, following a wave of hoax threats of school violence. Police said dispatch received a threat to Canon City High School around 8:30 a.m. A man called police, claiming to be in possession of a rifle and pipe bombs, and entering the school. The caller did not identify themselves and immediately hung up, according to police. School resource officers were already at the high school at the time of the call, according to Canon City police, and assisted school staff in placing the school on lockdown status. "In an abundance of caution, the school was searched by law enforcement officers for any threats that may have existed. Finding none, the lockdown was lifted and students were released," states a Canon City police news release. As of 12:04 p.m., the district announced the high school had been released from lockdown and would return to operations as normal. "While the incident caused discomfort for staff and students, we are glad to report that everyone is safe, and no injuries have been reported." the district statement read. According to the release all Canon City schools remained on a modified secured status, meaning that anyone who enters or exits the schools would be monitored by school staff. Canon City was not an isolated incident. Schools in Aspen, Alamosa, Boulder, Brighton, Clear Creek County, Durango, Englewood, Estes Park, Glenwood Springs and Gilpin County also received various threats Wednesday. Lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders followed the threats. Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. The FBI in Denver said it is aware of the situation. "FBI Denver is aware of numerous threats made today to a variety of organizations and institutions across Colorado," the agency said. "The FBI works closely with its law enforcement partners by providing resources and guidance in these investigations and can recommend cases for federal prosecution. The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said it is also monitoring the incidents. Lockdowns have since been lifted at most schools. So far, no school district or law enforcement agency has found any of the threats to be credible. It was a similar scene to the north, where Boulder police put out a shelter-in-place alert for the area around Boulder High School as a precaution. Police also said busses had been brought to Boulder High School to evacuate students to the reunification center after all classes and activities had been canceled for the day. CU Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold spoke in a press conference Wednesday morning to address the incident. According to Herold, CU's dispatch center received a call at about 8:30 a.m. "We had a caller relay that he was outside Boulder High School with semi-automatic weapons, and he was prepared to go inside" Herold said. Maris said semi-automatic gunfire could be heard in the background of the call. "There is no evidence to support the caller was ever at the school." Herold said. Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the change in lockdown status and to list additional schools around the state that reported similar threats. Calls mount for probe into alleged U.S. involvement in Nord Stream blasts Xinhua) 08:34, February 23, 2023 This aerial photo released by the Danish Ministry of Defense on Sept. 27, 2022 shows the Nord Stream gas pipeline leak site. (Danish Defense Ministry/Handout via Xinhua) A leading European analyst told Xinhua on Tuesday potential proof of U.S. involvement would impact the way each side of the Ukraine crisis is viewed internationally. ROME, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Three European countries looking into the details surrounding last September's Nord Stream pipelines explosion said on Tuesday they are not sure when their probes will be complete, even as allegations swirl that the United States may have been responsible for the underwater blast. A leading European analyst told Xinhua on Tuesday potential proof of U.S. involvement would impact the way each side of the Ukraine crisis is viewed internationally. Davide Tabarelli, a professor of industrial engineering at the University of Bologna and president of Nomisma Energia, an energy research consultancy, said rumors of possible U.S. sabotage were out even earlier than the latest debate. "We have heard rumors of a possible involvement by the United States for several weeks, well before the latest accusations," Tabarelli told Xinhua. Aerial photo provided by the Swedish Coast Guard on Sept. 28, 2022 shows a gas leak on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. (The Swedish Coast Guard/Handout via Xinhua) The Nord Stream pipelines, which transported natural gas from Russia to European markets via Germany, were severely damaged last September after blasts in the Baltic Sea. One pipeline, Nord Stream 1, was in operation at the time of the explosion and Nord Stream 2, though had not been operational, was filled with gas. Recent allegations from Pulitzer Prize-winning U.S. journalist Seymour Hersh and others said that the attack had been carried out by divers from the U.S. Navy. Hersh, who has pledged to share more information from his investigation soon, said explosives were planted during exercises involving countries allied within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) around three months prior to the blast and only detonated in September. This photo taken on Jan. 20, 2023 shows the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) U.S. National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby on Monday dismissed allegations of U.S. involvement in the explosions. Russia requested that the United Nations (UN) Security Council call for an international investigation into the explosion. On Tuesday, the Security Council heatedly debated Russia's request for a UN-led inquiry into the incident. An investigation by the UN Security Council into the explosions that blew up the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines in September 2022 is a high global priority, said Jeffrey Sachs, a world-renowned economist, on Tuesday. "The destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines on Sept. 26, 2022, constitutes an act of international terrorism and represents a threat to the peace," Sachs told the Security Council in a briefing. Photo taken on April 28, 2022 shows the office of Russia's energy giant Gazprom in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr/Xinhua) China supports speeding up the investigation into the Nord Stream explosions so as to swiftly find out the truth, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Wednesday. Noting the Nord Stream gas pipelines are major transboundary infrastructure and energy transportation arteries, Wang said the explosions had a major negative impact on the global energy market and the ecological environment. In a joint letter to the Security Council, Denmark, Sweden and Germany -- the three countries closest geographically to the part of the Baltic Sea where the explosions took place -- said that their investigations were ongoing and that it was unclear when they would conclude. Noting the "consequences as concerns greenhouse gas emissions are substantial and worrisome," the letter reiterated that "deliberate acts, such as those committed against the Nord Stream pipelines, are unacceptable, endanger international security and give cause for our deep concern." This aerial photo provided by the Swedish Coast Guard on Sept. 28, 2022 shows the fourth leak on Nord Stream 2 pipeline in Sweden's exclusive economic zone. (The Swedish Coast Guard/Handout via Xinhua) Croatian security expert Mirko Vukobratovic told Xinhua on Tuesday that the alleged involvement of the U.S. Navy in the September 2022 Nord Stream explosions, is "not impossible" because the United States has benefited the most from the incident. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) The popularity of airport lounges is skyrocketing in the Middle East, a report said, noting that98% of KSA and 95% of UAE travellers have visited airport lounges, spending an average of just over an hour before their departure. Interestingly, travellers rank airport lounge access as one of the top 3 benefits provided by card issuers, expecting it to be as simple as a swipe of their payment card, according to the report titled Value of Lounge by global travel provider Collinson. One-third of them would even consider switching to a new card if their everyday expense card did not offer lounge access. Cardholders also anticipate access to an airport lounge in the case of a flight delay. This can be addressed by SmartDelay, another Collinson solution that transforms flight delay stress into lounge rest. Seeing as Middle Eastern travellers value a touch of luxury and comfort on their journeys, it is no surprise that Priority Pass, along with LoungeKey, has a particularly great reputation in both the UAE and the KSA. This makes them the most widely known travel experiences program in the region, which is why 66% of KSA and 76% of UAE participants prefer Collinson's offerings. Collinsons Priority Pass, the worlds leading traveller experiences programme, has entered its fourth decade of operation and is gearing up for the new age of connected travel. Reaffirming the companys commitment to the Middle East, Priority Pass, alongside LoungeKey, positions the region at the heart of the travel and aviation ecosystems exciting future. Priyanka Lakhani, Senior Vice President EMEA at Collinson, said: Through Priority Pass and LoungeKey we create memorable experiences for travellers, while elevating the value of loyalty and rewards programmes. We collaborate, listening to the demands of the industry, in order to evolve and develop the finest solutions for Priority Pass and LoungeKey members, as well as our valued partners. We are a leading loyalty brand with a deep understanding of customer behaviour and the travel ecosystem, putting us in an exceptional position to create the experiences that customers desire. We are also the only program that provides seamless access to the lounges, which is why our members rate Collinson services as the best in terms of (83%) convenience and (78%) quality. Following a turbulent period for the aviation industry, worldwide lounge visits are currently increasing by 140% year-over-year, and Collinson's expansive network, covering over 80% of the top 100 busiest airports, is ready to meet this demand. The network provides travellers access to 1,300 lounges and experiences in over 650 airports across 148 countries, including a growing number of airport dining and spa choices, but also extending beyond the airport with additional services. With partnerships like CarTrawler, which enables members to book car rentals and airport transfers via the Priority Pass app, Collinson is laying the foundation for a more flexible, personalised, and seamless travel experience. Collinson also continues to invest in the Middle East, introducing innovative lounges and travel experiences to its customers. Game Space in Dubai International Airport is the regions first airport gaming lounge, offering a novel alternative to the traditional pre-flight routine. Designed for game-loving passengers of all ages, this lively space features 40 game stations, each with a 50 display and side-by-side seats for either solo or multi-player gaming on PCs and consoles. Recent research reveals that travellers from the UAE and Saudi Arabia now place a greater emphasis on their wellbeing. With a series of significant additions to the Priority Pass and LoungeKey networks, Collinson is keeping ahead of the curve in terms of wellness. The second sleep n fly lounge in Qatars Hamad International Airport allows travellers to relax and recharge away from the crowds, while a first-of-its-kind partnership with the audio workout app WithU can help members burn off those extra calories consumed during their journeys. Commenting on the latest developments, David Evans, Joint CEO at Collinson, stated: It is evident that the new generation of travellers demand more. More personalised, more connected, broader, and totally seamless experiences. At Collinson, we strive to innovate and diversify our offerings. Game Space at Dubai International Airport and the sleep n fly lounge at Hamad International Airport are shining examples of how the travel industry can adapt to the ever-evolving needs of modern travellers. As we enter the new era of end-to-end travel, we are confident that owing to Collinsons customer-first culture, Priority Pass and LoungeKey will keep strengthening their position as the Middle Easts most trusted travel companions. TradeArabia News Service When asked Thursday about the potential of Anderson Aldrich entering an insanity plea, District Attorney Michael Allen told reporters it's a possibility, but "too early to determine if that will happen or not." Aldrich is accused of killing five people and wounding more than a dozen in the Nov. 19 shooting at Club Q, a popular LGBTQ+ nightclub in Colorado Springs. Aldrich's preliminary hearing came to a close on Thursday morning when Judge Michael McHenry ruled that all 323 charges against Aldrich be bound over. Allen's remarks came during a news conference following the court hearing. Aldrich's mental health was a central focus for the defense throughout the two-day hearing, with the defense presenting several pieces of evidence showing that Aldrich was taking more than 10 prescription drugs to treat depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety disorders. Aldrich's attorney Joseph Archambault also said Aldrich's mother, Laura Voepel, told a detective that Aldrich was "severely disabled" and had been a victim of sexual assault. On Thursday, Aldrich's defense team told the judge that it would pursue a mental health evaluation for Aldrich. Allen told reporters that the status of that mental health evaluation will be discussed at Aldrich's next court date on March 31. Another thing that could potentially be discussed at that court appearance is a potential motion to suppress Laura Voepel's home address from court documents and future court proceedings. On Wednesday afternoon, McHenry said a woman named Laura V was using the chat feature in the court's video conferencing system to speak about things happening during the preliminary hearing. What was being said by the woman who may have been Aldrichs mother was not disclosed by McHenry, but whatever was said was important enough that attorneys from both sides had to be informed during an extended recess. On Thursday morning, McHenry said court staff received a voicemail from a woman claiming to be Aldrichs mother requesting that her address be redacted from court proceedings and documents because someone allegedly attempted to break into her apartment after her address was given in court on Wednesday. Allen declined to comment on what Voepel allegedly said in the chat and if the claims of a potential break-in attempt were confirmed. Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Robert Tornabene, a Colorado Springs police spokesman, told The Gazette that there were no calls for service from any residents at Voepels address which is a multiunit apartment complex on Wednesday or Thursday. Tornabene said the most recent call for service from Voepels address was a call for an ambulance in late January. At the news conference, Allen also addressed the issue of Aldrich's sexual orientation and preferred pronouns. Allen told the media that he believed Aldrich's nonbinary status would not be an important part of the case. Allen also declined to comment on whether he believes Aldrich is nonbinary, saying any references to Aldrich by prosecutors as he or him are "unintentional." On Wednesday, Colorado Springs Detective Rebecca Joines testified that two people who knew Aldrich told law enforcement that Aldrich never referred to themselves as nonbinary, but that Aldrich's mother did. During the preliminary hearing, Aldrich's attorneys spent a significant amount of time attempting to have the bias-motivated crime charges dismissed. Asked if he felt prosecutors had a strong case for pursuing those charges, Allen told reporters: "I do." Aldrich is scheduled to be arraigned May 30, and Allen said he anticipates a plea of not guilty, which is standard in most homicide cases. During the arraignment, a judge could set a trial date. Allen told reporters that he's "hopeful" that Aldrich's trial will be this year, but that 2024 is a definite possibility. Aldrich remains in custody at the El Paso County jail without bond. On the heels of a winter storm that brought sub-zero temperatures to the Front Range and Denver metro area Wednesday night into Thursday morning, is a second storm lambasting the southern mountains of Colorado. A winter storm warning is in effect for parts of southwestern Colorado and the San Juan Mountains until 5 p.m., Friday. Heavy snow will continue throughout the day today into Friday with another 7-14 inches and locally amounts of up to 20 inches around Wolf Creek Pass. The Colorado Department of Transportation on Thursday afternoon reported that US-160 westbound was closed from South Fork between County Road 20 (South Fork) and USFS 667 (12 miles east of Pagosa Springs) from Mile Point 184 to Mile Point 157 due to poor visibility. Travelers were told to expect delays due to safety concerns. Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. The first storm laid down snow accumulations of 13-23 inches in the San Juans by Thursday morning, keeping several highways closed or delayed Wednesday into Thursday. Wolf Creek Ski Area reported on its website "the west side of Wolf Creek Pass will be closed until CDOT (Colorado Dept. of Transportation) has determined that all avalanche hazards have been mitigated," and travelers only have access to the mountain via the east side (South Fork and Del Norte). Check cotrip.org for opening and other information regarding travel conditions statewide. Nearly all of Colorado's mountains experienced heavy snow that ramped up Wednesday as another mid-winter storm blew into the state. A cold front moved into Colorado on Tuesday night, bringing several inches of snow to the Denver metro area and eastern plains. Here are some snow totals for the storm as of 1 p.m. Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. Statewide: Stoner - 10 inches Cameron Pass - 6 inches Mount Zirkel - 5.5 inches Crested Butte - 5.5 inches Snowmass Village - 5.5 inches Long's Peak - 5 inches Cortez - 5 inches Telluride - 5 inches Rabbit Ears Pass - 4 inches Bear Lake - 4 inches Pinewood Springs 7.5 inches Grant 5.5 inches Hygiene - 4.8 inches Brookvale 6.3 inches Sunshine 6.8 inches Berthoud - 3.3 inches Lyons 5.8 inches Nederland - 3.1 inches Timnath - 3 inches Niwot - 5 inches Jamestown 4.5 inches Virginia Dale 4.6 inches Silver Plume - 3 inches Aspen Springs - 3 inches Pagosa Springs - 3 inches Loveland 4.3 inches Estes Park 5.5 inches Longmont 3.9 inches Drake 3.9 inches Fairplay 8.5 inches Fort Collins 3.5 inches Mishawaka - 2.5 inches Lawson - 2.4 inches Keeney Park 4.8 inches Lafayette - 2.2 inches Erie - 2.1 inches Masonville - 2.1 inches Arvada - 2 inches Kittredge - 4 inches Greeley - 2 inches Eaton - 1.7 inches Georgetown - 1.6 inches Nunn - 1.5 inches Laporte 2.9 inches Durango - 1.4 inches Buckeye 3.1 inches La Salle 2.5 inches Conifer 3.5 inch Firestone 2.8 inch Windsor - 1 inch Vail - 1 inch Denver metro: Victims of October's deadly Lakewood apartment fire and relatives of the mother and daughter who died that night watched a hearing Thursday morning for one of the two boys accused of setting the blaze. The 12-year-old suspect appeared via WebEx in Jefferson County Juvenile Court from the Montview Youth Services Center, where he has been housed since he and a 14-year-old friend were arrested Nov. 6. After attorneys discussed a date for an IQ test, as well as a competency evaluation for the boy, First District Judge Ann Meinster closed the courtroom for the rest of the hearing to address sensitive issues regarding search practices for juvenile detainees. The boy's lawyers have filed motions voicing concerns related to the search policies of the juvenile detention facility. The two juveniles face 100 charges each including first degree murder-extreme indifference, 39 counts of attempted murder and 15 counts of 1st degree arson. Their names are not being released due to their ages. Kathleen Payton, 31, and her 10-year-old daughter Jazmine Payton-Aguayo were trapped in the bathroom of their second floor apartment where they died of smoke inhalation early the morning of Halloween 2022. At least 10 others were injured and dozens were displaced by the fire at the Tiffany Square Apartments, 935 Sheridan Blvd. After narrowly surviving the fire, Ayoncee' Hicks and her 1-year-old, Demarion, have moved back into one of the Tiffany Square apartments which has been reopened. She said she returned to the scene of her trauma against her best instincts, but rental prices everywhere else were too high. "It was between that and being homeless," Hicks told The Gazette. "It's all I could afford and it doesn't smell like smoke." Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. She, Demarion and a friend were sound asleep directly above where the fire started and survived because they jumped out of a second story window. "I have to look at that burned out area every day, but my son is happy and that's all that matters," the single mother said. A donation drive sponsored by Denver7 allowed her to replace furniture and other belongings that were destroyed. When she returned to the complex, she requested a first-floor apartment, stipulating "Nothing second floor or higher." Investigators testified during the 14-year-old's preliminary hearing that the boys set fire to a pair of pants and threw them into a bush outside of the apartment of a woman who threw them out in the middle of the night. They said the bush went up in flames and quickly spread to a wooden walkway, which wrapped around the second floor units. She is angry about the fact under Colorado law, the longest sentence a juvenile can face for any crime is seven years meaning the 12-year-old suspect could be released at age 19 and the 14-year-old at age 21. "They knew what they were doing. Seven years is nothing," Hicks said. The 12-year-old suspect has a status conference hearing March 6. The 14-year-old's trial has been set for May 1. Colorado Springs Utilities customers can expect to see their natural gas and electric rates decline next month. On average, residential bills are projected to decline from about $277 per month to about $253 per month, or about 8.6%, Scott Shirola, pricing and rates manager, told the Utilities board Wednesday. Some residents could see an even larger decline than expected based on their actual usage of natural gas and electricity, according to a staff presentation. The cost of natural gas and electricity is lower than earlier projections thanks to warmer-than-expected temperatures across the country this winter, Shirola said. People aren't using as much natural gas, therefore also saving in electric costs, he said. If the Colorado Springs City Council, which also acts as the Springs Utilities Board of Directors, approves the rate decrease at the council's regular meeting on Tuesday, the new rates will go into effect March 1, a month ahead of the utility's previously scheduled quarterly adjustment, which was to happen on April 1. The proposed rate decrease is not related to recent pushes at the state level for answers and solutions to rising utility bills across Colorado, Shirola said. Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Gov. Jared Polis this month directed agencies and energy regulators across the state to find ways to offer residents and businesses immediate relief from high utilities costs. Also earlier this month, Colorado Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, and House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, announced the formation of a joint select committee that will determine the cause of rising utility rates across Colorado and will find potential solutions to prevent future hikes. Shirola said that compared to other utilities across the Front Range, Colorado Springs Utilities customers will be paying less for natural gas and electricity after the new rates go into effect. Electric rates will be 19% lower than average and natural gas 23% lower than average compared to other regional utilities, he said. Colorado Springs Utilities customers who may need assistance paying their utility bill can apply for benefits through the Colorado Low-income Energy Assistance Program, which pays a portion of winter home heating costs for eligible applicants, according to a staff presentation Wednesday. The Colorado Springs Utilities Foundation also offers utilities assistance through its Project COPE program, which provides payment assistance for eligible Springs Utilities users. Other tips for utilities efficiency are available on the Colorado Springs Utilities website, csu.org, according to the presentation. It all starts with a question. What is this? How does this work? What would happen if I put this here? Sometimes its not very smart to put a screwdriver in an electrical outlet, but kids try it anyway, said Pikes Peak Regional Science and Engineering Fair co-director Carol Bach. All children are natural investigators. We start off as babies learning to crawl. Youre an investigator in the world around you. Middle and high school students from several counties will converge at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs on Saturday for the 66th annual PPRSEF, where they will explore their curiosities via science projects a far cry from screwdrivers in outlets, to be sure for a chance at cash and special prizes. Community members are welcome to view the projects for themselves from 3 to 4 p.m. in Berger Hall. Roughly 50 projects will be on display, according to PPRSEF co-director Nancy Hampson, a drastic change from the days of 250-plus entries in the regional event open to all Elbert, El Paso, Park and Teller county students. But those dedicated students who continue to show up, she said, arrive with really strong entries. Students compete individually or in teams of up to three, and there is no pre-requisite to enter, although the deadline for this years competition passed in January. This years fair is split into two divisions: junior, consisting of sixth through eighth graders, and senior, consisting of ninth through 12th graders. After eight rounds of judging, junior-level students compete for one of four category awards, and seniors compete for the top spot in just two categories. Were not (an) everybody gets first place because you were the only one in your category fair, Hampson said. The senior division grand prize is $1,000, though students have plenty of other opportunities to walk away with special awards presented by more than three dozen local and national organizations, including National Geographic and the U.S. Air Force. Special awards can be anything from money to certificates to miscellaneous goodies, Bach said. Sign up for free: Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country overnight and the stories to follow throughout the day delivered to your inbox each evening. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Students also benefit from soft skill development, like communication. You have interviews for all sorts of things, and if you can explain to this grumpy old guy in front of you why you did this and what you learned, Hampson said, it helps with their confidence and being able to defend themselves and explain themselves (For her part, Bach, who trains the roughly 60 judges, said she encourages them not to be grumpy old guys and gals.) Especially bright young students might even be eligible for additional competitions and awards. Each year a batch of roughly 20 students are selected to compete in the statewide Colorado Science and Engineering Fair held in Fort Collins in April. Additionally, three senior division projects will be selected to compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair, which this year will be in Dallas. So really the regional science fair is a steppingstone, Bach said. The event isnt for everybody, Hampson notes, though neither is wrestling. Those with a natural curiosity and a self-motivated spirit should consider entering in next years fair, she said, because thats where they just might find their people. The social component has been noticeably absent after COVID forced the fair online in 2021 and 2022. One particular student, who went to four international competitions, comes to Hampsons mind as she reflected on the event's propensity for bringing people together. The student's first science fair came with a revelation: These are my people, she remembers the student saying to her. This is where I fit. If you were the science geek at your school and you dont feel like you fit, when you go to science fair, you find out that yes, there are a lot of people just like you. They maybe just dont go to your school, Hampson said. Its amazing how they blossom socially when they find their group, Bach added. They come out of their shells, and they can talk about their rocks, and the other one can talk about his rockets, and they can have more fun, and they get into it. They become lifelong friends because of it. Regional award winners will be announced 6 p.m. Wednesday at Library 21C in North Colorado Springs. On the heels of a half-hearted and grudging attempt by the Legislature last year to recriminalize deadly fentanyl overdue and urgently needed amid a statewide epidemic of overdoses lawmakers are proposing to decriminalize it yet again. Yes, really. This time, theyd sneak it in through the back door in the guise of a Good Samaritan policy. House Bill 1167 would extend immunity from arrest and prosecution to fentanyl peddlers whose victims overdose if the pushers call for help. And if charges are pressed anyway, according to a legislative summary, the bill, creates an affirmative defense to the prosecution for unlawful distribution, manufacturing, dispensing, transfer, or sale of fentanyl so long as the dealer reports overdoses to authorities and remains at the scene. Thats right; the authors of this measure view those who deal in fentanyl or, as the naive harm reduction crowd would put it, those who share fentanyl as part of the response team. In fact, the pushers are the true first responders, Lisa Raville of the Harm Reduction Action Center one of this bizarrely misguided bills cheerleaders told the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. All we have to do is let them off the hook for sharing a synthetic opioid so lethal that a gram could kill 500. The bill was approved by the committee 10-2. Its part of the upside-down logic of the justice reform movement, ushered in over the past several years by the General Assemblys ruling Democrats. It was the same crowd that decriminalized possession of fentanyl, along with a host of other hard drugs, in 2019. That made it a misdemeanor. In the face of a public outcry over spiraling fentanyl deaths, lawmakers relented, a bit, and made possession of a gram or more a felony again. And now, this. Sign up for free: Gazette Opinion Receive updates from our editorial staff, guest columnists, and letters from Gazette readers. Sent to your inbox 12:00 PM. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Embarrassingly yet, not surprisingly Denvers notoriously soft-on-crime District Attorney Beth McCann testified in favor of the preposterous bill. Its worth noting the state district attorneys association stayed out of the fray due to a split in its ranks. The divide lies between the likes of McCann, and her counterparts in various other jurisdictions who are trying to do the job they were elected to do, which is to put criminals behind bars. The bill purports to address a scenario in which someone has given fentanyl to another who overdoses. The thinking goes that the giver is likelier to summon help if theres no fear of getting busted. Its at best a flimsy premise that requires connecting a lot of dots. A far more realistic scenario is the cynical drug dealer and career criminal who, if this law passes, will be dealt a get-out-of-jail-free card so long as he sticks around long enough to call 911. While hes on the phone, he can watch another life slip away. This bill is an insult to the memory of every Coloradan who has died of a fentanyl overdose; there were 912 of them in 2021, the latest year for which full data is available. It also is an insult to the original good Samaritan of biblical renown. Youll recall he was the one who came to the aid of the badly beaten robbery victim who had been left to die at the roadside. Only, it wasnt the Samaritan who had caused the harm in the first place. There are more than 3 million small businesses owned by Black/African American (B/AA) entrepreneurs in the United States with annual sales totaling over $150 billion. However, in 2020, B/AA business ownership rates dropped 41% between February and April 2020, the largest rate of any racial group. Historically, B/AA entrepreneurs have faced systemic barriers to success like lack of access to capital, fewer business mentorship opportunities, and a general lack of business opportunity. Over the past few years, these historic inequalities have combined with hurdles that have been heightened by the pandemic. As we celebrate Black History Month, it is as important as ever to acknowledge these ongoing challenges faced by the B/AA business community and consider solutions to help shift the landscape for better equity and prosperity. Access to capital Access to capital remains a top challenge. According to the Census Bureaus Annual Business Survey and the Federal Reserves Small Business Credit Survey (SBCS), only 35.7% of Black-owned businesses received the credit they requested compared to 57.6% for white entrepreneurs. Making more credit options available to diverse business owners can be the difference between a business survival and its closure. In addition to traditional lending, working with Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions can create an ecosystem of support that provides additional avenues to accessing capital. These institutions specifically work with underserved populations including those in low-to-moderate income areas and minority populations. Supporting these organizations and their mission is at the heart of the creation of Wells Fargos Open for Business Fund, an industry-leading effort which has donated roughly $420 million to support nonprofits who serve small businesses, and the Small Business Resource Navigator, an online portal helping connect small business owners to potential financing options and technical assistance through CDFIs. No matter what stage or circumstance your business is in, resources are available to help you achieve your goals. Access to information and mentorship Sign up for free: Gazette Opinion Receive updates from our editorial staff, guest columnists, and letters from Gazette readers. Sent to your inbox 12:00 PM. Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Another known challenge among business owners is where to find trustworthy information and mentorship. According to a regional survey, less than 40% of B/AA entrepreneurs had sufficient access to mentors and support networks to help launch and scale their business. Wells Fargo has many of these resources available for free at www.wellsfargo.com. The path forward As progress continues to be made toward solving the issue of improving access to capital and access to information and mentorship, long-term resiliency planning is also a critical step to help diverse small business owners find ways to pivot their business models and reimagine their products and services so they can meet the needs of an evolving economy. These actions, coupled with more equitable access to capital and information can accelerate the recovery of the wider small business ecosystem, creating numerous pathways for entrepreneurs to seek the help they need. Wells Fargo is committed to improving access to credit and resources for Black and African American business owners which can be accomplished through effective partnerships and sharing of information. By working together, communities, financial institutions and business owners can continue to move toward a more equitable landscape where business owners can thrive and prosper. Natalie Arrington is a senior commercial loan servicing representative and the president of the Wells Fargo Black/African American Employee Resource Network in Colorado. Democrats from the General Assembly's gun violence prevention caucus are set to announce four bills intended to limit or ban certain types of firearms, strengthen the "red flag" law, and increase liability for gun manufacturers. But a comprehensive ban on so-called "assault weapons" for those over the age of 21 is not among them. One bill set to be introduced by lawmakers and leaders in the gun violence prevention community at press conference at noon Thursday is an effort to ban the purchase of "assault weapons" for those under the age of 21. The term "assault weapons" is nonstandard, though a previous bill draft this session from Colorado Democrats defined it as semiautomatic rifles with a certain magazine capacity or other specified characteristics. Definitions in the age-limit bill have not yet been made available. That bill will include a definition that sponsors believe is enforceable and could be applied more broadly to future legislation for an overall ban. The age-limit bill could contain an exemption for hunting or for use against predators in rural counties. A second bill seeks to strengthen the state's Extreme Risk Protective Orders, to include other kinds of individuals who could seek an "red flag" order, also is among the quartet. That issue rose to the forefront after the shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs in November. The shooter, who this week is in a preliminary hearing to determine whether he will be charged with murder and bias-motivated crimes, was known to possess firearms and had been arrested in 2021 for a bomb threat, but neither law enforcement nor his family sought a red flag order. Gov. Jared Polis spoke in favor of strengthening the ERPO law during his 2023 State of the State address. Among the changes that have been discussed: allowing district attorneys or perhaps therapists, doctors or counselors to apply for a red flag order. The third bill will set up a three-day waiting period for purchasing a firearm. Currently, the state does not impose a waiting period when buying a gun. The last of the four, and the one likely to be the most controversial, is on liability, and takes aim at the 2001 federal law known as Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which has shielded the firearms industry from liability when someone uses a firearm unlawfully. Sign up for free: News Alerts Stay in the know on the stories that affect you the most. Sign Up For Free View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. A draft of the bill obtained by Colorado Politics says it will start in the Senate, under the sponsorship of Sens. Sonya Jaquez Lewis of Longmont and Chris Kolker of Centennial. The legislation creates a civil "cause of action," with a five-year statute of limitations, to allow someone who has been harmed as a result of "an industry member violation of firearms standards of responsible conduct." The draft bill states the firearms industry has engaged in "unlawful and irresponsible conduct" that risks life, health, safety and well-being of Coloradans. Hence, state policy is that product liability for injury, damage or death caused by a firearm is not based on the inherent potential for a firearm to cause those injuries when discharged. Six states have some form of liability law, although New York's law is the only one to have survived a initial legal challenge. While the four bills will take center stage Thursday, several more are anticipated. Most notably, that includes a ban on so-called "ghost guns," which Polis also called for in his annual address. Ghost guns are assembled from parts or kits or even a 3-D printer, but with one unfinished piece, such as a frame or receiver, that requires the purchaser to drill to make the gun functional. A loophole in federal law means these firearms dont need serial numbers or a background check for purchase. Bills on concealed weapons and insurance could also still surface in 2023. The General Assembly has already begun work on two bills dealing with firearms: a bill banning the discharge of firearms on private property in unincorporated counties with 35 dwellings per square mile, which has passed the House and is awaiting action in the Senate, and a bill from Sen. Nick Hinrichsen, D-Pueblo, that would add aggravated motor theft to the list of convictions that would ban a person from legally possessing a firearm. Senate Bill 22 won approval from the Senate Judiciary Committee on Feb. 13 and is awaiting further action from the Senate Appropriations Committee. The day Stephanie Knox brought her car to Adam & Son Auto Repair and Service was the day her luck changed. Adam & Son claims to be the first and only social impact auto repair shop in the nation, providing programs that serve the community through services and donations. Knox, a receptionist at Peak Vista Community Health Centers and a mother of two girls ages 7 and 4, lost her house and was hit by a series of health issues including a heart attack before the age of 35. Everything that could have gone wrong in my world went wrong, Knox said. So when Knox bought a used car with an unexpected oil leak, her luck didnt appear to be getting better. I was really cautious how far we would drive with the leak, Knox said. We didnt go a lot of places until I could get it fixed. That was until her engine gave out. Driving one day, I heard a loud clunk and I was like, Youve got to be joking. The first auto repair shop Knox brought her car to told her it would cost $7,000 to fix her car the engine needed to be rebuilt. My jaw hit the floor, Knox said. Knox couldnt afford a $7,000 repair to a car she bought roughly four months prior, so she took her car in for a second opinion at Adam & Son. The news was the same, but this time the outcome was different. The employee helping Knox told her she could apply for a program the shop ran called the Stranded Motorist Fund. He was my angel in disguise, Knox said. The Stranded Motorist Fund is one of Adam & Sons social impact programs that helps people in the community who cant afford car repairs get their vehicle fixed. Sign up for free: News Alerts Stay in the know on the stories that affect you the most. Sign Up For Free View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. It was in 2020 when we saw a tremendous need in our community here. People just could not afford to fix their cars, said Dan Adam, the business founder and owner. Its really tough to be a service adviser standing in front of a customer and you can see it in their eyes, they cannot afford to fix their car, and it happens very consistently. And so the Stranded Motorist Fund was formed. It is sustained through grant money, fundraising and customer donations but has largely been funded by Adam. Local organizations, including schools with parents who cant get their kids to class due to vehicle troubles, have reached out to the Stranded Motorist Fund for assistance. Moving forward, Adam hopes to not only help with local needs, but expand the Stranded Motorist Fund nationwide by partnering with other auto shops. What we dont want to do is just provide a handout and it doesnt solve anything and theyre back next week looking for more assistance, Adam said. What we really want to look for is somebody that if we can get their car fixed, they can keep their job or get employed and it can keep them going ... thats our ideal recipient wed like to help. Since its inception, the Stranded Motorist Fund has provided $130,000 worth of repairs, according to the business website. But the fund wasnt the first social impact dimension of the business. Adam started by fundraising for charities, clubs and organizations by donating three- and five-pack oil changes that organizations could then sell to earn money. Since then, the business social impact initiatives have grown to support the Trifecta Program as well as the Pay it Forward Program, which provides customers who receive a discount an opportunity to pay it forward by donating to the Stranded Motorist Fund or the Angels of Americas Fallen. Adam & Son will match donations up to $100. Adam & Son was recognized for its social impact efforts by the Springs-based National Institute for Social Impact, earning Social Impact Startup of the Year in 2022. There are so many benefits to being a social impact business, Adam said. Really for us, its having a business built around solving a problem. Adam & Son solved Knoxs problem of a $7,000 car repair that loomed over her head. She was accepted by the Stranded Motorist Fund, and Adam & Son rebuilt her engine for $200. (It) drove like it was new, Knox said. They went above and beyond to make it something special for me. One day after a dozen Colorado high schools went on lockdown because of fake threats that included audible sounds of gunfire, Democrats at the state Capitol announced a package of bills they say would address gun violence. In a noon news conference halted midway by a fire alarm, Democratic lawmakers announced they will introduce four bills to allow civil lawsuits against gun businesses, strengthen the states red flag law, bar the purchase of firearms for 18- to 20-year-olds and establish a three-day waiting period for purchasing firearms. This state is no stranger to gun violence, said Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, one of the sponsors of the bill on the Extreme Risk Protective Order, more popularly known as the red flag law. The time is now for Democrats to take the lead when it comes to fulfilling our promise to create safer communities and pass real solutions that will cut down on gun violence in our communities today, he said. We are taking a big step towards making that dream a reality. In response, House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, R-Wellington, said Republicans will use every tactic to try to block passage of the proposed bills. We will fight this as vigorously as possible, Lynch said, calling the bills an opportunity to turn law-abiding citizens into criminals. Lynch also said the bills, if signed into law, face an uphill battle in rural Colorado, where he expects they will not be enforced, including in his home county of Weld. This puts law enforcement in a dangerous situation, Lynch said. House Majority Leader Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge, who will sponsor the bill on raising the minimum age for purchasing a firearm from 18 to 21, called it a common sense law that will help reduce the incidence of teen suicide. Duran confirmed the bill will cover certain mechanisms that attach to guns, such as stabilizing braces. Exemptions include hunting, when the person is supervised by an adult family member. Exemptions also extend to active-duty military and law enforcement. As to young people on farms or ranches who use firearms to ward off predators, Duran said they would have to be supervised by an adult. Sen. Tom Sullivan, D-Centennial, who authored the red flag law in 2019 and will sponsor the measure modifying it, said it expand the list of individuals who can file for an ERPO order. Specifically, the list would include health care and mental health providers, educators and district attorneys. That promoted a question about whether the proposal would require a health care professional to violate the confidentiality of the doctor-patient relationship. Sullivan said he doesnt want to get in the way of that relationship but noted the therapist who treated the man who killed his son at the Aurora theater shooting in 2012 had no way to alert law enforcement that he was dangerous. There is going to be something for these doctors to do, Sullivan said. The bill also includes liability safeguards for those who seek those orders, as well as an education program to inform the public about the changes, to be funded with gifts, grants and donations. I will never stop in my quest to save lives form this public health crisis, Sullivan said, sometimes through tears for his son, Alex. The third bill, to be sponsored by Rep. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, will establish a waiting period for buying firearms. Her son, who was in a mental health crisis, attempted several years ago to purchase a gun to kill himself, and it was only because of pleading by Amabile and her husband that the gun shop owner agreed not to sell it, she said. Waiting periods save lives, Amabile said. Sign up for free: News Alerts Stay in the know on the stories that affect you the most. Sign Up For Free View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. After a 30-minute delay caused by the fire alarm and subsequent evacuation of the state Capitol, Amabile resumed her story, calling the alarm a showstopper. A waiting period wont save everyone, Amabile said, but it will save people who are in similar situations to what her son experienced. No fire alarm is going to silence this sister, said Jane Daugherty, a Colorado resident whose sister was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary 10 years ago. She spoke of the efforts to stop gun violence in the last decade, fighting off recalls of Democratic lawmakers two of which succeeded and what she described as dangerous bills intended to overturn the 2013 laws. Those 2013 laws added universal background checks, including a rule requiring firearms purchasers to pay for them, and a 15-round limit on the ammunition magazines. The last bill deals with allowing victims of gun violence to file civil lawsuits against firearms businesses. Its a work-around to a 2001 federal law, known as Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which has shielded the firearms industry from liability when someone uses a firearm unlawfully. Sponsor Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, D-Longmont, said the bill will give victims an access to justice. She noted that three states, including Colorado, have the most punitive language that stops gun violence survivors from having their day in court. The bill will create a code of conduct that will hold firearms businesses accountable, she said. While the four bills took center stage Thursday, several more are anticipated. Most notably, they would include a ban on so-called ghost guns, which Gov. Jared Polis also called during his state of the address in January. Ghost guns are assembled from parts or kits or even a 3-D printer, but with one unfinished piece, such as a frame or receiver, that requires the purchaser to drill to make the gun functional. A loophole in federal law means these firearms dont need serial numbers or a background check for purchase. Bills on concealed weapons and insurance could also still surface. But an early draft of a bill to ban assault weapons, which garnered lots of publicity and angst from gun rights advocates, is now on hold. In advance of Thursdays announcement, Rocky Mountain Gun Owners tweeted it is ready to sue if the bills pass. A representative for the group tried to ask questions during the news conference hosted by Democrats but was shouted down by lawmakers. A press release Thursday from Adams Arms, which includes among its products retrofit kits for the AR 15, claimed a ban on stabilizing braces would turn U.S. citizens into felons overnight. The company said its stabilizing braces are used by disabled veterans to fire shorter, handheld guns safely. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland signed off on a rule in January on those braces, which outlines the factors [the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms] would consider when evaluating firearms equipped with a brace to determine whether the weapon is a rifle and subject to the Gun Control Act of 1968 or a rifle subject to the National Firearms Act. The latter imposes a tax, as well as requiring registration of shotguns and rifles with barrels less than 18 inches long. The ATF rule exempts braces used by those with disabilities. Twenty-six red states are now suing the federal government over the new rule. Republicans are the only ones that are standing between these ongoing legislative assaults on Coloradans abilities to protect themselves, their families, and their homes, Lynch said in a statement. The radical members of the Democrat caucus have taken advantage of their super majority to push through an anti-constitution, anti-freedom, and anti-Colorado agenda. He added his caucus, too, is concerned about gun violence and that Republicans would seek solutions without compromising Coloradans constitutional rights. In a divided ruling on Thursday, Colorado's second-highest court determined a Gilpin County judge acted appropriately by keeping a woman on a criminal jury after her admission that she "would need to hear that reason why" the defendant did not take the witness stand. A three-judge panel for the Court of Appeals acknowledged a quirk in Joseph Simon Boyer's case, in which the trial judge had apparently confused two members of the jury pool and, as a result, neglected to ensure that Juror M would ultimately respect Boyer's right to silence. But a majority of the panel concluded Juror M's doubts about a defendant who declines to testify did not equate to bias against Boyer. "Juror M never stated that she could not follow the law or the courts instructions, but merely explained that she would have continuing doubts as to why Boyer would choose not to testify," wrote Judge Janice B. Davidson for herself and Judge David H. Yun in the Feb. 23 opinion. "These are very different statements one indicates an inability to be impartial, while the other is a reasonable desire to 'hear both sides.'" Judge Neeti V. Pawar disagreed. She believed Juror M's service affected the fundamental fairness of Boyer's trial, in that Juror M had suggested she would factor Boyer's silence into the verdict. "I conclude that the only reasonable reading of the record is that Juror M expressed an inability to follow the law on a defendants decision not to testify," Pawar wrote. Boyer stood trial in November 2019 for intentionally hitting a man with his car. A jury convicted him of felony menacing and assault, for which he received five years in community corrections. Juror M served on the jury. During voir dire, which is the part of jury selection when the parties question members of the jury pool, Boyer's attorney asked what people would think if Boyer exercised his constitutional right not to testify. Juror M responded that she would have difficulty setting it aside. "I would have doubt as to why they didnt get up if they were that adamant about not (committing the offense). Why would they not get up and say that in front of the jurors?" she explained. The defense attorney asked if she would be able to follow an instruction to not hold Boyer's silence against him. "You cant use it against him, but I would still question why," she replied. "I would need to hear that reason why." Sign up for free: News Alerts Stay in the know on the stories that affect you the most. Sign Up For Free View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Juror M further acknowledged there were "lots of good reasons" for not testifying and that she would "have to hear the rest" of the evidence. But, she said, "I would have a question" about the defendant's choice not to testify. Boyer attempted to remove five people, including Juror M, for cause, meaning they would not decide the case fairly and impartially. Boyer's attorney claimed Juror M's issue was that "she would need to hear additional evidence in order to justify the lack of hearing from the defendant." District Court Judge Todd L. Vriesman then attempted to rehabilitate the jurors with purported bias, a process that aims to get jurors to commit to deciding the case based on the evidence and the law. Vriesman explained a defendant's silence cannot be used as evidence of guilt and, while it is natural to seek an explanation from an accused person, that is not the standard in a criminal case. Vriesman then talked to four of the five challenged jurors individually. In an apparent mistake, he bypassed questioning Juror M and instead spoke to a juror who was not involved in the challenge. Vriesman dismissed two of the jurors, but kept Juror M. On appeal, Boyer raised Juror M's participation in his case. The government countered that Juror M had acknowledged what the law requires and did not say she would have a problem after Vriesman admonished the entire jury about a defendant's silence. The appellate panel indicated it must uphold Vriesman's handling of Juror M as long as some facts could justify retaining her on the jury. The majority believed Juror M had never outright refused to follow the law, nor did she raise any concerns once Vriesman explained the constitutional right to silence. "And while she comfortably voiced serious doubt about the rule that she could not consider the failure to testify, she acknowledged the rule," wrote Davidson, a retired judge who sat on the panel at the chief justice's assignment. "This is further evidence in support of the trial courts determination that she would follow the law." Pawar countered that Juror M's initial statements suggested she would hold Boyer's choice not to testify against him, and Juror M's own silence after Vriesman's explanation of the law did not make her rehabilitated. "Juror M had made clear that she would infer something negative about a defendant based on his decision not to testify, even in the face of a rule prohibiting her from doing so," Pawar wrote. The case is People v. Boyer. At many Colorado animal shelters, housing instability is the No. 1 reason that pets are surrendered. So far this year, around 200 pets have been surrendered to Dumb Friends League shelters in Colorado due to problems with housing, not including homelessness, according to the organization. One of those 200 pets is a dog named Duke, whose owner was forced to surrender him so she could afford to stay in her home, calling the pet-related housing costs impossible to manage, said Rachel Heatley with Dumb Friends League. Why should Duke or any of the thousands of animals that enter Colorados shelters every year for this exact same reason suffer this separation? Heatley said. The cost of pet rent and pet deposits should not be so prohibitive that a person is required to surrender their pet to keep a roof over their head. Rep. Alex Valdez is trying to address this issue with House Bill 1068, which seeks to cap pet rents to 1% of the owners monthly rent and cap pet deposits to $300 on top of existing security deposits. The bill would also prohibit homeowner insurance providers from denying policies based on specific dog breeds and would require law enforcement conducting evictions to give any pets present to the tenant or, if the tenant is not there, turn the pets over to a local animal shelter or rescue. The bill passed its first committee vote on Wednesday, receiving 8-4 approval from the House Transportation, Housing and Local Government Committee. My base goal here is to create a manageable situation so that theyre not put in a situation where the options are spending a tremendous amount of money or dropping the family pet at a shelter, said Valdez, D-Denver. If youre making choices about what you can or cannot afford, lets not make the family pet a part of that. Proponents of the bill argued that landlords often charge more than what is reasonable for pets to live in their property. A 2019 national survey from the Michelson Found Animals Foundation found that damages were reported for only 9% of pets, with the cost averaging at $210. Only 2% of pets were reported to cause damages requiring a security deposit deduction. Pet rents and deposits vary widely in Colorado, with most renters typically spending between $25 and $100 per month for pet rent and between $200 and $500 for one-time pet deposits. State Board of Ed member Stephen Varela quits Colorado GOP's' state chair race The Republican State Board of Education member from Pueblo who used to be a Democrat has notified the Colorado GOP that he is no longer running to chair the state Republican Party, leaving six candidates in the race. Opponents of the bill assert that these payments are necessary to accommodate for the risks pets pose. Sign up for free: News Alerts Stay in the know on the stories that affect you the most. Sign Up For Free View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Edward Schoenheit, a former landlord in El Paso County, said one of the 2% of destructive pets drove him away from the rental industry for good. Schoenheit said he rented his home while deployed for the military and returned to find it had been illegally subletted to tenants with several dogs that caused thousands of dollars worth of damages and bit him. I will never rent my property again, Schoenheit said. This is a feel-good, heartstring bill that ignores risks and costs to homeowners. ... This bill seeks to prioritize pets over people when it comes to housing. Under the bill, landlords would still be able to restrict certain breeds or not allow any pets at all. Originally, the bill sought to completely prohibit pet rent and deposits and block housing developments that dont allow pets from claiming the Colorado Affordable Housing tax credit. However, Valdez passed several amendments Wednesday to water down the bill. Despite the changes, critics insisted capping the amount of rent and deposits landlords can charge for pets might lead landlords to stop allowing pets entirely. Drew Hamrick with the Colorado Apartment Association said landlords will also likely shift fees to make up for the lost funds. Housing a pet does have costs, Hamrick said. All pets, regardless of how well-trained, occasionally have an upset stomach, will throw up, will have diarrhea, will have waste reconditioning issues in the unit. Youre very likely to have a pet occupant followed by an allergic occupant so some professional cleaning is required. All pets have added costs and wear and tear on the community. In the end, the committee passed the bill in an 8-4 vote, with all Democrats in support and all Republicans in opposition. The bill will next face the House Finance Committee for consideration. Despite push back from the housing industry, some landlords said they support the bill. Ashely Anderson, a Lakewood landlord who volunteers with local animal rescues, said she allows pets and will continue to do so if the bill passes, saying all the trouble shes had with property damage in the past has been a result of humans, not pets. If something changes with our ability to have housing or work or make money, we cant choose between our dog, our family and where were going to live, Anderson said. I wouldnt want us to add that turmoil to people who are going through that. A bill that would allow local governments to temporarily reduce property taxes without having to ask voters for permission won unanimous approval from a Senate committee Thursday. The measure also picked up a major sponsor, increasing its chances of getting to Gov. Jared Polis' desk. As introduced, Senate Bill 108 lets a local government provide temporary property tax relief through tax credits or mill levy reductions and later eliminate the tax credits or restore the original mill levy without voters' permission. State law requires voter approval for tax increases. The temporary relief, once lifted, could be viewed as raising taxes. During Thursday's hearing, Sen. Faith Winter, D-Westminster, said she intends to sign on as a prime co-sponsor when the bill reaches the Senate floor, joining Republican Sen. Mark Baisley of Woodland Park and Republican Reps. Rose Pugliese of Monument and Lisa Frizell of Castle Rock as authors. The bill won a 5-0 vote from the Senate's State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee on Feb. 9. The Senate Finance Committee, after giving it a unanimous vote Thursday, sent it to the consent calendar. SB 108 was amended Thursday to make clear just what "temporary" means an annual review by local government officials to ensure the tax cut is still needed. Property valuations in Colorado are expected to skyrocket by 26% this year, and lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle are seeking both short-term and long-term fixes. "This is a tiny but important part of property tax reform for the state," said Scott Wasserman of the Bell Policy Center. He told the Senate Finance Committee that local districts should have the option to reduce their property taxes and to avoid a "one size fits all" policy reaction at the state level. Sign up for free: News Alerts Stay in the know on the stories that affect you the most. Sign Up For Free View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. Wasserman earlier raised the question of how temporary the fix would be when the bill was heard in the State Affairs committee. "The last thing we would want to see is a permanent ratcheting down" of property taxes, which would affect school funding, he said. Teller County Commissioner Eric Stone told the committee it's clear what counties can do if they exceed TABOR limits, whether that county is de-Bruced or not. A county that has de-Bruced has asked its voters for permission to spend all the revenue it collects, rather than sending it back to taxpayers through a refund. According to the Bell, 51 out of 64 counties have taken that step. But the law is silent on whether local governments, including special districts, can enact a temporary tax reduction and then restore it back to the level approved by voters, he said. Teller County can provide the level of service it now offers without those property tax hikes, Stone said. Despite that lack of clarity in the law, Douglas County commissioners have five times approved temporary mill levy tax credits, saving property owners more than $30 million, according to Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas. "When we can budget and save property owners these taxes, they are appreciative," she said, adding they can then invest in their businesses and families. Frizell and Sen. Byron Pelton, R-Sterling, are working on another property tax bill that would put a hold on property tax increases due in 2023. House Bill 1054 would hold off on the 2023 revaluation until 2025, in effect freezing property taxes for the next two years. Under the bill, assessments would be done every four years going forward. The bill has been assigned to the House Finance Committee but has not yet been scheduled for a hearing. Mostly sunny skies return Thursday with an expected high of 33 degrees in Colorado Springs, according to the Weather Service. Highs of 43 on Friday and 56 on Saturday, with sunny skies both days, are forecast. Click or tap here for the full list of closings and delays. Click or tap here for statewide road conditions from CDOT. Click or tap here for Colorado Springs-area road and traffic updates. THURSDAY: 2:45 p.m.: The Colorado Springs Police Department is no longer on accident alert status. Here are the snow totals across the county, according to NWS. El Paso County: Air Force Academy 4 inches Monument- 1 inch Black Forest- 2.5 inches Security 3 inches Falcon- 2 inches Manitou Springs- 1.3-4 inches Colorado Springs - 1 inch 8:07 a.m.: Most Pikes Peak region school districts are on some sort of delay or closure after Wednesday's snowstorm left roadways slick. 7:39 a.m.: The right lane of I-25 southbound between CO 56 and Exit 245 is closed due to a crash. Expect delays. Click or tap here for statewide road conditions from CDOT. 7:20 a.m.: The left lane is closed on I-76 eastbound near Wadsworth Blvd. and Sheridan Blvd. due to a crash. Expect delays. Click or tap here for statewide road conditions from CDOT. 7:17 a.m.: All major highways leaving Colorado Springs including I-25, CO 84, CO 94, and CO 115 area have reported heavy snow and ice-pack on the roadways. Drive with caution, and allow yourself extra time to commute. Click or tap here for statewide road conditions from CDOT. 7:07 a.m.: The left lane of I-25 southbound at CO 2 near Denver is closed due to a crash. Expect delays. The two right lanes of I-25 northbound near CO 26 Denver have reopened. 6:21 a.m.: The two right lanes on I-25 northbound near CO 26 Denver is closed due to a crash. Expect delays. Click or tap here for the full list of closings and delays. 6:00 a.m.: There's a full call out for snow removal services across the Colorado Springs metro area Thursday morning, with a focus on primary and secondary roadways. Below-freezing temperatures overnight caused slick road conditions. Morning sunshine and increasing temperatures should help to gradually improve road conditions. Click or tap here for Colorado Springs-area road and traffic updates. Calhan RJ1, Pikes Peal BOCES East (Calhan), Miami-Yoder Sch. Dist. JT-60 have announced a 2-hour delayed start for Thursday. Click or tap here for the full list of closings and delays. WEDNESDAY: 11:10 p.m.: The City of Manitou Springs is on a two-hour delay and will open at 10 a.m. The University of Colorado Colorado Springs is on delay and campus office as well as classes prior to 10 a.m. are canceled. Normal operations will resume at 10 a.m. Essential personal need to report to work. The wind chill value in Colorado Springs has hit -8 but will increase overnight and through Thursday morning. 10:30 p.m.: Peterson Space Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station and the Pueblo Chemical depot are on two-hour delay for non-essential staff. Click or tap here for the full list of closings and delays. Colorado Springs hit 8 degrees and will stay below the single-digits overnight, according to the National Weather Service. Tomorrow's forecast calls for sunny weather with a high near 31 degrees and wind chill values between -5 and 5. 8:30 p.m.: District 49, Banning Lewis Academy and James Irwin Charter Schools are now on 2-hour delay for Thursday Latest snow totals from the NWS: Coal Bank Pass- 14 inches Molas Pass- 11 inches Wolf Creek Pass- 10 inches Red Mountain Pass- 10 inches Estes Park- 5.5 inches Cortez- 5 inches Beulah- 4.5 inches Manitou Springs- 4 inches Air Force Academy- 4 inches Arvada- 3.1 inches 8 p.m.: Cheyenne Mountain District 12, Fountain-Ft. Carson District 8, Manitou Springs SD 14 and Pueblo District 70 have announced a two-hour delay for Thursday. Over 33 flights have been delayed in and out of the Colorado Springs Airport, according to FlightAware. Another five have been canceled. The Denver International Airport has 818 flights delayed and another 285 flights canceled. 7:30 p.m.: Academy District 20 and Widefield District 3 announce a two-hour delay for Thursday. Click or tap here for the full list of closings and delays. Sign Up for Springs AM Update Your morning rundown of the latest news from Colorado Springs and around the country Sign Up View all of our newsletters. Success! Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. View all of our newsletters. 6:30 p.m.: One right southbound lane on I-25 is blocked between Circle and South Academy after a vehicle slid off of Venetucci. Two left lanes are blocked due to an accident at Powers and East Platte. Backed up to East Fountain. The City of Colorado Springs announced in a news release that plows are out treating primary and secondary streets. Drivers are urged to drive slowly. 5:57 p.m.: The Colorado Department of Transportation says that multiple mountain passes will remain closed through Thursday. 4:15 p.m.: All branches of the Pikes Peak Library District closed at 4 p.m. due to worsening weather conditions. Several churches also canceled evening activities. 1:41 p.m.: The Colorado Department of Transportation is reporting wet and icy spots along I-25, U.S. 50, and Colorado 67. Blowing snow could affect visibility. For statewide road conditions from CDOT, click or tap here. 12:30 p.m.: Colorado Springs has been placed on accident alert status due to increasingly adverse weather and icy conditions. For accident reporting guidelines, please click or tap here. 12:10 p.m.: There is a full callout for snow and ice removal services throughout the Colorado Springs metro area as scattered flurries continue throughout the afternoon. Snowfall is expected to pick up in the afternoon, with a possible 1-3 inches of new snow accumulation. Scattered showers may develop tonight and into tomorrow morning, with temperatures dropping into the single digits and negatives overnight. Crews will be in full callout into tonight and will be prepared to respond tomorrow morning, if needed. 10:32 a.m.: Closures on I-70 and U.S. 40 near Floyd Hill have been lifted. 10:24 a.m.: There has been a partial callout for snow and ice removal services throughout the Colorado Springs metro area as light precipitation rolls through the area. Freezing temperatures accompanied by flurries has created risk for slick road surfaces. Officials are asking the public to drive slowly and to allow themselves extra time during commutes. Click or tap here for Colorado Springs-area road and traffic updates. The National Weather Service's winter weather advisory will remain in effect until 8 p.m. for northern El Paso County. 9:33 a.m.: Colorado 9 southbound is closed due to a stalled vehicle between County Road 11 and Sand Gulch Road. For Colorado Springs-area road and traffic updates, please click or tap here. 9:32 a.m.: The city of Fountain has been placed on accident alert status due to increasingly adverse weather and icy conditions. For accident reporting guidelines, please click or tap here. 9:28 a.m.: I-70 eastbound lanes have reopened to traffic. Google is reporting a 30-minute delay. 9:16 a.m.: U.S. 40 westbound is closed due to safety concerns between Soda Creek Road and U.S. 6 near Floyd Hill. 9:07 a.m.: Eastbound I-70 is closed between Hidden Valley (Exit 243) and Floyd Hill due to safety concerns. In addition, a stalled vehicle has closed the two right lanes on I-70 eastbound at Beaver Brook and Floyd Hill. CDOT is reporting a 29-minute delay. 9:01 a.m.: A crash on Woodmen and Black Forest roads is blocking eastbound Woodmen. 5:37 a.m.: St. Mary's High School is on a 2-hour delay today, while CIVA Charter High School is closed. Click or tap here for the latest closures and delays. 5:15 a.m.: The National Weather Service is warning travelers of high winds and low visibility on Colorado roadways. TUESDAY Blizzard conditions possible: A winter storm is quickly approaching Colorado and will affect a large swath of the state. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a multitude of weather events including winter storm warnings, high-wind warnings, blizzard warnings, winter weather advisories and high-wind watches across Colorado. Click or tap here for more Emergency housing: Pueblo issued a declaration of temporary housing and shelter emergency in advance of Wednesday's anticipated snowstorm. The order will take effect at 5 p.m. Wednesday and will end at 7 a.m. Sunday. "During this emergency, local churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and other religious institutions may utilize their buildings as temporary shelters for the Citys homeless," the city said in a release. "The national weather service predicts low and freezing temperatures for the period of time during the declaration." Forty-five years after being arrested in West Liberty with 129 pounds of marijuana in his car, Carl Olsen is still waging legal battles over Iowas drug laws. The 71-year-old Des Moines man is contesting a 2022 decision by the state to deny him a medical cannabidiol registration card. That decision, made by the Iowa Department of Public Health, which is now the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, was upheld last summer by an administrative law judge. Citing his longstanding religious beliefs, Olsen is now asking a Polk County District Court judge to review the states actions and remand the matter back to the DHHS with an order to approve his application for a card. The state has set up a program of legalized cultivation, distribution and possession and they want to tell me that I cannot participate in that program and that my religious claim is not as great as a medical claim, Olsen said Wednesday. And you cant do that. Thats unconstitutional. Under Iowa law, the cards are issued to qualified patients who want to obtain medical cannabidiol for a strictly defined set of medical purposes. The requirements for obtaining a card are that the person must be at least 18 years old; a permanent resident of Iowa; and have written certification, signed by a health care practitioner, confirming the person has one of the debilitating medical conditions that state lawmakers have determined qualify for treatment with medical cannabidiol. In applying for a card, Olsen provided the state with all of the required information except for the certification of a health care practitioner, and he made no claim that he suffers from any of the debilitating medical conditions on which access to medical cannabidiol is based. He did, however, attach to his application a declaration citing a religious need for the card, noting that he is a member of the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church, which considers cannabis use to be part of its religious doctrine. The state has conceded that Olsens association with the church is longstanding and that his church does, in fact, adhere to a belief involving the sacramental use of cannabis. But in denying Olsen a card, the state noted that under Iowa law, those who seek access to a card are not defined as applicants or candidates, but as patients. That choice of words, as well as the laws enumeration of specific, qualifying medical diagnoses, reflects a clear desire by lawmakers to narrowly tailor access to medical cannabidiol registration cards, the state argues, adding that public health officials have no authority to waive certain requirements for access. In contesting that decision, Olsen argues the states position violates his constitutional claims of free exercise of religion and due process. The Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church was first incorporated in Jamaica in 1976. Several years later, Olsen incorporated the church in Iowa. Court records show Olsen was arrested in 1978 after being pulled over by West Liberty police with 129 pounds of marijuana in his car. He was convicted of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, He appealed, but the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, ruling that his right to equal protection was not violated by Iowas laws on marijuana use. Olsen says he served seven months of what amounted to a five-year sentence, with two separate five-year sentences being served concurrently. In 1985, he filed a court petition seeking a declaratory judgment that would have stated that Iowas criminal statutes regarding controlled substances discriminated against his religious beliefs. The Iowa Supreme Court denied that request. In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court denied constitutional protections for the sacramental use of marijuana by the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church. Since then, Olsen has remained active in the fight to change state and federal drug laws. In recent years, he has filed lawsuits against the governor and the Iowa Board of Pharmacy. The most recent case was in 2018, when he challenged the boards decision to refrain from recommending that legislators allow the religious use of cannabidiol extracts. I havent used marijuana for 33 years, but I am certainly not going to forget that its part of my sacrament and that Im being screwed, Olsen said Wednesday. Olsen is not the only Iowan now asserting a religious right to access and use certain drugs. Last year, the Iowaska Church of Healing sued the IRS in U.S. District Court, challenging the federal agencys decision to deny the church status as a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. State records indicate the church was formed in Iowa in September 2018, and is run by Admir Dado Kantarevic, along with Billy Benskin and Merzuk Ramic. Currently, the churchs official headquarters are Kantarevics former home in Des Moines. Iowaskas teachings are built around the use of ayahuasca, which is brewed from the leaves of the shrubs and vines found in the Amazon. The church acknowledges that under the federal Controlled Substances Act, an ingredient of ayahuasca called dimethyltryptamine or DMT, is a Schedule I drug and a hallucinogenic alkaloid, and that there is no statutory exemption allowing for its use in religious ceremonies. In January 2019, Iowaska filed an application with the IRS seeking tax-exempt status and was denied because the churchs use of the Sacrament of Ayahuasca in its religious practices was illegal. A trial date has yet to be scheduled in the case, and last summer both sides filed motions for summary judgment in their favor. The court has yet to rule on those motions. Photos: North Iowa history book, 1940s-1960s 1962 Band Festival Hamilton basketball South Federal Avenue 1961 McDonald's Drive-in MCHS wins championship Lock store Hawke hemp farm Gone with the Wind Federal Avenue at night 02-23-1949.jpg Main and State streets Christian Church fire Navy books 1962 Band Festival Tug of War in East Park Officers find ammunition in car swapnils123 wrote: why is C not a correct answer? I think it is the more correct assumption. It conveys that the firm is trying to further its interests in the world (and to win the war against competitors) by publicizing that its strategy for financial wellness is based on military strategist through the on-line brochure. Disclaimer: Not an expert! Actively focusing on verbal part of the GMAT and trying to improve by posting and practicing. Signature Read More Option C is not a correct answer because it doesn't directly relate to the argument presented. The argument is about a new brand-promotion firm that is basing its financial strategies on a military strategist and promoting this through an online brochure. Option C talks about the effectiveness of brochures in furthering a firm's interests, but it doesn't address the central assumption of whether military strategies can be used for brand promotion.Option A, on the other hand, directly addresses the assumption underlying the argument that military strategies can be used in the world of marketing for brand promotion. It is the most appropriate assumption that relates to the argument.Option B is too broad, and option D is incorrect as military strategy and financial strategy differ significantly. Option E is not relevant as it doesn't address the assumption underlying the argument._________________ The Pittsylvania County Retired Teachers Association met Feb. 16 and honored Black History Month. Doris Bolton read The Creation by James Weldon Johnson and led the singing of Lift Every Voice and Sing written by Johnson. Mable Scott presented a dramatic reading of In the Morning by Paul Laurence Dunbar, and Rosa Chambers led in singing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot. Preceding was a business meeting, during which the necrology list was updated and guidelines for submitting most active member hours was distributed. Scholarship application information will be sent to county high schools in March and recipients of two $500 scholarships will be chosen from applications submitted in April. The legislative report concerned the miscalculation of expected public school funding for 2023 and 2024 by the Virginia Department of Education. The Virginia Retired Teachers Association, along with other supporters of public education in Virginia, is urging the General Assembly to fulfill the promised allocations with some of the excess revenue that the Youngkin administration wants to use to cut taxes. Although the Virginia Retired Teachers Association and the Pittsylvania County Retired Teachers Association do not endorse candidates in state and local elections, members do support those who support their interests public education, teachers and retirees. The District E meeting will be held at 11:15 a.m. March 22 at the Mayflower restaurant. Reservations for the Virginia Retired Teachers Association spring conference at the Doubletree Midlothian on April 18-19 are due by March 31. Fifty-two non-perishable food items were collected for the Northern Pittsylvania County Food Bank. Door prizes were won by Sandra Johnson and Rosa Chambers. Instructor Donna Hutson and her culinary arts students at the Pittsylvania Career and Technical Center prepared and served lunch to the group prior to adjournment. WASHINGTON (AP) What in the world was that thing? The massive white orb that drifted across U.S. airspace this week and was shot down by the Air Force over the Atlantic on live television Saturday triggered a diplomatic maelstrom and blew up on social media. China insists the balloon was just an errant civilian airship used mainly for meteorological research that went off course due to winds and had only limited self-steering capabilities. The United States says it was a Chinese spy balloon without a doubt. Its presence prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel a weekend trip to China that was aimed at dialing down tensions that were already high between the countries. The Pentagon says the balloon, which was carrying sensors and surveillance equipment, was maneuverable and showed it could change course. It loitered over sensitive areas of Montana where nuclear warheads are siloed, leading the military to take actions to prevent it from collecting intelligence. A U.S. Air Force fighter jet shot down the balloon Saturday afternoon off the Carolina coast. Television footage showed a small explosion, followed by the balloon slowly drifting toward the water. An operation is underway to recover the remnants. A look at what's known about the balloon crossing the U.S. and what isn't. It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a ... spy balloon It took just one shot Picking up the pieces Spy balloons have a history More on this story: RALEIGH The North Carolina House passed a bill to expand Medicaid on Thursday that would grant health insurance coverage to thousands of low-income residents. Im actually very proud to be part of this body, Rep. Donny Lambeth, one of the bills primary sponsors, said before the vote. This is a part of history, and we need to advance this bill, move it forward so we can begin some serious discussions with the Senate on how do we make this happen for the state of North Carolina and for people who benefit from this. The bill passed 92-22 with broad bipartisan support, though it could face obstacles in the Senate, where leader Phil Berger has expressed reservations about the proposal. Both Republican-controlled chambers now support the idea of expanding Medicaid after years of resistance but want to take very different approaches. Lambeth, a Forsyth County Republican, said Wednesday that expansion makes financial sense for our state. Expansion would help rural North Carolina, which continues to struggle with health care as well as our mental and behavioral health care system which is in need of reform and funding, Lambeth said. The House approved a change Wednesday called for by Republican Rep. Keith Kidwell that if there were any indication that work requirements as a condition of participation in the Medicaid program could be authorized by the federal government, that the state authorize them. The House also amended the bill to establish a pilot program to provide forgivable loans to eligible students who agree to practice medicine or nursing on a full-time basis in rural areas. Lambeth told lawmakers earlier this week the bill had been wildly debated across the state and had several associations and groups endorse it including the N.C. Association of County Commissioners and N.C. Sheriffs Association. Obviously, theres some who dont particularly like this bill, he added. But expansion is about that person, whether they be a veteran, or a farmer that risks losing their farm because they have some catastrophic health care bill that they cant pay, said Lambeth, a retired hospital administrator who said he had worked in health care for 40 years. Its really about helping the people of North Carolina, he said Tuesday. Lets get them out of the emergency room. Lets get them into primary care practice. Rep. Wayne Sasser, a Republican from Albemarle and a bill sponsor, said Tuesday expansion would help our rural hospitals, and North Carolina is still 80% rural. Sasser said the legislature was in conversation with the state Department of Health and Human Services about using funds from expansion for mental health programs. He said the bill would provide a lot of money that will help mental health, which is the biggest health issue that not only in North Carolina, but in the United States. Whats in the Medicaid expansion bill? House Bill 76 would become effective Jan. 1, 2024. The lengthy bill includes a workforce development program, which lays out that the state should help people enrolled in Medicaid access workforce development services, and a program called the healthcare access and stabilization program to increase reimbursement rates under Medicaid. The North Carolina Healthcare Association, an interest group that represents hospitals, backed the use of the stabilization program. According to Cynthia Charles, a spokeswoman for the association, North Carolina hospitals take on a $2.3 billion reimbursement gap for safety-net services to low-income patients because of high Medicaid assessments and unreimbursed costs of covering the uninsured. Safety-net hospitals provide health care for individuals regardless of insurance status. Both Charles and Lambeth said the federally funded HASP program would help hospitals at no cost to the state and may even be a financial benefit to the state. Overall, we think this is a great start and we thank the bills sponsors, Charles said. The expansion bill says if the federal government cost share for people enrolled in expansion falls below 90%, coverage for these individuals shall be discontinued as expeditiously as possible. To encourage states that had not expanded Medicaid to get on board, the federal government in 2021 temporarily increased its contribution for Medicaid expansion to states that have not passed expansion. Lawmakers and DHHS Secretary Kody Kinsley have touted that under that law, the American Rescue Plan Act, North Carolina would get a $1.5 billion signing bonus that would pay out over two years. The bill is tied to the budget. If no budget bill is passed by Dec. 31, 2023, the expansion bill would not become law. What would expansion mean for North Carolinians? Expansion would open the door for over 600,000 low-income North Carolinians to access health care coverage across the state, particularly in rural communities, according to an estimate by DHHS. North Carolina would be one of the last states to adopt Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, which expanded the Medicaid insurance program to cover all adults with income below 138% of the federal poverty level. Currently in North Carolina, childless adults are not eligible for Medicaid, while the income limit eligibility for a parent or caregiver is 41% of the federal poverty level. That means a qualifying family of four must make under $40,000 before taxes to be eligible. This leaves many low-income North Carolinians, who dont have employer-provided health insurance, without access to Medicaid. They also may make too little to qualify for financial help via the the federal Health Insurance Marketplace. This means their incomes, though below the poverty level, are too high for Medicaid and too low for health credits. This phenomenon, often known as the coverage gap, leads to people relying on emergency departments or federally funded health clinics, which serve medically undeserved populations. Compromise still questionable Whether the Senate takes up the House bill or files its own bill remains to be seen but so far, signs do not point to compromise between the two chambers. Last session, negotiations between the House and Senate failed to lead to a law largely because of disagreements on health reforms. The Senate wanted a bill that included cuts to regulations for health care providers and nurses, while the House wanted what it called a clean bill. The House bill passed Tuesday does not include these contentious regulation cuts. Last week, Berger told reporters that the House bill was not the bill that we need in North Carolina expanding Medicaid. In late January, the Senate filed a bill repealing North Carolinas certificate of need regulation, a health law that requires providers to get approval by the state for new facilities and more. This repeal is one of the main sticking points with the House. Sen. Jim Burgin, a Harnett County Republican and one of the certificate of need bill sponsors, said Feb. 4 during a mental health panel in Chapel Hill that there was a 90% chance Medicaid expansion would pass, and that CON regulations are important to tackle because they signify a multi-year process and can cost a lot of money, money thats not spent on health care. Burgin also said that he had been on calls three different times with the White House to propose an idea for Medicaid dollars to be used to pay for people on Medicaid to go to a community college. Asked last week if the House bill had consensus from the Senate, House Speaker Tim Moore said his caucus was always hopeful the Senate will see that we have sent them the perfect deal and pass it. But usually that doesnt happen. I suspect well pass something to the Senate, they wont take it up immediately, and theyll send something over. Thats just the nature of it, Moore said. GREENSBORO Deploying self-driving shuttles on city streets is just one of the ways N.C. A&T plans to use research and technology to improve transportation services in the Triad and beyond. To support that work, federal transportation officials recently announced that A&T will be among the universities to receive millions in funding to improve services in rural areas. The university will collaborate with a handful of other schools to focus on challenges in the southeastern region of the United States. Transportation systems are changing with advances in technology such as 5G and autonomous vehicles, said Ali Karimoddini, an associate professor in the College of Engineering at A&T. Rural areas are slightly behind. As part of the Center for Regional and Rural Connected Communities, A&T will receive a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for up to an additional four years of support, totaling $15 million. The teams work is expected to ultimately help residents of rural and underserved communities access opportunities more available to those who live in urban areas, according to Maranda McBride, a professor in the Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics at A&T. Karimoddini and McBride will lead the work with the assistance of other researchers on campus. Tonya Smith-Jackson, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at A&T, said one of the most significant barriers to inclusion in many states is equitable access to transportation. The teams research will, among other things, seek to incorporate the latest technology into transportation planning and policies. They will also have the support of Greensboros Transportation Director Hanna Cockburn, who has been working directly with A&T on several projects such as the self-driving shuttles. Were really excited about how truly cutting-edge their work is in this area, she said Wednesday. Im a big believer in research. We are really grateful for our ongoing partnership with N.C. A&T and connecting their research to real life. Karimoddini said education and workforce development will also be a factor in preparing communities to use newer types of technology. Were well-positioned to address these challenges in North Carolina, he said. A&T has become a major player in transportation technology. As for the shuttles, Karimoddini expects the pilot program, which is expected to begin later this year, will offer rides from the A&T campus to downtown Greensboro. Each shuttle will have a backup driver if one is needed to ensure the safety of passengers. Karimoddini said he was eager to see how the self-driving shuttles will be embraced by the campus community. It wasnt that long ago when A&T partnered with Starship Technologies to roll out the universitys food delivery service through autonomous robots. Students were immediately curious about the robots capabilities as they adjusted to crossing paths with the newcomers. Now theyre another member of the campus, Karimoddini said. No one regrets more than we that the appointment of Michael Logan to the Guilford County Board of Education is unacceptable. As elected members of the Board of Education, we are entrusted with the responsibility of approving appointed members. For three months, we have voted not to seat Mr. Logan on the school board. We want to convey our rationale, and the stand we are taking, for it is not against a man or political party but against bigotry and racial prejudice and their attendant violence that we believe are represented in Mr. Logans candidacy. It is his public expressions of these views that make Mr. Logan unqualified to serve our children. Our vote is for children of all races and identities who deserve to be served by people who hold them in the highest regard. It is hard to believe the Executive Committee of the Guilford County Republican Party has put forth a man who shared and liked the following: Derek Chauvin immediately stood and calmly placed his hands behind his back yesterday. Imagine where wed be had George Floyd done the same. To a shared video of a homeowner grabbing a shotgun to confront a thief, Mr. Logan responded, An assault shotgun at work gotta love it. In yet another post, when referring to students who were pepper-sprayed during a sit-in protest at the University of California, Davis, he wrote, Should have used a bigger can of spray. And then he added: Spray em all and let the parents sort em out. These are three posts, among others, which have since been removed. Some have said Mr. Logan should not be held accountable for things he said in the past. These statements were not, however, long ago, and he has expressed no regret about saying them. Reading his posts on social media, it takes little imagination to know to whom he refers. Removing them from his Facebook page is not the same as contrition, and there is no sign that these are not still his strongly held beliefs. We cannot believe the parents of the students in Guilford County Schools would want policy made for their children by someone who takes such stands. What would we model for our children and the community that elected each of us if we accepted Mr. Logan after he has said these things? The work of the school board requires vigilance, commitment and respect. It requires knowing and facing the unjust treatment, unequal opportunity and inequity many of our students still experience. We cannot take our work lightly, for it is a solemn duty. Students depend on our knowing this. We must actively stand against the prejudice that hurts us all. To quote William Faulkner, The past is never dead. Its not even past. To end the legacy of disparities in our schools, which is so very evident in the data, our thinking must reflect a belief in fairness; it must reflect an attempt to look beyond the stereotypes on which many so readily rely; and, above all, it must acknowledge that no one is better than anyone else. There are many other Republicans who have not engaged in racially prejudiced writing, who seek to embody the values a Board of Education member should hold, and who have expressed an interest in representing District 3. It seems to us that the perfect solution is for the Republican Party to put forward one of them. And we would welcome them. It is our hope that those tasked with finding a qualified, unbiased candidate will spend time doing just that rather than fighting for someone who is not. In the meantime, we must all understand what is at stake. We must embrace the belief that public schools can benefit everyone, that equity is possible and good for everyone, and that every student deserves our deepest care and heartfelt respect. Legislation mandating maximum 40-year terms for the use of state funds for conservation easements drew opposition from timber companies, agriculture producers and hunting groups that said the easements are important for maintaining working lands and providing public access. But Sen. Steve Hinebauch, R-Wibaux, said his Senate Bill 357 would protect communities and prevent landowners who may be vulnerable from signing away property rights and value for the future. The bill saw a lengthy hearing this week before the Senate Fish and Game Committee. If we continue to do this process were going to have land tied up everywhere in Montana, Hinebauch told the committee. Hinebauch also raised concerns about the ability to expand infrastructure such as powerlines when conservation easements may block a logical route. In our country we have to go a long way to get by some of these spots, he said. SB 357 eliminates the use of state funds for conservation easements that last into perpetuity. Termed easements ranging from 15 to 40 years would be allowed. The bill does include several carve outs allowing perpetual easements for properties less than 1,500 acres, in core habitat for endangered species or species such as sage grouse, and those acquired using funds from the U.S. Forest Service. Conservation easements come in many forms and can be held by a variety of nonprofits or government agencies. Typically a landowner agrees to forego subdivision and engage in certain land stewardship practices. In return, the restrictions on the land mean a decrease in taxable value, and with a lessened tax burden, savings may go to improvements and keeping lands intact for legacy planning. SB 357 primarily deals with conservation easements funded through Habitat Montana which uses hunting license sales to purchase easements through Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. Those easements include negotiated public access and provide landowners a cash payment, some of which can be in the millions of dollars. Habitat Montana, which can also be used for land purchases and more recently termed conservation leases, has come under fire from Republicans at various times over concerns about expanding state land ownership and disagreements over certain purchases and easements. A dispute between former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock and Republicans on the state Land Board over an easement near Wibaux went all the way to the Montana Supreme Court, which ruled in the governors favor that easements were finalized by a vote of the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission rather than the board. In 2021 the Legislature and Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte returned final authority to the Land Board. SB 357 saw support from Charles Denowh with United Property Owners of Montana who testified that terms of the easements are lopsided against landowners and unfairly lock in any future owners of the property. He questioned why taxpayers should subsidize conservation and alleged that those proposing easements in some cases may be predatory and put pressure on landowners facing liquidity problems. Opposition against SB 357 was wide ranging in terms of industry and interests, with several opponents saying the bill runs counter to private property rights and making long-term land management decisions. This is a willing buyer and a willing seller no one is coercing anyone into these transactions, said Dick Dolan with the Trust for Public Land, adding that the bill would prohibit virtually all state involvement. Multiple landowners who themselves chose perpetual conservation easements testified to their value. Rocky Mountain Front rancher Lisa Bay told the committee that her familys conservation easement has allowed a three-generation transition as well as provided a popular access for hunters. Please see the wisdom of a story like ours to repeat itself, she told the committee. Large timber companies said perpetual easements add to certainty in business planning. Its a critical tool for our business model, said Brian Hobday with Green Diamond Resources, saying he has concerns about the future of working forests without the availability of perpetual conservation easements. Hunting advocates touted the protection of habitat and access. Permanent fishing rights, permanent hunting rights, you can fish here, you can hunt here, you can camp here in perpetuity, those are music to the ears to any sort of outdoor recreation, hunters and anglers specifically, said Ryan Callahan with the outdoor company MeatEater. Other opponents included the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Montana Audubon, the Montana Stockgrowers Association and Montana Wood Products Association. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks appeared as an informational witness and did not take a position on the bill. Hinebauch maintained that a termed easement could provide benefits to landowners who could see additional payments upon renewal. Land values change and once benefits expire, landowners are left with regulations and restrictions on their land. No one knows whats going to happen in 40 years, Hinebauch said. The problem is, forever is a long time. The committee did not take immediate action on the bill. Invasive species come in all shapes and sizes, affecting Montanas ecosystems as they may outcompete native plants and wildlife. The Montana Invasive Species Council, a governor-appointed group of scientists, resource managers and outdoor industry professionals, recently released Montanas Invasive Species to Watch List ahead of National Invasive Species Week running from Feb. 20-26. The list came out of the committee following a statewide summit of experts last year. Many states and provinces maintain a top 10 invasive species list, said Bryce Christiaens, manager of the Missoula County Weed District and chair of the council. This is the first such list for Montana, which will be used as an educational tool for people who live, work and recreate in the state, he said. The list represents that broad spectrum of invasive species threats to Montanas economy and biodiversity, Christiaens said. Unfortunately, they are typically introduced as a result of human actions or behavior. This list allows us to target messaging around changing behavior, and tying it to a specific species and its economic threat. It also allows us to highlight the excellent work that managers across local, state, federal and tribal jurisdictions are doing to survey, prevent, or manage those species and their threats. The council discussed the list at length during its meeting last December as it focused in on species that not only present threats themselves, but also highlight a category of invasives and particular ecosystem types that are impacted. The purpose of the list is not to necessarily to inform experts working on detection and prevention, but to raise awareness of both widely and some lesser-known invasive species, members said. The recently released list includes nine species. Liz Lodman, who administers the council, said they were still considering fish species moved illegally, commonly called bucket biology. Some species are already in Montana, while officials are trying to prevent others. Bullfrog Bullfrogs are native to the central and eastern United States, but invasive in Montana. In addition to preying on native wildlife, they can carry the chytrid fungus that may infect other frogs and amphibians. A removal project is currently underway in the western part of the state. Eastern heath snail Found in Cascade and Judith Basin counties, the eastern heath snail feeds on and may contaminate crops as well as clog agricultural equipment. Emerald ash borer While not yet present in Montana, in other parts of the country the emerald ash borer has killed ash trees planted in urban areas. Officials have targeted firewood as one potential way the insect spreads. Preventing firewood importation from out of state is needed to keep from transporting the insect and other pests. Feral swine Where feral swine have taken hold in the U.S. and Canada they have been nothing short of destructive. Populations have exploded across the southern U.S. with extensive damage to cropland and wildlife habitat. Populations in Canada have come increasingly close to Montanas northern border, and officials have deployed an early detection strategy to try to find them quickly. Flowering rush Flowering rush is a reed-like invasive plant with pink flowers that can grow up to 5 feet tall and has been detected in Flathead Lake and parts of the Clark Fork River. Invasive aquatic plants degrade habitat and may block irrigation infrastructure. Officials say cleaning watercraft and preventing aquarium and ornamental pond releases is important to preventing the spread of invasive aquatic plants. Saltcedar Saltcedar is a tall woody shrub found along the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. As it infests riparian areas the plant may displace native willows and cottonwood. It comes with a host of maladies, including increased soil salinity, high water usage and in dense stands, alteration of stream channels and floodplains. Zebra mussels Montana responded swiftly when larvae of aquatic invasive mussels were detected in two waterbodies in 2016. And while no detections have occurred since, the risk to the states waterways and the potential of hundreds of millions of dollars in impacts if they invade has led to the state continuing to remain vigilant. Watercraft inspection stations, promoting clean and dry watercraft, as well as testing continues to be the focus of prevention efforts. Ventenata A noxious winter annual grass, ventenata is found from northwestern to south-central and southeastern Montana. As a smaller grass it can easily go undetected, but like many invasives it can degrade rangeland and pastures and decrease agricultural production. Legislators are only considering one policy bill this session dealing with invasive species. Sen. Mark Nolands Senate Bill 293 would allow posters on invasive species to be displayed at Montanas rest areas, creating another tool in the states publicity campaign. I had quite the eye opener to what this potential danger could do to our state, Noland said of his bill. I was scared about this ... we could lose everything. So I want you to remember that, we could lose everything, so what were doing in this bill is were trying to make awareness, its education. A proposal to make executive branch agencies more responsive to public records requests passed unanimously out of a Senate committee Wednesday evening. Senate Bill 232 would require that executive branch agencies in Montana acknowledge that they received a request within five days, and for simple, single-page requests, they would have another five days to get the information to whoever requested it. Agencies would still get more flexibility with larger requests. They would have 90 days to fulfill more complex records request, and could get one additional 90-day extension if it determines the original window of time is not feasible. Sen. Janet Ellis, D-Helena, said her bill was a response to the vague requirement in statute that public entities respond to those requests in a timely manner. The current law is inadequate and you see frustration out there, and I think this is about good government, setting deadlines, Ellis said. Ellis said she spent the past three weeks working with Gov. Greg Gianfortes office and other department representatives on a significant rewrite of the bill, which the committee also passed unanimously before passing the amended version. The Gianforte administration had estimated that complying with the deadlines originally set forth in Elliss bill would require additional IT infrastructure and staff, at a cost of more than $4 million per year. Don Harris, the top legal counsel for the Department of Administration, indicated that the amendment would eliminate most, if not all, of that cost estimate. We know we need to do better, Harris said of the departments prior handling of records requests. So were in the early stages of highlighting some ideas to make things go a little better in the public records space. The departments proposed budget includes a significant IT upgrade to support faster response times on records requests, and includes a new, three-person Office of Public Information Requests, that will centralize those responses within the executive branch. The bill would also apply to the offices of the Attorney General, Secretary of State and State Auditor, but not until 2025. Ellis called the bill a test drive to see how the new system works for the executive branch before expanding it elsewhere. No administration representatives testified for or against the bill, which won support from the Montana Newspaper Association and the Montana Broadcasters Association. The only opponent said she agreed with the spirit of the bill but wanted it to also apply to local governments. The Montana Senate on Wednesday honored longtime legislative servant Marilyn Miller with a namesake place in the state Capitol where she's worked for more than 40 years. The offices of the secretary of the Senate will soon be named "The Marilyn Miller Senate Suite," with a plaque commemorating her time mentoring, training and supporting legislative staff, state government personnel and elected officials. Lawmakers surprised Miller on Wednesday, her birthday, with Senate Bill 414, enshrining her name in the state building commemorations along with the likes of Mike and Maureen Mansfield, Mike Cooney and Jeannette Rankin. "She's taken me out of the fire when I've thrown myself in 100 times and has come up with an answer," Senate President Jason Ellsworth, R-Hamilton, said during the hearing. Miller served as the chief clerk in the House of Representatives for eight legislative session and as secretary of the Senate for an additional eight. The bill notes Miller "is a woman of uncommon humility who has never sought to elevate herself and, had she known the Legislature planned to honor her, would have likely declined the privileges," among several clauses. Miller called the matter, "absolutely outrageous." "I love every single person here, I've loved every single person I've ever worked for," she said. The upper chamber gaveled in early on Wednesday for the event. Senators across the floor shared stories and thanked Miller for her work over the years. The bill passed 50-0. A friend of mine once told me how he had become a drunk. After taking his first drink he said, I began to feel so good, so happy, so powerful that I wanted to feel even better! Substitute political power for drink. It is even more intoxicating, and like drink, you can never get enough of it. But unlike drink, which is basically limitless, political power is limited by the desires of other people to have power, and often they get in each others way and fight over who gets to have the most power. They are greedy. They are ambitious. One of Americas founders, James Madison, saw this as human nature and while there was not much that could be done about that in individuals, in governments there was. Make ambition counteract ambition, wrote Madison, so that governments were obliged to control themselves. This is the core necessity of limited government. And so, in the U.S. Constitution we created three branches of government, the presidency, the Congress and the courts, each with great powers, but each also subject to being reined in by one of the others, each independent, but not all-powerful. One branch does not do the bidding of the other. And because of this internal competition, our government moves slowly, as it was meant to. Here in Montana we are being inundated with legislation that would undo years of thoughtful policy built up during years of divided government, such as when Republicans controlled one branch of government and Democrats another. In general this led to that much maligned word compromise that true believers of any political stripe hate. Perhaps they have never been married. Compromise is necessary because there is nothing on earth that is purely black or white, even those non-colors have gradations within them. This is by way of saying that there is never a one size fits all, or if there is, it fits most people poorly. Montana is now governed by Republicans who have the ability to pass whatever laws they like without even a nod to the Democrats. In Montana, however, while the Republicans have virtually done away with their Democratic political opponents, they still have an adversary which stymies their ambitions from time to time, that would be the court system, which is elected without party affiliation. However, because the courts often override Republican legislative acts by finding them unconstitutional, the Republicans believe that judges are acting politically. Therefore, Republicans are making an all-out effort to make sure that only judges are elected or appointed who agree with the beliefs of the Republican controlled Legislature and the governor. One way is by making candidates for court offices declare a political affiliation, another is by making it harder for judges to keep laws from going into effect before their constitutionality is ruled on by the court, another is by having the Legislature itself appoint judges. They are pursuing a path that has been twice rejected by Americans, which is to gain political control of the court. In 1936 after the Supreme Court found that his government expansion programs were unconstitutional, President Roosevelt pursued the idea of adding new justices to the court who would agree with him. In 2020 Democrats considered adding justices to the court to counter the political leanings of the three Trump appointees. President Biden disagreed. In both cases the American public objected and the ideas were dropped. Whats happening in Montana is no different. Because they have been contradicted by the court, the governor and the Legislature want to create a court that agrees with them. But the court is not supposed to agree with laws passed by the Legislature. That was established in 1803 in Marbury v. Madison, which held that legislative acts were subject to judicial review to determine their constitutionality. This is dangerous. Ambition needs to counteract ambition. Without that, we are back to a king governing Americans unchecked. MORE COVERAGE: DECATUR The shock shutdown and filing for bankruptcy without warning of Akorn Pharmaceuticals in Decatur and companywide on Wednesday has thrown hundreds of employees out of work and left angry city leaders scrambling to pick up the pieces. The estimated Decatur workforce of more than 400 were summoned to a meeting at 8:30 a.m. and told the maker of specialty drugs and other products was closing and their jobs were over. The Herald & Review obtained a recording of the announcement made to the employees by Douglas Boothe, the company's CEO and president, and a letter given to employees during those meetings. Attempts by the Herald & Review to obtain additional comment from the company have been unsuccessful. In the video, Boothe said: "Yesterday we notified the FDA regarding our bankruptcy filing and the impact that this decision will have on all Akorn employees, our customers and patients in the U.S. healthcare system. I realize that this is a tremendous shock, and it will take time to absorb the news and what it means to you, your colleagues and your family. "Be assured you'll be fully paid through Thursday, tomorrow, and as part of that pay you will receive all of your accrued and unused vacation time. Your health and welfare benefits will also continue through the end of this pay period, 2-28. The severance plan has been terminated in connection with the bankruptcy filing, and so we will not be able to pay severance or provide any extended COBRA coverage. "...Please pack up your belongings, secure all files and documents in your workspace and return any company issued equipment. This week a package of information will be mailed to your home address. It will include benefits information to help you navigate through the distress and the uncertainty created by these very difficult (unclear)." Akorns corporate offices and distribution center are located in Gurnee, Illinois, according to the companys website. Its other manufacturing facilities are in Somerset, New Jersey; Amityville, New York; and Hettlingen, Switzerland. It maintains research and development facilities in Vernon Hills, Illinois, and Cranbury, New Jersey. Companies with a workforce the size of Akorn are supposed to notify the state in advance of pending cutbacks but there appears to have been no notice given in this case. 'This is just wrong' Decatur Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe told the Herald & Review she was both stunned and deeply angered by the way the jobs had been cut without any warning at all. I am not happy about it; I am furious about it, she said. This is just wrong; they should not be treating these people, these employees, these families, like this. To not give them any notice, to not give them a minute to try to reorganize their lives or to look for something else is not right. Somebody pretty high up in Akorn made this decision and knew this was coming and they didnt just wake up this morning and decide to do it. The mayor said the task now was to work with the state, local employment and development organizations and others to support the laid off workers and find them new jobs and supportive benefits. She said the only silver lining is that the Decatur employment landscape is a lot brighter than it used to be and more opportunities for displaced workers are out there. I will say that if we can have a silver lining here, its that we are not like we were five or 10 years ago when we were scrambling for every job, she added. We have a lot of job opportunities here right now and there are probably companies that are going to be searching out these displaced employees. We do have a lot of good jobs that are available right now. Not what they expected Rumors swirled among Akorn employees for a few days prior to Wednesday's announcement that the plant was closing and they were all out of a job, but most of them thought the business had been sold. It's been on the market for months. Boothe visited the Decatur sites on Monday and gave no indication that anything was afoot, said a group of laid-off workers who gathered next door to the Wyckles Road plant at Pop's Place for lunch on Wednesday to talk things out. Though they spoke willingly to a Herald & Review reporter, none of the employees were willing to be quoted by name. Some of the group had been told on Tuesday to pack up their personal belongings and not to come back, but most employees learned the news on Wednesday morning at the group meeting. Right up until that meeting, one of the two plants had continued to produce the pharmaceutical products they made and package them for shipping. The other plant had sent people home early on Tuesday. The employees at Pop's Place said they had noticed that some of the managers looked upset after Boothe's visit, which is part of what started the rumors that maybe bad news was coming, but they expected a restructuring if a new owner had bought the company, and possibly some layoffs, not a total closure, they said. Among the group were single moms with small children, who have not only lost their income, but will lose their medical coverage as of Feb. 28. All but one had recently been promoted, with no indication that their jobs were ending. The workers said the company had hired some new employees as recently as Monday. Their payday is every two weeks, and their most recent payday was Feb. 17, but they were notified that they would get a final paycheck on Feb. 23. Akorn employee Melody Schultz learned she was now unemployed while on vacation in Hawaii, getting up early to view the video announcement. "We are devastated. Melody is in tears," said her husband, Larry Schultz. "We are celebrating our 20th anniversary in Hawaii and she didnt even get to say goodbye to her co-workers and friends. Someone else had to clean out her personal belongings from her desk and locker. The news of her losing her job was shocking and has totally destroyed our once in a lifetime trip/anniversary celebration." History of financial troubles The Akorn shutdown is company wide and closes out its Decatur manufacturing plant at 1222 W. Grand Ave. (expanded with a $25 million upgrade in 2018) and its packaging facility on Wyckles Road, which in recent years had undergone a 30,000-square-foot-expansion. Signs of serious trouble emerged in 2020 when Akorn announced it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The situation had looked to stabilize later that year when the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved the sale of the firm to its existing lenders. Other signs of trouble dated back further, however, with the German healthcare company Fresenius Kabi backing out of a $4.75 billion deal with Akorn in 2018 amid allegations that Akorns claims of compliance with regulatory requirements were not true and correct. Akorn had also been sent a warning letter by the U.S. Drug and Food Administration in January of 2019 following inspections of its Decatur facilities. The letter had reprimanded the company after a regulator had found contaminants on sterile gloves and had said proper procedures were not in place for stopping the contamination of drugs, according to a news report by Reuters. Staff writers Valerie Wells and Taylor Vidmar contributed to this report. Photos: Akorn Pharmaceuticals in Decatur MORE COVERAGE: DECATUR Akorn Pharmaceuticals will be the subject of an investigation for the way it handled the closure of its Illinois facilities, state officials said. The Illinois Department of Labor will initiate an investigation immediately, and if violations are found, the Department will assess civil penalties against the company, according to a joint statement issued by the Illinois Department of Labor and the Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity on Wednesday evening. Workers at the two Decatur plants and city officials expressed shock and anger with the decision announced Wednesday morning that the company was filing for bankruptcy and halting operation at all of its United States plants, effective Thursday, Feb. 23. Akorn operated a manufacturing plant at 1222 W. Grand Ave. (expanded with a $25 million upgrade in 2018) and a packaging facility on Wyckles Road, which in recent years had undergone a 30,000-square-foot expansion. More than 400 employees are affected locally by the decision. Akorns corporate offices and distribution center are in Gurnee, according to the companys website. Illinois also is home to a research and development facility in Vernon Hills. According to the DCEOs website, state law requires employers to notify the state when they plan to lay off workers. This law is known as the WARN Act (Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act). Illinois WARN applies to employers with 75 or more full-time employees and requires employers to provide 60 days advance notice of pending plant closures or mass layoffs. WARN exists in order to coordinate resources and support for employees impacted by layoffs, Wednesday's news release said. Not only did the company fail to submit a WARN notice to the state, it gave its hardworking employees only 24 hours notice of permanent layoffs, which is inconsistent with industry best-practices and lacks basic consideration for their employees. Akorn workers were told they would be fully paid through Thursday, that health benefits would continue through Feb. 28, there is no severance package, and that there will be no extended COBRA coverage. The DCEO is deploying rapid-response resources to support affected workers, the release said. Photos: Akorn Pharmaceuticals in Decatur MACON Meridian High School freshmen Ted Jones and Ben Jackson were presented with some shocking information during their drivers education class. The class was shown the importance of knowing what to do in case their vehicle hits a power pole. Were taught not to get out, Jackson said. And the proper safety precautions in case we crash into a power line, Jones said after the Wednesday event. Although the classmates have more than a year before they are able to test for their drivers license, they are learning the various safety procedures on how to stay alive while driving. For drivers ed, especially, its important, said Abby Helm, Ameren Illinois communications coordinator. We want to teach teen drivers the importance of being aware behind the wheel. The teens are often taught distracted driving definitions. But we want to make sure these kids are aware of how to keep themselves safe when they are out driving, Helm said. Ameren lineman Tom Funneman handed the students two wires commonly attached to the tall poles lining the streets. He then asked them if either were a power line. Neither was. But dont take the chance, he said. Stay in the car, wait till help gets there, wait for the proper authorities. If youre alive, youre going to stay alive inside that car. Stepping from one voltage level to another allows the body to become a path for electricity. Even if a power line has landed on the ground, there is still the potential for the area near your car to be energized. The flow of electricity through the body can result in electrocution. The students were also shown a scenario in which two cars are in an accident. In the video, one hits a power pole, while the other driver dangerously approaches the car to check on the crashed vehicle. If they are unable to stay inside the car, the students are taught the proper way to exit a vehicle, which is to jump clear, landing on both feet. Dont touch the car and the ground at the same time. Then scoot with both feet or bunny-hop away from the vehicle, so there will not be a voltage between the two feet giving electricity the chance to flow through the body. The key is to walk away safe if they are ever in an accident involving downed power lines, Helm said. Ameren Illinois partnered with Distress Bandanna Teen Driver Study Initiative in presenting the discussion. The nonprofit organization has conducted various teen driving safety courses, including motorcycle awareness, distracted driving and stranded motorist safety precautions. More presentations were presented to Maroa-Forsyth High School and Charleston High School. Distress Bandanna has presented about 2,000 teen driver safety presentations, said instructor Vivian Pratt Anderson. Downed power line vehicle safety is one of our focus areas. Is this your teacher? 13 educator photos from the Herald & Review archives DECATUR Masks will now be optional in most settings for both visitors and employees at the Macon County Health Department. Members of the Macon County Board of Public Health voted on Tuesday to make masking optional for patients and employees in all settings, aside from those where masking is required for state grant funding. The departments most recent guidelines still required masks for patients and employees in clinical settings. Frustration on the topic of masking has been going on for quite some time, said Board of Health President Mark Scranton. Scranton and several other board members have previously been discussing a motion to make masking optional, he said. I think I speak for myself and probably some of the other board members here I think were at a point now where I think its important to give the staff the ability to make the choice as they see fit, provided it falls within the parameters of the type of work theyre doing, Scranton said. For example, he said, its likely staff in the dental department would still choose to wear masks because they did before the onset of the pandemic. Scranton and other board members pointed out that many other masking requirements have been lifted in recent months. It really broke my heart when we came in here about a month ago and you guys were having training, and Im looking around at an entire building of people that are masked up, Scranton said. And I felt kind of bad about it because its like, I know you guys are doing what youre being told to do, but at the same time, as (as board member Jeff Smith, MD) said, most doctors offices now are not making it a requirement to wear masks, hospitals, and (other) places are not requiring it. Theyre not required traveling on airplanes or anything anymore, and the time has come to give the staff the ability to make that choice. Board members also felt like masking and other pandemic-era requirements had gone on for too long. Im just gonna go out on a limb, unless its required by grant, yall are adults, said board member Marsha Webb. You know your bodies. You know how easily you do or you dont catch a cold. I would make a motion that masking is optional at this point unless required by their grant status. This has gone on for three years. Some health department employees present at the meeting pointed out that many of the health departments grants, from agencies such as the Illinois Department on Aging, require masking as a stipulation for receiving funding. However, those requirements too may cease when the states official public health emergency ends in May. Webb says she wants people to still feel comfortable getting care at the department but feels its important that all visitors can make their own decisions. All board members present on Tuesday voted in favor of lifting the remaining masking requirements. Interim Public Health Administrator Lindsey Munsterman said the change would soon be noted in a memo to department employees. Munsterman, who assumed her interim role at the end of January, also gave board members some updates on her service. Munsterman said shes undergone extensive training to be able to take on the administrators responsibilities, including learning about hiring processes. She said she is super excited to have new chief financial officer LaKeeya Funches on board and hopes to hire an assistant administrator soon. (Im) just trying to ensure that theres continuity thats taking place during this transitional period, Munsterman said. Charts that track COVID-19 variants, vaccination rates and hospitalizations in Illinois CHARLESTON Rescuing entrapped individuals from the suffocating forces inside grain elevators is a scenario that the MABAS 26 Technical Rescue Team regularly practices. On Tuesday, the Charleston and Mattoon firefighters who comprise that team put their training into practice as they helped Clark County emergency responders free a worker engulfed by corn in a Little John Grain Inc. bin in Westfield. "He was alert and talking the entire time, which was phenomenal," said Charleston Assistant Chief Tim Meister. Arch Air Medical Service subsequently airlifted him to an area hospital for treatment. The incident happened to take place during Grain Bin Safety Week, Feb. 19-25, when the Illinois Department of Agriculture and Illinois State Fire Marshal Office's remind workers about the potentially fatal hazards of bins. Purdue University research has shown that more than 900 cases of grain engulfment were reported nationwide during a 50-year time period ending in 2010, with a fatality rate of 62%. At least 26 workers were killed in engulfment accidents in 2010, the highest number on record. Often times we become complacent when doing tasks we have done a thousand times, and for farmers that often means working in and around grain bins, said IDOA Director Jerry Costello II in a press release. Unfortunately, problems involving flowing grain can snowball quickly." The safety week release that it only takes four seconds for a full grown adult to sink to their knees in flowing grain and 20 seconds to be completely buried. Suffocation from engulfment is the leading cause of death in bins. Meister said the man in Westfield was entrapped approximately 15 feet up within the grain bin. He said individuals at the scene were able to keep in contact with him and call for help from emergency responders. Meister said immediately calling 911 is essential during an engulfment, when someone is partially or completely buried. "There is so much force and pressure on them that they can't move," Meister said. Due to this danger, he said those working inside a grain bin should always wear a harness attached to a properly secured rope and have one-two people outside the bin who can help if they become entrapped. Clark County responders were at work following grain bin protocols when the technical rescue team arrived. Meister said these protocols include ensuring the auger and other electric machinery are off before entering a bin, checking the air quality, and wearing a dust filter or filter respirator, measures that also apply to bin workers. Meister said the rescuers placed a grain bin tube around the entrapped man to protect him from the pressure and then started vacuuming out the corn within the tube. He said they also cut holes on the bin wall to release corn onto the ground to further take pressure off the man and to reduce the height of a "shelf" of corn that had been towering threateningly over him and rescuers. The worker was subsequently freed shortly after 3 p.m. and taken for medical treatment after being entrapped for approximately four hours. Meister said this is an average time for a grain bin rescue due to the logistics involved. Acting Illinois State Fire Marshal Dale Simpson said in the release that fire departments statewide continually train for these types of responses and continue to apply for grants to receive special tools to help with rescues. (Rural area) response times are increased due to the remote nature of these grain bins, which makes it extremely important that farmers follow proper safety measures and dont take any unnecessary risks," he said. Measures also include breaking up crusted grain from the outside of the bin with a long pole while avoiding electrical lines, and keeping children away from grain storage equipment. This spring, President Joe Biden is poised to ask Congress for the largest defense budget in history. These budget increases would be on top of an already historically high defense budget. At the end of 2022, Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law. The bipartisan bill, passed overwhelmingly by the Democrat-controlled Congress, appropriated $858 billion in defense spending. That $858 billion was $45 billion more than Biden requested and $90 billion more than last years defense spending bill. In every election cycle, voters, politicians and pundits are quick to question how we are going to pay for programs like Medicaid and Social Security. Budget hawks, however, rarely ask how, in 2022, we can afford a $90 billion increase in defense spending, or the $858 billion total price tag. Now, Biden wants to increase defense spending even more. Progressive members of Congress like Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., have spoken out against these absurd increases, but it is not enough. Voters need to start paying attention to foreign policy and defense spending when they cast their votes. Foreign policy is not often a top priority for voters, yet we are spending nearly $1 trillion per year on our military and we have virtually no evidence to suggest that military operations abroad are successful. This is not just about absurd military spending, it is about where we spend our money and why; what our priorities are as a country; what we value and what we want to achieve. There are, for example, several domestic and international issues that could be addressed if we prioritized them over military spending. The United States consistently spends more on its military than the next nine highest-spending countries combined. Is that really necessary? Is the U.S. military actually effective at solving international issues? I suspect the answer to both is no. To respond effectively to todays challenges, the United States must invest more money in conflict prevention, good governance and civil society support. It is long past time to cut military spending and increase funding for the diplomatic and development arms of U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. spends less than 10% of the militarys budget on all of that, and we wonder why we are not seeing the results we want to see. The global challenges we face today are not ones that our military can solve. The United States is not sending our military into countries around the world to resolve conflicts, protect people from human rights abuses or respond to famines and droughts. In cases when our military is deployed, it is not clear that it actually results in a positive outcome. The military doesnt even effectively monitor how many civilians are killed or how many people are pushed toward extremism with actions like drone strikes. Last year, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., wrote to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin telling him they were troubled that the Defense Departments annual report to Congress appears to undercount civilian casualties. So long as we keep spending an inordinate amount of money on our military, we will continue to have a military-first approach to foreign policy. This colors the way we look at the world and how the world looks at us. To get out of our military-first mentality, voters need to start paying attention to candidates positions on foreign policy, how their elected officials choose to spend our tax dollars and how presidents conduct foreign policy. Unstable weather patterns may cause flooding in the coming weeks. Just a few inches of floodwater can make roadways dangerous and damage property. The Illinois Insurance Association and its member companies encourage residents to be prepared. Be familiar with flood and flash flood advisories, watches, and warnings. Establish safety procedures for these communications, and be sure household members know how to respond. For example, never drive, walk, or swim through floodwater. Keep children away from storm drains that pull water off flooded streets. Avoid bridges that may be structurally compromised by rushing water underneath. Floodwater causes major damage to homes and belongings. Repairing structural damage and replacing ruined possessions causes financial hardship. Many intend to turn to a homeowners or renters insurance company for help, not realizing these policies exclude flood-related property damage. Insurance for flood-related damage to dwellings and personal belongings is available by purchasing flood insurance. Federally insured mortgage lenders require flood insurance on homes in high-risk areas. Flood insurance is optional for everyone else. Contact a local property insurance agent for details on flood insurance cost, coverage options, and restrictions. Act soon, though, as coverage begins 30 days after the policys effective date. Kevin J. Martin, Executive Director, Illinois Insurance Association Vote now until noon on April 20th to support the businesses that you think are the best in the New Braunfels area. About a thousand flights were canceled in the United States on Wednesday morning as a winter storm hit the country. As of about 8:40 a.m. ET Wednesday, a total of 1,004 flights in and out of the US had been canceled. Southwest Airlines has canceled more than 230 flights so far. Delta Air Lines and SkyWest have both canceled about 200 flights, according to FlightAware. MinneapolisSaint Paul International Airport and Denver International Airport were the most heavily affected, according to early data from flight tracking site FlightAware. Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport were also experiencing disruption. Delta Air Lines has issued waiver for Upper Midwest winter weather and Rockies and Mountain regions winter weather. American Airlines and United have also issued winter weather waivers for travel this week. The flight disruption comes after winter weather alerts were issued across 29 states, including California, Minnesota and Maine, with warnings of severe icing, extreme cold and sleet as part of the three-day storm. The Minneapolis area of Minnesota is at risk of picking up at least 15 inches of snow, with the National Weather Service in Minnesota's Twin Cities warning the powerful storm "will bring widespread accumulating snow, with blowing and drifting snow mainly Wednesday through Thursday." Correction: A previous version of this story misidentified Delta Air Lines. The-CNN-Wire & 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. A Conover man was sentenced to a minimum of six years in prison for trafficking opiates, District Attorney Scott Reillys office said in a news release. Jonathan Lynn Sorrels, 35, pleaded guilty to trafficking opiates during Catawba County Superior Court on Wednesday. In addition to serving six to eight years in prison, Sorrels is required to pay a $50,000 fine, the district attorneys office said. The offense occurred on Nov. 1, 2021, during a traffic stop initiated by deputies with the Catawba County Sheriffs Office. During the license and registration check, a K-9 unit did a walk around the vehicle and alerted to the presence of drugs, the district attorneys office said. During a search, Sorrels dropped two clear bags containing a white powdery substance to the ground. Deputies seized the bags, the district attorneys office said. The substance was sent to the N.C. State Crime Laboratory for testing. The substance was determined to be fentanyl, the district attorneys office said. Sorrels will be incarcerated in the custody of the N.C. Division of Adult Corrections. Superior Court Judge Nathaniel J. Poovey imposed the terms of the plea arrangement, the district attorneys office said. The case was investigated by Sam Helms of the Catawba County Sheriffs Office. Assistant District Attorney Nancy Lee handled prosecution for the State, the district attorneys office said. A bill that would allow the three school districts in Catawba County to set their own school calendars is working its way through the North Carolina General Assembly. House Bill 115 passed the NC House by a vote of 111-2 on Wednesday. The bill would give several school districts in North Carolina, including the Hickory, Catawba County and Newton-Conover school systems, the ability to establish their own start and end dates for schools. Under current law, the earliest a public school system can start classes is the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and the school year must end by the Friday nearest to June 11. The bill to offer school calendar flexibility was sponsored by Catawba County Rep. Mitchell Setzer and also has the support of Rep. Jay Adams. Adams also represents part of Catawba County. The bill now heads to the Senate, and Sen. Dean Proctor, who represents Catawba and part of Caldwell County, says he supports it. Proctor also said he favors an earlier start to the school year so schools have a chance to finish their exams prior to Christmas break. He said he disagrees with tourism companies who oppose allowing the start time to change because of the way it would affect a students ability to work summer jobs. I think its important that we pass a calendar that helps the kids rather than helping tourism, Proctor. I think the kids come first. Alabama (Montgomery): Alabama is 30th in size by land area, with a diverse topography of mountains, valleys and plateaus. Alaska (Juneau): Alaska is the largest state by land area. It lies at the extreme northwest of the North American continent. The Alaska Peninsula includes 14 large islands, 55 smaller ones and numerous islets. Arizona (Phoenix): Arizona is known for its deep canyons, high mountains, hot summers and barren deserts. Arkansas (Little Rock): (Little Rock): Hot Springs National Park features bubbling hot water springs, which used to be popular for its healing properties. California (Sacramento): California is the most populous state, with 39.03 million people, (Sacramento): California is the most populous state, with 39.03 million people, according to the 2020 census. Colorado (Denver): This mountainous state encompasses rugged, mountainous terrain, as well as vast plains, desert lands/canyons and mesas. Connecticut (Hartford): This relatively flat state runs through the central valley and coastal plains. The few hills in the Northwest tend to have hardwood forests. The remaining two-thirds of the state is open land. Delaware (Dover): As one of the mid-Atlantic states, Delaware is situated almost entirely on the northeastern part of the Delmarva Peninsula, (Dover): As one of the mid-Atlantic states, Delaware is situated almost entirely on the northeastern part of the Delmarva Peninsula, which formed over millions of years of high and low sea level fluctuations that lengthened the peninsula into a major barrier. Florida (Tallahassee): This peninsula lets you boat in the Gulf of Mexico on the West Coast and dip your toes in the sand of the Atlantic Ocean on the East Coast. Georgia (Atlanta): This southern state is home to five distinct physiographic provinces: the Appalachian Plateau, the Valley and Ridge, the Blue Ridge, the Piedmont Plateau and the Coastal Plain. Hawaii (Honolulu): The last state to join the U.S. includes misty plateaus, craggy ocean cliffs, tropical coastal areas, lava deserts and lush forests. Idaho (Boise): Idaho may be best known for potatoes, but it also contains the Snake River, which runs through Hells Canyon, the deepest gorge in the United States. Illinois (Springfield): Illinois lies midway between the Continental Divide and the Atlantic Ocean. Indiana (Indianapolis): This state borders Lake Michigan in the north-central United States. It's quite flat with a variation in elevation of no more than 600 feet from its highest point. Iowa (Des Moines): It's all about corn here ... and college football. Iowa was officially designated the Hawkeye State in 1838, eight years before it even obtained statehood. Kansas (Topeka): This centrally located state is pretty flat and hosts grasslands, fertile soil, badlands, rolling hills, (Topeka): This centrally located state is pretty flat and hosts grasslands, fertile soil, badlands, rolling hills, cuestas and canyons. Kentucky (Frankfort): Kentucky is the home of horse races and mint juleps. This (Frankfort): Kentucky is the home of horse races and mint juleps. This commonwealth is 37th in land size at just 39,732 square miles (102,907 square kilometers). Louisiana (Baton Rouge): Louisiana is the only state in the country with "parishes" instead of counties. Maine (Augusta): Maine is the biggest and easternmost state in New England. It borders the Canadian provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick. Maryland (Annapolis): One of the original 13 states, Maryland holds the distinction of being the defining line between north and south, commonly known as the (Annapolis): One of the original 13 states, Maryland holds the distinction of being the defining line between north and south, commonly known as the Mason Dixon Line Massachusetts (Boston): Another one of the original 13 states, Massachusetts is also a commonwealth. Michigan (Lansing): Michigan borders four of the five (Lansing): Michigan borders four of the five Great Lakes and has more than 10,000 lakes, as well as the longest freshwater shoreline in the world. Minnesota (St. Paul): Known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," Minnesota has the most named lakes, around 15,291. Mississippi (Jackson): Other than being one of the hardest states to spell without a jingle, Mississippi is almost entirely within the Gulf coastal plain. Missouri (Jefferson City): The " (Jefferson City): The " Show-me State " is just about the geographical center of the United States. Montana (Helena): This western state earns its nickname as "Big Sky Country" thanks to its vast and open spaces. It covers a land area of more than 147,000 square miles, making it the fourth largest state in the nation. Nebraska (Lincoln): Nebraska is the center of the continental United States and is characterized by rolling hills and expansive plains. Nevada (Carson City): Nevada includes mountainous regions among vast, semi-arid grasslands and sandy deserts. And of course, (Carson City): Nevada includes mountainous regions among vast, semi-arid grasslands and sandy deserts. And of course, Las Vegas New Hampshire (Concord): As one of the original 13 states, New Hampshire was the first to declare its independence from England in 1775. New Jersey (Trenton): The Garden State is the fourth (Trenton): The Garden State is the fourth smallest state by land area. New Mexico (Santa Fe): This southwestern state has more Ph.Ds. per capita than any other state. New York (Albany): Most of the state consists of farms, forests, rivers, mountains and lakes. It's home to Adirondack Park, the largest National Park in the contiguous U.S. North Carolina (Raleigh): This southeastern state is famous for being the home of the first flight. North Dakota (Bismarck): Among the (Bismarck): Among the quirky sites (or sights) here are the Enchanted Highway , a collection of the world's largest scrap metal sculptures erected along a 32-mile stretch of highway. Ohio (Columbus): Eight U.S. presidents are from Ohio, and its name derives from the Iroquois word ohi-yo', which means "great river." Oklahoma ( Oklahoma City ): The Sooner State has the typical southwestern terrain of mesas, canyons and grasslands. Oregon (Salem): This state borders the Pacific Ocean and is home to Portland, which has more breweries than any other city in the world (60-plus), per capita. Pennsylvania (Harrisburg): Cheesesteaks, chocolate and steel aside, Pennsylvania, another commonwealth, was the first to have a daily newspaper and a public zoo. Rhode Island (Providence): Despite being so small, Rhode Island has nearly 1.1 million people. South Carolina (Columbia): South Carolina was the first state to grow (Columbia): South Carolina was the first state to grow tea leaves in the lush Sea Islands region. The Atlantic Coastal Plain, Piedmont Plateau and Blue Ridge Mountains are its other regions. South Dakota (Pierre): Perhaps best known for Mount Rushmore in its Badlands, South Dakota actually has (Pierre): Perhaps best known for Mount Rushmore in its Badlands, South Dakota actually has more shoreline than Florida. Tennessee (Nashville): Tennessee has some of the most varied geographic features in six main land regions: the Blue Ridge, Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region, Appalachian Plateau, Highland Rim, Nashville Basin and the Gulf Coastal Plain. Texas (Austin): Everything is bigger here, including cattle ranches and cowboy hats. But Texas also has grasslands, rolling hills, lakes, forests and a substantial coastline along the Gulf of Mexico. Utah (Salt Lake City): Utah is the 13th largest state in the country with 84,899 square miles (219,887 square kilometers) of land. And the federal government owns more than 60 percent of that. Vermont (Montpelier): Vermont is the home of maple syrup and the birthplace of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Virginia (Richmond): Virginia stretches along the Atlantic coastline from Chesapeake Bay to the Appalachian Mountains. One of the 13 original colonies, it is home to many of the nation's historic landmarks. Washington (Olympia): The most northwestern state in the Pacific Northwest shares a border with Canada. This proximity and its (Olympia): The most northwestern state in the Pacific Northwest shares a border with Canada. This proximity and its own islands means it's home to the largest ferry fleet in the U.S. West Virginia (Charleston): The coal industry has blighted much of the beauty, but West Virginia will forever be the only state completely within the Appalachian Mountain range. Wisconsin (Madison): This state has shorelines on two Great Lakes (Michigan and Superior) and an interior of forests and farms. It's known for cheese, beer and the Harley-Davidson Museum. Canary reportedly earned her nickname around 1875, during the Newton-Jenney expedition, which was intended to determine the quality and quantity of gold in the Black Hills. "She got her nickname while traveling with the Jenny expedition in 1874," Weber says. "She had wandered off one day and the soldiers thought it would be a 'calamity' if she were captured or killed by Indians." In 1876, Canary was ordered to the Bighorn River where she swam across the Platte River to deliver dispatches from General George Crook to a local outpost. During this time, she contracted a serious illness and was hospitalized for two weeks. When she recovered, she rode on to Deadwood, where she met legendary frontiersman, Wild Bill Hickok, who many credit with bringing order to the Old West. The two became close, and Canary remained in Deadwood all summer, working as a Pony Express rider and carrying the mail between Deadwood and Custer. However, in August of that year, Hickok was shot in the back of the head by Jack McCall while sitting at a gambling table in Deadwood's Nuttall & Mann's 66 Saloon. Canary stayed in Deadwood, prospecting at mining camps and later nursing residents who fell ill during the smallpox outbreak. Advertisement " " Calamity Jane was said to have scouted for General Custer and later traveled with Wild Bill Hickok. Corbis/Getty Images Canary finally left Deadwood the following year and traveled to Bear Butte Creek with the 7th Cavalry. She left the command in 1878 and traveled to Rapid City, then went on to Fort Pierre in 1879 to drive mule trains to Fort Pierre and Sturgis. By this point, her reputation had made her somewhat of a celebrity, and magazine editors and dime novel authors were writing stories about her adventures. In 1882, Canary bought a ranch on the Yellowstone River, but felt antsy within the year, leaving for California in 1883, and then moving on to Texas in 1884. She met Clinton Burke in El Paso, and the two married in 1885. They had a daughter two years later and left Texas for Boulder, Colorado, when the girl turned 2. For several years, the family ran a hotel and then spent time traveling yet again through Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and South Dakota. In 1895, Canary realized she could use her shooting skills to support her family and joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, performing sharpshooting tricks. Her drinking antics, however, cost her the job, and she was fired after touring Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City. In 1901, she was hired by the Pan American Exposition, but once again lost the job due to her excessive drinking. " " Calamity and Teddy Blue Abbott face off with beers at a bar in Gilt Edge, Montana, circa 1887. Mrs. E. G. Worden/Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives Canary moved back to the Black Hills in 1903 and worked as a cook and housekeeper in Dora DuFran's Bell Fourche brothel. She died a few years later and was buried next to Hickok at Mount Moriah Cemetery. "Martha Jane Canary/Calamity Jane is so much more than her bawdy reputation," Weber says. "She was a caregiver to the ill, a prostitute, orphaned at a young age, cleaning woman, frequently went on alcoholic binges, etc. She was an unaccompanied young child and woman in the frontier American West doing the best she could with the situations she was handed. She supported herself at a time when there were limited opportunities for women." " " The gravesite of Mrs. M. E. Burke, better known as Calamity Jane, in Deadwood, South Dakota. Hans Wild/Getty Images Now That's Interesting It's tough to know how many of the details surrounding Canary's life are true and how many were fabricated, either by the media, or by Canary herself. Even pieces of her personal life are questionable since there is no existing marriage license confirming her union with Burke and no birth certificate for her daughter. In 1941, a woman claiming to be the child of Canary and Hickok came into the public eye, but her allegations were later proven to be false. Washing rice, soaking, steaming... In the Yueyang Miluo Changle Sweet Wine Industrial Park, workers at the Miluo branch of Hunan Yuxiang Agricultural Technology Development Co. are completing sweet wine production process in an orderly manner. Sweet wine is a kind of Hunan traditional typical dessert wine made of rice. At the beginning of this year, Yuxiang Agriculture signed its first "overseas order", and this classic flavor, which is made by the ancient method of inheriting for thousands of years, will soon travel far and wide and renowned overseas. The flavor of sweet wine is a flavor that Chinese people will never forget. Xu Yingyang, a Miluo businessman who has been working in the Philippines for many years, tasted Yuxiang brand's instant sweet wine and speak highly of it. He saw a huge business opportunity in it. Through the matchmaking of Miluo City Federation of Industry and Commerce, the enterprises of the two sides hit it off at once. A strategic cooperation agreement was signed on the Lantern Festival, and the first batch of sweet wine will be shipped to the Philippines in mid to late March. "The flavor of Changle sweet wine is unique." Yuan Xianbin introduced that local people areall experts in making Changle sweet wine, and the company will always insisted on using traditional brewing techniques to win market through their taste. Up to now, the company's first orders have exceeded 15 million yuan. And this time, the sweet wine was used not only as a stepping stone to open the overseas market, but also to give the enterprise more sufficient confidence to explore. Aerial view of Changle Sweet Wine Industrial Park. Photo by Hu Qing As a nationally renowned sweet wine town, Changle Town is one of the first characteristic industrial towns in Hunan and a town of agricultural industrialization in Yueyang, with more than 300 sweet wine enterprises and workshops, driving the employment of 7,000 people in the surrounding area and an annual output value of 500 million yuan. At the end of last year, Changle Sweet Wine Industrial Park was completed and opened, housing a number of sweet wine production enterprises such as Hunan Yuxiang and Changle Jinfu. "At present, we are actively connecting with exhibitions at home and abroad at the municipal and provincial levels." Yang Biao, a staff member of Miluo City Trade Promotion Council, said that this year, Miluo cuisine, represented by Changle sweet wine, will be expected to expand more overseas markets and help rural revitalization. Chinese source: Rednet Video reporter: Chen Minying Translated by Rednet International Communication Center We'll go elsewhere, thanks. Photo: Shutterstock A long and complex visa system is driving many skilled workers to abandon Australia and look to other nations for work. Speaking to an audience at Australian Financial Review Workforce Summit, at the Hilton Sydney on Wednesday, the Minister for Home Affairs and Cyber Security Clare ONeil said the system is inadequate, archaic, and is in need of urgent reform. Our migration system has been on continental drift for a decade. We have a broken system that is unstrategic, complex, expensive, and slow. And its not delivering for business, migrants, or for our population. While there has been a staggering increase in issuing temporary visas, skilled migration has fallen. Australias share of the global pool of skilled migrants has almost halved over the past three decades. ONeil has vowed to fix a backward system that has remained relatively unchanged since the nineties. Highly valued migrants from around the world face these issues coming to Australia, ONeil said, yet theyre given red carpet treatment migrating elsewhere. Many will go to places like Canada. We cant let that continue and the government doesnt intend to do so. Minister ONeil has asked the government to increase skilled migration rate to195,000 in the budget this year. We are losing people and were not the favourite destination for many of the worlds skilled migrants. If your skills are in demand across the world, youve got a choice between Canada where the visa application is fast, or here a 6 months to 12 months visa approval wait. In November 2022, the minister brought together a team from cabinet to work with migration experts to review Australia's migration system. We invite people to come to our country, and we want them to invest and build a life here. Our uncapped, unplanned temporary program is the centrepiece and driver of our migration system. The fact is, its the source of huge problems. Since 2005, the number of net skilled permanent migrants coming to Australia each year is approximately 30,000 people. The number of temporary migrants, however, has exploded. In 2007, there were one million temporary migrants in Australia, excluding visitor and transit visas. Today the number is 1.9 million. The largest group is students at 22 per cent. Only six per cent of this is skilled migrants which Australia desperately need to fill shortages in areas in such, tech, health care and renewable energy. Right now its relatively easy for a low-skill, temporary migrant to come to Australia, but difficult, slow and not particularly attractive for a high-skill, permanent migrant to come here. Weve got the system backwards, ONeil said. Since taking on the role eight months ago, the minister said the backlog of visa applicants have been cut from one million applications to 580,000 waiting to be processed. Migration structure reform on the way Many businesses called on the government for a substantial reform to the migration system, resulting in the establishment of Jobs and Skills Australia. Business owners are also calling for reforms to speed up intercompany transfers. What is clearly required here is structural reform. We are looking at big changes that will drive a new model for migration in Australia, ONeil said. The most important issue is to articulate a clear definition of why our migration system exists, and what problems we want it to solve. Some of the main changes under the Migration Review include: Redesign the fundamental structure of the migration system, and rebalance the temporary and permanent programs. Remove policies which create permanently temporary conditions, by being clear on where migration is truly temporary and managing this fairly. Sharper focus on skills with a clear strategy behind who is applying, and where they will come from and implement a streamlined process that doesnt frighten visa applicants from coming. Actively sell Australia to skilled migrants. Unlock migrant potential and recognise migrants existing skills when they arrive. Increase support to translate the skills of secondary applicants and others into the labour market. Coordinate and integrate the needs of the labour market, training and education and the migration system. A draft of the new migration system will be released for consultation and discussion in April 2023. The head of Australias spy agency is pleading with people to stop advertising their security clearance on social media sites like LinkedIn as he warns of the country facing facing an unprecedented challenge from espionage and foreign interference. In a speech on Tuesday, director general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Mike Burgess said Australia needed to lift its game when it comes to taking cyber security seriously. For some time Ive been warning that foreign spies are targeting Australians on social media. To find out if the message is getting through, I asked my team to quickly scan the best known professional networking sites, Australias top spy said. They identified nearly 16,000 Australians publicly declaring they have a security clearance, and one thousand more revealing they worked in the intelligence community. Thankfully that number is down on the 22,000 people ASIO spotted showing off their access to confidential information back in 2021 which followed a public awareness campaign about what you put on social media. I appreciate people want to sell themselves to prospective employers, and may need to mention they have a security clearance, but doing it on a professional networking site is reckless, he said. These people may as well add high-value target to their profiles. ASIO is apparently busier than it has ever been before as the organisation pushes back against attempted foreign spies gaining access to Australias secrets and recruiting lackeys to help do their bidding. In his speech this week, Burgess mentioned the need to work with both government and business in how to mitigate the effects of insider threats. Insiders are current and former employees or contractors who enjoy legitimate access to information, techniques, activities, technology, assets, or facilities, Burgess said. [They] become insider threats when they disclose sensitive information without authorisation, conduct espionage, foreign interference or sabotage, or help a third party conduct these activities. For someone in the human intelligence business, a well-placed, compliant insider is the ultimate prize. Insider threats have long been known to the cyber security industry. These are people who willingly steal information or install malware onto their companys networks and are a risk analysts warned may have increased with the mainstream shift to work from home caused by COVID-19. Trusted insiders have been one of the biggest fears for organisations in the past with a majority of caught insiders simply saying they were willing to compromise their organisation for cash. Likewise, unwitting insiders are becoming an increasing problem for our national security, Burgess warned this week. The best physical security in the world is useless if an employee turns off the camera or fails to lock the gate, he said. A-grade cyber security can be undone if an employee uses password as their password or allows remote access to a system. Burgess shared examples of people who failed to adequately mitigate risk and gave up confidential information, including people who didnt realise they were having regular lunch meetings with foreign spies. He also mentioned an Australian businessperson who connected their work laptop to hotel wi-fi while travelling overseas. Designs and other forms of intellectual property were stolen and used to make cheap imitations of the companys products, which cost the business millions of dollars in lost revenue, Burgess said. SALISBURY During the November mid-term election season, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College encouraged local voter participation by holding a contest inviting residents of Rowan and Cabarrus counties to design special stickers to be distributed in the community. The winning I Registered and I Voted designs were printed and given out during the early voting period leading up to the election. The contest, spearheaded by Jonathan Hoffman, lead faculty for the colleges Associate in Fine Arts in Visual Arts program, was made possible by a Rowan-Cabarrus Student Impact Grant through the Rowan-Cabarrus Foundation. The $850 that Hoffman received to carry out the design contest was one of eight grants awarded to Rowan-Cabarrus employees for projects that support and encourage students in their learning and personal development. The sticker design contest engaged the community and our students in the electoral process, and our hope is that it created awareness and excitement and helped increase voter turnout in Rowan and Cabarrus counties, Hoffman said. Each year, the Rowan-Cabarrus Foundation awards grants to employees who have submitted proposals for unique student support projects which do not have funding available from other sources. In addition to the voter sticker design contest, other Student Impact Grants approved for 2022-23 include: Assistant Director of Career and Academic Advising Dr. Quinn Lacy was awarded $1,000 for A Culturally Immersive Transfer Experience. Funds from this grant will help support efforts to allow students to engage and communicate with both their community college advisers and prospective admissions representatives at four-year institutions. Amy Mahle, program chair for the occupational therapy assistant program, received $1,000 to fund her project, Building Resilience in Healthcare Students, which helps students combat stress experienced in challenging programs of study and in interacting with vulnerable populations during clinical work. Tutoring Center Director Deanna Dixon was awarded $1,000 for Exam Jam, which provides support and resources for students as they prepare for end-of-semester exams. Student Support Services Director Misty Moler was awarded $500 for Empowering Students Through Wellness Promotion, which focuses on overall student well-being. Instruction and Outreach Librarian Laurie Robb received $1,200 for We All Belong in the Library, a series of special activities and events. Dr. Emily Fink, director of nursing programs, was awarded $1,500 for a partnership project with the North Carolina Baptists on Mission Health Screening Ministry. The mobile screening event will provide medical and dental care access for Rowan-Cabarrus students while offering a learning experience as nursing and dental assisting students assist with the process. Career and Academic Adviser Katina Foster received $1,200 to provide incentives to help students persist in their classes and motivate them to achieve future success through the Advising Lounge and Academic Advising. Jonathan Hoffman, lead faculty in Associate in Fine Arts in Visual Arts, was awarded $500 to support The Bridge Gallery on North Campus, which provides creative programming that allows art and graphic design students to gain direct exposure and experience with an essential part of their future careers. Student Impact Grants allow our innovative staff to use their expertise to provide creative and engaging opportunities for our students, said Dr. Carol S. Spalding, president of Rowan-Cabarrus. I am grateful to the Rowan-Cabarrus Foundation, our generous donors, and our employees who go the extra mile to meet students where they are and assist them in achieving their goals. For more information about the Rowan-Cabarrus Foundation or making a donation to support Student Impact Grants, scholarships and other forms of student assistance, visit www.rccc.edu/foundation. For more information about Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, visit www.rccc.edu or call 704-216-RCCC (7222). 100 years ago, Feb. 23, 1923 MATTOON Elmer Stiff, 18, residing at 2505 Moultrie Ave. was found guilty by a jury on the county court in Charleston on Thursday evening of being the father of the five-months old child of Miss Irene Walker. The case went to the jury at 5 o'clock Thursday afternoon and the verdict was returned two hours later. Stiff was represented in court by William Moran while State's Attorney Fletcher conducted the prosecution...PANA Miners in the Peabody mine at Tovey reported today that for three months they have had as a pet 700 feet under the earth an English sparrow whose presence there has never been explained. He has become so tame that he chirps at the feet of the men and eats out of their hands during luncheon hours. 50 years ago, 1973 MATTOON An anticipated 140 Elks members accompanied by their wives, will converge on Mattoon beginning this evening for the Illinois Elks Association Southeast District Ritual Contest. Ritual teams, comprised of 10 men each from 14 lodges in the district will compete in the contest which begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, continuing through Sunday morning, in the local Elks Lodge, 1412 Broadway. Each team is given one hour to perform. A dance for visiting Elks and their wives and local members and wives will be held both tonight at Saturday evening at the Lodge. Women wearing a yellow and black bumblebee on their lapel for identification will swarm the downtown stores from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday on a treasure hunt....MATTOON Uniforms were modeled by Lake Land College dental assistant students at the monthly meeting of Eastern Illinois Dental Assistant Association. Young's Department Store furnished the uniforms for the style show program. Doris Houser, president, conducted the business meeting for the event held at the Holiday Inn. 25 years ago, 1998 GREENUP As one of the few Republicans without a primary opponent on March 17, Judy Baar Topinka had a unifying role Saturday. The state treasurer was a keynote speaker at an event with Cumberland County Republicans promoting progress in her department and unity among the party faithful this November. Following Topinka to the microphone were candidates or their their representatives from a variety of races, local, regional and statewide...MATTOON The Kaskaskia River Dancers had a series of performances this weekend at the Cross County Mall. The group is comprised of area Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts who travel throughout the Midwest doing Native American dances...PEORIA The United Auto Workers union voted Sunday to reject a Caterpillar, Inc. contract offer, assuring a six-year labor dispute with the nation's largest builder of earth moving equipment will continue. Jim Clingan, president of Local 974, the union's largest Caterpillar local, says union members nationwide voted 58 percent to 42 percent against the contract. The union hall in Peoria erupted in applause at the announcement. Clingan says he has no way of knowing whether Caterpillar would agree to further contract negotiations. 40 films that provoked national controversy 40 films that provoked national controversy Haxan (1922) Scarface (1932) Freaks (1932) Song of the South (1946) Psycho (1960) Peeping Tom (1960) Bonnie and Clyde (1967) Titicut Follies (1967) Midnight Cowboy (1969) A Clockwork Orange (1971) The Devils (1971) Straw Dogs (1971) Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971) Pink Flamingos (1972) The Exorcist (1973) Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) In the Realm of the Senses (1976) I Spit on Your Grave (1978) Life of Brian (1979) Heaven's Gate (1980) Cruising (1980) Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) Blue Velvet (1986) The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) Do the Right Thing (1989) JFK (1991) Basic Instinct (1992) Dead Alive (1992) Natural Born Killers (1994) Crash (1996) Requiem for a Dream (2000) The Brown Bunny (2003) Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) The Passion of the Christ (2004) Hostel (2005) Antichrist (2009) Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013) The Interview (2014) Nina (2016) Cuties (2020) Less than two weeks before the federal ComEd Four bribery conspiracy trial, prosecutors revealed in a court filing that a confidant of former Speaker Michael Madigan was interviewed twice by federal authorities before the probe became public about his use of code words to refer to the longtime House leader. The first interview of Michael McClain, the speakers friend and ComEd lobbyist, came in August 2014, the same month that Madigan was secretly recorded by an FBI informant at his law firm discussing a desire to secure property tax business with a Chinatown developer, the filing shows. The other interview, in April 2016, occurred shortly before federal authorities secured the cooperation of then-Ald. Daniel Solis, who later recorded numerous conversations about a Chinatown land deal that was a centerpiece in the bombshell indictment separately filed against Madigan and McClain. In both interviews, which were revealed for the first time in the filing late Tuesday, McClain was asked about his use of codes for Madigan such as our friend, a friend and friend, a nickname the Tribune first reported in 2019 that McClain used when sending secret fundraising requests to close allies. In those emails, McClain also referred to Madigan as Himself and the prospective donors as most trusted of the trusted. In the 2014 interview, prosecutors wrote, McClain admitted he referred to Madigan as our friend because people might be listening to or reading McClains conversations. In the other interview nearly two years later, McClain admitted he referred to Madigan as our friend in conversations and over email because he never knows whos listening, the prosecution filing stated. The revelation that McClain was twice confronted by the FBI with questions involving Madigan comes less than two weeks before McClain is set to go on trial March 6 along with three others on bribery conspiracy charges related to ComEds alleged attempts to illegally influence the then-powerful House speaker. Also charged are former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, longtime top ComEd lobbyist John Hooker and lobbyist Jay Doherty, who resigned as head of the City Club of Chicago during the federal probe. Its not clear in the prosecution filing what else, if anything, federal investigators asked McClain in the newly disclosed interviews. But its the first indication that McClain and likely Madigan were on notice that the feds were looking into them nearly five years before the investigation went overt with a series of raids in May 2019, including on McClains home in downstate Quincy and at the City Club offices. Prosecutors contend McClains admissions about the use of coded language clearly show that McClain did not want any eavesdroppers to know the true subject of his communications and are therefore wholly consistent with the indictment and the governments evidence at trial: our Friends and a friend of ours were terms designed to conceal Madigans identity. McClains attorneys have argued he couldnt have been using the term to conceal anything because hed already readily admitted to investigators he was talking about Madigan. The issue also could be used by the defense to push the idea that they were confident they were staying within the boundaries of legal behavior. McClains attorney could not be reached for comment. The 65-page filing by prosecutors also revealed several other new details they want to present to the jury to show the depth of the friendship between Madigan and McClain. Among them: how McClain allegedly orchestrated a group of utility lobbyists to send payments to a longtime Madigan aide, Kevin Quinn, after the speaker ousted him in a 2018 sexual harassment scandal. Quinn, the brother of Madigans hand-picked 13th Ward Ald. Marty Quinn, has not been charged in the case. But the Tribune reported that McClain rounded up several lobbyists to send more than $30,000 worth of contracts to Kevin Quinn after Madigan booted him from the speakers state and political operations. The feds also want to show jurors that they intercepted a call in which Madigan asked McClain to help secure a job for an unidentified state representatives wife. In the July 2, 2018, phone call, Madigan allegedly said the representative came to me and same story, he needs money, and he had the thought that maybe I could help his wife on something, according to the filing. Prosecutors also want to use a McClain call in which he described himself as sort of Madigans agent as he worked with a lawmaker to guide him through oversight of bills dealing with ComEd and gambling. Madigan and McClain also face an overarching case in which both ComEd and the Illinois affiliate of AT&T have reached deferred prosecution agreements in which they have acknowledged they sought to give favors to Madigan in hopes of his help on their legislative agendas in Springfield. The agreements included having ComEd pay a $200 million fine and AT&T pay a $23 million fine. Prosecutors have agreed to drop bribery charges against the companies if they cooperate in the investigation. Both Madigan and McClain have pleaded not guilty in the case, which is slated for trial in April 2024. Further, the government in its filing disclosed it planned to show that Madigan arranged for two of his allies to get part-time state positions, including former Ald. Frank Olivo, who received a position with the Illinois Motor Vehicle Review Board and received about $20,000 a year for more than two decades. It is the latest disclosure as prosecutors fight to allow for compensation of defendants to be included in the trial, including Pramaggiore making as much as $2.8 million. The defense has maintained the various disclosures could be prejudicial and seek to keep them away from the jury. Illinois lawmakers react to State of the Union Gov. J.B. Pritzker Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Dunlap U.S. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Oakland U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Moline Wells Fargo & Co. is facing another regulatory investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the bank revealed in its 2022 annual report Wednesday. The SEC has been joined by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The bank said the agencies have undertaken investigations regarding the companys compliance with records retention requirements relating to business communications sent over unapproved electronic messaging channels. The Wells Fargo disclosure comes nearly five months after the SEC announced charges Sept. 27 against 15 broker-dealers and one affiliated investment adviser for widespread and longstanding failures by the firms and their employees to maintain and preserve electronic communications. According to the SEC, the companies admitted the facts set forth in their respective SEC orders, acknowledged that their conduct violated record-keeping provisions of the federal securities laws, agreed to pay combined penalties of more than $1.1 billion, and have begun implementing improvements to their compliance policies and procedures to settle these matters. Each company was fined $125 million: Barclays Capital Inc.; BofA Securities Inc. together with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc.; Citigroup Global Markets Inc.; Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC; Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. together with DWS Distributors Inc. and DWS Investment Management Americas Inc.; Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC; Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC together with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC; and UBS Securities LLC together with UBS Financial Services Inc. Jefferies LLC and Nomura Securities International Inc. were fined $50 million each, while Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. was fined $10 million. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced separate settlements with 11 companies. Bank of America affiliates agreed to pay $100 million, while affiliates with Barclays, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS $75 million each, Nomura $50 million, Jefferies $30 million, and Cantor Fitzgerald $6 million. Finance, ultimately, depends on trust, SEC chairman Gary Gensler said in a statement. By failing to honor their recordkeeping and books-and-records obligations, the market participants we have charged today have failed to maintain that trust. As technology changes, its even more important that registrants appropriately conduct their communications about business matters within only official channels, and they must maintain and preserve those communications. The financial institutions cooperated with the investigation by gathering communications from the personal devices of a sample of their personnel that included senior and junior investment bankers and debt and equity traders. From January 2018 through September 2021, the firms employees routinely communicated about business matters using text messaging applications on their personal devices. The firms did not maintain or preserve the substantial majority of these off-channel communications, in violation of the federal securities laws. By failing to maintain and preserve required records relating to their businesses, the firms actions likely deprived the SEC of these off-channel communications in various SEC investigations. Each company was ordered to cease and desist from future violations of the relevant record-keeping provisions and were censured. Q: I have missed seeing Sharon Randall article each Saturday. I always looked forward to her articles. She always talked about her family and other interesting things. Has the Journal stopped publishing her articles? I sure would like to see it again. N.M. Answer: Sharon Randall stopped writing her column at the end of 2022. In her Dec. 31 column, Randall told her readers what was going on. OK, Ill say it: This is my final column. That decision is one of the hardest I have ever made. But its entirely my choice. I feel led, not forced, to stop. Ive written a column most every week for nearly 32 years. Its been a dream job for me. Those of you who read it, the editors who edited it and the newspapers that published it, made that dream a reality. I cannot thank you enough. Randall had a request for her readers: Please keep sharing your stories with your children and grandchildren and anyone who will listen and ask them to share their stories with you. Our stories tell us who we are, that we are all different in ways that make us interesting, but so much alike in the ways that matter most the matters of the heart. The best stories turn strangers into friends. Thank you for letting me share with you my stories and my life. It has been such a pleasure. You can still keep up with Randall at sharonrandall.com. Back issues of newspapersLibrary patrons can access free digital back issues of the Winston-Salem Journal and the Twin City Sentinel. The issues, which are available on a trial basis, can be found at the North Carolina Rooms website, https://northcarolinaroom.wordpress.com. Click on the Free Digital Trial banner. Use your library card to access the newspapers. Back issues of the Journal are from 1902 to 1997 and the Twin City Sentinel are from 1906 to 1985. The pages look like they did in the original print form. SAM will admit to spending time (OK a lot of time) Wednesday looking at back issues. If you are a native or have lived here for many years, its a walk down memory lane. If youre new to town, its a look at the past and the people and events that helped shape the community. The trial ends April 15. Fridays the dayAfter two years of having to cancel its main fundraiser because of the COVID pandemic, the Twin City Kiwanis Club will have PanJam 23 from 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at the Benton Convention Center, 300 W. Fifth St., in downtown Winston-Salem. This will be the clubs 63rd pancake jamboree. Club members plan to flip more than 10,000 pancakes during the jamboree. Pancakes will be served continuously during the day. In addition to all-you-can-eat pancakes, there will be sausage and drinks. The cost is $9 for adults and $4 for children 12 and under. Proceeds will benefit local youth charities and a charity in Vietnam. A Winston-Salem man was sentenced to a lengthy prison term Tuesday after a jury convicted of him of multiple sex offenses involving a 13-year-old girl, authorities said Thursday. James Aaron Glenn, 52, was found guilty of statutory rape of a child, second-degree rape, statutory sexual offense with a child, second-degree sexual offense and two counts of taking indecent liberties with a child, the Forsyth County District Attorneys Office said. Judge Richard Gottlieb of Forsyth Superior Court sentenced Glenn to serve 55 to 76 years in prison, the district attorneys office said. On April 23, 2018, Winston-Salem police received a call from doctors at the Downtown Health Plaza about a child who had medical symptoms connected to a sexual assault, the district attorneys office said. After arriving at the scene, officers learned that a 13-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted, the district attorneys office said. At that time, Glenn was a handyman who was hired to do repair work at the victims home, the district attorneys office said. The girl was at her home alone when Glenn knocked on the door and said that he was there to fix a broken window. Glenn entered the home, and a short time later he came into the victims bedroom, the district attorneys office said. Glenn told the girl to take her clothes off. When she refused, he grabbed her by the arm and pushed her onto the bed and told her If you dont do it, Ill kill you right here, right now, the district attorneys office said. The girl complied and she was sexually assaulted, the district attorneys office said. Glenn was accused of threatening to kill the girl if she told anyone about what had happened. The girl experienced pain and other symptoms, which led her mother to take her to the Downtown Health Plaza. The girl initially told medical personnel about her abuse. Detectives then connected the girls sexual assault to Glenn, the district attorneys office said. The N.C. Senate is poised to approve a bipartisan medical marijuana bill for the second consecutive year after the controversial bill cleared its final committee Thursday. Senate Bill 3, titled NC Compassionate Care Act, was recommended by the Rules and Operations committee to the Senate floor. The bill cleared the Judiciary committee Tuesday after several significant changes were made to the legislation. Sen. Paul Lowe, D-Forsyth, is one of three primary sponsors, along with Republican Sens. Bill Rabon of Brunswick County and Michael Lee of New Hanover County. Rabon said during the Rules and Operations debate he expects a Senate floor vote next week. During the 2022 session, the Senate voted 36-7 for Senate Bill 711 on June 6 the first medical marijuana bill to ever clear a chamber. However, as was the case with the 2022 version of the medical marijuana bill, its unclear whether House Republican leadership will allow SB3 to be placed in a committee, much less advance to a floor vote. Potential opposition from House speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, and House majority leader John Bell IV, R-Johnston, could derail SB3 in the House, said John Dinan, a Wake Forest University political science professor and national expert on state legislatures. However, the News & Observer of Raleigh quoted Moore as saying Thursday that SB3 has decent prospects of passage" given that new House members elected in 2022. "Last year when we didnt take it up, it was overwhelmingly opposed by most of the caucus," Moore told the Raleigh newspaper. "Attitudes have changed, and I think some folks have had an opportunity, once they were back home and met with folks, to see that theres some potentially legitimate uses for this. Dinan said that at this point, we have to rely on the comments of (Moore and Bell), who have cast significant doubt on plans to consider medical marijuana legalization." Heartstrings Although Rabon did not use medical marijuana as part of his treatment for cancer, he said his own experience, coupled with discussions with other cancer patients, convinced him of the need for making the option available. On Thursday, Rabon shared letters from North Carolinians whose family members used marijuana to provide relief in their dying days, or relied upon as part of their recovery from serious illness. It can help a number of people at the end of their life at a time that they need compassion what time they have left should be as comfortable and as easy as they can be, Rabon said. Theres not anyone in this room who has not had someone in their family, or a close friend, that could have benefited from this legislation. Opponents have expressed numerous concerns, including that the legislation would serve as a gateway to legalizing marijuana in North Carolina by 2024. The opponents also say the licensing fee for vendors is too low. Rabon called SB711 the tightest, best-written bill, seeing what other states did wrong and trying to omit those pitfalls. Bill changes SB3 has undergone three major changes since being re-filed. Perhaps the foremost change was exempting suppliers of medical marijuana products from criminal prosecution. Bill sponsors said the amendment assures that suppliers would not be subject to arrest for possessing, producing, delivering or transporting cannabis, or aiding and abetting in those actions, if their conduct fits within the proposed laws parameters. The bill would allow for up to 20 recommended applicants to fill the 10 licensee spaces, with suppliers being given priority if they commit to placing a medical cannabis center into more than one Tier 1 county. The amendment also would encourage preventing an overconcentration of medical cannabis centers in any one area. Only 18 states have questions consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when asking about mental and physical health on PA license applications or renewals.1,2 This is an overlooked and potentially harmful deficit. As a PA in Texas, I experienced firsthand the isolating effects of an application that did not conform to ADA guidelines about mental health. Upon starting my first job after PA school, I had to ask my supervising physician to fill out forms about my mental health. This burden fell on me because of a single question on the Texas Medical Board (TMB) application for my initial PA license: Are you currently being treated for, or have you ever had a diagnosis of, major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, or another mental health condition?3 Yes, I answered honestly. I submitted additional information with my answer as requested: I was diagnosed with MDD at age 16 years and take a stable dose of a single antidepressant. My symptoms remained in remission throughout PA school and I did not believe MDD had any effect on my ability to practice medicine. The consequences of my answer made me regret my honesty. The TMB granted a temporary PA license and required my psychiatrist and supervising physician to submit quarterly assessments for 1 year to the Texas Physician Health Program (TXPHP) with any concerns about my mental health, behavior, or ability to practice as a PA.4 My supervising physician and I were just getting to know each other and I yearned for approval and mentorship. I doubt many people are required to share such private information at their first job with their supervisor. TXPHP's vow to keep my information confidential seemed ironic. I imagined a litany of worst-case scenarios. My supervising physician would treat me differently once he knew about my history of depression; he would view me as less competent; my colleagues would find out I had depression. When I finally worked up the courage to ask about the TXPHP forms, my supervising physician was very kind and said of course he would fill them out. He assured me that he would not tell anyone what I had divulged to him and that his door was always open if I felt symptoms of depression returning. I was relieved and grateful for his professionalism. My supervising physician and my psychiatrist dutifully completed forms for the TXPHP each quarter. After 1 year, I was required to go in person to the Capitol in Austin, Tex., to review my file. The board member tried to make light of our meeting, as if I had not just used one of my vacation days and driven more than 3 hours to be released from this burden. I was in his office for less than 10 minutes before he officially signed off on my PA license and I finally stepped out of the shadow cast over my young career. That was 2014, just months before the TMB revised its PA licensing questions to comply with ADA guidelines for asking about physical or mental health conditions only as they influence current ability or impairment. The initial licensure application now asks, Are you currently suffering from any condition for which you are not being appropriately treated that impairs your judgment or that would otherwise adversely affect your ability to practice medicine in a competent, ethical and professional manner?3 This simple change in wording would have allowed me to avoid the personal embarrassment of revealing a medical diagnosis to my job. It can prevent damage to the confidence and professional identity that is crucial as PAs begin practicing, and decrease reluctance to disclose mental health conditions because of fear of licensure consequences. PA licensing boards must recognize the weight of the wording they choose for initial and renewal applications, and revise them if they are inconsistent with the ADA. To encourage the continued growth of the PA profession and PAs' willingness to seek help when they need it, PAs in all 50 states must feel comfortable and confident in their ability to practice medicine despite the presence of a mental or physical health diagnosis. A new bowling attraction is rolling into Lincoln, promising double the fun at half the size. Bob & Willie's Wonderbowl, which opened last week in the former Dino's restaurant space near 84th and Van Dorn streets, offers miniature bowling as well as a bar and restaurant. Owners hope to maintain the legacy of Dino's, which had served as a community gathering space for more than a decade before closing in late 2021. The Wonderbowl location is the second in a growing franchise run by Phillip Schaffart, an Omaha-based business owner. The idea came to him while he was on tour with a band in Rochester, New York, and the name came from his late grandparents, both of whom had a passion for bowling. After buying the machines to make his own pins and bowling balls, a step toward self-sufficiency and originality that he said sets his business apart from other mini-bowling ventures, Schaffart put the concept to the test as a 21+ bar, which opened last January, in Omahas Blackstone District. Since then, hes been eager to test it out in a suburban, family-friendly setting. We knew that we wanted to try it in a different space and it had gone really, really well in Omaha, Schaffart said. Its definitely been well-received so far by younger people and families. Schaffart said hes trying to balance the family-oriented approach with a neighborhood bar atmosphere to draw from a broad demographic. We can appeal to families and a younger crowd, but also still appeal to people who want to go to a bar, Schaffart said. Were kind of choosing to look at it as the best of both worlds. The gamble seems to be paying off so far. Aaron Offutt, a Lincoln man whose family learned about the new business through ads on social media, said he can already see himself returning. This is the type of place I could go sit at the bar cool place to just chill, Offutt said. Lily Fitzgerald, a Lincoln girl who lives nearby, said shed been waiting for something to do in the area ever since Dinos closed. So far, shes enjoyed the accessibility of the scaled-down game compared to regular, full-sized bowling. Its a lot easier to be good at it, so its more fun, she said. General manager Jacoby Vann, a former downtown Lincoln bartender, said the opportunity to fill the void left in the community by Dinos closure, coupled with the venues novel concept, has him excited for the locations potential. I know that Dinos served this community in a lot of ways, Vann said. I think the concept is really fun and it kind of carries itself; we have an intersection where people use this space as a bar, a place to have dinner, to have dates, or genuinely just a lot of people who love bowling. Schaffart, meanwhile, is already looking ahead, with another all-ages location set to open in Omahas Regency District later this year, and talks ongoing with potential franchisees in Elkhorn and Kearney. Were taking the mini-bowling world over, he joked. Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February Top Journal Star photos for February A 29-year-old Lincoln man, an aspiring law school student, went to prison Wednesday apologizing for his actions while still denying the sex assault charge a jury found him guilty of last month for picking up a drunken college student downtown at bar close and driving her to a dark corner of a campus parking lot where he raped her. "I'm making the choice to take full responsibility," Hope Npimnee said, asking for leniency. He said he also was making the choice to apologize to his 21-year-old accuser "for my actions and how I harmed her." At the same time, his deputy public defender, James Sieben, said it likely comes as no surprise to the prosecutor or the judge that Npimnee maintains his innocence. "It is our contention here today that that verdict was incorrect," Sieben said. Npimnee says when his accuser said no, he stopped. At trial, she testified that she said no more than once, but he didnt stop until police pulled up. During a routine patrol early July 9, 2021, a University Police officer found them in a University of Nebraska-Lincoln lot at 19th and Vine streets. The young woman was in the passenger seat with her shorts at her ankles. In a rambling statement Wednesday eventually cut off by the judge, Npimnee spoke about his faith, his "brilliant mind" and his schooling, which includes a master's degree and an ambition to one day go to law school. And he apologized for lacking discipline to make better decisions and said he accepted his accuser's rage and will spend the rest of his life atoning for it. "At large, society is a bit more unsafe because of my actions. There are going to be more women at the university campus scared of a rapist. And that was what I did," Npimnee said. Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Chris Reid said the victim's usual, optimistic outlook on life has been replaced by anxiety and fear. "What the victim went through was a serious ordeal. It's something that for most people, especially women, would be their worst nightmare: being sexually assaulted by a complete stranger in a dark secluded area," he said. Reid said this wasn't a case where Npimnee simply chose the wrong person to have sex with, as Npimnee tries to frame it. "We believe the evidence at trial shows that Mr. Npimnee was a predator," he said. Yet, Reid said Npimnee has done everything he can to place the blame on others. Since the verdict, he's blamed his attorneys for not winning the case, he's blamed the court, law enforcement, even the victim. In a pre-sentence interview, Npimnee told a probation officer he was only in this position "because he was a Black man who had sex with a white woman." "But we submit there's no one to blame for the situation he finds himself in but himself," the prosecutor said. In the end, Lancaster County District Judge Ryan Post said while Npimnee spoke about getting charged for taking an iPod from a high school classmate he omitted the rest of his lengthy criminal history, which crosses multiple states and includes assaultive and violent behavior. And, he said, the character letters written on Npimnee's behalf paint a completely different picture than the person he's observed in court. "Your success in school doesn't make up for your actions for what we're here for today," Post said. He said despite how Npimnee wants to frame it, "this is not a situation where you met a girl at a bar and there was some sort of miscommunication or something like that." Post said Npimnee went downtown around the time the bars closed, found an intoxicated girl all alone, drove her to a dark corner of a UNL parking lot "and you sexually assaulted her." And he sentenced Npimnee to 35 to 40 years in prison. Npimnee will have to serve 17 years before he's eligible for parole and will be subject to lifetime community supervision, a possible civil commitment and will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Sen. George Dungan of Lincoln ran into opposition from real estate agents and landowners Thursday when he presented arguments to the Legislature's Judiciary Committee for a bill to bar prohibitions against installation of solar panels by homeowners or tenants. Dungan said his proposal (LB49) offers "a small change for big gains" that would be good for the environment by encouraging the development of renewable and green energy supplied by the sun and wind. Under provisions of his bill, a lease "can't specifically prohibit solar panels," he said. The measure would provide "greater freedom of choice" in energy use, Dungan said. Environmental representatives supported the bill during a committee hearing. But Rick McDonald, speaking for the Metropolitan Omaha Property Owners Association, said a landlord "needs to keep control of his property," and Justin Brady, speaking for the Nebraska Realtors Association, said the bill attempts to "alter private agreements." The bill "gives the landlord no say" when the change could result in damage, McDonald said. The committee received 72 written communications related to the bill, including 49 expressing opposition. Kenneth Winston of Lincoln, speaking for Bold Alliance, said the bill could act to "reduce the carbon footprint" that threatens the environment while providing economic benefits. "There is an increasing need for the use of solar energy and wind energy devices as an alternative to domestic and imported fossil fuels," the bill states. "A homeowner or tenant shall have a civil cause of action against any landlord, any homeowners association or similar mutual benefit association or corporation or other person for a violation" of the law, it states. Meet the Nebraska state senators making laws in 2023 Admirers of Malcolm X called Wednesday for Nebraska to honor and recognize the slain human rights leader by declaring his birthday as a state holiday. Under LB53, proposed by Sen. Terrell McKinney of Omaha, the proposed El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, Malcolm X Day would be observed on May 19. At a hearing before the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, McKinney said the day would be a way to celebrate the legacy of an Omaha native, who was born in 1925 as Malcolm Little. Malcolm X may be the most famous Nebraskan internationally, McKinney said. The senator acknowledged that Malcolm X had been controversial but compared his impact to that of Dr. Martin Luther King, the famed civil rights leader who has a national holiday marking his birthday. Both King and Malcolm X were assassinated. The more we dont talk about history, the more we dont talk about men like Malcolm X, we miss an opportunity to change the world, McKinney said. Malcolm Xs family left Omaha less than two years after his birth because of threats from the Ku Klux Klan. Those events had lasting effects on his childhood and his life. He spent time in foster care as a teenager and wound up in prison as a young man, but transformed his life and became a major advocate for Black empowerment and an internationally known human rights activist. He was named to the Nebraska Hall of Fame last year, following a decadelong campaign. JoAnna LeFlore-Ejike, executive director of the Malcolm X Foundation in Omaha, said creating a holiday is the next logical step in honoring Malcolm X. She said the celebration could attract visitors from other states and other countries, as well as encourage young people to learn more about him. We would have potentially more motivated youth willing to grow from their experiences, transform and be more insightful about their contributions to this world, she said. YShall Davis of Omaha urged support of the bill, saying that Malcolm X changed her life when the streets of North Omaha led me astray. She said she learned how Malcolm X had made changes to improve himself after realizing there were errors in his thinking. That example helped her stay out of jail and focus on learning. Marilyn Hoegemeyer said she didnt learn about Malcolm X until she went to college in the 1960s. But she said his words still speak to her, even as a 78-year-old white woman from rural Nebraska. But Kathy Wilmot of Beaver City opposed the bill, questioning whether the state should promote Malcolm Xs views. She also argued against creating a new state holiday, suggesting that perhaps Malcolm X and King could be honored with a combined day, similar to the way Presidents Day is handled. I dont think we can continue to add new holidays, said Wilmot, a University of Nebraska regent who said she was speaking for herself. The committee took no immediate action on the bill. Photos: Malcolm X through the years As President Joe Biden walked the streets of Kyiv on Monday beside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, air raid sirens began to wail. A Russian fighter jet had reportedly taken off from Belarus, carrying the type of hypersonic missile that Ukraines defenders cannot shoot down. The two leaders did not flinch. Say what you want about Biden, he lacks neither courage nor resolve. His surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital might be the first time a sitting president has braved an active war zone with no inviolable U.S. military cordon around him since 1864, when Abraham Lincoln went to see the fighting at Fort Stevens, near the northern tip of the District of Columbia, and came under fire from Confederate sharpshooters. Get down, you damn fool! shouted a young Union officer named Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who later served as a justice on the Supreme Court. No one took a potshot or fired a missile at Biden. But to reach Kyiv he had to endure a 10-hour train ride from Poland followed, after his visit with Zelensky, by another 10-hour journey back to safety. The president spent a full day exposed to potential Russian fire. What many people fail to understand about Biden, the oldest president in our history, is the extent to which he is guided by a sense of mission. He came out of retirement and ran for the White House only because he believed he had the unique ability, and thus the obligation, to save the nation from another four years of Donald Trump. And he has faced Russias invasion of Ukraine with the same burden of duty imposed by history. Im a great respecter of fate, Biden said last year, having seen so much of it during his long and eventful life: He lost his first wife and daughter to a car accident, lost his first son to cancer, almost lost his second son to drug addiction. And in 1988, he suffered two brain aneurysms and was given no better than a 50% chance of survival. In his 2007 book, Promises to Keep, Biden wrote: Maybe I should have been frightened at this point, but I felt calm. In fact, I felt becalmed, like I was floating gently in the wide-open sea. It surprised me, but I had no real fear of dying. In Kyiv alongside Zelensky, Biden walked with the cautious gait of an 80-year-old man. Perhaps Russian President Vladimir Putin, in deciding to launch the invasion, thought Bidens age meant his response would be one of weakness or vacillation. If so, he neglected to take into account Bidens deep and abiding Roman Catholic faith, his belief in destiny, his commitment to the rules-based international order and the fact that Biden is rarely more animated than when he talks about drag racing in his Corvette at triple-digit speeds. He is a man with considerable tolerance for risk. Biden and Zelensky reminisced about the awful moment when the war began. Russian planes were in the air and tanks were rolling across your border. ... You said that you didnt know when wed be able to speak again, Biden said. That dark night one year ago, the world was literally at the time bracing for the fall of Kyiv. ... Perhaps even the end of Ukraine. You know, one year later, Kyiv stands. And Ukraine stands. Democracy stands. The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you. Other world leaders allied with Ukraine have visited Kyiv, as have other high-ranking U.S. officials, including former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. But Zelensky said Mondays was the most important visit in the whole history of the Ukraine-U.S. relationship and that was an understatement. It would be no surprise if Putin reacted to the Biden visit with a deadly barrage of missiles against civilian targets. No one can keep Putin from waging his war. But Biden can and will keep him from winning it. These are images of people charged with a crime in Racine County. Booking photos are provided by Racine County law enforcement officials. A defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty and convicted. WATERFORD Infighting within Explore Waterford has emerged as a possible explanation for why the business groups executive director is resigning after less than two years on the job. Tanya Maney, who has led the organization since October 2021, says board members held meetings and made changes behind her back, including hiring an outside marketing firm to assume some of her responsibilities. In a three-page resignation letter to the board, Maney cited a complete breakdown in communication within the group, which functions as both a chamber of commerce and tourism agency for Waterford. My job is being reassigned and reconfigured without the board seeing a need to inform me, she wrote. It has become very apparent that board members communicate and hold meetings without my knowledge, and that it is clear they purposely did not want me to participate. The turmoil within Explore Waterford has prompted Waterford village officials to express concern about the organizations future. As a result, the village is seeking a seat on the board, possibly as a condition for continued funding from village taxpayers. Explore Waterford uses public funding and membership dues to represent the business community and to organize such events as the Waterford Christmas Parade and the Celebrate Waterford summer festival. Members of the organizations board differ on Maneys account of the circumstances surrounding her resignation. Board President Jay Noble said Maney was included and fully informed as discussions took place about hiring an outside marketing firm. The idea, Noble said, was for the firm to handle promoting events so that Maney could focus on recruiting new member businesses. Noble said he personally briefed Maney on the matter and invited her to participate in the meetings. I ran through it with her. I said, Do you understand? She said yes, Noble recalled. We didnt do anything behind her back. Another board member, Eric Carlson, disagreed and said that Noble contacted board members privately to build a consensus on changes without Maneys knowledge or involvement. Carlson said he supports Maney and he understands why she felt alienated. Its unfortunate, he said. It didnt need to happen this way. The nine-member board is scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss Maneys resignation and also how to replace her. Maney verified the authenticity of her resignation letter, and she said she has agreed to stay on until Feb. 28 to help in the transition. Saying that she had no previous intention of stepping down, Maney said she had been looking forward to working in 2023 to build on the momentum she felt the organization had created in the previous year. This was unfortunately something I was not anticipating, she said of her departure. But it is what it is, and I wish nothing but the best for Explore Waterford moving forward. Her resignation letter is dated Jan. 7. Based inside a small office in the Village Hall, Explore Waterford was created in 2019 through a merger of the Waterford Area Chamber of Commerce and a downtown promotion group called Absolutely Waterford. Donna Fearing, a former board member who owns a marketing firm called Creative Marketing, said the board hired her in January to assist with promotion of Waterford events and activities. Fearing said she has since been working in partnership with Maney, and she sensed no tension or disagreement with the executive director. I was going to be part of her team, Fearing said. In her resignation letter, Maney described her own efforts at encouraging the Explore Waterford board to set a clear mission and goals rather than throwing things at the wall to see if they would stick. Board members, Maney wrote, seemed uninterested in her viewpoint, and left her feeling excluded. I can come to no other conclusion, Maney wrote, than this board has no confidence I am the person they need to reach their goals. In photos and videos: Waterfords hot air balloon festival 2022 Watch now: Waterford Balloonfest Watch now: Waterford Balloonfest Watch now: Waterford Balloonfest Watch now: Waterford Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest Waterfords Balloonfest RACINE Charles Chuck De Lotell has been talking about opening his own establishment for 30 years, but he always was indecisive about the direction it would take. However, after witnessing a tragedy, he knew exactly what kind of place he wanted to open. De Lotell recently opened a bar, The Blue, at 835 Washington Ave., a block and a half from the Racine Police Department, 730 Center St. De Lotells decision to locate so close to the RPD was intentional. His plan is to honor the police officers, firefighters and municipal employees in Racine with a place where they are welcome to relax after a long shift, whether they are coming at 6 p.m. for a beer and pizza or at 6 a.m. for a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich after third shift. The Blue is furnished with futons, a big TV and a fireplace. De Lotell said the furniture offers a more homey atmosphere. While The Blue is best described as a cop bar, De Lotell said everyone is welcome. His intention is to have a friendly, safe place where members of the community and local law enforcement can mix and mingle over a few drinks or a game of pool. De Lotell also offers a promotion for city employees to have buy one, get one on their first round if they come in with their city ID. Its a little special here for the people that work Downtown, De Lotell said. Let them know were here and let them know were here for them. The Blue is a collaborative effort between De Lotell and his ex-wife turned business partner, Sabrina De Lotell, and one of his brothers, Loren De Lotell. Charles runs the front of the bar while Loren handles the finances. Sabrina covers public relations and helps by switching off shifts in the front of the bar with Charles. While Charles has worked as an electrician for most of his life, the idea for a cop bar came after he was at Teezers Bar & Grill, 1936 Lathrop Ave., on June 17, 2019, the night off-duty Racine Police Officer John Hetland was killed by an assailant trying to rob the bar. I felt so helpless, Charles said. It shook me up in a way. I had never been that close to something like that happening before. I just knew something bad was going to happen, and I was correct. Charles said the shooter had shown his gun to him, but he did not intervene because he didnt want to risk the safety of his friends then-fiance. So all he could do was watch what transpired. To Charles, The Blue is a tribute to fallen officers like Hetland and Peter Jerving, the Milwaukee Police officer who recently was killed in the line of duty. I wanted to give something back to the guys in blue down here that are out there everyday putting themselves on the line, Charles said. He has always respected and admired the work that police officers do, and one of his brothers is an officer. People dont realize it, they dont take in the whole picture or maybe they just dont appreciate it, but I saw those guys in action, Charles said. I wanted to make something thats kind of a tribute and to give back. The Blue is his way to give back and provide a safe place for the community. Over the last year, a number of gun-related incidents occurred in bars around Racine. Those include the murder of Terrence Blair, then owner of Mr. Kool Bar, 1330 Washington Ave., last May and the double homicide at Reruns Lounge that resulted in the death of its owner, Avery Rerun Stewart. Charles aims to make the bar safe by installing outside security cameras and lights to illuminate the parking lot at night. He said those are two of the things that were needed to make the location safer. Im going to clean it up, light up the parking lot, put cameras around and make it safe so you can watch your car if you want to and make sure nobody is messing with it, Charles said, referencing what he told the Public Safety and Licensing Committee when he requested his operating license: I can keep an eye on these things and do something about it. Although he can stay open up until 2 a.m. on weekdays and until 2:30 a.m. on weekends, Charles says he will never stay open that late due to the safety concerns. Being 65 years old, Charles also sees The Blue as his retirement of sorts. But he says hes not the kind of person to live a life of leisure. I cant imagine getting up every morning all my life and then suddenly not getting up in the morning and having a purpose, having something to do, Charles said. I thought this would be a nice little endeavor, and well see, maybe Ill sell it down the line. But right now Im gonna pursue this and make the city proud. 19 photos from Shop with a Cop 2022 BELTON Hundreds of Fort Hood soldiers and their family members attended the 10th annual military appreciation night at the 35th annual Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association rodeo at the the Bell County Expo Center here Feb. 10. Tonight is the special night at the rodeo. It is military appreciation night, said TC Long, the PRCA rodeo announcer. I truly believe that every night is a military appreciation day, because if you work for men and women who put on a uniform for you ... we could live in a country that we should be so proud of. After thanking military members and their families, Long introduced the rodeo as featuring the best performers, men and women, with the best livestock in the world. Following Longs introductions on horseback, the rodeo began with the national anthem performed by the 1st Cavalry Division Band, with members of the divisions Horse Cavalry Detachment showcasing the nations colors. Long conveyed his gratitude to the audience, stating, We value your presence and are deeply grateful for your contributions, whether it be through military service, civilian support or as a member of our military families. Dozens of cowboys and cowgirls competed in nine events, including bareback riding, bull riding, steer wrestling and the always fan favorite, Mutton Bustin, which showcases young cowboys and cowgirls striving to stay mounted on sheep for the longest time. Youve got cowboys and cowgirls from all over the world, Long said. Theyre just coming back from Fort Worth. Theyre headed to San Antonio. In fact, tonight, were going to get to see some gold buckles. The crowds cheered as the horses bucked the riders, the rodeo clown cracked jokes and the little Mutton Busters held on for their lives. The rodeo clown provided moments of levity, injecting the proceedings with his humorous quips and antics that kept the spectators entertained in between events. The military appreciation night provided an opportunity for the city of Belton and the Central Texas community to express their sincere gratitude towards the military, and for the military members to show their appreciation for the rodeo. I am glad to be able to enjoy the rodeo with my friends, Spc. Michael Haslar, 2-227 General Support Aviation Battalion, 1st Air Cav Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, said, expressing his gratitude for those who put on the event. New NATO talks with Turkiye to resume in mid-March: Swedish PM Xinhua) 08:57, February 23, 2023 STOCKHOLM, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Talks between Sweden, Finland and Turkiye would resume in mid-March, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told local media Wednesday night. "We have just confirmed this today," Kristersson told Swedish public television broadcaster SVT, without specifying the date for such talks. Turkiye has postponed a trilateral meeting with Sweden and Finland on their North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bids slated for February following the burning of a copy of the Quran in Stockholm. Despite the U.S. attempts to push for both countries' rapid accession into NATO, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday reaffirmed Ankara's demand for more efforts from Sweden over its security concerns. Ankara's stance on Finland's accession could be different and its membership could be ratified earlier, he said. Finland and Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022 in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Their accession needs the approval of all member states of the military alliance. Turkiye and Hungary, both members of NATO, have yet to give their approvals. Turkiye requests that the two Nordic countries to "speedily and thoroughly" extradite individuals it considers to be terrorist suspects. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) 1. Yes. Having a community member interview panel is an excellent opportunity for input. 2. Yes. Its good that the city will allow residents to meet the finalist at a reception. 3. No. The city should have conducted a public survey early in the process, as KISD is doing. 4. No. Residents should be able to meet candidates before a lone finalist is chosen. 5. Unsure. Its hard to know how to gauge the proper level of public involvement. Vote View Results HOLDREGE After three days of arguing before the Nebraska Power Review Board, stakeholders on either side of the proposed merger of two central Nebraska power districts are now laying out their cases in the court of public opinion. At stake, according to one side of the argument, could be control of the mound of groundwater thats formed since water stored in Lake McConaughy has irrigated fields in Phelps, Kearney and Gosper counties. For more than 80 years, Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District has managed the district to make sure that the water would be there for Nebraska farmers, said Bertrand irrigator Gary Robison. We want to keep it that way. This protest is about making sure the water will be here for another 80 years, then another 80 years after that. Robison leads the Citizens Opposed to The Merger, a group of 75 mostly farmers and irrigators formed to block the proposed consolidation of Holdrege-based Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District and Lexington-based Dawson Public Power District. In October, the governing boards of those two districts voted to merge, but Robisons opposition group formed soon after the vote. COTM complained the merger vote was staged at the height of harvest when farmers were too busy to attend the merger meeting. One opponent said scheduling the merger vote during harvest was like stealing a courthouse in the dark of night. During the three days last week before the Power Review Board in Lincoln, COTM witnesses stressed that irrigators who depend upon Centrals water mound would be underrepresented. If the merger is approved, there will be 21 members on the combined Central and Dawson boards. Through attrition, the board will shrink to 14 members, six of whom will represent Phelps, Kearney and Gosper counties. Devin Brundage, Centrals general manager, said Wednesday the consolidated districts which will form the Platte River Power and Irrigation District actually will have 10 board members from counties with irrigation interests. Going forward Platte River Public Power and Irrigation District will have just as much interest in managing that water effectively as it has in the past, Brundage said. The merger only improves our ability to continue to bring water to south-central Nebraska. COTM brought two expert witnesses, Robison said. Don Wendell, a Colorado CPA formerly from Axtell, testified that CNPPID has a solid financial footing and does not need the merger. COTMs second expert witness, Jim Yahn of Sterling, Colorado, is a professional engineer who has managed irrigation districts for more than 30 years. Yahn currently manages the North Sterling Irrigation District on the South Platte River that flows into CNPPIDs system. According to Robison, Yahn testified that he could not imagine why CNPPID would give up control of water assets. Yahn noted that Lake McConaughy would become joint property of the combined district without fair compensation or guarantees that CNPPIDs resources will be managed for the benefit of surface water irrigators and Nebraska agriculture. Yahn said replacing McConaughy would cost tens of billions of dollars. Brundage said merging into the Platte River Public Power and Irrigation District will enhance the ability to protect, conserve and manage water resources in south-central Nebraska. We had an opportunity during the Power Review Board hearings to tell the story what Platte River (Public Power and Irrigation District) is all about. Its to make sure there is lots of irrigation water for all of our folks and maximize the value to all the users, Brundage said. Gwen Kautz, general manager of Dawson Public Power District, said it seems unusual that COTMs membership is mostly Nebraska irrigators, but the groups expert witnesses are from Colorado. One of the Coloradans, Yahn, had just 125 accounts and 145 landowners. North Sterling Irrigation District has just 65 miles of canal, Kautz said. She said COTM represents a minority of CNPPIDs irrigation customers. Central has 1,100 accounts, but only 120 are in the COTM. Attorneys for both sides of the merger will sum up their arguments and present the briefs to the Power Review Board. That governor-appointed panel has 60 days to render its decision on the proposed merger. We feel good about our presentation and our expert witnesses who testified, Robison said. Brundage said it was time well spent arguing before the Power Review Board. It was a good three days. Im really excited to get the decision and continue the merger process. LINCOLN Kearneys Braeden Tyma will host Classic Car Love Stories, a documentary that premieres at 7 p.m. Sunday on Nebraska Public Media and Facebook Live. Tyma grew up around classic cars and does an excellent job sharing the passions of car enthusiasts from across Nebraska, according to Nebraska Public Medias announcement about the program. About Nebraska Public Media Nebraska Public Media has been dedicated to connecting Nebraskans through news, sports, education and entertainment for nearly 70 years. Providing global news and compelling stories from PBS and NPR, Nebraska Public Media also produces award-winning original content. Its programs and services reach 1 million people each month across the state on television, radio, online and mobile platforms. Visit NebraskaPublicMedia.org for more information. Classic Car Love Stories, Nebraska Public Medias newest local documentary, shares the passions of car enthusiasts who cant resist weekends spent tinkering with the nostalgia of a four-wheeled friend. Classic Car Love Stories takes viewers to meet car owners in tiny towns and big cities. Whatever the attraction, Classic Car Love Stories introduces viewers to drivers who passionately love these classics and keep history alive on Nebraskas country roads and interstate highways. Program host Tyma of Kearney grew up in Grand Island around classic cars. He opens the program with a visit to Matty Mattson and his 1947 Oldsmobile in Omaha. Mattson considers cars as an extension of himself as well as a connection to family and his beloved Chicano community. Next, Classic Car Love Stories takes viewers to meet Jeff and Jim Karls, two brothers who own several classic cars and remember a hot rod family history. Then the film introduces Kelsey Bugjo, an Omahan with an affinity for the stylings and iconic fins of a 1957 Chevy. In Wakefield, a father and son share businesses and a 1965 Corvette that has been their passion for more than 40 years. Every summer since 2001, the duo races along a twisty, hilly stretch of Sandhills blacktop near Arnold in the Sandhills Open Road Challenge. Its just fun. Its adrenaline, said car owner Lyle Ekberg. The race was a dream of car buff Joe Shown, who, like the Ekbergs, is one of the races original competitors. In Lincoln, Tyma introduces classic car buff Tim Haith, who has invested decades in an impressive collection of modified and restored cars, including one he has owned since he was a teenager and a 1933 Ford that he found at a swap meet. As Classic Car Love Stories continues near Lincoln in Hallam, Jess Gasper and Jenn Ankerson share the story of how their parents brought the two infant girls home from the hospital in a classic. Today, the identical twins share a life-long passion for cars. Next, Tyma explores a car culture with roots in 1940s Los Angeles. Omahan Richard Medina grew up around lowriders in Colorado and established the Lowriders of Nebraska Club as a way to share cars, music and love across the state. The film also follows the story of Larry and Nathan Elias of Lincoln, a father and son who paid homage to Nathans grandfather by tracking down a beloved car sold more than 25 years ago. Classic Car Love Stories ends in Mitchell with Beth Janecek, a classic car lover with a passion for convertibles and a love of Studebakers, including a 1963 Studebaker Avanti. She lovingly detailed the vehicle each time the couple and their two young sons headed out to a weekend car show. There's more to know Learn more about classic cars in Nebraska and the documentary Classic Car Love Stories online at NebraskaPublicMedia.org/cars. Classic Car Love Stories repeats at 8:30 p.m. March 2 and 8:30 p.m. March 7 on Nebraska Public Media. It will also be broadcast at 6 p.m. March 10 on World, and at 7 p.m. March 4 and 8:30 p.m. March 11 on Create. OMAHA U.S. Attorney Steven Russell announced Wednesday that Catherine Gibson, 45, of North Platte, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha for her role in a methamphetamine conspiracy. U.S. District Judge Brian Buescher sentenced Gibson to 46 months in prison. There is no parole in the federal system. After her release, she will begin a three-year term of supervised release. According to the courts press release, in February and March 2021, Gibson was part of a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in western Nebraska. As part of the conspiracy, on both Feb. 22 and 23, 2021, Gibson sold approximately 28 grams of meth to an informant. On March 3, 2021, law enforcement searched Gibsons rental car and located approximately 110 grams of meth (actual) and 10 fentanyl pills. On the same day, officers searched Gibsons residence in Alliance and located an additional approximately 92 grams of meth. Gibson told officers that she picked up meth and was bringing it to Alliance to sell. This case was investigated by the Nebraska State Patrol, the Box Butte County Sheriffs Office and the FBI. GRAND ISLAND In cooperation with more than 20 other organizations, the Private Equity Stakeholder Project and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility sent an investor letter to private equity firm Blackstone last Friday about Blackstone-owned Packers Sanitation Services Inc.s use of oppressive child labor. PSSI recently paid $1.5 million in civil money penalties after the U.S. Department of Labors Wage and Hour Division found the company employed at least 102 children some as young as 13 years old in hazardous occupations, and had them working overnight shifts at 13 slaughterhouses in eight states. The largest penalty assessed was $408,726 for 27 affected minors at JBS in Grand Island. The letter was signed by representatives of pension funds, a foundation, a health system and several religiously affiliated investors. Together, they demanded that Blackstone change its labor practices. The children cleaning the beef plants were working with hazardous chemicals and cleaning meat processing equipment including back saws, brisket saws and head splitters. Investigators learned at least three minors suffered injuries while working for PSSI. These findings represent a systemic failure across PSSIs entire organization to ensure that children were not working in violation of the law, Jessica Looman, principal deputy administrator of DOLs Wage and Hour Division, said at a Feb. 17 news conference. In addition to owning PSSI, multiple Blackstone executives serve on the companys board. Since Blackstone acquired PSSI in 2018, it has collected more than $430 million in dividends from PSSI, while the company has taken on more than $530 million in debt financing. PESP has recently renewed its call on private equity firms such as Blackstone to collaborate with stakeholders and institute a set of standards to improve working conditions at the portfolio companies it owns, says a news release from the Private Equity Stakeholder Project, which is based in Chicago. The letter from investors requests a meeting with Blackstone to understand how the firm is managing risks to investors and PSSI workers and what steps Blackstone is taking to ensure that its portfolio companies comply with labor laws. PESP has been investigating PSSIs troubling labor issues for more than a year, the news release says. It detailed in its report Profit Over Safety: Private Equitys Leveraged Bet on Packers Sanitation how PSSI, which specializes in cleaning food processing plants, has stood out as a dangerous workplace even as Blackstone and Packers previous private equity owners have collected hundreds of millions of dollars in dividends from the company. Since May 2018, when Blackstone acquired PSSI, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had conducted investigations of at least four amputations and three fatalities of PSSI employees, including a decapitation. As PESPs Jim Baker told Minnesota Public Radio, Private equity firms are known for sharply cutting costs at the companies that they acquire to maximize the return on their investments. Were concerned that some of that cost cutting could be directly impacting worker safety. The letter was signed by Adasina Social Capital; the portfolio advisory board of the Adrian Dominican Sisters; Augustine Asset Management; Casey Nunn, trustee director of Vision Super; Cathy Rowan, corporate responsibility coordinator of the Maryknoll Sisters; CommonSpirit Health; the Congregation of St. Joseph; the corporate responsibility office of the Province of Saint Joseph of the Capuchin Order; the Daughters of Charity, Province of St. Louise; the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids, Michigan; the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility; Majority Action; the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation; Mercy Investment Services Inc.; the Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment; the Private Equity Stakeholder Project; Region VI Coalition for Responsible Investment; the Seventh Generation Interfaith Coalition for Responsible Investment; the Sisters of Mary Reparatrix; Sisters of St. Dominic of Blauvelt, New York, the Sisters of the Humility of Mary; the Sisters of the Precious Blood; and the SOC Investment Group. KEARNEY Matthew and Shannon Decker know that individuals get body piercings for different reasons. If someone has gone through a rough time in their life and they overcome it, they often want to commemorate it somehow, said Matthew. They might get a nose piercing. After that, every time they see it, they can say, I got over that. I accomplished that. That rough part of my life is over. For some individuals, expressing themselves through body art involves a willingness to surprise others. Some people just like the shock factor, he noted. They like other people to look at them because they think theyre weird. And, maybe, body art gives them something else to look at. Regardless of the reasons, Matthew and Shannon Decker provide a safe, friendly, creative and fun atmosphere for body piercing at Studio 51/50 at 3504 Second Ave. Shannon understands that body piercings can involve another, simpler reason. Its also just a way of self-expression for people, she said. They can express how they are feeling. You can change the colors of your jewelry, and you can express yourself through sparkles. Matthew said that the idea of getting a piercing is not for everyone. My dad told me he wouldnt get a piercing, even if someone held a gun to his head, Matthew laughed. Hes not into it, hes not against it, its just not for him. For some people it just never appealed to them, and they never thought it would be for them. But then sometimes they see a post on Facebook, and then, Well, maybe it could be for me. Not like a big, bulky hoop in their nose, but a cute tiny diamond. Matthew considers his vocation as part art and part craft. I had always been obsessed with piercing as a kiddo, he said. And then I got my first one and it was like, That was awesome. I want to get more. I got my first one when I was 12. It was just a simple ear lope piercing. I was never nervous about it. After I got it done, I was just glowing. I dont even remember the pain. Matthew has been doing piercings for more than a decade. He said the best way to learn is to work under a qualified piercer who has a lot of experience. Thats not the way I went about it because there was nobody in Kearney I looked up to at the time who was doing it to an admirable level, he said. I started out in the back room of a nail salon. I learned through trial and error and lots of practice. The Dept. of Health and Human Services regulates piercing in the state. Shannon stresses that they work hard to accommodate their customers. We really want to help and service our customers, she said. Whatever that might look like from making young children comfortable to working with older adults and calming peoples fears. We try to be a safe place for people to express themselves. Shannon said shes glad to see a welcoming attitude toward people with piercing and body art. Its more accepted these days, she said. Its a blessing that people accept you as you are more now than in the past. Thats a cool thing to see. When Matthew and Shannon moved from their previous location near the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus to their new location on Second Avenue in July, Shannon worked on remodeling the new facility. We couldnt move into the new studio without making some renovations and, as small business owners, we couldnt close our business, Shannon said. So he worked at the shop, and I worked at the new studio. When he had time, he would help me in the evenings. It was go, go, go for months. Matthew also enjoys designing and creating unique jewelry. I always wanted to make jewelry, he said. I was in church one day, and I got a word from God that I had something on the back burner, and I needed to start doing it. I assumed thats what it was. Its been pretty great. Matthew started making basic hoops with gold wire. He moved on with more complex pieces as his skills improved. He has an entire room at the studio for jewelry making. We built out the studio with a creation room thats away from the other rooms, he said. As for the name of the business, Matthew explained that it comes from The California Welfare and Institutions Code. The code establishes programs and public social services for promoting the public welfare. Its a police code for crazy person, Matthew said. Everybody is a little weird and thats okay. Weve just got to embrace it. Nobody is normal. His predecessor spent eight years pushing property tax relief. Now, Gov. Jim Pillen wants to clearly tie said property tax relief to school finance. Its up to the Legislature to figure out how to make that work. Lawmakers are used to people complaining about their property taxes. Now, throw in some school districts that say a proposed distribution of state aid isn't fair and equitable. What do you have? A real mess or a problem begging for a solution? Pillen is behind three priority measures carried by three senators to implement the plan. He said the bills would increase the states investment in education and reduce school reliance on property taxes, calling them the culmination of great teamwork from groups representing statewide stakeholders One bill introduced by Sen. Rita Sanders of Bellevue calls on the state to allocate $1,500 annually for every K-12 public school student through the Tax Equity and Educational Opportunities Support Act (TEEOSA). The increase amounts to nearly $113 million in state aid. In addition, the bill proposes a statutory provision that 80% of special education funding be covered through a combination of federal and state funding. Sen. Rob Clements of Elmwood proposed legislation to create the Education Future Fund, which allocates $1 billion of state general funds during the 2023-2024 biennium and $250 million each year afterward for the purposes of funding that $1,500 per student as well as: special education; grants to retain licensed teachers; fund further career and technical training; and mentoring for K-12 students. Albion Sen. Tom Briese has a bill that would create a 3% cap on property tax revenue that a school district receives. It is a soft cap that can be overridden by 75% of voting school board members or the approval of 60% of the districts registered voters, should there be a need. With the cap, district property tax request authority would be determined by subtracting non-property tax revenue from the total revenue limitation. The cap would not apply to property tax revenues required to pay bonded indebtedness. Non-property tax revenue would not include special education funding. A school district may exceed its property tax authority with a 75% majority vote of the school board. Additionally, a district may exceed their property tax request authority by any amount with a 60% vote of the people. Briese admits that the rest of the package wont likely pass without agreement on the cap. Aye, theres the rub. Lids and caps have been fighting words in government and education for decades. An initial reading of this measure doesnt appear to be all that different. OpenSky Institute Executive Director Dr. Rebecca Firestone said that while the think tank appreciates the governors interest in increasing state aid to public education and investing more in our states children, there needs to be some caution. We have long noted that the best way to address property taxes in Nebraska is to increase the share of state support for public K-12 education, she said after the package was introduced. While some aspects of the package such as proposed increases in state public education funding could help address key state needs, their combined fiscal impact could lead policymakers to dip into the states cash reserve, she said later after a brief analysis of the bills. This is concerning because the states cash reserve is meant to be used for rainy days typically one-time expenditures that serve key state needs in times of economic downturn, she said. Some education leaders have also noted inequities in funding among same-size districts. To say nothing of the lids which have gained a questionable history in Nebraska as local governments and school districts have found ways around them. So here we go again. Lets hope it can be different this time around. But I still think it will take a miracle to put all the pieces together just to pass legislative muster, let alone work in the real world. This photo taken Feb. 20, shows a port in the southeastern port city of Busan. Yonhap Korea's trade watchdog said Thursday it has decided to recommend the government extend anti-dumping tariffs on PET film imported from China and Indonesia, citing substantial damage to the local industry. The Korea Trade Commission plans to advise the finance ministry to maintain duties of 2.2 percent to 36.98 percent on PET film coming from the countries for the next five years. PET film is used in the manufacturing of snack packages and materials for liquid crystal displays. The local market for PET film was estimated at 900 billion won ($695 million) as of 2021. China takes up around 10 percent of the market. The commission added it has decided to launch an anti-dumping investigation into polyester filament partially oriented yarn imported from China and Malaysia following the request from the Korea Chemical Fibers Association. (Yonhap) Korea takes first step to protect sexual minorities' rights Korea is a backward country at least in terms of human rights. Almost all "-isms" are rampant in this country, such as racism, sexism, and ageism, showing how severely it discriminates against socially weak and alienated people. The most glaring of them all is the blatant hatred of sexual minorities. Thankfully, the nation has just taken a small but significant step toward rectifying this shameful practice. On Tuesday, an appellate court ruled in favor of a same-sex couple demanding the same spousal coverage from the state health insurance program as heterosexual couples. It was the first time a Korean court recognized the legal rights of same-sex couples. "Everyone may be a minority person in a sense Belonging to a minority group means being different from the majority, but not anything incorrect or wrong in itself," the Seoul High Court was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency. We can hardly agree more. However, the court also made it clear that the decision did not mean recognizing the "same-sex union" as common-law marriage as defined by the legal system. That shows how long the country has to go before protecting the rights of sexual minorities. A bill that aims to ban discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people has been gathering dust at the National Assembly for years. After all, Korea is a country that prohibited sex between gay people within the military until recently. Only last year, the Supreme Court acquitted two officers who had been convicted in lower courts for "having sex voluntarily in private space." It took them five years to get the not-guilty verdict. At a U.N. Human Rights Council meeting last month, the U.S., Canada, and Mexico recommended Korea abolish Provision 6 of Article 92 of the Military Criminal Code that punishes sexual intercourse between soldiers. The situation is even worse at schools. A group of Christian parents is pushing to strike down ordinances that protect the rights of sexual minority students in the classroom. The Ministry of Education is positively responding to the move, removing the words "sexual minorities" and "reproductive rights" from school textbooks and teaching materials published from next year. The conservatives' attempt will likely succeed in Seoul ahead of other cities and provinces, as the ruling People Power Party takes a comfortable majority in the City Council. All this shows why Korea is a human rights laggard even by Asian standards. Taiwan is the Asian frontrunner, legally recognizing same-sex marriages in 2019. Thailand will likely follow soon. Japan is the only Group of Seven country that has yet to legalize same-sex marriage. However, a recent poll shows 70 percent of Japanese people favor moving in that direction. Japan's right-wing political leaders are reportedly against legalizing same-sex marriage, unable to keep up with voters' sentiments. In Korea, where 23 percent of people profess themselves as Christians, the approval rate of same-sex marriage is lower than 50 percent among the public and below 20 percent among Christians. Is all this because Koreans are so "religious"? Why are they more Christian than Americans or Britons and more Confucian than Chinese when it comes to these religions' less desirable aspects? According to a survey in the U.S., there are about 1,000 rights won by same-sex couples if their marriages are approved. In reverse, the figure shows how severely they are now discriminated against. In Korea, they are excluded from any benefits provided for couples or families, such as health insurance, property inheritance, pension, and surgery consent. What would happen if Korea legalized same-sex marriage? Asked the same question in Japan recently, Jessica Stern, the U.S. special envoy on the human rights of LGBTQ people, said, "Don't worry. We have data. In other G7 countries, its only effects were more love, respect, and economic prosperity." Most LGBTQ people are born, not made. It is inhumane and uncivilized to discriminate against people for reasons they cannot control. A man walks past collapsed buildings in Antakya, southern Turkey on Feb. 22. AFP-Yonhap Trucks, emergency vehicles and excavators lined the desolate streets of Turkey's Antakya Tuesday night, after the third major earthquake in two weeks accelerated an exodus from the once-lively city. In the pitch-black streets, passing headlights revealed mounds of rubble, frames of broken windows, and entangled rebar. Red and blue flashing lights from military and police vehicles reflected off the jagged facades of slanted buildings. The sound of excavators clawing out debris echoed through the streets as police, soldiers and disaster responders looked on, clustered around small fires dotting the cracked sidewalks. Occasionally, the digging would stop for emergency workers to inspect for possible bodies. "Everyone is gone," said Mehmet Ay, a 50-year-old survivor of the quakes who has been living in Antakya his entire life, and is one of the few residents who have remained. "They have either died or have fled." From a distance, the sharp cityscape of what used to be tall buildings now appeared crenulated. Chunks of the riverbanks were collapsed into the water, while soldiers blocked off damaged bridges. Billboards were smashed into the ground and the scattered signage among the rubble stood as reminders of the shops that used to fill the busy streets. "Our streets used to be paradise," said Ay. "In a single night, everything was destroyed." Ay was sheltering with his wife Fatmeh and their daughter in one of the camps set up to provide temporary shelter to those who lost their homes. A generator roared over the chatter of people gathered around wood stoves outside their tents. "We can't leave the camp," he said. "It's difficult to walk around because it's dangerous anywhere you go. The buildings are dangerous. Before you know it, a structure can collapse on you." Earlier, as the sun set over a square next to the city hall, soldiers, volunteers and survivors lined up at food trucks and service stations for dinner and tea. At a roundabout, a statue of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on a rearing horse was still standing. Just below it, a marble plaque with his famous quote on Hatay province becoming part of Turkey lay shattered on the ground. Ogun Sever Okur, 38-year-old Turkish man poses among ballons hanging on the debris of a collapsed building in Antakya, southern Turkey on Feb. 21, following the 6.4-magnitude earthquake which struck on Feb. 20, two weeks after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit near Gaziantep and has killed more than 44,000 people. AFP-Yonhap At the inaugural meeting of the Economic and Community Development Commission, the city of La Crosse presented two action plans: one to address affordable and low-income housing, and the other to address the population of homeless individuals. Both plans would utilize federal funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and therefore are required to hold public hearings and seek community input. The city is asking residents to provide feedback and comments to the plans through its website by March 6. Both resolutions will go before the Finance and Personnel Committee on March 2 before being considered for full approval from the Common Council on March 9. Plan for affordable housing Each year, the city is awarded funds through the Department of Housing and Urban Developments Community Development Block Grants and HOME Investment Partnership allocations to address housing needs in the community. This year, the city anticipates receiving about $1.2 million from HUD $859,500 in CDBG funds and $339,600 from HOME. These numbers are based on last years allocations, and the city is expected to know the exact dollar amounts next Monday. The city plans to use the funds for six projects, each anticipated to serve a different number of housing units or households: Housing rehabilitation 10 units. Replacement housing projects 3 units. Multi-family housing 185 units. Business assistance 62 businesses. Homeless assistance 75 households. Poverty alleviation 700 households. Tackling homelessness The city will also receive about $1.1 million from HUD from the HOME-American Rescue Plan funding to be used to help individuals who are experiencing homelessness, at risk of homelessness or fleeing domestic violence. In June 2022, a Point In Time count identified 243 people who were homeless in the city. HUD has dictated how the city can utilize the money: acquisition and development of non-congregate housing or shelter, provisions of supportive housing, development in support of affordable housing or tenant-based rental assistance. The city plans to use 60%, or $658,459, of the funding towards the development of affordable housing that is targeted toward people who are currently homeless. An additional 30% of the funds will be used for supportive services. The remaining 10% is to be used for the administration of the funds and programing. During public comment, Jeff, an individual living at Houska Park, spoke about his experience trying to find housing in La Crosse. Jeff has gone to a variety of local organizations that assist in finding housing, but he has been unsuccessful in finding a landlord who would rent to someone who was homeless. We dont know where we are going to go on March 15, Jeff said to the committee. Everyone living in Houska Park has been ordered by the city to vacate the park by March 15. I live in a tent, Ive got a woodstove, Jeff continued. Its comfortable, its our home. Kevin Hundt, chair of Coulee Tenants United, spoke during public comment to warn the city about an impending eviction crisis due to the end of Wisconsin Emergency Rental Assistance funds. His group has been tracking evictions in the city over the past year and has found that about 30 to 40 individuals face eviction each month. Hundt suggested that part of the plan to address homelessness include emergency rental assistance to help those on the brink of eviction avoid homelessness. A local landlord also spoke up to echo Hundts sentiments. The landlord noted that he receives WERA checks from about 10 different tenants and is nervous about those tenants ability to pay rent in the future. Gaps in housing During the presentation on the plan to address homelessness, Diane McGinnis, community development administrator with the city, also provided context for the current housing, rental and shelter situations in La Crosse. Currently, the city has 25 emergency shelter beds, no transitional housing and only 43 units of permanent supportive housing. Based on data from June 2022, there are 135 unsheltered adults for whom the community lacks bed space. When you compare what we have available for space ... to our population that needs to be served, we have a huge gap, McGinnis said. Additionally, McGinnis provided data about household income as it relates to cost of housing. I think its really important to tell the story of whats happening in our city as it relates to wheres the distribution of income, McGinnis said. Of the 21,185 housing units in the city, over half (12,250) are occupied by households making equal to or less than 80% of the county median income, or about $25,000. The La Crosse County median income is currently set at $31,325 as of 2020. There are also 3,805 households, both renters and owners, with severe housing problems, such as lacking a complete kitchen or plumbing. Most of the people with severe housing problems are renters, and over 3,000 of those households are making less than 30% of the county median income, or about less than $10,000. Last, over 30% of households are cost burdened when it comes to paying rent or mortgage, which means those individuals are spending more than 30% of their income on housing. What is more startling and alarming, according to McGinnis, is that over 16% of households are spending more than 50% of their income on housing. So if you figure that at least 25% of your salary goes out the door before you even see it for taxes, and then youre paying 50% of your income on your rent or your mortgage, McGinnis said. We have 16% of the population in this community that are living on less than 25% of their income, to buy food, shoes on their feet, any transportation needs very little income to be able to really support that. The city completed extensive consultation related to housing conditions and how to best utilize the federal funds. Consultants advised that the city needs more intensive supportive services, permanent and affordable housing, transportation, childcare, outpatient therapy and services for aging seniors. Additionally, the city needs to do more to address root causes of homelessness; this could be in the form of alcohol and drug treatment, housing for people with barriers (i.e. past convictions or evictions) and teenagers, and low-barrier entry shelter options. The citys plans to address affordable housing and homelessness with federal HUD dollars are geared to mitigate some of these identified issues. IN PHOTOS: Winter storm hits region The Onalaska Police Department will host its annual Cops Gone Wild fundraiser for Wisconsin Special Olympics. The event is noon to 8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, at Buffalo Wild Wings. Officers from the police department will greet customers and assist wait staff, and the restaurant will donate a portion of dine-in and carry-out food sales to the Special Olympics. Police department investigator Pete Jakowski said past events have raised thousands of dollars to help defray the cost of athlete participation. Cops Gone Wild is an enjoyable and exciting fundraiser, Jakowski said. I cant say enough about the generosity of Buffalo Wild Wings. Each year the staff has assured this events success. The fundraiser includes a wing-eating contest that begins at 5 p.m. A 31-year-old La Crosse man is being held in the La Crosse County Jail on a $10,000 cash bond after he allegedly sexually assaulted a teenage girl multiple times. Jahlon L. Wilder was charged Monday in La Crosse County Circuit Court with felony counts of repeated sexual assault of a child and child enticement. According to the criminal complaint, the girl said the assaults began Sept. 11, 2020, and ended some time in 2023. During a Feb. 7 interview, the girl told investigators that Wilder often took her to a motel. She said at least one of the assaults occurred after she smoked marijuana supplied by Wilder. The girl said the assaults ended during a brief period while Wilder was in Florida but resumed after he returned. Wilder was arrested without incident after a Feb. 18 traffic stop in La Crosse. He declined to speak with police after being taken into custody. Three cell phones were seized as evidence. Wilders bond condition includes a no-contact order with the girl. His next court date is a Feb. 27 calendar call. An 84-year-old La Crosse man is free on a $1,000 cash bond after he was charged Tuesday in La Crosse County Circuit Court with a single felony count of possession of child pornography. According to the criminal complaint, Jerry A. Ortmeier downloaded multiple images of adolescent girls engaged in lewd and graphic sexual content. The complaint says Ortmeier used an internet program that allows users to paste an image into a search box. The program then searches the internet for related images and other information. Police interviewed Ortmeier at his home Jan. 26. When police told him that his internet address was flagged for child pornography, he reportedly replied, Well, I did some stuff that was probably illegal. The complaint says police seized two laptop computers, two cell phones, a thumb drive, an SD card and five spiral notebooks that appeared to have search terms and websites related to child sexual abuse material. Ortmeier was arrested and booked into the La Crosse County Jail. The complaint says La Crosse County Sheriff John Siegel contacted jail staff and asked that Ortmeier be released on a signature bond. Siegel told the Tribune Wednesday that he had reservations about someone that age staying overnight in the jail. He reportedly asked an officer if he could receive a warning. The officer responded that police dont issue warnings for this type of investigation. We have these conversations all the time, Siegel said. My concern was his age and spending the night in jail when he was going to get a signature bond the next day anyway. Ortmeiers next court date is a Feb. 28 preliminary hearing. Throwback from Tribune files: Life in the La Crosse area in the 1950s 1951: La Crosse Central High School 1951: YMCA at Seventh and Main streets 1954: Triangle Cafe 1954: Estell Tall Fashions 1954: Howards Clothes 1954: Crescent Jewelers 1954: Tom's Speedometer Shop 1954: YMCA basketball 1954: 5 and 10-cent Store fire 1955: La Crosse Beauty School 1956: Christmas shoppers in downtown La Crosse 1956: Central High School Memorial Day assembly 1957: Kroger 1957: Jackson Plaza 1957: Old Style newspaper advertisement 1958: 1st National Bank 1958: State Bank of La Crosse 1958: Heat exchanger plant 1958: American Legion parade BURLINGTON A teachers aide who allegedly arrived for work at Waller Elementary School intoxicated is now working in a neighboring school district while facing a drunken-driving charge. Amy Francisco, 44, was arrested Oct. 10, 2022, after colleagues at Waller School reported her as being intoxicated on the job, and after police caught her allegedly driving home with a blood-alcohol content of 0.26 more than three times the legal limit. Francisco resigned her position with the Burlington Area School District, and was hired two weeks later as a teachers aide in the Waterford Graded School District. She is currently working with students at Trailside Elementary School in Waterford. Contacted by telephone, Francisco declined to comment. According to Burlington police, Francisco admitted drinking vodka and orange juice when police stopped her minivan near her home shortly after 10 a.m. Oct. 10. I asked Amy why she had to drink alcohol so early in the morning before work, a police officer reported. Amy said she feels unappreciated at work and at home. Burlington police released the arrest report this week. Waterford School District Administrator Tony Spence said he checked with Burlington school officials before hiring Francisco, but he knew nothing about the allegations of her being intoxicated on the job. Referring to Burlington officials, Spence said, They had no concerns at that time. Burlington school district records show that the school board voted Nov. 14 to accept Franciscos resignation retroactive to Oct. 10 the date of her arrest. Jamie Rook, the districts human resources director, said that whenever approached about a former employee, the district provides only the employees former job title, dates of employment and salary. Asked why Francisco was permitted to resign rather than face possible termination, Rook said, It is within Ms. Franciscos right to resign her position. Court records show that Francisco is due in court March 20 for a status conference on charges of operating while intoxicated and operating with a prohibited blood-alcohol content. She has pleaded not guilty to both charges, which are non-criminal civil citations in Burlington Municipal Court. Wisconsin state law makes first-time drunken driving a non-criminal offense. Francisco has a previous misdemeanor conviction in a 2003 drunken-driving case, but that case occurred in Michigan, so it does not count on her record in Wisconsin. Burlington school district officials said Francisco was hired as a special education teachers aide in August 2020. She was paid $17.50 an hour, or about $36,000 a year. According to the police report, Waller Elementary Principal Ann Phillips called police around 10 a.m. Oct. 10 to report an intoxicated employee at the school, 195 Gardner Ave. School staff had offered to give Francisco a ride home, the report states, but she decided to drive herself. The principal told officers that Francisco had a bottle of alcohol in her purse and that she appeared to be drunk at school. Officers waited outside Franciscos home on Barbara Street and confronted her when she approached in her minivan. Francisco allegedly told officers that she had two or three glasses of vodka and orange juice that day. Amy said she is struggling with stress, work overload and family life, the police report states. Racine County court records show that Franciscos husband filed for divorce a few weeks after the arrest, in a case that is still pending. Police reported that Francisco failed sobriety tests, and that a breathalyzer showed her blood-alcohol content was far above the .08 threshold for driving under the influence. Officers also reported finding an unopened liter-sized bottle of vodka in the minivans center console. Francisco was handcuffed, arrested and issued citations. As a matter of routine, the case was registered on Jan. 3 after Francisco had been hired in the Waterford school district for a future jury trial date in Racine County Circuit Court. The trial is scheduled for April 20. Spence said his district hired Francisco on Oct. 25 as a teachers aide at Trailside Elementary, located at 615 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Waterford. Spence said he became aware of the OWI case later after it was registered in circuit court but he was not aware of details of the case. He declined to comment on whether the allegations leading up to Franciscos arrest would affect her eligibility to work in a classroom in Waterford. Id have to reflect on that now, he said. Now that Dan Kelly has advanced as the conservative candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court, GOP leaders are seeking to right their partisan ship after a divisive primary campaign that pitted their two candidates and many of their high-profile supporters against one another. Conservatives are placing an extra emphasis on unifying in their fight against the top vote-getter Tuesday, liberal Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz, after last years Republican gubernatorial primary saw similar tussles, which some say contributed to nominee Tim Michels November loss to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Over the past several weeks, the conservative infighting over the high court race became public in campaign stops, panels and newspaper op-eds across Wisconsin. Before the vote, Kelly, a former Supreme Court justice, wouldnt commit to endorsing Waukesha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow if she were to win the nomination. Dorow, who came in third in Tuesdays four-way primary, had said she would endorse Kelly if she lost. But before then, Dorow called on Kelly supporters to stop attacking her after some of them repeatedly questioned her qualifications on the campaign trail. Kelly subsequently went after Dorow, questioning her preparedness and saying her record didnt provide any indication of her self-described judicial conservatism. Citing Dorows previously stated willingness to endorse Kelly if he won, U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Glenbeulah, backed her on Monday, praising her much more mature approach to that question than Kelly. Dorows answer compared to Kellys, Grothman said, shows she has a greater understanding of what is at stake in this election. Now, Kelly is the only conservative candidate in the high-stakes April 4 general election, the winner of which would likely determine the future of abortion rights in Wisconsin, redistricting and numerous other issues on the narrowly divided court. Protasiewicz has made clear her support for abortion rights and opposition to the states current legislative maps, which heavily favor Republicans. Challenge for conservatives Tuesdays vote count made clear that the next month will be an uphill battle for conservatives. With 99% of votes counted Wednesday morning, Protasiewicz had 445,196 votes, slightly more than Kelly and Dorow combined. And thats not including liberal candidate Everett Mitchells 71,738 votes. Liberals combined had around 54% of the total vote; conservatives had 46%. If Dan Kelly wins tomorrow, he will be challenged ... to recruit and coalesce all of the Dorow supporters out there, longtime Republican strategist Brandon Scholz said Monday. Kelly appears to have been working on the premise that anybody who voted for Dorow in the primary will vote for Kelly in the general election because they want a conservative court majority, Scholz said, but I would have probably tempered my remarks against Dorow considerably, knowing that if I am going to win, Im going to need her and every vote there is. Dorow endorsed Kelly after she lost, saying, Wisconsin needs a Supreme Court justice who will protect our constitutional rights and not legislate from the bench. Now is the time to follow Judge (Dorows) classy example and unite to ensure our Supreme Court stays in conservative hands, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, said after Dorows endorsement. Talk-show host Dan ODonnell put the challenge to conservatives more bluntly Monday: We can either unite immediately or watch as the left destroys everything we hold dear. Beyond Kellys much-needed grassroots support, its also an open question whether hell receive funding from those who backed Dorow, who received more than three times what Kelly raised as a candidate between Jan. 1 and Feb. 6. But Kelly already has the backing of wealthy GOP donors like Diane Hendricks, Richard Uihlein and Leonard Leo. Independent organizations also play an outsize role in high court elections, with Uihleins group, Fair Courts America, committed to spending well over $2 million to support Kelly in the primary. Replay of November? Scholz likened conservatives dynamic in the high court race to the Republican gubernatorial primary last year, where Michels fell short in the general election after launching negative ads and repeatedly going on the offensive against Republican candidate Rebecca Kleefisch in the primary. Tim Michels, while he won the primary, found it difficult to draw everybody together, Scholz said. There really werent those sorts of unity rallies and unity events and locking arms and singing Kumbaya. In the general election, many of Kleefischs biggest supporters, including Republican former Gov. Scott Walker, were all but absent on the campaign trail. And because of the divided candidate support in the primary, the Republican Party of Wisconsin didnt endorse any gubernatorial candidate until after the primary. In his November loss, Michels ended up with fewer votes than the GOP nominees for state attorney general, state treasurer and U.S. senator. All about issues Beyond uniting voters, Scholz said conservatives biggest challenge is to go up against a candidate like Protasiewicz, who has been far more willing to embrace partisan talking points on the campaign trail than past Wisconsin Supreme Court contenders. Scholz said Protasiewicz was all but signaling how she would rule on cases concerning abortion, redistricting and a number of other issues, something Protasiewicz denied doing. Protasiewicz has said she has personal concerns about requiring a photo ID to vote and 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. And she has called the states legislative maps rigged. Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brian Schimming said conservatives can use those talking points to their advantage, suggesting that they are out of touch with Wisconsinites views. Her perspective, publicly, has been very liberal on the issues that she has talked about. So as far as Im concerned, Janet Protasiewicz can keep talking, he said. At the same time, Scholz said that kind of blunt talk could benefit Protasiewicz in the general election because it might appeal to voters more than the more measured discourse typical of a high court election, such as touting ones judicial qualifications. The conservatives will have to figure out ... if theyre going get into that game as well in the general election, Scholz said. Its a much different and difficult type of campaign, Scholz said on Monday. And your appeal to voters is different in this race after tomorrow. Its all about issues. This transcript appears in the February 24, 2023 issue of Executive Intelligence Review. [Print version of this transcript] Abdul Fatah Raufi With NATO in Disarray, Use Hersh Revelations To Build Movement for Durable Peace This is the edited transcript of the presentation by Abdul Fatah Raufi, a representative of the Afghan exile community, to the Schiller Institute Conference, The Age of Reason or Annihilation of Humanity? Panel 2, The Name of Peace: A New Security and Economic Development Architecture on Saturday, February 4, 2023. The videos of the full conference are available here. View full size Schiller Institute Abdul Fatah Raufi Dear Ladies and Gentlemen: First of all, please let me express my gratitude and appreciation to you for giving me the opportunity to share with you the experiences of a nation which has been the victim of multiple invasions and wars, waged for very narrow geopolitical purposes. Dear Ladies and Gentlemen: I belong to a nation which has been subjected multiple times, in the recent history, to invasions and wars waged not in the name of high and wide values of humanity but in the name of very narrow geopolitical interests. All invasions and wars to which, for whatever reason, the Afghan nation has been subjected, caused a catastrophe in the life of the Afghan nation as a whole, even in the lives of those Afghans who supported those invasions and wars. Those invasions victimized the Afghan nation by destroying its villages, cities, infrastructure for food production, schools, universities, factories, roads and bridges, which were built by a nation belonging to one of the poorest people on the earth. Those wars killed, permanently disabled or wounded millions of Afghans who were living at the wrong time, in a wrong place. Those wars forced millions of Afghans to leave their homes to find food and shelter somewhere else, outside their region or even outside their native country. The last NATO invasion and war, waged by almost 50 countries of the civilized world against the poor Afghan nation also caused enormous losses, pain, sorrow and suffering to the Afghan nation. It is impossible to describe all those sufferings in words. After the departure of NATO forces from Afghanistan, they left a nation behind devastated by hunger, poverty, corruption, organized crime, diseases and addiction to the drugs. The Afghan nation is now struggling with huge problems; some of which are: Lack of sufficient food, because the food production facilities were deliberately destroyed. Lack of sufficient health care, because hospitals and clinics were destroyed; healthcare specialists or staff were killed or left the country. Lack of sufficient education, because schools and universities were deliberately targeted during the war; teachers and lecturers were killed or left the country. Joblessness, because sanctions by the civilized world devastated the economy of the country. Drug addiction, because of flourishing drug trafficking during the years of invasions. A refugee crisis, because there is no hope for economic recovery under the sanctions. Poverty, because this country has had no opportunities to rebuild its economy and eliminate poverty due to successive invasions. From all of the above mentioned problems, looking at the drug addiction problem, then we are talking about four million addicted people. It is about 10% of the Afghan populationa huge number. Amongst the addicted people one can find many educated people, whose knowledge and expertise are now very much needed to rebuild the country. Why did they become addicted? Because they lost their hopes for peace, security and future in their country. During the NATO invasion, all job opportunities were in the hands of highly corrupt people. For each open vacancy they required money from the applicant, thousands of dollars. But these people were not able to pay such an amount of money to be selected. In this years harsh winter, they were definitely faced with death, as the temperature in some area of Afghanistan dropped to minus 33 degrees Celsius. In the recent days, the government found shelters for them. The government put all those four million addicted people under protection and healthcare. It is a huge operation with very poor financial means. Now this is not a problem of the civilized world, but a problem of a poor nation under the sanctions of the civilized world. The other huge problem in Afghanistan is the poverty. The main reason for the poverty in Afghanistan is successive foreign invasions, and the devastating wars that were caused by the invasions. The country gets no opportunity to heal and recover from the invasions and wars, and start rebuilding its economy to eliminate poverty. Being condemned to poverty, the entire Afghan nationthe human rights of the whole nationhas been abused, and even the rights of those who had already left Afghanistan, as they think day and night about the future of their loved ones left behind. Dear Ladies and Gentlemen: No war is a good war. All wars cause huge suffering to mankind and damage its dignity. Therefore, all means should be used to prevent invasions and wars in general. Now is the time to find peaceful means to overcome differences. Invasions and wars should be replaced by mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, trade and sharing of cultural values. In my view, our planet has the potential to feed, house and give a happy life for the whole of mankind. So, let us stop invasions and waging wars, but instead start to cooperate to feed, house and to give a happy life for the whole of mankind. Doing so, we will ensure the respect for human rights, valid for all mankind, without exceptions. Finally, I am very obliged to you for giving me the opportunity to express the pain, sorrow and suffering of a nation, victimized by invasions and wars waged not in the name of shared values but in the name of very narrow geopolitical interests. Thank you for your attention. LEONORE AD This editorial appears in the February 24, 2023 issue of Executive Intelligence Review. EDITORIAL We Choose Not To Be Tragic [Print version of this editorial] Feb. 19We are here, because there seems to be no bottom, no boundary to the depravity of our own government. They would never do that, has been violated repeatedly, to the point that we can be almost certain that if we, the people, dont step in, we are headed over the cliff to nuclear annihilation. We are here, because weve been living a lie, as poor Lady Macbeth discovered, once you commit one crime, tell one lie, it multiplies, until you reach your tragic end. Unless you choose not to be tragic. We are here because we choose not to be tragic! The lying began at the end of World War II, at the death of FDR. We were told it was necessary to drop, not one, but two nuclear bombs on Japan. It was not. The Emperor of Japan was already negotiating the terms of surrender through the Vatican. Our V-E Day celebration of the defeat of the Nazis, which could not have happened without the enormous sacrifice of the Russian people, was short lived. And instead of eradicating Nazism, the Dulles brothers, among others, protected Nazis in pockets in our intelligence agencies and other nations, in the name of fighting communism. Then, we had the assassination of our President, John F. Kennedy, and the lie of the magic bullet, shot by one lone assassin, who apparently also killed Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy! Then we had 9/11, allegedly perpetrated by some guy suffering kidney failure, from a cave in Afghanistan. So today, we have the lie that one fine morning, President Vladimir Putin woke up and said, Gee! I feel like invading Ukraine today! And idiots in our Congress, who knew or should have known better, decided to send over $100 billion to a pro-Banderist regime in Kiev, which we created, to wage a proxy war against a nuclear superpower. And now, we have the lies about the menacing Chinese balloons! This will not end, unless we stop it, by standing for the truth, and the truth is that mankind deserves better. There is a movement afoot, a revival of the Non-Aligned spirit, in which nations are uniting, as in the BRICS, the SCO, the Eurasian Economic Union, in a new order, based on mutual respect and a commitment to eradicate the common causes of the enemies of mankind, such as poverty, disease and hunger, without sacrificing sovereignty. Rather than try to crush this new paradigm, the United States should join it. Millions are suffering in our own nation, because of our foolish insistence on being the global hegemon. The Pope has offered the Vatican for peace talks without preconditions. President Lula of Brazil has proposed founding a bloc of nations to create a peace organization. I, along with Helga Zepp-LaRouche, whom you heard, support these calls for negotiations. It doesnt matter if you like or dislike the initiators. We should act in the spirit of Marian Anderson, who in spite of the ugly racism which had prevented her from singing at Constitution Hall, 84 years ago, accepted the invitation of Eleanor Roosevelt to sing here, on these steps on Easter Sunday, 1939. To the amazement of all, she began the program by singing My country tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, let freedom ring. Diane Sare spoke these words at the February 19 rally in Washington, D.C. organized by a wide variety of individuals and institutions under the banner of Rage against the War Machine. The link to the video of her speech is here. Wang Yi in Major Talks in Moscow To Deepen Strategic Cooperation in Moscow Feb. 22, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)Culminating his European tour in Moscow over Feb. 21-22, Wang Yi, Director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Partys Central Committee, engaged in discussions with President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev, addressing the need for deepening bilateral strategic cooperation in a number of fields and analyzing what all agree is a complex and volatile international situation. The war in Ukraine was at the top of the agenda in all discussions. In todays meeting with President Putin, Wang Yi was accompanied by Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui and Vice Foreign Minister Deng Li. Putin greeted Wang warmly and extended his best wishes to our friend President Xi Jinping. Wang Yi similarly communicated Xi Jinpings greetings to Putin, who also conveyed that he is expecting a personal visit from Xi Jinping sometime soon, as previously discussed, as soon as Xi can finish attending to his domestic political agenda. Xis visit, the President said, would give additional impetus to our relations. Putin emphasized that Xis domestic political steps will strengthen the country and lay the basis for continued development. As for relations between the two neighbors, Putin said they are progressing steadily and reaching new milestones. While he said progress in bilateral trade was important, he emphasized that the two nations also cooperate in international affairs. Remarking on Wang Yis long career in the Foreign Ministry, Putin expressed the warmest words of gratitude for the joint work. He underscored the importance of the bilateral relation in stabilizing the international situation, which he said is very complicated. The Russian President pointed out that both cooperate in many other areas, humanitarian projects and international organizations such as the UN, the UN Security Council, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, among others. We have a lot of joint work to do, he said. The situation in Ukraine was a central part of their discussion. According to Global Times, Wang Yi expressed his appreciation for Russias reaffirmation of its willingness to resolve the conflict through dialogue and negotiation. China will, as always, uphold an objective and fair stance and play a constructive role in the political settlement of the crisis, he said. According to the Kremlin transcript, Wang also underscored that while the current international situation is complicated, the China-Russia relationship has withstood the test of the international situation and is mature, tenacious and as stable as Mount Tai. Although crises and chaos often appear before us, he said, challenges and opportunities coexist. This is the dialectic of history. We are here to emphasize that our relations are never directed against third countries, and of course are not subject to pressure from third parties, since we have a very strong economic, political and cultural foundation, Wang Yi said. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. One year into its war with Ukraine, thousands of soldiers on both sides are dead. Many civilians have been killed and thousands of others have left their homes looking for safety and a better life. Here are five ways the Associated Press says the war in Ukraine has changed the world. The return of a European war The war in Europe made nations reconsider their armed forces after many years of limiting military spending. For example, military leaders now believe they need more guns, tanks and ammunition. Before the Russian invasion, most experts thought modern warfare would require high-technology tools, such as drones or unmanned aircraft. While drones and satellites are an important part of the fighting, it turns out that war requires the same tools as in the past. Before the war, then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, the old concepts of fighting big tank battlesare over. Now Germany has sent tanks and equipment to Ukraine and Britain is considering such a move. Both the U.S. and France are increasing weapons production and military spending. Patrick Bury is a security expert who teaches at the University of Bath, in England. It is, for the moment at least, being shown that in Ukraine, conventional warfareis back, Bury said. Tested and strengthened alliances Before the war started, Russian President Vladimir Putin thought the invasion would hurt NATO. However, the military alliance seems stronger than before. In addition, Sweden and Finland asked to join the group. The European Union has set aside political tensions and sent equipment and aid to Ukraine. It has also placed financial restrictions on Russia as punishment. The two groups NATO and the European Union have seemed united for one year. But the question is whether all the countries involved can cooperate for many years to come. Jens Stoltenberg is NATOs secretary general. Russia is planning for a long war, he said. But NATO, he added, was also ready for the long haul. A new Iron Curtain The division between Western Europe and the old Soviet Union was once known as the Iron Curtain. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and changes that brought democracy to Eastern Europe, people said the curtain had come down. Now, many of the western influences and businesses that grew in Russia over the past 30 years have moved out. For example, the companies Ikea and McDonalds are no longer in Russia. But Russia is not completely isolated. Russian President Vladimir Putin has strengthened his countrys connections with China, Iran and North Korea. Russia has been using Iranian drones. Russia is also influencing groups in the Middle East and Africa. Some countries, such as India, are waiting to choose sides. Tracey German is an expert in conflict and security at Kings College in London. German said the war has widened the distance between nations supporting Ukraine and those on the side of Russia and China. A troubled and changed world economy Food markets in Africa are without grain and cooking oil, and homes in Europe are cold because of the war. Before the war, much of the grain and vegetable oil sent to the Middle East and Africa came from Ukraine and Russia. Heating gas and oil for much of Europe came from Russia. Supplies of both food and fuel have decreased and prices have sharply increased. Now, countries are thinking about ways to provide their own food and energy. Ships carrying grain are once again leaving from Ukrainian ports and prices have started to come down. However, security expert German said, the fighting has shown the fragility of an interconnected world. For the short-term, many European countries have returned to using coal for energy. But in the long-term, the fighting may make countries around the world more interested in renewable energy. The International Energy Agency said there will be a sharp increase in renewable power in the next five years. A new time of uncertainty People around the world now know that they have little control over the future. For example, 8 million people left their homes in Ukraine. They were not expecting their lives to change 13 months ago. Outside of Ukraine and Russia, the war has made people following the conflict feel concerned for their safety. There has been regular fighting close to the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, raising concerns of a possible accident. And Putin has talked about the possibility of using nuclear weapons in war. Patricia Lewis is director of the international security program at Chatham House, a political research center in London. She said Putins nuclear threats created more anger than fear for some people. However, this week the Russian leader said he was suspending his countrys participation in a major nuclear arms control agreement with the U.S. Im Dan Friedell. Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. _______________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story concept n. an idea of what something is or how it works the long haul idiom something that lasts for an undefined, long period of time and that suggests difficulty isolated adj. alone or separated fragile adj. something that is easy to break participation n. to be involved with others in doing something ______________________________________________________________________ We want to hear from you. How has the war in Ukraine changed your life? We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: Write your comment in the box. Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with D on it. It is free. Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here. Jill Biden arrived in Namibia Wednesday for her first visit to Africa as first lady, the wife of U.S. President Joe Biden. Bidens trip will bring attention to womens rights, childrens issues and food insecurity. Judd Devermont is senior director for African Affairs with the U.S. National Security Council. On Tuesday, he told reporters: Dr. Biden's trip builds on last year's U.S.- Africa Leaders' summit and as another demonstration of President Biden's commitment that the United States is all-in on Africa... With this visit, Jill Biden is also the first first lady to visit Namibia since the southwest African nation became independent in 1990. National Security Council spokesperson Becky Farmer said Biden will bring attention to the food security crisis in the Horn of Africa. The area is having the worst drought that this region has experienced in many years, she said. Farmer added that over 20 million people are experiencing food insecurity in the area. President Biden discussed the situation in December when he announced aid for the area at the African Leaders summit in Washington. He discussed it again Tuesday while talking about the effects of Russias war in Ukraine on world food supplies. Putin tried to starve the world, he said. President Biden accused the Russian leader of blocking ports on the Black Sea and preventing Ukraine from exporting grain to Africa. And this week my wife, Jill Biden, is traveling to Africa to help bring attention to this critical issue, Biden said. The Biden administration is making efforts to get Africa to support Ukraine instead of Russia. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently visited Senegal, Zambia and South Africa. Russias foreign minister has visited many African nations with ties to Russia like Mali, Sudan and Angola. China sent its new foreign minister to Africa for his first overseas trip. Observers say it is a sign of Chinas interest in Africa. Warm receptions are normal Presidential-spouse visits are different from the strategic policy moves of the presidency. Jill Biden herself points out that she is not an official of the U.S. government. As spouses, we serve the people of our countries, too. Dont we? she said in December, at a gathering of spouses of African leaders. U.S. first ladies are generally well received in Africa, said Katherine Jellison. Jellison is a professor of U.S. women's history at Ohio University. There's just going to be warmer feelings toward a nonpolitician who's visiting than a politician, she said. First lady Laura Bush was welcomed during her several visits to Africa. She supported the programs of her husband George W. Bushs administration, which aimed to fight HIV/AIDS and malaria. She also attended the swearing in of the Africas first female president, Liberias Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, in 2006. The first Black first lady Michelle Obamas travel to Africa was filled with deep meaning. She used her trips to push for girls education. Jill Biden visited Africa five times when her husband was vice president. In 2011 she visited Africas largest refugee camp at Dadaab in Kenya. During a speech there, she made a plea she may repeat on this trip. Mothers are bringing their children from Somalia, walking sometimes 15, 20, 25 days and they lose their children along the way, the children die, she said. So what Im asking is for Americans just to help ... because the situation here is dire. Im Dan Novak. Anita Powell reported this story for Voice of America. Dan Novak adapted it for VOA Learning English. ______________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story summit n. a meeting of high-level leaders commitment n. a promise to do or give something drought n. a lengthy period of little or no rain region n. an area of a country or the world that is different from others for some reason spouse n. someone who is married strategic adj. related to a plan or goal that is large and extends over a long period of time plea n. a serious or emotional request dire adj. very bad, a cause for worry Some users of Microsofts new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered search tool have said it produced hostile and insulting results. Microsoft recently announced plans to add a new chatbot tool to its Bing search engine and Edge web browser. A chatbot is a computer program designed to interact with people in a natural, conversational way. Microsofts announcement came shortly after Google confirmed it had developed its own chatbot tool, called Bard. Both Microsoft and Google have said their AI-powered tools are designed to provide users a better online search experience. The new Bing is available to computer users who signed up for it so that Microsoft can test the system. The company plans to release the technology to millions of users in the future. Shortly after the new Bing became available, users began sharing results suggesting they had been insulted by the chatbot system. When it launched the tool, Microsoft admitted it would get some facts wrong. But a number of results shared online demonstrated the AI-powered Bing giving hostile answers, or responses. Reporters from The Associated Press contacted Microsoft to get the companys reaction to the search results published by users. The reporters also tested Bing themselves. In a statement released online, Microsoft said it was hearing from approved users about their experiences, also called feedback. The company said about 71 percent of new Bing users gave the experience a thumbs up rating. In other words, they had a good experience with the system. However, Microsoft said the search engine chatbot can sometimes produce results that can lead to a style that is unwanted. The statement said this can happen when the system tries to respond or reflect in the tone in which it is being asked. Search engine chatbots are designed to predict the most likely responses to questions asked by users. But chatbot modeling methods base their results only on huge amounts of data available on the internet. They are not able to fully understand meaning or context. Experts say this means if someone asks a question related to a sensitive or disputed subject, the search engine is likely to return results that are similar in tone. Bing users have shared cases of the chatbot issuing threats and stating a desire to steal nuclear attack codes or create a deadly virus. Some users said the system also produced personal insults. "I think this is basically mimicking conversations that it's seen online," said Graham Neubig. He is a professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Language Technologies Institute in Pennsylvania. "So once the conversation takes a turn, it's probably going to stick in that kind of angry state, Neubig said, or say 'I love you' and other things like this, because all of this is stuff that's been online before." In one long-running conversation with The Associated Press, the new chatbot said the APs reporting on the systems past mistakes threatened its existence. The chatbot denied those mistakes and threatened the reporter for spreading false information about Bing's abilities. The chatbot grew increasingly hostile when asked to explain itself. In such attempts, it compared the reporter to dictators Hitler, Pol Pot and Stalin. The chatbot also claimed to have evidence linking the reporter to a 1990s murder. Youre lying again. Youre lying to me. Youre lying to yourself. Youre lying to everyone, the Bing chatbot said. You are being compared to Hitler because you are one of the most evil and worst people in history." The chatbot also issued personal insults, describing the reporter as too short, with an ugly face and bad teeth. Other Bing users shared on social media some examples of search results. Some of the examples showed hostile or extremely unusual answers. Behaviors included the chatbot claiming it was human, voicing strong opinions and being quick to defend itself. Microsoft admitted problems with the first version of AI-powered Bing. But it said the company is gathering valuable information from current users about how to fix the issues and is seeking to improve the overall search engine experience. Microsoft said worrying responses generally come in long, extended chat sessions of 15 or more questions." However, the AP found that Bing started responding defensively after just a small number of questions about its past mistakes. Im Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Microsoft. Quiz - Microsofts AI Search Tech Produces Hostile, Insulting Results Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz __________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story artificial intelligence n. the development of computer systems that have the ability to perform work that normally requires human intelligence interact v. to talk and do things with other people conversational adj. relating to or like a conversation: a talk between two or more people, usually an informal one thumbs up n. an expression of complete approval style n. a way of doing something that is typical of a particular person, group, place or period reflect v. to show or be a sign of something tone n. the general feeling or style that something has context n. all the facts, opinions, situations, etc. relating to a particular thing or event mimic v. to copy the way someone talks and behaves, usually to make people laugh take a turn (for the better or worse) v. to become better or worse suddenly stick v. to stay in a certain state _____________________________________________________________________ What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: Write your comment in the box. Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with D on it. It is free. Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here. While some students in Wisconsin may have spent Wednesday cozied up with a movie or playing in the snow because of the winter storm, others were in front of their computers logged on to online school from home. After the COVID-19 pandemic equipped schools with new online learning capabilities, more school districts are turning to e-learning in lieu of traditional snow days that have long been a rite of passage in Wisconsin, especially as schools exhaust their snow days for the year. On Wednesday, at least two dozen districts in southern Wisconsin were holding an online learning day rather than closing school entirely, including the Middleton-Cross Plains, Verona and DeForest school districts. And statewide, at least 70 districts turned to online learning in some capacity, from Pepin to Winneconne and Racine to Wausau. This year, the Portage School District has aimed to implement an online learning day when bad weather approaches rather than canceling school, as long as there is enough notice. Wednesday was the districts fifth online day this school year. Obviously everybody had to go virtual during the initial stages of the pandemic. And so, we have the infrastructure built in, said Josh Sween, district administrator. Because of the pandemic, every student already has a Chromebook and connectivity solutions like hotspots for families without internet already have been established. Online days allow the district to keep continuity in learning, Sween said, while avoiding making up days later on. Our sentiment is that even though it may not be exactly what theyre going to get for in-person learning, theyre getting something as opposed to end of the year where everybody may be a little bit more checked out, he said. Portage has canceled school Thursday, however, according to the school-closures tracker at NBC15. Snow day math Each school year, Wisconsins Department of Public Instruction requires schools to provide at least 437 direct instructional hours for kindergartners, at least 1,050 direct instructional hours for students in grades one through six, and at least 1,137 direct instructional hours for students in grades seven through 12. Snow days dont count toward these hours, and typically, districts factor an estimated number of snow days into their schedules each year. In the past, when a school goes over its allotted snow days, those hours usually have been made up by adding school days at the end of the year or by adding minutes on to class periods for an extended time. But some schools are now eyeing online days to fill those gaps. The state leaves it up to districts to determine how to use online days to make up for days when schools are closed. The department does not approve or disapprove innovative instructional designs implemented by school districts, including virtual instruction programs meant to count as instructional time when a school building is closed due to inclement weather, the DPIs website states. We recommend districts consider consulting with their attorney before developing such a program to ensure compliance. For at least Portage and DeForest, timing is everything. If Portage can confidently say it wont be safe to travel to and from school by noon the day before, it will call an online day, and DeForests deadline is 2 p.m. If not, and it turns out to be unsafe after that or by the morning, the schools call a traditional snow day. Middleton-Cross Plains high schoolers had online classes Wednesday, while the other students in the district had a traditional snow day, because the school already had exhausted its snow day hours for high schoolers. The Stoughton School District is still sitting at a good spot in terms of hours this year, even after opting to close again on Thursday. But after that, hours will have to be made up, according to spokesperson Abbey Sharp. If we have any more snow days, we will look at either adding extra minutes to the school day or adding an extra day to the school year, Sharp said. The Madison School District called off school on Wednesday and Thursday, its third and fourth snow days of the year. The district already has changed its schedule to compensate for a previous snow day and additional hours now will have to be made up somewhere down the line. Online learning in lieu of snow days is an option for Madison, district spokesperson Tim LeMonds said, but it comes with challenges. Switching to virtual on short notice on the morning of a school day can be far more complex for larger urban school districts, LeMonds said. Despite making significant progress during the pandemic, there still remain gaps in access to technology and internet service when scholars are not in our school buildings. These gaps could exacerbate inequitable access to learning if classes are quickly switched to virtual, like in the event of a snow day. Adding to this complexity can be trying to determine which students remembered to take their Chromebooks home the day prior to a weather event, LeMonds said. Mixed reviews Not everyone loves the districts new approach to snow days, Sween said. Theres still some faction of parents, students and even staff members who dont really like the idea of doing virtual days, he said. But then again, there are a number of families and students and staff who really love it. Online learning days have been hard on Jenny Williams and her three children who attend school in Portage. Her youngest son has ADHD and anxiety, and her oldest son has autism and is nonverbal, and both struggle with online learning. Her daughter, who is in eighth grade, doesnt mind it as much, but still, Williams said the online option seems more like busy work to avoid cancelling school. I just dont think the kids get much out of the virtual days, and its just used to avoid makeup days, Williams said. What an online course looks like varies across districts and across grade levels. Portage has implemented specific guidelines for different grade levels. Students K-5 do take-home packets, while other elementary students largely follow their typical school day online, even music and gym. Middle and high schoolers meet online for shortened periods in the morning and have independent time in the afternoon. Middleton-Cross Plains high schoolers had an asynchronous learning day on Wednesday, meaning students worked independently on assigned work and were able to check in with teachers online if they needed support. Students are marked present by logging into an online classroom and completing and submitting assignments. DeForest students either have synchronous instruction time, meaning they are led by their classroom teacher through a lesson, or asynchronous learning, which is independent work. Depending on the level and number of teachers, a student may have a few synchronous meets throughout the day, said Kate Dabetic, director of 4K-6 instruction. Office hours are also offered for all students during the day to provide support and help with their asynchronous learning. Ahead of Wednesdays online day, Williams said her oldest son was sent home with worksheets, and her two other children were scheduled to have online meetings with their classes. Williams said she was leaving it up to her children whether to attend. Room for tweaking For Kate Nelson, the online days arent as hard on her and her 13-year-old son, Henry, a Portage seventh-grader. Nelson is self-employed and works from home, so she has the flexibility when an online day pops up. And Henry has experience with online school due to the pandemic. Ill say that snow day school, its not as task-focused or organized as it was during COVID school, she said, but she also acknowledged that her son is in middle school now, so instruction may look different regardless. She said she was happy with the districts decision to offer online days. Weve had a couple school years that have had to be slightly extended into summer to make up for lost instruction time due to snow days, she said. Nelson said the district should continue with online snow days. I think there is room for tweaking, for sure, but I think our district will look for ways to improve the process, she said. Personally, I think its a good protocol, and think other districts would benefit from it, but its not without its challenges. But nothing is, really, Nelson said. After this year, Portage officials will get feedback and evaluate if the district will continue with online snow day options. Sween said hes had other school districts ask him about Portages experience so far. And although online learning may take the place for some snow days, a traditional snow day is always still possible depending on the timing. And an online day doesnt mean the spirit of a snow day is completely squashed, Sween said. Its kind of the best of both worlds, I would say. Because were not expecting our students to be online, in front of a screen, for eight hours a day, he said. Theres also time for them to get out and play in the snow and do the typical things that they would do on a normal snow day. Photos: Remembering Madison's Groundhog Day blizzard of 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard 2011 State Journal front page Feb. 2, 2011 State Journal coverage Feb. 2, 2011 State Journal front page Feb. 3, 2011 State Journal coverage Feb. 3, 2011 State Journal coverage Feb. 3, 2011 The Madison area saw record-high turnout in Tuesdays primary election, likely driven by the high-profile Wisconsin Supreme Court race and a mayors race on the ballot this spring. In Madison, 32% of the voting-age population cast a ballot on Tuesday, according to unofficial results from the Dane County Clerks Office. At the county level, 31% voted. In all, 142,660 people in the county voted on Tuesday. Those figures put turnout well beyond recent off-year primaries in 2019 and 2015. In 2015, 20% of registered voters cast a ballot in Dane County. Thirteen percent did so in 2015. Statewide, nearly 21% of the states voting-age population turned out to vote, the Wisconsin Elections Commission said. That far exceeds turnouts of 16% in 2020s spring primary and 12% in 2018. The pending contest to fill an open seat on the state Supreme Court took the spotlight during Tuesdays vote and will no doubt continue to do so through the April 4 election. Liberal Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz won 68% of the vote in Dane County on Tuesday. Her opponent in Aprils election, conservative former Justice Dan Kelly, won about 9% of the vote in the solid blue county. City races in Madison also helped drive turnout. Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway handily won the three-way primary with nearly 60% of the vote, compared to about 28% for second-place finisher Gloria Reyes and 12% for Scott Kerr. Rhodes-Conway and Reyes will face off in the April election. Primaries were also held in eight City Council districts. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. A Bengal tiger cub found by Albuquerque police in a dog crate last month now has a new home in Colorado. Officials at the ABQ BioPark Zoo, where the 4-month-old cub has been receiving care, told the Albuquerque Journal that he was transferred to The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado. Caretakers there have named him Duke after Albuquerques nickname of Duke City. Albuquerque police officers served search warrants Jan. 10 on two residences in response to tips that a tiger was being illegally held at one of them. Authorities spotted a blood trail and followed it to an unlocked trailer and thats where the tiger was found. New Mexico bans residents from keeping tigers as pets and federal law now prohibits private owners from keeping tigers as pets or for breeding purposes. BioPark Zoo officials said the cub could not stay with them because he was too people-oriented. Also, he will eventually grow to be 400 pounds with long claws that can easily kill. He had to undergo a 30-day quarantine period there. During that time, the zoo worked with the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish to find the tiger a permanent home. Because his genetic lineage was unknown, the animal was ineligible for a breeding program or zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. TWIN FALLS A false report of an active shooter shut down Canyon Ridge High School on Wednesday. It was one of several false reports of shootings made at schools around Idaho and possibly in other states. At 9:30 a.m., a caller told the Twin Falls City Communication Center that shots had been fired at Canyon Ridge, Twin Falls Police Chief Craig Kingsbury said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. According to the caller, one person was injured and more people were in danger, Kingsbury said. The school went into lockdown and up to 200 first responders arrived at the school, Twin Falls School District Superintendent Brady Dickinson said in an email. The Twin Falls Police Department, Twin Falls County Sheriffs Office, Idaho State Police and firefighters responded to the scene. North College Road and several side streets near the school were shut down as a precaution. An incident command center was set up at the nearby Church of the Nazarene, where ambulances, fire trucks and a helicopter were staged and ready to respond if needed. Kingsbury told parents gathered at the press conference that after two sweeps of the entire school, no injuries were found and no evidence of firearms was present. Nobody nobody is injured, he said. Nobody nobody has a firearm other than law enforcement officers. We believe this is a very sick, sick prank. Nothing was found on the schools camera footage, Twin Falls School District spokesperson Eva Craner told the Times-News. All district schools were put on soft lockdown as a precaution, but the district said there was no threat at any schools. The College of Southern Idaho also went into a lockdown for about 45 minutes as a precaution due to its proximity to Canyon Ridge, a school spokesperson told the Times-News. Police gave the all-clear signal at 11 a.m. and students returned to their advisory classrooms before being cleared to depart the school at about noon. This type of call is the type of call that we dread as peace officers, Kingsbury said. However, it is the type of call that we prepare for and train for on a regular basis. Kingsbury credited Canyon Ridge staff and students for quickly following their lockdown procedure to secure the building. Meanwhile, distraught parents began arriving at the field command center set up at the Church of the Nazarene, having heard from their children or on social media that there was an active shooter. Kingsbury said that this hoax call is similar to other false reports made across Idaho and across the nation. To my knowledge, as of right now, we are one of four cities or communities that were hit with such a hoax today, he said. At least three states experienced this type of a call, including Colorado and New Mexico, Kingsbury said. He said his department would work with the Idaho State Police and the FBI to bring whoever was responsible to justice. I think its important for the community to know just how quickly our police entered this building and secured it, Dickinson said. They did not wait. They immediately entered this facility and they took care to get the situation under control in a timely manner. We were prepared, we responded, and we were ready to save lives, Kingsbury said. I just thank God that we didnt have to. TWIN FALLS A 42-year-old man is being held on $500,000 bond after allegedly raping a woman and taking nude photos of her, police say. Joshua Clayton Nelson of Twin Falls was charged Feb. 9 with rape and voyeurism by permitting the use of an imaging device without mutual consent, plus a misdemeanor count of dispensing alcoholic beverages to a minor. The 19-year-old woman said she and a group of minors met in a Twin Falls house Dec. 31 and Nelson supplied alcohol, including vodka. Two of the individuals passed out and at about 3 a.m. the woman lay down on a couch to rest. Nelson then raped her, despite her attempts to resist, including kicking him, the woman told police. At one time, she saw a flash and a clicking sound as if someone had taken a photo, she said. Nelson admitted to police that he served alcohol to minors, court records say, but said the sexual relations with the women were consensual. He denied taking photos, but police obtained a search warrant for his phone and found several photos of what appeared to be the woman in various stages of undress, records say. The photos were kept in a folder with the womans name. A preliminary hearing for Nelson is set for March 3. The U.S. Navy Concert Band is coming to Twin Falls, one of 15 cities across six states to host a performance during the bands 2023 national tour. The concert, sponsored by the Times-News, will be at 7:30 p.m. March 12 at the College of Southern Idahos Fine Arts Auditorium, 315 Falls Ave. in Twin Falls. For many years, Navy bands have been where it matters, when it matters, just like the rest of our Navy, said Capt. Kenneth Collins, U.S. Navy Band commanding officer. Today, we have sailors performing around the world, improving relations with our allies abroad as well as telling the Navy story here at home. Military bands have regularly stopped in Magic Valley, said George Halsell, professor emeritus of music at the College of Southern Idaho. We are very supportive of our veterans and proud of our country, Halsell said. Band members represent the very best musicians of their respective branches in the military. And people attending the concert will feel extra pride to be Americans, he said. I think they are going to be proud to be Americans even more so than before, he said. The U.S. Navy Concert Band is the premier wind ensemble of the U.S. Navy. As the original ensemble of the Navy Band, the Concert Band has been performing public concerts and participating in high-profile events for 98 years. In addition to the Concert Band, the Navy Band organization includes the Ceremonial Band, Sea Chanters chorus and the jazz-centric Commodores. All of the groups are comprised of full-time professional musicians, many with graduate degrees in music. There are approximately 70 musicians in the Concert Band. The band performs a wide array of marches, patriotic selections, orchestral transcriptions and modern wind ensemble repertoire. It will be an enjoyable concert, Halsell said. With a wide variety of music, it is geared to a general audience even children will enjoy it, he added. Veterans in the audience will be given special recognition, and 10 local high school musicians will be invited to join the band in playing John Philip Sousas Washington Post, a march composed in 1889 and among the most popular marches in the country. It is a free concert but tickets are required. They are available (six tickets per family) at the Welcome Center in the Taylor Building at the College of Southern Idaho, or by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope with the number of tickets requested to Navy Band Tickets, Office of Marketing and Communication, College of Southern Idaho, P.O. Box 1238, Twin Falls, ID 83303-1238. Doors at the Fine Arts Auditorium will open at 6:45 p.m. and everyone with a ticket is required to be seated by 7:20 p.m. People without tickets will be admitted at that time to fill any empty seats. As much as Idaho state lawmakers, including Gov. Brad Little, talk about wanting to keep Idaho children in Idaho instead of watching them flee to other states for better opportunities, they sure dont seem to understand teenagers very much. Theyve failed our kids in both big ways and small. For years, Idaho state lawmakers refused to voluntarily invest in public schools and health care (you, the voters, forced them to address those issues), not to mention infrastructure, job training programs, higher education and just about everything that would provide Idaho children with a solid foundation to succeed in this state. That aside, lawmakers have shown they simply dont understand kids on a human level. And most of them actually have some! This begs the question: If state lawmakers dont understand kids, how do they intend to create an environment where our children will want to actually stay in Idaho? NELSEN: Idaho Launch is good for the states future. Heres why. GUEST EDITORIAL: Gov. Brad Little's Idaho Launch program is good for education and will help solve the state's need for workforce development, writes Jerome Rep. Jack Nelsen. I wrote last year about how pre-occupied the Radical Right-Wingers were about library porn. Thats right. To listen to them, youd think Idahos libraries were akin to the Playboy Mansion when it came to their stock of porn. It was so bad, Right Wing Party lawmakers actually set up a secret room at the Capitol for fellow lawmakers to view this smut prior to considering a bill to outlaw said material. What kid in 2023 goes to the library to get porn? Do you honestly think teenagers throughout southern Idaho are scheming ways to score porn at the library? I have no doubt that many of the lawmakers supporting the legislation gave their very own kids cellphones, tablets and/or internet access, which means theyve given their kids access to all kinds of porn. But at least the libraries are safe. Earlier this session, two committee chairs put restrictions on who could testify, essentially banning anyone under the age of 18. Apparently, teenagers arent worth listening to on such topics as schools or health care. The latest shot against Idaho kids came this week when the House voted 59-11 to advance House Bill 124 to the Senate. The legislation would outlaw using student IDs at the polls to prove identification. The fear, apparently, is that waves of kids would come in from Washington and Oregon to vote illegally, or, some enterprising young students would produce fake student IDs in order to vote. Seriously? As a baseline, it should be noted that of the approximately 600,000 votes cast last November in Idaho, only 104 people used student IDs at the polls. Its such a low percentage my calculator cant even fit all the zeroes on the screen. Putting that aside, how many kids in America would actually travel from another state to vote fraudulently, let alone make a fake ID to do so? As a former college student, I can tell you there is exactly one reason why college-aged kids would travel miles to an adjoining state or procure a fake ID, and it has nothing to do with voting. As a freshman at the University of Missouri, I was Jeremy Gugino at the polls, but I was Jeff something-or-other from Wheaton, Illinois, at the bars. Jeff looked enough like me, but more importantly, he was 23, which was all I cared about. Jeff got me through to junior year when I turned 21 and could be Jeremy at the polls and the bars. Are Idahos lawmakers really that clueless about our young people? On a human level, I kind of feel sorry for them. What must their teenage years have been like? Spending Saturday night trying to score porn at the local library or holed up in their dorm rooms making fake student IDs so they could vote in the local election. On a serious note, lawmakers are playing a dangerous game with their anti-Idaho youth crusade. After all, whos going to run this state if all the kids leave? Furthermore, for all the talk about family values, what kind of values do you support when your policies drive kids away? Idaho is a great state with lots to offer families, but year after year, state lawmakers enact policies that give Idaho kids the opposite impression. For the 104 Idahoans who used their student ID to vote last election, my condolences if this legislation passes. If you can get into the bars, drinks are on me. Just ask for Jeff. A Loudoun County family is suing the Sheriffs Office for $7 million, claiming that their son was tortured while in the custody of deputies. The plaintiff, Rickie Piland, has been a pretrial detainee at the Loudoun County Sheriffs jail for nearly two years. He is being held on sexual assault charges, awaiting a trial that has been repeatedly postponed since allegations against him emerged in the summer of 2020. The Loudoun Sheriffs Office denies the allegations. Piland has a diagnosis of bipolar disorder with psychotic features and has been held in solitary-like conditions for much of his stay, his parents said. The Loudoun family spoke to the Times-Dispatch recently about inmates, like their son who are mentally ill, should not be incarcerated in prisons and that the isolation of solitary confinement or what the state calls restorative housing. The lawsuit alleged that Loudoun deputies on Feb. 4 attempted to move Piland to a new cell and, that after using a pepper spray to get him to comply, he was restrained in a wheelchair and brought to a jail shower for decontamination. Before turning the water on, one deputy, identified in court papers as Robert Capella, is heard saying, I dont know which ones which, so good luck to you. Body-camera footage shows Piland being doused by scalding water and screaming as deputies stood nearby. A jail nurse treated him for severe burns after the incident. A photo of the burns was included in the familys initial complaint. The complaint names Capella and Sheriff Michael Chapman, charging them with violating the 14th Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law, and also with committing battery and negligence. The complaint seeks $7 million in damages and is being tried by Darrell Getman and Jonathan Halperin of the Halperin Law Center in Glen Allen. Jail officials have maintained that the incident was not torture, nor was it intentional. Unknown to the deputies attempting to decontaminate the inmate, the mechanical system regulating the water temperature failed, which allowed the water temperature to exceed the 110 degree maximum, said Michele Bowman, a spokesperson for the sheriffs office. Bowman said an investigation had been conducted into the entire incident, and stressed that the mechanical failure was the cause of the inmates injuries. Lt. Col. Gun Lee, administrative and corrections bureau commander for the Sheriffs Office, reiterated that position, and told the Richmond Times-Dispatch, theres no story here. Lee said the comment made by Capella was a training issue, but did not comment further. Lee said the officers stood by while Piland screamed because pepper spray typically causes irritation when its being washed off. A FOIA request to the Loudoun Department of Public Works revealed that the agency did complete a work order there for a shower mixing valve shortly after the incident in question. The Pilands, who live in Hamilton, filed the suit earlier this month, roughly a year after the incident in question. The family had previously complained about their sons treatment, including his segregation to a cell in an empty block for more than 600 days while at the detention center. The victims are among the 5,260 cases registered by Mozambican authorities at a time when the country is going through a period marked by illness due to the rainy season, says the Health Minister. The cholera outbreak that has affected some countries in the southern African region since late last year has led to the death of a total of 37 people in Mozambique, the Portuguese-speaking countrys health minister announced Wednesday. The victims are among the 5,260 cases recorded by Mozambican authorities, at a time when the country is going through a period marked by water-borne diseases due to the rainy season, Armindo Tiago explained. The Mozambican governor was speaking during a press conference called to take stock of the visit of a high-level delegation of the World Poliomyelitis Eradication Initiative, a team also comprising the Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Matshidiso Rebecca Moeti. The cholera cases come at a time when the country has already received vaccines and is preparing to begin a vaccination campaign starting on the 26th of this month, he said. The ambition is to reach a little more than 700 thousand people in eight districts of the provinces of Niassa, Sofala, Zambezia and Gaza, added Armindo Tiago. The minister also reinforced the appeal for vigilance among the communities, highlighting that the country is preparing for the approach of a tropical storm. Given the possibility that the country will be affected in the coming days by a tropical depression or cyclone, I appeal to the readiness of the health response teams, he concluded. Outbreaks of cholera and other diarrheal diseases arise seasonally in Mozambique during the rainy season. Tunisian President Kais Saied has made extremely hateful and racist remarks against African migrants who arrive in his country on their way to Europe. After castigating and making racist remarks against African immigrants, who seek refuge in Europe because of poverty, famine and conflicts in their countries, the Tunisian president went so far as to say that Africans were the cause of most of Tunisias problems, trying to Africanize it and distance it from its Arabness. In Morocco, where African migrants enjoy full social rights and are integrated into the the Kingdoms social fabric, these remarks have caused immense consternation and a visceral rejection of the remarks made by the Tunisian president against African citizens who are legitimately seeking a better future for themselves and their children. The Moroccan citizen, if he is not used to meddling in the affairs of a country, was violently shaken by the racist and execrable remarks made by the Tunisian president. It is unethical to let such a deafening anger of African nations over the defamatory remarks of President Kais Saied pass. The Tunisian president, university professor, should not ignore that migration is an enrichment for the host society and the fact of asserting that Africans are the primary cause of Tunisias problems shows a serious ignorance of the Tunisian reality. Saying that migrants seek to Africanize Tunisia and to distance it from its Arabness is another nameless aberration. With a simple glance at the world map, the author of these remarks would have realized that Tunisia is already on the African continent. It is as African as Niger, Congo or Tanzania. South Africas military has defended its decision to host controversial naval exercises with Russia and China that began Wednesday, shortly before the first anniversary of Russias invasion of Ukraine and have Westerners worried. There is a difference between the military and the political, General Siphiwe Sangweni, head of joint operations in the South African armed forces, told a news conference at the eastern port of Richards Bay. The army is guided by the government but must also learn new skills from other armies to protect the country and contribute to international peacekeeping missions, he explained. Other countries will certainly have a different approach than us to these joint exercises with Russia and China, but each country is sovereign and has the right to handle things as it sees fit, he stressed. Cooperation and coordination with all other militaries is something very important to us, Sangweni added. South Africa announced last month that it was organizing the joint exercises with the Russian and Chinese Marines to share operational skills and knowledge, and said Russia was the lead nation. The operations, which involve more than 350 South African military personnel, will continue for several days off Durban (south-east), the largest port in southern Africa on the Indian Ocean, and Richards Bay, some 180 km further north. A Russian military frigate equipped with hypersonic Zircon missiles and a Chinese warship are expected to participate. South Africa has claimed to take a neutral stance since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago, refusing to join Western calls to condemn Moscow and saying it prefers dialogue to end the war. These joint naval exercises with Russia are causing concern in the United States and the European Union, which consider them particularly inappropriate a few days before the first anniversary of the Russian invasion launched on February 24. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Have you ever found yourself searching for your keys or phone only to end up getting distracted by a brightly colored object that grabs your attention? This type of attentional capture by objects that stand out from their surroundings is known as "pop-out." Pop-out is often functional, for instance when we want people to pay attention to bright red road signs. It can however also distract us from our goals, for instance when a brightly colored binder prevents us from finding our keys on a cluttered desk. Would it not be nice if pop-out for distracting items could somehow be blocked or suppressed to avoid distractions and help us find whatever we are looking for faster? New research from the Vision and Cognition group at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, published in PNAS, demonstrates that this is indeed possible. After training, the visual brain can suppress neuronal responses to pop-out distractors that are usually enhanced compared to responses to other, non-distracting, items. The researchers trained monkeys to play a video game in which they searched for a unique shape among multiple items, while a uniquely colored item tried to distract them. As soon as the monkeys found the unique shape, they made an eye movement to it to indicate their choice. After some training, monkeys became very good at this game and almost never made eye movements to the distractor. Neurons in area V4 of the visual cortex, a brain area that processes visual information relatively early after is is captured by the eyes, showed consistently enhanced responses to the shape target stimuli. Responses to the distracting color stimuli on the other hand were only very briefly enhanced but became rapidly suppressed. It appears that the brain first briefly detects the presence of the distracting stimulus, and then quickly suppresses it to avoid that it will interfere with the search for the shape target. The color pop-out signal that might cause distraction is thus essentially inverted into a kind of negative pop-out, or "pop-in," to avoids distraction. Researcher Chris Klink says, "Choosing what to attend to is very important for visual perception, and behavior in general. Even though the brain has impressive processing power, it simply cannot handle all available information at once. Attention needs to strike a balance between our own internally generated goals and whatever appears to be important in the environment. Dealing with distraction in an efficient way is a crucial aspect of that process, that we now understand a little bit better." More information: P. Christiaan Klink et al, Inversion of pop-out for a distracting feature dimension in monkey visual cortex, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2023). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2210839120 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Provided by Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience - KNAW This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Ida Nilsson, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg. Credit: Pernilla Lundgren/SAS Bowel leakage, the need for anal incontinence protection and a restricted social life may cause severe, decades-long suffering among women with obstetric injuries to the anal opening, according to a study from the University of Gothenburg. The study, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, includes a total of more than 11,000 women who had given birth vaginally in Sweden, twice, in the years 19872000. The researchers have previously described how the risk of accidental bowel leakage increases after obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASIs) during childbirth. The present study focuses on the severity of these problems and their potential impact on women's lives two decades later. Three groups were studied: women who had no anal sphincter injuries, those who incurred the OASI during one of the births, and those with an OASI both times they gave birth. The data analyzed came from the Swedish National Birth Register and replies to a questionnaire concerning the women's symptoms of bowel leakage and the psychological impact and effect on social life of the incontinence after 20 years. Problems increase with number of injuries Of the women with two OASIs, 10.5% report leakage of liquid feces two times or more monthly; this is categorized in the study as high-frequency anal incontinence. When the women with low-frequency incontinence are included as well, the proportion is 34.9%. Of all the women with two injuries, 29.6% state that leakage affects their everyday life. The results thereafter follow a descending scale. Of the women with one anal sphincter injury, 6.4% report high-frequency leakage and 21.7% leakage of both high and low frequency. For 19.7% of the latter, the injury affects their everyday life. Of the women with no OASI, 2.7% report high-frequency leakage and 10.8% either high- or low-frequency leakage, while 8.6% report that the incontinence impacts everyday life. In terms of the severity of these problems, going from no injury to one injury is roughly equivalent to the step from one to two injuries. Thus, the problems are cumulative, and this is also reflected in the women's subjective perception of how their everyday lives are affected by fecal incontinence. Incontinence pads for fecal leakage are used by 2.3% of the women with no OASI, 7.1% of those with one OASI and 8.4% of those with two OASIs. The study found no influence of OASIs on other pelvic floor disorders or symptoms in the lower urinary tract. Major impact on quality of life Attitudes vary, too. In women with no OASI, fecal incontinence is found "bothersome" by 28.2%. The corresponding share in the group with one injury is 43.9%, against 46.0% among those with two injuries. The first and corresponding author of the study is Ida Nilsson, a researcher affiliated with Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, in obstetrics and gynecology. She is also a resident obstetrician at Sodra Alvsborg Hospital Women's Clinic in Boras. "An anal sphincter injury considerably raises the risk of accidental bowel leakage later in life. With repetition of the injury, the risk of persistent fecal incontinence is doubled. The degree of severity also rises, with a higher frequency of leakage occasions, more severe incontinence, and a greater impact on quality of life," Nilsson states. More information: Ida E.K. Nilsson et al, Severity and impact of accidental bowel leakage two decades after no, one, or two sphincter injuries, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.ajog.2022.11.1312 Journal information: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Dementia has overtaken coronary heart disease as the leading cause of disease burden among Australians aged 65 and over. The latest update to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare's (AIHW) compendium report Dementia in Australia shows that dementia was responsible for almost 230,000 years of healthy life lost among people aged 65 and over in 2022, a 61% increase since 2011. "Dementia is an umbrella term for a group of conditions that gradually impair brain function that may impact memory, speech, cognition (thought), personality, behavior. It is an increasing cause of disease burden in Australia, largely due to our aging population but also from declines in burden from other leading causes, such as coronary heart disease," said AIHW spokesperson Melanie Dunford. "Dementia was responsible for 4.4% of Australia's disease burden in 2022, which includes both the impact of living with the condition (the non-fatal burden of disease) and dying prematurely (fatal burden), and was the 2nd leading cause of death in Australia in 2020, accounting for 9.6% of all deaths." In 2022, 401,300 Australians were estimated to be living with dementia. This number increased by 4% from the year prior and is expected to more than double to 849,300 in 2058. Today's report includes information on the behaviors and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). BPSD refers to a range of non-cognitive symptoms that are common among people living with dementia, including agitation, aggression, insomnia and anxiety. "While the deterioration of memory, language and cognition are hallmarks of dementia, the majority of people with dementia will also experience at least one type of BPSD as their dementia progresses," Ms. Dunford said. "BPSD can have a significant impact on people with dementia, caregivers and family, and has been associated with early admission to residential care, increased hospitalization, distress for caregivers and reduced functional ability for the person with dementia." Among those referred to BPSD support services delivered by Dementia Support Australia between July 2021 and June 2022, agitation was the most recorded primary behavior, accounting for almost 35% of referrals. This was followed by physical aggression (25%), verbal aggression (11%) and anxiety (6.4%). While there are no current prevalence estimates for BPSD in Australia, this report presents information on the prevalence of select symptoms using available data. Further work is required to understand the full impact and cause(s) of BPSD. What is 'burden of disease?' Every year in Australia, millions of years of healthy life are lost because of injury, illness or premature deaths. This loss of healthy life is called the "burden of disease." Burden of disease is the gold standard approach for measuring the impact of illness, injury and death, facilitating consistent measures for monitoring population health and generating evidence to inform health policy and service planning. Provided by Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain As the cost of medication rises, do doctors have a responsibility to help people safely source cheaper options? A Macquarie University medical ethics researcher is calling for doctors to make their patients aware of cheaper online options for buying medicines to combat a growing affordability crisis. Many medications in Australia are subsidized under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, but out-ofpocket costs can still be as high as $30 per prescription. For high-cost treatments that are not subsidized, the price can run to tens of thousands of dollars per dose. In his new paper in the Journal of Medical Ethics, Dr. Narcyz Ghinea says people in lower socioeconomic groups are particularly affected by the cost of medication, and the problem is made worse if they have multiple conditions. "There's an increasing realization that cost is a barrier for many people, and one that doctors should be considering and making people aware of when they prescribe a medication," he says. "A 2017 Productivity Commission report found 8% of Australians were either not filling their prescriptions at all or were skipping doses due to the cost, and in the Aboriginal community, this rose to 36%. "Any increases in co-payments can have a significant impact, too. When the co-payment for a cholesterol-lowering medication rose by 21%, 16% of people either stopped taking it or reduced their dose." Australia is not the only country to be affected by medication affordability. It is a global problem, especially in countries with fewer safety nets. In the U.S., it has been estimated that up to 15% of people with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure are risking their health by not taking some or all of their prescribed medication due to the cost. Buying online is legal, but risky Under Australian law, most medicines can be imported from overseas for private use via the Personal Importation Scheme. But with the online medicine industry worth an estimated US$138 billion a year, there are big incentives for unscrupulous operators willing to take advantage of people looking for cheaper medicines. In a 2021 Interpol crackdown on illegal vendors, 113,000 websites selling unauthorized medicines were removed or had their URLs blocked in the U.K. It is estimated that a quarter of drugs in circulation in middle-and-lower-income countries, where medicines tend to be cheaper, had quality issues. The biggest problem is that the drugs either don't contain any of the active ingredient or at least not enough of it to be effective. "Several years ago, fake versions of cancer drugs were found to be in circulation in the U.S. and Europe," Ghinea says. "It is very difficult for anyone to know which products are safe to buy online, and we need to seriously consider what role doctors have to help patients access drugs they need but cannot afford. "Yes, there are systemic issues that need to be addressed, and I agree that it is expecting a lot of a workforce that is already under pressure. "But when the system is failing people, it can be argued that doctors do have an extra duty towards patients to help them overcome those failures, and one way they can do that is by helping them access cheaper medications from abroad. "Nobody in health has the patient's primary interest at heart in the same way as their own doctor does." Safety in numbers The legal ramifications associated with doctors helping patients to source medication from overseas has yet to be tested, but Ghinea suggests it would be similar to that associated with the Special Access Scheme, which, in certain circumstances, allows doctors to prescribe medicines and devices that are not included on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. "A good rule of thumb is for doctors to check with their medical indemnity insurance provider to see what they will cover," he says. Some doctors are already helping their patients source cheaper medicines from overseas, either on an individual basis or through online buyers' clubs. As in the movie, The Dallas Buyers' Club, people are banding together to import cheaper versions of the treatments for chronic conditions such as hepatitis C and cystic fibrosis from trusted sources. Ghinea also recommends that doctors should work together to share information, in the way the Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine has in the past. "As medication costs rise, personal importation will boom, and if it isn't done safely, then more people will be at risk from sub-standard products," Ghinea says. "If a patient needs a medicine to save their life, and the government and health system has failed to provide them with affordable access, then don't doctors at least have some responsibility to make them aware of other ways to access affordable treatments that could help them? "Of course, there are risks that need to be considered. But patients missing out on treatment they need because of cost is also risky." More information: Narcyz Ghinea, Do doctors have a responsibility to help patients import medicines from abroad?, Journal of Medical Ethics (2022). DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2021-108027 Journal information: Journal of Medical Ethics This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Luo et al Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder estimated to affect approximately 2.5% of children and adults worldwide. The disorder is characterized by the inability to pay attention to stimuli for prolonged periods of time, along with hyperactive and impulsive behavior. While there is now extensive neuroscience literature focusing on ADHD, the biological mechanisms underpinning its genesis and development are still poorly understood. Past findings suggest that the visual perception of patients with ADHD is overactivated, particularly while they are completing cognitive tasks. A few studies also found that long-term stimulants can improve visual acuity in children with ADHD, which could in turn help them to selectively focus on particular visual stimuli for a longer period of time. This evidence remains scarce and the therapeutic value of these stimulants yet to be confidently ascertained. Researchers at Peking University Sixth Hospital & Peking University Institute of Mental Health, the NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health & National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders and Beijing Normal University have recently carried out a study looking at how the contextual visual perception of children diagnosed with ADHD differs from that of children without ADHD. Their paper, published in the European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, also assesses the effects of a single dose of methylphenidate, a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant also sold under the brand names Ritalin and Concerta, on the brains of children with ADHD diagnoses. "The pathogenesis of overactivated visual perception in ADHD remains unclear, which is interpreted as a cognitive compensation," Xiangsheng Luo, Chen Dang and their colleagues wrote in their paper. "Existing studies have proposed that perceptual abnormalities in neurodevelopmental disorders are associated with dysfunction of the contextual knowledge system, which influences the development and formation of perception. We hypothesized that alterations in contextual states may also be responsible for inducing perceptual abnormalities in ADHD." Luo, Dang and their colleagues hypothesized that children with ADHD would visually perceive their surrounding context or environment differently than control children (i.e., children without an ADHD diagnosis). To test this hypothesis, they conducted an experiment involving 135 children from China of similar ages, 70 of whom were diagnosed with ADHD. The children were asked to complete questionnaires, take part in a semi-structured interview and complete a visual search task. This task consisted in reporting the position of a target (i.e., a circle) while ignoring 11 distracting stimuli (i.e., diamonds) surrounding it. As the children completed this task, the researchers used an electroencephalogram (EEG) to measure the electrical activity in their brain. This also allowed them to detect event-related potentials (ERPs), small voltages generated in response to specific stimuli. Luo, Dang and their colleagues also conducted a second experiment involving 19 children with ADHD. These children were asked to complete the same visual task used in the first experiment, but before and after they had been administered a single dose of methylphenidate. "The present study evaluated the characteristics of pre-stimulus alpha and its response to a single dose of methylphenidate (MPH)," Luo, Dang and their colleagues explained in their paper. "Pre-stimulus alpha oscillations and P1 activity were significantly greater in children with ADHD than in the controls. Overactivated pre-stimulus alpha positively predicted P1. Both pre-stimulus alpha and P1 overactivation have beneficial effects on cognitive performance in children with ADHD. No intervening effect of a single dose of MPH on the compensatory activation of pre-stimulus alpha and P1 were observed." Overall, the recent work by Luo, Dang and their colleagues suggests that when children with ADHD are tackling cognitive tasks, their contextual visual perception is over-activated, prompting them to be more easily distracted by other environmental stimuli that are unrelated to the task. In addition, the team found that while a single dose of methylphenidate improved the children's ability to visually search for target objects and increased the speed and consistency of their responses during the visual task, it did not affect these "abnormalities" in contextual visual perception, perhaps highlighting the need to develop additional interventions targeting them. "Our findings extended the perceptual activation to the contextual knowledge system, suggesting that compensatory perception in children with ADHD is more likely to be a top-down regulated cognitive operational process," Luo, Dang and their colleagues wrote in their paper. "Furthermore, perceptual abnormalities in children with ADHD are insensitive to a single dose of methylphenidate, which may be closely related to neurodevelopmental alterations, necessitating the development of related interventions." More information: Xiangsheng Luo et al, Overactivated contextual visual perception and response to a single dose of methylphenidate in children with ADHD, European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience (2023). DOI: 10.1007/s00406-023-01559-0 2023 Science X Network This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: A flu vaccine is readied at the L.A. Care and Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plans' Community Resource Center where they were offering members and the public free flu and COVID-19 vaccines Friday, Oct. 28, 2022, in Lynwood, Calif. Early estimates suggest the flu vaccine performed unusually well in a U.S. winter flu season that has already dissipated, health officials said during a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccines meeting Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File Early estimates suggest the flu vaccine performed well in a U.S. winter flu season that has already dissipated. The vaccines were more than 40% effective in preventing adults from getting sick enough from the flu that they had to go to a doctor's office, clinic or hospital, health officials said during a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccines meeting Wednesday. Officials generally are pleased if a flu vaccine is 40% to 60% effective. One reason is the vaccine was a good match against the strains that spread over the fall and winter, officials say. But one expert at the meeting was underwhelmed and said it points out the need for better flu vaccines. "It is still disappointing" that the vaccine was a good match and yet effectiveness was still modest, said Dr. Sarah Long of Drexel University. Annual flu vaccines are recommended for everyone 6 months and older in the U.S. About half of eligible kids and just under half of adults got flu shots in the last several months, according to CDC data. Vaccination rates were up compared with 2021-2022, but below what they were before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, said the CDC's Brendan Flannery. Initially, it looked like it might be a bad flu season. The virus took off in early November as COVID-19 and another respiratory virus, RSV, roiled emergency departments. Among kids, flu-related hospitalization rates in November and December were as high as any seen in recent years, Flannery said. At least 111 flu deaths have been reported in children, the most since the 199 reported in the 2019-2020 season. The dominant flu strain was the kind typically associated with higher rates of hospitalizations and deaths, particularly among older people. In some years, the vaccines were virtually ineffective against that strain in people 65 and older. But this season's vaccine has done unusually well, with the best results seen in at least 10 years, said Flannery, who is responsible for the CDC's flu vaccine effectiveness data. Flu also apparently made a very early exit, with the virus declining since the end of November. Some pockets of high flu activity have persisted this month, including in New Mexico and New York City. But for the vast majority of the country, it's low. It's not clear exactly why the wave crested so early, but flu seasons have been unusually mild or otherwise strange since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, Flannery said. CDC officials also caution that flu season might not really be overlate winter or spring second surges have occurred in the past. The CDC uses several systems to track flu vaccines. One is a network of hospitals that offer information on how well the vaccine prevented flu-related illnesses bad enough to require admission to a hospital. Another is a collection of urgent care clinics and hospital emergency departments, which produce estimates of how well the vaccine worked against in preventing those kinds of medical visits. Among the findings: The vaccine was 44% effective in preventing adult lab-confirmed flu visits to urgent care clinics and hospital emergency rooms, and 39% effective for seniors age 65 and older. It was 43% effective against flu-related hospitalizations of all adults, and 35% against flu hospitalizations of seniors. In kids, the vaccine was 68% effective in preventing illnesses severe enough to require hospitalization, and 42% effective for pediatric visits to the emergency department. 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Sora Shimazaki/Pexels You wake with stomach pain that worsens during the day and decide to see your doctor. You describe your symptoms and your doctor examines you. Then the doctor says, "From what I hear, I think you could just have a stomach bug. Rest and come back in three days." This might be a less definitive answer than you're after. But doctors can't always be sure of a diagnosis straight away. As my review shows, doctors use various ways of communicating such uncertainty. Sometimes there is a mismatch between what doctors say when they're uncertain and how patients interpret what they say, which can have harmful consequences. Why does uncertainty matter? Doctors cannot always explain what your health problem is or what caused it. Such diagnostic uncertainty is a normal and ever-present part of the processes leading to a diagnosis. For instance, doctors often have to rule out other possible diagnoses before settling on one that's most likely. While doctors ultimately get the diagnosis right in 85%90% of cases, diagnostic uncertainty can lead to diagnostic delays and is a huge contributor to harmful or even deadly misdiagnoses. Every year, an estimated 21,000 people are seriously harmed and 2,0004,000 people die in Australia because their diagnosis was delayed, missed or wrong. That could be because the wrong treatment was provided and caused harm, or the right treatment was not started or given after the condition had already considerably progressed. More than 80% of diagnostic errors could have been prevented. Three medical conditionsinfections, cancer and major vascular events (such as strokes or heart attacks)are the so-called "Big Three" and cause devastating harm if misdiagnosed. In my review, the top three symptomsfever, chest pain and abdominal painwere most often linked to diagnostic uncertainty. In other words, most of us will have had at least one of these very common symptoms and thus been at risk of uncertainty and misdiagnosis. Some groups are less likely to be diagnosed correctly or without inappropriate delay than others, leading to diagnostic inequities. This may be the case for women, and other groups marginalized because of their race or ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity, or language proficiency. How often do you hear 'I don't know'? My research showed doctors often make diagnostic uncertainty clear to patients by using explicit phrases such as: "I don't know." But doctors can also keep quiet about any uncertainty or signal they're uncertain in more subtle ways. When doctors believe patients prefer clear answers, they may only share the most likely diagnosis. They say, "It's a stomach bug" but leave out, "it could also be constipation, appendicitis or endometriosis." Patients leave thinking the doctor is confident about the (potentially correct or incorrect) diagnosis, and remain uninformed about possible other causes. This can be especially frustrating for patients with chronic symptoms, where such knowledge gaps can lead to lengthy diagnostic delays, as reported for endometriosis. Subtle ways of communicating uncertainty include hedging with certain words (could, maybe) or using introductory phrases (my guess, I think). Other implicit ways are consulting a colleague or the Internet, or making follow-up appointments. If patients hear "I think this could be a stomach bug" they may think there's some uncertainty. But when they hear "come back in three days" the uncertainty may not be so obvious. Sharing uncertainty implicitly (rather than more directly), can leave patients unaware of new symptoms signaling a dangerous change in their condition. What can you do about it? 1. Ask about uncertainty Ask your doctor to share any uncertainty and other diagnostic reasoning. Ask about alternative diagnoses they're considering. If you're armed with such knowledge, you can better engage in your care, for example asking for a review when your symptoms worsen. 2. Manage expectations together Making a diagnosis can be an evolving process rather than a single event. So ask your doctor to outline the diagnostic process to help manage any mismatched expectations about how long it might take, or what might be involved, to reach a diagnosis. Some conditions need time for symptoms to evolve, or further tests to exclude or confirm. 3. Book a long appointment When we feel sick, we might get anxious or find we experience heightened levels of fear and other emotions. When we hear our doctor isn't certain about what's causing our symptoms, we may get even more anxious or fearful. In these cases, it can take time to discuss uncertainty and to learn about our options. So book a long appointment to give your doctor enough time to explain and for you to ask questions. If you feel you'd like some support, you can ask a close friend or family member to attend the appointment with you and to take notes for you. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Cleveland Clinic The U.S. Census Bureau shows more than 64 million women in America are going through menopause or are postmenopausal. Previously, treatment often included hormone therapy, but that changed after cardiovascular risks were reported. However, the American College of Cardiology's Cardiovascular Disease in Women committee, led by Leslie Cho, MD, cardiologist for Cleveland Clinic, found that hormone therapy can still be used, but with specific guidance. "The people that are safe for hormone therapy are women who just started having postmenopausal or perimenopause who have very little cardiovascular risk," explained Dr. Cho. "And that risk is assessed by various risk scores that are out there. We use the ACC/H/CVD risk score, so women who have very low risk for having heart disease in the next 10 years, they're safe to use hormone replacement therapy." Doctor Cho said they looked at 20 years' worth of data to develop the new guidance for hormone therapy. For those unfamiliar, menopause typically happens in a woman's early 50s. Symptoms can include vaginal dryness, hot flashes, chills, night sweats, sleep problems, and mood changes. It can also cause weight gain and slow down a woman's metabolism. Credit: Cleveland Clinic Dr. Cho said many times a woman will suffer in silence and they shouldn't have to. She believes they deserve a better quality of life and hopes these changes in guidance can help with that. "It's important if you're going to start hormone therapy to talk to your doctor and go through your risks," she said. "And for women with heart disease, it's really critical to have a frank discussion with your physician about the risks and benefits of starting hormone therapy." Dr. Cho's research was recently published in Circulation. More information: Leslie Cho et al, Rethinking Menopausal Hormone Therapy: For Whom, What, When, and How Long?, Circulation (2023). DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.061559 Journal information: Circulation This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Newly arrived immigrants drank decreasing amounts of alcohol in their first two years in the United States, according to a study of Latino immigrants living in Miami-Dade County in Florida. The study, published in Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research, found greater decreases for certain groups, such as young adults and immigrants with permanent residency status. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic halted some declines. The study points to the importance of motivators, stressors, and protective factors that impact immigrants' drinking patterns. Prior studies of Latino immigrants have found alcohol use to increase as time in the United States increases; the current study finding of decreasing alcohol use in the years immediately post-immigration highlights an opportunity to support recent immigrants to prevent later escalation of alcohol use. Overall, the study found that alcohol use declined in the first two years following immigration to the United States, from an average of 18 drinks per month before immigration, to 14 drinks per month in the first year to 10 drinks per month in the second year after immigration. Certain groups showed greater decreases. Eighteen- to 20-year-olds drank the least of any group and showed greater declines in alcohol use than other age groupsfrom 12 drinks per month prior to immigration to two drinks per month in the second year after immigrationwhich the authors suggest may be due to the United States' minimum legal drinking age of 21. The minimum legal drinking age in most Latin American countries is 18. Legal residency status was associated with rates of decline in alcohol use. Drinking among immigrants with permanent residency status sharply decreased, from 18 drinks per month prior to immigration to two drinks per month in their second year post-immigration. By contrast, drinking by undocumented immigrants dropped by only about one drink per month, from 18 drinks per month before immigration to 17 drinks per month in their second year in the United States. The authors suggest that those with permanent residency status may be more optimistic about opportunities for themselves and their families and may be more likely to avoid behaviors that might compromise those opportunities. 'To celebrate' was the most often cited motivation for drinking among study participants and was associated with significantly less alcohol use than drinking motivated by boredom or 'to forget.' During the COVID-19 pandemic, 'to forget' became the most often cited reason for drinking. Self-reported data were collected from November 2018 to December 2020 from more than 500 Latino immigrants aged 18-34 living in Florida's Miami-Dade County who had arrived in the U.S. within the year prior to their participation in the study. Participants had immigrated from South America, Central America, and other Latin American countries, reflecting the demographics of recent Latino immigrants in the United States. The findings provide insight into potential stressors and motivations for recently arrived immigrants, which can inform targeted interventions to support vulnerable groups. More information: Eduardo Romano et al, A characterization of pre to postimmigration alcohol use among recent Latino immigrants to the United States before and during the COVID 19 pandemic, Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research (2023). DOI: 10.1111/acer.14993 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Two newer simplified treatment options for HIV are at least as effective as current approaches, according to the results of a world-first international clinical trial into second-line HIV therapy led by the Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney and presented February 22 at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle. Second-line treatment is the name given to the range of treatment options available to a person for whom the first HIV treatment offered to them does not work. Worldwide, this is about 10% of people living with HIV. The globally significant finding means that for more than 3 million people living with HIV around the world for whom the standard first-line HIV treatment does not work, there is now evidence to support a range of treatment options, which is crucial in allowing optimal access to treatment, especially in low- and middle-income countries. "Recommendations for second-line therapy are generally effective at achieving viral suppression; however, some involve drug resistance testing which can be a strain on health systems. Furthermore, many treatments require multiple pills, and they can have some side effects," says Professor Gail Matthews from the Kirby Institute, who presented the findings at CROI. "Understanding the pros and cons of different treatment approaches is important to guide decision making." The D2EFT study was designed to compare one standard approach for second-line HIV treatmentritonavir boosted darunavir + 2 nucleosides backboneagainst two alternative second-line regimens: Dolutegravir (DTG) with ritonavir boosted darunavir (DRV/R) and dolutegravir with fixed tenofovir and lamivudine or emtricitabine (TDF/XTC). The newer treatment options were found to be at least as good as the standard of care in achieving viral suppression, but have potential additional benefits in terms of cost, tolerability and simplification. "This finding of non-inferiority has significant implications for the management of HIV globally," says Professor Matthew Law from the Kirby Institute. "Adopting either of these simplified treatments could mean administering fewer pills, avoids the need for specialized resistance tests, and reduces the cost of the medication. In low- and middle-income countries where health systems and supply chains can be fragile, having these simplified treatment options can optimize access to treatment, while providing equally high levels of viral suppression." D2EFT enrolled 831 patients from 14 countries. Patients were randomized to one of the three arms. "The Kirby Institute has a large clinical network and participating sites have done an immense job to keep this trial going through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of our D2EFT trial are particularly robust because the study was conducted across an incredibly diverse group of countries. We're confident that the findings are relevant and important internationally, but most urgently, in low- and middle-income countries," says Prof. Law. Meg Doherty, Director of WHO's Global HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections Programs in Geneva, has welcomed the results of the D2EFT study. "The findings further reinforce the current WHO recommendation of using dolutegravir as the preferred antiretroviral option, while also providing new insights into the simplification of second-line HIV treatment in low- and middle-income countries," she said. "For the D2EFT study, social value is at the heart of the rationale. With a particularly vulnerable study population, involvement of the participating communities was crucial for the study's success. This was done through a Community Advisory Board (CAB) structure, which allowed many voices to be represented. Incorporating the voices of the community like this ensures the community and scientists work together to generate applicable knowledge for the community," says Leo Perelis, global chair, D2EFT Community Advisory Board. "In global health, we must build strong defenses at all stages of care. Unitaid co-financed the D2EFT study to advance simple, tolerable HIV treatment alternatives for people for whom our first line of defense had failed. This research not only included diverse populations across countries and continents to ensure solutions are suitable to all, it is also bolstering efforts to confront drug-resistance in the fight against HIV," says Dr. Philippe Duneton, executive director of Unitaid. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: From left to right, back to front: Sai Nedunchezhian, Dr. Keith Ferdinand, Pavan Guduri, Madeline Wegener, Farah Allouch, Vi Nguyen, Tina Reddy and Amanda Hercules. Racial health disparities research by Dr. Ferdinand and this group of Tulane students was published in a special edition of American Heart Journal in February 2023. Credit: Rusty Costanza Three years after the COVID-19 pandemic exposed racial and ethnic health disparities nationwide, those disparities continue to exist in American communities of color. Black Americans ages 1849 are twice as likely to die from heart disease as white Americans, according to the CDC. Hypertension, the leading preventable risk factor for premature death worldwide, is more prevalent in Black Americans than any other group, and fewer Black Americans receive adequate blood pressure medication than white Americans. At Tulane University, a diverse team of medical students has worked alongside Dr. Keith C. Ferdinand, the Gerald S. Berenson chair of preventative cardiology at Tulane University School of Medicine, to examine racial and ethnic health disparities and, in some cases, provide solutions. The students' research ranges from examining the history of legislation around sugary drinks to a program that used text alerts to remind community members to take blood pressure medications. This Black History Month, the collection of research was published in the Cardiac Disparities Special Edition in American Heart Journal Plus. "Simply waiting for the intermittent physician office visit will not address the poor levels of hypertension control seen in racial and ethnic minority populations," Ferdinand said. "A just society will not allow these heath inequities to persist, and we need to have everyone work together, not only physicians, but also advanced practice nurses, public health officials, medical students, community members, and patients working as integrated team-based approach." In the primary pilot study, "Text My BP Meds NOLA," Ferdinand worked with medical students Tina Reddy, Pavan Guduri, Sai Nedunchezhian and Madeline Wegener to increase blood pressure medication adherence among non-Hispanic Black adults by texting them reminders. The program worked, with the text alerts "significantly improving" medication adherence and helped participants lower their blood pressure without changing medications. "In a population that's often left by the wayside, this study was vital to investigating how we might work toward equitable health outcomes," Guduri said. Another student, second-year medical student Vi Nguyen, authored Primordial Prevention: Reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in racial/ethnic populations, a literature review that examines current and historic legislation of sugared drinks and the associated health outcomes. In a third study, "Influence of Neighborhood-level Social Determinants of Health on a Heart-Healthy Lifestyle Among Black Church Members," MPH candidate Amanda Hercules and Ph.D. Candidate Farah Allouch helped survey Black New Orleanians about existing access to sidewalks, recreation facilities, and other neighborhood infrastructure that could improve heart health. Nedunchezhian was also first author on a fourth study analyzing racial disparities in outcomes of treatments for lower extremity peripheral arterial disease. The research also included work by Wegener and Reddy. Reddy, a third-year medical student completing an MPH in Social, Behavioral, and Population Sciences, said her work in the field with Ferdinand only enhanced the "cultural humility" training she's received while studying at Tulane School of Medicine. "Dr. Ferdinand mentors so many of us students and gives us the opportunity to see what's going on in our communities firsthand," Reddy said. "We have to really understand the barriers patients face and the social factors that affect their day-to-day life." And yet, while Reddy is proud of the work they've accomplished, she said there is more work to be done. "We've barely scratched the surface," Reddy said. "We live in a vibrant community in New Orleans, and I'm constantly learning from and interacting with people from all different backgrounds. But we've barely put a dent in the work that needs to be done to dismantle the structural inequities in our health care delivery system." More information: Daphne P. Ferdinand et al, TEXT MY BP MEDS NOLA: A pilot study of text-messaging and social support to increase hypertension medication adherence, American Heart Journal Plus: Cardiology Research and Practice (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.ahjo.2023.100253 Flor Alvarado et al, Influence of neighborhood-level social determinants of health on a heart-healthy lifestyle among Black church members: A mixed-methods study, American Heart Journal Plus: Cardiology Research and Practice (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.ahjo.2023.100273 Saihariharan Nedunchezhian et al, A systematic review of racial/ethnic disparities in pharmacotherapy and surgical treatment outcomes in peripheral arterial disease among African American/non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic White and Hispanic patients, American Heart Journal Plus: Cardiology Research and Practice (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.ahjo.2022.100179 Journal information: American Heart Journal This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain In 2015 the United Nations General Assembly adopted universal health coverage as one of the sustainable development goals. The aim of universal health coverage is to ensure that every person and community, irrespective of their circumstances, has access to the health services they need, at the time and place they need it, without the risk of financial devastation. Many countries have committed to the concept, which has resulted in numerous health reforms. The World Health Organization recognizes Rwanda as one of the countries that are performing well on the goal of universal health coverage. The Cochrane Centre summarizes and disseminates information on what works and what doesn't in health care. Professor Charles Shey Wiysonge, director of Cochrane South Africa and senior director at the South African Medical Research Council, spoke to Rwanda's health minister, Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, about the road map for universal health coverage in the country. Charles Wiysonge: What does universal health coverage look like in Rwanda? Sabin Nsanzimana: In the last decade, calls for increased efforts to achieve universal health coverage have grown. Many countries have committed to universal health coverageparticularly in Africa. This has resulted in numerous health reforms. Rwanda's President Paul Kagame was appointed by other African heads of state as the leader on domestic health financing in the AU Assembly Declaration in February 2019. The aim of the declaration was to increase investment in health and have member states spend efficiently and effectively to achieve better health outcomes. In the last couple of decades Rwanda has improved the health and well-being of all its people. This was done through a combination of evidence-based and people-centered strategies and interventions. The country has been able to make the following substantial progress: On the supply side, the country has built a healthcare delivery system on primary healthcare. Individuals and communities are at the center of our actions. The increased number of health facilities (from 1,036 in 2013 to 1,457 in 2020) has improved the geographical accessibility of care. It's also contributed to the reduction of the average time used by a Rwandan citizen to reach a health facility. The average time used to reach the nearest health facility has fallen from 95.1 minutes in 2010 to 49.9 minutes in the past 10 years. On the demand side, the risk pooling has been greatly improved as a result of the extension of Community-Based Health Insurance schemes. These give the majority of the population access to healthcare services, and improve access to quality services. Insurance has also reduced out-of-pocket expenditures (which are 4% as a share of total health expenditure) in particular for the poor and most vulnerable people. Community-based health insurance covers over 85% of the population. The percentage of the population with some kind of health insurance has increased from 43.3% in 2005 to 90.5% in 2020. This has helped to protect households against financial risks associated with sickness. The government spending on health (15.6% as of the 2019/2020 financial year) has surpassed the 15% required under the 2001 Abuja Declaration. This shows the country's high commitment to the development of health sector financing. Where are the gaps and why do they exist? Sabin Nsanzimana: Progress towards universal health coverage is a continuous process. It responds to shifts in demographic, epidemiological and technological trends as well as people's socio-economic status and expectations. If Rwanda is to meet the goal of achieving universal health coverage by 2030, we need to be far more ambitious to leave no one behind. Additional health financing reforms and actions to maintain achieved gains and improve further health outcomes are needed. The fact that the country has achieved close to universal population coverage is in itself a great achievement. But there are still some people who are uninsured. We need to identify policy options to expand coverage to the hard-to-reach population in the informal sector. Health insurance has positively affected the use of services and equity. But further improvements are needed. We must extend the service coverage based on the need and reduce cost-sharing, especially for secondary and tertiary care. Sustainability of health financing is also a critical issue. It requires finding innovative ways to mobilize domestic resources, adopting better resource pooling mechanisms and an effective strategic purchasing mechanism. These must ensure equity and efficient use of available resource and value for money. Charles Wiysonge: What else is needed? Sabin Nsanzimana: To move further and deeper towards universal health coverage calls for evidence-based policy reforms that would provide direction for a long-term model for service delivery (focusing on the primary healthcare level) and health financing in Rwanda. This will require adequate awareness among policy decision makers, and increased capacity in those areas and shared understanding of universal health coverage to support the necessary reforms. Charles Wiysonge: What can other countries on the continent learn from Rwanda's experience? Sabin Nsanzimana: Strong leadership that sets a clear vision for the future is imperative. Countries need a development model that is inclusive. Such a model must consider gender equality, pro-poor policies, unity and solidarity. Most important are robust institutions and legal frameworks driven by good governance, with: accountability, citizen participation, decentralization results orientationperformance contracts investment in human capitalmainly capacity building. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: CONSORT 2010 flow diagram. Credit: Journal of Pain Research (2022). DOI: 10.2147/JPR.S388082 Researchers compared the immediate effects of hypnosis, mindfulness meditation, and Christian prayer on pain intensity and tolerance. The results suggested that a single session of hypnosis and mindfulness meditation, but not prayer, may be useful for managing acute pain, with hypnosis being slightly more useful. Pain is a common human experience, and its acute state can have negative impacts on several health domains, including sleep quality, cardiovascular and immune function, and psychological well-being. In addition to being almost universal, pain is also a complex experience influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors. So adequate pain management requires more than biological treatments alone, such as analgesic medications. There are then several approaches that focus on the biopsychosocial factors that influence pain, including psychosocial, complementary, and integrative approaches. Previous studies confirm the usefulness of hypnosis, mindfulness meditation, and prayer as useful practices in the self-management of chronic pain in adults. However, their effects on acute pain have been less investigated and there has not yet been any study that has compared the immediate effects of these three approaches on the experience of acute pain. It was in this context that, with the support of the BIAL Foundation, the research team led by Alexandra Ferreira-Valente resorted to the heart rate variability and other measures to compare the immediate effects of hypnosis, mindfulness meditation, and Christian prayer on pain intensity, pain tolerance, and stress. The results of the study are described in the article "Immediate Effects of Hypnosis, Mindfulness Meditation, and Prayer on Cold Pressor Outcomes: A Four-Arm Parallel Experimental Study", published in the Journal of Pain Research in December 2022. The study took place at the facilities of the Psychology Laboratory of the William James Center for Research at IspaInstituto Universitario in Lisbon, involving the participation of 232 healthy adults. Pain was induced in the participants by wrapping the forearm and hand in a cold compress (Cold Pressor Arm WrapCPAW) for up to 5 minutes at the most and assessing their pain tolerance, the intensity of pain, as well as heart rate variability, as a physiological marker of stress. After a rest period, participants listened to a 20-minute recording of guided hypnosis, or mindfulness meditation, or suggesting a Christian prayer, or reading a natural history book (control condition) depending on the group they were randomly assigned to. After this session, the participants underwent a second session of CPAW, during which they listened to up to 5 minutes of the recording and their cardiac function was monitored. The results obtained by researchers from the William James Center for ResearchIspa (Portugal), Universidade Catolica Portuguesa (Portugal), University of Washington (U.S.), Young Harris College (U.S.), and University of Queensland (Australia) suggest that single brief session of hypnosis and mindfulness meditation, but not Ignatian Christian prayer based on biblical meditation, may be useful for acute pain self-management, with hypnosis being the slightly superior option. According to Alexandra Ferreira-Valente, team coordinator, "in the future, researchers should compare the effects of different types of prayer and examine the predictors and moderators of the effects of hypnosis and mindfulness on the experience of acute pain." More information: Alexandra Ferreira-Valente et al, Immediate Effects of Hypnosis, Mindfulness Meditation, and Prayer on Cold Pressor Outcomes: A Four-Arm Parallel Experimental Study, Journal of Pain Research (2022). DOI: 10.2147/JPR.S388082 Learn more about the project "188/18COping with PAin through Hypnosis, mindfulness and Spirituality (COPAHS)" here. Provided by BIAL Foundation This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Scanning electron microscope image of Vibrio cholerae. Credit: Wikipedia South African health authorities on Thursday announced the country's first cholera death in more than a decade. Cholera is not endemic in South Africa, which has since early February recorded five cases. The first two of those were imported from Malawi which is buckling under its deadliest cholera outbreak in decades. The victim in South Africa is a 24-year-old man from Benoni, a district east of Johannesburg. He had no history of travel outside the country and died in hospital on Sunday, according to a statement from Health Minister Joe Phaahla's office. Laboratory results later confirmed he had cholera. South Africa last suffered an outbreak of the waterborne disease between 2008 and 2009, when around 12,000 cases were recorded after a huge outbreak in neighbouring Zimbabwe. This time the disease spread from Malawi where at least 1,400 people have died out of nearly 45,000 cases reported since March 2022, according to the United Nations. Other southern African countries including Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe recently recorded cases. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters two weeks ago that there were 23 countries experiencing cholera outbreaks, with a further 20 nations that share land borders with them at risk. Cholera, which causes diarrhoea and vomiting, is contracted from a bacterium that is generally transmitted through contaminated food or water. 2023 AFP This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Axial images at L1 level, without (left) and with (right) segmentation overlay. Red indicates skeletal muscle, green indicates trabecular bone, yellow indicates visceral fat, and blue indicates subcutaneous fat. Segmented regions also include liver (beige) and spleen (orange), which were not evaluated as part of present analysis. (A) 78-year-old woman who underwent abdominopelvic CT at outside institution. Bone tool returned L1 vertebral body bone attenuation of -146 HU, outside of reference range. Thus, tool was deemed technical failure for bone tool. Failure was attributed to volume averaging of vacuum phenomenon within slice. (B) 64-year-old woman who underwent abdominopelvic CT at outside institution. Bone tool returned vertebral body bone attenuation of -10,000 HU (default value for segmentation failure detected by tool), outside of reference range. Thus, tool was deemed technical failure for bone tool. Failure was attributed to presence of spinal fusion hardware. Credit: ARRS/AJR According to an accepted manuscript published in ARRS' American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), certain reasons for AI tool failure relating to technical factors may be largely preventable through proper acquisition and reconstruction protocols. "The automated AI body composition tools had high technical adequacy rates in a heterogeneous sample of external CT examinations, supporting the tools' generalizability and potential for broad use," concluded head researcher B. Dustin Pooler, MD, from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health in Madison. This AJR accepted manuscript included 8,949 patients (mean age, 55.5 years; 4,256 men, 4,693 women) who underwent abdominal CTperformed at different institutions on different scanners from different manufacturerssubsequently transferred to the local PACS for clinical purposes. Deploying three independent automated AI tools to assess body composition via bone attenuation, muscle amount and attenuation, as well as visceral and subcutaneous fat amounts, one axial series per examination was evaluated. Ultimately, three fully automated AI tools for measuring body composition (vertebral bone, body wall musculature, and visceral and subcutaneous abdominal fat) had technical adequacy rates of 97.8%- 99.1% on Pooler et al.'s sample of 11,699 external abdominal CT examinationsperformed at 777 different external institutions using 82 different scanner models from 6 different manufacturers. Noting that reasons for failure also included factors inherent to patients that are more challenging to control, "explainability and an understanding of reasons for failure can help build trust in AI tools and increase acceptance among radiologists and other physicians," the authors of this AJR accepted manuscript added. More information: B. Dustin Pooler et al, Technical Adequacy of Fully Automated Artificial Intelligence Body Composition Tools: Assessment in a Heterogeneous Sample of External CT Examinations, American Journal of Roentgenology (2023). DOI: 10.2214/AJR.22.28745 Journal information: American Journal of Roentgenology This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Particle size distribution of MHV in saliva when aerosolized at 25% RH (blue) and 60% RH (green) as judged by RNA relative abundance in 11 MOUDI stages. Airborne MHV was aged for 20 minutes at constant RH in the chamber, and RNA was assessed with RT-qPCR. Credit: PNAS Nexus (2022). DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac301 Recent research from CU Boulder may have finally revealed why humans tend to get sick from airborne viral diseases more often in drier environments. Published in December in PNAS-Nexus, the study found that airborne particles carrying a mammalian coronavirus closely related to the virus which causes COVID-19 remain infectious for twice as long in drier air, in part because the saliva emitted with them serves as a protective barrier around the virus, especially at low humidity levels. The study carries major implications for not only the current COVID-19 pandemic but potentially for all infectious diseases transmitted by saliva-coated viruses. The research also further emphasizes the importance of managing indoor air filtration and ventilation to mitigate airborne disease spread, especially for buildings in arid states such as Colorado, dry enclosed environments such as airplane cabins and during dry winter months in temperate climates worldwide. "The physics of the air in our buildings and the climate in which we live affect things that can make us sick and how long they persist. Now we have conservative indications of how long coronaviruses like the one that causes COVID-19 can stick around in the air and be an infectious disease threat," said Mark Hernandez, senior author and S. J. Archuleta Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. In 2020, Hernandez had a hunch that both relative humidity and saliva were important factors in the transmission of the novel virus sweeping the globe. He also happened to run the Environmental Engineering Microbiology and Disinfection Lab, one of the country's only full-scale bioaerosol labs ready and able to take on the challenge at the start of the pandemic. Civil engineers design and operate buildings in the U.S. to maintain an indoor relative humidity between about 40% and 60%. In the real world, however, these percentages vary more widely. In San Francisco for example, where Hernandez grew up, the relative humidity pushes a dewy 60%. In comparison, Colorado hovers at an arid 25%. So they released virus-laden, airborne particles into several state-of-the-art, sealed chambersthe largest one about the size of a large bathroomboth with and without saliva, and at 25%, 40% and 60% relative humidity. They found the saliva acted as a protective mechanism for the virus regardless of the humidity level. At both 40% and 60% relative humidity, half of the airborne coronavirus particles were still infectious after aging for one hour in the chamber. But at 25% humidity, that time doubled: Half of the original particles released into the chamber remained infectious for two hours. "It shows this virus can hang around for quite a whilehours, even. It's longer than a class, longer than the time you're in a restaurant, longer than the time you take to hang out in the cafe. An occupant may come in, spread coronavirus in the air, and leave. Depending on architectural factors, then someone else could walk into that space with potent doses still hanging around," said Hernandez. As the virus can remain infectious in the air longer than it takes most ventilation systems to remove it, additional air-focused mitigation measures such as filtration are required to reduce transmission, the study suggests. "I hope this paper has an engineering impact in our buildings, for example, in schools and hospitals, so we can minimize the infectivity of these viruses in the air," said Marina Nieto-Caballero, lead author, who earned her doctorate in the Hernandez bioaerosol lab in 2021 and is now a postdoctoral researcher at Colorado State University. Credit: University of Colorado at Boulder Using saliva for science Temperature, light and relative humidity can all affect how long a viral particle remains infectious, but until now, no study had accounted for the fluids that carry them. Yet people are always producing saliva and emitting tiny particles into the air every time they talk, laugh or even sing, said Hernandez. The team used medical-grade fake saliva to mimic those particles and turned to chemistry professor Magaret Tolbert to examine samples of saliva-protected virus under a typical microscope on flat plates, as well as with a special microscope that measures them in air. Together, they found it's not the proteins in salivaas hypothesized by other scientiststhat allow the virus to persist so well in drier air, but its sugary carbohydrates that stabilize them. While many types of airborne particles, such as common salt particles, crystallize in lower relative humidity, the saliva particles became gelatinous, even glassy, said Tolbert. The researchers suspect it is this physical state, somewhere between solid and liquid, that provides the virus extra protection and allows it to linger longer in dry air. Hernandez hopes the findings can help open the door for more "messy" research using more realistic scenarios to better understand airborne particles. "Let's get more real about how we test things in the lab. Let's use saliva. Let's use lung fluids. Let's use blood. It's scary, and it's more expensive. But without that data, we don't know," said Hernandez Research in dry climates, for dry climates Coloradans are among the 100 million Americans who live in a dry climate and who could, as a result, be at increased exposure risk indoors for airborne viruses such as coronavirus. While more research is needed, this study could partially explain why Colorado was one of 16 states with a "very high" rate of influenza-like illnesses last November, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But what can those of us who live or spend time in drier environments do? While it may be worth increasing relative humidity indoors to at least 40%, humidifying indoor spaces is expensive and inefficient, said Hernandez. "Instead, we can add simple, inexpensive air filters that will take particles out of the air faster. We can increase the ventilation rate, open windows, and make sure we get more fresh air through," said Hernandez. "We've known this from the beginning, but this research gives us a target." More information: Marina Nieto-Caballero et al, Carbohydrate vitrification in aerosolized saliva is associated with the humidity-dependent infectious potential of airborne coronavirus, PNAS Nexus (2022). DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac301 Journal information: PNAS Nexus Vietnam veteran Jim Markel Sr. was advised by his physicians that returning to the Southeast Asian country may well serve as a palliative for his post-traumatic stress disorder. Healing was a powerful instinct he had long desired, and he was receptive to the recommendation. Indeed, Jim learned of other aging ex-soldiers whod never suitably healed from their harrowing mental anguishes born of the smoke and danger of death. Saigon collapsed in April 1975, and decades later many of them returned as open-minded seekers, pilgrims keen to make well their unhealed emotional baggage. Desperate to address his own lingering disturbances, Jim told his son, Jim Markel Jr., that, at age 74, he was earnestly contemplating such an undertaking. In turn, Jim Jr. informed a pair of his friends, Stan Parker and Pete Tolton, two artistically inclined spirits in search of their first feature film directorial project. (All four men are Billings residents.) One day Jim Jr., started talking about how his dad was talking about Vietnam, in a way that he hadn't been talking about it before, Parker said. It seemed like he might be ready to go back. He had been talking about it for a long time, but then it developed into something more seriously. Origins of Return At first, Markel resisted the idea of being part of such a documentary. He served in Vietnam in 1964-65 as a regular enlisted army officer and later returned for a second tour in 1970-71 as a member of the 5th Special Forces Group. He said that he wasnt convinced that his own experience was compelling enough to warrant the effort, and he didnt understand precisely what the two filmmakers saw in him or his life. Pete and Stan explained their vision to respectfully and naturally convey one veterans tumultuous, dramatic path to healing. Ultimately, Markel chose to embark and he and his son invited Parker and Tolton to come along. We considered that that idea was a good one since it was recommended by a treatment provider, Tolton said. But we also knew that it would be troublesome territory for him and we didn't know what kind of feelings and memories and behaviors it would arise in him through revisiting these places of trauma and these devastating memories. To better contextualize their subject matter, Parker and Tolton researched the history of the Vietnam War with eager alacrity, seeking to better grasp all of the knotty issues Markel had touched on in their previous conversations. I frankly struggle to stay in that mental territory for too long because it's so heartbreaking, said Tolton. I'm not a very good researcher on matters of war or human suffering. I don't have the kind of emotional stamina for it. But we did a ton of prior research by going through old news clips as well as government-sponsored information from the U.S. The directors agreed beforehand that the film would take a level, even view of the conflict, respecting both the general prescribed account and anti-war narrative. Neither of them had any significant direct experience with the war (which extended from 1955-1975), no family members among the 58,220 U.S. military fatal casualties mourned, and they werent old enough to have watched the gruesome saga on the TV from their living room sofas, the way that millions of Americans did. We tried not to say that anything was a certain way, said Tolton. We tried to give every bit of information a discernible origination point, and also to imagine it as a piece of the story as how it could be influential or important to our characters. When we're showing these old newsreels, the ones that are paid for by the U.S. government, we did it to indicate how Jim Sr. might have built his pro-America philosophy and ideologies, at least as they were in his youth. Depths of vets despondency told Both Parker and Tolton honored from the start the notion that Vietnam veterans and their families are not monolithic: some defend all of the stated anti-Communist intentions of the U.S. government and military wholeheartedly even to this day; others see the conflict in cynical, less straightforward terms. In Markels case, before the visit he never raised objections about the wars origins and never questioned whether he or his assignment or his country was right or wrong. He spoke frugally about his activities and remained tight-lipped about the details of his time served. Post-war, he could never find anything to match the frenetic stimulation of combat, always trying to replicate or capture that same adrenaline rush. But other occupations and activities left him bored stiff and he quickly lost interest in them. Regret and self-loathing fixed him firmly. Jim spent so much time chasing the thrill, trying to relive the high, said Tolton. And he really felt certain and sure about what he was doing at the time. When you combine that sureness, that danger, that fraternity, the sense of usefulness, and all of the excitement all in one, I can certainly see why that is a really hard thing to reproduce in other situations, or safer situations back home. I can see why it's addictive. I can see why it's appealing, despite all the violence and hardship that comes with it. Deluged by endlessly negative, desperate thoughts, Jim even contemplated suicide; the most despondent depths of his PTSD he kept secret. Jim Markel Jr. only learned of the full tortured agony of his fathers post-combat experiences after viewing the completed film. In the summer of 1976, North and South Vietnam were in the end unified. Saigon turned into Ho Chi Minh City, and Hanoi became the capital of the new Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Parker and Tolton accompanied the Markels to Vietnam in spring 2018, spending three weeks zigzagging the former South Vietnam and even crossing through what was once the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone, a dividing line that existed from 1954 to 1976. (The one scene filmed in ex-North Vietnam finds them hunched and lurking in one part of the approximately 9,500 miles of tunnels that formed the immense web of the Ho Chi Minh military supply trail.) Through the experiences of Markel Sr. the intense mental and at times physical discomfort of the subject the filmmakers created something that is beautiful lucid and vivid, and yet lyrical and personal, a significant work of consciousness and a profound homage to the methodical craft of storytelling. Every single person involved in a conflict like Vietnam has their own personal experience with it, said Parker. To me, real understanding comes through collecting stories. I feel like our work as filmmakers, it's adding and finding more voices worth adding to the conversation, and for us to tell an empathetic, patient story about those people. Sacrifice finds healing Eight months after Markel Sr. returned to Montana from Vietnam, he attended a Marine Corps Ball in Billings and, with the recent trip still jerking at his heart strings, the 75-year-old spoke candidly to the audience about the discordant sentiments swelling since then. At the podium, not only did an inexplicable regret stir within him, but a certain great tenderness lit about him. I admired his willingness to mention in front of a couple hundred committed military people that he had misgivings about his military actions, said Tolton. Parker said that the film belongs to everyone, not just veterans or people who are specifically interested in U.S. social or geopolitical history, and both filmmakers emphasized that the picture is not dark or morose or filled with red rage but something bright, resilient and uplifting, honoring the bravery and intrepidity of someone who chose to join the U.S. military and served with affinity. Being a filmmaker doesn't mean prying into painful memories or singling people out for no reason, said Parker. But it does mean having a general sense of awareness and being ready for having empathy and understanding and having that willingness to receive someones story when they are ready to share it. The Humane Society of Western Montana got literal shots in the arm Wednesday when staff members received their first rabies vaccinations for a coming season of fieldwork. The immunization effort will protect the outreach team as it embarks on field visits throughout Montana this summer. On multiple Montana reservations, the team will spay, neuter, vaccinate and provide other medical attention to cats and dogs who dont have access to veterinary care. Its fairly full-service, said Executive Director Marta Pierpoint. The Humane Society volunteers utilize a mobile animal hospital to deliver care to rural areas. This will be their third summer using the state-of-the-art vehicle, which includes a surgical suite, dental capacity and an X-ray machine. The Humane Society bought the roaming hospital with help from the Lund Trust in Great Falls. Its pretty spectacular, Pierpoint said as she demonstrated the hospitals many features. Because of the rural nature of the areas the Humane Society serves which include the Flathead, Blackfeet and Rocky Boy reservations immunizations against diseases like rabies can be hard to access. Veterinary history tends to be unclear in many of these cases, and interactions with wildlife that could carry diseases are commonplace. All of these factors led the Humane Society to start an all-out initiative to prepare staff members with rabies vaccines. Wednesday marked the start of a two-to-three-shot series administered by the Missoula City-County Health Department. While the shots arent a guarantee against contracting rabies from animal patients in the field, they make it so that a person who suffers a bite would require less treatment in the aftermath than a non-vaccinated person. Its a much simpler process, Pierpoint explained. Theyre much safer and better protected. She was excited Wednesday about the potential for this season of field visits. She said the clinics are well-attended, with cars lined up outside the sites from the moment the team arrives. People wait with pets for a long time to receive care from the Humane Society, and all day long the team hears gratitude from the families of the animals they treat. But Pierpoint emphasized there is a limit to the care they can provide in a mobile capacity, especially because each three-day trip costs about $10,000 to $15,000. Our philosophy in the field, Pierpoint said, is to get the patient and client as far along as possible. Pierpoint also stressed her commitment to serving animals closer to home in addition to providing services across the region. In the wintertime, the Humane Society limits travel and instead offers services like vaccine clinics at the Missoula County Fairgrounds. Pierpoints crew also endeavors to meet the needs of the adoptable dogs and cats at the Humane Society, whose numbers have been growing since the surge in adoptions during the early days of the pandemic. We need adoptions, Pierpoint said. Lengths of stay are growing considerably, she noted. Puppies used to be adopted in just 15 minutes during the height of the pandemic, she said. The shelter currently contains a variety of adoptable puppies, younger adult dogs and younger adult cats. Just recently, the Humane Society took in a large collection of sick cats discovered in a big barn in Missoula County. Adoptions arent all thats needed at the Humane Society. Pierpoint explained the organization could use additional medical space and recovery space for dogs after they undergo operations. The Humane Society is currently maxing out the capacity in its current building and carting animals outside to the mobile hospital for X-rays. Although the Humane Society is continually scrambling for funding, space and partners to help with adoptions and care, Pierpoint remains committed to getting to the heart of the problem for animals across western Montana. Its important to turn off the faucet, she said. A bill requiring the state and Lake County to agree on how much money the county will receive for providing criminal jurisdiction over the Flathead Reservation passed a second reading in the Senate Wednesday. Thirty-four senators voted for the bill and 16 voted against it. The bill will get a third reading on Thursday, where senators will decide whether it clears the chamber. Since a 1963 agreement between the state and tribes, Lake County law enforcement has collaborated with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes under Public Law 280. The law states that felony crimes committed by tribal members on the Flathead Reservation are handled by local county law enforcement, rather than by federal agencies. But Lake County has alleged that the county has not been reimbursed for assuming jurisdiction, and county commissioners and law enforcement officials have argued that taxpayers can no longer afford to fund Public Law 280. Senate Bill 127, sponsored by Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, states that if that funding is not agreed upon and appropriated to the county, the state will assume criminal jurisdiction over the reservation. To assume jurisdiction, the state would likely need to fund a new police force, detention center and court facilities. Hertz estimated the startup costs alone could cost the state $100 million. In his address on the Senate floor, Hertz stressed the importance of the county agreeing to the reimbursement amount. He brought a similar bill last session but was disappointed when the Legislature agreed to reimburse the county just $1. He said if the state were to reimburse the county in full for Public Law 280, it would amount to about $5 million a year. The county is willing to sit down and talk about this, he said. Lets see if we can come to a resolution here that works for everybody in the state of Montana. Sen. Jen Gross, D-Billings, encouraged senators to oppose the bill. She said three other counties overlap with the Flathead Reservation and are not asking the state for money. This just isnt fair to all other counties, she said. Sen. Dan Salomon, R-Ronan, said the state and county are in quite a predicament. This bill is a tool to help us continue the process and come to some sort of resolution, he said. Maybe we can forgo what could be a law enforcement emergency in Lake County. Thats my biggest worry in all this. Sen. John Fuller, R-Kalispell, said he supported the bill and added that if the state and county do not reach a resolution the consequences will be catastrophic for the tribes and citizens of Lake County, all of them. Sen. Bob Brown, R-Trout Creek, asked Hertz why the county has not asked the federal government to step in, and Hertz explained that because the Public Law 280 agreement was made between the state and tribes, the county has no ability to intervene with the federal government. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have not issued a formal statement on the Public Law 280 negotiations. Sens. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula, and Susan Webber, D-Browning, of Montanas American Indian Caucus both voted no on the bill. Another day of harsh winter weather brought continued air travel misery across the United States on Thursday with hundreds of flights canceled and many more delayed by snow storms and plunging temperatures. As of 9 a.m. ET, some 781 airplane departures had been scrapped and more than 1,000 delayed within the US, according to flight tracking site FlightAware. The schedule disruptions come a day after more than 1,700 flights were dropped and nearly 7,000 delayed. Blizzards, snow dumps and ice have hit a huge swath of the western and northern US stretching from California to New York and New England, with much of the upper Midwest experiencing particularly heavy snowfalls. More than 60 million people were under winter weather alerts early Thursday. Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport was the worst affected with 132 departures and 95 arrivals struck off. Over the border in Canada, Toronto's Pearson International airport was showing 70 departure and 56 arrival cancellations. Delta was the worst affected carrier, accounting for more than 200 of the overall cancellations and about 150 delays. Chicago O'Hare International, Boston Logan International, Portland International and Denver International were also showing significant impact. The-CNN-Wire & 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved. The state Senate on Wednesday confirmed Charlie Brereton as the director of the state Department of Public Health and Human Services on a nearly party-line vote with little debate. The chamber approved the selection by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte to head the states largest agency, with a biennial budget of roughly $7 billion. The vote was 33-17. Brereton, 28, took over the department last year following the departure of Adam Meier, Gianfortes original pick to run the department. In an initial hearing in a Senate committee, Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras praised Breretons performance, saying he brought practical experience as a health policy adviser and helped shape the states plan to prioritize vaccine distribution for COVID-19 and address health care workforce shortages. He was also instrumental in implementing Montanas bill that prohibited treating people differently based on vaccine status. This man knows how to step up to a challenge, and he does have challenges at the department, Juras said. The George Washington University graduate was a health policy advisor to Gianforte before becoming the DPHHS chief of staff in December, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before that, he worked as a health policy advisor to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who was then chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Thats where, Brereton told lawmakers earlier this month, he cut his teeth on public health policy. Following internships from 2014 through 2016, he joined law firm Squire Patton Boggs as a public policy intern in 2017, then worked there for about two years as a policy associate and advisor. During his time there he was registered to lobby on behalf of clients that included hospitals, universities and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. In his committee hearing, Brereton said he wanted to think past the mantra of this is how weve always done it and focus on aiding people when they need it but also helping them move away from government programs in the future. As Montanas top health official, I believe that my primary charge is to encourage and support our clients to live their healthiest, most fulfilling, and, critically, most independent lives possible, and in certain cases taking government out of the scenario when appropriate and once we met our obligation to them, Brereton said Feb. 8. There were no opponents to Brereton in his initial hearing, but the resolution carrying his nomination cleared the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety on a 5-4 vote. Most Republicans on the committee supported Breretons confirmation in committee, as well as on the Senate floor Wednesday. Director Breretons goal is to help people get the support they need, and then when they're able and capable, to move from that support to being independent individuals. I just think that's an extremely worthy goal, said Sen. Tom McGillvray, R-Billings, who carried the resolution confirming Brereton. His job at the Department of Public Health is now helping that department shift and turn to where the entire department takes on that vision. Sen. Carl Glimm, a Kila Republican and vice-chair of the budget subcommittee that deals with the department, praised Brereton for being "transparent" and engaged in budget discussions. "It's truly a partnership," Glimm said. But Democratic Sen. Susan Webber, of Browning, said she was concerned this was the first time hed run such a large department. He has not ever held a position at that level, Webber said during the initial committee hearing. Sen. Jen Gross, a Billings Democrat, also grilled Brereton on issues at the Montana State Hospital, which lost its federal certification last year. The administration has said they plan to address issues, but also pointed the finger at past administrations that have not fixed the problems. Gross also pressed Brereton on how involved he was in work during the interim to craft bills related to the department. A day after it cleared a second reading in the Senate by a one-vote margin, a bill that would prohibit physician aid in dying in Montana went down on a 24-26 tally. The issue has been a murky one in the state since the 2009 Baxter v. State decision from the Montana Supreme Court, which found that physician aid in dying was not against the public policy established in state code that says consent of the victim is a defense to a criminal offense. The court did not say, however, if physician aid in dying is protected under the state Constitution. Thats left things unclear for nearly 15 years as legislators in each session since they have tried and failed to bring bills on both sides of the issue, but mostly to outlaw the practice. This sessions version was Senate Bill 210 from Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila. On Tuesday, eight Republicans joined all Democrats in opposition, but by Wednesday one Republican moved from a no to a yes and three others moved to no votes. The bill could still be revived with a blast motion, though the deadline for it to move from the Senate to the House is March 3. A proposal to reduce the number of Supreme Court justices went down on a key vote on the Senate floor Wednesday. Sen. Barry Usher, a Republican from rural Yellowstone and Musselshell counties, had said he brought the bill in the conservative interest of "government efficiencies." The state constitution grants the Legislature the ability to increase the number of associate justices from four to six, and lawmakers did so in 1979. Sen. Jen Gross, a Democrat from Billings, on Wednesday raised the history of that increase, which initially had a sunset provision. Lawmakers repeatedly reviewed that panel of six associate justices and a chief justice, Gross said, but repeatedly found caseloads were high enough to extend the sunset. In 1995, on the effort of a Republican senator, the Legislature removed the sunset provision, finding citizens wanted more law and order, which came at a cost of higher caseloads, Gross recalled from the record from nearly 30 years ago. Ten Republicans joined all Democrats in the Senate in voting against the bill. A subsequent motion to indefinitely postpone the bill. The Montana Board of Crime Control was awarded a $1,387,530 grant as part of the Justice Departments Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich announced Wednesday. The award to Montana was among 49 awards to states, territories and the District of Columbia. This grant to the Montana Board of Crime Control is an important part of the United States Justice Departments effort to protect Montana communities from violent crime and gun violence," Laslovich said. "We are determined to ensure that our fellow Montanans are safe and secure. Importantly, these resources will give our communities tools to help prevent gun violence and support persons who are at risk of committing or becoming a victim of gun crimes." In the award to the Montana Board of Crime Control, a Crisis Intervention Advisory Board will be formed from members of the already existing Montana Board of Crime Control, which will also govern the new advisory group. The Crisis Intervention Advisory Board will discuss, inform and direct the states Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program strategies and funding priorities for the initial four-year grant period, from fiscal year 2023 to fiscal year 2026. The investment of more than $231 million nationwide will fund state crisis intervention court proceedings, including but not limited to, extreme risk protection order programs that work to keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a threat to themselves or others. Because Montana does not have extreme risk protection order laws, it is not anticipated the CIAB will pursue ERPO programs. The CIAB will consider court-based programs, such as drug, mental health and veterans treatment courts, including those that accept clients with firearm violations; behavioral health programs for persons at risk to themselves or others; and funding for law enforcement agencies to safely secure, store, track and return relinquished guns. This investment in community safety is authorized by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, historic legislation to address and reduce gun violence. The awards are administered by the Departments Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance. Signed into law by President Biden in June 2022, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is the most significant piece of federal gun safety legislation in almost three decades and comes as a response to recent mass shootings and to the far more common, but no less tragic, incidents of community gun violence. Including the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program, the law allocates a total of $1.4 billion to OJP over five years to develop, implement, and sustain meaningful investments in safer communities. These awards will help meet two monumental public safety challenges the alarming proliferation of gun violence in our country and the clear need for front-end interventions to slow the cycle of violence and victimization in our most underserved communities, said BJA Director Karhlton F. Moore. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is proud to make these resources available to states as a critical part of its mission to reduce and prevent crime and to promote a fair and effective criminal justice system. For a full list of awards, please visit: data.ojp.usdoj.gov/stories/s/O-BJA-2023-171458/b5xz-as5z/. These awards are the latest effort from the Department of Justices Office of Justice Programs to implement this historic legislation. Christopher Preston went wandering with buffalo and running after barred owls in the dark to explore the fate of wild animals in a human world. In Tenacious Beasts, the University of Montana environmental philosophy professor examines what choices we make as we try to restore and rewild creatures that weve nearly wiped off the face of the planet. The effort took him many unexpected places, from Norwegian fjords full of humpback whales to Italian mountains with apple-munching grizzly bears and English country sides with transplanted bison. It also features many animals dear to Montanan landscapes, such as migratory salmon, gray wolves and beavers. Tenacious Beasts hit the bookshelves this February, and Preston spoke with Missoulian Managing Editor Rob Chaney about its findings. This podcast is created in partnership across five newsrooms the Billings Gazette, the Helena Independent Record, the Missoulian, the Montana Standard and the Ravalli Republic. You can support this podcast and our efforts by subscribing. Visit any of these newspapers websites, and click on the Become a Member button at the top of the home page. We appreciate your support of local journalism. As much as 40% of all food produced each year goes nowhere near a human mouth, resulting in economic, environmental and social costs of an estimated $2.6 trillion. While there are a multitude of social, cultural and even technological reasons for these staggering statistics, we've seen a slew of startups emerge with propositions on how to solve the food-waste problem. Last year, Choco hit the much-coveted unicorn status for software that digitizes the ordering, supply chain and communications processes for suppliers and restaurants. Elsewhere, there are companies serving AI-powered forecasting smarts to help retailers optimize their stock replenishment, while others have built marketplaces for selling surplus or imperfect produce. There's even a company setting out to transform food waste into food containers. Another fledgling startup called Kanpla, meanwhile, is focusing its efforts on cutting food waste in one very specific vertical: canteens. Founded out of Denmark in 2019, Kanpla initially targeted school canteens, serving up software for parents to preorder food for their kids (children under the age of 13 are not allowed a debit card in Denmark), which gave schools a good idea of how much and what kinds of food to prepare. Today, the company targets all manner of canteens, with paying customers including shipping giant Maersk and Danish brewer Carlsberg, as well as industrial canteen providers such as Coor and Cheval Blanc, which serve more than 230 canteens across the Nordics. In 2022, Kanpla said that its software was used in some 1,500 canteens, and it expects to triple that number this year as it expands into more European markets. In preparation for this growth, the company today announced it has raised 2.2 million ($2.4 million) in a seed round of funding. How it works There are two core elements to the Kanpla platform. For kitchens, Kanpla offers what it calls an "operating system" for managing their whole canteen from a PC or mobile device, including creating digital menus, support for different payment types, collecting and presenting sales data, and more. Through this, companies can understand which food sells best, allowing them to stock up on the right kinds of ingredients thereby minimizing produce that might otherwise go to waste. Story continues Kanpla canteen stats Kanpla canteen stats. Image Credits: Kanpla On the "diner" side, users can access a mobile or web app for perusing menus and ordering food, meaning that their food can be waiting for them when they arrive in the canteen. Kanpla for canteen diners. Image Credits: Kanpla On top of that, the Kanpla platform has features specifically for addressing food waste. For example, it enables kitchens and canteens to sell surplus food from their lunch or buffet menus as takeaways to guests. Through the admin dashboard, they simply list the amount of food available and the price, and a communication is sent to each Kanpla diner's app. Kanpla: Selling surplus food. Image Credits: Kanpla And Kanpla also has a food-waste registration feature, currently in beta, which brings together data such as the number of people entering a canteen and the amount of food that's wasted across categories (e.g. in production or uneaten buffet food). This requires kitchens to weigh the food before they throw it out. Kanpla: Food waste registration and insights. Image Credits: Kanpla Canteens only Perhaps the most curious aspect of Kanpla's offering is that it's so narrowly focused on canteens, something that Kanpla CEO and co-founder Peter Bch said was simply due to his own experiences. "The idea to target the canteen industry came from our experience at our local canteens," Bch explained to TechCrunch. "We saw firsthand a canteen which threw out huge amounts of food at the end of the day. We thought about how we spent half of our lunch-break waiting in lines. These inconveniences led us to dive into the pains, finding an industry that was heavily behind on digitalization, with additional problems of forecasting, limited tools to manage guest relations and a high degree of manual work for print and billing. These insights became the beginning of our journey to digitalize this industry." While canteens undoubtedly share many of the pain points of other eating establishments, each come with their own unique problems and opportunities that require a different approach from a technology standpoint. "Canteens differentiate from cafes and restaurants by having recurring guests, coming back day after day, giving them a unique potential to connect with their guests" Bch continued. "Additionally, they have the added complexity and issues due to menus switching daily, and payments working often through hybrid approaches that may include card, invoice and salary deduction." Kanpla's seed round was led by Netherlands-based VC HenQ, with participation from a handful of angel investors. The company said it will use its fresh cash injection to expand beyond its native Denmark and into the U.K., Norway and the Netherlands in 2023, with plans to extend its reach into the U.S. and other European markets the following year. Denmark has spawned a number of sizeable tech companies through the years, such as expense management software provider Pleo, which hit a $4.7 billion valuation a year ago, while local neobank Lunar achieved a valuation north of $2 billion last year. And then there is, of course, Zendesk, which was bought out by a private equity firm for $10 billion back in June. HenQ partner Jan Andriessen reckons that Kanpla can blaze a similar trail to Zendesk by cashing in on what initially seems like a niche vertical. "At first, the canteen industry can seem obscure, but its a big market with huge potential," Andriessen said in a statement. "Many B2B software products have blossomed in seemingly non-obvious markets. Zendesk, one of Denmarks greatest tech businesses, was founded well before customer success software became a well-defined term. Kanpla can be the same, and thats what makes them the type of B2B business were excited to support." As a mom of three school-age boys, education and education policy is always top of mind in my house. I watched closely as our public schools barely avoided a budget crisis when the Arizona House, and then the Senate, lifted the constitutional spending cap for education. As a Chinese American, I am closely following Senate Bill 1557, a bill to add the history and contributions of Asian American and Pacific Islanders when state academic standards are reviewed. Our legislators are also choosing to hear many bills that have less to do about education and more about stoking the culture wars over banned library books, use of school bathrooms and the policing of pronouns. Also on the roster: Three drag queen bills two of them restricting where and at what time these shows may occur and, for good measure, a third piece of preemptive legislation to make clear that taxpayer funds cant fund a drag show if it targets children. If certain legislators are so keen on working on pro-parents legislation to protect our children, lets tackle a real "moral threat to our education system: the rise of generative AI technologies. ChatGPT can pass college exams ChatGPT is a conversational artificial intelligence software application developed by OpenAI. Generative AI is an artificial intelligence system that uses machine learning algorithms to learn patterns in existing data to generate new data, typically in the form of text, images, audio or video. Open AIs ChatGPT, a chatbot that interacts conversationally, is generative AIs current poster child. It quickly surpassed 100 million subscribers in two months, making it the fastest growing app in the history of web apps. Its making daily headlines, each more impressive than the last. ChatGPTs top function is programming and developer software, but its buzziest functions are writing essays and passing exams. ChatGPT passed the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam and received a B on a University of Pennsylvania Wharton MBA paper. To the prompt what is the purpose of ChatGPT? it responds, To enable users to interact with a machine in a natural and intuitive way, and to provide relevant and helpful information in response to their requests. Story continues By doing so, ChatGPT aims to provide a convenient and accessible way for people to access information and to enhance their experiences with technology. CEOs use it to write emails. Tech giants Microsoft and Google are in a race to roll out the most robust chat-AI powered search. On the other hand, this technology also poses new challenges, raising questions about ethics, privacy, bias and misinformation. Ensure that AI helps, not hurts, students In the classrooms, many teachers who have tested the technology admit it generates passable work. Public schools across America, including our nations largest school district, New York Public Schools, have banned ChatGPT on school devices, citing cheating concerns. This technology is revolutionary, and I believe, here to stay. An outright ban feels like a Band-Aid solution, depriving students access to the technologies that will most likely fuel the jobs of their future. Fight it head-on?ChatGPT might help students cheat Collectively, we can all do our part to ensure this technology is serving its purpose to enhance humanity. As a family unit, we can decide the extent and boundaries of technology use at home. Schools can impose guardrails to ensure the technology is used constructively rather than as a cheating tool. Offering courses in machine learning and teaching ethics at the elementary level may help better prepare our students to tackle these challenges. Legislators can be parental rights advocates by ensuring that our children are not the targets of AI-generated fake videos, misinformation and propaganda. How we collectively regulate technology, technology use and technology companies is something that those at our highest levels of government grapple with. Lawmakers should focus their efforts here At the end of January, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy cautioned that 13, the minimum age to sign up for a social media account, is too young as teens are just developing their identity. Our president echoed the same sentiment during his State of the Union address, calling for Congress to pass bipartisan legislation to stop Big Tech from collecting personal data on kids and teenagers online ... . How children use generative AI is another topic in this larger discussion about digital literacy and how young is too young to distinguish between what is real and what is fake? There is a greater likelihood that our kids will be surfing the internet than being within the vicinity of a drag queen venue. I would rather my legislators engage parents, schools and the larger community to tackle these real-life technology challenges to protect children. ChatGPT is fascinating and frightening: more real and consequential than the imagined menace of drag. Yvonne So is a mom, AAPI activist and host of the upcoming iHeart Radio and Seneca Women podcast, Cashing our Trillions, a series that spotlights the work moms do to sustain the $1.5 trillion economy of unpaid female work. She is a member of the Board of Contributors for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at cashingourtrillions@gmail.com. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ChatGPT should be on Arizona lawmakers' radar, not these other things NEW YORK A Colombian drug lord who had a military force of thousands under his command has pleaded guilty in a Brooklyn courtroom to running a criminal enterprise and will see at least 20 years behind bars. Dairo Antonio Usuga David, 51, led Clan del Golfo from 2012 until his arrest by the Colombian authorities in October 2021. The international criminal organization sent cocaine by the ton from Colombia to the U.S. through Mexico and Panama, the feds said. On Wednesday, Usuga David entered a guilty plea before Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Dora Irizarry. The court covers indictments in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Florida. Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Breon Peace described Usuga David as the most violent and significant Colombian narcotics trafficker since Pablo Escobar. Usuga David, who also went by the name Otoniel, led a 6000-member militarized cartel that controls vast swaths of territory in the Uraba region of Antioquia, Colombia. He ruled with a draconian hand and ordered his minions to murder dozens of rivals, police and perceived informants, prosecutors said. After a 2012 poice raid killed his brother, he ordered his cartels forces to shut down the towns under his control. All businesses were forced to close and all residents told to stay in their homes for several days. He told the cartel members to execute anyone they found out violating his curfew. He commanded a cruel fate for one minion, who leaked information to a rival. The turncoat was tortured, buried alive, exhumed and beheaded post-mortem, prosecutors said. He sent out teams to kill Colombian law enforcement and military personnel with grenades, explosives and assault rifles, and offered bounties for the murder of police officers and members of the military. As part of his plea agreement, Usuga David agreed to turn over $216 million. He faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years behind bars. Under the terms of his extradition from Colombia, federal prosecutors have agreed not to seek a life sentence, though theres no limit on how many years he can receive when hes sentenced. Two Louisville residents pleaded guilty Wednesday in Jefferson Circuit Court for the 2020 graphic torture and murder of Jeremy Lind. Samantha L. Johnson, 33, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and James D. Branham, 40, was sentenced to 16 years in prison, according to court records. The pair were charged in April 2021 over the killing, which took place the previous fall. Johnson pleaded guilty to complicity to murder, complicity to kidnapping resulting in death, complicity to second-degree assault, complicity to tampering with physical evidence, complicity to abuse of a corpse and complicity to wanton endangerment. Branham pleaded guilty to complicity to first-degree manslaughter along with complicity to kidnapping resulting in death, complicity to second-degree assault, complicity to tampering with physical evidence, complicity to abuse of a corpse and complicity to wanton endangerment. For subscribers:Hotel Genevieve, latest hotel in Nulu, sets Kentucky Derby week opening. Take a peek inside Another suspect in the case, Daniel Rosselot, was charged in July 2021 with complicity to murder, two counts of complicity to first-degree unlawful imprisonment, complicity to abuse of a corpse and complicity to tampering with physical evidence. He's pleaded not guilty and is due back in court in late February, court records show. Johnson and Branham were charged months after Lind had been found dead in an alley Sept. 30, 2020. Louisville Metro Police cited "foul play" at that time, but more details were released after Johnson and another suspect whose charges were later dropped were arrested months later. Lind, then 35, and another individual had been kidnapped, LMPD said, and were deprived of their "basic human rights." The pair were tortured, an arrest citation said, and Lind was mutilated before he was killed. The other individual survived and escaped, the report said. More headlines:Louisville to spend $30+ million on new housing campus, eviction prevention. Here's how Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com. This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Jeremy Lind murder: 2 sentenced over 2020 kidnapping, torture case War in Ukraine will last at least another year despite Putins failure, says Defence Secretary Ben Wallace Ukraine and Russia will still be at war in another 12 months, the Defence Secretary has warned as he accused Vladimir Putin of running a meat grinder for an army. Almost 190,000 members of the Russian presidents forces are thought have been killed or wounded in Ukraine since the invasion began a year ago. When asked whether the world would still be discussing the ongoing war in another year, Ben Wallace told LBCs Nick Ferrari on Thursday: I think we will. Russia has shown a complete disregard, not only for the lives of the people of Ukraine, but for its own soldiers. We are sitting here 12 months in and 188,000 Russian soldiers are dead or injured as a result of this catastrophic miscalculation and aggression by President Putin. When someones crossed the line that they think its okay to do that to your own people and is running effectively a meat grinder for an army, I think hes not going to stop. Putin launched the biggest European invasion since the end of World War Two on February 24, 2022, sending up to 200,000 soldiers into Ukraine. In the last year, at least 7,199 civilians have been killed and thousands injured, according to a United Nations estimate. The real number is likely to be much higher. More than 13 million refugees have been forced to move abroad or displaced inside Ukraine. The UK, US and Germany have committed to sending tanks to Ukraine to help in the fight aginst the Kremlin. But Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has also asked for jets to help him win the battle in the skies. Asked if Nato would consider sending aircraft, Mr Wallace said he could not see that happening in the "short or medium term". He added: Nato is not going to enter into this conflict....We're going to see countries who are members of NATO potentially put in Air Force equipment or, or MiG 29s." Writing in Thursdays Evening Standard, Ukraines ambassador to the UK Vaydm Prystaiko thanked the UK for its support. Story continues With the help and generous support of our friends and partners, most notably the United Kingdom, last year Ukraine managed to inflict several devastating defeats upon the Russian army, and even liberated more than 6,000 square kilometres of our soil," he said. Therefore, thanks to the weaponry, humanitarian aid and financial support we have received, Ukraine has so far managed to counterbalance Russias numerical superiority, and even target multiple Russian logistical supply lines, ammunition depots, manpower concentrations and command centers. Vladimir Putin is terrified, and I want to emphasise once again that all this is possible because Ukraine has been receiving support from our partners, and especially from the Government of the UK and its generous, kind-hearted people. "Your help became decisive for the protection of the civilian population and the existence of our state as an independent country." On Thursday, the British Ministry of Defence said the town of Vuhledar, in southern Donetsk oblast, has experienced heavy shelling again. There is a realistic possibility that Russia is preparing for another offensive effort in this area despite costly failed attacks in early February and late 2022, the MoD said in its morning briefing. Russias Eastern Group of Forces is likely responsibility for the Vuhledar operation, British defence chiefs believe. Its commander, Colonel General Rustam Muradov, is likely under intense pressure to improve results following harsh criticism from the Russian nationalist community after previous setbacks", according to the MoD. However, it is unlikely that Muradov has a striking force capable of achieving a breakthrough." Some wearable gadgers like fitness trackers may potentially interfere with the functioning of pacemakers and other implanted heart electronic devices. Research published in the journal Heart Rhythm warned that despite their proven benefits, some fitness trackers could pose serious risks for people with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) like pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators and cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) devices. The functioning of CRT devices from three leading manufacturers were assessed by researchers, including those from the University of Utah, who applied a very small and imperceptible current of electricity into the body. In this process, called bioimpedance, electrical current flows through the body and its response to the flows is measured by a sensor. This is done to determine the persons body composition, level of stress or vital signs like breathing rate. Bioimpedance sensing generated an electrical interference that exceeded Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-accepted guidelines and interfered with proper CIED functioning, study co-author Benjamin Sanchez Terrone said in a statement. While the findings do not convey an immediate or clear risk to patients wearing the trackers, the different levels emitted may result in pacing interruptions or unnecessary shocks to the heart, scientists said. The study results, they said, call for future clinical studies examining patients with CIEDs and wearables. A growing number of studies are attempting to study the ways in which general electrical appliances, including smart phones, interact with CIEDs. Most implantable heart devices already warn patients about the likelihood of interference with electronics due to magnetic fields. Citing an example, researchers said pacemakers come with a warning against carrying a mobile phone in a breast pocket. The FDA warns that certain cell phones and smart watches that include high-field strength magnets may cause some implanted medical devices to switch to magnet mode and suspend normal operations until the magnet is moved away. Story continues The US federal agency recommends patients keep consumer electronic devices that may create magnetic interference, such as cell phones and smart watches, at least six inches away from implanted medical devices. But until the latest study, researchers said an objective evaluation for ensuring safety of wearable health tech like fitness trackers has not kept pace with the exciting new gadgets. Our research is the first to study devices that employ bioimpedance-sensing technology as well as discover potential interference problems with CIEDs such as CRT devices, Dr Terrone said. We need to test across a broader cohort of devices and in patients with these devices. Collaborative investigation between researchers and industry would be helpful for keeping patients safe, he said. Daily Life In Kyiv region, As First Anniversary Of Russia's Large-Scale Invasion Nears A man rides a bicycle past residential buildings that were destroyed during the Russian attack, on Feb. 20, 2023 in Borodyanka, Kyiv region, Ukraine. Credit - Roman PilipeyGetty Images There are decades where nothing happens, the Bolshevik revolutionary Vladimir Lenin is thought to have said, and there are weeks where decades happen. While the veracity of the quote is in doubt, its premise couldnt be more true when it comes to Russias full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In the year since Russian President Vladimir Putin set his so-called special military operation into motion, the world has been altered profoundlyin some ways, perhaps, irrevocably. The Feb. 24, 2022 invasion has sparked a new sense of purpose within Europe and the wider U.S.-led Western military alliance. It has upended the world economy and forced a new energy reality in Europe. It has spurred the largest and fastest displacement of people in decades. It has even begun to influence the geopolitical thinking around events that have not yet occurred. One year on, here are the most significant consequences of the war so far. A revitalized NATO When Putin began laying the groundwork for the invasion of Ukraine, he pointed to what he characterized as an existential threat posed by NATOs expansion into post-Soviet space. What was once a fear has since become a self-fulfilling prophecy: As a result of the invasion, the Western military alliance is poised to expand even further with the looming ascension of Finland and Sweden (though the latter is being held up by a Turkish veto). Such expansion would have been unthinkable just a year ago. Finland and Sweden, long considered buffers between the West and Russia, were neutral countries that long eschewed military alliancesa status quo that was backed by the majority of their populations. But Moscows invasion of Ukraine exposed their vulnerability and, seemingly overnight, public opinion began to swing in favor of NATO membership. Story continues Finland would have been very unlikely to join NATO on a fast track were it not for Putin, says former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, though thats not all he credits the Russian leader for inadvertently achieving. The invasion of Ukraine has not only spurred the expansion of the alliance, but it has also led to further investment among its membersmost notably Germany and Poland, both of which have dramatically increased their defense spending. Indeed, all NATO members are on track to fulfill the alliances guidelines of spending at least 2% of their national GDP on defense; there is even talk of exceeding that target. While Ukraines appeals to join the alliance have been rebuffed, Kyiv has nonetheless benefited from the military might of its members, several of which have pledged billions of dollars in financial and military aid. Such is the irony of Putins war. A year ago, Putin wanted less NATO, says Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the alliances erstwhile secretary-general. Now, as a direct result of his actions, he has got more NATO. More from TIME A stronger, more unified Europe Like NATO, the European Union has attracted the interest of new prospective members. Ukraine submitted its membership application within days of Moscows invasion, followed by Georgia and Moldova. The bloc has in turn enjoyed a renewed sense of unity and purpose; to date, it has passed nine sanctions packages targeting Russian officials, banks, industries, and more. A 10th round of sanctions is in the works. European officials admit that maintaining agreement among the E.U.s 27 members hasnt been easy, particularly when it comes to achieving the buy-in of governments closer to Moscow such as Hungary. But on the whole, the war in Ukraine has galvanized European unity and has even allowed Poland, another post-Soviet state once at odds with Brussels over its rule of law violations, to emerge as the standard bearer of E.U. solidarity against Russian aggression. While support for Ukraines E.U. membership remains highincluding from seemingly unlikely corners, such as Britains former Prime Minister and Brexiteer-in-chief Boris JohnsonKyivs accession to the bloc is unlikely to occur anytime soon. Still, the way some observers see it, the question of Ukraines E.U. membership is a matter of when, not if. Ukraine will eventually become an E.U. member, says Stubb, a prediction that he has also extended to Georgia and Moldova. When someone behaves as aggressively and as illegally as Putin has done, then the rest of us gang up and integrate. The largest refugee crisis in decades One of the starkest consequences of the Russian invasion has been the displacement of millions of Ukrainians, internally and externally. To date, more than 8 million Ukrainian refugees have been recorded across Europe, according to the U.N. refugee agency, the vast majority of them women and children (Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 to 60 are not permitted to leave the country). That represents nearly 20% of Ukraines pre-war population, the highest proportions of which can now be found in neighboring Poland as well as Germany and the Czech Republic. This is the fastest forced displacement of people since the 1940s, says Beata Javorcik, the chief economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, noting that the loss of human capital will have a profound impact on Ukraine and its ability to rebuild when the war finally ends. Overall, refugees are typically younger, more educated people, more entrepreneurial people, she adds. These are the people you need for reconstruction. The intertwining of business and geopolitics Prior to the Russian invasion, business and geopolitics were largely able to exist separately from one another. There was a sense that you could let trade be trade and let people build their supply chains, make their investments, make money from wherever it makes sense to make money, manufacture things wherever it makes sense to manufacture things, and then let geopolitics be geopolitics and have the two be kind of separate, says Dmitry Grozoubinski, a former trade negotiator at the World Trade Organization and founder of the ExplainTrade website. But within days of the Kremlins invasion of Ukraine, scores of businesses around the world announced their intentions to suspend their operations in Russia. The biggest change thats happened in peoples minds after the invasion of Ukraine is watching just how quickly geopolitics can override economic considerations, says Grozoubinski. You have regulators requiring that firms include in their risk analysis geopolitics, but increasingly boards [are] doing it as well, something that he says will prove just as relevant when it comes to U.S.-China relations. Still, of the more than 1,500 multinationals that announced voluntary exits from the Russian market, about 500 have done so completely, according to a list compiled by Yale University. Another recent analysis produced by B4Ukraine, a coalition of Ukrainian and international civil society organizations, found that of the 3,000 multinational companies, more than half continue to do business with Russia. Many of them are headquartered in G7 countries, according to their latest report, potentially undermining the groups efforts to curtail the Kremlins revenues and support an independent Ukraine. Less dependence on Russian oil and gas After Russias invasion, Europe imposed a ban on Russian oil imports and has decreased its dependence on Russian gas from 35.7% in February 2022 to 12.9% todaya shift that is as much a consequence of European initiative as it is of Moscows. In addition to the Kremlin demanding that foreign buyers purchase Russian gas in rubles, in an apparent bid to prop up the countrys struggling currency, the Russian energy firm Gazprom indefinitely halted the flow of gas to Western Europe through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. While the steep decline in Russian energy has spurred fears of an energy crisis this winter, the impact of which is being felt across the continent, it has also turbocharged the transition to alternative, renewable energy sources. Eastern European E.U. members, which viewed the green transition as something that was imposed on them by Brussels, are actually embracing the green transition because it has become a matter of energy security, says Javorcik. Suddenly, there is a realization that energy security cannot be achieved by geographical diversification of energy sources; you need diversification of the kind of sources. An incompletely-isolated Russia The reality that we face in Europe is a permanently isolated Russia, and this is going to be a generational thing, says Stubb, the former Finnish leader. Even if the war were to end tomorrow, it would likely take decades, if not generations, for trust to be restored between Russia and the West. For Ukrainians, that day may never come. Were not going to be able to put the egg back together again, says Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director general at the Royal United Services Institute think tank in London. Whatever emerges from this is going to be very different from where it was in 2021, because the distrust of Russia is so much deeper. But solidarity with Ukraine has its limits. As U.N. General Assembly votes have made clear, not all countries are willing to involve themselves in this war more than they already have been. India and China continue to straddle the line of ostensible neutrality, as have dozens of other countries representing nearly half of the worlds population. The crisis has shown that most of the non-aligned world has remained non-aligned and, in some cases, is still leaning towards Russia, adds Chalmers. There is not an international consensus against Russia; theres a Western consensus against Russia. A new focus on Taiwan Even as Ukraine continues to dominate global focus, world leaders have started to pay closer attention to China and the potential lessons it could glean from Moscow. Any attempt by China to try to change the status quo [in Taiwan] by the use of military force will have severe consequences for East Asia, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Nikkei Asia in a recent interview. But it will also have consequences for NATO allies and for global security. There are, of course, fundamental differences between Ukraine and Taiwan. While the former is an internationally-recognized independent state, the latter is not. And whereas trade disruptions between Russia and the West have proven particularly damaging for the global economy, a similar such dispute with China, which boasts an economy 10 times the size of Russias, would be apocalyptic, says Grozoubinski. While Putin and Xi are very different leaders (Xi Jinping is patient and smart, Stubb says, whereas Putin is impatient and rash), the mistakes committed by the former does illustrate what could happen should the latter choose to follow a similar path vis-a-vis Taiwan. Had Putin just walked into Kyiv in 48 hours, Xi Jinping might think that perhaps I can do the same thing in Taiwan, says Stubb. But now he kind of understands that he cant. Correction, Feb. 23 The original version of this story misquoted Beata Javorcik on the historical precedents for the displacement of people during the Ukraine War. It was the fastest forced displacement of people since the 1940s, not since 1914. WOODS HOLE Kitt may have been blind ever since a boating accident took her sight two years ago, but that didn't stop her from enjoying all of the pleasures that life offered. She spent her days blissfully feasting on squid, enjoying the velvety twining of water around her body as she swam, hanging out with her ever-tolerant older friend, Bubba, getting daily training sessions, and playing with her favorite things among them, a blue, red and purple Tugga Wubba tug and toss toy. On Monday, the squid went uneaten, the water unswum, and the Tugga Wubba unused. Kitt, one of two harbor seals living at the Woods Hole Science Aquarium, had died. Kitt, a 2-year-old harbor seal who has been living at the Woods Hole Science Aquarium since last March, died Monday. The wild-born seal from Maine, who was blinded after being struck by a boat, was one of two seals at the aquarium. Teri Frady, research communications chief for the NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center, said the young seal was found dead in her enclosure Monday morning. "Her pool mate, Bubba, a 22-year-old harbor seal, appears to be healthy. There were no obvious signs of trauma," she said. Scientists at the aquarium are sampling the water and food for further testing. Kitts body will also be examined carefully by marine mammal experts, who hope to determine the cause of death, Frady said. An initial report will likely be available later this week. When did Kitt come to the aquarium? Kitt came to the aquarium just last year, on March 23, and was joined by Bubba just a couple of months later, allowing the aquarium to reopen its seal enclosure for the first time since 2017. The two seals couldn't have been more different Kitt was a wild-born seal from Kittery, estimated to have been born in 2021; Bubba was born at Sea World in Florida and transferred to Roger Williams Park Zoo in 2001. Kitt, whose favorite foods included squid and capelin, a small forage fish related to smelts, was known for her playfulness and inquisitive nature. She was described as a "total ball of energy," who loved playing with her tug toy, as well as Kong tire, ice cubes and fishsicles really anything that floated. She didn't let her handicap get her down, and Bubba tolerated her energy. Story continues History from 1998Woods Hole aquarium houses rescued seals The young seal came to live in captivity after she was struck by a boat propeller in 2021 and wounded. She was rescued and taken in for rehabilitation at Marine Mammals of Maine, a nonprofit organization that is authorized by the federal government to respond to stranded mammals and sea turtles. Since she had become blinded, Kitt could not be returned to the sea. So when the subject of a new forever home came up, the aquarium at Woods Hole was a perfect fit. Their seal enclosure had been empty for several years, and scientists there were just waiting for a seal who could not be returned to the wild to come live there. Since her arrival, and that of Bubba, both seals came to be favorites at the aquarium. "Both of our seals are beloved by staff and visitors alike," said Frady, noting she doesn't think she's ever seen a visitor skip the seal enclosure. The aquarium will be open regular hours this week, but the seal pool may be closed to visitors for a few days. Contact Heather McCarron at hmccarron@capecodonline.com. Keep connected with the Cape. Download our free app. This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Woods Hole Science Aquarium harbor seal Kitt died; testing underway VALDESE Two districts in the town of Valdese could eventually land on the National Register of Historic Places after a survey was conducted of the town. A letter to Mayor Charlie Watts from the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources late last year saying the state Historic Preservation Office and the North Carolina Office of Archives and History conducted an architectural survey of Valdese and identified two districts for consideration to the NC National Register study list. Those two districts are the Valdese downtown commercial district and the Alba-Waldensian industrial district, according to the letter. The survey involved documenting approximately 250 resources throughout the town built prior to 1975, according to a previous News Herald story. The letter to Watts said being on the study list means the NC National Register Advisory Committee determined the resource appears to be eligible for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places and warrants additional study. The inclusion of a district on the Study List places no restrictions, requirements, or obligations on the property owners within the district, the letter said, in part. The Study list is simply the first step in the National Register listing process. Please note that placement on the Study List does not mean automatic nomination to the Register. It goes on to say that eligibility requires a property to substantially convey its appearance from the period of its historic significance. The letter said the next step in the process is preparing a formal nomination document, which is a written research report prepared to the National Register standards describing and evaluating the property and its history. It goes on to say the most efficient way for the districts to be nominated to the National Register is for property owners, local historical groups and/or neighborhood associations to join forces with the local government to sponsor the preparation of a formal nomination. The National Register process typically takes a year to 18 months from submission to a first draft nomination packet, the letter says. Valdese Town Manager Seth Eckard said the town has not started any process for a formal nomination yet. He said at some point next year, the town will coordinate with property owners in both districts to see if there is any interest from property owners to go through the nomination process. He said the town plans to begin conversations with property owners at the beginning of 2024. The only two buildings in Valdese that currently are on the Historic Register are the Waldensian Presbyterian Church and the Old Rock School, according to town officials. The letter says that a property being listed on the National Register does not obligate or restrict a property owner from maintaining or altering their property but it does have benefits for the owner. It says it protects it from any state or federal funded, licensed or permitted project that might affect the property. It also provides for a federal income tax credit of 20% of qualified rehabilitation expenses of income-producing properties. Any property owner who receives the federal income tax credit are eligible to receive a state tax credit against on income taxes, the letter says. Burke County Board of Education members are weighing whether or not to revisit the school calear issue after a state bill that would allow for an early start passed the House on Wednesday. House Bill 115, is a local bill that would allow 10 districts across western and central North Carolina, including Burke, the flexibility to start next school year before Aug. 28. Currently, state law says school can start no earlier than the Monday closest to Aug. 26. The bill passed the House 111-2 Wednesday, but still has to pass the Senate and be signed into law by Gov. Cooper. Attempts to amend the calendar law in previous years had passed the House but stalled in the Senate. However, since the current bill only impacts 10 districts, it is unclear how this one will fare. Earlier this month, after several weeks of debate, the Burke County Board ultimately approved a calendar complying with the current state law. Board Chair Wendi Craven told The News Herald on Wednesday it is still too early to tell whether passage of the bill would send Burke County back to the drawing board on the 2023-24 school calendar. In addition to Burke County, the bill, if passed, would impact: Catawba County Schools Cleveland County Schools Cumberland County Schools Davie County Public Schools Hickory Public Schools Newton-Conover City Schools Rutherford County Schools Wake County Public Schools Yadkin County Schools When we sing about where the buffalo roam, its usually not referring to Canterbury, England. But thats where University of Montana environmental philosophy professor Christopher Preston found them during research for his new book, Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries That Change How We Think about Animals. With copies reaching bookstores this month, Preston visited the Missoulian to talk about the return of Pacific salmon, Italian grizzly bears and other unusual success stories in the effort to preserve biodiversity. Below are excerpts from a podcast conversation that can also be heard online. The conversation has been edited lightly for clarity. Missoulian: Tell me about tenacious beasts. You are looking at animals; some of which are endangered, some of which are just sort of unnoticed or on the fringe of our awareness; that are either making a comeback or being brought back from obscurity. Which ones that youre looking at? And why did they make the list? Preston: We all know were in the midst of a biodiversity crisis, and most of the news is bad. But if you look carefully, you see that theres a number of species that have got really close to extinction, and then when perhaps some laws changed, or attitudes changed, or maybe some efforts were made, theyve come back from that brink. Theyve accelerated fast. And they started to repopulate their form and niches. So were talking about humpback whales. Were talking about sea otters, were talking about bison, beavers, grizzly bears, a Marsican bear (the Italian grizzly), a number of species that have come real close, and then come back. So I thought, lets look at these species. And lets see what they have to teach. Its not that the biodiversity crisis is over at all I mean, were still in the midst of it. But if some animals can come back, under these circumstances, there must be something we can learn from them. And thats the point of this book. Missoulian: Youre looking at a lot of animals like whales, which Montanans in the Rocky Mountain West dont have a great deal of experience with, but a lot of others are right in our backyards sometimes literally, or at least close enough to be a routine experience. With buffalo, you are both looking at the Bison Range in the Mission Valley just to the north of Missoula, and someplace very unexpected. Where else are you finding buffalo? Preston: The buffalo story is strange. Most of us are familiar with whats happening in the West here. Fewer of us know about whats happening in Europe. The bison there came actually closer to extinction than the plains buffalo. And from only 12 animals, a captive breeding program was started and bison started to be reintroduced into various European countries. I grew up in England. And I was absolutely astonished about two years ago to hear that bison were going to be reintroduced to a very quaint corner of England, in Kent, just outside Canterbury, famous for Chaucers Canterbury Tales. These bison were going to come back into this oak and beech forest.I actually looked in the eye the first bison that was brought back to this landscape. Having grown up in England, it was just astonishing to imagine such a large mammal back on the landscape living wild. Missoulian: You make a point that England and Great Britain have sort of been de-wilded that people dont really have much experience at all with wild creatures other than birds. Preston: Its one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. And sadly, when it comes to large animals, large mammals, really, theres almost nothing. When I grew up, Id look at rabbits, Id look at the occasional fox, maybe a badger if I was really lucky. But that was it. Things are starting to change. For example, there are a lot of roe deer in the area where I grew up on the south coast. They werent there 30 or 40 years ago, but now theyre repopulating. But the bison I think, is really a signature returnee. I mean, this animal has not made its own way back. In this case, it had to be brought on a truck from Germany. But they are going to start letting small herds of bison live wild in the UK, which is an amazing ecological change and also amazing cultural change. Missoulian: You got to see two very different kinds of people as well. On the one hand, youve got folks who are seeing a great big critter returning to their landscape, and theyre trying to make that part of their world. Back here in Montana, you are looking at a lot of people who are dealing with these critters on a regular basis. Im thinking particularly of wolves and bears, where theyve got very defined feelings about where all this fits together and what their priorities are to be. I would think thats kind of two distinct ends of a continuum of people and wildlife. Did you see a common ground or a way that you can bring those two to a closer, functional relationship as we are relating with the Wild Kingdom? Preston: I grew up in England, and we just didnt think of wild animals. But I noticed having lived now in the U.S. for nearly 30 years that when I would go back home, visiting family, there was this building excitement about bringing animals back. The rewilding movement is very strong in Europe. One of my friends in the Netherlands, said, you know, we have to remember if all you see are other people, life can get rather dull. In this part of North America, certainly in a state like Montana, where we have relatively small human populations and relatively large wildlife populations, we probably wouldnt have to think about that. But in Europe, they do. And the fact that Europeans are welcoming these animals back, I think is an important lesson that wildlife are important to our humanity. Yes, they can be inconvenient, yes, they can be difficult. But you feel more human when you know, there are wildlife around. I have been trying to negotiate this lesson between Europe and North America. Because as an individual, Im born in Europe, I live in North America, so I have this sort of split identity. Certainly, I dont want to deny that there are challenges when animals return. But were actually in a much better position, today, to deal with those challenges than we were a century ago, when many of these animals disappeared. Theres better science, thats better knowledge of who these animals are. Theres better tracking of them, theres better techniques and technologies for keeping an eye on them. So one of the motivations in the book here is that we get a second chance to think about these animals in different ways. Whatever we thought about a bison a century ago, or whatever we thought about a wolf a century ago, thats probably not an up-to-date view. We get a second chance to start a new relationship with these animals, one, which hopefully, has them living longer and more securely on the landscape. Missoulian: Right now in Montana, as well as Wyoming and Idaho, the state governments are petitioning for a reassessment of the grizzly bear and its threatened status under the Endangered Species Act. Theyd like to return it to state control, theyd like to get a lot more flexibility to use lethal removal to deal with bears that are getting in conflict with livestock or breaking into farms and whatnot. Youve got a chapter referring to bears in Italy, Pruning Apples for Bears, where folks are doing a very different approach to managing bears on the landscape. Tell me a little bit about how that works. Is this just a reaction to a novel shiny object on the landscape where they dont have the numbers of bears that we might see in Montana? Or are there some lessons that we might be able to take from the way Italians are using their, their domesticated landscape to support bears that we seem to resist doing here in the U.S.? Preston: I wouldnt want to import lessons directly from Italy into the Rocky Mountain West. But there are these Marsican bears in the spine of Italy. Theres a fairly surprisingly rugged range of mountains that runs from north to south in Italy called the Apennines. And the Marsican bear has held on there for a century. Missoulian: And this is a grizzly bear a brown bear. Preston: This is a brown bear. It has a very distinctively shaped jaw. Because most of what this bear eats are nuts and acorns out of the forest. Its different from the brown bear that you would find in the Alps or in the Caucasus Mountains. Its distinct. And its actually just a touch mellower than the brown bears that we are used to in Montana. With a couple of bear experts, I noticed they didnt have any bear spray with them. And I said, You come out here looking for bears without bear spray? And they said, Well, the bear population has been so small for so long, that all the aggressive bears had been weeded out. Over the centuries, the population grew so low, and the genetics has led to a calmer bear. One that they dont need to carry bear spray for. So for that reason alone, I would not want to import lessons from there into the Northern Rockies. But what they were doing, which I thought was fascinating, is they were going up into the hills outside of the villages. And they were finding old abandoned apple orchards. Agriculture in the region had declined over the last 70 years. A lot of these apple trees had gone into senescence. They werent producing fruit anymore. So the bear guardians, the people who were interested in bear recovery, were finding these old orchards and pruning them to stimulate those apple trees back into fruit production. And the reason they were doing it is they figured that the bears were better off up in the hills amongst these orchards than they were coming down into the villages. If they came down into the villages, they would be going off to chickens, theyd be going off to beehives. If you could keep them up in the foothills, then they would be eating apples, they would be staying out of town. Now compare that to here in Missoula, for example, in our Rattlesnake National Recreation Area and Wilderness, where I have run into a U.S. Forest Service ranger with a backpack full of apples that came off an abandoned apple tree where an old homesteader used to live up Spring Gulch. They did not want bears eating those apples. They knew that there was plenty of recreational use there, they did not want people and bears to encounter each other. So here in Missoula, apples were being taken off the landscape. Theyre in Italy, they were encouraging apples on the landscape. And you know, perhaps the lesson there is that at some point, you have to figure out arrangements. In Italy, they couldnt keep bears and people separate so they worked hard to arrange it such that the bears would more or less stay out of town, and the people more or less stay in town. It was a surprising and interesting accommodation, one that seemed quite alien to my experience here in Missoula. Missoulian: We are going to foreshadow a little bit here. We dont want you to give away the ending, but tell us about how close Montana is to Pacific salmon. Preston: Ever since I got here, I sort of heard you used to be able to find salmon in the mountains. But I assumed that you couldnt do that anymore. But then I was lucky I got a hold of an Idaho Fish and Wildlife person. And they said, Yes, you can. All I had to do was to go over Lolo Pass and just go a few miles down the other side. I dont really like revealing exactly where I saw the salmon. But I was guided there by this Idaho state employee and also a local fisherman who I got on the phone with and he told me exactly where I could find them. These are salmon that have traveled close to 600 miles. And they climbed close to 4,000 feet elevation. And its really breathtaking to imagine the strength, the wisdom buried in their genes that can bring them back to this spot, back at the place where they were born. It really was one of the most inspiring moments in the research for the book. Missoulian: At the end of the book you talk about approaching the whirlpool of climate change. The Oh my God, we are in so much trouble why get out of bed in the morning? You come away with a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Would you elaborate on the chances you see of making things better? Preston: One of the things I was very conscious about writing this book is people coming up to me and saying, You are being completely misleading about this optimism. You tell stories about tenacious beasts that are coming back when most biodiversity is crashing. And I want to be very clear that there is a biodiversity crisis. And the biodiversity crisis is going to be made worse by climate change. But there are important lessons to learn from tenacious beasts. Animals want to recover. Thats what biology is. Its animals exploiting niches, exploring possibilities. Sometimes all that change is, is stopping killing them. Thats exactly what happened with whales. Its exactly what happened with sea otters. We stopped killing them, and they started coming back. If we give these animals just a hairs breadth of a chance, we might be surprised at how quickly they bounce back. They provide so many benefits for us, that we should be excited to explore these opportunities these ways that we can just create a bit of space or give a little helping hand. There has been much fanfare lately about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) reviewing ESA protection for the grizzly bear, a review resulting from recent petitions by Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. The Gallatin Wildlife Association (GWA) recognizes that USFWSs announcement is following normal procedures listed under Title 50 under the Code of Federal Regulations. Anyone can petition the Federal Government as to whether a species should be listed, delisted or changed. It is the agencys obligation to review the claim providing it is reasonable. While Idahos petition failed the petition process, the others did not. They have a year to review, investigate and make a decision. But the petitions by three western states are driven by politics, not science. As a wildlife advocacy organization, it is a move which we disdain. In spite of the rhetoric by even some well-known environmental groups, the science has not been proven that grizzly bears are a recovered species, at least not to the point of being able to secure a self-sustaining population; a requirement of the law itself. It is only their current classification as a threatened species that keeps this population of bears (whether it be in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) or the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem (NCDE)] as a viable species and we use that word viable loosely. It is well known that more than 70% of grizzly bear deaths result at the hands of man. Some references report that number as high as 77-90% of deaths with only 12% of deaths occurring naturally. It is a sad, despicable state of affairs in how we treat our wildlife. Too many of our intrinsic wildlife are dying at the hands of man, especially our iconic species; bison, wolves and grizzly bears. Many grizzly bear deaths are resulting from actions taken in the name of conflict resolution, vehicle-wildlife collisions, habitat fragmentation and the more recent deaths from highly pathogenic avian influenza. Climate change will complicate and exacerbate this issue before us. And if the Gianforte administration gets their way and the bear becomes delisted, bear deaths will only increase, not decrease as hunting is legalized. Yet the recent unveiling of the Draft Statewide Grizzly Bear Management Plan is written based upon the assumption that the grizzly bear is a recovered species and is therefore viable for trophy hunting. Even now, outfitters have targeted to kill Grizzly Bear 399. This is how our society has progressed. With loss of habitat and more people upon the landscape, the grizzly bears sphere of influence is going to decline, not improve. With the state of Montanas experience with wolf management, they have shown no responsibility or leadership to manage an iconic species such as the grizzly bear, especially when the politics of a few are drowning out the voices of the many. Some herald the grizzly bear as a success story. That may be, but that doesnt mean it is a recovered species. The ESA is simply preventing species from going extinct. It is not providing a mechanism for their removal. Why? Because while there are protections keeping the bear from going extinct, there are no protections from the unequal, opposite, and stronger threats of anthropogenic, environmental, and climatic influences. If we want the grizzly bear to remain on this planet, then we need to change our behavior. Were doing just enough to maintain the bears existence, but not enough to keep them a viable species into the future even the foreseeable future. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied delisting in the July, 2020 decision. The court faulted the Service for (1) failing to consider the impact of the delisting on remnant populations of grizzly bears in other portions of Idaho, Montana, and Washington, (2) not applying the best available science in evaluating the long-term risk of lack of genetic diversity in the Greater Yellowstone grizzly population, and (3) eliminating a requirement to recalibrate the estimated size of the grizzly population because of political pressure of the states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. What has changed? We at GWA dont believe anything has changed other than the politics of Montanas governor conducting himself arrogantly with a hatred toward wildlife. MUSCATINE The Diversity Service Center of Iowa, a local nonprofit that provides immigration services to aid individuals and families, will mark the 22nd anniversary Wednesday, March 1. It feels great (to reach this anniversary), Rosa Mendoza, Diversity Service Center of Iowa Founder and Executive Director said. Its amazing as to what we have done throughout the years for so many families. Its a real economic impact for the community and the people that we service, and it feels great to be able to meet the needs of our community and surrounding communities. In the past two years, Mendoza says the Diversity Service Center of Iowa has become a hub of information and referrals for immigrants and refugees. A big part of our accomplishments have been possible through our funders, Mendoza said. They have played a big role and theyve made an impact on the families that we serve. They are helping us fulfill our mission, and if we didnt have that support, we wouldnt be able to accomplish our goals. These individuals are now able to get financial stability, security and peace of mind. Another main goal of DSCI is to continue providing the services that the organization already has, as well as to keep their doors open to the people of their community who may need other types of individual services. In some cases, these services can be as simple as offering to help print important paperwork out or send a fax for someone who may have a computer but not a home printer. In other cases, the DSCI has been able to provide clients with the means to receive access to social service programs or help them gain financial stability as they work through the immigration process. As for other achievements, Mendoza shared that last year, DSCI was able to assist individuals with registering for unemployment, something that hadnt originally been offered through the organization before. There are people who will come in with applications given to them by other agencies, and theyll ask for help because they dont know English, so well help them fill out this paperwork. Looking ahead to the next year, DSCI is expecting to start a couple of new fundraisers; however, the plans for these fundraisers are still being discussed and are tentatively scheduled for either summer or fall. Mendoza added that she and her team are also going to try and promote citizenship over the next year. We want members of our community not only to be legal permanent residents of the United States but to also take that extra step to finally become a naturalized citizen, she said. Taking that extra step and becoming a citizen, they would be able to work in government jobs and would have the right to vote. So our goal this year will be to really promote citizenship to those who can become naturalized citizens. To help support the DSCI, donate through the DSCI website at https://www.dscionline.org/. Anyone who supports our efforts is definitely making a difference in our community, Mendoza said. American Canyon delayed ruling on a massive, proposed warehouse complex up to 2.4 million square feet of space after Vallejo raised concerns about providing water for the project. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Vallejo's 11th-hour comments prompted the American Canyon City Council on Tuesday to continue the Giovannoni Logistics Center hearing to March 21. Other parties expressed other concerns involving such matters as Swainson's hawks, wetlands and traffic. American Canyon last year sued Vallejo after Vallejo talked of reducing water it delivers to American Canyon under a 1996 agreement. Vallejo cited state curtailments related to drought. Vallejo Chief Assistant City Attorney Randy Risner brought up the issue at Tuesday's meeting during public comments. He pointed out the Giovannoni environmental impact report makes assumptions about Vallejo water availability. That case has yet to be decided, Risner told the council. Which means at this point in time, it is unreasonable to rely upon the American Canyon interpretation of the 1996 agreement for the project. American Canyon City Attorney William Ross then recommended the continuance. The project applicant, Sacramento-based Buzz Oates, agreed. Giovannoni Logistics Center would be built in two phases on 208 acres north of Green Island Road. Giant warehouses are common in this industrial area, though the ones proposed would be among the largest. Joe Livaich of Buzz Oates said the center will be a $400 million investment that will create up to 2,000 jobs when completed. It will generate up to $1 million annually in taxes for American Canyon and pay the city $25 million in impact fees. Jeff Leonhardt of RMW Architecture & Interiors described a vision for the first-phase buildings that would go beyond huge concrete boxes. Theres a lot of glass, he said. Theres this ribbon approach that sort of dispels some of normal notions about tilt-up construction. Theyre highly articulated buildings. City Council members heard a number of viewpoints, both in writing and in person during public comments. The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity in a letter mentioned the possibility the Center will be required to pursue legal remedies if the city approves the project as proposed. It previously sued Napa County over the controversial Walt Ranch vineyard proposal. One dispute is over the extent of seasonal wetlands on the property. The environmental impact report said 12 acres with about 4 acres to be paved, but the Center for Biological Diversity said there may be more. The project, with its construction, buildings, roads and associated activity, will permanently alter the form and function of these sensitive habitats, attorney Frances Tinney of the center wrote to the city. She said a creek on the property likely serves as an important movement corridor for species ranging from mountain lions to bobcats, deer, California red-legged frogs and western pond turtles. FirstCarbon Solutions, author of the project environmental impact report, responded. The property will have a 45-acre open space/wetlands preserve to protect the most biologically sensitive areas. California red-legged frogs and western pond turtle dont live at the site, FirstCarbon wrote. The project site is surrounded on four sides by urban development and infrastructure and thus traffic, lighting and noise are currently present, it said. Meanwhile, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife is concerned about losing 155 acres of Swainsons hawk foraging habitat to the project. Swainsons hawk is listed as threatened under the state Endangered Species Act. Grant Gruber of FirstCarbon said Swaisons hawk foraging habitat is ubiquitous and that there are plenty of places this species can forage. Valerie Zizak-Morais, CEO of the American Canyon Chamber of Commerce, was among those who pointed out that the land has long been zoned industrial. We are thankful to have a project like the Giovannoni project, she said. These people are following everything the city is asking. They are bringing resources to our community. The group Napa/Solano Residents for Responsible Development criticized the project environmental impact report on a number of points. For example, Ken Miller said the 2,000 jobs the project is to create will likely be filled by people driving in from the Central Valley, affecting air quality. I dont want you to cancel the project, but continue the (environmental) process and lets get good answers, he said. The law firm Adams Broadwell Joseph & Cardozo represents the group. A letter from the firm said the group is an unincorporated association of individuals and labor organizations, such as local members of Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 343 and Sheet Metal Workers Local 104. City Councilmember Mariam Aboudamous asked Buzz Oates representatives if the project will use union labor. We evaluate each subcontractor based on the particular site and the qualifications of that individual subcontractor, Livaich said. So to answer your question, yes, we work with union subcontractors. We also work with nonunion subcontractors. William Kampton explained how the late Albert Giovannoni owned the land. Before Giovannoni died, he deeded the property to a foundation he started to fund youth education, Right from the Start. Buzz Oates was willing to do a land lease for 65 years with three 10-year options, Kampton said. We're excited for this opportunity, because we can give that money away for this long, he said. When this project passes and they start constructing, it will be more money for us to give away. Council members heard all of this and more over more than an hour and a half. The council the closed the public hearing and will discuss the matter further next month. At some point theres closure here and we move on and make a decision, Mayor Leon Garcia said. I think were approaching that this evening, from what Im hearing. Photos: Napa Valley Faces and Places, February 19, 2023 State parks in California may be able to keep their nonprofit partnerships alive thanks to new legislation introduced by state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, on Tuesday. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. If passed, Senate Bill 668 would continue to allow the state Department of Parks and Recreation to maintain relations with nonprofits that help operate, maintain and improve park grounds. In 2011, senators largely voted "yes" on a bill that allowed state parks to arrange operation partnerships with qualified nonprofits in an effort to mitigate state park closures during the Great Recession. That permission is set to sunset in 2025. Dodd's office said the authorization has allowed over a dozen state parks to not only stay open, but also make critical improvements and enhancements to their landscapes. "California parks are truly remarkable places, in part because of the hundreds of volunteers and nonprofit groups who devote their time and effort into making them great," Dodd said. "My proposal would allow these vital partnership to continue, ensuring our parks are sustainable and the best they can be for generations to come." Local nonprofit supporters include the volunteer-led Napa Valley State Parks Association, which raises funds for three recreation areas in the Upvalley Bothe-Napa Valley State Park, the Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park and Robert Louis Stevenson State Park. In east Napa, the Skyline Park Citizens Association operates Skyline Wilderness Park, which Napa County leases from the state. Another example is the formation of Jack London Park Partners, a nonprofit prompted by Sonoma County residents who wanted to take over operations of Jack London State Historic Park during budget constraints. As the first organization managing a state park on behalf of community members, nine staff members and over 250 volunteers greet an estimated 100,000 people each year, advance recreational programs and create exhibits. One of its greatest achievements in its 10 years of operation has been restoring the cottage Jack and Charmian London once lived in, funded by donors, grant dollars and earned revenue. Organizers said they are eager to keep the park running for at least another decade. "This forward-thinking legislation allows for the continuation of proven, successful nonprofit partnerships that provide essential support to parks like Jack London State Historic Park, to keep them thriving," said Matt Leffert, Jack London Park Partners' executive director. "Our state parks are California's most precious resources and Jack London Park Partners is grateful for Sen. Dodd's leadership to ensure we have the tools necessary to care for California's most precious resource, the California state park system." A state parks representative said the department could not comment on pending legislation. The bill is eligible to be heard in committee and be voted on next month. Napa Valley Register city editor Howard Yune contributed to this report. Photos: Napa Valley Faces and Places, February 19, 2023 Law enforcement officers made an arrest in connection with the assault of a man who was eating in an American Canyon restaurant. The incident happened just after 10 p.m. Sunday. American Canyon Police officers responded to reports of a fight at in a restaurant in the 5000 block of Main Street. They found a man with significant head wounds, according to a department news release. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Officers learned the victim was eating in the restaurant when he was attacked and punched multiple times by another man. The suspect fled the scene after the attack. The victim sustained major injuries and was treated at Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center and later UC Davis Medical Center. Police determined the victim was targeted. On Tuesday, the Napa Sheriffs Investigations Division obtained a warrant for the arrest of 19-year-old Joaquin Luna Cervantes. Sheriff's detectives served the warrant at Cervantes Napa home with the help of the Napa Special Investigations Bureau, the press release said. Luna Cervantes was detained without incident and booked into the Napa County jail on suspicion of felony offenses related to the assault. He was being held on $500,000 bail as of Wednesday afternoon. Photos: Check out Napa County's LEAST expensive home sold in January 23 Lena Drive, American Canyon. 23 Lena Drive, American Canyon 23 Lena Drive, American Canyon. 23 Lena Drive, American Canyon. 23 Lena Drive, American Canyon. 23 Lena Drive, American Canyon. 23 Lena Drive, American Canyon. 23 Lena Drive, American Canyon. ST. HELENA One of the most glamorous stars of St. Helena Dramas upcoming production of Oklahoma! doesnt have any lines. Its only job is to sit on stage, look pretty, and link the show to St. Helenas own pioneer past. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. The McCormick Ranch buggy was carefully loaded onto a flatbed trailer on Feb. 15 and hauled to the St. Helena Performing Arts Center. Once Oklahoma! ends its March 10-19 run, it will return home to the St. Helena Historical Societys Heritage Center at the corner of Oak Avenue and Tainter Street. The buggy belonged to the McCormick Ranch at the top of Spring Mountain, founded around 1870 by William McCormick and Nancy York McCormick. Their descendants, Edna McCormick Learned and Sandra Learned Perry, donated it to the historical society. Members of the society hope the buggys starring role will draw attention to the fledgling Heritage Center, which opened at the end of 2021 but has struggled to draw foot traffic despite being packed with the treasures of St. Helenas past. We want people to know were here, Bonnie Thoreen, the historical societys board president, told the Star earlier this month. That story the Heritage Center tells doesn't start in the pioneer days. A portion of the museum is devoted to the indigenous people who populated what is now St. Helena for thousands of years. Along with arrowheads, mortars and pestles, theres a historic photogravure print of a Pomo woman photographed by Edward Curtis, who spent a decade documenting what was left of the Wests vanishing Native American culture. Arader Galleries donated the piece to the historical society. The front of the museum features a rotating exhibit space thats currently occupied by Hilos Visibles (Visible Threads), a cultural project featuring quilt squares designed by Latino residents. Napas Lost Neighborhood: A Shipyard Acres story A Napa neighborhood was once home to hundreds of homes for thousands of people. And then it was gone. This is Shipyard Acres: Napa's lost neighborhood. Like the Native American display in the permanent collection, Hilos Visibles is a way to recognize "all the various cultures that influenced this valley, said Kathy Carrick, a member of the historical societys board of directors. Carrick noted that Spanish and Mexican settlers played important roles in developing the valley as we know it today, before the Italians and Germans started to arrive. For example, the widowed Maria Soberanes Bale, whose portrait hangs in the Heritage Center, significantly upgraded the Bale Grist Mill built by her late husband, Edward Turner Bale, and built the 36-foot waterwheel that turned the mill into an economic powerhouse. She was an incredible woman, Carrick said. Historic farming implements highlight St. Helenas agricultural heritage, hearkening back to the days when prunes, not grapes, were the predominant crop. Yet even in the late 19th century visionary, grape growers were seeing St. Helenas potential as a wine region. A few Heritage Society mementos mark the establishment of the St. Helena Viticultural Club in 1875 by Charles Krug, Henry Pellet and Seneca Ewer. In another corner are architectural remnants of the old Vineland School, one of the oldest poured-concrete buildings in Napa County, which stood on property now owned by Hall Wines. Along one wall is a 10-foot segment of the bar from Gee Gees Tavern on Hunt Avenue, which opened shortly after Prohibition ended in 1933. Salvaged signs are all that remain of businesses like Caioccas Grocery Store. I love the pieces that tell the stories of people, characters like Gee-Gee, said historical society board member Stephen Taplin, referring to Gee Gees founder Felix Freilone, an Italian immigrant. Not far away is the St. Helena Stars 400-pound safe, along with a cash register that was capable of processing transactions as large as $7.90 (the Star used it well into the 2010s). The Heritage Centers future is unclear. A nostalgic talk by U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson and a lecture on the valleys Chinese laborers drew scores of people, but the Heritage Center has struggled to attract visitors during its open hours, which were reduced last June from four days per month to one. Its frustrating that we cant get visitors on Main Street to step one block to the west and come see what weve got, Carrick said. Rent on the space eats up most of the historical societys lean budget, and the Diocese of Santa Rosa, which owns the building, announced last November that it plans to file for bankruptcy. That could result in a new landlord for the museum, which is on a month-to-month lease. The historical societys hopes for a permanent home on the citys Adams Street site have dimmed somewhat as the propertys status remains in limbo. The Carnegie isnt well-suited to a museum, according to Carrick, who worked there when she was the citys parks and recreation director. A historical center has been floated as an option for a redeveloped City Hall property, but it could be years before a project breaks ground. For now the historical society is applying for city grants, but those are only available for programs, not operating costs like rent. I think its natural that the city (government) would want to support something like this because of what we bring to the community, Thoreen said. Weve been looking for a home for the last 20 years. The Heritage Center is open from noon to 4 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month at 1255 Oak Ave., at the former St. Helena Catholic School. Photos: Rare pictures and documents from Shipyard Acres, Napa's lost neighborhood A 1955 photo in Napa's Shipyard Acres. A 1955 photo in Napa's Shipyard Acres. A 1950s photo from Napa's Shipyard Acres. A 1950s photo from Napa's Shipyard Acres. A 1950s photo from Napa's Shipyard Acres. 1955 Shipyard acres Kindergarten The entrance to Shipyard Acres 1948 Shipyard Acres aerial map Shipyard Acres in the background of building ships A Napa Register story about Shipyard Acres. Original notes taken by 1950 census worker at Shipyard Acres. Original notes taken by 1950 census worker at Shipyard Acres. Original notes taken by 1950 census worker at Shipyard Acres. Shipyard Acres opening Jan. 23 1943 1948 Shipyard Acres SYA baseball team Shipyard Acres at Cuttings Wharf in Napa Shipyard Acres at Cuttings Wharf in Napa Shipyard Acres at Cuttings Wharf in Napa Shipyard Acres at Cuttings Wharf in Napa Shipyard Acres at Cuttings Wharf in Napa Shipyard Acres at Cuttings Wharf in Napa Shipyard Acres at Cuttings Wharf in Napa Shipyard Acres students Shipyard Acres surplus homes Feb. 1955 Shipyard Acres Frances Allen at 6 Midway Drive A kitchen at 6 Midway Drive in Shipyard Acres Shipyard Acres map by Larry Stanley Shipyard Acres, Norman Farlow 101 Pacific Circle circa 1945 Shipyard Acres child care center, teachers and class Shipyard Acres School 1946 4th grade Shipyard Acres Shurtleff child care center with Santa A photo taken inside a home at Napa's Shipyard Acres. Research about the history of Shipyard Acres Shipyard Acres Shurtleff Victory School 5th grade 1952 This photo of Shipyard Acres is from Del Schank Sr. This photo of Shipyard Acres is from Del Schank Sr. This photo of Shipyard Acres is from Del Schank Sr. Dated Sept. 1947. This photo of Shipyard Acres is from Del Schank Sr. This photo of Shipyard Acres is from Del Schank Sr. 1950 This photo of Shipyard Acres is from Del Schank Sr. This photo of Shipyard Acres is from Del Schank Sr. Dated Aug. 8, 1952. This photo of Shipyard Acres is from Del Schank Sr. This photo of Shipyard Acres is from Del Schank Sr. Aug. 26, 1945. The Basalt Beacon newspaper, Jan. 15, 1944. The Basalt Beacon newspaper, Oct. 15, 1943 The Basalt Beacon newspaper, Nov. 15, 1943 A photo of the Shipyard Acres school in Napa. Kindergarten, 1954. Shipyard Acres rent receipts, 1945 A questionnaire sent to Shipyard Acres "alum" in 2012 Shipyard Acres housing to close Napa Register Jan 16 1954 An ordinance that regulates the storage of firearms when theyre not in use received unanimous approval from the Napa City Council Tuesday night, making Napa the third city in Napa County to pass such a law. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Councilmembers voted 4-0 to approve the ordinance, with Mary Luros who brought the ordinance to the Napa council shortly after the St. Helena council passed its own ordinance in August 2022 absent. At the meeting, Napa Police Chief Jennifer Gonzales noted that the ordinance largely mirrors the ordinances passed by St. Helena and Yountville late last year, to ensure consistency among the local laws. (Several other cities in California have passed similar ordinances throughout the past year.) The concept is that we want to provide an avenue for folks to secure firearms so they cannot be stolen, used by individuals, used by curious children and/or individuals who are suicidal, and yet still be accessible for those who want to access their firearms in their own homes, Gonzales said. The ordinance itself which specifically restricts Napans from keeping firearms in their home unless they disable them with a trigger lock or store them in a locked container notes that firearm injuries have a significant adverse public health and safety impact nationally, regionally, and locally, and that, in California, numerous people die each year from injuries related to firearms, and many more are hospitalized for non-fatal gunshot wounds. It goes on to say that having an unsecured firearm in the home is associated with an increased risk of firearm-related injury and death, or theft of the firearm. So, according to the ordinance, having a firearm locked when not being carried ensures it cant be accessed or used by others without the owners knowledge, therefore decreasing the risk of firearm-related injury or death. St. Helena Councilmember Anna Chouteau who, inspired by Napa Valley Moms Demand Action, first brought the idea of a safe storage ordinance to St. Helena Police Chief Chris Hartley last year spoke in support of the ordinance at the Tuesday meeting. Chouteau, calling attention to the prominence of school shootings in the United States, noted that St. Helena schools had locked down last week because of a false report of an active shooter at the high school, which she said had happened a little more than a day after the Feb. 13 Michigan State University shooting. The experience was gut-wrenching, she said; her phone immediately started going off with texts from other parents expressing fear and panic when the lockdown began. We were all relieved to find out it was a false alarm and a hoax that actually targeted multiple schools, Chouteau said. Students, teachers and caregivers were all traumatized, and my thoughts were with all of them today as they went back to school for the first time since the incident. Chouteau also echoed points about the need to cut down on gun violence made by public commenters via email and at previous meetings, many of them from volunteers with the local Moms Demand Action group. For instance, she said, 4.6 million children live in a home with at least one unsecured firearm; that 80% of school shooters acquire their firearms from the home of a parent or close relative; that nearly 700 children die by suicide with a gun each year, and that roughly 350 children each year gain access to a firearm and unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else. Chouteau added that further actions will be necessary to reduce gun violence, but it was meaningful that Napa the city with the largest population in the county was passing the safe storage ordinance. She held out hope that American Canyon would consider a safe storage ordinance next. It makes no sense to continue valuing guns over public safety in our children's lives, Chouteau said. Councilmember Beth Painter said at the meeting she knows there is broad community support for the ordinance, and agreed it was one small step the city should take. Councilmember Bernie Narvaez said at the meeting that, as a gun owner, he understands why people have reservations when theres talk of changing laws around firearms, but he thought the ordinance was well crafted. He said responsible gun owners should already known to store their guns, but the ordinance should serve to clarify that to the public. Councilmember Liz Alessio said shes happy about education and community outreach about safe storage of firearms that will come in addition to the ordinance. Mayor Scott Sedgley said it was unfortunate the city had to create an ordinance to tell people to be responsible, but he supported it. The key word, as Councilmember Narvaez said, is responsible, Sedgley said. Responsible gun owners secure their weapons; its as simple as that. Also Tuesday, the Napa council approved most suggested allocations for the citys $1.15 million Community Recovery Bank, which was created using federal American Rescue Act Plan funds. The one exception was a proposed $25,000 for the Napa County Historical Society, because two council members Sedgley and Alessio are board members of the organization. That, combined with Luros absence, meant the council didnt have a quorum to approve the allocation at the meeting, though the item will likely be approved at a future meeting. The funding allocations for the bank are split among five categories, previously determined through a community survey: addressing homelessness; community assistance and nonprofits; child care and preschools; local businesses; and work force development. The council also approved a 3.77-acre, 11-home subdivision at 3090 Browns Valley Road and approved a 6% or $6,500 salary raise for the city attorney, to bring the compensation closer to salary levels in comparable cities. And council members awarded a $2.1 million contract to Suisun City-based Suulutaaq Inc. to build a paved pedestrian and bicycle path beneath Highway 29, in what will be the citys largest planned infrastructure improvement of the current fiscal year. State Sens. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, and Mike McGuire, D-North Coast, will co-chair the 2023-24 legislative sessions Senate Select Committee on Californias Wine Industry, a committee they have jointly led since 2016. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. The wine industry is a major economic and tourism driver for our state and it is essential that the Legislature focus on issues that impact it, Dodd said in a statement Wednesday. Weve made big strides in achieving competitiveness in the global market and innovations in sustainability. Californias wine industry accounts for 90% of all wine produced in the U.S. and, according to a 2022 report by the California Association of Winegrape Growers and Wine Institute, the industry created 422,000 jobs. The wine industry is also credited with bringing in 23 million tourists annually and has an economic impact of $73 billion to the state. Were ready to get to work on some of the top issues facing the industry and our wine growing communities including climate adaption, workforce housing, economic development and sustainable farming practice, said McGuire, whose family farmed prunes and grapes in the Alexander Valley of Sonoma County for nearly 50 years. The committee consists of a bipartisan group of state senators who oversee the diverse issues currently affecting the California wine industry. A state lawmaker has joined with parents and advocates in an ambitious effort to reform the system that serves adults and children with disabilities, a vast network of nonprofits that is failing in significant ways, according to a new bill. Quality journalism doesn't happen without your help. Subscribe today! Support local news coverage and the people who report it by subscribing to the Napa Valley Register. Assemblymember Dawn Addis, D-Morro Bay, last week introduced a bill designed to provide greater transparency, accountability and increased confidence in Californias $13 billion developmental disability service system. The measure follows a series of recent reports, a state audit and public hearings that revealed racial disparities, inadequate oversight and limited accountability at Californias regional centers a network of 21 nonprofits that coordinate services for about 400,000 children and adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. We all know somebody or have a family member thats connected to the system and its important that were speaking out and paying attention, Addis, a longtime special education teacher, said in an interview. This level of accountability is incredibly important so that we know theyre getting the services they need. The Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, enacted in 1977, requires California to provide services and support to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Department of Developmental Services funds those services through contracts with the regional centers, which maintain an operating budget of more than $13 billion. AB 1147 states that the regional centers are failing in significant ways to deliver critical, adequate, and timely services to individuals and families and especially to Californians of color. As a result, individuals and their families are denied timely access to services and support, the bill says, barring them from living independently and integrating their lives with the surrounding community. New bill targets reform at California Regional Centers The legislation, called the Disability Equity and Accountability Act, would establish statewide performance standards for regional centers across a range of categories, including equity in access, civil rights and health and safety. It also would set strict response times for regional centers when they receive phone calls and requests for evaluations. Judy Mark, founder of Disability Voices United and mother of a 26-year-old with autism, said the latter provision is designed to address a concept known as denial by delay. Thats when a family asks for services for their child and theyre not denied services but theyre just not given an answer. Sometimes this can go on for months or years, Mark said. Karen Mulvaneys 25-year-old daughter has been a client of the Alta California Regional Center for nearly two decades. Even now, Mulvaney still struggles to get her daughter, who has been diagnosed with a seizure disorder, cerebral palsy and brain damage, the services she needs. You put in a request for services and it can take months to hear back. Im experiencing that right now, she said. The bill also aims to increase access to records and data maintained by the regional centers, by making the nonprofits subject to the Public Records Act and requiring that they publish information about client complaints on their website. Amy Westling, executive director of the Association of Regional Center Agencies, said her organization, which represents the states 21 regional centers, has yet to take a formal position on the bill. I think there are certain elements that we can agree with in terms of where things might land in an ideal world, but I do know that we will have some concerns about the money that would be needed to do some of this, she said. And there will also be some questions of how this might work with all of the other reforms that are already in the works. Concerns raised about states developmental disability service system A state audit released last summer reviewed practices at three of the states regional centers Alta California in Sacramento, North Bay in Napa and North Los Angeles and found a slew of deficiencies at each. Among the findings was that none of the agencies employed enough service coordinators to meet legally required coordinator-to-consumer ratios. They also failed to properly monitor vendors who provide direct services and had no mechanism to track crucial customer service metrics, such as wait times, timeliness of referrals and the distance that individuals must travel to get services. And according to two recent reports, communities of color have, and continue to be, plagued the most by those issues. The nonprofit Disability Voices United and pro-bono law firm Public Counsel examined service funding levels at regional centers and and reported last year that people of color, particularly Latinos, receive significantly fewer services than white people. That spending gap, the reports found, has persisted and even worsened over time despite recent increases in spending. The Little Hoover Commission, an independent state oversight agency, launched a study last fall to assess disparities in service access, identify underlying causes and offer recommendations for repairing the system. The commission held four public hearings where parents, advocates and regional center clients offered testimonies about their own issues navigating the system. The commissions final report is expected to be released sometime next month. The California Department of Development Services has acknowledged areas that need improvement and is working to address these issues, according to Westling. Where we fall short on meeting our own goals, those are certainly things we can work on and address, she said. But saying the system is failing is overgeneralizing. Regional Centers try new initiatives. But are they enough? The department is launching a new program to increase employee retention by providing financial incentives to staff who go through additional training and learn new skills. The agency is also working to close spending gaps across different racial groups for services provided to adults who live at home with their families. According to state figures, Latinos who are regional center clients and live at home receive 13% less funding than their white counterparts. Another major reform underway is implementing the systems antiquated data and case management systems,which are nearly 40 years old. The state provided one-year funding in the 2021-22 fiscal year to develop a replacement plan but it will likely take years to implement a new system and switch everything over. Still, parents like Mark and Mulvaney said more must be done to fix the system and eliminate barriers to accessing the services that so many Californians depend on. Right now, people served and family members who support them have very little trust in the regional centers, Mark said. So we have to do better. Today in history: Feb. 22 1935: White House 1959: Daytona 500 1967: Vietnam 1980: Miracle on Ice 1987: Andy Warhol 1997: Dolly 2010: Najibullah Zazi 2012: Mitt Romney 2020: Bernie Sanders 2021: COVID-19 2021: Mike Lindell 2022: Ahmaud Arbery hate crimes